All posts by n8rngtd.top

Ashen Bandara impressed for SLC Blues but their total never looked like being enough

Madushka Balasuriya15-Aug-2022An unbeaten 56 from Kusal Mendis anchored a relatively straightforward chase as SLC Reds secured a seven-wicket victory over SLC Blues to win the SLC Invitational T20 League.The tournament was organised at the eleventh hour, as the economic crisis enveloping Sri Lanka had forced the postponement of the Lanka Premier League. The idea was to allow fringe players to catch the eye of selectors ahead of the Asia Cup, and for those already in the national fold to cement their places.And for Reds, it was the national team stalwarts that produced the goods on the big occasion.Chasing down a modest target of 137, Reds barely broke a sweat, stitching partnerships together with ease, with Reds skipper Mendis a mainstay in each of them. The first was a 49-run opening stand with Lasith Croospulle, followed by partnerships of 19, 33 and 36, with Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Kamindu Mendis and Wanindu Hasaranga respectively.It was Hasaranga’s 14-ball 24-run cameo in the end that brought proceedings to a brisk close, as he walloped four boundaries in his brief stint, two of which came in what turned out to be the final over of the game.Praveen Jayawickrama was the pick of an otherwise ineffective Blues attack, picking up figures of 2 for 34.Credit, however, must go to Mendis, who blunted the rest of the attack with timely boundaries and was then content to turn over the strike, with scoreboard pressure a non-issue. His 56 came off 45 deliveries, and included four boundaries and a six. It was a mature knock, and one slightly more circumspect than his blistering 86 in the previous match – also against Blues.It meant that Reds would remain in control of proceedings for nearly the entirety of the game, with their bowlers having earlier put in a solid performance to throttle Blues’ batters.Maheesh Theekshana and the in-form Asitha Fernando picked up two wickets each, while Dunith Wellalage and Lahiru Madushanka grabbed one apiece. It was Theekshana who proved to be the proverbial battering ram, once again striking inside the powerplay in what is fast becoming his forte.He struck off the last ball of his second over, the third of the game, trapping Lahiru Samarakoon lbw, before completing a sensational return catch at the start of his next over to dismiss a dangerous-looking Sadeera Samarawickrama. This put him on a hat-trick, but while that feat was not meant to be he saw to it that his side started off on the front foot – an advantage they would scarcely look like surrendering as the match wore on.Matheesha Pathirana and, surprisingly, Hasaranga went wicketless, though the latter was miserly, giving away 24 in his four overs. Indeed, all the bowlers employed by Reds proved largely economical, with only Pathirana on the expensive side going for 20 runs in his two overs.For Blues it was Lahiru Udara, the wicketkeeper-batter opening the innings, skipper Dhananjaya de Silva and Ashen Bandara – not for the first time this tournament – at No. 5, who managed to put up any sort of resistance, scoring 37, 25 and 40 respectively.Udara put on a 39-run stand with Dhananjaya following the early losses of Samarakoon and Samarawickrama. The partnership was just beginning to look threatening, with Dhananjaya in particular starting to find the boundaries, when he was stumped off Dunith Wellalage.Blues’ worries were compounded when Udara fell shortly after, but Bandara took over, tacking together a 42-run partnership with Janith Liyanage. Liyanage would account for just 12 of those runs, as Bandara took charge, striking four boundaries in his 30-ball effort.Bandara, the spritely 23-year-old, would remain unbeaten, striking a boundary in each of the final three overs of the innings, but a lack of support at the other end meant only one outcome was ever likely.

Freya Davies and Amelia Kerr chip away to set up straightforward run chase

ECB Reporters Network24-Aug-2022Freya Davies and Amelia Kerr starred with the ball as London Spirit broke their duck at the fourth attempt in this year’s Hundred with an emphatic eight-wicket victory over still-winless Welsh Fire.England quick Davies struck twice in two balls on her way to figures of 3 for 25, while New Zealand legspinner Kerr took the crucial wickets of Sarah Bryce and Nicola Carey in a miserly spell of 2 for 14 to restrict Fire to a below-par 119.Australian legend Beth Mooney made light of the chase, finishing unbeaten on 61 after sharing an opening stand of 66 with pinch-hitter Danielle Gibson as Spirit got home with 14 balls to spare.Having failed to chase down a score in their three previous matches Fire understandably chose to bat on winning the toss, but their innings followed a familiar pattern.Bryce, promoted to fill the shoes of Hayley Matthews, who had departed to the Caribbean Premier League, gave early impetus, latching onto some short pitch bowling from Spirit to score boundaries either side of the wicket and despatching a full toss from the otherwise impressive Kerr over the ropes for the only six off the innings.Freya Davies removed Tammy Beaumont and Annabel Sutherland off successive deliveries•ECB/Getty Images

Skipper Tammy Beaumont too flourished briefly in an opening stand of 46 before missing a straight one from Davies which flattened her middle stump. Davies then made it two in two with a peach of an inswinger which castled Annabel Sutherland.Spinners Grace Scrivens and Kerr tightened Spirit’s grip by attacking the stumps and pressure told when Bryce lofted the latter to long-on to end an enterprising knock. Thereafter only Carey broke the shackles, taking three fours off one set from Gibson, but Kerr returned to have her stumped by Mooney.Their total of 119 looked light and Gibson, opening for the first time in the tournament, set about the chase with relish with some brutal hitting, including hoisting Carey for a glorious straight six.Related

