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Bangladesh Under-19s left-arm spinner Saleh Ahmed Shawon said he enjoys playing on a big stage and draws motivation from the crowds cheering his name.

Mohammad Isam01-Feb-2016Saleh Ahmed Shawon is fidgety, unlike the mostly calm Nazmul Hossain Shanto or the bright-eyed Bangladesh Under-19s captain Mehedi Hasan Miraz. The left-arm spinner is the Bangladesh team’s prankster, making wisecracks and keeping everyone cheerful, while at times, by his own admission, being the victim of his team-mates’ pranks. Despite his antics, Shawon has been the team’s leading wicket-taker since January last year, with 53 dismissals at 16.01 in 30 matches.He doesn’t look at one person for too long and his hands are constantly fidgeting, but he did stand still for the duration of the press briefing. The bowler has also started to like the big stage, and draws motivation from the crowd cheering his name.”I always try to keep my team-mates amused, I joke around, especially when I see someone down,” Shawon said. “I try to poke him, ask him what’s wrong. And they, too, have fun at my expense. I also find a lot of motivation playing in front of a crowd where they are calling out my name and cheering us. Maybe some people take it as pressure, but I like it.”While bowling, he has the run-up of a front-on bowler but slides into a side-on action and flights the ball consistently. He has set himself a target of finishing as one of the leading wicket-takers in this tournament, although he admitted his primary job was to keep the runs down.”In team meetings, we have been told to keep the runs in check,” he said. “I don’t go for wickets. I just want to keep it to 20-25 in my ten overs. [Getting a] Wicket is a matter of luck. We think that our bowling attack can defend a score like 240, which will be hard for any opponent in any condition.”My target is to be among the top five wicket-takers in the tournament, or if possible the highest wicket-taker.”Shawon stated that in a bid to keep the players under less pressure, the team management had told them to approach the World Cup as a set of two three-match series’. Personally, though, he doesn’t seem too nervous about the big stage.”We are looking at it as a series, not a World Cup. We shouldn’t be tensed about playing a World Cup, that’s what our captain and vice-captain have told us ahead of the tournament,” he said. “We have divided it into two three-match series. So we have the three matches in the group stage, and three in the knockout. If we can win six, we can win the World Cup.”It is not really possible to think this way but it is about believing it yourself, you get what I’m saying?”

Dwayne Bravo has replaced Darren Sammy as the West Indies ODI captain for the Champions Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff04-May-2013

West Indies squad for the Champions Trophy

Dwayne Bravo (capt.), Denesh Ramdin (wk & vice-capt), Tino Best, Darren Bravo, Johnson Charles, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Darren Sammy, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Devon Smith

Dwayne Bravo has replaced Darren Sammy as the West Indies ODI captain for the Champions Trophy. Sammy, who retains his place in the side, will continue to lead them in Tests and Twenty20 internationals. Under Sammy, West Indies won the World Twenty20, but have won only three ODI series over the last three years, two of them against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.”Our results in Tests and T20s have been showing consistent improvement, and Sammy deserves every kudos for the work he has done in leading and moulding the team in these formats,” chairman of the selection panel, Clyde Butts, said. “We remain confident in his leadership in these formats, and will recommend that he continues as the captain for Test and T20 cricket.”However, our ODI results have not been as strong, and we believe that it is best that we freshen the leadership of the team in this format.”West Indies have won 19 and lost 30 ODIs under Sammy, who first captained them in April 2010. Sammy averages 21 with the bat and 42 with the ball in the format. He has often been criticised for batting too low – usually No. 8 – to justify his place as primarily a bowler of limited penetration. However, that criticism hasn’t been limited to just one format.I’ll take it from here: Dwayne Bravo replaces Darren Sammy as ODI captain•AFP

