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India’s captain mocked those asking for Rahane’s inclusion in the XI, claiming that “no one” had wanted him to play in the last Test

Sidharth Monga in Centurion12-Jan-20182:23

‘No one expected Rahane in the XI’ – Kohli

To some Ajinkya Rahane was a shock exclusion from the first Test – he has the best overseas record among the current India batsmen – but to Virat Kohli it was no surprise at all. On the eve of the second Test, Kohli actually mocked those asking for Rahane’s inclusion in the XI. Kohli felt “no one” wanted Rahane to play the last Test.”It’s funny how things change in a matter of weeks, or just about five days,” Kohli said on the eve of the second Test. “Before the first Test, no one thought that he should be in the XI, and now suddenly people are looking at the other option. For us as a team, it’s all about finding the right balance. If players fit in in the kind of balance we want to go with as a side, then they will fit in. We certainly don’t go on opinions that are created outside, and ‘talk of the town’, and all those sort of things.”Having said that, Kohli acknowledged Rahane’s importance as a batsman.”He’s a quality player, he’s done well in South Africa. [In] all conditions, actually, away from home,” Kohli said of Rahane. “He’s probably been our most consistent and solid player away from home. I explained the reasons why Rohit [Sharma] started ahead of him. I’m not saying that Ajinkya cannot or will not start in this game. Possibilities are all open at the moment and we shall decide after practice.”One of the left-field options is to make Parthiv Patel open the innings, thus freeing a middle-order slot for Rahane. As things stand, Hardik Pandya has made himself undroppable through his performance, and it will be unfair – now that he has been picked – to drop Rohit after one Test. If Rahane has to play, Parthiv has to be brought in. It is not a fanciful thought: in the lead-up to the Test, the support staff has been putting in a lot of work on Parthiv’s keeping and batting, and the same continued on the eve of the Test.Kohli continued to ask for improvement from his other batsmen as he felt the bowlers had done a decent job of bringing India back into the contest in Cape Town. “We are very happy with the way the bowlers went about the business,” Kohli said. “The batting didn’t come out well so I’m not worried on the bowling front at all. We have been in a very good space, and we believe we can get them out twice again in this game.”You definitely need that to win Test matches but you also need a solid batting performance. Especially when you are playing away from home, you need that 60-70-80 extra runs compared to back home because there your bowlers will be stronger. But the way they (bowlers) showed their skill sets and their character in the first game, it motivated us as a batting group also to support them and play together as a unit and get some good results out there.”One of the things Kohli asked of his batsmen was more intent. He was asked to elaborate what he meant by that.”Intent doesn’t really mean that you have to go out there and start playing shots from ball one,” Kohli said. “Intent is there in a leave. Intent is there in defending as well. Intent is about being vocal out there in calling. All those things count as intent. Just the way your body language, the way you are thinking about the game. It gets portrayed in your body language. People can tell if you are playing with intent or not.”There will be tough moments but I think even the tough moments one needs to overcome through intent. Defending or leaving the ball, you need precise footwork to do that. And that only comes with a clear head and a positive intent in your head. That’s how I look at things. Even if I’m going to leave the ball, I need to do it with intent. My stride should be big enough to leave the ball, or defend it. So in my head I’m feeling positive about those things. Being positive doesn’t mean you are scoring every ball. But it’s understanding that you are in control of what you want to do. That’s how I break down intent.”Kohli said there was no need for panic yet. “I don’t think we need to panic because of collapses,” he said. “People need to apply themselves much better. Whether we are playing five batsmen or six, you still need to apply yourself. It doesn’t mean that if you are playing six batters, you can afford to go out and play loose shots. You still need to have a solid technique and go out there and be ready to face bowling spells which are going to be difficult. We need to embrace that.”

