Category Uncategorized

Takes over from Steven Smith, who was one of eight players to be released by the franchise

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jan-2021Sanju Samson has been named captain of the Rajasthan Royals for IPL 2021. The franchise made the announcement today, while confirming the list of players they’ve released or traded ahead of the auction in February. Samson replaces Australia’s Steven Smith, one of eight players to be released.Samson, who was signed by the franchise in 2013, becomes the third Indian after Rahul Dravid and Ajinkya Rahane to be entrusted with the top job. He finished as the side’s highest run-getter in the 2020 season, making 375 runs in 14 innings at a strike rate of 158. The Royals, though, finished the tournament in last place on the points table.Samson will have the experience of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer, their highest wicket-taker in 2020, to bank on as the side looks to turn their fortunes around after finishing last in the 2020 season that finished in November. Robin Uthappa, Jaydev Unadkat, Riyan Parag and Rahul Tewatia are among the Indian players they’ve retained.”It’s a team that is so close to my heart, which I’ve been lucky enough to play for over the years, and I’m excited about the challenge that lies ahead of me as the leader of the team,” Samson was quoted as saying by the franchise. “The Royals have had some wonderful captains over the years and I’m so grateful for all the time I’ve spent working with and learning from great leaders like Rahul Dravid, Shane Watson, Ajinkya Rahane and Steve Smith. I now cannot wait to get started and look forward to the season ahead.”Manoj Badale, co-owner of the Royals, underlined the importance of having an Indian at the helm. “Steve [Smith] has been a great player and great leader for the Royals, and we want to thank him for his contribution to the franchise.”[But] as the IPL has grown, the captaincy has become a year-round task, and as such strong local Indian leadership has become increasingly important. Sanju made his debut as a Royal, and it has been a joy to watch his development over the last eight years. He is the ideal person to lead the Royals into the 2021 season.”Samson’s performances for the Royals over the last three seasons have been central to him returning to India’s radar for the T20 World Cup later this year, five years after his T20I debut. He is part of a wider pool of T20I players India have picked with an eye on the showpiece event. He was part of India’s white-ball squad during their tour of Australia, and also led Kerala in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, India’s domestic T20s, where the team finished with three wins in five matches.