Bravo, who averages 24 with the bat and 30 with the ball, was thrilled at the news. “I must say congratulations to Sammy in his leadership of the team, and I am very happy to be taking over from him,” he said. “I am even happier that he remains in the team, and I am looking forward to working with him along with the team management and all the players, especially vice-captain Denesh Ramdin, Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Kieron Pollard and Marlon Samuels.”Sammy pledged support to the new captain. “I congratulate Dwayne Bravo,” he said, “and give him my full support as he leads the ODI team. He can be assured of my unwavering commitment to the team and our plans to be champions of one-day cricket.”Bravo did captain West Indies in February when Sammy was rested during the home ODIs against Zimbabwe.For the Champions Trophy, Andre Russell, Narsingh Deonarine, Veerasammy Permaul and Kieran Powell were left out from the 13-man squad that faced Zimbabwe. Sammy, Ravi Rampaul, Samuels, Gayle, Devon Smith and youngster Jason Holder made comebacks.”We have shown confidence in the players who have served well in both the batting and bowling departments, and have identified some young players such as Jason Holder and Johnson Charles who add quality to the squad,” Butts said.Among those left out, only Powell was injured. Darren Bravo, who has undergone a minor eye surgery, was picked although he is yet to resume playing for Trinidad & Tobago.

Northern Districts allrounder Bradley Scott has ended his association with the team, citing personal reasons

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Apr-2013Northern Districts bowling allrounder Bradley Scott has ended his association with the team, citing personal reasons and will be leaving for Dunedin, along with his family.Scott, who is a left-arm medium pacer and a lower-order batsman, moved to Northern Districts in 2008-09. He was a key player for Northern Districts in all forms of the game but, in the last two seasons, his participation was largely restricted to limited-over formats.Before joining Northern Districts, Scott represented Otago in the national competition. After his transfer in 2008, he played 17 first-class games and took 21 wickets for Northern Districts, and was a part of the team that won the Plunket Shield and two domestic one-day tournaments. His last first-class and List-A appearances were in 2011, but Scott played the recent T20 tournament for Northern Districts.Northern Districts’ coach Grant Bradburn said Scott would be missed by the team. “Bradley can be proud of the contribution he has made to the Knights both on and off the field,” he said. “His positive, bubbly character has been infectious in our team environment and will be missed.”

Will Leach or Bess play? Who will go out to make room for Anderson and Broad?

Andrew McGlashan14-Dec-2021Joe Root has admitted that England are facing some “tricky decisions” over the make-up of their XI for the day-night Test in Adelaide, largely centred on the balance of the attack and the role spin might play.Related

• England pin hopes on pink ball despite Australia's flawless day-night record

• Stuart Broad, James Anderson primed for second Test

• Hazlewood ruled out of second Test with side strain

• Hazlewood's nine to India's 36 – Adelaide's pink-ball history

The three quicks on display in Brisbane – Chris Woakes, Mark Wood and Ollie Robinson – were impressive during much of the second day before tiring under the onslaught by Travis Head. However, James Anderson and Stuart Broad are both expected to play in the pink-ball encounter having sat out at the Gabba, while there is the looming decision on the position of left-arm spinner Jack Leach after he went for 102 off 13 overs.Four years ago, England had Moeen Ali to provide the spin – though he went wicketless through 29 overs – and played four specialist quicks, all of whom are part of this tour. Whether they feel able to include Leach or offspinner Dom Bess this time around may come down to Ben Stokes’ bowling ability following his jarred knee at the Gabba.Nathan Lyon has an impressive record in day-night Tests with 29 wickets at 27.41 (19 at 25.78 in Adelaide) and Head, who plays his domestic cricket for South Australia, expects spin to be a key element on a surface he called “thatchy”. The forecast for Friday, the second day of the Test, is also for an expected high of 35 degrees.As for Root, “[Spin] has generally played a good factor in recent times on this ground, especially as the game progresses, so it’s something we’ll have to look at. [We’ll] see where we are physically as a bowling group and how we can be balanced out.”It would be a brave decision to play Leach again although Root reiterated what he said in the wake of the Brisbane defeat in terms of the fields he set and how he used the spinner.”A lot of that does come back on me. It was a risk, it could have created a couple of chances and put a dent in their innings,” Root said. “I’m sure he [Leach] will want to respond and get back into the series. I don’t think it’s as straightforward as looking at that as a concern. Actually, if you look at it, they [Australia] took an opportunity, played it pretty well, and if they try to do that on a wicket that’s a bit more responsive then it brings him into the game even more.”James Anderson and Stuart Broad are both expected to come in after sitting out the first Test•Getty Images

