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Talking points from the match between Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals in Pune

Amol Karhadkar in Pune10-Apr-2015Smith the captain
Shane Watson has been handed the responsibility of leading Rajasthan Royals to IPL glory this time. But it was another World champion Australian that walked out for the toss. Steven Smith revealed soon that Watson had been ruled out due to a “bruised hip”.For more than a year now, Smith has hardly put a foot wrong on a cricket field all over the world. And he continued in the same vein on Friday. First, his free-flowing 33 off 23 gave the much-needed impetus to the Royals innings. And then while defending a target that wasn’t out of reach by any means, Smith the captain displayed his acumen with his clever bowling changes.Despite it being an away game for his team, Smith appeared to be at home. After all, he had played his first two seasons in the IPL with Pune Warriors. And it was at the same ground that he had made his captaincy debut in the IPL almost three years ago.Royals buck the trend
More often than not, IPL teams tend to utilise most of their overseas players in the batting department. With Twenty20 being more about batting exploits, a majority of matches have seen franchises preferring three of their maximum four overseas players in the XI as batsmen. But Royals did something different.Barring stand-in captain Smith, the overseas cricketers in their XI were bowlers. Of course the fact that James Faulkner is a genuine allrounder and Chris Morris is a useful bat helped their team selection. But the decision was indeed brave, and it paid rich dividends as all the three overseas bowlers played a huge role in restricting the fancied Kings XI Punjab batting line-up to a sub-140 total.From being the low-cost team on the IPL circuit to a unit that has relied more on unknown domestic talent, Royals have set many trends in the first seven editions. Will this be a new trend for others to follow?Kings XI pacers impress
So dominating was the Kings XI batting unit in IPL 2014 that their fast bowlers’ efforts didn’t really get the credit they deserved. Kings XI possess some of the best Indian seamers on their roster. And Sandeep Sharma and Anureet Singh justified their billing by giving their team a solid start in the opener. Sandeep did a Morne Morkel of the opening IPL night, bowling four economical and impressive overs on the trot upfront. Anureet, on the other hand, had a tougher task of bowling two overs at the start and as many at the death. Taking this into account, his figures of 3 for 23 outdid all other bowlers on the night.Anureet even outshone Mitchell Johnson. Not that the Australian left-armer had a forgettable outing. Before suffering from Faulkner’s onslaught, Johnson had the Royals batsmen dancing to his tunes. He had Stuart Binny all at sea in his opening over before dismissing him and claiming the big scalp of Smith within four balls in his next over.Assault on Axar
Axar Patel was the find of the last season. He stifled the opposition batsmen so successfully during his maiden IPL season that he emerged as one of the most economical bowlers in the tournament’s history. That paved the way for him to not just earn an India cap but also be included in the squad for the World Cup.The Royals batsmen appeared to make a conscious effort to go after the left-arm spinner. The first ball Axar bowled, Smith charged down the wicket to flick it between mid-on and midwicket for a four. Next ball, Smith danced down again and hit him straight down the ground for a four. He missed out next ball but once he took a single, Karun Nair sent Axar over the ropes through cow corner. Though Axar foxed Karun with an arm ball, Royals continued to make a conscious assault. Axar was eventually taken for 34 off four overs.That man Faulkner
Just like Smith, Faulkner cannot get anything wrong on the field at the moment, fitness permitting. He continued his World Cup form without any fuss to help Royals open their IPL campaign in style. Had it not been for his sterling 33-ball 46, Royals wouldn’t have been able to post a 160-plus total. Walking in to bat with Royals in trouble at 75 for five in the 11th over, Faulkner changed the course of the game with partnerships of 51 and 34 with IPL debutant Deepak Hooda and Morris.And then with the ball in his hands, Faulkner did wonders yet again. All his three dismissals were his Australia team-mates, which took the fizz out of the game and turned it into a lopsided affair. If Faulkner continues in the same vein, Royals may well have many more one-sided victories this year.

