Two superstars of Indian cricket will be going at it on Thursday

Alagappan Muthu06-Apr-20222:45

Who should make way for Nortje? Is Manish Pandey’s place under threat?

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KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant. It probably won’t be long before they are entrusted with the fortunes of Indian cricket. Their talent is apparent. Their allure is instant. And it is all because they make the game look easy.A Rahul back-foot punch is a masterpiece in minimalism. Look at it long enough and you start to wonder what all this fuss around batting is even about. Any of Pant’s shots – whether it is a drive, a slog, or even just him overbalancing at the crease – is a spectacle. Look at it long enough and everything else starts to feel a bit bleh. Including that one video of a kitten and an alligator becoming best friends.

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It’s a given that everyone will be at the DY Patil stadium just to watch Rahul and Pant go at it, but the outcome of Thursday’s game may hinge on the people around them. Lucknow Super Giants have batting depth like nobody’s business. But their death bowling is propped up on just one man’s shoulders – Avesh Khan. Delhi Capitals have a tantalising array of bowlers to choose from, but their middle order could do with a little more gravitas.

In the news

David Warner and Anrich Nortje will likely walk into the Capitals XI with the opener finally out of quarantine and the fast bowler having recovered well from a back injury.There is a chance the Super Giants might also be getting some reinforcement. Reports suggest Marcus Stoinis, the allrounder whom they acquired ahead of the February auction, could be available for selection.David Warner and Marcus Stoinis could well make their season debuts on Thursday•Getty Images

Likely XIs

Lucknow Super Giants: 1 KL Rahul (capt), 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Evin Lewis, 4 Marcus Stoinis, 5 Deepak Hooda, 6 Ayush Badoni, 7 Krunal Pandya, 8 Jason Holder, 9 Ankit Rajpoot, 10 Ravi Bishnoi, 11 Avesh KhanDelhi Capitals: 1 David Warner, 2 Prithvi Shaw, 3 Sarfaraz Khan/Yash Dhull/Mandeep Singh, 4 Rishabh Pant (capt & wk), 5 Lalit Yadav, 6 Rovman Powell, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Anrich Nortje, 11 Mustafizur Rahman

Strategy punt

• The T20 stats for Warner vs Ravi Bishnoi tells a compelling tale: four balls, five runs, two dismissals. As much as this season has been about fast bowlers having fun with the new ball, perhaps Super Giants might consider sneaking in an over from their legspinner, especially if the payout is the wicket of a T20 world champion.
• Capitals might also ponder starting with pace off given Axar Patel’s excellent T20 record against Rahul: 14 balls, 13 runs, three dismissals.

Stats that matter

• The average first-innings score at DY Patil stadium in this IPL has been 174, and while teams winning the toss have always chosen to bowl, they haven’t always won the match. The split is actually a very even 2-2.
• Deepak Hooda seems to finally be fulfilling his potential as a middle-order power-hitter. Check out his strike rate splits: 86 (first ten balls), 165 (11-20 balls), 180 (21-30 balls), 186 (30+ balls).
• Among players with a minimum of 750 runs in IPL powerplays, Prithvi Shaw’s strike rate of 147 is second only to Jos Buttler’s 150.
• Capitals are coming off a loss where Pant’s wicket took the game away from them. Super Giants will be mindful of that and might look to match him up with Bishnoi. Since IPL 2020, Pant is among the top five slowest-scoring batters against legspin (min. 50 runs scored) with a strike rate of just 105.

Haynes completes third century in as many matches as Azhar finishes unbeaten on 202

