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South Africa’s tight finish at odds with team’s fluency when batting first, as captain admits ‘conversations’ are needed

Andrew Miller27-Oct-20231:24

Pujara: South Africa seem to lack a clear game plan while chasing

South Africa are top of the World Cup standings, and firmly on course for a top-four finish, but their captain Temba Bavuma acknowledged that “conversations” would be had about their approach to run-chases, after they had an almighty scare in their one-wicket win over Pakistan in Chennai.South Africa have been a team of two distinct characters in the tournament to date. When batting first, they have been imperious – rattling off totals of 428, 311 and 399 and 382 in four imposing victories over Sri Lanka, Australia, England and Bangladesh.When chasing, however, it has been a different matter. They tripped up in embarrassing fashion against Netherlands in Dharamsala, losing by 38 runs after being bowled out for 207, and it was so nearly a similar tale in their pursuit of 271 against Pakistan. From a comfortable 206 for 4 with 17 overs remaining, they lost 5 for 54 in the next 12.3 overs, before the last pair of Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi dragged them over the line with an unbroken 11-run stand.”It was a nail-biting finish,” Bavuma said at the post-match presentations. “Obviously, if you are a South African fan, you’re a little bit happier at the outcome.”With the batting, there’s obviously been pressure with us chasing, and we haven’t done well to rectify that. We’ll obviously have conversations, but it will be easier now to have those conversations with the win. But it was due to our doing that we allowed the game to get to that point.”Given the ease with which South Africa have been blitzing the death overs when batting first, the manner of their collapse will have been noted by their rivals – not least their next two opponents, New Zealand and India, at least one of whom they are likely to encounter again in the knockouts.The wobble set in when David Miller, on 29 from 32, edged behind off Shaheen Shah Afridi, who was the pick of Pakistan’s seam attack with 3 for 45 in his ten overs. Marco Jansen then spooned a simple chance to backward point off Haris Rauf, one ball after driving a powerful straight six, to depart for 20 from 14.South Africa’s last pair – Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj – rejoices after sealing a one-wicket win•AFP/Getty Images

“The guys who were there in the pressure situations [would need to] truly speak out as to what they were thinking in terms of emotions, in terms of their game-plans,” Bavuma added. “It’s hard to say now, I’m still enjoying the victory myself, but those conversations will happen.””It’s something that we’ve spoken about, it’s obviously something that has been thrown about,” he added. “We obviously have a blueprint when batting first, and we’ve shown that in terms of the scores we have been able to post.”We can’t say with conviction that we do have the blueprint when we are chasing. We’re going to get into this situation again, that I do know, and we obviously want to show a lot more of a clinical display with the bat.”Even so, a win is a win, and Bavuma admitted that the scenes in the dressing-room were “chaos”, with “the guys picking up Shamsi” after his starring role as an unlikely allrounder. His four wickets in Pakistan’s innings included the key scalp of Babar Azam for 50 and looked to have broken open the contest. But in the end, his unbeaten four from six balls proved to be his critical intervention.”I’m ecstatic for Shamsi,” Bavuma said. “It started with the ball, he came on in conditions that were in his favour and he exploited them, and then with the bat … you’ll have seen Shamsi on social media gloating about his batting. We needed that today. Fortunately for us, he came through, but we are not going to stop hearing about for probably two weeks.”Shamsi, the Player of the Match, credited his team-mates for setting the game up for him with their early wickets, but admitted that his four runs were “probably all I’ve scored this whole year… they came at the right time.””Sometimes it goes for you, sometimes it doesn’t,” he added. “So while it’s going for me, I’m happy to be able to help the team win, but I didn’t think I’ll be able to it with my pads on.”In terms of soaking up the pressure of the chase, Shamsi showed the fight that his team required, and said that “it actually feels nicer” to have come through the match the hard way.Related

• Temba Bavuma hamstring injury gives South Africa cause for concern ahead of semi-final

• South Africa gear up for free hit, a World Cup final somewhere at the back of their minds

• Marco Jansen, South Africa's Magnificent No. 7

• Ghosts of Chepauk's past don't spook South Africa

• South Africa rise to the top by the barest of margins in thriller against Pakistan

