Dhawan, Abhinav batter Rajasthan

Rest of India secured the Irani Cup by virtue of a whopping first-innings lead and then, instead of enforcing the follow-on, chose to bat again and batter Rajasthan further

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Oct-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsShikhar Dhawan got his second century of the match•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Rest of India secured the Irani Cup by virtue of a whopping first-innings lead and then, instead of enforcing the follow-on, chose to bat again and batter Rajasthan further. And batter them they did. Shikhar Dhawan and Abhinav Mukund scored at breakneck pace, made substantial centuries, and helped Rest of India amass 354 for 2 in 54 overs. The late declaration, however, reduced Rest of India’s chances of an outright win as Rajasthan had all ten wickets intact at stumps, chasing an impossible 618 for victory.Rajasthan began the fourth day in Jaipur needing 157 to avoid the follow-on with four wickets in hand. They managed only 93. Ashok Menaria, who had resumed on 59, made 20 more before falling to left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha. Menaria had charged and lofted straight to long-on. In his next over Ojha had the other overnight batsman, Deepak Chahar, lbw with an arm-ball.Tailenders Madhur Khatri and Sumit Mathur were both dropped by Manish Pandey at slip as they swung freely for a few quick runs. They added 50 for the ninth wicket before Vinay Kumar trapped Khatri lbw for 31 off 28 balls. Minutes later, Ojha completed his five-wicket haul by inducing an edge to slip from Mathur. Rajasthan were dismissed for 400, trailing by 263.Parthiv Patel decided to bat again, instead of giving his bowlers more time in the field, and Rest of India pursued quick runs. The openers attacked from the start with Dhawan continuing to punish Chahar for pitching too short. He brought up his half-century off 53 deliveries, by driving a full ball from Chahar to the cover boundary. Abhinav made up for his first-innings failure and reached his fifty off 73 balls. They continued plundering a clueless Rajasthan attack and by tea the opening stand was 200 in 33 overs, with both Dhawan and Abhinav in the 90s.In the first over after the break, Dhawan cut Chahar and ran a double to bring up a century off 90 balls. He became the first batsman to score a hundred in each innings of the Irani Cup. Abhinav reached his century a few overs later, off 121 balls. It was his third successive hundred in the Irani Cup. Dhawan then laid into Robin Bist, hitting him for two fours and a six in one over and four fours and a six in another.The partnership had swelled to 310 in the 46th over when Dhawan miscued a loft to long-on and was caught for 155 off 126 balls. His innings contained 22 fours and three sixes. Mukund fell a few balls after bringing up his 150, holing out to long-on off Menaria. Rest of India were 328 for 2 and the declaration came not long after.With the Irani Cup already lost on the first-innings lead, Rajasthan could only battle to avoid an outright defeat and their openers survived seven overs before stumps. They made 28 and will need to negotiate a testing period on the final morning to help secure a draw.

Ambati Rayudu to play for Baroda

Ambati Rayudu, the Hyderabad batsman, has decided to play for Baroda in the 2010-11 Ranji Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Sep-2010Ambati Rayudu, the Hyderabad batsman, has decided to play for Baroda in the 2010-11 Ranji Trophy. DS Chalapati, secretary of the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA), confirmed that Rayadu had asked for an NOC from the association to allow him to play for Baroda.Hyderabad were relegated to the Plate League after a poor performance in the Super League during the Ranji season last year. Venkatapathy Raju, the Hyderabad coach, was unhappy with Rayudu’s decision to play for Baroda, who are part of the Super League.”It was done in bad taste,” Raju told . “As a senior member of the team, he should have taken the responsibility to guide Hyderabad this season. He should have been loyal to Hyderabad. This move reflects his commitment to the Hyderabad team.”Rayudu, who played for Mumbai Indians in the IPL, made his first-class debut for Hyderabad in 2001-02 but, after a disappointing 2004-05 season, transferred to Andhra for the following season. He returned to play for Hyderabad in 2006 and then played for the Indian Cricket League in 2007. After serving a two-year ban Rayudu made a comeback to the Hyderabad Ranji team last season.