ECB Reporters Network20-May-2022Worcestershire 456 for 3 (Ali 202*, Haynes 127) lead Leicestershire 148 (Barnard 3-45) by 308 runsAzhar Ali scored a superb double-hundred as he and fellow centurion Jack Haynes rewrote the record books on day two of the LV=Insurance County Championship match with Leicestershire at New Road.Pakistan Test batter Azhar and former England Under-19 batter Haynes put on 281 in 78 overs for the third wicket – a record partnership for any wicket against Leicestershire. It surpassed the 278 by Cyril Walters and HHIH ‘Doc’ Gibbons at New Road in 1934.Their efforts were largely responsible for Worcestershire totalling 456 for three by the close – a lead of 308. Haynes was eventually dismissed for 127 but Azhar went onto bring up his double-ton in the final over of the day with a cover drive for four off Rehan Ahmed.It was completed from 328 balls with one six and 18 fours and he then shared in another century stand with Brett D’Oliveira (52 not out).Azhar arrived at New Road after a successful Test series against Australia which included a marathon 175 spanning 11 hours at Rawalpindi. He initially found it a challenge acclimatising to English conditions and his opening six innings yielded 34 runs.But he has flourished since hitting 92 against a Durham attack including Ben Stokes, and for the majority of the time he has been in partnership with Haynes.The pair had been together for stands of 195 (Durham) and 187 (Derbyshire) before joining forces for this marathon effort.Haynes has been quick to acknowledge the influence on his batting this summer of Azhar as he has converted promising innings into major contributions. His maiden hundred came in the Durham game and this was the Worcester-born batter’s third century in successive matches.He was the first Worcestershire player to achieve that feat since Daryl Mitchell in 2017 when he scored hundreds against Derbyshire, Northamptonshire and Sussex.The former England Under-19 player has always looked full of class and on this form may soon be knocking on the door for further international recognition.Azhar and Haynes took full toll of a toiling attack and both benefitted significantly from the cut and pull shots as they provided rich entertainment after a delayed start to proceedings.Play did not get underway to 1.10pm but the third-wicket pair made up for lost time by scoring 148 runs during the afternoon session.Haynes pulled Chris Wright for six and Leicestershire were powerless to stem the flow of boundaries before Azhar took a stride forward and flicked Ed Barnes for a single to fine leg to complete his century from 159 balls with 11 fours.His partner followed him to three figures with a clip to deep mid wicket off Rehan. It took 15 more deliveries than Azhar and contained one six and 14 fours.The second new ball was taken immediately after tea but the record stand was established when Haynes cut Mulder for his 17th and final boundary.Mulder had his revenge soon afterwards when Haynes pushed forward and was lbw for 127. He batted for five hours and faced 230 deliveries.Azhar continued to demonstrate some superb stroke-play after he was joined in the middle by Club Captain, D’Oliveira.Some of his cover drives, cuts and pull shots were a delight to watch as he showed little sign of tiringD’Oliveira, a century-maker against Leicestershire at the Uptonsteel County Ground last month, also played fluently in another century stand with Azhar from just 134 balls.His own half century came from only 86 deliveries.

He also hopes to see “exciting prospect” Umran Malik make the T20 World Cup squad

S Sudarshanan25-Jun-2022Former India captain and selector Dilip Vengsarkar believes Hardik Pandya, who is set to lead India for the first time in the T20Is against Ireland, is a captaincy option for the side in the long term. Vengsarkar said he was impressed with Hardik’s leadership skills in the IPL 2022, where he led Gujarat Titans to a title win in their inaugural season. Roger Binny, another former selector, also echoed Vengsarkar’s thoughts but was wary of Hardik potentially under-bowling himself as captain.”He came into bat at the fall of two wickets [in the IPL 2022 final],” Vengsarkar said on the sidelines of the launch of the , a limited edition coffee table book in association with Paymentz, an Indian payment gateway platform. “He led from the front and guided the team very well in his first major tournament as captain. An allrounder plays an important role in the team. He is an option [but] it depends on the selectors, their vision and plans.”Hardik’s career has seen a few swings since his India debut in 2016, from being a dangerous lower-order batter to an injury-prone allrounder and then to an IPL-winning captain. He had also been managing a long-standing back problem and hadn’t played for India since they dropped out in the group stages of the 2021 T20 World Cup, until the five-match home T20I series against South Africa earlier this month.”The way he came back from injury is great,” Vengsarkar said. “He must have worked very hard on his fitness. He did very well in the IPL and as a captain he did well. [He is a] very fine allrounder.”After playing a starring role in Titans’ campaign, scoring 487 runs and returning eight wickets with the ball in the tournament, Hardik impressed with the bat against South Africa. He scored 117 runs in the series at an average of 58.50 and a strike rate close to 154. He also bowled a total of five overs – even though he didn’t pick up a wicket – showing that he is fit to fill in as an allrounder.”He’s got to lead from the front,” Binny said at the same event in Mumbai. “Sometimes you tend to over-bowl or under-bowl yourself – lot of times as a captain you do that. But then you have other players in the side to advice.”You have to keep performing. When you get the post of captain/vice-captain, you have got to lead from the front and got to be consistently playing. He’s got to watch the injuries because he tends to be under the weather. So that’ll be utmost on his mind and also in the minds of the selectors and those watching.”Vengsarkar also termed fast bowler Umran Malik an “exciting prospect” and hoped to see him in the T20 World Cup later this year in Australia.Malik picked up 22 wickets in 14 matches for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2022, after which he was called up to the national side for the home series against South Africa. Although he didn’t make his debut, he was named in the T20I squad for the tour of Ireland.”He is a very exciting talent,” Vengsarkar said. “He did well in IPL and he deserves a chance as he looked the best bowler in the format. I hope he is in the plane [to Australia] and I am sure he will do well if given an opportunity. He is young and raring to go. He is young, keen to play and hungry for success.”Binny seconded Vengsarkar, saying: “He should be given a chance straightaway. He has proved he is quick – if you saw him bowl some of those yorkers in the IPL, that was brute force. You can’t keep a youngster out for so long.”

