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Ranji Trophy 5th round: Shaw's 379, Punjab's Bazball, Shorey's golden run

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Mukesh Kumar’s match haul of seven wickets helped Bengal script a win despite conceding a first-innings lead

Ashish Pant14-Jan-2023Prithvi Shaw’s record-breaking 379 against Assam hogged the headlines in the fifth round of the Ranji Trophy. Also making news were Bengal’s win against Baroda after conceding a first-innings lead, Punjab’s own version of Bazball and Delhi’s Nos. 10 and 11 putting up a rescue act.

Mukesh scripts Bengal’s come-from-behind win

Mukesh Kumar’s match-haul of 7 for 99 backed up by unbeaten half-centuries from Sudip Kumar Gharami and captain Manoj Tiwary in the fourth innings led Bengal to a seven-wicket win over Baroda. Bengal had conceded a 78-run lead after being bowled out for 191 in reply to Baroda’s 269. However, the pace duo of Mukesh and Ishan Porel helped their side stage a terrific comeback shooting Baroda out for 98 in the second innings. The two seamers picked up the first seven of the Baroda wickets and had them reeling at 39 for 7. Opener Pratyush Kumar fought back with an unbeaten 62 but ran out of partners. Bengal were then 53 for 3 in pursuit of 177, but Gharami (76*) and Tiwary (60*) saw them home on the final day. The win saw Bengal move to the top of the Group A standings.Related

  • 'It feels really nice' – Prithvi Shaw after cracking 383-ball 379

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Prithvi Shaw’s record triple helps Mumbai inflict innings defeat on Assam

Shaw amassed the second-highest Ranji Trophy score of all time, and the highest for a Mumbai batter with his 379 off 383 balls. His knock helped Mumbai knock over Assam by an innings and 128 runs in a Group B affair. Batting first, Mumbai declared on 687 for 4, with captain Ajinkya Rahane also contributing with 191. In reply, Shams Mulani’s four-wicket haul restricted Assam to 370. They were asked to follow-on and were rolled over for 189 with Shardul Thakur leading the way with a three-for. The win kept Mumbai second on the Group B points table, three points behind Saurashtra.

Hyderabad’s season goes from bad to worse

In another abject show from Hyderabad, they were blown away by an innings and 57 runs by Saurashtra in under two days in a Group B encounter in Hyderabad. Jaydev Unadkat and Dharmendrasinh Jadeja picked up three wickets apiece in the first innings to bundle the hosts for 79 after Hyderabad elected to bat. In reply, Saurashtra racked up 327 in 68.3 overs to take a 248-run lead despite a seven-wicket haul from left-arm spinner Anikethreddy. Hyderabad put a marginally better show in their second innings but still fell short and were bowled out for 191, with Jadeja picking four wickets and Unadkat three. The entire match lasted just 146 overs.This is Hyderabad’s fourth straight loss in the Ranji Trophy this season. So far they have a solitary point after five games, and are languishing at the bottom of Group B and are in danger of being relegated to the Plate group.

Dhruv Shorey’s golden run and Delhi’s rescue act

Even though more than 90 overs were lost due to bad light in the game, Delhi and Andhra jostled for first-innings points going into the final day. It turned out to be an eventful one which saw an unbeaten last-wicket stand of 65 between Delhi’s Nos.10 and 11, Harshit Rana and Divij Mehra, helping them earn three points compared to Andhra’s one.Himmat Singh’s maiden first-class century helped Delhi get three points•PTI

Batting first at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, five half-centuries helped Andhra declare on 459 for 9. In reply, Dhruv Shorey (185) carried on his excellent form recording his third 150-plus score of the season. He was backed up well by Himmat Singh, who scored his maiden first-class century, but it seemed they were going to fall short of Andhra’s total when Himmat was run-out for 104, and Delhi were 423 for 9, still 36 adrift. But Rana and Mehra stepped up to help their side get the lead, and provide some hope in a campaign that has been in turmoil both on and off the field. They are now seventh on the Group B table, just above Hyderabad.

Punjab gun down 205 in 24.5 overs

A game that seemed to be heading towards a draw was brought to life by a stunning onslaught from opener Abhishek Sharma, whose 47-ball 83 helped Punjab chase down 205 at 8.45 per over against Jammu and Kashmir late on the last day of the Group D game in Mohali. Baltej Singh picked up a match haul of 10 for 92 with two five-fors as Punjab had about 38 overs for the chase. With light also being an issue, draw would have been the likely outcome, but Punjab’s batters brought about their own version of Bazball to stun J&K. Abhishek smashed nine fours and four sixes and by the time he fell, Punjab had raced to 133 for 3 in 16 overs. While Abid Mushtaq did pick four wickets, he wasn’t able to stem the run flow and captain Mandeep Singh’s unbeaten 45 off 39 saw them through.

Pandey, Gaikwad, Vijay among the runs

Manish Pandey’s 101 and Shreyas Gopal’s 95 helped Karnataka get the better of Rajasthan by 10 wickets and helped them consolidate their position at the top of the Group C table. Pandey has blown hot and cold this season. Barring his 208 not out against Goa, Pandey has failed to cross 50 in five other innings.In Pune, Ruturaj Gaikwad’s 195 trumped Vijay Shankar’s 107 as Maharashtra took the first-innings lead against Tamil Nadu. Gaikwad’s century helped Maharashtra score 446 in their first innings, while Tamil Nadu were restricted to 404. Captain Ankit Bawne and Azim Kazi then scored centuries in the second innings as Maharashtra took home three points.

