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Fifties from Gaikwad and Kishan also play a part in hosts’ dismantling of South Africa in Vizag

Firdose Moonda14-Jun-20224:18

Jaffer: Wristspinners need to be brave and Chahal was

India needed their players to step up and put in a big performance to stay alive in the five-match T20I series and Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Yuzvendra Chahal and Harshal Patel did just that. Gaikwad and Kishan shared 97 – India’s highest opening stand against South Africa in T20Is, with each scoring half-centuries. Gaikwad posted a career-best 57 to set India up for a strong total before Chahal and Harshal took three wickets apiece to give India a comprehensive win.South Africa’s defeat was only their second in the last 15 T20Is and their first in the previous eight matches while chasing. They needed a strong start and someone to bat through, but were 38 for 2 in the powerplay and no-one scored more than Heinrich Klaasen’s 29.India’s spinners applied significant pressure for the first time in the series, on the slowest surface so far. Chahal and Axar Patel gave away only 45 runs between them for seven wickets to give Rishabh Pant his first win as captain.Five, four(s)…
 
India were off to a solid but unspectacular start until Anrich Nortje came on to bowl the fifth over and Gaikwad got hold of him. Nortje started in signature fashion – short – but also bowled it wide and Gaikwad only had to stand and cut to find the boundary. Nortje delivered the next ball on a length, and Gaikwad charged down and lofted him over mid-on, prompting Nortje to default back to the bouncer. His third ball came in viciously from outside off and took the grille of Gaikwad’s helmet and raced to the third-man rope. Gaikwad was given the runs, but later taken away as leg-byes, even as he had to have a concussion test.4:15

Steyn: Gaikwad bats pretty much like KL Rahul

He was cleared to continue, and seemed just fine, as he flicked away Nortje’s follow-up, a full ball, through midwicket. Nortje moved his line closer to the stumps for the fifth ball but Gaikwad made room and opened the face of the bat late to steer the ball to short third man. Tabraiz Shamsi was stationed there and although he would have had to make good ground to take the catch, he should have stopped the ball going through his hands and to the boundary. Gaikwad swung and missed the sixth ball as Nortje saved some face. Gaikwad went on to bring up his fifty off 30 balls.Shamsi v Shreyas

Shreyas Iyer has yet to look entirely convincing in this series and scored his first runs in this innings with a top edge off Nortje that went for six. Shreyas was much more in control of his next runs, when he skipped down the track to launch Shamsi over mid-off. The spinner had already been hit for 23 runs in his first two overs and was not having as good a time as he would have liked to celebrate his 50th T20I. But he thought he had turned things around when three balls later, Shreyas was given out lbw as he tried to sweep. Shreyas reviewed immediately, with replays indicating that he had gloved the ball. Just when Shamsi may have thought his night wouldn’t improve, Shreyas swept again, but didn’t keep it down and Nortje timed his jump perfectly at square leg to take the catch.Two drops and some damage
It’s not like South Africa to put down chances and it’s even less like Miller and Rassie van der Dussen but they were both guilty of mistakes. Miller’s was the simpler of the two, when Hardilk Pandya, on 1, sliced Shamsi on the off side and he only had to hold on, but couldn’t. van der Dussen’s required running in from deep backward point when Pant, on 4, slashed at a wide Dwaine Pretorius delivery. He got to the ball but it popped out of his hands. van der Dussen’s drop only cost two runs when, later in Pretorius’ over, Pant again lofted the seamer over the offside. Bavuma ran back from mid-off to take the catch. Pandya’s let-off was more costly. He went on to score 31 runs and help India take 41 off the last five, to push the total over 175.Harshal Patel rattled South Africa’s chase with a four-wicket haul•Associated Press

Poor in the powerplay
Without Quinton de Kock and Aiden Markram, the spotlight was always going to shine brightly on South Africa’s opening pair and their strike rates. Temba Bavuma and Reeza Hendricks’ career strike-rates sit at 121.75 and 121.44 respectively and both struggled to get going against a classic Bhuvneshwar Kumar opening spell. He swung the ball both ways to deliver two overs for seven runs but was taken off by Pant, who has developed a habit of replacing bowlers who are applying pressure. Bhuvneshwar’s squeeze worked – Bavuma was caught at mid-on as he tried to clear the in field off Axar. Hendricks edged Chahal, but the chance didn’t carry to slip, before he swung at a Harshal slower ball and was caught at mid-off to end the powerplay on 38 for 2.No middle-order hero this time
van der Dussen was dismissed for 1 when he was caught behind off a Chahal delivery that turned away from him as he tried to cut and two overs later Pretorius went in a similar way but it was only when Miller was done in by a slower ball from Harshal that South Africa’s middle order was opened up for the first time in the series.Wayne Parnell came in at No.7, with South Africa needing 109 runs from nine overs. He had Klaasen at the other end but Chahal had the final say. In his final over, Chahal tossed it up, inviting Klaasen to go big but he could only get the ball as far as Axar at extra cover, to all but end South Africa’s chase in the 15th over. India proceeded to secure their biggest victory (in terms of runs) over South Africa in T20Is.

