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Alastair Cook said his side have proved to themselves that they can play one-day cricket in Indian conditions

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jan-2013It will be a big stretch to compare England’s Rajkot ODI win to the famous Mumbai Test victory in November but the common factor in both is that Alastair Cook and his men have beaten India in conditions where the home side were expected to flourish.The Rajkot victory also gains in significance given England’s abysmal recent ODI run in India; James Tredwell showing again that there is talent besides Graeme Swann in England’s offspin department; the handy debut for Joe Root; and the winning start for new limited-overs coach Ashley Giles.”It is important, for the main reason that it gives us the confidence,” Cook said at the post-match conference, which took place amid a deafening fireworks show. “I mean it’s pretty much the same squad that we had last time out here when we lost 5-0. So to get an early win, especially in the first game, it proves to themselves that they can play in these conditions. You know it’s hard, you know it’s tough and it’s different – but I thought the way we fought out there, we’re going to have to do that again in the other games.”The victory, though, hasn’t changed Cook’s pre-series view that India are favourites. “I think we’re still clear underdogs just because of the fact that this is India’s home conditions and they’re so strong at home.”What will be particularly pleasing for England is the performance of Tredwell, who removed four of the top five batsmen to grab his second Man-of-the-Match award in the two ODIs he has played in India. Swann and Monty Panesar outbowled India’s spinners in the Test series and this time it was the turn of Tredwell to show the hosts’ tweakers how it is done. “We know what Tredders does,” Cook said. “To get four from there is really a brilliant effort.” The “there” was a reference to a belter of a track where most bowlers struggled to make an impact.Tredwell had support from an unexpected quarter. Root, the Yorkshire batsman who showed his tenacity with the bat on Test debut in Nagpur, sent down a series of tidy offspin overs to pull back India after their fast start, showing enough ability to hint that he could be counted on to bowl a few overs regularly. “We think of him as a batsman, he’s in there to score runs,” Cook said, after Root didn’t get to bat on debut. “Clearly, with the start we got, we needed the power hitters to come in next but there’ll be other times when he’ll bat at the top of the order. It’s a big bonus that he can bowl more than useful offspinners.”

Australia’s struggling batsmen will be sent for remedial work against the moving ball as they prepare for the Boxing Day Test against India

Brydon Coverdale14-Dec-2011Australia’s struggling batsmen will be sent for remedial work against the moving ball as they prepare for the Boxing Day Test against India. Four of the men who played in Australia’s shock loss to New Zealand in Hobart will head to Melbourne early for a batting camp as the coach Mickey Arthur aims to shore up their techniques after they battled to handle seam and swing at Bellerive Oval.Ricky Ponting, Michael Hussey, Brad Haddin and the captain Michael Clarke will take part in the camp, from December 20 to 22. They will be joined by Shane Watson, who is hoping to be fit for Boxing Day after suffering a hamstring injury in South Africa last month. Daniel Christian, the 12th man from the Hobart Test, will also take part, as will Shaun Marsh, but only if his ongoing back problem allows.Cricket Australia described the batting camp as a way to complement the preparation of David Warner, Phillip Hughes, Usman Khawaja and Ed Cowan, who will at the time be playing for the CA Chairman’s XI against the Indians in Canberra. Australia’s selectors will choose the squad for the Melbourne Test after the three-day Chairman’s XI game.There is much work to be done for the batting group. Against New Zealand they struggled to deal with the accurate swing and seam of Doug Bracewell, Chris Martin, Trent Boult and Tim Southee, while on the previous tour in South Africa they were demolished for 47 when the ball nipped around on a challenging Newlands pitch.It is not confined to those series. Australia were dismissed for 88 when Pakistan swung the ball on the first day in Leeds last year, and for 98 last Boxing Day against England. In the previous two series, only Clarke and the newcomer David Warner averaged more than 30, of the specialist batsmen, and they are also the only men to have scored centuries.”Obviously I was disappointed,” Arthur said after the loss in Hobart. “The swinging ball was one thing that again probably exposed us a little bit. That’s going to be top of the agenda to work on before Boxing Day because I know [India coach] Duncan Fletcher really well and I know he’ll try and expose us with the swinging ball. We need to put a hell of a lot of work into that, especially with our top seven batters. That’s going to be the focus.”High on the agenda will be working against the style of bowling likely to come from India, whose Test attack will be spearheaded by Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan, who is returning from injury. Last time India played Tests in Australia, Ishant was a teenage prodigy whose angle in to the right-handers troubled Ponting especially.During one magnificent spell at the WACA, where India won, Ishant worked Ponting over for an hour and began to expose the vulnerabilities that have plagued Ponting since. Although his overall record against Australia is moderate, Ishant has dismissed Ponting and Clarke six times each from eight Tests, while he has also picked up Watson’s wicket four times from five games.”The bowling machine is probably going to replicate that a little bit,” Arthur said. “We can work on angles that Ishant bowls and how Ishant bowls, try and replicate how he bowls. I think if we can get a couple of extra days into our batters, to sharpen them up and sharpen their techniques up, I think that’s going to be invaluable ahead of what is a massive series for Australia.”In his first two Tests in charge, Arthur has seen the best and the worst of the side, with their strong victory at the Gabba followed by their first loss to New Zealand in 18 years. That inconsistency is one of the major problems the team needs to rectify, and often it is the senior members of the side rather than the younger men who are up and down.One example is Haddin, the vice-captain for the New Zealand series. In Cape Town he played two reckless shots to get out in trying circumstances, before he contributed two valuable half-centuries in Johannesburg and Brisbane to help set up Australia’s wins. But that was again followed by two poorly-judged shots to get out in Hobart.In the first innings, Haddin lobbed Bracewell to mid-off to leave Australia at 6 for 69, and in the chase, he was dropped at slip one ball and caught in the cordon the very next delivery, having not learnt from his error, driving at a Southee outswinger. Arthur said to some degree the Australians had to accept the aggressive style was Haddin’s natural game but that he, like all the batsmen, needed to adapt to the situation.”One of the key words I used [in the post-match address] was ‘resilient’,” Arthur said. “The situation out there demanded a little bit of resilience and I was a little bit disappointed through the middle how we folded. Those are things we’ve discussed, we’ve discussed them openly and honestly.”You’d like to think the guys who are more experienced are able to adapt to the situation. I would think that your experienced players would do that very comfortably. They’ve all been in that position before and won games for Australia.”Before their Test batting camp, all the batsmen are expected to appear in a Big Bash League match, subject to fitness, with the exception of Hughes, who has withdrawn from the T20 tournament. Their focus will need to quickly return to the longer format when they convene in Melbourne next Tuesday.