• Signatures, selfies, smiles… on a solo debut

• Capsey, bowlers hand Phoenix their first defeat

• Shrubsole takes three as Brave defend modest total

• Bates: 'We've never had to deal with it as overseas players in the past'

• Wolvaardt's unbeaten 90 drives Superchargers to turnaround victory

An ugly tennis shot to a short ball from Sutherland looked to have ended the fun on 24, but Fire’s luck was out as a no-ball was called. Gibson celebrated the reprieve by thrashing one from Alex Hartley to the long-off boundary to raise the 50 stand.Mooney had played second fiddle to this juncture, but joined in the fun with a lofted drive over cover, before a cut shot bisected two fielders to the fence at third. By the time a repeat of the tennis shot proved Gibson’s undoing, Spirit had 66 on the board and needed just a run a ball.Sophie Luff, who might have been run out for nought, didn’t stay long, but Mooney reached 50 with her ninth four as the hosts cantered home.

Says his team are “underdogs”, and winning the T20 World Cup “would mean the world” to them

Deivarayan Muthu16-Oct-20221:51

Nicholas Pooran: You don’t need big names to win a World Cup

This will be the first Men’s T20 World Cup without both Chris Gayle, whose West Indies future is uncertain, and Dwayne Bravo, who has retired from international cricket. West Indies will also be without Andre Russell, Sunil Narine and Shimron Hetmyer, who was recently dropped from the squad after missing a “rescheduled” flight to Australia. West Indies’ side appears light on experience, but their captain Nicholas Pooran is confident his players can fire in unison to get the job done.”I think it should be a balance with experience and younger players,” Pooran said on the eve of West Indies’ opening game against Scotland in Hobart. “If you look at it, there were a lot of big names when we won those two World Cups [2012 and 2016], but we also had a lot of big names in the last year’s World Cup, as well, and we didn’t qualify [for the semis].Related

• Ottis Gibson: 'When it comes to T20 World Cups, never discount West Indies'

• Hetmyer dropped from World Cup squad over missed flight

• Yannic Cariah, who played his last T20 in 2016, in WI T20 WC squad

• King, Narine, du Plessis and Amir in ESPNcricinfo's CPL XI

“Obviously, Australia won last year, and they didn’t have too many big names, but they obviously had a team that was proven, and that was enough for them to win the World Cup.”So, coming back to us, we don’t have the big names, but we have formed a team here, and that’s been really important. Once the guys play for each other and stay together, it’ll be fine.”In the absence of several senior players, West Indies are counting on their CPL stars Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Rovman Powell, Obed McCoy, Akeal Hosein and Shamarh Brooks, who was a late addition to the squad in place of Hetmyer, to do the job for them. The odds are stacked against West Indies – they first need to compete with Scotland, Ireland and Zimbabwe in the first round to progress to the main tournament – and beating them all to win their third T20 world title would “mean the world” to them, according to Pooran.”Yeah, it [winning the title] would definitely be something special,” Pooran said. “Obviously for this group here, it’s a new group, new faces, a lot of younger players in the team. For us to obviously win this World Cup, it would be our biggest achievement as individuals.”We are underdogs in this tournament [even though] we have won the tournament twice, and a lot of people, a lot of media you see, a lot of people don’t think we can even qualify, as well. So, it will mean a lot for us. We spoke about sticking this time together. Whether we win or lose we’re going to stick together as a group, so winning this tournament, yeah, obviously we need to work really hard, but it would mean the world to us.”West Indies haven’t played Scotland before in a T20I before and, though their players have had a steady diet of T20 cricket, including the CPL, in the lead-up to the World Cup, Pooran was wary of Scotland.”Yeah, it [Scotland] will be a challenge,” Pooran said. “But our guys are confident. We’ve been here for over two weeks now. I think the guys are ready to go and acclimatising to these conditions. A lot of these guys haven’t played in Australia. This will be the first time, but the guys are confident, they’re happy. The preparation has been really good, and we just can’t wait for tomorrow to start our game.”West Indies’ wildcard pick Yannic Cariah, the 30-year-old legspin-bowling allrounder, suffered a minor bruising after being struck on his bowling hand while batting against UAE in the warm-up fixture at the MCG on October 10. It remains to be seen whether he has recovered sufficiently to play for West Indies on Monday.During the two-match T20I series against Australia, West Indies had opted against pairing Mayers up with King at the top, promoting Johnson Charles instead. Pooran kept his cards close to his chest when he was asked about West Indies’ potential combination for their opening fixture.”Yeah, we obviously have to select the team still,” Pooran said. “It’s quite early here in Australia. We haven’t sat down and discussed who’s playing tomorrow. The makeup of the team obviously varies due to the conditions here obviously, here in Hobart which has been cold for a while now, we have to go back and look at it.”

