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ESPNcricinfo previews the Group 2 Super Eights World T20 match between India and Pakistan

The Preview by Sidharth Monga29-Sep-2012

Match facts

September 30, 2012
Start time 1930 (1400 GMT)With problems aplenty, no wonder MS Dhoni has greyed already•Associated Press

Big picture

There was a time when all an out-of-form Pakistan cricketer needed to do was turn up against India, and he would magically regain his touch. How India will be hoping they can do some of that when they play Pakistan in their middle Super Eight match on Sunday.Confused, low on confidence, playing as if with the weight of the world on their shoulders, India find themselves in a tight corner. Their trusted players are not performing, and some of the reserves provided by the selectors are not good enough. And for the first time there are questions around the captain’s place in the side: he strikes at 110 runs per 100 balls, has never scored a T20I fifty, and twice in India’s three last defeats he has hurt the side’s momentum, failing to score a run a ball in the latter half of the innings. One more defeat, and India won’t even have a backdoor entry left after their massive negative run-rate.India do seem to have turned the tables from the time Pakistan used to dominate this “rivalry”. Since the start of 2006, India have won 15 and lost eight internationals against Pakistan, but still trail the head-to-head 58 to 81. Pakistan, though, will be feeling good about their game after having pulled off an improbable win over South Africa. And their bowlers might not have had the best of tournaments until Friday, but they do remain a threat. They will also know from first-hand experience during the warm-up game that Indian bowlers can be bossed when put under the slightest of pumps.Pakistan have a statistic to set right, though: they have never beaten India in any 50-over or 20-over World Cup match.

Form guide (completed matches, most recent first)

India LWWLW
Pakistan WWWLW

Watch out for

Nasir Jamshed scored a fine century the last time Pakistan played India, but was denied a win by a superlative 183 from Virat Kohli. The two are the most promising young batting talents from the respective countries, both have been batting at No. 3 so far, and hold the key to a solid innings for their side.India’s opening – whether with the bat or with the ball – is now a matter of major speculation after the Irfan Pathan experiment with the bat and the R Ashwin one with the ball. Surely Irfan has got to get the new ball if he is to be used as a bowler? And surely India must want their specialist batsmen to get most of the overs?Umar Gul may have won the previous match with the bat, but where has Gul the yorker-bowler disappeared? In 10 T20 matches this year, Gul has conceded runs at 8.4 an over, as opposed to an impressive career economy-rate of 6.88.

Team news

After the England match, Dhoni said he had problems of plenty at his hand. Less than 35 overs of cricket later, he has plenty of problems. Does he stand by his decision of keeping Virender Sehwag out and playing five bowlers? Does he look at the place of Yuvraj Singh and Rohit Sharma in that middle order? Will Manoj Tiwary ever get to play a live game? What does he do with an under-performing Zaheer Khan? What does he do with his own form? Only one thing might be certain at this time: Piyush Chawla’s yet other, inexplicable, comeback might have ended.India (probable): 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 Rohit Sharma/Manoj Tiwary, 7 MS Dhoni (capt. & wk), 8 Irfan Pathan, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Harbhajan Singh, 11 Zaheer KhanPakistan will be questioning Shahid Afridi’s utility as a bowler who bats at No. 7. He has done his bit with the ball so far. He is the only Pakistan bowler other than Saeed Ajmal to have bowled all his overs in every match so far, and has conceded runs at only 6.33 an over. That should be enough to keep his place in the XI, but his six-or-nothing batting at No. 7 will remain a cause for worry.Pakistan (probable) 1 Mohammad Hafeez (capt.), 2 Imran Nazir, 3 Nasir Jamshed, 4 Kamran Akmal (wk), 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Umar Gul, 9 Yasir Arafat, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Raza Hasan.

Pitch and conditions

Conditions at the R Premadasa Stadium now present an interesting dilemma. The curator has now begun to leave the pitch dry, which should make you want to bat first. However, with the ever-present threat of the rain you also want to exploit the Duckworth-Lewis anomaly and avoid the wet outfield.

Stats and trivia

• Shoaib Malik loves playing India. His overall international average is 31.67 over 282 matches, but in 38 matches against India he has scored four of those nine centuries and has averaged 46.41. In an unrelated incident he has married an Indian, tennis player Sania Mirza.
• Pakistan and India have never played each other in a T20 international outside the World Twenty20.
  

  Quotes

  “For me I think Virender Sehwag can be very dangerous. I hope he’ll play the next two games. I think it won’t be easy to play the next two games without him.”
  BBC”When we play India there is lot of pressure because our people always want us to win. The same is the case in India, so there will be pressure on both teams.”

