South Africa outbatted Australia to beat them 5-0 in the ODI series but stand-in captain Faf du Plessis believes they will need to outbowl them if they are to win the Test series next month

Firdose Moonda14-Oct-2016South Africa outbatted Australia to beat them 5-0 in the ODI series but stand-in captain Faf du Plessis believes they will need to outbowl them if they are to win the Test series next month. After South Africa went through most of last summer sans Dale Steyn or Vernon Philander, they will travel to Australia with both bowlers plus three other frontline seamers, and du Plessis hopes that collectively, they can carry the team to victory.”For us to have a successful tour of Australia, Dale Steyn will be the guy to make or break that for us because he is a huge player in that Test team. I am confident he will have a really good series,” du Plessis said. “His shoulder looks okay – that’s going to be the challenge. We need to make sure that he stays fit and he can bowl long periods of time. Test cricket is not just 10 overs, he will need to bowl 18 to 20 overs a day for the next month.”Steyn returned, after a broken shoulder kept him out of the England Test and ODI series in January-February, for the World T20, in which he played only two of South Africa’s four matches. He was left out of the triangular series in the Caribbean, officially rested but by his own admission dropped, and given permission to play in the NatWest T20 Blast instead. He took 11 wickets in five matches for Glamorgan and was then included in South Africa’s Test series against New Zealand, where his eight wickets in Centurion secured a series win.Although he has not looked his best with the white ball – he played four of the five ODIs against Australia for five wickets at 50.80 with an economy rate of 6.99 and received treatment on the shoulder throughout the series – Australia still considered Steyn remained a threat. “You’ve always got to respect Dale. He is a world-class bowler, a great athlete and you never want to upset him,” David Warner said. “He is a guy that can really get on top. He has this spark and this spell in him you’ve got to get through that and negate what he throws at you.”At Test level, du Plessis expects that will be even more difficult for the Australians to do. “Dale in Test cricket is a different breed. In one-day cricket, these things are going to happen. KG [Kagiso Rabada] as well, would be the first to say he didn’t bowl at his best. In Test cricket it’s about consistency. When Dale gets that red ball in his hand, he is just a different bowler. He is still our No.1 bowler in Test cricket.”South Africa will look to rise up the rankings again with hopes of having Morne Morkel back for the Tests•AFP

Rabada also played in four matches and took five wickets at 52.80 with an economy rate of 7.33. Both Steyn and Rabada were hurt by the game in Durban, where they conceded 96 and 86 runs respectively. Overall, they were overshadowed by Kyle Abbott and Andile Phehlukwayo, who have come to the fore as part of South Africa’s future. “Our bowling attack needs to be fit if we are to win in Australia,” du Plessis said.The other members of South Africa’s pace pack have also had injury concerns. Philander’s rehabilitation from torn ankle ligaments kept him out of action for almost three months but he also made a comeback against New Zealand while Morne Morkel has been on the sidelines since July with a back problem. Morkel returned to action in club cricket in Pretoria earlier this month and is currently playing for Titans against Warriors in a first-class match as a fitness test ahead of the Australia tour. He bowled 26 overs in the first innings, and picked three wickets, so all indications are that he will travel to Australia.South Africa have won their last two Tests series in Australia, in 2008-09 and 2012-13, although in very different circumstances. Both times, they were coming off series wins in England. This time, they are in the midst of a rebuilding process and recognise that Australia pose a tougher challenge than before. They will hope to carry some of their ODI momentum into the Tests. “Against Australia, any mental edge you can get you will take,” du Plessis said. “It’s the one-percenters that matter.”

Mohammad Nabi and Taskin Ahmed produced career-best T20 performances in Chittagong Vikings’ win over Rajshahi Kings in front of a sell-out home crowd

The Report by Mohammad Isam18-Nov-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
File photo – Mohammad Nabi struck six fours and six sixes during his 87 off 37 balls•BCB

