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Sunrisers had 300 within their sights at the start but even 266 proved to be too big for Capitals

Karthik Krishnaswamy20-Apr-20241:56

What has given the Sunrisers batters so much freedom?

It would have been the highest total in the history of the IPL if it had happened last season, but on Saturday night in Delhi, 266 for 7 almost felt anticlimactic. That’s how far Sunrisers Hyderabad have moved the window of batting possibilities this season. It was the fourth-highest total in IPL history, but it was only the third-highest total achieved by Sunrisers in IPL 2024.At one point it had felt like they could have finished with so much more, with 300 looking like a frighteningly realistic prospect. Sunrisers had gone where no team in any competition had ever gone before in a T20 powerplay, with Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma raising a hair-raising six-over score of 125 for no loss. Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel, fortified by the relaxation of field restrictions, brought Sunrisers’ innings back to the earthly realm thereafter, but that awe-inspiring beginning would remain the defining passage of the match.Related

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Delhi Capitals began their reply by racing to the joint second-highest powerplay score of IPL 2024, but it was 88 for 2. Jake Fraser-McGurk bettered Head’s 16-ball effort by one ball to bring up the season’s quickest half-century, but his dismissal in the seventh over effectively ended the contest. Capitals had suggested they might run Sunrisers close when they began their chase, but they slumped badly through its back half, against some excellent defensive bowling led by T Natarajan. In the end they were bowled out for a symbolic 199, with Rishabh Pant struggling for fluency before he was last man out for 44 off 35 balls.

A powerplay from another planet

The first over of the match went for 19, and ended up being the lowest-scoring over of Sunrisers’ powerplay.Head was batting on 84 off 26 balls at the six-over mark, and his opening partner was scoring significantly quicker than him: Abhishek was batting on 40 off 10 at that point.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The hitting was a relentless blur, and no line, length or style of bowling seemed to have any power to stop it. So true was the pitch at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, which was hosting its first game of the season, and so single-minded the two openers in their desire to hit every possible ball to the boundary. Of the 36 balls bowled in the powerplay – Capitals could have given themselves an ironic pat on the back for bowling no wides or no-balls in that time – 13 went for four and 11 for six.

Kuldeep, Axar intervene

Abhishek hit the first non-powerplay ball of the match for six too, stepping out to Kuldeep and going through his shot despite not reaching the pitch of the ball. This had happened in the fifth over too, off the same bowler, and it seemed to reiterate to Capitals’ bowlers that they were on a hiding to nothing.But sometimes a wicket can come out of nowhere, especially if the batters are going after everything, and this is what happened off the next ball, as a diving Axar intercepted an uppish drive at cover.Aiden Markram came in at No. 3 ahead of Heinrich Klaasen – who is more noted as a spin-hitter – and fell in the same over, slapping a not particularly good ball from Kuldeep – shortish and wide – straight to cover. But sometimes, even an ordinary ball from a wristspinner can behave oddly, sticking in the pitch slightly longer, or bouncing a little more than expected.Kuldeep’s value came to the fore again in his next over – after Klaasen hit him for a pair of sixes – when Head failed to get hold of a ball that wasn’t quite short enough to pull. He had put that length away easily in the powerplay, but there was a man back at long-on now and he was out for 89 off 32.Klaasen is a master at pulling not-quite-pullable lengths against the spinners, but on the day he was done in by an Axar skidder that beat his inside edge to bowl him. Sunrisers were a surreal 154 for 4 in 9.1 overs.

Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shahbaz apply the finish

Given how many runs they already had on the board, and given the time that remained in their innings, Sunrisers’ fifth-wicket pair could afford to bat in a relatively conservative way and make sure that Abdul Samad, a specialist death-overs hitter, wouldn’t be called upon too early. Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shahbaz Ahmed did this, putting on 67 off 47 balls.1:48

Moody: No risks in Sunrisers’ game

Shahbaz broke free at the finish, hitting Khaleel Ahmed for two sixes in the 19th over and taking two fours and a six off Mukesh Kumar in the 20th to finish unbeaten on 59 off 29 balls. It was the Bengal allrounder’s first fifty in the IPL.

