West Indies 251 (Bravo 50, Herath 6-68) and 67 for 2 (f/o) trail Sri Lanka 484 by 166 runs
Rangana Herath bowled Sri Lanka into a formidable position in the Galle Test, picking up a six-wicket haul to force West Indies to follow-on before striking late in the final session to end a promising innings from Kraigg Brathwaite. At stumps on day three, West Indies were two down for 67, still trailing by 166.
West Indies had lost Shai Hope in the tenth over of their second innings, the opener playing on while trying to whip Milinda Siriwardana against the turn from outside off stump and giving the debutant his first Test wicket. Following that, Brathwaite and Darren Bravo had looked comfortable in the middle with Herath - who had bowled 33 overs in the first innings and four with the new ball in the second - briefly off the field. The two put on 39 in 11 overs, including two straight sixes by Bravo off Siriwardana, before Herath returned.
It took him only nine balls to produce the wicket-taking delivery. For the second time in the match, Brathwaite pressed forward and played down the wrong line to one that skidded in with the angle; his review, against Marais Erasmus' instantaneously raised finger, came from wild hope rather than any degree of conviction. The ball had struck him in line and was destined to take out a big chunk of middle and leg stump.
In the first innings, West Indies' lower order had raised hopes of getting past the follow-on mark, with Kemar Roach adding 46 with Jerome Taylor for the eighth wicket and 34 with Devendra Bishoo for the ninth, but Herath ensured they fell 34 runs short. The left-arm spinner dismissed Roach and Shannon Gabriel off successive deliveries, in the second over after Sri Lanka took the second new ball, to finish with figures of 6 for 68. West Indies were bowled out for 251, and Angelo Mathews, perhaps mindful of the approach of dark clouds, asked them to bat again.
Damningly for the West Indies line-up, each of their batsmen apart from No. 11 Gabriel got into double figures, but only Darren Bravo made a half-century and their biggest partnership came from the eighth-wicket pair of Taylor and Roach.
Both lower-order stands followed the same template: Roach trusted in his defence, while Taylor and then Bishoo went for their shots. There were a few close shaves off Herath - he produced two edges, one off Roach and the other off Bishoo, that flew quickly past Mathews at slip, the first one close enough to count as a chance; and an lbw shout against Roach, given not out and reviewed, with ball-tracking suggesting the ball would have clipped leg stump. In between, though, the runs came quickly, with Taylor launching a big six and hitting two fours off one over from Tharindu Kaushal, and both Roach and Bishoo using the sweep well.
Herath, who had dismissed the openers on the second day, nearly struck with his seventh ball of the morning, sliding one in with the angle to brush the flap of Marlon Samuels' back pad while he shaped to cut. Believing rightly that the ball had made contact with pad before bat, Sri Lanka reviewed umpire Richard Illingworth's not-out decision, but ball-tracking saved Samuels, suggesting that the impact was only marginally in line with off stump.
But as with Brathwaite on day two, Herath didn't have to wait long after a referral had denied him a wicket. Samuels seemed to decide that an aggressive approach would serve him best against the left-arm spinner, and danced down the track three balls after the referral to smack him to the long-off boundary. Then, trying to pull the last ball of the over, Samuels found the ball skidding through a touch low to deflect into the stumps off his thigh.
At the other end, Darren Bravo was utterly becalmed against Herath during his first spell of the morning, making no attempt to force the left-arm spinner off his rhythm as he teased away with his changes of pace, trajectory and angle. In the 32nd over - the 11th of the morning - he beat his outside edge twice in two balls, once on the back foot from over the wicket and once on the front foot by angling one across from around the wicket.
Wary of overbowling his champion spinner, Mathews took Herath off after a seven-over spell, and Bravo broke free of the shackles, pulling successive long-hops from Kaushal - who bowled four no-balls in one over after replacing Herath - for four and six, and then square-driving successive balls from Nuwan Pradeep to the point boundary.
But in between, West Indies lost another wicket, Jermaine Blackwood's hard hands pushing at the ball away from his body to edge Dhammika Prasad to slip. With Herath looking like the only genuine threat among the Sri Lankan bowlers on this pitch, this was a poor piece of judgment from Blackwood against what was certainly a good ball, laden with extra bounce, but one that could have been easily left alone.
With three overs to go for lunch, Herath came back on, and struck immediately. Bravo had reached his half-century a couple of overs earlier, and maybe wanted to send Herath the message that he wouldn't be so easily tied down now. He went hard at a flighted ball wide of off stump, looking to hit with the turn, and didn't quite middle it, but the danger wasn't immediately apparent until Dinesh Chandimal appeared in the path of the ball, an apparition flying to his right from short midwicket to pull off a spectacular one-handed grab.
Prasad took his second wicket in the seventh over after lunch, reward for finding the perfect length to exploit Jason Holder's indecisive footwork. He had been driven for two fours in the over, both shots hit on the up. The second drive was particularly chancy, flying between and over point and cover, and Prasad landed his next ball along the same line but on a slightly shorter length. Holder went for another leaden-footed drive, and nicked to the keeper.
Denesh Ramdin was next to go, four overs later, slashing away from his body at Pradeep and providing Kusal Perera another catch behind the stumps. At this point, West Indies were 171 for 7, 114 runs short of the follow-on mark. The lower order fought hard, but the top order had left them too much to do.
Friday, 16 October 2015
Thursday, 15 October 2015
1st Test Day 2 SL 484 V WI 66/2
West Indies 66 for 2 (Herath 2-14) trail Sri Lanka 484 (Karunaratne 186, Chandimal 151, Bishoo 4-143) by 418 runs
Rangana Herath bowled Sri Lanka back into the dominant position achieved by Dimuth Karunaratne and Dinesh Chandimal's double-century stand and squandered somewhat by a collapse that cost them their last seven wickets for 59 runs. At the end of an action-packed second day, West Indies were 66 for 2, trailing Sri Lanka by 418 runs.
The quick demolition of Sri Lanka's lower order raised West Indies' spirits when they came out to bat, and the openers got off to a solid start against the quicks, with three fours coming off the second over, bowled by a Nuwan Pradeep erring generously on the full side. But Herath, introduced as early as the sixth over, pulled West Indies back down to earth with his ability to beat both edges.
In his very first over, he had Kraigg Brathwaite adjudged lbw with one that turned sharply from leg to off, only for Hawkeye to rule the ball had pitched marginally outside leg stump. In his next over he sent down the arm ball, which snaked past the inside edge of Brathwaite's defensive bat and rapped into his front pad. This time the batsman didn't even review.
Shai Hope was next to go, bowled by a beauty. The opener came half-forward in defence, inward drift causing him to open up, and the ball turned past his outside edge to clip off stump.
Herath caused Darren Bravo problems as well, beating his outside edge on a couple of occasions and causing him to inside-edge sharply turning deliveries close to short leg. Bravo survived the testing spell in the company of Marlon Samuels, but both of them will have to come out and begin all over again on the third morning.
The day began with Chandimal and Karunaratne extending their overnight stand to 238 - the highest by any third-wicket pair in Galle - after which Chandimal added a further 86 with Angelo Mathews. Sri Lanka were 425 for 3, and a 500-plus total looked like a formality. Their sights, perhaps, were set on 600, but they only managed 484.
The slide began with tea around the corner, when Chandimal slapped Jerome Taylor straight to cover, against the run of play. In his next over, Taylor straightened one from around the wicket to produce an edge from the debutant Milinda Siriwardana.
First ball after tea, Mathews was back in the dressing room. Jason Holder banged one in short, and Mathews, getting into an awkward position while trying to fend the ball into the leg side, popped back a simple return catch. Devendra Bishoo then sent back Dhammika Prasad and Rangana Herath off successive deliveries, before Kusal Perera, looking for quick runs, played on to Shannon Gabriel. The final wicket fell to Bishoo, who finished with four wickets as Nuwan Pradeep miscued a slog to deep midwicket.
The tumble of wickets must have left West Indies wondering how good their position might have been had they held their catches. On day one, with Chandimal on 11, Taylor had put down a relatively straightforward chance while backtracking from mid-on. In the tenth over of the second morning, Chandimal cut Shannon Gabriel to backward point, where Jermaine Blackwood spilled the ball after getting both hands to the overhead chance. Chandimal was on 82 at that point.
Bishoo had struggled on a slow pitch, the batsmen easily negotiating his legspin off the back foot, often making length balls look like short balls. In the third over after lunch, he managed to draw Mathews forward and find his edge, only for Jason Holder to put him down at slip.
Later, Hope dropped Prasad at backward point, taking West Indies' total of spilled chances to five, including Bravo letting off Lahiru Thirimanne on the first day.
Coming in to bat at 339 for 3 - it was the first time since August 2014 that he had walked in with Sri Lanka's score past 200 - gave Mathews license to play his shots. He hit two fours off Bishoo in the first over after tea - admittedly off bad balls - and continued going after the spinners after Holder dropped him. He pulled Bishoo for another four, ran down the pitch to Marlon Samuels to launch him over wide long-on, and scored his runs at a strike rate of above 100 until he reached 32.
Chandimal was a little more sedate at the other end, but got enough scoring opportunities, with Kemar Roach and Taylor both feeding his favourite square-cut, and the latter shot getting him to 150.
In the morning session, Samuels dismissed Dimuth Karunaratne 14 short of a double-hundred. The wicket was a result of the slowness of the pitch, which Karunaratne had dealt with expertly till then, picking the right lengths to drive and even then refusing to go hard at the ball. For once he jabbed at the ball, a short one from Samuels that stopped on him, and ended up lobbing a return catch to the offspinner.
Till then a double-hundred had seemed inevitable. The ball was only 10 overs old at start of play, but there was little of the seam movement that had been in evidence on the first morning. The runs came at a good clip, with Karunaratne pulling Taylor to the square leg boundary in the fifth over of the morning before driving him through mid-off for another four to bring up his 150.
At the other end Kemar Roach, bowling without either the seam movement or the pace he generated on the first day, conceded two fours in two overs to Chandimal. Taylor and Roach went out of the attack, and Gabriel, who replaced Roach, saw an edge from Karunaratne fly through the vacant slip area before Blackwood put down Chandimal. In his next over, Gabriel produced the only other moment of discomfort for a Sri Lankan batsman in the session when he straightened one past Chandimal's edge.
Chandimal was not unduly deterred. Following Bishoo's introduction, he stepped down the track and whipped him away wide of mid-on, and in the next over flat-batted Gabriel over extra cover to bring up his hundred. It was his second in a row at the venue, after his match-turning 162* against India two months ago.
1st Test Day 3 PAK 523/8d V ENG 290/3
Stumps: ENG 290/3
Stumps report: Captain Alastair Cook led England's reply to Pakistan's daunting 523-8 declared with a fine unbeaten 168 in the first Test in Abu Dhabi.
He batted throughout the third day but England lost two wickets in three overs late on as they closed on 290-3, needing 34 more to avoid the follow-on.
Cook added 116 for the first wicket with Moeen Ali (35) and 165 for the second wicket with Ian Bell.
Bell fell for 63 to Wahab Riaz, who also removed nightwatchman Mark Wood.
Tea: ENG 197/1
Tea report: Alastair Cook's unbeaten 116 led England's assured reply to Pakistan's 523-8 declared in the first Test in Abu Dhabi.
Lunch: ENG 122/1
Lunch report: It's been a good morning for England - but Pakistan will not be too disappointed either.
Stumps report: Captain Alastair Cook led England's reply to Pakistan's daunting 523-8 declared with a fine unbeaten 168 in the first Test in Abu Dhabi.
He batted throughout the third day but England lost two wickets in three overs late on as they closed on 290-3, needing 34 more to avoid the follow-on.
Cook added 116 for the first wicket with Moeen Ali (35) and 165 for the second wicket with Ian Bell.
Bell fell for 63 to Wahab Riaz, who also removed nightwatchman Mark Wood.
Tea: ENG 197/1
Tea report: Alastair Cook's unbeaten 116 led England's assured reply to Pakistan's 523-8 declared in the first Test in Abu Dhabi.
The skipper's 28th Test hundred dominated a total of 197-1 at tea on the third day, leaving England needing a further 127 to avoid the follow-on.
Cook added 116 with Moeen Ali, who fell for 35 shortly before lunch, and an unbroken 81 with Ian Bell for the second wicket.
Bell overcame a scratchy start to reach 31, hitting only three fours off the 104 balls he has faced on a pitch that continues to offer the bowlers precious little assistance.
Lunch: ENG 122/1
Lunch report: It's been a good morning for England - but Pakistan will not be too disappointed either.
The hosts remain more than 400 runs in front and have dismissed Moeen Ali - Imran Khan getting the left-hander to edge behind after he had scored a gritty 35 - while Ian Bell is looking decidedly shaky at number three.
Slow left-armer Zulfiqar Babar is applying the pressure on Bell with some good spin bowling from around the wicket but captain Alastair Cook remains undefeated at the other end.
He goes into lunch 78 not out, and appears to be on course for his 28th Test century and first in the UAE - the only country where he has not reached three figures.
Wednesday, 14 October 2015
2nd ODI IND V SA
India 247/9 beat South Africa 225 by 22 runs
South Africa's batsmen could not pull off a successful chase of what seemed to be a below-par target as India, led by their spinners and MS Dhoni's unbeaten 92, leveled the series with a 22-run win and maintained their 100% record at the Holkar Stadium in Indore. Axar Patel and Harbhajan Singh shared five wickets between them to defend India's total of 247, a score they reached only due to the impetus from Dhoni late in the innings.
