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Australia were bowled out for 137 in their second innings, leaving India with 87 more to regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on a fizzing Dharamsala pitch

The Report by Daniel Brettig27-Mar-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:22

Chappell: Umesh Yadav has been a hero this season

Australia’s batsmen froze in the spotlight of the opportunity to press for a series-sealing victory over India, leaving the hosts needing a mere 87 to regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on day four in Dharamsala. The surprise for the hosts and source of regret for the visitors was that wickets to pace, not spin, dictated the course of the day.Starting their second innings 32 runs behind, Australia lost David Warner, Steven Smith and Matt Renshaw while still in deficit and were ultimately rounded up for a measly 137. Only Glenn Maxwell offered any prolonged resistance, the rest stuck in quicksand against Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.Umesh and Bhuvneshwar in particular made a mighty impact, making the new ball kick, jump and jag in such a way that Warner and Renshaw were utterly spooked, while Smith’s series ended with an attempt to assert himself that ended with a misjudged pull shot and scattered stumps. Ashwin and Jadeja were then left to separate Maxwell and Peter Handscomb before mopping up the rest.Jadeja and Wriddhiman Saha had earlier put together a priceless partnership to push India into the lead before Australia struck in the minutes before lunch. As had been the case in Ranchi, India’s seventh-wicket stand was a thorn in Australian sides, lifting the hosts from an overnight deficit of 52 to an advantage of 18 before the visitors were able to find a wicket. Jadeja’s innings maintained his up surge not only as the world’s No. 1 ranked bowler, but also as a batting talent.He had solid support from Saha, who was fortunate to still be at the crease given Matt Renshaw’s drop off the bowling of Cummins on the second evening. It was ultimately Cummins who ended the stand by coaxing Jadeja to drag onto the stumps, before also claiming Saha with a spiteful bouncer that the wicketkeeper gloved into the outstretched right hand of Steven Smith at second slip.These wickets feel either side of O’Keefe finding some turn in his first over of the session to defeat Bhuvneshwar Kumar, with Smith claiming the catch. He had refrained from using O’Keefe while Jadeja was at the crease, a measure of the respect Australia had for the left-hander’s potential to score quickly.Australia thought they had a wicket with the first ball of the morning, when Cummins angled across Jadeja and there was a noise as the ball passed the bat. The umpire Marais Erasmus raised his finger instantly, but Jadeja reviewed just as fast. Replays showed the bat had brushed his back pad rather than the ball, the decision reversed.With the ball still new, it swung and bounced disconcertingly at times, requiring all of Jadeja’s skill to keep down. Saha proved an effective partner, and the scoring rate rose dangerously for an Australian side conscious of not giving up too much of a lead. At the same time, Smith and his bowlers were straining for wickets, as evidenced by an ambitious referral for lbw against Saha by Josh Hazlewood off an inside edge, and also a preponderance of niggling chatter between bowlers and batsmen.Not for the first time, Cummins took it upon himself to generate something, and did so by going around the wicket to Jadeja after he had hooked a pair of short balls in his previous over. Jadeja’s middle stump was knocked back, and he was soon to be joined by Bhuvneshwar and then Saha.Steven Smith’s sensational series with the bat ended at 499 runs•Associated Press

Kuldeep Yadav added a pesky few runs with the last man Umesh before Nathan Lyon returned to the bowling crease. He had Kuldeep caught at deep backward square leg on the sweep with his first ball. That gave Lyon a deserved five-wicket haul, and left the touring batsmen to contemplate the best way to build a lead.They would have expected a few difficult overs from the pacemen but not the fusillade fired down by Bhuvneshwar and Umesh that did for Warner, Smith and Renshaw. Warner was struck one stinging blow on the shoulder by a Bhuvneshwar short ball that climbed sharply, was dropped for a second time in the match by Karun Nair, and did not get far enough across his crease to avoid edging Umesh the following over.Smith seemed intent on domination, sending his first ball to the boundary behind square leg then lining up Bhuvneshwar’s short and full deliveries. But his attempt to carry on brought a miscalculation and an ugly drag onto the stumps – Smith finished the series with a laudable 499 runs but the sense of an unfinished last innings.Renshaw’s dropped catches and cheap first-innings dismissal had conveyed something of fatigue on his first overseas tour having played so maturely earlier in the series. Now he fiddled at an Umesh delivery he may have left at another time. Australia were three down and still a run in deficit.For a time, Handscomb and Maxwell appeared capable of forging a major stand. Maxwell was the aggressor and Handscomb the accumulator, and the left-arm wristspin of Kuldeep was withdrawn by Ajinkya Rahane after being effectively neutralised. However in the final few minutes of the session, Ashwin found Handscomb’s outside edge with an offbreak that jumped without turning, then Shaun Marsh – beset by a back injury – bunted lamely to short leg.Maxwell loomed as the key to Australia’s chances when the evening session began, and after Wade evaded an early lbw appeal and referral, Maxwell was given out to Ashwin when he tucked his bat behind his pad. The review showed umpire’s call for both impact with the pad and projected path towards the stumps.Cummins and Wade then tried to steady the innings, but became trapped into scorelessness in a way that meant the Australian lead did not appreciably grow relative to the time they spent at the crease. So when Cummins fell to Jadeja, the lead was still well short of 100, and it remained there through the swift dismissals of O’Keefe and Lyon.Finally Wade showed more intent in Hazlewood’s company, until the paceman was deceived twice by Ashwin. The first occasion seemingly to a catch at second slip, but replays showed M Vijay had grounded the ball and so the players returned to the middle for another two balls, this time to see the umpire Ian Gould’s finger raised for an lbw.Vijay and KL Rahul were left with six overs to the close. They negotiated them with a level of comfort that underlined not only how well Umesh and Bhuvneshwar had bowled, but also how Smith’s Australians had squandered the sort of chance they had been fighting to have all series.

