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A round-up of the Dhaka Premier League matches held on April 26, 2017

Mohammad Isam26-Apr-2017Ziaur Rahman smashed five sixes in his unbeaten half-century as Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club defeated defending champions Abahani Limited by six wickets at the KSOA Stadium in Fatullah. His 57-ball 73 paved the way for their 270-run chase, and closed out the game for Dhanmondi Club with 12 balls to spare.Ziaur came in to bat after Dhanmondi Club were struggling at 3 for 160 in the 33rd over. He shared a 102-run fourth-wicket stand with Nurul Hasan, who struck three fours in his 43-ball 46. Ziaur, an allrounder with a reputation of being a big-hitter, clobbered six sixes, with two of them landing deep into the stands over midwicket. He skied another over long-on, as the Abahani bowling attack, in the absence of Taskin Ahmed, were left reeling under pressure.Fazle Mahmud and Dhanmondi Club’s Indian recruit Prashant Chopra had earlier laid the foundation with a 114-run second wicket stand. Chopra made 57 off 86 balls with five fours and a six while Mahmud retired hurt on 63 with a leg injury, having struck two fours and as many sixes in his 86-ball knock.Earlier, having elected to bat, Abahani gave away a good start as they were bowled out for 269 runs in 50 overs. Liton Das and captain Mahmudullah made 62 each but there was no real push from the rest of the line-up as they fell about 30 runs short on a pitch that had very little in it for the bowlers.That, however, didn’t stop legspinner Tanbir Hayder from finishing with four for 45 in his ten overs while Shahadat Hossain and Abdur Razzak took two wickets apiece.Mominul Haque smashed Bangladesh’s third highest List-A score as Gazi Group Cricketers picked up their fourth win in a row, beating Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club by 35 runs at the BKSP-3 Ground in Savar. They are now the only team with eight points and, thus, are placed top of the points table.Mominul’s 152 came after Mohammedan Sporting Club’s Tamim Iqbal struck 157 in this year’s league opener against Kalabagan Krira Chakra. Coming in to bat in the second over with Gazi Group having put only two runs on the board, Mominul finished with 16 fours and six sixes in his 120-ball innings in what is arguably his best knock in domestic cricket. This was his third hundred in the List-A format; he had struck 104 against the same opposition in Dhaka Premier League’s last season.He added 153 runs for the third wicket with Nasir Hossain, who contributed with 64 off 76 balls, before adding another 101 runs for the fourth wicket with Parvez Rasool who hit three sixes in his 54-ball 53. Gazi Group, however, failed to accelerate from 263 for 4 in the 42nd over, as they tumbled to 307 all out in the penultimate over of the innings, having lost their last seven wickets for 44 runs within the space of seven overs.For Prime Doleshwar, seamers Farhad Reza and Delwar Hossain took four and three wickets respectively.Much in the fashion of Gazi Group, Prime Doleshwar, too, lost an early wicket but recovered through a 72-run second-wicket stand between Imtiaz Hossai (42) and Shahriar Nafees (36). They, however, slipped to 98 for 5 in the 21st over. Their Afghan recruit Samiullah Shenwari (55) and wicketkeeper Jaker Ali (52) added 103 runs for the sixth wicket.Once the two set batsmen were removed within the space of 11 deliveries, followed by captain Farhad’s dismissal soon after, the chase only had academic interest. Doleshwar laboured to 272 for 9 in 50 overs as Nasir took three wickets while Shafiul Islam picked up two.Legends of Rupganj thumped Kalabagan Krira Chakra by two wickets at the BKSP-4 Ground in Savar, where the game had to be reduced to 27 overs a side due to a wet outfield.Having elected to bat first with the game starting at 1pm after a four-hour delay, Kalabagan posted 176 for 8 in 27 overs with Mehrab Hossain jnr carrying his bat through his 81-ball 79.Mohammad Sharif, Mosharraf Hossain and Mashrafe Mortaza took two wickets each.Mushfiqur Rahim top-scored for Rupganj with 44 off 53 balls – studded with three fours – while Hasanuzzaman, Ashar Zaidi and Mashrafe chipped in with brisk knocks to take their side close to the target. Rupganj’s chase, however, required the ninth-wicket pair of Sharif and Mahmudul Hasan to complete the win with two balls to spare.Abul Hasan, Muktar Ali and Sanjit Saha took two wickets each for Kalabagan.