Dhoni's knock was in part an answer to those who questioned both his form and his formula as a leader after India lost the T20 series and fell behind in this one. He played a steely innings to take India from a precarious 165 for 7 - founded on Ajinkya Rahane's 51- to a total they could work with, and then put on an animated display in the field to inspire his attack. India kept South Africa under pressure throughout the chase and then pushed them out of the game in the 44th over to secure a morale-boosting victory.
With 10 overs left in the India innings, after Dhoni had decided to bat first, the hosts' spirits would not have been too high. They had lost Rohit Sharma, their highest run-scorer against South Africa across all the matches so far, to a full, fast Kagiso Rabada delivery, which was only the 10th of the innings. Virat Kohli had been run out cheaply. Suresh Raina had not even scored a run, and Dhoni was batting with the tail.
Only Rahane had given India something to be proud of at that point, patiently seeing off the pressure period at the beginning, taking boundaries off Dale Steyn. who found some early swing, and selecting shots carefully against the rest of South Africa's seamers. His ramp shot off Morne Morkel, which brought up his fifty off 59 balls, was the pick of his placements. But Rahane did not last too long after that, and was bowled around his legs by Imran Tahir.
Dhoni batted briefly with Rahane - for 28 balls - but then quickly saw the team situation deteriorate swiftly. After the dismissals of both Rahane and Raina in quick succession, there were no more specialist batsmen to come, and there was still more than half an innings to play out. The stage was set for Dhoni to do what Dhoni does best.
However, Dhoni, the man dubbed "captain cool", seemed to be taking it a little too easy at the start. Dhoni took his time establishing himself, partly because he had to protect his line-up and partly because AB de Villiers had strategised carefully enough to stall India. De Villiers always had an attacking bowler in operation. When he took Morkel off, he brought Rabada on, and when he took Rabada off, he brought Steyn on. Even when de Villiers had JP Duminy operating at one end, there was always reason for Dhoni to be cautious. And So he was.
Dhoni's first real Dhoni-shot came only after Axar Patel had been dismissed and the end was nearing. He out-thought Duminy, who had been trying to lure him with deliveries outside off and then delivered one on leg, by pre-empting the line and smacking it over square leg. But Dhoni went quiet again.
It was only with 10 overs to go and three wickets in hand that Dhoni was cleared for take off. He took runs off Rabada, which few had dared to do until then. He laid into Duminy, who he brought up his fifty off. He showed both finesse and muscle against Imran Tahir. He even encouraged Harbhajan to go on the attack
Dhoni looked set for a century, but had to settle for eight less. More importantly, he ensured India were at the crease for the full 50 overs. South Africa did not last theirs.
South Africa's batsmen could not pull off a successful chase of what seemed to be a below-par target as India, led by their spinners and MS Dhoni's unbeaten 92, leveled the series with a 22-run win and maintained their 100% record at the Holkar Stadium in Indore. Axar Patel and Harbhajan Singh shared five wickets between them to defend India's total of 247, a score they reached only due to the impetus from Dhoni late in the innings.
Dhoni's knock was in part an answer to those who questioned both his form and his formula as a leader after India lost the T20 series and fell behind in this one. He played a steely innings to take India from a precarious 165 for 7 - founded on Ajinkya Rahane's 51- to a total they could work with, and then put on an animated display in the field to inspire his attack. India kept South Africa under pressure throughout the chase and then pushed them out of the game in the 44th over to secure a morale-boosting victory.
With 10 overs left in the India innings, after Dhoni had decided to bat first, the hosts' spirits would not have been too high. They had lost Rohit Sharma, their highest run-scorer against South Africa across all the matches so far, to a full, fast Kagiso Rabada delivery, which was only the 10th of the innings. Virat Kohli had been run out cheaply. Suresh Raina had not even scored a run, and Dhoni was batting with the tail.
Only Rahane had given India something to be proud of at that point, patiently seeing off the pressure period at the beginning, taking boundaries off Dale Steyn. who found some early swing, and selecting shots carefully against the rest of South Africa's seamers. His ramp shot off Morne Morkel, which brought up his fifty off 59 balls, was the pick of his placements. But Rahane did not last too long after that, and was bowled around his legs by Imran Tahir.
Dhoni batted briefly with Rahane - for 28 balls - but then quickly saw the team situation deteriorate swiftly. After the dismissals of both Rahane and Raina in quick succession, there were no more specialist batsmen to come, and there was still more than half an innings to play out. The stage was set for Dhoni to do what Dhoni does best.
However, Dhoni, the man dubbed "captain cool", seemed to be taking it a little too easy at the start. Dhoni took his time establishing himself, partly because he had to protect his line-up and partly because AB de Villiers had strategised carefully enough to stall India. De Villiers always had an attacking bowler in operation. When he took Morkel off, he brought Rabada on, and when he took Rabada off, he brought Steyn on. Even when de Villiers had JP Duminy operating at one end, there was always reason for Dhoni to be cautious. And So he was.
Dhoni's first real Dhoni-shot came only after Axar Patel had been dismissed and the end was nearing. He out-thought Duminy, who had been trying to lure him with deliveries outside off and then delivered one on leg, by pre-empting the line and smacking it over square leg. But Dhoni went quiet again.
It was only with 10 overs to go and three wickets in hand that Dhoni was cleared for take off. He took runs off Rabada, which few had dared to do until then. He laid into Duminy, who he brought up his fifty off. He showed both finesse and muscle against Imran Tahir. He even encouraged Harbhajan to go on the attack
Dhoni looked set for a century, but had to settle for eight less. More importantly, he ensured India were at the crease for the full 50 overs. South Africa did not last theirs.
1st Test Day 1 SL (250/2) V WI
Sri Lanka 250 for 2 (Karunaratne 135*, Chandimal 72*) v West Indies
An unbeaten century from Dimuth Karunaratne ensured Sri Lanka negotiated the opening day of the series with a sense of calm and lost only two wickets on a slow Galle pitch. Sri Lanka grew increasingly dominant as the day progressed. The final session produced over 43% of the runs they scored on the day, and ended with a punchy Karunaratne straight drive that took the score from 246 to 250.
West Indies did themselves no good by dropping two catches in the middle session. The first spill didn't cost them - Lahiru Thirimanne, the reprieved batsman, was disimissed soon after - but the other - a backtracking Jerome Taylor failing to grasp Dinesh Chandimal at mid-on when he miscued an attempted pull off Devendra Bishoo - certainly did. Chandimal, who was on 11 at that point, went on to end the day unbeaten on 72, having added 149 with Karunaratne.
Karunaratne's innings was a triumph of restraint and adherence to a simple plan. In the morning session, he left resolutely when the ball was angled across him, and didn't get lured into indiscretion outside off even when the quicks went around the wicket. He read the lengths well, picking up most of his runs with checked drives through cover - he rarely went hard at the ball while playing this stroke, mindful of the slowness of the pitch - and glides and cuts behind point. Against the legspinner Bishoo, he used his feet well, coming down the track to either whip him with the turn or to get close enough to the pitch of the ball to smother any potential misbehaviour out of the rough.
In the first two sessions, accurate bowling and a slow pitch ensured Sri Lanka never ran too far ahead of their opponents. But they took control in the period immediately after tea, when West Indies began proceedings with Bishoo and Marlon Samuels and kept them going in tandem for 16 overs. It was a strange tactic, given that West Indies' attack contained four frontline quicks - it was, perhaps, an admission that they had got the selection wrong - and those 16 overs went for 53 runs - the run rate of 3.31 comfortably above the rate of 2.56 that Sri Lanka had scored at until tea.
Both batsmen milked the spinners, using their feet comfortably to get down the track, hit a six each over cow corner - Karunaratne reached his hundred in that manner - and grew increasingly entrenched. It wasn't until West Indies took the second new ball that Chandimal faced Roach or Taylor - West Indies' two most experienced bowlers, and their biggest threats on the day. By that time, he had moved to 54 off 120 balls.
The new ball did a bit, but not so much as to trouble a two well-set batsmen, and Sri Lanka saw out the last 10 overs of the day without too much discomfort. The one dicey moment they endured was a result of uncertain calling when Karunaratne tucked Taylor into the leg side. Jermaine Blackwood reacted quickly to the mix-up at short midwicket, but his underarm flick missed the stumps at the bowler's end with Karunaratne a long way short of the crease.
In the morning session, Taylor and Roach asked questions of the openers, but they survived their new-ball spells without too much alarm. Both bowlers beat Silva's edge, but he played close to his body and didn't follow Taylor's swing or Roach's seam movement with his hands.
The runs came slowly, but the initial nerves seemed to calm against Jason Holder and Shannon Gabriel, who didn't move the ball as much as the new-ball pair. Gabriel offered a few loose balls - including a full-toss that Silva square-drove for his first boundary, off his 44th ball - but bowled with pace and pinged Silva on the helmet when a bouncer didn't rise as much as expected.
The 50 partnership - the first for a Sri Lanka opening pair since Karunaratne and Silva put on 85 in Christchurch back in December 2014 - came up in the 16th over, and West Indies were looking just a touch short on inspiration and just a touch flustered by the number of quick singles they were conceding. But they didn't have to wait too long for the wicket, which came when Roach came back on for his second spell.
All through his first, he had troubled Silva by going wide of the crease and straightening the ball past his outside edge. Now he repeated the same line of attack, and Silva, now well set, was good enough to nick him.
Thirimanne's 62-ball stay was a struggle all through, characterised by an utter inability to find the gaps. He survived a couple of close shaves too. First, soon after lunch, he shouldered arms to a ball from Holder that snaked in sharply from around the wicket and narrowly missed his off stump. Then he aimed an ill-advised drive at a good-length ball from Taylor and nicked to slip, where Darren Bravo got both hands to the ball but failed to hold on.
But having got past those alarms, and having experienced a small release of pressure following Bishoo's introduction - he picked up two doubles, a single and a boundary off the first five balls he faced from the legspinner as he searched for rhythm - Thirimanne threw his wicket away. Looking to boss Bishoo, he ran down the track and went hard at the ball, looking perhaps to hit over mid-on. Extra turn, though, caused him to hit the ball to short midwicket off the inside half of his bat.
An unbeaten century from Dimuth Karunaratne ensured Sri Lanka negotiated the opening day of the series with a sense of calm and lost only two wickets on a slow Galle pitch. Sri Lanka grew increasingly dominant as the day progressed. The final session produced over 43% of the runs they scored on the day, and ended with a punchy Karunaratne straight drive that took the score from 246 to 250.
West Indies did themselves no good by dropping two catches in the middle session. The first spill didn't cost them - Lahiru Thirimanne, the reprieved batsman, was disimissed soon after - but the other - a backtracking Jerome Taylor failing to grasp Dinesh Chandimal at mid-on when he miscued an attempted pull off Devendra Bishoo - certainly did. Chandimal, who was on 11 at that point, went on to end the day unbeaten on 72, having added 149 with Karunaratne.
Karunaratne's innings was a triumph of restraint and adherence to a simple plan. In the morning session, he left resolutely when the ball was angled across him, and didn't get lured into indiscretion outside off even when the quicks went around the wicket. He read the lengths well, picking up most of his runs with checked drives through cover - he rarely went hard at the ball while playing this stroke, mindful of the slowness of the pitch - and glides and cuts behind point. Against the legspinner Bishoo, he used his feet well, coming down the track to either whip him with the turn or to get close enough to the pitch of the ball to smother any potential misbehaviour out of the rough.
In the first two sessions, accurate bowling and a slow pitch ensured Sri Lanka never ran too far ahead of their opponents. But they took control in the period immediately after tea, when West Indies began proceedings with Bishoo and Marlon Samuels and kept them going in tandem for 16 overs. It was a strange tactic, given that West Indies' attack contained four frontline quicks - it was, perhaps, an admission that they had got the selection wrong - and those 16 overs went for 53 runs - the run rate of 3.31 comfortably above the rate of 2.56 that Sri Lanka had scored at until tea.
Both batsmen milked the spinners, using their feet comfortably to get down the track, hit a six each over cow corner - Karunaratne reached his hundred in that manner - and grew increasingly entrenched. It wasn't until West Indies took the second new ball that Chandimal faced Roach or Taylor - West Indies' two most experienced bowlers, and their biggest threats on the day. By that time, he had moved to 54 off 120 balls.
The new ball did a bit, but not so much as to trouble a two well-set batsmen, and Sri Lanka saw out the last 10 overs of the day without too much discomfort. The one dicey moment they endured was a result of uncertain calling when Karunaratne tucked Taylor into the leg side. Jermaine Blackwood reacted quickly to the mix-up at short midwicket, but his underarm flick missed the stumps at the bowler's end with Karunaratne a long way short of the crease.
In the morning session, Taylor and Roach asked questions of the openers, but they survived their new-ball spells without too much alarm. Both bowlers beat Silva's edge, but he played close to his body and didn't follow Taylor's swing or Roach's seam movement with his hands.
The runs came slowly, but the initial nerves seemed to calm against Jason Holder and Shannon Gabriel, who didn't move the ball as much as the new-ball pair. Gabriel offered a few loose balls - including a full-toss that Silva square-drove for his first boundary, off his 44th ball - but bowled with pace and pinged Silva on the helmet when a bouncer didn't rise as much as expected.
The 50 partnership - the first for a Sri Lanka opening pair since Karunaratne and Silva put on 85 in Christchurch back in December 2014 - came up in the 16th over, and West Indies were looking just a touch short on inspiration and just a touch flustered by the number of quick singles they were conceding. But they didn't have to wait too long for the wicket, which came when Roach came back on for his second spell.