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Apr-2015England used a review to the first ball of the day, which was turned down, but kept the pressure on in the opening exchanges•Getty ImagesMarlon Samuels was made to wait a long time in the 90s but eventually went through to a battling century, his seventh in Tests•Getty ImagesBut James Anderson picked up Samuels – and gave him a little send off – with the second new ball as England fought back with a run of wickets•AFPStuart Broad finished with four wickets as West Indies slid from 223 for 5 to 247 for 9•AFPBut there was another riposte to come from the hosts as Shannon Gabriel and Devendra Bishoo put on a half-century stand for the final wicket to lift West Indies to 299•Ricardo Mazalan/Associated PressEngland had 30 overs to face after tea and Alastair Cook began well, moving up to second in the England Test run-scoring table. He and Jonathan Trott played comfortably to the close•Getty Images

Mustafizur Rahman might be barely audible even with three microphones, but his bowling made a loud statement

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur19-Jun-2015The Bangladesh players couldn’t quite figure out what to do with Mustafizur Rahman after each of his five wickets. They surrounded him a couple of times, tried to lift him, jump on his shoulders, and someone even tugged at his cheeks. Right at the end when Bangladesh had completed the 79-run win, captain Mashrafe Mortaza kissed him all over his face.All Mustafizur could do was smile as he shyly tried to avoid the attention. At the presentation, the debutant could hardly be heard as nerves got the better of him. The same happened at the press conference where he could barely tell the story of his formative years in cricket.Mustafizur’s story is similar to those of many international cricketers from the subcontinent who come from nondescript areas far removed from the big cities but just as passionate about cricket as mainstream centres. After starting off as a batsman while playing with the tennis ball in his locality, he took on board the advice to start bowling fast. His family took his talent seriously, employing one of the elder brothers to ferry him to and from cricket practice. His elder brother Mokhlesur Rahman would take him to training 40 kilometre from his house to Satkhira town – 230 km southwest of capital Dhaka – on his bike every morning in the winter.”I didn’t even know Satkhira properly when my brother used to take me there every morning at seven,” Mustafizur said. “The first person who came to my mind [after the win tonight] was him.”He soon caught the eye of the scouts in Satkhira who picked him in under-17 tournaments before he was called up to a pace-bowling camp in Dhaka. Once he began using the facilities at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur regularly and slowly became a known face, he was asked to bowl in the Under-19 nets. Soon he bowled a few times in the Bangladesh nets before he became a regular Bangladesh U-19 player, also playing in the 2014 World Cup, where he took nine wickets in six matches.Chief selector Faruque Ahmed was impressed by him and picked him for Bangladesh A’s tour to the West Indies last year. Khulna Division then gave him a first-class debut in the 2013-14 domestic season and he became a regular there as well, picking up 26 wickets in first-class cricket in the 2014-15 season. His tally was second only to Mohammad Shahid’s, but his average of 18.03 was the best among the four pacers who took 20 or more wickets.Many would have thought Mustafizur’s call-up to the Bangladesh T20 side for the one-off game against Pakistan was premature but Mashrafe said it was a risk worth taking in the shortest format. However, after he finished with figures of 2 for 20 in four overs, including the wickets of Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Hafeez, the team management knew they wanted Mustafizur for the ODIs against India.When asked how he achieved control over his slower balls that deceived Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, Mustafizur provided a simple answer.”One day in the U-19 nets [Anamul Haque] Bijoy asked me if I could bowl him a slower cutter,” Mustafizur said, barely audible despite three microphones in front of him. “I tried it for the first time and I got him out. That’s when I started bowling that delivery.”However, if you went by the first ball he bowled in his ODI career, you wouldn’t have thought this 19-year old could be shy. As the ball took Rohit’s inside edge, Mustafizur was the first to go up in a big appeal for lbw but was turned down. His first spell ended with Rohit flicking him for a six and then picking up two more boundaries.Taskin Ahmed looked like the only effective pace bowler out of the four, picking up the crucial wickets of Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli, but the debutant soon joined him. Mashrafe brought back Mustafizur for his second spell in the 21st over, one that may turn out be a turning point in his life. Rohit had read him well until then, but this time Mustafizur drew him into a leg-side shot that took the leading edge. Mashrafe was beside himself with joy: he later revealed it was always his plan to use Mustafizur’s variation against India. Rahane, too, was foxed in Mustafizur’s next over, playing too early to a slower one.The cutter wasn’t the only thing in India’s path: Mustafizur himself ticked off their batsmen by coming in their way when they took runs. A second collision resulted in his going off the field, a wake-up call that he was in the big league now. Yet another wake-up call followed when Raina welcomed him back with an inside-out six first ball.Three balls later the deceptive offcutter fooled Raina, taking the inside edge and clattering into the stumps. Ashwin fell next ball to another slower delivery that took the outside edge before Jadeja hit one down long-on’s throat to give Mustafizur his fifth wicket.At the end of it all – the match, the Man-of-the-Match award, the press conference – someone asked Mustafizur whether any of this was believable. He smiled, nodded his head, looked downwards and said, “Yeah, it all feels great.”