Firdose Moonda27-Mar-2016Hashim Amla remains adamant that, despite South Africa’s failure to progress to the World T20 semi-finals, their much-vaunted senior players will refocus on the 2017 Champions Trophy in England in an attempt to add a limited-overs medal to their cricketing CVs.Ahead of South Africa’s dead-rubber against Sri Lanka on Monday, Amla insisted that he will join AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis, JP Duminy and Imran Tahir in proving that they still have the capacity to succeed in major international tournaments.”A lot of us are extremely keen to keep playing international cricket,” Amla said. “It’s something we’ve enjoyed. A lot of us feel like we’ve got a few more years left in us.”It would be great if we can make it to the next 50-over World Cup – that would be ideal. But first we’ve got a Champions Trophy next year. As long as you are fit and healthy and scoring runs and you warrant your place in the team then hopefully you can make it.”Although there has not been yet been much dissection of South Africa’s exit – perhaps because they still have a game to play – one of the inevitable questions will be about the future of some the squad.De Villiers, for example, has been outspoken about managing his workload. Considering his roles as captain in both Test and ODI cricket and a packed schedule of T20 leagues including the IPL and CPL in 2016, leaving international T20s behind may be an option.The same can be asked of Dale Steyn, who spent all but two days of the summer injured and was carefully brought back for this tournament but then only played one match. But Amla dismissed ideas that either of them is considering phasing themselves out.”The whole rumour of AB retiring was before I gave up the Test captaincy and I think it was just that: a rumour,” he said. “There are no issues whatsoever. Everyone is really passionate and desirous of doing well. We’re just hoping we can play good cricket and at the next ICC event have a better performance.”Steyn only played South Africa’s opener against England before South Africa opted for the pace-off-the-ball bowling of David Wiese, even at the Wankhede where the quicker bowlers had more in their favour.Amla defended Steyn’s non-selection as a logical thought process. “Before coming to this tournament, the captain and the coach talked about picking the right team for the venue or the wicket,” he said.”In Mumbai, with a smaller field and a lot of boundary hitting, the quick bowlers came into the picture a lot more,” he said. “In Nagpur, the slower bowlers were more effective. I can understand why the captain and coach opted for David Wiese.”That wasn’t the only selection question South Africa faced.AB de Villiers had been playing as an opener until the tournament began, which led to questions about his reversion to the middle order. JP Duminy’s hamstring injury just as he returned to form also meant that South Africa’s middle order was weakened ahead of the vital tie against the West Indies.The fact that South Africa’s key batsmen failed to fire was identified by critics back home as a key reason for their inability to advance to the knockouts but when Amla was asked if he felt de Villiers and Duminy had given the team enough, he displayed rare irritation. “Is that a serious question? Really?” he asked. “Next one, please.”Instead, Amla put South Africa’s performances down to lack of cohesion as a unit and did not place any individual blame. “We haven’t played our best cricket throughout. We haven’t had a game where our batting and our bowling has clicked in the same game.”All hope had not gone, he said, issuing a familiar message. “This team will win a World Cup or an ICC tournament at some stage.” Just not this time.

Luke Wright smashed 114 off just 69 balls as Sussex cruised to a nine-wicket win over Netherlands in their day-night Yorkshire Bank 40 game at Hove

