All posts by n8rngtd.top

Virat Kohli wants to try different players in different roles as India’s tour of the United Kingdom gathers steam

The Preview by Varun Shetty28-Jun-20181:58

Chopra: Bhuvneshwar, Pandya need to do more

Big picture

There were two particular things in evidence in the first T20I. The more obvious of them was India’s complete difference in class to their opponents Ireland. At no point, other than when catches were being dropped in both innings, did the match come close to being a contest.The second visible feature was that India were definitely in the game to experiment. The inclusions of Suresh Raina and Manish Pandey, at the expense of Dinesh Karthik – who single-handedly won them their last T20I – was the first sign of that. Sending Raina up at No. 3 (he was the only batsman other than the openers padded up during the national anthem) instead of at No. 4, that big batting void of India’s across limited-overs formats, all but confirmed this. And with only one game before the England series, we might see this experimental trend extend. Virat Kohli said at the toss that India were trying to get used to the “cool winds” in this part of the world, and more of their players might be given a chance to do that, particularly those who will be sticking around for all of India’s tour of the UK.Ireland weren’t above experimenting either. It is, after all, the time for their next generation to take over. James Shannon and Simi Singh were offered significant batting roles and that isn’t likely to change any time soon. With top-quality cricket hard to come by as the cricket world debates inclusion, they’re likely to treat this game like India would – a practice match. Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar, expected to be at the game on Friday, will have to settle for that.

Form guide

Ireland LTWLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
India WWWWW
Rohit Sharma works the ball into the leg side•Cricket Ireland

In the spotlight

KL Rahul is likely to get a shot at the opening position on Friday and it won’t feel any different than all the other times he’s played for India. There will remain a sense that he has to score big just to keep his place in the XI. At least among his fans. Rahul himself is no longer obsessed with perfection in the shorter formats, a reality brought about by a sensational last IPL season. More assured, more mature, the spotlight may finally be what he uses to make runs, rather than score points.After a superb season playing ODIs in India against Afghanistan last year, Andy Balbirnie‘s stature as Ireland’s middle-order mainstay had grown. But he hasn’t been able to bring that reputation to bear in T20Is. Mind you, he did make 74 just a few innings ago in the tri-series in the Netherlands, but in nine other innings, Balbirnie has only 98 runs to his name.

Team news

Unless they’re tempted to bring in fast bowler Joshua Little, Ireland are expected to play the same XI.Ireland (probable) 1 Paul Stirling, 2 William Porterfield, 3 Andy Balbirnie, 4 Simi Singh, 5 Gary Wilson (capt), 6 Kevin O’Brien, 7 Stuart Thompson, 8 Stuart Poynter (wk), 9 George Dockrell, 10 Boyd Rankin, 11 Joshua LittleKohli made no secret of the fact that India will be looking to rotate their squad around. This could mean wholesale changes in all departments. Rohit Sharma is expected to sit out.India (probable) 1 KL Rahul, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Suresh Raina, 5 MS Dhoni (wk), 6 Manish Pandey/Dinesh Karthik, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar/Umesh Yadav, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Jasprit Bumrah/Siddarth Kaul

Pitch conditions

There is no change expected in the pitch or conditions. It continues to be a high for Ireland, in terms of weather, and the flat pitch is expected to stay as dry as it did throughout the opening game.

Stats and trivia

• Shikhar Dhawan is 42 runs away from becoming the sixth Indian to 1,000 T20I runs.
• Since June 2010, Suresh Raina has made only international fifty in this format.

Quotes

‘We’ve already announced we will experiment with the middle order a lot. Even in the next few T20 games, even in England, we will look to throw in guys and surprise the opposition. It presents an opportunity for those lower down the order to go in and bat at the top. In the next games, we will play the guys who didn’t play today.’

“We don’t have to get ourselves up for anything. Playing in front of 9000 people in Malahide on days like this against the best T20 side probably in the world – if you cannot get up for that you cannot get up for anything else. We have got ourselves down but we will be back up Friday.”

