Category Uncategorized

A round-up of the World Cup warm-up matches played on February 8 in Dubai

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Feb-2011Kenya won their second successive warm-up game, chasing down Ireland‘s 176 despite losing seven wickets in the end at the ICC Global Cricket Academy. Maurice Ouma led the chase with a patient half-century after Seren Waters and David Obuya had given Kenya a quick start, putting on 46 inside nine overs. Andre Botha, who was the pick of the Irish bowlers, dismissed the openers but Ouma found enough support in Collins Obuya and Rakep Patel to take Kenya closer. A clutch of wickets fell towards the end, but Kenya finally closed out the game in the 46th over.The fact that Ireland managed what they did was largely due to Ed Joyce. He rebuilt the innings in the company of the tail after Kenya’s seam attack had run through seven Irish batsmen for 63 runs. Nehemiah Odhiambo, Peter Ongondo, Elijah Otieno and Thomas Odoyo were more than a handful, and despite a steady start at 52 for 2, Ireland lost the next five wickets for 11. But Joyce and Andrew White dug in to take them past 100, and the tail managed to play out all but one of the 50 overs to guide them to 176, which proved too little in the end.After the win against Afghanistan two days ago, this victory will further boost Kenya’s confidence that would have been dented heavily after they lost all five games to sides comprising mostly of age-group players on their recent tour of Indian state Gujarat.Zimbabwe made short work of Netherlands at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, rustling up 249 and then blowing Netherlands away for 134. Brendan Taylor made another half-century at the top of the order, and there were also useful contributions from Tatenda Taibu and Regis Chakabva. But Mudassar Bukhari and Bernard Loots took some quick wickets as Zimbabwe slipped to 158 for 7 at one stage. Graeme Cremer responded with a run-a-ball 42, and together with Prosper Utseya and Shingirai Masakadza took Zimbabwe to the brink of 250.Chris Mpofu and Elton Chigumbura tore through Netherlands after Ed Rainsford had provided an early breakthrough, taking six wickets between them. Netherlands lost regular wickets and were never in the game, getting bowled out for 134 in the 34th over. Opener Alexei Kervezee’s 33 was the highest score for them. Bukhari hammered two sixes in his 28 and Bradley Kruger three fours in his 22, but there was not much else to cheer about.Afghanistan shot out Canada for 105, and then chased down the target with more than 26 overs to spare in Dubai. Hamid Hassan, the Afghanistan captain, and Shapoor Zadran almost ended the match as a contest soon after Canada chose to bat, sending back half the side with eight runs on the board. But Khurram Chohan and Jimmy Hansra stuck in to make twenties, and Balaji Rao and Harvir Baidwan took Canada just past 100. Mirwais Ashraf ensured Canada didn’t have too much of a recovery, taking 4 for 39.Canada’s bowlers tried gamely, but there weren’t enough runs to defend. Asghar Stanikzai made a quick 27, and the others chipped in as Afghanistan won comfortably with five wickets remaining.

The manner in which Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla pulled their side from a position of total disarray to one of strength on the first day in Nagpur, underlined the way they have evolved as Test batsmen in the last few years

