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She has been named in Canada’s squad for the Women’s T20 Americas Qualifier, a pathway to the 2024 T20 World Cup

Nagraj Gollapudi31-Aug-2023Danielle McGahey is set to become the first transgender player to feature in international cricket after being named in Canada’s squad for the Women’s T20 Americas Qualifier, the pathway tournament to the 2024 T20 World Cup.McGahey, a 29-year-old batter, is originally from Australia but moved to Canada in 2020. According to , which reported the story first, McGahey socially transitioned from male to female in 2020, before undergoing a medical transition a few months later in 2021.On Thursday, the ICC confirmed that McGahey had fulfilled the eligibility criteria for male-to-female (MTF) transition to play international cricket. “We can confirm that Danielle went through the process as required under the ICC’s Player Eligibility Regulations,” an ICC spokesperson told ESPNcricinfo, “and as a result has been deemed eligible to participate in international women’s cricket on the basis that she satisfies the MTF transgender eligibility criteria.”McGahey told that she was “absolutely honoured” to play as a transgender athlete at international level. “To be able to represent my community is something I never dreamed I would be able to do.”McGahey played four matches for Canada at the South American Women’s Championship held last October in Brazil, which Canada won. That tournament did not have international status.The Americas Qualifier, which will be played in Los Angeles, USA from September 4 to 11, will feature Argentina, Brazil, Canada and hosts USA. The winner will progress to the global Qualifiers where teams from other regional Qualifiers will contest for spots in the next T20 World Cup, to be played in Bangladesh.The ICC amended the Player Eligibility regulations in 2021. In Article 3, dealing with eligibility based on gender recognition, the term transgender is defined as “individuals whose gender identity is different from the biological sex assigned to them at birth (whether they are pre- or post-puberty, and whether or not they have undergone any form of medical intervention)”.For a male transitioning to female, testosterone levels are the key measure and have to be “less than 5 nmol/l (nanomole per litre) continuously for a period of at least 12 months, and that she is ready, willing and able to continue to keep it below that level for so long as she continues to compete in the female category of competition”.The ICC’s existing regulations are based primarily on the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) guidelines from November 2021, a 10-principle approach it offers as a framework to sporting bodies, in which it has attempted to to balance inclusivity in participation with fairness of competition.That approach has, however, been polarising, with some scientists and medical experts criticising the dropping of the requirement for trans women to lower testosterone levels as well as not presuming any performance advantage. The new framework has been criticised as prioritising inclusion over fairness and is seen by critics as a reversal of the original IOC regulations formulated in 2015, which relied heavily on the science of testosterone levels. Those regulations required transgender women athletes to maintain testosterone levels under 10 nmol/l and use testosterone-suppressing medication for at least a year.The IOC also stated that each sport should have its own guidelines, and many have stuck to the original 2015 regulations. Several sports bodies, from rugby to athletics and cycling, do not allow transgender women to participate in women’s competitions.Though McGahey is eligible, the ICC itself in the process of a detailed review of its guidelines, led by its medical advisory committee. Regulations have been under review since March and there remains the possibility that they may change.For the moment, McGahey is on the verge of making history.

The result ended a run of 12 successive T20I defeats to India

S Sudarshanan27-Jun-20221:15

Powar: ‘We are on right track as far as batting is concerned’

