The 31-year old allrounder will continue playing T20 cricket and remains eligible for selection by Australia in the shortest format

Daniel Brettig06-Oct-20170:34

Quick Facts: John Hastings

John Hastings has joined a recent exodus of players from international and first-class ranks to become a Twenty20 specialist after announcing his retirement from ODI and Test cricket on Friday.A back injury, suffered as he prepared for the domestic limited-overs competition with Victoria, served as prelude to the decision, with Hastings informing team-mates of his new direction in Sydney this week. While initial assessments of the back injury had the 31-year old regaining fitness before the end of the tournament, he will now be missing from Australian cricket until the start of the Big Bash League in December, when he will serve as captain of the Melbourne Stars.Chris Lynn, Luke Ronchi and Mitchell McClenaghan are among other cricketers who have this year opted to forego state or national team contracts in order to pursue T20 exclusively. Shakib Al Hasan and Upul Tharanga, meanwhile, have sought and received temporary breaks from Test matches.In 2012, Hastings played his one Test, while he took part in 29 ODIs between 2010 and 2017, the last of which was a rained-out game in the Champions Trophy in June. In addition to the Stars, he was part of the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL last year. The forthcoming South African T20 competition also looms as an option.”I’ve had a tough run with injuries lately but I’ve still thoroughly enjoyed every moment with the Victorian boys over the years,” Hastings said. “I also want to thank everyone involved over my Victorian journey who helped me become the cricketer I am today. Everyone has been amazing every step of the way.”I’ve still got a bit left in the tank though, and I can’t wait to get back on the park with the Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash.”In domestic cricket, Hastings played 75 first-class matches for Victoria at home and Durham and Worcestershire in the English county circuit. In that time, he scored 11 fifties with a top score of 93 and took 239 wickets, including seven five-fors, at an average of 27.22. He played 113 List A matches for 179 scalps and his best figures of 6 for 45 came for Australia against Sri Lanka in August 2016.”Hastings, or ‘the Duke’ as he was affectionately known to us, has made a big impact on Victorian cricket in his 11 years with us,” said Victoria’s general manager of cricket Shaun Graf. “It’s unfortunate that such a great player and character has been brought down by injury, as he deserved a proper farewell from the Bushrangers who he has given so much to. We wish John all the best his future endeavours.”Hastings’ only Test came against South Africa at the WACA Ground, in what was also Ricky Ponting’s final appearance for Australia. Though he took only one wicket it was a good one – a classic away swinger to catch the outside edge of AB de Villiers’ bat. As an ODI bowler he excelled in 2016, claiming 29 wickets in 15 matches, more than any other pace bowler that year.”John has been a great servant of Australian cricket, and a player who worked extremely hard to be the best he could be, both at national and domestic level, and we congratulate him on his achievements,” Cricket Australia’s chief executive James Sutherland said. “He was a brilliant competitor particularly in limited-overs cricket for Australia, and a smart cricketer who with bat and ball was always in the game and looking to play his role helping Australia and the Victoria Bushrangers achieve success on the field.”

Both batsmen made 129 each – at a strike-rate over 70 – as Services bowlers had a day to forget. Elsewhere, Bengal kept their chances of qualification alive with centuries from Shreevats Goswami and Anustup Majumdar

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Nov-2017It was a phenomenal batting day in Amritsar, led by Punjab‘s 18-year old opener Shubman Gill. He struck 129 off only 142 balls. Ninety-four of those runs came in boundaries. What a way to score a maiden first-class century.If that was impressive, 19-year old Anmolpreet Singh, who made his debut earlier this season, went to stumps having secured his third hundred in five first-class games. He has already shown the capability to occupy the crease for an immensely long time – Chattisgarh were flayed for 267 runs four weeks ago and Services may be worried about facing a similar fate. Their bowlers could only pick up two wickets in 90 overs.Considering that, Manan Vohra would feel highly disappointed that he could make only 3. Each of his team-mates who went out to bat racked up at least a fifty with Jiwanjot Singh retiring hurt on 54 and Gurkeerat Singh was unbeaten on 68.Centuries from Shreevats Goswami (139) and Anustup Majumdar (107*) helped Bengal brush a top-order collapse aside as they finished on 305 for 5 against Goa on the first day at Eden Gardens. Their 213-run fifth-wicket partnership proved all the more vital because it came in a match that will determine their progress into the quarter-finals. A first-innings lead will see them through, but it looked an unlikely event when they were 79 for 4.4:14

Who is Shubman Gill?

