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Format, teams involved, prize money, venues – our explainer gives you the lowdown

Hemant Brar16-Oct-2021So, finally we have a T20 World Cup. When does the action start?
Indeed, after a gap of five years, we have a T20 World Cup again. The tournament begins on October 17 with a double-header. In the first game, Oman will take on Papua New Guinea. Later in the day, Bangladesh will face Scotland. The final will be played on November 14.Who are the hosts this time?
The BCCI are the hosts but the matches will be played in the UAE and Oman. The decision to move the tournament out of India was taken in June, keeping in mind the Covid-19 situation in the country and the possibility of a third wave of infections.How many teams in the tournament?
Sixteen.Related

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That’s twice the number of teams in the IPL! What’s the format?
The tournament will be played in two rounds. The first round will feature eight teams, split into two groups:Group A: Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands and Namibia
Group B: Bangladesh, Scotland, Papua New Guinea and OmanEach team will play every other team in its group once. After 12 matches in Al Amerat, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi, the top two teams from each group will progress to the next round, the Super 12s, where they will join the eight top-ranked T20I sides. In the Super 12s phase, the teams will once again be divided into two groups.Group 1: England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies, A1 and B2
Group 2: India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan, B1 and A2Again, teams will play each of the others in their group once. This round will start on October 23 and comprise 30 matches, to be played in Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The top two teams from each group will progress to the semi-finals.What is the points system and what happens if teams are tied during either round?
In both rounds, a team will get two points for a win; one point for a tie, no result or abandonment; and zero points for a loss.If two or more teams finish on equal points in their group, the following parameters will be considered, in the order below, to break the deadlock:- Number of wins
– Net run rate
– Head-to-head result (points first, then net run rate in that game)
– Original first-round/Super-12 seedingsWill the DRS be available?
Yes, for the first time a men’s T20 World Cup will have reviews. Each team will be allowed a maximum of two unsuccessful requests per innings, as has been the case in T20Is since cricket resumed after the pandemic.ESPNcricinfo LtdWhat happens if a match is tied?
The teams will play a Super Over. If the Super Over is also tied, the teams will keep playing Super Overs until one wins. If the Super Over is not possible because of, say, weather conditions or time constraints, the match will be declared a tie and the teams will be awarded a point each.If a result cannot be achieved during a semi-final (or the match is abandoned), then the team that finished higher in its Super 12 group will progress to the final. In the event of similar happening in the final, both teams will be declared joint winners.Is there a reserve day, to account for bad weather?
There are no reserve days for group-stage games; only the semi-finals and final have reserve days. Match officials will try to complete the game on the scheduled day; if that doesn’t happen, the match will be resumed on the reserve day.If a game is truncated, a minimum of five overs have to be bowled in each innings for the result to be decided in the group stage. For the semi-final and final, it’s a minimum of ten overs.Who are the favourites to win the tournament?
If any team can be thought of as favourites, it has to be England. However, defending champions West Indies, and India, are more than capable of toppling them, and New Zealand and Pakistan cannot be taken lightly either.What do the winners take home?
The champions get US$1.6 million, the runners-up $800,000, and the losing semi-finalists $400,000 each. Are spectators allowed at the venues?
Yes, but in a reduced capacity. The Al Amerat Stadium in Oman has built a temporary structure to host 3000 fans. The Oman government has made it mandatory for all those entering the country, and the stadium, to be fully vaccinated. In the UAE, all venues will be operating at approximately 70% of the maximum capacity. *Fans need to be double vaccinated to be at the stadium in Abu Dhabi, but not in Dubai and Sharjah. They will have to wear masks at all venues.

The young wicketkeeper-batter from Baroda talks about improving her skills by training with Kiran More and the Pandya brothers

Annesha Ghosh04-Mar-2022Facing Hardik Pandya bowling off a full run-up and creaming him through the covers wasn’t quite how Yastika Bhatia envisaged spending the months of June and July last summer.The India women’s cricket team were touring England for a multi-format series at the time. And Bhatia, uncapped then and inexplicably left out of the squad though she had not played a single match in the home series against South Africa only two months previously, was toiling away in the Reliance International Cricket Stadium nets in her home town, Baroda.Across 45 days, under the watch of former India wicketkeeper-batter Kiran More, Bhatia went about strengthening her case for an overdue India debut. “I was definitely heartbroken because I was expecting that maybe I’ll get another series where I can prove myself,” she says.Related

