Openers shed their conservative approach by going hell for leather in the powerplay

Deivarayan Muthu05-Oct-2020The Chennai Super Kings kept piling up pressure on their rusty middle order through dozy starts in the powerplay. Another start of this kind on Sunday may have pushed them closer to panic stations. However, finally, their openers shed their conservative approach that helped the Super Kings mow down 179 with plenty to spare, allowing them to break a three-match losing streak.Shane Watson had managed only 52 off 48 balls across his first four innings in IPL 2020. The chorus for Imran Tahir’s inclusion kept getting louder. After all, he was the highest wicket-taker last season. The Super Kings wanted to accommodate both Sam Curran and a fit-again Dwayne Bravo in their XI along with Faf du Plessis. All along, however, they backed Watson. Stephen Fleming, their head coach, kept saying Watson was hitting the ball well in the nets, even though he couldn’t quite replicate the same in a game scenario.Consistency in selection has been their hallmark. Bloodied knee and all, Watson had nearly carried them to back-to-back IPL titles. The Super Kings had backed him in 2019, and they continue to do so. And Watson just showed why in Dubai.After defending a brace of inswingers from Sheldon Cottrell, he planted his front leg and went downtown for boundaries. This was, as per him, a result of a technical adjustment, of getting his head over his front leg for better transfer of weight into his shots. The tweak was on bright display as he resolutely defended those inswingers and then punished those full deliveries from Cottrell.At the other end, Du Plessis’ aggressive intent was on bright display too. He shuffled around the crease and threw Chris Jordan off his lines and lengths. While he didn’t quite middle the balls, the reward for his intent was four fours in five balls.The first four was a funky scoop off a slower delivery over the keeper’s head. The next ball was slower and wider, but du Plessis reached out, had a crack at it, and carved it over the covers for a double. Jordan then hit a heavy length, but Du Plessis swiped this between midwicket and mid-on for another four. He threw his bat outside off next ball and sliced it off the outside half between backward point and short third man. Jordan turned to the slower ball once again, but Du Plessis unleashed a devil-may-care swat that even put Watson in the firing line.After their safety-first template had failed them, the Super Kings’ openers traded it for an attack-first one and rushed to 60 for 0 in the powerplay. Earlier in the evening, when some of Super Kings’ fielders were lax on the field, the usually unflappable Fleming was visibly upset. When du Plessis – arguably Super Kings’ best fielder alongside Ravindra Jadeja – couldn’t get to skied hit sprinting in from long-off in the eighth over, Fleming was very animated. But the refreshing approach of Du Plessis and Watson in the powerplay, however, put a smile on Fleming’s face.”We don’t want to shrink back in T20 or search too much,” Fleming told host broadcaster Star Sports during the Super Kings innings. “You actually want to get even more confident and positive. And I think you can create luck by doing that and a few things went our way today – balls were flying over the top of fielders whereas [the] last couple of games it may have gone off to hand. “Sometimes, a positive attitude can be the key to that. All we are trying to do is to give a little more surety around their positions and then ask them to be confident and play naturally.”Even after the field restrictions were relaxed, Watson and Du Plessis kept going after the Kings XI attack and kept pinging the fences. In all, there were only three boundary-less overs in the chase before the Super Kings openers sealed it in the 18th over. It made sense, given the Super Kings bat so deep that they have Piyush Chawla, Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur at Nos. 9, 10, and 11. All three players had made match-winning contributions with the bat in the IPL in the past. The return of Bravo from a knee injury has also spruced up their batting.Fleming hailed the Super Kings’ furious pursuit of what initially looked like a challenging target. He also conceded that the Super Kings are “nowhere near where they want to be” in IPL 2020, but said the return of Watson to form and Shardul Thakur’s variations at the death buoyed the side.”Again, that’s where confidence comes up,” he said. “If you can get a win, you’re going to have players who have performed and done personally well. And we’d just lacked that. As a team we’ve been toiling away, but we haven’t had any individual star power do anything of note apart from Faf. So, [it] would be nice to get a bit of individual success and team success for that.”Having cracked a winning formula, can the Super Kings now get on a roll like they’ve done several times in the past?