R Ashwin and Ishant Sharma dismantled the the opposition, Amit Mishra came back strongly, and Virat Kohli grew as captain during the series win in Sri Lanka

Sharda Ugra02-Sep-2015

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Virat Kohli (233 runs at 38.83)India’s highest run-getter of a series where largely the bowlers ruled. Started with a century in Galle, his scores reading: 103, 3, 78, 10, 18 and 21 and found his dismissal chasing a tempter on the fifth stump over and over. As captain, though, he learnt, and he grew, finding a way to pick up a team from the blue funk of its shock defeat in the first Test. Barring one harried, fretful session at the SSC, carried himself and the team with dignity and equanimity in both defeat and victory.R. Ashwin (21 wickets at 18.09)Man of the series, leading wicket-taker, established himself as lead spinner, who led the charge through consistency and patience, when the innings had to be broken into at the P Sara or chipped away on the final day of the series. His captain said he wanted Ashwin cemented as an allrounder but a tennis elbow injury and scores of 7, 3, 2, 19, and 5 meant he was bumped down the order behind Amit Mishra. Ashwin responded with a vital 58 as India pushed for a tall target at the SSC and then broke the batting with 4 for 69.Ishant Sharma (13 wickets at 23.23)India’s enforcer in the series, not merely because of his complete range of wicket celebrations or send-offs or heightened dramatic scenes with Dhammika Prasad. This was Ishant as had always been promised and dreamt of – leading the attack, with pace, intensity, discipline, and bloody-minded persistence. Uninjured, unhindered, unleashed. Sticking to the game plan without distraction, fatigue or frustration, he carried the younger pacemen along with him by example. His 200th Test wicket, straight full to Angelo Matthews with the new ball, all but marked the end of the SSC Test and it is to be hoped, has marked Ishant’s thrilling second wind as India’s leading pace bowler.Amit Mishra (15 wickets at 15, 157 runs at 26.16)Mishra returned to Test cricket after four years and proved to his captain and his teammates just how competitive he could be, bat, ball, and presence. In Galle, he cleaned up the Sri Lankan tail, played perfect foil to Ashwin as pressure-creator and skillful practitioner, bowling quicker through the air and produced the most watchable ball by an India bowler all series – the drifting leg break to Jehan Mubarak at P Sara. The natural leader of the lower order

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Ajinkya Rahane (178 runs at 29.66)Kohli’s much-trusted vice-captain, a middle-order batsman of equanimity, ability and versatility, Rahane moved up to No.3 and handled the reshuffled spot by uncorking a fine second-innings century at the P Sara where he egged the lower order on. His scores with the bat other than the century were meagre, but his role in the field was tremendous. A safe-as-houses first slip to the spinners and gully to the quicks, Rahane’s world record of eight catches in the first Test became the standard by which the rest of India’s fielders behind the wicket must measure themselves.Cheteshwar Pujara (145 runs at 145)A sudden demand, an assured reply. Cheteshewar Pujara returned to the top of the Indian order as a part of its third opening combination and reminded everyone just how valuable his gifts are. He scored almost half India’s runs in the first innings on an SSC wicket that was a bowling beast. Pujara’s assured return at the top has sent out a message to the team’s bosses and the selectors – drop me if you can.Cheteshwar Pujara stepped up in a stop-gap role, laying the foundation for India’s win at the SSC•AFP

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Rohit Sharma (202 runs at 33.66)A batsman teetering between being inconsistent and imperious, Rohit Sharma ended up scoring more runs in the series than Indian batsman other than his captain. Deal with that. After the gloom at No.3 and No.4 in Galle, he was moved down to No.5. Rohit responded by cranking out two timely fifties, as only he can with insouciant strokeplay and oh-damn dismissals at the most inopportune times. Yet, when it counted, his second innings effort at the SSC was monumental. He came in 7 for 3 and created two fifty-plus partnerships that helped the visitors create a bulky enough target for Sri Lanka to chase. Love him or loathe him, when Rohit turns up, there’s a chance tides can turn too.Wriddhiman Saha (131 runs at 43.66 , 2 catches, 1 stumping)India’s injury-prone wicketkeeper was doing fine until his hamstring gave way during a handy batting effort in the second Test. Saha had opened the series by dropping Chandimal on the first day of the tour, but after that clanger, became more assured in his wicketkeeping. He scored two fifties, a more than capable anchor for the lower order. In the five-bowler theory, Saha is a perfect fit.Naman Ojha (56 runs at 28, 4 catches, 1 stumping)Did what he was expected to, after being air-dropped onto the tour, having spent 15 years in first-class cricket waiting for the spotlight. Two years older than Saha, Ojha is definitely as feisty a batsman and not one to be daunted by the occasion. As a keeper, he is yet to be tested by spin on square turners. But Ojha is a quick learner and is noted for having made marked improvement with the gloves just like he’s developed his batting over the last five seasons. An assured back up to Saha.

