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He first hit a four-ball 17 not out and then returned to dismiss the set Sanju Samson and Rahul Tripathi to choke Royals

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando16-Apr-20194:02

Manjrekar: Ashwin as captain has a lot of value in T20s

The last time these two teams played, R Ashwin pulled off a mankad dismissal against Jos Buttler and sparked a controversy that spanned continents and lasted weeks. This time he will be in the headlines again, but perhaps for less incendiary reasons.Although he didn’t make the top score, nor did he return the best figures in the game, Ashwin was central to Kings XI’s victory, with both bat and ball. Coming to bat in the final over, he carved a four behind point off his first ball, took a single off his second, and bludgeoned two sixes to end the innings with a high-impact four-ball 17. With Kings XI having made only 12 runs for the loss of three wickets off the previous two overs, they seemed as if they were squandering a solid platform, until Ashwin’s cameo propelled them to an imposing 182 for 6.With the ball, he was arguably even more vital to this victory. He did not concede a single boundary, gave away only 24 runs in his four overs, and took the important wicket of Sanju Samson as well as dismissing Rajasthan Royals’ top scorer – Rahul Tripathi. Although Royals had good partnerships in the first 12 overs of their innings, Kings XI’s spinners squeezed them, and ratcheted up the required run rate to an unmanageable level.This win puts Kings XI back into the top four on the table – though they have played one more match than most other teams. Royals, meanwhile, continue to languish near the bottom of the table. They have now lost six matches to the two they have won.M Ashwin’s supporting handR Ashwin claimed the better figures, but M Ashwin’s legbreaks were arguably even more impressive, on a slow track. He also conceded only 24 from his four overs, but beat the bat more often with his big turning deliveries, and bowled beautifully in tandem with his captain, to keep Samson’s 59-run partnership with Tripathi in check.BCCI

The key dismissal
Royals’ batsmen were guilty of falling into a tepid scoring period through the middle overs, but one batsman who would not have let that happen was Jos Buttler, whose hyper-aggressive instincts might have saved Royals from their eventual slow death. Buttler wasn’t around to face the Ashwins through the middle overs, however, because debutant Arshdeep Singh had already dismissed him at the start of the fifth over, thanks to an outstanding catch from wicketkeeper Nicholas Pooran. Buttler attempted to crash an Arshdeep length ball through the legside, but managed only to get a big top edge to the ball. It swirled high, way towards fine leg, but Pooran tracked it down, and dived to complete the catch.Kings XI’s solid foundation
In the chase, opener Tripathi’s 50 off 45 balls seemed a poor innings for Royals, because it put undue pressure on the remainder of the batsmen to score quickly.In the first innings, however, KL Rahul’s even slower 52 off 47 balls, seems like a half-decent contribution, largely because the rest of the top order batted quickly around him. Chris Gayle hit 30 off 22 balls, but more importantly, Mayank Agarwal crashed 26 off 12, and David Miller., who was only slotted in because Moises Henriques turned his ankle after the toss, struck 40 off 27. By the time Rahul was out, at the start of the 18th over, Kings XI had 152 on the board, and were well-placed for a score of over 180, even if they would stutter slightly in the next two overs.Jofra Archer’s superb bowling
England have not named their World Cup squad yet, but Archer’s outstanding turn with the ball can’t have done his chances any harm. He took the game’s best figures – by a distance – claiming 3 for 15 from his four overs. The first of his victims was Chris Gayle – caught behind off an offcutter, but Archer’s best was yet to come. In the 19th over of Kings XI’s innings, he conceded only a staggering three runs, while claiming the wickets of Pooran and Mandeep Singh. He seemed to have swung the game in Royals’ favour, until R Ashwin swung it back again.

