All posts by h716a5.icu

Stats highlights England’s 122-run victory over Sri Lanka in Cardiff

Bharath Seervi02-Jul-20164 Number of bilateral ODI series of five or more matches in which England have not lost any game, including this series. The first such series was against Zimbabwe in 2001-02 when they won all the five matches. The second came against South Africa in 2008 when they won four of the five matches, with one game being washed out. The last such series came against India at home in 2011, which had similar result like this series – three wins, one tie and one no-result.2 Number of bilateral ODI series of five or more matches in which Sri Lanka have not managed to win a single game, including this series. The first came against India in 2014-15 when they lost all the five matches.324 England’s total in this game, which is their second highest in ODIs against Sri Lanka. Their highest of 333 for 9 came in a 60-over match in the 1983 World Cup in Taunton. The previous-highest total for England in a 50-over ODI against Sri Lanka was 321 for 7 at Headingley in 2006, which Sri Lanka chased down in 37.3 overs. This was the first time England made more than 250 runs in ODIs in Cardiff and their total is the second highest by any team at this venue.1 Number of higher victory margins, in terms of runs, for England against Sri Lanka, than the 122-run win in this ODI. They had won by 128 runs at the WACA in 1998-99, which is their biggest win against Sri Lanka.109 Runs added by Joe Root and Jos Buttler for the fifth wicket, which is the most by a England pair against Sri Lanka in ODIs. Root was involved in the previous highest as well – 98 runs with James Taylor in Wellington in the 2015 World Cup.225.00 Buttler’s strike rate in his last 20 balls of the innings, in which he scored 45 runs. In the first 25 balls he faced, he managed only 25, including one four. In the last 20 balls, he hit six fours and a six.93 Root’s tally in this match – the highest by an England batsman in Cardiff. There have been four centuries at this venue, all by non-England players. The previous highest by an England batsman was 88 by Ian Bell against Pakistan in 2006. Buttler scored 70 on Saturday, which is the third-highest score at this venue. This was the first time Root was out in the nineties, having pressed on to make a century eight times.7 Number of times the top-six England batsmen made 20 or more runs in an ODI. This was their second such instance in ODIs this year. They had achieved the feat against South Africa in Bloemfontein earlier this year when they posted 399.83 Runs conceded by Chaminda Bandara, which is the most by a Sri Lanka player on ODI debut. This is also the most by a bowler from a Full-Member side in a 50-over ODI. The previous highest by bowler from a Full-Member team in a 50-over ODI was 78 by Steven Smith in 2009-10. Bandara, though, in his last first-class match, in March, had taken 9 for 68 in the first innings.316 Runs scored by Jason Roy in this series, which is the most by an England opener against Sri Lanka. The previous highest was 298 by Alastair Cook in 2011. Root had scored 367 in the seven-match series in 2014-15, which is the only aggregate higher than Roy’s 316 for England against Sri Lanka, considering players from any batting position.4 Number of fifties by Dinesh Chandimal in this series, which is the most by a Sri Lanka batsman in a bilateral ODI series of five or fewer matches. Chandimal has scored five fifties and one century in eight ODI innings this year.12 Number of fifties made by Sri Lanka players in this series without making a century – the most for them in a bilateral ODI series. Their previous highest was ten fifties in 2004 series against South Africa. Only two teams have made more fifties without a century in a bilateral series – 13 by India in the seven matches against England in 2007 and and an equal number by Zimbabwe in five matches against Kenya in 2008-09.4 Number of run-out dismissals from Sri Lanka’s top-four batsmen in this series, which is their joint most in a bilateral ODI series. Their total of seven run-outs, from all positions, in the series, stands joint second. Kusal Perera, the opener, and Dasun Shanaka, the allrounder, were run-out twice in the series.

