Injury concerns aside, CSK have begun well, squeezing out maximum points so far. Now they run into a revamped Kings XI Punjab, captained by an old friend

The Preview by Deivarayan Muthu14-Apr-20185:03

Agarkar: Out of form Yuvraj on shaky ground

Big Picture

Two matches, two last-gasp wins and two injuries. Having squeezed out maximum points so far, Chennai Super Kings now run into a revamped Kings XI Punjab side captained by an old friend in R Ashwin. Kings XI have had a seesawing start to the season: they mowed down Delhi Daredevils but came up short against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Friday. They have a little less than 48 hours to address their weaknesses, particularly their batting.Despite losing wickets in a cluster, Kings XI’s batsmen kept going after the bowlers and were ultimately bowled out with four balls unused in their innings. Such an approach works only if you have a fail-safe option in the batting line-up. Yuvraj Singh is past his prime while Karun Nair, Aaron Finch, and Marcus Stoinis are largely hit-or-miss batsmen. Ashwin, however, has indicated that the side will not curb its aggression after just one loss.Super Kings’ middle order is rickety as well, and the injuries to Suresh Raina and Kedar Jadhav have forced them to dig deep into their reserves. Ambati Rayudu has given the team bright starts in both games, so, perhaps, there is a case for him to stay at the top. Super Kings will have to choose between a fit-again M Vijay and Delhi’s Dhruv Shorey, who is uncapped in the IPL, for the middle-order slot thrown open by the absence of Raina.

In the news

• Raina will miss a Super Kings match for the first time in his career.
• Jadhav’s replacement David Willey joined the squad on the eve of the match.
• Lungi Ngidi will not be available for Sunday’s clash, having flown back home to South Africa following the death of his father.
• Ngidi’s captain at South Africa Faf du Plessis, who is recovering from a finger injury and a side strain, is “close” to full fitness, according to coach Stephen Fleming.

ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The likely XIs

Kings XI Punjab 1 KL Rahul (wk), 2 Mayank Agarwal, 3 Aaron Finch/David Miller, 4 Yuvraj Singh/Manoj Tiwary, 5 Karun Nair, 6 Marcus Stoinis, 7 Axar Patel, 8 R Ashwin (capt), 9 Andrew Tye, 10 Mohit Sharma, 11 Mujeeb ZadranChennai Super Kings 1 Shane Watson, 2 Ambati Rayudu, 3 M Vijay/Dhruv Shorey, 4 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 5 Sam Billings, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Dwayne Bravo 8 Deepak Chahar, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Shardul Thakur, 11 Imran Tahir

Stats that matter

• Axar Patel has a perfect record against Shane Watson, having dismissed the Australian allrounder five times in five IPL matches
• MS Dhoni has struggled against spin, managing only 367 runs off 349 balls with a dot percentage of 45.6 since IPL 2015. Ravindra Jadeja has fared worse against spin, scoring only 157 off 161 balls in the same period.
• Mohit Sharma has bagged 25 wickets between overs 16 and 20 in 43 IPL games since 2015. He also tends to leak runs in the same phase, though, as his economy-rate of 9.4 suggests.

Strategy punt

If Rayudu continues to open for CSK, Ashwin could do well to bring himself on right away. The spinner has dismissed Rayudu four times in 48 balls while giving away only 53 runs.

Fantasy pick

That he can bowl legspin with accuracy too has amplified the threat posed by Ashwin. He struck with a loopy legbreak in the 12th over on Friday, removing Sarfraz Khan, and bowled a total of four legbreaks in the match for just one run. In Kings XI’s tournament opener against Delhi Daredevils, Ashwin had ventured four legbreaks and conceded three runs.

Quote

“There is obviously a lot going on. The positive is we have two wins out of two. There haven’t been great performances but scrapping and fighting wins, which at the start of a tournament is more valuable.”

