All posts by n8rngtd.top

Race for TIer-1 promotion also got spiced up after Barishal were all out for only 54 in big defeat against Chattogram

Mohammad Isam05-Nov-2023Dhaka Division strengthened their Tier-1 lead after beating defending champions Rangpur Division by ten wickets in Cox’s Bazar. They moved to 28 points, fourteen clear of second-placed Dhaka Metropolis, while Rangpur languish in bottom place with just eight points.Salauddin Sakil was Dhaka’s star performer with eight wickets. Rangpur were bowled out for 158 runs in 67 overs on the first day, with Sakil taking six wickets in the first innings. Dhaka took a 163-run lead when they replied with 321 runs. They however slipped to 87 for six before Nadif and Nazmul Islam added 123 runs for the seventh wicket. When Nadif fell on 93, Dhaka were 242 for eight, but Sumon Khan struck his third first-class fifty as their lead swelled to more than 150. Sumon and Anamul Haque added 57 runs for the ninth wicket.Left-arm spinner Nazmul followed up his batting contribution with a six-wicket haul in Rangpur’s reply in the third innings. They were bowled out for 178 runs, with Anik Sarker making 69. Apart from Nazmul’s 6-56, Sakil and Taibur Rahman took two each. Dhaka then took 3.2 overs to complete the 16-run chase on the third day.While the bowlers dominated in one ground in Cox’s Bazar, the other ground was a run-fest. Dhaka Metropolis drew their match with Sylhet Division with double-centuries from Shadman Islam and Naeem Islam coming in a marathon third-wicket partnership.Shadman top scored with a career-best 250, his second double-century in first-class cricket. His previous double-hundred was in March this year, also at the Cox’s Bazar venue. He added 434 runs for the third wicket with Naeem, who made 221. This is the highest third-wicket stand in Bangladesh, the previous one being the 326 runs between Darren Bravo and Marlon Samuels in Khulna in 2012. It is also the second highest stand in Bangladesh for any wicket.This was also Naeem’s second double-century, the last one coming six years ago. He struck 23 fours and five sixes in his nine hours stay at the crease. Shadman batted for three minutes short of six hours, hitting 28 fours and a six in his 437-ball stay.Sylhet responded to Dhaka Metro’s 601 for 5 declared with 494 runs in the following two days. Shamsur Rahman reached his 22nd first-class century while Tawfique Khan, Zakir Hasan, Jaker Ali, Sahanur Rahman and Abu Jayed struck fifties. There was just enough time for Dhaka Metro to bat 23 overs, in which Mohammad Naim and Zahiduzzaman struck unbeaten fifties.

Tier 2: Promotion race heats up

The race for promotion to Tier-1 has truly warmed up after Chattogram Division crushed Barishal Division by 300 runs in Sylhet. They bowled out Barishal for 54 runs in the fourth innings, their lowest total of all time. This was Chattogram’s third win this season, the first time since 2011-12 that they have won at least three matches in the season.They set up the game with 298 runs batting first, with Parvez Hossain and Mominul Haque getting out in the eighties. Barishal were bowled out for 200 runs in reply, with offspinner Nayeem Hasan and Fahad Hossain taking three wickets each.Mominul got out in the eighties for a second time as Chattogram declared on 256 for 9 in their second innings. Barishal however had no answer to Chattogram’s bowling in the fourth innings, getting bowled out for 54. Only Shamsul Islam got to double-figure, top scoring with ten runs. Nayeem took 5-21, while Fahad and Ifran Hossain took two each.Khulna Division trounced Rajshahi Division by an innings and 109 runs in Sylhet. They are equal to Chattogram with 25 points in Tier-2 points table, as both sides now go toe-to-toe for Tier-1 promotion next season.Khulna banked on centuries from Imrul Kayes and Nurul Hasan to post 472 in 135.2 overs, in reply to Rajshahi’s 185 all out in the first innings. Imrul and Nurul however didn’t bat with each other in the innings. Imrul added 151 runs for the opening stand with Anamul Haque, who made 73. Soumya Sarkar then struck 86, adding 83 runs with Imrul who made 115 with twelve fours and two sixes.Nurul carried Khulna’s batting from 249 for 4 to 472 all out, making 125 off 18 balls with twelve fours and two sixes. Sunzamul Islam and Taijul Islam took four wickets each. Rajshahi were then bowled out for 178 runs in the second innings, with Al-Amin Hossain taking a five-wicket haul. Nahidul Islam picked up three wickets too.