The incident could end up attracting the attention of match officials, already alert to such moments in a series that is not short of them

Firdose Moonda in Port Elizabeth09-Mar-20184:02

Holding: Rabada needs to control himself a little bit

Kagiso Rabada’s shoulder brush with and send-off of Steven Smith could end up attracting the attention of match officials, already alert to such moments in a series that is – even at just over one-Test old – not short of them. Nathan Lyon, David Warner and Quinton de Kock have all been sanctioned after the first Test, though potential consequences for Rabada could be graver. The match referee, Jeff Crowe, is expected to make a ruling on the incident on Saturday morning.Rabada found reverse swing shortly before tea and angled a length ball in at middle stump towards a shuffling Smith, who was struck on the back pad, in front of middle stump. Smith was given out on-field by Kumar Dharmasena and, in celebration, Rabada continued in his follow-through, shouting “Yes, yes,” in Smith’s direction. With Smith directly in his line of movement, Rabada’s shoulder made contact with that of the Australian captain.Smith reviewed but began walking as soon as replays showed where he had been hit. Rabada went on to take four more wickets, claiming five in the space of 18 balls, either side of the tea interval, to scythe through Australia’s middle order, and made considerable use of the reverse-swinging ball. He also had a small word with Mitchell Starc, the last of the five wickets to fall.Rabada came into this fixture already on notice – he currently has five demerit points to his name and another three will see him sit out two Tests; a tally of eight demerit points within a 24-month period attracts such a penalty as per ICC rules.Rabada’s rap sheet dates back to February last year when he picked up three demerit points and a 50% match fee fine after a shoulder shove to Sri Lanka’s Niroshan Dickwella in an ODI. He then earned a another demerit point in July, when he swore at Ben Stokes after dismissing him at Lord’s during the first Test between South Africa and England. Rabada missed the second Test at Trent Bridge as a result; four demerit points lead to a ban of one Test or two limited-overs games, whichever comes first, while eight demerit points result in double the penalty. Each demerit point stays on a player’s record for a period of 24 months, staying active even after the four-point threshold is broken.This year, Rabada added a fifth point to his name when he gave Shikhar Dhawan a send-off during an ODI at St George’s Park last month. Replays showed Rabada waving goodbye to Dhawan and then telling him to “f*** off”.While the punishment for both his verbal transgressions amounted to only one demerit point, physical contact, which is deemed inappropriate and deliberate, falls under a Level 2 offence. If found guilty of such a charge, a minimum of three demerit points are applied. That would take Rabada to eight, which would mean he misses the rest of the Australia series.This series has already been marred by three instances of players committing code of conduct offences. Lyon was fined 15% of his match fee and received one demerit point for dropping a ball close to AB de Villiers when he was run out in Durban, Warner was fined 75% of his match fee and earned three demerit points for his role in the stairwell saga that has dominated headlines between Tests, and de Kock was fined 25% of his match fee and earned one demerit point for his part in the same.

Surprised by the outcome, the Australia captain has declared the appeal verdict sets a troubling standard for allowable physical contact in the game

