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Sohail Tanvir did his fair share of the damage too, as Multan Sultans skittled Quetta Gladiators for 102 and then chased down the target with ease

The Report by Danyal Rasool03-Mar-2018In stark contrast to Friday’s humdinger, Saturday’s early game was as damp a squib. Multan, the newest franchise, cruised to a nine-wicket victory thanks to an almighty collapse by Quetta Gladiators. They lost their last five wickets for one run. Sohail Tanvir took two wickets in two balls to expose the tail, before Imran Tahir ripped through the last three wickets with the second hat-trick of the season. The target was 103, and there were no twists to be had.Ahmed Shehzad and Kumar Sangakkara, the Multan openers, didn’t need to be explosive, and were experienced enough to know as much. Instead, they took the sting out of the game with a 66-run opening partnership. By that time, they required less than 40. At the end, Sangakkara, who reached yet another half-century, was there with Sohaib Maqsood, who hit the a six to seal the win.Where the match was won
Spectacular as the Quetta collapse was, it didn’t happen in a vacuum. Instead, it was borne of stifling, wily bowling by Mohammad Irfan and Junaid Khan in particular. No bowler allowed themselves to be a release valves, and as a result, even batsmen like Sarfraz Ahmed, who had occupied the crease for a while, never looked set. In the 15th over, with the run rate dropping and Quetta feeling the heat, Mohammad Nawaz, and then Sarfraz, looked to go after Tanvir. Both fell off consecutive deliveries, ripping out the middle order, and a total that looked like stagnating towards 135 was instead shot out for 102.The men that won it
Mohammad Irfan, who is having a good tournament, excelled again with a superb opening spell. Exploiting the bounce and the angle across the right-hander, he kept the batsman on a leash during the Powerplay, conceding a mere 27 runs in his four-over spell. He was also responsible for the wicket of Mahmudullah, who replaced Kevin Pietersen, and instrumental in squeezing the life out of the Quetta innings. The wickets may have ended up going to Tahir and Tanvir, but one would be amiss to discount Irfan’s part in them.The hat-trick
Saturday produced the tournament’s third hat-trick and the second this season, both going to Multan. Tahir, already the leading wicket-taker, stepped up with Quetta seven down. Hasan Khan and John Hastings were clean bowled, before Rahat Ali was trapped plumb in front. He took a review, for no reason other than that it was there, but it merely delayed Tahir’s jaunty celebrations.Where they stand

Multan join Karachi at the top of the table with seven points, while Quetta, having won just two of their five games, drop down to fifth place and are stuck on four points.

Australia have left open the possibility of playing four fast men and leaving out offspinner Nathan Lyon at the Gabba, choosing not to name their XI on the eve of the match

Brydon Coverdale at the Gabba14-Dec-2016Australia have left open the possibility of playing four fast men and leaving out offspinner Nathan Lyon at the Gabba, choosing not to name their XI on the eve of the match.South Australia swing bowler Chadd Sayers would be in line for a Test debut if the selectors went down that path, and he has recent pink-ball form on his side, having claimed eight wickets in his most recent Shield game against New South Wales in Adelaide.”We want to have another look at the wicket today and determine which way we want to go from there,” captain Steven Smith said on Wednesday. Asked if that meant four fast bowlers could be included, Smith replied: “It’s possible, yes.”On Tuesday, Lyon had said he was confident of being part of the XI at the Gabba, which is second only to Adelaide Oval on his list of most productive Test venues.”I’ll tell you one thing, this is my sixth [Gabba] Test and every year you guys seem to write that,” Lyon said on Tuesday. “So I’ll leave you guys to write that, that there’s going to be four quicks and stuff. I’m confident of playing, I’ll put it that way.”Not only has Lyon been successful at the Gabba, he has also had plenty of bowling to do, averaging nearly 19 overs per innings there in his five Tests at the venue. The Gabba was also the ground at which Shane Warne took more Test wickets than any other.But Smith said the preponderance of right-handers in Pakistan’s line-up – opener Sami Aslam is the only left-hander in their top seven – could also play a part in Australia’s selection decision.”I need to have another look at the wicket to determine how much grass there is on the wicket,” Smith said. “It’s obviously a different opposition, Pakistan have a lot of right-hand batters, which might come into the equation. But we’ll wait and see.”However, one thing that does not appear to be on the cards is the inclusion of Sayers in place of Jackson Bird. Bird picked up three wickets against South Africa at Adelaide Oval and looks set to retain his spot for another pink-ball Test.”I daresay Jackson will probably play,” Smith said. “He played the last game and played pretty well, so I daresay he’ll be in.”Gabba curator Kevin Mitchell jnr said on Wednesday that he would be cutting the grass down to a height of two millimetres for this Test, well down on the six millimetres left on for the Adelaide Test but a standard height for the Gabba. He did not expect the pitch to perform especially differently to a day Gabba Test.”I’m expecting there will be some life in it early but in saying that it’s out under the elements till one o’clock so maybe not as lively, maybe it will dry out a touch more before the start of play,” Mitchell said. “But it won’t behave too much differently to our normal Test deck.”