Mohammad Nabi raised Chittagong Vikings from the dead and led them to 190 before Taskin Ahmed’s career-best T20 figures of 5 for 31 sank the chase. Nabi hit his maiden BPL fifty off 25 balls, and converted it into his highest T20 score. Nabi clattered six fours and six sixes in front of a sell-out home crowd.Nabi walked in at 68 for 4 after the fall of Jahurul Islam and added 105 for the fifth wicket with Anamul Haque, who contributed with 50, including four fours and two sixes. Nabi took his time to get his eye in, before gradually shifting gears. He smashed Darren Sammy over long-off for his first six in the 13th over and then sent Sri Lanka allrounder Milinda Siriwardana over cover in the next over. Nabi hit full tilt when he hammered Abul Hasan for four successive boundaries in the 18th over, which eventually produced 20 runs.Sixteen runs came off the next over in which Nabi was dropped on 60. Anamul, meanwhile, reached his first BPL fifty since 2013. His joy, though, was short-lived as he holed out off the next ball. Nabi, however, hit three boundaries in the last over, propelling his team to 190. They ended up 76 runs off the last five overs.Rajshahi’s chase never found rhythm, though Mominul Haque and Junaid Siddique added 44 for the first wicket. Mominul got going with four consecutive fours in the second over before becoming Taskin’s first victim in the fifth over. Siddique, Mominul’s new opening partner, who had joined the squad a couple of days ago, made 38 off 28 balls but fell to Grant Elliott when the chase needed a higher gear.The onus was then on Sabbir Rahman, who had stroked 122 in his previous match against Barisal Bulls. He added a rapid 34 for the third wicket with Umar Akmal, who managed 21 off 12 balls. Sabbir was then dropped on 24 by Mahmudul, but he failed to capitalise, driving early against Imran Khan jnr’s back-of-the-hand delivery and holing out to Tamim Iqbal, who completed a sharp diving catch.A similar delivery from Imran also accounted for Darren Sammy, who was Rajshahi’s last hope in the chase, in the 17th over.Taskin, who had earlier taken the wickets of Mominul and Akmal, also accounted for Siriwardana, Mehedi Hasan and Farhad Reza to finish with his maiden five-for in T20s. This meant he became the third Bangladeshi bowler after Al-Amin Hossain and Abul Hasan to take a five-wicket haul in the BPL. Rajshahi eventually fell short of the target by 19 runs.

A round-up of the second day’s play from the quarter-finals of the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Dec-2016
ScorecardS Badrinath and Tanmay Agarwal frustred Mumbai in the middle session•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Tanmay Agarwal and S Badrinath, the captain, struck half-centuries as Hyderabad were 128 adrift of Mumbai’s 290 with seven wickets in hand at stumps on day two in Raipur. Agarwal and Badrinath added 105 for the third wicket to steady the innings after Mumbai, who lost five wickets for 40 this morning, reduced Hyderabad to 30 for 2 courtesy Abhishek Nayar’s twin strikes.B Sandeep then blunted the bowling for 64 deliveries to remain unbeaten on 10, along with Agarwal, as Hyderabad ended an attritional day on 166 for 3. Mumbai’s Siddesh Lad, unbeaten on 101 overnight, added nine, while Nayar added 13 before being dismissed for 59. CV Milind, the left-arm pacer, finished with 5 for 80, his second successive five-wicket haul, while Mohammad Siraj took four wickets.
ScorecardIshank Jaggi’s rich vein of form continued•K Sivaraman

Jharkhand were in sight of the first-innings lead against Haryana courtesy half-centuries from Virat Singh and Ishank Jaggi at the Moti Bagh Stadium in Vadodara. Haryana, resuming on 251 for 7, lasted just 33 deliveries in which they added seven runs. Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem added two wickets to his overnight tally to finish with 7 for 79. Jharkhand responded with 228 for 3 in 82 overs, with Virat and Jaggi having added 146 for the fourth wicket.
ScorecardBumrah’s four-wickets came as Odisha lost six batsmen in the space of 16 overs•Getty Images

Odisha went from 83 for 1 to 101 for 7, courtesy Jasprit Bumrah’s four wickets for Gujarat, before Deepak Behera and Suryakant Pradhan added 72 runs for the eighth wicket to finish the day on 184 for 8 at Jaipur’s Sawai Man Singh Stadium.Basant Mohanty started the day off by completing his 16th five-wicket haul in first-class matches as Gujarat were all out before lunch. Rush Kalaria fell for 73, thereby bringing an end to his 154-run partnership with Chirag Gandhi, who fell soon after with the team’s score at 238 for 8 before a late knock of 28 by Mehul Patel ensured Gujarat’s 263.After opener Ranjit Singh’s early exit, his partner Sandeep Pattnaik scored 43 runs in an 82-run partnership for the second wicket with Subhranshu Senapati, who scored 30. After Pattnaik fell with the score at 83 for 2, Odisha languished their advantage as they lost another five wickets for only 18 runs, with Bumrah triggering a slide. His scalps included those of captain Govinda Poddar and Odisha’s top-performer Biplab Samantray, whom he removed for ducks. Behera and Pradhan then hit 72 runs before the latter’s 27-ball knock ended. Mohanty (4) joined Behera (30) to see off play till stumps, trailing by 79 with two wickets in hand.