S Aga06-Feb-2010It’s one of cricket’s great mysteries that Jacques Kallis, with his impeccable technique, never mastered English conditions. He made a century on his first tour in 1998, but the returns since, diminished alarmingly. In 2008, he arrived in the old country firmly established as one of the greats of the modern game, and proceeded to have the sort of tour that has ended careers. Apart from a 64 at Edgbaston, he never managed to exceed 13, and there were more than a few English columnists who reckoned that the end was nigh.Hashim Amla started that series with a match-saving century at Lord’s, but then lost his rhythm as South Africa seized control in Headingley and Birmingham. He too had bad memories of the English. Back in 2004-05, after a nervous debut in India, he made just 36 runs in Durban and Cape Town. Stephen Harmison, Simon Jones, Matthew Hoggard and Andrew Flintoff were at the peak of their powers and Amla, groomed for leadership from the time he was at Durban Boys’ High School, found them too hot to handle. “Too much, too soon,” said the wiser heads. “Quota player”, whispered the cynics.Being dropped after the victory at Newlands was the best thing that could have happened to him. Had he been part of the side annihilated home and away by Australia a year later, a fledging career might have ended with broken dreams of flight. Instead, he went back to the Dolphins, smoothed out some of the rougher edges in his game, and returned determined to prove the doubters wrong. The 149 at Newlands against New Zealand sent him on his way, and he’s seldom had to look back since.The last two years have been especially productive, with five centuries in 22 Tests and an average of 51.69. His solidity at what is perhaps the most crucial position in the batting order has also freed Kallis to play with a freedom that few associated with his game. After that disastrous trip to England, Kallis arrived in Australia – another unhappy hunting ground till then – with much to do to rebuild his reputation. And though it is the names of Graeme Smith, AB de Villiers and JP Duminy that are initially recalled when people talk of that remarkable run chase at the WACA, Kallis more than played his part with two half-centuries and aggressive strokeplay that infused a belief that South Africa had never had, on previous trips across the Indian Ocean.Amla too played his part in that triumph, playing second fiddle to Smith as they overcame the early loss of Neil McKenzie. And while he grew into his role, Kallis freed himself of the shackles and illustrated why it was so foolish to stereotype him as a one-paced wonder. Since the beginning of that Australian tour, Kallis has scored seven runs more for every 100 balls that he’s faced. The critics often forgot that like Rahul Dravid for India, Kallis played a certain way because he was the implacable foundation of his team. With Amla ready to don that mantle, Kallis could take on the bowlers knowing that his exit didn’t necessarily spell doom for the side.When they came together on Saturday morning, South Africa were in disarray. Ashwell Prince had been unlucky, with no review system in place to reprieve him, and Smith had been undone by inward movement from Zaheer Khan. But slowly, and with the steadiness you associate with both men, they resuscitated the innings. Kallis was in prime form, having scored two centuries against England, and Amla was more than content to turn the strike over in the second hour. Though there was slow turn for both Amit Mishra and Harbhajan Singh, a couple of mighty cleaves from the Kallis’ bat quickly told India that they wouldn’t be allowed to dictate terms.As Kallis began to play strokes with increasing fluency, the field scattered, and the singles were always there for the taking. “Their powers of concentration were exceptional,” said Kepler Wessels, the batting consultant, after the day’s play. “The shot selection was very good. I don’t think you’ll often see Harbhajan go through a day without bowling a maiden.”In his view, Kallis’ innings was yet another example of a man performing at the peak of his powers. “As he’s grown in stature, he’s got his game so well worked out,” said Wessels. “He knows exactly how to bat in different conditions. He can bat time, assess the situation and capitalise when the time’s right.”Amla’s role was no less significant. Having taken 132 balls to ease to a half-century, he was much more decisive in the final session, taking just a further 72 balls for his hundred. There were a couple of edges off the impressive Zaheer that might have gone to hand on another day, and a few airy wafts against Mishra, but by and large he was the perfect foil. “That No.3 slot, as we saw today, is such an important position,” said Wessels. “Hashim has done very well now for a couple of years. He’s very strong mentally, and I’m not surprised that he got runs today. His preparation has been very very good.”The same couldn’t be said of India, whose muddled squad selection and injury woes have left them in a pickle. Zaheer was superb in his opening spell and looked the most likely to break through even when he returned, while Ishant Sharma and Mishra toiled diligently in unhelpful conditions. Harbhajan was poor though, apparently not having watched how Graeme Swann used an attacking outside-off stump line to snare several South African wickets in the recent series.On a slow and low pitch, all is not lost for the hosts. But the opening day certainly belonged to the master and his apprentice. Solid in defence, swift between the wickets and certain about which balls to punish, they had India chasing shadows all day long.

KL Rahul ranks the 2-2 draw in England as among India’s best achievements in Test cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Aug-20253:49

Bangar: Series result proves India is growing in stature

KL Rahul has said that a young team drawing the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2-2 in England “will rank right at the top” among India list of achievements in Test cricket.”For us, as a team that wasn’t given a chance in this series, for us to fight back and to fight in every game and to get a result which is 2-2 might seem like a draw, but for us and for Indian Test cricket going in the future, I think this will rank right at the top,” Rahul told the host broadcaster right after India won the fifth Test at The Oval by six runs on the final morning. “And this is where the change begins and the Indian Test team will go on to create many things and win many more series outside of India.””I’ve played cricket for a while. I have won the Champions Trophy. I’ve seen India lifting the World Cup. I mean, nothing compares with lifting the World Cup, but so many doubts, so many questions from everybody about whether Test cricket would stay or not… I think both the teams with the way we’ve played in this series, I think we’ve answered that question.”Related

