Category Uncategorized

Seekkuge Prasanna almost lifted Dhaka Dynamites to an improbable victory with a six-hitting spree in the last overs of their match against Khulna Titans

Mohammad Isam19-Nov-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDwayne Bravo picked up two wickets but fell at a crucial juncture of Dhaka Dynamites’ chase for 4•BCB

Khulna Titans survived Seekkuge Prasanna’s six-hitting spree to beat Dhaka Dynamites by nine runs in Chittagong. Khulna moved to eight points and joined Rangpur Riders and Dhaka at the top of the table.Dhaka would have rued the five dropped catches in the field that made the difference although Prasanna nearly took the side to an improbable victory from a score of 83 for 7 in the 14th over. At that stage, the side had lost in-form batsman Mosaddek Hossain.With Dhaka needing another 75 runs, Prasanna started by smacking Mosharraf Hossain high over long-on in the 14th over, before hitting three more off Kevon Cooper in the 16th over. He struck Shafiul for another six over long-off before Mosharraf was hammered for two successive sixes at the start of the 18th over.Though Sunzamul Islam fell in the same over, Dhaka were still in the game with 15 needed off the last two overs. Prasanna, who had reached 50 off 18 balls, was dropped by Andre Fletcher in the penultimate over before Suhrawardi Shuvo was the ninth batsman dismissed.With ten needed off the final over, Prasanna struck the first ball down Ariful Haque’s throat at long-off, ending the drama that he had helped created. He was dismissed for 53 off 22 balls, including seven sixes.Dhaka’s start to the chase had been poor after both in-form openers, Mehedi Maruf and Kumar Sangakkara, fell within 2.1 overs. Nasir Hossain was caught at short third-man through a late cut off Cooper, while Matt Coles failed to do justice to his promotion to No 3, falling for 11 in the sixth over.Shakib Al Hasan made just 8 while Dwayne Bravo holed out at deep extra cover attempting an inside-out hit off left-arm spinner Taibur Rahman, having made 4. Mosaddek, who made 35 off 28 balls, tried to keep Dhaka abreast with the required run rate, striking two sixes off Shuvagata Hom in the eighth over and two fours off Ariful Haque in the ninth over. In his quest for quick runs, however, Mosaddek was caught at long-on in the 14th over.When Khulna batted first after winning the toss, they took advantage of Dhaka’s poor catching to post a competitive 157 for 5. Fletcher was dropped twice during his 16-ball 20, both times at long-on by Mosaddek Hossain and Nasir Hossain on 2 and 9 respectively, although Nasir’s was a tougher chance.Then, Mosaddek, at point, and Sunzamul Islam, at deep midwicket, dropped simple chances offered by Mahmudullah on 34 and 36 respectively. Matt Coles also dropped a straight-forward chance at long-off in the final over, off Kevon Cooper’s drive. Mahmudullah went on to top score with 62 off 46 balls with the help of four sixes.

Rangana Herath picked up his fifth 10-wicket match haul in Tests as Sri Lanka wrapped up victory by an innings and six runs inside the second session of day four

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy17-Oct-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:44