Also lashes out at Jamaica franchise for “playing a game” with him

Nagraj Gollapudi28-Apr-2020Chris Gayle has singled out former West Indies team-mate Ramnaresh Sarwan for playing a “big part” in Jamaica Tallawahs releasing him from their Caribbean Premier League set-up recently. In an outburst, released in a personal video on YouTube on Monday, Gayle also blamed Tallawahs’ chief executive officer Jeff Miller and owner Krish Persaud for “playing a game” with him and never keeping him in the loop about the team’s plans.In a frenetic last-minute development, Gayle was signed by St Lucia Zouks for the 2020 edition of CPL, scheduled for August-September. Zouks will be the third franchise Gayle will represent in the CPL after two stints with Tallawahs (2013-16 and 2019) and a two-year stay with St Kitts and Nevis (2016-17).Last season, Gayle had signed a three-year contract with Tallawahs, who had bought him as their marquee player at the 2019 draft. Gayle said he had always wanted to end his career in the “uniform” of Jamaica, his home team, but that dream now appears to be over, and Gayle laid the blame primarily on Sarwan, who he called various things, including “snake”, “vindictive”, “despicable”.Alongside procuring Gayle, Tallawahs appointed Sarwan as the assistant coach last season. Gayle said Sarwan wanted to take over the head coach’s role from Donovan Miller, but the Jamaican was sure his former team-mate was not fit for the role.”Sarwan wanted to be the head coach of the Tallawahs’ team,” Gayle said in the video, split across four segments. “I tell Sarwan directly: ‘Sarwan, you’ve no experience in being a head coach, it’s not an easy job’. He decided to say, ‘okay, whatever you want, you are the captain, no problem, we’ll leave it at that’. Not knowing that what I did was eating him out, so they made Donovan Miller the head coach.”Tallawahs finished last in the six-team CPL last year with just two wins in ten matches. Gayle was their second-best batsman and the only one to record a century.Gayle said Tallawahs had a “good” team last season, but were “traumatised” by Sarwan, who he claimed was close to Persaud. “Sarwan wanted to be the manager, he wanted to be the coach. But Sarwan is like the owner for the team because Sarwan go back and tell the owner what transpired within the team.”Sarwan want to put curfew for players when game starts at 8 o’clock. Sarwan, when me and you play for West Indies, we used to party every night, so why you want to put curfew for players, why do you want to tie down players?”Gayle claimed that it was due to Sarwan that he heard whispers from some of the Tallawahs’ overseas players about him not coming for the team training despite being the captain. Gayle said that it was not a secret that he did not always turn up for training, a routine he has followed worldwide in franchise cricket. To make sure his side of the story was heard, Gayle said he called a team meeting ahead of the team’s final match in CPL 2019.”So Sarwan allowed these guys to come and make a mockery of me in front of the younger players while training is going on, so I decided to call the meeting and that’s when I flipped,” Gayle said. “It was a very heated meeting. The only thing left was just to get physical and it almost happened. I had to put everyone in his place, but I didn’t put Sarwan in his place. I left him. I say let his conscience ride him.”Gayle recounted how Sarwan had always been trouble for him from as far back as their Under-19 days in 1996 when they were roommates. At the time, Sarwan’s complaints about Gayle watching TV late into the night forced head coach Gus Logie to evict the Jamaican from the camp in Barbados. Gayle said he had “forgiven” Sarwan but had not “forgotten” the incident, and felt that Sarwan hadn’t changed much.”Sarwan you are a snake. You are so vindictive. You are still immature. You are still stabbing people in the back. You are still carrying news. When you gonna change, Sarwan, seriously? When are you planning to change?”“I am done with you”Cricket West Indies is bound pay attention to Gayle’s remarks considering Sarwan has been one of the past players it has recruited to mentor the senior men’s team. Gayle said that as far he was concerned, he was done with Sarwan. “I can tell you this even if West Indies senior team take you up on board as a mentor, whatever reason, whatever franchise, any international team you are associated with, (Jamaican slang for ‘I am done with you’),” Gayle said thumping his chest. “Hear? The team could’ve won a World Cup, me still mi a bun you out. I’ve to show you how deep this is. Wicked. Wicked. I might want entire Caribbean know that.”Gayle said he would let Sarwan know the same in person if their paths crossed in the CPL. “Don’t hide behind the walls. You get your team, it’s your team. Run the team, Sarwan. Just don’t deal with me, I say it straight up. When I see you in person, I will tell you that, as well. Very deceitful and very disrespectful. We no friends.”“Chris, we are not seeing your name here”Gayle said he wouldn’t blame Persaud, but said the Tallawahs’ owner was “persuaded” to release him. According to Gayle, he had been in Guyana recently after being invited by a local politician who was a rival of the party Persaud supported. “Let me tell you why the Tallawahs didn’t really retain me now: this is all politics, alright. He [Persaud] has been persuaded to get rid of Chris Gayle, he’s not that type of person who will say ‘let’s get rid of Gayle’. You may say it’s nothing to do with politics, but it’s a big thing in Guyana. I am not into politics, you used politics against me to get me out of my own franchise. Kris Persaud, no love lost. You still have my respect, if I see you on street, still call you, franchise cricket is business at the end of the day.”However, Gayle did not have the same sympathy for Jeff Miller, who was in constant touch with the player before the retention window shut on March 31. Miller told the on April 19 that Gayle’s fate would be decided by the owners, but hinted at an overhaul. “When you have a team that came last in the competition, obviously there are going to be changes, it can’t be business as usual,” Miller was quoted as saying by the newspaper.Gayle said Miller was “lying” and he was totally aware that he was not going to be retained. “Jeff Miller and Kris Persaud knew they didn’t want me. They knew a month in advance that I wasn’t going to be part of Tallawahs team. What they did was actually play a game with Chris Gayle. I don’t know what they were trying to accomplish.”Gayle said Miller was in constant touch leading up to the retention date and even said the franchise was “struggling” financially. As a result, Gayle said he agreed to take a pay cut not once but twice, despite his contract saying he would need to be paid more every subsequent year. Gayle then heard from a third party that Tallawahs were going to release him. Miller laughed it off initially but then went cold.Gayle said he “texted” Tallawahs’ Andre Russell to check if he was aware that the franchise was going to release him [Gayle]. Russell, Gayle said, was “straight up” and said the only thing he knew was the “possibility” of Floyd Reifer taking over as the head coach. “When I texted him, Russell did call me back and share his point of view because loyalty goes a long way.”It was the CPL management that eventually confirmed the news to Gayle after Miller had submitted the final list of names Tallawahs had retained. “It has come to my knowledge that out of courtesy or respect, the CPL guys said, ‘Chris, we are not seeing your name here, what happened with you and the Tallawahs?’ I’m like, ‘What?'”Gayle said he did not contact Miller, but he was hurt.

