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In his latest avatar, the Indian legspinner not only understands his craft better but also refuses to get bogged down by rejection

Sidharth Monga01-Jul-20152:14

Quick Facts – Amit Mishra

The new Amit Mishra might have trouble being the new Amit Mishra at the moment.I met the new Amit Mishra during this year’s IPL. He sounded almost like a sage. I asked him a question that ought to have worried him: reminded him how in 2014 he was India’s second best bowler in the World T20; and that he did not go to England (though India played just the one T20 there). When we met, India hadn’t planned the spate of T20 internationals during the home season leading up to the next World T20, in 2016. How did he expect to be able to stake his claim again, given India hardly play that format at international level? Did that then make the IPL a high-pressure event?Mishra said the previous World T20 was history. That he loved to stay in the present. And the present at that time was the IPL. And that at that moment Delhi Daredevils was his India. What clichéd platitudes, I said, in words that sounded less rude. No, said Mishra. “If you don’t think about things that are not in your control, you face less pressure,” he said. “I don’t control the team selection. I can’t do anything about it, I can’t say anything to anybody. In my control is my bowling, my batting, my fielding. I can improve that. I have almost stopped worrying about what’s not in my control.”What had brought about this change in his personality? “I had stopped enjoying my cricket, my personal life,” Mishra said. “I used to go home stressed. I couldn’t do what I wanted to do with my family. I was always consumed by cricket and selection. If I would be with my family, discussions would centre on cricket.”And I used to be under pressure on the field all the time. I wasn’t bowling as well as I knew I could. Then I would think more: ‘I am not bowling well. I can’t get selected for this team. I am not getting picked for that squad.’ Slowly I realised, ‘Hey, it’s better that I enjoy what’s at hand. With the rest, what will be will be.'”Mishra had a fine stint at the 2014 World T20, but despite that he has had to mostly ply his trade at the IPL and for India A•Associated PressTwo years ago, Mishra said – with no particular moment of epiphany to talk of – he began to stop thinking about the India selection. That year he took 21 IPL wickets at 18.76, giving away only 6.35 runs an over. I asked him what, then, did a good performance signify, if not a chance to make a national comeback, a higher hope? What did he think on the nights he did well?”Enjoy just the performance, don’t think if I do well I will get selected in some team. Think: if I have done well in this game, all the batsmen will be watching my video. How do I stay ahead of them? If in the next match [if I am hit around] then I should get depressed.”What began as a small conversation to find out what a fringe player thought of the limited opportunities he got was now becoming a rare insight into a late-developing bowler. Legspinners, it is said, mature late. Mishra is 32. He has had his share of chances playing for India. By the time he made his Test debut, he had already taken 300 first-class wickets, but he was introduced to the larger cricketing consciousness in India only through the IPL. He might have taken a five-for on Test debut, but he had not yet matured. Soon his slowness through the air became an enemy. He would beat batsmen in the air but they would find the time to recover. He was back to being an A team specialist, making sporadic returns, only to go back and watch other spinners succeed with accuracy and pace, and less spin (not to be confused with just sideways turn).The last two editions of the IPL, though, and the World T20, had shown a smarter legspinner. When he took 10 wickets at 14.7 each and an economy rate of 6.68, he was the No. 5 bowler in the World T20 in 2014. Three of the top five were legspinners. “Legspinners have the skill to take wickets,” Mishra said. “The batsmen should know this bowler can get him out. Bowlers are only now realising that.”

“I had stopped enjoying my cricket, my personal life. I used to go home stressed. I couldn’t do what I wanted to do with my family. I was always consumed by cricket and selection”