Pakistan recovered from a defeat to Thailand to notch up their first win against India in T20Is since 2016

S Sudarshanan07-Oct-2022Pakistan recovered from a surprise defeat against Thailand and inflicted a thrilling 13-run defeat on India in their Women’s T20 Asia Cup clash at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium.Allrounder Nida Dar led Pakistan’s charge first with the bat, stroking an unbeaten 56 after an early stutter before picking up two wickets, including that of returning India captain Harmanpreet Kaur. Her efforts helped Pakistan notch up their first-ever win over India in the Women’s T20 Asia Cup and only their third win in 13 matches against them. It also ended India’s winning run in the tournament.Thanks to the 76-run stand between Dar and captain Bismah Maroof, Pakistan posted 137 for 6 and then had India on the mat at 91 for 7. But Richa Ghosh, batting at No. 8 after walking off the field in the first innings due to a heat-related issue, hit 26 off just 13 balls to raise India’s hopes. But it was a task too long eventually for her.Stifling powerplay
Opting to bat, Pakistan openers Muneeba Ali and Sidra Ameen made their attacking intentions clear pretty early. Under pressure after batting let them down against Thailand, the pair looked to change their approach and was eager to put the bowlers off their lengths. Ameen used the crease well to slash Renuka Singh for a four following which Muneeba used her feet to come down and swipe Deepti Sharma past mid-on. India’s disciplined bowling meant that the efforts of the duo did not bear fruits.Pooja Vastrakar then had Ameen nicking at one outside off before Deepti, in her third over inside the powerplay, picked up two wickets in the space of three balls. She first deceived Muneeba in the air to have her stumped before trapping Omaima Sohail lbw after she missed the sweep. In the interim, there was a dropped chance of Sohail as well.Pakistan were reduced to 33 for 3 in the first six overs.Maroof, Dar lead Pakistan’s recovery
It was then upto the experienced duo of Maroof and Dar to bring Pakistan back on track. The only players in the line-up with over 100 T20Is each to their name, they showed their wares against India’s spinners. Dar was the attacker as she first swept Radha Yadav, brought in for Sneh Rana, through backward square leg before using her feet to slink down the track and hit Rajeshwari Gayakwad over mid-on.Dar got off the blocks pretty quickly, hitting a four and a six off Dayalan Hemalatha, even as Maroof took her time to get her eye in. The Pakistan captain ended her boundary drought via a pull off Pooja Vastrakar through square leg. In a bid to up the ante further, Maroof mistimed a scoop-turned-to-ramp straight to short third.Thereon, despite India making regular inroads from the other end – they picked up three wickets for just 30 runs in the last five overs, Dar moved quickly to bring up her sixth T20I half-century and in the process got Pakistan to 137.Experimentation costs India
In reply, Sabbhineni Meghana and Smriti Mandhana struggled to force the pace off the pitch against the Pakistan spinners, despite Meghana hitting a six and a four off Dar and Sadia Iqbal, brought in for the injured Diana Baig, respectively. Meghana then sliced one to cover when she tried to repeat it against Nashra Sandhu’s left-arm spin.Rodrigues then struggled to get going despite getting a couple of chances and top-edged a swipe off Dar to backward point. Even as Hemalatha got herself going from one end, Mandhana – after surviving a stamping chance – holed out to long-on on the very next ball off Sandhu to leave India in a spot at 50 for 3 in ten overs.Vastrakar, sent in at No. 5 ahead of Harmanpreet, was then run-out following a mix-up with Hemalatha before the latter was bowled in an attempt to play a cheeky paddle off legspinner Tuba Hassan. With the asking rate well over nine, Harmanpreet and Deepti added 26 off 19 balls for the sixth wicket before Deepti top-edged a sweep. Soon Harmanpreet failed to clear Aliya Riaz, who took three crucial catches towards the end, at long-on to leave India reeling.Ghosh then used her big-hitting prowess to smash Sandhu for back-to-back sixes in the 18th over before hitting one more off Iqbal in the next. But the target was always a long shot. She departed in the 19th over, leaving India needing 18 off the last over with one wicket remaining. Aiman Anwer cleaned up Rajeshwari Gayakwad with two balls remaining in the chase to secure a win for Pakistan.

He has played just the lone first-class game at the Perth Stadium despite being from Western Australia

Alex Malcolm28-Nov-20220:42

Green: I’m trying to learn how to leave the ball again

This week is supposed to be a special homecoming for Cameron Green, with the allrounder set to play his first Test match in his hometown of Perth against West Indies starting Wednesday.Green, who debuted in Test cricket in December of 2020, has not missed any of Australia’s 14 Tests since, but bizarrely not yet played at home, as Perth has not hosted a Test match since 2019.His homecoming has been the centerpiece of the marketing and media campaign to attract some locals through the gates this week. But Green admits he’s not really feeling the comforts of home. Staggeringly, he has played more first-class matches at Galle International Stadium in Sri Lanka than he has at Perth Stadium.He has played just one Sheffield Shield match there in 2018, when he was playing as a bowler for Western Australia and batting at No. 8 behind Ashton Agar. The majority of his first-class cricket in Perth at the WACA. He has played in eight T20s at Perth Stadium, but only one since January 2020.Related

• Pat Cummins: There are no cowards in the Australian team

• Holder urges West Indies quicks to not get 'carried away seeing carry and bounce' in Perth

• Perth's long wait is over after international cricket's Covid lockout

• What might Australia look like at the 2024 T20 World Cup?