Yuvraj Singh scored 21 off 14 for Punjab, while Suresh Raina (2) and Sarfaraz Khan (1) fell for low scores in Uttar Pradesh’s slim win against Vidarbha

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Jan-2018Manan Vohra’s 42-ball 74 helped Punjab prevail over Himachal Pradesh in a high-scoring contest by 19 runs in Delhi. After Punjab put up 211 for 4, Himachal’s batsmen responded with gumption, but eventually fell short. Electing to bat, Punjab were powered by an opening stand of 108 runs in 10.1 overs between Vohra and Mandeep Singh, who smashed 46 off 32 balls. Despite Mandeep’s dismissal, Punjab kept the tempo up. After Vohra was out in the 14th over, having smashed 10 fours and three sixes, the other batsmen took charge. Yuvraj Singh contributed 21 off 14 balls, while Gurkeerat Singh chipped in with 36* off 16 and Sharad Lumba with 26 off 17 as Punjab racked up 57 runs in their last five overs. No Himachal bowler could concede at less than eight runs per over.Himachal’s start was similar as captain Prashant Chopra (52 off 35 balls) and Ankush Bains added 57 runs for the first wicket in 5.5 overs before Bains was run-out for 17. Despite losing Chopra before the 10th over, Himachal kept fighting through Paras Dogra (30 off 18) and the in-form Nikhil Gangta, who remained unbeaten on 52 off 32 balls, but the target ultimately proved too steep. While captain Harbhajan Singh, seamer Siddharth Kaul and Yuvraj went wicketless, Mayank Markande (2 for 35), Sandeep Sharma and Manpreet Gony finished with four wickets between them. Punjab have now moved to second position in the North Zone points chart, with the same points as Delhi (12).Seamer Amit Mishra returned career-best T20 figures of 3-0-10-4 to help Uttar Pradesh snatch a six-run win against Vidarbha in Raipur. Needing to score 10 runs off seven balls while chasing 138, Vidarbha could manage only three as Mishra removed Karn Sharma and Rajneesh Gurbani. For the most part, Vidarbha appeared to be favourites to chase down the total, but Mishra scuppered their plans at the death. Captain Faiz Fazal scored a 31-ball 32 and Apoorv Wankhade made 33 off 32 balls in the middle order, while Karn, with a 16-ball 18, came close to finishing the chase. Left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav finished with figures of 1 for 24.Earlier, electing to bat, Uttar Pradesh made 137 for 8, with 20-year-old Shivam Chaudhary (51 off 49) scoring his second fifty in three games. Akshdeep Nath chipped in with a 22-ball 31, even as captain Suresh Raina (2) and Sarfaraz Khan (1) struggled to find form.

The MCC cricket committee spent much time debate four-day Test cricket and could not come to a consensus

Sidharth Monga08-Dec-2016Test cricket is an anomaly in the modern world; after 30 hours of scheduled play you can still end with a draw. Of late, though, it has been under immense pressure to cut some flab, especially from the broadcasters who practically finance the game.The proposal is to bring it down to four days, allowing them to schedule it to start on Thursday and finish on the weekend. The MCC world cricket committee recognised the pressure on the format in its meeting in Mumbai, but it finished split down the middle when it came to removing a day from Tests.Two of the cricketers on the committee, Ricky Ponting and Ramiz Raja, were personally in favour of keeping the format as it is but they recognised the need for changes. “We have had two days of meetings, and to be fair we spent more time as a committee debating this four-day comparison to five-day Test cricket,” Ponting said.”It is pretty fair to say that the committee was probably split right down the middle as far as understanding and identifying that the Test game does need some changes. Things have to change to try and make the Test game more attractive but also we are trying to protect the fabric of Test match cricket.”Personally, I am very much in favour of five-day Test cricket and we only have to look back at the last 12-18 months and see how many great five-day Test matches there have been. But other guys in the committee would also like to see a trial of four-day Test cricket.”Raja acknowledged he saw the benefits of a shorter Test format, but still favoured the existing model. “It is a difficult debating point,” he said. “One big advantage with a four-day Test match is that it improves the pace of Test cricket, and there will be exciting declarations and something out of the ordinary, which may give new lease of life to Test cricket.”But my biggest grief was that the lesser teams would get away with murder, they would be able to draw a game and in Test matches the best teams should win all the time, so that limited that possibility. Four-day cricket is exciting, it gives ample opportunity to broadcasters to get the peak days…end it on Saturday or Sunday, which could be great watching.”But I was also in favour of five-day cricket because it has a lot of history, it is traditional and we should not tamper with a format, which has been delivering the goods. In the last year and a half, we have seen some exciting cricket.”Ponting touched upon possible complications that might arise from the pressure on the pitches to deliver outright results.”If we ever go to a stage where four-day Test was the way we are going, a lot of it will be down to how the wickets are prepared,” he said. “The one thing we don’t want is more draws. No one wants to see more drawn games. We want to see entertaining Test matches be it over four or five days.”That’s what we have seen of late. Very aggressive cricket when needed, very defensive when needed as well. One of the pros for four-day Tests is every Test potentially starting on Thursday and finishing on Sunday. Maybe it frees up a few more days in the international schedule. But I am all for keeping it as it is. It’s the way I learned playing the game. It’s the game we all enjoy playing over five days.”Pros

