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Mitchell Marsh owns the No. 3 spot with monstrous hitting

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

After two low-key performances, Australia’s one drop has sounded a warning ahead of the semi-finals

Sidharth Monga11-Nov-20231:17

Marsh: Started at negative fifty after my bowling

Australia’s World Cup campaign has resembled a balls-in-a-maze puzzle. From catches going down in the first two matches, to Steven Smith having to adjust to a new role, to his vertigo, to Glenn Maxwell’s concussion on a golf course, Australia just haven’t been able to get all the balls in the innermost circle.One concern must have been how Mitchell Marsh, a big part of their plan to frontload their batting, didn’t quite respond immediately to moving down to No. 3 midway in the tournament. After Travis Head and David Warner added 175 in 19.1 overs against New Zealand in Dharamsala, Marsh scored 36 off 51 even as part-time offspinner Glenn Phillips operated at one end. That they won by just five runs despite scoring 388 must have been affirmation that they need to maximise what they can get.Against Bangladesh, in the final league match of the tournament, Marsh ticked that box with an innings full of power and intent that must sound a warning bugle for their opponents in the coming week.Related

Mitchell Marsh 177* powers Australia to seventh straight win

The plan on paper is great. Power at the top, one circuit breaker in the middle, and then more power in the end. However, Marsh’s numbers at No. 3 raised the question whether the fit was right. Coming into this match, he averaged 23.35 at 83.84 per 100 balls, a significant drop from his stats when opening: 55.4 at 113.75.In an 87-match career, in which Marsh has batted in eight different positions, the sample size is expectedly small. So small that this innings has taken his average at No. 3 to 36 and strike rate to 96.55.It is no insignificant innings: 177 runs off just 132 balls in Australia’s biggest successful chase in a World Cup match, with 17 fours and nine sixes, which makes it more than one boundary every over. It had all the trademarks of a Marsh innings. Respect the ball if the length is in-between, but if it is full or short, be brutal. The clubbing blows down the ground and into the covers used all his reach and power.Marsh was not shy to use his feet against spin to create that length. He scored 92 off 72 balls from the Bangladesh spinners. Coming into this match, Marsh’s career strike rate against spin was 77.94 as opposed to 109.27 against pace. So this was an obvious course correction Australia needed, having decided to bat Marsh at No. 3 in a World Cup in India, where spin inevitably plays a role.It helped that Marsh got seven overs of powerplay field restrictions and the two new balls to get stuck into. It is different to starting when the pitch is slowing down and the ball is losing some of its shine. Those challenges might yet arrive, but Marsh said it was important that he maintained this same intent.Does anyone hit the ball harder than Mitchell Marsh?•Associated Press”I sort of knew that when Heady came back in that I was gonna go down to three,” Marsh said when asked about the switch to No. 3 at the post-match presentation. “I think the most important thing for me is to play with that same intent and back myself. And I guess that’s the sort of way we wanna play our cricket. Me coming in at 3 and keep trying to apply the pressure. I probably had a few games in the middle of the tournament where I lost my intent. So it was really good to sort of learn quickly and back myself. I’m probably gonna fail a few times, but hopefully, I come off more than I don’t.”On a personal front, there have been challenges for Marsh, who travelled to Australia and back after the death of his grandfather. “I’m sure my nana and mom and all the family will be watching at home, so hopefully it’s put a smile on their face,” Marsh said. “My pop was a great man, and they celebrated his life yesterday afternoon. I’m sure they probably had a few beers too, so, yeah, it was nice to be able to perform for the family, but just good to get a win.”Having been earmarked for greatness from a young age to having reached a point where he was resigned to “most of Australia hates me”, Marsh’s career has not been the best utilisation of rare talent: ability to bowl serious heat and also to bat as well as he does.And yet, even without reaching 100 internationals in any format, Marsh has collected for himself an impressive highlights reel: captaining Australia to the Under-19 World Cup and the many BBL titles with Perth Scorchers aside, he was the Player of the Match when Australia finally won the T20 World Cup in 2021, he gritted out a draw to retain the Ashes earlier this year to go with a scintillating century earlier in the series, and now he has matched father Geoff’s two centuries when Australia won the World Cup in India in 1987, and is only two behind his tally of 428.As he stands on the cusp of another possible highlights week, Marsh can rest assured that more than just most of Australia, in his words when he lamented the dislike for him, “respect me for the fact I keep coming back”. Batting was arguably not even his stronger suit when he started out, but here he is, winning them all over with the bat. And there is time still: he is only 32.

