Only 16 matches into his Test career, Kraigg Brathwaite negotiated the conditions in Port Elizabeth, South Africa’s bowling attack and the clouds with class and composure

Firdose Moonda in Port Elizabeth29-Dec-2014If only weather interruptions in Test cricket were limited to the time it took for bursting clouds to relieve themselves. Instead, they extend to include both the build-up before and the clean-up afterwards.The cost of a 10-minute shower can be an hour’s play, overnight rain can wash out an entire morning and, if the heavens decide to have a sundowner, the third session can be sliced in half. When all that happens in the same game, everyone gets a little fidgety.Faf du Plessis revealed that the South Africans use the time to play change-room cricket and have discovered their coach Russell Domingo’s technique needs work. Allan Donald emerged to lob a rugby ball to the television director, the band at the ground played a few tracks that sounded like one, long, grey cloud and the sprinkling of scribes in the press box searched for something to fill their pages and stomachs.

Have been waiting for this opportunity – Samuels

After ending the last tour of South Africa, in 2007-08 as the overall top run-scorer, Marlon Samuels returned with unfinished business on this visit and his primary goal was to complete it.
“Last time I was here (Port Elizabeth) I made 94 and today I was sitting in the same seat. I told myself that when I reach the 90s, I am going to be more positive and try to get to 100,” he said. “There is no competition between this and T20. We all know Test cricket is not kid cricket; it’s big man cricket.”
In the current West Indian set-up, Samuels is one of the biggest men. Along with Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Denesh Ramdin, he forms a part of an experienced core and is relishing the chance to mentor others, through both his actions and his words.
“I’ve been waiting for this opportunity – it’s lot of responsibility and I’ve been around for a while,” he said. “When I’ve got young players asking me stuff, it reminds me I have a big part to play.”

There is something common to all those things – they are distractions. And distractions are what Kraigg Brathwaite has not allowed himself over the course of the last two days. He fought his way to his third Test century, and first away from home, through the kind of focus most 22 year-olds have not found the need for. His was an innings of four hours and 47 minutes at the crease, the better part of two days and what must have seemed like years of waiting in-between.First, he had to survive the initial examination upfront, which tested his reflexes against the moving ball and an awareness of his off stump. On both counts, he passed on the third day. Brathwaite waited for South Africa’s seamers to offer width and err in their lengths by going too short.Importantly, he managed not to stagnate while doing that, even when he lost his opening partner and the No.3 batsman off successive balls. He brought up 50 in 74 balls, which impressed Marlon Samuels, his batting partner at the time. “They used to say he batted too slow but now he is scoring a little bit faster,” Samuels said.Then he survived a tricky period as the day wound down, when the ball had shown signs of reverse-swing and South Africa turned the heat up. Brathwaite had one moment of nervousness when he hit the ball back to Imran Tahir late on the third day but the legspinner could not hold on in his follow-through.Overnight, Brathwaite and Samuels regrouped and Samuels put to his partner the possibility that they could save the game: “I knew I could rely on a guy like Kraigg to be patient because he is a very patient person. As long as we can put up a record-breaking partnership, it would augur well for us to save the game and take it to a draw.”Easy. Except when Morne Morkel is steaming in, with blood on the brain and a field in place to accept the dripping.When play eventually got underway on the fourth afternoon, Morkel had decided on a plan to unsettle Brathwaite by forcing him to fend the ball off his ribs and into the hands of either Temba Bavuma or Faf du Plessis at short leg and leg gully respectively. Sometimes in calculated fashion, at other times with a bit of luck and a lot of awkwardness, Brathwaite managed to get the ball between them or past them. “You don’t know where to put the guys. You can’t put them everywhere,” Morkel said. “We were working towards that sort of dismissal but their shot selection was quite good. They waited for a shortish length and didn’t try anything tricky.”With Imran Tahir handing out late Christmas presents in the form of full tosses, Brathwaite had some release, too. Only once, when he reached 90 and Steyn had started replicating the tactic, did he almost fall into the trap. The ball caught the shoulder of Brathwaite’s bat and ballooned over to du Plessis at second slip who back-pedalled but got to it and then spilled it while trying to regain balance.His century was there for the taking and it was perhaps fitting that it came off an uncertain stroke to a short ball, because that was the stroke that encapsulated what his innings was about: grit and grind.That he was able to do both so well for so long can only be good news for West Indies’ future. Brathwaite is only 16 Tests into his career and has already enjoyed a breakthrough year. In 2014, he scored three centuries, of which one was a double, and the most recent one was scored in a country that is regarded as one of the most difficult for a batsman to prosper.He negotiated conditions, the competition offered by the attack spoken of as the best in the world, and the clouds with class and composure.”He is a very strong person mentally. It’s definitely showing in his game,” Samuels said. “It’s good to have an opening batsman who is showing determination.”If he can do it again in the second innings, West Indies will have a reason to celebrate more than the weather in Port Elizabeth.

