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Jack Leach, Dom Bess share eight wickets before England chase down 164 for victory

Valkerie Baynes25-Jan-2021England took what they needed from those who had to give it most as they secured victory over Sri Lanka in the second Test in Galle.On an enthralling day when 15 wickets fell, England’s frontline spinners came to the fore and opener Dom Sibley scored an unbeaten half-century to help defeat Sri Lanka by six wickets with a day to spare and win the series 2-0.Lasith Embuldeniya followed his 7 for 137 in the first innings with 3 for 73 to take 10 for the match – not to mention top-scoring in Sri Lanka’s second innings – but it was not enough as Sibley, in need of runs, played exactly the innings that was required of him: patient, productive and at times fortunate.Going into the final session on day four, the tourists still needed 118 runs and they got there via an unbroken 75-run partnership between Sibley and Jos Buttler, who followed his 55 in the first innings, where he played a fine supporting role as Joe Root scored his wonderful 186, with 46 not out. Sibley hit the winning run to end unbeaten on 56.Related

• Whole team can learn from Joe Root's 'masterclass' – Buttler

• Dominant Root defies conditions to make batting look easy

• Sri Lanka's batsmen, and the voice of unreason

Earlier, England extracted the performance they required from spinners Dom Bess and Jack Leach – just about – although it fell to Root to plug the gap, his part-time spin breaking stubborn resistance from Sri Lanka’s tail to contain the hosts’ lead to 163.Sri Lanka held a 37-run first-innings advantage after claiming England’s last wicket with the 11th ball of the morning. But they collapsed to 78 for 8 at the hands of Bess and Leach, who took four wickets each, in a display that rivalled their 135 all out in the first innings of the first Test for impotence.An excellent rearguard by Embuldeniya and Suranga Lakmal posed some danger on a pitch where Embuldeniya had already proved effective in England’s first innings, prompting Root to bring himself into the attack and he took two in two balls to finish Sri Lanka off.By tea, Embuldeniya had claimed an eighth wicket for the match when he dismissed Zak Crawley for the fourth time this series, caught at gully for 13. It was the first time Crawley had reached double figures in the two Tests.Fellow opener Sibley survived three reviews for lbw on umpire’s call, first off Embuldeniya – who had him out three times up to that point – and then off Dilruwan Perera and Ramesh Mendis. Coming off scores of 4, 2 and 0 in the series, Sibley capitalised on his reprieves and found a way to hold the innings together after Embuldeniya dismissed Jonny Bairstow and Dan Lawrence to leave England on a nervy 89 for 4.Root was back at the crease seemingly moments after his brilliant display in England’s first innings, but he was denied the chance to see his side home when, perhaps still feeling the effects of the exertion which saw him cramping severely on the third evening, he was bowled round his legs by Mendis for 11.From there, Sibley and Buttler got the job done, Buttler surviving on 18 when he sent a sharp return catch to Mendis, who couldn’t hold on diving left on his follow-through.Wicketless in Sri Lanka’s first innings when England’s seamers – namely James Anderson – dominated, Leach and Bess found their range and plenty of turn to reduce the home side to 67 for 6 at lunch.Leach entered in the sixth over, immediately after Bess, and struck with his second ball, coming round the wicket to Kusal Perera, who dropped to one knee shaping to slog-sweep and was struck in line with middle stump. A review found the ball to be clipping the bails, umpire’s call.Dom Bess was in the wickets in Sri Lanka’s second innings•Sri Lanka Cricket