Ronnie Hira and Aiden Blizzard set up Canterbury’s 18-run win over Wellington, thus eliminating Wellington’s chances of defending their Georgie Pie Super Smash title this year.

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Dec-2015
ScorecardFile photo – Ronnie Hira led Canterbury with a 40-ball 57 and figures of 2 for 20•Getty Images

Ronnie Hira struck a quick fifty and took two wickets to set up Canterbury’s 18-run win over Wellington, eliminating the latter’s chances of defending their Georgie Pie Super Smash title.Languishing at the bottom of the points table, Wellington needed to win their last three games to keep their tournament alive. They opted to bowl at Basin Reserve and their attack responded by dismissing Canterbury for 145. Aiden Blizzard’s 37-ball 41 and Hira’s 40-ball 57 were the only significant contributions in an otherwise shaky innings. Only three Canterbury batsmen managed to reach double-figures as the side slumped from 89 for 4 in the 13th over and looked in strife. Anurag Verma was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3 for 34.Canterbury’s bowlers, however, kept a grip on Wellington’s chase. Opener Michael Papps was dismissed in the first over but the serious shift in momentum came towards the latter part of the innings. From 45 for 1 in the ninth over, Wellington careened to 94 for 9 by the 17th. Matt Henry, in his first match of the tournament for Canterbury, took 2 for 29. Hira dismissed Luke Woodcock and Jeetan Patel off successive deliveries and Wellington lost another wicket in that 16th over to a run-out as well. Ed Nuttall, Andrew Ellis and Logan van Beek claimed a wicket apiece. For Wellington, Tom Blundell was the top-scorer with 60 off 48 balls.”Those guys at the top of the order – Papps, Blundell and Murdoch, were big wickets for us and then we just tried to strangle them, and got there in the end,” Hira said. “The breeze was a bit difficult, and it was a difficult wicket, but having Matt Henry back for us today really added something for us.”Michael Hussey and Shane Watson are slated to join Canterbury before their must-win game against Central Districts, in Christchurch on Sunday.

The Indian Premier League itinerary could undergo a minor tweak
following the announcement of the dates for Karnataka’s assembly elections

Amol Karhadkar21-Mar-2013The Indian Premier League itinerary could undergo a minor tweak
following the announcement of the dates for Karnataka’s assembly elections.India’s Election Commission announced on Wednesday that polling for
the assembly elections in Karnataka will be held on May 5. This
has put a question mark over the staging of the Royal Challengers
Bangalore’s home game on May 4 and 6, to be played at the M Chinnaswamy
Stadium.ESPNcricinfo understands that the Royal Challengers franchise has been in touch with
security officials and has also indicated to the IPL authorities the
possibility of enforcing a change in the schedule. “We are in touch with
the concerned people and hope that the issue is resolved at the earliest,”
an RCB insider said.IPL chief executive Sundar Raman confirmed that the tournament organisers are touch with the
state government’s security officials. “In case the security officials
convey that it would be difficult for them to provide security, we may
have to make a minor change to the schedule,” Raman said.The RCB are scheduled to host Kings XI Punjab on May 4 and Sunrisers
Hyderabad on May 6.