Given the circumstances – a turning pitch and very little support – he played a very calculated innings

Sidharth Monga06-Nov-20201:21

Gautam Gambhir: You want someone like Kane Williamson in such tricky chases

Twenty20 cricket will probably evolve to a form one day where many sides will look like Mumbai Indians. A side whose batsmen will never let the bowlers get on top. Many sides will one day have enough efficient power hitters to just keep going. In the here and now, though, we have sides in the IPL reaching the playoffs with no back-up for their two or three big hopes. Once the game gets down to them, it is either AB de Villiers or bust. Or Kane Williamson or bust. That is why they can’t play with the freedom of a Suryakumar Yadav or an Ishan Kishan.Add to it memories of two blown chases. Against these same opponents, in their first match of this IPL, Williamson’s side sat pretty at 121 for 2 chasing 164. They lost by 10 runs. On another night, chasing just 127, they lost by 12 runs to Kings XI Punjab.Add to it the pressure of a knockout. Not just any knockout, but a knockout that you have entered on the back of three wins in three must-win matches against the three top sides in the tournament. Add to it an injury to one of your few good batsmen. Add to it a dodgy DRS call to send back the other.Most importantly, add to it a slow pitch with appreciable turn and four international spinners in the opposition. The choke is well and truly on. Williamson is part of that choke, crawling and spluttering. When he was joined by Jason Holder, the last 49 balls had brought just 24 runs and three wickets.There are two ways of dealing with such a situation: counterattack and break the back of the chase, which is 65 off 49 now or absorb the pressure and be calculating. If you are Mumbai, you probably take the first option, knowing there is Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya behind you to do the job. You probably don’t even let it get to this stage. If you are Williamson and the Sunrisers, though, you know you are not winning this before the 19th or the 20th over.Kane Williamson drives down the ground•BCCIWilliamson’s biggest enemy was the conditions and the big boundaries. Any attempt to hit a boundary had to be precise and to a ball was that either too short or too full. Anything else was not an option. And while the format takes its time to evolve, Williamson is the best man conceivable for these calculations.Before he got to the fast bowlers, Williamson only just tried to hit two boundaries. The spinners were not giving him anything short so he had to wait for something too full so he could attack it before it could misbehave. It is easy to say perhaps live time that pressure got too much and Williamson took two calculated risks, but go back and look at the pitch maps. When he first slog-swept Washington Sundar for a six with the requirement 59 off 38, it was the only full ball of the over. So all that while when pushing singles down the ground, Williamson had been on the prowl, waiting to launch into an error in length. And this ball was not that full either, just fuller than the usual Sundar cluster that you see. One half error, and he jumped onto it.With Yuzvendra Chahal, whom Williamson slog-swept for the second six, it was a matter of line. This was the last ball of Chahal’s spell – his figures 3.5-0-18-1 till then and with 41 still required off 25 – and this is the most leg-side he ever got to Williamson. Everything else had been off, off and middle, but this one allowed him to open the front leg up. Just the two attempted big shots, both nailed, and Sunrisers needed just nine an over with pace on the ball in the last four overs.Even then Williamson didn’t take any extravagant risks. He drove Shivam Dube along the ground, and then looked to repeat the delicate late-cut he played off another slow medium bowler, Andile Phehlukwayo, in the World Cup match at Edgbaston. In a way these are similar chases. The pitch was slow, the bowlers were making it tough, and you couldn’t trust a new batsman to get going immediately. He finally managed that dab and that boundary off the pacier Navdeep Saini.Given the resources, this was a perfectly paced chase for a side used to messing these chases up. If the future will have place for Williamson or not, if Williamson will adapt enough to fit himself in the future or not, here and now is the time to revel in the efficiency and the calm of Williamson, without whom Sunrisers probably would have been out of the tournament.