Daniel Brettig in Cape Town21-Mar-20183:24

Brettig: Can sense surprise over Rabada decision from Australia

Australia captain Steven Smith has declared that the Kagiso Rabada appeal verdict sets a troubling standard for allowable physical contact in the game. He also indicated that Australia’s long-time policy of not contesting the charges of ICC match referees may well change after South Africa’s successful legal challenge.Clearly surprised by the outcome, Smith questioned why he had not been asked for his version of events as the other party in the incident, for which the match referee Jeff Crowe had found Rabada guilty of making “inappropriate and deliberate” physical contact with the batsman after dismissing him on day one of the Port Elizabeth Test. Either way, Smith said a precedent had been set.”The ICC have set the standard, haven’t they? There was clearly contact out in the middle,” Smith said in Cape Town ahead of Thursday’s third Test. “I certainly won’t be telling my bowlers to go out there and after you take a wicket go and get in their space. I don’t think that is on and part of the game.”I certainly think he bumped me a little bit harder than it actually looked on the footage. It didn’t bother me too much. I guess the emotion after you get out you don’t really … he’s won the battle. What’s the point of over-celebrating? And getting in the face of a batter, you’ve already won the battle. But they’ve obviously decided what’s deliberate contact and what’s not, and apparently it wasn’t.”Since 2011, Australia have only once asked for a hearing to contest a sanction, ironically for physical contact between Mitchell Johnson and Ben Stokes when Crowe was also presiding as match referee, and chose to drop the charges against both players for their mid-pitch collision during the 2013 Adelaide Test. However, Smith said the Rabada case had changed the landscape considerably, both in terms of allowing physical contact and opening up the possibility of further challenges.”You always want your best players available to play so maybe, particularly now that we know people can get off, that’s for sure. That’s a possibility in the future,” Smith said. “They obviously appealed this one and it looked like a pretty long process in the courtroom. But if you see guys getting off then perhaps guys will appeal a bit more in the future to try and get off certain things.”Looking at the code of conduct process, Smith said he was mystified as to why he was never called to give his account of the confrontation.”The other person involved not getting asked about it is pretty interesting, I thought,” Smith said. “You still want to come up against the best players. That’s part of playing the game and Kagiso is No.1 in the world. It was interesting the way things played out and that he was able to get the charge brought down with an appeal.”South Africa’s captain Faf du Plessis was at the hearing and said it was a fair process, before quipping that “I wish I had this judge with me in Australia,” in reference to his previous unsuccessful appeal of a ball-tampering charge in 2016 and the New Zealand QC Michael Heron, who overturned Rabada’s ban. “I think it’s really good for the game, I don’t see a problem where a neutral guy sits and makes a decision and listens to both parties.”I was there and said to our people that even if we didn’t win the case I was very impressed with the judge and how he listened to both sides. He was very fair in the questions he asked. I think the process is good. You should have a platform if you feel you haven’t done something wrong, and have someone who sits in the middle and has a fair, objective point of view of listening to both sides and making a decision. “Du Plessis also disputed Smith’s contention that he should have been called to give evidence. “He wasn’t charged, if he was charged probably he would have been asked, KG was charged so he’s defending himself,” du Plessis said. “The judge has to decide if he sees it as intentional. Nothing I was going to say was going to have any impact on that, I wasn’t even needed to talk. His decision was made on the deciding factor if it was on purpose or not.”Having already met with the incoming match referee Andy Pycroft for the final two Tests of this series, Smith said he would seek further clarification of the appeal decision, and stated that Crowe had the right to feel “annoyed” that his deliberations had been cast aside by the appeals commissioner Michael Heron.”The way he handled both sides throughout the two Test matches, I thought he did a terrific job,” Smith said of Crowe. “I’d be feeling a bit annoyed if I was him, to be perfectly honest.”A new match referee coming in so he wanted to have a chat with the senior players so myself, Davey and Nathan Lyon. I think he’s going to chat to Faf [du Plessis], AB [de Villiers] and Hashim [Amla] as well. Just to ensure that the series is continued to be played in pretty good spirit.”I thought it was pretty good last game, after couple of isolated incidents in the first Test match and just to make sure cricket is still the winner. I might have a chat to him around what’s gone on. Obviously they’ve deemed the contact not to be deliberate and set the line in the sand of what is appropriate and what’s not. We’ll see what he has to say.”As for the “hacked” tweet from the account of Vernon Philander, Smith described claims that he had tried to “draw the contact” from Rabada as “a load of garbage”. However, he said he would ensure his players stayed in line at Newlands, after Cameron Bancroft had indicated the tweet may be used as material with which to go after Philander.”I think that’s a bit over the top,” Smith said. “I was just going down to chat to Shaun [Marsh]. I had just been given out. So trying to see whether I could find a way to still be out in the middle. Unfortunately, I couldn’t. I think that’s all a load of garbage to be honest.”I think we’ve played in a pretty good spirit the last game and again it’s about continuing to play our hard, aggressive brand and making sure we stay within the parameters of the game. Hopefully, we can do that and get ourselves up 2-1 in the series.”