Arnold: Blackwood showed temperament and positive attitude

Rangana Herath picked up his fifth 10-wicket match haul in Tests as Sri Lanka wrapped up victory by an innings and six runs inside the second session of day four. West Indies, who began the day two down for 67, lost eight wickets on the fourth day for the addition of 160 runs, and as in the first innings, a number of their batsmen failed to capitalise on starts. Their only consolation came from Jermaine Blackwood, who added a fleet-footed 92 to a string of eye-catching recent performances that have marked him out as a definite investment for the future.Three of Herath’s five ten-fors have now come in Galle. Perhaps no one has understood this surface as well as him. Even Muttiah Muralitharan, who ended his career with a staggering 22 ten-fors, achieved the feat four times here.The pitch for this match was slow even by Galle’s standards, and none of the other spinners from both sides found a way to remain a wicket-taking threat. By attacking the stumps relentlessly and giving the batsmen no breathing space, Herath made every ball count – every subtle variation of pace and trajectory. Batsmen were in trouble nearly every time they went forward instead of back or back instead of forward, or played for turn when there was none.West Indies began the fourth day two down, facing a deficit of 166. Perhaps they may have given themselves hope by imagining a scenario where their nightwatchman Devendra Bishoo hung around long enough to irritate the Sri Lankans while one or two of their specialist batsmen made hundreds. As early as the fifth over of the morning, Herath knocked those visions out of their heads.First, he sent back Bishoo, who nicked an attempted square-cut to slip. In came Marlon Samuels, and out he went first ball, but not before calling for one of the most needless reviews in the history of the DRS. Staying on the back foot to a ball from Herath he should have been on the front foot to, Samuels shouldered arms. The ball slid in with the angle and pinged his back pad. Maybe Samuels believed the ball had struck him slightly outside the line – even then, he was offering no shot. In the event, it had struck him in line with off stump, and was destined to hit middle stump, three-fourths of the way up.Nuwan Pradeep who had a mixed Test, was cranking up good pace and bowling a few good balls and a lot of poor ones. In the eighth over of the morning, he bowled his best ball of the match. Going around the wicket, he hit a good length in the corridor and got the ball to straighten a touch. Darren Bravo, pushing half-forward to defend, could only edge it to the keeper.Though Sri Lanka took four key wickets in the session, they showed evidence of a troubling over-reliance on Herath, with their back-up spinners leaking runs to Jermaine Blackwood and Denesh Ramdin when the left-arm spinner left the field briefly. But the West Indies batsmen did not show the greatest appreciation of which balls to go after, and failed to make that over-reliance hurt Sri Lanka in any way.Towards the end of day three, Kraigg Brathwaite and Darren Bravo had capitalised on Herath’s absence to take 39 runs from 11 overs bowled by Pradeep, Milinda Siriwardana and Tharindu Kaushal. Now, Siriwardana and Kaushal bowled a series of full-tosses and short balls to concede four fours in two overs to Ramdin and Blackwood.Blackwood, looking in smooth touch, continued batting with freedom over the next few overs, using his feet to get down the track to launch Kaushal over mid-on for six and drive Siriwardana inside-out for four.But just when the partnership was giving West Indies the merest glimmer of hope, Ramdin drove loosely at Siriwardana and nicked to second slip. Blackwood almost followed Ramdin to the dressing room in Siriwardana’s next over, edging him while trying to make room and drive despite not getting to the pitch of the ball. But Angelo Mathews, who was uncharacteristically generous at slip in this Test match, spilled the deflection off Kusal Perera’s glove.Blackwood survived through to lunch, and reached his half-century soon after. Jason Holder hung around long enough to add 36 with him for the seventh wicket before he was run out in slightly unfortunate circumstances. Stepping out to whip Herath into the leg side, he played across the ball which deflected off his pad to Mathews at slip. Spotting Holder out of his crease, he threw down the stumps direct.Herath then removed Kemar Roach in a replay of his first-innings dismissal. An enticingly loopy delivery, dropping just short of the batsman’s reach, a big heave and miss, and an alert Kusal Perera whipping the bails off with the batsman’s back toe on the line. When Dhammika Prasad trapped Jerome Taylor with a full, straight ball in the next over, West Indies were nine down, with 44 still to get to avoid innings defeat.Blackwood had only one option left – farm the strike and try to get West Indies as close as possible. Out came the dancing footwork, and he hit Herath for two fours and two sixes, all down the ground, in the space of nine balls. Rattled for once, Herath sent down a short ball, and Blackwood flat-batted it to the cover boundary.He could only do so much all by himself, though. Batting on 92 with all nine fielders on the boundary, he ran down the track to the third ball of Prasad’s over, and only managed to pick out deep extra cover. Perhaps he could have waited a couple of balls, for the field to come in and try to keep him on strike. It would have only delayed the inevitable.