Shamsur Rahman might have thought it was his day in Khulna, but it wasn’t. He remained down on luck and form – and not just on the field

Devashish Fuloria in Khulna 06-Nov-2014In Bangladesh’s second innings, hours before being dropped for the final Test of the series, Shamsur Rahman looked to defend a delivery from Malcolm Waller, played down the wrong line, and the deflection was snaffled up by Brendan Taylor at first slip. Zimbabwe appealed for a catch, but Billy Bowden disagreed. The time it took Zimbabwe to ask for a review suggested it was an ambitious call. And the time it took the third umpire, S Ravi, to make a decision, confirmed how close was it.Being 0-1 down and sliding further must have been difficult for Zimbabwe. Being the third umpire must have been extremely difficult, too, as there wasn’t much to see in the first few replays. Being the director in the broadcast centre must have been tough as well, as he had to produce the right angles. But, most of all, spare a thought for Shamsur. He would have most probably known all along that he had tickled the ball. Although he had to stay calm, the appeal from the Zimbabwe players would have been piercing. His heart would have been pounding when Taylor got into a brief chat with his team-mates.Then the third umpire took ages to decide. It was probably three minutes, or four, but it must have felt like much longer for Shamsur. He stood next to Mominul Haque, kept his gaze on the big screen on the western stands. The graphic was static – Decision Pending, it said – and did not include any scary heartbeat sounds, but Shamsur probably heard them anyway. The longer it took, the more relaxed he might have felt, thinking the replays were inconclusive. But then the decision, out, must have been crushing. Time for a slow walk back then, after another failure in the series.It wasn’t that Shamsur was getting out early in his innings, like Tamim did in Mirpur. Shamsur spent more than three and a half hours batting in the two Tests and had faced 150 deliveries before the one that got him today. The runs just wouldn’t come.In the first innings in Mirpur, he had tried to drive one over the infield, but toe-edged it to mid-off; in the second innings, he tried to leave a delivery, but the ball followed his bat, got an edge and rattled the stumps. On the first day of the Khulna Test, he was struck on the pads by an inswinger. Bowden thought it was going down. Phew. But Zimbabwe wanted a review and it showed it was hitting the stumps.If that wasn’t distressing enough, he dropped catches, two of them within the space of four balls to reprieve Hamilton Masakadza who went on to register his career-best score. The second one was a simple chance at first slip and it went through his legs. Shamsur had to chase it down too. Then he took up his position again as if nothing had happened. He wouldn’t have wanted another one coming his way at that time, though.Today, Shamsur had spent 71 balls at the crease for 23 runs, his first double-digit score this series. The luck finally seemed to be tilting towards him. He was still struggling to get runs. He saw Tamim Iqbal hit boundaries, he then saw Mominul play a stylish wristy on-drive, but he was stuck on 1. But then he hit consecutive boundaries through point, off his 32nd and 33rd deliveries. That must have taken the weight off him. There were outside edges, two of them, both of them went for fours as well. It was meant to be his day.So what if Bangladesh were stalling when they needed quick runs, so what if the giant flag on the western stand that had been bouncing all day now sagged over quiet heads … for Shamsur, things were looking brighter. Maybe a fifty would help him retain his place for the third Test.But then Zimbabwe went through with the appeal even when they were not sure. The super slow-motion camera happened to be at the southern end, with the light behind it, helping get a clearer picture of the ball, recording more frames. No shadows to deal with. It might have been different from the other end. The third umpire, on the other day, might have ruled in his favour and no one would have argued. But everything that could have gone against him, went against him.Not long after, the miserable series was over for Shamsur.

