All posts by n8rngtd.top

A maiden T20 hundred from Ben Stokes moved Rising Pune Supergiant to their sixth win of the season in a seesawing contest against Gujarat Lions

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy01-May-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:29

Bangar: Stokes picked his bowlers at the right time

A maiden T20 hundred from Ben Stokes moved Rising Pune Supergiant to their sixth win of the season in a seesawing contest against Gujarat Lions. Battling cramp, frequent wicket losses at the other end, and the demands of a testing asking rate, Stokes steered Rising Pune home with a ball to spare.Sent in to bat, Lions ran away to 55 for no loss inside the Powerplay, but lost their way thereafter to get bowled out for 160. Supergiants’ chase inverted the pattern: the flurry of wickets came in the beginning, leaving them 42 for 4 at one point, before Stokes, with a bit of help from MS Dhoni and Daniel Christian, took the game away from Lions once again.Tahir stalls Lions after bright opening standHaving been sent in to bat, Lions got off to an excellent start, Brendon McCullum and Ishan Kishan finding the gaps and putting away the short ball clinically to race to 55 in just 5.5 overs. Then Kishan, having already hit Imran Tahir for two fours in the sixth over, sliced the last ball of the Powerplay into the hands of short third man.What followed was a puzzling slump. With Dwayne Smith coming in for the injured Andrew Tye, Lions had batting depth all the way down to James Faulkner at No. 8. But this was to be one of their bad days.Suresh Raina fell to a harebrained run-out before Tahir struck with successive balls – Aaron Finch sending back a return catch off the leading edge and Dwayne Smith playing all around a googly – to leave Lions 94 for 4 after 10 overs. McCullum fell soon after. Then, from 109 for 5, came a brief revival, with Dinesh Karthik and Ravindra Jadeja adding 26 in 19 balls, before another slide. Struggling to put away the slower ball, Lions did not score a boundary between the fourth ball of the 14th over and the fifth ball of the 19th. Eventually, they were bowled out with one ball still left in their innings.Sangwan, Thampi shock Pune top orderWithin nine balls of the Rising Pune innings, a middling target became a daunting one. Pace was the catalyst in this transformation. Pradeep Sangwan, playing his first game of the season, produced a classic inswinger from left-arm over to trap Ajinkya Rahane lbw (with some help from Marais Erasmus, who did not notice that the ball had pitched outside leg stump) and bounced out Steven Smith. Then Basil Thampi made Manoj Tiwary pay for being stuck on the crease.Stokes looked in ominous form right from the time he punched his fifth ball for four past the stumps at the other end, and raced away to 25 off 17 to keep the required rate in check. But a mix-up sent back Rahul Tripathi in the sixth over, and Rising Pune were back in deep trouble.Spinners tie down DhoniBefore this match, Dhoni had scored 111 off 79 balls against pace this season, and only 62 off 64 balls against spin. His struggles against spin continued here. Against Ankit Soni and Ravindra Jadeja, who began bowling in tandem as soon as he walked in, he scored 12 off 20 balls, facing 14 dots.Soni’s legspin caused Stokes a few problems too – he didn’t seem to pick the slider out of the front of the hand, angled across him, and on a few occasions ended up playing down the wrong line. But successive sixes over long-on off Jadeja and a sliced four past point off Dwayne Smith kept Pune in touch with their asking rate, just about. After 14 overs, they needed exactly two a ball – 72 from 36.Hobbling Stokes seals the dealDespite being tied down by them, Dhoni did not take any chances against the spinners, and couldn’t afford to take too many, given Pune’s situation at that stage. He had to target the quicks, and he pulled the first ball he faced from James Faulkner, in the 15th over, beyond the square leg boundary. Stokes clattered Dwayne Smith for six and four in the next over, and Rising Pune were left needing 44 off the last four.They still didn’t have too much batting left in the hut, though, and when Dhoni holed out to long-off, first ball of the next over, the balance seemed to swing Lions’ way, particularly with Stokes struggling with cramps.Christian showed just the calmness a new batsman might need in that situation; he chopped Faulkner away past point when he got a loose ball, but otherwise kept bringing Stokes on strike – there would be no dots in his eight-ball innings.Stokes’ hitting down the ground, crucially, wasn’t hampered by his cramps. With Rising Pune needing 25 off 12, he hit Thampi for two sixes – one just clearing a leaping Brendon McCullum at long-on, one just clearing a leaping Aaron Finch at long-off – before collapsing at the non-striker’s end after taking a single off the last ball. A bit of assistance from the physio, and he was back on his feet.By then, Pune only needed eight off the last over, and a flat-bat clatter through the covers off the first ball of the last over halved their ask and moved him from 98 to 102. It eventually came down to one off two balls, and with the field brought in, Christian mowed Faulkner into the stands behind the square leg boundary.