What did he mean by the skill to get wickets? “Spin the ball. Not just sideways. Impart revolutions on the ball. Flight it. But also you should know when to flight it. You should have the variations. Even if you don’t bowl them, the batsmen should know you have the variations.”We discussed how he has gone slower and loopier, at a time when spinners are bowling flatter and flatter. He said it gives the batsmen time to think, time to doubt, time to make mistakes. He said bowling to world-class hitters like Virender Sehwag, MS Dhoni and Glenn Maxwell, you have to force them to think, you have to give them time to think. If you bowl fast, good batsmen love it. So if it was 60 for 2 in the seventh over, and he was bowling to Maxwell for the first time, what would his first delivery be? “The hardest-spun legbreak.” What if he pulls off a reverse sweep? “That means he doesn’t fancy facing me properly. I will bowl another big legbreak.”One of the bigger changes Mishra has made over the years is the front-of-the-hand quicker delivery, which spins less and skids through, making sure the batsmen have more to do than sit back and play only his slower legbreak after it has turned. “It has been hard work,” Mishra said. “I have worked really hard to develop these variations. Whenever I can get hold of anybody – senior player, batsman, coach – I show them the variations and ask them if they can pick it. When I was in Bangladesh I used to bowl to MS Dhoni and would ask him if the changes are too obvious.”Every time I meet Anil Kumble and LS [L Sivaramakrishnan, former legspinner and now commentator] I discuss my bowling with them. They have told me you can’t survive with just one legbreak. You need two legbreaks, one that turns a lot and the other that turns just enough to take the edge. You need two different paces of legbreak. You need a quicker legbreak so that the batsman can’t afford to just sit back the moment he sees a flatter delivery.”The selectors have in recent months shown a preference for the younger legspinner, Karn Sharma•Getty ImagesIt is an art to do all this without changing your action. To bowl a big legbreak you have to put a lot of shoulder, wrist, body into it. You have to hold back for the smaller legbreak, which is hard to tell from outside. “That’s the whole point. You shouldn’t know it, the batsman shouldn’t know it.”They are catching up, though. This is a world of video analysis, and Mishra watches plenty, both of himself and batsmen. He knows he has a tendency to at times let his body weight fall away from the umpire, because of which he ends up pushing the ball down the leg side. He now doesn’t need a coach to tell him that.Another big difference is the mind games with the batsmen. With some batsmen – and he won’t name them lest it come across as arrogant – Mishra said he can tell from the body language when they will try the release shot. And video analysis reveals what their big shot is. Batsmen, too, catch up and bluff with their body language. They too start to look for signs of when the bowler is going to bowl the variation. In T20, with more riding on every ball than in any other format, it has meant more pressure and more preparation.Mishra spoke about adapting. Sometimes the asking rate is so high that as a spinner you bowl aiming only to deny batsmen boundaries. Sometimes you have to go for wickets. Sometimes you know a batsman is expecting a variation, and you keep teasing him, making him wait for it. Sometimes you sneak one in when he is least expecting it. He knows the batsmen are not taking risks against him now.”They are choosing one ball per over to hit,” Mishra said. “That brings in premeditation and risk. I can see they are happy with singles and not giving me wickets, which might mean I am slightly ahead right now, but I will have to adapt to this too. Find ways to take wickets again.”It felt like talking to an experienced legspinner. Mishra was not just talking about “right areas”. He was in touch with his art enough to be able to explain the nuances. Maybe it took him long to learn them. And it has made him feel wistful again. I asked him if he wondered what might have been if he had been this smart earlier. He slowed down a moment, and then said, “No doubt, if I had learnt all this earlier I would have done better at international level. It is not too late yet. I am doing well. I am making the batsmen think twice.”Of late he hasn’t been able to make the selectors think twice despite the stellar performance in the World T20. Between the two IPLs and the World T20, Karn Sharma got a Test debut and Axar Patel played the World Cup. Didn’t that leave Mishra disappointed? This made him a little rueful.”Everybody feels that,” he said and paused. There was a little heaviness in the voice. It was missing out on the World Cup that had left him disappointed. He composed himself in a second and said, “Ask any cricketer in India – he wants to play for India. That is everybody’s dream. It is my dream too. It is other spinners’ dream too. Just that the World Cup comes only once every four years. It is just different.”I couldn’t sense any bitterness, though, towards Karn or Axar, neither of whom has the body of work to rival – let alone put in the shade – Mishra’s in traditional domestic cricket. They are just about as good or as bad as Mishra in the IPL. What they have going for them is age. Axar is 21, Karn is 27.Mishra can see that. He is trying to work harder on his fitness to counter his older age of 32. He might even understand losing out to younger spinners, but he will have seen newspapers with squad lists that would have crushed the old Amit Mishra. One first-choice spinner has been rested, another has been dropped, and yet Mishra has not been called up to play for India. He has lost out not just to 21- and 27-year-olds, but also to a 34-year-old. That despite the selectors stating that they have selected with the World T20 in mind.Hopefully the new Amit Mishra will see that he has been selected for India A against the touring Australians. That India A is his India now. That he need not worry about selection, but take wickets in the A series. Make them think twice about this late-maturing legspinner.

The performance against Australia gave Pakistan fans hope but, not for the first time, they produced a polar opposite display

Abhishek Purohit in Dhaka01-Apr-2014Pakistan never fail to surprise us, do they? If you had come expecting a thriller between two similar, explosive T20 sides, what you got instead was Pakistan showing us multiple, and all equally self-destructive, states of panic.Two of their best bowlers, Saeed Ajmal and Umar Gul, cracked under pressure and gave away a combined 59 runs in three overs at the death. The top order went down heaving, and the middle order shut shop in response.It was one of those nights from Pakistan. As was the night when they had sparked that incredible Australian collapse earlier in the tournament. We know both happened, separated by a matter of a few days. We also know Pakistan are capable of both kinds of displays within such a short span. We can try to delve into what happened and how it happened. Exactly why it happened, we will never really know.Each wave of panic against West Indies only brought about another, albeit different one, from the following cast. When the opposition is 84 for 5 after 15 overs, and you have overs left from two of the most experienced and best T20 bowlers in the world, the last thing you are expecting is for both of them to lose it suddenly. And Gul lost it so much in the 18th over that as many as three fielders ran up to him at various points in the over with words of advice, or encouragement, or whatever it was that they felt could work at that moment.Mohammad Hafeez, Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir. All those interventions did not stop the over from going for 21. They also revealed Pakistan’s state of mind at that point. When three different men are needed to rush to your premier fast bowler, all in the span of half an over, you tell the opposition you are on the edge, and are expecting the worst.And the worst came in the next over. Ajmal is usually the master of these situations. He will toss one up a bit more, or he will hold it back a bit more, or he will bowl the one that turns the other way from which the batsman was expecting it to. And the batsman will have a clueless slog and fall. None of this was happening. Ajmal instead bowled short, he bowled flat, he bowled quickly. He became what your average spinner is usually at the death in limited-overs cricket – a massive risk. For that one over, he lost the aura that makes him Saeed Ajmal. He will doubtless regain that, as he did after the 2010 World T20 semi-final, but the damage had been done again.Heaven knows how the Pakistanis felt walking off the field at the break, having allowed West Indies to nearly double their score in five overs. Heaven knows what was spoken in the Pakistan dugout at the break. All we saw was that their top order and middle order came out in two extreme states of trance – one suicidal by dint of action, one suicidal by dint of not acting at all.Ahmed Shehzad can be excused for getting a ripper of an inswinging yorker first ball. Kamran Akmal, Umar Akmal and Shoaib Malik cannot be. Not for facing a collective, unproductive 14 deliveries between them. But for reacting in such a frenzied manner that would have you believe they had been collectively unproductive for 14 overs, and that frenzy was the only way out.To be 13 for 4 in the sixth over is nowhere near the start you want when you are chasing 167 in a virtual quarter-final. To bottle up like Sohaib Maqsood, and particularly Hafeez, did is probably the worst response you want from your middle order when you are 13 for 4.Pakistan consumed 40 deliveries before they hit their first boundary. One-third of a T20 innings without a single boundary. One-third of a 20 innings that had already seen a batsman heave to mid-off, and two batsmen stumped. And yet, there was not a single boundary during the fielding Restrictions. Maqsood and Hafeez added 24 in five overs. And then fell within an over of each other. It was like the cast of a play frozen in extreme stage fright after the opening acts had bungled their lines by trying too hard too soon.If you admire Pakistan cricket for showing you the Australia collapse, tonight you were dealt so many shocks you went numb. You then attempted to make sense of each of them. Batsmen throw their bats around in T20, and as Dwayne Bravo said, even the best bowlers go for runs at the death. The top order had no choice but to try and make the most of the fielding restrictions. The downside was that they could fall while doing so, and they did. The middle order, as Hafeez said, was faced with too many jolts too soon and had absolutely no momentum to build on.You weigh up all these arguments. Maybe they are justified standalone, maybe they are not. But how do you find explanations for such a collective and varied brain freeze? Which is why, exactly why it happened, we will never really know.