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Shikhar Dhawan (162 runs at 81)Batting with a hand that was only later found to be broken, Shikhar Dhawan’s century in the first innings kick-started India’s opening salvos in the Galle Test. His second innings was far slower and tentative, hampered both by a growing injury and Sri Lanka’s renewed energy after Dinesh Chandimal’s wildfire hundred. To be fair, others who followed him in Galle, could have done more but who knows what Dhawan would have done had he been fully fit?Umesh Yadav (5 wickets at 42.80)Umesh Yadav was quite often very quick, very often a little profligate, but not as disciplined as he needed more times than most. Despite beinng wayward, Umesh produced a work-rate that would have pleased his coaches. His ability to provide the searing breakthrough that others could ride on would have made Kohli’s heart sing. Like the first ball bowled to Angelo Mathews on the final day at P Sara when India needed eight wickets to equal the series. Sri Lanka’s spirit was broken and it was Umesh who started it.Stuart Binny (76 runs at 19, 3 wickets at 39)The moment team director Ravi Shastri referred to Stuart Binny as the half in the four-and-a-half bowlers, his name became fodder for social media. But Binny did his job as the fifth bowler; producing swing off the Kookaburra, controlling the flow of runs, conceding under three runs an over and being an option for Kohli to lean on. If Binny wants to stay in demand, though, his batting will have to find, what the great Hercule Poirot believed in: order and method.

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KL Rahul had a Jekyll-Hyde series both with the bat and on the field•AFPKL Rahul (126 runs at 21)The team’s youngest member, maybe its most unpredictably eccentric both with bat and on the field. Rahul held on to his opening spot because others around him kept getting injured. Beyond his second Test century (108) at the P Sara, he scored a total of 18 runs from five innings. He did tackle spin beautifully in one innings at the P Sara, but 2,2,2 7 and 5 and his two judicious leaves at the SSC became red-faced reminders that there is considerable work to be done. A few sitters dropped at slip and a few blinders taken. The boy’s life is not boring.M Vijay (82 runs at 41)The one Indian batsman who spent most time on the crease over the last 18 months, spent most of his time at the start of the tour waiting to be fit. Vijay turned up at the P Sara and was assured in his 82, but the hamstring wasn’t in the shape he it needed to be. It will be a dogfight for the opening spot when South Africa tours India, but if fit and fine, Vijay will be first man in and the first man marking his guard.Varun Aaron – (2 wickets 53.50)Pace like fire was not accompanied by discipline of a nerd and it was what cost Aaron his spot in the eleven. In the second innings, he was munched into by Chandimal, Thirimanne and Mubarak and his ability to work a large number of overs, is still to be developed. Pace is pace, but discipline gets wickets.

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Harbhajan Singh (1 wicket at 90)A disappointing lone Test for Harbhajan in Galle where he was called in to be the third arm of a spin triumvirate on a turning track. Harbhajan was unable to generate bounce or turn in Galle; when pushed up the order ahead of Ashwin to strike a few blows and thaw out the frozen Indian second innings, Harbhajan found himself entangled in Sri Lanka’s spin too. When the team had to be reshuffled for the second Test, he was naturally the first to go.

