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Kotak, Bahutule part of India A coaching staff for South Africa tour

Nagraj Gollapudi15-Nov-2021Former India batter VVS Laxman has accepted the BCCI offer to take charge as director of cricket at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru starting mid-December. ESPNcricinfo has learned that Laxman accepted the NCA position over the weekend. He has also informed Sunrisers Hyderabad of his decision to quit as mentor, a role he took on in 2013.While the BCCI is yet to announce details of Laxman’s appointment and tenure, this will be the first time Laxman occupies a position, an influential one, in Indian cricket.In terms of coaching experience, Laxman, 47, was also a batting consultant for six years at Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), which had roped him for the ‘Vision 2020’ program aimed at tapping and promoting grassroot talent in Bengal. That role was facilitated by former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, who was CAB’s joint secretary in 2014.Ganguly has been once again at the forefront, this time as BCCI president, in Laxman’s NCA appointment. Laxman became the frontrunner for the NCA lead position which vacated by his former Indian captain and teammate Rahul Dravid, who recently took charge as India men’s team head coach until 2023 World Cup.As a NCA director, Laxman’s primary job will be to create roadmap and pathways for both men’s and women’s teams in both senior and junior age groups. Laxman will also get the freedom to work in coordination with the selectors to pick and manage India A and Under 19 teams including the appointment of the coaching staff.Fortunately for Laxman, he takes charge of a well-established structure set up by Dravid, who put in place education and skill-based programmes not just for the players but also for former players aspiring to be coaches.For support Laxman will have a band of coaches – batting, bowling, fielding – working alongside him, but the BCCI is yet to announce the names despite having conducted interviews recently for various positions.Meanwhile, the BCCI has appointed former Saurashtra captain Sitanshu Kotak as the head-cum-batting coach for India A during their tour of South Africa, which will act as a shadow tour for senior Indian team’s tour in December-January.Former Mumbai and India legspinner Sairaj Bahutule will be the India A bowling coach with Shubadeep Ghosh as fielding coach. India A, who will be lead by Gujarat opener Priyank Panchal, play three four-day Tests in Bloemfontein from November 23.

England batter hits 78 off 47 to put the Strikers to the sword

AAP23-Dec-2021English batter Ben Duckett slammed his highest BBL score to propel Brisbane Heat to a 39-run thrashing of Adelaide Strikers.Duckett top-scored with 78 from just 47 balls as the Heat posted an imposing 7 for 208 at Adelaide Oval. In reply, the Strikers made 8 for 169 and were never in the hunt after losing both opening batters in the initial nine balls.The Strikers’ Jonathan Wells made a fighting 55 from 41 deliveries but they remain in the mire with just one win from five games. The Heat, though, made a massive move up the ladder, jumping from seventh to fourth spot with their second win.Duckett’s blazing knock was instrumental in the victory – he cracked 10 fours and two sixes and featured in a superb partnership with Sam Heazlett (49 from 30 balls). The pair added 114 runs in just under 11 overs before departing in consecutive balls from Rashid Khan.Rashid was denied his second BBL hat-trick and finished with 3 for 34 but the damage had been done by Duckett and Heazlett, who struck three sixes and three fours.The pair cashed in after a rapid start – their partnership started at 3 for 74 after seven overs. After winning the toss, the Heat opener Chris Lynn smacked 10 runs from four Wes Agar balls before being caught behind from the fifth when trying to guide to third man.His replacement Tom Cooper made 16 but also lasted just five balls – he hit two fours and a six from Peter Siddle before the Strikers captain trapped him lbw with an excellent yorker.The wickets failed to halt the attack of Max Bryant, who steered the visitors to 2 for 64 at the end of the six-over powerplay. But in the next over, his 20-ball knock featuring five fours and a six ended when caught on the midwicket boundary from Rashid’s bowling.The Heat were 3 for 94 after 10 overs and Duckett and Heazlett then accelerated, reaching a 100-run partnership in just 61 balls.The run chase stumbled early. Opener Matt Short smacked two sixes from the first two balls, a two from the next, and then feathered an edge to wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson from spinner Matt Kuhnemann.And on the ninth ball of the Strikers’ innings, Jake Weatherald was bowled by paceman Mark Steketee (3 for 27) in a horror start for the home side.Wells and Matt Renshaw steadied but after 10 overs the Strikers were 2 for 82 and well off the pace. Renshaw was dismissed in the 12th over and Wells, who hit six fours and a six, was out in the 13th to sap all of the Strikers’ momentum.Tom Kelly made 27 from 22 balls and George Garton hit three sixes in his 19 from five deliveries but became Kuhnemann’s third victim, while the Heat allrounder James Bazley finished with 2 for 27.

