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Fast bowler claims 3 for 18 in evening session with visitors still needing 373 on final day

ECB Reporters Network08-Jul-2019Kyle Abbott produced a whirlwind evening spell with the new ball to put Hampshire on course to beat Warwickshire at the Ageas Bowl.Fast bowler Abbott snatched 3 for 18 in five overs to put his side in the box seat, after Hampshire had set the visitors 404 to win.The South African accounted for both openers, Dominic Sibley and Will Rhodes, along with nightwatchman Olly Stone in a breathless stint – which left Warwickshire on 31 for 3 at the close.Earlier, Sam Hain had celebrated his first Specsavers County Championship hundred for three years. Highly rated batsman Hain needed 196 balls to reach the milestone for the first time since July 2016, which also came against Hampshire, before he eventually ended unbeaten on 129.The previous evening, Gareth Berg had declared the morning session to be vital in Hampshire’s hopes of winning this game.They needed seven Warwickshire first-innings wickets quickly to move the match along and claimed all seven mid-way through the afternoon session, with five coming in a frantic morning session.Fidel Edwards struck in the 10th over of the day, the fourth with the fresh ball, when Adam Hose was lbw to an in-swinger, before Keith Barker had former teammate Tim Ambrose caught behind.Berg and Lewis McManus teamed up twice in an over as both Ben Mike and Henry Brookes edged behind. Edwards then unearthed Jeetan Patel’s off stump.The one constant was Hain, who had batted brilliantly with Rob Yates the previous day and continued that form with an intelligent knock.Stone added a classy 21 before he was run out by Ajinkya Rahane, while attempting a second run off a misfield, before Oliver Hannon-Dalby edged Felix Organ to first slip.That meant Warwickshire were bowled out for 307, some 232 runs adrift of Hampshire’s first-innings total of 539, but the hosts decided against enforcing the follow-on.Instead, they gave their pace attack a rest and set about adding runs quickly.It worked for 10 overs as openers Ian Holland and Organ ticked the score to 45 before they were both castled in consecutive balls, delivered by Hannon-Dalby and Jeetan Patel respectively.Rahane and Rilee Rossouw followed quickly after, both at the hands of Hannon-Dalby, to leave Hampshire on 52 for four, with the lead only up to 284.But Aneurin Donald replicated his eye-catching first-innings century with a 41-ball half century – which saw a maximum over deep midwicket – during a 71-run stand with Sam Northeast.Berg was stumped, Lewis McManus, after an entertaining 20, was caught and Barker edged behind before the declaration was made with Hampshire on 171 for 8.Warwickshire were given a target of 404 to win the match with a minimum of 107 overs left in the game, 11 of which were bowled on a beautifully hot summer’s evening.Abbott needed just 11 balls to find one to nip back into Sibley’s off stump. The former Test bowler then had Rhodes caught low at second slip by Rahane and nightwatchman Stone bowled next ball to reach 41 scalps for the season.

Bowl wicket to wicket and tempt the batsmen for boundaries. Umesh Yadav has revealed his bowling plan that dismissed the dangerous opening pair of Chris Gayle and KL Rahul in the same over on Monday

