Dinesh Karthik on his productive domestic season, and how he has improved his batting and keeping

Interview by Deivarayan Muthu06-Apr-2017You had a bumper List A season – 854 runs in 12 innings.
I am definitely happy with the season. I am in a good space mentally and when I am on the field. I just ride with the wave. I am just as positive as I can be and do the best as I can.Your confidence as a batsman stood out during the Vijay Hazare games, particularly in the final. You were driving fluently on the off side, despite fielders being placed at point, backward point, cover point and extra cover.
I am hitting the ball well and getting into good positions. When you are doing that, you tend to look at the gaps a lot more and play your shots. The difference between batting well and not that well is that you generally find gaps. I have been lucky that way this season.What’s the difference between the in-form Dinesh Karthik and the Dinesh Karthik of old?
This Karthik prepares well off the field. That has been the difference. Training helps you get physically stronger and a lot of times it helps you push the bar mentally as well. The way we trained at the Vijay Hazare and before the Ranji Trophy, it helped us. You might have spoken to [Hrishikesh] Kanitkar [the Tamil Nadu coach]. The practice situations were like match situations. It was definitely hard – the body is pushed far more than it used to be, and the result showed in the way we played in the last couple of tournaments.From a small sample size, it seems like your bat comes down a lot straighter now. Have you worked on your technique recently?
In the last year I have been working on the technical aspects with Apurva Desai [a former Gujarat first-class batsman who is now an NCA Level C coach]. I can relate to what he says. Before that I had been working with Pravin Amre. I got my backlift corrected. Such things are helping me in playing in different conditions and different wickets. The backlift used to be rounded, it used to come from almost gully in an arc. It is much straighter now and helps me play the ball a lot better.”The difference between batting well and not that well is that you generally find gaps. I have been lucky that way this season”•PTI What is your assessment of your shot selection this season? Kanitkar was critical of a scoop you played in a low-scoring Ranji Trophy match against Mumbai, and you reached the Vijay Hazare hundred with a reverse sweep. You play your shots, but the execution looks better these days.
I have been pretty free-flowing in my batting. I have not let situations change my batting around too much. I have just changed a bit, depending on the situation here and there. I don’t go harder than necessary at the ball. I try to maintain an even tempo in all the games. Sometimes you play well and sometimes you get out. When you get out, you feel it is a wrong shot. Most players in tough situations play shots that could be out, but over time you refine that and give yourself the best chance of performing, the more you play in such situations.Are you consciously looking to build on your starts now?
Yes, after playing so many games it is important to absorb pressure in the middle overs and play at a certain tempo without disrupting the run rate. You will have to find the safest manner to keep going consistently over a period of time before you can launch. I think you need to have a lot of instinctive shots to play that kind of a game. I can understand situations better at this point of time.Your 854 runs – the fourth highest in a List A season in India – will be hard for the selectors to ignore when they pick the squad for the Champions Trophy.
I am not thinking that far ahead to the Champions Trophy. The key for me is to play the IPL as well as I can.With MS Dhoni as India’s one-day keeper, do you see yourself as a specialist batsman if you are picked?
Yes, I believe I can contribute to the middle order as a specialist batsman, like I did in 2013. I have always believed in my batting abilities. I have always put my hand up as a pure batsman and have enjoyed fielding as well. My ultimate aim is to play all formats as a batsman. I have done it before. When Dhoni was there as keeper, I played as a specialist batsman. I keep telling myself there is no reason why I can’t repeat it.Keeping is an accessory. It is always there with me. If somebody is injured, I can always keep. But I am looking at myself primarily as a batsman who can play all formats.”[As a keeper] I am comfortable against fast bowlers, I am athletic. Against spinners you will have to anticipate [the turn] and make sure the hands are not stiff”•BCCIHow have you improved as a batsman and as a keeper?
As a batsman, I respond to situations much better. Experience has helped me be in a lot of different situations, and a lot of that experience and knowledge is coming into play now.Coming to keeping, I need to give a lot of credit to Sameer Dighe [the former India keeper Karthik trained with]. I could not keep for four or five Ranji Trophy games and it was hard on me mentally. The doors opened [when India’s current Test keeper Wriddhiman Saha was injured and Parthiv Patel was picked as his replacement] but I could not keep then [due to injury]. That did not help. Then I started keeping and I am enjoying it.Keeping is like a work in progress. The more hours you spend, the better you get. A keeper sometimes takes five or six catches. It is not about taking the straightforward ones, but it is about the best keeper you can be to spinners and fast bowlers overall. Whenever I find a break, I go and work with Dighe on my keeping. I have got into the groove after the injury. I am naturally comfortable against fast bowlers, I am athletic. Against spinners you will have to anticipate [the turn and bounce] and make sure the hands are not stiff. I am working on it. Keeping, like batting, is a subconscious process.Where do you see yourself in the wicketkeeping pecking order – there’s Saha, Rishabh Pant, Naman Ojha and Parthiv.
I don’t look at the pecking order. Competition is always there. There are 27 states and 27 different keepers. They are all vying for the national spot. What I can do is focus as much as I can and believe in my abilities.What’s your role going to be with the Gujarat Lions in the IPL?
Hodgy [Lions’ coach Brad Hodge] has given me straightforward plans of what I should be doing with the bat in the middle order. I would like to stick to that and do the best that I can for the team.

