She as been ruled out of the T20I series starting Friday against Sri Lanka after the re-occurrence of a groin injury

Liam Brickhill31-Jan-2019Allrounder Chloe Tryon has been ruled out of the T20I series starting Friday against Sri Lanka after the re-occurrence of a groin injury. It is hoped that Tryon, who is the vice-captain, will recover in time to return for the ODI series starting on 11 February in Potchefstroom.Tryon’s absence has given Suné Luus a lifeline who has been recalled to the team after she was dropped from the original squad. She rejoins a squad that is playing the three-match series as a televised double-header alongside the men’s games against Pakistan starting this Friday at Newlands.Tryon, 25, has played 52 T20Is for South Africa, in which she has struck the ball at 137.86. Captain Dane van Niekerk said that her team would miss Tryon’s big-hitting ability, but she hoped the youngsters being trialled in South Africa’s top order would step in to fill the gap.”It’s a massive blow,” van Niekerk said. “We know how explosive she’s been, and she can hit the ball as far as anyone in the world at the moment. It is a massive blow, but it’s also an opportunity for us, for people within the side to stick up their hands and put some pressure on Chloe as well – to say ‘hey, I can do this job’. We’ve got some powerful hitters – that’s one thing we pride ourselves on, that we’ve got some big hitters, some of the biggest in the world.”Faye Tunnicliffe, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk and Lara Goodall were drafted into the set-up for the three T20Is against Sri Lanka. Saarah Smith also makes a return after recovering from a fractured finger suffered during the World T20.”[Tryon’s absence] doesn’t change things a lot, because we have a lot of batting power within the side, and with the youngsters coming in I’m really excited to see what they do,” van Niekerk said.

The team also decided to donate all their match fees for this ODI to the National Defence Fund.

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Mar-2019The Indian cricket team decided to play the Ranchi ODI in army camouflage caps to honour those killed in the terror attack in Pulwama last month. They also donated their match fees for the ODI to the National Defence Fund.At the toss, India captain Virat Kohli explained the decision. “It is a special cap,” he said. “This is to pay respect to the martyrs of the Pulwama attack and their families. All the players have decided to donate their match fees from this particular game to the National Defence Fund. I, as the captain of the team, would urge everyone in the country to do the same, donate how much ever they can to the National Defence Fund and help in the education and well-being of the families and the children of those who lost their lives in the attack. So this is a very special cap and a very special game indeed.”ESPNcricinfo understands that the BCCI had approached the ICC before going ahead with the plan, and that the ICC confirmed there was no breach of match regulations. “We discussed with the BCCI as they requested permission, it is as part of a charity fundraising effort,” an ICC spokesperson explained.Commentator Harsha Bhogle tweeted that the gesture was initiated by MS Dhoni, who is an honorary lieutenant colonel in the Indian territorial army. Dhoni presented the cap to Kohli and the others before the toss. This could be Dhoni’s last international in his hometown, Ranchi.BCCI tweeted: “#TeamIndia will be sporting camouflage caps today as mark of tribute to the loss of lives in Pulwama terror attack and the armed forces. And to encourage countrymen to donate to the National Defence Fund for taking care of the education of the dependents of the martyrs.”Recently, the BCCI had also announced that a part of the budget for the usually extravagant opening ceremony for the IPL, estimated to cost around INR 20 crore, would be donated to families of Pulwama martyrs.

The key question to be resolved will be around the “one-odd” spot that Virat Kohli had indicated was up for grabs