Sri Lanka had lost their last 12 T20Is against India, and had never beaten them in a home game. But all that was put to rest as their captain Chamari Athapaththu led them to a seven-wicket win in the final match of the three-match T20I series in Dambulla. The hosts managed to salvage pride after conceding the series with back-to-back defeats.Athapaththu averages 22.57 in T20Is, but when she’s captained Sri Lanka to victory, she averages 42.61 and strikes at 142.41. Her best version was on show on Monday.The Athapaththu show, the beginning
Sri Lanka’s pursuit of 139 began in an attacking fashion with young Vishmi Gunaratne whipping Renuka Singh for a four over midwicket in the first over. However, she fell two balls later, and Athapaththu took over. Her first boundary was a streaky slice in the fourth over, but she was more authoritative next ball when she danced down and smote the offspinner down the ground. The assault continued when she welcomed Radha Yadav with a fiercely cut four and followed it with a sweep through backward square leg.The marauding left-hander then hit the only six of the chase when she slinked down the track to smash Deepti over long-off in the final over of the powerplay. Just like that, she had 28 off 15 as Sri Lanka ended that phase at 47 for 2.The deciding alliance
In the experienced Nilakshi de Silva, Athapaththu found a reliable partner and the pair killed the chase, mixing caution with aggression. De Silva was happy to play her strokes as well, hitting Pooja Vastrakar down the ground before swiping Simran Dil Bahadur over the on side.India’s shoddy fielding also contributed to Sri Lanka’s cause. Athapaththu’s mistimed slog to deep midwicket off Bahadur was spilled by Jemimah Rodrigues running to her right, and off the very next ball she found the gap between backward point and short third man to bring up her fifth half-century.Athapaththu and de Silva added 77 in just 57 balls – the highest third-wicket stand for Sri Lanka in the format – before de Silva was run out. Athapaththu remained in the middle to ensure Sri Lanka ended their run of losses against India. She was aided by more fielding mishaps towards the close and finished unbeaten on 80 off just 48 balls.India’s batting misfires
On a surface that seemed good to bat on, India’s batters failed to find their footing and were restricted to 138, which eventually was not enough. Smriti Mandhana found the going tough in scoring 22 off 21, and fell to Oshadi Ranasinghe for the second time in three games.Sabbhineni Meghana hit three crisp fours but couldn’t rotate the strike constantly against Sri Lanka’s slow bowlers. It was once again down to Harmanpreet Kaur and Rodrigues to keep India on course. The pair added 64 for the fourth wicket but consumed 56 balls, leaving India devoid of momentum heading into the death overs.Rodrigues fell for 30 while trying to scoop Ama Kanchana over short fine leg in the 19th over. Vastrakar’s 13 off six balls helped India get closer to the 140 mark – which had proved enough in the first T20I – while Harmanpreet stayed unbeaten on 39 off 33 balls at the other end.

Bangladesh could try some players ahead of the more challenging white-ball assignments in New Zealand in March

Mohammad Isam24-Jan-2021

Big picture

For teams like Bangladesh and West Indies, dead rubbers are no longer meaningless. The ODI Super League has made it certain that every game is now worth points, aimed towards direct World Cup qualification, or teams have to take the tortuous qualifiers route. Bangladesh cannot take the foot off the gas against a West Indies side that has hardly put forth a meaningful contest in the ODI series so far, particularly with bigger challenges lying ahead this year.The home side has a number of options in their bench that they could test ahead of the more challenging white-ball assignments in New Zealand in March. Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam and allrounder Mohammad Saifuddin could get a run, since they are likely to be part of that squad as well, and are unlikely to play the Tests against West Indies next month.Mohammad Mithun and Afif Hossain are capable options in the middle order, although that area is jam-packed in the current XI. Mahedi Hasan could be another interesting choice for quick runs lower down the order, or bowling in the powerplay. Taijul Islam is the other left-arm spinner in the squad, but he is slightly lower in the pecking order.
Tamim hinted that they could look at squad rotation after the second ODI while BCB president Nazmul Hassan believed it can be avoided so that they go into the game with their best possible side. It is a delicate balance but so far from what the visitors have displayed, it would be hard to fault Bangladesh if they are willing to experiment.West Indies were bowled out for 148 in the last game, which was just 26 more than what they got in the first ODI. The top and middle order collapsed against Bangladesh’s accurate pace and spin combination. Against pace they have looked steady but as soon as spin has been introduced, they have looked all at sea.Phil Simmons added opener Kjorn Ottley to the line-up in the second game, leaving out fast bowler Chemar Holder, but it still didn’t do the trick. The batsmen crumbled against no-frills spin bowling on a pitch that wasn’t exactly a minefield. Only Rovman Powell has looked like scoring runs freely, albeit later in the innings, but his position seems like a waste down the order. If West Indies are to usher in these newcomers with a little more confidence, some runs on the board would certainly be helpful before they walk to the crease.The bowling has been somewhat impressive but that could also be due to Bangladesh’s own return to international cricket after ten months. Newcomer Akeal Hosein has looked confident in giving the ball a rip, but captain Jason Mohammed is stymied by lack of spin option, having to bowl himself a lot more.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
Bangladesh WWWWW
West Indies LLLLL

In the spotlight

There’s going to be more focus on Najmul Hossain Shanto after he got out for two low scores, particularly because some quarters believe Shakib Al Hasan should bat at No. 3, where Shanto is currently batting.For West Indies to get a bigger score, perhaps the team management could give Rovman Powell a slight promotion in the batting order, so that he doesn’t get stuck again with their long tail. So far, Powell has looked like their most accomplished batsman.