No. 8 Jahanara Alam dived to the striker’s end and completed the second run to seal the three-wicket victory and clinch Bangladesh’s maiden Asia Cup by defeating India for the second time in the tournament

Annesha Ghosh10-Jun-2018Bangladesh’s post-match revelry•ACC

A maiden Asia Cup final. Nine runs required off the last over. Two wickets go down on the fourth and fifth balls and the match spills onto the final ball, with Bangladesh women needing two to win.A thriller. A heartbreak for six-time champions India. A perfect ending for Bangladesh, as No. 8 Jahanara Alam dived at the striker’s end to seal a three-wicket victory and give Bangladesh their maiden Asia Cup title.Deepti Sharma’s throw from midwicket to push the final into a Super Over proved as bereft of vigour as was India’s performance with the bat that saw them post 112 for 8; half of the tally courtesy captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s 42-ball 56. That they were still able to drag the game to the final over was down to legspinner Poonam Yadav’s career-best 4 for 9.
With Bangladesh requiring 23 off 18 and a set Rumana Ahmed batting on 13, Harmanpreet, who hadn’t bowled in India’s last two league matches, brought herself on to bowl the 18th and 20th overs. She drew a top-edge off her first delivery that flew over the wicketkeeper for four. The rest of the over continued to be eventful, featuring two singles and two twos, before ending with a missed run-out opportunity due to an erroneous throw from Smriti Mandhana.India missed a second run-out opportunity in the 19th over when Deepti, the bowler, decided against throwing the ball at the non-striker Sanjida Islam’s end after collecting a return drive. Islam survived and added 14 vital runs off 13 balls for the sixth wicket with Rumana. Deepti, however, gave away just four runs, leaving India with nine to defend in the final over.By then, however, all of India’s four frontline spinners had bowled out, their spearhead Jhulan Goswami had leaked 20 in two overs, and their only other fast bowler – Shikha Pandey – left the field with a knee injury – in the second over of the chase – having bowled only four balls.It was in that context that Harmanpreet, who had memorably bowled the final over in India’s 2016 Asia Cup victory, came on to bowl the 20th. But Rumana, who had single-handedly routed India in their seven-wicket league-stage win, struck an inside-out four off the second ball as Bangladesh shaved off six runs off the first three balls. Islam then slogged Veda Krishnamurthy to long-on as more drama ensued. Deepti and Harmanpreet then combined to have Rumana run out off the penultimate ball of the innings.With two required off the final ball, Harmanpreet pitched on a fullish-length, and it was met with a slog from Alam towards the deep. With that, India were denied a seventh straight title and Bangladesh had their fifth win in six matches to end a momentous Asia Cup campaign.But Bangladesh took their first steps towards history much earlier in the game, when they strangled India in the Powerplay, thanks to left-arm spinner Nahida Akter, whose three overs cost just six runs.Salma Khatun, the Bangladesh captain, complemented that effort with some disciplined offspin bowling that kept India’s openers on a leash. The pressure eventually got to the batsmen, when Mandhana’s bid to steal a third run in the fourth over was ended by a direct hit from Akter. An out-of-form Mithali Raj and Deepti then laboured to 9 off 15 balls 3 off nine balls respectively in the Powerplay.It was enough to inject nerves into India’s innings and led to a wicket in each of the next three overs. Medium-pacer Alam bowled Deepti, offspinner Khadija Tul Kubra removed Raj, while Anuja Patil became the second Indian female player – and the first in T20Is – to be out obstructing the field as she changed her course en route to making her ground at the non-striker’s end.By then, India had slumped to 32 for 4, before top-scorer Harmanpreet added 30 runs with Veda Krishnamurthy. An ill-judged sweep sent Krishnamurthy back for 11, before legspinner Rumana’s double-strike in the 15th took out wicketkeeper Taniya Bhatia and Shikha Pandey for single-digit scores.Harmanpreet fought on to notch up her highest score in 20 innings across limited-overs formats since her unbeaten 171 in the World Cup semi-final last year. Her resistance ended in the last ball of the innings when she found Alam in a bid to clear deep square leg.

