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A round-up of the seventh round of Ranji Trophy’s Group A matches on December 16, 2012

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Dec-2012
ScorecardWith four outright wins, including two by an innings, from six games, Punjab have been team of the season. And hosts Madhya Pradesh made a huge statement by making them follow-on in Gwalior. Quick bowlers Ishwar Pandey, second on the wicket-taking charts this season, and Anand Rajan picked up seven wickets between them to skittle Punjab for just 148. Yuvraj Singh, back to the domestic circuit after being left out of the Test squad, and the captain Mandeep Singh managed thirties but that was as good as it got for Punjab. They lost wickets regularly and soon, MP had a sizeable lead of 175. Devendra Bundela asked Punjab to have a bat again, and their openers ensured there was no further damage till stumps. Bundela had scored his 22nd first-class century earlier in the day. However, MP had unraveled from a strong 297 for 5 to be dismissed for 323, with India Under-19 quick bowler and this season’s leading wicket-taker Sandeep Sharma taking 5 for 92.
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Mumbai ended a day of absolute dominance in Rajkot by removing two Saurashtra batsmen cheaply after posting a mammoth 606 for 5 declared. Wicketkeeper-opener Aditya Tare converted his maiden first-class hundred into a double, and Rohit Sharma hit his third century of the season. The partnership between the duo was worth 278. Tare faced 417 deliveries in making 222 and hit 32 boundaries. Rohit’s 166 took 254 balls and contained 16 fours and four sixes. Both batsmen were put down by the wicketkeeper Sagar Jogiyani off the bowling of Jaydev Unadkat. Rohit’s innings came after a double-century in the previous game against Punjab. Abhishek Nayar added yet another fifty to his string of consistent performances this season.
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After 18 wickets had fallen on the Eden Gardens green top on day one, nine more went down on day two, leaving Hyderabad 171 runs ahead with three batsmen left. The visitors’ captain Akshath Reddy fell one short of fifty while Ashish Reddy made 42 down the order. No other Hyderabad batsman could do anything of note as the Bengal fast bowler Shami Ahmed took 4 for 68. Arindam Das, the Bengal opener, had earlier made 36 of the 37 runs the hosts scored today. Resuming on 79 for 8, Bengal went just past Hyderabad’s 115 before Das became Anwar Ahmed’s fifth victim for 73.
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The defending champions, Rajasthan, were in trouble against Railways in Bhubaneshwar, having lost three batsmen cheaply in pursuit of the hosts’ 405. Railways began the day on 239 for 4 and though Parag Madkaikar added just 16 to his overnight 70, the lower order contributed to stretch the innings past 400. Wicketkeeper Mahesh Rawat made a fifty while three others chipped in with twenties. Rajasthan had a cautious start before losing Sourabh Chouhan to veteran allrounder Sanjay Bangar in the 16th over. Medium-pacer Anureet Singh bowled Robin Bist and Puneet Yadav in the 24th over to leave Rajasthan tottering on 45 for 3. Rajasthan captain Vineet Saxena and Ashok Menaria were the men battling it out.

Power Surge changes run chase after Carlos Brathwaite takes four to restrict the Heat

Daniel Brettig10-Jan-2021A masterclass in finishing by Dan Christian lifted Sydney Sixers to a thrilling victory over the Brisbane Heat on the Gold Coast and returned them to the top of the Big Bash League table.The Sixers restricted the Heat to 148, aided by a pitch that offered a modicum of seam movement for the bowlers, then shrugged off an indifferent start through the calmness of Christian and the captain Daniel Hughes, who also passed 50.Christian’s combination of power, match awareness and experience shone through clearly in the closing overs, as the Heat had a few chances to snatch the match but failed to take them. On a night that was not the easiest for finding the boundary, Christian’s personal tally of five sixes out of his unbeaten 61 was more than the rest of the two teams combined could manage – four.Subdued Lynn the anchorThis match was billed, somewhat predictably, as one of big hitting and aggression, since no-one is meant to personify such things in the BBL as much as Chris Lynn. However, a spongy, seam-friendly surface on the Gold Coast quickly forced some rethinking in the middle by Lynn and the Heat after they were sent in by the Sixers. While Max Bryant reached the boundary a couple of times off Steve O’Keefe’s opening over and Lynn had similar success against Jackson Bird in the second, momentum soon began to be lost as the surface made things difficult.Chris Lynn struggled for timing•Getty Images