The numbers that matter

  • By thumping Gujarat by 260 runs, Madhya Pradesh recorded their eighth consecutive outright win, equaling Bombay’s record that they set between 1961-62 and 1962-63 seasons.
  • Puducherry’s nine-wicket win over Goa was their first in the Elite Group in Ranji Trophy. They had won 11 games in the Plate group in earlier seasons.
  • Odisha’s Basant Mohanty and Kerala’s Jalaj Saxena reached the milestone of 400 wickets in their respective first-class careers.
  • Leading run-scorer after round five (Elite): Shorey (Delhi): nine innings, 787 runs, average 112.42, three centuries, two half-centuries. Plate: Taruwar Kohli (Mizoram): nine innings, 602 runs, average 66.88, two centuries, three half-centuries.
  • Leading wicket-taker (Elite): Saxena (Kerala): 43 wickets in ten innings, average 15.88, five five-fors, two 10-fors. Plate: Rajesh Bishnoi (Meghalaya): 32 wickets in ten innings, average 14.53, four five-fors

'Now people will recognise us' – Nigar Sultana pleased after sharing ODI series against India

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Fargana Hoque, who became Bangladesh’s first century-maker in women’s ODIs, admits to panicking in the 90s, but says she drew inspiration from the top men’s batters

Mohammad Isam22-Jul-2023Nigar Sultana is hopeful that the 1-1 scoreline in the ODI series against India will give the Bangladesh women’s team more prominence in their country.”We are quite happy with the overall outcome,” Nigar said after the third and final game ended in a tie in Dhaka. “We would have been really happy had we won the series. I feel we have taken a respectable step forward. Many people [at home] didn’t know who plays in the Bangladesh team. Now people will recognise who is Nahida [Akter], who is [Fargana Hoque] Pinky, who is Marufa [Akter]. I think this itself is an achievement. It was nice of the cricket board to say positive things about us too. They came to see our matches. The crowd supported us. The media is promoting us.”Nigar reserved special praise for Fargana, who became the first Bangladesh woman to score a century in women’s ODIs. “We batted really well. It was a real positive,” Nigar said. “Pinky batted superbly. Held up one end. We couldn’t bat the full 50 overs in the previous game, so that was a target for us today.”Related

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  • Harmanpreet slams umpiring, Nigar slams Harmanpreet

Fargana batted at No. 3 in the first two ODIs, but was sent to open the batting in the final game, something which was communicated to her by head coach Hashan Tillakaratne the night before. She repaid the faith by cracking 107, the first ODI century by a Bangladeshi woman, which also earned her the first Player-of-the-Series award for a woman from her country in ODIs.”I always bat in the top order. I played at No. 3, but yesterday the head coach told me to be mentally prepared to open the innings,” Fargana said. “I went to the wicket with a strong mindset. I could adjust to the swing. I believed in myself. We have four or five batters who are capable of getting big scores. You have to be very skilful when playing against big teams. I believed in my skills, my process.”I wanted to capitalise on my good start. We are getting results slowly, so we will keep following the same process. I liked the fact that I tried to bat long, and it paid off. My batting isn’t free of mistakes, so I want to improve more in the future.”Were there any nerves in the nineties?”I hadn’t scored a hundred at this level, but I saw people making centuries. I saw Mushfiq [Mushfiqur Rahim] score a hundred. I saw [Najmul Hasan] Shanto score two hundreds recently. I looked at how they spent time in the middle,” she said. “I didn’t think of scoring a hundred here but it was about batting every ball on its merit.Fargana Hoque finished with 107 as Bangladesh posted a good total•BCB

“When I reached 96, I panicked a bit. I played out a few deliveries. But I told myself that to be a good batter, I have to bat till the end. My friends were disappointed when I got out on 47 in the last game. I tried to stick to the process, which helped me get the big score.”Nigar said that her team should have bowled better to close down the game much earlier but was happy with how it ended, India going from 160 for 3 – and then 191 for 5 – to 225 all out.”I think we could have won the game had we bowled better,” Nigar said. “It wouldn’t have come this far then. We came back well after a poor powerplay with the ball. I think we overcame some of the mistakes from the second game. We should have closed this series in the second game itself. There’s a lot of lessons from this series that we can use in the future.”There cannot be anything more positive than playing well against a top opponent. We have been boosted by this performance. We are going into a break with good feelings. We tied the game, so we didn’t lose. It gives everyone a boost.”