The batsman had said in a TV interview on Sunday that he had been approached to leave to balls alone during the 2015 World Cup match against India

Umar Farooq24-Jun-2018The PCB wants Umar Akmal to explain the comments he made to a TV channel on Sunday about being offered money during the 2015 World Cup to “leave two balls alone”. Hours after Akmal told about the alleged approach made to him during the World Cup, as well as other supposed offers to miss games against India, the PCB served him a notice, asking him to meet the board’s anti-corruption unit on June 27 in Lahore to explain his comments.”I had got an offer during the World Cup to leave two balls alone and they were willing to pay me $200,000 for that,” Akmal said in the TV interview. “It was our first match against India in the 2015 World Cup… in fact, every match I play against India, they offer me money to make some excuse and opt out of the game. But I have told those people that I am very sincere about playing for Pakistan and to not talk to me on this topic ever again.”It is unclear whether Akmal had previously reported these alleged approaches to the anti-corruption authorities, and therein could lie a problem for him. While there is no evidence to suggest Akmal has been involved in any corrupt activity, failure to report an approach is also a punishable offence under PCB and ICC rules. Akmal, ESPNcricinfo understands, had officially reported corrupt approaches in 2014 during the England series in the UAE.
The ICC, in an official statement, said it had launched an investigation and that it wished to speak to Akmal “urgently”.”The ICC is aware of a recent interview given by Umar Akmal. Whilst we note that there is no suggestion that any ‘fix’ actually took place, the ICC is reliant on players to report any corrupt approaches in a timely manner. This is critical to our efforts to gather information on potential ‘fixers’ and to disrupt and prevent their efforts to corrupt the game. As such we are taking Akmal’s comments very seriously.”We have launched an investigation and wish to speak to Mr Akmal as a matter of urgency. Our Anti-Corruption Unit is committed to working to uphold integrity in cricket and would urge anyone with any information to contact us via [email protected].”Akmal has been embroiled in a number of controversies of late. In May last year, in the lead-up to the Champions Trophy, Akmal had to return home after failing two fitness tests in two days. In September, he picked up a three-match ban and a fine of Pakistani rupees 1 million for his public outburst against coach Mickey Arthur. Then, in March this year, his future with Pakistan Super League franchise Lahore Qalandars came into question after he was left out of the squad following a poor run of form; it was understood that he was not even travelling to the stadium with his team-mates at that point.June 25, GMT 0244 The story was updated to include the ICC’s comment.

Senior batsman wants team to draw inspiration from Nurul Hasan’s performance in first Test

Mohammad Isam09-Jul-2018The Bangladesh dressing room was “shocked” after their embarrassing defeat to West Indies in Antigua.First, they were bowled out for 43, their lowest-ever total and the lowest Test score in 44 years. Then they followed that with a marginal improvement to make 144 in the second innings, eventually losing by an innings and 219 runs. This was the least overs a side had bowled to take 20 wickets in a Test in 66 years.Tamim Iqbal, one of their senior-most players and batting mainstay who made 4 and 13 in that Test, doesn’t want to dwell on what has gone by. Instead, he insisted the team has drawn positives from Nurul Hasan’s counter-attacking 64 on the third morning, their only bright spot, looking ahead to the Jamaica Test starting July 12.”Like all of you, we are also in a shock about our last Test match,” Tamim said. “Our performance is by no means acceptable. We are a better side than this. We are not looking for excuses. We made mistakes which caused this performance. We hope to do well in the next Test.”We have to keep on believing as a team and as individual players that we can do well, we can win. The way Sohan (Nurul) and the lower-order batted, it proves that if you can stay in the wicket, you can score runs. I hope that Jamaica Test will be a much better performance.”Steve Rhodes who sat through the entire ordeal on his debut as Bangladesh head coach, felt the team should have reacted better during their first-innings deterioration. In the first innings, Kemar Roach took five wickets in just five overs – the shortest spell to win a Player of the Match award – to leave Bangladesh tottering at 18 for 5 even before the first drinks interval. The last five didn’t do much either, even as Liton Das tried to slog his way out of trouble.”We potentially did not adjust quick enough to the circumstances put in front of us in either innings. But you can take nothing away from the Windies bowlers and catchers. They bowled and fielded admirably on a pitch that suited their bowling,” he told ESPNcricinfo.Rhodes also assessed the need to have more firepower in the bowling. “As far as our bowling is concerned, I thought Rahi (Abu Jayed) bowled admirably in his first Test match. It is very clear that we could do with some real pace to throw at the West Indies batsmen but that is not an overnight option for us. But we would definitely look to have some pace when we tour in the future.”