Plays of the day from the first ODI between India and New Zealand in Dharamsala

Karthik Krishnaswamy16-Oct-2016Pandya-moniumIn his short T20I career so far, Hardik Pandya has already bowled one of the most dramatic overs witnessed in the format: the final over of India’s World T20 game against Bangladesh in Bangalore. Now, on ODI debut, he sent down an over nearly as eventful.Pitching the ball up and swinging it away from the right-hander at a sharp pace, he caused Martin Guptill all kinds of problems. First, an attempted cover drive streaked away to the third man boundary off the outside edge. Then, looking to leave a similar delivery, Guptill withdrew his bat slightly late, and the ball kissed the bottom edge and streaked away wide of second slip again. Then came another outswinger, slightly shorter, to beat Guptill’s outside edge as he attempted to defend. Pandya followed this with a nervy debutant delivery, short, wide, and cracked away to the point boundary.MS Dhoni’s response to this ball was to treat it as an aberration, and reinforce his catching cordon, bringing in a third slip. Pandya ran in again, and angled the ball in towards off stump. Pitching on the shorter side of a good length, it left the batsman late. The line forced Guptill to play, the length froze his feet to the crease. The ball kissed his edge and flew to Rohit Sharma at second slip.The Jadhav joltIn 12 international matches before this one, Kedar Jadhav had never bowled. If there was an ideal time to bring on an utterly untested part-time offie, it was with New Zealand 57 for 5 in 16 overs. With two left-handers at the crease, Jadhav came on ahead of Amit Mishra and Axar Patel.He could have had a wicket with the last ball of his first over, when James Neesham missed a sweep. The ball, going on with the angle from around the wicket, struck Neesham’s pad in front of middle and off, and umpire Bruce Oxenford must have given it a lot of thought before deciding it might have missed leg stump.Jadhav wasn’t to be denied for too much longer, though. In his next over, he got a ball to stop on Neesham, who closed his bat face a touch too early while looking to work it into the leg side and popped a simple return catch. Next ball, Jadhav had two in two, as Mitchell Santner, looking to cut a non-turning delivery that cramped him for room, top-edged to MS Dhoni.Superman to BloopermanUmesh Yadav had already taken two catches in the innings – the first a stunning diving effort at mid-off to send back Corey Anderson – when Tim Southee, batting on 2, skied a top-edged pull towards him at fine leg. Umesh didn’t have too much distance to cover, running forward, but perhaps misjudged the trajectory of the ball’s descent by a centimeter or two. Rather than let the ball plop softly into his hands, therefore, he was forced to claw at it. The ball hit his palms and bounced out. He picked it up again and threw it to the striker’s end. It was a throw of frustration rather than intent to get anyone out, since the batsmen had completed the most comfortable of singles, but it found its target anyway, hitting the stumps direct.A chip off the old batAs they had done in the third Test in Indore, New Zealand’s fast bowlers looked to test Ajinkya Rahane with frequent use of the short ball. Unlike in Indore, Rahane could trust the pace and bounce of the pitch, and handled the line of attack with a fair degree of comfort, and even picked up a couple of pulled sixes. But the tactic did expose one chink – not in Rahane’s technique but in his bat. Looking to pull Doug Bracewell from outside off stump in the second over of India’s innings, Rahane didn’t quite middle the shot, and the ball dislodged a splinter of willow from the bottom of his bat.

Disorientation, coffee consumption, airline travel, bespoke cakes – it can only be a Twitter round-up

Alex Bowden25-Nov-2016Hello. Presume you’re here for the latest on Kevin Pietersen’s coffee-drinking, which seems to have become the main theme of this column.

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Wait a minute. You’re not Kevin Pietersen. Although you do sound uncannily like him on this occasion.Let’s start again. This is what we should have opened with. We should have started with a bang.David Gower’s on Twitter and he’s brought terrible dad jokes!

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It seems as if James Taylor may have goaded him into tweeting. And that’s not all he’s been doing, the mischievous scamp.

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The two men appear to be building quite the relationship, with Taylor also introducing Gower to other new experiences.

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Over on a rival channel, covering Test series taking place in Australia entails a certain amount of talking through the night. Graeme Swann needs to find a way to switch off.

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Well, this is one way to unwind.

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Or if that seems just a little too ridiculous, how about this?

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Or, if it comes to the worst, he could always join legions of other cricketers in their favoured pastime.

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No, if you really, truly want to relax, there’s only one thing to do: go round to Sachin’s where he’ll present you with a cake with your name on.

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Somewhere in the world there is always a cricketer sharing strange details of their air travel.

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Or being a bit too enthusiastic about an aeroplane’s ability to quickly and easily transport you from one place to another.

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Normally people want to take selfies with cricketers – but cricketers now love air travel so much that they’re demanding selfies with airline staff.

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Enough of this innovation. Let’s finish with a pair of good, straightforward, traditional in-flight selfies to bring us back to normality.

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Out of four Tests in Bengaluru, Australia have won two of them and will be hoping to add one more to the tally

Bharath Seervi03-Mar-20172 Wins for Australia in Tests at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in the last 20 years – most at any Indian venue. In four Tests in Bengaluru, they have won two, lost one and drawn one. At all other venues combined in this period, they have been victorious only thrice in 17 matches, losing 12 of those.2-4 India’s win-loss record in 10 Tests at the Chinnaswamy Stadium since 1997. Their win-loss ratio of 0.50 is the worst among the 10 home venues that have hosted five or more Tests in the last 20 years. Both those victories came in their last three Tests, against Australia and New Zealand, and prior to that they hadn’t won a Test at the venue since 1995.36.67 Australia’s batting average in four Tests in Bengaluru in the last 20 years, the best among the six Indian venues where they have played two or more Tests. Their bowling average in Bangalore is their second-best among those six venues.7 Centuries by Australia batsmen at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in the last 20 years – the most at any Indian venue. At no other venue have they scored more than three centuries. Indian batsmen have scored only three centuries in those four Tests in Bangalore against Australia.451 Average first-innings score in the last seven Tests in Bangalore. In five of those Tests, the team batting first has scored above 400, with Australia doing it thrice. Out of the five instances, only once has the batting team lost – Australia in 2010 after scoring 478.31.54 Average of the fast bowlers of the visiting teams in Bangalore in the last ten Tests compared to India’s fast bowlers who have averaged 43.28. There have been three five-wicket hauls by overseas fast bowlers compared to two by India’s quick’s. The spinners have had nearly identical numbers – 37.35 for foreign teams and 38.24 for India.0 Number of five-wicket hauls by spinners at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in first-class matches since the start of the 2014-15 season, in eight matches. At the same time, fast bowlers have picked up four such hauls. Slow bowlers have averaged 43.07, compared to seamer’ 29.33. No first-class matches have been played at the venue since India’s last Test against South Africa in November 2015, due to renovation of the drainage system in the venue.139 Runs scored by M Vijay in India’s last Test against Australia in Bangalore, in 2010, which was his maiden century. He averages 55.90 against Australia in 21 innings, with four centuries. The average against Australia is his second-best against any team. Three of his four centuries against Australia have come in the second match of the series. This Test will also be his 50th Test.112 Runs required for Steven Smith to complete 5000 Test runs. If he gets there in the first innings of the match, he will be the joint third-quickest ever in terms of innings behind Don Bradman and Jack Hobbs. In terms of matches, he will be the joint second-fastest with Sunil Gavaskar.0 Australia players from the current squad who have played Tests at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. None of their players from their last Test at the venue in 2010 are active now. Most of the current players have played matches in other formats there.