India’s centurion from day two of the Southampton Test says he never lost the belief in his batting despite sitting out the opening Test on the back of a poor county season

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Sep-2018 this morning about how he had never lost the belief in his batting despite his lean form at Yorkshire and sitting out the first Test at Edgbaston.After Edgbaston, does he feel a bit of a scapegoat, as someone who constantly has to prove himself?Well, sometimes you just have to accept the fact. Sometimes if you are not part of the team it is not easy to sit out. But I just try and focus on things which I can control and focus on my batting, focus on the things which I can improve as a cricketer. And rather than thinking about whether I have to prove to anyone or whether I have to perform in each and every game, I just try and focus on my batting (and) what I need to do in the middle, rather than thinking about I need to score each and every game. Because when I was batting there, I wasn’t even looking at the scoreboard. So that is something which helps me focus on things I need to do rather than worrying about the outcome.On the struggle at Yorkshire where he averaged 14 in county cricketI wanted to score some runs for Yorkshire, which didn’t happen. But I always knew the way I was batting, even when I was playing for Yorkshire I got runs in white-ball cricket, but when it came to red-ball cricket I was batting well, but runs didn’t come through. I was still confident. It showed here because, as I said, my preparation was up to the mark and my work ethics. I believe in preparation and as long as you put in the efforts in the nets and you have self-belief then you can always pull off.Was he trying to get bit further forward than perhaps earlier in the series?Even the pitch is such where you can do that. It has slowed down a bit. Balls are keeping low. So most of the balls are hitting the stumps which is a good thing for our fast bowlers today because not many balls will go above the stumps. Yeah, that is the reason I made some adjustments.

Several insiders have said that CSA asking Russell Domingo to reapply for the South African coaching job is an administrative formality

Firdose Moonda31-Jan-2017After overseeing South Africa through one of their toughest transitions, Russell Domingo will have to reapply for the coaching job if he hopes to continue beyond August this year. Does that really mean, however, that his position is on the line? No, according to several insiders who say the application process is an administrative formality and not a judgment on Domingo’s work.”I don’t think there is anything sinister about it,” one official told ESPNcricinfo. “Cricket South Africa is just making sure that if Russell’s contract is going to be renewed, it comes out of a proper process.”The reason lies in the number of extensions Domingo has been granted in his tenure. His contract has already been extended three times, and because he is on a fixed-term deal CSA cannot risk creating a reasonable expectation that his contract will be renewed in perpetuity, because that will put them at risk of legal action should a termination occur.Domingo was initially contracted as head coach on a two-year deal from May 2013 – after the Champions Trophy that year when Gary Kirsten stepped down – until the end of April 2015. In September 2014, however, he was given a year’s extension until April 2016 to guarantee him his position irrespective of the result of the 2015 World Cup.In June 2015, Domingo was given another year to take to him to April 2017 and then in October 2016, despite a string of poor results that included South Africa failing to reach the final of a triangular series in the Caribbean, Domingo’s deal was topped up by four months to last until the end of the England tour in August 2017. At that point, Domingo was informed that there would be no further extensions in order to follow protocol.”With contracts like this, a decision also has to be made depending on certain tours or when the most logical time to put out a call for applications might be,” one official said. “The timing can get a bit awkward because you can’t have uncertainty over the coaching position before a major tournament or series but at the same time, the contract has an expiration date. It’s important that CSA does not create the expectation that the contract will just roll over. They are trying to avoid that reasonable expectation by making sure that if they choose to appoint Domingo again, it will be through a procedure that involves other applicants.”CSA has already confirmed that Domingo can apply if he wishes but he has not given indication of whether he intends to. The last time Domingo addressed the media was at the conclusion of South Africa’s T20 series defeat against Sri Lanka, when he discussed plans for the Champions Trophy this year.Prior to that, Domingo had spoken after South Africa’s Test series win over Sri Lanka and admitted there were times during the slump in 2015 and 2016 – when South Africa lost five out of eight Tests, were booted out of the World T20 in the first round, and failed to reach the final of the of a triangular series in the Caribbean – when he thought he would lose his job despite having the support of the players.”I could go tomorrow. Nothing is certain. I by no means look too far ahead in my coaching career. I take it one series at a time,” Domingo said in mid-January. “You never know what’s around the corner in coaching. I’ve always felt that the support that I’ve got from the players is the most important thing.”Domingo continues to enjoy that backing. When the South African team found out about the need for him to reapply for his job, they were playing Sri Lanka in the first ODI in Port Elizabeth. Afterwards, ODI captain AB de Villiers said it was a “bitter pill to swallow” because Domingo was “like family” to the players.De Villiers’ contract with CSA will also come up for discussion soon. He is currently on a two-year deal but after announcing that he has made himself unavailable for Test cricket for most of 2017, it is understood CSA’s top brass is tempted to revisit the terms of the deal. However, South Africa players are contracted on a rankings system which means that their value, rather than the frequency with which they appear, determines the value of their contracts.”The selectors decide the player rankings and it depends on how they view that players’ contribution, be it in one format or in many,” one official said. “So it is possible that de Villiers could be viewed as the most important player even though he won’t be playing Test cricket but it is also possible that could affect his ranking. At the end of the day, that could make a difference to his salary.”Despite his Test hiatus, de Villiers remains South Africa’s one-day captain and has made it his priority to take them to the 2019 World Cup.

