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Williamson, Southee partly rested in anticipation of heavy workloads during a hectic home summer involving limited-overs series against Pakistan and England

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Dec-2017Rookie fast bowler Lockie Ferguson makes a return to New Zealand’s ODI squad, but two senior players – Kane Williamson and Tim Southee – will be rested for the second and third ODIs of the three-match series against West Indies.There were no other major surprises. Legspinner Ish Sodhi – who joined New Zealand’s ODI squad in India – makes way for Todd Astle, who returns to the fray after recovering from a groin strain. Batsman Martin Guptill, however, has been ruled out with a hamstring injury. Central Districts batsman George Worker will open the batting in his stead. Tom Latham, meanwhile, will captain the side in Williamson’s absence, having already led the ODI team during a tour to Ireland.Though New Zealand had a long break from international cricket between June and October, prior to their limited-overs series in India, the decision to rest Williamson and Southee comes in anticipation of a busy home season. After the ongoing West Indies tour winds down, Pakistan are due to arrive in New Zealand for five ODIs and three T20s, before England play five ODIs and two Tests to end the summer.”It’s a long summer, so for those guys playing in all three formats it’s important we keep them fresh and build depth leading into a world cup year,” chief selector Gavin Larsen said. “Tim and Kane will both take breaks during this series, but there will be others who will also rest throughout the season.”Williamson will also be rested from the first T20 against West Indies. Batsman Neil Broom and left-arm spinning allrounder Mitchell Santner will replace the two outgoing members of the squad for the second and third ODIs.Astle’s re-selection, meanwhile, is merely a return to the policy that saw him selected before his groin injury. He had taken six wickets at an average of 27.83 during New Zealand A’s tour of India, and had consequently been chosen for the senior team’s tour of the same country. He was forced to withdraw from that tour, however, and has since been in good bowling in the Ford trophy, taking seven wickets in three matches for Canterbury.”Todd has been one of the top domestic bowlers in the country for a number of years now and performed very well during the recent New Zealand A tour to India,” Larsen said. “He was unlucky to get injured before the Blackcaps tour in India, but he’s continued to bowl well on return and thoroughly deserves this opportunity.”Ferguson has also made a decent start to the Ford Trophy, taking 2 for 39 for Auckland in his most-recent outing. He has eight wickets from seven ODIs so far, and is reputed to be the quickest bowler in the country.”Lockie has been in excellent form and we got to see a bit of him in Wellington while he was a part of the Test squad,” Larsen said. “To have him and Adam Milne in the squad is exciting from a pace perspective.”New Zealand ODI squad: Kane Williamson (capt.), Tim Southee [first ODI only for both], Todd Astle,Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Henry Nicholls, Ross Taylor, George WorkerNeil Broome and Mitchell Santner (second and third ODIs only)

Also: Vijay Shankar returns for Tamil Nadu, and Delhi coach KP Bhaskar urges Rishabh Pant to show match awareness

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Oct-2016Karnataka squad unchanged for Assam clashKL Rahul will not feature for Karnataka in their fourth-round Ranji Trophy fixture against Assam in Mumbai, starting on Thursday. Rahul, recovering from a hamstring injury he picked up during the first Test against New Zealand in Kanpur, is undergoing rehabilitation and is yet to go through a fitness test, according to the Karnataka State Cricket Association. With the first Test against England starting on November 9 in Rajkot, the fourth round of the Ranji Trophy was seen as an opportunity for all the members of the Test squad to regain match fitness, after a two-week break.Wriddhiman Saha will turn up for Bengal in their clash against Railways in Dharamsala. M Vijay, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, meanwhile, are all in the midst of a short NCA stint in preparation for the five-Test series against England.Vijay Shankar boost for Tamil NaduAllrounder Vijay Shankar is set to return to competitive cricket after an nine-month layoff. He passed a fitness test and will be available for selection in Tamil Nadu’s fourth match, against Madhya Pradesh in Cuttack. Vijay completed a two-month rehabilitation, following a surgery on his left knee, which he injured in July, before India A’s tour of Australia. He was subsequently withdrawn from both the limited-overs and four-day squads, and was replaced by Hardik Pandya.Delhi coach calls for Pant to temper his gameDelhi coach KP Bhaskar has called for more match awareness from Rishabh Pant, the season’s highest run-scorer so far. Pant, one of three triple centurions this season, made 24 and 9 in Delhi’s innings and 160-run loss to Karnataka last week. “You can’t play the same pattern in every pitch. Sometimes, there will be a pitch which is holding on, there’s a green top, so the shot selection becomes very important,” he said. “That’s the hallmark of a good player. You can’t just play in the same pattern and the same gear, you can’t do that. Sometimes, the situation demands where you need to be a little choosy. As I said, he is a stroke player, that’s the way he plays. Sometimes you connect, and law of averages had to catch up with him.”

