Rain denied the Chennai crowd of a potentially absorbing contest, but they still got to see some individual performances of note

Srinidhi Ramanujam08-Jul-2024It is unusual in July for Chennai to receive rain that lasts long enough to cut short a T20 match. On Sunday, a steady drizzle robbed the 13,000-odd that had turned up for the second women’s T20I at the MA Chidambaram Stadium of a potentially entertaining contest as only one innings could be completed. In that time, though, they witnessed two small tales of redemption. One from Anneke Bosch, and one from Deepti Sharma.India used five different bowlers in the first six overs after making four changes to the XI that played the opening game, which South Africa won. South Africa raced to 66 for 1 in the powerplay. In the first match, India let the game slip in the middle overs (seven to 16), going at 10.10 per over. That allowed South Africa to post a match-winning 189 for 8, after they had been 44 for 1 in the powerplay.This time, though, Deepti inspired a fightback in the same period.Related

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She was coming off returns of 0 for 45 – the most expensive India bowler on Friday night.On Sunday, she put her decade of international experience to use, varying the pace when needed but also bowling tight lines and lengths. Her first over, the seventh of the innings, went for just four runs. Deepti continued, and first ball of her next over, she picked up the big wicket of Marizanne Kapp, who miscued one to S Sajana at mid-off. Deepti let out a big roar, but her redemption mission was far from complete.Bosch, a top-order batting allrounder, walked out at No. 4 for the first time in her T20I career. Against Australia and Sri Lanka earlier in the year, she had batted at No. 5 – for the first time in her career – in four out of five innings, and then opened when Laura Wolvaardt missed a game. Bosch had a different challenge on Sunday.After the powerplay, the pitch had become slower and scoring became tougher. Perhaps because Bosch hadn’t converted her starts across formats on this India tour, she started cautiously. Like when Deepti bowled a short one on leg with fine leg in the ring, Bosch hit it straight to the fielder instead of putting it away to the boundary, which she could have with a bit more power and intent. And with that, Deepti finished her first spell with 2-0-8-1.At the other end, even when Tazmin Brits was targeting Shreyanka Patil and Radha Yadav for boundaries, Bosch was content to tap it around and take singles. Overall, with the spinners taking pace off the ball, South Africa could score at only 6.50 in the middle overs.Deepti returned in the 14th when South Africa were 110 for 1 and immediately gave India the breakthrough they needed. She got Brits, who had raced to her second consecutive half-century, to come out of her crease with one that was sent through slower, shorter, and a bit wide of off. Brits’ heave connected with nothing and she was stumped by debutant Uma Chetry.

“I wouldn’t say I’m completely happy with my innings. That’s probably one of the most I’ve struggled in a long time in the middle. I felt like I was going nowhere slowly at a stage”Anneke Bosch

Once Brits went, Bosch stepped up.”By the time I went in, our main goal was just to build a partnership at that stage and maybe, get to about 100 off 12 overs,” Bosch said after the match. “It did get a little bit tough, but we didn’t want to lose too many wickets in that period, so that we have wickets at the end. The plan was to not take too many risks at that point.”Similar to Brits’ start in the opening game, Bosch made a run-a-ball 22 and her biggest test in the death overs (17 to 20) was to survive Deepti’s final over when she came back to bowl the 17th. By that time, South Africa had also lost Chloe Tryon.The over started with Bosch flat-batting a length ball back to Deepti, with the third umpire confirming that the ball had not carried. Bosch took two singles in the next four deliveries. But when Deepti floated the last ball, Bosch went down the track and lofted it down the ground for four to take her strike rate above 100 for the first time in the match.They went head to head for ten balls. Bosch got nine runs in those.Deepti was done. With 4-0-20-2, she was the most economical bowler on Sunday.Deepti Sharma returned an economy of five despite India conceding close to 180•BCCIBut Bosch carried forward the good work from that last Deepti delivery to smash two more fours off Patil in the penultimate over before being dismissed off a mistimed sweep off the same bowler for a 32-ball 40. She had done her job, and Annerie Dercksen’s three successive fours in the final over lifted South Africa to an above-par 177 for 6 before the weather took over.Bosch admitted that it was all quite laborious after the powerplay but she was happy with how the team played to their goal of “scoring 180-plus consistently”.”I wouldn’t say I’m completely happy with my innings,” she said. “That’s probably one of the most I’ve struggled in a long time in the middle. I felt like I was going nowhere slowly at a stage.”The wicket started off pretty well. It looked like it was coming on nicely in the beginning of the first couple of overs. Later on with the ball getting softer and a bit wet from the rain and the outfield, it became a little bit more difficult to score. When Kappie came out, she did say that it’s a bit slower and a little bit more difficult to score. India probably changed their plans a little bit. I felt like the spinners, maybe, bowled a little bit flatter, didn’t give it as much flight. But we adapted quite well.”Adaptability will be tested again come Tuesday, when India and South Africa face off for one last time in this all-format series. There will be eyes on the Chennai sky. And in the middle, Deepti and Bosch, with all the confidence and momentum from Sunday, will be expected to play key roles.

The Rajasthan Royals batter talks about everything he did to transform his IPL career and get his first India call-up

Interview by Shashank Kishore01-Jul-2024Riyan Parag, who had his best IPL so far this year, scoring 573 runs at a strike rate of nearly 150, was at the Rajasthan Royals Academy in Talegaon, outside of Nagpur, when he received news of his first India call-up – for five T20Is in Zimbabwe in July. It marked a significant milestone for the former Under-19 World Cup winner (2018) and the IPL’s youngest half-centurion (in 2019).Not long ago, his dream to play for India had seemed distant, when Parag had four wretched IPL seasons. His celebrations on the field and his outgoing personality often made him a target of online abuse, especially after he couldn’t build on his early promise. After the 2023 IPL, Parag was determined to turn things around. In this interview, he talks about how he made the transformation.It’s taken you six years to have that breakthrough IPL. What led to it?
In one of our last chats after the 2023 IPL, Kumar Sangakkara told me I had to work harder to come back and perform. Three poor IPLs back to back made me doubt myself at different points. But over the years, I’ve always been very big on finding and fixing solutions myself, so I wasn’t speaking to anyone actually. I was just trying to figure out what went wrong.Why was I getting so much hate? Why was I getting negative energy from all the people except those from the Royals set-up? I tried to understand my game. And once I started doing that, I got this sudden love for getting into cricket a lot. I was never a big cricket geek, but today I like watching videos, analysing my game, comparing certain elements of my batting to someone that does some things better, and learning from it.Related

