He finished with 3 for 74; he got through 15 overs in the day at full tilt, exceeding his average number of overs per innings in the Ranji Trophy

Ankur Dhawan at the Wankhede Stadium14-Dec-2018With the jury still out on India’s decision to field an all-pace attack in Perth, one man who could have arguably helped the balance of the side hit his straps from the get-go upon returning from a back injury suffered during the Asia Cup. While the pitch at the Wankhede Stadium for the Ranji Trophy match between Mumbai and Baroda was never likely to bear any serious resemblance to the one in Perth, it had a deceptive tinge of green, only revealing its true colours a little later.Perhaps hoodwinked by that early impression, Baroda captain Kedar Devdhar opted to bowl, handing Hardik Pandya the new ball – only the eighth such instance for Pandya in the Ranji Trophy – and giving him a field more attacking than the one India had to kick off the second session in Perth: two slips, a gully and even a short leg, as compared to India’s two slips and a gully for Umesh Yadav after lunch.Prior to his return for the clash against Mumbai, Pandya was clear about his goals; testing himself through the course of four days in order to be considered for the third and the fourth Test was priority. While first impressions, as Devdhar found out with the Wankhede pitch, cannot always be trusted, Pandya showed no discernible discomfort. In fact, whatever little assistance the surface offered, Pandya extracted it expertly in his first two spells, justifying at least the decision to be given the new ball.Pandya struck twice for Baroda within the first hour, and could have had another 40 minutes before lunch had a diving Yusuf Pathan clung onto a chance to his right at second slip in the 22nd over. Preceding that, Pandya made the ball wobble off the seam both ways to plant seeds of doubt in the minds of openers Aditya Tare and debutant Vikrant Auti.Off just his second delivery, he teased Tare’s outside edge, squaring him up with one that jagged away belatedly. In the same over, he induced an outside edge from the left-handed Auti that went between second slip and gully. The final ball of the first over shaped back in nicely but was let through uncertainly by Auti. It was not too dissimilar to the ball that eventually accounted for the debutant, as he shouldered arms to one that cut back off the seam and reared disconcertingly off a length to kiss the top glove on the way to the keeper. The difficulty in negotiating it was perhaps compounded by the fact that Pandya had delivered it from wide of the crease, an angle from a right-armer that usually pushes the ball wide off the left-handers’ off stump.Soon after, he pinned Tare lbw with a full inducker, as the batsman erred in playing across the line. His figures when he finished the first spell of six overs read 2 for 21, a fair reflection of how well he had bowled. His second spell was no less incisive as he cranked it up, testing not just Shreyas Iyer and Siddhesh Lad but also his back. First over back into the attack, he had Lad fending at one awkwardly, that took the shoulder of the bat and lobbed over the slips. At that stage, Iyer and Lad – the beneficiary of the dropped chance – who went on to get fine centuries had started tearing into the Baroda attack, except Pandya still had them poking and prodding tentatively, evidenced by another delivery in the same over that squared Iyer up, just before Lad’s costly let-off.Pandya returned for two more spells, a short two-over burst post lunch, and his fourth with the second new ball, in which he had Shivam Dube bowled through the gate with an inswinger. Although a bit of inconsistency had crept into his bowling by then, shown by a high economy rate of nearly five runs per over, he could not be faulted for the intensity with which he ran in all day. He finished with 3 for 74 his reward, however, was more intangible in nature: in that he got through 15 overs in the day at full tilt, exceeding his average number of overs per innings in the Ranji Trophy.

Ishant had missed out on two wickets in Adelaide because he had over-stepped, but the no-balls not called on the field have also attracted scrutiny