If Leach does play, it would mean two of the quicks from the opening Test missing out if Anderson and Broad both return. “It wasn’t for our bowling display why we didn’t win that game,” Root said. “They have set the standard for the tour now.”England have only won one out of their four day-night Tests – against West Indies at Edgbaston – and were bowled out for 58 by New Zealand in Auckland and then lost in two days in the extraordinary match against India earlier this year.Root cautioned about getting too wrapped up in the night-time element of the Test but focussed on having the awareness of when conditions might require a change in approach. The one moment England got themselves into the Test four years ago was when Anderson, with his only five-wicket haul in Australia, and Woakes made the most of the night session on the third day of the game.”From our point of view, it’s not over-thinking that [night-time] part of it,” he said. “There will be two sessions of the game where the sun will be out, then it might not do as much. [It’s about] not falling into the trap where it will swing around corners for five days, understanding the different challenges that a pink-ball Test at this ground takes. Also, as a batting group, managing those different phases and finding ways to make big totals.”The most important thing from a batting element is recognising when those periods come along. It could be very good for batting, sun out, for large portions of the day then it’s making sure if it does start moving around you adapt and don’t lose three wickets in ten overs and let the turn Test on its head.”

South Africa’s centurion accepted the reality of sport after Pakistan beat them off the last ball, but he was still disappointed

Firdose Moonda02-Apr-2021″”
Rassie van der DussenLike the moment he outside edged Shaheen Shah Afridi wide of second slip and the ball beat Asif Ali’s dive. Van der Dussen was on 0 at that point and went on to score an undefeated 123, his first international hundred and one ensured South Africa had something to defend against Pakistan in the Centurion ODI.Or the moment in the penultimate over when Shadab Khan skied the ball in van der Dussen’s direction at deep midwicket and he made good ground to get there but could not hold on. Khan went on to correctly ask for the next ball – a waist-high full toss – to be looked at and called a no-ball – which it it was – hit four off the resultant free hit and took three off the final ball to leave Pakistan needing three runs off the last over.Asked if he would rather score the hundred or take the catch to win a game, van der Dussen wished both were possible. “I’d do both,” he said. “That catch was a half chance that could have gone our way had I got under it a little earlier. But in the twilight, I never got in a good position to catch it and I barely got a fingertip to it. A hundred overs can come down to one moment. That’s not cruel. It’s just sport; it’s just life. As a professional sportsman you’ve got to be ready for that moment every time.”Van der Dussen recognised that the first ODI was a “game of fine margins,” but said the toss played a bigger role than usual on the Highveld, given the time of year and that all the matches are being played as day games because of South Africa’s Coronavirus-necessitated curfew. “We all know the toss plays a big role in day games here. After losing the toss we were always under pressure,” he said. “The pitch gets a lot better to bat on as Imam (ul-Haq) and Babar (Azam) showed. The pitch became more true and consistent.”He stopped short of apologising to South Africa’s attack, who clawed them back into the game after Azam’s century, and kept them in it until the final ball but praised them for their resilience. “Credit must go to the bowlers. It’s disappointing for us not to get over the line because I feel like they deserved it,” van der Dussen said. “The bowlers fought brilliantly to give us a chance to come close. The way Anrich (Nortje) came in and the team rallied behind him was really positive.”Nortje took four wickets for six runs in 18 balls to give South Africa a chance before Lungi Ngidi and Andile Phehlukwayo fell just short of defending 19 off the last three overs. Van der Dussen thought their fielding performance, rather than batting effort, was more reflective of the overall mood of the South African camp, which is under new leadership in Temba Bavuma, who has his vote of confidence.”It is a bit of a clean slate, with Temba coming in,” van der Dussen said. “The guys are hungry to win games and to perform. That’s what makes it very disappointing tonight. I’ve played under Temba for a long time. He is a brilliant captain and leader. The guys respect him a lot. He leads from the front and he will just ge better and better.”As for van der Dussen himself, he described reaching his first century as a “relief,” after it came in trying circumstances. “I’ve been playing for two-and-a-half-years and had a few chances (to score a hundred) and didn’t quite get there. I was relieved. As a player you want to perform under pressure and we were under pressure early,” he said.South Africa went from 34 for 0 to 44 for 3 and then 55 for 4 and that is a margin too big to satisfy van der Dussen. “Losing three wickets in a cluster is something we don’t want to do. We are all aware with the ODI championship, you play for points. To lose at the end is disappointing.”