Danny Briggs takes four as Worcestershire collapse to 84, and 144-run defeat

ECB Reporters Network24-Jun-2022A blistering century from Adam Hose lifted Birmingham Bears to a crushing 144-run win over Worcestershire Rapids at EdgbastonA crowd of 16,780, the highest in the North Group this season, saw the Bears pile up 228 for eight thanks to a buccaneering stand of 91 from 53 balls between Hose (110 not out, 53 balls) and Dan Mousley (53, 34). Hose hit 13 fours and four sixes on the way to becoming the first Bears player to score two Blast tons.The Rapids’ horrible T20 campaign then went from bad to worse as they floundered to 84 all out, Danny Briggs taking four for 25, Jake Lintott two for 12 and Olly Stone two for 17.The thumping of their arch-rivals, their heaviest ever Blast victory, takes the Bears to the brink of qualification for the quarter-finals. For the Rapids, this miserable campaign cannot end too soon.The Rapids chose to bowl and had the Bears three for two after two legitimate balls as Mitchell Stanley bowled Alex Davies and had Sam Hain caught at slip first ball.Rob Yates (20, eight balls) greeted Moeen Ali into the attack with successive fours before fatally edging the next but, as Hose and Mousley got going, a powerplay which was frenetic even by Blast standards ended with the Bears 79 for three.Both batsmen galloped to 30-ball half-centuries before Mousley, having sparkled in his first Blast knock of 2022, reverse-lapped Adam Finch to point. That was the first of three wickets in nine balls for Finch as Chris Benjamin hoisted to long off and Carlos Brathwaite was castled first ball.Hose cavorted on though and reached his ton from 51 balls in the penultimate over, celebrating with a four and a six from the two further balls he faced.The Rapids’ reply suffered immediate damage when they lost Polly and Dolly in the first seven deliveries, Ed Pollock lifting Olly Stone to mid on and Brett D’Oliveira steering Craig Miles to slip. The visitors’ main hope then swiftly disappeared when Ali hoiked Mousley’s first ball to deep mid-wicket.Whereas the Bears piled up 79 in the powerplay, the Rapids mustered just 31 and there was no way back from there. Colin Munro (34, 28 balls) landed a blow or two but after he edged Briggs and Dwayne Bravo lifted the next ball to long off it was 49 for five and the big, noisy Bears crowd could start celebrating a win that takes their side to the threshold of the quarter-finals.

