All posts by n8rngtd.top

Lewis smashes Gayle's records for a six

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Sampath Bandarupalli16-Sep-20214 – St Kitts & Nevis Patriots became the fourth franchise to win the CPL title, after Jamaica Tallawahs (2013 and 2016), Barbados Royals (2014 and 2019) and Trinbago Knight Riders (2015, 2017, 2018 and 2020).160 – The target scaled down by the Patriots in the final. It is the highest successful chase in a CPL final, surpassing the 155 by Knight Riders against St Lucia Zouks (as they were known then) in 2020.ESPNcricinfo Ltd38 – The sixes tally of Evin Lewis across 11 innings this season, the most by a player in a single edition. Chris Gayle held the previous record when he hit 37 sixes for Jamaica Tallawahs in their victorious 2016 season. Lewis’ 426 runs are also the most for Patriots in a single season, going past Gayle’s 376 runs in 2017.4.37 – Sunil Narine’s economy rate in CPL 2021. It is the second-best economy for a bowler who has bowled in at least 10 innings in a T20 tournament. He betters Boyd Rankin’s economy of 4.25 at the 2012 World T20 Qualifier. While Narine tops the list of best economy rates in a CPL season, his teammate Akeal Hosein’s 4.92 this year is the second-best.ESPNcricinfo Ltd5 – The five CPL titles Dwayne Bravo has won is the most for anyone. His half-brother Darren Bravo comes next with four title wins. Dwayne Bravo was the winning skipper in four CPL finals – 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2021. No other captain has won more than two CPL titles.15 – The number of T20 titles Dwayne Bravo has won. It’s the joint-most by any player, alongside Kieron Pollard. Wednesday’s finale was Bravo’s 500th T20 appearance. He is the second player to achieve this feat after Pollard.67 – Roston Chase’ impact score as per ESPNCricinfo’s Smart Stats, the highest this CPL. His batting impact was second overall after Evin Lewis while in terms of bowling impact he was the fourth best spinner.ESPNcricinfo Ltd18 – Smart wickets, another ESPNcricinfo metric, picked up by Imran Tahir. Tahir’s 13 wickets were valued at 18 as he picked up crucial wickets through the tournament that helped Guyana Amazon Warriors turn matches around.225 – It’s the highest total impact score in a single game. Romario Shepherd’s 72 runs from 31 balls and his three wickets for 24 runs against Jamica Tallawahs was the most impactful performance in a CPL game. The next best was Chase against Guyana Amazon Warriors had an impact score of 175.

Hayden Kerr's journey from 'deer in the headlights' to BBL bowling star

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

The left-arm seamer is currently Sydney Sixers’ leading wicket-taker and has his eyes on the IPL

Tristan Lavalette09-Jan-2022After such a stop-start career, which was at the crossroads a year ago due to another injury setback, breakout Sydney Sixers player Hayden Kerr remains unsure if he’s a bowling or batting allrounder.”I don’t know what I am anymore,” he laughed having climbed the junior ranks as a left-arm pace bowler before injuries forced him to focus on batting while playing grade cricket for Sydney University. “It all depends on what the game needs.”Such is his emergence in this season’s BBL, where he is the fourth highest wicket-taker with 15 scalps at an average of 9.73 and economy of 6.95, perhaps Kerr has his answer. Although his aggressive right-handed batting hasn’t been greatly needed for two-time defending champion Sixers, where he’s positioned at No. 8.Kerr, 25, did provide a glimpse of his big-hitting talent when he calmly iced the game in the last over against Adelaide Strikers at the SCG after smashing a short delivery from Peter Siddle over midwicket for six.Related

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He had earlier turned heads last November when he compiled a rapid half-century for New South Wales against Victoria in his Sheffield Shield debut. While it might be debatable where his proficiency lies, the overall talent is quite obvious and Kerr’s potential is being realised during his spectacular BBL season to such a degree that he could attract interest at the upcoming IPL auction.”I want to throw my name in the ring for the IPL,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “I had mid-to-long term goals but [success in] the BBL might have accelerated them.”Maybe Kerr was destined for something special being from Bowral, where he lived across the road from Bradman Oval. “It was never forced on me but cricket was the only sport I was good at,” he said. “I naturally grew up congregating at Bradman Oval with friends and playing in the nets after school.”A stress fracture in his back at 18 curtailed his promising career and forced him to instead concentrate on batting to keep his position with Sydney University. “I always had something go wrong with my body but I started practicing batting every day and eventually became an opener in white ball cricket,” he said.Kerr’s dynamic batting prowess was noted by Sixers and he was given a run early in the BBL’s 2019-20 season, including opening the batting once. But he scored just 25 runs from four innings and only bowled three overs without claiming a wicket.”I felt like a deer in the headlights when I first played BBL,” Kerr said. “There were just so many things going on I couldn’t even focus on the ball.”

