Some legendary men have risen from the ashes, with instances going four decades back

Harigovind S09-Jul-2023Cricket has been the site of retirement reversals in 2023 – first when Moeen Ali returned for the Ashes and then when Tamim Iqbal cut his retirement short to a six-week break. That got us thinking: what if a cricket team was composed of players who hung their boots only to slip back into them later?

Bob Simpson

Sixty-two-Test-veteran Bob Simpson had been out of international cricket for a decade when Australia’s reserves were stretched thin ahead of the 1977 India series, thanks to Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket. Simpson, then 41 years old, hauled himself out of retirement and went on to score 539 runs in ten hits.

Tamim Iqbal

The mood was sombre when Tamim Iqbal called time on his illustrious career in a tearful press conference, one day after Bangladesh had lost to Afghanistan and three months before the 2023 ODI World Cup, in India. But after an intervention by Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina, Tamim took a u-turn.

Javed Miandad

Upon finding himself dropped from the side in 1994, Pakistan’s batting wizard decided to bid farewell to cricket. “No Miandad, No Cricket,” wailed cricket fans as the country’s Prime Minister at the time, Benazir Bhutto, coaxed the maestro to make himself available again. Miandad obliged, but it wasn’t until 1996 that he next represented Pakistan.Getty Images

Kevin Pietersen

Kevin Pietersen was an early proponent of globetrotting in franchise leagues. And when he decided to end his international limited-overs career with four months to go to the 2012 World T20, England cricket was jolted. But less than 60 days later he said that he would never say no to a comeback. Come back he did, to play eight more ODIs and a T20I for England.

Carl Hooper

Carl Hooper, one of the most gifted players of his generation, sprung a surprise by announcing his Test retirement at the tender age of 32. However, after West Indies’ barren streak in 2001, the prodigal son returned to lead them in a home series against New Zealand, India, and South Africa, eventually retiring in 2003.

Bhanuka Rajapaksa

Familial obligations were the official reason given by Bhanuka Rajapaksa when he announced his retirement from internationals in early 2022. His ‘hasty’ decision was met with disapproval from Sri Lanka’s Sports Minister, Namal Rajapaksa. Following a meeting between the two and a consultation with the national selectors, Rajapaksa expressed his wish to represent his country in the game he loves for the years to come.Afridi and Miandad both came out of retirement•AFP

Imran Khan

The legendary Imran Khan had decided to call it a day after Pakistan’s defeat to Australia in the 1987 World Cup semi-final. Imran had a change of heart when he was asked to represent Pakistan again by President Zia-ul-Haq. Imran would retire five years later, as a World Cup winner.

Moeen Ali

Moeen had retired from Test cricket in 2021 but found himself answering an SOS call ahead of the 2023 Ashes when Jack Leach was ruled out. His second coming to Tests saw him breach 200 wickets in the format, two years after leaving the ring five short of the milestone.

Shahid Afridi

In 2006, 2010, 2011, 2014 and 2017 were the retirements, and in 2006, 2011 and 2016 came the comebacks. But behind the metronomic speed of his retirements sat one of the most influential cricketers of the modern era: there was little on the cricket field that Afridi couldn’t do, and a place always seemed open for him.Srinath in South Africa: playing his final World Cup•Getty Images

Javagal Srinath

Javagal Srinath left the Caribbean in 2002 having made up his mind that he had played his last Test. However, Sourav Ganguly would have none of it. Ganguly convinced Srinath to come out of retirement and play three more Tests and lead the attack at the 2003 World Cup, where India were runners-up.

Jerome Taylor

Jerome Taylor’s 46-Test career came to a halt when he decided to end his Test prospects to focus on the shorter formats – but things took an unexpected turn when he wasn’t picked in any white-ball matches for the next 14 months. He promptly reversed his Test retirement but hasn’t donned the whites since.

And was Quinton De Kock’s six catches against Afghanistan a record?