Lessons from Lanka Premier League come to the fore in display of aggressive, smart cricket

Firdose Moonda26-Dec-2020They’re back. And they seem to mean business.Let’s be honest, there are very few of us that expected Sri Lanka to return to South Africa after the coup they pulled off 22 months ago and establish control immediately, but that’s what they’ve done. Through a get-runs-before-you-get-out approach, their batsmen are on the brink of recording their highest total in South Africa and have already asked South Africa to score more runs than they have in an innings in any format in the last year to get ahead.And they’re doing it all with a confidence not seen before from a travelling Sri Lankan team in South Africa; a confidence that is doubtless driven by the success of them becoming the first Asian side to win a series here in February 2019, and that has made them a more competitive and compelling opposition.In choosing to bat first, Dimuth Karunaratne did what other captains from the subcontinent have not always done. He made what some would call a brave choice and gave his batsmen what others may interpret as permission to play freely.It’s an approach batsmen use when they expect things to be tough and they know that there will be a ball with their name on it. Until that ball comes, they aim to score and score quickly. Sri Lanka have become used to playing like this because their home surfaces demand it. There hasn’t been a drawn Test on the island since 2014. Even though South African conditions present an entirely different challenge – swing, seam movement and bounce – Sri Lanka’s strategy could be recycled. And it helps that they’ve just come off a tournament in which they’ve been able to practice such a mindset.Related

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While Mickey Arthur described Sri Lanka’s build-up to Test cricket as less than ideal because they have had no red-ball cricket since the middle of the year and came straight off a T20 competition, the Lanka Premier League has actually proved useful. Batsmen spent three weeks playing attacking cricket, and it has translated well to this tour. Without over-crediting the effects of a bit of smash-and-grab game-time, Niroshan Dickwella, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal and Kusal Perera were among the top dozen run-scorers in the LPL and all of them looked assured in their strokeplay today. Of course, it didn’t work out well for all of them – Perera and Mendis’ enthusiasm cost them early on – but the loss of three first-hour wickets didn’t scare them into changing their plans.In slipping to 54 for 3 inside 11 overs, there was a danger that things could unravel, but instead they had Chandimal to bed in and Dhananjaya de Silva to keep driving onwards, and kept scoring at more than four runs an over. Between Chandimal and de Silva they negated South Africa’s biggest threat: Anrich Nortje, who maintained his pace, which touched 150kph at times, but always not his discipline.That Sri Lanka were able to hit the South African attack off their lengths said a lot about how the power dynamic is being drawn in this match. The debutant Lutho Sipamla bore the brunt of it, after being tasked with opening the bowling, and did not even find any lines at first. His first three overs cost 28 runs in a tough, almost LPL-esque, introduction to the international game.Sipamla’s struggles upfront point to a bigger issue facing South Africa in this series – inexperience. Before this match, South Africa’s seamers had a total of 12 Test caps between them (Nortje – 6; Lungi Ngidi – 5, Wiaan Mulder – 1, Lutho Sipamla – 0). You have to go back to 1993 to find a less experienced pack. Then, Craig Matthews and Allan Donald had played in a combined 11 Tests and Fanie de Villiers was on debut, and the number of appearances would have been influenced by the fact that South Africa had only been back in international cricket for two years.Ever since, South Africa have built their bowling around experience and they would have in this series too but Kagiso Rabada was ruled out with a groin injury, Beuran Hendricks (only one Test but 91 first-class matches old) had to be withdrawn from the squad and Vernon Philander has moved to the commentary box.Anrich Nortje hit high speeds but with little reward•AFP via Getty ImagesWhen the squad was announced, CSA claimed Ngidi would lead the attack, a big responsibility for someone who did not play any Test cricket in the last home summer because of injury and who has only played one first-class match this season. Instead, it’s Nortje who has emerged as the headliner, but South Africa didn’t even use him with the new ball.That job was given to Sipamla, who has also only played one first-class match this summer, and whose last taste of international cricket – a T20 against England – was bitter. Then, Sipamla bowled 16 balls and was hit for 45. Today, he was the most expensive bowler in his team. At least today, Sipamla had senior players supporting him and time to improve. His later spells were more promising, as was Mulder’s performance, of more modest pace but admirable accuracy.Mulder enjoyed the most reward, ending the only individual innings that required grinding out, from Chandimal (who else?), and an audacious 49 from Dickwella in a late afternoon spell that kept South Africa interested, even as Sri Lanka tugged the advantage their way. Much will hinge on whether de Silva can bat again after he suffered a soft tissue injury and was helped off the field. If he can, Sri Lanka can aim for 400-plus and put themselves in a strong position to take the series lead. If he can’t, Sri Lanka still have a score that South Africa will be concerned about, especially given their recent Test form – they’ve not more than 300 in any format since Mark Boucher took over as coach in 2019.Boucher has spoken about introducing a brand of “aggressive, but smart” cricket to the team but has not fully explained the concept. Maybe he won’t have to, because Sri Lanka’s batsmen just did.