ESPNcricinfo staff15-May-20181:30

‘Umesh is bowling at his best’ – Parthiv

Bowl wicket to wicket and tempt the batsmen for boundaries. Royal Challengers Bangalore fast bowler Umesh Yadav has revealed his bowling plan that dismissed the dangerous Kings XI Punjab opening pair of Chris Gayle and KL Rahul in the same over on Monday night in his match-winning effort of 3 for 23. Umesh’s figures helped bowl Kings XI out for only 88, which RCB chased down with 10 wickets and nearly 12 overs to spare.”We knew those two (Gayle and Rahul) were the dangerous batsmen because once they’re set, they can take the score to 180-190,” Umesh told after the match. “Our team plan was to hit the good lengths and I knew it would be better to not to give them any room. So I wanted to tempt them to hit me for boundaries and I wanted to focus on my strengths – pace and bounce – and tried to bowl wicket to wicket. My captain and team-mates also backed me with that plan.”Even before Umesh got rid of the openers with short deliveries in the fifth over, he and Tim Southee swung the new ball with precision and didn’t offer the batsmen any room to restrict them to 14 for 0 in the first three overs. The third over was a sign of the things to come in the fifth, when Umesh troubled Gayle in the first half of the over with swing, pace and bounce, and then almost had Rahul caught at mid-off on the last ball of the over.In his next over, Umesh banged in short balls and had both batsmen caught at deep square leg within a span of four deliveries, although after Rahul had smashed him for two sixes in the eight balls he faced from Umesh that fetched 15 runs.”If you’re scared of getting hit as a bowler, you can’t bowl in the IPL,” Umesh said. “T20 is such a format that sometimes you get a wicket off a poor ball and sometimes you are hit for a six on a good ball. My focus is always to move on to the next ball if I’ve been hit for a six. It’s important to forget the past and stay in the present in the short format.”When Umesh returned in the 13th over, which was his last, he also had Andrew Tye caught behind for a duck and finished with the same figures in both legs against Kings XI – 3 for 23. In their first clash last month, Umesh’s spell had helped bowl Kings XI out for 155 which RCB had chased in the last over. Umesh is now the leading wicket-taker for RCB with 17 scalps from 12 matches, and third on the list overall behind Tye (20) and Hardik Pandya (18).”I had not noticed that much (same figures against Kings XI) because it’s been a while since that match,” he said. “My focus was just to do well for the team and keep the motivation on a high level.”RCB are still placed seventh, with 10 points from 12 matches and to keep their playoff hopes alive, they need to win their remaining matches and hope some other results go their way. They will play their last two games against current table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad at home on Thursday, and against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur on Saturday.

Adam Voges has indicated that his days as an international cricketer are over

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Feb-20170:50

Adam Voges retires with one of the highest averages in Test cricket

Adam Voges has indicated that his days as an international cricketer are over. A day before he is scheduled to lead the Prime Minister’s XI against the visiting Sri Lankans in Canberra, Voges said it would be his last game against an international team.”This will be it for me,” Voges said. “I’m certainly looking forward to getting out there and playing this game. I’ve had an amazing couple of years with Australia with the Test team and I’ve loved every minute of it.”I see this as a last opportunity to play against an international team and I’m certainly looking forward to that.”Voges, 37, has not played a Test match since suffering a concussion during Western Australia’s Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania in November. Having failed in the first two Tests against South Africa, this game served as a chance to score runs and keep himself in the reckoning for the third Test. Peter Handscomb took Voges’ spot at No. 5, scored a half-century on Test debut, and has established himself as a first-choice member of Australia’s line-up.Voges, who won his Baggy Green in 2015, aged 35, became the oldest debut centurion when he scored an unbeaten 130 against West Indies in Dominica. He struggled through the Ashes tour of England that followed but kept his place in the side and went on to enjoy a storming 2015-16 season that fetched him a century against New Zealand at the WACA, an unbeaten 269 against West Indies in Hobart and another double-hundred in Wellington.His batting average, after the tour of New Zealand, stood at 95.50 after 15 Tests. It fell to 61.87 after sub-par series against Sri Lanka away and South Africa at home, but he ends his career, nonetheless, with the second-highest average – behind only Don Bradman – among all batsmen with a minimum of 20 Tests.Voges’ stint in the Test side was the second half of a two-part international career. Between February 2007 and November 2013, he played 38 limited-overs games, scoring 870 ODI runs at 45.78 and 139 T20I runs at 46.33.

Fast bowler Adam Milne has joined the influx of New Zealand players to English county cricket after agreeing a deal with Essex for a stint in the NatWest T20 Blast

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jan-2016Fast bowler Adam Milne has joined the influx of New Zealand players to English county cricket after agreeing a deal with Essex for a stint in the NatWest T20 Blast.Subject to his visa being approved, Milne will be at Essex for seven matches in the second half of the T20 campaign. He will join fellow countrymen Jesse Ryder and Matt Quinn, the latter who has a British passport, to make it a trio of New Zealanders at the club.