The South Africans began their tour of India by amassing a tall score in their their T20 game against India A, but couldn’t convert that into a win as fifties from Mayank Agarwal and Manan Vohra helped the home side prevail

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Sep-2015
ScorecardMayank Agarwal made 87 off 49 deliveries•AFP

The South Africans began their tour of India by amassing a tall score in their their T20 game against India A, but couldn’t convert that into a win as fifties from Mayank Agarwal (87 off 49 balls) and Manan Vohra (56 off 42) helped the home side prevail.Chasing 190, India A began on a strong footing, courtesy a 119-run opening stand in 12.4 overs between Agarwal and Vohra. After Vohra was dismissed by JP Duminy, Agarwal and Sanju Samson, who scored an unbeaten 31 off 22 balls, went on to add 52 in 4.4 overs. Despite Agarwal’s dismissal in the 18th over, India A were hardly troubled, eventually finishing the game in the last over. Four of the visitors’ bowlers conceded more than 10 runs an over.Electing to bat in the morning, the South Africans lost Quinton de Kock, who was run-out, to the fourth ball of the match. AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis then added 87 runs in 9.2 overs, and after de Villiers was removed by Kuldeep Yadav, Duminy took over. He smashed an unbeaten 68 off 32 balls as the South Africans amassed 83 off their last 46 balls.

A slew of late injuries may have thinned Bangladesh’s ranks by the time they landed in Sri Lanka for their month-long tour, but captain Mushfiqur Rahim remained optimistic about his side’s chances

Andrew Fidel Fernando01-Mar-2013A slew of late injuries may have thinned Bangladesh’s ranks by the time they landed in Sri Lanka for their month-long tour, but captain Mushfiqur Rahim remained optimistic about his side’s chances, and backed his young players to fire.Bangladesh arrived in Sri Lanka without allrounder Shakib Al Hasan, whose calf surgery following a stress injury will keep him out for at least six weeks, while batsmen Shahriar Nafees and Naeem Islam, and left-arm spinner Enamul Haque jr will also miss the tour through injury. Their replacements include 21-year-old batsman Mominul Haque and 24-year-old uncapped allrounder Marshall Ayub, but it is likely to be the more established youngsters in the squad who will be called upon to bear more responsibility in the absence of several key seniors.Bangladesh won their last ODI series against West Indies 3-2 in November, with instrumental contributions for 20-year-old batsman Anamul Haque and 21-year-old offspinner Sohag Gazi, and Mushfiqur hoped his players would ride the momentum from that series into the Sri Lanka tour.”We had a couple of injuries in the last series against West Indies, and Shakib was not part of the ODI series – but we still won that series. The couple of young guys who came into the side in his place performed really well. We’ll miss him, but it’s a chance for the younger guys to prove they can do well abroad as well as at home.”Bangladesh last met Sri Lanka in an Asia Cup match in Dhaka, when the hosts defeated Sri Lanka by five wickets to earn a place in the tournament final. They had also beaten India earlier in the tournament, and their ODI record in 2012, when they won more matches than they lost against top-eight opposition, suggests they are an improving side.”There is no secret to our success,” Mushfiqur said. “The boys have really been working hard for the last one or two years. Someone needed to put their hands up and do the basics in the middle, and that’s what we did in the recent series against West Indies and also in the Asia Cup. The youngsters have come good and are performing really well, so hopefully they will continue in the same way.”The Sri Lanka tour begins with Tests however, where Bangladesh have been less impressive. Bangladesh achieved a slim first-innings lead in the first Test against West Indies in November, but could not sustain those standards throughout the Test, as they faltered in the final innings in pursuit of 245. There were encouraging periods in the second Test as well, most notably a maiden ton to debutant Abul Hasan from No. 10, but they were ultimately walloped by 10 wickets.”In the Test match we have to play each session very well and keep doing that over and over. In the last series against West Indies we did really well, but we couldn’t finish well in both the Tests. The young players are coming good, so if they put their hands up and perform, we will have a competitive Test series. “Bangladesh travel to Matara on Friday, to prepare for a three-day warm-up match against a Sri Lanka emerging side, which begins on Sunday. The first Test starts in Galle on March 8. In addition to two Tests, Bangladesh play three ODIs and a Twenty20.

