All posts by n8rngtd.top

Stats highlights from the Bangladesh v Pakistan Asia Cup match in Mirpur

Shiva Jayaraman04-Mar-2014

• This was Pakistan’s highest successful run chase in ODIs, beating their previous-highest chase of 322 runs against India in Mohali in 2007. This is the first time Pakistan have successfully chased a target of 300 or more against a team other than India. Pakistan had chased such targets successfully only four times in ODIs before this.
• Shahid Afridi muscled Pakistan to a win, yet again, with an 25-ball 59. His fifty in this innings came off just 18 deliveries – the second-fastest in ODIs. This is the third time Afridi has scored an ODI fifty in 18 deliveries. Sanath Jayasuirya holds the record for hitting the fastest ODI fifty – he took 17 deliveries to hit a fifty against Pakistan in 1996.
• Afridi was declared the Man of the Match for his performance – his 32nd such award in ODIs. He has equalled Ricky Ponting and Jacques Kallis at No. 3 in the list of players to have won the most such awards in ODIs. He is four clear of the next Pakistan player in the list – Saeed Anwar, who won 28 Man-of-the-Match awards in his career.
• Bangladesh’s score of 326 was their highest in ODIs and only the sixth time they scored 300-plus in an ODI. Their previous highest was 320, against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo in 2009.
• Afridi scored his runs at a strike of 236 – the seventh-fastest fifty-plus score in a chase. The fastest fifty-plus innings in a chase also belongs to Afridi. He hit an unbeaten 18-ball 55 against Netherlands in Colombo in 2002.
• 232 runs were scored in the last ten overs of this match (both innings combined) – that’s the highest such aggregate in an ODI since 2000. The previous highest was the 229 runs scored in the famous ODI between South Africa and Australia in Johannesburg in 2006.
• All the top four Bangladesh batsmen got fifty-plus scores in this match. This is the first such instance for Bangladesh in ODIs. Overall, there have been only 12 such instances in ODIs.
• Anamul Haque hit his second ODI century in this match and only the 13th by a Bangladesh opener. The last Bangladesh opener to hit an ODI hundred was Tamim Iqbal, who hit 112 against Sri Lanka in Hambantota last year.
• Shakib Al Hasan took 16 balls to hit 44 runs to finish Bangladesh’s innings on a high. His strike rate in this innings equalled the fastest innings of 20 or more runs by a Bangladesh batsman. Mashrafe Mortaza also had a similar score batting against Kenya in an ODI in 2006.
• The 150-run partnership between Imrul Kayes and Haque was Bangladesh’s first century opening stand in 32 innings against Pakistan. Their previous highest against Pakistan was an 88 run-stand between Javed Omar and Mehrab Hossain in Dhaka in 2002.
• This partnership was Bangladesh’s second-highest opening partnership in ODIs and only their second partnership of 150 or more for the first wicket. Mehrab Hossain and Shahriar Hossain added 170 runs against Zimbabwe in Dhaka in 1999, which is the highest opening partnership for them. Including this one, Bangladesh have had only eight 150-plus partnerships in ODIs.
• Pakistan opener Ahmed Shehzad’s century in this match was his fifth in ODIs and the first by a Pakistan batsman against Bangladesh in a chase. Shehzad has scored 223 runs in this Asia Cup at 55.75, already his second-highest aggregate in any series.
• Abdur Rahman had an extraordinary spell of bowling in this match, however brief. His first-three balls in the match were no-balled for being full tosses above the waist after which he was stopped from bowling further in the match. His three deliveries resulted in eight runs and his bowling figures for the match read 0-0-8-0. There have been three other such instances of a bowler showing up on the scorecard as having conceded runs without bowling a ball. The last such instance was when Bangladesh hit their winning runs off a no-ball from Kenya’s Colins Obuya, who was bowling his first ball in the match.
• In addition to Bangladesh’s openers, both the Pakistan openers also scored fifty-plus, making this only the tenth instance in ODIs when all four opening batsmen have hit fifty or more in a match. The last such instance was the India-Australia match in Jaipur last year.
• In all, eight fifty-plus scores were hit in this match, only the third time that these many were hit in an ODI. The last time this happened was in last year’s Jaipur ODI between India and Australia.
• Excluding Rahman, Misbah-ul-Haq bowled seven bowlers in this match and four of them went for 60-plus runs. This is only the third time ever that four of Pakistan’s bowlers went for 60 or more in an innings. The last such instance came against South Africa in Centurion in 2007.
• Bangladesh crossed 200 runs in this match for the fall of just one wicket. This was only the second such instance for them. The only other time Bangladesh have scored 200 runs before the fall of their second wicket in an ODI was against Zimbabwe in Dhaka in 1999.
• Saeed Ajmal went for 61 runs off his ten overs – his most expensive spell bowling in ODIs in the subcontinent. Remarkably though, Ajmal’s first six overs had gone only for nine runs. He had bowled three of those overs in the batting Powerplay, taking the wicket of Mominul Haque and giving away just five runs. In the death overs though, fortunes changed for Ajmal – he was hit for 52 runs off his remaining four overs, including nine boundaries.
  

