They were overwhelming favourites and UAE hardly put up a fight, but India still got to test a few areas which needed tinkering

Abhishek Purohit in Perth28-Feb-20151:50

Agarkar: India ‘clinical’ as they aim to achieve perfection

The match lasted just over the duration of an innings and the Indian team had enough energy and enthusiasm left to slot in a long game of football under the WACA lights afterwards. Despite the lack of fight from UAE, though, the defending champions managed to test out a few areas that they had not been able to during their first two games.They were made to bowl first, something they had not done against Pakistan and South Africa. They were without Mohammed Shami, who had provided them early breakthroughs with the new ball in both those matches. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who had not bowled in a game since the warm-up against Australia nearly three weeks ago, was drafted in for his first match of the World Cup, and sent down five reasonable overs.In the chase, Shikhar Dhawan departed for his first low score of the tournament, and Rohit Sharma made his first decent score in three matches. So there were some takeaways for India even from a match in which they were overwhelming favourites , and in which they registered their biggest ever World Cup win in terms of balls remaining.It was good that India lost the toss, for they were looking to bat first as well. Bat first, bat big and bat the opposition out is the way they have looked to go in this World Cup, and it had worked alright against Pakistan and South Africa. Had they done so against UAE as well, it would have been the same template repeated with probably a bigger margin.It would have also meant that they would have had gone halfway through the group stage without knowing how their bowlers would do if they had to set up a target. UAE played too many shots too early against a versatile attack on a bouncy pitch, but India’s bowlers were not lacking in intensity against lesser opponents.Shami had claimed Younis Khan and Quinton de Kock cheaply, but in his absence, Umesh charged in with rhythm and bowled with lots of pace and bounce. Too often, he beat the batsmen for speed on both fuller and shorter deliveries. And the delivery to get the opposition’s form player, Shaiman Anwar, was a peach that was angled in and swung away late to hit off stump. It would have claimed even better batsmen.Bhuvneshwar would not have played had it not been for Shami’s unavailability. Whether he has bowled or not in the nets has become headline material in recent weeks, so carefully have India been treating him as he eases back from an ankle injury. Bhuvneshwar had worked up a decent pace and flow during training last afternoon, and was getting some neat away swing in the warm-ups ahead of the match. He bowled only five overs against UAE, and was largely accurate, but looked rusty at times. MS Dhoni, however, was pleased with his bowler’s first outing in a while.”It was good to give him a game,” Dhoni said. “I thought Bhuvi started off well. He was slightly up in pace. That’s what it felt like from behind. It’s good to see the whole fast-bowling unit available for selection. We’ll see who is the best on those particular wickets that are provided. It’s good to see him getting a bit of action.”There was not much to achieve for the batsmen with a target of 103, but Rohit has not had much game time after picking up a hamstring injury at the start of the one-day tri-series. He threw away a start against Pakistan, and was run out for a duck against South Africa. Rohit is someone who needs quite some time in the middle to get a feel of things and remaining unbeaten on a fifty will have given him just that. All in all, India took away a bit more than two points and a better net run-rate from their first of two matches in Perth.

The amount of T20 cricket India play has left most of their batsmen unable to compile big Test innings and their bowlers unable to produce multiple spells of accurate bowling away from home