England allrounder hits captain Root on helmet as he targets improvement in second Test

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Dec-2021Ben Stokes has allayed concerns about the knee injury that hampered his bowling at Brisbane last week, after coming through an energetic nets session at Adelaide ahead of Thursday’s second Ashes Test.Stokes, 30, bowled just 12 overs in England’s nine-wicket defeat in the series opener, and was in obvious discomfort during his latter spells after appearing to jar his knee while chasing a ball to the boundary.However, he was back to full pace in the Adelaide nets on Tuesday, where he bowled for an hour under the supervision of head coach, Chris Silverwood, and also struck England’s captain Joe Root on the helmet and the arm in a lively display.”We will find out over the next couple of days,” Root had said before the net session. “He obviously had a bit of a jar in his knee in the last game. Hopefully it’s something he’s shaken off now, and he can get back to full intensity and all options are on the table. We will have to manage that and see where we are at.”Writing in his column for the Mirror, Stokes confirmed that his knee had affected him at Brisbane, but also that it was not a new issue that had arisen during the match.”People will have seen me rubbing my knee from time to time when I was in the field, but rest assured I’m fine,” he wrote. “It is an old injury that flares up every now and again, but I know how to manage it.”It just gets a little bit uncomfortable every now and again in and around my cartilage. But it just looks worse than it is by the way I try and get off it as soon as I can.”The contest was Stokes’ first Test appearance since the tour of India in February, and his first competitive fixture since taking a lengthy break during the English season to manage his mental health in the wake of a badly broken finger. He made scores of 5 and 14 in his two innings, and also reprieved David Warner with a no-ball, after over-stepping while bowling him in Australia’s first innings.”Having a long break is going to show itself I guess, but there are no excuses from me,” Stokes added. “I didn’t do anything whatsoever except take a catch and bowl a few no-balls, so the one positive is that I probably can’t get much worse than that.”Stokes’ ability to play as a frontline seamer is crucial to England’s hopes of balancing their attack, and may offer a reprieve to the spinner Jack Leach, whose 13 overs were hit for 102 runs in the first Test. His selection for that match was described by the former England left-armer Phil Tufnell as a “hospital pass”.Related

• Anderson replaces Wood for Adelaide Test; Leach retained in squad

• Stokes in no-ball drama with front-foot technology broken

• Root faces 'tricky decisions' around bowling combination

• Stronger, bulkier Jhye Richardson awaits stage to level up

• Australia's Broad-map: Done our homework on the around-the-wicket line, says Travis Head

England’s hopes of squaring the series at Adelaide may also be boosted by the impending recall of James Anderson, who claimed his first five-wicket haul in Australia in the corresponding day-night fixture four years ago, and who bowled for 40 minutes in the nets after sitting out the opening match.England have lost ten of their last 11 Tests in Australia, and have not won in the country since their victorious tour of 2010-11. No England team has bounced back from an opening Test defeat Down Under since Len Hutton’s men in 1954-55, but Stokes remains confident that they can buck the trend.”We have a good track record of bouncing back pretty well after a defeat early in a series,” Stokes added in his column. “We came back against South Africa to win, we came back against the West Indies last year to win, so we’ve done it before and we can do it again.”Now is not the time to panic. It is about keeping a clear head and staying calm and making sure that our cricket is at the level we want it to be.