Mumbai have won a formidable 41 out of 45 Ranji finals, but this will be Gujarat’s best chance after waiting more than six decades to have a shot at the title

Shashank Kishore in Indore09-Jan-20172:26

Kishore: Gujarat used to batting big, batting long

India had not yet recorded their first Test win when Gujarat last had a shot at Indian domestic cricket’s biggest prize a lifetime ago, in 1950-51. Polly Umrigar was their captain then. Chandu Sarvate, Jamshed Bhaya, Madhavsinh Jagdale and Syed Mushtaq Ali, after whom stands are named at Indore’s Holkar Stadium, the venue of the 83rd Ranji Trophy final starting Tuesday, were in the opposition camp. Deepak Shodhan, who until May last year was India’s oldest living Test cricketer, played in the game which they lost to Holkar. Multiple generations of cricketers from Gujarat don’t know what it is to feature in a Ranji final.In comparison, Mumbai have converted 41 of their 45 finals appearances into championship wins. The last time they lost in the summit clash was to Haryana in 1990-91, a game where Dilip Vengsarkar was inconsolable after Mumbai lost by two runs. Since then, they have qualified for the finals on eleven occasions, and have won every single time, the last of which was against Saurashtra, who were crushed in little over two days last year in Pune.

Teams (likely)

Mumbai: Aditya Tare (capt, wk), Akhil Herwadkar, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Abhishek Nayar, Siddesh Lad, Tushar Deshpande/Akshay Girap, Vijay Gohil, Shardul Thakur, Balwinder Sandhu
Gujarat: Parthiv Patel (capt, wk), Samit Gohel, Priyank Panchal, Bharghav Merai, Manprit Juneja, Rujul Bhatt, Chirag Gandhi, Rush Kalaria, RP Singh, Mehul Patel/Chintan Gaja, Hardik Patel

Yet, this is Gujarat’s best possible chance at glory, for they have shown more than just glimpses of old Mumbai in the way they have set up games, by batting big, batting long and then using the scoreboard pressure to skittle opponents. It was this tactic that worked when the sides last met in Hubli in November. But Jasprit Bumrah, whose five-for snuffed out Mumbai’s quest for a lead there, will be missed; he has been named in India’s limited-overs squad for the England series.That puts the onus on RP Singh, fresh from a nine-for in the semi-final, to spearhead the young bowling attack.They will be buoyed by the return of Rush Kalaria, who didn’t bat or bowl in the second innings during the semi-final, because of a shoulder injury. One of Mehul Patel or Chintan Gaja is in line to replace Bumrah.It’s the batting, however, that is more formidable. Priyank Panchal is on the cusp of an all-time Ranji record – he needs 146 more to beat VVS Laxman’s record for most runs in a season, achieved in 1999-00. With 1270 runs, he’s miles ahead of other batsmen for runs this season.Among batsmen from in this match, Samit Gohel, his opening partner, comes a distant second with 889 runs. Parthiv Patel, the captain, can be a thorn to any bowling attack. The domestic veteran’s grind for more than a decade now cannot be understated. Manprit Juneja and Chirag Gandhi, both of whom played key roles in building a substantial second-innings lead in a crisis during the semi-final, have shown the ability to adapt at different times.Priyank Panchal and Gujarat are both in line to break records of high standing•Sunny Shinde

That Mumbai are a step away from the title without having a single batsman or bowler in the top 10 list this season is as much due to their typical ‘khadoos’ mentality symbolized by Abhishek Nayar. The veteran, who has been a part of five title-winning teams, has often rescued the sides with telling contributions lower down the order – none more important than at the semi-final in Rajkot, where he made 58 and struck vital partnerships with the tail to not just take the lead but also stretch it past 100, which proved decisive. In the quarter-final too, against Hyderabad, he picked nine wickets in a low-scoring game which Mumbai won by 30 runs.The emergence of a young 17-year old opener in Prithvi Shaw, a schoolboy wonder, who stroked an under-pressure century on debut in the semi-final, has given Mumbai a fresh look. He will be partnered by Akhil Herwadkar, who missed the previous four games because of a foot injury. That means Praful Waghela could miss out. Herwadkar, Mumbai’s second-highest run-getter last season, was given an extended workout at an optional net session on Sunday. Shreyas Iyer – Mumbai’s highest run-getter this season without being the intimidating batsman he has been in his first two seasons – Suryakumar Yadav, Aditya Tare, the captain, and Siddesh Lad complete a formidable batting set that has shown capability of rising to the big occasions in the past.On a red-soil surface that promises bounce and has a green cover, Mumbai could possibly have a healthy headache: do they go in with two frontline seamers in Shardul Thakur and Balwinder Sandhu alongside Nayar’s more-than-useful seam-ups, or do they play a third seamer? If they decide the latter, Tushar Deshpande is likely to come in. After the debut season he has had, there can’t be much doubt over the place of left-arm spinner Vijay Gohil, unless he is injured. That means the recalled Vishal Dabholkar, who has tweaked his action after being reported earlier in the season, could sit out.The numbers favour Mumbai – they have lost just two out of the 61 matches against Gujarat, the last of which was in 1977-78. But in a crunch game, where both sides have shown why they deserve to be here, both captains insist no one had the edge over the other. That can’t be a bad thing after all.

