All posts by n8rngtd.top

Two weeks apart, Veda Krishnamurthy loses mother and sister to Covid-19

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Veda tested negative after visiting her family a few weeks ago; has not been able to visit them since then

Annesha Ghosh06-May-2021India Women batter Veda Krishnamurthy, whose mother died of Covid-19 on April 23, has been bereaved a second time in a fortnight with her elder sister succumbing to complications caused by the virus on Wednesday.Krishnamurthy’s sister, Vatsala Shivakumar, who was admitted in a hospital in Chikmagalur, around 245 kilometres from Bengaluru, is understood to have shown decided signs of improvement earlier this week, but she breathed her last around 5.45pm on Wednesday.It is learnt that Vatsala, 42, had suffered severe lung infection as a result of Covid-19-induced pneumonia and was put on a ventilator the same day her mother, Cheluvamaba Devi, 67, died in Kadur, around 40 kilometres from Chikmagalur.”With the help of the hospital staff, Veda’s sister had even begun FaceTiming with Veda and some of her other near and dear ones earlier this week. It is shocking to learn that after losing aunty, we couldn’t save either. I can only request everyone to give Veda and her family the time and privacy they need to bear this immense loss,” Reema Malhotra, the former India cricketer, told ESPNcricinfo on Thursday. Malhotra has been close to Krishnamurthy’s family for a long time. Both Malhotra and Krishnamurthy are employed with the Western Railways and represented the Railways side on the domestic circuit for several seasons. According to Malhotra, several other members of Krishnamurthy’s family, including her father, brother and her second sister, who live in Kadur, began showing Covid-19 symptoms last month and later tested positive for the virus. Krishnamurthy, 28, had visited her family a few weeks ago and returned to Bengaluru by the time the first symptoms of infection among her family appeared. She had gone into self-isolation upon returning to the city and returned a negative test. She has not been able to visit her family in Kadur since.A day after her mother’s passing, Krishnamurthy had put out a tweet about her family, and her negative test. Several cricketers and coaches, including former Pakistan captain Sana Mir, Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu, former India bowler Snehal Pradhan, and former India head coach Ramesh Powar, had offered condolences.India is currently grappling with a devastating second wave of Covid-19, with families of several other cricketers like MS Dhoni and R Ashwin also having tested positive for the virus. Sachin Tendulkar, S Badrinath, Yusuf Pathan and Harmanpreet Kaur are among the group of players who have contracted the virus in the past two months and recovered since.Krishnamurthy has played 48 ODIs and 76 T20Is for India. Her most recent appearance in competitive cricket came during the inter-state Women’s Senior One Day Trophy quarter-finals in March in Rajkot, where she represented Karnataka.

Ollie Robinson set to return in Barbados but Mark Wood 'unlikely' to be risked

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Paul Collingwood gives his players “ten out of ten” for effort after hard-fought draw in Antigua

Alan Gardner13-Mar-2022England hope to have Ollie Robinson available for the second Test against West Indies and will not be calling up extra bowling cover, despite interim head coach Paul Collingwood admitting that Mark Wood was “unlikely” to play in Barbados after suffering an elbow impingement that limited his involvement to delivering 17 overs in the drawn Antigua Test.Wood was set to go for scans on the injury after feeling “acute pain” while attempting to bowl in the nets before play on day five at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, but England have not yet ruled him out of further involvement on the tour.The return of Robinson after a back spasm during the warm-up game would strengthen a seam attack that only managed to take seven wickets in Antigua – three of them by Ben Stokes, the allrounder who was reportedly set to have a managed workload but ended up bowling 41 overs in the match. The absence of Wood will, however, leave England without an out-and-out quick, although the uncapped Saqib Mahmood is capable of touching 90mph.Related

