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“I’m not insecure about where I bat,” says Indian captain on moving down the order to accommodate all three openers

Vishal Dikshit in Mumbai13-Jan-20203:21

Happy to bat at number four – Kohli

KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan are both in form in the lead-up to India’s ODI series against Australia starting Tuesday, and India captain Virat Kohli revealed that playing both of them, along with Rohit Sharma, in the XI could be a possibility. Rahul and Dhawan opened together and made useful contributions in the recent T20Is against Sri Lanka, and with the return of Sharma, who was rested for the T20Is, it appeared that India would be forced to pick one out of Dhawan and Rahul. But India are now considering a new combination for the upcoming ODIs.

Kohli reiterates openness to d/n Test in Australia

India captain Virat Kohli has reiterated that India are “open” to playing a day-night Test in Australia when they tour for four Tests in 2020-21, after the T20 World Cup. India recently played their inaugural day-night Test, against Bangladesh in Kolkata, winning the game by an innings and 46 runs.
“We played the day-night Test here, we’re pretty happy with how it went and it’s become a very exciting feature of any Test series so we’re absolutely open to play a day-night Test,” Kohli said. “We’re ready enough for the challenge and whether it’s Gabba or Perth, doesn’t matter to us, we do have the skillsets as a team to compete against anyone in the world, anywhere, in any format of the game – whether it’s white ball, red ball or pink ball. We’re ready to play anything.”

“All guys in form is always a good thing for the team,” Kohli said in Mumbai, where the three-match series begins. “You don’t want a guy out of form for him not to start in the XI. You obviously want to have the best players available and then choose from what the combination should be for the team. We’ll figure out what combination we want to go in with, there’s a possibility all three might play.”Rahul has been in more prolific form of late, having scored three half-centuries and a century against West Indies in three T20Is and as many ODIs, before making 54 and 45 against Sri Lanka in the T20Is. Dhawan missed the games against West Indies with an injury and he slotted back straight in the XI against Sri Lanka in Sharma’s absence, finishing the series with an impressive 52 off 36 to stake his claim for the opening slot again.Playing Sharma, Dhawan and Rahul together would push Kohli to No. 4 and Shreyas Iyer to No. 5, but that would then create a problem for the lower order. India will be forced to pick one out of Rishabh Pant and Kedar Jadhav for No. 6 as dislodging Ravindra Jadeja from the No. 7 slot would reduce the bowling options to four. Kohli said he was “very happy” to move from his usual No. 3 spot to accommodate the in-form batsmen, but he did not say anything about the lower-order combination.Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul share a light moment•AFP

“Yeah, big possibility, very happy to [change my batting position],” Kohli said. “I’m not possessive about where I play and I’m not insecure about where I bat. Being the captain of the team, it’s my job to make sure that the next lot is also ready as well. A lot of the other people might not look at it that way but your job as the captain is not only to look after the team right now but also to prepare a team that you can leave behind when you eventually pass it on to someone else.”So I think these are times where you need to be aware, it’s very easy to get into a personal zone saying, ‘no, I need to get runs’. It’s not like that, it doesn’t work like that. The vision has to be always on the larger picture and figure out how you can make these guys more confident. If at all someone has to take responsibility, it should be me and give the other guys opportunities as well. I’m very open to it and I really want to see guys stepping up and taking responsibility. That’s part and parcel of being captain and it’s good to see players finding their game, realising their own potential when you’re captain. I think that’s probably the most satisfying thing you can feel as a captain.”In order to slot both Jadhav and Jadeja, India could consider leaving Pant out, hand the wicketkeeping gloves to Rahul and play Jadhav at No. 6 as the sixth bowling option. Batting coach Vikram Rathour had said on Sunday they had not considered that option then, but the management was open to giving it a thought.”Rohit is an obvious choice, of course. Shikhar and Rahul are playing well, Shikhar has done tremendously well in one-dayers, Rahul is in great form. There are still a couple of days to go, the management will sit down and make a choice. I don’t see an issue, one of them will have to sit out, so that’s okay,” Rathour had said.When asked if Rahul would keep, he had said: “We haven’t really started thinking on those lines yet. At this point I think Pant is the first wicketkeeping option. Rahul can keep, that’s a skill he has so it will depend if the team management feels at any stage we require that.”