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It was during those long hours spent in the nets that she got a chance to keep to and bat against experienced Ranji Trophy players from the Baroda senior state team. Among them were the Pandya brothers, Hardik and Krunal, India and IPL allrounders.”Just a cover drive to Hardik gave me a lot of confidence that I can also play well. I would get out to him, but to play good shots against him was a confidence-booster,” she remembers. “Krunal also helped me, with inputs on how to bat in the death overs.”Hardik encouraged Bhatia to put any remnants of her disappointment at not being picked for the England tour behind her. “He is very down to earth and we developed a good rapport. He said, ‘Look, I haven’t seen a girl play as well as you do. It won’t be long before you make a comeback.'”A little over seven months on from that conversation, Bhatia has made giant strides towards establishing herself as a formidable long-term batting prospect for India. She made an emphatic debut across formats on the tour of Australia last September-October, and then was the highest scorer for India A when they won the 2021-22 Senior Women’s One-Day Challenger Trophy. That effectively helped her leapfrog other, more experienced, names to seal a place in the squads for the recently concluded series against New Zealand and the ODI World Cup.”[Being left out for the England tour] was a blessing in disguise because I got to spend that much time improving my game preparing for the Australia tour with Kiran sir,” she says. “I was very lucky that he was in town at that time. Those 45 days I got 20-odd sessions with him. That transformed my cricketing perspective. Getting personalised coaching on batting and wicketkeeping from him changed my outlook towards my game. I became more confident, positive and attacking, and my power-hitting went up.”Bhatia made 64 in the third ODI against Australia last year, helping India chase 267 to win•Albert Perez/Getty ImagesBhatia sought the tutelage of More, a former India international with over 150 caps and a former chief selector of men’s national team, on the advice of then India Women head coach and former India batter WV Raman. More, who also lives in Baroda, was familiar with the exploits of the left-hand batter-wicketkeeper who had been something of the talk of the town since her teens.”I had seen a few videos of hers and knew she was doing well on the domestic circuit,” More says. Raman had spoken to More about Bhatia as well, saying she would benefit from his coaching. “She then contacted me, visited my academy, and we started working on the finer areas of her game in the open nets: how to pinch singles and two runs and also be aggressive in approach,” More says.Bhatia’s ability to alternate between dropping anchor and going on the offensive was most memorably on view during her maiden international half-century, in the third ODI on the tour of Australia. She hammered a 69-ball 64, steering India’s highest successful ODI chase, putting on a vital century stand with Shafali Verma. Bhatia was only 20 then, playing just her third game in India colours and replacing captain Mithali Raj at No. 3. The result ended Australia’s world-record streak of consecutive ODI wins at 26.”She is a terrific cricketer and very strong also – mentally and physically,” says More. “She is a quick learner, works very hard on everything. If she wants to do something, she’ll practise it ten times. And she asks a lot of questions – ‘Why this and why not that.’ I like her attitude.”When she comes for practice, she’s totally focused, gives her 110% and she wants to practise every day, so I have to tell her, ‘You need to rest as well and cannot keep practising every day.’ When someone is that focused on improving, they are bound to do well sooner or later.””I wasn’t intimidated by the occasion. It felt normal,” Bhatia says about the tour of Australia. “I had spoken to my India seniors about what it’s like to debut against world-class opponents. Head coach Ramesh [Powar] sir and batting coach [Shiv Sunder] Das sir gave me good inputs during the Bengaluru camp and they had explained match scenarios and my batting role. That helped me mentally gear up and gave me confidence.”During that time in Bengaluru, she provided a taste of things to come when, in a 50-over intra-squad day-night game, she bludgeoned five sixes, making the coaching staff and some of the national selectors in attendance sit up and take notice. It’s a feat, she says, she relived in her head going into the Australia assignment.Bhatia says her confident on-field demeanour and style of play is an outcome of playing in multiple sports from a young age. She is a black belt in karate, a swimmer, and has played badminton at the district level. “So every time I’d step on a cricket field, things feel achievable. It’s like a positive challenge that you feel good about.”Bhatia says her time spent training under Kiran More in Baroda completely changed her perspective on her game•Yastika BhatiaIt was when one of her first badminton coaches moved to a part of Baroda further away from where she lives that cricket first appeared on the horizon. It was around this time, when her father, Harish, was looking for alternatives, that Baroda Ranji player Pinal Shah, who lives in the Bhatias’ neighbourhood, told him one day that girls too played cricket in the city.It wouldn’t be long before Harish enrolled eight-year-old Bhatia and her sister, Josita, older by three years, at the Youth Service Centre (YSC), one of the oldest clubs in the city. Under YSC coach Raju Parab, Bhatia cut her teeth in cricket. Though she is naturally right-handed, she was taught to bat left-handed because of the relative edge left-hand batters (and bowlers) have in the sport.For a secondary skill, she was encouraged to bowl medium pace. Then some of the Baroda Cricket Association (BCA) selectors came calling at the club, looking for wicketkeepers, and asked her to take a shy at keeping. “Next day Papa bought me wicketkeeping gloves and pads,” she says. “My sister remained a medium-pacer because the coaches felt it would be easier to train the younger one to make the switch.”At 11, Bhatia would make her Under-19 debut for Baroda, as a pure batter. She began training under Santosh Chaugule, who became her long-time personal coach and whom she credits with strengthening her basics. In 2013 she would cross paths with former India Women captain and coach Purnima Rau, who was the BCA senior women’s coach at the time. “She told me that I had the potential to play for India in the future,” says Bhatia. “In a way, she was the one to sow the seeds of my India dream in my head.”The same year she broke into the Baroda senior T20 side. Over the next three seasons she made it into the senior one-day side and the U-23 and senior zonal teams. Among the highlights of her domestic career, she counts her two fifties in the inter-zonal senior three-day tournament in 2017. That year was to prove a pivotal one for Bhatia.”I did well in my 12th board exams, in 2017, scoring 89% in science stream,” she says, “but I felt I had more inclination towards cricket, so I told my parents I wanted to become a cricketer, not a doctor.”A passion for sport runs in the Bhatia family. Her father, an executive engineer in a public-sector company, and sister, who was selected for the Baroda U-19 cricket squad in 2011 but eventually opted for a career in medicine, are both, like Bhatia, black belts in karate. Her mother, Garima, is a retired senior bank manager.”My parents agreed, seeing my potential, because West Zone had won the national championship that year and I was their captain. So they fully supported me. ‘No problem, you should pursue whatever brings you happiness,’ they said.”Bhatia on keeping and playing against Hardik Pandya in the Baroda nets: “Just a cover drive to Hardik bhaiyya gave me a lot of confidence that I can also play well”•Yastika BhatiaShe was studying science, which often did not leave much time for cricket training, so she switched to humanities. “That’s how my transformation towards where I am at today started in a significant way. I took up online BA [Bachelor of Arts] general, so I got a lot of time to concentrate on my cricket. I started practising twice a day and began doing running activities and gymming in the mornings. The entire day would be focused around cricket.”Bhatia remembers various relatives, near and distant alike, telling her family they had made a mistake in letting her make cricket her primary focus. “What are you doing? You know she’s so good in studies and there is no future in women’s cricket,” she remembers people saying.”The 2017 Women’s World Cup happened in June-July, around the same time I started investing more time and energy solely on cricket. India had a memorable campaign and suddenly you could see people looking at [women’s cricket in India] differently,” she says.The heartbreak of India’s defeat in the final of that tournament still lingers, she says. ” [My heart was heavy]. Things would have changed for the better so much more if India won that World Cup. Like, there may have been a Women’s IPL by now, more games, better pay for domestic players…”I remember being very emotional after the loss. It changed me,” she says. “I wanted that next time whenever the team goes on the field, I also should be a part of the team to try and help them win the World Cup.”When the realisation dawns on her that that dream is very close to becoming a reality now, five years on, disbelief seems to take over. It’s hard to tell if the screen has frozen at her end or not until Bhatia breaks the quiet with a confession. “It does feel a little like a dream, this shift that’s happened in just one year [since that South Africa series].”More believes Bhatia’s resilience is one of the traits that could take her places. “I think she has great potential to do well for India for at least ten to 12 years, given she is only 21,” he says. “And she has what it takes to do well both as a batter and wicketkeeper. She was keeping to Hardik and Krunal in Baroda and batting against them and got hit as well at times in the chest and leg facing the fast bowlers. But she never gave up. She’s a very gutsy girl.”Bhatia is hopeful she can bank on her positive outlook to tide over challenges on the field and off it. She says the ups and downs of top-flight sport that she has experienced in the recent past will only serve to strengthen her when the stakes are high and the chips down.”I want to improve with each tournament that comes my way,” she says. “The World Cup is the most important one. Whenever I look back on my journey, it feels real because I know I have put in a lot of hard work in coming this far and worked harder instead of feeling bogged down by disappointments. My journey has just started and I want to do more in the future. I am looking forward to what’s in store for me.”