Latham all praise for Ravindra: 'He calmed the dressing room with his composure'

New Zealand captain is glad youngsters in the side stepped up to set up a historic win for the side

Ashish Pant20-Oct-20242:01

Manjrekar: Rachin looking like one of the best overseas batters in India

Fast bowlers asking “questions after question” and Rachin Ravindra’s calmness were the major factors behind New Zealand claiming their first Test win in India after 36 years, captain Tom Latham has said.”We’re blessed with a couple of guys on our side, a couple of young guys that have stepped up in this match,” Latham said after the win in the first Test in Bengaluru. “I think the way Will [O’Rourke] bowled was outstanding, but I think I also look at the other two seamers, Tim Southee and Matt Henry, the pressure they were able to apply with that new ball on day one was outstanding. Matt got the rewards and Will got the rewards in that first innings.”It was a combination of everything. [It is] a really special feeling to be in this position. I think the work we did in the first and second innings with the ball and then obviously with the bat, really set the game up for us. It’s obviously a proud moment for this group and the one we will celebrate.”Related

  • Ravindra aces spin test in style on way to 'special' century

  • O'Rourke: 'I've been pretty streaky, pretty hot and cold with the ball'

  • Ravindra headlines NZ's first Test win in India since 1988

  • Stats: A win for New Zealand in India after 36 years

Latham was effusive in his praise for Ravindra, who played a key hand in stretching New Zealand’s lead past the 350 mark in the first innings followed by a 39 not out in the second when New Zealand were two down early in the chase with the ball doing a fair bit on the final morning.Ravindra, who is just ten Tests old, showed his composure while forging an eighth-wicket partnership of 137 with Southee in the first innings after the visitors had slipped to 233 for 7.”The way he [Ravindra] played the situation of the game was really important for us,” Latham said. “A 137-run partnership with a No. 9 batter is awesome. I think the way he played leading up to that [second] new ball was really important.”Even this morning, the way he came out with the game in the balance where another couple of wickets there and it could have been a nervy 50-60 runs, but I think the way he calmed the dressing room with his composure out there for a young guy in his ninth or tenth Test to play in that fashion is obviously exciting.”We’ve seen the talent that he has got over the last 12 months and certainly happy he is on our side.”Despite bowling India out for 46 in the first innings and then amassing 402 when they batted, New Zealand had to work hard for the win. India replied strongly in their second innings, erasing the deficit losing just three wickets with Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant looking set for more.Rachin Ravindra celebrates his second Test hundred•BCCI

The second new ball, however, brought about a change of fortunes as India collapsed from 433 for 4 to 462 all out and New Zealand had to chase only 107.”From our perspective, we knew India were going to come back,” Latham said. “From the wicket point of view, it’s probably at its best over those couple of days [three and four] for a bit to bat, so we certainly knew it was going to be a challenge against India, who obviously have a lot of firepower in that line-up. They certainly keep challenging us, they keep asking good questions and obviously to get a lead from the position that they were in was obviously a quality effort.”But the work we did with the new ball yesterday evening was outstanding. I think Tim Southee, Matt Henry and Will O’Rourke with that new ball, just asked lots of questions and obviously managed to get the rewards.”At that point we certainly knew India were going to get themselves right back in the game and certainly [we were] just happy we weren’t chasing too many more than 100.”While Latham had led New Zealand in nine Tests previously, this was his first since being appointed full-time captain after Southee stepped down after the Sri Lanka series last month. He cheekily admitted that he was “very happy” to lose the toss on the second morning as he too would have opted to bat first. The opening day was washed out due to rain and with the pitch under covers for the better part of two days, New Zealand ran the Indian batting unit ragged.”I guess it’s just one of those times where you fall on the wrong or right side, whatever way you look at it, it’s always hard,” he said. “I guess the time that the wicket was under the covers, they obviously didn’t have the preparation time that they probably would have liked and [I am] happy that it fell the right way for us.”I think you try to look at what’s going to be harder. Is it going to be harder on day one or is it going to be harder on day five? We expect the match to go the duration of the game and I think we even saw it this morning when [Ravindra] Jadeja got that one out of the foot marks that hit Rachin in the head.”Obviously, the pitch was deteriorating. The cracks were starting to open a little bit more and we certainly saw that from a seamer’s point of view when the ball did hit those cracks that went up and down a little bit. I guess that’s a fine balance when you come over here and there’s not many times that you win the toss and bowl. So yeah, happy it fell on the right side.”It could end up being a red-letter day for New Zealand cricket. The men’s team won a Test in India after 36 years, and the women’s team now have the chance to claim their maiden ICC title when they face South Africa in the T20 World Cup final later in the evening in Dubai.”Yeah, it’s obviously been a great morning for New Zealand cricket from our point of view, but hopefully it can be an even better day for New Zealand cricket,” Latham said. “Obviously, the guys have been following the tournament a little bit and we’re obviously excited when they won that semi-final and I think for them to be in the position now with a chance of winning a T20 World Cup is obviously really special. Good luck to them.”