“These are the type of moments that you train for, you want the big stage,” he said. “Kesh was unbelievable out there, and Lungi [Ngidi] as well before him. If I’d tried to play a big shot then and it didn’t come off, the boys wouldn’t welcome me back in the change-room. So there was never a doubt in my head that I’m not going to play a big shot.”For Pakistan, the emotions were rather more downcast. Despite an unprecedented fourth World Cup loss in a row, they are not yet out of the running for the top four, but Babar Azam, their captain, was resigned to the likelihood that their tournament challenge is over.”We were very close but we did not finish well, it’s very disappointing,” he said. “In the batting, we were 10-15 runs short. The way we were bowling, the fast bowlers and spinners, we fought very well. But unfortunately it was not our night. We had the opportunity to win this match and stay in the tournament, but I think we are missing [out].”Pakistan might well rue their luck in the closing overs, however, after an excruciatingly close lbw shout against Shamsi off Haris Rauf’s final ball of his spell. Umpire Alex Wharf turned down an appeal that was shown to be umpire’s call on leg stump, although it did arguably even things up after Rassie van der Dussen had himself been given out to a delivery that was shown to be clipping the top of the leg bail – and was briefly shown to be missing by an on-screen graphic that the ICC later confirmed had been shown in error.”DRS is part of the game,” Babar said. “If they [had given it] out, it’s in favour for us, but umpire’s call is part of the game.”

Hales, Vince, Topley, Potts, Carse, Parkinson, Gregory, Mills, Gleeson and Pope have also nominated themselves

Alex Malcolm27-Jul-2022Liam Livingstone looks likely to be a Platinum pick in the upcoming BBL overseas draft as the headline act of 70 Englishmen who have nominated themselves, but availability will be a key consideration for teams, with a number of players likely to head to other leagues halfway through the tournament.Livingstone is set to be the most sought-after English player among a group that includes Alex Hales, James Vince, Tymal Mills, Reece Topley, Matthew Potts, Brydon Carse, Lewis Gregory, Matt Parkinson, Richard Gleeson and Ollie Pope.The nominees who are also involved in England’s current white-ball set-up are notionally available for the whole tournament, given England do not have any international limited-overs games scheduled in either December 2022 or January 2023, with their first series of the new year set to be an ODI series in South Africa that is likely to be played in February after the new South Africa T20 league is completed.England have a Test series in Pakistan set for early December meaning that the likes of Pope, Potts and possibly Parkinson could be late arrivals to the BBL if all three tour Pakistan.But of greater concern for the BBL is the fact that a number of English players, including Livingstone and Hales, are likely to leave the BBL halfway through to play in the proposed UAE T20 league in January, given they are likely to earn substantially higher wages for a shorter commitment there.Related

• Jayasuriya and Chandimal hoping to turn Test form into BBL deals

• Kurtis Patterson returns to Sydney Sixers in BBL

• Buttler and Livingstone sign up for CSA's new T20 league

• The BBL overseas draft is here: how will it work?

• Melbourne Renegades get first pick in BBL overseas draft

The BBL is scheduled to run from December 13 to February 4, but South Africa and UAE leagues are set to start in January. The UAE league is proposed to run from January 6 to February 12. Both Ricky Ponting and Usman Khawaja raised concerns last week about overseas players only nominating for the first half of the BBL, leaving themselves open to joining the other leagues and leaving the BBL short on star overseas players.The BBL is offering AUD340,000 (roughly £196,000) to a select group of Platinum picks, while those who have nominated themselves in the Gold category are set to earn approximately AUD260,000 (roughly £150,000). Those are guaranteed wages no matter how many games the players have nominated themselves for.The challenge for BBL clubs is to evaluate if the likes of Livingstone and Hales are worth selecting in the draft at those prices if they are only available for the first half of the tournament, with a large portion of each wage to count in the AUD 1.9 million salary cap.Livingstone played in the BBL two seasons ago with Perth Scorchers and has expressed an interest in playing there again. Scorchers are also interested in having him back but they can’t use a retention pick because he did not play last year and they have pick No. 6 in the draft order, which means Livingstone could well be snapped up in the first five picks.Alex Hales could be a retention pick for Sydney Thunder•Getty Images