Goa were on top early on, after Felix Alemao and Lakshay Garg dismantled Bengal’s top order in the first hour. Abhishek Raman, Sudip Chatterjee and the captain Manoj Tiwary were all out for binary scores for 1, 1 and 0. Abhimanyu Easwaran departed after a fighting 46.Goswami and Majumdar stemmed the rot and batted for more than 50 overs – hitting 33 fours between them – to complete Bengal’s recovery. Left-arm spinner Amulya Pandrekar finally broke the partnership in the 80th over after which Writtick Chatterjee (6*) and Majumdar batted through to stumps.The pendulum swung one way and then the other in other game in Nagpur, with Himachal Pradesh, still in with a shot to qualify for the knockouts, finishing on 287 for 6. The experienced Rishi Dhawan was at the crease on 57 not out – the second fifty of the innings after captain Sumeet Verma’s 66. But Vidarbha, who are already though to the quarter-finals, had held the upper hand, yanking the opposition down from 70 for 1 to 70 for 3 and then from 142 for 3 to 190 for 6.Rajneesh Gurbani was key to the day see-sawing as it did. The 24-year old seamer picked up two wickets in successive overs, and later came back to pick up the final wicket of the day. That, though, happened in the 61st over. Dhawan and Akash Vasisht shut the door on Vidarbha with a 97-run unbroken stand but the fight will resume again on day two.

The Delhi openers added a massive 232, thereby bringing their deficit down to only 15 runs with seven wickets in hand against Bengal

The Report by Arun Venugopal in Pune18-Dec-2017Gautam Gambhir plays through the off side•AFP

Delhi not only learnt from their opponents’ mistakes on the first day, but also thrived on them as Gautam Gambhir (127) and Kunal Chandela (113) doubled-teamed Bengal to all but secure the first-innings lead. After mopping up Bengal’s last three wickets for the addition of only 17 runs on the second day, Delhi ended the day on 271 for 3, with Gambhir caught behind off Mohammed Shami on what turned out to be the last ball of the day. Delhi trail Bengal by only 15 runs with middle-order batsmen Rishabh Pant and Himmat Singh still to come.

Chandela credits college cricket for his rise

Kunal Chandela began his first-class career in fine fashion with three fifties in as many innings. The 23-year-old right-hander scored 64 against Hyderabad on debut and followed it up with 81 and 57 against Madhya Pradesh in the quarter-finals. While he had done enough to justify his selection ahead of Unmukt Chand, Chandela realised the importance of making a big score for himself and his team.
“I wasn’t converting my fifties [into big knocks],” Chandela said. “I had a chat with the coaches, who asked me to give myself some time. The more time I gave myself it was better for me and the team.”
He said batting alongside Gautam Gambhir during the course of their 232-run partnership helped him focus better. “Gauti was very supportive and helped me wherever I was making a mistake,” he said. “He asked me to back myself and hit the balls that are meant to be hit. At one point, I played the sweep when he said I was playing very well straight so I didn’t need to do it.”
In 2016, Chandela, who was Delhi captain Rishabh Pant’s senior at school, grabbed attention in the Delhi cricketing circle with a triple century to help North Zone beat West Zone in the All-India Inter-Zone Tournament. “College cricket helped me a lot. Players of a different generation knew it was [like] first-class cricket,” he said. “It was good for me to play days’ cricket. I got to experience four-day cricket there.”