Steven Lynch14-Nov-2023Is it right that Glenn Maxwell was the first to score a double-century in an ODI run-chase? asked Kris McNamara from Australia
That astonishing onslaught by Glenn Maxwell last week, for Australia vs Afghanistan in Mumbai, brought him the 11th double-century in one-day internationals – but the first in a chase, as the other ten were all scored by openers in the first innings of the match.The previous highest in the second innings of an ODI was 193, by Fakhar Zaman for Pakistan against South Africa in Johannesburg in April 2021; the highest by a non-opener in either innings was 194 not out, by Charles Coventry for Zimbabwe vs Bangladesh in Bulawayo in 2009.In the World Cup, the previous highest by a non-opener was Viv Richards’ 181 from No. 4 for West Indies against Sri Lanka in Karachi in 1987, while the highest in a chase was 158, by Andrew Strauss in England’s tie with India in Bangalore in 2011.Is the difference between Glenn Maxwell’s 201 and Mitchell Marsh’s 24 the biggest between highest and second-highest scores in a World Cup match? asked Jennifer Fingland from Britain
The difference of 177 between Glenn Maxwell’s score and the next highest in Mumbai has been exceeded only twice in any ODI innings: 198 between Rohit Sharma (264) and Virat Kohli (66) for India against Sri Lanka in Kolkata in November 2014, and 195 between Martin Guptill (237*) and Ross Taylor (42) for New Zealand against West Indies in Wellington in March 2015, which remains the World Cup record.In women’s ODIs the biggest difference is 165, between Belinda Clark (229 not out) and Karen Rolton (64) for Australia against Denmark in Mumbai during the 1997 World Cup. And when Chamari Athapaththu hit 178 not out for Sri Lanka against Australia in Bristol during the 2017 World Cup, the next highest score was Shashikala Siriwardene’s 24.The most in Tests is 300, between Brian Lara (375) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (75 not out) for West Indies against England in St John’s in 1993-94.Quinton de Kock took six catches in South Africa’s match against Afghanistan. Was this a record for the World Cup? asked Ben Torode from South Africa
The South African wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock’s six catches in an innings in the match against Afghanistan in Ahmedabad last week equalled the World Cup record, set by Adam Gilchrist for Australia against Namibia in Potchefstroom in February 2003, and matched by Sarfaraz Ahmed for Pakistan against South Africa in Auckland in March 2015.In all ODIs, there have now been 16 instances of a wicketkeeper making six dismissals in an innings (some including stumpings). Gilchrist was responsible for six of them, but de Kock is the only other keeper to do it more than once: he also made six dismissals (five catches and a stumping) against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui in October 2014.Netherlands’ four run-outs against Afghanistan was the 12th instance of four such dismissals in a World Cup innings•ICC/Getty ImagesIn their World Cup match against Afghanistan, four Netherlands players were run out. Was this some kind of record? asked Andre Terblanche from South Africa
The four run-outs in the Netherlands’ innings against Afghanistan in Lucknow was the 61st instance of four in all ODIs, and the 12th in the World Cup. There have also been ten innings which included five run-outs, two of them in the World Cup: both of those were by Australia, in the inaugural final against West Indies at Lord’s in 1975, and against India in Mumbai in 1996.The Dutch innings in Lucknow was unique in one respect, though – one that certainly harmed their chances of posting a competitive total: the four run-outs all came from the top five in the batting order. It’s the only one of the ODI instances where this was the case.In last week’s question about bowlers averaging around two wickets per ODI, should you perhaps have mentioned Mohammed Shami? asked Dipesh Patel from India
You’re right that the Indian fast bowler Mohammed Shami deserves an honourable mention here. After the group phase of the current World Cup he had taken 187 wickets in 99 one-day internationals, so sits alongside Shaheen Shah Afridi (104 from 53), Trent Boult (210 from 113) and Mitchell Starc (230 from 119) in the ranks of those currently nudging two per game.Shami has been particularly potent since returning to the side in the middle of this World Cup: by the end of the qualifying phase he’d taken 16 wickets at just 9.56 apiece. Depending what he does in the remainder of the tournament, Shami is in line for the best bowling average of anyone taking 12 or more wickets in a single World Cup, currently Starc’s 10.18 (22 wickets) in 2015. The Australian left-arm seamer Gary Gilmour took 11 wickets at 5.63 in the first World Cup in 1975, and the West Indian Courtney Walsh 11 at 9.81 in 1999. For the list, which will be updated after the semi-finals and final, click here.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

Pandya’s injury has forced India to play without an extra batter, but their head coach says team “is not thinking about it”

Sidharth Monga04-Nov-20233:24

Dravid: Hardik the one player we don’t have a back-up for

The dreaded scenario is here. Probably the second-most irreplaceable player – just after Jasprit Bumrah – is out for the tournament for India. There is no getting away from the reality that for Hardik Pandya to be properly replaced, two players are needed.However, the good thing for India is that it has happened in phases, and they have already trialed an XI without that allrounder in it. And they have kept winning. In doing so, they had to adjust their combination and lose the comfort zone of extra batting cushion at No. 8 and also manage without the security of the sixth bowler.Rahul Dravid, India’s coach, is confident they can rise to the challenge of the missing sixth bowler, and said that they are not thinking too much about the runs the No. 8 can give them. Anyway you don’t say the batting ends at no. 7 because, in the words of Dravid, “Booms [Jasprit Bumrah] will take exception to that. Watch out for him in the corridor.””I don’t think we are going to think about it too much,” Dravid said when asked if not having that extra batting security has affected the main batters at all. “I think there’s only been one game where we’ve probably felt the need for Nos. 8 and 9, which was the game against England in Lucknow, and actually after the seventh wicket, the next couple of wickets gave us 46 critical runs on a tricky wicket.Related