Rangpur Riders bowled Chittagong Vikings out for 124, setting up their nine-wicket win on the back of Mohammad Shahzad’s unbeaten 80

The Report by Mohammad Isam09-Nov-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo – Mohammad Shahzad struck 11 fours and three sixes in his unbeaten 80•International Cricket Council

Mohammad Shahzad marked his BPL debut with a blistering unbeaten 80, which helped Rangpur Riders thrash Chittagong Vikings by nine wickets at the Shere Bangla National Stadium on Wednesday evening. Shahzad’s 52-ball innings contained 11 fours and three sixes. Rangpur’s win, though, was set up by a clinical bowling display that saw them bowl out Chittagong for 124 in the last over.Soumya Sarkar kicked off Rangpur’s chase with an upper-cut six and a square cut for four off Tymal Mills. Shahzad found his rhythm with crisp drives and cuts off Dwayne Smith’s medium pace. The openers sped to 43 for 0 in the Powerplay, although Mills dropped a skier off Shahzad’s top-edged slog on 18. Soon, Shahzad struck his first six off Mohammad Nabi before slapping a Taskin Ahmed delivery over mid-off for his seventh boundary.Mills bowled a beamer at Soumya in the tenth over but dismisssed him with a short delivery off the next ball. Soumya contributed 23 to the 77-run opening stand.With a pulled heave off Taskin, Shahzad reached his fifty off 41 balls. His slog over midwicket off Taskin was arguably his most memorable shot of the innings, and he hit another four and six through the same region in the over. The winning run came off an inside edge of an attempted helicopter shot, as Rangpur finished the chase with five overs to spare.Earlier Chittagong slipped to 21 for after they were put into bat. A 48-run third-wicket stand between Shoaib Malik and Anamul Haque resurrected the innings. But when Anamul was run-out, for the second match in a row, via a ricochet off Liam Dawson’s hand, Rangpur didn’t let go of their stranglehold.Arafat Sunny removed Jahurul Islam and Malik, who top-scored with 30, while Rubel Hossain had Mohammad Nabi caught at cover. Zakir Hasan’s attempted scoop was caught at short fine leg before Richard Gleeson struck twice in the 19th over to hasten Chittagong’s fall.

“Some clarifications on certain exemption requests are still awaited,” says PCB CEO Wasim Khan

Umar Farooq19-May-2021The remaining 20 matches of the sixth edition of the PSL could face postponements if the PCB doesn’t get “clarifications” from the Abu Dhabi government by Thursday, casting doubts on when – if at all – the disrupted season can be completed. After a meeting on Wednesday, the board and franchises agreed to defer a decision on the fate of the season by 24 hours.”In today’s online discussion, we updated the team owners that the PCB had been advised that the PSL had received approvals from the relevant authorities in the UAE,” Wasim Khan, the PCB chief executive, said after the meeting. “However, some clarifications on certain exemption requests are still awaited, which are expected at some stage on Thursday.”The team owners agreed that if we do not receive clarity by Thursday afternoon, then they’ll have no other option but to request postponement of the remaining 20 matches.”Related

• PSL 2021 likely to resume in early June following a week of quarantine

• Lahore Qalandars bag Shakib Al Hasan, Quetta Gladiators sign Andre Russell

• PCB approaches Emirates Cricket Board to host remainder of PSL 2021 in the UAE

That deferment followed two days of growing speculation about the future of the season, which initially hinged on gaining approvals from the Abu Dhabi government to stage the tournament there. That approval was given in principle though the details of it is where the impasse seems to have struck.The “exemptions” the PCB’s release refers to are believed to include for a broadcast crew who will carry out the production: most of them are from India and current travel restrictions into the UAE from India because of the pandemic have made that specifically complicated. Another detail is around every member involved in the PSL – from players to officials to broadcast and production personnel – needing to be vaccinated against Covid-19. That is no simple ask, given that people are flying in from various different countries and vaccination campaigns are at different stages of being rolled out in each of them.The season, which started off in Karachi in February, had to be suspended in March because of a Covid-19 outbreak among players and support staff. The PCB identified the June window to play out the rest of the season in Karachi.But a decision to move out of Karachi was taken earlier this month, after worries about an impending surge in Covid-19 cases in the city. The UAE was always a frontrunner, given it was Pakistan’s home for international cricket for so long and the birthplace of the PSL.Though a final decision will now come tomorrow, a significant reworking of the timeline is inevitable. The league was supposed to restart on June 1. Franchises and officials were supposed to check in to hotels in Karachi and Lahore on Thursday as part of the pre-departure routine before flying to the UAE but that has been put on hold. And given that a quarantine period in Pakistan and the UAE will also have to be factored in, a June 1 restart looks highly unlikely.

