All posts by n8rngtd.top

Club will “pay tribute to” Baker’s memory and “keep his spirit alive on the field”

ESPNcricinfo staff08-May-2024Worcestershire will wear Josh Baker’s No. 33 on their playing shirts for the remainder of the season as a tribute to the left-arm spinner who passed away last week, aged 20.Baker, who had made two County Championship appearances this season, died suddenly on May 2. He was a popular member of the Worcestershire dressing room, signing his first contract with the county aged 17 in 2022. He took 43 wickets in 22 first-class matches and 27 in 25 limited-overs appearances. He had also represented England at under-19 level.The day before his passing, he had taken 3 for 66 in the first innings of Worcestershire’s four-day 2nd XI Championship match against Somerset at Bromsgrove School. The match was called off early on the final day. Players wore black armbands as a mark of respect during the most recent round of the County Championship, which began on May 3.Worcestershire declined to comment on the nature of Baker’s death, asking for “the respect of privacy” on behalf of his family. Having consulted with the family, Baker’s teammates have decided to honour his memory by wearing his squad number on the front of their shirts, under the club crest.”It is clear from the outpouring of love we’ve seen, following last week’s awful news, that Josh touched the lives of everyone who had the privilege of knowing him,” said Worcestershire CEO Ashley Giles in a statement released on Wednesday.”Wearing Josh’s number on their shirts is a way for the team, and all involved with Worcestershire cricket, to pay tribute to his memory and keep his spirit alive on the field.”Josh’s mum and dad, Lisa and Paul, have asked us to thank everyone for the hundreds of messages of love and support that they have received since Josh’s passing.”As we all continue to navigate through this very difficult time, we encourage our members, supporters, and the cricketing community to join us in honouring Josh’s memory and celebrate the life of a remarkable young man who will forever hold a special place in our hearts.”Worcestershire will wear the commemorative shirts for the first time on Friday, when they play Kent at Canterbury in Division One.

Mushtaq Ahmed to join the travelling party as spin-bowling coach

Umar Farooq09-Jun-2020Pakistan have roped in Younis Khan and Mushtaq Ahmed as the batting and spin-bowling coaches respectively for the upcoming tour of England. Khan and Ahmed will join head coach Misbah-ul-Haq and bowling coach Waqar Younis for the tour – scheduled for August-September – comprising three Tests and as many T20Is.This is Khan’s first appointment with the PCB since his retirement in 2017. The board was earlier interested in roping him in to work at the development level at the NCA but those talks didn’t materialise. He was recently asked to give a pep talk to players on video in lockdown and this appointment, according to the PCB, is to provide Misbah and Younis “the necessary and essential resources that can help them further uplift the performance of the side”.”For me, there has never been a bigger honour and a better feeling than to represent my country and I feel privileged to have been again offered the opportunity to serve it for a challenging but exciting tour of England,” Khan said in a statement issued by the PCB. “The Pakistan side includes some immensely talented cricketers who have the potential to achieve greater heights. Together with Misbah-ul-Haq, Mushtaq Ahmed and Waqar Younis, we will try to make them better and prepare them as best as we can with on and off field coaching and guidance.”I have never been shy of sharing my experiences and knowledge, and I think this particular tour provides me with an ideal opportunity where I can spend post-training time with the players to engage with them on batting techniques, bowler assessments, mental toughness exercises besides talking them through with scenario planning.”We all know English conditions demand not only precise technique but patience and discipline, and if you can master these, then you will not only excel in England but anywhere in the world. With the quality we have in the team, I think we have a good chance to produce good results if we prepare properly, get our processes right and hit the ground running as soon as we land.”Misbah, who had retired with Khan three years ago, said he was looking forward to reuniting with his former team-mate in the dressing room. Misbah was acting as the batting coach since the position was left vacant by Grant Flower. Earlier, Shahid Aslam, a Level 4 coach, was part of the coaching staff, acting as an assistant to Misbah in the nets for the players. Mansoor Rana, an experienced coach, was also part of the support staff but was largely working as the team manager only.With players set to train in a bio-secure environment and unprecedented standard operating procedures, Pakistan were falling short of coaching hands in the nets. They were also without a fielding coach after Grant Bradburn had taken over an in-house non-travelling role as head of high-performance coaching. With a lengthy tour with 25 players coming up, and to share Misbah’s workload under complex training arrangements, it was decided to bring in two more coaches.”We know each other better than most think as we have worked hand in glove in the past decade to contribute in some of Pakistan’s most historic and memorable Test wins,” Misbah said in the release. “With the reputation and record Younis brings with him not only as a disciplined and hardworking batsman but also as an athletic fielder and a strategist, I see this as a great opportunity for our young players to hone their skills and learn how to make the transition from a good to a great cricketer.”Due to events beyond human control, the series in England will be one of the most challenging and difficult and, as such, we need to have the best talent and brains on our side. Younis as well as Mushtaq clearly tick all these and additional boxes, which will assist us in achieving our targets.”Ahmed was already contracted with the PCB for his services as as spin-bowling consultant for 120 days. He was originally meant to work at the NCA but his services could be used from age-group set-up to the national team, as required. In the last five years he had been part of the national set-up at different times. His longest coaching stint as bowling coach with Pakistan was 18 months before he was replaced by Azhar Mahmood in 2017.”Mushtaq Ahmed is loaded with the experience of helping elite cricketers from different countries and is widely regarded as a mentor,” Misbah said. “Mushtaq is always involved in the game and this attitude will further help us in our pre-series preparations and enhance our prospects in the series.”

