All posts by h716a5.icu

All of 20, Rishabh Pant put a personal tragedy behind him and played a knock that underlined why he is considered a special talent

Shashank Kishore in Bengaluru09-Apr-2017A return to the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, the venue of his international debut, should have triggered happy memories for Rishabh Pant. Instead, days before Delhi Daredevils’ first match of IPL 2017, Pant’s world was turned upside down with the death of his father. He left for Roorkee and performed his father’s last rites in Haridwar before joining the team in Bengaluru on Friday.”We are going to really need the whole team to rally around him to give him a lot of support not only over the next couple of days but throughout the IPL,” coach Paddy Upton said on the eve of the match against Royal Challengers Bangalore. At that stage, Upton wasn’t quite sure if Pant would play, given his state of mind.”Something like this is obviously going to affect him in the medium and long term. We just have to be mindful and supportive of his personal situation and family situation,” Upton said. And so the team management left it to Pant to decide whether he would play and he chose to do so because “his father would have asked for no less”.On match day, making his way out for a short hit next to the centre pitch, Pant was greeted by every member of the opposition who offered their condolences. He accepted the gesture and, although you couldn’t say what was going through his mind, there was a sense he was focused on the match.Before the match began, amid the song and dance of the opening ceremony, the cameras panned to both teams and a visual of Pant and his team-mates was displayed on the giant screen. Pant, in the middle of the frame, was staring straight into the lens, with a deadpan expression. His team-mates nudged him. It needed an arm around him to get him to smile eventually. The team was doing what they could to emotionally support him.”I was telling the boys, if my dad passed away I would be on the first plane out of here. Have to be very honest,” allrounder Chris Morris said after the match. “It’s about what my dad means to me. It takes a big person to come a couple of days after your father has passed away and play. He said his dad would have wanted him playing. It shows his character. He’s going to be a big player for India in the future.”The fact that Pant chose to put tragedy behind him and play was worthy enough of praise, even if he did not go on to do anything significant in the game. Instead, over the next three hours, he showed why he is a special talent.Rishabh Pant’s composure and ball-striking ability harried Royal Challengers Bangalore until the final over•BCCIAdmirable composure and a fierce ball-striking ability helped him muscle a quick half-century that kept Daredevils in the hunt in their chase of 158, even as the lower order collapsed. The audacity of his strokeplay left a lasting impression on some 25,000 fans at the ground, who applauded each of the four sixes he hit, even if it meant Royal Challengers had to scamper to survive.From the time he smashed his first ball for six, there was a sense that he would bat the way he has been known to all along – see the ball and give it a good whack. More than the shots, he exuded the confidence of a man well aware of what he was trying to do. He trusted his abilities, instinct and shot selection: there were no shots in anger or desperation.One over could have been the difference between a win for Royal Challengers or a second loss. Pant had just sent Tymal Mills’ last ball, in the 18th over, soaring over deep fine leg. Daredevils needed 21 off two overs, well within the realms of possibility for a batsman who strikes at over 100 in first-class cricket. Instead, Pant watched as Amit Mishra committed hara-kiri by playing out four dot balls in the penultimate over, leaving Daredevils with 19 to get off six balls. The first ball of the final over, Pant was bowled by Pawan Negi trying to slog sweep.For all that Pant didn’t show while batting, the emotions were out in the open as he walked off. He grimaced, shook his head, looked up and then looked down, wondering what may have been. At that stage, the result didn’t matter. This wasn’t about a win or a loss, but about a 20-year old who showed character and heart through the toughest emotional battle he may have yet faced.

While India’s spinners have looked dangerous, Sri Lanka’s have been rendered rather ineffective courtesy the visiting batsmen’s consistent stepping out