All the vacant slots in the five squads have been filled at the Saturday auction in Mumbai

S Sudarshanan09-Dec-20231:02

Edwards ‘shocked’ at Athapaththu going unsold

Delhi Capitals

Squad strength: 18 (6 overseas)
Players bought: Annabel Sutherland (INR 2 crore), Aparna Mondal (INR 10 lakh), Ashwani Kumari (INR 10 lakh)
Auction performance: Even before the inaugural WPL, Capitals had a very strong squad. The only perceived shortcoming was a back-up wicketkeeper to Taniya Bhatia. They had released wicketkeeper Aparna Mondal, who they brought back at base price. Not opting for Uma Chetry, the Assam player who can score quickly, might be a missed opportunity.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Capitals managed to get Australia allrounder Annabel Sutherland after an intense bidding war with Mumbai Indians, which can be considered a win. She is a reliable option in case Marizanne Kapp needs to be rested, and is, in any case, a strong all-round option in the squad.Full squad: Alice Capsey*, Arundhati Reddy, Jemimah Rodrigues, Jess Jonassen*, Laura Harris*, Marizanne Kapp*, Meg Lanning*, Minnu Mani, Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav, Shafali Verma, Shikha Pandey, Sneha Deepthi, Taniya Bhatia, Titas Sadhu, Annabel Sutherland*, Aparna Mondal, Ashwani Kumari

Gujarat Giants

Squad strength: 18 (6 overseas)
Players bought: Phoebe Litchfield (INR 1 crore), Meghna Singh (INR 30 lakh), Trisha Poojitha (INR 10 lakh), Kashvee Gautam (INR 2 crore), Priya Mishra (INR 20 lakh), Lauren Cheatle (INR 30 lakh), Kathryn Bryce (INR 10 lakh), Mannat Kashyap (INR 10 lakh), Veda Krishnamurthy (INR 30 lakh), Tarannum Pathan (INR 10 lakh)
Auction performance: Giants will be satisfied with how their squad looks on paper – multiple all-round options plus a gun batter and an express fast bowler in Kashvee Gautam. That they opted for Phoebe Litchfield over Chamari Athapaththu reflects their batting worries from WPL 2023 and a bid to rectify that with a solid player.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Opting for Scotland allrounder Kathryn Bryce, an associate player, gives them the opportunity to play five overseas players in the XI. Veda Krishnamurthy’s return, a surprise, gives them experience in the middle order.Full squad: Ashleigh Gardner*, Beth Mooney*, Dayalan Hemalatha, Harleen Deol, Laura Wolvaardt*, Shabnam Shakil, Sneh Rana, Tanuja Kanwar, Phoebe Litchfield*, Meghna Singh, Trisha Poojitha, Kashvee Gautam, Priya Mishra, Lauren Cheatle*, Kathryn Bryce*, Mannat Kashyap, Veda Krishnamurthy, Tarannum Pathan

Mumbai Indians

Squad strength: 18 (6 overseas)
Players bought: Shabnim Ismail (INR 1.2 crore), S Sajana (INR 15 lakh), Amandeep Kaur (INR 10 lakh), Fatima Jaffer (INR 10 lakh), Keerthana Balakrishnan (INR 10 lakh)
Auction performance: Mumbai went all out to get Shabnim Ismail on board, likely as a back-up to Issy Wong. They also wanted to get a big-ticket allrounder, but lost Sutherland to Capitals.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Wristspinner Amandeep Kaur adds the surprise element, given there are not many of her ilk in the women’s circuit. Already a strong, title-winning outfit, Mumbai have added more bowling options in Fatima Jaffer and Keerthana Balakrishnan.Full squad: Amanjot Kaur, Amelia Kerr*, Chloe Tryon*, Harmanpreet Kaur, Hayley Matthews*, Humaira Kazi, Issy Wong*, Jintimani Kalita, Nat Sciver-Brunt*, Pooja Vastrakar, Priyanka Bala, Saika Ishaque, Yastika Bhatia, Shabnim Ismail*, S Sajana, Amandeep Kaur, Fatima Jaffer, Keerthana Balakrishnan