  • Bonner, Holder dig for draw as Windies resist bold declaration

  • Wood elbow injury rules him out of action in Antigua

  • Leach the major positive as England find lessons in adversity

  • Simmons hopes for rise in home support after first Test

“[Wood] has not bowled in the second innings here so you would say it is unlikely but you never know,” Collingwood told reporters in Antigua. “He recovered really well when he got some tape on there and some anti-inflams but we are going to have to see what the investigation say.”Ollie is looking pretty positive at the moment. His recovery has been excellent. The backroom staff have done a great job on Ollie and he bowled a couple of spells today and is getting the ball through really well so that is looking really positive. We have Saqqy Mahmood as well and [Matthew] Fisher here, so not [looking for back-up] as yet. We will have to wait and see how Woody is in Barbados.”Collingwood graded the efforts of his players as “ten out of ten on a pitch that was pretty docile and hard to get 20 wickets on”, after West Indies batted their way to safety on the final afternoon following an attacking declaration from Joe Root. England set the home side a target of 286 in 71 overs and gave themselves a shot at an unlikely win by reducing them to 67 for 4 shortly after tea. But Nkrumah Bonner, West Indies’ first-innings centurion, and Jason Holder batted out 35.4 overs in partnership to secure a draw and keep the series level with two to play.”The boys are in a good place,” Collingwood said. “They want to win Test matches. We knew it was not going to be easy to take 20 wickets on there. We had to give ourselves time. The way we batted this morning, there were a lot of selfless dismissals out there, done for the team. We were trying to score runs quickly.”We put ourselves in a good position. We lost a bit of time with overs to the rain which did not help. Bonner’s innings took a lot of time out of the game and I thought we were very proactive this morning to get ourselves in a position where we could give ourselves a chance. We were probably two wickets away from breaking the back of West Indies’ batting. We were very close. Some decisions could have gone either way but overall performance I thought it was a positive week.”And despite the struggles of England’s seamers, with Wood invalided out of contention and new attack leader Chris Woakes managing figures of 1 for 110, Antigua did provide the stage for an impressive showing from Jack Leach. It emerged that the left-arm spinner had given the team talk at one stage, as part of efforts to get the players to take more responsibility, and he ended up being England’s most-successful bowler, taking 5 for 136 in the match but crucially also keeping things tight during the first innings, when he bowled 43.3 overs with an economy of 1.81.”I was really impressed with the way he held the game on a wicket that didn’t turn off the straight,” Collingwood said. “I’m delighted that he’s been able to do a holding role for us, that’s good signs for the future. Giving them that extra responsibility as a voice and a leader in the dressing-room, he seems to be thriving off that. They’re great signs. His accuracy right through the Test was brilliant and he caused problems. That’s a great Test match for him.”With Root adding his 24th Test century – and a record 13th as England captain – Collingwood said there were encouraging signs around the team’s so-called red-ball reset, despite a nightmare first morning in Antigua where a scoreline of 48 for 4 bore all the hallmarks of recent failures. “I really believe he can turn this team around,” he said of Root, who was retained in the role as much because of a lack of alternatives following another chastening Ashes campaign. The next step will involve maintaining an upwards trajectory.”We’ve had a good week,” Collingwood said. “We’ve got to build on that. There have been so many good signs but we want to keep that as the benchmark. Our ground-fielding was superb, our energy, our fitness levels, that’s a good sign of where a team is. Two hard days in the field, the boys kept plugging away. Great signs but it’s 0-0 and we need to turn up in Barbados with the same attitude and character, and desire – all the things that win you Test matches. That performance level, we’ve given ourselves a good chance.”

Smith's career-best T20 knock puts Sixers in hunt for top spot

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His unbeaten 155-run stand with Henriques set up a convincing 125-run win

Andrew McGlashan21-Jan-2023Sydney Sixers 187 for 2 in 19 overs (Smith 125*, Henriques 45*, Sandhu 2-42) beat Sydney Thunder 62 (Warner 16, O’Keefe 4-10, Abbott 3-11) by 125 runsSensational Smith

After Sixers opted to bat, Smith was quickly into his stride, carving his second ball for four, playing a superb back-foot drive against Chris Green in the second over then sweeping Daniel Sams into the stands for his first six.The home side were briefly set back when Gurinder Sandhu struck twice in the fourth over – Josh Philippe dragging on and Kurtis Patterson top-edging three balls after being dropped – but Smith was in the zone.There was a period of consolidation where three overs from the fifth to the seventh did not produce a boundary before Smith deposited Joel Davies straight down the ground. That marked a gear change for Smith who went to fifty from 31 balls in an over where he again put Sams into the stands.Smith was given a life on 51 when Usman Qadir spilled a return catch having already taken a painful blow on the hand. Smith sped into the 90s with two sixes in three balls off Sandhu in the 15th over before launching Qadir over wide long-on, his second fifty taking just 25 deliveries. In the space of three innings he had equaled the most sixes for the season.Smith’s 125* was the highest T20 innings at the SCG, overtaking Shane Watson’s 124 against India in 2016 and his performances have shone a light on his omission from Australia’s T20 side, even if there were logical reasons behind it.

