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Delhi Daredevils, currently at seventh place, have three home matches in five days to orchestrate a turnaround and climb up the points table

The Preview by Alagappan Muthu02-May-20143:38

Agarkar: Changes have made Delhi stronger

Match factsSaturday, May 3, 2014
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)The big pictureQuinton de Kock’s ability to give quick starts has been useful for Delhi Daredevils•BCCIFour days off is normally a prospect the working man welcomes with glee, but in cricket, especially amid the manic assembly line of matches in the IPL, it threatens the momentum of a team. Delhi Daredevils won their last match, yet a prolonged break has left them in seventh place. The opportunity to climb the rungs arrives in the form of three matches in five days – all at home – the first of which is against Rajasthan Royals.Daredevils have a history of living and dying by their streaks. In 2009, they knocked off eight of their first 10 opponents to canter into the semi-finals. They enjoyed similar fortunes in 2012, when a string of four victories set up a top-of-the-table finish. Last season, however, was relentlessly bitter as they inaugurated and signed off their campaign with six-match losing streaks.Pietersen has not yet had a massive innings, but a return to familiar haunts – he strikes at 152.76 and has an IPL century at Feroz Shah Kotla – should provide encouragement. A vestige of rustiness has hampered him, notably early in his innings, but should he break the cobwebs, he poses a threat along with an in-form JP Duminy.Rajasthan Royals have stuck to a familiar blueprint – an efficient set of batsmen who are certain of their roles and ability, backed up by a motley crew of bowlers who trust their armoury of variation to restrict the opposition. Aside from a shellacking by Maxwell, they have limited oppositions below eight an over comfortably. Against a Daredevils line-up that is yet to find it’s groove that record might not be in much danger. Although Shane Watson and co have shown they have enough muscle in the batting and their think-tank knows just how to utilise it.Form guide (most recent first)Delhi Daredevils WLLWL
Rajasthan Royals WWLLWPlayers to watchSteven Smith faced three balls in a Super Over scenario and never once did he slog. Even when burdened with the match on his shoulders. His response to pressure coupled with swift feet and hectic disposition at the crease means he is suited to finish an innings – his current job – or resurrect one.Rajasthan Royals have strangled their oppositions in the Powerplay. Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders were kept to under six an over and their slew of slower bowlers take over from there on. Quinton de Kock has the advantage of fast hands and isn’t shy of taking risks for the run-rate. Daredevils will hope his progress early on is as smooth as possible and Royals’ grip never takes hold.Stats and trivia Kevin Pietersen averages 36 in T20 cricket when he is not captain, but when at the helm it dips to 19. James Faulkner’s strike rate of 13.70 is the second best among players who have played more than 20 IPL matches.

Jim Allenby produced figures of 5 for 56 as Glamorgan had the better of the opening day of their County Championship Division Two clash with Essex at Swansea

Press Association15-Aug-2014
ScorecardJim Allenby picked up a five-wicket haul•Getty ImagesJim Allenby produced figures of 5 for 56 as Glamorgan had the better of the opening day of their County Championship Division Two clash with Essex at Swansea.The allrounder took three wickets in the space of five overs and then mopped up the tail as Essex lost their last six wickets for the addition of only 66 runs. Essex were bowled out for 286, with the main contributions coming from openers Tom Westley and Nick Browne, who made 60 and 73 respectively.In reply, Glamorgan finished the first day on 27 for one, 259 behind, having lost Will Bragg to a catch behind off Monty Panesar two overs from the close. That brought nightwatchman Andrew Salter to the middle.On a placid Swansea wicket, Essex chose to bat first and by lunch had reached a respectable 102 for 2. The mainstay of the early Essex batting was Westley, who celebrated a fresh two-year contract with an impressive half-century which came up off 62 balls and included 10 fours.His partner Browne was rather more watchful but he had to watch two wickets fall at the other end. Dean Cosker, the slow left-armer, was introduced into the attack in the 19th over and in his third over grabbed the breakthrough.He claimed the wicket of Westley, who was bowled attempting to sweep. He went for 60 from 79 balls to leave the visitors 79 for one. That became 91 for 2 when Cosker struck again to have dangerman Ravi Bopara caught by Allenby at slip for only 4. In the over before lunch Browne, on 31, survived a very confident lbw appeal after he padded up to a ball from Cosker.It took the introduction of spin from the pavilion end to earn Glamorgan their first bowling point when New Zealander Jesse Ryder was caught behind cutting off Andrew Salter’s opening over.From 126 for 3, Essex enjoyed a useful partnership of 70 between Browne and James Foster before three wickets fell for the addition of only 28 runs either side of tea.Foster, who on 35 had been lucky not to give a return catch to Harris, added only four more before the bowler had his revenge as the Essex captain edged a drive behind. Allenby struck twice in two overs, firstly ending Browne’s stay after he had reached 73 from 194 balls. He was caught by wicketkeeper Wallace, who also accounted for Graham Smith.Essex’s innings came to a rather quick end as Graham Napier miscued Allenby to Hogan at mid-off before the final three batsmen all went leg before. The wickets of Ryan ten Doeschate, out for 46, and Panesar, dismissed for a duck, gave Allenby his five-wicket haul.