Lizelle Lee’s return could revitalise their batting ahead of bigger challenges

Firdose Moonda05-Mar-2022″Take the point and let’s go.”That was Marizanne Kapp’s message to her team-mates after South Africa beat Bangladesh by 32 runs in their World Cup opener.The final wicket of Fariha Trisna was Kapp’s first of the match. But her celebrations were minimal, to the point of being mildly annoyed. She stood with hands on her knees, with exhaustion writ on her face. She had the expression of someone who knew this performance did not go according to plan.They came into the World Cup on the back of five consecutive series wins, but South Africa were rusty and just managed to drag themselves past 200 on a slow surface. For more than a while, it appeared as if they were unlikely to defend their score.Coach Hilton Moreeng put some of it down to “nerves,” but also acknowledged South Africa were “sloppy” and that it wont be good enough against better teams. Sune Luus, meanwhile, wanted them to get bigger scores.Ayabonga Khaka celebrates her 100th ODI wicket•ICC via GettyUnlike New Zealand, West Indies or Australia, South Africa didn’t have a centurion in their innings. Since their arrival in New Zealand, they have looked rusty. They lost both their warm-ups and failed to cross 250 in their first game. No one managed to top Kapp’s 42.Tazmin Brits has made 21 runs in three innings on tour, No.3 Lara Goodall has scored 41 and No. 5 Mignon du Preez has made 36. Without Lizelle Lee, who arrived late following the birth of her first child, the batting has stumbled.Moreeng knows they are capable of better. “It’s not a concern, more a frustration because we know what the players who find themselves in these positions are capable of,” he said. “The players in this position are capable of a lot more. They also know that.”Lee should be back to take her place at the top of the order for South Africa’s next match against Pakistan. Moreeng, for one, doesn’t believe she is short on practice “She has been training, even when she was at home with her family,” he said. “And knowing the player that she is, she will want to jump straight into it.”But South Africa will expect more from the likes of Goodall and du Preez to back up what Luus believes is a “great bowling attack.” Despite periods where they seemed to drift away, with the new-ball pair lacking bite, South Africa pulled themselves back thanks to Ayabonga Khaka’s consistency.Khaka took 4 for 32, including her 100th in the format. She was able to execute in conditions Moreeng believed suited Bangladesh’s style of play more. “Ayabonga has been one of the unsung heroes of this attack,” he said.”She has been one of those very consistent cricketers, she is quite economical and has worked extremely hard around her game and how to improve. She is a very good student of the game, she assesses conditions really well, as well as opposition. Maybe that’s what gives her the edge.”South Africa move to the Bay Oval for their next match against Pakistan on March 11. It’s a venue where run-scoring may be a little quicker, but they have work to do in other departments too.They were lethargic in the field, and dropped two catches, while Bangladesh were energetic and kept the pressure on. For a side on their World Cup debut, there appeared few signs of nerves in the Bangladesh camp.Eventually, South Africa still managed to get out of jail courtesy Kapp. “The important thing was to make sure we get the job done on the day,” Moreeng said. ” As we go along in the World Cup, we will start improving and everyone will start seeing what they are capable of.”

From 196 for 5 in a chase of 309, King’s composed knock at No. 4 almost took West Indies over the line against India

Deivarayan Muthu23-Jul-2022.That was Ian Bishop on commentary after King had rumbled to a 59-ball century in the CPL 2019 qualifier. King’s 72-ball 132 not out, which is still the highest individual score in CPL history, moved Johan Botha, who was the coach of Guyana Amazon Warriors at the time, to tears and signalled the rise of a new star in West Indian white-ball cricket.After a breakout season, King was immediately called up to West Indies’ white-ball squads to face Afghanistan and India in India in 2019. King’s CPL star quality, however, faded out in international cricket, and he was dropped from the West Indies set-up after those stints in 2019 and 2020.Having then made his comeback on a tour to Pakistan in December 2021, King is rising once again, but as a middle-order batter.Related

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King had started his career as a middle-order batter for Jamaica, and after having two productive first-class seasons, he was picked for a similar role in the West Indies A side in August 2019. He also began his CPL career in the middle order for St Kitts & Nevis Patriots before Botha transformed him into a hard-hitting opener at Amazon Warriors.Though King enjoyed some success at the top – he has also batted at No. 3 for West Indies B in the Global T20 Canada – his dream was always to become a middle-order batter for West Indies, like his hero Ramnaresh Sarwan.King wears jersey no. 53 as a tribute to Sarwan, and against India at the Queen’s Park Oval on Friday, where Sarwan has played a number of excellent hands, King produced one of his own – although he couldn’t take his team over the line against India.He came out to bat at No. 4 after West Indies were 133 for 2 in their pursuit of 309. Shamarh Brooks had just holed out for 46, and two overs later, King watched Kyle Mayers chase a wide ball and nick it behind for 75. When Nicholas Pooran and then Rovman Powell also fell, West Indies were 196 for 5 in the 37th over.King, however, didn’t panic and just focused on taking the chase deep along with the lower middle order. He loves pace on the ball, and has been vulnerable to spin in the past, but he worked his way around that potential weakness on a Port of Spain surface that slowed down considerably in the second innings.King took 34 off 39 balls against Yuzvendra Chahal and Axar Patel before Chahal ultimately trumped him. When Axar was just finding some grip and turn, King unsettled him by dashing out of the crease and clattering him with the turn over extra cover. Then, when Chahal erred too full with his wrong’un, he sank to one knee and slog-swept him over midwicket for a six.