ICC chief executive David Richardson has delivered scathing criticism of the leadership of the USACA in a strongly-worded letter

Peter Della Penna10-May-2017ICC chief executive David Richardson has delivered scathing criticism of the leadership of the USA Cricket Association (USACA) in a strongly-worded letter outlining the reasons for the ICC Board’s decision to table a resolution for expelling the board. The USACA is in danger of being expelled as an Associate Member of the ICC at the annual conference in June. Richardson also warned the USACA that if it follows through on its threats to commence legal action in an attempt to block or overturn an eventual expulsion, “you should be in no doubt that the ICC will defend its position vigorously.”The letter from Richardson was addressed to USACA president Gladstone Dainty days after the recent ICC Board meeting in Dubai in which, the chief executive said, there was a 13-0 vote to table the resolution for expulsion, with the West Indies Cricket Board choosing to abstain from voting on the matter. Richardson said that the USACA’s refusal to ratify an ICC-approved constitution was the last straw among the issues they did not remedy as laid out in the 39 terms and conditions for reinstatement.”If USACA had adopted the ICC-approved constitution, thereby creating a sustainable governance framework that the entire US cricket community could unite behind, then perhaps USACA’s other failures, including its failure to satisfy the other reinstatement conditions, could have been forgiven,” Richardson wrote. “But without the ICC-approved constitution to offer hope of a new beginning, what is left is a string of unsatisfied reinstatement conditions, which are serious enough when considered in isolation, but when taken together are more than enough, in the view of the ICC Board, to warrant the proposal to bring USACA’s membership in the ICC to an end.”Several elements of the constitution the USACA approved at its April 8 SGM rankled with Richardson and the ICC. The USACA version would allow the incumbent board to remain in power until March, rather than expediting elections for September, and the USACA also insisted on overseeing their own elections rather than having outside oversight from ICC Americas, ICC Legal & Audit plus an independent auditor. In reply, Richardson said that “is clearly not justified given the sorry history of previous elections to the USACA board.”The incumbent USACA board also wanted to maintain decision-making authority over who would be allowed to vote, something Richardson said was severely problematic given the board’s history of election controversy. As a result, they could not see how such governance would bring the US cricket community together.”The ICC Board considers that the changes that USACA has made to the ICC-approved constitution seriously undermine, if not destroy altogether, USACA’s chances of uniting that community,” Richardson wrote. “Far from offering the prospect of a fresh start under the guidance of an independent leader free from any political affiliation and history, the amended constitution will be perceived by the many disaffected members of the US cricket community as perpetuating the power and influence of the incumbent USACA board and current USACA members, who lost the trust and confidence of their peers many years ago. It is the view of the ICC Board that the wounds of the past will not be healed, they will be perpetuated; and the ICC Board’s imperative of uniting the US cricket community behind the ‘new’ USACA will be entirely undermined.”Richardson said the USACA’s current membership base represented a minority interest in stakeholders, making them unfit to continue as the national governing body. He also criticised them for failing to provide evidence refuting allegations that “ghost leagues” had been given member status in order to influence victories for incumbent candidates in previous elections, and highlighted concerns that the same practice had been carried out at the April 8 SGM.”USACA appears to have done little to extend its membership base beyond its traditional power base of leagues in New York, New Jersey and Florida,” Richardson wrote. “USACA appears to have done little or nothing in terms of development programs, either at national or at regional level, whether for men’s senior cricket, for youth cricket, for female cricket, for coach/umpire training, or otherwise.”There have been allegations of serious improprieties tainting each of the past five elections to the USACA board of directors (in 2003, 2005, 2008, 2012, and 2015), including repeated and persistent allegations of granting of votes to ‘ghost leagues’, in order to keep the incumbents in power.”One of the conditions fixed in 2015 by the ICC Board for reinstatement of USACA to ICC membership was that it produce evidence refuting these allegations. Despite repeated requests, however, the USACA board has failed to provide any such evidence, without any good reason or excuse. In such circumstances, it is not difficult to understand why there is apparently so little trust and confidence in USACA among the US cricket community.”Richardson went on to criticise the behaviour of USACA’s board members for their unwillingness to meet in good faith to rectify the litany of issues. He specifically called out the USACA’s leadership for its response to the ICC-approved constitution by “openly disparaging the integrity of the ICC Board, myself as ICC CEO and other members of ICC management (including describing the ICC-approved constitution as ‘the apartheid document’, imposed by the ICC ‘so they can discriminate against blacks’).”Contrary to what the USACA communicated in messages to its membership base about what was needed to be done to lift the suspension, Richardson said a host of other issues were a cause for concern. He pointed out that the board failed to stop USACA vice-president Owen Grey from initiating legal action last year on behalf of USACA in an attempt to stop Caribbean Premier League matches from going forward in Florida. The lawsuit was eventually dismissed but Richardson said the ICC was forced to accumulate unnecessary legal fees of its own to fight the action in court.”Ultimately, it does not matter why the US cricket community has been so fractured and disunited,” Richardson wrote. “This state of affairs is unacceptable and must be remedied, whatever the reasons.”