RCB yet to renew contracts with Mike Hesson and Sanjay Bangar

Franchise says “the team is still under the process of review” after failing to make the playoffs in IPL 2023

Nagraj Gollapudi16-Jul-2023Royal Challengers Bangalore have not yet renewed their contracts with director of cricket operations Mike Hesson and head coach Sanjay Bangar following a sixth-place finish in IPL 2023, a development that could signal a major revamp at the franchise.The contracts are usually up for renewal around September, ESPNcricinfo has learned, but the franchise management is deliberating changes to its coaching staff. It could not be confirmed whether RCB have informed Hesson and Bangar, both of whom did not respond to a query from ESPNcricinfo.”Their contract with RCB is still intact,” RCB said in a statement. “The team is still under the process of review. We will come back if any announcement on the changes in the team.”Related

  • Middle-order woe leaves RCB empty-handed again

  • Langer takes over from Flower at LSG

  • Chahal on parting ways with RCB: 'I did not receive any phone call, no one even spoke to me'

Hesson came on board in August 2019 following a revamp of the coaching staff after their last-placed finish that year, while Bangar began his tenure ahead of the 2022 season, after Simon Katich parted ways with the franchise.Under Hesson, RCB finished fourth in the league in 2020 and lost the Eliminator to Sunrisers Hyderabad; third in 2021 and lost the Eliminator to Kolkata Knight Riders; fourth in IPL 2022 before winning the Eliminator and then losing Qualifier 2 to Rajasthan Royals; and failed to qualify for the playoffs in IPL 2023.RCB have made it to three IPL finals – in 2009 , 2011 and 2016 – but are yet to win an IPL title.RCB could become the second franchise to make changes to its team management since IPL 2023, after Lucknow Super Giants replaced Andy Flower with Justin Langer as their head coach.If RCB part ways with Hesson, it could also mean a revamp of the support staff of the RCB women’s team. Hesson was also director of cricket for the team during the inaugural Women’s Premier League, where they finished fourth among five teams, with two wins and six losses.

Forget the heat, Pooran wants West Indies to focus on catching well and batting long

Keemo Paul is also flying to Pakistan as a late addition to the West Indies squad

Sreshth Shah08-Jun-20222:48

Pooran on Netherlands series, challenges in Pakistan and assessment of debutants

The intense Multan heat has been a major talking point ahead of the Pakistan vs West Indies ODI series. The games are set to start at 4pm local time to counter the weather conditions, but with West Indies desperate to win more World Cup Super League games, Nicholas Pooran doesn’t want to focus on uncontrollables, like the weather, at all.But, keeping in mind the heat, the in-form Keemo Paul has been flown in to bolster the squad. While lead selector Desmond Haynes said in a CWI press statement that the injury-prone Paul had earned his spot after his successful run in the regional four-day championships for Guyana, where he displayed high fitness levels while taking 20 wickets in five games, Pooran indicated that the heat meant an extra squad member would be useful.Related

  • Pooran: 'We definitely need to buff up on ourselves, myself especially'