• The agony, the ecstasy: 56 minutes of Test cricket at its most glorious

• 'Devastating' – Brook expresses regret after dismissal triggers England's Oval collapse

• How Woakes defied injury to front up in England's hour of need

• Siraj the star as India square series with epic six-run victory

• Gill: 'We are a gun team, and we have gun players'

Rahul added that while India would have loved to have won the series, the draw felt like a “satisfying” result. The series has been a gruelling one with all five matches going into the fifth day and both India and England having their moments.”Feeling is hard to describe,” he said. “Been here, toiled for 25 days. It took every inch out of us. Everything that we had, physically, mentally, emotionally, this Test series has taken everything away from all of us. And I think, at the end of 25 days, we’re standing here 2-2, absolutely proud of ourselves.”So satisfying to be here and draw the series. Would have loved to win this series. But for a young team to come here and for a lot of us to step up and show the world that we can compete, we can win games outside of India, yeah, it’s truly a testament to what this team is and what Indian cricket means.”Rahul also said it felt “a bit weird” to not have the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and R Ashwin, who all retired from Test cricket over the past few months, around. That meant additional responsibility for the opener, who is on his third tour to England, and he responded with 532 runs in ten innings at 53.20 – the third-highest for the series.”Yes, it hit me when I joined the team,” Rahul said on the absence of the three seniors. “I was here about two weeks earlier playing for India A and it didn’t hit me back then, but once I joined the team and I looked around and I didn’t have a Rohit, a Virat, an Ashwin.KL Rahul was the third-highest run-getter in the series•Getty Images

“But yeah, that’s when it hit me that everyone else is looking at me, coming to me to ask about English conditions, what they need to do, how they need to prepare. That’s when it hit me that, ‘okay, I’ve stepped into a different role now and it’s time for me to help the younger guys, use all the experience I’ve had of playing Test cricket and international cricket over the years and really put my hand up and stand up for this team’.”This moment almost feels like this is a young team that’s going to stay there for a long time.”On a personal level, Rahul said he was “really happy” with his performance. “When India are touring England, it’s always a challenge,” he said. “The most important thing is for the openers to give the team a solid start and then continue and get as many runs as I can. That was my goal. I was really focused and really wanted the series to go well for me. And I wanted to do the job for the team and put my hands up and take that responsibility.”Rahul hailed the performance of Shubman Gill, who in his first series as captain scored 754 runs in ten innings, breaking a number of records on the way. He also heaped praise on several of his team-mates, who put up their hands at critical junctures all through the series.Shubman Gill had a series to remember•Getty Images

“Shubman has been phenomenal,” Rahul said. “He’s really led from the front, worked on the boys behind the scenes as well, forming connections which a lot of people don’t see, but I think that’s really important to do as a captain and he’s done that. He’s been tactically really good.”The changes he’s made over the series has always got us the wickets somehow. I think he will grow as a really, really good Test captain. I don’t want to speak too much about his individual performance because he has shown the world what he can do in all three formats. And, especially this series, the way he batted. I think it was phenomenal to watch, phenomenal to bat with him, and there’s so much I get to learn from him.”But also, there have been so many other performances. [Mohammed] Siraj being the highest wicket-taker in the series, [Ravindra] Jadeja has got 500 [516] runs, which is really crucial down the order. Not to forget Rishabh’s [Pant] contributions, Jassi’s [Jasprit Bumrah] contributions, Prasidh [Krishna] stepping up, Akash [Deep] stepping up, Washington [Sundar] stepping up.”I think it’s been a complete team performance. There have been four or five people in every game that have stood up and delivered for the team. So that gives us more satisfaction than this whole series. And this whole series, almost a series victory, is because of how we played as a team.”

It keeps them in with a slim chance of reaching the final although a lot needs to go their way

AAP08-Feb-2024A bonus-point defeat of Queensland at the Gabba kept Tasmania’s slim hopes of a One-Day Cup final appearance alive entering the final round.They bowled Queensland out for 150 and chased down the total in just 27 overs with five wickets in hand.Tasmanian opener Caleb Jewell (61 off 68 balls) batted with a rare freedom in otherwise tricky conditions. Jewell’s knock ensured there were few nervous moments for the visitors, who were 63 for 3 before he hit top gear to get his side within striking distance.Mac Wright hit two sixes in his confident cameo, and Beau Webster was unbeaten on 20 off 17 deliveries.Earlier Iain Carlisle was the pick of Tasmania’s bowlers, but it was Webster’s double-strike to dismiss set pair Matthew Renshaw and Max Bryant that started the rot.Fresh off a Shield century against Tasmania this week, Jack Clayton set himself for another rescue mission. But when he was bowled by Tom Rogers it triggered a lower-order collapse, Queensland’s last five wickets falling for just 10 runs.The result left Queensland in second-last position ahead of the final round, while Tasmania – providing other results go their way – can jump from fourth into the grand final with a bonus-point defeat of third-placed Western Australia next week.