Jack Leach began the season with a remodelled action and doubts about his effectiveness. He finished it with 50 Championship wickets as he bowled Somerset to safety

George Dobell at Taunton28-Sep-20171:11

ECB officer explains ‘below average’ Taunton pitch rating

Of course it was spin that sealed Somerset’s victory. And of course it was Jack Leach who took the final wicket.Less than a year after his career was threatened by suggestion that his action was not legal, Leach clinched his fourth five-wicket haul of the campaign to secure his side’s third victory in the final four games of the season. As a result, he passed 50 wickets in the season and Somerset avoided relegation. Matt Maynard, Somerset’s departing director of cricket, said he “couldn’t make sense” of the decision not to take him to the Ashes.Leach wouldn’t see many pitches like this in Australia, of course. Pitches where spinners open the bowling in three of the four innings and take all 10 wickets in the fourth innings. Somerset have made a point of preparing such surfaces in the last couple of years and, in Leach and Dom Bess, they have two bowlers well equipped to take advantage.The Somerset players took a lap of honour at the end of the game. It wasn’t so much a sign that they were content with their low position in the table; more a reflection of their relief in retaining their decade-long stay in Division One (no side in the land will have been in the top division so long when the 2018 starts) and gratitude to their 2000 supporters. Cricket still matters in Taunton.This pitch was marked “below average” by the Cricket Liaison Officer (CLO), Wayne Noon, as it showed signs of “excessive turn” from the start. Crucially he could not see any uneven bounce on days one or two. As a result there will be no points deduction and Somerset’s place in Division One is assured.That isn’t quite the get out of jail free card it might appear. The ECB regulations state that, should a pitch be marked “below average” twice within a 12-month period in the same competition, penalties can be applied. While Somerset have not had another such mark this season, they will, Noon said “have to be very mindful” of their surfaces in 2018.There is a slight caveat to all this. Phil Whitticase, a senior CLO, will arrive in Taunton on Friday and conduct a further investigation into the pitch. He will, as part of that investigation, speak to the umpires and the groundsman and it remains theoretically possible that he will increase the penalty. He could also decrease it.But it would be a major surprise – and an astounding own goal from the ECB – if they should, for the second season in succession, alter the table after the campaign has finished and change the relegation positions. But, not so long ago, it seemed impossible that a hotel magnate with comic hair would become US president; life is full of surprises and not all of them are good.Adam Voges, the Middlesex captain, was frank in his assessment of the pitch. “We knew we’d get a spinning wicket,” he said. “And I’ve no problem with teams preparing pitches to suit their strengths.”But we were surprised by how much disturbance there was before a ball was bowled. There was excessive spin from ball one. There were rake marks at both ends. There should be a line and whether that line was crossed is the match-referee’s decision.”He remains more upset by the two-point deduction for a slow over rate following the crossbow incident at The Oval last month. He feels his team were assured by officials at the time that the nature of the incident would be taken into account and no penalty levelled.”It was such an extraordinary circumstance,” he said. “We had every intention to rectify our over rate and were assured at the time that it wouldn’t be an issue. Whether there is anything that can be done now is up to the administrators.”Voges admitted, though, that to leave themselves in a position where they were hurt by such moments was a reflection of their disappointing cricket over the course of the season. Champions in 2016, they end 2017 with rumours of deep dressing-room discontent. They still look a very strong side on paper, though, and might reflect in time that they have simply been victim to a league which relegates a quarter of its participants a season. Over-reaction would probably be an error.”You look at the season as a whole and it’s obviously been disappointing,” Voges said. “It’s not just the last week or the last month.”It took less than two hours to wrap-up victory on the final day. Leach and his fellow left-arm spinner, Roelof van der Merwe, utilised the conditions expertly with the latter finishing with career-best figures. Leach, in particular, bowled beautifully with his subtle and wonderfully disguised changes of pace causing many of the problems. And, for all the talk about this pitch, it wouldn’t have raised an eyebrow in Asia. England really don’t play spin very well.Marcus Trescothick salutes the crowd after Somerset secured Division One status•Getty Images

