At 35, a lifetime of learning is propelling Kumar Sangakkara’s cricket far further than his innate ability ever could. He is now churning out match-winning innings that have frustratingly eluded him

Andrew Fidel Fernando at the R Premadasa Stadium20-Jul-2013Cricketers are sometimes labeled ‘great students of the game’. Often these students are men who distinguish themselves from the peloton of cricket’s sporty jocks by a yearning to learn more about the history and the nuances of the pursuit that consumes their lives.When he first began playing for Lancashire, Muttiah Muralitharan was said to have had a more thorough knowledge of the team’s previous season than many of the cricketers who had played in those matches. Part of why Michael Hussey’s ‘Mr. Cricket’ moniker endured was because he would speak for hours on end about the game, in what seemed like laborious detail to his teammates. In his years as Australia captain, Ricky Ponting was found perusing grade cricket scorecards from around the country. All men, whose livelihoods had happily aligned with their life’s most ardent passion.At 35, a lifetime of learning is propelling Kumar Sangakkara’s cricket far further than his innate ability ever could, and into the reaches of greatness. Against South Africa, he hit the highest ODI score ever made in Sri Lanka at a breathless pace that would have done Sanath Jayasuriya or Aravinda de Silva proud. Unlike either of those men, Sangakkara is not a natural strokemaker, nor are ODIs his format of choice. Yet the records continue to tumble over and again to a man who was never the precocious teenage talent that every other great Sri Lankan batsman was, before coming of age. By the end of his career, Sangakkara will probably top more lists than the rest of them combined.A year ago, when Sangakkara became the ICC’s Cricketer, and Test Cricketer of the Year, he refused to put himself in the company of the greats, both from Sri Lanka and worldwide. “They dominated attacks,” he said, “and they were great to watch. I’m more of a worker, and I graft for my runs.” Yet 13 years into his career, he is tearing international attacks apart for the first time, and playing the match-winning innings that have frustratingly eluded him in the last decade. Having accumulated 66 from his first 91 deliveries, Sangakkara snapped in the batting Powerplay, and unfurled an array of finishing blows even a 30-year old version of himself would never have attempted – 103 came from his next 46 balls.AB de Villiers later reflected on Sangakkara’s ability to manipulate the field, but the batsman had set such panic upon the South Africa bowlers they seemed incapable of containing him regardless. Even in a Test career that gleams far brighter than his limited-overs returns, he has rarely known such uncompromising dominance. The attack left the field not just emphatically beaten, but roundly humiliated.His unbeaten 134 at The Oval last month, to lead a difficult chase against a strong England, was another innings that showcased a new dimension to his one-day game. There are 77 half-centuries to the 16 hundreds in Sangakkara’s career, and many of those fifties meant little to the team, failing, as they did, to launch Sri Lanka to victory. He has learnt now, what it takes to carry the side over the line, and his ODI average is the best it has been since the honeymoon of his career.The 46th over of the Sri Lanka innings produced a moment that exposed the core of Sangakkara’s success. Going down to one knee, he attempted an over-the-shoulder scoop off a Ryan McLaren full toss, and had his stumps splayed. In an instant he was on his feet, looking from umpire to umpire and pointing at the men on the fence with agitation. De Villiers had stationed too many outside the circle and Sangakkara had counted them mentally before taking guard. He knew the ball would not count, so the risky stroke was no risk at all. The most unique facet of his greatness is that it is foremost a triumph of the mind.Before the series, Angelo Mathews had said Lahiru Thirimanne was capable of becoming the next Sangakkara, and as the young batsmen floundered while the great frolicked at the other end, plenty remarked on the vast gulf in class. Thirimanne’s critics might be surprised to learn that at the same age, and number of ODI innings, Sangakkara averaged six runs less than Thirimanne does now. He may have only made 17 from 33 in a 123-run partnership, but Thirimanne has already hit an ODI ton against a high-class attack. Batting in a similar position to Thirimanne at the start of his career, Sangakkara did not manage that until his 86th game.”There are a lot of things to learn from Sangakkara,” Thirimanne said after the match. “As young batsmen we take a lot out of what he says and the way he plays. He’s a special player and we’re lucky he’s from our country. In matches, I use a lot of what he says.”Thirimanne will do well to adopt Sangakkara’s obsession with improvement. Unfortunately for the young man, his beautiful, bent-kneed cover-drive has already drawn parallels with Sangakkara, and his future will likely be measured on the Sangakkara scale. It is a career that is almost impossible to emulate, because his mentor is himself one of cricket’s greatest students.

Australia know their attack is their strength but feeble batting at Trent Bridge and Lord’s made the bowlers redundant. Now is the time for Lyon and company to prove their worth.