Henriques’ painful supporting role

The Sixers’ captain had one of the best seats in the house, although he copped a few blows for his efforts. He struggled somewhat early on and was 15 off 19 balls before sending Qadir over long-on, although by and large was able to leave the heavy lifting to Smith.In the 14th over he was struck a painful blow on the chin when a throw from the outfield bounced on the edge of the pitch and missed his helmet. In the penultimate over he was then in the firing line from Smith himself when a fiercely struck drive off Sams hammered in his thigh at the non-strikers’ end.In the end, the third-wicket stand ended as Sixers’ second-highest in the BBL and the highest partnership for that wicket in the tournament’s history.

Warner struggles as Thunder slide

Warner’s return to the BBL, after a much longer gap than Smith’s, has brought nowhere near the same rewards for Thunder. There wasn’t a lot he could do about the yorker he got from Riley Meredith against Hobart Hurricanes, and he played a useful hand against Melbourne Renegades, but this was a painful innings.He didn’t often have much of the strike – facing just 23 balls by the time he fell in the tenth over – but couldn’t get his innings going and the frustration was clear. Eventually, he spooned a catch into the leg side against the wily Steve O’Keefe as Thunder’s chase fell in a heap. Warner’s final tally was the third slowest double-figure innings of his T20 career.Thunder have endured some significant batting struggles this season, although with one game remaining can still make the finals.

Lyon sits out again

This is a watching brief at the moment, not quite a cause for major concern. For the second consecutive match, Nathan Lyon was kept on the sidelines as medical staff took a precautionary view of a knee niggle, described as a lateral meniscus irritation.He will be assessed again ahead of Sixers’ final regular-season match against Hobart Hurricanes on Monday, but there won’t be any risks taken with the proximity of the India tour – plus the fact that Sixers are well-stocked for spinners, at least at the moment. They will have to use their bench strength when both Lyon and Todd Murphy, who bowled very tidily in this game, have departed for India. Smith will have gone, too, by then but has certainly left his mark on this year’s tournament.

Scenarios – Can RCB still make it to the IPL 2024 playoffs?

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It’s not impossible, though rather improbable. Here’s a look at how things might go

S Rajesh24-Apr-2024How can RCB make the top four?

For a moment, however unlikely it might seem, let’s assume that RCB win each of their remaining six matches, starting with the one against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday. They will then finish on 14 points. Then, if other results go their way, they could finish in the top four without going into an NRR scenario.The best-case scenario for RCB will be if the top two or three teams run away with plenty of wins, leaving the rest of the teams fighting for the crumbs. Given the current IPL 2024 standings, it’s most likely that those teams will be Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers.If we assume that Royals will win four of their remaining six, and KKR and Sunrisers five of their remaining seven, then they will finish on 22, 20 and 20 points respectively. In that case, it is possible that RCB, with 14 points, will finish fourth with the other teams on 12 or fewer points.Can RCB even make it to No. 3?
Since you – RCB fan – are being rather greedy, let’s see.Let’s assume Sunrisers and KKR both suffer a sudden, and acute, slump in form and finish on 12 points – so just one win in the remaining seven matches. Let’s also assume that one of the other teams, say Lucknow Super Giants, strike a purple patch and win five of their last six. Then LSG will get to 20, and finish in the top two along with Royals. RCB will then finish third on 14 points, with six teams tied on 12. That scenario is also possible if one of KKR and Sunrisers finish in the top two.So RCB can make it – mathematically – even if they lose to Sunrisers

Yes. With 12 points – the maximum they can get then – they will still be in contention. In a bizarre points-distribution scenario, it’s possible for eight teams to finish on 12 points, fighting for two spots.However, for any of these scenarios to work for RCB, they will have to start winning, and keep winning, ideally by sizeable margins.