  Saeed Ajmal’s spells

  	dot-balls	4s	6s	Runs	Balls	Econ	Wkts
  Spell 1	13	0	0	4	18	1.3	0
  Spell 2 (Powerplay)	14	0	0	5	18	1.5	1
  Spell 3 (last-ten)	4	8	1	52	24	13.0	1

Stats highlights from the third day’s play between South Africa and Australia at St George’s Park, Port Elizabeth

Shiva Jayaraman22-Feb-2014

• South Africa lead Australia by 369 runs with six wickets in hand. They are comfortably placed in this Test, considering that teams have averaged 29 runs for every wicket in the fourth of innings of the last ten chases on this ground. The highest a team has scored in the fourth innings at St George’s Park is 273, by the hosts against New Zealand in 1962 and the highest a team has scored in the fourth innings to win a Test here is 271 for 8, by Australia in 1997.
• Brad Haddin reached a personal landmark with AB de Villiers’ dismissal in South Africa’s second innings. De Villiers was Haddin’s 600th first-class dismissal as a wicketkeeper. Haddin has taken 563 catches and effected 37 stumpings in 170 first-class matches. Click here for a list of wicketkeepers with most dismissals in first-class cricket.
• Mitchell Johnson scored a quick-fire 27 before he was bowled by JP Duminy. During his innings, he completed 200 runs in the 2013-14 season. He is only the sixth allrounder in Tests to take 50 or more wickets and score 200 or more runs in a season. There have been only nine such instances in Tests. The last such instance was also by Johnson, in 2008-09. Johnson is also only the third player, after Imran Khan and Malcolm Marshall, to do this twice in his career.
• Nightwatchman Nathan Lyon was bowled by Morne Morkel in the first session after he hung around for 42 deliveries, in Australia’s first innings. This was the first time he was dismissed in his last nine innings. The last time he got out in Tests was against England in Chester-le-Street in August last year. Since then, he had totally scored 64 runs without getting out in eight Test innings. West Indies’ Alf Valentine and New Zealand’s Ewen Chatfield had similar such run of eight unbeaten innings.
• The longest any team has batted at this venue in the fourth innings of a Test is 144 overs – the hosts against New Zealand in 1962. In recent times, the longest a team has survived in the fourth innings of a Test on this ground is 96.2 overs – when Deep Dasgupta and Rahul Dravid batted for over five hours to see India to a draw against the hosts in 2001.
• The 177-run lead that Australia conceded in their first innings is their fourth-highest first-innings deficit ever when fielding first against South Africa. The last time they conceded a higher such lead came back in 1970 at Kingsmead when they trailed South Africa by 465 runs at the end of their first innings.
• Hashim Amla made use of the improved batting conditions at St George’s Park and batted himself into form with his first fifty-plus score in eight innings. In his last seven Test innings, Amla had scored 105 runs at 15.00. Should he complete his century in this innings, he will be the fifth South Africa batsman with five Test hundreds against Australia and the second batsman to achieve that in this Test after AB de Villiers.
• Unlike South Africa in the first innings, who got to bat in sluggish conditions and could score only at a run rate of 2.8 an over, Australia scored rapidly in their first innings: their scoring rate of 4.31 runs an over was the highest in the first innings of a team in Tests at St George’s Park.
• South Africa also found conditions easier to bat in and scored fairly quickly during most of their innings today. Their third- and fourth-wicket partnerships scored at 5.06 and 4.92 runs an over respectively – South Africa’s second-fastest and third-fastest fifty-plus partnerships at this venue in Tests.
• Johnson dismissed Graeme Smith for the eighth time in Tests, in South Africa’s second innings. Johnson joins Chris Martin as the bowlers to have dismissed the South Africa captain most often in Test cricket. Johnson has dismissed Smith on nine occasions in international cricket. Only Zaheer Khan and James Anderson have dismissed Smith more often. Smith, who averages nearly 49 in Tests, scores almost ten runs less when facing up to left-arm fast bowlers.

