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That call, Hardik’s performance, and a resurgent Bhuvneshwar’s four-for were key to the outcome on Sunday night

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Aug-20221:06

“Sending Jadeja at four made Pakistan delay Nawaz’s overs”

Hardik Pandya justifiably cornered most of the glory after India’s win over Pakistan in the Asia Cup last night in Dubai. But two other aspects of India’s game stood out too. Firstly, Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s four-wicket haul, including the early dismissal of Babar Azam. And secondly, a sparkling backroom idea to send Ravindra Jadeja up to bat at No. 4.Though Bhuvneshwar’s heroics came first, let’s begin with Jadeja. Rishabh Pant, the only left-handed top-order batter in the India squad, had been left out to accommodate Dinesh Karthik in the finisher’s role, which meant a top five, or even six, of right-handers. Not ideal. So Jadeja was sent out at the fall of Rohit Sharma’s wicket at the end of the eighth over. He batted through till the final over and scored 35 in 29 balls, adding 36 with Suryakumar Yadav [fourth wicket] and 52 with Hardik [fifth wicket]. A plan that clearly worked on the day.Related

• India vs Pakistan – cricket, not hype, takes centre stage ahead of Round 2

• With dry wit and a lot of mental prep, Jadeja embraces 'real pressure' in dynamic role

• Explainer – Why did India and Pakistan have five fielders inside the circle in the death overs?

• Plan for Pakistan: Open with Fakhar; Babar or Rizwan at No. 3

• Kohli shreds Dubai's nerves with perfectly imperfect knock

“The key for me was having a left-hander there in the middle because that meant they [Pakistan] couldn’t bring [Mohammad] Nawaz back,” Mickey Arthur said of India’s chase on ESPNcricinfo’s T20 Time Out programme after the game. “So they had to hold Nawaz to the back-end. And that ultimately probably cost them.”Chatting with Hardik in a bcci.tv feature after the game, Jadeja noted, “When I was promoted in the batting order, I was just thinking of taking my chances against the spinners, attack them at every opportunity I get. And our partnership was very crucial. We just talked in the middle about backing our strengths and play our shots – this was very crucial.”The Nawaz factor was a crucial one. Pakistan’s bowling combination on the night featured three right-arm quicks, a legspinner, and the one left-armer in spinner Nawaz. And Nawaz had done well. In his first over, the eighth of the innings, he had sent back Rohit. And in his next, the tenth, accounted for Virat Kohli. He bowled the 12th too, but, because of Jadeja’s presence, was brought back on only for the final over.”Nobody I think saw that [Jadeja at No. 4] coming. It was a good call. It was a good move. Something that no one really foresaw. I actually quite like that decision,” Robin Uthappa said on the same show. “Going for a bit of Pakistan’s perspective, in hindsight, they could have bowled that one over of the left-arm spinner [Nawaz] in the first six, because they had two right-handers [batting] and it was the right time.”It looked like Babar [Azam] took the safer option to bring in the spinners immediately after the powerplay. He could have brought one of them on during the powerplay. [It] would have been a great match-up for Rohit and Kohli. In the first ten balls to the spinners, they nudge the ball around and they don’t really have a great strike rate at that point in time, and that proved right again today [India were 38 for 1 after the powerplay]. That should have encouraged Pakistan.”Arthur agreed, stressing that after putting up a modest total on the board, 147, Pakistan could have done better with their spin options.”They should have taken pace off towards the back-end of the powerplay,” he said. “Principally because they knew they had only 12 overs of pace with the side they had picked, they could have gone through certainly one over of Nawaz, or even one over of Shadab [Khan, the legspinner], because I know, having studied and set up against Rohit, he doesn’t play legspin particularly well in the powerplay. Or his strike rate to legspin is a lot less.”So you could have bowled Shadab, you could have bowled Nawaz. Nawaz generally bowls in the powerplay for his franchise in the PSL anyway. That would have been a very good match-up to Virat and Rohit. Which would have delayed the overs of the genuine quicks to a little bit later in the game.”4:15

Arthur: ‘Hardik Pandya in the side means India almost have 12 players’