New Zealand internationals in county cricket

Matt Henry and Mitchell Santner (Worcestershire)
Brendon McCullum and Mitchell McClenaghan (Middlesex)
Hamish Rutherford (Derbyshire)
Jesse Ryder, Adam Milne (Essex)
Ross Taylor (Sussex)
Neil Wagner (Lancashire)
Kane Williamson (Yorkshire)

Chris Silverwood, the Essex head coach, said. “Adam is a young bowler with plenty of international experience already. He is exactly what we were looking for from an overseas player, with his real pace offering something different to our attack.”Milne said: “I’m extremely excited to have the opportunity to join Essex and help contribute to a successful NatWest T20 Blast. Essex is a club with such a fantastic history and I look forward to wearing the Eagles logo with pride and making an impact to help bring the T20 Blast silverware to Chelmsford”Milne, who is capable of pushing the speedgun over 90mph but has had an injury-hit career so far, has played 14 T20s for New Zealand, talking 18 wickets at 20.83 with an economy rate of 7.35. He was also part of the New Zealand squad at last year’s World Cup, playing until the quarter-final stage when he picked up a heel injury.New Zealand are now not far off providing a full playing XI in county cricket following a rush of recent signings, including the marquee signature of Brendon McCullum with Middlesex.

Zimbabwe’s Select XI were asked to score the highest total of the match so far against Australia A when they were set a target of 241 to win the three-day match in Harare

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jul-2013
Scorecard File photo – Zimbabwe’s hopes of chasing 241 rest on Hamilton Masakadza•AFP

Zimbabwe’s Select XI were asked to score the highest total of the match so far against Australia A when they were set a target of 241 to win the three-day match in Harare. As was the case in their first innings, their top order collapsed against the pace of Australia’s young quicks and they will have to rely on the lower order to restore respectability.They did a decent job of that earlier on the second day when they put on 60 runs to post a slight recovery from 82 for 5 overnight. Elton Chigumbura went without scoring and that proved a sign of things to come. He fell to Pakistani-born legspinner Fawad Ahmed, who ran through the tail.Malcolm Waller and Natsai Mushangwe shared a seventh-wicket stand of 31 but both were dismissed with the score on 113. Both succumbed to the pace bowlers, leaving Ahmed to deal with the remaining batsmen. He accounted for both Kyle Jarvis, whose score of 20 was the third-highest on the card, and Tendai Chatara to leave Zimbabwe’s XI 84 runs behind.Their bowlers made the day brighter, taking the first Australian wicket with the score on 11. Jarvis had Aaron Finch trapped lbw. David Warner’s Ashes ambitions took another knock as he managed just 11 while the runs came from Nic Maddinson and Alex Doolan.Partnerships were insubstantial apart from 55 between Doolan and Glenn Maxwell on a slow surface. Legspinner Mushangwe was among the wickets and claimed three while Elton Chigumbura accounted for the lower order as Australia lost their last six wickets for 21 runs.With their bowling having done a fine job in dismissing Australia A for 156, it was up to Zimbabwe’s batsmen to show some temperament but they could muster very little. Vusi Sibanda was out in the second over – bowled by Gurinder Sandhu – and Sikandar Raza followed in the next over. Zimbabwe were 1 for 2 and in a familiar position of strife.Brendan Taylor failed to make an impression in the match, out for 5, and the day ended with Waller also dismissed for 6. Hamilton Masakadza was still at the crease but will have to see off Ahmed and marshall the middle and lower order if Zimbabwe have any chances of registering an unlikely win.

South Africa will play a Gabba Test for the first time in 49 years and Sri Lanka will return to the MCG for their first Boxing Day Test since Muttiah Muralitharan was no-balled for throwing in 1995, as part of Australia’s international schedule for 2012-1