A chase of two halves starring Fraser-McGurk and Pant

Prithvi Shaw hit Washington Sundar for 4, 4, 4, 4 off the first four balls of the chase in a battle of Impact Players. Then Washington had his revenge, looping up a delivery with plenty of overspin – the kind of ball that’s rarely seen in T20 cricket, but one delivered now with the hope of stemming the run-flow giving way to the desperation of somehow prising out a wicket – and getting him to miscue a lofted hit.That first over set the tone for Capitals’ powerplay. They also lost David Warner early, but they kept going hard, because they had to, and because Fraser-McGurk knows no other way. His smooth, unfettered golfer’s swing was in perfect rhythm on the day, and Washington – handed the unforgiving task of bowling two powerplay overs – was at the receiving end of 4, 4, 6, 4, 6, 6 in the third over. Abishek Porel then carved Pat Cummins through and over the off side with abandon in a 20-run fifth over, and Capitals were somehow keeping themselves in the game.Fraser-McGurk finally mis-hit one in the seventh over, off Mayank Markande, but despite that wicket Capitals’ win probability kept rising, with Porel crunching three fours and a six in the next over off Shahbaz. At that point, ESPNcricinfo’s forecaster gave them a 21.23% chance of victory, astonishing given the target they were chasing.But that was more or less that, as their run-scoring ground to a halt after Markande – who had a similar effect to Kuldeep, conceding runs but inducing just enough false shots with his wristspin – had Porel stumped in the ninth over.Thanks in part to skillful bowling from Natarajan, Cummins and Reddy – they varied their pace nicely while bowling into the pitch, and used the wide line outside off stump effectively to Pant in particular – and in part to the struggle for fluency that Tristan Stubbs and Pant endured on the day, Capitals went nowhere. From the start of the ninth over to the end of their innings, they scored just 68 runs in 67 balls. The match was long over as a contest when Natarajan took out three wickets in the 19th over to finish with figures of 4 for 19.

The board, however, has not confirmed him for any engagements beyond that tour

Danyal Rasool17-Nov-2024The PCB has said there will be no change of Test match coach for one more series, with Jason Gillespie taking charge of the upcoming two Tests against South Africa. The board has not confirmed him for any engagements beyond that tour, though he does have a contract with the PCB that runs till 2026.Over the past few days, multiple local reports indicated that Gillespie’s time with Pakistan cricket was limited, with Aaqib Javed lined up as replacement. Earlier today, ESPNcricinfo also reported that Aaqib was likely to take over as all-format coach. The white-ball coaching role remains vacant after Gary Kirsten resigned last month, and Aaqib remains the frontrunner to be replace him, with Pakistan’s T20I and ODI tour of Zimbabwe starting next Sunday.The PCB, though, has denied that Gillespie’s job is under immediate threat. “As announced previously, Jason Gillespie will continue to coach the Pakistan side for the two red-ball matches against South Africa,” a statement from the PCB on X said.Related

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The PCB have not confirmed whether Gillespie will be the head coach for any series beyond those two Tests. Pakistan have a two-Test home series against West Indies immediately following the Tests in South Africa.ESPNcricinfo has reached out to the PCB to confirm if their statement locks Gillespie for any engagements beyond the two-Test series of South Africa, and await a response.Earlier this week, the PCB sounded Gillespie out on the prospect of taking over as white-ball coach until the conclusion of the Champions Trophy. However, the increased responsibility did not come with a commensurate increase in his financial compensation, which is understood to be the reason Gillespie turned them down. Consequently, the PCB turned their attention to replacing Kirsten with a local appointment.They initially considered the possibility of either elevating Azhar Mahmood, or appointing Saqlain Mushtaq, who served as coach in 2021-22. Neither, though, appeared to draw enough support from within the PCB’s advisory circle, which led to Aaqib being offered the position. It is understood he will be asked to take on the role until the end of the Champions Trophy, following which the PCB will reevaluate.Gillespie’s next immediate engagement is the third T20I against Australia, a series he took over as interim coach for. Pakistan’s Test series against South Africa, the only other engagement he has yet been formally confirmed by the PCB for, begins on December 26.While Gillespie appears to have kept his job in the immediate term, the relationship between the coach and the board has been anything but smooth. Three Tests into his tenure, Aaqib was hired by the PCB as part of a revamped selection committee, with Gillespie’s powers significantly reduced. He was removed from the selection committee, and no longer had a say in which players were selected for a match or series.He was left thoroughly unimpressed by the changes, admitting in a press conference during the home series against England that he was “just a matchday strategist”. In another interview with broadcaster Sky the following day, he said that it “was not what he signed up for.””For me, when I came on board with Pakistan cricket, I was told there was a long-term plan, and we need to make sure our communication’s spot on,” he said at the time. “I made that a real focus and so you can get frustrated if those things aren’t done how you would like. It wasn’t what I signed up for, I’ll be completely honest.”

