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Can visiting bowlers keep Virat Kohli quiet at one of his favourite venues?

The Preview by Sreshth Shah17-Dec-20194:33

The Hetmyer and Hope threat looms again

Big picture

It’s been over 15 years since India last lost two consecutive bilateral ODI series at home. it’s been over 30 years since India last lost five straight ODIs at home. But both those things may happen if they lose to West Indies in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday – they lost the last three matches to concede the series against Australia 3-2 in March.Although Rohit Sharma has been off-colour so far against West Indies, the rest of the Indian batting contingent has displayed enough composure and grit for the spotlight to move away from the star opening batsman. KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant and Shivam Dube have all shown across the white-ball series that they could be relied on to take responsibility, but the same cannot be same about the team’s bowling. Virat Kohli’s template as captain has been to strangle teams in the middle overs after the new-ball bowlers do their job in their first spells, but with Jasprit Bumrah missing, the early wickets have been more difficult to come by.It was on display in the first ODI, when the set West Indies batsmen played out the spin threat of Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja with ease, despite plenty of turn on offer in Chennai. It forced Kohli to bowl out Deepak Chahar and Mohammed Shami before the slog overs, leaving young Dube with the task of bowling at the death. It was similar for India during the loss to Australia, where Vijay Shankar was often the go-to bowler at the back end.ALSO READ: Smart and on target, Cottrell is more than just the saluteThe only difference between India and the visitors in Chennai was the number of options each captain had, and West Indies’ seven-bowler plan helped Kieron Pollard use conditions to his advantage.In the preceding T20I series, West Indies had gone into the final game on level terms and then fallen short. While they walk into the second game here with confidence, they need to make sure they don’t let the opposition batsmen settle in.

Form guide

India LWWWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
West Indies WWWWL

In the spotlight

Is Shivam Dube a better all-round option than Vijay Shankar? An exciting half-century in the T20I series got people to sit up and take note, but his bowling hasn’t been terribly impressive. On his ODI debut, he made just nine with the bat and conceded nearly nine per over with the ball. There are question marks over his pace – late 120s – and whether he can bowl accurately enough, to the team’s fielding plans.Shivam Dube gets into position to pull•BCCI

Shai Hope has been one of the keys to West Indies’ success in recent times. Hope’s role as an anchor will be crucial once again, whether they bat first or chase. In his 218-run partnership – at a strike rate of over 100 – with Shimron Hetmyer in Chennai, Hope was calm in his approach, scoring at a strike rate in the 60s while allowing his partner to bloom. He rotates the strike well, allowing his big-hitting partners to have that safety net, and gives a blanket of security to the team.

Team news

India may return to their “Kul-Cha” plans, having failed to trouble West Indies with spin in the first ODI. That means either Dube or Jadeja may be left out to accommodate Yuzvendra Chahal.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 Kedar Jadhav, 6 Rishabh Pant (wk), 7 Shivam Dube, 8 Ravindra Jadeja/Yuzvendra Chahal, 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Kuldeep Yadav, 11 Mohammad ShamiWhether Evin Lewis has recovered from a right-knee injury is not yet known. If he has, then he’s likely to return to the XI in place of Sunil Ambris.West Indies (probable) 1 Shai Hope, 2 Evin Lewis/Sunil Ambris, 3 Shimron Hetmyer, 4 Nicholas Pooran (wk), 5 Roston Chase, 6 Kieron Pollard (capt), 7 Jason Holder, 8 Keemo Paul, 9 Hayden Walsh Jr, 10 Alzarri Joseph, 11 Sheldon Cottrell

Stats and trivia

• The last time an ODI was played – last year – in Visakhapatnam, India and West Indies battled hard for a tie. With West Indies needing five to win off the final ball, Hope, who made 123, slapped a boundary through point to level the scores.
• Teams batting first have won just one of the last six ODIs played in Visakhapatnam
• The average first-innings total at the ground since 2010 is 275
• Virat Kohli averages 139 at the ground, having scored 556 runs – including three centuries, a 99 and a 65 – in his five outings in Visakhapatnam

England’s top-scorer content to have his Test place back as he targets a fourth-day victory push on a wearing wicket