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Squad strength: 18 (6 overseas)
Players bought: Georgia Wareham (INR 40 lakh), Kate Cross (30 lakh), Ekta Bisht (INR 60 lakh), Shubha Satheesh (INR 10 lakh), S Meghana (INR 30 lakh), Simran Bahadur (INR 30 lakh), Sophie Molineux (INR 30 lakh)
Auction performance: Georgia Wareham is a like-for-like replacement for Dane van Niekerk – a legspinner who can hit big in the lower-middle order. Having released Megan Schutt, Kate Cross is a safe option for RCB with all her experience of having played in India.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

With Ekta Bisht and Sophie Molineux in the mix, RCB’s desire to have reliable left-arm spin – in place of the released Preeti Bose and Sahana Pawar – has been fulfilled.Full squad: Asha Shobana, Disha Kasat, Ellyse Perry*, Heather Knight*, Indrani Roy, Kanika Ahuja, Renuka Singh, Richa Ghosh, Shreyanka Patil, Smriti Mandhana, Sophie Devine*, Georgia Wareham*, Kate Cross*, Ekta Bisht, Shubha Satheesh, S Meghana, Simran Bahadur, Sophie Molineux*

UP Warriorz

Squad strength: 18 (6 overseas)
Players bought: Danni Wyatt (INR 30 lakh), Vrinda Dinesh (INR 1.3 crore), Poonam Khemnar (INR 10 lakh), Saima Thakor (INR 10 lakh), Gouher Sultana (INR 10 lakh)
Auction performance: Managed to get Danni Wyatt at her base price, a steal just like Alyssa Healy was at the last auction. Indian batting options were clearly on their mind after WPL 2023, which explains them shelling out big bucks for Vrinda Dinesh. Gouher Sultana is an experienced back-up for Rajeshwari Gayakwad.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Warriorz came into the auction with the second-biggest purse and were left with the most unusued money after the auction. Their approach to getting in more batting options was baffling especially because they had released Ismail.Full squad: Alyssa Healy*, Anjali Sarvani, Deepti Sharma, Grace Harris*, Kiran Navgire, Lauren Bell*, Laxmi Yadav, Parshavi Chopra, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, S Yashasri, Shweta Sehrawat, Sophie Ecclestone*, Tahlia McGrath*, Danni Wyatt*, Vrinda Dinesh, Poonam Khemnar, Saima Thakor, Gouher Sultana

The pitch deteriorated a bit faster than expected, the England captain said

S Sudarshanan16-Dec-2023England captain Heather Knight called the conditions for the one-off women’s Test against India “extreme” and said she “would be surprised” if they get those in the T20 World Cup 2024 in Bangladesh and the ODI World Cup 2025 in India.”These conditions were really extreme; we have never seen that sort of spin before, that sort of dryness in the pitch,” Knight said after England’s record 347-run loss at the DY Patil Stadium. “In the main formats we play – T20 and 50 overs – we are not going to get as much [turn] as that.”Previously our issues against spin have been more [around] the ball not spinning. You’d look at the wickets Ash Gardner took in the Ashes, there weren’t many that spun. My dismissal that spun but a lot was outside edge and balls that didn’t spin.Related

• The Deepti Sharma show wipes England out in seven sessions

• Muzumdar: Deepti is the 'Ben Stokes of the team'

• Stats – Deepti's magnificent double, and a record win for India

• The cornerstones of the England women's cricket team

“These conditions were extreme, and I’d be surprised if we face those again unless we play another Test in India in the near future, which I am not sure is in the plan. We want to get better in conditions we might face in Bangladesh. Spin does dominate in the women’s game, and if we can improve that it will give us a big advantage.”Opting to bat first, India posted 428 – they were 410 for 7 on day one scoring at more than four an over – with four batters scoring half-centuries. But when England batted in the afternoon, they lost 7 for 28 with offspinner Deepti Sharma picking up 5 for 7 in just 5.3 overs. England were bowled out for 136 and 131.”[The pitch] probably deteriorated a bit faster than we expected,” she said. “[It was] reasonably good in the first innings to bat on. The spin was quite extreme. We bowled pretty well on the first day with two wickets. A few nicks that did not carry, that can be soul-destroying for some of those fast bowlers when your best ball doesn’t carry to slips.”We identified that the wobble ball was really effective and tried to get as much out of that as we can. It seamed a little bit more because the pitch deteriorated and when it spins it does seam a little bit as well.”Deepti picked up nine wickets in the match – her four-for following her five-wicket haul in the first innings – to go with her half-century. On the contrary, England’s prime spinner Sophie Ecclestone had an off game and picked up only five wickets across the innings.England were bowled out for 136 and 131 in their two innings•BCCI