Goal readers voted for their favourite players of African origin in the Premier League this week.

Ahead of the 2018 Best of Africa Awards, an evening to honour and celebrate the philanthropic endeavours and achievements of African football players, Goal fans voted through our Instagram account for their own Best of Africa XI – a team made up entirely of Premier League players of African origin.

Due to the lack of African goalkeepers in the Premier League, fans were tasked with choosing between the best African keepers set to appear at this year’s FIFA World Cup to fill the spot between the posts.

It has been a great year for Africans in the Premier League, with Mohamed Salah scoring 31 Premier League goals and putting Liverpool on the cusp of a Champions League final. 

Team-mate Sadio Mane has built on last season's successes, while Wilfried Zaha has become Crystal Palace's key man in their surge towards Premier League survival as almost 300,000 votes were received.

GettyGK | Essam El-Hadary | Al-TaawounAdvertisementGettyRB | Victor Moses | ChelseaGetty ImagesCB | Vincent Kompany | Manchester CityENJOYED THIS STORY?

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Pubudu Dassanayake will continue as Nepal coach for another year, after the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) announced it would extend his contract

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Mar-2014Pubudu Dassanayake will continue as Nepal coach for another year, after the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) announced it would extend his contract. The extension follows a string of encouraging results for the national team, the most recent of which was their victory over Afghanistan at the World Twenty20. Dassanayake, a former Sri Lanka Test cricketer, has coached Nepal since September 2011.”Dassanayake has done so many good things for Nepali cricket and there was no one to go against his extension,” CAN president Tanka Angbuhang told . “With him, Nepali cricket could go a long way. If good results come under him, there will be extension a longer period for him.”The decision had come after a long meeting of the CAN executive committee on Monday, and the new contract includes a pay-hike for Dassanayake, as well as the promise of improved facilities. “Since the coach is leaving for Canada shortly, we first agreed to the period of extension,” CAN general secretary Ashok Nath Pyakurel said. “Rest of the things including the financial part can be done after he returns from Canada.”Dassanayake said he had set his sights on making Nepal the top Associate team. “I will come up with certain plans because this is the time when Nepali cricket needs to gain the momentum. We need to have a good domestic structure and proper age-group cricket so that we can be above Ireland and Afghanistan in the men’s and women’s cricket.”Nepal had won two of their three matches at the World Twenty20 and narrowly missed qualification to the Super 10s, with Bangladesh going through on net run rate. Their captain Paras Khadka was pleased Dassanayake received another turn, but felt the decision should have been an easy one for the board. 
”The whole of Nepal applauded his effort,” Khadka told . “If it was not for his vision and dedication, we couldn’t have come this far, “It was very disappointing that his contract was renewed at the last moment.”