Brydon Coverdale at Old Trafford02-Aug-2013Graham McKenzie was once dropped after taking ten wickets in a Test against India. Nobody could really explain why, but it was speculated that the board wanted a more competitive series than his bowling would allow. His next opportunity came in an Ashes Test at Old Trafford, where McKenzie helped bowl Australia to victory.Nathan Lyon was once dropped after taking nine wickets in a Test against India. Nobody could really explain why, but it was speculated that the selectors wanted a more competitive series than his bowling would allow. His next opportunity came in an Ashes Test at Old Trafford. The next three days will tell if the stories continue to run parallel.Like McKenzie, Lyon is easy-going and thus easy to let go. The quiet ones never kick up a stink. But there is no question that both men were part of their country’s best attack at the time of their axing. Lyon did not pick up a wicket on the second afternoon in Manchester but he could have had Alastair Cook cheaply, had Michael Clarke at slip moved a little more fluently.His flight, dip and turn left England’s batsmen edgy, and he built pressure: 51 of his 60 deliveries were dot balls. Certainly he gave the selectors reason to regret leaving him out at Trent Bridge and Lord’s. There, they had gambled on Ashton Agar, a 19-year-old still learning his craft. Agar failed to take a wicket at Lord’s; who knows what Lyon, Australia’s leading spinner since Shane Warne, might have done.Lyon isn’t the only member of this attack with a point to prove. Mitchell Starc was dropped after the loss in Nottingham and was outbowled by Jackson Bird in the tour match at Hove. When asked on the first morning at Old Trafford why Starc had been preferred over Bird, the coach Darren Lehmann said the main criteria separating them was that Starc would create footmarks for Lyon.Starc must show that his spikes aren’t all he brings to the side. He began well on the second afternoon, curling a few deliveries away from Cook and for the most part keeping things tight. Ryan Harris was hampered by a stomach bug that forced him temporarily from the field, but by the standards of the brittle Harris, that’s an ailment Australia can handle.While the pressure built elsewhere the man who reaped the first two rewards was Peter Siddle. For the first time in his Test career Siddle was not one of the first four bowlers used, relegated below Lyon and Shane Watson. After some stretches that made Merv Hughes’ warm-ups look subtle, Siddle was given his chance and grabbed it.Whereas Starc at times moved the ball too much to tempt Cook, Siddle made Joe Root play and straightened it just enough to tickle the edge. His bustle also accounted for the nightwatchman Tim Bresnan, and an edge from Jonathan Trott in Siddle’s final over fell just short of Clarke at second slip. It was Siddle who challenged England on the first day of the series and Siddle who kept the pressure on them here.Of course, only two wickets have been taken, but for the first time in the series the mountain of work asked of the bowlers has been preceded by a mountain of runs. A draw is of very little value, but Australia’s bowlers must remain patient, building pressure, compiling maidens, maintaining their discipline. They must not get carried away by the runs behind them.The last time an Australian made a Test hundred – Clarke, not surprisingly – the opposition responded by building a 192-run lead. The venue was Chennai, the assailant MS Dhoni, the victim Lyon. If he tossed the ball up, he was driven down the ground; if he went quicker and shorter he was dispatched square. Lyon’s confidence was knocked, and he was dropped for the next Test.Now, Lyon appears sure of himself. His first ten overs displayed skill and patience superior to any of Agar, Glenn Maxwell or Xavier Doherty, all of whom he has made way for this year. He might not do a McKenzie, but like the man they called Garth, the man they call Gaz has his chance at Old Trafford.Australia entered this series knowing their attack was their strength but feeble batting at Trent Bridge and Lord’s made the bowlers redundant. Now is the time for Lyon and company to prove their worth.

Plays of the Day from the second day of the Chittagong Test between Bangladesh and New Zealand

Mohammad Isam in Chittagong10-Oct-2013The let-off I
Bangladesh were on a roll in the morning session when it got even better. Rubel Hossain had BJ Watling driving, and the ball caught the edge and flew to gully where Nasir Hossain took the catch. New Zealand would have been 290 for 8, when the umpires went to check for a front-foot no-ball. The replays showed a big one. Watling came back, and took his score from 4 to 103.The let-off II
Anamul Haque was also as lucky as Watling to be caught in the slips off a no-ball. The offending bowler was Doug Bracewell in the second over of the Bangladesh innings. But unlike Watling, Anamul didn’t make it count. He had the let-off on 1, and added two more before falling to the same bowler.The gap
There was just a small gap between Doug Bracewell’s bat and pad as he tried to paddle the ball. But Sohag Gazi somehow found the opening through it to hit the stumps. The much-needed wicket amused the bowler, who kept pointing at the gap as he walked towards the other fielders to celebrate. He was finding it hard to believe that the ball had actually sneaked through.The comeback
No 11 Trent Boult batted two hours and 27 minutes to make an unbeaten fifty, so his first-ball wide to Tamim Iqbal was perhaps fatigue. The recovery was complete off the next ball when he pitched one just a little away from Tamim’s reach, outside off stump. The drive came out, and the edge was well caught at slip.The elbow
Boult, like any No 11, had little to lose. As he settled down, he looked to play more shots and started attacking Bangladesh’s most successful Test bowler. Shakib Al Hasan was smashed for six over long-on, with the bat perfectly pointed towards the direction he intended to hit. Boult charged the left-arm spinner, moved slightly to the leg side to make room and lofted the ball high. The elbow was right up there, perfectly balanced.