• Clear scheduling for all stakeholders (TV, fans, players), with every Test played Thursday to Sunday on a weekly cycle.
• Greater crowds likely in grounds and more viewers on television for the last two days of the matches.
• Given that the Boards want guaranteed cricket on both days of a weekend, ideally towards the end of the game, this model makes scheduling easier and will allow tours to be shorter.
• Shorter tours would mean that less cricket would need to take place out of each country’s regular season, meaning fewer rain interruptions.
• Players would have to speed up the over rates, with suspensions for captains not meeting the required targets (though DRS does slow things down). Spinners might need to be bowled more.
• Play would be likely to change to a more attacking style, which might help to arrest the dwindling crowds in many countries.
• Clearer scheduling for grounds in relation to staffing and operational costs, with most Tests running the full four days.
• Broadcasters need only to pay for four days’ match costs, rather than five, plus their schedules are more freed up for more lucrative limited overs cricket.
• Evidence suggests that there would be no loss of revenue from broadcasters or sponsors if the Tests were shortened.

Cons

• Likelihood of more drawn matches, especially those that are rain-affected, given that some matches are played in the rainy season.
• The dynamic of Tests would change and the statistics would be less comparable with history, particularly if limits were placed on the duration of the teams’ first innings, which has been mooted.
• There could be more ‘doctored’ pitches to get results within four days, particularly if allied to increased context.
• It should not need a shift to four-day Tests to speed up the over rates. Many sides struggle to bowl 90 overs in six and a half hours, so it is unrealistic to think they would bowl many more in a longer day. Any additional overs are likely to be bowled by part-time bowlers.
• It might lead to more ‘manufactured’ games, with declaration bowling and cheap runs on offer.
• The better team would have less chance of winning; the weaker team would have more chance of escaping with a draw.
• With people increasingly more time-poor, it is unrealistic to expect spectators to want to see even longer days at a Test match.

Tamil Nadu’s M Vijay is set to play his first competitive match since making 82 in India’s series-leveling victory over Sri Lanka in August