South African team delayed in Trinidad because of runway closure in Barbados

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A landing failure of a small aircraft in Barbados has resulted in the South African team, along with ICC officials, being delayed by nearly six hours

Sidharth Monga27-Jun-2024The final of the T20 World Cup 2024 in the USA and the West Indies, a tournament already affected by logistical challenges and ambitiously short turnarounds between matches, has not been spared from operational issues.A landing failure of a small private aircraft at the Grantley Adams airport in Barbados has resulted in the South Africa team, their families, commentators, match officials and ICC officials being stranded at the Trinidad airport. The Barbados airport was closed for inspections by the Civil Aviation Authority and the Barbados Police Service.Moments before they were about to take off from Trinidad, the pilots received the information of the runway closure in Bridgetown.”It appeared that the landing gear of the private aircraft did not deploy, but it is currently on the runway at GAIA [Grantley Adams International Airport] safely,” Sharleen Brown, Corporate Communication Specialist with GAIA, said in a statement. She confirmed that all three individuals on board – two passengers and a pilot – were unharmed.Related

  • Luggage holds sway over historical baggage in tight turnaround to final

  • Heartbreak or glory, India and South Africa are already winners

  • Unbeaten India and South Africa come face to face in bid for glory

  • Wiser, fitter, stronger Jansen leaps from one World Cup to another

  • Shamsi: 'It's a huge achievement, but we didn't come here to get to the final'

Passengers on the flight from Trinidad to Barbados were told the tentative rescheduled time was 4.30pm, which would amount to nearly six hours of delay. All the boarded passengers had to return to the terminal, merely the latest addition to the many delays endured by teams at the tournament.The worst was when Sri Lanka, South Africa and Ireland had to spend a whole night at the airport when travelling from Florida to New York. Even Afghanistan, who finished their last Super Eight match in the wee hours of Tuesday, had their flight delayed before playing their first T20 World Cup semi-final on Wednesday night.This is the first time South Africa have made a final of a men’s World Cup. The final will be played on Saturday morning, as opposed to the usual tradition of playing on Sundays. That change meant the second semi-final, currently delayed because of inclement weather in Guyana, could not have a reserve day. Despite giving the two semi-finals the same amount of extra time to get a game in, the ICC has used different playing conditions if the matches needed to be shortened.

'Possible it's my last ICC tournament' – van der Dussen at peace with uncertainty over future

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Van der Dussen, who turned 36 earlier this month, has accepted that his time in the team will not be forever

Firdose Moonda27-Feb-2025While most in South African white-ball cricket see every step of the next two years as building a path to the home ODI World Cup in 2027, Rassie van der Dussen is entertaining the idea that the Champions Trophy 2025 could be his last multi-team event.Van der Dussen turned 36 earlier this month and currently plays only one format for South Africa, though he has been capped in all three. As he gets older and a younger crop of batters start coming through, he has accepted that his time in the team might be nearing an end.”It’s definitely a possibility that it’s my last ICC tournament. I’m not saying that with any preconceived ideas that I’ll call time on it, or management will call time on my career. It’s just the reality,” van der Dussen said in Karachi, where South Africa are preparing for their last group stage match against England.Related

  • All-but-through SA hope to pile more misery on out-of-contention England

  • Dane Paterson gets Lord's chance ahead of World Test Championship final

  • Group B scenarios: Are South Africa favourites to finish on top?

  • Van der Dussen: 'Don't have to be a rocket scientist' to know India have advantage

“It’s such a great thing that there’s so many young players coming through, guys really playing well. A guy like Tristan Stubbs, he’s sitting on the sidelines. Or Tony de Zorzi. And even if you go into the domestic structure, Matthew Breetzke came in and made that 150. You can even go further back, Lhuan-dre Pretorius just made a hundred against Western Province in the one-day cup. Ryan’s [Rickelton] only starting out now actually so there’s so many good players.”I’m not blind to the possibility that if I don’t perform that someone won’t be there to take my place. I certainly don’t expect any preferential treatment because I think in a healthy environment, guys push each other organically and that pushes everyone to be better.”Three of the players van der Dussen mentioned – Stubbs, de Zorzi and Rickelton – are in South Africa’s Champions Trophy squad and along with him are competing for, at most, two spots in the top order. One of those positions is to open alongside captain Temba Bavuma – and that role has shifted between de Zorzi and Rickelton – and the other to bat at No. 3 (though de Zorzi and Rickelton both played the tournament opener against Afghanistan as Heinrich Klaasen was out injured).Van der Dussen knows Ryan Rickelton and Tony de Zorzi are pushing him for a spot in the South Africa line-up•ICC/Getty Images