“Afghanistan playing Pakistan has a big [commercial] potential and a big viewership,” PCB CEO Wasim Khan says

Umar Farooq23-Nov-2020Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan’s visit to Afghanistan last week could well pave the way for a revival of cricketing ties between the two neighbouring countries. The relations were severed in 2017 following a bomb blast in Kabul, for which the Afghan authorities had blamed Pakistan.Imran’s visit to Afghanistan, his first since forming the government in August 2018, was primarily to meet Ashraf Ghani, the Afghan president, with an eye on strengthening relations between the two countries. While in Kabul, former Pakistan captain Imran also met the Afghanistan Cricket Board’s chairman Farhan Yousafzai and a number of national team members – Asghar Afghan and Mohammad Nabi among them – with the ACB expressing its desire to play bilateral cricket. As such, cricketing relations between the two countries go back a long way, with many prominent Afghanistan players having learnt the basics of the game while being refugees in Pakistan during the war years.”We have played a major role in their [Afghan] cricket development and are still open to extending our support whenever required,” Wasim Khan, the PCB chief executive officer, told ESPNcricinfo. “They are Full Members at the ICC and one of the key players in South Asia, and we are very much looking forward to taking our relationship forward.”That, however, might not happen immediately, with the international cricket calendar being as packed as it is. “We are always open to talk to revive our ties and work out a slot for any series in our FTP. But this year, or the next, it’s tough to make it,” Wasim said. “But Afghanistan playing Pakistan has a big [commercial] potential and a big viewership.”ESPNcricinfo understands that while the Pakistan foreign office or the prime minister’s office hasn’t discussed the matter with the PCB yet, Imran has noted the ACB’s request to play Pakistan. When it comes to playing Afghanistan (or India), the decision is left to the Pakistan government – and not the PCB – because of the often-strained political relationships with the countries concerned.Members of the PCB and the ACB were last seen together in 2017 at the PCB’s Gaddafi Stadium headquarters when they signed an agreement to play bilateral cricket starting with friendly T20s in Kabul and Lahore in July and August that year. But then the deadly bombing incident happened on May 31 that year. The ACB released a statement soon after, saying “no agreement of friendly matches is possible between both parties. In light of the findings of security services and calls by the Afghan nation, the ACB hereby cancel all kinds of cricket matches agreement with the Pakistan Cricket Board.” The PCB took exception to the comments, describing the allegations as “baseless” and “irresponsible”.Things then turned ugly when Afghanistan and Pakistan faced off at the 2019 ODI World Cup at Headingley, with reports of clashes between the two sets of fans in the stands and even outside the stadium.Now, with Imran taking the lead and the ACB willing to put cricket first, things might go back to the way they were.