The 232-run opening stand between Gambhir and Chandela also solved a problem that coach KP Bhaskar had described ahead of the quarter-finals as the team’s only weakness. Before Monday’s double-hundred stand, Delhi openers had posted only one 50-plus partnership all season. Despite some testing bowling from Shami and Ashok Dinda with the new ball, Gambhir and Chandela were scoring at a good clip – there were six fours hit in the first seven overs. Gambhir fancied his pulls, slices and dabs during the course of his 42nd first-class hundred even as Chandela, whose game appears to be built on balance and economy of initial movement, drove effortlessly on the way to a maiden century in his third first-class match.Shami was inconsistent on a day he had to shoulder a huge chunk of Bengal’s bowling workload. During the course of the 23.2 overs he bowled, Shami produced spurts of inspiration, like in the last half-hour when he attempted to bounce out Gambhir and Nitish Rana with a leg gully, deep square leg and a fine leg. Shami’s efforts finally earned him a wicket after he went around the stumps for one delivery and aimed for Gambhir’s body with a short-pitched ball. Gambhir couldn’t evade the ball as it brushed his glove, caught by the wicketkeeper Shreevats Goswami down the leg side. Furious with himself, Gambhir slammed his bat against the sightscreen on his way back, but he had reasons to smile for the better part of the day.Along with Chandela, he sought to derive maximum value out of any loose deliveries that came their way. Delhi scored 178 of their 271 runs in boundaries, and the Chandela-Gambhir combine contributed 162 of those. More often than not, their boundaries arrived in clusters, and the resultant spikes in scoring messed with Bengal’s rhythm. On one occasion, Chandela smashed B Amit – Bengal’s most disciplined bowler of the day – for four fours in an over: a punch through the off side, a streaky prod and a brace of flowing drives. Delhi whipped up 131 runs in 30 overs in the second session. The strike-rates of both batsmen were similar too, at around 58. While Gambhir brought up his century off 123 balls, Chandela took 149 deliveries.There was also some good fortune for Gambhir. He was the beneficiary of two reprieves, on 44 and 101. On the first occasion, Dinda provoked an edge in the 19th over but Sudip Chatterjee dropped the offering at slip. Then, in the 40th over, Gambhir edged one behind off Aamir Gani’s offspin, but umpire Abhijit Deshmukh turned down Bengal’s loud pleas. Chandela, who has three fifties from as many first-class innings, brought up his hundred with a majestic swivel to pull the ball to the fence.After an underwhelming pair of sessions, Bengal showed marginal improvement after tea. They had gone wicketless for 61 overs, but sent back Chandela thanks to an excellent effort from Goswami, who flung to his right to complete a one-handed catch off Amit. Goswami completed his second catch soon after when Dhruv Shorey shaped to pull a short delivery from Dinda.Earlier in the morning, Bengal’s lower order folded up without much fight in 7.2 overs. Navdeep Saini began the destruction by trapping Goswami in front of the stumps after beating him for pace. Gani was run out thanks to a direct hit from Manan Sharma at midwicket, who also caught Dinda’s attempted hoick that ballooned up.

Worcestershire’s director of cricket has left the club with immediate effect, in the wake of an internal investigation

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Dec-2017Worcestershire’s director of cricket, Steve Rhodes, has left the club with immediate effect, in the wake of an internal investigation into the circumstances of the arrest of allrounder Alex Hepburn, who was charged with two counts of rape last month.Rhodes, a legend of the club with more than three decades of service as a player and coach, was put on indefinite leave by Worcestershire (and relieved of his duties as head coach of the England Under-19 squad) after it emerged that he had fail to report Hepburn’s arrest in a timely fashion.The club said in a statement: “We thank him for his 33 years as a player, coach and Director of Cricket. We wish him well in the future.”It is alleged that, when Hepburn was first arrested on April 1, he approached Rhodes for assistance. Rhodes agreed not to pass on details of the allegation to the club’s board and, while the investigation continued, Hepburn was selected for the first team (in T20 cricket) and signed a one-year contract extension with the club.Alex Hepburn has been charged with two counts of rape•Getty Images

News that he had subsequently been charged resulted in the matter coming to the attention of the club and the ECB. It is understood they were told on November 9 and 10.Hepburn, who is suspended on full pay, appeared at Worcester Crown Court on December 7, where he was released on unconditional bail until his hearing commences at 9am on January 4.Rhodes, who kept wicket for England in 11 Tests, had been in charge of Worcestershire since 2006, having played for the county from 1985 to 2004.The club will be making no further comment.