In front of more than 90,000 fans at the MCG, India prevailed over Pakistan in a nerve-racking finish

Alagappan Muthu23-Oct-20225:51

Rohit Sharma on Virat Kohli’s 82*: ‘One of India’s best knocks’

That front foot…Just the way it lunges at the ball…Even in this game…Even against these guys…Virat Kohli isn’t a man. He is a feeling. It’s why every time he walks out to bat, he lifts the entire world with him. Or at the very least roughly around one billion of its people.On a day where only the extraordinary was allowed into the MCG, one of India’s greatest played an innings that may be their greatest ever in T20 cricket. It has to be because, in the end, they beat Pakistan, and it brought a tear to his eye.Related

• Wounded Pakistan still 'feeling the pain and hurting', but morale remains intact

• Rohit on Kohli's innings: 'His best for sure, one of India's best too'

• Kohli: My best T20 innings because of the 'magnitude of the game and the situation'

• Drama at the death – a ball-by-ball account of a cracking finish

• 'Virat Kohli, what are you?'

How it ended
India went into the final three overs needing 48 runs to complete a chase of 160.And they were facing a bowling attack that was drawing every bit of venom available on a pitch that offered scary pace and seething bounce.Haris Rauf was more bolt of lighting than flesh and bone. He was the one who brought Pakistan back into this riotous game. So naturally he had to go.All night Kohli was batting at a level that shouldn’t be possible. Like a 27th letter of the English alphabet. It was preposterous. Just like the two sixes he hit to end the 19th over.The first one was a back-of-a-length slower ball climbing up above his waist. The only way he could have hit it straight over the bowler’s head is if his willpower actually bent the laws of physics.How can you clear the biggest cricket ground on the planet when there’s no pace on the ball, and when it was meant to get big on you? How?!An equation that read 28 off eight balls became 16 off six. And still mayhem lurked.On the other side of ecstasy, there’s agony – Mohammad Nawaz after the final over•Getty Images

Spin was the price this match paid to be this awesome. Anyone that couldn’t put pace on the ball was being dispatched. And Mohammad Nawaz knew the same fate awaited him when he fronted up for the final over.He started it well enough, with the wicket of Hardik Pandya, but when he ran into the day’s unstoppable force, everything changed.Kohli launched Nawaz over that giant square-leg boundary, and long before the ball landed, he was signalling for a no-ball. Pakistan didn’t like that. Babar Azam and the umpires were involved in a long, animated and emotional discussion. It was a marginal call, a full toss perhaps over waist-high, and in the end, India got what they wanted.A free hit, which Nawaz used to break Kohli’s stumps, but that didn’t matter. You can’t get bowled off a free hit. And, as the ball wandered away, Kohli sprinted three runs. Cue dissent from Pakistan once more. They felt the ball should’ve been dead once it had hit the stumps, but the umpires disagreed again. Rod Tucker signalled byes.India needed two off one, but Kohli was at the non-strikers’ end. And somewhere in the midst of all this Dinesh Karthik had been stumped.Two off one with R Ashwin on strike. Who writes these scripts?Nawaz ran in… and bowled a wide down the leg side. WHO WROTE THIS SCRIPT?!Ashwin, one of the cleverest going around, just sidestepped that ball, and then with one needed off one, he casually chipped the ball over mid-off. The sound barrier broke as 90,293 people at the MCG – and countless millions at home – all roared as one. Some in ecstasy, some in agony.Virat Kohli took a moment for himself after his incredible knock•Getty Images