The trio scored half-centuries to give the Indians a shot at an innings victory

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Dec-2022
Bangladesh A were left needing another final-day rescue act after India A took a lead of 261 runs in the second unofficial Test in Sylhet. The hosts were 49 for 2 at stumps on the third day after India A declared their first innings on 562 for 9.Bangladesh A had started well though, with Musfik Hasan removing India A captain Abhimanyu Easwaran for 157 in the sixth over of the day. Easwaran struck 14 fours and two sixes in an innings that spanned more than seven hours. Jayant Yadav and Saurabh Kumar then put together 86 for the seventh wicket to push the Indians closer to 500. Saurabh was particularly aggressive, hitting seven fours and two sixes in his 55 off 39 balls. Jayant and No. 10 Navdeep Saini also scored half-centuries to grind Bangladesh A’s attack.Saini stuck around for an hour and 36 minutes to score his maiden first-class fifty. He added an unbroken 68-run partnership for the tenth wicket with Mukesh Kumar before Easwaran called them back.Left-arm spinner Murad and rookie fast bowler Musfik took three wickets each, while Sumon Khan finished with two wickets.Bangladesh A lost their first-match hero Zakir Hasan in the fifth over when Umesh Yadav bowled him for 12. Mahmudul Hasan Joy then fell for 10, ending the two-match series with just 44 runs.Shadman and Mominul Haque, however, saw Bangladesh through to stumps without any further damage. The final day looms as a vital one for Mominul who needs some runs, ahead of the first Test against India next week.

Emily Windsor’s 84 goes in vain as Grewcock stars with bat and ball

ECB Reporters Network02-Jul-2023Jodie Grewcock haunted Southern Vipers for the second time this season as Sunrisers completed a double over the south coast franchise in this season’s Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.Grewcock, whose half-century was pivotal to the first win at the Ageas Bowl back in April, this time starred with bat and ball, scoring 76 before taking 4 for 45 as they won by 28 runs at Chelmsford.Emily Windsor threatened to undo Grewcock’s good work with 84 in the Vipers’ run chase, but Alice Monaghan, who earlier taken three wickets was left stranded on 34 not out as Sunrisers recorded just their second win in this competition.Both sides were understrength for the contest due to England call-ups and bloodied a number of youngsters.Grewcock and Lissy MacLeod began circumspectly before the former threw off the shackles with three boundaries in one over off Monaghan and a pair of gorgeous cover drives off Elwiss in the next.MacLeod briefly caught the mood, pummelling successive balls from Monaghan to the fence at mid-on and mid-wicket respectively, only to be trapped in front by Elwiss with the score on 66.The wicket didn’t stall Sunrisers’ progress as Cordelia Griffith scored at close to a run a ball and it came as something of a surprise when the right-hander was stumped for 29 by Rhiana Southby – a first wicket in Vipers’ colours for spinner Lee.Skipper Dane Van Niekerk didn’t stay long, but Grewcock, dropped on 38, moved to 50, courtesy of a seventh four, and with Mady Villiers, back from England A duty bedding in well the hosts looked set for a big score at 164 for 3.However, Villiers slog-swept Lee to deep mid-wicket and the tide of the innings turned. Grewcock’s excellent vigil ended when she sent a half-tracker from Nancy Harman straight to mid-wicket and wickets fell steadily before debutant Amu Surenkumar steered the hosts beyond 250 in company with Kate Coppack.There was joy for another debutant early in the Vipers’ reply as Esmae MacGregor castled Ella McCaughan. And the Colchester medium pacer might have had a second had Amara Carr clung on to an edge from the visitors’ own debutant Abigail Norgrove. The reprieve was short-lived as the youngster was soon bowled by Kelly Castle.Windsor though latched onto anything loose to keep the scoreboard moving and Elwiss proved an excellent foil, forcefully driving one from Grewcock to the mid-off boundary as the 50-partnership came up in 56 balls.Windsor caressed a sixth four through wide mid-off to reach 50 in 69 balls and another imperious drive was unfurled soon after the drinks break.Grewcock took a return catch to send Elwiss on her way, so ending a stand of 70 and later removed Freya Kemp, who injured her shoulder while batting, with the help of a catch in the deep, for a breezy 22.With 91 needed from the final 14 Windsor’s was the wicket Sunrisers wanted and Grewcock obliged here too, yorking her with the first ball of her next over and she wasn’t done yet as Southby chipped back the simplest of caught and bowled chances in a double wicket maiden.Monaghan and Harman threatened/produced another twist, the former hitting successive fours off MacGregor in a stand of 48. However, Coppack returned to have Harman caught and then ran out Taylor with a throw from the deep, before Surenkumar struck with successive balls to seal victory.