Since 2019, van der Dussen has been South Africa’s most regular No. 3 and with good reason – he has their third-highest batting average in ODIs and has built a reputation for reliability. But over the last year, that has started to wane.Before his 52 against Afghanistan, van der Dussen had gone ten innings without a half-century and it has been 13 since the last time he scored a hundred. Though there is no suggestion of it – and him being at a press conference suggests also no danger of it – when Klaasen returns to full fitness, van der Dussen could be in the firing line if all of Bavuma, de Zorzi and Rickelton are retained. In the immediate term, it is more likely, de Zorzi will sit out and van der Dussen could get a shot at a title he has been working towards. “For me I always wanted to get to the Champions Trophy, which is now, and then we’ll reassess after that,” he said. “My national contract is coming up at the end of April.”I’ll have discussions with Rob [Walter, the white-ball coach] and with Enoch [Nkwe, director of national teams and high performance] and see where they see me and what my role is going forward. I feel like I’m playing well. Physically, I’m putting a lot of time into my body. If I’m still good enough in two years, I’d like to think that I’m in the mix. If not, if other guys are pushing me and I can’t keep up with the youngsters, then that’s also fine.”Unlike some players in the twilight of their careers around the world – Trent Boult, Devon Conway and Tabraiz Shamsi are some examples – van der Dussen does not appear inclined to reject a national contract for league opportunities.”My ultimate goal has always been to play for the Proteas,” van der Dussen said. “People are asking me, are you going to play leagues afterwards? I don’t know. I don’t know if the prospect of not playing for the Proteas goes away, I’ll have that hunger to play in the leagues. Representing my country has always been one of my big and only goals so if that falls away, I’m not sure what I’m going to do. If I’m offered another contract, I’ll definitely take it and commit for that time period.”And even if that contract does not take him all the way to 2027, van der Dussen wants to play a part in helping South Africa’s ODI side move towards their best ahead of the World Cup. “I would suspect that, from a management point of view, your 2027 World Cup side has to start playing more regularly and start playing together. But there’s a lot of leagues happening in the next few months and everyone won’t be available all the time, so even if it’s in a transitional sort of role, I’ll definitely commit to that. Being here is for me the ultimate thing. Leagues are nice, but that’s not my be-all and end-all.”Rassie van der Dussen is focusing on upskilling his game and believes leagues like T10 have helped in that regard•Sportzpics

He confirmed that while he has not retired from red-ball cricket, in “the last year or two of my career, I can’t see myself playing any more red-ball cricket”, and that he turned down an offer to do so later this year. “I did have a county offer thrown my way, which I declined.”Instead, he is focusing on upskilling his short format game and seeing how far it takes him. “I’ve played in a few leagues and done well. Even leagues like T10 have taken my game forward. That’s why I’m feeling now that I’m still hungry and I’m still playing well.”As things stand, South Africa have at least one more Champions Trophy game and, depending on the outcome of the Afghanistan vs Australia match, may not even need to win it to progress to the semi-finals.They take on England, who are already eliminated, but who van der Dussen believes could still be dangerous opposition. “We were always coming into this match saying that it will possibly be a quarter-final type of situation. Whoever wins that will go through. A little bit changes for them because they can’t go through anymore but for us, it’s a match against England. We don’t need any extra motivation to play England.”

India vs NZ: The unstoppable force and the shape-shifting object

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Rohit and Co have racked up nine wins in a row while New Zealand have become what they need to be to win

