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Plays of the Day from the Asia Cup clash between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in Mirpur

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Mirpur06-Mar-2014The Sham-scoop
Shamsur Rahman was looking good and had already struck six fours when Ajantha Mendis came on to bowl his first over. Mendis didn’t start particularly well, and conceded five singles in his first five balls. Last ball of the over, Shamsur decided to do something cheeky to show who was boss. Having taken a big step forward even before Mendis released, Shamsur went down on one knee and nonchalantly flicked the ball over his own shoulder for four.The two-step catch
Judging that an airy Anamul Haque flick off Ashan Priyanjan was too far above his head for the simple overhead grab, Lahiru Thirimanne jumped as high as he could and punched the ball with his palms like a goalkeeper tipping a fierce shot over the crossbar. Thirimanne wasn’t a goalkeeper, and his work wasn’t done yet. Having tumbled to the ground, he corkscrewed himself to face the ball once more and completed a diving catch inches from the turf.The edge to first slip
Al-Amin Hossain angled the ball across Kumar Sangakkara, and got it to leave him slightly after pitching. It wasn’t pitched full enough for Sangakkara to drive, and the ball bounced and took his outside edge. It carried at an awkward chest height to Nasir Hossain, and it popped out of his hands at the first attempt. Bangladesh’s collective heart made a trip to its collective mouth, before the country heaved a collective sigh of relief as Hossain clung on at the second attempt.The edge to theoretical slip
Ziaur Rahman had been getting the ball to bounce awkwardly from back of a length, and had beaten Ashan Priyanjan with one such delivery before getting him caught behind with another. Despite this, even when Sri Lanka were five down for 80, Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim didn’t have a slip in place for Ziaur. As if on cue, Ziaur produced another lifter. Angelo Mathews jabbed at it, and the edge flew for four, agonisingly close to the right glove of a desperately diving wicketkeeper.

Three captains went through a whole host emotions as the first phase of the World T20 came to a dramatic conclusion. In the end, William Porterfield was distraught, Brendan Taylor phlegmatic and Peter Borren ecstatic

Firdose Moonda21-Mar-2014In three hours, you can cook a roast, watch Bruce Springsteen perform an entire concert or have your fate at the World T20 decided. Zimbabwe, Ireland and Netherlands may have wanted to be doing one of the first two but were involved in the third.It began when Zimbabwe beat UAE. They did it as efficiently as they felt they could to ensure their net-run rate was in the black. Brendan Taylor knew his men had done all they could on the day to make give themselves a chance. “We’ll rush back to the hotel and sit in front of the big screen and watch. Hopefully it goes our way,” Taylors said in his post-match conference.His eyes and the words that followed said something else. Taylor was backing Ireland to finish the job they started so well. “Ireland are looking pretty good,” he said. He would know. Ireland beat Zimbabwe off the last ball in the group’s opening match and dealt the UAE a thumping.His only hope was remembering what Hong Kong did to Bangladesh yesterday. “We saw with Bangladesh last night that anything can happen but anyway…” Anyway.Anyway Zimbabwe, as a Full Member, should have secured their spots themselves. Anyway they should not have had to rely on other teams. Anyway there was nothing more Zimbabwe could do. Anyway bowing out to Ireland was not so bad because they are the team everyone is saying should be among the elite anyway.By the halfway stage of Ireland’s match, Taylor’s prediction seemed accurate. From a fairly good position of 88 for 3 midway through the 12th over, Andrew Poynter and Kevin O’Brien put on 101 runs in the remaining seven and a half overs. William Porterfield was comfortable with his team’s efforts. Peter Borren was not.When Borren headed to the ground earlier he knew that his team would not just have to win but bat quickly to get their net run-rate above Zimbabwe’s. That’s why he chose to chase, so they could structure their innings as needed. His idea was that Netherland would approach the innings as a curtailed chase. “We turned up today thinking we’d use 18 overs to chase Ireland. Even when Zimbabwe thrashed UAE that made me a little more difficult. I genuinely felt we had a good chance.”Then he realised they would have to hunt down a much bigger target than he hoped in fewer overs than the 20 they had available to them. “190 is a stiff chase in 20 overs, let alone 14,” he said. “But we didn’t have much to lose going into that second innings.”