Sidharth Monga in Galle27-Jul-20172:29

Agarkar: Sri Lanka looking at Mathews for contribution with both bat and ball

India like to be ruthless when ahead, in that they don’t like to leave the door open in order to make a statement. Even the ever-present threat of rain in Galle is not likely to make them enforce a follow-on on a 10-man Sri Lanka, even if they bowl them out in the first hour on the third morning. Prospects of a three-day finish might not be tempting enough for this team, which has seen the pitch drying out quickly, and which knows from first-hand experience that chasing anything on a quick-drying Galle surface can be treacherous.However, there might be another benefit of this pragmatic approach: put more miles in the legs of Sri Lanka’s spinners. In a three-Test series to be played over three weeks, India have got on top of the Sri Lanka spinners early, and can further push the advantage home. Rangana Herath and Dilruwan Perera have already bowled 70 overs between them, going at more than four an over for just one wicket. The third day could just be the opportunity to beat them further psychologically.Some will argue that this is a process that began on India’s previous tour of Sri Lanka. Since his match-winning spell in Galle last time, Herath – otherwise the world’s premier Test spinner alongside R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja – has averaged 56.55 against India, conceding 3.55 an over. This is becoming eerily similar to how Muttiah Muralitharan averaged 65.66 in his last full series against India. He was taken for close to four an over in that series.An example of India’s superiority in handling spin in this Test has been how they have stepped out once every 4.5 balls to Sri Lanka’s spinners, taking 102 runs off 101 such forays. Shikhar Dhawan has added in the sweep to play havoc with their lengths. This, too, is a continuation of how India came back from the Galle defeat last time. Against Herath alone in the last two Tests of the series, India left their crease on 94 occasions for 111 runs.As a comparison, in this Test, Sri Lanka have stepped down against spin once in two overs. Ashwin and Jadeja enjoyed the freedom of settling down into their lengths. Once Ashwin did, getting the ball to do things in the air before turning it, he looked like he might take a wicket every over. Even when Sri Lanka’s batsmen left their crease, they couldn’t quite reach the pitch of the ball, scoring only seven runs off 13 balls, and also losing Upul Tharanga to a sharp run-out by Abhinav Mukund at silly point.To be fair to Sri Lanka, they were staring at 600 on the scoreboard, and the Galle pitch had started to dry out and play a trick or two. However, as Cheteshwar Pujara, who scored 153 and played a part in deflating the Sri Lanka spinners, pointed out, it cannot take away from how both India’s batsmen and spinners have been better in this spin contest. “Ashwin and Jadeja both have been bowling really well even in the last season, and they’ve continued that,” he said. “I think our bowlers, they’ve bowled better lines and lengths, and I think tomorrow onwards, we’ll see a little more turn on this wicket. The pitch is drying up, so there will be more assistance tomorrow onwards.”Presumably not a fan of famous last words, Pujara resisted invoking a psychological edge over the Sri Lanka spinners, but did say that Sri Lanka will now be on the back foot. “When you start off well, it always puts the opposition on the back foot, but when you are playing at the international level, you still expect them to fight back and we wouldn’t take them lightly,” he said. “We would just like to stick to what we want to do and that was the reason of our success in the home season.”Playing against spin, I think as Indian batsmen, we have enough exposure playing in the domestic circuit. That is the reason all our batsmen have been batting well. Even the lower-middle order, someone like Jadeja, Ashwin, Wridhhiman Saha, Hardik [Pandya, who scored a fifty on debut, batting at No. 8] – all of them can bat well; not just against spinners, but since we are talking about spinners, they all bat well against spinners.”These are ominous words for Sri Lanka, but there is also studied caution in Pujara’s mind. He knows anything can happen against spin. Even the Murali they dominated towards the end of his career roused himself one last time to take eight wickets against India to complete the set of 800, in his last Test. India will be aware of the threat Herath and co. can pose if the pitch starts turning viciously, or if they find themselves in a tricky last-innings chase. However, on the kind of surface laid out in Galle, India do seem to have the Sri Lanka spinners’ number.

Stats highlights from a banner day for Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul in Pallekele

Bharath Seervi12-Aug-20177 – Number of consecutive fifty-plus scores for KL Rahul in Tests. He equalled the record of Everton Weekes, Andy Flower, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Kumar Sangakkara and Chris Rogers for the most consecutive fifty-plus scores. Rogers and Rahul are the only players to have not converted any of their seven fifties in that sequence into a hundred.188 – Opening stand between Shikhar Dhawan and Rahul, which is the highest for the first wicket by a visiting team on the island. They went past the 171 runs added by Manoj Prabhakar and Navjot Sidhu at SSC in 1993. Four of the top-five opening stands by visiting teams in Sri Lanka belong to India.2 – Century partnerships for the opening wicket for India in Tests away from home since 2011, in 65 innings. Before the 188-run stand in this match, the last such partnership came against Bangladesh in 2015. Dhawan and M Vijay had added 283 in Fatullah.2011 – Last time an India opener hit more than one century in a Test series away from home : Rahul Dravid in the Pataudi Trophy in England in 2011. Dhawan is the sixth India opener to achieve this feat. Sunil Gavaskar (five times) and Dravid (twice) had done it more than once.104.67 – Dhawan’s strike-rate in this series is the third highest for a batsman who has faced 300-plus balls in a Test series. Ben Stokes struck at 109.01 in Basil D’Oliveira Trophy in 2015-16 and Virender Sehwag at 108.14 against Sri Lanka in 2009-10. Dhawan has had strike-rate of over 90 in each of his four innings in this series.ESPNcricinfo Ltd141 – Runs for which India lost their six wickets after the openers had put on 188 runs in 39.3 overs. None of the other batsmen could reach fifty and none of the other partnerships could yield more than 40 runs. The run-rate, which was 4.75 at the end of Dhawan-Rahul partnership, dropped to 3.65 at stumps.32 – Average of Sri Lanka’s spinners on the first day, the best among all the four innings in this series so far. The slow bowlers dismissed India’s top five. The fast bowlers averaged 158 runs per wicket, the worst in this series for the home team.74.12 – Average of India’s openers in this series. Only three times have they had a better average in a series where they have batted in more than two innings.235.29 – Dhawan’s strike-rate off the short balls. He scored 40 runs off the 17 short balls bowled to him. Eight of his 17 boundaries came from short balls. Against good-length balls, he only had a strike-rate of 47.36, collecting 18 runs off 38 balls without hitting a single boundary.