Team news

Bangladesh have a large squad to choose from, but if the BCB president Nazmul Hassan’s words are anything to go by (and those are usually very important for the selectors and team management), Bangladesh wouldn’t like to tinker too much with their winning combination.Bangladesh (possible) 1 Tamim Iqbal (capt), 2 Liton Das, 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto, 4 Shakib Al Hasan, 5 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Soumya Sarkar, 8 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 9 Rubel Hossain, 10 Hasan Mahmud, 11 Mustafizur RahmanWest Indies have only Keon Harding and Jahmar Hamilton to try from their ODI squad, after Ottley became the seventh debutant of the series, in the last game.West Indies (possible) 1 Kjorn Ottley, 2 Sunil Ambris, 3 Joshua Da Silva (wk), 4 Andre McCarthy, 5 Jason Mohammed (capt), 6 Kyle Mayers, 7 Rovman Powell, 8 Nkrumah Bonner, 9 Raymon Reifer, 10 Alzarri Joseph, 11 Akeal Hosein

Pitch and conditions

The Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium pitch is usually flat, and the evening dew makes batting under lights even easier. Eight out of the last ten teams batting second under lights have won matches at this ground. The weather is likely to be pleasant.

Stats and trivia

• Shakib Al Hasan is four wickets short of becoming Bangladesh’s highest wicket-taker in ODIs, which is currently Mashrafe Mortaza with 269 wickets
• West Indies currently average only 13.50 with the bat this series, which is their lowest in any bilateral ODI series
• Tamim Iqbal is three runs short of becoming the first batsman to score 500 runs at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium

Quotes

“We came here for 30 points but we still have chance to get ten points in this competition. We have got from 122 to 148, but we need to get into the 230-250, so that we can be competitive. Give the bowlers something to bowl at, and show mettle in that aspect. But definitely ten points would be the ultimate.”

Ryan Burl’s counterattacking fifty and a screamer in the deep went in vain as his team couldn’t close the game out even after having Bangladesh at 60 for 6