190 is a stiff chase in 20 overs, let alone 14 But we didn’t have much to lose going into that second inningsPeter Borren

Taylor, in his hotel room in Sylhet, may have started packing his bags to head back to Harare. Porterfield would have had one foot on the plane to Chittagong. Borren only knew his team needed to be braver than they had been before and make sure they left with nothing to regret.He showed them how to himself. The first ball of the chase, Borren swept to fine leg. It was a brave shot so early in the innings but it was on. Paul Stirling had tossed it up on the leg side, Borren saw the opportunity and timed it well. With nine runs off the first over, Netherlands were off to a good start which only got better.Ireland used another spinner and Stephan Myburgh’s eyes lit up. He charged the offspinner Andy McBrine and lofted him over the boundary. Once. Twice. Three times. Four. If anyone was in any doubt about whether Netherlands were going to go for it, that thought was now erased: 24 off the over.By the end of the fourth over, with 68 runs on the board, the tables had turned. Taylor would have still been packing his bags but his exit would have been at the hands of the unlikely. Porterfield’s thoughts would have returned from Chittagong to the task at hand. Borren would have only seen a chance.Ireland looked shocked. Their bowlers were too generous, their fielders out of sorts. They were scrambling all over the place, desperately trying to collect the ball which seemed intent on evading them. Kevin O’Brien, the man who showed the big-match temperament to guide Ireland past England in Bangalore, again made a major play. He took the first wicket, thanks to a fielder who woke up. George Dockrell ran from the infield towards the boundary to send Borren on his way.Everything could have changed then. The Powerplay was over. One wicket could have led to many. Hope would have shifted to Taylor. Given the start Netherlands had made he may have thought they would win the magical 14.2 mark that would see Zimbabwe qualify. Some of it would have sprinkled on Porterfield who would have seen an opening. Borren’s stomach would have been in a knot. Had he thrown it all away?Netherlands’ players acknowledge the crowd after their six-wicket win•ICCAll of those feelings would have multiplied when Myburgh was dismissed and then Logan van Beek.Then everything seemed to change again. Tom Cooper, the man who would not have played in the Netherlands squad if not for any injury, controversial or not, and who has shown himself to be one of the top allrounders in this stage of the competition, was offered a chance. He reverse-swept against Dockrell, having only faced one ball and Ed Joyce at deep cover only had to accept the gift: he did not.Cooper made them pay. Not just once, twice or three times. But six. That is how many times the ball cleared the boundary. Four times that came off Dockrell. The man who should have had his wicket.By the time Cooper was out, Netherlands had three overs left to get to their target and qualify. They needed 29 in 18 balls. Taylor would have returned to packing his bags. Porterfield admitted he was not aware of the 14.2 cut-off, but in reality it was meaningless for Ireland: any defeat, due to Zimbabwe’s improved net run-rate, would have sent them out. “We still always thought we’d pick up wickets the way they were going,” a distraught Porterfield said.Borren was looking on like a man possessed. He roared with every run. Netherlands had a whiteboard and were writing down the equation after every ball. Their team knew exactly what they needed to do and were able to plan how they were going to do it.Three balls before they needed to be finished, they were. Wesley Barresi swiped over midwicket and Netherlands were in the main draw. Those in the dug-out charged onto the field, whopping, yelling, joyous.Porterfield looked empty. Taylor could confirm relying on others was not a good idea. Both were due to pack. Both prematurely. Taylor was not there to say what he thought. Porterfield was. “We knew coming here, we’d need to win three games to qualify; it was a pretty simple equation for us,” he said. “We played two and half very good games of cricket. We’ll bounce back. We’ll go back to Ireland. We’ve got ODIs against Sri Lanka in five weeks time and that will be the next stage for us to rebuild.”In the immediate aftermath, Borren had his wits about him enough to be able to offer his opposition some sympathy. “I can feel for them in that regard,” he said of Ireland. “It’s difficult to play against a team with nothing to lose. We’re very excited. It’s a fantastic feeling; I dont really know what to say.”A few minutes later, he knew exactly what to say. Those three hours had proved something about cricket. “The teams ranked from eight to about 18 – there are a lot of competitive teams there. Anyone can beat anyone on the day. That’s been shown in the last two days.”UAE were the only team in the group stage who failed to record a single victory and even they did seemed more motivated as the tournament went on, seeing this as a way to advance the professionalism of their game. “I hope people have enjoyed the cricket. There’s been some fantastic games. I hope people have sat up and noticed,” Borren said. For at least three hours, they did.