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.

Two years into the job, Steven Smith is already thinking of the 2021 Test tour of India, which he craves to lead in and win

Adam Collins in Mirpur26-Aug-20171:04

Gambhir: Australia will start favourites in Bangladesh

Occasionally, selection is just as much a pointer to the coming months and years as it is for the five days ahead. That is the case with Steven Smith’s side for the first Test in Mirpur. They will be making two changes to the XI that lost their previous Test, in Dharamsala against India in March.Ashton Agar returns after four years away, while Usman Khawaja is principally back to get into the Test groove again before the Ashes opener in November. Smith’s explanation of Steve O’Keefe’s omission from the squad, in favour of Agar, is instructive of his longer-term leadership goals. Namely, that he plans to be around for a long time.Since Allan Border, no Australian leader has spent more than Ricky Ponting’s seven years in the job, the rest staying for somewhere short of five. With two candles nearly on the cake for Smith, he is already thinking four years ahead to the next time Australia is due for a Test series in India, one he craves to lead in and win.While O’Keefe’s numerical return at Test and first-class level is top class, at 32 he is nine years Agar’s senior. The younger man has far from bashed the door down on conventional measures, claiming his first-class wickets at more than 40 apiece. Despite his two Ashes Tests in 2013 (for just two wickets) he remains, to a certain extent, a project player. But that project aligns neatly with Smith’s own: the aforementioned Indian return bout in 2021.”He’s come a long way,” Smith said of Agar’s inclusion. “For us it’s more looking to the future. Ashton has obviously been on the radar for a long time and someone we see as having a pretty bright future. Four years’ time back in India it’s something I want to achieve while I’m captain. I want to win in India, that’s big on my bucket list.”Similar logic applies to Khawaja. Aside from a dismal run in Sri Lanka last year where he lost his subcontinental spot, he has a body of work to dream of since returning to the side two Australian summers ago. But Smith made a more basic point about why Khawaja has nudged ahead of Shaun Marsh in the pecking order.”Usman obviously hasn’t played any cricket since the Sydney Test match, that was his last game and that was a long time ago,” he said. “We need to get him back into the fold and get him playing cricket again.” Before the home Ashes, Smith means, where the stylish left-hand batsman remains a lock.The series presents an opportunity for both Glenn Maxwell and Usman Khawaja•AFP

