All posts by h716a5.icu

Stats highlights from West Indies’ draw against India in Jamaica

Bharath Seervi04-Aug-201616 Consecutive innings where India dismissed the opposition in Tests, before failing to do it in the second innings of this Test. The streak began from the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle in 2015. Also, coming into this innings, they had dismissed West Indies in 15 consecutive innings beginning from the Roseau Test in 2011.1966 The last time a West Indies player scored a century and took a five-wicket haul in the same Test before Roston Chase in this match. Garry Sobers made 174 and took 5 for 41 against England at Headingley in August 1966. Chase is the fourth West Indies player to achieve this double. He is the sixth player to do this against India and the first to do it against them since Imran Khan scored 117 and took two five-fors in Faisalabad in 1982-83.1 Player who achieved the double of a century and a five-wicket haul in the same Test quicker, in terms of matches, than Chase, who was playing just his second match. New Zealand’s Bruce Taylor had done this on his debut, also against India, at Eden Gardens in 1964-65. Jack Gregory also achieved this in his career’s second Test, at the MCG in 1920-21.0 Instances of West Indies’s No. 5, 6, 7 and 8 all making 50 or more runs in a Test innings, before this. Jermaine Blackwood 63, Roston Chase 137*, Shane Dowrich 74 and Jason Holder 64* produced the first such occasion for their side. This was the only the fifth such instance for any team.1983 The last time West Indies’ sixth and seventh wickets both had century partnerships before this match – also against India, in Kanpur. These two century stands were West Indies’ first century partnerships of this series. In fact, in their first three innings they had just four 50-plus partnerships. The 144 runs added by Chase and Dowrich for the sixth-wicket is West Indies’ highest for the wicket at Sabina Park.137* Chase’ scores in the second innings – the highest by a batsman at No. 6 or lower at Sabina Park. The last West Indies player to score a century at No. 6 or lower here was Chanderpaul in 2004. This was Chase’ highest score in his first-class career, beating his previous best of 136 not out. This was his third century and he has remained not out in all the three innings. He batting average is 44.04 and bowling average is 25.00 in first-class matches.107.75 Blackwood’s strike rate in this match – third-best by a batsman scoring 50 or more in both innings of a Test, behind Mohammad Azharuddin and Virender Sehwag. Sehwag had done it against West Indies at the Kotla in 2011-12. Blackwood was the first West Indies No. 5 to score 50-plus in each innings of a Test, apart from Shivnarine Chanderpaul, since Viv Richards at the Adelaide Oval in 1988-89.15 Consecutive Tests that had a result at Sabina Park, before the draw in this Test. The last draw here was between the hosts and England in January 1998. Sabina Park is now one of four venues, out of 29, which have hosted 10 or more Tests and have had just one draw.5 Instances of West Indies saving a Test after facing a first-innings deficit of 300 or more runs. India gave them a deficit of 304 runs which the hosts overcame and also added another 84 runs before it was called draw. The last time they saved a Test after deficit in excess of 300 runs was against New Zealand in Dunedin in 2013-14 where they were trailing by 396. Three of West Indies’ five such instances have come against India. This was also the fourth time India failed to win a Test after taking lead of 300 or more runs in the first innings, three of those against West Indies – Delhi 1978-79 and Gros Islet 2016 being the other two apart from this Test.3.73 West Indies’ run rate in this Test, their highest against India in a home Test where they batted twice. In both their innings, they had nearly identical run rate – 3.734 in the first innings and 3.730 in the second innings. On the other hand, India scored their 500 runs at just 2.92.

England will again be without Ben Stokes for the third Test at Edgbaston, but they have a hometown bowler in the form of his life to ease the burden

Melinda Farrell29-Jul-2016There is an oddly long list of gadgets that were invented in Birmingham – it includes the microwave over, the electric kettle and the pacemaker – but if England could use one of them, the photocopier, to produce a facsimile of Ben Stokes to run out at Edgbaston, they undoubtedly would.Stokes’ absence from the side, after tearing his right calf while bowling in the second Investec Test at Old Trafford, forces England to make a change that could threaten the balance of their side. With no batsmen added to the squad, England will call on either Steven Finn or Jake Ball to replace Stokes unless the Edgbaston pitch looks especially spin friendly, in which case Adil Rashid may get another opportunity to perform at Test level.Any of these options undoubtedly weakens England’s batting line up which, with three out of the top five batsmen struggling to make runs this summer, has relied heavily on Alastair Cook and Joe Root to shore up their innings. But it’s with the ball in hand that Stokes will be more sorely missed, according to Stuart Broad.”The way he likes the game to move forward, you need players like that in your team,” said Broad. “If Cookie and Rooty continue their form he’s probably more of a loss with the ball, because he’s not needed [with the bat].””He does change the dynamic slightly. He bats at six and he’s your fourth seamer but he’ll be replaced by a spinner or a frontline seamer so he does give a bit more depth in the batting. We do bat a long way down so that’s not too much of a worry.”Broad on…