The BCCI will get a chance to hear the audio recordings of three key depositions made to the Mudgal committee’s probe into IPL corruption allegations

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Apr-2014The BCCI will get a chance to hear the audio recordings of three key depositions – by its president N Srinivasan, CSK captain MS Dhoni and IPL chief operating officer Sundar Raman – made to the Mudgal committee’s probe into IPL corruption allegations. The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked for the tapes to be submitted to the court registrar.The tapes were sought by the BCCI’s counsel CA Sundaram as proof of the Mudgal committee’s findings with regard to what Srinivasan, Dhoni and Raman had said about Gurunath Meiyappan’s role in the Chennai Super Kings franchise. Gurunath, who is Srinivasan’s son-in-law, was arrested by Mumbai police during the 2013 IPL season and charged with cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy, which included passing on information that compromised his team. The tapes will heard by Amit Sibal and Rohini Musa, counsels nominated by the BCCI, in the presence of the Secretary General of the Court, who will be responsible for transcribing the tapes.The two-man bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justice A K Patnaik and FM Ibrahim Kalifullah asked Sundaram for an assurance that the content of the tapes would not be leaked to the media. The counsel was warned that if the information did get out, he would be held in contempt. The court said cricket would be “blackened” in the country, if any portion of the tapes’ content was released.The Mudgal commission was set up in October 2013 and submitted its report on February 10, 2014 after interviewing 52 people. Along with the report, both parties were given 4000 pages of annexures that did not have the recordings of the 52 depositions. The recordings were meant to help in accurate tabling of every deposition.Gopal Subramaniam, who represented the Mudgal panel in court, said the committee had stopped audio recordings because of a suspicion that they were being made available to outsiders without the committee’s permission. The depositions had been recorded between November 5, 2013 and January 6, 2014 on equipment organised and facilitated by the BCCI. Subramaniam said the recordings were of poor quality, and not the high-quality audio that had been promised to the panel by the BCCI.All the recordings of depositions were meant to be given to the panel and then deleted from the system immediately. It is understood that may not have been the case with all the depositions. Subramaniam said several cricketers had appeared before the panel “with utmost confidentiality,” and those recordings could not be handed over to any outside party because it would “hurt the credibility of the commission”.

Afghanistan’s tour to Zimbabwe has been cancelled, ESPNcricinfo has learned

Firdose Moonda09-Jan-2014Afghanistan’s tour to Zimbabwe has been cancelled, ESPNcricinfo has learned. The Associate country was due to visit the African nation later this month for a handful of ODIs and Twenty20s but financial concerns in Zimbabwe have made the tour untenable. Zimbabwe were reportedly seeking to play the matches in Bangladesh but that plan too has been scuppered.A source close to Zimbabwe Cricket revealed that the “demands of domestic cricket led to the cancellation of the tour.” Zimbabwe’s domestic players have been on strike since late December due to non-payment. The players have insisted they will not take the field until they receive their salaries, which means there is no fixed date for the resumption of the first-class league.Zimbabwe Cricket is in severe financial crisis and sources close to the board have revealed they have asked the ICC for yet another loan. A planned visit by Sri Lanka in October 2013 had already been postponed on ZC’s request because of a lack of funds.However, Afghanistan were to bear their logistics expenses in Zimbabwe on their own, so the cancellation seems to be indicative of a wider problem. Zimbabwe’s domestic players are on strike due to non-payment of their dues by the board. They did not play the last round of first-class matches before the Christmas break and the indications are they will take the field this year only after they are paid.With Afghanistan’s trip being called off, Zimbabwe will have no practice before the World Twenty20 in March. They would have gone almost six months without any cricket, having last played Pakistan in September. Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor tweeted on Friday evening that the team needed to get practicing, keeping the World T20 in mind.