13-Aug-2013
ScorecardLuke Wright blasted a century from 62 balls•Getty Images

Luke Wright smashed 114 off just 69 balls as Sussex cruised to a nine-wicket win over Netherlands in their day-night Yorkshire Bank 40 game at Hove. Sussex’s fourth win in Group A is unlikely to improve their chances of reaching the knockout stages for the third successive year but they at least managed to end a winless run at Hove that had extended for two days short of a year.Wright and Ed Joyce put on 175 in 20 overs for the first wicket with Wright cruising to the sixth List A hundred of his career and second of the summer, after he made 115 against Kent in June.The 28-year-old played the last of his 46 ODIs for England more than two years ago and is to lead England Lions in three matches against Bangladesh A next week. While he ruthlessly exposed the limitations of the Dutch attack it was nonetheless an impressive display of hitting against both seam and spin.He struck five sixes, either straight or on the leg side, and reached his century with his 11th four, a powerful back-foot force through extra cover off Tim Gruitjers. Gruitjers did have the satisfaction of removing Wright thanks to a superb running catch on the long-on boundary by Pieter Seelar, but it was a rare moment of relief for the seven Dutch bowlers used, none of whom had an economy rate of less than seven an over.Skipper Joyce hit the winning runs in the 22nd over to reach a 58-ball half-century.Netherlands had been hoping to build on Sunday’s encouraging win over Warwickshire and having won the toss they were well placed after 22 overs on 125 for 3. But the dismissal of top-scorer Wesley Barresi sparked a collapse which saw seven wickets go down for 60 runs in 14.2 overs.Barresi had shared a stand of 50 from just 35 balls with Gruitjers when he was leg-before to Will Beer for a run-a-ball 64, which included seven fours and a six. Three deliveries later Peter Borren was trapped in his crease by Chris Liddle and Dutch wickets fell regularly after that although Gruitjers hinted at a recovery with 27 before he was stumped down the leg side by debutant Callum Jackson to give Beer, who finished with 3 for 49, another wicket.It was a good night for the Sussex spinners. On a slow pitch, Mike Yardy and Chris Nash were operating in tandem after nine overs. Offspinner Nash picked up Michael Swart to a catch on the midwicket boundary after the opener had added 44 for the second wicket with Barresi following the early loss of Stephan Myburgh.Nash, Liddle and Lewis Hatchett all picked up two wickets and a target of 186 was never going to be a test for Sussex, especially after Wright and Joyce had plundered 71 off the first six-over Powerplay.

Pakistan Under-19s improved on their already impressive bowling performance in the first one-dayer to rout Australia Under-19s for 139, setting up a seven-wicket victory

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Jul-2012
ScorecardSaad Ali was unbeaten at the finish•Getty Images

Pakistan Under-19s improved on their already impressive bowling performance in the first one-dayer to rout Australia Under-19s for 139, setting up a seven-wicket victory that clinched the three-match series. A succession of useful contributions from the top-order batsmen allowed the visitors to reach the target with 15.2 overs to spare.Pakistan had dismissed Australia for 187 in the first match, after choosing to field, and Babar Azam asked the hosts to bat once again. Australia reached 14 before losing their first two wickets in the space of three runs. The promising Kurtis Patterson was run out for a duck.They slipped to 53 for 4 before Cameron Bancroft and Travis Head had a 52-run partnership. However, they too fell in quick succession and after that the end was swift. Fast bowler Zia-ul-Haq claimed 3 for 20 in seven overs, while Azizullah and Ehsan Adil conceded less than two runs per over.Australia’s bowlers struck at regular intervals but they needed to knife through the Pakistan line-up to pose a challenge and they were unable to do so. All of the top five batsmen got past 20 and Saad Ali raised the tempo, scoring 36 off 33 balls to secure victory in the 35th over.”We started quite well at the top with Peirson and Bancroft and we were quite aggressive but unfortunately in the batting side of things there wasn’t many positives after that,” Patterson said after the defeat. “The bowling was good early on, we bowled quite patiently but at the end of the day 139 is just not really enough.”We have gone two games in a row now where we have massively underachieved and especially today as the pitch was even better, to only get 140 on a flat wicket is really under par and we need to particularly work on our play to spin as well as our play to pace as well.”

Umar Gul, the Pakistan fast bowler, has said he is confident of handling the responsibility of leading the attack