It isn’t just the fortunes of Khawaja that have changed since that Sri Lankan shocker. Whitewashed three-zip after going in favourites, expectations for India were measured, to say the least. But there, they stopped the rot and put on a better than commendable show, not least by breaking a nine-game losing snap in the region. It governs a far healthier mindset.”Something I learned a lot about in India as a captain in particular was knowing the different tempos of the game and when to attack a little bit more,” Smith said. “It’s been a good learning experience for me. I think the key to winning overseas is to ensure that you’re adapting consistently and putting those performances on the board consistently.”This confidence translates to relying on four bowlers alone to capture 20 wickets. Smith has been reluctant to use Glenn Maxwell’s spin since his return to the Test side in Ranchi, and seldom bowls himself now despite earning his national debut as a bowler first.”I know I copped a little bit of criticism for not using him [Maxwell] as much in the India series but again, you’ve got two quality spinners and they’re there to do a job,” Smith said. “In an ideal world, someone in the top six could bowl some good medium pace or good pace, it’d be ideal, but at the moment we’ve got to go with what we’ve got.”The tacit message to Maxwell came in response to the next question put to Smith, about England’s allrounder penchant. May it necessitate a seaming allrounder for Brisbane in November? “Yeah it could,” the Australian captain said. “They’ve got a very deep line-up.”With Smith also detailing a scenario where five specialist bowlers could be included for that series opener – a fit fab four of Australian quicks (Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and James Pattinson) alongside Nathan Lyon – it’s doubly important for Maxwell to use these Tests to make himself indispensable at six. “He does have an opportunity,” Smith continued. “He played pretty well in India, a lot better than other guys in that last Test. He certainly has the opportunity to nail down that spot, that’s for sure.”For all the inevitable Ashes chat, Smith was quick to clarify that Bangladesh won’t be underestimated, given they bossed over England inside three days the last time they played a Test here. Bangladesh also beat Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka to level a three-Test series in March. “We’re going to have to be at our best here,” he said.A slightly dry surface has been chosen in Mirpur among the two shortlisted, but Smith was reluctant to enter the encounter worrying too much about that. “There’s a ‘no whingeing’ policy about anything here in the subcontinent, wickets certainly fall under that,” he said. “They’ve put some grass clippings down to make it look a bit greener than what it is but it’s pretty dry underneath. I dare say it’ll be pretty slow.”Off-field, it is the first time an Australian team of any variety has played since the conclusion of the bitter pay war earlier this month, finally striking an agreement that made this tour possible. As a consequence, Smith acknowledged the importance of now rebuilding the brand of the game and national team after a torrent of bad blood was shed between players and administrators.”The pay dispute went on longer than we all would have liked but thankfully it’s all dealt with now,” he said. “We can move on with playing and trying to win back a few fans that we perhaps may have lost along the way. I think we’ll do that by playing good, hard fought cricket and winning games of cricket.”Bangladesh is good a place to start as any. Smith’s predecessor Michael Clarke put a premium on winning away and had middling success in doing so. For Smith, he managed it at the first time of asking in New Zealand, but came away without a trophy in the next two attempts. So drawing from the qualified-success of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, there is no better time or place to square the ledger and begin charting the course to his long-term Indian summit.

Worcestershire sealed a place in the quarter-finals of the NatWest T20 Blast when they overcame a sluggish pitch and a determined Derbyshire side by four wickets

ECB/PA17-Jul-2015
ScorecardJoe Leach ensured Worcestershire got over the line and into the quarter-finals•Getty Images

Worcestershire sealed a place in the quarter-finals of the NatWest T20 Blast when they overcame a sluggish pitch and a determined Derbyshire side to win the North Group match at Derby by four wickets.Derbyshire skipper Wes Durston hit 32 and Billy Godleman 33 in a total of 149 for 8 with Saeed Ajmal taking 2 for 21 in four overs. Despite Richard Oliver’s 45 from 38 balls, Worcestershire also found it hard to get the ball away against tight bowling with Alex Hughes taking 2 for 21. But Joe Leach hit an unbeaten 18 from 12 balls to secure victory and condemn Derbyshire to finishing bottom of the group.Derbyshire wanted to end on a high but were soon in trouble against disciplined bowling which was rewarded with three wickets in the Powerplay. Leach found some extra bounce to have Hamish Rutherford caught at slip in the second over and although Chesney Hughes twice dispatched him to the midwicket boundary, he was bowled making room off the last ball.Shiv Thakor carved Ed Barnard low to point in the fifth over and again it was Durston, the Falcons leading run-scorer in the T20, who led the fightback by sweeping Brett D’Oliveira’s first ball over square leg for six and pulling the legspinner wide of long-on for four.

Insights

In matches as tight as these on pitches as sluggish as these, know-how is so important. Worcestershire are flying high, now qualified for the quarter-finals with this win, while Derbyshire are consigned to the bottom of the North Group. This match was well balanced for much of its course and with 45 required from five overs it could easily have gone either way, but Worcestershire know how to win and Derbyshire do not. Leach’s 12-ball 18 again demonstrated the value of intensity in T20 cricket – it was only a 14 minute innings but he earned his money in a tight, pressurised situation.