The India captain now slots in behind only Sachin Tendulkar for the most centuries in ODI cricket

Bharath Seervi22-Oct-2017Virat Kohli is reaching new highs with almost every match, with every ODI century. In the series opener against New Zealand at the Wankhede, the India captain brought up his 31st century playing in his 200th ODI. He became only the second batsman after AB de Villiers to get to a century in the 200th ODI. He’s now the second-highest hundreds scorer in ODI history behind only Sachin Tendulkar’s 49 tons. Kohli has got there playing just 200 games. No other batsman has had better career figures than Kohli after their 200th ODI.

Most runs in career’s first 200 ODIs

Batsman Inns Runs HS Ave SR 100s 50sVirat Kohli 192 8888 183 55.55 91.54 31 45AB de Villiers 192 8621 162* 54.56 100.18 24 48Sourav Ganguly 194 7747 183 43.03 73.70 18 46Desmond Haynes 199 7445 152* 42.54 63.31 16 45Brian Lara 195 7370 169 42.35 78.47 14 48Sachin Tendulkar 193 7305 143 41.74 85.61 18 43With 8888 runs at average of 55.55 and 31 centuries, Kohli has the most runs, best average and highest number of centuries for any batsman when completing 200 ODIs. Previously de Villiers was the most prolific batsman in his first 200 ODIs, having 8621 runs at 54.56 with 24 centuries. Currently, Hashim Amla has 26 centuries in just 158 matches with 7381 runs at 51.25. Among India players Sourav Ganguly had the most runs (7747) and joint-most centuries with Tendulkar (18) at that stage of the career. The Indian duo averaged 43.03 and 41.74 respectively at that point of their careers.In getting to his 31st century, in humid conditions, Kohli batted almost the whole innings – he came in in the sixth over and was dismissed in the 50th. The second-highest scorer for India made 84 runs fewer than Kohli. Kohli’s contribution of 43.21% of the runs India scored in this innings was his second-highest contribution percentage-wise among his 12 century innings in the first innings. This was the fourth time India scored less than 300 in first innings of an ODI that included a century by Kohli, and three of these instances have come in last 24 months.

India’s lowest first innings total including Kohli’s century

Kohli’s score Total % runs Against Venue Year105 276 38.04 NZ Guwahati 2010121 280/6 43.21 NZ Mumbai (W) 2017117 295/6 39.66 Aus Melbourne 2016138 299/8 46.15 SA Chennai 2015107 300/7 35.65 Pak Adelaide 2015Kohli’s numbers have only got better and better as his career has progressed. He had averaged 45.67 in his first block of 50 ODIs, 51.81 in the second, 57.83 in the third and 68.10 in the fourth set of 50 ODIs. The past two years – 2016 and 2017 – have been particularly highly productive for him: he has amassed 2057 runs in 34 innings in this period, at an average of 82.28 and a strike rate at 99.03 including ten centuries.ESPNcricinfo LtdPreviously, Kohli had more of an influence while chasing targets. But in recent years, he has contributed in both innings. Till end of 2015, his second innings average (61.34) was 22.31 runs better than in the first (39.03). But the numbers have changed. Since 2016 he averages 74.58 when batting first and 89.38 when chasing, which is a difference of 14.80. He had taken 7.67 innings per century in first innings’ of games till 2015 but that rate has gone down to 4.67 since then. Last year he had made 50-plus in each of the four innings in which India batted first, this year he has done it five times in 10 innings.

Virat Kohli in first innings in ODIs, before and since 2016

Period Inns No Runs HS Ave SR 100s 50s Inns/1002008-2015 69 4 2537 138 39.03 85.59 9 12 7.662016-2017 14 2 895 131 74.58 99.22 3 6 4.66

Stats highlights from Sri Lanka’s 199-run win in the second Test against South Africa

S Rajesh23-Jul-2018101 – Theunis de Bruyn’s score, which equals the highest by a South Africa batsman in the fourth innings of a Test match in Asia. Jonty Rhodes made 101 too, but he was unbeaten against Sri Lanka in Moratuwa nearly 25 years ago. Temba Bavuma’s 63 also makes it to the top five.ESPNcricinfo Ltd133 – Runs scored by de Bruyn in 11 previous Test innings, against New Zealand, England and Australia. Coming into the second innings of this Test, his Test average was 13.3, with a highest of 48 and eight dismissals for less than 15.123 – The sixth-wicket partnership between de Bruyn and Bavuma, which is South Africa’s highest in the fourth innings of a Test in Asia. The only other century stand for them in Asia also came at the same ground nearly 14 years ago, when Mark Boucher and Boeta Dippenaar added 101. In terms of balls faced, the de Bruyn-Bavuma effort is fifth-best for South Africa in the fourth innings in Asia.