The Report by Liam Brickhill13-Sep-2019On a dramatic evening in Dhaka, Bangladesh overpowered a spirited Zimbabwe to win a see-sawing opening match of the tri-series by three wickets. With little to separate the two teams, it was an 82-run seventh-wicket stand between Afif Hossain and Mosaddek Hossain that made the difference, setting up Bangladesh’s chase.Afternoon rain meant the start of the game was delayed by around two hours and reduced to 18 overs a side, but once play began the action was relentless. Taijul Islam became the very first Bangladesh bowler to strike with his first ball on T20I debut and Zimbabwe’s middle order crumpled before Ryan Burl and Tinotenda Mutombodzi patched up the innings, Burl launching a blistering attack on Shakib Al Hasan to register his maiden T20I fifty.Zimbabwe had been 63 for 5 before their stand, and Bangladesh slipped to an even more perilous 60 for 6 before Afif and Mosaddek launched their game-changing counter attack. Afif charged to a maiden fifty of his own, and Bangladesh got over the line with two balls to spare.Taijul’s perfect startTaijul clearly enjoys playing against Zimbabwe at this ground. In just the third Test of his career, he took what remains a career-best 8 for 39 against them in October 2014. Two months later, he made his ODI debut at this ground, against the same opponents, and became the first bowler ever to take a hat-trick on debut. So there was always going to be a good chance that he would make an impact once again when Shakib tossed him the ball to bowl the second over of the innings.Taijul didn’t disappoint, drawing an injudicious heave from Brendan Taylor with his very first delivery. The ball skewed off the top edge and looped up to be easily pouched by Mahmudullah at short third man.Some trademark biffing from Hamilton Masakadza helped Zimbabwe to overcome the early loss of Taylor, with sweeps orthodox, reverse, paddled and slogged to reap boundaries on both sides of the wicket. The fifty came up in the seventh over, but then came a mini-collapse
as four wickets fell in the space of four overs. Mustafizur Rahman struck in his first over, Mohammad Saifuddin his second, and Mosaddek nipped Sean Williams out with his first ball. When Timycen Maruma was needlessly run out, Zimbabwe were in serious strife at 63 for 5.The Ryan and Tino showBefore today, Burl and Mutombodzi had played a combined 13 T20Is between them, and neither will have registered as threats on Bangladesh’s radar. Neither looked like turning the innings around as they groped and poked their way through probing overs from spin and seam alike in the middle of the innings. With four overs to go and time swiftly running out, Burl finally found his range, crunching Mustafizur over wide long-on and then paddling him to fine leg.Then came an onslaught the likes of which Shakib had never before experienced as Burl took on the world’s leading limited-overs allrounder – and won. Favouring the leg side, Burl unfurled an array of attacking strokes as 30 runs flowed from the over, the most Shakib has ever conceded in this format. Burl raised his maiden T20I fifty and Mutombodzi joined the party in the next over, crunching a meaty blow over cow corner. Together they had successfully repaired Zimbabwe’s innings with an 81-run stand: a Zimbabwean record in this format.Bangladesh’s top order collapseAfter Williams’ left-arm spin opened the chase, Masakadza brought on the quicks, put himself at slip, and kept himself there even as both Kyle Jarvis and Tendai Chatara over-stepped and gave away Free Hits in their first overs. Masakadza, nevertheless, kept his faith in his quicks, even as Bangladesh cruised to 26 for 0. Then came a collapse that put Zimbabwe’s wobble earlier in the evening in the shade, as four wickets fell in the space of 10 deliveries, with Jarvis and Chatara picking up two apiece.The Afif and Mosaddek showWhen Burl put himself back into the action by taking a blinder of a catch in the deep to get rid of Sabbir Rahman, Bangladesh were six down in the 10th over and increasingly rudderless. Enter Afif, just 19 years old, barely over five feet tall and possessed of a rake thin frame that belied wrists of steel and an unflinching temperament.Afif slapped the very first ball he faced from Madziva, who had his tail up after an early strike, straight back over the bowler’s head and continued in much the same vein. Williams was immediately dispatched for 15 runs off his second over, and Mosaddek followed Afif’s lead by swiping a brace of sixes off Burl’s legspin. A run rate that had been creeping up towards 10 was brought back close to a run a ball by two extraordinarily deft boundaries – ramped over short third man, and then scooped over short fine leg – off Jarvis.As the match slipped out of Zimbabwe’s grasp, sloppiness crept into their fielding effort, and Afif brought up a 24-ball fifty thanks to a fluffed run-out chance by Chatara. With three needed from the last five deliveries, Masakadza held onto a stinger in the covers to finally see the back of Afif, but Saifuddin walked in and tonked the second ball he faced cleanly to midwicket to bring a breathless match to an end, much to the enjoyment of the fans who had packed the stands despite the early rain.

Allrounder hopes England’s performance has ‘shut a few mouths’ as he stars on eve of Bristol court case.

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Aug-2018An emotionally spent Ben Stokes admitted that “playing for England means so much” after his final-day heroics with the ball secured his team a thrilling 31-run victory over India at Edgbaston.Stokes’ participation in the second Test at Lord’s – and beyond – will depend on how his trial for affray develops, when the case gets underway at Bristol Crown Court on Monday.However, he managed to put his off-field worries to one side with a brilliant three-wicket intervention on Saturday – including the priceless scalp of Virat Kohli, lbw to an inswinger for 51.”It’s great to be a part of this game, but I don’t know … I don’t know what to be feeling right now,” Stokes told at the end of the match.”Throughout the whole innings … Kohli played a brilliant knock in the first innings, but with the ball swinging, he was trying to move across to play for that inswinger, but actually it was the one that I was trying to swing away [that set the wicket up], he maybe leant over and missed one for a change.”Moments like that change the game in these tight ones. I’m proud to be part of this group, playing for England means so much, and it’s a great start to this tough five-match series. Being 1-0 up we’re in the box seat at the moment.”Stokes followed that dismissal up by having Mohammed Shami caught behind for a duck in the same over, before wrapping up the contest when Hardik Pandya fenced another lifter to Alastair Cook at first slip.”We weren’t quite sure what to expect here,” Stokes said. “We knew we needed five wickets and we had all the confidence, These games are brilliant. We’ve copped a lot of stick as a team recently and beating a team like India there has closed a few mouths.”Winning those tight games, you can’t underestimate what it gives teams for confidence. We’ve got a five-Test match series here, so we’ll take all the confidence we can. There’s no better way to start it off than that.”Stokes’ all-round impact in a tight Edgbaston Test brought to mind the efforts of Ian Botham in 1981 and Andrew Flintoff in 2005, but he paid particular tribute to another allrounder whose four-wicket haul in the first innings and vital half-century in the second kept England afloat in the game.”I thought we are a bit behind with the lead but Sam Curran took them out of play,” he said. “The way that he played at such a young age, that was the big turning point of this Test match.”