Hitting the six [against Strikers] was another breakthrough moment and a culmination that I can do it. I felt very calm. That’s one of my biggest improvements – having composure out in the middle.Hayden Kerr

Still his initiation provided a springboard for Kerr who hoped for a more sustained run the following season. But in late 2020 in Hobart, while preparing for the BBL season, Kerr suffered a pectoral tear prompting home truths from Sixers senior physiotherapist Danny Redrup and physical performance coach Ross Herridge.”They recognised that I could take my cricket further,” he said. “It was good of them to give me a push. The suggestion was to take the punt and get time off work, live uncomfortably and find some cricket elsewhere. I was always dedicated and in the gym and hitting the nets every day but something wasn’t clicking. I needed to play more cricket.”Five months later, Kerr decided to make a move and shelved his job as a mobile physiotherapist to join the T20 Strike League in the Northern Territory kick-starting a busy off-season where he played in three states ahead of a pivotal summer.”I felt comfortable with my game and fitness heading into this season but I was anxious about getting selected because I had put it on the line spending six months on the road,” he said.His hard work was rewarded and a couple of key performances instilled belief for the increasingly confident Kerr who is now contracted by NSW. “Doing well in the Shield was nice to prove to myself and my team-mates that I belong,” he said about his debut marked by an unbeaten 62 and three wickets overall. “I gained the trust of my team-mates which I didn’t have before.Hayden Kerr made an impression on his Sheffield Shield debut earlier this season•Getty Images”Hitting the six [against Strikers] was another breakthrough moment and a culmination that I can do it. I felt very calm. That’s one of my biggest improvements – having composure out in the middle.”It was a clutch shot Kerr had been practicing for months knowing an opportunity with star-studded Sixers would likely see him bat down the order. “I’m trying to get better at the finisher role,” he said. “It’s really difficult trying to clear massive boundaries which I’m not used to. But I think my versatility is my strength as I can bat throughout the order.”It’s been the powerfully-built Kerr’s nippy and accurate pace bowling which has really caught the eye and he’s now established as a key cog in Sixers’ strong attack. With their pace stocks depleted heading into the season, a fit and firing Kerr sensed an opening and grabbed it with both hands.”I’ve been able to string together six months of bowling. I had never been able to do that before,” he said. “There are batters who haven’t seen me before which has helped. But I will have to keep adapting and keep one step ahead, which you need to be in T20s.”Part of NSW’s renowned production line of quicks, Kerr has had invaluable mentoring through the years and once gained pearls of wisdom rooming with Pat Cummins for a week.”Pat was so giving of his time, they all are. You learn so much,” he said. “To play with Sean Abbott…he’s setting the benchmark and is the perfect template for an allrounder.”Set to be without a contract in any form of cricket, Kerr is about to become an intriguing free agent as recruiters worldwide start taking note of his improving allround skills.”I always thought I could get there eventually,” he said. “I just took a longer path than most.”

Mahmudul Hasan Joy – perhaps the solution to one of Bangladesh cricket's biggest problems

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

The opener’s 137 in Durban was an exercise in patience, sticking to the plan, and great mental strength

Mohammad Isam02-Apr-2022Mahmudul Hasan Joy was born in Chandpur on November 13, 2000, the same day Bangladesh crashed to 91 all out and lost their inaugural Test in Dhaka, some 115 kilometres away to the north.It was an uplifting time, Bangladesh had just become the ICC’s tenth Full Member. But the cricket team has had to evolve considerably over the years, in fits and starts, and has taken a long time to compete with the higher-ranked teams. So, when 21 years on, Mahmudul dominated South Africa in Durban, it was a giant leap forward, especially for Bangladesh batting.The 137 was Mahmudul’s second significant knock for Bangladesh. After his 78 in Mount Maunganui blunted the New Zealand attack for close to five hours. Then, it allowed Bangladesh to bat big, and keep New Zealand under their thumb for the rest of the game. He missed the rest of the Test series because of a finger injury, so this effort at Kingsmead was his next Test innings.Mahmudul picked up where he had left off in Mount Maunganui, batting time, letting plenty of balls go, and forcing the bowlers to bowl to him. He was the last man out with Bangladesh on 298, having batted for seven hours and 22 minutes this time. There was not one phase of the innings when he didn’t play according to the situation or the team’s blueprint. Not many batters could really give him the necessary support, but Mahmudul kept his part of the bargain.