Two late wickets gave the Redbacks hope after the batting struggled again

Daniel Brettig19-Oct-2020Tasmania made a rare departure from their usual formula by including a specialist spin bowler for the only the third match since the 2016-17 season, but it was their trusty seamers’ collective that rolled South Australia for 195 on the opening day at Karen Rolton Oval.The Redbacks’ captain Travis Head won the toss and chose to bat first after the hosts had dropped Tom Cooper for Callum Ferguson, only to see the ball move around helpfully for the Tigers both through the air and off a fresh pitch and slip to 4 for 61 by lunch.Only a partial recovery could be managed thereafter, through a doughty 64 from the wicketkeeper Harry Nielsen with support from Chadd Sayers. Peter Siddle and Nathan Ellis shared the plaudits for their spells to the top order, before Jackson Bird and the part-timer Beau Webster – making good use of his height in switching to medium pace from his offspin – cleaned up the rest.On a fine day in Adelaide, South Australia would have hoped to bat through the day, but were still inside the opening half hour when Jake Weatherald edged a beautifully pitched delivery from Siddle into the slips cordon. Brad Davis was victim to a similarly precise delivery from Ellis, moving away just enough to claim an edge that was wonderfully taken by Australia’s Test captain Tim Paine, diving in front of first slip.Disastrously, Head was to become the second South Australia batsman to be run out in a first innings in as many games, after Davis against Western Australia. Henry Hunt called Head through for a quick single to cover, giving Alex Doolan the chance to throw the stumps down and trigger wild celebrations.Hunt fought well for most of the morning session, but in the final over before lunch was tempted to push at a fullish delivery from Siddle that moved away just enough to take a thin edge through to Paine. As well as he bowled, Siddle might well have claimed a few more victims had he prevented the batsmen from shouldering arms by offering a few more balls of similar length.Ferguson, seeking a more consistent run in the XI after some recent struggles to keep his place, made it as far as 29 before he smeared unattractively across a stumps-seeking ball from Ellis that hit the back pad for a clear lbw. Liam Scott looked composed before fencing at a Webster delivery that bounced a little more than expected and being pouched in the gully, and at 6 for 107 the Redbacks were looking at a tally no better than 150.Sayers, however, dug in alongside Nielsen, and they were able to combine for a stand worth 55 valuable runs against the older ball. Sayers made it to 30 before he dragged Webster onto the stumps, and the tail did not hang around long enough to take the Redbacks beyond 200.That left Tasmania with an awkward 11 overs to the close, and Jordan Silk had reason to be nonplussed at being given lbw to a Sayers delivery that seamed and bounced to be clipping the top of leg stump at best. Doolan made it all the way to the penultimate over of the day, before he glanced Kane Richardson into Nielsen’s gloves.

England captain did not bowl a ball in victory over Ireland and was in clear discomfort after taking a catch

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jun-2023Ben Stokes insists that England fans have “nothing to worry about” as he continues to manage a chronic left knee issue ahead of the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston on June 16.Stokes became the first man in Test history to captain a side to victory without batting, bowling or keeping wicket in England’s 10-wicket victory over Ireland at Lord’s, and was in clear discomfort on the third afternoon in the field.He appeared to jar his left knee – which he has had to manage carefully for several years – when taking a catch at short fine leg to dismiss Curtis Campher, and was restricted in his movement in the field for the rest of Ireland’s second innings.Related

