Lack of experience, inconsistent batting and an ever-expanding list of injuries scuttled Delhi Daredevils’ bid for the playoffs

Deivarayan Muthu15-May-20173:13

Hogg: Inexperienced Daredevils a little out of their depth

Where they finished Sixth for the second season in a row, with six wins and eight losses.The good Things looked dandy for Delhi Daredevils when Pat Cummins, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Zaheer Khan and Mohammed Shami ran in and hit the pitch hard with the new ball. The Daredevils seamers were the most effective in the Powerplay, taking 18 wickets at an average of 29 – the best among all teams in the league stage.Rishabh Pant, who hammered 49 sixes in 12 innings in the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy, went on a six-hitting spree in the IPL as well. He hit 24 sixes in 14 innings, and only Glenn Maxwell had struck more. Nine out of Pant’s 24 sixes came in a successful chase of 209 against Gujarat Lions.The bad Pant features here as well, which encapsulates Daredevils’ hit-or-miss campaign. He made three ducks – the joint most by a player this season – and three single-digit scores; five such scores contributed to defeats.Daredevils were particularly poor with the bat between overs six and 15. They played out 286 dots in the middle overs – the most by any team – while also losing 39 wickets, again the joint most by any team.Bizarre tactics, too, cost Daredevils. For starters, they picked only one frontline batsman in Ankit Bawne in the auction in February. Injuries and the lack of back-up batsmen meant Daredevils had to persist with out-of-form batsmen or make do with allrounders .ESPNcricinfo LtdTheir best striker, Morris, could have added more depth to the batting had Daredevils used him better. He had the second-best strike rate (168.09) among Daredevils’ players, just behind Pant (170.45), but faced only 94 balls. Six other batsmen in the Daredevils line-up faced more balls than Morris. There was, perhaps, a case for the management to bump Morris up the order, but he batted in the top five only once in eight innings.Given that Zaheer Khan had not played a single competitive match between the last IPL and this one, his fitness was always going to be a major worry. Zaheer missed three matches because of injury, and with Angelo Mathews also just returning from injury and searching for form, Daredevils did not have an experienced hand to show them the way. Instead, Karun Nair, who made only one fifty-plus score across formats since his triple-hundred in the Chennai Test against England last year, stood-in as captain.The ugly Daredevils were the only side to be bowled out under 70 on two occasions this year. Right after the sensational chase against Gujarat Lions, they careened to 66 all out against Mumbai Indians – their lowest total in the IPL.The missing ingredient Experience. Daredevils’ top four, for all their talent, was the least experienced in the league. This, perhaps, explained why they could not manipulate the middle overs and failed to close out tight games.Out of their control Before the start of the season, Zaheer said Daredevils were sitting pretty despite the unavailability of Quinton de Kock (injured) and JP Duminy (personal reasons) for the entire season. But, the absence of the South African pair hit them hard as the league progressed. Zaheer and Corey Anderson also suffered injuries towards the end of the league stage, which forced the management to shake things up further.

They’re best mates, but on three occasions AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis have been involved in run-outs in big games

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jun-2017Faf du Plessis and Ab de Villiers have been friends since they were 15 and have grown into two of South Africa’s most prolific batsmen. They are also two of the quickest members of their team. Yet, in three crucial games in global ODI tournaments, the pair have been involved in a run-out. On all three occasions, de Villiers was the man dismissed and each time, South Africa fell apart once he was gone.AB de Villiers was run out for 35 in South Africa’s stunning loss to New Zealand in the 2011 World Cup quarter-final•AFPThe loud call in the big choke
New Zealand v South Africa, quarter-final, 2011 World Cup, DhakaSouth Africa were cruising into the semi-finals of the 2011 World Cup before two quick wickets reduced them to 121 for 4 in their chase of 222 against New Zealand. With de Villiers and du Plessis at the wicket, there was still no need to panic; there were more than 20 overs in which to get the 101 remaining runs. But du Plessis worked the second ball he faced to the right of short midwicket and set off for a run. De Villiers, who was batting on 35, did not begin running immediately, but du Plessis could be heard desperately calling him through for the single. Despite a dive, de Villiers could not beat Martin Guptill’s throw. South Africa never regained momentum and ended up folding for 172 in what is still considered one of their most disappointing losses in one-day cricket.AB de Villiers’ run-out against India in the 2015 World Cup sparked a collapse•Getty ImagesDe Villiers overestimates his own speed
India v South Africa, Pool B match, 2015 World Cup, MelbourneIn their second game of the 2015 World Cup, South Africa were chasing 308 against India. De Villiers and du Plessis had put on 68 and taken South Africa to 108 for 2 in 22.4 overs when de Villiers drove Ravindra Jadeja to sweeper cover and decided to take on Mohit Sharma’s arm and come back for a second run. A fast and accurate throw from Mohit found him short of the crease. There was no real misunderstanding between the batting pair in this instance. It was merely a case of de Villiers misjudging whether he could get back for the second run. After the dismissal, South Africa collapsed to 177 all out. The loss didn’t hurt them too much, however, as they made it to the knockout stage.Another failed dive for de Villiers in a crucial game•AFPIndia get de Villiers again
India v South Africa, Group B match, 2017 Champions Trophy, The OvalThis time, both de Villiers and du Plessis set off for the single as soon as the shot was played. But they were both wrong about it being on. South Africa were 140 for 2 against India in a 2017 Champions Trophy game that both sides had to win to make it to the semi-finals. South Africa started slowly, so de Villiers and du Plessis needed to infuse the innings with some urgency. But when de Villiers tapped a Ravindra Jadeja delivery to Hardik Pandya at point, there was never a single on. Neither batsmen recognised that, and an accurate throw from Pandya meant another de Villiers dive went in vain. The dismissal sparked a collapse that left South Africa 191 all out.