With their playoffs spot on the line, Kings XI Punjab’s decision to take the the high-risk, high-reward path of batting Mumbai out of the game paid off on a true Wankhede surface

Nikhil Kalro in Mumbai12-May-2017When Mumbai Indians opted to bowl first on a favourable chasing ground, Kings XI Punjab were faced with two options in a must-win game: take the safer route of scoring a par total and then depend on their strong bowling attack, or tread the high-risk, high-reward path and bat Mumbai out of the game.Prior to this match, Mumbai had successfully chased four times in five games at the Wankhede Stadium this season. In addition, they had also overhauled Kings XI’s 198 in Mohali inside 16 overs a few games ago. Given the nature of the Wankhede surface as being favourable to even pace and bounce, coupled with the short boundaries and the possibility of dew influencing the game as the night wore on, Kings XI chose the second option.Was it the right choice? Did they give themselves a fail-safe? By attacking from the outset, Kings XI allowed themselves two routes to victory as opposed to one, if they wanted to open the first door.How? Teams batting second prefer to time their chases depending on their target. Low-risk options are used when the field spreads, games drift on with the illusion of control and, as happens in the closing stages of T20s, an event – a wicket, a boundary, even a dot – changes the momentum. So, if Kings XI stumbled to a sub-par score, like they did against Kolkata Knight Riders in their previous game, they could also depend on quality defensive bowling in the second half of a chase. But if their high-risk attacking approach came off, then they would not only negate the disadvantage of losing the toss, but also improve their own chances exponentially.Kings XI promoted Wriddhiman Saha to exploit the fielding restrictions. Martin Guptill didn’t even give himself a sighter. He played two attacking strokes in the first three balls, the second of which flew just over first slip’s hand. It may have been an entirely different narrative if it was caught; so fine are the margins in T20. “In this match, I was told that I have to play hard in the first six overs,” Saha said of Kings XI’s tactics. “With Maxwell, he told me we can’t let the momentum go.”Only Kings XI’s top five were needed to bat. All of them played at least 13 balls each; among them, Axar Patel had the lowest strike rate: 146.15. Kings XI scored 100 runs off the first eight overs and 99 off the final nine. They asked Mumbai to complete the highest successful chase in the history of the tournament to book a spot in the first qualifier.After their bowling effort, captain Rohit Sharma led a spirited talk in a huddle. In an era of big bats, improved batting repertoire and pyrotechnical hitting, Mumbai weren’t out of the game in the face of the mammoth total. England had chased 230 at the Wankhede Stadium in last year’s World T20 in similar conditions. Mumbai even had the advantage of another packed crowd.Mumbai’s openers – Lendl Simmons and Parthiv Patel – added 99 runs in 52 balls, which meant Mumbai were never going to be completely out of the hunt thereafter. Even though they came pretty close to losing their way when Nitish Rana holed out to deep midwicket, their substantial hitting depth kept the chase alive. Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya even afforded themselves a couple of sighters. That, however, pushed Mumbai’s target to 83 off the last 30 balls. “When a side scores 230, more often than not, you don’t give yourself a chance,” Pollard said after the match.That’s the game gone in previous generations, even previous IPL editions. But it’s cricket in 2017: burly men, massive bats and thinking cricketers. Not much is out of their range. Not even 83 off 30 balls.The next three overs went for 60, with four fours and six sixes; 10 boundaries in 18 balls. Fatigue, possibly the only hindrance to hitting nowadays, was beginning to influence the game, though. On a typically humid May evening in Mumbai, Pollard, having had to scamper twos to retain strike, was tiring out. “Pollard was batting well, but he was tired,” Saha said. “Even when we were batting, when they bowled good yorkers, we weren’t able to hit, even we were tired.””In this match, I was told that I have to play hard in the first six overs,” Wriddhiman Saha said of Kings XI’s tactics•BCCIJust one boundary, a muscular heave over cow corner, came off the final two overs, and Kings XI kept their playoffs chances alive. Mohit Sharma executed five yorkers in the final over, and conceded two runs off those. Mumbai witnessed another slug-fest, another match completely dominated by batsmen, but it was the bowlers that won Kings XI the game.”We call that a bowler’s graveyard,” Pollard said. “We stuck to our guns, these are the kind of games you want going into the playoffs. It proves we are humans, you can’t win every game. We keep improving; we had a dismal performance against Sunrisers but we bounced back pretty well.”We’re playing against professionals in their own right, it’s not every day you’re going to turn up and win. No need to panic. In life, there’s always someone worse off than you. We’ve qualified. First step in every tournament is to qualify, we haven’t taken our foot off the gas.”These are the moments you practice for. Once you’re in the middle, the pressure is not as hard as actually watching it. For me, it was pretty easy because I was in the middle.”