Brydon Coverdale19-Jul-2012South Africa will play a Gabba Test for the first time in 49 years and Sri Lanka will return to the MCG for their first Boxing Day Test since Muttiah Muralitharan was no-balled for throwing in 1995, as part of Australia’s international schedule for 2012-13. The summer will also feature a Twenty20 against Sri Lanka at Sydney’s Olympic Park on January 26, the first time in a decade Adelaide Oval has missed out on hosting the national team on Australia Day.Australia will also play an international in Canberra for the first time, a one-dayer against West Indies, who will visit for a five-match ODI series in February. The one-day tri-series, which was reinstated last summer when India and Sri Lanka competed, has not surprisingly been ditched again, and both Sri Lanka and West Indies will play separate limited-overs series against Australia.The international season will begin at the Gabba on November 9 with the first Test against South Africa, who will then move on to play Tests in Adelaide from November 22 to 26 and Perth from November 30 to December 4. South Africa’s desire to play cricket at home around the Christmas-New Year period meant the only option was to play them earlier in the season.The Gabba match will be South Africa’s first Test in Brisbane since 1963, when Ian Meckiff was no-balled for throwing and Graeme Pollock made his Test debut. Australia have not lost a Test at the Gabba since 1988, when West Indies beat them, and facing Dale Steyn and his colleagues at the venue could provide them with their toughest challenge yet to keep that record alive.Sri Lanka’s three-Test series begins in Hobart on December 14, and it could be an extra special match for the Tasmanian fans. If Ricky Ponting plays all three Tests against South Africa he will be in line to break Steve Waugh’s all-time record of 168 Test appearances for Australia and he will do so at his home ground, Bellerive Oval.Sri Lanka will then play the MCG Boxing Day Test for only the second time, and while the first holds dark memories for the Sri Lankans after Muralitharan’s no-balling, both teams have moved on since then. Ponting is the only man who played in that Test who is likely to be part of this year’s Boxing Day encounter, and the Sri Lankans have enjoyed success at the MCG in the shorter formats over the past few years.The Test summer finishes with the third Test against Sri Lanka, at the SCG from January 3 to 7, before the limited-overs part of the season kicks in. From January 11 to 23, Sri Lanka play five ODIs at the MCG, Adelaide Oval, Gabba, SCG and Bellerive, before two Twenty20 internationals in Sydney on January 26 and Melbourne on January 28.It will be the first time since 2003 that Adelaide Oval has not hosted the national team on Australian Day, a decision that came about largely because the venue is being redeveloped and will have a reduced capacity this summer. Adelaide’s Australia Day tradition is expected to resume when the ground’s redevelopment is complete.The final part of the international summer will consist of five ODIs and a T20 against West Indies from February 1 to 13. As part of Canberra’s centenary celebrations, Manuka Oval will host an ODI on February 6, and the other one-dayers will be held at the WACA, SCG and MCG, before the Gabba finishes the international season with the one-off T20.”Over the last 12 to 24 months we’ve seen some young and exciting talent injected into the Australian men’s team and those changes are starting to reap the rewards of the hard work led by Michael Clarke and Mickey Arthur,” James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, said. “The Australian men’s team has a chance to test themselves early in the summer against a very strong South African side and the series is a great way to start the program.”We’re also fortunate to have Sri Lanka back again. They play a very entertaining and attacking style of cricket and as we saw last year have a passionate and vocal fan base around Australia. This year we also return to head-to-head Commonwealth Bank Series and a highlight will be the Australian men’s team first international match in Canberra.”The match is part of a big year of celebrations for Canberra and fans will be spoilt for choice with West Indies playing in the city twice and Sri Lanka once over the course of the summer. The Test and one-day series are again complemented by KFC T20 Internationals, including the Australia Day blockbuster at Sydney Olympic Park that I’m confident will draw a bumper crowd after last year’s first international match at the venue.”Australia’s schedule for 2012-13
Nov 2-4: Australia A v South Africans, Sydney

Nov 9-13: Australia v South Africa, 1st Test, Gabba
Nov 22-26: Australia v South Africa, 2nd Test, Adelaide Oval
Nov 30-Dec 4: Australia v South Africa, 3rd Test, WACA

Dec 6-8: CA Chairman’s XI v Sri Lankans, Manuka Oval, Canberra

Dec 14-18: Australia v Sri Lanka, 1st Test, Bellerive Oval
Dec 26-30: Australia v Sri Lanka, 2nd Test, MCG
Jan 3-7: Australia v Sri Lanka, 3rd Test, SCG

Jan 11: Australia v Sri Lanka, 1st ODI, MCG
Jan 13: Australia v Sri Lanka, 2nd ODI, Adelaide Oval
Jan 18: Australia v Sri Lanka, 3rd ODI, Gabba
Jan 20: Australia v Sri Lanka, 4th ODI, SCG
Jan 23: Australia v Sri Lanka, 5th ODI, Bellerive Oval

