Afghanistan star is currently the joint-highest wicket-taker at the Hundred

Matt Roller16-Aug-2021Rashid Khan comes on to bowl in the 275th game of his six-year T20 career, playing for his 13th different team under his 23rd different captain at his 64th different ground. Most of the Hundred’s star overseas names pulled out long before the start of this season but Trent Rockets made Khan their No. 1 pick in the 2019 draft and he is not the sort to let people down.Khan runs in with Manchester Originals flying at 70 for 1 off 40 balls in a must-win game for Rockets, with Phil Salt, his Sussex and Adelaide Strikers team-mate and one of his best friends in cricket, in his sights. Khan’s first ball is a low full toss towards leg stump, and Salt gets down to sweep, top-edging a catch straight to Samit Patel at short fine leg.Related

Asif Ali thanks his believers as he comes good in green again

Rashid Khan, but so can Asif Ali, as Afghanistan's best efforts fall short

Plan B for Afghanistan: Travel to Sri Lanka via Pakistan and Dubai

Rashid Khan crucial in sending Trent Rockets into knockout phase, Dawid Malan seals the deal

The Hundred playoff scenarios: Five sides still in contention for women's eliminator; three teams eye men's final

There is no exuberant celebration. Instead, Khan smiles wryly, winking at Lewis Gregory and then bumping fists. Two balls later, Colin Ackermann attempts a sweep and is struck on the shoulder by a wicked googly, which gets him lbw. Khan roars out an appeal, then high-fives Tom Moores with his tongue sticking out to the side. The usual grin is missing.Khan takes a superb running catch in the next set of five, then yorks Carlos Brathwaite with a quicker one to take his third wicket in his first six balls. Originals have lost five wickets for four runs, and Khan is involved in all of them. His trademark aeroplane celebration comes out before he is mobbed by his team-mates. He has turned the game on its head in the space of ten minutes.The wickets were Khan’s 381st, 382nd and 383rd in his T20 career, nudging him back into fifth in the all-time list, and the sacrifices he has made to become the world’s best spinner in the format are immense. He told the before this tournament that he has spent 25 days at home in the last five years, and he has lost both of his parents in the last three. “I don’t get enough time to be with the family but at the same time it is the start of my career so I have to struggle,” he said.His performances over the last three weeks – which have put him joint-top of the Hundred’s wicket-taking charts – have come within a wider context. He has posted on social media several times about the worsening humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, usually with a simple message: “Don’t leave us in chaos. Stop killing Afghans and destroying Afghanistan.”On Sunday, his tweet after the Taliban seized Kabul by force, leading the president and thousands of foreign nationals to flee, was particularly straightforward: “Peace,” followed by three praying emojis and three Afghan flags. Last month, he addressed the situation by saying: “As a player it makes you super sad. It hurts a lot, but at the same time we are just trying our best to do something special in the field to make [people at home] happy.”Patel, his team-mate, acknowledged that Khan had been “subdued” in comparison to his usual exuberant self. “He wasn’t as upbeat as normal, and that’s understandable,” he said. “It’s so fresh and we had the game to concentrate on, which was a good distraction for him. He tried to put in a match-winning performance and that comes from his inner self.

“For Rashid to turn up and put on a performance like this under the pressure that he is currently under.. it’s probably one of the most heartwarming stories of the Hundred”Kevin Pietersen

“He’s 100% committed in any game that he plays. I’ve been lucky enough to play franchise cricket with him and I know that you cannot fault Rashid Khan – he’s an absolute gem to have in any team, in all aspects. The way he plays his cricket is full on and that’s a credit to Rash. He’s a world-class performer.””There’s a lot of things that are happening at home,” Kevin Pietersen said on Sky Sports during the innings break. “We had a long chat here on the boundary talking about it and he’s worried: he can’t get his family out of Afghanistan and there’s a lot of things happening for him.”For him to turn up and put on a performance like this under the pressure that he is currently under… for him to be able to forget that stuff and navigate his story and continue the momentum that he has – I think that’s probably one of the most heart-warming stories of this Hundred so far.”Khan is ubiquitous in T20 cricket worldwide: you can flick on any game from any league worldwide and there is every chance that he will be playing, celebrating, or slicing helicopter shots for six over point. Nobody has played as many games as him in the format since his debut in 2015 and nobody has taken as many wickets.The result is that we take this phenomenon for granted. Khan is a 22-year-old Afghan, bowling quick legspin and hitting sixes everywhere from Adelaide to Abu Dhabi and from Trent Bridge to Trinidad. He has been a trailblazer for cricketers from his nation to the extent that every team in the world wants him to play for them.His life and his career have unfolded with the constant backdrop of bloodshed and pain at home, at a time when most people have associated the word ‘Afghanistan’ with a war rather than a country. It is a credit to Khan that even with the backdrop of political turmoil and internal conflict, many now associate it with him, too.