The Aussie with an English family, James Pattinson, talks about the importance of having a little mongrel, among other things

Interview by Scott Oliver16-Jul-2017You took 5 for 27 on Test debut and won Man of the Match, but you have missed a lot of cricket since then. Has that been tough to deal with?
It’s obviously frustrating to be injured, but I’ve had the opportunity to play Test cricket – close to 20 Tests – and I’m still only 27, which is quite young, so that’s a positive. When you’re thrown into Test cricket at such a young age, it’s always going to be hard on the body, but hopefully I can get some consistent form and have a good run at it now. You have to try and take the positives out of negatives sometimes, and hopefully the fact that I haven’t played a lot of Test cricket might help me at the back end of the career. It’s been good to get out there for Notts and help put some consistency back in my game.Who were your fast-bowling heroes growing up?
I loved watching Dale Steyn bowl. Then getting to play against him was something pretty special – seeing the way he moves and goes about things. And obviously, being an Australian, seeing Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath bowl in tandem was pretty exciting.What did you think when your brother got picked for England? Was that weird? Did he cop a bit from you?
Not really. I was pretty excited for him. He’s a class bowler, but he took a different path to what I did in terms of not playing first-class cricket till he was in his late twenties. But he’s always had the talent. It was just about whether he wanted to do it enough. Obviously playing over here and being English – he was dominating that year, so he was in the right place at the right time, although something he didn’t really expect would happen.

“With my family being English, we watched a lot of footie growing up. And I’m a Man United fan. Beckham was pretty much my hero growing up”

Darren went roofer-cricketer-greyhound trainer. If you were going to get into an unusual career after retirement, what would it be?
I’d probably go into the building industry. I’m doing some study at the moment.Do you keep an eye on the speed gun when you’re bowling?
Not really. Try not to. You just try to feel if you’re in good rhythm. There’s a lot of talk about people bowling fast, but most fast bowlers bowl fast when they’re really relaxed and have good rhythm.What’s the best spell you’ve bowled so far?
Obviously getting that five-for on debut, helping to win a Test match, was pretty rewarding.You look like you’re fond of a sledge. Who has copped the biggest serve from you?
I wouldn’t say anyone’s really copped a serve. I just like to show that I’m there. I think that batters have it pretty easy these days, don’t they, with the wickets and the size of the bats, so you’ve got to make it difficult for them. I’ve always been competitive. Once you get out on the field, you try and give everything. My brother was the same. Sometimes you do push the line, but you don’t try to: you want to win the game of cricket and that’s what happens.Pattinson drives on his way to 80 in the 2016-17 Shield final•Getty ImagesWhat’s the most important quality for a fast bowler?
I think it’s a mixture. You’ve got to have aggression. A lot of the best fast bowlers have been quite in your face. Then the will to win – the to win – is something you need to have. It’s a hard job to come in on the last day of a Test match and your body’s sore and you’ve got to try and get ten wickets. Bowlers are the ones that win you games, so you’ve got to have that bit of mongrel in you to want to do that. That’s probably why you get a lot of satisfaction when you bowl fast: taking ten wickets on the last day is one of those great feelings.Who’s your best mate in cricket?
I’ve got a few, but probably John Hastings from Victoria. I lived with him when I was 18 and he’s been there right through my career. Then there’s my brother as well.You’re flying long-haul to the UK for an Ashes tour. Which team-mate do you want to be sat next to on the plane?
You don’t really get to sit next to anyone nowadays: you’re in business class. But probably James Faulkner.If you were picking a World XI, who would be first name on the team sheet?
Probably Virat Kohli.

“There’s a lot of talk about people bowling fast, but most fast bowlers bowl fast when they’re really relaxed and have good rhythm”

Australia has more than its fair share of deadly creatures. Have you ever had any run-ins or close shaves?
There’s a few snakes on my brother’s farm, where he trains his greyhounds. They’re not too scary once you just let them go. Oh, I went barramundi fishing about a year ago near Darwin and we got chased by a big crocodile.If you’ve got control of the team stereo, what’s being played?
Miley Cyrus has a few good songs.Which of your team-mates is a fashion car crash?
Luke Fletcher is still wearing fluoro orange Hugo Boss shirts from about 20 years ago.Which of your team-mates is the most fun on a night out?
There’s a fair few. Left-arm spinner from Victoria, Jon Holland, is one of the best circuiters. He’s probably the most value.Who’s the last to the bar to buy a round of drinks?
Matthew Wade. He’s tight as.You’re cooking to impress: what dish are you going for?
Barbecue.”It’s been good to get out there for Notts and help put some consistency back in my game”•Getty ImagesA few years ago Shane Warne copped a bit of flak for that “ultimate party” painting, featuring everyone from Jack Nicholson to JFK, Muhammad Ali to Michael Clarke, and Elvis to Dimi Mascarenhas. If you commissioned one, who’d be on it?
Probably David Beckham. With my family being English, we watched a lot of footie growing up. And I’m a Man United fan. He was pretty much my hero growing up.An Ashes winter: have you forgiven your Notts new-ball partner, Stuart Broad, for not walking at Trent Bridge in 2013?
Oh yeah. If you get given out, then you walk. If not, you don’t. But he’s been fantastic to play with. But I’m looking forward to doing battle with him, hopefully, if I get the chance.What’s the best innings you’ve played?
I got 80 in the Shield final this year. We were in a little bit of trouble, and we went on to win, so that was pretty satisfying.Would you be more nervous bowling the last over in a World Cup final with 10 to defend, or sitting on 99 not out at Lord’s in an Ashes Test?
Definitely bowling. That would be pretty nerve-wracking.Who’s the best captain you have played under?
Either Cameron White or Ricky Ponting.Whose wicket has given you the most pleasure?
Sachin Tendulkar at the SCG.If you could be a professional at another sport, what would it be?
Football. English football.Which rule in cricket would you love to change?
More than two bouncers per over.If you were stranded on a desert island, what three things would you bring?
My wife, our dog, and a lot of food.