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“So I think we got to have confidence in our 8, 9, 10, 11,” he added. “The ones that we have now, I think they are working very hard and they are doing the best that they can. And I don’t think the batsmen really, to be honest, need to think about it or worry about it. I think if you play good cricket through the 50 overs and play according to the situation and what the demands of the game are, I think there’s enough quality in that top seven to look after itself.”File photo: India haven’t missed Pandya at this World Cup since his injury•Getty ImagesDravid took comfort in knowledge that when Pandya was rested for the ODIs against Australia before the World Cup, their five specialist bowlers were enough to win them matches. And they were not even their best five.”He just said the facts,” Dravid said, when told how Temba Bavuma pointed out that India have only five bowlers now. “The sixth option is something that Hardik gave us. But we have been playing the last four games without the sixth bowling option. We also played a couple of games in the Australia series before the World Cup without the sixth option. We won two of our games, both in Mohali and in Indore, when we played only with five bowling options in those games as well.”So, we have responded really well to that challenge. Yes, of course, we probably won’t have that sixth bowling option in these games, but the response of the team and the players has been really good when we have not had it. So, I think we have played enough games without having it. And we seem to have done pretty well.”It is also just as well that Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer have hit form just in time then. Especially Gill, who missed the start of the tournament with dengue, an illness not easy to recover from as quickly as Gill has.”Shubman’s obviously coming back,” Dravid said. “He was in such good form and playing so well. It was just a little unfortunate for him that he picked up dengue at the start of the tournament. And it’s taken him a little bit of time to get over that. I think we underestimate the kind of effect something like that can have on you, and then having to come out and play in the heat and travel. And it’s been quite a hectic tournament as well. So sometimes you do underestimate how much of an impact that can have on your body. It is really nice for him to be able to grind out some really good runs for us in Bombay.”

Karan retired hurt, saw Uttar Pradesh slide in a tricky chase, found himself back in the middle 28 balls later and starred in a thrilling win

Vishal Dikshit30-Jan-2024On a day of thrillers – Karnataka avoided an upset against Tripura, and Delhi held their nerve opposite Uttarakhand for a seven-run win – the tense finish between Mumbai and Uttar Pradesh at Wankhede Stadium had an additional bit of drama to it.Set a target of 195 in 83 overs on the last day, UP slipped from 120 for 2 to 128 for 4. The big blow came when their set batter Karan Sharma had to retire hurt with UP 50 away. He had a wrist niggle that got worse as he steered the chase and became unbearable enough to force him off the field. Promising opener Aryan Juyal had already been dismissed for 76 and captain Nitish Rana, who had counter-attacked with a century in the first innings, was also back for 6. Their hopes were now pinned on the experienced Akshdeep Nath and the dashing 20-year-old Sameer Rizvi, who had fetched INR 8.40 crore in the recent IPL auction for his hard hitting.Just eight balls after Karan had walked off, Rizvi danced down the ground against offspinner Tanush Kotian while trying to replicate the three sixes he had smashed in the first innings, but this time he couldn’t clear long-on. Now 147 for 5, a player injured, 48 more to get, UP captain Rana turned to Karan in the dressing room to ask, “ (will you go back)?” Karan was in extreme pain, so he took a strong painkilling injection. Its effect had not even started to show when Kotian trapped Shivam Sharma lbw from around the wicket.Related

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Mumbai were on the prowl now, at home in more ways than one. Shams Mulani, their ace spinner and top wicket-taker for the last three seasons, was on from the other end. There was a silly point, a fine first slip, and a fly second slip under the helmet and on his knees for new batter Bhuvneshwar Kumar. After blocking a flighted ball, Bhuvneshwar went back to cut a shorter one from Mulani, but it hurried on to trap him lbw. UP 154 for 7, still 41 to get.”When I went off, Nitish told me that I had to go back to bat. ‘ (you have to go no matter what)’, he told me,” Karan recalled. “He motivated me a lot to go back. When the captain says that, as a player you know you have to do it for the team. When I felt a little better and was able to defend – I was watching the ball well – I knew I could do it.”Karan had led UP for two seasons until Rana took over after moving from Delhi ahead of this season. He knew a thing or two about leading from the front in dire situations. A year-and-a-half ago, Karan had steered his team to victory with an unbeaten 93 while chasing 213 to knock Karnataka out of the Ranji Trophy and seal a semi-final berth for his team. Not long before that, he had starred with a brisk 116 off 144 in a daunting chase of 357 against Maharashtra.On Monday, Karan found himself back in the middle with a strapped wrist 28 balls after he had retired hurt. Tea was about ten minutes away and he thought he could stick it out before a 20-minute break would allow him to recover further. In the 106 balls before tea, UP scored only 29 and lost three wickets, leaving them with 35 to get in the last session with three wickets in hand. There were no clear favourites.