Anura Ranasinghe, who died in his sleep on Monday night was one of
the finest all-round cricketers produced by Sri Lanka and the first
schoolboy to play in the World Cup

Sa'adi Thawfeeq18-Aug-2011Anura Ranasinghe, who died in his sleep on Monday night, was one of the finest all-round cricketers produced by Sri Lanka and the first schoolboy to play in the World Cup.Ranasinghe never had the chance to fulfil his potential to the full at the highest level, because eight months after Sri Lanka had played their inaugural Test with England in February 1982, he went to South Africa with a Sri Lanka rebel side and along with 13 other players who undertook that tour was banned for a period of 25 years.The ban virtually ended his career as a cricketer, and Ranasinghe was never the same again until six months ago, when his club Bloomfield appointed him as the coach of their Under-23 and division III teams.Ranasinghe accompanied Bloomfield to Galle for their U-23 23 fixture last weekend. He returned home on Monday and having foregone his lunch, went to sleep. He never woke up afterwards, according to his sister Rohini. He was only 42 years at the time of his untimely
death.Ranasinghe distinguished himself as a right-hand batsman and bowled left-arm medium-pace and slow spin. As an allrounder he was renowned for his fighting qualities, where on several occasions he had rescued his school Nalanda College and club from perilous situations with
both bat and ball. Renowned radio commentator Premasara Epasinghe and Nelson Mendis were Ranasinghe’s coaches at school through whom he learnt the rudiments of the game.Ranasinghe created history in 1975 when he became the first schoolboy to play in a World Cup when he represented Sri Lanka in the inaugural tournament in England at the age of 18 years. He played in all three matches against West Indies, Australia and Pakistan.He was unlucky not to make it to the final XI of Sri Lanka’s inaugural Test against England at the Sara Stadium in February 1982 when another schoolboy from the rival school Ananda College, Arjuna Ranatunga got the vote ahead of him, and went on to score a maiden
Test fifty.Ranasinghe made his Test debut the following month against Pakistan at Faisalabad. He scored six and five (being caught on both occasions by Pakistan captain Javed Miandad) and sharing the new ball with Ashantha de Mel, captured the wicket of top scorer Ashraf Ali (58)
for 23 runs. He played one other Test – against India at Chepauk that year – scoring an aggressive 77, before undertaking the illegal tour to South Africa.Ranasinghe also appeared in nine one-day internationals scoring 153 runs (avg. 21.85) and taking two wickets (avg. 140.50) and toured England in 1981, when Sri Lanka were elevated to the ranks of a Test nation. He also captained the Sri Lanka Under-25 team to South India
and successfully regained the Gopalan trophy against Tamil Nadu and also led Sri Lanka U-19s in the series against Pakistan in 1975 and 1976.”Anura had rare qualities of being a top fielder and a dual purpose left-arm bowler,” said Bandula Warnapura, Sri Lanka’s first Test captain and former
Bloomfield stalwart. “He was a fighter to the core and took up any challenge. He was a tough guy on the field and was very outspoken.””He was a fine cricketer. Bloomfield has lost a good man,” added Bloomfield president Shelley Wickramasingha.Born in Colombo on October 13, 1956, Anura Nandana Ranasinghe was the fifth in a family of three brothers and three sisters. Two of his brothers – Lakshman Ranasinghe and Aruna Ranasinghe – were notable cricketers, representing Nalanda and Bloomfield.For a short period, Anura worked at Pelawatte Sugar Corporation. He married and has a son aged 12 years old.He is the second Test cricketer produced by Sri Lanka to depart, the first being Sritharan Jeganathan who passed away last year.The Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka have undertaken the funeral arrangements. His funeral will take place at the general cemetery, Kirillapone tomorrow.

Gemaal Hussain became the third bowler to take 50 first-class wickets this
season as Gloucestershire put Worcestershire under pressure on the second day at
Cheltenham

