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Piyush Chawla’s experience will be handy for a young side looking to build on recent Ranji success, says Gujarat captain Parthiv Patel

Shashank Kishore17-Aug-2017″The need for new challenges” has led legspinner Piyush Chawla to move from Uttar Pradesh to Gujarat for the upcoming Indian domestic season. Chawla and RP Singh, the former UP pacer who signed with the reigning Ranji Trophy champions last season, will be the two professional players for the side in 2017-18.Chawla’s paperwork has been completed, allowing him to join the Gujarat squad ahead of their pre-season camp next month, after his stint with Chemplast in Chennai’s first-division league. Chawla was earlier in talks with Vidarbha, who eventually signed legspinner Karn Sharma.”Up north, you either get flat wickets or seaming tracks. We’ve struggled to find a middle path, so as a spinner, opportunities to make inroads are very less. I wanted to play in an environment where the surfaces are little more responsive and allow you to make an impact,” Chawla told ESPNcricinfo. “It was a hard decision to move from a state where you’ve played right from the start, but pure cricketing reasons merited a move.”Chawla brushed aside murmurs of competition for places with Kuldeep Yadav being the reason for his move. “Most teams field two spinners anyway, so that isn’t the reason,” he said. “We play together at the IPL for Kolkata Knight Riders. I’ve been around for 12 years now, so there’s no insecurity. I’ve read these things in the papers, but I can’t explain the reason to everyone. He’s come along very well, but for me, personally, at this stage of my career, I wanted a new perspective and I thought playing for a side that has come up tremendously would give me an opportunity to contribute in many ways.”Parthiv Patel, the Gujarat captain, felt Chawla’s experience would be invaluable. “With India playing lot of limited-overs cricket at home, there’s a possibility we may not have the services of Axar Patel throughout. We wanted to strengthen our spin department, and we’re happy to have someone of Piyush’s calibre,” he said. “We will be playing our home games in Surat and Valsad, where it turns. Having a wristspinner, we thought, would add a lot of value.”He’s also very handy lower down the order as a batsman. That skill of his is underrated. So overall, he brings a lot to the table. We had a chat last year. He indicated his willingness to come over, which we thought about ahead of the season. When we assessed our balance as a squad, considering we will defend our title, we felt we were lacking in the spin department. With Piyush coming over, we feel we have most boxes ticked.”Chawla, a Ranji Trophy winner with UP in 2005-06, the same season in which he debuted for India, led the side in 11 first-class games across three seasons. He featured in just two first-class matches in a disappointing campaign in 2016-17, when UP finished seventh in the nine-team pool, with one win, four losses and three draws.Chawla has picked up 386 wickets over 117 first-class games, 80 of which have been for UP. An IPL regular with Kolkata Knight Riders, Chawla last played for India in 2012.Other domestic transfersRobin Uthappa from Karnataka to Saurashtra
KB Arun Karthik from Assam to Kerala
Karn Sharma from Railways to Vidarbha
Ambati Rayudu from Vidarbha to Hyderabad
Pragyan Ojha from Bengal to Hyderabad
Chadrakant Pandit, the former Mumbai coach, will head Vidarbha

Former Madhya Pradesh cricketer Kapil Seth died on July 2 due to an illness. Seth was 36

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jul-2016Former Madhya Pradesh cricketer Kapil Seth died on July 2, aged 36. Seth was suffering from Hepatitis B, according to MPCA.Seth, who bowled medium-pace, represented Madhya Pradesh in only one first-class and List A game in the 2000-01 season. He made his sole Ranji Trophy appearance against Vidarbha in November 2000 and scored an unbeaten 125 at No. 10. His century, along with Ankit Srivastava’s 204, helped Madhya Pradesh rally from 276 for 8 to 552 for 8 declared, and the side eventually beat Vidarbha by an innings and 176 runs.He did not bat in his only List A match – also against Vidarbha, in the Ranji Trophy One Day competition – but had figures of 1 for 27 in the match.

Chris Gayle’s remarkable century on his home debut for Somerset was all in vain as Kent won by three runs in an extraordinary NatWest T20 Blast match at the County Ground.

