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A round-up of the Vijay Hazare Trophy Group A matches played on December 17, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Dec-2015Ajinkya Rahane’s century ended in vain as Rajasthan gunned down 302 against Mumbai with Rajat Bhatia’s unbeaten 94 at the Gymkhana Ground in Hyderabad.Rajasthan lost opener Manender Singh early in the chase but Dishant Yagnik and Puneet Yadav pitched in with forties each to keep the scorecard ticking. Abhishek Nayar got rid of both, but Ashok Menaria and Bhatia took charge with a 145-run partnership, which tilted the balance in Rajasthan’s favour. Bhatia drilled eight fours and three sixes and remained unbeaten on 94 off 71 balls.Having opted to bowl, Rajasthan struck early, courtesy Pankaj Singh who got rid of Mumbai’s top three. Aditya Tare then exited for a duck as Mumbai were left reeling at 44 for 4 within 12 overs. Rahane, however, combined well with Surya Kumar Yadav in a 125-run stand. By the time Rahane was out, Mumbai had reached 270, and they eventually crossed 300. Bhatia and Menaria then fired and kept their team in the race for the knockouts.B Aparajith’s fifty and a string of 20-plus scores trumped Tanmay Agarwal’s second List A century as Tamil Nadu took a step closer to the knockouts. They chased down 231 in 47.5 overs to take their fourth win of the tournament, against Hyderabad.Abhinav Mukund and Dinesh Karthik gave their side a solid base in the chase, adding 57 together. However, seamer Mohammed Siraj, playing his maiden List A match, produced a double-strike to remove the openers. M Vijay and Vijay Shankar propped up Tamil Nadu before R Ashwin and Aparajith dropped anchor. The pair put on 86 before Ravi Kiran had Aparajith caught behind for 55. Three balls later, the seamer had R Satish bowled for a duck. Ashwin was dismissed for 36 in the next over, but B Indrajith and Aswin Crist guided Tamil Nadu home with three wickets and 13 balls to spare.Earlier, Agarwal led Hyderabad’s recovery, striking 11 fours and 1 six during his 96-ball 105. Opener Danny Derek Prince got the next-best score – 31 off 41 balls. Tamil Nadu chipped away at the wickets, L Balaji, who was playing his first game of the season, the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3 for 33. He was complemented by Satish, Ashwin, and Shankar who grabbed two wickets each. This meant that Hyderabad were dismissed for 230 in 49.2 overs, a total that proved inadequate in the end.A trio of fifties marshalled Services‘ chase of 262 as Assam sunk to their sixth loss in six matches. Opener Soumik Chatterjee gave the early impetus with Amit Pachhara before Rajat Paliwal built on the platform as Services sealed the deal in 45.2 overs in Secunderabad.Having opted to bat, Assam were reduced to 28 for 2 in 7.4 overs by Diwesh Pathania. Sibsankar Roy and Amit Verma lifted their side with a 100-run partnership, but Pathania came back and sliced through the lower order, as Assam were restricted to 261. Pathania finished with career-best List A figures of 5 for 54.

South Australian allrounder Alex Gregory will captain the Cricket Australia XI in their inaugural Matador Cup campaign next month

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Sep-2015South Australian allrounder Alex Gregory will captain the Cricket Australia XI in their inaugural Matador Cup campaign next month. As many as eight players could make their one-day debuts as a result of the inclusion of a seventh side in the tournament, with a squad made up of talented young players who missed out on selection in their respective 14-man state squads.Gregory, 20, played for the Redbacks in last summer’s Matador Cup and is one of six squad members with List A experience. The team has been introduced this season in an effort to provide greater exposure to elite-level cricket for some of the country’s emerging players, and CA national talent manager Greg Chappell said he was confident the side would be competitive against the states.”The idea behind it was to make sure the next generation of cricketers were going to get the opportunities they need to keep their development going,” Chappell said. “There will be some familiar names from having played a little bit of first-class cricket or a little bit of 50-over cricket for their state previously.”They are the ones the public can start looking at with the view to perhaps watching them grow over the next few years, get into their state sides and hopefully go on to represent Australia.”They will be competitive. There are probably three or four players that we thought we might have in the CA XI side who have gone on and been selected by their states and we would expect them to play prominent roles in their state squad. So maybe we have frightened some of the states into thinking they needed to pick some of their young players and, if that’s the case, that’s terrific.”National Cricket Centre head coach Troy Cooley and Australia Under-19 mentor Graeme Hick will be in charge of preparing the squad for their Matador Cup campaign. The tournament will be played around Sydney through October and the Cricket Australia XI’s first match is against New South Wales on October 5.Cricket Australia XI squad Alex Gregory (SA, capt), Sam Heazlett (Qld), James Peirson (Qld), Ben McDermott (Tas), James Bazley (Qld), Seb Gotch (Vic), Matthew Short (Vic), Jack Wildermuth (Qld), Jhye Richardson (WA), Liam Hatcher (NSW), Mitch Swepson (Qld), Hilton Cartwright (WA). Riley Ayre (ACT/NSW), Matthew Dixon (WA).