Meanwhile, Kohli was on his knees – just as he was in Mohali, 2016. He punched the turf. This was new. And when he came up, he was mobbed. He allowed his team-mates their time with him but then wriggled away so he could be alone. Or well, as alone as he could be with a stadium full of people singing his name. He stared at the night sky, with his right hand raised, and his forefinger up. Was he saying thanks? Was he saying, ‘Ah, so this is why I went through that slump in form? Well, fair enough. Good deal.’ And then suddenly his thoughts were broken as the captain of the Indian cricket team hurtled onto the pitch and lifted him clean off his feet. When Rohit Sharma came to the presentation, he had no voice.The other hero
It now seems so long ago but India had another hero as well. His name was Arshdeep Singh. Last month at the Asia Cup, he shelled a catch in the dying moments of a very tight game against Pakistan and was met with the vilest abuse on social media. He’s 23 years old. All he wants to do is help his team win. And today he did just that, by removing Babar Azam lbw with his very first ball in a T20 World Cup.Back then, this game was all swing and hoop and the lurid geometry the white ball is capable of. Pakistan were reduced to 32 for 2 in the powerplay. Then Iftikhar Ahmed and Shan Masood built a partnership. They took down R Ashwin and Axar Patel. Spin just couldn’t catch a break in the game, leaking 107 runs in 72 balls, eight sixes and nine fours.Pakistan recovered to make 59 runs in the six overs immediately after the powerplay, prompting India to bring back their quicks, and within 12 balls Hardik and Mohammed Shami had three wickets. Shaheen Afridi came out at No. 9 and belted one NSFW six over the longest boundary of the ground at deep midwicket, pushing the total up to 159 for 8. And it was game on.Long before the pulsating denouement, Arshdeep Singh made crucial new-ball incisions to remove both Pakistan openers•Getty Images

The best vs the best
Defending 160 is hard work, even for Pakistan. Since 2019, they’ve only managed to do it thrice in 13 matches. This had all the looks of being lucky number four.Rohit and KL Rahul were given the short shrift. Suryakumar Yadav was bounced out. India were 45 for 4 after 10 overs. If they were going to win, they had to score nearly two runs a ball for half of their innings.Talk about goading a genius. Kohli was 12 off 21 then. He would pick himself up with a six off Nawaz – a thundering strike after stepping down the pitch. Hardik at the other end got going as well. India managed 55 runs in the five overs from 11th and 15th and Pakistan knew they had to bring back their big guns.Shaheen came on. But he hadn’t played any cricket since July 2022 and all that rust showed. A would-be leg-stump yorker turned into a low full toss – which isn’t the worst ball to bowl in T20 cricket, it still denies the batter the room they like to hit boundaries. But Kohli somehow managed it. And all it took was a twist of his wrist.That loft over extra cover which beat three fielders – one running back and two converging on it from deep cover point and long-off – was like a catharsis. Not so long ago, Kohli confessed to faking his intensity. Here, he felt its embrace and it was all natural. And it was all good. So good that he actually punched the air even though India still needed 37 off 15 balls.Hardik, though, was still struggling. The pressure to find those sixes was getting to him and he began searching in all the wrong places – like square of the wicket at the MCG. Rauf bowled a brilliant 19th over – the first four balls anyway – to push the equation up to 28 off 8. Then Kohli got on strike. He knew the straight boundaries were shorter. And he went for them. Got one down the ground. Then another behind the wicket. Poof, just like that, 12 off 2. To be that clear-headed, to be that calculative, in that situation, requires…Actually, there’s no real word for it.Kohli said it himself. “I have no words. I have no idea how this happened”.

Middlesex batter to move on season loan ahead of permanent deal

Matt Roller02-Jul-2021Nick Gubbins, the Middlesex top-order batter, is close to completing a move to Hampshire which will see him join the club on loan for the rest of the season as a precursor to a permanent deal.Gubbins, 27, was Middlesex’s leading scorer in their County Championship-winning season in 2016 with 1,409 first-division runs at 61.26 including four hundreds. He has been part of several England Lions squads across formats in the years since, but struggled to score consistently in red-ball cricket, averaging 24.15, 34.41 and 22.08 in the three Championship seasons between 2017 and 2019.His form has improved in the last two years, with a first-class average of 37.56 since the start of last summer’s Bob Willis Trophy, and he made a brilliant fourth-innings 124 against Surrey at The Oval in May from No. 3. But with his contract up at the end of the season, he has decided to turn down an extension at Middlesex and join Hampshire instead.Gubbins has made three appearances in the T20 Blast this season but dropped out of the squad for Friday night’s game against Somerset, and it is anticipated that his move will be confirmed in the coming days, with a loan for the rest of the season preceding a multi-year contract. Middlesex are also expected to confirm extensions for a handful of out-of-contract players in the next few weeks.Gubbins will be Hampshire’s replacement for Sam Northeast, who, as revealed by the on Friday, is set to leave the club despite signing a contract at the start of this season that was due to run until the end of 2022. Northeast will initially move to Yorkshire, who are missing several senior batters on England duty or to injury, on a short-term loan deal.Northeast, considered by some to be the best uncapped batter in the country, joined Hampshire from Kent ahead of the 2018 season and has performed solidly, averaging 36.92 in first-class cricket and 51.62 in List A cricket. But his T20 returns have tailed off significantly, and he was dropped after the first game of this season’s Blast. He has been left out of their matchday squads for the past two weeks while weighing up his options, and his departure is expected to be confirmed by the club shortly.