Tamil Nadu waited all day long but could only dislodge Vineet Saxena as Aakash Chopra propelled Rajasthan to a strong position at the end of the opening day

The Bulletin by Sriram Veera03-Jan-2011
Scorecard
Aakash Chopra knew where his off stump was and let the opposition know it, wearing them down with his technique•William West/AFP

Around one hour into the game, after he chose to bowl, the Tamil Nadu captain Dinesh Karthik exhorted his bowlers to show (patience in Tamil). They waited all day long but could only dislodge Vineet Saxena, as Aakash Chopra propelled Rajasthan to a strong position at the end of the opening day. Tamil Nadu threw everything they had at Chopra but he was immovable.It was a day of hard grind. It was a day where the batsmen had to work really hard, especially in the first two sessions, to overcome the conditions. It was damp, it was overcast and Rajasthan were asked to bat. Chopra and Saxena, however, stuck adhesively to the crease to slowly turn the tide against the visitors. The ball seamed around in the first half of the day but the duo showed exemplary patience to keep the bowlers at bay.Chopra, who missed out on a big score in the quarter-final, oozed solidity and sported a big smile as he walked off the park at sun set. It wasn’t his shot making but the way he left the ball outside off that elevated this knock. He knew where his off stump was and let the opposition know it, wearing them down with his technique. He punctuated his leaves with elegant cover drives whenever the bowlers pitched it fuller trying to make him play. He got going with a gorgeous cover drive on a bent knee against L Balaji and repeated the shot off C Ganapathy. Almost immediately, the seamers started to bowl short of a length and Chopra settled down with ease. He covered for the movement and repeatedly nudged and steered them behind the wicket.Post-lunch, the seamers, R Suthesh and S Sam, bowled a stifling line and length but Chopra relied on his technique to break free. The feet movement was precise, the head was over the ball and he played late. Soon, Karthik had to bring in his spinner Suresh Kumar and Chopra used his feet effectively to pile on the runs. Time and again, he skipped down the track for his drives and cut when the length was shortened. The manner in which Chopra brought up his fifty captured his serene approach: He went down the track and realised that he had gone too far down to a full delivery from Suresh but adjusted superbly by crouching on a bent knee and steered it to past gully to the third man boundary. And it was apt that he brought up his hundred with his favourite cover drive.Chopra didn’t have to do all the hard work alone today as he found some great support from Saxena, who hit a big hundred against Mumbai in the quarter-final. Though he wasn’t as assured as Chopra, Saxena buckled down to wear down the attack. He took 17 balls to get off the mark and was in some bother early on to the deliveries in the off-stump corridor. Balaji beat the bat a few times with his variations but Saxena soon settled down. He too left many a ball and unfurled off drives whenever the bowlers over pitched. He took more risks against the spinners: he smashed Suresh over midwicket boundary and lifted him to long-on to bring up his fifty.Saxena’s best shot, though, came against the left-arm seamer Suthesh when he unfurled a delightful, straight-driven boundary. Suresh, who saw Ganapathy fail to hold on to a swirling mis-hit when Saxena was on 47, got his man eventually when he turned one big to beat the attempted cover drive.Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Rajasthan’s captain, added to Tamil Nadu’s woes by hitting a confident 28 with four boundaries. And just when all looked lost for the visitors, he inside-edged an off drive onto his boot and retired hurt. The injury, though, didn’t look too serious and Kanitkar should return to bat tomorrow. Chopra saw through the day with the nightwatchman Vivek Yadav and left Tamil Nadu facing a night of discontent.