Stats highlights from the fourth day of the third Test between West Indies and South Africa in Cape Town

Bishen Jeswant05-Jan-201566 Number of Test fifties scored by Shivnarine Chanderpaul, second only to Sachin Tendulkar who scored 68.27104 Balls faced by Chanderpaul in Tests. From matches where balls-faced data is available, only three batsmen have faced more deliveries: Rahul Dravid (31258), Sachin Tendulkar* (29437) and Jacques Kallis (28903).8 Number of years since Chanderpaul has been run-out in Tests. He was run-out against New Zealand in Napier in 2006. This is the fourth time he has been run-out in his Test career.7 Number of wickets taken by Simon Harmer, the most by a South African spinner on debut in a home Test. Two other South African spinners have taken seven or more wickets in their first Test – Dane Piedt (8 for 152, Harare, 2014) and Ian Smith (7 for 189, Nottingham, 1947)50 Number of overs bowled by Harmer in this Test. He is only the fourth South African spinner in 68 years to bowl 50 or more overs on Test debut. Interestingly, three South African spinners bowled 50-plus overs each on debut in the same Test in 1947, against England.890 Runs scored by Chanderpaul in South Africa, the most by a West Indies batsman. He went past Lara (841) during his 50 in the second innings.98 Marlon Samuels’ strike rate against Harmer during his knock of 74 in the second innings. He scored 46 runs off 47 balls against Harmer. Against the other bowlers, Samuels scored 28 runs off 103 balls at a strike rate of 27.5 Number of times that Samuels has faced 150-plus balls in an innings against South Africa, more than against any other team. He has done this three times each against England and India. Samuels played exactly 150 balls for his 74 in the second innings.8 Number of ducks scored by Denesh Ramdin, the second-most by a West Indies wicketkeeper in Tests. The only wicketkeeper to score more ducks is Ridley Jacobs – 12 ducks.355 Number of balls since Vernon Philander has taken a Test wicket at Newlands, Cape Town. His last wicket here was against Australia in March 2014, when he took a wicket in the first innings and returned match figures of 1 for 158.

Stats highlights from the third day of the fourth Test between India and Australia in Sydney

Bishen Jeswant08-Jan-2015

Highest Indian run-getters in a series against Australia

639 Runs scored by Virat Kohli in this series, the most by an Indian against Australia, at home or away. He went past Rahul Dravid, who had scored 619 runs during the 2003-04 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.4 Hundreds scored by Kohli during this series, making him only the second Indian to score as many in a Test series. Sunil Gavaskar had achieved this feat on two occasions against West Indies in 1971 and 1978-79.7 Centuries scored by captains across the four Tests, the most ever in a single Test series. Michael Clarke had one, Kohli and Steven Smith have three each.1 Time that two batsmen – Kohli and Smith – have made four or more hundreds each in the same Test series. Individually, they are the 19th and 20th batsmen to make four hundreds in a Test series.23 Years since an Indian opener played 250 or more balls in an innings in Australia. KL Rahul, with 262 balls for his 110 in Sydney, emulated Ravi Shastri, who had faced 477 balls for his 206 in Sydney in 1992.3 Hundreds for Kohli in his first three innings as captain, the only player to do so. His counterpart Smith has scored at least one hundred in each of his first three Tests as captain.2.97 India’s run rate during their first innings, the second-slowest of this series by either team. India have scored 342 runs so far from 115 overs. Teams have scored at a run rate in excess of three in 12 of the 13 other innings this series.5 Test hundreds for Kohli in Australia, only Sachin Tendulkar (6) has more. Gavaskar has scored five hundreds as well. Kohli is fifth on the list of overseas batsmen to score the most hundreds in Australia.39 Number of innings since Shane Watson has taken more than one wicket in an innings. He has figures of 2 for 42 in the first innings. The last time he took more than one wicket was in November 2011, when he returned figures of 5 for 17 against South Africa in Cape Town.