Given all Pakistan’s success in T20 it was incongruous that they were the only one of the top eight nations not to have an individual hundred: Ahmed Shehzad picked the perfect moment to change that

Abhishek Purohit in Mirpur30-Mar-2014Pakistan have played the most number of T20s and won the most number of T20s. They have been the most consistent side in the World T20, winning the title in 2009, making it to the final in 2007, and reaching the semi-finals in 2010 and 2012. It is a disservice to what Pakistan have achieved in Tests and one-dayers when it is said that their style of play is naturally suited to T20s. However, that their flair is often expressed more freely, and causes more impact, in the shortest format cannot be denied.Given this, it was a bit incongruous that all the top eight Test nations had T20 centurions before this afternoon, barring Pakistan. Even England, limited-over cricket’s bridesmaids or under-achievers for so long barring 2010, had joined the list with Alex Hales’ effort against Sri Lanka three days ago in Chittagong. Ahmed Shehzad has corrected that anomaly with his unbeaten 111 against Bangladesh.Shehzad could have put Pakistan on the list in August last year. He was on 97 against Zimbabwe and facing the last ball of the innings. He had a go, but could not place it wide enough of deep midwicket, and had to settle for a single. It was already the highest score by a Pakistan batsman in T20s.In a way, it was probably fitting that the landmark did not come in a two-game bilateral series and was achieved in a world event with plenty riding on the outcome of the match. Pakistan needed to beat Bangladesh for their final group game against West Indies to remain a virtual quarter-final.Your Nos. 2, 3 and 4 making 9, 8 and 0 after you have chosen to bat is not the way you want to begin a must-win game. Your No. 5 then comes in and struggles to time the ball. Normally, all this would have spelled trouble for the batting side, but Shehzad was in such supreme flow that these happenings at the other end barely registered, or mattered.Shehzad’s touch was evident from the manner in which he stepped out and timed Mashrafe Mortaza comfortably over the straight boundary as early as the third over, in which he had already taken three successive fours off the bowler. Shehzad was to take 87 off 39 deliveries against the Bangladesh seamers. He had seen Kamran Akmal fall in the second over of spin, to a ball that gripped, spun and bounced enough for him to top-edge a sweep.Shehzad said the plan had been to target the seamers, as Pakistan knew it would be relatively harder against spin on a slow pitch. “In Bangladesh, the ball does spin and grip,” Shehzad said. “The idea was to score as much as possible against the fast bowlers so that we don’t have to try anything extra against the spinners, take as little risk as possible against them. It was expected that in a 3.30pm [start], the ball will grip.”With plans sorted and execution happening so smoothly, it had to be a question of not giving it away. The first three Pakistan batsmen did. Shehzad threatened to, when a top-edged pull off Shakib Al Hasan fell in the vacant midwicket beating several advancing fielders, but by that time he was already in the eighties.At 71 for 3 in the tenth over, a total of 190 seemed unlikely but Shehzad was able to forge a partnership of 83 with Shoaib Malik, who may have made only 26 but had a major role in helping his junior partner reach his century, Shehzad said. “Unfortunately we lost three early wickets but when Shoaib came in, we had a very good partnership. He had a big role to play in my hundred because he ran brilliantly between the wickets. When you run well, then you don’t have to take many risks. He also gets a lot of credit for my hundred.”Probably the only thing that did not fit in an otherwise remarkable display of strokeplay was Shehzad’s attempted paddle-sweeps, which he missed on every attempt. Shehzad said there was a thought behind those endeavours, even though they did not come off. “It is to disturb the bowler, you can’t be predictable in this format because the bowlers have become very sharp, they work hard and come up with plans. The paddle I didn’t connect but fine leg went out and covers came up. So I hit two fours over cover. That is the thing, to manoeuvre the field, get into the minds of the captain and the bowlers. This is what T20 cricket is about.”