All through his first, he had troubled Silva by going wide of the crease and straightening the ball past his outside edge. Now he repeated the same line of attack, and Silva, now well set, was good enough to nick him.
Thirimanne's 62-ball stay was a struggle all through, characterised by an utter inability to find the gaps. He survived a couple of close shaves too. First, soon after lunch, he shouldered arms to a ball from Holder that snaked in sharply from around the wicket and narrowly missed his off stump. Then he aimed an ill-advised drive at a good-length ball from Taylor and nicked to slip, where Darren Bravo got both hands to the ball but failed to hold on.
But having got past those alarms, and having experienced a small release of pressure following Bishoo's introduction - he picked up two doubles, a single and a boundary off the first five balls he faced from the legspinner as he searched for rhythm - Thirimanne threw his wicket away. Looking to boss Bishoo, he ran down the track and went hard at the ball, looking perhaps to hit over mid-on. Extra turn, though, caused him to hit the ball to short midwicket off the inside half of his bat.
1st Test Day 2 PAK 523/8d V ENG 56/0
Stumps report: England will start day three of the first Test against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates on 56-0, having held out during the remaining 21 overs on day two.
However, the day belonged to Pakistan as they declared in their first innings with a score of 523-8, thanks in part to a knock of 245 from Shoaib Malik. That was Malik's first ever double-century, while Asad Shafiq hit his eighth century before he was trapped lbw by Mark Wood for 107.
It proved to be a tough outing for England spinner Adil Rashid, who ended with figures of 0-163, which is the worst by any Test bowler on debut. In reply, captain Alastair Cook (39) and new opening partner Moeen Ali (15) guided England through to the close of play without any scares, yet they still trail the hosts by 467 runs.
Lunch report: Shoaib Malik has hit 150 to keep Pakistan in control of the first Test against England on day two in Abu Dhabi. The 33-year-old, who is competing in his first Test in five years, has spearheaded Pakistan's onslaught alongside Asad Shafiq, who has helped his nation reach lunch on 389-4.
England, who announced today that fast bowler Steven Finn has been ruled out of the rest of the UAE tour due to a foot injury, had a chance with the new ball at the start of today's play. However, the bowlers failed to take advantage as Shafiq hit consecutive boundaries off Mark Wood, the first of which down the leg side and the second through wide mid-on.
Pakistan continued their dominance with the bat as Malik reached 150 with his side adding 56 without loss inside 14 overs this morning. England toiled in the field as Malik hit six with an aggressive shot off Adil Rashid, who has so far conceded 122 runs off 27 overs. Malik (168 not out) and Shafiq (66 not out) will return to the crease for the afternoon session.
However, the day belonged to Pakistan as they declared in their first innings with a score of 523-8, thanks in part to a knock of 245 from Shoaib Malik. That was Malik's first ever double-century, while Asad Shafiq hit his eighth century before he was trapped lbw by Mark Wood for 107.
It proved to be a tough outing for England spinner Adil Rashid, who ended with figures of 0-163, which is the worst by any Test bowler on debut. In reply, captain Alastair Cook (39) and new opening partner Moeen Ali (15) guided England through to the close of play without any scares, yet they still trail the hosts by 467 runs.
Lunch report: Shoaib Malik has hit 150 to keep Pakistan in control of the first Test against England on day two in Abu Dhabi. The 33-year-old, who is competing in his first Test in five years, has spearheaded Pakistan's onslaught alongside Asad Shafiq, who has helped his nation reach lunch on 389-4.
England, who announced today that fast bowler Steven Finn has been ruled out of the rest of the UAE tour due to a foot injury, had a chance with the new ball at the start of today's play. However, the bowlers failed to take advantage as Shafiq hit consecutive boundaries off Mark Wood, the first of which down the leg side and the second through wide mid-on.
Pakistan continued their dominance with the bat as Malik reached 150 with his side adding 56 without loss inside 14 overs this morning. England toiled in the field as Malik hit six with an aggressive shot off Adil Rashid, who has so far conceded 122 runs off 27 overs. Malik (168 not out) and Shafiq (66 not out) will return to the crease for the afternoon session.
Tuesday, 13 October 2015
1st Test Day 1 PAK (286/4) V ENG
Stumps Report: Shoaib Malik scored an unbeaten century on his first Test appearance in over five years as Pakistan reached 286-4 at the end of day one of the first Test against England.
Malik will begin day two on 124 not out after a patient innings in the sweltering heat of Abu Dhabi. There was also a landmark moment for Younis Khan, who became Pakistan's all-time leading run-scorer before falling for 38.
England lost the toss and were put into the field by Pakistan, but James Anderson was able to take an early wicket as Shan Masood diverted the ball onto his stumps. Anderson almost had a second wicket, but Ian Bell dropped Mohammad Hafeez early in the innings before the opener went on to make 98, falling just shy of his century as Ben Stokes trapped him lbw. Malik and Younis then put on 74 for the third wicket after lunch before Khan was caught by Alastair Cook off the bowling of Stuart Broad.
Misbah-ul-Haq was next in and added just three to the scoreboard before he was gone in controversial circumstances, with the third umpire giving him out caught on the replay, despite there being no snicko or hot-spot available on review. Just before the close of play, Bell again put down a simple slip catch which would have removed Asad Shafiq, who is 11 not out.
Tea Report: Mohammad Hafeez fell just short of his ninth Test century as Pakistan reached 173-2 at tea on day one of the first Test against England.
The opener, who was dropped by Ian Bell early in the opening session, was out lbw off the bowling of Ben Stokes for 98.
He scored the bulk of his runs against the spin of Adil Rashid in Abu Dhabi, with England's seamers all much tighter with their bowling. Hafeez spent most of his time at the crease with Shoaib Malik (72*), who is making his first Test appearance in over five years. The pair's second-wicket partnership came to an end at 168 as Hafeez was trapped by Stokes with the last ball before tea.
Earlier in the afternoon session, Stuart Broad thought that he had removed Malik just after Pakistan moved into three figures, but his wicket was chalked off because he overstepped the line for a no-ball. Read more at: https://tr.im/imufE
Lunch Report: Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik recovered from Pakistan's early blow of losing Shan Masood to reach 82-1 at lunch on day one of the first Test against England in Abu Dhabi.
Despite losing the toss and being asked to field, England, who are competing in their first Test series since regaining the Ashes in the summer, made a quick breakthrough inside three overs. James Anderson nabbed his 414th Test wicket by sending Masood packing on just two runs, which he scored off six deliveries.
The Pakistan batsman was caught off guard with the short ball, and as he swung his head to avoid the path of the delivery, the ball bounced off his grille and onto middle stump. England could have taken two wickets four overs later when Anderson delivered to Hafeez, but Ian Bell was left red faced when he fluffed a routine catch.
The 33-year-old was well positioned at second slip and when the ball came his way it fell into his palms, but he struggled to keep hold of it and the ball tumbled to the ground. From that point on, Hafeez and Malik were able to tot up the runs at a steady pace, while England introduced Adil Rashid into the attack for the first time at Test level.
In his first over, the Yorkshire man stifled Pakistan's movement with the bat, but Hafeez was able to steer for four off the last ball. Hafeez (44 not out) and Malik (36 not out) will return to the crease for the afternoon session.
Malik will begin day two on 124 not out after a patient innings in the sweltering heat of Abu Dhabi. There was also a landmark moment for Younis Khan, who became Pakistan's all-time leading run-scorer before falling for 38.
England lost the toss and were put into the field by Pakistan, but James Anderson was able to take an early wicket as Shan Masood diverted the ball onto his stumps. Anderson almost had a second wicket, but Ian Bell dropped Mohammad Hafeez early in the innings before the opener went on to make 98, falling just shy of his century as Ben Stokes trapped him lbw. Malik and Younis then put on 74 for the third wicket after lunch before Khan was caught by Alastair Cook off the bowling of Stuart Broad.
Misbah-ul-Haq was next in and added just three to the scoreboard before he was gone in controversial circumstances, with the third umpire giving him out caught on the replay, despite there being no snicko or hot-spot available on review. Just before the close of play, Bell again put down a simple slip catch which would have removed Asad Shafiq, who is 11 not out.
Tea Report: Mohammad Hafeez fell just short of his ninth Test century as Pakistan reached 173-2 at tea on day one of the first Test against England.
The opener, who was dropped by Ian Bell early in the opening session, was out lbw off the bowling of Ben Stokes for 98.
He scored the bulk of his runs against the spin of Adil Rashid in Abu Dhabi, with England's seamers all much tighter with their bowling. Hafeez spent most of his time at the crease with Shoaib Malik (72*), who is making his first Test appearance in over five years. The pair's second-wicket partnership came to an end at 168 as Hafeez was trapped by Stokes with the last ball before tea.
Earlier in the afternoon session, Stuart Broad thought that he had removed Malik just after Pakistan moved into three figures, but his wicket was chalked off because he overstepped the line for a no-ball. Read more at: https://tr.im/imufE
Lunch Report: Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik recovered from Pakistan's early blow of losing Shan Masood to reach 82-1 at lunch on day one of the first Test against England in Abu Dhabi.
Despite losing the toss and being asked to field, England, who are competing in their first Test series since regaining the Ashes in the summer, made a quick breakthrough inside three overs. James Anderson nabbed his 414th Test wicket by sending Masood packing on just two runs, which he scored off six deliveries.
The Pakistan batsman was caught off guard with the short ball, and as he swung his head to avoid the path of the delivery, the ball bounced off his grille and onto middle stump. England could have taken two wickets four overs later when Anderson delivered to Hafeez, but Ian Bell was left red faced when he fluffed a routine catch.
The 33-year-old was well positioned at second slip and when the ball came his way it fell into his palms, but he struggled to keep hold of it and the ball tumbled to the ground. From that point on, Hafeez and Malik were able to tot up the runs at a steady pace, while England introduced Adil Rashid into the attack for the first time at Test level.
In his first over, the Yorkshire man stifled Pakistan's movement with the bat, but Hafeez was able to steer for four off the last ball. Hafeez (44 not out) and Malik (36 not out) will return to the crease for the afternoon session.
Sunday, 11 October 2015
1st ODI - IND V SA
South Africa 303 for 5 beat India 298 for 7 by five runs
The Green Park ground in Kanpur saw its two highest ODI totals scored on the same day in a match that seemed to be a mirror image of itself until India cracked. Kagiso Rabada defended 11 off the last over, in which he dismissed India captain, MS Dhoni, and derailed an Indian chase that was on track until the start of the 47th over.
Then, Rohit Sharma, who had racked up 150 - the third-highest score of his ODI career - was sapped of energy and handed a return catch to Imran Tahir. The South Africa legspinner had not had much of an impact on the innings until that point but went on to dismiss Suresh Raina in the same over to change India's task from a relatively straightforward 35 runs off 24 balls with seven wickets in hand to a more challenging 31 runs from 18 balls with five wickets in hand.
Rabada's penultimate over cost nine runs and Steyn's final over 11, to leave the 20-year-old fast bowler with only 11 to defend at the end. Far from being overwhelmed by the occasion or the opposition, Rabada kept his cool, banged in the short ball and watched both Dhoni and Stuart Bunny mistime their pull shots. Rabada completed the catch to dismiss Dhoni, and ensure South Africa found a bowling hero after AB de Villiers had headlined their effort with the bat.
De Villiers played a perfectly paced innings to score his 21st ODI century and guide South Africa to the highest ever total, and the only one over 300, at the Green Park in Kanpur. De Villiers had a solid start to build on, thanks to Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis, and worked his way through a quiet middle period before attacking with Farhaan Behardien at the end. South Africa plundered 109 runs off the last ten overs, which included 65 off the final five, capitalising on India's weakened attack that lost R Ashwin to a side strain.
On a slow surface, India's bowling tactics were pulled out of shape by Ashwin's niggle, which meant that he bowled less than half his quota of ten overs after Dhoni held him back. Ashwin bowled one over in the Powerplay and was kept for later in the innings while Dhoni rotated his other slower bowlers. After he was brought back into the attack, Ashwin bowled 3.4 overs before he picked up the niggle and could only deliver one more over later on. As a result, India's fifth-bowler duties were shared between Suresh Raina and Stuart Binny, who conceded 100 runs. In comparison, South Africa's fifth-bowler options - Farhaan Behardien and JP Duminy - gave away only 74. In a match where margins were tight, numbers like that made the difference.
India were in the thick of things when they were asked to bowl in conditions that offered something for the seamers in the first hour. Bhuvneshwar Kumar found some early movement to test Quinton de Kock outside the off stump, a stern examination of the returning opening batsman's confidence.
De Kock was dropped during the Bangladesh series partly because of his lapses outside off stump and he showed greater awareness here, especially in his footwork. He may not have been happy with the eventual outcome of his innings though, after he was dismissed by Ashwin for 29 through a perfect off break that drew him forward and took the edge.
Ashwin was taken out of the attack despite his early success as Dhoni turned to Amit Mishra, Stuart Binny and later Suresh Raina. The trio were largely disciplined but their occasional lapses allowed Amla and du Plessis to build slowly with a focus on strike-rotation and patience. Their partnership had reached 59, and Amla had already crossed the 1000-run mark in ODIs in this calendar year, when he was beaten by a faster ball from Mishra that deflected off his pad and onto the stumps.
That brought de Villiers to the crease but the expected fireworks came from du Plessis at first. He was on 33 when Amla was dismissed and raced to his half-century off 11 balls after that, reaching it with the first six of the innings off Raina.