After Kane Williamson guided New Zealand to a nervy one-wicket win over Australia in Auckland, ESPNcricinfo looks at other World Cup matches in which the final pair sealed the deal

Deivarayan Muthu28-Feb-2015Pakistan v West Indies, Edgbaston, 1975
In what turned out to be the first real thriller in a World Cup, West Indies stumbled to 99 for 5, courtesy fast bowler Sarfraz Nawaz. Clive Lloyd and No. 7 Bernard Julien added 44, but another collapse left West Indies on the precipice at 203 for 9. However, Deryck Murray and Andy Roberts batted sensibly, weathering Sarfraz’s second spell. Murray then cranked up the tempo, reducing the equation to five off two overs. The game took another twist when Pervez Mir delivered a maiden in the penultimate over, but Murray and Roberts showed tremendous calmness, helping West Indies prevail with two balls to spare.For more, read: Murray and Roberts stun Pakistan
Pakistan v West Indies, Lahore, 1987
Pakistan and West Indies in a wild see-saw battle. World Cup. 203 for 9. It was 1975 all over again, only with roles reversed. From 110 for 5, Imran Khan and Saleem Yousuf shared 73 for the sixth wicket but the fall of Imran started a collapse of 4 for 20. Pakistan needed 14 off the last over, to be bowled by Courtney Walsh. Abdul Qadir and Saleem Jaffar were in the hot seat.Pakistan snuck four off the first three balls, before Qadir launched a six over long-off and followed it up with a couple. The equation was down to two off the final ball. Walsh ran in and aborted: Saleem Jaffar strayed out of the crease. Instead of tipping the bails off, Walsh, in one of the greatest moments of sportsmanship, let him go and went back to his mark. Qadir then squeezed a yorker to third man and started celebrating even before completing the second.For more, read: The gracious Mr Walsh
Robin Peterson and Charl Langeveldt guided South Africa home after Malinga’s four•AFPSouth Africa v Sri Lanka, Guyana, 2007
This was a one-wicket win, but no heist for South Africa. They were four runs from victory, with five wickets in hand, and plenty of overs to go. Enter Lasith Malinga. His four-in-four, and nearly five-in-five, left last-wicket pair Robin Peterson and Charl Langeveldt three to get and fearing for their toes. Langeveldt, who had taken 5 for 39 to restrict Sri Lanka, played out nine balls before Peterson finished the job.For more, read: Malinga slings four in four
James Anderson and Stuart Broad crashed Brian Lara’s farewell•AFPWest Indies v England, Bridgetown, 2007
The Kensington Oval was packed as the crowds came in droves to bid farewell to Brian Lara, but were disappointed on two counts. First Lara was run out cheaply, and then their team went down in a nailbiter. Kevin Pietersen’s century set up the chase of 301, but his dismissal had England sliding from 269 for 6 to 271 for 8. When Paul Nixon was undone by Dwayne Bravo’s slower ball, it was down to James Anderson and Stuart Broad to get three from four balls. A scampered leg-bye was followed by a dot, prompting Lara to bring his field in. Broad, though, carved the penultimate ball over covers to ruin Lara’s farewell.For more, read: Being there for Lara’s goodbyeShapoor Zadran and Hamid Hassan hung on for Afghanistan’s first World Cup win•Getty ImagesAfghanistan v Scotland, Dunedin, 2015
Samiullah Shenwari watched six batsmen depart for single-digit scores as Afghanistan tumbled to 97 for 7 against Scotland. An embarrassing defeat loomed as they chased 211. However, Shenwari made 96 before he was the ninth batsman to be dismissed, with Afghanistan still needing 19 in 19. Amid scenes of immense tension, Hamid Hassan and Shapoor Zadran, neither of whom are renowned for their batting, hauled Afghanistan to a landmark win in the final over – their first in World Cups.