Ben Dwarshius’ 66 from No. 9 went in vain in the run chase after Sixers slipped to 55 for 7

Tristan Lavalette22-Jan-2022All-conquering Perth Scorchers powered into the BBL final after thrashing beleaguered arch-rivals Sydney Sixers by 49 runs at the Marvel Stadium. In the Qualifier between this season’s top two teams who have shared six titles between them, a full-strength Scorchers produced an almost flawless performance to book a spot in the decider on January 28, which will be played at the same ground – which is also favoured by Scorchers – due to Western Australia’s hard border.But against Sixers, it wasn’t all rosy for Scorchers, who will be sweating on the fitness of star allrounder Mitchell Marsh after the T20 World Cup hero didn’t take to the field during Sixers’ innings due to tightness in his right hamstring.Two-time defending champions Sixers appeared rattled after getting rocked by opener Jack Edwards being forced into isolation due to his brother Mickey receiving an inconclusive Covid-19 test result and the last minute withdrawal of batter Daniel Hughes, who injured his ankle during the pre-game warm-up.Thus, Sixers’ chase for a historic hat-trick of titles now goes on the line in the Challenger on Wednesday against the winner of Sunday’s knockout final between Sydney Thunder and the in-form Adelaide Strikers.Rejuvenated Inglis and Patterson smash Sixers

Josh Inglis had a highest score of 23 from six innings this BBL season but picked a good time to return to form, needing just 16 balls to notch a season high en route to 79 off 49 balls.Inglis combined in a rollicking 120-run stand with opening partner Kurtis Patterson, who has unexpectedly transformed himself into a belligerent batter this season. The left-hander rekindled his early-season dynamism and put pressure on Sixers’ maestro spinner Steve O’Keefe from the get go with a slog-sweep for six.After Patterson fell for 64, an audacious Inglis took over, marked by a stunning reverse-paddle for four off quick Hayden Kerr as he unleashed two days of frustration on the hapless Sixers, who were fuming on being disallowed Steven Smith’s services for the finals. It meant Scorchers only required a cameo from Marsh, who hit 28 from 21 balls and appeared inconvenienced with an injury.Abbott’s struggles underline Sixers’ woes
Sixers started with senior Australia spinner Nathan Lyon instead of O’Keefe, who is normally a master in the four-over powerplay but may have been held back due to his good record against Marsh. Even though Lyon bowled a menacing first over where he created half chances, Sixers’ plan didn’t work as they had no answer for Scorchers’ red-hot openers.Jason Behrendorff claimed two wickets, with Andrew Tye and Ashton Agar also chipping in•Getty Images

O’Keefe finally came on in the sixth over, but it might have been too late as a rampaging Patterson treated him with disdain. Sixers weren’t helped by an out-of-form Sean Abbott either, who once again struggled to find the right lengths, seamer leaking 39 runs from four overs. An unfocused Sixers appeared to be going through the motions as Scorchers hovered around ten runs an over for the whole innings.Thus, Sixers need to do some soul searching before their must-win Challenger match on Wednesday.Richardson stars in BBL season debut

Playing his first BBL match of the season after Ashes duties for Australia, speedster Jhye Richardson made up for lost time with a withering opening burst. He thought he had claimed the prized wicket of Josh Philippe in the first over when Scorchers appealed for what seemed like a leg-before chance as well as a caught behind, as the ball deflected through to the keeper. But neither was given out, as replays later confirmed that there was indeed an inside edge on the ball.However, Richardson nevertheless knocked Philippe out in his next over amid Scorchers’ rout of Sixers’ top order. He then came back in the 11th over to claim Moises Henriques, finishing with an impressive 2 for 21 to further strengthen Scorchers’ strong attack.Mainstays Jason Behrendorff, Andrew Tye and Ashton Agar, who have all enjoyed stellar seasons, also claimed regular wickets for Scorchers to underline a well-oiled machine. The three-time champions have never looked better this season, storming into a remarkable seventh BBL final.Sixers’ batting offers little resistance
Sixers did endure a disrupted preparation but they should still be spooked by such a torrid batting effort. After their top order was blown away, they had the ignominy of the lowest ever score at the midway point of an innings in a final when they lurched at 5 for 41.It was a hiding to nothing for debutant Nick Bertus, who made just 4 after being plucked out of the replacement pool of players to cover for Hughes, as his more seasoned team-mates fared little better. Only some late fireworks from Ben Dwarshuis, who hit a BBL record 66 at No.9, saved Sixers from complete humiliation.Sixers clearly would have welcomed the services of Smith, whose bid to play in the finals was blocked by the BBL. However, now they simply need to regroup quickly.