Melinda Farrell at the Ageas Bowl01-Sep-20180:59

Stokes and I bring the best out of each other – Buttler

Jos Buttler says he is “not fussed” about being England’s first-choice wicketkeeper and hosed down any suggestion of a rivalry with Jonny Bairstow over the role at the end of the third day at the Ageus Bowl.Buttler has had mixed fortunes behind the stumps after Bairstow’s fractured finger forced a him to hand over the gloves for this Test but, while Bairstow has made it clear he wants to reclaim the job as soon as he is fit, Buttler said there was no jostling for the role or problems between the two team-mates.”Not at all from my angle, and not from Jonny’s either,” said Buttler. “It’s not been a problem at all.”Obviously Jonny’s not fit to keep wicket in this match, which is frustrating for him because he’s been fantastic for the last few years. Whatever happens moving forward, it doesn’t affect me or Jonny.After a day in which England’s rejigged top order struggled to assert themselves, Butter – who top-scored with 69 – suggested that, far from coveting the gloves full time, he is simply happy to keep his place in the Test team.”I’m not fussed,” he said. “From a few months ago, to even be in the Test match side is fantastic – so gloves on or not, it doesn’t matter.”England were 122 for 5 when Buttler joined Ben Stokes at the crease and, while Sam Curran impressed once more with his fearless brand of batting, it was the Buttler-Stokes partnership that righted the ship after Joe Root was run out for the second time in the series.”We’ve batted together in quite a lot of situations in different formats, so that rapport is obviously comforting in a way and allows you to get the best out of each other,” Buttler said of a player who has been a regular team-mate in white-ball cricket for England and, latterly, for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL too.”We’ve got that right, left-hand combination, trying to rotate the strike and not let bowlers settle. We just went about it the same way … trying to extend the partnership, and slowly and steadily building the lead.”With a lead of 233 and two wickets in hand, England may just have the upper hand in this contest, although it would be foolish to discount what the likes of Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara could produce in the fourth-innings chase. But Buttler feels there are signs the pitch could be deteriorating sufficiently for Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid to make inroads in India’s batting line-up.”You’ve seen the wear and tear in the wicket – even in the first innings as well, there was quite a bit of rough outside the right-hander’s off-stump,” said Buttler.”That’s promising for Moeen and Adil – and with the seamers, we’ve seen a bit of variable bounce. So I think it’s nice to have the runs on the board.”

Batting allrounder Dhananjaya de Silva, uncapped left-arm spinner Malinda Pushpakumara, and seamer Nuwan Pradeep returned to Sri Lanka’s squad for the first Test against India, in Galle

Andrew Fidel Fernando23-Jul-20171:18

‘SL looking for Herath’s long-term replacement’

Sri Lanka squad for first Test

Rangana Herath (capt), Upul Tharanga, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Asela Gunaratne, Niroshan Dickwella, Dhananjaya de Silva, Danushka Gunathilaka, Dilruwan Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando, Malinda Pushpakumara, Nuwan Pradeep

Batting allrounder Dhananjaya de Silva, uncapped left-arm spinner Malinda Pushpakumara, and seamer Nuwan Pradeep returned to Sri Lanka’s squad for the first Test against India, in Galle. De Silva, who had been left out of the squad for the one-off Test against Zimbabwe, effectively takes Dinesh Chandimal’s place in the 15-man squad, while Pushpakumara displaces left-arm wristspinner Lakshan Sandakan, and Pradeep pushes out Dushmantha Chameera.Though Pushpakumara, 30, has not played any international cricket yet, he has for long been prolific at the first-class level, where he has 558 first-class wickets at an average of 19.85, and is routinely among the top three wicket-takers in the Premier League Tournament. In the most recent season, Pushpakumara’s 77 wickets at 13.79 put him 20 wickets clear of the second-highest wicket-taker. That he has not already played for Sri Lanka is largely due to the fact that Rangana Herath is the team’s incumbent left-arm orthodox spinner.De Silva’s return to the squad was somewhat expected, following the news that Chandimal would be unavailable for the first Test owing to his hospitalisation for pneumonia on Friday. Though De Silva got a duck against India in the two-day practice match in Colombo, he had impressed in Tests in 2016, when he had highly successful series against Australia and Zimbabwe. His competition for the middle-order spot vacated by Chandimal comes in the form of Danushka Gunathilaka, who is an opener by trade, but has been in excellent form over the past two months, top-scoring in the recent ODI series against Zimbabwe, then hitting a brisk 74 against India in the two-dayer, before he was run out.A hamstring niggle had sidelined Pradeep for two weeks, but Sri Lanka had always hoped he would regain fitness before the India series. That it is Chameera he is replacing, however, is a slight surprise. Chameera’s pace had made him one of the more promising quicks in Sri Lanka’s battery, and he appeared to be making a steady comeback.Vishwa Fernando’s left-arm angle, and perhaps his wickets on Friday, may have swung the decision in his favour, however. He had made his Test debut at Galle against Australia last year, in a match that was so heavily dominated by Sri Lanka’s lead spinners that Fernando was only required to bowl two overs. Suranga Lakmal and Lahiru Kumara are the two other quicks in what is an especially pace-heavy squad.Herath has already been confirmed as captain for the Test that starts on Wednesday.