Sidharth Monga in Perth13-Dec-20180:44

Ishant will be obsessed about not bowling a no-ball again – Kohli

The role of the host broadcaster has come into sharp focus in the aftermath of the Adelaide Test. Ishant Sharma is now a marked man, and he spent a major part of the nets session a day before the Perth Test trying to get his rhythm right when bowling from well behind the popping crease.In the final innings in Adelaide, Ishant got close to getting two wickets off no-balls. One of them was given on the field, but Ishant was found to have overstepped on the DRS review. Later, during the final day, the umpire called a rare no-ball on the field when it looked like Ishant had trapped Nathan Lyon plumb in front. However, it was the no-balls that were missed that has put the scanner on Ishant. On air, Ricky Ponting pointed out four no-balls missed in one particular over.Between the Tests, has accessed footage that claims Ishant overstepped 16 times in the first innings alone. The report doesn’t mention corresponding figures for any other bowler, from India or Australia. Ishant, though, was the only bowler called for overstepping in the Adelaide Test, five times in all, on replay or not. During a particularly intense nets session two days before the Adelaide Test, it was observed neither side was too strict on policing no-balls in the nets.The end result is Ishant working on his run-up to make sure he doesn’t overstep. Experts feel it can’t be easy to do that in one training session, but that is something that just has to be done. And it didn’t take the discovery of uncalled no-balls for Ishant to think seriously about the problem. Even when India won the first Test, captain Virat Kohli said Ishant was the only one not celebrating.
ALSO READ: Kohli reveals how the no-balls ‘pissed off’ Ishant
“We were all celebrating but he was really really angry with himself and we asked him why and he said, ‘I cannot afford to bowl a no-ball being a senior guy and having played so much cricket’,” Kohli said after the Adelaide Test. “That could have been the difference at a more important stage in the series. Guys take ownership of those things but they can commit mistakes. As long as the attitude is right, we look to correct those mistakes. So this incident that has happened, I am sure Ishant is going to be obsessed about not doing it again.”Ishant spent time with B Arun, the bowling coach, standing as the umpire trying to maintain the same rhythm, energy and intensity with a new run-up. He bowled in a net without a batsman and at a single stump. Every time he landed well behind the popping crease. Arun kept a close eye on how well he was bowling. He seemed happy with what he saw, and the stint ended with Ishant high-fiving Arun.”He himself was very keen to rectify it, so I don’t think it was something that needed to be spoken about again and again,” an impressed Kohli said on the eve of the Perth Test. “He is a responsible cricketer, and he has been around for so long and he understands what needs to be corrected as all of us do in the team. So there is no need to repeat it again. He knows the problem, and he is keen to rectify it in this game.”The pressure will be on for both the on-field umpires and Ishant, but if he has successfully rectified the problem it might save both the trouble.Meanwhile, Australia captain Tim Paine was glad the issue had been raised. “It’s not something that we can control,” Paine said. “Having said that, I am glad that it has been brought up and it has certainly been spoken about. I don’t think it is a great look for the game when things like that are happening. You put your trust in the people who are in those jobs to control it and hopefully they police it really well in this game.”I spoke to them [the umpires] during one of the days really quickly because I was watching the telecast in the change-room, just to get an idea of whether they were communicating to the umpires in the middle which they said they were. What I do know is that it is not an easy job. They are standing two or three metres away and the guys are running in fast and it all happens so quickly. So I think as long as we are aware of it and we are looking at solutions that can help that process, then I am all for it but I hope this Test match it is used a little better.”

Melbourne Renegades completed a defence of 152 to defeat the Sydney Thunder – one of their nearest rivals on the competition table – by 12 runs in Sydney