Crawley claimed three catches at short leg as the Sri Lanka batsmen appeared spooked by the way England’s spinners were now making the most of the deteriorating Galle pitch. Bess removed the threat of Angelo Mathews, Sri Lanka’s first-innings centurion, for just 5 with a full ball that spun sharply and clattered into off stump as Mathews attempted to sweep.It was an excellent running catch by Anderson that accounted for Dinesh Chandimal, who attacked Leach and sent a top edge in the direction of mid-on where Anderson had to move deeper at speed while turning more than once to follow the flight of the ball, which seemed to take an eternity to drop over his shoulder and into his hands.In a reversal of fortunes that made Buttler’s freak dismissal on the third day look less bizarre, he and Leach combined to remove debutant allrounder Mendis in similar fashion when Mendis, attempting to sweep, bottom-edged the ball onto his boot and was caught behind.With Root off the field it fell to Buttler, England’s vice-captain and wicketkeeper, to decide whether to use their remaining review when Mendis was initially adjudged not out. Buttler took the chance, confident of a dismissal which was a near copy of his own the previous day when he was caught at short leg off Mendis, and he was proved right.But Embuldeniya, so damaging with the ball, countered on the way to his highest first-class score. He helped himself to a six off Leach over long-off and slog-swept Bess for four to frustrate England’s efforts.Root brought himself on in a bid to break his union with Lakmal and almost did when Embuldeniya, on 39, edged to slip where Bairstow grasped at a fast-moving chance but couldn’t hold it. Bairstow made no mistake in Root’s next over, however, as Embuldeniya poked a fuller delivery straight into his hands.Root then had Asitha Fernando out with his next ball, a wider delivery that the batsman managed to drag back on to his stumps.England next head to India, where they will likely face sterner opposition from the side who recently toppled Australia, but they will do so with more than one player beginning to click with the conditions.

Hits 48 and picks up four wickets as Afghanistan make ideal start to World Cup Super League campaign

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jan-2021Rashid Khan top-scored with 48 off 40 balls from No. 9 before ripping out Ireland’s middle order with four cheap wickets to seal a 3-0 clean sweep for Afghanistan and provide them with the ideal start to their World Cup Super League campaign.Ireland had been well-placed in their chase of 267, with Paul Stirling’s fourth hundred in his last six ODI innings driving their reply. After he was bowled with 14 overs remaining, they struggled to score as Afghanistan’s spinners turned the screws, and eventually fell 36 runs short.Afghanistan lost four wickets inside 12 overs after being asked to bat first, with Craig Young removing each of the top three in the powerplay and Andy McBrine having Hashmatullah Shahidi caught in the gully. Captain Asghar Afghan led the rebuilding efforts with Mohammad Nabi for company, but they found run-scoring difficult as McBrine and Simi Singh bowled tightly in tandem through the middle overs.Singh trapped Nabi lbw and had Afghan caught at deep midwicket. Then, Najibullah Zadran was caught at slip via the glove when reverse-sweeping – giving part-timer Harry Tector his first international wicket – as Afghanistan were in some trouble at 163 for 7. But in a typically inventive innings of 40, which included three sixes, Rashid ensured they reached a competitive score, before last-wicket pair Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Naveen-ul-Haq took 22 from the final 11 balls to drag them up to 266.James McCollum opened the batting in Ireland’s reply after being picked ahead of Kevin O’Brien, who had struggled for runs throughout this tour, but was given out lbw early on after being struck in front by Mujeeb. He opted not to review the decision, but replays indicated it would have gone on to hit leg stump.But by that stage Stirling was up and running, having swung Naveen over midwicket in the fifth over and cracked him for five fours in his first four overs. He then slapped Nabi for two sixes in the eighth and brought up a 38-ball half-century by repeating the trick off Mujeeb, but lost an important partner in captain Andy Balbirnie, who was caught behind via a thin edge when sweeping in the 10th.Paul Stirling celebrates a second successive century against Afghanistan•Abu Dhabi Cricket