“It extends the batting… and with all [Australia’s] lefties, we’ve got an offspinner bowling at them,” he explains

Matt Roller07-Jun-2023Are England better-equipped to face Australia now than they were a week ago? Graeme Swann believes they are, following Moeen Ali’s decision to reverse his retirement from Test cricket and fill the vacancy created by Jack Leach’s lower-back stress fracture.”I think it makes us stronger,” Swann, a three-time Ashes winner during his England career, said. “Which is hard on Jack, because he was doing a good job with the ball. But it extends the batting, which is important. And with all their lefties [Australia are expected to pick four left-handers in their top seven] we’ve got an offspinner bowling at them.”Leach has thrived under Ben Stokes’ captaincy but has struggled against left-handers throughout his Test career. “Jack does a similar thing every game: he holds an end up and does a job,” Swann said. “There are still areas I think he could be better and he does things differently to how I did, but he’s playing a role in a team.”If you’ve got seamers who are attacking all the time – if you’ve got Stokesy’s bouncer theory coming in – then you need a spinner who can go around three an over rather than one going at sixes. It is a loss, but you’ve got Mo, who extends the batting… and they’ve got so many left handers.”Related

• McDonald: Moeen replacing Leach presents 'a challenge' for England

• Swann: Moeen needs to believe he's a Test-class spinner

• Swann to mentor England Lions' spinners

• Mr Right Now returns for one last job – and what a task it is

• Switch Hit: England in a spin

Moeen’s recall was confirmed by the ECB on Wednesday morning after discussions between him and Ben Stokes, Brendon McCullum and Rob Key – England’s captain, coach and managing director respectively – over the past few days.”The very fact that Baz and Stokesy are in charge makes it easy for him,” Swann said, speaking at the launch of IG’s Net Gains campaign at Lord’s. “They’ve said, ‘You come in and all your positive attributes are what we’re after’ – none of the hang-ups of anything that has happened before.”I’m sure he’s just been given a licence to run up and bowl, and spin it as hard as he can, and bat the way he can. I’m glad to see him back: he’s still brilliant. I watched him in the IPL. He’s mercurial, sure, but he’s still a brilliant talent.”I think having his tyres pumped up by Baz and Stokesy and coming into a dressing room with guys he has grown up with, who play in the same free-spirited way, will suit him down to the ground – and that is why he’s come back.”Swann was speaking at the launch of IG’s Net Gains campaign, which will raise funds to build cricket nets for community use in the cities hosting Ashes Tests this summer•IG

Swann believes that Moeen’s biggest challenge will be getting to grips with the red Dukes ball again, rather than the rhythms of first-class cricket after an absence of nearly two years. “They don’t worry about that,” he said. “They are redefining red-ball cricket and I applaud that.”My one concern is the difference between bowling with the red Dukes ball and the white Kookaburra. There is a major difference. It is harder to bowl with a red Dukes ball: it is not as easy to grip, it is smaller.”That might be an issue, just getting enough overs under the belt to be confident. The red ball can be almost slightly greasy: it has a wax on it and can be a bit tricky to get used to again. But if the sun is out and it’s dry, that’s no issue.”Swann also believes that Moeen’s success – and his own – exposes an issue with English coaching of fingerspinners. “The reason why I always liked Mo as a bowler is because he spins it properly and bowls it off the right knuckle,” he said. “He doesn’t do it how you are coached in England, which goes back to why we haven’t got many spinners.”The coaching manual is wrong from an early age, for bowling spin. Mo is a natural spin bowler. I was a natural. Monty Panesar was a natural. We all hold it completely differently to how you are taught as a young kid: they teach you to put it [the ball] between the first knuckle on both your first and second finger as if you are opening the door which gives you no revolutions, no dip, no spin.”You hold it on the first knuckle of your first finger and the second knuckle of your second finger and you rip it over the top. That is how you get high revolutions and drift and dip. That’s how the Indian spinners bowl, when I watched them growing up, so I copied them. But you’re not coached that in England.”To that end, Swann has launched a coaching career over the last 12 months. He was part of Trent Rockets’ backroom staff in the Hundred last year, which they won, and said that he “adored” the opportunity to work with some of the best young county spinners on Lions tours to the UAE and Sri Lanka over the winter.Swann has worked with Sussex offspinner Jack Carson in the England Lions set-up•Getty Images

But he suggests that the wider message sent by Moeen’s recall is “concerning”. Swann said: “We haven’t got 10 candidates lined up and banging on the door. it says that we don’t have good enough spinners in the country ready to go.”We have spinners coming through: I’ve been with the Lions and there are some talented lads there who I don’t think personally are quite ready for Test cricket… someone like Jack Carson at Sussex is a great little bowler. I think he’d do well – but whether has has got the actual skills to cope with it is another thing.”It could ruin a career before it has even started, so I think Mo is a safe – and exciting – option. And the fact he is there means Keysy and Baz are probably laughing that they had a back-up option there all along.”