Victoria Sporting Club allrounder Suhrawadi Shuvo, who was struck on the ride side of his neck by a bouncer, on Saturday has returned home after being released from the hospital

Mohammad Isam19-Jun-2016Victoria Sporting Club allrounder Suhrawadi Shuvo, who was struck on the side of his neck by a bouncer on Saturday, has returned home after being released from the hospital.CT and MRI scans taken immediately after he was struck indicated there was no damage to his brain. Shuvo has been scheduled for further check-ups next week.With 17 wickets at an average of 29.52 and 208 runs at an average of 26, he has been one of Victoria SC’s key performers this season. The BCB doctors are confident he will recover from the neck injury soon, but have not cleared him to play Victoria SC’s remaining Dhaka Premier League matches on June 20 and 22.

Michael Klinger returned to English cricket with a bang, smashing a career-best T20 score of 126 not out to lead Gloucestershire to a 34-run NatWest Blast victory over Essex at Bristol.

ECB/PA24-May-2015
ScorecardMichael Klinger made Gloucestershire’s highest T20 score•Getty Images

Michael Klinger returned to English cricket with a bang, smashing a career-best T20 score of 126 not out to lead Gloucestershire to a 34-run NatWest Blast victory over Essex at Bristol.The 34-year-old Australian profited from being dropped three times to hammer eight sixes and seven fours in a sensational 68-ball innings that enabled the hosts to run up 199 for 4 after losing the toss. Reece Topley escaped the carnage to claim 2 for 28.In reply, Essex were soon 10 for 2. Tom Westley hit 67 off 39 balls to give them an outside chance and Ryan ten Doeschate contributed 54, but in the end they were bowled out for 165 in 18.4 overs as Tom Smith returned 5 for 39, including a late hat-trick.The visitors only had themselves to blame for allowing Klinger, who only arrived back from Australia on Thursday morning after a rare break from cricket, to run riot after Hamish Marshall’s 16-ball innings of 29 had helped Gloucestershire to 58 for 1 by the end of the six overs of Powerplay.The home skipper was dropped on 44 by Ryan ten Doeschate at mid-off and on 46 by Graham Napier at long-on from successive Topley deliveries in the 12th over. And he was spilled again by ten Doeschate at square-leg off the same bowler when on 52. Having reached his half-century off 40 balls, Klinger required only a further 21 to reach three figures and then put Napier to the sword in the final over with his final four sixes as 26 runs were added to an already impressive total.Napier ended up conceding 62 from his four overs as Klinger recorded the highest ever T20 score by a Gloucestershire player. His straight hitting was particularly impressive, but he also survived a straightforward run-out chance on what was definitely his day.”I haven’t slept that well since returning from Australia on Thursday and I needed treatment for cramp at the end after running so many twos, so I’m delighted, but pretty tired,” Gloucestershire centurion Michael Klinger said. “Sometimes you need a bit a luck and I had some today. I still have ambitions to play for Australia so I’ll be doing all I can to keep piling on the runs over here this summer.”It was a great pitch and I can’t praise our groundstaff too highly. For the team it was a great win over a side who on paper are one of the strongest in the competition. I have returned to find a lot of belief in our dressing room.”The outcome looked beyond doubt when David Payne removed Mark Pettini and Jesse Ryder in the second over of the Essex reply. Westley and Ravi Bopara then added 62 in 6.5 overs before the latter perished to a catch at long-off. Westley eased to an impressive 31-ball half-century, with eight fours, but 112 were still needed from the final ten overs.Any chance the visitors retained disappeared in the 14th over, bowled by left-arm spinner Smith. First Westley drove a catch to extra cover, having hit nine fours and a six, and he was quickly followed by Kishen Valani, superbly caught by Marshall running around at long-off and just avoiding the boundary rope. The frustrated ten Doeschate responded with the biggest six of the match off Payne, but it was too little too late as James Foster was caught reverse sweeping Jack Taylor with the required run-rate up around 14 an over.James Fuller had to be withdrawn from the Gloucestershire attack in an erratic 17th over, which featured two no-balled beamers and ended up costing the home side 24. But, despite ten Doeschate reaching a 31-ball half-century, with five fours and two sixes, before becoming the second of Smith’s hat-trick victims in the 18th over, it wasn’t enough for Essex. Smith also sent back Napier and David Masters, stumped to complete the hat-trick, as the Essex tail folded quickly.Essex skipper Ryan ten Doeschate said: “We are all very disappointed and to be frank it is our fielding display that cost us today. t is something that has been creeping up on us for a while. You can’t give chances to a class batsman like Klinger because he will always make you pay.”

