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No recall for Andre Russell, three players to miss Ireland series due to Covid-19

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Dec-2021Kieron Pollard is fit to lead West Indies in limited-overs series against Ireland and England next month, but the squads have been hit by Covid-19 positives for Evin Lewis, Fabian Allen and Anderson Phillip.Pollard had been ruled out of West Indies’ tour of Pakistan in December because of a hamstring injury, with Nicholas Pooran leading the T20I side in his absence. Shai Hope had been due to take charge in the ODIs, before they were called off due to rising Covid-19 infections among the party.Former captain Jason Holder is also back in both squads, but there was no room for Andre Russell, despite his recent spell in the Big Bash League. Obed McCoy was not included due to a shin injury suffered at the T20 World Cup.There had been suggestions that the Ireland T20I at Sabina Park could provide the stage for Chris Gayle’s farewell from international cricket, but he has not been named in the squad, amid reports a testimonial match could be arranged for later in the year.Allrounder Allen, who missed the World Cup with an ankle injury, has been passed fit despite testing positive for Covid and is expected to be available for the England series later in the month.”We have tried to maintain the general make-up of the squads from the Pakistan tour before Christmas, with the captain and some senior players coming back in,” West Indies head coach, Phil Simmons, said. “Covid-19 has also played a part in the final make-up of the squad. The challenges in the next couple months are getting the young players in both squads to not only improve on their skills but maintain the attitude and desire we saw in Pakistan.”We do need to start the year on a high. And we know both Ireland and England have very good teams, so we expect a very strong challenge as we look improve our chances of automatic qualification for the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2023 and building the T20 team for the ICC T20 World Cup in 2022.”West Indies will play Ireland in three ODIs in Jamaica, starting on January 8, followed by a one-off T20I. They will then host England in Barbados for a five-match T20I series.Ireland’s tour of the USA and Caribbean has also been hit by Covid-19. The ODI leg against USA was cancelled due to a number of positive tests, with Paul Stirling and Shane Getkate set to miss the first West Indies fixture while isolating in their hotel in Florida.West Indies ODI squad: Kieron Pollard (capt), Shai Hope, Shamarh Brooks, Roston Chase, Justin Greaves, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Jayden Seales, Nicholas Pooran, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Devon ThomasReserves: Keacy Carty, Sheldon CottrellWest Indies T20I squad: Kieron Pollard (capt), Nicholas Pooran, Fabian Allen (England T20Is only), Darren Bravo (England T20Is only), Roston Chase, Sheldon Cottrell, Dominic Drakes, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Jason Holder, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Rovman Powell, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Hayden Walsh JrReserves: Jayden Seales, Alzarri Joseph, Devon Thomas

Date shifted back by one day to avoid clash with West Indies T20I

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Aug-2020Edgbaston will stage the final of England’s new domestic 50-over women’s competition, the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.The final had originally been scheduled for September 26 at the home ground of the group winner with most points, but has been moved back by one day to avoid a clash with England’s T20I against West Indies and will be broadcast live by Sky.The tournament, which will be contested between teams from eight new regional centres, starts on August 29 with teams split into two groups of four.ALSO READ: West Indies women’s England tour confirmedThe 24 players in England’s enlarged training group will be released to play for their teams in the first two rounds of games, and players not selected in the final squad for the West Indies series will be available for later rounds.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Clare Connor, the ECB’s managing director of women’s cricket, said: “Edgbaston is a brilliant venue for the final, with a great track record of hosting domestic finals. It’s also a great fit for this summer because of Rachael’s links to the West Midlands.”The impacts of Covid-19 have demonstrated just how vital it is to have a sustainable and competitive domestic structure that gives our domestic women’s cricketers the chance to make a living from the game and also raises the standard of women’s cricket in England and Wales.”We’re proud of the work we’ve done to protect the momentum of the women’s game across this challenging period. We’re looking forward to 2021 when the eight regional teams will hopefully be playing even more cricket throughout the summer, along with the important addition of the profile opportunity of the Hundred.”Stuart Cain, Warwickshire’s chief executive, said: “It’s great to support and showcase women’s cricket by hosting a major national final in the city, particularly with the women’s Commonwealth Games cricket at Edgbaston in 2022.”This also means that the two of cricket’s showcase domestic finals are coming to Birmingham as the Vitality Blast Finals Day will take place a few days after the Rachel Heyhoe Flint Trophy final.”