Bangladesh’s proposed tour of Zimbabwe in August has been delayed but there’s confusion over the length of the delay

Mohammad Isam17-Apr-2012Bangladesh’s proposed tour of Zimbabwe in August has been delayed by the relaying of pitches in Harare and Bulawayo, but there’s confusion over the length of the delay.Zimbabwe Cricket wanted to postpone the tour to October but the Bangladesh Cricket Board is against playing at that time because it would clash with the domestic season and the staging of the newly formed National Cricket League.”They (Zimbabwe) have informed us that neither of their grounds is prepared so it won’t be possible in August,” Enayet Hossain Siraj, the BCB’s chairman of the cricket operations committee, told the Dhaka paper . “They proposed a tour in October but it won’t be possible because we will have our domestic season at the time. So we agree to hold it in April 2013.”However, Zimbabwe are yet to confirm if the series will indeed take place next year.”We have requested (the BCB) that the series be moved to October from August,” Ozias Bvute, ZC’s managing director, told ESPNcricinfo. “This is because we want to work on our wickets and squares in Harare and Bulawayo; they have been very flat over the last few years so we want to make them livelier. We were supposed to do this work earlier but because South Africa are visiting for five T20s in June, we can only do it later.”Bangladesh were scheduled to play two Tests, three ODIs and a Twenty20 during the tour. In the coming months, they will tour Europe to play Ireland in a four-day game, three one-dayers and two Twenty20 games. There is also a possibility of matches against Netherlands and Scotland during the tour.Their immediate tour is to Pakistan, for an ODI and Twenty20 later this month. With less than two weeks left for the first game on April 29, the team hasn’t started training yet, though its been a hastily arranged tour. The more pressing matter, however, is whether Bangladesh will be given a schedule to train. Siraj said the committee is waiting for the ICC’s assessment report. “We have discussed the issue but we will wait for the ICC to let the board know about the progress,” he said.Meanwhile, the BCB has been invited to send a team to Trinidad & Tobago for a tournament commemorating the island’s Independence Day in August. The winners will get $20,000 and the organisers will bear all expenses. A BCB XI could be sent, it was learned.(Additional reporting by Firdose Moonda)Edited by Kanishkaa Balachandran

While chasing might not be the favourite thing to do at the Premadasa, a relaid track and new floodlights mean it is not quite the devil either

Sidharth Monga23-Mar-2011On first look, the R Premadasa stadium doesn’t seem to be the ideal venue for the knockout games of a tournament as big as the World Cup. Or any day-night ODI for that matter. Far too often are the odds stacked heavily against sides chasing under the floodlights, when the ball starts doing the kind of crazy things it hadn’t in the first half of the game. In the last decade, 29 out of the 38 finished games featuring the top teams here were won by the team winning the toss, second only to Newlands in that aspect. There is no guessing what teams do here the moment they win the toss.With the World Cup, however, like many other aspects in quite a few of the other stadiums in the subcontinent, there seems to have been a massive improvement. Already it is there for all to see that while chasing might not be the favourite thing to do here, it is not quite the devil either. Even if the games involving the minnows in this World Cup are not to be included, the league game between Sri Lanka and Pakistan is a big indicator. In the good old days of the Premadasa, Pakistan’s 277 would have been a difficult target, but Sri Lanka seemed to be on track until they lost their way towards the end.The most important thing, both in that game and Pakistan’s successful chase against Australia, was that the new ball didn’t jag around as much as it used to do in the classical Premadasa-under-the-lights days. Anuruddha Polonowita, Sri Lanka’s chief groundsman, has an explanation for why this used to happen and why it is less likely to happen now that the square has been relaid.”We have raised the pitch three-and-a-half-feet from the perimeter of the boundary,” Polonowita said. “Earlier we had a problem those days. This is a low-lying area. This was a marshy land, which was filled with garbage. So in the evening we used to get a little bit of moisture coming out. So we raised it by three-and-a-half feet, and I think it has settled down now. In the evening, that moisture is not coming out. That was the main reason [for the drastic change in conditions under lights].”Mahela Jayawardene, who has played a fair amount of his ODI cricket here, has another reason. “The floodlights were one of the reasons teams struggled to chase at night at the ground, as they couldn’t pick the ball on occasion,” he wrote in his column. “Since the revamp, with new lights and a relaid track, things have certainly eased out.”Trevor Bayliss, Sri Lanka’s coach, shares the view. “In the past it [the toss] has been important,” Bayliss said. “The wickets since have been relaid. They are a lot better now, a lot easier to bat second than it was two to three years ago. We batted second against Pakistan, and made 260, but we had a bad 20 overs. Whatever score is made in the first innings, the team batting second is quite capable of knocking those runs off.”Whether it gets a little bit cooler and atmosphere makes the ball move around a little bit, there is no real evidence of that. It is a bit more difficult to bat second. I think the wicket probably slows up a little bit, makes it more difficult for batting, but more than anything it’s the mindset. We were happy to score 260 runs against Pakistan in that first game. Even though we did lose, we knew there was improvement, and it gives us confidence for this game.”A target of 225 and over against a major opposition in a day-night game at the Premadasa has been a fortress that has not been conquered often, but over the next week or so that frontier might be no more. Even if that doesn’t happen – although it will be a great stage to do so in a knockout game of a World Cup – the players are a bit more assured of the fairness of the conditions.