“It’s not too much about beating India. It’s just about our batting formula and how you want to play cricket.”Brandon King on a close loss in the first ODI

When the asking rate shot past ten, King decided to take another chance against Chahal, but the spinner hid a wide legbreak away from his reach and had him skewing a catch to deep cover.West Indies needed 57 from 33 balls at that stage, and they eventually lost by three runs despite late blows from Romario Shepherd and Akeal Hosein. However, West Indies’ comeback, after they were swept 3-0 by Bangladesh earlier this month, made Pooran feel like it was a win.In a way, it was a win for King too, who showed that he could cut it against India’s IPL stars. It was a win for King’s first West Indies captain Kieron Pollard, who was vocal about protecting him and other bright talents from “vultures that are out to take down their careers”.Fittingly, Pollard was in attendance at the Queen’s Park Oval to see King blossom in international cricket. On another day, King could have finished it off for West Indies, but he took his dismissal and the other early wickets in his stride.”Even though they [India] scored 300-plus, it was a lovely batting wicket,” King said at the post-match press conference. “It wasn’t a wicket where you had to take a lot of risks – just rotate the strike and take the game as deep as possible. That’s all I tried to do.”We always believed that if we bring the game down to the last five overs, we have the guys that can chase down any total, and I think [Romario] Shepherd and Akeal [Hosein] showed that today that we’re always in the game. [We] would have liked it if some of the early wickets didn’t fall and we could’ve had some of the batsmen there at the end; but it’s part of the game.”West Indies still have many holes to plug in their batting – with or without the likes of Shimron Hetmyer and Evin Lewis – but Friday’s chase was a sign of their progress, and perhaps, a cause for alarm for India.”It’s not too much about beating India,” King said. “It’s just about our batting formula and how you want to play cricket. Bringing down the game to the last ball chasing 300-plus was good for us. On another day, we would get over the line.”

Jaffna Kings and Kandy Falcons are the best-represented teams in our selection

Madushka Balasuriya23-Dec-2022Avishka Fernando (Jaffna Kings)

Following a 2022 season largely waylaid by injury, Sri Lanka’s most destructive top-order option is back to full fitness, and this LPL the 24 year-old looks to have added some consistency to his belligerence; despite a high score of just 54, he has failed to cross the 20 mark only twice in nine innings, making him the most consistent opener in this tournament and a large part of yet another Jaffna run to the final.Andre Fletcher (Kandy Falcons)

Fletcher by contrast hasn’t been the most consistent of contributors at the top of Kandy’s batting order, but when he has got in he’s made it count – most notably in Kandy’s opening fixture when he batted through the innings on his way to an unbeaten 102, albeit with the aid of 4 (four!) dropped catches. His run count has only been bettered by Fernando.Kusal Mendis (Galle Gladiators)

Mendis was the form batter going into this tournament. He had racked up 521 runs in T20Is this year, striking at 132.23 and scoring five fifties. He has more or less carried on in the same vein during the LPL, hitting three 50-plus scores at the top of the order. Whenever Mendis did well, Galle tended to do the same.Sadeera Samarawickrama (Jaffna Kings)

Samarawickrama was part of the same Sri Lanka Under-19 side as Mendis but he’s never been afforded the same faith by the national selectors. Whether it’s seeing home a chase or putting the finishing touches on a hefty total, Samarawickrama has comfortably provided what his team has needed this season. Already rumoured to be included in next year’s tour of India, this LPL might just be the tournament to make the selectors sit up and take notice.Did anyone expect Carlos Brathwaite to top the wicket-takers’ list?•SLCAngelo Mathews (Colombo Stars)

A late addition to this list, Mathews didn’t have the most prominent of league stages – an MS-Dhoni-esque late assault aside, in which he scored a 38-ball 73 in a losing cause. Beyond the first three games, he didn’t bowl either. But, he’s seen through two crunch chases in the Eliminator and Qualifier in indomitable fashion, showcasing a combination of shrewd game-management and nerveless strokeplay. Colombo will need him to fire once more if they are to topple the Kings in the final.Ashen Bandara (Kandy Falcons)

While Kandy are well stocked at the top of the order and lower down – with their plethora of allrounders – their middle order, on paper at least, seemed a little light. Bandara has more than done his part to quell any fears however, emerging as a reliable option, whether it’s building on from a platform or digging his side out of an early hole. Oh, and he’s not too shabby in the field either.Kamindu Mendis (Kandy Falcons)

The former Sri Lanka Under-19 captain has long been tipped for big things, but it’s only now that the 24-year-old seems to be adding some consistency to his game. While his ambidextrous spin is still only a part-time option at best, he has earned his keep with the bat, with two fifties scores and just one single-digit score. Kamindu alongside Bandara went a long way to offsetting Kandy’s perceived middle-order weak spot for much of the tournament.Carlos Brathwaite (Kandy Falcons)

To say not many would have picked Carlos Brathwaite to be the tournament’s leading wicket-taker would be an understatement. Yet here we are, with the 34-year-old West Indian topping the charts by a good four scalps, at a none too shabby strike rate of 8.6. For the most part Brathwaite has kept things simple, relying on solid lines and lengths, daring batters to take him on, and banking on them erring. And it’s worked.Vijayakanth Viyaskanth has gone wicketless only once in seven games•SLCBinura Fernando (Jaffna Kings)

Despite playing just four games, the 6’7″ Fernando has been scooping up the wickets, and doing it quickly and cheaply too. While not express – he clocks in the mid 130s – the extra bounce he extracts off good lengths has made him particularly difficult to get away. Sure, some of the wickets have come at the death, but that too is down to the pressure he has managed to create with his frugality.Nuwan Thushara (Galle Gladiators)
Wickets 14, Average 18.00, Economy rate 7.42
When Thushara first broke onto the scene you would have been forgiven for relegating the slinger to nothing more than a Lasith Malinga tribute act. But the 28-year-old has built on his breakthrough LPL last season, striking in every game bar one this time round. Moreover, his ability to do whatever job is required of him, be it containment or attack, has seen him become one of the tournament’s most reliable seamers.Vijayakanth Viyaskanth (Jaffna Kings)

Viyaskanth has had to remain patient during his three seasons in the LPL, constantly in the shadow of Wanindu Hasaranga. But following the departure of the senior man to Kandy Falcons this season, the 21-year-old from Jaffna Central College has certainly grabbed his opportunity. Offering variety and control with his legbreaks, he’s gone wicketless just once in seven outings, marking him out as a go-to option for his team.

Smith’s ominous form, Boland’s metronomic accuracy augur well for the side as they dust off the cobwebs in style

Andrew McGlashan12-Jun-2023

David Warner is okay…for now

Even a pair at The Oval was unlikely to have stopped Warner from featuring at Edgbaston, although it would have turned up the pressure a good few notches. Instead, he goes into the Ashes having played well in the first innings, battling through a difficult first hour before flourishing by putting the pressure back on India’s attack. The around-the-wicket line got him again, although this time a feathered pull down the leg side didn’t quite add to the narrative. In the second innings, he drove flat-footed at Mohammed Siraj for 1. We might have a clearer idea of Warner’s chances of making his Sydney farewell by the time the Ashes reaches the end of the Lord’s Test.