Vidarbha batsman Faiz Fazal is one of five uncapped players in India’s weakened ODI and T20I squads for the tour of Zimbabwe in June

ESPNcricinfo staff23-May-2016Vidarbha batsman Faiz Fazal is one of five uncapped players in India’s weakened ODI and T20I squads for the tour of Zimbabwe in June. The others are spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Jayant Yadav, and batsmen Karun Nair and Mandeep Singh. KL Rahul is uncapped in the limited-overs formats.The selectors met on Sunday in Mumbai and chose the same 16-man squad for both ODIs and T20Is.As many as 17 players who were in the squads for India’s previous limited-overs assignments – the tour of Australia and the World T20 – were not picked. They were: R Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan, Gurkeerat Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ajinkya Rahane, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Harbhajan Singh, Pawan Negi, Ashish Nehra, Hardik Pandya, Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh. Rahul is the only player in the limited-overs squad to be picked for the Test tour of West Indies in July-August.The captain Dhoni, with 275 ODIs and 68 T20Is, has more experience than the other 15 players combined – 83 ODIs and 28 T20Is. “Dhoni has retired from the longer format and we selectors felt that this is the best opportunity for youngsters to have someone like Dhoni, who has ample experience,” Sandeep Patil, the chairman of selectors, said. “Dhoni himself was very keen to tour with the youngsters so I think it is a very good sign and a good help for the youngsters, who are going to be part of the Zimbabwe tour.”No one has been rested. No one wrote to BCCI or called us (to say) they were not available or they should be rested. It was the decision of the selection committee to pick a young side for Zimbabwe and another side for West Indies.”Patil, however, said Nehra and Vijay had fitness concerns, while Kohli required “complete rest” after the IPL. “Ashish Nehra is ruled out because he is undergoing surgery for his hamstring injury, M Vijay was not fit for the Zimbabwe tour with a niggle. The report which we have got from Patrick Farhat says that he [Kohli] needs rest after IPL for his [hand] injury.”Fazal, 30, is the only player in the squad without a current IPL contract – he was part of Rajasthan Royals until 2011 – and is presently playing league cricket in England. His selection came as a result of performances in Indian domestic cricket. Fazal made 127 in Rest of India’s chase of 480 to win the 2015-16 Irani Cup against Mumbai, and a century and a fifty in India A’s victory in the Deodhar Trophy. In the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2015-16, Fazal made 312 runs at an average of 52 in seven innings, and in the 20-over Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy he scored 205 runs at a strike rate of 102 in nine innings.Rahul had a breakthrough IPL season in Royal Challengers Bangalore’s run to the playoffs with 386 runs, including four half-centuries, in 12 matches at an average of 55.14. Rahul’s Karnataka team-mate Karun Nair also had a productive IPL, in which he was the second-highest run-getter for Delhi Daredevils with 357 runs at 35.70, including an unbeaten 83 in a last-ball win against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Earlier, Nair had made 500 runs in seven matches in the Ranji season.Kedar Jadhav, the back-up wicketkeeper in the squad, had helped India A win the Deodhar Trophy with an unbeaten 39-ball 48 in January. He had also been part of India’s depleted squad to Zimbabwe in 2015. Jadhav set up India’s 3-0 sweep with his maiden century, but hasn’t played an ODI since.Mandeep was the leading run-getter in the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy, with 394 runs in seven matches at an average and strike rate of 65.66 and 88.73. Mandeep had sustained an injury minutes before Royal Challengers’ match against Gujarat Lions in April, but he had recovered since.Mandeep’s IPL team-mate Chahal was also picked. The legspinner is currently the leading wicket-taker in IPL 2016, with 19 wickets in 11 games at an average and economy rate of 17.05 and 7.87. Chahal was the side’s top wicket-taker in 2015 as well with 23 wickets in 15 games.”This year we wanted variation in our bowling department, that is why Yuzvendra Chahal found a place,” Patil said. “IPL as a tournament is important, it is a BCCI tournament and we know that all international players participate in the IPL, which makes it very competitive cricket. So it is important for the selectors to look into the performances of the IPL.”Jayant, the third specialist spinner in the squad after Axar Patel and Chahal, took eight wickets in Rest of India’s historic win in the Irani Cup in March. The offspinner then made sporadic appearances for Daredevils in IPL. He was the team’s second best bowler in terms of economy rate – giving away 7.35 runs an over in five matches.India are scheduled to play three ODIs and three T20Is in Harare between June 11 and 22.ODI and T20 squad MS Dhoni (capt & wk), KL Rahul, Faiz Fazal, Manish Pandey, Karun Nair, Ambati Rayudu, Rishi Dhawan, Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jasprit Bumrah, Barinder Sran, Mandeep Singh, Kedar Jadhav, Jaydev Unadkat, Yuzvendra Chahal

