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India slide after Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli fifties to end up 32 short of 297 target

Saurabh Somani19-Jan-20223:18

Cullinan: South Africa had better ‘all-round’ ODI approach; India lacked fight

A sparkling century from Rassie van der Dussen was complemented by a well-paced one from Temba Bavuma, as South Africa cantered to a 31-run win over India in the first ODI of a three-match series.van der Dussen joined Bavuma when South Africa were 68 for 3 in the 18th over, but they shrugged off that rickety start to eventually drive the team 296 for 4 on a slow Boland Park pitch. India were on track in the first half of their chase, particularly when Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan were batting together in a 92-run stand for the second wicket, but the innings withered after they both fell.Bavuma and van der Dussen had put on 204 runs in just 183 balls, conquering bowlers and conditions. In particular, van der Dussen’s knock took the first innings, and it turned out the match, away from India. In the end, he remained unconquered on an ODI best 129 off just 96 balls. His innings included four hits over the fence and nine to it, with more than half his runs coming via running between the wickets – this on a day when the heat was sapping. In the final over of South Africa’s innings, van der Dussen was often down on his haunches to gather his breath. It was his batting that left those watching breathless though.Related

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He got off the blocks quickly, injecting much-needed momentum into the innings, using sweeps and reverse sweeps to devastating effect against the spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and R Ashwin. The feature of van der Dussen’s innings was how he took the pitch out of the equation. Till his arrival, scoring had been laborious. But his use of the square boundaries, and ability to capitalise on the slightest errors in length, meant the innings found a new gear.Bavuma had a head start on his innings and got to his century first, with a single off Shardul Thakur in the 45th over. At the start of the 48th over, van der Dussen got to his own hundred with a flick to fine leg.The heat in Paarl saw the Indian bowling also wilt after a good start, as van der Dussen continued to go full throttle. Bavuma, who was on 23 off 45 when van der Dussen joined him and later on 28 off 53, gradually picked up his pace too. He made 82 from the last 90 balls he faced, playing an able foil to van der Dussen. By the time he had holed out to become Jasprit Bumrah’s second wicket, he had made 110 off 143.India’s bowling had begun well. Bumrah got Janneman Malan nicking behind, and the returning Ashwin – playing his first ODI since 2017 – castled Quinton de Kock with a quicker one. When Aiden Markram ran himself out via a direct hit from debutant Venkatesh Iyer at mid-off, India seemed well in control.Aiden Markram sent back KL Rahul•Gallo Images

However, the van der Dussen and Bavuma rebuilding plus counterattack left India looking a bit ragged. There were several mis-fields and overthrows too, which eased any pressure that was built up.KL Rahul, captaining India for the first time, didn’t have an outing to remember. He never went to his sixth bowling option Venkatesh, and had used up eight overs each of Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar by the time the innings was 40 overs old. Eventually, 86 runs came off the final ten overs, including a 17-run final over by Shardul Thakur.When Rahul came out to open the innings, he treated Markram’s part-time offspin with exaggerated caution. Markram bowled six overs on the trot after taking the new ball. Rahul had opted to play him out safely rather than attack, but that approach didn’t pay dividends either when he poked Markram behind to de Kock.That led to India’s best phase in the chase, with Dhawan scoring freely and Kohli building busily. During that period, the target looked within reach, with both men looking in control. However, a sharply turning ball from Keshav Maharaj spun into the Dhawan, past the inside half of his bat and onto his stumps as he was shaping to cut, and Kohli top-edged Tabraiz Shamsi to midwicket three overs later. From 138 for 1 in the 26th over, India’s slide was steady. Thakur, coming in at No. 8, belted a maiden ODI fifty and was unbeaten on 50 off 43 balls, but his hits only served to lessen the margin of defeat.