Jarrod Kimber at the SCG06-Jan-2015The fear has been with us for a very long time. Cricket does fear and worry better than parents watching a drunken aunty hold their newborn. T20 is cricket’s creeping evil. If you look hard enough, and have the right kind of tunnel vision, you can see its destructive powers in every part of cricket.The spectre of T20 and its giant mutated child, IPL, is never far away when people talk about India. If India win a match, they do it because of the IPL. If they lose, they do it because of the IPL. Their batsmen are flashy millionaires with shots a dozen who can’t crack real cricket. Their bowlers are lazy, popgun, four-over specialists with tricks to get a bloke caught at long-on and not much more.We are in the first T20 generation of cricketers. Players who are arriving at Test cricket with contracts across continents, who can reverse, switch-hit, ramp or scoop a maximum for a moment of success, but who enter the corridor of uncertainty like a chainsaw wielding psycho is at the other end. Coaches tried to ground their pupils at first, but now we have T20 specialist coaches who cheer rather than chide improvisation. When Glenn Maxwell played a reverse hook shot, we’d reached uber cricket-max mode.Cricket has feared the limited-overs revolution for almost as long as it has existed. In the 1990s every time a bad shot was played, ODI cricket was blamed. It was the IPL before we had the IPL. Yet, if you spend anytime watching old cricket footage, stupid shots and pointless bowling has always existed. When Sobers made his double-hundred at the G for the Rest of the World, the modern analyst’s computer would have exploded at the amount of short and wide balls he got.T20 makes you rich. T20 puts you on television. T20 makes you a target.In this match we have David Warner, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, R Ashwin, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, and Rohit Sharma. All T20 players first, Test cricketers second. Perhaps not in hopes or dreams, but in reality and contract.Warner was a franchise player before a first-class player. Smith has travelled the world playing limited-overs cricket in shirts every colour of the rainbow. Ashwin was a Chennai Super King well before he was an Indian spin king at home. Kohli was the emerging player in the first IPL and one-day superstar. They have all adapted, changed and are working out what Test cricket is.India as a team is yet to evolve. This is a young team; Kohli with 33 Tests is the most experienced player. They have talent, they have proved that at home, but on the road is where young players are tested the most. And on this road at the SCG, they were run over.Most of India’s current squad have played more domestic T20s than any other form of cricket. Dhoni had not played a Ranji Trophy match since 2005, or Irani Cup match since 2008. Rahane has played one first-class game outside of India colours since 2012. Dhawan has played none since his debut. Rohit has one in the last two years. Mohammed Shami last played in 2012. Raina did not play a first-class game in 2014. He has played 203 ODIs, and 86 first-class matches. And Ashwin not one since 2010. This is a generation of cricketers learning Test cricket while playing it.Because of their schedule, and how they like to warm up – when India play warm up matches before Tests – they use most of their squad. Blokes retire once they start hitting the ball well. They bowl 12 overs in the match and then rest with the physio. They don’t treat them like matches, and they don’t reap the rewards of a bowler bowling his 20th over and working through a set batsman. Or a batsman pushing beyond 130 knowing how tired that makes you. Their innings and spells are short, their games are make believe. And because of this they struggle to play more than three good sessions in a row. They can’t catch in the slips. Their bowlers need a rigid plan. And their batsmen give away good starts.Mohammed Shami, who has been ordinary on this tour of Australia, had Chris Rogers dropped by KL Rahul at slip on the first day at the SCG•Getty ImagesMany times in this series India have played good cricket. The first two sessions on day five in Adelaide gave them a chance of winning. The next session might as well not have existed. At the Gabba they fought to get the Australia tail in while they were well behind. Then they spent hours bowling at them. For three seasons India batted well at the MCG, but they had one session where they gave away five wickets and the Test was over. They have not had one great innings from beginning to end. Not with the bat, not with the ball, not with their fielding, and not with their captaincy.India have dropped a fair chunk of slip catches this series, but what was more noticeable is the amount of people who have fielded in the cordon – Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Kohli, Ashwin, Raina, KL Rahul, Rahane and M Vijay. There could be even more. Slip is a position you only learn by standing there. You can have the hands, you can have the reflexes, but your mind needs to be trained on how to be ready for the one ball a day that may come your way. The Indian slips don’t even get whole days. Or whole sessions. Ashwin aside, if you’re a batsman, you’re probably going to be travelling through there.The first morning in Adelaide, India started around the wicket to Warner. It was a clear plan. When Mitchell Johnson came in at the Gabba, sledging and bouncing happened. It was a clear plan. All series India have been aiming at Chris Rogers’ hip. It is a clear plan. When Brad Haddin came in at Melbourne, he was bounced. Plan. India set the field in such a way that Haddin, and seagulls flying overhead, knew where the ball was going. It’s almost as if India don’t believe their bowlers can come in and bowl ball after ball, over after over, session after session. So they pile on these plans that, mostly, have just not worked.Kohli has three hundreds and one fifty. His team have two hundreds and seven fifties. Rahane, Pujara and Vijay should have made hundreds. Dhoni, Rohit and Ashwin gave up starts before they got to 50. The Australian order has only made three more hundreds, but they have a tail. India are naked once they are seven wickets down. Too often their batsmen have done some good work, but not enough, and then the innings just disappears.That is India. On first glance they look okay, then the harder you look, the longer you look and the more often you look, the worse they seem.The 12th ball on Boxing Day was quick, bounced, and took the edge. Umesh Yadav is big and strong. He’s the most moose like of Indian quicks. His strike rate is amazing. His pace is impressive. Dhawan at slip goes low, the ball hits the middle of his hands, he roles forward athletically.But it’s kind of a mirage. It’s the best of India, and what they can do. But not
often what they do.They’re learning as they go in front of a billion angry fans, on unhelpful surfaces, without bowlers who can keep pressure, batsmen who score regularly overseas, with a captain leaving, a hot head taking over and Ravi Shastri. And T20 cricket ruining their games.Their biggest problem might just be that they don’t play enough cricket of this kind. You can make 264 in an ODI, without really knowing how to do it in a first-class match. You can take a five-wicket haul without knowing what a fifth spell feels like. And you can catch a one-hander on the boundary and never learn how to take a nick at second slip.Today India watched Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Warner make a hundred, before ending the day with a big partnership from Rajasthan Royals’ Smith and Watson. Earlier in the series they lost wickets to the find of the 2010-11 BBL, Nathan Lyon and the IPL-winning Ryan Harris. And they ran out the top scorer of the first IPL tournament for 99 in Melbourne.If T20 is truly evil, it’s clear it also discriminates.