Rashid Khan, one of T20’s hottest properties, will team up again with Jason Gillespie when he joins Sussex in the first half of the T20 Blast

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Feb-2018Rashid Khan’s whirlwind career will blow him into Hove for the T20 Blast. Rashid, the Afghan legspinner who has become one of the hottest properties in T20 cricket and lifted the stature of Afghanistan cricket in the process, will play for Sussex for the first half of the tournament.Rashid will join Sussex with confidence because he teams up again with Jason Gillespie, the county’s new head coach, who was in charge of Adelaide Strikers when they won this season’s Big Bash.Rashid was one of the Strikers’ chief assets, finishing joint top of the wicket-taking charts with 18 wickets in 11 innings at a startling economy rate of 5.65 runs per over – the most meagre in the tournament. He missed the final because of international duties, but Adelaide survived without him, comfortably beating Hobart Hurricanes.A stint in the IPL will dominate his thinking before he arrives on the south coast of England. At the recent IPL auction, Sunrisers Hyderabad paid US$1.4m for his services, leading him to be dubbed by some as “the million dollar baby”.At 19, his brief career has also taken him to the Caribbean Premier League and Bangladesh Premier League as the advance of T20 – not the discussions of international administrators in sparking-water filled committee rooms – promises to become the main driver for global opportunity.Gillespie needed a lift after losing both Jofra Archer and Chris Jordan to the IPL, so deflating Sussex’s promotion challenge from Division Two of the Specsavers Championship before it has begun. But the prospect of Rashid and Archer, a key performer in Hobart’s BBL campaign, teaming up in T20 will give Sussex one of the most talked-about bowling attacks in the competition.Sussex have become the sixth domestic T20 side to snap up Rashid Khan•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“We are delighted that Rash has agreed to join us at Sussex,” Gillespie said. “His form for Afghanistan and the T20 teams he has played for over the last couple of years has been phenomenal. I have worked closely with Rash at the Adelaide Strikers in the BBL and have been incredibly impressed with his attitude, work ethic and team-first mentality.”We look forward to welcoming him to the Sharks where I’m sure he will quickly become a fan favourite.”Amongst bowlers who have bowled at least 500 deliveries, Rashid has the lowest average (13.82) in the history of international T20 cricket. His economy rate of 5.86 runs per over is the second lowest of all time.Sussex’s relatively small boundaries will offer up a new challenge, especially the tight boundaries square of the wicketSussex’s director of cricket, Keith Greenfield, expressed his delight at the signing. “Rashid is the most sought-after spin talent in the world,” he said. “He has made a significant impact in all the teams he has played for to date, so to make this move happen is fantastic.”

Ten of the visiting batsmen got to or past 18, but only one – Pat Cummins at No. 8 – went on to score a half-century

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Feb-2018Matt King – CA/Cricket Australia/Getty Images

A five-wicket haul from Beuran Hendricks restricted the Australians to a succession of unconverted starts on the second day of their tour match against South Africa A in Benoni. Replying to South Africa A’s first-innings total of 220, the Australians were bowled out after taking a 109-run lead. The left-armer Hendricks picked up his 14th five-wicket haul in first-class cricket, and found useful support from his fellow seamers Duanne Olivier and Malusi Siboto, who picked up two wickets apiece.Then the home side’s openers, Zubayr Hamza and Pieter Malan, batted through the last 18 overs of day two to move their side to 55 for 0 at stumps.Ten of the Australians got to or past 18, but only one of them – Pat Cummins at No. 8, who made an unbeaten 59 – went on to make 50. The only batsman out for a single-digit score was Peter Handscomb, who was out for a three-ball duck on day one.Resuming with their side 87 for 3, the overnight pair of Cameron Bancroft and Shaun Marsh stretched their fourth-wicket stand to 60 before the latter fell for 25. Bancroft fell 4.5 overs later for 45.A few more partnerships of middling length followed: 43 for the sixth wicket between Mitchell Marsh and Tim Paine, 47 for the eighth between Cummins and Mitchell Starc, and 64 – the biggest of the innings – between Cummins and Nathan Lyon, who struck 38 off 34 balls with three fours and two sixes. All of these allowed the Australians to comfortably surpass South Africa A’s first-innings effort.

Steyn, who has not played competitive cricket since the New Year’s Test against India, will look to county circuit to get game time ahead of South Africa’s next assignment in Sri Lanka in July

Firdose Moonda01-Apr-2018Dale Steyn will look to county circuit to get game time ahead of South Africa’s next international assignment in Sri Lanka in July. Steyn, who has not played competitive cricket since the New Year’s Test against India where he injured his heel, still requires a month’s rehabilitation before returning to action.Steyn confirmed there was a “possibility,” of him joining Hampshire in June, although he is also looking at other options. Hampshire have already signed Hashim Amla for the first three months of the season, and have two South African Kolpak signees on their books – Kyle Abbott and Rilee Rossouw.Steyn was awarded a new national contract in April and has committed himself to returning for South Africa, though he has only played one Test since November 2016, when he broke a bone in his shoulder at the WACA, and his one-day future is uncertain. Steyn needs three wickets to overtake Shaun Pollock as South Africa’s highest wicket-taker in Tests.

Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur is hopeful that the time of the year will help them overcome the loss of legspinner Yasir Shah for the Tests against Ireland and England

Andrew McGlashan25-Apr-2018Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur is hopeful that the time of the year will help them overcome the loss of legspinner Yasir Shah for the Tests against Ireland and England.Yasir has taken 89 wickets in the last two years – more than double Pakistan’s next most successful bowler in the period – but was ruled out of this tour due to a hip injury. Shadab Khan, the 19-year-old legspinner, who has impressed with the white ball but has played just one Test, has huge shoes to fill although there remains a chance Pakistan will decide to go without a specialist spinner given the early-season conditions which are likely to prevail.There has been a significant decline in Pakistan’s Test fortunes since the shared series against England in 2016 which helped them to the No. 1 ranking. They are now languishing at No. 7 following series defeats against New Zealand, Australia and most recently Sri Lanka – their record with Arthur as coach is 11 defeats and six wins from 17 Tests – and are going through a transitional phase following the retirements of batting stalwarts Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq.There are four uncapped batsmen in the squad and the absence of Yasir has shorn Pakistan of a senior figure with the ball while also leaving them with their least experienced spin attack to face England in at least 40 years.”Any team would miss Yasir,” Arthur said ahead of the team’s first warm-up match against Kent. “He has the ability to hold the attack and control the game. Shadab is incredibly exciting but also I am not sure that spin is going to be a huge factor given it’s early season in England, so we have covered ourselves in the seam department. But Shadab can clean tails up because he has all the tricks. It is going to be exciting to see how he goes.”Yasir is a big loss but we have him at the National Cricket Academy [in Lahore] and he is getting fit, his stress fracture is healing and it’s really important for us to have him fit and firing for the Australia and New Zealand series later in the year.”Pakistan’s bowling attack will rest heavily on Mohammad Amir, who arrived in the UK on Wednesday having been granted his visa after a short delay. Two years ago he made his return to Test cricket at Lord’s, following his spot-fixing ban, and since then has not earned the rewards his bowling has often deserved with 44 wickets at 37.25. How Pakistan catch will be a critical factor, with Amir suffering significantly from missed chances, although there is also a belief in the team management that the amount of white-ball cricket he has played has led him into bowling too short with the red ball.”He’s our No. 1 bowler, we back him in tough situations. He generally gets it done for us,” Arthur said. “We need him to get the ball swinging, we need him to get his length slightly fuller and if he gets that he’s going to ask a lot of questions.”Amir’s workload has also become a topic of debate in recent times, with the indication that he may sit out some Test cricket to preserve him for the 2019 World Cup and beyond. Arthur said that Pakistan have “three weeks off” between now and the World Cup, leaving a balancing act between building a new era for the Test side while keeping an eye on the demands of the limited-overs game.”We have had the workload debate for a long time now and every team has to do the same. We only have three weeks off in our calendar now before the World Cup next year, so we’d be silly not to arrive here with our bowlers fit and we know who they are – we have identified them – so we just have to manage them because ultimately want the best team to play in that 2019 World Cup.”But also for us it is so important to win Test matches – we are a young team and we need to get our Test team right and to do that we have to build a core of players who can play at any given time. We are trying to resurrect our Test side, we feel we’ve got our white-ball cricket where we need it now, so we are really excited about this series, really excited to see these young guys come out and perform. There’s some incredible talent in our dressing room, so let’s hope it all goes well for us.”

