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Debutant Mohit Sharma turned in an impressive performance as Zimbabwe were rolled over for 144 in the fourth ODI, before India cruised home by nine wickets

The Report by Siddarth Ravindran01-Aug-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma helped India cruise home with a century stand•Associated PressIndia have had little to complain about on this tour. The series was sealed at the earliest possible opportunity, and their other target of trying out some fringe players is also working well. Ambati Rayudu made a big contribution on his debut, another new face Jaydev Unadkat was the bowling star in the second ODI and the third India player to debut this series, Mohit Sharma, turned in an impressive performance as Zimbabwe were rolled over for 144 in the fourth ODI.One of their minor gripes could be that Cheteshwar Pujara’s much-awaited bow in limited-overs cricket didn’t go to plan, with Pujara inside-edging Tendai Chatara for 13. They would have also liked this second-string squad to have been tested more by Zimbabwe, who have been disappointingly limp, rarely putting India under pressure.In Harare, Zimbabwe’s batsmen could at least fall back on the excuse that the new balls curved around extravagantly in the first hour but even against the easier conditions in Bulawayo they came up short. Zimbabwe’s troubles were highlighted by the first ball itself, as Mohit served up a beauty that beat Vusi Sibanda and zipped perilously close to the top of the stumps.Mohit has played only six domestic one-dayers so far, but he showed no nerves in his opening over as he delivered an inswinger, outswinger and a bouncer, all with superb control. He beat the inside-edge and the outside-edge regularly in his opening spell, and even showed off the back-of-the-hand slower ball which served him so well in his spotlight-grabbing IPL season this year.As ever, Zimbabwe’s openers were cagey at the start, with Sibanda taking 16 deliveries to get off the mark. Mohit, with the experience of only six domestic one-dayers, showed no nerves as he maintained a tight line and length with the new ball, before his persistent probing was rewarded with the wicket of Sikandar Raza, nicking through to the keeper.Zimbabwe then began to be more adventurous despite the disciplined bowling, with Hamilton Masakadza effortlessly whipping Mohammed Shami over square leg for six. Just as the partnership was developing, Ravindra Jadeja’s accurate arm struck again, with a bullet throw to the stumps that left Masakadza repenting attempting a quick single.The introduction of spin hampered Zimbabwe further, as Jadeja extended Brendan Taylor’s horror run. Taylor hasn’t been in form this year, and was mortified to be adjudged lbw for a duck to a delivery that was clearly sliding down. In the next over, Jaydev Unadkat knocked over Sean Williams’ off stump after the batsman missed a straight one. When Jadeja removed the opener Sibanda in the 16th over, Zimbabwe were in serious trouble and India’s most dangerous bowler of the series, Amit Mishra, hadn’t come on to bowl yet.Elton Chigumbura has been Zimbabwe’s most successful batsman this series, and once again he was called on to right things after the specialist batsmen floundered. With the help of Malcolm Waller, he defied India for over 20 overs, generally playing it safe though there were some eye-catching strokes like the powerful loft over Mishra’s head for four. Waller also took his time before latching on to the loose deliveries on offer, like a flighted full toss from Mishra that was swatted for four. With the batting Powerplay taken, Waller swung a shortish ball from Shami for six and Zimbabwe looked for a late flourish.There was no late flourish, however, as Mohit returned to break the 80-run stand, getting Waller to edge behind. The innings didn’t last too long after that as Zimbabwe’s tail was clueless against Mishra, but it lasted long enough for Chigumbura to complete a well-made half-century.Zimbabwe’s 144 was never going to be much of a challenge for India, who took their time in completing the win. Pujara departed early, and the team management wisely decided against sending in the in-form Virat Kohli, giving Suresh Raina the chance to spend some time in the middle. Rohit Sharma has also had a lean run in this series, and he cashed in at a venue which must rank among his favourites – his only two previous innings for India at the Queens Sports Club were centuries. He added an unbeaten 64 to that, and Raina too helped himself to a half-century as the pair put on 122 to complete another all-too-easy victory for India.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has offered Sri Lanka Cricket a chance to play a day-night Test on their tour to the United Arab Emirates in winter