“We are really proud of the way he batted. Batting through the whole innings is special for Bangladesh. I am not sure there have been many better innings for Bangladesh in Test cricket”Jamie Siddons

The TV commentators talked about how he had changed tactics on the third morning by attacking Simon Harmer, South Africa’s best bowler on the second day. Despite being an opener, Mahmudul farmed the strike smartly with the tail. And his attack on Wiaan Mulder at the end added priceless runs for Bangladesh, who only conceded a 69-run first-innings lead. What went somewhat under the radar was how Mahmudul soaked up the pressure when Najmul Hossain Shanto got stuck at one end against Harmer for a long period during their 55-run stand for the second wicket.Those were all impressive performances at different phases of the game. Other young Bangladesh openers, over the years, have shown little stomach for a fight in any of those junctures, let alone four or five of them. Mahmudul looks like he is made quite differently.There will, of course, always be an asterisk next to this show, since South African are without their top bowlers. But Mahmudul is playing his first Test in South Africa, and that’s important to note.”Things might have fallen into place for him with the spinners having to bowl most of the afternoon yesterday,” Jamie Siddons, Bangladesh’s batting coach, said afterwards. “There was only ten overs of new-ball bowling. But you rarely see his levels of patience from our batsmen. There’s always some loose batting. Although in this innings, the batsmen didn’t play a bad shot to get out. It was all really good bowling and one bad run-out. Everyone was patient and played to their strength.”Mahmudul manipulated the field quite well. He hit over the top when the field was up. When they put a fielder back, he knocked it for one. He believed he could bat for six hours. All the young players have self-belief. We just need bigger scores more often from them.”Mahmudul Hasan Joy was last man out, after scoring 137 runs•Gallo Images/Getty ImagesHaving arrived in Bangladesh only in early February this year, Siddons hasn’t seen much of Mahmudul apart from a few knocks in the BPL and net sessions in Gary Kirsten’s cricket academy in Cape Town ahead of this Test series.”I am only here for two months, and he is one of the boys who really caught my eye in terms of talent, work ethic and patience when he bats – the dedication to working on his game,” Siddons said. “I think it is only his second [third] Test, so no one really knows a lot about him, unless you’ve been watching Bangladesh’s domestic cricket.”Today’s innings was one of patience and a great game plan. He stuck to what he knows. He didn’t try to play any expansive shots that weren’t in his repertoire. We are really proud of the way he batted. Batting through the whole innings is special for Bangladesh. I am not sure there have been many better innings for Bangladesh in Test cricket.”The first glimpse of Mahmudul’s mental strength was during his match-winning century against New Zealand in the 2020 Under-19 World Cup semi-final, in South Africa. It was the first time Bangladesh had reached the tournament final, which they went on to win. Test captain Mominul Haque said a couple of months back that the 78 against New Zealand suggested Bangladesh had a “superstar” in their midst.If you have followed Bangladesh’s cricket in recent years, Mominul’s hyperbole wouldn’t seem out of place. Finding an opening partner for Tamim Iqbal has been a long-drawn search, and the right result has never really come. Of late, Tamim’s absence has given the likes of Mohammad Naim, Shadman Islam and Saif Hassan opportunities, but none of them could grab those like Mahmudul has. If he can stay the course, he could well be the answer to one of the Bangladesh team’s biggest problems.

Test survivor Jonny Bairstow eager to stay on England treadmill

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

A grueling – but successful – winter across formats has not dented Bairstow’s appetite

Matt Roller30-May-2022There is a vibe to England’s new teal training tracksuits, a fitting resemblance since their schedule has left multi-format players resembling competitors in a survival drama. Jonny Bairstow has been cast in many different roles over his decade-long Test career but his latest is that of the Korean TV series’ protagonist, Seong Gi-hun – the only man left standing after a brutal winter of varying challenges.Bairstow was the only England player to tour all three of the UAE, Australia and the Caribbean between October and March and emerge with both reputation and fitness intact, and in keeping with his general restlessness he travelled straight (or as straight as possible for a journey with at least two layovers) from Grenada to Mumbai.He arrived at home last Monday night after two more months in a strict biosecure environment and left for St George’s Park – England’s football training base – the following morning for two days of training and fitness testing. On Sunday night, he travelled to Lord’s ahead of the first Test against New Zealand on Thursday, where he is due to play as a specialist batter.Related