ESPNcricinfo’s preview of the first Test between Australia and South Africa in Brisbane

Daniel Brettig08-Nov-2012

Match facts

November 9-13, the Gabba
Start time 1000 (0000 GMT)

Big Picture

Can AB de Villiers prove his batting powers will be unaffected by a longer term role as wicketkeeper?•Getty Images

So Australia has a dossier on the South Africa team. So what? One of the trends of 21st century international cricket is that battles between nations now contain so few elements of the unknown. It should not be forgotten that these two sides played each other over a pair of uproarious Test matches only a year ago in Cape Town and Johannesburg, the series shared 1-1. Between then and now Australian and South African players have shared dressing rooms at the IPL and the Champions League, opposed each other again at the World Twenty20 and tried to prepare as best they can for a Test series with only one warm-up fixture in most cases.But the lack of secrets to be divulged ahead of the first Test does not detract from the prospect of another meeting between two teams to have produced some of the most memorable Test encounters of recent times. South Africa’s first visit to the Gabba in 49 years offers the prospect of plenty that is hair-raising, mainly for batsmen up against six of the world’s best fast bowlers, but spectators too. Graeme Smith’s side is settled and well grooved, their XI set in near enough to stone from the moment their plane touched down in Sydney last week. Smith himself is fired by the desire to ensure South Africa’s hold on the ICC’s top spot is not as fleeting this time around as it had been in 2009.Australia, meanwhile, seek further proof of their rejuvenation. The Test team has not played together since April, and they may be forgiven for blinking just as much as the rest of the world at the fact they have the chance to unseat South Africa from their perch atop the rankings. The fact they have a chance of doing so is the best indicator of how far the team has developed under Michael Clarke’s captaincy since the 2011 tour of Sri Lanka, as over that period the team has won three series, drawn two and shown the importance of incisive bowling to cover for a top six that on paper cannot match South Africa’s. Line these two sides up and the visitors look to have a clear advantage. But contests between these teams have never been decided that way.

Form guide

(Most recent first)
Australia WDWWW
South Africa WDWDW

In the spotlight

Called on to take the gloves in unfortunate circumstances in England, AB de Villiers’ back grew stiffer with each match, and his batting contributions were handy rather than dominant. He has had more time to rest and prepare for taking the gloves in this series, and will be eager to prove that as wicketkeeper he can still make the kinds of scores that marked him as one of the world’s best and most dangerous batsmen.David Warner has escaped much of the scrutiny attached to his opening partner Ed Cowan, but with only one half century in his past eight innings needs to prove his hyper aggressive methods can work consistently at Test level. West Indies and England both did well against Warner earlier this year by pursuing a rigid line and length angled across him towards the slips, while the opener’s tendency to get involved in verbal confrontations will also have been noted by South Africa. Shane Watson’s injury leaves Warner the most senior batsman in the Australian top three.