With the milestone over, things quieted down and Dhoni brought Ashwin back. Two balls into the third over of his second spell, Ashwin fielded a ball off his own bowling and two balls later left the field with a side strain. Virat Kohli completed the over and Dhoni was left with a conundrum as he sought to make up Ashwin's overs.
Binny had to bowl more than expected, and de Villiers and Duminy targeted him. They took 21 runs off the 45th over to signal their intent to finish strongly. Behardien then provided the perfect foil for de Villiers, attacking and absorbing the pressure, which was transferred to the Indian seamers.
Both Yadav and Bhuvneshwar lost their lengths, and missed the yorker and de Villiers sent the resultant full tosses into the stands. His strike rate of 60.00 off the first 30 balls jumped to 134.00 by the time he had faced 70 deliveries. De Villiers reached his century with a six off the last ball and that proved the difference in the end.
That shot would have been fairly far from de Villiers' mind when Rohit was controlling proceedings. His opening stand of 42 with Shikhar Dhawan set India up in the same way de Kock and Amla did for South Africa and what followed threatened to take the game India's way.
Rohit and Ajinkya Rahane put on 149 for the second wicket. They batted confidently, targeted Duminy and Behardien, and punished lapses in length from South Africa. Both batsmen were strong on the on-side and down the ground, and complemented each other. Rahane was watchful - his 50 came off 67 balls - while Rohit was more attacking, getting to his 50 off 48 deliveries. Rahane looked as likely as Rohit to bat through the innings but gave it away when he slapped a Behardien medium-pace to Miller at extra cover.
Virat Kohli had the best seat in the house when Rohit reached his century, with a flick off Behardien over midwicket's head, but India's No. 4 batsman fell to a soft dismissal. Dale Steyn was brought back for a third spell and Kohli, batting on 11, nonchalantly tried to flick him away only to end up picking Morne Morkel at short fine leg, the lone fielder on the leg side.
With Dhoni still at the crease, India did not appear to have much cause for concern. Once Rohit fell, however, and Dhoni began struggling in the middle, South Africa seized the initiative, leaving the hosts winless still winless in the limited-overs matches so far.
The Green Park ground in Kanpur saw its two highest ODI totals scored on the same day in a match that seemed to be a mirror image of itself until India cracked. Kagiso Rabada defended 11 off the last over, in which he dismissed India captain, MS Dhoni, and derailed an Indian chase that was on track until the start of the 47th over.
Then, Rohit Sharma, who had racked up 150 - the third-highest score of his ODI career - was sapped of energy and handed a return catch to Imran Tahir. The South Africa legspinner had not had much of an impact on the innings until that point but went on to dismiss Suresh Raina in the same over to change India's task from a relatively straightforward 35 runs off 24 balls with seven wickets in hand to a more challenging 31 runs from 18 balls with five wickets in hand.
Rabada's penultimate over cost nine runs and Steyn's final over 11, to leave the 20-year-old fast bowler with only 11 to defend at the end. Far from being overwhelmed by the occasion or the opposition, Rabada kept his cool, banged in the short ball and watched both Dhoni and Stuart Bunny mistime their pull shots. Rabada completed the catch to dismiss Dhoni, and ensure South Africa found a bowling hero after AB de Villiers had headlined their effort with the bat.
De Villiers played a perfectly paced innings to score his 21st ODI century and guide South Africa to the highest ever total, and the only one over 300, at the Green Park in Kanpur. De Villiers had a solid start to build on, thanks to Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis, and worked his way through a quiet middle period before attacking with Farhaan Behardien at the end. South Africa plundered 109 runs off the last ten overs, which included 65 off the final five, capitalising on India's weakened attack that lost R Ashwin to a side strain.
On a slow surface, India's bowling tactics were pulled out of shape by Ashwin's niggle, which meant that he bowled less than half his quota of ten overs after Dhoni held him back. Ashwin bowled one over in the Powerplay and was kept for later in the innings while Dhoni rotated his other slower bowlers. After he was brought back into the attack, Ashwin bowled 3.4 overs before he picked up the niggle and could only deliver one more over later on. As a result, India's fifth-bowler duties were shared between Suresh Raina and Stuart Binny, who conceded 100 runs. In comparison, South Africa's fifth-bowler options - Farhaan Behardien and JP Duminy - gave away only 74. In a match where margins were tight, numbers like that made the difference.
India were in the thick of things when they were asked to bowl in conditions that offered something for the seamers in the first hour. Bhuvneshwar Kumar found some early movement to test Quinton de Kock outside the off stump, a stern examination of the returning opening batsman's confidence.
De Kock was dropped during the Bangladesh series partly because of his lapses outside off stump and he showed greater awareness here, especially in his footwork. He may not have been happy with the eventual outcome of his innings though, after he was dismissed by Ashwin for 29 through a perfect off break that drew him forward and took the edge.
Ashwin was taken out of the attack despite his early success as Dhoni turned to Amit Mishra, Stuart Binny and later Suresh Raina. The trio were largely disciplined but their occasional lapses allowed Amla and du Plessis to build slowly with a focus on strike-rotation and patience. Their partnership had reached 59, and Amla had already crossed the 1000-run mark in ODIs in this calendar year, when he was beaten by a faster ball from Mishra that deflected off his pad and onto the stumps.
That brought de Villiers to the crease but the expected fireworks came from du Plessis at first. He was on 33 when Amla was dismissed and raced to his half-century off 11 balls after that, reaching it with the first six of the innings off Raina.
With the milestone over, things quieted down and Dhoni brought Ashwin back. Two balls into the third over of his second spell, Ashwin fielded a ball off his own bowling and two balls later left the field with a side strain. Virat Kohli completed the over and Dhoni was left with a conundrum as he sought to make up Ashwin's overs.
Binny had to bowl more than expected, and de Villiers and Duminy targeted him. They took 21 runs off the 45th over to signal their intent to finish strongly. Behardien then provided the perfect foil for de Villiers, attacking and absorbing the pressure, which was transferred to the Indian seamers.
Both Yadav and Bhuvneshwar lost their lengths, and missed the yorker and de Villiers sent the resultant full tosses into the stands. His strike rate of 60.00 off the first 30 balls jumped to 134.00 by the time he had faced 70 deliveries. De Villiers reached his century with a six off the last ball and that proved the difference in the end.
That shot would have been fairly far from de Villiers' mind when Rohit was controlling proceedings. His opening stand of 42 with Shikhar Dhawan set India up in the same way de Kock and Amla did for South Africa and what followed threatened to take the game India's way.
Rohit and Ajinkya Rahane put on 149 for the second wicket. They batted confidently, targeted Duminy and Behardien, and punished lapses in length from South Africa. Both batsmen were strong on the on-side and down the ground, and complemented each other. Rahane was watchful - his 50 came off 67 balls - while Rohit was more attacking, getting to his 50 off 48 deliveries. Rahane looked as likely as Rohit to bat through the innings but gave it away when he slapped a Behardien medium-pace to Miller at extra cover.
Virat Kohli had the best seat in the house when Rohit reached his century, with a flick off Behardien over midwicket's head, but India's No. 4 batsman fell to a soft dismissal. Dale Steyn was brought back for a third spell and Kohli, batting on 11, nonchalantly tried to flick him away only to end up picking Morne Morkel at short fine leg, the lone fielder on the leg side.
With Dhoni still at the crease, India did not appear to have much cause for concern. Once Rohit fell, however, and Dhoni began struggling in the middle, South Africa seized the initiative, leaving the hosts winless still winless in the limited-overs matches so far.
Friday, 9 October 2015
3rd T20 IND V SA (Abandoned, 8th Oct)
A waterlogged outfield forced the third T20 between South Africa and India to be abandoned without a toss or a ball bowled at Eden Gardens. The no-result gives South Africa a 2-0 series win and deprived India of a shot at redemption.
India captain MS Dhoni revealed at the presentation ceremony that they had planned on three changes to their starting XI: Ajinkya Rahane to open the batting, Amit Mishra to reinforce the spin department and Stuart Binny as the allrounder even as they targeted a consolation victory. Instead, they have slipped two places to sixth on the ICC T20 rankings, which is where South Africa sat before this series. The visitors have now moved up to fifth.
South Africa did not reveal if they were going to give an opportunity to Eddie Leie or Khaya Zondo, but captain Faf du Plessis admitted to being disappointed at not being able to complete a whitewash. The showers that fell on Thursday had ceased at least an hour before play was due to begin and three supersoppers were in operation from then on, but the outfield remained soggy.
Three inspections were conducted at hourly intervals, the first being 30 minutes after the scheduled start of play at 7pm and the last at 9:30pm, two-and-a-half hours after the game was due to begin. The latest the match could have begun was 45 minutes after that, at 10:15pm, when there would have only been time for between five and seven overs a side.
Eden Gardens is due to host the World T20 final and there will be concerns over the drainage although India's captain MS Dhoni said he did not expect the outfield to dry without any sun and given the amount of rain that fell and the exposed areas of the field.
India captain MS Dhoni revealed at the presentation ceremony that they had planned on three changes to their starting XI: Ajinkya Rahane to open the batting, Amit Mishra to reinforce the spin department and Stuart Binny as the allrounder even as they targeted a consolation victory. Instead, they have slipped two places to sixth on the ICC T20 rankings, which is where South Africa sat before this series. The visitors have now moved up to fifth.
South Africa did not reveal if they were going to give an opportunity to Eddie Leie or Khaya Zondo, but captain Faf du Plessis admitted to being disappointed at not being able to complete a whitewash. The showers that fell on Thursday had ceased at least an hour before play was due to begin and three supersoppers were in operation from then on, but the outfield remained soggy.
Three inspections were conducted at hourly intervals, the first being 30 minutes after the scheduled start of play at 7pm and the last at 9:30pm, two-and-a-half hours after the game was due to begin. The latest the match could have begun was 45 minutes after that, at 10:15pm, when there would have only been time for between five and seven overs a side.
Eden Gardens is due to host the World T20 final and there will be concerns over the drainage although India's captain MS Dhoni said he did not expect the outfield to dry without any sun and given the amount of rain that fell and the exposed areas of the field.
Wednesday, 7 October 2015
2nd T20 IND V SA (Mon 5th Oct)
South Africa 96 for 4 (Duminy 30*, Ashwin 3-24) beat India 92 (Raina 22, Rohit 22, Morkel 3-12) by six wickets
Albie Morkel celebrated a return to the South African side in his 50th T20I, after an absence of 18 months with a career-best haul of 3 for 12 and a starring role in a series win. South Africa sealed the series with a game to spare with one of their most commanding performances in this format. They dismissed India for their second-lowest T20 total, much to the chagrin of the Cuttack crowd, who interrupted play twice during South Africa's chase by throwing bottles onto the outfield, and they did it on a surface snaked with cracks.
The Cuttack pitch was not what would be a considered a South African seamer's playground. It had the appearance of a frozen-over surface struck by something sharp, causing rivers of fissures, and Faf du Plessis chose to make first use of it because of high humidity which he thought would bring dew later on. The expected dampness did not arrive and neither did India's batsmen. They succumbed to several soft dismissals and showed none of the temperament required to score runs on the surface and South Africa took full advantage. That India's top-scorers managed just 22 each and the rest of the line-up could only collectively muster 37 speaks about the lack of application by the Indian batsmen.
Unsure of conditions, South Africa tried something different when Imran Tahir opened the bowling with Kyle Abbott but it was only when Kagiso Rabada took over that South Africa announced themselves. Rabada banged the ball in hard, but not short, to see if he could extract any bounce and cause the batsmen any discomfort. He managed both and showed the rest of the pack attack what length to employ. South Africa had to shift out of their comfort zone, forget the short ball and pitch it up and they did. Chris Morris had Shikhar Dhawan trapped lbw by a full, straight ball as he tried to whip it away.
Dhawan's early departure would not have been a cause for too much concern but Virat Kohli's run-out two balls later would have. Morris was involved again, as he collected the ball at deep midwicket, and sent it in before Kohli was able to complete the second run, which Rohit Sharma seemed to want.
Rohit was made to realise early that this innings would demand more of him than the one he played on Friday in Dharamsala. He was tested by bounce from Rabada, and pace from Morris and with only 13 runs coming from the 20 balls after Kohli's dismissal, his patience ran out. Rohit tried to steal a single sending the ball to David Miller at point but he picked the wrong arm. He was also run-out to spark an Indian collapse.
Ambati Rayudu swung and missed at a full toss from Rabada but India still had a senior partnership in Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni. Raina showed the temperament to take advantage of South Africa's few lapses - both Abbott and Tahir's consistency abandoned them momentarily - but the experience of Morkel ensured any youthful, or in the case of Tahir, evergreen, exuberance did not erase South Africa's effort.
Morkel's first wicket on his return was of Dhoni, his captain at Chennai Super Kings, who he enticed with width and had caught behind off a thick edge. With the leader gone, India fell further. Tahir's googly accounted for Raina and Harbhajan Singh in successive balls, India lost three wickets in the space of seven balls and could not recover. Morkel mopped up the tail, with Axar Patel caught at midwicket and Bhuvneshwar Kumar clean bowled, and Morris took the final wicket.
India were bowled out with 16 balls left in their innings and lost their last eight wickets for 49 runs to leave South Africa with a clear passage for a series win. AB de Villiers could see the trophy so clearly he dispatched two back-of-a-length deliveries in Bhuvneshwar's first over. Hashim Amla tried to do the same off R Ashwin but his flick popped up to offer leg slip a catch.