ESPNcricinfo rounds up the highlights from the latest matches in the NatWest T20 Blast

David Hopps14-Jul-2017BBC TMS commentator Charles Dagnall was derided as a “PC pansy” by a Twitter troll for suggesting, perfectly reasonably, that it was time to investigate the potential for protection for bowlers after the horrific injury suffered by Luke Fletcher at Edgbaston.Fletcher is out for the season and feeling lucky to be alive after headbutting a ferocious straight drive from the Warwickshire batsman Sam Hain, fortunate to come away with nothing more than concussion and the chance to exercise the dry wit that makes him one of the most popular characters on the county circuit.Dagnall, as a former county bowler – and one, dare it be suggested, of a method which occasionally invited a straight drive – need not lose sleep over the response of an armchair critic who has probably never bowled a burger at a beer glass and who, one wagers, is not about to volunteer for some throwdowns in a T20 net session.Fortunately, at the National Cricket Performance Centre in Loughborough, efforts are already underway to assess expert advice and determine whether some sort of protection is possible which does not inhibit a bowler.Research, though, is far from conclusive. Rugby Union is one sport which has found that not everybody supports the use of protective headguards. Dr Mike Loosemore, a consultant at the English Institute of Sport, specialises in head injuries and concussion and he has previously warned that headguards might be counter-productive by giving an illusion of safety.Concussion results not from the blow itself, but the way the head – and the brain – swashes around after the blow. A strong neck offers some protection and Fletcher, a formidable figure looks as if he has one of the strongest necks in the business. No wonder he enquired after his blow about the health of the ball.

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The Colonel has a new lease of lifeThe picture of Gloucestershire running out at Cheltenham College to play Twenty20, in front of a school pavilion modelled on a 19C Indian railway station, was a grand sight.Few State schools have a cricket pavilion modelled on a railway station – unless you count the stations that disappeared in Dr Beeching’s ill-advised rail network cuts in the 1960s.But another picture caught the eye – although we shall desist from terming it a grand sight unless suitable liquid bribes are offered – that of Phil Mustard at the crease, looking in the best physical shape he has been in for years after his release by Durham and move to a new county.An enterprising innings at the top of the order made a big contribution to Gloucestershire’s first win of the season against Kent.The life of a professional cricketer is not easy when your family is 250 miles away in the north east but The Colonel, now 34, who has also stood in as Championship captain for Gareth Roderick this season, wins nothing but praise from his director of cricket, Richard Dawson.”He has brought something different to our changing room,” Dawson said. “We have a lot of quiet players and he is a personality who adds a bit of spark. He has a straightforward approach to the game and that can be a really positive influence.”

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Phil Mustard, looking dapper•Getty ImagesWakely gets down with the fansNorthants haven’t got the biggest staff in county cricket (merely the biggest team), but it was quite eye-catching to see their captain, Alex Wakely, briefly fulfil the role of assistant marketing manager after the NatWest Blast tie against Yorkshire was washed out at Wantage Road.”Match abandoned. Anyone that has tickets, please send them to the club with your details. Refund or swap for another match is available,” came the message on Wakely’s Twitter feed, making excellent use of his modest 4,000 followers.County captains with such a connection to their fan base deserve to be followed by half-a-million. Wakely, clearly a modern-day People’s Champion, tweets from @AlexWakely1. He will be praying for no more rain so he does not have to delve ever more into the small print of Northants’ ticket arrangements.A good home atmosphere can make the difference over the season, as football clubs have known for ever and a day, and recognition is now dawning on county clubs as the NatWest Blast attendances continue to grow.