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What kind of work did you put in?
Just going out of my comfort zone was the first step. I went to the Rajasthan Royals Academy immediately after the [2023] IPL. It’s hot, 45 degrees or something, and I’d do three sessions a day, every day, for a month. It takes a lot of dedication to just go there, because it’s a tough place, tough conditions, but then you’ve just got to get your work done, right? That has to come from within. That’s what helped me, because I wanted to improve. I wanted to know more about my game, I wanted to plan different scenarios. Because I’ve been lost inside those 22 yards way too many times. I’ve been lost for options for what I needed to do in certain situations. I think once you go through all those phases, you understand that you need to have at least two to three options for every single ball. And for that, you need to practise. Those practices take a lot of time, but eventually, when you do it for a consistent period, I think it works out pretty well.It contributed to a stunning domestic season. You made the most runs in the 50-over zonal Deodhar Trophy and the T20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, in which you made seven straight half-centuries and were a step away from taking Assam to their first final.
It was the coming together of everything I’d put into my game. Playing domestic cricket is a different kind of pressure, because now when I play for Assam, I have to stay till the end. In the IPL, if I get out, there’s Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell and Dhruv Jurel [to come after me]. It’s not the same in Assam. That pressure is different because the whole team is expecting me to get a fifty or a hundred every game so they can play around me. I’m not comparing the pressures of IPL and domestic; yes, at the IPL, the quality of bowling is way higher, but domestic cricket has a different kind of pressure. To do well across both those spheres is satisfying.What are the kind of sacrifices you’ve made in this period that has contributed to the transformation?
I wouldn’t call them sacrifices. To me, they are hard choices because I’m doing this for myself. I need to be fit and I want to play good cricket. For that, I’ve to be in good shape.Food’s a big factor. I like my food, but I can’t really eat whatever I want. Sleep is another factor. I can’t go out or stay up late. These are the general things I have been working on to upgrade myself. Those are choices but good choices for me.Fans in Guwahati show their support for the local boy•Biju Boro/AFP/Getty ImagesYour mother says you’ve become ruthless in saying “no” when it comes to food.
Yeah, I don’t mind being rude about this. Recently I was at an event and they were trying to offer me food. I told them, “No, thanks, I can’t eat this.” I think not giving in to those temptations makes you strong minded. A slice of pizza is not going to hurt me because I just went to the gym this morning and I cycled for like 10km, but then I’m not going to give in. Those are “private victories”. That’s what one of the UFC fighters I follow, Conor McGregor, says. If you can have those private victories when no one knows what’s going on, like refusing half a slice of pizza, even though you know you can burn it off easily… Now I get that self-assurance and self-confidence that, okay, I can control myself. Food is a very small thing to give up.You said during this IPL that this clarity has come with maturity.
Maturity comes with pain. There are millions watching the IPL. When I don’t perform, I feel terrible. And people add to it. Opinions from fans add to it. Opinions from great players add to it. So I just had to figure out what really mattered. Once I did, I think it turned out well. Me not performing, me feeling sad, me being left out of the team, me being abused by people, me coming back to my house knowing my dad and mom were expecting something, even though they don’t say it – I think that was pain. I really didn’t tell anyone. And I think that’s how you mature.It’s not about the age. It’s that pain. And only after going through all this, I realised, “Okay, I can’t suffer through this.” I am going out there to perform.Everyone has high expectations, but I have had to figure out what expectations work for me. The last year has been about working through all of this.You’ve copped a lot of online trolling. Over your performances, celebrations, tweets. How did you deal with it?
After last year, I decided to shut it out. There was a whole stand in certain stadiums that kept abusing me. That’s when I understood that you can’t really change someone’s opinion, no matter what you do. And how I look at life is not how someone else is going to look at it. If I see something that’s going on with a person but if I don’t know what they’re going through, I don’t really share my opinion on it. But that’s not how everyone sees it. Social media nowadays, even if you try to avoid it, you can’t, to be honest. Because if you open Instagram, you’ll just see something like that. You can just scroll [past] it, but there will be a thousand other posts. So you can’t really not see it. So I was just like, I might as well not open Instagram because I don’t need it.Parag’s best score in the 2024 IPL – 84 not out off 45 balls against Delhi Capitals – came while he was on painkillers and flu medication•Pankaj Nangia/Associated PressIt couldn’t have been easy?
It’s not easy. But then again, after last year, I had a chat with myself. And this sort of a comeback is personal because I had to put up with stuff I didn’t really deserve. Maybe I’ve lacked in preparation, maybe I’ve lacked in a few things, but then I’ve always put my best foot forward. I thought I didn’t deserve all the trolling, but what could I do? People are going to say things regardless. Last year they said I wasn’t good enough to play in the IPL. Now they want me in the Indian team. So people change, just like a switch.The abuse and trolling – when did it begin?
During the Covid IPL season [2020]. I was 19, I had a great start to the IPL [debut season in 2019]. You dance [Parag’s Bihu dance was a social-media hit], you’re active on social media, you’re doing well and everyone loves you for it. I got so much praise from people in Assam, who love me because I’m showcasing our culture there. And then when the runs didn’t come, they’re picking on you. I used to sit on my balcony and stare at the sea endlessly. It took a lot out of me. That’s why I say maturity comes with pain.On the field, you seem very intense now. You smile a lot less, your celebrations are muted. Is that a deliberate attempt to tone things down?
Earlier I wanted to be my absolute true self. That’s how I portrayed myself. But because I got so many negative responses from that, because I was not performing… I understood that, okay, I don’t have to do that. As the years have gone by, I’ve refrained a bit. Now I’m just so into my game and into what’s happening on that given day. I can’t really express myself even if I want to. I don’t look back to the crowds even if they are all rooting for me. I’m looking at the bowler, the captain, I’m looking to think about what I would do if I was captain. The way I view a game is different now.Kumar Sangakkara spoke very highly of your routines and mindset during the IPL. How has your relationship with him evolved – you’ve now worked together for four seasons?
Communication is key. A lot of players get shy [of speaking to coaches]. Sanga made it very clear from the first year that he was very easy to approach and I took that. I always went to him, spoke about cricket, spoke about life, spoke about golf and a lot of things. It’s been really great working with him in the last three-four years. He’s very open to suggestions. He is very keen on how you’re developing your game even beyond the IPL, for the ten months where no one’s watching you. He’s still checking on you, on what you’re doing, how you’re playing. It’s been great working with him. He’s a legend, but then he’s a great human being too.Royals captain Sanju Samson has given Parag more leadership roles this season: “The captain had faith in me to talk to the bowlers, change fields if required, bowl certain bowlers in high-pressure situations”•Samuel Rajkumar/BCCIThe shift from a finisher to No. 4 – tell us about that.
Personally, I always felt I was not doing justice to the Nos. 6-7 spots. But I also had to move on quickly and not keep giving excuses, even though people around me made me believe it’s a tough position since you don’t get too many balls to play. All of which was true. But if I kept living under that umbrella of excuses, I wouldn’t further my game. If someone plays three years in the same spot, he’s got to figure it out, and I couldn’t. I have no one else to blame but myself. I could have done more, and I did not. I got to know just after the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy that I’d bat at four in the IPL. I was batting there for Assam, so I had a fair idea of how to go about it, whether it’s 0 for 2 or 100 for 2. So yeah, No. 4 was very easy to accept, but then going out there and implementing it and getting results out of it – that’s the difference.Getting the spot you love must have also brought some pressure with it?
Whatever I’ve done in my career till now, it’s down to confidence and mental strength. I’m not the best, technically. My last domestic season was superb. I got runs in Deodhar Trophy, topped charts in Syed Mushtaq Ali. I was having a good Ranji season and then I got injured in the fourth game, two months before the IPL. I didn’t even touch a bat for a month. But the fact that I was able to go into the IPL with confidence is because of the preparation and the confidence of runs.Then when the season started, just before our second game, I was sick. I couldn’t move out of bed. But I’ve always been very strong mentally, and I didn’t want to let go of a golden chance [of getting to bat at No. 4] so easily. That innings against Delhi Capitals [Parag made an unbeaten 84 off 45 balls] was some sort of a momentum builder for me. A lot of people told me after that: don’t get complacent, don’t get satisfied. And I was thinking to myself: How am I going to get complacent? How am I going to get satisfied when I’ve had three years of nothing except abuse and negative energy? So this year I was going to play regardless of anything. I’ve had a fracture, I had a ligament injury, but I just played through because I was not going to leave it.You’ve spoken about your admiration for Sanju Samson. What is your relationship with him like?
We are really close. This year we got even closer because he asked me to be part of the leadership circle during the games. I looked out for him, I had to speak to bowlers, talk about fields and communicate with him. So I got a lot of [time in] charge this season, which made me feel really nice because the captain had faith in me to talk to the bowlers, change fields if required, bowl certain bowlers in high-pressure situations.”Whatever I’ve done in my career till now, it’s down to confidence and mental strength. I’m not the best, technically”•Vishal Bhatnagar/Getty ImagesI think we’ve gotten really close in the last six years. Sanju . I’ve always wanted to be something outside of cricket, and that’s how I found gaming, back in 2018-19. When I’m home I don’t even pick up books, don’t text anyone. I just don’t do anything. I go to the gym in the morning, come back, rest, practise, and once that’s done, there’s no one who can get me out of my chair. I just game, game, game and then go back to sleep and do the same thing the next day. I’m pretty good at it and that’s why I can’t game when I’m outside, because my set-up is here. I miss it a lot when I’m out on tour but when I’m home, the love is just unreal for gaming. I’ve now started playing the PubG PC version.Looking ahead, how does it feel to be recognised as a bit of a path-breaker from Assam?
Growing up, I always felt people from our region limit themselves from dreaming big. I’d like to change that. I’m not there [an international player] yet. I want to play for the country. Once I do, then people know they can have a pathway, a road map from one of their very own who got there. Now I’ve played in the IPL and there’s realisation from the people that even if you’re from a small state like Assam, you can get to that level. But the thing is, the IPL can’t be that big a goal. You can play for one year and fade away. But when I play for the country, when I make it to the country, I think that’s when the actual road map will be set. They don’t have to really follow it. They can have their own versions of it.