Graham Thorpe, the former England and Surrey batsman, has been appointed batting coach for the England Lions tour of the United Arab Emirates in February.

Cricinfo staff14-Jan-2010Graham Thorpe, the former England and Surrey batsman, has been appointed batting coach for the England Lions tour of the United Arab Emirates in February. Thorpe, who has been Surrey’s batting coach since 2008, will join an England Lions coaching team which includes David Parsons, ECB Performance Director, and Kevin Shine, ECB Lead Fast Bowling Coach.”I’m really looking forward to the tour and working with the Lions squad,” said Thorpe. “It’s a great opportunity for me and I’m grateful to Surrey for giving me the freedom to take it on. Over the course of my time with the team I hope that I can offer them some good advice and be someone they learn a lot from.””I am delighted to welcome Graham Thorpe as part of the England Lions coaching team and I have no doubt that the squad of aspiring England players will benefit from his experiences both as a hugely successful international cricketer and now a coach,” added David Parsons, the ECB Performance Director. “We will face some tough opposition during our tour of the UAE and the coaching team will be working hard to ensure that we are well prepared.”The three-week Lions tour includes three Twenty20 games against Pakistan A, followed by Twenty20 matches against UAE and England. These will be followed by three 50-over fixtures against Pakistan A at the DSC Stadium, Dubai.

All the six SA20 2025-26 squads, and the players who went unsold

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Sep-2025

MI Cape Town

Retained: Trent Boult, Rashid Khan, Ryan Rickelton, George Linde, Corbin Bosch
Wild Card: Kagiso Rabada
Pre-signing: Nicholas PooranAt the auction: Rassie van der Dussen (R5.2 million), Reeza Hendricks (R500,000), Dwaine Pretorius (R650,000), Tristan Luus (R650,000), Jason Smith (R500,000), Tom Moores (R200,000), Dane Piedt (R200,000), Tian van Vuuren (R1 million), Dan Lategan (R400,000), Tabraiz Shamsi (R500,000), Karim Janat (R1 million), Jacques Snyman (R200,000)Related

• Keshav Maharaj to lead Pretoria Capitals at SA20

• Brevis, Markram earn record sums at SA20 2025-26 auction

• Cape Town to host SA20 final

• Capitals name Ganguly head coach, Pollock assistant coach

Sunrisers Eastern Cape

Retained: Tristan Stubbs
Wild Card: Marco Jansen
Pre-signing: Jonny Bairstow, AM Ghazanfar, Adam MilneAt the auction: Quinton de Kock (R2.4 million), Matthew Breetzke (R6.1 million), Anrich Nortje (R5 million), Senuran Muthusamy (R1.5 million), Patrick Kruger (R450,000), Lutho Sipamla (R600,000), Mitchell van Buuren (R200,000), Jordan Hermann (R1.5 million), Beyers Swanepoel (R200,000), James Coles (R1 million), Chris Wood (R500,000), Lewis Gregory (R1 million), CJ King (R200,000), JP King (R200,000)

Joburg Super Kings

Retained: Faf du Plessis
Wild Card: Donovan Ferreira
Pre-signing: James Vince, Akeal Hosein, Richard GleesonAt the auction: Wiaan Mulder (R9 million), Nandre Burger (R6.3 million), Prenalen Subrayen (R1 million), Dian Forrester (R200,000), Steve Stolk (R200,000), Janco Smit (R200,000), Neil Timmers (R200,000), Shubham Ranjane (R200,000), Brandon King (R200,000), Rilee Rossouw (R500,000), Rivaldo Moonsamy (R400,000), Imran Tahir (R600,000), Reece Topley (R600,000)