“These points are very important and in some earlier games we couldn’t win when we thought we could. Initially, we didn’t think this match could go outright but the way things unfolded, we got those points”Karan Sharma

Nath and Karan took it easy. Karan could hardly drive anyway and was losing the grip on his bat because of the pain. “There was so much restriction because of pain, defence was my only option,” Karan said. “If my top hand is not moving, how was I going to play with the bottom hand? I could barely grip the bat. Aksh was optimistic that we would chase it down, whether with singles or by taking it deep. I thought I would play the anchor and just stand at one end because I had faith in my defence.”UP progressed slowly before Nath whipped a rare short delivery from Mulani to the midwicket fence to break the boundary drought of 86 balls. Only 20 more to get, but what’s a last-session finish without another twist?Kotian continued from around the wicket with a short leg and leg slip, and got one to spin past Nath’s inside edge and hit him just under the knee-roll. It had pitched on leg, and turned in to hit Nath. The point of contact might have been just outside leg and it might have missed the stumps, but the umpire raised his finger to spark off a fresh round of Mumbai celebrations. Nath stood there as if somebody had poured cement all over him, with a stare that could have sliced the umpire into two. After a few seconds that felt like an eternity, he finally dragged himself towards the dugout.With 19 to get and two wickets left, Karan started to farm the strike by taking singles on the fifth or sixth balls. Three runs later, he mustered some courage, gripped the bat handle as tight as he could, and deposited Kotian for two sixes over midwicket despite a deep midwicket and a wide long-on waiting for exactly that shot.Tanush Kotian picked up a five-for in the second innings, but in vain•ESPNcricinfo Ltd”When [Nath] got out I told myself that I had to do it,” Karan said. “I held the bat tight, didn’t leave any scope for leaving it loose, and the situation was such that I had to take the risk. It was better I took that chance than leave it for the other batter. Luckily, their offspinner was bowling and I backed myself to middle it no matter what. I told myself no half-measures.”UP were on top now with just four to win. On the second ball of the 70th over, Karan pushed the ball to long-on and wanted a couple but had to settle for one. No. 10 Aaqib Khan managed to survive a couple of ball from Kotian before getting a thick outside edge past slip almost to the deep third boundary, giving the batters enough time to take three and seal the win.The harshness of the sun had started to fade a bit, the shadows had started getting longer, but the light was finally shining bright on UP’s campaign that had suffered enough in two of their first three rounds because of fog, bad light and the biting cold of north India.”These six points are very crucial because fog and bad light make things very tough at home,” Karan said after UP’s first win of the season that took them to fifth in the Group B standings. “These points are very important and in some earlier games we couldn’t win when we thought we could. Initially we didn’t think this match could go outright but the way things unfolded, we got those points.”It was only the third outright win for UP against Mumbai in Ranji Trophy history (after 2005-06 and 1997-98). It revived UP’s campaign, ended Mumbai’s winning streak after three games, and it might have just been the best finish of the day.

And is Neil Brand the only player to captain his side on Test debut?