Joe Root
I think if I had to pick two batsmen to bat for my life, I’d pick Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott, but I think Joe is probably the most complete batsman I’ve ever played with. He is a brilliant team-man in the way he plays, but he’s got every tempo and every shot in the book.”
James Vince
“Every time he goes out to bat I think we’ve got a player here, a player with all the shots, a Michael Vaughan type batsman. He’s just not transferred that look into a score yet. But I’ve got a real belief he’s a fine, fine player who just needs to get used to Test match cricket a little bit more.”
His own form
“I’m still waiting for that performance where I can contribute a lot to a win, but I’ve consistently picked up two or three wickets each innings and I think I’m averaging low 20s this summer, which is probably better than I have done in summers previously, but I haven’t picked up a five-wicket haul this summer, which is a bit frustrating.”

While some may have considered Chris Woakes to be a slightly faded facsimile of Stokes before the start of the summer, he has proved to be as useful a Birmingham product as the microwave oven.After coming into the side as a straight replacement when Stokes was injured during the Sri Lanka series, Woakes has made himself invaluable to England’s pace attack in his own right taking 26 wickets at 13.84 in four Tests this season. And his half-century, scored after he came in as nightwatchman in the first innings at Old Trafford (following his maiden Test fifty against Sri Lanka at Lord’s) was compiled with a composure that – while differing to Stokes’ explosive shotmaking – stiffens the middle-to-lower order.After checking in and checking out several times Woakes – in English conditions at least – seems to belong as a resident in England’s house, rather than being a temporary visitor. Broad has noticed the difference, but says he and James Anderson have had little to do with the transformation.”Maybe it’s the confidence of belonging,” said Broad. “It’s hard to tell how much he’s moved forward from South Africa in that the pitches over there are much flatter and the Kookaburra ball compared to the Dukes ball that he’s bowled with for his whole career.””He was under a bit of pressure after South Africa with people questioning whether he could make it as a Test match bowler but he’d only played six or seven Test matches. I think I took my first five-fer in maybe my ninth Test match so I said to him ‘look, you’re not in a massive rush here. You’re a talented player. Don’t feel like you have to get a five-fer every time you run on the field. Do what you do for Warwickshire: hit the top of off consistently and wickets will come for you.'”I think he showed that at Lord’s. He didn’t get his wickets with his best balls actually, he picked up a few cheaper ones. He’s become very consistent in putting the batsmen under pressure and when your confidence is that high you feel like you can release the ball at full whack.”He’s getting his fingers behind the ball and that’s helping him get bounce. You give him the ball and he’s got something more about him. You feel like he’s there to take wickets and that’s the confidence that I gained from that five-fer at the Oval in 2009. That I can do it, I can get Ricky Ponting out, I’m not just a county bowler, I can step up to that next level. This summer has been Chris Woakes delivering that belief.”With the series level at 1-1, England now return to the ground where the parochial crowd provides the most hostile atmosphere for visiting teams – just ask the Australians, who had nowhere to hide from the cacophony from the Eric Hollies stand last summer. The Barmy Army will be out in force at this Test, too, although Warwickshire have promoted the match heavily within the local Asian community and worked with Pakistan fan groups to encourage attendance.To maximise home advantage, England’s pace attack will turn to Woakes for advice; a further sign of his increase in stature within the side.”This week I imagine Chris will be very influential on certain field placings for Edgbaston,” said Broad. “Does gully come into the game? Is it fourth slip? Do you need to bowl a bit fuller? Is the bouncer a good option? Does it reverse? There’s a lot that can change in six months of cricket so [we’ll listen to] his experience of what Edgbaston has been like this summer.””Edgbaston feels like our Gabba so to speak, in the way the crowd roar behind us and I think some of our results reflect that.””We’ve got Chris in form of his life going to home ground where he’s bowled thousands of overs and that can only be a good thing.” Stuart Broad is an Investec Test Cricket ambassador. For more on Investec private banking visit investec.co.uk/banking