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.

Aarpit Vasavada made his second first-class century, not the most spectacular effort but a grinding one, that stretched Saurashtra’s total to a healthy 469

The Report by Siddarth Ravindran in Rajkot07-Jan-2013
Scorecard
File photo: Karnataka will look towards Robin Uthappa to provide them with a strong platform•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Two batsmen who are still finding their feet at the first-class level have tormented Karnataka’s bowlers so far in the quarter-final in Rajkot. On the first day, it was Sheldon Jackson who steadied Saurashtra after they lost their biggest gun Cheteshwar Pujara early. Today, it was the turn of Aarpit Vasavada, who made his second first-class century – not the most spectacular effort but a grinding one – that stretched Saurashtra’s total to a healthy 469.Saurashtra began the day on 272 for 5, and if Karnataka were looking for an early end to the innings, the bespectacled Vasavada denied them with a patient effort. On Sunday, one of the most common sights with Vasavada in the middle was him plunging a long way forward, keeping bat and pad close together as he studiously defended the bowling, holding the bat in position well after blocking the ball. He kept out plenty of deliveries today as well, scoring only 28 in the two-and-a-half hour morning session.”The pitch is a bit slow so it’s not easy to play strokes,” Vasavada said after the day’s play. “You have to wait for the balls in the zone to score runs. There are a few bowlers’ marks and the rough made it hard.”*Vasavada has spent several years with the Saurashtra squad but only this year he has got an extended run. He has repaid the faith with three half-centuries and two hundreds in his last eight innings. He got to triple-figures with a punch past extra cover and savoured the moment by holding his hands aloft, before acknowledging the cheers of his team-mates in the dressing room.The pitch had plenty of green on it, barely distinguishable from the rest of the turf but except for the odd ball that bounced extra from the spinners, had little to encourage the bowlers. Both No. 6 Chirag Jani and No. 7 Kamlesh Makvana made 30s to put on significant partnerships with Vasavada. Jani had a let-off on 34 when he was put down by Amit Verma at long-off, but the very next ball he holed out to deep backward square leg. Slow progress continued after tea as well, and it wasn’t till more than halfway through the final session that Karnataka managed to wrap up the innings.Still Vasavada felt Saurashtra should have got more. “500+ score ideal but I hope this is enough,” he said. “It’s turning but it’s not unplayable. You can score runs if you have some patience but if the bowler can bowl at all the right spots, it will do a bit. It’s a sporting wicket.”Karnataka’s batting has been inconsistent all season, and what had been a settled line-up for several years has had plenty of changes over the past two months. Opener KB Pawan Kumar has been dropped, Ganesh Satish, who was captain in some games last season, has had to sit out several matches, and left-hand batsman Amit Verma has also been left out for two games. The only specialist batsman to have played all matches this season is their most well-known name, Robin Uthappa.He and KL Rahul played out the final hour before stumps, taking Karnataka to 45 for 0 without needing to take too many risks. That partnership would have lasted only one ball if Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, who hit the headlines in his debut match last week against Maharashtra, had held on to a catch from Rahul at square leg off the first delivery of the innings.One of the problems for Karnataka’s batsmen for much of the league phase was the lack of big hundreds from their specialist batsmen. It was only in the previous couple of rounds that the centuries have arrived in number; before that both Uthappa and Pandey had scored four fifties each without going on to centuries. They will need more than that if Karnataka are to match Saurashtra in the first innings.*7 Jan 2012, 17.00 GMT This story has been updated to include Aarpit Vasavada’s quotes