Steven Smith is in gear

Smith’s biggest problem was falling into the deep guard marked by Warner. He compiled a classy hundred in the first innings to lay down an early marker as he looks to go somewhere near repeating the prolific returns of 2019, where he made 774 runs in just four Tests having missed one with a concussion. Such is Smith’s skill that he has flicked techniques again, deciding that the more extreme back-and-across movement he used in 2019 was worth returning to after his first two county matches for Sussex, which may fuel the views of those who thought he shouldn’t have been signed. In reality, Smith would have worked things out anyway. It is likely his final Ashes tour. Only a brave, or foolish person would expect anything other than plenty of runs.Related

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• Scott Boland and the problem Australia like to have

Don’t wait too long to go short

Travis Head has been one of the stars of this WTC triumph. He started it with a blazing hundred against England at the Gabba and set up the mace-sealing victory with a blistering 163 at The Oval. But India missed a trick, with bowling coach Paras Mhambrey admitting as much. They did not go for a sustained short-pitched approach early enough. Head eventually gloved down the leg side on the second day and did not look entirely comfortable in the second innings. Expect England to test him out early, particularly if they have Mark Wood in the attack. However, they will need to get it right. Anything off line and Head will throw his hand into it, either slashing over point or carving towards deep third. Do not be surprised to see England post deep fielders as catchers for those shots.1:54

What makes Boland so lethal?

Scott Boland has to play

Does much more need to be said here? An average of 14.57 from eight Tests, six times taking two or more wickets in an over. Australia have won seven of those matches. Perhaps the only question is whether his metronomic accuracy could play into the hands of England’s ultra-aggressive batters who may try and line him up. But he is a shrewd operator able to nip the ball both ways.

Shaking off the cobwebs

It wasn’t a warm-up match. It certainly wasn’t, but the miles in the legs won’t have hurt Australia’s bowlers and, barring Usman Khawaja, all the batters had a good time in the middle. Pat Cummins was able to spread the load among his quicks with Boland’s 36 overs the most sent down. After the third day, Mitchell Starc conceded that despite feeling good coming into the match, the quicks had lacked game rhythm. Cummins’ nine no-balls stood out, but he wasn’t concerned. “I wasn’t doing my best with the front foot this game,” he said. “Rhythm felt really good, just kept overstepping, which I don’t normally do so I’m not overly worried.” The overall performance on the final morning was very polished to suggest the rust was coming off.

Australia still like a review

They didn’t prove costly in this match, but it wasn’t Australia’s best game with the DRS. In India’s first innings, they reviewed for an edge against Shardul Thakur moments after Cummins had a wicket scrubbed off by a no-ball. In the second, Marnus Labuschagne convinced them to go upstairs for a non-edge against Virat Kohli (although he nicked Boland to slip two balls later) then they reviewed an lbw against Ajinkya Rahane that never looked out. There doesn’t need to be much reminding of how it came back to bite them in 2019.

Has Gill sealed a permanent place? And what about life after Ashwin and Jadeja

Karthik Krishnaswamy13-Mar-20232:44

What could India’s XI look like for the WTC final?

India were expected to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and they met those expectations, but few would have imagined they’d be pushed as hard as they were by an Australia side that lacked Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Cameron Green and David Warner during large parts of the series and Josh Hazlewood through all of it. Having gotten through that experience, India are now set to face Australia again in the World Test Championship final at The Oval in June. It promises to be a cracker, but before they get there, here are five questions they can ponder on in the short and long term.

How do India approach the WTC final without Bumrah?

India won’t play three spinners at The Oval, but they may seriously consider playing two. They played both Ashwin and Jadeja during the 2021 final in Southampton, as part of a 3-2 combination, and it didn’t quite work. Ashwin bowled beautifully, and was perhaps India’s best bowler in that game, but Jadeja went under-bowled, and New Zealand’s victory in overcast, seaming conditions was in large part down to their depth of seam options – they had four genuine quicks plus the medium-fast accuracy of Colin de Grandhomme, while India only had three fast bowlers.India played a five-Test series in England after that – spread over two tours – and never picked a 3-2 attack again. They went 4-1 in all five Tests, leaving out Ashwin and preferring Jadeja for being the better batter of the two.India drew that series 2-2 with that 4-1 attack, and they will probably want to stick to that combination at The Oval unless conditions seem unusually spin-friendly – an unlikely event in June. But India will be without Jasprit Bumrah, their pace spearhead. In his absence, India may find it hard to pick a four-man seam attack that offers the relentless control that won them Tests at Lord’s and The Oval in 2021.Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj will probably be the first-choice new-ball pair, if both are fit, while Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur and Jaydev Unadkat are the other pace options who could realistically be on that flight to the UK. Hardik Pandya, who last played a Test match in 2018, could be a left-field choice too, as the allrounder who can fill in as fourth seamer. But the first three names mentioned above didn’t bowl too many overs through the Border-Gavaskar series, with the spinners doing the bulk of the work, and the other three didn’t feature at all.Between now and the WTC final, India’s players will play no competitive red-ball cricket, with most of them set to get through a busy IPL season.Given this, it’s hard to see how India will assemble a four-man pace attack whose rhythm they can be confident of. There’s a chance, therefore, that they could go 3-2 again, and trust Ashwin and Jadeja to give them control even in conditions not ideally suited to their bowling.Jasprit Bumrah has been wrapped up in cotton wool to make sure he can play the ODI World Cup•Getty Images

Is KS Bharat the right back-up for Rishabh Pant?