Knight Riders’ matchwinner, equipped with an altered action, gets back to work quietly at the Eden Gardens

Nagraj Gollapudi in Kolkata06-Apr-2015Pink shoes. Pink glares. The Mohawk. Sunil Narine stands out from the rest of the Kolkata Knight Riders squad even from a distance. Yet not many, including the media, are paying attention to the West Indies offspinner.It is three in the afternoon. Peak summer heat soaring at about 38 degrees centigrade along with Kolkata’s extreme humidity levels. It is unbearable. A fan, sitting behind the nets where Narine is bowling, collapses and has an epileptic fit, forcing Knight Riders physiotherapist Andrew Leipus to rush to the spot. Amid all this chaos, Narine remains unflustered.It is only his second day at training having endured a difficult last week. Forced by the BCCI diktat, he had to travel to the ICC-accredited centre in Chennai to get his acton retested despite having got a clearance from the testing centre at University of Loughborough in March.Although Narine got an all-clear from BCCI’s sub-committee dealing with suspect actions, the Knight Riders management fear that mentally it might have had an impact on him on the eve of the tournament. That pressure will not cease till sometime at least considering the BCCI has instructed the umpires to take tough stance against bowlers with suspect actions.But in the nets, with no umpires observing him, Narine is his usual languid self. He does not rush in to bowl. It does not bother him that his first few balls are easily dealt by Ryan ten Doeschate.Glares on, he takes the short run-up to deliver to ten Doeschate. Watching from behind the nets, to the untrained eye, it is difficult to pick the subtle changes Narine has carried out as part of the remodelling of his action.Ten minutes into his bowling, Narine flips the glares upside down and sticks them at the back of his head. He is now ready. There is a new batsman. Yusuf Pathan. The second ball he faces, Narine delivers the carom ball. The trajectory is a little flatter. But Yusuf has not read Narine’s hand as he defends unconvincingly.The next ball is flighted and it dips. Yusuf has to lunge forward to tap it safely. Few balls later Narine bowls a rank half tracker and Yusuf gleefuly steps back and pulls powerfully. Yusuf probably imagines it to be a six but Narine signals a four. Yusuf does not respond. Narine does the signal once more, this time with a modest smile. Yusuf acknowledges.A few more balls, Narine wraps up his training after 15 minutes and walks away into the dressing room only to emerge couple of hours later to enter the team bus. A few fans shout “Narine, Narine” and he acknowledges them by raising his right hand. The loudest cheers are reserved for “Yusuf bhai”, “Robin”, “Gambhir”, “Surya”.Even during the nets it is former Pakistan fast-bowling ace Wasim Akram, the Knights Riders bowling consultant, who is the cynosure of the 50-strong fans. ” shouts a young security guard.Another group of teenagers walk in excitedly and suddenly spot Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan. They decide to take a selfie with him in the background. Not one is interested in Narine.Interestingly as you walk into and inside the Eden Gardens, Narine remains inconspicuous. Gambhir, Uthappa, Yusuf – all of them are staring down from huge billboards. Andre Russell and Morne Morkel are part of the screens that separate the Cricket Association of Bengal lobby and the home dressing rooms. There is a side profile of Narine that looks at you from the screen covering the visitor’s dressing room, but you are bound to miss it as it is partly hidden by a pillar.Knight Riders’ most valuable player remains invisible. Perhaps it suits him. Quiet in celebration. Quiet in agony.

For 30 minutes, everything else took a backseat, as the world watched in awe and fear, a fired-up Pakistan fast bowler mercilessly bullying an Australian batsman

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Adelaide20-Mar-2015″Are you holding a bat?”When Shane Watson stalks in from the slips to lean in and spit those words at Wahab Riaz, does he know? Does he have any bloody idea, what he is really doing to Wahab, and 90 minutes later, to himself?Australia had, at one stage, spoken in team meetings about easing off Kevin Pietersen verbally. “It fires him up,” was Brett Lee’s reasoning. They had not had this meeting about Wahab. When Mitchell Starc beats his edge with an outswinging yorker in the 39th over, the bowler slithers forward. He tells the batsman: “It’s the white thing, you have to hit it.” Wahab, already cranky at another middle-order meltdown from his team-mates, follows Starc down the pitch. He seethes at the bowler, complains to the umpires.

‘Wahab one of the best in the world’

Misbah-ul-Haq on Wahab’s spell
“Nobody in this world is very good against a bowler who is bowling 150kph and with this sort of deceptive pace and bounce. Today he’s shown his class again. At one stage we were pretty much in the game, and the way he was bowling, that catch could have made a big difference, but this the way it is.”
On Wahab’s World Cup
“He was a different bowler in the World Cup. You could rate him at the moment one of the best bowlers in the world – the kind of pace he’s generating and the way he’s bowling. I think still, to become Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, he needs a lot of experience and especially the kind of yorkers and reverse swing they really bowled. But I think he’s a much improved bowler, and he could just be a leading bowler for Pakistan.”

