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The win boosted West Indies’ net run rate to 1.154 and they’re now on the top of Group B table

Madushka Balasuriya06-Oct-2024West Indies romped to a six-wicket victory over Scotland to secure their first win of the T20 World Cup in Dubai with 50 balls to spare. The win boosted their net run rate to 1.154 and they’re now on the top of Group B table. The result leaves Scotland with two defeats in as many games, though the margin of defeat could prove even more dire to their qualification chances.Qiana Joseph’s 31 off 18 spearheaded what was a middling chase, before Deandra Dottin (28 off 15) and Chinelle Henry (18 off 10) finished the game off in haste. It was a win set up by the bowlers, as West Indies restricted Scotland to 99 for 8.Henry was named Player of the Match for her burst at the top of Scotland’s innings which yielded figures of 1 for 10, before her boundary-laden knock ensured a brisk victory.Scotland were simply second-best in all the areas that mattered with only Kathryn Bryce and Ailsa Lister with any innings of note. With the ball, meanwhile, they picked up wickets and caught much better than their opponents but were unable to stem the flow of runs – the most crucial factor when aiming to defend such a low total.West Indies dominate the powerplayScotland were 25 for 2 at the end of the powerplay, but it might have been much worse if not for West Indies’ profligacy in their catching. While the now infamous ‘ring of fire’ floodlights can be partially to blame, three chances of varying difficulty were spilt in the opening six overs.Thankfully for the West Indies, Henry was putting on a clinic in swing bowling to make sure Scotland weren’t able to capitalise on their multiple lifelines.In her first over she had Sarah Bryce edging high to first slip, where Hayley Matthews could only palm over and she followed that up with two consecutive maidens – including a wicket maiden, where she had Bryce completely foxed by an outswinger that rattled her off stump.Spinners throttle run flow Kathryn survived a tight lbw decision while Lister was dropped twice. They put these second chances to good use in stitching together a 46-run third-wicket stand. However at no point were either afforded easy runs.Afy Fletcher celebrates a wicket•Getty Images

Their stand saw just one boundary scored, with both players forced to find the gaps and run hard between the wickets to keep the scoreboard ticking along.It looked as if a platform might have been set for a late launch, but then the wickets began to fall. Afy Fletcher dismissed Lister and Priyanaz Chatterji in consecutive deliveries in the 13th over, before removing Kathryn in her next over. Scotland stumbled to 76 for five at the end of 15 overs, and they managed only a further 23 runs in the remaining five overs, as the West Indies refused to give an inch.The Qiana Joseph experimentIf this tournament has shown anything, it’s not to judge a total or a pitch until both sides have batted. The other thing is that finding quick runs at the death is exceedingly difficult. Taking both these factors into account, West Indies opted to promote Qiana Joseph up the order after Stafanie Taylor had fallen early.Joseph’s intent was clear from the get-go, swinging and missing at a series of deliveries off Bryce. But with such a low target, each blow had an exponential impact. In all, she struck three fours and a six, but her 18-ball stay had seen as much as 31% of the target wiped off.Dottin does the jobWhen Joseph fell, West Indies still needed 41 runs for victory, and the prevailing mood was that one or two more wickets might have made the going a little trickier, particularly as Scotland were catching well.But Dottin the veteran showed she could carry on her recent franchise form, as she made light work of what might have been a banana skin of a finish. Her 15 deliveries in the middle brought with it two sixes and fours apiece, as West Indies sealed a win.

He was given a reprimand and a demerit point after an argument over a dead ball not being called

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jun-2024Matthew Wade has escaped a fine from the ICC following a heated on-field argument with umpire Nitin Menon during Australia’s 36-run win over England in Barbados in the T20 World Cup 2024, though he has been handed an “official reprimand” and one demerit point.Facing Adil Rashid in the 18th over of Australia’s innings, Wade backed away to the leg side as the bowler was in his action, and dead-batted the ball back down the pitch. The ICC said in a press release: “[Wade] expected it to be called a ‘dead ball’ by the umpire. When it wasn’t, Wade then argued with the umpires over the decision.”Wade exchanged words with Jos Buttler, England’s wicketkeeper, and continued to argue with Menon after taking a single off the following delivery. He accepted a Level 1 breach of the ICC’s code of conduct but avoided the maximum penalty of a 50% match fee fine, instead having a demerit point added to his record for the next two years.Related