Youthful partnership captivates Southport crowd on perfect summer’s day

Paul Edwards11-Jul-2022
You could argue the pandemic has taught us to treasure occasions like this; you may blithely insist a four-year absence was always likely to sharpen appetites; or you might simply maintain it was love of the game, a concept both vague and easily identified, that caused people to stream into Trafalgar Road in the hour before play, as Lancashire versus Somerset prepared to get underway this morning.What you could not doubt, though, was the appreciation shown for every good thing by the spectators that packed even the corners of this proud ground, sitting or standing six deep on the mound below the scoreboard. And let it be noted that never was the applause louder than three overs before the close, when Lewis Goldsworthy cover-drove George Balderson to the railway boundary and thus reached his maiden first-class century with his fifteenth four.There are places where the achievements of opposing players are greeted with grim expressions and perfunctory applause, if that. Southport is not amongst them. This may have been a parochial crowd – nothing wrong there, of course – but it was never rudely provincial. That would have disfigured the day and people wanted to remember it for better reasons. And not the least of them was the sustained applause that paid tribute to John Gwynne, who reported on darts, football and cricket in a long journalistic career and was lately Lancashire’s public address announcer.Gwynney, whose death was announced on Saturday, would have loved this day, and for all his marrow-deep Lancastrian loyalty, he would have enjoyed interviewing Goldsworthy and sharing the young cricketer’s joy. The latter emotion was very evident when the 21-year-old answered the questions of other journalists and it became clear this was a day he will remember for as long as he plays cricket, and then for decades after he retires. “It’s a lovely place to play – I’ve never been here before,” he said. “The crowd were brilliant and the sun was out – it was a beautiful day and I’m really proud.”Goldsworthy’s pleasure is justified in spades. For all that he stroked some fine boundaries in front of the wicket, his innings was notable for a sound defensive technique and for some skilful deflections behind the wicket off all Lancashire’s seamers. And what made his pleasure all the deeper was that he had shared most of his day with James Rew, an England Under-19 batter almost three years his junior with whom he put on 145, thus establishing a new fifth-wicket record for Somerset against Lancashire, thereby eclipsing the mark set by Sammy Woods and Henry Martyn at Taunton in 1905. Rew was making his County Championship debut and we were wondering whether he, too, was set for a century when he clipped a half-volley from Will Williams straight to Tom Bailey and departed for 70.”It was a great knock from James on his debut – the calmness he showed was brilliant,” Goldsworthy said. “I’m in the infancy of my career too so we were both talking to each other and it was a pleasure to be out there with him.”At the same time, Goldsworthy and Rew had to do a lot of hard work before they could enjoy the reward of that labour. For two and a half hours Lancashire’s bowlers made light of losing the toss and dominated the game. Twice in his first five overs, Tom Bailey slanted the new ball skilfully across Steve Davies and Matt Renshaw but neither left-hander covered the bounce and Rob Jones pocketed the chances at slip, Renshaw’s at the second grab. Tom Lammonby and George Bartlett then put on 60 and Lammonby’s straight driving was one of the relatively few joys of the morning for the Somerset supporters who draped a flag with a wyvern rampant on a garden fence at the Harrod Drive End. Six hours later, of course, it captured the mood of the day.The morning, though, was Lancashire’s. Twenty minutes before lunch Dane Vilas, who is keeping wicket in the absence of Phil Salt, called on the left-arm spin of Jack Morley from the Harrod Drive End. Morley’s second ball was well-flighted, its loop almost disgracefully seductive. Bartlett played over the top of it and was yorked for 27 by a ball travelling at something like 45mph. Half an hour after lunch Lammonby played defensively across the line to a delivery from Williams but his stroke was as lazy as the afternoon heat. The ball thudded into the heart of the pad and James Middlebrook sent the left-hander on his way for 47.The cricket and those watching it drifted into the heart of the day. Improbable stories were told of couples spending their honeymoon in Roland Butcher’s holiday flat. We waited for wickets to fall, for Somerset’s youngsters to be bamboozled by the skill of Bailey and Luke Wood. When he had made 18, Rew was dropped at slip by Luke Wells, a sharp chance off Morley. Some thought it didn’t matter. They were wrong. Somerset’s young batters grew in authority and now this warm day in Birkdale will be memorable for the innings of Goldsworthy and Rew and for the life of John Gwynne. And since Goldsworthy is the most courteous of fellows, he will not mind if this report ends with a recollection of a fine sports reporter and a lovely bloke.Ever a man of the people, Gwynne loved outground cricket and covered several matches at Trafalgar Road in the era when Lancashire’s visit was an undisputed annual ritual. One year he was asked to report on a match for BBC radio through the day, before doing a piece to camera on the regional evening news programme . Gwynne decided to change into a suit for his TV appearance but it was the 1970s and he had gone in for one of the colourful, wide-lapelled numbers that were sadly fashionable at the time. Just prior to going on air, the gaudily dressed Gwynne entered the press tent. “Bloody hell, Gwynney,” exclaimed Neil Hallam of “I didn’t realise you were on .