Both captains stressed on one thing in the lead-up to a virtual knockout game – the importance of composure

Nagraj Gollapudi10-Jun-2017One lesson India would have taken from the defeat against Sri Lanka is to not get overexcited. India captain Virat Kohli had stressed that the 321-run target set against Sri Lanka was good enough and Sri Lanka had done well to chase it down. That might have surprised Kohli.Faced with a do-or-die encounter against South Africa on Sunday, at the same ground, on the same pitch, Kohli said if India have to win they need to be “composed”.”You need to have a good balance of being competitive and being passionate about the game, but at the same time, not getting overexcited,” Kohli said on Saturday. “The team that treats the game as normal as possible is the team that’s in a better position to get the right result.”Kohli doesn’t believe this is the biggest match of his short career as captain. Such matches raise the tempo and the spirit of the team, he said, and it is something he “craves” for. Kohli’s message to his players was to make sure they did not overstress themselves.”A lot of times, teams come in and they want to do something special and end up messing up the game in important situations. The team that can have most composure, I would say, to sum it up, will have a better chance of winning the game tomorrow. That’s what I’ve experienced in the past. You tend to get overexcited, and then you commit errors that can cost the team important runs, or you fail to grab all the chances because you’re overexcited and that can cost the team as well. I think composure will be the biggest word for tomorrow.”One other man at The Oval agreed with Kohli – AB de Villiers, the South Africa captain. That both men think the same should not come across as strange, only because they cannot afford to let their teams get carried away.De Villiers, more than Kohli, understands what works and what doesn’t in knockout contests. No other team has experienced the full range of emotions in do-or-die matches like South Africa has.”It is really important to stay calm,” de Villiers said. “Not get overexcited. The tendency will be there, because we all live for these kinds of moments.”Retaining the focus and the energy at key moments can be the difference between winning and losing, de Villiers said.”I’m expecting the same kind of intensity and hunger out there tomorrow but with a relaxed kind of mindset. I think that’s really important to remember we are playing a game of cricket, something that we love doing, and to get that smile on our faces out there when we’re playing. It’s going to be really important and I’ll try and lead that from the front.”

Zaheer Khan’s captaincy and the performances of young guns like Karun Nair and Rishabh Pant leave Delhi Daredevils in a good place as they take on Rising Pune Supergiants

The Preview by Sirish Raghavan04-May-20164:59

Zaheer leading Delhi from the front

Match facts

Thursday, May 5, 2016
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)

Big Picture

After losing their opening match in horrendous fashion, Delhi Daredevils have turned their season around. They have put in six impressive performances, winning five of them and losing one by a run. They have been led admirably by captain Zaheer Khan, whose creative field settings, mentorship and positivity have yielded rich dividends. That is to say nothing of his own bowling, which has been mostly spot on. As young batsmen like Karun Nair and Rishabh Pant find form, the team increasingly looks to have most bases covered.The opposite is the case for Rising Pune Supergiants, who will make the trip to Feroz Shah Kotla for Thursday’s encounter. Supergiants’ campaign got off to a bright start, with a win over Mumbai Indians, but has rapidly gone off the rails and is now something of a shambles.The bowling has been a weak link, with the pacers leaking runs and the lead spinner, R Ashwin, struggling to make an impact. The batting looked strong, but with the injuries to three of their five leading run-scorers – Kevin Pietersen, Faf du Plessis and Steven Smith – they have a massive hole to fill in that department as well. Having lost six of their eight matches so far, Supergiants are on the verge of entering do-or-die territory.Meanwhile, it is worth keeping one eye on the battle of the captains. Zaheer had served as the leader of the pace attack for India under MS Dhoni. Now, for the first time, he has the chance to pit his captaincy wiles against his former captain. An innovative bowling leader – experienced, yet new to the job – will lock horns with a veteran who has led many a title-winning team.