Pretoria Capitals

Wild Card: Andre Russell
Pre-signing: Will Jacks, Sherfane RutherfordAt the auction: Keshav Maharaj (R1.7 million), Lungi Ngidi (R2.3 million), Dewald Brevis (R16.5 million), Lizaad Williams (R2.4 million), Craig Overton (R1 million), Saqib Mahmood (R1.5 million), Codi Yusuf (R225,000), Connor Esterhuizen (R3.2 million), Bryce Parsons (R1.9 million), Gideon Peters (R400,000), Junaid Dawood (R200,000), Will Smeed (R200,000), Meeka-eel Prince (R200,000), Bayanda Majola (R200,000), Wihan Lubbe (R200,000), Sibonelo Makhanya (R200,000)

Paarl Royals

Retained: Lhuan-dre Pretorius, David Miller, Bjorn Fortuin
Wild Card: Rubin Hermann
Pre-signing: Sikandar Raza, Mujeeb Ur RahmanAt the auction: Ottneil Baartman (R5.1 million), Gudakesh Motie (R375,000), Delano Potgieter (R2.6 million), Kyle Verreynne (R2.3 million), Keagan Lion-Cachet (R950,000), Asa Tribe (R200,000), Hardus Viljoen (R200,000), Jacon Johannes Basson (R200,000), Dan Lawrence (R500,000), Eshan Malinga (R1 million), Nqobani Mokoena (R200,000), Vishen Halambage (R200,000), Nqaba Peter (R500,000)

Durban’s Super Giants

Retained Noor Ahmad
Wild Card Heinrich Klaasen
Pre-signing Sunil Narine, Jos ButtlerAt the auction: Kwena Maphaka (R2.3 million), Aiden Markram (R14 million), Devon Conway (R325,000), Gerald Coetzee (R7.4 million), David Bedingham (R325,000), Marques Ackermann (R200,000), Eathan Bosch (R1.75 million), Andile Simelane (R200,000), Tony de Zorzi (R200,000), Dayyaan Galiem (R200,00), Taijul Islam (R500,000), Evan Jones (R200,000), Gysbert Wege (R200,000), David Wiese (R1.3 million), Daryn Dupavillon (R200,000)

Unsold players

Jordan Cox, Mustafizur Rahman, Tom Abell, Kusal Perera, Andile Phehlukwayo, Leus du Plooy, George Garton, Jayden Seales, Junior Dala, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Simon Harmer, Kyle Simmonds, Waqar Salamkheil, Brandon McMullen, Keacy Carty, Temba Bavuma, Tawanda Muyeye, Keith Dudgeon, Okhule Cele, Matthew Boast, Migael Pretorius, Nqobani Mokoena, James Anderson, Sonny Baker, Daniel Smith, Andries Gous, Grant Roelofson, Jewel Andrew, Schalk Engelbrecht, Thomas Kaber, Nathan Sowter, Caleb Saleka, Moeen Ali, Jordan Clark, Jason Roy, Jordan Thompson, Jacques Snyman, Beuran Hendricks, Ruan Haasbroek, Wayne Parnell, James Robb-Quinlan, Aphiwe Mnyandi, Jorich van Schalkwyk, George van Heerden, Jon-Jon Smuts, Nangialai Kharoti, Jean du Plessis, Duane Jansen, Binura Fernando.

Rishabh Pant is set to play in front of his home crowd for the first time since his return to action

Abhimanyu Bose19-Apr-20241:49

Kuldeep vs Klaasen – A match-up to savour?

Match details

Delhi Capitals (P7 W3 L4 6th) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (P6 W4 L2 4th)
New Delhi, 7.30pm IST (2pm GMT)

Big picture – Delhi Capitals’ homecoming

After setting up base in Visakhapatnam for the first half of the season, Delhi Capitals are back in the national capital for their first game at the Arun Jaitley Stadium this season. Capitals played two games in Vizag this year, winning one and losing the other.For Capitals captain Rishabh Pant, it will be his first appearance in front of the Delhi home crowd after his return to competitive cricket since his horror car crash in December 2022. Pant, after a slow start to the season, has found his rhythm, scoring 210 from seven games with two fifties. His strike rate of 156.72 is also his best in an IPL season since 2019. He has been excellent behind the stumps as well, and was named Player of the Match in Capitals’ last game primarily for his wicketkeeping.Related

• Ponting: 'Attacking batting and not defensive bowling will win this IPL'

But Capitals’ homecoming could easily end up not being a happy one as they go up against a rampaging Sunrisers Hyderabad side that has not once, but twice broken the record for the highest total in the history of the IPL.How Khaleel Ahmed and Ishant Sharma go in the powerplay against Sunrisers’ explosive left-handed opening duo of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma could be the deciding factor in how the match shapes up.