• Green gung-ho about IPL 2023 but hectic calendar will make it tough, warns Warner

Instead of being a fountain of local knowledge to his teammates as the only WA-based player in the playing XI, he is trying to extract as much information as he can from his interstate-based teammates who have more experience playing there than he does.”It definitely feels weird that you’re playing a home game and not at your home,” Green said. “Everyone expects you to do well and be used to the conditions but I kind of feel like maybe some of the other boys are more used to it than I am. It’ll be a challenge.”I’m asking questions of like Marnus [Labuschagne] who batted well there a few years ago about how he found it. It’s a bit weird when you’re asking guys what it’s like in your home conditions.”Green isn’t even staying in his own bed this week. He enjoyed a rare week at home in the lead-up to the Test matches after leaving Australia’s ODI series against England early to be managed ahead of the Test summer. But this week he has opted to stay at the team hotel, having stayed at home for his only international match to-date in Perth, a T20I against England in October where he felt he relaxed too much in the build-up.1:02

Warner on Green: Nineteen weeks straight in India will get you cooked

Green is quickly learning about life as a three-format player on the run, just as he learned about Test cricket on the run over the last two years.Ahead of his first home Test summer in 2020-21 against India Green played eight first-class matches, piling up three hundreds, and bowled in four of them.Before his second home summer in 2021-22, Green played five first-class matches for WA, making a century and three half-centuries, and took wickets in every game in preparation for the Ashes.Prior to a five-Test home summer against West Indies and South Africa in 2022-23, Green has not played a single red-ball game. His last first-class fixture was the second Test against Sri Lanka in Galle in July. He has played six ODIs and seven T20Is since the end of August having become a permanent member of the ODI team, and a fringe member of the T20I side.He was preparing to play Shield cricket in mid-October and was literally facing red balls in the nets when he was told he was going to join the T20 World Cup squad following the freak injury to Josh Inglis, having left them only days earlier following the T20I series against England.Green is trying to come to terms with short lead-ins to Test matches. “That’s the unfortunate nature of playing three formats,” he said. “You don’t really get much preparation, which I’m not too used to. I’m used to like a good month or so leading into a Test series. It’s something that I’ll have to get used to and I’ve got a lot of added respect for the guys that do it.”Unlike David Warner, Steven Smith, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc or Josh Hazlewood, Green doesn’t have one discipline to prepare for, he has two.Green has played 14 Tests, but none at his hometown•Getty Images

Learning how to manage his time and prioritise his practice sessions is all part of his education. Green would prefer to put his time exclusively into his batting. He was the last man left out in the middle of the WACA at Australia’s compulsory three-hour centre-wicket session on Monday. He was only outlasted by Smith who was still in the nets when Green pulled his pads off as he tried to get used to the rhythms of Test-match batting after three months of white-ball bashing.”It’s basically trying to learn how to leave the ball again,” Green said. “I think in white-ball cricket, you’re trying to hit the ball and your contact point is well in front of your eyes, basically trying and get a full swing at it. So I think it’s learning to rein it back to be able to defend under your eyes. Because it feels like a different game at times.”But he also needs to work on his bowling. Three months of white-ball cricket has meant he has not got his bowling loads to the optimal level ahead of five back-to-back Test matches, although he has edged closer in the past week.His history of stress-related back injuries remains at the forefront of Australia’s minds, but his overs and his bowling skill remain vitally important to the balance of Australia’s attack. He no longer has the technical counsel of Matt Mason, the former WA bowling coach who has since joined England’s women’s team after leaving Perth last summer. But Green continues to use his technical advice as he tries to remain fit and healthy throughout another big summer campaign.”Matt Mason left me in a really good place,” Green said. “I think he had two really simple focuses that I have towards my bowling, basically jumping straight and not trying to jump too much. Trying to keep as balanced as I can at the crease. A couple of really nice clear checkpoints to kind of check in every so often and I’ve had two or three good sessions with them this week.”Green will have to continue to manage himself through an unrelenting schedule over the next 12 months, which will only be exacerbated if he adds the IPL to tours of India, England and the World Cup in 2023.Perth itself may become as foreign to him by the end of it as Perth Stadium is this week.