Royal Challengers’ poor net run rate makes their final league match, against Gujarat Titans, almost a must-win contest

S Rajesh15-May-2022Rajasthan Royals: Mat 13, Pts 16, NRR 0.304
A comfortable 24-run win against Lucknow Super Giants means Rajasthan Royals are almost certain of qualifying for the playoffs. Only five teams can now get to 16 or more points – Delhi Capitals play Punjab Kings, so only one of them can reach that tally – and Royals’ excellent net run rate (NRR) of 0.304, coupled with Royal Challengers Bangalore’s poor -0.323, means Royals are very well placed. For them to drop below Royal Challengers, they will have to lose to Super Kings by a huge margin and Royal Challengers will need a big win against Gujarat Titans – the combined margin of those two results will need to be around 160 runs. (If Royal Challengers win by 70, Royals will need to lose by around 90.)They also play their last game after Royal Challengers, so they will know exactly what they need to do to finish in the top four. The target for Royals will now actually be to win their last game and finish among the top two.Lucknow Super Giants: Mat 13, Pts 16, NRR 0.262
In their last two matches, Super Giants’ NRR has dropped from 0.703 to 0.262, thanks to losses in these games by a combined margin of 86 runs. However, like Royals, Super Giants are also comfortably placed to qualify because of Royal Challengers’ poor NRR. For them to lose out on a playoffs spot, the combined margin of their defeat and Royal Challengers’ win will have to be around 150 runs.Like Royals, Super Giants, too, have the chance to finish among the top two. If both these teams win their last match, they will finish on 18 points each and NRR will decide who finishes second.Delhi Capitals: Mat 12, Pts 12, NRR 0.210
With Royals also reaching 16 points, there is less wriggle room for teams which are at the middle of the table. Delhi Capitals are still the best placed among those teams, thanks to their excellent NRR of 0.210. If they win their last two matches, they will go through. Even if they lose one of those matches and finish on 14, they could still qualify if Kings and Royal Challengers don’t reach 16, and if Knight Riders and Sunrisers don’t win their last games and go past Capitals on run rate. In fact, it is still possible for all these five teams to finish on 14 points, fighting for the last playoff spot.Punjab Kings: Mat 12, Pts 12, NRR 0.023
Kings currently have an NRR of 0.023, which is lower than Capitals’ 0.210 whom they play on Monday. If they win that game and their last one against Sunrisers, they will qualify.If they lose to Capitals, they will have to win their last game against Sunrisers, and then hope that Capitals and Royal Challengers lose theirs. It will then come down to NRR among the teams on 14 points.For instance, if Kings lose to Capitals by a run on Monday and beat Sunrisers by 25 runs after scoring 180, their NRR will improve to 0.112; if Capitals lose their last game against Mumbai Indians by 25 runs, their NRR will drop to 0.086. Thus, it’s possible for Kings to stay in contention even if they lose to Capitals, as long as they lose by a small margin.Royal Challengers Bangalore: Mat 13, Pts 14, NRR -0.323
Given their poor NRR, Royal Challengers will probably have to win their last game to stand a chance of qualification. If they lose that, it is highly unlikely that they can survive the NRR battle against the other team(s) on 14.Even if they lose by just one run and Punjab Kings beat Capitals by a run, Punjab Kings will have to lose to Sunrisers by around 90 runs for their NRR to drop below that of Royal Challengers. Thus, a defeat against Titans will effectively end their qualification chances. A victory might not be enough either, if Capitals or Punjab Kings also finish on 16.Kolkata Knight Riders: Mat 13, Pts 12, NRR 0.160
Knight Riders can reach a maximum of 14, which means they too must hope that no other team reaches 16. Their NRR of 0.160 is quite healthy; if they score 180 and win their last game by 25 runs, it will improve further to 0.241, which means they will be in the hunt for the playoffs if none of the other teams go up to 16.Sunrisers Hyderabad: Mat 12, Pts 10, NRR -0.270
Sunrisers will have to win their last two games by big margins, and then hope that no other team moves up to 16 points. They will obviously stand a better chance if Capitals lose both matches and stay on 12, and if Knight Riders lose their last game too.If Sunrisers win their last two by 30 runs each, then their NRR will be -0.010. If Kings beat Capitals by a run and lose to Sunrisers by 30, their NRR will drop to -0.085 (assuming scores of 180 and 150).