But well before Jadeja did his bit, there was Bhuvneshwar [and Hardik too, he was everywhere].Third over, after India had won the toss and asked Pakistan to bat, Bhuvneshwar, not known to be terribly quick, sent in a bouncer that might have caught Babar by surprise. The pull only caught the top edge and flew to Arshdeep Singh at short fine-leg. The big one gone. Bhuvneshwar returned to pick up three more wickets – Shadab, Asif Ali and Naseem Shah – in the last quarter of the innings to end with 4 for 26.”[Bhuvneshwar’s contribution] was right up there with Hardik Pandya’s contribution as well,” Uthappa noted. “His story of resurgence has been a long and arduous one. He has gone from two years from an injury, not being able to figure out what the injury was […] to work day in and day out at the NCA – and I am telling you, those are not easy days, you have a surgery, you do rehab; the rehab part is the most difficult, the surgery is the easiest – and to come back and do that boring stuff day in and day out, months on end, is extremely hard.”And he has taken his time, he’s played a lot of cricket, and he’s gotten better and better. His confidence has grown. You can see him swinging the ball early and late.”Coming as this performance did on the back of good outings in Ireland, England and the West Indies, Bhuvneshwar could be a shoo-in for the men’s T20 World Cup, in Australia in October-November. Even when Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel, India will hope, are back in the mix.

He believes the home side’s attack will be better after the challenging series in India

Andrew McGlashan30-Sep-20222:36

Has Tim David cemented his place in the Australia XI?

Josh Hazlewood believes that bowlers will be in the game during the upcoming T20 World Cup and not just at the mercy of the big-hitting batters.It will be the first time that Australia will host the men’s tournament which will take place at seven venues across the country.In terms of domestic T20 games played over the last two years – which gives a much broader sample than T20Is – Australia ranks mid-table in run rate at 8.22. Australia travel to five venues during the Super 12s stage so will need to adapt to a different ground for each opposition they face.Related

• Injured Jasprit Bumrah in doubt for the T20 World Cup

• Cummins wary of burning Green but 'huge demand' inevitable as IPL question looms

• Winners of 2022 T20 World Cup to get prize money of US $1.6 million

Due to the pandemic border restrictions, T20Is have only been played in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra over the last two seasons with the latter not hosting World Cup matches.”Think T20 in Australia, it’s probably a little bit better for the bowlers in a lot of regards,” Hazlewood said. “The outfields are bigger, the wickets have a bit more pace, [you can] use those boundaries to your advantage, depending where you are playing on the squad sometimes there are short and long boundaries.”There have been some questions raised about the health of Australia’s death bowling, but in T20Is this year they stack up reasonably well against the other World Cup nations with an economy rate in that phase of 9.85.Josh Hazlewood is an integral part of Australia’s T20 attack•Getty Images

A variety of options were used in the closing overs against India on the recent tour although three of them – Cameron Green, Daniel Sams and Nathan Ellis – are not part of the World Cup squad, while Mitchell Starc was rested from the trip.”It was a great test being in that situation,” Hazlewood said. “A lot of guys got the opportunity to bowl at the end against some of the best hitters in the game on the flattest wickets and small boundaries. There’s always stuff to work on, of course, what fields you want, what balls you want to bowl, but there’s no practice like that [and] we’ll be better off the for the run.”Hazlewood is currently the No.1-ranked T20I bowler in the world – one of only two quicks in the top 10 alongside Bhuvneshwar Kumar – but while the bid to retain the World Cup is the immediate priority, he admitted having an eye on Test season against West Indies and South Africa having played just two matches in the format since the start of the last season.He picked up a side injury during the first match of the Ashes series in Brisbane which ruled him out for the series. He was selected for the opening Test in Pakistan on a featherbed pitch in Rawalpindi before being left out for the rest of that tour, and the two matches in Sri Lanka, as Australia fielded Mitchell Swepson as the second spinner.”I’m really looking to the red-ball stuff coming up,” he said. “I haven’t played a great deal the last few years which has been a little bit disappointing.”