Rob Keogh all-round efforts in vain on the Isle of Wight

ECB Reporters Network09-Aug-2022Jack Campbell pulled Hampshire to an unlikely comeback victory as the fast bowler routed Northamptonshire Steelback’s lower order on the Isle of Wight.The Steelbacks needed only 24 runs in their pursuit of 200 with five wickets in hand but collapsed in a heap to lose by 11 runs.Left-arm quick Campbell, who was released by Durham in June, took three for 17, including two in two balls, before John Turner bundled out the last wicket to dismiss Northamptonshire for 188 to continue Hampshire’s perfect start to the Royal London Cup.Rob Keogh had run the game in front of 2,000 strong crowd at Newclose with a career-best three for 32 coupled with an authoritative 74, before Hampshire’s late show.Northamptonshire had the chase in complete control as Hampshire returned to the Isle of Wight for the first time since 2019.Ricardo Vasconcelos’ poor form continued when he was lbw to a Keith Barker awayswinger second ball. Will Young soon followed as Scott Currie extracted some bounce to second slip.But Emilio Gay and Keogh settled the innings with style, adding 52 runs. Keogh was imperious throughout. He cracked three fours in succession off Currie, beginning with a crunching slapped cut shot to get his innings moving. Everything seemed simple for Keogh as he reached his fifty in 57 balls.Every time Northamptonshire appeared to be cantering to victory, a wicket would add a sense of jitters. Gus Miller had been carefree for 31 but smashed to cover, while Ben Curran stuttered before another ball stopped in the pitch as he offered a simple caught and bowled for Currie.With 23 runs still needed, Keogh was another victim of the two-paced pitch and was caught at mid-off before the previously economical Campbell snared Nathan Buck and Ben Sanderson in successive deliveries to alter the momentum completely.James Sales was yorked by Campbell before a short-pitched Turner delivery was skied to point to complete Hampshire’s fightback.
Earlier, Nick Gubbins made no hesitation when he chose to bat on a brilliantly hot day and on a pitch which gave the impression of being perfect for batting. It quickly proved otherwise.Instead of speeding through, the ball stuck in the wicket to make it hard to time the ball. Aneurin Donald was the first to find this out when he guided the 12th ball of the match to point before Gubbins edged to second slip in the following over.Ben Brown was leg before to a low bouncing Nathan Buck delivery having put on 45 with Tom Prest before Fletcha Middleton aided the recovery with a speedy 51-run partnership.Prest, on the back of a superb 181 against Kent Spitfires, peppered the offside as he played the ball as late as he dared. His timing was proved with a straight drive early on and continued with late cuts.His pièce de résistance was a skip and elegant drive over extra cover to bring up his half-century in 54 balls but fell to the following delivery when Alex Russell beguiled him in the flight and the ball ended up in extra cover’s hands.Middleton had accumulated 35 before Keogh started to turn the screw. The off-spinner pinned down a concrete-footed Middleton and then had Felix Organ caught and bowled off a full toss four balls later.Keogh added a third when he bowled the top of Toby Albert’s off stump as Hampshire’s middle order fumbled without finding meaningful partnerships.Barker, on his white-ball debut for Hampshire, provided some late innings runs with 38 but the Steelbacks refused to let the game get away from them as Jack White had Barker top edging to deep square and Campbell edging behind. When Currie was undone by a Buck short ball, Hampshire were bowled out for 199 with 57 balls left unused.