Team news

Ben Hilfenhaus, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon are duelling for two spots. Hilfenhaus led the attack with Peter Siddle last year but has only played one first-class match since April. Starc has been a dominant Twenty20 bowler but is still coming to grips with the red ball. Lyon has few wickets behind him entering the Test and forecast Gabba rain may keep the pitch fresh and the pace bowlers dangerous throughout. Ricky Ponting has shrugged off a hamstring niggle.Australia (possible): 1 Ed Cowan, 2 David Warner, 3 Rob Quiney, 4 Ricky Ponting, 5 Michael Clarke (capt), 6 Michael Hussey, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Peter Siddle, 9 James Pattinson, 10 Ben Hilfenhaus/Mitchell Starc, 11 Nathan Lyon.South Africa’s team is settled, and likely to be unchanged from the XI that defeated England at Lord’s to take the series and top spot on the ICC’s rankings.South Africa (possible): 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Alviro Petersen, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 AB de Villiers (wk), 6 Jacques Rudolph, 7 JP Duminy, 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Morne Morkel, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Imran Tahir.

Pitch and conditions

The Gabba curator Kevin Mitchell jnr. has predicted a slightly drier surface than that prepared for last year’s Test against New Zealand, increasing the likelihood of a fifth day finish and the involvement of the spinners. However some cloud and rain is predicted over the next five days, and Clarke admitted on match eve he was now considering four quicks more seriously.

Stats and trivia

• South Africa will retain top spot on the ICC Test rankings with a drawn series. Australia will claim top spot from them with a series win
• This is South Africa’s first Test match at the Gabba since 1963
• Michael Clarke needs 55 runs to go past Neil Harvey, another fleet-footed batsman, on Australia’s all-time list of Test run scorers

Quotes

“We know how good South Africa is and respect them for it but we also know we can beat them. We are confident in our ability to beat anyone, anywhere, any time if we play at our best.”

“We have looked at areas that we can exploit within the Australian team as they would do with us. We feel that if we can put pressure on them in certain areas then we can make some plays in those big moments, that is ultimately what the Test series is going to boil down to.”

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Australia were inconvenienced more by rain than South Africa as they rampaged through the hosts in a truncated first ODI at Centurion, winning by 93 runs under Duckworth-Lewis calculations

The Report by Daniel Brettig19-Oct-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke added 102 for the second wicket on either side of the rain break•Getty Images

Australia were inconvenienced more by rain than South Africa as they rampaged through the hosts in a truncated first ODI in Centurion, winning by 93 runs under Duckworth-Lewis calculations.Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey guided the tourists to 183 for 4 from 29 overs, setting a target of 223, before the debutant Pat Cummins and Mitchell Johnson shared six wickets to lead their team on a merry path in the field.The ball swung and bounced in greasy conditions, and in a significant portent for the matches to come, Johnson gained the kind of movement through the air that had helped make him so fearsome on Australia’s 2009 visit to South Africa.Mitchell Marsh, the other teenaged debutant, claimed a wicket in his first over. The spin of Xavier Doherty was also useful as the Proteas subsided, none passing 30 in a searching captaincy introduction for the interim leader Hashim Amla.Sent off by rain at 3.57pm local time when a promising 96 for 1 after 19 overs, Australia managed to collect another 87 runs in 10 overs when play finally resumed at 8.30pm.Ponting and Clarke resumed at the rapid pace the equation required, before Australia’s captain was unfortunately out when Ponting’s drive rebounded off Johan Botha’s fingers as Clarke was backing up. Hussey, though, scooted along with typical late-innings speed, and Marsh managed one boundary in his first innings.South Africa’s chase was immediately inconvenienced by the sight of Doug Bollinger and Johnson hooping the ball around. Bollinger swiftly accounted for Graeme Smith, given lbw to one that did not swing but may have been passing over the top of the stumps, and Johnson showed the disconcerting swerve he gained two years ago could be repeated this time around.Cummins replaced Johnson at first change, and while his first ball in ODIs was slapped impudently over cover for six by Amla, the 18-year-old was soon repeating the trick of his first two Twenty20 internationals by claiming multiple wickets in an over. Jacques Kallis dragged an expansive stroke onto his stumps, before JP Duminy was dismissed for the third time in as many innings by Cummins when he parried indeterminately to Clarke at second slip.Marsh had Amla caught neatly by Brad Haddin from a squirted drive in his first over, and Doherty struck twice via referrals. First he had David Miller caught at point after the umpires at first adjudged a bump ball, then Mark Boucher was lbw on review to a delivery that drifted towards leg stump and straightened enough to convince Hawk-Eye’s ball-tracker.Johnson added his name to the list of wicket-takers via Faf du Plessis’ desperate swing and an outfield catch, as Australia’s chief concern turned from South Africa’s batting to the skies above. Rain threatened to re-appear, but the final result was not in doubt from the moment the minimum 20 overs had been completed.Australia had been unable to consider Shaun Marsh and Shane Watson due to injury, and so handed limited-overs debuts to the allrounder Mitchell Marsh, a day before his 20th birthday and Cummins who had yet to take a list A wicket for his state.David Warner was joined at the top of the batting order by Ponting, an occasional opener down the years, and it was the younger man who swung into early action, gliding Lonwabo Tsotsobe’s first ball through point, then cracking a trio of boundaries from Dale Steyn, the last two via the generous avenues of a no ball and a free-hit.Next ball Steyn corrected, finding the ideal length and a hint of swing to beat Warner’s forward prod via the inside edge. This left Clarke and Ponting to set the course of the innings against bowlers they will see plenty of throughout the next month.Lights were employed inside 10 overs as the skies darkened, and Clarke and Ponting negotiated the odd awkward delivery by Morne Morkel while keeping the run-rate around five. Steyn swung the ball in his second spell but could not split the partnership before thunder, then rain, arrived.Returning to the pitch more than four hours later, Ponting and Clarke fired off a series of smart strokes before Clarke’s ill-luck, and Ponting went on until he sliced Steyn to backward point. Brad Haddin was sacrificed in the effort to lift the run-rate, before Hussey and Marsh pushed the total into dimensions that proved far too vast for South Africa.

