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Luke Pomersbach, the Royal Challengers Bangalore batsman who was detained by police for allegedly assaulting a US national and her fiancé, has been granted bail

ESPNcricinfo staff19-May-2012Luke Pomersbach, the Royal Challengers Bangalore batsman who was detained by police for allegedly assaulting a US national and her fiancé, has been granted bail by a Delhi court. Pomersbach, however, has had to surrender his passport and deposit a surety of Rs 30,000 (approximately $550).The case was filed on Friday by a US national, who alleged that Pomersbach assaulted her and her fiancé in their room at the team hotel on Thursday night after the match against Delhi Daredevils. Pomersbach was produced in a Delhi court the same day, when he was granted interim bail. He has also been suspended by the IPL franchise for the rest of this tournament.Bail was granted as the hotel CCTV cameras could not establish trespass. The Delhi Police have submitted in court footage from the CCTV and a medical report regarding the nature of injury caused to the woman and her fiancé.”Obviously, I am very relieved after what happened in the court today,” Pomersbach said. “I am happy with the support I have got from my family and girlfriend back home and the RCB. I am looking forward to get to the bottom of the investigation.”

England pair Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann shared four wickets on their return to county duty as Nottinghamshire fought back to dismiss Sussex for 304

ESPNcricinfo staff10-May-2011
Scorecard
Stuart Broad picked up two wickets at Hove, including that of Luke Wright•Getty Images

England pair Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann shared four wickets on their return to county duty as Nottinghamshire fought back to dismiss Sussex for 304 on the first day of the County Championship match at Hove. Sussex looked like making the most of winning the toss when openers Ed Joyce and Chris Nash posted their third century stand of the season. But Sussex were never the same after Joyce and Luke Wells fell just before lunch.A dry pitch is already turning, albeit slowly, and five of the wickets fell to spin. Swann removed Joyce with his 10th delivery while Samit Patel finished with 3 for 37 including skipper Mike Yardy and Nash, who passed 50 for the fifth time this season without converting it into a hundred.Nash and Joyce scored at five-an-over for most of the morning session with Nash, who raced to 50 off 35 balls, taking full advantage of some wayward bowling, particularly from Andre Adams. But Swann struck in his second over when Joyce was leg before to a ball which turned and struck him high on the pad and just before lunch Wells, who has scored two centuries already this summer, was bowled for a 21-ball duck by Patel.Murray Goodwin struck Adams for two fours in an over but the New Zealander broke through when wicketkeeper Chris Read ran backwards to take an excellent diving catch off a mis-timed pull to leave Sussex on 119 for 3.Matt Prior, who was also making his Championship return, added 70 in 17 overs with Nash to regain the initiative but Swann returned to the attack and struck straightaway when Prior sliced Swann’s first ball back to cover. Nash had looked untroubled, hitting 13 fours in 205 minutes in moving to his highest score of the season. But seven short of his hundred he missed a straight one from Patel and was did not look surprised when the leg before appeal was upheld.Yardy, also making his first Championship appearance of the season as he recovers from depression, helped England team-mate Luke Wright put on 39 for the sixth wicket either side of tea. But Patel struck again when he turned one as Yardy tried to drive and Adam Voges snapped up the edge at slip.Wright took the attack to Swann, twice striking him off the front foot to the boundary in an over, and was going well on 33 when Broad returned to the attack and to have him caught down the leg side. Broad was in business again later in the over when his nip-backer trapped James Anyon and Sussex were still 18 short of securing a third batting point when
Amjad Khan played across his pads to give the persevering Luke Fletcher a wicket.But Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, mixing careful defence with the occasional attacking flourish, made an unbeaten 43 off 52 balls with six fours and helped last man Monty Panesar take the score to 304 before Panesar played on to give Adams his 500th first-class wicket.Panesar is likely to have plenty of work as the contest unfolds and he and his team-mates finished the day on a positive note when Rana struck in his second over with the new ball, bowling left-hander Neil Edwards via an inside edge as Notts closed on 5 for 1.

