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Having lost four matches on the trot, Rising Pune Supergiants face plenty of questions over their personnel as they take on in-form Sunrisers Hyderabad

The Preview by Karthik Krishnaswamy25-Apr-2016

Match facts

Tuesday, April 26, 2016
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)4:27

Agarkar: Supergiants need Smith to score desperately

Big picture

Rising Pune Supergiants have not exactly lived up to their name in their start to life in the IPL. They won their first match, and have lost four in a row since then. They are in a situation unlike anything their captain MS Dhoni has experienced in his IPL career so far. His worries go deeper than just results, since his squad, unlike those he led at Chennai Super Kings, seems full of weaknesses. Injury to Kevin Pietersen has created a hole in Supergiants’ batting, but they might not even seek a like-for-like replacement for him, since their bowling is an even bigger worry.It’s hardly the best time for Supergiants to play a Sunrisers Hyderabad side that has won its last three games. Sunrisers have done this without Kane Williamson, Yuvraj Singh and Ashish Nehra, who are recovering from various injuries. They have done it thanks largely to David Warner’s form at the top of the order, and a bowling attack that is quickly showing to be one of the strongest in the competition.If Supergiants can get Warner early, they could put pressure on a batting line-up that still has a few unconvincing nuts and bolts, but do they have the bowling to do so? Can Supergiants find a source of middle-order power-hitting to complement a top three of rather more classical rhythms? And perhaps most pivotally, how will they counter the Mustafizur Rahman threat?

Form guide

Sunrisers Hyderabad WWWLL (most recent match first)
Rising Pune Supergiants LLLLW

In the spotlight

Seven wickets at an average of 16.42. An economy rate of 5.75. A deceptive, rubber-wristed mix of cutters and fast yorkers that continues to confound batsmen a year after he burst into international consciousness. A whole lot could hinge on how Supergiants tackle Mustafizur Rahman‘s four overs.On paper, Mitchell Marsh can provide the power that Supergiants’ batting craves and give them a seam option that can be relied on to bowl four overs more often than not. For some reason, he has not featured since the team’s second match, against Gujarat Lions on April 14. For how long can Supergiants keep him out of their side?

Team news

Ashish Nehra bowled during Sunrisers’ warm-up session ahead of their match against Kings XI Punjab on Saturday. By the time they take on Supergiants, he will have had three more days to recover from his groin strain. If Nehra is fully fit, Sunrisers will have a difficult choice to make between him and Barinder Sran.Sunrisers Hyderabad: 1 David Warner (capt), 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Aditya Tare, 4 Eoin Morgan, 5 Deepak Hooda, 6 Moises Henriques, 7 Naman Ojha (wk), 8 Bipul Sharma/Karn Sharma, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Ashish Nehra/Barinder SranSupergiants went into their last match, against Kolkata Knight Riders, with a seam attack made up entirely of allrounders. The Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium has given fast bowlers a bit of assistance, and that could prompt Dhoni to recall Ishant Sharma, possibly in place of the left-arm spinner Ankit Sharma, or Saurabh Tiwary, who did not get to bat against Knight Riders. Marsh could come in for Albie Morkel, who was expensive in his first game of the season on Sunday.Rising Pune Supergiants: 1 Ajinkya Rahane, 2 Faf du Plessis, 3 Steven Smith, 4 MS Dhoni (cast & wk), 5 Mitchell Marsh/Albie Morkel, 6 Thisara Perera, 7 Rajat Bhatia, 8 R Ashwin, 9 & 10 Saurabh Tiwary/Ankit Sharma/Ishant Sharma, 11 M Ashwin

Pitch and conditions

The three matches that Hyderabad has hosted so far have been relatively low-scoring, producing first-innings totals of 142, 142 and 143. The chasing team won all three times, comfortably, with 10, 15 and 13 balls remaining. There has been a bit of help for the new ball, generally, and grip for cutters and slower balls, magnifying Mustafizur’s threat. Tuesday is expected to be a hot day, with a maximum of 43 degrees Celsius and no chance of rain.