Form guide

DC WWLLW (Most recent match first)
SRH WWWLW

Team news and Impact Player strategy

Delhi Capitals
Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting was optimistic about opener David Warner returning from a finger injury. Ponting said Warner was “85-90%” fit on the day of their last match in Ahmedabad, but a final call on his availability for Saturday will be taken after he trains on the eve of the match against Sunrisers. If Warner returns, he could slot in directly for Sumit Kumar, as Capitals played their last match with just three overseas players. But one of Shai Hope or Jake Fraser-McGurk could also make way, if they don’t want to mess with their batting order too much.Probable XII: 1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 David Warner, 3 Jake Fraser-McGurk/Shai Hope, 4 , 5 Rishabh Pant (capt & wk), 6 Tristan Stubbs, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Sumit Kumar, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Mukesh Kumar, 12 .Pat Cummins has a terrific record against left-hand batters, so watch out, David Warner and Rishabh Pant•BCCI

Sunrisers Hyderabad
Sunrisers have a fully fit squad and will likely field the same side they did in their last match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. While Travis Head has been the player subbed out when they have batted first and subbed in while chasing, they will likely start with, or bring in, Mayank Markande depending on the toss. However, if they are batting first and are facing a collapse, Rahul Tripathi is an option as well.Probable XII: 1 , 2 Abhishek Sharma, 3 Aiden Markram, 4 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 5 Abdul Samad, 6 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 7 Shahbaz Ahmed, 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Jaydev Unadkat, 11 T Natarajan, 12 .

In the spotlight – Kuldeep Yadav and Heinrich Klaasen

With Sunrisers boasting of two powerful spin-hitters in Abhishek Sharma and Heinrich Klaasen, Kuldeep Yadav with his left-arm wristspin could be key for Capitals. An injury earlier in the season meant he has only played four games so far in IPL 2024, picking up six wickets, but he has been difficult to get away. He has achieved an economy rate of 6.06, and has only gone for more than a run a ball once, against Rajasthan Royals.With Kuldeep and Axar Patel in Capitals’ ranks, Heinrich Klaasen‘s ability to take down spin will be of great importance to Sunrisers. Among batters with more than 200 runs, only Dinesh Karthik has a better strike rate this season than Klaasen’s 199.21. He is also the most prolific six-hitter not only in this year’s IPL but in all T20s in 2024.

Pitch and conditions

It’s the first game in Delhi this season, and Ponting said the pitch looked good with more grass cover on the square than last year, and he expects it to play better than it did in 2023, when Capitals lost five of their seven home games.

Stats that matter

• Sunrisers have the two fastest scorers in the powerplay this season in Head and Abhishek, who have struck at 207 and 206 respectively in the first six overs in IPL 2024.
• Pat Cummins has a superb record against left-hand batters this season: five wickets at an average of 14.00, and an economy rate of just 6.56. He could come up against three Capitals’ left-handers on Saturday in David Warner, Rishabh Pant and Axar Patel.
• Capitals have won four of their last five matches against Sunrisers. The one defeat came at the Arun Jaitley Stadium last year.

Quotes

“I think our batsmen are going great. We don’t mind having a shootout tomorrow. If it’s a high-scoring game against Sunrisers, so be it. We know and expect that they’re gonna play the way that they played so far in the tournament, which has been, you know, going really hard at the top of the order with the bat and trying to post a big first-innings total. So we’re happy to try and match them in that. We think we’ve got as good a batting line-up if not a better batting line-up than theirs, so we’ll see how things work out tomorrow.”

India coach has “absolutely no doubt about who’s going to open”, and says Rahul is well-aware of the support he has from the team management

Sidharth Monga01-Nov-20228:32

Dravid: Rahul knows he has our support – both in words and action

KL Rahul has unequivocal support from captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid after three single-digit scores in the 2022 Men’s T20 World Cup. In 13 matches since the start of the Asia Cup in August year, Rahul has averaged 27.33 at a strike rate of 121.03. In the same period, his two top-order colleagues, Virat Kohli and Rohit have scored at strike rates of 142.49 and 138.79, which has raised questions over Rahul’s place in the side. India themselves have no such doubts.”No, not at all,” Dravid said when asked if Rahul’s form has become a headache for the leadership. “I think he’s a fantastic player, and he’s got a proven track record. He’s done really well. I thought he’s been batting superbly. These things can happen in a T20 game sometimes. It’s not been that easy for top-order batsmen, this tournament has been pretty challenging.Related

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• Shakib downplays Bangladesh's chances: 'We're not here to win the World Cup'