A stats preview to the ODI series between India and West Indies in India

Bishen Jeswant07-Oct-20143 Number of bilateral ODI series in which West Indies have beaten India at home, not including the one-off Indian Board Benevolent Fund Match in 1988, also won by the visitors. All four of India’s series wins at home have come after 1990, and they have lost only once in that period.3 Number of countries against whom India have lost more bilateral ODIs at home than they have won – West Indies, Pakistan and Australia. India’s win-loss record against West Indies at home is 17-20.0 Number of chinaman, or left-arm unorthodox, bowlers there have been from Asia. If Kuldeep Yadav makes his debut during this ODI series, he will be the first. In all, only 11 chinaman bowlers have played ODI cricket, the most famous of them probably being Garry Sobers, who also bowled left-arm orthodox and seam, Paul Adams and Brad Hogg.27.3 Average runs per wicket for West Indies against spin in India over the last ten years. Australia average 49.6 during this period. South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have all scored more per wicket against spin in India during this period. West Indies are, however, better than England (23.5) and New Zealand (25.4).53 West Indies’ win percentage in ODIs in India. Excluding ODIs in Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, this is their best away win percentage in any country where they have played at least 10 ODIs. Even post 1990, when the team has been considerably less dominant, their win percentage in India is 43, which is still their best considering the same limit of 10 ODIs.7 Number of times West Indies have posted a 300-plus score in ODIs in India. Among other visiting teams, only Australia have done this more often (13 times). Five of those seven instances have been against India, and West Indies have lost on three of those occasions.72 Number of wickets India’s spinners have taken in ODIs against West Indies over the last five years. West Indies have not lost even 50 wickets to spinners from any other team. Among teams that have played at least 10 matches against West Indies in this period, only Pakistan’s spinners have a better average (23.53) and economy rate (3.66) than India’s 28.23 and 4.48.10 Number of batsmen who have scored 1000-plus runs in ODIs between West Indies and India. None of them are playing the current series. Apart from Chris Gayle, none of them are playing ODI cricket anymore. Among the players in this series, Virat Kohli with 919 runs is the closest to breaching this mark.5.02 West Indies’ mean run-rate in ODIs over the last ten years, against India in India. This is the poorest for any top-10 team. India’s run-rate against West Indies in ODIs at home during the same period is a significantly superior 5.67, and they have done better only against Sri Lanka, New Zealand and England.

Plays of the day from the fifth ODI in Ranchi

Andrew Fidel Fernando16-Nov-2014The mix upBoth Ambati Rayudu and Virat Kohli have been involved in run-outs stemming from miscommunication this series, and together they contrived perhaps the worst mix up of the series, when both batsmen had looked set to make big scores. Kohli bottom-edged a ball from Shaminda Eranga in the 28th over, and though it seemed headed toward third man, Dinesh Chandimal made a good diving stop from behind the stumps. Rayudu had already committed to the run though, and had sped almost to the strikers’ crease before realising that a stationary Kohli had not responded to his call. He turned and sprinted in the other direction, but Eranga had collected the throw and taken the bails off long before he made his ground. Kohli was apologetic as Rayudu trudged back to the dressing room.The superman diveHaving scored 139 not out and removed both openers, Angelo Mathews was taking India on almost on his own, but there was more to come. He had made a misfield in the early overs, but his hands were safe when there was more on the line. Robin Uthappa had just begun to warm to his work when he failed to control a flick off Ajantha Mendis in the 34th over. The ball was some distance from Mathews at short midwicket, and dipping low in its trajectory, but Mathews flung himself forward and to his right, intercepting the ball ten centimeters from the turf while completely horizontal.The pushKohli’s on-side game was typically strong on Sunday, but it was a stroke through the off side that confirmed he was in century-making touch. Eranga sent a length ball down to him just outside off stump in the 12th over, and as the ball did not deserve punishment, Kohli merely slinked close to it and pushed firmly to the left of cover. The timing was so good, and the placement so perfect, it was clear the shot would bring four before it had even beaten the infield.The death stareHaving already expressed contrition when he ran Rayudu out, Kohli went through a wide range of human emotions as Sri Lanka began to exert pressure through the middle overs. He had been visibly disappointed at Kedar Jadav’s dismissal, and though he experienced joy when he completed his 21st ton in the 43rd over, he was irate in the 44th. Stuart Binny charged Mendis first ball, and was stumped comfortably. If Binny had turned his eyes towards his captain on the way back, he would have been met with a glare as harsh as any India player has worn in the series.The impersonationIf it is a close finish for India, generally MS Dhoni is at the crease, to oversee the approach, then deliver the final shellacking. In Dhoni’s absence though, Kohli provided a near stroke-perfect imitation. When Ajantha Mendis pitched one full in the penultimate over, Kohli cleared his front leg, whipped his wrists through the shot and sent the ball high over the long on fence, as he completed the helicopter-follow through to boot. Three balls later, Kohli launched Mendis over long-on again, closing out the chase in Dhoni style. The detail that rounded off that finish did not escape Kohli either: “Playing in MS’ hometown that was a perfect finish for us,” he said at the presentation. The only thing that would have made the impersonation more precise, was if he had taken the game into the final over, and perhaps struck the sixes off Shaminda Eranga, as Dhoni did in the Caribbean last year.