Sabbir Rahman seems to have the skill required to graduate to Test cricket, but the team management isn’t rushing him

Mohammad Isam08-Oct-2015The Bangladesh team for the two-Test series against Australia was named a day after Sabbir Rahman made an unbeaten 122 against India A. It is very likely that he will remain with the Bangladesh A side on their Africa tour that starts this month, instead of breaking into the senior team for the two Tests against Zimbabwe in November; there is no hurry to include him in the Test setup, which already includes a number of players who are not yet established in the longest format.Chief selector Faruque Ahmed believes that Sabbir is among a group of players who are being moulded for the longer format with an eye on the future. “We are trying him and others in the A team,” Faruque said. “If you look at that team you will see many of the players are still not established in the Test team. These A team matches are important for the players and from a selection perspective. We want them to do well in all formats.”The century for Bangladesh A is not the only thing that is bringing the focus on Sabbir, who is among a group of exciting batsman now playing in the senior side. His approach to batting could be the next path, or a change of gear, for a Bangladesh Test batting line-up that often struggles to score in a sustained manner. Sabbir has shown that he can be aggressive while at the same time melt into the vastness of a first-class innings. His improvement in the last seven years as a first-class batsman, a limited-overs player and an excellent fielder, has suggested that he has the qualities that could make him successful in Test cricket too.Sabbir’s knock in Bangalore stood out amid Bangladesh A’s first-innings batting shambles which included six ducks. It was described as “sublime” – he batted with ease against spin and pace, short-pitched and even fuller deliveries.There is already much appreciation for his ability and skills among the Bangladesh team management, one of whom said that he “would love” to see Sabbir make it to the Test team.In the 20 ODIs and eight T20s since his debut in November last year, Sabbir has been a handy bat in end-over accelerations and chases. His hand-eye coordination is a major strength and has only improved with time. While he has always maintained that he is happy to play any format he is chosen for, Sabbir wouldn’t like to be tagged as a limited-overs specialist; a format specialist in Bangladesh cricket suffers typecasting which ultimately has been seen to hurt the individual’s skills and credentials.Strong examples are Mominul Haque, Enamul Haque jnr and Robiul Islam, who have found it hard to make it to limited-overs sides as they are perceived to be only good enough to play Tests. Sabbir came into the scene as a short-burst batsmen but it is hard to ignore his work for Rajshahi Division in the National Cricket League since his first-class debut in 2008. As a lower-middle order batsman, he has a number of innings where he has batted for more than three hours.Mal Loye, the High Performance coach who worked with Sabbir for a few months this year, is confident that when the time arrives, he can manage the changes between the shorter and longer formats. “I think all players with natural ability can adjust to all formats of the game. I have spoken with Sabbir about potentially doing that, I don’t see a reason why he can’t adjust to that format,” Loye said.Loye has directed him to bat up the order for his first-class team Rajshahi Division so that his batting skills are developed for the longest format. He has also asked Sabbir to work on his back-foot game as the front-foot movement seems to come to Bangladesh batsmen naturally.”I have spoken to Sabbir about possibly going up the order when he is playing for his division in the first-class competition, give himself time to bat long periods. There’s no better way about than scoring hundreds. To bat all day is a difficult skill. I have no doubt he can do that.”I try to encourage every player here to be as comfortable off the back foot as they are off the front foot. Obviously conditions in Bangladesh favour the front foot. I have spoken to him about expanding his game on the back foot. It prepares you to play against better, faster and taller bowlers, and gives you more scoring options against medium-pacers as well.”Barring late injuries and if Rubel Hossain doesn’t recover in time from his calf muscle strain, the national selectors are likely to retain the Bangladesh team that played against South Africa in July-August and the one that was announced for the deferred Australia series. One may argue that going down the same, known alley is better than trying something different but then the selectors and fans would not want the Bangladesh Test team to stagnate while the ODI and T20 team find new ways to win games, and Sabbir will continue to be an option to ponder.

Stats highlights from the washed-out Bangalore Test between India and South Africa

Bharath Seervi18-Nov-201581 Number of overs played in this Test, the second-shortest in India in terms of overs bowled. The only Test in India where fewer than 81 overs were bowled was the Chennai Test in 1995-96 between India and New Zealand, which had 71.1 overs bowled; in that Test, the second, third and fifth days were washed out. Overall, this is the 11th shortest Test in terms of balls bowled.0 Shorter Tests before the one in Bangalore in terms of balls bowled where more than one innings was completed. In this Test, two innings were played with 81 overs overall – 59 overs by South Africa in the first innings and 22 by India in the second, making it the shortest match with two or more innings. The previous shortest was also in India – the Delhi Test of 1986-87 between India and Australia where 101.4 overs were bowled in two innings.2005 The last time three or more days were lost in a Test due to rain before this, in Chennai against Sri Lanka ; MS Dhoni made his debut in that match. There was no play on the first three days of that Test.0 Tests in India before this in which there was no play on three or more days; this Test had four days without play. There have been three Tests in India when there was no play on three days – Delhi in 1986-87, Chennai in 1995-96 and Chennai in 2005-06. Overall, this is the sixth Test were four or more days of play was lost. The last such Test before this was in Dhaka between Bangladesh and South Africa earlier this year.7 Number of consecutive home Tests India won before this drawn Test, the second longest streak of home Test wins for India after their 10 consecutive wins from December 1988 to November 1994.10 Number of days lost due to rain in South Africa’s last four Tests this year out of 20 possible days of play. Two days were lost in the Chittagong Test, four days in the Dhaka Test, and four days in this Test. Also, their last Test in Mohali ended in three days.