Dane Piedt and Simon Harmer have been the leading first-class wicket-takers this season and one of them could partner Imran Tahir

Firdose Moonda29-May-2014At least two new faces are expected to travel with South Africa’s squad to Sri Lanka in July: a batsman for either a top or middle order role and a spinner. This time, contrary to popular perception, South Africa are spoilt for choice in the latter department and have the luxury of two stand-out contenders to choose from. Dane Piedt and Simon Harmer were the top two wicket-takers in last season’s first-class competition and the only bowlers to claim 40 or more scalps each. Piedt took 45 wickets at 19.93 for the Cobras while Harmer had 40 wickets at 35.72 for the Warriors. They are both offspinners who would offer something different to what the certainty in the squad, Imran Tahir does. They have both worked closely with South Africa’s spin consultant Claude Henderson and are both hopeful of making the trip.”It would be reward for a good season,” Piedt told ESPNcricinfo. For Harmer, it would be reward for two good seasons. He was the leading wicket-taker in the 2011-12 summer as well when he took 44 wickets at 31.72. “I would hope I am being considered. I’ve performed well domestically and for South Africa A. I think I tick all the boxes,” Harmer said.To decide between them, the selectors will have to take into consideration what type of back-up spinner they want. In Piedt they will have a bowler who has a lot of weapons in his arsenal, in Harmer they will have someone who may seem as though he has fewer but has mastered the art of using them.Piedt, 24, made his name last summer on variation. He brought out the doosra, the carrom ball, the top-spinner and the arm-ball and managed to juggle his use of all of them effectively. “That just worked for me and it has worked for me since I started playing,” Piedt said. “To move away from that won’t be part of my plan. With Cobras, I was given the responsibility of bowling teams out and that’s how I did it. I really took to that.” Among his performances was a hat-trick against the Dolphins.Harmer relies on a more conventional approach, although it is not to be confused with a defensive one. He gets ample turn on the ball and uses that to get batsmen out. “I do have variations but I don’t think it is necessary to use them all the time,” he said. “And I offer something in all three spheres because I bat and field as well.”While Piedt is still working on becoming an all-round package – he has a batting average of 15.38 although he has four first-class fifties – Harmer has established himself as a reliable lower middle-order batsman. He has a first-class hundred and averages 29.39 and that is not the only thing that may give Harmer the edge.The selectors have already earmarked him as a potential future player as recently as the last time South Africa’s Test squad played. Together with left-arm pacer Beuran Hendricks, Harmer was a non-playing member of the squad for the first Test against Australia last March where he was able to train with the national squad and observe first-hand how they prepare.”They were very welcoming and Beuran and I were part of everything. We played in a warm-up match and then we went into the training where I could see they were very focused and specific in their preparation,” Harmer said. “Russell Domingo (the coach) makes sure they have everything available – whether guys want to face spin, fast bowling, short-pitched bowling, whatever. And their net sessions are a lot longer than what we had at franchise level. They are a full three hours,” Harmer said.Comparatively, Piedt has been part of a national academy tour in 2011 to Bangladesh and a spinners’ camp in India in 2012, which Harmer was also on. Piedt used the Indian camp to pick the brain of former international Sunil Joshi. “I was like a sponge in India; I just wanted to absorb things from all the different guys.”What Piedt has that Harmer does not is a track record of team success. The Cobras won the first-class competition for the last two seasons which Piedt believes will open doors for their players. “If you don’t win trophies, you probably won’t get a look in,” Piedt said. “At the Cobras, we just want to win trophies and we don’t look at the next level.”Guys like Robin Peterson always tell me not to compare myself to others and just to be relaxed and focused on my own game. So if I am given the opportunity to play for South Africa, I will take it with both hands. But just to be in the reckoning makes me really proud. And if I don’t get picked, I will go back and work hard at the Cobras.”Also at the Cobras are the batsmen in the running to fill retired former captain Graeme Smith’s opening berth. Dean Elgar, who has already played nine Tests for South Africa, is the frontrunner but left-hander Stiaan van Zyl may also find himself in contention as well, even if he bats lower down.Van Zyl, 26, is a regular No.3 and topped the first-class competition’s run-scoring charts in the past season. He scored 933 runs at an average of 58.31 and scored three hundreds and four fifties. Justin Ontong, 34, was only six runs behind van Zyl with an average of 71.30, three centuries and five fifties which presents another interesting debate for the selection panel: whether to opt for youth or experience.