Leach may yet feature in the Ashes. He can expect to be named in the Lions party that will train in Perth as the Test series is played and, should anything befall Moeen Ali, could well be called into the Test squad if required.”I’d prefer to see him there instead of Mason Crane,” Maynard said. “Crane can’t get into the Hampshire side all the time. I can’t understand it. If he gets called into the team he won’t know anyone there. They’ve missed a trick in not picking him”One thing is sure: for Leach to recover from the low he was in only a few months ago is testament to impressive resilience. To re-model an action without missing a game and then emerge as a better, more skilful, more mature bowler bodes well for his future.He had, he admits, some “dark moments” on the Lions tour of the UAE last winter. There were times, as he tried to bowl with his new action, when he feared he might never recapture the bite and consistency of previous days. Just nine months later, he is back to winning games for his side and pushing for an England spot.”I’ve shown good resilience,” he said. “Something like that can’t be fixed overnight and, from a mental perspective more than technical, there were some dark moments on that tour. I wanted to make a really good impression but it was hard.”Now I look back on it as part of the journey. I think I’m probably a better bowler now. I can bowl a bit quicker and I’ve learned a lot. About myself and my action. At the start of the season I wasn’t sure if I could keep doing this, so to have finished with more than 50 wickets…. Yes, I’m proud of how I’ve reacted to the challenges. It was tough.”Leach was one of eight academy products in this Somerset side. Well, academy or equivalent. They didn’t have academies when Marcus Trescothick was growing up. Hell, they didn’t even have the Quantocks. But it means that Maynard’s successor – and it still seems likely that Andy Hurry will be named as such next week with Jason Kerr as his deputy – inherits strong foundations ahead of next season.”I’d love to have stayed and seen the project through,” Maynard said. “We did have discussions about me doing the head coach role, but decided there could be friction if I didn’t agree with the new director of cricket. So a settlement was agreed and we part very amicably. The club have handled it well.”The club have undergone quite a transition under Maynard. The over-reliance upon imports has improved and the trust in home-grown youth has improved. And it was his idea that Trescothick, at slip, should field on his knees to the spinners in certain circumstances. “When the ball is dying, we felt he could get that bit lower,” he explained. It wasn’t, perhaps, a perfect stay but the club went within an ace of winning that elusive first Championship title a year ago. Memories in cricket have never been shorter.It transpires the review of the club structure was led by James Taylor, the England batsman who retired through illness at the start of last season, who felt it was necessary to employ a head coach and director of cricket. Maynard, who described cricket as his passion, will now consider more “backseat” roles such as batting consultancy positions. He is unlikely to be without offers for long.So, Somerset will play in Division One in 2018. And that means Trescothick could yet fulfil that Championship-winning dream. If he does, it would be a success popular far beyond the borders of the county.