Rising Pune Supergiants have signed up Australia batsman Usman Khawaja as a replacement player, following injuries to Kevin Pietersen and Faf du Plessis

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Apr-20162:06

Usman Khawaja was the second-highest run-getter in BBL 2015-16

Rising Pune Supergiants have signed Australia batsman Usman Khawaja as a replacement player, following injuries to Kevin Pietersen (calf) and Faf du Plessis (finger).”One of our mainstays du Plessis has injured his finger during the course of the last match and has returned to South Africa for further treatment,” Supergiants coach Stephen Fleming said in a statement. “We are glad to have roped in Usman Khawaja in the team. His presence will definitely be an advantage to the team and could be pivotal in bolstering the position of the side in the tournament.”Khawaja had a highly productive 2015-16, in which he scored 1006 runs in 15 international matches at an average of 62.87. He was the leading run-getter for Australia in the World T20 with 143 runs in four matches at an average and strike rate of 35.75 and 137.50.Despite playing only four matches in the Big Bash League, Khawaja had scored 345 runs for Sydney Thunder, including two centuries, at an average and strike rate of 172.50 and 163.50. Khawaja’s average was the second best by a batsman in any T20 series with a minimum of 300 runs. He also became the second batsman to make more than one century in a BBL season after Craig Simmons of Perth Scorchers (2013-14).”His imperious form for the Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League victory last season and being the leading run-scorer for Australia, for the recently-concluded World T20, has made us sit up and notice,” Fleming said. “His style of play is perfect for the T20 format.”Given his top form leading into the IPL 2016 auction, he was expected to be one of the big buys there, but went unsold. Khawaja has not played a competitive match since Australia’s World T20 game against India last month but said he was confident of performing immediately for the franchise.”I’m not the kind of guy that needs to hit a lot of balls to feel good,” Khawaja told . “I hit a few balls today, I’ll hit a few balls again and I’ll be ready to go.”Even during the season I don’t hit a lot of balls. At training I’m usually out (of the nets) pretty quick. I do all my bulk training out of season. I didn’t feel too much different. That’s a good thing – I was still whacking them, I still felt good. I’m pretty confident (of performing immediately). At the end of the day you’ve just got to watch the ball.”Supergiants have struggled early in their debut IPL season, winning two games of their first six matches.

Cheteshwar Pujara has said his centuries in the recent Duleep Trophy, particularly the unbeaten knock of 256, were what he needed to tune up for the Tests against New Zealand

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Sep-20161:48

‘A sword always hanging on Pujara’s head’ – Kumble

India batsman Cheteshwar Pujara has said his centuries in the recent Duleep Trophy, particularly the unbeaten knock of 256, were what he needed to tune up for the Tests against New Zealand, which get underway from September 22. Pujara’s performances came shortly after India had dropped him from a Test during the preceding tour of West Indies, to accommodate five bowlers and Rohit Sharma in the XI.Pujara scored 166, 31 and 256 not out for India Blue in the Duleep Trophy, following a disappointing tour of West Indies. The double-century came in the final of the Duleep Trophy and led India Blue to a 355-run win over India Red. The unbeaten 256 was also his 10th first-class double-century, putting him on par with Vijay Hazare, Sunil Gavaskar and Rahul Dravid, among Indian batsmen with the most 200-plus scores. Only Vijay Merchant has more: 11.”I would agree to the fact that the Duleep Trophy double-century was a sort of an innings that I needed before the start of a Test series,” Pujara told the BCCI website. “Actually the 166 that I scored in my first game of the tournament was the turning point. That innings brought in me the confidence. Having said that, I feel I was batting well in West Indies as well, especially in the second game where I scored 46 runs and got run out the moment I was about to accelerate.”I did get disappointed but I never let my confidence down. I knew it was just a matter of time. I am in a positive frame of mind after the Duleep Trophy. Those runs will definitely help me in the upcoming series against New Zealand. I don’t think I need to worry much about my batting now. I just need to stay focused.”Pujara had scored 16 and 46 in the first two Tests against West Indies, before being dropped for the St Lucia Test. He was picked for the fourth Test but rain and a wet outfield meant India did not bat in the draw. At the toss in St Lucia, India captain Virat Kohli had indicated that Pujara’s rate of scoring could have been a factor in his exclusion. India’s coach Anil Kumble, however, was emphatic in his support for Pujara, saying the Saurashtra batsman was important for India’s Test success. Kumble admitted that it was “not good” that a “sword is always hanging on his head.”Pujara said it was difficult to score big runs all the time, but when such occasions occurred, he backed himself to return to the nets and motivate himself to rediscover his form.”It is not easy to score big runs all the time and there will be times when you score a handy 70 or 80 that would be helpful for the team,” he said. “Those knocks might not get appreciated but from the team’s perspective you have done your job. I want to score runs that can help the team’s cause and if I have done that, I will be satisfied.”When I don’t score big, I do get disappointed. At the same time, I have to be realistic to assess the situation and conditions. I need to tell myself that, ‘Look you have tried your best but the runs didn’t come.’ In that case I will always go back to nets and work on my game, improve and tell myself that the next game I am going to get a big one.”The ability to score big runs, Pujara said, had fascinated him from his time as a young player, and he began working on it as early as his Under-14 days. Two of his seven Test hundreds are double-centuries and he has scored three triple-centuries in first-class cricket, one of only two Indian players to do so.”I always had the habit of scoring big runs right from my Under-14 days. From U-14, I continued that habit in my U-19 game and then displayed the same in Ranji Trophy as well, scoring triple-centuries,” he said. “Once I start scoring big runs, I get my natural game back and I am more confident. I have an improved concentration, I am more focused and I see the ball better. I feel once I score big runs or reach a 200-run-mark, I have a different feeling. Scoring runs and scoring big has always fascinated me since childhood.”When I am on a big score, it is there to see that the team has a big score on the board. We as a team believe that if we have an opportunity to put close to 600 runs on the board, then you never allow the opposition to comeback in the game. That is the prime reason why there is stress on converting your hundreds into big hundreds. Personally, I don’t like to get out cheaply and for that matter nobody does. But if I have just reached a hundred, I am in a zone where I understand I can play freely and what pace I have to accelerate.”Pujara also said he enjoyed the pressure that came with batting at No. 3, as it played to his strength of a tight technique.”I wouldn’t say I would look to cement a particular batting position. I obviously love batting at number three and I have batted at the top order right from the beginning in first-class cricket. I have lot of experience playing at No.3,” he said. “Even for the Indian team, I have scored most runs batting at that position. I love batting there because it puts me under a bit of pressure but helps me be responsible. My strength is my technique. If you are technically correct, you can overcome challenges and situations when the ball is moving or turning. When you want to lay a foundation for a big score, the top order has to succeed. I do feel I fit in a good role for that purpose.”