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Oct-2016They tightened their hold on the match with five strikes in the first session•Associated PressRangana Herath, expectedly, was among the wickets as Zimbabwe were left tottering at 139 for 6•AFPBut the visitors ran into a determined Peter Moor•AFPHe struck three sixes in a counterattacking 79 off 84•AFPAt the other end, captain Graeme Cremer was equally determined. He settled in for a patient knock to frustrate Sri Lanka•Associated PressCremer eventually got to a maiden Test century, helping his team avoid the follow-on. They were dismissed for 373, before Sri Lanka’s openers batted out three overs to finish 169 ahead•Associated Press

Stats highlights from the first one day international between New Zealand and Bangladesh in Christchurch

Gaurav Sundararaman26-Dec-201696 Innings taken by Kane Williamson to reach 4000 ODI runs. He is the joint fourth-fastest to reach this mark, and the quickest for New Zealand. Hashim Amla is the fastest overall (81 innings), while the earlier record for New Zealand was Martin Guptill’s 112 innings.341 New Zealand’s total, which is their highest score in ODIs against Bangladesh, beating their previous best of 338 for 4 in Sharjah in 1990. This is also the joint highest at Hagley Oval, equalling Scotland’s total against Canada in the World Cup Qualifier game in 2014.1990 The previous time New Zealand had a partnership of over 150 against Bangladesh in ODI’s: Martin Crowe and John Wright had also added 158 for the first wicket in Sharjah, exactly as many as Tom Latham and Colin Munro added for the fifth wicket today. This is also New Zealand’s second-highest partnership for the fifth wicket, next only to the 195 added by Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo in 2011.137 The highest score for Tom Latham in ODIs, beating his previous best of 110 against Zimbabwe in Harare. He scored his runs at a strike rate of 113, which is only his second instance of scoring at over a run a ball in an innings of 50 or more balls. Incidentally, Latham’s highest Test score is also 137.62 Runs conceded by Mustafizur Rahman in his ten over spell. This is the first time in ten innings that Mustafizur has conceded more than six runs per over.

The final hour of play on the second day was a hilarious mixture of errors that took away from an otherwise competitive match

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Colombo16-Mar-2017Sunil Gavaskar whips a ball past midwicket in a second-innings 221 at the Oval in 1979, defying Ian Botham and Bob Willis like a foreign pathogen beating off white blood cells.Muttiah Muralitharan connives his way through the great Indian top order at the SSC in 2008, claiming match figures of 11 for 110, having dismissed Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly twice.There are days of Test cricket that are transcendental. In them: glorious moments when the game surges, stops the heart, thrills, deceives, erupts, strikes elemental chords, and resonates with fans long after they have stopped watching. Not among them: the last hour of day two at the P Sara Oval, where ground strokes were caressed over the boundary, batsmen spooned catches tenderly into the air, an umpire abandoned belief in lbws and the laws of physics, and a fielder used the ball as a blunt instrument to hurt himself with.It is no real surprise that it was the hosts’ mistakes on the field that began to debase the tone of the contest, which had been compelling until then. Maybe in centuries to come, scholars will place this era of Sri Lankan fielding alongside Charlie Chaplin’s films and Monty Python’s wonder years, as one of the crowning comedic achievements of mankind.Who could, after all, fail to be moved by such extravagant antics as Suranga Lakmal’s chase around the fine-leg boundary in the 53rd over of Bangladesh’s innings? He had picked up the shot early, tracked it all the way, then once in reach of the ball, dived gallantly over the top of it – all that effort just to provide the ball shelter on the final second of its journey to the boundary. It brought to mind those garden parties, where the moment a drizzle starts, men rush furiously to the aid of a pretty girl to offer coats and umbrellas.And what of the dropped catches? Imrul Kayes hit a ball directly to Dinesh Chandimal at deep square leg, but instead of using his hands to receive it, he let it hit him just above his knee like a footballer receiving an overhead pass. The ball did fall dead at his feet, so at least it was a good first touch. Upul Tharanga was also at deep square leg, when in the penultimate over he raised both hands and pushed at the ball, like a volleyball player trying to set the ball up for a team-mate. Unfortunately the ball boys at the boundary missed the opportunity to jump up from behind him and spike it down the line. In between these two drops, Dhananjaya de Silva dived on the ball and hurt his thigh.Suranga Lakmal played both hero and victim in the comedy•NurPhoto/Getty ImagesIt is possible, though, that as well-rehearsed as Sri Lanka’s japery seemed, they were outshone by Bangladesh’s slapstick batting. Imrul had hacked that ball to deep square leg at 25 when an important overnight not-out beckoned. Sabbir Rahman literally watched Sri Lanka install a leg slip because he seemed keen on the pull shot, and soon after sent a catch to that very fielder, the ball hanging gently in the air like low-hanging fruit waiting to be plucked. Shakib Al Hasan was then the guy dropped by Tharanga in the penultimate over – also pulling, all on a pitch that had now become good to bat on. Where Bangladesh’s middle order should have been the rescue ships that bailed the top order out, they all sailed gaily into the same piece of rock in the wide open sea, and could have so very nearly all drowned. Even their backroom staff were left stunned.”The last half hour and the first half hour are generally the most dangerous periods of a day, and it was with one shot that we lost three wickets,” Bangladesh’s batting coach Thilan Samaraweera said. “We’ve got to stop that. When you’re playing Tests as a batsman, you need to be aware of what the other team is doing. In a Test sometimes you get periods of 30-36 balls that are very difficult. That’s what you’ve got to endure, because it does get easy to score runs after that.”While both teams only put on their clinic in incompetence in the last hour of play, S Ravi had been getting decisions wrong all through the match, failing to give lbws that were almost plumb, and raising the finger to balls clearly headed down the leg side. He got so many wrong, fielders’ appealing eventually started to feel unnecessarily cruel. Taijul Islam was given not out off Lakshan Sandakan in the final passage of play, but having missed the opportunity to reverse earlier decisions, Sri Lanka finally managed to overturn one.Sessions such as these won’t inspire poems. No biographies may mention them, and few fans will relive these overs in their minds, in years to come. But that doesn’t mean there is no value here.Gavaskar and Murali are wonderful, but simultaneous self-sabotage from rival players is also not without its charms.