South Africa’s T20 captain Faf du Plessis praised Imran Tahir’s control and variations after his side’s three-wicket victory over England, in which the bowler took 4 for 21

Firdose Moonda20-Feb-2016Imran Tahir’s almost two-year-old son Gibran predicted that his father would end up with a four-for in the first T20I against England but no one can guess what the legspinner would have had done had he taken a fifth, not even the man himself.”I was talking to my wife earlier and she asked my son, ‘How many wickets is daddy going to take today?’ and he said ‘two plus two.’ That’s what he said and I’m really happy I got it,” Tahir stated after the match, which South Africa won off the last ball with three wickets to spare.Tahir’s third and fourth wickets, Eoin Morgan and Moeen Ali, came off successive deliveries and he was inches away from taking a fifth to complete a hat-trick when Chris Jordan missed a googly that carried over the top of the stumps. Had the ball hit, Tahir would have “probably ended up in the crowd but I am not sure.” Faf du Plessis guessed that his bowler may have “run up the mountain” in delight but perhaps Tahir would have instigated a group hug – similar to the one he smothered du Plessis in when Moeen Ali was dismissed.Du Plessis was at cover when Tahir dished up a full delivery to Ali, who picked out the South African captain exactly as the side had planned. “We get excited when stuff we are working on falls into place. That was a big hug between me and Immi because that’s exactly what we wanted to do,” du Plessis said. “I said make him hit the ball to me at cover and he did exactly that.”Tahir final returns of 4 for 21 equalled his career-best effort and ensured England did not get away after Alex Hales and Jason Roy’s blazing start. “His control tonight was great. He bowled one full toss but the rest was exceptional. He spun the ball both ways,” du Plessis said. “He wins games of cricket on his own. As a captain, that’s a huge weapon to have. Even though they had a great start, I knew that on that surface, Immi was going to be a handful.”But South Africa almost bottled the advantage Tahir gave them and had to rely on another individual effort to chase down a small target of 135. Chris Morris scored 15 runs off the final over and two off the last ball to pull South Africa over the line. After his heroics in the Wanderers ODI, Morris has earned the moniker ‘Chuck Morris’, but du Plessis explained there is a trick to bringing out the big-hitter’s destructive best.”The key is to get Morris to the crease not when there are four overs left but when there are one or two overs left. He is very good at clearing the rope. He can hit sixes from ball one,” du Plessis said. “Him and David Wiese can both do it. It just makes your batting line-up so destructive. When it’s going for you, like it is for Morrie, it’s important that you ride the wave and he is doing that. He is winning games and that makes him an x-factor player.”Du Plessis believes that South Africa have collectively improved in do-or-die situations and he hopes this will stand them in good stead at the upcoming World Twenty20. “In the last two years, I think we have made some big strides. That’s all you can do. You can try and get better at pressure moments,” he said. “That’s the only difference between games like these and games in the World Cup. The World Cup is 10-15% more pressure. If we can do well in games like this, like we did tonight, that’s great learning for us.”

Zimbabwe weathered a spirited fightback from Pakistan’s lower middle order to secure a tight five-run Duckworth-Lewis win in controversial circumstances in the second ODI at Harare Sports Club

The Report by Liam Brickhill in Harare03-Oct-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:46

