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Five needed from six with three wickets in hand. Easy? Not on the night. It was high drama as Super Giants scraped through against Royal Challengers

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Apr-2023A high-scoring match lit up by a 15-ball half-century from Nicholas Pooran came down to the final over with Lucknow Super Giants needing five runs to beat Royal Challengers Bangalore, with three wickets in hand. There was already drama in the air, with Ayush Badoni dismissed hit-wicket – his bat hitting the stumps after he had one-hand-scooped a six – and Royal Challengers incurring an over-rate penalty that meant they’d only be allowed four fielders outside the 30-yard circle. A highly eventful final over followed, with Harshal Patel coming within inches of winning the match for Royal Challengers before Super Giants prevailed by one wicket, the fourth time the IPL had witnessed that victory margin. Here’s how it unfolded:19.1: Harshal to Unadkat, 1 run
Yorker on off but Unadkat gets it out to mid-off.19.2: Harshal to Wood, OUT
Harshal castles Wood! It’s that dipping slower ball and it has done Wood in! Crashes into middle-stump!
Mark Wood b Patel 1 (2b 0x4 0x6 6m) SR: 5019.3: Harshal to Ravi Bishnoi, 2 runs
Full outside off, Bishnoi digs it out through point and they get two! He found the gap and they ran hard for their lives!
Harshal also becomes the 16th Indian bowler to get 100 IPL wickets.
Ravi Bishnoi is the new batter, by the way.19.4: Harshal to Ravi Bishnoi, 1 run
Banged in short and Bishnoi pulls it to deep square and now LSG need 1 off two deliveries. Scores are level!19.5: Harshal to Unadkat, OUT
Holes out at long-on! Banged in short and Unadkat went for the pull. Picks up Faf du Plessis, who takes it reverse-cupped before switching it to a more normal hold.
Jaydev Unadkat c du Plessis b Patel 9 (7b 1×4 0x6 19m) SR: 128.57Here’s Ashish from the ground – It’s gone absolutely crazy the moment Faf took the catch. He bobbled, but hung on. LSG surely the more nervous team at the moment. The roof has gone off at the M Chinnaswamy.What has happened here?! Harshal looks to run out the non-striker! But he misses and then has a throw at the stumps but it won’t count! Because you can’t throw after attempting to run the non-striker out. Harshal will bowl again!One needed off one. One wicket left. Will LSG win? Or will we have a Super Over? Harshal Patel to Avesh Khan. BRING IT ON!19.6: Harshal to Avesh Khan, 1 bye
Harshal beats Avesh but he sets off for the run. DK fumbles! And they get the single away! LSG win amid high drama! Karthik didn’t collect cleanly and Bishnoi was already halfway down after throwing his bat while setting off only. The fumble means Avesh got through to the other end. Avesh throws his helmet as the celebrations begin.

Glover was one among a quartet of players with South African backgrounds who put in key showings to lift Netherlands to a famous win

Deivarayan Muthu06-Nov-20221:43

Glover: ‘We were just waiting for that complete performance’

There is a strong South African flavour in Netherlands’ squad. Stephan Myburgh had started his career at Northerns along with Neil Wagner; Colin Ackermann first made his name as a red-ball batter at Eastern Province; Roelof van der Merwe played for South Africa Under-19s as well as the senior team in T20 World Cups before acquiring a Dutch passport and forging a new career in Netherlands.Then there’s Brandon Glover, who was born in Johannesburg, went to St Stithians college, and also played for South Africa Under-19s. This quartet combined spectacularly to KO their country of birth at the 2022 Men’s T20 World Cup, and help Netherlands finish No. 4 in the group (as results later in the day confirmed) to qualify directly for the 2024 edition.*Related