Sydney Thunder can use their retention pick to retain Hales given he did play for them last season. They have already lost one half of one of the most successful opening duos in BBL history with Khawaja joining Brisbane Heat. If Hales is only available for the first half of the tournament, Thunder will need to find not one but two openers to fill the gap.There are a number of other English players who are eligible for a retention pick. Evans and Mills could be retained by Scorchers. Vince could be a retention pick with Sydney Sixers having had a very successful relationship with that club in recent years. Topley (Melbourne Renegades), Joe Clarke (Melbourne Stars), Jordan Cox (Hobart Hurricanes), Iain Cockbain (Adelaide Strikers) and George Garton (Adelaide Strikers) could also be retention picks for clubs having all played last season. But clubs only get one retention pick, with Strikers likely to take Rashid Khan.Like Livingstone, Jake Ball (Sydney Sixers), Danny Briggs (Adelaide Strikers), Benny Howell (Melbourne Renegades), Gleeson (Melbourne Renegades) and Gregory (Brisbane Heat) have all played in the BBL previously but are ineligible for a retention pick because they did not play last season.There are 98 players in total who have nominated themselves for the draft so far. Livingstone looks set to join Faf du Plessis, Kieron Pollard and Rashid among the Platinum picks, which are to be decided by the BBL.There are likely to be a host of Pakistan players nominating themselves in the coming weeks although there is some doubt about the availability of some of them due to international commitments. Pakistan host a Test series against England in early December and then two Tests and three ODIs against New Zealand, which are likely to run into the third week in January and will also be part of the World Cup Super League. The PSL is set for February meaning it would be virtually impossible for Pakistan’s multi-format players to come to the BBL, although those not involved in the Test matches could be available for the first half of the tournament.

All current draft nominations

Afghanistan: Rashid Khan, Qais Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Waqarullah Ishaq, Izharulhaq Naveed, Naveen-ul-Haq, Hazratullah ZazaiEngland: Colin Ackermann (also Netherlands), Rehan Ahmed, Martin Andersson, Gus Atkinson, Josh Baker, Sonny Baker, Jake Ball, James Bracey, Danny Briggs, Henry Brookes, Brydon Carse, Matthew Carter, Jordan Clark, Joe Clarke, Josh Cobb, Ian Cockbain, Jordan Cox, Mason Crane, Matt Critchley, Liam Dawson, Brett D’Oliveira, Ben Duckett, Jacobus Leus Du Plooy, Stephen Eskinazi, Laurie Evans, Matt Fisher, James Fuller, George Garton, Richard Gleeson, Lewis Gregory, Sam Hain, Alex Hales, Miles Hammond, Tom Hartley, Jack Haynes, Freddie Heldreich, Tom Helm, Ryan Higgins, Max Holden, Benny Howell, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Danny Lamb, Jack Leaning, Jake Lintott, Liam Livingstone, Lewis McManus, Ben Mike, Tymal Mills, Daniel Mousley, Steven Mullaney, Callum Parkinson, Matt Parkinson, David Payne, Michael Pepper, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Ben Raine, Adam Rossington, George Scrimshaw, John Simpson, Prem Sisodiya, Olly Stone, Tommy Taylor, Reece Topley, Liam Trevaskis, James Vince, Joe Weatherley, Ross Whiteley, Chris Wood, Luke Wood, Saif ZaibNew Zealand: Colin Munro, Todd AstleSouth Africa: Faf du Plessis, Marchant de Lange, Rilee Rossouw, David Wiese (also Namibia)West Indies: Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Sheldon Cottrell, Chemar Holder, Akeal Hosein, Evin Lewis, Anderson Phillip, Khary Pierre, Ravi Rampaul, Sherfane Rutherford, Jayden Seales, Kevin Sinclair, Tion Webster, Nyeem Young

Jimmy Neesham claimed a career-best haul while Matt Henry knocked over the top order with four wickets