England director confirms that management had been bound by confidentiality until story was made public

George Dobell02-May-2019Ashley Giles has accepted that Alex Hales would still be in England’s World Cup squad if news of his drugs test failures had not been revealed by the media.But Giles, the England men’s team director, has also insisted that Hales has not been “deselected” as a direct result of that indiscretion. Instead, according to Giles, Hales was axed from England’s World Cup plans because of “a string of poor behaviour over time” and “the effect the [latest] news had on the players, the management and the captain”.Giles also confirmed that, while he was aware of Hales’ second drug test failure before the selection of England’s provisional 15-man World Cup squad – only Giles, Tom Harrison (the ECB’s CEO) and Nick Peirce (the ECB’s chief medical officer) were informed among ECB officials – he had not passed on the information to the selectors as he was “bound by a duty of confidentiality”.ALSO READ: ‘Breakdown in trust’ between Hales and team – Morgan“When the teams were selected, the selectors and the captain were unaware of any issue surrounding Alex,” Giles said. “The advice we got from our legal guys was categorically we had a duty of confidentiality which we stuck to. We couldn’t tell them, simple as that.”But once the story broke on Friday, the effect of it on the England environment – on the players, management and captain – was really strong. We’re building towards our biggest summer of cricket in 40-50 years and our responsibility is to making sure we’re in the best possible shape going into the World Cup. This became too big a distraction for our environment to have.”Speaking candidly on Thursday afternoon, England’s captain Eoin Morgan confirmed that he and the team’s senior players – Joe Root, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes – had reached the conclusion that Hales’ place in their plans was untenable, due to a “lack of respect for [the team] values, and … a complete breakdown of trust”. Giles subsequently confirmed that he had been asked to take action.”Being at England’s camp in Wales and seeing the effect of that news, it was clear it wasn’t going to work,” he said. “There’s an element of trust in that environment and if that trust is not within the group, that’s a problem. I think that’s what occurred here. It could be seen that a string of poor behaviour over time has led us to this point.”There was consultation. The captain consulted with his senior players and I talked to the captain and the coach. I’m not a selector, but the selectors were unanimous in this decision, fully supported by myself and Tom Harrison that this was the right way to go.”While Giles was adamant the door had not been permanently closed on Hales’ England aspirations, he did confirm the player “had some making up to do”.”Alex has been an important part of this team’s journey over a period,” he said. “The door isn’t closed, whatever people think.”What we want to see is some really good behaviour over time and some good cricket, of course. We’re there to support him. I understand he’s going back to play for Notts but it’s important we have support from all corners, whether it be the PCA, the ECB or Notts. The player’s welfare is still fundamental. But there’s some making up to do, I’m sure.”Ashley Giles discusses selection matters with England’s Test captain, coach and selector•Getty Images

Giles seemed particularly underwhelmed by the statement from Hales’ management team which suggested that previous assurances from Giles that Hales’ World Cup place would not be affected were “rendered meaningless” by the subsequent decision to ‘deselect’ him.”I didn’t think that statement was particularly good, but he’s clearly disappointed and we get that,” Giles said. “We – Tom Harrison and I – kept our part of the bargain and maintained our integrity throughout this. Someone else clearly didn’t. That’s the problem.”We said no off-the-field incident could have a bearing on World Cup selection. We stand by that. Any process, whether it be discipline or otherwise, you can’t have double jeopardy.”At the same time, Tom and I can’t make guarantees on selection because we’re not selectors. That’s not handing over responsibility, but we assured him in this case that, for this off-the-field incident, it could not have a bearing on World Cup selection.”But once the story broke, the effect was really strong. It was too big a distraction for our environment to have. So yes, of course, had the story not been made public, the environment would not have been affected and he could have stayed in the side.”Giles also confirmed that England’s policies on the issue of recreational drugs may need to change. While he accepted the current guidelines had been put in place to avoid a recurrence of the Tom Maynard tragedy in 2012 – many felt Maynard may not have attempted a desperate escape from the police if he was less fearful of the repercussions to his career of a potential drugs test failure – he conceded they required reviewing in light of the Hales case.”The worst thing we could do is bury our heads in the sand and go, let’s hope this doesn’t happen again,” Giles said. “If policies need reviewing, that’s what we have to do to make sure next time things work much smoother.”Let’s remember why it was put in place. That policy was put in place after the Tom Maynard situation, a terrible situation, where if we had something like this in place, maybe that could have been avoided. But whether it operates right or not, that’s what needs review.”