Buttler called on players to be “braver’ after ‘timid’ defeats in opening two games

Matt Roller11-Jul-2022Jos Buttler implored his England team to be “braver” after “timid” performances with the bat in their first two T20 internationals against India, Matthew Mott has revealed.England were bowled out for 148 and 121 in Buttler’s first two matches as their full-time limited-overs captain on Thursday and Saturday, losing by 50 and 49 runs respectively. Mott, their new white-ball coach, admitted they had been taken aback by the “ferocity” of India’s new attacking gameplan.Buttler addressed his squad after the second defeat in Birmingham on Saturday night and told them they should be “prepared to make some mistakes” rather than batting too cautiously. The response was a total of 215 for 7 batting first at Trent Bridge on Sunday, their highest T20I score since February 2020 and one which they defended by a margin of 17 runs despite Suryakumar Yadav’s brilliant 117.”We learned a lot of lessons in the first two games,” Mott said. “India obviously came out with a really attacking mindset and put us under pressure a lot. We expected that, but the ferocity of it took us by surprise a little bit.”After the second loss and the series loss, I thought he [Buttler] spoke exceptionally well in the group about these being the times where you learn about character. It’s easy when you’re dominating teams but we’re going to learn more about ourselves playing great teams like India and South Africa leading into a World Cup – we’re going to learn more about what we need in Australia when we’re put under pressure.”We talked about just being a bit braver. If anything, we could have been accused of being a bit timid with the bat. [On Sunday] we just went out there and thought, ‘it’s a great wicket, let’s put a score out there and hang on.’ We don’t like losing but I think there is plenty that we’ve taken out of this series already and it sets us up well for the summer.”England were without several first-choice players throughout the series including Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow, who have been pencilled in at No. 3 and 4 respectively for the T20 World Cup in Australia later this year. But, if he is available, Stokes could alternatively be used lower down in a finishing role, with Dawid Malan’s 77 off 39 balls on Sunday serving a reminder of his credentials after an early reprieve when Harshal Patel dropped a caught-and-bowled chance.Malan’s innings was his first T20I half-century in a year and came after a scratchy innings of 19 off 25 on Saturday. His attacking intent early in his innings was a notable departure from his usual template: “Malan was unbelievable,” Mott said. “In the last game he wasn’t that happy with the way he got going and he worked really hard this morning. He played a special innings.”Mott expects to have something approaching a full-strength squad available for the three T20Is against South Africa from July 27-31. They will be the final games England play before naming their T20 World Cup squad in mid-September, immediately before they travel to Pakistan for a seven-match series – though some multi-format players will be rested for that tour.Related

• Buttler's challenge is to find his own voice, and continue England's evolution

• Suryakumar Yadav's pyrotechnics leave Trent Bridge in awe, solidify spot for T20 World Cup

• Reece Topley's hard yards overcome Trent Bridge's bowlers' graveyard

• Virat Kohli's nine-ball buy-in shows India's new way is here to stay

• Attacking mantra, Bhuvneshwar's form and Suryakumar's consistency bode well for India

“I don’t think [the World Cup squad] is all locked in yet,” Mott said. “This far out, you’ve got so many things that could happen – whether it’s injuries or form, or whatever. We’ve got a fair idea of what we think the right make-up is, but you want players to come in and perform and really warrant that spot. It’s still open for a lot of players and that’s why we are having looks at different combinations and trying to learn.”Mott also took positives from England’s death bowling, which has been a problem area over the last two years. “It was an unbelievable experience for some of those bowlers,” he said. “[Reece] Topley was magnificent and [Richard] Gleeson has been a real find for us. All the intel that I’ve had is that it’s definitely been an area that we’re looking to improve, so to be under that sort of pressure and hold our nerve gives us a lot of confidence.”England will welcome Stokes, Bairstow, Joe Root and Craig Overton into their squad for this week’s ODI series against India, which starts on Tuesday at the Kia Oval. “They’re obviously world-class players,” Mott said. “As a coach, it’s a great opportunity to learn from probably some of the best players in this format of all-time.”They’ll bring some energy into the group and they’re really excited to be there. I don’t think they’ll have to change a hell of a lot from the way they’ve been playing but it’s a slightly different format. They come in pretty hot and we’re straight into it: that’s the modern game. We’ll see how everyone pulls up.”