Stats highlights from the Group B match between India and South Africa at the MCG on February 22

Shiva Jayaraman22-Feb-20153:18

Insights: Dhawan’s impressive ODI record overseas

0 World Cup matches won by India against South Africa before this game. This was their first win against them in four matches.130 Runs South Africa lost the match by – the heaviest of their nine defeats while chasing in the World Cup, beating their 83-run loss to Australia in 2007.0 Number of times South Africa have won chasing a target of 300 or more against India in ODIs out of four attempts. Overall, South Africa have a win-loss record of 4-15 in such chases.137 Runs scored by Shikhar Dhawan – the highest individual score against South Africa in a World Cup, beating 134 not out by Stephen Fleming in 2003. Including Dhawan’s there have been only nine hundreds against South Africa in World Cups. This was also Dhawan’s highest score in ODIs. Dhawan had scored 216 runs on this tour in ten innings before the World Cup. He has already scored 210 in two innings in this World Cup.3 Number of India openers to start World Cups with back-to-back fifty-plus scores, including Dhawan. Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly are the others to do it. Ganguly scored 66 and 89 against Bangladesh and Bermuda, respectively, in 2007. Tendulkar had scores of 127*, 70, 90 and 137 in his first-four innings in the 1996 World Cup.85 Runs conceded by Wayne Parnell in this innings – the most by a South African bowler in a World Cup match, beating Shaun Pollock’s 83 runs against Australia in 2007. Parnell’s 85 runs were also the second-highest conceded by a bowler from a Test team against India in World Cups. James Anderson’s 91 in the last World Cup in the tied game are the highest.131.66 Ajinkya Rahane’s strike rate in his innings of 79 – the best by a No. 4 against South Africa in a World Cup innings of 50 or more. This was only the sixth fifty by a No. 4 against South Africa in World Cups.3 Number of century partnerships India’s second wicket has put together against South Africa in four World Cup games. Their last three partnerships have been 127, 125 and 130. Mohammad Azharuddin and Sanjay Manjrekar had added 78 runs in 1992, the lowest in the list.3 Number of times India have had two century partnerships against South Africa in ODIs including this match. Two of them have come in the World Cups. India’s first and second wickets put together century partnerships in the previous World Cup game against South Africa in 2011. Overall, there have been only nine such instances against South Africa, with the last three involving India.5 Centuries by India’s openers in ODIs in Australia including Dhawan’s in this match. Three of them have come at the MCG and two on this tour. Rohit Sharma also got a hundred against the hosts in the recent triangular series.307 India’s total in this match – the second-highest against South Africa in World Cups. Australia had scored a mammoth 377 for 6 against them in the 2007 World Cup, which is the highest.1 Wickets R Ashwin had taken against South Africa in ODIs before the match and had given away 216 runs in bargain. He took 3 for 41 in this game bringing his average down to 64.25 against them. This was only the second instance of an Indian offspinner taking three or more wickets in a World Cup match and both have come against South Africa. Harbhajan Singh took 3 for 53 against them in the previous World Cup.44 for 0 India’s score in the batting Powerplay – only four runs short of the best score by any team against South Africa during the overs 36-40 outside Asia since 2010. Sri Lanka had scored 48 for 0 against them in 2012.6 Number of openers who have been run out for a duck in World Cups, including Rohit Sharma in this match. The last such batsman was Charles Coventry of Zimbabwe against New Zealand in 2011 . Incidentally, of the six openers, three are from Zimbabwe and two from New Zealand.