There were times in the past where Lynn might have proffered a rash shot in such circumstances, but here he tried instead to anchor the innings, attempting to build a platform for later acceleration even as other wickets fell around him. A 51-run stand with Jimmy Peirson gave the Heat a chance to do so, though the union was ended when Bird managed to catch Peirson in freakish fashion when he spilled the ball only to see it wedge between his knees.Brathwaite wobbles his way to four-forLynn made it as far as the 16th over before skying one off the bowling of Brathwaite, who found to his delight that the pitch allowed for his medium pacers to either move just enough laterally or offer up variation in pace off the wicket to flummox the Heat middle order. He had already defeated Joe Burns, edging behind, and went on to find a bouncing seaming delivery for James Bazley that would not have been out of place if bowled by Pat Cummins at the concurrent SCG Test.Carlos Brathwaite took four wickets•Getty Images

Solace for the Heat was found in the form of a punchy cameo from Lewis Gregory, who did better than the rest of the lineup in terms of locating the timing necessary to clear the rope. Gregory’s two sixes, both of them enormous, were enough to ensure the Heat made it to the cusp of 150, aided too by another strong blow delivered by Jack Wildermuth. Jake Ball’s three wickets in support of Brathwaite were, in costing 25 from two overs, a little on the expensive side.Bartlett, Wildermuth put Sixers on back footWhile Xavier Bartlett didn’t claim a wicket in his opening spell, he set a significant tone for the Heat with the away swing and seam he was able to gain to beat the bat more than once and underline how this was no straightforward chase for the Sixers. At the other end, Wildermuth was able to capitalise, having Josh Phillipe pouched at midwicket after Bryant had dropped him on the boundary forward of square leg, and winning an lbw verdict against Jack Edwards.Lynn was able to call upon Mujeeb Ur Rahman to followup, and when he coaxed James Vince to pull stylishly into deep midwicket’s hands and then clean bowled Jordan Silk with a variation that snaked back nicely between bat and pad, the Heat looked to be well and truly on course. The Sixers captain Hughes remained in occupation, and with Christian walking out to join him and the Power Surge overs still to be taken, the game was still there for the winning.Christian, Hughes turn the tablesAlthough Hughes and Christian were able to claim the extra point for surpassing the Heat’s 10-over tally, they were compelled to play with a certain degree of conservatism through until the 15th over, allowing the runs equation to blow out to 10 an over required. At this point Hughes called the Power Surge, and the flood of runs followed: 37 runs in all with four boundaries taken off Gregory and then a trio of sixes clumped by Christian off Mark Steketee.That left 25 runs required from the final four overs, and though Hughes departed soon afterwards, to be followed by Brathwaite and O’Keefe as Bazley delivered a mature spell of fast mediums, Christian remained at the crease and in control. Needing 11 from Bartlett’s final over, Christian blazed the first well into the stands at square leg to leave only five required, before a slice dropped by Wildermuth then a hectic sprint back next ball brought a pair of twos. The last ball was an obliging full toss that Christian swung to the fine leg boundary to fetch the points for the Sixers.Christian brought up two landmarks during the course of the game, taking his 250th wicket and scoring his 5000th run in his T20 career. He is only the fifth man to complete that double, following Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Andre Russell and Shakib Al Hasan.

If the visitors manage to pull it off, it will be the highest successful chase in Pakistan