A brief recap of the second round of games in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025-26

Shashank Kishore28-Nov-2025

Mhatre’s maiden ton studs Mumbai win

Ayush Mhatre continued his exciting initiation into top-flight cricket with a 53-ball 110 in Mumbai’s convincing win over Vidarbha as they made it two in two. Mumbai chased down 193 with 13 balls to spare and seven wickets in hand.Named India Under-19 captain for the Asia Cup earlier in the day, this was Mhatre’s maiden T20 century. His knock contained eight fours and eight sixes. Mhatre’s knock paved the foundation, while Suryakumar Yadav (35 off 30) and Shivam Dube (39 off 19) polished off the chase. Mhatre’s century made him the youngest man (18 years, 135 days) to get hundreds in first-class, List-A and T20s, shaving more than a year from Rohit Sharma’s record (19 years, 339 days). He also became the third-youngest to hit a men’s T20 century, after Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Vijay Zol.Dube also continued to be relied on as a handy seam option, picking up 3 for 31 off his four overs. He has now bowled seven overs across two matches for four wickets.

Shaw half-century gives Maharashtra first win

Prithvi Shaw marked his captaincy debut for Maharashtra with a sparkling 36-ball 66 in an eight-wicket win over Hyderabad. It was Maharashtra’s first win in the competition, as they hunted down 192 with eight balls to spare. Arshin Kulkarni anchored the chase superbly, finishing unbeaten on 89 off 54 deliveries to seal victory.

Samson misses out; Kerala lose

Kerala stumbled against Railways, losing by 32 runs after failing to chase down a modest 150 in Lucknow. Sanju Samson, who opened the tournament with a half-century, was out for 19 off 25 balls, while Rohan Kunnummal, his opening partner who made an unbeaten 60-ball 121 in Wednesday’s win over Odisha, managed just 8.

Chahal, Sindhu shine; Haryana clinch Super Over

Haryana edged out Punjab in a tense Super Over finish to claim their first win of the tournament. Punjab’s chase of 208 was driven by Anmolpreet Singh’s 37-ball 81, but Yuzvendra Chahal turned the tide with a vital double-strike, removing Salil Arora and Nehal Wadhera in quick succession.Related

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Punjab’s chase grew increasingly chaotic: Gurnoor Brar was retired out after a scratchy 8 off 10 balls, before Sanvir Singh (30* off 16) and Harpreet Brar (10* off four) somehow stretched the game into a Super Over. There, Punjab mustered only a single run while losing Abhishek Sharma and Sanvir. Haryana needed just one delivery in response, striking a boundary first ball to clinch a dramatic win.Nishant Sindhu top-scored for Haryana in regulation time with a 32-ball 61. He had also played a key role in their opening game, hitting a cameo 33 while also picking up 2 for 28.

All-round Anukul stuns Karnataka

After returning figures of 2 for 13 in three overs to restrict Karnataka to 157 for 9, Anukul Roy, the left-handed allrounder, single-handedly took Jharkhand home in a tense final-over finish.With no other batter scoring more than 15, Jharkhand’s chase came down to how long Anukul could steer the innings, and he did that by scoring an unbeaten 95 in 58 balls. Wickets kept tumbling around No. 5 Anukul, with seven batters returning single-digit scores, but his nine fours and five sixes earned Jharkhand their second win in two games to move atop Group D.

Venkatesh shines; Jitesh, Suryavanshi fall cheaply

Released by KKR after being bought for a hefty INR 23.5 crore last year, Venkatesh Iyer offered a timely reminder of his value in the middle order with an unbeaten 55 off 34 balls in Madhya Pradesh’s 62-run win over Bihar. This was their first win in the competition.Set 175, Bihar collapsed for 112. Fourteen-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi, almost certain to feature in the upcoming Under-19 World Cup, has so far made 14 and 13 in his two outings. With one win from two matches, MP will also be lifted by the return of Rajat Patidar for their third game on Sunday.Vaibhav Suryavanshi started SMAT 2025 with a couple of low scores•PTI

Meanwhile, Jitesh Sharma’s stint with his new team Baroda hasn’t started the way he would’ve liked. After making 4 on debut in a defeat against Bengal, he managed just 5 in Friday’s loss against Puducherry. Baroda have now lost both their games. Adil Ayub Tunda, the fast bowler from Jammu and Kashmir who has impressed several talent scouts, picked up 4 for 30 for Puducherry.