Andrew McGlashan25-Mar-2021It doesn’t get much more convincing. Devon Conway’s seamless transition to international cricket continued with a maiden century on his home ground and Daryl Mitchell made a late surge to his first ODI hundred before Bangladesh’s batting did not offer much as they went down a series clean sweep in the third ODI in Wellington.Briefly, when New Zealand were 57 for 3, the visitors had a foothold but they couldn’t sustain it as Conway led the recovery which was capped off by Mitchell. The pair added 159 in 24 overs for the fifth wicket, while New Zealand as a whole got 107 off the last ten.In reply, Matt Henry knocked off the Bangladesh top order – with the aid of a spectacular catch at third man by Trent Boult – and the rest of the batting was insipid with the exception of Mahmudullah, as James Neesham filled his boots with a career-best haul by claiming the last two wickets in four balls.For Conway, this was his fifth fifty-plus score in 12 international innings – including the 99 not out in a T20I against Australia – and he converted into a century from 95 balls with a lofted square cut for this 13th boundary. He got his chance in this series because Kane Williamson is missing, but surely there will be no dislodging him.Mitchell’s century needed a last-ditch sprint off the final ball of the innings and he should have been run out but Mushfiqur Rahim fumbled the return. With eight balls remaining, he had been on 83 before a six off Rubel Hossain followed by three consecutive boundaries at the start of the last over brought the hundred in sight.The early progress had been steady before Henry Nicholls was given a life when Rahim couldn’t hold an edge, but two balls later the left hander nicked to second slip where Liton Das held on to the relief of the often-luckless Taskin Ahmed. Next over, Martin Guptill gave away another start when he toe-ended a pull to mid-on, while Ross Taylor’s return after injury was a brief stay when he edged a cut off Hossain after being dropped on 3.Conway and Tom Latham rebuilt steadily with the innings given impetus in the 19th over when Conway took three consecutive boundaries off Mustafizur Rahman: a controlled guide to third man, a genuine nick and then a perfect on-drive.In conditions offering some assistance for the seamers, Tamim Iqbal turned to the medium pace of Soumya Sarkar and he struck first ball with Latham superbly caught at point by Mehidy Hasan. Sarkar would do a good job for his captain with eight overs for 37. Bangladesh managed to hold the innings for a period after that as Mitchell played himself in and briefly dominated the strike, but the ball after Conway went to fifty from 52 balls, Mitchell launched Mehidy over midwicket for six.Conway did not hit a boundary between the 23rd and 37th overs, but the partnership got built at a good tempo. Having come up fractionally short of a century earlier in the season, he sent Ahmed through point and then cut loose in the closing stages of the innings with four more boundaries in 12 balls before picking out deep-midwicket.Daryl Mitchell reached his maiden ODI hundred off the last ball of the innings•Getty Images

Mitchell, who had been promoted above Neesham when New Zealand were four down with more than half the innings remaining, could have been run out on 24 but the fielder from cover couldn’t pick up cleanly and he was also dropped on 63. That would prove costly for Bangladesh who had just about managed to keep a lid on the late overs until Mitchell’s final dip.A big full toss went over deep-square leg before he took advantage of Rahman missing his length – and bowling a no-ball – while Mitchell Santner helped with some desperate scampering. Mitchell lost the strike with two balls remaining, but Santner was able to take three to deep-cover to give him the final delivery. It should have just been a single, but Mitchell was able to walk off with the ovation for a century.Iqbal, one of Bangladesh’s best hopes of making a dent on the chase, departed in the second over when he nicked a gem of a delivery from Henry. In Henry’s next over, Sarkar top-edged to fine leg and there was already a sense the innings would not be much of a contest.A moment for the highlights reel arrived in the seventh over when Das, aiming to the leg side, sent a top edge flying to third man where Boult sprinted to his left, dived and held the catch one-handed while having avoided losing his grip.The excitement levels dipped after that as Bangladesh opted for a largely defensive approach against some testing bowling, having a particular challenge against the bounce of Kyle Jamieson whose first six-over spell cost just 12. Neesham was a beneficiary of the pressure created with a bag of middle-order wickets as various attempts at some counterattacking didn’t come off.Madmudullah, who has previously enjoyed success in New Zealand, fought to a 64-ball half-century and brought some belated aggression to a lost cause but it was merely a footnote.

The board said it intends to ensure the primacy of the QeA Trophy which clashes with the T10

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Oct-2019The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has revoked conditional No Objection Certificates (NOCs) given to its players to feature in the Abu Dhabi T10 league, which is due to start from November 15.In a statement, the PCB said that the decision had been taken “to manage the players’ workload, continued work on their fitness levels [and] to ensure primacy and participation of its player in its premier Quaid-e-Azam Trophy”.The tournament is set to clash with a fitness and medical assessment camp at the National Cricket Academy, as well as several round of the QeA Trophy.The PCB added: “The decision has been made in the best interest of the players as well as to continue to enhance the credibility and reputation of the new domestic structure, which has been widely covered and reported across all media outlets.”The news is a significant blow to the T10 tournament, which was set to feature several Pakistan players. The majority of the Qalandars squad is Pakistani – including Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Hafeez, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf and Imran Nazir – while other players who could be affected include Mohammad Irfan, Shoaib Malik and Sohail Tanvir. Afridi and Imran Nazir, however, will not be affected by the revokation of NOCs, given they have retired from Pakistan cricket.The PCB operate an informal “PSL plus one league” policy with regards to issuing NOCs to it players for leagues around the world. Beyond one other league, permission is viewed on a case-by-case basis, depending on the player’s fitness and Pakistan’s domestic and international commitments at the time. Mohammad Amir, Shadab Khan and Shaheen Afridi, for example, were recently included in the draft for The Hundred – which would constitute a league above and beyond the “PSL plus one” policy, but as things stand, ESPNcricinfo understands the PCB are expected to issue NOCs to the trio.