Match haul of nine wickets to go with his 175 not out; R Ashwin ends game with six scalps to go past Kapil Dev

Sidharth Monga06-Mar-20222:22

Jaffer: Jadeja can win a game with bat and a series with ball

It was a day of landmarks and milestones for India. Ravindra Jadeja became only the sixth man to score 150 or more and take a five-for in the same Test. R Ashwin went past Kapil Dev as the second-highest wicket-taker for India. In the process, Sri Lanka collapsed under the weight of a relentless India attack and lost 16 wickets in 67 overs to lose by an innings and 222 runs inside three days. Jadeja, who ended one wicket short of becoming the first man to score 150 or more in a Test innings and take 10 wickets in the same match, ended his third straight Mohali Test as the Player of the Match.The longest resistance Sri Lanka offered was a 17-over partnership in the second innings between Angelo Mathews and Dhananjaya de Silva, followed by the 15 overs it took India to take the first wicket in the morning. Six wickets fell for 13 runs in 43 balls to encourage Rohit Sharma to enforce the follow-on.The bigger hauls might have gone to the spinners, but the fast bowlers added to their threat with their continuous interrogation of the batters, which meant the pressure was not released and spinners could get their breaks. The first wicket of the day went to pace, a bewitching slower ball from Japsrit Bumrah, which pitched within the stumps, beat Charith Asalanka, squared him up, hit him within the stumps, and would have gone to hit the top of off.With Pathum Nissanka fighting diligently at the other end, the rest folded in a strangely reckless manner. Niroshan Dickwella faced five balls from Jadeja, played three sweeps, not in control of any of them, and the final top edge settled with square leg placed two-thirds to the boundary. Suranga Lakmal tried an almighty slog the second ball he faced.Lasith Embuldeniya could not cope with a nasty skiddy bouncer from Mohammed Shami. Jadeja was too good for Nos. 10 and 11. Vishwa Fernando edged to second slip, and the injured Lahiru Kumara hobbled out to find out his feet didn’t move quick enough to cover the off stump, leaving Jadeja with a five-for and a shot at a hat-trick in the second innings, which was to resume immediately thanks to a rare follow-on.Ravindra Jadeja ripped through Sri Lanka on day three•BCCI

In the four overs possible before lunch, Ashwin gave India the first wicket just like in the first innings. With this edge from Lahiru Thirimanne to second slip, the result of dip and turn, Ashwin has taken Thirimanne out seven times for 50 runs in Tests, and 14 times for 140 runs in international cricket. Ashwin’s second, on the other side of lunch, was just as masterful, with the ball dipping on Nissanka to make him defend away from the body. The ball didn’t turn as much as the previous ones did, and the edge settled with Rishabh Pant, who continued to show how much he has improved as a wicketkeeper.It took a special delivery to get rid of Sri Lanka’s best batter, Dimuth Karunaratne. Shami angled it in from round the wicket, making him play, but the ball hit the seam and moved away slightly to take a soft edge that Pant took diving in front. His best grab was yet to come, though.Mathews and de Silva now got a bit of a partnership, but Jadeja came back to separate them. de Silva got too ambitious with the driving, and Jadeja inevitably got the ball to dip and draw an aerial response for short extra cover to take.The flood gates opened then with the next three wickets falling at the same score of 121. The first of those was Asalanka, edging Ashwin to slip in the first over after tea, which took Ashwin to 435 Test wickets. In the course of the match, Ashwin overtook Richard Hadlee, Rangana Herath and Kapil. Dale Steyn at 439 wickets remains in his sights.Once Jadeja got Mathews out with a ball turned from middle and leg, it was only a matter of time. Time has been short for Lakmal, who bagged his pair with a second heave in five balls of batting.Dickwella hung around with the tail, but Jadeja reached his ninth wicket with a lovely catch from Pant when the ball stayed low, turned less than expected and took a healthy deviation from the bat of Embuldeniya.The last two, though, went to Shami and Ashwin, but Jadeja wasn’t complaining.