India have a few things to ponder over as they prepare for the first Test against England, which begins on August 4

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Aug-2021Does Pujara start?Rohit Sharma is all set to open with Mayank Agarwal after Shubman Gill got injured. Agarwal was the back-up opener and should play ahead of Abhimanyu Easwaran, the other opener in the squad. Captain Virat Kohli will take the customary No. 4.Related

• Kohli: Challenge is 'wanting to win in conditions which are not ours'

• India have a tailender problem – it's not one they can solve easily

• Rahul hopes for Test revival at scene of his last Test century

• Ben Stokes to miss India series, takes an 'indefinite break from all cricket'

• Leach admits 'frustration' over omission for NZ Tests

At No. 3, though, Cheteshwar Pujara will be under pressure if he doesn’t get a big score early. Since his blockbuster tour of Australia in 2018-19, Pujara has gone 18 Tests without a century and is averaging 28. India are expected to at least start off with Pujara, but three years ago he missed the corresponding fixture so it won’t be unprecedented if Pujara is dropped.

Chris Gayle and Nicholas Pooran’s form, and Andre Russell’s fitness will be key for them

Firdose Moonda21-Oct-20214:01

Talking tactics – How can West Indies best use Chris Gayle?

Big picture

As the defending champions and the only team to hold this title twice, West Indies should be favourites but they come into this tournament in worse shape than either of the previous two they won. Since their 2016 triumph, West Indies hold a win-loss ratio of 0.666, which means they’re losing two out of every three games they play. No other team in the Super 12 is doing that bad, with most doing losing once in every two matches, if that.There’s always an argument to be made that pre-tournament form counts for less than we think it does, especially when it comes to West Indies, especially since their recent record is at least partly down to not always having their best players available. But at an event where teams have to win at least three group matches to progress to the semi-final, emerging victorious every third game, as West Indies have been doing, simply won’t be enough. West Indies will need to reel off strong performances successively, and there are also questions over whether they have the personnel to do that.Their squad includes two of the five players who have appeared at every T20 World Cup to date – Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo – and there’s a debate over Gayle’s inclusion because of his recent form. Curtly Ambrose doesn’t think Gayle should be an automatic pick, resulting in Gayle lashing out and Viv Richards coming to Ambrose’s defence. Apart from the concerns around Gayle, West Indies will also be worried about Nicholas Pooran’s lack of runs, and the gamble they took by including Ravi Rampaul on the CPL form (he last played for them nearly six years ago) and leaving Jason Holder out.Despite all that, West Indies will be playing for something bigger than themselves. They’ve confirmed they will continue to gesture in support of anti-racism and will take a knee before each game.

Recent form

Fairly average. West Indies lost 3-2 in a see-saw series to South Africa, beat an understrength Australian side 4-1 and then lost the only match that was not rained out in a four-game series, to Pakistan.

Batting

Much responsibility will rest on the shoulders of the opening pair of Evin Lewis and one of Lendl Simmons and Andre Fletcher. Lewis is West Indies’ highest T20I run scorer in 2021 and sixth in the world, while Simmons is their next most successful batter. Shimron Hetmyer will have to operate as the glue between those in the line-up whose form has come under the microscope – Gayle and Pooran – and the pressure on Hetmyer may grow. Lower in the order, Roston Chase, who has never played a T20I but topped the CPL run charts will play an important all-round role while Kieron Pollard’s finishing could prove decisive.Chris Gayle has scored only one half-century in his last 26 T20I innings•AFP/Getty Images

Bowling

Left-arm seamer Obed McCoy has been one of the finds of the year for West Indies after establishing himself in the shortest format side over the last few months and becoming their leading bowling this year. He will have the experience of Bravo and Andre Russell to draw on, which gives West Indies a strong pace attack albeit without Holder. It remains to be seen whether they have enough in the spin department. Legspinner Hayden Walsh is their frontline slower bowler with the rest of the duties falling to allrounders Fabian Allen, Chase and perhaps even Gayle.