Top stands for SA in 4th inns in Asia

Partners Wkt Runs Opp Venue YearT Bavuma, TB de Bruyn 6 123 v Sri Lanka Colombo (SSC) 2018MV Boucher, HH Dippenaar 6 101 v Sri Lanka Colombo (SSC) 2004HM Amla, GC Smith 2 73 v Bangladesh Dhaka 2008HM Amla, F du Plessis 5 72 v India Nagpur 2015JH Kallis, JA Rudolph 4 68* v Sri Lanka Galle 200412 – Number of fourth-innings five-fors for Rangana Herath in Tests. No other bowler has more than seven. In terms of fourth-innings wickets, Herath has 115, which is second only to Shane Warne’s 138. Herath’s average of 18.08 is fourth among the 19 bowlers with 50-plus wickets in the fourth innings, next only to Bishan Singh Bedi, Curtly Ambrose and R Ashwin.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Best 4th-innings average in Tests (Min 50 wkts)

Player Inns Wkts Ave SR 5WIBS Bedi (INDIA) 23 60 14.46 47.2 5CEL Ambrose (WI) 29 58 16.13 43.4 3R Ashwin (INDIA) 17 60 17.85 40.2 6HMRKB Herath (SL) 40 115 18.08 43.5 12CA Walsh (WI) 39 66 19.07 49.7 1

Mosaddek Hossain, Liton Das and Mohammad Mithun have shown promise but are unable to put on consistent performances to provide back up for the senior batsmen

Mohammad Isam21-Sep-20181:16

Nafees: Batting inexperience hurt Bangladesh

Bangladesh had lost Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah, their three most experienced batsmen, by the 33th over against India. To stage a recovery of note, they needed a miracle. If not that, the next best thing they could have hoped was for the last recognised batsman, Mosaddek Hossain, to at least bat through the remaining overs and quell any doubts about the merit in his selection.Except, Mosaddek went for a slog sweep across the line in the 34th over, only managing an edge to MS Dhoni and gifting Ravindra Jadeja his fourth wicket in his last over.The choice of shot given the state of the match and the fact that he had got his eye in, having consumed 42 deliveries was poor. But his dismissal was only a chapter in a book of questionable shots played with even less conviction, starting with the openers Liton Das and Nazmul Hossain Shanto, who were out pulling and flaying at an away-moving delivery, respectively.Liton has now failed in three innings since replacing Anamul Haque, who had also failed in seven innings opening the batting this year. Middle-order batsman Mohammad Mithun, who impressed with a fifty against Sri Lanka in the tournament opener, has also tapered off since, leaving Bangladesh with little to cheer about.Shakib and Mushfiqur were no exception to these indiscretions either, also out to strokes unbecoming of their experience. Shakib had struck Jadeja for consecutive boundaries but was caught on the sweep next ball as he failed to spot an obvious field change – Shikhar Dhawan was moved to square leg – to counter that particular shot. Mushfiqur, who was stuck on 21 off 44 balls with just one four, was caught off a mistimed reverse-sweep in an attempt to break the shackles. While both batsmen had reason to up the ante, given how Bangladesh’s penchant for getting tied down in the middle overs was a major contributing factor in their loss to Afghanistan on Thursday, they could have chosen wiser scoring options.Bangladesh have struggled to produce a decent support cast for the experienced lot•ESPNcricinfo LtdOn the other hand, observers would attribute mistakes committed by Mosaddek, Liton and even Mithun to inexperience, but it is important to note that Mithun has been around the senior team since 2014, and both Liton and Mosaddek have also been around for three years now.Mithun has been a prolific domestic batsman who, until this Asia Cup, had been conferred the “nearly man” tag in Bangladesh cricket. His failures were attributed to sporadic opportunities, and so when his supporting act with Mushfiqur in the Asia Cup opener proved match-winning, Bangladesh would have been pleased. But that elation was short-lived.Liton’s low scores in this tournament are less forgivable. He was picked on the back of T20 form and Test promise in the last 12 months. He is highly rated by Bangladesh’s senior cricketers, but coaches have routinely cast doubts on his willingness to correct mistakes in his batting technique and thinking. One coach had even commented that it would take “12 months of intensive work in the nets to get rid of his club cricket mentality”.Mosaddek, until his eye condition last year, had been a heavy run-scorer in domestic competitions elucidated by three double-hundreds in first-class cricket and his contribution to Abahani’s – the most successful Dhaka league system club comparable to Surrey or New South Wales – success in the domestic one-day competition.Tamim Iqbal, Mosaddek’s captain at Abahani in 2016, had great things to say about him, and Mosaddek’s Test debut innings against Sri Lanka last year seemed to corroborate every word.But the eye condition kept him out for a long time after the Champions Trophy, and since then he has not been the same Mosaddek who started so brightly in Test cricket. Batting out of position has been a major issue for him but here he had an opportunity to bat long, coming in with over 30 overs left. However, from the moment he walked out, there was a discernible lack of intent, which eventually came out of the closet at an inopportune hour, when Mahmudullah had just fallen and Jadeja had just five deliveries left in his spell. In that sense, his rudderless approach was somewhat emblematic of the struggles of Bangladesh’s young batsmen in the last two years.