Time and time again this season, he is proving his doubters wrong with his control and variations

Deivarayan Muthu30-Apr-20242:29

Moody: Deshpande steps up in big moments

Jasprit Bumrah, Tushar Deshpande and T Natarajan. These are the three best Indian seamers, in terms of economy rate (min 150 balls) in IPL 2024.Tushar, really?Indeed, Deshpande, who had leaked runs at almost ten an over last season, has now brought his economy rate down to 8.65 in a season where average scores and run rates have shot through the roof.In such a season where even Chennai Super Kings have chopped and changed, the uncapped Deshpande is the only bowler to have played all nine games for them so far. Because he keeps levelling up.ESPNcricinfo LtdIn IPL 2021, Deshpande joined CSK as a net bowler. Having already played for Delhi Capitals, it was actually a stepdown for him. In three seasons at CSK, however, Deshpande has grown to become one of the main bowlers for them. Deshpande, like his franchise and Mumbai team-mate Shardul Thakur, has always had wicket-taking ability, but this season he’s also improved his defensive bowling so much that he is being picked ahead of the more experienced Thakur.Dew or no dew, Deshpande’s defensive skills have been central to CSK shutting down two big-hitting sides at Chepauk. On a dewy night against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Deshpande almost killed the chase single-handedly by taking three wickets in two overs in the powerplay. He had pushed slower balls wide outside off, creating a sharp angle from over the wicket, to have both Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma caught at sweeper cover, one of only two men out of the boundary.On another day, both hits might have sailed over Daryl Mitchell for six. But this was Deshpande’s day. He executed the plan and even gave Head a send-off. This is the payoff for dealing with immense pressure as a bowler in T20 cricket.The sample size is fairly small, but Head has managed just 14 off 10 balls that pitched wide outside off stump while being dismissed twice this season, according to ESPNcricinfo’s logs. It could’ve been three dismissals had Moeen Ali not dropped an edge at slip off a wide outswinger from Deepak Chahar when the two teams had met in Hyderabad earlier this month.In Chennai, CSK stationed one of their best fielders Mitchell on the off-side sweeper boundary, which was marginally bigger than the square boundary on the leg side, and MS Dhoni then adjusted Mitchell into a squarer sweeper position on the off side. On cue, Deshpande had Head losing his shape and carving a catch to Mitchell for 13 off seven balls.Tushar Deshpande has brought his economy down to 8.65 this season•AFP/Getty ImagesDeshpande came away with 4 for 27, his best IPL figures and the second-best IPL figures for a CSK seamer at Chepauk. But he understands that taking some tap is an occupational hazard of being a T20 bowler.”I think the most important thing is to be headstrong because knowing the fact that I bowl in the powerplay and death, some days can go against me and I may come out as a hero someday,” Deshpande told CSK’s social channels. “But on days that go against me, I’ve to be headstrong because that is the time that can make or break the game.”Bowling in the tough overs, most importantly you should have confidence and a lot of confidence in yourself. Even if one ball has not gone my way, I’ve got another five balls or 11 balls to make a difference for my team. So, that’s been my mindset always while bowling at the death because that is where the team requires me the most to deliver.”Related

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Against Kolkata Knight Riders, when there wasn’t as much dew, Deshpande bowled an acceptable wide yorker from around the wicket and had Andre Russell holing out to long-on for a run-a-ball 10. With a packed off-side field, Deshpande had challenged one of the biggest hitters in the world to drag the ball against the angle, into the leg side. But even Russell’s power wasn’t enough to clear the outfielder.Bravo used to do it back in the day for CSK. Deny batters the angle and length to access sixes. Deshpande is now doing the job for them, with help from Bravo behind the scenes.”[He was] a phenomenal bowler in his time and now an absolutely amazing coach to us,” Deshpande said of Bravo. “I think to all of us [bowlers] because his experience is so vast. He has played T20 cricket, international cricket in all parts of the world. So, the planning and preparation that he’s got and what he gives us is just amazing.”He always focusses on practice, which we’re going to do in the match. So, he emphaises on perfect practice. And we always practice like we’re going to bowl in the match, be it death overs, using the angles, according to some batters. So, that’s where I can grow as a player and try to be something like Dwayne Bravo.”Tushar Deshpande finished with figures of 3-0-27-4 against Sunrisers’ heavy hitters•BCCINine of Deshpande’s ten wickets have come at Chennai this season. Chepauk has traditionally favoured spin but seamers with solid defensive traits have also had considerable success at this venue. Like Bravo of course or Mohit Sharma. Deshpande had started his T20 career as an aggressive bowler in the T20 Mumbai tournament, but is now refashioning himself into a defensive bowler, using the boundary dimensions and pitch conditions to his advantage.”Tushar has taken to what is needed,” CSK coach Stephen Fleming said on Tuesday. “In some ways, he has simplified his game and he’s worked with Eric Simons [bowling consultant] and is becoming repetitively good and he has added other parts to it [his game] rather than be everything. He just knows his game well. He’s had a good domestic season, and that form has continued for us. Some of his figures this year have been very, very good.”Deshpande, however, still has his limitations – only four other bowlers have conceded more extras (26) than him this IPL and he is far from a safe catcher in the outfield – but his ability to bowl across phases has earned the trust of the team management. He has also given CSK the flexibility to often backload the overs of Matheesha Pathirana and Mustafizur Rahman.In IPL 2023, Deshpande got an opportunity to play only because of injuries to other bowlers. He ended up as their highest wicket-taker. Despite that, not many expected him to start this season for CSK. He is proving people wrong once again, this time with his control and variations.Stats updated till the end of KKR vs DC game on April 29

He only got limited game-time with Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2024, but showed once more why India value him so highly

Deivarayan Muthu10-Jul-20241:07

Washington: ‘Need to get better at all aspects’

Washington Sundar isn’t usually a big celebrator of wickets, but on Wednesday against Zimbabwe in Harare, he celebrated each of his three wickets with gusto. And after winning the Player-of-the-Match award for his 3 for 15 in four overs, he let his emotions show once again.”Feels amazing,” he said with a big smile.Washington had had little reason to smile during IPL 2024. runs and wickets in all of two games. Rookie Nitish Kumar Reddy displaced him as Sunrisers Hyderabad’s first-choice allrounder, and the likes of Shahbaz Ahmed and Vijayakanth Viyaskanth were preferred ahead of him with the ball.Related

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Abhishek Sharma's territory is expanding

Fielding makes the difference as India go 2-1 up against Zimbabwe

Despite his forgettable IPL season, India’s management reportedly put in a last-minute request to the selectors to include Washington in their 2024 T20 World Cup squad. Washington eventually lost out to Axar Patel, who is now India’s first-choice spin-bowling allrounder in T20Is following Ravindra Jadeja’s retirement from the format.Washington was then back in the mix for the five-match T20I series in Zimbabwe. Across three games so far, he has shown why India keep going back to him: apart from R Ashwin, he is the only bowler in the country who can bowl accurate offspin as well as contribute with the bat.His laser-like accuracy with the ball shut down Zimbabwe’s chase of 183. He was brought into the attack immediately after the powerplay, when Sikandar Raza was itching to break free. But Washington kept the stumps in play and forced Raza to manufacture a sweep and hole out to one of the bigger pockets of the ground at deep midwicket for 15 off 16 balls.Then, with a left-hander to work with, Washington dangled up a big-turning offbreak to Johnathan Campbell from around the wicket and drew an outside edge, which substitute Riyan Parag held onto at first slip. Zimbabwe were 39 for 5 in seven overs, and Washington tightened the screws even further thereafter, getting the ball to both turn and bounce on a grippy, two-paced pitch.Washington Sundar is now the joint-highest wicket-taker in this Zimbabwe-India T20I series, with six at an average of 9.00•Associated PressWashington is largely a dart-it-in spinner in T20 cricket, but he sussed out the Harare conditions quickly and bowled Test-match-style offbreaks with more revs on the ball. At one point, the broadcaster put up a graphic showing the average turn achieved by India’s spinners. Washington had generated 2.5 degrees of turn on average, in comparison to wristspinner Ravi Bishnoi’s 2.3 degrees and left-arm fingerspinner Abhishek Sharma’s 0.8 degrees.After spending much of IPL 2024 on the bench, Washington returned to Chennai and shook off the ring rust by turning out for his club in the TNCA first-division league. He wheeled away for 112 overs across three games, picking up seven wickets.”I’ve been preparing on my own terms though I wasn’t playing a lot of games,” Washington said after the third T20I in Harare. “I knew for a fact that, or I believed for a fact that, it would pay off whenever it has to. It has been good so far in this series.”By the time Washington returned to the attack in the 17th over, Dion Myers and Clive Madande were mounting a fightback of sorts, but he ended it by pushing one wide of off. The wide line messed with Madande’s shape and had him dragging a slog-sweep to deep midwicket. Washington came away with career-best T20I figures, which were also his third-best in terms of economy rate in games where he has bowled his full allotment of four overs.Washington refused to pick the wicket that he enjoyed the most but provided a peek into his plans. “I knew Sikandar Raza was always going to go big right from the first ball and I’m glad to have gotten him out,” he said. “But this one [Campbell wicket]… just before that ball, Riyan told me it would be good if he could get a catch. He came in as a substitute and it was great for me to execute it that way. Even the last one, I really wanted to take it wide because I knew he [Madande] was looking to go big on the on side.”Washington the lower-order batter is still a work in progress. He had shown glimpses of his big-hitting and inventiveness in the Christchurch ODI in 2022 and in the Ranchi T20I, also against New Zealand, in 2023. However, more recently, in the T20I series opener in Harare, he failed to finish a chase on a two-paced track.Washington made his white-ball debut for India in 2017, and has missed five World Cups since due to injury, lack of form, or competition for places. But with Jadeja retiring from T20Is and an ageing Ashwin no longer in India’s T20I plans, 2026 could finally be Washington’s time, especially if he stays fit and adds more power to his batting.