This year the Royal Challengers have first rights to his services, but it is up to Gayle whether to accept their offer or make himself available for the February 4 auction

Nagraj Gollapudi16-Jan-2012Four days before the first trading window of the IPL shuts, the biggest question surrounds the future of Chris Gayle, the West Indies opener. Gayle turned out for the Royal Challengers Bangalore last season, and topped the run-charts while taking them to the IPL final. However, Gayle joined the Royal Challengers as a replacement player midway through the season and was hence on a one-year contract. This year the Royal Challengers have first rights to his services, but it is up to Gayle whether to accept their offer or make himself available for the February 4 auction.Either way, Gayle stands to cash in on the Twenty20 reputation he has built after hitting two centuries and five half-centuries for the Royal Challengers over last year’s IPL and Champions League T20. Last season, he went unsold in the original auction and when he replaced an injured Dirk Nannes the maximum the Royal Challengers could pay him was $650,000, the price Nannes was bought for. This year, Gayle can be bought for up to $2 million, the purse each franchise is allowed.The Royal Challengers are looking at breaking the bank to retain him before January 20, and if they cannot come to an agreement with him other franchises can bid for him in next month’s auction.”You will have to wait. We will make an announcement soon,” Siddharth Mallya, the owner of the Bangalore franchise, told ESPNcricinfo, without revealing any further details. But the Royal Challengers are hot on the heels of Gayle, who is currently playing in the Big Bash League in Australia for the Sydney Thunder. Should the Royal Challengers manage to sign Gayle before the auction, they will have to disclose the fee they have agreed with him to the IPL authorities, and that amount will be deducted from the franchise’s $2 million purse at the auction.A BCCI official told ESPNcricinfo that the Royal Challengers wanted to sign Gayle but they would have to shell out a large portion of their purse to convince him. “Bangalore want Gayle because they see the cricketing merit in the decision as he helped them to the final last year,” the official said. “But if they decide to sign a deal with him, they will have to pay big money and if they do that they will be left with nothing much at the auction.”As far as Gayle is concerned, he is spoilt for choice. Reportedly the Mumbai Indians, who have already signed Dinesh Karthik (for $2.35 million) and Pragyan Ojha during the transfer window, have expressed their interest in buying Gayle. “Every franchise would like to have Gayle. He turned one IPL on his own,” one of the franchise officials said. According to him Gayle would easily get the maximum $2 million purse available to each franchise. If more than one franchise bids $2 million for Gayle, it will go to a secret tie-breaker in which the competing franchises will submit closed bids.At the moment, it seems, Gayle holds all the aces.

Australia rounded off their international summer in style with a commanding 57-run victory at Perth

The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan at the WACA06-Feb-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAdam Voges was the Man of the Match for his unbeaten 80•Getty Images