As the tournament enters its tenth season, we’ve taken a stab at picking the standout team

Andrew McGlashan07-Dec-2020Aaron Finch (Renegades)Australia’s limited-overs captain is currently the second-highest run-scorer in BBL history. In five of the nine seasons, he has averaged over 40, in two of them over 50, and only twice has his strike rate dipped below 125 in a campaign – one of those was in the Renegades’ title triumph of 2018-19. His two centuries have come seven seasons apart: the first was 111 off 65 balls against the Stars in 2012-13 and then last season he hammered 109 off 68 deliveries against the Sixers. D’Arcy Short (Hurricanes)A shorter career span than many in this list, Short only began in the 2016-17 season but has been prolific for the Hurricanes and is hard to ignore. He holds the highest batting average in the tournament’s history. Although his strike rate dropped a little last season, it remains imposing, and using the same cut-off as for this XI of 30 matches, it is the eighth-highest in the competition. In 2017-18, he flayed 122 off 69 balls against the Heat where the next-highest score in the innings was 19. He is a more-than-useful left-arm wristspinner as well.Chris Lynn (Heat)The leading run-scorer in BBL, Lynn has had a number of moments that remain YouTube highlights even though the Heat have flattered to deceive. There are six million views on one clip of him launching Shaun Tait out of the Gabba for one of the biggest sixes in BBL history, and then there was the time when he took Ben Hilfenhaus for five consecutive sixes. In that 2016-17 campaign, his strike rate was 177.58. Last summer, he was on track to score the fastest BBL century when he fell for 94 off 35 balls against the Sixers.Matthew Wade lifts one over the leg side•Getty ImagesMatthew Wade (Hurricanes, Renegades, Stars)Though he gave it up last season, Wade has kept wicket for the majority if his BBL career and gets that role in this team. Batting at No. 4 is a little out of position as his most prolific returns have come when opening, especially alongside Short for the Hurricanes, but as someone who has batted from one to six in his career, we are confident he can adapt. Alex Carey came close to taking this spot, while the other wicketkeeper with over 1000 runs in the BBL is Tim Paine.Glenn Maxwell (Renegades, Stars)A player capable of some extraordinary things, especially with the bat and in the field, Maxwell’s strike rate for a season has not dipped below 142 since BBL01 when he played for the Renegades. In the last five seasons, he has averaged between 33 and 39. Some of his standouts include 82 off 49 balls against the Stars in the 2012-2013 season, 82 off 43 against the Sixers in 2018-19, and two innings last season – 83 off 39 against the Heat and an unbeaten 83 off 45 against the Renegades. Also a valuable option with the ball.Ben Cutting (Heat)Innings: 68, Runs: 1199, Average: 21.80, S/R: 145.50, Fifties: 2 | Wickets: 63, Average: 30.17, Econ: 8.82The No. 6 spot in this team was the trickiest to fill. A few specialist batsmen were in the mix – notably Jono Wells and George Bailey, who have been excellent finishers – but in the end it went to one of only two players (the second one is next) to have completed the double of 1000 runs and 50 wickets in the tournament. Batting in this position is more about impact than longevity, and Cutting’s strike rate of 167.18 batting at No. 6 in the BBL stands him in good stead. However, it is worth adding that