Umar Farooq14-Aug-2013The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has offered Sri Lanka Cricket a chance to play a day-night Test on their tour to the United Arab Emirates in winter. Two of three Tests on the tour are scheduled in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and these could be potential venues to host the day-night Test.The ICC last year approved the idea of day-night Test matches but left it to member boards to decide on the hours of play and the colour of the ball to be used. No board so far has considered playing day-night Tests, but the PCB has shown interest in trying out the format. The board has organised day-night first-class matches and a few MCC fixtures in Abu Dhabi have also been played under lights.”We have offered to play a Test match under lights,” Nadeem Sarwar, the PCB spokesman, told ESPNcricinfo. “We are keen to experiment with day-night Test cricket as we believe that this would help in reviving interest in the format. The major aspect in our discussion is the correspondence on the colour and brand of the ball. The venues are definitely ideal and there is no dew factor involved in December and January.”Sri Lanka have not conducted any trials for day-night first-class or Test cricket, but appear positively disposed to the prospect of being a part of the first floodlit Test.* Sri Lanka Cricket president Jayantha Dharmadasa said SLC had not yet discussed the subject at length, but suggested that unless major objections arose in talks, Sri Lanka would agree to play the match under lights.”We shouldn’t say no if the only reason is that it doesn’t suit us,” Dharmadasa said. “In the past we’ve had 50-over cricket come into the game, then Twenty20s. In the future it will be day-night Tests. It would be a good thing for us to be part of the first day-night Test. People will be looking at it. I’ve still got to talk to the cricket committee, the selectors, and the cricketers, so we’ll see what comes out of those meetings.”Sarwar said that a day-night Test could attract spectators and broadcasters. “Preliminary enquiries have revealed that there is an interest amongst sponsors and broadcasters in day-night Test cricket as it could add commercial momentum,” Sarwar added. “We also anticipate greater spectator interest compared to an all-day Test match. PCB has conducted trials of day-night, domestic first-class matches and, for us, this will be an exciting experiment, subject, of course, to agreement by Sri Lanka Cricket Board.”Pakistan will host Sri Lanka in the UAE between December 2013 and January 2014 for a bilateral series that includes three Tests, five ODIs and two Twenty20s. The series, the second bilateral contest between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the UAE, will be played in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi. The first Test has been scheduled for December 31 in Dubai, while Abu Dhabi and Sharjah will host the second and third Tests, from January 8 and January 16.*07.15GMT, August 15: This article has been updated with the SLC’s response

Ben Stokes’ performances in the ODI series against Australia could have pushed him closer to a spot in this winter’s Ashes touring party, according to Ashley Giles

Alan Gardner17-Sep-2013Ben Stokes’ performances in the ODI series against Australia could have pushed him closer to a spot in this winter’s Ashes touring party, according to Ashley Giles, England’s limited-overs coach. Giles, who is also a selector, said the panel would sit down for a “huge meeting” ahead of Monday’s announcement of the squad to tour Australia and that the one-day form shown by the likes of Stokes and Boyd Rankin may have a bearing, despite England’s 2-1 defeat in the series.Durham allrounder Stokes was asked to fill the role of England’s third seamer and his displays were increasingly impressive, culminating in a five-wicket haul at the Ageas Bowl on Monday; he also gave a glimpse of his ability with the bat during a crucial partnership with Jos Buttler to help England win the fourth ODI in Cardiff. His ability in the field, with Giles called him “one of the best in the world”, could also help push him ahead of the likes of Chris Woakes and Ravi Bopara for inclusion as a Test allrounder.Rankin, meanwhile, was the pick of the bowlers against Australia, demonstrating pace and bounce as well as impressive control (his 29.1 overs were delivered at an economy of 3.63). Since making his one-day debut against Ireland, he has taken nine wickets at 16.88 and, with a view to Australian pitches, his height may sway England, much as Chris Tremlett’s raw physicality did three years ago.”They certainly won’t have done it any harm,” Giles said of the pair’s prospects. “If you look at the attributes both of them have; Boyd is six foot 10 or something, a huge man, and he bowls at a good rate of knots. We tend to like our tall fast bowlers. Going to Australia, playing on those wickets, those attributes are important.””Ben is someone who has been on the radar for a couple of years and people are starting to talk about him, I think he’s a really exciting cricketer and there’s a lot more to come from him with bat and ball. Already, possibly, he’s one of the best fielders in the world – I know that’s a big call – he’s a terrific athlete so those all-round skills put him in an elite market. When you can do those sorts of things you will be talked about across all forms of the game. We just need to be careful that we aren’t pushing them too hard, it still takes time and the experience of playing. But, so far, so good on the report card.”Although England’s inexperienced attack struggled to contain Australia in two of the three completed matches – conceding 315 for 7 at Old Trafford and 298 at the Ageas Bowl – Stokes finished as their leading wicket-taker, coming on at first change and nudging 90mph on the speed gun. He only batted three times but twice passed his previous best score.”We did ask a lot of him as third seamer, we know that,” Giles said. “But some of the stuff we’ve seen this summer, even with red ball, has taken us down that path. He reverses it both ways, he bowls with pace – he bounced out Wade yesterday – he’s aggressive. We don’t make those big decisions without some evidence and it’s there that he’s made great leaps.”His batting is extremely dangerous, as he showed on occasions, but there’s a lot more to come there. The guy is a genuine allrounder, across the aspects of the game and quite possibly across all three forms. It’s very important we look after these guys and try to nurture them, they are our greatest assets and we’d be silly to take our eyes off the ball.”England are expected to named a 16-man Ashes squad, although in 2010-11 they later expanded the number to 17. Giles would not be drawn further on the make-up of the party, other than to say “the first 12 pick themselves”, but said that the selectors had plenty of options to consider. “It will be a good debate, because we’ve got some very good cricketers. Some of them have come into this series and really impressed, I think that’s healthy for some of the guys we have rested that we have young players chasing them up.”The decision to omit several players who had been involved in the home Ashes, including Alastair Cook, England’s Test and ODI captain, James Anderson, Ian Bell, Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad, was not met with universal approval and while Giles was pleased with the signs of progress, he admitted that losing a second bilateral series of the summer had not been part of the plan.”It has been useful. The win in Cardiff was obviously the most pleasing aspect,” he said. “That win centred around a lot of the young guys having a really good day. We thought at the start of the series that if we could move two guys on a fair distance in terms of creating a larger pool of players in one-day cricket then this series has done a lot of its job. In Rankin and Stokes, they have probably done that on their own but there are others too, so as a coach that’s really pleasing. Ultimately, of course, these aren’t practice games and we lost 2-1.”