Plays of the Day from the match between Ireland and UAE in Brisbane

Daniel Brettig in Brisbane25-Feb-2015The KarateKrishna Chandran, otherwise known as Krishna Karate, has spawned something of a cult following already this tournament, his distinctive name having many fans clamouring for UAE replica shirts bearing the “Karate” name. Kevin O’Brien had clearly taken notice, and when Paul Stirling coaxed an edge to slip, the allrounder clasped the ball and then took on a pose recognised instantly by fans of The Karate Kid films – the Crane pose. Expect it to be replayed many a time before this tournament is out.The widenessO’Brien was brought back into the bowling attack towards the end of the UAE innings, by which time Shaiman Anwar was giving the Irish plenty to think about with batting of verve and invention. One such gambit was to move exaggeratedly across his crease, prompting O’Brien to counter by bowling wide. However one wide called for a ball outside the tramlines despite Anwar’s movement appearing to get to O’Brien, and what followed was a sequence of stops, starts, wides and an increasingly irritated bowler. When Anwar top-edged a boundary to third man from an attempted pull scoop, it appeared O’Brien would spontaneously combust from frustration, and he was withdrawn for the end the innings after his final over went for 19.The zingerNobody could quite understand how Ed Joyce wasn’t dismissed•ICCZing bails have added playful neon to the World Cup, but early in Ireland’s chase, the UAE’s players were left to wonder whether they also had chewing gum attached. A full, swinging delivery from Amjad Javed slipped through Ed Joyce’s drive, and the bowler roared at the telltale sound of ball disturbing off stump. But the momentary flash of the half-airborne bail was followed by the extraordinary sight of it settled back in place, a wicket all of a sudden evaporating. Javed could feel hard done by, Joyce the luckiest man in Brisbane. Belatedly there was to be some justice, Javed coaxing an edge from Joyce when the left-hander had made 37.The bludgeonO’Brien has never quite outdone his hundred against England at Bangalore during the last edition of the Cup, but as Ireland’s chase staggered, he provided a reminder of the destructive power within. After a relatively sedate start, he caught fire with a flurry of boundaries, and then seemed set to go into victory gear when he swung Javed for a mighty six to wide long on – nearly into the Gabba’s top tier – and then another pulverising blow straight. But just as it appeared he would carry Ireland home, a shorter ball and an innocuous chipped catch ended an innings that had nonetheless changed the momentum of the match.

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Mar-2015Solomon Mire was pushed up the order but he did not last long either, nicking one off to MS Dhoni off Mohit Sharma•AFPBrendan Taylor and Sean Williams then repaired the damage, adding 93 for the fourth wicket•AFPThe partnership ended in the 29th over when R Ashwin held onto a low, return catch•Getty ImagesTaylor, playing his final ODI, powered on, reaching his century with a six in the 39th over…•Getty Images…and becoming the first Zimbabwe player to notch up two successive hundreds in a World Cup, It was an emotional century•Associated PressThe departure of Taylor, though, triggered a collapse as Zimbabwe lost their last six wickets for 52 and were bowled out for 287•AFPThis meant that India became only the second team after South Africa to skittle their opposition for the sixth successive time in a World Cup•Getty ImagesIndia’s chase began shakily with Sikandar Raza taking a sharp catch off Tinashe Panyangara to send Rohit Sharma back for 16•AFPThree balls later, the in-form Shikhar Dhawan dragged one back onto the stumps. India were 21 for 2 in the seventh over•Getty ImagesVirat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane then got together and hauled the chase back on track through a 50-run partnership…•Getty Images…until trouble resurfaced with Sikandar Raza in the thick of action again, this time running Rahane out for 19•AFPSuresh Raina and MS Dhoni, however, diffused the crisis and mounted another recovery•AFPThe pair rebuilt the innings with accumulation before attacking the bowlers, as the equation was broken down to 91 off 60•Getty ImagesRaina was the chief aggressor in the unbroken 196-run stand, bringing up his maiden World Cup ton off 94 balls•Getty ImagesMS Dhoni then delivered the finishing blow with eight balls to spare, smiting a six over backward square leg, as India made it six wins in six this World Cup•Associated Press

Yuzvendra Chahal hasn’t been a one-season wonder in the IPL. He has done better this year, both in terms of striking when required as well as preventing a scoring spree in the middle stages