Nagraj Gollapudi08-Apr-2019India’s World Cup squad will be named in Mumbai on April 15. The meeting is likely to be attended by Virat Kohli, the India captain who is scheduled to lead Royal Challengers Bangalore in their away match against Mumbai Indians the same evening.Although the deadline set by the ICC to announce squads for the World Cup is April 23, it is understood that the India selectors wanted the players to have extra time to prepare themselves for the tournament that India last won in 2011 at home.MSK Prasad, the chairman of India’s selection committee, had pointed out as early as in February that his panel had shortlisted a pool of 20-odd players from which the final 15 would be picked. “Maybe one spot might go to the last minute, otherwise we are very clear about the rest,” Prasad had told ESPNcricinfo in an interview.Prasad had also pointed out that the selection panel would not look at IPL form to firm up the vacant spots, “only because we have already made up our minds”. “We will only be observing the performances of the players we think should be in the squad and the list of stand-byes. We have rounded up on 20 players. We will follow the form of these players,” he had elaborated.
Kohli, too, reiterated the point before the home ODI series against Australia last month, saying the team management and the selectors needed to be “absolutely clear” about the team they wanted for the World Cup. “I don’t see anything changing despite how the IPL goes for any of the players. If one or two players don’t have a good IPL season, it doesn’t mean that they are out of the picture for the World Cup. Those things are not going to matter.”The Australia series was India’s last ODI tournament before the World Cup, and they lost 3-2 despite wins in the first two matches. After the result, Kohli had insisted the Indian team was not “panicking”. “As a side, combination-wise, we are pretty sorted condition-based,” he said. “Maximum one change, you’ll get to see condition-based. But other than that, the XI we want to play, we are pretty clear about it.”The questions are likely to center around the No. 4 slot in the batting order and the position of the second allrounder after Hardik Pandya. Vijay Shankar’s good form since the New Zealand series has raised the possibility of him slotting in there, instead of Ravindra Jadeja, who has performed that role since the Asia Cup.
Then there is the No. 4 batting slot, the bigger puzzle. Since the 2017 Champions Trophy, India have tried out 11 batsmen in that position with Ambati Rayudu getting the most games. During the home series against West Indies in October last year, Kohli had backed Rayudu for the position, as he provided the balance and had the smarts to do well in that key position. However, since then, Rayudu has just one fifty to his credit, which has allowed other aspirants to queue up. And the number of contenders has only gotten longer.Apart from Rayudu, KL Rahul, Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant are the frontrunners for the position. Of these, Pant was a late addition to the race. The selection panel believes the left-handed Pant provides a good option in the middle order, especially against bowling attacks that are stacked with wristspinners. Pant has played only five ODIs, but his fearless batting has impressed the selectors, Kohli and the senior team management, as well as India A coach Rahul Dravid.The one other talking point for the selectors is the composition of the fast-bowling attack. As things stand, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar should be certainties. Pandya could play the role of the part-time seamer, but should India then have a fourth specialist seamer? If that is the case, then the possibilities are likely to be Umesh Yadav and Navdeep Saini, who, the selectors believe, could be a dark horse due to his extra pace and ability to bowl aggressive lengths.

The legspinner picked up the wickets of Kohli, de Villiers and Hetmyer with his wrong’un to keep the visitors down to 158

The Report by Mohammad Isam02-Apr-20193:06

Getting Kohli and de Villiers in the same match is a dream – Shreyas Gopal

A superb spell by legspinner Shreyas Gopal spearheaded Rajasthan Royals to their first win in this season’s IPL, by seven wickets over the increasingly beleaguered Royal Challengers Bangalore. Gopal finished with 3 for 12, taking the wickets of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Shimron Hetmyer to slow down the visitors, who eventually finished on an underwhelming 158 for four.Royals, riding on four dropped chances, hardly let the foot off the gas, starting their chase quickly before Jos Buttler, Steven Smith and Rahul Tripathi, who finished on an unbeaten 34, took them to the target with a ball to spare. It was a more convincing win than that margin would suggest.Shreyas Gopal bowled a superb spell of 3 for 12•BCCI

