Gill, Shaw tons help India sew up series

ScorecardFile photo – Shubman Gill’s second consecutive century included 23 fours and a six•PTI

The India Under-19s started the series with a sub-par batting performance at the Wankhede Stadium. As the series has progressed though, their batting has consistently improved. On Monday morning, a few hours after a sensational comeback win by the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 51, India’s batsmen put on a show there was no coming back from for the England Under-19s. Shubman Gill and Prithvi Shaw struck belligerent tons to lift India to 382 for 9, their second-highest total at this level, sealing a 231-run win in the fourth ODI to take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series.Despite plenty of grass on the surface, run-scoring didn’t prove to be difficult even with an early start. Gill and Himanshu Rana got stuck into their work from the outset, keeping out a few good deliveries and putting away plenty of bad ones. Lulled in by the colour of the pitch, England’s seamers bowled far too short. The India openers were unforgiving, using wayward bowling to race to another brisk fifty-run stand, off 48 balls.Rana was dismissed by left-arm spinner Liam Patterson-White in the 16th over, for 33 off 50 balls. His innings may seem like a dawdle but in the big picture, he had done his job, weathering the toughest phase of the day. Gill and Shaw then combined to lay waste to an increasingly tiring attack. Gill was strong on the pull, hammering plenty of cross-bat strokes through midwicket and square leg. There was even a short-arm slap between mid-on and midwicket.Gill got to his fifty off 48 balls, and Shaw in 36 deliveries. Subsequently, Gill took the onus of run-scoring and Shaw played anchor. Gill needed just 33 balls to move from fifty to hundred while Shaw used 45; both batsmen reached their hundreds off 81 deliveries. None of England’s boundary-stalling strategies worked; the pitch was evenly paced and the bowling too inconsistent. Shaw got to his hundred with a whip through midwicket for one, and celebrated by tapping the back of his jersey with his bat.At the start of the 41st over, Gill danced down and smashed an offbreak from Max Holden over long-on for six. He was dropped at cover off the next ball, skewing a drive that was just out of reach of the backtracking fielder. In the same over, India reached 300. Gill was finally dismissed, miscuing a lofted drive to cover, for 160 off 120 balls, an innings that featured 23 fours and a six. Shaw holed out three balls later: a juggled catch by Louis Shaw at long-on, for an 89-ball 105.England’s slight opening was quickly shut by brisk cameos from India’s middle order. Abhishek Sharma struck two big sixes off Delray Rawlins over midwicket in his 10-ball 24, before he was caught at short fine leg attempting another. India plundered 132 runs in the last 15 overs.In reply, England were never really in the contest. Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi removed England’s top four within nine overs. Harry Brook was adjudged lbw in the second over, to his disbelief. Two balls later, George Bartlett wafted at a wide delivery and was caught behind. Mavi got through Tom Banton’s defense in the next over, uprooting the middle stump. Rawlins, England’s best batsman of the series, mis-timed a pull and was caught at mid-off. By then, England slumped to 41 for 4.With the game all but gone, Ollie Pope used the opportunity to strike a fluent 59. He was excellent at using width to cut through point, both in front of and behind the fielder. Holden, who was demoted to No. 6, struggled to score against the spinners. He was bowled, playing around a legbreak from Rahul Chahar, for 17. Will Jacks hit an enterprising 44 off 49 balls, including a massive six over midwicket that landed in the second tier. Nagarkoti finished with 4 for 31, while fast bowler Vivekanand Tiwari returned 3 for 20.