The Bangladesh Cricket Board, however, has not yet made an announcement of his unavailability

Mohammad Isam11-Feb-2018Bangladesh’s T20I plans were further dented when their captain Shakib Al Hasan said his finger injury hasn’t fully healed. On Saturday, Shakib was named in the 15-man squad announced for the first T20 against Sri Lanka, on February 15.”There is still no official statement regarding this issue but the doctor has told me that the injury will take another two weeks to heal. So, if that is the case then maybe it is unlikely that I will play in the T20 series,” he said.The Bangladesh Cricket Board has not made an announcement of his unavailability.Shakib injured his finger during the tri-series final on January 27, which ruled him out of the subsequent Tests against Sri Lanka. It would have been his first series in his second stint as the Test captain.Bangladesh’s T20I squad includes five uncapped cricketers who impressed during the 2017 BPL.

When asked by Sky Sports if England had “stagnated” under his leadership, Alastair Cook responded: “That’s a fair shout, you can say whatever you want now

Andrew Miller20-Dec-2016Alastair Cook has conceded that England’s Test fortunes may have “stagnated” over the past 12 months, but confirms he will not rush any decision on the future of his Test captaincy, in spite of another humiliating defeat in the fifth and final match of England’s tour of India.Cook’s dismissal for 49 in the first hour after lunch was the catalyst for another dramatic collapse on the final afternoon in Chennai, as England lost ten wickets for 104 runs in 48.2 overs – including their last six for 15 – to slump to defeat by an innings and 75 runs, and a 4-0 series loss.The defeat was England’s eighth in 17 Tests in 2016, equalling their record number of losses for a calendar year, and they will finish the year at No. 5 in the Test rankings, some way below the levels they might have anticipated after winning both the Ashes and a memorable away series against South Africa last year.When asked by Sky Sports if England had “stagnated” under his leadership, Cook responded: “That’s a fair shout, you can say whatever you want now, if I turn around here and slag everyone off and use emotive language, I’m not doing my job. When you lose Test cricket, you get criticised. You have to take it on the chin.”The defeat was Cook’s 22nd in 59 Tests at the helm, meaning he has overtaken Michael Atherton as England’s most defeated captain in Test history. However, he confirmed he will wait until the dust has settled on the tour before deciding whether to carry on as captain, following an anticipated meeting with Andrew Strauss, England’s team director, in the New Year.”This is not the place to be standing asking me these questions,” Cook said. “I have to go away and do some thinking. I need to get back home and do it without the emotive side of what’s happened over the last nine weeks.”In his subsequent press conference, he added: “I need to go home first enjoy Christmas as much as I can do and then come back in January and look to plan with Straussy and see what’s the right decision for English cricket. I’ve got to go away and decide whether I am the right man to take England forward. It’s the wrong time to make those decisions as energy is low, energy is low and you can make foolish decisions as those times.”When there’s not a Test match for seven months it’d seem very foolish to stand here now and make a decision which either you regret or don’t. If there was a Test match in three weeks time you’d have to think. But while there is a bit of space why not use it?”The defeat at Chennai was England’s second by an innings in as many matches, and just as in Mumbai last week, they were blown away in spite of winning the toss and posting a large first-innings total – 400 at the Wankhede, 477 at Chepauk.”I don’t think we ran out of fight, all the guys gave their all, but weren’t good enough,” Cook said. “Whether that’s a culmination of the pressure being built up over a long period of time, or a bit of mental tiredness, people will look at that and say it’s an excuse, but we haven’t been good enough in these conditions.”I said at the beginning of the series, it was vitally important to stay in the contest as long as we can, because we’ve seen in previous tours here, it’s a hard juggernaut to stop – the India juggernaut at home, when they’re are playing as well as that. Once they get ahead, their confidence goes and it’s hard to stop that momentum.”Whether 4-0 is fair or not, it’s hard to say,” he added. “We’ve struggled to take 20 wickets and we haven’t got enough runs, so we probably didn’t deserve much more than that.”We’ve missed opportunities, we’ve been in games and had good fortune to win four out of five tosses, but we haven’t pushed home our advantages. Sometimes you have to hold your hands up and say we are not good enough in these conditions. We will have to be better when we come back.”