Kings XI Punjab seamer Mohit Sharma, who won Man of the Match for his 2 for 24, credited the side’s spinners for applying a stranglehold in the middle of Knight Riders’ chase

ESPNcricinfo staff10-May-20175:25

Bangar: Tewatia’s introduction turned the match

By the time legspinner Rahul Tewatia came on to bowl on Tuesday night, Kolkata Knight Riders had made their now-customary dash in the Powerplay to score 61 for 1 in a chase of 168. The seamers went for runs and, as is often the case, damage-control duties were assigned to Axar Patel, who bowled a tight seventh over. Tewatia was introduced with 104 runs needed in 13 overs. It was his first match in this year’s tournament, his previous appearance in the IPL having come in 2015.Tewatia began by conceding only four runs in his first over and did even better in the second. First, he tempted Gautam Gambhir into slogging a ball deep mid-wicket’s throat before snaring Robin Uthappa first ball courtesy Axar’s brilliance in the field. After Uthappa swatted a googly uppishly, Axar hared to his right from deep mid-wicket and flung himself to complete the catch.Knight Riders managed only two boundaries between the seventh and 14th overs, with Tewatia conceding one of those in his spell of 4-0-18-2. The seamers eventually got back their mojo and, led by Mohit Sharma and Sandeep Sharma’s cold precision at the death, ensured Kings XI clinched the game by 14 runs to keep their playoff chances alive. Mohit, who was the Man of the Match for his returns of 2 for 24, credited the spinners, especially Tewatia, for establishing a stranglehold in the middle.”The way our spinners bowled in the middle. This was the first match of the season for Rahul Tewatia and he hasn’t played too many other IPL games, overall either. His spell was the turning point,” Mohit said after the match. Axar and Tewatia later revealed to their plan to bowl slower through the air and deprive the batsmen of runs.”During the strategic time-out we had a discussion about how the pitch was playing. So you [Axar] had told me that there was some turn on offer for slower deliveries,” Tewatia said. “To Gambhir, first I bowled some sliders, and then I planned to bowl full-pitched googly. If he went to hit it then there was a chance to get a wicket. You had said that the game can change if we get one wicket.”Axar said he realised that he had to change his pace as the quicker deliveries were skidding on to the bat well: “To Gambhir, he’s always ready to play the cut and I wasn’t giving him any room at the stumps. I think he got frustrated when he didn’t get any runs.”While Kings XI had a decent cushion of 37 runs to defend in the last three overs, the biggest obstacle in their path was Chris Lynn, who eventually finished with 84 off 52 balls. After Matt Henry dismissed Manish Pandey with a slower one off the first ball of the 18th over, Lynn was run-out next ball after attempting a risky second run. Kings XI wrested control of the match thereafter as Mohit and Sandeep conceded only 14 runs off the last two overs.”Dismissing Lynn at any point in the 20 overs is important. The way he bats in T20s, it’s like he’s playing proper baseball,” Mohit said. “He never misses out on a loose ball and whenever a bowler gets his wicket, it is important. After he fell the match turned in our favour because a new batsman can’t hit shots straightaway and needs some time. And there was no time in that situation.”Mohit said it wasn’t that the Kings XI bowlers had bowled badly in the Powerplay, but that Lynn and Sunil Narine had taken them on. “If you see, they played well from the start but that doesn’t mean that we didn’t bowl well or plan properly,” he said. “After the strategic time-out we regrouped to think how Knight Riders would bat with the field spread out and then the spinners came on and bowled well and began turning the match to our side.”The pitch was a bit on the slower side but under lights, it eased out a bit. It wasn’t as dry as expected, compared to the match against Delhi Daredevils, which was a 4pm start. [With] The early start, the pitch plays out completely differently. But it’s not just about the pitch. T20 is a dot-ball game for the bowling side. So we try to bowl as many dot balls to build pressure on the batsmen and try and get wickets.”