The franchise says Dravid was offered a broader position as part of the restructuring, but he decided not to take it

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Aug-2025Rahul Dravid’s stint as head coach of Rajasthan Royals (RR) has come to an end after just one season. In a statement on Saturday, the franchise said Dravid had been offered a broader position within the set-up, but he chose not to take it.Dravid’s exit despite having a multi-year contract follows a structural review after the team’s ninth-place finish at IPL 2025, their poorest season since 2021 with just four wins in 14 matches. Earlier this month, it came to the surface that Sanju Samson, RR’s captain since IPL 2021, has also asked to be released ahead of the next season.”Head coach Rahul Dravid will conclude his tenure with the franchise ahead of IPL 2026,” the statement said. “Rahul has been central to the Royals’ journey for many years. His leadership has influenced a generation of players, instilled strong values within the squad, and left an indelible mark on the culture of the franchise.Related

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“As part of the franchise structural review, Rahul had been offered a broader position at the franchise, but has chosen not to take this. The Rajasthan Royals, its players, and millions of fans worldwide extend heartfelt thanks to Rahul for his remarkable service to the franchise.”Dravid was central to RR’s auction strategy as well as their retentions ahead of a fresh three-year cycle. The franchise retained Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag and Shimron Hetmyer ahead of the season, which was marred by injuries to key players as well as an inability to cross the line in a number of close finishes.Dravid had first joined RR as a player in 2011, and captained them for two seasons (2012 and 2013), before serving as team director and mentor in 2014 and 2015. His exit means at least two franchises – Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) being the other – are without a head coach for IPL 2026. Last month, Chandrakant Pandit decided to leave KKR after overseeing the side to their first IPL title in ten years in 2024. Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) too are in the midst of a support-staff rejig, having recently brought in B Arun as bowling consultant.RR currently have on board Kumar Sangakkara as director of cricket, Vikram Rathour as batting coach and Shane Bond as bowling coach. The team has not won the IPL title since their victory in the inaugural season in 2008. Their next-best finish came in 2022, when they finished runners-up to Gujarat Titans.

Southee and Henry strike early to turn the screw after disciplined batting display

The Report by Andrew Miller30-Nov-2019England 39 for 2 (Burns 24*, Root 6*) trail New Zealand 375 (Latham 105, Mitchell 73, Watling 55, Broad 4-73) by 336 runsEngland’s dicey fortunes took another turn for the precarious on the second day at Hamilton, as New Zealand’s seamers found movement and energy with the new ball in a torrid final hour, to consolidate their grip on the series after another four-and-a-half sessions of hard graft from their batsmen had visibly drained their visitors’ resolve.By the close, England were clinging on through their under-pressure captain, Joe Root – who has rarely felt more desperate for a score – and Rory Burns, who survived two dropped catches and an under-edged drive past the off stump in scratching his way to an unbeaten 24. Ugly runs will do just fine, of course, but the hounding that England endured in their 18 evening-session overs merely compounded the difference in confidence between the two camps.Though a late flurry of wickets (and runs) in New Zealand’s own innings had hinted at a pitch that had quickened up from the slightly spurious greentop of the first morning, the contest came alive from the moment that Tim Southee and Matt Henry were handed New Zealand’s new ball.Dom Sibley had barely found his bearing when he was thumped a savage blow on the helmet by Southee – sconed on the badge just as he had been in England’s warm-up in Whangarei – and four overs later he swished loosely across the line to be pinned lbw for 4.Daryl Mitchell plays a shot•Getty Images

Joe Denly barely endured any longer: Henry had already been denied Burns’ scalp when Ross Taylor shelled a diving chance at first slip, but Denly couldn’t escape his clutches, grazing an edge for BJ Watling to cling on low behind the stumps. Burns, his balance all over the place, was lucky to survive again when Jeet Raval flung himself at an airy clip at midwicket, and England could well have lost a third to the final ball of the day when New Zealand’s master of chaos, Neil Wagner, forced Root to flinch a lifter just wide of leg gully.The intent New Zealand displayed with the ball made light of a surface that England’s own bowlers (with the honourable exception of Stuart Broad) had at times made to look like a featherbed. But moreover it was a tribute to the tactics employed by New Zealand’s batsmen – particularly their first-day centurion Tom Latham, and today’s sixth-wicket mainstays, Watling and the debutant Daryl Mitchell.Between them, that trio marshalled a first-innings total of 375 that spanned a hefty 129.1 overs. It ended up being some way shy of the 201 overs they had ground out at Mount Maunganui last week, largely thanks to Broad, whose cross-seaming screamer from the final ball before tea dislodged the steadfast Watling for 55 from 192 balls and set in motion a frantic race through the tail as the final five wickets fell for 60 inside 13 overs.Up until that finale, England had gone through their motions with as much energy as they could muster. Chris Woakes was line-and-length personified in another economical display, while Jofra Archer occasionally touched 140kph in another barrel-scraping display from a hard-worked thoroughbred who desperately looks in need of a rest. His fortunes were best summed up in a lively joust with Mitchell Santner, who twice in an over hoicked his short balls over fine leg for six, on the second occasion taking out a luckless security guard who had been looking the other way behind the rope.But ultimately it was the sight of Ben Stokes, his dodgy knee already causing him so much discomfort, charging in time and again in a bid to be his side’s game-changer once again, that was the clearest indication of the direction in which this contest is currently headed. After limping out of the attack after two overs on the first day, he defied logic by returning for a further 11 today. Lion-hearted and loyal to his captain, maybe, but wicketless and futile at the same time, especially with four Tests in South Africa looming within the month.Stokes’ involvement was at least an indication that England believed the contest was not out of reach. And at 191 for 5 in the first hour of the morning, it had indeed looked rather promising, after Broad had induced a rare misjudgement from Tom Latham to peg back his off stump for 105, before Henry Nicholls’ flapped a Sam Curran bouncer down Broad’s throat at backward square leg.