Shashank Manohar is likely to meet Shaharyar Khan in Dubai on Saturday to discuss a bilateral series

Nagraj Gollapudi20-Nov-20151:48

Kalra: Manohar vehemently against India playing in the UAE

BCCI president Shashank Manohar is likely to meet PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan in Dubai on Saturday to discuss the bilateral series offer he had made a week ago. Manohar will reach Dubai on Friday evening, on a four-day visit, to acquaint himself with ICC affairs after the BCCI nominated him as ICC chairman – replacing N Srinivasan – at the Indian board’s annual general meeting on November 9. It is understood that Khan is already in Dubai, having reached there on Thursday morning.Neither the BCCI nor the PCB offered any official statement, but the Dubai meeting is the next step in the discussions both boards have been having recently in an attempt to resume cricketing ties between the two countries. Manohar has already offered the PCB a series in India, but the Pakistan board is adamant that it hosts the series in the UAE, as is specified in the ICC’s Future Tours Programme (FTP). However, it is understood that Manohar is strongly against playing in the UAE. A senior BCCI official said that Manohar had told him one of the reasons for this was because of the “nefarious activities” in the region, by which he meant the presence of bookies and cricket still being vulnerable to match-fixing.Manohar disagreed when asked whether getting permission from the federal government was proving to be a hurdle in getting India to play in the UAE. “We are not asking any permission from the government. We are not playing in UAE. That is certain. There are reasons. But I don’t want another debate on that. So I will not tell you the reasons,” Manohar told ESPNcricinfo on November 17. Also, after Khan had gone public last week with the BCCI’s offer to play a series in India, Manohar as well as BCCI secretary Anuarg Thakur categorically stated that the only way the series could be held was if Pakistan were willing to travel to India.Khan had revealed that Manohar rang him on November 13 to check whether Pakistan would be willing to play a bilateral series in India in December. He said that disturbances in the phone network did not allow both men to talk at length, so he requested Manohar to send the offer through an official communiqué. Subsequently he and the PCB had expressed surprise at the BCCI’s offer to play in India, keeping in mind the anti-Pakistan sentiment that has been expressed by regional political parties like the Shiv Sena, and also reiterated the fact that it was Pakistan’s turn to host India and that as per the FTP.The fact that Manohar is meeting Khan indicates he has not closed the door on the series, though insiders don’t see him changing his “mindset” on playing in the UAE. According to the senior board official, while Manohar was still positive about a series taking place, the venue posed a problem.Incidentally Manohar had issued a strongly worded public statement on March 26 last year, saying the BCCI’s move to play the first leg of IPL 2014 in the UAE would “tarnish” the image of the tournament. “Many years back a conscious decision was taken by the BCCI to abstain from [playing] matches in the Middle East in view of certain information regarding rampant betting and match-fixing [there]. As far as I know, that decision has not been revoked,” Manohar wrote in the one-page statement. “Due to the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the decision to shift the IPL matches to the Middle East will further tarnish the already murky waters surrounding the tournament.”Despite his protests, the IPL did take place at three venues across the UAE, without any incident. The official said that he and other senior administrators had tried to tell Manohar about the assurances given by the UAE government, which had paved the way for the 15-day first-leg of the league to be held there smoothly. But Manohar, he said, would not change his stance.On Thursday evening, Thakur had said that a decision on the Pakistan series was likely to be taken in the following two days.