Bangladesh coach explains his side’s decision to bowl first, a call which came as a “surprise” to the home camp

Mohammad Isam31-Mar-2022Bangladesh’s decision to bowl in Durban was prompted by their hesitancy towards batting first in foreign conditions, according to coach Russell Domingo. They have won all their tosses in Test cricket in South Africa, largely deciding to put the hosts in, but doing so today was still a “surprise” for the home camp as per debutant Ryan Rickelton.”I think there’s a bit of insecurity batting in foreign conditions,” Domingo said after play. “There’s a lot of young players coming up – [Mahmudul Hasan] Joy, Shadman [Islam] and [Najmul Hossain] Shanto are playing their first Test here. We need to develop the self-belief to go out there to front up on tough wickets. It is something that we have tried to address as a coaching team and senior players. [But] there were merits to [both] bowling and batting first.Related

• Report – Elgar, Bavuma fifties put SA in front on seesawing day

• Sightscreen issue delays start of Kingsmead Test by 35 minutes

“Over the last ten years, it is 58-42 per cent in favour of batting first in Durban, so there’s not too much in it. There was a little bit of cloud cover today [which would have helped the pace bowlers early on] but that half an hour delay gave the clouds the time to burn off. It didn’t help us.”Rickelton however felt it was more important to think about how the pitch would behave in the latter half of the Test; usually, the Kingsmead pitch helps spinners.”I was personally quite surprised [when Bangladesh chose to bowl],” Rickelton said. “In Durban we usually bat first. The wicket takes turn as it wears on. We would have batted first if we won the toss.”A lot of people are saying they haven’t seen this type of pitch in Durban [before], maybe that’s what pushed them to bowl first. They were probably trying to get the most out of it with their three seamers. But we were happy to bat.”Dean Elgar and Sarel Erwee duly laid a platform for South Africa with a century stand, despite the interruptions of the first half hour. There were freebies on offer, and the pair took full toll, adding 95 in the first session. Rickelton said that the 113-run opening stand set up South Africa nicely.”Dean says it a lot and it is true: we start quite slowly as a cricketing group. He was determined to show that that wasn’t going to be the case again. They were irritated with the delay up front. I think it made them more determined.”Hats off to them. Hundred opening stand in any format of the game is a great base to build off. They played very well. They put the bad ball away. They dug it out. They definitely set us up for the rest of the game.”Bangladesh did fight back with three wickets in the middle session, and got Rickelton in the last session to give the day, despite their errors with the ball, a more in-the-balance look. Like Rickelton, Domingo felt the delay at the start had an impact.”The first half an hour break didn’t do any team any favours. I think there’s a little bit of a difference between a 10am and 10.30am start. We didn’t start well too. We bowled pretty average in the first session.”But then came back superbly well after lunch. I suppose it is an even day at the moment. They only got 230 [233]. If we can nip out two in the morning, it puts us in a good position.”Domingo praised Mehidy Hasan Miraz who was Bangladesh’s MVP on the day, having bowled 26 overs for figures of 1 for 57 and getting Keegan Petersen run out with a brilliant dive-pick-up-and-throw from point.”It was one of the best run-outs I have seen. He has been an amazing cricketer for us with the bat and ball, and in the field,” Domingo said. “He has taken some good catches. He has great energy and attitude. It was a special run-out from a guy who is really confident in his game at the moment.”Rickelton meanwhile rued missing out on a big knock in his first innings as a Test cricketer. He got off the mark with a reverse-swept four, something that offered a glimpse of his abilities, but he fell to Ebadot Hossain for 21.”I was planting my front foot quite early. I wasn’t playing off the back foot just yet, so I took a risk,” he said, explaining why he went for that reverse sweep. “It isn’t the riskiest shot for me. I said that things aren’t going to look in my favour if I am nought off 10 or 15 balls. So I whipped it out, luckily it worked. It got me away.”I am really sad that I couldn’t manage to get through to the end of the day, but it was a nice start for me. Hopefully I can take some momentum from this.”