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But then again, England had thought they were in the contest in Mount Maunganui as well, where New Zealand had been tottering at 197 for 5 before Watling and co cranked their innings up to a monstrous 615 for 9 declared. And while such riches proved to be out of reach here, their runs on the board felt mightily significant by the close.The bulk of those were mined from Watling’s sixth-wicket stand of 124 with the new boy Mitchell, whose handful of cameos in the T20 series were scant preparation for the emotion and pressure of a Test debut innings, but who proved very much up to the challenge. He took his time to get going, digging deep for eight scoreless deliveries (with his mum filming them all on her phone) before lumping a rare Woakes long-hop through midwicket for a very cathartic first boundary.And thereafter he was away – not in the sense of a free-flowing rampage, but in the “block, block, cash in” sense of a man who trusted his technique, the pitch, his team-mate and his team’s tactics, to force England to dig deep, exhaust themselves, and offer up the odd ball that had to be put away – such as the monstrous golf-swing of a straight drive with which Mitchell climbed into an otherwise perfectly serviceable legbreak from Denly that travelled the best part of 110m back over the bowler’s head.There wasn’t much of that ilk to be seen from either batsman throughout their alliance. Watling had one significant let-off, on 1, when the stand-in keeper Ollie Pope was unable to stay low enough to scoop a low edge off Curran, and New Zealand were able to add just 24 runs in the first hour after lunch – a-nip-and-tuck period in which two quick wickets at 280-odd for 7 could well have dragged their innings quickly back into the mire.But that just never looked like happening. The new ball came and went with the minimum of alarm, and as the second hour wore on, so the scoring opportunities became more frequent. Mitchell motored to his maiden Test fifty with a brace of boundaries in a tired over from Stokes, the latter a sweetly timed pull through midwicket that earned a wave from a very proud mum, and Watling passed his own landmark soon afterwards – crunching a Curran half-volley through the covers.But then came the one that misbehaved from Broad – a snorter that fizzed off a startled splice to Burrns in the gully, and suddenly the door was open once more. Broad kicked his way through it after the resumption, persuading Mitchell to top-edge a bouncer to Archer on the square leg boundary for 73 before Woakes found Southee’s edge to give Pope that overdue maiden keeper’s catch. Archer added his first wicket of the match, and only his second of an arduous series, when Santner chanced his arm once too often, and one ball later Wagner chipped a Curran full-toss to midwicket.But that rush of breakthroughs proved a double-edged omen for England. By the close, with their innings in serious jeopardy, they might even have missed the ennui of New Zealand’s mid-innings go-slow.