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Myburg cracked seven fours in the powerplay and was responsible for 34 of the 48 runs Netherlands had scored in the first six overs. Ackermann provided the finishing kick, hitting an unbeaten 41 off 26 balls – 21 of which came in the last two overs of the innings. Van der Merwe, for his part, sprinted back from short fine leg and tracked down a skier, as if his life depended on it, to dismiss the dangerous David Miller for a run-a-ball 17. It is a bona fide contender for the catch of the tournament, but it was Glover who made the biggest impact on the day.Glover sussed out the conditions early – the Adelaide pitch was fairly two-paced and offering some grip – and bowled a slower legcutter third ball to hoodwink Rilee Rossouw in the tenth over. Then, when he returned to the attack for the 16th, he dug an on-pace short ball into the pitch and drew a top edge from Miller, with van der Merwe completing sensational catch. Two legal balls later, Glover hid one away from Wayne Parnell’s swinging arc and scratched his outside edge. South Africa were 113 for 6 in the 16th over in their pursuit of 159. Game over and tournament over for them.Glover had first caught the attention of Ryan Campbell, the then-head coach of Netherlands, in 2019. Netherlands were training in South Africa for the 2019 World Cup qualifiers and Campbell was so impressed with him that he convinced him to move to the Netherlands and use his Dutch passport, via his mother, to start a career there.”There is a strong South African influence in our team,” Glover said at the post-match press conference. “All with Dutch heritage obviously, but yeah we chose a different path for various reasons and it’s paying off for all of us. We are happy with it and it’s always special to play against South Africa; always nice to stand out there with them… We love South Africa and all that stuff but obviously we dedicate it to the Dutch and we’ve been working extremely hard for this team. It’s been good to see things have been paying off now.”The shift to Netherlands, in fact, immediately paid off for Glover, who emerged as the joint-highest wicket-taker in T20I cricket in 2019, with 28 strikes in 16 matches at an economy rate of 6.50. Glover, however, got just two games in the 2021 Men’s T20 World Cup in the UAE and there was no room for him in Netherlands’ XI in the early exchanges of this tournament. He finally got his chance against Pakistan on a typically bouncy Perth pitch and has since made telling contributions with the ball.Brandon Glover sent back David Miller and Wayne Parnell in the same over•Getty Images

“Obviously, I was disappointed not to play, especially in the qualifying stages,” Glover said. “But you have to back the captain and back the coach. They made the right decisions and we got there; it was all combinations and stuff. So, I was just tearing at the bit to play. I was just working hard in the nets and to finally get my chance against Pakistan, I thought: ‘Well, I’m not letting this go now and going to keep hammering away’. Fortunately, I took my opportunity and it was special for me because it shows hard work pays off. Obviously, I was raring to go the whole time. Very happy with how I’ve gone, and yeah, just nice to be back in the side.”Having felled Zimbabwe and South Africa in the Super 12s, and having challenged other oppositions throughout the tournament, Netherlands now believe that they can cut it against the top teams in international cricket.”We were just waiting for that complete performance,” Glover said. “There was always something that was missing [earlier] – the batting [or] bowling and we didn’t quite bring it together. I feel the last two performances we just came together better as a team, and we knew exactly what to do.”We’ve been working extremely hard on the background as well. I think the whole team just finally gelling and us playing our best form of cricket shows that we’re up there and we can compete with the best in the world, and we’ve done that. But incredibly happy for the team – we’ve come together really nicely. We just needed to get that complete performance, which I feel like we’ve done.”This T20 World Cup marks the end of Campbell’s stint at Netherlands, and Glover also suggested that Sunday’s match might have been Myburgh’s last for the team, but Glover’s own rise promises new beginnings for Netherlands.*

Kohli likely to be in action for Delhi in the Vijay Hazare Trophy at the Chinnaswamy, with the venue also “on track” for IPL 2026