Australia rounded off their international summer in style with a commanding 57-run victory in Perth. It wasn’t a high-quality match, with the exception of the batting from Adam Voges and David Hussey, as a long season drew to a close with two patched-up sides on show. However, Australia’s depth came to the fore again as Voges hit a career-best 80 before England’s mentally-finished top order was blown away to end hopes of a face-saving win.Nothing will compensate for the crushing loss in the Ashes series, but Australia’s resurgent one-day form has suggested a fourth consecutive World Cup title isn’t out of reach, especially if key players return from injury. Even taking into account England’s own injury problems and declining form, the home side’s performances have boded well in the absence of Ricky Ponting, Mike Hussey and Nathan Hauritz – all key figures in the one-day side.During the Test matches, Australia’s reserves did not appear up to international standard, but the team has not retained its No.1 one-day ranking by luck. Their pace attack is rapid, if wayward at times – they matched England’s wide tally of 19 – while the lack of a matchwinning spinner isn’t so harshly felt. Meanwhile, the batting is packed with stroke-makers.Two were on show here after the top order wobbled to 4 for 102 before Hussey and Voges added 95 in 13 overs. This could be a one-off opportunity for Voges but if an injury replacement is needed for the World Cup, and Shaun Marsh doesn’t recover, he might have put his name ahead of Callum Ferguson, who edged James Anderson to slip for 15.Once Australia had posted a competitive total it was always unlikely that the visitors would be able to dig deep enough to make it a contest with the prospect of their flight home tomorrow evening. Mentally, a number of the players have long since been in those aircraft seats.Andrew Strauss has plenty of reasons to be feeling weary after arriving in Australia on October 29 and it was a tired shot that ended his series when he was very late against Shaun Tait. The bat had barely come down when the ball knocked back the off stump. Steve Davies, back opening after the reshuffle caused by Eoin Morgan’s injury, was unconvincing in his short stay until flapping at Doug Bollinger to complete an unhappy few weeks.Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen briefly consolidated but there was never any great sense of permanency even from the in-form Trott. He was drawn into a flat-footed drive against Johnson which sent a thick edge to first slip, then Pietersen’s uncertain stay ended with a drive to backward point. Even taking into account the looseness of England’s batting this was the good Mitchell Johnson and he added a third when Ian Bell carved down to third man.At 5 for 64 the game was over. Matt Prior played some handsome drives before giving Jason Krejza his maiden one-day wicket to end another unfulfilled innings and Michael Yardy battled hard to reduce the margin of defeat with his highest ODI score. But it had ceased to matter in the wider context.England’s makeshift bowling attack had done a decent job through the first half of the innings as the quicks started well and Yardy picked up two, but in a familiar pattern the work of the front line bowlers was squandered. Hussey and Voges took advantage with some positive strokeplay as they dispatched the loose deliveries on offer. Hussey had been given a life on 4 when Luke Wright dropped a return chance that should have been held and reached his fifty from 44 balls, which included a pulled six off Yardy.With his boundary-clearing ability and a Powerplay to come he could have cut loose during the final 10 overs, but was squared up by Liam Plunkett and got a leading edge to backward point. Plunkett ended with 2 for 49, which was an impressive effort considering that he only arrived in the country three days ago following a 40-hour journey from the Caribbean.Voges, though, remained to reach fifty off 45 deliveries, regularly showing his strength square of the wicket and rapid running. Although the boundaries dried up he placed the ball well to ensure 34 came off the last three overs, but Australia were helped by England’s waywardness. That was symptomatic of a team not fully focussed and the batting effort was further evidence that minds were elsewhere. If they want to perform at the World Cup there isn’t much time to refocus, but Australia can leave for the subcontinent this week in good spirits.

A slew of former ICL players, as well as a few who turned in successful Ranji Trophy seasons, have found themselves picked in the final IPL squads for the third season starting next month

