Mumbai Indians 159 for 4 (Parthiv 45, Simmons 38, Rayudu 34*, Ashwin 2-17) beat Chennai Super Kings 158 for 5 (Dhoni 39*, Negi 36) by six wickets
Hardik Pandya's three sixes in a 25-run penultimate over from Pawan Negi settled a rollercoaster chase for Mumbai Indians, and handed Chennai Super Kings their first defeat at home this season.
The visitors had the chase of 159 under control with an 84-run opening stand in ten overs, but R Ashwin had Parthiv Patel and Lendl Simmons caught in the deep in the 11th. Dwayne Bravo ran out Kieron Pollard in the 12th as Super Kings started their familiar fightback.
The ball was turning, sharp fielders were cutting off singles, and Rohit Sharma and Ambati Rayudu were struggling to score. The asking-rate rose to two runs a ball.
Rohit tried to go after Dwayne Bravo's slower ones, and was dropped by Faf du Plessis at long-off. He tried it again in the allrounder's next over, and Suresh Raina did not drop it at long-on.
It was down to 30 off the last two overs. Decision time for MS Dhoni. His fast bowlers had conceded 0 for 64 in five overs, his spinners had taken 2 for 54 in 11. Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja had bowled out. Dhoni went for the left-arm spinner Negi, who had given ten in three overs and had revitalized Super Kings innings with an unbeaten 36 off 17.
Pandya cracked three of Negi's first four balls for straight sixes. Game all but over. Rayudu lifted the last ball for another straight six. Game definitely over.
Fittingly, the game met a tumultuous end. Jadeja dropped Pandya running in from deep midwicket first ball of the last over, and Rayudu brought up the win with an edged four to third man.
Dhoni later admitted it was a tactical error giving a spinner the penultimate over, but added that his hand had been forced by the performance of his fast bowlers. Mohit Sharma and Ashish Nehra had leaked runs at the start as Parthiv and Simmons raced away after Super Kings' sluggish innings.
Parthiv played a range of strokes during his 45 off 32 while Simmons bludgeoned and steered a few boundaries on his way to 38 off 31. Amid Mumbai Indians' smooth progress, four overs from Ashwin went for only 17.
Returning after missing three games with a finger injury, the offspinner proved vital again for Super Kings, his double-strike in his last over providing the opening for the hosts.
It was another spinner who had revived Super Kings to a decent 158 for 5 from 108 for 4 after 16. Negi launched Marchant de Lange - playing only because Sri Lankan Lasith Malinga was not allowed to in Chennai - for three fours in the 17th over to begin the acceleration.
Dhoni, once again this season, failed to connect and time too many despite facing as many as 32 balls and ended on 39. He did add 54 off 28 for the sixth wicket with Negi.
Super Kings had started strongly as well, though Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith did not last as long as the Mumbai Indians openers. McCullum holed out to Pandya for 23 off 11 in trying to hit Vinay Kumar for a fourth successive boundary. Suresh Raina and Smith were tied down and then failed to clear Pandya in the deep. Faf du Plessis got in but fell just as Super Kings were looking to push on in the 16th.
Negi provided the finish du Plessis could not, before it all came apart for him and Super Kings in that 19th over.
Friday, 8 May 2015
ODI IRE V ENG Abandoned as a no result
England's one-day international against Ireland in Dublin has been abandoned due to rain.
The umpires stopped play just over three hours ago with Ireland on 56-4, and with play needing to resume by 5.37pm, the decision was made to call off the match.
The contest posed an interesting matchup due to Ireland's impressive form in the recent World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, but it was a poor start for the hosts today.
Paul Stirling was run out by Jonny Bairstow inside four overs, leaving the batsman with just two runs to his name, while the captain William Porterfield followed shortly afterwards when he was bowled out by Mark Wood having hit just seven off 27 balls.
Tim Bresnan and David Willey managed to get a wicket apiece by dismissing Niall O'Brien and Andy Balbirnie for 10 and five runs respectively.
Ed Joyce and Gary Wilson were unbeaten on 23 and three when play was stopped after 18 overs.
The umpires stopped play just over three hours ago with Ireland on 56-4, and with play needing to resume by 5.37pm, the decision was made to call off the match.
The contest posed an interesting matchup due to Ireland's impressive form in the recent World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, but it was a poor start for the hosts today.
Paul Stirling was run out by Jonny Bairstow inside four overs, leaving the batsman with just two runs to his name, while the captain William Porterfield followed shortly afterwards when he was bowled out by Mark Wood having hit just seven off 27 balls.
Tim Bresnan and David Willey managed to get a wicket apiece by dismissing Niall O'Brien and Andy Balbirnie for 10 and five runs respectively.
Ed Joyce and Gary Wilson were unbeaten on 23 and three when play was stopped after 18 overs.
Thursday, 7 May 2015
IPL 2015 Matches 40-42
Royal Challengers Bangalore 226 for 3 (Gayle 117, de Villiers 47*) beat Kings XI Punjab 88 (Axar 40*, Starc 4-15, Aravind 4-27) by 138 runs
Chris Gayle's 57-ball 117 propelled Royal Challengers to 226 before S Aravind and Mitchell Starc snuffed out Kings XI Punjab's pursuit inside 14 overs. Save for a belated cameo from Axar Patel, there was flimsy resistance from the visitors as they folded up 138 runs short. The defeat all but ended Kings XI's chances of making the playoffs.
Kings XI sleepwalked through the chase, losing half their side inside the Powerplay, the second-most in any IPL season. Manan Vohra was removed after David Wiese dived full stretch at cover to get his fingers under the ball. Thereafter, Kings XI's batsmen came unstuck, with seven of them bowled.
Aravind, playing his first IPL game in three years, and Starc moved the ball both ways, and exploited the batsmen's lack of feet movement to pick up four wickets each. Kings XI appeared to reel from the after-shocks of Gayle's assault, and they looked in no shape to chase down the target right from the outset.
George Bailey had joked after inserting Royal Challengers that he didn't want to be chasing 250. But Gayle's icy authority, aided by Kings XI's shabby fielding, meant they weren't going to be chasing a lot fewer anyway.
The first over of the match provided little clue of what was to come. Sandeep Sharma went past Gayle's bat thrice and gave away only a run. But Gayle was to make up for it in the remaining 16 overs he would spend at the crease. Mitchell Johnson was driven and clipped for 20 runs - his most expensive over in T20 cricket. Gayle was minimalist with his footwork, smacking anything in his hitting range down the ground. Among the 12 sixes and seven fours though, the standout was the one that was the least brutish: a constricted backfoot punch off Sandeep Sharma that screamed to the long off boundary.
However, he did provide a chance in the third over, but Bailey, running at full tilt from mid off, couldn't latch on to it. Gayle could have been dismissed on 53 as well, when he whipped Axar's first delivery, but Vohra spilled a sitter at deep square leg.
Thereafter it was a case of cruising from one milestone to another. Gayle became the first overseas player to score 3000 runs in the IPL, half of which have come at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. By bringing up his 14th century - the most in T20 cricket - in 46 balls, he also completed the fastest hundred of IPL 2015.
Royal Challengers, who became the first team to score 100 inside ten overs twice this season, more than doubled their tally in the second half. Even as Gayle was dismissed, AB de Villiers brought out his own variety of audacious swipes and reverse ramps to ensure the attack was relentless. By the time they were done, Kings XI were left with scarring memories of everything that had gone wrong for them this season. And the night would only get worse.
Sunrisers Hyderabad 201 for 4 (Morgan 63, Dhawan 54) beat Rajasthan Royals 194 for 7 (Smith 68, Morris 34*) by seven runs
Sunrisers Hyderabad took the call of leaving out both their star overseas fast bowlers Dale Steyn and Trent Boult for the first time this season. They shored up their notoriously thin middle order with the inclusion of Ravi Bopara, and then had their four overseas players bat in the top five. The result was a 200-plus total after being put in. David Warner provided the start, Shikhar Dhawan the middle-overs meat with 54 off 35, and Eoin Morgan the finish with 63 off 28, his fastest IPL innings.
Rajasthan Royals lost Ajinkya Rahane and Shane Watson within the first four overs. Steven Smith made 68 off 40 but had too much to do with little support. There were late blows from James Faulkner and Sanju Samson, but with 57 needed from three overs, both fell to Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Sunrisers seemed to have sealed the game. Chris Morris swung Praveen Kumar for three successive sixes to bring it down to 22 off nine, before the Kumars tightened up again.
Starting strongly has not been an issue for Sunrisers, and Dhawan and Warner provided another solid base as they put on 48 inside five overs. Warner had issues with his back and took treatment in the middle, eventually nicking behind trying to hit a third successive four off Watson.
Sustaining the momentum given by the openers has been Sunrisers' problem area but though Moises Henriques struggled to get going at No. 3, Dhawan kept scoring at a healthy pace. There were his usual punches and pulls, and he also resorted to a few reverse-hits before another attempt resulted in him being bowled by James Faulkner.
Sunrisers were 127 for 3 in the 15th over then, and have often failed to finish strongly from such stable positions. But Morgan was to finally do the job he has been picked for several times this season. He was on 18 off 15 in the 16th over when he suddenly accelerated full throttle. Six of his next eight balls went for either four or six as Morgan sped to his half-century in 23 balls. Targetting the straight boundary mostly, Morgan spoiled Pravin Tambe and Morris' figures. The fast bowler came back with a tight last over but could not prevent Sunrisers from going past 200.
The Sunrisers seamers were disciplined at the start of the chase. Even as batsmen kept falling at one end trying to force their way through lack of pace, Smith continued to keep Royals alive. His shuffling created angles and room the others did not have.
After he missed one off Ravi Bopara in the 15th over, the lower order kept connecting with the boundaries right till the end. Two sixes off the last two balls could have forced a Super Over, but Morris managed a four and a single.
Kolkata Knight Riders 171 for 6 (Yusuf 42, Tahir 2-46) beat Delhi Daredevils 158 for 6 (Iyer 40, Chawla 4-32) by 13 runs
A vital cameo from Yusuf Pathan followed by a last-over onslaught from Johan Botha helped Kolkata Knight Riders post a challenging total on a slow pitch in Kolkata. Their bowlers, led by Piyush Chawla who took a four-wicket haul, kept them one step ahead of Delhi Daredevils to pull off their sixth win in 11 games. Daredevils, on eight points, were left needing to win their remaining three games to have any chance of making it to playoffs.
Trusting the pitch to play the way it eventually did, Knight Riders had included four spinners in their attack, including Sunil Narine. Batting remained difficult through the match, with none of the batsmen being able to make a half-century. That Knight Riders were able to score 171 despite anyone scoring big underscored the importance of partnerships, and impactful innings. Yusuf's was one such, but there were others, too.
Even though Knight Riders had lost Gautam Gambhir in the fifth over, the batsman edging an outswinger from Zaheer Khan to the wicketkeeper, it had been a good Powerplay as 50 runs had come. Robin Uthappa had picked up a couple of boundaries through outside edges and had been dropped once by Yuvraj Singh, but had also found timing to score 29 of those runs.
The arrival of spin, though, slowed things down. Amit Mishra bowled three dots at Uthappa in a tight seventh over that cost him just one run. After three more dots at the batsman in his next, he forced a mistake, Uthappa playing across the line and being trapped lbw. At that stage, Mishra's figures read 2-0-2-1.
Knight Riders sent Piyush Chawla up the order to arrest the slide of momentum, but the move turned counter-productive as the batsman struggled to middle the ball. He did hit a four and a six but his 19-ball 22 spanned a period of 5.5 overs starting from the 10th that saw Daredevils rein in the innings. Manish Pandey perished during that phase, chopping on and giving Yuvraj his first wicket this season.
Still, Knight Riders, on 109 for 4 with five over to go and with a battery of spinners in their line-up, looked set for a challenging total. Contrary to his first spell, Mishra's second announced a swing towards the home team.
Bowling the 16th, Mishra was taken for 10 runs that included a six over long-off by Yusuf. The next over, bowled by Tahir, saw Andre Russell hole out in the deep but also cost Daredevils 16 runs. Pathan continued a measured onslaught on the two spinners and helped Knight Riders cross 150 in the penultimate over before falling for 42, his best score this IPL. Botha, with four consecutive boundaries off Zaheer in the last over, provided the perfect finish.
Daredevils' chase started with a solid opening stand of 63 between the impressive Shreyas Iyer, who scored 40, and his new partner, Manoj Tiwary. But as the two repeatedly struggled for timing, it was clear the following batsmen were going to find it tough. Tiwary succumbed first, to Chawla in the 10th over, after a 28-ball 25. Iyer followed in the next. Then once Chawla removed Kedhar Jadhav and Yuvraj in the 14th over, the writing was on the wall.
Chris Gayle's 57-ball 117 propelled Royal Challengers to 226 before S Aravind and Mitchell Starc snuffed out Kings XI Punjab's pursuit inside 14 overs. Save for a belated cameo from Axar Patel, there was flimsy resistance from the visitors as they folded up 138 runs short. The defeat all but ended Kings XI's chances of making the playoffs.
Kings XI sleepwalked through the chase, losing half their side inside the Powerplay, the second-most in any IPL season. Manan Vohra was removed after David Wiese dived full stretch at cover to get his fingers under the ball. Thereafter, Kings XI's batsmen came unstuck, with seven of them bowled.
Aravind, playing his first IPL game in three years, and Starc moved the ball both ways, and exploited the batsmen's lack of feet movement to pick up four wickets each. Kings XI appeared to reel from the after-shocks of Gayle's assault, and they looked in no shape to chase down the target right from the outset.
George Bailey had joked after inserting Royal Challengers that he didn't want to be chasing 250. But Gayle's icy authority, aided by Kings XI's shabby fielding, meant they weren't going to be chasing a lot fewer anyway.
The first over of the match provided little clue of what was to come. Sandeep Sharma went past Gayle's bat thrice and gave away only a run. But Gayle was to make up for it in the remaining 16 overs he would spend at the crease. Mitchell Johnson was driven and clipped for 20 runs - his most expensive over in T20 cricket. Gayle was minimalist with his footwork, smacking anything in his hitting range down the ground. Among the 12 sixes and seven fours though, the standout was the one that was the least brutish: a constricted backfoot punch off Sandeep Sharma that screamed to the long off boundary.
However, he did provide a chance in the third over, but Bailey, running at full tilt from mid off, couldn't latch on to it. Gayle could have been dismissed on 53 as well, when he whipped Axar's first delivery, but Vohra spilled a sitter at deep square leg.