Stats and trivia

• Warner (29) has the most 50-plus scores in IPL history. Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma have 28 each, while Suresh Raina has 27.
• Among bowlers who have sent down 10 or more overs this season, Mustafizur Rahman (5.75) and Rajat Bhatia (5.78) are the only two with an economy rate under six

Sri Lanka A’s lower-order buckled late during a steep chase of 351 in Pallekele, giving the New Zeland A a 22-run victory in the first of three one-dayers between the two sides

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Sep-2013
ScorecardFile photo: Dimuth Karunaratne’s run-a-ball 120 was in vain•WICB Media/Randy Brooks Photo

Sri Lanka A’s lower-order buckled late during a steep chase of 351 in Pallekele, giving New Zeland A a 22-run victory in the first of three one-dayers between the two sides. The victory is New Zealand A’s first on their trip to the subcontinent, after having been whitewashed in the one-day series against India A, in addition to losing the unofficial Test series to Sri Lanka A.Opener Dimuth Karunaratne anchored Sri Lanka A, stitching century-run stands with Kusal Perera and captain, Dinesh Chandimal. Sri Lanka were 314 for 5 towards the end of the 46th over, needing 36 runs off 25 balls. Their slide began when left-arm spinner Ronnie Hira had Sachithra Serasinghe out leg before for 7 off the last ball of the 46th over. New Zealand pace bowler Adam Milne then took three wickets in the 47thover, to leave Sri Lanka tottering at 316 for 9. It took another four balls for New Zealand to secure the win, after wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi had Suranga Lakmal run out for 1.Karunaratne’s run-a-ball 120, which included 17 fours, kept Sri Lanka in the chase and he received good support from Perera and Chandimal. Sri Lanka lost a cluster of wickets after Karunaratne fell but recovered with a brisk knock from Ashan Priyanjan.Earlier, New Zealand A rode on fifties from Anaru Kitchen, Colin Munro and Luke Ronchi to reach an imposing 350 for 8. They had an indifferent start, losing Anton Devcich early, but Kitchen held things steady with a 50-ball 62. Once he fell, New Zealand slipped a little but an 85-run stand between Munro and Ronchi set the side back on track. After Munro’s wicket, Ronchi took charge of the innings, adding 76 crucial runs in quick time with Andrew Ellis. Two big overs towards the end of the innings then propelled NZ A to 350.Sri Lanka bowlers Shaminda Eranga and Suranga Lakmal had been added to the A team in order to get some match practice in a lean period for the national team, but both fared poorly. Eranga’s ten overs cost 84 and Lakmal went for 7.28 an over. They took one wicket apiece.

The ICC has shot down the PCB’s objection to Saeed Ajmal’s omission from the ICC’s Cricketer of the Year award shortlist