Knight said that the rough patch outside the right-handers’ off made it a tad easier for offspinners – England’s Charlie Dean picked up four wickets in the second innings – which was not the case for left-arm spinners to right-handers. India’s Rajeshwari Gayakwad also returned only two wickets and bowled just 11.3 overs in the match.”The way Deepti bowled, she was very threatening,” she said. “The offspinners for both teams felt more threatening because there was a lot more deterioration of the pitch. The left-armers to right handers had to bowl more in the less trafficked areas, so it was harder to get sharp spin. She bowled well and a very attacking line and made it very attacking line and made it tricky for us.”Sophie is coming back from a surgery and the expectation on her is so high. She is so brilliant, she is the best spinner in the world. The expectation from our side and also from herself – she puts a lot of expectation on herself – which is why she is so good. It was hard for her.”When she was bowling to the right-handers, she was bowling on the best part of the pitch that hasn’t had a lot of traffic on. The threat was more to the left-arm spinners to the left-handers, which she bowled very well to.”

Happy with how the T20 side is shaping, says Knight

England had won the T20I series 2-1 before a two-day turnaround for the Test match. They won the first and second matches before being undone by spin in the final T20I. Knight said the exposure young batters in the side got would keep them in good stead ahead of the T20 World Cup next year in Bangladesh.”The T20 World Cup in Bangladesh is the big focus for us,” she said. “The way we played the first two T20Is, the first in particular, was brilliant for us. The T20 side is coming together for us very well. The last T20I we exposed some young players to those conditions, having won the series and with the Test match coming up.”For the younger players to play in these conditions, but also being in India, it is a different place to tour. You have more time in hotels. The humidity [can get to you]. It’s a good place to learn. T20 World Cup in Bangladesh is the next time we get a chance to play in these conditions.”

Pakistan defended 134 in Christchurch as New Zealand lost 6 for 19 against spin

Ashish Pant21-Jan-20242:09

Shaheen: ‘Main aim of series was to build for T20 World Cup’

After four crushing losses, Pakistan had something to smile about at the end of a tough tour as they defended 134 to take the final T20I against New Zealand by 42 runs and keep the series scoreline to 4-1.Pakistan captain Shaheen Shah Afridi at the toss reckoned that on a used Christchurch surface spin was likely to play a role. He was proved right as Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz and Usama Mir combined to pick six wickets to bundle New Zealand out for 92, their second-lowest total on home soil.Batting first, Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman got 30s but most of the Pakistan batters suffered on a two-paced track to reach 134 for 8 in their 20 overs. New Zealand started the chase brightly, but the Pakistan spinners orchestrated a middle-overs collapse. Iftikhar led the way with 3 for 24, while Nawaz and Mir picked up frugal two-wicket hauls each as New Zealand were bowled out in 17.2 overs.

New Zealand struggle from the get-goFinn Allen started the chase brightly, smashing Afridi for a four around deep midwicket and then going one better against Nawaz in the same region. But, Rachin Ravindra, slotted into this game for Daryl Mitchell, failed to get going as he sliced Nawaz to short third for 1.Allen struck two more crisp fours off Afridi before falling to Zaman Khan, his miscued attempt taken well by debutant Haseebullah Khan diving forward at mid-on. The powerplay ended on 35 for 2.Iftikhar Ahmed trapped Tim Seifert lbw•Getty Images

Pakistan apply the spin choke

Once it got clear that the surface was aiding spin, Afridi went on an all-out spin squeeze. With the required rate climbing, Will Young tried to break the shackles by looking to slog sweep Nawaz. His attempt only reached as far as Iftikhar at deep backward square leg, who completed the catch on the second attempt.The day went from bad to worse for Mark Chapman. He dropped Babar Azam twice in the first innings, and was run out for 1. This was before Iftikhar ended Tim Seifert’s difficult innings of 19. He went for a reverse sweep to a straight ball, missed and was trapped right in front, with Pakistan’s review confirming the ball would have smashed into the middle pole.Mir then had Mitchell Santner caught and bowled while Iftikhar removed Matt Henry and Ish Sodhi in the same over as New Zealand collapsed from 53 for 2 to 72 for 8 in the space of 32 balls.Glenn Phillips tried his best to take New Zealand closer but with eight wickets down, it was a bridge too far even for the man in form. Afridi finished off the game with two wickets in two balls as Pakistan won with 2.4 overs to spare.