Cricinfo staff12-Feb-2010A slew of former ICL players, as well as a few who turned in successful Ranji Trophy seasons, have found themselves picked in the final IPL squads for the third season starting next month. The squads can be tweaked at any time during the season with the inclusion, at 24 hours’ notice, of any players on a franchise’s books – which explains the exclusion of big names such as Shane Watson and Shane Bond.Kings XI Punjab have signed up four domestic players – the medium-pacers Love Ablish and Shalabh Srivastava, batsman Manvinder Bisla and allrounder Reetinder Sodhi. Sodhi, who played 18 ODIs for India, and Srivastava, a left-arm pacer, were recently admitted back into the domestic fold after they severed ties with the unofficial ICL. Ablish, who plays for Punjab on the domestic circuit, was the third highest wicket-taker in this season’s Ranji Super League. Bisla, the Haryana-born wicketkeeper who plays for Jammu & Kashmir, was part of IPL champions Deccan Chargers’ squad in 2009.Commenting on the selection, Punjab coach Tom Moody said: “They not only bring extra zeal to excel but also add fresh talent to the field with their exemplary ability with the ball and bat. Their zest to learn will ensure KXIP reaches newer heights and is ready to face any competition this season.”Kings XI Punjab: Kumar Sangakkara (capt/wk), Brett Lee, Adrian Barath, Vikramjeet Malik, Bipul Sharma, Manvinder Bisla, Yusuf Abdullah, Karan Goel, Ravi Bopara, Irfan Pathan, Ramesh Powar, Shalabh Srivastava, Mohammad Kaif, Love Ablish, Amanpreet Singh, James Hopes, Reetinder Singh Sodhi, Yash Gandhi, Shaun Marsh, Mahela Jayawardene, Yuvraj Singh, Sreesanth, Piyush Chawla.S Sriram, the batsman who played eight ODIs for India as well as in the ICL, has been named in Royal Challengers Bangalore’s squad. The other more notable change in the Bangalore squad was the inclusion of Steven Smith, the Australia legspinner, in place of Jesse Ryder. Ryder, the New Zealand batsman, has been out of action since the ICC Champions League last September with a groin problem that has troubled him for nearly a year. Smith has made a name for himself in Twenty20 cricket having helped New South Wales win the inaugural Champions League title in India last October. He was also New South Wales’ leading wicket-taker during the 2009-10 Big Bash tournament with seven wickets 10.28Royal Challengers Bangalore: Anil Kumble (capt), Jacques Kallis, Shrivats Goswami, Bhuvanesh Kumar, Eoin Morgan, Abhimanyu Mithun, Virat Kohli, Robin Uthappa, Dale Steyn, Cameron White, Kevin Pietersen, Rahul Dravid, S Sriram, Manish Pandey, R Vinay Kumar, KP Appanna, B Akhil, Steven Smith, Praveen Kumar, Mark Boucher, Dillon du Preez, Ross Taylor, Roelof van der Merwe.Chennai Super Kings have signed up C Ganapathy, who was one of the Ranji Trophy’s leading allrounders this season and who also took a five-wicket haul in the Duleep Trophy final, as well as former India batsman Hemang Badani. Badani was also one of the many domestic players who was released from the ICL last year.Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (capt), Muttiah Muralitharan, Manpreet Gony, Shadab Jakati, Arun Karthik, Thissara Perera, L Balaji, Suresh Raina, Michael Hussey, Makhaya Ntini, Thilan Thushara, C Ganapathy, M Vijay, Sudeep Tyagi, R Ashwin, Justin Kemp, Hemang Badani, S Badrinath, Matthew Hayden, Albie Morkel, Jacob Oram, George Bailey, Parthiv Patel.Kolkata Knight Riders have not named New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond, their big buy at the auction, but a spokesman said Bond will play for Kolkata once New Zealand finish their home limited-overs matches against Australia. Players who have been drafted in include the Saurashtra opener, Chirag Pathak, who hit a brisk century in the Duleep final. Also named in the Kolkata squad were Cheteshwar Pujara and Ganapathi Vignesh, the hard-hitting opener from Tamil Nadu. Vignesh was another to have returned to the domestic scene from the ICL.Kolkata Knight Riders: Sourav Ganguly (capt), Cheteshwar Pujara, Charl Langeveldt, Chirag Pathak, Iqbal Abdulla, G Vignesh, Brendon McCullum, Angelo Mathews, Wriddhiman Saha, Ajit Agarkar, Chris Gayle, Manoj Tiwary, Rohan Gavaskar, Harshad Khadiwale, Varun Aaron, Eklak Ahmed, Owais Shah, Murali Kartik, Brad Hodge, Ajantha Mendis, Laxmi Shukla, Ashok Dinda, Ishant Sharma.Deccan Chargers, the defending champions, also have four new domestic players in their ranks: Bodapati Sumanth, a middle-order batsman, allrounder Ashish Reddy, opener Monish Mishra who is a former ICL player, and 17-year-old Mumbai left-arm spinner Harmeet Singh.Deccan Chargers: Adam Gilchrist (capt/wk), Azhar Bilakhia, Andrew Symonds, Arjun Yadav, Bodapati Sumanth, Chaminda Vaas, D Ravi Teja, Dwayne Smith, Harmeet Singh, Ashish Reddy, Herschelle Gibbs, Kemar Roach, VVS Laxman, Mohnish Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Rohit Sharma, RP Singh, Ryan Harris, T Suman, Venugopal Rao, Anirudh Singh, Rahul Sharma, Mitchell Marsh.The former India offspinner Sarandeep Singh, who played three Tests and five ODIs, and the Punjab legspinner Sarabjit Ladda have joined Delhi Daredevils.Delhi Daredevils: Gautam Gambhir (capt), AB de Villiers, Umesh Yadav, Kedar Jadhav, Wayne Parnell, Shashi Ranjan, Ashish Nehra, Mithun Manhas, Andrew McDonald, Farveez Maharoof, Virender Sehwag, Dinesh Karthik, Joginder Singh, Pradeep Sangwan, Amit Mishra, Moises Henriques, Sarandeep Singh, Sarabjit Ladda, Aavishkar Salvi, David Warner, Dirk Nannes, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Rajat Bhatia.The three former ICL players in the Mumbai Indians squad are Ambati Rayudu, once ranked as India material, Syed Sahabuddin, and Ali Murtaza.Mumbai Indians: Sachin Tendulkar (capt), Lasith Malinga, Kieron Pollard, Ambati Rayudu, Chandan Madan, Syed Sahabuddin, Dhawal Kulkarni, Shikhar Dhawan, Graham Napier, Dilhara Fernando, Dwayne Bravo, Zaheer Khan, Ali Murtaza, Saurabh Tiwary, R Sathish, Aditya Tare, Ishan Malhotra, Rahul Shukla, Abhishek Nayar, JP Duminy, Sanath Jayasuriya, Harbhajan Singh, Ryan McLaren.Meanwhile, Ravindra Jadeja has been omitted from Rajasthan Royals’ squad.Rajasthan Royals: Shane Warne (capt), Damien Martyn, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Abhishek Raut, Faiz Fazal, Amit Paunikar, Amit Singh, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Shaun Tait, Yusuf Pathan, Swapnil Asnodkar, Naman Ojha, Johan Botha, Michael Lumb, Shrikant Wagh, Sumit Narwal, Syed Quadri, Kamran Khan, Graeme Smith, Morne Morkel, Siddharth Trivedi, Mahesh Rawat, Munaf Patel.