He went on to make a matchwinning century, but Fakhar Zaman spent the night before ill in his hotel bed

George Dobell at The Oval18-Jun-2017Fakhar Zaman told the Pakistan physio he didn’t think he would be fit to play the night before the Champions Trophy final.Zaman, who was awarded the Man of the Match award for his aggressive century, pulled out of training on Saturday after feeling unwell. He subsequently vomited several times and, having returned to the team hotel, informed the Pakistan medical staff that he would have to miss the game.But having been given him medication to settle his stomach – a Pakistan team spokesman suggested Zaman was suffering from a combination of an adverse reaction to something he had eaten and an attack of nerves before the biggest match of his career – Zaman slept soundly and reported himself fit to play at 7am on the morning of the match.”When we came for practise I wasn’t feeling good,” Zaman told ESPNcricinfo. “I hit five or 10 balls and said to the coach, ‘I don’t want to practise today as I’m not feeling well.'”I went back to the dressing room and told the masseur and physio that I didn’t feel good and couldn’t work.”We went back to the hotel and they treated me very well. Our physio, Shane Hayes, was with me the whole night. I said to him, ‘I can’t play tomorrow,’ but he gave me protein and glucose tablets and said ‘You will play tomorrow.'”I woke in the morning feeling good. I sent him a message at 7am saying, ‘Thanks, Shane. I’m feeling good.'”If Zaman was suffering from nerves, it is hardly surprising. He made his ODI debut less than two weeks ago and then found himself in a global tournament final against his side’s arch rivals and in front of a TV audience of hundreds of millions.Certainly in the first few minutes of his innings, those nerves were apparent. He survived an edged catch to MS Dhoni when he had scored just 3 but was reprieved when it transpired Jasprit Bumrah had overstepped.Gradually, however, he gained in confidence and started to dismantle the India attack”I’m feeling very lucky,” he said. “It worked really well for me. Sometimes you get dropped or survive because of a no-ball but you don’t go on and score too many runs.”At the start they were bowling very well. So I tried to play ball-to-ball. But when I saw there was no swing or movement off the wicket, I started to play my shots.”Meanwhile, Zaman’s opening partner Azhar Ali described himself as “the most relieved man” after Virat Kohli fell to a catch at point the ball after Azhar had dropped him at slip off the bowling of Mohammad Amir.”Dropping him was a really big disappointment,” he said. “He’s the guy who chases for fun. He’s the best in the world. I was the most relieved man when he was out next ball. That sort of batsman never gets out twice in two balls, so it was a blessing form the Almighty. I was very relieved.”Amir did really well. He is a quality bowler and he can get anyone out. It was so important to get early wickets.”

Virat Kohli was the only batsmen to make fifty plus, while Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Wriddhiman Saha all crossed 30 before retiring out

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando22-Jul-2017
ScorecardVirat Kohli slammed a half-century before retiring hurt•AFP

India’s batsmen enjoyed a smooth tune-up on the second day of the practice game against the Sri Lanka Board President’s XI, hitting 177 for the loss of only two further wickets. Virat Kohli was the only batsman to register a half-century, but Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Wriddhiman Saha all made it past thirty, a short time after which they were all retired out. Kohli’s overnight partner Ajinkya Rahane, too, made 40 before he and Kohli were retired out simultaneously.The President’s XI, however, appeared to have limited the amount of spin the India batsmen faced. Tharindu Kaushal bowled 14 overs and claimed the wickets of Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya late in the day, but Shehan Jayasuriya and Dhananjaya de Silva only delivered one over each. The remaining 52 overs were shared between four frontline quicks – Vishwa Fernando the most successful among them, with 2 for 37 from 10 overs. He had, however, taken both of those wickets on Friday.Not only will India be pleased at having lost so few wickets, they may also be encouraged by the positivity of their batsmen. They traveled at 4.59 runs an over across their 68-over innings, hitting 30 fours and four sixes all told. Saha made his 36 off 40 balls, and Dhawan his 41 off 48. In fact, none of the batsmen, who retired out on Saturday, had a strike rate south of 65. Kaushal and seamer Vikum Sanjaya were the main victims of that aggression – both conceding runs at more than five an over. Even though Colombo Cricket Club is a small ground, none of the bowlers can be said to have been miserly.India declared their innings when they were nine down, despite the match being a two-dayer. Thereafter, they also declined the opportunity to take the field again. Though the team has not played Tests since March, their batsmen and bowlers appear to have got the workout they wanted from this game – enough for them to go to Galle with some confidence.