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jul-2011Umar Gul, the Pakistan fast bowler, has said he is confident of being able to lead Pakistan’s bowling attack in the absence of Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif, both of whom have been banned from the game for at least five years for spot-fixing.”I can handle the responsibility of leading the bowling attack for Pakistan and won’t succumb to the pressure that comes with this added responsibility,” Gul told . “I feel I have performed well for Pakistan over the years and will continue to do so.”Gul made his debut 2003 at the age of 19 and has become a fixture in all three formats, though his Twenty20 and one-day records are currently superior to his Test record, something he hopes to correct in the future. “In twenty-over cricket the bowlers have more energy, the batsmen take more risks and therefore it’s easier to take wickets,” Gul said. “Yes, no doubt in the past three or four years I’ve bowled well in the shorter formats of the game, but I enjoy Test cricket and it’s only in the last 18 months that I haven’t had great results in Test cricket.”I’m working hard to improve my Test record and I am confident that I will succeed in that format also.”In the game’s shortest version, Gul has taken 47 wickets from 34 T20Is at an average of 16.00 and an economy rate of 6.47, and credits the ability to think on his feet and adapt to changing circumstances for his success. It also helps to be able to mix it up as a bowler. “Variation also plays a major role in a bowler’s armoury. You have to be able to bowl a good yorker and have the ability to mix up your pace, without the batsmen reading you. The variations are key, but it’s also important that you use these varieties at the right time.”When asked about Pakistan’s World Cup semi-final loss to India, a game in which Gul gave away 69 runs in eight overs, he said the pressure on Pakistan was immense and it was simply not his day. “The pressure on Pakistan was not the pressure of performing well or losing, rather it was the pressure of the mounting expectations from fans all over the world. In addition, there was a break of several days between the quarter-final and the semi-final and rather than just getting on to do the business of playing the match, we had to wait around for a few days before the match.”That meant that the hype surrounding the match just grew and grew. Also the Indian side saw me as one of the key players in the Pakistan side and targeted my bowling that day. They were successful in their approach and unfortunately it wasn’t my day.”Gul is currently playing for Sussex in the Friends Life t20 tournament and is relishing the experience, saying his stint there is important in his overall development as a cricketer. “The management team and the players are very good, there is a very professional and positive approach and there is no such thing as a blame culture. It doesn’t matter if you have a good game or not, everyone backs each other and there is no criticism.”A number of other Pakistan internationals, including his former captain Shahid Afridi, are also competing in the same tournament, and Gul said he is enjoying going up against them. “We all know each others’ strengths and weaknesses and I’m sure it makes for interesting viewing.”

An injury to Ryan ten Doeschate marred Essex delight at a 10-run Friends Provident t20 victory over Somerset at Taunton

16-Jun-2010
ScorecardAn injury to Ryan ten Doeschate marred Essex delight at a 10-run Friends Provident t20 victory over Somerset at Taunton. The all-rounder top scored with 48 in the Eagles’ innings of 177 for 7, taking his average in the competition to nearly 74, but was forced to retire hurt with a leg injury and had to be helped from the field.Somerset looked in control when reaching 122 for 1 in the 13th over, with Nick Compton contributing 74 and Marcus Trescothick 40. But a clatter of wickets saw them collapse to 167 for 9 as David Masters, Scott Styris and Danish Kaneria claimed two victims each. It was later confirmed that ten Doeschate had suffered a torn calf muscle that is likely to keep him out for six weeks.Both teams have now won two games and lost three in the South Division and will need to improve to feature in the quarter-finals. The Essex innings was given a brisk start by Alastair Cook after they had won the toss. The England opener hit four fours in facing only nine balls before sweeping a ball from Zander de Bruyn straight to James Hildreth at short fine leg.Ravi Bopara fell cheaply, but Matthew Walker hit four fours and a six in his 35, while ten Doeschate looked in supreme touch from the start of his innings and looked set to lift his side towards 200 as he took successive sixes off Arul Suppiah.It was a massive blow for the Eagles when he collapsed attempting a quick single off Kieron Pollard with the total on 148 for 4 in the 17th over. Alfonso Thomas took the wickets of Grant Flower and Tim Phillips in a typically tight last over to keep Essex below 180.That did not look like being enough when Trescothick and Compton put on 99 in 11 overs, or when Kieron Pollard came in to blast three sixes in the space of four balls off Kaneria. But he was out in the same over and Essex sensed their chance.Compton was out hit-wicket trying to reverse sweep Masters, having faced 55 balls and hit 11 fours, but at 147 for 4 the home side still looked favourites. But Masters, Styris and Chris Wright had other ideas at the death, bowling full and running through the middle and lower order.