Stirling continued to force the pace in a 61-run stand with Tector, surviving on review after being given out lbw against Nabi, but Rashid struck a telling blow in his first over when he bowled Tector with a wicked googly. Stirling’s scoring rate slowed significantly as he approached his ton, attempting to play Rashid out, but he brought up the landmark off his 101st ball in the 28th over. It was his 12th hundred in ODI, taking him clear off William Porterfield’s previous Ireland record.But Rashid continued to chip away, removing Curtis Campher for 12 to leave Ireland four down. Stirling found another useful partner in Lorcan Tucker, who cracked Mujeeb for two fours, but after Stirling was bowled for 118 via a thin edge, the innings quickly faded away.Rashid bowled Tucker with another googly to snare his third, before Mark Adair and Singh were both run out and Young became the third Irishman bowled by a Rashid googly to leave them nine down. Naveen trapped McBrine lbw to complete the win.The result gives Afghanistan 30 points in the nascent World Cup Super League table, while for Ireland it has significantly damaged their chances of automatic qualification. They had won the third ODI of their series in England last summer and hoped to repeat the trick on Tuesday, but their failure to do so leaves them with 10 points after six games and needing several upsets if they are to avoid the qualifying tournament.

The home side were well placed in their chase after Peter Siddle managed Tasmania’s only wicket

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Mar-2021Rain ruined the final day of the Sheffield Shield match at the MCG, denying Victoria a good chance of victory after they had made strong progress towards what appeared to be a challenging target.Peter Handscomb’s impressive form, with his second half-century of the match, in an unbroken second-wicket stand of 95 with Marcus Harris had broken the back of the chase before the rain returned and wiped out the rest of the day.Handscomb scored his runs at a rate rarely seen in a match where ball had held sway. Jake Doran produced the standout innings on the third day with 98 to leave a target of 253.Peter Siddle had taken the only wicket, removing Nic Maddinson to a thin edge in the sixth over of the day, but the game was getting away from Tasmania when the weather closed in and play was abandoned at 5.30pm.

Sanju Samson’s maiden game as IPL captain will be in focus

Shashank Kishore11-Apr-2021

Big picture

It’s a clash of two underachievers. Punjab Kings, the biggest auction spenders by virtue of having the bigger purse, now want to translate potential into performance. Rajasthan Royals, wooden spooners of the previous season, are looking to start afresh under a new captain in Sanju Samson, but have to make up for the lack of experience.There’s plenty of firepower, no doubt. Chris Gayle and Nicholas Pooran bring explosive hitting for the Kings. Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes will try and negate that for the Royals. Kings have the exuberance of KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal at the top of the order, but Royals will bank on the inexperience of either Manan Vohra or Yashasvi Jaiswal to partner Stokes, having off-loaded Robin Uthappa to the Chennai Super Kings.Royals don’t just have batting issues around Samson, Stokes and Buttler to sort. Their middle order looks fairly inexperienced, and Riyan Parag will be expected to deliver more consistently than he has, along with Shivam Dube and last season’s breakout star Rahul Tewatia. Without Jofra Archer, the bowler lacks a bit of hostility, which they’ll have to try and make up through the smarts of Chris Morris, the costliest IPL buy, and Mustafizur Rahman or Andrew Tye.

In the news

Jofra Archer will miss the first four games, after undergoing a finger surgery in the last week of March in England. He’s also been troubled by an elbow issue. In his absence, it’s likely one of Mustafizur or Tye will get the nod. It’s likely they won’t have the services of David Miller, who is still finishing quarantine and has to undergo a few medical tests before getting a clearance. Kings have everyone fit and available for selection.

Likely XIs

Rajasthan Royals: 1 Ben Stokes, 2 Yashasvi Jaiswal/Manan Vohra, 3 Sanju Samson (capt, wk), 4 Jos Buttler, 5 Riyan Parag, 6 Shivam Dube, 7 Chris Morris, 8 Rahul Tewatia, 9 Shreyas Gopal, 10 Andrew Tye, 11 Kartik Tyagi/Jaydev Unadkat Punjab Kings: 1 KL Rahul (capt, wk), 2 Mayank Agarwal, 3 Chris Gayle, 4 Nicholas Pooran, 5 Moises Henriques, 6 Shahrukh Khan, 7 Jalaj Saxena/Saurabh Kumar, 8 Riley Meredith, 9 M Ashwin/Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Mohammed ShamiRelated

• Rahul looking forward to Meredith's 'proper pace'

• Damien Wright interview

• Samson: 'You're a captain when you're fielding, not when you're batting'