Mushfiqur Rahim said that Mahmudullah is set to stay at No. 7 but Bangladesh’s latest performance suggests they may need to be flexible

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur08-Dec-2012Mahmudullah had never walked into a collapse like the one he faced against West Indies on Friday evening. Bangladesh were 13 for 5 in the sixth over and were staring at quite a number of undesirables: the all-time lowest innings total, the lowest total in Bangladesh and also the team’s lowest total. Though he prevented all of these scenarios, he will remain restricted to the role of steering the innings to respectability and safety until the top and middle-order are experienced enough to handle the pressure.Bangladesh were still bowled out for 136, 75 short of West Indies’ modest 211 for 9, with Mahmudullah unbeaten on 56 off 78 balls as he found very few batsmen at the other end to put together a decent partnership. He led the initial recovery, a 74-run sixth wicket stand with captain Mushfiqur Rahim, who later said Mahmudullah would have to shore up the batting line-up from his the No.7 position.”[Mahmudullah] Riyad bhai has been batting there for most of his career,” Mushfiqur said. “But we have some young batsmen so if I, Riyad or Nasir bat up the order, our late order becomes too young or inexperienced. At the same time, if the top order does well, he doesn’t have to bat at all.”Nasir [Hossain] had three good scores in the Tests so it would be difficult to demote him to No. 7. I think our batting order is still fine. We wanted to give the newcomers their regular batting places so that they can bat from within their comfort zones. If there’s a collapse, we need one batsman down the order to anchor the innings.”Mushfiqur is correct in thinking that having an experience-light lower order wouldn’t help the team or the youngsters, but it also shows the backward step Bangladesh have had to take despite having a year in which they had some ODI success. The Asia Cup performance, for instance, was enough to set up a steady batting line-up but instead, the absence of a regular opening batsman to partner Tamim Iqbal and the injury of Shakib Al Hasan has thrown open too many empty slots. It also shows how inflexible Bangladesh are when under the pressure of winning a game.They would speak of playing their natural game but none of the aggressive batsmen attacked Kemar Roach and Darren Sammy and neither did the steady hands bat with patience and authority. It is too early to judge Anamul Haque and Mominul Haque, but they should have watched how Mahmudullah, Bangladesh’s most successful No.7, dug deep and remained unbeaten on 56. He is the highest run-scorer at that position in world cricket since his ODI debut, but even his form, attitude or ability will not earn him a promotion.Mushfiqur has asked the top and middle order to show Mahmudullah’s tenacity under pressure, particularly in the deciding game of the five-match series on Saturday. Mahmudullah had fought hard for more than two hours, often getting beaten outside off stump and yet continuing to find the gaps whenever the loose ball was available. His seven boundaries broke a spell of dot balls that West Indies were building up and pushing the fielders back.The batsmen before him did exactly the opposite as their own wastefulness helped West Indies. Anamul, Mominul and Naeem Islam were all caught trying to force the pace while Tamim and Hossain was comprehensively beaten by Roach’s pace. The top-order collapse was reminiscent of the careless performance that shut them out for 58 runs in the infamous World Cup match last year. Mohammad Ashraful was the No. 7 then, but this time they had a Mahmudullah to cushion the fall.”Credit goes to him for the way he played,” Mushfiqur said. “I would hope that our top order bats exactly like he did today. We knew they would attack us with pace. The wicket wasn’t too bad, and it was only natural that the two new balls, under lights, would swing.”They bowled well but our top-order batsman should have been more serious, take a bit more of the challenge, it wouldn’t have been 13 for 5. Chasing 212 runs became very difficult from there.”In Mahmudullah, Bangladesh have a batsman who is willing to lose the ego of getting beaten time and again, and still have the fortitude to bat the way he likes. He has had success, too, remaining unbeaten on 12 occasions when the team won, which includes his famous last-ditch effort against England in the World Cup. The Dhaka Test last month gave him the confidence, particularly the testing period he survived in the second innings.He is happy batting at No. 7 because the team management prefers him there but a time will come next year when Bangladesh would need him early in a chase before the top order collapses, rather than at a point when the collapse has already happened.

Sunshine, a fine ground, a tight match with the right result – what’s not to like?