But when he tried to launch Ajmal into the pavilion, he failed to clear long-on where Barnard took a well-judged catch to end a stand of 47 from 38 balls with Godleman, who swung Daryl Mitchell high over midwicket for two sixes to bring up the 100.But he sliced the next ball to point and when Wayne Madsen skied a drive at Ajmal to deep mid-off in the 15th over, Derbyshire were 102 for 6 before Alex Hughes and Tom Knight added 39 from 27 balls to get the total past 140.With the ball not coming on to the bat, Derbyshire were still in the game if they could take early wickets and Thakor struck in the fifth over when Mitchell pulled him to deep midwicket. Tom Kohler-Cadmore cut Alex Hughes to backward point in the ninth over as a combination of spin and seam denied Worcestershire a boundary for 21 balls and 85 from the last 10 overs was far from straightforward.Richard Oliver pulled Nathan Rimmington for his seventh four but then skied a drive to long-on off the last ball of the 12th over and the pressure was starting to tell when D’Oliveira miscued Alex Hughes to point.Worcestershire needed a big over and Munro delivered by taking 16, including a six over midwicket, from the 14th bowled by Durston but he then chipped Greg Cork to deep square leg in the next over.With 45 needed from the last five overs, Whiteley drove Thakor over long off for six and then swung Rimmington over long-on but was then yorked going for another maximum although four byes off the last ball reduced the target to 22 from 18 balls. Leach drove a Rimmington no-ball for four from an over which cost 10 and Worcestershire got home with three balls to spare.

Australia’s stand-in captain Shane Watson will be in danger of a suspension during the ODI series in the West Indies after he and his team were fined for a slow over-rate in their triangular series final victory at Adelaide Oval

Daniel Brettig at Adelaide Oval08-Mar-2012Australia’s stand-in captain Shane Watson will be in danger of a suspension during the ODI series in the West Indies after he and his team were fined for a slow over-rate in their triangular series final victory at Adelaide Oval. After a tense match, won by 16 runs, the ICC match-referee Chris Broad calculated that Australia were one over short of the required rate over the course of Sri Lanka’s innings, meaning each member of the team lost 10% of their match-fee while Watson was docked 20%. Under the ICC’s code of conduct, Watson will now effectively be on probation for the next 12 months, with another over-rate transgression while he is captaining in an ODI leading to a one-match suspension – the fate that befell India’s captain MS Dhoni earlier in the triangular series.The transgression was the one pitfall of a night on which Watson led Australia shrewdly in the field, and helped restrict Sri Lanka in their pursuit of a middling target on a slow pitch. After lifting the series trophy he said the team had finally come good in the field, following a patch of poor form.”After getting 231 we knew we were going to have to bowl and field extremely well to defend that and we certainly did that through the whole 48-49 overs,” Watson said. “That’s what we’ve been talking about, to actually put it all together, and we were able to do that and that is very satisfying.”We didn’t always bowl to our plans over the last couple of games; in the first final in Brisbane we let it slip a bit, and nearly lost that game. So we needed an all-round bowling performance. We also needed a good fielding performance to keep the intensity throughout the 50 overs. It is brilliant to see that when the guys really set their minds to it we can do it, and we set a standard tonight.”Australia’s squad departs for the West Indies via Sydney in the early hours of Friday morning, and Watson said the team would celebrate its victory as heartily as possible before the long-haul flight to the Caribbean. The squad has shown considerable signs of fatigue towards the end of a successful, if draining, summer, and now has more cricket ahead rather than rest.”That’s going to be the biggest challenge [to refresh themselves],” Watson said. “You’ve certainly got to enjoy the good times and the good wins. I think we have a 5.15am departure from the hotel, so there could be a few tired blokes after celebrating tonight. So as long as it’s not too crazy and too hectic the guys have a bit of time to freshen up on the flight and make sure that once we get to the West Indies we’re ready to go next Friday.”Watson, standing in for the injured Michael Clarke, has a remarkable thin resumé as a captain but, in the third final, showed an ability to lead by example with the ball, while also moving the field around in a suitably thoughtful manner.”It’s been a very exciting time for me; to be able to see the game from a different perspective has been a lot of fun,” Watson said. “I suppose normally standing out on the fence you’re trying to deflect a bit of banter that’s coming your way, so actually being there around the bowlers all the time, communicating with them is a lot of fun, and it’s nice when everyone sticks their hands up like they did tonight.”Edited by Dustin Silgardo

