Soumya Sarkar’s run-out and his exquisite shots among plays of the day from the first ODI between Bangladesh and India

Mohammad Isam and Alagappan Muthu18-Jun-2015The collision
In the 25th over of the chase, MS Dhoni came into contact with the bowler Mustafizur Rahman while running between the wickets. It was not the first time in the game that the Bangladesh debutant had got in the way of an Indian batsman. Rohit had to run around the bowler as well earlier in the innings. Dhoni, however, held his line and thudded his left arm into Mustafizur who then had to leave the field for a bit. In this case, the bigger person did not fall harder.The three-peat
When Soumya Sarkar was going great, the last thing one would have expected to see was a run-out. But that’s what exactly happened in the 14th over when he and Tamim Iqbal had a fatal miscommunication. Tamim dug out the yorker but his tumble over was taken as a start for a run by Soumya who went ahead too far. Suresh Raina’s direct hit ended his promising innings. This was the third time the two were involved in a run-out, with Sarkar falling victim each time.The mimic
A free-flowing left-hand batsman. A dibbly-dobbly right-arm seamer. Launched his cricket career with a century at Eden Gardens playing for Bangladesh U-17s. That’s Soumya Sarkar’s Sourav Ganguly connection. His batting in Mirpur teased other comparisons as well. He stood tall to a back of length delivery, with the bat hoisted over his shoulder. Then it came down like the gentlest of hammers. The front-foot pull a la Yuvraj Singh, merging timing and power. When he got a proper short ball, Sarkar stayed beside it, waited until it passed him and opened the face to propel the ball to the third-man boundary and reach his fifty, off 38 balls. A Virender Sehwag shot helping him maintain a Virender Sehwag pace.Double duty
India’s quicks were leaking again. With R Ashwin and Suresh Raina bowing well, MS Dhoni felt taking pace off the ball was the best option. So he tossed the ball to Virat Kohli and packed the leg side. Two overs for 12 didn’t quite bring out the squeeze India wanted. Kohli was taken off, but he wasn’t found at any of his usual fielding posts. He was behind the stumps with Dhoni’s gloves and no pads. Like in Johannesburg when the India captain fancied a bowl late on the fourth day. This time though Dhoni was simply visiting the dressing room for an over. To add to the strangeness of that short period of play, a relatively assured Shakib Al Hasan found a way to get caught off a short ball.The set-up?
It pays to be a good sweeper. Very little can frustrate a spinner as much for you are getting runs and throwing him off his length as well. Sabbir Rahman enhances that strategy with his power. Ravindra Jadeja complicates it by bowling quick and flat. Cue a good contest. The batsman missed his first attempt and the off stump was left standing by the smallest margin. The second one, as a result of the ball being wider and tossed up a tad more, skimmed away to the midwicket boundary. By now Jadeja’s begun glaring at Sabbir. The angry full, fast delivery came, slipped through that trusty sweep and toppled the off stump.The premature decision
Umpire Rod Tucker raised his finger as soon as Mashrafe Mortaza turned to appeal, once Shikhar Dhawan, on 15, edged the ball to the wicketkeeper in the tenth over. The trouble was, Mushfiqur Rahim dropped a second successive catch in as many overs. After he had dropped a regulation chance of the same batsman off Rubel Hossain, Mushfiqur leapt to his right but could not hold on to the edge.There was confusion as Tucker had presumptuously given Dhawan out without seeing if Mushfiqur took the catch cleanly or not. Just as Mushfiqur went to his right and landed on the ground, the ball popped out of his gloves, but Tucker had not waited until then. Nasir Hossain then tried to run the batsman out who had walked out of his crease, on his way to the dressing room, but play was dead by then. Bangladesh had missed Dhawan twice in two overs.

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.”

Stats highlights from the third day of the fourth Investec Test at Trent Bridge, where England won back the Ashes

Shiva Jayaraman08-Aug-20154 Number of away Ashes Australia have now lost in a row; this is the longest such sequence for them since 1896-97 when they had lost the first-six Ashes series consecutively.6 Ashes Tests won by Alastair Cook; among England captains only Mike Brearly (11) and WG Grace (8) have won more Ashes Tests than Cook. Percy Chapman also won six Ashes Tests.5 Number of Ashes series wins Ian Bell has now been part of, which equals the most Ashes series wins for any England player since 1950. Ian Botham too featured in five Ashes wins, from seven series. This is Bell’s seventh Ashes series as well.2 Number of England captains to win two or more home Ashes series before Alastair Cook. WG Grace had captained England in four Ashes wins at home and two of Mike Brearly’s three Ashes wins had come at home. Cook is also only the sixth England captain to win more than one Ashes series.3 Man-of-the-match awards won by Stuart Broad in the Ashes – equals the second-most won by any England player since such awards started being given away. Ian Botham won five such awards during his career. Andrew Flintoff too won three such awards in the Ashes.7 Ashes Tests lost by Michael Clarke – the most by any Australian as a captain. Overall, only three other captains have lost more Ashes Tests than Clarke. Archie McLaren lost 11 Ashes Tests, Mike Atherton lost nine and Johnny Douglas lost eight Ashes matches.1986 Last time in the Ashes a team made a first-innings total lower than England’s 391 in this Test and still went on to win by an innings. On that occasion too, England beat Australia, by an innings and 14 runs at the MCG, after posting a total of 349 in their first innings. Overall, there have been 12 such instances in the Ashes including this Test and only five have happened since the 1900s.1921 Last time before this series a team lost back-to-back Tests in the Ashes, each within three days. On that occasion though, Australia were on the winning side, beating England in three consecutive Tests, each within three days.6/36 Ben Stokes’ bowling figures in Australia’s second innings – his best in Tests. This was also his second five-for in Tests. His first five-for had also come against Australia, at the SCG in 2014. On that too, Stokes took six Australian wickets. Stokes has taken 23 of his 37 Test wickets in the Ashes.5 Number of times two England bowlers have taken six-wicket hauls (or better) in an Ashes Test including Stuart Broad and Stokes in this match. This is the second time in this series that two England bowlers have taken such hauls in a match. At Edgbaston, James Anderson and Steven Finn had taken six-wicket hauls.