Michael Hall28-Jun-2010Choice of game
Any game against the old enemy, Australia, is always an attraction. My daughters Sarah and Charlotte were particularly keen to see the Aussies as they missed live action from the Ashes tour last summer, as I am constantly being reminded (I attended!).Old Trafford has the dual advantage of being close to home and a great viewing ground, although the facilities are the worst of the English Test grounds. The Lancashire authorities also seem to have added what can only be described as a “giant red garden shed”, which apparently is a new corporate facility. I will not be rushing to experience this new structure and wish we did not have to look at it.Team supported
England, although there was a consensus before the game that we would like Ricky Ponting to do well as he is a great hit with the English crowds and we may not see him here again.Key performer
Graeme Swann was the key for England in that he kept taking wickets and contained the batsmen. He seems to love his cricket, which is even more evident at the match than on TV. He seems to be constantly “joshing” with his team-mates. There was a stunned silence at the ground when he got Ponting stumped off what looked like a wide, followed by delight from most of us in the 22,000 capacity crowd. Swanny was cheered and clapped loudly when he came to field at the end of his spell, and returned the compliment with applause for the England fans.One thing I’d have changed
Had the England v Germany World Cup football game at a different time. A few people left the ground to watch the football but 95% stayed and we all knew what was going on by the groans from those listening on the radio. I imagine Kevin Pietersen was rather disturbed with all the cheers as he was dismissed. It’s okay Kevin, it just coincided with word of an England goal. Now that I know the result, who cares about football? We have beaten the Aussies!Face-off I relished
Swann bowling at Ponting was a match-up I looked for at the start. This was one to us, but any England batsman against Tait or Bollinger was no fun at all to watch. England will need to get much better at facing these two or they’ll be losing again. Tait looks fast and wild, while Bollinger has an awkward approach that hides a deceptive accuracy. The whole crowd descended into a collective nervous spasm and my daughter Sarah could not look anymore as they ripped through England’s tail.Wow moment
There was collective relief when Tim Bresnan hit the winning runs after England almost collapsed from needing 30 to win with seven wickets left. The crowd roared but in reality we were just thankful England had not blown a match they should have won so much more easily.Player watch
Steve Smith seemed to get a lot of stick from the boozy sections for reasons I could not quite determine. Andrew Strauss was cheered for his marvellous knock, while poor old Pietersen, suffering from being hit in his “private parts”, just had to take the amusement of crowd and his fellow players.Shot of the day
Two shots from Eoin Morgan. The straight six with utter contempt off Hopes was awesome, and the very cheeky scoop over the wicketkeeper followed by a forward roll was enjoyed by all. Do not try this kids!Crowd meter
Packed crowd of 22,000, who enjoyed a warm and sunny day and quickly got over the football result. We were sitting in an alcohol-free stand, which meant the friendly atmosphere was maintained even late in the day, when sometimes things are spoiled by the heavy drinkers who often take up large sections of English grounds. Great area for families, and a lot of people with children enjoyed the game in a pleasant atmosphere.Fancy-dress index
Less than often at English grounds. No signs or banners, except for the official 4 and 6 banners, which we waved with increasing enthusiasm in the tense last overs. There seem to be a lot of restrictions on what is allowed in, which is a pity, but having witnessed some abuse given to the security guards I can see why the authorities are cautious.Entertainment
I am used to the music now after a wicket or a four but never know what it is and rely on the girls to tell me. Oasis, a Manchester band, was very popular. The poor Australians appeared to have one song only played for them. A bit more imagination here would probably be appreciated by the players.Accessories
A cool box with lunch and drinks in is essential. My binoculars were well used by us all, although not always to view the finer points. Charlotte used them to keep an eye on Stuart Broad, and spotting the Sky Sports heroes was also popular. Being the middle-aged member of the party, I had my radio for , which is mostly a delight, except when they let Boycott on.Overall
Ten out of 10 for an exciting match in wonderful weather at a great viewing ground. The new alcohol-free stand is a winner in my book. Most of all, though, we beat the Aussies. Roll on the Ashes.

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan reviews India’s Test series and rates the players as they contributed

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan14-Aug-2007

Zaheer Khan – 9
Not only the most effective bowler of the series but the one who clinched the Test that decided it. His nine-wicket haul orchestrated the Trent Bridge triumph, where he was incisive with both new ball and old, and provided openings at Lord’s and The Oval. Totalled just 28 runs with the bat but was upset enough about jelly-gate to erupt with ball in hand.Dinesh Karthik – 8
India’s No.1 batsman, both in terms of batting position and run aggregate. The least experienced of the batsmen, he ended as the highest scorer, rattling a half-century in each of the Tests. He offered both solidity and enthusiasm at the top, setting up platforms for his more illustrious colleagues. Blemishes were on the field, though, with two dropped dollies.Sourav Ganguly – 8
India’s most dependable batsman, Ganguly was twice ‘sawn off’ by poor umpiring decisions but still finished with an average touching 50. He played a big part in the match-saving bid at Lord’s and set up a tall total at Trent Bridge but it was his Oval counterattack that drew gasps. It was the most authoritative innings of the series, one that ensured India simply couldn’t lose. He also dismissed Alastair Cook twice in the series.RP Singh – 7.5
He arrived in England as the weakest link and ended as the most improved bowler. The five-wicket haul at Lord’s will be the cherished memory but it was the two big wickets at Trent Bridge that opened the sluice-gates. Pacier, bouncier and cannier, RP Singh’s transformation from a fringe to strike bowler was one of the stories of the tour.Mahendra Singh Dhoni – 7
His uncharacteristic yet fortuitous half-century saved India at Lord’s; his commanding one powered them to a mammoth total at The Oval. And, crucially, on both occasions he shepherded the tail. His wicketkeeping was not up to scratch – he could not wrap his gloves around a tough chance on the final afternoon at The Oval – but he held on to a few important ones before that.Sachin Tendulkar – 7
Not the genius who introduced himself with a century at Old Trafford 17 years ago but the elder statesman guiding the rest. His two half-centuries were guarded yet classy, setting up towering totals at both Trent Bridge and The Oval. He bounded in enthusiastically with the ball, outfoxing Kevin Pietersen in the first innings of the final Test, and held on to important catches.Wasim Jaffer – 7
Made amends for his horror series in 2002 with a string of solid starts, providing Karthik with good company. Their 147-run association at Trent Bridge set up the win – the first time in 28 years that an Indian opening pair had added more than 100 in England. Began with an uncharacteristic blaze at The Oval but, like on four other occasions, gave it away when well set.Anil Kumble – 7
A special maiden hundred capped a fine series with the bat but he struggled to dominate with ball in hand. He could not impose himself, winkling out wickets rather than running through the line-up, though he did provide breakthroughs at some big moments. If the double-strike on the first evening at Lord’s provided cheer on a bad day, the tail-ending operation at Trent Bridge was equally important.