Mohanty's five-for sinks Assam; Baroda, Vidarbha win big

An unbeaten 206-run partnership between opener Anurag Sarangi (104*) and Govinda Poddar (100*) took Odisha to a nine-wicket win against Assam at Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla. The win – Odisha’s first of the tournament – was orchestrated by fast bowler Basant Mohanty, whose five wickets in the first innings helped bowl Assam out for 207, before their batsmen chased down the target with ease.Mohanty, who returned career-best List A figures of 5 for 26, was assisted by Deepak Behera’s three wickets to trouble Assam’s batsmen from the start. While captain Arun Karthik’s 73-ball 56 and Jamaluddin Syed Mohammad’s 78-ball 53 took Assam near the 200-run mark, regular wickets at the start, and towards the end meant Assam managed to set Odisha a target of 208. Six Assam batsmen finished with single-digit scores.After Sandeep Pattnaik fell early in Odisha’s innings, Sarangi and Poddar struck 206 runs in 188 balls in an unbeaten stand to remove any hope of an Assam victory. The duo hit 24 fours and four sixes to take Odisha to a with more than 14 overs to spare.Baroda’s bowlers, led by Hardik Pandya (3-26) and Soaeb Tai (3-36), skittled Punjab out for 174 runs to complete a 75-run victory at Delhi’s Karnail Stadium. Punjab crumbled from a position of strength at 125 for 2 – courtesy Gurkeerat Singh’s 62 and Mandeep Singh’s 43 – to being all out 49 runs later, thereby taking Baroda to the top of the group.After fifties from Krunal Pandya (78) and Aditya Waghmode (54) at the top of Baroda’s innings gave them a strong start, four wickets from Baltej Singh and another three from Siddarth Kaul meant Baroda folded for 249 runs. From 193 for 4 in the 43rd over, Baroda managed to add only 56 runs for their last six wickets.Gurkeerat and Singh gave Punjab’s chase the stability it needed at the top, but regular wickets from Hardik, Tai and Atit Sheth (2-24) meant Baroda managed to skittle their opponents out thereafter without much trouble.Half centuries from openers Faiz Fazal (53) and Jitesh Sharma (84) helped Vidarbha easily chase down the 200 target set by Railways to win by eight wickets at Delhi’s Palam A Ground. The duo’s first-wicket stand yielded 117 runs before Ganesh Satish (36*) and Ambati Rayudu (19*) took Vidarbha home with 28 deliveries to spare. This after Railways managed to post 199 courtesy Manjeet Singh’s innings of 54 off 30 deliveries after he came in to bat at No. 10.Akshay Karnewar (3-32) and Ravikumar Thakur (2-47) ran through Railways’ top order while run outs inflicted by YS Thakur and Rajneesh Gurbani meant Railways were struggling at 134 for 9. Manjeet came to the rescue striking three fours and five sixes to help his team post a competitive total their bowlers could look to defend.But the target of 200 was never enough as Fazal’s patient 95-ball 53 and Jitesh’s 114-ball 84 gave Vidarbha the start their other batsmen could carry on from. And carry on they did as Satish and Rayudu saw their team through without any other casualties. The win saw Vidarbha move to second spot, tied on eight points with group leaders Baroda.

Bumrah's kiss of death levels series

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:07

Agarkar: Nehra and Bumrah bowled right ball at right time

Jasprit Bumrah conceded just two runs and took two wickets in the final over to secure India a nerve-shredding victory in the second T20 in Nagpur and level the series at 1-1. Jos Buttler seemed to have struck the decisive blows when he hit the last three balls of the penultimate over for 12 runs, but both he and Joe Root were dismissed by Bumrah as England fell short.With Root and Ben Stokes well-set and 32 required off the last four, India broke through via Ashish Nehra. Bumrah then conceded three runs off the 18th over, as his slower ball proved almost impossible to hit. Nehra’s final over was taken for 16, Buttler just clearing Virat Kohli’s jump at long-on for a six that brought England’s requirement down to eight from six balls, before Bumrah provided the kiss of death.England could have sealed the series, but, as the pitch slowed down, so did they. Root anchored the chase, as he did in Kanpur, but again struggled for fluency, although he had cause to feel aggrieved after being given out lbw despite an inside edge. Bumrah then removed Buttler’s leg stump and Moeen Ali swiped at thin air with six needed off the final ball as India held on in front of a tense home crowd at the VCA Stadium.

Mishra’s 200

  • 1 Number of lower first innings totals defended by India in T20Is than the 144 in this match. They won after posting 138 against Zimbabwe last year. This is only the third time in 13 attempts that India have won defending targets of 150 or less.