Both sides are highly unlikely to make the WTC final, but New Zealand will look to make it three unbeaten away series against Pakistan in a row

Danyal Rasool01-Jan-2023

Big picture

For Pakistan, this game cannot come – and go – soon enough. A home Test season of historically miserable proportions will finally draw to a close for the hosts next week, and regardless of the outcome of the second Test in Karachi, that is precisely how it will be viewed. You might imagine the end of this week will allow Pakistan to take stock, assess what went wrong, perhaps even commission one of those reports that never really end up seeing the light of day.Most likely, though, with just two Tests to play in the next 11 months, they will instead turn their attention to white-ball cricket. By the time the Test tour of Sri Lanka rolls around, they’ll have found some new kid who smashed it around in the PSL or bowled really fast. Shahid Afridi will include him in that ever-expanding list of probables for the Test squad because six months is too long a time to remember what Pakistan’s Test problems actually were.For now, however, there is a series to be won, though New Zealand will wonder how they haven’t put that possibility out of Pakistan’s reach just yet. In a slow burner of a first Test, there was just enough time for the visitors to show their superior levels of patience with the bat, and greater potency with the ball. And yet, just a touch too much patience with the bat, and slightly too little potency with the ball as the clock ran out on the visitors as they stood about half an hour away from a well-deserved victory.On flat surfaces like that one, a solitary poor batting session can determine the course of a game. The first Test was shaped by the very first session, where some horrific decision making from Pakistan’s batters gifted New Zealand four early wickets, ensuring Pakistan would never be able to put up the sort of total to intimidate New Zealand. But with Pakistan promising a spicier surface for the second Test, and plenty of grass left on the strip overnight, there are opportunities for fast bowlers to get into the game, posing selection dilemmas and strategic reconsiderations.While Pakistan see out their season with this tour, for New Zealand, it is merely an hors d’oeuvre. A short white-ball series in India will be followed by a return home for a visit of England, and while conditions there will bear little resemblance to this, they will want to match England’s away series win in Pakistan with one of their own.For it, they have come reasonably well equipped. They boast arguably the most reliable opening pair in Test cricket at the moment, with Tom Latham’s exceptional record in Asia of considerable value on these strips. Kane Williamson has roared back into form with a solid middle order to follow. The spinners out-bowled their Pakistani counterparts this week, and while a green-top wicket might have them wishing Trent Boult was available, in Tim Southee and Matt Henry they have significantly greater experience than Pakistan can boast in that department.Both sides are out of form, and all but out of contention for the World Test Championship final. Pakistan are increasingly desperate to end a home Test drought, while New Zealand look to make it three unbeaten away series against Pakistan in a row. It feels like something of a free hit with the series trophy the enticingly dangled carrot at the end of it.Related

• 'We took a chance, you never know. It's cricket' – Babar Azam on unexpected declaration

• New Zealand tee off after Babar declares, but bad light forces stalemate

• Williamson and New Zealand and a throwback to old Test cricket

Form guide

Pakistan: DLLLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)

New Zealand: DLLLL

In the spotlight

Pakistan have enough on their plate without needing to worry about Abdullah Shafique, whose explosive start to his Test career solved one half of Pakistan’s opening woes. After a breakthrough first season in international cricket, though, the runs have dried up over this winter, with a hundred on an extremely flat track in Rawalpindi followed up by seven innings without a half-century.The good news is there doesn’t appear to be a glaring technical flaw – he has got starts in nearly each of those innings; only once in the last seven has he faced fewer than 20 deliveries. There have been several instances of losses of concentration, though, which accounted for both of his dismissals in the first Test. He would dance down the track to spin in each innings, only to be stumped in the first and caught at mid-on the second. Pakistan need him to rediscover the grit that marked him out as a standout opener in the first half of his career, and with no Tests scheduled for Pakistan until July, Shafique will want to sign off on a high.Pakistan did indicate they wanted to prepare a bouncier surface for the second Test, but New Zealand’s spin attack needn’t worry too much. The Karachi surface has always offered spin right from the outset, and while Ish Sodhi and Ajaz Patel are expected to be the main threats, watch out for Michael Bracewell. His four wickets in the first Test were more than respectable, but Pakistan have picked up a habit of gifting inexperienced opposition spinners wickets in clumps over the years.New Zealand’s own Will Somerville offers the most pertinent example – seven of his 15 Test wickets came on debut against Pakistan. Rehan Ahmed picked up a debut five-for a fortnight earlier, and Will Jacks’ six a couple of Tests before that. Marcus North, Paul Harris and Nathan Hauritz are all members of this unlikely, eclectic list, one Bracewell wouldn’t mind joining to kick off 2023.Ish Sodhi and New Zealand showed their class in the first Test, with the visitors perhaps a tad unlucky not to come away with a win•AFP/Getty Images

Pitch and conditions

A fresh pitch is expected for the final game, with conditions similar to what they were for the first Test. Pakistan want more bounce. Whether they get it in the weak winter sunshine is another question altogether.

Team news

A more pace-friendly surface should see Pakistan opt for a third seamer, with Hasan Ali and Shahnawaz Dahani both in the squad.Pakistan (probable): 1 Imam-ul-Haq 2 Abdullah Shafique 3 Shan Masood 4 Babar Azam (capt) 5 Saud Shakeel 6 Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk) 7 Salman Ali Agha 8 Hasan Ali 9 Mohammad Wasim 10 Mir Hamza 11 Abrar AhmedNew Zealand batting coach Luke Ronchi acknowledged the wicket looked different to the one for the first Test, which may alter their bowling combination, too.New Zealand (probable): 1 Tom Latham, 2 Devon Conway, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Henry Nicholls, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Tom Blundell (wk), 7 Michael Bracewell 8 Tim Southee, 9 Ish Sodhi 10 Neil Wagner, 11 Ajaz Patel/Matt Henry

Stats and trivia

• Daryl Mitchell is 17 runs from 1000 Test runs, and Abdullah Shafique is 27 away. Should Mitchell get there in the first innings, he would join Devon Conway as the fastest New Zealand player to the mark.
• Pakistan last beat New Zealand in a home series in 2002. They have since lost one and drawn the other, both in the UAE.