Arun Venugopal21-May-2015Yuzvendra Chahal’s simple approach to bowling is perhaps best conveyed through his glitch-free action: a brisk, short run that culminates in a rapid rotation of the arms – fluid from start to finish. Chahal is by no means endowed with an overflowing bag of tricks. But he is good at what he does. Good enough to earn 21 wickets and stand on top of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s wicket-takers’ list, ahead of spearhead Mitchell Starc.His economy rate of 9.03 runs per over doesn’t entirely reflect the suffocating effect he has on batsmen at times. In pursuit of a release, they try to go boom against him, but end up going bust. Ashwini Kumar, coach of Haryana, the team for which Chahal plays in the domestic circuit, said his “lower trajectory” bowling makes him very hard to hit.”If you look minutely at his bowling action, Chahal never gets the ball to bounce over knee height,” Ashwini told ESPNcricinfo. “For the batsman to be in his comfort zone while hitting a long ball he needs good bounce. For a tall batsman, Chahal’s ball reaches the toe end of the bat. You can hit him only when he bowls short, otherwise it’s difficult. That is a very important reason for his success in T20s.”It’s difficult to approximate how much Chahal’s background as a chess player – he has represented the country at the age-group level in the sport before giving it up for cricket in his teens – influences his thinking. However, his ability to roll with the punches and swiftly stand up to strike back is right out of blitz chess.During the rained-out Delhi Daredevils game at the Chinnaswamy Stadium last Sunday, Chahal was hit for three sixes in an over, by JP Duminy and Yuvraj Singh. His first delivery to Duminy was liberally tossed up. He followed that up with a flatter one.Yuvraj, for his part, jumped out of the crease and hit him with the spin over deep midwicket. Chris Gayle, from short third man, gestured to Chahal that he kept the next ball outside off. Chahal appeared to be thinking on similar lines. He slowed the pace, flighted it well and Yuvraj’s punt wasn’t good enough to clear long-off.Chahal acknowledged the support he received from his team whenever he went for runs. “Virat [Kohli] and [Daniel] Vettori sir have given me a lot of confidence in that regards,” Chahal said.”Vettori sir tells us not to think about the ball you’ve been hit for. Forget about it and concentrate on the next ball. That really helps in a T20 game. Virat always tells me not to worry about being hit for sixes. He backs me to bowl whatever I want to bowl and keep a big heart.”Haryana coach Ashwini Kumar: “You can hit him only when he bowls short, otherwise it’s difficult. That is a very important reason for his success in T20s”•BCCIChahal hasn’t been a one-season wonder in the IPL. After moving from Mumbai Indians to Royal Challengers in 2014, he did well to claim 12 wickets at a creditable economy rate of 7.01. He has done better this year, both in terms of striking when required as well as preventing a scoring spree in the middle stages. Along with Starc and Harshal Patel, he has considerably strengthened what was once a not-so-robust bowling line-up.But, for all his success in the IPL, his returns in Ranji Trophy have been meagre. Chahal, 24, has played only 17 first-class matches for 32 wickets, since his debut in 2009. In the 2014-15 Ranji season, he played only two matches and picked up as many wickets. He turned out in two games only in the previous season as well, for three wickets.In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the domestic T20 tournament, too, he didn’t do a great deal this season, claiming two wickets from four games. Ashwini believed his underwhelming showing was a combination of factors.”You know that Amit Mishra is also part of the Haryana team, and from a team-composition point of view, there can’t be two legspinners unless one of them is an allrounder.”Amit has done well with the bat in the Ranji Trophy. Yuzvendra doesn’t bat that well. Also, Yuzvendra needs to mature further in the longer format.”Ashwini said Chahal’s strengths in T20 cricket went against him in the four-day format. “He doesn’t flight the ball much, which is why he is successful in T20s and not so much in four-day cricket. When you play T20, you have to bowl dot balls. This is the most-discussed thing. In four-day games, you need to play on the batsmen’s patience, lalchaana padta hai (you need to tempt them). You can’t attempt the dot-ball formula in four-day cricket.”Ashwin also felt Chahal didn’t appear very interested in the longer format, but said the fact that he received fewer opportunities might have been a factor. “He could probably be thinking about establishing his place in the side in the shorter formats, as he doesn’t get a regular run in the Ranji matches. Also the Lahli wicket [Haryana’s home ground] is pacer-friendly. So there are lots of factors.”He said Chahal’s success in the IPL, however, will rub on to other formats he plays. “He is a keen learner and picks up things quickly. He will mature with time and we want to make good use of him.”