  • Azam hopeful Pakistan can beat the heat and West Indies

  • Multan reclaims spotlight as Pakistan, WI go to battle

“Coming from Netherlands, from the cold to heat [is not ideal],” Pooran told the media on Tuesday. “Today we had our first training session and it went really good. We trained at 4pm, and it was windy. For now, it’s okay. Hopefully it doesn’t affect us. Coming from the Caribbean, it is quite similar, so I think we’ll be alright.”The guys are coping well, the medical team is doing everything to keep us protected. You can’t see the future, but I don’t think the heat will be too much of a problem after what I saw this afternoon.”Pooran wasn’t too concerned about his own form coming into the series. He had a high score of 10 in three innings in the Netherlands, even though there were four centuries and four fifties from his team-mates. He was out all three times to offspinner Aryan Dutt in that series, but despite that, Pooran felt batting against spin remained one of his strongest suits.”No, I’m fine, this is not the first time I haven’t scored runs,” he said. “Have to check my stats, but I am always scoring runs. Obviously, I’m disappointed by my personal performance in the Netherlands. Some people may say that I should’ve scored runs in the Netherlands. But I believe I am a good player of spin and don’t think I have to overthink it too much.”It’s just a matter of time, I need to get a start and then capitalise on it.”Pooran acknowledged that for West Indies, beating Pakistan in Pakistan was a challenge from the outset, but wanted his team to accept it instead of fearing it. As for tangible goals for the Pakistan series, Pooran revealed two such plans: hold on to catches and bat long as a team, consistently.”Some world-class bowlers and batsmen here [for Pakistan], but I want the players to embrace the challenge,” he said. “If we can take our catches, get some runs, you never know what can happen, the game can turn in a couple of balls. We want to use our momentum [from the Netherlands] and continue to be consistent as a team.”Cricket is played on its day. We had three guys getting centuries [in Netherlands]. We saw Brandon King being consistent with the bat. This is obviously really good for us. As a batting group, we want to bat 50 overs. In the Ireland series, in the India series, we haven’t batted all 50 overs.”Yes we are coming to Pakistan, yes they have good bowlers as well, but I believe we have the ability and confidence to bat the 50 overs. We appreciate the small goals and as a team we want to achieve it. One step at a time, and we’ll take it from there.”

Azhar Ali: 'Youngsters need to shed insecurities to perform'

Senior batsman says nothing but a series win will do in home conditions

Umar Farooq22-Jan-2021Azhar Ali, Pakistan’s senior-most batsman, has urged young players to shrug off their insecurities to give themselves the best chance to perform at home against South Africa. As many as nine uncapped players have been named in their initial squad of 20, with at least two of them likely to debut in the first Test starting January 26.For all practical purposes, this is the first time Pakistan are playing South Africa at ‘home’ since 2007-08. Azhar (83 Tests) aside, only Babar Azam (29 Tests) has had any kind of significant Test experience to speak of. Abid Ali is eight Tests old, Fawad Alam seven and Mohammad Rizwan, who captained in New Zealand, has 11 Test caps. Among the bowlers, Yasir Shah has the most experience with 43 Tests, and will do a bulk of the bowling alongside automatic pick Shaheen Afridi (13 Tests) and the returning Hasan Ali.”International cricket is always a challenge,” Azhar said. “Even if you play as a youngster or up there for long, pressure will remain for ever. But obviously for a new player it is a challenge to handle pressure and then there are insecurities in our culture around what if they are dropped.”Obviously we understand that there is a big difference between international and domestic cricket which make them a bit insecure. But as as a senior player my advise to them is to trust their skills and stick with that they are doing to do well because that is what is going to give them a best chance to performance. If you think too much that will bring negativity and hold you from doing well. So be positive and grab the opportunity.”Misbah-ul-Haq will have two more coaches in the set-up•Getty Images

Pakistan had a miserable time in New Zealand, losing both Tests comfortably while winning just the one T20I on tour. Those results, coupled with their poor returns in England and Australia, means there is going to be much scrutiny on the team as much as there will on Misbah-ul-Haq, the head coach.Azhar remains optimistic of returning to winning ways. “Home conditions bring confidence in players,” he said. “If you remember, our batsmen in previous two home series (against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh) had big chunks of runs and did really well. But on away tours, ts always tough for Asian teams. But our batsmen fought it out. In England and New Zealand there was at least one batsman who made a century.”There is a different level of pressure on away tours, but at home, everyone expects nothing less than a win. We must take the responsibility as a team to win matches at home. We will try to take this benefit [of playing at home] positively and maximise this opportunity at fullest to keep the opponent under pressure.”‘No one is undermining anyone’ – Azhar on extra coaches joining teamTo ease some load off Misbah, the PCB has added coaches from the High Performance Centre to assist the team management. Mohammad Yousuf will work alongside batting coach Younis Khan while Saqlain Mushtaq will guide the spinners. Having so much of experience in the coaching set-up comes with the risk of information overload, at times, but Azhar hopes this will onl be beneficial.”Yousuf and Younis both being in the camp isn’t undermining anyone,” Azhar said. “This is mainly for conditioning and we are taking an advantage of their experiences. Younis bhai is our main batting coach and we are lucky to have Mohammad Yousuf around as well. The Test is starting in few days and we don’t have much time either for any change in our batting (technique) but both are getting us ready for the Test.”South Africa is a very strong team especially with their bowling they are the top side. Their fast bowlers are good but then if we get a spin track, we are wary of their left-arm spinner Mahraj who he is a seasoned bowler and is playing Tests for long. He is bowling consistency well. We have to come up with our A game to compete so I believe they have everything covered in their bowling and our batting must take this challenge and score big enough for our bowlers to get them out.”