Plays of the day from the Carlton Mid Tri-Series ODI, between Australia and England in Hobart

Brydon Coverdale23-Jan-2015The recordIan Bell is 65th on the all-time list of ODI run-scorers but, remarkably, that is sufficient for him to be England’s leading run-getter in the format. When he drove a single down the ground to move to 98, he passed Paul Collingwood’s record of 5092. Bell finished on 5136, still well short of the record holders from every ICC Full Member except Bangladesh. Even Zimbabwe has three men – Andy Flower, Grant Flower and Alistair Campbell – with a higher run tally than any England player.The hat-trickThe runs really began to flow in the ninth over of England’s innings, when Moeen Ali pulled three consecutive sixes off Pat Cummins. Two cleared the rope comfortably but one had some help from Shaun Marsh, who nearly managed to catch it above his head but was carried back over the boundary by his momentum. The other three balls of the over were dots.The anticlimaxNearly four years Cameron White has had to wait for his comeback to ODI cricket. He last played on the tour of Bangladesh that followed the World Cup in April 2011, and already knew he was likely to be released from the squad after this one-off appearance in Hobart due to a number of absences. White walked to the crease for his first ODI innings in 1385 days, only to receive a fearsome inswinging yorker from Steven Finn second ball. All White could do was get his leg in the way, which was not enough to save him.The synchronised slidingIf cricket doesn’t work out for James Taylor and Chris Woakes perhaps they can form a dance combo. They were certainly well in sync when they chased an Aaron Finch strike towards the long-off boundary and both slid on their knees to make the save. Woakes was the one who got closest and reeled the ball in, flicking it back to Taylor behind him.

The downed catches are the cause of so much of their woe, but also, are a reflection of the confidence of a side, that has lost 12 out of 19 completed ODIs, plus two Tests, since mid-October

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Christchurch14-Feb-20151:26

Agarkar: SL will need big players to perform

No loss inspires as much regret as one conceived by spilled catches. No day feels so wasted as the one defined by a few sorry moments. For Sri Lanka, their time in New Zealand has been continually marred this heartbreak; a grim, empty eddy of “what ifs”.That a Brendon McCullum salvo might come off and that an off-colour new-ball pair would be crashed around is not so surprising, but couldn’t it have been so much better if Kane Williamson was snapped up for none? It was 57 runs that he scored today, after Kumar Sangakkara failed to cling to a sharp one, low to his right. It was 213 runs and a Test series, when Sri Lanka spurned the first of the four chances he gave them in Wellington, six weeks ago. Sri Lanka had a second shot at Williamson, on 27, but Angelo Mathews parried that one overhead.In the 37th over, Corey Anderson could probably have been held by substitute Dinesh Chandimal for 2. Instead, he made the chance seem tougher than it was and it flew over the rope. Those three at least were somewhat difficult opportunities. Jeevan Mendis circled under one, with Anderson on 43, and collected only fresh air as the ball descended, leather striking him somewhere near the groin on the way down, to add comical injury to insult.The downed catches are the cause of so much of their woe, but also, are a reflection of the confidence of a side, that has lost 12 out of 19 completed ODIs, plus two Tests, since mid-October. That there is quality in this squad is hard to deny. Eight of the 11 men who triumphed in last year’s World T20 final, were on the field on Saturday.

‘Happy opening the innings’ – Thirimanne

Lahiru Thirimanne, who top-scored for Sri Lanka with 65 off 60, said he was comfortable with being moved around the batting order. Sri Lanka have been unsure with how to use him in the past 18 months, often asking him to plug holes in the batting order, when other batsmen begin underperforming.
The selectors had hoped to bat him at No. 6 throughout the World Cup, but as woes at the top of the order persisted, he has now been returned to the opening position, where he has sporadically batted before.
“I’m happy opening the innings because that gives me time to settle down and score big innings,” he said. “Unfortunately I couldn’t make that 60 into a hundred. I’m very disappointed about that, but I’m happy about my role. I’ve been batting everywhere from opener to No. 8, so I’m used to being moved around.”