True to form, the 2-0 win in Pakistan came against a backdrop of strife and adversity

Mohammad Isam13-Sep-2024Najmul Hossain Shanto was on his way to the elevator. He had just finished the tour’s final press conference, after leading the side to their maiden Test series win against Pakistan. Bangladesh had completed the six-wicket victory by mid-afternoon on the fifth day. It left them a bit of a breather between arguably their greatest moment in Tests and their evening flight home.The staff and security personnel in the media centre had taken selfies with the Bangladesh captain, and he was walking, relaxed, taking in the compliments. Then the question.”Shanto, what is the secret to this 2-0 win?””One word: belief,” Shanto said, his hand on his heart.Bangladesh went to Pakistan after the T20 World Cup, where they meekly surrendered to Afghanistan in the Super Eight. Their fans turned their backs on them; the rest of the world lost interest. Bangladesh found themselves, ironically, in the kind of position that Pakistan have always prided themselves on fighting their way out of – that of the cornered tiger.Related

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Litton toasts 'big achievement for Bangladesh cricket'; Mehidy dedicates win to student protestors

Bangladesh have a history of motivating themselves to rise after their worst moments. On an awful tour of England in 2005, where they were battered on the field and blasted by cricket’s greats off it, they summoned all their energy and emotion to beat mighty Australia. There was no cricketing or worldly explanation for that Cardiff game; it was one of cricket’s great miracles.Three years later, when a significant group of Bangladeshi cricketers signed up for the rebel Indian Cricket League tournament, Bangladesh cricket was in tatters. They handed debuts to a few youngsters. The public doubted whether the team could ever win again, but they did, managing to beat New Zealand in their first ODI after the exodus.This pattern has been common enough over the last 15 years or so, and it marked the Rawalpindi wins too. Bangladesh arrived in Pakistan on the back of a prolonged run of poor results, including two disastrous World Cups. In the weeks leading up to the tour, the cricketers lived through a violent revolution at home, many leaving for Pakistan after having defended their homes from dacoits and looters, and having suffered losses of various kinds. There was no cricket board to speak of; the BCB’s president and several directors went into hiding after the Awami League government resigned early in August.Shanto had his work cut out, but he had at his disposal two veterans, a couple of Test specialists, an encouraging group of fast bowlers, an able wicketkeeper, and a hungry allrounder. Off the field it was an interesting mix. Bangladesh’s head coach, Chandika Hathurusinghe, had faced criticism, and chief selector Gazi Ashraf Hossain had only returned to the BCB earlier in the year after a decade in administrative hiatus. At least Rabeed Imam, the experienced manager, brought a calming presence.One of the things Shanto was especially pleased about was the team-first ethos that marked the tour. He called it one of the hallmarks of the series win. Every batter who got a start made sure he capitalised, in terms of time spent at the wicket, or runs scored. The fast bowlers pounded in all day as a pack.”In the past, we have had many individual performances in the team,” Shanto told ESPNcricinfo in Rawalpindi. “This time, every player contributed to the team’s exact requirement. They thought about the team first. They were only worried about the team. Nobody looked for personal milestones.Shanto (third from right) embraces Litton Das after the win in the second Test•Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Getty Images”The way Mushfiq [Rahim] bhai played during his 191 in the first Test, you could see that he wanted to bat a little more for the team. When Mehidy [Hasan Miraz] made 78 in the second Test, he didn’t think about his century. He had gone out to bat at 26 for 6. It was clear that he wanted to take the team to a better position.”Look at how Litton [Das] batted for so long with Hasan Mahmud. Even after scoring 138, he felt like he could have given more.”Nahid Rana bowled fast all day. Hasan Mahmud held a spot all day. Taskin [Ahmed] returned after a long time – he is trying hard for the team. Everyone is supporting the bowlers. The one who drops a catch gets a pat on the back. It was a great environment. I know that winning a match always brings out positives. I know that big performances become famous. They are talked about. But these small factors were effective for the team.”A member of the touring party who requested anonymity echoed the captain’s sentiments. “Bangladesh were a treat to watch on this tour,” he said. “There’s a definite change in mindset among the younger lot. We had to take nine wickets on the fifth day [of the first Test] when Shoriful [Islam] told everyone loud and clear that we will win the game. It showed that he had the desire [and was ready to work to make it come true].”Mehidy had a huge role. He bowled beautifully, and then made those telling contributions from No 8. The way he looked hungry and eager to be in the wicket safter his half-century in the second Test, it gave a different vibe to the team. When we [came back into] the contest from 26 for 6, it added a new dimension to this team.”We don’t do these kinds of things. The incredible partnership between Litton and Mehidy suggested to the whole dressing room that we can turn the game from any situation.”

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Having the right attitude paid off for the Bangladesh batters, who, more than their bowling counterparts, had had an ordinary year in all three formats. So when openers Shadman Islam and Zakir Hasan fought hard in the first innings of the series, it sent a strong message to the dressing room.New blood: Bangladesh’s exciting young fast bowler Nahid Rana•Farooq Naeem/AFP/Getty Images”The majority of the pre-tour preparation was simply focused on making better decisions consistently in the nets,” batting coach David Hemp said. “Being clear about which balls to attack, defend or leave, coupled with judging length – whether to move forward or back.”[Shadman and Zakir] approach the way they bat and their individual innings in different ways, and as such, both had their own particular areas that they were working on pre-series. However, decision-making is vital, and as a batting group we discussed the importance of time and making the opposition bowlers come back for four-plus spells. This was something that we identified after the Sri Lanka series in March.”Shadman and Zakir eked out 250 balls across their opening stands in the series, the most by a Bangladeshi opening pair in an overseas series in more than five years. It gave the middle order less to worry about and more to build on. Between Mushfiqur Rahim, Mominul Haque and Shakib Al Hasan there was just the one century and one half-century, but those three players made valuable contributions on and off the field.Thankfully, Litton and Mehidy stepped up in both Tests. Litton’s taking the attack to Naseem Shah in the first Test – off whom he scored 18 runs in an over at the end of the third day – blunted Pakistan, and then he put on that epic 165-run stand with Mehidy that changed the course of the second Test.”Litton is a very talented and experienced all-round player,” Hemp said. “What was impressive was his discipline and patience to absorb pressure, and then additionally his awareness to exert pressure the other way by attacking the bowling at key moments.”Mehidy again made significant contributions at critical moments with the bat. He is naturally an attacking player, which is a big strength, so it can be a challenge to navigate what to do in certain situations, but this series his decision-making and approach was outstanding.”Opener Zakir Hasan was, along with his partner Shadman Islam, a key contributor to Bangladesh’s series success•Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Getty Images

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Shanto’s on-field presence was noticeable, though his batting form continued to suffer in Pakistan – even if his final innings in the series suggested it might be returning. But there was a spring in his step, and his was often the loudest voice on the field. He spoke to his bowlers regularly, and he was proactive in changing them around. He stuck to his plans and did not shy away from attacking Pakistan’s best batters. Shanto’s clever use of spinners on two occasions – the fifth day of the first Test and the first day of the second – was also impressive. Often, he kept the slip cordon intact but also employed in-and-out fields for set batters. Overall, he and Hathurusinghe read the conditions better than Pakistan.”I am in the slips for a while, then I am at mid-on or mid-off at other times,” Shanto said. “My fielding position depends on who is bowling. Sometimes it is hard to speak to Nahid Rana from the slips. I spend time next to him, to give him instructions. Once he gets it, I can field anywhere. Sometimes I have to stay there for Hasan Mahmud. I don’t have to do the same for Taskin. I thought the bowlers gave me exactly what I wanted from them.”He now possesses arguably Bangladesh’s best bowling attack in years, fast bowlers who can win him matches, and two of the world’s leading spinners. But Shanto’s future as the captain isn’t all rosy. His brief when he was handed the captaincy last November was to take Bangladesh cricket into the future. Stating it that way elides the fact that it will be a future without a golden generation of players who defined Bangladesh cricket – the likes of Shakib and Mushfiqur, Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah.