his most spectacular display came when opening against the Stars in early 2019 when he struck 80 off 30 balls as he and Max Bryant hammered an astonishing opening stand of 158 in ten overs. He has now moved to the Thunder.Dan Christian in his follow-through•Getty ImagesDaniel Christian (Stars, Hurricanes, Renegades)Christian is the other player to complete the 1000/50 double. Having collected T20 titles around the world, he was part of the Renegades’ come-from-behind title triumph in 2018-19. He is a cool, calm finisher with the bat and can take on a variety of roles with the ball. His best figures of a long and winding T20 career came in the BBL when he claimed 5 for 14 playing for the Hurricanes against the Strikers in 2016-17.Rashid Khan (Strikers)The only overseas player in this XI (perhaps highlighting one of the leagues’ challenges), Khan is among the tournament’s leading lights and most recognisable figures despite having just three seasons under his belt. He has the best economy rate for anyone to have played more than 20 matches and his strike rate of 16.6 is best among spinners to have bowled a minimum of 250 deliveries. His average and economy have risen each campaign as batsmen get more used to him, but his best BBL figures of 4 for 22 came last season. Cameron Boyce, Adam Zampa and Fawad Ahmed are other legspinners with excellent BBL records.Peter Siddle (Renegades, Strikers)This one might raise a few eyebrows, and it does come from a smaller sample size of data that most of the other names, but Siddle’s BBL career is a story of reinvention as he turned himself into a go-to T20 bowler when he joined the Strikers after not playing a single game during the 2016-17 season because of a back injury. He is the second-most economical quick to have bowled more than 100 overs in the tournament (behind the man at No. 11 in this side) and his form was enough to earn, albeit briefly, a return to Australia’s limited-overs side in early 2019.When fit, Jason Behrendorff has provided a cutting edge for the Scorchers•Getty ImagesBen Laughlin (Hurricanes, Strikers, Heat)The leading wicket-taker in BBL history, Laughlin has bowled a lot of tough overs. He is a specialist at the death, having sent down comfortably the most deliveries in the 17-20 over period – 664 with the next most being Kane Richardson’s 452 . He took 16 wickets in the Strikers’ victorious 2017-18 campaign and was also a key part of their consecutive semi-final runs in 2014-15 and 2015-16.Jason Behrendorff (Scorchers)Having a left-arm quick is almost a prerequisite for T20 cricket. A few come into contention for this team, but Behrendorff gets the nod. He is a fearsome white-ball bowler when fit and on song (he missed all of last summer), generating pace and swing. His economy rate of under seven stands out and puts him in the top ten of those to have bowled a minimum of 250 deliveries, and he is third among the quicks in a list dominated by spinners.12th man: Cameron Boyce (Strikers, Hurricanes, Renegades)Depending on conditions there might be need for an extra frontline spinner, so we have included a 12th man. It goes to the legspinner who has had a fascinating and productive career but does not hold a state contract. In five of his eight BBL seasons, Boyce has taken at least ten wickets and he played a starring role in the Renegades’ 2018-19 success. His international career is stalled on seven T20Is – the last back in 2016 – but he did get included in a Cricket Australia XI last season.