And for the superstitious, there are anti-stats to ward away evil with

Andy Zaltzman03-Dec-2013There has been little comfort for England on or off the field since the beginning of the Ashes series. After Stuart Broad bounded through the Australian top order on the first day in Brisbane, they have been ineffective with the ball and alarmingly fragile with the bat. They have lost a cornerstone of the team, played sludgily against a minimum-octane team in a pointless two-day “practice” match in the middle of a desert, and had to field more questions about sledge-spats than is medically advisable.When things are not going well, as all wise people know, the safest refuge is in statistics. The phrase “strength in numbers” refers not, as many rashly assume, to the idea that being in a large numerical group gives you a better chance of survival. That theory flew out of the window when the first abattoir was opened. (Unlike the chickens who were mechanically de-alived at its gala opening night.)The words “strength in numbers” in fact refer to how, in times of trouble, a well-aimed, carefully extricated and selectively presented statistic can convince us that all will soon be well. It is as true in cricket as it is in politics, or economics, or romance (“Well, darling, 67% of my previous wives have slightly regretted leaving me, so you might want to consider unpacking that suitcase, and/or putting the goldfish back in its bowl, and/or seeing if the airline will give you and Rico a refund for those one-way tickets to Brazil”).The Confectionery Stall therefore presents: Four Unarguable Statistical Reasons Why England Will Play Well In Adelaide; each rated out of ten for the mathematical reassurance they should give Cook’s team; and, for the sake of balance, each presented with an opposite anti-stat that suggests that Australia can start booking their open-topped surfboard parade down Bondi Beach for January 8.COMFORT STAT #1: Flower’s England are second-Test specialists.As various sage fact-crunchers have noted, England have lost only one second Test in their 18 previous series under Flower’s guidance – in Abu Dhabi, two years ago, a match they were on course to win until a rather unsightly mega-choke against Pakistan’s wily tweaksters. When you factor in that 12 of the last 13 Ashes series, dating back to 1989, have been won by the team that has won the second Test (the exception being 1997, when Australia dominated a rain-ruined draw at Lord’s, bowled England out for 77, and went on to win the next three matches), then an England win seems as mathematically inevitable as Vladimir Putin winning an election by a suspiciously large number of votes. In five of the last nine Ashes, the eventual winner has not won the first Test. Australia could not be in a worse position.STATISTICOMFORT RATING: 8/10. The second Test often shapes a series. It can confirm dominance, or launch a comeback. England won in Mumbai a year ago after a first-Test clonking – albeit not as comprehensive a clonking as they were clonked with in Brisbane – and, as Ashes holders, know that one good performance in Adelaide will ensure that they will have a chance of retaining the silly but magnificent trophy come Christmas, regardless of what happens in Perth.ANTI-STAT: England might have been good in second Tests under Flower, but there are almost equally inept in third Tests – just two wins in 13 (albeit with seven draws and only four defeats).COMFORT STAT #2: Kevin Pietersen is a bowler-eating, scoreboard-conflagrating rogue dragon of a batsman in the second Tests of series away from home. Particularly in Adelaide.As I highlighted earlier in the year, Pietersen tends to be consistent across series at home, but peaks spectacularly in second Tests away. In first Tests outside England, he averages a fraction under 29. In third, fourth and fifth Tests, his average is 34. In second Tests away from home, he averages 76.7 – and in the first innings of those 2nd Tests, 91.1, with six centuries (only one of them below 140), and three more fifty-plus scores, in 14 innings.His scores in Adelaide have been 158 and 2 in the soul-destroying 2006-07 defeat, and 227 in the soul-restoring 2010-11 victory. This decade, in six second Tests away from home, he has scored 813 runs at an average of 116. Australia, beware. And Pietersen, try not to spoon it to midwicket or plank one directly into long leg’s oesophagus when well set.STATISTICOMFORT RATING: 7/10. Pietersen has seldom been a consistent batsman, but, for most of his spell-binding career, he has been a series-changing one. And, outside England, the second Test is where he tends to do that changing.ANTI-STAT: Pietersen might have twice pounded the Australian bowlers into the Adelaidian dust, but that only means that mathematical unlikelihood is going to bark in his face should he even consider trying to do so again. Only one visiting batsman has scored three Test centuries in Adelaide – Jack Hobbs. And it is 89 years since the Surrey Sorcerer scored the third of those, in 1924-25. In a match which England lost.COMFORT STAT #3: Graeme Swann will come into play.Swann too has become a formidable second-Test beast – 45 wickets at 16.7 in six second Tests in 2012 and 2013, compared with 52 scalps at an average of 41.0 in all his other Tests in that time. Furthermore, whilst he has a moderate Test record in Australia, he fared well in Adelaide three years ago – 7 for 161 in the match (he averages 65 on other Australian Test grounds).STATISTICOMFORT RATING: 6/10. Swann has shown the ability to regain control over batsmen who appeared to have tamed him. But few have tamed him quite as aggressively as Clarke and Warner did in the first Test.ANTI-STAT: Spin may not be a significant factor. All spinners collectively in Adelaide since 2006 have taken 55 wickets in seven Tests, at an average of 56.2, striking once every 18.3 overs. (By comparison, pace bowlers have taken 146 wickets at 38.0, with a strike rate of a wicket every 11.4 overs). And whilst Swann had a good match three years ago, Nathan Lyon has also taken ten wickets for 251 in his two Tests there.COMFORT STAT #4: England’s middle order will improve.It simply has to. If it gets worse, it will be medically dead. England produced a collapse for the ages in the Brisbane first innings, alchemising the relative parity of 82 for 2 to the cataclysmic depths of 91 for 8 as if it was a 1980s theme night, and they thought the Australians were all dressed in Malcolm Marshall costumes or Richard Hadlee outfits. In the course of this, they sank from 87 for 4 to 91 for 8.In the second innings, they did their best to prove this was no flash-in-the-incompetence pan by flunking their way from 142 for 4 became 151 for 8. Their combined total of 13 runs in both innings whilst losing their fifth to eighth wickets was the third most incompetent display of lower-middle-order batting in Test history.The two sides to beat them in this hall of fifth-to-eighth-wicket shame: the 1957 West Indians – a side featuring Weekes, Worrell, Walcott, Sobers and Kanhai ¬¬- collapsed from 85 for 4 to 89 for 8, then from 69 for 4 to 75 for 8, in the course of a disastrous Oval thrashing by England; and, in the first post-war Test in 1945-46, New Zealand’s sixth-, seventh- and eighth-wicket partnerships managed to add a grand total of six runs in the match, subsiding from 37 for 4 in both innings, to 39 for 8 in the first, and to 41 for 8 in the second.In the driver’s seat, powering the collapsing clown car down Ducky Drive, were Gordon Rowe and Len Butterfield, each in his only Test appearance, who became the only Nos. 6 and 7 both to score a pair in the same Test. In mitigation, the match was only awarded Test status retrospectively, so perhaps if they had known they were playing for their places in cricketing eternity, they would have been inspired to raise their game. Also, in further, mitigation, there had just been a massive war, so they might still have understandably been a little on edge.Their retrospective Test debut double-double-blob-blobs do, nonetheless, raise an important philosophical question: If it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all, as pro-poet Alfie Tennyson claimed so catchily in 1849, before getting down to business and grandfathering a future England cricket captain, then is it also better to have unwittingly played in a Test match, been completely useless, and never had the chance to be slightly less useless in another Test match with a bit of advance warning, than never to have played a Test match at all? Even if you effectively did not actually play a Test match, because it was not a Test match when you played it. Answers on a postcard or papyrus to: Philosophy Faculty, University Of Verkhoyansk, Siberia.And, for a tie-breaker question: If you had scored two ducks and been part of a historically inept batting display in what you thought was just a regular game of cricket, would you be pleased or disappointed when the match was subsequently elevated to become an immutable entry in the annals of the international game?Anyway, what was the point? Oh, yes, England’s middle order will function better in Adelaide than in Brisbane. You have the Zaltzman Guarantee of that.STATISTICOMFORT RATING: 2/10. Conditions will probably be easier for batting, players have snapped out of deeper and longer form-troughs than the one in which Prior is currently grazing, and an enforced change could energise the team. All that said, they could significantly improve on Brisbane and still be useless.ANTI-STAT: Prior might not snap out of his slump. He is nearly 32. Jeffrey Dujon, another stylish wicketkeeper batsman and middle-order archaeologist – he dug his side out of some awkward-looking holes – averaged almost 39 at the end of West Indies’ 1988 tour of England, when he was 32. He then averaged 19 in his final 26 Tests. Alan Knott barely played for England after his 32nd birthday; Godfrey Evans diminished as a batsman in his later years; so too, markedly, did Adam Gilchrist.ANTI-ANTI-STAT: Don’t be ridiculous. Alec Stewart kept wicket in 69 Tests from the age of 32 onwards, with a healthy batting average of 37. Andy Flower averaged 74 as a 32-plus-year-old gloveman. Picking out individual stats as symptomatic of a wider trend is silly, and frankly you should know better.CONFECTIONERY STALL ADELAIDE PREDICTION: Don’t know. Depends on the pitch. And the players. I wouldn’t be surprised if England win, though. Or if they lose. Or if it is a draw. What? You want something more precise than that? OK… mmmm… tough one… England to win by 37 runs; or by three wickets. Or both.

