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Unbeaten second-wicket partnership sees South Africa close to overhauling tourists

Andrew Fidel Fernando03-Jan-2021Anrich Nortje gutted Sri Lanka’s middle order after Wiaan Mulder set a top-order collapse in motion, as South Africa skittled the visitors for 157 and moved into a commanding position at the Wanderers. Nortje frequently hit speeds of above 145kph on a pitch with steepling bounce at times, unsettling several Sri Lanka batsmen with his bouncer, and backing them into positions where they did not trust their defence against him. Many fell playing attacking shots, and Nortje claimed 6 for 56 – the best figures of his fledgling career.After Sri Lanka had been dismissed inside 41 overs, shortly before tea, Dean Elgar saw South Africa through to the close with an unbeaten 92 off 119 balls – his team on the cusp of moving into the lead with nine wickets still in hand. He and Russie van der Dussen had put on 114 together by stumps.Sri Lanka’s dispiriting day was buoyed only by the innings of Kusal Perera, whose 60 off 67 suggested Sri Lanka might go on to have a much bigger first innings than they eventually did. Beyond that, and the bowling of Asitha Fernando who claimed his maiden Test wicket, there was little for the visitors to celebrate. Already, their vastly depleted side may be out of this match. Both previous Tests they’ve played at the Wanderers have ended in innings defeats, and unless there is a substantially improved performance on Monday, this match could head in a similar direction.What will be especially disappointing for Sri Lanka was that they were actually in decent shape after the first 20 overs of the day. Nortje had dismissed Dimuth Karunaratne early by gaining sharp bounce from just short of a length, but Perera had moved into attack mode, thumping South Africa’s bowlers through the off side with particular relish. He was hit a few times on the body early in the innings, particularly by Nortje, and his innings contained 11 fours, all told.Anrich Nortje celebrates on his way to a six-wicket haul•AFP via Getty Images

But then it was his wicket that started Sri Lanka’s huge slide. Having played out a maiden against Mulder’s first over, Perera drove at a wide-ish away-seamer and sent a catch to gully. Kusal Mendis was then nicked off by Mulder later in the same over, and Lahiru Thirimanne’s edge was also found an over after that. When Nortje had debutant Minod Bhanuka caught behind off the last ball before lunch, Sri Lanka had lost four wickets for 13 runs in the space of four overs to be 84 for 5 at the end of the first session.Niroshan Dickwella and Dasun Shanaka did not last long against Nortje after lunch – both falling playing attacking shots – and the collapse had cost Sri Lanka six wickets for 39. Wanindu Hasaranga and Dushmantha Chameera offered some semblance of resistance, putting on a stroke-filled 39 for the eighth wicket as both made scores in excess of 20, but Nortje eventually returned to clean up the tail.In response, Elgar had been solid from the outset, rarely troubled by the Sri Lanka quicks for more than an over or two. He was especially good with the flicks off his toes early in his innings, when Sri Lanka were guilty of bowling too straight at him, but eventually the cover drive and the cut also became productive strokes. He found frequent boundaries, and maintained a strike rate of over 70 almost right the way through his stay, slowing only in the period just after Aiden Markram was dismissed.van der Dussen meanwhile, struggled early in his innings, taking 25 balls to get off the mark, after having two lbw appeals raised against him. He settled towards the end of the day, and even hit Hasaranga’s legspin for consecutive fours in the last half hour, as South Africa closed within touching distance of Sri Lanka’s total.

England’s former opener may be invited to training camp in summer, claims national selector

Andrew Miller11-Feb-2021Liam Livingstone has been recalled to England’s T20I squad for their five-match series against India next month, while Alex Hales – still out of favour for now – has received the first hint of a thawing in attitude from the England camp, following his stellar returns for Sydney Thunder in the recent Big Bash.With the next T20 World Cup due to be staged in India in October and November, the upcoming T20I series is being seen as a chance to fine-tune England’s plans ahead of a tournament in which they finished as runners-up five years ago, and which has been earmarked as a significant opportunity for more ICC silverware following their success in the 2019 World Cup.For that reason, Hales’ absence remains a significant talking point, given that he has arguably been the outstanding batsman on the T20 franchise circuit for the past 12 months.He amassed 543 runs at a strike-rate of 161.60 in the recent Big Bash, more than any other batsman, and also made the competition’s highest score, a blistering innings of 110 from 56 balls against local rivals and the eventual champions, Sydney Sixers.In England’s eyes, however, Hales has not yet been forgiven for his misdemeanours in the lead-up to the 2019 World Cup – he was jettisoned from the squad on the eve of the tournament after failing two tests for recreational drug use, and has effectively been blackballed by England’s captain, Eoin Morgan, who claimed he had shown “a complete disregard” for the team’s values.Alex Hales swings into the leg side•Getty Images