How much worse do they seem now, than they did a mere eight months ago? When Sri Lanka are surging, their modest shards of talent are fused together into a menacing point. Not only are the catches held, but even their rarer celestial events begin to run together. Fours begin pouring off Nuwan Kulasekara’s blade. Tillakaratne Dilshan makes big breakthroughs. Boundary riders execute manoeuvres no coach has ever taught them.When Sri Lanka are flagging, all their foibles come into sharp focus. In pursuit of a ball, Lasith Malinga’s belly wobbles more than his deliveries do off the seam. Rangana Herath lumbers like he is dragging the remains of his own broken body around. Mahela Jayawardene is in a perpetual frump because even the young men who can move quickly, only flail at the ball as it whooshes past them.The fielding has been poor for so long that it has now become self-parody. “Their guys get to the ball much faster than ours”, was a warning Dilshan audibly issued to his opening partner early in Sri Lanka’s innings. All through the first roaring eight months of 2014, Mathews had spoken of Sri Lanka playing for each other, “like a family”. Now, when losses have stacked up, the frayed edges that are a perpetual presence in any Sri Lanka outfit, begin to unspool.The innings’ top-scorer, Lahiru Thirimanne, approximated the cost of those spills. “It was a good wicket, but 280-290 would have been really chaseable in this ground,” he said. “But I thought we didn’t field well, so that cost us. As a team we have to put that extra effort because sometimes crucial catches might cost end of the game. As a team we have to put our heads down and do the extra work.”The fielding lapses compounded, and the street-smarts that get Sri Lanka deep into big tournaments, deserted them. Mathews saved one Rangana Herath over, as if for a rainy day, only for Anderson to hit them like a flash flood. In contrast, Daniel Vettori was through his full quota in the 35th over. McCullum had a chasing team on the run, of course, so he was under no great stress. But Sri Lanka and Mathews – a team and captain that pride themselves on their cool heads under duress – allowed their best bowler to have one over unforgivably unused.Mendis’ two wickets for five runs from two overs also jars in comparison with Malinga and Kulasekara’s combined 1 for 162, from 18 overs. Mendis’ bowling form over the past month has not suggested he should be entrusted a long spell, but when frontliners are going for plenty, the bowling plan could do with a little massaging. Isn’t that the nimbleness that has defined them in past campaigns, when they have ridden on the coattails of unlikely performers? Even leaving that aside, isn’t that the flexibility they build into their attack when they stack the team with allrounders?In the past, Sri Lanka have arrived at world tournaments unfancied, then taken the events by the collar. This time, when they have the most experienced top order in the world, the finest contemporary death bowler, and arguably the best spinner in the tournament, they are waiting for the World Cup to come to them, and shake them to life.

Stats preview to the Test series between West Indies and England

S Rajesh12-Apr-20152 Number of Test series West Indies have won at home, out of their last 13 against the top eight sides, since England’s tour there in 2004. One of those series wins was against England in 2009, when they won a five-Test series 1-0. The other was a 2-0 triumph over New Zealand in 2012. They’ve lost eight series and drawn three during this period.6-1 The series head-to-head record for West Indies against England at home, since 1980. The only series they lost was in 2004, when England won a four-Test series 3-0.0 Test centuries for Alastair Cook in his last 31 Test innings, since July 2013. During this period he averages 29.96, with a highest of 95 against India in Southampton last year. In 30 Test innings before July 2013, Cook had six hundreds, and averaged 54.92.1 Test centuries for Ian Bell in his last 30 overseas innings; he averages 26.69 in away Tests during this period, compared to 46.29 in home Tests, with four hundreds in 35 innings. His only hundred in away Tests during this period was an unbeaten 116 against India in Nagpur.32.32 Darren Bravo’s batting average in 15 home Tests; he has only one century in 27 innings. In away Tests he averages 53.67, with five hundreds in 30 innings.92 Test wickets for James Anderson and Stuart Broad since the beginning of 2013. Both have played 22 Tests during this period. Broad averages 26.09, and Anderson 27.61.40 Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s average in 18 home Tests against England – he has two hundreds from 27 innings in these matches. In 15 Tests in England, Chanderpaul averages 66.61.4 Fifty-plus scores for Marlon Samuels in his last five Test innings against England. On the tour to England in 2012, Samuels notched up scores of 31, 86, 117, 76* and 76 – 386 runs at an average of 96.50.29 Jerome Taylor’s bowling average versus England, in home Tests. He has taken 11 wickets in four Tests, which includes a matchwinning spell of 5 for 11 in the Kingston Test of 2009, when England were bowled out for 51 in their second innings. Excluding that Test, though, Taylor has taken nine wickets from the remaining eight Tests against England, at an average of 85 runs per wicket.70 Wickets for Kemar Roach in 15 Tests since the beginning of 2012 – he averages 21.90, and has been by far West Indies’ best bowler during this period.

Apart from keeping Pakistan’s start steady at one end, Sarfraz Ahmed also freed up Umar Akmal to be used elsewhere, to provide his team the balance it lacked till now