Yashasvi Jaiswal moves to third among batters after just 11 Tests, Sri Lanka’s Prabath Jayasuriya and Kamindu Mendis also marching up rankings early in career

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Oct-2024Jasprit Bumrah is the new No. 1 Test bowler in the world, following his match haul of six against Bangladesh in Kanpur. He replaces his India team-mate R Ashwin – the Player of the Series against Bangladesh – at the top of the rankings. India also have a big mover on the Test batting rankings, with Player of the Match from the Kanpur Test, Yashasvi Jaiswal, moving to third after just 11 Tests.Sri Lanka left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya, the Player of the Series in his side’s 2-0 sweep of New Zealand in Galle, also moved up among bowlers, to joint-seventh after just 16 Tests.Among other significant moves on the Test rankings, India’s Virat Kohli is back in the top 10 among batters, moving up six places to sixth after his 47 and 29 not out in Kanpur, Sri Lanka’s eight-Test-old Kamindu Mendis is up to No. 11 following his unbeaten 182 in the second Test in Galle, and Bangladesh’s Mehidy Hasan Miraz is up to fifth among allrounders – that makes it two Bangladeshis in the top five, with his illustrious team-mate Shakib Al Hasan holding his spot at No. 3.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

ESPNcricinfo Ltd

This is Bumrah’s second stint at the top of the Test table. He had moved up to No. 1 in February this year, becoming the first ever India fast bowler to top the Test rankings. Before Bumrah, the highest ever ranked Indian pace bowler was Kapil Dev, who got as far as No. 2 in 1979-80 in the ICC’s retrospective rankings. In February too, Bumrah had displaced Ashwin at the top.Now, Ashwin, on 869 rating points, remains a single point behind Bumrah.

Gay, Procter half-centuries revive visitors to set up prospect of fourth-day victory push

ECB Reporters Network12-Jul-2023Northamptonshire 219 and 372 for 7 (Whiteman 114*, Gay 85*, Procter 63) lead Middlesex 277 (Higgins 64*, Stoneman 51, Keogh 3-52) by 314 runsSam Whiteman and Luke Procter shared Northamptonshire’s highest partnership of the season to give their side hope of forcing a crucial LV= Insurance County Championship win against fellow strugglers Middlesex at Merchant Taylors’ School.Whiteman batted most of the day for his majestic knock of 114 on a pitch that showed signs of flattening out, adding 158 with his captain for the third wicket after Emilio Gay had limped off injured.However, the opener later returned to the middle, scoring a valuable unbeaten 85 that enabled the visitors to set another record by posting 372 for seven, their highest red-ball total of the summer and an overall lead of 314.With an overnight declaration likely and both sides – who occupy the relegation places in Division One – desperate for victory, it sets up an enthralling final day.Northamptonshire resumed their second innings just three runs behind the home side and wiped out that deficit when Gay flicked Ryan Higgins to long leg in the second over of the morning.Minutes later, however, the opener was hobbling off in the direction of the dressing room, having pulled up after completing a single and Procter took his place at the crease.The skipper registered his side’s first boundary of the day, clipping opposite number Toby Roland-Jones neatly to the rope as both he and Whiteman proceeded to take advantage of wayward deliveries on the leg side.Apart from one wild thrash outside off stump by Whiteman against Tom Helm, there were no alarms for either of the pair as they extended their side’s lead to 51 before rain arrived around 12.30pm.With lunch taken early, only 20 minutes were lost and, soon after the resumption it looked as though Helm had fashioned a breakthrough when an apparent leg-glance by Whiteman, on 29, flew into John Simpson’s gloves.But umpire Paul Pollard remained unmoved by Middlesex’s impassioned appeal and the Australian continued to make steady progress as he brought up his half-century, pulling Ethan Bamber to the fence at square leg.The home side rotated their bowlers – including eight overs of Sam Robson’s occasional leg-spin – without success and Whiteman’s edge through the slips off Roland-Jones for four lifted the partnership into three figures.Another downpour later in the over triggered a further delay at 161 for two but, once the players re-emerged, Procter completed a watchful half-century, his second of the campaign, from 135 deliveries.Middlesex took the new ball at the earliest opportunity, reverting to an all-seam approach and they finally claimed the day’s first wicket in the 63rd over when Procter cut uppishly at Helm and Josh de Caires, at deep third, judged the catch perfectly.Gay, who restarted his innings on 24, appeared to be unhampered by his earlier injury and promptly pumped two leg-side fours off Higgins before dancing down the track to slam De Caires for six.Whiteman advanced to his hundred from 220 balls, driving Helm off the back foot for three as Northamptonshire began to accelerate and he eventually lost his off stump to Roland-Jones, attempting to pull.Saif Zaib soon followed, caught at point after miscuing a reverse sweep off De Caires, who also collected the wicket of Tom Taylor before a brisk knock of 48 by Rob Keogh helped Gay to propel the total beyond 350.