Strategy punt

Buttler has had the most success in the IPL as an opener, his average of 40.7 and strike rate of 157 across 31 innings is significantly higher than his returns at No. 4 or No. 5. This doesn’t factor his returns at No. 6 since he’s just played three innings there. So you’d think he’s suited to open with Stokes. But there’s a question of filling a giant-sized hole in the middle order, so it’s understandable they may want Buttler to lend experience. If they choose not to partner Stokes with either Manan Vohra or Yashasvi Jaiswal, their next best option is Liam Livingstone, who they have re-signed. The England batsman has had an excellent last 12 months, for Lancashire in the Blast and for Perth Scorchers, for whom he was the second highest run-scorer in BBL 2020.Chris Gayle acclimatised superbly to the No. 3 position after coming into the XI halfway through IPL 2020, but is there a case of opening with him alongside Mayank Agarwal? This would mean Rahul drops a position down, to No. 3 or No. 4, where he has an outstanding record: he averages close to 50 and strikes at 140 in 18 innings there. The move could also allow Rahul to shed his conservative approach upfront. He struck at just 124 in the Powerplay last season.

Stats that matter

• In the four recent matches between these two sides, the lowest score has been 170. Last year in Sharjah, Punjab Kings made 223 and then saw Tewatia sensationally take them down at the death in an innings for the ages.
• Both Punjab Kings and Royals were joint toppers for the worst economy (8.3) in the Powerplays last season. Very little separated their death overs bowling too. While the Royals went at 11.6, the Kings were only marginally behind at 11.2.
• In Archer’s absence, Morris, who returns to the Royals, will have a key role to play. Last season, his presence tremendously boosted Royal Challengers Bangalore’s death-overs bowling. With him in the side, they conceded at just 8.3 in the death over eight games. Without Morris, this economy shot up to 12.4. Overall, Morris has the third-best economy among 43 pacers to have bowled 40+ overs in the death in the IPL.

The 36-year-old was undergoing treatment for cancer

ESPNcricinfo staff10-May-2021Vivek Yadav, a legspin-bowling allrounder who was part of Rajasthan’s back-to-back Ranji Trophy title-winning squads in 2010-11 and 2011-12, died on May 5 in a hospital in Jaipur following Covid-19-related complications. He was 36, and is survived by his wife and daughter.According to a PTI report, Yadav was undergoing treatment for cancer and had gone to the hospital for his chemotherapy, where he tested positive for Covid-19. His health deteriorated quickly after that. Yadav, originally from Haryana, played 18 first-class matches between 2008-09 and 2013-14. He picked up 57 wickets in those games at an average of 30.87, while also scoring 349 runs at 15.17. He was a part of the Rajasthan XI in the 2010-11 final, picking up 4 for 91 and scoring 27 and 13 as his team beat Baroda on the basis of the first-innings lead.