ECB announce funding boost to transform women's cricket

Board pledges £20 million over two years and announces 40 new domestic contracts

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Oct-2019The England & Wales Cricket Board has pledged a funding boost for women’s cricket of £20 million over two years, and plans to invest £50 million in the next five years, in a bid to make cricket into a gender-balanced sport.The challenge of transforming women’s and girls’ cricket was one of six priorities within the ECB’s ‘Inspiring Generations’ strategy for 2020-2024, and part of the new remit is a commitment to the funding of 40 full-time professional, domestic contracts, in addition to the existing central contracts for England Women’s elite players.A ten-point action plan was unveiled by Clare Connor, the ECB’s managing director for women’s cricket, at an event in London, with a focus on five key objectives:Participation: To increase the number of women and girls playing cricket recreationally

Pathway: To develop aspiring female cricketers (U11-17) as players and people

Performance: To drive the performance of England women’s cricket through a new semi-professional, eight region structure

Profile: To elevate the profile of women’s cricket through The Hundred, the England Women’s team and the elite game

People: To increase the representation of women across the cricket workforce”Cricket has been an integral part of my life, as a player and in my role of Managing Director of Women’s Cricket. I have never been more excited by the opportunity in front of us right now,” said Connor.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“Recent initiatives have given women and girls more opportunities to play, such as All Stars Cricket for 5-8-year-olds, the South Asian female activators programme, and the Kia Super League for our most talented domestic cricketers. But to truly transform women’s and girls’ cricket, we must now move from targeted standalone programmes to addressing the whole pathway as one.”We have an amazing opportunity to make cricket the sport we want it to be – a sport that is modern, innovative and inclusive. I have been so heartened by the level of enthusiasm, commitment and support for this plan from everyone involved in cricket.”Tom Harrison, the ECB chief executive, added: “During the development of Inspiring Generations, and extensive conversations and research across the game, the strong appetite to transform cricket’s relationship with women and girls was abundantly clear.”There is tremendous energy across the cricket network to pursue the game’s largest growth opportunity and to increase the number of women and girls playing, watching and volunteering at every level of the game.”This plan, formed in collaboration with the whole cricket network, and supported by our commercial and media partners, represents a crucial step in achieving our ambition of making cricket a gender-balanced sport.”The plan was produced following two years of consultation with all 38 Counties and Cricket Wales, and detailed analysis of thousands of survey responses from the recreational and elite game.To test some of the recommendations for the recreational game, ECB has run pilot programmes with over 600 cricket clubs to better understand the essential criteria in creating the most sustainable women’s and girls’ clubs.”This action plan is a really exciting next step in the continued growth of women’s cricket,” said Heather Knight, England Women’s captain. “We need more young girls to be inspired to play and those young girls need to be able to see a clear pathway above them that encourages them to continue pursuing the game.”As England players we’re fortunate enough to meet lots of young girls who love the game and it means so much to us to see how much they love cricket. Much of this plan is about normalising the game for women and girls and I’m excited to see how this increased opportunity takes the game forward.”