“Untimely shot selections seem to be deeply embedded in the T20 batting culture of our senior team,” the CWI president says

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Oct-20221:41

Simmons: Batters need to take a look at themselves

Ricky Skerritt, the Cricket West Indies president, has promised a “thorough postmortem” in a scathing assessment of the team’s early exit from the 2022 T20 World Cup.In a statement posted on CWI’s website and on Twitter, Skerritt laid the blame firmly at the feet of West Indies’ batters, saying their poor shot selection and failure against spin was key to the two-time champions bowing out in the first round of the tournament in Australia.Sri Lanka, Netherlands, Zimbabwe and Ireland – who defeated West Indies by nine wickets on Friday – advanced to the Super 12s with two wins from three matches apiece in the first round.”I am deeply disappointed with the performance results of our team in Australia and I appreciate the sense of utter frustration that is being experienced by many,” Skerritt’s statement said. “The ongoing inability of our batsmen to prevail over opposing slow bowling continued to be an obvious weakness in Australia, and untimely shot selections seem to be deeply embedded in the T20 batting culture of our senior team.”West Indies have lost six of the eight matches they have played in T20 World Cups since their 2016 final triumph in India.Related

• 'This is not going to stop me, I'm going to continue to learn' – Nicholas Pooran

• Simmons quits as West Indies coach after 'unfathomable' World Cup exit

• Pollard bemoans 'sad day' for WI cricket, says players not at fault for T20 WC exit

• Ponting calls West Indies' early exit a 'disgrace'

• Ireland knock out West Indies with commanding victory

In their opening match of this edition, they were bowled out for just 118 chasing 161 against Scotland before managing to defend a modest 153 for 7 against Zimbabwe, thanks to Alzarri Joseph’s 4 for 16 and Jason Holder’s 3 for 12. But Ireland easily overhauled their 146 for 5 on Friday to cruise into the next round. West Indies noticeably struggled against spin through the middle overs in all three of their games.Brandon King’s unbeaten 62 off 48 balls was the sole bright spot of West Indies’ innings against Ireland after they inched their way to 41 for 2 in the powerplay, scoring just five fours and one six in that time. In contrast, Ireland struck six fours and four sixes in the first six overs of their chase.Against Zimbabwe, Johnson Charles – replacing King, who was ill at the time – was West Indies’ top-scorer with 45 off 36 balls, and only four West Indies batters reached double figures against Scotland in a display coach Phil Simmons described as “unprofessional”.Skerritt went on to say that he was determined to find a solution to West Indies’ slide.”I want to assure stakeholders that a thorough postmortem will be carried out on all aspects of our World Cup preparation and performance and that solutions will be found in keeping with CWI’s strategy to improve the quality and sustainability of cricket on all fronts, and in all formats.”West Indies cricket is bigger than any one individual or event and continues to need the input and support of all stakeholders.”

Tasmania veterans take seven wickets between them to put the visitors in control after bowling Victoria out for just 121 on day one

AAP24-Nov-2022Wickets tumbled as Jackson Bird and Peter Siddle helped put Tasmania in a strong position at stumps on day one of the Sheffield Shield clash with Victoria.The two quicks fired as the Tigers skittled their hosts for 121 after winning the toss and bowling first on a green deck at the MCG.Bird was the chief destroyer with 4 for 13 from 15 overs, including seven maidens, while Siddle and Nathan Ellis also did some damage on Thursday.Captain Jordan Silk and Jake Doran then guided Tasmania to 4 for 102 in reply, trailing by just 19 runs heading into day two.Matthew Wad and Ben McDermott made starts for the Tigers but were both dismissed bowled.Shield debutants Sam Elliott and Campbell Kellaway both showed glimpses of their potential for Victoria.Fast bowler Elliott, the son of former Test batter Matthew Elliott, removed Tasmania’s openers Caleb Jewell and Tim Ward in claiming figures of 2 for 20 from 10 overs.Earlier, Kellaway made 23 with the bat and soaked up 82 balls as Victoria staggered to a grim first innings total.It continued a poor run for Victoria, following tallies of 63 and 132 in an innings defeat to Queensland earlier this month.Opener Travis Dean was out for his third consecutive duck after a pair against the Bulls.Nic Maddinson and Ashley Chandrasinghe were also out cheaply as Tasmania’s new-ball attack had the hosts in all sorts of trouble, reducing them to 3 for 10.Allrounder Fergus O’Neill, Matt Short and Kellaway helped lift Victoria’s tally into triple figures.Elliott and Kellaway were selected with Test duo Marcus Harris and Scott Boland, as well as Prime Minister’s XI pair Peter Handscomb and Todd Murphy, unavailable due to national commitments.Tasmania recalled Ellis in place of Riley Meredith, who has been managed.