Plays of the day from the Asia Cup clash between Pakistan and UAE in Mirpur

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur29-Feb-20161:08

100 T20Is for Pakistan

The turning pointWith Pakistan needing 40 off 26 balls, Usman Mushtaq dropped Shoaib Malik at deep square-leg after the batsman top-edged Mohammad Naveed’s excellent bouncer. Malik was on 41 at the time, and the fumble left Naveed frustrated and captain Amjad Javed angry. In the first two balls of the next over, Malik struck Rohan Mustafa for a four and six over wide mid-on, increasing the cost of that drop.The early switchEight balls into his first spell, Mohammad Amir switched to around the wicket to the right-handed batsman Muhammad Kaleem. The plan was to hit the stumps and after one ball, he went through Kaleem’s defenses. There was no footwork from the batsman, which helped create the gap that Ameer broke through.The pin-ball hitShaiman Anwar had struck a four a six when he suddenly went after Mohammad Nawaz and Shahid Afridi in the 12th and 13th overs. The start of this short hitting spree was a swept six that nearly landed in the second tier of the eastern stands. Someone failed to take the catch in the crowd, as the ball bounced around the stands. Anwar found his groove from that big hit, and added four more boundaries in the next nine balls.The gapIn the 18th over of UAE’s innings, Mohammad Irfan was waiting for a throw from Umar Akmal, who ran in from long-on to field a hit from Muhammad Usman. As the throw came, the ball bounced short of Irfan and had the bowler not jumped, it would have hit him in the crotch. The ball went through to wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed, who helped himself to a big laugh.The duck brokenAhmed Raza had not conceded a four or a six for three consecutive matches against Oman, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, giving away just 37 runs from his 11 overs. That duck was broken by Shoaib Malik cutting him hard past point for four. Raza did not show any emotion, and soon after, he was hit even for six, also by Malik, over long-on.

ESPNcricinfo staff03-May-2016Shahbaz Nadeem’s double-strike in the fourth over sent Smith and Aaron Finch packing, leaving Lions on 24 for 3•BCCISuresh Raina chipped in with 24 and added 51 for the fourth wicket with Dinesh Karthik as the pair tried to rebuild•BCCIKarthik then added 52 for the fifth wicket with Ravindra Jadeja and reached his half-century off 42 balls•AFPJadeja had a reprieve as Nadeem put down a difficult chance at midwicket when the batsman was on 22•BCCIKarthik fell soon after, for 53, castled by Mohammed Shami. Lions were on 127 for 5 with 15 balls to go•BCCIJadeja applied the finishing touches, and his unbeaten 36 off 26 balls lifted Lions to 149 for 7•BCCIDaredevils’ bowlers hunted in a pack. Zaheer Khan led from the front, picking up 1 for 27 in four overs•BCCIDaredevils’ openers, Quinton de Kock and Rishabh Pant, got the team off to a flyer, blazing away to 115 in 13.3 overs•BCCIPant, picked in place of Shreyas Iyer, made his chance count and biffed 69 off 40 balls, his maiden fifty in limited-overs cricket•AFPJadeja broke the stand by dismissing Pant and de Kock fell to a slog off Shivil Kaushik with Daredevils 29 away from a win•BCCIEven with Daredevils just eight away from a win, McCullum was as committed and acrobatic as ever•BCCIBut JP Duminy and Sanju Samson avoided further hiccups, sealing the eight-wicket win in 17.2 overs•BCCI

Stats preview of the Edgbaston Test, where teams batting first have had the odds stacked against them in recent times