Worcestershire’s recovery from relegation to Division Two of the County Championship – and a subsequent £300,000 cut in their playing budget – continued at New Road as they overcame Derbyshire by eight wickets to register their third win of the season

20-May-2010
Scorecard
Worcestershire’s recovery from relegation to Division Two of the County Championship – and a subsequent £300,000 cut in their playing budget – continued at New Road as they overcame Derbyshire by eight wickets to register their third win of the season.A revamped side finally dismissed the visitors for 389 and then cantered to a target of 126 with 14.1 overs to spare as Phil Jaques narrowly missed the fastest championship century of the season.The Australian left-hander romped to 94 from 57 balls with two sixes and 17 fours, but with only four needed for victory, he was caught on the deep square-leg boundary off Robin Peterson.Jaques got the run-chase under way with four fours in succession off Tim Groenewald and a game that Derbyshire fought so hard to save was snatched away from them as he reached 50 from 35 balls. Vikram Solanki and Jaques both cleared the fence in the same over from Peterson as the home side moved up to third place in the table.An extensive and fascinating last day was available to anyone walking in off the street after Worcestershire officials – possibly anticipating a much earlier finish – offered free admission. Athough Derbyshire mustered resilience after being made to follow on 264 behind, Garry Park’s fourth career century – all of them not out – merely delayed another defeat after their mauling by Middlesex last week.The South African-born batsman gradually found some form, moving from 34 overnight to an unbeaten 116 from 288 balls, but Worcestershire’s seam quartet persevered until they had shared all 20 wickets in the match.Greg Smith added only 13 before he was caught down the leg-side off Richard Jones for 64 and Chesney Hughes, the left-handed teenager from Anguilla, fell for 20, pushing a bat-pad chance to short leg off Jack Shantry.Derbyshire, still 81 behind on starting the last day at 183 for 3, had reduced the deficit to only four when Worcestershire made their final push on taking the new ball. It worked initially with wickets in quick succession for Alan Richardson and Jones, but Park’s craft and determination gave the lower order an incentive to hang around.They did this so well that the last three held up Worcestershire for more than two hours. Park reached his hundred with a pick-up for six and the number 11, Steffan Jones, followed up his 86 in the first innings with 21 before Richardson claimed his sixth wicket of the game in his 58th over.

England finding their range after difficult start as SA seek to maintain winning run

Firdose Moonda20-Jun-2024

Big picture: Who will give way at the top of Group 2?

What direction is the drama following these two teams going to go in next?On the face of it, things are going smoothly for South Africa. They are unbeaten at the tournament and have won matches when both setting targets and chasing but, and this is a big but, none of it has been easy. It’s not just they were pushed by former champions Sri Lanka (who actually did the least pushing) and fellow Super Eighters Bangladesh but also by three Associates: Netherlands, Nepal and USA. If England were watching, they will have seen the flaws in South Africa’s make-up, most notably in the batting. Two of the top three – Quinton de Kock and Aiden Markram – have only just found form and the middle-order have not yet had the opportunity to play to their potential.England will have been more pre-occupied with their own sideshows. They survived a group-stage scare in which they were all but written off after their rain-out against Scotland and have played and lost to their biggest rivals, Australia. Their net-run-rate boosting victories over Oman and Namibia helped ensure their survival once Scotland’s challenge had faded, but their most recent win over West Indies could yet propel their campaign to a new level. It is entirely possible that three teams in a Super Eight pool of four could end up with two wins each, especially given USA’s underdog status in Group 2, and so net run-rate could provide decisive. England’s is currently at 1.34, which leaves them in a good position, and after their shaky start, they would like to think they’ve got on a roll.South Africa might argue that they are already on one, and all they have to do is stay consistent with the knockouts in sight. Their next challenge is to maintain their winning start against two former champions. England’s task is much less abstract. South Africa humbled them at the 2023 ODI World Cup, in the middle of a horror run they don’t want to repeat, and with only USA to come, they have a chance to stamp their authority on this event.

Form guide

South Africa: WWWWW (last five matches, most recent first)

England: WWWLW

In the spotlight: Opening batters and the quickest of the quick

Both Quinton de Kock and Phil Salt played their best innings of the T20 World Cup in their last games with de Kock’s 74 setting South Africa up for a big total and Salt’s 87* helping England chase 181 against West Indies. Before those knocks, the numbers were not quite what the pair may have liked. De Kock had scores of 20, 0, 18 and 10 and Salt 37, 12 and 11. Starts, for sure and crucial to the tone of the innings, but they were not there at the end. Having players with their aggression bat through could be key on surfaces that seem to have offer runs and so how they perform in the next two matches could be key to their respective team’s semi-final hopes.South Africa have not had the challenge of consistent and genuine pace until now which makes Jofra Archer an interesting opponent. He is England’s joint-leading bowler at the tournament so far and has their best economy rate of 6.58 and could prove a handful to a top-order that is still finding its feet at the event. They’ll hope to counter-punch through Anrich Nortje , who equalled Dale Steyn’s record for the most wickets by a South African at T20 World Cups in the last match, and has looked menacing throughout. Nortje is the tournament’s second-highest wicket-taker so far and has been played with respect. Will England’s batters, who enjoy pace on, show him the same?