Cricinfo previews the final of IPL 2010 between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians

The Preview by Sidharth Monga24-Apr-2010

Match facts

Sunday, April 25
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)The biggest question on the eve of the final: Will Sachin Tendulkar play or not?•Indian Premier League

Big Picture

Pitches have tired, outfields have grown barer during an unforgiving Indian summer, but for 45 days the players have braved sapping conditions, excruciating travel (made more excruciating by security concerns), IPL parties, inane interviews and columns, explosions outside the stadium just before a match, injuries, cramps, fines and reprimands to keep this league rolling. On the way some of them have played in the breathtaking environs of Dharamsala, many of them have put in special performances, some of them have announced themselves, some have shown aspects of their game others didn’t know existed, some have found second winds. Two teams, though, have one final issue to settle before we move onto more pressing matters like the World Twenty20 and ascertaining how clean the IPL is.
The image of the third IPL, though, will remain MS Dhoni upper-cutting himself in the jaw like a pumped-up boxer, upon having hit a match-winning six from Dharamsala into McLeodganj. Nobody has seen Dhoni react so emotionally on a cricket field, and Dhoni has quite a body of work behind him to draw that cool, composed image from. And about a fortnight ago, when Dhoni’s team was asphyxiating a Mumbai Indians chase in the merciless Chennai humidity, Sachin Tendulkar, short on fluids, retired hurt, saw what resembled a choke and came back to try and win what was then just another match for Mumbai, with their semi-final place not under much doubt. Both men, one perhaps India’s greatest cricketer, one who has the makings of India’s greatest captain, represent how much this means to their teams.

Form guide (most recent first)

Mumbai WLWWW
Chennai WWLWL

Team talk

There’s no decision yet on whether the injured Tendulkar will play, but if he can hold the bat, expect him to open for Mumbai. “It’s his call,” was all their coach, Robin Singh, could offer. “If he is not available, we have our back-up plans.” Kieron Pollard is fit. Mumbai will be tempted to think about Ali Murtaza ahead of Abhishek Nayar because of the nature of the pitch. In that light, JP Duminy weighs over Dwayne Bravo.Mumbai (probable) 1 Sachin Tendulkar (capt.), 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Saurabh Tiwary, 4 Ambati Rayudu (wk), 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 JP Duminy, 7 Ali Murtaza/Abhishek Nayar, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Dilhara Fernando, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Lasith MalingaOn a turning pitch, Chennai have no reason to divert from the three-spinner attack.Chennai (probable) 1 Matthew Hayden, 2 M Vijay, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 MS Dhoni (capt. & wk), 5 S Badrinath, 6 Albie Morkel, 7 S Anirudha, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Doug Bollinger, 10 Muttiah Muralitharan, 11 Shadab Jakati

Previously…

Mumbai 3 Chennai 3
On a flat pitch at the Brabourne Stadium, Chennai failed to defend 180, but on a more difficult Chennai pitch, they defended 165 with aplomb.

In the spotlight

Law of averages says Matthew Hayden is due a single-handed match-winning blast. In an illustrious career, a Man-of-the-Match performance in a big tournament final is missing. In 12 innings since his Mongoose-charged 93, Hayden’s top score has been 35, and his strike-rate has been 117.2. Neither Chennai nor Hayden expects this, and he will want to set things right.Dhoni v Tendulkar Twenty20 games, if not won by a single-handed blasts, usually come down to captains, finals more so than others. These two captains also happen to be important batsmen of their line-ups. If Tendulkar has been remarkably consistent, setting up matches, Dhoni has been mercurial, retrieving lost matches. That holds true for their captaincy too.Lasith Malinga and Zaheer Khan have been the understated stars of Mumbai’s campaign. Of all teams of the IPL, you don’t want to be needing 10 an over against Mumbai: these guys are mean, accurate and wily. It will be interesting to see how Dhoni, Hayden and Co. go against these yorker machines. They do tend to make a bit of a mockery of spinning tracks.