Devashish Fuloria in Auckland07-Mar-2015Ahmed Shehzad, facing Kyle Abbott for the first time in the bowler’s second over, took time to mark his guard on the crease before taking a stroll towards the leg umpire. Just as the bowler was about to start, he noticed something on the good-length area, walked out again, swept it aside with his bat, then came back, bent down to clean something from the crease, using his hands.All this while, Sarfraz Ahmed stood at the non-striker’s end, his right hand on his waist, his left leg crossed over his right, his body leaning on the bat, intently watching and perhaps wondering what his partner was so fussed about. Three days back, it was Shehzad who had scored 93 against UAE while Sarfraz watched each ball from the sidelines, just like he had watched the rest of the World Cup.And then, as Pakistan ran out of reasons for not playing him in the XI, Sarfraz walked out to open the innings and stood outside the crease facing the first ball of the match from Dale Steyn. Seven hours, 35 minutes and a record six catches later – including that of a rampaging AB de Villiers – Sarfraz had a Man-of-the-Match award too.”It was like a debut game for me today,” Sarfraz said. Cricket can be a simple game for some.In 2006, Sarfraz led Pakistan to title in the Under-19 World Cup. But a chequered international career that began more than seven years ago with an ODI against India in Jaipur – a game he did not get a chance to bat in – finally took a decisive turn when Sarfraz was brought in for an injured Adnan Akmal in the second Test against Sri Lanka last January.He had played four Tests before, but his second-innings half-century in Dubai was his first substantial innings. However, it was his quickfire 48 in the next match, during Pakistan’s astonishing chase of 302 in 57.3 overs, that Sarfraz established himself in the team.During that innings, he stepped out to Rangana Herath and smashed him over midwicket for a six and has since repeated that shot numerous times, to spinners and fast bowlers alike. Today, it was JP Duminy’s turn as he was thrice lifted in the same over for sixes in that region. However, it’s not his big hitting that is disruptive – Pakistan have others who solely earn their per diem using that method – but what he does in between.Sarfraz was always on the lookout for a single; not the manic type, but that which keeps the fielding side on their toes, teasing them. He would shuffle across, dab the ball and would immediately dash out of the crease for a couple of meters, only to return in time, with his bat entering the safe zone before his feet would.Then at other times, he jogged singles to third man and fine leg in the old-fashioned way while Shehzad hared down the pitch as most coaches would tell you these days. Mostly, you knew Sarfraz was in no hurry. He just wanted to irritate the bowlers and the fielders alike, a distinctly old-world Pakistan trait that was missing in this team.Playing late cuts, standing a couple of feet outside the crease to extreme pace, shuffling across to work the ball on the leg side, these tactics draw from the ones used in streets and maidans of the subcontinent, where, at most times, on one side certain areas of the ground are more profitable. Sarfraz’s game brought back during his innings that street-smartness so often the forte of Pakistan sides of the past. Had the innings lasted any longer, surely Sarfraz would have pulled out Moin Khan-like sweeps against the South Africa pacers.Seventh months ago, an unbeaten 52 in Galle had given Pakistan a chance to almost save a match that appeared to have slipped as Pakistan’s batting collapsed on the fifth day. In the next game, he scored his maiden Test hundred in an innings dismantled by Herath with nine wickets. Another century followed in his next Test, and another, two matches later.”I think it’s been a good seven-eight months that he has started coming out of the shell and is trying to play his own game. Freedom has been given to him to play the way he plays. He has been coming good for Pakistan, he has been in a very good nick, so it’s good to take advantage of that form he is in.” Waqar Younis had said after Sarfraz’s match-winning 76 not out against New Zealand in a T20 last December, before he was inexplicably left out from the starting XI in this tournament.With Pakistan looking for every gasp of air to push ahead in this tournament, Sarfraz was finally included. He looked more assured than Shehzad, strutting up three-quarters the length of the pitch – shoulders open, gait confident, chin up – to chat with Shehzad after every dot ball. When he kept wickets, he was hardly noticeable, a massive change from the usual.When he wanted to, he used the full stretch to defend against Imran Tahir’s googlies. And then he made Younis Khan run hard too. He made one mistake and paid the price with his wicket. But after giving Pakistan the start they had been lacking in previous matches, Sarfraz had more to contribute.As the team came out to field, Sarfraz’s presence behind the stumps would have set a certain calm among the bowlers. It also freed up Umar Akmal, inconsistent with gloves but an excellent all-round fielder, to be used elsewhere. With moisture in the air, the pace quartet found movement and zip off the pitch. That requires adjustments from wicketkeepers, so Pakistan were well served in that they had a specialist man. Moin-like, Sarfraz was, swooping low to his right as he pulled off a one-handed stunner to send back Hashim Amla and then taking a head-high catch when Steyn edged a bouncer.”I never doubted his abilities. We all knew how good he is,” Waqar said today, before hinting why he may have missed out till now. “He is a makeshift opener, but he did a superb job today.”Can’t ask for anything better if your regular wicketkeeper can play and bat as an opener too. But don’t forget, Umar Akmal has also done a superb job, he got five catches in the last game. So, I am happy with both. Both are doing a wonderful job. It’s the belief that matters the most and both of them have belief with the gloves on. “As Shehzad once again dabbed the pitch with his bat, keeping the bowler waiting during that opening stand, Sarfraz, at the non-striker’s end, wandered along facing the western stand, his head held high, maybe wondering “Am I really here?” but most probably thinking, “I was meant to be here.” Call it confidence, call it self-belief, call it the aggressive posturing, that intent at the start of the match had set the tone for Pakistan.