After a challenging start to the season which has yielded 88 runs in six innings, Clarke delivered the sort of knock that will have the selectors taking note

Dan Norcross at Kia Oval06-May-20182:04

Yorkshire complete epic comeback

ScorecardWhen Joe Clarke slapped a filthy long hop from Dom Bess into the hands of Sam Curran at the Kensington Oval in the second match of the North v South series in March to be dismissed for a glorious 58-ball 71, Andy Flower on commentary pursed his already thin lips and produced a stare harder than any animated English-speaking Peruvian bear could muster.Disappointment was not the emotion. Barely concealed fury would be closer to the mark. England rate Clarke, you see, and they want him to score big runs. The big runs that have been missing from the Test team pretty much since the middle-order of Trott, Pietersen and Bell broke up.After a challenging start to the season which has yielded a mere 88 runs in six innings, Clarke delivered the sort of knock that will have had Flower purring in appreciation over his tea time marmalade sandwiches.The cynics will point out that The Oval does not provide the most testing of conditions for batsmen. The wiser heads will counter that most Test match surfaces are pretty good to bat on. The problem England have encountered is that their batsmen don’t seem minded to bat on them for any great length of time.On pitches in the winter that produced nine centuries for Australia, England managed just three. Their best batsman, Joe Root failed to convert any of his fifties into a three figure score. What they would have given for the sort of application and hunger that Clarke displayed against Surrey in compiling a near perfect 157 from 280 balls. It took a ball of considerable pace from the promising Conor McKerr, making his first appearance for Surrey this season after recovery from injury, to trap him in front after nearly six hours at the crease.Clarke’s most eye catching strokes tend to be his off side drives, but England fans have grown wary of the eye-catching. A winter listening to James Vince whisper sweet-nothings into sleep-deprived ears before nicking off to second slip has taught a nation to harden its heart to the frivolous blandishments of aesthetic beauty. What impressed most was Clarke’s determination to cash in while he had the chance. After all, he could be back on a green top at Worcester by Friday, facing up to Jamie Porter, Peter Siddle et al.Surrey’s captain Rory Burns, much like Root when confronted with Steve Smith in the winter, tried any number of fancy tricks; leg-slips, multiple mid-wickets, short-bowling with the old ball, but much like Smith, Clarke could not be drawn from his impressive bubble.As a spectacle this game is dying a death. As a potent tonic for Worcestershire’s early season despondency it’s doing just the job. Batsmen who have barely made a run are starting to feel the unfamiliar comfort of bat on ball. Daryl Mitchell, Tom Fell and Travis Head have all got half centuries and Ed Barnard, Worcestershire’s one bright spark in a sepulchral April is unbeaten on 42, eyeing up perhaps a dart at the stiff Surrey bowlers in the morning with a view to applying some pressure in the afternoon.That, though, is the tallest of orders. The pitch offered the bowlers nothing and although the crowd was twice treated to Amar Virdi’s ersatz rendition of Imran Tahir’s wicket celebration, this match will in all likelihood be completed with a shake of the hands in the late afternoon tomorrow.If Surrey are to be genuine title contenders they cannot afford to play matches on pitches like this; least of all matches against the division’s bottom side. There are extenuating circumstances. The weather has made preparation unusually difficult, but this is a repeating theme. High scoring draws may keep you in this division, but it won’t get you the title.As for Clarke and indeed the England selectors, an innings of substance in a high-scoring draw might be just what the doctor ordered.

Rajasthan Royals have a 1-6 win-loss record at Eden Gardens, and might be hampered by their lack of batting depth

The Preview by Karthik Krishnaswamy22-May-20183:52

Agarkar: KKR start as firm favourites

Big picture

Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals. They ended third and fourth on the league table, with not a lot separating them, after seasons that followed similar trajectories, particularly when the playoffs race intensified. As squads, however, the campaigns they went through couldn’t have been more dissimilar.Fast bowlers aside, the KKR XI that will line up in Wednesday’s Qualifier is perhaps exactly the one their team management might have picked as their best XI on auction day, down to the batting order. This is a small but wisely assembled squad, full of trusted names, and who knows where it might have finished had Mitchell Starc been fit to play the tournament?

Form guide (most recent match first)

Kolkata Knight Riders: beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by five wickets, beat Rajasthan Royals by six wickets, beat Kings XI Punjab by 31 runs
Rajasthan Royals: beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 30 runs, lost to Kolkata Knight Riders by six wickets, beat Mumbai Indians by seven wickets

Rajasthan Royals was a less tested combination, partly because they were returning from a two-year suspension, but one full of exciting overseas talent. All that talent, however, took time and a fair bit of shuffling to begin firing. And by the time that happened, two of the team’s biggest names, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes, had to be scratched off the roster.The absence of those two names, particularly Buttler, is a handicap Royals will have to overcome in Wednesday’s Eliminator, as are a shortish middle order and a longish tail. There is the small matter of the venue as well. Eden Gardens is KKR’s lair, and Royals have an awful record here: only one win in seven matches.KKR, therefore, have a number of advantages going into this meeting, but the fleetingness of a single T20 contest can minimise all of them. The Eliminator is as accurate a name for this kind of contest, and it’s anyone’s game to lose.