Part four of ESPNcricinfo’s four-part Ranji Trophy team previews

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Oct-2013Services: Eager to build on last season’s successAbhishek PurohitSoumik Chatterjee’s inning against UP in the quarterfinal was the defining image of the Services team last season•Dainik Dabang DuniaWhere they finished last season
Semi-finalists. They topped Group C, earned themselves a promotion and also knocked out Uttar Pradesh in the quarter-final. Mumbai’s experience, and their own lack of it, proved too much in the semis.Big Picture
Services were the success story of the previous season. The sight of captain Soumik Chatterjee hobbling out with a badly injured knee against the UP fast bowlers to courageously guide his side home in a tense chase was the defining image of the team. However, getting promoted and upsetting UP was one thing. Playing an entire season in a higher group will be different.”It will be much tougher,” said Wing Commander Deepak Bhaskar, the Services manager. “But what the last season has given us is self-belief. The boys will go into this season with the faith that they belong at this level.”On the preparation front, Services’ build-up has been hampered by the harsh monsoon this year. “Our preparation has been fine, but I won’t say it has been very good,” Bhaskar said. “There was lots of rain in Delhi (Services’ base). We sent the boys to Hyderabad to play a few games, but the rain followed them there. When they came back, it followed them again.”Like last season, Services will rely on the batting of young Rajat Paliwal and the experienced Yashpal Singh. “These two are the pillars around which our batting revolves,” Bhaskar said. The bowling will be in the hands of the three seamers – Suraj Yadav, Shadab Nazar and Nishan Singh, who grabbed 103 wickets between them in 2012-13.Key players
Rajat Paliwal, the 22-year-old from Haryana, racked up 784 runs last season at an average of 78.40 with four hundreds, including one in the quarter-final. For someone so inexperienced, he batted intelligently and calmly in the pressure of a quarter-final. He also played an unofficial Test for India A against West Indies A recently and made an unbeaten century for North Zone in the Duleep Trophy against East Zone. The seam-bowling trio of Yadav, Nazar and Singh will also have to click again if Services are to test the big sides.Click here for full squadTamil Nadu: Looking to bury the demons of 2012-13By Nikita BastianMalolan Rangarajan was a big gain for Tamil Nadu last season•Sivaraman KittaWhere they finished
Seventh out of nine teams in Group B.Big Picture
After being finalists in 2011-12 and semi-finalists the year before, Tamil Nadu had a forgettable 2012-13 Ranji Trophy season. They won only one game out of eight, losing another and drawing six. The bowling appeared particularly vulnerable, with the team bowling the opposition out only five times in their eight games. Captain L Balaji put the poor showing down to a “transitional phase”, with some of the team’s key players being away on national duty and the younger lot having to step up.Both Balaji and coach WV Raman, the former India batsman who has resumed his role with Tamil Nadu after a three-year stint with Bengal, are confident that last year’s showing was just an aberration. The team is consciously working on getting back-up players ready, Raman said: “We need to try and get the second line going because we may be faced with a situation where a couple of players may get picked for the national side.”This season, M Vijay is the only one in the squad who is likely to be called away. When he is available, the squad boasts one of the tournament’s strongest top orders in S Badrinath, Dinesh Karthik, Abhinav Mukund, B Aparajith and Vijay. However, they will be missing one of their more experienced seamers this year, Yo Mahesh, who requires knee surgery. J Kaushik, who was their leading wicket-taker in their run to the 2011-12 final, has been cut from the squad after a poor last season when he averaged over 40.Raman, however, is not worried about the bowling. “We have [pace-bowling] youngsters like M Mohammed and Aswin Crist showing potential. We also had a gain last year in Malolan Rangarajan [the offspinner, who was the team’s leading wicket-taker] and [left-arm spinner] Aushik Srinivas also looks to be getting back on track after an indifferent period in the last couple of seasons. So, I wouldn’t worry about the bowling.”Crist is one of the two uncapped 19-year-olds in the squad. Capable of “working up good pace” he is one of those who has been impressing for Tamil Nadu at the Under-19 level. Then there is top-order batsman B Indrajith, who was in prime form in the Buchi Babu Trophy and the local leagues. Tamil Nadu have also brought in 24-year-old keeper Umashankar Sushil, who last played for the side in 2009.Player to watch