Jan 26: Australia v Sri Lanka, 1st T20I, Sydney Olympic Park
Jan 28: Australia v Sri Lanka, 2nd T20I, MCG

TBC: Prime Minister’s XI v West Indians, Manuka Oval, Canberra

Feb 1: Australia v West Indies, 1st ODI, WACA
Feb 3: Australia v West Indies, 2nd ODI, WACA
Feb 6: Australia v West Indies, 3rd ODI, Manuka Oval, Canberra
Feb 8: Australia v West Indies, 4th ODI, SCG
Feb 10: Australia v West Indies, 5th ODI, MCG

Feb 13: Austalia v West Indies, Only T20I, Gabba

22-Jun-2011
Scorecard
Lancashire need a further 205 runs to claim their sixth win of the season heading into the final day of an enthralling County Championship clash with Nottinghamshire.The visitors were set for a smaller run-chase when they had the hosts at 81 for 7 in their second innings, but yet again the Notts tail wagged as Paul Franks and Andre Adams put on 119 for the eighth wicket and pushed the hosts to 216 all out.Franks made 57 from 88 balls – his fifth Championship half-century of the season – while Adams hit 51, including three sixes and five fours. Sajid Mahmood was key to ending the hosts’ resistance, picking up 5 for 74 to complete the second 10-wicket match haul of his career.Having been set 237 to win on a pitch showing uneven bounce, the visitors reached 32 for no loss at the close, with Paul Horton unbeaten on 14 and Stephen Moore 17 not out.The day began with Lancashire on 293 for 8 in their first innings, although Luke Fletcher removed both Mahmood and Kyle Hogg in quick order to wrap things up and claim 5 for 82.The two Lancashire bowlers then set about destroying the Notts top order as the visitors collapsed to 40 for 4 inside the opening 12 overs. Mahmood had Neil Edwards and Samit Patel lbw either side of Hogg removing Alex Hales, brilliantly caught at point by Steven Croft, before former England international Mahmood took the key wicket of David Hussey, beaten for pace as his off-stump was sent cartwheeling.Riki Wessels and Steven Mullaney steadied the ship to reach lunch with Notts on 79 for 4, a lead of 99, but a devastating spell from Hogg after the interval appeared to have swung the match in Lancashire’s favour as the seamer picked up three wickets in seven balls.Mullaney was lbw to the first ball of the session, Wessels was caught behind for 35 playing defensively and Chris Read was also adjudged leg before playing across the line on the back foot.The first of two rain showers then arrived to give Notts a chance to regroup. Adams swung belligerently after play resumed to put the visiting attack off their stride and while Franks was more circumspect, he also seized on any loose deliveries.Mahmood’s return did the trick as Adams gloved a hook shot to wicketkeeper Gareth Cross and Franks was stumped off Gary Keedy, with Fletcher last to go with a sliced drive off Mahmood to cover.

South Africa allrounder Wayne Parnell has been withdrawn from the South Africa A side that will tour Sri Lanka in August as he is yet to recover from a groin injury

Cricinfo staff25-Jun-2010South Africa allrounder Wayne Parnell has been withdrawn from the South Africa A side that will tour Sri Lanka in August as he is yet to recover from a groin injury. Parnell was expected to be fit for the tour but the injury, suffered while warming up for an IPL match in March, is taking longer than expected to heal, and has already caused him to miss the ICC World Twenty20 and South Africa’s tour of the West Indies.According to a statement from Cricket South Africa, Parnell could need surgery to fix the problem, which would keep him out of the Chevrolet Warriors’ Champions’ League campaign as well. His return would then be postponed to South Africa’s tour of Pakistan in late October.Ethy Mbhalati, who missed the A tour of Bangladesh through injury, has also not recovered in time to make the tour.Francois Plaatjies, who was named in the South Africa Emerging Squad to tour Australia, will replace Parnell while Rory Kleinveldt, who was originally selected only for the limited overs matches, has been added to team for the four-day matches.Plaatjies tok 19 wickets in five matches at an average of 22.10 and a strike rate of 35.57 during the SuperSport Series, He also took 16 wickets at an average of 23.25 in the MTN40 tournament.Four-day squad: Thami Tsolekile (capt), Stephen Cook, Dean Elgar, Quinton Friend, Rory Kleinveldt, Heino Kuhn, Vernon Philander, Francois Plaatjies, Rilee Rossouw, Rusty Theron, Thandi Tshabalala, Jonathan Vandiar, Stiaan van Zyl.One-day squad: Thami Tsolekile (capt), Ryan Bailey, Dean Elgar, Colin Ingram, Rory Kleinveldt, David Miller, Vernon Philander, Francois Plaatjies, Rilee Rossouw, Rusty Theron, Thandi Tshabalala, Jonathan Vandiar, Morne van Wyk, Stiaan van Zyl.