VVS Laxman – 6
Less prominent in the batting cast, Laxman produced three good innings, two of which were half-centuries. Mostly resolute, he was a sturdy presence in the lower middle order and occasionally, as on the second morning at The Oval, showed glimpses of genius. Some cracking catches should not be forgotten.Rahul Dravid – 5.5
Just one fifty in six innings is average by any standards, more so if your standards are as high Dravid’s. At Trent Bridge and The Oval he gave away good starts, falling twice to full deliveries from James Anderson. His 96-ball 12, on the fourth afternoon at The Oval, encapsulated his struggles. As captain he was blessed with luck: winning the toss in two of the three Tests, one of which produced a decisive result.Sreesanth – 5
Erratic through the series: lethal on the second morning at Lord’s, unruly at Trent Bridge and trying too hard at The Oval. He often did not find rhythm, sometimes experimented too much, and was lacking consistency right through. Nobody can ignore the wicket-taking phases – as the final day at The Oval showed – but they were overshadowed by the stints of waywardness.

Both teams are coming off four defeats in their last five matches and are in desperate need of a win

Matt Roller06-May-20232:25

Tait: Brook should sit out and take a breather for a bit

Big picture: Brook in the spotlight
In the days leading up to December’s IPL auction, Rajasthan Royals’ think-tank assembled at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Kochi. After falling just short of the title in 2022, they retained the majority of their squad but had INR 13.2 crore left. During their meetings, they decided that they were prepared to spend almost all of that sum on one player: Harry Brook.They anticipated fierce competition. “If you look at the South Africa auction and the IPL one before that,” Jake Lush McCrum, their chief executive, said in one meeting shown in a two-part series on Royals’ YouTube channel, “Sunrisers had that one target and they didn’t want to risk anything to go for it, even though they had so much money… logically, they would go for him.”The series also shows footage of a conversation between Sanju Samson, Royals’ captain, and Giles Lindsay, their head of analytics. “So we are very much keen on having Brook with us? Where are we planning to bat him, No. 4?” Samson asks. “No, we’re thinking lower,” Lindsay responds.If they had been successful, Royals would likely have fielded a team featuring three overseas batters in Brook, Jos Buttler and Shimron Hetmyer; instead, after taking the bidding up to INR 13 crore, Sunrisers got their man. “He’s a rare talent, and he’s going to do very well in the IPL,” Manoj Badale, Royals’ chief executive, said. “Let’s just hope he remembers that we bid him all the way up, so he doesn’t score too many against us.”As fate would have it, Brook made his IPL debut against Royals last month, making a scratchy 13 off 21 balls. He will come up against them once more on Sunday night – that is, if he keeps his place after a lean run of scores since his brilliant hundred against Kolkata Knight Riders three weeks ago.Both sides go into this game with four defeats in their last five games, and in desperate need of a win on Sunday night. Sunrisers are mathematically still in contention for the playoffs, but will realistically need to win every game; for Royals, three wins in four should be enough to qualify.2:34

Should Royals bring in Joe Root to sort their batting issues?

Team news: Will Zampa keep his spot?
Adam Zampa replaced Jason Holder as Royals’ fourth overseas player in their heavy home defeat to Gujarat Titans on Friday night, but his three wicketless overs cost 40 runs thanks to Hardik Pandya’s boundary blitz. Royals have confirmed that Obed McCoy is fit and available for selection, while they could also consider bringing Joe Root into their middle order.For Sunrisers, the main question is around Brook’s spot. They have invested heavily in him, and he is clearly a player of huge potential, but his recent form – and their position on the points table – makes Glenn Phillips a contender to replace him.Form guide
Rajasthan Royals: LLWLL
Sunrisers Hyderabad: LWLLLImpact Player strategy
Rajasthan Royals
Royals brought in Riyan Parag during their collapse against Titans, which left them short on seam options in their defence. Their substitution is likely to involve a domestic bowler and a specialist batter – but they have sprung some surprises with their usage of the Impact-Player rule throughout the season.Probable XII: 1 Jos Buttler, 2 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 3 Sanju Samson (capt & wk), , 5 Shimron Hetmyer, 6 Dhruv Jurel, 7 R Ashwin, 8 Jason Holder/Adam Zampa, 9 Trent Boult, 10 Sandeep Sharma, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal, Sunrisers Hyderabad
Kartik Tyagi’s two overs cost 30 runs in his first appearance of the season in Sunrisers’ defeat to KKR on Thursday night, and the relatively big playing area at Sawai Mansingh Stadium could make Umran Malik a viable option to return to the side.Probable XII: 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Mayank Agarwal, , 4 Aiden Markram (capt), 5 Harry Brook/Glenn Phillips, 6 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 7 Abdul Samad, 8 Marco Jansen, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Mayank Markande, 11 Umran Malik, The big questionStats and Trivia: Buttler vs Bhuvi Bhuvneshwar Kumar has dismissed Jos Buttler five times in 39 balls in T20Is, but is yet to get him out in the IPL in six attempts. Royals have scored at 9.43 runs per over in the powerplay this season; Sunrisers at just 7.59 runs per over, the slowest in the league. Sanju Samson has an excellent record against Sunrisers. No batter has scored more runs against SRH than him in IPL history. Sunrisers are the only team without a batter who has scored 200-plus runs this IPL season; Royals have the most, with five.Pitch and conditionsThe match will be played on the same strip that was used in Friday night’s match, which looks increasingly dry. Aiden Markram, Sunrisers’ captain, said the game “was on in the background” as he settled into his Jaipur hotel room. “It was a low-scoring game, but we saw with Gujarat’s innings, when they batted, that it’s still a pitch you can score runs on.”The forecast suggests Sunday will be a warm day, with temperature into the high 30s degrees Celsius.Quotes
“The reality of it is, we played a piss-poor game – the shittest cricket that we can play. Thinking about what happened today, the only thing you want to do is learn from it.”
“He’s going to play one way, and it’s going to be a positive, attacking brand of cricket. That results in a high-risk approach: sometimes it’s going to work and sometimes, unfortunately, it’s not. You’ve got to look outside of these three weeks: people are quick to forget what he’s done in the build-up to a competition like this.”