Team news: Changes afoot for both teams?

South Africa are spoilt for choice in the bowling department and opted to bench Ottneil Baartman to accommodate an extra spinner in Antigua. That team composition could work well for them in St Lucia too but Tabraiz Shamsi was expensive against USA and they may consider left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin instead. However, given the variations he offers, Baartman could come back into contention too and it is a case of trying to fit three players into one spot.South Africa: 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Reeza Hendricks, 3 Aiden Markam, 4 Tristan Stubbs, 5 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 6 David Miller, 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Keshav Maharaj, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Tabraiz Shamsi/Ottneil Baartman, 11 Anrich NortjeEngland stormed to a convincing win with this XI at this venue over West Indies, but the short turnaround means Mark Wood may be due a break from the action after another wholehearted, if unrewarded, display. Chris Jordan is the obvious inclusion, with Sam Curran’s left-handed options seemingly established ahead of Will Jacks, who struggled to translate his aggressive intent into runs in his two outings against Australia and Oman.England: 1 Phil Salt, 2 Jos Buttler (capt, wk), 3 Moeen Ali, 4 Jonny Bairstow, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Liam Livingstone, 7 Sam Curran, 8 Jofra Archer, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 Mark Wood / Chris Jordan, 11 Reece Topley

Pitch and conditions

Runs, and a fair few of them, have been available throughout the matches that have been played here with a first-innings average of 187. However, it’s not all smooth sailing for batters. There’s good bounce and carry on offer and some grip, which brought England’s spinners into play against West Indies. The one unknown is whether playing the match in the morning will make any difference to the conditions as all three matches so far have been night games. Weather-wise, there’s rain due over the weekend but the forecast for Friday is clear and humid with peak temperatures at 31 degrees.

Stats and trivia

• The head-to-head record between England and South Africa is all-square with each team having won 12 matches against the other. At T20 World Cups, South Africa hold the upper hand and have beaten England four times in their six meetings, including their most recent clash in Sharjah in 2021.
• Anrich Nortje is two wickets away from 50 in T20Is and Tabraiz Shamsi one away from 300 in all T20s.
• Jos Buttler needs 19 more runs to become the ninth batter to 1,000 in all T20s this year. Currently, there are five South Africans with that many for 2024: Reeza Hendricks, Matthew Breetzke, Rassie van der Dussen, Heinrich Klaasen and Ryan Rickelton.

Quotes

“Hopefully.”

Kagiso Rabada’s one-word answer when asked if South Africa are peaking at the right time “A lot of people say you learn when you lose, but I truly believe you learn when you win as well. It’s important to reflect on what we did well today. We had a good performance, now we’ll put that to bed and focus on the next performance.”

England’s Jos Buttler has had enough with the platitudes about the gains from losing.