Steven Lynch06-Feb-2024I saw that Afghanistan’s Ibrahim Zadran presented a first Test cap to his uncle, who then opened the innings with him. Is this unique? asked Bilal Shahzad from England
You’re right that Ibrahim Zadran, a 22-year-old veteran of five previous Tests, presented his uncle Noor Ali Zadran, who’s 35, with his first cap before the match against Sri Lanka in Colombo last Friday. The related pair then combined for an opening stand of 106 in the second innings.I think there may be one other instance in Tests, also for Afghanistan: some sources suggest that left-arm wristspinner Waqar Salamkheil, who played against Ireland in Dehradun in March 2019, is the nephew of Asghar Afghan, who captained in that match.There are a few other instances of uncles and nephews both being Test players (and an uncle and niece in Ian and Alyssa Healy), but for obvious reasons they usually appeared some time apart. The generations playing together is fairly rare at other levels too – although as it happens there were a few occasions during the last English domestic season when the former England batter Joe Denly was joined in the Kent side by his nephew Jaydn Denly.I can think of one similar occurrence in international sport (there may well be others). At the 2002 football World Cup finals, the Republic of Ireland’s full-backs were the Leeds United pair of Ian Harte and his uncle Gary Kelly.I heard that Yashasvi Jaiswal was only the second Indian left-hander to score a Test double-century. Is that right? asked Hashim Patel from India
Actually there are three Indian left-handers who scored Test double-centuries before Yashasvi Jaiswal joined the club with 209 against England in Visakhapatnam last week. Back in 1992-93, Vinod Kambli made two in successive Tests, and Sourav Ganguly hit 239 against Pakistan in Bengaluru in 2007. The other left-hand double-centurion – and the only other opener – was Gautam Gambhir, who made 206 against Australia in Delhi in 2008-09.Neil Brand captained South Africa on his Test debut the other day. How rare is this? asked Brian McCormack from New Zealand
Left-hander Neil Brand was one of six new caps in South Africa’s severely weakened side in the first Test against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui, which started at the weekend. The only other such instance in the last half-century (excluding teams’ inaugural Tests) was in 1995, when Lee Germon skippered New Zealand on his Test debut, against India in Bangalore.Brand won his place as an opening bat, but against New Zealand showed off another string to his bow by taking a five-for – his first in first-class cricket – with his slow left-armers. He finished with 6 for 119, the best figures by any of the debut captains, beating Naimur Rahman’s 6 for 132 for Bangladesh against India in Dhaka in November 2000.For the full list of those who captained in their first Test, click here. This does include 11 of the 12 men who skippered in their sides’ inaugural matches (AH Kardar, who led Pakistan, had already played for India).Neil Brand (left) is only the second player to captain a side on Test debut in the last 50 years, in a Test that isn’t the country’s first•Getty ImagesWhich wicketkeeper’s tally of Test stumpings is the same as his number of Test hundreds? And which Indian wicketkeeper opened the batting and bowling in a Test? asked Mustafa Sharif from Pakistan
I disappeared down a blind alley for this one to start with, as my first thought was the great West Indian Clyde Walcott, who took 11 stumpings in Tests to go with 11 wickets as a bowler. And then I read the question properly! Walcott made 15 Test centuries, which means the leader with equal hundreds and stumpings is New Zealand’s BJ Watling with eight of each in Tests – although only seven of his hundreds came in matches in which he was keeping wicket. Another West Indian, Jeff Dujon, made five Test centuries and also pulled off five stumpings.As for the second part of the question, the versatile Indian wicketkeeper was Budhi Kunderan who, with his side seriously short of seamers, was pressed into service to open the bowling in his 18th and final Test, against England at Edgbaston in 1967. He opened the batting with another wicketkeeper, Farokh Engineer, after bowling four overs with the new ball on the first morning. India’s captain, the Nawab of Pataudi, was asked beforehand what Kunderan bowled, and replied, “We’ll have to wait and see.”That Edgbaston match was the only one in which India fielded all four of their great spinners of the 1960s and ’70s, slow left-armer Bishan Bedi, legspinner Bhagwath Chandrasekhar, and offspinners Erapalli Prasanna and Srinivas Venkataraghavan.Logan van Beek came in at 67 for 6 in a one-day game the other day and scored 136 – is this the highest by a No. 8 in a List A match? asked Chris Monroe from New Zealand
The Dutch international Logan van Beek hit 136 against Central Districts at the Basin Reserve last week to help Wellington reach 281 for 8 after a sticky start. Sadly, rain meant the match was a no-result.The only higher score from No. 8 in a List A (senior one-day) match is 144, by Nazmul Hossain Milon against Rajshahi in Dhaka in 2006-07. His remarkable innings helped Dhaka achieve a one-wicket win off the last ball, as they reached 300 for 9 after having been 112 for 7.There have been 18 other centuries from No. 8, and six from No. 9. In fourth place is the 117 not out of Leicestershire’s Harry Swindells, against Hampshire in the final of England’s Metro Bank One-Day Cup at Trent Bridge last September.Two of the centuries by No. 8s came in one-day internationals: Simi Singh hit 100 for Ireland against South Africa in Malahide in 2021, and Mehidy Hasan Miraz also scored 100 to set up a rare victory for Bangladesh over India in Mirpur in December 2022.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

Their onslaught left CSK resorting to Plan B and Plan C pretty quickly and even start thinking about Plan D, head coach Fleming said

Hemant Brar11-May-20242:37

Review: Who was better – Gill or Sudharsan? Did CSK get overseas combination wrong?

Shubman Gill generally celebrates his hundreds by bowing down with a smile on his face. There is some wholesomeness to it. But Friday was different. After reaching the three-figure mark against Chennai Super Kings in Ahmedabad, he jumped, threw an air punch and let out an expletive.It was an outburst of pent-up anger after his lean form and Gujarat Titans’ three successive losses that had left them on the verge of elimination from IPL 2024.In a season where every other batting unit has been pushing the envelope, GT, the 2022 champions and 2023 runners-up, seemed to be stuck in the past. Before this game, their scoring rate in the powerplay was 7.23 and in the middle overs 7.70 – both the worst in this IPL.It reflected in the results too: four wins in 11 games. A loss against CSK would have knocked them out in front of their home crowd. But Gill and Sai Sudharsan changed the script and smashed a hundred each to keep their faint hopes alive.Related