Ottis Gibson has signed a new three-year deal to keep him as West Indies coach until 2016

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Feb-2013Ottis Gibson has signed a new three-year deal to keep him as West Indies coach until 2016.Gibson came close to becoming the new Warwickshire director of cricket last week, having attended a second interview on his way to Australia, but the WICB were keen to retain his services and he will now take West Indies beyond the 2015 World Cup.He became West Indies coach in early 2010, replacing John Dyson, having been England’s bowling coach since 2007. Under his charge West Indies have shown recent improvements, notably by winning last year’s World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka, although he has had to contend with his share of off-field issues such as the stand-off with Chris Gayle and the impact of the IPL on the Caribbean season.”I enjoy being involved in West Indies cricket and it is something I’m very excited about considering what we have achieved – especially in the last year – beating New Zealand at home in all three formats and winning the World Twenty20 tournament in Sri Lanka,” Gibson said. “This confirms that we are making progress and I am happy to continue with the team for the next three years as we look to take West Indies cricket forward.””There is a lot to do and things to look forward to. There is the Champions Trophy in England this year, we will be defending the World T20 title in Bangladesh next year and there is the World Cup in 2015. These are things we have talked about and these are things the selectors have been planning for.”We will also look to climb the ICC rankings in all three formats. This is something we have to strive for, to make the move up. There is a lot more one-day cricket than Test cricket this year, but next year there are quite a few more Test matches, so these will be opportunities for the players to perform and for the team to progress. You set goals and the real enjoyment is when you achieve those goals and see progress being made.”Michael Muirhead, the WICB chief executive, said: “Ottis has added significant value to the development of the West Indies team during his tenure and we are delighted to have secured his services for another three years.”Most notably is that he led the implementation of a system of professionalism within the team unit and curbed the negative results, which we were experiencing with some frequency.”While there have also been some challenges along the way, these are not to be unexpected in such a dynamic and high pressure environment and the WICB looks forward to the continued development of the West Indies team through this next critical phase under Ottis’ stewardship at the elite-team level.”West Indies are currently on tour in Australia for a one-day series then return to the Caribbean for a home season that includes a full tour by Zimbabwe, a triangular one-day tournament involving India and Sri Lanka, plus a Test series against Pakistan.

Shane Watson is considering his future in the game after being axed from the squad for the Mohali Test on disciplinary grounds