Form guide

Delhi Daredevils WWLWW (last five matches, most recent first)
Rising Pune Supergiants LLWLL

In the spotlight

It is difficult to look past Zaheer Khan at the moment. He has combined figures of 4 for 48 in 7.3 overs in the last two matches, with his guile and penetration supplementing his returns. His captaincy seems to have rubbed off on his team. One feels that as long as Zaheer can continue to fire as bowler and as captain, Daredevils can continue to be greater than the sum of their parts.In a team bereft of fast bowling options, Thisara Perera will have an increasingly important role to play. He has bowled well in patches, including towards the end, and his 13-ball 34 against Royal Challengers Bangalore displayed his usefulness with the bat. Supergiants need him to combine these facets consistently and become the go-to bowling allrounder they desperately yearn for.

Team news

After an impressive all-round bowling performance that set up a clinical eight-wicket win, Daredevils have little reason to change their XI.Delhi Daredevils (probable): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Rishabh Pant, 3 Sanju Samson, 4 Karun Nair, 5 Sam Billings, 6 JP Duminy, 7 Chris Morris, 8 Amit Mishra, 9 Mohammad Shami, 10 Zaheer Khan (capt), 11 Shahbaz NadeemUsman Khawaja and George Bailey have joined the Supergiants set-up and are available for selection. Given Smith’s injury and Peter Handscomb’s unconvincing innings against Mumbai Indians, they might both slot into the playing XI.Rising Pune Supergiants (probable): 1 Ajinkya Rahane, 2 Usman Khawaja, 3 Saurabh Tiwary, 4 George Bailey, 5 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 6 Thisara Perera, 7 Rajat Bhatia, 8 Scott Boland, 9 R Ashwin, 10 M Ashwin, 11 Ashok Dinda

Pitch and conditions

The Feroz Shah Kotla tends to favour spinners and slow bowlers. Interestingly, the last three matches played at this venue have been won by the team batting first, bucking the overall trend of this IPL. Two of them, though, were afternoon matches. The evening match saw Gujarat Lions prevail over Daredevils by one run. Temperatures on Thursday are forecast to hit the late 30s. There is a possibility of scattered showers in the afternoon, but that shouldn’t affect the match.

Stats and trivia

• Daredevils’ opening stands amounted to 58 runs in their first 6 matches. In the last match, openers Quinton de Kock and Pant added 115
• Supergiants’ economy rate of 8.14 is second best among all teams; their run rate of 8.38 is fourth

The Rajasthan Royals, on their CLT20 debut, will play all their league matches in Jaipur and their captain Rahul Dravid, in his last appearance on a cricket field, will hope for a good sign-off after their troubled IPL 2013 season

Devashish Fuloria19-Sep-2013Overview
Rajasthan Royals have been in the news for all the wrong reasons over the last few months but the Champions League offers them a chance to bring the spotlight back to their cricket. The corruption scandal that came to the fore towards the end of this year’s IPL took much of the gloss away from what had been an excellent season for the Rahul Dravid-led side. Royals were one of two teams this year to remain unbeaten at home and despite lacking in star value when compared to other IPL teams, players like Brad Hodge, Stuart Binny, James Faulkner, Kevon Cooper, Ajinkya Rahane and the captain himself made their performances count.Royals have always been a personality driven team. From the days of Shane Warne to the current arrangement under a vocal version of Dravid, the team’s captain has remained the most visible part of it on the field. And understandably so – the biggest domestic player in the team Rahane is an introvert, so someone has to compensate to keep the young team buoyant.It will be the last time Dravid will be seen on the cricket field and after the sadness that came with the realisation he was sailing a ship with numerous holes, he would be looking forward to a good sign-off. Despite the heavy losses the team has incurred in terms of personnel, it still remains an efficient battery, with a cannon the size of Shane Watson. What’s more, they are playing all their league matches at their fortress.Key players
This IPL season, Shane Watson was intimidating with the bat, top-scoring for the team with 543 runs at a strike rate of 142.89, the highlight not being his century, but his 34-ball assault on Chennai Super Kings’ bowlers in seaming conditions. He also picked up 13 wickets, bowling for the first time after a gap of a few months. In the absence of Siddharth Trivedi he would assume a bigger role in the team’s bowling plans. Batting-wise, he is always a threat at this level, and his recent century against England will be a major boost to the team.Then there is Brad Hodge, the second-highest run-scorer in T20 cricket behind Chris Gayle, who brings that 196-match experience to lend stability to the batting line-up in the lower half. Add Rahane, the silent accumulator at the top, to the list and the batting has a sense of depth to it. The bowling will be led by Faulkner, who was second in the list of leading wicket-takers in IPL 6.Surprise package
Ashok Menaria featured in only one game in the IPL earlier this year, but he has struck rich form ahead of the tournament. Playing against New Zealand A, he picked up 10 wickets in three matches with his left-arm spin and scored a match-winning half-century as well. Along with Stuart Binny, he could form the backbone of the middle order.Weakness