  • 4 Runs conceded by Jasprit Bumrah in his last two overs, also taking two wickets. He gave three runs in the 18th over and one run in the 20th over.

  • 71 Runs made by KL Rahul – the highest by an India batsman against England in T20Is, beating Virender Sehwag’s 68 in the 2007 World T20.

  • 3/28 Ashish Nehra’s figures, his best in 12 T20Is in India. This was his fourth three-wicket haul in T20Is and first at home.

  • 2 Amit Mishra joined R Ashwin as one of two India bowlers to take 200 T20 wickets. Eoin Morgan was Mishra’s 200th scalp.

KL Rahul was the only player to record a fifty in the match, and his 47-ball 71 featured some of the most fluent batting of the night. Rahul was one of only three India batsmen to reach double-figures as they struggled to break free, with Chris Jordan claiming three key wickets for England, but their total of 144 for 8 ultimately proved to be enough.As in the first T20, England’s attack put in an intelligent performance to prevent India from reaching 150. Moeen did not concede a boundary during an immaculate four-over spell, and Jordan removed Rahul, as well as the twin pillars of Kohli and MS Dhoni, to finish with 3 for 22. His final over, during which there were two run-outs, cost just five runs as he repeatedly thwarted Dhoni – though Bumrah’s finishing was even better.Recognising this was a slower surface – Eoin Morgan called it “a really Indian wicket” at the toss – England included a third spinner in Liam Dawson and both sides tailored their plans accordingly. Dawson opened the bowling for England with an over that cost just five, while Yuvzendra Chahal sent down three-quarters of his allocation in the Powerplay.Sam Billings and Jason Roy each struck Chahal for six in the third over of the chase, but England’s openers were dismissed by consecutive deliveries from Nehra. Kohli then focused on spin to try and push up the asking rate, before dew rendered the ball difficult to grip, with Amit Mishra and Suresh Raina delivering eight overs in tandem. Mishra had Morgan caught at the boundary, but then committed a cardinal sin as Stokes survived what would have been a golden duck thanks to a front-foot no-ball.Still, like India’s batsmen before them, England were finding run-scoring hard. Of the 10 T20Is previously played at the VCA Stadium, only three had been won by the chasing side; India had themselves fallen victim a year ago, in their opening match at the World T20, when New Zealand defended a meagre-looking total of 126 with room to spare.England’s advantage seemed to be in the power at their disposal and Stokes’ reprieve was put into sharper focus when he struck Raina down the ground for six and four to start the 14th over, just as the required rate had gone above nine an over. Another muscular heave off Chahal comfortably cleared long-on to bring up England’s hundred, but Nehra trapped him with a slower ball to precipitate the late slide.That the bowlers would hold greater sway in Nagpur was evident early on. Kohli targeted a fast start and struck three boundaries – including one imperious six off Tymal Mills – but should have been given out lbw on 7 when Jordan pinned him in front of middle and leg. He departed soon after, trying to clear the infield again, having scored 21 of the first 30.Rahul’s initial contributions had been limited to nudges for one or two but he registered his first four from Jordan’s next ball, rifling a drive over extra cover, and began to find his touch against the spinners. India had finished the Powerplay reasonably well-placed on 46 for 1, but Moeen and Adil Rashid followed up with three boundary-less overs, which also saw the removal of Raina to an ungainly slog-sweep. Rahul broke the shackles by smacking a Rashid full toss into the crowd at deep midwicket.India stalled again as Moeen gave Yuvraj Singh a working over before dismissing him lbw, but Rahul struck Dawson for six and four in an over that cost 15, then took two more boundaries off Rashid to bring up the hundred in the 14th over. Rahul and Manish Pandey added 56 together, but the going was tough as England reverted to seam and the full chocolate box of variations.The last six overs saw England concede just two boundaries – one a thick-edged Rahul four off Stokes, the other Pandey crashing Mills over long-on – as India added 39 for 5. Rahul picked out deep midwicket trying to kick on and Pandey was bowled by Mills’ slower ball but, even though Jordan silenced Dhoni, Bumrah had the final word.