Though unsuccessful for long stretches during Pakistan’s rearguard, the Sri Lanka attack demonstrated admirable patience and application

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Dubai11-Jan-2014As gloom came to rest above the Dubai stadium in the morning, Misbah-ul-Haq began his long, dreary filibuster. For 37 balls the match stalled on his unambitious blade and Sri Lanka’s bowlers could do little more than settle into their channels. Though unsuccessful for long stretches, and lacking a team-mate to provide respite with a back-spell of bowling, the attack did not stray until stumps were drawn.During Sri Lanka’s Test-free months in 2013, they had counted their top Twenty20 ranking among their proudest achievements. In that format, variation rules and predictability ends careers. Somehow, while the short-form specialists were doing just enough to safeguard the team’s place atop the table, the Test bowlers had developed a taste for attrition. Misbah seemed so set on defence that perhaps not even wayward deliveries would have stirred him from his reverie, but Sri Lanka’s bowlers can be satisfied that, nine days into the series, they are yet to produce a truly poor spell between them.Pakistan will no doubt be more content with their day’s returns, having lost only four wickets and having pushed the match into a fifth day, where there is a chance rain will define the outcome. But on a pitch offering little for either seam bowlers or spinners, Sri Lanka’s toil was admirable. The bowling coach will find little to fault with his side’s pitch maps, and there were spells in which balls routinely passed the edge, having deviated off the surface.Shaminda Eranga’s aptitude for reverse swing was evident later in the day, particularly when he tailed one in late to Bilawal Bhatti, who jammed down on the ball, but could not prevent it spilling on to the stumps. Suranga Lakmal was the most menacing bowler with the second new ball, and Nuwan Pradeep showcased a gift for bowling tightly, after he had been the attacking option earlier in the Test.”Bowling with patience has to happen in any Test match,” Rangana Herath said afterwards. “No matter if the opposition scores quickly or slowly, if we can make run-making as difficult as possible, that is the characteristic of a good attack. I think we have that in this attack. There are things to improve, but we have the right attributes. There is a big improvement since the Australia tour at the end of 2012. If we get to play Tests in quick succession in the future, we’ll be able to improve further.”Five-wicket hauls from Herath himself have featured in four out of five Sri Lanka wins since Muttiah Muralitharan retired, and it was his inability to strike that was most conspicuous. There has been little of the desert heat or sunshine that dries out this Dubai surface, however, and though Misbah was undone by a ball that ripped from middle stump to beat his forward defence, such deliveries have been rare, even out of the footmarks. Saeed Ajmal’s woes in the series help illustrate just how unhelpful pitches have been for slow bowlers.”To me, it still looks like a good track to bat on,” Herath said. “I think I bowled a good delivery, but apart from that I couldn’t get much spin from this pitch. I didn’t try anything different with that ball. I did the same thing, but there was something extra from the pitch on that occasion, I guess.”It would be glib to glance at the scorecard and suggest Sri Lanka’s attack still verges on toothless. If there has been a theme to the series, it has been that bowlers have bowled well, but batsmen batted better – at least beyond the first innings of each match. It would be unfair to expect this Sri Lanka attack to blow away a batting side on a flat surface, given its inexperience and the paucity of supporting personnel. When the umpires ruled Sri Lanka could not continue with fast bowling because of deteriorating light, Kumar Sangakkara was their only choice for a comically inept over.With rain forecast for large periods of Sunday, Sri Lanka cannot afford to be complacent as they seek to restrict the Pakistan lead to no more than 150. Having dominated the first seven sessions of this Test, a draw would disappoint almost as much as a loss, but in waiting Misbah out, Sri Lanka have shown they do not lack for persistence.