The Report by Daniel Brettig22-Jan-2019Melbourne Renegades solidified their place in the Big Bash League top four with a stout defence of 152 to defeat the Sydney Thunder – one of their nearest rivals on the competition table – by 12 runs in a defensive affair at the Sydney Showground Stadium.The visiting captain, Aaron Finch, made a vital half-century, not only for the Renegades but his own peace of mind after a difficult summer, and with assistance from Cameron White was able to lift the Melbourne side to a defensible total on a somewhat sluggish pitch.In the chase, Callum Ferguson appeared to have given the Thunder a strong chance to chase down their target, but his dismissal amid an admirably tight spell by Cameron Boyce – who had been unsuccessfully promoted to open with Finch – left the young batsman Jason Sangha unable to summon the big hits required to finish off the job.Finch begins finding himselfOver a summer in which he graduated into, then flunked out of, the Australian Test team, Finch has seemed to get increasingly frazzled by the array of formats and tasks confronting him, to the point that his role as the national limited-overs captain in a World Cup year has become in danger of being affected. At the conclusion of the ODI series against India, the Australian coach Justin Langer expressed hope that Finch would regain some equilibrium via the BBL.A halting stay worth only 14 in the Melbourne Derby was not exactly promising, but against the Thunder Finch was able to get himself going in the sort of manner he will hope to make a habit of over the next six months or more. Though the Renegades started off with the experimental presence of Cameron Boyce at the top of the order alongside Finch, the captain was able to build into an innings of confidence and some heavy hitting that reaped four sixes while not giving a chance until he fell to Sandhu. It’s a long way from the World Cup final, but it’s a start.Sams, Sandhu keep Renegades in checkAt 3 for 116 in the 16th over, the Renegades had successfully absorbed the loss of early wickets and also a parsimonious spell by Fawad Ahmed to appear set for a late ransacking of runs. However, Sandhu’s fooling of Finch with a slower ball was to set the scene for a twist in the innings, as Sandhu and Sams put the clamps on by claiming regular wickets.White’s innings of 40, featuring 14 cuffed from one over from Chris Jordan, ensured the Renegades did not lose all momentum, but three wickets apiece for Sandhu and Sams had the Thunder looking confident at the innings break.Ferguson sets things upDuring a long career that might have featured more international cricket but for a terribly timed knee injury in 2009, Ferguson has proven himself to be an expert at the sorts of modulated, balanced innings critical to white-ball success. Coming in at the fall of Anton Devcich in the very first over, pouched at third man, Ferguson shrugged off the loss of the powerful Shane Watson shortly after to appear to set up the Thunder for a fruitful chase.His stand with Jason Sangha relied upon Ferguson finding the boundary with some regularity, and when Sangha advanced to dispatch Boyce inside-out over cover in the 13th over, the partnership appeared set to enter another gear. That, though, was to reckon without Boyce.Boyce holds the Renegades centreDiscarded by Tasmania and unwanted by Queensland after the Bulls chose to move on to the younger Mitchell Swepson, Boyce has proven an excellent acquisition by the Renegades as a willing wristspinner who has found an artful balance between defence and attack. His spell to the Thunder rather summed this up, as he conceded only a single boundary in four overs.At the same time he was able to coax Ferguson into a blow that fell fractionally short of the long-on boundary and into the hands of a jumping Dan Christian, leaving Sangha to fight an ultimately losing battle with his own timing and boundary-scoring as the Renegades squeaked their way to victory.

With the 2019 World Cup being a no-go zone, the focus for Associate countries has shifted to T20 cricket, with an eye on the ultimate aim of qualifying for the T20 World Cup

Peter Della Penna12-Feb-2019The T20 World Cup Global Qualifier may be eight months away, but three sides who will be at that event are getting away from the European winter with an eye towards ramping up their preparation in their quest to secure a spot at next year’s main event in Australia.The 2019 World Cup becoming a no-go zone for Associates has resulted in a shift in focus to the T20 World Cup, which at least has kept the door ajar for emerging nations to have a crack at Full Member countries on the widest platform possible.Here’s a primer on each side ahead of the T20I Quadrangular series that begins on Wednesday at the Oman Cricket Academy.Scotland (ICC T20I ranking – 11th)Coming off their victory in the T20I tri-series held in Netherlands last June combined with their status as the highest ranked side in Oman, Scotland are arguably the favourites on paper. However, they also arrive having the longest layoff, with their last official match taking place on June 20 against Netherlands in the tri-series finale. In the interim, they’ve been building up to this series with a one-week winter training camp in La Manga, Spain.George Munsey’s tri-series tally of 204 runs at 51 concluded with 71 off 34 balls in that encounter, the highest T20I score by an Associate player in 2018, in what was also Scotland’s highest ever T20I total of 221 for 4. Calum MacLeod, who scored 140* off 96 balls in an ODI win against England earlier that month, faced exactly one ball in that romp over the Netherlands, highlighting the depth in firepower. Matthew Cross and Richie Berrington also passed 50 in that record score against the Dutch in a bulky batting line-up led by captain Kyle Coetzer.On the bowling side, Safyaan Sharif has made incredible strides over the last three years to arguably become the leader of the attack. Young left-arm spinner Hamza Tahir’s emergence will help lessen the pressure on the left-right spin combo of Mark Watt and Michael Leask in favourable slow-bowling conditions in Oman.Fred Klaassen gets high-fived by captain Pieter Seelaar after taking a key wicket•Peter Della Penna