Speaking on the subject of Hales’ future England prospects, his BBL coach Shane Bond told Australia’s Daily Telegraph last week that he was being “punished way too much”, adding that he had “matured” since his World Cup axing, and that the ECB’s failure to communicate with the Thunder management on the subject of his behaviour was a failure of “due diligence”.And while it is understood that Hales has still not received any official communication from the ECB, Ed Smith, the national selector, hinted that he might yet be given a chance to build some bridges with his former team-mates and management, when the squads gather ahead of the English home season later this year.”We’re always looking at ways to consider getting players who aren’t currently in the active squad to come along to training days, perhaps in the run-up to a series,” Smith said. “It’s an opportunity to keep growing and expanding that group of players, and keep building those relationships with players who are just outside the actual squad, but that we know are good cricketers. It’s something we might consider in the English summer.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

In the meantime, Livingstone has been given the chance ahead of Hales to challenge for a place in the T20 World Cup squad. He has been on the fringes of England selection for the past year, having been called into the ODI squads for last year’s series against Ireland and South Africa, which was called off in December due to Covid concerns. In between whiles he was a reserve in England’s T20I series against Pakistan in August.However, he has not added to his England caps since making 16 runs in two T20Is against South Africa in 2017, almost four years ago now. His final appearance, in fact, coincided with the debut of Dawid Malan, the ICC’s current No.1-ranked T20I batsman, who made 78 from 44 balls to set up a series-sealing win.That could now change after an impressive Big Bash campaign for Perth Scorchers, in which he amassed 426 runs in 14 matches, and also chipped in with five wickets with his legspin. Notably, he forged a powerful opening partnership with England’s incumbent opener, Jason Roy, and saved his best for the Challenger final, with 77 from 39 balls to eliminate Brisbane Heat.Related

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His inclusion comes ahead of another strong challenger from the BBL, James Vince, whose back-to-back 90s sealed the title for Sixers earlier this month, and joins an otherwise unchanged roster of 15 names who completed a 3-0 clean sweep in England’s last T20I campaign, in South Africa before Christmas.”We see [Livingstone and Vince] in slightly different roles,” Smith said. “James had a very good Big Bash and that was noted. But Liam brings some other things too with his bowling, and in terms of getting into squads for major tournaments where space is naturally very limited, sometimes having those extra strings to your bow is a route into the squad. So it’s an exciting time for Liam, he had a really good Big Bash. He’s a dynamic cricketer – a good fielder, bowler and exciting batsman. It’s a great opportunity for him.”Jonny Bairstow and Mark Wood, who were rested from the ongoing Chennai leg of England’s tour of India, are back in the squad alongside Jos Buttler, who flew home in the wake of England’s 227-run win in the first Test.The only other changes are in the identities of England’s reserve players – with Tom Banton the notable absentee following his withdrawal from this winter’s Big Bash due to Covid bubble fatigue. Banton, however, was a marquee signing for Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League, and can now expect to play a full season when the tournament gets underway next week.The T20I squad will depart for India on February 26, and will play all five of their matches in Ahmedabad. A separate squad for the subsequent three-match ODI series will be named in due course.England T20I squad: Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, Mark WoodReserves: Jake Ball, Matt Parkinson

“We want to be a side that plays free cricket, not have any baggage of lack of [batting] depth”