Alagappan Muthu14-Nov-20237:44

Kumble: India batters need to watch out for extra swing if they chase

Big picture: Big stakes

First, the unstoppable force. India are having the World Cup of their wildest dreams and it has nothing to do with the fact they are undefeated in it. That is merely a byproduct of their planning leading into the tournament. They left 2019 needing… more. So they went out searching, trying as many as 50 different players across four years and 66 matches. Six months out from the showpiece, they had identified who they wanted and were focused on sharpening their skills. In the 15 ODIs between March and October 2023, they were picking all of their XIs from a set of 24.The chosen ones were given all the support they needed to live up to their full potential, which is why Suryakumar Yadav finally looks like he belongs in ODI cricket. Off the field, India were doing even better. The success of this campaign – and it is already a success – was built in the doctor’s offices and the gyms and the training sessions that enabled Jasprit Bumrah and KL Rahul Shreyas Iyer to come back from injury without losing a shred of their ability to the doubt that their bodies might break down again if they pushed it too hard.Rohit Sharma and his predecessor Virat Kohli have often pointed to a record of sustained excellence whenever they were faced with questions around the lack of ICC trophies since 2013. Whether the drought ends in a week’s time or not, the gains this team has made – the freedom with which they bat, the discipline with which they bowl, the trust they have in themselves and their method, the joy they have spread – already feel historic.Now, the immovable shape-shifting object. New Zealand become what they need to be to win. Rachin Ravindra began scoring mountains of runs in the top order, so the opener they invested in during the lead-up to the World Cup has to warm the bench. They’ve turned Glenn Phillips into something close to an allrounder, the man has doubled the number of overs he had bowled in his entire ODI career during the course of this competition. They’ve dealt with injury to key personnel. They weren’t derailed by the close-run loss to Australia or the one after they scored 401 against Pakistan. They pitch up. They do what they can. And then they are at peace with whatever happens. This is why they are so good in high-pressure games like the one that took place on July 14, 2019.Expect a cagey start. Each team trying ever so hard not to make the first mistake, trying not so much to beat the opposition as outlasting them. New Zealand are masters at this art; at just staying in the game long enough until there is an opening to burst through.Related

  • Williamson: 'When you get to finals, things start again'

  • Samiuddin: Bumrah is a species of exactly one

  • Glenn Phillips 2.0 takes centre stage with New Zealand

  • Stump Mic – Timeouts, resets and the final four

  • Santner needs to be more Santner than Jadeja

Form guide

India: WWWWW (last five completed ODIs, most recent first)
New Zealand: WLLLL

In the spotlight: Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult

Jasprit Bumrah is the man that makes India unbeatable. Without him, they went out with a whimper at the T20 World Cup last year. With him, they thrashed the team that had tossed them out in Australia despite a massive batting malfunction. Almost 80% of his deliveries (175 out of 228) in the first ten overs are dots. He always comes back in the middle overs because if he can pick up a wicket then, a new batter will have to face the prospect of scoring those crucial, and quick, runs against, in all likelihood, Bumrah himself because he truly does come alive at the death with his slower balls and his yorkers.New Zealand’s best chance to win will be bowling under lights. The new ball has moved dramatically in Mumbai after sunset, and early wickets are the surest way to cripple an opposition, even one with so many fail-safes. Trent Boult has not always had the conditions in his favour at this World Cup but if the fates align to present him the opportunity to target the stumps and the pads of Rohit and Kohli and Shreyas and Rahul, he will sure as hell take it. And even if he has to bowl in the heat, he’ll be spurred on by an acute sense of unfinished business.2:29

Ravindra: Playing against India at the Wankhede is like a dream

Team news

Nether India nor New Zealand will be looking to shuffle up their packs. Lockie Ferguson has been managing an achilles injury throughout the tournament, the Black Caps coach Gary Stead told , but he also added that the fast bowler should be good to play the semi-final. On the eve of the game, Williamson confirmed all the players in their squad were fit and available for selection.India have been playing the same XI since their fifth league game, which was against New Zealand in Dharamsala.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 KL Rahul (wk), 6 Suryakumar Yadav, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Mohammed Shami, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Mohammed SirajNew Zealand (probable): 1 Devon Conway, 2 Rachin Ravindra, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Daryl Mitchell, 5 Tom Latham (wk), 6 Glenn Phillips, 7 Mark Chapman, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Lockie Ferguson, 11 Trent Boult

Pitch and conditions

It’s been fun to bat in the first innings at Wankhede stadium and then fun again after 20 overs of the chase is done. The in-between period is when the quicks have wreaked havoc. The weather is set fair and even if not there is a reserve day for the semi-final.

Stats and trivia

  • India currently have the most wickets (85), best economy rate (4.5), best average (19.6) and best strike rate (26.2) among all teams in the World Cup.
  • Tim Southee vs Virat Kohli could be a fun battle. It has produced 205 runs at a strike rate of 101 but also six dismissals as well.
  • New Zealand have been effective at scoring runs quickly in this World Cup, having the joint-highest run rate (6.5) among all teams in the tournament.
  • Among opening pairs with at least 1000 runs in ODIs, Rohit and Shubman Gill have the second-highest average (74.8) behind only David Warner and Travis Head (80.1).