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Buttler suggested he could have intervened, but said that Wade had backed away “very late”. He said: “[I’m not sure] whether I should have said, ‘I don’t know if he pulled away and let’s just carry on’. But the umpire seemed to be like, ‘well, because he played it, it’s a dot ball’… he seemed ready, and then pulled out very late.”Adam Zampa, who took 2 for 28 in Australia’s win, said that Wade had been fired up by the incident. “Wadey is a fiery guy, super competitive, and something ticked him over a little bit. That’s what we love about Wadey… having him behind the stumps, so competitive, you can hear his voice and that makes a huge difference.”If you’ve got a wicketkeeper who’s quiet, whose body language is the opposite to someone like Wadey, you can feel that as well. I love playing with Wadey. He’s so competitive… He backed away and he played that shot, and I think he felt like it was basically the same as letting it hit him in the leg, kind of a dead ball. But yeah, it doesn’t take much to fire Wadey up.”Zampa was also critical of England’s body language in the field, suggesting that they let their frustrations get the better of them – particularly when bowling to Travis Head and David Warner. “They were under the pump and it showed,” he said. “It’s so hard to bowl to those two in the powerplay.”If your bowlers aren’t summing up the conditions quickly, I guess it can be frustrating, and Heady and Davey took advantage of it. We try not to be like that. We speak about it a bit. Our leadership isn’t like that. They are very calm, and I think that helps us as bowlers as well.”

Mason Crane has created a good impression in Australia, but on his English county form his selection would represent a considerable promotion

George Dobell in Sydney01-Jan-20181:57

‘Dreamed of playing in Sydney’ – Stoneman

Mason Crane looks set to make his Test debut in the final match of the Ashes series in Sydney.Crane, the 20-year-old leg-spinner, is set to come into the team in place of either Moeen Ali or Tom Curran as England take the opportunity to blood a new player with the series already decided and the whitewash averted.While it remains possible that Moeen could retain his place if it seems conditions will justify the selection of two spin bowlers, it appears Crane will be first choice if England go in with only one slow bowler.The selection would continue a remarkable journey for Crane. Just over a year ago, he was in Sydney playing Grade cricket for Gordon in a bid to gain experience. So well did it go – he claimed four five-fors and three seven-fors on the way to becoming the leading wicket-taker in New South Wales premier cricket – he was selected for New South Wales’ Sheffield Shield side. That made him their first overseas player since Imran Khan in 1984-85, and their first English player since William Caffyn in the 1960s. He performed admirably, too, with five wickets in the match.But his selection for a Test would be a huge promotion. He claimed only 16 Championship wickets in 2017 – at a cost of 44.68 apiece – and was far from an automatic piece in Hampshire’s side. On this Ashes tour, he has claimed five wickets in first-class matches at a cost of 58.29 apiece.

MacGill backs Crane debut

Stuart MacGill, the former Australia legspinner and a mentor of Mason Crane, is adamant that his Test career should have got underway earlier in the Ashes series.
“I think England’s missed a trick by not playing him earlier in the series to be honest, particularly seeing the bowling hasn’t had the penetration they could have hoped for,” he said.
“One of the big differences between me and Mayso, he’s very resilient. When I was young, it took me a long time to be able to cope with getting smacked around a bit.
“I know this guy has got what it takes to cope with a bad day. I’m a big believer in that being a real guide whether or not a slow bowler will make the grade – and Mayso can.”

Moeen has endured a grim tour, however. As well as claiming just three wickets in the first four Tests at a cost of 135 apiece, he has looked devoid of confidence with the bat and averaged just 19.42. That miserable run culminated in a reckless, frantic innings of 20 in 14 deliveries in Melbourne that suggested he had lost faith in his defensive game against both spin and pace and ended with a catch in the covers.Now, with the Ashes gone and England deciding that Moeen may benefit from a spell out if the firing line, Crane looks set to win his Test debut.But while Trevor Bayliss, the England coach, admits that Moeen has had a miserable tour, he remains confident that, in the “long term” he will again prove himself a top England player.”There’s no time like the present to find out if Mason is ready,” Trevor Bayliss, the England coach, said. “We think he’s a guy that has got the goods and the more he plays at this level the better he will get. You have got to start somewhere.”Like any player, you go through highs and lows. The number of runs and wickets makes it one of his lows. But just a couple of months ago we were singing his praises as one of the best all-rounders in the world. Conditions are a bit different here and it’s taken him longer than he would have liked to feel comfortable; there’s not a lot of spin.”He’s different to Nathan Lyon, who gets over-spin. Mo doesn’t and things don’t happen as quickly, without the bounce that Lyon gets. Mo is a free spirit and one or two shots or wickets and he will be off and running. So I’m not concerned long term.”The fact that Australia have called up slow left-armer Ashton Agar suggests they, too, feel that the pitch will spin. And, if England are of the same mind, it seems inevitable they will want both spin options in the side.Mason Crane in action in an England practice session•Getty Images