India will face the winner of Thursday’s clash between Bangladesh and Pakistan, while Sri Lanka are out of contention now

Karthik Krishnaswamy24-Sep-20251:20

Chopra: Very little the bowlers could do against Abhishek

India are in the final of Asia Cup 2025, where they will meet the winner of Thursday’s Super Fours clash between Bangladesh and Pakistan. Sri Lanka are out of contention, and their game against India on Friday is now a dead rubber.India sealed their place in the final with a 41-run win over Bangladesh that was, for the victors, both comfortable and discomfiting. Bangladesh never really looked in contention at any point during their chase of 169, with their limitations as a T20 side exposed by the depth and variety of India’s bowling. But they would feel they should have made a much better fist of that target, after their bowlers had done brilliantly to haul India back when Abhishek Sharma had seemingly put them on course for 200 and beyond.Related

• The relentlessness of Abhishek and the ruthlessness of Bumrah

• Aaron: 'Axar ahead of Samson? I do not understand it'

• Abhishek Sharma is on his way to becoming an elite six-hitter

• Shaheen Afridi brushes off criticism as Pakistan eye Asia Cup final

Abhishek continued his magnificent tournament, following up his 39-ball 74 against Pakistan with a 37-ball 75, but India struggled when he wasn’t at the crease.Their innings followed a pattern not unlike Pakistan’s against their bowlers on Sunday: a strong start followed by a dramatic slowdown when the ball became older and harder to time. India scored 95 runs in overs 3-11, when Abhishek ran rampant, and just 73 runs in the 12 overs either side of that stretch.In the end, Abhishek’s innings proved the difference between the teams. Bangladesh didn’t have anyone in their line-up with that level of relentless boundary-hitting ability, even if Saif Hassan showed the promise in their ranks, hitting five sixes in a 51-ball 69.

Bangladesh begin brightly

Bangladesh could have dismissed Abhishek for 7 off 8 in the third over, had the wicketkeeper held on to an edge off Tanzim Hasan Sakib, who came into an XI with as many as four changes, and bowled brilliantly with the new ball, swinging it prodigiously while also hitting the deck hard.The wicketkeeper who shelled that chance – and Bangladesh’s captain on the night – was Jaker Ali, standing in for Litton Das who was ruled out with a side strain.That moment ended the first chapter of this match, which Bangladesh dominated without quite being able to separate Abhishek and Shubman Gill. Tanzim had beaten Gill’s bat twice in the first over, and left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed had used his swinging arm ball cleverly to take the ball away from Abhishek’s hitting arc in the second. By the end of the third over, India were still going at less than a run a ball.