Du Plessis brought some calm to the frenzied start and then got going himself, with good use of the feet against Harbhajan and Ashwin. Du Plessis' dancing did not serve him that well though - when he tried to charge Ashwin for the third time, he mistimed his shot and a running Mohit Sharma judged the catch well at mid-off.
It was only when de Villiers was done in by Ashwin's change of pace, for the second time in the series and fifth time in T20s overall, that India may have thought they had a sniff. South Africa were 49 for 3 at the end of the eighth over and the heroes of the first match, JP Duminy and Farhaan Behardien, promoted ahead of David Miller again, were circumspect. They could afford to take their time and were whittling away at the target, when the fans lost their patience.
South Africa needed 29 runs off 54 balls when the crowd interrupted. They began to throw bottles onto the outfield, causing a 27-minute break in play. After the authorities had policed the situation, play resumed for two overs before more bottles were thrown and play was stopped for a second time and the players went off the field this time. The break lasted 24 minutes while the upper-level stands were cleared and the match could resume again.
India managed one more wicket but could not prevent the inevitable and South Africa sauntered away with a series win.
Albie Morkel celebrated a return to the South African side in his 50th T20I, after an absence of 18 months with a career-best haul of 3 for 12 and a starring role in a series win. South Africa sealed the series with a game to spare with one of their most commanding performances in this format. They dismissed India for their second-lowest T20 total, much to the chagrin of the Cuttack crowd, who interrupted play twice during South Africa's chase by throwing bottles onto the outfield, and they did it on a surface snaked with cracks.
The Cuttack pitch was not what would be a considered a South African seamer's playground. It had the appearance of a frozen-over surface struck by something sharp, causing rivers of fissures, and Faf du Plessis chose to make first use of it because of high humidity which he thought would bring dew later on. The expected dampness did not arrive and neither did India's batsmen. They succumbed to several soft dismissals and showed none of the temperament required to score runs on the surface and South Africa took full advantage. That India's top-scorers managed just 22 each and the rest of the line-up could only collectively muster 37 speaks about the lack of application by the Indian batsmen.
Unsure of conditions, South Africa tried something different when Imran Tahir opened the bowling with Kyle Abbott but it was only when Kagiso Rabada took over that South Africa announced themselves. Rabada banged the ball in hard, but not short, to see if he could extract any bounce and cause the batsmen any discomfort. He managed both and showed the rest of the pack attack what length to employ. South Africa had to shift out of their comfort zone, forget the short ball and pitch it up and they did. Chris Morris had Shikhar Dhawan trapped lbw by a full, straight ball as he tried to whip it away.
Dhawan's early departure would not have been a cause for too much concern but Virat Kohli's run-out two balls later would have. Morris was involved again, as he collected the ball at deep midwicket, and sent it in before Kohli was able to complete the second run, which Rohit Sharma seemed to want.
Rohit was made to realise early that this innings would demand more of him than the one he played on Friday in Dharamsala. He was tested by bounce from Rabada, and pace from Morris and with only 13 runs coming from the 20 balls after Kohli's dismissal, his patience ran out. Rohit tried to steal a single sending the ball to David Miller at point but he picked the wrong arm. He was also run-out to spark an Indian collapse.
Ambati Rayudu swung and missed at a full toss from Rabada but India still had a senior partnership in Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni. Raina showed the temperament to take advantage of South Africa's few lapses - both Abbott and Tahir's consistency abandoned them momentarily - but the experience of Morkel ensured any youthful, or in the case of Tahir, evergreen, exuberance did not erase South Africa's effort.
Morkel's first wicket on his return was of Dhoni, his captain at Chennai Super Kings, who he enticed with width and had caught behind off a thick edge. With the leader gone, India fell further. Tahir's googly accounted for Raina and Harbhajan Singh in successive balls, India lost three wickets in the space of seven balls and could not recover. Morkel mopped up the tail, with Axar Patel caught at midwicket and Bhuvneshwar Kumar clean bowled, and Morris took the final wicket.
India were bowled out with 16 balls left in their innings and lost their last eight wickets for 49 runs to leave South Africa with a clear passage for a series win. AB de Villiers could see the trophy so clearly he dispatched two back-of-a-length deliveries in Bhuvneshwar's first over. Hashim Amla tried to do the same off R Ashwin but his flick popped up to offer leg slip a catch.
Du Plessis brought some calm to the frenzied start and then got going himself, with good use of the feet against Harbhajan and Ashwin. Du Plessis' dancing did not serve him that well though - when he tried to charge Ashwin for the third time, he mistimed his shot and a running Mohit Sharma judged the catch well at mid-off.
It was only when de Villiers was done in by Ashwin's change of pace, for the second time in the series and fifth time in T20s overall, that India may have thought they had a sniff. South Africa were 49 for 3 at the end of the eighth over and the heroes of the first match, JP Duminy and Farhaan Behardien, promoted ahead of David Miller again, were circumspect. They could afford to take their time and were whittling away at the target, when the fans lost their patience.
South Africa needed 29 runs off 54 balls when the crowd interrupted. They began to throw bottles onto the outfield, causing a 27-minute break in play. After the authorities had policed the situation, play resumed for two overs before more bottles were thrown and play was stopped for a second time and the players went off the field this time. The break lasted 24 minutes while the upper-level stands were cleared and the match could resume again.
India managed one more wicket but could not prevent the inevitable and South Africa sauntered away with a series win.
Friday, 2 October 2015
1st T20I IND V SA
South Africa 200 for 3 beat India 199 for 5 by seven wickets
Rohit Sharma became the 15th centurion in T20 internationals and India's second after Suresh Raina but he was overshadowed by JP Duminy, who is South Africa's leading run-scorer and second overall in the format, as he scripted a stunning series-opening victory in Dharamsala. Duminy shared a 105-run fourth-wicket partnership with Farhaan Behardien to see South Africa chase down 200 for only the second time in T20Is after AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla set them up with a 77-run opening stand.
India would have thought their total was safe, albeit short of what they seemed headed for at 158 for 1 with five overs to go, after R Ashwin and debutant S Aravind removed de Villiers and Faf du Plessis in successive overs adding to South Africa's reputation for middle-order meltdowns. But the temperament of Duminy and the tactical nous which resulted in Behardien promoted to No. 5 ahead of David Miller kept South Africa in the game and took them over the line.
That line would have seemed distant when Rohit and Virat Kohli were shredding the South African attack's traditional strength - the short ball. The first one was delivered by Marchant de Lange and Rohit met it with an authoritative pull. Chris Morris and Kagiso Rabada supplied many more and Rohit relished each one of them.
Not even South Africa's banker, Imran Tahir was spared. Kohli crossed 1000th T20I runs off him with a six over deep midwicket, to become the first Indian to reach the mark. Rohit also reached a milestone - a hundred in all formats - and saved it for de Lange, who had dropped him on 24 off his own bowling, when he cleared long-off to bring up the century off 62 balls.
The ball was changed after that over and it worked for South Africa's seamers. Kohli and Rohit both mis-hit pulls and were caught near the boundary in Abbott's next over to end their stand of 138 and put the brakes on India's charge. South Africa kept India to just 41 runs in the final five overs to give themselves a chance with the bat.
Amla immediately showed their intent to make that chance count when he clipped the first ball of the reply to the fine-leg boundary. De Villiers was not to be outdone and sent the second ball he faced over his Royal Challengers Bangalore team-mate Aravind's head.
India's seamers did not fare much better than South Africa's on a surface that was packed with runs and a outfield heavy with dew, and their attempts at varying lengths were unsuccessful. With what seemed like casualness, Amla and de Villiers racked up 67 runs in the Powerplay, finding the boundary off short and full balls alike.
Spin was cited as being the difference between the sides and Axar Patel almost showed why. He threatened to end the opening stand, when he induced a thick edge from Amla but MS Dhoni put down a tough chance. The breakthrough came in Ashwin's over, but not by his doing, when Amla was run-out searching for a second run.
Ashwin enjoyed more success in his next over with a superb delivery to remove de Villiers, just after he had brought up a half-century with a four. De Villiers advanced on Ashwin and sent him to the deep midwicket boundary for his fifty off 31 balls but on the 32nd, Ashwin saw him coming. He held back the pace and had de Villiers in no-man's land when the ball hit his back thigh and deflected onto the stumps.
South Africa needed 107 runs off 61 balls when Duminy arrived at the crease and his task was immediately made more difficult. Aravind got his first international wicket when he bowled du Plessis with a slower ball that slanted across the South African captain as he reached for it with rooted feet and India would have thought the game was over.
Duminy might have felt the same when Ashwin appealed for a stumping off him, off the fourth ball he faced, but replays showed Duminy was safe. In the next over, Axar had an lbw appeal against Duminy which looked close enough to be out but was not given. Duminy was determined to make the two chances count.
He swung hard at the next ball and sent it for six to restart South Africa's chase and Behardien, prompted by the positivity, joined the party. The pair took 30 runs off three overs and then Duminy seized the advantage with a trio of sixes off Axar's final over. He brought the required run rate down from 13.20 to 11 per over and with four overs left, gave South Africa reason to believe.
Bhuvneshwar bowled a boundary-less third over but conceded nine runs, before Duminy hit back to take six off the first ball of Mohit Sharma's last over and ten off the first two balls of Bhuvneshar's final one. Behardien provided the perfect foil and rotated strike confidently to put Duminy in command.
Unintentionally, India ended up leaving their newest player with the most to do. Aravind had to defend 10 runs off the last over and backed himself to bowl yorkers. He got the first two in the right area but missed the length on the third. Duminy pulled it over deep midwicket to level scores and with a single off the next ball, gave South Africa the series lead.
Rohit Sharma became the 15th centurion in T20 internationals and India's second after Suresh Raina but he was overshadowed by JP Duminy, who is South Africa's leading run-scorer and second overall in the format, as he scripted a stunning series-opening victory in Dharamsala. Duminy shared a 105-run fourth-wicket partnership with Farhaan Behardien to see South Africa chase down 200 for only the second time in T20Is after AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla set them up with a 77-run opening stand.
India would have thought their total was safe, albeit short of what they seemed headed for at 158 for 1 with five overs to go, after R Ashwin and debutant S Aravind removed de Villiers and Faf du Plessis in successive overs adding to South Africa's reputation for middle-order meltdowns. But the temperament of Duminy and the tactical nous which resulted in Behardien promoted to No. 5 ahead of David Miller kept South Africa in the game and took them over the line.
That line would have seemed distant when Rohit and Virat Kohli were shredding the South African attack's traditional strength - the short ball. The first one was delivered by Marchant de Lange and Rohit met it with an authoritative pull. Chris Morris and Kagiso Rabada supplied many more and Rohit relished each one of them.
Not even South Africa's banker, Imran Tahir was spared. Kohli crossed 1000th T20I runs off him with a six over deep midwicket, to become the first Indian to reach the mark. Rohit also reached a milestone - a hundred in all formats - and saved it for de Lange, who had dropped him on 24 off his own bowling, when he cleared long-off to bring up the century off 62 balls.
The ball was changed after that over and it worked for South Africa's seamers. Kohli and Rohit both mis-hit pulls and were caught near the boundary in Abbott's next over to end their stand of 138 and put the brakes on India's charge. South Africa kept India to just 41 runs in the final five overs to give themselves a chance with the bat.
Amla immediately showed their intent to make that chance count when he clipped the first ball of the reply to the fine-leg boundary. De Villiers was not to be outdone and sent the second ball he faced over his Royal Challengers Bangalore team-mate Aravind's head.
India's seamers did not fare much better than South Africa's on a surface that was packed with runs and a outfield heavy with dew, and their attempts at varying lengths were unsuccessful. With what seemed like casualness, Amla and de Villiers racked up 67 runs in the Powerplay, finding the boundary off short and full balls alike.
Spin was cited as being the difference between the sides and Axar Patel almost showed why. He threatened to end the opening stand, when he induced a thick edge from Amla but MS Dhoni put down a tough chance. The breakthrough came in Ashwin's over, but not by his doing, when Amla was run-out searching for a second run.
Ashwin enjoyed more success in his next over with a superb delivery to remove de Villiers, just after he had brought up a half-century with a four. De Villiers advanced on Ashwin and sent him to the deep midwicket boundary for his fifty off 31 balls but on the 32nd, Ashwin saw him coming. He held back the pace and had de Villiers in no-man's land when the ball hit his back thigh and deflected onto the stumps.
South Africa needed 107 runs off 61 balls when Duminy arrived at the crease and his task was immediately made more difficult. Aravind got his first international wicket when he bowled du Plessis with a slower ball that slanted across the South African captain as he reached for it with rooted feet and India would have thought the game was over.
Duminy might have felt the same when Ashwin appealed for a stumping off him, off the fourth ball he faced, but replays showed Duminy was safe. In the next over, Axar had an lbw appeal against Duminy which looked close enough to be out but was not given. Duminy was determined to make the two chances count.
He swung hard at the next ball and sent it for six to restart South Africa's chase and Behardien, prompted by the positivity, joined the party. The pair took 30 runs off three overs and then Duminy seized the advantage with a trio of sixes off Axar's final over. He brought the required run rate down from 13.20 to 11 per over and with four overs left, gave South Africa reason to believe.
Bhuvneshwar bowled a boundary-less third over but conceded nine runs, before Duminy hit back to take six off the first ball of Mohit Sharma's last over and ten off the first two balls of Bhuvneshar's final one. Behardien provided the perfect foil and rotated strike confidently to put Duminy in command.