Thereafter it was a case of cruising from one milestone to another. Gayle became the first overseas player to score 3000 runs in the IPL, half of which have come at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. By bringing up his 14th century - the most in T20 cricket - in 46 balls, he also completed the fastest hundred of IPL 2015.
Royal Challengers, who became the first team to score 100 inside ten overs twice this season, more than doubled their tally in the second half. Even as Gayle was dismissed, AB de Villiers brought out his own variety of audacious swipes and reverse ramps to ensure the attack was relentless. By the time they were done, Kings XI were left with scarring memories of everything that had gone wrong for them this season. And the night would only get worse.
Sunrisers Hyderabad 201 for 4 (Morgan 63, Dhawan 54) beat Rajasthan Royals 194 for 7 (Smith 68, Morris 34*) by seven runs
Sunrisers Hyderabad took the call of leaving out both their star overseas fast bowlers Dale Steyn and Trent Boult for the first time this season. They shored up their notoriously thin middle order with the inclusion of Ravi Bopara, and then had their four overseas players bat in the top five. The result was a 200-plus total after being put in. David Warner provided the start, Shikhar Dhawan the middle-overs meat with 54 off 35, and Eoin Morgan the finish with 63 off 28, his fastest IPL innings.
Rajasthan Royals lost Ajinkya Rahane and Shane Watson within the first four overs. Steven Smith made 68 off 40 but had too much to do with little support. There were late blows from James Faulkner and Sanju Samson, but with 57 needed from three overs, both fell to Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Sunrisers seemed to have sealed the game. Chris Morris swung Praveen Kumar for three successive sixes to bring it down to 22 off nine, before the Kumars tightened up again.
Starting strongly has not been an issue for Sunrisers, and Dhawan and Warner provided another solid base as they put on 48 inside five overs. Warner had issues with his back and took treatment in the middle, eventually nicking behind trying to hit a third successive four off Watson.
Sustaining the momentum given by the openers has been Sunrisers' problem area but though Moises Henriques struggled to get going at No. 3, Dhawan kept scoring at a healthy pace. There were his usual punches and pulls, and he also resorted to a few reverse-hits before another attempt resulted in him being bowled by James Faulkner.
Sunrisers were 127 for 3 in the 15th over then, and have often failed to finish strongly from such stable positions. But Morgan was to finally do the job he has been picked for several times this season. He was on 18 off 15 in the 16th over when he suddenly accelerated full throttle. Six of his next eight balls went for either four or six as Morgan sped to his half-century in 23 balls. Targetting the straight boundary mostly, Morgan spoiled Pravin Tambe and Morris' figures. The fast bowler came back with a tight last over but could not prevent Sunrisers from going past 200.
The Sunrisers seamers were disciplined at the start of the chase. Even as batsmen kept falling at one end trying to force their way through lack of pace, Smith continued to keep Royals alive. His shuffling created angles and room the others did not have.
After he missed one off Ravi Bopara in the 15th over, the lower order kept connecting with the boundaries right till the end. Two sixes off the last two balls could have forced a Super Over, but Morris managed a four and a single.
Kolkata Knight Riders 171 for 6 (Yusuf 42, Tahir 2-46) beat Delhi Daredevils 158 for 6 (Iyer 40, Chawla 4-32) by 13 runs
A vital cameo from Yusuf Pathan followed by a last-over onslaught from Johan Botha helped Kolkata Knight Riders post a challenging total on a slow pitch in Kolkata. Their bowlers, led by Piyush Chawla who took a four-wicket haul, kept them one step ahead of Delhi Daredevils to pull off their sixth win in 11 games. Daredevils, on eight points, were left needing to win their remaining three games to have any chance of making it to playoffs.
Trusting the pitch to play the way it eventually did, Knight Riders had included four spinners in their attack, including Sunil Narine. Batting remained difficult through the match, with none of the batsmen being able to make a half-century. That Knight Riders were able to score 171 despite anyone scoring big underscored the importance of partnerships, and impactful innings. Yusuf's was one such, but there were others, too.
Even though Knight Riders had lost Gautam Gambhir in the fifth over, the batsman edging an outswinger from Zaheer Khan to the wicketkeeper, it had been a good Powerplay as 50 runs had come. Robin Uthappa had picked up a couple of boundaries through outside edges and had been dropped once by Yuvraj Singh, but had also found timing to score 29 of those runs.
The arrival of spin, though, slowed things down. Amit Mishra bowled three dots at Uthappa in a tight seventh over that cost him just one run. After three more dots at the batsman in his next, he forced a mistake, Uthappa playing across the line and being trapped lbw. At that stage, Mishra's figures read 2-0-2-1.
Knight Riders sent Piyush Chawla up the order to arrest the slide of momentum, but the move turned counter-productive as the batsman struggled to middle the ball. He did hit a four and a six but his 19-ball 22 spanned a period of 5.5 overs starting from the 10th that saw Daredevils rein in the innings. Manish Pandey perished during that phase, chopping on and giving Yuvraj his first wicket this season.
Still, Knight Riders, on 109 for 4 with five over to go and with a battery of spinners in their line-up, looked set for a challenging total. Contrary to his first spell, Mishra's second announced a swing towards the home team.
Bowling the 16th, Mishra was taken for 10 runs that included a six over long-off by Yusuf. The next over, bowled by Tahir, saw Andre Russell hole out in the deep but also cost Daredevils 16 runs. Pathan continued a measured onslaught on the two spinners and helped Knight Riders cross 150 in the penultimate over before falling for 42, his best score this IPL. Botha, with four consecutive boundaries off Zaheer in the last over, provided the perfect finish.
Daredevils' chase started with a solid opening stand of 63 between the impressive Shreyas Iyer, who scored 40, and his new partner, Manoj Tiwary. But as the two repeatedly struggled for timing, it was clear the following batsmen were going to find it tough. Tiwary succumbed first, to Chawla in the 10th over, after a 28-ball 25. Iyer followed in the next. Then once Chawla removed Kedhar Jadhav and Yuvraj in the 14th over, the writing was on the wall.
2nd Test Days 1+2 BAN V PAK
Day 1
Pakistan 323 for 3 v Bangladesh
An invigorated Younis Khan and a determined Azhar Ali took command of the second Test, putting on 250 for the third wicket, as Pakistan loped to 323 for 3 at stumps. Azhar and Younis defused the early menace when they came together at 58 for 2, began to counterpunch in the second session and were bludgeoning Bangladesh around the Shere Bangla when Younis was dismissed for 148 off 195, with only five full overs to play in the day. Azhar stayed not out on 127, having ridden early luck.
Seduced by an unusually dense covering of grass on the Mirpur surface, Mushfiqur Rahim was dealt a poor hand. He had already gambled by bowling first with only two seamers in the attack. Two balls into the match Shahadat Hossain - who had come into the side for the injured Rubel Hossain - hobbled off the field after taking a tumble during his delivery stride. Mushfiqur was forced to rely on part-time seamer Soumya Sarkar and a phalanx of spinners, who were defanged by a first-day pitch that offered only modest turn. That both centurions should have been out earlier if bowlers had not delivered no balls, added to Mushfiqur's considerable stress.
The seam movement Mushfiqur had anticipated played a role in Mohammad Hafeez' dismissal, when Shahid set him up with lifter that jagged back in, then drew the edge with a straighter delivery. That dismissal had Pakistan at 9 for 1, but the injury to Shahadat prevented Bangladesh from pushing as hard as they could have in the first hour. With lunch in sight, they took their second wicket, when Sami Aslam ran at Taijul, and put him in the hands of deep midwicket.
There was tug-and-pull in the first overs of the Azhar-Younis association, as Azhar overcame a series of close calls. Earlier in the morning, he was walking back to the dressing room after edging Mohammad Shahid to third slip, when replays showed the bowler had not landed his heel behind the popping crease. Reprieved on 18, Azhar gave further chances off spin at 34 and 35 to Mominul Haque at silly point and short leg. Both times the ball whizzed quickly between the fielder's legs before he could get low enough.
Younis deadbatted his way to 1 off 15 before lunch, but opened his shoulders in the second session, clearing his front leg to send the spinners over mid-on - once for six - before masterfully employing the sweep to raise the tempo further. By the fourth hour of the day, a pattern to his progress emerged. Every now and then, he'd interrupt the steady thrum of singles he and Azhar had worked up, to shuffle forward into a sweep. He'd watch for the overcorrection next ball then play off the back foot, often finding runs square on the off side. He reached 50 off 72 balls and by late-afternoon, his strike rate hovered around 75.
Azhar meanwhile, sunk time into re-establishing himself at the crease after his early scares, and was only punishing bad balls for most of the day. Shakib Al Hasan and Taijul Islam attempted a variety of plans, tempting Azhar outside off in the second session to lure another mistake. But Azhar gritted through this, while Younis gave the innings impetus at the other end.
Younis was the first to his hundred after tea, but not before he too was called back to the crease, after presenting a catch to short cover. Soumya had overstepped to reprieve him on 78, and then Younis breezed through to the second new ball, reaching his 29th Test ton with a tow to deep cover to end a period of relative calm, before attacking again. A slog-swept six over deep midwicket off Shakib heralded the charge, which Azhar soon joined. His made his eighth trip to triple-figures by launching Taijul down the ground for four.
With neither spinners nor seamers able to glean much from the old ball, Mushfiqur threw his part-timers at Pakistan, who were only too glad to face them. By the 80th over, Pakistan's run rate had ticked above 3.5.
Shahid broke the stand with the second new ball, when he had Younis slicing to backward point, two runs short of his 150. Misbah-ul-Haq announced himself at the crease with a six over long-on off the second ball he faced, but otherwise he and Azhar were content to hunker down till stumps.
Day 2
Bangladesh 107 for 5 trail Pakistan 557 for 8 dec by 450 runs
Pakistan claimed five wickets before stumps, after declaring on 557 for 8 to take the Mirpur Test by the collar on the second day. Their batting gains were led by Azhar Ali, who moved to a maiden double ton, and Asad Shafiq, who struck a sprightly 107 after arriving at the crease in the second over of the day. The pair struck 207 runs in each other's company, then ceded the stage to the bowlers, who ripped out Bangladesh's top order in the final session.
Junaid Khan claimed Tamim Iqbal and Mominul Haque in an inspired six-over burst with the new ball, before Yasir Shah beat Imrul Kayes in the flight in his first over, and later, bowled Mushfiqur Rahim with a googly off what would be the last ball of the day. Just before that, Wahab Riaz had Mahmudullah fending a vicious lifter to short leg, and Bangladesh went to stumps 450 runs adrift, in grave danger of having to follow on. Had Younis Khan held an outside edge at slip off Yasir, Shakib Al Hasan may have been out as well.
The Shere Bangla track appeared placid while the Bangladesh bowlers toiled on it for much of the day. But Junaid, moving the ball both ways at pace, had the batsmen poking. He slipped three awayswingers to Tamim first up, before nailing the in-form batsman in front of the stumps with one that curved in. Tamim was struck above the knee roll, and perhaps thought the ball to be sliding down, but his review was unsuccessful as projections had the ball shaving leg stump.
Undeterred, Imrul cracked four fours in Junaid's next over, before the bowler gathered himself. Mominul Haque was untroubled by the other seamer Imran Khan, but faced ten scoreless Junaid deliveries before presenting a faint under-edge to the wicketkeeper on 13. That ball and the one immediately before it had stayed unusually low, adding weight to suspicion that the pitch was becoming more difficult to bat on.
Junaid had drawn false strokes from Imrul as well, but the batsman continued to play freely until Yasir removed him in his first over. Seducing Imrul into a drive, Yasir got the ball to dip and grip dramatically, to clatter into the stumps off the batsman's pads. He sucked Shakib into a cut next ball, but Younis could not hold the sharp chance to his right. Yasir would get a second scalp regardless. In the last over of the day, he showed Mushfiqur a huge legbreak, ripping away from off stump, before pitching a googly in the same area next ball. Having failed to read the ball, Mushfiqur played a cut, but had his stumps splayed.
Wahab looked for swing in his first spell without much success, before reverting to the bouncer late in the day. He tried three to Mahmudullah. The first was deflected fine for four, and the second ducked beneath, but the third followed the rearing batsman, homing in on his throat, and he could do little else but fend at it with hard hands. Mohammad Hafeez took a simple catch close-in.
Azhar had been fortunate to survive till stumps on the first day, having given three clear chances, but was more secure on Thursday, while Shafiq kept the scoreboard moving quickly at the other end. Misbah-ul-Haq was cleverly bowled by Shakib in the second over the day, but that was as hopeful as the Bangladesh bowling effort got.
Azhar and Shafiq played out Mohammad Shahid's tight early overs, then slipped into a comfortable routine against the spinners. Shafiq would charge, with his sights on the legside boundary, while Azhar turned the strike over, and attacked only when bad balls came. They batted this way for around three hours, picking up milestones along the way. The occasional ball turned or kept low, but too few of them troubled either man.
Azhar survived a few nervous moments in the 190s, when Mushfiqur stitched a tight ring of fielders around him, but the batsman eventually ran at Shakib and hit him into the sightscreen to spark a joyful celebration. Shafiq's sixth trip to triple figures was more humdrum. He slammed Taijul Islam to the deep midwicket fence to move to 98 early in the afternoon session, then worked two more singles in the next over to become Pakistan's third centurion of the innings.
The pair surged when 400 was passed, in preparation for the declaration. Mushfiqur, for his part, was perhaps guilty of falling into a holding pattern too early, and of under-bowling the tenacious Shahid. Late in the afternoon both batsmen would fall in pursuit of quick runs, however. They attempted to hit Shuvagata Hom into the sightscreen, and mis-hit the ball to Mahmudullah at long off. Azhar's 226 came off 428 balls, and Shafiq had made his ton at a strike rate of 64.
Sarfaraz Ahmed struck an unbeaten run-a-ball 21 as wickets tumbled around him. Misbah's declaration came at tea, and Pakistan's bowlers produced perhaps their most dominant stretch of play in the tour. The hosts, however, might reflect that they played too many shots.
Pakistan 323 for 3 v Bangladesh
An invigorated Younis Khan and a determined Azhar Ali took command of the second Test, putting on 250 for the third wicket, as Pakistan loped to 323 for 3 at stumps. Azhar and Younis defused the early menace when they came together at 58 for 2, began to counterpunch in the second session and were bludgeoning Bangladesh around the Shere Bangla when Younis was dismissed for 148 off 195, with only five full overs to play in the day. Azhar stayed not out on 127, having ridden early luck.