Kolkata Knight Riders kept their 100% record of successfully chasing totals under 120 intact as they triumphed at their second home in Ranchi

Firdose Moonda12-May-2013

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details Jacques Kallis’ 41 helped steer Kolkata Knight Riders to the target•BCCI

Kolkata Knight Riders kept their 100% record of successfully chasing totals under 120 intact as they triumphed at their second home in Ranchi. Their bowlers were largely responsible for keeping them in the competition, having restricted Royal Challengers to their lowest total in a first innings of an IPL match in India.Through good lengths and variation, they ensured the batsmen would not have to toil as much as Royal Challengers’ troops did. They laboured through the slowest Powerplay in this year’s tournament, with only 22 runs from the first six overs and limped to their slowest century of 2013, off 102 balls. They managed just seven boundaries in their innings, their second lowest count in the tournament’s history.Knight Riders’ selection of Sachithra Senanayake proved a shrewd move on a slow surface, as he and L Balaji made run-scoring difficult upfront. Chesteshwar Pujara was dismissed for 5 as he tried to hit out, but Chris Gayle managed his frustrations well.His only four came from an edge past first slip and he had little respite, besides Ryan ten Doeschate’s sole over, in which Virat Kohli and Gayle took 14 runs of it. Kohli, however, didn’t last long, playing on off Jacques Kallis for 17.Four boundary-less overs followed before Gayle’s vigil was broken. He went forward to defend the first ball of Sunil Narine’s second over, but it turned past the outside edge, and he was stumped with his toe right on the line.Gayle was Narine’s first scalp. Saurabh Tiwary, Ravi Rampaul and Abhimanyu Mithun were the other three which took the West Indian to the top of the wicket-charts with 22 to his name. He tied Royal Challengers up at the end of their innings, after Balaji got rid of a threatening looking AB de Villiers.The South African one-day captain managed a paddle and a loft over extra cover before he was caught behind, trying to tickle the ball fine. Had de Villiers lasted into the last four overs, Royal Challengers may have been able to eye a total over 130, but they had to settle for a below-par 115 for 9.Despite the sluggish surface, they needed a better bowling effort than their attack has seemed capable of producing this season. Ravi Rampaul gave them some hope when he had Manvinder Bisla caught at point off the second ball. He should have accounted for Kallis too, but Mithun badly misjudged the catch at fine leg, running in before realising he had underestimated the strength of the shot.Kallis capitalised on his let off and anchored the chase almost to the end. The required run rate hovered around a run-a-ball throughout, but Royal Challengers could not build any pressure. Gautam Gambhir took three fours off a Mithun over that was peppered with generously short balls, and Murali Kartik conceded boundaries when he tossed it up.Kallis and Manoj Tiwary worked the ball around, and even though both were dismissed at the twilight of the match, they had done enough. Ryan ten Doeschate hit the winning runs to make qualifying for the playoffs an uphill battle for Royal Challengers in their remaining matches.

Pat Cummins, the Australia fast bowler, will join the Under-19 squad for the quadrangular series in Townsville beginning next week

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Mar-2012Pat Cummins, the Australia fast bowler, will join the Under-19 squad for the quadrangular series in Townsville beginning next week, as he bids to return to the senior national team after a long injury lay-off due to a bone stress injury in his foot.”Pat is at an advanced stage of his rehabilitation and we feel he will benefit from bowling in a competitive environment,” CA physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said. “He’ll be on a restricted program and is being taken to Townsville so we can continue his progression and introduce some competition time.”He won’t play in every match or bowl his full allocation of overs, but will undertake a program that will allow us to carefully manage his involvement in the squad’s training and matches.”Cummins, 18, made an outstanding start to his Test career in November 2011, when he took seven wickets and was Man of the Match on debut in Australia’s victory over South Africa in Johannesburg. However, he hasn’t played a match since then and was ruled out of Australia’s entire home summer of internationals as well as the ongoing tour of the West Indies due to a heel injury.The quadrangular series will be played by U-19 teams from Australia, England, India and New Zealand between April 5 and 15. It will be used as a warm-up up event ahead of the U-19 World Cup in Queensland in August.

