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Like governments, Jason Behrendroff lured India with freebies up front before taxing them with four top-order wickets, a spell of play India never recovered from

The Report by Sidharth Monga10-Oct-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details0:59

Agarkar: Game was Australia’s after Behrendorff spell

Like governments, Jason Behrendorff lured India with freebies up front before taxing them with four top-order wickets, a spell of play India never recovered from. Adam Zampa, who has not had the best of times on this trip, had his own back with two big middle-overs wickets to make sure Australia finally snapped their seven-match losing streak in T20Is against India. On a tacky pitch, with spin, seam and early swing on offer, India’s batting seemed to fail to reassess what a good total was and fell 22 short of the 140-mark that might well have made for a tight chase.The way the match started, though, you might have thought of a score much higher than 140. The first ball was a gentle full toss that Rohit Sharma caressed to the point boundary; the third was a long half-volley that was crashed straight of mid-off. Then came the swing against the angle from left-arm over. Like Mohammad Amir has done previously, Behrendorff trapped Rohit in front with the fourth ball. The late swing two balls later was slightly less perfect, but the inside edge lobbed off Virat Kohli’s pad for a return catch. Behrendorff had knocked over two of the most destructive limited-overs batsmen in the world in his first over.David Warner chose to bowl out Behrendorff, who has the best average and third-best strike rate in all T20 Powerplays since 2014. Behrendorff responded with the wickets of Manish Pandey and Shikhar Dhawan inside the Powerplay. With the threat of swing, Pandey fell poking at one, while Dhawan was victim of a sensational catch by Warner running back from mid-off. At 27 for 4, India were forced into rebuild mode, which has of late been the perfect situation for MS Dhoni.Kedar Jadhav kept playing the odd shot while Dhoni seemed to settle into a typical innings in such situations. But against the legspin of Zampa, Dhoni began to play uncharacteristically. Usually, Dhoni prefers to make sure he bats through the overs when India are in strife, but here, he started to look for the big hits as early as the 10th over. A full toss was put away, a wide earned as Dhoni mocked a charge down the pitch, but in the same over he was stumped as the ball kicked away after falling short of his reach. A couple of overs later, Jadhav failed to pick a wrong’un when looking for a boundary over extra cover, making for an ungainly sight as he was bowled.These wickets came at an unfortunate time for India because the dew made an appearance soon, but India didn’t have the muscle to make use of it as there was hardly any acceleration in an innings with little deviation off the six-runs-an-over mark. The value of those extra 20 runs became apparent as soon as Australia began the chase. The ball continued to misbehave for the quicks: both Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah found seam movement and inconsistent bounce, which resulted in the early wickets of big guns Warner and Aaron Finch.The asking rate, though, didn’t climb, and Australia could afford to play a couple of calm overs. Australia chose a calm head to do so, promoting Moises Henriques to No. 3, a role Warner used him in at Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL too. Henriques and Travis Head took their time before opening up against the spinners, who struggled with the slippery ball. Kuldeep Yadav, in particular, dished up a few long hops, which provided Australia with enough momentum in a small chase.Once the shots started coming off, the rest of the match was played in near silence as the capacity crowd on Barsapara Stadium’s international debut agonised over India’s defeat. A measure of the crowd’s enthusiasm was seen in how even Dhoni failed to appeal for a faint nick lost to all barring Kohli in the loud stadium. The ground, though, had its task cut out with a lot of rain leading into the game, which might have resulted in the damp pitch.