A player making a comeback could easily have been content with hundred more routine than 190 off 168 balls, but that’s where Shikhar Dhawan did more

Sidharth Monga in Galle26-Jul-20174:35

Agarkar: Dhawan flawless against spin

Test openers share a special bond. They walk out together for one of the most difficult tasks in cricket: negotiate the mischievous new ball, two men against 11. They know each other’s weaknesses and insecurities. They thrive off each other’s strengths. When KL Rahul, a nervous wreck, failed on his debut in Australia, the two other openers in the squad, M Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan, comforted him.Dhawan may have had mixed feelings then that his comeback into Test cricket would not have been possible without bad fortune for both his brothers in arms: Vijay and Rahul. For if Vijay had recovered well enough after his wrist surgery, or if Rahul had not taken ill, Dhawan would have struggled to find a place in the XI in Galle. Not too long ago, India brought in Dinesh Karthik into the XI ahead of Rishabh Pant because Karthik had been in the squad before him. By that logic, Abhinav Mukund would have made it if only one of the two first-choice openers had been unavailable.Then, some days life just feels beautiful. You find yourself playing Test cricket in Galle, by the sea and the fort; 10 days ago you might have been wondering what to do in rainy Delhi or cold Melbourne. The pitches in Galle can be spiteful, the hosts tend to find their magic here, but you walk out to a benign track. Your captain then wins the toss for the first time in seven attempts. And just in case you have any doubts over whose day it is, they drop you on 31. That play also injures the opposition’s third spinner, reducing them to 10 men.”My plans were to go to Melbourne and spend time with my family, do training and get fit for the one-day series,” Dhawan said of what he was thinking 10 days ago, before he replaced an injured Vijay in the squad. “I was in Hong Kong actually on holiday and from there I flew back to India and joined the team. I think destiny had a different plan for me.”In cricket, especially when batting regularly against the red new ball, you deal with failure more than success. You can’t grudge a player this run of fortune once in a while. And almost everybody gets such a day of fortune over time, but it is more about what you do with this fortune. A player making a comeback into the side could easily have been content with hundred more routine than 190 off 168 balls, but that’s where Dhawan did more.Dhawan made India’s statement boldly and conspicuously in the first exchange. The fourth ball of spin he faced, he was outside his crease, right to the pitch of the ball. Earlier he had driven it against the intended turn, along the ground, and between mid-on and midwicket. He skipped down to the seventh ball of spin he faced, driving Dilruwan Perera between mid-off and extra cover for four. The message was clear: India were looking to smash the spinners’ confidence while the going was good. In his 168-ball stay, he faced 111 balls of spin; he skipped down the pitch to 28 of them – once every four balls – for 36 runs. He was in control for 26 of those forays. He enjoyed the resultant short balls sumptuously.Then there was the sweep, not a favoured weapon of Indian batsmen but used copiously by Dhawan in this innings, on 12 occasions for 31 runs. If you step out and sweep well, you pretty much negate the spinners. Dhawan was quick to acknowledge that he was able to do so because there was little turn on the pitch. Having said that, the fact remains that on the first day of the series, the two specialist Sri Lanka spinners were made to bowl 49 wicketless overs for little under four an over. In a series of three back-to-back Tests, they all count.Dhawan was never once beaten on the outside edge; once the ball hit his outside edge, and once the leading edge. In all, Dhawan was not in control of only nine of the 168 deliveries he faced. The other striking aspect of his innings was the singles he took off good balls, placing them wide of cover. In the first session he went at a strike rate of over 80 despite hitting only eight boundaries.It was only in the second session that he began looking for boundaries actively, delaying the cut here, sweeping fine there. After reaching 112, he never faced two dots in a row. It might seem like mayhem, but apart from the odd hook shot, the only time he went airborne was the shot that got him out, minutes before tea.This innings might not tell you more about the rest of Dhawan’s Test career, but some days are just meant to stand by the sea with arms aloft, helmet in one hand and bat in the other, and to just take it all in: the southern hospitality, the salty breeze, the team’s applause. As Dhawan himself said, he was not the man to overthink and not enjoy the moment. “One thing about me is that I don’t like to be sad all the time. I like to be happy and so I was enjoying myself over there and knew that if things have to come, they will come my way,” Dhawan said of the time he spent playing for Delhi after being dropped.And when they come Dhawan’s way, they do so in style.