ECB/PA31-May-2015
ScorecardAs seen in the IPL: Chris Gayle followed his 92 against Essex with something even more spectacular at Taunton, but in a losing cause•BCCI

Chris Gayle’s remarkable century on his home debut for Somerset was all in vain as Kent won by three runs in an extraordinary NatWest T20 Blast match at the County Ground.He struck 10 fours and 15 sixes in an unbeaten 151 off 62 balls. However, despite an innings that should have been good enough to win any game, Gayle finished on the losing side.The last over started with 17 needed, but Gayle did not have the strike; it took two balls to get it back as Sohail Tanvir was dismissed then Jamie Overton scampered a single. That left 17 off four – not impossible by Gayle standards – and it came down to 10 off two when Mitchell Claydon, who amid the carnage produced an outstanding four overs, found a priceless dot ball which meant the final-ball six, Gayle’s 15th, did not change the outcome.For the first half of the game it looked likely to be another name would be taking the headlines as Sam Northeast made a career-best 114 off 58 balls.Matthew Maynard, the Somerset coach, said: “I thought Sam Northeast played a sensational innings, but then the World boss came in and it’s different gravy. However, good Sam’s innings was it just pales a little bit. But that’s what Chris can do.”We saw him in Essex the other day and today was an even more incredible performance. Words can’t explain exactly what we have seen today. He makes it looks so easy and strikes the ball so cleanly. His knock almost brought off an incredible win today, but it just wasn’t to be.”Batting first, Kent lost Joe Denly in the second over, run out by Max Waller with the score on 10 for 1. After that, Northeast and Daniel Bell-Drummond put on a wonderful exhibition of batting.Bell-Drummond, who was dropped on 37, by Overton off Max Waller, reached his 50 in the 10th over but was snapped up by Lewis Gregory, off Waller, off the very next ball.Northeast continued to make hay as Somerset bowled too short and wide. He struck 14 fours and two sixes before passing three figures in the 18th over. Having led the home attack a merry-dance for the best part of 17 overs, he was one of four batsmen out in the final over as Kent finished on 227 for 7.Enter Gayle, who made 92 on his first appearance against Essex, and a few other batsmen who largely stood at the other end. The West Indian opener saw Marcus Trescothick hole out to cover off Matt Coles the first ball of the fourth over before watching Peter Trego play on, two balls later. At 22 for 2, Somerset appeared to be staring down the barrel of an inevitable defeat.Gayle, however, had slightly different ideas and when the Jamaican struck three giant sixes in eight balls, the host county were on their way.James Hildreth, whose form in four-day cricket has been exemplary so far this summer, refused to remain in the shadow of Gayle and played his part in a partnership of 113 in nine overs. However, the locals had come to the County Ground to see Gayle and they left with plenty over which to enthuse.The left hander struck five fours and four sixes in reaching 50 off 29 balls and continued to make light of a Kent attack that simply had no answer. He put three balls into the River Tone and as many into the St James’ churchyard.Hildreth departed in the 13th over, for 29, with Somerset still needing 93 to win and Jim Allenby followed off the second ball of the 16th over with 63 still required. However, Gayle went through three figures off just 45 balls and kept Somerset in with a chance until the penultimate ball. It was the sixth highest individual score in the history of Twenty20 cricket.Northeast, while delighted with victory, was left in awe. “I don’t know where to start. It was an incredible game and Chris’ innings was one of the best things I have ever seen. But special credit has to go to our bowlers who stuck to their plan and kept believing.”We were trying to get the other batters on strike, but you miss your length against him and it goes out of the park. When the opposition needs 15 an over, you kind of think it’s game over. But when Chris is out there and it went up to 20 needed off each over, you still know that he can do it. He is an incredible player.”