Short smashed 84 before Thornton bagged a four-for and Rashid Khan a three-for in Strikers’ 51-run win

AAP14-Dec-2022Adelaide Strikers have made an impeccable start to their BBL campaign, dazzling with both bat and ball to trounce Sydney Sixers by 51 runs at Adelaide Oval.After amassing an imposing 184 for 6 on Wednesday evening, largely on the back of Matthew Short’s 84, Henry Thornton’s career-best 4 for 20 helped Strikers restrict Sixers to 133 for 7.Thornton and legspinning wizard Rashid Khan starred with the ball for Strikers who exacted some retribution for last season’s Challenger Final between the two sides at the SCG, which the Sixers won in a last-ball heart-stopper to advance to the decider.Jordan Silk top-scored for Sixers, whose lacklustre reply spluttered early and never recovered. Introduced in the third over, Thornton struck twice in his first three balls, dismissing dangerous duo Kurtis Patterson and James Vince.Josh Philippe and captain Moises Henriques both fell victim to Rashid wrong ‘uns as Strikers’ grip on the contest tightened.With the asking rate escalating out of control, Sixers were aiming to match the home side’s 30-run haul when they took the two-over power surge but could muster just six runs, corralled by Strikers’ two best bowlers, Rashid and Peter Siddle.Thornton returned to the attack near the death and skittled Dan Christian and Sean Abbott. Earlier, Short led Strikers’ assault with the bat after surviving the BBL’s historic first-ever DRS challenge.After the early loss of Jake Weatherald, Strikers temporarily plummeted to 2 for 2 when umpire Bruce Oxenford ruled Short lbw to Abbott.Short successfully reviewed the decision, television replays confirming the ball was missing the stumps, and made the most of his reprieve, smoking the Sixers attack in his classy 53-ball knock.Short was wonderfully supported by the competition’s all-time leading runscorer Chris Lynn and swashbuckling England import Adam Hose, who both impressed for their new side.Abbott and 19-year-old Afghan legspinner Izharulhaq Naveed were the pick of Sixers’ bowlers picking up three and two wickets respectively.

Grant Bradburn likely to come in as assistant coach; Islamabad United’s Rehan Ul-Haq is expected to be team manager

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jan-2023Mickey Arthur and the PCB are close to agreeing a deal that will result in Arthur’s return to the Pakistan men’s side – but as team director and not, as previously, head coach. Talks between the two had ended three weeks ago when the PCB announced it was moving on in its search for a replacement for Saqlain Mushtaq, the outgoing Pakistan coach.The two sides had failed to reach an agreement on how such a role could work, given Arthur has a long-term deal with Derbyshire, which he does not want to end. But last week, Najam Sethi, the interim head of the PCB, revealed that he was continuing the pursuit of Arthur. ESPNcricinfo understands that an arrangement is close to being finalised now, with Arthur potentially starting from April 1 as team director.Related

• Misbah on PCB rehiring Arthur: 'Slap on Pakistan cricket'