Match abandoned. Anyone that has tickets, please send them to the club with your details. Refund or swap for another match is available.

— Alex Wakely (@AlexWakely1) July 11, 2017

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Wanted: a man with a degree”The first I really knew about it, was when the penalty was given – I was pretty much in the dark,” said stand-in captain Jade Dernbach about the 12-run penalty for a slow overrate that almost cost Surrey victory against Somerset at Kia Oval.Dernbach made some valid points that consistency is needed if run penalties are to apply, and that includes controlling the pace of a batsman’s walk out to the middle and the end-of-over discussions. It is not too hard to imagine a batting side deliberately slowing things down in the hope of some bonus runs at the back end of a chase.Maintaining the pace of Twenty20, though, is imperative to keep the pace in a game that is much to the liking of the paying public.Even the most experienced county captain needs a trusted assistant advising on the niceties of run rates and fielders inside the circle. Keith Fletcher, who was one of the shrewdest captains around during his long leadership at Essex, recognised that only too well when rain tables first made their way into the game.Fletcher took one look at the sheets of rain tables and handed them over to a team-mate. “Here, you can do this,” he said, “because you’ve got a degree.”

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Ryan Higgins part 2The opening Twenty20 Vision column lauded the emergence of Ryan Higgins who claimed a tie for Middlesex against Gloucestershire at Cheltenham after they were looking down the barrel, with eight down and 64 needed off the last 26 deliveries.Zimbabwean-born Higgins certainly does not mess about. 6-4-W was the sum of his latest innings as Middlesex survived a calamitous collapse to steal a one-wicket win in the Thames derby before before 27,200 at Lord’s.Higgins came in with 28 needed from 27 balls with five wickets left. He departed with the target cut to 18 from 24 balls with four wickets remaining. It is debatable whether that position represented an improvement, but Middlesex, under the New Zealand management team of coach Dan Vettori and captain Brendon McCullum, insist that they are committed to attacking cricket.It will certainly bring excitement. It might even take them to Finals Day.

Best mates since their uni days, Tammy Beaumont and Lauren Winfield talk about student life, learning curves, and what it’s like to represent England together

Jo Harman29-Jun-2017After a lacklustre 2016 World T20 campaign, England needed a spark. The women’s game in general was making rapid progress in this country with professionalisation, a new T20 league and greater media coverage, but the national team was in danger of going stale.Mark Robinson, appointed head coach in November 2015, had been damning in his assessment of his side after the World T20 semi-final defeat to Australia, criticising their fitness, attitude and dynamism. “We’re looking for players who can stand up and be counted and play under the pressure and have the aerobic fitness to do the job necessary,” he said. “That will be a necessity for any women’s team going forward.”Robinson took the controversial step of calling time on Charlotte Edwards’ illustrious career, insisting it was time for the next generation, several of whom were failing to live up to their potential, to start taking responsibility.In search of a new opening pair he turned to Lauren Winfield, who hadn’t been included in the World T20 squad, to partner Tammy Beaumont, one of few bright spots from the tournament – two great mates from their days at Loughborough University who had spent their careers vying to open with Edwards.Beaumont, 26, had debuted for England as far back as 2009, with Winfield, also 26, making her international bow four years later, but both averaged below 20 from a handful of ODIs and had spent as much time out of the side as in it.A fairytale summer followed, as they put on a stand of 235 in their second ODI as opening partners – a new English record for the first wicket – and each scored their first international centuries in the process. “We haven’t really looked back,” says Beaumont.Beaumont went on to score 484 runs at 96.8 across the ODI and T20I series against Pakistan, capping the season by being named England Women’s Player of the Summer, while Winfield has a century and five fifties from her last 13 knocks.Winfield gets her maiden ton: “Being surrounded by Tammy, Anya Shrubsole, Georgia Elwiss, who were involved with England, I thought, ‘You know what, I’m not a million miles behind them’. I pushed on a lot at uni”•Getty ImagesThe Beaumont-Winfield partnership has been the biggest success story from Robinson’s tenure so far, giving the team the impetus and aggression he demanded from his top order in order to challenge Australia in the forthcoming World Cup. And they’ve had a blast doing it.