Bharat began his debut series impressively behind the stumps, particularly while standing up to spin, but as the series progressed he began looking less assured. The new ball wobbled after passing the stumps on the first morning in Ahmedabad – a frequent scourge of overseas wicketkeepers touring England – and he struggled to cope with it, and put down a catch off Travis Head.Mistakes began to creep into his keeping against spin as well, particularly against edges travelling to his right, which often tended to miss his gloves and hit his right leg. On TV commentary, Dinesh Karthik – veteran of 26 Tests, 94 ODIs and 60 T20Is for India – suggested that this particular issue was down to Bharat’s right foot being his anchor foot – keepers are advised to use their left foot as anchor, to be able to move quickly to their right, which is where they can expect to collect the ball most often. This also perhaps explained why Bharat was often so impressive while collecting the ball down the leg side of right-hand batters – his catch off a gloved sweep from Green, in Ahmedabad, was remarkable for how far he moved to get into position.As the series progressed, Bharat seemed to gain confidence with the bat – or stayed in long enough to show how much talent he has. The unbeaten 23 in India’s chase in Delhi and the 44 in Ahmedabad were both bright and enterprising cameos full of attacking strokeplay – his back-to-back pulled sixes off Green in the latter innings were particularly eye-catching – and India have reason to believe he can hold his own with the bat.The keeping could be more of a worry, but Karthik’s comments suggested his issues were technical and fixable.No team can fully replace Rishabh Pant, but India have invested plenty of faith in Bharat, and it’s likely that they’ll see his mixed debut series as a learning curve, and continue to believe he has a higher ceiling that he can reach with smart work behind the scenes.Wicketkeeper KS Bharat began the Border-Gavaskar series well but a few errors crept into his game later on•Getty Images

Has Shubman Gill sealed a permanent slot in the Test XI?

There seems to be no end to Gill’s insatiable hunger for hundreds. He’s now scored five in his last 10 innings for India. It almost felt inevitable that he’d get to three-figures when India began their innings in Ahmedabad, but a lot of that feeling was down to how true and easy-paced the pitch was. The other four hundreds Gill has scored in this remarkable stretch have all come on white-ball surfaces, which tend to be considerably flatter than Test pitches.That takes nothing away from Gill’s achievement, of course. But it’s important for fans to understand that this sort of form can’t go on forever – unless Gill turns out to be the reincarnation of Don Bradman – and that he, like any other batter, could make a run of low scores if India play their next few Test matches on challenging pitches.This is why India gave KL Rahul a long run in the side before they replaced him with Gill, and it’s also why they’ll likely give Gill a long run too. He will face plenty of hurdles as his career moves forward – seaming pitches in England could potentially prove his biggest challenge, given that his game seems ideally suited for hard pitches and back-foot play – but India know he’s a special talent and will back him to find a way to score runs in all conditions.2:01

Tait: Gill has a huge future ahead of him

Who after Ashwin and Jadeja?

They have 738 Test wickets between them, and they dominated the wicket charts to such an extent during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy that the adjudicators decided to jointly award them the Player of the Series trophy. Oh, and they’re both genuine allrounders too, particularly in Indian conditions.R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are irreplaceable, but they’re also 36 and 34, and it’s almost impossible to see how India will replace them when the time comes.Rohit Sharma was asked this during his post-match press conference in Ahmedabad – whether he felt the two would still be around when India next host Australia for a Test series in four years’ time.”I don’t know, honestly, if they’ll be around,” he said. “I don’t know if I’ll be around. But no, four years is a long time. For the sake of Indian cricket I hope they stay and they play a lot of cricket for India. Honestly, both of them are marathon players for us. They know exactly how to get the job done, especially in this part of the world.”You give them the ball, they get you those breakthroughs. With the bat they get you crucial runs. Very very important players for us. Where we stand today in terms of how we’ve performed, especially in Indian conditions, the credit goes to them. A large part of our success belongs to those two guys, obviously because it’s not just for a period of few years but it’s over a decade now.R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have been marathon players for India•BCCI”It’s a long long time to keep performing in the way these two guys have done for us, and I can only hope that they continue to play as long as possible, because those shoes will definitely be very very big ones to fill.”Ashwin took 25 wickets at an average of 17.28 over the four Tests against Australia, and Jadeja 22 at 18.86. They also made crucial runs in difficult conditions, with Jadeja scoring 70 during India’s only innings in Nagpur and Ashwin contributing 37 to a lower-order rearguard in Delhi, where he and Axar Patel rescued India after they were 139 for 7 in response to Australia’s first-innings total of 263.Happily for India, they’re both bowling as well as ever – Jadeja’s bowling form seemed to tail off somewhat as the series went on, but it may possibly have been down to his having returned to action only recently after undergoing knee surgery – and they don’t need to answer that big question yet.And as much as its important for teams to plan how they handle transitions, they can’t be micromanaged, and they often take place in unexpected ways. Ashwin came to Test cricket with a bowling average of 28.12 and a strike rate of 63.3 after 34 first-class matches. He was viewed as highly promising, but no one could have imagined he’d go on to be one of India’s all-time greats.Likewise with Jadeja, who many viewed as a bits-and-pieces white-ball specialist when he made his Test debut in 2012-13, his bowling seen as accurate but limited and his batting achievements in first-class cricket – including three triple-hundreds – viewed with suspicion. Look where he is now.It’s possible that India will struggle for years to replace Ashwin and Jadeja. But it didn’t take them all that long to replace Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, and there was no grand plan as to how that happened.Axar Patel chipped in with useful runs but his bowling fell short of expectations•Getty Images

What next for Axar Patel?

The foremost candidate to partially answer the previous question is, of course, Axar, who is in some ways a Jadeja clone. He was India’s second-highest run-getter during the Australia series, and while his bowling fell well short of pre-series expectations both in terms of volume and potency, he seemed to find some rhythm when he got a chance to bowl longer spells on the flat deck in Ahmedabad. His dismissal of Head on the final day was one of the balls of the series, drifting away from the left-hander before spinning back sharply off the footmarks to bowl him through the gate.Axar looks, in every way, a long-term prospect, and while 29 isn’t young in cricket terms, it’s young enough for a spinner to enjoy a long career.In the immediate term, though, his bigger worry is about featuring in India’s XI overseas. Whatever the conditions are at The Oval in June, they’re unlikely to be of the sort that gets teams thinking of three spinners. He’ll probably be part of India’s squad, though, and he’ll keep working hard with both bat and ball to remind the team management that he can do a job if needed.To get to a stage where he becomes a candidate for the first XI in all conditions, however, there’s one thing he can work on. At present, his biggest threat comes from his unusual trajectory and exaggerated angle into the right-hand batter. If he can work on his stock ball so it turns sharply more often than it currently does, he’ll make batters worry about both edges rather than just one, and that’ll make him an incredibly potent bowler.