Saurabh Somani11-Mar-20211:34

Kohli promises India’s batsmen will play more freely

India are set to embrace a more dynamic approach to their T20I batting, which has tended in the past to blend caution with aggression. The main ingredient that prevented India from being more aggressive in the past, according to captain Virat Kohli, was a lack of batting depth. The squad picked for their five-match T20I series against England has addressed that issue, in Kohli’s view, while also adding several “X-factor” players.”The kind of players we have added into the squad is precisely to give our batting line-up more depth and not play in a similar kind of pattern that we have played with in the past,” Kohli said on Thursday, the eve of the first T20I. “We want to be a side that plays free cricket, not have any baggage of lack of depth and one guy having to bat long enough to make sure we get to a big total.”We have explosive batsmen in the team now, who can change the game at any stage even if you are two or three wickets down. That’s exactly what we’ve tried to address in picking this squad. So this time around, you will see guys a bit more expressive in terms of approaching the innings, and playing more freely. Not worried about whether we have enough batsmen to take care of things if we lose a couple of wickets early, which was the case before to be honest. We didn’t have enough depth in the batting to be able to play freely throughout the first 10 or 12 overs. But I see us being much more positive and free from this period onwards.”Related

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In the past India leaned towards the conservative approach of keeping wickets in hand for a final-overs charge, as against the strategy favoured by teams like England and West Indies (when at full strength), who bat deep and consequently go hard from the start. The presence of players like Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya, alongside allrounders such as Washington Sundar and Axar Patel and newcomers like Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan, is likely to free up the top order and allow them to be more expansive.That also means that of the three openers in the squad – Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan – only two can be fitted into the XI, and Kohli said Rohit and Rahul are India’s first-choice options.In the past, India have leaned on their top order to bat deep into T20 innings•BCCI

“If Rohit plays, then it’s quite simple, KL and Rohit have been consistently performing at the top of the order for us and those two would start,” he said. “In a situation where Rohit takes rest or KL has a niggle or something like that, then Shikhi obviously comes in as the third opener. But the starting composition, Rohit and Rahul will be the ones who start.”Earlier, one of the openers or Kohli at No. 3 have tended to take on the anchor’s role, and India haven’t done too badly with that approach. But the evolution of the T20 game has meant it’s time to take the next step. Since 2018, while batting first, India’s run rate while batting first in T20Is is 8.79, behind only England (9.05) and New Zealand (8.87). However, their run-rate during powerplay overs, a key indicator of the strategy adopted by the top order, is 7.99 in this same time-frame, fifth best among the top ten sides.On the other hand, in that same period, India’s batting average of 35.24 is the only one above 30 among the top ten sides. And their powerplay average of 45.95 is the second best overall, behind Australia’s 48.38. Now, with more batting depth, they can trade-off average for run rate – batsmen going harder would typically mean more wickets falling, but also give them a better chance of putting on extra runs.With the firepower of Pant and Pandya available in the middle order, and the added freedom for them of having bowlers who can bat in the lower order – especially when Ravindra Jadeja returns – India have recognised that keeping wickets in hand could be counter-productive.”I think we have played with a certain kind of pattern in the past. We didn’t probably have a big tournament to work towards, but if you look at the squad and the additions we’ve made, we’ve tried to address a few things that we needed in specific: guys who can be X-factors with the bat, do things which are the need of the hour in T20 cricket,” Kohli said. “These guys have done so in the IPL on a regular basis. We have tried to cover all those bases.”Now it’ll be interesting to see how they go about things in these five games because these are the only games we have as a team before the World Cup and we want to see how these guys fare out there in the middle. I feel like the squad right now with what we have, barring Jaddu [Jadeja] who will come back whenever fit, is the squad that I feel is the most balanced in terms of all the options readily available for us to take on the field as and when we want.”