Seduced by an unusually dense covering of grass on the Mirpur surface, Mushfiqur Rahim was dealt a poor hand. He had already gambled by bowling first with only two seamers in the attack. Two balls into the match Shahadat Hossain - who had come into the side for the injured Rubel Hossain - hobbled off the field after taking a tumble during his delivery stride. Mushfiqur was forced to rely on part-time seamer Soumya Sarkar and a phalanx of spinners, who were defanged by a first-day pitch that offered only modest turn. That both centurions should have been out earlier if bowlers had not delivered no balls, added to Mushfiqur's considerable stress.
The seam movement Mushfiqur had anticipated played a role in Mohammad Hafeez' dismissal, when Shahid set him up with lifter that jagged back in, then drew the edge with a straighter delivery. That dismissal had Pakistan at 9 for 1, but the injury to Shahadat prevented Bangladesh from pushing as hard as they could have in the first hour. With lunch in sight, they took their second wicket, when Sami Aslam ran at Taijul, and put him in the hands of deep midwicket.
There was tug-and-pull in the first overs of the Azhar-Younis association, as Azhar overcame a series of close calls. Earlier in the morning, he was walking back to the dressing room after edging Mohammad Shahid to third slip, when replays showed the bowler had not landed his heel behind the popping crease. Reprieved on 18, Azhar gave further chances off spin at 34 and 35 to Mominul Haque at silly point and short leg. Both times the ball whizzed quickly between the fielder's legs before he could get low enough.
Younis deadbatted his way to 1 off 15 before lunch, but opened his shoulders in the second session, clearing his front leg to send the spinners over mid-on - once for six - before masterfully employing the sweep to raise the tempo further. By the fourth hour of the day, a pattern to his progress emerged. Every now and then, he'd interrupt the steady thrum of singles he and Azhar had worked up, to shuffle forward into a sweep. He'd watch for the overcorrection next ball then play off the back foot, often finding runs square on the off side. He reached 50 off 72 balls and by late-afternoon, his strike rate hovered around 75.
Azhar meanwhile, sunk time into re-establishing himself at the crease after his early scares, and was only punishing bad balls for most of the day. Shakib Al Hasan and Taijul Islam attempted a variety of plans, tempting Azhar outside off in the second session to lure another mistake. But Azhar gritted through this, while Younis gave the innings impetus at the other end.
Younis was the first to his hundred after tea, but not before he too was called back to the crease, after presenting a catch to short cover. Soumya had overstepped to reprieve him on 78, and then Younis breezed through to the second new ball, reaching his 29th Test ton with a tow to deep cover to end a period of relative calm, before attacking again. A slog-swept six over deep midwicket off Shakib heralded the charge, which Azhar soon joined. His made his eighth trip to triple-figures by launching Taijul down the ground for four.
With neither spinners nor seamers able to glean much from the old ball, Mushfiqur threw his part-timers at Pakistan, who were only too glad to face them. By the 80th over, Pakistan's run rate had ticked above 3.5.
Shahid broke the stand with the second new ball, when he had Younis slicing to backward point, two runs short of his 150. Misbah-ul-Haq announced himself at the crease with a six over long-on off the second ball he faced, but otherwise he and Azhar were content to hunker down till stumps.
Day 2
Bangladesh 107 for 5 trail Pakistan 557 for 8 dec by 450 runs
Pakistan claimed five wickets before stumps, after declaring on 557 for 8 to take the Mirpur Test by the collar on the second day. Their batting gains were led by Azhar Ali, who moved to a maiden double ton, and Asad Shafiq, who struck a sprightly 107 after arriving at the crease in the second over of the day. The pair struck 207 runs in each other's company, then ceded the stage to the bowlers, who ripped out Bangladesh's top order in the final session.
Junaid Khan claimed Tamim Iqbal and Mominul Haque in an inspired six-over burst with the new ball, before Yasir Shah beat Imrul Kayes in the flight in his first over, and later, bowled Mushfiqur Rahim with a googly off what would be the last ball of the day. Just before that, Wahab Riaz had Mahmudullah fending a vicious lifter to short leg, and Bangladesh went to stumps 450 runs adrift, in grave danger of having to follow on. Had Younis Khan held an outside edge at slip off Yasir, Shakib Al Hasan may have been out as well.
The Shere Bangla track appeared placid while the Bangladesh bowlers toiled on it for much of the day. But Junaid, moving the ball both ways at pace, had the batsmen poking. He slipped three awayswingers to Tamim first up, before nailing the in-form batsman in front of the stumps with one that curved in. Tamim was struck above the knee roll, and perhaps thought the ball to be sliding down, but his review was unsuccessful as projections had the ball shaving leg stump.
Undeterred, Imrul cracked four fours in Junaid's next over, before the bowler gathered himself. Mominul Haque was untroubled by the other seamer Imran Khan, but faced ten scoreless Junaid deliveries before presenting a faint under-edge to the wicketkeeper on 13. That ball and the one immediately before it had stayed unusually low, adding weight to suspicion that the pitch was becoming more difficult to bat on.
Junaid had drawn false strokes from Imrul as well, but the batsman continued to play freely until Yasir removed him in his first over. Seducing Imrul into a drive, Yasir got the ball to dip and grip dramatically, to clatter into the stumps off the batsman's pads. He sucked Shakib into a cut next ball, but Younis could not hold the sharp chance to his right. Yasir would get a second scalp regardless. In the last over of the day, he showed Mushfiqur a huge legbreak, ripping away from off stump, before pitching a googly in the same area next ball. Having failed to read the ball, Mushfiqur played a cut, but had his stumps splayed.
Wahab looked for swing in his first spell without much success, before reverting to the bouncer late in the day. He tried three to Mahmudullah. The first was deflected fine for four, and the second ducked beneath, but the third followed the rearing batsman, homing in on his throat, and he could do little else but fend at it with hard hands. Mohammad Hafeez took a simple catch close-in.
Azhar had been fortunate to survive till stumps on the first day, having given three clear chances, but was more secure on Thursday, while Shafiq kept the scoreboard moving quickly at the other end. Misbah-ul-Haq was cleverly bowled by Shakib in the second over the day, but that was as hopeful as the Bangladesh bowling effort got.
Azhar and Shafiq played out Mohammad Shahid's tight early overs, then slipped into a comfortable routine against the spinners. Shafiq would charge, with his sights on the legside boundary, while Azhar turned the strike over, and attacked only when bad balls came. They batted this way for around three hours, picking up milestones along the way. The occasional ball turned or kept low, but too few of them troubled either man.
Azhar survived a few nervous moments in the 190s, when Mushfiqur stitched a tight ring of fielders around him, but the batsman eventually ran at Shakib and hit him into the sightscreen to spark a joyful celebration. Shafiq's sixth trip to triple figures was more humdrum. He slammed Taijul Islam to the deep midwicket fence to move to 98 early in the afternoon session, then worked two more singles in the next over to become Pakistan's third centurion of the innings.
The pair surged when 400 was passed, in preparation for the declaration. Mushfiqur, for his part, was perhaps guilty of falling into a holding pattern too early, and of under-bowling the tenacious Shahid. Late in the afternoon both batsmen would fall in pursuit of quick runs, however. They attempted to hit Shuvagata Hom into the sightscreen, and mis-hit the ball to Mahmudullah at long off. Azhar's 226 came off 428 balls, and Shafiq had made his ton at a strike rate of 64.
Sarfaraz Ahmed struck an unbeaten run-a-ball 21 as wickets tumbled around him. Misbah's declaration came at tea, and Pakistan's bowlers produced perhaps their most dominant stretch of play in the tour. The hosts, however, might reflect that they played too many shots.
Tuesday, 5 May 2015
IPL 2015 Match 39
Mumbai v Delhi
Ambati Rayudu and Kieron Pollard held their nerve in a thrilling run chase as Mumbai Indians claimed a five-wicket victory over the Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League.
Despite being interrupted by rain in the second innings, Rayudu played the key role late in the game as Mumbai battled to a fourth successive win.
It was the perfect start to the match for Mumbai when Lasith Malinga had Mayank Agarwal caught by Parthiv Patel off the first ball of the innings, and despite scoring at a good rate after the setback, JP Duminy's (28) dismissal in the sixth over left the visitors on 50-3.
Wickets continued to fall at regular intervals, but Yuvraj Singh gave his side a chance with 57 off 44 balls as Delhi reached 152-6 from their 20 overs.
Mumbai made a disappointing start to their reply as Lendl Simmons (0) and Hardik Pandya (5) departed inside the opening two overs, before Angelo Mathews dismissed Patel (13) to reduce the hosts to 29-3.
Rohit Sharma led the recovery with 46, but Mumbai were still 53 runs short of the total when he was bowled by Amit Mishra in the 16th over.
Pollard (26*) came to the crease to join Rayudu (49*), and the two combined well to leave their side needing just eight runs from the final six balls.
A single was followed by Pollard's third six, and the West Indian all-rounder completed the win with three balls remaining as they joined Delhi on eight points.
Ambati Rayudu and Kieron Pollard held their nerve in a thrilling run chase as Mumbai Indians claimed a five-wicket victory over the Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League.
Despite being interrupted by rain in the second innings, Rayudu played the key role late in the game as Mumbai battled to a fourth successive win.
It was the perfect start to the match for Mumbai when Lasith Malinga had Mayank Agarwal caught by Parthiv Patel off the first ball of the innings, and despite scoring at a good rate after the setback, JP Duminy's (28) dismissal in the sixth over left the visitors on 50-3.
Wickets continued to fall at regular intervals, but Yuvraj Singh gave his side a chance with 57 off 44 balls as Delhi reached 152-6 from their 20 overs.
Mumbai made a disappointing start to their reply as Lendl Simmons (0) and Hardik Pandya (5) departed inside the opening two overs, before Angelo Mathews dismissed Patel (13) to reduce the hosts to 29-3.
Rohit Sharma led the recovery with 46, but Mumbai were still 53 runs short of the total when he was bowled by Amit Mishra in the 16th over.
Pollard (26*) came to the crease to join Rayudu (49*), and the two combined well to leave their side needing just eight runs from the final six balls.
A single was followed by Pollard's third six, and the West Indian all-rounder completed the win with three balls remaining as they joined Delhi on eight points.
Monday, 4 May 2015
IPL 2015 Matches 37 + 38
CSK V RCB
The Chennai Super Kings recorded their seventh win of this year's Indian Premier League at the expense of the Royal Challengers Bangalore this afternoon.
The Super Kings batted first and after opener Brendon McCullum had been dismissed for 20, Suresh Raina took command.
The left-hander made 52 runs off just 46 balls before he was trapped lbw by Harshal Patel.
It was then left to skipper MS Dhoni (29) and Faf du Plessis (24) to make solid contributions, which took the Super Kings to 148 from their 20 allotted overs.
In response, it seemed that the Challengers were on course for victory until Virat Kohli was run out by Dwayne Bravo for 48.
AB de Villiers (21) and Dinesh Karthik (23) also helped to push their side on, but they ultimately ran out of wickets and time when Iqbal Abdulla was caught in the deep by Bravo in the final over.
It meant that the Super Kings had won the encounter, which sends them top of the table, by 24 runs.
Kolkata Knight Riders 167 for 7 (Pandey 33, Gambhir 31, Karn 2-29) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 132 for 9 (Henriques 41, Hogg 2-17, Umesh 2-34) by 35 runs
Umesh Yadav's first-over double-strike loosened the bolts, before Kolkata Knight Riders' spinners took charge and the wheels truly came off Sunrisers Hyderabad's chase. Pursuing 168 on a dry Eden Gardens deck, the visitors were 6 for 2, then later slipped to 69 for 6 in the 12th over, as the big shots continued to prove unfruitful, and their running between wickets faltered. They would finish 35 runs adrift, at 132 for 9.
Bradd Hogg and Piyush Chawla were both menacing and miserly through the middle overs, picking 3 for 33 from eight overs between them to lock up the match despite Moises Henriques' battling 41 from 33, which was the top score in the match.
Perhaps Sunrisers captain David Warner's first mistake of the evening had been to bowl first on what appeared to be a spin-friendly deck to his counterpart, Gautam Gambhir. After his side had conceded 167 for 7, Warner made another error to see his off stump pegged back by the third legal delivery he faced. Having pulled Yadav for four previous ball, Warner played around a seaming length ball. Three balls later, Naman Ojha made the same mistake, the stump, this time, coming all the way out of the ground.
Shikhar Dhawan and Henriques attempted to bash the chase into gear, but at spin's early introduction, they became more cautious. Dhawan was out when he smoked a Brad Hogg half-tracker straight to square leg, but despite that bad ball, Hogg was instrumental in keeping the opposition pinned to their bad start. Yusuf Pathan leaked 19 runs in his solitary over, conceding two sixes and a four to Henriques, but the bowlers around him were economical enough to prevent a Sunrisers surge.
Eoin Morgan's slow start got worse when, after a moment's hesitation, he failed to beat Gambir's throw to the non-striker's end, and was out for 5 off 11. The boundaries had dried up after that Pathan over, and another double-strike in the 12th over, went a long way to sealing the result.
Hanuma Vihari ran past a Chawla slider fourth ball, before Bipul Sharma was run out attempting an ambitious second at the end of the over. That left the visitors needing 99 from 48 balls with four wickets in hand, and with Chawla, Yadav and Hogg all continuing to bowl tightly, the required-rate quickly climbed to unmanageable levels. In all, no boundaries were hit for eight overs in a stretch.
Knight Riders' own innings had been somewhat disjointed, with four batsmen hitting thirties, as Sunrisers' slower bowlers also prospered. Robin Uthappa and Gambhir had put on 57 together before Gambhir holed out to deep midwicket off Karn Sharma's bowling. Manish Pandey looked the most promising out of the top-order batsmen, finding two big sixes down the ground, before he ran himself out for 33 in the 14th over. Pathan struck four fours in a 19-ball 30 that finished the innings. Karn ended with 2 for 29, the best figures for Sunrisers.
The Chennai Super Kings recorded their seventh win of this year's Indian Premier League at the expense of the Royal Challengers Bangalore this afternoon.
The Super Kings batted first and after opener Brendon McCullum had been dismissed for 20, Suresh Raina took command.
The left-hander made 52 runs off just 46 balls before he was trapped lbw by Harshal Patel.
It was then left to skipper MS Dhoni (29) and Faf du Plessis (24) to make solid contributions, which took the Super Kings to 148 from their 20 allotted overs.