Unintentionally, India ended up leaving their newest player with the most to do. Aravind had to defend 10 runs off the last over and backed himself to bowl yorkers. He got the first two in the right area but missed the length on the third. Duminy pulled it over deep midwicket to level scores and with a single off the next ball, gave South Africa the series lead.
Saturday, 19 September 2015
Royal London One Day Cup Final Gloucestershire v Surrey
Glos 220 beat Surrey 214 by 6 runs
Gloucestershire pulled off a thrilling six-run win in the One-Day Cup final at Lord's despite Jade Dernbach's 6-35, including a hat-trick, for Surrey.
A total of 220 did not look enough after Dernbach dismissed Geraint Jones (50), Craig Miles and David Payne with successive deliveries.
Surrey looked to be cruising when Kumar Sangakkara (60) and Rory Burns (56) were together in a stand of 101.
But five wickets fell for 23 runs as they were bowled out for 214 with three balls remaining in the final over.
It was Gloucestershire's ninth win in 10 nine Lord's one-day finals - and the perfect way for Geraint Jones, who had earlier hit a half-century himself, to bow out in his final game before retirement.
But, for dejected opposite number Gareth Batty, caught by Jack Taylor on the mid-wicket boundary in the final over to spark wild scenes of West Country jubilation, it was the former Worcetershire and England off spinner's third Lord's final defeat - and all of them by Gloucestershire.
It had looked as if Gloucestershire had not posted enough runs despite a Jones-inspired recovery from 108-5 to 220-7, in which Jack Taylor contributed 35 off 26 balls.
And 15 deliveries were left unused after Dernbach finished off the innings by claiming the wickets of Jones (50), Craig Miles and David Payne for successive first-ball ducks.
The last of those wickets was, however, highly contentious as the crouching Payne was given out lbw after trying to avoid a full toss from Dernbach and the ball, which appeared to be heading down leg-side, struck him on the side.
Surrey lost openers Jason Roy and Steven Davies early during a superb new-ball spell by James Fuller (2-34), but Sangakkara and Burns gradually got on top.
However, just when Surrey looked to have the game in their grasp, both were out in the space of 13 balls and the tail buckled under mounting pressure as they suffered their sixth defeat in 11 Lord's finals.
Gloucestershire pulled off a thrilling six-run win in the One-Day Cup final at Lord's despite Jade Dernbach's 6-35, including a hat-trick, for Surrey.
A total of 220 did not look enough after Dernbach dismissed Geraint Jones (50), Craig Miles and David Payne with successive deliveries.
Surrey looked to be cruising when Kumar Sangakkara (60) and Rory Burns (56) were together in a stand of 101.
But five wickets fell for 23 runs as they were bowled out for 214 with three balls remaining in the final over.
It was Gloucestershire's ninth win in 10 nine Lord's one-day finals - and the perfect way for Geraint Jones, who had earlier hit a half-century himself, to bow out in his final game before retirement.
But, for dejected opposite number Gareth Batty, caught by Jack Taylor on the mid-wicket boundary in the final over to spark wild scenes of West Country jubilation, it was the former Worcetershire and England off spinner's third Lord's final defeat - and all of them by Gloucestershire.
It had looked as if Gloucestershire had not posted enough runs despite a Jones-inspired recovery from 108-5 to 220-7, in which Jack Taylor contributed 35 off 26 balls.
And 15 deliveries were left unused after Dernbach finished off the innings by claiming the wickets of Jones (50), Craig Miles and David Payne for successive first-ball ducks.
The last of those wickets was, however, highly contentious as the crouching Payne was given out lbw after trying to avoid a full toss from Dernbach and the ball, which appeared to be heading down leg-side, struck him on the side.
Surrey lost openers Jason Roy and Steven Davies early during a superb new-ball spell by James Fuller (2-34), but Sangakkara and Burns gradually got on top.
However, just when Surrey looked to have the game in their grasp, both were out in the space of 13 balls and the tail buckled under mounting pressure as they suffered their sixth defeat in 11 Lord's finals.
Sunday, 13 September 2015
5th ODI ENG V AUS
AUS 140/2 bt ENG 138 by 8 wickets & win ODI series 3-2
England slumped to 138 all out to hand Australia an eight-wicket win and a 3-2 series victory in the deciding one-day international at Old Trafford.
The home side were reduced to 22-3 in the sixth over and then saw captain Eoin Morgan retire with concussion.
They failed to recover and were eventually bowled out in 33 overs, Ben Stokes making 42 and Mitchell Marsh taking 4-27.
Australia eased to their target inside 25 overs, with Aaron Finch 70 not out.
For the visitors, sealing the one-day series on the final day of their tour represents a degree of consolation after a 3-2 defeat in the Test series.
Though England's summer ultimately ended as a disappointing anti-climax in front a packed crowd, the success they have enjoyed is far removed from the spring-time World Cup humiliation and poor tour of the West Indies that followed.
A thrilling drawn Test series with New Zealand was followed by a new approach to one-day cricket that resulted in a 3-2 win over the Black Caps and a competitive contest with world champions Australia, where they came from 2-0 down.
Most importantly, the Ashes were regained.
A sign of things to come?
England will have been pleased to win the toss in sunny conditions and have the opportunity to bat first on a true Old Trafford pitch.
But an eventful first over, with Starc swinging the ball at a full length, provided a glimpse of what was to come.
Jason Roy was given out leg before to the second delivery before successfully over-turning the decision thanks to an inside edge.
However, when he was given out again from the fourth delivery, Roy walked off. Neither he nor partner Alex Hales spotted that the ball was missing leg stump by some distance.
The capitulation
From there, England had no answer to some very good Australia pace bowling, with Marsh and John Hastings particularly causing problems with consistency of length.
Hales sliced Hastings to point for four to probably end any notion of a call-up for the winter Test series, with James Taylor then feathering the same bowler behind.
After Morgan was forced to retire, Jonny Bairstow was given out lbw on review to Marsh, while the right-armer picked up Moeen Ali and David Willey in the space of three balls.
Stokes sparkled with powerful drives and pulls but after he became Marsh's fourth victim, lbw to one that nipped back, Adil Rashid was left to eke what he could from the tail.
He made a composed unbeaten 35, supported by Mark Wood and debutant Reece Topley, who was last out when pinned in front by Ashton Agar.
Concern for Morgan
England's plight was not helped by the injury to Morgan, who suffered a concussion when struck on the back of the head from a Starc bouncer in the seventh over.
The left-hander had to be steadied by short leg fielder George Bailey, before sitting on the turf to receive treatment.
There was concern from the Australia team, less than a year on from the death of Phillip Hughes, while Starc was comforted by Smith, Hastings, coach Darren Lehmann and Stokes.
Later in the England innings, it was confirmed that Morgan would play no further part in the match, with Taylor taking over as captain.
Finch leads Australia stroll
England had a glimmer of hope at the interval after Joe Burns edged Willey behind in the first over and Smith followed in similar fashion to Wood to leave Australia 31-2.
But that was snuffed out by an unbroken stand of 109 between Finch and George Bailey, who added 104 runs in 14.2 overs after the break.
Finch played drives and pulls of the spinners and swept Moeen, while Bailey punished the poor Rashid, who conceded 34 runs from four overs.
Bailey sealed it by edging Topley for four, with both sets of players now awaiting squad announcements for their next tours.
Australia go to Bangladesh, while England's party for the series against Pakistan in the UAE will be named this week.
England slumped to 138 all out to hand Australia an eight-wicket win and a 3-2 series victory in the deciding one-day international at Old Trafford.
The home side were reduced to 22-3 in the sixth over and then saw captain Eoin Morgan retire with concussion.
They failed to recover and were eventually bowled out in 33 overs, Ben Stokes making 42 and Mitchell Marsh taking 4-27.
Australia eased to their target inside 25 overs, with Aaron Finch 70 not out.
For the visitors, sealing the one-day series on the final day of their tour represents a degree of consolation after a 3-2 defeat in the Test series.
Though England's summer ultimately ended as a disappointing anti-climax in front a packed crowd, the success they have enjoyed is far removed from the spring-time World Cup humiliation and poor tour of the West Indies that followed.
A thrilling drawn Test series with New Zealand was followed by a new approach to one-day cricket that resulted in a 3-2 win over the Black Caps and a competitive contest with world champions Australia, where they came from 2-0 down.
Most importantly, the Ashes were regained.
A sign of things to come?
England will have been pleased to win the toss in sunny conditions and have the opportunity to bat first on a true Old Trafford pitch.
But an eventful first over, with Starc swinging the ball at a full length, provided a glimpse of what was to come.
Jason Roy was given out leg before to the second delivery before successfully over-turning the decision thanks to an inside edge.
However, when he was given out again from the fourth delivery, Roy walked off. Neither he nor partner Alex Hales spotted that the ball was missing leg stump by some distance.
The capitulation
From there, England had no answer to some very good Australia pace bowling, with Marsh and John Hastings particularly causing problems with consistency of length.
Hales sliced Hastings to point for four to probably end any notion of a call-up for the winter Test series, with James Taylor then feathering the same bowler behind.
After Morgan was forced to retire, Jonny Bairstow was given out lbw on review to Marsh, while the right-armer picked up Moeen Ali and David Willey in the space of three balls.
Stokes sparkled with powerful drives and pulls but after he became Marsh's fourth victim, lbw to one that nipped back, Adil Rashid was left to eke what he could from the tail.
He made a composed unbeaten 35, supported by Mark Wood and debutant Reece Topley, who was last out when pinned in front by Ashton Agar.
Concern for Morgan
England's plight was not helped by the injury to Morgan, who suffered a concussion when struck on the back of the head from a Starc bouncer in the seventh over.
The left-hander had to be steadied by short leg fielder George Bailey, before sitting on the turf to receive treatment.
There was concern from the Australia team, less than a year on from the death of Phillip Hughes, while Starc was comforted by Smith, Hastings, coach Darren Lehmann and Stokes.
Later in the England innings, it was confirmed that Morgan would play no further part in the match, with Taylor taking over as captain.
Finch leads Australia stroll
England had a glimmer of hope at the interval after Joe Burns edged Willey behind in the first over and Smith followed in similar fashion to Wood to leave Australia 31-2.
But that was snuffed out by an unbroken stand of 109 between Finch and George Bailey, who added 104 runs in 14.2 overs after the break.
Finch played drives and pulls of the spinners and swept Moeen, while Bailey punished the poor Rashid, who conceded 34 runs from four overs.
Bailey sealed it by edging Topley for four, with both sets of players now awaiting squad announcements for their next tours.
Australia go to Bangladesh, while England's party for the series against Pakistan in the UAE will be named this week.
Friday, 11 September 2015
4th ODI ENG (304/7) bt AUS (299/7) by 3 wkts
ENG (304/7) bt AUS (299/7) by 3 wkts - series level at 2-2.
Eoin Morgan's innings of 92 has led England to a three-wicket victory over Australia as England levelled the one-day international series at Headingley.
David Willey dismissed Joe Burns (2) early on before trapping Australia captain Steve Smith lbw for just five and tempting an edge from Aaron Finch (15) as the hosts started well to get the visitors at 30-3.
However, George Bailey and Glenn Maxwell shared a fourth-wicket stand of 137 to swing the balance in Australia's favour, before Maxwell was bowled for 85 off 64 balls by Moeen Ali.
Liam Plunkett then ousted Mitchell Marsh (17) and Bailey (75) in the same over before debutant Marcus Stoinis departed to Ali to leave Australia 215-7, but Matthew Wade's 50* off 26 balls and John Hastings (34*) led Australia to 299-7.
England's reply started in the worst possible fashion when Alex Hales was caught lbw by a Pat Cummins yorker, but they recovered well as Jason Roy and James Taylor took them to 73-1 off 10 overs.
The early rhythm was disrupted when Roy lobbed a simple chance to Finch on 36 before a acrobatic catch from Wade behind the stumps saw Taylor (41) removed by Marsh.
However, England captain Eoin Morgan led by example to drive the hosts towards victory with 92 from 92 balls before being caught spectacularly by Maxwell off Cummins.
Maxwell then pulled off another superb hold to remove Plunkett for 17, but Willey secured victory with a six off Hastings to secure victory with 10 balls to spare and level the series at 2-2 ahead of the final match at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Eoin Morgan's innings of 92 has led England to a three-wicket victory over Australia as England levelled the one-day international series at Headingley.
David Willey dismissed Joe Burns (2) early on before trapping Australia captain Steve Smith lbw for just five and tempting an edge from Aaron Finch (15) as the hosts started well to get the visitors at 30-3.
However, George Bailey and Glenn Maxwell shared a fourth-wicket stand of 137 to swing the balance in Australia's favour, before Maxwell was bowled for 85 off 64 balls by Moeen Ali.
Liam Plunkett then ousted Mitchell Marsh (17) and Bailey (75) in the same over before debutant Marcus Stoinis departed to Ali to leave Australia 215-7, but Matthew Wade's 50* off 26 balls and John Hastings (34*) led Australia to 299-7.
England's reply started in the worst possible fashion when Alex Hales was caught lbw by a Pat Cummins yorker, but they recovered well as Jason Roy and James Taylor took them to 73-1 off 10 overs.
The early rhythm was disrupted when Roy lobbed a simple chance to Finch on 36 before a acrobatic catch from Wade behind the stumps saw Taylor (41) removed by Marsh.
However, England captain Eoin Morgan led by example to drive the hosts towards victory with 92 from 92 balls before being caught spectacularly by Maxwell off Cummins.