Amol Karhadkar14-Oct-2015Just when Tamil Nadu’s tailenders were getting a feel of the bat towards the end of their training session at the the Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai’s business hub, M Vijay padded up to take guard for the second time in an hour.Vijay, seeking to return to match fitness after missing two of India’s three Tests in Sri Lanka due to a hamstring injury, defended balls from pacers for a while. Vijay’s defence, which has been the hallmark of his game during his resurgence as a Test opener over the last two years, was tight as ever.Tamil Nadu may be taking on Mumbai in one of the more high-profile clashes of the 2015-16 Ranji Trophy season, but more than the rivalry between the sides, the spotlight over the next four days will be on Vijay, with the Test series against South Africa starting in three weeks.Vijay may have emerged as the leaver in Tests over the last couple of years, but he started his prolonged training stint in an unusual manner. He first asked spinners and seamers to bowl onto his pads for a good 20 minutes. Then, the line changed to outside off stump. But Vijay hardly had any difficulties in judging it. He returned towards the end of the session to finish off with a string of defensive strokes.It was Vijay’s first serious net session since scoring 82 in Kumar Sangakkara’s farewell Test. His stint at the crease on Tuesday, hours after joining his team-mates in Mumbai, was all about expressing himself freely.”I am pretty excited to play this game because it has been a long gap,” Vijay said. “After the Sri Lanka tour, I did not get any game at all. I am really working hard on my fitness. I am looking forward for a positive result if I play all four days of this match and get some confidence going.”It will be music to the ears of his Tamil Nadu team-mates, as well as the national selectors if Vijay gets into his groove straightaway.
It will not be that way for the hosts, though.After earning a bonus point against Punjab at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai will be striving for consistency. They will be banking on the new-ball duo of Dhawal Kulkarni and Shardul Thakur to pull the brakes on Vijay early on.Six years ago, Vijay scored a breezy 154 against the same opponents. If he can produce a knock of similar quality over the next four days, it would be the most opportune manner for him to prove his fitness.

Sussex have lost Australian John Hastings, from the Friends Life T20 tournament this season, because of an ankle operation.

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Mar-2013Sussex have lost John Hastings, the Australian overseas player signed for the Friends Life T20 tournament this season, because he is about to undergo surgery on an ankle injury.Hastings will undergo surgery in Melbourne next week to remove bone spurs on his left ankle. He will now focus on rehabilitation ahead of the 2013-14 season with the Victoria.A quality replacement will be difficult to find for Sussex – although the difficulty of attracting high-class players could be even more difficult next season when the counties revert to T20 on Friday nights for much of the summer.”There’s never a good time to get it done, but it’s pretty disappointing,” Hastings said. “I was in quite a bit of pain during the last three months of the season and it wasn’t allowing me to deliver my skillset like I would like.”Hastings was determined to see out the season, having missed the 2011/12 Victoria season because of shoulder surgery – and that has cost Sussex dear.He seemed an astute Sussex signing as he took 27 wickets at 24.51 including career-best figures of 5-30 and 7-87 against Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield this season, as well as scoring useful runs in the lower middle-order. He also finished third on the RYOBI One-Day Cup wicket-takers’ list with 15 at 25.46 and averaged 44 with the bat.Mark Robinson, Sussex’s professional cricket manager, said: “Obviously the news is really disappointing and it is a shame that Sussex supporters will not get to see John in action this season. We wish him a speedy recovery from his surgery and our attention now turns to finding a suitable replacement.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the opening match of IPL 2012 between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians in Chennai

The Preview by Kanishkaa Balachandran03-Apr-2012

Match facts

Wednesday, April 4, Chennai
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Harbhajan Singh, the Mumbai Indians captain, could use the IPL as an opportunity to make a comeback•Mumbai Indians

Big picture

A year ago, the hangover of the World Cup had barely ended before another exhausting tournament started. Fans dehydrated by the emotions of India’s World Cup victory were now expected to show up in those numbers for the IPL. The fans and players had one thing in common – both were knackered. The scenario this year is not entirely different. India’s horrific season must have drained them mentally. Their followers are tired of defeat. The next two months will reveal the fans’ true faith in their own players.Indian cricket has come a full circle in a year, and the man at the epicentre is MS Dhoni, who’s back to leading Chennai Super Kings tomorrow in the IPL opener against Mumbai Indians. Public memory is short, and all it could take is a few victories for his fans to restore their faith. The reshuffling of squads last year didn’t affect the defending champions Super Kings. They thrived on a power-packed batting line-up, backed by a competent spin attack. They spent their auction purse in getting hold of a spinning-allrounder in Ravindra Jadeja. Dhoni, unfortunately, found himself shouldering too much burden as India captain, which affected his performances. If Super Kings are to succeed again, this squad, with varying degrees of experience, need to rally around him.His Mumbai counterpart, Harbhajan Singh, was largely disconnected from India’s plunge because he was dealing with a slump of his own. Poor form and injury kept him on the sidelines, but he regained pride by leading Mumbai to the Champions League title last year. He finds himself in the same role this year, after Sachin Tendulkar decided to step down as captain. Mumbai may be missing Andrew Symonds, but the squad’s intimidating enough without him. It’s fitting that the defending champions are taking on the team to beat in the opener.Mumbai are lucky to have their entire international contingent available for the season. Super Kings have a couple of injury concerns, but the core of their squad – barring Michael Hussey who is to join at the end of the month – is available.