Netherlands (ICC T20I ranking – 13th)The Dutch have a beefed up squad compared to the group that finished second on home soil to Scotland, as Ryan ten Doeschate enters the side fresh off a successful stint in the Bangladesh Premier League with Rajshahi Kings. Yet even without ten Doeschate last home summer, Netherlands managed to beat Ireland twice in the tri-series thanks to superb all-round contributions from captain Pieter Seelaar and some fiery starts by Tobias Visee and Max O’Dowd.Like Scotland, it’s a sign of increased depth giving the selectors a good headache they haven’t had in a long time as Wesley Barresi now has the option of playing as a specialist batsman with Scott Edwards taking over the gloves, while Visee and O’Dowd give options to consider at the top of the order alongside Stephan Myburgh.On the bowling front, left-arm medium pacer Fred Klaassen’s excellent ODI series against Nepal in August means he may be hard to leave out in spite of the established group of fast bowlers led by Paul van Meekeren, Timm van der Gugten and Shane Snater. Roelof van der Merwe and Seelaar form a potent left-arm spinning combo, making it hard to find a weakness in an increasingly strong side.Oman (ICC T20I ranking – 17th)The tournament hosts have played T20Is sparingly since securing status at Malahide during the 2015 T20 World Cup Qualifier. But when they have, they’ve made plenty of noise. It was at that tournament that they beat Afghanistan by 40 runs. They showed it was hardly a fluke when they beat Ireland the following March in front of a global audience during the opening round of the T20 World Cup at Dharamsala.With the exception of an agonising loss to UAE at WCL Division Two in Namibia last February that effectively eliminated them from moving forward to the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, Oman have hardly taken a step back since that seminal win over Ireland. In 50-over cricket, they are coming off an undefeated run on home soil this past November to win WCL Division Three while the country showcased their depth in T20 cricket this past weekend by virtue of two victories by an Omani Development XI over the touring Ireland side.While they don’t have the depth of other teams, Bilal Khan is one of the most menacing pace bowlers on the Associate circuit and can swing it both ways at 140 kph. Along with the awkward bounce posed by 6’5″ Kaleemullah, Oman’s new-ball attack poses enough problems to keep opponents off balance.Ireland (ICC T20I ranking – 18th)Gary Wilson’s medically-mandated absence has thrust Paul Stirling into the role of stand-in captain on tour as Ireland aim to end a five-match winless streak in T20Is including a tie to Scotland and a pair of series losses at home to India and Afghanistan. After years of opening alongside William Porterfield, the team management tried Kevin O’Brien at the top of the order with Stirling in the pair of losses to the Omani Development side. Though the result was disastrous in the first match, the duo produced 100 runs between them in the second match to demonstrate that it’s an experiment worth persisting with.The tour is shaping up as an opportunity, with 22-year-old Lorcan Tucker one of the young talents to emerge. He scored a century and a fifty in five one-day innings during the recent Ireland Wolves tour of Sri Lanka to create competition for the wicketkeeper spot with Stuart Poynter. Wolves captain Harry Tector was the only other Ireland player to score a century in the one-day series and at just 19 is coming along at just the right time in a side that is desperate to fill the runs that have been lost through the retirements of players such as Ed Joyce, Niall O’Brien and John Mooney.On the bowling side, Boyd Rankin provides veteran leadership in the pace unit. Joshua Little, the 19-year-old left-arm fast bowler, was one of the few to come out with his reputation enhanced following the pair of warm-up losses to the Omanis by taking three wickets at an excellent economy rate of 4.86. Under spinning conditions in Oman, it would not be surprising to see Ireland field a trio with George Dockrell, Andy McBrine and allrounder Simi Singh, whose performances were a silver lining in the tri-series defeats last summer.

Kagiso Rabada and Keemo Paul played starring roles for Delhi Capitals, claiming seven wickets and six catches between them