Nottinghamshire have confirmed that Graeme Swann was arrested on suspicion of drink-driving in the early hours of Friday morning

Cricinfo staff03-Apr-2010Nottinghamshire have confirmed that England offspinner Graeme Swann was arrested on suspicion of drink-driving in the early hours of Friday morning.The reported the story, saying Swann had been stopped near his home in the West Bridgford area of Nottingham and his club said they would be making no further comment.A spokeswoman for Nottinghamshire police said: “A 31-year-old man was arrested on Byron Road, West Bridgford, at 3.23 am on Friday, April 2 on suspicion of drink-driving.”Swann, who was named Man of the Series against both South Africa and Bangladesh during England’s winter tours, told the he had no comment to make. Swann is due to head to the World Twenty20 at the end of April.

The two sides have the slowest scoring top three in the competition, and find themselves near the bottom of the table

Alagappan Muthu20-Apr-2024

Match details

Punjab Kings (P7 W2 L5; 9th) vs Gujarat Titans (P7 W3 L4; 8th)
Mullanpur, 7.30pm IST (2pm GMT)

Big picture – Top-order troubles

In an IPL season where batting has reached new heights, both Punjab Kings and Gujarat Titans are circling the drain, their top-order performances in particular letting the team down on various occasions.Even after seven matches, Shubman Gill is the only half-centurion in his team. Sam Curran, though he was addressing the incredible rise of Ashutosh Sharma, couldn’t help but voice his disappointment at the lack of support.Related

• RCB have Narine to tackle, again, with their campaign starting to go belly-up

• IPL 2024, a turbo-charged, batter-dominated season like no other

Big scores, of course, aren’t always necessary in T20 cricket. Rapid 20s and 30s are often enough to put up a team on top. But Kings (SR 128.80) and Titans (130.54) aren’t even managing that. In fact, they have the slowest scoring top three in the competition.Rashid Khan, Shashank Singh and Ashutosh have each bailed their sides out of trouble coming in down the order a fair few times but sooner or later, the others are going to have to start pulling their weight.

