All posts by n8rngtd.top

Record-breaking captain backs Harmanpreet Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues to find form

Annesha Ghosh03-Jul-2021Mithali Raj has identified Sneh Rana as a key allrounder for India’s future after Rana completed a memorable comeback to the longer formats with a stunning Test debut last month and impressive returns in India’s thrilling win in the third ODI on Saturday.Rana’s cameo of 24 from 22 balls at No. 7 in Worcester was pivotal to her 50-run sixth-wicket stand with Raj as the duo helped India seal a four-wicket win in the final match of the three-game ODI leg of the multi-format series. Earlier in the day, Rana had also made an imprint with the ball, returning figures of 7-0-31-1, having opener Lauren Winfield-Hill caught for 36 to break a 67-run second-wicket partnership. She had picked up 1 for 43 in the second ODI.”Definitely, yes,” Raj said when asked about Rana, 27, emerging as a formidable choice as allrounder upon her return to international cricket after a five-year gap. “That’s a slot we’ve always looked for somebody who has the shots to clear the field – strong shots all round. And it helps to have a player there who can also bowl. So it’s good to have her in the side.”She’s definitely shown that she does have the character in her to be built into a good player. In the current era, in modern cricket, allrounders play a very important role in the composition of the team. I’m sure that she has a bigger role playing for India in the coming years.”Related

• Sneh Rana enters the Commonwealth Games with a game-changing over

• Mandhana: 'It's a lot of fun to bat with Shaifu'

• Ramesh Powar: Players like Sneh Rana are 'what we need right now'

• Mithali Raj: 'I don't seek validation from people'

• The love, loss and comeback of Sneh Rana

While Rana’s form was one of the bright spots for India in their 1-2 loss in the ODI segment of the seven-match series, ODI vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s underwhelming batting form on the tour so far hasn’t been ideal for the visitors. Kaur made 16, 19, and 1 in the three ODIs and 4 and 8 in the drawn Test in Bristol last month.Raj, however, backed Kaur to regain form as the tour enters its T20I leg, the first of the three matches on July 9 in Northampton.”It does happen with any player,” Raj said of Kaur’s lean patch. “Sometimes you’re just not in form. But as a team and as a unit we back players who have been match-winners. We also know that single-handedly she has won games for us with her innings. This time around she needs the support of the team to back her.”It’s just a matter of one innings for a batter like her to get [back] her rhythm and timing.I’m sure with the T20 format, a format that suits her game, I really hope she will be back among the runs.”That India are far from settled as far as their No. 3 goes was borne out in them giving Jemimah Rodrigues a go in that position in the second and third ODIs after Punam Raut’s slow scoring in the first ODI played a part in parching India of urgency. Rodrigues, however, laboured to just 8 and 4 in the two innings.”A young player – obviously, she (Rodrigues) will take some time,” Raj said. “It’s just matter of experience and exposure for players like her. When a player goes through bad form, as [fellow] players, seniors, and team management we can give her the confidence and the backing, but it boils down to the player herself to have that belief to come out of the [bad] form. Again, for a batter, it’s just a matter of one innings to get the timing right and hope that as a young player she should get back in form.”As far as the composition, right now we are going with five bowlers but something we are looking at is to have another allrounder in the side. But, then again, it cuts down a purist – whether a batter or a bowler. We are throwing some ideas. By the next series, we should see what sort of a pool of players we look at and get into the team.”Sneh Rana celebrates a wicket•Getty Images

Raj revealed that aside from Raut and Rodrigues, other batters were also in contention to be tried in the No. 3 slot.”Now the series is over, but we do have a few names and players in our mind,” Raj said. “Again, it’s important that we need to see how they fit into the team. Purists are very few in the modern era of cricket. We need to look at the allrounders also and how the composition of the team will come is very crucial. But that’s also an area we are looking at, No. 3 and even No. 6 and No. 7.”Though Raj retired from T20I cricket in 2019, India’s performance in the third ODI, she said, would boost the confidence of the Kaur-led T20I team on whom the onus rests to add to India’s four points gained so far in the multi-format series as opposed to England’s six.”Yes, it is [a confidence-booster],” Raj said, “because that’s what I told the girls, I said – we’re still in the series. Winning a game like this puts pressure on them. Getting into the T20s, the entire unit should be confident. If they go on to win the first two games and then the last would be a decider and clearly the series will be excitedly placed. Yes, I’m sure that the girls will do well in the T20 format.”