Former India coach John Wright remembers his professional relationship with Jagmohan Dalmiya, saying what a ‘tough’ and ‘fair’ boss he was

John Wright22-Sep-2015I am very sorry to hear about Mr Dalmiya’s passing away and as I look back at our time together when I was coach of India, he was probably the best boss I have worked for. He was a tough but fair boss. On the first day that I was in the job with India, Tony Greig said to me that Mr Dalmiya is a very powerful man in Indian cricket and it was ironic because he wasn’t even the president [of BCCI] then. I had been hired by Mr AC Muthiah. The next thing I heard when he came to power in 2001 were rumours that he wanted to sack me and [physiotherapist] Andrew [Leipus]. I met him for the first time when we went to Delhi for a long interview with him, two hours, in a hotel suite.At the end of it, I’ll never forget what he said to me. His exact words were, “I’ve heard a lot of things about you but you’re quite tough. I think we could work together.” He asked me to put a report together about what Indian cricket needed and I spent a lot of time on it. He always wanted you to report personally to him. I had to fly every month to see him and we got to know each other well over the next four years. A lot of people said a lot of things about Mr Dalmiya, but you take everyone for what you see and he was a great boss to work for.I remember early on while working together, we were on a tour of the West Indies. They were 400 something for 3 and Gautam Dasgupta, the manager, handed me the phone and said “it is the president.” We were sitting in the pavilion in Georgetown, Guyana and Mr Dalmiya came on the phone and said, “John, what is going on?” I can’t remember what I said, something like, “We have to do better, Mr President.”In those days I think failure wasn’t tolerated whether you were a captain or coach or even administrator, you needed to win, or things changed very quickly. There weren’t other types of cricket, it was just international cricket and the success of the Indian team was very, very important. Mr Dalmiya was a big part of that era and while he gave both Sourav [Ganguly] and me support, he was a staunch supporter of Sourav but he also wanted the results.The thing I loved about him as a boss was that he never interfered, but you knew very well where you stood with him. He didn’t interfere with me about how to coach, you just had to report and let him know what was going on. He was hands off in that respect and we gained a great friendship and respect for each other. It is why I say he is probably the best boss that I worked for, in terms of not telling you how to do your job, but telling you what was expected.During one of our meetings just before the team left for the 2003 World Cup, he wished me good luck and said, “if you don’t come first or second we might not be meeting again.”When we reached the final, I was re-employed, and to me that was okay, because we used to joke about it. We knew there was a lot at stake, that it was important that the team did well. He cared about the team very much and he cared about Indian cricket. But he was pragmatic enough to know that if things weren’t going well, then something would have to be done and it would probably start with the coach.We had that understanding that it was business and it was important for India and for the Indian cricket team. He understood that performance was important, that is wasn’t just about talking the good game, you had to get the results there. We would joke about it but it was real. He used to say, “well I might have to show you the door,” and I would say, “if things don’t go well, you will have to show me the door.”When I finished with India, he came over from Calcutta to attend a presentation in Delhi and he didn’t usually do that a lot, it was a nice gesture. We kept in touch irregularly over the last few years and I heard about his return to the top of the BCCI again and you would never underestimate him and his political ability in Indian cricketing circles.I had a lot of time for him, I enjoyed working for him because he was tough but he was fair. And he always did what he said.

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.