Umar Farooq05-Sep-2012The ICC has shot down the PCB’s objection to Saeed Ajmal’s omission from the ICC’s Test Cricketer of the Year award shortlist, stating that it was an independent jury who cast out Ajmal from the longlist. The PCB, however, questioned the ICC process and urged it to revise the selection procedure.The PCB had lodged a protest with the ICC after Ajmal was left off the award shortlist last week. The ICC, though, refused to reconsider Ajmal’s case.”The ICC has no authority to change the results of the academy,” an ICC spokesman told ESPNcricinfo. “The voting results are final and binding on everyone.”In 2010, England offspinner Graeme Swann was omitted from the longlist for the Cricketer of the Year award prepared by ICC itself but after the ECB put up his case, the ICC included his name after admitting an oversight.Unlike Swann in 2010, Ajmal was in the longlist this year but missed out when an independent 32-member jury that included former Pakistan captain Aamer Sohail and Pakistan journalist Majid Bhatti nominated Sri Lanka batsman Kumar Sangakkara, South Africa fast bowler Vernon Philander, Australia captain Michael Clarke and South Africa opener Hashim Amla for Test Cricketer of the Year.Ajmal, 34, took 72 Test wickets between August 4, 2011 and August 6, 2012 – the qualifying period for the award – including 24 at 14.70 as Pakistan swept aside England, the then No. 1 side in the world, 3-0 in January. He has climbed to No. 3 in the ICC Test bowling rankings and is the highest ranked spinner.”His [Ajmal] tally is substantial enough to make him a notable performer throughout the year,” a PCB spokesman said. “It’s very surprising not just for Pakistan but for the whole cricketing world that such a deserving player isn’t in the final list. The PCB understands that there is a serious need to revise the procedure that eventually overlooked the best man to be picked.”Despite the PCB’s concern, the ICC will not reconsider Ajmal’s name. “It is important to understand the process which is very simple and transparent, and monitored by independent auditor Ernst & Young,” the ICC spokesman said. “The longlists are prepared by a five-member Selection Panel which is headed by Mr Clive Lloyd and this year included Clare Connor (England), Tom Moody (Australia), Carl Hooper (West Indies) and Marvan Atapattu (Sri Lanka).”The shortlists are then created after the individual player awards are voted for by an academy of 32 highly credentialed cricket personalities from around the world. The top four players in each category with most votes are included in the shortlists.”

A round-up from the latest action at World Cricket League Division Six in Kuala Lumpur

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Sep-2011Jersey upset the form book as they clung on for a seven-run victory against tournament leaders Malaysia at Bayuemas Oval to claim their first win of the event. Jersey were defending 171 and Alex Cooke claimed the final wicket when he had Shahrulnizam Yusof lbw with more than seven overs of the chase unused. However, the real hero was Anthony Hawkins-Kay who took 4 for 22 to earn the Man-of-the-Match award. He claimed two early wickets as Malaysia stumbled in their reply and at 76 for 6 their chance appeared to have slipped away.But the lower middle-order showed fight and a 53-run stand between Suresh Navaratnam (37) and Eszrafiq Aziz (25) meant the odds slightly favoured the hosts. That was when Hawkins-Kay swung the game again with two wickets in two overs, yet still it wasn’t over as Malaysia got to within 10 of the target before the final two batsmen fell in seven deliveries.It hadn’t been an easy day for run-scoring throughout and Jersey found themselves 28 for 3 in the 12th over. The key partnership came from Corey Bisson and captain Peter Gough as they added 88 in 28 overs to ensure a competitive total. Malaysia, though, will rue the 12 wides and three no-balls they conceded.”The pitch was helping fast bowling today and I was definitely getting it in the right places to take the wickets,” Hawkins-Kay said. “It was definitely a tough game and Malaysia played really well and pushed us right up to the end. I have to say it does feel fantastic to score our first victory of the tournament, especially after two really close games that resulted in losses for us. Today’s win really is fantastic, let’s hope it keeps coming.”Kuwait were indebted to Abid Mushtaq’s rapid innings as they chased down a Duckworth-Lewis adjusted target of 161 in 29 overs against Fiji at the Kinrara Oval. Mushtaq hit 43 of 24 balls in a first-wicket stand of 73 in less than 10 overs to ensure Kuwait were ahead of the pace after rain had intervened. Iniasi Cakacaka tried his best to keep Fiji alive with 3 for 13 from six overs, but the chase was comfortably completed by Saud Qamar and captain Hisham Mirza. Earlier, Fiji had done well to recover from 38 for 3 as Josefa Rika (55) and Waisake Tukana (50 not out) added 73 but, as is often the case, chasing under D/L proved an advantage.”I tried to play my normal opening game and tried to remain on strike as much as I could to help us make the target,” Mushtaq said. “It was all about us playing a sensible innings since the last few matches which we’ve lost have been because we have not been sensible in our performances.”It’s important now that we continue to bat well and continue to win all our games to come in the tournament. I think Fiji were a good side despite our winning today; they challenged us but now we have to remain focused on winning every game. Every player has to give it his all for the side.”The game between Nigeria and Guernsey was abandoned after 47 overs but Nigeria had produced an impressive recovery from 18 for 5. Lee Savident and Jamie Nussbaumer, yesterday’s Man of the Match, did major damage with the new ball before Olajide Bejide played a fine hand to reach an unbeaten 87 off 106 balls.