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Mar-2013Shane Watson is contemplating his future in the game after being axed from the squad for the Mohali Test on disciplinary grounds and then leaving the tour to be with his pregnant wife. Watson was one of four players punished by the team management for ignoring team orders.Since being named Michael Clarke’s vice-captain in 2011, Watson’s Twenty20 and ODI displays have remained strong but his Test appearances have been neither consistent nor convincing. His struggles in India despite being one of only two batsmen to have made a Test hundred on the subcontinent were a major contributor to Australia’s 0-2 deficit.There is little doubt Watson’s T20 career will continue for he is scheduled to return to India in April for the IPL, where he had also indicated he would return to bowling for his franchise rather than his country. In ODIs he has the lure of the 2015 World Cup to sustain him. But it is now plausible that at 31 he has played his final Test match.”Any time you’re suspended for a Test match unless you do something unbelievably wrong, and obviously everyone knows what those rules are … I think it is very harsh,” Watson told reporters at the team hotel in Chandigarh. “At this point in time I’m at a stage where I’m sort of weighing up my future and what I want to do with my cricket in general, to be honest. I do love playing, there is no doubt about that, but at this point in time I’m going to spend the next few weeks with my family and just weigh up my options of just exactly which direction I want to go.”There are lot more important things in life – I certainly do love playing cricket and that passion is still there and I feel like I’m in the prime years of my cricket career. From that perspective I still feel like I’ve got a lot to give. But from a holistic perspective I’ve got to sit down with my family and decide which directions they are.”Watson, along with James Pattinson, Usman Khawaja and Mitchell Johnson were told this morning by the coach Mickey Arthur that, in an unprecedented decision, they would not be considered for the third Test. After the loss in Hyderabad, inside three and a half days, Arthur had asked every member of the squad to let him know three points on how their individual performances and those of the team could be improved. These four players did not comply with the directive.Watson said he had been going to tell the team management that he would need to miss the fourth Test to be with his wife, who is due at the end of the month, but had been informed of his axeing before he could do so. “I was about to communicate that to Mickey and the leadership group today but they obviously beat me to it by telling me I wasn’t selected for this Test match,” he said. “Also overnight, things have changed and Lee wasn’t going to tell me things had changed because she knew how much it meant to me to be able to play this Test match. It was due in a couple of weeks but it’s looking like things have sped up a little bit.”With four players unavailable, Australia’s squad is down to 13 players for the Mohali Test, and if wicketkeeper Matthew Wade’s ankle does not heal, they will have to pick a team from 12.

Despite an improved bowling display, led by the recalled Monty Panesar, England could still not find a way past Cheteshwar Pujara who ended the opening day in Mumbai unbeaten 114

The Report by David Hopps23-Nov-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Monty Panesar returned in style, taking four wickets•BCCI

As Monty Panesar made a triumphant Test match return something nagged away at England’s sense of well-being. That something was Cheteshwar Pujara and by the close of an absorbing first day in Mumbai even Panesar had to play second best to India’s new batting sensation.Pujara has now batted for more than 15 hours without England discovering how to dismiss him, following his unbeaten double century in Ahmedabad with another hundred – and the promise of more to come – at Wankhede Stadium as he countered a turning pitch with another innings of poise and certainty.The first new ball unveiled a story of Pujara’s watchfulness as Panesar made a jubilant return with four wickets and half India’s side were dismissed for 119. But the second new ball suggested that the batsman had emerged the stronger when to chants of Pu-ja-ra, Pu-ja-ra, he moved off 99 by pulling James Anderson’s second delivery resoundingly through square leg. It is only the second Test of a four-Test series but there is a sense in Indian cricket of a changing order.Pujara’s tranquil progress has echoed throughout the early stages of this series. There was some bounce to excite England’s pace bowlers and predictably he was tested with the short ball, but he emerged comfortably enough to suggest he will be an India batsman who can also prosper overseas. An unbroken stand of 97 with R Ashwin, whose unbeaten 60 took only 84 balls, completed India’s escape.Anderson was inches away from having Pujara caught at point by Nick Compton, plunging forward, on 17, and he also survived a hard chance to Anderson at gully when 60, this time off Panesar. His most prolonged discomfort came on 94 when England appealed, legitimately enough, for a catch off Alastair Cook’s toe at short leg but the umpires called for TV evidence which showed that the ball had also struck the ground.MS Dhoni unashamedly wants Indian Test pitches to turn from the outset and the captain got just what he wanted – an old Wankhede pitch, used only three weeks ago, ragging and bouncing. It was to Indian cricket what a blatantly green seamer at Trent Bridge might be in England, a deliberate attempt to take the opposition out of their comfort zone.”If it does not turn, I can come and criticise again,” Dhoni had chirped prior to the game as he warned that he did not expect the sort of slog faced by India’s spinners in Ahmedabad. There will be no angry exchanges with the groundsman, no disappointed email to the BCCI.But if Dhoni would have found this dry, threadbare surface, with the ball going through the top on the first afternoon, much to his liking, England’s spinners were uplifted by the surface, with Panesar, who, after being controversially omitted from England’s Test side in Ahmedabad, ending the day with 4 for 91 in 34 overs. It was quite a collection, with Virender Sehwag, in his 100th Test, and Sachin Tendulkar bowled in successive overs.