The Australian cited “personal reasons” but it is understood that delays in finalising the deal between him and the PCB may have played a part

Umar Farooq14-Aug-2018The Pakistan Cricket Board will have to start their hunt for a fielding coach afresh after Darren Berry withdrew his interest in the role due to personal and professional reasons. Berry, who played 153 first-class matches in Australia from 1989 to 2004, had been in talks with the PCB for more than a month.Pakistan were looking for a replacement for Steve Rixon, the previous fielding coach who chose not to renew his contract after it expired in June. Berry had emerged as a leading candidate for the post after being endorsed by head coach Mickey Arthur, and official talks between the PCB and Berry began in the third week of June.It is understood Berry was originally due to join the Pakistan team on their tour of Zimbabwe in July, but that was delayed because the PCB’s official procedures took time. The date of Berry’s joining was then pushed to August 25, with the Asia Cup in September set to be his first assignment with the Pakistan team.On the understanding that everything in his contract was principally agreed on to save a few minor tweaks, Berry had let go of a coaching job in the Global T20 Canada. But when faced with more unusual delays from the PCB, he decided to pull out of the discussions. While he won’t be taking up the Pakistan job, Berry has renewed his ties with Islamabad United for the next PSL season, and also retains his Bangladesh Premier League contract.”I’m extremely thankful for the opportunity presented by Mickey Arthur and PCB,” Berry told ESPNcricinfo. “After healthy discussions between the PCB and myself, I have decided that at this point in time with a young family (Berry has three children) that full-time international travel was a bridge too far right now. I will continue to work with Islamabad United in the PSL and will keep an open mind in relation to international coaching opportunities in the future.”Rixon, 64, had his last working day with Pakistan on June 13, when they beat Scotland by 84 runs to seal a two-match T20I series 2-0. Since that game, Pakistan have been without a fielding coach. The PCB did confirm that they have been in talks with Berry and that he was on the verge of being selected for the role, but the deal wasn’t penned down formally. “(There was) no delay,” a PCB official said. “Steve Rixon was contracted to us till end June. We gave an ad that had a deadline of June 27 to hire new coach. After that we were negotiating terms and everything was agreed until he withdrew for personal reasons, but on good terms with PCB.”Berry, a respected name in cricket coaching, had spent four years with South Australia until 2015 and guided them to the 2010-11 Big Bash title, the last before the BBL became a franchise tournament. His luck was different in first-class cricket with the Redbacks finishing last in three out of four seasons.

In more bowler-friendly conditions than Derbyshire’s last home match, the captain stood firm for four-and-a-half hours