Gopal’s dream tripleRoyal Challengers were off to a proper start this time, with both Kohli and Parthiv Patel finding the boundaries in their strong areas. But just after they had owned the Powerplay, ending it 48 for no loss, Gopal got into the thick of things. His googly burst through Kohli’s attempted cover drive, giving the Royals their first big breakthrough.Gopal’s follow-up in his next two overs further punctured Royal Challengers’ momentum. He had de Villiers caught and bowled – it was the third time he had dismissed him in as many meetings – off another googly, this one stopping on the batsman. Hetmyer edged a slider behind in the 11th over, and by the end of his dream spell Gopal had given away just 12 runs in his four overs; it was as valuable as a T20 century.Parthiv’s lone standParthiv had only faced 18 balls – out of 61 in Royal Challengers’ innings – by the time Hetmyer was dismissed, and had moved to 33. He took stock of the situation and slowly got the Royal Challengers back on track.He didn’t hit a lot of boundaries during this time, apart from a swivel-pull for six off Ben Stokes and three fours, but held Royal Challengers together in a 53-run fourth-wicket stand with Marcus Stoinis. He went on to reach his 12th fifty in the IPL, and his first this season. The innings set Royal Challengers up for a strong finish, as Moeen Ali and Stoinis knocked off 32 runs in the 2.4 overs that remained after his dismissal.Shreyas Gopal was Man of the Match against Royal Challengers Bangalore•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Rahane rides his luckWhen he was on 1, Virat Kohli dropped Ajinkya Rahane at slip off a zippy delivery in the corridor from Navdeep Saini. Rahane never looked back as he and Buttler rattled off 55 in the Powerplay, with Buttler pasting Saini for two fours immediately after the dropped catch.Rahane didn’t spare Umesh Yadav’s waywardness with two fours in the third over, before Buttler repeated the dose in Saini’s next over. Rahane went after Saini next with two fours in the sixth over, before falling to a Yuzvendra Chahal googly in the eighth.Royals ace the chaseThe rest of the chase fell on Buttler, Steven Smith and Rahul Tripathi. By the time Buttler was out for a 41-ball 59, he had struck eight fours and a six off Moeen.Smith, who was dropped on 23 by Umesh on the cover boundary, didn’t slow down as he cross-batted Mohammed Siraj over midwicket for his first six.Smith’s dismissal in the penultimate over – he holed out to long-on with Royals needing five off seven balls – was a little unnecessary, as he had made 38 and could have seen through the chase, but Tripathi ensured there was no drama in the end, as he calmly pulled Umesh over square leg for six to give his side their first points of the season.

Derbyshire could not keep up with the pace in a shortened match as Lancashire closed in on North Group qualification

ECB Reporters Network02-May-2019Lancashire won their fifth successive Royal London Cup game to close in on a top-three finish in the North Group and knockout qualification, with Derbyshire soundly beaten by 30 runs at Emirates Old Trafford.A two-hour rain delay forced a 38-overs-per-side contest on a used pitch, which made acceleration challenging. Australian overseas debutant Jake Lehmann’s unbeaten 77 off 67 balls was the feature of Lancashire’s 239 for 6 before the Falcons were tied down against spin and finished on 209 for 7.It means Lancashire sit second with 10 points from seven games ahead of their final outing at Warwickshire on Saturday.The Red Rose last achieved this winning streak in 2013 when they won six 40-over games in a row. They last reached the knockout rounds of a List A competition in 2012.Derbyshire, who have seven points from seven outings, may be out of contention by the time they wrap up the group stage against Worcestershire on Monday.Steven Croft was the pick of the home bowlers with 2 for 20 from seven overs of offspin, while Rob Jones and Matthew Parkinson also struck.Lancashire’s innings was underpinned by fourth-wicket pair Keaton Jennings, who made 84 off 88 balls, and Lehmann, both of whom were measured as they shared 86 in 14 overs after Derbyshire won the toss. Haseeb Hameed and Croft, stumped off Wayne Madsen’s offspin and caught in the deep off Ravi Rampaul, departed to leave the score at 42 for 2 in the eighth over.Jennings and captain Dane Vilas shared 52 for the third wicket before the latter mistimed Luis Reece’s first ball of medium pace to short cover, leaving Lancashire 94 for 3 in the 17th.Then came the key partnership between left-handers Jennings and Lehmann, who has replaced compatriot Glenn Maxwell for the remainder of the RL50.Lehmann swept Rampaul over long-leg for his only six and posted a 48-ball half-century, a milestone Jennings had earlier reached off 57. Jennings, on 29, was the subject of a disputed caught-and-bowled effort from legspinner Matt Critchley.Jennings eventually fended a short ball from New Zealand overseas quick Logan van Beek behind at the start of the 31st over as the hosts slipped to 180 for 4 before Jones and Josh Bohannon fell to Scotland international Mark Watt late on.Lehmann paced his innings nicely even though Watt and co limited any late damage. Lancashire fast bowler Liam Hurt fell awkwardly as he attempted to launch Watt for six in the last over, retired hurt and later did not take the field.However, that forced the use of extra spin from Croft and Jones, and they were key in stifling the visitors, who slipped from 46 without loss in the 10th over to 122 for 6 in the 27th.Reece and Alex Hughes were run out, while sandwiched in between Madsen was caught at long-on off Jones’ legspin and Croft had Billy Godleman caught and bowled off a full toss for 42 and Tom Lace lbw, pulling, four balls later. When Parkinson had Critchley caught at midwicket, it was virtually game over with Derbyshire six down.Anuj Dal played the day’s most aggressive innings with 52 off 39 balls, but he had been left with too much to do and edged Graham Onions behind. Onions was left defending 35 off the last. Harvey Hosein was 41 not out.