“The type of wicket we play on might play a part too,” Bayliss said. “Normally that you can easily play two spinners but looking at the wicket it looked like it had a decent covering of grass.”I think it will still spin towards the end of the game – it’s still the same soil – but we will just have to take a look. There’s been no decision right now. And with the series lost it gives us an opportunity to look at some different people.”Meanwhile England confirmed that Saqlain Mushtaq and Stuart MacGill – both spin bowling consultants – would be working for England in the coming weeks. Saqlain, who has worked for England in a part-time capacity for some time, has recently signed a new contract committing him to more hours than ever in 2018, while MacGill, who worked with Crane when he was playing Grade cricket a few months ago, will join the squad ahead of the Sydney Test.

Jasprit Bumrah, the Player of the Series in the T20 World Cup, rose 12 places to No. 12 among bowlers

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jul-2024Hardik Pandya has become the first Indian to occupy the No. 1 spot for T20I allrounders, as per the latest ICC rankings. He climbed two spots to join Sri Lanka captain Wanindu Hasaranga at the top following his all-round contributions in India’s successful T20 World Cup campaign, where they went unbeaten to lift the trophy.Pandya smashed 144 runs at an average of 48 and a strike rate of 151, while also bagging 11 wickets at 17.36 in the West Indies and USA. That included a match-winning haul of 3 for 20 in the final against South Africa, which India won by seven runs to lift the trophy. Pandya’s best performance with the bat in the World Cup came against Bangladesh, as he hit 50* off 27 balls.

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His team-mate Jasprit Bumrah, the Player of the Series in the T20 World Cup, meanwhile made big gains in the bowlers’ rankings. Bumrah rose 12 places to No. 12 after claiming 15 wickets at an average of 8.26, and an economy of just 4.17. With South Africa requiring only another 30 runs from the last five overs in the final, it was Bumrah’s spell towards the end which helped turn the game around for India.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Among other India players to make gains on the table were left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav, who got ten wickets at 13.90 in the World Cup, as he moved up three positions to be joint-eighth among the bowlers. Seamer Arshdeep Singh, the joint-highest wicket-taker in the competition with 17 wickets, gained four places to be ranked a career-best No. 13.Meanwhile, South Africa quick Anrich Nortje climbed seven places to a career-high No. 2 among the bowlers after being their highest wicket-taker in the World Cup. His 15 wickets came at an average of 13.40, and an economy of 5.74.Also, the quartet of Marcus Stoinis, Sikandar Raza, Shakib Al Hasan and Liam Livingstone rose one spot each to be ranked No. 3, 4, 5 and 8, respectively, among the allrounders.

Seamer remains optimistic about playing a part in England’s 50-over World Cup defence

Matt Roller26-Jul-2023Olly Stone has been ruled out of the Hundred with a hamstring injury but remains optimistic about his chances of being fit to play a part in England’s 50-over World Cup defence in India in October-November.Stone hoped to feature in England’s Ashes squad this summer but has been limited to a single appearance since May 4 due to a hamstring injury, suffered while playing for Nottinghamshire in the County Championship.He made a comeback in the T20 Blast on June 30, during the second Ashes Test at Lord’s, with the intention of playing some part in the fourth or fifth Tests. But he lasted only three balls before walking off the field midway through an over, and has not played since.Stone was signed on a £100,000 contract by London Spirit in March’s draft for the Hundred but has been forced to withdraw from the competition. ESPNcricinfo understands that Dan Worrall, the Australian seamer who qualifies as a local player in English domestic cricket, has been signed as a replacement.Related

