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The win helps Royal Challengers Bangalore consolidate fourth position on the points table

Deivarayan Muthu08-May-20223:38

Vettori: Malik must study batters like they might study him

Virat Kohli bagged his third golden duck this IPL, but strong hands from Faf du Plessis, Rajat Patidar and Dinesh Karthik propelled Royal Challengers Bangalore to 192 for 3. In reply, Sunrisers Hyderabad lost both their openers, Kane Williamson and Abhishek Sharma, for ducks and eventually careened to their fourth successive defeat after having won five in a row.It was Patidar, promoted to No. 3, who began the repair job before du Plessis cranked up the tempo during their 105-run partnership off 73 balls. Karthik then shellacked 30 off a mere eight balls, including a sequence of 6, 6, 6, 4 off the last four balls, to give the innings a rousing finish.The momentum seamlessly shifted towards Royal Challengers in the middle and end overs as a depleted Sunrisers attack, which was missing T Natarajan and Washington Sundar, was left scrambling for an extra option. Umran Malik bowled only two overs for 25, with Abhishek pitching in for the other two.Rahul Tripathi battled with a 37-ball 58 but the regular fall of wickets at the other end and the rapidly rising asking rate was too much to overcome. Legspinner Wanindu Hasaranga benefited from that scoreboard pressure and came away with 5 for 18 to seal a net-run-rate boosting victory for Royal Challengers.Patidar, du Plessis step up after Kohli wicket
The first ball of the match, from J Suchith, was just short of a leg-stump half-volley and Kohli simply chipped it into the hands of Williamson at short midwicket. Just like that, Williamson snuck in a two-run first over from the left-arm fingerspinner.Rajat Patidar and Faf du Plessis took care of the powerplay after Virat Kohli’s early fall•BCCI

Royal Challengers’ response was to bump up Patidar. After quietly knocking the ball into the gaps, he made everyone sit up and take notice when he swatted a Bhuvneshwar Kumar legcutter off the front foot over wide long-on for six in the fourth over. Patidar was responsible for 23 of the 47 runs Royal Challengers put together in the powerplay.Malik has been Sunrisers’ enforcer in the middle overs, but du Plessis tucked into him in his first over, hitting him for two fours and six off successive deliveries. The second four could’ve instead been a wicket had Tripathi held on to a fairly tough chance at midwicket.du Plessis also took a liking to the extra pace of Kartik Tyagi and raised a 34-ball half-century after being on 9 off 13 balls at one stage. The first two overs of Mailk and Tyagi produced a combined 37 runs. Patidar fell two short of his fifty when he dragged Suchith straight to deep midwicket.Maxwell, Karthik play sparkling cameos
Glenn Maxwell announced himself with a switch-hit six second ball, off Suchith, and then belted Malik through the covers for four. When Bhuvneshwar marginally missed his yorker, Maxwell got underneath the length and walloped him for six. When Tyagi put one on a similar length, Maxwell swung for the hills, but this time he picked out Aiden Markram in the outfield.Karthik came to the crease in the 19th over, and the options Sunrisers had for the last over were Malik and Fazalhaq Farooqi, the Afghanistan left-arm seamer who was playing his first IPL game.Wanindu Hasaranga struck with his second ball when he sent back Aiden Markram•BCCI

Williamson sided with Farooqi but under pressure, he ditched the slower balls for the on-pace deliveries, which were right up Karthik’s alley. Farooqi could’ve cut short Karthik’s knock at 8 had Tripathi held on to a more straightforward chance at deep midwicket. However, Tripathi let the ball burst through his hands and land on the boundary cushions. Karthik pounded two more sixes and a four on the next three balls to ensure Royal Challengers got an above-par total.The start
Sunrisers had a terrible start to their chase, losing both Williamson and Abhishek for ducks. While Williamson was run out without facing a ball, Abhishek was castled by a slider from Maxwell. The double blow left Sunrisers at 1 for 2 in the first over. Markram struggled to 17 off 19 balls in the powerplay, which brought 39 for Sunrisers overall.The endgame

Tripathi showed his range by helping Josh Hazlewood over short fine leg for four, scoop-sweeping Shahbaz Ahmed for another four in the same region and launching Mohammed Siraj over extra-cover for six. However, Hasaranga picked off one batter after another at the other end to offset Tripathi’s blows.When Tripathi fell to Hazlewood in the 16th over, Sunrisers needed 79 off 26 balls. They were bundled out for 125 with four balls unused in their innings.