Previous meetings

KKR won both their matches against Royals in the league stage, and comfortably at that. In Jaipur, an all-round display from Nitish Rana set up a seven-wicket win with seven balls remaining. In Kolkata, Royals collapsed to Kuldeep Yadav’s wristspin after a helter-skelter opening stand between Jos Buttler and Rahul Tripathi, and forties from Chris Lynn and Dinesh Karthik led the home team home with two overs to spare.

In the news

• Neither team trained on Tuesday, with rain keeping Eden Gardens under covers. There is a 20% chance of rain on Wednesday as well.
• Apart from Buttler and Stokes, who are away on England duty, Royals have also been without their mentor Shane Warne over the last week or so. He has tweeted saying he will miss the Eliminator and Friday’s second Qualifier as well, but that he would be back for Sunday’s final – if Royals make it, of course.

Likely XIs

Kolkata Knight Riders: 1 Chris Lynn, 2 Sunil Narine, 3 Robin Uthappa, 4 Nitish Rana, 5 Dinesh Karthik (capt & wk), 6 Andre Russell, 7 Shubman Gill, 8 Piyush Chawla, 9 Javon Searles, 10 Kuldeep Yadav, 11 Prasidh KrishnaRajasthan Royals: 1 Rahul Tripathi, 2 Ajinkya Rahane (capt), 3 Sanju Samson, 4 Heinrich Klaase, 5 Stuart Binny, 6 K Gowtham, 7 Jofra Archer, 8 Shreyas Gopal, 9 Ish Sodhi, 10 Jaydev Unadkat, 11 Ben Laughlin

Strategy punt

In IPL 2018, Chris Lynn has only managed to score 121 off 131 balls against spin, while being dismissed four times. Sunil Narine has been explosive against spinners, scoring 138 off 66 balls, but he’s also been out to them once every 9.4 balls.Royals will want to start with spin at least from one end, but they have to be smart about their choice of spinner. They usually give the new ball to the offspinner K Gowtham, but one of their two legspinners, Ish Sodhi or Shreyas Gopal, could be a better option against KKR. While Narine has smashed offspin for 76 off 28 balls (including 23 off 9 against K Gowtham) while only being dismissed once this year, he hasn’t done as well against right-arm legspin, scoring only 18 off 16 while being dismissed twice. Lynn hasn’t been dismissed by legspin this season, but his strike rate against them – as is the case with other kinds of spin – is below 100.By opening the bowling with Sodhi or Shreyas, Royals will be able to hold back Gowtham for a contest he might relish, against his former Karnataka team-mate Robin Uthappa, who has only scored 33 off 33 against offspin this season while being dismissed twice. This while achieving strike rates of over 180 against both left-arm orthodox and legspin.

Stats that matter

• Home advantage could be a major factor in this game. Royals have a 9-8 win-loss record overall against KKR, but have only won one of their six meetings at the Eden Gardens. This season, moreover, Royals have won only two of their seven matches away from Jaipur.
• KKR’s players have played 50 IPL playoff matches between them, while Royals’ have only played 23.
• Dinesh Karthik will reach the 5000-run mark in T20s if he makes 36, while Sanju Samson needs 39 to get to 3000.
• Lasith Malinga (at the Wankhede Stadium) is the only bowler to take 50 or more wickets at one venue in the IPL. Sunil Narine needs two wickets to get to 50 at the Eden Gardens.
• Royals’ fortunes could well depend on how soon they can send back Narine – this season, he has the best Powerplay strike rate (198.4) of any batsman to face 75 or more balls in that phase. He has made 252 runs in the first six overs this season off 127 balls, while being dismissed eight times.

Fantasy pick

• Andre Russell has had a decent IPL without making as many match-turning interventions as his fans may have expected. Wednesday night could well be his night.
• Heinrich Klaasen struck form with a 21-ball 32 against Royal Challengers Bangalore, and also sparkled behind the stumps with three stumpings and a low, diving catch. He will still be full of confidence from that performance when he makes his IPL playoff debut, playing a crucial middle-order role in a team that lacks a bit of batting depth.