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One of the more unusual things about this tour was the lack of influences from outside the team. For years, it had been common practice for the former board president, Nazmul Hassan, and some BCB directors to travel on tours. They would sit in on team meetings and talk to players and coaching staff every now and then, in the team hotels and elsewhere.This time, however, it was different. Hassan and several board directors with political ties haven’t been seen in public since August 5. Hassan stepped down as president on August 21, and the head of cricket operations, Jalal Yunus, resigned the day before. The team left Bangladesh with the country in chaos, but once in Pakistan, the team focused on the task at hand.”In the team, everyone knew their specific roles,” said Imam, the team manager. “They knew what was expected of them. It was a very cricket-centric tour. We basically stuck to training, matches and hotel. We had our rooms side by side and on the same floor. It created an atmosphere of togetherness. They spent their spare time with each other. It was good to see that cricket was the only thought during a tour.We’ll always have Rawalpindi: old-timers Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib al Hasan seal the deal•Associated Press”News did come through but the focus never wavered. The coaches and support staff, we tried to make them comfortable. We were together all the time. There were no distractions. Rather, we received a lot of encouragement from the board and from home.”That resulted in a relaxed atmosphere, despite the new board chief’s criticism of Hathurusinghe, and Shakib being accused of a murder during the student protests.Not that things didn’t get tense in the dressing room. Rabeed, who has worked at the BCB for close to two decades, spoke of how he got to pacing when the team fell to 26 for 6 in the second Test.”I wasn’t feeling comfortable anywhere. I didn’t feel like standing or sitting anywhere. I was thinking of going towards the dugout. When I was coming down the dressing room stairs, Miraz hit a boundary. He struck one more, and then I just sat midway down the stairs. I decided to sit there throughout [Mehidy and Litton’s] 165-run partnership.

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Given the side has eight Tests from August through December, the BCB sent the high-performance team to Australia and the Bangladesh A team to Pakistan in advance to prepare. Several of the Test squad members, like Mushfiqur and Mominul, played for the A team in Islamabad ahead of the first Test. The Test team ultimately had to rely on six days of practice in Lahore and Rawalpindi, but they were well prepared and acclimated to the conditions.Shanto: “I think such a moment has never come in Bangladesh team’s history. Cricketers look for references. Now we have one”•Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Getty ImagesIf Shanto felt vindicated after winning the first Test he looked relieved and content after the second, posting a photo of himself asleep next to the trophy. He reflected later that no matter what direction the team took from there on, they will always have this 2-0 result in Pakistan.”It feels great when you are winning. It is important to enjoy these moments. I think such a moment has never come in Bangladesh team’s history. Cricketers look for references. Now we have one. We know that we have the ability to win abroad.”The next time we play, I don’t know about the result, but we will surely have the belief that we can win. I said the same thing in the press conference on the first day [when asked about Bangladesh’s dismal record in Pakistan] that records are meant to be broken.”It was from my belief after seeing how hard the players worked. The way they showed hunger for the team, it gave me the belief. Results can vary in these situations. If we can stick to this process, work hard, we can do even better.”Bangladesh have had many false dawns. In fact, the win in the first Test of this series seemed like one. But they followed it up with another great effort in the second, a first overseas clean sweep, 15 years after their last. But unlike that 2-0 win against a depleted West Indies side, Rawalpindi has provided them with a blueprint for overseas success.They have a reference. And they also now have the belief.

And which Test captain was married on the same day as his twin sister, but on a different continent?

Steven Lynch20-Aug-2024Shamar Joseph took a five-for in the second Test at Providence. What are the best bowling figures by a Guyanese bowler in a Test in Guyana? asked Ravindra Persaud from Jamaica
Shamar Joseph collected 5 for 33 in the first innings of the second Test against South Africa in Providence last week. Joseph, who comes from the remote village of Baracara in the west, is only the second Guyanese bowler to take a Test five-for in the country, after the great offspinner Lance Gibbs, who did it three times, at the Bourda ground in Georgetown: 6 for 29 against Australia in 1964-65, 6 for 60 vs England in 1967-68, and 5 for 80 vs Pakistan in 1957-58.There have also been 13 five-fors by visiting bowlers: the best figures of all were the Australian captain Ian Johnson’s 7 for 44 at Bourda in 1955. For the full list of the best innings figures in Tests in Guyana, click here.Which Test captain was married on the same day as his twin sister, but on a different continent? asked Bryan Marriott from Trinidad

Your location was useful here, as the answer is Trinidad’s Jackie Grant, a member of the family who owned the Geddes Grant trading company. After studying at Cambridge University, Grant captained West Indies in all his 12 Tests in the 1930s before devoting himself to teaching and missionary work around the world. His brother, Rolph Grant, succeeded him as West Indies’ captain.Jackie Grant married Ida Russell in Southern Rhodesia in 1932, on the same day as his sister tied the knot halfway round the world in Canada. The 1980 book Jack Grant’s Story gives the details: “We fixed our wedding date for 9th May, 1932 – my birthday. It so happened that my twin, Jill, had also planned to be married in May. When she learned that I had chosen 9th May, she decided that her wedding would also be on the 9th. Thus Jack and Jill were married on the same day – Jack in Bulawayo and Jill in Toronto.”Is Tharaka Kottehewa the only man to take two hat-tricks in the same innings in a List A match? asked Nirmal Mendis from Sri Lanka

The Nondescripts medium-pacer Tharaka Kottehewa took his two hat-tricks in Ragama’s innings of 92 at the Moors club in Colombo in Sri Lanka’s Premier one-day tournament in December 2007. Kottehewa finished with 8 for 20, still the fourth-best figures in all List A (senior one-day) matches.You’re right in thinking that no one else has taken two hat-tricks in the same List A game. The Australian fast bowler Graham McKenzie took two for Leicestershire in 1972, about six weeks apart, and the Bangladesh seamer Rubel Hossain took two in the space of five matches in 2013-14, one in an ODI against New Zealand in Mirpur. The Sussex fast bowler Billy Taylor also took two in the space of six weeks in 2002.Only four bowlers have taken three List A hat-tricks during their career: Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga (all in ODIs), the Pakistan pair of Saqlain Mushtaq (two in ODIs) and Wasim Akram (two in ODIs in Sharjah in 1989-90), and India’s left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav (two in ODIs, and one for India A).Apart from those mentioned above, ten others have taken two List A hat-tricks: Trent Boult (both in ODIs for New Zealand, in 2018-19 and 2019), Andy Caddick (1996 and 2000-01), Darren Gough (for Yorkshire in 1997 and 1998), Nantie Hayward (for Eastern Province in 1996-97 and 1998-99), another South African fast bowler in Garth Le Roux (1982-83 and 1985), Sri Lanka’s Farveez Maharoof (in an ODI in 2010 and a domestic match in 2015-16), Bangladesh’s Mohammad Sharif (2016 and 2017-18), Graham Napier (for Essex in 2011 and 2013), Gurinder Sandhu (in Australia in 2018-19 and 2021-22), the West Indian fast bowler Jerome Taylor (in a Champions Trophy game in 2006 and a county game in 2017) and Sri Lanka’s Chaminda Vaas (both in ODIs, in 2001-02 and the other in the 2003 World Cup). For the list of List A hat-tricks, click here.Steve Waugh took 244 Test innings to get to 10,000 runs•Getty ImagesWho was the fastest to reach 10,000 runs in Tests? asked Rajendra Krishnan from India

The answer to this depends on how you calculate it. The fastest to 10,000 Test runs in terms of time is England’s Joe Root, who needed only nine years and 171 days to reach five figures. He’s the only one to do it in less than ten years. His long-time England team-mate Alastair Cook is next, at ten years 87 days.Probably a better way to look at this is to consider the number of innings each batter took. Of the 14 men to have made it to 10,000, Root and Cook stand 10th and 11th by that measure. There’s a three-way tie for top spot, as Brian Lara (West Indies), Sachin Tendulkar (India) and Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) all got there in 195 innings, while Australia’s Ricky Ponting took 196. The slowest to 10,000 by that yardstick was another Australian, Steve Waugh (244 innings), while the slowest by time was the West Indian Shivnarine Chanderpaul, at 18 years 37 days. For the list, click here (note that the times shown there are from the day of debut to the start date of the match in which they passed 10,000).Who has scored the most first-class runs without ever playing in a Test match? asked Kevin Richards from Scotland