The Report by Deivarayan Muthu14-Apr-2019
Kane Williamson returned from injury and Sunrisers Hyderabad rang in four changes, but their brittle middle order cost them their third successive match in IPL 2019. This after incisive bursts from quicks Khaleel Ahmed and Bhuvneshwar Kumar had limited Delhi Capitals to 155 for 7.David Warner and Jonny Bairstow built a strong platform in the chase, putting on 72 off 59 balls for the first wicket. However, from 72 for 0 and then 101 for 2, Sunrisers crashed and burned to 116 all out with seven balls unused in their innings.This was Capitals’ third successive win on the road, and it moved them up to second on the points table, behind only Chennai Super Kings, who have a four-point lead at the top. Kagiso Rabada and Keemo Paul played starring roles for Capitals, claiming seven wickets and six catches between them, including a sharp caught-and-bowled chance.Welcome back, Khaleel and Munro
From out of nowhere, Khaleel bolted into India’s limited-overs squads last year, but fell out of the World Cup plans after repeatedly erring in his lines and lengths in New Zealand earlier this year. He then let it rip for Rajasthan in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, emerging as the highest wicket-taker for his state with 12 scalps at an economy rate of 6.47, despite playing only four games.Injury meant he wasn’t immediately available in the XI for six games, but he recovered for this game, coming into the XI alongside Williamson. This Hyderabad track offered some early zip to the quicks, and Khaleel ably exploited it with his splice-jarring lengths.In his first over, he cramped Prithvi Shaw for room and had him edging a cut to the keeper. In his next over, he properly dug one into the middle of the pitch and drew a top-edged hook from Shikhar Dhawan.Capitals were 20 for 2 in the fourth over, but Colin Munro teed off to give the innings a leg-up. Colin Ingram had returned to South Africa on paternity leave, but the other Colin checked in with rasping cover-drives and leg-side pick-up shots. Just when Munro was threatening to launch into top gear, left-arm spinner Abhishek Sharma unfurled a back-spinning legcutter to dismiss him.Delhi Capitals lose their way
Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant put on 56 for the fourth wicket, but they couldn’t get enough big hits away. Vijay Shankar, Abhishek, and Deepak Hooda filled in for the fifth-bowling option, giving away only 35 runs among them. Rashid Khan strangled them further with his fizzing legbreaks and wrong’uns.Iyer then went searching for runs against Bhuvneshwar, but he got one to burst off the deck and had Capitals’ captain tickling behind for 45 off 40 balls. In the next over, Khaleel took down Pant for 23 off 19 balls to expose Daredevils’ brittle lower-middle order. Capitals managed just 34 runs for the loss of four wickets in their last five overs. Sunrisers would fare worse in the chase.Sunrisers get swamped
With the ball sliding onto the bat in the early exchanges, Warner and Bairstow shaved 40 runs off the target of 156 in the Powerplay. Enter Keemo Paul. The pitch stared to tire and he bowled a variety of slower balls, including ones in the 90kph range to force Sunrisers to manufacture the pace for themselves. When Bairstow and Williamson attempted to do that, they were both caught by Rabada.Local batsman Ricky Bhui, who was promoted to No.4 ahead of the in-form Vijay Shankar, laboured to 7 off 12 balls before Paul got him too, this time with a seam-up ball.Suddenly, Sunrisers were left needing 52 off 24 balls and were up against Rabada. The South Africa fast bowler took down Warner and Vijay off successive balls to hasten Sunrisers’ collapse. While Warner was undone by a 114kph slower one, Vijay was blasted out by a ball that was 34kph faster. Chris Morris followed it up with three wickets in the next over to put the game beyond Sunrisers’ reach.

The Victoria coach said the quick will need to be handled carefully to avoid recurrence of injury and the selectors should pick their moments to unleash him

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Apr-2019Tearaway quick James Pattinson could win Australia two Ashes Tests if he is used wisely and sparingly in the five-match series, according to his Victoria coach Andrew McDonald.Pattinson, 28, has not played a Test match for Australia since February 2016 due to a serious back injury. But after returning from successful surgery he played a pivotal role in Victoria’s Sheffield Shield triumph this season including taking seven wickets in the final with some vicious spells.He will play for Nottinghamshire in the early part of the county season but McDonald believes he could be a key performer in the Ashes if he is used in short bursts.”I think he’s a two-Test player that can win you those two Test matches,” McDonald told . “I think when he plays Australia’s odds increase greatly in terms of winning the Test match but we can’t get over-excited in terms of what his body can cope with.”I think we [Victoria] played him in seven games this year, 151 overs in seven games and really managed him throughout the summer. We had the luxury because we believed his batting could be of allrounder status at first-class level. Can it be of all-rounder level at Test match cricket level? I think the jury is out on that. So two Test matches for mine with a huge focus on when the conditions suit.”Pattinson was used as part of a five-man bowling attack for Victoria which featured four fast bowlers and a specialist spinner. Australia are unlikely to opt for a five-man attack in the Ashes and therefore McDonald said he could only be used on bowler-friendly surfaces where the game could be over in three or four days.”If it was a flatter surface you wanted to pick him on then he’d definitely have to be part of a four-man pace attack,” McDonald said. “I think the surface will dictate what the formation of the line-up will be and [Nathan] Lyon plays every game.”Pick your moments, and he could be a matchwinner in those couple of Test matches. But if he has to bowl heavy overs on flat surfaces I think that will probably accelerate the process of potentially injuring him again.”McDonald believes Pattinson is world class when he’s at his best. “I think Cameron White was on a radio station and said he’s the best in the world. Well if he’s in full flight he’s close to it – pace, swing, and aggression as well. He makes things happen and I think he would be an intimidating factor for the English batsmen to overcome.”Australia’s Ashes squad is set to be named just a matter of days before the series begins on August 1 at Edgbaston.