James Hildreth sets Somerset's course as R Ashwin is thwarted on Surrey debut

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Batter’s 47th first-class hundred gives visitors the chance to set agenda

ECB Reporters Network11-Jul-2021Somerset 280 for 6 (Hildreth 107, Goldsworthy 48, Lammonby 42, Davies 42) vs SurreyA fascinating first day, on a pitch expected to take more spin as the game progresses, saw Somerset’s James Hildreth battle to 107 in a hard-fought 280 for 6 against Surrey at the Kia Oval.It was Hildreth’s 47th first-class hundred and he was well supported in a fourth wicket stand of 144 in 50 overs by Lewis Goldsworthy, whose gritty three-hour 48 occupied 145 balls.Hildreth, acting captain in the injury absence of Tom Abell, won an important toss before Somerset set out towards what they hope will be a match-defining first innings total in the final Group 2 fixture before qualification for the end-of-season divisional finale that will decide who wins this year’s LV= Insurance County Championship title.Somerset must at worst draw here to make sure of Division One status in August and September, while Surrey began the game 22 points behind group leaders Somerset and 17 points adrift of second-placed Gloucestershire (the top two qualify for Division One) and had only a mathematical chance of finishing second.Indian Test off spinner R Ashwin, signed for this game only as an overseas player replacement for injured New Zealand fast bowler Kyle Jamieson, bowled the first over of the match at the start of a five-over new-ball spell and finished with 1 for 70 from 28 overs.Surrey, indeed, fielded three frontline spinners with off spinner Amar Virdi and slow left-armer Dan Moriarty also sharing 37 overs, while Somerset have England’s Jack Leach in their ranks. But only the odd ball spun markedly on a sluggish surface as Hildreth’s determined partnership with Goldsworthy shaped the opening day.Related

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Surrey, already below-strength due to England one-day calls and injuries to Ollie Pope and Ben Foakes, were further handicapped by an injury suffered in the field by former Somerset fast bowler Jamie Overton and a shoulder problem which limited all-rounder Rikki Clarke to just a spell with the second new ball.Jordan Clark, though, made an early breakthrough when he bowled Devon Conway for 21 – the New Zealand Test opener inside-edging an attempted drive – and Somerset were an unconvincing 113 for 3 20 minutes after lunch after Steven Davies, lbw to Virdi’s second ball, and Tom Lammonby, who shouldered arms to Ashwin’s arm ball and was bowled off stump, had both departed for well-made 42s. Lammonby did once smash a Virdi full toss for six but otherwise it was predominantly attritional cricket throughout.Hildreth, who hit 13 fours from 211 balls and cut and swept the spinners with excellent judgement, dug deep before an inswinger from the wholehearted Clark took out his off stump as he played no shot 10 minutes from the close.Goldsworthy and George Bartlett (2) had by then also gone to the second new ball, strangled down the legside by Clark and leg-before to Clarke respectively.

Mohammad Nawaz's four-wicket haul leads Pakistan to series win

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Left-arm spinner returns career-best figures to help hosts defend 275

Danyal Rasool10-Jun-2022Pakistan 275 for 8 (Babar 77, Imam 72, Hosein 3-52) beatWest Indies 155 (Brooks 42, Nawaz 4-19, Wasim 3-34) by 120 runs
Mohammad Nawaz allayed any concerns Pakistan might have had about posting a below-par total, producing the best bowling performance of his career to bundle West Indies out for 155. Coming in with Pakistan under pressure after West Indies’ pugnacious start to the chase of 276, Nawaz struck four times to gut the visitors’ middle order, figures of 4 for18 in his allotted ten sealing West Indies fate, and giving Pakistan a 120-run win to wrap up the series 2-0.West Indies’ innings began disastrously, with Shaheen Afridi removing their best batter Shai Hope in the first over, trapping him on his crease as he spooned a catch to cover. But what followed suggested West Indies were giving the chase a serious go, with the powerplay dominated by positive, fearless strokeplay from Kyle Mayers and Shamarh Brooks. Haris Rauf was the man they targeted early on, a gloriously nonchalant pulled six over square leg from Mayers perhaps the shot of the innings.Mayers then smashed Mohammad Wasim for a couple of fours and Shaheen for six straight back over his head as the visitors put on 71 in the powerplay. But off that phase’s final ball, Wasim cleaned him up to open the door for Pakistan’s spinners, and it was time for Nawaz to shine.Nawaz’s fourth ball was a harbinger of what would follow. He flighted it up to Brandon King, drawing him out of his crease before getting the ball to spin away and kiss the edge. The game had swung, despite a brief fourth-wicket stand, and Nawaz soon sent the last set batter, Brooks, on his way for 42, trapping him in front as he horribly miscued a sweep to leave them tottering at 102 for 4.But Nawaz was only halfway through. West Indies’ last hopes, Rovman Powell and Nicholas Pooran were sent back within three balls of each other as Nawaz exercised his full mastery over the opposition, varying the flight and exploiting the dip and turn to penetrate both players’ defences.Shadab Khan, at the other end, sent Romario Shepherd packing; by this time all realistic attempts at a chase were done. West Indies had lost four wickets for 18 runs, and while they limped along for another 35 runs, it was only a matter of time before they were put out of their misery.If you watched that Pakistan innings up first, you’d have seen what was coming, and if you didn’t, you’d know exactly how it panned out. Fakhar Zaman fell early, before Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam put on their customary century stand. It was followed by a stuttering of momentum and a collapse of the middle and lower order, once those two fell, leading Pakistan to stumble to 275. You’ve seen it before, you’ll see it again, you saw it today.West Indies’ left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein also had a good day in Multan•AFP/Getty Images