Pandey, Gowtham, Kishan and Deepak Chahar also ruled out of the last two T20Is against Sri Lanka

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jul-2021Prithvi Shaw, Suryakumar Yadav, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Yuzvendra Chahal, K Gowtham, and Deepak Chahar are the eight players identified as close contacts of Krunal Pandya, who tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday. Although all eight have tested negative for the virus, they have still been ruled out of the ongoing T20I series against Sri Lanka.The BCCI didn’t announce the names of the eight players in a media release sent out on Wednesday, but their identities became obvious once head coach Rahul Dravid told the host broadcasters that the Indians had been left with only 11 players to pick from in the main squad, and all 11 would be playing the second T20I, which had originally been scheduled to take place on Tuesday but had to be pushed back on account of the disruption caused by the pandemic.”It was felt medically that some of the guys who were his (Krunal’s) close contacts shouldn’t be participating in the series,” Dravid said. “We’ve got 11 to choose from, and all 11 are playing! Brilliant. (laughs)”Dravid, however, emphasised that he didn’t buy the arguments that India caps were being handed out easily, contending that anyone who came on tour with the team was there as potentially a part of the playing XI.”Truly I think when I look at the squad, and look at the 20 guys that have been selected here, each one of them has got here through sheer weight of performances,” he said. “It’s not easy in India, there are a lot of people playing cricket, there are lot of very good performances. People earn the right to come here. It’s not every time you’re going to be able to give every one of them a chance, but it’s really nice to be able to give as many as you can a chance if possible. Due to various reasons we’re probably able to do that this time.”They are earning their India caps. I don’t get that argument… what do you mean by ‘earning’ your India cap? Like I said, if you are selected in a team of 15, obviously with Covid now it’s become 20, you are selected keeping in mind that you may need to play in the XI at any given point of time. Could be because of injury or lack of form to any other player. So you’ve certainly earned the right to get that cap. It’s up to you to take the opportunity and you know, perform. I truly believe everyone who is here has earned it.”The Indian selectors also added the five reserve bowlers who had been taken to Sri Lanka into the main squad, upon request from the team management. The five reserve bowlers are Ishan Porel, Sandeep Warrier, Arshdeep Singh, R Sai Kishore and Simarjeet Singh.The XI that took the field for India in the second T20I had six bowlers. Only five batters were available for selection with Bhuvneshwar Kumar slated at No.6. Dravid acknowledged that the balance of the team was compromised, but reiterated his faith in his men.”To be very honest, I don’t think there’s any need to be sorry for us,” Dravid said. “The squad’s great, like I said everyone deserves to be in the XI. Our balance might be a bit compromised this game, but it’s a Twenty20 game and I truly believe we have the quality to really put up a good show.”Question marks over Shaw and Suryakumar’s England trip
The development puts a question mark over whether the pair of Shaw and Suryakumar will be eligible to travel to England to join India’s Test squad. Both batters, who were added to the Test squad as replacements, were scheduled to fly out to the UK after the Sri Lanka series, which ends on Thursday with the third and final T20I. The BCCI stated that the entire Indian squad, out of of Krunal, had returned negative tests on Tuesday, but the eight close contacts of Krunal would “continue to remain in isolation” at the team hotel. How long the isolation period will be remains unclear.Recently Sri Lanka assistant coach Grant Flower and the team analyst who had both tested positive for Covid-19 upon returning from England tour had to isolate for 10 days. Those that had been identified as the pair’s close contacts had to isolate for a week.