The match will be played on a different pitch to the one that hosted SRH vs Mumbai, but don’t bet against another run-fest

Shashank Kishore04-Apr-20241:29

Can Klaasen take down CSK’s bowlers in Hyderabad?

Match details

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) vs Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
Hyderabad, 1930 IST (1400 GMT)

Big picture

The euphoria of watching their bat may have taken the sting out of their defeat to Delhi Capitals in Vizag three nights ago, but Chennai Super Kings will be the first to admit morale wins only count for so much. In Hyderabad, they will be up against one of the most explosive batting sides in the competition, in conditions where 277 didn’t seem safe enough, just over a week ago.They’ll potentially be without one of their gun bowlers, Mustafizur Rahman, who knows a thing or two about bowling on these tracks. In 2016, Mustafizur starred in Sunrisers’ march to their maiden IPL crown, picking up 17 wickets in his maiden IPL season. Eight years on, he continues to be just as effective despite a few run-ins with injuries.Related

• Mustafizur a doubt for CSK's game against Sunrisers on Friday

• How CSK put opposites together to become an IPL batting behemoth

However, if there’s a batting line-up capable of combating anything that is thrown at them, it’s the Sunrisers. Abhishek Sharma has set the tempo at the top and Travis Head has already shown how dangerous he can be in that game against Mumbai Indians. Then there’s Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen in unbelievable six-hitting form.CSK too have a prolific six-hitter in Shivam Dube, who has struck at 177.09 against spin since last year’s IPL while they also see Daryl Mitchell warming up to a similar role, one of the reasons why they broke the bank for him at the auction.One team likes data and match-ups, the other believes in gut feel and vibe. It’s a contest of contrasts in that sense, but what unites them is the thrill their power-hitters can generate.Can Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head and Heinrich Klaasen set Hyderabad alight once more?•BCCI

Form guide

Sunrisers LWL (most recent match first)
CSK LWW

Team news and Impact Player strategy

Sunrisers Hyderabad
There’s no Wanindu Hasaranga yet for the Sunrisers. The legspinning allrounder has consulted a podiatrist in Dubai for a heel problem that appears more severe than earlier thought to be. Sunrisers have largely based their Impact Player strategy on conditions with three different pairs engaged in the first three games.Head coach Daniel Vettori expects Friday to be high-scoring even though it’s a different surface to the one that hosted Sunrisers vs Mumbai Indians. Dube’s floating presence may just tempt Sunrisers to bring in Umran Malik’s pace to try and rough him up. If this happens, one of Mayank Agarwal or Abhishek Sharma could be subbed out when the team bowls.Likely XII: 1 Mayank Agarwal, 2 Travis Head, 3 Abhishek Sharma, 4 Aiden Markram, 5 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 6 Shahbaz Ahmed/Washington Sundar, 7 Abdul Samad, 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Mayank Markande, 11 Jaydev Unadkat, 12 Umran Malik.Chennai Super Kings
There’s a likelihood of Mustafizur arriving in Hyderabad on Friday afternoon after a quick trip home to sort out his USA visa issues. If he doesn’t play straight off a flight, CSK will likely bring in Mahesh Theekshana. If they bat first, expect them to play Shivam Dube and swap him out for Matheesha Pathirana in the second innings.Likely XII: 1 Rachin Ravindra, 2 Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), 3 Ajinkya Rahane, 4 Daryl Mitchell, 5 Shivam Dube, 6 Sameer Rivzi, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 MS Dhoni (wk), 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Tushar Deshpande, 11 Mustafizur Rahman/Maheesh Theekshana, 12 Matheesha Pathirana.Shivam Dube has struck at 177.09 against spin since the start of IPL 2023•Associated Press

In the spotlight

For two straight games now, Mayank Agarwal has struggled to force the pace in the powerplay, scoring a total of 27 off 30 balls. There has also been a pattern to his dismissals in each of Sunrisers’ three games so far, with bowlers digging the ball into the pitch on a length or short of a length to tuck him up. In a batting line-up bursting at its seams with firepower, Agarwal needs to come good soon to ward off any imminent threat to his spot.Ravindra Jadeja won CSK last year’s final alright, but his overall batting returns have diminished since IPL 2022, with a strike rate of 133.90 and a highest score of 26* in 25 innings in the tournament. His numbers against spin have been particularly worrying, with 77 balls bringing him just 83 runs. His struggle against Capitals in Visakhapatnam, and Dhoni’s late fireworks, have raised the prospect of a batting-order shuffle, but CSK aren’t known to change things drastically. Can Jadeja repay their faith?