For the first time in the series, Steven Smith was not smiling as Australia’s limitations began to tell

Daniel Brettig in Adelaide05-Dec-2017Steven Smith is feeling the pressure of the Ashes and showing it in his decision-making. Cameron Bancroft is finding his way. Usman Khawaja and David Warner are not going on from starts. Pete Handscomb does not appear to know where his next run, or his next zany technical tweak, is coming from. Mitchell Starc is some distance from his best and wickets are eluding Josh Hazlewood.This is not, for the moment, an Australian team in great shape. It is being sustained by some outstanding displays from Nathan Lyon and Pat Cummins, with a smattering of batting contributions to cobble together just enough runs for them to defend. Just enough, that is, against an England side that for most of the first three days in Adelaide had not been able to play to a high enough standard to properly test all the aforementioned areas of Australian weakness.That changed markedly on the third evening and the fourth afternoon, allowing England a glimmer of hope in their chase that has been turned into a far stronger prospect by innings of quality from Joe Root and Dawid Malan. The DRS miscalculations of Smith in not reviewing an lbw appeal against Alastair Cook, then mistakenly calling for adjudication against Root and Malan in the space of three balls, gave England further breathing room. History still favours a successful Australian defence of a 353-run lead, but Smith’s anxiety on the fourth evening was almost as tangible as the hilarious, mocking review signals of a suddenly optimistic Barmy Army.”We’ve had one and a half days we haven’t been very good at,” the assistant coach David Saker said. “We’re still quite a young team and we’re still learning. We’ll only get better but we want those things to stop. To be the best team in the world, which we want to be, those things have to stop. I still think we’re in front in the game, we come out well in the morning and we can still wrap this up quicker than you think and we’ve had a decent win. We won’t brush what happened with the bat aside, we’ll have a good talk about it, but we’ve got to get better when the ball’s moving without doubt, whether it’s spin or swing. It’s something we sometimes fall down at.”Smith had been left with a vexing calculation upon ending England’s first innings. He knew the new pink ball was likely to grow fangs in the hands of James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes at night, but also that he only had four bowlers for the final stanza of back-to-back Tests. Weighing up the brief history of day/night Tests with the bowling resources available, Smith opted for the more conventional pathway. Anderson and Woakes duly made early incisions that were then expertly exploited on the fourth afternoon. While much attention has been lavished on Smith’s decision not to enforce the follow-on, more damaging was the failure of the middle order to consolidate and build a larger lead when play resumed in daylight.A rush of wickets under lights is more or less expected in day/night Tests, and doubtless something Smith factored into his thinking. But another collapse in broad daylight rather underlined how this is still a team with a questionable record and a loose grasp of the consistency required to be an international force. While familiarity with home conditions invariably helps, that only does a part of the job.England fought back after a glorious Adelaide sunset•Getty ImagesSmith himself reflected before the match: “I think it’s just about ensuring we do the basics well here in Australia. It’s a bit different to a lot of the overseas tours, we’ve grown up on these wickets and know them a lot better, so making sure we’re adapting accordingly to whatever the wicket throws up, whatever England’s plans throw up, and ensuring we’re on from ball one. Hopefully we can get on top of the game early and take some momentum from the last game as well.”Australia did start this match well, largely because England failed at their first opportunity to test out areas of batting vulnerability. Bowling too short and not challenging the Australian top order to play off the front foot after sending Smith’s men in to bat, they allowed Warner, Khawaja and the captain to set a platform for Shaun Marsh and Tim Paine to capitalise upon. Then, despite evading much of the second night session of the match due to rain, their top order surrendered meekly to Lyon and company on day three.But the following rush of Australian wickets was consistent with the recent story of a team that has struggled to put sequences of unrelenting sessions together, while perhaps also reflecting a level of complacency about the opponents they were facing. Certainly Paine and Marsh would not have offered the sorts of shots they did in the third innings had Australia not been already leading by more than 300 runs at the time, and that against an England side with more batting problems than most.Nevertheless, those missteps meant that Smith and his bowlers were sentenced to an equation that neatly placed the first and potential second new balls to be used without need for the Adelaide floodlights, a major advantage for any team batting in these conditions. For a time, Cook and Mark Stoneman took full advantage, particularly when Starc persisted in hoping for away swing from the line of leg stump and found none. Lyon’s ascendancy in this series was maintained to defeat Cook, before Stoneman and James Vince offered looseness outside the off stump.Cummins, in his first home Test series, has been a constant source of trouble for England, repeatedly answering Smith’s call to claim key wickets. His defeat of Malan with pace, length and angle around the wicket in the closing overs of the evening once again kept the Australians a fraction ahead of the game, but still left England with a chance they could not have dreamed of having after day two of the match. Australia now require Lyon, Cummins or another member of the attack to stand up against Root in particular, who for his part is in position to press for the most remarkable of victories.Should Root get that far, the pressure for a winning result against England will be compounded upon Smith and the rest, while the roars of the Barmy Army will only grow louder. This, then, is a mediocre Australian side that has stumbled within sight of a 2-0 series lead. The measure of their character – and potential for further growth – will be in the capacity to pick themselves up from here.