West Indies' star power returns as Australia assess top-order squeeze

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Rovman Powell will lead a strong visiting side who have won their last two T20I series against England and India

Andrew McGlashan08-Feb-20240:56

Is Smith in? Finch names his T20 World Cup starting XI

The third ODI between Australia and West Indies was completed well inside the length of a T20, but now that format comes properly into view as the two teams switch their focus to building up to the World Cup in June.Australia have six matches in the next three weeks, with another set of games against New Zealand after this series, but for West Indies this could be their last outing before having to settle on a World Cup squad. However, their T20I side is the most settled of the three formats for them and they beat England 3-2 in December (which followed a 3-2 win over India) with a squad very similar to the one touring Australia which suggests there aren’t too many holes to fill.Australia’s World Cup questions
The same can probably be said of Australia, although they are using the pair of three-match series slightly differently. Four multi-format players – Steven Smith, Travis Head, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc – will rest during the West Indies matches before returning in New Zealand. The 15-player squad for that tour is likely to be very close to the final one taken for the World Cup although there are a few debates to have.Related

Behrendorff hopes towering 12-month run translates to T20 World Cup ticket

Smith, Cummins, Starc return for New Zealand T20Is, Marsh to captain

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Bartlett's stunning start in ODIs adds to Australia's pace options

Firstly, there is the question of who partners David Warner at the top of the order in what will be the swansong to his international career. Head would appear to be the frontrunner although Smith has made clear he would like to do it, while Matt Short (who will miss the West Indies series due to injury) is another option as is Josh Inglis. Captain Mitchell Marsh will likely slot in at No. 3 at the World Cup but could easily open. Cameron Green, who isn’t part of either of these two squads in order to focus on red-ball cricket, could yet come up on the rails, particularly if he has a strong IPL with Australia’s selectors saying that tournament will play a part in their thinking.David Warner will be back in Australia colours, but who opens alongside him remains question•ICC via Getty Images”It’s a good thing for Australian cricket to have a little bit of a logjam there with opening batters,” Matthew Wade said ahead of the opening game. “We’ve got Davey who’s arguably our best T20 opening batter, Mitchell Marsh has done it, Greeny’s done it, ‘Ingo’ [Inglis] could find himself doing it as well, he batted three in India. There’s plenty of people that are pushing for that opening spot.”Then there is who takes the fourth pace-bowling spot behind the big three quicks. Nathan Ellis seemingly heads the list having been selected for New Zealand although needs to shake off some lingering injury issues and won’t face West Indies. Jason Behrendorff, named Australia’s T20I player of the year last week, can mount a very strong case as can allrounder Sean Abbott while Spencer Johnson has put together another impressive BBL.One bowling name who has drifted down the pecking order is left-arm spinner Ashton Agar. He was a late scrubbing from the ODI World Cup, largely to accommodate an injured Head, and has now been overlooked for both T20 squads. The indications are that, as in India, Australia won’t take a second frontline spinner to the Caribbean, instead using Short and Glenn Maxwell in support of Adam Zampa.The final question might be who takes the keeping gloves. Inglis and Wade are both in the upcoming squads. Wade will do so in the opening match against West Indies and is still viewed as a strong option for the middle-order finishing role he did so well in 2021, but Inglis has shown his versatility around the order in white-ball cricket and could play as a specialist batter.Andre Russell made an impressive return to international cricket against England•Getty ImagesWest Indies’ big guns are back
For the first time on this tour, West Indies have what could be considered their strongest squad available. Jason Holder and Kyle Mayers, who weren’t available for the Test series due to franchise commitments, are back and as are Sherfane Rutherford and Brandon King who missed the ODIs. Alongside having Andre Russell (who has only played one previous T20I in Australia) and Nicholas Pooran there should be no shortage of batting power.Russell returned to the T20I stage against England in December for the first time since the 2021 World Cup in the UAE having been headhunted by new white-ball coach Daren Sammy. He responded with a player of the match display in his first outing then indicated this year’s World Cup will mark the end of his international career (or maybe not).”I still have a lot left in the tank,” he said. “But, you know, based on discussions with the coach, I told him that after the World Cup I would walk away from international cricket, but if they need me, I will come out of retirement.”He is bringing some encouraging form to Australia having made 192 runs at a strike-rate of 228.57 in the ILT20. Pooran, meanwhile, left the tournament as the highest run-scorer with 261 at a strike-rate of 170.58 while Johnson Charles was also consistent.Rutherford struggled somewhat with 105 runs in seven innings, while T20I captain Rovman Powell only managed 71 runs of which 40 came in one knock. Meanwhile, King had a tough run in the BPL with just 36 runs in six innings and Mayers made just one appearance in the SA20 for Durban’s Super Giants.One way or the other, though, the series promises plenty of runs: since the start of 2023, Australia are the second-fastest scoring T20I team with a strike-rate of 158.24 and West Indies are fourth at 153.10.The squads
Australia Mitchell Marsh (capt), Sean Abbott, Jason Behrendorff, Tim David, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam ZampaWest Indies Rovman Powell (capt), Shai Hope, Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Oshane Thomas