Nasir Hossain was planning to celebrate his century in a manner that would have “stunned everyone”

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur16-Nov-2012Even before reaching his maiden Test century, Nasir Hossain was thinking of how to celebrate the milestone. He got very close, within four runs, before his attempt to push the ball into the covers took the edge to the waiting Chris Gayle at slip. The world remains unaware of how he would have saluted the hundred, though Nasir said it would have “stunned everyone”.”I made plans for my [century] celebration too early, so it is my bad luck that I got out on 96,” Nasir said. “I was trying to give [Shahadat Hossain] Rajib bhai as less strike as possible. After [Mahmudullah] Riyad bhai got out, I decided to bat aggressively. I think it was the right thing to do at that stage.”Nasir, however, enjoyed every bit of the freedom of coming in to bat at 362 for 5, a rarity for a Bangladesh No. 7, whose usual role is to stop a batting slide. On a wicket which he described as “beautiful”, Nasir capitalised by hammering six boundaries and four sixes. He added 121 runs for the seventh wicket with Mahmudullah before taking full charge of the 61-run ninth wicket stand with Shahadat Hossain. He had reached fifty off 99 balls, with a pulled boundary off Ravi Rampaul, but scored the next 43 runs off 37 deliveries.Known for his temperament and ability to close out games in limited overs cricket, Nasir is aware of what he is going to face at this position in the longer-format. “I told the coach that I might have to encounter the second new ball in that position so I would say I was well prepared to bat at No. 7, because I had done the hard yards in the nets.”But there is not much of a challenge in batting at this position. In the national team I am willing to bat anywhere and as in domestic cricket where my performance is counted, I bat up the order.”In the national team, Nasir will likely have to continue in the lower-middle order for a little while longer after Naeem Islam confirmed his place at No. 4 with a hundred and Mahmdullah weighed in with a half-century of his own.Nasir is going to turn 21 at the end of this month and he plays the part of an exuberant youngster. Last year, he had asked Mahmudullah how to celebrate just as he was approaching his first ODI century. This time he was itching to get to the three-figure mark. “I can’t tell you what it is, but it would have been something that stunned everyone.”

Chris Gayle will only be considered for selection for West Indies if he retracts statements he has made about the West Indies board and its officers

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Oct-2011Chris Gayle will only be considered for selection for West Indies if he retracts statements he has made about the West Indies board and its officers, the WICB has said in a statement. The board will appoint a facilitator to assist Gayle in complying with their requirements. The decision comes after the last meeting between Gayle and WICB chief Ernest Hilaire, on August 25, had more positive results then previous interactions between the parties.Relations between Gayle and the board had broken down after he gave an interview in April to a radio station during which he was scathing about both the board and coach Ottis Gibson. After attempts at reconciliation failed, and Gayle was left out of the squad for the whole of the home series against India, he released a long and emotional public statement, in which he traced the evolution of the dispute back to 2009, when, he said, Hilaire had cast doubts on his ability to captain the team.The board has now said it recognises that Gayle can “contribute meaningfully” to the West Indies team, but will only select him if he withdraws his criticisms. The WICB said they had told Gayle of their decision and were waiting for his response.Clive Lloyd, the former West Indies captain and now WICB director, said it was important to get a senior player like Gayle back in the West Indies setup and that it would be wise for Gayle to comply with the board’s requirements.”First of all it is disappointing that the matter has gone on for as long as it has,” Lloyd said in the board statement. “What we need now is closure and, to be fair, anyone of whom those comments were made would have a right to take umbrage.’Withdrawing the comments would be the intelligent thing to do to get the issue resolved and have everyone move on. We need senior players to be in the setup to drive the progress forward and any team would love to entertain Gayle, but under the right circumstances.”Gayle has not played for West Indies since the 2011 World Cup. Since then, he has been an integral part of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s squad in their IPL and Champions League Twenty20 campaigns, finishing as the leading run-getter in the IPL.His saga with the board had escalated to a level where the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) heads of government had become involved. West Indies are currently touring Bangladesh, after which they will go to India to play three Tests and five ODIs.