Stats highlights from the fifth day in Potchefstroom, where South Africa wrapped up a 333-run victory over Bangladesh

Bharath Seervi02-Oct-2017Maharaj races to 50 wickets
Keshav Maharaj, the left-arm spinner, completed 50 wickets in his Test career with the final wicket of the match. Among South Africa’s spinners only two of them – Hugh Tayfield and Bert Vogler (11 matches) – have previously reached the milestone in fewer Tests than Maharaj, who was playing his 12th Test. Aubrey Faulkner had also taken his 50th wicket in his 12th Test. Since South Africa’s readmission, the quickest to 50 wickets was Paul Adams (16 matches). Maharaj finished with match figures of 7 for 117 – his second-best figures.49 for 3 to 90 all out
Bangladesh began the final day at 49 for 3, needing a further 375 runs for victory. They collapsed spectacularly, losing 7 for 41 in less then 20 overs to be bundled out for 90 – their lowest in matches outside the subcontinent.South Africa’s massive wins, Bangladesh’s massive defeats
Of South Africa’s eight wins in the past year, two have been by an innings, three by 250-plus runs, two in range of 175 to 250 runs and one by eight wickets. This is the first time in over 20 years that South Africa have won two Tests by margins of over 300 runs. The losing margin of 333 runs is Bangladesh’s third largest in their history. South Africa had also secured innings wins in seven of their previous eight victories against Bangladesh.ESPNcricinfo LtdMehidy’s misery
Bangladesh offspinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz endured one of the worst Tests for a bowler. Having picked up 43 wickets from his first nine Tests at average of 31.34, he failed to take a single wicket in Potchefstroom after bowling 67 overs for 247 runs. Only two bowlers have had poorer figures without taking a wicket: Imran Tahir (0 for 260) against Australia at Adelaide in 2012-13 and Khan Mohammad (0 for 259) against West Indies in Kingston in 1957-58.Mehidy gave away 178 runs in 56 overs in the first innings and 69 in 11 overs in the second innings. Shahadat Hossain had previously conceded the most runs by a Bangladesh bowler in a Test without taking a wicket, in Hamilton in 2009-10.

The opener has scored a third of his team’s total runs in IPL 2018

Dustin Silgardo16-May-20182:08

Top five reasons why Mumbai beat Punjab

Poor KL RahulWith 20 runs required off 10 balls, KL Rahul tried to hit a full, wide ball for six over long-off. He miscued it and was out. While walking off, he held in his face in his hands and shouted at himself. Perhaps Rahul was angry that he tried to attack Bumrah, Mumbai Indians’ most economical bowler. Perhaps he felt he should have waited for a better ball to hit. If that was the case, Rahul was being very hard on himself.KL Rahul has scored a third of Kings XI Punjab’s runs off the bat this IPL season•ESPNcricinfo LtdThrough this IPL, no team has been more reliant on one batsman than Kings XI Punjab have been on Rahul. He has now scored a third of his team’s total runs off the bat. Given that, he should have been the one trying to stay till the end while the batsmen around him attacked. But, during a crucial 16th over from Mayank Markande, Aaron Finch couldn’t time the ball, so it was up to Rahul to attack the last two balls. He hit them both for sixes. Once Finch was out, Marcus Stoinis and Axar Patel should have gone big from ball one, but they consumed four balls for only two runs before Rahul took strike in the third ball of the 18th over. So Rahul had to go after Ben Cutting. He hit him for three consecutive fours. Now, surely, it was Axar’s turn to take some of the pressure off. But again, in Bumrah’s over, he managed just a single off the second ball. It was all up to Rahul. He had to go for the big shot.How Mitchell McClenaghan’s season turned aroundAfter Mumbai’s match against Royal Challengers Bangalore on May 1, Mitchell McClenaghan had a smart economy rate of 9.07 and cost his team 8.5 runs over six games. Since then, he’s bowled in five innings and gone at a smart ER of 7.42, saving his team 9 runs. He’s also picked up five wickets, many of them crucial. The key to McClenaghan’s turnaround has been when he has bowled. Till May 1, he was regularly used as a death bowler. He had delivered four overs in the last four and had a smart ER of 17.95 in that phase. Since then, he has become a specialist Powerplay and middle-overs bowler and has been used for only two overs in the final four.Why Rohit bowled out HardikIn Mumbai’s last four games, Hardik Pandya had been a regular death bowler. But against Kings XI, Rohit Sharma bowled him out before the 16th over, and in the end had to bowl Ben Cutting in the 18th and McClenaghan in the 20th. It was an attacking move from Rohit. He knew how dependent Kings XI were on their top three and wanted to dismiss them early. In the middle order, Kings XI had Marcus Stoinis, Yuvraj Singh and Manoj Tiwary, all of whom have struggled this season. So, Rohit was confident that his back-up bowlers could do the job against them in the death if Hardik, his top wicket-taker, could dismiss Rahul or Finch. He didn’t, and having to bowl Cutting at the death almost cost Mumbai.Why was Yuvraj not sent in earlier?Yuvraj had been padded up since the fifth over of Kings XI’s chase, but when the second wicket fell in the 17th over, it was Stoinis who came out. When he was dismissed off the fifth ball of the same over, Axar Patel walked in, and Yuvraj arrived at the crease with only nine balls left in the innings. There were several reasons for this decision.First, Yuvraj has never been someone who can get going from ball one. This season, his strike rate off the first five balls he faces has been 77.77. Even over his entire T20 career, he scores at just 86.80 off his first five and 109.32 off his first ten. With 42 required off 23 balls, Kings XI couldn’t have someone come in and get 11 off 10. Second, Yuvraj has been in woeful form this season, striking at less than 90. Third, he has particularly struggled against 140-kph bowlers, often bringing his bat down late when playing shots against them, and Kings XI knew Mumbai had two overs from Bumrah and one from McClenaghan to come.Why didn’t Ashwin bowl till the death?While Kieron Pollard and Krunal Pandya blazed to a 65-run fifth-wicket stand, R Ashwin stood at mid-off looking tense. But his own figures at the time read 1-0-5-0. It seemed bizarre that Ashwin was not bowling, given Mumbai were four down and had left-hander Krunal and Pollard, who prefers pace to spin, at the wicket.ESPNcricinfo LtdIt turned out Ashwin was saving his overs for the death. Mohit Sharma had gone at 12.82 an over in the death before this game and had got hit for 25 in his first two overs, so Ashwin did not trust him to bowl two overs in the death. That meant he had to bowl from the other end while Andrew Tye bowled the 17th and 19th. Also, Ashwin may have been waiting for Ben Cutting to come in, so he could expose his weakness against spin.Had Ashwin bowled earlier, Mumbai may have decided to milk him for singles and wait for Mohit, and possibly Marcus Stoinis, in the death. Still, with Mumbai gaining so much momentum in the middle overs, it is surprising Ashwin didn’t give himself at least one in that period.So then why didn’t Ashwin bowl the 20th?Having come on in the death, Ashwin bowled two overs for 13 runs and took two wickets. He was eligible to bowl another, but gave Mohit the 20th – another surprising decision. The only explanation is that he thought pace was a better option than spin to the No. 9 and 10 at the crease.At the end of Mumbai’s innings, Ashwin and Axar Patel had bowled just six overs between them for 42 runs, while the seamers, apart from Tye, had conceded 123 in 10. So Ashwin may be left ruing his bowling changes.