Durham rest up for Blast after Glamorgan capsize again

Durham have plenty of downtime ahead of Friday night’s Vitality Blast quarter-final against Sussex while Glamorgan’s coach has lots to ponder

ECB Reporters Network21-Aug-2018
ScorecardDurham’s bowlers needed only 8.2 overs to dismiss the remaining three Glamorgan batsmen at Sophia Gardens this morning to gain their third championship win of the season, and inflict on Glamorgan their third successive championship defeat and their sixth in the last seven games.Resuming on 79 for 7, Glamorgan soon lost Craig Meschede, who was leg before to Chris Rushworth in the fourth over of the day, and the Durham seamer struck again in his next two overs when he bowled Lukas Carey and Michael Hogan to end Glamorgan’s misery.The victory margin, an innings and 30 runs, was a fair reflection of Durham’s dominance throughout the game, while Glamorgan were to reflect on another hugely disappointing performance which will little to restore confidence or morale.Rushworth ended with 5 for 28, and match figures of 8 for 64 as throughout the match Glamorgan’s batsmen were unable to counter the movement Durham’s seamers obtained in both innings.It all left Glamorgan’s coach Robert Croft with much to ponder as he seeks to keep momentum in the season after the county’s failure to reach the last eight of the Vitality Blast.Had the weather not intervened in this game, Glamorgan would have been beaten inside two days in successive games, and although they have been unlucky with their overseas signings and Marchant De Lange, one of their leading bowlers, has been out injured since mid-May, the fact is that their young batsmen have been unable to cope with opposing attacks.Meanwhile, Durham, who will have an extra day off before Friday’s T20 quarter final game against Sussex at Chester Le Street, will be delighted with their performance, especially their two debutants Alex Lees and Axar Patel.Lees, signed from Yorkshire, was soon into his stride with an assured 69, while Indian all rounder Patel, took three wickets in the game and struck an aggressive 95 and rescue Durham following a mid -innings collapse.A dejected Glamorgan captain Michael Hogan said after the crushing defeat,”it was not ideal, it was just another of those days. The dressing room is pretty low at the moment, and we have to give them the opportunity to have some fun, and get some smiles back on their faces. We will have nets on Thursday and get some practice before the game against Warwickshire next week.”Durham seamer Chris Rushworth, who took eight wickets in the game, said” it was good to field in bowling conditions on the first day, and it suited our bowlers. We were clinical, and that’s what we need to be to beat the teams around us in the championship. Everyone contributed, and it was a very satisfying victory”

De Villiers 'upset' at ball-condition query

AB de Villiers has said he was “pretty upset” at being asked by the umpires to explain the condition of one of the balls during South Africa’s narrow defeat against England at the Ageas Bowl

Alan Gardner at the Ageas Bowl27-May-20173:03

‘Upset at being held responsible for condition of the ball’ – de Villiers

AB de Villiers has said he was “pretty upset” at being asked by the umpires to explain the condition of one of the balls during South Africa’s narrow defeat against England at the Ageas Bowl.Rob Bailey and Chris Gaffaney, the standing umpires, spoke to de Villiers before the start of the 34th over in England’s innings, bowled by Keshav Maharaj. De Villiers was animated in his response on the field and the ball was not changed; afterwards, South Africa’s captain said he felt it was being implied that his players were at fault for scuffing up the ball.”The umpires felt the condition of the ball changed,” de Villiers said, “in a way, making me feel that we are responsible. I was quite upset about that. I don’t know what else I can say, I was pretty upset. It’s done and dusted now, nothing happened, there were no fines given or anything like that.”I honestly told the umpires we have nothing to do with the condition of ball, except for the fact that Maharaj bowled five overs on the trot from that end. The ball generally scuffs up when the spinner bowls a few overs. I expressed my views about that and we move on.”Asked if he felt that the implication from the umpires was that his side had been engaging in ball-tampering, de Villiers replied: “Yes. That’s the feeling that I got and I expressed that I was quite upset about it. But like I said, no further steps were taken from both parties.”If I can give my five cents, I felt it was a bad ball and that happens sometimes. The leather comes off and you do get that. Unfortunately the umpires didn’t agree. [But] nothing happened, generally there’s a warning or a fine, none of that happened, which tells me they realised we were innocent in this case.”South Africa were sanctioned last year for altering the condition of the ball in a Test against Australia in Hobart, after their captain, Faf du Plessis, was filmed by television cameras with a mint in his mouth when applying saliva to shine the ball. In 2013, during a series against Pakistan, du Plessis also pleaded guilty to a charge of ball-tampering after rubbing the ball near the zipper on his trousers.Eoin Morgan, England’s captain, said his team were unaware of any suggestion that the ball had been scuffed up. “Normally, if there’s any dispute about the ball, they change it straight away,” he said.The umpiring team of Bailey, Gaffaney, the third umpire, Rod Tucker, and match referee, Andy Pycroft, were engaged in their customary debriefing after the game, with no suggestion that the matter would be taken further.Having seen his team lose out off the final ball by two runs, de Villiers praised England’s bowlers for closing out victory and the series. With ten balls to go, South Africa needed ten runs to win but Jake Ball and Mark Wood conceded just six singles and a leg bye to deny David Miller and Chris Morris.”I thought the boys played a great hand at the end there, to get us so close,” de Villiers said. “I got a bit excited, thought we had it in the bag. Got to give credit to the last two bowlers of England, who finished there, they showed some great skill and good plans.”Unfortunately it didn’t go our way, we didn’t get the lucky bounce – if you want to call it that, a little edge over the keeper. We were just waiting for one little break and it would be game over. The boys gave it their best shot. Chris and David played a great knock, built a great partnership but unfortunately we couldn’t cross the line.”