Craig Overton stirred to excellent effect and the result was a Somerset victory that lifted them from despond and left Yorkshire deep in moody self-analysis

Paul Edwards at North Marine Road06-Jul-2017
ScorecardThe warnings were there for Somerset in their first match of the season, slightly less than three months ago, when they began their Division One campaign with an eight-wicket home defeat to Essex, new to the rigours of First Division life. Their situation became graver by the week as they remained stuck at the foot of Division One and their young captain, Tom Abell, stood down from the side because of a loss of form.Finally, at Scarborough, at the eighth time of asking, and with a new captain at the helm, Somerset’s cricketers ended their torment in 2017 with a 179-run victory over the once highly-fancied Yorkshire at Scarborough.”It’s been a tough year, and there’s been some tough words,” said Gregory as Somerset prepared for a long trek home in happy frame of mind. “It’s brilliant to get that first win on the board, and to put in a performance like that is very special. I think I’ll call it quits there and just go with the 100 per cent record as captain.”Somerset remained stoically winless until Liam Plunkett attempted to hit Jack Leach for a fourth six but only nicked the ball to Jim Allenby at slip. Cue delight in Stogumber. Cue street parties in Lydeard St. Lawrence.In truth, though, the cricket had descended into late-innings carnival by the time that last wicket fell. Yorkshire’s attempt to score 337 in 90 overs had long been a laughably optimistic enterprise and the chief giggler was a 6ft 5ins seamer from North Devon whose pace and hostility were appreciated by everyone at North Marine Road, not only the band of hardy supporters with wyverns on their chests.This was Craig Overton’s day and it was Craig Overton’s match. The giant all-rounder took 4 for 47 on this final day at Scarborough and finished the match with career-best figures of 9 for 134. Making good use of a pitch which offered him bounce and carry, Overton discomfited all the batsmen in this game and dismissed every member of Yorkshire’s top order at least once.On the day when Somerset at last took closer order on the counties above them, the all-rounder’s cricket displayed the brio that may sustain his county in dark times. No doubt the absent captain, Abell, who has played a couple of second team T20 games this week, was quick to text the players with his congratulations. Abell is that sort of bloke.As for Yorkshire, the bitter truth is that supporters at North Marine Road were more surprised by the rapidity of their side’s collapse than the fact of it. A once formidable batting order which used to cope serenely with England calls now seems riven with an unlucky bag of fallibilities. These weaknesses have been largely responsible for their team losing two of their last three Division One games and trailing leaders Essex by 38 points having played a game more.Harry Brook, who now has three championship appearances on his CV, looked the most secure of the top order and his appearances may be restricted by the broken hand he sustained in the nets on the final morning of this game. Seeking to explain this defeat by referring to the injuries which befell Plunkett and Ryan Sidebottom avoids the central problem which has suddenly befallen Yorkshire cricket. “It won’t do” said someone at North Marine Road before explaining himself in some detail.”We’ve spoken at length about our batting for a long time now but it’s got past the point of talking about it,” said the Yorkshire coach Andrew Gale. “It’s about doing it now and we need to back things up on the field. We didn’t work hard enough and we now want players to respond to what’s happened. Whether that’s by going into the second team and making big runs or by making runs in the T20, you just want to see a response. We’ve been here many a time before with Yorkshire cricket and we can turn this on its head.”Yorkshire’s woes began with the fifth ball of their innings when Alex Lees drove carelessly outside a Lewis Gregory inswinger and heard the ash dancing behind him. But it was not until the fourth over that West Country hope trespassed into the land of belief and it was Overton who led that cautious advance.The delivery which dismissed Brook would have moved the bowels of a Test cricketer, let alone a batsman whose memories of Peppa Pig are still fresh. Short, quick and deeply nasty, it reared up at the 18-year-old and brushed his glove. Steve Davies completed a difficult one-handed catch with deceptive aplomb. Rather less allowance can be made for Peter Handscomb, who pushed forward a trifle at his first ball but was hit on his front pad. Some thought the ball but might have been going over the top but Tim Robinson sent the batsman on his way. Yorkshire were 12 for 3 and the North Devonian did his best to disappear into the arms of his colleagues, a task that proved well beyond him.Four overs later Tom Kohler-Cadmore hooked Overton into the pavilion, where a spectator received a glancing blow but proved himself the sort of chap with whom one would go flying by brushing away all solicitous enquiries. Next ball Kohler-Cadmore failed to cover Overton’s steep bounce and edged the ball to slip where Tim Rouse held on. .For ten overs Adam Lyth and Tim Bresnan scored freely against attacking fields before Lyth, having flattered his supporters briefly, deceived them grievously when he drove at Overton and inside-edged the ball into his wicket. That left Yorkshire on 67 for 5 and all but doomed. The folded arms and the grim expressions said as much.An hour after lunch the players were shaking hands. Jack Leach, who had not been required to bowl in the first innings, took four of the wickets, bowling Tim Bresnan with a ball that pitched on leg but hit off and having Rashid caught at slip. Another tasty bouncer from Overton left Andy Hodd with little option but to scoop the ball to Eddie Byrom at square leg.”I’d like to bowl on that sort of wicket every day,” said Overton. “It was ideal for me and I don’t think I’ve bowled better than I did at the start of the second innings. I’m not sure Harry could have done too much about the ball that got him this morning. It’s one of those you just try and avoid and it can be a tough one to take.”As Overton spoke he was interrupted by Somerset supporters offering their congratulations. This victory is not enough to take their side out of the bottom two places in the table but it offers them hope, enough at any rate to speed them home in good heart this summer evening.