Next over, James Faulkner throws Wahab a stare. Brad Haddin, running close to the stumps to collect a return throw, sticks his own verbal shiv in Wahab’s side. Watson’s sledge is only one of many, but it’s Watson’s sledge Wahab remembers. Before the end of the night, Watson would know best of all, this is not a man worth ruffling; that Wahab’s blood boils when you turn up the heat.Eighteen overs and an innings break later, it is Wahab with the white thing in his hands. Third ball, he rushes David Warner into an uppercut, which settles in the palms of third man Rahat Ali. Tenth ball, Michael Clarke arches his creaking back and fends the white thing to Sohaib Maqsood at short leg.The first ball to Watson would have flattened the batsman’s grille. He dips beneath it with only a little discomfort, but for Wahab, ducking is tantamount to submission. He gets in Watson’s face, claps him sarcastically. The next ball is 150kph, Watson dare not play.Wahab Riaz smelled blood and did not stop•Getty ImagesThe next over is even more intense. Wahab is an inferno. The white thing is a meteor. Watson goes through series of evasive full-body spasms. His back and limbs are aping the shape of half the alphabet, but his mouth can form no words now. In the stands, 35,516 people all smell leather, voices hoarse, fidgeting, pumping fists from the edge of their seats. In the slips, Haris Sohail’s face contorts at the climax of each delivery, sometimes with glee, other times with desperation. On occasion his eyes are filled with fear. Is he afraid for Watson?Steven Smith, who is bending space-time to appear in a parallel universe from his partner, routinely takes a single early in the overs that follow and coolly observes the combat from the best vantage point in the world. Does he feel the heat pouring off Wahab? Is he enjoying the view?All through the match, the cricket had not failed to be interesting. This spell is transcendental. Of the tens of thousands in the ground, there is only one protagonist, and one victim, but the cricket so good, all are drawn in. Wahab’s anger is felt as keenly as Watson’s timidity. So bent is Wahab on embarrassing Watson, he taunts him after every ball.In one over, he does it so many times, it’s as if Wahab rides a conveyor belt from the bowling crease into Watson’s personal space. In the crowd, nothing of their exchange is heard, but its details are intimately understood. The Adelaide Oval playing surface covers acres of land. The stands themselves are vast and high. But in those moments, it’s as if the whole stadium exists in the burning space between these two men.Shane Watson experienced an onslaught like no other•Getty Images”When I was batting Watson just came up to me and said, ‘Are you holding a bat?’ And that was going through my mind,” Wahab later said. “I let him know that even he is having the bat, but he couldn’t touch the ball. I know that nowadays, he’s not good on the short ball. It was a plan of myself that we discussed in the team meeting.”Eventually, Watson is defeated. Having ducked, arched and hopped, he is eventually humiliated into playing a hook shot off the first ball of Wahab’s fifth over. Australian crowds so often scream insults at foreign fielders lining up high catches, but in the seconds this top-edged ball hung in the air, the wind’s rustling through the trees at the Cathedral End was heard in perfect silence. When Rahat spilt the simple chance, 35,000 yelped – more in relief than frustration. A sheepish Watson is avoiding gazes at the non-striker’s end. A disbelieving Wahab is keeled over, mid pitch.In the limp finish, an hour later, Australia cruise to the semi-final with six wickets in hand and 97 balls remaining. On the scoreboard, Wahab’s figures read 9-0-54-2. Watson has 64 not out from 66. Few will remember in years to come, the ins and outs; that Pakistan had been bowled out for 213.But few will forget the theatre, and the unbridled, oscillating emotion of this spell. Tattooed into their nerves will be the night a fast bowler filled a stadium with his fury; the half-hour their collective pulses raced in sync with a batsman’s heart.

