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Lydia Greenway was England’s hero as they regained the Ashes with a five-wicket victory in the second Twenty20 at the Ageas Bowl

Andrew McGlashan at the Ageas Bowl29-Aug-2013
ScorecardLydia Greenway’s innings was full of sweeps and paddles, as England secured the Ashes with a five-wicket win•Getty ImagesLydia Greenway was England’s hero as they regained the Ashes with a five-wicket victory in the second Twenty20 at the Ageas Bowl. The chase of 128 was wobbling badly on 9 for 3, but Greenway showed all her experience with a magnificently paced innings full of deft touches as England secured the two Ashes-winning points with six balls to spare.For the second time in two days the record for England’s highest individual Twenty20 score was broken, with Greenway’s unbeaten 79 overtaking Sarah Taylor’s 77 at Chelmsford. Fittingly it was Greenway who sealed the match with two reverse sweeps in the final over then a scampered single, which was the signal for an invasion from the England bench.Australia’s 127 for 7 – built around Meg Lanning’s 60 – was initially made to look more daunting when three wickets fell inside the first three overs. Heather Knight played around a straight one from Julie Hunter then Sarah Coyte produced a superb over to remove Sarah Taylor – brilliantly held, one-handed in her follow through – and Danni Wyatt.Then, however, came the moment that could well have decided to the Ashes when Greenway was given a life on 10, a missed stumping off Erin Osborne, which would have left England 25 for 4. Together with captain Charlotte Edwards the pair – who hold 121 Twenty20 caps between them – firstly steadied the chase and then increased the tempo.Edwards played the anchor role while Greenway dominated the scoring. Laps and sweeps, a hallmark of her batting, featured regularly as she kept finding the gaps in whatever field Jodie Fields tried to set. It was one such delicate sweep – from a delivery around middle and off – which took Greenway to her fifty from 45 deliveries.By then she had lost Edwards, who found mid-off trying to go over the top and spent the rest of the innings living every delivery in the dugout. Natalie Sciver offered sensible support in a stand of 40 in 27 balls until sacrificing herself for a tight single, leaving Greenway to finish the job, which she did in style.Australia’s innings had struggled for early impetus against accurate bowling from Katherine Brunt, who delivered her four overs straight, while Jess Cameron was run out by a direct hit from Jenny Gunn as she chased the ball in her follow through.Lanning and Alex Blackwell gave the innings backbone with a stand of 57 in seven overs, Lanning collecting the one six of the innings when she cleared deep square leg off Gunn to go to fifty at a run a ball. Her eagerness to try and get back on strike ended her stay when she was run out backing up when a fierce drive from Blackwell clipped Holly Colvin’s fingertips.The innings closed in rather chaotic fashion with England claiming a team hat-trick in the final over – Danielle Hazell’s two wickets sandwiched either side of Fields’ run-out by Greenway, who would go on to have a far greater impact on the match.

BCB president Nazmul Hassan has warned Bangladesh could lose its ICC membership if it doesn’t hold a board election in line with ICC guidelines

Mohammad Isam19-Jun-2013BCB president Nazmul Hassan has warned Bangladesh could lose its ICC membership if it doesn’t hold a board election in line with ICC guidelines. The country’s High Court earlier this year challenged the legality of the newly amended BCB constitution, and that has held up the elections which were supposed to take place within 90 days of the ad-hoc committee taking over the BCB.The ICC has reportedly set guidelines for cricket boards to minimise government interference and make sure that the board presidents are elected, not selected. Accordingly, on March 1, 2012, the BCB directors amended the board’s constitution but it had to wait for the approval from the National Sports Council, the regulatory body of sports in Bangladesh. Due to the delay in getting the approval, the BCB had to be run by an ad-hoc body from late November after the elected body’s reign expired.”We had to change the constitution to follow ICC guidelines so that’s how the 2012 draft came about,” Hassan said. “If we don’t do the election according to ICC’s guideline and the court declares the 2008 constitution valid, Bangladesh stands to lose its ICC membership.””We need a constitution to run the election, and I have two at the moment. One from 2008 and the other done in 2012. The latter constitution was sent to the BCB ad-hoc committee by the National Sports Council. But since this 2012 draft is with the court, our election is being delayed.”Hassan reminded that the changes asked to be made by the ICC have to be taken into account, although ICC president Alan Isaac said in November last year that the major change, that of reduced government interference, is still under review.”In the last [ICC] board meeting, we were told that every board has to bring about certain changes to their constitution. But unless the High Court decides on our board’s constitution, we don’t have much to do. We are seeking legal opinion because the ICC has set a timeframe and bindings. We have to do something within these limitations.”

