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Team’s remarkable march towards an unlikely title continued as they beat Thunder by six runs

Tristan Lavalette23-Jan-2022Harry Conway bowled a superb final over as Adelaide Strikers’ remarkable late season revival and march towards an unlikely BBL title continued after knocking out Sydney Thunder by six runs in a thriller at the MCG.With Thunder needing 14 runs off the last over, Conway held his nerve and dismissed Alex Ross (56) and Ben Cutting with successive deliveries as Strikers claimed their sixth straight victory.Strikers, who had been bottom two for much of the regular season, play two-time defending champion Sydney Sixers on Wednesday at the SCG with the winner to book a spot in Friday’s final against Perth Scorchers at Marvel Stadium.It was heartbreak for Thunder, who finished third in the regular season and looked on track to chase down Strikers’ 6 for 184 only to fall short.Conway and Siddle star under pressureIn-form Strikers had beaten Hobart Hurricanes in a sudden-death final on Friday but this proved much more difficult against Thunder’s imposing batting order. For the first time since he departed late in the season, star spinner Rashid Khan was desperately missed with his replacement Fawad Ahmed wicketless.Strikers appeared to have no answers to Ross and Jason Sangha (61), who got Thunder within 39 runs before ageless Peter Siddle inspired a comeback in the 17th over. He removed Sangha and then Daniel Sams to thwart Thunder, who hit back thanks to some lusty blows from Cutting.It came down to the final over delivered by Conway, who was under pressure when Ross hit a boundary off the third ball. But Conway proved the hero to conjure a famous Strikers victory as their stunning resurgence continued.Jason Sangha smashes one down the ground during his 43-ball 61•Cricket Australia via Getty Images

Thunder fall short amid contentious Khawaja dismissalFor chunks of the season, especially when they peeled off a six-match winning streak, Thunder looked like genuine title contenders so they will be frustrated to fall at this hurdle.Even though they lost Alex Hales in the third over, Thunder remained on course with their hopes largely resting on captain Usman Khawaja and Sangha, who hit three gorgeous boundaries in his first five deliveries.But the match turned in the seventh over when Khawaja sliced to a forward diving Fawad at short third man with the fielder claiming the catch. Replays appeared to show the ball hitting some turf before going into Fawad’s fingers but the third umpire believed there was not enough evidence to overturn the soft signal.A stunned Khawaja trudged back and a shaken Thunder had to regroup quickly. They did exactly that with Sangha and Ross, who found form after two successive ducks, expertly working the ball around the MCG’s vast expanses. But it wasn’t enough.Cockbain overshadows Test starsIt seemed like déjà vu for Strikers who were following their successful formula against Hurricanes after electing to bat. Alex Carey and Matthew Short appeared set to replicate their match-winning century partnership last start as they once again got off to a flier.Carey was in a belligerent mood but his dismissal on 23 halted Strikers as Short departed then so too Travis Head, who has mustered just eight runs across two games since his return from his outstanding Ashes.Strikers were in danger of falling away but No. 3 Ian Cockbain steadied the ship with a superb 38-ball 65 to again prove why the 34-year-old has been the find of this BBL season after recently being plucked out of suburban cricket in Melbourne.He couldn’t quite be there at the death but his innings proved vital and lifted Strikers to a total that was just enough.Sams’ blinder brightens ragged ThunderSams has enjoyed another stellar season but things were unravelling for him early at the MCG. He came on during the four-over powerplay only to be belted for 19 runs and worse was to follow when he dropped big-hitter Short on 15 after misjudging a skier.But a seething Sams made up for all of that with a blinder to dismiss Carey, where he leapt backwards on the midwicket boundary to pull off one of the best catches of the tournament.It sparked Thunder as frontline spinner Tanveer Sangha (4-0-15-2) tied down Strikers in the middle overs with skiddy bowling to change the momentum. But an otherwise ragged Thunder couldn’t finish the job with their seamers struggling and sloppy fielding undoing Sangha’s earlier brilliance.It would eventually prove costly.

The presence of a number of Karnataka players and Kumble in the Kings XI camp spices up this contest

Karthik Krishnaswamy23-Sep-20207:55

Moody: Mujeeb would add a lot to Kings XI’s attack

Big picture

On the eve of the IPL’s opening match, the Royal Challengers Bangalore released a new anthem, which triggered a social-media backlash from fans who were angry that most of its lyrics were in Hindi rather than Kannada, the official language of Karnataka, the state the team is based in.Apart from a handful of exceptions over the years, IPL teams have represented their local geographies in only the most tenuous of ways, and it’s made little difference, by and large, to the fans who support them. The irony of the Royal Challengers Bangalore squad containing only two Karnataka players usually goes unnoticed and unmentioned. But over recent seasons, one match-up has heightened the irony enough to make it a talking point.KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, K Gowtham and J Suchith all play for Karnataka and for Kings XI Punjab, whose coach, Anil Kumble, is arguably Karnataka’s greatest-ever cricketer. Apart from all the cricketing subplots of Thursday’s game, therefore, there’s also Royal Challengers versus Karnataka to keep in mind.To the teams themselves, only the cricketing subplots will matter. Two of them could be of particular importance. Do the Royal Challengers have enough lower-order firepower to remove the inhibitions of their top order, and if so, do the top-order batsmen trust that lower order enough? Do Kings XI have a death-bowling problem, and do they have solutions for it within their squad?