Captain ends dogged stand between Petersen and van der Dussen as tourists collapse after tea

Andrew Miller27-Aug-2022England 415 for 9 dec (Foakes 113*, Stokes 103) beat South Africa 151 (Anderson 3-32, Broad 3-37) and 179 (Petersen 42, Robinson 4-43) by 123 runsTest centuries and all that, sure, they’re nice. But for Ben Stokes, you get the sense that nothing can beat the sensation of a job well done that accompanied his down-and-dirty exploits on the third afternoon at Emirates Old Trafford.After the highs of his game-changing stand with Ben Foakes on Friday, came the low, visually at least, of England’s captain bending for breath between balls during his gut-busting 14-over spell, either side of the tea break. And yet, his apparently everyman figures of 2 for 30 were best expressed by the events that bookended them.Before Stokes’ intervention, South Africa’s fourth-wicket pairing, Keegan Petersen and Rassie van der Dussen, had endured for a doughty stand of 87, spanning 42.2 overs including the entire afternoon session, to give their side hope of a miraculous turnaround.Straight after Stokes, however, came England’s second new ball, and the sight of James Anderson and Ollie Robinson completing the job they had started with such surety in the long-distant morning session. On their watch, England ripped out the remaining five wickets in 31 balls before stumps, to square the series with an innings-and-85-run victory that was no less crushing than the one they had themselves suffered at Lord’s last week.And, in between whiles, came the interventions that made the victory surge possible, two moments of raw inspiration that their captain dredged from within himself, to rip apart South Africa’s burgeoning resistance and lay bare their futile prospects.Van der Dussen, who was subsequently confirmed to have suffered a broken left index finger that will rule him out of next week’s third Test, battled with huge resolve after arriving at an uncompromising 54 for 3 in the 14th over of the day – often removing his top hand on impact as England probed his stumps and forced him to dig deep for the cause. But, after 20 minutes of cooling off during the interval, he was lured outside his eyeline as Stokes shaped one away at good pace, and Foakes behind the stumps plucked a priceless chance.One over later, and Stokes produced an even more awesome moment. Petersen had been bloodless in his resolve in the middle session, denying himself any attacking impetus as he set himself and his team for survival. But Stokes’ response was a sizzling lifter – fast, straight and climbing wickedly off the seam and into his gloves as he tried to rear out of harm’s way.At 151 for 5, with 2 for 19 in eight overs, Stokes could arguably have pulled himself out there and then, the glory moment secure, and handed the attack back to his frontline quicks. But with the ball now 68 overs old, he instead took it upon himself to shoulder the burden for the remainder of its 80-over life. Within 5.1 overs of the replacement, his instinct was proven to be spot on.The end came with startling speed. After a chastening match with the ball, Simon Harmer had got himself into line with determination throughout his 48-ball stay. But Anderson’s second delivery with the new ball was simply too good – full, straight, seaming, and decisive, as it burst through the gate into the top of the off stump.Robinson responded with equal authority – his fourth ball climbed at Keshav Maharaj for a sharp edge to Ollie Pope at fourth slip, and from there it was a race to the bottom. Anderson found Kagiso Rabada’s edge for Joe Root to stoop at first slip, before Robinson wrapped up the collapse by delivering back-to-back ducks on Anrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi, and seal impressive comeback figures of 4 for 43.And so ended another one-sided three-day Test, although it was a significantly more compelling day of action than might have been envisaged after the first hour of action.South Africa had fought hard on the second evening, following England’s first-innings declaration, to reach 23 for 0 at the close. But that resilience was unpicked with haste upon the resumption, with their captain and linchpin Dean Elgar falling within 15 minutes of the resumption – brilliantly outfoxed by Anderson, whose 662nd Test wicket took him to 949 in all internationals, bringing him level with Glenn McGrath as the most prolific seamer across formats. By the day’s end, of course, he was out on his own at the top.Opening up from his very own End, Anderson needed just four deliveries to line up Elgar and send him on his way for the sixth time in Test cricket. The third of those jagged wickedly from round the wicket and lifted past Elgar’s splice; the next, a fraction fuller, skidded straight past a now-crease-bound batter, to pluck out his off stump for 11.Sarel Erwee was similarly out-thought, as Robinson switched to round the wicket from over, and confounded his alignment with the perfect full length. And then came Broad – relegated to first-change status for this match but gagging for his slice of the action.Within five balls, Broad trimmed Aiden Markram’s bails with the ball of the Test so far, only for the third umpire to belatedly call no-ball. Nonplussed but undeterred, Broad settled for luring Markram outside off in his second over instead… but pointedly curbed his enthusiasm until he’d received word from umpire Chris Gaffeney that his front foot had been given a clean bill of health.And that could have been that, especially with van der Dussen visibly hampered. But, with watchfulness to the fore, he and Petersen set their sights on survival.However, England’s grip on the contest was not exactly loosened in a middle session that yielded just 53 runs, with 123 still needed for parity by tea. With his spinner, Jack Leach, bowling dry from the James Anderson End, conceding 19 runs in as many overs, Stokes was able to rotate his seamers with attacking fields, including close catchers at silly mid-off and mid-on, and keep them fresh for the new ball.Six of those pre-tea overs were from Stokes himself – a tight, channelled burst of aggression that yielded just eight runs and a constant threat of reverse-swing, including a thin snick off van der Dussen in the penultimate over of the session that England failed to notice. But it mattered not in the final analysis. After the break, everything came flooding out, as England squared the rubber in the style that their captain has ordained.