All of India’s bowlers combined together perfectly at Eden Gardens to deliver the hosts a 178-run victory over New Zealand

The Report by Alagappan Muthu03-Oct-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:49

Agarkar: New Zealand going backwards instead of getting better

At the historic Eden Gardens, in front of 12,068 people, India became the No. 1 team in the world with a 178-run victory over New Zealand and captured their fourth series trophy on the trot.It isn’t groundbreaking for a team to dominate in their own conditions. And granted, the heat and the pitches left New Zealand feeling out of place – picture Mr Bean in an MI6 facility – but when you watch R Ashwin conjuring wickets, or Mohammed Shami demolishing stumps; when you watch M Vijay leaving the ball or Cheteshwar Pujara attacking the spinners; when you watch Virat Kohli raising his game, it is difficult not to wonder whether India have found themselves an XI capable of becoming something special.New Zealand did the best they could in the absence of their regular captain and best batsman Kane Williamson. He had finally recovered from a fever to come out of his hotel room and watch the match from the ground. He would have felt proud of Tom Latham’s polished 74. He would have enjoyed Matt Henry’s big-hearted performance. He would have wanted to run out to the field when the ninth wicket fell and do his little bit for his men. But 376 was too big a target in the final innings.The coin was in love with Kohli, doing as he bid for a sixth time in a row, in Kolkata. The weather too wanted to be on his good side, giving him the perfect conditions to ambush New Zealand late on the second day. In Bhuvneshwar Kumar, he also had the ideal weapon to exploit a pitch that offered seam, swing and variable bounce. On the fourth day, when conditions had become better for batting, India remained tenacious. They remained patient. They were a little petulant too, putting the umpire under needless pressure every time the ball hit pad or beat bat. India often get on rolls like these. But it isn’t often that they make it last. Someone gives it away. A ball down leg. A wicket thrown away. This XI, though, may just be learning to shed those bad habits.Take Ashwin for example. He had seen that Latham had changed his technique; that he was taking a shorter front stride so that he could be in a better position to play the ball that doesn’t turn and avoid being lbw. It paid off beautifully. He survived the first few minutes. His footwork grew assured. A good cover drive off a half-volley got him going. A delectable flick shot later in the innings exemplified that he was reading the length early and well. He went to tea unbeaten on 74.Ashwin got him in his first over after tea. The ball was looped up. It was bowled wide. It was a tease. Like the smell of chocolate to a man who has never eaten anything other than salad. Latham went for that sinful cover drive and the outside edge was taken by Wriddhiman Saha, moving smoothly to his left.Henry Nicholls nicked a catch to Ajinkya Rahane•BCCI

And then there was Shami and his sexy reverse swing. BJ Watling read that a fuller delivery was tailing into him. Appropriately, he brought his front pad down the line and made sure the bat came down close to it. A second later, he was watching his off stump cartwheeling all over the place. The ball had moved one way in the air and then promptly the other way off the pitch to beat the outside edge. Shami can’t possibly have intended for that to happen; it would just be scary if he did.Twelve out of the 20 wickets India took in Kolkata went to the seamers. Admittedly, the pitch suited them better in the early stages, but not often have India made use of that advantage. On the fourth day, when conventional swing went AWOL along with the uneven pace and bounce, they used what was given to them – scoreboard pressure and reverse swing – brilliantly. This is why India should feel upbeat about their chances. Their fast bowlers aren’t place-holders for the spinners anymore.But it is India, it was a spinner who got things going. Ashwin mystifies batsmen with his flight and Martin Guptill and Ross Taylor were the latest scratching their heads all the way to the pavilion. One was lbw because the ball dipped, the other was lbw again because it drifted away and as a result the Kolkata Test claimed the record for the most lbws in a Test in India. The count finished at 15.Ravindra Jadeja went around the wicket to the left-handed Henry Nicholls in the 36th over. From the amount of work he puts into his action, a batsman expects the ball to turn. He often plays for that turn, or at the very least, worries about it so much that it brings uncertainty into his game. Nicholls was put through this harrowing sequence of events and sent on his way to the pavilion as a good length ball, holding its line just outside off stump, took the edge and was taken superbly by Ajinkya Rahane at slip.Only six times has a team ever made 376 or more to win a Test. Never has it been done at Eden Gardens, where the highest successful chase took place more than a decade ago and finished at 120 for 2. The contribution from Saha to put his team in such a strong position should not be underestimated. He became only the fourth Indian wicketkeeper to hit two fifities in a Test.On the West Indies tour, Saha was demoted one spot from No. 6 with the team management saying they wanted to reduce the pressure on him when they went in a batsman short. India have not opted for that combination at home against New Zealand but Saha stayed in the lower order. On his home ground, he produced an innings that may well become something of a signature. He was happy to take blows to his body from the fast bowlers. He used their pace, nudging them behind point or towards backward square leg. And having blunted them, he gorged on spin. Five of his six fours and 28 of his unbeaten 58 came off the bowling of Mitchell Santner. It was only the fifth time in Test history that a batsman from No. 8 had made two fifties in a Test.There were two Indian wickets standing on the fourth morning, when the pitch showed signs that it had slowed down. Neil Wagner picked up one of them to move his career tally to 99. Playing his 25th Test, he could have tied with Richard Hadlee’s record for the fastest New Zealander to 100 Test wickets but the final wicket went to Trent Boult.