In the news

Chris Morris didn’t feature in the Royal Challengers’ opening game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, and their director of cricket operations Mike Hesson has clarified that the South African allrounder was nursing a side strain. He hoped Morris would be fit to play “in a game or two”, so it remains to be seen if he features against Kings XI.

Likely XIs

Kings XI Punjab: 1 KL Rahul (capt & wk), 2 Mayank Agarwal, 3 Karun Nair, 4 Nicholas Pooran, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Sarfaraz Khan, 7 K Gowtham, 8 Chris Jordan, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Sheldon Cottrell.Royal Challengers Bangalore: 1 Devdutt Padikkal, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 AB de Villiers, 5 Josh Philippe (wk)/Moeen Ali, 6 Shivam Dube/Gurkeerat Singh Mann, 7 Washington Sundar, 8 Dale Steyn. 9 Umesh Yadav, 10 Navdeep Saini, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal.KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal, two of the many Karnataka boys in the Kings XI Punjab team•BCCI

Strategy punt

The Royal Challengers’ use of Yuzvendra Chahal could revolve around where Glenn Maxwell bats. In all T20 cricket, Chahal has dismissed Maxwell five times in eight innings, while conceding 80 runs off 52 balls.ALSO SEE: Kings XI Punjab v Royal Challengers Bangalore live score 24 September 2020Ravi Bishnoi made an impressive IPL debut against the Capitals, tying down Rishabh Pant with his wrong’uns delivered from over the wicket and veering away from the left-hander’s hitting arc. The same weapon could come in handy against a right-hand batsman in Thursday’s game. In all T20 games since the start of 2018, Kohli has been dismissed by the googly three times in 32 balls, while only scoring 40 runs off them. Kohli’s strike rate against the legbreak (130.2) isn’t too worrying either if Kings XI want to deploy Bishnoi against him.

Stats that matter

Since the start of the 2019 season, the Royal Challengers (11.4) and Kings XI (10.5) have boasted two of the three worst death-overs (16-20) economy rates in the IPL, sandwiching the Kolkata Knight Riders (10.8). It clearly remains an issue for Kings XI – whose last three overs against the Delhi Capitals went for 57 runs – while the Royal Challengers didn’t have that facet of their game tested in their opening game thanks to the Sunrisers’ spectacular collapse.Kings XI’s death-overs issues could come into even sharper focus against the Royal Challengers, three of whose batsmen – Virat Kohli (216.42), AB de Villiers (215.67) and Moeen Ali (215.09) – are among the top five batsmen overall since the start of 2019 (minimum 200 runs) in terms of T20 strike rates in that phase.Two of those three batsmen, however, have lately been scoring slowly in the overs leading up to the slog. Since the start of the 2019 season, de Villiers (129.14) and Kohli (120.14) have low strike rates in the middle overs (7-15) of IPL matches. In that phase, Kohli has only hit boundaries once every 12.2 balls. Moeen (158.20), however, has a healthy middle-overs strike rate, and this could prompt the Royal Challengers to pick him ahead of Josh Philippe.Among all batsmen with at least 200 runs in the middle overs since 2019, Mayank Agarwal (151.74) has the second-best strike rate in that phase behind Jonny Bairstow (157.04). KL Rahul is fifth at 138.69.Rahul needs two runs to complete 2000 in the IPL. If he gets there in Thursday’s game, he will have done so in his 60th innings, becoming the third-quickest to the mark behind Chris Gayle (48) and Shaun Marsh (52) and the quickest Indian ahead of Sachin Tendulkar (63).Dale Steyn is three wickets away from 100 in the IPL.Kings XI is Yuzvendra Chahal’s favourite opponent in the IPL when it comes to wicket-taking. He’s taken 19 against them at an average of 16.0 and a strike rate of 12.4, though his economy rate of 7.8 is worse than it is against the Rajasthan Royals (5.7) and the Chennai Super Kings (6.9).

Afghanistan have beaten West Indies thrice in their last four completed matches. Can they add another win to their kitty?