Joe Weatherley top-scores with 42 before bowlers close out victory

ECB Reporters' Network11-Jun-2021Chris Wood lead a superb defensive bowling display as Hampshire Hawks beat Essex Eagles by 13 runs to get their Vitality Blast competition rolling.Left-arm fast bowler Wood’s four overs went for just 15, along with the scalp of Aron Nijjar, with fellow homegrown star Liam Dawson returning a miserly 1 for 17.Joe Weatherley top-scored with 42 as the Hawks struggled to 155 but despite Tom Westley’s 44 the Eagles were bowled out for 142 – losing their last five wickets for 22 runs.Hampshire were stuck in and were contained well by the Essex bowlers as they reached 39 for the loss of James Vince – aggressively pulling Sam Cook to midwicket – in the powerplay.Simon Harmer, for the second match in succession, struck with his second delivery to york Tom Alsop.Cook took career-best T20 figures against Somerset and once again impressed with analysis of 2 for 21 as he had Australian D’Arcy Short caught behind by Will Buttleman – leaving the visitors 59 for 3 in eight overs.Weatherley rebuilt with Dawson and James Fuller through 35 and 33-run stands without any explosion to the run rate.Dawson was stumped off Harmer and Weatherley – having notched 42 from 34 balls – picked out deep midwicket to leave Hampshire facing a below-par total.But James Fuller plopped Jamie Porter for back-to-back sixes back over his head at the River End in the penultimate over to boost the tally, before he skied to cover.Buttleman lasted only seven balls on debut before he hooked Brad Wheal to fine leg.Michael Pepper also departed in the powerplay, caught behind attempting to sweep Dawson, as Essex reached 41 in the first six overs.The impetus was raised as Paul Walter lifted Mason Crane for sixes into the Hayes Close End houses from the first over of the leg-spinner’s first two overs.Westley also lofted over the straight boundary, but Crane got the last laugh, and loud grunting send-off, as Walter danced past a straight one to be stumped, before Westley was run out by a Ian Holland direct hit.Ryan ten Doeschate was bamboozled by Crane, struggling for four dots before slicing to short third man – as the England spinner pulled back his first 13 balls going for 37 to end up with two for 42 from his four overs.Jimmy Neesham clubbed Wheal into the Doug Insole Pavilion with a pull to accompany some powerful fours but he was caught at midwicket with 36 still needed.Nijjar pulled to deep fine leg, Simon Harmer and Sam Cook were run out and Plom was bowled by Wheal to confirm the victory.

Kieran Powell will replace him under the concussion substitute rule

Firdose Moonda10-Jun-2021West Indies batter Nkrumah Bonner has been ruled out of the first Test against South Africa in St Lucia after being diagnosed with concussion. Kieran Powell will replace him under the concussion substitute rule.Bonner top edged the very first ball he faced, off pacer Anrich Nortje, when he attempted to hook a short delivery but played the ball onto his helmet’s badge. He appeared shaken and was checked for concussion on the field – while South Africa reviewed unsuccessfully for a possible catch – and allowed to continue. He faced 32 balls in all and scored 10 runs but did not take the field when West Indies arrived to bowl, midway through the second session.Instead, Powell was on the field and will now also bat in Bonner’s place. Powell has not played for West Indies since 2018 and was recalled for the series.If was a big blow on a day of blows for West Indies, who were routed for 97 – the 19th time in Test cricket they’ve been bowled out below 100, and their lowest total against South Africa. Bonner, averaging 62.50 in his four Tests before this one, was one of only five players to face more than 30 balls in the innings.

Young Yorkshire pair tear into Worcestershire to transform malfunctioning innings

David Hopps23-Jun-2021Yorkshire 191 for 5 (Brook 83*, Thompson 66*, Pennington 4-24) beat Worcestershire 179 for 5 (Wessels 77, Cox 61*) by 12 runsSometimes it is not just about talent, it is about desire. Rarely has that been more apparent than in the way that the up-and-coming Yorkshire pair of Jordan Thompson and Harry Brook transformed a calamitous position to claim victory on an improbable record-breaking night in the Vitality Blast.Their stand of 141 in 56 balls was the highest sixth-wicket partnership in the history of the Blast and the second highest-ever in the world for that wicket, dwarfed only by the 161 shared by Andre Russell and Kennar Lewis for Jamaica Tallawahs against Trinbago Knight Riders in Port of Spain three years ago.But it was not just about an extraordinary statistic, it was about the message it conveyed. That Thompson and Brook are players brimming with promise is known throughout Yorkshire, to some extent beyond. But this was the night they came of age and, as they did, they questioned some enfeebled batting that had gone before.”Everything seemed in slow motion,” said Thompson, thereby taking the opposite view to those of us who just got to watch it and thought everything felt speeded up.T20 matches are, by their nature, unstable, but the pair’s refusal to yield was quite something. When Thompson joined Brook, they were 50 for 5 after 10.5 overs and that fifty had been met with derisive cheers. Dillon Pennington, strong and purposeful, had taken four wickets in his first eight balls for Worcestershire, including a triple-wicket maiden.Worcestershire have figured in some insipid Powerplays on successive nights. On Tuesday, they scraped 20 for 4 against Notts, only posted 86 for 8 and lost in 6.2 overs. This time it was they who restricted Yorkshire to 18 for 4, but they still took another beating.Yorkshire were not just without their England trio of Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan and David Wiley, they lacked Tom Kohler-Cadmore, who had fractured a finger keeping wicket, and Will Fraine, who had strained his side while range-hitting in practice 24 hours before the game. In the way Yorkshire started their innings, it felt as if there was an underlying sense of pessimism.From there, Brook smashed 83 not out off 54 balls and Thompson 66 from 28, career-best scores for players who only had one T20 half-century each at start of play. They rallied Yorkshire to 191 for 5, and when Worcestershire fell 12 runs short, a fifth victory in seven took them to the top of North Group. Unless other top-order batters capture their mood, they may need their slender points cushion ahead of fifth place, although a long tail will help.Related