Craig Overton, Josh Davey, Lewis Gregory claim two each against floundering Warwickshire

Paul Edwards29-Apr-2022
No county’s home is woven more lovingly into its immediate environment than the County Ground. Even those of us who already knew this so well are surprised by the intimacy of the place and the gentle intensity with which the game is followed here. The Wickets remains the best café on the circuit and this morning Em and Barbs were providing their customers with bowls of porridge or massive bacon barms while still finding time to ask why Peter Siddle isn’t playing. The regulars joked with them and agreed that it had been a good first day for Somerset although wasn’t it about time an’ all. On the walls, signed shirts evoked Somerset’s past, present and perhaps its future, too: Marcus Trescothick, Jack Brooks, Tom Abell.So imagine the conversations tomorrow morning when the locals reflect on a second day that Somerset dominated, first by making 458, in their own eccentric style, of course, and then by reducing Warwickshire to 197 for 9 with Craig Overton’s dismissal of Nathan McAndrew for 47 a few overs before the close topping things off very happily. The follow-on looms for Warwickshire and Somerset’s first victory of the season late on Saturday would be something to celebrate, a triumph to be shared with cricketers that the people of Taunton know, much as they know their butcher, their grocer or their children’s teacher. How many county clubs can claim a comparable affinity?Somerset’s players, you see, are more than names on shirts and have always been so. Before a match or on a training day you might see them strolling into town on an errand. The club’s business connections are more likely to be made with local companies than multi-national airlines. Even the ground sponsors, Cooper Associates, are based just across the way in James Street.On the excellent live stream this morning they mentioned the 85th birthday of Terry Barwell, who played 44 first-class matches for the county, almost all of them in the sixties, when a team featuring Bill Alley, Mervyn Kitchen and other solid citizens more than held its own in an age that suddenly seems almost medieval in its remoteness. In those summers Somerset’s players had to take care not to get splinters in their feet from the old pavilion’s wooden floor.Which is not to say that Somerset’s current cricket is in want of eccentricity. They still take the long route to most winning posts, something in evidence this morning when they lost four wickets lickety-split. Andrew Caddick, a player from a later generation than Barwell and Kitchen but whose strike rate was often impressive on this ground, arrived in the press box and watched three wickets fall in four balls, all of them bowled.Related