Christopher Martin-Jenkins, the former Times cricket correspondent and veteran commentator on the BBC’s Test Match Special, will begin his one-year tenure as President of Marylebone Cricket Club on Friday

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Sep-2010Christopher Martin-Jenkins, the former Times cricket correspondent and veteran commentator on the BBC’s Test Match Special, will begin his one-year tenure as President of Marylebone Cricket Club on Friday, October 1, as the successor to John Barclay.”I feel excited to find myself, for one privileged year, president of the great club that I joined as a playing member in 1967,” said Martin-Jenkins. “Playing the game – in both senses – is still MCC’s greatest priority and it will be fascinating, having written and talked about cricket since that same summer, to have some small input from the inside. I am grateful to my predecessor John Barclay, who has been a conscientious, ebullient and diplomatic leader, for offering me this honour.”Having previously played 67 times for MCC in matches against schools and clubs, Martin-Jenkins was elected to the MCC Committee in 2009; he also sits on the Arts & Library sub-committee. In 2007 he became the first career journalist and broadcaster to be invited to speak at the annual MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture – previous lecturers had all been former international cricketers.”The game always has issues and I shall try to help to resolve current ones, including the need to market Test matches better in some countries and to find a proper balance of fixtures that will ensure all international matches are special occasions,” he said. “Those at Lord’s surely always will be: it is the ground on which every young cricketer of any nationality hopes to play one day. Doing so in a Test match is the stuff of dreams and becoming MCC president feels a bit like that too!”Joining the new President on the MCC Committee, for a three-year period, will be Simon Dyson (for his first term), Mike Gatting (for his third term), Tim O’Gorman (for his fourth term) and David Faber (for his fourth term). All were elected by MCC’s membership. Stepping down from the Committee are Russell Cake, Dr Chinmay Gupte, Julian Vallance, Alec Stewart and Jonathan Wileman.Completing a day of change at MCC, Garri Jones will become Chairman of the newly-created Youth committee, which is responsible for encouraging participation, high standards and excellence in youth cricket. Members of the Youth Cricket committee include Clare Connor, David Graveney, Phillip Hodson and Andy Whittall.

South Africa added 88 for the last two wickets after Markram made 89

Firdose Moonda27-Dec-2024Corbin Bosch’s dream outing continued as he scored his maiden half-century off 46 balls and the highest score by a No.9 batter on debut in Tests as he built South Africa’s 90-run first-innings lead. Pakistan ate into most of that in their second innings but lost three wickets and remained two runs behind, leaving South Africa with their noses in front.The hosts, who need one more Test win to guarantee a place in the World Test Championship final, were at risk of squandering the opportunity to get ahead after collapsing from 178 for 4 to 213 for 8 but a 41-run stand between Bosch and Kagiso Rabada and a 47-run last-wicket partnership between Bosch and Dane Paterson gave them a healthy lead. They did not maximise the advantage immediately and Pakistan’s opening pair of Saim Ayub and Shan Masood put on 49 inside 11 overs before they lost 3 for 25 on a day that ebbed and flowed, more from entertainment than the quality of the cricket.Both sets of batters will look back in some anger at the way they were dismissed. South Africa’s middle order have questions over some ordinary shot selection while Pakistan, aside from their first innings collapse, now have to deal with signs of variable bounce as they look to build a target they can defend. Amongst those bigger picture narratives, was Bosch’s delight as he ended unbeaten on 81 and was given the new ball in the second innings in a match where he has had a Midas touch.Bosch came to the crease with South Africa on 191 for 7. Aiden Markram on 87 and Naseem Shah was in the middle of a marathon ten-over spell. Naseem had done the damage either side of lunch after he pulled his length back. That probed a well-set David Bedingham outside off and drew an edge off the back-foot drive to first slip, which sparked a collapse.Post lunch, Naseem resumed with the same determination. He had Kyle Verreynne caught in the slips off the 14th ball of the second session, playing a loose drive to a ball on fifth stump. Two overs later, he tested Marco Jansen with a tighter line and drew an edge but Ayub put it down at gully. It would not have mattered as Naseem had over-stepped. He did not have to wait too long to rectify his error. His next ball was back of a length and angling away, Jansen edged and was caught behind.Khurram Shahzad denied Aiden Markram a century•AFP/Getty Images