• Mickey Arthur could return as Pakistan head coach

• PCB's talks with Mickey Arthur to coach Pakistan fall through

That designation, one in which Arthur will be a consultant rather than head coach, will make for an unusual management structure – at international level at least – in which he will not be with the Pakistan team on every tour but will have a handpicked group of support staff running operations. Lead among the support staff is expected to be former Pakistan fielding coach – and one-time head of their High Performance Centre – Grant Bradburn, in the role of a high-powered assistant coach. There will also be three coaches for batting, bowling and fielding, but no traditional head coach.During the English county season, Arthur will not be hands on with the team; Pakistan tour Sri Lanka this July for instance and are scheduled to host the Asia Cup in September. But once the county season is over, Arthur is expected to be with the side at high-profile commitments such as the ODI World Cup in India in October-November this year and the Test tour of Australia later in the winter. The duration of such a contract is one of the points still being worked out but both sides believe Pakistan’s schedule is such that it allows for such an arrangement to work.One of the more interesting appointments under Arthur is likely to be that of Rehan Ul-Haq, the general manager at the PSL franchise Islamabad United and a prominent broadcast analyst. He is expected to be, on paper, the team manager but with a brief much broader than the more traditional administrative role of managers. The role might be more akin to a chief of staff for Arthur, driving the team environment – Rehan is also one of the men credited with creating the data-driven approach at Islamabad United, two-time winners of the PSL.Mickey Arthur with the 2017 Champions Trophy•Getty Images

Arthur was head coach of the Pakistan side between 2016 and 2019, a generally successful white-ball period that included a Champions Trophy triumph in 2017 and the transformation of their limited-overs sides. Having languished behind other Full Members after a poor showing at the 2016 T20 World Cup, Arthur helped transform a T20 side under the leadership of Sarfaraz Ahmed and took them to the number one spot in the ICC rankings. There were notable Test results as well, though the red-ball side proved harder to transform. One big, early defeat at the 2019 World Cup meant Pakistan failed narrowly to reach the last four of the event, and Arthur was replaced by Misbah-ul-Haq soon after.More significantly, Arthur’s return will reunite him with a number of players in whose development he played a key early role in that first stint, not least the captain Babar Azam. Arthur persisted with Babar during a tough initiation into Test cricket and oversaw his white-ball rise. Others such as Sarfaraz, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Fakhar Zaman and Shadab Khan have also spoken in the past of the impact Arthur has had on their careers. Arthur had a stint with Sri Lanka after the Pakistan job and has since been with Derbyshire.

A win will leave both teams with a chance of sneaking into the playoffs if other results go their way

Shashank Kishore18-Mar-20234:15

Devine: It’s really cool to open the batting with Mandhana

Gujarat Giants vs Royal Challengers Bangalore in must-win contest

Remember when Royal Challengers Bangalore cheered wildly for a Mumbai Indians win over Delhi Capitals during the final group game of IPL 2022? Royal Challengers could end up doing something similar at the WPL if they beat Gujarat Giants on Saturday, because it will leave them with a chance of sneaking into the playoffs if other results go their way.They would want UP Warriorz to lose their remaining games and stay on four points. Then, if Royal Challengers win their last two, they can get to six points and take the third place ahead of Giants on NRR, since their current NRR of -1.55 is better than that of Giants. They would have to hope Giants knock over Warriorz on Monday.But a win against Royal Challengers and Warriorz will strengthen Giants’ chances.And as much as Giants haven’t helped their cause with by constantly chopping and changing, they showed there’s enough in the tank when they overcame Delhi Capitals. But they have not utilised their resources properly. For example: Mansi Joshi, an India international, has bowled all of one over in two games.Royal Challengers, too, have struggled with the ball. Renuka Singh, their spearhead, has been taken to the cleaners match after match. But Sophie Devine being able to bowl again after a niggle has lent some balance with her seam-ups. They would also be pleased to see some of their uncapped players – Asha Shobana and Kanika Ahuja, especially – pull their weight.All set then for a compelling contest between two misfiring teams with playoff spots on the line.