On their 2017-18 tours of South Africa and England, India’s top-order batsmen, apart from the captain, have put up some forgettable numbers

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Aug-2018In the five Tests they have played on their tours of South Africa and England in the past nine months, India have scored more than 300 just once and have been dismissed for less than 200 six times. Their average total is 188.7.ESPNcricinfo LtdThe reason for this has been the poor form of those batting in the top five apart from the captain, Virat Kohli. Kohli has got two centuries and two half-centuries, but there has been just one other 50+ score by an India batsman, by Cheteshwar Pujara in Johannesburg.ESPNcricinfo LtdWhile Kohli has averaged 52.60 over these five Tests, none of the other specialist batsmen has averaged more than 20.ESPNcricinfo LtdThe problems begin at the top. In their 10 innings in South Africa and England, India have lost a wicket in the first ten overs nine times. The highest opening partnership so far has been 50, at Edgbaston. While Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul have been switched around at the top, perhaps the biggest disappointment has been M Vijay, India’s leading run-getter on the 2014 tour of England. He has six single-digit scores in 10 innings.ESPNcricinfo LtdAt No.3, Cheteshwar Pujara has gone past 20 just twice in eight innings. Pujara has managed to spend some time at the crease – he has faced an average of 57 balls per innings and has three times faced more than 80 balls. But he has not managed to capitalise on those starts and put pressure on the bowlers.ESPNcricinfo LtdIndia’s top order has struggled to put together partnerships. Of their 12 highest partnerships in their last 10 away innings, nine have included at least one player batting at No.7 or lower. The seventh and eighth wickets have actually produced more runs than the first three wickets put together. There have been just three 50+ partnerships between top-six batsmen.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

CSK capped their return after a two-year ban by winning the IPL title. Here’s a quick look at how the champions celebrated

ESPNcricinfo staff28-May-2018.There was singing.

Everywhere we go! We are the Chennai boys and we are the #SuperChampions! #WhistlePodu

A post shared by Chennai Super Kings (@chennaiipl) on May 27, 2018 at 11:18am PDT

And plenty of photos. The seniors took family portraits with the trophy.

Thanks everyone for the support and Mumbai for turning yellow.Shane ‘shocking’ Watson played a shocking innings to get us through.end of a good season.Ziva doesn’t care about the trophy, wants to run on the lawn according to her wordings.

A post shared by M S Dhoni (@mahi7781) on May 27, 2018 at 1:03pm PDT

pic.twitter.com/tcrz4Ezgjy

— Suresh Raina (@ImRaina) May 28, 2018

Celebrations with family@Geeta_Basra #hinayaheerplaha #ipl2018 @ChennaiIPL pic.twitter.com/4rWbNQe87y

— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) May 28, 2018

Batting coach Michael Hussey’s birthday made special.

Hussmeister with the best of all the birthday presents today! #WhistlePodu #SuperChampions pic.twitter.com/hY4cZAnAYD

— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) May 27, 2018

Ambati Rayudu and Harbhajan Singh, former team-mates at Mumbai Indians, won a record fourth title, putting them level with Rohit Sharma.