The PCB has also hired Simon Helmot and David Reid as fielding coach and mental performance coach respectively

ESPNcricinfo staff14-May-2024Gary Kirsten will start his two-year stint as the head coach of the Pakistan men’s national side on May 19 in Leeds, the PCB announced in Lahore on Tuesday.This will give him three days with the players and other members of the coaching staff before the first game of the four-match T20I series against England, at Headingley on May 22. The series will be Pakistan’s last before the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the USA, where they begin their campaign with a game against USA in Dallas on June 6.”These are indeed thrilling times for Pakistan cricket, with a new administration and players who are driven to deliver solid results,” Kirsten said in a statement. “The upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 presents a fantastic opportunity for us to showcase our skills and uphold Pakistan’s legacy as a formidable force in cricket.”However, success will require collective effort, meticulous planning and unwavering support for one another. With 19 other teams vying for the title, we must consistently outperform our rivals to realise our aspirations.”On a personal level, I’ve missed the experience of coaching at the international level and nurturing talented players to reach their full potential. I’m committed to working closely with the team to elevate their game and bring joy to fans around the world.”Kirsten’s most famous coaching achievement came with India, with whom he was head coach from 2008 to 2011 and won the 2011 ODI World Cup. He was head coach of South Africa for the two years that followed, and is currently batting coach of Gujarat Titans in the IPL.The PCB has also brought in Simon Helmot and David Reid as fielding coach and mental performance coach respectively. The board said Reid would join the side on May 20 and continue until the end of the World Cup, while Helmot will link up with the side on May 31. Aftab Khan, currently the fielding coach of the side, will “assume responsibilities of high-performance coach” for the World Cup once Helmot takes charge.Related

• Inspired by Woolmer, 'thick-skinned' Kirsten ready for Pakistan challenge

• Shaheen, Babar and Rizwan outclass Ireland as Pakistan seal series win

• Pakistan appoint Gillespie, Kirsten as head coaches

• Imad Wasim: People remember the champions

• Babar: 'Rauf positive about involvement in T20 World Cup'

“Ensuring the mental health and well-being of our elite cricketers is not just a priority, but a fundamental commitment,” Mohsin Naqvi, the PCB chairman, said. “Recognising that their performance on the field is intricately linked to their mental state, we have taken decisive action to provide them with the best support possible.”That’s why we’ve brought on board David Reid, a seasoned expert with nearly two decades of experience as a qualified mental health clinician. His track record speaks volumes, having successfully worked with world-record holders, Olympians and top-tier sports franchises like Chennai Super Kings, the Melbourne Stars and the Essendon Football Club in the AFL.”With his expertise in enhancing both functioning and performance, we are confident that our players will receive the comprehensive care they need to thrive both on and off the field.”Kirsten and Jason Gillespie were announced as Pakistan’s next white-ball and red-ball head coaches respectively last month. Gillespie will arrive in Pakistan in July, the PCB said, in time for the World Test Championship series at home against Bangladesh.

Heat prevailed and meet Renegades in a knockout final at Marvel Stadium on Sunday

Tristan Lavalette27-Jan-2023Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne emerged from T20 droughts with spectacular half-centuries before rain thwarted Sydney Thunder’s hopes of chasing down Brisbane Heat’s massive total in the BBL elimination final.Kicking off the finals series, Khawaja and Labuschagne combined for a 128-run partnership to power Heat to the highest ever total at the Sydney Showgrounds.Chasing 204, David Warner was in a belligerent mood with 36 off 20 balls to provide hope for Thunder before Sydney’s temperamental weather reared in the seventh over with the home side eight runs short under Duckworth-Lewis Stern calculations.Play was set to restart with Thunder facing a revised target of 90 runs off nine overs – they were already 52 for 1 after 6.5 – but the match was ultimately called off due to persistent rain.Heat prevailed and meet Melbourne Renegades in a knockout final at Marvel Stadium on Sunday, while Thunder’s see-saw of a season ended in disappointment.