South Africa are set for a long tour of England, by the end of which they could have the ICC Champions Trophy and an improved chance at taking the No. 1 Test ranking

Firdose Moonda16-May-2017One of the wonderful things about cricket being a summer sport is that it’s always summer somewhere; so if you time it right, you can have an endless season of sun. Like South Africa are about to.This is a significant time for South Africa to be touring England. ODI captain AB de Villiers described it as a summer that provides, “an opportunity at our doorstep” to do some great things. There are two ICC trophies up for grabs – the Champions Trophy and Women’s World Cup – and a four-Test series which, if South Africa win, will be their third successive series victory in England. The South Africa A team will also be in the UK at the same time, to ensure there are enough reserves on hand. So in a way, it’s as though all of South African cricket is relocating for the next three months, a period which could spell the end of an era.South Africa’s coach Russell Domingo and the rest of the management team are contracted only until the end of this tour. Domingo is free to reapply for his job but has given no indication of whether he will. Instead, he has asked for questions to be directed at CSA. Perhaps he wants the results to do the talking for him, particularly results in the first three weeks of the tour.It’s unimaginable to think that Domingo will be let go if he presides over a victorious Champions Trophy campaign and indicates he wants to continue as coach. Sure, stranger things have happened in South Africa – Ray Jennings was not retained after winning the 2014 Under-19 World Cup – but Domingo has led this team out of the quagmire and he is confident their success will continue.”We can take comfort that in a lot of our bilateral series recently, we’ve won in must-win games,” Domingo said, citing the deciders in ODI series against India in 2015, England in 2016, and New Zealand in 2017 as examples.’I didn’t score a hundred or anything like that but I always felt in good form. I am not too worried.’•BCCI”I am going there confident and at ease, knowing the team has been under pressure situations in the last year-and-a-half and have come through them. We don’t need to do anything too differently.”His captain is equally sure. AB de Villiers always talks South Africa up as champions before major tournaments and this time was no different. He recognised their challenge of being the only non-subcontinent team in their group and is certain they will overcome both that and their knockout hoodoo.”I rate our chances in our group. If we play really good cricket, I honestly believe no-one is going to stop us in our group,” he said. “We’ve been playing some good cricket over the last few years. From the 2015 World Cup with that big disappointment, we really raised the bar. We picked ourselves up and showed some really good results.”South Africa are ranked No.1 in the world, have won their last four series, and are traveling with a squad that de Villiers believes “covers all bases”. They have a solid top six, in which the only concern was Hashim Amla, who surged back to form in the IPL. Amla scored two centuries and, at the time of leaving the tournament, was in fourth position on the run charts, with 420 runs from 10 matches at 62.28. He was the highest placed South African.De Villiers was next but much lower down, in 40th place, and his 216 runs from nine matches at 30.85 could be a red flag. While Domingo joked that de Villiers had “one of his more average IPLs,” the man himself was not too concerned about where he is at.”I’m not worried about my form. I hope you’re not worried. I had a few decent knocks. It was split up nicely across the tournament. I started off really well with a good knock, and then four or five games later had a decent knock again. I didn’t score a hundred or anything like that but I always felt in good form. I am not too worried. I am hitting the ball as well as ever. I think there are some good scores to come.”While Quinton de Kock (finger injury) and JP Duminy (personal reasons) sat out the IPL, Faf du Plessis’ only batted once in two games and David Miller’s top score was 30 in five matches. But Domingo had no complaints.”Those guys who needed a bit of rest, rested; those who needed to score some runs, scored runs; and those who didn’t, go to England with a bit of a point to prove.”In the bowling department, South Africa have packed four allrounders into the squad to accompany the two frontline quicks, Morne Morkel and Kagiso Rabada, and they have two specialist spinners for variety.”Our biggest strength is the balance that we have in our squad. We have really good choices when it comes to combinations,” de Villiers said. “We have an amazing batting line-up who have played together for quite a while now. We have the wrist spinner, and a finger spinner who can really control the game and also bat at the back end. With our seamers, we have a bit of everything – bowlers who can just land it in the same area all day long, and we have all out pace.”South Africa seem as strong as they would want to be but that has never been strong enough when it mattered most, and maybe it doesn’t need to be right now. The 2019 World Cup is the long-term goal, for de Villiers, du Plessis and other senior players, so they may not have as much invested in this event as they have in the past. That may serve them better than they may expect.The Champions Trophy will be followed by three T20Is, and then four Tests at the end of the 12-week tour. The team management has already identified the need to keep the squad, especially those playing all formats, as fresh as possible for a crucial Test series.