Players to watch

Kanika Ahuja showed her 360-degree game in the previous outing, helping turn a potentially challenging chase against Warriorz into a canter. She made 46 off 30 balls, exhibiting the virtues of being fearless. What more can she do?Adjusting to Indian conditions, especially Mumbai’s sapping humidity, can take a toll at the best of times, but three games in, Laura Wolvaardt has had time to soak it all in. Now for the opportunity to deliver that one blockbuster performance at the fag end of what has been a challenging season.3:01

Ash Gardner: ‘We’ve been inconsistent, but tonight was clinical’

Likely XIs

Royal Challengers Bangalore: 1 Smriti Mandhana (capt), 2 Sophie Devine, 3 Ellyse Perry, 4 Heather Knight, 5 Richa Ghosh (wk), 6 Kanika Ahuja, 7 Disha Kasat, 8 Shreyanka Patil, 9 Megan Schutt, 10 Shobana Asha, 10 Renuka Singh/Komal ZanzadGujarat Giants: 1 Sophia Dunkley, 2 Laura Wolvaardt, 3 Harleen Deol, 4 Ash Gardner, 5 D Hemalatha, 6 Ashwani Kumari, 7 Sushma Verma (wk), 8 Sneh Rana (capt), 9 Tanuja Kanwar, 10 Kim Garth, 11 Hurley Gala/Mansi Joshi

Quotes

“Always think about the opportunity that you have rather than how bad it is right now. There is always a flip side to it, and it could always be worse than this.”
“Gujarat have multi-fold problems. How can a team having Rachael Haynes and Mithali Raj have such poor thinking? It just seems cluttered. Sophia Dunkley was in good form, she was the Player of the Match, and you dropped her. You play Laura Wolvaardt with confidence in the next match, you feel she will do good, but you drop her when she gets out and bring back Sophia. Will you change in the next match again?”

Depending on Mumbai Indians’ result in their last game, a win for Capitals can push them straight into the final

Shashank Kishore21-Mar-2023

Big Picture

UP Warriorz have Sophie Ecclestone to thank for bailing them out of troubled waters for two games in a row now. Wins that seemed tough – first in a low-scorer against Mumbai Indians, and then in a tall chase against Gujarat Giants – have catapulted them into the top three.Even if third-placed Warriorz lose against Delhi Capitals on Wednesday, they are certain to play the Eliminator, thus giving them a shot at the final; but if they beat Capitals, it will force a three-way race for the top spot if Mumbai happen to lose their final match against Royal Challengers Bangalore. However, Warriorz are so far behind both Mumbai and Capitals on net run rate that it is near impossible to catch up in just one game.That said, they would have probably settled for third if you had asked them last week, which saw them suffer their third loss in four games despite starting the season with a win.Over to their opponents. Capitals have come storming back to steal the top spot that seemed destined to be Mumbai’s when they had raced to five straight wins. But two losses in a row for Mumbai have opened the door ajar. In sending Mumbai on a tailspin by chasing down 110 in just nine overs last night, Capitals are in a position where a win in their final group game could vault them straight into the final provided Mumbai either lose their final match, or win it but don’t cross Capitals on net run rate.But Capitals could finish atop with a loss too, though they wouldn’t want to enter the playoffs devoid of momentum. Capitals further stand to gain if Royal Challengers bring their A game to beat Mumbai.Warriorz would dearly love for their Indian batters to turn up and strike form. Devika Vaidya, Kiran Navgire and Deepti Sharma have all struggled lately, but their lack of runs have been compensated by contributions from Grace Harris and Tahlia McGrath.Capitals, though, have no such worries. Meg Lanning is the highest run-getter of the tournament so far, while Shafali Verma’s destructive game that seemed to have deserted her during the T20 World Cup has given them the turbocharge up top; her strike rate of 189 is clearly the best for any batter with at least 200 runs in the tournament. To add to that, Marizanne Kapp has been scoring runs and picking wickets for fun, Alice Capsey has lent batting muscle in the powerplay, and Jemimah Rodrigues has provided a calming influence in the middle order.Then there has been the ever-reliable Jess Jonassen who has been around to play a role similar to what Michael Bevan did for Australia all those years ago – bail the team out of trouble time and again. This is a well-rounded batting unit high on confidence.Arundhati Reddy’s bowling was applauded after the win against Mumbai Indians•BCCI

Players to Watch

With scores of 12, 8 and 1 in her last three innings, Warriorz captain Alyssa Healy has hit a rough patch. But she has the reputation of being a big-match player. As the Eliminator nears, there couldn’t have been a better chance than this to roar back into form and carry the confidence of doing so against a gun bowling attack.Don’t let the raw numbers fool you. She may have just two wickets in five games, but Arundhati Reddy had a rhythm to her bowling that Lanning applauded unprompted after the win against Mumbai. Reddy also appears to have cranked up her pace, and seemed menacing with her nip-backers during her spell of 1 for 10 in three overs in that match.