Second-wicket pair put on 320 after Gloucestershire had asked the home side to bat on a green-tinged pitch

ECB Reporters Network17-Jun-2019A partnership of 320, a first-class record for the county’s second wicket, between Neil Dexter and Hassan Azad put Leicestershire in a strong position after the Foxes had been asked to bat by Gloucestershire in the Specsavers County Championship match at the Fischer County Ground.Dexter’s 180 was a career-best for the 34-year-old, coming in his 261st first-class innings; Azad’s 137 a first Championship century for the 25-year-old, in only his seventh match.Gloucestershire captain Chris Dent’s decision to exercise the away team’s prerogative to bowl first was not an entirely unreasonable one, given the amount of rain that had fallen in the East Midlands over the previous week, but the pitch, though slightly tinged with green, looked to be a good one, and played that way.The Foxes did lose Paul Horton early, Chadd Sayers picking up his first wicket for Gloucestershire with an out-swinging delivery that Horton edged, wicketkeeper Gareth Roderick holding the catch diving to his right in front of first slip. But with Azad playing solidly at the other end, Dexter went for his shots from the start, particularly off the front foot. Ryan Higgins was hit for four consecutive boundaries as Dexter went to his 50 off just 57 deliveries.The pair accelerated after lunch. Azad reached his 50 off 128 balls, and a few balls later, Dexter brought up his century, which included 19 boundaries, off 134 deliveries. By tea they had comfortably beaten Leicestershire’s previous record second-wicket partnership against Gloucestershire, 153 by Barry Dudleston and Chris Balderstone at Bristol in 1979.The runs continued to flow after tea as the partnership passed Leicestershire’s previous Championship second-wicket record, an unbroken 289 between Balderstone and David Gower against Essex in 1981, before – pleasingly – expunging their first-class second-wicket record, set by Azad and Ateeq Javid against Loughborough MCCU at the start of this season.David Payne found a good lifting delivery to make the long-awaited breakthrough, having Azad caught behind, before Dexter’s tired push at Josh Shaw saw Roderick pick up a third victim.The wicketkeeper made it four out of four when Mark Cosgrove prodded at and edged another Shaw delivery, and shortly before the close nightwatchman Will Davis spooned a catch into the covers.

Match against Kent could have lost first-class status had offspinner taken the field to replace ill Gareth Batty

Richard Hobson at The Oval08-Jul-2019England Lions offspinner Amar Virdi, whose fitness levels have come in for criticism at Surrey this season, was denied a first appearance of the campaign on Monday after the ECB overruled their own cricket liaison officer in the nick of time on a matter of Championship regulations.Surrey and Kent agreed that Virdi could take the place of Gareth Batty on the second day of the Division One game at The Oval when Batty went down ill overnight. They had been given clearance at the ground by Steve Davis, the former ICC international umpire now employed by the ECB.But as Surrey resumed their innings, Davis began to have second thoughts and contacted Alan Fordham, the ECB head of cricket operations for clarification. Fordham returned a voicemail and Surrey were eight wickets down, with Virdi padded up ready to bat as last man, when Davis was told to alter his decision.Regulations say that players can only be changed in the event of concussion or a return from international duty. The game could have lost first-class status had Virdi taken the field, ultimately leading to a possible postponement and re-match.News was relayed to Virdi and Surrey with only minutes to spare and the scoreboard operator even put up his name, unaware, when the ninth wicket fell. The crowd assumed that Surrey had declared and matters were cleared up only when they took the field with neither Batty nor Virdi among the XI, Jade Dernbach acting as twelfth man.The switch represented another setback for Virdi, 21 this month. After missing the start of Surrey’s programme because of back trouble, appearances since have been restricted to the 2nd XI as he failed to convince head coach Michael di Venuto of being ready for a recall. Di Venuto even told members at a recent forum that Virdi might be lost to the game unless his fitness improved. Before play on Sunday, Virdi was conspicuously lapping the boundary rope after joining the team in morning drills.His tally of 39 Championship wickets last season was the best for an English-born spinner and he has won praise for the purity of his action, control and flight. He has been tipped to follow county colleagues Sam Curran and Ollie Pope into the full England side.Events on Monday morning might be mischievously placed in the context of conflict between Surrey and the ECB, not least over the new Hundred competition. Kent and Surrey acted in good faith, as did Davis, on the grounds that Batty had taken no part in the game. Furthermore, it represented a like-for-like replacement, one spinner for another. However, there is no doubt about it being outside the scope of regulations.A Surrey spokesman said: “Kent very kindly and to their great credit said that as Gareth had not participated in the game, Amar could step in. We thought that was that, then we were contacted by ECB to say it was outside competition regulations so it could not happen.”