Chasing 176, Rajasthan Royals slipped to 123 for six before their seventh-wicket pair turned the tide with a partnership of 44 in 21 balls

The Report by Mohammad Isam25-Apr-20191:20

We are aware our bowling needs to get better – Dinesh Karthik

After Riyan Parag’s stunning 47 took Rajasthan Royals within striking distance of their fourth win, Jofra Archer signed off his blockbuster IPL campaign with successive boundaries to complete a three-wicket victory over the Kolkata Knight Riders. It was the sixth consecutive loss for the home side, who failed to defend a total of 175 that was primarily achieved thanks to Dinesh Karthik’s valiant 97 not out.Riyan and Archer added a crucial 44 for the seventh wicket, with Riyan hitting five fours and two sixes in his 31-ball 47. Archer was left to score nine off the last over. First he edged Prasidh Krishna for a four through third man, and then he smacked him over wide long-off for the winning runs.It was heartbreak for Karthik who had batted so well for his unbeaten 97 off 50 balls, which contained nine sixes and seven fours, an innings that led Knight Riders’ recovery from early trouble, mainly caused by Varun Aaron.

Aaron from nowhereAaron, who had conceded 16 runs in his only over in this season’s IPL, had little to lose when he was brought back into the side and handed the new ball by Royals captain Steven Smith. He struck straightaway, bowling Chris Lynn with an inducker in the first over and dismissing Shubman Gill with a similar delivery in the fifth over. His first spell of 3-1-10-2 prevented the Knight Riders from making a quick start.Royals “drop” their guardKnight Riders lost Nitish Rana too and struggled to 49 for 3 at the halfway mark. The first cracks in Royals’ effort appeared when Stuart Binny misfielded at the deep midwicket boundary in the 11th over, which went for 25. Karthik had struck Shreyas Gopal for two sixes and three fours in the over.Binny then dropped Andre Russell in the 15th over before substitute Prashant Chopra shelled another Russell skier, in the 17th over. Russell’s third offering was taken well by Ajinkya Rahane at deep midwicket later in the over, and Royals were lucky the in-form West Indian only managed 14 off 14.Karthik’s solo actKarthik, who was stuck in Knight Riders’ slowness in the first 10 overs, took full toll of Royals in the second half of the innings, hitting 55 of the Knight Riders’ 75 in the last five overs. He slammed Jaydev Unadkat for three sixes, including two in the last over, sent a free-hit from Oshane Thomas sailing over long-on in the 17th, and carted the last two balls of Archer’s IPL campaign, in the 19th over, for sixes as well..It was an almost single-handed effort from Karthik to take Knight Riders to 175; their second-highest score was Nitish Rana’s 21 off 26 at No. 3Jofra Archer and Riyan Parag meet mid-pitch•BCCI

Royals slip to spinSanju Samson began Royals’ chase with sixes off Prasidh Krishna and Russell in the first two overs, before Ajinkya Rahane smashed Prithvi Raj over point for his first six. But Sunil Narine had him lbw in the last over of the Powerplay, after the openers had added 53 for the first wicket.The wicket brought another when Piyush Chawla removed Samson with a wrong’un. Narine came back from the other end to bowl Royals captain Steven Smith for 2, and could have had another in the same over had he held onto a return catch from Riyan.The stranglehold of spin continued, however, as Chawla took the wickets of Stokes and Binny, and Royals sank to 98 for 5 in the 13th over.Riyan announces himselfRiyan let the batsman at the other end do more of the hitting in his first three partnerships, and moved quietly to 22 off 21. But after Archer slammed Narine for a six in the 17th over, Parag sprung into action. He slammed Prasidh Krishna for a hooked six, before hammering Russell over the straight boundary, only just beating the outstretched Brathwaite at long-on.But he fell next ball when he hooked Russell but flicked the bails in his follow-through. That left nine to win, and Archer, duly completed the job with two decisive blows in the last over.