The answer to this one is, oddly, slightly complicated! The Glamorgan left-hand opener Alan Jones piled up 36,049 runs in a 26-year first-class career – but he never played an official Test match. However, he did play for England against the Rest of the World at Lord’s in June 1970, which was marketed as a Test at the time but was later ruled unofficial. Many years later, Jones was presented with England cap number 696, so features in the official list of England Test players.If you include Jones, then the man with the most runs who remained uncapped is Sussex’s John Langridge, who finished his equally long career in 1955 with 34,378. He did later stand in seven Tests as an umpire. For the list of the batters with the most first-class runs, click here.And there’s an update to last week’s question about bowlers taking caught-and-bowleds with successive deliveries in Tests, from James Tiver in Australia

“The Australian legspinner Jimmy Matthews also had two consecutive caught-and-bowleds, in his second hat-trick against South Africa at Old Trafford in 1912. He got the two hat-tricks all by himself – two bowled, two lbw and two caught and bowled!”You’re right that Matthews’ second hat-trick in the match in the Triangular Tournament included successive caught-and-bowleds – South Africa’s Reggie Schwarz (low to the bowler’s right) then the unfortunate Tommy Ward, who marked his debut by becoming the third victim of both Matthews’ hat-tricks. According to the Manchester Guardian: “Ward played his first ball exactly as Schwarz had done, and cocked it up. The ball, however, was hit so gently that for an instant no-one thought of a catch. Then one saw a nimble little figure flying up the pitch and making a frantic dive with both hands for the ball. Matthews went tumbling over, and it was not until he had flung the ball wildly in the air that the onlookers could believe that he had made the catch.”I’m sorry we missed Matthews last week, but it still means there are only three known instances – and none since 1912 – of caught-and-bowleds off successive balls in Tests before slow left-armer Jomel Warrican did it for West Indies against South Africa in Port-of-Spain earlier this month.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

World-beater, advocate, wife and mother, Sciver-Brunt keeps building her allrounder role

Valkerie Baynes29-Apr-2025Nat Sciver-Brunt has the chance to paint a ‘back in business’ sign on the England Women’s team HQ, as opposed to occasionally flipping the hastily scribbled ‘back soon’ note with which she has had to work in her previous appearances as captain.By all accounts, Sciver-Brunt’s transition to the role as full-time skipper, announced on Tuesday, will be as subtle and straightforward as that.Sciver-Brunt seemed the predictable if not clear-cut choice after Heather Knight’s nine-year tenure came to an end as part of England’s post-Ashes-failure reset, even if no one really seemed to covet the role as Knight’s successor.Both are built in a similar leadership mould, vastly experienced and the best players in the team. Neither would be remotely near the loudest person at a big gathering, yet the calm control underpinning their game is a prized quality at the highest level.But Sciver-Brunt must succeed where Knight has failed since the 2017 World Cup to win major trophies – including Ashes series, which England last won in 2014 under the captaincy of Charlotte Edwards, who is now the new England Women’s head coach.Related

• Knight's inglorious exit exposes limits of England women's evolution

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• Where it went wrong for Jon Lewis and where to now for England Women

The reunion of Edwards and Sciver-Brunt, who worked together when Mumbai Indians secured their second WPL title in three years in March, faces the task of turning around a squad which has seen their fitness questioned after struggling dismally to match Australia’s athleticism during the Ashes and faced cultural issues amid that humbling 16-points-to-nil defeat and the group-stage exit at the T20 World Cup which preceded it.In some ways, it’s harsh to judge Sciver-Brunt on previous stints as stand-in captain, given the temporary and contingency nature of those appearances. But, this is international sport and that’s all there is to judge, especially as she has served as Knight’s deputy for the past three years for precisely that reason: that she may be called upon to lead.Most recently, Sciver-Brunt had to step in mid-match at the T20 World Cup in Dubai when Knight injured her calf muscle while running between the wickets against West Indies. A shocking performance from England in the field ensued, with then-coach Jon Lewis even coming out during a drinks break, trying in vain to restore some composure before his team lost and were knocked out of the tournament as a result.Further back, Sciver-Brunt captained England at their home Commonwealth Games in 2022 after Knight suffered a serious hip injury in the lead-up. England won three of their five matches but crucially lost their semi-final to India and the bronze-medal playoff against New Zealand. While Sciver-Brunt played a stablising role with the bat in both those defeats, tempers frayed elsewhere, with wife Katherine reprimanded and handed a demerit point for using an audible obscenity when she had a catch dropped off her bowling in the India game. Sophie Ecclestone then hit the back of a chair in frustration after her dismissal against New Zealand.Nat Sciver-Brunt pulled out of the home series against India which followed, citing the need to focus on her mental health and wellbeing.
Amy Jones took over in the interim and, after Knight and Sciver-Brunt returned, joined them as part of the team’s leadership group along with Ecclestone.Jones’s self-confessed discomfort in taking the role, and Ecclestone’s spat with former team-mate turned commentator Alex Hartley during the Ashes only added to Sciver-Brunt’s status as Knight’s most likely successor, not to mention the fact that Sciver-Brunt has been England’s star for some time.Named ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year for 2022 and 2023, Sciver-Brunt currently sits third in the ICC’s world ODI batting rankings. She has represented her country 259 times across formats, averaging 46.47 in Tests, 45.91 in ODIs and 28.45 in IT20s, whilst also taking 181 international wickets.She was England’s second-highest run-scorer after Knight and third overall behind Australia’s Beth Mooney during the 2024-25 Ashes and ended as the leading run-scorer at this year’s WPL with 523 runs, becoming the competition’s first player to reach 1,000 runs.Her appointment – rather than England opting for one of the more left-field suggestions in budding allrounder Charlie Dean or uncapped former Under-19 skipper Grace Scrivens – has echoes of Australia’s approach to captaincy, choosing the best player as leader and watching success grow from there. But her leadership on some key issues off the field are well worth noting too, in their own right and for their potential to galvanise her confidence when she needs to be centre of attention.By joining a powerful contingent of high-profile players leading by example in prioritising their mental health – team-mate Kate Cross, New Zealand ODI captain Sophie Devine, former Australia captain Meg Lanning and Pakistan great Nida Dar have all put their wellbeing before the game at various times in their careers – she has added her voice to theirs in normalising discussion around mental health in elite sport.Sciver-Brunt also opened up about missing the start of England’s home series against Pakistan last May to recover after having her eggs frozen as she and Katherine planned to start a family. And, when Nat was named as the new England captain, she was on maternity leave – Katherine gave birth to their son, Theodore, in March – joining a growing number of players combining motherhood with an athletic career.World-beater, advocate, wife and mother, Sciver-Brunt keeps extending her allrounder role. Now she just has to throw captain into the mix.

Cummins has dismissed Rohit in each of the last three IPL matches and also in the last five innings across formats