Players to watch

Since his 95 in the IPL final last year (and 434 for the tournament), M Vijay has had a quiet 11 months. He underperformed in the West Indies and found himself out of contention. He had his moments of success during the domestic season, but this IPL will again be crucial towards making a return to the national side, at least when it comes to auditioning for the World Twenty20. Another chance beckons for the opening batsman.Harbhajan Singh is another player who could use this tournament as an opportunity to make a comeback. The criticism was that he had become a defensive bowler, bowling flatter lengths which weren’t fetching him enough wickets. His domestic season wasn’t good enough to force a return either. R Ashwin’s mixed returns in Australia should improve Harbhajan’s chances. But Harbhajan will know that he will be up against the likes of Pragyan Ojha and Rahul Sharma, at least in the limited-overs formats. He needs wickets, and plenty of them.

2011 head-to-head

Mumbai and Super Kings played each other just once last year. Rohit Sharma’s 87 off 48 balls took Mumbai to 164. Super Kings were well-placed at 98 for 2 in the 12th over, but Harbhajan inflicted a collapse, taking five wickets to give Mumbai an eight-run win. S Badrinath was the last-man standing with 71.

Stats and trivia

Rahul Dravid has been included in the MCC side to play County Champions Nottinghamshire in Abu Dhabi

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Mar-2011The former England seamer Simon Jones has been forced to withdraw from the MCC squad to face the champion county, Nottinghamshire, in the English-season curtain-raiser in Abu Dhabi next week. He has experienced some discomfort in his knee and has been withdrawn as a precautionary measure, to be replaced by the MCC Young Cricketer, Paul Muchall.Muchall is a batting all-rounder who had an excellent season for the YCs in 2010, scoring over 550 runs in the Second XI Championship, and also played well for Kent in the CB40 tournament towards the end of the summer. He is currently captaining the YCs side in a pre-season training tour in Abu Dhabi, and will provide cover for the MCC Champion County squad.”It is a shame that Simon has had to pull out of the match, but I am very pleased to welcome Paul Muchall into the squad,” said John Stephenson, MCC’s Head of Cricket. “One of MCC’s key objectives is to provide a pathway into the professional game for talented young cricketers, and this represents another avenue for Paul to develop his game, and share a dressing room with some very experienced players. I am sure that Paul will be raring to get stuck in and make the most of the opportunity.”One of the men he will be able to learn from is the former India captain Rahul Dravid, who is a prominent member of the MCC World Cricket Committee. Dravid will be joined by England wicketkeeper Steven Davies and the side will be led by former Australia opener Chris Rogers who has joined Middlesex.Other notable inclusions for the four-day game at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium which, as in 2010, will be played under floodlights using a pink ball, are the Afghanistan pair of Hamid Hassan and Mohammad Nabi, who are former MCC Young Cricketers. Sourav Ganguly will replace Dravid for a Twenty20 event which follows the four-day match and also features Nottinghamshire, Durham and a Fly Emirates XI.MCC squad Chris Rogers (capt), Stephen Moore, Rahul Dravid (four-day only), Stephen Peters, Dawid Malan, Mohammad Nabi, Steven Davies, Hamid Hassan, Gary Keedy, Paul Muchall, Steve Kirby, Toby Roland-Jones, Sourav Ganguly (T20 only), Omar Ali (12th man)Nottinghamshire squad Ali Brown, Jake Ball, Neil Edwards, Scott Elstone, Luke Fletcher, Paul Franks, Alex Hales, Steven Mullaney, Akhil Patel, Samit Patel, Ben Phillips, Chris Read (capt & wk), Charlie Shreck, Mark Wagh, Graeme White