In an uncanny reminder of 2019 semi-final defeat at Edgbaston, Notts fritter away another sure thing

David Hopps09-Jun-2021Nottinghamshire, the T20 Blast holders, lost their captain and inspiration, Dan Christian, on the eve of the tournament to an Australian white-ball training squad so large it could apply for city status, and for a flickering moment at New Road last night they will also have wondered if they have lost their mojo.In an uncanny reminder of their 2019 semi-final defeat at Edgbaston, in which Worcestershire fought back to triumph by one run, they frittered away another sure thing, this time at least escaping with a tie when Peter Trego was run out by Ed Barnard, who was in from the rope to save two at long-on and whose flat throw was accurate enough for wicketkeeper Ben Cox to complete the job.Steven Mullaney, a Championship captain charged at the last minute with taking up the reins in the Blast, was aghast that Notts failed to secure an opening-night win. Worcestershire’s 152 for 6 was 20 runs short in the estimation of their captain, Moeen Ali, and Notts’ pursuit could hardly have begun in more daunting fashion as Joe Clarke and Alex Hales raised 76 in the Powerplay.With half the runs bagged, the game was theirs, but Worcestershire have a habit of rescuing games from unpromising situations and they scrapped on a slow surface. Five were needed from Josh Tongue’s last over. Tongue’s trusty right boot ran out Luke Fletcher as he failed to steal a leg bye and Trego did not get back on strike until the final ball.Related

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Mullaney at least had a tie but talked about it as if it was a loss: “It’s a game we should never have lost after the Powerplay,” he said. “We lost wickets at key times with some decisions and poor executions.”One of the most damning was the loss of Samit Patel, who is one of only a handful of players to have played in all 18 seasons of the Blast. In boxing parlance, he looked as if he had gone up a weight and his sluggish attempt to run two after he had driven Brett D’Oliveira through Moeen’s hands at short extra was beaten by Charlie Morris’ throw. Moeen had earlier accounted for Ben Duckett, hit on the back pad by one that turned, and Tom Moores, who was was well caught by Ross Whiteley, diving forward, at deep midwicket.Notts had cramped up after some serious muscle flexing in the Powerplay. Ben Dwarshius was the leading wicket-taker for Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash but his first two overs went for 15 during an undistinguished debut. Tongue’s first over bled 23, plus a couple of leg byes. There were seven sixes, none better than the two Clarke produced in the space of three balls against Tongue as he touched speeds just below 90mph/145kph – an elegant front foot pull, and a cheeky ramp shot after he had survived an lbw appeal.Hales’ most notable moment was a stunningly timed straight six against Tongue when he did little more than hold a defensive pose. Shunned by England, but as dangerous as ever, he played with grim and resolute expression, looking every inch like Johnny Ringo in Tombstone. The last over of the Powerplay did for him as he pulled Morris to long on.Joe Clarke set Nottinghamshire on their way•PA Photos/Getty Images

Worcestershire were held together by a batsman Nottinghamshire knew only so well. Jake Libby is better known as one of county cricket’s tenacious openers, and he got only limited white-ball opportunities during his years at Trent Bridge, but he has had a chance to expand his role with Worcestershire. With a Championship record of 776 runs at 64.66, his form was not in question, but his ability to score at a match-winning rate still is.Libby’s 52 not out from 43 balls was far from explosive, but it was a sticky pitch, and it arose from a troubled start of 26 for 3 in four overs. He survived a return catch to Mullaney, worked hard for the gaps, and only had the release of three boundaries; two of those came from a thick edge and a misfield.Worcestershire’s tinkering with the order did not pay off. Matt Carter deceived Brett D’Oliveira, who is being tried out as an opener, with a short ball that beat his advance down the wicket on his leg side and had him stumped by yards. Moeen also failed in a foray down the pitch and was bowled leg stump by one that turned through the gate. Add Riki Wessels’ run out, beaten by a direct hit from deepish mid off by Mullaney and Nottinghamshire’s authority was soon established.After Cox had been picked off by Mullaney’s return catch, Libby found support from Whiteley in a stand of 78 from 57 balls. Notts’ bowlers settled into the season. Fletcher ran through his repertoire of slower balls, although he will hope to gain more control as the season goes on; and Calvin Harrison, a legspinner signed this week on a three-month contract, and with previous experience at Hampshire, also settled into his season.Notts took pace off the ball like the old pros they are. Moeen gambled on reserving his slower bowlers until deep into Notts’ reply and limited Barnard to a single over. It paid off, although nobody was entirely sure how or why.