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How far do you two go back?LW: We’d played against each other for years from when we were little tinies.TB: My first memory of Lauren is her actually…LW: Abusing you?TB: Abusing me! We were playing in the junior Super 4s and I was batting – I was only about 15 so you’d have been about 16 – she was keeping wicket and she was having a wager with first slip on how I was going to get out because I was batting that bad. I turned round and said, “Can I have bowled?”Were you in the same circle of mates when you were studying at Loughborough Uni?LW: Yeah, we were. We enjoyed a few Wednesday nights out together…TB: Lauren joined in my second year. We were heavily involved with MCCU [Marylebone Cricket Club University] cricket and we made a lot of close friends through that. During Wednesday afternoon training sessions we’d work out what fancy dress we were going to wear that evening and then go home and put it on.LW: You slept on my floor in halls a few times, didn’t you?TB: Lauren lived right next door to the nightclubs so instead of going home we’d all crash at her place.LW: My housemates were triathletes so they’d be getting up early for a swim or a run or something and there would just be a mass of cricketers on our floor.TB: With the face paint running down my face! We’ve settled down a bit since then.Coach Mark Robinson talks to the team. “I think he just lets us play our way. For a lot of us, we play better when we have that intent,” says Winfield•Getty ImagesLauren, if someone had said to you then – when Tammy’s lying on your floor, a bit worse for wear, covered in face paint – that you’d be opening the batting together for England a few years down the line, would you have believed them?LW: Probably not!TB: I didn’t necessarily think that we’d play for England together but I knew Lauren was something special. I remember batting with you in one of your first games against Birmingham Uni – I think you got your first hundred – and I told you off on 95 for nearly getting out. I was like, “Get your hundred!”LW: You’d been involved with England for a while by that point so we were at very different stages. I don’t think I necessarily set my sights on England. In my first year at uni I was still kind of exploring my potential and I didn’t really think I was that close but because you’re on a full-time programme you improve so fast.TB: I don’t think you realised how good you were in your first year.LW: I was just cruising along, enjoying my cricket and having some fun and not necessarily thinking, “If I knuckle down here I could play for England”. But being surrounded by Tammy, Anya Shrubsole, Georgia Elwiss, who were involved with England, I thought, “You know what, I’m not a million miles behind them”. I pushed on a lot at uni. The MCCU system has produced some pretty good cricketers.TB: Particularly in the women’s game. A lot of our current squad went to an MCCU. It made a big difference because it was almost full-time training at uni, which you couldn’t have done anywhere else five years ago because we weren’t professional.Fast forward a few years, how exciting was it to be told at the start of last summer that you were England’s new opening partnership?TB: It was really exciting. Since uni we’d been great mates and in that interim period there was one batting spot available and we were in competition against each other, but now it’s just nice to be able to be that close again because we’re not fighting for each other’s position. If something annoys us, we can tell each other because we’re working together as a partnership. It was only about four or five days before the first game that we knew we were going to be opening together. There had been a few combinations tried out in the warm-up games so it was nice to know that was going to happen for definite. We haven’t really looked back.Beaumont: “[Mark Robinson] said to me: ‘I see you as a T20 opener, I want you to go out there and hit the ball hard'”•Getty ImagesCould you have imagined a more perfect start than the ODI against Pakistan at Worcester, when you shared that huge partnership and each scored your maiden centuries?LW: It was a bit of a rollercoaster few days because we’d got rained off at Leicester in the first game and had a whole day bored out of our brains in the dressing room. Then we came back the next day and I snicked off first ball.TB: Then we had an hour-and-a-half drive to Worcester that night, got to the hotel about 9pm and had to get up at 7am to go to the ground. It was a mental few days.LW: That was my worst prep ever. It must have rained heavily the day before because the nets were absolutely soaked so we were having these underarms that were just sticking in the ground.TB: I was stressing about it because I’m massive for that, I’ve got to do exactly what I want to do in the nets.LW: So a lot went wrong but fortunately it all went right when we got out in the middle.It looked like you were having a lot of fun out there together.LW: We talk a lot about what we look like when we’re at our best. We’re very different people and cricketers, which is why it works quite well, but in terms of how we like to play our cricket we’re both quite similar: laughing and joking around the group, mucking around and stuff. We like to have some fun. It helps you relax.Can you remember what you were saying to each other during that partnership?LW: I always have a packet of chewing gum in my right pocket and I dropped it.TB: I found it!LW: It was not quite on a length but it was on the pitch and she was like, “Is this your chewing gum?’ Imagine if a delivery had hit that!”TB: We laughed quite a bit about how many times I was diving on the floor. I dived in to make my ground when I was on 99. Lauren was like, “Tammy, seriously, you look a mess”.Winfield congratulates Beaumont on her hundred in Worcester•Getty ImagesLW: When she got the hundred I said, “Thank God, you absolute idiot, come here!” When I got my hundred I didn’t know if it had gone for four so I was stood at the wrong end and the umpire was like, “Get down the other end, it’s gone for four”. I was a bit glazed over.TB: It was carnage really. There were some comedy moments.Neither of you had the easiest start to your England careers and spent quite a bit of time out of the side. Do you think you appreciate the good times more because of how hard you’ve had to fight to get here?LW: I think so, massively. We’ve both been on a similar journey where we’ve been favoured and then not favoured so much, in and out, up and down, been on tours and then been left at home. When we had that partnership at Worcester it was like, “We’ve been through the worst and this is meant to be”. It definitely makes you appreciate what you’ve got. Every trip you go on and every time you pull on an England shirt is special.TB: I went through a phase where I genuinely thought I’d never play for England again. I don’t think I’ll replicate some of the stuff I did last summer ever again but every single moment of that has made all the tears and the heartache worthwhile. Even if I never played again for England I’d be really proud of what I’ve done and having that resilience to keep coming back. I know I’m not just going to keep on getting hundreds, I’m going to go through hard times again, but I’ve been there and I know I can do it. Before the summer I almost doubted myself. “Am I actually good enough to do this? Can I be an international batter?” Well I’ve done it now, and I can do it again. There’s proof.As a team you seemed to play with more aggression and freedom last summer. Is that Mark Robinson’s influence?TB: Robbo has been quite clear since coming in. He’s said, “This is how I will judge you, this is what I want from you.” What he said to me was: “I see you as a T20 opener, I want you to go out there and hit the ball hard. If you hit the first ball for four and then get caught at mid-off the next ball, that’s okay. But if you dot-up five balls and then get out trying to nudge it to square-leg to get a single, then I’ll tell you off.” I knew I had to go out and strike it hard, and that was that. If it came off, it came off. And if it didn’t, then I could at least be true to that. That gives you freedom.All Out CricketLauren, were you given a specific role?LW: I don’t necessarily think that Robbo defines a role, I think he just lets us play our way. For a lot of us, we play better when we have that intent and we really strike the ball. It’s okay to say play your way, but if you’re in and out [of the team] all the time then you’re going, “If I don’t make a big one today, I’m going to be back doing drinks again.” Whereas with Robbo it’s very much about how you’re going about your business, not necessarily a statistic. He’d rather we got 20 playing well, playing our way, making good decisions, picking up good lengths. He’ll look at the more intricate details rather than just looking at a scorebook and going, “You only got 20 today”.This article was first published in magazine