Pakistan were fortunate enough to win the toss and not have to put their bowlers through another rigorous day out in the heat. Hasan Ali was finally taken out of the side, with Mohammad Wasim Jnr brought in. But at the top, it was a similar pattern for Pakistan, with a struggling Fakhar falling for an unconvincing 28-ball 17 as Pakistan made a slow start in the face of accurate West Indian bowling. It was Anderson Phillip, replacing Jayden Seales in the visitors’ XI, who got the wicket after Zaman top-edged one.Babar and Imam took over from there, steadying the innings for the next fifty runs or so before slowly moving through the gears and nudging the run rate up. It was nothing dramatic, just the usual platform-building, but as so often happens when these two are on song, it looked like there was no breaking that stand. Each of them brought up half-centuries, the sixth consecutive fifties for each of them, and little appeared to stand in the way of them bringing up personal three-figure scores.The only way a wicket would come about was if it were self-inflicted, and that indeed was what happened. In a moment that swung the momentum of the innings around, Imam set off for a run without looking up at his captain, who was busy ball-watching. When Babar looked up, Imam was barely two metres from him, and his fate was sealed. The opener smashed his bat into the turf in frustration while he walked off, but West Indies had been gifted a creek of hope.Babar was undone by some brilliant left arm orthodox bowling from Akeal Hosein, who managed both grip and turn on a surface that had offered up neither in such generous quantities two days ago. Looking to play against the turn saw the Pakistan captain fall 23 short of a hundred Pakistan have come to expect from him almost every game, his leading edge finding a cover fielder.Mohammad Haris came in and sought to inject some pace in the innings without ever looking like he had the ability to, in the face of a couple of quality West Indian bowlers, and promptly nicked off for a run-a-ball six. The final ten overs saw the West Indian bowling at their best, putting pressure on Pakistan with clumps of dot balls thanks to some glorious execution, both in terms of line and length and changes of pace. Alzarri Joseph led the way in that regard, his figures of 10-1-33-2 just rewards for what he produced.Khushdil Shah found batting a struggle, and while Pakistan got away the occasional boundary and big hit, the general trend by this stage all favoured West Indies. The last 15 overs saw just 89 runs scored as six wickets fell, and while Pakistan’s middle-order questions only deepened, West Indies will have sniffed an opportunity. It had seemed like a very realistic possibility until Nawaz came in and snuffed it out emphatically.

South Africa eye crucial two points against confident Bangladesh

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Bangladesh will be relying on Taskin and Co to come good again, while also hoping to find batting fixes

Mohammad Isam26-Oct-20221:13

Shakib: ‘We’ve got a really good fast bowling group in all formats’

Big Picture



South Africa have a chance to get two crucial points against Bangladesh after their opening game against Zimbabwe was washed out in Hobart. Bangladesh, with an important opening-match win under their belt, are just about confident enough to give them yet another headache.Bangladesh beat Netherlands to notch up their first-ever win in the Super 12s stage of the tournament, majorly on the back of their fast bowlers. Bangladesh will be hoping to put up a similar performance against South Africa with the ball. Taskin Ahmed is in red-hot form, coming off his career-best figures of 4 for 25, while Hasan Mahmud, too, played a crucial role by picking up two wickets in four overs. Mustafizur Rahman was wicketless but economical, while Soumya Sarkar took one wicket.Earlier this year, another Taskin big performance also came against South Africa. Back in March, his five-wicket haul led Bangladesh to a historic 2-1 ODI series win in Centurion, their first ever in South Africa against the home team.However, the bowling attack needs support from their batters. In the first match, openers Soumya and Najmul Hossain Shanto gave Bangladesh their best start – 47 for 1 in the powerplay – since the T20 World Cup last year. While the middle order crumbled, Mosaddek Hossain chipped in at the end to take them to a competitive total. Against a South African bowling attack that has more variety, Bangladesh will need to do much better with the bat.South Africa have “no regrets” about the Zimbabwe washout which saw them drop a point, and believe they are “still in control” of their destiny in the tournament.They were on top of the situation before the rain stopped play in Hobart. Chasing a revised target of 64 in seven overs, they posted 51 for 0 in just three with Quinton de Kock blazing away to an unbeaten 47 off 18.After a disappointing performance in the T20 World Cup 2021, where de Kock scored just 69 runs from four matches, he seems geared up to tee off this time. South Africa bowled well for most parts of their nine overs against Zimbabwe, with Lungi Ngidi taking two wickets. They also have a balanced line-up with Wayne Parnell adding a bit of all-round depth, but on a Sydney pitch offering help for spinners, South Africa might have to change their strategy a bit.

Form guide



South Africa WLLWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)

Bangladesh WLLLLTaskin Ahmed will be expected to play a crucial role against South Africa•ICC/Getty Images

In the spotlight



Quinton de Kock signalled his intentions in his first go at this year’s T20 World Cup with a fiery 47 against Zimbabwe. It might not have amounted to the two points that South Africa desperately wanted, but it would have put Bangladesh’s bowlers on red alert.Mosaddek Hossain has been a precious presence in Bangladesh’s floundering death-over batting. He has used his big-hitting to good effect despite having a bits-and-pieces role in T20Is. He has had several innings since September when he has shown willingness to go for the big runs, including his unbeaten 12-ball 20 against Netherlands. Mosaddek is also a gun fielder, and a handy offspinner, who took a five-for against Zimbabwe in July.