By the numbers – Malik stranded four short of record ton

Zimbabwe weathered a spirited fightback from Pakistan’s lower middle order to secure a tight five-run Duckworth-Lewis win in controversial circumstances in the second ODI at Harare Sports Club.Chasing Zimbabwe’s 276 for 6, Pakistan sank to 76 for 6 before Shoaib Malik and Aamer Yamin resurrected the chase with a 111-run stand for the seventh wicket. After a rain delay Malik was on 96, with 21 needed from 12 deliveries, when the heavy clouds prompted umpires Ruchira Palliyaguruge and Jeremiah Matibiri to take the players off. With the sun setting, the light only got worse, allowing a rare Zimbabwe win – much to Malik, and Pakistan’s chagrin.That they got so close at all was due mainly to Malik’s brilliance and it was once again left to Pakistan’s lower order to try to lift the team out of the mire when they slipped to 17 for 3 – their worst start of the tour. Malik responded with one of his finest limited-overs innings, and came within one shot of what would have been his ninth ODI hundred – and the first by a Pakistan No. 5 batsman in a run chase. He was also helped by Zimbabwe’s errors in the field, having been dropped by substitute fielder Tino Mutombodzi at backward point when he was on 37. That was just one of a number of errors from the hosts in the latter half of the chase.In the course of their own innings this morning, Zimbabwe had looked a completely different batting unit to the one that was bowled out for 128 in the first ODI. But this time it was in the field that the wheels had threatened to come off. The required run-rate was already above seven an over when Yamin joined Malik at the wicket, but the direction of the match changed completely with Yamin’s first boundary. He stepped down the wicket to hit legspinner Graeme Cremer back over his head, who leapt up at the ball and landed awkwardly to suffer a painful ankle sprain.Zimbabwe lost a bowler, but they also very nearly lost the plot as they dropped three catches, missed a stumping and let the game drift completely away from them in the following 16 overs. Malik and Yamin collected five sixes and nine fours during that period, Yamin celebrating a 54-ball fifty with a mid-pitch . His fearlessly attacking innings eventually came to an end when Elton Chigumbura was fortunate to have him caught down the leg side but, with rain falling intermittently, Malik continued undeterred.He found an able partner in Yasir Shah and, on either side of a dramatic rain break, took the equation down to 21 from the last two overs. But then the umpires called the players together and told them they could no longer see the ball. Chigumbura led his players off, and just over ten minutes later the match was called off, the result going in Zimbabwe’s favour.Chigumbura had played a strong hand with the bat for Zimbabwe earlier in the day, his 55-ball 67 building upon Chamu Chibhabha’s patient 90 to lift the hosts to a competitive 276 for 6.
That was more than had been expected when Azhar Ali called correctly at the toss and sent the hosts in this morning. Harare Sports Club head groundsman Fungai Shanganya left plenty of grass on the track for this game and there was a noticeable twinge of green to it, suggesting swing, seam and bounce first up.The pitch was definitely firmer, but the movement on offer was not extravagant. For their part, the hosts promoted senior batsman Hamilton Masakadza to open the innings with Chibhabha, but his scratchy knock came to an end when he skied a pull off a Wahab Riaz bouncer.At the other end, Chibhabha displayed a sure-footed drive and favoured the off side to collect his first four boundaries on that side of the wicket. He took a particular liking to Yamin’s medium pace and played the spinners with measured assurance with Chari playing a perfect foil to the more attacking Chibhabha.When Chari edged Mohammad Irfan to Mohammad Hafeez at first slip against the run of play Pakistan had an opening, and enlarged it with the wicket of Sean Williams soon afterwards to reduce Zimbabwe to 132 for 3. A tiring Chibhabha needed treatment for cramp on a sweltering day – this being his longest international innings in terms of balls faced by quite a distance – but even as he struggled, Chigumbura asserted himself.Chigumbura had taken a little time to play himself in and was struck a fierce blow to the helmet by Riaz, but his riposte was emphatic. A muscular pull off the same bowler sent the ball onto the roof of the Tobacco Stand on the Western side of the ground, and he celebrated a 46-ball half-century by lifting a full toss from the same bowler almost as far. With Sikandar Raza also playing a busy hand, and Richmond Mutumbami and Luke Jongwe’s cameos ensuring an energetic finish, Zimbabwe took 96 off the last ten overs. It proved just enough.

Virender Sehwag has said his decision to give up the Delhi Daredevils captaincy will have no effect on his batting in the upcoming IPL season

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Mar-2013Virender Sehwag, dropped recently from India’s Test side, has said his decision to give up the Delhi Daredevils captaincy will have no effect on his batting in the upcoming IPL season. Mahela Jayawardene was named Daredevils captain after Sehwag told the franchise he wanted to focus on his batting ahead of the Champions League 2012.”I don’t think it matters whether I am captaining the side or not,” Sehwag told , when asked if Jayawardene taking over would lessen the burden on him. “Captaincy has never affected my game. I have never ever felt the pressure on my batting while leading the side. I have never felt any pressure as captain. My approach to batting has always remained the same.”I have always maintained that captaincy and performance are two separate issues altogether. If you talk about pressures of captaincy, then I had scored five consecutive half-centuries [a Twenty20 record] during the last edition of the IPL and the highest number of runs for Delhi Daredevils.”Sehwag admitted that Daredevils would feel the absence of England batsman Kevin Pietersen, who is out of this IPL with a knee injury. “KP is a big occasion player and he will certainly be missed but we have other players who can put their hands up and be counted. We have 10 quality foreign players and whoever replaces him in the XI will get an opportunity to make a name for himself on the big stage. If they can grab their chance and prove their worth, we can win the trophy.”Daredevils meet Kolkata Knight Riders in the inaugural match of this season in Kolkata on April 3.

Rain fell from the sky, records fell by the wayside, but in all likelihood the wickets fell too late in the day

The Report by Sidharth Monga03-Jul-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Sangakkara and Dilshan both scored centuries•Associated Press