A powerplay to forget for Pakistan

Haseebullah Khan had a dream PSL debut season in 2023, where he walloped a 29-ball 50 against Karachi Kings . The same can’t be said about his T20I debut, which lasted all of three balls and ended with him advancing and getting a leading edge on an ungainly swipe to point. Pakistan took 11 balls to get their innings rolling and got their first boundary in the fourth over, courtesy Rizwan, but Babar struggled big time. He could only manage 4 off 15 in the powerplay with Pakistan crawling to 29 for 1 after the six overs.

A brief revival and another middle-order collapse

Sodhi put Babar out of his misery for a 24-ball 13 when he slogged a tossed-up wrong’un straight to Phillips at deep midwicket.With 53 for 2 after ten, Pakistan needed some impetus to get the innings flowing. That was provided by Fakhar. He laid into Lockie Ferguson, tonking him for two sixes before crashing Sodhi for a four and a six the next over. Southee returned and was taken for another six by Fakhar, but the bowler had the last laugh. The left-handed batter failed to pick a slower offcutter and could only mistime his heave to long-off to fall for a 16-ball 33.Nawaz came and went before Henry sent Rizwan packing for a run-ball-38, his swing across the line only travelling as far as deep square leg. Iftikhar then clubbed Henry straight to mid-off as Pakistan lost 4 for 16 in 22 balls.Abbas Afridi came in at No. 9 and hammered two sixes to take Pakistan past the 130-mark. For New Zealand, Southee, Henry, Ferguson and Sodhi managed two wickets apiece.

Zalmi will take on the winner of the first eliminator on Saturday in a bid to make the final

Associated Press15-Mar-2024Multan Sultans breezed into their fourth straight Pakistan Super League final by defeating Peshawar Zalmi by seven wickets in a lopsided qualifier on Thursday.Sultans won the event in 2021 before losing to Lahore Qalandars in the finals of the last two editions.Babar Azam-led Zalmi will get another opportunity for a place in Monday’s final when they take on the winner of the eliminator between Islamabad United and Quetta Gladiators on Saturday.Opening batter Yasir Khan (54) and the in-form Usman Khan (36*) powered Sultans to 147-3 in 18.3 overs after Zalmi were restricted to below-par 146-7.In the absence of Afghanistan fast bowler Naveen-ul-Haq, who was ruled out of the playoffs because of his international commitment, Zalmi’s bowlers struggled to defend a small total.Yasir provided a dominant opening stand of 61 with captain Mohammad Rizwan (15) and raised a match-wining half-century off 30 balls. Left-arm spinner Mehran Mumtaz (1-28) couldn’t make an impact in the power play but he finally had Yasir caught off his own bowling, in the 11th over, during his return spell.Usman, who became the first batter in PSL history to score two centuries in one season, was hardly troubled by pace, and Iftikhar Ahmed finished off the game with a quick-fire 22 off eight balls.Earlier, Zalmi struggled against pace and spin after Babar won the toss and elected to bat. David Willey had danger-man Saim Ayub caught at deep square leg in the first over and Mohammad Haris’ (22) below-par tournament continued when he edged fast bowler Mohammad Ali inside the power play.Babar, the tournament’s leading run-scorer, top-scored with 46 off 42 balls but spinners Usama Mir (2-16) and Ahmed (0-9) stifled the batters in the middle overs.Chris Jordan (2-28) had Babar clean bowled off a pacy yorker in the 13th over and the Englishman tied down batters in the death overs with his variations as Peshawar could score only 38 runs off the final five overs.