Dinda's burst rejuvenates Supergiants

Rising Pune Supergiants’ seam bowlers, led by Ashok Dinda, used the fresh Hyderabad surface to reduce Sunrisers Hyderabad to 32 for 5, setting up a crucial 34-run D/L win

The Report by Nikhil Kalro26-Apr-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAshok Dinda set up Rising Pune Supergiants’ win with his second-best IPL figures•BCCI

Rising Pune Supergiants’ seam bowlers, led by Ashok Dinda, used the fresh Hyderabad surface as an ally to restrict Sunrisers Hyderabad to 118 for 8, before producing a dominant batting performance to seal a 34-run win via the Duckworth-Lewis method.Sunrisers were reduced to 32 for 5 after mild showers delayed play by an hour. Dinda, brought in for Ankit Sharma, struck off the fourth delivery to dismiss David Warner, Sunrisers’ highest scorer, to set the tone for the evening. He later dismissed Aditya Tare and Naman Ojha to finish with 3 for 23. In the chase, Faf du Plessis and Steven Smith overcame the early loss of Ajinkya Rahane by putting together 80 off just 55 balls to derail Sunrisers.Rain returned to bring a premature end to the game with Supergiants needing 25. It was the 18th win by a chasing side in 22 games this season.Dinda, making his debut for Supergiants, removed Warner with a wide delivery that was cut straight to backward point, eliciting a Cristiano Ronaldo-like celebration. Mitchell Marsh swung the ball both ways to leave the batsmen searching for runs. The pressure of an unproductive Powerplay resulted in loose shots from Tare and Eoin Morgan as Sunrisers slipped to 27 for 3.Sunrisers’ innings went from bad to worse when Deepak Hooda gloved a reverse sweep off R Ashwin’s first delivery to MS Dhoni. In the next over, Moises Henriques was strangled down leg to leave Sunrisers at 32 for 5.Supergiants did not concede a boundary from the sixth over till the 14th, with R Ashwin conceding 14 in four straight overs. It was only the third time he completed his full quota this season.Shikhar Dhawan and Naman Ojha milked the bowling, but the inability to find boundaries forced them into playing the big shots. Dhawan, who was dropped by Rahane at long-off in the 15th over, carried on to post his second fifty of the season, but Bhuvneshwar Kumar provided the finishing touches – his eight-ball 21 gave Sunrisers momentum going into the break.Bhuvneshwar wasn’t done yet; he gave Sunrisers some hope in the chase with a wicket-maiden in the first over, after having Rahane caught at backward point. However, Smith and du Plessis capitalised on loose bowling, hitting 11 boundaries in the next seven overs to all but finish the game. Mustafizur Rahman, Warner’s trump card, was also taken apart by Smith’s wristy flicks.Du Plessis’ fluent knock ended when he edged behind for 30. Dhoni, who got off the mark with a muscular hit over mid-on, nailed a cut straight to backward point off Ashish Nehra soon after just as the drizzle got heavier. The players scurried off immediately with Supergiants at 94 for 3, comfortably ahead of the D/L par score of 60.

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