A late surge from Burl and Ballance proves futile as Zimbabwe go down by 46 runs

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Jan-2023A late surge from Ryan Burl and Gary Ballance proved to be futile for Zimbabwe, as Ireland clinched the second ODI in Harare to level the series 1-1. Starring for Ireland with the bat was opener Stephen Doheny (84) and No. 4 Harry Tector (75), while Josh Little’s four wickets through the second innings ensured Zimbabwe remained behind in the contest.After a final-ball victory in the first ODI, Zimbabwe made a solid push to chase 295, with useful contributions from Innocent Kaia (51), Chamu Chibhabha (40), Ballance (52) and Burl (41), but regular wickets for Ireland kept them at bay. Ireland eventually won by 46 runs.Ireland were asked to bat first, and they kickstarted their innings with a century stand between openers Paul Stirling and Doheny. That set the tone for a rigid batting performance. Tector walked in in the 27th over, and even though Doheny fell soon after, he rallied on to crunch seven fours and a six in his 61-ball innings at a strike rate of 122.95. Tendai Chatara’s three wickets in the slog overs ensured Ireland did not have the momentum to cross 300, finishing on 294 for 7 in 50 overs.Left-arm swing bowler Little then struck early in the chase, removing Tadiwanashe Marumani for a duck, but the 89-run second-wicket partnership between Kaia and Chibhabha resurrected the hosts’ innings. However, both fell in the space of 19 balls to allow Ireland to begin their comeback. Mark Adair then removed Sikandar Raza for 25 to dent the hosts further.But Burl and Ballance looked to take Zimbabwe over the line with a half-century partnership for the fifth wicket.The stand, however, ended on 67 just when it looked like the game’s balance would tilt in the hosts’ favour. Burl was run-out in the 41st over, after which Little struck two more times to finish with 4 for 38.Even though Ballance notched up his maiden ODI fifty for Zimbabwe – which included only two fours – the loss of wickets at the other end meant it was too much for him to do. Ballance fell for 52 in the 47th over, the second scalp for Graham Hume on the day, and with only Nos. 10 and 11 left, the equation of 53 in 21 balls was nigh impossible. Eventually, the visitors closed out the game to take the series to the final day on Monday in a winner-takes-all contest.

Sunrisers Hyderabad will be out of top-four contention if they lose on Thursday

Alagappan Muthu29-Sep-20215:15

#PoliteEnquiries: Did Sunrisers not like Warner’s dance moves?

Big picture

This Chennai Super Kings side – which is one win away from a spot in the playoffs – functions at a very high level because of a stable first XI with clear role definitions.Faf du Plessis is the aggressor. And while he takes care of the run-rate, Ruturaj Gaikwad can simply play to his best tempo.Moeen Ali and Ambati Rayudu are perfect as No. 3 and 4 because of their natural ability to attack spin bowling. It is thanks to their efforts that Super Kings have been the quickest scoring team (9.05) in the middle overs (7-16) this season.

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Then comes Ravindra Jadeja, whose batting and finishing ability has shot through the roof, so much so that he is basically carrying MS Dhoni, which is fair enough since MS Dhoni has carried this team for years.There. That’s the plan. And it never changes.Sunrisers Hyderabad on the other hand began the season with a captain whom they no longer want in the XI, their middle order is so brittle it limits the way their top order plays and a lack of a recognised finisher means there is always a chance of things going wrong at the exact time you want everything to go right – the death overs. This disarray is the reason why they are dead last on the points table. A loss tomorrow will eliminate them from playoff contention.

In the news

It looks like David Warner’s time with the Sunrisers is coming to an end. He wasn’t even at the ground for the last game they played and then went on to suggest on social media that this may be the new status quo. Head coach Trevor Bayliss did nothing to quash that suggestion, instead saying they wanted their younger players to experience what it is like to be at the ground, in the midst of all the action.Ruturaj Gaikwad has developed his game so much he’s almost like a new signing for Chennai Super Kings•BCCI/IPL

Likely XIs

Sunrisers Hyderabad: 1 Jason Roy, 2 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Priyam Garg, 5 Abhishek Sharma, 6 Jason Holder, 7 Abdul Samad, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Siddharth Kaul, 11 Sandeep SharmaChennai Super Kings: 1 Faf du Plessis, 2 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 3 Moeen Ali, 4 Ambati Rayudu, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Sam Curran/Dwayne Bravo, 9 Shardul Thakur, 10 Deepak Chahar, 11 Josh Hazlewood/Imran Tahir

Strategy punt

• If there is one team against whom Dhoni can finish the way he used to, it is Sunrisers. He is destructive against their death bowlers, taking 81 runs off 46 balls from Bhuvneshwar Kumar and 45 off 25 from Siddharth Kaul. But this plan only works if – and it’s a big if – CSK can prevent their from facing Rashid Khan because that head-to-head ain’t pretty: 23 runs in 32 balls, one dismissal.
• Kane Williamson loves playing against Super Kings. Check out how his stats against all their best bowlers: 50 runs off 29 balls against Dwayne Bravo; once dismissed, 49 off 35 against Jadeja; never dismissed, 57 off 38 against Shardul Thakur; twice dismissed and 58 off 44 against Deepak Chahar; never dismissed. Williamson batting through the innings could once again prove crucial to Sunrisers’ chances.