“We gave them a chance and they took them with both hands,” said Tim Southee

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Jan-2020Having not played a Super Over until Wednesday, and then clawing their way back in to chase 17 and 14 in back-to-back Super Overs in the third and fourth T20Is against New Zealand, was an “unbelievable” experience, according to India captain Virat Kohli.”There’s something new I’ve learnt in the last couple of games, which is: when the opposition is playing that well, you’ve just got to stay calm in the game, observe what’s happening and if an opportunity comes your way, you capitalise on it and try and make the most of it,” Kohli told after the match. “What happened in the last two games is unbelievable, being involved in the game and from the fans’ point of view as well.”You couldn’t have asked for more two exciting T20s back-two-back. We had never played Super Overs before these two games and now we’ve played two back to back. It feels good when you’re out of the game, and then you come back… it shows the character of the team.”ALSO READ: Report – NZ contrive to lose in Super Over again as India go 4-0 upKohli didn’t have a great time with the bat in the regular game, making only 11, but sealed the Super Over by hitting the winning runs with a pull for four off Tim Southee. However, Kohli revealed he wasn’t even planning to go out alongside KL Rahul.”Initially we decided Sanju [Samson] and KL [would open in the Super Over] because both of them can strike the ball really well,” Kohli said. “But then KL and I had a chat [and decided] that I should walk in with him because I have more experience and if there is a pressure situation, I will find more options to figure out what needs to be done.”His two strikes [a six and a four in the first two balls] were crucial, and then the bit of experience did come into play where you knock the ball into the gaps and make the team go past the line and do the job. It’s exciting for me, having not been part of Super Over for a long, long time, but yeah, two back-to-back exciting wins for us.”Tim Southee led in Kane Williamson’s absence•Getty Images

The two unlikely victories, according to Friday’s star performer Shardul Thakur, was a lesson in perseverance, the first win in particular sending out a never-say-die message in the dressing room.”That’s all we play for – such nail-biting finishes and two games in a row… I think you couldn’t ask for anything more,” Thakur said of the last over of the main game, when he picked up two wickets and two New Zealand batsmen were run-out, resulting in the tie. “After the last game’s win, we learnt that you should never lose hope, and I think the first-ball wicket was crucial. If I bowl a dot ball or take a wicket, then the pressure is on them. And, that’s what happened, and that changed the game a bit.”ALSO READ: New Zealand’s Super Over heartbreaksSouthee, who delivered both Super Overs and captained New Zealand in the absence of the injured Kane Williamson on the day, summed up the dejection among the home side. “It’s very tough, especially in the positions we put ourselves into,” he said. “We gave them a chance and they took them with both hands. I guess when you’ve got a young bowling attack, and you sort of trying to get a clear decision from a number of people, yeah it’s tough we keep getting ourselves in these positions.”It is [difficult] when you lose a couple of games like we have. When you’re winning games, you just find ways to win them with balls to spare, but when you haven’t won and you’re playing against quality opposition against India, you give them a sniff in, then you do you make it tough for yourselves.”Having taken an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series, Kohli’s decision to bring in Samson, Washington Sundar and Navdeep Saini in the fourth T20I didn’t quite return intended results. An impetuous hoick brought Samson’s five-ball 8 to a close two balls after he whipped Scott Kuggeleijn for a wristy six, Washington gave away 24 in two overs, and Saini conceded 29 runs in four overs without putting himself on the wickets column. Kohli, though, took heart from the fact that the trio, especially Saini, were “in the right kind of headspaces” in the face of pressure.”Sanju was fearless at the top of the order,” Kohli said. “We didn’t quite read the pitch that well; having got one six I think he thought this is his chance to get the momentum going and really take things away. That’s the kind of player he is, so he should keeping backing himself.”Washy has played a lot anyway. Saini was particularly impressive with his pace he really rushed the batsman. I think all in all, all of them looked in a good headspace. If the opposition plays that well against them, against them, there’s no harm in saying, ‘You guys were playing well in that situation’. But we were very proud with the way we went about it and pulled it back, and those three guys looked to be in the right kind of headspaces.”