4 IPL trophies @a.t.rayudu#grateful @chennaiipl #whitslepodu

A post shared by Harbhajan Turbanator Singh (@harbhajan3) on May 27, 2018 at 8:50pm PDT

It was the first IPL win for some.

One of the dream came true today awesome feeling CSK rock

A post shared by Deepak Chahar (@deepak_chahar9) on May 27, 2018 at 12:01pm PDT

A post shared by Sam Billings (@sambillings) on May 27, 2018 at 9:38pm PDT

IPL champions 2018

A post shared by Lungi Ngidi (@lungingidi) on May 27, 2018 at 11:55am PDT

@chennaiipl IPL 2018 CHAMPIONS! Thank you to everybody involved with this amazing franchise for making my time here so special. To the best fans in the world, thank you! I hope to be back! #CSK #whistlepodu #IPL #T20

A post shared by David Willey (@david_willey72) on May 27, 2018 at 5:36pm PDT

The support staff got in on the act as well.

Men behind the scene!! From guiding us to taking care us of at each and every stage of this hectic tournament. A big thank you to all of them. @chennaiipl

A post shared by Suresh Raina (@sureshraina3) on May 27, 2018 at 1:03pm PDT

IPL seasons are long, and the title was won, but that didn’t stop MS Dhoni and Dwayne Bravo from taking on a challenge.

When Thala challenged Champion for a three run dash, post the victory yesterday! Any guesses who wins it? #whistlepodu #SuperChampions pic.twitter.com/k8OzIPMyxo

— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) May 28, 2018

Well, the party is yet to begin.

Enroute Chennai #whislepodu

A post shared by Suresh Raina (@sureshraina3) on May 28, 2018 at 12:41am PDT

Over the last two years, the Trinidadian has turned himself into a threat so hostile he reminds Courtney Walsh of Patrick Patterson and Ian Bishop

Mohammad Isam06-Dec-2018As he runs in and looms into his intended target’s field of view, Shannon Gabriel is an imposing figure. It doesn’t matter that his wind-up at the crease isn’t as massive as West Indian greats of yesteryear – he generates enough momentum to consistently clock upwards of 140kph. Gabriel stomps down at the crease, and delivers with a high-arm action.Courtney Walsh, West Indies’ leading wicket-taker and now Bangladesh’s bowling coach, is reminded of a couple of his former fast-bowling colleagues when he watches Gabriel bowl.”He definitely reminds me sometimes of Patrick Patterson, with raw pace,” Walsh says. “When he gets the ball to swing, he is probably like Ian Bishop who had the outswing. He has the inswing.”With the pace he has, he reminds of me the guys back in those days who used to bowl real fast.”Gabriel has been a transformed fast bowler in the past two years, with the numbers to show: since the start of 2017, he has bagged 71 wickets in 17 Tests at an average of 23.94, the highlights being his 20-wicket series haul against Sri Lanka this June and 15 wickets at 18.80 against Pakistan last year.His last Test, against Bangladesh in Chattogram, came in challenging conditions for any fast bowler and yet he engineered a first-day collapse with a four-wicket burst and ended the game as one of the few West Indian players with their pride intact.Gabriel says he became aware of a need to transform himself at some point in 2016. It is likely to have been during or after the home Test series against India in July, in which he only managed five wickets across four Tests at a strike rate of 90.00. His Test career wasn’t going anywhere – at that point he had 39 wickets from 20 Tests at 38.74.But by the time West Indies next played a Test series, in the UAE against Pakistan, Gabriel was a changed bowler.”First of all, I just want to be thankful to god,” Gabriel tells ESPNcricinfo. “Without him, this wouldn’t have been possible. In the past two and a half years, I really made a conscious effort about both the physical and mental aspects of my cricket. It has taken me to where I am today. I have done some technical stuff, as well as my fitness. Mentally and physically I am in a good place now and I want to continue that way.”The UAE tour was followed by Pakistan’s return trip to the Caribbean, and across those two series Gabriel bowled 217.1 overs, taking 25 wickets at 25.56. Against the Sri Lanka and Bangladesh batsmen this home summer, he was at times literally unplayable. And when Kemar Roach and Jason Holder join him in West Indies’ pace attack, Gabriel’s danger only intensifies. Great fast bowlers often speak of the effect of hunting in pairs or trios, and Gabriel, the experienced Roach and the vastly improved Holder – who has taken 33 wickets an an astounding 12.39 this year – have formed an effective combination of late.Shannon Gabriel prepares to deliver the ball•CWI Media/Randy BrooksThe trio were in full flow in the Test series against Bangladesh in July, creating relentless pressure on the visiting batsmen. It must have been a soothing sight for those looking back fondly on watching the great West Indies pace batteries of the past.”It has been a wonderful opportunity [to bowl with Roach and Holder],” Gabriel says. “Jason with his bounce brings a different variation to the attack. Kemar Roach has all the experience and he is a consistent bowler. Does his bit with the ball.”They have given me the opportunity to express myself. It is a great combination. It gives me the ability to give my own natural game.”Gabriel has impressed some of his predecessors too. Walsh, West Indies’ all-time highest wicket-taker, is now Bangladesh’s bowling coach. He says Gabriel’s hard work has turned him into a bowler who can change the course of a game.”He has improved tremendously,” Walsh says. “His fitness level is up there. He has the aggression. I am happy with the way he is bowling. I am probably happy that he didn’t play against us in the second Test. He had a very good spell in the first Test.”He is the type of bowler who can change the game for you. Big improvement from him and he is getting from strength to strength. I am very happy to see that from a West Indian’s point of view. He is a kid who likes to work hard. I am sure that he will keep improving as his career goes on.”Walsh has also noticed Gabriel’s improvement in moving the ball, particularly his ability to produce reverse-swing. “[Seam and movement] will happen with experience, and the more you play. He is in in a better place than when he first started. He has a number of Tests under his belt and now he has the composure and confidence.”Once you are playing, those improvements will come. You can see late reverse-swing from him. He has good control and he knows how to set a batsman up. He is [going] in the right direction.”Gabriel is full of respect for past fast-bowling greats from the West Indies, and is close to Bishop, a fellow Trinidadian who is now a regular companion in home and away Tests in his capacity as a TV commentator.”I have always been a great fan of Ian Bishop,” Gabriel says. “One of my close uncles is his friend as well. Must say thanks to him for all the knowledge and advice he has given me. I have kept it, and made it part of my game.”Gabriel’s is one of the encouraging cricketing stories of recent years, of a player picking himself up from an ordinary start to his international career and turning himself into a match-turning asset, all while thrilling fans of fast bowling around the world. Through it he has remained a humble man, without the frills of most of his contemporaries.”I started [playing cricket] late but it is something that just happened.” he says. “I was just able to stick with it. To be honest right now, I am living my dream. It is something that I have always wanted to do – playing cricket. I want to be thankful for that.”