Stats – Shubman Gill and B Sai Sudharsan take IPL century count past 100

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

The IPL now has 101 centuries, after Gill and Sudharsan got to their milestones in Gujarat Titans’ 231 vs Chennai Super Kings

Sampath Bandarupalli10-May-2024101 – Total number of centuries scored in the IPL after the Gujarat Titans (GT) innings against Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Gill’s century was the 100th recorded in the IPL, and Sai Sudharsan made it 101 in the same innings.The IPL is now only the second T20 competition in the world to have had 100-plus centuries. Only England’s T20 Cup is ahead, with 157 hundreds scored across 21 editions.93 – The number of centuries scored across the 916 IPL matches played in India. Six of the remaining eight were scored in the UAE, while two more came in South Africa.8 – Centuries for Kohli in the IPL, the most by an individual in the league. Kohli has scored centuries against seven different franchises, which is also a record.ESPNcricinfo Ltd30 – Number of balls that Chris Gayle took for his century against Pune Warriors India in 2013. It remains the fastest century in the IPL. Gayle scored an unbeaten 175 in that game, the highest individual score in the IPL.4 – Centuries by Kohli in 2016 and Jos Buttler in 2022, the most in a single edition of the IPL.3 – Centuries for KL Rahul in the IPL against Mumbai Indians, the most by any batter against a single opponent. He scored his maiden IPL ton against MI in 2019 for Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) and then hit two more in IPL 2022 for Lucknow Super Giants.19 – Individual centuries for RCB in the IPL, the most for a single franchise.The Punjab franchise has had 13 different batters scoring hundreds in the IPL, the most for any team.13 – The most centuries scored against a team in the IPL – Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad have all been at the receiving end.Virat Kohli has the most centuries in the IPL•BCCI25 – Hundreds ending up on the losing side, while the remaining 76 came in wins.Three of Kohli’s centuries have come in defeats, the most for any batter, while all seven centuries Buttler has hit have come in wins.32 – Centuries scored in the IPL while chasing, of which Buttler has the most with three. The remaining 69 hundreds have come in the first innings, with Kohli (6) scoring the most.93 – Number of IPL centuries scored the players from the top three. As many as 76 have been by the opening batters, while 17 have been by the No. 3s. There have been five centuries by players batting at No. 4, and three more have come from No. 5s.53 – Number of players to have scored centuries in the IPL – 23 of those 53 players have hit at least two, including nine who have hit three or more.