It was been an ‘interesting’ week for England’s No. 3 but the only aspect of it that should really matter is how he is slotting into a key position in the batting order

George Dobell at Lord's18-Jul-2014It will not be the first time this week that Gary Ballance’s picture has featured on the back pages of the newspapers, but this time he may take far more pleasure in it.Earlier in the week, pictures of Ballance, without a shirt and clearly the worse for wear after a night out, were published in several papers. He had, it transpired, unwound from the demanding Test in Nottingham, by venturing into the city with several team-mates and, after several hours drinking, was photographed in a somewhat unflattering state by other club goers. Batting it seems, is thirsty work.While the England team management took an admirably mature response to the incident – they reminded Ballance of his responsibilities and the media that he was a young man unwinding on a night off – the player admitted the episode had been “a bit embarrassing.”So it was a relief that, a couple of days later, he should find himself featured in the same publications for reasons that should make him proud. On a pitch that remains helpful to seam bowlers, Ballance recorded the second century of his brief Test career to keep his side in the game against India.Ballance is a wonderfully no-frills cricketer. There is little pretty about him, little outrageous and little extravagant. He is pragmatic; all substance and little style.And he is just what England require. After the gaping hole created by the departure of Jonathan Trott, it was thought that either Ian Bell or Joe Root would fill the No. 3 position.Gary Ballance showed a tight defence and also the readiness to leap onto a poor delivery•Getty ImagesInstead the job was given to a rookie. And Ballance has shown that, despite a reluctance to come forward, he has the talent and temperament to flourish at this level. He leaves well, defends well and is powerful on the cut, in particular, and the pull. He also has another gear – a savage, thrashing sort of mode – that, he hinted at in a nine-ball spell when he punished Stuart Binny for five boundaries including two in succession to reach his century.Here he enjoyed one moment of fortune when, on 32, he survived an edge off the unfortunate Binny, that flew between the wicketkeeper and first slip. But he has now scored two centuries and two half-centuries in eight Test innings and shown the welcome ability both to grind it out when necessary and accelerate when appropriate. Whatever England’s other problems, they appear to have found a gem in Ballance.His comments on the innings could have been used to describe almost every innings he has played for England to date.”I just thought ‘I’ve got to scrap hard here,” he said. “I thought it’s probably not going to be pretty or very exciting to watch. But at the end of the day, it’s about doing a job. I tried to be patient.”I knew I was going to play and miss, so tried to leave as much as I could and just wait for anything with a bit of width or anything too straight. Luckily, I fought hard, got an edge through the slips early on, and it’s paid off, being patient.”His record at Lord’s is remarkable. After scoring a century here for Yorkshire against Middlesex earlier in the season – his maiden first-class game on the ground – he followed it up with a maiden Test century against Sri Lanka in June in just his second Test. He also scored a century on the ground as a Harrow schoolboy in the historic match against Eton.While Ballance has made a fine start to life in the No. 3 position, there are those who think he could open the batting. Certainly Dave Houghton, a friend of the Ballance family who has played a significant part in the player’s development, feels he has what it takes. The cynical might suggest that, given Alastair Cook’s form, Ballance is in effect doing the job already.But Ballance, of course, maintained the party line when asked about England’s beleaguered captain. “Knowing what Cooky is like, he’ll still be very positive and upbeat,” he said. “He’s a fantastic cricketer, a fantastic captain and his scores over the years prove that.”He’ll obviously be disappointed not getting a score today. But he’ll keep going hard and I’m sure it will be a matter of time before he gets that big score.”Even if the description of Cook as a “fantastic captain” might raise some eyebrows, Ballance’s assessment of the game position was much more to the mark.”We’re 70 odd behind, with still some good batters coming in and who can score quickly,” he said. “If we can get two more partnerships, and try to get a lead, on this wicket we can put India under a bit of pressure. The third innings is always a crucial part of the game. So if we can get that lead, and bowl well, we can push for a victory.”And his reaction to the coverage of the night out in Nottingham?”I didn’t see it coming,” he said, “It was a bit embarrassing. I was probably a bit naive, but I didn’t really break any rules. I was just having fun after a Test match. But I’ll learn from that, and probably won’t do it again.”It’s been an interesting week. I didn’t really expect it, but it’s nice to score some runs and put us back in a decent position.”I felt a bit of pressure turning up on day one, with what happened. But everyone around me was very supportive: the coaches, all the players, my family were backing me and saying ‘mistakes happen; you’ve got to learn from it and move on’. Luckily I took a catch in the third or fourth over and that calmed me down a lot.”Ballance may well be calming the nerves of England supporters just as much in the coming years.