Bayern Munich began their Bundesliga title defence with a 6-0 hammering of RB Leipzig at Allianz Stadium as Harry Kane scored a fantastic hat-trick while Luis Diaz bagged his first league goal for the Bavarians.

Bayern Munich smash RB Leipzig in 6-0 winKane scores hat-trick in Bundesliga openerOlise bags brace, Diaz gets first league goalFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱TELL ME MORE

The clash had a very scruffy start in the first ten minutes as Der Rekordmeister and Die Rotten Bullen traded errors and uncharacteristic turnovers. However, Vincent Kompany's Bundesliga champions flaunted their prowess as Konrad Laimer almost bagged the opener after Kane's delightful ball over the top, but was denied by Peter Gulacsi. However, Olise did not take too long to make sure the Bavarians got the opening goal after he slotted the ball past the Hungarian goalkeeper with a delightful strike from a tight angle.

Former Liverpool winger Diaz then bagged his first Bundesliga goal in a Bayern shirt after his powerful shot struck the underside of Gulacsi's goalpost and went in the back of the net. Olise then got a well-deserved brace to his name after Serge Gnabry's deft through ball allowed the Frenchman to get one-on-one with David Raum. Olise then sat down the left-back and placed the ball in the back of the net, giving Gulacsi no chance to save the shot.

The second half saw Leipzig slowly grow into the game as they gained some early momentum by attempting to control more of the ball. However, Gnabry's pace then showed them the perils of their highline as the German countered after a loose ball found his feet. The winger found Diaz just before he was fouled by Raum and the Colombian then drove the attack into Leipzig's box before he found Kane, who kept his composure and scored his first goal of the season.

Leipzig were keen on striking back quickly and that came to fruition after Antonia Nusa scored. However, the goal was chalked off almost five minutes later, once the referee was informed that Castello Lukeba's free-kick that led to the goal was invalid as the ball was in motion when the defender took the indirect kick. Kane then scored two rapid goals to cap off a wonderful hat-trick. The England captain struck a delightful goal from outside the box for his brace, and then got on the end of Kim Min-jae's wonderful drive and tucked in a simple strike to bag his first hat-trick of the season.

Bayern ended the game showing exactly what they are made of as they ended the game with a massive 6-0 scoreline with a Kane hat-trick, Olise brace and Diaz getting his first Bundesliga goal.

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Olise was on song throughout the game as the French winger had Raum and Willy Orban on strings on the left side of RB Leipzig's defence. The 23-year-old scored a fantastic brace to go alongside his stunning showing on the wings in the first half. Kane was linked with a departure from Allianz Arena earlier in the summer; however, the England captain decided to stay put and showed the Bundesliga defenders exactly what they will have to face yet again this season as he scored a spectacular hat-trick to cap off the game.

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Xavi Simons is expected to leave RB Leipzig for Chelsea this summer; however, he could not have had a worse showing against Bayern as the spotlight shone down on him. The Dutchman did not manage to gain control of the midfield and had a rather lacklustre showing whenever he got the ball at his feet. He was also somewhat caught on his heels when Kim picked his pocket in the build-up to Bayern's sixth goal of the night.

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WHAT COMES NEXT?

Bayern Munich will now have to prepare to take on third-tier side SV Wehen Wiesbaden in the DFB Pokal. However, it is highly likely that none of the big names will be called upon for the game. Der Rekordmeister will then take on Augsburg on August 30 in their second Bundesliga game of the season.

Gloucestershire have announced that chief executive Will Brown will leave the club this summer, ending his 11-year association with the county.Brown succeeded Tom Richardson in 2013 and oversaw a Royal London Cup win in 2015 and promotion to Division One. Bristol’s County Ground has also become a regular host of international men’s and women’s cricket thanks to redevelopments that included the installation of floodlights a decade ago. He also pushed the club to become more environmentally sustainable while establishing itself as a leader in cricket for its community work.His departure comes at a challenging time with the county uncertain of its future. Last month, Gloucestershire reported a loss of £1.19 million in its annual accounts, more than twice the shortfall of £570,000 from the previous period in 2022/23.The cost of living crisis, day-to-day running costs, and a washed-out ODI at Bristol between England and Ireland in September 2023 were blamed for the current situation. Given the club’s non-Test and Hundred hosting status, those internationals usually provide a much-needed windfall for the counties. An independent audit by chartered accountants, Saffery LLP, revealed net liabilities of £5,019,000, leaving Gloucestershire in breach of its banking covenants and casting “significant doubt on the club’s ability to continue as a going concern”.The club’s dire financial situation has led it to explore selling its historic ground at Nevill Road. Purchased with the assistance of WG Grace in 1889, it is estimated to be worth between £25 and £40 million now. Gloucestershire have already identified a site to build a new venue, north of Bristol near the M4.At the end of April, Gloucestershire members voted out David Jones as chair, while acting chair Steve Nelson and honorary treasurer Rebecca Watkin will also leave at the end of the season. Last week, Arron Banks, co-founder of the Leave.EU campaign, declared his interest in taking over the club in an open letter to members. In a statement released on Wednesday, Brown stated his decision to move on was made earlier this year.”I have absolutely loved my time at Gloucestershire Cricket and it has been one of the greatest honours of my life to serve the club I have supported my whole life.”The decision to leave is not one I have taken lightly and it has taken me months of agonising to reach this point. This decision is one I made much earlier in the year and is a personal one based on what I believe the club needs and my own future, especially in light of my bike accident of last year.”I leave in the knowledge that we have a fantastic group of players, coaches, staff and volunteers who are completely dedicated to the Club and its future.””In the last few months we have re-structured our coaching and finance departments, acquired financial support for the future of the Club, secured Men’s and Women’s International cricket all the way through to 2031 and are making progress in our exploration of a move from the Nevil Road site.”Over the next few months up until my departure we will also secure additional investment into Women & Girls cricket locally, confirm our new County Partnership Agreement (CPA) with the ECB, bid for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2026 and work with the ECB on the future of the Hundred and Gloucestershire’s role within in it.”Commenting on Brown’s departure, acting chair Steve Nelson said: “It has been a pleasure to work with Will over the last five years and we are very grateful for all he has done at Nevil Road. His tenure has seen a step change in hosting international cricket and this will very much be his legacy to the club.”He has always been a very positive leader, a skill that came to the fore when faced with the difficult challenges of running the club throughout the pandemic. This needed him to be truly resilient, taking others with him, and he rose to the challenge in these difficult times. He has also worked tirelessly on ensuring the club builds its reputation for environmental sustainability and community work which will be key building blocks for the future success of the club.”All of us at Gloucestershire wish him the very best in whatever challenge he takes on next and he will be missed!””Gloucestershire County Cricket Club board are already working on plans for the leadership of the club in in the short and long term, including recruiting a new CEO. Members will be kept informed as these plans develop over the coming weeks.”