Omkar Mankame22-Apr-20255:24

Pujara: Surprised Cummins hasn’t bowled much with the new ball

Match 33, Wankhede, IPL 2025 – c: T Head b: Cummins 26 (16)Rohit was off to a promising start, hitting three sixes in his first 13 balls. The third of those was a pick-up shot off Cummins that sailed into the stands. However, two balls later, he hit a low full toss straight to cover, falling to Cummins for the fourth time in the IPL.4th Test, Melbourne, 2024 – c: Boland b: Cummins 3 (5) and c: Marsh b: Cummins 9 (40)Rohit’s move back to the top of the order in the Border Gavaskar Trophy did not change his fortunes. In the first innings, Cummins needed just three deliveries to dismiss the opposition captain, with Rohit failing to execute his favourite pull shot cleanly and mistiming a top edge. He showed greater patience in the second innings, but as the pressure mounted, his first aggressive stroke once again led to his downfall.Pat Cummins removed Rohit Sharma in both innings of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne•Getty Images3rd Test, Brisbane, 2024 – c: Carey+ b: Cummins 10 (44)Batting in the middle order, Rohit walked out in a perilous situation – India 44 for 4 in reply to Australia’s 445 all out in the first innings. After 16 deliveries, he found his first boundary with a cover drive off Cummins, but the bowler struck back soon after by forcing an outside edge. The duo didn’t come face-to-face in the second innings, with India’s innings cut short by rain.2nd Test, Adelaide, 2024 – b: Cummins 6 (15)After missing the first Test, Rohit, not wanting to disrupt the opening combination, slotted himself into the middle-order for the day-night Test. Scott Boland trapped him lbw in the first innings, and in the second, Cummins knocked over his off stump with the pink ball under lights.A hat-trick in the IPLWhen Cummins dismissed Rohit earlier this season, it was the third successive time he got the MI batter out in the IPL. Cummins had dismissed the former MI batter both times last season.Pat Cummins got rid of Rohit Sharma in both of SRH’s games against MI in IPL 2024•Associated PressMatch 55, Wankhede, IPL 2024 – c: Klaasen b: Cummins 4 (5)Last year in Mumbai, Cummins needed only two deliveries to send back the MI batter. Rohit closed the bat face early against a length ball, and the resulting leading edge went up high in the night sky before settling into the wicketkeeper’s gloves.Match 8, Hyderabad, IPL 2024 – c: Abhishek b: Cummins 26 (12)With a mammoth target of 278 in front, Rohit had no option but to go for boundaries. He picked Cummins’ first ball to hit him for a six over midwicket but failed to control the pull shot on the following delivery and was caught at deep fine leg.

Former Australia opener and Victoria coach Chris Rogers believes both are capable of playing for Australia in the future after promising Sheffield Shield showings

Alex Malcolm11-Mar-2025Former Australia Test opener and current Victoria coach Chris Rogers cut a frustrated figure at the Junction Oval on Sunday evening following his side’s fourth straight Sheffield Shield loss. But his exasperated tone quickly changed when talking about the performances of two of his young batters in Harry Dixon and Campbell Kellaway in the four-wicket loss to South Australia.Kellaway, 22, top-scored in both innings on a tricky surface with scores of 79 and 77 in a game where the three other openers in the match combined for scores of 0, 0, 1, 19, 1 and 66.Dixon, 20, produced a stunning counter-attacking 76 in the second innings, his highest first-class score in just his third game, after watching a collapse of 5 for 20 from the non-striker’s end to ensure Victoria had a 300-run target to defend. He had been unlucky to be dismissed lbw for 0 in the first innings to a delivery that looked to have both pitched and struck his pad outside the line of leg stump.Related

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Victoria do not currently have a batting representative in Australia’s Test top seven and did not have a single batter selected on the recent tour of Sri Lanka. They have produced fewer Test batters in the last 30 years than any state in Australian domestic cricket.Rogers, who played 24 of his 25 Tests for Australia while representing Victoria having started his career in Western Australia, hopes both Kellaway and Dixon are prospects capable of turning that drought around.”Kellaway has been a work in progress for a number of years,” Rogers told ESPNcricinfo. “I think he’s played 29 first-class games now, and those two innings, I think, were probably his two best innings. They’re not his highest innings, but the way he went about it, the areas he scored, the tempo he went at, that looked like a player who could go on and open the batting for Australia.”And Harry Dixon, I think it’s a talent that everyone in Victorian cricket has been pretty excited about. And when you see a guy farming the strike and smacking the ball up onto the hill with all the fielders on the boundary, you get pretty excited about that.”

“He plays a style of cricket that’s not dissimilar to a lot of players that are coming through and it’s a bit more like Travis Head and Davey Warner. He can kind of hit that ball off the top of the stumps, the waist-high delivery, in front of square on both the off side and the leg side. I remember standing down the other end from Davey Warner when he would do that thinking how the hell have you managed to hit that ball there, when there’s no way I could. And Harry has that skill.”Victoria coach Chris Rogers on Harry Dixon

Dixon’s 76 off 86 balls featured six fours and five sixes and he scored 74 of them with the tail after Victoria slumped from 161 for 2 to 181 for 7. He smashed Australia Test squad member Brendan Doggett for consecutive sixes including one out of the ground with three men back on the fence on the leg side. The left-hander has been one of the least talked about talents to come from Australia’s 2024 Under-19 World Cup winning team.Chris Rogers played 25 Tests for Australia between 2008 and 2015•Getty ImagesWhile all of the recent attention has been focused on Sam Konstas after his extraordinary rise to Test cricket, it has been forgotten that Dixon comfortably outperformed Konstas at Under-19 level as his opening partner. Dixon was Australia’s leading runscorer in the World Cup posting three half-centuries and a vital 42 in the final. He dominated the 2023 Under-19 Ashes tour scoring two Youth Test centuries. He scored another Youth ODI century in early 2023 against England smashing 148 off 125 balls in Brisbane.Despite a desire to be an opener in all formats like his idol David Warner, Rogers sees him more in the Travis Head mould in red-ball cricket at least.”As a junior he’s been a top-order batter but that’s because I would have said he’s almost solely played one-day cricket, because that’s what you do playing junior cricket,” Rogers said.”Red-ball cricket is a bit different. He probably looks at the moment a bit more of someone the opposition doesn’t really want coming in that middle-order when the ball is a bit older and a bit softer and doing less because he can change the game in an hour or so. He plays a style of cricket that’s not dissimilar to a lot of players that are coming through and it’s a bit more like Travis Head and Davey Warner.”He can kind of hit that ball off the top of the stumps, the waist-high delivery, in front of square on both the off side and the leg side. I remember standing down the other end from Davey Warner when he would do that thinking how the hell have you managed to hit that ball there, when there’s no way I could. And Harry has that skill.”What I like too is he can score through the leg side when he needs to but he’s also really good through the off side. And technically I don’t think you touch him. I think he’s pretty much what he’s going to be. He’ll obviously learn the game, but the game will teach him. He’s someone to be very excited about, I think, for Victoria and for Australia.”Campbell Kellaway is having a break out season in 2024-25•Getty ImagesWhile Dixon looks ready made as a first-class middle-order player, Kellaway has been a slower burn at the top of the order. He began his first-class career in November 2022 and bounced around Victoria’s middle-order without ever nailing down a position despite being selected to play three matches for Australia A in 2023 after playing just five first-class matches and scoring only two half-centuries.He started the 2024-25 Shield season at No. 3 and made 55 on a difficult MCG pitch against a New South Wales attack that featured Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon in October and made 80 against ladder leaders South Australia at Adelaide Oval. He was moved up to open in the game against Queensland and made his maiden first-class century, scoring 122 in the second innings at the Gabba to help Victoria win after conceding a 111-run first innings deficit. He also posted his maiden List A century against NSW last month scoring 117* off 101 balls to help Victoria chase 311 inside 38 overs to qualify for the Dean Jones Trophy Final.Rogers has seen a development in his batting this season that goes beyond just technical improvement.”He hits more balls than anybody I’ve ever seen, and that’s quite something because I’ve seen the likes of [Steve] Smith and co,” Rogers said. “But he probably has worked, I think, predominantly on technical stuff, which has always been a bit of work in progress. But of late, it’s been more around how he’s been needing to play, especially opening the batting.”I know he’s batted No. 3, but open the batting it can be really tricky. And we’ve been sitting down and talking a lot more around that. I think last year he got a fifty here against Western Australia in the second innings, and he scored two twos in that 50, and one of them was an accidental inside edge and that’s probably not how you’re going to go as an opener.”You’re probably scoring quite a high percentage of ones and twos and playing within yourself to absorb the new ball, and then in this game I think there was over 10 twos in his first 50. So there’s just a bit more growth. It’s not bang four or block it. It’s more kind of in that mid range, working the ball, understanding risk management and all those kind of things. Even the positions I thought he was in when he was looking to drive were the best I’ve seen him.”Victoria are still a mathematical chance to make the Shield final despite currently sitting fifth on the table with one game remaining against Western Australia in Perth. They need to beat WA and need South Australia and Tasmania to beat Queensland and NSW respectively as two draws in those games won’t be enough.Despite still being a chance to play in the final, Victoria will consider debuting another youngster in Dixon’s Under-19 World Cup winning team-mate Oliver Peake. The 18-year-old left-hander was named in the squad against South Australia but ran the drinks. He made 99 in Victoria’s last second XI match against WA and recently went on Australia’s Test tour of Sri Lanka as a long-term development player.