In the IPL this year, Royals enjoyed the extra pace and bounce afforded by the Jaipur pitch and they will get the same home advantage in the Champions League. However, the teams they are going to play against include Perth Scorchers, Otago Volts and Lions, who would also prefer those conditions. In such a scenario, the absence of a quality spinner could hurt Royals. Pravin Tambe is the lone specialist spinner, but at 42 and with no first-class experience, his inclusion would always be a gamble.

MS Dhoni asked New Zealand to bat as the expected rains stayed away in Chennai for the second Twenty20 international after the first one was washed out in Visakhapatnam

The Report by Abhishek Purohit11-Sep-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsJames Franklin held his nerves in the last over to ensure a New Zealand win•Associated Press

A solitary Twenty20 it was, but it featured multiple narratives, an emotional return for Yuvraj Singh and his fans, an anti-climax for India and an incredible comeback from New Zealand. After Brendon McCullum had punched a furious 91, Virat Kohli counter-punched with a majestic 70, leaving India with 49 to get off 42 deliveries with seven wickets remaining.That is when the Chennai pitch started to behave more like a typical Chennai pitch; the ball had come on nicely till then. MS Dhoni and Yuvraj struggled to get the ball off the square, James Franklin and Jacob Oram took all pace off the ball to make it harder, and the asking-rate surged suddenly. Dhoni, having promoted himself ahead of Manoj Tiwary and Rohit Sharma, ended unbeaten on a perplexing 22 off 23 deliveries, failing to find any timing on his swipes and slogs and reduced to nudging singles on the leg side.With 20 needed off the last eight deliveries, Yuvraj managed to heave Oram over deep midwicket for six. With 12 needed off the last five, Dhoni managed to pull Franklin to deep square leg for four. With six needed off three, Yuvraj heaved and was bowled for 34 off 26.There was still time for one final narrative. Enter Rohit, under pressure for his lack of form, with six still needed. He tried gamely, swinging both the remaining deliveries for a couple of runs each, but India had to pay for tapering off after Kohli’s dismissal in the 14th over.

Smart stats

• New Zealand’s win is the seventh by a margin of one run in Twenty20 internationals. New Zealand had beaten Pakistan in Barbados in 2010 by the same margin.

• New Zealand have won the most Twenty20 matches against India (4). They are also the only top team never to lose a single match against India.

• Brendon McCullum’s 91 is the second-highest score in an Twenty20 international against India. The previous record for a New Zealand batsman (69) was also held by McCullum. McCullum has three fifties in four innings against India.

• McCullum, who is the highest run-getter in Twenty20 matches, also holds the record for the most fifty-plus scores (10).

• India’s score of 166 is their third-highest in a losing cause (in chases). The highest is 186 against Sri Lanka in Nagpur in 2009.

• The number of wickets lost by India (4) is the fewest in an unsuccessful chase (minimum 15 overs in the innings).

• MS Dhoni has three20-plus innings at a strike rate less than 100. Two of those are against New Zealand. On each of these occasions, India have gone on to lose the game.