Khawaja and Labuschagne smash Thunder

Khawaja’s impact for Heat since returning from Australia duty has mostly been through his captaincy, like when he helped guide inexperienced quick Spencer Johnson in high-pressure moments.He had only averaged 16 in six innings in a disappointing start for his new BBL franchise. But against his old team, who he powered to the title in 2016, Khawaja showed his liking for the big stage and put the foot down after the drinks break with an assault on spinners Chris Green and Usman Qadir. He was unstoppable with a slew of innovative strokes, including reverse sweeps, to devastating effect, but his best shot was a gorgeous straight six off Qadir.Khawaja fell short of a deserved century but his fluency seemed to rub off on Labuschagne, who had struggled with his timing as he played anchor before unleashing some inventive strokes of his own to notch his first BBL half-century in his 23rd innings.Labuschagne, who had averaged just 16 runs with a strike-rate of 104, hit his first six of the season when he clubbed seamer Daniel Sams over long-on in the final over. He repeated the dose three balls later to lift Heat past 200 before his 48-ball 73 ended on the penultimate delivery of the innings. Labuschagne proved a point to critics that his formidable longer format batting can translate into T20 cricket.

Pawson’s horror debut

Thunder were shorthanded without frontliner seamer Gurinder Sandhu, who injured his calf in his last game against Melbourne Stars. The 28-year-old Ross Pawson was thrown into the deep end with a debut in the elimination final.Nathan McAndrew’s struggles in the powerplay led to Pawson coming into the attack in the third over and he was immediately lined up. His first ball was carved through point for a boundary by Khawaja, who then smashed two short deliveries to the rope. A rattled Pawson then dished up a waist-high full toss to cap a 15-run first over in the BBL. He hoped his fortune might change when he returned in the 11th over but it only stirred the ruthlessness in Khawaja, who hit two sixes.Pawson, who had earned his call-up through solid form in local Sydney ranks, did show glimpses of rapid pace but just couldn’t get his length right and finished a tough initiation with 0 for 32 off two overs.

Warner starts fast before rain spoils the party

Unlike his mate Steven Smith, Warner had struggled in his long-awaited BBL return and averaged just 12.6 in five innings. But here, he started aggressively and took a liking to left-armer Johnson by smashing three boundaries in the fourth over. It was the best Warner had looked during this BBL season and he threatened to play a heroic knock before rain intervened to end Thunder’s season.

Stand-in captain hits 20-ball fifty after Phoenix bowlers succeed in dragging back Superchargers

Matt Roller17-Aug-2021Liam Livingstone’s six-hitting blitz led Birmingham Phoenix into Saturday’s Hundred final at Lord’s after a remarkable comeback with the ball set up a cruise to victory against Northern Superchargers at Headingley.Phoenix needed to win – or tie – to guarantee they would finish top of the group stage and qualify automatically for the final, and when Chris Lynn and Tom Kohler-Cadmore hit 65 off the 25-ball Powerplay, their chances of doing so looked slim.But their three pace-off options – Livingstone, Imran Tahir, and the self-proclaimed “fast spinner” Benny Howell – returned 5 for 61 between them in 60 balls, and Adam Milne’s death-bowling masterclass meant Superchargers limped to 143, with Kohler-Cadmore starved of strike towards the end of his 71.Related