West Indies have left out Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan, their three senior-most players, from the squad for the first two ODIs of the five-match series against Pakistan that begins on April 21

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Apr-2011West Indies have left out Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan, their three senior-most players, from the squad for the first two ODIs of the five-match series against Pakistan that begins on April 21. Dwayne Bravo, whose World Cup was cut short by a knee injury, returns to the squad and will serve as captain Darren Sammy’s deputy, while Antigua-born legspinner Anthony Martin remains the only uncapped player in the list of 13.Kieron Pollard will miss the five-match series to play for Mumbai Indians in the IPL, while Bravo, who, like Pollard, had opted out of a retainer contract with the West Indies Cricket Board, will skip the two-match Test series that follows the ODIs to join Chennai Super Kings.The exclusion of Gayle, Chanderpaul and Sarwan following West Indies’ quarter-final exit from the World Cup marks a significant step and underlines the selectors’ intention to move on and start afresh with an emphasis on youth. “Consistent with the policy to expose young players, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan were not selected,” a West Indies Cricket Board release stated.West Indies also left out left-arm spinners Sulieman Benn and Nikita Miller; Legspinners Devendra Bishoo – who picked up three wickets on his international debut against England in Chennai in the World Cup – and Martin, along with Marlon Samuels, will comprise the spin attack. In the previous edition of the WICB Regional 50-over tournament, Martin picked up eight wickets for Leeward Islands from five games and had the best economy rate of 2.82 an over. He finished with 16 wickets in six games in the Caribbean’s domestic first-class competition.Samuels, who is also part of the squad for the one-off Twenty20 international against Pakistan, won a recall after serving a two-year ban for alleged involvement with illegal bookmakers. Lendl Simmons, the Trinidad and Tobago batsman – and nephew of Phil Simmons – was also picked while batsman Kirk Edwards and allrounder Andre Russell, who were part of the World Cup squad, kept their places.”We have looked at a mix of players who will take us through the next five to ten years, and with this squad we have put together a youthful but exciting combination of exceptionally talented cricketers who we believe can win matches,” WICB chairman of selectors Clyde Butts said.”There are some familiar faces who have not been included on this occasion, but we have already identified the core of players who we will build the team around. The time has come for us to introduce a fresh crop of players who we believe have a deep desire to excel and who can be tested at the international level.”In another decision, the WICB agreed to consider Bravo and Pollard for selection across all formats even if their IPL commitments meant they would miss national duty. The board had adopted a policy of tying national selection to participation in regional tournaments in the corresponding format – the reason behind Pollard and Bravo not being picked for the Twenty20 game against Pakistan.”It was mutually determined that Pollard would be best served by being allowed to hone his T20 skills in the Indian Premier League, which will bring future benefit to West Indies cricket,” the release stated. “He will not play in the series against Pakistan, but remains committed to West Indies cricket and will be available for future selection to the West Indies team in all formats.”About Bravo, the release said: “Dwayne Bravo, who is also contracted to an IPL franchise, will play in the one-day series against Pakistan but will miss the two Tests in order to participate in the IPL. Like Pollard, Bravo also remains committed to West Indies cricket and will be available for future selection to the West Indies team in all formats.”Squad for first two ODIs: Darren Sammy (capt), Dwayne Bravo (vice-captain), Devendra Bishoo, Darren Bravo, Kirk Edwards, Anthony Martin, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach , Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons, Devon Smith, Devon Thomas (wk).