PCB set to take legal action against BCCI

The PCB has decided to take legal action against the BCCI for not agreeing to play two of Pakistan’s home series and not fulfilling the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) they had signed in 2014. The PCB will seek compensation from the Indian board and also confirmed that Pakistan would not tour India next year as scheduled in the FTP because the cycle of bilateral fixtures had to start with Pakistan as hosts.The last scheduled series between the two countries, in December 2015, was scrapped amid political tensions though the PCB kept the window open to fulfill the commitment. The PCB had offered India the choice of the UAE or Sri Lanka as a venue but India neither agreed to nor denied the proposal.”Our board has authorised us to take legal action against BCCI for not fulfilling their MoU,” PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan told reporters after the governing board meeting in Karachi. “They had signed to play six series in eight years, out of which two have already been missed. So now we are preparing a case against them so that we can say clearly that we deserve to be compensated.”We are also involving the ICC in the case because they were party to our bilateral agreement and they were the witness to our signing. Now it’s their responsibility to support us and settle our losses.”ESPNcricinfo understood that the PCB would send a legal notice to the BCCI and is likely to engage lawyers to pursue the matter in London. The PCB was encouraged to take a legal route only after the ICC recently awarded six points to the Pakistan women’s team after the BCCI failed to establish “acceptable reasons” for not participating in the planned bilateral series, which was a part of the ICC Women’s Championship.”We did try to talk to them in meetings but never got a response so our patience ran out,” Najam Sethi, the head of the PCB’s executive committee, said at the same press conference. “So in the recent meeting we had intimated them that if it won’t go ahead we have no other option but to move on … enough is enough. When I signed the agreement I gave a roughly-estimated figure that these four series are going to fetch us $150-200 million, so we are suffering huge losses.”According to the PCB, the BCCI had signed an MoU in 2014 to play six series with Pakistan between 2015 and 2023, with the first to be hosted by the PCB at a mutually agreed neutral venue. As has often happened in the past, strained political tensions put the series in doubt. The last full series between the countries, including Tests and ODIs, was when Pakistan toured India in 2007. Since then Pakistan have played only one limited-overs series in India, in 2012-2013, and the teams have only met in multi-nation competitions and ICC tournaments. India’s refusal to play has cost the PCB, according to the board’s estimate, over $80 million in terms of broadcasting and other commercial deals.The PCB had agreed to the proposed ICC revamp – pushed through by India, England and Australia in 2014 – on the condition that it would be included in bilateral series against all Full Members, including India, in the new cycle. According to Sethi, the PCB president at that time, the board estimated Rs 30 billion (around $310m) from the bilateral agreements, including four series against India.

Darren Bravo sent home from Zimbabwe tri-series

The WICB has replaced batsman Darren Bravo in the West Indies squad for the ODI tri-series in Zimbabwe with Jason Mohammed. The announcement came a day after Bravo reacted on Twitter to WICB chairman Dave Cameron’s interview, where he had said Bravo was offered a grade C contract due to his slipping batting average.”It is explicit that if your averages are not above a certain level it tells you what contracts you get. It is very, very explicit,” Cameron had told SportsMax TV, a Caribbean television network. “His averages in the last two years have been declining, so what do you do? Reward poor performance or do you encourage him to get better?”Bravo responded with a tweet saying he had never been offered a Grade-A contract. “You hav been failing 4 d last 4yrs. Y don’t u resign and FYI I’ve neva been given an A contract. Big idiot @davec51,” he tweeted.