Perry adds unbeaten 76 to first-innings ton, Molineux makes fine debut with bat and ball as Australians secure 8-2 points lead

The Report by Valkerie Baynes21-Jul-2019Australia Women 420 for 9 dec (Mooney 51) and 230 for 7 (Perry 76*) drew with England Women 275 for 9 dec (Sciver 88, Jones 64, Molineux 4-95)As Australia drew their Test with England to retain the Ashes, it was only fitting that Ellyse Perry should still be at the crease late on the final day at Taunton.Perry’s performances have been a shining light in this series, not least in the Test, which ended in the non-defeat the tourists needed after she added an unbeaten 76 to her 116 in the first innings.Almost as appropriate was the fact Sophie Molineux joined Perry until shortly before the captains shook hands on the draw when Australia lost the wicket of Ashleigh Gardner to close with a lead of 335 runs, which demonstrated their dominance of the match, despite the result. Spinning all-rounder Molineux made a stellar debut in the long format, claiming four wickets to destroy England’s hopes of reviving the match after a severely rain-affected second day, and then put on 41 runs in a 50-plus partnership with Perry.On a pitch offering little to anyone, the draw gave Australia eight points to England’s two – they split the four points on offer in the Test – to retain the trophy with six points left to be claimed from the upcoming three T20s.It kept alive Alyssa Healy’s bold claim before arriving in England that Australia would not lose a match in the series and breathed life into the debate about whether women should play five-day Tests. In fact, it raised many questions. Should Australia have been more attacking and pressed for a result, given England’s declaration before lunch while still trailing by 145? Should the women’s game have pitches prepared specifically to promote attacking cricket? Or did the Australians simply do what they needed to do to achieve the result they came for – to win the Ashes.Once the follow-on had been avoided, attention turned to a possible England declaration and, when Jess Jonassen trapped Laura Marsh plumb lbw attempting to sweep for her second wicket of the day – and the innings – then Heather Knight made the call to give her team a crack at the Australian batsmen before lunch.Any sense of damned if she did and damned if she didn’t over denying last batsman Kirstie Gordon the chance to have a swing with Sophie Ecclestone needed to be tempered by the realisation that England’s hopes of winning the match had been placed in peril long before.Similarly Australia were faced with the dilemma of whether to put the match too far beyond doubt to be interesting, or press for victory and, incidentally, an exciting end to the Test.As it happened, two early wickets to Marsh forced Australia to put the shutters up – if they hadn’t already – after Ecclestone had begun for England in fine fashion, threatening with every ball of the first over – a maiden – to Rachael Haynes, opening the batting in place of Nicole Bolton, who had injured her thumb while fielding.Lunch was taken after five overs, by which time Haynes was still not off the mark after facing 15 balls and Healy was not out 13 off 15. Marsh came into the attack at the resumption and struck with her second and sixth deliveries, bowling Healy through the gate with a gem that angled across the right-hander, and then trapping Haynes lbw.At 15 for 2, Meg Lanning and Perry dug in, building a 48-run partnership before Lanning’s remarkable dismissal. Replacing Marsh, debutante spinner Gordon struck in her first over with a full toss which Lanning looked to punish on the on-side but managed to pick out Georgia Elwiss at cover, much to the batsman’s disbelief and, possibly, the bowler’s as well.Ecclestone was rewarded when Beth Mooney tried to slog her over mid-wicket and found a cat-like Tammy Beaumont pouncing on the catch at short leg. By that time, Australia had extended their lead to 250 and Perry had a half-century in sight.Perry, carrying a leg-muscle complaint and who benefited from a favourable but apparently errant lbw decision when on 20, brought up her fifty with a four off Katherine Brunt, who did not return from tea after injuring her right arm while fielding late in the second session. Perry did emerge, with the bat, alongside Jonassen after the break, squashing any hopes of a declaration.Sophie Molineux celebrates a breakthrough•Getty Images

Instead, the height of excitement through the final session was watching Player of the Match Perry in action again, and seeing what Molineux could do with the bat. Gardner also chimed in with the only six of the match before she was out for 7. The only other action of note, and it was certainly not positive, was seeing England wicketkeeper Sarah Taylor struck on the shoulder by an Anya Shrubsole delivery to Perry that spat up off a full length. Taylor remained behind the stumps for some time before leaving the field for treatment, replaced by Amy Jones.Earlier, Jonassen had claimed the wicket of Natalie Sciver, upon whom England’s hopes had fallen late on day three, only growing as she neared her ton. But Sciver added only 26 runs to her overnight score before she was out for 88 chopping on.Molineux had claimed the first wicket of the day when she tempted Shrubsole to try and hit her over the leg side, only to find herself out of her ground for a stumping by Healy. That gave Molineux match figures of 4 for 95.