ESPNcricinfo staff19-May-2015Before long, Parthiv Patel, too, joined in the act, and together they added 90 runs for the opening wicket, their fourth 50-plus stand this season•BCCIIt took a fine athletic catch from Pawan Negi to end Simmons’ innings in the 14th over, for a 51-ball 65, and Mumbai had already reached 113 by then•BCCIKieron Pollard then blazed away despite wickets falling around him. His 17-ball 41 helped Mumbai score 52 runs in their last five overs and finish on 187 for 6•BCCIDwayne Bravo was expensive towards the end and finished with 3 for 40 despite starting strongly•BCCILasith Malinga struck in the first over to remove Dwayne Smith, who was unlucky to be judged lbw after the impact was well outside leg stump•BCCIHarbhajan Singh decisively altered the course of the match by removing Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni in successive deliveries to leave Super Kings struggling on 86 for 4•BCCIFaf du Plessis, who was reprieved on 14, continued to resist for a while, before he was dismissed for a 34-ball 45•BCCIThereafter, Super Kings kept losing wickets at regular intervals, and despite some late hitting from R Ashwin, fell 25 runs short of the target. Mumbai finished with their eighth win in nine games•BCCI

Shreyas Iyer has opened the innings in nine of the ten games so far and is the only uncapped batsman in the 300-run club this season

Amol Karhadkar06-May-2015″Be so good that no one can ignore you!!”Shreyas Iyer is living up to his WhatsApp status quite literally. The 20-year-old has followed an impressive maiden first-class season with an even more notable debut in the Indian Premier League.The Delhi Daredevils batsman has opened the innings in nine of the ten games so far and is the only uncapped batsman in the 300-run club this season. He sits in the company of some of the established names in world cricket. The achievement is the first tick in the box for Iyer.”At the start of the IPL, I had set a target that I should reach at least 300 runs. Now that I have reached there, with four more matches in hand, I would love to add a few more. Next target is 400 now,” Iyer says in a chat with ESPNcricinfo.In his first ten games of the IPL, Iyer has faced some of the most fearsome pace bowlers. Barring the two Mitchells, Johnson and Starc, from Australia, he has dealt with the likes of Morne Morkel, Dale Steyn, Trent Boult and Lasith Malinga quite well. It reflects in the fact that two of his fifties this IPL have been scored against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians.Asked which was the toughest over or spell he has faced so far, Iyer responded with a straight face. “I don’t remember any over which was tough for me.” He isn’t joking. Prod him further about the most challenging bowler he has faced and the batsman thinks for almost half a minute. Then comes the answer.”If I have to pick one, I would say it was Sandeep Sharma. He swings it both ways so you need to take some time to settle,” Iyer says, referring to the over that he faced against Kings XI Punjab early on in the season.Iyer’s highest score – 83 – came against against Mumbai Indians, where he dealt with Malinga cautiously but went after Harbhajan Singh’s offspin. Iyer stressed that he had little problems while picking the ball coming off Malinga’s slinging action.”We all know he is a really good bowler,” he says. “I visualised before the game. I have heard that he becomes difficult to bat against because of his round-arm action, but it wasn’t difficult for me to pick him. The only thing is that he bowls a good slower one, that’s the only problem I faced. Picking his release point wasn’t a big problem for me.”Mention Steyn to him and the confident eyes light up. “I had always dreamt of facing Steyn. It was a dream come true and I really enjoyed the way I played him. Steyn is the fastest bowler I have faced so far,” he says.Iyer hasn’t faced Mitchell Johnson as yet. He was dismissed before Johnson came on to bowl in the first game while the bowler didn’t feature in the return leg when Iyer scored his third fifty of the season.The only time Iyer faltered against pace and swing was against Royal Challengers Bangalore when he was trapped in front off first ball he faced from Mitchell Starc. Iyer maintains he was unfortunate to have been adjudged lbw. “That wasn’t out. It was going down the leg. He was quick, had some swing in the ball but I was not out,” he says.Despite having overcome most of the bowlers he has faced so far, Iyer’s real challenge has been against himself. “IPL is a mental game. No matter how your technique is, it all boils down to how strong mentally you are. If you are tough mentally, the result will go your way,” Iyer says.He cites an example at the start of the season. In his debut IPL game, against Chennai Super Kings, playing in front of a huge crowed, he admits the occasion got to him. Not once before that day at Chepauk had he played in front of “a stand full of spectators, at the most”.”There wasn’t much pressure on me but I was really nervous playing in front of such an arena, in front of so many people. I was so nervous in Chennai, didn’t really know how to approach the game,” Iyer admits.But before the next game against Rajasthan Royals, he figured out a plan that has helped him since then. Once Daredevils coach Gary Kirsten “walked up to” him “after the first game” and asked him if was willing to open the innings, Iyer decided to give himself some time at the start of the innings. To get used to the conditions and to settle nerves.”I realised it’s nothing big. You just have to play your natural game, stick to the basics. I realised even if I play some dot balls initially, I can make up for it later. I had a slow start against Royals and then I recovered well,” he says.His 30-ball 40 gave him the confidence that he belonged at the highest stage. Since then, he hasn’t looked back, emerging as Daredevils’ batting mainstay along with captain JP Duminy.In the first month of the IPL, Iyer has been able to analyse his game better and has zeroed in on the improvements needed in his batting. “I get fours easily but I play a lot of dot balls. Instead of those dot balls if I could get some singles it would be great for the team and for me too. So that’s the biggest task for me at the moment, playing with soft hands,” he says.Iyer admits that besides the presence of his coach Pravin Amre in the Delhi Daredevils dugout, he has been making the most of the opportunity to interact with the seasoned international cricketers. While he hasn’t been able to pick brains of those from other teams, he has been learning tricks of the trade from seniors including Duminy, Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh.Duminy sits next to him on Daredevils’ bus rides, while Yuvraj and Zaheer have been available whenever he wishes to discuss anything with them. “Zaheer is really good in giving tips. He knows how a bowler’s mind plays, so before every game I approach him how this guy will bowl at me and he advises me. Good to learn from them,” Iyer says.