Australia enter the series without a warm-up game in Bangladesh and with a poor recent history in Asia. The hosts are quietly confident after their recent upturn in Tests

The Preview by Brydon Coverdale26-Aug-20175:15

Isam: Warner and co. will know how to handle Mustafizur after IPL stint

Big Picture

Mitchell Johnson’s entire Test career of 313 wickets; 611 of the 617 Twenty20 internationals that have ever been played; every tweet ever… These are just some of the things that have happened since Australia and Bangladesh last played each other in Test cricket. That’s right: when they last met in 2006, Twitter had not even been launched. We might as well be talking about the #darkages. Such has been the reluctance of Australia to schedule Tests against Bangladesh, it has now been 11 years since their last series, when Jason Gillespie made the unlikeliest double-century in Test history.In 2008, Australia were scheduled to host Bangladesh for two winter Tests, but that series was postponed until 2010 due to a clash with the Beijing Olympics. The 2010 series didn’t happen either. In 2011, the Future Tours Programme had Australia listed to play two Tests in Bangladesh; instead, that tour was limited to three ODIs and no Tests. And then in 2015, Australia were all set to depart for a Test tour when they (sensibly) delayed the trip on security advice from the Australian government. Finally, a series that has not been postponed, and if the weather allows, it should be a fascinating contest.Australia enter the series without a warm-up game in Bangladesh and with a poor recent history in Asia. They have taken some self-belief from their competitive performance in India earlier this year, but questions remain over key batsmen David Warner and Usman Khawaja on slow, turning pitches, as well as the quality of their second spinner, Ashton Agar. Should Australia lose 2-0, they would fall to sixth on the ICC Test rankings, their lowest ever.Bangladesh have no shortage of self-belief, having beaten England in their most recent home Test and Sri Lanka in their most recent away Test. They have spinners who will challenge Australia’s defensive techniques and patience, and one of those is also the world’s best Test allrounder: Shakib Al Hasan. They have enough experience and talent in their batting order, through Shakib, Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim, to pose problems for Australia’s bowlers.So, four postponed Test series and hundreds of billions of tweets later, here we are, for what should be a close battle. #bringiton

Form guide

Bangladesh: WLLLL(last five completed matches, most recent first)
Australia: LDLWW

In the spotlight

He averages 40 with the bat, 33 with the ball, and is No.1 on the ICC’s rankings for Test allrounders, yet because he doesn’t play for one of the so-called “big teams” often, Shakib Al Hasan still probably doesn’t get the worldwide recognition he deserves. Entering his 50th Test match – and his first against Australia – he hopes to join Dale Steyn, Rangana Herath and Muttiah Muralitharan as the only bowlers with five-wicket Test hauls against all other countries. It would be a truly remarkable achievement, coming from a country that plays relatively little Test cricket.There is no more important player for Australia’s chances in this series than the captain Steven Smith. In India earlier this year, Smith showed his patience and skill against high quality spin bowling and scored centuries in three of the four Test matches. There is no reason to think he will be any less successful in Bangladesh, and big scores from Smith will go a long way to Australia having a strong series. But, of course, he will need somebody to stay out there with him.

Team news

Mushfiqur Rahim appears likely to keep wickets, which would mean Liton Das misses out. The selectors will have a tough decision to make between Taskin Ahmed and Shafiul Islam, but Shafiul might just get the nod.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Soumya Sarkar, 3 Imrul Kayes, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (capt & wk), 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Sabbir Rahman, 7 Nasir Hossain, 8 Mehidy Hasan, 9 Taijul Islam, 10 Shafiul Islam, 11 Mustafizur Rahman,Khawaja looks set to regain his place in the side after Shaun Marsh was preferred in India, and Ashton Agar is expected to join Nathan Lyon as the second spinner. The only other possible decision for the selectors is whether to include allrounder Hilton Cartwright as an extra seam-bowling option, but that would require leaving Glenn Maxwell out, an unlikely scenario after his batting success in India.Australia (probable): 1 David Warner, 2 Matt Renshaw, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Usman Khawaja, 5 Peter Handscomb, 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Ashton Agar, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Nathan Lyon.