2 months before we travel to Bangladesh for the T20 world cup. Lets get training

— Brendan Taylor (@BrendanTaylor86) January 9, 2014

Kusal Mendis’ 103 and a tight bowling performance helped Sri Lanka Under-19s rout Australia Under-19s by 95 runs in the first Youth ODI in Colombo

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Feb-2014
ScorecardKusal Mendis’ 103 and a tight bowling performance helped Sri Lanka Under-19s rout Australia Under-19s by 95 runs in the first Youth ODI in Colombo.Set 263 to chase in 50 overs, Australia lost wickets in clusters to end well short. After a brisk opening stand of 23 in three overs, Australia lost their next three wickets in five overs and added just five runs to their tally. From 28 for 3, a fourth-wicket partnership of 23 between Ben McDermott and Damian Mortimer promised recovery, but left-arm pacer Harsha Rajapaksha took three wickets in two overs to leave the side at 57 for 6 in the 18th over.Cameron Valente tried to shepherd the rest of the line-up with an 68-ball 47 but Sri Lanka’s bowlers stifled the visitors and dismissed them for 167. Rajapaksha finished with figures of 3 for 21 in eight overs, while Lakshan Jayasinghe and AK Tyronne picked up two wickets each. Minod Bhanuka, the Sri Lankan wicketkeeper, also had a good outing, contributing to six dismissals.Earlier, Mendis anchored the Sri Lanka innings, adding useful partnerships with the middle order to help the side reach 262 for 8. His best stand came with Rajapaksha as the pair added 75 for the sixth wicket in nearly 10 overs to boost Sri Lanka’s score. Both batsmen fell in the 43rd over but a few hits from Anuk Fernando and Binura Fernando pushed the score past 250.

Fluent fifties from openers Ahmed Shehzad and Shan Masood, and No. 3 batsman Azhar Ali helped Pakistan A reach 230 for 4 at the end of the first day against the South Africans

Firdose Moonda in Sharjah09-Oct-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo – Ahmed Shehzad made his case for the second opener’s spot with a fluent fifty•ESPNcricinfo LtdSouth Africa’s bowlers will hope the surface they toiled on in Sharjah will not resemble the pitches on which they will play the two-Test series. Although a few deliveries kept low, the conditions assisted neither spinners nor the seamers and it was nothing but a grind for the tourists.The South Africans took the field with ice jackets and cooling necklaces. Dale Steyn wore the former while the other was passed between players at intervals throughout the afternoon, to combat the 37-degree heat and high humidity. They also rotated stints in the field with all players allowed a break for a period of time.Pakistan A got some value out of the day, doing what captain Umar Amin wanted by batting it out to “give South Africa something to think about” and allowing openers Ahmed Shehzad and Shan Masood, as well as the national No.3 Azhar Ali, to bring up half-centuries.Shehzad’s may be the most important because it would allowed him to announce himself as the prime candidate to partner Khurram Manzoor in the first Test next week. Pakistan have yet to pick another opener after dropping Mohammad Hafeez and will likely select someone from the A side. Shehzad, who is uncapped in the longest format and is just 21 years old, showed he may be the man for the job.He was expressive against the spinners and fluent against the South African seamers, all four of whom bowled within themselves to avoid tiring out. Shehzad was particularly strong through the off side and on the drive, and was dismissed due to a lack of temperament rather than being outfoxed.With Robin Peterson keeping things tight, Shehzad tried to loft him over a strategically placed short mid-wicket but offered the fielder a simple chance. That was the South Africans only wicket of the middle session with the focus being on lines and accuracy.Steyn bowled below pace, Morkel found some bounce and was the only one of the trio to take a wicket when Faisal Iqbal was caught at slip, but it was Vernon Philander who looked the most threatening. His accurate line outside the off stump proved as successful, not in wicket-taking but in problem-causing terms, as it has elsewhere in the world. The bowlers operated in short spells through the afternoon and allowed the spinners to dominate proceedings later on.Tahir was expensive, especially in his first spell. Too many variations and a bouquet of full tosses threatened to derail the legspinner, especially with Shehzad and then Azhar using their feet well.Masood’s half-century was well-paced and he chose to retire after reaching the landmark. Azhar’s fifty was more eye-catching; he was patient upfront, with just 12 runs from his first 33 balls, but grew in confidence later on.His retirement allowed captain Umar Amin a stint at the crease. With a place in the senior side at stake, Amin showed his ability to hold fort as the day drew to a close. The captains had agreed to enforce declarations after the 100-over mark and with 22 overs left in the Pakistan A innings, South African captain Graeme Smith will have a last chance to bat before the first Test.