The stand-in captain pointed out where in the contest did India lose the match

Annesha Ghosh21-Mar-2021India’s stand-in captain Smriti Mandhana said her team’s sloppy fielding made the hosts undeserving of a win in the second T20I against South Africa. On Sunday night, South Africa won off the final ball to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.”It is a bitter pill to swallow,” Mandhana told Star Sports after the loss. “Thought 80 per cent of the time it was our game but we could not close it out in the end. Lots of things to learn from the game. Probably the way we fielded, I don’t think we deserved to win the game. We have to work on our fielding and probably improve our fielding standards.”India missed three major chances on the night that cost them dearly. Opener Lizelle Lee was dropped on 30 and 60, by Richa Ghosh on both occasions, while left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad dropped Player of the Match Laura Wolvaardt, who struck the winning runs to finish unbeaten on 53, when she was on two.Having been put in to bat for the second game on the trot, India, like in the series opener, lost Mandhana in the second over but equalled their powerplay tally of 41 for 1 from the first T20I. Their innings was steadied again by opener Shafali Verma and No. 3 Harleen Deol. With Verma muscling a 31-ball 47 and later No. 5 Ghosh smashing eight fours in her 26-ball 44, India set South Africa a 159 target, an improvement on their total of 130 the night before.Related

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“The way our batters batted, it was amazing to watch, especially all the youngsters – Shafali, Richa, [and] then Harleen in between,” Mandhana said. “The way the built up the partnership and got us to a 150-plus score [was commendable]. I think it was a good total to defend. But, as I said, if we would have done better in the second half of the match… A lot of positives but [there is] a lot of things to work on.”Asked if the 364-day period of almost complete inactivity that preceded the start of the ODI series or the pressure of the T20I format played a part in India’s slip-ups in the field on Sunday, Mandhana said the issue needed addressing at a deeper level.”We cannot keep using that as an excuse. We have to pull our socks [up],” she said. “We need to get better at that. Definitely, we are practising hard towards that. Hopefully, there will be one odd match where we will get it right and then everything good will start coming.”Seventeen-year-old Verma, who top-scored for India, said after the match that she was hopeful India would iron out their flaws as a fielding unit. “Mistakes in the field are part of cricket,” the teenager said, “but I hope we learn from the errors we made today because we played well as a team.”

Duo share 195-run stand, but visitors claim five wickets in final session to leave match evenly poised

ECB Reporters Network06-May-2021Contrasting centuries from Sam Evans, his third in as many matches, and Marcus Harris saw Leicestershire build the foundations for a big first-innings score before Surrey fought back on an absorbing first day of the LV County Championship match at the UptonSteel County Ground.Evans, 23, backed up three-figure scores against Surrey at The Oval and Gloucestershire at Bristol by reaching a hundred for the first time on his home ground as he and Harris compiled a stand of 195 for the second wicket.Harris, coming in early after Hassan Azad was caught behind off Reece Topley for just 5, played a series of glorious shots, particularly through the offside, hitting 15 boundaries in going to his hundred.Sam Evans scored his third ton from as many matches•Getty Images

Evans also hit 15 fours in going to his century, but both were dismissed by Amar Virdi. Evans’s dismissal, caught off the inside edge at short leg, was the 23-year-old off-spinner’s 100th first-class wicket as the visitors picked up five wickets in the final session to leave the match nicely balanced before a shower saw play end three overs early.Azad’s dismissal set the scene for an impressive partnership from Evans and Harris, and while the former may have been less assertive in terms of taking the attack to the Surrey bowlers, his application and ability to work the occasional loose ball to the boundary ensured his contribution was no less valuable.Having taken 17 balls to get off the mark, however, Harris unfurled some sumptuous shots, looking every inch the Australia international, and it was a surprise when shortly after reaching his hundred, he was leg before to a delivery from Virdi that went on with the arm.Virdi then brought up a century of his own by dismissing Evans before Leicestershire skipper Colin Ackermann, who had looked in really good form, went leg before to a Topley delivery that stayed very low.The in-form Lewis Hill was caught down the leg-side, and Virdi returned to bowl night-watchman Ed Barnes to ensure the day finished with fortunes even.