• Warm-ups: Shami brilliance takes Indians to unlikely win

• Warm-ups: Rahul 74 in vain as India lose to WA XI at WACA

“I thought he was superb in the practice game against Australia with Mitchell Starc and Patrick Cummins. It was a pretty good attack, and I thought he batted superbly that day [for his 57 off 33]. So he’s actually playing really well. Just hoping it all clicks together over the next three or four games.”We know his quality, we know his ability, and he’s really well suited for these kind of conditions, these kind of pitches. He’s got a good all-around game. He’s got a very good strong back-foot game, which is obviously very much required in these conditions.”It is the conditions that have earned Rahul elbow room. In the 35 balls he has faced this tournament, Rahul has attempted to hit three boundaries, getting out on one of those. His other two dismissals came to defensive shots. That brings into sharp focus Rahul’s intent, which can sometimes be at odds with his exceptional ability with the bat. Dravid was asked if India can afford to give Rahul the time to play himself back into form in such a short format.”In these conditions, maybe we are able to afford him that time,” Dravid said. “We completely back him. We have no concerns about him. We know that when he gets going, and I’ve seen it against Australia, against a top-class attack just a couple of weeks ago, I know the impact this guy can make. In Rohit’s and my mind, there’s absolutely no doubt about who’s going to open for us.”I think [there] is a unique nature to playing this tournament in this country, that almost game-to-game you’re having to adapt your tactics, your strategies to different conditions. I think that’s the uniqueness of that. If the conditions so dictate that the ball is nipping around doing a bit, then we can afford our batsmen to maybe be a little bit more conservative, keep wickets in hand and then target.KL Rahul has had fitness and form issues to contend with over the past six months•PTI

“It’s about adapting and being smart. I don’t think there’s just one way to play T20 cricket on all conditions. Yes, there is a general template in which we understand you have to be positive; you have to take the game on. That would be 80% of most T20 games, but there is another 20%, and that can come in big tournaments like this, wherein you’ve got to have the players – and we discussed that in our dressing room – who have to be able to adapt and understand and read a situation.”If it’s not a 200-run wicket or it’s not a 180-run wicket and 160 is going to get the job done for you, then let’s figure out a way to get to 160. Last night [in Perth against South Africa], 150 might have done the job for us. I mean, 133 nearly did; 150 might have. We might be able to afford people a little bit more time [in such conditions].”We may not [here, in Adelaide]. Might be really flat when we come out here tomorrow, and it might become a 180 wicket and we might need to go harder. But I think the key word for me is adaptability and reading these conditions, these boundaries really well, and the teams that do that best will probably be the ones that will end up in the top four and certainly in the top two.”Rahul has not been left on his own to figure his way out. There have been conversations and support has been communicated to him. “Rest assured, both in words and in action, over the last year, he knows he has our support. He has known that. There has been a lot of clarity about what our side is going to be, what our squad is going to be coming into this tournament, and we haven’t wavered from that for a very long time.”Yes, because we play a lot of cricket, you might see a lot of different people playing in different situations, in different games. There have been a lot of injuries, including him. He’s had phases where he’s unfortunately been injured. But in word and in action, with all of our players – that’s the great thing about Rohit, that he’s really shown them that confidence and that belief.”There has been a school of thought that Rishabh Pant can bring in the much-needed left-hand option if he opens in place of Rahul, but the only way Pant might get in is if Dinesh Karthik is not fully fit after he had a back spasm while keeping against South Africa in Perth. Dravid said Karthik had shaped up well on the morning before the Bangladesh match, and that he would be assessed after training. A final decision will be made on the day of the match.

Authorities await ICC accreditation for the venue ahead of IPL 2021 and T20 World Cup

Shamya Dasgupta05-Jul-2021Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Stadium has been busier than usual since the resumption of cricket after the Covid-19 hiatus around the middle of last year. It has hosted 81 ICC-approved games in the last 11 months, including franchise T10s and T20s, and there is a lot more lined up.It’s a lot of pressure on one cricket facility. As a result, Abu Dhabi Cricket (ADC) has had to expand, and has thrown open Tolerance Oval, a floodlit, broadcast-ready stadium, with five playing surfaces. The ICC accreditation isn’t there yet, but the authorities expect everything to be in place soon, in time for some of the 31 remaining matches of IPL 2021 in September-October, and then matches of the men’s T20 World Cup between October 17 and November 14.Related