ESPNcricinfo presents the plays of the day from the first one-day international between Australia and England

Andrew McGlashan at the MCG12-Jan-2014Replay of the dayNew format, new bowlers…but nothing much was new for Alastair Cook. His first ball from Clint McKay swung back in and brought a loud lbw shout, although it was too high, although there was momentary relief when he cut his second for four. But two deliveries later it was as though it was Ryan Harris sending the ball down as he prodded outside off and edged through to Brad Haddin. He may have talked a more positive game yesterday, but Cook looks a batsman who would rather not be here.Milestone of the dayGary Ballance’s one-day international debut did not go to plan: caught behind for a second-ball duck against Ireland in September. It was uncertain whether he would make the starting XI Melbourne but benefitted from England packing their batting line-up. He was off the mark fifth ball with a drive through backward point off Glenn Maxwell and showed impressive composure with England in a sticky situation on 3 for 62. When he tucked a single off Maxwell he went to a 69-ball half century – it is expected to be the first of many.Second chance of the dayRunning in from third man, Xavier Doherty could not hold onto Ballance’s thick outside edge off McKay much to his own (and the bowler’s) frustration. Yet, three balls later he made amends when an identical shot picked him out with precision and this time the ball nestled safely in the hands as he tumbled forward.Drop of the dayIt’s fair to say Aaron Finch lived a charmed life. Chris Jordan bowled a lively opening spell and could easily have claimed Finch’s wicket. The clearest opportunity came when he had 8 and drove firmly, but at an easy catching height, to Ballance at mid-off who shelled the chance. An upbeat feeling England may have had, or belief they had a decent total, started to evaporate from there.Decision of the dayThen it was David Warner who gained a second life. On 22 he edged Ben Stokes to Jos Buttler, who claimed the catch low down. Warner appeared content to take Buttler’s word that it had carried, but as soon as TV replays were seen that usual problem of foreshortening provided doubt. Warner slowed his walk towards the boundary as the umpires conferred and eventually he was recalled to crease. On his way back he gave Buttler a sympathetic pat on the backside; none of the players had done anything wrong.

ESPNcricinfo presents the plays of the day from Chittagong

Alan Gardner in Chittagong18-Mar-2014The charge
Mark Chapman, Hong Kong’s No. 4, is not a tall man and plays most of his shots along the ground with a compact technique. But against Dawlat Zadran, he came forward to try pull off the front foot, only to wear the delivery on the grille of his helmet. His legs buckled but, after whirling back to his feet, he appeared to be looking for the possibility of a single as the ball trickled to midwicket. Stunned he may have been but, after a squirt of water and some time to collect himself, he continued to walk at the decidedly nippy Dawlat and narrowly missed being hit again after failing to connect with another flailing pull.The first ball
Jamie Atkinson’s decision after winning the toss might have been different but, for the second match running, he found himself out in the middle to face the second ball of the Hong Kong innings. Irfan Ahmed was again the opener to depart at the earliest possible opportunity, this time pushing tentatively around a full delivery from Shapoor Zadran that kissed off stump and dislodged the leg bail. Irfan became the second player to be twice out off the first ball of the innings at a World T20, after Ireland’s William Porterfield at the last tournament – being Irfan’s first two knocks at this level, his, er, achievement is unique.The first ball II
A wicket off the first ball occurred in Afghanistan’s opening match too, as Mohammad Shahzad carted Bangladesh’s Mashrafe Mortaza straight up in the air. This time around, Najeeb Tarakai took guard against the new ball but Shahzad was quickly down the striker’s end. What would he choose from his ample locker of shots? The straight thump? The back-foot slash? His own version of the helicopter? No, on this occasion, Shahzad left his first delivery alone outside off.The drop
Shahzad’s bloodlust eventually got the better of him, when Hong Kong’s left-arm spinner Nadeem Ahmed came on to bowl. A heave went straight up in the air, barely beyond the square towards mid-on, and even as it was climbing, Shahzad chopped his bat down on to the pitch, bellowing at his mistake. Perhaps the tremors caused the earth to move under Aizaz Khan’s feet because a regulation catch went straight through him like an undercooked .The catch
Several chances were missed on another night of ropey fielding at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury but there was one piece of world-class fielding and it came from Irfan to remove Shahzad. A venomous drive over cover looked to be dropping short of the fielder coming in off the boundary but he flung himself forward full length to catch a rocket with Fairy-soft hands, sliding along the turf to scoop it two-handed.The missed run-out
When Waqas Barkat squirted the ball to backward point and Chapman came halfway down the pitch looking for a single, it appeared as if Afghanistan would break Hong Kong’s second-wicket stand with a simple run-out. Chapman had barely put his breaks on as Mohammad Nabi threw a flat, hard throw to the bowler’s end, where all Hamza Hotak needed to do was collect it and break the wicket. In his excitement, he managed to flatten all three stumps without having the ball in hand, diving forward and unsuccessfully trying to deflect it with his open palms. Not the way to do it, Hamza.The six
Afghanistan cleared the boundary ropes several times in a rambunctious innings but the best of the match was struck by Atkinson, showing his side the way as Hong Kong’s batsmen gave a much-improved account of themselves. When Gulbadin Naib dropped short and Atkinson hammered a swivel-pull on a high arc into the stands to the longest part of the ground at deep square leg it could have been a more well-known wicketkeeper-batsman, AB de Villiers, at the crease.