Even as his twin brother Indrajith looks to break into the state first-class side, 19-year-old B Aparajith already has the buzz of expectancy floating around him. He was one of India’s handy allrounders at the Under-19 World Cup in 2012, represented the Under-23s this August and was picked in the India A limited-overs squad, against West Indies A, in September. He was solid through the previous Ranji season, playing all of his team’s matches for an average of 40. He became only the fourth player to score a double-hundred on Duleep Trophy debut, after Mohammad Azaharuddin, Sanjay Manjrekar and Rakesh Parikh. He followed that up with another century against Central Zone, and also picked up a handful of wickets with his offspin. In a recent interview, Aparajith said he was keen on honing his all-round skills. Tamil Nadu – and perhaps the India selectors – would love nothing better than to see him establish himself as a reliable allrounder this season.Click here for the full squad.Bengal: Time for batting to click Kanishkaa BalachandranLaxmi Shukla will lead a side missing its frontline batsman in Manoj Tiwary•FotocorpWhere they finished last season
Seventh in Group ABig Picture
Since finishing Ranji runners-up two consecutive times, ending 2006-07, Bengal have struggled in the following seasons to be considered as title contenders. Their 2012-13 season was a forgettable one, winning only one game out of eight and finishing seventh in their group. Batting was their biggest worry, and it didn’t help that they lost their captain and best batsman Manoj Tiwary to injury in the middle of the season. As a result, Bengal couldn’t have a permanent leader and the captaincy changed hands between Wriddhiman Saha and Laxmi Shukla.The injury-prone Tiwary is absent again and is likely to miss the entire Ranji season this time around, following two knee surgeries. Shukla has been named captain and it is learnt that Saha was not considered for the captaincy because the selectors did not want to burden him with the extra responsibility, given that he’s the wicketkeeper and a handy batsman as well. They have also accounted for the possibility of Saha being away on national duty for India’s next two Test assignments, at home against West Indies and away in South Africa.Lifting Bengal’s fortunes will be a challenge for their new coach Ashok Malhotra, the former India batsman. Malhotra takes over from WV Raman, who coached the side for two seasons. Bengal didn’t notch up too many big scores last season and if they are to progress this time, their batting needs to show more consistency. Moreover, they will have to cope without Tiwary.Key players Ashok Dinda had a quiet 2012-13 season, taking eight wickets in four games. Mohammad Shami was their best bowler, taking 28 wickets in just five games including two ten-wicket hauls. With Shami getting more opportunities with the senior Indian one-day team and making a good impression, the responsibility on Dinda will increase with Bengal.Laxmi Shukla had a decent all-round season with Bengal last year, scoring 376 runs with a century and two fifties and 20 wickets, from seven games. Shukla’s been around for Bengal since 1997-98 and as one of the most experienced players, will be expected to shoulder the responsibility.Click here for the full squad.Baroda: Consistency, fitness key goals Alagappan MuthuBhargav Bhatt recently took seven wickets in an innings against West Indies A and will shoulder the Baroda attack once again•ESPNcricinfo LtdWhere they finished last season
Quarter-finals, but their performance has paled in the recent years. They finished second in Group B last seasonBig Picture
Baroda’s run at a sixth title will be boosted by the availability of their “big players”. There were a few notable absences last year- the Pathan brothers played a total of four matches combined – but coach Sanath Kumar believes things will be different this time.”We are hoping to have Irfan [Pathan], Yusuf [Pathan] and Munaf [Patel] with us for as many matches as possible,” he said. “Though Irfan is working through some back issues, we think he’ll be fit by the second week of the competition”The additional experience could prove vital in helping Baroda string some good performances together, something they lacked last season. “One match we are on top and then next we collapse. So we are focused on trying to improve our consistency this season,” Sanath Kumar said.He described bowling as their primary strength, though left-arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt and seamer Murtuja Vahora had to do most of the heavy lifting last season, claiming 29 and 26 wickets respectively.”We struggled with our bench strength,” Kumar said. “If anyone got injured, we did not have any back up. But this time we have a good set of fast bowlers.”Babashafi Pathan, 19, has shown promise, clocking 135-140 kph and Hardik Pandya the 20-year-old legspinning allrounder, could assist Bhatt, who churned out at least 90 overs more than every other bowler in the side in 2012.Players to watch
Ambati Rayudu switched from Hyderabad to Barodain 2010 and has since risen to captain the side in the absence of Yusuf. The additional responsibility, although for only five matches, brought out the best in him as he struck five fifties and a century. Should he acquit himself as well as he did last season – 666 runs in 8 matches – his chances of securing a consistent place in the national side may increase.Click here for full squad