Form guide

PBKS LLLWL (Most recent match first)
GT LWLLW

Team news and Impact Player strategy

Punjab Kings
Last Sunday, Kings said Shikhar Dhawan would need a week’s time to recover from a shoulder injury. So this game might be coming a touch too early for him. They also dropped his opening partner Jonny Bairstow after a poor run in the previous game. Will they stick to that or bring him back considering top-order muscle is where they’re most lacking?Probable XII: 1 Sam Curran (capt), , 3 Rilee Rossouw, 4 Liam Livingstone, 5 Shashank Singh, 6 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 7 Ashutosh Sharma, 8 Harpreet Brar, 9 Harshal Patel, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Arshdeep Singh, Gujarat Titans
Titans are likely to continue using R Sai Kishore or Shahrukh Khan as their Impact Sub depending on the need of the hour. They may also consider bringing in Azmatullah Omarzai or Josh Little for Noor Ahmad given the lack of help for spin in Mullanpur.Probable XII: 1 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 2 Shubman Gill (capt), , 4 David Miller, 5 Abhinav Manohar, 6 Rahul Tewatia, 7 Rashid Khan, 8 Mohit Sharma, 9 Azmatullah Omarzai/Josh Little, 10 Spencer Johnson, 11 Sandeep Warrier, Ashutosh Sharma played an innings to remember against Mumbai•BCCI

In the spotlight – Jitesh Sharma and David Miller

When the IPL began, Jitesh Sharma might have considered himself as India’s first-choice wicketkeeper. Now, after seven innings in which he has been unable to cross 30, and showing worrying signs of regression against pace bowling (average of 11.8 and strike rate of 109.2 in 2024 as opposed to 33.7 and 182.4 in his breakout year in 2022), he might have dropped down the pecking order. Can he pick himself up and dust himself off in time for the squad announcement for the T20 World Cup in May?Titans looked half the side in the games that David Miller missed out this season due to injury. A lot of their success has been down to the South African’s consistency, which he was able to provide without sacrificing on his strike rate. Now that he’s fit again, the team will be looking to him to take control of their middle order.

Pitch and conditions – Pace vs spin

The average first-innings score in Mullanpur this IPL is 187. The conditions, as much as they have lent themselves to the batters, have also allowed fast bowlers to prosper. They have picked up 47 wickets – roughly five times as many as the spinners (9) have managed in four games so far.

Stats that matter – The Ashutosh and Shashank show

• Rashid Khan has dismissed Liam Livingstone three times in four innings in the IPL, while giving away 26 runs in 19 balls. But expand that to all T20s and Livingstone holds his own with a strike rate of 172. Among batters who have faced at least 50 balls of Rashid, no one hits him longer or harder.
• Ashutosh and Shashank have contributed 343 runs at a strike rate of 190 and average of 57. The rest of Punjab have contributed 820 runs at a strike rate of 127 and an average of 20.
• Titans have slowed down in every phase of play this season when compared to the last one – powerplay (7.42 vs 8.54), middle overs (7.47 vs 8.54) and death (10.21 vs 11.86).
• An IPL team’s premier strike bowler typically tends to operate in the death and that’s how Kagiso Rabada had been used previously. He did nearly 30% of his work during overs 17 to 20. This season, however, it’s gone down to 10%, potentially because Punjab rely on Arshdeep Singh in that stage of the innings.
• Rabada has benefited from this switch. He’s still contributing wickets. He’s got 10 this year which puts him joint-fifth, and his economy rate is 8.32 – only in 2019 and 2021 has he been more miserly.

Quotes

“We would like him back as soon as we can. He is an experienced head at the top of the order, so we’re hoping that he is available for selection soon. He has started to progress well. We have seen some good signs over the last couple of days. We will decide on Sunday morning.”

Earlier, Litton’s 73 and contributions from Zakir, Nurul and Taskin lifted Bangladesh from a precarious position

Mohammad Isam24-Dec-2022Mehidy Hasan Miraz proved to be the enforcer as Bangladesh picked up four quick wickets on the third evening of the second Test to storm back into the contest. Chasing 145, India slumped to 45 for 4 at stumps, leaving the Test tantalisingly poised. It was Mehidy who picked up three of the four wickets to fall, most notably removing Virat Kohli with Mominul Haque taking a good low catch at short leg.Bangladesh started their defense with KL Rahul’s wicket, who edged Shakib Al Hasan for 2, in the third over.Related

• Two worrisome trends return for India in Mirpur

• Day 2 report – Pant, Iyer help India wrest back control

• Is Rishabh Pant the GWOAT?