Defending champions Australia enter the tournament with much to protect, but with a glaring weakness against the new ball, it will be a difficult road ahead

The Preview by Brydon Coverdale06-Jun-2013OverviewUnlike the glory days of the late 1990s and early 2000s, there isn’t much global silverware currently held by the Australians. But the Champions Trophy is still in their possession, and has been since 2006. Whether it remains theirs depends on how Michael Clarke and his men handle the next few weeks. And they will need to come to grips with the conditions better than they did during their ODI series in England last year, when they were trounced 4-0. It was their heaviest ever defeat in a bilateral one-day series. Notably, though, their best batsman on that trip was George Bailey, who has been promoted to vice-captain for this Champions Trophy.The challenge for Australia is to keep their eyes on the immediate prize, rather than letting their minds wander to the upcoming Ashes series, in which seven members of the Champions Trophy squad will be taking part. Clarke has spoken of the importance of the one-day tournament in giving Australia confidence ahead of the Ashes, although the four-day warm-up games against Somerset and Worcestershire will be of greater relevance. Still, they will be especially happy if one or two players who have struggled in Test cricket of late – Shane Watson and Phillip Hughes, for example – take the chance to pile up some runs ahead of the Tests, regardless of format.The Australians have selected a very different squad from that which bowed out in the quarter-finals of the most recent major ODI tournament, the 2011 World Cup. Gone are Ricky Ponting, Brad Haddin, Michael and David Hussey, Brett Lee, Shaun Tait and others. In their place are an exciting group of multi-skilled young men who should form part of the national limited-overs team for many years to come, such as James Faulkner, Mitchell Marsh, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Glenn Maxwell. Whether they can display the consistency to win a major tournament is the big question.Australia will hope James Faulkner takes an immediate liking to English surroundings•BCCIKey playerAt the last Champions Trophy, Shane Watson started slowly – he made ducks in his first two games, but finished with the biggest bang imaginable, with unbeaten centuries in the semi-final against England and the final against New Zealand. Australia’s Test side has suffered due to Watson’s lack of runs in the past two years, but he has remained reasonably productive in the limited-overs format. His IPL form – 543 runs at 38.78 – was encouraging as well. Ahead of the Ashes it will also be important for Watson to continue increasing his bowling workload after resuming in the IPL.Surprise packageIt is starting to look as if 2013 might be James Faulkner’s breakout year. Faulkner, 23, made his ODI debut against West Indies in February and proved himself a capable and feisty bowling allrounder. That should have been no surprise, for Faulkner has won the Ricky Ponting Medal as Tasmania’s best player in each of the past three seasons, which has been a period of exceptional strength for the state side. A left-arm medium-fast bowler with a good change of pace, Faulkner continued his strong year by sitting second on the IPL wicket tally with 28 at 15.25 for Rajasthan Royals. After being named in the Ashes squad earlier this year, Faulkner said he had never been to England. The Australians are hoping he takes an immediate liking to the surroundings.WeaknessAs in Test cricket, the moving ball remains a problem for Australia’s batsmen, which was clear during the one-dayers in England last year. Never was it more obvious, though, than during their disastrous 74-all-out batting first against Sri Lanka at the Gabba in January, when Nuwan Kulasekara and Lasith Malinga ran through them in 26.4 overs. Five days earlier they had been skittled for 170. Watson, David Warner, Phillip Hughes, Clarke and Bailey are potentially a very strong top five, but they will face swinging conditions in this tournament. How they handle them will not only determine their success in the Champions Trophy, but will provide a pointer to the Ashes.Champions Trophy historyIn 2009, Ponting led Australia to the title in South Africa, successfully defending the prize they had won by beating West Indies in India in 2006. In fact, not since the days when the tournament was called the ICC Knock Out – back in 2000 – have Australia failed to reach the semi-finals. They enter the tournament on an eight-match Champions Trophy winning streak, having last been defeated by West Indies in their opening game of the 2006 edition.Recent formAustralia sit third on the ICC one-day international rankings and the 2012 battle against England was the only series they have lost since the 2011 World Cup. However, they were pushed at home by Sri Lanka earlier this year and had to settle for a 2-2 series, before they swept a listless West Indies 5-0.