With the two openers roaring back to form, and Gaikwad possibly in the mix, India have a happy headache

Shashank Kishore13-Aug-20231:21

Jaffer: Pleasing to watch Jaiswal’s fearlessness even after a failure

India are 86 without loss in 8.2 overs chasing 179 in the fourth T20I. Yashasvi Jaiswal is on 38 off 25. If he wishes to, he can tick a landmark off, saunter to a half-century and then pick up pace again. But Jaiswal is wired differently.The next ball he faces is a slower one from Romario Shephard. Jaiswal initially makes room to try and loft over cover, but doesn’t quite get under it, so he tries to open the face of the bat to bisect point and short third. It’s a very late adjustment and it pays off as the ball eludes the fielder and dribbles away to the boundary. But more than the runs, it’s his intent to take the bowling on that stands out.It’s a refreshing change that only comes from knowing your methods have the confidence of the team management. And even then, with a milestone approaching, so soon after a failure, there would’ve been a temptation to protect his wicket.Related

• To open, or not to open: the Ishan Kishan debate

• Jaiswal and Gill dominate as India draw level

Five nights ago, on T20I debut in Georgetown, Jaiswal slogged his second delivery straight to mid-on in a middling chase, where he could’ve taken time to ease in. As he walked off, he shrieked in disappointment, but clearly it did not have anything to do with his thought process because he came out in this game and did the same thing. He attacked from the get-go.As a kid growing up in Mumbai, it’s entirely possible Jaiswal was coached to play straight, in the ‘V’ and along the ground. But it’s as much credit to his maturity that he looks at it differently. He could be one of India’s biggest gains from the T20I series which will be decided on Sunday with the scoreline delicately poised at 2-2.Jaiswal’s approach isn’t just about being gung-ho though. Earlier this tour, he was happy to go through the grind and treat himself to a century Test on debut. He has both gears and he switches between them like no big deal. One minute he’s orthodox, the next he’s inventive. This can throw bowlers off the rails, as it did in Lauderhill on Saturday.You saw this when he walked across, exposing all three stumps, to scoop Shephard over fine leg for four. He did it again, to a free-hit ball, a wide yorker from Rovman Powell, to bring up a maiden T20I half-century off 33 balls. And yet, these weren’t his most audacious attempts as they was reserved for left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein. Jaiswal reverse-swept a perfectly acceptable length ball that drifted in from wide of the crease for six over deep midwicket.Highest T20I opening stands for India•ESPNcricinfo LtdOne batter in this kind of form can be intimidating enough. Unfortunately for West Indies, they had to contend with Shubman Gill showing similar intent from the other end as well. The opener roared back to his run-scoring ways with a sparkling half-century to break a sequence of 6, 7 and 3 in the T20Is prior to this.Gill hasn’t done much wrong this year, across formats, having brought up a maiden ton in T20Is and ODIs, along with his first Test hundred on home soil. That form hit a crescendo at the IPL when he hit a chart-topping 890 runs in 17 innings at a strike rate of 158. He could do no wrong. But on some sluggish surfaces here in this tour, he seemed to have hit a rough patch, eliciting a comparison of his batting records in Ahmedabad, the home ground of his IPL franchise Gujarat Titans where the ball typically comes onto the bat, to elsewhere.This year, he’d made 698 runs in ten innings in Ahmedabad at a strike rate of 177.15, as against the 410 he’d made in 16 innings elsewhere at 128. Out of these, 104 came in one innings alone in Bengaluru. Wasim Jaffer, the former India opener, felt his tendency of pushing at deliveries even when they weren’t quite coming on played a part.On Saturday, on a better batting deck, Gill returned to his scintillating ways, almost as if he was taking a cue from Jaiswal. There are shots a batter plays that reassure them that all is well. For Gill, that came soon enough when he played a nonchalant short-arm jab for six off Obed McCoy in the fourth over. And that led to a flick of his wrists to pick a length ball for six behind square. And he was off.Those two shots told you very early on that Gill was in his element, and it put the pressure right back on West Indies as India unleashed carnage in the powerplay. It is not often that they amass 66 runs in the first six overs. Gill got to his half-century off 30 balls and in the process, ensured there was no respite for the bowlers. He did not look like a player who had made only one score above 34 on this entire trip. It was another ringing endorsement of head coach Rahul Dravid’s words from earlier, where he said he sees certain players at training and knows immediately there’s no reason to worry. This was the kind of innings Dravid knew was coming.There’s competition for Gill and Jaiswal in Ruturaj Gaikwad, who will probably open the batting in all three games against Ireland in Dublin later this week. This could potentially foster healthy competition among the openers, which for a change is a headache the selectors will be happy to embrace as they slowly begin to look at India’s combination for the 2024 T20 World Cup.

Trusting the process is all well and good but the ability to deliver when good batters are attacking is what separates fast-bowling greats from the herd

Ian Chappell31-Dec-2023As Australia captain Pat Cummins cleverly dissected the Pakistan batting line-up to bring his team a tough victory in the second Test, I thought: what does it take to amass Test victims – lots of them?I liken Cummins to the great former Australia fast bowler Dennis Lillee in both inspirational qualities and heart size. Lillee wanted to get batters out, to have their number. He says, “Fast bowling is a mental job as well as a physical one.”At the top of his mark, Lillee envisioned the ball flying through to keeper Rod Marsh, who’d take the delivery at head height standing back. That’s what Lillee means when he talks about the mental side of fast bowling.The spectacular delivery that Cummins produced to bowl Pakistan’s Babar Azam – dismissing the opposition’s best batter once again – reminded me of Lillee’s greatness.Related

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At the Oval in 1972 a firmly entrenched England wicketkeeper Alan Knott was displaying exceptional grit and determination. When England’s ninth second-innings wicket fell for 356, we gathered to congratulate bowler Ashley Mallett. Lillee was having none of it and bellowed, “We can’t let these ba*****s score any more runs.”At that stage England led by 241. Lillee then bowled the obstinate Knott for a well-compiled 63, leaving Australia to chase 242 for a famous victory. He didn’t bowl Knott with pure pace – the delivery was nowhere near his fastest. Nor did he beat the bat with movement – the pitch by then was devoid of any green tinge. Lillee bowled Knott with sheer will power. He wanted the batter out.Like Lillee, Cummins wanted Babar out.It’s terrific to bowl a top-class batter, but you also have to rely on the fielders taking catches. A good slip fielder’s job is to catch the standard ones and occasionally add a blinder to his resumé . An excellent slip fielder should pouch around 90% of the catches that come his way.Pakistan were never noted for their slip catching. I recall saying on commentary, “Inzamam-ul-Haq isn’t at first slip because he’s their best catcher.” That applies to current Pakistan first-slip fielder Abdullah Shafique too, who has grassed eminently catchable chances in both Tests.