Meet the man who gave up a career in architecture and returned to his favourite game with unreal results

Deivarayan Muthu18-Dec-20182:34

Varun Chakravarthy: Architect, Anil Kumble fan, mystery spinner

Varun Chakravarthy who?Varun Chakravarthy began playing cricket when he was 13 years old, and until 17 was a wicketkeeper-batsman. Then, after being rejected several times in age-group cricket, he ditched the game and pursued a degree in architecture at the SRM University in Chennai. After completing the five-year course, Varun worked as a freelance architect, but playing tennis-ball cricket rekindled his passion. So he quit his job and joined CromBest Cricket Club as a seam-bowling allrounder.But a knee injury he sustained during the second match relegated him to the sidelines and prompted him to become a spinner. Having copped punishment from a bevy of batsmen in tennis-ball cricket on 18-yard pitches, Varun expanded his repertoire, transforming himself into a mystery spinner.Mystery spinner? Are you kidding me?Nope. After returning from injury, he signed with Jubilee Cricket Club in the fourth division of the robust Chennai League, and honed all his variations there. In 2017-18, Varun bagged 31 wickets in seven games at an average of 8.26 and economy rate of 3.06 in the one-day competition. He also pitched in with the bat, his unbeaten 74 sealing Jubilee’s one-wicket win over Prithvi Cricket Club in February earlier this year.So, what are his variations?According to Varun, he has seven variations:
– Offbreak
– Legbreak
– Googly
– Carrom ball
– Flipper
– Topspinner
– A slider aimed at the toes of batsmen to york them
What’s his claim to fame?Tamil Nadu Premier League 2018, where he spun Siechem Madurai Panthers to their maiden title. Even before enjoying a breakout season in the TNPL, he had bowled in the Chennai Super Kings nets. He spent four days with CSK side in the 2018 season before the franchise’s home games were moved out of Chennai to Pune. About two weeks later, Kolkata Knight Riders captain Dinesh Karthik and team analyst AR Srikkanth called Varun to bowl at the KKR nets, where he exchanged notes with Sunil Narine and his spin coach Carl Crowe.Tell me about his TNPL stintHe unleashed all the variations he had honed at Jubilee on a bigger platform and became the flagbearer of Madurai’s run to the title. In the first two seasons of the league, Madurai did not win a single game and their winless streak stretched to 15 when they lost their first match of the 2018 season to Dindigul Dragons. Varun, though, had impressed with figures of 0 for 23 in his four overs even as all the other Madurai bowlers conceded at over 11 runs an over.Madurai finally sealed their first-ever win in the TNPL in their next game against Chepauk Super Gillies, when Varun took 3 for 16 to help his side defend 153. He continued to perform the dual role of taking wickets as well as restricting the batsmen, particularly in the Powerplay and slog overs. All told, Varun bowled 40 overs, of which 125 balls were dots. His economy rate of 4.7 was the best among bowlers who had bowled at least 15 overs.CSK’s batting coach Michael Hussey, who worked as a commentator in the TNPL earlier this year, picked out Varun as one of the most exciting talents.

Former CSK net bowler! #OpenMike pic.twitter.com/7cTaaziMS9

— TNPL (@TNPremierLeague) July 26, 2018

Has he done anything noteworthy after the TNPL?Varun broke into Vijay Cricket Club’s squad, which is usually filled with the top Tamil Nadu players, in the first division of the Chennai League and helped the side clinch the 50-over VAP trophy. The next day he received his maiden call-up to the state squad for the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy. He made a splash in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, too, ending as the top wicket-taker in the group stage, with 22 wickets in nine matches at an economy rate of 4.23.He subsequently made his Ranji Trophy debut for Tamil Nadu and trialled with Mumbai Indians ahead of the IPL auction.What happened at the Mumbai Indians trials?Having established himself as someone who could bowl the tough overs in the Powerplay and the death for both Madurai and Tamil Nadu, Varun was given similar scenarios at the Mumbai trials.”They gave me a situation and made me bowl in the Powerplay and at the death,” Varun told ESPNcricinfo. “I did fairly well against some players who had been released by other franchises. Hopefully, somebody picks me in the auction.”Okay, anything else that’s interesting?Varun is addicted to Snickers chocolate bars and is a fan of actor Vijay.