05-Aug-2010
ScorecardGemaal Hussain became the third bowler to take 50 first-class wickets this
season as Gloucestershire put Worcestershire under pressure on the second day at
Cheltenham.The 26-year-old seamer, who had played only one County Championship game
prior to this summer, joined Steve Finn and Adil Rashid in reaching 50 victims
when he dismissed David Wheeldon in Worcestershire’s reply to the home side’s
total of 480 all out.James Franklin had made 108 in Gloucestershire’s total, while Matt Mason took
4 for 92. By the close the visitors had reached 126 for 2, with Daryl Mitchell unbeaten
on 50.Hussain has taken his 50 wickets at an average of less than 22. It is only the
Londoner’s second year with Gloucestershire, having played club cricket in the
Bradford and Birmingham leagues. Franklin was unbeaten on 50 overnight as his side began the day on 324 for 4. He lost partner Chris Taylor with the total on 368, caught behind off
Mason for 39.Gloucestershire missed out on a fifth batting point by a single run when Chris
Dent joined Franklin and took the score to 399 for 5 at the end of the 110th
over. By then Franklin was totally determined to reach three figures, having
registered three scores in the 90s this season, and did so thanks to a misfield
from Alan Richardson.Franklin’s luck evened out when he was run out backing up for 108 as Dent
connected with a firm drive and bowler Moeen Ali diverted the ball onto the
stumps. It was 462 for 7 when Dent was caught at mid-on for 38. Jon Lewis hit a
bright 19 but Vikram Banerjee and Anthony Ireland fell cheaply as
Gloucestershire lost their last five wickets in 10 overs for 45 runs.Worcestershire made a good start in reply and there were 55 runs on the board
when Wheeldon, on 16, got a thin inside edge onto his pad and was caught in the
slips by Will Porterfield with Hussain apparently appealing for lbw. Vikram Solanki could make only nine before being pinned lbw by Anthony Ireland and at 64 for 2 Worcestershire were in trouble.But Mitchell kept them in the game with a battling half-century off 142 balls
with eight fours, while Moeen was 36 not out at stumps.

For India, there are key WTC points they can’t afford to lose, not with their reign at the top shaky and a tour of Australia coming up

Ashish Pant31-Oct-20245:50

Latham: ‘India not a bad team overnight’

Big picture: Pride (for India) and WTC points at stake

A 2-0 series scoreline heading into the final Test is what most followers of the game would have predicted when this three-match India vs New Zealand series began 15 days back. But barely anyone would have predicted that “2” would not be against India’s name.It has taken a series of firsts for New Zealand to find themselves in the position they are in. And now as they head to Mumbai with the series in the bag, they have the chance to do the unthinkable – inflict a series sweep over India in India. Only once have India been swept in a series of more than one Test at home – against South Africa in 1999-2000 – and never in a series of more than two Tests. Can India save themselves the blushes?Related

• Bumrah likely to be rested for Mumbai Test

• Ajaz Patel is back at the scene of his greatest triumph

• India need Kohli and Rohit to regain their old aura

• Nothing's changed, India say, but it all looks different

• Team-man Tim and the art of letting go (only if he has to)

While there is pride at stake for the home team, there are also crucial WTC points up for grabs for both sides. India are still leading the WTC points table but that lead has been cut short big time with these two defeats. Another loss here and they will have plenty of catching up to do in Australia.For New Zealand, getting to the WTC final seemed far-fetched when this series started but these two wins have brought them right back into contention. A win in Mumbai and then in the three-match series at home against England will keep them in the mix for another WTC final.It’s taken a lot of grit, determination and long spells of brilliant cricket for New Zealand to be able to dictate terms. They cleaned up India for 46 in Bengaluru and then stuck it out in the second innings when Rishabh Pant and Sarfaraz Khan were hitting them around. The naysayers would say the conditions in Bengaluru were more suited to New Zealand than to India. So they went to Pune and beat India in conditions that were completely different.Rarely has an overseas spinner outbowled his Indian counterparts in India. But Mitchell Santner understood the assignment from the get-go and India had no answers to his guile and dip. They also have Ajaz Patel, who is at the scene of his epic ten-wicket haul from 2021.For India, it’s more about how to bounce back from these shock defeats and get a win under their belt ahead of the Australia tour. On paper, this is a dead rubber. In reality, it’s anything but.

Form guide

India LLWWW
New Zealand WWLLL3:41

Gambhir: ‘The more T20 is played, the less people will defend’

In the spotlight – Virat Kohli and Mitchell Santner

Virat Kohli has a problem, it’s called spin, and it’s grown in the last few years, particularly in Asia. Since the start of 2022, Kohli has played 19 Tests in which he has scored four fifties and two centuries. Of those, 12 have been in Asia, where he’s managed just one fifty and a hundred. What’s stood out in those is his fallibility against spin.In 19 innings in Asia since January 2022, he’s fallen to spin 16 times, averaging 29.31. The corresponding number against pace is three dismissals while averaging 47.00. For someone who has that old-school long stretch forward against spinners, he has often been dismissed playing from the crease. He’s fallen to spin three out of the four innings in this series, to Glenn Phillips in Bengaluru and twice to Santner in Pune. On a Mumbai surface that is bound to turn, Kohli might need to do a bit extra to get his spin numbers on point.It will be Mitchell Santner who will once again be tasked with not allowing Kohli and the others to get away. For someone whose Instagram bio reads “part time New Zealand cricketer, full time golfer”, it was an incredible effort to come in and pick up 13 wickets in Pune, the same number he had managed in the five Tests he had played prior stretching to June 2021. He had tweaked his side in Pune, but seems to have recovered fine. He batted and bowled in the nets two days before the Mumbai Test and will hope to have a similar impact to what he did in Pune.