Shashank Kishore13-Dec-2025The decks have been cleared for the M Chinnaswamy Stadium to be back on the BCCI’s radar after newly-elected KSCA chief Venkatesh Prasad has received a go-ahead from the Karnataka government to host matches, a week after being elected. The BCCI is believed to have been apprised of the recent developments too.The immediate implications are that Virat Kohli could be back playing at the Chinnaswamy, with the KSCA set to move Vijay Hazare Trophy matches involving Delhi from Alur owing to security and logistical challenges. As things stand, Kohli and Rishabh Pant have been named in a jumbo Delhi squad and both could be available for the first three matches.Prasad and vice-president Sujith Somasunder held meetings with chief minister Siddharamaiah, deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar and other government officials in Belagavi earlier this week on the sidelines of the state’s assembly session and the conversations are understood to have been fruitful.ESPNcricinfo understands the KSCA is also making provisions to be able to accommodate 2000-3000 fans by throwing open certain stands to the public, considering the high-profile nature of matches involving two Indian superstars.At the meeting with the government officials, the Prasad-led KSCA committee reiterated their commitment to implementing as many changes as feasible from the Justice John D’Cunha report on the Chinnaswamy Stadium.While hosting matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy is seen as a starting point, Prasad and KSCA are keen on ensuring Bengaluru doesn’t lose out on hosting IPL matches.”We’re on track for the IPL to be back,” an office-bearer privy to the developments told ESPNcricinfo. The KSCA is expected to begin work on the D’Cunha recommendations in a phased manner.”To avoid any future incidents, we have put in place precautionary measures. We have granted permission accordingly,” deputy chief minister Shivakumar said after the state’s cabinet meeting on Friday. “The Home Minister will hold discussions with the KSCA president and police officials.”The venue hasn’t hosted any top-flight cricket since the June 4 stampede that marred Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL victory celebration, leading to 11 deaths and several injuries. KSCA’s Maharaja Trophy was shifted to Mysore in August, while the venue also lost out on hosting five Women’s World Cup matches, including the final, due to the ongoing impasse.”We have no intention of stopping cricket matches. But crowd-management measures need to be examined,” Shivakumar said. “We also intend to implement the recommendations of the Justice Michael D’Cunha Committee in a phased manner. Venkatesh Prasad too has agreed to this.”

Called in to replace the injured Sophie Molineux, Bekker dismissed Meg Lanning and gave away just nine runs in her four overs

AAP09-Nov-2024Local replacement player Charis Bekker went from the pub to centre stage as Melbourne Renegades posted a 15-run WBBL win over arch-rivals Melbourne Stars.Bekker was playing just her second WBBL game after being called into the squad to replace injured spinner Sophie Molineux (knee). The 20-year-old didn’t let the big stage of a Melbourne derby faze her, returning the miserly figures of 1 for 9 from her four overs to be named player of the match.”It’s been a bit of a whirlwind,” Bekker said. “I was at the pub a couple of days ago with my mates, and then got the call [to join the squad]. I played against the Scorchers which was really cool. And then hopped on a flight. It’s been really rushed.”Bekker’s maiden WBBL wicket was none other than superstar batter Meg Lanning.”Everyone was cheering me on, I was just trying to bowl my best ball, and it happened to be Meg Lanning, which was kind of awesome,” Bekker said.Deepti Sharma top-scored for Stars with 23. Georgia Wareham claimed the key wicket of captain Annabel Sutherland for 16. The result improved Renegades’ record to 3-3, while the Stars are now 2-3.Earlier, Renegades were struggling at 87 for 5 before Naomi Stalenberg (26 not out off 17 balls) and Nicole Faltum (29 off 23) added some handy runs to lift the total to 146 for 6.The Renegades were 54 for 2 after 10 overs when they took the power surge. Although Deandra Dottin fell for 7 shortly after, Renegades cracked 29 runs off the two overs. Alice Capsey and Wareham fell in quick succession before Stalenberg and Faltum steadied the ship with a 55-run stand.Stars’ run chase started slowly with the scoreboard reading 16 for 1 after five overs. Bhatia was lucky to still be there after being dropped by wicketkeeper Faltum in the first over when she was yet to score. The opener scored 22 off 26 balls, but the rest of her team-mates struggled for fluency as the required run rate ballooned out.Jemimah Rodrigues top-scored for Brisbane Heat•Getty Images