India’s Under-19 World Cup-winning captain has been on the rise, also earning an IPL deal with Delhi Capitals last week

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Feb-2022Yash Dhull, the captain of the 2022 World Cup-winning India Under-19 team, has hit a century on first-class debut, against the powerful Tamil Nadu at Guwahati’s Barsapara Cricket Stadium, on the first day of the 2021-22 Ranji Trophy.Opening the batting after TN captain Vijay Shankar won the toss and opted to field in the Elite Group H match, Dhull lost opening partner Dhruv Shorey (1) and No. 3 Himmat Singh (first-ball duck) quickly, TN fast bowler Sandeep Warrier sending back both batters. But Dhull forged a 60-run stand for the third wicket with Nitish Rana (25) and then a 119-run partnership with Jonty Sidhu for the fourth wicket, getting to his century in 133 balls when he cut B Aparajith behind point for a couple.Related

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He didn’t last too long after that, though, as he was trapped in front by a full delivery from M Mohammed, the experienced right-arm medium pacer, for 113 off 150 balls. His innings included 18 hits to the boundary.Mohammed, in fact, could have had Dhull’s number earlier, when he had the batter caught at short midwicket on 97. But it was a no-ball.”We had two options. Either we bench the kid or we play him wherever a slot is available. We needed an opener and he was told he needs to open. He is not an opener but immediately agreed. These are also traits that you look in a cricketer,” Delhi selector Chaitanya Nanda told .”You don’t groom players by putting them in the bench. You have to play them. He is a No. 3 player and so opening isn’t a bad option for him. Yes, he will have his failures and teams will start reading him better and more experienced first-class bowlers will have his measure.”That’s when we as selectors and also elders need to stand by him and help sail through that phase.”Dhull had been a revelation at the Under-19 World Cup, in which he scored 229 runs in just four innings at an average of 76.33. What was especially impressive was the way he returned after a gap, when he tested positive for Covid-19 along with a number of his team-mates. Batting in the middle-order in the tournament, he scored 82 in 100 balls in India’s opening game, against South Africa, but then missed two games, against Uganda and Ireland. On his return, he was unbeaten on a 26-ball 20 as India breezed past Bangladesh in their Super League quarter-final, before hitting a run-a-ball 110 in the Super League semi-final against Australia. In the final, though, he scored just 17 runs, but he did play a role in getting India to a position of strength alongside Shaik Rasheed (50) as they chased 190 for victory.As for his captaincy, Under-19 coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar was full of praise after the title had been won, saying, “(Dhull) led them very well, he has a good head on his shoulders, he read the game situation and what players would want.”Since then, apart from being blooded at the first-class level by Delhi, Dhull has earned himself an IPL gig with Delhi Capitals (sold at INR 50 lakh) too, along with Under-19 World Cup team-mates Raj Angad Bawa (Punjab Kings), Rajvardhan Hangargekar (Chennai Super Kings) and Vicky Ostwal (Capitals).