Rain fell from the sky, records fell by the wayside, but in all likelihood the wickets fell too late in the day. A wet outfield in the morning and obligatory showers in the afternoon meant a result was the farthest thing on people’s minds despite four strikes towards the end of the day, inspired by a spirited burst from Junaid Khan. The prospects of a result have been so bleak that, surreally, even the steel bands have given this Test a miss.There was nothing surreal about Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan filling their boots on their favourite surface and against their favourite opposition. This was Sangakkara’s ninth century against Pakistan, 30th overall, overtaking Don Bradman’s tally of 29. Like Sangakkara, Dilshan too scored his second century of the series. He also became only the eighth Sri Lankan to reach 5,000 Test runs. There was another statistical event: late in the day Mahela Jayawardene registered his first duck at the SSC, but it seemed like his first score of under 100 here.The pitch only began to misbehave when the two were approaching their centuries. That, combined with the time lost to weather, meant there was little scoreboard pressure on the two all through. It always seemed a matter of when, not if, when the two would get to their centuries. Sangakkara, in particular, looked certain he would get one, and make it a big one. Along the way came instructive milestones. When he nudged Junaid to fine leg for his 57th run, he became only the fourth man to have scored 2000 runs at a single venue, behind Graham Gooch at Lord’s, Jacques Kallis at Newlands, and Mahela Jayawardene in Galle and at the SSC. Two overs later, when he pulled Junaid behind square, the couple took him to 2090 runs against Pakistan, more than anybody else, then at an average of 87.Sangakkara began the day on 22, and kept on clipping balls off his pads with ease. The only time he looked in any discomfort was when he drove at wide deliveries to edge them just out of reach of gully. Dilshan carried his reckless approach from day three in to this morning too, but after two plays and misses he put his head down and cut out all the risks. He didn’t mind Sangakkara overtaking him even though he began the day 24 ahead. He scored just 14 runs in the first session, but was a much more reassuring sight than in the last session on day two.

Smart stats

• Kumar Sangakkara’s century is his 30th in Tests, taking him past Don Bradman on the list of batsmen with the most Test centruries. Among Sri Lanka batsmen, only Mahela Jayawardene has more centuries than Sangakkara.

• During the course of his knock, Sangakkara went past Sunil Gavaskar on the list of batsmen with the most runs against Pakistan.

• Sangakkara’s century is his ninth against Pakistan and takes him past Aravinda de Silva on the list of batsmen with the most centuries against Pakistan.

• Tillakaratne Dilshan’s century is his third against Pakistan and his second in consecutive Tests in this series. It is only the third series in which he has managed to score two centuries.

• Dilshan became the eighth Sri Lanka batsman to cross the 5000-run mark in Tests. He now has exactly 5000 runs in 81 Tests at 41.32.

• The 225-run stand between Dilshan and Sangakkara is the highest second-wicket stand for Sri Lanka against Pakistan, and their third-highest overall for the second wicket.

Dilshan’s extravagance nearly cost him his wicket when he went after an Aizaz Cheema delivery so wide it would have been called in ODIs. Cheema managed to get another delivery to lift towards Dilshan’s chest early on in the day, but that was the only inconvenience the pitch caused in the morning, especially once the batsmen decided they could do without undue risks. Only the rare quick turning delivery from Abdur Rehman in the last over before lunch managed to beat the bat.After a sumptuously long lunch break, thanks to the rain, Rehman remained the only semblance of a threat. Still Dilshan picked up the rate, and the only contest to observe was the race to the centuries. Sangakkara was 72, and Dilshan 60 at lunch. An hour-long middle session later, Dilshan had reached 85, and Sangakkara 90, with Rehman posing the only questions.When on 86, Sangakkara played back to a full ball from Rehman, and was beaten. Just like the last over before lunch, the last over before tea from Rehman featured one rare sharp turner that beat Dilshan. An inside edge denied him an lbw next ball. The pitch had become to offer some turn now, making you wonder if this would have been a tame draw if we hadn’t lost so much time to rain.After tea, the two found themselves level at 98, but Dilshan burst through the photo finish with a six off Saeed Ajmal. Sangakkara chose the quieter way to get to the century. Dilshan grew adventurous again, scoring 23 off the last 19 balls he faced. Junaid, though, came back and squeezed one through from round the stumps to catch him plumb in front.Even as Sangakkara marched on, Junaid’s round-the-stumps angle troubled the other batsmen. Jayawardene shouldered arms to a delivery that looked like harmlessly wide, but was hit slightly above the knee roll just outside off. Simon Taufel took his time before raising the finger, and Pakistan could sense room for one final push. With 102 still required to avoid follow-on, they attacked.Thilan Samaraweera edged Ajmal just short of leg gully. Junaid came back with another impressive lbw shout from the same angle, and was denied. Pakistan had absolutely surrounded Samaraweera by then. There was no letting up of pressure. Samaraweera finally succumbed for an 18-ball duck, missing an Ajmal offbreak from round the stumps. The innings now featured only centuries and ducks.Suraj Randiv came out as the nightwatchman, safety still 93 runs away and a maximum of 38 minutes to stumps. Junaid tested Randiv for an over, drawing another close lbw shout and making him keep a yorker out. With Sangakkara the immovable object, Randiv hung on for dear life until he fell to a Rehman arm ball that also proved to be the last ball of the day. The 15.4 overs since Dilshan’s dismissal were edgy stuff, the only edgy stuff of the day. Arguably, the match.