A Pakistan A side with no specialist spinners was made to toil on the third day as the Australians went 216 ahead on the back of Mitchell Marsh’s 162 and nineties from Shaun Marsh and Travis Head

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Oct-2018Mitchell Marsh plays off the front foot•Getty Images

Mitchell Marsh made his second century in as many four-day games as the Australians built on a strong start to dominate Pakistan A on the third day of their warm-up match in Dubai. In all, the Australians added 287 runs on the third day and lost only two wickets – those of the Marsh brothers – and with Travis Head’s unbeaten 90, went 216 runs ahead.Mitchell and Shaun Marsh, who already added 103 overnight, went on to add a further 104 on the third day as they took Australia into the lead. Against a Pakistan A side that picked no specialist spinners, the pair batted for more than 70 overs before Shaun fell six short of a century.But Mitchell, newly named vice-captain of Australia’s Test squad, and perhaps batting at No. 4 because of Matt Renshaw’s absence at the top of the order, pushed another step ahead in what has been a good return from being on the sidelines for five months with an ankle injury. He batted quicker than he had on the second day, taking a liking to the part-time offspin of Asad Shafiq whom he took for 51 off 53 balls.Giving company towards the end of his innings was the left-handed Head, whose recent form suggests a Test debut is drawing closer and closer. Head made scores of 87, 68 and 47 in his last three innings against India A in spin-friendly conditions and added to that run by finishing the third day unbeaten on 90. Head hasn’t scored a first-class century since March 2017 and batted for 200 balls on the third day. He was also the fourth Australian batsman to make a 50-plus score in the match.Unbeaten alongside him, on 39, was Queensland’s Marnus Labuschagne, who hit three fours and a six in a fifth-wicket stand worth 87.Pakistan A spinners Ifthikar Ahmed and Shafiq bowled 54 overs between themselves for a wicket, while left-arm seamer Waqas Maqsood took the only other wicket to fall on the day. Fast bowlers Rahat Ali and Wahab Riaz, the only other bowlers in the team with Test experience, went wicketless on the third day as well.

New Zealand players called up to replace David Miller and Lasith Malinga for CPL 2017

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jul-2017St Lucia Stars have named New Zealand’s Jesse Ryder and Mitchell McClenaghan as replacements for David Miller and Lasith Malinga respectively, for the upcoming edition of the Caribbean Premier League, which begins on August 4. While Miller is likely to join South Africa A for their two four-day matches against India A, Malinga, who has been having injury troubles lately, might feature in the limited-overs series against India.Ryder played his last competitive game in March, scoring an unbeaten 109 in the second innings to take Central Districts to a win against Canterbury. The all-rounder, whose international career has been regularly interrupted by a spate of alcohol-related issues, last appeared for New Zealand in 2014. He has, however, been named in New Zealand’s 12-man squad for the Indoor Cricket World Cup in Dubai, which begins in September this year. He averages 26.13 in 133 T20s and strikes at 147.02.McClenaghan, the left-arm fast bowler, played a key role in Mumbai Indians’ successful IPL campaign this year, taking 19 wickets to finish as the team’s second-highest wicket-taker. McClenaghan has made 28 T20I appearances, taking 30 wickets at an average of 25.26.Speaking about the new signings, Manan Pandya of the St Lucia Stars franchise said: “Both Jesse and Mitchell are world-class players who will bring firepower to the squad in terms of both batting and bowling. We are sure that these new Stars will shine as we work on bringing home our first Hero CPL title.”