Adam Voges’ unbeaten half-century moved Western Australia to a comfortable five-wicket victory as they took care of the struggling South Australia

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Oct-2010Western Australia 5 for 199 (Voges 81*) beat South Australia 198 (Manou 47*, Marsh 3-37) by 5 wickets

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAdam Voges was in charge for the Warriors•Getty Images

Adam Voges’ unbeaten half-century moved Western Australia to a comfortable five-wicket victory as they took care of the struggling South Australia in Adelaide. Voges guided the chase of the Redbacks’ 198 with a composed 81 off 93 balls as they reached the total in the 40th over.Western Australia took a 27-run lead after the first innings having reduced South Australia to 4 for 75 in 20 overs, and required only 97 in their second bat. Marcus North went for 32 after the break, but Voges, Luke Pomersbach (25) and Mitchell Marsh got them home.South Australia, who are bottom of the table, needed the late contribution of Graham Manou and his 48-run stand with Chris Duval (24) for the ninth wicket. Marsh, the medium pacer, picked up three wickets in five balls to leave the hosts at 8 for 138 and they did well to recover, with Manou finishing unbeaten on 47.Daniel Christian showed his power with 39 but too many of the locals only got starts. Michael Hogan was a handful again with 3 for 49 off 11 overs while the spinner Aaron Heal, who opened the bowling, picked up two wickets, including the early stumping of Michael Klinger.

MS Dhoni has said one of the reasons for the 29-run run defeat to Sri Lanka in Nagpur was because India tend to take Twenty20 internationals as a warm-up for the one-dayers to follow