Updated West Indies squad

Jason Holder (capt), Sulieman Benn, Devendra Bishoo, Carlos Brathwaite, Kraigg Brathwaite, Jonathan Carter, Johnson Charles, Miguel Cummins, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shai Hope, Evin Lewis, Jason Mohammed, Ashley Nurse, Rovman Powell

A WICB release said Bravo had been “replaced due to inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour, which is contrary to his contractual obligations to the WICB”. A clause in his “match/tour contract”, the release said, “clearly states not to make any statement in or to any form of media (which shall include, without limitation, print media, television, radio, internet or any social networking media), or any other public statement, which would bring yourself, WICB or any official or authorised representative of WICB or the game of cricket into disrepute, and your agreement to use all such media in a responsible manner.”Bravo was West Indies’ second-highest run getter in the recently concluded Test series against Pakistan in the UAE. Before that, he had a poor Test series against India at home, scoring only 139 runs in seven innings. Since November 2014, Bravo scored 1089 runs in 17 Tests for West Indies, a tally that is second to Kraigg Brathwaite’s 1258 runs in 20 matches.Mohammed had captained West Indies A in their limited-overs series in Sri Lanka last month, scoring a fifty and a hundred in his side’s 3-0 clean sweep. A middle-order batsman, he has played two ODIs for West Indies, the last of which came a year ago, also in Sri Lanka.The WICB release also said offspinner Sunil Narine would be returning home due to personal reasons, and he will be replaced by legspinner Devendra Bishoo.West Indies had initially named their squad for the series – which also includes Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka – on October 13. On November 4, they had announced an updated squad, with wicketkeeper-batsman Shane Dowrich and fast bowler Miguel Cummins brought into the 15, replacing experienced batsman Marlon Samuels and teenage fast bowler Alzarri Joseph. West Indies play their first game of the series on November 16, against Sri Lanka, in Harare.

Edgbaston to host England-West Indies day-night Test

England will play their first day-night Test match at home next year, the ECB has confirmed. The first Test of West Indies’ tour, at Edgbaston on August 17-21, will be contested under lights with a pink ball in a move designed to try and increase attendances and drive interest in the oldest form of the game.Tom Harrison, the ECB’s chief executive, said it was worth experimenting in order to try and “make cricket more accessible to new audiences”. So far, the only Test played under lights with a pink ball was between Australia and New Zealand at Adelaide last November, although a second, between Pakistan and West Indies in the UAE, will take place this month. Another two are scheduled for the forthcoming Australian summer.”It’s a great opportunity to build on a lot of the thinking and the strategy that has been going on for the last 12 months,” Harrison said. “It’s been all about new audiences and doing all we could to make the game more accessible at every level, and this gives us an opportunity to find out if Test cricket played at a different time of day, under certain conditions, in a city centre at a time of year where people possibly don’t get to go to the all day game – we’ll see if that has a dramatic impact on attendance.”It’s also outside London, so there’s more opportunity to see an impact of day-night cricket. England historically love playing at Edgbaston, it’s a great venue. We are taking an open and hopeful view and are expectant that it will have an impact on our market as we look to make cricket more accessible to new audiences.”Harrison added it was important to “embrace opportunities when they come”. Warwickshire held a trial in a 2nd XI game in August, which was deemed a success despite some issues with the deterioration of the pink ball (both Dukes and Kookaburra varieties). The club were unable to hold further tests in a first-class match but, with tickets due to go on sale next week, they have agreed to take the plunge for next summer.”Bringing day-night Test cricket to England is an innovative and very exciting development for the game, and we’re thrilled that Edgbaston will be the first venue to host a match played in this format,” Neil Snowball, Warwickshire’s chief executive, said.”Edgbaston staged the UK’s first day-night domestic match in 1997 and has a great history of hosting and selling out some of the biggest fixtures in the game. In turn, the Edgbaston atmosphere and match-day experience has become iconic, with England having a fantastic record of victories here.”Playing hours for the Test have been provisionally scheduled from 2pm until 9pm, with the final session set to take place under floodlights as the sun goes down. Dukes will continue to supply the ball; those used in the 2nd XI match at Edgbaston, in contrast to the Kookaburra version, featured a dark seam.”I’m sure it will drive some new thinking in the way that tickets are sold and I’m sure it will have an impact on the ability of families to come and watch cricket,” Harrison said. “It’s a sincere drive and strategy to make cricket as accessible as possible, particularly for young people. To create a Test cricket audience among young people.”Cricket Australia has been the board most enthusiastic about day-night Tests and it is likely that the 2017-18 Ashes could feature a pink-ball game – although the current captains, Alastair Cook and Steven Smith, have expressed reservations. “It’s useful to have one before we go to Australia,” Harrison said. “Giving guys the chance to play with a pink ball under lights, before an Ashes Test in similar conditions. It’s a good opportunity to stick a stake in the ground to say we are keen to innovate.”Player concerns about the conditions required to keep the pink ball from deteriorating were a feature of the Adelaide Test, where an unusually grassy surface was prepared and the match was over inside three days. Harrison said the ECB was “comfortable with the development of the ball”, which has been tested extensively by the MCC – who first proposed the idea – notably in the Champion County match at the start of the English season.He added that the England and West Indies players had been assured they will be given opportunities to prepare for playing under lights. West Indies’ third three-day tour match, which takes place in Derby the week before the first Test, will be played as a day-night match.”Players have taken some time to get around this,” Harrison said. “It’s not a new concept in terms of global international cricket and many boards are looking at ways to introduce this and as they have gone down this journey they have looked at all the things that need to come together, like lux levels at grounds, local council approval, public transport. They are all different in the day-night scenario. There is a bit more work to do, but we can start to get excited.”I’m sure we will convert those who are less than convinced about it. We will work hard to make sure we are not treading on traditions here. In London we put a Test match on and it sells out. Outside London it’s not as simple as that. Maybe this helps bring in some of those new communities that haven’t been to Edgbaston before. There will be a lot of marketing about, in a very busy summer for us across all formats.”