Prime numbers and trivia

• Suresh Raina, with 1318 runs to his name, has overtaken Adam Gilchrist as the leading scorer in all IPL matches. Tendulkar is fifth with 1122 runs.
• Raina also holds the record for most catches, 26, for a non-wicketkeeper.

Chatter

“We have been doing well with our fast bowlers, so how does it concern me?”

“It gives us a slight edge that Mumbai have never been in a final before, and we have.”

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.

England look to put a ropey week behind them as they launch their international summer at a chilly Malahide

The Preview by Alan Gardner02-May-2019

Big Picture

Right, here we go then: England are about to hit the home straight, going into a home World Cup. And yet, they might not feel quite so at home in Malahide, where Ireland will be looking to add to their troubles after a rocky week for the ECB. England’s management have spent most of the build-up dealing with the fallout from the Alex Hales affair (an ongoing series), so the chance to play an actual cricket match will be a pleasant change in that respect.Ireland rarely need much motivation when it comes to upsetting the English, but a few weeks out from a tournament in which Eoin Morgan – who switched allegiances exactly a decade ago – is hoping to lead his much-touted England side to a first global 50-over trophy… Well, that would go down like a pint of the black stuff at Gibney’s. Not least because this is the first World Cup at which Ireland will not be participating since 2003.England may be the No. 1-ranked ODI nation, but it won’t be the No. 1-ranked team who walk out in north Dublin on Friday. Hales’ fall from grace aside, there are numerous absentees through (mostly) minor injuries and prescribed rest for England’s IPL contingent. However, the confirmation of a debut for Jofra Archer, the most-talked-about potential World Cup star yet to have played a single ODI, does add a layer of anticipation from an England perspective.That aside, this is as much of a chance for James Vince to audition for Hales’ spot in the World Cup squad (if England don’t just give it to Archer); possible ODI debuts for Dawid Malan and Ben Foakes, who is in line to take the gloves after the shoulder injury that cruelly ruled out Sam Billings; and the jostling among the pace bowlers, with Chris Jordan, like his “little bro” Archer, trying to barge into World Cup contention.Any sniff that England are taking this game lightly would only encourage Ireland further, but there should be no room for complacency in the wake of recent disruption. Hales was part of the camp that got together at the weekend but was subsequently removed to protect the England team “environment” – with Morgan now having given a frank assessment of how the squad felt. Morgan can at least point to England’s record against Ireland on his watch, with victories in Dublin in 2011 and 2013 (plus a washout in 2015), and last year’s 2-0 win on home soil.For Ireland, the opportunity to claim a major scalp burns brightly – their last win over a Full Member (other than the recently promoted Afghanistan) came against Zimbabwe at the 2015 World Cup. They will also host West Indies and Bangladesh in a tri-series later this month, while the new FTP and forthcoming ODI league marks the next stage in their bid for more fixtures. But beating England, and emulating Scotland’s heroic effort in Edinburgh last year, would start their season on a sweet note.Jofra Archer prepares to bowl during England net practice•Getty Images