Form was on his side coming into the Test, and a resolute Williams made the most of it in a typically gutsy innings

Mohammad Isam in Sylhet03-Nov-2018Sean Williams’ wagon wheel after day one in Sylhet tells you the whole story. Spokes everywhere except towards third man. He was playing spin 80% of the time at the crease, so this means he wasn’t trying to nurdle spin past the slips. Fifty-two runs off 41 balls in which he looked for a single, a two or a three.The boundaries came late in Williams’ innings, as it always does. He has always been a “get set first, take the game deep” kind of a batsman. He loosened up only after Peter Moor started to find his range against spin, in the day’s last session, when the Bangladesh spinners’ frustration had forced them to bowl a little more defensively. Williams’ fours came through cover drives and cuts in front of square, three times with sweeps and two others that he biffed through midwicket.His battle against offspinner Mehidy Hasan was particularly interesting, given how Bangladesh captains have always viewed him as dangerous for left-hand batsmen. Williams scored just 13 runs off 66 deliveries from him, and he only timed one sweep pretty well, fetching him a boundary in the post-lunch session. Still, he survived and Mehidy’s inability to remove Williams must have irked Bangladesh throughout the day.Williams said that being bogged down, he sometimes thought of taking risks, which he perhaps did by sweeping against the spin at times. “It is always a tough situation when you have lost three wickets,” Williams said. “I think Bangladesh bowled and fielded really well. Their field-sets were tough. It wasn’t easy to get an easy one knocking it on the legside or offside. They were very tight the whole time. It did put a lot of pressure and force us to think about taking risks.”These type of gutsy knocks have peppered Williams’ ODI career, in which he has scored 29 fifties and two centuries. In the ODI series against Bangladesh before this Test, he made 226 runs being only once dismissed. His unbeaten 129 was a career-best, but the entire effort slipped under the radar because of how Zimbabwe were crushed 3-0.Williams said that it would be more important for him to finish the tour well, after making such a good start in the ODIs. He was disappointed to miss out on a century here, falling to Mahmudullah just 12 runs short of his second Test century. “I have had a good tour so far but I want to continue to take advantage of my good form,” he said. “I enjoy playing spin. It is one of my strengths.”Obviously today I had a lapse of concentration on 88, which let me down in getting a three-figure score. I have to work hard again in the second innings to not let that happen.”He has had to get his thoughts in order, after seeing so many batsmen scoring hundreds around him while he tends to get out too often after being settled at the crease.”I kept on scoring mainly sixties and seventies. It started to hurt really badly. You see people around the world scoring hundreds. You see Kohli making hundreds for fun. I wanted to be part of that and contributing towards the team.”Maturity is a big thing but the way that I have trained has changed. It is a process leading up to scoring hundreds. It is not walk out there and talent takes over, no. It actually starts from back at the hotel or at home. It has changed for me, and hopefully more runs start to come.”Williams, who reportedly missed out on their last full tour to Bangladesh in 2014 after a fallout with then coach Stephen Mangongo, is actually highly rated on these shores because of his ability to play spin.Williams has had two stints in the Dhaka Premier League, the local List-A competition, but it was a mixed experience as he was left stranded in a Dhaka hotel in 2013 after his club officials didn’t make accommodation payments.Being on his 15th tour to Bangladesh since 2006, the home bowlers should have had a measure of his ability. Mahmudullah did seemingly everything required to get the better of him: he used Mehidy against him the most and used tight fields to cut out his singles options for long stretches.But being in form and making patience his No. 1 priority, Williams found a way out. Zimbabwe were in trouble at various times, but Williams held the home bowlers at bay. His effort now means that with a bit of grit from the lower order, Zimbabwe can eye a challenging total on day two.