Team news



South Africa might drop one of the fast bowlers to bring in Tabraiz Shamsi, who could be handy at the SCG.South Africa (probable): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Temba Bavuma (capt), 3 Rilee Rossouw, 4 Aiden Markram, 5 David Miller, 6 Tristan Stubbs, 7 Wayne Parnell, 8 Keshav Maharaj, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Anrich Nortje/Tabraiz Shamsi, 11 Lungi NgidiBangladesh usually don’t change their winning combination but they might somehow try to accommodate Mehidy Hasan Miraz in the XI.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Soumya Sarkar, 2 Najmul Hossain Shanto, 3 Litton Das, 4 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 5 Afif Hossain, 6 Nurul Hasan (wk), 7 Mosaddek Hossain, 8 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Hasan Mahmud

Pitch and conditions



This match will be played on a new pitch that has a decent covering of grass but is expected to be reasonably dry.The weather has been dry and warm in the lead-up but there’s some rain in the forecast for Thursday afternoon.

Stats and trivia

  • Both South Africa and Bangladesh are set to play a T20I at the SCG for the first time.
  • Bangladesh have never defeated South Africa in T20Is.
  • South Africa became the eighth T20I team to reach their team fifty in three overs, in their previous game against Zimbabwe.
  • Taskin, who took 4 for 25 against Netherlands, had previous best figures of 2 for 12 in T20Is.

Quotes

“(Taskin) is one of the leaders now after Mashrafe’s exit. He has done tremendously well in the last two years for Bangladesh. He is leading by example. We have a very good fast-bowling group in all three formats. I can’t be more proud of how they improved themselves and have come this far, and it is showing in the results. I hope they continue this form in this World Cup.”

Isle of Man bowled out for 10, lowest total in men's T20Is

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Seven ducks in the Isle of Man scorecard; Spain take two balls to seal win

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Feb-2023Isle of Man were skittled out for 10, the lowest total in men’s T20s by Spain on on Sunday. It then took Spain all of two balls to chase the score down as they romped home to a near-perfect ten-wicket win with 118 balls remaining.Isle of Man fell below Sydney Thunder, who had slumped to 15 all out in 5.5 overs against Adelaide Strikers in the BBL earlier this year. Turkey had previously held the lowest score in T20s when they were bundled out for 21 against Czech Republic in 2019.Coming into Cartagena with an unassailable 4-0 lead in a six-match series after the second T20I was washed out, hosts Spain did not put a foot wrong. Mohammad Kamran and Atif Mehmood picked up four wickets each, with three maidens and ten runs between them in a collective eight-over spell. Kamran’s spell also included a hat-trick as Isle of Man were rolled over in no time. Lorne Burns followed the left-arm seamers to finish off the innings four balls into the ninth over.After the hosts chose to field, Kamran set the tone by nicking off Adam McAuley off the first ball. Mehmood trapped George Burrows lbw and Kamran picked up a hat-trick run in the next over by knocking over Luke Ward, Edward Beard, and Christian Webster to reduce the score to 5 for 4.Mehmood followed with a double-wicket over which included the wicket of Joseph Burrows, the top scorer of the innings with four runs. Fraser Clarke’s duck was the fifth among the seven in total, but he faced 12 balls that stretched the innings into the ninth over, where Burns’ clean-up job completed the innings.In reply, Joseph started with a no-ball to Awais Ahmed. While that didn’t go for runs, the free hit and the following ball were smashed over the boundary to seal a remarkable win and a 5-0 sweep.

Krunal's all-round display helps LSG brush Sunrisers aside

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Mishra and Bishnoi also played their part in strangling Sunrisers on a slow, low Ekana surface

Hemant Brar07-Apr-2023On a slow, low and dying black-soil surface at the Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow Super Giants’ spinners starved Sunrisers Hyderabad of runs to set up a five-wicket win.After winning the toss, Aiden Markram opted to bat but his side could post only 121 for 8. Super Giants were without Mark Wood (flu) and Avesh Khan (injured) but Krunal Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi and Amit Mishra ensured their absence wasn’t felt. The trio picked up 6 for 57 in their combined 12 overs, with Krunal inflicting the most damage with the wickets of Mayank Agarwal, Anmolpreet Singh and Markram.KL Rahul and Kyle Mayers kicked off the chase by adding 35 in 4.3 overs. Mayers and Deepak Hooda fell in back-to-back overs but Krunal hit a 23-ball 34 to kill the game. When Nicholas Pooran hit the winning six, Super Giants still had four overs left.KL Rahul top-scored for Super Giants with 35•BCCI

Impact Player strategy

Sunrisers started with three overseas players – Markram, Harry Brook and Adil Rashid – giving themselves the option to use either Heinrich Klaasen in case of a collapse, or one of Marco Jansen or Fazalhaq Farooqi to beef up their bowling in the second half. At 55 for 4 after nine overs, it looked like they would have to bring in Klaasen. He was padded up in the dugout but Sunrisers didn’t lose another wicket until the 18th over. Eventually, Farooqi replaced Rahul Tripathi at the start of the chase.Super Giants followed a more straightforward route, swapping Mishra with Ayush Badoni after the 19th over of the first innings.