The value of the contracts and other details have not been made public yet

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Mar-2024Cricket Namibia has announced professional contracts for ten women’s cricketers, making it the first sports governing body in the country to have contracts for both its men’s and women’s national teams. The contracts were negotiated and signed in February but announced only on Tuesday.”For the first time, we have been able to professionalise the women’s game. This is a significant moment for sports in the country. It’s the first time ladies have been signed on contracts where cricket is their occupation,” Cricket Namibia chief executive Johan Muller said in statement published by the ICC. “Ten ladies now have the opportunity to support their households by pursuing their passion. We want to thank Capricorn Group [the sponsors of the women’s team] and everyone involved.”The value of the contracts and other details have not been made public.The contracted players are: Kayleen Green, Sune Wittmann, Arrasta Diergaardt, Edelle van Zyl, Bianca Manuel, Irene van Zyl, Wilka Mwatile, Mekelaye Mwatile, Naomi Benjamin and Saima Tuhadeleni.The Namibia women’s team, called “Capricorn Eagles”, are currently 17th in the ICC Women’s T20I team rankings, their best position to date. They were most recently in action at the African Games, where they won just one of their group-stage games and failed to qualify for the semi-finals.Since receiving T20I status in 2018, Namibia have participated in 72 international matches, winning 44 of them. In 2019, they represented the Africa region in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier but did not advance to the main event in 2020.

CSK batting coach says Dhoni “keeps his cards very, very close to his chest” when asked if he would be back next year

ESPNcricinfo staff16-May-20241:19

Hussey: We are hoping MS Dhoni keeps going

Is this going to be MS Dhoni’s last IPL season?Michael Hussey, Chennai Super Kings’ batting coach, has little idea but he is hoping Dhoni carries on for “another couple of years”.”Your guess is as good as mine at this stage,” Hussey said on ESPN’s Around the Wicket show when asked if Dhoni would be back next year. “He keeps his cards very, very close to his chest. We are hoping he does keep going.Related

• CSK CEO 'very, very hopeful' of Dhoni playing IPL 2025

• Gaikwad the captain faces his sternest test yet

• Fleming: We know what Dhoni can give them, and we'll max that out

• Dhoni of old unleashes no-holds-barred approach in new role

• The CSK transition from Dhoni to Gaikwad

“He is still batting so well. He does prepare well – he gets into the camp very early and hits a lot of balls. He has been in good touch all season really. I guess we just got to try to manage him from the body side of things. He had a knee surgery after the last season. So he has been managing that from the initial stage of the tournament.”From a personal point of view, I hope he keeps going for another couple of years. But we will just have to wait and see. He is the only one who will make that call. And he likes to sort of build the drama a little bit as well. So I wouldn’t expect a decision anytime soon.”Because of the knee surgery, CSK have been managing Dhoni’s workload. He comes out to face only a handful of deliveries. Against Punjab Kings, he even batted at No. 9. Despite that, he has been able to make an impact. In ten innings, he has scored 136 runs at a strike rate of 226.66.”I know fans probably want to see him batting a little bit higher in the order,” Hussey said, “but that [the knee surgery] is why we have had to manage him a little bit and he only comes in at the back end. But there has been no one better in being able to come in and hit the ball so cleanly from ball one than MS. He has been phenomenal.”MS Dhoni has been around to guide Ruturaj Gaikwad•Associated Press

At the start of the season, Dhoni caught many, including Hussey, by surprise when he handed over the captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad. But the transition has been smooth as Gaikwad was already being groomed for the role. Plus, Dhoni is also around to help him.”MS sort of announced that he was not going to be attending the pre-tournament captains meeting. And we’re like, ‘Oh, no. What’s going on?’,” Hussey said. “He said Ruturaj was going to be captain from then on. So it was a little bit of a shock to start with but it has been managed really well.”I know Stephen Fleming [head coach] had been working closely with Ruturaj in the lead-up to the tournament. In fact, he has been grooming him for a couple of years now. We have sort of known for a little while that he was the right man to take over the job when MS decided to step aside.”MS wanted to still be here while the new captain took over, to try to help him along the way and sort of mentor him a little bit. So that’s worked really well as well. And obviously, Stephen Fleming is a great role model for him [Gaikwad] as well. So it’s been quite seamless actually.”Under Gaikwad’s leadership, CSK have won seven out of 13 games so far. They are currently third on the points table and a win against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Saturday will assure a playoffs spot. Gaikwad himself has played a key role with bat. With 583 runs at a strike rate of 141.50, he is the second-highest run-getter in the league at the moment.”He is a great guy, Ruturaj, very calm,” Hussey said. “He is a good thinker of the game. I mean it was always going to be a massive challenge for him, you know, how do you follow someone like MS Dhoni – it was going to be tough. But he has done a great job. He has been really calm and measured on the field. I think he will just get better and better the more he does it and the more support we keep around him.”From my point of view, the pleasing thing is, it has not affected his batting at all either. He has performed extremely well with the bat. So it has been really good so far.”