The backdrop to the Basin Reserve, one of the most picturesque cricket venues in the world, will change significantly if the go-ahead is given to build a flyover close to one corner of the ground

Andrew McGlashan in Wellington16-Mar-2013The backdrop to the Basin Reserve, one of the most picturesque cricket venues in the world, will change significantly if the go-ahead is given to build a flyover close to one corner of the ground.The project, part of a nation-wide road-improvement scheme, will see an elevated section of road about nine meters high skirt the north of the ground in order to alleviate traffic congestion around the Basin. It is expected to be rubber-stamped later this year although there is strong opposition from those who feel it will ruin the viewing experience while there are also worries over noise and pollution.Most vocal among these is Save the Basin who are lobbying to have the plan shelved. They argue that a tunnel would be a better option or a modification to the current roundabout network around the Basin while they are also worried about the impact on the heritage listed buildings in the area, not just at the cricket ground.”The Transport Agencies own ratings found the development would have negative impacts in seven of the nine categories, particularly the heritage of the area,” Tim Jones, from the Save the Basin campaign, said. “Cities around the world are deciding against flyovers for a host of reasons. We feel there are viable alternatives.”However, if the roadway is constructed it will not impact the ground itself. Cricket Wellington, who have been in long talks about the proposal with the New Zealand Transport Authority (NZTA), have given their support on the basis that suitable shielding be provided to hide the flyover.To that end, the ground is negotiating for a new stand to the left of the current pavilion. It will not be used for spectators – Cricket Wellington say they do not want extra capacity – instead it will provided enhanced player facilities to replace the current dressing rooms that have become outdated.Peter Clinton, the chief executive of Cricket Wellington, said: “The proposed plans for the flyover have always been that any structure would not impact the actual physical boundaries of the Basin. The plans are that it would skirt 20 metres north of the boundary of the ground.”Obviously there are some concerns around the visual impact and noise impact on any sport going on in the ground. The Trust has been very robust in its view on this, and has been from the start, that it won’t necessarily object to the building of the bridge – as it is known – as long as the environment inside the Basin isn’t compromised.”The other current key issue for cricket in Wellington is the allocation of World Cup matches for 2015 event that will be jointly held between New Zealand and Australia. The city have put in a joint bid between the Westpac Stadium, where one-day internationals and Twenty20s are held, and the Basin Reserve who hope to be chosen as a warm-up venue.Although, aesthetically, it would be ideal to have tournament matches at the Basin there is an acceptance that the Westpac is the more suitable location for limited-overs cricket with a larger capacity and floodlights. The construction schedule for the flyover would also have it being built during the World Cup.However, there are some scheduling issues to overcome before the Westpac is guaranteed matches as they are due to host the Rugby 7s during what would be the ICC blackout period around the World Cup and the venue is also used for the Wellington Phoenix football team.

New Zealand have named an unchanged squad from the first Test against England in Dunedin, for the next Test in Wellington, which begins on March 14