Quotes

“The underdog thing, from what you guys write, I do not think it has changed too much, but that is fine you know, and India have been exceptional.”
“I’ve played a lot of cricket here: these four or five games are not going to tell a lot about what Wankhede is… I certainly believe that toss is not the [decisive] factor.”

Jacob Bethell holds nerve to see Bears over the line in low-scorer

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Alex Davies, Rob Yates fire chase of 147 before Ben Raine gives Durham a glimmer

ECB Reporters Network20-Jun-2023Jacob Bethell held his nerve under pressure in the final over to guide Birmingham Bears to a two-wicket victory over Durham in a thriller at Seat Unique Riverside, keeping the visitors on top of the Vitality Blast North Group.The Bears were miserly with the ball after winning the toss. Hasan Ali was excellent at the top of the order and collected figures of 2-15 from his four overs, while Danny Briggs also claimed two strikes. Ollie Robinson and Ashton Turner notched fifties, but Durham’s total of 146 for 5 looked short of par at the interval.Alex Davies and Rob Yates led an explosive start to the Bears’ chase, sharing an opening stand of 80 to put the visitors ahead of the rate. But, Nathan Sowter continued his impressive campaign with two wickets to halt the Birmingham charge. Ben Raine then set nerves jangling with two in two in the 17th over and he performed heroics again with the same feat in the 19th.The game turned again when Bethell held his composure from the final over to smash a six and a four in back-to-back balls to steer Birmingham over the one with three balls to spare, edging them closer to a quarter-final berth.After Graham Clark scored three early boundaries, Durham’s momentum was halted by losing both openers within three balls. Chris Woakes made the breakthrough on his return as Alex Lees was undone by a slower delivery before Clark was bowled by Hasan.Hasan produced a brilliant spell with the new ball, bowling three overs for the cost of just seven runs, limiting the hosts to 29 from the powerplay.The Bears continued to restrict the Durham batting ranks as the run rate hovered at just below six an over. The pressure to score allowed Briggs to strike in successive deliveries. Michael Jones was caught on the fence by Jake Lintott, who produced a clever catch on the rope to prevent a maximum, while Brydon Carse fell first ball.At 60 for 4, the hosts could ill afford to lose further wickets. Robinson and Turner duly responded with an excellent partnership worth 86 to allow Durham to post a competitive total. Turner found his timing against the Birmingham spinners and raced to his half-century from only 29 balls with seven fours and slog-sweep six against Lintott.Robinson was more sedate compared to his team-mate, but still brought up his fourth fifty of the season with a massive strike over the rope against Woakes. He tried to add another off the final ball from Hasan, only to be caught on the relay by Lintott and Ed Barnard.Birmingham had no difficulty adjusting to the pitch in the powerplay and made the chase seem straightforward. Davies and Yates found the boundary with ease without taking risks, racing to fifty after 4.2 overs. The Bears were a staggering 37 runs ahead of the home side at the end of the powerplay, ending the opening six overs 66 without loss.Davies and Yates both fell for 40 as Liam Trevaskis and Wayne Parnell prevented the visitors from racing away with the chase. On his 400th T20 appearance, Glenn Maxwell’s attempt to reverse-sweep Sowter to the rope ended his knock for 14 and the legspinner sent Dan Mousley on his way to put the pressure on.Raine set up a tense finale by matching Briggs’ exploits removing Chris Benjamin and Ed Barnard in successive deliveries. The right-armer then performed similar heroics to dismiss Woakes and Hasan with two in two in the 19th. But, Bethell dispatched Trevaskis for a six and four to guide his team to victory in the final over.