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Until then, it had been a mixed season for Gill. He had started well, scoring 255 runs in the first six games at an average of 51.00 and a strike rate of 151.78. In the next five, though, he could manage only 67 runs at a strike rate of 101.51. Three times he was dismissed in the single digits.Gill’s opening partner, Wriddhiman Saha, was struggling even more. In nine games, he had an average of 15.11 and a strike rate of 118.26. The lack of runs and momentum at the top of the order regularly exposed GT’s brittle middle order.Sudharsan, their No. 3, was scoring runs but at a strike rate of 131.67. In IPL 2024, that was on the lower side even for an anchor, especially when your openers were not firing.On Friday, though, everything fell into place for GT. Saha was out with a niggle, so Sudharsan got an opportunity to open the innings with Gill. The left-right combination benefitted GT in two ways. First, it meant one batter always had the shorter boundary to his leg side. Second, it did not allow CSK to use their spinners the way they would have liked.Gill and Sudharsan took advantage and plundered 210 in just 104 balls, the joint-highest opening stand in the IPL. At one stage, it was more of a contest between Gill and Sudharsan than between GT and CSK. After 16 overs, both batters were on 96 off 48, and the race to score the 100th IPL hundred was on.2:11

McClenaghan praises Sai Sudharsan’s maturity

It was Gill who had that honour. Facing his 50th ball, he got a full toss from Simarjeet Singh that he duly flicked to the square-leg boundary. On the last ball of the same over, Sudharsan also brought up his hundred, and he too got there in 50 balls.While the two finished similarly, they had started their innings in contrasting manners, with Gill doing the bulk of the scoring in the powerplay.CSK had opted to bowl hoping the red-soil pitch would help spinners early. Gill disrupted that plan in the opening over itself. Facing his first ball, he hit Mitchell Santner for four. Two balls later, he sashayed down the track and launched the spinner for a straight six. By the end of the third over, he had raced to 20 off eight balls.Gill’s intent took GT to 58 for no loss at the end of the powerplay. It may not sound a lot – Sunrisers Hyderabad have breached 100 twice in the first six this season – but it was the second-best start for GT.Meanwhile, Sudharsan was on 39 off 29 after eight overs. It was looking like yet another anchor-ish innings from him but then he pressed on. In the next three balls, he slogged Ravindra Jadeja for a four and a six to bring up his fifty.He followed it up with successive sixes off Simarjeet and successive fours off Daryl Mitchell. With a slog-swept six off Santner, he moved to 92 off 44 balls, leaving Gill far behind, on 66 off 34.Gill narrowed the gap, and then overtook Sudharsan, by hitting three sixes in four balls off Mitchell. The second of those sixes came via a drop from Deshpande who parried the ball over the long-off boundary.The CSK bowlers had no reply to Shubman Gill and B Sai Sudharsan’s onslaught•Associated Press”I think we were through Plan B and Plan C pretty quickly and maybe started getting into Plan D,” CSK head coach Stephen Fleming said after the match. “It was the batting of high calibre. Sometimes you have to doff the cap and say well played, and on this occasion, I thought those two were great.”We were pretty shell-shocked and even our fielding, which has been good over the years, was put on the back foot. There were catches dropped and that was a little bit unusual for us.”CSK did make a comeback towards the end, conceding only 22 in the last three overs. But Gill and Sudharsan had caused irreparable damage by then.

With the ball turning square, the RCB openers brought their experience into play to provide a platform for others to launch

Ashish Pant19-May-20243:12

Why did the ball turn and grip so much after the rain break?

Faf du Plessis’ reaction to the fourth ball he faced after the 40-minute rain break on Saturday evening told a story. On seeing the Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain make room for himself, Maheesh Theekshana pulled his length back keeping the line outside off. Du Plessis, who was a few steps outside leg stump, went for an across-the-line mow, only to see the ball spitting and bouncing sharply and crashing into his midriff.He looked towards his batting partner Virat Kohli in shock, his lips pushed up and out, signalling with his right hand how much the ball bounced. Even Theekshana was surprised. It was a sign of things to come.After Chennai Super Kings opted to bowl on what looked like a dry surface bereft of much grass, the RCB openers smashed two fours and three sixes in the first three overs. A typical Chinnaswamy surface is what most assumed. Then came a sudden downpour, which meant some water seeped into the pitch before the covers were brought on. And the moisture on the surface seemed to help the spinners get the ball to grip and turn and bounce. As if someone had transported the Chepauk surface to Bengaluru in that 40-minute break.Related