The ban came following an Afghanistan Cricket Board anti-corruption investigation into the 2024 Kabul Premier League

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Aug-2024Ihsanullah Janat, the Afghanistan top-order batter, has been banned from “all forms of cricket activities” for five years for corruption, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) said on Wednesday. The ban is effective immediately. The board said that the breaches of the ACB’s and ICC’s anti-corruption code had been committed during the second edition of the Kabul Premier League earlier this year.”Janat was found guilty of violating Article 2.1.1 of the ICC Anti-Corruption Code, which involves improper influence or efforts to fix the result, progress, conduct, or any other aspect of a match,” the ACB said in a statement. “In light of this violation, he has been handed a five-year ban from all cricket-related activities. Janat has admitted to the charges and confessed to his involvement in corrupt activities.”The statement added that the ACB’s anti-corruption unit has been investigating “three other players” for possible involvement in corrupt activities. “Decisions regarding their involvement will be made upon confirmation of their guilt,” the ACB said.Related

• Ihsanullah, another jewel in the Mangal family

Ihsanullah, 26, was in action for Shamshad Eagles at the Kabul Premier League 2024, and scored 72 runs in four innings at an average of 18 and strike rate of 150. The team finished last on the six-team league table with just one win from five games.Internationally, Ihsanullah has appeared in 20 games for Afghanistan across the three formats. Following his debut in an ODI against Zimbabwe in Harare in February 2017, Ihsanullah has played 15 more times in the format, scoring 307 runs (average 21.92) and has also turned out in three Tests (110 runs at 22.00) and one T20I, where he scored a 14-ball 20. That T20I, in June 2022 against Zimbabwe in Harare, was his last appearance for his national team.Ihsanullah comes from a family with close ties to the game, with his brother Nawroz Mangal one of the country’s stalwarts in their early years of international cricket. Nawroz was the captain of the national team when they became the first Affiliate nation to gain ODI status at the 2009 World Cup qualifiers, and again when they qualified for the 2010 T20 World Cup.

The Royals youngster Jurel almost won it for them in the end as he went on a boundary-hitting spree with Hetmyer

Alan Gardner05-Apr-20232:35

Moody explains why Ellis is hard to face in T20s

Punjab Kings made it two wins from two – and two defences under lights – as they held off a late-innings rampage from Rajasthan Royals to ensure Guwahati’s IPL debut ended in defeat for the home side. Kings rode on half-centuries from Prabhsimran Singh and Shikhar Dhawan and, although they fell short of passing 200, Nathan Ellis’ four-wicket haul was vital in hobbling Royals in the chase.Dhawan, who became the third batter after David Warner and Virat Kohli to record 50 scores of 50-plus in the IPL, anchored Kings to what was perhaps only a par score at the compact Barsapara Stadium with an unbeaten 86 off 56. Only 45 runs came off the last five overs, with economical spells from Jason Holder and R Ashwin pivotal in preventing the game from running away after Prabhsimran had helped fire Kings to 63 for 0 in the powerplay.Royal then shipped wickets at regular intervals, despite some crisp hitting from Sanju Samson. They seemed out of contention at 129 for 6 at the end of the 16th over, only for Shimron Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel, Royals’ Impact Sub, to summon a boundary-hitting spree that reduced the requirement to 16 off the final over, bowled by Sam Curran. But the IPL’s record overseas signing held his nerve at the end of an otherwise indifferent performance to hand Royals a first defeat of the 2023 edition.