Darren Stevens stars again with three wickets as Middlesex fall short by 16

ECB Reporters' Network11-Jun-2021A brilliantly-measured partnership between Jordan Cox and Jack Leaning steered Kent Spitfires to a 16-run win over Middlesex in their Vitality Blast match at Canterbury.The hosts were wobbling on 47 for 4 before Cox and Leaning both made 64, helping them recover to 178 for 8, despite a hat-trick for Chris Green, who took 5 for 32.Luke Hollman countered with a high-class 51 off 33 balls, but the visitors lost wickets too frequently to seriously threaten the hosts and finished on 162 for 8.Middlesex’s decision to field after winning the toss initially seemed vindicated when Blake Cullen took wickets with the last two balls of the third over, after he’d been hit for 13 off the previous four by Daniel Bell-Drummond, before the Kent skipper skied the fifth and was caught by Eoin Morgan at mid-off for 15.Joe Denly slashed at the next ball and fell to a diving catch by John Simpson for 10 and in the next over Ollie Robinson edged Steven Finn and was caught behind for 8, leaving Kent on a modest 42 for 3 at the end of the powerplay.Green had Alex Blake stumped off a wide for six, but Cox and Leaning responded with a cleverly-paced stand of 123, marked by smart running between the wickets and a well-timed acceleration that saw the last five overs produce 64 runs.Green’s final over saw Cox caught by Max Holden, a two, a six and then a hat-trick. Leaning was caught by Morgan, Darren Stevens stumped off his first delivery and Milnes caught by Bamber.Middlesex’s reply got off to a disastrous start. Stevie Eskinazi was caught behind off Denly for 4 and Paul Stirling skied James Logan’s first delivery to Blake for a duck. Holden got a bottom edge to Stevens and was caught behind for 10, Simpson played a horrible shot to Leaning and was caught by Cox for 4 and Eoin Morgan cut Stevens to Bell-Drummond and was out for 27.Stevens then bowled Green for 16 and although Nathan Sowter offered some late resistance with an unbeaten 31, when Fred Klaassen had Hollman caught by Blake off the final ball of the penultimate over, it left Middlesex needing 25 off six, a task that finally proved beyond them when Cullen holed out to Milnes and was caught by Blake for 4

She bettered Charlotte Edwards’ tally of 10273 during the third ODI against England in Worcester

Annesha Ghosh03-Jul-2021Mithali Raj, the India Test and ODI captain, has surpassed former England captain Charlotte Edwards as the leading run-scorer in women’s international cricket on Saturday. Raj, 38, bettered Edwards’ tally of 10,273 in the 24th over of the Indian innings in the third ODI in Worcester. She reached the milestone with a four down the ground off quick bowler Nat Sciver. New Zealand’s Suzie Bates is third on the list with 7849 runs.Raj finished on an unbeaten 75, steering India to a four-wicket win on Saturday. After being named the Player of the Match, she told Sky Sports: “I never gave up in the middle. It’s being in the middle because you can’t win the match sitting out in the dugout. I wanted to win the game for the team.”I just needed to get the partnership to take it to the last. That’s something that kept me going through the innings. I knew in the middle overs I could manage the game. When you have young players in the side, you need to guide them along, that’s a responsibility.”When asked about becoming the highest run-scorer in women’s internationals, Raj said, “I’m just happy, thank you.”Mithali Raj had gone past Charlotte Edwards as the highest run-scorer in ODIs in July 2017•PA Photos/Getty Images

On July 12, 2017, during the league stage of the 11th edition of the ODI World Cup, Raj went past Edwards to become the highest run-getter in women’s ODIs. In the same match, against Australia, she became the first batter to cross 6000 runs in the format. Her 58 fifties, three of which came in the ODI leg of the ongoing multi-format series against England, are the most by a woman in ODIs.Raj quit T20I cricket in September 2019, and is placed at No. 7 on the list of the leading run-scorers in the format, with 2364 runs at an average of 37.52 and strike rate of of 96.33. Harmanpreet Kaur, who succeeded Raj to T20I captaincy, is the only other Indian in the top ten of that chart.In Tests, her 669 runs from 11 matches at an average of 44.60 are the fourth-most among India Women players and highest among Indians still active in the women’s international cricket.Raj, who completed 22 years as an India cricketer last month, is one win away from becoming the most successful captain in women’s ODIs.