Andrew McGlashan in Wellington10-Mar-2013Doug Bracewell has been ruled out of the second Test against England after failing to recover from the foot injury that kept him out of the Dunedin match. Ian Butler, the Otago seamer, has been retained in an unchanged 13-man squad for the Wellington Test which starts on Thursday.Mike Hesson, the coach, said a decision on Bracewell’s fitness will be taken closer to the third Test in Auckland, which begins March 22. He cut his foot while cleaning up after a party the day before joining up with the New Zealand squad last week.”Unfortunately he just hasn’t recovered as we would have hoped,” Hesson said. “There’s nothing sinister going on with his foot it’s just taking longer than we would have hoped.”He’s not running. We hoped he would bowl yesterday to come into consideration but he couldn’t get to that point. So he’s at home, trying to get back as quick as he can. Hopefully two or three days there and he might get a game for Central Districts and then maybe the third Test.”The key issue for Hesson over the next two days, in the build-up to the Wellington match, is ensuring his three incumbent pace bowlers – Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Neil Wagner – recover from their second-innings exertions at University Oval. New Zealand were in the field for 170 overs and the three quicks sent down 114 of those.”The next two days will be very much about a rest and recovery period,” he said. “They bowled their heart out for a couple of days so we certainly won’t be asking too much of them between Tests. We saw with playing four bowlers they have to sustain pace over a long period, so we are after guys who have the ability to keep running in.”After the match Brendon McCullum suggested that an unchanged team is likely for Wellington. “Once the dust settles on this Test match we will turn our attentions to the balance of the next one, but I wouldn’t expect too much difference for the next one,” he said.Hesson added that the same balance of bowling attack – three quicks and one spinner – is likely to be retained and he expects more life in the surface for the second Test.Squad: Brendon McCullum, Trent Boult, Dean Brownlie, Ian Butler, Peter Fulton, Tom Latham, Bruce Martin, Hamish Rutherford, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Walting, Kane Williamson.

David Hussey could be in line for a recall for Australia’s semi-final against West Indies as the selectors consider the value of experience at the business end of the tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Oct-2012David Hussey could be in line for a recall for Australia’s semi-final against West Indies as the selectors consider the value of experience at the business end of the tournament. The allrounder Glenn Maxwell would be the likely candidate to make way for Hussey after he had a disappointing match against Pakistan, but the coach Mickey Arthur said a decision was yet to be made.Hussey, 35, is the most prolific run scorer in T20 history and only South Africa’s Albie Morkel has played more matches in the format than the 189 in which Hussey has appeared. But he was squeezed out of the side at the start of this tournament when Arthur said the Australians had wanted Hussey “to finish games a little bit more than what he has”, and instead Maxwell and Cameron White filled positions in the middle order.Maxwell’s opportunities with the bat have been limited in the World T20 due to the success of Australia’s top three, but when he did have a chance against Pakistan he advanced down the pitch and sliced the spinner Raza Hasan to backward point. Maxwell, who also dropped a straightforward catch at slip against Pakistan, might yet hold his spot but Arthur said it would require consideration.”There will be thought given to that,” Arthur told reporters in Colombo. “Experience plays a massive part at the back end of a tournament and Dave has a little bit of experience so we’ll sit down and give it some real good thought over the next two days and come up with what is best.”I just want to re-emphasise, Maxy is an incredible talent, he arguably won us the last one-dayer in Dubai … he’s got that bit of match-winner in him. He’s been outstanding and he’s done nothing particularly wrong. Dave’s case is around the fact he is really experienced and he’s done a fantastic job in Twenty20 cricket all around the world.”Australia’s other selection decision surrounds their attack but Arthur said Pat Cummins and Brad Hogg, both of whom leaked runs in the loss to Pakistan, were likely to retain their positions. Cummins took 1 for 42 from his four overs against Pakistan and Hogg took 0 for 29 from three, and has picked up only two wickets in the tournament, but Arthur said both men would be appropriate picks to face the remaining sides.”I think we’ve got the potential to get eight, maybe ten overs of spin,” Arthur said. “That’s going to be the trend down the line. Against the West Indies I think he [Hogg] has the ability to expose their middle order with a little bit of spin. If you look at the West Indies strike rates they are more susceptible to spin that they are to seam bowling.””The subcontinent teams don’t want to see Pat Cummins hit the deck at 150kph. Against the West Indies, he might just have mix it up just a little bit more. We’ll give him all that information and then I’d really like to see him take ownership of that.”

Kevin Pietersen may have pulled off a career-saving performance by unconditionally committing himself to play for England in all formats