Lauren Filer three-for ensures Lightning can’t get close in rain-affected chase

ECB Reporters Network02-Jul-2022Western Storm 260 for 9 (Luff 48, Cleary 3-45) beat Lightning 166 for 9 (Filer 3-35) by 75 runs (DLS method)Western Storm opened their Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy campaign with a comfortable victory over East Midlands side Lightning in a rain-affected match at the Haslegrave Grove ground in Loughborough.Chasing a revised target of 250 from 46 overs after Storm had finished on 255 for 9 from 50, Lightning were 166 for 9 from 34.2 overs when a second stoppage for heavy rain forced the match to be abandoned, losing by 75 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern index.Sophie Luff made 48 and former England international Fran Wilson 43 off 37 balls after Lightning chose to bowl first. Australian seam bowler Piepa Cleary led the Lightning attack with 3 for 45 from her 10 overs.There were useful contributions too from wicketkeeper Natasha Wraith, with a run-a-ball 35 and 17-year-old Sophia Smale, who hit an unbeaten 23, adding 25 with Claire Nicholas for the last wicket.Allrounder Lucy Higham top-scored with 34 for Lightning, who never recovered from slipping to 23 for 3 inside seven overs, their troubles compounded when they incurred a five-run penalty for a disciplinary code breach.The occasion made history by being the first professional match in England to feature a husband-and-wife team of on-field umpires in Naeem Ashraf, an allrounder who played two one-day internationals for Pakistan in 1995 and Jasmine Naeem.In gloomy conditions with rain in the air, Storm soon lost Georgia Hennessy leg before to Cleary but were 44 for 1 after 10 before left-arm spinner Kirstie Gordon bowled Alex Griffiths for 22.Luff and Wilson dominated for a dozen overs, Wilson mixing power with panache as she cleared the short, straight boundary off Gordon and medium-pacer Teresa Graves but took fours off Higham’s offspin with reverse paddle-sweeps.But Lightning were handed a breakthrough as Wilson hit Graves straight to the fielder at mid-off in the 25th over and when Luff was caught behind down the leg side off 17-year-old leg spinner Sophie Groves two short of a half-century, Storm were 143 for 4 in the 29th.Katie George and Dani Gibson made starts but soon came unstuck but, as play continued despite persistent showers, Wraith and Lauren Parfitt added 28 before the latter was caught at mid-off.Wraith and Smale put on another 27 before Beth Harmer’s fine throw from mid-off ran Wraith, Lauren Filer was caught and bowled after sending a ball from Cleary a long way skywards but Smale and Nicholas made good use of the final four overs.It looked like a score Lightning might fancy themselves to chase down but their reply started badly, their top three batters falling in the opening seven overs to Storm’s new-ball duo of Filer and Gibson. Filer arrowed one in to bowl Sarah Bryce before sister Kathryn found Wilson at point and Marie Kelly picked out Smale at cover to leave their side in trouble.Either side of a 50-minute stoppage for rain, Higham and loan signing Emily Windsor, the Southern Vipers batter, added 62, the last 40 coming in five overs as they attacked George and Smale. But Higham was unlucky to fall on 34, when a full blooded drive was turned into a stunning return catch in her follow-through by Nicholas.When slow left-armer Parfitt dismissed Windsor and Cleary with the last two balls of the 22nd over, caught at backward point and mid-off respectively, Lightning looked out of contention at 102 for 6, despite the best efforts of Harmer, who hit 27 from 20 balls before she was run out.Gordon and Groves were both caught behind as Filer returned to the attack, Graves finishing unbeaten on 26.

Shane Warne has said he wants to see as many countries as possible play in a World Cup and hopes fans now watching the Cricket All-Stars tournament might one day turn up one day at the showpiece event and represent America