After playing awkwardly with the pink ball on day one, India Red, emboldened by centuries from Abhinav Mukund and Sudip Chatterjee, made purposeful strides in their second dig, and extended a 10-run first-innings lead to 354 runs by close of play

Arun Venugopal24-Aug-2016
ScorecardAbhinav Mukund followed up a fifty on the opening day with an unbeaten 162 in India Red’s second innings•PTI

After playing awkwardly with the pink ball on day one, India Red, emboldened by centuries from Abhinav Mukund and Sudip Chatterjee, made purposeful strides in their second dig, and extended a 10-run first-innings lead to 354 runs by close of play. Thanks to Nathu Singh’s six-for, India Red needed only a little more than 10 overs to bowl out India Green in the afternoon, before going to stumps on 344 for 3. The centerpiece of their second innings was the 240-run alliance between Abhinav and Chatterjee.

Abhinav Mukund on…

His innings: It’s been a long time since I scored such a big hundred, so I put my mind to it. I haven’t batted under lights so I was a bit more focused and I wanted to concentrate – I had worked a lot on my fitness – and I wanted to prove that. I have been on the field through both the days so definitely towards the end I was tiring a bit, but I wanted to push [myself] mentally and carry on.
Batting with Sudip Chatterjee: I have played with him for Vijay CC, so we have batted together before. We knew things would get easier if we gritted it out initially. I just told him to hang on because it takes a bit of time to get set with the new ball.
Behaviour of the pink ball: I think the ball came on to the bat much better in the evening session. There was a little bit of seam movement initially with the new ball, and it’s starting to turn a little bit. It is also skidding on a little bit so it is slightly harder to play the spinners. Shreyas Gopal was giving it a good rip. I think it (the pitch) is dry underneath, that is why it’s turning.

With Abhinav still at the crease, unbeaten on 162, and with recognised batsmen to follow, India Green’s bowlers and fielders might have to work overtime. In any event, the side’s misery was to a certain extent self-inflicted with some slipshod fielding – they dropped four catches – and profligate bowling.The narrative on day two was nothing like the first day: 379 runs were scored for the loss of six wickets, as opposed to 277 for 17 on Tuesday; bowlers 1- batsmen 1. Two factors, though, remained constant. First, the pink ball itself has not had a disproportionately heavy bearing on either outcome. The second factor was Abhinav.His effort was remarkable as much for its longevity – he batted for more than five hours – as its unhurried rhythm. There was no dulling of tempo, however, as his strike-rate constantly remained upwards of 75. While Abhinav might want to offer a quiet ‘thank you’ to India Green captain Suresh Raina, who dropped him on 66 and 92, the reprieves seemed little more than an incentive for his positive, risk-free approach.If Abhinav’s 22nd first-class hundred was the well-rehearsed jig of an accomplished dancer, Chatterjee’s was a laboured effort enhanced by improvisations. After having made only 5 in the first innings, Chatterjee took 18 balls to score his first run, but the longer he stayed the more irritated India Green’s bowlers became. By the time he scored his sixth first-class hundred, Chatterjee’s strike-rate had crossed 60. Chatterjee’s first false stroke in a long period – an ill-timed sweep – eventually saw him trapped lbw to Shreyas Gopal, but Abhinav, and later Gurkeerat Singh, ensured the show went on.India Red entered the afternoon needing three wickets to bowl out their opponents, and despite Saurabh Tiwary’s fifty and a rain interruption, Nathu made light work of the tail. When the second session began, it was, at least in parts, a re-run of the first afternoon’s play: Abhinav alternated between leaving and driving the ball with equal assurance, Ashok Dinda leap-charged his way to banging the ball on the shorter side of full length, and Sandeep Sharma did the un-Dinda thing by pitching the ball up to bring swing into play. The most conspicuous change from the first innings was the approach of the India Red batsmen. Sample this: Dinda went for Srikar Bharat’s throat, like on Tuesday, and Bharat responded with a pull – this time he was on top of the ball rather than the other way around – in front of square for six.Pink ball or not, Abhinav was not going to deviate from a formula fare. He left anything on a length around the off stump, especially with the new ball, while driving, punching and upper-cutting – his release shot in the first innings – errant deliveries. He made matters worse by pinching sharp singles to further throw India Green off gear. The most abiding visual of Chatterjee’s innings was his well stretched-out forward defence, but sneakily he worked his way towards a bigger score. As he grew in confidence, the cuts and the drives became a more regular occurrence.India Green’s fielding, particularly that of Ankit Rajpoot, was a throwback to the Indian fast bowler of the 1990s. While he offered a cheeky boot to halt cover drives, he was let balls slip through, or reacted late to a catch – one such somnolent attempt let Chatterjee off the hook when he was on 74.Raina himself appeared lost, and was intermittently off the field, leaving Parthiv Patel in charge. The wickets of Chatterjee and Yuvraj Singh late in the day offered India Green a sudden shot of enthusiasm, which they will need to build on over the next two days.