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It is a schedule that is exhausting to think about let alone undertake, and one which underlines why Rob Key was so determined to split the coaching roles along format lines when he was appointed as England’s managing director of men’s cricket. The itinerary does not get any easier over the next 12 months, either.A separate squad will travel to Amsterdam to play three ODIs against the Netherlands between the second and third New Zealand Tests, while there are a dozen more limited-overs internationals in three-and-a-half weeks between the one-off India Test and the end of July. Over the 2021-22 winter, there are tours to Pakistan (twice), New Zealand, Bangladesh and South Africa, as well as a T20 World Cup (and a series either side for good measure) in Australia.It is a daunting prospect, and one which will stretch players’ mental and physical wellbeing to the limits. Perhaps Bairstow might have been wise to skip the IPL in the circumstances but turning down an INR 6.75 crore (£690,000 approx.) contract from Punjab Kings would not have been easy; after a slow start to the tournament at No. 4, his form after moving up to open should ensure he is offered a retention for 2022.”I feel good, to be honest,” Bairstow said on Monday, speaking in the drizzle on the Lord’s outfield after training. “I’m happy with where my body’s at physically, and hopefully that is now the end of bubbles which is an excitement as well because that gives you an added amount of freshness – to be able to do some more normal things and to be able to leave your hotel.”He described the possibility of missing the first Test for some time off as “not something I’ve thought about,” adding: “You know my desire to play for England, my desire to play Test cricket. That hadn’t even come into my mind. I’ve never been one for resting when there’s opportunities to play for England: it’s extremely special.With injury concerns hanging over all of England’s cross-format seamers, Joe Root a peripheral figure in the T20I set-up and Ben Stokes openly prioritising Test cricket – “Ben won’t play white-ball this summer,” Eoin Morgan confirmed in a newspaper interview last week – Bairstow is the only member of the Test squad who can realistically be considered a first-choice pick in all three sides as things stand.”There hasn’t been a specific sit-down discussion as yet [about workloads] but obviously I want to be playing Test cricket,” Bairstow said. “That is something that I really want to be doing. I’m sure that conversation will be happening over the next period of time, because if you are playing in all three formats, there are things you are potentially going to have to miss out on.”

Bairstow has scored hundreds in two of his last four Tests – 113 in Sydney and 140 in Antigua – and will start the series at No. 5. That means he will keep Harry Brook, the in-form batter in the country after a remarkable start to the season with Yorkshire, out of the side and will bat between Root and Stokes. Intriguingly, he added that he would be practising his wicketkeeping this week, even with Ben Foakes due to take the gloves and bat at No. 7.”I’m delighted with how I have come out of the winter,” he said. “Naturally, I was disappointed not to start in Australia after playing last summer, but that’s part and parcel of it. But the way I reacted and went about it and also the way I played, I was happy with the situations and circumstances that I scored my runs.”I just want to be playing. If I’m batting at No. 5, that’s great – it’s something that I have done before, I’ve also done that and kept wicket. Is there a big difference between No. 5 and 6? I don’t think there’s a huge difference. Batting around Joe and Ben is something we’ve done for a huge period of time and we’ve been quite successful with that.”He has regularly made what he described as “tinkers” to his game in different formats, insisting that he was “really happy” with his net against the red ball on Monday, which “dropped back into where I wanted them”. It will be a fierce challenge to maintain form, fitness and freshness over the next year, but the sense is that Bairstow would not have it any other way.”I’ve been pretty pleased with how my Test career has gone,” he added. “Yes, it’s been stop-start, but there was a long period that I was in the side – over 50 Tests, I think. There will be ups and downs in careers. Not many people go through their whole career without blips in form and changes in circumstance. I am really excited. Bring on Thursday.”

What is unique about Anil Kumble's 2009 IPL Player-of-the-Final award?

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

There have been 14 IPL finals since 2008. How well do you remember them?