Peter Della Penna in Houston12-Nov-2015Shane Warne has said he wants to see as many countries as possible play in a World Cup and hopes fans now watching the Cricket All-Stars tournament might one day turn up one day at the showpiece event and represent America.”We all think it’s a global game and would love everyone to play the game of cricket,” Warne said in the post-match press conference in Houston on Wednesday, after his Warriors beat Sachin Tendulkar’s Blasters by 51 runs.The Cricket All-Stars series has been billed as a means to expand the reach of the game, but it comes at a time when the ICC has shrunk the number of teams participating at a World Cup to 10, limiting the chances of Associates like the USA taking part. Warne was asked of this disparity and he replied by saying he thought the ICC “are trying to do the best they can by the game of cricket.””All we can do is do our part,” he said. “And that’s why we’re [the All-Stars] here in America playing the game of cricket and trying to promote the game of cricket as best we possibly can. We would love to see all the countries play in a World Cup but at the end of the day, the ICC are trying to do the best they can by the game of cricket.”America only just missed out on the last [T20] World Cup. So hopefully we can see America playing in a World Cup down the track and maybe one of these kids or some of these guys that we’ve coached in New York or Houston or maybe in LA, we might see them in one of the World Cups down the track and that would be absolutely fantastic.”The crowd in Houston was modest – the 42,000 capacity stadium was less than half-full – but rowdy. The overwhelming majority at both Citi Field in New York and Minute Maid Park here were either South Asian immigrants, who grew up watching cricket in the subcontinent, or their American-born children. When asked if he felt the matches had succeeded in making a connection with the wider American community, Tendulkar acknowledged that there was still a ways to go.”I think we’ll have to take gradual steps,” he said. “We’re not going to get 25,000 Americans watching overnight but it has to start somewhere. I’m sure among these spectators, even if there are 2% Americans, then that 2% is better than nothing. Over the years, cricket was not played here at this scale. Now slowly, slowly it’s going to start. The whole idea is to try and motivate as many youngsters as possible to pick up a cricket bat, which we’ve been doing.There have been rumours that the Cricket All-Stars plan to come back to the USA annually, but there is no guarantee. If they do come, it’s difficult to envision Houston as a repeat destination based on the crowd turnout when there are alternatives such as Chicago or San Francisco to check out. Despite that, Warne was effusive in his praise for the city and the stadium.”I think all of the players enjoyed the facilities at the stadium here. As an annual event, we’d love to come back to America every year. All of us, everywhere we’ve been so far, we’ve been welcomed. I think everyone, the amount of those who’ve said thank you for bringing cricket to America. It’s our pleasure to be here, to have us in this great country and for all the players to be playing. Whether we come back to Houston? We hope we can because we’ve been treated wonderfully well here.”

Foxes precede washed-out match by announcing Harris will return to Australia to combat travel restrictions

ECB Reporters Network05-Aug-2021On the day Leicestershire announced that overseas player Marcus Harris would not play again this season, a superb 140 from Glamorgan opener Nick Selman proved in vain as their Royal London Cup match at Leicester was abandoned with no result.The day had started with Leicestershire announcing that Australian opener Harris, who had been set to stay until the end of the Foxes’ Royal London Cup and County Championship campaigns, had been forced to return to Australia early because of concerns that coronavirus-related travel issues might affect his availability at the start of his own domestic season. Harris, 29, had impressed with four centuries across the two competitions, making 887 runs in all.Meanwhile, Selman’s career-best List A score was backed up by 67 from Billy Root as Glamorgan posted 277 for 8 in 50 overs, the pair sharing a partnership of 123 for the fourth wicket to set a competitive total after the early loss of New Zealand batter Hamish Rutherford for just a single.George Rhodes claimed career-best figures of 3 for 44 with his off-spin and held three catches and Leicestershire, after winning the toss and giving their bowlers first use of a green-tinged pitch, would have fancied themselves at least to run the group leaders close.But they were able to complete only one over of their innings before rain arrived, and though a restart with a revised target of 257 from 43 overs was proposed at one stage, more rain put paid to that and play was abandoned at around five o’clock.Selman’s runs came off 144 balls and included eight fours and a six. He almost batted through the full 50 overs but was run out off the first delivery of the final over. Root hit four fours and a six in his 60-ball contribution.Earlier, after Rutherford had been caught brilliantly by Rhodes at backward point in the second over, Selman shared a valuable partnership of 92 with Steven Reingold. They were not separated until the 20th over, when Reingold’s attempted pull against Rhodes saw him leg before.Skipper Kiran Carlson soon became a second victim for Rhodes but Root was busy from the start and he and Selman found the open spaces in the ground’s expansive outfield to keep the scoreboard moving.When they went on the attack, Root swept Arron Lilley for six and cut Gavin Griffiths for four to pass fifty from 47 balls, shortly before Selman, having gone to three figures from 120 deliveries, sent teenager Rehan Ahmed’s leg-spin clattering into the brickwork at long-on, requiring a change of ball.The last five overs added 40 runs but a cost five wickets. Root was leg before trying to paddle Rhodes, James Weighell fell to a fine catch by Ed Barnes at deep midwicket, Joe Cooke found the fielder at deep square leg and Tom Cullen top-edged to point two balls after Selman’s demise.Leicestershire’s Ben Mike was another absentee as he completed a two-match suspension imposed after he was ruled to have deliberately damaged the pitch with his spikes during a match against Northamptonshire in the Vitality Blast. The Foxes were also docked a point for the 2021 Blast season by the Cricket Disciplinary Commission, which had no effect on their sixth-placed group stage finish, outside the knockout places.The commission also handed Leicestershire a suspended points penalty on Wednesday after the club had accumulated six fixed penalties within the past year. Should the club incur another fixed penalty in the next 12 months, they will lose 12 points in the Championship, or two in the Royal London Cup or T20 Blast.