• Phoenix women on cusp of knockouts after Superchargers collapse

• Lintott savours 'special feeling' as Hundred rise continues

• Dunkley with bat, Wellington with ball help Brave finish on a high

• Rashid retains match-winning class amid worsening crisis at home

• Livingstone rise justifies Phoenix faith in top draft pick

Livingstone then smoked the fastest fifty of the competition to date, off 20 balls, to break the back of the chase inside the Powerplay. His 92 not out was the joint-highest score of the Hundred, alongside Jemimah Rodrigues in Superchargers women’s opening game, and his 10 sixes were the most in an individual innings.Phoenix look set to welcome Moeen Ali back into their side for the final, with an update on his availability expected shortly, and included Tom Abell for the first time this season following his hamstring injury. Few pundits backed them at the start of the competition but their ultra-attacking strategy with the bat and their canny bowling attack have seen them top the group with six wins out of eight.Phoenix will play the winners of Friday’s eliminator at The Oval, between Southern Brave and Trent Rockets. Superchargers were already eliminated, and missed Adam Lyth and Harry Brook, both of whom tested positive for Covid-19 last week. They finish fifth in the men’s table.Pepsi’s fizzy pop
Phoenix’s cruise to victory looked a long way off when they were under the pump in the Powerplay, with Chris Lynn and Tom ‘Pepsi’ Kohler-Cadmore swinging for the hills and treating Pat Brown and Dillon Pennington with utter contempt. Kohler-Cadmore, left out earlier in the season, hit two sixes and a four off Pennington’s first set of five, while Lynn got after Milne in his second set.But it was Brown’s first – and only – set that went the distance. Brown is a canny slower-ball specialist whose quicker ball is clocked at around 87mph/140kph, but Kohler-Cadmore set himself for the variations and swung him for three sixes and two fours, taking 26 off the last five balls of the Powerplay – the second most-expensive set of the tournament.Spin to win
Howell and Tahir dragged things back when the field spread, finding some purchase from the pitch as the ball stuck in the surface. Livingstone, standing in for Moeen, brought himself on after 50 balls and it proved to be a turning point. He struck with his fourth ball, Lynn flashing an outside edge to short third, and after David Willey whacked him over long-on for six, Livingstone tossed the next ball up and caught a skier off his own bowling.Howell conceded a single boundary when Jordan Thompson swung him over long-off for six, but he picked out Allen on the rope three balls later. Kohler-Cadmore was stranded at the wrong end, Livingstone rattling through his final 10 balls in a row for nine runs and the dismissal of Dane Vilas, and Milne bowled 10 on the bounce at the death, conceding only seven as he nailed his yorkers at above 90mph/145kph.Livingstone tees off
Howell described the pitch as a “Powerplay wicket” at the interval, by which he meant that it was by far the best time to score runs with the field up. Phoenix lost a wicket early on, Will Smeed dragging on for a first-baller, but Livingstone and Allen were never likely to consolidate.Liam Livingstone swings for the hills•Getty Images

Livingstone pulled his fourth ball, from Callum Parkinson, for six over deep backward square leg and stayed in fifth gear for most of his innings. He hit Parkinson for two more vicious straight sixes in his next set of five, and when he swung three Willey balls out of four into the stands on the leg side, the required rate was down at 1.13 runs per ball by the end of the Powerplay.Allen toyed with Adil Rashid in his second set of five, swiping him back over his head for two fours and a six, and Ben Raine was the next lamb to the slaughter as Phoenix’s batters traded sixes. Parkinson returned to have Allen stumped but Abell ticked over then watched from the non-striker’s end as Livingstone scooped and drove Matt Fisher down the ground, then let out a scream of delight when he pulled his tenth six over square leg to seal their final berth.Livingstone was Phoenix’s first pick in the initial draft for the Hundred and has more than vindicated their faith in him over the last month. “I’ve felt a little bit more pressure since Mo’s gone away,” he said afterwards. “We’ve got a young, fearless line-up and we’ve seen some great talent coming through. We’ve proved a lot of people wrong in this competition.”Leading Phoenix into the final is the latest landmark in what has been a remarkable summer for Livingstone after his T20I exploits for England against Pakistan. “I don’t think I’ve seen an England batter burst on the scene quite like this since Kevin Pietersen,” Nasser Hussain said on Sky Sports. “In white-ball cricket, we have found another one. This guy can hit a seriously big ball.”