Harbhajan Singh talks comebacks, fatherhood, and how his comment about spin-friendly Indian pitches was misunderstood

Interview by Arun Venugopal25-May-2017Do things become harder as a cricketer once you cross 35?
I don’t think age is a factor. As you grow older, you obviously become more experienced. I have not tried anything fancy – just kept things really simple, checking the batsman, the situation, understanding my own game and what is he [the batsman] looking to do, what is the best option I should be looking to bowl, what angles. If you bowl what you know, you will get results.Things may not always fall in place, but you know this is the best thing rather than trying something which is not even in your game, and you have just learnt that because you feel that the batsman will go after you. Over the years, muscles develop by bowling in a certain way. To suddenly change it, I don’t think is the right approach.Have you tried doing something different and then had to revert to your original methods?
Yeah, several times. We try different things. We think if it’s a right-hand batsman, I should not bowl an offbreak to him. Why do we decide that? In Test cricket, you bowl offspin to a right-hand batsman with midwicket and mid-on inside the ring. It’s not as if the batsman can’t hit from the first ball there. It’s all about the mindset you are in.In T20s, the batsman looks to take chances, so as a bowler, be ready for it rather than getting on to the back foot right from the start. If the batsman is that good, let him hit your best deliveries and not because you are making mistakes. format player side [You need to keep the big player in you aside]. Whatever you have done is history. Do what you need to do now. The wickets are good and the players are good against spin bowling. You get disappointed, but then you pick yourself up and say, “Okay, let’s come back stronger next day and do it again.” Be it IPL or domestic cricket or international cricket, the approach is always the same: to take wickets.It’s not like it happens only with me. If you talk to anyone, they will say the same thing. Even an Anil Kumble has to go through it.When you feel this way, who do you discuss your frustrations with?
You can’t tell everyone. There are people within the cricket fraternity and outside. When we meet and talk to people, such discussions often happen. The only way to make a comeback is to play and enjoy the game. Why did we start playing this game? Because we used to enjoy it. Suddenly, enjoyment game [The enjoyment shouldn’t become a headache]. But it does happen that way, whether you do it deliberately or not. Circumstances lead to that kind of a mindset.Whatever level you are playing, you should look to enjoy. That’s what I have been looking to do over the last year and a half. I will just enjoy no matter where I am playing and what level I am playing at. If I am not enjoying, I will not take part.I didn’t play the last season [of first-class cricket] because I was enjoying with my family. I thought there’s no need for me to be travelling from one place to another every four days because this time won’t come back again. This is a beautiful time and I want to be there each and every day.Do you record all your daughter’s activities?
My camera is full of my daughter’s videos and photos. Obviously your priorities change when you have kids. That’s what happened to me and she brought a lot of changes in me. Playing for India is not used to slip this delivery between offbreaks. I asked him to teach me the delivery, and I have used it to dismiss several left-hand batsmen. With a slightly newer ball, it will swing back into the batsman and get him out lbw or bowled.[Even when I play with another offspinner in the side], I don’t think he is a rival. Both of us are playing together. It doesn’t matter [if he is a junior]. He is there to play because he is good. I am there because I am good too. Our motive is to win the game for India. Whenever Ashwin is doing well, I congratulate him. It’s okay if people have made a big controversy on Twitter; it’s their job. Only we know what relationship we share as players.You can’t have the [same rapport] with everyone, but when you are playing in the same team, I think it’s important to have a good rapport with everyone. A player is like a brother. If he is doing well, good. If he is not, then something is missing and if I think I should go and talk to him, then I do.You have stayed with the same franchise for a decade now. What has the role of Mumbai Indians been in your career?
It has been my second family. I have given my heart and soul for them and they have also been really good to me. See, the IPL is a very demanding world. You have to keep producing results. Obviously, a rapport is created only when you do something good for someone. You do well, you stay with the franchise. If you don’t, they will let you go. It’s fun and a matter of great pride to be part of the same team because there is a sense of belonging, that MI is my team.