Half-centuries for Heather Knight and Fran Wilson backed up by Freya Davies four-for

ECB Reporters Network20-Aug-2019Western Storm 170 for 3 (Knight 61, Wilson 50*) beat Southern Vipers 155 for 9 (Wyatt 56, Davies 4-18) by 15 runsHeather Knight and Fran Wilson scored half-centuries and staged a magnificent stand of 115 for the third wicket as Kia Super League title favourites Western Storm defeated nearest rivals Southern Vipers by 15 runs at the Bristol County Ground.Knight won the toss, elected to bat first and top-scored with 61 from 48 balls, while England team-mate Wilson contributed 50 not out as the hosts posted a formidable 170 for 3 in 20 overs.Danni Wyatt played an explosive innings of 56 and dominated a stand of 73 for the second wicket with fellow England batsman Tammy Beaumont to keep Vipers in the hunt. But consistent off spinner Claire Nicholas claimed the key wickets of Wyatt and overseas star Stafanie Taylor to turn the game in Storm’s favour, while England seamers Anya Shrubsole and Freya Davies weighed in with figures of 3 for 39 and 4 for 18 respectively as Vipers came up short.Still unbeaten this season, Storm have now registered seven straight wins, lead second-placed Vipers by 10 points with three group games to play and are now guaranteed a place at Finals Day in Hove on Sunday, September 1.Their latest victory was founded upon a superb partnership between the experienced Knight and Wilson, who came together at 54 for 2 in the seventh over and took the game away from the Vipers.They were afforded a solid platform by in-form openers Rachel Priest and Smriti Mandhana, both of whom posted 24 runs from 18 balls in a stand of 43. Priest was pinned lbw by Lauren Bell having accrued five boundaries and Mandhana fell to Amanda Wellington’s legbreaks, held at long-on in the act of trying to clear the boundary.If Vipers believed that double breakthrough would herald a spell of dominance, they were made to think again as Knight and Wilson combined deft placement and frenetic running between the wickets to keep the scoreboard moving.Having advanced the score to 104 for 2 by the end of the 14th over, the third-wicket pair launched a concerted assault which yielded 66 from the final six overs as Vipers, under sustained pressure, wilted in the field. Knight was first to reach 50, attaining that landmark via 40 balls with seven fours. The England captain then carved Bell high over midwicket to register the only six of the innings as she sought acceleration in the closing overs.Wilson was still there at the end, scampering a quick single off the final ball to raise an unbeaten 50 from 36 balls, an innings adorned with 7 fours. Of the bowlers, only offspinner Taylor emerged with credit, the former Storm allrounder having Knight caught at long-on to finish with 1 for 20 from four overs.Storm struck a crucial blow in the second over of the chase, England seamer Davies inducing Suzie Bates to edge a catch behind for 2.Unperturbed by the loss of her skipper, England opener Wyatt took the game to Storm, adopting the aerial route to smash eight fours and two sixes in a whirlwind innings of 56 from 32 balls. While she remained at large in a stand of 73 with Tammy Beaumont for the second wicket, Vipers were in with a chance.Urgently requiring a breakthrough, Knight called Nicholas back into the attack to bowl the tenth over, with immediate results. The wily Welsh offspinner forced a mistake from Wyatt and Deepti Sharma, stationed at backward point, took a brilliant diving catch to dismiss the England opener and reduce the visitors to 76 for 2.Taking the pace off the ball proved an effectove tactic during the middle overs as spinners Knight, Nicholas and Sharma sought to restrict the run rate and build pressure from both ends. Beaumont succumbed when, having raised 25 from 31 balls, she hoisted England team-mate Shrubsole to Sharma at long-on with the score on Nelson.Heavily depndent upon the experienced Taylor, Vipers suffered a further blow when the West Indies international played across the line to Nicholas and was caught by Wilson on the midwicket boundary for a 24-ball 28 with the score on 120 in the 16th over.The game was effectively up when Davies and Shrubsole combined to remove Maia Boucher, Marie Kelly, Paige Schofield and Wellington in quick succession as Vipers’ reply lost crucial momentum at the death.