ECB Reporters Network04-Sep-2018
ScorecardDerbyshire captain Billy Godleman continued his recent impressive run of form with 95 to steer his side to respectability on the opening day of the Division Two match against Glamorgan at Derby.Godleman, who had scored a century and 71 in his previous four innings, passed 4000 first-class runs for the county as Derbyshire made 251 with their former seamer Graham Wagg taking three wickets.Timm van der Gugten also claimed three wickets and in reply, Glamorgan were 20 without loss when bad light ended play early.Derbyshire’s previous home game had been a batting feast with more than 1300 runs scored but conditions here provided help for the bowlers throughout with the floodlights on from ball one.Given the overcast skies and a green tinged pitch, it was no surprise the toss was uncontested and Tom Lace had already been dropped in the slips before he shouldered arms and lost his off stump to one that came back a long way from van der Gugten.van der Gugten also saw Wayne Madsen put down at point before he had scored in the same over but he clipped Michael Hogan tamely to mid-wicket and when Alex Hughes was caught behind trying to withdraw his bat, Derbyshire were wobbling at 50 for 3.Godleman was beaten several times but showed typical determination along with an awareness of any movement in the media centre to ensure his team posted what looks a competitive total.Gary Wilson shared a stand of 52 but was lbw playing no shot to the last ball of the morning to give David Lloyd his 50th first-class wicket and Matt Critchley batted positively until he played across the line at Hogan.Kieran Bull, in his first game for three years, was rewarded for an impressive spell of controlled offspin when Harvey Hussein was lured down the pitch and after tea was taken early because of rain, former Derbyshire allrounder Wagg had Martin Andersson lbw on his Championship debut following his loan move from Middlesex.Godleman had been in for 270 minutes but with a century beckoning, he dabbed at a wide ball from Wagg and was caught behind.Wagg quickly pinned Lockie Ferguson lbw but Tony Palladino and Ravi Rampaul guided Derbyshire to an unlikely second batting point before Glamorgan were left with 13 overs to negotiate.It was always likely to be an awkward period for the openers but they survived six overs before bad light ended play with Glamorgan 231 runs behind.

The Victoria player, who scored a double-hundred last week, is being treated for mental health-related illness

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Oct-2018Will Pucovski, the highly-rated Victoria batsman who made a double-century in the opening round of the Sheffield Shield, will take an indefinite break from the game for treatment on a mental health-related illness.Pucovski, 20, was withdrawn from the latest round of Shield matches on the eve of Victoria’s game against New South Wales and his state has now confirmed it will be an extended absence.”Will’s health remains our highest priority and Cricket Victoria’s medical staff will continue to provide support to Will during this time,” Cricket Victoria’s doctor Trefor James said.Cricket Victoria general manager Shaun Graf said: “Will is a terrific young player and we need to do what’s best for him at this time. We’ll continue to work with our medical staff to determine the best training and preparation plan to support Will at this time.”Pucovski hit 243 against Western Australia at the WACA, his second first-class century in seven matches, and given Australia’s current batting problems he was already been talked about as a potential option for the Test team.He has previously had to battle a series of concussions during his brief career following a number of blows to the head.

New Zealand were 211 for 5 but the India attack was unable to capitalise on the situation and the hosts declared on 458

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Nov-2018Associated Press

The New Zealand A lower order and tail piled on plenty of runs against an India A attack that features only two frontline bowlers with international experience under their belt. Soon after losing overnight centurion Hamish Rutherford for 114, New Zealand were reduced to 211 for 5 but the India attack was unable to capitalise on the situation and the hosts declared on 458, only nine behind India’s total.Visiting openers Prithvi Shaw and M Vijay were unbeaten in a quick stand of 35 in eight overs, with the Mumbai batsman scoring 33 off 26 with seven fours.Resuming on 176 for 1, New Zealand lost their early wickets to the pace bowlers when Tim Seifert drove to edge one behind off Mohammed Siraj and Rutherford chopped on against Deepak Chahar. Chahar soon had Rachin Ravindra hole out behind square with a bouncer, and when Glenn Phillips was trapped lbw by Navdeep Saini, India looked set to take a healthy lead with the hosts five down and 256 behind.However, Dane Cleaver (53) stitched crucial stands with Doug Bracewell (48) and Kyle Jamieson (30) to take them towards 350. When Cleaver holed out against Saini off a short ball on the off side, they were 346 for 8, but Seth Rance and Blair Tickner frustrated India further with an unbeaten stand of 83 for the last wicket. Rance was unbeaten on 69 off 57 with four fours and as many sixes, and Tickner was on 30* when they declared. K Gowtham chipped in with three wickets but conceded 107 runs in his 42 overs.