Bangladesh were kept under pressure by Zimbabwe for short periods in both innings, but the hosts were always only a partnership or a wicket away from taking command, and duly went up 4-0 in the five-match series with the 21-run win in Mirpur

The Report by Mohammad Isam in Mirpur28-Nov-2014
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:22

Isam: Not enough effort from Zimbabwe

Bangladesh were kept under pressure by Zimbabwe for short periods in both innings, but the hosts were always only a partnership or a wicket away from taking command, and duly went up 4-0 in the five-match series with the 21-run win in Mirpur. ​Zimbabwe did however record their best bowling figures, highest opening partnership, first 100-plus partnership, and first 200-plus score. But none of these could produce their first win on tour. They restricted Bangladesh to 256 for 8 in 50 overs, but could only muster 235 for 8 in reply.Brendan Taylor top-scored with 63 but it was Solomon Mire who impressed with his second ODI fifty, which featured a number of ferocious hits. He was dropped on 32 by Abul Hasan at deep fine-leg, and made good use of it. He and Taylor added 106 runs for the fourth wicket and were threatening to have a tilt at the 257-run target. But once the pair got out in successive overs, with Zimbabwe still needing 85, the visitors never really got back on track.Taylor struck seven fours, while Mire smashed four fours and two sixes each over long-on and midwicket, with the second one bringing up his fifty. Mire, however, was also the first to fall in the partnership, giving cover a simple catch as he drove without moving his feet against Jubair Hossain. Taylor got out trying his brand of the trampoline shot with Zimbabwe entering the second Powerplay.Elton Chigumbura could not provide the required fireworks, adding just 11 runs in 4.3 overs following the fifth wicket. Peter Moor and Regis Chakabva looked like the wrong batsmen at the slog overs, as the required run-rate soared out of their grasp.Bangladesh had earlier based their innings on two partnerships which counter-balanced two batting collapses. Mahmudullah was the common factor in both stands, adding 134 for the fifth wicket with Mushfiqur Rahim, and 65 for the eighth with Mashrafe Mortaza.Mahmudullah made 82, his highest ODI score and his first half-century in 18 months. He struck six fours in his 112-ball knock, an innings of supporting nature that had its share of attractive strokes. He made sure Mushfiqur and Mashrafe were fed the strike and remained on the attack.The pitch also offered a bit of movement and slow bounce, which made it difficult to keep shots under control. The seamers Neville Madziva and Mire took three wickets each, and though they took a bit of a hammering towards the end, kept the Bangladesh batsmen on their toes. Legspinner Tafadzwa Kamungozi was disciplined in his 10 overs, taking two crucial wickets.Bangladesh did not enjoy as good a start with the bat as they did in the second and third ODIs. The opening partnership lasted just four overs when Anamul Haque missed a straight ball that would have hit middle-stump had it not hit his back leg. Having struck his second boundary in the tenth over by backing away and steering the ball through the off side, Tamim Iqbal tried the same shot in the next over and picked out sweeper cover. Hamilton Masakadza did not have to move and Mire had picked up his first international wicket.Four balls later, Brendan Taylor snapped up a one-handed catch as Imrul tried to hit one over his head at midwicket. In the very next over, Shakib scooped a Mire slower ball to mid-off. It was fun times for Zimbabwe as the haze took over Mirpur.But from 32 for 4, Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah wrested back the initiative. Mushfiqur drove business-like through the covers, clipped through square-leg and brought out the square drive against the offspinner Vusi Sibanda. He was severe on the short ball and lofted over cover with aplomb. He hit one four, with his favoured slog sweep, but it was this shot that also brought his end in the 38th over.Mushfiqur made a 78-ball 77, with seven fours, but it felt like an innings cut short in its prime due to the batsman’s impatience. Two more wickets fell soon after. Sabbir Rahman’s sweep found the deep square-leg fielder off Kamungozi, while Abul Hasan spooned one to mid-off to give Mire his third wicket. Mahmudullah, however, remained steady and joined with Mashrafe to take charge of the last ten overs, as they made sure Bangladesh neared the 250-mark.When Zimbabwe replied, Shakib Al Hasan provided Bangladesh with the first two wickets by getting rid of Masakadza and Sibanda. The latter was the first to fall, trapped leg-before as he pressed forward and was struck in front. Masakadza was beautifully opened up with Shakib’s arm-ball and soon after, Jubair got his first ODI wicket off his fifth ball, beating Timycen Maruma with a googly as Zimbabwe slipped to 60 for 3 by the 17th over.Shakib was excellent till the tenth over, taking 2 for 28, while Rubel Hossain and Jubair also picked up two scalps apiece. Jubair was slightly expensive, but as only the second specialist legspinner to play an ODI for Bangladesh, he did a decent job.Ultimately, Zimbabwe’s batting recovery, from 60 for 3, was not as effective as Bangladesh’s fifth or eighth-wicket stands, and now the visitors find themselves just one loss away from a double whitewash.