India starJemimah Rodrigues posted an impressive half-century as Brisbane Heat piled more misery on defending champions Adelaide Strikers in an eight-run win at the Gabba.Rodrigues anchored the Heat’s innings with 61 from 40 balls, belting seven fours and a six in her player-of-the-match performance. Opener Grace Harris (33 from 22) and captain Jess Jonassen (32 from 21) also provided handy knocks.In reply, Strikers were reduced to 16 for 3 in the fourth over before Bridget Patterson and Madeline Penna threatened to pull off a remarkable fightback. The unbeaten pair put on a 113-run stand for the fifth wicket – from just 62 balls – but weren’t quite able to drag their side over the line. It was the second-highest fifth-wicket stand in WBBL history.Strikers remain last on the table with a 1-4 record, while Heat (3-3) are right in the finals mix.

Contingency plans include resetting bubbles from scratch if there is a Covid-19 outbreak; no window later in year if tournament stalled

Umar Farooq20-Jan-2022The PCB is set to host another season of the Pakistan Super League during the Covid-19 pandemic, with the first 15 games to be played in Karachi from January 27, and the remaining matches scheduled in Lahore, including the final on February 27. There are provisions in place to avoid a postponement even if a handful of players contract Covid-19 – the franchises have 20 players on their roster, with an additional pool of reserve players to provide cover in case of an outbreak.ESPNcricinfo has obtained PSL’s Covid-19 protocol document, which details how the PCB will form its bio-bubble environment. The document broadly covers health and safety protocols that are being put in place at venues, and has a step-by-step guide to every stage of the tournament.What will the PSL’s bio-secure bubble look like?
This season the PCB has replicated the biosecure bubble that was created by Restrata, an independent company that managed the environment during the rescheduled Abu Dhabi leg last season. The PCB will regulate the bubble itself, forming three distinct bubbles with different protocols.The main bubble will comprise all teams, support staff, match officials, hotel staff and certain PCB officials. Vehicle drivers, close protection security staff, reserve players, bubble-integrity managers, anti-corruption officials and hotel staff will all reside within the bubble and are not allowed to leave. As per the guidelines, each franchise will be allotted rooms on a separate floor of the hotel and maximum possible efforts will be made to avoid interaction between teams at the hotel.The second bubble will be created in a separate hotel and will include the TV production crew, key event management staff and essential hotel staff and drivers. The third bubble will comprise of groundstaff, who will be housed in dedicated biosecure accommodation.Vigilance will be more stringent for the primary bubble. The bubbles cannot interact with each other and every individual will be required to follow general health and safety guidelines, as well as specific protocols to maintain the integrity of the bubble.How often are teams going to be tested for Covid-19?
There will be as many as 17 tests starting on January 20 – the day teams are checking into the hotel. There is a mandatory three-day quarantine, followed by four days of training, before the tournament starts from January 27 in Karachi. The first three days of quarantine will have regular testing before everyone with two negative PCR results is allowed to enter the bubble. Every individual will then have a PCR test every second day.What if an individual requires hospital treatment for an injury or illness?
The PCB has designated Agha Khan Hospital in Karachi and Hameed Latif Hospital in Lahore to handle all potential medical requirements of individuals involved in the PSL.A medical passage will be established through which individuals requiring hospital visits for scans and/or consultations will be moved with minimal contact with others. Individuals will be provided a dedicated treatment room, sanitised passageways, PPE suits for all medical staff and will be taken around in a dedicated vehicle.What happens in case of a positive test?
The individual(s) will be immediately separated from the rest of the squad and undergo a PCR test.All close contacts (those who have had an interaction of longer than 15 minutes from less than two metres away in the previous 48 hours) will be isolated and tested. All casual contacts will also be isolated and tested immediately.Once the case is confirmed as positive, the individual will isolate for a minimum of seven days and self-monitor their symptoms, providing updates to the Bio-bubble integrity manager. On day seven, if the individual is asymptomatic, they will have to undergo a Rapid Antigen Test and on returning a negative result, can be re-integrated into their bubble.If symptoms persist on day seven, the isolation will continue till day 10. If the individual is asymptomatic on that day, there will be no need for an exit test to rejoin the bubble.What happens if protocols and guidelines are breached?
With every team there will be a bio-bubble integrity manager policing the bubble. The offender may face a sanction ranging from reprimand to expulsion from the league. Penalties can be levied for minor or major breaches, from game bans to match-fee fines. The PCB can require any participant to quarantine in their hotel room in case of a breach, and undergo repeated testing.How many fans will be permitted?
The PCB had originally announced full crowds for both the Karachi and Lahore legs. However, Pakistan’s National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) determines regulations surrounding Covid-19 restrictions, and with cases rising steeply in Pakistan over the past few weeks – particularly in Karachi – the NCOC announced that the Karachi leg would see a maximum of 25% crowd attendance. Lahore, for now, is still set to see full crowds. Spectators’ entry is subject to Covid-19 protocols – no one will be allowed to enter the venue without a valid vaccination certificate.What is the PCB’s contingency plan for a Covid outbreak?
Each of the last two seasons, the PSL was played over two legs due to Covid outbreaks, but this season, the PCB has made contingency plans to try and ensure the PSL isn’t postponed or cancelled. The PSL management will instead reset the bubble and start over after seven days, recreating the bio-bubble from scratch. In case of outbreaks among franchises, matches can go ahead as long as there are 13 players available on each side. There will also be a reserve pool for franchises to pick players from. A PCB official confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that if the league were to be postponed for some reason, it would have to be cancelled altogether, since there will be no window to play the remaining games.Could the entirety of the PSL be held in one city?
It would appear unlikely at present. ESPNcricinfo understands that all bookings and hotel confirmations have been finalised in both Karachi and Lahore, and there are at present no plans to change that.