The Preview by Shashank Kishore03-Jul-20194:30

Ganga: A bit surprised that WI didn’t invest in Pooran earlier

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Fifteen months ago, Afghanistan and West Indies faced off in the finals of the World Cup Qualifiers in Harare. It was a landmark day in Afghanistan’s young cricketing history as they toppled the two-time World Cup winners to make a statement that they deserved to be here.Unfortunately, the only statement that the world seems to remember from their 2019 campaign is Gulbadin Naib’s ” (we are already drowned darling, but we’ll take you with us) quip ahead of the match against Bangladesh.Beyond that, of course, there are those who would say they should have beaten India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. In each of those games, their lack of experience and poor tactics were exposed. However, the bigger question still stares at them: did they give themselves the best chance to compete? Should they have tinkered with their leadership?Then, there was also the controversy over Mohammad Shahzad’s injury even as the wicketkeeper-batsman claimed to be a victim of board politics. Public differences between the sacked selection committee chief and outgoing head coach Phil Simmons haven’t helped them either. Now in their final game, they would want to give Simmons a fitting farewell.For West Indies, this World Cup promised much more. Their battery of young players – Shai Hope, Nicholas Pooran and Shimron Hetmyer – are being hailed as some of the best talent to emerge in recent times. Chris Gayle wanted it to be his swansong, Andre Russell brought with him the threat that made him IPL’s MVP. Shannon Gabriel’s fire, Oshane Thomas’ pace and Jason Holder’s bounce brought with it a fine fast-bowling cocktail.They had Australia tottering at 38 for 4, posted 300 plus against Bangladesh, came within one blow of victory against New Zealand and then squandered a winning position against Sri Lanka. How could it all go wrong? It’s a question they would do well to answer, although they will be the first to admit that they have underachieved. Ahead of their flight back for a home series against India, they’d want to carry back some happy memories.

Form guide

West Indies:LLLLL (Last five completed matches, most recent first)

Afghanistan:LLLLLGetty Images

In the spotlight

Not too many selection committees gamble on a batsman with just one ODI under his belt ahead of a World Cup. Yet, as they leave, Nicholas Pooran‘s batting has been among the biggest positives for West Indies. His 118 against Sri Lanka is the highest by a West Indies player this World Cup. He’s the only West Indies batsman to average above 40 this tournament. Against Sri Lanka, he fell with his side needing 31 in three overs. If he gets into a similar situation, he’d be itching to finish it off and prove it to be his next step of learning.Gulbadin Naib may have well replayed the 46th over against Pakistan many times over in his head. He’d perhaps do things differently if he could warp back in a time machine. Could he have bowled Samiullah Shinwari? Would that have left Pakistan needing 18 or 20 off the final over? Could they have won? Now, Naib has a final opportunity to leave his mark on the world stage.

Team news

Kemar Roach trained full-tilt, a hint that he could be back for West Indies. Hamid Hasan’s injury for Afghanistan could mean a debut for left-arm medium pacer Sayed Shirzad.West Indies (probable): 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Sunil Ambris, 3 Shai Hope (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, 5 Nicholas Pooran, 6 Jason Holder (capt), 7 Carlos Brathwaite, 8 Fabian Allen, 9 Sheldon Cottrell, 10 Oshane Thomas, 11 Kemar RoachAfghanistan: (probable): 1 Rahmat Shah, 2 Gulbadin Naib (capt), 3 Hashmatullah Shahidi 4 Ikram Alikhil (wk), 5 Asghar Afghan, 6 Mohammad Nabi, 7 Rashid Khan, 8 Najibullah Zadran, 8 Samiullah Shenwari, 10 Mujeeb Ur Rahman, 11 Sayed Shirzad

Pitch and conditions

Forecast is for a bright start, with cloud cover and possibly some rain towards the evening. This could make the toss tricky. Do you then play for DLS or go with the tried-and-tested mantra of batting first, batting big and choking the opponents? As such, both sides have chased poorly. They may as well bat first when the surface is at its best.

Strategy punt

• Three matches at No. 5, five games at No. 6. Afghanistan haven’t maximised Mohammad Nabi’s utility. Branding him a finisher has meant he’s largely batted when games have all been decided, the India clash being an exception. They need to find a way to slot him a spot higher.
• Gayle isn’t comfortable against spin upfront. Not if the bowler at the other end is Mujeeb Ur Rahman. Remember the qualifier final last year? A googly that drew him forward, only to rip away and crash into the stumps. Since then, of course, Gayle and Mujeeb have been team-mates at the IPL. Can Afghanistan look to play on his ego once again?