Not all their team-mates agree – “I like ODI cricket, it is just enough time to do enough,” says Ashton Agar

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Oct-2022Usman Khawaja and Aaron Finch feel that for ODI cricket to remain interesting, the number of overs should be brought down to 40 for each innings.”I think I’d like one-day cricket more if it was 40 overs,” Khawaja told . “I played Pro40 in England a few years ago when they were playing 40-over cricket. I really enjoyed it.Related

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“I just think 50 overs is just that little bit too long now. T20 cricket is awesome. Test cricket is the pinnacle. I just feel like one-day cricket, if it could be 40 overs, I reckon that would just take out that little middle bit.”Finch – who recently retired from ODI cricket – agreed with Khawaja on 40 overs being the sweet spot, but expected the format to become popular around the time of the next World Cup, 50 overs or not.”The same debate keeps coming up every few years,” he said on the same programme. “When you’re 12 months away from a World Cup, people try and find relevance. But then the World Cup rolls around, and it’ll be bigger than again, and then another format will be on the chopping block.”But it’s that middle period Khawaja mentioned, that Adam Zampa suggested needs a close look. “There’s about ten overs in the middle that needs to be scrapped or something needs to be done with them, something a bit more exciting” he said. “Or, in between overs 20 and 30, there could be bonuses or extra free-hits, or something like that… make it a bit more interesting.”However, not all their team-mates agree with them. Ashton Agar, for example, said he liked the 50-overs-a-side format the way it has been.”I like ODI cricket, it is just enough time to do enough,” Agar said. “You know, ten overs [per bowler] is a lovely amount of bowling time. Fifty overs is a good time to bat, like it gives the guys lower down the order a bit of time if there’s a few wickets that have fallen.”Yes I think people get frustrated at, maybe it gets a bit too long, but I think that’s just because of the advent of T20 cricket. So I like ODI cricket.”Alex Carey, meanwhile, said that “there’s still lots of room in the game for one-day cricket for sure”, and cited the example of the 2019 ODI World Cup, where “the atmosphere was incredible”, for proof of the format’s popularity.In terms of solutions, Nathan Lyon had one: “One ball from one end, or both ends… stop giving the batters a new ball to hit,” he said. “It’s only 25 overs old, it’s still hard, I’d like to see… bring reverse swing back, bring spin back into it.”

Being part of CWG 2022 “can only leave us in a good position as we look for ambitions moving forward,” says Geoff Allardice

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jul-2022Being a “star attraction” at the 2022 Commonwealth Games will give a fillip to the ICC’s ambitions of being included in “all other types of multi-sport games”, mainly the Olympic Games, Geoff Allardice, the ICC chief executive, said in Birmingham on Wednesday.”The idea of being here in Birmingham for the annual [ICC] conference is to celebrate cricket’s involvement in the Commonwealth Games for the first time in 24 years [when a men’s 50-over event was held, in Kuala Lumpur] with the women’s T20 event,” Allardice said. “Judging on the reaction of the players, they all are very excited and enjoying the experience of being around the top athletes from other sports.”We have declared our ambition to be involved in the Olympic Games. We are assisting the LA 2028 organisers and providing any information will help their assessment of different sports with regards to addition to the Olympic programme. But, at this stage, a decision is due next year.”Related

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Women’s T20 cricket, between eight teams, including Barbados as the West Indies representatives, is being played in this edition of the Commonwealth Games, in Birmingham. In fact, all matches will be played at Edgbaston. This, after the ICC and the ECB lobbied successfully for its inclusion.Supporters of the ICC’s stated objective of having cricket included in the Olympics – possibly in Los Angeles in 2028, though the sport hasn’t made the provisional list – are likely to keep their eyes peeled on how things go in Birmingham. A good show can only help the big plans.”Being in multi-sport games, whether it is the Commonwealth Games or the Asian Games or the African Games, putting cricket into these multisport events is good for the growth of our game,” Allardice said. “One, it gives a lot of our member countries a seat at the top table for sporting organisations within their country. Two, the coverage of these games reaches new audiences that may not be traditional cricket audiences.”And that is one of opportunities with the Commonwealth Games, that we can reach new audiences. I’m sure you have seen in the last five years or so, the quality of our women’s events is outstanding. The players are great ambassadors for our sport. We heard from a number of the [women’s team] captains last night at a panel session, and they are very excited and I’m sure, cricket a star attraction at the Commonwealth Games, which can only leave us in a good position as we look for ambitions moving forward in all other types of multi-sport games.”At the time of announcing cricket’s inclusion for Birmingham 2022, the Commonwealth Games Federation had said that it was “likely to be popular not only with spectators locally in Birmingham, but also for fans across competing nations, with 90% of the sport’s one billion fans worldwide thought to reside in the Commonwealth”.That is different from the Olympic Games, of course, where most of the participating nations are not traditional cricket-playing, or cricket-watching centres. Still, good competition, especially in the format perceived to be the most useful for reaching new audiences, could only help cricket’s ambitions of being a truly global sport.