Kane Williamson was delighted with the fighting spirit his charges showed as they snatched a dramatic four-run win in the first Test in Abu Dhabi against Pakistan

Danyal Rasool19-Nov-2018Kane Williamson has hailed the astonishing four-run win in Abu Dhabi as New Zealand’s “best in recent memory” and among the best in his career. Speaking just after New Zealand triggered a Pakistan collapse that saw the hosts lose their last six wickets for 24 runs to be bowled out for 171, the New Zealand captain praised the attitude and “fighting attributes” of his side.”Some of the characteristics we hold very dear is our attitude whenever we had to get back into the game, be it with the bat, ball or in the field throughout these four days,” he said. “I think the fighting attributes of this team really shone through, certainly today. It’s important to build on a number of parts to go into the next game, for sure.”It wasn’t just today that the momentum of the game ebbed and flowed. In truth, it had been a match that, across four days, refused to reveal its hand, with no side able to establish a clear advantage over the other. For the most part, it was Pakistan doing the frontrunning, but whenever it appeared they were pulling too far ahead, New Zealand rallied, dragging themselves back into the contest, refusing to lie down.Consider that New Zealand’s 153 was the lowest ever first innings score by any side in Abu Dhabi. When, two sessions into the match, the visitors had been turned over, it looked like the result was already a foregone conclusion, with Pakistan having historically demonstrated the ability to grind opponents into the desert dust. Here, however, Williamson’s men, playing their first Test match in seven months, kept themselves in the contest. 74 was a sizeable first innings lead, but partnerships in the second innings ensured they would leave themselves with enough to play with to have a shot.”It certainly was dramatic,” Williamson reflected. “Throughout the four days, both teams were put under pressure. I think at the end of the day it was a great advertisement for Test cricket. The wicket was challenging and both teams had to fight hard, and certainly Pakistan had the upper hand after day one.”To get through the four days and stay in the match and come out with this result must obviously rank as one of our best wins. In theory it was an old-fashioned Test match, really slow in terms of scoring. The guys had to really fight hard for the runs and that partnership [112 runs between BJ Watling and Henry Nicholls] was huge for us to get a lead, even though it wasn’t a big lead. But it still kept us in the game. I guess when you look back, winning by such a small margin means every contribution in terms of runs scored and runs saved on the field did matter.”It was a game for partnerships, with one wicket triggering several more on numerous occasions. That meant those pairings that did find a way to spend quality time at the crease made crucial, and in New Zealand’s case, match winning contributions. Of the 402 runs the visitors aggregated over two innings, 270 came across just three partnerships. It was up to the specialist batsmen to make they key difference in the most testing of conditions; only 136 runs were scored by the last five wickets across the four innings, the lowest of any match since 1980.”We saw the nature of how wickets fell in clumps,” Williamson said. “I’m not sure why it was challenging to start as a batsman, and we knew if you’re able to keep the pressure on, who knows what might happen? This game was very close and you can reflect on how you do so many little things differently depending on which side of the result you’re on, but at the end of the day it was a great game.”It certainly was, prompting many to gush about the state of Test cricket, and the value of the format at a time when it is in increasing danger of being marginalised. But across in the other dressing room, Pakistan will draw little consolation about the fillip this match provided to a format that, just two years ago, they were ranked the best in the world in.