Kings’ forgettable season came to an end as Quetta finished with a win though they are unlikely to progress

S Sudarshanan20-Feb-2022The first match of Sunday’s double-header in the PSL in Lahore was an odd one; neither the winning team nor the losing one would have been happy at the end of it. Quetta Gladiators needed to win their final match of the league stage by a huge margin in order to keep their hopes of qualification alive, mathematically. Kings, who held the upper hand for most parts, skittled away a strong start with the bat to go down by 23 runs.It was a case of old habits dying hard for Kings as a forgettable PSL season came to an end with their ninth defeat in ten matches. Kings lost seven wickets for just 37 runs with Gladiators’ Khurram Shahzad picking four on T20 debut, turning the chase on its head. It meant Kings were restricted to 143 for 8 in their chase of the 167-run target.Gladiators chose to bat first and their openers struggled to get going. Will Smeed fell early while Jason Roy made use of the powerplay to get off to a fast start. However, Roy was far from his belligerent self, bringing the edges of his blade into play more often.Imad Wasim and Umaid Asif snuck in some economical overs as Kings captain Babar Azam rotated his bowlers quite regularly. That did not deter Roy and James Vince, who added 90 for the second wicket. Vince’s attempt at upping the scoring rate resulted in his dismissal, as he was bowled by fellow Englishman Lewis Gregory while trying to play a big shot across the line.Roy soon brought up his third half-century in the season but then fell in the final over, holing out to Mir Hamza. Thanks to Roy and Iftikhar Ahmed, Gladiators collected 41 off the last four overs to post 166.Kings were on course for overhauling the target and registering their second successive win when Babar and Joe Clarke, who had a forgettable outing with the gloves, were in the middle. The duo blazed through the powerplay, finishing 51 for none – Kings’ best this season – and added 87 for the opening wicket. Legspinner Ashir Qureshi was taken for 15 in his second over, which signalled the openers’ intent.Player-of-the-Match Shahzad, first got through Azam’s defense before castling Sharjeel Khan, who hit 16 off just seven balls. Clarke then completed his first fifty of the season before missing an attempted heave off Mohammad Irfan to be bowled.Kings never recovered from those setbacks as Gladiators tightened the noose to shut the game. Shahzad’s blows ensured a winning end to Gladiators’ campaign, even though they are likely to be knocked out.

Both teams opt to retire out batters in eight-over thrash at wet Edgbaston

ECB Reporters Network05-Jun-2022Birmingham Bears returned to winning ways with a thrilling one-run Vitality Blast win over Notts Outlaws at Edgbaston. Needing three to win and two to tie from the last ball, Outlaws batter Tom Moores could only scuff Craig Miles for a single.It rounded off a stunning Bears fightback by after Outlaws, chasing 98 for 5 in an eight-overs-per-side contest, charged to 55 for 1 after 20 balls as Alex Hales thrashed 30 from just nine balls. Spin bowler Jake Lintott turned the tide with a superb over which saw him dismiss Hales and Ben Duckett while conceding just two runs.Outlaws needed 15 from the last over but could find only 13 as Miles held his nerve.The game also featured two batters opting to retire out. With one ball to go and six runs needed, Samit Patel walked off from the non-striker’s end to get Calvin Harrison, a faster runner, to the crease. Earlier on, in the Bears’ innings, Carlos Brathwaite had retired out, in the belief that Sam Hain would be better-equipped to score quickly off the spinners.Put in on a relentlessly damp, grey afternoon, the Bears made 98 thanks largely to Chris Benjamin, who hit 36 off 17 balls. Patel bowled with his customary nous and control for 2-0-12-2.England paceman Olly Stone then marked his return to the first team after long-term injury with a wicket first ball but Notts were on course for victory until Lintott’s brilliant analysis of 2-0-6-2.Bears lost Paul Stirling to the first ball of their innings, but the wicket came at a cost for Notts as Joe Clarke fell awkwardly, taking the catch at long leg, and limped from the field. Benjamin then improvised effectively, hitting four fours and two sixes. He was supported by lively cameos from Jake Bethell, with 17 off nine, at the start and Alex Davies, 14 from four, in the final over.Outlaws also lost a wicket first ball when Clarke slashed Stone to short third man. Duckett and Hales hit immediate overdrive to heave the match their side’s way but they fell in the space of three ball from Lintott, the former slickly caught at deep extra by Hain and the latter driving a sharp return catch to the bowler.The potential match-winners keep on coming in Outlaws’ batting line-up but Dan Christian holed out to Brathwaite and Moores and Patel failed to find the requisite 15 from the final over.