Sachin Tendulkar’s relative silence on the fixing episodes are a wasted chance to inspire, inform and instruct

Gaurav Kalra06-Nov-2014The chronicle of an exceptional life in the words of that very individual has an enduring appeal. Sachin Tendulkar’s time in the game has been more remarkable than most, so it’s no surprise his autobiography has generated enormous traction.While some of its extracts in the public domain have been revealing, Tendulkar’s fleeting references to the two major fixing scandals in Indian cricket are disappointing. Speaking on the eve of the book launch, Tendulkar had justified omitting references to fixing on the grounds that he did not have full knowledge of events. “The things I am not aware of fully, it would be unwise to comment on those,” he said.The book does, however, deal with both episodes in a few lines. A reference to the fixing scandal of the 1990s begins the chapter on the 2001 home series against Australia. “Cricket plummeted to a low in the wake of the match-fixing scandal. The credibility of the game had been compromised and I found the revelations about matches being thrown for money distasteful and disgusting. The whole thing was repulsive and what was seriously worrying was that fans had started to lose faith and the integrity of our sport was in doubt. We desperately needed to bring credibility back to the game and we hoped that we could do so in the course of playing the Australians at home in a much-anticipated series in February-March 2001. It would allow fans to move away from the sordid tales of corruption and focus on the real thing: quality Test cricket.”Those five lines probably throw up more questions than answers. Was Tendulkar consumed by turmoil on learning some of his colleagues had possibly manipulated the outcome of games he was part of? Did he attempt to find more details of leads that investigators were chasing? Was there a call to the board president of the time about how deep the rot was? Or a teary-eyed conversation with a confidant?Tendulkar had both captained and been led by two men who were handed bans for their alleged involvement in fixing. Did he ever confront them and demand to know their side of the story? What is his equation with those men today? Does he view them as traitors or has he learnt to forget and forgive? Did he ever lie back in bed and wonder about moments in games that seemed unusual in hindsight? Did he ever watch footage of a passage of play and say to himself, “Hmmm that doesn’t look right?”In the period immediately after the match-fixing scandal Tendulkar, in the company of Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Javagal Srinath, rebuilt faith among distressed fans. That series against Australia did indeed achieve what it set out to do: quality Test cricket bringing credibility back to the game and allowing fans to move away from the sordidness. Should the book not have thrown more light on how this golden generation of players handled the fixing scandal? Was there ever a conversation among them about its implications? Was there ever a team meeting where a pledge to play the game with utmost integrity was made? Did they recognise the future of the game in India rested on their conduct?The 2013 IPL fixing controversy – its fallout has not yet been contained – has a shorter mention in the book. Among those implicated, arrested and banned was a fellow player from the triumphant 2011 World Cup campaign and a team-mate over several years. “I was disappointed, shocked and angry at the goings-on and said so in a press release at the time,” Tendulkar wrote on the issue. “There has to be a complete zero-tolerance policy against corruption and more should be done to educate the players but on the other hand the tournament as a whole cannot be blamed for the wrongdoings of a few.”More questions arise: Was he fearful at the time of what other skeletons could come tumbling out of the closet? Does he believe the IPL structure needs an overhaul? How did he view the actions of a player who had played at the highest level and knew fully well the perils of getting mixed up in corruption?At an interaction with journalists, Tendulkar was asked whether he felt some players had under-performed deliberately during the match-fixing phase in the 1990s. “No, I mean the guys fail, but who doesn’t fail in life, everyone fails,” he said. “It would be unfair to just pinpoint someone and say that he was under-performing, didn’t try his best. I have played the sport for 24 years and failures do happen.”While Tendulkar correctly makes the distinction between “failure” and “deliberate under-performance,” he chooses to remain almost silent about the same men who were punished precisely for “deliberately under-performing.” These were men he went on tour with, played World Cups with, took instructions from and gave instructions to. Surely if they were found compromised, he couldn’t have been divorced from that reality? Surely an autobiography is the appropriate forum to describe that phase as he saw it? Surely his emotional response to the events unfolding around him wasn’t restricted merely to the “details he knew” about?An autobiography is a not a newspaper column or a television interview. It can unshackle itself from the burdens of a professional career. In , Andre Agassi admitted not just to failing a drug test but also lying about it to escape harsher punishment. For all the criticism Kevin Pietersen received for being self-indulgent, his recent autobiography pulled no punches. It was his side of the story, all of it.At first glance, Tendulkar has tackled several prickly issues in the book, including Greg Chappell’s controversial tenure as India coach and the racism charge levelled at his team-mate Harbhajan Singh during the 2007-08 tour of Australia. Cricket’s greatest scourge, however, is fixing and two of the most serious episodes took place during Tendulkar’s career, with him at ringside. Why he needed to almost totally ignore its significance and impact isn’t as clear.