Fast bowlers Mitchell Johnson and Josh Hazlewood could be rested from Australia’s Test tour of Bangladesh next month in an effort to ensure they are fresh for the upcoming home summer

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Sep-2015Fast bowlers Mitchell Johnson and Josh Hazlewood could be rested from Australia’s Test tour of Bangladesh next month in an effort to ensure they are fresh for the upcoming home summer. Australia are scheduled to play two Tests in Bangladesh starting on October 9, before returning home for six Tests against New Zealand and West Indies, and a two-Test tour of New Zealand.Hazlewood was left out of the fifth Ashes Test as he began to show the effects of a long series, and Johnson sent down 140 overs across the five Tests. Pat Howard, Cricket Australia’s general manager of team performance, hinted that both men would need to be managed carefully with such a busy season coming up.”The selectors won’t meet to discuss the tour of Bangladesh for a couple of weeks,” Howard told the . “There’s some important consideration that needs to be given to managing our fast bowlers, not just in Bangladesh, but the full 10-Test season, and that will be part of the discussion.”Mitchell Johnson and Josh Hazlewood are two players that have had heavy workloads and need to be managed carefully if we are to give them the best chance of success throughout that entire period. Neither player has had a pre-season to prepare for the Australian summer and we think that’s particularly important.”Entering the Bangladesh series without Johnson could be seen as tempting fate, for he was the only Australian bowler to average under 40 during last year’s series against Pakistan in the UAE, and Bangladesh might provide similar conditions. If Johnson and Hazlewood are rested, it could mean the pace attack will be led by Mitchell Starc and Peter Siddle.

A five-wicket haul from left-arm spinner Hamza Hotak helped Afghanistan A to a commanding nine-wicket victory over Hyderabad and Karachi at the Niaz Stadium

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Feb-2013
ScorecardA five-wicket haul from left-arm spinner Hamza Hotak helped Afghanistan A clinch a commanding nine-wicket victory over Hyderabad and Karachi at the Niaz Stadium. Hotak destroyed Hyderabad’s middle order as they were bowled out for 112. In reply, wicketkeeper Mohammad Shahzad smashed a 35-ball 58 to help achieve the target in 18.4 overs.After being put in to bat, Hyderabad lost their first wicket without a run being scored. A 29-run stand was then followed by a 30-run stand, which was the highest in the innings. But from 59 for 2 they slipped to 77 for 7, from which they couldn’t recover. Seamers Dawlat Ahmedzai, Izatullah Dawlatzai and spinner Karim Sadiq were the other wicket-takers. For Hyderabad, No. 3 Mohtashim Ali top-scored with 21.Sadiq followed his spell of 1 for 15 with an unbeaten 36, as Afghanistan made light work of the small target.