Mishra impressed by India's new-look bowling attack

Amit Mishra is one of three men over 30 in India’s squad for the ODIs against New Zealand. He is the leader of the spin attack, yet he has played only 33 matches, six more than the second spinner Axar Patel. He came into the series having not played any ODI cricket since October 2015, and may well go out once the resting R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja return.But with six wickets in two games, including that of Kane Williamson, New Zealand’s century-maker in Delhi, Mishra has done his prospects no harm. He is on top of the bowling charts, and is in demand for bowling tips.”Whenever youngsters come and ask me, I give them advice,” Mishra said. “It happens during the games too, and in meetings if I feel I can share something. I don’t add any unnecessary pressure, but whenever I have felt the need to offer small tips, I do. I am really enjoying this duty of supporting youngsters.”Mishra is enjoying a dynamic where he shares his knowledge with the side and learns from coach Anil Kumble at the same time.”Anil is very helpful. When I didn’t play in a Test match, he would still tell me how to bowl, what pace I need to bowl for a wicket, what field I should bowl to and what are the strengths of the batsman. His experience has been helpful not just for me, but for everyone. Despite being a bowler himself, he shares batting tips to the tailenders which will be helpful in crucial matches, as to how to bat when you have a proper batsman around you.”When asked if his patchy batting form could be a reason for him not finding a permanent place in the limited-overs side, Mishra smiled and suggested he had no clue. He did concede that he played a “bad shot” in the Delhi ODI which India lost by six runs. Needing 60 to win off 55 balls and only two wickets in hand, Mishra went for a slog sweep against part-time bowler Martin Guptill and was caught off a top-edge.”It was the requirement of the match,” he said. “At that time, if I’d played positively against the spinner maybe it would have helped the team but if he hadn’t caught we could have finished the game maybe even with two overs to spare. Next time, I will look to take my time before trying to finish the game.”Mishra, though, was pleased with the way a young bowling attack has been able to have plans at the ready to combat various situations. “Whenever we need to put pressure, we try and apply it or take wickets,” he said. “Maybe sometimes all the strategies don’t work, but our second line of defence has always been good and it works.”As spinners we always talk about going for wickets irrespective of situation. Sometimes the situation is such that we have to take a step back, like during the last game. We have two plans all the time, sometimes we go back, reassess and go to Plan B. This time also we will always head into the game with two or three plans. So even if the second doesn’t work, the third will.”