Player to watch

Chris Gayle is the batter who made T20, and T20 is the format that made Chris Gayle, which is big enough a reason to watch him. But if you need another, at 42, Gayle is the oldest player in this tournament and although he may not like the suggestion, it could well be his last T20 World Cup. Age alone will not decide if Gayle plays in another major competition. Form has to have a say and it’s not looking too good on that front. Gayle played just two matches for Punjab Kings in the second half of the IPL before leaving the bubble to refresh himself ahead of the T20 World Cup. Before that, he scored 165 runs in 9 innings in the CPL (average 18.33), with a top score of 42 and has just one half-century in T20I cricket in 26 innings, dating back to March 2016.

Key question

How fit is Russell? He only played in three of Kolkata Knight Riders’ ten games in the second half of the IPL as he picked up a hamstring injury. Add that to the chronic knee issue that has hampered him in the past and it seems only reasonable to be concerned that Russell may not be available as much as West Indies need him to be at this tournament. If that’s the case, it’s going to affect multiple areas of their game. Russell’s batting allows West Indies to bat down to No. 9, and in his absence, they’ve often found themselves a bowling option short. Despite having Pollard and Allen in their ranks, Russell is a two-in-one West Indies cannot do without for a tournament this important and they’ll hope he is fully fit and stays that way for the next month.

Likely XI

1 Evin Lewis, 2 Andre Fletcher/Lendl Simmons, 3 Chris Gayle, 4 Nicholas Pooran (wk), 5 Kieron Pollard (capt), 6 Shimron Hetmyer, 7 Andre Russell, 8 Fabian Allen, 9 Dwayne Bravo, 10 Obed McCoy, 11 Oshane Thomas/Hayden Walsh Jr

Past coaches have had revolutionary plans, but they’ve not been easily accepted. Will Dravid be able to stamp his signature with this crop?

Sidharth Monga04-Nov-20214:23

Moody: Dravid’s challenge will be to manage the schedule

Early in his captaincy career – well, he was just a stand-in at that point of time – Rahul Dravid experienced the dark side of superstar power in Indian cricket. He declared an innings closed with Sachin Tendulkar on 194. The furore that followed shocked him. His full-time captaincy, lauded for his tactical nous and forward thinking, was littered with troubles with superstars, one who refused to move on, another who resented a change in his batting position. It eventually ended in the captain’s resignation and a sense of unfulfillment even though he had led India to their first Test win in South Africa and a rare series win in England.This was perhaps why Dravid has long been reluctant to take up the head coach role. Now that he has agreed to it, he is arguably India’s most high-profile coach ever. And he walks into a similarly challenging prospect of transitioning the team from the current superstars to the next ones. Make no mistake about it, Dravid inherits an extremely successful team. They have won two successive Test series in Australia, are a single draw away from winning one in England. India are nigh unbeatable at home, and have made at least the semi-finals of the last seven ICC events.Yet it a delicate turn for Indian cricket because the core of this team is in the last quarter of their careers. Their leader on the field, Virat Kohli, is showing signs of wear and tear, and wants to cut down on responsibilities. Every other automatic captaincy choice is older if not the same age. Not that Kohli is in a tearing hurry to give it all up either.Along with the selectors, Dravid will have to manage this transition as smoothly as he can with all the personality clashes that crop up during such times. The role of selectors can be easily overlooked, but they play a potentially bigger role than the coach.The previous team management led India on some really tough tours, two each to Australia and England and one to South Africa, but they had one advantage. Their stint was the most straightforward one in Indian cricket. In the team, there was no other power head. Unlike MS Dhoni and Dravid before him, Kohli didn’t have to manage any senior or difficult character. He got rid of the only possible dissenting voice, coach Anil Kumble, fairly early in his captaincy.They didn’t need any of the diplomacy a team management needs to deal with the BCCI. In the name of a board was a Committee of Administrators, which never denied anything they wanted. One of the things that has probably worn Kohli down, of late, is the board making sure that player power is kept in check. This is the reality of leading an Indian cricket team, a reality Kohli and Ravi Shastri were immune to, but Dravid – and whoever the next captain – is won’t be. While transitioning, they will still have to get the best out of these senior superstars.Dravid’s success as coach at the junior level has been unparalleled, but the biggest job in world cricket is a different ball game•Getty ImagesOn the field, challenges for Dravid are more direct. He has to make India’s white-ball sides more modern while maintaining the Test intensity. To run down India’s limited-overs sides based on ICC tournament knockout matches will be unfair, but there is a sense that despite running the biggest league in T20 cricket, India are always playing catch-up. Their default position in these formats is conservative. Only when they are pushed up against a wall do they unshackle themselves. The results are often spectacular, which frustrates the observers even more. Dravid will need to get rid of that handbrake.With the largest talent pool available to them, Dravid and the new captain will have to realise the vast potential India have in limited-overs cricket. Those who observe India’s limited-overs talent pool at grassroot levels, especially in the batting, are underwhelmed at what India achieve on the international scene. The test will be immediate: there are two World Cups coming up in the next two years, the T20 one in Australia in 2022 and the ODI World Cup at home in 2023.Related