At that point, Markram might have been wondering if he was running out of partners. Bosch provided the answer with back to back boundaries off Khurram Shahzad and then two more off Naseem and South Africa settled. Markram faced 14 of the 30 balls that were bowled after Bosch got to the crease and added only three runs to his total before he was bounced out. Shahzad set him up with a couple of deliveries just back of a length, then one on a good length and then the snorter. Markram was not expecting it and edged to Mohammad Rizwan to fall 11 short of what would have been a second century this year.South Africa only led by two at that point and Pakistan had the opportunity to keep things fairly even but they were taken apart by Bosch for the second day running. He was aggressive on front and back foot and had a disciplined partner in Rabada, who pulled out one of the most eye-catching cover drives of the game.When Aamer Jamal was brought back on half an hour before tea, Rabada’s patience ran out. He swiped across the line and sent the ball aerially in the direction of the non-striker. Babar Azam took a good catch at short midwicket, looking into the sun to end what was becoming a frustrating partnership for Pakistan.Bosch would go on to get his milestone and reached fifty with a stunning cover drive. His is the second-fastest fifty by a South African on debut. Then Paterson swung and scored four off Jamal and six when he hit Abbas over long-off. Desperate to end the lower-order resistance, Naseem was brought back after a brief break and bowled four more overs but could not get the breakthrough. Instead it was the part-time spin of Ayub, the only spinner used in the match so far, that did the trick. Paterson tried to launch him out of the ground but skied it to mid-off where Shahzad ran circles before taking the catch.Kagiso Rabada ended Pakistan’s quick opening stand in the second innings•AFP/Getty Images

South Africa started poorly with the ball in the second innings. Rabada and Bosch shared the new ball but both were too short and too wide in their opening spells. Ayub and Shan Masood played aggressively and raced to 41 in the first seven overs before Temba Bavuma brought on Paterson from Bosch’s end.His first two overs cost five runs and brought a semblance of pressure which was all Rabada needed to adjust back to his best. In his sixth over, he produced an absolute jaffa on a length and nipping away. Ayub couldn’t get behind the line of the ball as it curved to hit the top of offstump. Rabada finished a seven-over spell with figures of 1 for 31.Jansen took over from him and immediately looked a threat with the bounce he generated. Masood negotiated his first over but when Jansen found even more lift in the second, he hung his bat out and edged low to Tristan Stubbs at third slip. In Jansen’s next over, Kamran Ghulam, who scored 54 in the first innings, edged to Ryan Rickelton in the gully. That catch needed to be looked at a few more times but Rickelton appeared to have fingers under the ball and Ghulam’s short stay was over.Saud Shakeel benefitted from loose bowling towards the end of the day and struck two authoritative boundaries before bad light caused an early end to play.

Perry made 49 but Sixers are winless after three games while Heat are undefeated

AAP and ESPNCricinfo24-Oct-2023Georgia Voll and Grace Harris have helped Brisbane Heat continue their perfect start to the season with a third straight win, beating Sydney Sixers by three wickets in a tight run-chase at North Sydney Oval.Chasing an under-par target of 147, Harris whacked 39 from 19 and Voll made 39 off 38 before some lusty blows from captain Jess Jonassen (27 off 19) helped get the Heat home with an over to spare.Voll was named Player of the Match having earlier picked up the key wicket of Ellyse Perry with the ball, as well as taking two catches and affecting a run out.Sixers’ season is now in serious trouble, going 0-3 to start the year after defeats to Melbourne Stars and Sydney Thunder in the past week, on top of the long-term loss of Alyssa Healy to injury.Perry crunched 49 off 30 for Sixers and looked in good touch, while Chloe Tryon struck 42 from 33.But they were the only two to get going as Sixers were restricted to 146 for 8 batting first. Heat’s bowlers were exceptional with Nicola Hancock, Courtney Grace Sipple and Jonassen each claiming two wickets. Hancock and Sippel went at less than a run-a-ball for their combined eight overs conceding just 23 runs each, while Voll was also miserly in conceding just 17 from her three overs. She was fortunate to pick up Perry with a rank drag down that Perry smacked straight to deep square. But it was a critical moment in the match as Sixers went from 76 for 3 at halfway to post just 70 runs in the last 10 for the loss of five wickets.Harris got Heat away to another flyer in the chase smashing four fours and three sixes, which meant Voll, Mignon du Preez and Jonassen could control the chase thereafter, albeit late wickets kept things interesting until Mikayla Hinkley iced the game with a six.