The former Sri Lanka captain has not been the kind of batting rock he could be for his team for a while now. Can he do the job in India?

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Kolkata14-Nov-20172:55

The Angelo Mathews story

It has been four months since Angelo Mathews stepped down from the role, but it’s hard not to look at him with the feeling in the back of your mind that you’re watching Sri Lanka’s captain do his thing. There’s Sri Lanka’s captain, pulling an underarm throw-down (flick-up?) from a crouched member of the support staff. Here he is now, in the nets, defending off the back foot, looking like a captain, looking burdened by everything that ails Sri Lankan cricket.It’s all in your head, of course, the transposition of a careworn expression onto a helmeted face that’s at least 60 yards from you and facing the wrong way. But it comes from having watched him all these years: the shuffle across to off stump, the stoic face behind the sunglasses while setting fields, the guarded post-match interviews.This feeling is also born of not having watched too much of Mathews since he gave up the captaincy. He has been out of action for the last few months, and has only just recovered from his umpteenth injury of the last couple of years.Angelo Mathews punches off the back foot•Associated PressThis tour of India, then, comes at an important juncture in his career. He seems to have been around forever, but he’s only 30, a year and four days older than Ajinkya Rahane. The early 30s are widely reckoned to be the best time in a batsman’s life, and it’s the perfect time for Mathews to put behind him the turmoil of his last few months of captaincy, and focus anew on becoming the best batsman he can be and the towering batsman he hasn’t been for a while. He hasn’t made a Test hundred since August 2015, and in that time has scored 917 runs in 32 innings at an average of 28.65. His average, in that time, has slipped from 52.06 to 44.93.The dip in Mathews’ run-making powers has coincided with his becoming the senior-most member of Sri Lanka’s batting group: he scored his last hundred in the first Test after Kumar Sangakkara’s retirement.Which is all the more reason why the Tests against India are so important to Mathews. He’s one of only two survivors from Sri Lanka’s last proper visit (Rangana Herath is the other), and on that 2009 tour he was a 22-year-old with four Tests behind him. In those early years, he batted at No. 6, impressing by dint of his own class but also benefiting from the cushion of the runs scored by Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera batting above and alongside him.There are some good young batsmen in Sri Lanka’s squad on this tour – and at least three outside it, in Kusal Mendis, Asela Gunaratne and Kusal Perera – but they haven’t quite grown up with the same cushion. But they aren’t too far from having a solid core of experienced batsmen to bat around. Dimuth Karunaratne has had a breakthrough year as a Test batsman, and together with Dinesh Chandimal built the batting foundations of Sri Lanka’s 2-0 series win in the UAE a few weeks ago. Add a fully fit, fully firing, post-captaincy and non-careworn Mathews to that mix, and Sri Lanka suddenly look like a pretty handy batting side. Make it happen, Angelo.