Dane van Niekerk, meanwhile, was thrilled by “the biggest crowd that I’ve played in front of at The Oval”

Valkerie Baynes22-Jul-2021Players were “buzzing” after soaking up an “electric” atmosphere and making history on the opening night of the Hundred.The Oval Invincibles won by five wickets with two balls to spare on the back of an unbeaten fifty by their captain Dane van Niekerk, but even Kate Cross, her opposite number on the losing Manchester Originals side, felt like she’d won something.And she had. Winner of the first toss, choosing to bat despite thinking for months leading up to the game that she would field first in an attempt to settle inevitable nerves by allowing her side to absorb the occasion together on the field.Striker of the first six, stepping down the pitch to slap Danielle Gregory over long-on, a look of sheer delight spreading across her face before she’d even finished her swing. She also cheerfully owned up to bowling the first front-foot no-ball.”First” stats lose meaning when they are part and parcel of playing the first match of the first tournament of its kind. But most meaningful to Cross was the slice of history she, her team, and the opposition for that matter were part of.”It feels like a win,” Cross said. “I don’t feel like we’ve lost that game of cricket. It’s a strange feeling but I just can’t tell you how much I enjoyed it.”There’s a lot of learning while we’re out there but I said to the girls, tonight my biggest thing was first and foremost, enjoy everything. Enjoy the crowd, enjoy the occasion because we’ve made history. Regardless of the result. I said that’s irrelevant, we’re history makers.”Let’s be honest, we were the guinea pigs. No one knew what tonight was going to look like and I’m so glad for the tournament, I’m so glad for everyone that’s worked so hard behind the scenes… they got the night they wanted and hopefully people enjoyed it.”Cross had an excellent night, scoring 12 off just four balls, claiming three wickets with her first seven deliveries and leading her side with distinction.The crowd of 7395 was well below The Oval’s capacity of 28,000, and while it didn’t feel massive, it felt highly respectable. The atmosphere began as interested anticipation, grew quickly into enthusiasm once the match got underway, and as the home side neared their target of 136 the place was jumping.”Honestly, I don’t think I could come off a cricket pitch and be more pleased with a loss,” Cross said. “Genuinely it was the most electric atmosphere, I’ve never played in front of a crowd like that before.Dane van Niekerk’s unbeaten 56 ensured the Oval Invincibles lived up to their name•AFP/Getty Images

“A new tournament with new rules, a lot of nerves around the group, a lot of unknowns, I couldn’t be prouder of the girls, I couldn’t be prouder of our performance.”It was just an amazing night for women’s cricket, it felt like it was almost a perfect night for what the tournament needed to open. I’m absolutely buzzing, I don’t think I’m going to get to sleep tonight.”For van Niekerk, the win clearly meant something too. As she edged Cross to the rope at deep third to seal victory, she stretched her arms wide in triumph.”I was just really happy that that the first match of the Hundred was so entertaining,” van Niekerk said. “A bit more stressful than we wanted it to be but it was nice to give the crowd something to watch and I hope everyone enjoyed themselves.”It was electric, it was incredible. The crowd carried us at the back end.”The trick for Hundred’s organisers will be maintaining that warm afterglow.”I hope that people come out every single game like that and enjoy this tournament, it’s really entertaining,” van Niekerk said. “I played for Surrey Stars for two years and it was definitely the biggest crowd that I’ve played in front of at The Oval and it showed that people are interested in this tournament.”I hope that the people saw that it’s still cricket, it’s just a little bit shorter and a little bit faster, but the skill is still up there, it’s still exciting. A hundred balls is a hundred balls but it’s still cricket and I hope everyone was entertained as much as we were.”As a standalone contest, this match was keenly fought, high quality and entirely watchable. You can bet the men will set out to be at least as competitive and entertaining when they begin their tournament with the corresponding teams meeting at The Oval on Saturday night.Whether the Hundred is enough of a twist on the game already loved by many to attract new fans, whether it differs from T20 sufficiently to last long-term, and whether it will harm other formats as much as some fear, no one knows. But at least it’s started with a bit of a buzz.