Yasir Shah talks about the drama of the climax of that famous Dominica Test, which sealed Pakistan’s first series win in the Caribbean

Osman Samiuddin28-Sep-2017″ (We’ll win it, but you guys will kill me).”So said, according to Yasir Shah, Misbah-ul-Haq after tea on the final day of the third Test between West Indies and Pakistan in Dominica earlier this year. Misbah couldn’t have known then how close his team would cut it, granting him the first half of his prediction, but in the process nearly ensuring the second.Imagine Misbah’s tension through that final session. West Indies were stubbornly refusing to give in to the dream ending he and his team had craved, a first series win in the Caribbean in Misbah and Younis Khan’s last Test. The hosts were 146 for 6 at tea, the 304-run target not a real one but the draw definitely on.Eventually, as we all know now, Pakistan scraped through, winning the Test with six balls to spare – in context, one of the most dramatic finishes in Pakistan’s history.And we’re familiar now with the defining images of that denouement. Yasir switching to over the wicket, to Shannon Gabriel, until then a heroic and unexpected resister; bowling outside off; Gabriel attempting an ungainly hoick across the line for no reason comprehensible to mankind, only to inside-edge on to his stumps; Yasir off on his football-dive celebration, the team in pursuit, Misbah on one knee with the fist pump.And, of course, before that ball, Younis gesturing to Yasir at first slip, the exiting legend with one final, decisive input, proof even when it wasn’t needed, of his leaderly value.What exactly did he say to Yasir?”He told me to bowl the slider to him,” Yasir said. “I said to Younis that I want to bowl the googly because it’s the last ball [of the over] he’ll be ready for the slider. “When I got to my mark, Younis said in Urdu to bowl it a little outside off stump. When I got there, I paused and thought about it and felt my googly isn’t great so I’ll go with a slider instead. So I bowled it and he took a shot…”Pakistan did have another over left, so it wasn’t, technically, the last chance. But given how embedded the centurion Roston Chase was at the other end – he was unbeaten on 101 from 239 balls – and that he would not face the main threat of Yasir, it was then or never.Had it not been for his insistence, or Misbah’s faith in him, Yasir may not have been bowling that over at all. He had already bowled five overs with the second new ball. Misbah, Sarfraz Ahmed and some others held pre-over discussions. Somebody suggested getting a fast bowler on: a yorker, a bouncer, .”But I told Misbah I want to do it, I will get you this wicket,” Yasir said. “I asked for it. Misbah said, ‘Okay, come, no [no problem]. Do it.’ It was a new ball and a tailender was standing. Misbah said, ‘I have trust in you, you’ve always got me wickets.'”For the first five balls, Yasir, 24 wickets already in the series, attacked leg stump. The first was too full, the second, which spun big but slow, too short. Third ball he went round and brought all his fielders in. It was too full, too legside and Gabriel safely padded it away.”It was breaking from leg stump. If I turned it from there, I could get a bowled, even slip was a chance.”Fourth ball, drama. Gabriel went pad first, bat hidden behind and, in a blur, the ball popped up to silly point. Gone, said the umpire, off went the players in celebration. But Gabriel reviewed and, after an unbearable, interminable delay, was reprieved. Fate was doing Pakistan in. In the first over of the new ball, Chase had been dismissed off a no-ball. A few overs later Gabriel was given not out when replays hinted an edge that couldn’t be confirmed in the absence of HotSpot and Snicko. And now this.”It just wasn’t happening,” Yasir said. “It wasn’t pressure, but I think we were just focusing on every single ball so intently, so much, to get them out to make this a happy ending.”Gabriel played the fifth ball, from leg stump again, with the confidence and relief of a man who has been told he’s off death row.”All I could think of was that this was the over for it, this was the over to get the wicket,” said the man behind the stumps, Sarfraz Ahmed. “This was our chance. But as each ball was bowled I was like this is slipping out of our hands, we’ve lost this.”And then Younis’ intervention. Sarfraz doesn’t remember seeing or hearing him at the time, so focused and despondent was he. He saw it later on screen. “I think that is what Younis was saying to throw it outside, so that when it pitches outside, it will skid and come back in a little. The flipper, a new ball, if you pitch it outside, it didn’t go as far maybe as we wanted, but from where it landed it came in a little.”As enduring an image, or rather sound, is of the great Fazeer Mohammad, just the man for the occasion, from behind our TV screens. “Got ’em! Why did he do that? Unbelievable…”Why, indeed, Gabriel? There resides the real mystery. “He must have earned a lot of blessings from a lot of people that day because he won us the series,” said Sarfraz, as clueless as the rest of us, but unconcerned.

There was not too much wrong with what India’s bowlers did, but Sri Lanka finished with the clear edge as the sun came out and holes emerged in the field – repeatedly – on day three