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Stone’s injury is not thought to be as serious as the one that ended up ruling him out of the Ashes, but it remains to be seen whether he will be fit for England’s white-ball series against New Zealand, which starts on August 30. Instead, he may target the three-match ODI series against Ireland from September 20 for a potential return.He has only played eight ODIs and one T20I, but as an out-and-out fast bowler who can regularly reach speeds in excess of 90mph/145kph, Stone is seen as an important part of England’s white-ball plans – particularly in the context of a gruelling World Cup schedule.Meanwhile, a number of New Zealand players are negotiating short-term replacement deals in the Hundred. New Zealand will tour England for four T20Is and four ODIs in August-September and NZC announced last week that Matt Henry, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi are due to be involved in the Hundred immediately the series starts.Neesham is expected to play for Oval Invincibles as a short-term replacement for Heinrich Klaasen when he is playing for South Africa against Australia, while Sodhi is likely to replace Rashid Khan at Trent Rockets during Afghanistan’s fixtures against Pakistan. Santner is expected to join Southern Brave on a short-term basis.Their deals will be confirmed later this week by the ECB. The involvement of five New Zealand men’s players – Finn Allen, Devon Conway (both Southern Brave), Adam Milne (Birmingham Phoenix), Daryl Mitchell (London Spirit) and Glenn Phillips (Welsh Fire) – has already been announced publicly.

He is being monitored closely by the CSA medical team and is expected to be available for the T20 World Cup

Firdose Moonda15-May-2024Kagiso Rabada has returned home from the IPL on Sunday evening with an infection in the soft tissue of a lower limb, but is expected to be available for the entire T20 World Cup.Rabada played 11 matches for the Punjab Kings and took 11 wickets at an economy of 8.85 but will not feature in their last two matches. With PBKS ruled out of the playoffs, Rabada was allowed to travel back to South Africa, where he consulted a specialist. A CSA statement said he was being “closely monitored by the medical team” in the lead-up to the World Cup.Rabada’s inclusion is particularly important to South Africa because he is the only black African player named in the 15-man provisional squad, which has become a source of some controversy. CSA currently has targets for the national team that require them to field, on average over the course of a season, six players of colour in every XI, of which at least two must be black African. South Africa will miss that at the T20 World Cup, where they have six players of colour in the squad but only one black African. So Rabada will have to play every game to ensure they do not fall too far behind the overall target. South Africa will have the opportunity to increase the average over the 2024-25 season.Lungi Ngidi is the only other black African player who was in realistic contention for the squad and has been included as a travelling reserve. South Africa’s other fast bowlers are Anrich Nortje, who has returned after a nine-month break caused by a stress fracture, Gerald Coetzee, Ottniel Baartman and Marco Jansen.

KKR handed Capitals a thrashing to make it three wins in three and go to the top of the table with a massive net run rate boost

Sidharth Monga03-Apr-20242:21

Moody: ‘Raghuvanshi’s hands, bat path similar to Gill’

Last Wednesday at the IPL, Sunrisers Hyderabad set the record for the highest IPL score: 277. What should have been a once-in-a-decade effort was very nearly taken down by a marauding Kolkata Knight Riders batting unit tonight in Visakhapatnam. Sunil Narine plundered his personal best in T20s – 85 off 39 – almost home-grown Angkrish Raghuvanshi matched him with 54 off 27, and Andre Russell added the finishing touches with 41 off 19.A searing yorker from Ishant Sharma to get Russell in the last over prevented the record being broken, but the 272 KKR put up was more than enough to register a comfortable win – by 106 runs – and join Rajasthan Royals with three wins from three matches at the top of the table. In taking four wickets in the powerplay, two each for Vaibhav Arora and Mitchell Starc, KKR ticked another box in a season in which they have presented themselves as serious title contenders.

Pant fined for slow over-rate again

Rishabh Pant, the Capitals captain, has been fined after his team maintained a slow over-rate against KKR in their 106-run loss in Visakhapatnam. As it was Capitals’ second offence of the season – in just four matches – Pant was fined INR 24 lakh, while the rest of the members of the playing XII, were each fined either INR 6 lakh or 25% of their respective match fees, whichever is lower.