Yuvraj Singh was hardly convincing to begin with against Delhi, but a big dose of crowd support and a helping of poor bowling meant he had the opportunity to hint at a possible return to form

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Sharjah18-Apr-2014″I’ve got a feeling,” sang the PA system at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, not long after Yuvraj Singh had walked in to bat. Before the song could proceed any further, and declare that Thursday night was going to be a good night, the DJ stopped it abruptly. He or she was a Yuvraj fan, perhaps, and didn’t want to put a jinx on him.This was Yuvraj’s first innings since that 21-ball 11 in the World T20 final, and his first innings since a group of fans had reacted unreasonably to that 21-ball 11. It was also his first innings for Bangalore, who had paid a not untidy sum of money to buy him at the auction, despite the fact that he hadn’t made a half-century in his last 19 IPL innings.The man at the other end, meanwhile, was Virat Kohli, whom he had denied the strike during that 21-ball 11. Kohli, Bangalore’s captain, had played a persuasive role in signing him.This, then, wasn’t just another innings.Yuvraj couldn’t have chosen a more congenial setting in which to begin such an innings. He had the crowd’s sympathy, yes, but he would have had that at any stadium; only a tiny fraction of sports fans, surely, are mean enough to revel in a player’s house reportedly getting stoned. Sharjah, though, was also showing itself to be a stronghold of Bangalore fans.In India, it’s often hard to get an accurate picture of the extent of home support at the league’s venues. At most stadiums, someone has placed a home-team flag on your seat well before you’ve parked your car. Most emcees, meanwhile, only ask the crowd to cheer for the home team. If you support the other team, you seldom get a chance to voice it. Here, given equal opportunity to cheer for either side, the Sharjah crowd voted with their vocal cords.Granted, for the most part, the spectators did or chanted whatever the emcee asked them to, no matter how ridiculous it made them look or sound. What they didn’t do, though, was chant “Delhiiiiiiiii, Delhi!” Each time the emcee tried to get them to follow his lead, they drowned him out with shouts of “R-C-B! R-C-B!”It was as much a show of approval for Bangalore as it was a sign of Delhi’s lack of appeal. They haven’t tasted too much success in past seasons, and, perhaps because of that, haven’t retained an easily identifiable core group of star players. For Bangalore, on the other hand, the signing of Yuvraj added yet another highly marketable name to an already swollen roster. It cost them a lot of money to sign him and that may well have caused gaps to form in other areas of their squad, but Sharjah didn’t seem too concerned. As soon as Yuvraj had swung Rahul Sharma over long-on for his first six, a bearded man in a red T-shirt held up a hand-drawn banner. “More risk = More profit,” it said. “Great bid Mr Mallya.”There is no doubt Bangalore and Yuvraj had all the support they could possibly hope for. It is far too early to say with any certainty, though, that Yuvraj has turned a corner with his unbeaten 52.At the start of his innings, he was late on a couple of short balls from Mohammed Shami, both of which went whistling off his top edge. Right after that over, Dinesh Karthik, Delhi’s captain, took Shami off when he still had an over left. Having survived those few discomfiting deliveries, life became much easier for Yuvraj, with Jimmy Neesham serving up length balls and Rahul Sharma dropping his legbreaks right into his hitting zone.Sometimes, though, you want bowlers to feed Yuvraj’s strengths, just to marvel at the way he strikes the ball. One pick-up shot off Neesham left you missing your TV, left you wanting to watch slow-motion replays from 15 different angles. Since that wasn’t possible in the West Stand at Sharjah, you wanted the DJ to at least play the rest of that song.

A look at how the Associate teams fared in Group B of the qualifying round of the World T20

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Mar-2014

UAE

Several of UAE’s batsmen got in before giving it away•ICCProgress: UAE were the only side among the eight teams in the first round to end without a win, and that really told the story, in a format where even Test nations Bangladesh and Zimbabwe were downed once each by Associate sides. They did seem to get it together in their last match, giving Zimbabwe an almighty scare, showing they were capable of competing, but that was when they were under no pressure – their exit from the tournament had already been confirmed. As their captain Khurram Khan said, just turning out at this level had taught his side so much.What to work on: Professionalism exists at top rungs of the Associate level and UAE were clearly found out, their poor fitness as part-time cricketers not allowing them to keep up with their opponents. Their fielding and catching was abysmal in their opening game against Netherlands, and even against Zimbabwe, they dropped crucial chances that, if taken, could have perhaps conjured a different ending. Better fitness will only come if are in a position to devote more time to the game. Also, too often they lost wickets in clumps after building a partnership, undoing all the hard work done till that stage. Their bowlers were nothing more than steady overall, although they didn’t get enough runs from the batsmen and support from the fielders.Player to watch: Led by the veteran Khurram Khan, UAE’s middle order showed potential, batsmen such as Shaiman Anwar, Swapnil Patil and Rohan Mustafa got in before giving it away. They never seemed to be able to resist having a slog or two to break free from the stranglehold of dot balls, and if they can work on that, they seem to have a promising, spirited line-up. Kamran Shazad was one seamer who worked up some pace in UAE’s ageing attack.