Yash Jha29-May-2022

AB de Villiers reacts to Brevis' 162 off 57: 'Dewald Brevis. No need to say more'

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Here’s how the cricket community reacted on Twitter to the 19-year-old’s stunning innings in the CSA T20 challenge

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Oct-2022All of 19 years old and Dewald Brevis is setting records. The South Africa batter smashed 162 runs off just 57 balls in a T20 match between Titans and Knights in Potchefstroom that very quickly gained global acclaim.Brevis, who is called ‘Baby AB’ by fans because of his uncanny resemblance to AB de Villiers, earned some praise from the man himself.

Watching a masterclass from Dewald Brevis. Bowlers will be under serious pressure for the next 15+ years.

— Albie Morkel (@albiemorkel) October 31, 2022

Brevis got to his hundred – his first in T20s – off just 35 balls, only five short of the world record held by Chris Gayle. He hit 13 sixes and as many fours at a strike-rate of 284.21, taking Titans to the fourth-highest total in T20 history – 271 for 3.

Where can I watch the highlights of the @Titans_Cricket match in Australia??@BrevisDewald Well Batted boitjie!

— Tabraiz Shamsi (@shamsi90) October 31, 2022

Cannot believe what I’m witnessing from an 18 year old @BrevisDewald @mipaltan @MICapeTown #special

— Robin John Peterson (@robbie13flair) October 31, 2022

Brevis also brought up the fastest 150 in T20 history, getting to the feat in just 51 balls.

Wow!! This is incredible!! Well done @BrevisDewald https://t.co/Azx9ejFOYE

— Robin Aiyuda Uthappa (@robbieuthappa) October 31, 2022

Congrats to young brevis .. hope it’s the first of many 100s

— Herschelle Gibbs (@hershybru) October 31, 2022

Stats – Abrar's record-breaking debut, and a rare all-ten for Pakistan spinners

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

England, meanwhile, smash the most runs scored by a team before lunch on the first day of a Test

Sampath Bandarupalli09-Dec-20222 Pakistan bowlers to take a seven-wicket haul on Test debut before Abrar Ahmed in the second Test against England in Multan. Mohammad Nazir had picked 7 for 99 on his debut against New Zealand in 1969, while Mohammad Zahid bettered those figures with 7 for 66 also against New Zealand in 1996.ESPNcricinfo Ltd5 Wickets for Abrar in an extended first session. He is the first bowler to complete a five-wicket haul in the opening session on Test debut since Alf Valentine against England in 1950 in Manchester.Only two other debutants have taken five or more wickets in the opening session – six wickets by Charlie Turner in 1887 against England (in the session before tea as no play took place before lunch) and five by Fred Martin against Australia in 1890.7 Abrar took each of the first seven wickets to fall in England’s innings. The only other bowler to achieve this feat on his Test debut was Valentine in 1950. He picked up each of the first eight England wickets to fall in the first innings.ESPNcricinfo Ltd1 Number of Pakistan bowlers with the wickets of the top seven batters of the opposition in a Test innings before Abrar. Saqlain Mushtaq, the current Pakistan head coach, had each of England’s top eight batters in the first innings of the 2000 Lahore Test. No player in Test history has sent back the opposition’s top seven in an innings on debut.2014 The last instance of all ten wickets picked up by Pakistan spinners in an innings. Mohammad Hafeez, Zulfiqar Babar and Yasir Shah shared ten wickets against Australia during the fourth innings of the 2014 Abu Dhabi Test. England’s first innings in Multan was also a first in Pakistan since 1987, where all ten wickets fell to spinners in an innings.250 Balls bowled by Pakistan spinners in England’s first innings – the fewest by any team’s spinners to take all ten wickets in the first innings of a Test match. The previous record was 263 balls by England against India in Kanpur in 1952.5.03 Abrar’s economy rate during his 7 for 110 in England’s first innings. Only one bowler has recorded a higher economy rate while taking seven-plus wickets in a Test innings – 5.68 for Kapil Dev during his 7 for 220 against Pakistan in 1983.ESPNcricinfo Ltd180 Runs scored by England during the two-and-half-hour first session. These are the most runs scored by a team before lunch on the first day of a Test. The previous highest was 179 by South Africa against Australia during a 41-over session in the 1902 Johannesburg Test.

Kolkata Knight Riders face tough questions in Shreyas Iyer's absence

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

After finishing seventh last year, KKR begin this season with a new captain and coaching staff

Sreshth Shah28-Mar-20235:11

KKR coach Pandit is hopeful of Iyer’s return at some point

Where Kolkata Knight Riders finished in IPL 2022

Seventh, with six wins and eight losses.