Here’s all we know about the players who are set to be retained by their respective franchises

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Oct-202410:37

Who will RCB retain apart from Kohli?

Chennai Super Kings (CSK)MS Dhoni is one of five players set to be retained by CSK, along with captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube and Sri Lanka fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana. The amounts CSK are paying to each retained player is yet to be confirmed but they will lose at least INR 65 crore from their overall purse of INR 120 crore.
Gujarat Titans (GT)Gujarat Titans are likely to retain Shubman Gill, Rashid Khan, B Sai Sudharsan, Rahul Tewatia and Shahrukh Khan, leaving them with one right-to-match card (RTM) option at the upcoming IPL mega auction.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)The franchise is set to retain Sunil Narine, Rinku Singh, Harshit Rana and Varun Chakravarthy. Their 2024 title-winning captain Shreyas Iyer and star allrounder Andre Russell are unlikely to be retained.
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)Nicholas Pooran, Mayank Yadav and Ravi Bishnoi, along with the uncapped pair of Mohsin Khan and Ayush Badoni, are set to be retained by LSG for IPL 2025. KL Rahul, who has led the franchise since its inception in 2022, is unlikely to be retained.
Rajasthan Royals (RR)Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag and Sandeep Sharma are the four players set to be retained by Rajasthan Royals. ESPNcricinfo has learned that England’s white-ball captain Jos Buttler and India legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal are not part of the retention list.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)South Africa power-hitter Heinrich Klaasen is set to be the top retention for SRH and will get INR 23 crore (US$ 2.74 million approx.) as the first retained player. Pat Cummins, who was SRH captain in 2024, is set to be retained at INR 18 crore (US$ 2.14 million approx.), and India allrounder Abhishek Sharma at INR 14 crore (US$ 1.67 million approx). Travis Head and Nitish Kumar Reddy are also set to be retained as their final two capped retained players ahead of the auction.
Delhi Capitals (DC)Rishabh Pant is all set to go into the auction after not being retained by DC. ESPNcricinfo has learned that talks between DC’s ownership group and Pant failed after stretching over the past few months and Wednesday. The franchise has retained four players: the spin pair of Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav, South Africa batter Tristan Stubbs and uncapped Indian wicketkeeper-batter Abishek Porel.
Punjab Kings (PBKS)Punjab Kings are likely to retain only two uncapped players – batters Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh – from their IPL 2024 squad. They will go into the upcoming mega auction with the largest purse, likely in excess of INR 100 crore, and also have four right-to-match options which can be used to buy back their players.
Mumbai Indians (MI)Mumbai Indians are set to retain their four major Indian players – Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav – along with Tilak Varma ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.With those five capped players retained, MI can use their one right-to-match option only on an uncapped player at the auction. While the individual amounts for each of their retained player is yet to be ascertained, MI will lose at least INR 75 crore from their purse of INR 120 crore, or more if they have paid a higher aggregate amount to the five.