Players will start to arrive from the IPL but Trent Boult and Daryl Mitchell remain involved in the play-offs

ESPNcricinfo staff19-May-2022New Zealand coach Gary Stead is confident that Kane Williamson will be able to bounce back from his IPL struggles in the Test series against England next month, but the first match of the series may come too soon for Trent Boult.Williamson left the IPL early to return home for the birth of his second child, ending a tournament where he scored 216 runs at 19.63 and a strike-rate of 93.50. It marked his comeback to cricket for the first time since last November having missed the entire home season with an elbow injury.He is expected to arrive in England around the time of New Zealand’s second warm-up match against a County Select XI which starts on May 26 ahead of the first Test at Lord’s on June 2.Related

• Henry Nicholls faces race to be fit for opening England Test

• Bracewell earns NZ Test call-up for England tour, Williamson nears return

• Kane Williamson to fly back to New Zealand for the birth of his child

“He’s a bit disappointed he hasn’t got the runs he wanted during the IPL,” Stead said. “You don’t often see the great players often miss out perhaps as much as he has, but I think what we have to understand, coming back in to red-ball cricket, I think that will suit where he’s at with his game, his temperament as well.”Among New Zealand’s other IPL-based players, Tim Southee has now become available to join the tour after Kolkata Knight Riders’ tournament ended with their defeat against Lucknow Super Giants. Devon Conway’s campaign will also be complete in the group stage with Chennai Super Kings eliminated.However, Boult and fellow Rajasthan Royals player Daryl Mitchell will continue to be involved into the play-offs. Depending on how deep Royals progress into the final week, Stead said a call would then be taken on availability.”That’ll be something that’ll just play out in the next week or so,” he said.Mitchell could be in the frame for a spot in the middle order if Henry Nicholls does not recover from the calf strain he picked up shortly before leaving New Zealand. Nicholls has returned to light training but won’t feature in the first warm-up match against Sussex.Neil Wagner will also miss that game having stayed in New Zealand for the birth of his second child and he will arrive next week.

England seamer experienced lower back pain while with Lancashire

ESPNcricinfo staff16-May-2022Saqib Mahmood, the England fast bowler, has been ruled out for the season after being diagnosed with a lumbar stress fracture.Mahmood, who made his Test debut in the Caribbean in March, missed Lancashire’s most-recent Championship fixture with lower back pain and subsequent scans revealed the full extent of the problem. Mahmood has a pace bowling development contract from the ECB and his rehabilitation will be jointly managed by England and Lancashire, with no timeframe set for a return.His absence will further deplete England’s seam-bowling resources for the upcoming series against New Zealand, with Chris Woakes and Mark Wood both out of contention and Ollie Robinson struggling for fitness – although James Anderson, Mahmood’s Lancashire team-mate, and Stuart Broad are expected to return to the Test set-up. Matthew Fisher, who debuted alongside Mahmood, has been on the sidelines since mid-April, with the reporting that he is also set to miss the rest of the summer with a back stress fracture.Related

• Mahmood turned down IPL offer to 'push red-ball credentials' with England

• Sam Curran on track for bowling return – Batty

• McCullum named England's new Test coach

Mahmood, 25, played in Barbados and Grenada on England’s Test tour of the West Indies, claiming six wickets at 22.83 and impressing with his pace and ability with the old ball. He also top-scored with 49 in the third Test, as he and Jack Leach raised England from 114 for 9 to 204 all out.Having turned down a chance to go to the IPL as a replacement player, Mahmood had been hoping to cement his Test credentials this summer. “I spoke to a couple of the guys around me and felt as though it was in my best interests at the moment to focus on red-ball cricket,” he said. “Hopefully that can highlight my ambition to play Test cricket and to give myself the best chance to do that by performing here for Lancashire.”He had only featured once for Lancashire in the Championship, taking 4 for 90 in the victory over Gloucestershire in the third round of the competition, and was left out of the squad to play Warwickshire earlier this month in order to receive treatment on a shoulder injury sustained over the winter.With Woakes, Wood and long-term absentee Jofra Archer out of contention, England once again seem set to be reliant on Anderson and Broad, after the veteran pair were omitted from the squad for the Caribbean. The loss of Mahmood and Fisher could hasten a call-up for uncapped Durham quick Matthew Potts, the Championship’s leading wicket-taker with 35 at 18.57, while Craig and Jamie Overton have been in good form for Somerset and Surrey respectively.