A total of 12 wickets fell on the opening day of the County Championship match between Lancashire and Hampshire at Liverpool but it is the hosts who will rest the easier

31-Aug-2010
ScorecardKyle Hogg took 4 for 53 as Hampshire collapsed on the opening day•Getty Images

A total of 12 wickets fell on the opening day of the County Championship match between Lancashire and Hampshire at Liverpool but it is the hosts who will rest the easier. Kyle Hogg and Tom Smith shared seven wickets as they skittled former team-mate Dominic Cork’s men for 160.The seam duo were recently awarded their first-team caps at Old Trafford and were major players as Hampshire lost five wickets for just one run in 16 balls to slip from 62 for 1 to 63 for 6. Hogg, 27, finished with a season’s best 4 for 53 from 14 overs and Smith 3 for 40 from 12, taking advantage of some movement off the pitch after Glen Chapple had won the toss and elected to bowl.Conditions for batting were not treacherous by any means but there was pace and carry, uneven bounce at times and sideways movement. But, despite Cork trapping Paul Horton lbw early in Lancashire’s reply, the hosts responded with authority.Mark Chilton (47 not out) closed in on his fourth fifty in his last seven innings as the hosts reached 124 for 2 from 46 overs at close, 36 runs behind.Hampshire had made a commanding start thanks to Michael Carberry (30) and Australian Phil Hughes in particular. They put on 43 for the second wicket before the dramatic spell undid their good work.Carberry was caught behind by Gareth Cross off Hogg before Neil McKenzie was trapped lbw by the same bowler for a three-ball duck in the same over, the 23rd. Hughes then edged Smith to Horton at first slip in the next over. And it was the first of two in two balls for Smith because he also trapped Sean Ervine lbw for a golden duck.Wicketkeeper Michael Bates then completed the handful of wickets when he edged Hogg to Smith at second slip for the third duck of the innings. Smith later bowled James Vince and Hogg had James Tomlinson caught by Horton.But debutant Chris Wood top scored with 35, sharing crucial eighth and ninth wicket stands of 30 and 43 with Cork and Tomlinson, to at least bring some respectability. Chapple also claimed two wickets but struggled for much of the innings with an ankle problem.Lancashire opener Karl Brown was dropped on 14 by Hughes in the slips but edged Ervine behind to Bates after tea to leave Lancashire at 49 for 2 in the 21st over. Chilton, who hit eight fours, was particularly strong on the straight drive, while he also top edged a pull off Wood over long leg for six.

Vidarbha knocked out despite racing to 221 for 6 in six fest at KSCA Cricket Ground in Alur

Himanshu Agrawal11-Dec-2024″Beware of us,” was the message Mumbai seemed to convey as they marched into the semi-final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Six days after hunting down a record 230 against Andhra, Mumbai mowed down a target of 222 against Vidarbha, with six wickets and four deliveries in the bank.Ajinkya Rahane showed the way by bashing 84 off 45 balls, and adding 83 in just seven overs with Prithvi Shaw. Dipesh Parwani had Shaw caught at long-off to check Mumbai’s flow, and the wicket slowed them down for just a little while. Shaw had cracked 49 from 26 deliveries, including five fours and four sixes.Yash Thakur eventually dismissed Rahane to start the 16th over, by which time he had carved ten fours and three sixes himself but Mumbai still needed another 65 to win. Seeing the hefty requirement, Suryansh Shedge went 4, 6, 6, 6 off Mandar Mahale to pick up 24 runs off the 17th over. Shivam Dube then started the 18th by clubbing two more sixes, off Parwani, to all but kill the contest.That Vidarbha had 221 on the board was down to half-centuries from Atharva Taide and Apoorv Wankhade, who added 81 for the third wicket. Vidarbha were 100 for 2 after ten overs – by then, Taide had reached his fifty – before both batters smashed 46 off the next four overs. Atharva Ankolekar then trapped Taide in front for 66, and Shedge bowled Wankhede for 51, but Shubham Dubey (43 off 19 balls), Mahale (13 off 5) and Jitesh Sharma (11 off six) blasted 54 off the final three overs.By the time the game was done, a total of 39 fours and 22 sixes had been smacked in Alur.