Left-armers, spinners run through SA after Livingstone, Curran cameos

Firdose Moonda22-Jul-2022Rain shortened match? Sure. 72 for 5 in the 12th over? No problem. Series on the line? That’s okay.After middling white-ball form at home this summer, England stormed back with a big win over a stunned South Africa, who were left on 6 for 4 in chase of 202. On a surface that promised runs but proved tricky to bat on in damp conditions, and even took some turn, South Africa were bowled out for their joint-lowest total against England and joint-second-lowest score overall, just three days after recording their highest score against England in the series-opener.In a match that was reduced to 29 overs-a-side after a two-hour and 45 minute delay, neither side’s batters found fluency but their bowlers could make use of variations and the spinners shone. They took eight wickets between them, with Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali’s five for 51 in 10.4 overs trumping Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi’s 3 for 68 in 12 overs. But it was England’s all left-arm pace attack that did the damage from which South Africa could not recover.Janneman Malan, whose strike rate of under 90 has put him under some scrutiny, tried to get off the mark off the sixth ball he faced – a full, straight delivery from Reece Topley that he tried to flick off his pads. He mistimed it to Sam Curran at mid-on instead. Four balls later, Rassie van der Dussen attempted a similar shot, off a ball that was angling down leg and feathered it through to Jos Buttler.David Willey beat Quinton de Kock’s edge in his first over, with a ball that just passed over off-stump and with pressure building, returned to remove de Kock with the first delivery of his second. Buttler deserves the credit for England’s field placement as he put Liam Livingstone at short cover and de Kock got a leading edge to him, as he tried to work Willey into the leg side.It was also their groundwork that removed the next batter – Aiden Markram – without facing a ball. Heinrich Klaasen hit Willey towards short fine leg and set off a single but Buttler gave chase and flicked the ball at the stumps to catch Markram short of his ground. At 6 for 4 after four overs, South Africa were all but spent but may have hoped David Miller could maximise his time at the crease to keep them in it. He hit back-to-back boundaries off Topley but that was as good as it got. Miller was bowled by a Curran cutter that crashed into his off-stump to leave South Africa 27 for 5.Klaasen and Dwaine Pretorius put on 39 for the sixth wicket but when Klaasen was stumped off Moeen, England were into the lower order and in sight of victory. They bowled South Africa out in the 21st over.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

England’s effort in the field more than made up for what-seemed a haphazard performance with the bat. They were bowled out with five balls remaining against a crafty South African attack after their top-order went too hard too early in an innings that was not ODI-length but not quite T20. In the end, they relied on cameos by Livingstone and Curran, who hit all but one of their team’s seven sixes, to set them up to top 200.Jason Roy was determined to swing his way through his innings and got three fours away before Anrich Nortje cramped him for room and he sent the ball to Pretorius at mid-wicket. Roy has gone five innings without fifty, since his century against Netherlands exactly a month ago.Roy dismissal brought Phil Salt to the crease, in his seventh ODI and in the absence of the now-retired Ben Strokes and he rubbed it in Lungi Ngidi’s wounds when he whipped Ngidi through fine leg, then edged him short of de Kock and then over a vacant slip area for four. Ngidi’s first spell cost 28 runs and revealed nothing about the questions he asked the England line-up with his slower ball. Instead, it’s Pretorius who got the answers.In his first over, Pretorius had Salt caught at mid-wicket by a diving Miller, a wicket which was confirmed on umpire’s review, and then struck twice in his second to leave England reeling. Joe Root skipped down the track and swiped at a Pretorius delivery, which he top-edged in front of and to the left of de Kock and, two balls later, Bairstow was bowled by a ball that pitched on off and wobbled back in to beat his flick and hit middle stump.Pretorius had three wickets for nine runs in his first two overs and almost claimed a fourth when Moeen edged him wide of a diving de Kock. With no slip in place, Moeen survived but not for too much longer. In the next over, he picked out Nortje on the deep square boundary off Maharaj to leave England on 72 for 5 before the final specialist, Shamsi, had got in on the action.For the second match in succession, Buttler tried to take Shamsi on and for the second time, he failed. Buttler advanced down the track and tried to hit Shamsi down the ground for six but got an outside edge to Pretorius at short third. And then England found their oomph. Curran first sent Maharaj and then Shamsi over their heads for six and Livingstone plundered 22 runs off the first four balls of Nortje’s third over. Livingstone sent 90mph deliveries off Nortje over square leg, mid-wicket and fine leg and then nicked him through third for four.When Livingstone hit Nortje to mid-wicket, England still had Curran, who had one more burst against Shamsi. In a display of power-hitting, Curran sent Shamsi down the ground for successive fours and a six before holing out to long-off to end an 18-ball 35.Pretorius finally picked up his fourth when Willey swung him to deep mid-wicket, the ball after hitting him over long-off for six. At the innings break, many may have thought that would be the best performance on the day. How wrong they were.