Concerns about Adelaide Oval’s barren drop-in pitch and a short turnaround to the third Test at the WACA ground may lead Australia’s selectors to bolster their pace reserves by withdrawing numerous fast bowlers of interest from Sheffield Shield duty

Daniel Brettig26-Nov-2013Concerns about Adelaide Oval’s barren drop-in pitch and a short turnaround to the third Test at the WACA ground may lead Australia’s selectors to bolster their pace reserves by withdrawing numerous fast bowlers of interest from Sheffield Shield duty.Nathan Coulter-Nile, Doug Bollinger, Ben Cutting and Chadd Sayers are among those pacers who may find themselves resting up rather than playing for their states in the Shield round due to begin on December 8. One or all may be in line to be called into the Test squad for Perth, depending on how the prime battery of Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle and Mitchell Johnson fare in Adelaide, on a pitch that has offered scant assistance to bowlers, lacking bounce and also failing to deteriorate.While Harris, Siddle and Johnson earned themselves a relatively light workload and an extra day off by rolling England’s batsmen in Brisbane, a mere three days separate the Adelaide and Perth matches. Long and repeated spells are expected to be required at the Adelaide Oval, leaving the selectors to ponder how they may best manage the resources at their disposal.The coach Darren Lehmann has already flagged the possibility of a second spin bowler being added to the squad, and Shane Watson can be expected to bowl more overs in the second Test having delivered only two in the second innings at the Gabba. James Faulkner, the 12th man in Brisbane, may yet be included at the expense of George Bailey in a five-man bowling attack that would broaden the bowling burden.”We’ve got the same 12 but we’ve left the option open if it is going to spin a bit,” Lehmann told the Melbourne radio station . “We’ve just got to wait and see what we get when we get there. I’m going early to have a bit of a look at the wicket, and the big thing will be how we adapt to the change in conditions. It’s not going to fly through like the Gabba. We accept that and know we’ll have to change a little bit.”Memories of last year’s Adelaide and Perth Tests against South Africa are still painfully clear in the minds of the selectors and also the team performance manager Pat Howard. A side strain to James Pattinson left the hosts a bowler short for most of the Adelaide match, and the extra exertions of Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus led all three pacemen being replaced for the series decider. Johnson, Mitchell Starc and John Hastings were to be flayed around the WACA ground by Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla, leaving plenty of questions about Australia’s management of their pace resources.Coulter-Nile, Bollinger, Sayers and Cutting have all shown promising glimpses of form this summer at various times. Most recently Coulter-Nile bowled Western Australia to an innings victory over Victoria in Perth, while Bollinger has impressed in bursts for New South Wales after undertaking a concerted fitness campaign in the off-season.Cutting foreshadowed England’s struggles against quality fast bowling by delivering a searching spell to the tourists for Australia A in Hobart, while Sayers has made steady progress for South Australia so far on generally unhelpful surfaces after playing for Australia A in the winter, claiming seven wickets for the match in the Redbacks’ win over the Warriors in Perth.The second Test takes place from December 5-9, before the third begins on December 13.

David Warner has said that losing Graeme Swann, on top of relenquishing the Ashes, was like a knockout blow to England