Prabhsimran comes out swinging

As he had in Kings’ opening victory over Kolkata Knight Riders, Prabhsimran set the early tempo after his side were inserted. He clubbed his third ball, from Trent Boult, over mid-off and then spanked his first in KM Asif’s second over into the stand at deep backward square leg. In the next from Asif, Prabhsimran helped himself to 18 more – three crashing fours and a six – before hitting Ashwin’s second and third balls for boundaries as well.He was dropped by Devdut Padikkal from the final ball of the powerplay, a sizzling drive bursting through the fielder’s grasp at cover as he threw the hands up, but had already made 44 by that point. A maiden IPL half-century followed in the eighth over, from just 28 balls, and there was time for one more belligerent mow into the sightscreen off Boult before a miscue looking to take Holder over the leg side was athletically taken by Jos Buttler sprinting in from long-off.2:30

Manjrekar impressed with Prabhsimran’s evolution

Dhawan gets it done

Despite playing second fiddle to Prabhsimran during their opening stand, Dhawan went through the gears with aplomb through the second half of the innings. From 30 off 30 with three boundaries, he motored through to a 36-ball fifty – he took particular toll on Yuzvendra Chahal, who was dispatched for 6-1-4-4-2-4 on the way to a head-to-head analysis of 33 from 14 balls against the Kings captain.Dhawan’s charge enabled Kings to ransack 57 runs in a four-over span, having been briefly checked by the dismissal of Prabhsimran and a blow to Bhanuka Rajapaksa’s forearm – sustained at the non-striker’s end off a Dhawan drive – that forced him to retire hurt but, as Rajapaksa confirmed on Twitter later, was not serious*. Chahal removed Jitesh Sharma after a 66-run stand, and Ashwin then pinged the top of Sikandar Raza’s off stump, but Dhawan revved the engine again, an audacious reverse-flick off Jason Holder sailing for six over deep backward point.Asif, who leaked 20 from 11 balls to Dhawan, was ramped for six more in the 19th over and a Dhawan century was not out of the question. But he couldn’t get on strike for the final over, Holder conceding just seven runs to keep Kings below 200.

Arshdeep strikes, Samson counters

With Buttler needing stitches on his fingers after taking a low catch from the last over of the Kings innings, Royals opted to send out Ashwin to open the batting alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal. An action-packed powerplay then began with Jaiswal nonchalantly swatting the first ball of the chase, bowled by Curran, into the crowd at deep square leg.Jaiswal struck Arshdeep’s first delivery to the rope as well, but fell in the same over when he flubbed a drive to cover. Buttler by this point was fit to walk out, and the Ashwin gambit ended in failure when he mistimed a pull to go without scoring in Arshdeep’s second over. Kings had already seen Buttler survive a chance by that point, with Harpreet Brar putting down a running catch in the deep off Curran.3:01

Are Royals wasting Hetmyer down the order?

Samson looked to put the pressure back on straight away, smoking Arshdeep straight back down the ground from his second ball. He took Brar and Ellis for back-to-back fours in consecutive overs as Royals breezed past 50 from 31 balls – but when Buttler diverted a caught-and-bowled chance back to Ellis off his pads, Royals were 57 for 3 and wobbling.

Ellis mops up

Ellis only played twice for Kings in 2022 but has made himself a first-choice overseas pick in the 12 months since, keeping Kagiso Rabada out of the XI. He added Samson to his bag just past the midway point of the innings and was on a hat-trick when he had Riyan Parag, the local boy whose volley of boundaries brought the crowd back to life, taken at long-off a few overs later. Hetmyer survived but Padikkal was bowled neck and crop for a limp 21 off 26 to finish the over. Ellis’ fourth went for 16 but figures of 4 for 30 were the difference in what became a tight chase.

Impact player: Dhruv Jurel and Rishi Dhawan

Kings looked like becoming the second team, after Royal Challengers Bangalore, not to introduce an impact sub; they eventually brought on Rishi Dhawan for Prabhsimran after 15 overs of their defence, but he was not used with the ball as his opposite number threatened to have a match-turning impact. Jurel had initially trotted on at the end of the 16th over in Kings innings, after Chahal had bowled his allocation. Batting at No. 8, the 22-year-old showed both power and a cool temperament to thump 32 from 15 in only his fourth T20 innings, as Royals’ seventh-wicket pair took the game to the wire.*