Firdose Moonda07-Feb-2021Free your mind and the runs will surely follow.That’s the message South Africa’s coaching staff gave their batsmen as they set out in search of the highest successful chase in Pakistan.”We’ve encouraged the guys to be themselves and just play. We’ve done a lot of work in terms of clearing their minds and playing within their own characters,” Enoch Nkwe, South Africa’s assistant coach said. “And when the opportunity is there to speed up the game, do that and if it’s not there, absorb pressure as well as we can.”Nkwe confirmed that the magnitude of the task has not put South Africa off pushing for victory, especially as a draw would give Pakistan the series anyway. But they plan to be cautious about how to go about getting the 243 runs they need to level the two-match series. “We’ve spoken about making sure we keep up the intensity, we stay in the moment and we don’t get carried away. But we are not going to go in waiting for 5 o’clock. We are going to play and let’s see how far we get,” Nkwe said.South Africa will face 98 overs on the final day, light-permitting, which means they need to score at less than 2.5 runs an over. More importantly, for Nkwe, they need to make sure they bat well in pairs. “There’s a lot of belief, and guys backing themselves a bit more and freeing themselves up. We want to win this. We want to build big partnerships.”Aiden Markram and Rassie van der Dussen’s second-wicket stand is worth 94 and has been almost incident-free. Crucially, they saw South Africa to the close of day four without any late-in-the-day wobbles, as was the case in Karachi. There, South Africa were 175 for 1 towards the end of the third day, Markram and van der Dussen had put on 127 runs together and the team were 17 runs in the lead before they lost three wickets for 10 runs and the momentum. Their remaining six wickets fell for 58 runs on the fourth morning and Nkwe does not want to see a repeat of that.”In the last Test match right at the close of play, we lowered our intensity. That was an area we looked at and it’s good to see the guys responding. It’s good that the same two (Markram and van der Dussen) that were in the situation in the first Test are taking full responsibility to make sure the team doesn’t fall into that again,” Nkwe said. “Hopefully they can build on this partnership because that is going to be key. We know in the subcontinent wickets can fall in clusters and that’s something we are trying to avoid.”South Africa have already collapsed once in this Test, losing five wickets for 37 runs in the first innings and have suffered similar fates over the last few seasons. Many reasons have been mooted for the line-ups frailty, including loss of confidence due to overly spinner-friendly conditions on tours to Sri Lanka and India and overly seamer-friendly conditions at home and loss of experience after the retirements of AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla in the last three years.Chances are that the root cause of the problem is a combination of those factors and only a change in form and results will suggest the corner has been turned. Nkwe said South Africa know that. “The batting unit know they haven’t done as well as they wanted to. We wanted to score more hundreds, so hopefully tomorrow we can have a hundred or two, if all goes well. Hopefully tomorrow we can look to take a step forward as a batting unit. That will give us a lot of confidence for future series. The wicket is playing quite well and the guys just need to apply themselves.”Asked if the team knew about or would take inspiration from West Indies’ successful chase of the highest total in Asia, Nkwe said the team hadn’t been keeping too close an eye on the Chattogram Test but would get up to speed before the final day in Rawalpindi. “We haven’t been following that. We’ve been focusing on our game and we need to really stay connected in terms of what we are looking to achieve. But I’m sure tonight when we watch some highlights or go through Cricinfo guys might find some sort of motivation,” he said. “We also have enough cricketers in our changeroom that have been role models and are really encouraging the guys. Every individual understands how important it is that we chase this down.”South Africa do not have any more Test cricket scheduled this summer after Australia postponed their series in South Africa which was due to be played in March. Discussions are ongoing about lining up winter opposition and confirming fixtures for next season, when South Africa hope to be able to compete more strongly in the World Test Championship. They will finish this tournament in sixth place.

The visitors will arrive in Dhaka on January 10 and are likely to do in-room quarantine for the first three days

Mohammad Isam15-Dec-2020West Indies will tour Bangladesh for three ODIs and two Tests in January, CWI confirmed on Tuesday after their inspection team reported back to the board of directors on what they saw during their short trip earlier this month. The tour will be a shortened one from what was originally scheduled, as there will be one less Test and no T20I series.The visitors will arrive in Dhaka on January 10, after which they are likely to do in-room quarantine for the first three days, followed by four days of training among themselves. They will play a warm-up one-day game at the BKSP in Savar, some 40km to the north of the capital Dhaka.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The ODIs will be played on January 20, 22 and 25, with the third game to be held at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram, which will also host the first Test from February 3. Ahead of the Test series, West Indies will also play a four-day warm-up game at the MA Aziz Stadium (also in Chattogram), a ground just across the road from the team hotel.The second Test is in Dhaka from February 11, and West Indies are expected to leave the capital on February 16. This will be Bangladesh’s first international series since the pandemic put most of the world into lockdown. Bangladesh have already had bilateral series against Pakistan, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and Sri Lanka postponed indefinitely, although the BCB has maintained that they are trying to rearrange all of these matches.