KKR squad for IPL 2023

Venkatesh Iyer, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shreyas Iyer (injured), Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Mandeep Singh, N Jagadeesan, Litton Das, Andre Russell, Anukul Roy, David Wiese, Shakib Al Hasan, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Suyash Sharma, Shardul Thakur, Lockie Ferguson, Tim Southee, Harshit Rana, Umesh Yadav, Vaibhav Arora, Kulwant Khejroliya.

Player availability – Shreyas doubtful, Shakib and Litton could be late

Shreyas Iyer has been sidelined by recurring lower-back issue and there is no definitive return date yet, leaving the Knight Riders without their regular captain. Nitish Rana has been asked to step in on a temporary basis. There is a slim chance that Shreyas could return in the second half of the season.Knight Riders could be without Shakib and Litton for their opening game of the season, on April 1. Both are part of the Bangladesh squad for the three T20Is against Ireland that ends on March 31. Litton could miss a few more games because he will arrive in India only after Bangladesh’s one-off Test against Ireland, which runs from April 4 to 8.Related

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What’s new with KKR this year?

Brendon McCullum is no longer their coach, having moved to a permanent role with the England men’s Test side, and Knight Riders have brought in experienced Indian hands – Chandrakant Pandit (head coach) and Bharat Arun (bowling coach). Ryan ten Doeschate is their fielding coach.They were also busy between seasons, trading in Shardul Thakur from Delhi Capitals, and Gurbaz and Lockie Ferguson from Gujarat Titans. That left them with a small purse of INR 7.05 crore at the IPL auction, where six of their eight new picks were base-price purchases. They signed Jagadeesan, Vaibhav, Mandeep, Suyash Sharma, David Wiese, Kulwant Khejroliya, Shakib and Litton.Andre Russell and Sunil Narine once again form the core of the Kolkata Knight Riders•BCCI

The good – a new era beckons?

Andre Russell finally has an overseas back-up in Wiese, useful for the side since the West Indian needs workload management if the team needs him at 100% fitness. Their wicketkeeping options are more attractive than their 2022 squad, which included Sheldon Jackson, B Indrajith and Sam Billings. Thakur strengthens the bowling and batting, while their new coaching staff and interim captain could come with a hard reset after a disappointing IPL 2022.

The not-so-good – the uncertainties

Shreyas’ injury means Knight Riders are without their best Indian batter. Venkatesh and Chakravarthy are both out of favour from a national-selection point of view and their stocks have dropped significantly since they were retained by the franchise two seasons ago. Barring Thakur, Rana and the two overseas West Indians, no one makes a strong case to be a shoo-in in the XI.

Schedule insights

Knight Riders play Mumbai Indians only once. This may come as a relief, since they have a 9-22 record against Mumbai. Knight Riders also play Lucknow Super Giants, Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals once each.The side has a packed schedule in late April, when they are set to play four games in a ten-day period between April 20 and April 29, with two home games as well as away matches in Delhi and Bengaluru.

The big question

Sublime India launch their Star Destroyers into hyperdrive

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

They played a near-perfect match to get their engines roaring and furnaces at full blast, dispatching an off-colour Pakistan with awesome precision

Andrew Fidel Fernando12-Sep-20231:56

Uthappa: Watching Kohli a lesson on mastering ODI cricket

When your apparatus is as vast as Indian cricket’s is, when your machine is as moneyed, when your stars are supernovas, and your reserve players the envy of much of the cricketing world (how many teams would happily leave a Mohammed Shami or even Axar Patel unused?), expectations are that you are at least occasionally sublime.In the first Asia Cup match between these sides, Pakistan didn’t quite leave the India batting order bruised; 266 may well have been a defendable score. But when three Pakistan quicks scythe through the top order and finish with 10 wickets between them, this is a fire that tends to use up all the oxygen. As a species, Pakistan fast bowlers tend towards incandescence. In the nine rainy days that followed that initial skirmish, it was not hard to wonder. As blessed as this India top order is, can they really handle that heat?Related

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  • Stats – Record-breaking day out for Kohli, Rahul, and India