George Dobell11-Aug-2012Kevin Pietersen may have pulled off a career-saving performance as outrageous as anything he has achieved on the pitch by unconditionally committing himself to play for England in all formats of the game and apologising for the behaviour that led to speculation about dressing room rifts and his premature retirement.In another development late on Saturday, the ECB announced that the squad for the third Test against South Africa would be delayed until 2.30pm on Sunday having originally been set for 9.30am, inviting the belief that England’s selectors, having picked the squad for the final Test at Lord’s, had been forced back into an emergency session.Pietersen, who was facing the prospect of being dropped by England following a series of incidents that appeared to have driven a wedge between him and the rest of the England team, has retracted his request to play a full IPL season, reversed his retirement from international limited-overs cricket and withdrawn many of the comments he made in an emotional press conference following the second Test at Leeds. In a personally arranged video interview, Pietersen expressed his unconditional return for England in all forms of the game.”I want to commit to all forms of cricket for England because I love playing for England,” Pietersen said. “I am wanting to play all three forms of cricket again for England: the ODIs against South Africa in a couple of weeks and the T20 World Cup if I am selected. I want to make myself available for every single format of cricket for England.”I am absolutely not insisting on playing the full IPL season. I am taking that all back. I will not be playing the full IPL. I will come back and play in the Tests against New Zealand next year.”I’ve realised what is important to be. I’ve realised I can be happy. I’ve realised how much I love playing for England. I’ve realised that the last three or four days would be a sad way to go after all the happiness I’ve enjoyed. I’d hate to leave playing for England and I’d hate to leave all the spectators and fans this way.”The stubbornness I’ve got sometimes – which is probably not a good thing as well – has led me to try to believe myself for too long and I’ve got to a point now where I’ve gone: play for England. This is what you love and this is what I want to do.”I am fully committed and passionate about playing for England. I want to play for England. That is why I want to get back playing in all three formats of the game for England. I love doing what I do and I don’t want to disappoint people.”I’ve had a change of heart because of the reasons I stated. I love playing cricket for England.”Money is not everything to me. I love winning for England. I loved the runs I scored at Headingley. I can’t wait to play in Straussy’s 100th Test next week. These things make me happy. Winning makes me happy.”I understand that I have a short career. I can’t do this until I’m 40. I have a young family and I’m the provider. I need to maximise my opportunities financially in order to have protection in later life. It’s not all about money. I love playing for England and the runs I score for England mean so much more to me.”Pietersen accepted that his comments in Monday night’s press conference following the second South Africa Test at Leeds had been emotional and unhelpful, but said he had held long discussions with a teammate in which many problems had been resolved.”There’s a press conference I did on Monday which I didn’t handle in the right way,” Pietersen said. “I was very emotional. I am who I am. I do make mistakes.”The mood in the dressing room, in the last 24 hours, has been sorted out. I had a really good long chat with a team-mate of mine yesterday. We went through everything. We went through differences. We went through everything. I finished that conversation a very happy bloke and somebody who can’t wait to meet with the team on Tuesday.”I didn’t handle the press conference well at all. I was in an emotional state. I did think there was a possibility it might be my penultimate Test. I said things I shouldn’t have said. I know I have to clear things up. I want to clear things up.”I need to pull towards the team. The team will need to pull towards me. I believe, in the last 24 hours, that’s been done.”Words are one thing, of course. It is Pietersen’s actions that will be scrutinised over the coming weeks and months by a dressing room that is somewhat jaded by recent events. There will be those in England’s limited-overs teams, in particular, whose own positions are jeopardised by Pietersen’s return. The World T20 team was picked at Edgbaston on Friday and must be announced by August 18. Whether Pietersen’s backtracking has come in time remains to be seen.But there can be no doubt that any England team is considerably strengthened by a Pietersen that feels respected, needed and appreciated. The brinksmanship between the ECB and Pietersen took their relationship to the edge over recent days but, once again, the uncompromising attitudes of Andy Flower would appear to have been vindicated.

New Zealand’s inexperienced line-up crumbled against disciplined bowling led by Andre Russell and their bowlers were swatted away by Chris Gayle and Dwayne Smith