Stats and trivia

• Sheldon Cottrell’s seven wickets are the most for a bowler inside the first 10 overs this World Cup
• Afghanistan have used five opening pairs, the most by any team this tournament
• West Indies average 11.1 for the first wicket, the lowest among all teams
• Mujeeb’s economy rate of 4.3 is the best among spinners who have bowled at least 20 overs

The chief selector says the decision to omit Fawad Alam was based purely on merit

Umar Farooq16-Apr-2018Unfazed by the severe criticism concerning the omission of batsman Fawad Alam, chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq insisted he has seen “better players in the last three years”. He has been passed over for national selection, and this time, it ignited nationwide anger.Alam’s selection – or lack thereof – has been an enigma for years. Despite the mounds of runs he accumulates year upon year in domestic cricket – his average in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy over the past four years has been 40.71, 55.54, 56 and 71.90 – the left-hander has been overlooked for Tests by various selection committees and captains over the past eight years. He made his Test debut in 2009, scoring 168, and played a further Test against New Zealand later that year, but was subsequently dropped, and hasn’t played Test cricket since. During the intervening years, he made it into the limited-overs squads occasionally and went on to play 38 ODIs and 24 T20Is until 2015. But it is Test cricket he is best suited to, his average in the first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy consistently well over 50.He was called up by Inzamam among the 25 probables in the fitness camp ahead of the Ireland and England tour, only to be overlooked yet again.”Fawad Alam is an outstanding player but in the last three years there are others at the top of the list,” Inzamam told ESPNcricinfo. “We got him here in the nets but we found Saad Ali to be better, and the decision to prefer Saad was unanimous, with input from all the coaching staff and captain. Fawad is a good player and we obviously can’t ignore his career average; that is why he was brought into the camp. During my tenure, I have given 12 to 14 players an opportunity and none of them have disappointed us. If you look back in the past three seasons, there are players who have scored more runs than Fawad Alam.”Dropping any player doesn’t mean we are disregarding them. It’s easy to pick players following scorecards or statistics, but there are many more things we take into consideration. I am not sure why Fawad wasn’t picked in the past before me but if you ask me about my tenure as chief selector, I have seen better players.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Alam was last picked in a Test squad in 2015 that played three matches against England, but he never made it into the playing XI. He sat out for several years because of a settled middle order comprising Misbah-ul-Haq, Sarfraz Ahmed, Younis Khan and Asad Shafiq. But with the exit of Misbah and Younis, Alam’s prospects looked bright. Instead, the selectors opted to bring in younger players , recalling left-hand batsman Harris Sohail, investing in Sami Aslam, and now Usman Salahuddin and Saad Ali – who scored 957 runs at an average of 68.35 in last year’s Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.”I am not taking away anything from Fawad, as he has scored a lot of runs in domestic cricket at a great average. When there is a competition, some players get left out, but that doesn’t mean their career ends there,” Inzamam said. “We haven’t ignored him, we have actually given an opportunity to a few others we thought were more suited to English conditions. Last season, we had tough bowling conditions in the QeA, and Saad Ali was a stand-out performer, and that is why he was preferred. I have spoken to Fawad on many occasions and given him the confidence to keep on working hard.”I know people are very critical about his non-selection but we need to see things in perspective. People have expectations and they want to see their team win every game which brings a lot of responsibility on us. I have nothing against any player. We have a responsibility and what is important is we do not fail it. We must select players on merit. I am lucky that most of my picks so far are paying off well, and we now have a bigger pool of players.”Talk of merit invariably raises the uncomfortable topic of Imam-ul-Haq in the team. Imam is Inzamam’s nephew, and his selection for the tour of England raised eyebrows, particularly because he had a slightly worse average than Alam in the 2016-17 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, the last season both of them played the competition together. Imam was, however, the third-highest run-scorer that year in the competition, and was picked for the ODI series against Sri Lanka, and ended up scoring a century on debut.”Picking Imam is a tough decision but this is one decision I didn’t take,” Inzamam said. “People might be cynical about this but the head coach [Mickey Arthur], batting coach [Grant Flower] and other selectors made the decision to select Imam. I am the part of the discussion group, but I didn’t say anything about it. The report given by trainers and coaches about him showed a significant improvement in his skill and fitness levels. He was already in the system even before my becoming selector, so associating me shouldn’t be a point of discussion.”