Australia made it tough for the home side for the first time in the game, but still ended the penultimate day effectively at 46 for 5

Ashish Pant23-Dec-2023After dominating the Test for a good part of two days, India were finally put under the pump, largely through Tahlia McGrath, who scored her second fifty of the Test, and impressive contributions from Ellyse Perry and Alyssa Healy. However, Harmanpreet Kaur weaved her magic with the ball to pick two wickets late in the day as India had their nose marginally in front at the end of day three in Mumbai.By the time stumps were called, Australia had reached 233 for 5 in their second innings – effectively 46 for 5 – with a day to go. At the crease were Annabel Sutherland, unbeaten on 12, and Ashleigh Gardner on 7.Related

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Resuming on 376 for 7 in the morning, India added 30 to their overnight score to stretch their lead to 187 before being bowled out 35 minutes into the day. Pooja Vastrakar struck three fours early in the day but fell three short of a maiden Test fifty to Australia’s short-ball plan, caught at deep square-leg, where Kim Garth was halfway in from the rope.Garth then sneaked through Deepti Sharma’s bat and pad to finish her stay on 78, before Sutherland cleaned up the innings via another short ball that Renuka Singh could only fend to gully. India, however, did manage to reach their highest Test score against Australia.Beth Mooney came out on a positive note in the second dig. She got going with two sublime fours off Vastrakar and then crashed Renuka through the covers, and largely looked untroubled. Then came a bit of a brain fade that she would want to forget soon. Mooney pushed a full delivery from Sneh Rana to Richa Ghosh at silly point and, possibly thinking she was out caught, wandered out her crease with her back to the fielder. Ghosh sensed an opportunity and hit the stumps direct to find Mooney well short of her crease.Tahlia McGrath kept the Australia innings chugging along through the afternoon session•Getty ImagesPhoebe Litchfield then attempted a pre-meditated reverse sweep, misjudged the length of the ball, and was cleaned up by Rana for 18. McGrath and Perry survived a few nervy moments to move to 63 for 2 at lunch, still trailing by 124 runs.The script, however, changed after lunch. For the first time in the Test, the India bowlers were made to toil. Both McGrath and Perry used their reach well to smother the spin and negate any threat. Perry started the session with a two and a four and then dug in. McGrath had a life on 15 when Rana at first slip failed to take a sharp chance to her left. Apart from that, the duo hardly offered any chances.Perry and McGrath hung around for 173 balls for their 84-run collaboration before Perry fell almost against the run of play. Rana got a length ball to land on middle and leg, and Perry’s fine tickle was held smartly by wicketkeeper Yastika Bhatia. That was the only blemish in a near-perfect session for Australia in which they scored 93 runs in 33 overs.There was toil in store for the bowlers in the final session as well. McGrath found an ally in Healy and the duo stood tall for 175 balls, in which they added 66 runs for the fourth wicket. McGrath reached her second fifty of the Test, this time off 119 balls, while Healy curbed her aggression to keep the India bowlers at bay. There were no boundaries hit for 13.3 overs after tea, which also saw McGrath get an lbw decision overturned on review.Sneh Rana gave India the early breakthroughs on the day•BCCIMcGrath then broke the shackles by smashing Renuka for three successive fours, also taking Australia into the lead. With none of the main bowlers causing much damage, Harmanpreet brought herself into the attack in the 72nd over and things suddenly started to happen.She almost struck with her very first ball, but DRS came to McGrath’s rescue with the tracker confirming the ball was sliding down leg. Her luck would, however, run out four balls later when she inside-edged a full delivery back onto her leg stump to fall for 73.India failed to review a decision against Sutherland, but Harmanpreet struck again when she dismissed Healy lbw to a sweep for 32, with the batter wasting a review in the process. On the previous ball, there had been a confrontation between the two when Harmanpreet, having fielded the ball off her own bowling, attempted a direct hit at the striker’s end but Healy was well inside her crease and blocked the throw with her bat, resulting in four overthrows. Words were exchanged, as India appealed unsuccessfully for obstructing the field, but Harmanpreet had the last laugh.Sutherland and Gardner then survived 62 balls in which they only added 12 to make sure there was no further damage.

After opting to bat first, South Africa were 24 for 4 in the 12th over, and then allowed Australia to score 74 for 2 in the first ten overs of the chase

Vishal Dikshit16-Nov-20232:11

Where did South Africa fall short?