Cricinfo previews the return match between Deccan Chargers and Bangalore Royal Challengers in Nagpur

The Preview by Sriram Veera11-Apr-2010

Match facts

Deccan v Bangalore, Nagpur
Monday, April 12
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Anil Kumble has been magnificent with the ball and has led from the front.•Associated Press

Big Picture

Deccan Chargers refuse to fade away. Just when you thought they were slipping away, they bounced back with a win. Just when you thought they were over-reliant on big names, T Suman led from front. Just when you thought they were really poor while bowling in the end overs, they produced a near-perfect end game against Chennai Super Kings.The clarity over each player’s role, so well defined during last year’s winning campaign, is gradually coming to the fore. Andrew Symonds is the finisher, Rohit Sharma the engine of the batting, Suman provides the momentum and Monish Mishra the much-needed blast at the top.Deccan will hope Adam Gilchrist fires in the upcoming pressure games. It isn’t as if he has looked out of touch, but he has rarely converted any of his starts. The bowling, despite their good showing against Chennai, has not looked completely reliable.Things won’t be as easy against Royal Challengers Bangalore, as was the case with Chennai. Bangalore, too, were appearing to lose the plot after they lost four out of five games, but roared back with a commanding performance against Kolkata Knight Riders.After Rahul Dravid joined the form men with a delightful fifty in that match, Bangalore’s batting looks solid. The bowling has been iffy; they conceded 180-plus totals in the three consecutive games before improving against Kolkata, keeping them to 160. Despite that performance, the bowling will remain a headache and Deccan have the batting firepower, on their day, to take full toll.If Bangalore win on Monday, they will move a step closer to qualifying for the semi-finals with 14 points and two games to play. Deccan are currently placed seventh, and are in a tougher situation with a poor net run-rate of -0.539. If they win, though, they will be level on points with three other teams and climb, depending upon the margin of victory, at least two places up.

Form guide (most recent first)

Bangalore Royal Challengers WLLWL

Deccan Chargers WWLLL

Team talk

Who will partner Jacques Kallis in the opening slot? Sridharan Sriram, who can slip in couple of overs, or will Bangalore return to Manish Pandey?Deccan seem a settled unit, finally, on the batting front, but the bowling remains a problem area. It says a lot about RP Singh’s skills on flat tracks when Symonds looks a much better option to complete the quota of four overs. The bright spot for Deccan in their bowling has been Ryan Harris, who, chosen over Chaminda Vaas, was the Man of the Match in the last game.

Previously

Deccan 3, Bangalore 2
In the previous game between the teams, Suman played a responsible hand to steer Deccan to a seven-wicket win at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

In the spotlight

Anil Kumble has been a treat to watch. The two-fingered googlies have worked like a charm and he has shown mastery in varying his pace. He has never been shy to take on the toughest batsmen and continues to be Bangalore’s best bowler.Andrew Symonds may not have been at his brutal best, be but he is playing his role to perfection. In the last few games, he has showcased his great skill of knowing exactly when to play the big shot and has backed his instincts.

Prime numbers

• With 61 fours, Jacques Kallis is way ahead of Andrew Symonds (27 fours), the nearest competitor from the opposition. With 21 sixes, Robin Uthappa has six more than Adam Gilchrist, the man with the most sixes for Deccan.
• Uthappa’s 179.74 is the best strike-rate among those who have scored 200 or more in this IPL.
• Both Vinay Kumar (4 for 40) and Anil Kumble (3 for 9) feature in the list of the top five bowling figures in an innings. There is no one from Deccan in the top ten..