Abhishek and Gill take over

Gill began the counterattack by stepping out to the first two balls of the fourth over and hitting Nasum for four and six. That began a torrent of boundary-hitting that Bangladesh seemed powerless to stop. Abhishek looked unstoppable once he got to grips with the conditions, hitting Mustafizur Rahman for two sixes in the fifth over, peppering the off-side boundary with four fours off Mohammad Saifuddin in the sixth, and carrying on in similar vein beyond the powerplay.In all, Abhishek hit five sixes and jumped to joint No. 7 on India’s all-time T20I six-hitting charts. He has now hit 58 sixes in just 21 innings; Suresh Raina, with whom he drew level, hit 58 in 66 innings.2:57

Chopra questions India’s batting order logic

Experimental India slow down

India were 112 for 2 at the start of the 12th over, and Bangladesh seemed powerless to stop Abhishek. But they did, via a run out manufactured by Rishad Hossain’s brilliance at backward point. He dived to his left to stop a dab from Suryakumar Yadav and sprang up, ready to throw in one motion, leaving Abhishek with little chance of regaining his ground at the non-striker’s end.That moment changed the complexion of the game, exposing India’s middle order to an issue that has troubled every line-up in these conditions in the UAE – the difficulty of starting innings against the old ball. Bangladesh’s bowlers did their bit too, with Mustafizur, Tanzim and Saifuddin finding plenty of purchase with their slower cutters and with Nasum varying his pace cleverly, and India only scored 56 runs across their last nine overs. Hardik Pandya, who was out off the last ball of the innings for 38 off 29, did the bulk of the scoring.India’s slide looked worse for coming against the backdrop of batting-order changes that didn’t come off on the day. India promoted Shivam Dube to No. 3, and sent in Hardik, Tilak Varma and Axar Patel above Sanju Samson, who did not get to bat at all.Handshakes all around after India completed an easy win•AFP/Getty Images

Saif wages lone fight as Bangladesh fade away

Bangladesh seemed in with a real chance at the halfway mark, but the required rate kept slipping further and further away from their reach. Jasprit Bumrah, once again bowling three overs in the powerplay, struck in his first over, and looked close to unhittable with the new ball, finding prodigious swing and at one stage beating Parvez Hossain Emon’s bat six times in eight balls.And then, just as Emon had seemed to shrug off that early struggle with a six off Bumrah and a pair of swept fours off Varun Chakravarthy, he fell while miscuing a slog-sweep in Kuldeep Yadav’s first over, the seventh of the innings.Then it became a game of two ends. At one end, Saif showed off his hitting range, particularly off Axar whom he hit for three sixes. At the other, batters came and went, with Jaker’s run-out dismissal in the 13th over, while trying to steal a quick single to get Saif to his fifty, effectively bringing Bangladesh’s challenge to an end.All that remained was for Kuldeep to pull off his customary two-wickets-in-two-balls trick, for India’s fielders to shell a series of catches to extend Saif’s innings into the 18th over, for Bumrah to come back and pick up a second wicket, and finally for part-timer Tilak to roll his arm over and end the match with three balls to spare.

Derbyshire’s Alex Thomson continues impressive match to claim maiden ten-wicket haul