Royal Challengers Bangalore had two of their three big guns out cheaply but Mandeep Singh took charge of the innings to set up AB de Villiers late surge, part of five key moments from Wednesday’s IPL Eliminator in Pune

Amol Karhadkar in Pune 21-May-20153:12

Karhadkar: Royal Challengers found a second home in Pune

Living up to the billingThey had come to the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Gahunje to be enthralled by three batting geniuses. Chris Gayle, the smiling assassin, couldn’t get hold of a two-paced pitch. Neither did Virat Kohli. Once both openers were back in the dugout for hardly any entertainment quotient, the onus was on AB de Villiers to fire.But even the Protean was struggling to get going, more because of the conditions than due to the Rajasthan Royals bowling attack. At the end of the 14th over of the Royal Challengers Bangalore innings, de Villiers was stuttering on 17 off 21 balls. But the next 17 balls he faced saw 49 runs being scored, including three fours and four towering sixes, two each off Ankit Sharma’s left-arm spin and pacer Chris Morris. Incidentally, the two hits against Sharma started the de Villiers blitzkrieg in the 15th over and the ones against Morris were his last boundary hits before he was run out in the penultimate over while attempting an ambitious second.So much had de Villiers mesmerized the spectators that the crowd kept on chanting “A-B! A-B!” not only all through his innings but also during the Royal Challengers’ time in the field to every nook and corner the master batsman was stationed at.Mandy magicWith three of the all-time best T20 batsmen in the world struggling to cope with a greenish, two-paced wicket, Mandeep Singh seemed to be playing a different game. He took his time to get a sense of the wicket, playing five dot balls at the start but soon after he opened his account with an off-drive. Mandeep then targeted the best of the Royals’ bowlers, hitting Dhawal Kulkarni for four off his favourite pull shot and followed it up with a robust six over long-off.Mandeep continued his charge to outscore de Villers till the 16th over of the innings. Had it not been for Mandeep’s free-flowing 54-run knock, de Villiers wouldn’t have had a partner to stitch together a 113-run partnership which took Royal Challengers to safety after the early blows. Mandeep, who was brought in from Kings XI Punjab during the trading window ahead of the IPL auction, justified the faith shown in him by the Royal Challengers. Kings XI’s loss has undoubtedly been their gain.AB de Villiers may have top-scored for RCB but it was Mandeep Singh who helped drag the Royal Challengers innings out of the doldrums•BCCISupport StarcRoyal Challengers’ turnaround in the bowling unit is attributed to Mitchell Starc’s genius after his delayed arrival. While the Australia pacer deserves all the credit, the Royal Challengers’ Indian pacers don’t really get their due. On Wednesday, Starc was overshadowed in a way by the artistry of S Aravind and Harshal Patel.While Starc’s Australia teammate Shane Watson welcomed him with back-to-back boundaries in the opening over, Aravind forced Watson to chase a wide delivery and nick it to Dinesh Karthik behind the stumps in the next over. Patel, who was brought on in place of Starc after the opening over, bowled an excellent bouncer in his second over leaving Sanju Samson no option but to glove it to Karthik.Even David Wiese continued to play a part by getting rid of the danger man Steve Smith. While Starc came back well to finish off his spell with less than a run a ball, the day belonged more to the supporting cast than Royal Challengers’ main bowling protagonist.Yuzi, the go-to manEvery time Virat Kohli has required a wicket in the middle overs this season, he has thrown the ball to Yuzvendra Chahal. The leggie has delivered virtually on every occasion and Tuesday was no different.Royal Challengers were in firm control, with the asking rate rising well above two runs a ball. Still, they couldn’t heave a sigh of relief as long as Ajinkya Rahane remained at the crease. After he had bowled two economical overs, Kohli changed Chahal’s end. The leggie gave him the prize scalp in return, coercing Rahane into a mistimed slog, becoming the first spinner to join the 20-wicket club in IPL 2015.Royals’ only bright spotJust before Kulkarni ran in to bowl the last ball of the sixth over to Gayle, Kohli had indicated to the umpires that he would opt for the strategic time out at the end of the over. Kohli would have perhaps wanted to discuss a change of approach with Gayle, who was struggling to gauge the pace of the wicket. But Kulkarni had other plans. He bowled a perfect straight ball that scraped through Gayle’s charge and pegged his middle stump back.In his next over, Kulkarni accepted a return catch by Kohli, his former India Under-19 captain, to celebrate his selection in India’s ODI squad in style. A Royals victory would have been a perfect icing on the cake, but it wasn’t to be. Nevertheless, Kulkarni’s was the only heartening performance of the day for his team.