‘From the 2015 World Cup with that big disappointment, we really raised the bar. We picked ourselves up and showed some really good results’

Five years ago, when they travelled to England for Tests, South Africa were an outfit that had climbed the ladder and were ready to claim top spot. Under Graeme Smith, they took the mace off England. This time, they are an outfit that has also climbed, albeit in a much shorter period, from No. 7 to No. 2. But even a 4-0 win in the Tests won’t be enough to take South Africa to No. 1. It will, however, allow them to cut the gap, which is 13 points, and put themselves in a position to chase the mace in the home summer, in series against Bangladesh, India and Australia.Rankings aside, there is significance attached to Test series in England – a special aura of being in the midst of summer when it is actually your winter, and a special trip when there are so many accolades to win. South Africa have set off, the country awaits the spoils.

They came to England and were quite surprised by the lack of swing and seam. But to their credit, they have adjusted well enough to be in the semi-finals

Nagraj Gollapudi13-Jun-2017Last Saturday afternoon, the day before the South Africa match, India coach Anil Kumble placed three cones in the short-of-a-length area on one of the practice pitches at the Oval. Then India’s fast-bowling group, comprising Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Hardik Pandya and Umesh Yadav, ran up and hit the placed targets repeatedly as Kumble kept close watch from behind the stumps.To the untrained eye, it seemed like the seamers were focusing on finding the right length – and it might have been that – but the primary objective, it turned out, was different.Kumble would have studied the inconsistent lines India had maintained against Pakistan and then Sri Lanka and hence wanted to make corrections. He knew the straight boundaries, and the one at square leg towards the Peter May stand, were on the shorter side. The smallest error in line could lead to a lot of runs and, ahead of a must-win match, India had to plug every possible weak link.Next morning, Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah put into practice what they had learnt, tying up the South African opening pair of Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock with tight lines and unbeatable lengths. The slowness of the pitch – it was being used for the second time in three days – added to the batsmen’s misery. The slow pitch did not help the bowlers either, forcing Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah to bowl defensive lines.South Africa did not utilise the field restrictions in the first 10 overs and seemed happy to be 35 for 0. But when they started trying to up the run-rate, Amla and de Kock perished. The onus was now on the middle order to patch the innings up but all that followed were two embarrassing run-outs. South Africa had succumbed to the pressure built by the Indian bowlers and their agile fielders. AB de Villiers, after the defeat, admitted his batsmen had been “squeezed” dry.To an extent, England’s hard, dry pitches have surprised the Indian fast bowlers, who were expecting conditions where they could find movement in the air. The absence of swing made the jobs of newcomers like Bumrah and Pandya that much harder.Most bowling teams try to attack when the ball is new, and that is what India had done as well in their first two games of the Champions Trophy. But, in light of the unhelpful surfaces, plans had to be changed. Having given away 51 and 44 runs in the first 10 overs against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, India improved significantly against South Africa.”Generally, we always go for wickets in the first 10 overs when the ball swings,” Bhuvneshwar said after the side sealed the semi-final spot. “But now we look to contain them and then take wickets when pressure builds. Teams try to save wickets till the last 10 overs before going big at death. That is why we thought our plan should be to contain in the middle segment to limit the total to not more than 300.”Bhuvneshwar Kumar and the rest of the Indian bowlers had been surprised by the lack of swing in the Champions Trophy•Getty ImagesHaving played in the 2013 Champions Trophy also held in England, and in India’s Test tour of the country the next year, Bhuvneshwar knows these conditions well and has been heavily involved in making the team’s bowling plans. “The only thing you have to change is length. Everyone is bowling a bit back, compared to what they normally bowl.”India’s lengths in 2017 have been virtually similar to those they bowled in 2013, when they won the title. Of the 20 wickets the fast bowlers took then, 13 came from deliveries that were short-of-a-length. By accessing that same area of the pitch in this edition, the quicks have produced five of their 12 wickets.Understanding such nuances will certainly help the growth of up-and-coming players like Bumrah. He was given the new ball for the first time in the tournament on Sunday and did well enough (2 for 28) to earn the Man-of-the-Match award. “The wickets have been a little different,” he said. “I expected slightly different wickets – the wickets are a little hard, favouring the batsmen.”You have to be proactive, you have to vary your lengths all the time and you have to be consistent as well. So the margin of error is quite less. We were just focusing on that and trying to hit good, hard lengths and not to give them room.”As for Kumble’s exercise before the South Africa match, Bumrah said, “Basically he was telling about the lines. You don’t want to give room to the batsmen because there is no lateral movement. There is no swing or seam on the wicket.”They are very flat so you can’t be one-dimensional. If you continuously bowl on one area, the batsman would line you up. With the four-fielder rule [outside the circle between overs 10 and 40] it is difficult for the bowlers as well, so you had to use the occasional yorker or a bouncer and it worked.”Virat Kohli has become better at making moves in the middle as well. He brought R Ashwin to bowl as early as the 10th over sensing South Africa were itching to accelerate and the moment they tried, it resulted in a wicket.But it was India’s fast bowlers who made the biggest difference on Sunday. Regardless of the conditions – and despite being surprised by them – they have worked hard to follow the lines Kumble has drawn.