Former England assistant coach wants to spend more time with family in Kent

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Aug-2022Paul Farbrace will step down from his role as Warwickshire’s head of sport at the end of the current season.Farbrace joined Warwickshire in 2019, after five years as England men’s assistant coach, and oversaw the club’s County Championship title success in 2021. But with his family based in Kent, he has decided to look for opportunities that will take him closer to home.”We knew Paul was one of the best cricketing brains in world cricket when we recruited him, and that’s been demonstrated in the way our elite squad has developed, but his work developing youngsters has also been impressive,” Stuart Cain, Warwickshire’s chief executive, said.”He’s created a very strong foundation for the future. Much of this is down to the excellent relationships he’s built at recreational clubs and schools across the region, and this is something we shall build on in future.Related

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“Paul will stay with us for the completion of the season as we focus on the coming County Championship fixtures and help us with the early stages of recruiting his replacement.”We have appointed a specialist recruiter to help find a candidate with the skills to keep pushing us forward and will announce more on this in due course, but today is about celebrating Paul’s achievements during his time with Warwickshire.”Farbrace was widely credited with helping to turn around England’s fortunes, in partnership with Trevor Bayliss, but moved into more of a management role with Warwickshire ahead of the 2019 summer.He was responsible for appointing Mark Robinson as the club’s head coach in 2021, following the removal of Jim Troughton, and the new structure brought about immediate success as Warwickshire won the Championship for the first time since 2012, as well as the Bob Willis Trophy.The club has also taken steps to improve its talent identification and academy set-up, with a greater number of locally scouted players gaining first-team exposure.Farbrace said: “It’s been a great four years and I would have stayed longer, but with my family in Kent, it’s time for me to focus on them and look at other opportunities.”It’s been a great privilege to work at Edgbaston, for Warwickshire County Cricket Club, and with some incredibly dedicated and driven people, who really do make it such a very special place.”Farbrace, who has previously worked at Kent and Yorkshire and had a spell in charge of Sri Lanka before taking the England assistant job, has retained an interest in coaching, taking the helm with Team Abu Dhabi at last year’s Abu Dhabi T10.

Samson smashed 86 not out off 63 balls, but India fell just short of what seemed an improbable chase at one stage

Firdose Moonda06-Oct-20222:25

Ntini: I will have Klaasen in the top four for the T20 World Cup

Sanju Samson smashed 86 not out off 63 balls but India fell just short of what seemed an improbable chase at one stage against a South African side desperate for wins in the World Cup Super League. The visitors escaped with ten points after being set up by an unbroken fifth-wicket partnership of 139 off 106 balls between Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, who helped set India a target of 250, and a strong bowling effort early on that reduced India to 51 for 4 in 18 overs.What should have a been a straightforward result in favour of South Africa was turned on its head by Shreyas Iyer and Samson, who put on 67 for the fifth wicket, and then Samson and Shardul Thakur. They added 93 in 66 balls for the sixth wicket and were particularly severe on South Africa’s second spinner, Tabraiz Shamsi. He conceded 89 runs in eight overs, including 20 in the final over, when India needed 30.In the end, both teams were left to consider the limitation of using only five bowlers in an ODI innings. India only picked five while South Africa chose not to use part-timer Aiden Markram, and both attacks had mixed results. Their opening pairs were exceptional – Mohammed Siraj and Avesh Khan gave away only 28 runs in the eight-over powerplay, and Rabada and Parnell reduced India to 8 for 2 in 31 balls upfront – but one each of their spinners proved costly. Ravi Bishnoi, on debut, conceded 69 runs in eight overs while Shamsi’s economy rate was a massive 11.12.In a match that was reduced to 40 overs a side, South Africa took time to set the pace of their innings in challenging conditions. Siraj and Avesh sent down four testing overs each, in which they found movement and challenged the openers’ awareness of their off stumps, but could not separate them. Instead, it was Thakur, brought on as first change, who issued the first threat. He drew Janneman Malan forward to take the edge but Shubman Gill, at first slip, put down the chance. India would go on to drop three more catches. Thakur got Malan two overs later, when the batter clipped a full ball to Iyer at midwicket and the opening stand ended on 49.That brought under-fire captain Temba Bavuma to the crease and he almost fell for a third duck in four innings when he bottom-edged Thakur onto his foot and came close to chopping on. Bavuma went on to strike two sweet boundaries but was then bowled by a cross-seamer from Thakur for 8.Lungi Ngidi removed Shreyas Iyer for the fourth time in as many ODI innings•BCCI