A round-up of matches from the Caribbean T20 on January 10

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jan-2012Jamaica opened their account in the Caribbean T20 with a tight win over Combined Campuses and Colleges in Antigua. CCC, after choosing to bat, managed a competitive 131 for 9, thanks to two individual contributions amid what would have otherwise qualified as a batting failure. Opener Chadwick Walton guided the innings with 66 off 59 balls, including four fours and five sixes. He was supported in a 92-run third-wicket stand by Kyle Hope. However, when Hope fell, CCC collapsed, losing seven wickets in quick time but managed 34 runs in 25 balls in that period. For Jamaica, Krishmar Santokie picked up four wickets and left-arm spinner Nikita Miller chipped in with three.In the chase, it was Marlon Samuels who took centrestage as the batting around him struggled. Wickets fell at a steady pace but Samuels held firm, unbeaten on 66 in 52 balls and leading his side to victory in the final over with three balls to spare. A collective bowling effort from CCC had reduced Jamaica to 106 for 8 at one stage in 18.1 overs, but Samuels, in the company of Miller, who at No.8, faced just 2 balls, saw his team through. The next 27 runs came off just eight balls, and Samuels finished with five sixes.Sussex thrashed Netherlands in Antigua by 34 runs to begin their Caribbean T20 campaign on a high. A five-wicket haul from Timm van der Gugten was in vain as the score Sussex managed after being asked to bat proved more than adequate. Wicketkeeper Ben Brown top-scored with 42 and Chris Nash, Joe Gatting and Naved Arif chipped in with small, but important, contributions to take their team to 125 for 9, continuing the trend of low scores in this tournament so far.But it proved too much for Netherlands. There was no significant resistance from their batsmen barring captain Peter Borren, who made a quick 45; only one other batsman reached double-figures as the innings folded for 91. Arif picked up three wickets, and Chris Liddle and Michael Yardy earned two each. Each of the six bowlers employed by Sussex picked up at least a wicket each.

Fast bowler Michael Bates’ triple-wicket maiden set up a thrilling four-run win for Auckland in the HRV Cup final against Central Districts at the Colin Maiden Park

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jan-2011Auckland 158 for 8 (J Adams 62, Mason 3-24) beat Central Districts 154 for 9 (Taylor 44, Bates 4-18) by 4 runs

ScorecardMichael Bates’ triple-wicket maiden set up a thrilling win for Auckland•Getty Images

Fast bowler Michael Bates’ triple-wicket maiden set up a thrilling four-run win for Auckland in the HRV Cup final against Central Districts at the Colin Maiden Park. Auckland were restricted to 158 for 8 in their 20 overs, but some tight bowling backed up by sharp fielding helped them wrest the title from the defending champions.Hosts Auckland, who won the toss, elected to bat. But Gareth Hopkins’ decision seemed to backfire after Auckland lost two wickets within the first four overs. Martin Guptill, who was in fine form in the recent Twenty20 series Pakistan, was the first to go in the second over for 4, edging Doug Bracewell to Ross Tayor in the slips. Bracewell struck again in his next over to have Lou Vincent caught at long-on.Jimmy Adams and Colin de Grandhomme then combined for a 66-run third-wicket partnership to calm the nerves. Grandhomme got the Auckland innings moving, striking consecutive boundaries. Adams too found his touch and soon brought up the partnership’s fifty with back-to-back boundaries. Grandhomme fell for 31 but Adams, who was dropped by Taylor, went on to reach his half-century before he was finally dismissed for 62 to leave Auckland at 125 for 4 with 4.1 overs still left. But Auckland failed to accelerate after that, and though Colin Munro hit 29 off 18 balls, Michael Mason struck to pick up three quick wickets, to keep Auckland down to an average total.CD, who had chased down 181 to beat Auckland in Pukekura Park last week to qualify for the final, didn’t bargain for the start they had. Peter Ingram was caught at third man off the first ball of the innings from Michael Bates. This was followed by back-to-back dismissals: Jamie How was caught in the slips of Bates’ third ball and Ian Blackwell was caught by a diving Roneel Hira off the fourth ball. CD were 0 for 3.”To be honest, that first ball was short and wide,” Bates said. “The second was good but the ball that got the third wicket was a half-volley on leg stump.”Michael Yardy and Taylor buckled down to add 51 runs for the fourth wicket to restore some normalcy. When Andre Adams struck to pick up the crucial wicket of Taylor who made a fluent 44, CD needed 87 from 39. At 85 for 7, things looked bleak for CD. Bracewell and Kruger van Wyk added 50 in 4.4 overs to swing the momentum in favour of CD. Bates, however, struck again to dismiss Bracewell and was involved in running out van Wyk in the last over. CD needed 13 runs off three balls but Auckland held their nerve.”We pride ourselves on our fielding,” Hopkins said. “We’ve done a lot of work to set a standard and we want to be the best fielding unit in the competition.”When you win things like this you need an extended squad. You can’t overlook the efforts of those who weren’t playing today. They’re here today and they’ll be celebrating with us.”The winners of the HRV Cup have qualified for the previous two editions of the Champions League and should the format remain the same for the next edition as well, Auckland will be the team to qualify.