Stats that matter

• Klaasen’s strike rate of 200.00 against spin is the highest among those who have made 200 or more runs against spin since the start of IPL 2023.
• Ajinkya Rahane has been dismissed six times in 16 T20 innings by Bhuvneshwar Kumar while scoring 90 off 103 balls.
• Bhuvneshwar vs Dhoni has gone the batter’s way, though: 94 runs of 57 balls without being dismissed.
• Since the start of IPL 2023, Klaasen has ransacked left-arm orthodox spinners for 104 runs off 49 balls without being dismissed. Will this change CSK’s use of Jadeja in any way?

Pitch and conditions

A fresh pitch will be used for Friday’s fixture. It’s a black-soil pitch that Daniel Vettori, the Sunrisers head coach, believes will behave far differently to the red-soil pitch on which Sunrisers and Mumbai Indians played out a record run-fest. Michael Hussey, CSK’s batting coach, believes it looks “slightly dry” but expects it to be full of runs nonetheless.

Quotes

“Because scoring rates are so high, you can’t be timid. We understand we have to be aggressive. That’s been the messaging from Pat and me. To take on the bowlers, not be reckless but understand what sort of bowlers you can take down.”
“He’s still exactly the same person. That’s what I’ve been looking for, to see if it’s changed him as a person or character.”

Showpiece at Edgbaston likely to be played several weeks after main event

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Aug-2023Edgbaston will host the Vitality Blast Finals Day on September 14 next year, a reversion to a late-season showpiece after this year’s July final, due to the impact that next summer’s T20 Men’s World Cup will have on the English season.The Blast title was won this year by Somerset, who completed their 15th win of the campaign in beating Essex in front of a capacity crowd at Edgbaston on July 15, only a fortnight after the completion of the tournament group stages.The tournament had been condensed to ensure maximum availability of overseas players, amid the competing demands of the international and T20 franchise schedule – although even that was not sufficient to prevent the high-profile absence of Surrey’s Sunil Narine from the semi-finals, after he chose to remain with LA Knight Riders in the inaugural season of Major League Cricket in the USA.Now, however, Finals Day looks set to take place several weeks after the Blast group stages and quarter-finals, with the T20 World Cup due to be staged in the Caribbean and USA in June, and the fourth season of the Hundred set to begin in late July, a week earlier than this year’s event.”The move to September has been made due to the impact next June’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup has had on our England Men’s and Women’s home international fixtures,” an ECB spokesperson said in a press release. “The full men’s and women’s domestic schedule is to be released later this year.”Despite being played outside of the height of the summer, more than 800,000 fans attended Blast fixtures across its six-week window, with the ECB reporting that the competition had enjoyed its second-highest advanced tickets sales ever (up 16% on 2022).Somerset’s victory in the final, their first since 2005, drew the tournament’s largest viewing figures in over a decade, with an average audience of 427,000, while viewership for the quarter-finals and semi-finals were up 64% and 12% respectively on 2022.

The left hander is confident that having a Test century under his belt will stand him in good stead if runs flow for New South Wales

Andrew McGlashan16-Oct-2020Kurtis Patterson is confident his Test century has not been forgotten as he jostles for a place among Australia’s next-in-line batting options following a 2019-2020 summer that was badly disrupted by injury.Patterson will begin his season for New South Wales on Monday, when they open their Sheffield Shield campaign against Western Australia in Adelaide. He is hoping to move on from the frustrations of last year when he was restricted to three Shield matches before the tournament was curtailed by Covid-19.Having missed the cut for the 2019 Ashes, he was looking forward to restating his credentials last summer but picked up a quad injury before the Shield started. He then exacerbated it during his first four-day game against Tasmania.ALSO READ: Selection radar – Who could push Australia claims in Sheffield Shield hub?He had to wait until after the BBL to return to red-ball cricket, but he was given reassurance that the selectors still considered him highly when he was picked for the Australia A side to face England Lions and he made an unbeaten 94 in the second innings of the pink-ball game at the MCG.”I look back on that season last year and it put a few things in perspective, made me really appreciative of when you are healthy and able to get out there,” Patterson said. “Getting picked to play against the Lions, it’s always good fun to play against any English opposition because there’s always a little bit of added pressure. So it was nice to score some runs. It was a positive to come out of what wasn’t the most positive year for me.”With the likelihood that the Test squad to face India will need to be enlarged this season due to biosecure measures, there will be some spots for reserve batsmen even though the XI is well established. While Patterson’s unbeaten 114 against Sri Lanka in Canberra – which gives him the statistical quirk of the highest ever Test average – was more than a year-and-half ago the value of that experience has not diminished.”The thing that bodes well for me is that when I got my last Test opportunity I took it,” Patterson said. “I know that’s not forgotten. It was great to get that under my belt, get that first hundred – a monkey off the back. The main thing for me is what’s in my control, that’s to do my best for New South Wales and if Australian selection comes with that then fantastic.”Kurtis Patterson during his unbeaten 94 against England Lions•Getty Images