The five areas of significant tactical interest ahead of the Champions Trophy final

Karthik Krishnaswamy08-Mar-20254:00

Key match-up: India spinners vs NZ batters

Most ODI teams are incomplete in one way or another. They either prioritise batting depth and end up relying heavily on part-timers, or pick the best possible bowling attack and end up with a long tail. India and New Zealand are easily the two most complete teams of the Champions Trophy 2025. They have top-order batters with a wide range of gears, bowling attacks with variety and incision, and allrounders who ensure both batting and bowling depth. It’s only fitting that they meet in the final, in a rematch of the title bout of 2000. Here are five areas of significant tactical interest ahead of the match.Win the toss, and?It’s not been the easiest question to answer in Dubai, with the four matches here so far producing only one clear pattern: India have lost all their tosses and won all their matches.A lot of this, of course, is down to India’s sheer strength. They bat all the way down to No. 8, have six genuine bowling options, and the conditions have allowed them to pack their attack with spinners and not really worry about the one big issue they had coming into the tournament, of dealing with Jasprit Bumrah’s absence.Related

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Because they’re so good, they’ve won three games while chasing and won the one game they batted first in despite slipping to 30 for 3. Through all this, it hasn’t been clear at all whether it’s better to bat or bowl first in Dubai.That’s generally a good thing ahead of a big match, suggesting that conditions haven’t changed all that much between innings. Dew hasn’t been a factor – unlike during the T20 World Cup in 2021, which was played in October-November, when chasing proved distinctly advantageous.Given this, both teams may prefer to bat first, with Dubai’s pitches having shown signs of slowing down over 100 overs – though not to the extent of giving the defending team an obvious advantage. During their semi-final defeat here, Australia perhaps showed the best way for teams to approach playing at this venue, even if they didn’t themselves follow through fully. At 198 for 4 in the 37th over, they were perfectly placed for a big finish, only for the back-to-back wickets of Steven Smith and Glenn Maxwell to derail their innings.With Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell and Mitchell Santner in their lower-middle order, New Zealand could well look to follow the template that Australia half-set: bat first, keep wickets in hand, and put pressure on India through the back ten.New Zealand’s new-ball threatThey could put plenty of pressure through the front ten, too – with the ball. Of all bowling teams at this Champions Trophy, New Zealand have been the most impressive side in the first powerplay, boasting the best economy rate in the phase (4.32) and the second-best average (24.71) behind India (21.55). It’s a particularly impressive feat, given that New Zealand have played three of their four games on the flatter pitches of Pakistan. Their efforts to keep the top orders of Pakistan and South Africa on the tightest of leashes on pitches where their own batters had scored 320 and 362 showed just how good they have been with the new ball.ESPNcricinfo LtdIndia found this out when the teams met in the group stage, when Matt Henry’s seam and Kyle Jamieson’s swing (and Glenn Phillips’ GlennPhillipsness at backward point) reduced them to 30 for 3 inside seven overs. They managed to fight back and win that game, but they won’t want to get into that sort of situation again in the first place.There is some doubt around Henry’s availability for the final, as he recovers from a shoulder injury sustained while taking the catch of Heinrich Klaasen in the semi-final against South Africa, and it will be a major blow to New Zealand’s hopes if he is ruled out. But his colleagues have been pretty good with the new ball. Jamieson has a first-powerplay economy rate of 4.21 in this tournament, and Will O’Rourke has done even better, going at 3.33 while picking up two wickets in six overs in this phase.The Rohit effectWhichever pair takes the new ball for New Zealand, they’ll come up against Rohit Sharma, who’s had a most curious Champions Trophy.He’s scored 104 runs at an average of 26.00, with a top score of 44, and that doesn’t look particularly good on the surface, but all his runs have come in the first ten overs, a phase in which no batter from any team has scored more runs.And he’s scored those runs at a strike rate of 107.21, which has allowed his opening partner Shubman Gill to take his time early on. If Gill’s first ten-overs strike rate of 93.42 doesn’t seem particularly slow compared to Rohit’s, consider the first five overs – Rohit has scored 71 runs at 102.89, Gill 28 at 63.63.Rohit hasn’t always looked fluent while batting this way, and it might potentially benefit him, at a personal level, to take a little more time getting his eye in. Given the duration of ODIs and the conditions in Dubai, there’s even an argument to be made that it could benefit India for him to do so. But their batting depth allows him to start innings in this turbocharged manner, and these starts are the biggest stamp Rohit has put on India’s white-ball teams as captain, so it’s unlikely he’ll change it in this big final.Can Mitchell and Latham put India’s spinners off their lengths?Whether India stick with four spinners – they seem likely to – or pick just – just! – three, New Zealand’s batters know they’ll face a trial by spin. They’ll know they can’t simply let the spinners settle into their lengths and will have to figure out ways of putting pressure back on the bowlers. Two of the best weapons for doing that are the sweep – and all its variants – and the use of feet to get down the pitch, and New Zealand have a middle-order pair who excel at using them.ESPNcricinfo LtdAmong Full Member batters with at least 300 runs against spin since the start of 2023, Tom Latham has scored a greater percentage of his runs (52.63) than anyone else via these two methods. His prowess at the sweep and reverse-sweep are well known, but he’s also a frequent user of his feet – only Sadeera Samarawickrama (70) has stepped out to spinners more often than Latham (66) in this period. Much like Cheteshwar Pujara in Test cricket, Latham generally keeps the ball along the ground when he uses his feet, and is one of only two frequent steppers-out in this period (Afghanistan’s Rahmat Shah is the other) with a sub-100 strike rate while doing so.Daryl Mitchell also steps out a lot, and he does this in a more stereotypical way, hitting 13 sixes – only Shubman Gill (15) has hit more while stepping out in this period – and striking at over 220 while doing so. He’s a pretty adept sweeper and reverse-sweeper too, and his total percentage of runs via sweeps and forays down the pitch (41.52) puts him in the top five among Full Member batters.This contest between India’s spinners and New Zealand’s Nos. 4 and 5 comes with a fair amount of history. Latham and Mitchell have scored two hundreds each against India, with both of Mitchell’s efforts coming during the 2023 World Cup.They’ll know they’ll have to battle the conditions as well as the bowlers, though, with the pace of India’s spinners – Kuldeep Yadav is the only one of the four who consistently bowls below 85kph – making it a genuine challenge to get down the pitch to them, and their ability to attack the stumps turning sweeps into a risky proposition, particularly given Dubai’s lack of bounce. Latham found this out the hard way when he was lbw missing a reverse-sweep off Ravindra Jadeja in the group stage.Kohli vs Santner (and Ravindra?)It feels like a while ago now, but Virat Kohli came into this Champions Trophy with quite a lot of scrutiny – external, certainly, if not from the team management – around his form. His 100* against Pakistan and his 84 against Australia have, however, shown that he retains his genius for the 50-overs game no matter what he’s going through in other formats.Both those innings showcased the method – so simple on its surface, yet so hard for most others to replicate – that’s made Kohli one of the ODI GOATs. Very few batters through the format’s history have matched his ability to accumulate risk-free runs at a rapid clip; he’s an expert manipulator of balls into gaps, and a supreme athlete between wickets. There’s a lot more to his game, too – he couldn’t have pulled off Hobart or Jaipur, among many other innings, otherwise – but those other facets haven’t really been tested at this Champions Trophy.As the graphic above shows, only three batters (minimum 100 balls faced in that phase) have achieved lower dot-ball percentages through the middle overs of this tournament than Kohli (38.65). And though his boundary percentage (25.43) is on the lower side as well, this is mostly down to the fact that he hasn’t needed to attempt that many boundaries, with so much of his batting during this tournament coming in chases of sub-250 targets.Given the conditions in Dubai, Kohli is likely to play a similar sort of role in the final, whether India bat first or second, with the batters around him given greater responsibility for finding boundaries.New Zealand’s challenge, then, will be to try and force Kohli out of his comfort zone and find ways to push up his dot-ball percentage. In Mitchell Santner, they perhaps have just the weapon for this task.Since the start of 2021, Kohli has scored significantly quicker against pace (strike rate 102.70) than spin (84.50) in ODIs, and while he’s struck at over 80 against the other three kinds of spin, he’s had his struggles against left-arm orthodox, going at 73.02 and getting out ten times in 21 innings.ESPNcricinfo LtdIn this period, Santner has a terrific head-to-head record against Kohli, getting him out twice in five innings while conceding less than four an over (3.82). Rachin Ravindra hasn’t done too badly either, not dismissing Kohli but keeping him to 36 runs in 46 balls. New Zealand certainly could get through a few overs of Santner and Ravindra in tandem if Kohli and another right-hand batter are together, particularly given the conditions in Dubai.This is precisely why India have used Axar Patel as their regular No. 5 through this tournament. He breaks up their otherwise entirely right-handed top order, and has the game to put pressure back on the spinners.