Shiva Jayaraman02-Aug-20166-1 England’s win-loss record at Edgbaston in their last ten Tests. Their only loss in that time came against South Africa in 2008. Among venues at home that have hosted at least five Tests since 2006, England have a better record only at Old Trafford.4-0 England’s win-loss record against Pakistan at Edgbaston. It is the only home venue where England haven’t lost a Test to Pakistan from five or more matches and one of only two home venues – the other being Trent Bridge – where they have an unbeaten record against Pakistan. The last time the hosts played Pakistan at Edgbaston, in 2010, they won by nine wickets after dismissing them for just 72 in the first innings.22.42 Batting average of top order (No. 1 to No. 7) batsmen in the first innings of Tests at Edgbaston since 2006 – the worst among 64 venues that have hosted more than one Test in this period. The only first-innings hundred at this venue in the last ten years was hit by Denesh Ramdin in the rain-affected draw in 2012.15.04 Average runs made for each wicket lost in the morning session of the first day’s play in Tests at Edgbaston since 2006 – the worst at any Test venue in this period. A wicket falls every 34 balls in the morning session on the first day here, which is also the highest rate at any venue in Tests since 2006. The last time Pakistan played at this venue, they lost six wickets in the first session.

2005 The last time the team batting first won a Test at Edgbaston. England beat Australia by two runs in that famous Test, after posting a total of 407 in just 79.2 overs on the first day. Since then though, no team has won batting first in seven Tests at this venue and has lost five of them. On the two occasions when teams batting first did manage a draw, the Tests were affected by rain. At least three full days of play were lost in the Test involving West Indies in 2012, while the Ashes Tests that was drawn here in 2009 saw only 276.3 overs bowled in the entire match.29.24 Fast bowlers’ average at Edgbaston in Tests since 2006 – the second best at any venue in England. Only Trent Bridge, with an average of 26.20, has played better for them. Edgbaston is favourable to pace bowlers, especially of the first day of Tests: among venues in any country that have hosted at least two Tests in the last ten years, an average of 24.35 for quicks on the first day is the best.

.9 Wickets Chris Woakes took in an innings the last time he bowled in a first-class game at his home venue. Woakes returned to the England XI to replace the injured Ben Stokes for the second Test against Sri Lanka after he returned figures of 9 for 36 against Durham in May. The other Warwickshire bowlers collectively took 1 for 138 in that innings. Woakes has taken 21 wickets at 13.85 in first-class matches at this venue in 2016. He has already taken 18 wickets – 11 more than any other bowler – at an average of 11.66 from two Tests in this series.98.71 Alex Hales’ batting average in first-class matches at this venue. He has made 691 runs with three hundreds – including scores of 155 not out and 183 – and three fifties in ten innings on this ground. He has, however, made only 56 runs from four innings in the current series and has managed to put up only one fifty stand with Alastair Cook. England haven’t had a century opening stand in their last 11 Tests at home and have averaged 27.27 for their first wicket with a highest partnership of 68.294 The highest individual score in Tests at Edgbaston, made by Cook against India in 2011. Besides that innings though, Cook has managed to score only 208 runs at an average of 23.11 from ten innings and has been dismissed for single-digits in five of his last eight innings at Edgbaston.19.39 Runs Pakistan’s top-order batsmen (No. 1 to No. 7) other than Misbah-ul-Haq and and Asad Shafiq have averaged in this series. They have together scored 349 runs with a highest of 45 from 18 innings. Misbah and Shafiq have made 366 runs at an average of 45.75 with one hundred and two fifties.

Halting displays by Australia against the spinning ball in the Caribbean will only encourage more turning tracks when Steven Smith’s men seek to prove their ability to adapt to India next year