Stats that matter

• Last IPL, over the course of 12 matches, the average first-innings score in Sharjah was 178. But this season, thanks to a relaid pitch that is a lot slower and a lot less conducive for shot-making, the average first-innings score is only 136.
• A measure of how incredible Jadeja has been with the bat in recent seasons. Since IPL 2020, he is one of only three players to score at least 400 runs and average over 50. The others are KL Rahul and Williamson.
• Rashid finds life a bit tougher than usual playing against the Super Kings. He averages 27.6 – his worst out of all teams – and gives up a boundary almost every over (33 in 36) – again his worst out of all teams.

A visit by the Australia Women’s team is also in the early stages of planning

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Aug-2020New Zealand are set for a full programme of international cricket during their summer with men’s tours by West Indies, Pakistan, Australia and Bangladesh while a visit by the Australia Women’s team is also in the early stages of planning for the gap created by the postponed ODI World Cup in February.NZC are currently working with the government on the biosecurity measures that will need to be in place for the touring teams with visitors to the country currently required to isolate for 14 days on arrival.David White, the NZC CEO, said they are looking at a model similar to that used by the ECB during their ongoing season, which was the first international cricket to resume amid the Covid-19 pandemic.”We are making tremendous progress. I was just on the phone to the West Indies, they’re confirmed, Pakistan is confirmed, Australia and Bangladesh… so 37 days of international cricket,” White told reporters in Auckland.”The White Ferns will tour Australia in September and then the Australia Women’s team will tour New Zealand in February. We are just working through the content but probably five ODIs and three T20Is.”We’ll just be held up for a week or two while we work with the government agencies on the managed isolation but they’ve been extremely supportive.”Under the current Future Tours programme, West Indies and Pakistan were down to visit for Tests and T20Is with Bangladesh slated for ODIs and T20Is and then Australia for T20Is, although the final structure of the seasons remains to be confirmed given the postponement of the Men’s T20 World Cup. The Tests against West Indies and Pakistan are part of the World Test Championship.The last time the men’s team was in action was in the behind-closed-doors ODI against Australia at the SCG in mid-March shortly before that tour was called off with New Zealand needing to get home before the borders were closed.The women’s team are set to be the first back on the field with their trip to Australia in late September that includes three T20Is and three ODIs.The Women’s ODI World Cup, which was due to be staged in February and March next year, was postponed by 12 months earlier this week when it was decided that there would not be sufficient time for teams to qualify and prepare for the tournament.New Zealand has been one of the most successful countries in combatting Covid-19 and recently marked 100 days without community transmission, but things have changed a little bit since then. On Tuesday, local media said four fresh cases of community transmission had been reported in the country, and Auckland would move to Alert Level 3 from Wednesday, with the rest of the country moving to Alert Level 2*.White was speaking as NZC confirmed a new deal for radio coverage of cricket in New Zealand with MediaWorks Radio. Earlier this year, previous rights holders NZME confirmed they would not be extending their broadcast deal with commentary on Radio Sport, a station which has now been taken off the air.*

Virat Kohli says neither team would have enjoyed batting on the slow surface, especially in a T20 contest

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Mar-20191:49

Surprised by amount of turn on Chepauk pitch – Vikram Solanki

MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli expressed dissatisfaction with the MA Chidambaram Stadium pitch on which defending champions and hosts Chennai Super Kings won the IPL 2019 opener in a low-scoring contest. Despite the seven-wicket win, Dhoni said the pitch was “too slow” while Kohli said he did not enjoy what was a “scrappy start” to the IPL on a surface which was a weary, bald turner. Incidentally, the pitch will also host the tournament final, which is likely to be played on May 12 in Chennai.

‘No one complains when people score 170-180’ – Harbhajan

“See, it was a difficult pitch to bat on but it wasn’t like it was unplayable. We’re so used to watching matches on good wickets where no one complains when people score 170-180. But if it spins or seams a little, everyone has a problem, saying why is this happening? No one has a problem with why so many runs are being made. So people actually forget that the bowler also has a job in cricket. Batsmen should struggle once in a while so that they understand that it should be a battle of bat and ball. In some places, yes, they played some rash shots as well. It was not that this was a 70 runs wicket. You’ll get at least 120 if you apply yourself.”