Team news: Bumrah to be rested? What about Southee?

While the series already lost, there are chances India might give Jasprit Bumrah a rest before the five-match series against Australia starting next month. With practice being mandatory, everyone did everything they could at the nets the day before the Test, except Bumrah, who did not bowl. Gautam Gambhir said that Bumrah is fit and available. But with a long tour ahead, India might look to give their premier quick a break like they did earlier in the year against England in Ranchi. Will they replace him with a spinner in Kuldeep Yadav or a fast bowler in Mohammed Siraj remains to be seen. The batting unit should remain unchanged with Sarfaraz Khan holding on to his spot.India (probable XI): 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Rohit Sharma (capt), 3 Shubman Gill, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Sarfaraz Khan, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Washington Sundar, 10 Jasprit Bumrah/Kuldeep Yadav/Mohammed Siraj, 11 Akash DeepMatt Henry looks set to come into New Zealand’s XI instead of Tim Southee•AFP/Getty Images

Matt Henry looks set to return to the New Zealand XI after missing out from the Pune Test because of a glute niggle. He bowled at full tilt two days before the Test and had a fitness test on Thursday. Henry was the pick of the bowlers in Bengaluru and is likely to come in place of Tim Southee. There were more indications from practice on the eve of the game with Santner fielding to the quicks at third slip instead of Southee, who often mans that position. The rest of XI is likely to be unchanged.New Zealand (probable XI): 1 Tom Latham (capt), 2 Devon Conway, 3 Will Young, 4 Rachin Ravindra, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Tom Blundell (wk), 7 Glenn Phillips, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Matt Henry, 10 Ajaz Patel, 11 William O’RourkePitch and conditionsThe red-soil surface in Mumbai is dry and will take turn early. It is expected to crumble as the Test goes on but there should be good bounce for the fast bowlers and spinners. It is expected to be humid in Mumbai with the temperatures likely to be around the low to mid-30s on the Celsius scale.

Stats and trivia

• Among the current lot, Kohli has the most runs at the Wankhede Stadium – 469 in eight innings at 58.62 with three fifties and a century
• Rohit Sharma has played only one Test at his home ground, back in 2013, where he scored an unbeaten 111 against West Indies
• Since his debut in November 2018, Ajaz has the most wickets for an overseas spinner in Asia – 70
• Henry is third on the list of fast bowlers for most Test wickets in 2024 – 31 in five Tests

Quotes

“I think looks a really good wicket. Obviously, it’s really difficult for anyone to judge how the wicket is going to behave unless the game starts on it and both the teams have batted on it. But I feel it looks a decent wicket and I’m sure once the guys get in, they can actually make the most of it.”
“I think so, yeah. We’ll have a look obviously at the wicket but I think if you look at past tosses, I think most teams have batted first.”

Australia’s 299 for 8 at stumps means neither team can say with any real confidence that they are in control

Vithushan Ehantharajah19-Jul-2023Australia 299 for 8 (Labuschagne 51, Marsh 51, Woakes 4-52, Broad 2-68) vs EnglandFor a cricketer so often shorn of the limelight, the opening day of this fourth Ashes Test at Emirates Old Trafford was one hell of a moment for Chris Woakes to set himself apart.Stuart Broad became only the second seamer to make it to 600 Test wickets, following James Anderson who returned to the XI for what could well be his last appearance on his home ground. But it was Woakes, with 4 for 52 to give England a foothold in this match, who stole the show. Australia’s 299 for 8 means neither team can say with any real confidence that they are in control– a recurring theme throughout this compelling series. But Woakes’ performance ensured Australia were never allowed to get too far ahead.Coming into this match on 598 career dismissals, Broad trapped Usman Khawaja lbw before bouncing out Travis Head five balls after tea to reach his milestone. His 18 dismissals this series have seen him emerge as the banker in a constantly tweaked attack – he is the only England bowler to have been selected in all four matches – covering for the fact that Anderson has struggled, with just three wickets so far. That the 40-year-old was without success today was merely down to luck, beating the bat numerous times, along with the odd inside edge that evaded stumps. Nevertheless, his current series average is an eye-watering 89.66.Related