Australia’s performances in some of the practice matches on previous tours would have highlighted a few lessons for Darren Lehmann to follow, chief among them resilience on the field and in selections

Daniel Brettig16-Feb-2017As he surveys Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium on the eve of Australia’s warm-up match against India A, there is a chance Darren Lehmann is casting his mind back to the first time he played at the ground. In the equivalent fixture on Australia’s 1998 visit – their first full tour of India in 12 years – Lehmann was one of 10 Australian fielders held spellbound by a ferocious Sachin Tendulkar double-century.Tendulkar led the local XI, and chose the occasion to strike the first blow in a battle he would ultimately win comfortably against the Australians in general and Shane Warne in particular. There was nothing subtle about the way Tendulkar took to Warne, hammering the visitors’ most accomplished bowler to such an extent that he finished the innings with the ugly figures of 0 for 111 from 16 overs.The awestruck Australians proceeded to stumble to an unexpected defeat, leaving their captain Mark Taylor to realise that the calculated assault on Warne had set the scene for a difficult and unsuccessful tour.”Warney’s a bit like all of us,” Taylor said at the time, “we need to improve. I think they’d be his worst figures in his first-class career. You don’t need me to tell you he’s been a great bowler for a number of years, but it shows that if you don’t bowl well and a side attacks you, you can go for runs.”Certainly Tendulkar did not look back, using the Mumbai platform to launch into one of his greatest Test hundreds in Chennai, before the entire Indian batting line-up laid waste to Warne at Eden Gardens. The episode is the most celebrated but far from the only example of Australian spin bowlers being targeted early in an India tour, building doubts in the minds of bowlers, team-mates and even selectors.Trevor Hohns and Darren Lehmann will have to be wary of second-guessing their selections, even as Australia’s spinners will have to respond effectively when they come under attack from India•Getty Images

A decade later, Bryce McGain pulled out of Australia’s India tour party due to a shoulder injury on the eve of a warm-up fixture in Hyderabad. McGain’s misfortune left Jason Krejza as the only full-time spin bowler on tour, a likely debutant in the first Test, and with a big target on his back for an invitational batting line-up featuring a young Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Yuvraj Singh.What followed was another calculated mauling of the spin bowler by batsmen fleet of foot and aggressive of intent. Krejza, feeling the pressure, dropped repeatedly short, and was brutalised to such an extent that he returned the figures of 0-199 from 31 overs, spread across two innings.It was a return that troubled the selectors to such an extent that they summarily ruled Krejza out of the first Test. Then chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch was on duty in Hyderabad and offered a simple verdict down the phone to the rest of the panel back home: “We can’t pick him; they have absolutely slaughtered him in the tour game.”Instead, the tourists opted to include the Victorian captain Cameron White, flown in to replace McGain despite barely bowling his skiddy leg breaks in the Sheffield Shield the previous season. White was ineffective, Krejza unwanted. when the selectors finally decided to give Krejza a belated chance in the final Test, he harvested 12 (albeit expensive) wickets, posing a far greater threat than others had done before him.These lessons have hopefully not been forgotten by Lehmann, nor by the spin bowlers likely to feature in Mumbai over the next three days. Steve O’Keefe, Nathan Lyon, Ashton Agar and Mitch Swepson can expect to be attacked, and will need to be ready to respond effectively rather than thinking in purely practice mode.Likewise, the captain Steven Smith and the selectors on duty in Lehmann and Trevor Hohns should be wary of second-guessing themselves on the basis of a warm-up fixture. Perceived threats will be attacked by the hosts, in the hope of spinning the visitors off their axis. Resilience will be required, both with the ball and at the selection table.

A round-up of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy games played on January 18, 2016

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jan-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo: Deepak Hooda’s 35-ball 53 kept Baroda’s chase on track until the 17th over•ICC