The way they batted, it seemed as if the hosts were confused by the bounce on the deck and lost a couple of wickets, then re-confused by the turn on it, and lost a few more

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Galle12-Aug-2015When Sri Lanka’s openers were bounced out cheaply by India seamers on a dry Galle pitch, it was easy to imagine the hosts were about to have a bad day. By the evening, Sri Lanka were dropping catches, spurning run-out opportunities, and generally treating the ball like a VIP, sometimes escorting it toward the rope, other times letting it pass freely through the guard-of-honour arch formed by their legs.Galle used to be Sri Lanka’s sure thing. It is often the first stop on a Test tour so that Sri Lanka can distract foreign players with the beach and the seafood, then kick them into the dust on the field. Now, Sri Lanka are in danger of losing successive Tests here. If the match goes poorly for them from now, they will have a third loss in Galle in four games.Kaushal Silva was dropped on 4, but soon after, he became a prop in the cricket gods’ campaign for a universal DRS. Caught at second slip off what was probably just his arm guard, Silva was immediately given out and had no access to recourse. And so, nice and early in the series, the BCCI’s puzzling stance on technology was brought into sharp focus.Lahiru Thirimanne was then a prop in what seems like his own campaign to be dropped from the Test team. He edged R Ashwin to slip for 13, having averaged just 18 in the series against Pakistan.Kumar Sangakkara batted in a difficult situation, at No.4. But two Tests before he has retired, it is already time to begin the “Bring Back Sanga” campaign, preferably with hashtag, some crowd-funded billboard ads, and a line of drunken men willing to paint individual letters on their bellies. Sure, Sangakkara is presently playing for Sri Lanka in body, but has he quite been there in spirit in the past few innings? Is the man who has hit 5, 0, 34 and 18 in his most recent knocks, really the superman who in 2014 scored more international runs than anyone ever has in a calendar year?Sangakkara was out middling a shot straight to a silly mid off in this innings. Last year, only the filthiest of long hops and full tosses were poked so gamely to fielders. His batting computer was supremely calibrated to counter good bowling. It took the balls that did not belong at Test level to crash it.The delivery from Ashwin – a sharply-turning, well-flighted ball pitching on about off stump – was the kind that would have been defused with nonchalance eight months ago. Sri Lanka need Sangakkara™ to return for his three final innings. They need him to resume hitting hundreds while seeming bored out of his skull. They need him to slow the fire on their burning ship.It is not just the Sri Lanka team, but the entire English domestic system that has its reputation on the line here. Some Sri Lanka fans complain that the likes of Lasith Malinga and Thisara Perera have been ruined by the IPL. As Sangakkara averages 21.4 in Tests since he began playing for Surrey, maybe it’s a matter of time until County cricket begins to attract the same ire. Though, given the failure of Jehan Mubarak – a virtuoso from Sri Lanka’s own first-class system – it can sometimes seem like there is no domestic league in the universe that can adequately prepare Sri Lankan batsmen for Tests.The two men that did prosper, prospered quickly and not nearly long enough. Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal’s 79-run stand came from 120 balls. Between them, the pair struck 16 boundaries – more than double the rest of the team combined.”When I was at the crease we talked about how we could get out of this bad situation,” Chandimal said. “If a good ball came, we would end up with no runs and we would have given our wicket away as well. We decided that if a loose ball comes we’ll go after it. We tried to recreate a one-day match feeling. Unfortunately, Angelo got out, otherwise, if we could have put on another 100 runs, it would have been a good total.”By way of explaining his team-mates’ collapse, Chandimal said that Sri Lanka had batted first expecting the customary dry track in Galle, but that they did not expect the bounce Ishant Sharma and Varun Aaron got from the surface. He added that when the spinners arrived, Sri Lanka “didn’t think that there would be that much turn on a day one pitch”.Essentially, it seems like Sri Lanka were confused by the bounce on the deck and lost a couple of wickets, then re-confused by the turn on it, and lost a few more. Today they seemed an easily startled lot. The batsmen saw a turning Galle deck and reacted with a stunned awe more deserving of, say, a flock of penguins invading the pitch.Though the hosts had momentarily forgotten the ball can turn in Galle, their fans will hope they will remember the track is often even more treacherous for the team batting last. There is still a route back into this match for Sri Lanka, but it does not involve playing spin poorly in the second innings.1:13

Chopra: Mathews put pressure back on the Indian bowlers