Pitch and conditions

The pitch is not expected to be too similar to the one that England encountered on this ground last year, but it will be on the slower side with spin expected from day two. Rain is predicted on all five days of the Test, so the chances of a result will depend on how quickly the newly-laid outfield can dry – usually, the drainage is good.

Stats and trivia

• This Test will be the 50th for both Tamim Iqbal and Shakib; they will join Mohammad Ashraful, Mushfiqur and Habibul Bashar as the only Bangladeshis to reach the milestone
• Lyon needs three wickets to become the eighth Australian to 250 in Tests. In doing so he would pass Richie Benaud to become Australia’s second-leading Test spinner of all time
• These teams have played each other in only four Tests, for four wins to Australia – but no player from either squad has played in any of those previous matches

Quotes

“I think our spin attack is better than theirs. Not in all conditions but in Bangladesh, we are better than them.”
“For us, it’s more looking to the future. Ashton has obviously been on the radar for a long time and someone we see as having a pretty bright future. Four years’ time back in India it’s something I want to achieve while I’m captain. I want to win in India, that’s big on my bucket list.”

Jason Holder hopes West Indies can feed off their victory in the second Test and continue to defy expectations in the series decider at Lord’s

Melinda Farrell06-Sep-20173:24

‘I’m glad to be here with him’ – the Hope brothers on playing together for West Indies

Few would have predicted a decider at Lord’s after the thrashing at Edgbaston but West Indies captain Jason Holder believes the confidence born out of their performance at Headingley could lift his side to victory in a “momentous” match.Only two members of this West Indies squad – Kemar Roach and Shannon Gabriel – have played a Test at the home of cricket, adding to the sense of occasion for Holder’s men.”It’s obviously a momentous game for everybody,” Holder said, speaking at Lord’s on the eve of the match. “Especially in our group. A number of us are playing our first Test match here at Lord’s, our first series in England. There’s a lot to play for, and our guys are really up for it.”West Indies haven’t won a Test series in England for 29 years but go into the final match having beaten their opponents in two of their last three Tests (going back to Barbados in 2015). Victory at Headingley was West Indies’ first in England in 17 years and further history beckons.It is a rare challenge for Holder, still relatively callow in his captaincy. In some ways, his side has already surpassed expectations and inspired hope for the future. Should they acquit themselves well at Lord’s, no matter the result, they will have gained the respect of many who perhaps underestimated their qualities. But they would gain so much more with victory.”It would be great to win the series in England, but there’s a process towards going about that,” Holder said. “We can’t focus on the end result.”Our focus is our process. I spoke about consistency a lot on this tour, and that’s the main objective for me. Once we’re consistent and do the small things well, that end result should be more or less in our favour.”There have been unforeseen and unfortunate distractions in the build-up to the final Test. Bowling coach Roddy Estwick has returned to Barbados after the death of his mother and in his absence former Middlesex, Sussex and Yorkshire swing bowler Paul Hutchison has temporarily stepped into the role. Holder hopes Hutchison’s local knowledge will prove invaluable.Shai Hope chats with Brian Lara during West Indies training•Getty Images