A phone call from Bangladesh cricketer Tamim Iqbal brought Mohammad Isam to the scene of the terrorist attack. Here’s what he saw there.

Mohammad Isam in Christchurch15-Mar-20191:25

Bangladesh players in lockdown at team hotel

1.00pm: The Bangladesh team arrives at the Hagley Oval for a training session and, though there’s rain about, they plan to first go to a nearby mosque for Friday prayers and then return for the session. There was a plan to train at the indoor facilities at Lincoln University but then it was decided that the team would not travel that far.1.27pm: Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah completes the pre-match press conference at the Hagley Oval. He is in a rush as the rest of the players are ready to go to the mosque, but he still speaks for nine minutes.1.35pm: I am at the parking lot as the Bangladesh players board the bus. Seventeen members of the touring party, including manager Khaled Mashud, team analyst Shrinivas Chandrasekaran and masseur Md Sohel, are accompanying the players.1.52pm: I get a call from Tamim Iqbal, one of the senior-most cricketers in the team, as I’m leaving the Hagley Oval. He’s calling me for help. “There’s shooting here, please save us.” I first think that he is playing a prank but he hangs up and calls again – this time, his voice starts to crack. He says that I should call the police as there’s a shooting going on inside the mosque where they are about to enter.1.53 pm: My first instinct is to start running towards the mosque. I don’t even stop to think; you can call me an idiot for running towards an active terrorism scene but I knew I just had to go. Partly as a journalist, mainly as a human being.I start running towards the main road, when a lady, also heading out in her car, asks if I need a ride. I tell her what Tamim has told me, and she tells me to hop in. My fellow Bangladeshi journalists Mazhar Uddin and Utpal Shuvro also come along.Getty Images1.56pm: We see the entry to Deans Avenue, where the mosque is located, blocked off by a police car, so we get off in front of the Parkview Hotel on the corner of Deans and Riccarton avenues. I start running towards the mosque when I spot the Bangladesh team bus. There are a few police cars around, and a couple of ambulances. Some people are standing around, wondering what had happened near that intersection.But when I look to my right, towards the entrance of a motel, it becomes clear: There’s a body on the ground, being attended to by paramedics. There’s blood everywhere.2.00pm: I see one man running towards me, crying, and holding his arm. There’s definitely blood on his shirt. People nearby are helping another man to escape, shouting instructions at him. I keep walking fast towards the bus when I see a line of Bangladesh players running away from the bus. I cross the road, and as I get close, Ebadot Hossain grabs me by the arm and tells me to run with them. At this point I still have no idea what actually has happened; I don’t even know if the team was the target of the attack.2.02pm: The players are now on the side of Hagley Park, and someone asks for directions. The ground is to their right, about a 15-minute walk. The players enter the park and start to run, when someone tells them they should walk quickly. Not run.2.04pm: I am walking with Tamim and then I see the players spreading out, too wide apart. I ask Sohel to get them all together. It is impossible but some of them slow down to walk together.It’s no more than a kilometer away but it is the longest few minutes of my life. The players are talking about what they’ve seen – the blood, the bodies. One senior player holds on to me and breaks down. There is very little I can say to him.2.08pm: We reach the Hagley Oval and just run inside. Everyone is taken inside the players’ dressing room where they get to sit finally. They are visibly shaken.2.10pm: We are taken to the Hadlee Pavilion where the rest of the ground staff, NZC staff, etc are being asked to wait.7:16

‘We would have been inside the mosque had we reached 3-4 mins earlier’ – Khaled Mashud

2.45pm: The team, after consultation with the two cricket boards, decides to head to their hotel on Cathedral Street. They are escorted there immediately. The journalists stay behind.3.30pm: While holed up at the Hagley Oval, we keep seeing police cars and ambulances rushing towards the same place I had gone to earlier, near the mosque.5.00pm: The tour is called off by New Zealand Cricket, after consultation with the Bangladesh Cricket Board and the ICC.6.30pm: We are finally allowed to leave the ground, and we head to the team hotel.7pm: Crossing a really quiet Christchurch city centre, we arrive at the hotel in three cars. Manager Khaled Mashud has to take us to their team room where he gives a detailed statement about what had happened, and what the team plans to do next.7.25pm: We head to his room, where we charge our phones. Tamim Iqbal joins us. He is visibly shaken still, and I apologise for not believing him. He gives me a pat on the back, and smiles.8pm: The manager Mashud treats us to dinner, after which we head out to our own hotels. Christchurch, at the start of St Patrick’s Day weekend, is absolutely quiet. It was supposed to be a roaring Friday night. It is likely that the city will never be the same again.10 pm: I’m at a friend’s house for dinner. There’s no appetite, little conversation. The minutes are marked by phone calls updating us with grim news: Another acquaintance gone, the death toll keeps rising.