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Kolkata18-Nov-2017It happened for the first time in the 17th over of Sri Lanka’s innings. Mohammed Shami, landing the ball in the fourth-stump channel and, as he almost always does, hitting the seam, squared up Angelo Mathews and found his outside edge. The ball flew into the gap between second slip and gully.The ball bisected those two fielders once again in the 21st over, and then, when Shami returned for another spell after tea, in the 36th over. If there was some doubt over whether the first two edges would have carried to a hypothetical third slip, there was none with the third: it went at chest height.It was that kind of day for Shami. It was that kind of day for India.For most of India’s innings, Sri Lanka’s quicks had bowled to a field that included at least three, and often four, slips, and sometimes up to two gullies. India, however, couldn’t always respond in kind.Sri Lanka’s fields had a lot to do with India losing half their side by the time they had put 50 on the board. There were no top-order partnerships to force Sri Lanka even marginally onto the defensive. They also had something to do with the conditions on days one and two: a green, damp pitch, and an uninterrupted expanse of grey cloud overhead. The ball swung and seamed all the time.It was different now. The sun had broken through some ten minutes into the third morning, bathing Eden Gardens in an unearthly glow and causing spectators to shield their eyes from the dazzle of the players’ whites. While the ball continued to seam around, it did not swing as much without the cloud cover.India, moreover, were protecting a total of 172, and Sri Lanka had got off to a quick start, thanks to Sadeera Samarawickrama’s aggression and marginal errors in line and length from a pace attack that strove perhaps a touch too hard for early wickets. When Mathews edged between second slip and gully for the first time, Sri Lanka were 65 for 2 and going at nearly four an over.India had to control the scoring as well as push for wickets, and that meant one fielder in the covers and usually one at square leg or midwicket. The presence of an extra leg-side fielder may have even helped India bowl closer to off stump than Sri Lanka did. They certainly made the batsmen play time after time.On this day, they kept playing and missing, and Wriddhiman Saha kept making shoulder-high collections behind the wicket. At some points, particularly when Mathews and Lahiru Thirimanne were putting on a battling and not-always-convincing 99 for the third wicket, it felt as if Shami, Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar could have bowled slightly fuller to try and convert some of those plays-and-misses into edges, but there wasn’t a whole lot wrong with their lengths in the first place. It was simply a day of fine margins.When the ball did kiss the edge, it proceeded to sneak into gaps. Once, when Thirimanne was batting on 27, he nicked Umesh to first slip, where Shikhar Dhawan shelled a straightforward chance.It was that kind of day for India.Finally, in the 37th over, their pent-up frustrations found a moment of release, when Virat Kohli dived low to his left from second slip to send back Thirimanne for 51. He held on to the catch, got up on his feet, and speared the ball into the turf next to him, very nearly endangering Saha’s toes.The crowd at Eden Gardens, which had grown from modest beginnings to around 10,000 by the start of this final session, roared. They would not let up until bad light brought an early end to the day’s play. By then, the clouds had returned, and Shami, in particular, looked like taking a wicket every ball, seldom wavering from that boa-constrictor fourth-stump line and zipping past both edges of the bat.It was Umesh, however, who dismissed Thirimanne and then Mathews, who, failing to get to the pitch of a drivable ball, scooped a catch to cover.It was that kind of day for Shami.It ended prematurely, five balls into his 14th over, when he trudged slowly off the field, clutching his thigh. He had struggled with the humidity of his home ground even during his first spell with the new ball, and it seemed like cramp rather than anything more serious.The team’s media manager confirmed this after the day’s play, and said Shami was expected to be back on the field on Sunday.India will definitely need him. Their lead is now down to seven runs, and they still have six wickets left to take to try and minimise Sri Lanka’s lead. For this they will need all their bowlers fit and firing on what could be a pivotal fourth day.

A look at his performances against those of other players in the same matches

Kartikeya Date29-Apr-2018Twenty years ago this week, Sachin Tendulkar scored two hundreds in two run chases against the Australians in Sharjah. The first ended in defeat for his team, but ensured India qualified for the final of the tournament. The second won India the tournament.Tendulkar has played better in ODI cricket than he did that week dozens of times since that innings, and a few times before as well. The wicket in Sharjah was flat. Australia didn’t have Glenn McGrath or Jason Gillespie. Brett Lee was yet to emerge and there was no serious pace in the Australian attack that day. As a technical challenge, the Australians of 1998 were decidedly average (despite the presence of Shane Warne). For difficulty, consider, for instance, Tendulkar’s 77 in Brisbane against Curtly Ambrose, Malcolm Marshall, Patrick Patterson and Anderson Cummins in 1992. The other Indian batsmen in the top six that day made 4, 1, 1, 8 and 3, and the next best score was Kapil Dev’s 28. Or consider any one of Tendulkar’s 18 scores between 90 and 99 (Nathan Astle, Aravinda de Silva and Grant Flower have nine each, the next highest), and you will find memorable stories, difficult attacks, difficult targets or difficult conditions in many of them.In retrospect, that week 20 years ago came to symbolise an era in India’s (and Tendulkar’s) ODI history. Cricket, it is said, is an individual sport masquerading as a team sport. I think this is backwards. Cricket is a team sport masquerading as an individual sport. Each delivery involves exactly one bowler and one batsman, but its possibilities are shaped by realities beyond the control of these two individual players. When teams win consistently, they tend to have a large number of top performers. But to find the truly exceptional individual superstar, look in a team that loses more often than it wins. Think about Andy Flower, or Brian Lara in the latter half of his career, or Muttiah Muralitharan in the Sri Lankan attack. Think, indeed, about Tendulkar in India’s ODI side of that era.Previously, I’ve written about how the central difference between Virat Kohli and Tendulkar in the ODI game is the contribution at the other end. In 48 years of ODI cricket, there have been 130 instances of batsmen scoring 1000 or more runs in a calendar year. I calculated the net batting average and net strike rate for each of these 130 instances.Kartikeya DateTendulkar made 1894 runs in 1998 at an average of 65.3 and a strike rate of 102 runs per 100 balls faced. The other batsmen in those matches scored at 32.6 and averaged 80 runs per hundred balls faced. This gave Tendulkar a net batting average of +32.7 and a net scoring rate of +22. This is represented by the red dot in the chart above. The blue dots represent corresponding records for all other instances of batsmen scoring 1000 or more runs in a calendar year.The extraordinary performance in the top right corner is AB de Villiers in 2015. De Villiers made 1193 runs at 79.5 and scored at 138 runs per hundred balls faced. The other batsmen in those matches scored at 41.6 and at a strike rate of 99 per 100 balls faced. De Villiers crossed 50 ten times in 18 innings that year. In nine out of those ten innings, he scored at least a run a ball. He had innings of 149 (44 balls), 162 not out (66), 119 (61) and 104 not out (73) – an extraordinary year.Other players have averaged better than 70 in a calendar year, scoring more than 1000 runs. In 2017, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma both achieved this, and both scored at 99 runs per 100 balls faced. Hashim Amla made 1058 runs at 75.6 in 2010. He scored at 104 runs per 100 balls faced; the other batsmen in those matches managed to score at 99 runs per 100 balls faced, and averaged 42.8. MS Dhoni made 1198 runs at 70.5 in 2009, scoring at 86 runs per 100 balls faced; the other batsmen scored at 101 runs per 100 balls faced, and averaged 35.9. Ricky Ponting made 1193 runs at 79.5 in 2007, and scored at 92 runs per 100 balls. Australia won the World Cup that year and the other batsmen averaged 44.8 and scored at 103 runs per 100 balls.In an earlier era, Dean Jones made 1174 runs at 69.1 and scored at 79 runs per 100 balls faced. The other batsmen in those matches scored at 32.3 and at 79 runs per 100 balls faced. In 1987, Javed Miandad made 1084 runs at 67.8 and scored at 70 runs per 100 balls faced; the other batsmen scored at 29.8, but managed 81 runs per 100 balls faced.A batsman who scores 1000 ODI runs in a calendar year can be said to be having a great year. Tendulkar in 1998 and de Villiers in 2015 are unique in that they were not only more consistent than their team-mates, but scored significantly quicker than them as well. A comparison between Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, who scored 1000 runs or more in a calendar year six times, is illustrative. In five out of these six years, Ganguly scored slower than the other batsmen in his matches.