Starting this summer as he did the last – with runs at Lord’s – Joe Root once again hauled England out of trouble as part of an uplifting middle-order recovery

George Dobell at Lord's21-May-20151:54

Ben Stokes left wanting to swear about his dismissal

It was probably fitting that, as Alastair Cook walked off the Lord’s pitch, Joe Root should walk on. Root replaced him at the crease and surely, before long, will replace him as captain.Of all the decisions made by Andrew Strauss in recent days – the choice of captain, the sacking of a coach and the continued banishment of a player – it was perhaps the decision to appoint Root as vice-captain that had the greatest ramifications in the long-term.Strauss wants to build a new England. An England that not only wins games, but wins over the hearts and minds of a public that has, to some extent, become disenchanted with a national side that has been steeped in controversy and cynicism. It is no coincidence that a recently leaked ECB discussion document detailed plans to change the name of the board to England Cricket in recognition that the brand was tainted beyond redemption in the eyes of many cricket supporters.That is part of the reason Peter Moores was sacked. It was, as much to do with any perceived tactical shortcomings, simply the fact that he was tainted by the past. Some judges seemed to have made their mind up about him before he started his second reign as coach and, eventually, Strauss decided the public could not be won over with what might be uncharitably described as a toxic brand.Leading the revival is Root. It is not just the runs he is scoring – 1,233 at an average of 94.84 in 11 Tests since June last year – but the situation in which he makes them and the style in which they are scored. He is not just fresh faced, he is a fresh canvas. He gives England Cricket a chance to start again.Not so long ago, an England team finding themselves at 30 for 4 might have battened down the hatches and clawed themselves through the remainder of the day. Think Trevor Bailey or even Paul Collingwood.Not any more. Despite the loss of early wickets and New Zealand’s impressive trio of seamers nipping the ball around, England scored at the best part of four an over from that point on. Encouraged to play their natural, positive games – and it should be emphasised that Moores was the instigator of such a policy – Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali all scored freely in not only fighting back but providing an entertaining day’s cricket. It might not be typically English, but it sure is enjoyable.Root is the natural leader of the new-look side. He is untainted by the past, untainted by the Kevin Pietersen affair, untainted by the elitism that poured from the ECB when they spoke of those “outside cricket” and the “sort of people” who should be captain of England. He gives England a fresh chance to engage with a public who may well have made up their minds about more familiar faces.That does not mean Cook’s days are over just yet. As an opening batsman, he has enjoyed a return to form over the last few months – despite his failure here, he has still passed 50 six times in his last 11 innings – and, under him, Root will have the chance to grow into the leadership role. But it would be no surprise if Root was captain of a side containing Cook by the time England play Pakistan in the UAE this autumn.That sounds harsh on Cook but he may lack the weapons to win over a jaded public. He will never be a great orator and, though he may yet be remembered as a great batsman, the clip off the hips and the squirt to third man are not shots to win hearts. You can, at his best, rely on Cook’s batting. It’s hard to fall in love with it.It is not a perfect time to promote Root. He has captained in only a handful of matches, he is only 24 and there is a danger that the captaincy will create a burden that compromises his effectiveness as a batsman.But he is batting like a leader. He is, in Pallekele, Grenada or at Lord’s, taking responsibility for the team in a manner that suggests he welcomes the responsibility. Over the last 12 months he has been deeply impressive and, the manner in which he expressed unstinting support for Moores when he was presented with England’s player of the year award on Monday, also demonstrated a certain moral courage that will not have gone unappreciated. Even by those who sacked Moores.Besides, these are decisions that are no longer made entirely on a cricketing basis. They are made, in part, with a view towards regaining the faith of sponsors and spectators. And if that sounds cynical, it is worth recording that, after news of Moores’ sacking and Strauss’ appointment broke, Strauss and Tom Harrison, the new ECB chief executive, spent the evening phoning sponsors and inviting them to ask any question they liked. That has not happened before.There is something pleasing and exciting developing within the England middle-order at present. But just as products sometimes require rebranding, so might this team. Root is walking in; Cook is walking off.

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jul-2015Tillakaratne Dilshan provided the ideal foil for Kusal, getting to his own half-century, and then reached a memorable landmark•AFPESPNcricinfo LtdThe pair added 164 before Dilshan was run out for 62. Kusal kicked on to his second ODI century, though, before he too was run out for 116•AFPRahat Ali was the only bowler to pick up any wickets, but his figures werent too flattering – 2 for 74•AFPMilinda Siriwardana smashed his first half-century in just 25 balls, including four fours and three sixes•AFPThen an Angelo Mathews fifty sparked a late blitz as 119 runs were smashed in the last 10 overs and Sri Lanka finished with 368 for 4•AFPAzhar Ali was part of a 51-run partnership for the first wicket to kick the chase off•AFPBut his partner Ahmed Shehzad was stumped for 18 in the 10th over•AFPMohammad Hafeez, who was later named Man of the Series, helped Pakistan keep pace with a steep required rate…•AFP… but once he fell, the middle order crumbled. Pakistan went from 121 for 3 to 178 for 7•AFPSachithra Senanayake, playing his first game of the series, took 3 for 39 to seal a 165-run victory for Sri Lanka. But Pakistan took the series 3-2 and will make the Champions Trophy cut, provided there is no more one-day cricket until September 30•AFP

M Vijay opens up about surfing, his unimpressive record in ODIs and the chance to improve on that, and about learning to express himself more freely