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In the next over, the fifth of the game, Mitchell Santner conceded two singles getting the ball to turn square before Theekshana ended the powerplay with a five-run over. Having scored 31 runs in the first three overs, Kohli and du Plessis managed just 11 in the next three as RCB finished on 42 for 0 after six overs, their joint-lowest powerplay score of the season.”I thought batting first, that was the hardest pitch I’ve ever played on in T20 cricket,” du Plessis said after the game. “After that rain, it just made it wet. Myself and Virat were talking about a score of 140-150, it felt that hard in the beginning.”At that stage, the communication to the umpires was that there was a lot of rain falling on the pitch and you don’t want that moisture. So from their [CSK’s] side, they probably wanted to push the game as well, which makes sense, but when we came back, my goodness, it was tough. It felt like a day-five Test match in Ranchi. I’ve never played on something like that.”The frustration was apparent. With RCB needing to win the match by 18 runs to make it to the playoffs, having to face Santner, Theekshana and Ravindra Jadeja on a turning track was the last thing Kohli and du Plessis would have expected. But this is where the two brought their experience into play.Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli gave RCB a strong start•AFP/Getty ImagesEven as run-scoring became tough, neither batter lost patience and threw away his wicket. A new batter coming in with the surface spinning like a top could have led to a collapse. They looked to rotate the strike and attacked only when the ball was in their arc like the two slog sweeps Kohli nailed against Jadeja and Santner in consecutive overs. By the time Kohli fell in the tenth over to Santner, not only had they seen off the tricky phase, but also faced close to seven overs of spin.At 78 for 1 after ten overs, and with the pitch easing out a touch, du Plessis knew it was go-time. On 30 off 29 at this point, he targeted Jadeja taking him for a four and two back-to-back sixes. The run rate jumped from 7.80 to 8.90 in the span of an over, and RCB were back on track.Du Plessis reached his fifty off 35 balls and while he fell soon, the platform was set for Cameron Green and Rajat Patidar to launch. “It was pretty crazy out there [the turn after the rain],” Green said during the innings break. “I think Faf and Virat batted beautifully. They assessed the conditions really well, gave us a platform to explode from.”And explode the duo did. Simarjeet Singh, CSK’s best bowler from their previous game against Rajasthan Royals, was smashed for a four and six by Patidar, an over which went for 19 runs. Patidar then walloped Tushar Deshpande for two sixes while Green went back-to-back against Shardul Thakur. The two got together at the end of the 13th over and by the time they split, they had put on 71 runs off just 28 balls.At the end of the 16th over, ESPNcricinfo’s forecaster predicted RCB finishing on 202, but the Green-Patidar assault meant RCB managed 16 runs more, a score which looked improbable when Kohli and du Plessis were battling against spin early on. RCB hammered 80 runs in the last five overs to finish on 218 which was enough not just to beat CSK by 27 runs but also to ensure that RCB’s resurgent run of six wins on the bounce ended with a place in the top four, something which felt next to impossible just a few weeks back.

Bumrah and Yadav are big returnees, and Jaiswal and Dube are the fresh faces. But will India get different results this time?

Sidharth Monga31-May-20243:26

How relevant is IPL form for the T20 World Cup?

On the surface, India go into this T20 World Cup looking jaded. They are trying more or less what they have been trying over the previous few World Cups but are looking for different results. There is a good chance their batting line-up might end up looking indistinguishable from the one last time around (in 2022), which gave them too few to defend in the semi-final against England. Or against South Africa for that matter.Five out of the top seven that played England could be the same, with Ravindra Jadeja, who had missed that tournament because of an injury but is available this time, not exactly different to Axar Patel either.It might appear that the intervening one-and-a-half years have not been spent well. Yet, there have been subtle changes in the structure and the approach that make India strong contenders to make it to the last four. Given that the team leadership – selectors, coach and captain – was brought together only seven months back when the board seemed to suddenly realise how close the World Cup was, it is perhaps the best that could be asked of them.Related