Quicks impress and du Plessis serves reminder but middle-order batting still under scrutiny

Firdose Moonda05-Jan-2021The coin has flipped. South Africa have won their first Test series under Mark Boucher, their first in three against Sri Lanka and their first since January 2019.While there are caveats that come with this victory – most notably that Sri Lanka were denied seven first-choice players by injury across the two Tests, including several who played roles in their 2-0 win here two years ago – the confidence that South Africa gained from turning their fortunes around can’t be devalued. Winning, they say, is a habit and one South Africa had been out of for most of the last two years.It is still going to take a lot of work before South Africa can look at themselves as a complete package, and sterner challenges await in Pakistan and against Australia, but this series has laid the foundations for rebuilding.Here are the big positives for South Africa, and a couple of things for them to think about as they navigate five more Tests this summer.

No KG, no problem

What could have been South Africa’s biggest disadvantage turned into an opportunity, after Kagiso Rabada did not recover from a groin injury in time for the series. South Africa’s attack had just 12 Test caps between them going into the Boxing Day Test and, at first, their inexperience showed.They struggled to adjust their lines and lengths after it became apparent that they were over-relying on the short ball and Sri Lanka racked up their highest total in South Africa, by some distance. But the home attack recovered well. Wiaan Mulder, playing in his second Test, led the comeback through nothing more complicated than discipline and debutant Lutho Sipamla cleaned up the tail. The pair, both just 22, continued to impress as the series went on and point to a talent pool that is not as shallow as was feared.Related

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In Mulder, South Africa have a genuine allrounder who understands his role as a holding bowler but has the skill of using subtle movement to take wickets. In Sipamla, they have a genuine strike bowler, who can find speeds close to 140kph, and is meticulously accurate.Sipamla, in particular, has made a case to challenge for the third frontline seamer spot. He had a tough start when he conceded 66 runs in his first 12 overs of Test cricket but returned to take 10 for 101 in his next 27.5 overs. He provided strong support for Anrich Nortje, South Africa’s fastest and fiercest bowler, and Lungi Ngidi, who has lost a yard of pace but gained in maturity. Ngidi’s variation through adjusting his seam position is an illustration of the work he has been doing with bowling coach Charl Langeveldt and adds a string to his bow.South Africa will still welcome Rabada back with open arms when he is match fit but this series showed they have options and are developing healthy competition for places.

Faf’s far from finished

The former captain is not about to become a former player anytime soon and world cricket can look forward to more free-flowing play from Faf du Plessis. Even though he didn’t rate his 199 at SuperSport Park among his best innings, he acknowledged that it made a statement about his intent to stick around.du Plessis is an important cog in the South Africa line-up and will act as the bridge between the previous generation and the future one. His experience means he can absorb pressure and assist the new captain along with shouldering the responsibility of run-scoring in a line-up that still needs to click.Rassie van der Dussen made another half-century but is still looking to cement his spot•AFP via Getty Images

What to do about the middle-order?

The reason the batting is still under construction is because the middle-order remains unsettled. Rassie van der Dussen starred in a match-winning partnership with Dean Elgar in Johannesburg but has gone 43 international innings without a hundred and would probably agree that his 67 at the Wanderers was not his most convincing. de Kock has been promoted to No.5, despite his excellent record at No.7, which leaves Temba Bavuma to bat with the lower order – arguably a waste of what he can offer.It is now five years to the day since Bavuma scored his only Test century and although he makes telling contributions, there is pressure on him to convert, not least because of the ways he was dismissed in this series. He walked in Centurion, to a ball he did not hit, and shouldered arms to an inducker at the Wanderers.South Africa have managed to lengthen their line-up by including an allrounder at No. 7 but need consistency out of Nos. 3, 5 and 6 to be able to show their full potential.

Test captaincy candidates

de Kock scored just 28 runs in this series and did a tidy job behind the stumps and though he has indicated he would continue in the role if asked, he does not appear to be a natural fit. On the field, a committee including du Plessis, van der Dussen, Elgar and Bavuma are involved in decision-making and South Africa may choose between the latter three when making a permanent appointment.Elgar’s form in this series, which he finished as the top run-scorer, has potentially put him at the front of the queue though the selectors are probably still wondering if Bavuma or Aiden Markram could be long-term options. Bavuma will need to solidify his spot before he can be seriously considered while if Markram has a decent summer, it may be difficult to look past him. For now, the search continues.

Sam Curran and Jonny Bairstow have delivered impactful performances while Eoin Morgan hasn’t found his best yet