The Report by Abhishek Purohit05-Jul-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsChris Gayle thumped an unbeaten 63 off 57•WICBNew Zealand got a sampler of how tough this ODI series could get for them when their inexperienced line-up crumbled against disciplined bowling led by Andre Russell and their bowlers were swatted away by Chris Gayle and Dwayne Smith.The sharp Russell struck with his first delivery, in the second over, and New Zealand were always under pressure after that. BJ Watling, the wicketkeeper-batsman, hung around to ensure New Zealand batted out 50 overs, something they hadn’t looked like achieving at 71 for 5 in the 24th over.In contrast, Gayle and Smith bulldozed their way to 93 for 1 in 18 overs before returning after an almost two-hour rain break to motor to the revised target of 136 in 33 overs with 52 deliveries to spare. The game, though, had almost been decided during New Zealand’s disappointing innings.The visitors made the Sabina Park surface look much worse than it actually was. There was bounce, but little seam movement, and the swing wasn’t unmanageable. West Indies, though, made superb use of whatever was on offer, Russell finding just enough away shape to have Guptill edging his sixth ball low to second slip. That was one of the few wickets New Zealand did not give away.Daniel Flynn seemed to have recovered from a scratchy start only to chop a drive onto his stumps; Rob Nicol looked alright before charging and holing out to deep square leg to give Russell his third wicket in his fifth over.New Zealand were 36 for 3 in ten overs when Sunil Narine came on to bowl, and predictably, they had no clue what was coming their way. Thumb or no thumb on the ball, they could not make out the big offspinner from the carrom ball. Dean Brownlie scratched around for 13 balls to make one run before being caught plumb in front by a straighter one from Narine.Smart stats

West Indies’ win is their eighth by a margin of nine or more wickets in a home ODI (target greater than 100 runs). The last time they achieved it was against Pakistan at Providence last year.

It is also West Indies’ 25th win against New Zealand in ODIs. The last time the teams played in the West Indies (2007 World Cup), New Zealand won by seven wickets.

Andre Russell’s 4 for 45 is the ninth haul of four or more wickets for West Indies in an ODI against New Zealand. It is, however, the third-best bowling performance by a West Indian bowler in a home ODI against New Zealand.

The number of sixes hit by West Indies (8) equals their record for the most sixes hit in an innings lasting less than 25 overs.

The 130-run stand between Chris Gayle and Dwayne Smith is the second-highest second-wicket stand for West Indies against New Zealand. The record is 184 between Larry Gomes and Desmond Haynes in Barbados in 1985.

Lendl Simmons’ duck is his seventh in 39 matches. It is also his longest duck (in terms of balls faced) and the third-longest by a West Indies batsman against New Zealand.

Kane Williamson, the stand-in New Zealand captain, and Watling somehow managed to survive Narine’s opening spell of 5-1-4-1. Just when New Zealand seemed to have begun some sort of recovery, Williamson, on 24, guided Darren Sammy’s fourth ball into the hands of the keeper to leave the visitors struggling to survive the full 50 overs.Watling, though he never looked completely in control, settled down to nudge and whip on the leg side, 50 of his 60 runs coming on that half of the ground. He added 46 with Jacob Oram and 44 with Andrew Ellis and survived two leg-before referrals, against Narine when on 26 and against Russell on 40.But the boost that could have taken New Zealand towards a fighting total never arrived. Jacob Oram, the only New Zealand batsman who looked threatening, got out in the second over of the batting Powerplay, looking for more runs after swinging a couple of sixes. Just 26 runs came off the Powerplay ultimately, and it ended with Ellis playing out a maiden to Narine, who later bowled Ellis to finish with 2 for 26.Watling continued to accumulate as New Zealand scraped 57 off the last ten overs, but as if succumbing to Russell and co. was not enough, New Zealand had Gayle and Smith to contend with. To round off their woes, Ellis could not bowl after picking up a leg injury while batting.In his first international match at his home ground since June 2009, Gayle began like he often has recently, with a maiden to Tim Southee. He soon started to swing boundaries down the ground freely. Southee and Oram were lifted nonchalantly for straight sixes; the spinners Tarun Nethula and Nicol met a similar fate. Smith, who largely struggled for timing, clobbered a few sixes over his favoured leg side, and also benefited from loose deliveries on the pads.With West Indies having knocked off nearly half of the original target in 18 overs, the expected rain arrived. Had there been a washout, the game would have ended without a result as West Indies’ innings had been halted two overs short of the 20 needed for the Duckworth-Lewis method to be applied.However, play eventually resumed with an hour to go for the cut-off time of 6 pm, leaving West Indies another 43 to get in 90 deliveries. Gayle and Smith eased to victory in fading light; New Zealand’s chances had faded long back.