• Bangladesh let India slip from their grasp, literally

Mehidy then got among the wickets, first having Cheteshwar Pujara stumped for 6. The batter had come out of the crease to defend but missed the ball. Initially, it looked like a routine stumping appeal, but replays showed that Pujara had his bat in the air, trying to get back to safety.A few overs later, Nurul Hasan completed an easier stumping when Shubman Gill ventured out of the crease only to miss Mehidy’s delivery that held its line. He had struggled for 34 balls before the dismissal.Kohli’s wicket, however, brought more joy to the Bangladesh fans and players alike, when Mehidy had him pressing forward and finding turn to draw an inside edge that went to Mominul. There were a few words exchanged between the fielders and Kohli, who trudged off the field, fuming.With the bat, Bangladesh battled hard in patches during their 70.2 overs in their second innings, despite Axar Patel taking three wickets, and R Ashwin and Mohammed Siraj taking two each. India made fielding errors, notably Kohli, who dropped three chances at slip.Litton Das led Bangladesh’s resistance, top-scoring with 73 while Zakir Hasan made 51. Nurul provided a bit of flair, while Taskin Ahmed resisted quite well. Litton and Taskin added 60 runs for the eighth wicket to keep the hosts in the game.Litton Das kept Bangladesh in the game with a battling half-century•BCB

Litton had earlier added 46 runs for the seventh wicket with Nurul, who fell after making 31 off 29 balls with two fours and a six. Litton struck seven boundaries with some attractive shots through cover, mid-on and midwicket, but his job was to hold the lower order together after the top and middle order had caved in again.Ashwin started India’s day well with Najmul Hossain Shanto’s wicket before Siraj removed Mominul, the top-scorer for Bangladesh in the first innings. Shakib fell to Jaydev Unadkat, while Axar had Mushfiqur Rahim lbw, shortly before lunch.Despite the poor start to the third day, Bangladesh added 120 runs in the second session. Litton and Nurul went after the bowling in slightly better batting conditions before Litton found an able ally in Taskin.Taskin defended resolutely while hitting a few well-timed sweep shots. Litton opened up further after tea, but that’s when Siraj brought one in sharply, hitting the top of his leg stump. Taijul Islam didn’t offer much resistance, though, falling to Ashwin before Khaled Ahmed was run out in the 71st over as Bangladesh were bowled out for 231.Their bowlers then caused a stir late in the day, with the visitors still needing 100 runs to win the Test. The lowest total defended in the fourth innings in Dhaka is 231 by West Indies, who beat Bangladesh by 17 runs last year.

Oman haven’t played a competitive game since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020

Shashank Kishore07-Aug-2021Oman have expressed interest to host Mumbai for a series of T20 matches in the second half of August as part of their preparation for the T20 World Cup, which they are co-hosting with the UAE in October-November.The proposal is understood to have been put forward by Duleep Mendis, Oman’s chief development officer. They are awaiting a response from the Mumbai Cricket Association, who are likely to deliberate the matter at a meeting this week.Oman haven’t played a competitive game since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020. Until now, they’ve had to settle for camps and intra-squad games in the lead-up to their second straight appearance at the T20 World Cup.Oman had beaten Ireland to record their first-ever tournament win during the previous edition in India in 2016. They are grouped alongside Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea and Scotland in Group B of the qualifying phase of the tournament, which will be held in Muscat. They will need a top-two finish in their group to progress to the Super 12 phase of the competition.”It’s still just on the table, we are awaiting further details and guidelines before we can consider the proposal,” an MCA official told ESPNcricinfo. “It is a good opportunity to play a few pre-season games before the domestic season kicks off.”If the tour does go ahead, Mumbai, India’s domestic 50-overs champions, will be without their IPL-bound players. Among them are regular captain Shreyas Iyer, stand-in captain Prithvi Shaw, senior players like Aditya Tare, Suryakumar Yadav and Dhawan Kulkarni.It will be an opportunity, however, for new coach Amol Muzumdar to test their bench strength ahead of India’s domestic season, which kicks off with the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s in September.