“We’ve tried to get as much information as possible coming into this game,” Holder said. “We’ve got the luxury of having an outsider, Paul Hutchison, give us some tips about how to bowl here at Lord’s. He’s had some experience of bowling here at Lord’s.”There’s a lot of talk about the slope and such and we’ve studied it and had a chance to formulate some plans about how we go it. But cricket is always played on the day. You may be faced with different dilemmas and you just have to adjust and cope with it. That’s the nature of professional sport.”The threat of devastation from Hurricane Irma throughout the Caribbean has also loomed large in the thoughts of the players, particularly for Antiguan Alzarri Joseph, whose island was originally feared to be in the direct path of the storm.”I understand it hasn’t done major damage to Antigua, where Alzarri is from,” Holder said. “It’s gone further up north. We just hope the islands it is going to affect, the people prepare well and hopefully they are not hurt too badly.”We send our prayers back home, we have everybody back home in our thoughts and prayers. There’s not much we can do from here but sit and pray and wish them all the best.”West Indies declined to name a team before the toss, deciding to take another look at the pitch. It will, no doubt, have surprised them to see it displaying odd markings, known as ‘fairy rings’, caused by fungus spores below the turf. One perfect ring sits just short of a length for batsmen at the Pavilion End – perfectly positioned as a ‘bullseye’ for short balls coming from the Nursery End.But who will bowl them for West Indies remains unclear. It could be the case that Devendra Bishoo misses out on the final Test – he bowled 31 overs at Headingley, compared to the 44 bowled by Roston Chase – giving West Indies the option of including an extra seamer. Miguel Cummins and Joseph played in the first Test at Edgbaston while Raymon Reifer was particularly impressive in the nets at Lord’s on Wednesday.But whoever walks out at Lord’s will have the opportunity to create their own history, the challenge put to them by their coach, Stuart Law, at the start of the series. Some have already done so, with Shai Hope becoming the first batsman to score two centuries in a first-class match at Headingley. But, for a team which – more than any other international side – seems to have the ghosts of the past constantly hovering, making history at Lord’s would quieten talk of past legends and garner hope that last week’s victory was no false dawn.”It has done a lot,” Holder said of the Headingley win. “The first game, pretty much everybody wrote us off. Our heads were a bit down after how we got defeated in the first Test match.”To pick ourselves back up and come back and respond how we did at Headingley was remarkable. It’s obviously given us some new life. We’ve got a chance to win this series so we are going out in this last Test match to win it.”

A round-up of the Ranji Trophy Group B matches played on October 8, 2017

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Oct-2017Hindustan Times

Haryana collapsed to 140 all out on the third day in Lahli as a Cheteshwar Pujara-led Saurashtra enjoyed the unusual feeling of winning by an innings despite making less than 300 when they’d batted. The traditionally seamer-friendly conditions were on show again as Jaydev Unadkat and Chirag Jani shared the four Haryana wickets left standing and sealed Saurashtra’s victory before lunch.Forced to follow on after being bundled out for 107 in their first innings, Haryana’s batsmen struggled once again, except Chaitanya Bishnoi – who made 56. Deepak Punia’s resistance was snipped at 34, leaving Haryana reeling at 136 for 9. Three balls later, they were all out.Spinners Jalaj Saxena and Karaparambil Monish shared nine wickets on the third day to hand Kerala a thumping nine-wicket win over Jharkhand in Thiruvananthapuram. Saxena impressed with his all-round performance: he finished with 11 for 77 and a half-century in the first innings.Starting their second innings with a 57-run deficit, Jharkhand collapsed from 37 for 2 to 89 all out within 42 overs, with Saurabh Tiwary top-scoring with an unbeaten 26.Kerala needed only five overs to get to the target of 33, for the loss of Saxena, who was dismissed in the third over.Jammu & Kashmir took a 102-run lead against Rajasthan on day three after their five top-order batsmen put up 50-plus scores. Ahmed Bandy converted his overnight score of 72 into a 102-run knock, while captain Parvez Rasool fell three runs short in his pursuit of his ninth first-class century.J&K’s openers made a strong reply to Rajasthan’s 330, before Shubham Khajuria was bowled by medium pacer Tanvir-ul-Haq for 53. The 83-run second-wicket stand between Bandy and Pranav Gupta was then broken by Mahipal Lomror, who dismissed the former shortly after he scored his maiden first-class century. Solid partnerships followed as J&K raced to 400 for 4 after tea. They lost Rasool (97 off 126 balls) and Aditya Singh (32 off 112 balls) before the close of play.Puneet Bisht (2*) and Samiullah Beigh (1*) took J&K to 432 for 6 at stumps.

The 23-year old batsman had wondered why he couldn’t bat long in his first season of the Ranji Trophy. Now, he has a monumental score next to his name