Ireland

Progress: Their shock exit is an anomaly. Ireland are a team primed for big-time cricket, and it showed in how they dominated Zimbabwe in their first qualifying match. They will have to quickly forget what happened in those 13.5 overs against Netherlands in Sylhet and begin focusing on the 2015 World Cup, for which they qualified last year.What to work on: Ireland need to fill the gap left by Boyd Rankin, who left to play for England. They are missing a genuinely quick bowler who can wrest control in situations like when Netherlands ran riot in Sylhet.Player to watch: One bad over against Netherlands should not dissuade the progress of the otherwise impressive Andy McBrine. The 20-year old bowled impressively against Zimbabwe, and was sparingly used by Ireland. He is one for the future, forming a partnership with George Dockrell.

Zimbabwe

Progress: Zimbabwe would not have wanted to be left searching for
positives after an early exit from the World T20. Netherlands did raise their hopes briefly before dashing them, but Zimbabwe know that they were left with too much catching up to do after going down in their most critical game, their opener against Ireland. They did what they were expected to against Netherlands and UAE, but both wins were not without stutters. Two wins out of three for a side that had not played any international cricket for around six months may be seen as an achievement, but that will be scant consolation for Brendan Taylor and his men.What to work on: Zimbabwe missed thrust up the order, something Netherlands relied so much on. They could have had Elton Chigumbura batting higher up, a move that did not succeed against Netherlands. The decision to open with Sikandar Raza instead of the more experienced and explosive Vusi Sibanda did not work through the tournament. To their misfortune, both their key bowlers Prosper Utseya and Tinashe Panyangara had off days against Ireland, although Panyangara came back strongly with a top spell at the death.Player to keep an eye on: That spell of Panyangara’s nearly brought back Zimbabwe from the dead against Ireland, who needed just seven off 13 but had to rely on a last-ball bye to win. He found swing, he got the yorkers in, and he had Ireland panicking. Tendai Chatara was superb through the campaign with his cutters and controlled changes of pace.

After their first seven games in IPL 2014, Kolkata Knight had only two wins. Their recovery and charge to the title is a story of belief, assured decision-making, and man management