Sulakshan Kulkarni was supposed to take charge until an ad-hoc committee decided to change the terms of his contract, leading him to decline

Vishal Dikshit27-Aug-2019Mumbai have reappointed Vinayak Samant as their coach in controversial circumstances just before the start of the upcoming domestic season. Samant was retained after former Mumbai coach Sulakshan Kulkarni, who served them from 2011 to 2014, turned the offer down following disagreements with the Mumbai Cricket Association’s (MCA) ad-hoc committee, primarily over the remuneration offered to him.Kulkarni claims that when he was initially interviewed in May for the post by Dilip Vengsarkar, chairman of the MCA’s Cricket Improvement Committee (CIC), he was offered a remuneration of INR 24 lakh for one year, from June 1, 2019 to May 31, 2020, as posted on the MCA website. However, Kulkarni says, the MCA delayed his appointment and sent him a contract in mid-August with an offer of INR 14 lakh, valid from September 2019 to March 2020, which he turned down.”I told them I won’t accept the contract like this if you reduce the amount from 24 to 14 lakh, there’s no chance” Kulkarni told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s not my mistake because I was ready to take up the job on 1st June. The delay was from their side.”Kulkarni was also unhappy that the MCA made this and other changes in the contract without consulting the CIC. Karsan Ghavri, a member of the CIC, said this was unacceptable.”The ad-hoc committee [of the MCA] cannot overrule a decision which has already been made by the CIC,” Ghavri told . “They should have had a meeting with the CIC to discuss the issue [after Kulkarni did not agree to MCA’s contract terms]. If this is how MCA is going to function by taking their own cricketing decisions, then I don’t wish to be on the CIC. I am going to resign in a couple of days.”We [CIC] held several meetings, each lasting for nearly five hours, to interview coaches and support staff for the junior and senior teams. [By appointing Samant] they have not just treated CIC badly, but also the coaches and support staff.”Kulkarni said there were more changes in the contract he was eventually offered, which didn’t make sense to him.”When I was the Mumbai coach in 2011, the daily match allowance was INR 10,000,” he said. “Now, nearly 10 years later, they are offering only INR 5,000 per day. The amount should have actually gone up, there is no common sense in this.”According to Kulkarni, the MCA also reduced the number of leaves offered from 60 to 15 per year and changed “many other” terms and conditions which he “was not ready for”. Kulkarni said he turned the offer down on August 20.Last week, the MCA then went back to Samant, who had also applied for the post in May as he had been appointed only for the 2018-19 season last year. In that season, he helped Mumbai lift the Vijay Hazare Trophy but they then went downhill and failed to qualify for the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals, and couldn’t make the final in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.”Among the main drawbacks last season was that we didn’t have many pace bowlers and established spinners,” Samant told ESPNcricinfo. “We were banking on only a couple of bowlers out of whom Tushar Deshpande was unfit in the second match. To win matches outright, you need to take 20 wickets. And if you don’t have the bowlers to pick up those wickets, then you’re going to suffer. Then that adds further pressure to the batting which was not up to the mark.”Samant started working with the team in Mumbai on Tuesday and will travel with them to Nagpur on September 4 with a 15-man squad for the Bapuna Cup, a pre-season tournament for which they are trying several fringe players. They have named Suryakumar Yadav captain for the tournament as they want to groom him as a leader for whenever regular captain Shreyas Iyer is unavailable because of national duty. Mumbai are also going to try out 19-year-old Arjun Tendulkar, a left-arm quick, before the domestic season begins.”We want to try him and see how effective he is. I saw Arjun at the MPL (Mumbai Premier League), he bowls very well. He bowls quick and is very accurate,” Samant said.”We’re looking to make Surya the captain in Shreyas’ absence. He’s a very good captain. Surya has had some issues in the past but we’re backing him again and grooming him for captaincy.”