The two wristspinners lend edge and variety to the attack but they might be in direct competition with each other in a settled Indian team

Alagappan Muthu in Kolkata 19-Sep-20171:33

Gambhir: ‘Playing two wristspinners gives you an attacking option’

Wristspinners are becoming an indispensable part of one-day cricket. They are fun to watch – even on bad days – but on the good ones they have the ability to make the strongest batting line-ups seem like the second XI of a village team at a county fair.While Australia might not have been so terribly undone – the margin of defeat in the series opener was only 26 runs via DLS method – Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav might feel like they are at the beginning of a beautiful friendship.On Sunday, they were playing together for the second time*, having done so earlier in the fifth ODI in Sri Lanka. That was the first time a pair of specialist wristspinners bowled in an ODI for India – that’s across 43 years and 922 matches. The statistic is certainly eye-popping but there is another implication to it. That only rarely do teams need more than one of these tricksters. Clearly there’s a debate here, so let’s get into it.The pros
One-day cricket is, largely, skewed in favour of batsmen, but that too places certain demands on them. They are obliged to swing like madmen and exploit flat pitches and small boundaries almost every other over. In such circumstances, watching the ball out of the hand takes a back seat and that is why wristspinners capable of testing both the inside and outside edge and seam bowlers with deceptive variations, like the knuckle ball, have become important.Next, let’s consider the middle overs, fast becoming the most crucial segment in ODIs. A set batsman might feel comfortable by now. He suspects he has earned the right to take a few liberties; and in the case of a new batsman, he’d feel compelled to keep up the run-rate. Wristspinners are excellently placed to bring down such pre-determined notions.With Chahal and Kuldeep as wildcard options, India seem to have built themselves a varied and potent attack. At the Champions Trophy, they were among the few teams without wristspinners. But it can’t be taken for granted that simply having them leads to victory, in much the same way batsmen can’t explicitly believe they are the bosses of ODI and T20 cricket.The con(dition)s
There will be pitches where an extra seamer is needed – certainly in England where the next World Cup will take place. Even in the recent whitewash of Sri Lanka, in conditions where the ball usually turns, India prefered the combination of a wristspinner and a fingerspinner. That might have been the case against Australia too – if not for Axar Patel injuring himself and Ravindra Jadeja’s call-up going out as late as the eve of the match.Left with few other options, the management backed Kuldeep and Chahal to take wickets even if it meant they had to carry a couple of weaker batsmen. It turned out to be a fine – if forced – choice. At least one of them might be needed to turn a World Cup match on its head, and it’s best that they go in with enough experience to do so.VVS Laxman wrote in : “Even though Ravindra Jadeja has been called into the squad as replacement for Axar Patel, my firm belief is that Kuldeep and Chahal must play all the matches so that they enhance their learning and settle down within the framework of the team.”Kuldeep Yadav makes an appeal•AFPA second string
Axar played four of the five ODIs in Sri Lanka. So did Chahal. But Kuldeep got only two games. Variety might have played a part in this: India might have wanted a spinner who can be trusted to tie up one end, which then leaves the other to actively search for wickets.It could also be that Axar’s batting ability is better rated. The left-arm orthodox spinner has on occasion been used as a floater by Kings XI Punjab in the IPL and his ball-striking is a clear advantage. In franchise T20s, he has faced 626 balls with a strike-rate of 134.50, bolstered by 54 fours and 39 sixes. Kuldeep goes at just about a run a ball in T20 cricket, but he has a century and five fifties in first-class cricket. Chahal, on the other hand, is a bit of a mug with the bat.Combination
It is hard imagining India going into an ICC tournament without either of R Ashwin – who has been rotated out – and Jadeja – recalled after originally being rested. It really isn’t that big a stretch to believe they can adapt their fingerspin and stay relevant in the limited-overs game. So in a way, even as they plot the downfall of Australia over the coming days, Kuldeep and Chahal might well be in competition against each other.Leaving aside the five batsmen and the wicketkeeper, Jasprit Bumrah is the end-overs specialist. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, his partner in crime. Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav are waiting in the wings. Hardik Pandya is the allrounder. This XI is tough to crack.Multi-faceted players, however, can jump the queue because a captain needs options, now more than ever, and it is up to Kuldeep and Chahal to make themselves un-droppable (or un-restable).*GMT 0320 The article was amended to reflect the fact that Kuldeep and Chahal were playing their second ODI together and not their first