Club reports strong financial position in run-in to Covid-19 outbreak

George Dobell19-May-2020Lancashire have reported record financial returns in the history of a first-class county for 2019.Buoyed by a raft of popular international fixtures including an Ashes Test and a World Cup match between India and Pakistan, Lancashire reported earnings before interest, taxes depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of £7.6 million; a record figure for a county. That represents a tenfold increase since 2015. They club also reported turnover of £34 million and a net profit of £5 million. Both are club records.While those returns do not, perhaps, tell the entire story – Surrey, for example, do not report EBITDA – they do tell a tale of a club that were, before the Covid-19 crisis, enjoying a remarkable boom off the pitch at least.Following the £60 million redevelopment of Emirates Old Trafford, the club made more than £17.5 million from its international fixtures and a further £8.4 million from its conference and events activity. The Hilton Hotel, situated inside the ground, operated by the club and including 95 pitch-facing rooms, saw its average occupancy grow to 78 percent in only its second year of trading.Lancashire also oversaw an increase in Vitality Blast attendances – ticket sales were up 34 percent compared to 2018 – which included a sold-out Roses match for the sixth year in succession. They also broke their own record attendance for non-Roses matches three times in the campaign.”To generate in excess of £30 million of non-broadcast revenues is truly remarkable and, to put it in perspective, better than some Premier League Clubs,” Lancashire Chief Executive, Daniel Gidney, said. “These results are a record for published accounts, excluding minority interests and legacies, for any first-class county and make this a proud day for the Red Rose. 2019 was a landmark year for the club when years of investment in talent and the infrastructure of Emirates Old Trafford was rewarded and truly reflected in our financial results.”During the year, Lancashire also arranged new long-term banking facilities with Metro Bank. In doing so, they consolidated all their existing debt, significantly extending the repayment profile and reducing the annual interest burden.For the first time since 2010 – before the stadium re-development – Lancashire returned to a positive reserves balance of £1.7 million. The club also reduced its net current liabilities position in the year from £8.7 million to £489,008.While such figures are sure to take a huge dent in 2020, the strong returns in 2019 leave Lancashire better placed than many to weather the storm.”Clearly, these are now tough times as the Club navigates its way through the current COVID-19 pandemic, but these results at least help relieve that financial burden,” Gidney continued. “Our priority now is to work with our stakeholders to find a way for cricket to return as quickly as it is safe to do so. This will help us protect future revenues as much as possible and allow us to continue to invest in our infrastructure for the benefit of our members and supporters.”

They put on an unbroken 163-run stand to ensure Sri Lanka became the first Asian side to win a Test series in South Africa

The Report by Deivarayan Muthu23-Feb-2019
Sri Lanka arrived in South Africa in a state of utter turmoil – both on and off the field. After less than seven days of cricket, they have become only the third visiting side – after England and Australia – and the first Asian team to clinch a Test series in South Africa.It was Kusal Mendis, who spearheaded the famous win with a regal, unbeaten 84 off 110 balls in a chase of 197. He found an adventurous partner in Oshada Fernando, who struck 75 not out in 106 balls, and they peeled off 163 off 213 balls – the first century stand of the series to usher Sri Lanka to the target.When the day began, it was still anybody’s game: Sri Lanka needed 137 runs and South Africa eight wickets. But Sri Lanka eventually stormed to victory without losing even a single wicket.Mendis, in particular, rolled out one rollicking drive after another and collared South Africa’s seam attack. Once left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj was recalled, Oshada twinkled down the track and launched him towards the sight screen. Mendis was the first to raise his half-century, off 52 balls, with a straight drive off Dale Steyn in the 29th over. Three overs later, Oshada moved to his maiden fifty in his fourth Test innings with a full-blooded back-foot whip between midwicket and mid-on off Maharaj.Rabada had cranked his pace up to speeds in the higher 140kph range, but Mendis and Oshada diffused his threat without much trouble. And when anything was remotely wide of off, they went after it like they owned it. Duanne Olivier hit the deck hard, like he has been doing through the summer, but Oshada took him on with daring hooks. What about Steyn? Mendis took him for a triptych of drives in his first over of the day, the pick of them a straight hit that nearly put Oshada in danger. And just like that, the hundred stand came off 126 balls.The closest South Africa came close to picking up a wicket was when Mendis flashed an outside edge, but Hashim Amla could not latch on to an overhead catch at first slip. Mendis was on 70 and Sri Lanka needed just 32 at that point. Mendis and Oshada knocked them off in fuss-free fashion to cap another monumental victory for Sri Lanka.