Cricinfo staff09-Dec-2009MS Dhoni has said one of the reasons for the 29-run run defeat to Sri Lanka in Nagpur was because India tended to take Twenty20 internationals as a “warm-up for the one-dayers to follow”. India have now lost seven of their last ten Twenty20s and two of their three wins were against Bangladesh and Ireland.”I don’t think we were in the groove for a Twenty20 game and too often we treat it as a warm-up for the one-dayers to follow,” Dhoni said. “It’s probably the reason for our defeats in these games.”Another, and more significant, reason for Wednesday’s defeat was India’s terrible fielding. They dropped five chances – two off the Sri Lankan openers before they made a start – and frequently fumbled balls in the outfield. Yuvraj dropped Sanath Jayasuriya on 4, Ishant grassed Tillakaratne Dilshan on 13 and Kumar Sangakkara as well, Rohit Sharma let off Chamara Kapugedera on 14, and Pragyan Ojha failed to reach a tough chance given by Angelo Mathews in the final over after which the batsman hit two sixes.”The catching is a bit of concern,” Dhoni said. “We are not a brilliant fielding side, but we don’t drop too many catches. That also hurt us also to some extent.”Had India taken their chances, Sri Lanka would have struggled to reach 215. In the over after he was dropped, Jayasuriya hit Ashish Nehra for five consecutive boundaries and provided the acceleration after a slow start. The opening stand of 43 set the platform for Kumar Sangakkara to score 78 off just 37 deliveries. Kapugedera provided propulsion by scoring 47 off 20 while Mathews made 15 off four balls.”What really set us up was the two openers batting for six overs, even if they didn’t get a flying start,” Sangakkara said. “They really applied themselves and got those 40-odd runs and we could launch our innings from there. I’ve been in good form, but I’ve been getting out cheaply because I’ve never really applied myself. I thought it was about time I really did something to inspire the side.”Sangakkara also described Jayasuriya’s four-over spell during India’s chase as “magic”. Jayasuriya came on after India had raced to 88 in seven overs and brought down the scoring-rate dramatically. He conceded only 19 off his four overs and also took the wickets of MS Dhoni and Yusuf Pathan. Sri Lanka’s bowlers were also supported by far superior fielding effort and Sangakkara acknowledged as much.”I thought the fielding was outstanding, we were excellent in the first 16 overs and I thought we could have been a little more ruthless in the final four overs and finished the game off,” he said. “Overall, everyone played really hard and they showed a lot of hunger to win.”The second Twenty20 game is in Mohali on December 12.

The final has been allocated to Lahore, but will be played in Dubai if India make the title round

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Dec-2024Dubai has been confirmed as the venue for all matches of the Champions Trophy 2025 involving India, including one of the semi-finals and possibly the final, too, if India get there.The schedule, officially released by the ICC on Tuesday, specifies that “semi-final 1 will involve India if they qualify” and will be played in Dubai, and, similarly, “semi-final 2 will involve Pakistan if they qualify”. Also, Lahore has been finalised as the host city for the final, but “if India qualifies for the final it will be played in Dubai”. Both the semi-finals and the final will have reserve days, an ICC statement confirmed.As reported by ESPNcricinfo on Sunday, the decision to host India’s matches at the eight-team Champions Trophy away from Pakistan, the official host country, and in the UAE was finalised after Mohsin Naqvi, the PCB chairman, met with Sheikh Nahyan Al Mubarak in Pakistan. Sheikh Nahyan is a senior UAE minister and also the head of the Emirates Cricket Board.Related

• Fakhar Zaman aims for Champions Trophy comeback

• The resolution of the India-Pakistan CT standoff was a win? Not by a long shot

• Coach Walter after home whitewash: SA will 'shine through' in CT

• Champions Trophy: India vs Pakistan on February 23 in UAE

Naqvi, the PCB chairman, said, “We are pleased that an agreement has been reached based on the principles of equality and respect, showcasing the spirit of cooperation and collaboration that defines our sport.”Our heartfelt gratitude goes out to the ICC members who played a constructive role in helping us achieve a mutually beneficial solution. Their efforts have been invaluable in promoting the interests of international cricket.”The marquee Pakistan vs India match in the group stage will be played on February 23, a Sunday. The other two teams in that group are Bangladesh and New Zealand. India will face Bangladesh on February 20, and New Zealand on March 2.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Pakistan, the defending champions of the tournament, will start things off on February 19, against New Zealand in Karachi. Pakistan’s last league match, against Bangladesh, will be played in Rawalpindi on February 27.The second group has Afghanistan, Australia, England and South Africa. The matches for both groups – apart from the India games – will be played across Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi.The two semi-finals are scheduled for March 4 and March 5, and with both games being allocated reserve days, it’s not impossible that they end up taking place on the same day, though Dubai is usually dry at that time of the year.The hybrid model was finalised after the parties involved agreed that, in return, Pakistan’s matches at ICC events hosted by India till 2027 will also be at neutral venues. In all cases, knockout games such as the semi-final and the final will also be held at neutral venues.The agreement begins with the Champions Trophy, and will apply to the 2025 women’s ODI World Cup in India, and the 2026 men’s T20 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka. It will also apply to the 2028 women’s T20 World Cup, the first tournament of the next events cycle that has now been awarded to Pakistan.