What is India’s best bowling attack in Kolkata: the existing two-seamer and two-spinner combination or does it make sense to field three fast bowlers

N Hunter13-Feb-2010What is India’s best bowling attack for Kolkata? Is it the existing two-seamer and two-spinner combination or does it make sense to field three fast bowlers with Harbhajan Singh as the lone spinner and Virender Sehwag as a sidekick. The Indian think-tank has less than 24 hours to sort out that puzzle before the final Test begins.The question has cropped up only because the South Africans, among the best players of spin in India, successfully tackled the pair of Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra in Nagpur through a mixture of sheer application and some luck. It continues the trend of Indian spinners struggling for consistency, which was on evidence in the Sri Lanka series late last year as well.In the past the thumb rule was to field at least two spinners because the pitches would invariably start turning sharply from the third day. But on surfaces which have refused to break and have been slow and low (Motera and Green Park during the Sri Lanka series are good examples), the Indians spinners have failed to find a rhythm, adding pressure on the fast bowlers. The pitches cannot be as spin-unfriendly as they are made out to be especially considering Paul Harris’ effectiveness against some of the best players of spin in Nagpur.In the three-Test series against Sri Lanka, Harbhajan managed 13 wickets at an average of 41. India won that series more because of their batting might and some incisive fast bowling spells. Otherwise more questions would have been asked of India’s best spinner, whose form has been a concern for a while now.You can’t blame his slow-bowling partners, Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha, since neither of them has been given the long rope. Mishra failed to make an impact with his leg breaks against Sri Lanka in Ahmedabad, picking only one wicket, but came back with an impressive seven-wicket match haul in the first Test in Bangladesh. Harbhajan returned for the next Test but only picked two wickets in the game, in which Mishra was dropped for the left-arm spin of Ojha. Even in the Sri Lanka series, Ojha was preferred over Mishra during the victories in the final two Tests, in which Ojha claimed nine victims.With the spinners unconvincing, a better ploy at Eden Gardens could be to play three fast bowlers. It might look like a desperate measure, but with MS Dhoni emphasising that India prefers the four-bowler theory, it is the only way to play their four best bowlers. Dhoni, too, agrees to an extent. “We have always been comfortable with four bowlers because it has worked for us. If you have an allrounder in the side that makes it very easy but we don’t have that option.”Importantly, India’s fast bowlers have featured prominently in most of the recent Test wins. Less than three months ago, Sreesanth produced an amazing spell of fast bowling against Sri Lanka at Kanpur in what was India’s 100th Test victory. Then, as now, Sreesanth was coming out of a break, but found his rhythm and swing without much sweat. Also, South Africa have been Sreesanth’s favourite opposition: his 22 wickets against them are his highest against a single team, with the famous 8 for 99 at the Wanderers remaining his career-best performance.His presence could lighten the burden on Zaheer Khan and even Ishant Sharma, who has been under pressure over the past year. But the team management has retained confidence in Ishant, who has faded a bit in the recent past after his much-heralded arrival during the tour of Australia in 2007-08.A crucial factor that might support the quicks could be the conditions especially in the final session when the breeze wafting in from the Hooghly on the West side of the ground can help swing bowlers a lot. The trio of Zaheer, Ishant and Sreesanth has the capability of swerving the ball about and could prove a handful on their day.”There is a bit of grass on the wicket so I think the seamers will get a bit of help,” Dhoni said after the final training session. He also acknowledged the afternoon breeze could play a role, especially with the stands on the West side being reconstructed. “There is no stand on one side of the ground so you can see a bit of breeze going across the field so there will be a bit of help for the seamers.”But Dhoni remained non-committal on the number of seamers of spinners he would like to field, leaving that decision for Sunday morning. Perhaps he could heed the thoughts expressed by John Wright, former India coach. “You have to play a spinner but you don’t play a spinner for a spinner’s sake, he has to be among your four best bowlers. Who are your first bowlers? That is a question you need to ask.”