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There are, of course, two big additions to the squad this time: Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav, who do what nobody else in the world does with their efficiency, adding heft to whatever totals India might be putting on the board. Then there is a small matter of Virat Kohli playing the best T20 cricket of his career, taking what might have seemed to him an almost existential leap from wanting to bat long, which works in every other format for him, to wanting to create impact and trusting those after him in T20s.The real new introductions, though, are two left-hand batters in Shivam Dube and Yashasvi Jaiswal, who had the leadership as excited as those watching. Technically, Sanju Samson is an addition too, but he plays more like the other India batters.It is Dube and Jaiswal who give India’s batting the freshness it has craved. This is probably where India have to make their toughest choice: only one of them can be accommodated in the XI. Rohit Sharma is the captain, Kohli is in the form of his life, Suryakumar Yadav should not be touched even if he scores seven ducks in a row in the league matches, they need a wicketkeeper, and they need two allrounders. That’s six slots taken.There are only two scenarios in which both Dube and Jaiswal can play. In the first, the team management counts on Jadeja and Dube for four overs plus some back-up for a struggling mainline bowler. In the second, they play Jadeja at No. 8, and ask for a combined eight overs from Jadeja, Hardik Pandya and Dube. But neither of them is a leap the team might be prepared to take.Given both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli struggle against left-arm spin, fitting Shivam Dube in might be problematic•Getty ImagesIt is not too much of a guess that India want Dube more than they do Jaiswal. Dube is the real X-factor, the spin-disruptor and the left-hand batter that they need in the middle order. In the just-concluded IPL 2024, Dube displayed an even better version of the batter he was in 2023, handling the short ball well, which made it tough for the bowlers to shut him down. He might be given the same freedom which Chennai Super Kings gave him.But the one problem with this is that it leaves an open invitation for sides to bowl left-arm spin with the new ball. Rohit and Kohli will have to be the openers should Dube play ahead of Jaiswal.But Rohit and Kohli struggle to dictate terms to left-arm spinners. Kohli has made a big improvement against this genre of bowling, but it is still his least-favoured match-up: a strike rate of 131 against left-arm spin this IPL as against 155 overall. Rohit might try to hit out – and he did try to hit out in the IPL – but in the IPL, his average and strike rate against left-arm spin were considerably lower than his overall numbers.So what India can hope for is that Rohit puts an even lower price on his wicket than he has been doing, either taking down the new ball or perish trying. It is a wicket they will be prepared to lose in pursuit of quick starts; in the worst case, Suryakumar enters and breaks the match-ups.This may not be perfect, but the most workable and practical solution is this top seven: Kohli, Rohit, Suryakumar, Samson/Rishabh Pant, Dube, Pandya, Jadeja/Axar. This can be stretched further if they play both the left-arm spinners and sacrifice a more attacking bowler.Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson are among two new faces in India’s squad from 2022•BCCIThere is one alternative, though, that is not as far left-field as it sounds at first. If this doesn’t work out – especially if Dube’s form is not great – there is one unexplored aspect of the batting of two ODI greats that could be explored: either of Rohit or Kohli as a middle-order batter. The top order plays fearlessly, and one of them is there to play a game more suited to their styles should there be a collapse.That is not all, though: both of them are devastating hitters at the death. There is a credible school of thought that it is not necessary for them to have batted 16 overs to be that dangerous at the death. That might not be as important as it has previously been thought to be. It can make India’s top order less predictable and less prone to being tied up by spin.And should such a leap be taken, Rohit is the likelier candidate for it because Kohli has already hit form as an opening batter. Rohit has the touch, the power and the awareness to hit any kind of bowling at the death. Of the 750 balls Rohit has faced at the death in all T20 cricket, only 50 have come since 2019. Twenty-nine of those 50 have come this year, and brought 79 runs without a dismissal.Admittedly, not the ideal Plan A given the structure of this squad, but closer to B than C.

Bumrah’s 5 for 21 against RCB, meanwhile, is at the top of bowling performances of the season

S Rajesh17-Apr-2024Jos Buttler’s stunning unbeaten 107 against Kolkata Knight Riders is now at the top of the list of best batting displays of IPL 2024, according to ESPNcricinfo’s Smart Stats. According to this rating tool, which gives points to every batting and bowling performance based on a complex and detailed algorithm that takes into account match context, Buttler’s innings won him 145.12 rating points, which puts him ahead of his team-mate Riyan Parag’s 122.2 points for his unbeaten 84 against Delhi Capitals.ESPNcricinfo LtdAfter a slow start to the season, Buttler has stamped his presence quite emphatically with two hundreds in his last three innings. His other ton – 100 not out against Royal Challengers Bengaluru – is at No. 4 with 114.03 points.Buttler’s century against KKR overshadowed the other hundred in the game, Sunil Narine’s 56-ball 109. Despite scoring at a higher rate – 194.64 compared to Buttler’s 178.33 – Narine’s century gets 111.49 points, and is in sixth position due to the match context and the relatively greater pressure under which Buttler scored his runs.In the last six overs, with Royals needing 96 from 36 balls, Buttler scored 65 off 27 at a strike rate of 240.74. In the last three overs, he faced all 18 balls and scored 40 – a strike rate of 222. Since the Smart Stats algorithm takes into account the pressure on the batter for each ball, Buttler received greater credit for winning the game virtually single-handedly in the last few overs.Related

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Also in the top five are a couple of other match-winning innings: Andre Russell’s unbeaten 25-ball 64 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their first match of the season, and Shashank Singh’s 29-ball 61 in Punjab Kings’ thrilling chase of 200 against Gujarat Titans.Travis Head’s 102 off 41 against RCB is in eighth position, while the hundreds scored by Rohit Sharma (105 off 63 against Chennai Super Kings) and Virat Kohli (113 off 72 against Royals) are in 13th and 14th positions, respectively. In fact, Kohli’s 49-ball 77 against Kings is rated marginally higher at 12th position, since that was scored in a tough, winning run-chase with little support at the other end.