If Dravid the coach is anything like Dravid the captain, be ready for unpopular calls

Ind vs NZ T20Is: Rohit to lead; Kohli, Bumrah, Hardik absent

Shastri: India 'one of the great teams in the history of cricket'

VVS Laxman frontrunner to replace Rahul Dravid as NCA director

Kohli on India's packed schedule: 'That's cricket for you today'

More than Shastri’s, like it or not, popular perception will judge Dravid’s tenure on these two events. Dravid is well equipped, though. He brings great experience in both team formation and strategising both as captain and coach in the toughest league of them all, the IPL. That is his big advantage over a man-manager kind of a coach. He also brings experience of overseeing players through their formative years at NCA and in Under-19 cricket.Dravid will find out not much has changed in India’s limited-overs setup since he was captain. The immediate problem is that everybody wants to bat inside the top three when the ball is hard and new. Back in 2006 and 2007, Dravid and coach Greg Chappell were ahead of their time in recognising the issue, but their solution, to ask the most versatile batter they knew to take up the responsibility in the middle order, backfired spectacularly because of lack of buy-in. What solutions will he bring about now? How will he manage a buy-in if he has similar revolutionary ideas?

“Along with the selectors, Dravid will have to manage this transition as smoothly as he can with all the personality clashes that crop up during such times. The role of selectors can be easily overlooked, but they play a potentially bigger role than the coach.”

Dravid will have to use all his diplomacy to manage the mental and physical health of his players. Kohli has cried himself hoarse in press conferences about the unsustainable schedules of the Indian team. This might just be the time to take the England route and invest in a completely different limited-overs outfit to better manage players’ bodies and minds. With some help from the BCCI, he will have to harbour a sense of security within the team, if he aims at such a shift.Test cricket has relatively easier assignments and challenges apart from the tour of South Africa and the last Test of the unfinished series in England. Leading that England series already, India will be favourites to make the final once again. However, during Dravid’s tenure, the futures of a few Test stalwarts will come up for review. Delicate decisions will have to be made.While the wild dream of being Test, ODI and T20I champions at the same time can’t be ruled out in the next two years, we will do well to not judge the team on those three or four knockout matches alone.That is one thing that will change from his current job where he himself makes a conscious effort to not focus on the results on the ground. To him, winning an Under-19 World Cup is less important than seeing his players holding their own against older, battle-hardened men in first-class cricket within one year of playing Under-19. His A-team tours are more about judging who can go on to serve India and then providing him enough chances to develop his game. Now Dravid will have to rely on someone else to do that for him.A recent TV commercial plays on the popular image of Dravid. They show him in road rage a moment after the narrator says their offer is as ridiculous as Dravid having anger issues. Because, well, if Dravid can have road rage, their offer is not so ridiculous after all. It works because it is an extremely clever advertisement, based of real-life perception of Dravid: a good boy with a neat side-parting who represents those qualities of people that they want projected.Yet the advertisers needn’t have created a fictional scene of road rage. They could have just shown him fling his cap into dirt as Rajasthan Royals coach when his players didn’t execute well. Welcome back to that life, Rahul. It’s quite a rush. Hope you don’t have to bring out that side too often.

He brought back memories of Yuvraj Singh by making six-hitting look ridiculously easy with his long reach and fast hands

Deivarayan Muthu12-Apr-20223:03

Manjrekar: Dube naturally gifted like Yuvraj

Dwayne Bravo was so twitchy in the Chennai Super Kings dugout, when Robin Uthappa took on their old friend Faf du Plessis’ arm at mid-on in the second over, that he leaned forward from his seat and almost shoved Chris Jordan away. du Plessis failed to throw the stumps down, but Bravo’s expression encapsulated the mood in the Super Kings camp. They were desperate to snap their four-match losing streak, with their head coach Stephen Fleming even saying, in the lead-up to the game, that the team is searching for evidence that they’re on the right track.It was Shivam Dube – and Uthappa – who yanked Super Kings out of the funk with a sensational assault. After being asked to bat, Super Kings had dawdled to 60 for 2 in 10 overs. Josh Hazlewood, another old friend of theirs, had settled into Test match lines and lengths with the new ball, and was rewarded with the wicket of Ruturaj Gaikwad for 17 off 16 balls. Suyash Prabhudessai, the debutant, then swooped down on the ball at backward point and ran out Moeen Ali for 3 off 8 balls. After joining forces at 36 for 2 in the seventh over, Dube, in particular, dismantled Royal Challengers Bangalore’s best-laid plans, propelling Super Kings to 216 for 4.Related