“He just has that different look in his eye this year – you can see that he’s probably hungrier than ever,” Ponting says after spending time with Shaw

Sreshth Shah24-Mar-2023Ricky Ponting feels IPL 2023 could be the season the “real Prithvi Shaw” turns up.”He’s trained harder and better than I’ve ever seen. I’m pretty sure leading into an IPL, he is in better physical shape than I’ve ever seen him before,” Ponting told reporters in Delhi on Friday. “And I spoke to him the other day about his attitude and the way that he’s working and how things are going. I honestly feel that this is going to be his biggest season ever in the IPL.”He just has that different look in his eye this year – you can see that he’s probably hungrier than ever. Yes he’s had some success for us, but I think with the level of talent and ability that he’s got, I think we’re going to see the real Prithvi Shaw this season.”Related

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Shaw has played five IPL seasons with Delhi Capitals, with 2021 his best, when he scored 479 runs at an average of 31.93 and a strike rate of 159.14. Barring that, he has largely been inconsistent, with a tournament average of 25.21 and a strike rate of 147.45, but he was retained by the side ahead of the IPL 2022 auction.Over the past 18 months, Shaw has had an up-and-down time, falling off the pace as a contender for a spot in India’s white-ball squads initially, and then struggling with his fitness. He last represented India in July 2021.However, he bounced back in the 2022-23 domestic season with consistent scores for West Zone, India A and Mumbai, with big hundreds in the Duleep Trophy, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Ranji Trophy, which translated into his inclusion in the T20I squad in January. His 383-ball 379 against Assam is the second-highest Ranji score of all time.Most recently, though, Shaw was in the news when there was an alleged attack on him and his car, a matter that is being dealt by the police.Ponting, who is no stranger to trouble outside the field from his playing days, said that whether there had been issues outside the field, the one thing he can’t stand is lazy players who do not utilise the talent they possess. On that front, Ponting felt Shaw had been ticking all the right boxes.”It’s well documented that I had some issues early on, but it’s all about just being true to yourself and wanting to be the best that you can be,” Ponting said. “The one thing that I always say to our players is I don’t like laziness and I don’t like guys not utilising the talent that they’ve got. That’s one thing I always say.”And so that’s then my job as a coach. If I can see that guys aren’t working as hard as they should, they’re not getting the most out of them, then it’s up to me to try and change that. So, you know, it just seems to me that this season, though, something has really clicked in Prithvi. He seems to be in a better space than ever before.”Ponting has worked closely with Shaw since taking over the head coach’s role. In 2021, he had said that he hadn’t seen a batter as talented as Shaw in all his years in cricket, but also revealed that he disagreed with Shaw’s philosophy about practice, where he didn’t bat in the nets when he was struggling with form.Now, two years on, Ponting believes that his job as a head coach is as much about making the young squad members better people as it is about making them better cricketers. He said that cricketers having their personal lives in order allows them to be disciplined sportspersons on the field too.1:27