Marlon Samuels is adamant he is the man to revive West Indies’ embattled batting line-up when he returns from a two-year suspension for links to an Indian gambler

Alex Brown02-Dec-2009Marlon Samuels is adamant he is the man to revive West Indies’ embattled batting line-up when he returns from a two-year suspension for links to an Indian gambler. Samuels, who was banned by a West Indies Cricket Board disciplinary committee for discussing team information with Mukesh Kochar and later approaching him to pay a hotel bill, will be eligible to return to cricket on May 9 next year and is confident of being promptly reinstated to the regional team.Samuels has consistently maintained his innocence over the charges, and his belief that the WICB disciplinary committee were pressured into delivering a guilty verdict by both the board and the International Cricket Council’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit. He told the hearing last year that phone taps in which he was recorded discussing bowling and personnel changes were never intended to assist in gambling, and that the $1,238 paid by Kochar for a hotel room in Mumbai was intended as a loan after his own credit card was declined.A four-man panel consisting of Richie Richardson, Justice Adrian Saunders, Lloyd Barnett and Aubrey Bishop voted 3-1 that Samuels had violated the ICC’s code of conduct, but stated the Jamaican batsman had not acted “dishonestly or in a corrupt manner” and that he “is an honest cricketer … [who] has never betted on cricket matches”. Richardson, one of the three panel members to rule against Samuels, later said he regretted his decision and argued that the minimum two-year sentence set down by the ICC was “unfair”.Samuels has maintained a low profile during his suspension, having abandoned his original plan to conduct a judicial review of the verdict through the Antiguan courts. He has spent much of the last 18 months in the gymnasium preparing for his re-entry to cricket – which coincides with the second week of the World Twenty20 tournament in the Caribbean – where he hopes to revitalise West Indies’ misfiring top- and middle-orders.”It’s always hard to see your team lose,” Samuels told Cricinfo. “I’m a West Indian and that will always be my team. I hope Chris Gayle will pick up his troops and take them to bigger and better things. I watch a lot of games and a lot of tapes. It has been very frustrating sitting and watching cricket all this time, but I am hoping to come back better than before. I will definitely come back with a stronger frame of mind.”Most definitely my intention is to return to the West Indies team. I have trained very hard and been very disciplined while I have been out of the game. The two years will be over soon. I want to bat No. 4 for West Indies. That is where I always wanted to bat, but unfortunately I haven’t been able to get that opportunity. I am very much looking forward to batting again with guys like Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan. I think I could have a positive impact.”Samuels is not alone in making that assessment. Clyde Butts, West Indies’ chairman of selectors, is buoyant about the exiled batsman’s international prospects for a year that will include Test series against South Africa and Sri Lanka.”Once Marlon’s suspension is over and he’s playing cricket again he will be considered,” Butts told Cricinfo. “Of course, the performances have to be there. When Marlon was suspended he was just starting to score a lot of runs and look the part. He’s someone who could strengthen the middle order and he also offers part-time off-spin.”Samuels insists he has no regrets over his dealings with Kochar, whom he befriended during a limited-overs series in Sharjah in 2002. He claims his tapped telephone conversation with the Indian gambler before a one-day international against India in Nagpur two years ago did not amount to corruption, and Kochar’s settling of the hotel bill in Mumbai two weeks later was the result of Samuels being short of cash when a paid television appearance was cancelled at short notice.”I don’t want to go into too much detail, but it has really been one man against the world,” he said. “An appeal would not have worked. I had a lot of telephone conversations with all kinds of people, and they told me an appeal would be a waste of time. Why would I do anything different? Anyone in that situation would have done the same thing. There have been past players come out and say things about me when they have done the same things themselves. The entire world has seen my case and know that I am innocent.”It is nine years ago to the month that Samuels, then 19, made his Test debut against Australia at the Adelaide Oval, the same venue where West Indies will attempt to improve their Frank Worrell Trophy prospects this week. Memories of confrontations with the Glenn McGrath-led Australian attack evoke in him both pleasant memories and sadness. He had hoped to make a third tour of Australia.Samuels achieved notoriety at the conclusion of the 2000 series when he asked Steve Waugh, the then-Australian captain, for a piece of his famous red rag. Waugh obliged, and Samuels to this day counts the tattered piece of cloth among his most treasured items. “To me, he is one of the greatest players I have seen,” he said. “That red rag is very special to me. It will die with me. I have it in a glass case inside my house so when my career is over I will have something to show the world. He is a great Australian icon.”I would have loved to be making my third tour of Australia and giving Ricky Ponting a good run for his money. I have great memories of being there as a 19-year-old making my debut. It was good to see (Adrian Barath) scoring a century also as a 19-year-old and I wish him all the best. I wanted to go there as a fearless cricketer and approach the Test matches as if they were club games for Melbourne in Jamaica. I was just trying to play the ball, not the name that was Glenn McGrath.”Just how Caribbean and international audiences will greet the return of a player linked to gambling remains to be seen, but Samuels is hopeful of a positive response. He is spending the last few months of his suspension in the company of family, whom he expects to see less of from May 9, and mentally preparing himself to return to cricket’s elite competitions. “I know that when cricket starts again I will be away more often, so I am using this time now to do the things I want to,” he said. “When the time comes to play again, I know I will be ready.”