Mullaney’s century keeps Nottinghamshire ahead of Essex before dire Saturday weather forecast

David Hopps07-May-2021When Alastair Cook finally retires for good, and let’s hope in county cricket it will be a good while yet, he might well look upon Trent Bridge without too many pangs of regret.Cook only managed three half-centuries for England on this ground in 24 attempts, although he might find consolation that his only Test half-century came against Australia in 2013 in a thrilling Ashes encounter which fell to England by only 14 runs. Memory jog: Ian Bell’s sumptuous century, Jimmy Anderson’s 10-wicket match and, after a last-wicket partnership of 65, Brad Haddin given out after the thinnest of inside edges. Cue pandemonium.His record against Nottinghamshire, not a long list because of his international success, is nevertheless even less rewarding: he has never passed 50. In farming terms, which is how much of his life now plays out, every time he comes to Nottingham he must feel as forlorn as Tess of the d’Urbervilles, hacking at swedes at Flintcomb Ash.Cook has made 3 and 35 for Essex here, bowled by his old mucker, Stuart Broad in the first innings, and lbw to Lyndon James second time around. It looked plumb, although did he hint at the possibility that there might have been the slightest inside edge?If he was aggrieved then a brief cross-legged pause at the crease, followed by the tiniest glance at his bat, was a response of the utmost decorum. It was not about to bring demands for him to relinquish his knighthood in disgrace. There again, Sir Alastair, no need to worry about that, nobody resigns for anything these days.Two days into this match, Nottinghamshire are well enough ahead to be able to survive a potential third-day washout before pushing for victory on the final day that is forecast to be dry but cloudy. Essex followed up their 99 all out in the first innings with a painstaking 129 for 3 from 59 overs, and clearly have draw points on their mind, but they still trail by 95. Notts need a good Sunday morning.Steven Mullaney’s 117 was the ballast behind Notts’ first-innings lead of 224, and he passed 8,000 first-class runs in the process. All that he said could not be faulted: “I thought we bowled really well. The scoreboard’s not really gone anywhere. After two days we couldn’t hope to be in a better position against arguably the best side in the country.”After three days, though, their advantage won’t feel quite as good. The forecast looks terminal around the country, and local clubs would be wondering whether to skip pitch preparation even as they fielded premature drop-outs from players who suddenly realised they had to be in all day for a vital delivery from Amazon.Nottinghamshire captain Steven Mullaney made a century•Getty Images