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“I actually didn’t pick it [the ball] up, and I actually landed quite awkwardly on it [my knee],” Stokes said at the post-match presentation, when asked about the catch. “My weight went on the inside of my knee, like I hyper-extended.”Stokes insisted on the eve of the Test that he was fit to bowl against Ireland, though he added that there should not be “doom and gloom” if he did not. He briefly bowled in the warm-ups on the third morning with bowling coach David Saker watching on, and said he was “really happy” with how it felt.”I bowled this morning – the first time I’d bowled since being back from India, so it would have been about four weeks actually,” he said. “I got through that and was really happy with where I was. So no, nothing [for England fans] to worry about.”He later suggested that his grimaces after completing the catch owed mainly to his age. “I was really happy with how I bowled [before play],” Stokes said. “I bowled for about 20 minutes and I got through that really well. Obviously I have got time to build up before I push back into flat out, but I just landed quite awkwardly when I took that catch.”I didn’t quite see it so had to adjust myself and landed on my left leg and it twisted in a really strange way. It was fine, I just don’t know what really happened. It was one of those things – but I am 32 tomorrow so that probably explains it.”Asked if he would consider leaving himself out of the starting XI at any stage of the Ashes – a policy that Eoin Morgan occasionally took during his tenure as white-ball captain, though never at a major tournament – Stokes’ response was blunt: “No, of course not. That’s not even something we’ve even spoken about because I’m fully prepared to be bowling at Edgbaston.”Speaking to the BBC’s , Stokes added that he was “taking the positives” and that he “wouldn’t have bowled in this match… unless everyone else went down”.Stokes was given plenty to think about in the field•Getty Images

England named an unchanged 16-man squad for the first two Ashes Tests on Saturday afternoon, which will report to Birmingham on June 12 before training on June 13, three days before the start of the Edgbaston Test.In the meantime, Stokes is among a number of players due to travel to Scotland to play golf next weekend, while Australia are playing India in the World Test Championship final at The Oval.”The new way is you get as ready as you possibly can and whatever you do, you just get yourself in the right frame of mind for the games you’ve got coming up,” Stokes said. “This was obviously a great opportunity for us to get back together as a group and we’ll be doing that again before the Ashes.”We’ll get together and spend some quality time together as a group and have some fun together before the big Ashes series starts. We’re really looking forward to it.”

Shaun Marsh posted a century but was almost upstaged by his teenage brother Mitchell as Western Australia gained a bonus point in their 129-run win over New South Wales

Cricinfo staff25-Nov-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsShaun Marsh recorded his highest List A score•Getty Images

Shaun Marsh posted a century but was almost upstaged by his teenage brother Mitchell as Western Australia gained a bonus point in their 129-run win over New South Wales. The brothers made major contributions to the Warriors’ 3 for 309 and the Blues’ chase fell apart despite the best efforts of Moises Henriques.Stuart Clark’s captaincy debut for New South Wales didn’t go to plan when his decision to send the Warriors in backfired as Shaun Marsh and Wes Robinson combined for a 124-run opening stand. Marsh made David Warner pay for putting down a simple chance at short cover when he hadn’t scored, and was in his typical accumulative mode.Robinson’s 70 ended when he played on to Grant Lambert but there was further carnage to be had from Western Australia’s middle order. Adam Voges added 44 but the real damage came from Mitchell Marsh, 18, who was playing in his fourth FR Cup match.He came in within the final ten overs and hammered the New South Wales bowling to reach 60 from 29 deliveries. His half-century came in 24 balls and he demonstrated his tremendous power several times, including with a brazen flat-batted six over long-on off Clark in the final over.The chase stumbled off track almost immediately as David Warner, Phillip Hughes and Phil Jaques failed to have much impact and before the Blues knew it, they were 5 for 77 in the 20th over. Steve Magoffin picked up two important wickets and it wasn’t until Henriques and Daniel Smith came together that the visitors built a partnership of substance.However, when Smith holed out for 47, Aaron Heal ran through the lower order with a career-best 4 for 58 to confirm Western Australia’s win. It was the Warriors’ second victory of the competition, while the Blues remain in second-last place with only one win.