The hosts of the U19 World Cups – men’s and women’s – have been identified, while the men’s ODI World Cup has been expanded to 14 teams from 2027

Shashank Kishore13-Nov-2022The ICC’s Afghanistan Working Group (AWG) has conveyed to the governing body’s board that the country’s government has reiterated its commitment to “fully respect and comply” with the ICC constitution, including agreeing “in principle” to support the development of women’s cricket.The focus was to ensure “diversity and inclusivity, and for the Afghanistan Cricket Board to operate independent from government interference,” an ICC statement following meetings in Melbourne over the weekend said.Related

• IOC will decide if Afghanistan play in the Olympics – ICC CEO Allardice

• Women's cricket 'in peril' but fans rejoice as the game returns to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan

• Afghanistan women's cricket in danger after Taliban's reported opposition

• Cricket Australia confirms postponement of Afghanistan Test

“The meeting was positive and respectful, and the [Afghanistan] government representative was clear in his support for the ICC constitution including in principle for women’s cricket in Afghanistan,” Imran Khwaja, the AWG chair, was quoted as saying. “There are obviously challenges for it to resume but we will continue to work with the ACB to take this forward. The Working Group will closely monitor the commitment undertaken by the Afghanistan government and will continue to report back to the ICC Board.”As things stand, Afghanistan is the only Full Member to have received that status without having an operational women’s team in place. Last year, the ACB had announced its first contracts for women in their quest to build a team, but those efforts were put on the back-burner following the Taliban’s takeover of the administrative affairs of the country in September 2021.At the time, ACB chief executive Hamid Shinwari admitted that the women’s game was “in peril”, even as then acting chairman Azizullah Fazli said women would be allowed to play as long as the players adhered to Islamic rules. Soon after, Afghanistan’s Test in Australia – their first in the country – was called off. Australian sports minister Richard Colbeck said at the time that Afghan athletes would “remain welcome in Australia, but not under the flag of the Taliban”.The men’s ODI World Cup will be a 14-team affair in 2027•Getty Images

Thailand, Nepal, Namibia among hosts for U19 World Cups
Sri Lanka will host the men’s Under-19 World Cup in 2024, while Zimbabwe and Namibia will stage the 2026 edition together. And, as part of the ICC’s attempts to spread the game, Malaysia and Thailand have been named joint hosts of the women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup in 2025, while Bangladesh and Nepal will jointly host the 2027 edition of the same tournament.The Under-19 World Cup for women is finally set to take off after a pandemic-enforced delay, with South Africa hosting the inaugural edition in January 2023.Men’s 50-over World Cup in 2027 will feature 14 teams
The ICC has also formulated a qualification pathway for the women’s 2024 T20 World Cup – the ten-team event will have eight automatic qualifiers – the top-three teams from each of the two groups at the 2023 women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa, hosts Bangladesh (if they fail to make the cut in 2023), and the next-highest-ranked teams in the ICC rankings when the 2023 edition concludes. The remaining two teams will be identified through the ten-team global qualifying event.The men’s ODI World Cup in 2027 will be a 14-team event, as compared to ten in 2023 in India. South Africa and Zimbabwe will qualify as hosts, along with the next eight teams in the rankings on a date that is yet to be announced. Four others will join these ten via a global qualifier.

Australia will qualify for the semis with five points if they beat Afghanistan on Friday

S Rajesh25-Feb-2025South Africa
If South Africa beat England, they will qualify for the semi-finals, and could take top spot even if Australia beat Afghanistan, as long as their net run-rate tops Australia’s. However, a defeat to England could knock them out if England and Australia both beat Afghanistan.For South Africa to stay in contention with three points, Afghanistan will have to win at least one match. If they beat England and lose to Australia, then Australia and South Africa will qualify; if Afghanistan beat Australia and lose to England, then South Africa and Australia will be fighting for second place; if Afghanistan win both matches, then Afghanistan will top the group, and second place will again come down to the NRR between Australia and South Africa.Related

• Shahidi bats for Afghan women, but says it's something 'we cannot control'

• England, Afghanistan put politics aside with tournament on the line

Australia
Australia will be through with five points if they beat Afghanistan on Friday. If they lose, their qualification chances will depend on the two remaining England games. If England win both games and Australia lose theirs, then either Australia or South Africa will finish second in the group, depending on NRR.Thanks to their 107-run win against Afghanistan, South Africa are currently sitting pretty on the NRR front. Even if Australia lose to Afghanistan by just one run chasing 301, South Africa will have to lose to England by at least 87 runs chasing the same target for Australia to sneak ahead on NRR.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

England
England need to win both their remaining games to qualify; a defeat against either Afghanistan or South Africa will knock them out. Given that the weather forecast looks fine for both their matches – though Lahore is expected to be overcast for their Afghanistan contest – sharing points in either of them looks highly unlikely.Afghanistan
Like England, Afghanistan need two wins to be sure of qualification. If they beat England and their match against Australia is washed out – there is forecast for some rain in Lahore on Friday – then they will finish on three points. In that case, they can qualify only if England beat South Africa, and if Afghanistan trump South Africa on NRR.