Half-centuries from Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan and Mehedi Hasan buoyed Bangladesh after Umesh Yadav made light work of the top order

The Report by Deivarayan Muthu11-Feb-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details5:02

Kalra: Shakib snatched the momentum away from India

India made light work of the Bangladesh top order before fifties from Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, and Mehedi Hasan Miraz hauled the visitors to 322 for 6 in reply to India’s 687. Bangladesh’s most experienced batsmen, Shakib and Mushfiqur, sparked the resistance with a 107-run partnership off 165 balls. Mushfiqur and the 19-year-old Mehedi, who scored his maiden half-century, then saw off the second new ball and stubbornly played out a wicketless post-tea session.Glaring errors on the first two days had put Mushfiqur’s wicketkeeping and captaincy in the spotlight. On the third afternoon, his running was in the spotlight, and he was frequently caught ball-watching early in his innings, but he overcame it to progress to an unbeaten 81.When Shakib danced out and drilled R Ashwin to mid-off in the 50th over, Mushfiqur was late to respond to his partner’s call for a single. Ravindra Jadeja hunted the ball down and speared it to Wriddhiman Saha, who broke the bails. Mushfiqur had brought out a desperate full-length dive, but his bat had popped up in the air momentarily. The shoulder of the bat was seemingly on the line when the bail came off the groove. Chris Gaffney, the TV umpire, ultimately gave Mushfiqur the benefit of the doubt. He was on 18 at that point.Mushfiqur then accumulated with sweeps while Shakib reached his maiden Test half-century against India off 69 balls. The scorecard will tell you Shakib hit 14 boundaries, but it was a chancy innings throughout. He repeatedly drove away from the body against the seamers and often drove out of the footmarks against the spinners. The century stand ended when Shakib skipped out and heedlessly dragged a catch against the spin to mid-on.It was a repeat of his fateful shot against Mitchell Santner on the fifth day in Wellington in January when the Test was on the line. This time he gave Ashwin his 249th wicket in Tests. He was kept waiting for the 250th.Mushfiqur Rahim brought out a variety of sweeps against the spinners•AFP

A sure-footed Mehedi took over from Shakib and ably complemented Mushfiqur’s patience. Mehedi claimed 51 of the unbroken 87-run stand for the seventh wicket after Jadeja had removed Sabbir Rahman ten minutes before tea.Mehedi dared to club Ashwin over midwicket and even picked a carrom ball and drove it exquisitely through cover. He got to his fifty when he late-cut Ashwin for four in the penultimate over of the day. In the last over, Mushfiqur became the fourth Bangladesh player, after Habibul Bashar, Tamim Iqbal, and Shakib Al Hasan, to reach 3000 runs in Test cricket.Things weren’t as rosy for Bangladesh in the morning session. Tamim fell in the third over of the day, taking on Umesh’s arm from the deep. A mix-up resulted in both Tamim and Mominul Haque stopping near the middle of the pitch while running a second. Umesh swooped in from long leg, attacked the ball, and fired a throw to Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the bowler, who collected and under-armed adroitly onto the stumps.In addition to being uncertain while running between the wickets, Mominul was uncertain outside his off stump. Virat Kohli reinforced the slip cordon and even posted a silly mid-on to apply more pressure. Mominul’s tentative stay ended on 12 when Umesh trapped him in front with reverse-swing.Mahmudullah survived a tight lbw call on 6 off Bhuvneshwar with India’s review of Joel Wilson’s on-field not-out decision returning umpire’s call on leg stump. He managed to regroup to put on 45 with Shakib before Ishant Sharma had him lbw with an inswinger for 28. This time Wilson raised his finger, and Mahmudullah coaxed Shakib and reviewed only for ball-tracking to suggest it would have grazed leg stump.

The Pakistan fast bowler, Junaid Khan, will be rejoining Lancashire for this summer’s NatWest T20 Blast

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Feb-2017The Pakistan fast bowler, Junaid Khan, will be rejoining Lancashire for this summer’s NatWest T20 Blast.Junaid, 27, took 12 wickets in eight T20 matches in his first spell at the club in 2011, then returned three years later to take 19 in 10 at an average of 14. On both occasions he helped Lancashire reach Finals Day.”I thoroughly enjoyed both my spells at Emirates Old Trafford and I’m looking forward to linking up with the squad later this summer,” Junaid told Lancashire’s official website.”The whole club made me feel incredibly welcome when I played for Lancashire in 2011 and 2014. The experiences I gained in those years has enhanced my performance in my ability to swing and seam when bowling.”The different climate conditions have also strengthened me as player and hopefully this year I can give something back, both on the field and off the field.”In both 2011 and 2014 the team reached Finals Day so it would great to get back there again this year and win some more silverware for this great club, following 2015’s triumph.”