Notts remain in quarter-finals contention with comfortable victory at Wantage Road

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay20-Jun-2025Tom Moores smashed 53 off just 27 balls to help set up a 24-run Vitality Blast victory over Northamptonshire Steelbacks at Wantage Road.Moores struck five fours and three sixes to regain the initiative for the Outlaws after they made just 33 for 2 in the powerplay. He shared a 43-run partnership with Jack Haynes (32) in five overs. However, the visitors were still well behind the pace on 111 for 5 after 16 overs before Moores blazed 20 off one over from Luke Procter and, with three of the lower order each smashing a six, Nottinghamshire closed on a competitive 164 for 8.Ricardo Vasconcelos and Justin Broad started briskly in the chase, but the hosts lost early wickets and failed to push on, struggling on 50 for 4 after 10 overs. Outlaws offspinners Matt Montgomery (3 for 22) and Farhan Ahmed (2 for 23) were key in putting the squeeze on the hosts.David Willey thumped two sixes in his 20 and while Saif Zaib and Lewis McManus put on 45 in 4.3 overs, the game finished in a clatter of wickets, the last five falling in 12 balls.Earlier Willey (1 for 17) conceded just three runs off his first two overs, but on a rare expensive evening for Ben Sanderson, Lyndon James smashed three leg-side boundaries before driving him through the covers.But it was Sanderson who made the first breakthrough when Joe Clarke was caught by Willey at wide mid-on. The Outlaws lost a second when James played expansively against Procter and edged behind to McManus. With just two coming from the over, the Outlaws finished the powerplay on 33 for 2. It was McManus’ 50th T20 catch for Northamptonshire, the first Steelbacks keeper to reach that milestone and on his 50th T20 appearance for the club.Freddie McCann fell to a sensational catch by Willey running backwards at long-off, but that brought together Moores and Haynes who had opened his account with a punch through the covers off Sanderson and two off-side boundaries off Australian spinner Lloyd Pope’s first over.George Scrimshaw conceded 19 off his second, Moores dispatching him over square leg for six before pulling his next ball behind square.Pope broke the partnership, trapping Haynes as he went to sweep, the Outlaws losing another wicket in the next over when Daniel Sams was bowled by Willey eyeing up a leg-side strike.Moores motored on, smashing Pope aerially for four. Then in one extraordinary over from Procter he clobbered him down the ground for consecutive sixes, thumping his next ball straight for four. Moores brought up his half-century by pulling Procter’s next delivery for four before he was caught by a diving Willey at long leg.Montgomery, Liam Patterson-White and Calvin Harrison all struck sixes down the ground in the closing overs, adding crucial runs. There were consolation wickets for Sanderson who had Montgomery caught in the deep and Scrimshaw who bowled Patterson-White.In the chase, Vasconcelos top-edged and scooped Sams over the keeper for two sixes in his first over, but Matt Breetzke, playing his last innings before joining up with the South African Test squad, fell cheaply caught on the boundary.Broad picked up early boundaries before picking out deep midwicket to give Farhan his first wicket as the Steelbacks ended the powerplay on 34 for 2.Farhan picked up a second when Vasconcelos top-edged to Dillon Pennington at short fine-leg off an attempted sweep. Next over Ravi Bopara chipped a return catch back to Harrison.Willey swept for a big six behind square and deposited another maximum over deep midwicket, but was caught attempting one more big hit off Montgomery. McManus was fluent against the spinners, sweeping and reverse sweeping as well as cutting seamer Sams for four.Sams almost removed Zaib but he was dropped at deep midwicket by Haynes, the ball going for six. Zaib then slog-swept an enormous six off Pennington before holing out at long-off off the same bowler, heralding the end.