They could have ended up as team-mates but Swapnil Patil took a different route to international cricket than his Indian friends and they are set to meet on opposite sides

Abhishek Purohit27-Feb-2015The village of Darpale and the town of Dombivli are almost equidistant to the north from the maidans of south Mumbai. But they have to be reached by different suburban railway lines. Several years ago, two boys used to regularly take those separate, but equally crowded, trains to the city to play the game they loved. Over the years, they progressed through the ranks in junior cricket and represented the city at various age-group levels. They went on to play for the same club side too: Mulund Gymkhana. Naturally a bond developed between the two. Both were among the probables for the Mumbai Ranji Trophy side.But it has been said for good reason in the past that it was once tougher to make the Mumbai team than the India team. About a decade ago, wicketkeeper-batsman Swapnil Patil, three years senior to his friend, decided that he was not going to be able to break through into the Ranji team. For there are few cricketers grittier than Vinayak Samant, and for eight successive seasons after having himself being denied by Sameer Dighe, the veteran keeper held down a spot in the Mumbai line-up, keeping numerous youngsters out.In 2006, Patil received an offer to become a player-employee for Emirates Contracting in the UAE. The dream to play for Mumbai nowhere near fulfillment, Patil took up the job and moved countries.His friend stayed put in India, and the next year, debuted for Mumbai. Ajinkya Rahane went on to reel off century after century in domestic cricket. Three years later, Patil debuted for UAE. A year later, Rahane debuted for India, and another four years later, he is now an integral part of the national side.Separated by distance, Patil and Rahane gradually grew out of touch, but will meet on the field against each other next afternoon at the WACA. In a World Cup match, of all occasions. No wonder Patil is excited at the prospect of going up against Rahane, as well as Rohit Sharma, his team-mate in age-group teams. He has not been able to meet them yet since travelling to Perth a day ago after UAE’s previous game in Brisbane.Back home in Darpale, his family wants him to do well but his brother and neighbours have said that at the same time, they will be supporting India. Patil laughs when this is mentioned, but cannot wait to get on to the field.”From within my heart, I am liking it that I come from India and am playing them tomorrow. It feels really nice. I am very happy that I am playing a World Cup. More than me, my family and friends are happy. My coaches are happy that after going away from home, I have managed to play international cricket for UAE.”Patil says he does not have any regrets now about not having made it in India. “Now I have been here in UAE for ten years. I am settled and very happy.”He uses the Marathi word – fun – many times when asked how he is looking forward to playing against the Indians. “I’ll find out how I feel tomorrow. There will be a lot of Indian supporters. There will be a few UAE ones as well. Playing in front of such a crowd and against the Indian team will be great fun. Let us see what happens tomorrow. I do want to score against India.” If he does, he will have an old friend in the opposition camp feeling happy for him.

Plays of the day from the IPL game between Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders in Pune

Rachna Shetty18-Apr-2015The field placing
Morne Morkel’s pace and height allows him to extract disconcerting bounce with ease, and an early wicket only added to the pressure Kings XI Punjab faced while padding up to him. Morkel came on to bowl his first over with a fielder at forward short leg and sent down a few deliveries that had Virender Sehwag and Wriddhiman Saha hopping around.The butter-fingered Knights
Kolkata Knight Riders’ wins in this season so far cannot entirely be attributed to their fielding. In the first three matches, they gave all the key batsmen a reprieve – Rohit Sharma was dropped at the Eden Gardens, Chris Gayle was dropped twice and on Saturday, Glenn Maxwell was the lucky one to receive a reprieve when Yusuf Pathan dropped a sitter at deep midwicket. The dropped chance was enough to have team mentor Wasim Akram giving catching tips to Pathan during the strategic time-out. Maxwell added another 20 runs to his score before holing out to Andre Russell at deep cover.The comeback
One of the question marks for Knight Riders heading into the season was how Sunil Narine would perform in the tournament with a remodeled action. He had figures of 0 for 28 and 0 for 26 after the first two matches but the performance against Kings XI was a return to the familiar sight of a measly economy rate. Narine also had a wicket to show for – getting Axar Patel to cap off returns of 4-0-17-1.The hero’s welcome
Andre Russell had hacked, swiped and slogged his way to 66 off 35 deliveries and with the support of Yusuf Pathan had taken Knight Riders to the brink of victory. With the scores level, Russell went for another huge slog off Mitchell Johnson but missed his line and was bowled. With the win almost in the pocket, the dug-out greeted him cheerfully with fist-bumps and hugs.