Form guide

Ireland WLWLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
England LWLWL

In the spotlight

For a long time considered one of Ireland’s most-promising talents, Andy Balbirnie has taken the long route to becoming a linchpin of the batting. He was released by Middlesex in 2016 and battled injury for a period but has blossomed in the last 18 months, scoring three ODI hundreds in the pivotal No. 3 spot. With Ireland’s class of 2011 slowly heading towards retirement, Balbirnie’s development has helped offset the loss of Ed Joyce, in particular, and at the age of 28 he should be coming into the prime of his career. Made a career-best 145 not out to guide Ireland to victory over Afghanistan in March and comes into this game on the back of another hundred for his province, Leinster.There can be no other candidate. Fortunately, Jofra Archer looks a player born to be in the spotlight, having blazed a trail around the world in T20 leagues from the Big Bash to the IPL since making his debut for Sussex in 2016. His story is now well known: left out of the West Indies squad for the U-19 World Cup, he decided to make use of a British passport and set out to complete the seven-year qualification process to represent England. A change of rules reduced that period to three years and the clamour to get Archer involved in time for the World Cup has only grown since then. A 90mph bowler who can blast sixes and pull down the toughest catches, now is his chance to make an irresistible case.

Team news

Stuart Thompson has been ruled out with a shoulder injury, with former Warwickshire allrounder Mark Adair called up in his place. The spine of the team is full of experience, but there could be a debut for 19-year-old left-armer Josh Little.Ireland: (possible) 1 William Porterfield (capt), 2 Paul Stirling, 3 Andy Balbirnie, 4 Kevin O’Brien, 5 James McCollum/Lorcan Tucker, 6 Gary Wilson (wk), 7 Mark Adair, 8 George Dockrell, 9 Tim Murtagh, 10 Boyd Rankin, 11 Josh Little/Barry McCarthyWith Roy injured, Jonny Bairstow rested and Hales jettisoned, the stage is set for Vince and Malan to form England’s newest opening partnership. Joe Denly is set for his first ODI appearance in almost 10 years, with Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali among those given time off after the IPL. Ben Duckett and Jordan are the other options in England’s 13-man squad.England: (possible) 1 James Vince, 2 Dawid Malan, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Joe Denly, 6 Ben Foakes (wk), 7 David Willey, 8 Jofra Archer, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 Liam Plunkett, 11 Tom Curran

Pitch and conditions

A classic green seamer that could have been designed for Tim Murtagh’s nibbly medium-pace. Having been undercover for the last two days, it is unlikely to be a deck for breaking batting records. It was raining in Dublin on Thursday, but the forecast for the match is for a largely clear – if bitingly cold – day.

Stats and trivia

• Ireland’s only ODI victory over England remains the 2011 World Cup win at Bengaluru, when Kevin O’Brien went ballistic.
• Gary Wilson is set to win his 100th ODI cap for Ireland.
• Morgan is about to go past James Anderson (194) on England’s list of most-capped players in ODIs, with only Paul Collingwood (197) above him.

Quotes

“He is exciting. The attributes and skills he has are good enough to play international cricket, it’s how he deals with the pressures that come with it and how he performs.”
Eoin Morgan on the prospect of Archer’s debut“England have knocked the benchmark up again in ODI cricket over the last couple of years. They’ve given ODI cricket an extra nudge.
They’re knocking scores up by about 40 runs regardless of the surfaces they’re playing on.”
Will Porterfield on the challenge posed by England’s hard-hitting batsmen

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.”