Mullaney’s century had two moods. He had feasted on some ordinary Essex bowling in reaching 63 overnight, but the loss of James and Tom Moores to Shane Snater in successive balls persuaded him that he must adopt a more watchful approach. He did just that against the seamers, although he had a couple of risky moments against Simon Harmer, not least the shot that brough up his hundred, an under-edged slog sweep which whistled to long leg. He fell to a good nip-backer from Siddle which so impressed him he depicted its course to the bowler like a budding artist before departing.Snater, a Zimbabwe-born Netherlands seamer, took a career-best 7 for 98 in only his sixth first-class appearance, as he removed James and Tom Moores in successive balls before adding two late wickets. His fast-medium possessed impressive energy and he has been the best Essex pace bowler on show.But Mullaney, who offered a difficult chance to gully before adding to his overnight 63, completed a stand of 123 with James, a home-produced allrounder of promise, and 66 with Broad, who Leicestershire supporters will forever insist is not homegrown, even though he was born in Nottingham, and whose 41 from 42 balls was a recognisable stand-and-deliver affair which climaxed with a step-away six over midwicket against Snater and an emphatic pull in the same direction against the veteran Australian Siddle in the following over; Siddle was collared so easily he must have felt his age. It’s 36.Nottinghamshire had to labour for their wickets in Essex’s second innings, with Luke Fletcher bowling well enough without reward, after his first-innings 6 for 24, to reflect that fortune had soon deserted him. The removal of Tom Westley (who might have left it) and Dan Lawrence (who played down the wrong line) left Notts in the ascendancy but Nick Browne, who has played solidly throughout, found an ally in Paul Walter as Essex batted out the last 24 overs, pining for rain.

The left-arm spinner dismissed Ishan Porel off the last ball of the match to ensure that the fifth ODI between England Under-19s and India Under-19s ended in a thrilling tie

The Report by Nikhil Kalro in Mumbai08-Feb-2017
ScorecardFile photo – Delray Rawlins fell for a sluggish 17•PTI

A see-saw contest, in which ball dominated bat, came down to the final ball. India Under-19s required one run with one wicket in hand. With the field in, left-arm spinner Liam Patterson-White tossed the last ball up and No. 10 Ishan Porel chipped a catch to short cover, resulting in a thrilling tie at the Wankhede Stadium to end the five-match series.With six required off the last over, No. 11 Heramb Parab played out two dot balls, then scythed a boundary in front of point. A dot ball and a single to deep midwicket off the next two deliveries meant India couldn’t lose.In a game of fine margins, the difference may have been the one run that Porel didn’t complete when turning for a second leg-bye in the penultimate over. Henry Brookes produced figures of 3 for 30 in a disciplined spell of fast bowling.Defending 226, England’s seamers learnt from their mistakes in the previous game. On a green surface, they resisted bowling short, choosing a good length or a fuller length instead. With some lateral movement and bounce on offer, they extracted enough to trouble India’s top order, repeatedly beating batsmen on the outside edge.Priyam Garg popped a catch to short midwicket in the first over, closing his bat face too early. Abhishek Sharma was caught at slip, driving loosely away from his body. In the 12th over, Manjot Kalra slapped a drive to cover, off Arthur Godsal, where Tom Banton took a sharp reverse-cupped catch. In his next over, Godsal had Mayank Rawat caught down the leg side, gloving a pull. India were reduced to 54 for 4 at this stage.S Radhakrishnan, one of nine inclusions for India, was loose outside the off stump early. He gradually gained fluency as his innings progressed, though. He struck a few well-timed drives and was strong on the pull. When on 65, Radhakrishnan chipped a catch to deep midwicket off Delray Rawlins. India slumped to 137 for 7, and it seemed like the game was out of reach. “I felt like the game had gone,” India U-19 coach Rahul Dravid said after the match.Ayush Jamwal and Yash Thakur then combined to add 65 for the eighth wicket to accentuate England’s frustration, taking India close enough to the target. After Jamwal was caught at fine leg, India still needed 25 off 20 balls. Delray Rawlins, Arthur Godsal and Jack Blatherwick picked up two wickets each.After being inserted, England’s top order failed to capitalise on starts, much like the rest of the series. Harry Brook (14), Tom Banton (16) and Rawlins (17) were all dismissed by India’s seamers as England crawled to 64 for 3 in the 17th over.Again, the rebuilding work was left to George Bartlett and Ollie Pope. While Pope was more circumspect against a decent attack, Bartlett repeatedly found the boundary off the seamers.All five wickets taken by India’s spinners were a result of England’s batsmen playing for turn that wasn’t there. Bartlett hit two sixes during his 47 before he missed a straight one from left-arm spinner Shiva Singh. Stand-in captain Max Holden was caught at slip, playing inside the line of a delivery from Jamwal.Will Jacks, who struck 28 off 34 balls with two fours and a huge six over midwicket, missed a non-turning offbreak from Mayank Rawat, and was stumped. Pope was bowled attempting to cut a slider and Liam Patterson-White was pinned in front after missing a sweep. At that stage, England had been reduced to 187 for 8 after 43 overs.However, some handy lower-order cameos propped up England towards the end. Godsal, who hit an unbeaten 19, should have been run-out at the striker’s end, attempting to complete a second run but a fielder had blocked the umpire’s view trying to back up the throw.