Spin will likely dominate again and the visitors need to keep Ashwin and Jadeja at bay much longer than they managed in Nagpur

Andrew McGlashan16-Feb-20235:01

Pitchside: Will Australia play three spinners in Delhi?

Big Picture

It was at this ground, when it was officially known as the Feroz Shah Kotla, a much more evocative name than its current moniker, that the Border-Gavaskar Trophy began. A one-off Test in October 1996, decided by Anil Kumble’s nine wickets and Nayan Mongia’s career-best 152 spanning more than eight hours, in what was Australia’s first Test in the country for 10 years.From that relatively low-key beginning, series between these two teams have grown into the dominant Test tussle alongside the Ashes. And Australia certainly don’t wait 10 years between visits now. But there are already signs this tour may be a one-sided affair. The Border-Gavaskar Trophy could be retained in this game after India’s thumping victory in Nagpur. Australia have a pile of issues to resolve if they are to compete – while they have not suddenly become a bad team, a rebound victory would be a remarkable achievement.Related

• Cheteshwar Pujara: 'My passion became my profession'

• Starc 'still lacking a bit of strength', touch and go to be ready for Delhi Test

• Cheteshwar Pujara, a throwback and a one-off

• Australia could pick third spinner instead of Starc, if Green is fit

Given how dominant India were in the opening match, it is easy to forget that Australia did have a little foothold shortly after lunch on the opening day as Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith settled in. But 84 for 2 was as good as it got for the first visitors. Conjecture about whether 177 could be competitive were put into context by Rohit Sharma and then India’s lower order. Australia’s 91 looked bad – and was – but the game was lost long before then.They know what they are going to get (why would India change such a successful game plan?) so they need to find some answers. Pat Cummins and Andrew McDonald have tried to portray a sense of calm – it is one of the qualities of this Australian team – so will be reluctant for major changes to personnel or tactics. A lot rests on the fitness or otherwise of Cameron Green about how much reshuffling they can do.The last Test on this ground, in 2017, was actually a relatively high-scoring draw where Sri Lanka were able to survive more than 100 overs in the second innings. It would be a surprise if this match took a similar shape: something more akin to Australia’s previous Test here, in 2013, is perhaps likelier where R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja bagged a five-wicket haul apiece – they have been doing it for a long time.That was at the end of the homeworkgate tour and Australia were a bit of a mess – Shane Watson, who had been dropped in that fiasco, captained the team – but Nathan Lyon should at least have some positive memories after taking 7 for 94. Todd Murphy’s debut may just have him looking over his shoulder. Glenn Maxwell, whose potential value to this side has grown in his absence, opened the batting in the second innings. It remains to be seen how funky Australia get in their bid to stop the Indian juggernaut.5:53

Chopra: Rahul should play, but needs runs

Form guide

(last five matches, most recent first)
India WWWLW
Australia LDWWW

In the spotlight

Australia’s selectors showed their hand by leaving out Travis Head based on a poor subcontinent record, so the attention has to turn to David Warner. Not that he was the only other batter to struggle, but he has been to India plenty of times and his Test record is poor. In Nagpur he was bowled from round the wicket by Mohammed Shami then trapped lbw by Ashwin having been rendered almost strokeless. He dug deep at the MCG a couple of months ago for his double century when questions were being asked, but those conditions were much more in his favour.Test match No. 100 for Cheteshwar Pujara. He has been a thorn in Australia’s side over the last three series – most famously the back-to-back victories down under – and he will be keen to atone for the uncharacteristic shot in Nagpur when he top-edged a rarely-seen sweep. His form at home over the last two years has been ropey – he hasn’t passed fifty since making 73 against England in Chennai in 2021 – and there is considerable young batting talent around, but you can never discount someone with Pujara’s record.Shreyas Iyer is expected to return•Associated Press

Team news

Shreyas Iyer, who averages 56.72 from seven Tests, is set to return to the middle at the expense of Suryakumar Yadav. With talent in the wings, not least Shubman Gill, there is pressure on some of the senior batters to find a score.India (probable) 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Shreyas Iyer, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 KS Bharat (wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Axar Patel, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Mohammed SirajIf Green is fit then there remains a chance Australia could play three specialist spinners which brings Ashton Agar and the uncapped Matt Kuhnemann into the frame. However, it would be a big call to leave out Mitchell Starc. There may be a reluctance to backflip on the Head decision so soon.Australia (possible) 1 David Warner, 2 Usman Khawaja, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steven Smith, 5 Peter Handscomb, 6 Matt Renshaw/Cameron Green, 7 Alex Carey (wk), 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Todd Murphy, 11 Nathan Lyon

Pitch and conditions

The surface was already looking as though it had been played on but local intel says that pitches at this ground can look different to how they actually played. However, there is not expected to be much pace and it will spin – it’s just a matter of how much and how soon. The forecast is to be sunny and warm