The stand-in head coach also explained the thinking about omitting Jason Behrendorff

Hemant Brar27-Nov-2023Andre Borovec, Australia’s stand-in head coach, rued losing too many wickets in the first ten overs after his side’s 44-run defeat in the second T20I in Thiruvananthapuram. But at the same time, he lauded the intent shown by the batters throughout the chase.Batting first, India scored a mammoth 235 for 4. In response, Australia were on 104 after ten overs but had lost four wickets. Marcus Stoinis and Tim David kept the fight on by adding 81 off just 38 balls for the fifth wicket, but Australia eventually fell short and are now trailing 2-0 in the five-match series.”It’s just that we were behind a couple more wickets at the halfway mark there, four to one,” Borovec said. “It’s always ifs, buts and maybes, isn’t it? But we just fell behind the game a little bit. We knew we probably didn’t have the breathing space that India had going into those last ten overs.Related

• Steven Smith set for Sydney Sixers' opening BBL match

• Jaiswal, Kishan, Rinku, Bishnoi dominate Australia for 2-0 lead

• Rinku follows Dhoni's template to make case for full-time position

“One of the key pillars of our game is intent. And you couldn’t fault that throughout the innings. Will there be mistakes made? Of course. But if we’re making mistakes with good intent, good decisions, good plans, and if the execution doesn’t go quite right, well, we’re quite happy to accept that.”Another difference was that India scored 20 or more in an over on four occasions. Australia did so on two. Borovec acknowledged that the bowlers found it difficult to close out the over after they had conceded boundaries on the first two balls.”The first two balls in an over can be quite important in T20 cricket,” he said. “If you’re conceding boundaries on those two balls, it can be difficult to get back. You’ve got less resources at your disposal as you’ve shown a couple of deliveries… if you’ve bowled a bouncer.”What we saw tonight was that at those moments, the Indian players were getting ahead in the count and almost getting a good read on what potential ball might come down at them. I think zeroing in on those first two balls and how we can structure those better – that’s usually a good starting point.”On Sunday, Australia left out Jason Behrendorff, their best bowler in Visakhapatnam, where he picked up 1 for 25 from his four overs even as India chased down 209. It raised questions as to whether he was unfit, but Borovec clarified it was because they wanted to play two spinners keeping in mind the upcoming T20 World Cup, which will be played in the West Indies and the USA where the pitches are expected to be on the slower side.”We’ve got a few things to consider that we need to see different players in different conditions and one of the considerations today was to have a look at two spinners,” he said. “We thought that was going to be a good attacking option for us, so we decided to structure our bowling around that.Australia’s seamers came in for some punishment•Associated Press

“We had a great conversation with Jase about how good his bowling was. Also, when you look back at it, it was probably one of his better bowling performances for Australia. So it was a really tough decision but one we built around the fact that these conditions, we thought, were going to help spin a little bit more than perhaps Vizag.”Given it had rained on Saturday, there wasn’t much help on offer for spinners. And despite dew starting to settle in as early as the seventh over in the first innings, Tanveer Sangha and Adam Zampa helped Australia pull things back. India had raced away to 77 for 1 in the powerplay but could add only 29 in the next five overs.”The irony was when the dew came, we had some nice overs there around about the seventh to the 11th over,” Borovec said. “It just shows that in T20 cricket sometimes things like that happen that go against the grain. We are probably a little bit disappointed with our execution in the first six. And that’s where we thought the sweet spot was for taking wickets and giving our spinners a chance to bowl at some new batters.”I was really proud of that fightback in that early middle-overs period. Then of course the dew came in and it just made it so difficult to execute, but you can’t fault the endeavour and the plans with the bowlers.”Australia are trying out one more thing in this series: Steven Smith at the top of the order. Opening the batting in the first T20I, he was on 24 off as many balls at one point before finishing on 52 off 41. Here, he scored 19 off 16. Borovec, however, was happy with Smith’s approach.”We have got a number of things we’re looking at,” he said. “We’ve got ten games to fit some of that stuff in. Not all of it is possible. One of the things we had in our planning coming into this series was to have a look at Steve up the top. And we’ve had a chance to do that now and again. We’ve been extremely happy with that intent that he’s shown with the bat.”

Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings have proved experts wrong, and 2023 season begins with new rules

Deivarayan Muthu30-Mar-20233:17

Is death bowling a concern for CSK?

Match details

Gujarat Titans vs Chennai Super Kings, Ahmedabad: 7.30pm IST (2pm GMT)

Big picture

Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans, two teams that have specialised in proving haters – and experts – wrong, kick off the new IPL season in front of what is expected to be a capacity crowd in Ahmedabad. MS Dhoni in the bright yellow corner; Hardik Pandya, who has seemingly taken the Dhoni route to captaincy and his batting, in the navy blue one.You never know with Dhoni, but this could well be his farewell IPL season, while for Hardik, a successful title defence could potentially lead to his coronation as India’s future full-time white-ball captain. An intra-squad practice session that was thrown open to the public just an hour before the start at Chepauk is a portent of things to come at home, but Super Kings will have to deal with playing five of their first eight games away from home. They had the second-worst economy rate at the death last season with 11.29, but they didn’t quite remedy that at the auction.As for Titans, their major issue last season was the absence of a reliable anchor – they had trialled Vijay Shankar and B Sai Sudharsan in that role – but now they have brought in Kane Williamson, whose elbow is in much better shape than it was last year. Williamson’s presence could allow Hardik to float down the order as opposed to float up, something he did often last IPL. Titans’ bowling attack too ticks most boxes, with the arrivals of Shivam Mavi and Josh Little – the first Ireland player to be picked in the IPL – strengthening them even further.Related

• 'Home-and-away is what makes the IPL what it is'

• Will Chepauk return help CSK spin it to win it?

• Gujarat Titans look stronger for their title defence

• Revitalised Williamson returns to scene of his debut heroics

• How much impact will the Impact Player rule have?

Team news

The Sri Lanka pair of Maheesh Theekshana and Matheesha Pathirana will not be available for Super Kings’ first three games since they are currently participating in a six-match white-ball series in New Zealand. NZC, though, has released both Devon Conway and Mitchell Santner, who is likely to start for Super Kings not only in the absence of Theekshana, but also for the rest of the IPL. Left-arm seamer Mukesh Choudhary has been sidelined from the entire season with a back injury and replaced by Akash Singh.There were reports on Thursday that Dhoni could miss the IPL opener with an injury, but their CEO told ESPNcricinfo that Dhoni was fit.4:00

How crucial is Miller’s form for Gujarat Titans?

Fast bowler Sisanda Magala will also be unavailable for the early exchanges as he will be in action for South Africa against Netherlands. Similarly, Titans will miss their finisher David Miller, who will only link up with the franchise after the Netherlands ODIs end on April 2.