Matt Machin would clearly love to roll this Taunton wicket up and carry it round with him. After scoring his maiden first-class hundred here two years ago, he brought up his fourth century and highest first-class score of 137 not out to put Sussex firmly

Jeremy Blackmore at Taunton07-Jul-2015
ScorecardMatt Machan got Sussex on top•Getty Images

Matt Machan would clearly love to roll this Taunton wicket up and carry it round with him whenever he plays. After scoring his maiden first-class hundred here two years ago, he brought up his fourth century and highest first-class score of 137 not out on the third evening to put Sussex firmly in the driving seat with a lead of 245 and eight wickets intact.It brings to an end a lean spell for Machan, the 24-year-old Scotland international, whose last six innings – including a first ball duck in the first innings here – have yielded just 81 runs at an average of 13.5.Today on a pitch which was clearly flattening out and reverting to type, Machan took the attack to Somerset’s bowlers under sunny skies with an innings full of exciting strokeplay. He had some luck early on, some balls dropping short or going through the slips, but played some highly effective attacking shots, hitting the ball with great power, including some crunching cover drives, hooks and punches down the ground. The innings clearly meant a lot to Brighton-born Machan who kissed the Sussex badge on his helmet on reaching three figures.He shared two century stands throughout the afternoon and evening as Sussex made batting look increasingly easy, finding the boundary regularly and maintaining a run rate approaching five an over as Somerset’s spirits dropped.First Machan joined Ed Joyce in a 122-partnership for the second wicket in 24.4 overs after Luke Wells was caught at slip soon after lunch. The pair quickly wiped out the 66-run advantage which Somerset had ground out during the morning and started to build a sizeable lead of their own. Joyce reached only his second Championship half-century of the summer by pulling Craig Overton for successive boundaries, but once he was out, caught at deep midwicket off a mistimed pull shot, Machan forged an unbroken 161-run stand, this time with Chris Nash in 37.5 overs. If anything Nash upped the tempo, bringing up his own half-century off just 58 balls with a flurry of boundaries and finishing unbeaten on 76.”I’ve got nice memories of batting here,” Machan said. “I like to be an attacking cricketer; a bit of live or die by your own sword.”Throughout the afternoon Marus Trescothick rotated his bowlers frequently, but with less assistance from the conditions, it was becoming easier for the batsman to come forward and drive anything pitched up. But in truth, while Somerset stuck at their task, the batsman were not put under as much pressure as they could have been, something which James Hildreth later admitted.Somerset had the best of a busy morning in which they added a further 98 to their overnight total for the loss of six wickets. After Hildreth and Peter Trego brought up their 150-run partnership, Ollie Robinson, whose sledge inspired Trego to go for his shots last night, had the last laugh, sending the allrounder’s leg stump flying out of the ground for an excellent 81.Next over, Lewis Gregory and Michael Bates fell in successive balls to leave Somerset on 200 for 7. It was a strange decision to promote the pair ahead of the in-form Craig Overton, who, after being dropped off a hard chance on 1, immediately went on the offensive. He hit a massive six straight down the ground off Robinson into the Botham Stand to take Somerset into the lead. The 62nd over from Robinson went for 4, 6, 4, 0, 0, 4.Sussex responded to the onslaught from Overton by putting every man, bar the keeper, back on the boundary. The allrounder replied by calmly dispatching the ball high over deep mid-off into the construction site. But after that, Overton seemed content to work the field, taking ones and twos as he took the lead past 50.There was a brief break in play after Overton ducked into a bouncer from Matthew Hobden, but thankfully after being checked out by the medics he was given the all-clear to continue. After Hildreth fell for 80 and Rehman for 11, the innings ended when Alfonso Thomas went for a wild swipe against Wells and was stumped, leaving Overton stranded on 53 from 44 balls at the other end.”We weren’t happy with the lead we had,” Hildreth said. “There were runs to be had if we applied ourselves. It was a disappointing day.”The draw has to be the favourite at this stage, but if Sussex can continue this momentum in the morning then a lunchtime declaration may give Steve Magoffin time to see if he can work his magic against Somerset one more time.