In response, it seemed that the Challengers were on course for victory until Virat Kohli was run out by Dwayne Bravo for 48.
AB de Villiers (21) and Dinesh Karthik (23) also helped to push their side on, but they ultimately ran out of wickets and time when Iqbal Abdulla was caught in the deep by Bravo in the final over.
It meant that the Super Kings had won the encounter, which sends them top of the table, by 24 runs.
Kolkata Knight Riders 167 for 7 (Pandey 33, Gambhir 31, Karn 2-29) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 132 for 9 (Henriques 41, Hogg 2-17, Umesh 2-34) by 35 runs
Umesh Yadav's first-over double-strike loosened the bolts, before Kolkata Knight Riders' spinners took charge and the wheels truly came off Sunrisers Hyderabad's chase. Pursuing 168 on a dry Eden Gardens deck, the visitors were 6 for 2, then later slipped to 69 for 6 in the 12th over, as the big shots continued to prove unfruitful, and their running between wickets faltered. They would finish 35 runs adrift, at 132 for 9.
Bradd Hogg and Piyush Chawla were both menacing and miserly through the middle overs, picking 3 for 33 from eight overs between them to lock up the match despite Moises Henriques' battling 41 from 33, which was the top score in the match.
Perhaps Sunrisers captain David Warner's first mistake of the evening had been to bowl first on what appeared to be a spin-friendly deck to his counterpart, Gautam Gambhir. After his side had conceded 167 for 7, Warner made another error to see his off stump pegged back by the third legal delivery he faced. Having pulled Yadav for four previous ball, Warner played around a seaming length ball. Three balls later, Naman Ojha made the same mistake, the stump, this time, coming all the way out of the ground.
Shikhar Dhawan and Henriques attempted to bash the chase into gear, but at spin's early introduction, they became more cautious. Dhawan was out when he smoked a Brad Hogg half-tracker straight to square leg, but despite that bad ball, Hogg was instrumental in keeping the opposition pinned to their bad start. Yusuf Pathan leaked 19 runs in his solitary over, conceding two sixes and a four to Henriques, but the bowlers around him were economical enough to prevent a Sunrisers surge.
Eoin Morgan's slow start got worse when, after a moment's hesitation, he failed to beat Gambir's throw to the non-striker's end, and was out for 5 off 11. The boundaries had dried up after that Pathan over, and another double-strike in the 12th over, went a long way to sealing the result.
Hanuma Vihari ran past a Chawla slider fourth ball, before Bipul Sharma was run out attempting an ambitious second at the end of the over. That left the visitors needing 99 from 48 balls with four wickets in hand, and with Chawla, Yadav and Hogg all continuing to bowl tightly, the required-rate quickly climbed to unmanageable levels. In all, no boundaries were hit for eight overs in a stretch.
Knight Riders' own innings had been somewhat disjointed, with four batsmen hitting thirties, as Sunrisers' slower bowlers also prospered. Robin Uthappa and Gambhir had put on 57 together before Gambhir holed out to deep midwicket off Karn Sharma's bowling. Manish Pandey looked the most promising out of the top-order batsmen, finding two big sixes down the ground, before he ran himself out for 33 in the 14th over. Pathan struck four fours in a 19-ball 30 that finished the innings. Karn ended with 2 for 29, the best figures for Sunrisers.
Sunday, 3 May 2015
3rd Test Day 3 WI 189 & 194/5 bt ENG 257 & 123 by 5 wkts
England fell to a five-wicket defeat in an absorbing final Test as West Indies tied the three-match series at 1-1.
England resumed in Barbados 107 ahead at 39-5 but, despite an unbeaten 35 from Jos Buttler, were all out for 123.
Windies seamer Jason Holder took 3-16, leaving the hosts with a target of 192.
Left-hander Darren Bravo struck three sixes in a magnificent 82, sharing 108 with Jermaine Blackwood, who was 47 not out, as the Windies beat England for only the second time in 29 Tests.
After a wretched World Cup campaign, when they lost to Bangladesh and failed to progress beyond the initial group stages, defeat at the Kensington Oval is likely to leave the England coaching staff with some difficult questions to answer from the hierarchy at the England and Wales Cricket Board.
Incoming ECB chairman Colin Graves said before the start of the series that there would be "some enquiries" if they failed to win in the Caribbean, and he takes up his post on 15 May.
Yet having scrambled for runs in frantic style at the end of a remarkable second day on which 18 wickets fell, England had calmly added 23 without alarm on the third morning.
The introduction of slow left-armer Veerasammy Permaul soon saw Gary Ballance caught at slip, but Stokes played in positive fashion, unleashing some effective reverse sweeps to add 33 with Buttler, who got off the mark in fine style with a six off Permaul.
However, Stokes skewed the spinner to cover and tall seamer Holder struck in successive balls.
The destructive Buttler blazed four fours and a six from the next seven balls he faced but the number eight was again left not out at the other end when last man James Anderson was lbw after a review.
The home team's reply began one over before lunch and the afternoon soon appeared ominous for England when, for once, Anderson was unable to trouble the batsmen.
Debutant Shai Hope was dropped by Joe Root at third slip off Stuart Broad, with star catcher Chris Jordan inexplicably positioned in the outfield, and both reviews were wasted within the opening 11 overs.
But Jordan trapped Hope lbw with a full delivery angling in, upheld after a review, and then produced another astonishing reflex catch at slip in the next over to snaffle Kraigg Brathwaite off the spin of Moeen Ali.
The Windies added 35 and appeared to be in command again, but England restricted the scoring and Broad nipped one back to rattle through the defence of Marlon Samuels.
Things fluctuated once again after tea, as Bravo launched the first ball of the session from Root for six, but in the next over the veteran Shivnarine Chanderpaul chopped Anderson onto his stumps, ending a disappointing series for the 40-year-old.
With 105 needed, Blackwood was way out of his ground having danced down the pitch to Root, but Buttler was unable to gather a sharply turning ball down the leg-side and the stumping chance went begging.
It proved a key moment as Bravo and Blackwood mixed defence and attack with great assurance to punish England's tiring attack.
Having reached his 11th Test fifty, Bravo edged Anderson through a vacant second slip area and, though he was well caught by Broad at mid-off with only four needed, the work had been done and the Windies soon completed a famous victory under the floodlights.
IPL 2015 Matches 35 + 36
The Mumbai Indians won their third Indian Premier League game in a row with a 23-run victory over bottom-of-the-table Kings XI Punjab this afternoon.
The Indians won the toss in Mohali and chose to bat, with openers Lendl Simmons (71) and Parthiv Patel (59) scoring the bulk of the runs as Mumbai posted 172/3 from their 20 overs.
In reply, Punjab lost Virender Sehwag for just two runs in the second over as Kieron Pollard took the catch off the bowling of Lasith Malinga.
Murali Vijay (39) and David Miller (43) scored well and quickly, but they weren't well supported as Kings XI were only able to post 149/7 from their 20 overs.
Mumbai remain second-bottom in the table, but they are now just a point behind Royal Challengers Bangalore in what is a congested mid-table.
The Rajasthan Royals have moved to the top of the Indian Premier League thanks to a 14-run victory over the Delhi Daredevils in Mumbai this evening.
Delhi won the toss and chose to field, but they couldn't take any early wickets as openers Ajinkya Rahane and Shane Watson set the early pace for the Royals.
Angelo Mathews took the wicket of Watson for 21 in the seventh over, but that brought Karun Nair to the crease and he and Rahane put on a third-wicket partnership of 113 as the Royals finished on 189/2 from their 20 overs.
Rahane finished unbeaten on 91 from just 54 balls, while Nair fell in the penultimate over after bashing 61 off 38.
In reply, Delhi got off to a slow start and never looked like threatening Rajasthan's total until JP Duminy (56) built some middle-order partnerships to give the Daredevils an outside chance.
It wasn't to be, though, as no other Daredevil scored higher than 22, with their innings coming to an end at 175/7.
Rajasthan have as many wins as the Chennai Super Kings, but the latter has two games in-hand in the race for first place. Delhi, meanwhile, are one of five sides in mid-table separated by just one point.
The Indians won the toss in Mohali and chose to bat, with openers Lendl Simmons (71) and Parthiv Patel (59) scoring the bulk of the runs as Mumbai posted 172/3 from their 20 overs.
In reply, Punjab lost Virender Sehwag for just two runs in the second over as Kieron Pollard took the catch off the bowling of Lasith Malinga.
Murali Vijay (39) and David Miller (43) scored well and quickly, but they weren't well supported as Kings XI were only able to post 149/7 from their 20 overs.
Mumbai remain second-bottom in the table, but they are now just a point behind Royal Challengers Bangalore in what is a congested mid-table.
The Rajasthan Royals have moved to the top of the Indian Premier League thanks to a 14-run victory over the Delhi Daredevils in Mumbai this evening.
Delhi won the toss and chose to field, but they couldn't take any early wickets as openers Ajinkya Rahane and Shane Watson set the early pace for the Royals.
Angelo Mathews took the wicket of Watson for 21 in the seventh over, but that brought Karun Nair to the crease and he and Rahane put on a third-wicket partnership of 113 as the Royals finished on 189/2 from their 20 overs.
Rahane finished unbeaten on 91 from just 54 balls, while Nair fell in the penultimate over after bashing 61 off 38.
In reply, Delhi got off to a slow start and never looked like threatening Rajasthan's total until JP Duminy (56) built some middle-order partnerships to give the Daredevils an outside chance.
It wasn't to be, though, as no other Daredevil scored higher than 22, with their innings coming to an end at 175/7.
Rajasthan have as many wins as the Chennai Super Kings, but the latter has two games in-hand in the race for first place. Delhi, meanwhile, are one of five sides in mid-table separated by just one point.
Saturday, 2 May 2015
3rd Test Day 2 WI 189 V ENG 257 & 39/5
England lead West Indies by only 107 runs at 39-5 after 18 wickets fell on a dramatic second day of the final Test.
Resuming on 240-7, England added only 17 with their remaining three wickets as paceman Jerome Taylor produced a spell of 3-3 to dismiss them for 257.
Anderson took 3-2 in five overs and finished with 6-42, his best overseas figures, as West Indies were 189 all out, Jerome Blackwood hitting 85.
But batting again, England collapsed to leave the Test in the balance.
The figure of 18 wickets at the Kensington Oval in Barbados is a new record for the most in a day in the West Indies.
Former England opener Geoffrey Boycott on BBC Test Match Special
"England don't have enough runs. If someone gets a quick 40 or 50 for West Indies when they are chasing, someone like Blackwood for example, and gets away with a few hits, then the pressure is on the bowlers. If England get out of jail here, it will be a miracle."
Such was the unusual nature of proceedings that Taylor, having ended the England innings with successive deliveries that uprooted the stumps, was back to attempt a hat-trick midway through the final session when the tourists batted again.
The pitch was far from the minefield England made it look, and their hesitant reply leaves their 1-0 series advantage in serious jeopardy.
It had looked as though it would be a different story for Alastair Cook's team when their leading Test wicket-taker Anderson produced a devastating spell of swing bowling.
He had Kraigg Brathwaite caught at third slip second ball while Alastair Cook, who had dropped Darren Bravo at first slip off Broad, pouched debutant Shai Hope for with a low catch confirmed by television replay.
And having bowled outswingers to Marlon Samuel he brought one back in to trap him lbw when no stroke was offered.
Moeen Ali dismissed Darren Bravo in the first over after lunch but was dispatched for 14 in three balls by the aggressive Blackwood, who hit powerfully down the ground, with 11 fours and a four sixes in his fourth Test fifty.
There was plenty more loose bowling from England's occasional spinners, and a Root long hop was pummelled by Blackwood into the wrist of Gary Ballance, who had to leave the field, although he was fit to bat later in the day.
Anderson captured the final three wickets, Blackwood the last to fall, well caught by Moeen in the deep.
The absorbing nature of the contest continued, however, with Jonathan Trott out for his fifth single-figure score out of six in the series, lbw playing across the line again to Taylor.
As the Windies sensed the unease within the England ranks, Cook was caught at slip in the next over, Ian Bell succumbed to a pair and Joe Root edged to slip - all within 15 overs.
Moeen attempted an injudicious cut shot in the penultimate over and got an inside edge onto his stumps, leaving the match on a knife-edge.
Resuming on 240-7, England added only 17 with their remaining three wickets as paceman Jerome Taylor produced a spell of 3-3 to dismiss them for 257.
Anderson took 3-2 in five overs and finished with 6-42, his best overseas figures, as West Indies were 189 all out, Jerome Blackwood hitting 85.
But batting again, England collapsed to leave the Test in the balance.
The figure of 18 wickets at the Kensington Oval in Barbados is a new record for the most in a day in the West Indies.
Former England opener Geoffrey Boycott on BBC Test Match Special
"England don't have enough runs. If someone gets a quick 40 or 50 for West Indies when they are chasing, someone like Blackwood for example, and gets away with a few hits, then the pressure is on the bowlers. If England get out of jail here, it will be a miracle."
Such was the unusual nature of proceedings that Taylor, having ended the England innings with successive deliveries that uprooted the stumps, was back to attempt a hat-trick midway through the final session when the tourists batted again.
The pitch was far from the minefield England made it look, and their hesitant reply leaves their 1-0 series advantage in serious jeopardy.
It had looked as though it would be a different story for Alastair Cook's team when their leading Test wicket-taker Anderson produced a devastating spell of swing bowling.
He had Kraigg Brathwaite caught at third slip second ball while Alastair Cook, who had dropped Darren Bravo at first slip off Broad, pouched debutant Shai Hope for with a low catch confirmed by television replay.
And having bowled outswingers to Marlon Samuel he brought one back in to trap him lbw when no stroke was offered.
Moeen Ali dismissed Darren Bravo in the first over after lunch but was dispatched for 14 in three balls by the aggressive Blackwood, who hit powerfully down the ground, with 11 fours and a four sixes in his fourth Test fifty.
There was plenty more loose bowling from England's occasional spinners, and a Root long hop was pummelled by Blackwood into the wrist of Gary Ballance, who had to leave the field, although he was fit to bat later in the day.
Anderson captured the final three wickets, Blackwood the last to fall, well caught by Moeen in the deep.
The absorbing nature of the contest continued, however, with Jonathan Trott out for his fifth single-figure score out of six in the series, lbw playing across the line again to Taylor.
As the Windies sensed the unease within the England ranks, Cook was caught at slip in the next over, Ian Bell succumbed to a pair and Joe Root edged to slip - all within 15 overs.