India’s defeat was the last thing on the Chennai crowd’s mind when Kohli, opening in place of the injured Virender Sehwag, was raining boundaries on New Zealand during his 15th fifty-plus international score this year. Wide deliveries were swatted away with disdain, length deliveries were willed into gaps with confident pushes, spinners were lofted inside-out over extra cover, fast bowlers were charged at and hammered down the ground.Kohli’s assault and his 60-run second-wicket stand with Suresh Raina allowed Yuvraj to ease into his comeback knock. The crowd erupted when Yuvraj thick-edged Adam Milne past slip for his first boundary and swung Daniel Vettori over deep midwicket for his first six. In between, he was let-off when McCullum and Kyle Mills collided trying to take a top-edged pull off Milne.It was Franklin who began the turnaround when he had Kohli lofting his second delivery to wide long-off. New Zealand also had McCullum to thank, for lifting them from 2 for 2 with a calculated 91 that highlighted his importance to his side, especially in Twenty20s. McCullum had support from Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor, but he was almost single-handedly responsible for New Zealand reaching a competitive score with a knock that began watchfully, and then exploded into a frenzy of powerful hits over extra cover, down the ground and over midwicket.McCullum often begins a Test innings with a charge down the track and it was probably the two early wickets that made him play with some caution initially. Rob Nicol and Martin Guptill came out swinging but were bowled by incoming deliveries from Zaheer Khan and Irfan Pathan.McCullum broke free in the fifth over, flicking and cutting Zaheer for boundaries. L Balaji, making his T20I debut and playing his first game for India since February 2009, was inside-edged past short fine leg and sliced over point for boundaries in the next over.Williamson, a calm man under pressure usually, ensured he gave the strike to McCullum, who was now in control enough to ward off his usual self-destructing tendencies.Sweeps, reverse-sweeps and scoops were kept away. The one time he tried a reverse-sweep, on 38, he got away with a close lbw shout against R Ashwin, with the umpire ruling there was an inside edge when replays indicated there wasn’t any. McCullum’s one good innings during the Test series against India was ended when the umpire did not spot an inside edge. It was his turn to benefit today.McCullum went after Ashwin, lofting him over extra cover for boundaries and down the ground for sixes. Ashwin, the lone spinner playing ahead of the recalled Harbhajan Singh, went for 34 in three overs.McCullum was only nine short of what would have been his second T20I hundred when he was eventually bowled after missing a sweep off a slow cutter from Irfan in the 17th over. Taylor and Oram were around to take New Zealand to a respectable score.India rode on Kohli’s brilliance in the chase, bottled up for a while after he fell, and when they tried to catch up, it was too late.

India’s dismal performance in England has seen them lose the No. 1 ranking in Tests, and several former captains and players concur that it could be a while before they regain the position

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Aug-2011India’s dismal performance in England has seen them lose the No. 1 ranking in Tests, and several former captains and players concur that it could be a while before they regain the position. A lack of preparation has been pointed out as one of the chief reasons for India’s three consecutive losses, and Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, the former India captain, does not think the Indian board will learn their lesson and plan more meticulously for future series”I don’t want to sound like a pessimist but I fear the players are going to say it’s only a bad dream, just forget it and get on,” he told . “The BCCI is not going to show a great deal of vision. Cricket will continue the way it is but I sincerely hope that some sense does come in.”Sourav Ganguly, who led India to a 1-1 draw in England in 2002, said the performances were worrying and may not just constitute a one-off bad tour. “You can lose Test matches but losing three in a row and not scoring any big total, it is something to be worried about,” Ganguly said. “Is it a one-off affair or the beginning of the demise of the side? We have to see.”What is particularly worrying for India is that their batting has failed despite the presence of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, who have 37,769 Test runs between them. Anil Kumble said things would only get harder for India once those three retired, and the challenge now was just to stay near the top rather than reclaim the No. 1 ranking. “You need to spot four-five players and invest in them, to ensure that they carry the responsibility of Indian cricket in future in place of the veterans,” Kumble said. “We have Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir”They have to be given a long rope. You may not see India come back at the top in quick time. But we have to ensure that with these youngsters, we remained in the top three and climb to top spot after a few years.”Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar said that apart from the fact that India had very little time to prepare for the series, complacency had also played a role in their defeat.”I knew that it will be a tough series for India considering the fact that they were up against a formidable team that’s on song and consistent in their performance in recent times,” Vengsarkar said.”Besides, they have a better attack and as a team they had enough time to prepare themselves for the series. India on the other hand had come back from the gruelling series in West Indies, had a very little time to prepare and adapt to English conditions.”I guess, the Indians had become a bit complacent after their good run in the last few seasons,” he said.Kumble’s sentiments on the need to blood youngsters were echoed by Arun Lal, the former India batsman, who also said the magnitude of the loss in England may serve as a much-needed wake-up call for India and ensure they are better prepared for future tours.”You cannot go on with 35 or 38-year-olds till eternity. There might be slowing down of the reflexes, weakening of eyesight etc. So we need to infuse new talent,” Lal said. “We have to ensure that we have enough preparation before such tough series. The series loss and World No. 1 Test ranking slipping away is in a way good. We need an awakening.”