India’s spinners do not have a good record in Tests in Jamtha, Nagpur. However, that might improve as numbers from recent first-class games indicate spin-friendly conditions

Shiva Jayaraman23-Nov-20152010 The last time South Africa won a Test in India, which was in Nagpur. This is also the only Test lost by the home team at this venue in Nagpur. India have played four Tests here and have won twice and drew their last Test at this venue, against England.2006 The last time South Africa lost two Tests in an away series, in Sri Lanka. South Africa are 0-1 down in this series with two more Tests to be played. Since their return to international cricket, there have been only six instances when South Africa have lost two or more Tests in an away series.16.51 Runs India’s bowlers have averaged in this series – the best by any team’s bowlers in a series against South Africa since their return to international cricket. India’s bowlers have taken 29 wickets in this series at a strike rate of 34.50. In the last South Africa’s series in India, the home bowlers had taken 25 wickets – four fewer than they have taken in just three innings in this series – at 44.28, including three wickets at 120.33 in Nagpur.7/51 Dale Steyn’s bowling returns in the first innings of the 2010 Nagpur Test, which are the best by an overseas fast bowler in India in the last 19 years. Lance Klusener had taken 8 for 64 in the fourth innings of the Kolkata Test in 1996, which are the best by an overseas fast bowler in India. After the ten-wicket haul in that Nagpur Test, Steyn has bowled 41 overs in his next two Tests in India and has taken one wicket conceding 145 runs.473 Deliveries faced by Hashim Amla in the 2010 Nagpur Test – the most (since ball-faced information is available) by any batsman from outside the subcontinent in India and the third highest in Asia. Amla made an unbeaten 253 in that innings – the fourth-best score by an overseas batsman in India – batting for 675 minutes. Amla had faced 1033 deliveries in the 2010 series in India and had been dismissed only once in three innings. Since balls-faced information is available, these are the most balls faced by any batsman to be dismissed at most once in any Test series. In this series, Amla has been out three times in 121 deliveries.44 Wickets by spinners in just two first-class matches at the VCA Stadium, Jamtha, Nagpur in 2015-16. Spinners have averaged 23.36 per wicket and have struck at the rate of 57.80. Fast bowlers have taken 17 wickets at an average of 33.54 and have a strike rate of 79.10.333 Runs in Tests at the VCA Stadium, Jamtha, Nagpur by India’s batsmen in their current squad – just 18 more than those scored by the South Africa batsmen from their only Test at this venue. Among India batsmen, only Virat Kohli has a fifty-plus score at this venue: he made 103 in the first innings of the Test against England in 2012-13.46.09 Bowling average of India’s spinners in their current squad in Tests in Nagpur – their worst at any venue in India where they have taken at least ten wickets. They have taken 11 wickets at this venue, with Amit Mishra’s 3 for 27 against Australia in 2008-09 being the best effort.

Venue Mats Wkts Ave 5wsJamtha, Nagpur 3 11 46.09 0Eden Gardens, Kolkata 4 18 35.88 0Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai 3 18 27.27 1Chepauk, Chennai 2 21 24.09 2Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi 3 25 19.36 3M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore 2 14 19.35 1PCA, Mohali 4 38 18.55 3Uppal, Hyderabad 2 24 10.62 314 Wickets by Ishant Sharma in Tests at the VCA, Jamtha, Nagpur – the most he has taken at any venue. Ishant averages 23.50 from four Tests here with a best of 4 for 43 against New Zealand in 2010. Overall, Umesh Yadav is the leading wicket-taker in first-class games at this venue: he has taken 16 wickets at 35.43 from six matches.*0240 GMT: The piece had said India’s spinners instead of bowlers. This was corrected.

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.

On Thursday, the two-member bench of the Supreme Court comprising Chief Justice TS Thakur and Justice Ibrahim Kalifullah will hear the BCCI’s affidavit regarding the Lodha recommendations

Arun Venugopal02-Mar-2016What is due to happen on Thursday?The two-member bench of the Supreme Court comprising Chief Justice TS Thakur and Justice Ibrahim Kalifullah will hear the BCCI’s affidavit.What is the BCCI’s affidavit likely to say?It is understood that the BCCI’s affidavit is “fairly elaborate” in nature, as it seeks to impress upon the Supreme Court the “anomalies” in the Lodha committee’s recommendations and the problems in implementing them. Although the BCCI has said it has partially accepted the recommendations and put in place mechanisms to address conflict of interest by appointing an Ombudsman, it is learnt that the board is opposed to most of the recommendations.Some of the recommendations the BCCI is opposed to include doing away with ad breaks between overs in Tests and ODIs, limiting the tenure of office bearers to 70 years, barring politicians and bureaucrats to be part of the BCCI in state associations, and a tenure of a maximum of three terms of nine years each across positions.Who are the other parties that have filed objections?Many state associations – including the Mumbai Cricket Association, the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, the Karnataka State Cricket Association and Punjab Cricket Association – have filed detailed objections to several recommendations. According to reports, former India allrounder Chandu Borde has also recorded his objections, especially against the one-state-one-vote recommendation and the age-cap on office bearers.What is the court likely to do in response?A BCCI source said it was hard to second guess what the Supreme Court was thinking, but said there were quite a few likely outcomes. “Any number of things can happen. One, they can simply pass an order asking us to implement the recommendations in toto,” the source said. “Two, they [the Supreme Court bench] might take stock of the fact that many state associations have raised objections and agree to look into them in greater detail and defer the hearing for later. Three, they can ask us to go back to Lodha and run the objections by them, and adjourn the matter by a few months.”How much closer does this take us to closure? The time-frame will depend on a few factors; should the Supreme Court make it binding upon the BCCI to implement all the recommendations, the board might have only limited time and practically no elbow room in effecting the revamp. If the judges decide to defer the hearing the, wait could be longer.

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.