With the great improvement in modern bats it’s not so much how you bowl – Test bowlers are skilful – but how you perform when a good batter is attacking. That’s when the best bowlers come to the fore.

Then there is slip placement. If you are fortunate to have an excellent keeper, like Marsh, who had the widest range, both left and right, of any gloveman I saw standing back, then the slips can cover a lot of territory. That isn’t the case in Australia with Pakistan or many other international teams.At one point in their career the excellent Pakistan pace duo of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis had claimed 60% of their Test and ODI wickets bowled or lbw. That’s an outrageously high figure and suggests the two fast bowlers knew not to trust their own fielders.With the great improvement in modern bats, it’s not so much how you bowl – Test bowlers are skilful – but how you perform when a good batter is attacking. That’s when the best bowlers come to the fore.It’s also when you need every bit of the mental fortitude that Lillee speaks about and Cummins exudes.Occasionally I hear: “Adhere to the process and don’t worry too much about the actual consequences.”Well, in Pakistan’s case they beat the edge of the bat regularly at the MCG but also seemingly with resignation. And catches kept going down – chances that should have been taken and could have been crucial to the end result, because Pakistan had Australia four down and were back in contention.Wickets are important. Just ask Cummins.One of Lillee’s great traits was that a batter had to overcome his enormous skill first, which was no easy feat. However, if he achieved that difficult task, he still had to outlast his iron will, which took a monumental effort.On those hot, demanding days, give me a Lillee- or a Cummins-style character who cares only about not giving in and taking wickets rather than how the process feels.That’s why great fast bowlers like Lillee and Cummins are a captain’s dream and a batter’s nightmare.

Mumbai still hold all the cards, but Nair’s resistance ensured Vidarbha lived to fight another day

Hemant Brar13-Mar-2024Before his famed 303 not out against England, Karun Nair had scored another triple-hundred.It was the 2014-15 Ranji Trophy final at the Wankhede. Bowling first, Karnataka had skittled out Tamil Nadu for 134. But when Nair walked in, Karnataka were 16 for 3, which soon became 84 for 5. From there, Nair scored 328 – the highest individual score in a Ranji Trophy final – to help his side win their second successive title.Nine years later, Nair was once again at the Wankhede, playing yet another Ranji Trophy final. This time as a professional for Vidarbha. His team was in an even worse situation. Chasing an unprecedented 538 against Mumbai, they were 64 for 2, having lost their openers in a space of three balls.To keep alive the little hope they had, Vidarbha needed Nair to repeat his 2014-15 heroics.Related

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Nair had moved to Vidarbha after Karnataka dropped him across formats for the 2022-23 season. But before joining them, he had a short stint with Northamptonshire in the County Championship. In his three innings there, he scored 78, 150 and 21.”I didn’t play for a year, so that was quite hard – to sit at home and watch others play,” Nair said on Wednesday. “But that [runs in county cricket] gave me a lot of confidence before coming here. If I could score runs at The Oval, score a 150 when the conditions are much tougher, I could score runs anywhere.”Nair carried that confidence and form into the Ranji Trophy as well. Coming into the final, he was the leading run-scorer for his team, with a tally of 616 at an average of 41.07. But now, on the fourth day of the final, he had his work cut out.Offspinner Tanush Kotian had just bowled Dhruv Shorey with a delivery that turned square. Nair was welcomed in the same manner. Only that Kotian got his line slightly wrong this time and the ball thudded into the batter’s pad.Soon after, Kotian bowled a similar-looking delivery around off stump. Nair played for the turn only for the ball to hold its line and take the outside edge. But wicketkeeper Hardik Tamore grassed the chance.To counter Kotian, Nair tried the reverse sweep, but it did not help. He looked more comfortable against the left-arm spin of Shams Mulani. But the runs were hard to come by. After facing 42 balls, Nair had scored only 9.Akshay Wadkar and Karun Nair added 90 for the fifth wicket•PTI At one stage it looked like even if Vidarbha batted for two full days, they might not reach their target. Having conceded a first-innings lead, a draw was not an option for them, but Nair felt that was the best approach.”I could have taken many, many chances but at the cost of what? It was not an easy wicket to score runs on. So the thought process was to not give them any chances. To keep batting and score the runs that they give you rather than trying to convert things. To bat as long as possible and you never know.”That’s exactly what Nair did.When Mulani’s spell ended, Ajinkya Rahane brought on Musheer Khan, another left-arm spinner. He troubled Nair even more than the other two spinners.In his second over, Musheer got one to turn past Nair’s outside edge and hit the back leg. Nair was saved by the turn.After lunch, Musheer beat his inside edge and hit the front pad. This time the umpire raised his finger. But Nair got the decision reversed on review, as Hawk-Eye showed the ball would have missed leg stump.Musheer then decided to go over the wicket. Turning the ball from the rough around leg stump, he beat Nair’s outside edge repeatedly but could not dislodge him.When Nair reached his fifty, off 174 balls, he hardly celebrated. After all, it was not even 10% of Vidarbha’s target.Akshay Wadkar was far more positive at the other end, which meant Vidarbha at last made some perceivable progress.Karun Nair’s wagon wheel during his 74•Getty ImagesWith the pitch slowing down and no reverse swing on offer, Mumbai took the second new ball as soon as it was available. Dhawal Kulkarni bowled a couple of overs with it but with nothing happening, Rahane turned to Tushar Deshpande for what the latter described as “the short-ball therapy”.All six deliveries of Deshpande’s over were short. Nair ducked under or swayed away the first four times. On the fifth occasion, Deshpande erred down the leg side and Nair pulled it fine for four.Nair and Wadkar had added 90 for the fifth wicket. But with 20-odd minutes left in the day’s play, Musheer finally got his man when Nair edged one to the keeper.Nair’s 74 contained only three fours. But his innings was more about the shots he did not play, the restraint he showed. During his 220-ball vigil, he did not score a single run in the V.When asked about it, Nair said: “The ball was turning from very close to the bat, so it was not easy. I could have tried but it could have gone either way. So I was just waiting for something really full or short to score runs.”At stumps, Wadkar was unbeaten on 56. But Vidarbha are not even halfway to their target. They need another 290 with five wickets in hand. Nair was asked if they still had hope.”We need to be realistic that it’s a tough task,” he said. “But if I can say anything about this team, it’s that they never give up. You never know what can happen. I would have loved to be batting overnight and then I could have given you a better answer.”Vidarbha, too, would have loved that.