Jamie Siddons, the former Bangladesh coach who is now in charge of Wellington, has questioned whether coaching standards in New Zealand are up to providing players, particularly batsmen, for the national side who can cope in alien conditions

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Nov-2013Jamie Siddons, the former Bangladesh coach who is now in charge of Wellington, has questioned whether coaching standards in New Zealand are up to providing players, particularly batsmen, for the national side who can cope in alien conditions. After New Zealand suffered a second ODI whitewash against Bangladesh, Siddons suggested that the team’s overall skill levels were not high enough.Siddons was in charge of Bangladesh when New Zealand lost 4-0 on tour in 2010 and he said that little seemed to have changed when it came to playing on foreign pitches. Having been involved in New Zealand’s domestic set-up for more than two years, he pinpointed “the coaching … the technical side of things”, as well as saying that soporific surfaces at home were part of the problem, with batsmen only comfortable when “it’s not swinging and it’s not spinning”.”It looked pretty similar,” Siddons said of New Zealand’s efforts, three years after their last visit to Bangladesh. “The conditions are a bit foreign to the boys, not that they turned a lot, just slower pace and facing some reasonable spinners with a bit of variation.””I don’t think [Bangladesh] were clearly better. I think they utilise their conditions pretty well and we weren’t prepared for it or good enough to handle it.”Despite some encouraging results under the captaincy of Brendon McCullum – New Zealand beat England and South Africa in away ODI series earlier this year and drew with England in the home Tests – a fragility in the batting has been a repeated motif. Even when they managed to pass 300 in the third match against Bangladesh, their opponents overhauled the target with four wickets and four balls in hand.”We need to practice tougher. We need to have wickets that turn, practice how to face faster bowling and swing bowling,” Siddons said. “As soon as it’s tough your batsmen are vulnerable and it’s the coaching, it’s the technical side of things, it’s the mindset. It’s certainly not mental.”I hear a lot of people say it’s mental problems with the players, but everyone’s trying. These guys don’t get out because of mental mistakes, it’s the skill levels. It’s hard work on the road. Those guys will come back here and it’s flat and it’s not swinging and it’s not spinning and they’ll be okay. But as soon as you go away and you’re under pressure again against something you haven’t practised against, then you’ll have problems.”Despite being generally competitive in one-day cricket, New Zealand were dismissed for 45 in the Cape Town Test at the start of 2013 and then 68 at Lord’s in May. They also only managed to scrape past Sri Lanka’s total of 138 in Cardiff during the Champions Trophy, a tournament which they exited at the group stage.Siddons, who amassed 11,587 first-class runs and was capped once by Australia during his playing career before going on to be his country’s batting coach, acknowledged that it was difficult for Mike Hesson and his New Zealand staff to make technical corrections while on tour. The problems arose further down the system, he said.”It’s near-impossible – they’re supposed to be ready when they get there. Supposed to be,” he said. “Under our system I’m supposed to have these guys ready and they ask me about my guys and I tell them the truth. I say he’s not ready, he’s not going to be successful, wait, give him time, he’s got this problem, he’s got that problem.”They [New Zealand’s coaches] can get them up and talk about plans and stuff, but if they haven’t got that ability to run down the wicket, they can’t run down the wicket. If they don’t have the sweep shot before they get there, they’re not going to develop one.”