Maxwell then pulled off another superb hold to remove Plunkett for 17, but Willey secured victory with a six off Hastings to secure victory with 10 balls to spare and level the series at 2-2 ahead of the final match at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Tuesday, 8 September 2015
3rd ODI ENG 300/8 bt AUS 207 by 93 runs
ENG 300/8 bt AUS 207 by 93 runs
England have recorded a 93-run victory over Australia in the third one-day international at Old Trafford to keep their hopes alive in the best-of-five series.
A century from James Taylor helped England to 300-8 off their 50 overs, before Moeen Ali and Liam Plunkett chipped in with three wickets apiece as Australia were bowled all out for 207 in Manchester.
After winning the toss, England openers Jason Roy and Alex Hales put on 52 for the first wicket before Hales was dismissed for nine, but his wicket enabled Taylor to arrive at the crease.
He took a back seat as Roy notched his second ODI fifty off 34 balls before eventually departing for 63, while Eoin Morgan contributed 62 off 56 balls to take the hosts to 205-3 with 17 overs still remaining.
However, England's middle order collapsed, with Jonny Bairstow's run-a-ball 17 the only knock of any significance, but Taylor held firm to make it into three figures before eventually departing for 101 off 114 deliveries.
Australia's reply began with Joe Burns being dismissed by Steven Finn for just nine, before the pace bowler helped take the wicket of Steve Smith (25) with a fine catch off the bowling of Adil Rashid.
From then onwards, wickets fell at regular intervals as Rashid, Moeen and Plunkett decimated Australia's middle order, with only Aaron Finch (53) and Matthew Wade (42) showing any resistance for the Baggy Greens.
Wade was the last wicket to fall after being clean-bowled by Finn and England were able to celebrate the first of three victories they need to deny Australia claiming the series.
England have recorded a 93-run victory over Australia in the third one-day international at Old Trafford to keep their hopes alive in the best-of-five series.
A century from James Taylor helped England to 300-8 off their 50 overs, before Moeen Ali and Liam Plunkett chipped in with three wickets apiece as Australia were bowled all out for 207 in Manchester.
After winning the toss, England openers Jason Roy and Alex Hales put on 52 for the first wicket before Hales was dismissed for nine, but his wicket enabled Taylor to arrive at the crease.
He took a back seat as Roy notched his second ODI fifty off 34 balls before eventually departing for 63, while Eoin Morgan contributed 62 off 56 balls to take the hosts to 205-3 with 17 overs still remaining.
However, England's middle order collapsed, with Jonny Bairstow's run-a-ball 17 the only knock of any significance, but Taylor held firm to make it into three figures before eventually departing for 101 off 114 deliveries.
Australia's reply began with Joe Burns being dismissed by Steven Finn for just nine, before the pace bowler helped take the wicket of Steve Smith (25) with a fine catch off the bowling of Adil Rashid.
From then onwards, wickets fell at regular intervals as Rashid, Moeen and Plunkett decimated Australia's middle order, with only Aaron Finch (53) and Matthew Wade (42) showing any resistance for the Baggy Greens.
Wade was the last wicket to fall after being clean-bowled by Finn and England were able to celebrate the first of three victories they need to deny Australia claiming the series.
Monday, 7 September 2015
Royal London One Day Cup Semi Final 2
Surrey 300-5 (50 overs): Sangakkara 166, Wilson 48, Foakes 42
Nottinghamshire 296-7 (50 overs): Smith 124, Christian 54, Patel 51
Surrey won by four runs
Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara played one of the finest knocks of his long career at The Oval as Surrey beat Nottinghamshire by four runs to reach their first Lord's final in four years.
The 37-year-old former Test star hit 166 out of Surrey's total of 300-5.
Notts slumped to 16-3 when teenager Sam Curran took two wickets in two balls.
Greg Smith made 124, sharing big stands with Samit Patel (51) and Dan Christian (54) but, in a thrilling finale, Notts fell just short on 296-7.
Surrey will now play Gloucestershire in the final on Saturday 19 September.
Nottinghamshire 296-7 (50 overs): Smith 124, Christian 54, Patel 51
Surrey won by four runs
Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara played one of the finest knocks of his long career at The Oval as Surrey beat Nottinghamshire by four runs to reach their first Lord's final in four years.
The 37-year-old former Test star hit 166 out of Surrey's total of 300-5.
Notts slumped to 16-3 when teenager Sam Curran took two wickets in two balls.
Greg Smith made 124, sharing big stands with Samit Patel (51) and Dan Christian (54) but, in a thrilling finale, Notts fell just short on 296-7.
Surrey will now play Gloucestershire in the final on Saturday 19 September.
Sunday, 6 September 2015
Royal London One Day Cup Semi Final 1
Yorkshire 263-9 (50 overs): Lyth 96, Bairstow 34; Howell 3-37
Gloucestershire 267-2 (46.5 overs): Klinger 137no, Marshall 78no; Rhodes 1-29
Gloucestershire won by eight wickets
Michael Klinger's unbeaten century led Gloucestershire to an eight-wicket win over Yorkshire in their One-Day Cup semi-final at Headingley.
The 35-year-old hit 137 off 145 balls and shared an unbroken third-wicket stand with Hamish Marshall (78).
England opener Adam Lyth made a superb 96 for Yorkshire, but they were limited to 263-9 as Benny Howell claimed 3-37.
Klinger and Marshall were rarely troubled during the run-chase and saw their side home with 19 balls to spare.
Lyth put his Ashes woes behind in a brilliant attacking innings, which included 10 fours and a six, which was in stark contrast to that of his Yorkshire opening partner Alex Lees, who struggled to find the middle of the bat.
Gloucestershire were not flawless in the field with three difficult chances going down, and a comical dropped catch by Liam Norwell off his own bowling looked like it might be a turning point.
Jonny Bairstow was the man reprieved as Norwell grounded the ball as he looked to throw it up in celebration having taken a simple return catch.
However, the England Test player failed to make the most of his let-off as 23-year-old Norwell trapped him lbw in his next over.
After racing to 168-3 from their first 30 overs, the Vikings innings stuttered as they managed just 95 runs from their last 20 and lost six wickets in the process.
Their total looked short of par and so it proved as Klinger and Chris Dent began Gloucestershire's response in a positive mood before Dent was bowled by 17-year-old Matthew Fisher for 28.
Although Will Rhodes had Gareth Roderick caught by Jack Leaning cheaply, Yorkshire desperately missed spinner Adil Rashid on a slow, sticky Headingley wicket.
Though Klinger only returned from Australia on Saturday, he looked completely at ease as he scored his third century in four matches in the One-Day Cup before launching Fisher for a straight six - the fourth of his innings - to finish the match in style.
Gloucestershire 267-2 (46.5 overs): Klinger 137no, Marshall 78no; Rhodes 1-29
Gloucestershire won by eight wickets
Michael Klinger's unbeaten century led Gloucestershire to an eight-wicket win over Yorkshire in their One-Day Cup semi-final at Headingley.
The 35-year-old hit 137 off 145 balls and shared an unbroken third-wicket stand with Hamish Marshall (78).
England opener Adam Lyth made a superb 96 for Yorkshire, but they were limited to 263-9 as Benny Howell claimed 3-37.
Klinger and Marshall were rarely troubled during the run-chase and saw their side home with 19 balls to spare.
Lyth put his Ashes woes behind in a brilliant attacking innings, which included 10 fours and a six, which was in stark contrast to that of his Yorkshire opening partner Alex Lees, who struggled to find the middle of the bat.
Gloucestershire were not flawless in the field with three difficult chances going down, and a comical dropped catch by Liam Norwell off his own bowling looked like it might be a turning point.
Jonny Bairstow was the man reprieved as Norwell grounded the ball as he looked to throw it up in celebration having taken a simple return catch.
However, the England Test player failed to make the most of his let-off as 23-year-old Norwell trapped him lbw in his next over.
After racing to 168-3 from their first 30 overs, the Vikings innings stuttered as they managed just 95 runs from their last 20 and lost six wickets in the process.
Their total looked short of par and so it proved as Klinger and Chris Dent began Gloucestershire's response in a positive mood before Dent was bowled by 17-year-old Matthew Fisher for 28.
Although Will Rhodes had Gareth Roderick caught by Jack Leaning cheaply, Yorkshire desperately missed spinner Adil Rashid on a slow, sticky Headingley wicket.
Though Klinger only returned from Australia on Saturday, he looked completely at ease as he scored his third century in four matches in the One-Day Cup before launching Fisher for a straight six - the fourth of his innings - to finish the match in style.
Saturday, 5 September 2015
2nd ODI ENG V AUS
England have slipped 2-0 behind in the one-day international series against Australia after the visitors won by 64 runs at Lords in a match overshadowed by controversy.
The game was marred by an obstructing the field dismissal when Ben Stokes was given out after the ball stuck his hand while he took evasive action.
Steve Smith hit 70 and Mitchell Marsh 64 from 31 balls as the Aussies reached 309-7 from 49 overs.
Captain Eoin Morgan was the standout performer for the hosts, striking four sixes in an 85, but England were all out for 245.
Stokes's dismissal for obstructing the field marked the first time an England player has ever been penalised for the offence, and only the sixth time it has happened in one-day international history.
The third of the five one-day contests will take place at Old Trafford on Tuesday.
The game was marred by an obstructing the field dismissal when Ben Stokes was given out after the ball stuck his hand while he took evasive action.
Steve Smith hit 70 and Mitchell Marsh 64 from 31 balls as the Aussies reached 309-7 from 49 overs.
Captain Eoin Morgan was the standout performer for the hosts, striking four sixes in an 85, but England were all out for 245.
Stokes's dismissal for obstructing the field marked the first time an England player has ever been penalised for the offence, and only the sixth time it has happened in one-day international history.
The third of the five one-day contests will take place at Old Trafford on Tuesday.
Thursday, 3 September 2015
1st ODI ENG V AUS
A stuttering England batting display handed Australia a 59-run victory at Southampton in the first game of their five-match one-day series.
Adil Rashid's 4-59 reduced the Aussies to 193-6 but Matthew Wade (71 not out) added 112 with Mitchell Marsh (40 not out) to help the tourists post 305-6.
Jason Roy (67) led England's reply but fell when well set, as did James Taylor (49) and captain Eoin Morgan (38).
England lost three wickets in four balls at one stage and their last seven for 94 runs before being bowled out with 27 balls to spare.
Coming off the back of Monday's five-run victory in the Twenty20 international at Cardiff, England made four changes from their last ODI against New Zealand at Chester-le-Street in June. A three-wicket victory that day sealed a 3-2 series win and appeared to herald the start of a new approach to the format from England.
Taylor replaced the rested Joe Root at three, Jos Buttler returned with the gloves in place of Jonny Bairstow and Sam Billings and David Willey were omitted in favour of Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes.
Australia had just five survivors from their World Cup-winning side in March, but named the same team which beat Ireland at Stormont in August.
Matthew Wades-in for Australia
Having won the toss and elected to bat, it was an innings of three parts from Australia.
A solid platform saw Joe Burns (44) and David Warner (59) put on 76 for the first wicket before a mid-innings wobble, when Steve Smith's side lost four wickets for 29 runs in the space of six overs.
But wicketkeeper Wade, whose unbeaten 71 not out came off 50 balls, recovered from being involved in the run-out of Shane Watson to share a vital seventh-wicket stand with Marsh.
The innings was even more impressive considering the 27-year-old Tasmanian took nine balls to get off the mark before striking 12 fours in his 48th ODI appearance.
Wade's return to the green and gold was to get even sweeter in the field when he took three catches with the gloves.
Run chase promises much but lacks end product
England's pursuit of 306 started with two promising innings from Roy and Taylor.
But both surrendered impressive starts when they gave their wickets away and England's reply fell flat.
Surrey opener Roy put on 70 with opening partner Alex Hales (22) and reached his first ODI half-century off 49 balls with 10 fours.
But, just as he looked set to bat through the innings, he slashed Glenn Maxwell to point to be dismissed for 67 off 64 balls.
Taylor struck an impressive straight six off Marsh but the diminutive right-hander gifted his wicket one shy of 50 when he swung and missed at a straight one from Watson.
After a recovery of sorts between Morgan and Ben Stokes, England lost three wickets in four balls without adding a run to slump from 194-4 to 194-7.
Some late glimpses of class from Moeen and Rashid were not enough to mount a rearguard.
Adil has his day
Rashid has been a man much talked about throughout this summer with many clamouring for his inclusion during the Ashes.
The Yorkshire leg-spinner has been handed his opportunities in the limited-overs side despite his Test omission, and is tipped to be England's second spinner when they face Pakistan in the UAE in October.
Introduced to the attack after just 10 overs, his first wicket came courtesy of a full toss as Burns returned a sharp catch.
That appeared to be the lucky break he needed as he went on to claim the first four wickets of the Australia innings, accounting for Warner, Smith and George Bailey.
It may not have been the 27-year-old's most polished spell of bowling, but he was rewarded for his continued use of flighted deliveries to entice false shots.
Fellow spinner Moeen provided valuable support at the other end with 0-37 off his eight overs.
New series, new regulations
Within days of England's run-drenched series against New Zealand in June, the International Cricket Council adopted new playing conditions in a bid to redress the balance between bat and ball.
Gone is the mandatory five-over batting powerplay, usually taken between overs 35 and 40, and in its place are three distinct powerplays.
These are the very same conditions under which this season's domestic One-Day Cup has been played.
Despite the new fielding restrictions for the last 10 overs allowing an extra, fifth fielder outside the inner circle, Australia added 93 without loss in that period to show bat still maintains a degree of superiority over ball.