Krunal’s three-for dents Sunrisers

Just after two overs of seam, it was clear that this pitch was tailormade for spinners. Rahul duly brought Krunal on in the third over, and the left-arm spinner had Mayank Agarwal chipping one to extra-cover. Anmolpreet Singh and Rahul Tripathi took some time to get used to the slowness of the surface, and then hit four fours in eight balls to take the side to 43 for 1 at the end of the powerplay.Krunal, though, dragged them back by dismissing Anmolpreet and Markram off successive balls. Anmolpreet was trapped lbw by a quicker one and Markram done in by turn. Playing his first game of the season, Markram looked to drive a full ball only to get beaten and have his off stump uprooted.In the next over, the ninth of the innings, Bishnoi set Brook up nicely. After bowling two googlies, he anticipated Brook’s advance down the track and slipped in a wide legbreak. Brook did exactly what the bowler anticipated, ended up nowhere near the pitch of the ball, and was stumped by some distance.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Sunrisers struggle to break away

While Tripathi and Washington Sundar ensured Sunrisers didn’t lose another wicket for the next seven overs, the scoreboard moved at a glacial pace – just two boundaries came from overs 7 to 16. Tripathi tried to ramp Yash Thakur in the 18th over but failed to clear Mishra, who dived full-length to his left at short third to take the catch. Mishra picked up two himself in the next over, tossing the ball up to Washington and Rashid and having them caught down the ground. Only Abdul Samad’s unbeaten 21 off 10, which included two sixes off Jaydev Unadkat in the 20th over, took Sunrisers past a run a ball.

Rahul, Krunal boss the chase

With Quinton de Kock available, there was some intrigue over whether he or Mayers would open the innings alongside Rahul. But Super Giants stuck with the same batting line-up, leaving de Kock out to the surprise of many. And even if Mayers couldn’t repeat his heroics of the previous two games, he and Rahul gave the side a breezy start.Farooqi had Mayers pulling one straight to deep square leg in the fifth over, and from the other end, Bhuvneshwar Kumar took a low, one-handed return catch to his left to send Hooda back. But Super Giants had the advantage of knowing their target.Krunal joined Rahul at the end of the powerplay, and without taking much risk, the pair picked up a boundary in each of the next five overs. Krunal was the aggressor during the third-wicket stand of 55 in 6.2 overs, scoring at a strike rate of 147.82. Super Giants reached 100 in the 13th over before Krunal nicked Umran Malik behind. Rashid then had Rahul and Romario Shepherd lbw off successive deliveries, but the result was a formality by then.

Do Punjab Kings have the batting muscle to match KKR at Eden Gardens?

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KKR have been one of the form teams this season, while Punjab Kings, down in ninth place, have failed to bat at the speeds other teams have

S Sudarshanan25-Apr-20242:16

Moody: ‘KKR need to take a long-term view with Starc’

Match details

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR; 2nd place) vs Punjab Kings (PBKS; 9th place)
Eden Gardens, Kolkata, 7:30pm IST (2pm GMT)

Big picture – Best bowling side at batters’ paradise

Punjab Kings (PBKS) have many issues to solve, but despite IPL 2024 being dominated by batters, bowling is not one of them.PBKS are the only side not to concede 200 or more in an innings yet – 199, twice, is the most scored against them. Their bowling average of 24.94 is the best among all the teams this season, with Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) 25.47 next in line. At the death (overs 17 to 20), PBKS have struck 23 times, the most by a team in IPL 2024, and their average in that phase (15.73) is again the best. They have been the third-most economical bowling team (8.98) this season too.Now they are at a venue – Eden Gardens – where 200 has been crossed in both innings in three of the four matches so far. It has been the venue with the third-highest scoring rate (10.43) this season, with Hyderabad (10.92) and Delhi (11.48) ahead.All of which brings the PBKS batters into sharp focus. They are the second-slowest scoring team (with a strike rate of 137.31) and also have the second-lowest batting average (23.84). None of their batters have totalled 200 yet, even though 24 batters have crossed the mark – Shashank Singh with 195 runs is their leading scorer.KKR have not been an easy side to either score against or bowl to this season. They are favourites here. So PBKS have to score bigger than they have so far and expect the bowlers to do what they have been doing, in KKR’s den. Not to forget, PBKS have only won three of their 12 games – only one in the last eight – at Eden Gardens.

Form guide

KKR WLWLW
PBKS LLLLW1:52

How can Jitesh Sharma find himself some form?