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.

West Indies not close to finalising the squad for the T20 World Cup, concedes head coach

Deivarayan Muthu08-Aug-2022West Indies are yet to figure out their team combination and preferred style of play for the upcoming T20 World Cup, their head coach Phil Simmons has admitted.Whether T20 stalwarts Chris Gayle, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine will be available for that tournament or not is still unclear, while Evin Lewis, Fabian Allen and Sheldon Cottrell have all been left out of recent squads because of different reasons. Keemo Paul and Romario Shepherd were also unavailable for some games in the white-ball series against India because of injury.Related

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West Indies’ team management, perhaps, missed a trick by not pairing up Akeal Hosein, the left-arm fingerspinner, with Hayden Walsh Jr, the legspinner, in the T20Is against India. In contrast, India played three spinners in the first T20I in Tarouba, and in the final game in Lauderhill, to take advantage of the slow, two-paced tracks. Off-spin-bowling allrounder Roston Chase, who was also West Indies’ anchor in the 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE, has since dropped down the pecking order. And until the home series against India, Shimron Hetmyer was out of the squad on fitness grounds.The three-match T20I series against New Zealand, which begins with the first match in Kingston on August 11, will be West Indies’ last before they announce their squad for the T20 World Cup, for which they by competing against Zimbabwe, Scotland and Ireland in Group B in the first round.”It’s difficult,” Simmons said after West Indies suffered an 88-run drubbing in the final T20I against India. “But I think we have three more matches [against New Zealand]. After that we will sit down and make decisions as to who fits into the way we want to play.”I think the three matches will be important for a lot of players as well as some players who will be rested. But, in general, after that we will have to make a decision.”West Indies’ batting was particularly poor in Florida, where they were dismissed for 132 and 100 in the two T20Is. Simmons called for greater game awareness and application from his batters. I think the major lesson is that we gave away our wickets a little bit too cheaply,” he said. “And if we continue to bat [deep], we will be up there with the run rate, but we keep losing too many wickets and we’ve got to learn from this series.”The main thing is we need to bat in a format. We need to be able to bat for the six overs [of the powerplay] and know how we are batting in that. We need to stop losing wickets and once we stop losing wickets, we’re going to make big scores. We have the players – Hetty [Hetmyer] showed he is back to form, we have Rovman [Powell], we have [Nicholas Pooran], who has done a little bit as we went on in the series, but nobody has been consistent throughout the series. So, I think that is what we need now – consistency and understanding the situation of the game and knowing how we play that.”Obed McCoy went from returning the best T20I figures by a West Indian to conceding the most runs by a West Indian in T20Is•Associated Press