Virat Kohli scored his first fifty since the Cape town Test at the start of last year

Sidharth Monga11-Mar-20232:01

Tait: Shubman Gill has a huge future ahead of him

Second week into the third month, Shubman Gill scored his fifth international century of the year to lead India’s response to Australia’s 480. For long periods, Australia did well to keep a lid on the scoring rate, but Gill was not to be denied for too long: his 128 off 235 was a contrast to the 152 the others managed off 361 balls between them.India ended the third day 191 behind with seven wickets in hand. Virat Kohli scored his first fifty since the Cape town Test at the start of last year, and ended the day with the promise of a hundred.There was a little more turn and misbehaviour available from the pitch, but it was not nearly enough to make survival difficult. So Australia did the next best thing possible: bowl to one side of the pitch and wait for mistakes. The batters discovered that while there might not have been great threat to their wicket, scoring wasn’t the easiest either.This Test has been the opposite of the other three in many ways. One of them was a return to the old Indian trend of batting being easier against the new ball. India’s early assault on Mitchell Starc meant the first 15 overs of three of the four new balls used in this match had gone for 193 runs and no wicket. Perplexingly, Starc bowled predominantly around the wicket, failing to create rough for his two offspinners.Once Australia went to spin at both ends, the runs dried up, and a loose stroke arrived. Rohit Sharma punched an innocuous-looking delivery from Matt Kuhnemann straight to short extra cover. The six overs leading up to the wicket had brought just 10 runs.The start to the partnership between Gill and Cheteshwar Pujara wasn’t quite swift, but once Australia went back to pace, the tap opened again. The second ball of Starc’s new spell was cover-driven to bring up Gill’s fifty. In Starc’s next, Gill played the short-arm punch through midwicket for four more. Leading up to lunch, Pujara, too, got a move on.Although a couple of deliveries had disturbed the surface in the first session, there wasn’t anything dramatic. Australia came back with more focused plans. It often involved seven-two leg-side fields with everything turning in. After the two initial boundaries off Cameron Green, India spent 16 overs in the middle session without a boundary.2:05

How Steven Smith’s batting helps his captaincy

All through the period, though, neither Pujara nor Gill looked at any discomfort. Eventually pace provided Gill an opening. He marked it with two lovely cover drives off Green: on the up first, and then to the fuller ball. In his 90s, Gill danced down to Lyon to pop him over his head, and then played the sweep over leg slip to bring up his second Test century.Just before tea, Pujara, too, seemed to make an unforced error, playing down the wrong line of a Todd Murphy offbreak from around the wicket. Even as Pujara reviewed the lbw decision in vain, the crowd cheered on for the arrival of Kohli. In the one over before tea, Kohli edged one wide of short leg, one short of slip and was beaten on the outside edge once.After tea, Gill and Kohli were much more efficient, running hard, not taking any risks. As Gill began to cramp, Kohli took up his scoring, contributing 32 to the 58-run stand. Having made just nine false responses in such a long innings, Gill finally made the fatal error: going back to a quick full offbreak from Nathan Lyon, getting trapped right in front.If there was any designs on dominating the bowling, India shelved those plans and batted sedately. The new ball was eight balls away, but Australia waited for the last 20 minutes to claim it.The offspinners kept trying to test both edges of Kohli as he lunged forward in defence, but the one time that the inside edge was taken, they didn’t have a short leg in place, which can happen when bowling at 250 for 3. Other than the odd half error, Kohli looked in absolute control.The one thing Australia managed by continuing with the old ball was the run-rate. Just 26 came in the first 15.2 overs of the fourth-wicket stand between Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja. As soon as the new ball was taken, Jadeja hit a six off Kuhnemann having been 6 off 42.Largely, though, the final exchanges remained a period of cease fire from both sides. Australia had few catchers, India took fewer risks. With only 13 wickets falling in three days, the Test was left needing something dramatic for an outright result.