Possible XIs

Delhi Capitals: 1 Meg Lanning (capt), 2 Shafali Verma, 3 Alice Capsey, 4 Jemimah Rodrigues, 5 Marizanne Kapp, 6 Jess Jonassen, 7 Taniya Bhatia (wk), 8 Shikha Pandey, 9 Arundhati Reddy, 10 Radha Yadav, 11 Tara NorrisUP Warriorz: 1 Alyssa Healy (capt, wk), 2 Devika Vaidya, 3 Tahlia McGrath, 4 Kiran Navgire, 5 Grace Harris, 6 Deepti Sharma, 7 Sophie Ecclestone, 8 Simran Shaikh, 9 Anjali Sarvani, 10 Parshavi Chopra, 11 Rajeshwari Gayakwad

Stats and Trivia

• Among teams that have finished in the top three, Capitals’ pace bowler Shikha Pandey’s ten wickets is the most among seamers in the competition.
• Harris’ strike rate of 170.07 is third best in the competition among batters who have made at least 200 runs, with Sophie Devine second with a strike rate of 175.
• Ecclestone’s economy of 6.21 is the best among those who have picked up at least ten wickets this season

Lucknow Super Giants turned it around in the final few overs as they registered the highest chase of the IPL this season

Himanshu Agrawal10-Apr-2023It was a rolling ride where the teasing tickle in the stomach never seemed to stop, as the coaster went up and down, left and right, threatening to crash into a pool one moment before soaring high into the clouds the next. That’s what the game felt like.Lucknow Super Giants needed four to win from the remaining five balls with three wickets in hand. Then Mark Wood got bowled. Few balls later, a tumbling Faf du Plessis almost fumbled a catch, but eventually took it.That made it 1 off 1, with one wicket in hand. Harshal Patel, the bowler, then attempted to run the non-striker out backing up, but missed.Still 1 off 1. Dinesh Karthik then juggles and fails to grab the last ball behind the stumps, enough for the last two Super Giants batters to sneak a bye.Game over. The Royal Challengers Bangalore and their fans were left with broke hearts. The Super Giants claimed a humdinger.Highest win contribution % for Lucknow Super Giants vs Royal Challengers Bangalore•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Stoinis starts the party

Marcus Stoinis came out at 23 for 3 after four overs. Not managing to score from his three balls, Stoinis swung across the line. Mohammed Siraj, placed at mid-on, ran back towards midwicket and dropped a difficult catch.After seven overs, Super Giants’ required rate had crossed 13, but Stoinis welcomed Harshal with 6, 4, 4. Next over, Karn Sharma was given the same treatment. In the over after that, Shahbaz Ahmed was creamed for two sixes. The first of that brought up his fifty off 25 balls. Karn got his revenge in the 11th over when Stoinis departed for 65 from 30 deliveries. But only if Royal Challengers knew what was to follow.

Pooran pings sixes at will

Nicholas Pooran arrived when Super Giants needed another 114 from 56 balls in pursuit of 213. The second ball he faced was dispatched over long-on. He was on 10 off five deliveries at one stage. He ended with 62 from 19. Seven of those balls were hit for sixes, and four of them for fours. Carefree, unstoppable T20 batting, with the swag, muscle and calmness of Sir Viv.Pooran’s fifty came up off 15 deliveries. Balls flew over long-on, square leg, extra cover and fine leg. Fielders’ jaws dropped and the bowlers’ spirits were crushed as Pooran was merciless. When he was finally dismissed, he left Super Giants needing only 24 from 18.Glenn Maxwell and Faf du Plessis put on a 115-run stand in quick time•Associated Press

Impact Player Strategy

Introduced in the 12th over, Amit Mishra carried forward the mania from Lucknow to Bangalore, and struck third ball to dismiss Virat Kohli. Two overs later, Glenn Maxwell smashed him for 4, 6 off successive deliveries as Mishra ended at 2 for 18. Despite being brought on quite late, he was subbed by Ayush Badoni. Badoni, to his part, played the ice to Pooran’s fire, guiding Super Giants with a composed 30 in 24 deliveries, before hitting his stumps with the bat in a follow through after scooping the ball for six, a-la Roy Fredericks from the 1975 World Cup final.