Domnic Joseph Muthuswami, who till four years ago was primarily a tennis-ball cricketer, impressed on his IPL debut not only with two decent overs up front but also with the 17th over he bowled against Chennai Super Kings last week

Amol Karhadkar16-Apr-2015Bowling to MS Dhoni in the 17th over of an IPL match is nothing but asking for trouble. That too for an IPL debutant. But when you concede just a single off three balls bowled to a fearsome batsman like Dhoni, and end up conceding just one run in the over along with a wicket, you have got to be elated.Welcome to the world of Domnic Joseph Muthuswami. The 34-year-old from Pune, who till four years ago was primarily a tennis-ball cricketer and made bullets for a living, impressed on his debut not only with two decent overs up front but also with the 17th over he bowled in Chennai Super Kings’ innings of Delhi Daredevils’ tournament opener last week.The bowling effort ended up earning accolades from not only his team-mates but also from India’s World Cup-winning captain. No wonder then that it was the most cherished moment of his short career at the top level. “When a player like Dhoni tells you ‘well bowled’, it has to be the biggest compliment in your career. It was definitely the most memorable moment for me when he told me so after the match when I met him briefly,” Joseph told ESPNcricinfo.Since then, his WhatsApp display picture is of him posing with Dhoni after the game in Chennai.Apart from the pressure he was feeling of bowling to “top-class international batsmen,” Joseph was also bogged down by a packed house at the MA Chidambaram Stadium – despite three locked stands at the home of Super Kings. All through his tennis ball and first-class career, Joseph hadn’t played a match with a turnout that was bigger than a thousand spectators or so.”I did have pangs in the stomach but all the seniors in the Daredevils team helped me calm down and deliver my best,” Joseph said. “It is one thing bowling in big stadiums in front of near-empty stands like we do in domestic cricket but it becomes a completely different ball game when you have to do so in front of thousands of spectators cheering from the stands.”A week since making his IPL debut, Joseph returned to the Daredevils team and bowled in front of an even bigger turnout when they faced Kings XI Punjab on Wednesday night. But this time around, Joseph wasn’t really bothered about performing in the middle of more than 40,000 spectators.His family and friends had turned up in big numbers to see their own “Dom,” as he is fondly called, doing them proud at his home ground. “It’s a different feeling altogether when all your family members and some of the closest friends watch you from the stands. You know they will always back you, irrespective of how you fare.”Joseph didn’t have an impressive outing against Kings XI but that has not halted his dream ride. Daredevils may have had a reason to celebrate on Wednesday night after winning their first game of the season and breaking an 11-match losing streak. But one of their players has been having the time of his life for the last fortnight or so.First it was the turn of Gary Kirsten. So impressed was the former India and South Africa coach with Joseph’s performance in the practice games that he not only praised him, but also included him in the XI for Daredevils’ opening game of the season against Super Kings, ahead of Test bowler Jaydev Unadkat.”Just before the match in Chennai, Gary told me to keep bowling the same way like I had been in our practice games. I am glad I could live up to his faith,” Joseph said.Despite being in the thirties, Joseph was recommended to the Daredevils management by Pravin Amre. The Daredevils assistant coach saw Joseph extract appreciable bounce with his immaculate line and length during the West Zone one-dayers, and shortlisted him for the auction.For a player with as humble a background as Joseph’s, an IPL contract could well give a sense of fulfilment. Not for Joseph. “I feel it’s just the beginning. Got to learn a lot about the game by bowling to a different class of batsmen and then keep on improving my game.”