Stats and trivia

• India have not lost a Test at this venue since 1987 when they were beaten by West Indies
• Ravindra Jadeja needs one wicket for 250 in Tests
• R Ashwin is the third-highest wicket-taker in Tests in Delhi with 27 at 20.11 in just four Tests
• Of players to have scored more than 350 runs in Tests in India, only two – Arjuna Ranatunga and Ross Taylor – have done so at a lower average than David Warner

Quotes

“You’re gonna fail over here – it’s about failing the right way. These conditions are tough. If that’s our best chance, by taking the game on, someone taking a calculated risk, if it doesn’t come off, that’s totally fine. No stress.”
keeping this in perspective

Australia assistant coach Dan Vettori is impressed with the young spinners for playing the conditions and not the big-name India batters

Andrew McGlashan06-Mar-2023Indore. India’s first innings. Todd Murphy to Virat Kohli.It was Murphy’s only wicket of the third Test among the 18 that Australia’s spinners claimed, but it was just about the perfect set-up from the young offspinner following the seven he took on debut in Nagpur. It came amid Matthew Kuhnemann’s five-wicket haul on the opening day in Indore as India fell apart for 109.Related

• Murphy relishes 'awesome' battle with Kohli and 'surreal' start to Test cricket

• Cummins will miss final Test too, Smith to lead Australia in Ahmedabad

• Lyon's apprentice Murphy tops his master in Nagpur

• Kuhnemann follows Jadeja blueprint to inspire comeback

• Going around the wicket to take buckets of wickets

Nathan Lyon went on to enjoy one of the finest days of his stellar Test career with eight wickets in the second innings, but it’s the performance of Australia’s inexperienced spinners in this series that has been equally noteworthy.That dismissal of Kohli was the third time Murphy had removed him in the series: overall Murphy has conceded 41 runs from 99 balls against him. Kuhnemann has had Kohli twice in three innings.Spinners will rarely get better conditions to operate in, but with that comes the expectation to perform and with Murphy and Kuhnemann holding a combined first-class match tally of 20 before the series, they could easily have been overawed.”That’s the main challenge on these surfaces, the expectation is so high that you are going to do well [and] you are going to take a wicket every ball,” Australia assistant coach Daniel Vettori, who made his Test debut after just two first-class matches back in the 1996-97 season, said. “To be able to be consistent against some of the best players of spin you’ll come across in these conditions and with these expectations has probably been the most impressive thing so far.”I think the guys who do it consistently, there are quite a number of them on show in this series from both teams… they don’t wilt to the pressure. They just understand their process and they repeat, repeat and repeat. I think that’s the real skill over here. To repeat as much as you can because you can get carried away by what’s going on, the expectation, but all six spinners so far in the series have been able to manage those expectations.”Kuhnemann was more expensive in the second innings, although he did claim Kohli’s wicket, and Murphy’s wicketless 14 overs, which cost just 18 runs, have been praised for keeping a lid on India.

Daniel Vettori: Todd Murphy can attack as well as defend

Alex Carey, who was able to complete his first Test stumping when Murphy defeated Kohli in the second innings in Delhi, has had the perfect vantage point.”Credit to the two young bowlers coming in and not playing the batsmen,” he said. “Playing the conditions, playing the way that they have been for their state. I probably look to that second innings… at a time where Matty was leaking a little bit. So for him [Murphy] to do that, that’s a huge role. Although he didn’t get the wickets, we acknowledge that spell of bowling, the dryness that he had from his end.”Matthew Kuhnemann has dismissed Virat Kohli twice in three innings•BCCI

“Steve Smith singled him [Murphy] out around his performances in the last Test,” Vettori added. “Obviously Nathan and Matt got all the wickets but… his spell allowed everyone around him to take those wickets. And I think that probably embodies it, that series of balls that he’s bowled to Kohli.”Todd has that skill that he can be a defensive bowler and he can be an attacking bowler and work around pretty much whatever is required from him in the game. For such a young and inexperienced spinner… to be able to come here and handle these tough situations and perform the role that’s required has been impressive.”Vettori played eight Tests in India where he claimed 31 wickets at 44.77 in an era where the pitches were often in favour of the bat, at least in the first half of the game. It meant he hasn’t always been able to impart first-hand experience of the pitches served up in this series.”That’s been a question a lot of the guys have asked, if I’d played on these sorts of wickets and I just haven’t,” he said. “They were always just a war of attrition the wickets that I played on – India won the toss and got 600, you get 400 then hang on for dear life in the last couple of days. Now the game’s in fast forward in a lot of ways.”A game in fast forward that Australia’s young spinners are showing they can keep up with.