Somerset saved by rain as DLS calculations unable to kick in before deluge

ECB Reporters Network05-Aug-2021Somerset 220 (Goldsworthy 96, Moriarty 4-30) vs Surrey 66 for 0 – No Result
Lewis Goldsworthy’s impressive 96 and Dan Moriarty’s controlled 4 for 30, both List A bests, were the stand-out performances of a rain-ruined Royal London Cup match at the Kia Oval in which Surrey were left an agonising two overs short of gaining victory against Somerset on Duckworth Lewis Stern calculations.Surrey, to their huge frustration, were cruising at 66 for no wicket from just eight overs when rain intervened for the final time, in reply to Somerset’s 220 all out in 48.3 overs. With a minimum of ten overs needing to be bowled at the team batting second, both sides ended up with a point apiece from the no result.Initially chasing 217 from 48 overs, due to the first of several afternoon rain squalls, Surrey were 7 without loss from 2.3 overs when more heavy rain arrived.After a delay of 100 minutes, play resumed with Surrey’s DLS target now 147 from 25 overs and, immediately, openers Mark Stoneman and Ben Geddes set about Somerset’s attack to plunder 59 from 5.3 overs.Stoneman, unbeaten on 29, smashed Josh Davey through extra cover and straight drove Sonny Baker powerfully for another four, while Geddes also hit out attractively with five boundaries to reach 31 not out before more rain forced the abandonment.Goldsworthy, the highly-promising 20-year-old Cornishman in his first full season, had earlier almost single-handedly dragged Somerset past 200 with a superbly-paced 105-ball innings that featured three late sixes and also six fours.It was, however, an ultimately disappointing day for a near 5,000 crowd and unbeaten Somerset now have three wins and two no results from their first five group 1 games, while Surrey have two wins and two no results from their initial five Royal London fixtures.Matt Dunn struck two new ball blows after Somerset had chosen to bat, the Surrey paceman producing excellent deliveries to have Sam Young caught behind for a duck, driving, in the third over and James Rew pouched at second slip for 6 four overs later.Steven Davies swung Rikki Clarke for six and also struck seven exquisitely-timed fours in a 32-ball 45 before steering Nick Kimber’s pacy seamers to backward point, and James Hildreth unfurled one beautiful extra cover driven four off Kimber before Clarke had him caught behind for 19 with the first ball after a drinks break.Goldsworthy, who had narrowly avoided being yorked by Kimber first ball, could only watch as Moriarty had Eddie Byrom lbw for 2, prodding half-forward, and then sent back Davey for 5, edging to keeper Jamie Smith an attempted reverse-sweep.That was 114 for 6, in the 24th over, but at least Kasey Aldridge and then George Drissell hung around long enough to help Goldsworthy put on 27 and 25, respectively, for the seventh and eighth wickets.Both made 12 but Aldridge edged a rising ball from Kimber to slip and Drissell was smartly stumped by Smith from a legside ball from Moriarty that would have been called as a one-day wide had he not overbalanced.Marchant de Lange was then bowled by Moriarty for 4, aiming a legside swipe when he might have better concentrated on supporting Goldsworthy, and it took a sensible 7 not out from last man Baker to enable Somerset’s rising young batting star to press down the accelerator in the closing overs.Goldsworthy first swung Clarke high over long on before adding two more sixes, both off Dunn in a 47th over costing 22, again clearing the ropes over mid wicket and long on besides collecting two fours with a thick-edged slash to third man and a punch through extra cover.There was one final four, a flat-batted pull off Kimber wide of mid on, before Goldsworthy was caught above his head on the wide mid wicket ropes by Tim David as he clubbed Ryan Patel’s medium pace to leg in a bid to reach three figures.

Mumbai will need a run of wins to ease their route to the playoffs, a situation they are not unaccustomed to

Karthik Krishnaswamy01-Oct-20211:34

Is Krunal Pandya’s form a concern for Mumbai?

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In 2014, Mumbai Indians sneaked into the playoffs in dramatic fashion (Aditya Tare loses his shirt, Rahul Dravid loses his cap, everyone loses their minds) despite starting the season with five straight losses. A season later, they began with four Ls in a row, and went on to win the title.They didn’t begin quite as poorly this season, but in the context of their recent domination of the league, this has been their worst IPL in quite a while. It’s now that time in the season, however, when they invariably build serious steam, and they’re now in fifth, with only net run-rate separating them from fourth, with three games left to play.Two of those games, their last two league matches, are against the bottom-two teams, Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad.This is why every other playoffs contender would want Delhi Capitals to beat Mumbai Indians on Saturday. If you’re hunting for an IPL title, you want the team with the most experience and title-winning knowhow out of the picture as soon as possible.Capitals are currently in second, in the playoffs, but cast your mind back to last season, when they were in a similar situation only to lose five of their last six league games and find themselves with a more or less must-win fixture on their last day of league play.They wouldn’t want that sort of drama this time around. After Mumbai, the Capitals’ last two league opponents would be the teams currently in first and third, Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore. Given the importance of a top-two finish, neither will be in any mood to do a title rival any favours.