Stats highlights from the second ODI between England and New Zealand at the Kia Oval

S Rajesh12-Jun-2015763 The aggregate in this game, the highest ever in an ODI in England. The previous record was 651, in the NatWest Series final between England and India at Lord’s in 2002, when England scored 325 and India chased it down with three balls to spare. In the history of one-day internationals, there have only been two games where more runs have been scored: in game in Johannesburg between South Africa and Australia, which produced an aggregate of 872, and India versus Sri Lanka in Rajkot in 2009, when 825 were scored.398 New Zealand’s total, their second-highest in ODIs, and their best against England. Their highest total was against Ireland in Aberdeen in 2008, when they made 402. The score of 398 is also the highest ODI total at The Oval, 51 runs more than the previous best, also by New Zealand, against USA in the 2004 Champions Trophy. No team has ever scored more in an ODI against England.365 England’s total, their highest when batting second, and their third-highest overall in ODIs.27 Number of sixes hit in this game, the most for any ODI in England. In fact, this is twelve more than the previous-most in an ODI in England – 15, which came in the previous ODI between these two teams at Birmingham on 9 June 2015.1 Number of times a team has scored more than 365 without a century. The only such instance was by South Africa, who scored 392 against Pakistan in Centurion in 2007 – the highest in that game, as in this one at The Oval, was 88. England also scored 363 without a hundred against Pakistan in 1992.191 England’s score after 25 overs, their highest at that stage in a 50-over ODI innings since 2001. There have been two instances of higher scores after 25 overs during this period, but neither was in a completed innings: they were 192 without loss off 24.5 in a successful run-chase against Bangladesh at the same venue a decade ago; against Sri Lanka at Headingley in 2002, they were 195 after 25, but that was in a 32-overs-per-side game.187 Eoin Morgan’s strike rate (88 off 47), which is the second-best ever for an England batsman scoring 50 or more in an ODI. The best is also by Morgan – against South Africa in Centurion in 2009, he scored 67 off 34 (SR 197).76 The partnership between Liam Plunkett and Adil Rashid, England’s joint second-highest for the eighth-wicket in ODIs.13 Number of ODI hundreds for Ross Taylor. Among New Zealand batsmen, only Nathan Astle, with 16, has more. This is his first century in 13 ODI innings in England.123.9 Taylor’s strike rate, his second-best among the 13 innings when he has gone past 100. It’s the quickest among the 13 ODI centuries scored by New Zealand batsmen against England.97 Runs conceded by Chris Jordan, which equals the highest given away by an England bowler in ODIs – Steve Harmison had conceded 97 against Sri Lanka at Headingley in 2006. Harmison, though, had bowled ten overs compared to nine by Jordan. Jordan’s economy rate of 10.77 is the worst for an England bowler who has bowled more than seven overs in an ODI.3 Number of 90s for Kane Williamson in ODIs; among New Zealand batsmen, only Astle, Martin Crowe and Stephen Fleming have more. Of the last four 90s by New Zealand batsmen in ODIs, three have been by Williamson.40 Fours in the New Zealand innings, which equals their highest in ODIs; they had also hit 40 fours against Pakistan in Napier earlier this year.4 Number of 350-plus scores for England in all ODI cricket, with two of those coming in the last two games. In the 645 ODIs before that, England only managed to do this two times.300 ODI wins for New Zealand. They are the eighth team to achieve this milestone. They’ve taken 684 games to get there, which is the most among these eight teams. South Africa got to 300 ODI wins the fastest – in only 483 matches, while Australia (519) and West Indies (540) are next.

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Aug-2015Wriddhiman Saha’s streaky fifty, however, pushed India’s total past 350. The wicketkeeper added 46 runs for the eighth wicket with Amit Mishra•AFPDushmantha Chameera broke the partnership, sending Mishra back for 24. That led to India’s innings being wrapped up soon after lunch for 393•Associated PressUmesh Yadav struck for India in the second over, trapping Dimuth Karunaratne for 1•AFPKumar Sangakkara, who walked out to a guard of honour from the Indian players, added 64 tough runs with Kaushal Silva to take Sri Lanka to 65 for 1 at tea•AFPAfter the break, Ashwin dismissed Sangakkara for the third time in three innings. The batsman had made 32 before an edge was safely pouched by Ajinkya Rahane at slip•AFPSangakkara walked back to healthy applause from the P Sara Oval crowd, which included his best mate Mahela Jayawardene•AFPKaushal Silva tried a few innovative shots en route his ninth Test fifty, before he top-edged Mishra to Ashwin at short fine leg•AFPLahiru Thirimanne and captain Mathews remained unbeaten as Sri Lanka went to stumps at 140 for 3, still trailing India by 253 runs•AFP