With the series effectively reduced to two ODIs, a win on Sunday will mean an unassailable lead

The Preview by Hemant Brar10-Aug-20198:30

Ganga: Gayle’s performance will determine his destiny

Big Picture

The paradox of the Indian ODI team is that they have a top three that is the envy of the world. Conversely, the strength of the top order has meant that opportunities for the middle order have been scarce. Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli have been so successful for so long, that the middle order hasn’t really been tried, or tested. Moreover, the frequent chopping and changing has meant that the No. 4 spot, which has been a position yet to be nailed down, has still not gone to a set claimant.KL Rahul had started at No. 4 in the World Cup before moving up to open in the absence of Dhawan, but didn’t find a place in the XI for the rain-hit first ODI. Rishabh Pant has batted at No. 4 in his last five ODIs, but with Shreyas Iyer also in the mix now, it could be a more natural fit to have him at four and Pant at five.Iyer had a good showing with the India A side, and apart from him, Manish Pandey is also in the fray. Iyer played the first ODI of the series but the rain didn’t allow India to bat as only 13 overs of play was possible in Guyana. But as the caravan moves to Trinidad for the second (and then the third) ODI, it will be interesting to see what India’s plans are.West Indies, on the other hand, will be looking to make Chris Gayle’s 300th ODI a memorable one. With the series effectively reduced to two ODIs, whoever wins this game will be assured of not losing the series.With the inclusion of Roston Chase in the side, West Indies are looking for someone to provide stability amid their big hitters, which was lacking during the World Cup. Their real rebuilding, though, will only start once Gayle says goodbye, and one of John Campbell and Shai Hope partners with Evin Lewis at the top of the order.

Form guide

West Indies WLLLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)India LWWLWChris Gayle practices before the match•IDI via Getty Images

In the spotlight

Who other than Chris Gayle? After a below-par World Cup, the big Jamaican found some form with scores of 122 not out and 94 in the Global T20 Canada, but struggled on a two-paced pitch in the first ODI. His 4 off 31 in the series opener was his slowest ODI innings when he has faced at least 25 balls.Sunday will present another opportunity for Shreyas Iyer to push his case forward as a solution to India’s No. 4 problem. While he batted at No. 3 – Pandey took the No. 4 spot – in the ‘A’ team series last month, Iyer scored 187 runs from four innings at an average of 62.33. After not getting a chance in the T20I series and the washout in the first ODI, he will be looking forward to carrying his good form at the international level as well.

Team news

With hardly any play possible in the series opener, the teams didn’t really get to test their chosen XIs. Barring fitness issues, both sides are likely to be unchanged.West Indies XI: (probable) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Evin Lewis, 3 Shai Hope (wk), 4 Shimron Hetmyer, 5 Nicholas Pooran, 6 Roston Chase, 7 Jason Holder (capt), 8 Fabian Allen, 9 Carlos Brathwaite, 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Sheldon CottrellIndia XI: (probable) 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 Kedar Jadhav, 6 Rishabh Pant (wk) 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 9 Mohammed Shami, 10 Khaleel Ahmed, 11 Kuldeep Yadav

Pitch and conditions

Since the start of 2010, spinners have fared better at Queen’s Park Oval, averaging 27.40 as compared to the fast bowlers’ 31.12.Four out of the last five ODIs here have been affected by rain, and while it poured down on the eve of the match as well, the forecast for Sunday is clear. It’s likely to be partly cloudy with temperatures hovering around 25-degrees centigrade.