Moeen attempted an injudicious cut shot in the penultimate over and got an inside edge onto his stumps, leaving the match on a knife-edge.
IPL 2015 Matches 33+34
Royal Challengers Bangalore 115 for 3 in 9.4 overs (Mandeep 45*, Kohli 34) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 111 for 4 in 10 overs (Russell 45, Uthappa 23) by seven wickets
The penultimate ball of the penultimate over of the match. Umesh Yadav had his fine leg inside the circle, and Mandeep Singh stepped across his stumps to scoop the ball over the fielder. Deep backward square leg sprinted desperately to his right to stop the ball, but he had no chance. It had rained, and the outfield was a little slow, but this ball landed on a practice pitch and raced into the boundary.
Next ball, Mandeep skipped down the track and looked to swipe a length ball through mid-off. He ended up edging it to the third man boundary. In the space of two balls sprinkled with a fair measure of fortune, Royal Challengers Bangalore had gone from needing 21 to win from eight balls to needing 13 from six.
Such things happen all the time in Twenty20, but this was a rain-shortened 10-overs-a-side match. Even Ravi Shastri, interviewing the losing captain at the post-match presentation, commiserated with him, calling it a "lottery".
Mandeep, though, played a massive hand in deciding the fate of the lottery. He walked when Royal Challengers had just lost Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers in the space of six balls, when they needed 62 from 32 balls, and produced a stunning, unbeaten 18-ball 45 to power his team home with two balls remaining.
Mandeep's composure under pressure was fully tested, with only three runs coming off the first two balls of the final over, leaving 10 to get from four balls. He made room to get under an almost blockhole-length delivery from Andre Russell and carved him for a six over backward point, and pulled the next ball over deep backward square leg to send the Chinnaswamy Stadium into raptures.
Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli had given Royal Challengers the perfect start to a chase of 112 in 10 overs, but when Mandeep walked in, their batting depth was under test. Kohli fell when 32 were required from 17, but before that he and Mandeep had taken 18 off a Piyush Chawla over to tilt the momentum their way.
Rain pelted down almost immediately after Royal Challengers had chosen to bowl first, and delayed the start of play by two hours and 45 minutes. The reduction of overs meant this was now a contest between the power hitters from the two teams, but Kolkata Knight Riders didn't make any immediate changes to their batting order.
Gautam Gambhir put on 33 with Robin Uthappa at 8.60 an over, before slicing David Wiese in the air to point. Russell walked in, and immediately set to work, square-cutting Yuzvendra Chahal to the point boundary and smacking Varun Aaron for two sixes in the next over. Chahal dismissed Uthappa in the next over, but that was hardly noticeable in the midst of Russell's clean striking.
Two powerful straight hits off Wiese took Knight Riders to 86 for 2 at the end of the eighth over. Ryan ten Doeschate joined in the fun with a six and a four in the next over, off Harshal Patel, before a smart bit of thinking from Dinesh Karthik - who kept wickets without his right glove - brought about Russell's wicket while the batsmen tried to sneak a bye.
Russell had clouted 45 off 17, and maybe Knight Riders could have scored a few more had he been in the middle to face the final over. As it happened, Mitchell Starc gave away only nine runs - despite bowling a wide and a contentious no-ball - and 111 proved just within reach of Royal Challengers' line-up.
Sunrisers Hyderabad 192 for 7 (Warner 61, Bravo 3-25) beat Chennai Super Kings 170 for 6 (Du Plessis 33, Henriques 2-20, Bhuvneshwar 2-32) by 22 runs
David Warner's fifth half-century in eight innings set up Sunrisers Hyderabad's fourth win of the season. Warner belted 12 boundaries off his first 21 deliveries to make 61 off 28, his innings launching Sunrisers to 192 for 7 in their first game this year in Hyderabad.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Moises Henriques took vital wickets in the chase to see off Chennai Super Kings comfortably. The match, however, turned decisively when Ashish Reddy ran out Faf du Plessis in the 13th over to break a 46-run stand, and then bowled MS Dhoni next ball to reduce Super Kings to 114 for 5. Getting more than two a ball after that against the accuracy of the Sunrisers seamers was too much for the lower middle order, and though Super Kings lost only one more wicket, they finished well behind on 170 for 6.
That was the score Warner had said was par on the bouncy Hyderabad pitch, and that his side ended up getting much closer to 200 was largely down to him, again. The Super Kings seamers, especially Mohit Sharma, thought that the short ball would work against Warner. The Sunrisers captain took them apart, launching a blaze of punches, cuts and pulls as the hosts sped to 76 for 0 in the first six overs.
Warner's opening partner Shikhar Dhawan again struggled to get off strike, and when the Australian fell to Suresh Raina in the ninth over, Dhawan was on a run-a-ball 22.
Moises Henriques was promoted to No. 3 and biffed a few to carry on the momentum. After Dhawan was run out on 37 off 32 as he strolled for a second run, Naman Ojha lashed some boundaries to take the score past 150.
Eoin Morgan had come in at No. 4 but was able to make some impact only at the finish to return with an unbeaten 32 off 27.
Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum arrived swinging hard but could not last beyond the Powerplay. McCullum played on off Bhuvneshwar in the second over after hitting Trent Boult for three successive fours. Smith holed out for 21 trying to target the slower pace of Henriques. Raina soon met with the same fate, another middling score keeping his average for the season to an underwhelming 25.
Super Kings had slipped to 68 for 3 with Raina's exit, but du Plessis and Dhoni were playing sensibly and still keeping up with the asking-rate. With 79 needed off 45 and seven wickets in hand, Super Kings were right in the game, but Reddy's double-strike changed that.
The penultimate ball of the penultimate over of the match. Umesh Yadav had his fine leg inside the circle, and Mandeep Singh stepped across his stumps to scoop the ball over the fielder. Deep backward square leg sprinted desperately to his right to stop the ball, but he had no chance. It had rained, and the outfield was a little slow, but this ball landed on a practice pitch and raced into the boundary.
Next ball, Mandeep skipped down the track and looked to swipe a length ball through mid-off. He ended up edging it to the third man boundary. In the space of two balls sprinkled with a fair measure of fortune, Royal Challengers Bangalore had gone from needing 21 to win from eight balls to needing 13 from six.
Such things happen all the time in Twenty20, but this was a rain-shortened 10-overs-a-side match. Even Ravi Shastri, interviewing the losing captain at the post-match presentation, commiserated with him, calling it a "lottery".
Mandeep, though, played a massive hand in deciding the fate of the lottery. He walked when Royal Challengers had just lost Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers in the space of six balls, when they needed 62 from 32 balls, and produced a stunning, unbeaten 18-ball 45 to power his team home with two balls remaining.
Mandeep's composure under pressure was fully tested, with only three runs coming off the first two balls of the final over, leaving 10 to get from four balls. He made room to get under an almost blockhole-length delivery from Andre Russell and carved him for a six over backward point, and pulled the next ball over deep backward square leg to send the Chinnaswamy Stadium into raptures.
Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli had given Royal Challengers the perfect start to a chase of 112 in 10 overs, but when Mandeep walked in, their batting depth was under test. Kohli fell when 32 were required from 17, but before that he and Mandeep had taken 18 off a Piyush Chawla over to tilt the momentum their way.
Rain pelted down almost immediately after Royal Challengers had chosen to bowl first, and delayed the start of play by two hours and 45 minutes. The reduction of overs meant this was now a contest between the power hitters from the two teams, but Kolkata Knight Riders didn't make any immediate changes to their batting order.
Gautam Gambhir put on 33 with Robin Uthappa at 8.60 an over, before slicing David Wiese in the air to point. Russell walked in, and immediately set to work, square-cutting Yuzvendra Chahal to the point boundary and smacking Varun Aaron for two sixes in the next over. Chahal dismissed Uthappa in the next over, but that was hardly noticeable in the midst of Russell's clean striking.
Two powerful straight hits off Wiese took Knight Riders to 86 for 2 at the end of the eighth over. Ryan ten Doeschate joined in the fun with a six and a four in the next over, off Harshal Patel, before a smart bit of thinking from Dinesh Karthik - who kept wickets without his right glove - brought about Russell's wicket while the batsmen tried to sneak a bye.
Russell had clouted 45 off 17, and maybe Knight Riders could have scored a few more had he been in the middle to face the final over. As it happened, Mitchell Starc gave away only nine runs - despite bowling a wide and a contentious no-ball - and 111 proved just within reach of Royal Challengers' line-up.
Sunrisers Hyderabad 192 for 7 (Warner 61, Bravo 3-25) beat Chennai Super Kings 170 for 6 (Du Plessis 33, Henriques 2-20, Bhuvneshwar 2-32) by 22 runs
David Warner's fifth half-century in eight innings set up Sunrisers Hyderabad's fourth win of the season. Warner belted 12 boundaries off his first 21 deliveries to make 61 off 28, his innings launching Sunrisers to 192 for 7 in their first game this year in Hyderabad.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Moises Henriques took vital wickets in the chase to see off Chennai Super Kings comfortably. The match, however, turned decisively when Ashish Reddy ran out Faf du Plessis in the 13th over to break a 46-run stand, and then bowled MS Dhoni next ball to reduce Super Kings to 114 for 5. Getting more than two a ball after that against the accuracy of the Sunrisers seamers was too much for the lower middle order, and though Super Kings lost only one more wicket, they finished well behind on 170 for 6.
That was the score Warner had said was par on the bouncy Hyderabad pitch, and that his side ended up getting much closer to 200 was largely down to him, again. The Super Kings seamers, especially Mohit Sharma, thought that the short ball would work against Warner. The Sunrisers captain took them apart, launching a blaze of punches, cuts and pulls as the hosts sped to 76 for 0 in the first six overs.
Warner's opening partner Shikhar Dhawan again struggled to get off strike, and when the Australian fell to Suresh Raina in the ninth over, Dhawan was on a run-a-ball 22.
Moises Henriques was promoted to No. 3 and biffed a few to carry on the momentum. After Dhawan was run out on 37 off 32 as he strolled for a second run, Naman Ojha lashed some boundaries to take the score past 150.
Eoin Morgan had come in at No. 4 but was able to make some impact only at the finish to return with an unbeaten 32 off 27.
Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum arrived swinging hard but could not last beyond the Powerplay. McCullum played on off Bhuvneshwar in the second over after hitting Trent Boult for three successive fours. Smith holed out for 21 trying to target the slower pace of Henriques. Raina soon met with the same fate, another middling score keeping his average for the season to an underwhelming 25.
Super Kings had slipped to 68 for 3 with Raina's exit, but du Plessis and Dhoni were playing sensibly and still keeping up with the asking-rate. With 79 needed off 45 and seven wickets in hand, Super Kings were right in the game, but Reddy's double-strike changed that.
1st Test Day 5 BAN 332 & 555/6 drew with PAK 628
Bangladesh 332 and 555 for 6 drew with Pakistan 628
The 312-run stand between Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes broke a 55-year-old record © AFP
The incredible opening stand between Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes passed the 300-run mark, setting more records while making short work of what had seemed like a match-winning lead for Pakistan a little over 24 hours ago and attained, undeniably, one of the top spots in Bangladesh cricket legend.
Kayes, who moved shoulder to shoulder with Tamim during the stand, fell for 150, but there was no stopping Tamim. He had kick-started Bangladesh's resurgence in the Test and went on with unwavering resolve to register the highest Test score - 206 - by a Bangladesh batsman.
As Tamim walked back after a rare mistake in the 99th over, Mohammad Hafeez, the successful bowler, was the first one to congratulate him on an enthralling innings that was both serene and audacious. And it came at a time of grief in the family. Kayes' innings was no less vital.
The draw in Khulna was in line with improvements Bangladesh have shown across formats after a difficult 2014. The transformation happened somewhere along the home series win against Zimbabwe last October, continued through the World Cup down under and if there were still doubts after the ODI and Twenty20 wins against Pakistan, the first Test should quell them.
It was the first time in nine Tests that Pakistan were not able to force a win against Bangladesh. Irrespective of the conditions, that stat alone was a huge boost for Bangladesh cricket. Pakistan, a few rungs above the home side in Test rankings, are still favourites ahead of the Dhaka Test, but will be under severe pressure.
The seeds of doubt for Pakistan were solely sown by the Tamim-Kayes stand. The striking feature of the batsmanship was the ability to change gears from time to time. A number of remarkable innings have been played by Bangladesh batsmen in the past, but not many have seen batsmen marrying personal goals with team requirement as seamlessly as Tamim and Kayes did in this Test.
Tamim had said before the start of play on the final day that it was crucial for Bangladesh to keep their concentration through the first session as they were still behind in the Test, and both he and Kayes took time to set themselves up again. Only six runs were scored in the first five overs, with Kayes playing out three maidens on the trot from Junaid Khan, one more than what they had played in the 61 overs yesterday.
The pitch had refused to change much though it was the fifth day but Junaid was reversing the ball both ways in that initial spell. Kayes was saved by the inside edge first ball of the morning as one swung in late. Then Tamim was floored by a vicious inswinger that struck him flush on the boot, the batsman falling forward on his elbows after losing balance. That delivery would have grazed the leg stump, too. If there was any hangover from yesterday, it was duly shaken off.
Two balls later, Tamim watchfully clipped a similar delivery to fine leg before Kayes, in the same over, leaned into a fuller delivery to hit the first boundary of the day, which drew the pair level with Colin Cowdrey and Geoff Puller's 55-year-old record of the highest opening stand in second innings of a Test. In the next over, Tamim stepped out of the crease and crisply drove Yasir Shah through covers to put Bangladesh in the lead.
And just like that, they were back in cruise mode again. Bangladesh reached 300 in the 69th over, Tamim touched 150 in the 71st and Kayes joined him three overs later. While Tamim went on to pass his previous best of 151, Kayes, looking to push the scoring, holed out at long-off.
Unaffected by the dismissal, Tamim carried on in a controlled manner, his calmness gnawing on the last crumb of hope Pakistan might have harboured. Mominul Haque came and went, missing a fuller delivery to give Junaid his first wicket of the match, but the score kept moving along.
Then, as if waking up from an afternoon slumber, Tamim surprised Yasir Shah to move from 182 to 194 in two balls. In the next over, after being beaten on the charge, he smashed Junaid down the ground for his seventh six to move past Mushfiqur Rahim's 200.
At the time of Tamim's dismissal, Bangladesh's lead had swelled to 103 runs. Shakib Al Hasan led the grind of Pakistan bowlers and took the score past 413, Bangladesh's previous highest second-innings total to eventual 555 for 6, their best against Pakistan. It was also the first time Pakistan had leaked more than 500 in the second innings.