Jadeja's five-for takes India Blue a step closer to Duleep title

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo – Ravindra Jadeja wheeled away for 34 overs, extracting sharp turn and bounce on a tiring Greater Noida surface•AFP

Ravindra Jadeja’s five-wicket haul led a persistently probing bowling effort from India Blue on a day when they were made to work harder than they would have expected to plough their way through India Red’s batting line-up. That was partly down to the pitch – which offered sluggish turn, rather than the spitting variety – and partly down to sparkling fifties from Gurkeerat Singh, Stuart Binny, Amit Mishra and Kuldeep Yadav. India Red’s spirited lower-order resistance frustrated India Blue and delighted a sizeable Monday crowd, but had little impact on the broader outcome of the match as they subsided to 356, conceding a first-innings lead of 337.Jadeja consistently attacked the stumps and turned the ball past desperately groping bats. His speed through the air – averaging over 90kph – was considerably faster than that of any other spinner, denying the batsmen time to adjust to the turn. Bowling 34 overs in the day, he made good use of a sticky surface and dented India Red’s fightback with the key wickets of Gurkeerat and Binny.India Blue could have removed the lower order more swiftly if Jadeja’s fellow spinners, Parvez Rasool and Karn Sharma had been more effective. Legspinner Karn was inconsistent with his line and length, alternating patches of incisiveness with periods that were less convincing. Offspinner Rasool had a good start to the day, troubling Shikhar Dhawan and Yuvraj Singh with offbreaks and straighter ones. Against the right-handers who followed, however, he was not as threatening as he might have liked.The most impressive spinners after Jadeja were the ones wielding bats. Mishra came in at 194 for 6, and was immediately kept company by nine close-in fielders. He, however, responded by lofting Jadeja back over his head for four. Mishra combined with Kuldeep for an 86-run partnership for the eighth wicket that temporarily brought the third session to life and restored some respectability to India Red’s innings.The reason respectability needed restoring was the limp showing of the India Red top order. Dhawan and Yuvraj managed some lovely drives in the first session, but those were far outnumbered by tentative pokes and speculative swishes. While they struggled most against Rasool, they ultimately perished to over-ambitious strokes against Abhimanyu Mithun and Jadeja.Dhawan, in particular, might rue his untimely indiscretion. His patchy 29 in his penultimate – possibly his last – innings before India’s first Test against New Zealand from September 22, puts him in a tight spot as India’s selectors mull which of three possible openers – M Vijay and KL Rahul are the others – to select in the playing XI.Jadeja, meanwhile, worked his way into fine rhythm in the second session, ending a 63-run stand for the fifth wicket between Gurkeerat and Binny when he dismissed Gurkeerat for 57 with a beauty that drifted into middle before turning away to hit off stump. Binny then put on 64 with Ankush Bains, before Jadeja ended that partnership too when he had Bains caught at second slip. The most decisive breakthrough, though, came minutes before the dinner break when Jadeja pitched one on leg stump and spun it away to hit Binny’s back pad in front of middle. That ended a knock that had been gaining in momentum and poise, and left Binny an agonising two runs short of a century.Mishra and Kuldeep counterattacked in the third session of the day, but Karn eventually dismissed both to end the innings. Riding on a huge lead, Gautam Gambhir and Mayank Agarwal played out the remaining two overs and headed to stumps with their side firmly in control.