The fast bowler won his third Man-of-the-Match award on his home ground, while Wriddhiman Saha set a new catches record for Indian wicketkeepers

Bharath Seervi08-Jan-2018Philander rules NewlandsESPNcricinfo LtdVernon Philander has been very successful at his home ground in Cape Town compared to other venues. In fact, his strike rate at Newlands is the second-best among fast bowlers who have taken 40-plus wickets at a venue. He has taken 47 wickets in eight Tests at Newlands with four five-wicket hauls. His figures of 6 for 42 in the fourth innings of this Test are his career-best figures. He has taken three or more wickets in 11 of the 16 innings he has bowled in at this venue. He has won three Man-of-the-Match awards at Newlands whereas he has only won one at all other venues in South Africa.An avalanche of wicketsA total of 18 wickets fell on the fourth day of the Cape Town Test. The first session saw the hosts dismissed for 130 after beginning at 65 for 2 – eight wickets fell for 65 runs. After being set 208, India collapsed to 82 for 7 in the second session. The remaining three wickets fell in the final session and the day ended with 18 wickets for 200 runs. This is the third-most wickets to fall on a single day’s play at Newlands. The most were 23 wickets between the hosts and Australia on the second day of the 2011-12 Test.ESPNcricinfo LtdIndia fail to chase 208Only twice have India failed to chase a target smaller than the 208 set by South Africa in this Test. They were all out for 81 chasing 120 against West Indies in Bridgetown in 1997, while in 2015, in Galle, they lost by 63 runs after being set 176 by Sri Lanka. This is also the smallest target defended in South Africa since their readmission. The previous record was 249 by the hosts against New Zealand in Centurion in 2005-06.De Villiers remains the bestIn a Test that was dominated by the fast bowlers from both sides, AB de Villiers stood apart from every other batsman. He was the highest scorer for the hosts in both innings – 65 and 35. He was, in fact, the highest run-scorer from both sides with his 100 runs across the two innings. One major reason for his success was his attacking play. While the other batsmen, apart from Hardik Pandya in the first innings, played defensively and couldn’t score runs, de Villiers attacked in both innings. His strike rate in the match (74.60) was about 50% higher than the combined strike rate of all the other batsmen. Also, his control percentage was 78, which was also better than the average control percentage of the rest of the batsmen.ESPNcricinfo LtdSaha betters Dhoni, rare high for India pacersWriddhiman Saha caught 10 catches in the match – five each in both innings. In the process, he became the first India wicket-keeper to effect ten dismissals in a Test. The previous record was nine dismissals (eight catches and one stumping) by MS Dhoni against Australia at the MCG in 2014-15, his final Test match. This was also the first time Saha had effected more than seven dismissals in a Test.All four fast bowlers played by India – Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya – picked wickets in both innings of this Test. This is the first instance of four India fast bowlers taking at least in a wicket each in both innings of a Test match. In the second innings, all four managed at least two wickets each, which provided only the second such instance for India. The first was against Sri Lanka in Kandy in 2001 when Zaheer Khan, Harvinder Singh, Venkatesh Prasad and Sourav Ganguly achieved this.