Smart stats

• Cheteshwar Pujara becomes the 11th Indian batsman to score two centuries in a series against England. The last batsman to do so was Rahul Dravid in the series in England last year.

• Sachin Tendulkar has been out bowled in four of his last five innings. Overall, he has been out bowled 52 times. Only Dravid (55) and Allan Border (53) have been bowled more often.

• Monty Panesar’s 4 for 91 is his best bowling performance in India surpassing his previous best of 3 for 65 in Chennai in 2008. In 2012, Panesar has picked up 20 wickets at 24.70

• The 97-run stand between Pujara and R Ashwin is the joint second-highest seventh-wicket partnership in Tests in Mumbai. The highest is 235 between Syed Kirmani and Ravi Shastri in 1984.

• Ashwin’s half-century is his second fifty-plus score in Tests. His only century (against West Indies) also came in Mumbai last year. He has been dismissed below 20 in only three out of 14 innings.

It is rare to see Panesar and Graeme Swann in tandem and the contrast was an engrossing one: Panesar, bowling his left-arm spin with a deliberative air, as if any lapse in accuracy would startle him; Swann, forever jack the lad behind the dark glasses, his own concentration never quite overcoming the suspicion that he had just emerged from a crafty cigarette behind the bike sheds.Swann played his part, bowling Yuvraj Singh for a second-ball duck by coming wide of the crease and straightening one, but it was Panesar’s return that captured the attention. He began nervously, conceding two boundaries in his first over and initially overpitched, but soon found a pace and control that allowed him to settle.If the removal of Sehwag was commonplace, a full delivery which bowled him off his pads as he flicked lazily to leg, his dismissal of Tendulkar was a gem, turn and bounce to strike his off stump, ensuring that there would be no rush into Churchgate Station on the Mumbai trains as the day progressed. Pujara’s legside steers have yet to bring the worshippers flocking.Sehwag had been in contented mood before the start, fielding congratulations on reaching his milestone, but his innings – 30 from 43 balls – never convinced. Twice in one over, Anderson almost defeated two uncertain half-bat pushes, Sehwag first inside-edging past leg stump and then beating second slip off the outside edge. Panesar removed him at the start of his fifth over, moving his short leg to gully and perhaps benefiting as Sehwag sensed the ball fired in at his pads represented easy pickings on the legside.Panesar’s third wicket was that of Virat Kohli. By mid-afternoon, the pitch was already turning, and with reasonable pace. A puff of dust as the ball broke through the surface was a forewarning for Kohli that his drive to short extra cover was about to end in disaster. Anderson’s inswing had removed Gautam Gambhir second ball of the day. Anderson had a half-decent day; Stuart Broad did nothing to allay doubts about his worth on Indian pitches.After their nine-wicket defeat in Ahmedabad, England had at least indicated that another lost toss would not automatically heap more misery upon them. They have never lost more than eight Tests in a calendar year, but in 2012 they have already lost seven and their shortcomings in Asia have been largely responsible.For a side which began the year ranked as the No. 1 Test side in the world, it is a rapid reversal. With three Tests remaining in the series, their reputation is on the line. At least by selecting Panesar the balance of their side possessed some logic rather than the Englishman Abroad stereotype they had relied on in Motera, but the last hour did not go well for them. They need to find a way to break Pujara’s tread.