Narine, Raghuvanshi hammer Capitals

Khaleel Ahmed and Ishant Sharma set Capitals’ win in the previous match in Vizag with swing early on. Here, though, probably because of Narine’s presence, both of them started slightly short of a length. The one ball that Khaleel pitched up swung to beat Narine.It seems ridiculous now but Narine took six balls to get off the mark. Capitals had managed to keep Narine quiet, but had they missed the small window of swing to try to get him out? Another chance would arrive soon to a short-of-a-length delivery, but neither Ishant Sharma nor Rishabh Pant heard the edge. No appeal, no review.Narine and Phil Salt had got down to work by then, but Capitals could still have got Narine for 24 off 13 had they listened to Mitchell Marsh and reviewed. Then again, reviews were not the only thing they were getting wrong. They kept offering Narine room, when they went short they didn’t get it high enough, and the ball had stopped swinging by now.Sunil Narine smacked seven fours and as many sixes in his 39-ball innings•AFP/Getty Images

Anrich Nortje got rid of Salt in the fifth over, but Raghuvanshi, trained from the age of 11 by KKR’s own Abhishek Nayar, walked out and laced fours off the first two balls he faced. Mukesh Kumar is not express, but his injury has left DC with even less of a pace threat. Narine jumped on Rasikh Salam’s medium-pace in the last over of the powerplay, hitting him for three fours and a six to bring up his half-century in just 21 balls. Their 88 for 1 in the powerplay was the highest by any team so far at IPL 2024.The end of the powerplay brought DC relief only for one over, bowled by Sumit Kumar, but Narine ended any threats of variations in the attack by hitting two sixes off Axar Patel, who wouldn’t bowl again. Raghuvanshi matched him with a reverse-pull over short third for a six. Their 135 for 1 was the third-highest 10-over score in the IPL – all three have come this season.

Wickets fail to slow KKR down

Eventually it was the short ball from Marsh that got the better of Narine, but it wasn’t just one short ball. He kept bowling short and wide outside off with changes of pace. Narine still ended with a boundary every two-and-a-half balls, and the wicket came too late anyway. The 13th over was the right point of entry for Russell, and he punished the samey attack. Capitals didn’t go back to spin despite right-hand batters at the wicket, and Nortje was the only one who presented the batters with an inbuilt challenge.Andre Russell and Rinku Singh smashed 32 runs off 11 balls for the fifth wicket•AFP/Getty Images

Russell was too good for the rest, and when Nortje started the 19th over with one fewer fielder on the fence because of a poor over-rate, Rinku Singh got stuck into him, taking 25 off the over.Ishant then produced a beauty that drew an applause from Russell himself and prevented Capitals from ending up on the wrong side of the record.

Arora announces himself

One of the two tall domestic fast bowlers in the KKR stable, Arora came on as the Impact Player and found inswing immediately. It wasn’t just swing, though. He mixed it up with accurate bouncers. Prithvi Shaw fell to the inswinger before Abhishek Porel top-edged a bouncer.Vaibhav Arora took 3 for 27 in KKR’s clinical win•BCCI

At the other end, Starc took care of his Australia team-mates, Marsh caught trying to square-drive and Warner playing on immediately after slogging him for a six. These were his first wickets this IPL after his eight overs in the first two matches had gone for 100 runs.At 33 for 4 in the fifth over, even batting for net run rate would need heavy hitting and risks. For a while Pant and Tristan Stubbs managed to score quickly. Pant was especially pleasing as he continues his return from a life-threatening accident, but their fifties were never going to be enough to deny KKR a third consecutive win – the first time they have started a season with three wins in three in their history.

A look at how the Australians have fared in the county circuit as the ‘A’ tour and the Ashes edge closer