RCB penalised for slow over-rate

Royal Challengers were fined for maintaining a slow over-rate during the game. Since it was their first offence of the season, only captain du Plessis was fined Rs 12 lakh.
Avesh Khan, the Super Giants quick, was reprimanded for a Level 1 offence [2.2 of IPL’s Code of Conduct].

Royal Challengers replaced Anuj Rawat, who didn’t get to bat, with legspinner Karn at the start of their defence. Karn ended up conceding 48 in three overs, the most expensive economy for any Royal Challengers bowler (min. three overs) ever.

du Plessis, Maxwell and Kohli’s fifties in vain

Royal Challengers’ innings was of three parts: 56 runs in the powerplay, 48 in the next seven, and 108 from the final seven. The start was down to an attacking Kohli, who ended the first six overs on 42, with four fours and three sixes. But his last 19 runs took as many deliveries to come, with the Super Giants’ spinner Krunal Pandya and Ravi Bishnoi applying the brakes.Carnage was to follow. In what turned to be a six-fest, du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell smacked 11 sixes until the end of the innings. Du Plessis finished on 79, while Maxwell smashed 59 at double the pace. Royal Challengers soared to 212. In the end, it was all for nothing.

Unbeaten 66 from 25 balls sees his side home and hands Bears their third straight loss

ECB Reporters Network07-Jun-2023A stunning onslaught from captain Leus du Plooy lifted Derbyshire Falcons to a thrilling six-wicket Vitality Blast win over Birmingham Bears at Edgbaston.After the Bears piled up 203 for 7, du Plooy smashed an unbeaten 66 from 25 balls to see his side to 207 for 4 with three balls to spare.Sam Hain’s unbeaten 79 from 36 balls in the Bears innings contained some breathtaking hitting but was trumped by du Plooy’s masterclass.After openers Luis Reece (57) and Haider Ali (48) added 96 in ten overs to set the perfect foundation for the big run chase, du Plooy built a memorable victory on it with an exhilarating display of hitting which brought him five sixes and four fours.England all-rounder Chris Woakes was socked for 51 in his four overs as the Falcons side completed a quickfire double over the Bears and handed them their third successive defeat.The first half of the Bears innings did not go to their plan after they chose to bat. Rob Yates made a perky 21 but leg-spinner Mattie McKiernan bowled potential big-hitters Moeen Ali and Glenn Maxwell through indeterminate shots before they could inflict any damage and also castled Alex Davies for a sketchy 26.Hain batted beautifully but needed support and found it from Dan Mousley and, after Mousley was bowled through a lap by Zak Chappell, from Woakes, who transformed the innings with 23 from 11 balls in a dazzling stand of 48 in 18 balls with Hain.Woakes was yorked by Zaman Khan but Hain was at his most destructive in the closing overs, thumping 36 from his last eight balls faced.The Falcons faced a testing target but, after riding their luck early on, Reece and Haider Ali played sweetly to raise 50 from 33 balls. They set down the perfect platform before being parted in scruffy fashion when Haider Ali charged and missed at Danny Briggs. Davies missed the stumping at the first attempt but, with the batter down the track, had time to complete it second time round.Moeen, playing his penultimate game for the Bears before he departs on Ashes duty, applied a brake with an astute spell which brought the wicket of Reece, bowled through a slog sweep. As the required rate escalated, and Wayne Madsen suffered a rare failure when he holed out to Mousley, the pressure increased on the Falcons.Du Plooy went to the crease with that pressure at its height. He needed to hit brilliantly from his first ball – and did so to take his side to a victory which tightens the North Group table right up.