An unbeaten half-century from AB de Villiers steered Royal Challengers Bangalore into the IPL final after a top-order collapse against Gujarat Lions

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy24-May-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details5:08

Agarkar: Every time AB is at the pitch, the game is never over

Tumbling wickets. A high but not out-of-reach asking rate. One specialist batsman at the crease, with only the lower order for company. An atypically dry and grippy pitch provided the conditions for such a situation – usually more common in 50-overs cricket than in T20 – to arise in the first Qualifier of IPL 2016. AB de Villiers was the specialist batsman, and when Iqbal Abdulla joined him in the 10th over of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s chase of 159, they needed 91 to win off 62 balls with four wickets in hand.The Chinnaswamy surface – still good to bat on, but slower than usual – had torn up the script that the match had been expected to follow. There was no uncontrollable torrent of run scoring from either set of top-order batsmen. Gujarat Lions were 9 for 3 after being sent in. Then in the chase, Royal Challengers lost Virat Kohli for a duck and slipped to 29 for 5. Then, when Ravindra Jadeja had Stuart Binny lbw sweeping – though replays showed ball hitting pad marginally outside off stump – they were 68 for 6.It began drizzling soon after Abdulla’s entrance, with Royal Challengers needing 63 from 36 balls. De Villiers was at the non-striker’s end. Abdulla, on 8 off 14, slashed at a gentle, back-of-a-length ball from Dwayne Smith, and missed. Kohli – who had struggled to contain his temper right through the game – gestured angrily from the dugout, telling Abdulla to take a single and give de Villiers the strike.Abdulla steered the next ball to deep point. De Villiers, on 47, faced Smith now. He stepped down the pitch, Smith shortened his length, and a tennis-style flat-bat hit flew to the straight boundary. The next ball was fuller, and de Villiers miscued his lofted hit, skewing it high, with the outside half of his bat. It was a rare mis-hit in an innings of surface-defying fluency. It may have been caught at long-off in a bigger ground, but it cleared the leaping Aaron Finch in Bangalore.It seemed like a sign. This would be de Villiers’ day. On strike to the first ball of the next over, he shuffled across to off stump even before Shadab Jakati released his left-arm dart. Having covered the line, he quickly sunk to one knee and swung the ball away over the square leg boundary. When Abdulla swatted a mis-hit six of his own later in the over, Royal Challengers had the final in their sights, needing only 35 off 25. They got home with 10 balls left to play, with de Villiers having just enough time to unfurl a couple more spectacular shots, the pick of them a reverse-sweep off a Praveen Kumar delivery pitching outside leg stump. The win took Royal Challengers into the final, while Gujarat Lions will have another crack at it when they take on the winner of Wednesday’s Eliminator between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders.Abdulla played a key role with the ball too, dismissing Brendon McCullum and Aaron Finch in the second over of Lions’ innings after Kohli had sent them in. Kohli may have used his left-arm spinner that early simply because two right-handers were opening for Lions, and two left-handers were waiting in the middle order, but he may also have observed that the pitch was unusually dry.Whatever the case, he had extra cover on the rope and mid-off in the circle for McCullum, and the charging New Zealander failed to reach the pitch of the ball, and sharp turn forced him to slice wider than intended, into the hands of the fielder at long-off. Finch closed his bat-face too early three balls later, and the ball popped up to slip. When Shane Watson bounced Raina out in the fourth over, Lions were 9 for 3, sinking even before the contest had really begun.Dwayne Smith had swapped batting slots with Finch in Lions’ last game, against Mumbai Indians, and had looked in fluent touch while making a calm, unbeaten 37 to steer them home in a chase of 173. He struck the ball just as well here, in a more difficult situation, picking up a pair of boundaries off Abdulla early in his innings, sitting back and pouncing when he dropped marginally short, and following up with a hooked six off Chris Jordan.But the effect of a poor Powerplay – Gujarat only made 23 in that period – rippled through the rest of their innings. Lions’ run rate remained under six an over even after Smith and Dinesh Karthik plundered 16 off the 10th, bowled by Yuzvendra Chahal. It was still under seven when they tonked Abdulla for 17 in the 13th over. Karthik fell in the 14th, middling an attempted fine-leg scoop onto his leg stump, Ravindra Jadeja followed in the 16th, and Smith – having hit two more leg-side sixes in that time – holed out in the 18th.The runs still kept coming, Watson conceding 21 and picking up two wickets in an incident-packed 19th, and Lions scored 100 in their last 10 overs.A total of 158 still looked inadequate given Royal Challengers’ batting strength, but Dhawal Kulkarni had run a battering ram through their top order within four overs of the chase. First, Kohli played on, trying to cut without moving his feet. Then Gayle, pushed back with a series of short balls, swung across the line of a slower ball and missed. Then came an all-format jaffa that swerved away from just short of a good length and induced KL Rahul to edge to slip.Jadeja then got in the act, getting the ball to stop on Watson, who swatted across the line too soon. And when Sachin Baby slapped Kulkarni straight to short cover, Royal Challengers were gasping for air, the Powerplay not yet done. But they still had de Villiers.