“I never expected the wicket to play how it actually played,” Dhoni told Sanjay Manjrekar during the post-match presentation. “It was too slow.” When asked by Manjrekar if he was unhappy with the surface, Dhoni said it needed to be better. “Definitely it needs to be a lot better than where it is right now. Even with the dew, it was still turning a bit. It needs to be (more) high scoring. Something like 140-150 is something you are looking at; 80, 90, 100 or 120 is very low scoring. If you saw how the wicket played and if you have genuine spinners in your (bowling) attack it will be very difficult to score runs. So the wicket needs to get much better than where how it is now.”Of the 13 wickets to fall in the match, ten were bagged by the spinners. Virtually every batsman was beaten by the gripping and slow surface, which also had good bounce.While Kohli didn’t offer excuses for the defeat, he didn’t hide his disappointment with the track, saying it wasn’t the right sort for T20 cricket. “The good thing is a game like this out of the way rather than having it at a very important stage in the tournament,” Kohli told Ian Bishop after the match. “No one thought the wicket’s going to play the way it played. We thought somewhere 140-150 would be an ideal score because of the dew factor later on. But I don’t think either of the team would have enjoyed that kind of a pitch, especially in T20 cricket where guys want to get runs and put the runs on the board or chase scores down.”If that was 100-110 run game would’ve been very close. It was a scrappy sort of a start to the league. That is what you get when you have a wicket like that. I don’t think either team had control over it. The pitch was under the covers for four days.”Even Ambati Rayudu, whose watchful 28 (the second-highest score on the day) guided the Super Kings to victory, was surprised by the nature of the pitch, which he described to Bishop as more suited to a first-class match. “Definitely a tough wicket. It was pretty easy in the end, but if they had another 40-50 runs it would have been really tough. It was more like playing in a four-day game because the wicket was such.”Dhoni said the uncertainty over how the surface would behave – even though Super Kings had played a practice match on it leading into the IPL opener – was the main reason he chose to bowl after winning the toss. The Super Kings captain said the pitch reminded him of the re-laid surfaces at the venue during the 2011 Champions League T20, where the average score hovered below the 150-run mark. Super Kings had won the IPL that year but failed to make the knockouts in the CLT20. “It just reminded me of the 2011 Champions League,” Dhoni said. “We had won IPL. We had a very good season. We came back. The wicket got re-laid and all of a sudden we found it very difficult. If the wicket stays like this, it will be difficult for us also.”We were not really sure about the wicket. We played a practice game on the same wicket and it wasn’t turning so much. It was a slightly high-scoring game. Yes, practice game, there is a tendency normally you will score 30 runs more than what you will in a proper game.”

Islamabad’s seamers did most of the damage under cloudy skies, limiting the Multan Sultans to 113, setting up their first win of the tournament

The Report by Nikhil Kalro25-Feb-2018PCB/PSL

Not often, in T20s, does a Powerplay decide the direction of a game. When it does, it’s almost always solely down to underfoot or overhead conditions. Under atypically overcast skies in Dubai, after a 25-minute delay due to light rain, Islamabad United’s seamers capitalised on swinging conditions to leave Multan Sultans at 24 for 3 after the first six overs.That period set the tone for the rest of the match. Multan weren’t able to recover, eventually slumping to 113 all out in the final over. At one point during the 54-run fifth-wicket partnership between Shoaib Malik and Kieron Pollard, it seemed like Multan could muster a score they could defend in bowling-friendly conditions.Imran Tahir gave them some hope with 3 for 19, but Hussain Talat snuffed that out with a sparkling innings, first steadying the chase before showing off his range with a 34-ball 48 that gave Islamabad their first win of the tournament.

Where the match was won

Islamabad’s bowlers kept Multan to 24 for 3 in the Powerplay, but the next four overs damaged their hopes of a 120-plus score. Multan’s batsmen took too long looking to consolidate, adding just 18 runs in four overs for the loss of Ahmed Shehzad. With a score at 42 for 4, even a bright cameo wouldn’t have sufficed.

The men that won it

The conditions were skewed towards the fast bowlers so much that legspinner Shadab Khan was given only two overs. Islamabad’s quicks didn’t disappoint. Captain Rumman Raees and Mohammad Sami combined for figures of 7.5-0-33-5 to give their team a distinct edge. Steven Finn and Andre Russell also chipped in with three wickets between them.But the most significant contribution was from Talat. At 63 for 5, Multan were buoyant, but Talat soaked up that pressure initially, before expanding his strokeplay to find the gaps. He finished with four fours and three sixes in his match-winning knock.