The chatter

“We’re still in the mix now. We are improving our performances though I wouldn’t say we are at our best. If we can secure some wins by not playing at our best, it’s a good sign.”
“The balance and depth of our side can be judged by the fact that someone like Kevin Pietersen has to sit out. But that’s how it is. You can only play four foreigners and rightly so. This is the Indian Premier League.

Jack and Matt Taylor finish on losing side as Tymal Mills wins on captaincy debut

ECB Reporters Network31-May-2024Sussex Sharks scrambled a bye off the final ball of the game to get their Vitality Blast campaign off to a successful start with a three-wicket win over Gloucestershire at Hove.Chasing 168, the final over began with Sussex needing ten to win but Fynn Hudson-Prentice, whose 47 appeared to have taken them to the brink of victory, was caught behind to give Matt Taylor his third wicket. With eight needed off three deliveries, Jack Carson swung a six onto the pavilion roof and then scrambled a single to leave Nathan McAndrew facing the final ball.McAndrew failed to make contact, but James Bracey missed his shy at the stumps and Sussex, who only won once at the 1st Central County Ground in last year’s tournament, had completed a breathless triumph.Gloucestershire will feel it was a game they should have won, in particular the Taylor brothers Jack and Matt. Skipper Jack Taylor got them up to what looked to be a competitive total of 167 for 8 on a hybrid pitch offering decent pace and carry with 52, then Matt became the third bowler in the match on a hat-trick when Ollie Carter failed to control a short ball and Ben Charlesworth dived full length to his right at short third to brilliantly cling one-handed onto Tom Alsop’s full-blooded cut shot.When James Coles was bowled making room to manoeuvre David Payne through the off side and debutant Daniel Hughes played around a straight one from left-arm spinner Graeme van Buuren, Sussex were 53 for 4 in the eighth over and up against it, but John Simpson joined Hudson-Prentice to add 56 off 37 balls and get the chase back on course.Simpson made 36 off 19 before pulling a ball from Marchant de Lange to midwicket, but Lamb and Hudson-Prentice maintained the momentum with 47 off 32 to take Sussex to within 13 of victory with two overs remaining. There was another twist when Ajeet Singh Dale deceived Lamb with a slower ball and conceded just three runs to set up a thrilling final over but Sussex got over the line.Jack Taylor clearly benefited from a move up to No. 5 as he made his third fifty in the format before becoming one of three victims in the final over for Sussex’s new skipper Tymal Mills, who finished with 4 for 25.Taylor came in halfway through the innings and took the initiative after McAndrew had picked up two wickets with successive balls in the 14th over to leave Gloucestershire on 111 for 5.He helped plunder 19 off the penultimate over, swinging Lamb over midwicket and out of the ground for his third six before Mills showed all his experience at the end of the innings, conceding just three runs and removing Taylor to a catch at deep square leg and foxing van Buuren and Matt Taylor with his slower ball. It was to prove a crucial contribution.Gloucestershire had been in good shape when openers Miles Hammond and Cameron Bancroft added 59 but it was a good night for Carson, who was making his T20 debut and took two wickets in his only over to remove Hammond and Bracey.Bancroft looked untroubled until a searing yorker from Australian compatriot McAndrew spectacularly split his leg stump in two, but Jack Taylor helped wrest back the initiative by adding 64 off 35 balls with Charlesworth and his sibling maintained Gloucestershire’s momentum before Sussex fought back.