Defending a total of only 126, the two Karachi Kings spinners took a combined 6 for 42 to bowl Islamabad United out for 82

The Report by Danyal Rasool01-Mar-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details3:42

Watch – Highlights of Karachi tripping up Islamabad

In a nutshell
For a team that won the title last year by playing their best cricket when it really mattered, this was the meekest of surrenders in the biggest of games. Islamabad United whimpered out of the tournament, failing in a chase of 127 and handing the record for the lowest total successfully defended at the PSL to Karachi Kings.Misbah-ul-Haq’s men put in a lion-hearted bowling performance, but were rather timid with the bat. On a slow and low pitch where strokeplay wasn’t entirely easy, they lost two early wickets and slipped into their shell. The attempts to consolidate in the middle overs was unconvincing, the response to unerringly accurate bowling from spinners Imad Wasim and Usama Mir was ugly, and the chastening defeat to end the defending champions’ campaign was inevitable.To think they had begun the match with back-to-back maidens. Mohammad Sami and Mohammad Irfan bowled to their strengths early on, keeping the length short and beating the batsmen for pace and bounce. No Karachi player could muster any sort of meaningful contribution. Left-arm quick Rumman Raees took three wickets in a sensational 19th over as Karachi collapsed from 122 for 5 to 126 all out.Where the game was won
Although he walked out to bat in the third over of the chase, Misbah, arguably, was in his comfort zone. He has restored calm in far more frenzied situations before. After all, the target in front of him wasn’t huge and the required-rate was barely even threatening. But, just as Islamabad began looking comfortable, Imad bowled Misbah with a special little slider and there was no looking back. Eight out of 10 Islamabad batsmen fell for single digits as the Karachi spinners Imad and Mir – with combined figures of 6 for 42 in eight overs – defied the dew in SharjahThe men that won it
When he was dismissed for 14 in the first innings, Imad had a run-in with Raees, unhappy at what he thought was unnecessary provocation from the bowler. Clearly, he needed to vent and did so against the Islamabad batting line-up, his trademark wicket-to-wicket sliders besting the defences of Misbah, Shane Watson and Nicholas Pooran and fetching him the Man-of-the-Match award.Sweet revengeKarachi’s 126 was the lowest total defended in two seasons of the PSL. They will find that particularly gratifying considering the part they had played in setting up the previous record – failing to chase 133 against Islamabad in 2016.The margin of victory – 44 – was also the largest – in terms of runs – at his year’s tournament. Meanwhile, Islamabad’s unravelling put the seal on only the second time a team has been bowled out under 100 in the PSL. The other instance took place last month when Lahore Qalandars were bundled out for 59 by Peshawar Zalmi.Moment of the matchKumar Sangakkara already has a shot at being remembered for taking the catch of the PSL when he leapt high to his right to dismiss Cameron Delport in Karachi’s match against Lahore last week. On Wednesday, he may well have bettered that effort.With Mohammad Amir bowling over the wicket, and Smith getting a thick outside edge, the only chance of a wicket seemed to rested with Chris Gayle at first slip. But he was backing away from the ball. He was forced to because Sangakkara had launched himself to his right, showing off reflexes not seen often among 39-year olds – and pulled off a one-handed screamer.It was a catch that stuck – at the very end of his webbing too – but Sangakkara deserved extra credit for having the presence of mind to bring his left hand over to steady the ball that was in his right before he hit the ground. The fact that it didn’t pop out was testament to the Karachi captain’s quick thinking under high pressure. Smith, Islamabad’s most prolific batsman in 2017, was gone for 8. Not long after, his team, too, succumbed.Where they stand
Islamabad find themselves out of the PSL. Karachi go through to the second eliminator, to face Peshawar for the right to compete in the final against Quetta Gladiators in Lahore on March 5.