On a tricky surface for strokeplay, Finch anchored the visitors before New Zealand’s batting folded

Andrew McGlashan05-Mar-2021A crucial innings from captain Aaron Finch on a tricky pitch, as he became Australia’s leading scorer in men’s T20Is, followed by a tight display in the field enabled them to take the series to a decider in Wellington on Sunday as the home side’s batting disappointed for the second game running.On a surface being used for the fourth time in three days (with two more matches to come), scoring was much tougher than when Australia put more than 200 on the board in the previous game. New Zealand had control for the majority of the time in the field – Ish Sodhi and Trent Boult taking five wickets between them – but Finch took full toll in the final over of the innings as Kyle Jamieson was plundered for 26.New Zealand were under pressure from the start of the chase and could not make a dent on the target in the powerplay. Australia’s three spinners – Ashton Agar, Adam Zampa and Glenn Maxwell – produced combined figures of 11-0-49-6.New Zealand’s bowlers hold swayThe signs were there early that scoring would not be as easy as in the previous match, when Mitchell Santner, who missed the third game under Covid-19 protocols, was introduced in the third over. He removed Matthew Wade third ball, continuing the wicketkeeper’s unconvincing series, and immediately got turn from the surface. He would bowl his four overs for just 16 including 13 dot deliveries, highlighting what New Zealand had missed on Wednesday.Boult and Sodhi did the damage to the middle order as Australia struggled to increase the tempo. Boult removed Maxwell just when he was threatening something destructive again and produced a terrific yorker to remove Agar, who had been promoted to provide a left-right combination. When Sodhi took his third wicket, removing Mitchell Marsh to a top-edged sweep, Australia were in trouble at 116 for 6 heading into the closing overs.Kane Richardson was the most successful Australia bowler on the day•Getty Images

Finch’s reward for going deepAt the start of the 18th over, Finch was 41 at a run-a-ball. He had been starved of strike for significant parts of the innings and the nature of the surface made strokeplay difficult. However, by hanging in, it meant that Australia had a set batsman for the closing overs. He went to a half-century off 47 deliveries and then it was the final over where he really made it count against the struggling Jamieson who has now conceded 175 runs in the series. The day after Kieron Pollard had taken six sixes off an over, Finch managed four – the first two over extra cover and then a brace over the leg side. A player who had been under scrutiny just a few days ago had made back-to-back crucial contributions.Powerplay squeezeFinch was quick to follow the spin playbook, handing the first over of New Zealand’s innings to Agar – fresh off his six-wicket haul in the third game – and he went for just a single to set the tone. Agar would end up bowling three of the powerplay overs, conceding just seven runs, and in that third over he removed the key figure of Martin Guptill, who tried to clear the off side but was superbly caught by Maxwell who showed some neat footwork to stay inside the rope. When Riley Meredith went for just two in the sixth over, New Zealand were stalled on 25 for 1 with Tim Seifert having used up 21 balls for 15.Pressure tellsHaving soaked up so many deliveries, Seifert had to play the Finch-type innings but his difficult stay was ended when he chopped on against Kane Richardson as the asking rate climbed over 10 an over. Williamson rarely does ugly at the crease, but was caught at point off the back of the bat as he attempted to sweep Maxwell whose offspin proved highly valuable. It quickly became a forgettable performance from the home side with Glenn Phillips and Devon Conway ending up at the same end in a mix-up. In a way, though, New Zealand’s defeat is a good thing because with the relaxation of Covid-19 alert levels tomorrow a crowd is now able to attend Wellington on Sunday. They have a decider to enjoy.