Alex Malcolm21-May-2019#AsheswatchJoe Burns’ stint with Lancashire lasted just one game – in which he made 10 – as he flew home for personal reasons. No date has been set for his return. He was signed for 10 games. Queensland Cricket has asked for his privacy at this time in a statement. “He has advised his goal is to be back playing cricket as soon as possible.” Cricket Australia has also been kept in the loop with Burns’ situation.South Australia’s Jake Lehmann has replaced Burns in the Lancashire squad for their clash against Worcestershire. Lehmann had been playing for the club in the Royal London Cup as Glenn Maxwell’s replacement. He made just 8 on Monday as the bowlers dominated in Manchester, with England’s spearhead James Anderson taking 5 for 25.Marnus Labuschagne found some form after a lean spell at the start of the Royal London Cup. He made 54 in Glamorgan’s last one-day game before peeling off a second century for the season in Division Two of the County Championship. Labuschagne and Nicholas Selman both scored centuries and shared a 231-run stand to give Glamorgan a chance to win the game, after being made to follow-on. However, it ultimately ended in a draw. He fell for 14 in the next game against Derbyshire after taking 1 for 46 with the ball.Cameron Bancroft led from the front in Durham’s loss to Worcestershire. Batting at No.3, he made a patient 70 in the first innings after Durham slumped to 3 for 14, but only managed 25 in the second innings. Durham were again 4 for 17 after being sent in by Gloucestershire on Monday, with Bancroft falling for a duck.Matt Renshaw’s early season stint with Kent came to end last week with scores of 16 and 13 in a loss to Yorkshire. Outside of a century in the Royal London Cup against Sussex, Renshaw was nowhere near as prolific as he was last season with Somerset, although early season weather did not aid his cause.Peter Siddle was back to his miserly best in Essex’s win over Nottinghamshire. Coming in fresh after two weeks without playing, Siddle sent down 32.3 overs for the match, taking 3 for 65.James Pattinson bowls•Getty Images

Injury listJames Pattinson missed Nottinghamshire’s last three fixtures due to a niggling side strain. He missed the semi-final loss to Somerset in the Royal London One-Day Cup and then missed the next championship fixture against Essex. It was expected he would return for the match against Hampshire which began on Monday but he didn’t take the field. Pattinson is part of both Australia A squads, but those who are currently in the UK do not need to join the squad until June 15, meaning he could be available for Nottinghamshire’s next two fixtures if he is fit. Daniel Worrall’s county season with Gloucestershire is already over after he was diagnosed with stress fractures in his lower back.Performance of the weekLabuschagne’s second century of the English summer will certainly have pleased Justin Langer and the selectors. He had to play in Glamorgan’s second XI during the Royal London Cup to find some touch but he has bounced back in great style. The manner of the century, coming under pressure after his team followed on, would also please the selectors. He is not in the Australia A four-day squad but the selectors were firm in stating that those playing county cricket would still be heavily considered for the Ashes.

“It does affect each person. And anyone who says that doesn’t affect them at all, I’m sure is lying”

Sidharth Monga27-Dec-20234:01

Rahul: Huge luck factor for me in scoring runs here

KL Rahul has spoken of his struggle with online abuse and how it had begun to change him as a person. After he capped off his international comeback with a superlative century, his sixth away from Asia out of eight in all, this one with the added responsibility of keeping wicket, Rahul spoke of the work he put on his mind during the injury break just before the World Cup.”It is difficult obviously,” Rahul said of handling what is said about him. “You have your own personality, personality traits, characteristics. When you play international cricket, they all get challenged. As a person, as a cricketer, as an individual, you are challenged each day, each moment. Social media is a pressure. Today I have scored a hundred so people are singing praises. Three-four months ago, everybody was abusing me. It’s part of the game, but I can’t say it doesn’t affect you; it does. The sooner you realise that staying away from it is good for your game and your mindset the better it is.Related