The wicketkeeper-batsman also said that Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah struggling for form meant there was greater pressure on the remaining players

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Jul-2019Mushfiqur Rahim said that while defeat against Sri Lanka in Bangladesh’s ongoing ODI series was disappointing, it didn’t mean that the progress Bangladesh had made in the past few years amounted to nothing. Bangladesh lost the second ODI, giving Sri Lanka an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.The loss comes on the back of a World Cup campaign that fizzled out after promising much at the start, with Bangladesh eventually finishing eighth on the table.Against Sri Lanka on Monday, the visiting team were in deep strife at 117 for 6, but Mushfiqur’s unbeaten 98 steered them to a competitive 238 for 8. Mushfiqur was a study in patience as he held back his shots for a long time, ensuring there was no collapse.”It is always disappointing to lose, no matter how many runs I score individually,” Mushfiqur said. “After our World Cup campaign, this series was an opportunity to prove that we are on the right path. Maybe we haven’t been able to do in the last two matches but that doesn’t mean our progress from the last five to seven years will vanish suddenly. We are certainly going through a struggling period, so the challenge is to turn it around quickly. We are all trying our best to make it happen. We have another opportunity in the next match.”Mushfiqur didn’t regret missing out on a century, though if his final-over plan of farming the strike and going big had worked, he might well have done so.”I was trying to get the team to the 250-mark, which wouldn’t have been easy to chase,” he said. “I was trying to keep strike in the last over so that I can retain strike with twos, fours or sixes. Ultimately it is not a problem [to not get to a hundred]. Our focus is to win the next game, because it is a matter of pride.”Mushfiqur agreed that the senior duo of Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah being out of form – their struggles have coincided with Bangladesh losing their last four ODIs – meant greater pressure on the other players. “Tamim and Riyad bhai have been performing for years but when they are not clicking, the pressure is a little more on the other players. Big players can soak up the pressure in big games, and counter-attack,” he said. “I think we are a little behind in that regard, but they are trying heart and soul. The quicker they can come back, it will be better for the team.”

Rajasthan Royals, at the bottom of the league, need substantial contributions from their most expensive players against Kings XI

The Preview by Nikhil Kalro05-May-20184:26

Dasgupta: Kings XI wouldn’t worry about their two losses

Form guide (most recent matches first)

Kings XI Punjab: lost to Mumbai Indians by six wickets, lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad by 13 runs, beat Delhi Daredevils by four runs.
Rajasthan Royals: lost to Delhi Daredevils by four runs (DLS method), lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad by 11 runs, beat Mumbai Indians by three wickets.

Big Picture

Rajasthan Royals spent a combined INR 24 crores on Ben Stokes and Jaydev Unadkat, the most expensive players acquired in the IPL auction. That total spend is 30.6% of Royals’ entire purse. In this season, Unadkat has an economy rate of 10.38 and Stokes 9.80. Stokes has also scored just 148 runs in eight games at an average of 18.50.In business terms, that’s called overvalued stock. In cricket, that translates to an extremely low return on investment and an imbalanced roster. As a result of their two most influential assets not performing, Royals have slipped to the bottom of the points table, with just three wins in eight games.Kings XI, on the other hand, have made valuable investments – Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Chris Gayle and Ankit Rajpoot, for example – and a combination of good returns have held the team in good stead. Despite having five wins in eight games, though, Kings XI still have plenty of work to do at their new home ground, the Holkar Stadium, to ease their way towards a playoffs spot.

In the news

Ajinkya Rahane had strapping on his right knee but looked to be moving well during a fielding drill. Kings XI’s Aaron Finch, dropped for their game against Mumbai Indians, batted for nearly an hour in an optional training session.BCCI

Likely XIs

Kings XI Punjab: 1 Chris Gayle, 2 KL Rahul (wk), 3 Mayank Agarwal, 4 Yuvraj Singh/Manoj Tiwary, 5 Karun Nair, 6 Marcus Stoinis, 7 Axar Patel, 8 R Ashwin (capt), 9 Andrew Tye, 10 Mujeeb Ur Rahman, 11 Ankit RajpootRajasthan Royals: 1 Jos Buttler (wk), 2 Ajinkya Rahane (capt), 3 Sanju Samson, 4 Ben Stokes, 5 Rahul Tripathi, 6 Stuart Binny, 7 K Gowtham, 8 Jofra Archer, 9 Shreyas Gopal, 10 Jaydev Unadkat, 11 Ben Laughlin