Ireland need better powerplays in both departments to somewhat narrow the gap vs India

Deivarayan Muthu27-Jun-20221:38

Ireland vs India: Three takeaways from the first T20I

Big picture

Despite the absence of a number of frontline players, and Harry Tector’s sprightly 29-ball half-century in a 12-over shootout, India romped to victory in the first T20I on Sunday. Rain is forecast for Tuesday, too, but India will hope that the weather holds up as they look to test out their bench strength once again, in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup in Australia this October.Tearaway Umran Malik had a tepid international debut, spraying the ball around in his only over, which cost 18. Tector drove a half-volley through mid-on for four and then hooked a 145kph bouncer for six. Deepak Hooda, though, seized his chance in his first-ever shift as a T20 opener, hitting an unbeaten 47 off 29 balls. Hooda is among the most dynamic middle-order batters in the IPL, and on Sunday, in place of Ruturaj Gaikwad, he proved that he could slot into the top order as well.Will Malik get another go in the second T20I? Will Rahul Tripathi get his maiden international cap, if his Maharashtra team-mate Gaikwad doesn’t recover sufficiently from a calf niggle?As for Ireland, they need a more stable base than 22 for 3 from their top order. Paul Stirling could be hit or miss in swinging conditions, so the onus is on Andy Balbirnie and Gareth Delany to see off Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s opening spell.Josh Little and Mark Adair were punished for bowling too short with the new ball, and Craig Young admitted that Ireland missed their lengths.”None of us are quite [Bhuvneshwar] Kumar, we haven’t got the skills them boys have but we are lucky that we know Malahide quite well and we know the lengths to bowl, albeit we don’t always hit them straight away,” Young said after the first game. “Again, you can’t go too full because they’ll blast you over your head, you’ve got that small margin. We got the line right a lot of the time, but the length is what let us down.”A better powerplay with both bat and ball for Ireland could somewhat narrow the gap between the two teams.

Form guide

Ireland LLWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
India WWWLL

In the spotlight

Ahead of the two-match T20I series, Ireland captain Balbirnie was particularly wary of the threat posed by Yuzvendra Chahal, hoping the conditions wouldn’t be too conductive to spin. The Malahide track offered more swing than turn on Sunday, and Chahal needed three sweaters to deal with the chill, but he still bowled a boundary-less three-over spell. His 1 for 11 was the most economical spell on the evening.Related

• 1st T20I: Hooda, Bhuvneshwar shine in rain-hit contest

• Pandya reveals Gaikwad 'had a niggle in his calf'

When Conor Olphert came into the attack in the seventh over of India’s chase, the game was all but up. Hooda shovelled his first ball in international cricket for six, and he only had a peripheral role on debut. However, his heavy lengths and bounce are a crucial part of new coach Heinrich Malan’s plans for the home summer, which also includes visits by three other Full Members – New Zealand, South Africa and Afghanistan.Chahal will be keen to continue taking wickets while being tidy•AFP/Getty Images