Stats highlights from the third day of the fourth Investec Test at Trent Bridge, where England won back the Ashes

Shiva Jayaraman08-Aug-20154 Number of away Ashes Australia have now lost in a row; this is the longest such sequence for them since 1896-97 when they had lost the first-six Ashes series consecutively.6 Ashes Tests won by Alastair Cook; among England captains only Mike Brearly (11) and WG Grace (8) have won more Ashes Tests than Cook. Percy Chapman also won six Ashes Tests.5 Number of Ashes series wins Ian Bell has now been part of, which equals the most Ashes series wins for any England player since 1950. Ian Botham too featured in five Ashes wins, from seven series. This is Bell’s seventh Ashes series as well.2 Number of England captains to win two or more home Ashes series before Alastair Cook. WG Grace had captained England in four Ashes wins at home and two of Mike Brearly’s three Ashes wins had come at home. Cook is also only the sixth England captain to win more than one Ashes series.3 Man-of-the-match awards won by Stuart Broad in the Ashes – equals the second-most won by any England player since such awards started being given away. Ian Botham won five such awards during his career. Andrew Flintoff too won three such awards in the Ashes.7 Ashes Tests lost by Michael Clarke – the most by any Australian as a captain. Overall, only three other captains have lost more Ashes Tests than Clarke. Archie McLaren lost 11 Ashes Tests, Mike Atherton lost nine and Johnny Douglas lost eight Ashes matches.1986 Last time in the Ashes a team made a first-innings total lower than England’s 391 in this Test and still went on to win by an innings. On that occasion too, England beat Australia, by an innings and 14 runs at the MCG, after posting a total of 349 in their first innings. Overall, there have been 12 such instances in the Ashes including this Test and only five have happened since the 1900s.1921 Last time before this series a team lost back-to-back Tests in the Ashes, each within three days. On that occasion though, Australia were on the winning side, beating England in three consecutive Tests, each within three days.6/36 Ben Stokes’ bowling figures in Australia’s second innings – his best in Tests. This was also his second five-for in Tests. His first five-for had also come against Australia, at the SCG in 2014. On that too, Stokes took six Australian wickets. Stokes has taken 23 of his 37 Test wickets in the Ashes.5 Number of times two England bowlers have taken six-wicket hauls (or better) in an Ashes Test including Stuart Broad and Stokes in this match. This is the second time in this series that two England bowlers have taken such hauls in a match. At Edgbaston, James Anderson and Steven Finn had taken six-wicket hauls.