The West Indian smashed almost 75% of his team’s runs as Rangpur Riders secured their spot in the second qualifier in BPL 2017

Mohammad Isam08-Dec-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsRaton Gomes

The wait for a Chris Gayle special in this BPL season is finally over. The West Indian smashed 126 – the highest score in the BPL – to eliminate Khulna Titans and power Rangpur Riders into the second qualifier. This was the first hundred of the season, Gayle’s fourth in the BPL, and 19th overall in T20 cricket. Khulna, whose young guns have been quite impressive, wilted in face of the six-laden onslaught.Gayle packed his 51-ball innings with 14 sixes and six fours, helping Rangpur hunt down 168 with 28 balls to spare. His 14 sixes is a new BPL record; Gayle bettered his own record of 12 sixes he had hit for Dhaka Gladiators in 2013.Too many shots spoil Khulna’s start
Opener Nazmul Hossain Shanto kickstarted the innings with three fours in eight balls before falling to an unnecessary hoick against Sohag Gazi in the fourth over. Afif Hossain drove his first ball over cover for four and slapped a six four balls later,but was bowled by Malinga in the following over.The trend continued: Mahmudullah struck two sixes and two fours in his 6-ball 20 before holing out to long-on. Khulna were 56 for 3 at that stage.Rangpur apply the brakes
The bowlers built on the early wickets and did not concede a single boundary from Mahmudullah’s dismissal in the seventh over to the 11th over. Klinger broke the shackles when he cut Bopara between point and third man in the next over. Two balls later, however, Bopara’s superb yorker castled Klinger for 21 off 26 balls.Khulna’s late charge
Nicholas Pooran and Ariful Haque then added 40 for the fifth wicket at a run rate of eight to perk up the side. The stand ended when Ariful fell in the 17th over for 29. Ariful had a life in the 14th over when both Mashrafe and the bowler Bopara let a skier fall between them at mid-off, but he failed to cash in.Carlos Brathwaite then continued his excellent form, taking 17 runs off Malinga in the 18th over, including a muscular six over extra cover. Malinga, though, flummoxed Pooran with a slower full-toss with the first ball of the last over. He gave away just one boundary of the last over to restrict Khulna to 167 for 6.Archer deal early blows
Gayle teed off with a brace of sixes but Jofra Archer removed Gazi and Brendon McCullum in the third over to leave Rangpur at 25 for 2. From thereon, it was the Gayle show.Gayle storm hits Mirpur
Gayle was severe on Archer, taking him for 20 runs in the fifth over, including a straight six. Abu Jayed was also hit down the ground in the next over before Mohammad Irfan’s legbreaks were deposited for two sixes in the seventh over – the first of which brought up a fifty off 23 balls. Gayle did not spare his West Indies team-mate Brathwaite too as Rangpur surged towards the target.He went onto bring up a 45-ball hundred when he worked Mahmudullah to deep midwicket for a single in the 14th over. He finished the chase when he slammed Shanto for back-to-back sixes in the 16th over.What they said
“I think it is called the Gayle storm. To be honest, he batted outstandingly. We didn’t bowl well up front, because we know about his power and capability.”