Dates and venues announced for home series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand, and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Dec-2022India’s home international season is scheduled to begin on January 3 with a T20I and ODI series against Sri Lanka, a week after their ongoing tour of Bangladesh ends on December 26. That will be followed by another ODI and T20I series in January, against New Zealand, followed by four Tests and three ODIs against Australia in February and March before the IPL.India host Sri Lanka for three T20Is in Mumbai (January 3), Pune (January 5) and Rajkot (January 7), and three ODIs in Guwahati (January 10), Kolkata (January 12) and Thiruvananthapuram (January 15).New Zealand’s tour of India begins three days later, on January 18, with an ODI in Hyderabad before the teams travel to Raipur for the second game on January 21, and Indore for the third match on January 24. The Shaheed Veer Narayan Stadium in Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh, will become India’s latest international venue when it hosts the second ODI against New Zealand. The city had previously staged home games of Delhi Daredevils in IPL 2013 and 2015.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

India also play three T20Is against New Zealand in Ranchi, Lucknow and Ahmedabad on January 27 and 29 and February 1. This will be India’s second limited-overs series at home against New Zealand in the last 14 months; they had visited immediately after the conclusion of the T20 World Cup in the UAE in November 2021. India had also toured New Zealand for T20Is and ODIs in November this year, immediately after the end of the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia.A week after the end of the home series against New Zealand, India will take on Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy – the marquee event of India’s home season. Nagpur will host the first Test from February 9; Delhi is the venue for the second Test starting on February 17; Dharamsala will stage the third match from March 1; and Ahmedabad will host the series finale from March 9. India are the current holders of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after winning the 2020-21 series 2-1 in Australia. The series is also crucial for India’s qualification for the World Test Championship final.The four Tests against Australia will be followed by three ODIs in Mumbai (March 17), Visakhapatnam (March 19) and Chennai (March 22). It will mean that India play nine ODIs at home before the IPL, a crucial part of their build up towards the ODI World Cup at home in October and November next year.

With the series still alive, India might not want to tinker with their playing XI

The Preview by Karthik Krishnaswamy07-Dec-20192:57

Chahal all set to overtake Ashwin 

Big picture

West Indies seldom put all their best T20 stars on the park at the same time, so watching them between world tournaments is often an exercise in fantasy squad building. If this guy weren’t playing Global T20 Moldova, and if that other chap recovers from that knee injury…It’s also the reason why their performances since the 2016 World T20 – 12 wins, 26 losses – and even their more recent form – nine losses in their last ten games – feels less alarming than it looks. Sure, they have been losing a lot of games, but who’s going to bet against them when next year’s T20 World Cup rolls around?West Indies’ display in Hyderabad summed up the above. A line-up packed with power-hitters – but missing three or four other, equally gifted hitters – posted a big total, but their bowlers lost control of the game in dewy conditions, and India won with ease. West Indies lost, but the dormant-superpower narrative remained intact.ALSO READ: Kohli compiles an anger-fuelled masterclassLosses like that might turn into wins if West Indies can assemble their best squad more often, but it can also happen if their bowlers get their act together. India completed their chase of 208 in 18.4 overs, and while that’s 112 balls in theory, they actually got to face 123, thanks to all the wides and no-balls.There will probably be dew in Thiruvananthapuram too, and sweaty palms thanks to the muggy heat, so West Indies’ bowling discipline will once again come under the spotlight.India, meanwhile, have a long-term issue of their own to address – or sidestep, depending on how the toss goes. You probably already know this, but it’s worth reiterating: since the start of 2018, India have a 14-3 record while chasing, which becomes 8-7 when they bat first.They hunted down their biggest-ever T20I target on Friday, and did so with ease, but it’s still not certain that their batsmen know how to approach innings when they don’t have a required rate in mind. Thiruvananthapuram may or may not give us answers to that particular puzzle.