Stats and trivia

• Sunday’s match will be Gayle’s 300th ODI. He will overtake Brian Lara as the most-capped West Indies player in the format.
• Gayle (10,397) is also nine runs away from overtaking Lara’s tally of 10,405 ODI runs, the most by a West Indies batsman.
• Kuldeep Yadav has taken 94 wickets in 52 ODIs. He has three more games to break Mohammed Shami’s record of being the fastest Indian to reach the 100-wicket mark.

Quotes

“Personally, I am not thinking about batting only at No. 4. I want to be someone who is very flexible, batting at any number.”

Mitchell Santner hit the winning runs for the visitors in a dramatic final over

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando03-Sep-2019For the second time in succession, a substantial fourth-wicket stand swung a run-chase decidedly in New Zealand’s favour in their T20I series in Sri Lanka. Despite a drama-filled final over, in which two wickets fell, and a third should have had two fielders not collided at wide long-on, fifties from Colin de Grandhomme and Tom Bruce proved sufficient to propel the visitors to victory with two balls and four wickets to spare. New Zealand thus sealed the series, despite not having had the services of their two most prolific T20 batsmen – Martin Guptill and Ross Taylor – for this innings.The chase, which had several similarities with Sunday’s performance, was calculated. Once again, Sri Lanka took three early wickets – Akila Dananjaya striking three times in the space of seven balls. But then de Grandhomme and Bruce came together, and the pair calmly set about building a partnership, picking up the singles and twos on offer first, before taking aim at the boundary only later in their association. Like on Sunday, Sri Lanka should have had New Zealand’s eventual top-scorer dismissed for 36, but substitute fielder Lahiru Madushanka slipped beneath the high chance off de Grandhomme’s bat, and could not even get a hand to the ball. He would go on to make 59 off 46, Bruce would be out in the last over for 53 off 46, and it was their 109-run stand off 88 balls – a record for New Zealand against Sri Lanka – that formed the spine of the innings.Sri Lanka had not bowled particularly well – Lasith Malinga in particular conceded 39 runs in four wicketless overs – but still had one final chance of sneaking a victory, when legspinner Wanindu Hasaranga ran Bruce out first ball of the final over, and then had Daryl Mitchell caught at long-on next ball. New Zealand still needed seven from the last four deliveries, and should then have lost Mitchell Santner to make it three successive wickets. But Shehan Jayasuriya, who took an outstanding running catch at wide long-on, was tripped up in his stride by an oncoming Kusal Mendis, and was sent crashing into the boundary. Both fielders might have sustained substantial injuries, taking several minutes to get up. What was worse was that a ball that should have provided a dismissal had now conceded a six – Jayasuriya unable to jettison the ball in time.Earlier, Guptill had to go off the field with a sharp pain in his abdomen, and was unavailable to bat. Taylor had been ruled out of this game with a hip injury sustained during practice.New Zealand had to shuffle their top order to make up for Guptill’s absence, sending Tim Seifert in to open, and promoting Scott Kuggeleijn to a pinch-hitting No. 3. But Akila quickly sewed up the top three, having Colin Munro caught at long-on in his first over, before nailing Kuggeleijn and Seifert lbw in his second.Thanks to some early boundaries, however, de Grandhomme and Bruce had time to play themselves in. Once the Powerplay ended, they respected the spinners, until in the 12th over, against Hasaranga, they decided to hit out again. Two fours and a six from that over set New Zealand back on track with the asking rate. With regular boundaries coming after that, they would not fall behind again. De Grandhomme completed his fifty in the 15th over, and the pair’s century stand came up in the 18th. The batsmen had given their team such a cushion that even those dramatic late wickets could not sufficiently shake the chase.Sri Lanka’s own innings had been a stuttering effort, in which virtually every batsman who came to the crease appeared to go through a period of struggle. Kusal Mendis did his best to compensate for Kusal Perera’s lack of timing, hitting two memorable leg-side sixes in his 26. Even Mendis could not strike at better than 108, however, and Sri Lanka’s run rate at the end of the Powerplay was only slightly over six. It did improve through the middle period, as Niroshan Dickwella and Avishka Fernando prospered against spin in a third-wicket partnership worth 68 off 44 balls, but after those two batsmen departed – for 39 and 37 respectively – the middle order could not quite provide an explosive innings. Sri Lanka’s 161 for 9 was perhaps 15 runs short.