Sensing an opportunity to get into South Africa’s middle order, Shikhar Dhawan brought on Kuldeep Yadav to replace Bishnoi and it was clear that Aiden Markram could not read him at all. Markram was foxed by the googly and the shorter delivery and then bowled by the legbreak as he moved forward to defend. South Africa were 71 for 3 after 16 overs.Klaasen and de Kock led the recovery with a fourth-wicket partnership of 39. The two were going well until de Kock missed a reverse sweep off Bishnoi and was out lbw for 48. With 17.4 overs left and a decent platform laid, the stage was set for Miller to tee off. He smacked a short, wide delivery from Bishnoi upfront, then swept the first Kuldeep ball he faced for four more and brought out the heavy artillery when he tonked Bishnoi back over his head for six.The aggressor’s role was swapped between Miller and Klaasen who settled on a middle ground between an all-out attack and saving themselves for the end. In the 36th over, Miller reached his fifty off 50 balls, and Klaasen got to his milestone off 52. Klaasen’s was his first 50-plus score in 10 innings since April 2021, while Miller’s milestone continued his golden run in 2022. Miller averages 61.75 from ten ODIs and 56.60 from 12 T20Is this year. The pair plundered 54 runs off the final five overs to give India a challenging target of 250.India’s task was made to look even more daunting by the sixth over of the chase. Gill inside-edged a full delivery from Kagiso Rabada onto his stumps and Dhawan chopped one from Wayne Parnell onto his. Rabada looked as dangerous as ever as he maintained a length just short of a good and a line outside off, finishing his five-over opening spell with figures of 1 for 10.Maharaj was brought on just after the powerplay and held his end well to keep Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan quiet. By the time Tabraiz Shamsi was called on, in the 16th over, Gaikwad’s patience had run out. He advanced down the track to hit Shamsi over the off side but was beaten by the turn and stumped. Maharaj also enjoyed some of the spoils when Kishan danced down to clip him over the leg side in the next over and handed Malan a simple catch at leg slip.Sanju Samson and Shardul Thakur put up an attacking partnership•BCCI

India’s required rate had climbed to more than nine an over when Iyer decided to take matters into his own hands. He hit Shamsi back over his head for four, helped himself to three successive boundaries off his next over, and took on Lungi Ngidi’s pace to bring up India’s 100. Iyer’s fifty came off 33 balls and his partnership with Samson had South Africa worried. Ngidi, though, put out those fears. He dismissed Iyer for the fourth time in four ODIs against him, with a short ball that Iyer lobbed to Rabada at mid-on. But the danger was far from over.Thakur joined the fun when he guided Ngidi fine and then hit a Shamsi long hop through square leg, prompting Bavuma to bring back Rabada and then Parnell. Parnell was too short in his last over and Samson hit him for two fours. He was replaced by Ngidi, who also offered a back-of-good-length ball for Samson to pull for six.Still, with India needing 74 off the last five overs, South Africa were the favourites. Both Shamsi and Rabada’s seventh overs were hit for 14 each and but panic was setting in, Ngidi removed Thakur and Kuldeep off successive deliveries. Thakur didn’t get hold of a full ball while Kuldeep tried to loft Ngidi over extra cover but Bavuma took a good catch running backwards. Ngidi himself, though, dropped Avesh in Rabada’s final over, running in from point.India needed 30 off the last over, which started with a wide. Samson then took 14 runs off the next three balls to leave 15 to get off three. He then tried to slog sweep Shamsi but couldn’t pierce the field and the match was all but over. South Africa would have had their hearts in their mouths until the end, when they sealed a tense win.Having dropped points against Ireland, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, and with three matches against Australia due to be forfeited, all of South Africa’s matches are effectively must-wins. They remain in 11th place on the standings but have closed the gap between themselves and Sri Lanka and could leapfrog them and Ireland into ninth place with another win in this series.