Baroda survived three wickets in the penultimate over of their chase and managed to knock Mumbai out with a slender one-wicket win to book a final berth with a marginally better net run rate. Baroda’s pursuit of 152 was led by Deepak Hooda’s 35-ball 53 until the 17th over before Sagar Trivedi struck twice in the 19th over, which was followed by a run-out, and Bhargav Bhatt eventually sealed it with a four on his first ball. Baroda, level with Mumbai on points after the win, ended with a run rate of 0.299 compared to Mumbai’s 0.196.Dhawal Kulkarni dismissed Kedar Devdhar on the first ball of Baroda’s chase and Pravin Tambe got rid of Mrunal Devdhar (18) and Hardik Pandya (28) before they could capitalise on their quick starts. Hooda’s fifty steered them well past 100 with the help of five fours and a six before Yusuf Pathan (1) and Hooda fell within six balls and Baroda were 126 for 6, still needing 26 from 23 balls. Pinal Shah struck two fours to bring it down to a comfortable nine runs from the last two overs, but Trivedi’s double blow made it a tense chase again. He struck twice in three balls and Rishi Arothe was run-out on his first ball, to make the score 149 for 9, but Bhatt finished things off with six balls to spare.Earlier, Mumbai were put in to bat and saw low scores from their top-order batsmen, except Shashank Singh’s 23-ball 25. Shreyas Iyer, Aditya Tare and Siddhesh Lad could score only 20 runs together and they were reeling at 49 for 4 after Bhatt removed Shashank and Lad on consecutive deliveries, before the middle and lower order came to the rescue. Suryakumar Yadav (57*) first put on 47 runs in six overs with Abhishek Nayar, and then another 55 runs in under six overs with Shivam Dubey to help them put on a respectable score, but it didn’t prove to be enough.
ScorecardUttar Pradesh will face Baroda in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final after completing their eighth win on the trot, by beating Delhi by three wickets at the Bandra-Kurla Complex in Mumbai.Chasing 159, UP were reduced to 68 for 5 in the 11th over with twin-strikes from medium-pacer Navdeep Saini. Left-arm spinner Manan Sharma got the important wicket of Suresh Raina in the seventh over, for 22, after the batsman had struck four fours. Eklavya Dwivedi then took control of the chase with an unbeaten 49 from 35. He partnered with Praveen Kumar (18 off 13) to add 40 runs for the seventh wicket, after which he shared an unbroken 31-run stand with Amit Mishra (19 off nine) to take UP home with two balls to spare. Dwivedi smacked five fours and two sixes during his knock.Put in to bat, Delhi were hauled to 158 for 6 by opener Unmukt Chand’s 35-ball 48 and No. 7 Pawan Negi’s unbeaten 41 from 23. Delhi were 95 for 5 in the 14th over after their top and middle order was dented mainly by the spinners. Medium-pacer Amit Mishra removed Gautam Gambhir for 13 and Piyush Chawla and Kuldeep Yadav took two each before Mishra also dismissed Chand in the 12th over, and soon Delhi were 105 for 6 in the 15th over. But Negi’s late surge lifted them in the death overs. He paired with Manan Sharma to add an unbeaten 53 in the last 5.1 overs to take them past 150.
ScorecardJharkhand slumped to their third straight loss as Gujarat strolled to a six-wicket win, hunting down the target of 143 with 35 balls to spare, in Mumbai. Gujarat chose to bowl, and their bowlers gained the ascendancy with early wickets. Jharkhand lost three wickets and struggled to find the boundaries in the first 10 overs, which yielded 52 runs.However, the middle order – Saurabh Tiwary (22), Ishank Jaggi (39) and Kumar Deobrat (21) – provided the required acceleration with brisk cameos. The last 10 overs produced 90 runs as Jharkhand finished with 142 for 6. Rush Kalaria picked up two wickets while RP Singh produced figures of 1 for 20 in his four overs.In the chase, openers Parthiv Patel and Priyank Kirit Panchal got quickly into their stride. The pair added 26 in 18 balls before Parthiv was bowled off the bowling of Vikash Singh. Manpreet Juneja and Panchal then combined for a 58-run stand, before both fell in quick succession.However, Gujarat’s middle order’s quickfire contributions – all struck at a strike rate of over 200 – helped them romp to the target in 14.1 overs. Kaushal Singh claimed two scalps, but all the Jharkhand bowlers lacked economy.

Asad Baig’s allround efforts helped Habib Bank Limited to a six-wicket victory over State Bank of Pakistan in a low scoring encounter

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jul-2013
ScorecardAsad Baig bowled miserly and led from the front with the bat•PCB

Asad Baig’s allround efforts helped Habib Bank Limited beat State Bank of Pakistan by six wickets in a low-scoring encounter in Karachi. SBP won the toss and elected to bat, but got off to a horror start, losing their first three wickets for just seven runs on the board, thanks to a double-strike from opening fast bowler Ehsan Adil.A 37-run stand for the fourth wicket looked promising, but Rameez Raja was caught by Kamran Hussain off Baig’s bowling for 26. SBP would lose two more wickets with the score on 68, before finding themselves in the unenviable position of 79 for 7. Rizwan Haider and Hasan Mahmood fought valiantly to push the team to 106 for 7. Adil and Baig finished with two wickets a piece.Despite a double-wicket blow in the second over rendering Habib Bank 5 for 2, the chase was largely uneventful. Baig stroked a 21-ball 27 to give impetus to the innings, while Behram Khan supported him ably in their 33-run partnership for the third wicket. Hasan Raza later joined Behram in a 48-run stand to effectively take the game away from SBP. Humayun Farhat hit an 8-ball 20, including two sixes at the end to finish off the game in the 18th over, handing Habib Bank a six-wicket victory.