Team news and impact player strategy

Kolkata Knight Riders: KKR have subbed out a batter for a fast bowler or a spinner, depending on the conditions and the situation of the game, in each game. Usually, Rinku Singh has not been used in the fielding innings, with one of Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy and Suyash Sharma brought in. Expect them to continue with that.Probable XII: 1 Phil Salt (wk), 2 Sunil Narine, 3 Angkrish Raghuvanshi, 4 Venkatesh Iyer, 5 Shreyas Iyer (capt), , 7 Andre Russell, 8 Ramandeep Singh, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Varun Chakravarthy, 11 Harshit Rana, Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan will only be fit for PBKS’ next game, according to spin-bowling coach Sunil Joshi. Whether that means Sam Curran opens again or one of Rilee Rossouw and Jonny Bairstow partners Prabhsimran Singh is anybody’s guess.Probable XII: , 2 Rilee Rossouw/Jonny Bairstow, 3 Sam Curran (capt), 4 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 5 Liam Livingstone, 6 Shashank Singh, 7 Ashutosh Sharma, 8 Harpreet Brar, 9 Harshal Patel, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Arshdeep Singh,

In the spotlight – Mitchell Starc and Harshal Patel

Of all the IPL grounds, the poorest economy rate (13.50) when fast bowlers bowl full under lights is at Eden Gardens. It’s the venue Mitchell Starc, who loves to swing the ball from fuller lengths, has to call home in IPL 2024, and his returns have mirrored those stats. His best performance this season – 3 for 28 against Lucknow Super Giants – came in Kolkata while bowling first in an afternoon game. Starc’s economy rate this season – 11.48 – is the poorest among bowlers who have bowled at least 25 overs, and is the poorest for any bowler to have bowled at least 20 overs in the first seven games of an IPL season. Most expensive in more ways than one, Starc has to live up to his reputation at some stage.Harshal Patel had a forgettable start to IPL 2024 – four wickets at an average of over 45 and an economy rate of 11.31 in the first four games. But since then, he has returned nine wickets – seven of those at the death – at an average of a shade under 11 and an economy of 7.46. He has been effective with his changes of pace as well as angles, and has bowled in each of the three phases in the last four matches. About 80% of his wickets are of right-hand batters, and KKR have plenty of them, including Andre Russell – Harshal has dismissed him twice in 26 balls in all T20s.Sunil Narine has been one of the star performers this IPL, with bat and with ball•BCCI

Pitch and conditions

The KKR batters, especially the openers, have thrived on the high-scoring pitches in Kolkata. Expect a similar surface on Friday. Fast bowlers have had an economy of 10.74 in Kolkata as opposed to the spinners’ 9.31, and a lot of that has to do with the success of Sunil Narine (16 overs, six wickets, economy 6.25) and Varun Chakravarthy (16 overs, five wickets, economy 9.81).

Stats that matter

  • Narine’s 33 wickets against PBKS are the most for him against a single opponent in the IPL. He averages 19.90 against them and has an economy of 7.06
  • In the IPL, Shreyas Iyer has scored 12 off five balls against Kagiso Rabada, but in all T20s, it’s 19 off 21. However, Rabada has never dismissed Iyer
  • Russell vs Curran is a proper cat-and-mouse game. Russell strikes at 221.4 against Curran for three dismissals in 28 balls in all T20s. Curran also gives it back: 39 runs in 21 balls for one dismissal against Russell in T20s.

Quotes

“I will get to bowl when the opportunity arises, I am working on my bowling. The Impact Player rule is such that the use of the allrounder is reduced. Every team wants to bowl with their main fast bowlers.”
“Jitesh is a quality batter, and we know that the time has come for him to fire. There are multiple players in the IPL, who are eager to be part of India’s T20 World Cup squad. For most of the players, making it to the Indian team will keep haunting them. So focus on the basics. You’ve got to perform and take it ball-by-ball, leave selection to the people who decide.”

Colin Graves: Private ownership at Yorkshire 'essential for club's future'

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Club chairman signals intention to convert ownership model from members club

ESPNcricinfo staff20-May-2024Colin Graves has given the strongest indication yet that Yorkshire’s traditional member-owned status is no longer viable given their dire financial situation, saying that a process of demutualisation – the conversion of the club to a private structure model, thereby unlocking the potential for outside investment – “appears at this point essential for the club’s future”.Graves, who was re-elected as Yorkshire’s chairman for a second stint in February, helped to save the club from bankruptcy during his original tenure in 2002. As a consequence of that intervention, his family trust – which is managed by independent trustees – is still owed approximately £15 million, or almost three-quarters of the £20million of “long-term borrowing” that he claims is required to keep the club afloat.Now, in a letter circulated to members on Monday, Graves has warned that Yorkshire will be “fighting for its survival” during 2024 unless they take “swift and decisive action”.Related