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“You can perform or you can be in a better mindset if you slightly know where to draw the line. Nobody’s that great that they can completely avoid what has been said and the criticism they’re getting. It does affect each person. And anyone who says that doesn’t affect them at all, I’m sure is lying. But each person has to find their way. And for me, when I was injured and was away from the game for such a long time, I worked on myself. I tried to go back to the person that I am, and worked on how I don’t change myself by getting affected by these things. It is difficult to remain true to yourself and true to your personality with so much happening. It is the hardest thing.”But like anything else in cricket, like anything else in life, there’s, there are ways to work on it. There are people who can help you if your mind is open. So that’s what I did when I was out of the game. I worked on myself and then worked on remaining calmer, and taking care of my head. And what happens inside as well.”Rahul said there was never any point retaliating because those who want to abuse carry on regardless. He said that the only way to keep negative comments away as a public-facing professional was to keep performing, but what he spoke about his innings also suggested that he perhaps appreciates the role of luck much more now. That when the runs are not coming, it is not necessarily your fault, that you do need luck in this sport. Interestingly, it came through in his acknowledgement of luck in this innings, a sensational 101 off 137 in a team score of 245 in testing conditions.Rahul was answering a question about batting in Centurion, where he has now scored two consecutive hundreds, when he brought up luck. “I’ve quite enjoyed playing here,” Rahul said. “The wicket really keeps reminding you that you need to focus throughout, and you’re never really set. You’re never really in or you’re never really out of the game. It’s a fast outfield. The minute you time the ball, you get boundaries and there will be times when you can score your runs really fast and there will be times when you can’t get a run at all. So that’s quite challenging.”And I enjoyed doing that here in Centurion, and I guess I just got lucky twice. Did a few things right, but also it was a huge luck factor. Played and missed a lot of balls. So yeah, that’s it.”Rahul, and most cricketers, knows that on another day an early play and miss resulting in an edge doesn’t necessarily make them a bad player, but that needs to be reinforced once in a while because people eventually judge you on the results.Having scored this century, Rahul retained the calmness that should naturally follow as the other side of the coin. He said he was humbled that Sunil Gavaskar called it one of the 10 best centuries of all time by Indians. He also confirmed what has been said about him: that middle order is perhaps the better place for him because there he just needs to react to situations rather than create situations when opening the batting.”Batting in the middle order, what I’ve realised is that you can’t really plan your innings all that much,” Rahul said. “When you walk in, there’s a situation in front of you. The game tells you how you need to play and what you need to do in that time and in that moment. That’s what I try to do. I try to walk in with a very free and very empty mindset when I’m batting in the middle order, and then see what the game demands of me and then try and do my best in that moment.”

MSK Prasad expressed surprise at the circumspection over MS Dhoni’s inclusion in India’s 15-man squad for the Champions Trophy, calling him an invaluable asset to the team

Nagraj Gollapudi08-May-2017″How many of us still believe that MSD is the best wicketkeeper in the world?” When MSK Prasad, India’s chairman of selectors, asked for a show of hands in response to that question, about three to four hands went up out of 25-odd people. Prasad expressed surprise at the circumspection over MS Dhoni’s inclusion in the 15-man squad for the Champions Trophy, after he was asked if there was concern among the selectors over Dhoni’s spot in the squad.”We all believe he is still the best wicketkeeper in the world,” Prasad said. “We are only talking and focusing on his batting form. He is an invaluable asset to this team. When it comes to crunch situations, [with] his inputs, I think he has got one of the best brains. He is the best person to guide Virat [Kohli].”Prasad’s praise is not misplaced, considering Dhoni still is a key player for India as far as strategising goes. But as a batsman, he has struggled recently in limited-overs cricket. In 13 ODIs since January last year, Dhoni has scored 443 runs at an average of 34.07, compared to his career average of 51. He has struck them at a strike rate of 86.69 and has one century and one fifty.In this period, Dhoni has played both at No. 4 and 5, but his strike rate is 10th among 17 players. As a No. 4 during that period, Dhoni averages 30 and strikes at 76.14. Batting one position lower, the average and strike rate climb to 36.62 and 93.31 respectively.So far this IPL, Dhoni has compiled 235 runs for Rising Pune Supergiant at an underwhelming strike rate of 114.07 – his worst across seasons – which has further strengthened concerns over his quick scoring ability. Just last season, he was striking them at 135. Dhoni has also scored at less than run a ball in six out of 12 innings so far this IPL.This dip in Dhoni’s form has coincided with the soaring mettle of Rishabh Pant, the 19-year old Delhi Daredevils wicketkeeper. Pant, who was also an emerging player last domestic season, has lit up this IPL with his enterprising strokeplay, scoring 281 runs from 11 innings at an impressive strike rate of 172.39.Nonetheless, Prasad felt Dhoni remained the best option right now to play for India. “Not many people realise that in the last 10-12 years, whatever MSD has played for the country, he never had a bad day as far as his gloves is concerned. We always treat him more like a batsman, but the phenomenal stuff he does behind the wickets, not many people appreciate. According to me, he is still the best wicketkeeper in the world.”As for Pant, the selectors named him as one of the five standbys who will travel to England in case India seek a replacement. According to Prasad, the selectors did deliberate on Pant, but felt he did not fit into the “combinations”, although he will be groomed. “We are completely impressed the way Rishabh Pant is playing. It is just some combinations where he missed out. He is one cricketer whom we are looking at for the future. We will groom him, nurture him and back him.”