Ponting: No Pant leaves big hole, still undecided on wicketkeeper

“The thing about the IPL is you’re seeing so many younger players getting an opportunity. They’re maybe not ready for it. I mean, I think they’re ready for the cricket side of it, but a lot of the guys are not ready for what comes with that,” Ponting said. “There wasn’t as much spotlight on me, I guess, back as a young player as there is on some of the young Indian guys.”As a player, sometimes you want to play cricket, you want to get out there and represent your team, represent your franchise, and represent your country, but sometimes you don’t see the bigger picture of it. There’s a bigger picture out there than just you playing cricket. It’s how everyone else perceives you in the real world.”So that’s my job to make them better players, but at the end of the day, I want to make them better people as well. That’s a big part. The better person you are, I think it’s easier to become a better player. And if you haven’t got your personal life in order off the field, it’s really difficult to be a disciplined performer on the field. So that’s one of the things that I try to teach because I’ve been there and done it.”Capitals begin their IPL 2023 campaign away at Lucknow Super Giants on April 1, looking to improve from their fifth-place finish last season. They have named David Warner as captain in the absence of the injured Rishabh Pant, with Axar Patel named vice-captain.

Will Rhodes makes 99 as Northants fail to capitalise on scoreboard pressure

ECB Reporters Network14-May-2022Batters continue to make hay at Edgbaston as Warwickshire replied to Northamptonshire’s 597 for six with 394 for four on the third day of their LV=Insurance County Championship match.Warwickshire began the day under pressure, on 80 for two needing 448 to avoid the follow on, but responded with the requisite resilience as Sam Hain (140 not out, 337 balls) and Will Rhodes (99, 173) added 201 for the fourth wicket.Hain, whose career-best 208 arrived against Northamptonshire in 2014, played barely a false shot in seven hours at the crease and his reassuring presence helped Rhodes to relocate some form and fluency. The captain’s six previous innings this season had yielded just 73 runs.As an excellent batting track refused to deteriorate, all the bowlers could do was persevere in the sunshine. They did so commendably, led by Jack White who kept going manfully for 26-6-84-2 – very worthy figures in these conditions.Warwickshire resumed on the third morning on 80 for two, 368 from the follow-on. They needed a day of serious batting and delivered it. Only one wicket fell in the first two sessions when, midway through the morning, Dom Sibley (52, 170 balls) edged a fine ball from Luke Procter behind.Rhodes looked a little uncertain early on and was reprieved on 22 when he chipped Rob Keogh to mid-on but Simon Kerrigan was on his heels and the ball fell just in front of him. The Warwickshire skipper gained fluency from that point – the straight-driven four off Matt Kelly which took him to 50 was exquisite.Hain was at his implacable best. He went to the crease armed with a first-class average of 76 against Northamptonshire, but ensured its improvement by mid-afternoon and reached his 12th first-class century (239 balls) just before tea.Rhodes was a single away from his ton when the impressive White, plugging away on a hot afternoon, induced an edge and Lewis McManus took another catch. The captain was afforded the warmest of ovations back to the pavilion.At 314 for four, the Bears still had work to do to reach the follow-on figure and officially consign the match to stalemate. Hain and Matt Lamb ensured there was no late collapse with an unbroken stand of 80 in the last 23 overs of the day. Hain’s concentration remained absolute while Lamb continued his sparkling form this season with a perky unbeaten 47 from 77 balls.

Caleb Jewell and Beau Webster put Tasmania in a strong position

AAP14-Mar-2023Queensland’s decision to send Tasmania in to bat at Bellerive Oval failed to pay dividends thanks to half-centuries from Caleb Jewell and Beau Webster.The in-form Jewell seemed set for a third century is as many outings for Tasmania, only to fall for 98 after a 228-ball innings.Webster ended the day unbeaten on 91, having struck 11 boundaries in a 157-ball knock. He was joined at the crease by Tim Paine, on 41 not out.Queensland, who are in a tense battle with Victoria for a spot in next week’s Shield final, commenced the day disastrously with the loss of strike bowler Michael Neser.The Test paceman was ruled out minutes before the start after suffering an ankle injury during the warm-up, with Liam Guthrie coming into the side in his place. To compounded Queensland’s woes, Mark Steketee could only manage 10 overs before limping off with a hip problem.Jewell, having hit three figures in his last Shield and One-Day Cup outings, fell to the new ball after edging a Guthrie delivery to Joe Burns at first slip.The 25-year-old left-hander had shared in two century partnerships, putting on 104 with Jake Doran (58) for the second wicket, and then 120 with Webster for the fifth.Left-armer Guthrie made the most of his eleventh-hour inclusion and made a double breakthrough after lunch, with two wickets in three balls knocking over Mac Wright and captain Jordan Silk for a duck.Steketee, the Shield’s second-highest wicket-taker after Neser, struck in just the third over removing Tim Ward for 2, but had little further joy despite the green-tinged wicket.Second-placed Queensland must at least equal Victoria’s result against Western Australia in Perth if they are to secure a spot in the season decider.