He also believes Pakistan needed to invest in depth rather than individuals

Danyal Rasool29-Dec-2023Haris Rauf’s self-imposed absence from the ongoing series between Australia and Pakistan has seen another voice weighing in, with former Pakistan allrounder Shahid Afridi saying the pace bowler “should have been a part of this side”.Rauf pulled out of the series before the squad was announced, citing a desire to manage his workload and his protect his body. He played four games in the Big Bash League in Australia while the series was going on for the Melbourne Stars. Meanwhile, Pakistan went into the series with a squad that possessed very little high pace, with medium fast bowlers Khurram Shahzad and Aamer Jamal playing the first Test, and Mir Hamza and Hasan Ali the second. Shaheen Shah Afridi was the young leader of the pace battery, but even his pace has never quite recovered since a knee injury, and mostly operated in the low 130s kmph.”I think Haris [Rauf] should be part of this side instead rather than [the BBL],” Afridi, speaking to media at the MCG, said.” In these conditions, the kind of pace he has, he would have performed well and enjoyed himself on the kinds of pitches Australia prepared in Perth and here.”Related

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The pitch at the Optus Stadium for the first Test was lively even by Perth standards, with fast bowlers seeming to get extra assistance as the Test wore on. It was arguably at its most unplayable on the fourth afternoon, when Australia stilled Pakistan out for 89 in 30.2 overs to inflict a 360-run defeat. The home side’s seamers have continued to enjoy great success at the MCG, with Pat Cummins taking five wickets in the first innings.Shahid Afridi, who is in Australia for work related to his foundation, also said he didn’t believe Shaheen carried any injury despite the drop in pace, believing Pakistan needed to invest in depth rather than individuals.”I’ve never got the impression that Shaheen has an injury. If you’re injured you can’t play as a fast bowler. He knows his responsibility and how important he is to the team. The fast bowlers, we are expecting a lot from them because they’ve done well in the past. Babar, Rizwan, Shaheen etc. have performed so well we expect them to perform in every match. Relentless consistency is challenging in cricket.”I have always said that unless our bench is strong we won’t be able to take the best decisions. The A team should be as strong as the main team, so if Shaheen or Babar or Rizwan aren’t strong, we shouldn’t have the excuses of players being unavailable, like we do with Naseem now. When our bench is strong, we will no longer have excuses.”Shahid also backed Pakistan to maintain a fighting interest in the ongoing Test, where the visitors need 317 to win. No side has chased a higher target in the fourth innings at the MCG in nearly a century, and Pakistan may indeed have been pursuing a much lower total had they held on to their slip catches.”This Test match they should win. A good opportunity we missed to get them out easily for 150 runs. But it’s a chaseable score. I rate Babar Azam very highly and so does the world. He is the backbone of Pakistan’s batting lineup. The best batters lose form, but I have seen such consistent batters very rarely in Pakistan cricket.”

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.