ECB Reporters Network13-Apr-2024Spin continued to dominate proceedings on the second day of the Vitality County Championship match between Glamorgan and Derbyshire in Cardiff.Mason Crane took four wickets on his Glamorgan debut as Derbyshire were bowled out for 198, 39 runs behind on first innings. Wayne Madsen top scored for Derbyshire with 63 but his departure brought about a collapse of five wickets for 33 runs.Alex Thomson was once again the star man with the ball for Derbyshire as he secured his first 10-wicket haul in first-class cricket. Glamorgan had reached 74 for 4 at the close, a lead of 113 with six second innings wickets in hand.With the pitch offering significant assistance to both seam and spin bowlers the destination of this game will depend on how well Glamorgan bat in the first session of day three.Having resumed on 46 for 1, Derbyshire while placed to get past Glamorgan’s total and they started the day with captain David Lloyd reaching fifty from 65 balls against his former county. He was the first wicket to fall on day two when he was trapped lbw by Crane for 60.Harry Came made a patient 25 from 113 balls but he never really found runs easy to come by on a pitch that is slow enough that batters had to take risks to score quickly. He was dismissed by James Harris for the second of his three wickets in Derbyshire’s innings. Harris conceded runs at less than 1.5 an over, conceding just three boundaries, one of which was an edge past the slips as he finished with figures of 3 for 28.As was the case in Glamorgan’s first innings, it was the spinner who was the most consistent threat with Crane starring with the ball on his Glamorgan debut. Figures 4 for 60 was his best return in first-class cricket since his five-wicket haul against Lancashire for Hampshire in 2021.While Crane was a consistent threat, it was the seamers who took the heart out of the Derbyshire batting line-up with Dan Douthwaite and Mir Hamza picking up wickets.While Madsen was at the crease it felt as is Derbyshire could claim a first-innings lead but when he was well caught in the covers by sub fielder Asa Tribe off Douthwaite it began the collapse that prevented Derbyshire eclipsing Glamorgan’s first innings total.Crane was brought back into the attack after a short break and claimed the last three Derbyshire wickets as scoring became increasingly difficult against the aging Kookaburra ball. When the last Derbyshire wicket fell on the stoke of the tea break Glamorgan had secured a 39-run lead.When their second innings got underway the Glamorgan openers once again found Thomson extremely difficult to face. Having claimed career-best figures of 7 for 65 in the first innings he opened the bowling and had two wickets in two balls. Both Zain-ul-Hassan and Sam Northeast were dismissed lbw, the latter for a golden duck.Thomson claimed his 10th wicket of the match when he bowled Kiran Carlson for 11 before Sam Conners bowled Billy Root for 32 to put this game into the balance heading into the third day.

Jacob Oram, meanwhile, has joined MI Cape Town as the team’s bowling coach

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Dec-2022J Arunkumar, the former Karnataka captain and coach, has been roped by Mumbai Indians as their assistant batting coach ahead of IPL 2023. Arunkumar joins his former team-mate R Vinay Kumar, a talent scout, on the franchise’s support staff roster, that will be headed by Mark Boucher; Arunkumar and Boucher were colleagues at Royal Challengers Bangalore during the inaugural IPL season in 2008.Arunkumar will work in tandem with Kieron Pollard, who was announced as batting coach in November after he was released by the franchise ahead of the auction. Pollard had represented the franchise in 189 matches since first coming on board in 2009.A veteran of 109 first-class matches, Arunkumar was until recently head coach of the USA men’s national team for over two years. Prior to that, he was involved in the Indian domestic circuit with Puducherry and Karnataka. In the IPL, he’s previously worked with Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) as batting coach in 2017.Arunkumar achieved great success with Karnataka
During his tenure [Arunkumar and Mansur Ali Khan coached the team together], Karnataka won back-to-back Ranji Trophy titles in 2013-14 and 2014-15. They also won two Irani Cups and Vijay Hazare Trophy titles in the same seasons. His time coincided with the team establishing themselves as a dominant force in domestic cricket, with KL Rahul, Manish Pandey and Karun Nair all graduating to play for India.Arunkumar also had an impressive career as a player with Karnataka, being part of two title wins as a player, in 1995-96 and 1997-98. He made 7208 first-class runs in 176 innings, with 20 centuries and 36 half-centuries.The new support staff appointments followed the group’s overhaul of its existing coaching set-up after the acquisition of teams at the UAE’s ILT20 (MI Emirates) and the South African SA20 league (MI Cape Town). Mahela Jayawardene, who was the head coach at Mumbai Indians since 2017, has been elevated to the global head of performance, and Zaheer Khan, the director of cricket operations till last season, is now the global head of cricket development. They will both be involved with all three teams.Jacob Oram roped in as MI Cape Town bowling coach
In another update, Jacob Oram, the former New Zealand allrounder, has been appointed MI Cape Town’s bowling coach ahead of the inaugural SA20 season.Oram, who played 33 Tests, 160 ODIs and 36 T20Is between 2001 and 2012, also played four seasons of the IPL, in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2013, finishing up with Mumbai Indians. A coach after retirement, Oram’s most recent position was as the assistant coach of the New Zealand women’s team.He now joins the MI Cape Town support staff team of Simon Katich (head coach), Hashim Amla (batting coach), James Pamment (fielding coach), and Robin Peterson (team manager).