Four-hundred-and-fifty-five runs, the most ever for a T20 match in England and fourth highest in all T20 cricket, were plundered in just over three hours of ferocious cricket

Freddie Wilde at The Kia Oval15-May-2015
Scorecard11:47

Don’t miss ESPNcricinfo’s weekly magazine show on the NatWest Blast

Four-hundred-and-fifty-five runs, the most ever for a T20 match in England and fourth highest in all T20 cricket, were plundered in just over three hours of ferocious cricket as a typically boisterous Kia Oval crowd of almost 13,000 sang, jeered, drank and cheered their night away as Surrey slid to 25-run defeat in spectacular fashion.A masterful team batting effort in both strategy and execution from Glamorgan saw them record the fourth highest score in the history of domestic T20 in England, 240 for 3, as they began their 2015 campaign with an explosive victory. Even though Surrey recorded their fifth highest T20 score in response, they were never really in contention to chase the runs, losing wickets at regular intervals, eventually bowled out with three balls to spare.After losing the toss and being put into bat, Glamorgan began their innings with cautious, but positive, intent. Mark Wallace struck two fours in the second over of the innings before he was caught at mid-off for 10 off the bowling of Tom Curran. Wallace’s demise brought the South African-born pairing of Jacques Rudolph and Colin Ingram together.Rudolph seemed happy to play second fiddle to his partner, hitting no boundaries in the Powerplay, while Ingram, who was spectacularly caught off a no-ball when on just 9, struck three fours and two sixes to see Glamorgan exit the sixth over nicely positioned at 53 for 1.

Insights

Last season Surrey were particularly successful in the T20 Blast deploying an army of spinners on dry pitches, but spin-duo Gareth Batty and Zafar Ansari were thwarted by a wonderful array of sweeps and reverse sweeps from Rudolph and Ingram as they capitalised on a short boundary.
Given the clearly flat pitch and small boundaries it is hard to read too much into the bowling performances. However the batting efforts will obviously give great cause for encouragement for both. Glamorgan highest total last season was 192, that score incidentally coming in the equivalent fixture last year; Surrey’s highest score was 188, also in the same fixture.
Freddie Wilde

It will please Glamorgan that Rudolph and Ingram, both former international players of clear class, but perhaps not particularly attuned to T20, scored at strike-rates of 158 and 193 respectively, well above their career records of 116 and 125. Glamorgan lack real firepower in the lower order following the departure Jim Allenby and Cooke is the only player with a strike-rate of more than 127. Surrey meanwhile, will be encouraged that they scored 215 on a day when Roy failed.Effortlessly moving through the gears in the middle overs, and with both men passing fifty, Batty and Ansari conceded 87 runs from seven overs and neither took a wicket. But it was not only the spinners who were punished by Glamorgan. Seamer Matt Dunn had a day to forget, going wicketless and conceding 54 runs from his four overs.The 141-run partnership was broken in the fifteenth over as Rudolph, clearly looking to accelerate further, mis-timed a heave to mid-on to depart for 62. Two overs later Ingram followed his captain back to the pavilion when he was bowled by a Wahab Riaz, whose figures at the end of his third over were an impressive 1 for 16.That was as good as it got for Wahab and Surrey as Chris Cooke and Ben Wright hammered 58 from the final three overs, including 29 off a single Wahab over in which Cooke hit three sixes in four balls. It may have been the home team on the receiving end of the onslaught but the crowd were in balmy spirits as the innings came to a close. Cooke finished 46 not out off 19 balls, while Wright blitzed 16 from his seven. Glamorgan had scored 138 for 2 from their final 60 deliveries.Colin Ingram plundered 91 off 47 balls•Getty Images