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Craig Miles jagged a couple in, one to Tom Banton, who didn’t attempt a stroke, and another to Overton, who jabbed forward but left a gate open. Next over, Lewis Gregory’s loose drive gave Oliver Hannon-Dalby his fourth wicket and Somerset were eight down. Immediately, the gloom-junkies wondered whether 373 was anything like enough, but Josh Davey and Jack Leach showed good sense in adding 44 for the ninth wicket and Brooks showed a good eye in clouting 32, thereby delaying lunch.Someday, a statistician, probably Andrew Samson, will work out the impact of last-wicket stands on openers. Somerset’s eighth wicket fell at 11.40, at which time Alex Davies and Dominic Sibley probably began their mental preparations for beginning Warwickshire’s innings. But it was another hour before the ninth wicket fell and a further 30 minutes before Brooks’ cheery assault was ended. Then we had lunch and so it was not until 1.50 that Davies and Sibley marched out with their pads on.Too much can be made of such relatively simple analyses. “Post hoc ergo propter hoc,” some of you may be saying, and wisely, too. Warwickshire’s loss of four wickets inside the first 20 overs of their innings owed more to the bravery and excellence of Somerset’s bowlers than the top order’s mental fragility. Brooks tested Davies with a couple of short ones and was hooked; he pitched it up and had his man caught at slip by Overton. Four overs later Davey replaced Brooks and had Sibley leg before in his first over, although the batter perhaps thought the ball was tailing down leg. Rob Yates followed ten minutes later when he inside-edged Davey onto his pad and Overton swooped from third slip.This was turning into one of those unexpectedly glorious afternoons for Somerset supporters and their delight was deepened when Will Rhodes’ ugly and barely describable aborted pull off Gregory shovelled a catch to Lammonby to mid-on. All the dismissed batsmen had hit boundaries but Abell posted at least two slips all afternoon and Matt Lamb nicked a catch to the second of them, Matt Renshaw. Michael Burgess replaced him and someone noted that the Warwickshire keeper had made 348 runs in his two innings this season. Another fair point but a bowler’s target is his opponent in pads rather than his statistics or his reputation. Burgess nicked Overton to Steve Davies and Warwickshire took tea on 92 for 6.The evening session could barely have gone any worse than the afternoon for the champions but it still began badly when Danny Briggs was leg before wicket to Jack Leach’s fourth ball of the day. That brought McAndrew out to join Sam Hain, who had been exhibiting the self-denial which Jonathan Trott, his mentor and current coach, probably admires. The pair added 76 and the balance of the day was shifting a little when Abell brought himself on at the Marcus Trescothick Pavilion End and had the Warwickshire batsman caught behind for 54. Abell leapt high with delight and if they had been capable of such athletic larks, one or two spectators would have joined him. As it was, they joined him in spirit and Abell, who is much-loved down here, probably felt their pleasure. It is the Somerset way.

Kane Williamson fifty in vain as Sunrisers Hyderabad get knocked out in Qualifier 2

Karthik Krishnaswamy08-Nov-20205:13

Were Sunrisers out of the chase after Warner’s wicket?

The Delhi Capitals came into Qualifier-2 having won just one of their last six games, and another defeat here would have left everyone writing their campaign off as a squandered opportunity. But here they are now, in their maiden IPL final, one win away from glory.Their performance in this Qualifier was like their season in miniature: they flew out of the blocks, then stuttered, but they kept themselves in the game and won the key moments. Sunrisers Hyderabad, who had won their last four games on the trot, began poorly – with ball and bat as well as in the field – and made up ground later on, but it wasn’t quite enough.

Iyer urges Capitals to ‘play freely’ in the final

Making it to their maiden IPL final is the “best-ever feeling” for the Delhi Capitals captain Shreyas Iyer, who now wants his team to play freely against the Mumbai Indians in the final on Tuesday.
“The journey has been a roller-coaster,” he said at the post-match presentation. “The emotions keep going high and low, so you can’t have the same set of routines. Have to keep chopping and changing.
“Hoping that in the next game as well, against Mumbai, the biggest team, we’re able to play freely.”
Against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, Iyer said, they were wary of the threat posed by Rashid Khan: “We were going at 10 run per over, but we know Rashid can be lethal in the middle. The plan was to not give him wickets.
Speaking of the decision to open the batting with Stoinis, he said: “We were lacking with the opening partnership, needed a rocket start. We thought if Dhawan goes [on without taking risks] and plays maximum deliveries, he [Stoinis] can give us a good start.”