In Colombo, across two afternoons, Pakistan’s quicks surged in, and during parts of India’s innings, it was as if this thought that had never even entered the India batters’ minds. Shubman Gill had two tough chances missed off the bowling of Naseem Shah early, but remained defiant, taking down Shaheen Shah Afridi dramatically and decisively. When he went at Afridi, balls flew like his bat was spring loaded (at one of the favourite hunting grounds of the original owner of the mythological spring-loaded bat, for those who still remember the nineties).Rohit Sharma was less convincing, struggling at length to so much as lay bat on Naseem. But when there is moisture in the pitch, and the seam is hard and new, this is also what senior opening batters do. They stay there through the famine, sometimes because of good fortune, and await more plentiful times. When the early swing disappeared, and his eye was in, Rohit exploded into life too. Against Shadab Khan, whose full tosses and half-trackers were as clusters of ripe mangoes weighing the whole branch down, Rohit gorged on three sixes and two fours in the space of five deliveries.In Virat Kohli and KL Rahul’s partnership, India’s batting found full, productive expression. This was run-making that had been studiously conceived, perfectly engineered, and relentlessly honed – inefficiencies stamped out, breakdowns accounted for by multiple redundancies. They didn’t need Hardik Pandya, one of the best hitters in the game, to get to 356.Separately, both Kohli and Rahul are blessed with timing, and have exquisite wrists. When they are flowing, they are beautiful to watch.

“This was run-making that had been studiously conceived, perfectly engineered, and relentlessly honed – inefficiencies stamped out, breakdowns accounted for by multiple redundancies”

But together, their 233-run unbeaten stand had an industrial quality. They ran the fast twos with precision, scored off even the good balls, rarely failed to send the bad ones screaming to boundary, strode swiftly to their fifties, and even faster to their tons, the way modern batters are supposed to. At times, an ailing Pakistan attack seemed less like opposition, more like factory workers feeding in the raw materials that the Kohli-Rahul machine was turning into neatly-packaged runs.An attack with talents such as Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav will rarely fail to be fun, and still, the way in which they choked the Pakistan response, and turned dot balls into wickets also brought to mind a dismissal production line. Where balls rocketed off India bats, Pakistan were trying to heave them over the boundary, and frequently failing.Kuldeep Yadav and Virat Kohli were instrumental in setting up India’s big win•AFP/Getty ImagesAs with Rahul’s innings, this was Bumrah’s first spell after coming back from a long injury hiatus. Their reintegration was seamless. Rahul 111 not out off 106, Kohli having made 122 off 94 in his company; Bumrah swung the ball at pace, bowled a maiden, took the first wicket, and went for just 3.6 in each of his five overs. This was before Kuldeep tore through the middle and lower orders, taking 5 for 25. Their not wasting time bowling Pakistan out (their opposition did not send out the injured Haris Rauf or Naseem Shah to bat), was in itself an efficiency – India have to play Sri Lanka the next day.All this is not to say India’s men’s team has no problems. In their last series at home, they lost 2-1 to Australia.But the way they played in this match, they made it seem like their problems are like a wonky wheel on your supermarket trolley, while there is a hurricane going on in another part of the world. Sri Lanka, for one, might struggle to put together a partnership where both batters can comfortably hit a six.With this 228-run win ahead of a home World Cup, India had the engines roaring, their furnaces at full blast, their Star Destroyers in hyperdrive. They dispatched an off-colour and depleted Pakistan with awesome precision.

The T10 route to making cricket big in America

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

“We have always been eyeing the American market and the American public to bring our brand of cricket here,” says Shaji Ul Mulk, founder and chairman of TTen Global

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Aug-2023America has long been thought of as the next big destination for cricket. It’s a huge market, potentially, with a readymade audience of expat South Asians as well as people from other parts of the established cricket world including the Caribbean.Now, it looks like people with the money and the enterprise are waking up to the possibilities. Lauderhill has hosted international games between West Indies and visiting teams, as well as Caribbean Premier League (CPL) matches. The inaugural season of Major League Cricket (MLC) was played recently in Dallas and Morrisville. Crucially, the USA will co-host the Men’s T20 World Cup next year alongside the West Indies, with matches set to be played in Lauderhill, Morrisville, Dallas and New York.As we write this, the US Masters T10 is on in Lauderhill, Florida, and the promoters of the tournament as well as prominent players who are a part of the action feel T10 could be just the right vehicle to get US audiences excited about the game.Related