As the playoff competition intensifies at the top of the table, there’s going to be a race at the bottom too – between Kings XI Punjab and Rising Pune Supergiants, for who will not finish last

The Preview by Vishal Dikshit20-May-2016

Match facts

Saturday, May 21, 2016
Start time 1600 local (1030 GMT)

Big Picture

As the race for the playoffs intensifies, there’s going to be a race at the bottom of the table too – for who will not finish last. Kings XI Punjab and Rising Pune Supergaints will kick off the weekend double-bonanza with their last games of the season. Both sides’ journeys have had several similarities, but there was contrast in their respective previous matches.Supergiants created a cavity in Delhi Daredevils’ chances of qualifying with a 19-run win in a rain-hit match. Ashok Dinda’s swing fetched him three wickets in a frugal spell, Adam Zampa and R Ashwin found substantial turn, and Ajinkya Rahane scored at the top, as usual. Supergiants handed an IPL debut to Deepak Chahar, and might consider giving chances to their other unused players – Ishwar Pandey, B Aparajith and Ankush Bains.Going by form, Kings XI appear weaker, and their confidence would have been dented further after being pummelled by Royal Challengers Bangalore. Kings XI’s batsmen were never the incisors of their jaw and they were blunted further by almost being bowled out in a 15-over match. Bowling had been their core competence and that too took a beating in their previous two matches. Kings XI will now need more than a root canal to rise from the bottom.Apart from pride and the two points to play for, both teams can bring out their fearless and unrestrained games to ensure they don’t finish last.

Form guide

Rising Pune Supergiants WLLLW (last five matches, most recent first)
Kings XI Punjab LLWLW

In the spotlight

Adam Zampa, in his first IPL season, has chewed his way to the top 15 wicket-takers’ list despite having played just four matches. He has extracted turn, flighted the ball and hasn’t given batsmen much room. He also has the only five-for of the season; his best of 6 for 19 coming against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Zampa has 11 wickets in all at an economy rate of 6.38, and has struck every seven balls. He could prove to be dangerous against Kings XI too, who have only one frontline left-handed batsman – David Miller.Hashim Amla has batted five times in IPL 2016, but has only one substantial score. Even that 56-ball 96 was eclipsed by a solid show by the Sunrisers Hyderabad batsmen in Mohali, only five days ago. With an in-form M Vijay as his opening partner, Amla would want to end his first IPL sojourn with another strong show before heading to the West Indies for a tri-series.

Team news

After giving Chahar a chance in their previous match, Supergiants could draft in a few more of their inexperienced players, or even consider bringing back Peter Handscomb or Albie Morkel.Rising Pune Supergiants (probable): 1 Ajinkya Rahane, 2 Usman Khawaja, 3 Saurabh Tiwary/B Aparajith, 4 George Bailey, 5 Thisara Perera, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Irfan Pathan/Rajat Bhatia, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Adam Zampa, 10 Ashok Dinda 11 RP Singh/Ishant Sharma/Ishwar PandeyAs if to give competition to Supergiants’ injury list, Kings XI recently bid goodbye to Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis, who are back in Australia. They could bring back Anureet Singh after KC Cariappa leaked 55 in three overs against Royal Challengers.Kings XI Punjab (probable): 1 M Vijay (capt), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 4 Farhaan Behardien, 5 Gurkeerat Singh, 6 David Miller, 7 Kyle Abbott, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Mohit Sharma 10 Sandeep Sharma, 11 Anureet Singh/KC Cariappa

Pitch and conditions

Cyclone Roanu, which is causing devastation in Sri Lanka, is hovering around the Bay of Bengal, not far from Visakhapatnam. Even though the sun is expected to come out on Saturday, rain interruptions cannot be ruled out.

Stats and trivia

• M Vijay is only the second Kings XI captain to hit three 50-plus scores in a season after Adam Gilchrist in 2011
• Adam Zampa’s bowling average of 7.54 is the best for any bowler to take at least 10 wickets in an IPL season