Kieron Pollard torched the second week of CPL 2018 with the bat along with the Bravo brothers, while David Warner blew hot and cold. ESPNcricinfo brings you the major highlights from the week gone by

Deivarayan Muthu22-Aug-2018 St Lucia Stars trapped in Groundhog Day
It took Kieron Pollard’s blistering maiden T20 hundred and a CPL record total of 226 to break St Lucia Stars’ 14-game losing streak and give them their first win since July 2016. Afghanistan teenager Qais Ahmad unleashed a celebratory reverse somersault, captain Pollard and his predecessor Darren Sammy later led the team huddle, David Warner blew a kiss to his wife Candice in the stands, and it seemed like Stars had escaped the loop.However, they were back in it in the very next match, collapsing for 69 in 12.3 overs, in the shortest 20-overs-a-side CPL match ever. After the game against St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, when Pollard was asked what went wrong, he replied candidly: “Everything… and we are back to square one”.Kavem Hodge given out caught behind for a duck off Carlos Brathwaite in that game, despite not nicking the ball, and Pollard flinging his hands across in utter shock, has been one of the enduring images of Stars’ season so far.Trinbago Knight Riders’ encore
TKR’s batting line-up is perhaps the cricketing equivalent of the Avengers from the Marvel Universe. No target is too far from the reach of a line-up that reads: Sunil Narine, Chris Lynn, Colin Munro, Brendon McCullum and the Bravo brothers. And they proved it in consecutive matches against Stars and Jamaica Tallawahs.Graphic: Darren Bravo smashed 12 sixes off 20 legal balls as Trinbago Knight Riders chased down 213•ESPNcricinfo LtdIn their last five overs against Stars, TKR needed a whopping 85 off 30 balls, but McCullum and Darren Bravo blazed them home with a ball to spare. The highlight of the assault came when Darren Bravo tonked Pollard for five sixes in a 32-run over – the most expensive in the CPL.While we were still wondering about the breathtaking chase, TKR did it again: mowing down 74 off 36 balls in their next game against Jamaica Tallawahs. Darren Bravo was at it again, but it was his brother Dwayne who had provided the finishing kick with 36 off 11 balls.Getty ImagesBatsman of the weekIn week where several TKR batsmen sparkled and Guyana Amazon Warrors’ Shimron Hetmyer, 21, became the youngest CPL centurion, it was Pollard who stood out with the bat. The most experienced T20 player in the world slammed an 18-ball half-century against TKR – the joint-fastest in the league – but it wasn’t enough for Stars.In Stars’ next match against Barbados Tridents, he smashed a 53-ball century, which eventually gave Stars some joy. The innings was filled with his signature lofts and leg-side hoicks, with 87 of his 104 runs coming in the arc between midwicket and long-off. He ended with a strike rate of 192.59 and smart strike-rate of 237.79.Graphic: Sandeep Lamichhane has bamboozled batsmen in CPL 2018 so far•ESPNcricinfo LtdBowler of the week
Eighteen-year-old Nepal legspinner Sandeep Lamichhane had a smart economy rate of 4.97 across two matches this week. In the game against Tallawahs, he was bludgeoned for a pair of sixes by opener Kennar Lewis, but he still dared to toss another legbreak up and the reward was the wicket of Lewis for 49 off 24 balls. He then teased Ross Taylor, who touched only one out of four balls from Lamichanne.Then, against Stars, he unfurled the googly, which dipped sharply, creating distance between Warner’s bat and the pitch of the ball and broke away to take the outside edge, which was superbly held by Ben Cutting at deep point. Lamichhane later said he has five or six variations in his repertoire, which Patriots will miss next week when he leaves the tournament for national duty. Smith, Warner watch
Steven Smith made a cameo – 28 off 16 balls – against Stars following his match-winning 41 against Amazon Warriors last week. Warner, meanwhile found form against TKR, with an unbeaten 72 off 55 balls, in front of his family at Gros Islet. He pillaged 42 off 24 balls from TKR’s best bowlers Ali Khan and Sunil Narine, helping swell Stars’ total to 212. However, his form has cooled off since, adding to Stars’ misery.