There are concerns for West Indies on the bowling front too and against top teams like India, they need to fire with both bat and ball, Simmons stressed.”It’s always going to be difficult playing against India. It’s the best T20 team in the world – man for man,” Simmons said. “But we showed in glimpses that we are capable of competing – sometimes with the ball and sometimes with the bat. Probably, we never put everything together. That’s the lesson we are going to take from this. We have to put everything together on the day to beat the top teams.”After taking 6 for 17 in St Kitts – the best figures by a West Indies bowler in T20Is – left-arm seamer Obed McCoy went in the other direction, leaking 66 runs in the first T20I in Florida, the fourth of the series – the most runs conceded by a West Indies bowler in a men’s T20I. Simmons, however, backed McCoy to bounce back against New Zealand.”We all know that he has excellent skills,” Simmons said. “But there’s a lot of bowlers around the world who have excellent skills and go for runs on one day and bowl well the next day. It’s how he comes back from it. He’s shown that he can bowl; so, he will come back from it.”

The former Australia captain replaces Jason Gillespie after the state and BBL roles were split

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Aug-2024Former Australia captain Tim Paine has been named Adelaide Strikers’ new BBL head coach less than two years after he finished his professional career.Paine, who was Jason Gillespie’s assistant last season, will take the role vacated by Gillespie’s departure with the South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) deciding to split the state and BBL jobs. Last week Ryan Harris was confirmed as South Australia’s new head coach.Related

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Paine has moved rapidly through the coaching system. He is currently working with NT Strike in the Top End T20 series, last season was an assistant to Adam Voges for Australia A and has also worked with the Under-19 set up and the women’s team. He had previously spoken about his interest in the BBL role if the two men’s coaching jobs were broken up.”I am honoured and excited by the opportunity to coach such a well-established and strongly supported club, and I can’t wait for the start of BBL|14 in December,” Paine said.”After spending time in Adelaide last year, I believe the Strikers team and the whole of South Australian cricket has huge potential and I’m looking forward to being part of taking it forward and winning a few trophies.”Last season Strikers went on a late run with four consecutive victories to squeeze into the finals where they defeated defending champions Perth Scorchers in the Knockout before falling to eventual winners Brisbane Heat in the Challenger.Paine’s international career ended controversially when he resigned on the eve of the 2021-22 Ashes.His first major duty will be overseeing the BBL draft alongside Strikers’ captain Matt Short on September 1. The club have yet to confirm a pre-draft signing and will have picks 5, 11, 20 and 29.Rashid Khan has been a long-time figure at Strikers and had been due to return last season before being ruled out through injury. He will be part of MI Cape Town in the SA20 which overlaps with the BBL during January and it has yet to be confirmed whether he will nominate this year.Strikers will be boosted by Chris Lynn being available for the entire tournament after he signed a new one-year deal having previously left the BBL early to play in the ILT20.Current Adelaide Strikers BBL squad: James Bazley, Jordan Buckingham, Cameron Boyce, Brendan Doggett, Chris Lynn, Lloyd Pope, Alex Ross, D’Arcy Short, Matt Short, Henry Thornton, Jake Weatherald

CSK’s bowlers executed their plans perfectly on a slow pitch to consign Royals to their third straight defeat

Sidharth Monga12-May-20241:19

‘Royals were a batter short so couldn’t take risk’