The hosts have struggled against the concerted discipline of Afghanistan, but if they want to go 2-1 up, they need to attack

The Preview by Alagappan Muthu13-Jun-2017

Match facts

June 14, 2017
Start time 1430 local (1830 GMT)

Big Picture

If there ever was a time to rally round the West Indies, it is now. They are ranked No. 9 – one spot below the bar for direct entry into the 2019 World Cup – and even if they win this series against Afghanistan, they will finish with fewer points (78) than they had prior to its start (79).West Indies have 11 more ODIs before the cut-off date of September 30, but 10 of them are against India and England – both front-runners to win the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy. Considering their inconsistency, it ‘s looking increasingly likely that West Indies, the former two-time world champions, might have to enter a qualification round to even have a chance at winning another title.But before all that, they have to find a way past Afghanistan, or perhaps simply their legspinner Rashid Khan. In the first match, he took 7 for 18 to defend 212, followed by 3 for 26 in the second ODI to keep his side in the game for close to 40 overs, even though the target was only 136.A battery of the hosts’ easy-on-the-eye batsmen can do a lot better. After all, Evin Lewis cleaves the air itself when he cuts the ball, Roston Chase is so good he made Viv Richards chant his name and the first line on Jason Mohammed’s resume is “I led West Indies’ highest successful chase in ODIs”.The irony, though, is that every time the Afghanistan captain Asghar Stanikzai steps up to speak, he says his bowling contingent can defend 200-odd. If West Indies had half of that belief in their strengths, they’d be alright.

Form guide

West Indies WLLLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Afghanistan LWWLL

In the spotlight

A month ago, on a pitch with spiteful variations in bounce, Shai Hope had scored a match-winning, second-innings 90 for West Indies in Test cricket. Then, too, he had to deal with a legspinner, one whose variations are more threatening than his stock ball. But unlike Yasir Shah, Rashid bowls a lot faster and his action is different: somehow, even his legbreaks seem to come from the back of the hand. There’s trouble coming. But West Indies have Hope.Evin Lewis, at the top of the order, with his power-hitting ability, can break games open•WICB Media/Brooks LaTouche Photography Ltd

Afghanistan’s plan, it seems, is to bat first, put up a par score, bowl nice and tight in the early part of the chase and then befuddle the opposition with spin once the run-rate soars high enough. For the tourists to apply that scoreboard pressure on West Indies, Mohammad Nabi will be a key figure in the middle order. An experienced batsman, capable of batting through an innings, he will want to show it takes more than banging the ball halfway into the pitch to rattle his team.

Team news

Having won the last match by taking the insurance of an extra batsman, West Indies would’ve liked to stick with the same XI, but Shannon Gabriel is out of the final ODI courtesy a side strain he suffered during the second ODI. Kesrick Williams has replaced him in the squad. Williams is yet to make his ODI debut.West Indies (probable): 1 Evin Lewis, 2 Kieran Powell, 3 Shai Hope (wk), 4 Jason Mohammed, 5 Roston Chase, 6 Jonathan Carter, 7 Jason Holder (capt), 8 Rovman Powell, 9 Ashley Nurse, 10 Alzarri Joseph, 11 Kesrick WilliamsAfghanistan bat till No. 9, but they’d want to front up better against the short ball, which claimed nearly all their wickets in their previous game.Afghanistan (probable): 1 Noor Ali Zadran, 2 Javed Ahmadi, 3 Rahmat Shah, 4 Asghar Stanikzai (capt), 5 Samiullah Shenwari, 6 Mohammad Nabi, 7 Afsar Zazai (wk), 8 Gulbadin Naib, 9 Rashid Khan, 10 Amir Hamza, 11 Dawlat Zadran

Pitch and conditions

This will be the third match of the series at the Darren Sammy stadium in less than a week so there is a likelihood that a used pitch might be furnished. Hitting through the line might, again, not be fun. Weather wise, there is a chance of rain but it shouldn’t linger.

Stats and trivia

• Rashid’s performance in the series – 10 wickets at an average of 4.40, strike-rate of 11.2 and economy rate of 2.35 – has vaulted him 18 places to No. 7 on the ICC rankings for ODI bowlers
• West Indies’ opening partnership has been awful since the 2015 World Cup. They have used six players to average 24.24 – the worst out of 16 teams