Form guide

India WWWLL (last five completed games, most recent first)
West Indies LLLWLYuzvendra Chahal needs one wicket to become India’s highest wicket-taker in T20Is•BCCI

In the spotlight

Yuzvendra Chahal needs one wicket to go past R Ashwin and become India’s highest wicket-taker in T20Is. The selectors left him out of India’s squads for the tour of the West Indies and the home series against South Africa, in order to try a few new options, but since his return, Chahal has reiterated his value in the shortest format. He bowls the difficult overs, uses his variations intelligently, reads batsmen’s intentions better than most spinners, and picks up key wickets – as he showed by dismissing Shimron Hetmyer and Kieron Pollard in the 18th over in Hyderabad, to help keep West Indies from posting an even bigger total.He took a beating at Virat Kohli’s hands in Hyderabad, and finished with the worst-ever T20I figures by a West Indies bowler, but Kesrick Williams knows that such days are part and parcel of a T20 bowler’s life. West Indies understand the value of his cutters and pace variations – among bowlers from Test-playing teams with a minimum of 20 wickets, he has the fourth-best strike rate of all time – and if the Thiruvananthapuram pitch offers a bit of grip, India might find him a little harder to put away.

Team news

India don’t usually tinker much when series are still alive, which means Manish Pandey, Sanju Samson, Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Shami might have to continue waiting their turn.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Rishabh Pant (wk), 5 Shreyas Iyer, 6 Shivam Dube, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 11 Yuzvendra ChahalNicholas Pooran will most likely return to West Indies’ line-up after serving his four-match ban for ball-tampering, and take the keeping gloves from Denesh Ramdin. Fabian Allen missed the first game with a knee injury, and it’s unclear if he’s recovered enough to play in Thiruvananthapuram.West Indies (probable): 1 Lendl Simmons, 2 Evin Lewis, 3 Brandon King, 4 Shimron Hetmyer, 5 Nicholas Pooran (wk), 6 Kieron Pollard (capt), 7 Jason Holder, 8 Khary Pierre, 9 Kesrick Williams, 10 Sheldon Cottrell, 11 Hayden Walsh

Pitch and conditions

The Greenfield International Stadium has only hosted two international games – an ODI and a rain-affected T20I – and slow turn was a feature of both games. The ground hosted 14 games during the recent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (India’s domestic T20 tournament), and spinners did well once again, averaging 20.85 and conceding 6.35 runs per over.The weather is likely to be hot and humid, with a slight chance of rain.

Stats and trivia

• Rohit Sharma (2547) and Virat Kohli (2544) are neck-and-neck at the top of the global T20I run charts.
• West Indies don’t have great memories of Thiruvananthapuram. They have played one game here, an ODI in November 2018, which they lost by nine wickets after being bowled out for 104.
• West Indies hit a lot of sixes, but not fours. Among the 12 Test-playing teams, they have the worst balls-per-four ratio (11.40) since the end of the 2016 World T20 – England lead the way at 8.04 – and the third-best balls-per-six ratio (15.85) behind New Zealand (13.96) and Afghanistan (14.64). India sit in the middle of the pack on both counts, with the sixth-best balls-per-six ratio (17.64) and the seventh-best balls-per-four figure (8.63)

Cricket Australia confirms it will now enter into confidential discussions with Langer over his future