“I’ve always understood that it’s pretty simple: score as many runs as you can. The reality is that the Australian team has been pretty successful over the last couple of years and compared to previous years there’s probably not as many openings as there has been. My focus, like it always is, is to try and score as many big hundreds and set up as many wins as I can for New South Wales and I know I’m playing my best when that’s my sole focus.”Patterson will start the Sheffield Shield feeling very confident about his game after runs in New South Wales’ pre-season matches before they made a hasty retreat for Adelaide following a return of Covid-19 cases in the state. He was hitting the ball so well he has actually tapered off his training ahead of the start of the competitive action.”It’s been nice to score runs in pre-season games, takes that little bit of weight off the shoulders, a little bit less pressure when you land in Adelaide with a few runs under your belt,” he said. “I think the whole squad has been in a really good place and myself personally I’ve felt ready to go for nearly a month now. My challenge has been to back off a little, make sure I don’t peak too early so haven’t picked up the bat too much since we’ve been here but really looking forward to getting out there.”The New South Wales squad spent considerable time training next door as the opening two Shield matches unfolded at Karen Rolton Oval and Park 25 and Patterson took note of how the games unfolded.”After the first two days on both grounds I said to a couple of the boys that this looks like they’ll be some large scores and some big boring draws, but day three for both games was moving day,” he said. “Think there’s some different weather before our game…there might be a little more life in the wickets. The great thing in Adelaide is that as the game goes on there is usually is some spin. It’s generally a fantastic product, as a it batter presents you with challenges throughout the game which is perfect.”New South Wales will be without Mitchell Starc for their opening match after he was given extra time away ahead of what will be a busy summer within hubs but expect to have him for their next two fixtures. Nathan Lyon is likely to be available for all three matches.

Dhananjaya de Silva played a crucial hand with both bat and ball in a last-ball thriller

Andrew Fidel Fernando21-Jun-2022Australia seemed to be flying towards their target at one point, but were ambushed by Sri Lanka’s spinners with 70 to get. They limped their way through the late overs, and fought valiantly to take this twisting match to the last ball. But Sri Lanka held on by their fingertips to send a raucous Khettarama into raptures.Having let what seemed like a comfortable final over become dire by conceding three fours to Australia’s No. 10 Matthew Kuhnemann, Dasun Shanaka bowled a slower ball with five to defend and had the batter sky the ball to Charith Asalanka, who took a comfortable catch at cover.Sri Lanka’s phalanx of spinners, especially Dhananjaya de Silva and Jeffrey Vandersay, scripted the victory, but the biggest contribution came from the bat of Asalanka, who scored his maiden ODI century after he and de Silva lifted Sri Lanka from 34 for 3 with a century-stand, de Silva making a smooth 60 off 61.De Silva then claimed two wickets in a crucial middle-overs passage that sucked the air out of Australia’s chase. Among his victims was David Warner, whose 99 off 112 seemed to have set Australia on track for a series-levelling victory.The four-run win sealed the series 3-1 – Sri Lanka’s first bilateral series victory at home over this opposition in 30 years.That Shanaka was bowling the final over at all was somewhat counterintuitive. With Australia needing 19, perhaps the thinking was that a No. 10 could smear a spinner out of the ground with more ease than a seam bowler. Legspinner Vandersay, however, had been bowling beautifully from that end, having claimed two wickets in the night, and conceding only 10 from his two previous death overs.Having missed the first ball, Kuhnemann blasted a four past point, shovelled Shanaka over his shoulder to the fine leg boundary, then bashed him over mid-on to set up the last-ball finish. Following several mid-pitch conferences and messages from bowling consultant Lasith Malinga, who was prowling the boundary, a Sri Lankan heartbreak was avoided.Warner’s wicket in the 38th over was a turning point in the chase•AFP