Chennai Super Kings signed off their home league campaign with a win, giving themselves a decent chance of coming back to Chennai for the last two playoff games. Despite losing their 11th toss out of 13 and being asked to field in the afternoon heat 40 hours after finishing their last match in Ahmedabad, the CSK bowlers used a slow pitch expertly to keep Rajasthan Royals down to 141, which they chased down with relative ease.The slow pitch was right up the home bowlers’ alley, and they kept Royals quiet in a wicketless powerplay after which Simarjeet Singh kept getting wickets every time Royals tried to push back. Royals never really succeeded in mounting an attack, which CSK’s New Zealand batters, Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell, successfully did to put their chase on course with a Shivam Dube putting them on top.Related

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The win took CSK up to 14 points from 13 matches, level with Sunrisers Hyderabad who have a game in hand, and two points clear of the nearest challengers outside the top four. Royals suffered their third straight defeat, which will be a cause for concern for them going into the playoffs, especially with Jos Buttler not expected to be available for the final week.RR’s power-less-play
These are the two slowest teams in the first two overs of the IPL. They like to suss the pitch out before they start attacking. Royals stayed true to form, scoring just seven off the first two, but they couldn’t kick on even after that with Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana and Shardul Thakur giving them nothing to drive. Their 42 for 0 was the slowest wicketless powerplay of IPL 2024, one run behind their 43 for 0 against Punjab Kings, but that came in a small chase.Simarjeet Singh exults after dismissing Jos Buttler•BCCI

Simarjeet cashes in
Usually CSK go to Ravindra Jadeja in the seventh over, but perhaps because of the right-left combination, which didn’t let their orthodox spinners bowl in their last match against Gujarat Titans, they bowled Simarjeet in the seventh over. Playing only his third match this year, Simarjeet had ground to make up after going for 60 in that Titans match. On this slow pitch, he was immediately on target: hard lengths and no room. When Yashasvi Jaiswal tried to take him on, the ball got big on him and resulted in a skier to cover. In his next over, Simarjeet became the beneficiary of an odd shot from a frustrated Buttler: a ramp on a slow pitch with fine leg back on the fence.With Royals’ only left-hand top-order batter gone, Jadeja rattled through his four overs for just 24 runs to go with Theekshana’s four overs for 28. Sanju Samson just kept looking for singles while Riyan Parag tried the odd boundary. It seemed as if Royals had decided they needed to get somewhere around 160 and not aim too high.The final kick doesn’t arrive
Even to get to 160, they would need two a ball for the last six overs after getting to 89 for 2 in 14 overs, which is when the spinners bowled out. Royals were banking on cashing in on pace, but just when they tried to go hard they handed Simarjeet another wicket: Samson caught at mid-off. Again Royals were pushed back.Deshpande and Thakur stuck to their plans in the death overs, and Royals never got the big overs. Only Parag’s 47 off 35 took them to 141, which was 23 less than the lowest total successfully defended in this IPL. Royals attacked just 30 balls in their innings, the sixth-lowest figure this season in non-all-out innings when setting a target.Shivam Dube played a crucial cameo after CSK had gone 39 balls without a boundary•Associated Press

Ravindra, Mitchell get chase going
CSK have been the only team slower than Royals in the early goings but they were mindful of not letting the bowlers settle into their defence. Ravindra flicked Sandeep Sharma for a six over midwicket in the second over, and went after compatriot Trent Boult in the third. Even though R Ashwin got Ravindra out in the fourth, Mitchell kept up the intent. Their 56 for 1 was their fourth-highest powerplay of this IPL.Royals claw back but Dube breaks chase open
In the middle overs, Royals clawed their way back. Yuzvendra Chahal got Mitchell, the spinners kept Moeen Ali and Ruturaj Gaikwad quiet, Moeen got out for 10 off 13, and 39 balls went without a boundary. Still it was 50 needed off seven overs. This was when Ashwin came on to bowl his last over with Dube on strike. Dube took the veteran spinner on for 6, 4, 4, with a leg-side wide in between, and while Ashwin came back with Dube’s wicket, CSK needed 35 off the last six.Captain Gaikwad stayed true to his anchor role for this chase, and saw his team home despite Jadeja getting himself out obstructing the field.

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.