Brydon Coverdale24-Dec-2013David Warner knows all about teams losing people midway through a tour. His late-night shenanigans in a Birmingham pub this year got him sent to Africa before Australia’s Ashes campaign had even begun, and led to the sacking of coach Mickey Arthur.But six months after Australia’s shambolic beginning to the tour of England, it is Alastair Cook’s men who are in disarray, having given up the urn within three Tests, lost Graeme Swann to retirement, and lost Jonathan Trott due to a stress-related illness.”In a way it’s different, it’s like a little bit of a knockout blow,” Warner said of England losing Swann with two Tests remaining. “It is weird, with Trotty going home and now Swanny retiring, it is a bit different for us. We look at that and we don’t know what to think, in a way. But credit to us, we’re playing good cricket, we’re 3-0 up leading into a Boxing Day Test.”But far from getting stuck into Swann, as might be expected of a man with Warner’s record of public comment, he said it had been “a privilege to play against him”. Not that Warner had too much trouble against Swann in this series, taking him for 140 runs from 205 deliveries. Australia’s right-handers also enjoyed attacking Swann, and Warner might now have the chance to do so against the ball spinning into him, if Monty Panesar is picked.”It’s probably a little bit easier to play, if I can say, but we’ve still got to treat Monty Panesar with the respect we do Graeme Swann because they are both world-class bowlers,” Warner said. “You saw Monty in India, basically he and Swanny won the series over there.”However, Warner said respect or not, he would play his natural aggressive style against Panesar, as he has against all the England bowlers in the first three Tests of this series. Warner has trusted his instincts during this Ashes campaign, returning to the style of cricket that initially gained him international selection and avoiding the over-thinking that had infiltrated his game and his preparation.”That’s probably the thing that’s been high on my list now, is not thinking too far ahead,” Warner said. “I’m thinking about today’s training session instead of day one, Boxing Day, because that’s what’s ahead of me. We live in the present, not the future, that’s all I’ve been working on.”I think it had a lot to do with Michael Lloyd, our sports psych. I probably did get too far ahead of myself and was playing each innings in my mind probably 10 or 15 times. I’ve worked out a way to keep thinking about the now instead of what’s going to happen in a couple of days’ time.”Warner hopes that natural approach will help him switch back from Twenty20 mode into a Test mindset after the unusual scenario of having played a BBL match in the middle of a Test series. With the series already won, Cricket Australia released some of the players for the opening BBL round between the Perth and Melbourne Tests and Warner kept his eye in with 50 off 31 balls for the Sydney Thunder on Saturday night.”It was bizarre when I was out there and I was commentating, I was just playing my natural strokes and nothing really came into my mind with slogging,” Warner said. “In Twenty20 we do slog a fair bit, but it all just seemed so natural when I was out there. It is sometimes tough to adjust from Test to Twenty20s, now I’ve come back to play a Boxing Day Test it is going to be a little bit different if I see the first one up there but I’ll still play the way I play.”

Vineet Saxena scored an unbeaten half-century, even while frustrating Munaf Patel in his attempts to get the opener out