It was a seesaw battle for the longest time, but Thailand tore ahead in the last few overs to pull off one of their biggest wins ever

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Oct-2022Thailand pulled off one of the biggest wins in their still-young cricket history, beating Pakistan by four wickets in their Women’s Asia Cup match in Sylhet this morning. The stars of the win in a low-scoring game were Natthakan Chantham, who led their chase of 117 with a 51-ball 61, Sornnarin Tippoch, who returned 2 for 20 in a strong Thailand bowling performance, and, right at the close, Rosenan Kanoh, who held her nerve against Diana Baig in a nerve-wracking final over to take them over the line.Prior to this, Thailand’s biggest win had come in the 2018 T20 Asia Cup, when they beat Sri Lanka by four wickets in Kuala Lumpur. Against Pakistan, they would have fancied their chances after putting up 150 for 3 at a 2020 T20 World Cup match in Sydney, but the chase had been washed out. This time, Chantham ensured the result did go her team’s way, even though she couldn’t hang around to finish the job.The game appeared even at the midway stage of the Thailand chase. Thailand had lost a couple of early wickets to Tuba Hassan, but had then settled down, though there was no urgency in their run-scoring.After ten overs, they were 45 for 2, with 72 needed. Naruemol Chaiwai hit Tuba for four in the 13th, and then Chantham lifted Omaima Sohail down the ground for a six in the 14th, and suddenly, the equation was down to 44 from 36, and the momentum had clearly shifted.There had to be a hiccup, and it came in the form of Chaiwai and Tippoch falling in consecutive overs, to Kainat Imtiaz and Nida Dar respectively, but at the other end, Chantham went down the ground and over the fielder at long-on to get to a 45-ball half-century. It could have ended for her there, but Dar dropped a sitter in the deep off Nashra Sandhu’s bowling to give Chantham the break she needed.The Thailand players celebrate after pulling off the win over Pakistan•ACC

It became a bit of a scrap after that. Sandhu got rid of Phannita Maya, there was a lot of frenetic running, peppered by the occasional attempted big hit that didn’t go anywhere, and Chantham was lucky to avoid being run-out when Dar fumbled with the throw from the deep at the bowler’s end. Dar got her own back not long after, though, getting Chantham caught at deep midwicket, leaving Thailand with 11 to get from eight balls.That became ten from the last over, bowled by Baig. Wide. Single. And then the game-changer: a slog straight down the ground for four by Kanoh off a juicy full-toss. An inside edge to fine leg for two came next, then a scrambled single, and then the winning hit, a slog from Nattaya Boochatham over midwicket for a single.Earlier, after Pakistan chose to bat, they were kept in check by a disciplined Thailand bowling show.As such, with Sidra Ameen holding the innings together from the top with a 64-ball 56, Pakistan did put runs on the board, but the going was slow all along. Tippoch picked up the big wickets of Dar and Ayesha Naseem at a crucial juncture in the last quarter of the innings, while all the bowlers on view conceded runs at 6.50 or under.Despite the loss, Pakistan are placed second, behind India, with Thailand fifth in the seven-team table after registering their first win.

Tim Southee to take up captaincy duties; Mark Chapman called up as replacement

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Nov-2022New Zealand captain Kane Williamson will miss the third T20I against India in Napier because of a pre-arranged medical appointment. He is expected to rejoin the team ahead of the three-ODI series that begins on Friday.Head coach Gary Stead said Tim Southee would lead New Zealand in the third T20I in Williamson’s absence, while Mark Chapman had been called into the squad as cover.Related

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“Kane’s been trying to get this booked in for a while now, but unfortunately it hasn’t been able to fit into our schedule.” Stead said. “The health and well-being of our players and staff is paramount, and we look forward to seeing him in Auckland.”Stead said Williamson’s medical appointment had nothing to do with his elbow, a pre-existing injury the New Zealand captain has been coping with over the last year. He had missed games for New Zealand and in the IPL because of it.Williamson’s form in the T20 format has come under some scrutiny in recent times. While New Zealand made the semi-finals of the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, Williamson scored only 178 runs at a strike rate of 116.33. Last week, he was released by his IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad after he scored only 216 runs at a strike rate of 93.51 in their eighth-place finish in the 2022 season.After the first T20I in Wellington was washed out, India won the second match in Mount Maunganui by 65 runs, on the back of Suryakumar Yadav century. Though Williamson top-scored for New Zealand in the chase with 61 off 52 balls, he was unable to challenge the target of 192The third and final T20I will take place on Tuesday in Napier, before the teams head to Auckland for the first ODI on November 25. The second and third ODIs are in Hamilton and Christchurch on November 27 and 30.