Ganguly and Tendulkar in years when they made over 1000 runs in ODIs year

PlayerYearAggregateAvgSRAvg at other endSR at other endGanguly1997133841.87028.482Ganguly1998132841.57035.486Ganguly1999176746.57631.184Ganguly2000157956.48326.179Ganguly2002111438.48335.594Ganguly2007124044.37336.395Tendulkar1994108947.38938.480Tendulkar1996161153.78226.578Tendulkar1997101130.68529.578Tendulkar1998189465.310232.680Tendulkar2000132839.18228.980Tendulkar2003114157.1872981Tendulkar2007142547.58632.389Tendulkar played ODI cricket for India from 1989 to 2012. In all but two of those years, he played at least ten games. Using the method of the net average and strike rate, his career can be split into three distinct phases. The chart below shows Tendulkar’s net average and strike rate per calendar year. Each point represents a calendar year (1989 and 2010 are ignored).Kartikeya DateThe first, formative, phase ran from 1989 to 1993 (green dots in the chart above). Tendulkar played in the middle order in a largely unsuccessful side. In 1994, the coach Ajit Wadekar and captain Mohammad Azharuddin decided to move Tendulkar to the top of the batting order.This began the second phase (red dots) of Tendulkar’s career. He was both the most consistent and quickest-scoring player in the side. It was in this phase that he stood out as the exceptional performer. This phase could be said to have ended with the 2003 World Cup in particular, and the year 2003 in general.In 2004 (and especially 2005), Tendulkar struggled with injuries, and the Ganguly era was drawing to a close, giving way to a significantly stronger and more successful Indian ODI side. In this third phase (blue dots), Tendulkar was more consistent than his average team-mate but scored slower.

Tendulkar’s ODI career divided into three phases

PhaseInningsRunsAverageStrike rateAverage at other endStrike at other end1989-199365167931.17427.7741994-20032561100648.58931.4812004-2012142574144.28534.092Desert Storm marked an exceptional point in that middle phase of Tendulkar’s career. I’ve always thought that the emblematic innings of that phase was not one of the Sharjah ones but his 90 in 84 balls against Australia at the Wankhede Stadium in 1996 in a World Cup game. Australia batted first and reached 258, thanks to Mark Waugh’s 126. During the innings break, Geoffrey Boycott was asked whether he thought India would chase these runs. He said: “No.” After a while, he said, “They have a chance if Tendulkar scores big.”Nearly two hours later, Tendulkar was nearing his hundred, with Sanjay Manjrekar for company. He had taken McGrath to the cleaners with the new ball and seemed to be able to do as he pleased, no matter who was bowling.Boycott was asked again what he thought. “If Tendulkar goes, they’ll struggle,” he said.When Tendulkar was dismissed, India had six wickets in hand and needed 116 in about 24 overs. Boycott didn’t think India would get those, and he was right.On April 19, 1998, in Sharjah against Australia, Tendulkar made 80 in 72 balls as India chased 265 and lost by 58 runs. On April 22, he made 143 in 131 as India chased 276 and lost by 26 runs. Finally, on April 24, he made 134 in 131 as India chased 273 and won by six wickets. Over those three games against Australia, Tendulkar made 357 in 334 balls and was out three times (avg 119, SR 107). At the other end, 374 runs were scored in 497 balls for 17 dismissals (avg 22, SR 75).India lost three out of their five matches in that tournament and still won the title. They lost two of their three matches against the Australians and still won. In a sense, both India and Tendulkar played to form that week. India showed themselves to be the average side that they were then, who lost more than they won. Tendulkar showed himself to be a miraculous player approaching the peak of his powers.That magical year 20 years ago gave the Indian team a look at limited-overs mastery they could aspire to. Indeed, by the time Tendulkar left the international game in 2013, he was no longer the miraculous player from 1998, but India had come closer to being a miraculous side than at any other time in their history.At his best or otherwise, I found Tendulkar’s batting mesmerising to watch. But as good as his batting was, the advancement of the Indian side during these 20 years is perhaps Tendulkar’s greater achievement.