Sidharth Monga in Delhi18-Nov-2017In his maiden first-class season, it took Nitish Rana nine innings to be dismissed for fewer than 25 runs. It was his only single-digit score in the 2015-16 Ranji Trophy. The first hundred, though, came in the last innings of the season, and in the second innings, which is rarely counted as important runs in this tournament. Rana went up to seniors, including Gautam Gambhir, and asked, “Why am I getting out on 50? 70? Why am I not scoring big runs?”The reply he got from them had to do with concentration. “They told me when you play under-16, under-19 or under-23, you get one or two quality bowlers in the opposition. So you can get away with breaks in concentration after you have seen off the main bowlers. In Ranji Trophy there are more quality bowlers, and you have to concentrate for longer.”Rana says he went to the nets and started to bat longer and harder, and made sure he was only concentrating on the next ball. He also got an IPL call-up from Mumbai Indians, with whom he said he grew mentally and technically as a player. All of that was on display at the Airforce Sports Complex in Palam, Delhi, where his innings of 174 buried Maharashtra under a mountain of runs (419) on a pitch with uneven bounce. Delhi bowlers used the advantage handsomely to leave the visitors on the brink of a follow-on at 59 for 8.Delhi began the day at 260 for 4 with Rana unbeaten on 110, but the 23-year old showed awareness that his job was far from done. He batted through the first session, in partnership with impressive debutant Lalit Yadav who scored 52, and only after he felt Delhi were secure did he try to get adventurous. This was his fourth first-class hundred and his highest score.The significance of that innings showed in how Ishant Sharma – back from the India squad once he was not picked for the Kolkata Test – ran through the Maharashtra top order with the quality of bowling India could have done with at Eden Gardens. Ishant was on the target – full but short of driving length just outside off – from ball one, and it was almost unfair on the batsmen facing the new ball after 111.1 overs in the field.The bounce had been uneven for other bowlers too but, largely, it deviated on the lower side. Ishant started hitting both bands of the spectrum. Rututuraj Gaikwad fell in the first over, forced to play outside off. Murtaza Trunkwala fell to similar fate, and Ankit Bawne was rapped on the gloves as soon as he came in. Rahul Tripathi, another IPL star, hit Ishant for a four but would soon nick another length ball outside off. Ishant’s spell of 6-2-14-3, in which he barely bowled a loose ball, left Maharashtra reeling at 14 for 4. Nitin Saini then got rid of Rohit Motwani to make it 51 for 5.Maharashtra would have sighed in relief when bad light sent players off early but 10 minutes later the conditions improved, and they lost a further three wickets in the 15 minutes of play possible after resumption. Lalit added two wickets to his debut half-century, and Manan Sharma chipped in with one. Despite the loss of 43 overs to bad light on the first two days, Delhi were now almost assured three points, and could even dream of a full complement of seven if they can enforce the follow-on and then win by an innings or by 10 wickets. The latter could ensure their progress to the knockouts even before the final round of league matches.

Mithun’s second-successive five-for triggers Delhi’s sensational collapse as Karnataka continue to top Group A

Akshay Gopalakrishnan in Alur12-Nov-2017
ScorecardAssociated Press

KL Rahul getting some much-needed batting time ahead of the Sri Lanka Tests with a stroke-filled 92 was the biggest takeaway from an unpalatable final day in Karnataka’s Group A clash against Delhi in Alur. The home team grabbed a 348-run first-innings lead, but refrained from enforcing the follow-on, Vinay Kumar opting to give his bowlers a rest, perhaps having recognised the surface lacked bite to force a result.Karnataka marched to 235 for 3 when the teams shook hands at 3.15pm local time, half an hour after the tea break. The home team took three first-innings points to retain their top position in Group A, with a knockouts berth within touching distance.The predictable end didn’t seem coming early in the morning, though. Abhimanyu Mithun’s second successive five-for brought a tapering contest to life as Delhi unraveled spectacularly to fold for 301. R Samarth, who was a livewire on the field, set the tone with a stunning catch at gully to send back Milind Kumar. But he was just warming up.Off the next delivery, Samarth stopped a delicate dab behind short leg by sticking his left hand out and then quickly transferring the ball to his right and to flick it onto the stumps, and catch Manan Sharma short of the crease.Karnataka opted for the second new ball after the twin strikes, and Mithun continued to bowl at a lively pace to attacking fields. Gautam Gambhir, the overnight centurion, who had impressed with an off-side game par excellence on the third day, pursued an expansive drive. Samarth was once again in the thick of things, this time pouching a straightforward catch at gully.Navdeep Saini, reprieved by Rahul at first slip, was trapped plumb in front by Vinay as Delhi lost their penultimate wicket shortly after crossing 300. Mithun then dished out a short ball to send last man Kulwant Khejroliya packing and wrap up the innings. It had taken just an hour for Delhi to lose their last six wickets, for 24 runs.The passage exhibited the quality of Karnataka’s bowling and fielding. With the pitch continuing to remain flat, Karnataka’s openers traced to a 121-run opening stand in no time, with Rahul dominating courtesy drives, sweeps and cuts. Samarth took off with a blazing straight drive but then made for a study in contrast as he buckled down.Rahul raised his half-century with a slog-swept six off Milind in the sixth over after lunch, and followed it with a crisp drive through the covers. A mindless run out denied him what would have been a well-deserved century. Rahul dabbed one gently to backward point and casually strode out for a single without looking at the fielder. Nitish Rana swooped down quickly and fired a direct hit at the bowler’s end.The rest of Karnataka’s batsmen tried to make the most the time on hand to get some practice for the season ahead. Mayank Agarwal struck a brisk 23, before chopping on a short ball that was too close to him. The popular duo of Karun Nair and Manish Pandey struck thirties, occasionally giving a sizable Sunday crowd something to cheer with their crisp strokes, and steering the game to its tedious conclusion.