Moment of the match

In three innings in this season’s PSL, Sohaib Maqsood has scored 26 runs, at an average of 8.67. That lack of confidence may have manifested into hesitation in the field. In the 10th over of Islamabad’s chase, Talat clipped a delivery from Junaid Khan towards midwicket. He called his partner Asif Ali for a run before sending him back too late. Or so everyone thought. Maqsood picked up, ran towards the bowler’s stumps, glanced at the batsman and missed an under-arm throw from a metre away.

Where they stand

Being the only team with two wins in the tournament, Multan retained their position at the top of the table. Islamabad stayed at fifth spot with one win in two games.

Titans claimed a second successive T20 title and denied Warriors a first trophy in seven seasons by defending 156

Firdose Moonda16-Dec-2016
ScorecardDavid Wiese’s late blows proved the difference•Associated Press

Titans claimed a second successive T20 title and denied Warriors a first trophy in seven seasons by defending 156, despite losing their captain Albie Morkel to a hamstring injury in their first over in the field. Lungi Ngidi and Junior Dala both conceded under seven runs an over but the hero was Malusi Siboto who defended 12 off the final over to secure a tense win.A penultimate over that was boundary-less and cost Dala just six runs set the tone for Siboto’s heroics but they were not without drama. He sent down a slower ball first delivery, then a dot ball, and then only three singles to all but guarantee Titans the win. However, with what should have been the final ball, Siboto bowled a leg-side wide to leave open the prospect of a Super Over deciding the tournament. But he finished on target to leave Warriors wondering how they had left it to their seventh-wicket pair of Lesiba Ngoepe and Sisanda Magala needing to score 31 off 22 balls.The enormity of the occasion – Warriors last played in a final in the 2010-11 season – seemed to overwhelm them but they showed glimpses of breaking their drought. They pulled Titans back from 105 for 3 to restrict them to a below-par score at altitude but none of their senior batsmen could anchor the chase.Warriors reply began tentatively when Clyde Fortuin hit the ball straight to Aiden Markram at backward point but Titans’ joy soon turned to worry. Morkel grabbed at his hamstring in pain as the wicket fell and could not complete the over.David Wiese took over the captaincy and bowled the next over from Morkel’s end, with equal success. He had the leading run-scorer in the competition, Jon-Jon Smuts, caught behind and Warriors were in early trouble. Their malaise could have deepened when Ngidi appealed for a catch against Colin Ingram, who had yet to score, but umpire Allahudien Paleker turned him down. Ingram only faced another eight deliveries before Ngidi had the last laugh and Titans took the Powerplay honours with Warriors on 44 for 3.Colin Ackermann and Christiaan Jonker got them back on track with a clinical attack on the Titans change bowlers. They were particularly severe on left-arm wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, whose first over cost 14, but he could have had both their wickets. After Ackermann hit Shamsi over the grass embankment for six, he skied another strike but Siboto put it down and conceded a run. Off the next ball, Jonker tried to flick and was caught by Junior Dala to put Titans back in it.Ackermann shared in a 30-run fifth-wicket stand with Qaasim Adams, who is on loan from Titans and gave it to his old team with a feisty 17 off 16 balls. Before he could do any more damage, though, Shamsi removed him lbw with the last ball of his spell. The tale twisted even more when Ackermann holed out to Ngidi and all but ended Warriors’ challenge.That would have come as relief to Titans, who should have scored more after their strong start. They put on 35 in the first four overs, which included two overs from Kyle Abbott who was selected ahead of the competition’s second-highest wicket-taker Andrew Birch, despite Birch’s 5 for 16 against the same opposition at the same ground in the group stage.Warriors fought back when Basheeru Walters made the first breakthrough and two further blows left Titans 73 for 3 in the 10th over. Despite needing some firepower Titans did not send in their star batsman Farhaan Behardien immediately and tasked Heino Kuhn with partnering Morkel in the middle. Kuhn was run out in the 14th over, which sparked a mini-collapse. They lost three for 21, including Behardien, who was unable to provide a replay of his 14-ball fifty from the weekend, and Morkel, also run-out.At 126 for 6, with 16 balls remaining, Titans were in danger of finishing well below par but Wiese took them to respectability. He plundered 16 runs in a 19-run final over that took Titans over 150 and, in the end, it proved enough.