Also: the highest ODI innings totals without individual hundreds, and the Indian who played all ten of his Tests against England

Steven Lynch23-Oct-2017What is the record for Test centuries made at a single venue by a player? asked Allan Alexander from the United States

Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene leads the way here, with 11 Test centuries at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo. Jayawardene scored 2921 runs (another record) in 27 Tests at the SSC, which also happens to be his home club ground. Don Bradman made nine centuries at the MCG – from just 11 Tests, in one of which he was injured and didn’t bat – while Jacques Kallis hit nine at Newlands, in Cape Town, but from twice as many matches.Kumar Sangakkara scored eight Test centuries at the SSC, and also collected seven in Galle, as did Jayawardene. Michael Clarke made seven in Adelaide. For the list of players who have scored five or more Test centuries on a single ground, click here.The record for centuries on a single ground in one-day internationals is seven, by Ricky Ponting at the MCG, and by Saeed Anwar and Sachin Tendulkar in Sharjah.Was South Africa’s 369 for 6 against Bangladesh the other day the highest one-day international total without a hundred? asked Bob Heath

South Africa’s 369 for 6 in East London at the weekend, in which the highest score was Faf du Plessis’s 91, was actually the second-highest ODI total without an individual century. But the record is nonetheless held by South Africa: when they ran up 392 for 6 against Pakistan in Centurion in 2006-07, the top score was Jacques Kallis’ 88. The next highest is England’s 365 for 9 (Eoin Morgan 88) against New Zealand at The Oval in 2015.Virat Kohli played his 200th one-day international the other day. Has he scored more runs and hundreds than anyone else after 200 ODIs? asked Steve Rafferty

Virat Kohli’s century in the first one-day international against New Zealand in Mumbai at the weekend was his 31st, in his 200th match, and took him to a neat-looking total of 8888 runs. Both these figures are records: AB de Villiers had scored 8621 runs and 24 hundreds after his 200th ODI. But Kohli’s figures are nonetheless under threat: Hashim Amla has played 158 ODIs to date, and has so far made 7381 runs and 26 centuries.Ajit Agarkar made a Test hundred at Lord’s and finished with an average of under 17, but eight other players have made hundreds and have lower averages than him•Odd Anderson/AFP/Getty ImagesWhich Indian player figured in ten Tests – all of them against England? asked Bjorn Lindholm from Sweden

The player concerned here is Vijay Merchant, one of India’s first great batsmen. His ten Tests, between 1933-34 (India’s first one at home, in Bombay) and 1951-52 (when he bowed out with his highest score of 154, in Delhi), were all against England: he missed India’s tour of Australia in 1947-48, and West Indies’ visit in 1948-49, apparently because of illness.The overall record dates to before 1928, when West Indies joined the Test-playing club, soon to be joined by New Zealand and India. Back in the days when main protagonists in Test cricket were England and Australia, with occasional appearances from South Africa, Archie MacLaren (England) and Jack Blackham (Australia) both played 35 Tests, all Ashes matches.I noticed that Ajit Agarkar has a Test batting average of 16.79, despite having a century to his name. Is this the lowest Test batting average to include a century? asked Irfan from Pakistan

The Indian fast bowler turned ESPNcricinfo pundit Ajit Agarkar might be relieved to learn that he comes in quite a way down this particular list. Agarkar’s hundred came at Lord’s, no less, in 2002; his next highest score was 48.There are eight players with lower batting averages who also scored a Test century, one of them a current player, the Zimbabwe captain Graeme Cremer (16.27). Top of the list is someone who might also yet reappear in Test cricket: the West Indian fast bowler Jerome Taylor averages only 12.96, despite having slammed 106 against New Zealand in Dunedin in 2008-09. Taylor’s 106 that day is exactly double his next highest score.The other Test centurions with a lower batting average than Agarkar’s 16.79 are Pakistan’s Saqlain Mushtaq (14.48), Xenophon Balaskas of South Africa (14.50), Australia’s Jack Badcock (14.54), Frank Hayes of England (15.25), the West Indian Ivan Barrow (16.23), and Nasim-ul-Ghani of Pakistan (16.60).Leave your questions in the comments