R Ashwin has stressed that putting pressure on David Warner and Steven Smith right from the first Test will be important in India’s plans for dominance

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Feb-20170:53

Quick Facts – R Ashwin’s stellar numbers in 2016-17

India offspinner R Ashwin believes stifling the attacking instincts of Australia’s captain and vice-captain, Steven Smith and David Warner, will be the key to India’s success in the four-Test series against Australia, which starts in Pune next week.”I had some duels with Warner and the world knows they are great batsmen,” Ashwin told the . “But as I said, the key to this series is how well we start off.”More often than not, it’s about wearing the opposition down and if you can start doing that from the beginning, it gets easier towards the end. I know that Smith and Warner will play in their free-spirited fashion and if we can curb their natural instinct, play to our strengths and make them play to the pace that we want them to play, we will do a fine job.”After the ICC had rated the Nagpur pitch for the India-South Africa Test poor [the game finished inside three days], India’s home Tests over the last year-and-a-half have featured few surfaces that offer excess turn from the start with variable bounce. Ashwin said the nature of pitches was “not a big deal” for him, but felt the well-rolled pitches would help Australia’s batsmen, many of whom have never played a Test in India.”I think they will come prepared for what is in store. I was having a talk with (umpire) Kumar Dharmasena the other day on how differently they prepare pitches in Sri Lanka than they do it in India,” Ashwin said. “He was saying that the Indian curators roll the pitches to an extent that they go completely dead, something that Sri Lankans don’t. I think Sri Lanka produces some of the best wickets around the world while ours are slower in nature. But then, the Aussies will have to come to terms with the slowness of the Indian pitches, something that they are not used to.”Over the last year and a half, Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have become captain Virat Kohli’s go-to strike force. Since the start of the West Indies tour in August 2016, they have accounted for 127 wickets out of a total of 222 wickets in 13 Tests. Ashwin felt Jadeja’s unrelenting accuracy helped him get a little more creative at the other end.R Ashwin has said that Ravindra Jadeja’s accuracy allows him the liberty to experiment when bowling from the other end•Hindustan Times

“Jadeja is one who will not give anything away. That gives me the luxury to extend my imagination a lot more,” he said. “There are pockets of the game when we don’t get wickets and that is the time when I try to make things happen. During the Kanpur Test against New Zealand, Mitchell Santer and Luke Ronchi were going very well. Jadeja was bowling a tight line and I bowled a ball outside the leg-stump of Santner and got him to nick to gully on a slow pitch.”Those are exactly my strengths and when I don’t offer the same things over and over again, they try to do things to get the runs away and makes mistakes. So Jadeja and me, bowling the way we do, create opportunities for each other.”While Australia’s pace attack, led by Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, has been talked up as the biggest threat confronting India, Ashwin felt Nathan Lyon and the rest of Australia’s spinners could not be taken lightly.”Nathan Lyon is a fine bowler. He got a seven-for in New Delhi in the last Test Australia played against India,” he said. “He puts a lot of revs on the ball and we can’t take anything for granted. Then they have Ashton Agar, Steven O’ Keefe and they are no spring chickens and are pretty good bowlers and we have to play out of our skins. And don’t forget, we are always playing that one batsman short all the time.”When Ashwin was asked if he was surprised at not being the vice-captain despite being a direct selection across formats, he said he led without a title by playing key roles in India’s wins. “I have really crossed that stage, where I think I deserved this or being faced with decisions that is not in my hands,” he told . “I lead without a title. I end up playing a crucial part in most matches which India wins.”If there are some parameters cricket adapts, a lot of things will be different around cricket. But unfortunately cricket is not as professional as it should be. I have got to the stage where I have realised, I am not here to change the whole thing, but if it is possible for me to change things, I will. As of now, I am at peace with myself.”To be honest, I am not even sure if I want to be a vice-captain. I do a lot of hard work. So to try and think at what is not coming my way is way too demanding on my mind.”

With an unbeaten 148, the New Zealand captain pushed his team into the lead in a match he has to win to level the series

The Report by Alagappan Muthu27-Mar-2017
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:47