• Miserly, masterful Samit Patel leads Nottinghamshire to thumping win over Worcestershire

• James Hildreth half-century eases Somerset to revenge win at Surrey

• Northants get on the board through Ricardo Vasconcelos, Adam Rossington fifties

• Derbyshire drop captain Billy Godleman after dire T20 run

Pennington removed Adam Lyth, Jonny Tattersall and Gary Ballance in his first over – a triple-wicket maiden in the third of the match – and then trapped Joe Root lbw for 1 in his next. Root fell to a decent inswinger, but the rest lacked conviction: Lyth (his rampant start to the season a distant memory) slicing to third man; Tattersall, playing his first game since being loaned out to Gloucestershire, dragging a pull to short midwicket when a cut shot would have been a better option; and Ballance, strangely ineffectual in T20 and often overlooked as a result, pulling his third ball to deep square leg.Brook,initially looking slight and wan, might easily have joined them. He was dropped on 2 by Riki Wessels at midwicket and had only 6 from 19 balls when he came to life and gratefully struck an innings-saving half volley from Barnard over long off for six.It was when he was joined by Thompson, however, that belief flooded into Yorkshire’s batting. Brook’s ability can need enticing out at times, but Thompson’s capability flares on the surface for all to see. His head might have lifted now and then, and maybe the ball did not always fly exactly where he planned, but he relished the fight and his backswing brooked no argument.They peppered the ball to all parts, a sense of desperation insisting they just played by instinct. Thompson took 17 from five balls from Pennington, 21 coming from his last over. Every Worcestershire bowler was emphatically broken in turn and 28 came from the last from Charlie Morris, the innings ending when Ish Sodhi, who was surprisingly limited to two overs, dived over one at extra cover.Worcestershire’s innings possessed far more sanity, but it was not a night when sanity prevailed. Wessels tried his best to atone for the earlier catching error with a season’s-best 77 in all competitions. From 50 for 3 in the eighth over, he shared 68 in seven overs with captain Ben Cox, but when he was yorked by Matthew Fisher at 118 for 4 in the 15th, the game titled towards Yorkshire.Lockie Ferguson leaked 20 from the penultimate over, leaving Fisher to defend 23 from the last, and, although Cox finished 61 not out, he did so comfortably enough. “I think we had a pretty good game,” said Pennington, loyally, understandably not wanting his own wonderful night to be ruined.