Toss and Impact Player strategy

Gujarat Titans
Possible bat-first XI: 1 Shubman Gill, 2 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Matthew Wade, 5 Hardik Pandya, (capt) 6 Rahul Tewatia, 7 Rashid Khan, 8 Shivam Mavi, 9 Jayant Yadav/R Sai Kishore 10 Alzarri Joseph, 11 Mohammed ShamiA resoruce-maximising option for Titans is to bring in another batter, Abhinav Manohar, for instance, in place of one of the dismissed batters who is not athletic in the field. In this scenario, they can have seven bowling options, including Hardik and Tewatia, for their defence.Possible bowl-first XI: 1 Shubman Gill, 2 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Matthew Wade, 5 Hardik Pandya (capt), 6 Rahul Tewatia, 7 Rashid Khan, 8 Shivam Mavi, 9 Jayant Yadav/R Sai Kishore 10 Alzarri Joseph, 11 Mohammed ShamiThis XI is no different to the bat-first XI, but in this case, Titans could use the Impact Player rule to bring in either Sai Sudharsan, if they need to stabilise the innings, or Manohar for a finishing kick, in place of Mohammed Shami.Chennai Super Kings
Possible bat-first XI: 1 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 2 Devon Conway, 3 Ben Stokes, 4 Moeen Ali, 5 Ambati Rayudu, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Shivam Dube, 8 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 9 Mitchell Santner, 10 Deepak Chahar, 11 Simarjeet Singh/Tushar DeshpandeIf Santner starts for Super Kings, they will have batting depth all the way down to No. 10, as well as six bowling options, discounting Ben Stokes. Ajinkya Rahane could be a failsafe at Chepauk, but it’s hard to see him slot in as an impact player away from Chennai. Plus, the other reserve batters Shaik Rasheed and Subhranshu Senapati are yet to make their IPL debuts. Don’t be surprised if Dhoni uses no Impact Player.Simarjeet Singh is a swing bowler, whereas Rajvardhan Hangargekar can dig the ball into the pitch•BCCI

Possible bowl-first XI: 1 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 2 Devon Conway, 3 Ben Stokes, 4 Moeen Ali, 5 Ravindra Jadeja, 6 Shivam Dube, 7 Rajvardhan Hangargekar, 8 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 9 Mitchell Santner, 10 Deepak Chahar, 11 Simarjeet Singh/Tushar DeshpandeSuper Kings opted against rushing seam-bowling allrounder Rajvardhan Hangargekar into action last season. But following a good domestic season for Maharashtra, he could break into the starting XI if they need some hit-the-deck hustle. The 20-year-old can dig the ball into the pitch and offer something different to Super Kings’ seam attack, as both Deepak Chahar and Simarjeet Singh are both swing bowlers. When they bat, Super Kings could yank Ambati Rayudu out of the bench and use him in the middle order to counter Rashid Khan. He could potentially come in for Simarjeet as an Impact Player.

Stats that matter

• Rayudu has had the wood over Rashid, scoring 79 runs off 65 balls off him being dismissed in the IPL.
• Despite having missed the entire IPL 2022, Chahar remains the top wicket-taker in the powerplay in the past five seasons, with 42 strikes in 58 innings at an economy rate of 7.61.
• In the past year, Alzarri Joseph has conceded only 7.51 runs an over at the death in T20s. It is the second-best economy rate among right-arm seamers who have bowled at least 100 balls in that phase. Only Anrich Nortje has fared better than Joseph on this front with an economy rate of 7.39, but Nortje’s 16 wickets are two fewer than Joseph’s.

Pitch and conditions

The Motera has six red-soil pitches and five black-soil pitches. The ones used for the last IPL final and the recent T20I against New Zealand aided seamers, with dew not being much of a factor later in the evening. It rained on the eve of the IPL opener, disrupting the practice sessions of both teams, but the weather is expected to be clear for the duration of the game.

Hosts were in dire straits at 53 for 4 in response to Surrey’s 433 all out built on Jamie Smith’s first-day ton