Ervine century leads Hants rearguard after Overton maiden ton

ScorecardCraig Overton completed his maiden first-class hundred•Getty Images

Hampshire held on for a draw in their Specsavers’ County Championship game against Somerset at Taunton thanks to a spot of good fortune and a stand of 159 between Sean Ervine and Jimmy Adams.Needing 249 in their second innings to avoid an innings defeat, the visitors finished the day on 254 for 5.However, they had to ride their luck on several occasions over the course of the final day, with Ervine, who helped himself to a century, dropped three times during an innings that, in the end, was the difference.The day began with Craig Overton surviving a near run out, when on 99, to celebrate his maiden first class hundred off 123 balls, with 10 fours.Overton, who with Roelof van der Merwe broke the county’s record eighth wicket partnership in the Championship, which had stood since 1983 when Ian Botham and Viv Richards put on 172 against Leicestershire at Grace Road, batted with typical aggression to reach 138.When the young Devonian finally departed, caught on the mid wicket boundary by Adams off the bowling of Mason Crane, Somerset captain Chris Rogers declared. Van der Merwe, who passed three figures off 137 balls, with seven fours and two sixes, was left unbeaten on 102.Overton’s early morning runs meant Hampshire required 249 in their second innings to make Somerset bat again. When opener Will Smith departed for 0, off 12 balls, lbw to Jack Leach, that initial target looked a long way off.Ervine and Adams joined forces and managed to steer Hampshire to lunch, albeit somewhat fortuitously. Ervine, who was quick to punish the short ball, was dropped by wicket keeper Ryan Davies, on 43, off the bowling of captain Jim Allenby, in the final over before the interval.The 32 year-old Zimbabwean made the most of that mistake and having been dropped again, on 78, by Overton, he went on to reach three figures off 148 balls. He was dropped again, on 100, before finally departing for 106 at 165 for 2.Adams, who was understandably watchful on a wicket that continued to turn, posted his half century off 169 balls with six fours.However, after tea and with the game seemingly drifting, Hampshire suffered a double blow when James Vince (13) and Adam Wheater (0) were dismissed by van der Merwe in the same over. Sensing their chance, Somerset pushed on in pursuit of the wicket of Adams which finally fell, at 251 for 5, caught by Marcus Trescothick off the bowling of Leach, who now has 45 first class wickets this season.Somerset made one final push, but Hampshire held their nerve and when the sides shook hands, Hampshire were 254 for 5.

Dassanayake shortlisted for USA coach

Former Sri Lanka cricketer Pubudu Dassanayake, who coached Nepal from 2011 to 2015, has been shortlisted as a finalist for the job of USA’s head coach. Dassanayake, who lives close to Toronto, said he is looking for a challenge close to home after spending several years away with the Nepal side.”Nepal, they were from Division Four to Division One and played a World Cup and I want to do the same for USA,” Dassanayake told ESPNcricinfo in Florida where he is participating in an ICC coaching seminar. “I think it’s a great place. There are great opportunities, a lot of talent in this country. I’d really like to see them come up the ranks and be in that World Cup setup.”Prior to his success with Nepal, Dassanayake coached Canada from 2007 to 2011, and helped them to the 2011 ODI World Cup in the sub-continent, Canada’s last major ICC event. Dassanayake also played for Canada after migrating from Sri Lanka following the end of his Test career and played in the 2005 World Cup Qualifier in Ireland.His ties to North American cricket make him a strong contender for the role. While coach of Nepal, Dassanayake racked up an impressive record against USA in ICC competitions, losing just once – at the 2013 ICC WCL Division Three in Bermuda – in six meetings.Anand Tummala, former USA and Ranji Trophy representative, is also in contention for the post. Tummala played briefly for Delhi before migrating to Atlanta in 2007. He made his only tour with USA in 2011, playing three T20s, including games against Canada and Afghanistan. Tummala, who is a Level Three Cricket Australia certified coach, also served as a guest coaching evaluator at last year’s ICC Americas Combine in Indianapolis. Tummala has also been in Florida this week as part of the ICC coaching seminar.Both Tummala and Dassanayake attended USA’s first training session in their week-long camp which began on Thursday, and will also be present at an exhibition match on Friday between a USA XI and a CPL Invitational XI in Lauderhill.Although the ICC wouldn’t comment on the applications, there are believed to be at least two more finalists with interviews beginning on Friday. USA will play three 50-over intra-squad trial matches in Florida next week among a 30-man squad, after which 14 will be selected for ICC WCL Division Four in Los Angeles from October 29 to November 5.

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