Rajasthan Royals were knocked out of the playoff race by a stifling spell of legspin bowling from Amit Mishra

The Report by Siddarth Ravindran18-May-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Akshat Reddy top scored in Deccan Chargers’ successful chase•AFPRajasthan Royals needed to succeed in their final two matches to have a chance of qualifying. They would have expected to win the first of those: against Deccan Chargers who had been victorious in only two matches of 14 this season, and only won once in 18 matches at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Instead, they were knocked out of the playoff race by a stifling spell of legspin bowling from Amit Mishra which sucked the momentum out of Royals’ innings, tying them to their lowest total of the season.After Royals chose to bat, Chargers were their usual woeful self in the Powerplay overs, putting down three catches to reprieve each of Royals’ top three. Royals’ highest run-scorer this season, Ajinkya Rahane, was dropped in the first over by wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel, but Chargers weren’t made to pay as Dale Steyn had Rahane edging to slip in the next over.Royals have won the three games Shane Watson has fired in this season, and lost the three he failed in, highlighting how important he has become to the side’s fortunes since his arrival from the West Indies. Watson, too, was given a life in the fifth over, as Shikhar Dhawan couldn’t latch on to a diving effort at midwicket. On the very next delivery, Ashish Reddy let a drive from Rahul Dravid through his fingers at mid-on, conceding a boundary. The over ended with Watson blasting a straight six and Chargers demoralised.Mishra lifted them with his first ball. It drifted in and spun away and Watson ended up playing inside the line to be bowled. The biggest wicket had been taken, and in Mishra’s next over, he got another breakthrough as a quicker googly left Stuart Binny bowled and clueless. He continued to get plenty of spin through his spell, mixing in googlies with his legspinners and bowling the odd delivery from wide of the stumps to change the angle.Even Chargers’ fielding lifted after Mishra’s intervention, with both the catching and ground fielding improving. Dravid’s fight came to an end in the 12th over as he chopped a wide delivery to little-known Queensland batsman Chris Lynn, who nearly shelled it before grabbing it on his second effort.The acceleration for Royals now had to come from Owais Shah, playing in place of the injured Brad Hodge. He wasn’t at his most fluent today though, struggling against the accuracy of Chargers’ bowling. It wasn’t just that Steyn was proving unhittable, even the Indian contingent of Gony and Veer Pratap Singh kept the batsmen mostly down to singles.Only 65 runs came in the final ten overs, which meant Chargers were in with a chance of ending Royals’ chances and also their horror run at home. Shikhar Dhawan continued to be one of the bright spots of Chargers’ campaign, with only Chris Gayle scoring more than him this season. He and 21-year-old Akshat Reddy added 60 in seven overs to put Chargers on course.Midway through the innings Chargers were so relaxed that their coach Darren Lehmann and stand-in captain Cameron White were exchanging a joke in the dug-out. It wasn’t a cruise to victory though as Reddy and White were dismissed in the space of seven deliveries, after which the boundaries proved elusive. Siddharth Trivedi choked the runs, giving away only 20 in four overs, and memories of the match-winning situations that Chargers have slipped from this season come back. There was no heartbreak for the fans however as Ashish Reddy slapped a couple of boundaries to finish off Royals.

Sri Lanka’s old guard provided the base and the new order built on it to boost them to a substantial total. Their disciplined bowlers dismantled a shaky India line-up to take Sri Lanka into second position