Nagraj Gollapudi29-Jun-2015How big is this selection for you?
It is a happy feeling to make a comeback to ODIs. I have been batting well in Tests, so I just have to grab the opportunity that has come my way. As a player I was expecting the call-up. I was the third opener for four series, including the 2013 Champions Trophy, but could not get a game.So this Zimbabwe series is a good opportunity to cement the role as the third opener?
I have always believed in myself. It is not about competing with anybody. I always compete with myself and I look to improve as far as I can. It is not that I am going to play as a third opener and be happy. I will never be happy. I have always wanted to be the leading batsman for Indian cricket.Is there an element of doubt, considering you have not played ODIs since the 2013 summer?
Never. I have been working on my game, on my basics. I have been waiting for the opportunity without rushing myself. Before, when I got the opportunities, they were stop-start. Now that I have got another opportunity, I just am happy and excited to go and express myself on the field.In terms of numbers, you don’t have a half-century in ODIs. Does that matter considering the form you are in at the moment?
I am not a guy who will give excuses, but you have got to consider the number of matches I have played on the trot. That matters a lot as a batsman. It is not an excuse. I never got a string of ODIs or series. I had to adapt to that in the past.”I am not a guy who will give excuses, but you have got to consider the number of ODI matches I have played on the trot. When I got opportunities, they were stop-start”•Associated PressRecently, you said you have had to curb your instincts in Test cricket. But now in ODIs, you might be able to play with more freedom…
See, I am expressing myself. Considering the format of the game (Tests), all I said was that I was curbing my instincts in order to be more consistent rather than proving a point to the opponent. I never meant I did not play my game. I still play my game. I had a game plan and I did not drift away from it. I just played according to the situation in the Tests and so far, it has come out well for both the team and me personally. If I get an opportunity to go and hit from ball one, I would do it if I were in that zone. It is not that I’m curbing my instincts. But you have to consider the situation and play accordingly.From the success that you have enjoyed in the last two years, what are the things that will help you in ODI cricket?
The mental discipline. The game is not going to change that much. It is just the way I apply myself in different formats and according to the situation, I have to up the ante. With the new playing conditions from this series, I will have to adapt according to the ground situation, the opposition game plan, and accordingly cash in.One advantage you can take from your Test game is you can see off the new ball with more confidence …
I never see myself as seeing off a new ball. I always have the intent to play the ball. If the ball is not to be played, I leave it. It is not that I go in to bat with the intention that I have to leave these many balls. It is just that I want to play little more compact to have the upper hand against the bowler. That is my thinking. There are two ways to look at it: either you go aggressive or you go defensive. But all I want to do is give myself more confidence by countering an attack in a good spell in a proper way, and then I can cash in. So I am always thinking of attacking in my mind.One of your coaches recommends it would be helpful if you could express yourself in ODIs fearlessly?
As a batsman, I definitely look to do it every time I walk in to bat. All I want to do each time I bat is help my team win the match by making useful contributions depending on the scenario. If you play your game, you are fearless. That is a better way to put it than saying – play fearlessly. It is about the freedom and to get that freedom, you have to cement your spot. It is not that I have not done well before. In the past, I got thirties, but they hurt me and were responsible for my exit from ODIs.”It is not that I’m curbing my instincts, but you have to consider the situation and play accordingly”•AFPHow would you describe your performance this IPL?
It was bad.You were a top-10 batsman when Chennai Super Kings won the IPL in 2010 and 2011. You also have a couple of centuries in the IPL. What is that you have learned in Twenty20 cricket that can help your batting in ODIs?
It is an entirely different format. A lot of batsmen are opening up a little earlier because of the confidence they have got playing in the Twenty20 format. But 50-over cricket is a very tricky game. Especially under pressure, sometimes you have to consolidate, sometimes you have to be aggressive, and it also depends on whether you are setting or chasing a target.Some people are surprised the selectors have picked a senior player like you who is 31 years old. Are they really looking to the future?
All I have got to say is if my fitness is not that good and I am not moving like a youngster then I can understand their point. But if that was the case then Huss [Michael Hussey] should not have played till 39 and he won the match for CSK in the IPL semi-finals [play-off]. I like to look at such examples that inspire me. Everybody is going to get old, but how fit you are and how consistent you are matter more to me.You must know what the challenge now is for you in one-day cricket?
For me the challenge is if I get a start, I obviously want to make it big. It is not that I have been a flop in ODIs. I just did not convert those starts into big hundreds. That was hurting me more. In fact, the same was the case in Test cricket when I got a lot of thirties initially. It takes time for you to understand it. I am in the right phase at the moment. I am not looking back and saying it was a very bad experience. No. Because that gave me a lot of learning across all the formats of the game.What have you been doing after returning from Bangladesh other than training?
I have found a new love for surfing. I have had a good time doing that because it is fun. I have learned a few more tricks.What are the new tricks?
Ride the wave and don’t fall.