The Report by Nagraj Gollapudi in Jaipur31-Dec-2013
ScorecardMunaf Patel bowls during a training session•AFPThe ball had pitched on off stump. Back of a length. It moved in a little after pitching before hitting the front pad of Vineet Saxena. The Rajasthan opener had decided to leave the ball. Munaf Patel appealed hard for an lbw. His team-mates joined Munaf, who continued to appeal even as the umpire Subrat Das shook his head in disagreement. Munaf was incredulous. Angry, he argued loudly with Das from the spot where he had finished his followthrough. Das called Bardoa stand-in captain Aditya Waghmode from the slips to caution his player, even as Irfan Pathan tried to calm Munaf’s raging temper.Two balls later, Saxena moved on to the back foot to lash a square cut for four. At the end of the over, Munaf, still livid, continued to deliberate with the umpire. An equally annoyed Das was seen moving towards Munaf, till Irfan once again steered Munaf away.It was a moment the revealed Baroda’s frustration. Baroda had walked on to the field without their captain Yusuf Pathan, who the team manager said was down with viral fever. With Irfan deciding not to bowl in the Ranji Trophy as he works his way back to full fitness, much responsibility fell on Munaf.Needing an outright victory to qualify for the knockouts Baroda needed an early breakthrough. However the Rajasthan opening pair of Siddharth Saraf and Saxena had started confidently. They had negotiated the eight overs before lunch cautiously, but on resumption Saraf started to play his drives freely till he failed to read the line of a Munaf delivery that clipped the bails as he attempted to push the ball down leg side. Munaf was muted in his celebrations.Unfortunately for Baroda there would be no further wickets as Saxena and debutant Suryaprakash Suwalka finished the day with an undefeated 108-run partnership. Suwalka, who turned 21 less than a month ago, is a wicketkeeper and had raised eyebrows with his selection. But Suwalka remained aggressive throughout his unbeaten 70, attracting good applause from the frugal crowd. Most of his strokes came on the front foot as he took advantage of the half volleys or short deliveries from Murtuja Vahora and Gagandeep Singh.At the other end, Saxena, Rajasthan’s most experienced player, continued to play to his strengths. In contrast to the first day, Tuesday was much sunnier and the pitched had lost a bit its bite. Saxena made used of the medium pace of Vahora by pulling, pushing cover drives and punching a straight drive for fours. He reached his 32nd fifty and would fancy his chances of notching a ton in his hundredth first-class match.Although Munaf toiled hard, including bowling a first spell of 15 overs, he failed to find able support.If Munaf enlivened the afternoon, the morning was lit up by the contest between Pankaj Singh and Aditya Waghmode. Pankaj had taken four wickets on curtailed first day when, due to bad light, 123 minutes of play had been lost. Waghmode had withstood Pankaj on the first day after Baroda had been reduced to 50 for 5 and repaired the early damages with a 74-run sixth-wicket partnership with Pinal Shah.But on 70, Waghmode had been dropped by Rajesh Bishnoi at second slip off Deepak Chahhar. It was a straightforward catch that Bishnoi would curse himself for spilling. Waghmode combined with Abhijit Karambelkar to stitch a vital 65-run partnership which frustrated the hosts.Although Bishnoi made amends this morning by diving to his right to take a low catch that got rid of Karambelkar, Rajasthan still had to deal with Waghmode.In the next over Chahar almost wrapped up the Baroda innings by taking three wickets in the space of four deliveries. He first hit the stumps of Gagandeep and then had Vahora edge to the wicketkeeper. Next delivery he bowled a fuller ball on Munaf’s legs as the batsman tried to play a one-handed shot. The leading edge went straight into the hands of point. Munaf started to walk and nearly crossed the ropes before he was stopped as the umpires confirmed Chahar had bowled a no-ball. At that point Baroda were 201.Waghmode then quickly took charge even as he faced an aggressive spell from Pankaj. Bowling short and fast and into his ribs, Pankaj tried to make sure Waghmode would not get any space to play his strokes. Waghmode even was forced to replace his helmet after being hit in the back of his head as his attempt to hook failed. But as soon as Pankaj overcompensated with length, the Baroda vice-captain lunged forward to push a cover drive for four, forcing Pankaj to send the fielder into the deep.In Pankaj’s next over Waghmode clipped an on drive which beat Ashok Menaria at short midwicket. The return throw flew wide and over Pankaj’s head with no-one to back-up. Pankaj gave an earful to Robin Bist who was at deep point.Waghmode finished his century with a tight single as Aniket Choudhary, positioned at short point, failed to pick the ball neatly and missed out on a possible run-out opportunity. Waghmode let out a huge sigh as he raised both his hands in delight, even as Pankaj and Chahar applauded their opponent.

Kolkata Knight Riders have retained captain Gautam Gambhir and mystery spinner Sunil Narine, ahead of the 2014 IPL auction. Since they have retained two players, they will have two right-to-match cards at their disposal at the auction on February 12

Nagraj Gollapudi10-Jan-2014Kolkata Knight Riders have retained captain Gautam Gambhir and mystery spinner Sunil Narine for the 2014 season. Since they have retained two players, they will have two right-to-match cards and Rs 380 million at their disposal at the auction on February 12-13.Gambhir became the most expensive buy ever at an IPL auction in 2011, when Knight Riders paid $2.4 million for him. The following year Knight Riders once again surprised everyone by going in for the relatively unknown Narine, who was bought for $700,000.They proved to be smart investments as Gambhir and Narine were consistent matchwinners and played decisive roles in Knight Riders winning the IPL in 2012. Gambhir was the second-best batsman that year, while Narine finished as the second highest wicket-taker and the most economical bowler.Although both Gambhir and Narine have been struggling with form, the franchise remained confident these are still their best two choices. Gambhir has lost his place in the India team but it’s understood he will remain the Knight Riders captain. Gambhir’s consistency, his reputation as one of the best players of spin on the subcontinent and his aggressive leadership were factors that the management took into account before retaining him. As for Narine, the franchise felt he remained the most promising of their bowlers – being young, he could only mature into a better bowler, they felt.”It’s a bit of a balancing act between retention, salary cap and the strategies,” Venky Mysore, the Knight Riders’ CEO, said. “Considering all this, it was the right approach for us.” Mysore also said he was open to considering the right-to-match option at the auction. “There could be teams interested in the players who were with us and we could use the card to bring them back if we want to,” Mysore said, without revealing any names.India allrounder Yusuf Pathan, England batsman Eoin Morgan, Sri Lanka off spinner Sachithra Senanayake and South Africa allrounder Jacques Kallis are some of the players that the franchise could look at buying back at the auction.After the specified amounts for the two players retained – Rs 125 million for player one and Rs 95 million for player two – are deducted from their salary cap of Rs 600 million (approx. US$ 9.6 million, at the current exchange rate), Knight Riders will be left with Rs 380 million to spend at the auction. This season, each squad must include no less than 16 and no more than 27 players, with a maximum of nine overseas players.The amount deducted from the auction purse is not necessarily the IPL fee agreed to between the franchise and the retained player.