ESPNcricinfo’s Live Report of the match between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, live from Cardiff

Shamya Dasgupta04-Jun-2019

Callum Ferguson’s maiden Championship century is in vain as visitors bounce back

ECB Reporters Network10-Jul-2019Derbyshire secured their third Championship victory of the campaign to strengthen their promotion challenge despite a splendid century from Worcestershire batsman Callum Ferguson at Kidderminster.The visitors bounced back in style after being bowled out for 108 on the opening day to claim 19 points and triumph by 82 runs.Ferguson hit his maiden Championship hundred as Worcestershire showed plenty of resilience in recovering from the depths of 48 for 5 mid-way through the third day.Ravi Rampaul finished with four wickets but Fynn Hudson-Prentice and Tony Palladino gave him staunch support with three victims apiece.Worcestershire have now gone six games without a win since defeating Leicestershire and Durham in their opening two fixtures. They have paid the price for their batting frailties, with the exception of Ferguson, in the top order, where there has been a lack of consistency.Worcestershire resumed on 156 for 5 with Ferguson unbeaten on 71 and Cox 44 not out with the second new ball due in 13 overs.Runs flowed at a fast pace against the opening attack of Hudson-Prentice and Anuj Dal. Ferguson collected successive boundaries via a cut and a back-foot square drive at Hudson-Prentice’s expense.But, after playing so well, he had a slice of good fortune on his side as he raced towards three figures. Ferguson edged Fynn-Prentice and Dal for boundaries and a single off the former took him to his century off 205 balls with 17 fours.Cox went to his half-century in the next over from Dal from 140 deliveries with eight boundaries.The 150 partnership came up in 49 overs before the new ball was taken immediately at 206 for 5 off 80 overs.Rampaul made the breakthrough for Derbyshire in his first over of the day. Cox, on 62, tried to get his bat out of the way of a sharpish Rampaul delivery but only succeeded in deflecting it onto his stumps.Ferguson was joined by Brett D’Oliveira, a century maker in last week’s game at Cardiff, and he cut Rampaul for four after the West Indies paceman changed ends.Worcestershire reached 245 for 6 by lunch with Ferguson unbeaten on 126 but he added only one more after the resumption. Hudson-Prentice ended his fine knock by trapping him lbw. Ferguson’s six-hour innings contained 20 boundaries and came off 267 balls.D’Oliveira made an accomplished 30 before he was lbw to Palladino and the innings was quickly cleaned up thereafter. Dillon Pennington fell lbw to Rampaul for a duck and Joe Leach holed out to mid on off Palladino.

Their 120-run stand came at a run-rate of over 7.50 to overcome the 255-run target more than two overs to spare