South Africa’s second-innings 73 was their lowest total since readmission, while Dilruwan Perera picked up his career-best innings and match figures

S Rajesh14-Jul-201873 – South Africa’s total, their lowest since their readmission to Test cricket. Their previous lowest was 79, on that wretched tour to India in 2015. Six of their eight lowest scores in Asia have come since November 2015.28.5 – Overs that South Africa’s second innings lasted, which is also their lowest in Asia. Over both innings, South Africa lasted 83.2 overs, which is again their lowest in Asia when they have played two complete innings in a Test. Overall, there have only been eight instances of South Africa playing fewer overs in two complete innings in a Test.ESPNcricinfo Ltd2 – Instances of Sri Lanka bowling out an opposition team in fewer than 28.5 overs. Both of them were against Bangladesh: 25.2, at the P Sara Oval in 2007, and 27.4 at the Premadasa in 2005.278 – The margin of defeat by runs, one of the heaviest for South Africa in Asia. They have lost by a higher margin (in terms of runs) three times, with the highest being 337 runs against India in Delhi in 2015.10/78 – Dilruwan Perera’s bowling figures in the Test, his second 10-wicket haul in Tests, and his best match figures; his 6 for 32 in the second innings are also his best innings figures. His only other 10-wicket haul was also in Galle, against Australia in 2016, when he took 10 for 99. In seven Tests in Galle, Dilruwan has taken 45 wickets at 24.20, but that also includes disappointing figures of 1 for 197 against India in 2017.17/174 – Match figures for Sri Lanka’s spinners in the Test: apart from Dilruwan’s 10 for 78, Rangana Herath took 5 for 77, and Lakshan Sandakan 2 for 19. South Africa’s spinners struggled in comparison, with combined figures of 8 for 242. Both Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi took four wickets each, but conceded more than 100 runs.ESPNcricinfo Ltd153 – Runs scored by South Africa’s top seven over both innings of the Test, which is also their lowest since readmission. The previous lowest was 194, in the Nagpur Test of 2015. South Africa’s top seven averaged 11.77 runs per dismissal in the Test.19 – Runs by which Dimuth Karunaratne outscored the entire South African team in the Test. Karunaratne scored 218 runs in two innings, while South Africa made a combined total of 199.31 – Tests for Kagiso Rabada to get to 150 wickets, the third-fastest in terms of Tests for South Africa, after Hugh Tayfield and Dale Steyn, who got there in 29 matches each. In terms of age, Rabada is the youngest at 23 years and 50 days, breaking Harbhajan Singh’s earlier record of 23 years and 106 days.6 – Instances of both openers being out stumped in an innings in Test history. Both Dean Elgar and Aiden Markram were out in this manner in South Africa’s second innings, which was a first for the team. Four of the six such instances are by England.

Once MS Dhoni’s calling card, Dinesh Karthik is truly a man of comebacks: he’s opened, played as a batsman, donned the gloves and done it all

Srinath Sripath02-Jun-2018

How they gain support wherever they go. Even in Mumbai, the home ground of their fiercest rivals

Vishal Dikshit in Mumbai23-May-20182:01

Five reasons why CSK beat Sunrisers

Even before the women’s IPL exhibition match had ended and with about two-and-a-half hours left for the first qualifier to start, numerous fans were thronging at a stall near the staircase of the Sachin Tendulkar Stand at Wankhede Stadium. The stall was not giving away free merchandise, it wasn’t selling water or ice-cream on a hot summer afternoon, it was selling jerseys of a team that was not even playing at home.Chennai Super Kings had already seen unprecedented support in the form of a chartered train taking ardent fans from Chennai to their new headquarters Pune. And when they left Pune to play the qualifier in Mumbai on Tuesday against Sunrisers Hyderabad on a neutral ground, the crowd that had filled half of the stands well before the first ball was bowled made it clear whom they were rooting for.

One young fan finally stopped a man selling Sunrisers stuff but it wasn’t to do business. It was to ask directions