It is learnt that both players left because of the toll bubble life was taking on them

Umar Farooq15-Feb-2022Islamabad United batter Alex Hales has pulled out of the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) because of personal reasons. ESPNcricinfo has learnt it is because of Hales experiencing tiredness in the bubble life. England and Quetta Gladiators batter Ben Duckett has also withdrawn from the league, aiming to spend time with his family ahead of the English season in the summer, while also mentioning bubble life in his tweet to announce his departure.”To all the Islamabad and PSL fans, I am extremely sorry to have to leave the tournament early,” Hales wrote on Instagram. “Unfortunately, the last four months away from home in Covid bubbles has taken a considerable toll on me. The BBL bubble being enforced midway through the tournament was unexpected and the PSL bubble has been understandably very strict and unfortunately it has just all caught up with me.”I would like to thank everyone at Islamabad for understanding and respecting my position. Coach Azhar [Mahmood] and Shadab [Khan] are exceptional leaders, who are supported off the field so well by Rehan [Ulhaq] and the guys, and I’ve no doubt they can win the tournament from here. I will be following it all very closely from home and look forward to coming back next year all being well.”With Rahmanullah Gurbaz also departing for international duty, United have signed another English batter, the uncapped Will Jacks – who has enjoyed a productive spell with Chattogram Challengers in the BPL – while Gladiators have opted to bring back Will Smeed, who played three games earlier in the competition, which included scoring 97 off 62 balls against Peshawar Zalmi.Hales was among the 20-plus contingent of English players across the six PSL franchises in his fifth PSL season. Hales’ England career was put on hold in 2019 because of what Eoin Morgan called “trust” issues, after Hales put their 2019 World Cup campaign at risk with the timing of his drugs ban.However, Hales has been playing T20 leagues around the world, having also featured in the BBL earlier this year. Over the weekend, he was picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders at the IPL auction for INR 1.5 crore (USD 200,000 approx.).Hales had been part of last five PSL seasons and part of all the editions played in Pakistan. He was in his second stint with United, having won the league once with Karachi Kings in the past, and he has been one of the league’s standout openers, averaging over 42.50 for his 255 runs at a strike rate 156.44. This season, he was retained by United in the Gold category with a mentor’s role as well, and started out with a 54-ball unbeaten 82 in their first match.Duckett, on other hand, came to Pakistan from the BBL after finishing as Brisbane Heat’s leading scorer but couldn’t continue the same kind of form for Gladiators in the PSL. He played four games for them with little success. He also found it tough to get into the top three because of the presence of Jason Roy and James Vince. He scored 11, 47, 2 and 0 during the Karachi leg and was benched for the Lahore leg.