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According to their latest financial results, the club recorded a trading loss of £2.7 million in 2023, including £1.9 million of “exceptional” expenses, most of which relate to the legal costs and settlements incurred during the racism scandal that had previously caused a raft of high-profile sponsors to sever ties with the club.The picture is all the more concerning for Yorkshire given that they hosted a lucrative Ashes Test in 2023. Their recent accumulated losses now stand at more than £9 million, and that picture is likely to worsen this year given that Headingley has no men’s Test scheduled for 2024, nor in 2027 or 2028, which Graves warned in his letter would amount to “double fallow” years.Despite stating in the run-up to his election as chairman that he had no plans to demutualise the club, Graves subsequently warned that “nothing can be ruled out in the future”.The prospect of private investment within English cricket is already on the table via the ECB’s discussions over the future of the Hundred. Headingley is the host venue for Northern Superchargers, and stands to be awarded a 51% equity share in the team, while Graves’ consortium at Yorkshire includes a number of the tournament’s original architects, including Sanjay Patel, the former tournament director.”As discussed at our AGM in April, the club’s current status as a mutual society continues to prove a blocker to attracting private financing,” Graves wrote in his letter. “A demutualisation – thereby converting the club to a private structure, which unlocks potential private investment – appears at this point essential for the club’s future.”My firm intention is that members’ current rights are protected and that a demutualisation would represent no change to their current interaction with YCCC,” he added. “The club would be better structured to be self-sustaining, still in existence, and to capture maximum value for YCCC from any processes such as the Hundred.”Any move to demutualise the county – a process which has already been undertaken at Hampshire, Northamptonshire and Durham – would need the involvement of at least 50% of Yorkshire’s 6,000 members with voting rights, and a 75% majority therein.

Rohit's Ranji return lasts 19 balls as he falls for 3 against J&K

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Rohit is now averaging 10.43 across 16 innings in first-class cricket in the 2024-25 season

S Sudarshanan23-Jan-2025Rohit Sharma’s return to the Ranji Trophy was a short-lived one – he lasted 19 balls and scored just three in Mumbai’s Group A fixture against Jammu and Kashmir at the Sharad Pawar Academy in BKC in Mumbai.Rohit, India’s Test and ODI captain who has been going through a terrible run of form, was the focus of a lot of attention in the lead-up to the game as soon as he confirmed his presence in the game with a nod and “I will” at the Champions Trophy squad announcement press conference last week. With a white floppy hat and sunglasses on, Rohit was relaxed before the game, joking with his team-mates as they warmed up with some head volleyball.But he wore a determined look as he walked out to open with his regular India opening partner in Tests, Yashasvi Jaiswal, after Mumbai’s captain Ajinkya Rahane opted to bat. To accommodate Rohit and Jaiswal at the top, Mumbai had to leave out Ayush Mhatre, who, in his debut season, has been one of Mumbai’s star performers: 408 runs from nine innings at an average of 45.33 with two centuries.It was a cool winter morning in Mumbai, a relief after a week that saw temperatures touch the mid-30s. And J&K’s opening bowlers made sure to make use of the early-morning nip.Related

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Auqib Nabi conceded a four early in the opening over but then tightened his lines; Rohit got off the mark with a single through the on side. But he was given a proper work over by Umar Nazir Mir, who bowled two successive maidens to him. Nazir maintained a consistent line outside off and varied his lengths a touch, not allowing Rohit to get going.Rohit managed to drive a Nabi delivery through the covers for a couple in the next over but once again was kept quiet by Nazir, who got his reward on his 17th ball. He bowled a length delivery on the fifth stump, with a hint of movement away from the right-hand batter. Rohit looked to play his trademark pick-up shot over midwicket but only managed to get a leading edge to the off side. Paras Dogra ran a few yards to his left from mid-off to extra cover, called loud and clear, and pouched it to end Rohit’s stay in the middle.The short stay in the middle meant that Rohit’s lean run in red-ball cricket continued. Across five home Tests against Bangladesh and New Zealand at home last year, he had just one half-century to show – against New Zealand in Bengaluru – with four single-digit scores across ten innings. He also had just one double-digit score in five innings in Australia, where he played in three of the five Test matches. He finished the 2024-25 Test season with a batting average of 10.93.Rohit’s first-class batting average of 10.43 across 16 innings in the 2024-25 season is the second-lowest for any batter since 2006 (for a minimum of 15 innings while batting in the top six). England’s Haseeb Hameed averaged 9.44 across 18 innings in the 2018 season.Before Rohit, Jaiswal fell. Nabi managed to get his line right against the left-hand batter, getting a couple of balls to move away. One of those narrowly missed the outside edge of Jaiswal’s bat – a muted appeal was given not out. On the next ball – the third ball of the third over – Nabi got a length ball to jag back viciously; Jaiswal was caught off-guard, and was beaten on the inside edge and hit on the back leg right in front of middle and leg. He was quite deep in the crease and the umpire took little time in raising the finger. Jaiswal, who was one of India’s most successful batters at the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, dragged himself off with 4 against his name.After the close of play Nazir, who took 4 for 41, said Rohit’s wicket was a “prized” one. “A good ball is a good ball against any player, you don’t look at the stature of the player. But Rohit Sharma’s wicket is a big one, I am happy. When you dismiss an international player, it is always a prized wicket. There was some help from the surface, I tried to bowl in right areas. Rohit Sharma is a big name and his wicket was important for us and for me, personally, as well.”Nazir was part of J&K’s line-up when they defeated Mumbai at the Wankhede Stadium in 2014. He had picked up four wickets in the second innings, which was why he was unfazed by having to bowl at such high-profile batters.”I slept off at 10pm last night and woke up around 7am and was quite relaxed,” Nazir said. “I tried to bowl fuller lengths because of the bounce on the surface. [When Rohit was dismissed] the first thought in my mind… I did not celebrate because I am a big fan of Rohit Sharma. If we manage to win this game, it would be a proud moment for me, and the team, because India’s captain is playing in the opposition.”