The 312-run stand between Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes broke a 55-year-old record © AFP
The incredible opening stand between Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes passed the 300-run mark, setting more records while making short work of what had seemed like a match-winning lead for Pakistan a little over 24 hours ago and attained, undeniably, one of the top spots in Bangladesh cricket legend.
Kayes, who moved shoulder to shoulder with Tamim during the stand, fell for 150, but there was no stopping Tamim. He had kick-started Bangladesh's resurgence in the Test and went on with unwavering resolve to register the highest Test score - 206 - by a Bangladesh batsman.
As Tamim walked back after a rare mistake in the 99th over, Mohammad Hafeez, the successful bowler, was the first one to congratulate him on an enthralling innings that was both serene and audacious. And it came at a time of grief in the family. Kayes' innings was no less vital.
The draw in Khulna was in line with improvements Bangladesh have shown across formats after a difficult 2014. The transformation happened somewhere along the home series win against Zimbabwe last October, continued through the World Cup down under and if there were still doubts after the ODI and Twenty20 wins against Pakistan, the first Test should quell them.
It was the first time in nine Tests that Pakistan were not able to force a win against Bangladesh. Irrespective of the conditions, that stat alone was a huge boost for Bangladesh cricket. Pakistan, a few rungs above the home side in Test rankings, are still favourites ahead of the Dhaka Test, but will be under severe pressure.
The seeds of doubt for Pakistan were solely sown by the Tamim-Kayes stand. The striking feature of the batsmanship was the ability to change gears from time to time. A number of remarkable innings have been played by Bangladesh batsmen in the past, but not many have seen batsmen marrying personal goals with team requirement as seamlessly as Tamim and Kayes did in this Test.
Tamim had said before the start of play on the final day that it was crucial for Bangladesh to keep their concentration through the first session as they were still behind in the Test, and both he and Kayes took time to set themselves up again. Only six runs were scored in the first five overs, with Kayes playing out three maidens on the trot from Junaid Khan, one more than what they had played in the 61 overs yesterday.
The pitch had refused to change much though it was the fifth day but Junaid was reversing the ball both ways in that initial spell. Kayes was saved by the inside edge first ball of the morning as one swung in late. Then Tamim was floored by a vicious inswinger that struck him flush on the boot, the batsman falling forward on his elbows after losing balance. That delivery would have grazed the leg stump, too. If there was any hangover from yesterday, it was duly shaken off.
Two balls later, Tamim watchfully clipped a similar delivery to fine leg before Kayes, in the same over, leaned into a fuller delivery to hit the first boundary of the day, which drew the pair level with Colin Cowdrey and Geoff Puller's 55-year-old record of the highest opening stand in second innings of a Test. In the next over, Tamim stepped out of the crease and crisply drove Yasir Shah through covers to put Bangladesh in the lead.
And just like that, they were back in cruise mode again. Bangladesh reached 300 in the 69th over, Tamim touched 150 in the 71st and Kayes joined him three overs later. While Tamim went on to pass his previous best of 151, Kayes, looking to push the scoring, holed out at long-off.
Unaffected by the dismissal, Tamim carried on in a controlled manner, his calmness gnawing on the last crumb of hope Pakistan might have harboured. Mominul Haque came and went, missing a fuller delivery to give Junaid his first wicket of the match, but the score kept moving along.
Then, as if waking up from an afternoon slumber, Tamim surprised Yasir Shah to move from 182 to 194 in two balls. In the next over, after being beaten on the charge, he smashed Junaid down the ground for his seventh six to move past Mushfiqur Rahim's 200.
At the time of Tamim's dismissal, Bangladesh's lead had swelled to 103 runs. Shakib Al Hasan led the grind of Pakistan bowlers and took the score past 413, Bangladesh's previous highest second-innings total to eventual 555 for 6, their best against Pakistan. It was also the first time Pakistan had leaked more than 500 in the second innings.
Friday, 1 May 2015
3rd Test Day 1 WI V ENG 240/7
England captain Alastair Cook scored his first Test century since May 2013 on the opening day of the final Test with West Indies in Barbados.
The 30-year-old, who survived an appeal for a catch on 22, ended a run of 35 innings without a Test century and reached his 26th hundred off 259 balls.
He was caught behind in the final over to signal stumps, leaving England on 240-7 after they chose to bat.
Earlier, opening partner Jonathan Trott fell for his third duck of the series.
Cook - deposed as one-day captain last December - had made two half-centuries in England's nine-wicket win in Grenada last month and patiently completed his first Test ton since the Headingley Test with New Zealand in 2013.
However, problems continued for Trott in his new role at the top of the innings.
Since returning to the side for this series after stress-related problems that forced him to return early from the Ashes tour of Australia in November 2013, Trott has made one fifty, but only four runs in the four other innings.
His movement across the crease left him in an awkward, crouching position facing fast bowler Shannon Gabriel and he flicked a rapid short delivery tamely to square-leg.
Jason Holder soon struck in consecutive overs, first beating Gary Ballance (18) for pace and uprooting his middle stump and then deceiving Ian Bell to offer a simple return catch for a duck.
It might have been 51-4 before lunch when Cook turned Veerasammy Permaul to short-leg in the slow left-armer's opening over, but although replays indicated otherwise, television umpire Steve Davis decided the catch had not been taken cleanly.
Joe Root (33) appeared on course to equal the world record of seven successive scores in excess of 50 but having added a calm 50 partnership with his captain, he feathered a catch behind off the spinner.
There was appreciable turn in the pitch but Permaul, in his first Test since 2013, was guilty of numerous full tosses, one of several West Indian bowlers to offer too many loose deliveries, and he conceded 12 boundaries.
The Windies were offered an unlikely reprieve when Cook cut straight to backward point but called Moeen Ali for an injudicious single and the Worcestershire batsman's stylish 58 ended in a run-out without the need for a replay.
Cook consolidated to reach three figures in the 88th over but the late wickets ensured the West Indies, who trail 1-0 in the series, had the better of the proceedings.
The 30-year-old, who survived an appeal for a catch on 22, ended a run of 35 innings without a Test century and reached his 26th hundred off 259 balls.
He was caught behind in the final over to signal stumps, leaving England on 240-7 after they chose to bat.
Earlier, opening partner Jonathan Trott fell for his third duck of the series.
Cook - deposed as one-day captain last December - had made two half-centuries in England's nine-wicket win in Grenada last month and patiently completed his first Test ton since the Headingley Test with New Zealand in 2013.
However, problems continued for Trott in his new role at the top of the innings.
Since returning to the side for this series after stress-related problems that forced him to return early from the Ashes tour of Australia in November 2013, Trott has made one fifty, but only four runs in the four other innings.
His movement across the crease left him in an awkward, crouching position facing fast bowler Shannon Gabriel and he flicked a rapid short delivery tamely to square-leg.
Jason Holder soon struck in consecutive overs, first beating Gary Ballance (18) for pace and uprooting his middle stump and then deceiving Ian Bell to offer a simple return catch for a duck.
It might have been 51-4 before lunch when Cook turned Veerasammy Permaul to short-leg in the slow left-armer's opening over, but although replays indicated otherwise, television umpire Steve Davis decided the catch had not been taken cleanly.
Joe Root (33) appeared on course to equal the world record of seven successive scores in excess of 50 but having added a calm 50 partnership with his captain, he feathered a catch behind off the spinner.
There was appreciable turn in the pitch but Permaul, in his first Test since 2013, was guilty of numerous full tosses, one of several West Indian bowlers to offer too many loose deliveries, and he conceded 12 boundaries.
The Windies were offered an unlikely reprieve when Cook cut straight to backward point but called Moeen Ali for an injudicious single and the Worcestershire batsman's stylish 58 ended in a run-out without the need for a replay.
Cook consolidated to reach three figures in the 88th over but the late wickets ensured the West Indies, who trail 1-0 in the series, had the better of the proceedings.
1st test Days 3+4 BAN V PAK
Day 4
Bangladesh 332 and 273 for 0 (Tamim 138*, Kayes 132*) trail Pakistan 628 (Hafeez 224, Azhar 83, Shafiq 83, Sarfraz 82, Taijul 6-163) by 23 runs
The prospect of surviving five sessions under a heavy deficit against a potent bowling attack would have forced most sides into a shell. Ten years ago in Dhaka, Bangladesh had batted out 142 overs against Zimbabwe to force a draw and win their first Test series. Nafees Iqbal had knuckled down to score 121 in almost six hours in that match.
Faced with a daunting deficit of 296, Nafees' brother Tamim Iqbal, however, chose an alternative approach. He kept all diffidence aside in a blistering century - his third in three Tests, his seventh overall and his first against Pakistan - that helped Bangladesh slice off almost all of Pakistan's daunting lead in just over two sessions. Along with Imrul Kayes, who was close on Tamim's heels with his third Test century, he added 273 runs in 61 overs during an unbeaten stand that not only beat the record of Bangladesh's best opening set by the same pair in the the team's previous Test, it also was their best stand for any wicket.
If there was any help for the bowlers from the pitch, it remained buried deep under the solidity of the two batsmen. The ball reversed, but often found the middle of the bat; it turned, too, but was regularly carted away over the boundary ropes. Only twice, Pakistan came close to breaking the stand as Tamim was hit on the pads, but in both instances, the decision stayed with the umpire after Pakistan asked for a review.
It was a riposte Pakistan would have least expected after their continued dominance on the fourth morning. Even though left-arm spinner Taijul Islam ended with figures of 6 for 163 - his third five-for in sixth Test - as Pakistan lost their last five wickets for 34 runs, the damage had seemingly been done. Leading by 205 runs at the start of the fourth day, Sarfraz Ahmed and Asad Shafiq had extended the dominance with a 126-run stand for the sixth wicket. Both batsmen missed out on centuries but Pakistan's total propped up to 628, their best against Bangladesh.
The four overs Bangladesh had to play before lunch hid completely the approach they were going to take in the innings. Only six runs were scored after Tamim had narrowly survived an appeal for lbw off the first delivery from Junaid Khan. In the first over after lunch, though, Tamim carved the same bowler stylishly with a back-foot punch through backward point. In the next over from Wahab Riaz, Tamim picked up two consecutive boundaries with the pull shot.
If one thought it was a brief tactic to score quickly off the faster bowlers on a pitch that was still good for batting, before the arrival of spin, Tamim was to prove it wrong. He came out of the crease on the second ball bowled by Zulfiqar Babar but was lucky to mistime the lofted shot as it landed only couple of meters short of the fielder at deep midwicket. Had he holed out, his method would have surely been termed reckless.
A classic cover drive off Yasir Shah in the next over brought the 50 for Bangladesh, in 12.5 overs. The next 50 was even quicker; it came in 9.1 overs as Kayes joined in as well. Pakistan's spinners were constantly made to adjust their lengths as both batsmen jumped out of the crease without warning.
A reverse-swept boundary off Zulfiqar brought up Tamim's first fifty against Pakistan. The next ball disappeared over long-on. When brought on, Hafeez was served the same treatment, with Tamim smashing him down the ground for his second six in the bowler's second over and Kayes picking up a six and a four in his third to bring up Bangladesh's 100 in the 22nd over. When Tamim slowed down, Kayes picked up, reaching his half-century off 80 balls.
The pair tightened up in the third session, keeping the reverse-swing out, before a brace of boundaries off Junaid took Tamim to his fourth second-innings century off 123 balls. The innings put him ahead of Mohammad Ashraful on the list of Bangladesh batsmen with most centuries.
Kayes was equally impressive and adventurous. He had been squatting behind the stumps as a substitute wicketkeeper for more than 100 overs over the last couple of days after Mushfiqur had injured his right hand. Eight overs into the day, Kayes, in an act of self-preservation, passed on the gloves to Mahmudullah. That came in handy as he survived a bout of cramps to reach the century-mark off 153 balls with the help of 11 fours and three sixes. By the end of the day, he had caught up with Tamim.
It was a highly unlikely turn of events. But it was such a day. Earlier, Mahmudullah, who was keeping wickets for the first time in international cricket, was reminded of the job responsibilities by Sarfraz. The batsman blocked in front of the pitch and directed Mahmudullah to pick up the ball, but then went on himself to lob it towards the bowler. If Pakistan were expecting similar generosity from Bangladesh's batsmen, it never came.
Day 3
Pakistan 537 for 5 (Hafeez 224, Azhar 83, Misbah 59) lead Bangladesh 332 by 205 runs
Mohammad Hafeez had missed a double-century twice in the past after coming close. He was dismissed for 196 against Sri Lanka in 2012 and had fallen short by three runs last year against New Zealand. But continuing on the flawless effort of the second day in Khulna, and on his recent Test form in general, Hafeez finally passed the landmark.
By the time he was dismissed for 224, the best by a Pakistan batsman against Bangladesh, Hafeez had helped his team strengthen their hold on the Test with a lead of 80, which then swelled to 205 by the end of the day after half-centuries from Misbah-ul-Haq, Asad Shafiq and Sarfraz Ahmed.
It wasn't a surprise that he slowed down after entering 190s. It took him 14 deliveries to get off 190. Then, after reaching 198 with a crisp straight drive off Mohammad Shahid, Hafeez had to wait 11 more deliveries to find the couple he needed. As Taijul Islam drifted on to the leg side, Hafeez paddled fine and scampered through for the second run, completing his double-century in 286 deliveries.
The calmness of Hafeez's celebration belied the enormity of the landmark. He took his helmet off, raised the bat, offering nothing more than a smile, then kneeled down for the sajda. He smashed a boundary immediately after passing 200, but assumed a quieter approach thereafter, which did not bode well for Bangladesh. But after looking settled for more, Hafeez was unlucky to glove a wide delivery down the leg side from Shuvagata Hom straight into the hands of leg gully.
Hafeez was almost unbreakable, and over large portions of the day, so was everyone else around him. The Bangladesh bowlers lacked penetration on a slow pitch, offering regular doses of boundary-balls, and the batsmen were never really made to work hard for runs. The most glaring for Bangladesh was the ineffectiveness of Shakib Al Hasan, who had a ten-wicket haul in his last Test at the ground, but with figures of 31-3-122-0, he was the most expensive of the frontline bowlers.
With Azhar Ali, Hafeez added 227, the second double-century partnership between the two. The 62-run third-wicket stand between Hafeez and Younis Khan took Pakistan past Bangladesh's total in the 87th over. And by tea, another 63-run partnership between Hafeez and Misbah had taken Pakistan past 400.