Qualification chances

Kolkata Knight Riders’ defeat against Punjab Kings is a result that both Mumbai and Capitals will be happy with. Mumbai now have a chance of qualifying without relying on other teams doing them any favours – all they need to do is win their last three games. Sixteen points will guarantee them a playoff spot, as Knight Riders can only get to a maximum of 14.However, if Mumbai lose to Capitals, things could get complicated for them as Knight Riders and Kings both have better net run rates, with all three teams currently on ten points. If qualification comes down to net run rate, Mumbai could lose out.Friday’s result also means Capitals have qualified for sure; their next target will be to finish among the top two. Currently, it is possible for three teams to reach 20 points, so even a win against Mumbai won’t assure them of a top-two position, but it will certainly be a big step in that direction. Their last two games are against teams that are currently in the top three, so it won’t get any easier for them.

In the news

Prithvi Shaw sat out Capitals’ match against the Kolkata Knight Riders with an injury, and their captain Rishabh Pant said after the game that there was an 80% chance he would be fit to face Mumbai. Pant, meanwhile, said it might take Marcus Stoinis “a match or two” before he’s fully recovered from the hamstring issue that’s been keeping him out of the Capitals’ recent games.While Steven Smith took Shaw’s place against Knight Riders, Capitals may now have one other option for that slot, with Sam Billings out of quarantine and available for selection.

Likely XIs

Delhi Capitals: 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Prithvi Shaw/Steven Smith/Sam Billings, 3 Shreyas Iyer, 4 Rishabh Pant (capt & wk), 5 Shimron Hetmyer, 6 Lalit Yadav, 7 Axar Patel, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Avesh Khan, 11 Anrich Nortje.Mumbai Indians: 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Suryakumar Yadav, 4 Saurabh Tiwary/Jayant Yadav, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Krunal Pandya, 8 Nathan Coulter-Nile, 9 Rahul Chahar, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Jasprit Bumrah.

Strategy punt

Of the seven matches Jayant Yadav has played for Mumbai over three seasons, four have been against Capitals. In three of those four games, he’s returned exactly the same figures, 1 for 25, while finishing with 0 for 18 from three overs in the other game. In short, he’s been a Capitals specialist, and he’s done his job with an almost machine-like precision each time.The reason why Mumbai use the offspinner so often against Capitals is, of course, their left-hander-heavy line-up. Jayant has terrific IPL records against Shikhar Dhawan (41 balls, 47 runs, one wicket), Rishabh Pant (23-21-0) and Axar Patel (10-5-0), but as a welcome byproduct for Mumbai, he’s also done well against Capitals’ right-hand batters. He’s gone 17-19-0 against Shreyas Iyer, 11-11-1 against Prithvi Shaw and 13-10-0 against Ajinkya Rahane. It’s quite likely, then, that he’ll be matched up against his favourite opposition once again.

Stats that matter

• The Capitals have lost four out of their five games against Mumbai in the last two seasons, but R Ashwin has still managed an excellent record in those games, going 31-32-2 (balls-runs-wickets) against Quinton de Kock, 29-28-0 against Ishan Kishan, and 22-28-1 against Rohit Sharma, while only conceding one run in five balls against Krunal Pandya. He has struggled against Suryakumar Yadav, however, returning a 29-46-0 record.
• Rohit Sharma is two big hits short of becoming the first Indian batter to hit 400 T20 sixes. The others who have achieved the feat are Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, Brendon McCullum, Shane Watson and AB de Villiers, with Aaron Finch currently on 399.
• Mumbai have struggled with the bat in the death overs this season, with a scoring rate of only 8.23. It’s the worst they’ve ever done in that phase in any season of the IPL. For some context, they went at an all-time-best 12.56 last season.