West Indies captain Jason Holder said that the reprieves given to Azhar Ali in the first innings and the large number of extras conceded by the side were factors in their 56-run defeat to Pakistan in the first Test in Dubai

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Oct-20162:01

‘Really proud of the way we fought’ – Holder

West Indies captain Jason Holder has said that the reprieves given to Azhar Ali in the first innings and the large number of extras conceded by the side were factors in their 56-run defeat to Pakistan in the first Test in Dubai. Holder lauded the team, particularly batsman Darren Bravo, for running Pakistan close and taking the match into the final hour on the fifth day despite having been on the back foot for the first three days of the Test.Azhar was dropped twice in his innings of 302 not out: on 17, Leon Johnson put down a sharp catch at gully off Miguel Cummins, and on 190 by Jermaine Blackwood off Roston Chase’s bowling.”It’s tough to say. When you look at the game in hindsight you can say a lot of things. Obviously credit must go to Azhar Ali, I thought he played really well. We put him down; at that stage if we would have held him, we would have had a new batsman in,” Holder said. “But that’s cricket. If you look at it critically, it’s those one or two chances that we missed. In the second innings, Babar Azam getting out off a no-ball. Things like this, if we negate them then we have less problems going forward.”Holder conceded that the bowlers, specially Shannon Gabriel, had some work to do to bring the rate of front-foot no-balls under control. Gabriel bowled 11 no-balls in the entire match, including 10 in the first innings which, combined with other extras, contributed 22 runs to Pakistan’s score of 579.”It’s definitely an area we need to improve on but if you look at the scorecard, there were a few no-balls from both sides. It’s something we have to pay attention to, Shannon was probably our head culprit. But again, he’s that kind of bowler, he runs in and gives it his all. Having said that the amount of no-balls he bowled was unacceptable and hopefully he can correct it going forward in the next Test match.”Holder pointed to West Indies’ comeback with the ball in Pakistan’s second innings – with Devendra Bishoo’s 8 for 49 – and Bravo’s maturity and determination on the fourth and fifth days as the positives for the side from the Test.Bravo followed up his 87 in the first innings with a stubborn 116 in the second innings that helped West Indies climb to within 83 runs of a victory before he was dismissed, and a drawn match was still a possibility after he had been dismissed. The 109 overs in the second innings was the second longest West Indies had batted in the fourth innings of a Test.”It was a quality innings and I just mentioned that he batted really well in both the second and first innings,” he said. “I think he showed a lot of maturity in both those innings and he spent some time and gave himself a chance to get a score. You could see the determination on his face and in his expressions and his body language was just very positive. Hopefully he can continue in this vein and we can lean on Darren Bravo in our batting.”One thing I am very proud of is the way the guys fought. They came good today and all the bowlers came up with a really good effort on a pitch that didn’t give much assistance to them. I can’t really fault the effort of the guys, it was a very, very good team effort. Unfortunately we didn’t get over the line and unfortunately we couldn’t save the game but a hell of a lot of positives we can take from the game.”

A day after not selecting Ishant Sharma for the season’s first Ranji game as they could not reach him to check his availability, the Delhi selectors have selected him for it

Sidharth Monga24-Sep-20153:21

Aakash Chopra: More to the Ishant situation than meets the eye

A day after refusing to select Ishant Sharma, whom they couldn’t reach to check on his availability for the first Ranji Trophy match of the season, the Delhi selectors have intriguingly selected him for the first match even though Ishant has communicated to them he will be available for the second match. A Delhi and Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) press release said: “Ishant Sharma has confirmed his availability for the second Ranji Trophy match but we are including him in the team right now.”This prompts a remarkable question that DDCA is not willing to answer clearly: if the reason to try to reach Ishant was to confirm his availability, why is it defeating the purpose by selecting Ishant now that he has expressed his desire to rest for the first match, which starts on October 1, three days after the end of India’s pre-season preparatory camp in Bangalore? Vinay Lamba, the chairman of selectors, said they would love for him to play in the first match too.Ishant, in the middle of some good Test-match form, was not selected for India’s limited-overs teams. Moreover, he has been banned by the ICC from playing the first Test against South Africa, which begins in the first week of November. That made him available for Ranji Trophy, but the Delhi selectors created a stir by not naming him in the squad of 15. The chairman of selectors said they did so because Ishant didn’t answer his phone or respond to his text. He said they were not sure of his availability. Now, they have gone ahead and selected him despite knowing he is not available.