KKR and Royals are the only unbeaten teams in IPL 2024 at this stage, while Capitals have just won their first game after two losses

Ashish Pant02-Apr-2024

Match details

Delhi Capitals (DC) vs Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
Visakhapatnam, 1930 IST (1400 GMT)

Big Picture – Whose home ground is it anyway?

Visakhapatnam might be Delhi Capitals’ alternate home venue, but it was a sea of yellow when they played here a couple of days back. That was mostly down to them playing against Chennai Super Kings – more specially, MS Dhoni. When they play Kolkata Knight Riders, Capitals will hope for some more red and blue in the stands as they look to climb up the points table.Capitals know what it’s like to fall behind early in the IPL. They lost their first five games in IPL 2023, which made coming back into the tournament tough. The victory against CSK was important keeping that in mind.Related

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• Dhoni and Pant jazz up Vizag with modern classic

• Pant: 'Whatever happens, I had to be back on the ground'

They don’t have the batting depth that some of the other teams boast of, and will need their top order to fire again, and keep firing through the tournament.Crucially, Prithvi Shaw, who was among the runs in his first outing in IPL 2024 in the game against CSK, and David Warner have excellent numbers against KKR – no one has scored more than Warner’s 1075 against KKR, while Shaw averages 45 against KKR, and his highest score of 99 also came against them, in 2019.Rishabh Pant’s move to No. 3 against CSK showed positive intent from Capitals, and he repaid the faith with a quick half-century.But they will want runs from the other batters, too.It won’t be easy against KKR, who have won both their games so far this season. They had a scare in the opening game of the season against Sunrisers Hyderabad but scored a clinical win against RCB. KKR don’t have a lot of holes to plug, but the one area that needs sorting is their powerplay bowling.It’s still early days in the tournament, but KKR have the poorest powerplay economy among all the teams so far – 10.75. That is partly down to Mitchell Starc having a nightmare start to his IPL season. The fast bowler has been taken for a combined 100 runs and is yet to take a wicket. In conditions which might aid swing and seam, Starc will hope for better returns.As will the batting pack with the exception of Andre Russell, Phil Salt and Venkatesh Iyer.Rishabh Pant scored a 32-ball 51 against CSK•BCCI

Team news and Impact Player strategy

Delhi Capitals
Capitals brought in Shaw for the previous game, a move that paid off. He was later subbed off with Rasikh Salam coming in. If Capitals bowl first, depending on the surface, there is a chance Salam or Lalit Yadav get into the first XI, with Shaw coming in later. Vice versa if they bat first.Kuldeep Yadav missed the game against CSK because of a niggle, and Capitals would hope he returns soon, for this game if possible.Another concern for Capitals is the form of their two overseas players Tristan Stubbs and Anrich Nortje. Stubbs was cleaned up for a first-ball duck against CSK, while Nortje has looked rusty in his two outings so far. Jhye Richardson bowled at full tilt in the nets ahead of Capitals’ previous fixture, and could slot in if they want to give a break to Nortje. Capitals could also consider bringing in Jake Fraser-McGurk in place of Stubbs.Probable XII: 1 , 2 David Warner, 3 Rishabh Pant (capt, wk), 4 Mitchell Marsh 5 Tristan Stubbs/Jake Fraser-McGurk, 6 Axar Patel, 7 Abishek Porel, 8 Anrich Nortje/Jhye Richardson, 9 Mukesh Kumar, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Khaleel Ahmed, 12 Kolkata Knight Riders
Varun Chakravarthy bowled just two overs in KKR’s previous game before being subbed off for Angkrish Raghuvanshi. Legspinner Suyash Sharma is another option for that spot, with Raghuvanshi the Impact Player once more swapping places with Suyash or Chakravarthy.Venkatesh seemed to have tweaked his back in KKR’s previous game and was seen hobbling, but bowling coach Bharat Arun confirmed he was “fit and rearing to go”.Probable XII: 1 Phil Salt (wk), 2 Sunil Narine, 3 Venkatesh Iyer, 4 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 5 6 Rinku Singh, 7 Andre Russell, 8 Ramandeep Singh, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Anukul Roy, 11 Harshit Rana, 12 Mitchell Starc has had a horror start to IPL 2024•BCCI

Pitch and conditions

The pitch for the first game in Vizag had a decent covering of grass. It aided swing and seam movement almost throughout the 40 overs, and even swung even more under lights. Similar conditions could be expected for the DC vs KKR game, too. There’s also a warning for excessive heat and humidity in Vizag, so something for the teams to note.

In the spotlight – Can Mitchell Starc have an impact?