The Report by Abhishek Purohit21-Feb-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsVirender Sehwag sliced a wide ball to third man and was caught for a duck•Getty ImagesIndia abandoned their rotation policy and played all three senior batsmen. They also brought in a spinner in place of a fast bowler. They still leaked runs at the death. Their heavyweight top order still caved in cheaply.Sri Lanka were on a different plane. Their old guard provided the base and the new order built on it to boost them to a substantial total. Their disciplined bowlers, led by Nuwan Kulasekara, dismantled a shaky India line-up, minus the in-form MS Dhoni, to take Sri Lanka into second position behind Australia with a game in hand. Parthiv Patel, Dhoni’s replacement, lasted seven deliveries and made 4.Faced with a stiff chase, Virender Sehwag threw away his wicket yet again, Sachin Tendulkar wasted another start and Gautam Gambhir guided one straight to gully.Sehwag had missed the previous two games and was stand-in captain today but that did not bring about any change in his approach. He went after the second delivery of the chase, a short and wide one from Lasith Malinga, reaching out to slice it tamely to third man.Tendulkar and Gambhir played some pleasing strokes but Kulasekara snapped up both batsmen, a reward for disciplined line and full lengths. He kept Tendulkar guessing with a few that came in and some that moved away. The batsman was a little late in deciding to leave a good length delivery and edged it onto his stumps.With two 90s as an opener in his previous three games, Gambhir dropped down to No. 3 to allow Sehwag and Tendulkar to open. He lasted longer than the two but ended up dabbing Kulasekara to gully after walking down the pitch.Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina struggled initially but benefited from three dropped catches to keep India in the game with a 92-run partnership. Raina’s leading edge off Angelo Mathews was put down at point by Tillakaratne Dilshan. He was on 4 at the time. Kolhi was let off twice, both times by Dinesh Chandimal at deep midwicket, first on 14 off Thisara Perera, then on 32 off Malinga.Raina could not capitalise, though, and, on 32, popped another leading edge, off Farveez Maharoof this time, straight to cover. Kohli carried on for a while longer but he was always battling against the climbing asking-rate and the thin batting. After having taken six runs off the first two balls of a Perera over, Kohli, on 66, looked to smash the third one and ended up slogging it to mid-on. Kohli’s departure left India 172 for 5, and with no chance against an asking-rate of over eight an over.Irfan Pathan cracked a few boundaries to reduce the margin of defeat and deny Sri Lanka the bonus point, but the match had been decided much earlier, with Sri Lanka in control right from their opening partnership.Mahela Jayawardene started the innings again, and gave Sri Lanka another strong start along with Tillakaratne Dilshan. Lahiru Thirimanne led the young middle order’s charge as Sri Lanka shrugged off the successive departures of their three senior batsmen in the middle overs.India’s bowling followed a characteristic route, the spinners bringing them back in the middle of the innings before the fast bowlers and part-timers leaked runs at the death. Sri Lanka took 81 off the last eight overs, including 24 off two from Vinay Kumar, and 24 off two from Kohli and Raina.Thirimanne kept the runs coming with some enterprising strokes to ensure 124 for 3 did not turn into something worse. Mathews, who backs himself to score from any position and in any situation, smashed 49 off 37 deliveries at No. 6 as India’s bowling came apart.With Vinay and Umesh Yadav each having two overs left, Sehwag showed scant confidence in his quicks and turned to the part-time bowling of Raina and Kohli for the 49th and 50th overs respectively. The result was the same, as Mathews plundered more runs.Sri Lanka’s final score was a reflection of the kind of start that their former captain and his replacement had given them. Jayawardene and Dilshan batted with assurance for 95 runs at over five an over and India did not look like making a breakthrough till Sehwag pulled off a stunning catch to send back Jayawardene. Dilshan punished the slightest width outside the off stump for boundaries.India sneaked back through a double-strike. On 45, Jayawardene swung Pathan hard into the on side, but Sehwag got in the way with a big dive at midwicket, and held on to a sharp catch. Dilshan fell for 51 on the cut when R Ashwin got one to bounce.Kumar Sangakkara came in and swung Yadav straight to fine leg, and at 124 for 3 Sri Lanka were in danger of frittering away an excellent start. Thirimanne and Dinesh Chandimal did not allow that to happen with a 71-run stand that came at a run-a-ball.Thirimanne did not hold back with the big strokes. He favoured the off side, mostly point and third man, as he steered and dabbed for boundaries. Irfan ended Chandimal’s stay with a yorker on leg stump but India ran into Mathews next. The scoring-rate picked up, as the pair added 49 in seven overs.Thirimanne’s batting was classy but the same could not be said about his backing up. Despite the changed law on run-outs while backing up, he repeatedly left his crease even before the bowlers were into their delivery stride. Ashwin was well within his rights to remove the bails in the 40th over as Thirimanne went walking early again, but India decided to withdraw the appeal in good spirit after a discussion with the umpires. It made no difference to Thirimanne, though, as he continued to take an early start at the non-striker’s end.He eventually fell chipping Ashwin to sweeper cover but Mathews was around to lift Sri Lanka to a big total, which proved to be well beyond India’s reach.Edited by Dustin Silgardo