  • Turn back the clock with the US Masters T10 League

“You want to take it up from the shortest format of the game and build it up in these younger nations, Robin Uthappa, captain of Atlanta Riders, said. “Especially when you’re introducing the sport to them, the rules of the sport and what it entails… It’s better to start off with the smallest version and then take it up the ranks, in that sense. You also give them time to adapt to each version and the growth is also periodical – they keep scaling [up] their game. You don’t jump straight to Test cricket. You go through the ranks of T10, T20, 50-over [cricket], four-day cricket, then five-day cricket.”Aaron Finch of California Knights agrees. “I think it’s a huge opportunity. I know a lot of the support is existing cricket fans,” he said. “But I think the more you start to get new fans into the game, they see how exciting cricket is, particularly through T20 and T10, it’s a market that is well and truly on the verge of being tapped.”We know about the passion of the Asian community around the game, and a lot of expats here – they, I guess, drive the cricket side of it. The key is to get cricket to as many people as possible, making people realise how good the game is.”And if there is cricket around, there will be Bollywood presence around it, which just makes the whole show that much more exciting for fans. “Americans like the quick format of the sport and results right away. So I think T10 is just the right format,” Suneil Shetty, who is at the US Masters T10, said. “America is the land of opportunity for any sport, and especially cricket now being looked at as a sport that the world wants to play, this is the right place to be.”

“Such a huge country, so many different weather conditions also. So this wicket in Florida will be very different to wickets in Texas or North Carolina, San Francisco, so you will be exposed to different conditions. So for the game of cricket, amazing it’ll be”Robin Uthappa

From the point of view of the promoters, it wasn’t a sudden realisation. There have been T10 events in Abu Dhabi – that has been the most prominent one, running since 2017 – and more recently in Zimbabwe, the Zim Afro T10. USA is the latest, and there are more around the corner.”We have always been eyeing the American market and the American public to bring our brand of cricket here. And now that T10 has arrived, so extremely pleased that we can finally showcase the 90 minutes’ packed-action game,” Shaji Ul Mulk, founder and chairman of TTen Global, told the broadcasters before the start of the tournament. “It’s more about getting the big names of cricket back into action. The masters are very significant for us, as part of our journey. Because TTen Global as a brand, we want to make sure that we invest not only in the current cricketers, [we have] the youth programmes, the player development, and the masters. The whole circle of the cricketing fraternity, basically.”The first overseas T10, which is Zim Afro T10, has been way beyond what we expected for the first season. Now coming to the US. We will be going back to Abu Dhabi in November. Then in December, we do [the chapter] in Sri Lanka. And hopefully, in February we are in India. Then the whole cycle continues. Europe also we are looking at in between. So I think six to seven T10s in a year is what you can expect.”The biggest factor that is working, and will likely work, for people who want to bring more short-format cricket, possibly going the franchise route, to the USA is the South Asian community. Cricket obsessives, it’s a community with spending power and a massive appetite for the game, especially if it involves players from the subcontinent.”There are a lot of subcontinent-origin people here in the Americas. It’s a very good sport to take to different parts of the world. It can become a global sport,” Uthappa said. “Today we have only 15-16 countries playing the sport properly. It’ll be nice to have 40-45 countries playing the sport, make it a global sport like football is. And certainly, America has the potential. Such a huge country, so many different weather conditions also. So this wicket in Florida will be very different to wickets in Texas or North Carolina, San Francisco, so you will be exposed to different conditions. So for the game of cricket, amazing it’ll be.”West Indies and India have played eight T20Is against each other at Lauderhill over the years•Associated PressAnd, at least going by Finch’s stock-taking, the facilities are up there too, even if the ground dimensions aren’t ideal.”We were at Dallas […] for a ground that a couple of months before, I think, didn’t really exist as a cricket field, how well the wicket played, the outfield… that was all extraordinary,” he said. “Morrisville – they were on the back foot from the start, the weather didn’t help. And then you come here and you see the facilities, there’s been a little bit of weather here, but there are so many good people doing good things to promote the game and make it as good as possible.”I am really excited. I can’t wait to continue to play this tournament, obviously, and then be back trying to grow the game in another part of the world.”The next step, possibly, will be to look beyond just big-ticket cricketers, past or current, and look at expanding the game around the country, working with local cricket talent.”Cricket is played all over the world. It’s new for USA but a lot of Asians stay here, so many people see cricket,” Yusuf Pathan, Uthappa’s team-mate, said. “So to grow cricket in America, they have to start in schools. People love cricket here.”The volume of attractive, short-format cricket in the USA is on the rise, and the T20 World Cup next year could well be the big leap that’s required.

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