Australia too may reflect that they were surging toward victory at one point. With Warner closing in on a well-deserved hundred, and Travis Head batting comfortably, they had 70 to get with 86 balls available, with six wickets in hand and likes of Glenn Maxwell still to come. The series seemed to be headed to a decider. But in nine balls the chase nosedived. Head was out first, as de Silva pushed one through quickly, and the batter played around it, his feet glued.The next two wickets were huge: those of Maxwell, perhaps Australia’s best batter of the tour so far, and Warner, who had paced his innings beautifully. Maheesh Theekshana got Maxwell lbw through a review. He turned his googly sharply, and hit the batter above the knee-roll, pleading in appeal. When it was turned down he was adamant the decision be sent upstairs. The result was three reds – the ball hitting the batter in line with off, and projected to crash into leg stump.Then, next over, de Silva pulled Warner out of his crease with a flighted, hard-spun delivery, which beat the batter’s outside edge. Wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella took the bails off before Warner could regain his ground. If he had hit that extra run, it would have been his 19th ODI ton.Australia continued to fight, primarily through Pat Cummins whose 35 off 41, which comprised mostly singles, as he took the game deep. With 19 needed off 8, though, Chamika Karunaratne hit him in front of the stumps with a yorker, as he attempted to whip the ball to leg. With Australia’s No. 10 and 11 now together in the middle, that should have been the death of Australia’s chances. Then Kuhnemann made a stand in the final over.

Asalanka and de Silva set-up Sri Lanka’s innings

Although de Silva’s half-century was full of all the delectable de Silva strokes – the square drives, the jaunts down the ground, and the sweeps, including the lofted one over midwicket that he used to particularly good effect – Asalanka’s innings began nervily. Having arrived while Australia’s quicks were dominant, he could have been out twice in his first six balls, most extraordinarily when a Cummins delivery shaved his leg stump but failed to dislodge the bail.De Silva kept the bowlers at bay during their 101-run partnership, but after he left, Asalanka took control, peppering the midwicket boundary in particular, with runs generally flowing heavily on the leg side. It took him 60 balls to get to 50, then only 39 more to complete his first international hundred. He forged significant partnerships with Dunith Wellalage and Wanindu Hasaranga, and at one stage seemed to be taking Sri Lanka to a score of around 280. But then, he holed out to deep midwicket against Cummins, in the 48th over.Then Sri Lanka lost their two final wickets to silly run outs – having earlier also lost Shanaka the same way – and ended up with a competitive total instead of an imposing one.Australia’s bowling had largely been carried by their quicks. Cummins and Mitchell Marsh took two wickets apiece. While Kuhnemann also claimed two, he went at seven an over, where Cummins and Marsh maintained economy rates of a little over four. The other spinner, Maxwell, had provided the first wicket, but conceded runs at 6.12.Sri Lanka, meanwhile, had fielded four frontline spinners, and no specialist quick. Eight bowlers were put to use in the defence of 259.

There is a serious rain threat over the entire game, with bad weather forecast for the whole week

Ashish Pant15-Oct-2024Persistent and occasionally heavy rain in Bengaluru has forced the cancellation of India’s training session the day before the first Test against New Zealand at the city’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium. The session, originally slotted for 9.30am, was first postponed by an hour and then cancelled altogether with the rain showing no signs of relenting.New Zealand ‘s training session, slotted for 1.30pm, did take place*, but in the indoor facility at the BCCI’s National Cricket Academy, also in the Chinnaswamy premises.The Indian Meteorological Department has forecast rains for the rest of the week, which could seriously affect the Test match. There is a 70% to 90% chance of rain on the first and second days of the Test, and a yellow alert has also been issued for many places in the state of Karnataka (of which Bengaluru is a part).Bengaluru has experienced a lot of rainfall for the past week. It rained on Monday as well, two days before the game, but both teams managed to finish their respective training sessions. India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Rohit Sharma also had time to get a good look at the surface, which was followed by a long discussion with the pitch curator.There was rain in Bengaluru all through Monday night and Tuesday morning, and the covers at the Chinnaswamy stayed in place. There was some activity when the rain stopped for a bit around 1pm, and the covers were being moved a bit, but within half an hour the clouds opened up again and the covers were back in place.