Australia hurled everything they could at India but were facing a daunting run chase after the visitors took control

Andrew McGlashan07-Dec-20183:37

Laxman: Rahul has lost ability to build a Test innings

The scoreline and history was firmly against Australia at the end of the third day in Adelaide with India having forged a lead of 166. In a compelling final session, Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara, who was continuing a personal tour de force, put together a stand of 71 and despite Kohli’s late dismissal to Nathan Lyon India remained in a position to bat the home side out of the match.They may be close to that already even though Australia were boosted by Lyon who ended a day of frustration with the biggest of scalps when Kohli gloved to short leg. Chasing statistics are not always the best way to judge a fourth-innings scenario – overall totals can offer a better view of what’s possible – but Australia have chased over 200 to win in Adelaide once, and that was in 1902. R Ashwin posed problems for them in the first innings and will be a major threat again, whenever his time comes. Kohli, though, is unlikely to have thoughts of bowling before tea tomorrow.The first innings were almost level after a truncated morning session, Australia’s last three wickets adding 44 to the overnight total, leaving one of those third-innings scenarios where the game can shift quickly if the batting side is not careful. The role of India’s openers, KL Rahul and M Vijay, was therefore vital even if both would end up being dismissed in familiar style. Unlike the first innings, though, they did not expose the middle order to the new ball: it was the 19th over before Pujara walked in and the 25th when Kohli emerged.India’s main pair – their leader and the first-innings century-maker – resumed after tea for a session that had the feeling of being match-defining. There was little fluency in the batting, but lessons had been learnt from the first innings: batting time was the first port of call. Australia strained every sinew to find the breakthrough, Josh Hazlewood challenging the outside edge with his line, Pat Cummins testing techniques with shorter deliveries – one to Kohli was fended into a vacant short leg area – and Lyon finding considerable help from the rough.Lyon thought he had removed Pujara twice – on 8 and 17 – only for DRS to overturn Nigel Llong’s out decisions. The first came when he was given caught behind and the second when lbw, adjudged playing no shot when padding Lyon away as he did multiple times, but the bounce was taking the ball just over the stumps.Lyon became a little frustrated during his 18-over spell before being replaced by Travis Head, with India latching on to loose deliveries from the part-time offspinner whose stint was terminated after just two overs. Whereas India’s early collapse in the first innings meant they only belatedly stretched the stamina of the Australia attack, this time the top order was firmly intact as workloads increased. Australia have one session to keep themselves in the match.The individual scores of Vijay (18) and Rahul (44), plus their manner of dismissals playing expansive drives, will leave India followers, and perhaps the coaching staff, exasperated but taken in the context of the match their contributions could yet prove a key passage of play. When play resumed after lunch, the break having been taken early due to further rain, conditions felt good for pace bowling. Instead of taking the attack to Australia straightaway, as they had tried in the first innings, Rahul and Vijay gave the early exchanges to Mitchell Starc and Hazlewood as the opening eight overs brought just eight runs, four of them leg byes.Then Rahul flicked a switch heralding 54 runs off the next 10 overs, a rare period of free-flowing batting in a game where the run-rates have been below three. It was a significant momentum-grab from India, including a cover-driven six against Cummins by Rahul, although he was given a life on 32 when Aaron Finch spilled a tough chance at leg slip off Lyon.Vijay, who couldn’t break free in the same way, edged to slip driving at Starc, then six overs later Rahul had a wild mow at Hazlewood and Kohli was welcomed to the crease by some significant booing. He would dearly have wanted to walk off unbeaten at the close, able to define the innings himself tomorrow, but his side remains strongly placed for something very significant.