• CSK get on the board after Dube-Uthappa show

Take on Wanindu Hasaranga? Of course. Pump Shahbaz Ahmed out of the attack? Easy peasy. Feed the strike to Uthappa against pace? Sounds good. Clear the bigger boundary? Yes, sir.After both Dube, who was promoted ahead of Ambati Rayudu, and Uthappa were becalmed in the early exchanges, it was Dube who properly started Super Kings’ six-hitting party when he used his long reach to pick Hasaranga’s second ball and mow it over long-on for an almighty six in the 11th over. Three balls later, he sat back for the shorter dart and hauled a pull to the midwicket boundary.Shahbaz, the left-arm fingerspinner, then came on and dared Dube to clear the bigger leg-side boundary. Dube dropped down to one knee, launching into a slog-sweep that sailed over that boundary and brought back memories of Yuvraj Singh at his peak.Shivam Dube and Robin Uthappa exploded in the end overs•ESPNcricinfo LtdMuch like Yuvraj did, Dube makes six-hitting look ridiculously easy with his long reach, strong base, fast hands, and a flourishing bat-swing. It was Dube’s six-hitting ability – he hit fives sixes in an over off Pravin Tambe in a Mumbai T20 league in 2019 and then repeated the feat in the Ranji Trophy on the eve of the IPL 2019 auction – that made everyone sit up and take notice of him. Royal Challengers forked out INR 5 crore for him at that auction.More than three years later, he left his former franchise punch-drunk with a 95 off 46 balls, studded with five fours and eight sixes. Dube’s presence meant that Hasaranga couldn’t get through the middle overs unscathed. Or maybe Royal Challengers had held back Hasaranga for MS Dhoni, but that move backfired. By the time Hasaranga had returned for his third over, Super Kings were 187 for 2 in 18 overs. Uthappa rolled out a vintage down-the-track lofted six first ball and then Dube swatted a perfectly blameless wrong’un over long-on for a six of his own.Dube is often vulnerable to rapid pace and bounce, but one of his biggest strengths is making good balls look bad. Another case in point: when Hazlewood marginally missed his yorker in the final over of the innings, Dube sat so very deep that he converted it into a half-volley and walloped a 102-metre six over his head.Dube threw his head back in despair and slumped to his knees at the end of the innings when he fell short of a century, but he had put the smiles back on the faces of his team-mates. Bravo, Jordan, and the rest of the squad gave Dube a rousing reception. A few hours later, Super Kings secured their first points.”I’m really happy I contributed to my team’s first win,” Dube told host broadcaster Star Sports after winning the Player-of-the-Match award. “It is really an honour for me to contribute for my team’s first win. I think I’m more focused this time [in IPL 2022] and I’m focused on my basics – nothing much. I spoke to many senior players. Mahi [MS Dhoni] also helped me improve my game. He told me to be still and just let the skill work in the game. As the situation demands, as the captain and coach tells me… I’m ready to bat anywhere.”Super Kings are still wondering how to fill the Deepak Chahar-sized hole, but Dube’s flexibility and power has added another dimension to their batting.

And is Mumbai Indians’ eight consecutive losses the worst start to an IPL season by any team?