Two minutes before the toss, loud chants of “Dhoni, Dhoni” filled the stadium even though two captains walked out, not one. More fans were trickling into the stadium now in a sea of yellow from all sides. Some of the security personnel frisking them at the entry gates wore yellow bibs like traffic police to differentiate them from the general public, but the colour wasn’t helping.In comparison, there were barely any Sunrisers fans. Forget fans, there were not even enough suppliers of their merchandise in case there was a large contingent to support them. A few young men selling orange flags were scattered around the entry gates but they had more time to kill than a retired person. One young fan finally stopped a man selling Sunrisers stuff but it wasn’t to do business. It was to ask directions.If the scant Sunrisers fans had hopes that a solid start would garner support from some neutral supporters, they were thwarted when Shikhar Dhawan was bowled off the first ball by Deepak Chahar. The medium-pacer couldn’t contain himself. He was like an erupting volcano. Four overs later, Sunrisers were 36 for 3, and their fans might have contemplated leaving the ground already to drown their sorrows in a south Bombay pub or sitting by the sea to contemplate how things got so bad for such a good team.The CSK players and coach go mad. But as usual, MS Dhoni plays it cool•BCCIAlmost an hour later, Yusuf Pathan struck a four against Shardul Thakur and the announcer at the ground saw an opportunity to create some support for Sunrisers. He screamed “Yusuf” in anticipation of hearing “Pathan” but he got nothing. When Yusuf took strike again in the next over, the announcer tried again, this time with, “We want…” but the nobody said “sixer”. Nobody could hit one anyway.The hordes of CSK fans were having a party though. When Yusuf handed a return catch to Dwayne Bravo, who tumbled but quickly got up for his celebration, the crowd joined him too. They didn’t wait for the DJ to play a song, they had their own. May for Mumbai is the worst month to dance or even stand in the open, but these people were breaking into a jig even between overs, a time usually used to buy water or save energy. It didn’t matter whether they were from Mumbai or had come all the way from Chennai, they were ready to dance to the Punjabi numbers the DJ was playing. Which team does a neutral fan support anyway in the playoffs once his home team is knocked out?The biggest cheers and chants came in the second innings, when Dhoni walked out again. It was only the fourth over of the innings, Siddarth Kaul was on a hat-trick but all of that didn’t matter. The man they had come to see was there now, but he couldn’t stay long. There was deafening silence in the ground as Rashid Khan bowled the CSK captain with a beautiful googly.The legspinner even won an lbw appeal against Faf du Plessis. The batsman decided to review. The crowd found its voice again. Ball-tracking showed it would be ‘missing’. Wankhede roared once more.By the time local boy Shardul edged two consecutive fours at the beginning of the 19th over and took CSK closer to home, the crowd had become merciless. When du Plessis struck a straight six to seal their final berth, a charged-up Imran Tahir leapt out of his seat just like the thousands of fans around him. Du Plessis’ team-mates ran towards him the way fans run after their favourites when they spot them in public. Thakur hugged the match-winner and shook him in his arms the way the stands shook because of the jumping crowd.A good hour and a half after the match had ended, the same stands had emptied out, the last few lights at the stadium had gone off and there was such peace at the ground, as if nothing had happened that evening. Except in the CSK dressing room – the players were still there, celebrating yet another close finish in Mumbai, dancing and soaking in the moment before they start thinking of the next step, the next match. And if they keep pulling off such great escapes, those fans will keep turning up in the yellow jerseys and will keep supporting the team that finds support no matter where they go.

The left-arm spinner’s 8 for 116 saw him set new benchmarks for his team, and for a bowler against Sri Lanka

Gaurav Sundararaman20-Jul-20180 – Visiting bowlers to have better figures than Keshav Maharaj in an innings in Sri Lanka. Maharaj currently has 8 for 116 going past Yasir Shah’s 7 for 76 against Sri Lanka in Galle in 2015. Maharaj’s figures are also the best for South Africa against Sri Lanka in Tests, going past the 7 for 81 taken by Marchant de Lange against Sri Lanka in Durban in 2011.ESPNcricinfo Ltd1 – South African spinner with better bowling figures than Maharaj in a Test innings. Former offspinner Hugh Tayfield occupies the top two positions in this list. Maharaj is the first spinner from South Africa since 1957, and the first bowler from South Africa since Lance Klusener in 1996 to take eight wickets in an innings in a Test. Maharaj now holds the records for the third-best bowling figures for South Africa since their readmission.1996 – The last instance of a spinner from South Africa before Maharaj to take six or more wickets in the first innings of a Test. Paul Adams took 6 for 55 against India in Kanpur. Maharaj is only the third left-arm orthodox spinner to take eight wickets in an innings, after Vinoo Mankad and Alf Valentine.5 – Bowlers to have taken more than six wickets on day 1 of a Test in the last 10 years. Nathan Lyon has the best figures, of 8 for 50, which he took against India last year in Bengaluru. In the last 10 years, Maharaj’s 8 for 116 are the second-best figures for any bowler from South Africa in one day, after Dale Steyn’s 8 for 57 on day 3 against India in 2010 (taken across two innings but on the same day).

2 – Bowlers other than Maharaj to take eight wickets in an innings against Sri Lanka in Tests. Imran Khan was the first to do so, in 1982, when he took 8 for 58 in Lahore, while the other was Shanon Gabriel who took 8 for 62 last month at St Lucia.