Australian was a part of England backroom staff for victorious tour of 2010-11

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Mar-2023David Saker, England’s bowling coach during their ascent to the No. 1 Test ranking a decade ago, has agreed to return to the role for this summer’s Ashes, after being sounded out by the Test captain, Ben Stokes.Saker, 56, is currently in Bangladesh working with England’s white-ball squad, but has agreed to link up with the red-ball team during the English summer, and reprise a role he last performed from 2010 to 2015, including two previous Ashes wins in 2010-11 and 2013. As a native Australian, he also performed the same role for his home country between 2016 and 2019.”I don’t think I’ll do much Test cricket, but I’m doing the Ashes,” Saker told reporters in Dhaka. “Ben said: ‘I’d like to get you involved in the Ashes.’ Rob Key [managing director] had already floated it a little bit, but being so busy I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to do it. Once Stokesy pushed it, it made it an easy decision. I said yes straight away because of the magnitude of the occasion. I’ve been involved in Ashes with both parties and the cricket is as exciting as it gets. It’s the biggest Test event.”Related

• Kuhnemann leaves India after 'awesome tips' from Jadeja

• Hussey, Saker appointed to England's World Cup coaching staff

• Wood plays down expectations of Ashes involvement

With his focus on mindset over technique, Saker’s methods would appear to be a good fit for England’s current Test team, which includes two of his previous charges in James Anderson and Stuart Broad, who are set to embark on their tenth and ninth Ashes campaigns respectively.”Working with England the first time was so much fun,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to do the Ashes with this group because they are the best team in the world to watch at the moment.”Baz [Brendon McCullum] will pick a team that he thinks will win and he’ll explain what he wants from the players and then it’s my job to make sure they can deliver that,” he added.”The evolution of Jimmy and Broady, they’re so confident in what they can do and they just go out and do it. That’s what you want from your bowling group. My job is to make sure the bowlers are doing that.”It’s also creating an atmosphere in the dressing room that’s enjoyable. There’s no doubt that people are enjoying turning up to that Test team. It sounds like it’s a small thing, but the dressing-room atmosphere is a huge thing in international cricket.”The England team that won in Australia in 2010-11 before rising to the top of the Test standings the following summer was blessed with a core of outstanding fast bowlers – with Anderson and Broad at the forefront but the likes of Chris Tremlett, Steven Finn and Tim Bresnan also at their peak in that period.England’s stable of quick bowlers for this summer’s Ashes could include two of the fastest in the modern game in Mark Wood and Jofra Archer, a point of difference that Saker believes could give them the edge in their bid for a first series win over Australia since 2015.”To win Ashes and big series you need a good battery of fast bowlers and that is definitely the case about England,” he said. “You can say the same about the Australians, but playing on your home patch is always an advantage for a bowling group.”It’s exciting if we can have Jofra [Archer] and [Mark] Wood available. Whether you play them together is another thing, but you need that pace against the Australians. The thing those sorts of bowlers can do, they can bowl a spell that can crack a game open.”The key is to have a group of fast bowlers ready to get selected, so it makes it tough for the selection committee to make a decision. When you get that you usually get a pretty strong team.”

“He is looking just that little bit preoccupied – maybe at this stage he is thinking about the WTC [final],” Gavaskar says

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Apr-20231:45

Where did it all go so wrong for Mumbai Indians?

Sunil Gavaskar feels Rohit Sharma, the Mumbai Indians and India captain, should take some time off from the ongoing IPL and come back fresh for the last few league games and the subsequent World Test Championship (WTC) final.”I would like to see some change in the batting order [for Mumbai Indians],” Gavaskar said on Star Sports after Mumbai Indians lost by 55 runs to Gujarat Titans on Tuesday. “Honestly, I would also say that Rohit should maybe also take a break for the time being, and keep himself fit for the World Test Championship [final]. [He can] come back again for the last few matches, but right now, [he should] take a little bit of a breather himself.”On Tuesday, Rohit was dismissed for 2 (off eight balls), an attempted flick ending up as a leading edge that flew high and into bowler Hardik Pandya’s hands. His form with the bat has been mixed, much like his team’s season. Although they started with successive losses, Mumbai Indians came back to win three in a row before again losing two back-to-back games. While Rohit has scored 181 runs in seven innings at a strike rate of 135.07, he has been dismissed between 20 and 45 on four occasions; his highest of 65 – his only fifty this season – came in a Player-of-the-Match performance against Delhi Capitals.The IPL ends on May 28, with the WTC final scheduled to start on June 7 at The Oval, where India will be facing Australia. Gavaskar wondered if Rohit had already started to think about that game, given its importance – India had lost the previous WTC final to New Zealand.”He is looking just that little bit preoccupied. Maybe at this stage he is thinking about the WTC [final], I don’t know,” Gavaskar said. “But I do believe that at this stage he needs a little bit of a break, and come back for the last three or four matches so that he is in rhythm for the World Test Championship [final].”So far this year, Rohit has played six back-to-back ODIs against Sri Lanka and New Zealand, before four Tests against Australia followed two weeks later. And, just after that, he played the second and third ODIs against Australia after missing the first ODI because of family commitments.Mumbai Indians’ next match is against Rajasthan Royals at home on Sunday. As things stand, they are at No. 7 on the ten-team table with three wins from seven games, not as bad as the bottom-place finish last season but far off the standards they have set as the most successful team in IPL history.”It’s going to be a miracle that’s going to make them qualify [for the IPL playoffs],” Gavaskar said. “The way they are at the moment, yes, they could conceivably finish [at number] four, but they will have to play some extraordinary cricket, both batting as well as bowling.”