Steven Lynch26-Apr-2022Mumbai Indians just crashed to their eighth defeat out of eight this season. Is this the worst start to any IPL campaign? asked Narendra Vohra from India
Mumbai Indians’ horror start to the 2022 IPL does indeed turn out to be the worst yet: defeat to Lucknow Super Giants in Mumbai on Sunday meant they had lost all eight of their matches up to that point. Two other teams started an IPL season with six straight defeats – Delhi Daredevils in 2013, and Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2019.Apparently there was a suggestion online that Kings XI Punjab lost their first eight games in 2010, but that’s incorrect: their sequence included seven defeats and a Super Over win after a tie.There have been four cases of a streak of nine consecutive losses mid-season, by Kolkata Knight Riders in 2009, Pune Warriors in 2012 and 2013, and Daredevils in 2014. The record straddling seasons is 11 straight defeats, by Pune Warriors in 2013 and 2014, and Delhi in 2015-16.There were three double-centuries in the recent County Championship game between Derbyshire and Sussex. Has any match had more? asked Robert Sponder from England
The three double-centuries in that match in Derby earlier this month came from Shan Masood, with 239 for Derbyshire, and the Sussex pair of Tom Haines (243) and Cheteshwar Pujara (201 not out). I was slightly surprised to discover that this equalled the first-class record: there had been ten previous instances of three double-hundreds in the same game, the most recent two coming in India’s Ranji Trophy in 2016-17, in the matches between Delhi and Maharashtra in Mumbai and Baroda and Punjab in Delhi.The first such instance was by Barbados and Trinidad in Bridgetown in 1943-44, and it happened again two years later in the same fixture in Port-of-Spain (Frank Worrell reached 200 in both). It’s happened twice in Tests – by Australia and West Indies in Bridgetown in 1964-65, and Pakistan vs Sri Lanka in Karachi in 2008-09.Which bowler has the worst strike rate in Test cricket? asked Michael Robertson from England
Given a minimum of 50 Test wickets, the worst strike rate belongs to the former West Indian captain Carl Hooper, whose 114 victims came at a strike rate of 121 balls per wicket – that’s more than 20 overs for each one. Next comes Australia’s miserly medium-pacer Ken “Slasher” Mackay, who went for well under two runs an over but didn’t take many wickets: his 50 came at a rate of one every 115.8 balls. The worst among those with more than 200 wickets is another West Indian captain, Garry Sobers, whose 235 came at a strike rate of 91.9.Ben Compton became the 12th opener to bat through both innings of a men’s first-class match•Andrew MillerBen Compton batted through both innings of Kent’s recent Championship match against Lancashire – has anyone else ever done this? asked Norman Davidson from England
Kent’s new opener Ben Compton carried his bat for 104 in the first innings of the recent Championship match against Lancashire in Canterbury, and was last out in the second innings for 115. This was the 12th instance of a man batting throughout both innings of a first-class match, the first since Derbyshire’s Luke Sutton (140 not out and 54) did it against Sussex in Derby in 2001.Surrey’s Harry Jupp did it twice – against Hampshire in 1866 and against Yorkshire in 1874, both at The Oval. The only instance in a Test was by Desmond Haynes, for West Indies against New Zealand in Dunedin in 1979-80; he was the last man out in both innings, after making 55 and 105.Thanks to an odd-looking lbw decision, Compton was deprived of the distinction of carrying his bat through both innings – a feat achieved just six times in first-class cricket, most recently by Andhra’s Sudhakar Reddy against Kerala in Calicut (now Kozhikode) in 1991-92, and Jimmy Cook for Somerset vs Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge in 1989.Sunil Narine was run out without facing from the first ball of a recent IPL innings. How often has this happened? asked Josh Willmott from England
Opening with Aaron Finch for Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunil Narine was run out without facing against Rajasthan Royals in Mumbai last week. He was actually the fourth batter to collect what some call a “diamond duck” in the IPL, following Karan Goel for Kings XI Punjab against Royals in Cape Town in 2009, and M Vijay for Chennai Super Kings against Delhi Daredevils in Delhi in 2012 (both from the first ball of the match), and Colin Munro for Delhi against Royals in Jaipur in 2018, which like Narine’s dismissal was from the opening delivery of the chase.In all T20 cricket there have now been 22 instances of a batter being run out without facing from the first ball of an innings – rather neatly, 11 from the first ball of the match and 11 from the opening ball of the second innings.Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

From the moment Cummins thundered a full delivery into Babar’s pad, the visitors smelled blood and did not stop

Andrew McGlashan14-Mar-2022Between lunch and tea on the third day in Karachi, Australia’s bowlers claimed six wickets – double the tally they had managed in the series until that point. There were only 20 overs in the session but more happened then than the preceding 22 combined. Barring a miracle, it was likely the moment where Australia earned just their fourth Test win in Pakistan.There had been early signs that the scoreboard pressure applied by Australia’s 556 would tell on Pakistan: an attempt at a non-existent single had brought the first wicket, then Imam-ul-Haq’s reckless strike against Nathan Lyon had given an Australia bowler a scalp for the first time in more than 600 deliveries.But the moment the day, the match and possibly the series changed came in the 21st over when Pat Cummins thundered a full delivery into Babar Azam’s pad. Squeezing it off the face of the bat saved Pakistan’s captain, but the signs were there: reverse swing was in town.Related

Mohammad Yousuf: 'When the bowling is so good and reverse swing is in play, it's tough'

Mitchell Starc's reverse-swing masterclass rips through Pakistan as Australia dominate