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“If you speak to the best groundsmen in the world, they wouldn’t want more than five international matches on each of their surfaces. Our main stadium is now broadcast-ready for seven strips, and the Tolerance Oval is broadcast-ready as well with five strips. So we have 12 broadcast-ready strips, that’s 60 games,” Matt Boucher, ADC chief executive, told ESPNcricinfo. “Tolerance Oval is another international venue in the Emirates. It’s not a 20-25,000 capacity ground. We have modelled it on the English county grounds and the Hagley Oval [in Christchurch]; we have grass banks around the perimeter, so 12,000 people at the most.”At the moment, the UAE has the three main international venues, including the Dubai and Sharjah stadia. That aside, there is the ICC Academy ground, which, however, is not a night-playing alternative. Which makes Tolerance Oval, if approved by the ICC, the fourth night- and broadcast-ready ground in the region.”I can’t speak on behalf of the ICC, but from our perspective, we wanted to increase our infrastructure. Our business was very different two years ago. We were hosting a lot of junior sport, junior football and junior rugby, in our outer ovals. We made a dedicated decision at the beginning of this year that we wanted all our cricket facilities to return to cricket and be fully focussed on cricket,” Boucher said. “So we have overhauled everything, and it should be ready by the end of August.”It’s not with an event in mind, but for Abu Dhabi to offer a higher class of playing surfaces and dedicated cricket surfaces for the domestic community here and the international community too.”As such, Abu Dhabi has played its part well. No one venue has hosted more ICC-approved games than it has since June 2020 – though Dhaka’s Shere Bangla National Stadium has been marginally busier, having also been the primary venue for Bangladesh’s domestic matches.Sheikh Zayed Stadium has hosted 81 ICC-approved matches in the last 11 months•BCCI

“It has been an incredibly busy season since August last year. It’s all moved pretty smoothly, approvals have come in quickly, the ground has been in great shape, and yeah, it’s gone pretty well for us,” Boucher said. “Hopefully some more big months coming up with the remainder of the IPL and then the men’s T20 World Cup and then the Abu Dhabi T10 again. It’s been an exciting period.”Obviously, without the pandemic, we wouldn’t be hosting many of the events we just discussed. Around 18 months ago, we were generating our own events and conceptualising products with public and private stakeholders, because we were not reliant on the international events coming in. That sort of flipped on its head because of the pandemic, and all the international events we have hosted, in the most stringent and secure atmosphere we possibly can.”It will be interesting to see next year, how the bilateral season works at the end of the men’s T20 World Cup, there are a lot of countries, even a lot of Associate countries, who need to catch up on their cricket, who are behind on their FTP.”Tolerance Oval is not new to cricket. It has hosted a variety of cricket, and cricketers, but mainly as a training facility, for the UAE national team, English counties on their pre-season travels, as well as ‘A’ matches featuring Pakistan, New Zealand, Australia, etc. It’s got a facelift now, but that doesn’t count as guarantee for anything when it comes to the ICC. It might continue to be a training facility for the teams playing in the IPL or the T20 World Cup, in terms of the immediate future, while games of the Abu Dhabi T10 league could well be played there.”We will wait for the lights to go in, probably some lights’ testing, probably some dimensions’ testing… and hopefully in six weeks’ time we will have the accreditation for that oval, and then it’s over to the decision-makers if they want to use it for any upcoming tournaments or whether we use it for practice,” Boucher said. “Either way, it’s a brilliant new facility. And just to have it for IPL practice and T20 World Cup practice alleviates some space on our other surfaces.”

CSA’s chief medical officer to travel with the team, additional precautions to be in place

Firdose Moonda06-Mar-2020South Africa’s ODI tour of India for three ODIs will go ahead after the organisation completed a risk assessment regarding the spread of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) across the world. While South Africa reported its first confirmed case of the virus on Thursday, India’s health ministry has estimated infections are affecting around 30 people. But a team of experts have deemed the country and the team’s transit routes safe for travel. CSA’s chief medical officer Dr Shuaib Manjra will make the trip with the team.South Africa depart their home country on Sunday morning and will travel to India via Dubai. They will then spend a day in Delhi, before heading to Dharamsala, the venue of the first ODI, which will be played on March 12. Two more fixtures in Lucknow and Kolkata follow on March 15 and March 18. None of the venues have reported any cases of COVID-19. The team will also travel on chartered flights to reduce risk, which CSA has put at a low level, even in Dubai where football matches are being played behind closed doors, the UAE Cycling Tour has been cancelled and schools have been shut.”While the risk remains low, precautionary measures are necessary because of the highly infectious nature of the disease. The team has been appraised of hygiene precautions, avoidance measures, and symptom recognition in addition to being provided with travel kits,” a CSA statement read.Though South Africa’s tour will last for only a total of 11 days, some members of the team will remain in India for the IPL, which starts on March 29 and runs to May 24 and has been given the green light albeit with precautions. Other major cricket, such as the series between England and Sri Lanka will also go-ahead, with the teams agreeing to exchange fist bumps instead of handshakes to reduce the transmission of germs.The assignment in India is the last of South Africa’s 2019/20 summer, which began in the same country last September. South Africa drew the T20I series and lost the Tests 3-0. They returned home to administrative overhaul and a new coaching regime but went on to lose a Test and T20I series to England while drawing the one-day rubber and lost a T20I series to Australia. They have managed to win one trophy, the ODI series against Australia, and currently hold an unassailable 2-0 lead with the final match to be played on Saturday.