ECB Reporters Network20-Jul-2023Middlesex 179 for 5 (Simpson 55*, Holden 55) trail Surrey 433 (Smith 138, Burns 79, Clark 78, Helm 6-110) by 254 runs John Simpson and Max Holden shared a century stand to give Middlesex hope of saving the follow-on against reigning champions Surrey on day two at Lord’s.The hosts, with only two batting bonus points all season were in dire straits at 53 for 4 in response to the visitors’ 433 all out, but former England U19 Holden and redoubtable wicket-keeper Simpson added 116 for the fifth wicket.Holden fell shortly before the close, but a defiant Simpson will take guard on day three 55 not out with Middlesex 179 for 5, Sean Abbot taking two of the wickets.Earlier Surrey passed 400 with day-one centurion Jamie Smith finishing on 138 and Jordan Clark 78, Tom Helm completing a career-best 6-110 for the hosts.Stand-in skipper Mark Stoneman briefly suggested a positive response to Surrey’s substantial first-innings total, creaming two early off drives through the covers, but it proved a false dawn as with only 11 against his name he feathered a good one from Clark through to wicketkeeper Ben Foakes.It would be the ‘Brown Hats’ only success for some while, but a combination of tight seam bowling and a lack of intent from Pieter Malan and Sam Robson – the latter for some reason batting at three – meant the hosts crawled along at two runs per over.Perhaps that explains the rash cross-bat swish by South African Malan to an innocuous ball from Jamie Overton which took the under-edge, giving Foakes a second comfortable catch.As too often this season, the departure of one Middlesex batter led to three falling for the addition of 10 runs in 39 balls.Robson, a centurion last week at Merchant Taylors’ was undone by one from Sean Abbott which came back into him up the slope and went off the inside edge onto the stumps via the thigh pad.A torturous period of the afternoon for the hosts concluded with Jack Davies, in the side for the injured Stephen Eskinazi, taking 18 balls to get off the mark only to then fence at one from Tom Lawes, sending it into the hands of Dom Sibley at slip.The bell summoning the players back after tea sounded like a death knell for the beleaguered home side, but to their credit Holden and Simpson showed some intestinal fortitude.Holden, displayed some of the T20 form which earned a wildcard pick from the Manchester Originals for the upcoming Hundred, driving well off front and back foot, while Simpson played one delightful cut and acquired an all-run four courtesy of an overthrow.Overton tried some chin music, but Holden’s sixth four through third man took him to his second Championship half century of the season from 93 balls before Simpson too found the fence to raise the century stand.Simpson’s own half-century came in the grand manner with a six into the Mound Stand, but just as it looked as if Middlesex would reach the sanctity of stumps without further loss, Abbott found the edge of Holden’s bat and a diving Sibley did the rest.Surrey had resumed on 312 for 5, and save for a six over square leg by Clark off Ryan Higgins, made steady, unspectacular progress before Smith was castled by Helm from one which came back through the gate.Clark eased his way to a 91-ball 50 though he was later unsettled, not to say frustrated by Ethan Bamber beating him outside the off stump with five successive deliveries. The young seamer, who had somehow gone wicketless on day one, finally got reward when Abbott hoisted him into the hands of Malan at deep square.Clark’s fine effort ended when Tim Murtagh got one to bounce and take the edge which flew to Robson at slip and while a few lusty blows from Overton delayed the lunch interval, Helm cleaned up the tail for his first ever six-for in Championship cricket.

Both have not had the impact their high standards demand, and now find themselves at the MCG – a ground that comes with its own challenges for the pair. But could you really bet against them?

Andrew McGlashan22-Dec-20230:31

Could David Warner reverse retirement plans?

Steven Smith had a few words to say about his second-innings lbw as he walked off at Optus Stadium, while the evening before Marnus Labuschagne had needed a trip to hospital to get his hand checked after a vicious blow on an increasingly spiteful surface.Neither moment proved significant for Australia; they won by 360 runs and Labuschagne hadn’t suffered any damage to his hand, although he admitted being “nervous” for a little while. But on an individual basis for two of Australia’s finest-ever players it continued what can probably be described as a frustrating 2023 where neither have quite been able to hit their previous prolific heights.Related

• Back at MCG, Carey will look to end year of up-and-down fortunes on a high

• 'I was a bit nervous' – Labuschagne comes through bruising Perth battle

• Usman Khawaja to contest ICC armband charge, says it was for a bereavement

• Smith gets back to the grind in search for his best form

• Pakistan are down, but Shakeel keeps faith in Boxing Day dream

It’s worth saying that it’s far from a crisis. Smith is averaging 42.65 for the year with three centuries and Labuschagne’s figure is 35.04 with what proved a match-saving hundred at Old Trafford. Still, it’s well below what we have become accustomed to. It is comfortably Labuschagne’s leanest year since he cracked Test cricket in 2019, and in a year where Smith has played at least five Tests it’s his lowest average since 2013.Overall, Australia’s Test batting returns for the year are set to only finish around mid-table among their rivals. Leading into the Boxing Day Test, their overall batting average is 33.77 albeit they have played significantly more matches than anyone else. Conditions in India played a part in that, although only the Indore surface was really a lottery for batters.