Strategy punt

With D’Arcy Short not having found his fluency yet, Royals could push Buttler up to open the batting, like he did in the previous game against Delhi Daredevils. In T20s since 2015, Buttler has a strike rate of 150.5 in the Powerplay, effectively utilising the field restrictions.As an opener in the IPL, Buttler has an average of 30.80 and a strike rate of 167. At any other position, he has an average of 22.10 and a strike rate of 134.40. That could also allow Royals to strengthen their death-bowling resources, by bringing back Ben Laughlin.

Stats that matter

• Kings XI are the most productive batting team in the Powerplay, scoring an average of 58 runs in the period this season.
• Ajinkya Rahane has not been as effective against pace (strike rate of 117.20), as he has against spin (strike rate of 143) this season.
• Chris Gayle is 72 runs away from 4000 IPL runs.
• Since the previous IPL season, no team has won batting first at the Holkar Stadium

Fantasy pick

Have you lost faith in Stokes as a fantasy selection, considering his price? It wouldn’t be surprising if many fantasy players have, which is why he’s a good pick for this game. With short boundaries all around, Stokes may even be promoted up the batting order. If Stokes bats for a few overs, he should fetch you a healthy return.

Quotes

“This is a tournament where all eight teams are really solid. You don’t see teams with weaknesses. The fluctuations in the table keep happening. But it isn’t over yet. We’ve seen teams come back from this kind of situations before, like Mumbai Indians two years ago. So we can take this situation positively as well.”

Hosts have to weather sharp opening spell from Agar but finish the day just 30 runs adrift

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay22-Jul-2025Glamorgan 125 for 4 (Agar 3-29) trail Kent 155 (Bell-Drummond 55, van der Gugten 3-27, Harris 3-35) by 30 runsKent collapsed with six wickets falling for seven runs on the opening day against Glamorgan at Sophia Gardens.Daniel Bell-Drummond top-scored with 42 in a day dominated by bowlers, despite the use of the Kookaburra ball as 14 wickets fell on day one. Kent fell to 155 all out from 148 for 3 with Joe Denly retiring hurt, pulling a muscle playing a shot during his innings.Timm van der Gugten and James Harris provided rewards for Glamorgan with 3 for 27 and 3 for 35 respectively with the older ball before Wes Agar responded in kind with the new ball, ripping into the hosts’ top order with 3 for 29, restricting Glamorgan to 125 for 4.Despite the often favoured chance to keep the opposition in the field for as long as possible during rounds using the Kookaburra ball, Glamorgan opted to field first under overcast skies.Ben Compton and Jadyn Denly dealt nearly exclusively in boundaries for their 37 before Asitha Fernando struck – the division’s top run-scorer, Compton, caught behind – a first wicket on the Sri Lankan’s return to Glamorgan for a second spell this season.Unconverted starts continued to be the frustration for Kent. Denly dispatched loose Harris deliveries on his introduction into the attack before slapping another to cover.Notwithstanding Denly’s injury, Kent added 61 for the third wicket before Ben Kellaway found a way through Chris Benjamin, adjudged lbw.From 111 for 2 at lunch and Bell-Drummond reaching 24 in minimal time thanks to four consecutive boundaries off Ned Leonard, the approach was forced to change by Kent with the hosts tightening their bowling.Glamorgan’s revived efforts with the ball started the monumental collapse. Joey Evison flashed at a wide delivery to give van der Gugten his first wicket of a six-over spell in which he conceded just two runs.It wasn’t long afterwards that Kent were getting their whites on to take the field. Bell-Drummond was next to be adjudged lbw off an in-swinger from Harris. Two in two balls came for van der Gugten, before Zain Ul Hassan and Harris finished the job to leave the number eight Stewart stranded, Joe Denly unable to return.With an opportunity in the 42-over final session to close in on a lead before the end of day one, Glamorgan quickly learnt that the task to overtake 155 wasn’t as easy as first thought.Asa Tribe looked troubled from the off before he inevitably chopped on to get Kent underway through Agar. Ul Hassan was more dogged in his approach, as has been his method since bedding in at the top of the order. He stuck around after the dismissals of Carlson and Root before perishing himself for 27.Carlson appeared still to be in Vitality Blast mode, with five fours in his 25-ball 27 before loosely driving to his downfall, caught behind. Billy Root, making his first red-ball appearance of the season, never settled.On the day 40-year-old Colin Ingram was announced to have a first coaching role, the veteran was still showcasing his playing abilities, taking a four and six from the same Evison over. The South African and Kellaway remained unscathed despite periods of concern and grit, including Ingram dropped on 27 late in the day, closing out the long session with a much-needed unbeaten partnership worth 47.