The left-arm quick has been an integral member of the Karachi Kings side in the Pakistan Super League for the last two years, and was retained by the franchise for the third season of the tournament

09-Oct-2017Pakistan have called up left-arm fast bowler Usman Khan to replace the injured Mohammad Amir for the five-ODI series against Sri Lanka in the UAE.Amir, who has been an automatic selection for Pakistan in all three formats since his return, picked up a stress-related injury of his right shin during the ongoing Test in Dubai. He went off the field towards the end of the first evening of the second Test, halfway through his 17th over. He returned to bowl next day, only to break down again, visibly discomfited. He was sent for an MRI scan, which revealed the extent of his shin injury. He was subsequently advised to rest for three weeks, ruling him out of the ongoing Test and the ODI series that follows.Usman Shinwari has been on the selectors’ radar for the last two years, having made his T20I debut in 2013. He announced himself with a memorable spell against a Misbah-ul-Haq led SNGPL in the final of the departmental T20 Cup at Gaddafi Stadium in 2013, picking up five wickets for nine runs in 3.1 overs, helping his side Faysal Bank crush SNGPL by 78 runs.He has played four T20Is for Pakistan, during one of which he sustained a back injury, missing a major chunk of the 2014-15 season. Since his return, the quick has taken 44 wickets in 12 first-class matches, becoming a prominent name on the domestic circuit. He has been an integral member of the Karachi Kings side in the Pakistan Super League for the last two years, and was retained by the franchise for the third season of the tournament. However, he is yet to play ODI or Test cricket.The ODI series begins on October 13, at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

David Warner said he enjoyed his international captaincy debut, in the 3rd ODI against Sri Lanka, but hopes he can regain his batting form soon

Brydon Coverdale30-Aug-2016Captain David Warner and incoming batsman Usman Khawaja will both be searching for a turnaround in their personal fortunes even as Australia aim to seal the ODI series against Sri Lanka in Dambulla on Wednesday. Australia enter the fourth match of the five-game series with a 2-1 lead and a win, though far from making up for their humiliation in the Test series, would at least allow them to lift some sort of trophy on this trip.Khawaja will come into the XI for the first time in this series, after Shaun Marsh was ruled out of the remainder of the tour having broken a finger while fielding during Australia’s win on Sunday. The recall provides an opportunity for Khawaja to regain some pride after he was axed for the final Test of the Sri Lanka series, following scores of 26, 18, 11 and 0 in the first two Tests.”It was a difficult time for everyone, not just Usman himself,” Warner told reporters in Dambulla on Tuesday. “We all have to have a bit of a reality check sometimes in regards to the way we play our game. It’s such a tough environment to be over here. Unfortunately he did get dropped from the Test series. He took that very, very well. He’s been training his backside off in the nets.”He’s been doing everything he can to put his hand up for selection. He accepts that he didn’t have the runs on the board and he’s been doing everything he can to get back in the team. I’m really looking forward to seeing him come out and play the way he does. He scored a lovely 90 in the Caribbean and he played fantastic there, I’m hoping he can come out here and do the same thing tomorrow.”Khawaja is expected to be Australia’s third No. 3 this series, after captain Steven Smith filled the role for the first two games but then flew home for a break and was replaced by Marsh. Warner and Aaron Finch have been the opening combination all series but Warner is yet to make a contribution with the bat, with scores of 8, 1 and 10 in the first three games.”If you can find the answer, I’ll take it,” Warner said when asked how he could turn his form around. “That’s just what happens with cricket. Sometimes you’re in form, sometimes you’re not. I feel like I’m hitting the ball well. I’ve had some good dismissals, I’ve had a couple of poor shots here and there.”But that’s the challenge you face over here in these conditions. You always have to back your game plan and back your skills. Every time I’ve gone out there, I’ve done that. Unfortunately I haven’t got the runs on the board that are necessary. I’ll be aiming to come out here and play my role as I normally do, try and have that intent from ball one.”Despite his own lack of runs, Warner captained Australia effectively on Sunday in his first match in charge, juggling his bowlers well and showing an attacking mindset in the field. He said one of the challenges was to keep on top of the over rate given Australia’s reliance on fast bowlers, but that he had loved the experience of leading his country.”I loved every minute of it,” Warner said. “I feel that the guys have taken it on board very, very well. You always have the respect from your peers, which is always fantastic. And I felt that the guys did everything I asked of them in the last game, and everything I’ve asked of them at training. They’ve done everything I’ve asked for, and I couldn’t be any more pleased.”The fourth ODI will be played on the same Dambulla surface as Sunday’s match, meaning it could be slow and dry right from the outset. Offspinner Nathan Lyon is likely to come under strong consideration after being left out of the previous game.