Dhoni said India would have toned down the aggression if his stand with Jadeja had added another 25-30 runs

Abhishek Purohit in Auckland09-Feb-20140:00

‘Twenty more runs and we would have changed gears’ – Dhoni

Ravindra Jadeja played some big shots as he put on 54 with Dhoni in little more than five overs•Getty ImagesWhen Rohit Sharma departed first ball after tea, India were 270 for 6 and the target of 407 was now appearing out of reach. Ravindra Jadeja walked in and drove his first ball for four. MS Dhoni began the next over with a driven boundary as well. Soon, it was raining boundaries and the partnership had surged to 54 in just over five overs. New Zealand were rattled but Jadeja mishit one to mid-on for 26, after having swung Trent Boult for a straight six two balls earlier.Could Jadeja and Dhoni have toned down their aggression? Dhoni said they would have, but only after getting another 25-30 quick runs. India needed 83 more when Jadeja fell, and the extra runs Dhoni and Jadeja were aiming for would have whittled the target down to a more manageable 50-odd. That wasn’t to be, but Dhoni said aggression was the way to go at that stage.”It was important at that time as the momentum was with them,” Dhoni said. “The wicket was largely flat but the ball was still new and our approach was that we won’t let them get on top. The field was quite attacking and we said that if we play a few big shots, we will score a few runs quickly. Jadeja and I said let us take a bit of risk as we needed a lot of runs at the stage. And it paid off, we got some runs quickly.”Our target was if we got another 25-30 runs, we would change gears. It was important we get runs. The lower order has not contributed much for us, especially Nos 9,10 and 11. It was difficult to leave too many runs for them. We did well to get those many runs in that phase, but it was 40 runs too many.”Dhoni said India wanted to put the pressure back on New Zealand, and that had he and Jadeja not attacked at that point, India would not have reached where they did. “It is always easy to say once the wicket fell, maybe that was one shot too many but we got close to the target because of that five-seven over period where we got quick runs.”It was important also to put the opposition under a bit of pressure because those 25 (extra) runs, if Jadeja wouldn’t have got out, the opposition feel the pressure, as they have to get us out but at the same time they don’t want to give too many boundaries. That was the thinking behind it. To some extent it paid off, but if you are playing riskycricket, at times, you may get out, and that is what happened. “Brendon McCullum admitted that New Zealand were caught unawares by the counterattack, and was relieved his side had been able to break the stand soon. “They put a lot of pressure back on us when Jadeja came out to bat with Dhoni and they played a brand of cricket that I certainly didn’t expect them to play at that point in time. That put us under a lot of pressure. Thankfully we absorbed that and through that tough situation.”

Round-up of the Vijay Hazare Trophy matches played on March 1, 2014

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Mar-2014North ZoneAn unbeaten century stand between Yuvraj Singh and Gurkeerat Singh helped Punjab to a six-wicket victory against Delhi. Punjab, chasing 229, were on shaky ground, slipping to 89 for 4 at the halfway stage. From there on, Yuvraj – who missed Punjab’s first match of the tournament to attend his brother’s wedding – and Gurkeerat took charge, adding 143 at over a run a ball. The match ended with Gurkeerat just past a half-century and Yuvraj four short of a hundred – his 96 came off 95 balls and included 10 fours and two sixes. Earlier, seam bowler Siddarth Kaul had played a big role in restricting Delhi to 228, accounting for the top order – he even effected a run-out. Mithun Manhas held the Delhi innings together in a knock of 98.Services edged home by two runs in a shortened match against Jammu & Kashmir, to make it two wins in two in the tournament. The match was reduced to 32-overs-a-side and Services got to 171 for 8. The innings was built around a knock of 54 from Rajat Paliwal. In reply, J&K were in big trouble early on, slipping to 29 for 4. It took a 77-run stand between Hardeep Singh and Bandeep Singh to get the chase back on track, but following Hardeep’s dismissal – to left-arm spinner Avishek Sinha, the leading wicket-taker for Services with 4 for 26 – Bandeep failed to get the support required to get the team home. He finished unbeaten on 55 as Sinha ran through the tail to ensure his team sneaked home.The match between Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, in Delhi, was abandoned without a toss.East ZoneAssam and Odisha shared points in Ranchi, after only 17 overs were possible due to the weather. Assam’s innings had already been reduced to 20 overs, and they struggled in the conditions, getting to 128 for 6 before play was called off. Parvez Aziz made the only contribution of note for them, hitting 61 off 42.The match between Jharkhand and Tripura, in Ranchi, was abandoned without a toss.