Naman Ojha’s bat, Yusuf Pathan’s right arm and some steady nerves from the fast bowlers proved enough to flummox Chennai Super Kings and lead Rajasthan Royals to their fourth win in a row

The Bulletin by Jamie Alter28-Mar-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outNaman Ojha made 80, his best IPL score•Indian Premier League

Naman Ojha’s bat, Yusuf Pathan’s right arm and some steady nerves from the fast bowlers proved enough to flummox Chennai Super Kings and lead Rajasthan Royals to their fourth win in a row. Ojha’s first half-century of the season, and best score in the IPL, propelled Rajasthan to a formidable total before a miserly spells from Yusuf, who also effected a direct-hit run-out and held two catches, Shaun Tait and Siddharth Trivedi choked Chennai as the “home” side surged to a 17-run victory in Ahmedabad.In Yusuf and Michael Lumb, Rajasthan possess some awesome firepower, but the pair fizzled in hot conditions on an ideal batting pitch. Lumb, who scored crucial 40s in the last two games, fleetingly cut loose while Pathan followed his audacious 34-ball 73 in the last game with a single-digit score. Thus it was left to Ojha to shore up the innings. For the first four overs he was a spectator as Lumb led the charge, playing a series of shots in his 16-ball 30. At 47 for 1 after four overs, Rajasthan were off to a flier. At this stage Ojha was on 14. He was keen to play from his crease and more comfortable against medium-pace than spin, though each of his five sixes came against the slower bowlers, two against Muttiah Muralitharan. Ojha played superb shots off the back foot into the arc between cover-point and short third man that were hit with tremendous bat speed and put pressure on the boundary riders.After the strategic time-out, Faiz Fazal fell, trying to launch Shadab Jakati’s left-arm spin into orbit; that brought Yusuf to the crease with Rajasthan set up at 100 for 2 after 11 overs. The last time he walked out at this venue, Pathan clubbed eight sixes in an audacious innings. Today he batted six deliveries for eight runs, with just one four, before he got a leading edge off Jakati to cover.Ojha, after crossing fifty, relied on two areas for the majority of his runs: that same arc square of the pitch when the seamers were on, and down toward long-on, when the spinners were in operation. Ojha struggled to hit the quicker bowlers down the ground or past cover and, trying to manipulate Thilan Thushara, he got a leading edge on an ugly paddle that short fine leg gobbled up.Adam Voges fell just after for 20 from 19 balls as Chennai limited the damage at the end. Paras Dogra was run out trying to get Abhishek Jhunjhunwala on strike and, having got back on strike, Jhunjhunwala holed out to long-on. Shane Warne completed the hat-trick of wickets in the final over when he was run out without facing a ball. Chennai had bowled the last ten overs for 81 runs and seven wickets, but failed to take that momentum into their chase.After bowling a four-run first over, Yusuf struck in his second when he made a difficult chance look easy: Matthew Hayden charged and drove back firmly but Yusuf stuck out his right hand and plucked the ball. Chennai regained some momentum through M Vijay, who looked in gorgeous touch during his 28-ball 42, but Yusuf then nailed a sharp direct hit from square leg.Chennai’s chances after nine overs still looked favourable. They had lost two wickets, but Rajasthan’s bowlers had been let down in the field, with three chances going down, two off the dangerous Suresh Raina. Lumb failed to latch on to a pull off Tait and Ojha put down a chance on 12 when Raina looked to steer Warne.The strategic time-out has favoured the fielding side this season and so it was here. Four balls after the break, the slow pace of Warne undid Raina, who looked to ping the deep midwicket boundary with a big swish but instead heard the ball crash into off stump. S Badrinath was beaten first up with a fizzing legbreak, with Yusuf at slip licking his lips, to conjure up visions of Warne in a different era. The squeeze was on.Chennai managed just four boundaries in the next five overs, with Trivedi turning in another outstanding outing. His first three overs cost just 15 runs and he mixed slow bouncers with offcutters expertly. With Chennai needing 59 from 30 balls, Warne called on Yusuf for his final over and what an over it proved to be. He fired the ball in flat and quick and, after a wide, a leg-bye, a single and a dot, MS Dhoni was run out going for the second run. Rajasthan exploded in excitement.That turned into trepidation as Morkel clubbed three successive sixes off Warne, but Tait struck with the bouncer to get Badrinath top-edging to Pathan and followed up with Morkel’s wicket as he swung one to the deep. Tait’s pace was just too hot to handle and for the third straight game he’d bowled a crucial spell. Trivedi bowled a tight last over to seal the win.Rajasthan now have the same number of points as Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore. They are scripting another memorable comeback.