“If I think of competing with others, it puts pressure on me,” he said

Mohammad Isam23-Jul-2021Bangladesh allrounder Soumya Sarkar said he has to better prepare himself mentally in order to become a more consistent batter. He was adjudged Player of the Match for his half-century along with bowling figures of 1 for 18 in two overs against Zimbabwe in the first T20I in Harare, where the visitors won by eight wickets.Sarkar made 50 off 45 balls with four fours and two towering sixes. He said that he made a nervous start when he was nearly run-out in the first over, but a six off Luke Jongwe in the fifth over relaxed him.”I was playing my first international match after four months so I felt a bit shaky at the start,” Sarkar said. “When some of my first shots were going to hand, I told myself to take a bit of time. A four or a six would open things up for me, I thought. When I got a preferred ball and struck the six, I got my confidence back.”This was only Sarkar’s second fifty this year. He was given a chance in one Test against West Indies and the ODI series against New Zealand, without much success. Sarkar’s inconsistency resulted in him being constantly shuffled in and out of the team as well as up and down the batting order.”When I was out of the team, I practiced with purpose, particularly during the DPL T20s. I will continue to focus on certain areas of my game. I have to be more mentally fit to be more consistent.”My biggest competition is with myself. If I think of competing with others, it puts pressure on me. I want to do well myself, and get back my place in the team,” Sarkar said.Sarkar was later dismissed in a needless manner. After completing the run to reach his fifty, he ran himself out when a back-handed flick by Regis Chakabva caught him short of the crease trying a second run off the same delivery.”I felt that we could have finished the game two overs earlier if I wasn’t run out in that manner,” he said. “It was disappointing to get out. I thought that I was playing their left-arm spinner well, so I would have charged him further if I was around.”Sarkar said that Mohammad Naim’s three fours in the fourth over gave them the momentum required to chase down 153, which Bangladesh achieved with more than one over remaining.”I was supposed to bat at No 3, but the coach told me at the innings break that I would be opening in Liton’s place. I had to prepare myself mentally, and speak to the new partner and bat according to the conditions.”When we were going slow at the start, I told Naim that one big over will bring the flow in our favour. When he struck those three fours in the fourth over, things changed quickly,” he said.

Sunrisers knocked out of contention after slipping to their ninth loss this season

Alagappan Muthu30-Sep-20212:34

Chopra: Gaikwad was in complete control

Chennai Super Kings stormed into the playoffs with a six-wicket victory over the now eliminated Sunrisers Hyderabad. While they are yet to be assured of a top-two spot, which offers two shots at a place in the final, the progress MS Dhoni’s men have shown this IPL season suggests that target may not be too far off their reach.DJ in da house

Sunrisers were restricted to a meagre 134 for 7 on Thursday and this is how it happened.The match was played on a fresh Sharjah pitch. It remains unhelpfully slow but early on it also offered sideways movement. So Dhoni was prompted to do something he rarely ever does. He turned to Dwayne Bravo (4-0-17-2). It was only the sixth time in five years that the West Indies allrounder was on as early as the seventh over of an IPL game.But there was a reason for this and its name was Kane Williamson. The Sunrisers captain came into the game with an immense record against Super Kings – 327 runs at an average of 47 and strike rate of 145. Taking him out early means wrecking 90% of their batting plans. (Jason Roy had already been dismissed). So, Dhoni went to his “champion” and he obliged with a lovely outswinger that moved late, beat the bat, struck the pad and got the wicket.

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Sign up for ESPN+ and catch all the action from the IPL live in the US. Match highlights of Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Chennai Super Kings is available here in English, and here in Hindi (US only).

The Super Kings squeeze

Sunrisers were now in a horrible predicament. Their best batters were back in the hut. There were still 13.3 overs to face. And their opposition has a long and storied history of exploiting slow pitches.Super Kings went 48 balls without giving away a single boundary between the sixth and the 14th overs, with Ravindra Jadeja at the forefront of that squeeze. The left-arm spinner looked unhittable as he attacked the stumps, taking all the pace off and getting just enough turn. He finished with figures of 3-0-14-1.Josh Hazlewood then thrived at the death, picking up two wickets in three balls, as Sunrisers, having made it to the end of the powerplay on 41 for 1, just fizzled out.The Super Kings cruise
The rise of Ruturaj Gaikwad has been remarkable. When he first came along, he seemed rather ill-fitting with the needs of T20 cricket. A batter who didn’t have a power game, and worse who didn’t even bother to look for those big hits. All those fifties he made last season to pick up consolation victories came at about a run a ball.Cut to 2021 and Gaikwad (45 off 38) is not just looking for the big hits, he’s executing them better than virtually any other opener out there. His 75-run partnership with Faf du Plessis (41 off 36) broke the back of a small chase and ensured even a little hiccup towards the end – three wickets in eight balls – didn’t matter.