Daniel Brettig12-Jun-2016On the face of it, a limited-overs triangular series in the Caribbean would seem to have very little to do with a Test series in India more than eight months away. Yet the itinerary for Australia’s trip to the subcontinent in February 2017 came at a portentous moment for Steven Smith’s team, given they were about to be left red-faced by a trio of South African spinners on a sharply turning Guyana pitch.The choice of Bengaluru, Dharamsala, Ranchi and Pune as host cities for the next instalment of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy meant the Australians will be part of history in each of the last three venues, taking part in the first Test matches to be held at those grounds. Irrespective of that, the events at Providence Stadium likely confirmed that the pitches Australia would face in India would be similar to the tracks of 2013, when savage spin and uneven bounce contributed to a 4-0 drubbing that would have played out even without the unsavoury dramas of “Homeworkgate” in Mohali.That season, as with this one, Australia’s visit was preceded by an England tour to India, and Alastair Cook’s side were able to prevail on a quartet of pitches that seemed far more equitable in character. This was no accident, as proven by the following exchange between an Indian selector and his Australian counterpart towards the end of the series.”We were worried about England’s spinners, so for those games we tried to prepare decent wickets. But we knew your inadequacies against spin, and our spin bowling was better than yours. We knew if we made sure the wickets were extreme you couldn’t beat us.”Whether England can expect the same treatment now that Graeme Swann has retired is one thing, but the ongoing tri-series has all but confirmed that Australian “inadequacies against spin” still remain. The loss to South Africa revived memories of 2013, as a succession of batsmen struggled to find a viable method of survival. Critically, they were unable to see off the vital first few deliveries, when defensive techniques needed to be tight and time had to be spent to read the pace of the pitch, the breadth of spin and the challenge offered by each bowler.The most glaring example of this failing, however, had come in Australia’s opening match. Faced with Sunil Narine’s spin at the closing stage of a relatively comfortable win for the visitors, Glenn Maxwell met his second ball with a firmly planted front foot and a waft through the line as if he were playing on the truest and most Australian of surfaces. Narine breached the yawning gap between bat and pad. The middle stump was disturbed.It was a moment that recalled nothing so much as the scenario Smith has spoken about often, where Australian instincts overrule more cerebral learnings about how to handle such surfaces. “I think you have your plans, but when you get under pressure you get back to what you know and what you’ve learned, what you’ve grown up with,” he had said last year. “So you have to try to get away from that as much as possible to make sure that when you’re under pressure you’re able to do what you’ve practised.”Smith, the interim coach Justin Langer and others have all discussed this adaptation doctrine in the Caribbean, and it will surely be heard again over the Test tour of Sri Lanka in July and then the India trip next year. But words must be backed up with actions and so far in Guyana – at times even during their Saturday victory over South Africa in St Kitts – the battle between instinct and thought seemed to be getting away from the batsmen.One difference from the Australian teams of 2013 and 2016 is a contingent of improved spinners•AFPThis is not to say that Cricket Australia is unaware or uncaring about the problems glimpsed over the past week. On the contrary, the team performance manager, Pat Howard, and the staff at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane have spent considerable sums trying to create spinning environments for batsmen to learn from. But there are wider forces at work that can detract from any such due diligence.An irony of the cricket schedule in the 21st century is that most top Australian cricketers spend more time in India than any previous generation, but do so while playing on IPL pitches that bear no resemblance to subcontinental Test tracks. Next year’s schedule calls for the touring team to arrive for the first of four Tests in early February and leave in early March – precious little time for an effective warm-up period.Among the men best placed to be ready for a trial by spin are Joe Burns and Adam Voges, who are not with the one-day side in the West Indies. If they are not required for the limited-overs matches at the back end of the home summer either, they may be able to commit to specialised training regimens ahead of the India trip, much as Ed Cowan did three years ago. Another variable will be how long Voges chooses to continue his remarkable Test career – the slow-wicket skill he demonstrated on debut against West Indies in Dominica last year will be highly useful in India. But as Michael Hussey showed at the end of the 2012 Boxing Day Test, it is always possible for a valued player to retire ahead of the team’s expectations.One area of difference for Australia between 2013 and now is a much improved set of spinners. Nathan Lyon is no longer that hesitant figure of three years ago, but Australia’s most prolific Test match offspinner. Steve O’Keefe, chosen for Sri Lanka, is a canny operator and well-traveled cricketer. And most promising of all is the young legspinner Adam Zampa, who, in the words of Brad Haddin, “forces batsmen to make decisions off the stumps” and changes his pace artfully.Zampa has not been chosen for Sri Lanka, but it is not difficult to imagine him on the plane to India next year, provided he can claim a useful haul of wickets for South Australia in the Sheffield Shield back home. He has already enjoyed success in the IPL, on tracks far less helpful than those likely for the Tests. In short, Australia’s retaliatory spin bowling deterrent is stronger than it has been for some years.Nevertheless, events so far in the Caribbean are likely to encourage the preparation of more tinder-dry pitches for the Australians to face when they venture to India in 2017. Short of internal BCCI turf wars that infamously helped in the unveiling of a rare grassy pitch in Nagpur in 2004, the only way Australia can encourage the use of any other sorts of surfaces is to demonstrate the adaptability Smith and others have so ardently advocated. Given that St Kitts and Barbados will not spin like Guyana, they are running out of opportunities to do so.