Troubling display from out-of-sorts quick leads to questions about wisdom of selection

Andrew Miller02-Sep-2023Heather Knight, England’s captain, admitted her young team had been handed some “humble pie” after a chastening eight-wicket defeat against Sri Lanka in the second T20I at Chelmsford. However, she defended the decision to give a recall to the visibly out-of-sorts Issy Wong, whose troublingly erratic display put an extra dampener on what Knight admitted had been a case of her team “all [having] a bad day at the same time, unfortunately”.England had come into the contest brimful of optimism after an emphatic victory in the series opener at Hove on Thursday. However, faced with a sensational captain’s performance from Chamari Athapaththu, they were this time routed for 104 in 18 overs, then clubbed to defeat with a massive 40 balls to spare. Athapaththu herself led from the front with 55 from 40 balls, as Sri Lanka secured a famous maiden T20I victory over England at the tenth time of asking.”We’ve had a bad day, we’ve lost a game of cricket,” Knight said. “There’s not going to be a big inquiry about it. We haven’t played well and Sri Lanka have played very well, and given us a bit of humble pie to be honest.Related

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“Credit to Sri Lanka, but sometimes that happens in cricket,” she added. “We’ve got a very inexperienced side, a lot of guys are learning their trade, and we can identify some areas we can get better at. It’s obviously quite a humbling day, but also an opportunity for us to really home in on what we need to do better, moving forward.”England’s batting was clearly to blame for the defeat, as a succession of players succumbed to the hard lengths of Sri Lanka’s spinners – most notably the recalled Inoshi Fernando, who offered little width on a hybrid wicket and turned the screw relentlessly after a dominant powerplay.However, it was Wong’s performance with the ball that attracted the most attention after the match. She was visibly struggling with her run-up in a grim first over that contained a wide and three front-foot no-balls, and it was something of a surprise when Knight entrusted her with a second over with Sri Lanka needing just 13 runs to win. Three driven fours later, the scores were level and Wong’s comeback figures read 2-0-24-0.”It was a tough day and sometimes, when you’re exposed to that sort of pressure situation, it can make it tougher, but she’s a pretty resilient character,” Knight said. “She’s a pretty positive person, so I don’t think it will affect her too much.”Nevertheless, Wong’s display – in her first international appearance since December – was an alarming one for those who recall the ebullience and optimism of her initial England performances, particularly her three-for on her ODI debut against South Africa in July 2022, when she was being earmarked as the obvious pace-bowling successor to Katherine Sciver-Brunt.Since then, however, Wong was a notable omission from England’s T20 World Cup squad in South Africa, and this summer she has seen the likes of Lauren Filer and, latterly, Mahika Gaur leapfrog her in the pace pecking order.And though she remains a hugely marketable asset for English cricket, as evidenced by her memorable hat-trick for Mumbai Indians in the inaugural WPL in India earlier this year, Wong’s performance in this year’s Hundred – a total of 30 balls and one wicket across five matches as Birmingham Phoenix finished rock-bottom and winless – left England, as Knight put it, “looking for a bit of context for where she’s at”.”She’s been struggling a little bit for rhythm the whole summer,” Knight said. “She’s been given five balls at a time in the Hundred. She hasn’t had a chance to come back from spells, and that’s probably put a lot of pressure on how she starts.”She has been trying a few things and listening to a lot of different voices, which has probably led to her run-up issues. She didn’t really have those earlier in the summer. We know what sort of cricketer she can be, which is why we’ve backed her when she’s been struggling a little bit.”Knight added that Wong’s next step would be to work closely with Matt Mason, England women’s bowling coach, “to get back to where we know she can be”.”Issy’s got a clear plan over the next month about what she’s going to do. Matt Mason’s an outstanding bowling coach. We wanted to get a bit of context of where she’s at, and Issy wanted a bit of context of where she’s at as well. She had a few good sessions, and don’t regret playing her at all.”Overall, however, Knight insisted that the lessons that Sri Lanka had meted out at Chelmsford would be valuable ones for her young team, and far from exposing the limitations of an untested group of players, the added jeopardy of a series decider in Derby on Wednesday would be a further chance to fast-track their growth.”It wasn’t about underestimating Sri Lanka at all,” Knight said. “It was about what’s best for us as a side, moving forward. We want to expose people to international cricket, we were pretty clear that that was the goal at the start of this series, and no one was [complaining] at Hove when we were smashing 180 off 17 overs, so I wouldn’t change anything.”It’s a good lesson for youngsters that, if you’re not able to execute your skills how you want to, you’re going to get punished. Unfortunately it’s gone wrong for pretty much everyone, so it’s a bad day at the office. But we’ll go to Derby, still looking to play exactly how we want to play, and obviously it’s a series decider, which is exciting.”