A round-up of the second day of Group C matches in the seventh round of the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Nov-2016Snehal Kauthankar’s second first-class century – and maiden double ton – helped Goa recover from 190 for 6 to 413 against Haryana at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Ghaziabad. Goa had started the day on 197 for 6 with Kauthankar on 80 and Shadab Jakati on 4. The two stretched their seventh-wicket stand to 64 with Jakati contributing 28. After Jakati’s dismissal with Goa on 254 for 7, Reagan Pinto, who had retired hurt on 25 on the opening day, returned and helped add 73 for the eighth wicket with Kauthankar. Pinto struck 58 before he became left-arm spinner Ashok Sandhu’s fourth first-class victim. Amulaya Pandrekar, Goa’s No. 11, spent over an hour at the crease and batted out 40 balls to help add 67 more for the last wicket with Kauthankar. Pandrekar contributed just 5. Kauthankar was the last man dismissed, for 225 off 374 balls, which contained 30 fours and four sixes. Harshal Patel and Amit Mishra did the bulk of the damage, taking four wickets each.Haryana made a strong start to their reply, with Nitin Saini, not out on 76, taking them to 110 for no loss in the company of Shubham Rohilla, who was unbeaten on 32. Haryana ended the day trailing by 303.Kerala‘s bowlers fought back after their team was bowled out for 219 by Andhra in Guwahati. Left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla and offspinner Rohan Prem, along with Basil Thampi, the right-arm medium pacer, took two wickets each to leave Andhra 173 for 6 at stumps.The day had begun with Kerala 188 for 8 in their first innings. KS Monish (14) – resuming on 4 – and Thampi (15) used up 76 balls between them and took them to 219. Left-arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt dismissed both batsmen. DP Vijaykumar, who had taken a six-for on the opening day, ended with 6 for 47, his best innings returns.Andhra began solidly with Srikar Bharat and Prasanth Kumar both hitting half-centuries and putting on 81 for the first wicket. Abdulla broke through, having Bharat caught behind for 54. He followed it up with the scalp of Andhra captain Hanuma Vihari for 3. Prasanth stuck on to add 63 more with Ricky Bhui for the third wicket before being stumped off Prem. That dismissal began a procession with Andhra sliding from 152 for 2 to 170 for 6. Bhui stayed not out on 47. Andhra trail by 46 runs.In Surat, Rishi Dhawan’s five-wicket haul triggered a collapse as Services, resuming on 276 for 3, were bowled out for 401 by Himachal Pradesh. Services lost Nakul Verma, the overnight centurion, for 117 when he was bowled by Dhawan in the third over of the day. From there, Services lost two more quick wickets to slip to 288 for 6. That they got to 401 was courtesy Vikas Hathwala, who struck 69 and added 42 for the seventh wicket with Muzzaffaruddin Khalid (18) and 56 for the final wicket with Raj Bahadur (11 not out). Dhawan finished with 5 for 82.In response, Himachal ended the day 182 for 4. Paras Dogra top-scored with 70, while Prashant Chopra (47) and Ankit Kalsi (23) got off to starts, but none of them could convert into a big score. Robin Bist was unbeaten on 34 at stumps and had Mayank Dagar (3 not out) for company.At the Sardar Vallabhai Patel Stadium in Valsad, Hyderabad lost six wickets for 84 runs to get bowled out for 351 by Chhattisgarh. Hyderabad began the day on 267 for 4 with BP Sandeep not out on 73 and Mehdi Hassan giving him company on 10. Hassan was caught and bowled by right-arm medium pacer Pankaj Rao, while Sandeep missed his century by four runs, becoming the eighth man dismissed, to the right-arm medium pace of Abhishek Tamrakar. Rao, playing his sixth first-class match, took his second five-wicket haul, ending with 5 for 89.Chhattisgarh responded strongly, with their openers Sahil Gupta and Abhimanyu Chauhan notching up identical scores of 55. Gupta was trapped lbw by right-arm pacer Mohammed Siraj, before Chauhan took Chhattisgarh to 124 for 1 along with Sumit Ruikar. Chhattisgarh are behind by 227 runs.At the Bandra-Kurla Complex in Mumbai, Jammu & Kashmir‘s bowlers reduced Tripura to 193 for 6 after they were bowled out for 315. J&K resumed on 270 for 6 with Aditya Singh on 65 and Samiullah Beigh on 35. Aditya added just nine to his overnight tally before being caught behind off Rajib Dutta, while Beigh raised a half-century and was the eighth man out, for 54. Tripura’s new-ball pair of Manisankar Murasingh (4 for 75) and Dutta (3 for 74) took seven wickets between them. Ajoy Sarkar took two wickets and Gurinder Singh had one wicket.Like Tripura, J&K’s bowlers hunted in a pack with each of the five bowlers they used making an entry into the wickets column. Opener Bishal Ghosh struck an unbeaten 86, but Tripura were hurt by the inability of several of their batsmen to convert their starts.