There have been few instances of visiting batters being comfortable against India in India and this was one of them

Sidharth Monga09-Mar-20232:22

Chappell: Khawaja’s calmness this series has been exemplary

Australia managed only the fourth opening stand of 50 or more for a visiting side in India in the last five years. Usman Khawaja and Steven Smith batted through the middle session, the first wicketless session of the series, the most comfortable any batting side has been in a session against India in India in the last 10 years. Khawaja scored a fine, patient hundred, only the sixth against India in India in the last five years.Yet it was India who controlled which way the game headed for the most part after losing the toss on a flat pitch. Only to lose the gamble with the new ball at the end of the day and hand Australia a slight advantage. Khawaja ended unbeaten on 104 having brought up the milestone in the last over of the day, and Cameron Green feasted on the new ball to score 49 in 64 in an 85-run stand that started after the loss of two wickets for 19 runs.The Ahmedabad pitch was a complete contrast to the first three Tests. Bowlers had to work hard to maintain control, defend with the fields and attack the stumps. Sometimes the payoff stretched across spells like when Umesh Yadav bowled a spell full of bouncers, and Mohammed Shami took the wicket with a full ball in the next spell, his second. R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja managed one each, and Axar Patel provided control in his 12 overs for just 14 runs.A measure of how difficult it was for the bowlers is that India managed to draw only 34 false responses; there were 40 in the first session of the last Test. Yet through most of the day, India made sure the batters had to take risks to even go past 2.5 an over. Knowing they could trust the pitch, Australia waited for the loose balls, which also showed in an unusually high control percentage. The six false responses in 33 overs in the middle session was the highest control percentage for a visiting side in India in a session of Test cricket in India in the last 10 years.This is where the quality of Ashwin and Shami, and the depth in the attack, shone through. For long periods, Ashwin managed to keep the batters in check even though he didn’t beat the bat. The presence of a fifth bowler meant India could toil away tirelessly. It paid off with a break in concentration for Smith, who played Jadeja on, and a beauty from Shami to send Peter Handscomb back to reduce Australia to 170 for 4.The spinners then all but shut down Khawaja and Green, bowling five overs for three runs when Rohit Sharma asked for the new ball. Now this was a departure from how India usually operate on such days. They don’t risk taking the new ball with bowlers who have had a long day in the field. Usually they bowl around four overs with the new ball in the evening, and then have another shot at it on the next morning.India’s bowlers had to toil hard on a flat pitch•BCCI

Here, India took the new ball with nine overs to go, and Green took to it. A flat pitch, bowlers at the end of the day, and suddenly Australia had 54 runs in nine overs. Green did all the damage as Khawaja kept picking singles to start the final over of the day on 99. Then he got a half-volley to strike his 15th boundary having struck at just 41.43 despite having offered only 13 false responses in a 251-ball stay.This was a little like the start with the first new ball. Shami bowled the first ball straight to second slip, then offered more byes, a catch went down, and Australia raced away to 56 for 0 in the first 14 overs. This is when India would have been reminded of the Chennai Test of 2020-21, one of their only three home defeats in the last 10 overs.Led by Ashwin, India started to turn the screws. The second hour went for just 19. Travis Head tried to break the shackles but found mid-on. There was only a hint of reverse for a while, and Shami took out Marnus Labuschagne with that.With not much expected from their lower order, Australia had to be watchful in the middle session. It was also when all the bowlers gave Rohit excellent control. Just 74 were scored in the second session of 33 overs.Finally Smith defended one loosely, getting out to Jadeja for the seventh time, four of them bowled. Nobody has found his timber that often. With a 70-over old ball, Shami managed to hold the line to go past Handscomb’s edge and send the off stump on a cartwheel.The tension built towards the end of the day. Virat Kohli used to wait for the next morning and fresher bowlers to make the next big move. Rohit chose the evening. Green came out the victor.Amid all this, Khawaja just batted in the purest sense. No premeditation, no attempt to force the pace, just organically responding to what was bowled at him. He was severe off the toes, and also quick to work the ball square every time someone dropped short. Forty-six of his runs came between long leg and midwicket, which should tell you how he waited for the loose balls. As he said at the end of the day, it was a beautiful batting pitch and he just didn’t want to get out.