Kevin Pietersen has been omitted from England’s 30-man squad for the ICC World Twenty20, apparently ending chances of a limited-over return

George Dobell18-Jul-2012Kevin Pietersen has been omitted from England’s provisional 30-man squad for the ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka later this year, despite his insistence that he was available for the event. The announcement suggests Pietersen is unlikely to end his premature retirement from limited-overs internationals in the near future.Pietersen, who was player of the tournament when England won the World
T20 in the Caribbean in 2010 – the only global trophy they have ever won – has always maintained his desire to play in England’s defence. Last week he said he would also be open to an ODI return if his schedule could be lessened. “I would love to play for another three or four years in all forms of cricket,” he said.Under the terms of England central contracts, a player cannot be considered for one format of the limited-overs game unless they are available for both. While Pietersen’s comments suggest he is prepared to play all formats, the England management still consider him ‘retired’ as he remains reluctant to commit to the team’s full schedule.Andy Flower, the England team director, responded to the news that Pietersen’s representatives were in talks with the ECB by saying that the situation had not changed and that a return was unlikely. He appears to have got his way, with Alex Hales, who scored 99 on his return to the T20I side against West Indies in June, likely to continue as opener.The final squad will be cut to 15 by August 18, ahead of the start of the tournament in mid-September. England’s first game will be against Afghanistan on September 21, with India also in Group A. While there is scope for players outside the 30 to be named in the final 15, it can only happen in exceptional circumstances. That usually means injury.While there is no place for Pietersen, there are recalls for England’s ODI captain, Alastair Cook, Ian Bell, who has recently made a successful return to the ODI side, Michael Lumb, who opened for England in the Caribbean in 2010, and Gareth Batty, who enjoyed a good domestic T20 season with Surrey. Joe Root, the young Yorkshire batsman, is also included for the first time, as is Lancashire’s Steven Croft, alongside other young players such as Ben Stokes, James Taylor and Jos Buttler.Matt Prior, England’s Test wicketkeeper who has continued to impress in limited-overs cricket at domestic level, is also an intriguing selection and offers a potential alternative to Craig Kieswetter.Provisional squad Stuart Broad (capt), James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Gareth Batty, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Scott Borthwick, Tim Bresnan, Danny Briggs, Jos Buttler, Alastair Cook, Steven Croft, Steven Davies, Jade Dernbach, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Craig Kieswetter, Michael Lumb, Stuart Meaker, Eoin Morgan, Graham Onions, Samit Patel, Matt Prior, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Graeme Swann, James Taylor, James Tredwell, Chris Woakes, Luke Wright

Super Kings crashed to the bottom of the points table after another feeble effort with the bat

Deivarayan Muthu19-Oct-20203:20

Could Dhoni and Jadeja have approached the innings better?

After legspinners Shreyas Gopal and Rahul Tewatia pinned down Chennai Super Kings to 125 for 5, Jos Buttler knocked them over to the bottom of the points table with a powerful 70 off 48 balls. Rajasthan Royals climbed to fifth place, boosting their chances of making the playoffs.Earlier in the evening, Gopal and Tewatia didn’t concede a single boundary and bowled 23 dots between them. All up, the Super Kings batsmen faced 51 dots and never got going in any shape or form.Their seamers Deepak Chahar and Josh Hazlewood, though, got swing going and dismissed the Royals’ top three within five overs. Steven Smith particularly struggled in the early exchanges, but Buttler showed his range, finishing the chase with seven wickets and 15 balls to spare, thereby improving their net run-rate as well.Jos Buttler celebrates a well-compiled fifty•BCCI

CSK’s sleepwalk
Jofra Archer ambled in, hit speeds north of 145kph, and regularly beat pinch-hitting opener Sam Curran’s outside edge. Then, when Archer hit 150kph and the outside edge, Curran poked it past slip. After managing only eight off 13 balls against the rapid pace of Archer and Kartik Tyagi, Curran went searching for an escape route against Gopal, but the spinner clevely dangled a wrong’un away from his reach and had him holing out for 22 off 25 balls. At that point, the Super Kings were 53 for 3 in the ninth over, having lost Faf du Plessis and Shane Watson as well.In the next over, Tewatia had Rayudu caught behind off a weak sweep with a front-of-the-hand flipper. MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja sleepwalked through the middle overs, and no Super Kings batsman tried to unsettle the two legspinners. The Super Kings went 50 balls without a boundary and although Jadeja helped end the drought with four fours, the Super Kings ended with the lowest score batting first this IPL.Jos the Boss
While the Super Kings got only 13 fours, Buttler alone hit nine. While his captain Smith was barely striking at 75, Buttler nearly doubled that strike rate.He got cracking with a reverse-sweep over point off Jadeja’s first over. Neither Jadeja nor Piyush Chawla, who was introduced into the attack only in the 13th over, found as much grip and turn as the Royals’ spinners had done. Having seen off testing spells from Chahar and Hazlewood, Buttler laid into Shardul Thakur and Chawla, taking them for 48 off 27 balls.Buttler raised his fifty off 37 balls by depositing Chawla’s wrong’un for six and then rushed the Royals home.