And what’s the highest innings total at the World Cup?

Steven Lynch28-May-2019What’s the highest innings total at the World Cup? And will it be broken this year? asked David McKenzie from England
Going into the 2019 edition, the highest World Cup total was Australia’s 417 for 6 against Afghanistan in Perth in the last one, in 2015. That broke an eight-year-old mark, India’s 413 for 5 against Bermuda in Port-of-Spain in 2007. There have been two other 400-plus totals in the World Cup, by South Africa in successive matches in 2015: after running up 408 for 5 against West Indies in Sydney on February 27, they pummelled 411 for 4 against Ireland in Canberra on March 3. Here’s the the full list, which will be updated throughout the World Cup.As for whether the record will be broken in 2019, it has to be on the cards: in all one-day internationals, there have been ten higher totals than Australia’s 417, and four of them have come since the last World Cup – three (including the two highest totals of all) by England, and one by South Africa.Which opening pair started successive World Cup finals with a hundred partnership? asked Michael Tate from Australia
This prolific pair was the Australians Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden. They kicked off the 2003 final, against India in Johannesburg, by putting on 105 in 14 overs. Four years later, against Sri Lanka in Bridgetown, Gilchrist and Hayden began with an opening stand of 172, in 22.5 overs. The only other century opening stand in a World Cup final was a rather more sedate one – Geoff Boycott and Mike Brearley’s 129 in 38 overs against West Indies at Lord’s in 1979.The unbroken third-wicket partnership of 234 by Ricky Ponting and Damien Martyn for Australia in 2003 in Johannesburg remains the highest stand for any wicket in final.East Africa played in the very first World Cup. Are there any other teams who have appeared just once in the tournament? asked Brian Waters from Kenya
East Africa, who took part in the 1975 World Cup, are one of three teams with just the one appearance in the tournament, excluding Afghanistan who are about to take part in their second. Namibia were one of the participants in southern Africa in 2003, while Bermuda took part for the only time in the Caribbean in 2007.The United Arab Emirates have appeared in two World Cups (1996 and 2015), while Ireland and Scotland have been in three, Canada and the Netherlands four, Kenya five, and Zimbabwe nine. Bangladesh are about to appear in their sixth, and South Africa their eighth; the seven other senior Test nations have appeared in all 11 previous editions, and are about to make it a round dozen.Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden add 105 to Australia’s winning tally in the 2003 final, and 172 in the 2007 final•Hamish Blair/Getty ImagesWho’s the oldest man to play in a World Cup final? Was it Imran Khan? asked Waqas Ahmed from Pakistan
Pakistan’s captain Imran Khan was 39 years 121 days old when he lifted the World Cup in Melbourne in 1992. But there has been one older player in a World Cup final: Rohan Kanhai was about two months older – 39 years 177 days – for West Indies against Australia in the first final, at Lord’s in 1975. Kanhai made 55, and helped Clive Lloyd put on 149 for the fourth wicket.I noticed that in the World Cup qualifying tournament in 1979, Canada and Sri Lanka won their semi-finals, but didn’t play the final for more than two weeks. Why the long delay? asked Tushar Trivedi from India
The semi-finals of the ICC Trophy in 1979 were played on June 6 – Sri Lanka crushed Denmark, and Canada squeezed past Bermuda. You’re right that the final wasn’t played for more than two weeks – Sri Lanka won by 60 runs at Worcester on June 21 ­- and the reason for this delay seems almost incredible now.In between the semis and the final, the teams had another commitment – the 1979 World Cup itself! That started on June 9 (three days after the ICC Trophy semis), and the last group games were on June 16. Neither of the qualifiers made it out of their groups – although Sri Lanka did upset India at Old Trafford – so they were free for the finale of the qualifying competition.And there’s an update to a recent question, from Debapriya Chakraborty from India
“Further to my question two weeks ago about the oldest international debutant, there is now a new answer: on May 20, the 53-year-old James Moses played his first official Twenty20 international for Botswana against Uganda in Kampala.”Use our feedback form or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

The century in Jamaica was built around clear understanding of his game and how to turn that knowledge into runs