The Report by Sreshth Shah14-Aug-20197:04

Ganga: Iyer’s batting is getting people to take notice of him

35-over match West Indies needed a win to share the three-match series 1-1. Their single biggest opportunity to take a step towards victory came in the sixth over of the second innings, when Virat Kohli, only on 11, inside-edged a flick to Shai Hope, only for the wicketkeeper to drop the catch.Had the catch off Keemo Paul been taken, India would have been 45 for 2 – chasing a revised target of 255 in 35 overs in a rain-affected match – with both Rohit Sharma and Kohli back in the pavilion. Instead, Kohli settled in and presented West Indies no further chances. Eventually, India cruised to a six-wicket win, clinching the series 2-0 with 15 balls to spare.By no means was it all about Kohli. Shreyas Iyer, for the second game in a row, scored a half-century from No. 5, and helped put India back on track after they had lost Shikhar Dhawan and Rishabh Pant in the same over to slip to 92 for 3. India needed 164 from 134 balls at that stage, and Iyer put on 120 off just 94 balls with Kohli to ensure India were always in touch with the required rate.Just as he had done in the second ODI, Iyer was fluent from the start, and the shots he played took the pressure off Kohli. Once he settled, Iyer broke free with successive sixes off Allen, and followed up with another off Roston Chase in the next over. From the other end, Kohli mauled Jason Holder for consecutive fours and punished Paul with an inside-out drive through the covers.Iyer reached his half-century off just 33 balls, before holing out to long-off while looking for another six in the 29th over. By then, his 41-ball 65 and his partnership with Kohli had brought the equation down to only 43 runs off 40 deliveries.Kohli was flawless after the dropped chance. After the fall of Dhawan and Pant, he let Iyer hog the limelight for a while, taking the back seat and cruising towards his half-century. But once he got there, he began dismantling the opposition attack. When Iyer fell in the 29th over, Kohli was already on 89, and he soon reached his 43rd ODI hundred in the 31st over with a flick to deep midwicket. In the same over, he became the first man to score 20,000 international runs in a decade. When Kohli raised his bat, India needed just 18 off four overs, and he and Kedar Jadhav didn’t take too much longer to bring the curtains down on a rain-hit ODI series.After opting to bat first, West Indies rode on a 115-run stand between openers Chris Gayle and Evin Lewis to finish on 240 for 7 in their 35 overs. West Indies could have made even more, given that they had rattled along at more than 11 an over in the first third of their innings, but wickets and rain delays slowed them down.Before this game, Gayle had scored 11 runs in 55 balls in this ODI series. But he showed very early that his tempo would be very different in this series finale.The number 301 – his ODI count – had replaced the famous 45 on the back of his jersey, and murmurs began that this could be Gayle’s final ODI. While there was no confirmation of this, Gayle batted as if this were a celebration of his career, smacking eight fours and five sixes in a 41-ball innings, scoring 86% of his runs in boundaries, and ending up with a strike rate north of 175.Another day…another landmark for Virat Kohli•Associated Press

Either side of a 15-minute rain break, Mohammed Shami faced the brunt of Gayle’s hitting. Length balls were swatted over the bowler’s head or through midwicket, and fuller balls lifted over cover. After the end of a 20-run sixth over, West Indies were already at 49.It wasn’t just Gayle who was finding the sweet spot, as Lewis looted runs off the other two seamers, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Khaleel Ahmed. Lewis was quick to spot Bhuvneshwar’s change-ups in the fifth and seventh overs, and both times swatted the ball into the second tier. One hit a pillar so hard that it ricocheted back onto the ground. After nine overs, West Indies were 97 for no loss. This after they had begun with a maiden.Gayle reached his half-century in the tenth over, acknowledged by a sparse Port-of-Spain crowd that had been awoken by the kind of batting that West Indies had been missing through this series. Clearing his front leg, Gayle hammered a full delivery from Khaleel over midwicket to bring up his 54th ODI half-century, and followed it up with an audacious one-handed six next ball over long leg. Four came off the next ball, over mid-off, and West Indies ended the 10th over at 114 for 0.With the first Powerplay done Virat Kohli brought on Yuzvendra Chahal, and he struck immediately, with Lewis top-edging a slog to long-on. It was another ‘what-if’ innings from Lewis, to follow up his 65* and 40 in the first two matches.The dismissal did not seem to slow Gayle down, as he smacked Khaleel for another four in the next over, past point, but he fell next ball, making room to hit Khaleel down the ground, but failing to find the elevation, and finding a diving Kohli at mid-off. Gayle left to hand-shakes from the India fielders and a jig with Kohli.Assisted by an outfield that had slowed down thanks to the rain, India managed to plug the flow of boundaries. And when Jadhav completed the game’s 22nd over, the rain returned, sending the teams off the field for another three hours.When the teams returned at 2.35pm local time, West Indies suddenly had only 13 overs left, with eight wickets in hand. Shimron Hetmyer and Shai Hope fell trying to up the run rate, the former foxed by a slower ball from Shami and the latter bowled trying to cut Ravindra Jadeja off the stumps.Nicholas Pooran pulled Chahal in the 29th over to infuse life into the crowd, and slog-sweept Jadeja twice over cow corner, before falling for 30 off 16 balls, chipping Shami to long-on. West Indies then took 15 off the last over, bowled by Khaleel, and went into the break with momentum behind them.. Kohli and Iyer, however, ensured they couldn’t convert it into anything more substantial.