All through the day, the moment the Bangladesh spinners tried to flatten the trajectory, the ball sat up and was worked away to the leg side. Hafeez had scored most of his boundaries in that direction on the second day and he started with a pull in the first over of the third when Shakib pitched short. He reached his 150 in the seventh over of the morning with a calm push to mid-off.
Azhar, too, waited for that length and picked up a couple of boundaries on either side of the pitch off Shakib, the second one bringing up the double-century partnership. But just when Azhar looked set for a century, he was surprised by a quicker delivery from Shuvagata. The offspinner extracted just enough turn from the pitch to beat Azhar's lazy push and hit the middle stump.
The wicket was a cue for Shuvagata to continue bowling quicker through the air. He surprised Younis with bounce and turn early on his innings and had Hafeez making a rare error. Attempting a sweep, Hafeez missed another quicker delivery to be hit on the front pad. Tamim Iqbal, the stand-in captain, asked for a review but the impact was outside the line of off stump.
Four overs later, Hafeez hoisted Shuvagata over long-on for a six that brought up the team's 300 and Pakistan were off again. With Younis employing an array of shots and his partnership with Hafeez reaching 50 in 69 balls, Bangladesh were forced to take the new ball in the 84th over.
Rubel's outswing surprised Younis more than once but it was Taijul's flight that caught him out on the wrong foot. Bowling first change with the new ball, Taijul, out of nowhere, got one to grip the surface. Stuck in the crease, Younis was squared up completely as the ball spun away from middle-stump line to graze the off stump.
Misbah arrived and launched his third delivery, from Taijul, down the ground for a six. He was quick on his feet against the spinners and hit powerful pulls, reverse-sweeps and another six down the ground. Misbah could only stretch his innings to 59 before top-edging a sweep to deep backward square leg, but his 66-run partnership with Shafiq had given Bangladesh no respite.
The late aggression of Sarfraz, who scored 51 off 54 balls in a rapid half-century stand with Shafiq, had almost slammed the door on the home side.
Bangladesh 332 and 273 for 0 (Tamim 138*, Kayes 132*) trail Pakistan 628 (Hafeez 224, Azhar 83, Shafiq 83, Sarfraz 82, Taijul 6-163) by 23 runs
The prospect of surviving five sessions under a heavy deficit against a potent bowling attack would have forced most sides into a shell. Ten years ago in Dhaka, Bangladesh had batted out 142 overs against Zimbabwe to force a draw and win their first Test series. Nafees Iqbal had knuckled down to score 121 in almost six hours in that match.
Faced with a daunting deficit of 296, Nafees' brother Tamim Iqbal, however, chose an alternative approach. He kept all diffidence aside in a blistering century - his third in three Tests, his seventh overall and his first against Pakistan - that helped Bangladesh slice off almost all of Pakistan's daunting lead in just over two sessions. Along with Imrul Kayes, who was close on Tamim's heels with his third Test century, he added 273 runs in 61 overs during an unbeaten stand that not only beat the record of Bangladesh's best opening set by the same pair in the the team's previous Test, it also was their best stand for any wicket.
If there was any help for the bowlers from the pitch, it remained buried deep under the solidity of the two batsmen. The ball reversed, but often found the middle of the bat; it turned, too, but was regularly carted away over the boundary ropes. Only twice, Pakistan came close to breaking the stand as Tamim was hit on the pads, but in both instances, the decision stayed with the umpire after Pakistan asked for a review.
It was a riposte Pakistan would have least expected after their continued dominance on the fourth morning. Even though left-arm spinner Taijul Islam ended with figures of 6 for 163 - his third five-for in sixth Test - as Pakistan lost their last five wickets for 34 runs, the damage had seemingly been done. Leading by 205 runs at the start of the fourth day, Sarfraz Ahmed and Asad Shafiq had extended the dominance with a 126-run stand for the sixth wicket. Both batsmen missed out on centuries but Pakistan's total propped up to 628, their best against Bangladesh.
The four overs Bangladesh had to play before lunch hid completely the approach they were going to take in the innings. Only six runs were scored after Tamim had narrowly survived an appeal for lbw off the first delivery from Junaid Khan. In the first over after lunch, though, Tamim carved the same bowler stylishly with a back-foot punch through backward point. In the next over from Wahab Riaz, Tamim picked up two consecutive boundaries with the pull shot.
If one thought it was a brief tactic to score quickly off the faster bowlers on a pitch that was still good for batting, before the arrival of spin, Tamim was to prove it wrong. He came out of the crease on the second ball bowled by Zulfiqar Babar but was lucky to mistime the lofted shot as it landed only couple of meters short of the fielder at deep midwicket. Had he holed out, his method would have surely been termed reckless.
A classic cover drive off Yasir Shah in the next over brought the 50 for Bangladesh, in 12.5 overs. The next 50 was even quicker; it came in 9.1 overs as Kayes joined in as well. Pakistan's spinners were constantly made to adjust their lengths as both batsmen jumped out of the crease without warning.
A reverse-swept boundary off Zulfiqar brought up Tamim's first fifty against Pakistan. The next ball disappeared over long-on. When brought on, Hafeez was served the same treatment, with Tamim smashing him down the ground for his second six in the bowler's second over and Kayes picking up a six and a four in his third to bring up Bangladesh's 100 in the 22nd over. When Tamim slowed down, Kayes picked up, reaching his half-century off 80 balls.
The pair tightened up in the third session, keeping the reverse-swing out, before a brace of boundaries off Junaid took Tamim to his fourth second-innings century off 123 balls. The innings put him ahead of Mohammad Ashraful on the list of Bangladesh batsmen with most centuries.
Kayes was equally impressive and adventurous. He had been squatting behind the stumps as a substitute wicketkeeper for more than 100 overs over the last couple of days after Mushfiqur had injured his right hand. Eight overs into the day, Kayes, in an act of self-preservation, passed on the gloves to Mahmudullah. That came in handy as he survived a bout of cramps to reach the century-mark off 153 balls with the help of 11 fours and three sixes. By the end of the day, he had caught up with Tamim.
It was a highly unlikely turn of events. But it was such a day. Earlier, Mahmudullah, who was keeping wickets for the first time in international cricket, was reminded of the job responsibilities by Sarfraz. The batsman blocked in front of the pitch and directed Mahmudullah to pick up the ball, but then went on himself to lob it towards the bowler. If Pakistan were expecting similar generosity from Bangladesh's batsmen, it never came.
Day 3
Pakistan 537 for 5 (Hafeez 224, Azhar 83, Misbah 59) lead Bangladesh 332 by 205 runs
Mohammad Hafeez had missed a double-century twice in the past after coming close. He was dismissed for 196 against Sri Lanka in 2012 and had fallen short by three runs last year against New Zealand. But continuing on the flawless effort of the second day in Khulna, and on his recent Test form in general, Hafeez finally passed the landmark.
By the time he was dismissed for 224, the best by a Pakistan batsman against Bangladesh, Hafeez had helped his team strengthen their hold on the Test with a lead of 80, which then swelled to 205 by the end of the day after half-centuries from Misbah-ul-Haq, Asad Shafiq and Sarfraz Ahmed.
It wasn't a surprise that he slowed down after entering 190s. It took him 14 deliveries to get off 190. Then, after reaching 198 with a crisp straight drive off Mohammad Shahid, Hafeez had to wait 11 more deliveries to find the couple he needed. As Taijul Islam drifted on to the leg side, Hafeez paddled fine and scampered through for the second run, completing his double-century in 286 deliveries.
The calmness of Hafeez's celebration belied the enormity of the landmark. He took his helmet off, raised the bat, offering nothing more than a smile, then kneeled down for the sajda. He smashed a boundary immediately after passing 200, but assumed a quieter approach thereafter, which did not bode well for Bangladesh. But after looking settled for more, Hafeez was unlucky to glove a wide delivery down the leg side from Shuvagata Hom straight into the hands of leg gully.
Hafeez was almost unbreakable, and over large portions of the day, so was everyone else around him. The Bangladesh bowlers lacked penetration on a slow pitch, offering regular doses of boundary-balls, and the batsmen were never really made to work hard for runs. The most glaring for Bangladesh was the ineffectiveness of Shakib Al Hasan, who had a ten-wicket haul in his last Test at the ground, but with figures of 31-3-122-0, he was the most expensive of the frontline bowlers.
With Azhar Ali, Hafeez added 227, the second double-century partnership between the two. The 62-run third-wicket stand between Hafeez and Younis Khan took Pakistan past Bangladesh's total in the 87th over. And by tea, another 63-run partnership between Hafeez and Misbah had taken Pakistan past 400.
All through the day, the moment the Bangladesh spinners tried to flatten the trajectory, the ball sat up and was worked away to the leg side. Hafeez had scored most of his boundaries in that direction on the second day and he started with a pull in the first over of the third when Shakib pitched short. He reached his 150 in the seventh over of the morning with a calm push to mid-off.
Azhar, too, waited for that length and picked up a couple of boundaries on either side of the pitch off Shakib, the second one bringing up the double-century partnership. But just when Azhar looked set for a century, he was surprised by a quicker delivery from Shuvagata. The offspinner extracted just enough turn from the pitch to beat Azhar's lazy push and hit the middle stump.
The wicket was a cue for Shuvagata to continue bowling quicker through the air. He surprised Younis with bounce and turn early on his innings and had Hafeez making a rare error. Attempting a sweep, Hafeez missed another quicker delivery to be hit on the front pad. Tamim Iqbal, the stand-in captain, asked for a review but the impact was outside the line of off stump.
Four overs later, Hafeez hoisted Shuvagata over long-on for a six that brought up the team's 300 and Pakistan were off again. With Younis employing an array of shots and his partnership with Hafeez reaching 50 in 69 balls, Bangladesh were forced to take the new ball in the 84th over.
Rubel's outswing surprised Younis more than once but it was Taijul's flight that caught him out on the wrong foot. Bowling first change with the new ball, Taijul, out of nowhere, got one to grip the surface. Stuck in the crease, Younis was squared up completely as the ball spun away from middle-stump line to graze the off stump.
Misbah arrived and launched his third delivery, from Taijul, down the ground for a six. He was quick on his feet against the spinners and hit powerful pulls, reverse-sweeps and another six down the ground. Misbah could only stretch his innings to 59 before top-edging a sweep to deep backward square leg, but his 66-run partnership with Shafiq had given Bangladesh no respite.
The late aggression of Sarfraz, who scored 51 off 54 balls in a rapid half-century stand with Shafiq, had almost slammed the door on the home side.
IPL 2015 Matches 30-32
Mumbai Indians 187 for 5 (Rayudu 53*, Simmons 38, Kulkarni 2-26) beat Rajasthan Royals 179 for 7 (Samson 76, McClenaghan 3-31) by eight runs
It came down, in the end, to one stat: Mumbai Indians scored 61 in their last four overs. Their innings till that point had never looked like getting out of third gear, but a late blitz from Ambati Rayudu and Kieron Pollard left Rajasthan Royals chasing 188.
At various points, particularly when Sanju Samson was at the crease, Royals looked in control of the chase. But Mumbai's bowlers, unlike Royals', found their lengths at the death. Together, Mitchell McClenaghan and Lasith Malinga conceded only 14 runs in the 18th and 19th overs, and picked up three wickets. It left Royals 20 to get from the final over, and even though Vinay Kumar made things interesting with a couple of high full-tosses - one of which was a no-ball that produced both a catch in the deep and a run-out - it was too much of a hurdle to cross. Having made a storming start to the season, Royals went winless for the fifth match in a row.
It all came down to that one stat: 61 runs in four overs. In the early part of the season - when Royals won five out of five - Chris Morris and James Faulkner invariably bowled the last four overs. Neither was playing this game; instead, Juan Theron, Shane Watson and Tim Southee sent down a tasty assortment of length balls, short balls and full-tosses that Rayudu and Pollard gobbled up for six fours and three sixes.
Royals' chase got off to a frenetic start. An edgy Ajinkya Rahane played three awful swipes, of which one went to the boundary off the inside-edge, one hit the top edge and fell to the floor via a terrible drop from J Suchith, and the other fell safely into Rayudu's palms after another miscue. Watson timed and muscled his way to 28 before he was bowled trying to cut a skiddy quicker one from Suchith.
The required rate was always daunting but Samson - restored to his No.3 slot after moving from opening to batting in the lower middle order - kept Royals in the hunt with his effortless power and inventiveness. He played cat-and-mouse with Harbhajan Singh, moving around his crease, forcing him to bowl quicker, and using that pace to pick up two deftly dabbed fours through the fine third man region. He jumped in the air and pivoted violently through the hips to muscle a slower bouncer from Vinay into the gap between deep midwicket and long-on. He pulled Malinga over the leg-side boundary and lofted McClenaghan sweetly over long-off, but when he tried to repeat the stroke and failed to get the required elevation, he left Royals 27 to get from 14 balls.
That provoked the turnaround. Karun Nair fell next ball, slashing outside off and nicking McClenaghan to the keeper. Deepak Hooda flicked Malinga in the air, into the hands of deep midwicket. In four balls, Royals had lost their three young and exciting domestic talents, and with it the match.
For the first 16 overs of Mumbai's innings, it had seemed as if they would set a target of 165 at the most. Their openers made a bright start on a true pitch, but Parthiv Patel - typically - failed to convert a breezy start, and Unmukt Chand struggled his way to 13 off 14. Still, with Lendl Simmons scoring a 31-ball 38 at the top, Mumbai were going along at over eight an over for the first ten. It was decent going, but their batsmen kept getting out just when they were getting in.
Rohit Sharma provided another example of that, moving smoothly to 27 from 20 - with a couple of authoritative pulls in the mix - before picking out short fine leg off Dhawal Kulkarni. When he fell, Mumbai were 120 for 4 in the 15th over, and a tight 16th from Ankit Sharma, who mixed his pace well while not deriving too much turn, left them 126 for 4 after 16.
That was when Royals' new-look death bowling floundered, and in Rayudu and Pollard Mumbai had just the right pair at the crease to take heavy toll. Rayudu hadn't had the greatest of starts to his season, and hadn't even played all of Mumbai's matches, but he looked in top form here, striking the ball cleanly and picking up four fours and three sixes. One of them, not much more than a pick-up shot off Theron, soared high over wide long-on and landed in the second tier.