Adil Rashid's 4-59 reduced the Aussies to 193-6 but Matthew Wade (71 not out) added 112 with Mitchell Marsh (40 not out) to help the tourists post 305-6.
Jason Roy (67) led England's reply but fell when well set, as did James Taylor (49) and captain Eoin Morgan (38).
England lost three wickets in four balls at one stage and their last seven for 94 runs before being bowled out with 27 balls to spare.
Coming off the back of Monday's five-run victory in the Twenty20 international at Cardiff, England made four changes from their last ODI against New Zealand at Chester-le-Street in June. A three-wicket victory that day sealed a 3-2 series win and appeared to herald the start of a new approach to the format from England.
Taylor replaced the rested Joe Root at three, Jos Buttler returned with the gloves in place of Jonny Bairstow and Sam Billings and David Willey were omitted in favour of Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes.
Australia had just five survivors from their World Cup-winning side in March, but named the same team which beat Ireland at Stormont in August.
Matthew Wades-in for Australia
Having won the toss and elected to bat, it was an innings of three parts from Australia.
A solid platform saw Joe Burns (44) and David Warner (59) put on 76 for the first wicket before a mid-innings wobble, when Steve Smith's side lost four wickets for 29 runs in the space of six overs.
But wicketkeeper Wade, whose unbeaten 71 not out came off 50 balls, recovered from being involved in the run-out of Shane Watson to share a vital seventh-wicket stand with Marsh.
The innings was even more impressive considering the 27-year-old Tasmanian took nine balls to get off the mark before striking 12 fours in his 48th ODI appearance.
Wade's return to the green and gold was to get even sweeter in the field when he took three catches with the gloves.
Run chase promises much but lacks end product
England's pursuit of 306 started with two promising innings from Roy and Taylor.
But both surrendered impressive starts when they gave their wickets away and England's reply fell flat.
Surrey opener Roy put on 70 with opening partner Alex Hales (22) and reached his first ODI half-century off 49 balls with 10 fours.
But, just as he looked set to bat through the innings, he slashed Glenn Maxwell to point to be dismissed for 67 off 64 balls.
Taylor struck an impressive straight six off Marsh but the diminutive right-hander gifted his wicket one shy of 50 when he swung and missed at a straight one from Watson.
After a recovery of sorts between Morgan and Ben Stokes, England lost three wickets in four balls without adding a run to slump from 194-4 to 194-7.
Some late glimpses of class from Moeen and Rashid were not enough to mount a rearguard.
Adil has his day
Rashid has been a man much talked about throughout this summer with many clamouring for his inclusion during the Ashes.
The Yorkshire leg-spinner has been handed his opportunities in the limited-overs side despite his Test omission, and is tipped to be England's second spinner when they face Pakistan in the UAE in October.
Introduced to the attack after just 10 overs, his first wicket came courtesy of a full toss as Burns returned a sharp catch.
That appeared to be the lucky break he needed as he went on to claim the first four wickets of the Australia innings, accounting for Warner, Smith and George Bailey.
It may not have been the 27-year-old's most polished spell of bowling, but he was rewarded for his continued use of flighted deliveries to entice false shots.
Fellow spinner Moeen provided valuable support at the other end with 0-37 off his eight overs.
New series, new regulations
Within days of England's run-drenched series against New Zealand in June, the International Cricket Council adopted new playing conditions in a bid to redress the balance between bat and ball.
Gone is the mandatory five-over batting powerplay, usually taken between overs 35 and 40, and in its place are three distinct powerplays.
These are the very same conditions under which this season's domestic One-Day Cup has been played.
Despite the new fielding restrictions for the last 10 overs allowing an extra, fifth fielder outside the inner circle, Australia added 93 without loss in that period to show bat still maintains a degree of superiority over ball.
Tuesday, 1 September 2015
3rd Test Day 5 IND V SL
India 312 & 274
Sri Lanka 201 & 268
India won by 117 runs
You spend hours planning for outside edges and lbws, pegging away just outside off and breaking backs bowling bouncers, sweating, despairing, hoping for slip fielders to take the catches, praying the umpires agree with your lbw appeals, debating over DRS and no-balls, and then a Test turns on a reverse-sweep. Coming together at five down with 78 overs to survive, captain Angelo Mathews and debutant Kusal Perera kept India at bay for 38.1 overs and 135 runs, giving them an outside chance at an improbable win - still 144 away with 40 overs to go - but Perera fell to a reverse-sweep four overs before new ball and tea.
India's dying spirits - they were no doubt reminded of Johannesburg, Wellington and Galle over the last 20 months - found just the resuscitation they needed. With the first over with the new ball, Ishant Sharma, the much-maligned fast bowler, the hero of two of India's last three Test wins, and in the spotlight for his behaviour, removed Mathews for a valiant 110 to register his 200th Test wicket and pave the way for India's first away series win in four years and their first in Sri Lanka in 22 years. That he did so on cue and with a really full ball, two feats he has notoriously found difficult to muster over his career, will make the lbw sweeter.
There were important lessons in there. Ishant's eighth no-ball of the match, bowled in his first over of the day, had Mathews caught on 25 but India heard the heart-breaking call of no-ball even before they could go up in appeal. Later in the day, with nothing going for India and the sun beating down on their heads, Amit Mishra had Mathews plumb lbw on 93, except that umpire Nigel Llong thought the sound from the bat hitting the ground was an inside edge. Umpires are human, they make mistakes, which is why we have DRS in Test cricket. In Test cricket not involving India, that is. Had India opted even for an abridged DRS without relying on the predictive tracking technology, they would have won the series 3-0.
It was not all umpiring decisions that denied India the clean sweep. Dinesh Chandimal's counterattack in Galle played a big part in that grand comeback. One of the features of that comeback, which put India off their plans, was the reverse-sweep, a shot that Perera - who followed in Chandimal's footsteps to become only the second wicketkeeper to debut with twin fifties - played and will have people crucifying him for it. Perception of risk, though, has changed in modern cricket.
Perera is predominantly a right-hander, and used to bat right-handed until he decided to emulate Sanath Jayasuriya when he was around 10. He plays the reverse-sweep well, and Sri Lanka had got this far in the fourth innings by not letting India bowl the lines they wanted, by keeping the scoreboard moving. Just when, five overs before the new ball, India started to bowl at the pads of the batsmen with predominantly leg-side fields, Perera looked to keep the pressure on by exploiting the field. He made a sweet connection too, but found to perfection the man accustomed to getting out minutes before intervals, Rohit Sharma, at point.
It was until then a testing toil for India, who didn't do much wrong but found themselves helpless against a slowing-down pitch and resolute defence from Mathews and Perera. A mark of how well India bowled was in the first session when they got just two wickets, but always looked close to taking a wicket. For the first 90 minutes the quicks operated. Umesh Yadav got rid of Kaushal Silva, yet again with a bouncer, and even though he didn't take a wicket Ishant kept testing the batsmen and conceded just nine runs in six overs.
The introduction of spin brought no relief, and Lahiru Thirimanne, who had batted for 16.5 overs with Mathews, fell in R Ashwin's first over to an extraordinary catch. His slip catching still far from perfect, KL Rahul was a different fielder under the helmet. Thirimanne saw a length ball on the pads, closed the face, and bobbed a leading edge up above silly point. Rahul rose with the ball, stuck his right hand up, and took the rebound. He was to nearly manufacture another wicket later in the day.
Before that, though, Mathews and Perera reduced India to hoping for extraordinary events. In testing heat and on the final day of a long and disappointing home season, Mathews and Perera concentrated superbly, but also made sure bad balls didn't go unpunished and in-and-out fields yielded singles. While Mathews is temperamentally suited for such innings, Perera went against his natural game, striking at 66 runs per 100 balls, well short of his 87 in all first-class cricket. The moment of the partnership perhaps was when Perera left alone a ball from Mishra that pitched on off stump just to show the bowler he had picked the wrong'un, a delivery Perera's team-mates have struggled to pick against both Mishra and Yasir Shah.
For Mathews, who had come in for criticism for not having bowled his fair share of overs as the third seamer on a seaming pitch and in oppressive humidity, this century was so nearly redemption. His reluctance to bowl might have allowed India to run away with it on the fourth day, but the highest run-getter of the series pitched his tent and hardly made mistakes. There was one when he poked at that Ishant no-ball, but he began to leave really well, and whenever he defended he did so off the middle of the bat. When, on 67, he flicked Mishra away, looking for an easy single, only to see Rahul field it at short leg; Mathews' full-length lunge back into the crease summed up his determination.
With a history of inclement weather and poor light in the final session, this was getting too close for comfort for India. They were left needing something similarly extraordinary towards the end of the second session, and found it through the Perera reverse-sweep. The jury will forever remain out on that shot.
Sri Lanka 201 & 268
India won by 117 runs
You spend hours planning for outside edges and lbws, pegging away just outside off and breaking backs bowling bouncers, sweating, despairing, hoping for slip fielders to take the catches, praying the umpires agree with your lbw appeals, debating over DRS and no-balls, and then a Test turns on a reverse-sweep. Coming together at five down with 78 overs to survive, captain Angelo Mathews and debutant Kusal Perera kept India at bay for 38.1 overs and 135 runs, giving them an outside chance at an improbable win - still 144 away with 40 overs to go - but Perera fell to a reverse-sweep four overs before new ball and tea.
India's dying spirits - they were no doubt reminded of Johannesburg, Wellington and Galle over the last 20 months - found just the resuscitation they needed. With the first over with the new ball, Ishant Sharma, the much-maligned fast bowler, the hero of two of India's last three Test wins, and in the spotlight for his behaviour, removed Mathews for a valiant 110 to register his 200th Test wicket and pave the way for India's first away series win in four years and their first in Sri Lanka in 22 years. That he did so on cue and with a really full ball, two feats he has notoriously found difficult to muster over his career, will make the lbw sweeter.
There were important lessons in there. Ishant's eighth no-ball of the match, bowled in his first over of the day, had Mathews caught on 25 but India heard the heart-breaking call of no-ball even before they could go up in appeal. Later in the day, with nothing going for India and the sun beating down on their heads, Amit Mishra had Mathews plumb lbw on 93, except that umpire Nigel Llong thought the sound from the bat hitting the ground was an inside edge. Umpires are human, they make mistakes, which is why we have DRS in Test cricket. In Test cricket not involving India, that is. Had India opted even for an abridged DRS without relying on the predictive tracking technology, they would have won the series 3-0.
It was not all umpiring decisions that denied India the clean sweep. Dinesh Chandimal's counterattack in Galle played a big part in that grand comeback. One of the features of that comeback, which put India off their plans, was the reverse-sweep, a shot that Perera - who followed in Chandimal's footsteps to become only the second wicketkeeper to debut with twin fifties - played and will have people crucifying him for it. Perception of risk, though, has changed in modern cricket.
Perera is predominantly a right-hander, and used to bat right-handed until he decided to emulate Sanath Jayasuriya when he was around 10. He plays the reverse-sweep well, and Sri Lanka had got this far in the fourth innings by not letting India bowl the lines they wanted, by keeping the scoreboard moving. Just when, five overs before the new ball, India started to bowl at the pads of the batsmen with predominantly leg-side fields, Perera looked to keep the pressure on by exploiting the field. He made a sweet connection too, but found to perfection the man accustomed to getting out minutes before intervals, Rohit Sharma, at point.
It was until then a testing toil for India, who didn't do much wrong but found themselves helpless against a slowing-down pitch and resolute defence from Mathews and Perera. A mark of how well India bowled was in the first session when they got just two wickets, but always looked close to taking a wicket. For the first 90 minutes the quicks operated. Umesh Yadav got rid of Kaushal Silva, yet again with a bouncer, and even though he didn't take a wicket Ishant kept testing the batsmen and conceded just nine runs in six overs.
The introduction of spin brought no relief, and Lahiru Thirimanne, who had batted for 16.5 overs with Mathews, fell in R Ashwin's first over to an extraordinary catch. His slip catching still far from perfect, KL Rahul was a different fielder under the helmet. Thirimanne saw a length ball on the pads, closed the face, and bobbed a leading edge up above silly point. Rahul rose with the ball, stuck his right hand up, and took the rebound. He was to nearly manufacture another wicket later in the day.
Before that, though, Mathews and Perera reduced India to hoping for extraordinary events. In testing heat and on the final day of a long and disappointing home season, Mathews and Perera concentrated superbly, but also made sure bad balls didn't go unpunished and in-and-out fields yielded singles. While Mathews is temperamentally suited for such innings, Perera went against his natural game, striking at 66 runs per 100 balls, well short of his 87 in all first-class cricket. The moment of the partnership perhaps was when Perera left alone a ball from Mishra that pitched on off stump just to show the bowler he had picked the wrong'un, a delivery Perera's team-mates have struggled to pick against both Mishra and Yasir Shah.
For Mathews, who had come in for criticism for not having bowled his fair share of overs as the third seamer on a seaming pitch and in oppressive humidity, this century was so nearly redemption. His reluctance to bowl might have allowed India to run away with it on the fourth day, but the highest run-getter of the series pitched his tent and hardly made mistakes. There was one when he poked at that Ishant no-ball, but he began to leave really well, and whenever he defended he did so off the middle of the bat. When, on 67, he flicked Mishra away, looking for an easy single, only to see Rahul field it at short leg; Mathews' full-length lunge back into the crease summed up his determination.
With a history of inclement weather and poor light in the final session, this was getting too close for comfort for India. They were left needing something similarly extraordinary towards the end of the second session, and found it through the Perera reverse-sweep. The jury will forever remain out on that shot.
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