It was the first ten or so overs in either innings that decided the semi-final in Kolkata on Thursday. Being 24 for 4 in under 12 overs after opting to bat and then letting Australia race away to 74 for 2 in ten overs in a chase of just 213 decided, or turned, the game away from South Africa, in Temba Bavuma’s opinion. Bavuma lauded Australia’s “outstanding” performance in their tense three-wicket win in the World Cup semi-final, and conceded that South Africa fluffed their lines “quite badly” in those few overs.”Quite hard to put into words,” Bavuma said on the official broadcast after the game. “They were outstanding for a large part of the game and thoroughly deserved victory. Looking at the result, I think the way we started with the bat and the ball was probably the turning point. We lost it quite badly there and we always had to play catch-up to get ourselves back into the game.”Was it the conditions? Nerves? The quality of Australia’s attack? Bavuma said, “The conditions, combined with the quality of the attack. I thought [Josh] Hazlewood as well as [Mitchell] Starc upfront were ruthless. They exploited every bit of advantage that was presented to them with the conditions and they really put us under pressure. When you’re 4 for 24, you’re always going to struggle to get a competitive total.”Related

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South Africa had opted to bat at Eden Gardens in pretty overcast conditions following a light drizzle. Australia’s quicks found some swing and bounce along with seam movement that helped them strike early, and keep striking. South Africa’s white-ball coach Rob Walter, however, said it wasn’t easy to predict how the pitch would play out in the first hour or so of the game, and they were planning to put up a score much higher than 212.”To be honest, even the commentators that I’ve spoken to, no one could predict the pitch would play like that for the first 12 overs,” Walter said at the post-match press conference. “And had it played as we expected it to, then we would have backed ourselves to get 270. And once we got 270, because it was turning – you saw how much it spun in the evening – we knew that that was going to be our in into the game. And ultimately it was really, so we just didn’t have enough runs to work with so… Had those first ten overs looked a little bit different – it’s easy to say at the back end of losing – but I think the contest would have been a touch closer than it already was.”Even though South Africa were defending a modest total, they ran Australia close when their frontline spinners Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj dismissed Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne and Glenn Maxwell in a spell of high-class bowling that featured considerable turn. In that phase, Bavuma himself moved in as a close-in fielder under the helmet, and the ball flew off the edges at times.But before that, substitute fielder Reeza Hendricks had dropped Head on 40 in the 12th over and Quinton de Kock had nearly held on to a very tough chance off Steven Smith’s bat off Shamsi in the 18th over. There were two half-chances in the dying moments of the chase, too, off Aiden Markram’s bowling, when Australia were seven down. The first was when a push from Mitchell Starc landed short of Markram and the second was when Pat Cummins chipped the ball to midwicket and it landed just short of a diving David Miller.1:43

Steyn on Coetzee’s lion-hearted performance

“Definitely, we had chances, tough chances that we put down,” Bavuma said. “There were half-chances as well, but [they] bounced in front of us, maybe we could have been more proactive, getting guys in a bit closer, but I guess when the margins are like that, you need things to go your way. But it doesn’t take away from the fact that Australia put a good display of cricket out there.”While batting, South Africa were lifted by Miller after a wobbly start, as he carried them from 24 for 4 to 203 for 9 with a fighting 101 off 116 balls in which he sent Adam Zampa for four sixes. While lauding Miller’s effort, Bavuma also said he would have liked Heinrich Klaasen to get a bigger score than his 47 – Klaasen had a fifth-wicket stand of 95 with Miller and gave South Africa hopes of a more competitive total.”We were gaining some momentum with that partnership between David Miller and Klaasy,” Bavuma said. “We would have liked Klaasen to go on longer and we’ve seen how destructive he can be when he gets to the latter part of the innings. David Miller’s innings was superb, really captures the character of our team and for him to go and play like that in that pressure situation in a World Cup speaks about the player, not just his talent but his mental capacity.”Bavuma also saved special praise for 23-year-old fast bowler Gerald Coetzee, South Africa’s top wicket-taker in this World Cup with a tally of 20 at an average of 19.80. Coetzee had leaked 15 in his first over but his second spell saw a different side to the bowler, as he sent down eight overs for just 32 runs and picked up the wickets of Smith and Josh Inglis. That second spell showed that he could be a frontline bowler for South Africa in the coming years. He breached the 150kph barrier consistently, bowled variations with slower balls and sharp yorkers, and troubled batters with the around-the-wicket angle, and banged in some bouncers too.1:43

Moody: ‘Bavuma’s form a big hole in South Africa’s campaign’

“As a young guy, he really was the warrior for us,” Bavuma said of Coetzee. “I think at that time for the seamers there wasn’t much happening for him to be able to come around the wicket and bowl with the intensity and pressure that he did, and obviously get the big wicket of Steve Smith, get us back into the game, and him not wanting to let go off the ball. He kept on going, he was cramping but he kept going. He’ll be a big asset for South African cricket going forward.”There have been question marks around Bavuma – the batter, mainly, and the captain too – and they may not stop after he averaged just 18.12 in this World Cup while scoring 145 runs, that too with a strike rate of just 73.60. His top score was just 35 in eight innings and his four-ball duck in the semi-final won’t work in his favour. But he has the backing of Walter for the way he led South Africa.”I just told him how proud I am of him. You know, he marshalled the troops this evening unbelievably well. To get the game close, I thought strategically the way he operated along with obviously the sort of the senior heads around him on the field, the different pressures created through the field positions, I thought it was an excellent effort to defend that score,” Walter said. “But, beyond that, you know, sometimes [it’s] not easy to walk through a tournament when you aren’t delivering yourself but the batters around you are, but the important thing is that we operate as a unit. He was the lead man that got us into this tournament in the first place, I think people forget that, so I just wanted to make sure that he was aware of how important he is in this team and how proud I am of his efforts and the way he led throughout the tournament.South Africa still haven’t reached an ODI World Cup final despite reaching the semi-finals in 1992, 1999, 2007, 2015 and now, in 2023.