Pat Cummins: 'Good to retain Ashes but work to do for next week'

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Australia captain admits to “strange” feeling but targets series win at The Oval

Andrew McGlashan23-Jul-2023In contrast to four years ago, there won’t be any big celebrations from Australia on retaining the Ashes with Pat Cummins aware the Manchester rain helped them escape with a draw after being dominated by England.Cummins was part of the side in 2019 when they eventually shared the series 2-2 having also retained the urn at Old Trafford, albeit with a convincing victory on that occasion, and those who featured that year have often spoken about it leaving unfinished business.There was a flatness all-round at the end of this game with England knowing their chance of regaining the Ashes had gone while the visitors were aware they’d put in one of their worst performances under the Cummins-Andrew McDonald era. However, Cummins did make reference to their earlier success in the series which put them 2-0 up.Related

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“It’s a bit of a strange one,” Cummins said. “As a group [we’re] proud that we’ve retained the Ashes but it’s off the back of not our greatest week. It feels like it’s good to retain the Ashes, but we know we’ve got a fair bit of work to do for next week.”I don’t think there will be huge celebrations. Maybe a bit of a pat on the back for retaining the [Ashes]. There’s been a lot of work gone into putting us into a position where a draw does make us retain the Ashes. But there’s a Test match starting in three days so that’s going to be our full focus.”It’s a pretty similar group to 2019 when we retained it and we all came away feeling okay but we felt like we’d just missed what we’d come over to achieve. In some regards whatever happened today wouldn’t really change how we look at next week. We want to win it to make sure we win it outright.”Barring Marnus Labuschagne, who had an excellent Test with scores of 51 and 111, there wasn’t a part of Australia’s performance that functioned close to their top level. But one of the main areas that came in for focus was Cummins’ captaincy during England’s rampaging innings of 592 which came at more than five an over.Cummins insisted he had not felt overwhelmed as a captain and instead turned the focus on his own bowling which fell significantly below his usual high standards.”As a bowler it’s frustrating that I didn’t bowl very well at all, not up to the standards I try and keep myself to,” he said. “I let through more boundaries than I normally do. Probably just one or two bad balls an over. I don’t know [why] really. [My] rhythm felt pretty good, I felt like I was pretty clear in my own mind with plans.”In terms of captaincy I think there has been a few of those moments where the [England] batters have played well, the game moves very quickly.”We knew coming into this series they were probably going to have a couple of days where it went their way and the game moves really quickly, so it was one of those days. It’s tough, frustrating, but that’s cricket. We’ve been on the other side of it plenty of times.”The game most dramatically ran away from Australia in the middle session of the second day where Zak Crawley, Moeen Ali and Joe Root racked up 178 in 25 overs with the visitors unable to find a response. The innings then ended in chaotic fashion as well with Jonny Bairstow and Jimmy Anderson added 66 for the last wicket.”That two-hour block in the middle session wasn’t our best,” Cummins said. “We tried to throw a few different plans at them and maybe on another day they work, a couple of the edges carry through or some of the catches go to hand, but I thought they batted well. I was pretty proud of the end of that day. We were able to wrestle back some of that control.”You definitely look at what you can try and do differently for next time,” he added. “That will be part of this week for sure. I think there are some obvious things we could do a little bit differently. Maybe some plans, the way we executed our bowling.”However, Cummins picked out Australia’s first innings when they left themselves on the back foot with a total of 317 where numerous starts from the top order weren’t converted as five of the top six reached 32.”We probably left a few runs out there in the first innings,” he said. “That was a really good wicket to bat on day one. But historically we have been really good [at] that so it’s not something I’m super worried about, but it’s a good time to look back at all our games and have a think about what we could do differently and put that into action for next week.”

Pakistan docked two WTC points for over-rate offence in Perth Test

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Pakistan were also fined 10% of their match fee

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Dec-2023Pakistan have been docked two points on the World Test Championship (WTC) standings for maintaining a slow over rate in the Test series opener against Australia in Perth. They were ruled to be two overs short of the target after time allowances were taken into consideration.After Pakistan were thumped by 360 runs in the Perth Test, they had slipped to No. 2 on the WTC standings and after the penalty, their points percentage fell to 61.11 from 66.67.Pakistan were also fined 10% of their match fee, with the sanctions being imposed by match referee Javagal Srinath. The umpires for the Test, Joel Wilson, Richard Illingworth, Michael Gough and fourth umpire Donovan Koch, levelled the charge. Pakistan captain Shan Masood accepted the offence and sanction, so there was no formal hearing.Related

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In accordance with Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to minimum over-rate offences, players are fined five per cent of their match fee for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time.In addition, as per Article 16.11.2 of the ICC World Test Championship playing conditions, a side is penalised one point for each over short. Consequently, two WTC points have been deducted from Pakistan’s points total.Pakistan will play a two-day practice game against Victoria XI before the Boxing Day Test at the MCG.