Surrey lost last season’s leading run-scorer Jason Roy after just four balls of the chase, but there was no dampening the sense of occasion nor optimism as Kumar Sangakkara joined Steven Davies at the crease. Sangakkara struck three consecutive fours in the fifth over but Surrey fell behind the rate almost immediately and when they lost Sangakkara just before the end of the Powerplay there was an overwhelming sense that this enormous chase was going to be too many.Davies and Aneesh Kapil then departed in quick succession and when Dean Cosker, who finished with 4 for 30, dismissed Gary Wilson and Vikram Solanki off consecutive balls in the tenth over, the match was as good as lost.The party atmosphere continued deep into the Surrey innings however, as Ansari clubbed an unbeaten 67 off 32 balls. No one stuck with him though and Surrey were eventually bowled out for 215 with three balls remaining.Surrey had lost but you would not have known it looking at sections of the crowd – their loyalty to the home team was at best questionable and at worst non-existent. For many, the cricket was but a sideshow to the fun and games as the match wound to a close.It was T20 as it was designed to be: high-scoring, high-octane, furious, manic, explosive and fun. Better a raucous stadium than an empty one.It is the Blast’s misfortune that just a fraction of its matches are televised because at The Oval the country missed the perfect occasion to kick off the most important season in the tournament’s history. It wasn’t watched by anyone outside of the 12,832 people in the ground. But the match showed what domestic T20 cricket in England can be. And it was brilliant.

VVS Laxman will lead Hyderabad in their opening game of the 2012-13 Ranji Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Oct-2012VVS Laxman will lead Hyderabad in their opening game of the 2012-13 Ranji Trophy, against Punjab in Mohali. Laxman, who retired from international cricket earlier this year, had said at the time he announced his decision that he wanted to play for Hyderabad this domestic season.Dwaraka Ravi Teja, who led Hyderabad last season, will deputise for Laxman this time. Pragyan Ojha has also been named in the squad for the opening game; he missed the bulk of the previous domestic season due to his India commitments.Hyderabad were part of the Plate League at the beginning of the last season but sneaked into the quarter-finals of the main tournament, where their campaign ended with a draw against eventual champions Rajasthan, who progressed on the basis of a first-innings lead.Sunil Joshi, the former India left-arm spinner, is the Hyderabad head coach and Noel David the fielding coach.Hyderabad squad: VVS Laxman (capt), Dwaraka Ravi Teja (vice-capt), Akshath Reddy, Hanuma Vihari, Arjun Yadav, Syed Ahmed Quadri, Bavanaka Sandeep, Ibrahim Khaleel, Pragyan Ojha, Ashish Reddy, Mohammed Khader, Anwar Ahmed, Pagadala Naidu, Abhinav Kumar, Vishal Sharma.

A round-up of the matches from the third day of the Faysal Bank T20, 2011

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Sep-2011Rameez Aziz and Hasan Raza pulled off a heist as Karachi Zebras beat Abbottabad Falcons off the last ball of the game and claim a six-wicket victory. Karachi had slumped to 28 for 4 in the fifth over and looked unlikely to threaten Abbottabad’s total of 158 that was built around Yasir Hameed’s 73. But Aziz and Raza first steadied the innings and then launched a counter-attack over the closing overs to stun their opponents. Raza was the more aggressive of the two; his 74 came from 50 balls and included 11 fours. Aziz ended the day on 67 from 53 balls, with 10 fours. Their 132-run partnership was memorably capped by Raza as he struck left-arm spinner Khalid Usman for the winning runs.Imran Farhat and Taufeeq Umar powered Lahore Eagles to their third win in a row at the National Stadium in Karachi. Farhat and Umar both made half-centuries as Lahore cruised past Quetta Bears by nine wickets with 23 balls to spare. Quetta struggled after choosing to bat, as Lahore’s bowlers proved difficult to get away. Umar was in the thick of the action in the field, running out Bismillah Khan and Abid Ali, the latter’s wicket setting off a Quetta collapse. It took a quickfire 26 from Saeed Khan just to push his side to 125. Lahore’s openers made short work of their target. Farhat was the dominant partner, striking six fours and a six in his 50, which came from 33 balls. Umar was a little more circumspect, his 50 taking 49 balls and containing five fours. The win consolidated Lahore’s position at the top of Group A.A collective bowling effort helped Sialkot Stallions win by five balls to spare against Lahore Lions at the National Stadium in Karachi. Seamer Naved-ul-Hasan bagged three wickets and was supported by Sarfraz Ahmed, Raza Hasan and left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman, each of whom took three. Lahore captain Abdul Razzaq made a quickfire 42 but the lower order crumbled and folded for 121. Sialkot lost their openers in quick time in the chase but wicketkeeper Shakeel Ansar (42) and Shahid Yousuf (47) got their team back on track. The pair added 72 and captain Shoaib Malik stayed through to the end with an unbeaten 15.