Delhi Daredevils 119 for 1 (Iyer 54, Agarwal 52*) beat Kings XI Punjab 118 for 8 (Miller 42, Coulter-Nile 4-20, Zaheer 2-17) by nine wickets
Delhi Daredevils have not given the Feroz Shah Kotla a lot to crow about in 2015, but in their final home match at this ground in the IPL group stage, they gutted Kings XI Punjab's top order, then blew past the opposition's 118 for 8 by nine wickets. Zaheer Khan claimed a wicket in each of his first two overs to kick Daredevil's most dominant performance of the season into gear, while JP Duminy and Nathan Coulter-Nile chipped in with scalps of their own. After 3.3 overs, Kings XI were 10 for 4 - their chance of rising above last place already on the rocks.
Coulter-Nile returned to terrorise the middle-order later on, finishing with figures of 4 for 20. Daredevils' openers Mayank Agarwal and Shreyas Iyer struck casual half-centuries in the reply, and the hosts raced home inside 14 overs.
Zaheer had not played competitive cricket in almost a year, following the strain sustained in his back at last year's IPL, but his impact at the Kotla was nearly immediate. Virender Sehwag was coming back to the Kings XI side himself, after a one-match layoff, but could find no end to his poor stretch of form against his former India team-mate. Sehwag aimed to push his second ball from Zaheer through the covers, but as the ball seamed away a touch, could only get a thick outside edge to it. Mathews took the catch at a close-in point.
Duminy opened the bowling from the other end, and hit Shaun Marsh in front of the stumps with a slider first ball. Manan Vohra tried to blast Kings XI out of the mire, but a Zaheer short ball next over put paid to those ambitions, catching the advancing batsman's outside edge en route to the keeper. Coulter-Nile bowled sharp outswing in his first spell. His reward was the wicket of Wriddhiman Saha, who drove loosely at one of those balls, and presented another catch to the keeper.
David Miller and George Bailey threatened a recovery, before Bailey was out missing a sweep off Amit Mishra in the eighth over, to embed Kings XI in misery at 37 for 5. It wasn't until Miller and Akshar Patel were joined at the crease that some semblance of a partnership materialised for the visitors. Those two shelved the more aggressive tenets of their game in the 59-run stand that gave Kings XI something to bowl at. Coulter-Nile had them both caught in the deep in the 19th over.
From the second over, Delhi's chase seemed a cakewalk. Shardul Thakur was wayward in his first IPL over, feeding Iyer two short wide balls to be cut over third man off successive deliveries. When he attempted to correct his line, he went too far the other way, first delivering a leg-side wide, then being clipped to the fence off the pads. There were quiet overs, and a tight spell from Sandeep Sharma, but the batsmen were largely untroubled in pursuit of such a meagre score. Iyer slammed the wayward Thisara Perera to the square-leg fence to reach his half-century in 38 balls, but he was caught at deep midwicket next over. Agarwal remained unbeaten with 52 from 40.
Kolkata Knight Riders 169 for 3 (Uthappa 80*, Russell 55*) beat Chennai Super Kings 165 for 9 (McCullum 32, Hogg 4-29) by seven wickets
Brad Hogg was looping the ball up, spinning it both ways and smothering the batsman in his own uncertainty. The result was 14 dot balls, four wickets, and only 29 runs given away. Chennai Super Kings' spinners, despite 165 to defend, were flat - both with their lengths and their intent. Their six overs cost 48 runs and a catch off a long hop and the reason for such figures were Robin Uthappa and Andre Russell, who helped themselves to unbeaten half-centuries and a seven-wicket victory.
That the winning runs were scored with only a ball remaining should not take anything away from Knight Riders' dominance. Batting had not been easy on a slow Eden Gardens pitch that was almost nepotistic towards spin. Given those conditions, and a required rate above eight, Uthappa, with 80 off 58, and Russell, with 55 off 32, were excellent.
Poking around against the turning ball was not an option. Riding it out wasn't one either considering Dhoni's prowess in squeezing a side with his slower bowlers. The best way forward was to deflect the pressure back. The 41 singles that Russell and Uthappa took played into that plan as much as the 15 boundaries they struck.
It was apparent that Knight Riders were fueled by the Chennai defeat and did not want a repeat. Gautam Gambhir had admitted too many batsmen had got stuck two days ago when they could not chase down 134. On Thursday, Russell was pushed up to No.5 to beat the spinners off their lengths and it worked like a charm.
Not that there weren't any chances created. Pawan Negi made a sound first appearance of the season - 1 for 23 and could have had another had Dhoni been able to convert a stumping when Uthappa was on 28. As much of a problem was Ravindra Jadeja at the other end, tricked into bowling quicker and flatter than necessary and leaked 25 off his two overs.
Ideally, Knight Riders would have preferred a smaller target. But Super Kings' ample batting resources allowed them to play like a car without brakes careening downhill. Nine fours, three sixes and 64 runs were found in the first five overs. And then came a Hogg-shaped speed bump. Brendon McCullum, who had bashed his way to 32 off 12, was thrown out of the driver's seat, Faf du Plessis had barely settled in when he was hoodwinked by a googly and Dhoni walked out with the score on 69 for 4 to a slip, silly point, short leg and leg slip.
Hogg was liberal with his googly, often packing three in an over, with the Super Kings batsmen failing to pick them. Dwayne Bravo and Jadeja were among them. But they persevered to add 57 runs off 58 balls to fan hopes of a competitive total. The Kolkata crowd's nerves were stretched further when Negi hammered four fours and a six in a 13-ball 27. But Hogg was around again to restore parity, with a second double-strike in the 19th over.
It came down, in the end, to one stat: Mumbai Indians scored 61 in their last four overs. Their innings till that point had never looked like getting out of third gear, but a late blitz from Ambati Rayudu and Kieron Pollard left Rajasthan Royals chasing 188.
At various points, particularly when Sanju Samson was at the crease, Royals looked in control of the chase. But Mumbai's bowlers, unlike Royals', found their lengths at the death. Together, Mitchell McClenaghan and Lasith Malinga conceded only 14 runs in the 18th and 19th overs, and picked up three wickets. It left Royals 20 to get from the final over, and even though Vinay Kumar made things interesting with a couple of high full-tosses - one of which was a no-ball that produced both a catch in the deep and a run-out - it was too much of a hurdle to cross. Having made a storming start to the season, Royals went winless for the fifth match in a row.
It all came down to that one stat: 61 runs in four overs. In the early part of the season - when Royals won five out of five - Chris Morris and James Faulkner invariably bowled the last four overs. Neither was playing this game; instead, Juan Theron, Shane Watson and Tim Southee sent down a tasty assortment of length balls, short balls and full-tosses that Rayudu and Pollard gobbled up for six fours and three sixes.
Royals' chase got off to a frenetic start. An edgy Ajinkya Rahane played three awful swipes, of which one went to the boundary off the inside-edge, one hit the top edge and fell to the floor via a terrible drop from J Suchith, and the other fell safely into Rayudu's palms after another miscue. Watson timed and muscled his way to 28 before he was bowled trying to cut a skiddy quicker one from Suchith.
The required rate was always daunting but Samson - restored to his No.3 slot after moving from opening to batting in the lower middle order - kept Royals in the hunt with his effortless power and inventiveness. He played cat-and-mouse with Harbhajan Singh, moving around his crease, forcing him to bowl quicker, and using that pace to pick up two deftly dabbed fours through the fine third man region. He jumped in the air and pivoted violently through the hips to muscle a slower bouncer from Vinay into the gap between deep midwicket and long-on. He pulled Malinga over the leg-side boundary and lofted McClenaghan sweetly over long-off, but when he tried to repeat the stroke and failed to get the required elevation, he left Royals 27 to get from 14 balls.
That provoked the turnaround. Karun Nair fell next ball, slashing outside off and nicking McClenaghan to the keeper. Deepak Hooda flicked Malinga in the air, into the hands of deep midwicket. In four balls, Royals had lost their three young and exciting domestic talents, and with it the match.
For the first 16 overs of Mumbai's innings, it had seemed as if they would set a target of 165 at the most. Their openers made a bright start on a true pitch, but Parthiv Patel - typically - failed to convert a breezy start, and Unmukt Chand struggled his way to 13 off 14. Still, with Lendl Simmons scoring a 31-ball 38 at the top, Mumbai were going along at over eight an over for the first ten. It was decent going, but their batsmen kept getting out just when they were getting in.
Rohit Sharma provided another example of that, moving smoothly to 27 from 20 - with a couple of authoritative pulls in the mix - before picking out short fine leg off Dhawal Kulkarni. When he fell, Mumbai were 120 for 4 in the 15th over, and a tight 16th from Ankit Sharma, who mixed his pace well while not deriving too much turn, left them 126 for 4 after 16.
That was when Royals' new-look death bowling floundered, and in Rayudu and Pollard Mumbai had just the right pair at the crease to take heavy toll. Rayudu hadn't had the greatest of starts to his season, and hadn't even played all of Mumbai's matches, but he looked in top form here, striking the ball cleanly and picking up four fours and three sixes. One of them, not much more than a pick-up shot off Theron, soared high over wide long-on and landed in the second tier.
Delhi Daredevils 119 for 1 (Iyer 54, Agarwal 52*) beat Kings XI Punjab 118 for 8 (Miller 42, Coulter-Nile 4-20, Zaheer 2-17) by nine wickets
Delhi Daredevils have not given the Feroz Shah Kotla a lot to crow about in 2015, but in their final home match at this ground in the IPL group stage, they gutted Kings XI Punjab's top order, then blew past the opposition's 118 for 8 by nine wickets. Zaheer Khan claimed a wicket in each of his first two overs to kick Daredevil's most dominant performance of the season into gear, while JP Duminy and Nathan Coulter-Nile chipped in with scalps of their own. After 3.3 overs, Kings XI were 10 for 4 - their chance of rising above last place already on the rocks.
Coulter-Nile returned to terrorise the middle-order later on, finishing with figures of 4 for 20. Daredevils' openers Mayank Agarwal and Shreyas Iyer struck casual half-centuries in the reply, and the hosts raced home inside 14 overs.
Zaheer had not played competitive cricket in almost a year, following the strain sustained in his back at last year's IPL, but his impact at the Kotla was nearly immediate. Virender Sehwag was coming back to the Kings XI side himself, after a one-match layoff, but could find no end to his poor stretch of form against his former India team-mate. Sehwag aimed to push his second ball from Zaheer through the covers, but as the ball seamed away a touch, could only get a thick outside edge to it. Mathews took the catch at a close-in point.
Duminy opened the bowling from the other end, and hit Shaun Marsh in front of the stumps with a slider first ball. Manan Vohra tried to blast Kings XI out of the mire, but a Zaheer short ball next over put paid to those ambitions, catching the advancing batsman's outside edge en route to the keeper. Coulter-Nile bowled sharp outswing in his first spell. His reward was the wicket of Wriddhiman Saha, who drove loosely at one of those balls, and presented another catch to the keeper.
David Miller and George Bailey threatened a recovery, before Bailey was out missing a sweep off Amit Mishra in the eighth over, to embed Kings XI in misery at 37 for 5. It wasn't until Miller and Akshar Patel were joined at the crease that some semblance of a partnership materialised for the visitors. Those two shelved the more aggressive tenets of their game in the 59-run stand that gave Kings XI something to bowl at. Coulter-Nile had them both caught in the deep in the 19th over.
From the second over, Delhi's chase seemed a cakewalk. Shardul Thakur was wayward in his first IPL over, feeding Iyer two short wide balls to be cut over third man off successive deliveries. When he attempted to correct his line, he went too far the other way, first delivering a leg-side wide, then being clipped to the fence off the pads. There were quiet overs, and a tight spell from Sandeep Sharma, but the batsmen were largely untroubled in pursuit of such a meagre score. Iyer slammed the wayward Thisara Perera to the square-leg fence to reach his half-century in 38 balls, but he was caught at deep midwicket next over. Agarwal remained unbeaten with 52 from 40.
Kolkata Knight Riders 169 for 3 (Uthappa 80*, Russell 55*) beat Chennai Super Kings 165 for 9 (McCullum 32, Hogg 4-29) by seven wickets
Brad Hogg was looping the ball up, spinning it both ways and smothering the batsman in his own uncertainty. The result was 14 dot balls, four wickets, and only 29 runs given away. Chennai Super Kings' spinners, despite 165 to defend, were flat - both with their lengths and their intent. Their six overs cost 48 runs and a catch off a long hop and the reason for such figures were Robin Uthappa and Andre Russell, who helped themselves to unbeaten half-centuries and a seven-wicket victory.
That the winning runs were scored with only a ball remaining should not take anything away from Knight Riders' dominance. Batting had not been easy on a slow Eden Gardens pitch that was almost nepotistic towards spin. Given those conditions, and a required rate above eight, Uthappa, with 80 off 58, and Russell, with 55 off 32, were excellent.
Poking around against the turning ball was not an option. Riding it out wasn't one either considering Dhoni's prowess in squeezing a side with his slower bowlers. The best way forward was to deflect the pressure back. The 41 singles that Russell and Uthappa took played into that plan as much as the 15 boundaries they struck.
It was apparent that Knight Riders were fueled by the Chennai defeat and did not want a repeat. Gautam Gambhir had admitted too many batsmen had got stuck two days ago when they could not chase down 134. On Thursday, Russell was pushed up to No.5 to beat the spinners off their lengths and it worked like a charm.
Not that there weren't any chances created. Pawan Negi made a sound first appearance of the season - 1 for 23 and could have had another had Dhoni been able to convert a stumping when Uthappa was on 28. As much of a problem was Ravindra Jadeja at the other end, tricked into bowling quicker and flatter than necessary and leaked 25 off his two overs.
Ideally, Knight Riders would have preferred a smaller target. But Super Kings' ample batting resources allowed them to play like a car without brakes careening downhill. Nine fours, three sixes and 64 runs were found in the first five overs. And then came a Hogg-shaped speed bump. Brendon McCullum, who had bashed his way to 32 off 12, was thrown out of the driver's seat, Faf du Plessis had barely settled in when he was hoodwinked by a googly and Dhoni walked out with the score on 69 for 4 to a slip, silly point, short leg and leg slip.
Hogg was liberal with his googly, often packing three in an over, with the Super Kings batsmen failing to pick them. Dwayne Bravo and Jadeja were among them. But they persevered to add 57 runs off 58 balls to fan hopes of a competitive total. The Kolkata crowd's nerves were stretched further when Negi hammered four fours and a six in a 13-ball 27. But Hogg was around again to restore parity, with a second double-strike in the 19th over.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)