Alex Malcolm04-Feb-2022Justin Langer’s future as Australia’s men’s coach remains in the balance after an eight-hour Cricket Australia board meeting on Friday yielded no formal conclusion on his contract status.At the end of the lengthy meeting which covered a number of agenda items, CA CEO Nick Hockley emerged to read a written statement to reporters telling them that CA will now enter confidential discussions with Langer.”Cricket Australia can confirm that the CA board met today and part of that meeting involved significant discussions about men’s head coach Justin Langer’s contract,” Hockley said.”We will now enter into confidential discussions with Justin and the outcome will be announced as soon as possible.”Hockley declined to take any questions on the matter. Langer is currently in Melbourne but is due to fly home to Perth on Saturday and undertake 14 days of home quarantine. He will not coach Australia’s T20I side for the upcoming five-match series against Sri Lanka starting in Sydney on February 11 with the reins being handed to senior assistant Andrew McDonald.Langer has been left to stew on his unresolved contract situation having not been able to fly home since the end of the men’s Ashes. He has had several meetings with Hockley and Australia’s head of national teams Ben Oliver since the Hobart Test.But this was the first board meeting since that date. Speculation has been building after Australia’s two men’s captains, Test skipper Pat Cummins, and limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch baulked at endorsing the coach to continue beyond his current contract.Despite the success of the team, claiming the T20 World Cup and the Ashes in four months, angst remains over Langer’s coaching style with last August’s crisis meetings about Langer’s intensity still fresh in the minds of the players who pleaded for change.Langer has been left perplexed and frustrated by the process, adamant that he has made the necessary adjustments the players had asked for which has led to the recent success.There was also no news who would be CA’s new permanent chairman following the resignation of Earl Eddings last year. A decision on the chairman was one of the other key agenda items at today’s board meeting that appears to have been swamped by Langer’s contract discussions.One agenda item that was ticked off was Australia’s upcoming tour of Pakistan with the dates for the three-format tour locked in. The dates will overlap with the IPL leaving some players and coaches involved in Australia’s tour unavailable for at least the 10 days of the tournament.

Fast bowler named in 15-player squad with England needing 3-0 win to take series

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jul-2023Fast bowler Lauren Filer is in line for her England white-ball debut, in the wake of her fiery performance in the Women’s Ashes Test at Trent Bridge last month, after being named in a 15-person squad for the three ODIs against Australia next week.Filer, who touched speeds in excess of 75mph at Trent Bridge to live up to her reputation as the fastest female bowler in the country, comes into the reckoning with England needing a 3-0 clean sweep of the ODI series if they are to reclaim the Ashes for the first time since 2015.With the onus on victory, Filer could conceivably be unleashed alongside her fellow quick, 21-year-old Issy Wong, who was overlooked for the Test and hasn’t featured for England since the T20I leg of their tour of West Indies in December.Also included is the opening batter, Tammy Beaumont, whose England-record 208 underpinned her side’s strong first-innings batting display in the Test match, which Australia eventually won by 89 runs to claim four points towards their Ashes defence.Beaumont underlined her strong white-ball form with a match-winning 83 not out from 62 balls for The Blaze against Northern Diamonds in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy last week, and having missed the T20I leg of the Ashes, is set to resume her place at the top of the 50-over batting order.England head into the ODIs with confidence after coming from behind to seal a thrilling 2-1 victory in the T20Is, Australia’s first loss in any series since the corresponding leg of the 2017-18 Ashes.That leg was played out in front of a series of crowds in the region of 20,000 at Edgbaston, The Oval and Lord’s, and Heather Knight’s team are hopeful of similar support at Bristol (July 12), Southampton (July 16) and Taunton (July 18), all of which are sell-outs.Head coach Jon Lewis said: “We were delighted with our T20 series win and look forward to the next stage of the Ashes with everything to play for.”We’re pleased to welcome Tammy (Beaumont) and Lauren (Filer) back into the group. Tammy showed her quality during the Test match with her double-hundred while Lauren offers us real pace in our bowling alongside Issy (Wong).”The support the team have received throughout the series so far has been incredible and it is fitting to finish with this deciding ODI campaign as the first sell-out series in England Women’s history.”We respect Australia and know that this part of the Ashes series will again be a big challenge. However, we take a great deal of confidence and belief from our recent T20 victories and will, as always, be trying to put on a great showing for our fans.”England squad: Heather Knight (capt), Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Alice Capsey, Kate Cross, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Danielle Gibson, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones (wk), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Issy Wong, Danielle Wyatt