Andrew Miller26-Apr-2021Moeen AliAfter their blip in 2020, the Chennai Super Kings are back on their familiar perch: at the top of the IPL standings and threatening to canter towards the playoffs for the 11th time in 12 seasons. Few players have made a more selfless contribution to that resurgence than Moeen Ali.His second week of the tournament served up more of the same languid excellence, as he injected two more CSK innings with six-laden cameos – 26 from 20 balls against the Rajasthan Royals and 25 from 12 against the Kolkata Knight Riders. Against the Royals, he also pitched in with the small matter of 3 for 7 in three overs. The only disappointment for Moeen was that he was not able to take his rightful place for Sunday’s encounter with his old franchise, the Royal Challengers Bangalore, after picking up a niggle.Sam Curran The highlights in Sam Curran’s hair seem to be getting more blond each time he takes the field, or maybe that’s just the glow of burgeoning stardom radiating from his elfin features. Either way, this was another week of quietly formidable match-winning from a remarkable player. His only innings in three games was short but sweet – a straight-to-the-point 13 from 6 balls against the Royals, including a beautifully-timed six over the point boundary from a slower-ball bouncer.According to ESPNcricinfo’s Smart Stats, his impact on that victory was even higher than Moeen’s, thanks to his three key overs in the powerplay, which included the wicket of Sanju Samson. He took a bit of tap in a high-scoring victory over Kolkata (but still dismissed a violently well-set Andre Russell). He then did for Virat Kohli in the powerplay against the Royal Challengers. He makes things happen, as you may have noticed.Jonny Bairstow Batting during the Chennai leg of this tournament has been an arduous business, with some of the most unfettered hitters in the business coming unstuck in spin-friendly conditions. But Bairstow has been a consistent source of forward momentum for the Sunrisers Hyderabad – even if his departure has consistently led to them adopting a reverse gear. As if to prove the point, their one victory to date came in the contest where Bairstow batted all the way through, as his unbeaten 63 from 56 balls anchored a nine-wicket win over the Punjab Kings.His experience against the Delhi Capitals was familiarly traumatic – none of his team-mates came close to matching his fluency as he launched their chase with 38 from 18, not even Kane Williamson, whose 66 not out dragged his side to a Super Over. But then, for some unfathomable reason, Bairstow was overlooked for the Super Over, and the Sunrisers paid the price.Jos Buttler Not much to write home about this week for the Royals’ last remaining Englishman. He made his top score of the season to date with a fluent 49 from 35 against the Super Kings, but his dismissal precipitated a shuddering collapse of 5 for 8 in 3.3 overs.Jos Buttler hasn’t quite found his fluent best during this year’s IPL so far•BCCIWith several of the franchise’s overseas players unavailable – Andrew Tye being the latest to join the exodus – the onus on Buttler is even greater. A run-a-ball 8 against the Royal Challengers and 5 from 7 against the Knight Riders haven’t exactly met the needs of the hour, even if the Royals escaped with a win in that latter game, thanks once again to their million-dollar man, Chris Morris.Eoin Morgan The Knight Riders’ captain has reached double figures just once in five attempts so far. Against the Royals, he didn’t even reach the striker’s end of the pitch – he was run-out without facing a ball after deflecting Rahul Tripathi’s straight drive into the path of Morris in his follow-through. His wry smile said it all. Morgan’s authority really could do with being backed up by a score of note. There are other issues stacking up in the absence of his own runs, not least the roles of Shakib Al Hasan and Russell, who seems a bit removed from the action at the moment.And the non-combatants … Chris Woakes was one of the outstanding performers of the first week but hasn’t got a look-in since the action shifted to Chennai, where the Capitals have opted to play an extra spinner in Amit Mishra, with Shimron Hetmyer taking over his overseas slot. At least he’s used to the feeling, after similar treatment by England following his Player-of-the-Year exploits in the 2020 home summer.Tom Curran hasn’t been seen for the Capitals since a bruising first week, while the Royals won’t be seeing anything more of Ben Stokes (broken finger), Liam Livingstone (bubble fatigue) or Jofra Archer, who was pulled out of the tournament by the ECB last week as they manage his recovery from finger surgery and a long-term elbow problem.Jason Roy (Sunrisers Hyderabad), Dawid Malan (Punjab Kings), Chris Jordan (Punjab Kings) and Sam Billings (Delhi Capitals) are still awaiting their first outings of the tournament.