A win in the first T20I would have lifted Australia’s spirits, especially with India having started the tour as favourites

The Preview by Sidharth Monga22-Nov-20181:43

Should Coulter-Nile and Chahal play in Melbourne?

Big Picture

This is Australian cricket’s new reality at least for now. Even a win in a truncated T20I will be hailed as a significant moment in a possible renaissance. Wednesday in Brisbane was only their sixth win in 23 internationals since the sandpaper came out in Cape Town. Three of those wins have been against Zimbabwe and UAE. Imagine starting this big India tour with a defeat. India already have eyes set on their first-ever Test series win in Australia. A win at the start of the tour is expected to lift Australia’s spirit, or at least not let them be dispirited.Make no mistake, it was a good win. Everything was against Australia. They were batting first in an increasingly bowl-first game, rain robbed them of all the batting momentum they had built, and they had to contend with the disadvantage of being the side not chasing in a rain-affected match.India should be bitterly disappointed they let Australia get away with this one. They were given a sneak peek into what Hardik Pandya’s absence costs them. They are wary of going in without an allrounder, so Krunal Pandya had to play. They are also wary of playing three spinners, so one of their two match-winning wristspinners had to sit out. They didn’t get their match-ups right – Jasprit Bumrah didn’t bowl to Chris Lynn at all even though he has a great record against the big hitter. Captain Virat Kohli also sacrificed his No. 3 position to accommodate KL Rahul, which on the surface is an experiment worth trying two years before a World T20. But Kohli needs to ascertain the cost and benefit of it swiftly.Given the slip-ups in the first game, all eyes will be on Kohli’s captaincy on Friday.

Form guide

Australia WLLLL (last five completed games, most recent first)
India LWWWW

In the spotlight

Kuldeep Yadav has started his Australia tour much as he did England. His 5 for 24 in Manchester restricted England; here he took 2 for 24, and would have benefited greatly from pressure at the other end too. His slow pace, and batsmen’s inability to pick his wrong ‘un continue to be a big weapon in T20 cricket.The match-ups Virat Kohli missed out on in the series opener•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Marcus Stoinis played the perfect allrounder’s role for Australia in the opening match, scoring 33 off 19 and then backing it up with an excellent final over with only 12 to defend. He is what India don’t have: a proper bowler who can bowl his quota of overs and play the big shots when needed.

Team news

India should make the bold decision of playing three spinners. Dropping Krunal after an off-night will diminish their batting. With the MCG’s big boundaries, India should have the confidence of playing Chahal over Khaleel Ahmed. KL Rahul should continue now that he has been shown faith in.India (possible): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli (capt.), 4 KL Rahul, 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Dinesh Karthik, 7 Krunal Pandya, 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Khaleel Ahmed/Yuzvendra ChahalAustralia shouldn’t have any reasons to change the combination that delivered them with a rare win.Australia (possible): 1 Aaron Finch (capt.), 2 D’Arcy Short, 3 Chris Lynn, 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Ben McDermott, 7 Alex Carey (wk), 8 Andrew Tye, 9 Adam Zampa, 10 Jason Behrendorff, 11 Billy Stanlake

Pitch and conditions

Friday in Melbourne is expected to be cloudy with showers on and off. Don’t rule out another shortened match.The drop-in pitch is usually slightly slow with spongy bounce.

Stats and trivia

• Kohli has played 178 of his 235 T20 innings in the top three and averages 45 in these innings. He averages 27 outside the top three. The change in the strike rate is not significant.
• Kuldeep is a great starter. Or rather, batsmen take time to get used to his bowling. In the first match of all the series he has played – across formats – he averages 11 with a wicket every 14 balls. His average goes to 29 and strike rate to 22 in the remaining matches.

Quotes

“We have got good memories in the team. We dominated T20s last year. We were in good form not so long ago. Obviously, things have not gone our way but we know we are still a good side.”
“It was a game where we had to target all the bowlers. We didn’t have much time [in the chase]. We tried to target him [Adam Zampa] but he got us out. Next game, we will have better plans against him, and implement them in the middle.”