Karthik Krishnaswamy01-Sep-20192:41

‘My father passed away when I was 12. This is for him’ – Hanuma Vihari

In three innings on this tour of West Indies, Hanuma Vihari has walked in at 93 for 4, 187 for 4 and 164 for 4. They were three distinct scenarios, a small sampling of the kind of challenges a Test-match No. 6 can expect to face: a rocky start on the first day of the series, a push towards a third-innings declaration, a 50-50 day-one position on a tricky pitch.Each time, Vihari has left India in a markedly improved position from when he began his innings. On Friday and Saturday at Sabina Park, he played his most impressive innings yet, a maiden Test hundred that radiated a sense of calm self-awareness.It takes batsmen time to develop an intimate knowledge of the contours of their own game. Vihari was playing only his sixth Test match, but it was his 75th first-class game. Somewhere along the way, he’s figured out what works best for him.As he settles into his stance, Vihari takes great care in lining up his right eye – no doubt his dominant eye – so that it has the best possible view of the bowler’s approach and release. Like a number of batsmen around the world – most notably Rory Burns – his stance is two-eyed without being explicitly front-on in the manner of Shivnarine Chanderpaul.Otherwise, Vihari’s set-up is simplicity itself: upright and still, with bat held up behind him like most of his contemporaries, and a small and almost imperceptible back-and-across trigger movement to get him going.AFP / Getty ImagesWhen the bowler releases, Vihari is in a pretty good position to judge the line of balls in the fourth-stump channel, but is especially well placed to play full balls angling into his stumps. His front pad isn’t in the way of his bat coming down straight, and his head, aligned the way it is, is unlikely to tip over and unbalance him. It’s the perfect position from which to work the ball of his legs or drive through mid-on and midwicket.The shot of his innings came early on, when he was batting on 1. Kemar Roach bowled one a touch too full, on the stumps, and Vihari drove him to the left of mid-on with a smooth straight-bat punch. If he seemed in position to play the shot even before the ball was delivered, it was because he was, pretty much.When the ball is on a wider line, however, he isn’t as well equipped to play it. He isn’t a huge mover of his feet, and that limits his off-side game somewhat. His square and cover drives – such as those he hit off Shannon Gabriel against the second new ball, late on day one – are pleasing on the eye, but they are products of his reach and hand-eye coordination rather than a big front-foot stride. On pitches like this one at Sabina Park, they are strokes to be played only off half-volleys.

The one major criticism of West Indies’ bowling to Vihari, perhaps, could be that they didn’t test him enough with the short ball

Vihari knew this better than anyone else. His innings was a triumph of waiting for the bowlers to drift into his areas of strength. Of his 111 runs, 76 came through the leg side. Only 12 of his scoring shots came through the off side, and of them, eight came after he had passed 50.No matter how self-aware you are, and how good your plans are, your decision-making is still complicated by the bowling, the conditions, and the state of the match. Runs flowed far less freely for Vihari on Saturday than they had on Friday, when he scored his first 42 runs. He lost his overnight partner Rishabh Pant to the first ball of the day, and both Roach and Jason Holder – bowling with a ball that was still fairly new – went past his edge in the opening overs of the day. Gabriel, so wayward on day one, rediscovered his lengths and his menace.”I knew they would come hard in the first session, because that’s their best chance of getting us out early,” Vihari said at the end of the day’s play. “They did get an early wicket with Rishabh getting out on the first ball. But I just wanted to bat patiently and wait for the balls which are in my area, and that’s exactly what I did, and I am happy that I could stick to my game plan.”Hanuma Vihari made another vital contribution•AFP / Getty ImagesAfter lunch, Vihari only scored two runs off 28 balls before Gabriel bowled one at his pads and allowed him to move from 86 to 90. The wait and the release together summed up his innings.”Today I was batting on 84 during lunch time, then it took me an hour to get to the 90 mark,” Vihari said. “So obviously I was patient, they bowled really well after lunch. You have to give credit to the bowlers as well, they hung in there. Even though we scored 400, [it doesn’t reflect] the way they bowled.”The one major criticism of West Indies’ bowling to Vihari, perhaps, could be that they didn’t test him enough with the short ball. Ben Stokes got him out fending in the second innings of his debut Test at The Oval last year, and Pat Cummins bounced him out twice at the MCG.On a bouncy Sabina Park pitch, West Indies’ quicks only bowled 11 genuinely short balls to Vihari, according to ESPNcricinfo’s data. Vihari, though, looked fairly comfortable the few times he had to deal with the bouncer, seemingly having made his mind up to duck or sway every time and not attempt the hook or pull.Whether Vihari will continue to avoid the horizontal-bat shots – it worked pretty well for M Vijay, who shelved the hook and pull for most of his Test career – or add them to his repertoire remains to be seen. For now, he looks like a man with a clear idea of what he’s good at and what he isn’t, and of how to convert that knowledge into runs.