After being overlooked for the first two games, Prithvi Shaw “came out of the gate like a raging bull”, in the words of Mitchell McClenaghan on ESPNcricinfo’s TimeOut.Shaw has had a rough time of it on and off the field in the recent past, but on Saturday, as he strode out for his first hit in IPL 2024, he seemed to be in great touch, scoring a 27-ball 43. Shaw’s form is important to Capitals’ hopes of going deep in the tournament, and they will be delighted with the way he has begun.Every time Mitchell Starc comes on to bowl, it comes with that INR 24.75 crore price tag attached to him. Playing in the IPL for the first time since 2015, Starc has leaked runs big time. He went for 53 in his opening game against SRH and then 47 against RCB and is yet to figure in the wickets column. He will dearly hope to turn his fortunes around the next time he is out in the park.

Stats that matter – Rishabh Pant in sight of 3000

• Pant needs 65 runs to reach 3000 runs in IPL. If he gets there, he will be the 22nd player in the league to achieve the mark.
• Kuldeep picks up a wicket every six balls against KKR, his former franchise. In three matches to date, he has ten wickets with best bowling figures of 4 for 14.
• Warner has smashed Sunil Narine for 195 runs in 123 balls in 16 IPL innings, only falling to him twice.
• Pant strikes at 195.00 against Andre Russell in the IPL but has also fallen to the fast bowler three times in six innings.

  Quotes

  “I hope the crowd will be with DC this time and will support us. We will also make sure the crowd is enjoying. We want to finish on a nice note because it is our last game here in Vizag.”
  “He is one of the most experienced bowlers around the world and also someone who understands the conditions and adapts to them very well. You will see a different version of him in the future. He knows what it takes to succeed.”

Gritty innings keeps hosts alive in low-scoring dogfight at Hove

ECB Reporters Network18-May-2024Second division championship favourites Yorkshire are within sight of their first win of the season after having marginally the better of the second day of their match against Sussex at Hove.After 17 wickets had fallen on the first day, matters were a little less frenetic in a tightly fought contest but Yorkshire took a grip on the match after tea. They had gained a first-innings lead of 45 in the morning and Sussex struggled to 194 for seven in their second innings, a lead of 149. Their innings was held together by a dogged five-hour unbeaten 77 by Tom Alsop, who was bowled by a no-ball at 39 and dropped at 58.Play started 45 minutes late in damp and murky conditions. Yorkshire resumed on 176 for seven, a lead of 26 runs, and Sussex took just 33 minutes to take the three remaining wickets for the addition of 19 runs.They broke through after 20 minutes play when Jordan Thompson, surprised by the bounce achieved by Ollie Robinson, deflected the ball onto his stumps with his elbow.For the next over Sean Hunt replaced Tom Haines at the sea end and from his fifth delivery he took a straightforward caught and bowled chance to dismiss Ben Coad. And in the over after that Dom Leech shouldered arms and had his off stump plucked out by a delivery angled into him by Robinson. Yorkshire were all out for 195 with Hunt finishing with career-best figures of four for 64. Robinson (3 for 25) has bowled well this season without much luck and this was the first time in four matches that he had taken more than two wickets in an innings.Yorkshire’s slender lead looked significant when they dismissed both Sussex openers inside the first three overs. Haines was out second ball, fluffing his attempted pull against Thompson to cover in the second over. And in the following over Tom Clark, short of runs and confidence this season, drove tamely at Coad and was caught by Matthew Revis at cover.Alsop and Cheteshwar Pujara brought Sussex back into the match with a third wicket stand worth 74 watchful runs in 24 overs. But then Pujara, playing his last innings at Hove this season, failed to get fully forward to one from Leech and was lbw for a 56-ball 33.Alsop and James Coles took Sussex to tea at 123 for three, a lead of 78, with Alsop unbeaten on 52. After the interval the Sussex batsmen battled hard against a disciplined Yorkshire attack. The visitors took the fourth Sussex wicket when Coles, who had added just two runs since the break, miscued his attempted pull off George Hill and was caught at square-leg for 28.John Simpson, struggling for runs in recent innings after his early season double hundred, was missed in the slips before he had scored but failed to make the most of his let-off. When Coad replaced Root at the Cromwell Road end he immediately had the Sussex captain caught at first slip for an uncomfortable six; 140 for five.Fynn Hudson-Prentice looked in the mood to take the attack to the Yorkshire bowlers but he was sixth out at 155, lbw shouldering arms to Thompson, and then Danny Lamb fell lbw for a duck to Coad.Before play got under way Yorkshire announced that they had signed the Sri Lanka left-arm fast bowler Vishwa Fernando for the next three championship matches.