Team news

Though Curtis Campher is a tempting option with his allround skills, Ireland will likely retain the XI that challenged India at some points.Ireland (probable): 1 Paul Stirling, 2 Andy Balbirnie (capt), 3 Gareth Delany, 4 Harry Tector, 5 Lorcan Tucker (wk), 6 George Dockrell, 7 Mark Adair, 8 Andy McBrine, 9 Craig Young, 10 Josh Little, 11 Conor OlphertIf Gaikwad isn’t fit, India could hand a debut to Tripathi or recall Sanju Samson. Harshal Patel will miss out once again, if India give Malik another game or bring in Arshdeep Singh.India (probable): 1 Ishan Kishan, 2 Ruturaj Gaikwad/Rahul Tripathi/Sanju Samson, 3 Suryakumar Yadav, 4 Deepak Hooda, 5 Hardik Pandya (capt), 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Axar Patel, 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 9 Avesh Khan, 10 Umran Malik/Arshdeep Singh 11 Yuzvendra Chahal

Pitch and conditions

Intermittent showers on Sunday meant the ball didn’t quite come onto the bat as it often does in Malahide. If rain stays away, the pitch might favour the batters.

Stats and trivia

• Ireland have played four T20Is against India and have lost all of them.
• Bhuvneshwar has picked up a record 34 wickets in the powerplay in T20Is. He surpassed Samuel Badree (33) and Tim Southee (33) on Sunday.
• Tuesday’s fixture will be Young’s 50th in T20Is.

Quotes

“He played some fantastic shots, and obviously he’s 22, and I’ve given him a bat as well. So maybe he can score some more sixes and maybe get an IPL contract and I wish him luck.”
“Our lads were good enough. We came up against a very, very good team and went toe-to-toe with them for a good 80-85% of the game. We just need to find that extra bit on Tuesday.”

Four more balls and Australia would have had a resounding victory

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jul-2022Rain has left Australia four balls short of a resounding victory over Pakistan in their final T20I before the Commonwealth Games after Jess Jonassen bagged 4 for 17 in Bready.Pakistan limped to 94 for 8 from their 20 overs with captain Bismah Maroof holding the innings together with 32 not out. Australia’s openers Beth Mooney and Alyssa Healy cruised to 28 without loss but rain fell with just four balls left in the 5th over and never relented, leaving the game four balls short of a minimum five overs for each side. Had the four balls been bowled Australia would have won easily under the Duckworth-Lewis method.The match was initially delayed due to wet weather. Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat and made a decent start reaching 21 without loss in the 5th over before Ash Gardner struck. Iram Javed was cleaned bowled as she tried to give room to cut from off stump. It sparked a collapse with Pakistan losing 4 for 21 in 30 balls.Omaima Sohail holed out off the last ball of the powerplay, slog sweeping Jonassen straight to deep midwicket. Nicola Carey chimed in with two wickets as Pakistan slumped to 42 for 4 before Bismah and Aliya Riaz steadied briefly with a near run-a-ball 30-run stand.Ashleigh Gardner framed beneath stormy Irish skies•Getty Images

But a horror mix-up ended the partnership with 27 balls left in the innings. Bismah worked a ball through square leg and the pair pushed for two only to see Megan Schutt pounce running in from the deep. But Schutt over-ran the ball which caused the batters to start running for a second only to realise it was too tight. Schutt raced back, gathered and fired leaving Aliya Riaz stranded.Jonassen picked up three wickets in the final over and conceded just three singles. Jonassen was delighted to pick up four wickets in her second game back after missing the first two matches due to Covid.”I was a bit disappointed in the first game,” Jonassen said. “Even though I took a couple of wickets I felt like I bowled pretty ordinary. I felt a little bit rusty and struggled to find some rhythm. But today was a different story. I definitely felt like I was back to bowling really good areas and executing the plans that I wanted to and yeah, to come away with a few wickets at the end of that it’s obviously really nice. It’s good for the confidence leading into the Comm Games.”Pakistan’s bowling innings started disastrously with Mooney caught at short fine off a no-ball from Diana Baig. Mooney and Alyssa Healy barely took a risk from there striking just two boundaries before the rain arrived to end proceedings and cost Australia’s some valuable time in the middle in their last match before the Commonwealth Games.”It was obviously disappointing not to get a result today with the rain,” Jonassen said. “I think as a bowling group, we’re pretty pleased with the effort we put in from the previous games, we were wanting to tighten up our areas and own our lengths. And I thought we did that today. It was a really good last hit out. Just a shame that the batters couldn’t get their time out in the middle today.”