Australia's front-loading puts Pakistan in danger on wearing surface

Test cricket can't afford to be boring

It was not the first time the ball had tailed in the match – Shaheen Shah Afridi was probing with it through Australia’s long innings and Faheem Ashraf also threatened – but for the first time it would have a telling impact. Cummins, who had an excellent day as captain, sensed the moment. Lyon had just claimed the wicket of Imam but he was whipped out of the attack in favour of Mitchell Starc. There would only be one more over of spin in the session.Australia had been planning for this moment since before the tour during their pre-series camp in Melbourne where they put considerable time into the bowling of reverse swing. “A lot of time the ball reverse swings so we didn’t really experience it this summer with grassy wickets, short games, whereas over there it can be a real weapon so trying to upskill that,” Cummins had said before flying out to Pakistan. “We haven’t bowled a lot of reverse swing in the last year or so but it’s a huge factor going into the subcontinent.”It had not really transpired in Rawalpindi on a lifeless surface and a slightly more verdant outfield, whereas at the National Stadium there is a wide square of barren pitches ready-made to scuff up the ball. Before the match, the likely role of reverse swing was front and centre in Australia’s selection with the retention of Starc (the current Allan Border Medalist as Australia’s men’s player of the year) ahead of Josh Hazlewood. It’s not that the latter cannot be effective with the reverse, but Starc’s left-arm angle and few extra kph brings an added dynamic and both were on show in the over that truly began Australia’s surge.From round the wicket – an angle that allows him to push the ball into the right-handers then have the movement either slant it back further or take it away – he lured Azhar Ali into poking at a full delivery outside off stump which sent a catch whistling to second slip where Cameron Green snaffled it with deceptive ease given how close he was standing.Next ball, to the left-handed Fawad Alam, Starc was back over the wicket and produced a trademark full delivery which curled into Alam’s pads in front of the stumps. On the eighth day of the series it was Fawad’s first opportunity to bat (he has not bowled and also dropped a catch in Rawalpindi, although held on to remove David Warner in the final session) and it was over before there could be the usual freeze frames and analysis of his unorthodox stance.On a hat-trick, Starc saved his best for Mohammad Rizwan, and it was too good. A length delivery that jagged away off the surface from round the wicket to beat the edge. It was not a million miles away from matching the famous delivery he sent down to James Vince at the WACA during the 2017-18 Ashes. The over was on a par with the one he bowled against England on that heady second evening at the MCG just a few months ago when Australia’s quicks produced one of the more unplayable passages in recent memory.Pat Cummins celebrates the wicket of Mohammad Rizwan•AFP/Getty ImagesThere was no reprieve, though, for Rizwan. After the drinks break Starc was replaced by Cummins who gave Rizwan a torrid time. He was dropped at slip by Steven Smith who went for a catch that was probably Alex Carey’s for the taking. Next ball he padded up to a delivery which jagged back and was given lbw when it was nowhere in the vicinity of the stumps – DRS providing the perfect example of why it was first introduced.The relief was momentary, however. Just two balls, in fact, until the start of Cummins’ next over when he found Rizwan’s outside edge with another perfect delivery in the channel. This time the edge was finer and there was no doubt where it was heading as it nestled in Carey’s gloves.Through all this you had Green showing, again, the value he will bring to this Australia side as he enabled Cummins to keep going with pace from both ends and removed Faheem Ashraf for good measure during a six-over spell. Such was the impact Australia were having with the quicks, that when Green had to briefly leave the field after a blow on the hand, Marnus Labuschagne had an over of medium pace.There was time for Starc to strike again before tea, although his third wicket owed much to the excellent hearing of Carey who was convinced Sajid Khan had got a thin edge which was proved correct. Throughout this, Starc maintained an average pace over 140kph, the only bowler to achieve that in the match. When the ball did move, either off the pitch, in the air, or both, that extra speed hurried all the batters.The final session of the day was a touch anticlimactic after all that as the lower order was wrapped up by another direct hit run out from Labuschagne – do not discount the value of Australia’s fielding – and the first two wickets of Mitchell Swepson’s career. This was the perfect day. Australia’s bowlers will need to do it again tomorrow, but on the latest evidence they have all the tools available. After reaching until almost the mid-point of the series, this may just have been the moment it took the decisive (reverse) swing.

Can India find another gear to snatch a medal that will do more for women’s cricket in the country than anything they have done previously?