Two key tactical moves paid rich dividends for the Capitals. They opened with Marcus Stoinis for the first time in the season, and he, along with Shikhar Dhawan, rewarded them with their best powerplay of the season. They also brought Shimron Hetmyer back into their side, and his late hitting ensured the Capitals put up a challenging total despite a significant slowdown through the second half of their innings.Stoinis contributed heavily with the ball as well, taking two wickets in the fifth over of the Sunrisers innings, and then coming back to remove Kane Williamson just when he seemed set to pull off his second chasing masterclass in two games.Stoinis and Dhawan set the toneThe Capitals’ run of poor form coming into this game had included three games where they had lost by 59, 88 and 57 runs. They didn’t want to be chasing again, and the toss went in their favour. And at one point it seemed as if everything would go in their favour.Sandeep Sharma and Jason Holder kept the Capitals’ openers to just 11 from the first two overs, and the pressure produced a chance in the third over. Sandeep had bowled inswing to Stoinis with a 5-4 leg-side field, initially achieving an immaculate line, and an attempt to break the shackles led Stoinis to hit in the air, within range of Holder stationed at an unconventional short mid-on, only for the ball to burst out of his outstretched right hand.Then Sandeep lost his line, strayed too straight, and conceded back-to-back boundaries either side of deep square leg. Stoinis then went after Holder and smacked three fours and a six in the fourth over. Dhawan joined in the fun too, picking up three fours – one of them courtesy a misfield at short fine leg from T Natarajan – and a slog-swept six in the next two overs, and the Capitals ended up with not just their most productive powerplay of the season, but also only their third wicketless one, ending it 65 for 0.See off Rashid, feast on Nadeem, slow down at the finishRashid Khan hadn’t bowled a single powerplay over this season, coming into this game, and he didn’t bowl one here either. Perhaps it was a missed opportunity from the Sunrisers, who instead used the already smarting Sandeep and the left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem in the fifth and sixth over.Rashid came on immediately after the powerplay, and struck in his second over, bowling Stoinis with a quick legbreak that ripped past the closed face of his bat. But while he continued to test the batsmen, they didn’t look to go after him, and he ended his four overs with figures of 1 for 26.The Capitals wouldn’t have minded that, given their start, and they made up against the unfortunate Nadeem, whom the Sunrisers ostensibly used to target the right-handed Stoinis and Shreyas Iyer, but who ended up running into the left-handed Dhawan instead. By the time he bowled his fourth over, Hetmyer had replaced Iyer and there were two left-handers at the crease, but the Sunrisers didn’t have a sixth bowling option to turn to. Nadeem struggled for control right through, and he finished with figures of 4-0-48-0, with Dhawan tonking him for 29 off 14 balls.At the 16-over mark, the Capitals were 145 for 2, and 200 seemed on the cards when Natarajan and Holder conceded a combined 31 from the 17th and 18th overs, with Hetmyer rampaging his way to 34 off 15. But Sandeep and Natarajan came back strongly in the last two overs largely by nagging away in the blockhole, with the left-armer Natarajan more or less nailing six yorkers in the final over. Only 13 came off the last two, and no boundaries. The Capitals had made 102 in their first 10 overs, but only 87 in their last 10.Rabada and Stoinis strike earlyBy the end of the powerplay, the Sunrisers seemed almost out of the contest. Kagiso Rabada struck with his first ball, a full inswinger that moved late, to bowl David Warner off his pads, and Marcus Stoinis struck twice in his first over – the fifth of the innings – to remove Priyam Garg and Manish Pandey after a brief flurry of boundaries from the second-wicket pair.At the six-over mark, the Sunrisers were 49 for 3, already needing more than 10 an over. This was a far more challenging task than the one Williamson and Holder had pulled off against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Eliminator.Williamson’s last standBut the game wasn’t over yet, not as long as Williamson was in the middle. He kept finding ways to hit boundaries, picking up minor errors in line or length and creating scoring opportunities with his footwork. He shoveled Rabada over midwicket after stepping across his stumps, hit Axar Patel and Praveen Dubey for straight sixes after stepping out to them, and helped Stoinis over backward square leg with an impudent flick over his shoulder.The departure of Holder in the 12th over – when the equation was 100 from 50 balls – didn’t stop the Sunrisers either, with Williamson now joined by Abdul Samad, who tore into Anrich Nortje in the 15th over, pulling him for a disdainful six before cashing in on width to pick up back-to-back fours. With 10 coming off the next over from R Ashwin, the Sunrisers needed 51 from 24.Then Stoinis came back, and made Williamson lose his shape for once, with a full, wide slower ball that he carved into the hands of deep cover. The game wasn’t completely safe yet, as Rashid Khan showed with a six and a four off Ashwin in the 18th over to bring the task down to 30 off 12. But the batsmen simply had to keep swinging, and after another six from Samad – off a borderline high full-toss – the big hits kept ending up as catches on the boundary, with Rabada picking up three such wickets in the 19th over to wrench the Purple Cap off Jasprit Bumrah.The eventual winner of that contest will be known on Tuesday.