Voting body uses own votes to reduce the size of that very body by 59%.

Andrew Fidel Fernando and Madushka Balasuriya20-Dec-2024Sri Lanka Cricket’s internal politics and administration is set for sweeping change after the board announced a drastic reduction in votes, from 147 to 60. What is remarkable is that this decision was made by the voting members, meaning the voting body has used their own votes to reduce the size of that very body by 59%.These events took place during an extraordinary general meeting of SLC on Friday, during which the SLC membership “approved significant amendments to the Constitution of SLC, reaffirming its commitment to fostering good governance, transparency, inclusivity, and efficiency in its management structure”, according to the board’s own release.Though SLC’s current constitution, which was drafted soon after Sri Lanka’s World Cup win in 1996, has long been criticised as the font of dysfunction in Sri Lankan cricket (because many of the 147 votes belonged to defunct clubs or ineffective district and provincial associations), there has been little political will within the membership to vote for reform, particularly as votes equated to power within the SLC structure.It is likely that broader political changes within Sri Lanka has affected this vote, however. The recent elections centred on issues of good governance, and combating corruption. In the 21st century, SLC has been seen within Sri Lanka as one of the most dysfunctional institutions in the country, as well as one in which substantial wheeling-and-dealing occurred.This fresh amendment aims to optimise SLC’s decision-making, the board release said.”The new voting structure ensures that voting rights are determined solely based on the level of cricket played by each member club, with all qualified clubs and associations being entitled to only one vote. This marks a pivotal step towards equitable representation and streamlined decision-making.”Several sports ministers, past cricketers, and interim heads of SLC had long spoken of the need to change the constitution. In fact a group of concerned citizens, including former players, had petitioned Sri Lanka’s courts in early 2021 to overhaul the SLC constitution. But it was always seen as highly unlikely for the governing body’s membership to vote against their own self interest.A shift in Sri Lanka’s political environment, however, may have made such a vote possible.

He has admitted to breaching article 2.4.7 of the code, which relates to obstructing or delaying an ACU (anti-corruption unit) investigation

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Oct-2024The ICC has banned Sri Lanka left-arm spinner Praveen Jayawickrama from all cricket for one year, of which the last six months are suspended, after he admitted to breaching the global body’s anti-corruption code.In August the ICC charged Jayawickrama with two breaches of the code. He has admitted to breaching article 2.4.7, which relates to: “Obstructing or delaying any investigation that may be carried out by the ACU [anti-corruption unit], including concealing, tampering with or destroying any documentation or other information that may be relevant to that investigation and/or that may be evidence or may lead to the discovery of evidence of corrupt conduct under the Anti-Corruption Code.”Related

• Sri Lanka spinner Praveen Jayawickrama faces ICC corruption charges

The charges, according to an ICC release, relate to international cricket and the Lanka Premier League (LPL).Having made his international debut in a Test against Bangladesh in April 2021, Jayawickrama has played five Tests, five ODIs and five T20Is. His last appearance for Sri Lanka was in a T20I series at home against Australia in 2022.In LPL 2021, Jayawickrama was a part of the Jaffna Kings side that won its second title. He played one match that season, taking two wickets. In LPL 2024, he turned out for Dambulla Sixers.