S Sudarshanan05-Aug-2022India are here again, in the semi-final of a global tournament. They have not won a world event yet, so they will be all the more keen on this one. But, if it happens, it will be a bit different to anything else on offer in the game. In the Commonwealth Games 2022, they have the chance to win one of three medals. If they can pull it off, given how crazy India as a country is about medal-winners, the next few days could do more for Indian women’s cricket than any in the past. Any medal will be a cause for celebration. But, needless to say, gold is the aim.Talk about wanting to win a medal and inspiring the next generation, while also living the Olympic dream (or something like it), abounds. This, even as cricket takes baby steps towards making the 2028 edition of the Olympics.”It [the chance to play for a medal] will take time to sink in,” Jemimah Rodrigues said after India’s win over Barbados, which sealed their semi-final spot. “Watching other athletes of India doing so well, winning medals for India, it inspires us also and gets the best out of us.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jemimah Jessica Rodrigues (@jemimahrodrigues)

In the previous four global tournaments, India have finished runners-up twice – at Lord’s in the 2017 50-over World Cup, and then in front of a packed MCG in 2020 T20 World Cup – and semi-finalists once. The other time, they fell away to a group-stage exit at the 50-over event in New Zealand earlier this year. India are now one win away from an assured medal.Related

• Rodrigues: 'I don't have to be someone else'

• Brunt continues to marvel as her end-game looms

• Australia's team of matchwinners will take some stopping

“It’s technically not a global event but for women’s cricket it is as good as a World Cup,” Snehal Pradhan, the former India cricketer who is in Birmingham in her capacity as a broadcaster, told ESPNcricinfo. “That’s how much a medal – a gold – will matter. All of their press conferences and conversations are about ‘we are not here for anything except a gold’.”In the World Cup, the winner takes all. Even though here the second and third place is appreciated, that’s not what India want; they want the gold.”India’s training sessions have been highly intense. While teams are allowed a contingent of 15-20 players plus five support staff in the Games Village, the BCCI has sent three additional staff members, including a throwdown specialist and a masseuse, at its own cost.”Even in training, they are working on all facets of skills,” Pradhan said. “There are two nets and then they’ll be out on the centre square doing range-hitting. Almost all batters are going through that routine where you hit out of the nets and then you are into that range-hitting training.”

“This team has redefined normal; getting to the semi-finals is absolutely normal for them. They want to continue to redefine normal. They want to set a culture for the next generation to follow and I don’t think that culture involves losing semis and finals. It involves winning the thing”Former India player Snehal Pradhan

Contributions have come from several quarters for India. While Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana have scored a half-century each, it was up to Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma to dig their side out of a hole in the must-win game against Barbados. India were reduced to 92 for 4 batting first, before the pair put on 70 off just seven overs. In the absence of allrounder Pooja Vastrakar, who reached Birmingham late after testing positive for Covid-19, Renuka Singh has stepped up and delivered two four-wicket hauls. Sneh Rana’s dashing introduction to the Commonwealth Games has complemented Deepti’s offspin, with support from Radha Yadav.”This team has redefined normal; getting to the semi-finals is absolutely normal for them,” Pradhan said. “They want to continue to redefine normal. They want to set a culture for the next generation to follow and I don’t think that culture involves losing semis and finals. It involves winning the thing. So they want to set the bar higher.”However, in hosts England, India face a team that is perhaps better-rounded than them, against whom they have won only five out of 22 completed T20Is (the numbers have improved to two out of five since the start of 2020). England ousted India from the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup in 2018, while the absence of a reserve day crushed England’s hopes and put India in their maiden T20 World Cup final in 2020.Contributions have come from many quarters on India’s road to the semis•Getty ImagesEngland are being led by Nat Sciver in the absence of regular captain Heather Knight. They defeated Sri Lanka, South Africa and New Zealand to top Group B and are being powered by the experienced Katherine Brunt and the wily Sophie Ecclestone. Teenager Alice Capsey’s attacking instincts at No. 3 have helped fill Knight’s void. Plus, there is a feel-good vibe around women’s sport in England at the moment.”England are riding the wave and the momentum of energy behind women’s sport in this country,” Pradhan said. “We can sense that in terms of how the attendances are building up, how everyone is talking about it and how the Lionesses [England’s football team that beat Germany last weekend to win UEFA Women’s Euro 2022] are still in the news even a week after Wembley. I think they will look to emulate the football team.”Equally, history beckons India. A win against England will assure them of a silver or gold medal. A loss will still give them a chance at a bronze-medal finish.During the team’s last assignment before the Commonwealth Games, in Sri Lanka last month, Harmanpreet had asked the team during a meeting about areas they needed to work on. “Killing attitude,” is what Vastrakar had said in response.It should not come as a surprise if this attitude – and Vastrakar – comes out on Saturday to take India a step closer to living their dream.