There’s politics, ire and Yorkshire in the July edition of the Briefing

Andrew Fidel Fernando01-Aug-2018Just who is eligible for selection in each cricketing nation? So goes the burning question in cricket, after England’s selectors, headed by Ed Smith, called up legspinner Adil Rashid to the England Test squad, just months after Rashid said that his “heart is not there” in red-ball cricket. What does that mean for players like Dinesh Chandimal, whose heart is roughly where it should be, but whose spit (and spirit of cricket) is in places that the ICC finds deplorable, leading to his being suspended for all of July? And why, while England are yanking Test cricketers from the IPL and other limited-overs games, are Sri Lanka suspending more and more of their potential Test cricketers and yet somehow still winning? Confused? So, frankly, is the Briefing, which means we are making fun of everyone. Strap in.The greats of wrath
From the dawn of the universe, since long before Earth’s continents had separated, Yorkshire natives have been complaining about England’s Test selection. Generally they gripe that one of their “ludds” has been unfairly overlooked, but on this occasion Yorkshire is actually aflame because Rashid – one of their own born-and-bred cricketers – has been selected for England despite his refusal to play first-class cricket for the county this year.Rashid, though, has responded to this criticism in truly incendiary fashion, calling negative comments from former England and Yorkshire captain Michael Vaughan “stupid”, and “nonsense”, in addition to profusely slamming his county side for not backing him, thereby proving beyond doubt that he, Rashid, is the most Yorkshire of them all.Long-format deserters?
In bad news for Test cricket – from Bangladesh this time – the BCB president has claimed some of their players, including Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman, are reluctant to play the long format. Though, come to think of it, this may not be bad news for everyone. Smith and Co will probably take it to mean that Shakib and Mustafizur are available for England Test selection.Spin-trouble corner
Over the last few years, the world’s Test outfits have split themselves into two groups: teams who can barely play spin, and teams who would rather set themselves on fire. In July, South Africa proved themselves to be in that second group, crashing to 124, 73 and 126 in the same series in which Sri Lanka opener Dimuth Karunaratne hit 356 runs by himself. The visitors did their very best to not moan about the state of the pitches, but couldn’t quite make it through the whole series. On the penultimate day, opener Dean Elgar suggested that Sri Lanka had stitched them up with a flat surface in the practice match before running through their batsmen on spinning pitches in the Tests.Ishita Mazumder/ESPNcricinfo LtdThe Icelandic honeypot
Dreamt up as a cricketing magnet for “mums and kids”, the ECB’s new format, The Hundred, has been in the news this month, with newspapers reporting that the ten-ball over that was originally proposed could be scrapped in favour of 20 five-ball overs, which would make up the 100 deliveries. While the ECB is fretting over these details, however, the Iceland Cricket board announced it would get the jump on England and host their own Hundred match, at which point, presumably, all of Britain’s mothers and children leapt with joy and booked their tickets to Iceland immediately, unable to resist the new format’s charm.The head of state
Congratulations are due to Imran Khan, Pakistan’s World Cup-winning captain of 1992, who became the first international cricketer to become his nation’s elected head of government. Somewhere, Arjuna Ranatunga, Sri Lanka’s recent minister of petroleum development, has become elated watching the Imran news, certain that just like with the World Cup, it will soon be his turn to shine.Lessons on how to suck
While would-be franchises pondered legal action against Cricket South Africa in July over the cancellation of last year’s T20 Global League, Sri Lanka Cricket administrators provided their South African counterparts with a masterclass in failing. The Sri Lankan board cancelled their own Lankan Premier League less than seven weeks from when it was supposed to begin, and had done so little work on the tournament that there were no sponsors, no franchises, or any vested groups of any nature to take umbrage, brilliantly protecting the board from potential lawsuits. This particular cancellation was largely due to the government’s dissolution of the board, which was in turn to the board’s incompetence. In general, this is the third occasion that an announced T20 showcase tournament has failed to materialise in Sri Lanka.Next month on the Briefing- Britain in crisis as mums and kids completely obsessed with the Hundred refuse to return from Iceland.- SLC unveils fresh plans for a grand T20 tournament in June 2019; schedules cancellation of said tournament for May.- As a reward for outstanding recent form, England’s selectors call up footballer Harry Kane into Test squad.