A string of bad overs with the ball coupled with a batting collapse saw them fall to another heavy defeat

Mohammad Isam28-Mar-2021If Bangladesh gave a glimpse into their international future on Sunday, it is probably best that the fans look away. In their first match without Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan in more than 14 years, they crashed to a big defeat against a New Zealand side brimming with confidence.Two of those absentees – Shakib and Iqbal – were out of Bangladesh’s plans well in advance. Shakib didn’t come on this tour while Iqbal was only available for the ODIs. Rahim pulled out due to multiple injuries to his left shoulder and finger, sustained in the third ODI a couple of days ago. Ultimately, it was left to the captain Mahmudullah to rally the young team around him.Related

Devon Conway, Ish Sodhi star in crushing New Zealand win

Tamim Iqbal: 'If we continue to play like this, we are going nowhere'

In the case of these three players, it is not just the number of years or matches that they have played that Bangladesh missed. Bangladesh have mid-ranged experienced cricketers in Soumya Sarkar, Liton Das and Mustafizur Rahman, but their impact on the field dwarfs in comparison to the big three. Despite playing for at least the last six years, they have not stepped up to take more central or senior roles in the team, a factor that came to the fore during this match.The lack of experience in the field meant that Bangladesh were handed a pretty harsh reality check. Their black hole in T20I planning – a string of bad overs with the ball and a batting collapse – came back to haunt them. New Zealand scored 101 runs in the last seven overs, with none of the overs going for less than 10 runs. Bangladesh simply did not know how to contain the big-hitters, and kept adding to their own misery by bowling three or four boundary balls every over during this period.They didn’t help their cause with the bat either. When Mohammad Naim fell to Lockie Ferguson after a quickfire 27, Bangladesh went into freefall, as is often the case whenever they lose momentum. On Sunday, they lost five wickets for 20 runs in the space of 22 balls; Ish Sodhi took four of those in his first 11 balls.Letting a team dominate for more than five overs in a T20 is akin to giving up the game altogether, and Bangladesh paid the price. Their continued inability to handle high-class legspin and big-hitting was badly exposed. Sodhi recently had a Player-of-the-Series performance in the T20Is against Australia, but more than his confidence, it was his simple plan to bowl subtle variations at the stumps which foxed the Bangladesh batsmen.Sodhi had Sarkar caught and bowled, while bowling out Mohammad Mithun, Mahmudullah and Mahedi Hasan. The lack of legspin in Bangladesh’s cricketing dictionary means that they are always caught off guard while facing the ever-changing nuances in the art.Bangladesh’s bowling suffered a similar gap in their understanding of big-hitting, as they hardly face such things in domestic T20 competitions. On good pitches that has even bounce and shorter boundaries, the bowling often comes unstuck against big hitters.The only area where Bangladesh looked to have made a slight improvement was in their intensity while fielding, but that too didn’t last the whole 20 overs. There was the odd diving over the ball or not running in hard for a catch.Sometimes, young teams tend to lift themselves on fast fielding or great catches. Had Bangladesh somehow pulled off a win today, bowling well in the last seven overs and finding a way to tackle Sodhi, they could have made a real statement of intent. As it stands though, they now have to find a way to pick up the pieces without their three best players to help them.

The India batter on her love for dal, giving up gluten, and surviving long tours without home-cooked food

As told to Annesha Ghosh29-Jun-2021What’s your favourite meal?
Dal, or anything gravy-based. But dal of any kind is a perennial favourite. I can have it pretty much every day of the week, and once I spot dal in my plate, my meal is complete.What Punjabi dish can you brag about being good at making?
I have trouble with the smell of cooking oil. I am not at all good at cooking. I can’t even stand around in the kitchen much. Nor do I have much interest in it, to be honest. During the lockdown I tried my hand at learning an Indian dish or two, but without much success. I tried cooking chicken, but then realised [I can’t do this]. It looks a lot easier than it really is.What is the specialty in your family kitchen?
My parents are vegetarian. My brother and I eat non-vegetarian food only when we eat out. In general, we all eat quite light. The dal that’s cooked at home is unmatchable, so that would be my pick for the best dish from the Bhullar household.Which cricket venue has the best catering?
I remember the food we were served at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi during the 2016 T20 World Cup match against Pakistan was . That’s the only international game I have played in Delhi to date, but the sumptuousness of the meals remains unforgettable.In general, no matter which part of India you play in, I feel you get served very good food. And that applies to overseas players, too. I think our board is good at ensuring the touring party is well looked after, food-wise. So they allocate chefs based on the food preferences of the foreign players. But when we tour overseas, getting used to sandwiches for the majority of the tour can be a bit challenging.

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