Nagraj Gollapudi03-Jun-2014On May 5, Kolkata Knight Riders were cruising to victory against Rajasthan Royals in Ahmedabad: they were 121 for 0 and needed 50 in six overs. Gautam Gambhir’s dismissal, however, triggered one of the worst collapses in the IPL. Six wickets tumbled for two runs and Knight Riders eventually lost by 10. It was their fourth successive loss and their fifth in seven matches.In the dressing room, no one spoke but there was no recrimination. People were angry but did not lose hope. “Everyone was hurting bad,” Robin Uthappa, the Knight Riders batsman, says. “It was a morose atmosphere. Everyone’s self respect was hurt. We could see it in every player’s eyes: each wanted to play for his own pride and wanted to make the most in every subsequent match. There was a different energy post that defeat.” Uthappa finished the IPL wearing the Orange Cap given to the tournament’s highest run-maker.Vijay Dahiya, one of Knight Riders’ assistant coaches, remembers the defeat as a huge disappointment. “It was unacceptable. I would be lying if I don’t say it was a big, huge disappointment. I remember Trevor Bayliss (head coach) saying it was good to see players hurting. They were angry that they could not finish it. That shows the character of this team.”Dahiya says it was not a case of the opposition winning convincingly; Knight Riders who were not playing smart cricket. A week before the Ahmedabad collapse, they had lost to Royals in Abu Dhabi, where they had needed 16 off 12 balls with six wickets in hand before tying the game and the Super Over but going down on boundary count.”Nobody was willing to leave it for the other guy from then onwards,” Dahiya says about the 6 for 2 debacle.Joy Bhattacharjya, the team manager, says Knight Riders did not let the pressure get to them, even when they had to win six of their last seven matches to qualify for the playoffs. The players did not look too far ahead.”The best part of the story would be the team stayed calm throughout,” Bhattacharjya says. “It was always about the next match. If we win it, we have a chance. It was never about the tournament. KKR kept it shape despite pressure.”Knight Riders did not fall over even when on the edge of the precipice. Instead they bounced back with a record nine-match winning streak, all the way to the title.***Like all teams, Knight Riders had also started their campaign at the player auction in February. They had a well-defined strategy. Venky Mysore, their chief executive officer, says the focus was to create a strong stable of bowlers with emphasis on buying high-quality Indians.Legspinner Piyush Chawla, and fast bowlers Vinay Kumar and Umesh Yadav, were bought to complement overseas players such as West Indies spinner Sunil Narine, South African quick Morne Morkel, Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan and young Australian quick Pat Cummings. “All of these people have played at the international level so they have the experience, skill and temperament to perform under pressure,” Mysore says. “And that is why it was not a case of hell for leather with us chasing big totals.”The success of those selections, Mysore says, can be gauged from the consistency of the Knight Riders attack, which almost always restricted the opposition to a manageable target. “The one common thread in all matches, even in the five games we lost, we contained the opposition which put us in a position to win.”Despite the pervading influence of technology in the sport, cricket is a lot about communication between people, about man-management. Mysore says one of the biggest factors behind Knight Riders winning their second title was the return of Wasim Akram, who had been absent from the coaching staff in the 2013 season.”He is a tremendous influence on the team. We missed him last year,” Mysore says. “I have to come to the conclusion that ultimately it is about being in the right frame of mind, creating the right environment and creating opportunities for conversations. When someone can facilitate it with integrity and credibility it goes a long way. Someone like Wasim is very unique: anybody from a youngest member like Kuldeep Yadav, who follows him around everywhere, to a great player like Jacques Kallis, who could have a one-on-one conversation, can easily strike a conversation with him.”***Leaders have always been the fulcrum of champion IPL teams – Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, MS Dhoni, and Gautam Gambhir in 2012. When Knight Riders retained Gambhir, questions were raised because he was not part of the Indian team anymore. Mysore and his think tank, however, believed in Gambhir, in his hunger and leadership.That faith was tested immediately, when Gambhir began the season with three consecutive ducks and Knight Riders lost more than they won. It looked ominous from the outside but within the team no one was perturbed. “To conclude he [Gambhir] was not in form when he had just faced five or six balls is not fair at all,” Mysore says.The highlight for Mysore was how Gambhir did not let his slump affect his leadership. “I never saw any difference in the way he approached the game, the way he led the side, the conversations he had during team meetings,” Mysore says. “I do not see him taking pressure on his captaincy by virtue of his batting – whether he is doing well or not doing well. That was a big thing.”Yusuf Pathan, a senior player at Knight Riders and a three-time IPL winner, is of the same opinion. “He never let his bad form in the first four matches have any effect on the team. That is a very big thing,” Yusuf says. “If a batsman gets out without scoring runs it is easy to get irritated, but he never let that have any impact on his captaincy and the team. He has been a champion in the past and he always held that belief. A good captain can make the team stand out and take it to a different level. Gautam has done that at KKR.”Yusuf also had a lot of critics after his bad form from last season continued into the early stages of 2014. He managed to turn it around, though, and struck the fastest fifty of the IPL in Knight Riders’ final league match, against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Yusuf credits his form to Gambhir, who supported his elevation to No.4 in the batting order.”In the first part of the tournament I was batting lower down and was not getting too many overs to settle down,” Yusuf says. He did not ask for a promotion, but considering Yusuf performed well in the middle order in domestic cricket, Gambhir decided to send him in earlier. “In the second half of the tournament he (Gambhir) said he knew I would win a few matches. And that did happen. So he supported me and remained confident about my role.”Gautam Gambhir had a terrible start to the season as a batsman, but he did not let his struggle affect his leadership•BCCIThe Knight Riders environment was such that tough decisions, such as dropping Jacques Kallis after he played eight games, were possible. According to Dahiya, Kallis was forthright during the meeting where he was dropped. “He said I will sit out if the selection panel thinks it would benefit the team combination for certain pitches,” Dahiya says. For Dahiya, Kallis set the benchmark in terms of team spirit. “He had the option of staying back at the hotel but he came for every match and was involved in our strategies. On training days he would move around and have a one-on-one with everyone. You don’t need team meetings. You need such interactions to help learn and build confidence.”Immediately after the final, Mysore said on Twitter that Kallis was the heart and soul of the team. “I have the greatest respect for Jacques. He did not play the final. But he was the most excited and happiest after winning the championship,” Mysore says. “He could have easily caught a flight and gone back home but he said he was staying back for the celebrations in Kolkata. In 2012 he had missed it due to FTP commitments.”***On the day of the final, immediately after a team meeting at the hotel, Mysore asked co-owner Shahrukh Khan to speak to the players. “Initially he was reluctant, but Shahrukh eventually spoke about the opportunity at hand. He told the players that this is what we live for, an opportunity to compete. He told them to enjoy the moment, not take any additional pressure, cherish it and whatever happens, happens.”There are many moments that contributed to Knight Riders’ march to the title. For Mysore, it is Yusuf’s blitzkrieg against Sunrisers, when he reached fifty off 15 balls and finished on 72 off 22. The innings led Knight Riders to a second-place finish in the league. “It changed the entire complexion of the knockouts. It gave us two bites at the cherry by virtue of finishing No. 2,” Mysore says. “It also allowed us to play the playoff against Kings XI Punjab in front of a home crowd at Eden Gardens. We got a couple of days to relax before the final. In this format every mini break always helps.”For Yusuf it was “one of the most memorable innings”, one that also brought him one of his favourite compliments. “Wasim told me he had played 20 years of cricket and has been doing commentary on TV for more than a decade but he had never seen such an innings,” Yusuf says.Uthappa says to finish as champions was a dream. It was his fourth title of 2013-14, having won three domestic trophies with Karnataka. “To have our backs against the wall at the start and then to finish as the winner is mind boggling.”Piyush Chawla, whose timely boundaries denied Kings XI in the final, recollected the words of Mike Horn, an adventurer hired by the franchise to help the players. “He would say in his game he does not lose his wicket. He loses his life. That kind of statement makes you put your body on line and play to win,” Chawla says. “At the halfway stage we were on the edge of falling out of the tournament. So we had to put our body on the line.”This was the first time Chawla has won the IPL, having previously played for Kings XI. He cannot forget what Shahrukh told him. “Shahrukh said many things but the one that stood out was when he told me in all the four matches I played against Kings XI, my previous franchise, I had delivered. That to him was incredible.”Knight Riders had been trying hard to “solve the jigsaw” in the first half of the season, according to Bhattacharjya, and the last piece slotted in once the Uthappa-Gambhir partnership took off. They had five fifty-plus opening stands this season, the most by any pair, and are one of only three opening pairs to hit two century partnerships in a season. “The rest were all good pieces, but the last one we were searching for desperately to solve the jigsaw came in the form of the success of that opening partnership.” Bhattacharjya says. “That is when the juggernaut started to roll.”***Immediately after Knight Riders had won their maiden IPL title in 2012, their coach Trevor Bayliss closed the dressing-room door to address the team. “He said, ‘This is it. Mission accomplished. Let us spend some minutes with ourselves and savour the moment before everyone else comes in,'” Bhattacharjya recollects.This time, when Bhattacharjya asked Bayliss if he wanted the door closed, the coach said there was no need. “The way we treated the 2014 campaign was like it was a job that needed to be done. It was not that we were scaling impossible heights [this time],” Bhattacharjya says. That is a terrific illustration of knowing, as a team, that we were not over-reaching to win.”