The hosts have spent 167.2 overs on the field but their batsmen still have to dig deep and show character if they are to survive in Sydney

Alagappan Muthu03-Jan-2019
4:44

Martyn: Pujara’s centuries take the pressure off Kohli

Sydney offered runs to India and misery to Australia as Cheteshwar Pujara amassed 193, Rishabh Pant cruised to 159*, Nathan Lyon complained about his team’s tactics and the three 140 kph quicks were bowled into the ground.So complete was India’s hold over the final Test match – and by extension the Border-Gavaskar Trophy – that they had Usman Khawaja – a man who’d only ever bowled one over in his life as an Australian cricketer – lobbing his harmless offspin soon after the tea break.Mitchell Starc was stuck on 199 Test wickets. Pat Cummins was down on pace. Josh Hazlewood was left waiting for the third new ball. And Australia suffered an 11th instance of being out on the field for 100 overs or more since January 2018. That is not a nice stat. The key stats on the day, anyway, seemed reserved for India, from Pujara facing 1258 deliveries – the fourth-highest by any batsman in a series not longer than four Tests – to Pant becoming the first Indian wicketkeeper to score a century down under.Rishabh Pant congratulates Cheteshwar Pujara after the latter’s 193•Getty Images

Even the man who didn’t trouble the number crunchers did well. Hanuma Vihari looks a safe bet at No. 6 for India, scoring 42 off 96 balls, and was only dislodged from the crease after a slightly contentious catch at short leg. He was judged out on the field. His review was immediate. He indicated the ball had gone off the forearm. The bowler Lyon too appeared to agree as he joined his team-mates to wait on DRS but snicko suggested a spike as the ball passed the top edge of the sweeping bat.Those kinds of shots were more the norm on the second day of the New Year’s Test. Even the phlegmatic Pujara began with an expansive cover drive and later went past 150 with a down-the-track lash through the same region. India’s No. 3 made 51 runs in 82 deliveries this morning and looked set to make his third double-century against Australia but Lyon managed to hoodwink him as he came out of his crease to secure a return catch.That left the stage open to the antics of a 21-year old in his first year of Test cricket. Pant has found stardom with his stump mic cameos. He may also be the most famous babysitter in the world – without actually doing any babysitting. And the day job’s going pretty well too. India already had 329 runs on the board when he came to the crease. He could easily have started throwing his bat around for some quick runs. No one would have blamed him; they might even have celebrated it as the perfect kind of innings from a No. 7.But that only applies to wicketkeepers for whom batting is their second string. Pant doesn’t belong in that box. He has all the shots. Too many shots. There have been times in the past when he indulges once too often and gets out. Remember the two 92s against West Indies last year? So – as if his resolution for 2019 was to show more responsibility – he played like Pujara with Pujara at the other end. Sure, the runs came at rapid pace, but there weren’t too many risks. In fact, through the first 100 deliveries that he faced, there were only five shots hit in the air.That restraint has served Pant well. He now has 350 runs in this series – which is more than Virat Kohli’s tally. It is more than MS Dhoni’s tally combining all three of his tours to Australia.There was plenty of merry-making in the last session of the day with Ravindra Jadeja participating in a seventh-wicket stand that produced 204 runs in only 224 balls, the peak of which was an over when the left-hander crashed Cummins – bowling at 130 kph – to the boundary four times in a single over. His dismissal for 81 off 114 deliveries triggered India’s declaration. With 622 on the board, their bowlers had 10 overs to further torture Australia before the safety of stumps. They would have struck in the third over, with Mohammed Shami drawing Khawaja’s outside edge, but Pant dropped a straightforward catch.Australia managed to keep all their wickets but very little is well with them. Simon Katich said the system was setting players up to fail, pointing to the case of Aaron Finch having to open the batting at Test level when he doesn’t do so for his state. Shane Warne rubbished the team they had picked to play the one-day series against India. Discontent appears to be brewing even within the team with Lyon questioning why the team had to bowl bouncers soon after drinks on the first day when the pitch – at least back then – had enough moisture to keep pitching it up.There are still three days left in the Sydney Test. Conditions are glorious for batting. Australia’s batsmen have to stand up and show their character and earn a draw. Only a draw won’t be enough for them. It would still mean they’d lose their first Test series at home to India.