Reactions from former Madhya Pradesh players after the team’s maiden Ranji Trophy victory

Shashank Kishore, Nikhil Sharma and Afzal Jiwani26-Jun-2022Chandrakant Pandit, title-winning coach of Madhya Pradesh (as told to the BCCI website)
“It is becoming a little emotional because missing out when I was captain to win this trophy on the same ground after 23 years. Some say father could not do it but son has done it. Aditya Shrivastava has done it. I owed Madhya Pradesh the trophy that I missed out.”I used to play for Madhya Pradesh in ’94-’96 [1994-95 to 2000-01]. Almost six years I played. The offer [to coach them] came to me in March and I didn’t hesitate. Before that I had a couple of offers and then I thought about going back to Madhya Pradesh because I had left something 23 years back. Probably God willed me back to the same place and we came back to play the final at Chinnaswamy Stadium.”I would definitely say Aditya Shrivastava has been an outstanding captain with his plans and strategy. Whatever we discussed, I think he has never hesitated to implement on the ground. The captain makes the team win 50% according to me and that is what I wanted him to do. He has done a fantastic job and though he wasn’t getting runs I always had confidence in him. At the same time, Rajat Patidar, Shubham Sharma, Kumar Kartikeya, there are many many guys – young guy Akshat Raghuwanshi – has also come out well for MP.”Jalaj Saxena, former Madhya Pradesh allrounder
“It’s been seven years since I moved from playing first-class cricket for Madhya Pradesh but my heart has been pounding away watching the final. The only thought that kept playing in my mind at the start of the day were the memories of 1998-99, where we took a lead and had the final under control before one bad session cost us the game. I’m so happy to see how calmly they approached it.”When I started for MP 17 years ago, it was a dream to play in a Ranji final. We had talent but as a group, winning remained just a dream. To see these guys lift the trophy is a gift to the entire cricketing fraternity in MP. It has the potential to open several avenues.”Coaches and talent scouts will keenly look out for talent from MP even more now. We’ve already seen so many names coming through – Rajat Patidar, Venkatesh Iyer, Avesh Khan, Kumar Kartikeya. Many more could emerge. These guys have all been trendsetters for the younger players. So many youngsters in MP are now encouraged by seeing these guys perform on the big stage, and a platform like the IPL only magnifies your performances and provides a lift to the region.”We always knew MP had a strong team, but it was always a question of being able to hold our nerves on the big stage. After this win, that perception is bound to change. This win has the power to transform the direction of MP cricket for the better.