On a day that began with Pakistan needing to bat positively to set a competitive target, Sri Lanka surged ahead with a strong chance of winning the series 2-0

The Report by Siddhartha Talya11-Jul-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Pakistan showed how tough a challenge coming from behind in a Test can prove. Even though they erased the deficit of 111 runs with relative ease, their position in the match was never secure. Even in conditions in which the assistance to bowlers had reduced drastically, the Pakistan batsmen struggled to perform collectively. Azhar Ali’s solid, determined century was the glue that held their innings together, but even he, despite having batted over six hours and taken the lead past 150, was not immune against a seemingly harmless delivery that got him out. On a day that began with Pakistan needing to bat positively to set a competitive target, Sri Lanka moved ahead with a good chance of winning the series 2-0, though a test against a strong bowling attack awaits them.Dilhara Fernando, in and out of the side for the past 12 years and currently on his 17th comeback, bowled quick, varied his lengths, slipped in his split-finger slower balls as well as accurate yorkers. But a couple of unlikely candidates for wicket-taking deliveries broke two fluent partnerships that looked good for more. A full and wide delivery prompted Mohammad Hafeez to chase it after adding 94 with Ali, only to land safely in the hands of the slip fielder. A short and wide delivery that kept a little low produced a slash, and a fatal edge, from Ali after a century-stand with Asad Shafiq, removing the biggest obstacle between Sri Lanka and a chaseable target.While Fernando delivered against the flow, en route to his 100th Test wicket, left-arm spinner Rangana Herath accounted for Pakistan’s two most experienced batsmen, forcing the settled Ali to restrain himself and focus on rebuilding and damage control instead of stepping up the scoring in an effort to level the series.

Smart stats

• Azhar Ali’s century is his fourth in Tests and third against Sri Lanka. However, he failed to surpass his highest score of 157 which he has achieved on two occasions against Sri Lanka (SSC in the previous Test) and England in Dubai.

• Azhar now has 17 fifty-plus second-innings scores by Pakistan batsmen against Sri Lanka. Five of the top six scores have come in Tests in Sri Lanka.

• Dilhara Fernando became only the fifth Sri Lankan bowler to pick up 100 wickets in Tests. He now has 100 wickets at 37.75 with three five-fors.

• Rangana Herath became the third Sri Lankan bowler after Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas to pick up 100 wickets in home Tests. Herath now has 102 wickets at 26.74 with eight five-fors.

• Herath also became the second Sri Lankan bowler and the 11th overall to reach the 50-wicket mark against Pakistan. He averages 31.07 and has two five-fors in Tests against Pakistan.

• The 100-run stand between Azhar and Asad Shafiq is the seventh fifth-wicket century partnership for Pakistan against Sri Lanka. Three of these have come in the team second innings.

• Prasanna Jayawardene went past Romesh Kaluwitharana to go second on the list of Sri Lankan wicketkeepers with the most dismissals. Kumar Sangakkara is on top with 144 dismissals.

Herath hardly got any turn until much later in the day, and was often met with batsmen charging out to him, defending, working it around and, in the case of Ali, driving him comfortably through extra cover. Younis Khan tried the same one ball after a 48-run stand with Ali, but failed to get to the pitch of a flat delivery; the ball scraped the thumb and lobbed up before silly point to be taken smartly by an alert Tharanga Paranavitana. Misbah-ul-Haq showed some intent straightaway, attempting a slog-sweep second ball. But when he tried to drive a loopy delivery from Herath, he edged to slip and departed for just 5.Amid all this, Ali showed a lot of maturity and confidence, having taken the responsibility to anchor the innings. Early in the day, with some movement on offer, he was content leaving deliveries outside off when Nuwan Kulasekara got the odd one to nip away, and adept at playing his preferred inswingers through midwicket and square leg. Extra cover was his favourite area, and he cashed in when allowed the room to free his arms. Kulasekara, Fernando, Mathews and Herath were all punished through that region, even with a deep point in place in the case of the seamers. He was strong down the ground as well, driving Fernando and Thisara Perera for boundaries, but in a hardworking knock, the singles were no less significant. He and Hafeez ran 39 out of 92 this morning in singles, and 40 out of 100 with Shafiq.Shafiq was impressive in his first innings’ 75 in more difficult conditions; he followed it up with another important contribution, and remains key to prolonging Pakistan’s innings and stretching their lead on the final day. If Ali’s strength was the off side, Shafiq continued to be dominant square of the wicket. He wasn’t given the width he got in the first innings, but the straight deliveries were whipped and pulled through square leg and midwicket. With a sound technique and footwork, and the potential to bat long, he and Ali are increasingly showing they can be the future mainstays of Pakistan’s middle order. But having lost Ali, and watched Mohammad Sami, Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal trapped in front in a space of seven overs, he was left battling with an injured Adnan Akmal for company.The highlights for Pakistan on the fourth day promised much for their Test future, but the team was still behind at stumps.Their big hope, yet again, remains a Junaid Khan-led retaliation.

Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, has come out in support of the ICC’s decision to make the Decision Review System mandatory in Tests and ODIs

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jul-2011Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, has come out in support of the ICC’s decision to make the Decision Review System (DRS) mandatory in Tests and ODIs, saying the technology eases the pressure on umpires. Misbah said that he found the system to be helpful whenever Pakistan have used it, including during the World Cup.”From my personal experience, I have found the system very useful and basically it gives the batting and fielding side a second chance, if the umpires have a bad day or decision,” Misbah told . “If you look at it positively it reduces pressures on umpires in tight decisions.”The ICC chief executives’ committee unanimously agreed to make a modified version of the DRS mandatory in all Tests and one-day internationals at the ICC’s annual conference in Hong Kong last month. The mandatory terms and conditions for the DRS that have been recommended to the executive board for approval consist of infra-red cameras and audio-tracking devices. The ball-tracking technology has been removed from the ICC’s original compulsory list of DRS technologies.”I am all for any technology that makes the sport more error-free and gives more options to the competing teams and players,” Misbah said. “Obviously with every new technology there will be hiccups but once the technology gets better, it will be become more effective for teams.”The ICC made a number of other recommendations at their meeting and Misbah was in favour of the proposed changes to the one-day game, such as using two new balls, allowing two bouncers per over and limiting Powerplays between the 16th and 40th overs. “Cricket is a sport and also about entertainment for the people and viewers and anything that can make the game more exciting, I will always welcome it,” he said. “ODIs are a staple diet of cricket and there was a need to bring some innovative changes. As it is the ball had to be changed after 34 overs and it was time bowlers were given more space in limited-overs cricket.”He also said he didn’t think it would be long before Test matches are played under lights with coloured balls. “Day-and-night matches are crowd pullers and the future platform for Tests. To a professional cricketer, five-day Tests mean the real challenge in cricket so it is important that modifications are made for its betterment.”

The captains of Ireland, Canada and Netherlands admitted there is plenty at stake for their sides as the ICC World Cricket League gets underway in Netherlands on July 1

Cricinfo staff30-Jun-2010The captains of Ireland, Canada and Netherlands admitted there is plenty at stake for their sides as the ICC World Cricket League gets underway in Netherlands on July 1. Ireland launch their title defence on the opening day against former champions Kenya, while last year’s runners-up Canada face Afghanistan; the hosts clash with Scotland.Ireland captain Trent Johnston believed the tournament was a good opportunity to launch his side’s World Cup preparations. “I think Phil Simmons and the selectors are pretty happy with the side we have here. I think it is a good opportunity for the players to put themselves forward for a place in next year’s World Cup squad,” Johnston said.”We have probably got five or six of the regulars here and rest of the guys are trying to put themselves up for further selection. We are in sort of a rebuilding stage, I suppose, before the tournament in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.”Johnston also saw the event as a stepping stone for the younger generation of cricketers in his squad. “We have a couple of guys who will be making their debuts, hopefully at some stage during the tournament. Craig Young, Andrew Bilbirnie, George Dockwell and Paul Stirling played in the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand earlier this year. They are now in the senior squad and it is a fantastic achievement for Irish cricket to see these guys developing and making into the senior ranks,” he said.Johnston was eager for Ireland to retain their status as the top Associate side and challenge the top teams. “I just want to keep Ireland at top of the Associate tree and keep knocking at the door of the big boys above us. We were close to beating Australia a couple of weeks ago and if we can take that sort of commitment and ability on the field and put three disciplines together, we have got a very good chance of lifting the trophy again,” he added.Canada captain Ashish Bagai said his side was brimming with confidence ahead of this year’s event. “The 2009 tournament was very important for us as the pressure was obviously higher. We did well and what we can take away from that tournament is the confidence which we can use in this tournament. All the six teams are evenly matched so it is going to be a tough tournament but we believe we have enough gas in our tanks to finish at the top,” Bagai said.Bagai believed the tournament would give him a good idea of his side’s progress in cricket’s pecking order. “This is a very important tournament for us. It’s a milestone and a good checkpoint which we can use to see where we stand and what we need to do in future. It gives us a good time to try out a few youngsters and identify our strengths and weaknesses seven months away from World Cup 2011,” he said.Peter Borren also had the World Cup lead-up in his sights, but nothing short of victory in the WCL Division One would do for the hosts. “It is a home tournament and obviously, at the back of our minds is the World Cup but at this stage the most important thing is to win the tournament,” Borren said.”We have to win games of cricket and let’s try to put 100 overs of quality cricket together. It’s always a challenge and it will be the same for all the teams here. I have no doubt that at times during this tournament we’ll see some fantastic innings played by the Netherlands top six or seven batsmen. I also have no doubts that at times our bowling will be sharp.”It’s very often in cricket that you bat very well but let yourself down a little bit with bowling or fielding or the other way round. It has been a challenge for all the Associate sides to put it together for the whole match and our challenge in this tournament will be to be competitive and consistent match after match,” Borren said.