The second four-day game at Lodge Road was headed towards a draw, with only 40 overs possible on the penultimate day

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Aug-2012
ScorecardThe second four-day game at Lodge Road was headed towards a draw, with only 40 overs possible on the penultimate day. South Africa A had added 101 in that period for the loss of two wickets before a heavy afternoon downpour forced an early end. Heino Kuhn made the most of the rain-hit day, making an unbeaten half-century.The visitors resumed on 101 for 4, with Farhaan Behardien and Stiaan van Zyl at the crease. The pair had added 19 before Stuart Thompson got the first breakthrough for Ireland XI, dismissing Behardien for 44. Thompson struck again five balls later when he had van Zyl caught for 44. The hosts couldn’t capitalise on those breakthroughs as Kuhn and Ryan McLaren added an unbeaten 98. Kuhn hit six fours in his 57, while McLaren hit four fours in his undefeated 36. The rain struck around 2.30pm, ruling out the possibility of further play. At 3.50pm, the umpires decided to call it off.The entire first day was washed out.

Gloucestershire fail to get going with the bat as Surrey wrap up six-wicket win

Matt Roller04-Oct-2020Surrey strutted into their final T20 Blast final since 2013 by beating Gloucestershire with eight balls to spare to seal their ninth win on the bounce in an 11-over game at Edgbaston after the rain eventually relented in Birmingham.Gloucestershire’s fraught start, in which their openers struggled to get bat on ball, set the tone for a frantic innings in which they compiled only 73. Liam Plunkett, who took 3 for 11, was the standout performer, but Reece Topley and Will Jacks’ frugal start was just as important.In the chase, Gloucestershire threatened put the squeeze on in the middle overs to keep the nerves jangling in the Surrey dugout, but after Jacks and Jason Roy had pounded three boundaries in the first over it always looked like being their day, and Ben Foakes’ run-a-ball 20 secured their spot in the final.Amla axedWith four top-order batsmen in their quarter-final side, Surrey had no interest in reputations when picking their side: they left out a man with 349 internationals caps, Hashim Amla, for a man with none, Jordan Clark, who had impressed in an intra-squad game after missing the group stage with injury. In the event it mattered little, but it will be intriguing to see if they stick with the same formula in the final.Both sides had played abbreviated games earlier in the competition: Gloucestershire won a 12-over thrash against Birmingham Bears on this ground, while Surrey had cruised past Hampshire in an 11-over contest. It was no surprise that Gareth Batty chose to bowl with no idea how the pitch would play after three days under cover, but Surrey’s start exceeded even his wildest dreams.Gloucs fluff their linesWhether or not Gloucestershire had a score in mind for their 3.2 overs of Powerplay, it is hard to picture their plan involved a total of 12 for 1 after that stage. Chris Dent and Miles Hammond seemed panicked by the occasion as they failed repeatedly to lay bat on ball; when Hammond skied his 11th ball up to Foakes with a single run to his name, there must have been some temptation to drop it and extend his misery.Ian Cockbain then flicked the first ball after the fielding restrictions were lifted to midwicket, and Dent skied a catch up in the same direction and over later. Jack Taylor holed out to the boundary-rider to give Plunkett a wicket with his first ball, and while Ryan Higgins and Benny Howell briefly threatened a late flourish, the same man removed both in as many balls to extinguish any lingering hope of reaching a par score.No Payne, no gainWith Gloucestershire desperate for early wickets if they were to set the game up for their middle-over stalwarts Howell and Tom Smith, it seemed obvious who should take the new ball: in David Payne, they had the Blast’s leading Powerplay wicket-taker since 2017 in their side.But by the time Payne came on for the second over, the task was almost insurmountable: Graeme van Buuren’s left-arm spin had been carved for three boundaries by Roy and Jacks. Payne removed Roy with his fourth ball thanks to a superb catch from Howell running back, but with the required rate already down at a run a ball, it seemed like the game was already up.Surrey threatened a wobble when they went 16 balls without a boundary in the middle overs, struggling to time the ball against Howell and Smith, but when Foakes drilled a straight six it eased the chokehold and took the equation back down to six an over.Payne’s cutter removed Foakes to give him a third wicket, but Jamie Overton – unused with the ball – pushed a full toss down the ground to seal the win.