Gayle chipped in with a 45-ball 51 as well as Sylhet were shut out of the BPL playoff race

Mohammad Isam08-Feb-2022How the match played outFortune Barishal ended Sylhet Sunrisers’ hopes of a place in the BPL playoffs, beating them by 12 runs. After putting together a formidable 199 for 4 batting first, Barishal waited out Colin Ingram’s 49-ball 90 before closing out the game with tight overs in the second half of the chase.Shakib Al Hasan once again turned in an all-round performance, but this time it was his 2 for 23 from four overs that made more of a difference. His fourth over going for three runs helped Barishal turn the corner, before part-timer Najmul Hossain Shanto removed the well-set Ingram and Mizanur Rahman off consecutive balls to put the pressure back on Sylhet.The win solidified Barishal’s position on top of the table with 13 points from nine games. Sylhet remain rooted at the bottom after their sixth defeat in eight outings.Big hitBarishal’s batters combined to hit 14 sixes, the most in an innings in this season’s BPL. Munim Shahriar started the big-hitting by taking 17 runs off Sohag Gazi in the first over. He struck three sixes and six fours, reaching his maiden BPL fifty off just 26 balls.Shakib continued the run-spree with his 19-ball 38, hitting four sixes over midwicket, backward square leg and wide long-off. All this time, Gayle bided his time at the other end, playing a supporting role. He struck his first six in the 16th over, and although he went on to score a fifty, it was Dwayne Bravo towards the end who did actual damage. Bravo struck four sixes, one sliced off Shiraz Ahmed, and the others conventional over long-off and wide long-on.The left-handed Ingram gave Sylhet a brilliant start by hitting ten fours in the powerplay overs, the most by any batter this season. Six of those fours were off the usually economical Mujeeb Ur Rahman.Ingram reached his second BPL fifty in no time, as he crashed Mehedi Hasan Rana for 21 runs in the 10th over. He struck four boundaries, all along the carpet on the offside, bringing down the required run-rate below ten for the first and only time, in the chase.But a combination of Shakib, Bravo, Ziaur Rahman and Shanto made all the difference for Barishal.Big missSylhet leaked a lot of runs, mainly due to left-arm quick Shiraz who had an outing to forget. He conceded 56 runs in four wicketless overs. The Barishal batters took a liking to his pace, it seemed, hitting him for five sixes and three fours. It is the worst bowling figures in the BPL this season, beating Taskin Ahmed’s 1 for 53 from four overs. In his second game for Sylhet, Shiraz remains without a wicket in the tournament.Mujeeb also had an off-day, giving away 40 runs in four wicketless overs. It was rare to see the mystery bowler go for so many, with Ingram hitting him for six fours in the powerplay. Some of the fours were streaky, but Mujeeb was certainly knocked off his length by the left-hander.

Recap how the second day of the final in Brisbane unfolded

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Apr-2021Welcome to our live report for the opening day of the Sheffield Shield final between Queensland and defending champions New South Wales at Allan Border Field in Brisbane. Join us for updates throughout the day.*Most recent entry will appear at the top, please refresh your page for the latest updates. All times are local.

4.30pm: Full house

They had to shut the gates on the second day as the ground reached its Covid-19 limit. Great to see.Getty Images