14 – Centuries in IPL 2024 so far – the most in an IPL edition, surpassing the 12 in IPL 2023.16 – Individual hundreds scored at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, the most at any venue in the IPL. The M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru is next on the list with 14, while no other venue has had centuries in double-digits.19y 253d – Manish Pandey’s age when he scored a century in the IPL – 114* against Deccan Chargers in 2009. He is the youngest player to score a century in the IPL and the only one with a century before turning 20. Pandey also became the first Indian to score a hundred in the IPL with that innings.39y 184d – Gilchrist’s age in 2011, when he scored 106 against RCB. He is the oldest player to score a hundred in the IPL.Chris Gayle acknowledges the applause after his record-breaking century•BCCI67 – Balls taken by Pandey for his century mentioned above and by Kohli against Rajasthan Royals in 2024 – the slowest IPL centuries.8.5 – The point at which Gayle completed his century against Pune Warriors India in 2013, the earliest instance of an individual reaching his hundred in the IPL. Only one other batter got to his hundred before the end of the tenth over – Gilchrist in 9.6 overs against Mumbai Indians in 2008.3 – Number of instances of two centuries in the same innings in the IPL. Kohli and AB de Villiers became the first pair to achieve this feat against Gujarat Lions in 2016. David Warner and Jonny Bairstow did it against RCB in 2019, while Gill and Sai Sudharsan have now done it against CSK.There have been five other matches in the IPL when the two centuries have been scored, all since 2023.4 – Batters with successive hundreds in the IPL. Shikhar Dhawan in 2020 was the first to achieve this feat and Buttler did it in 2022. Then Kohli and Gill scored centuries in their last two league matches of the 2023 season.

Yuzvendra Chahal's milestones on the way to 200 IPL wickets

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

The Rajasthan Royals legspinner achieved the landmark against Mumbai Indians on Monday

Sampath Bandarupalli22-Apr-20242:34

Moody: Yuzvendra Chahal is one of the IPL’s ‘greats’

200 Wickets for Yuzvendra Chahal in the IPL, the first bowler to reach the milestone. Dwayne Bravo is second on the list of leading wicket-takers in the IPL with 183 scalps.2 Players with 200-plus wickets in a T20 competition before Chahal in the IPL. Danny Briggs (219) and Samit Patel (208) have 200-plus wickets in England’s T20 Blast.158 Chahal’s wickets in the 125 IPL matches he played in India. Only Bhuvneshwar Kumar (160) has more wickets than him in IPL matches in India. Chahal has 42 wickets in the UAE, which is the joint highest along with Jasprit Bumrah.7 Hauls of four wickets or more for Chahal in the IPL, the second most most in the league along with Lasith Malinga. Sunil Narine leads the list with eight hauls of four or more wickets.20 Instances of Chahal taking three or more wickets in an IPL match. Only Jasprit Bumrah (22 times) has taken more three-plus wickets than Chahal in the IPL.4 Bowlers with 50-plus wickets for two franchises in the IPL, including Chahal. Piyush Chawla (KKR and Punjab), Axar Patel (Punjab and DC) and Rashid Khan (SRH and GT) are the other bowlers on the list.Chahal is the only player with 100-plus wickets for RCB in the IPL. He has 61 wickets for Rajasthan Royals and is their joint second highest wicket-taker in the IPL behind Siddharth Trivedi (65).52 Wickets for Chahal at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru in 42 IPL matches. Only three other bowlers have bagged 50-plus wickets at a venue in the IPL.152 Wickets for Chahal in the middle overs (7th to 16th over) – the most for any bowler in this phase. Amit Mishra (139) is next on the list. Chahal’s strike rate (17.30) in the middle overs is only behind Kagiso Rabada (15.88) and Bumrah (17.28) among the 42 bowlers with 30-plus wickets in this phase.16.7 Chahal’s bowling strike rate in the IPL is the fifth best among 71 bowlers to have picked up 50-plus wickets.

Can India rediscover their batting swagger at home?

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Since 2021, India’s batters have seen surprisingly poorer returns at home than in the previous five years. Here is a deep-dive into why that has happened

S Rajesh15-Sep-2024For several years now, defeating India in India is considered the toughest task in men’s Test cricket, a claim which is backed by numbers: since the start of 2013, India have a 40-4 win-loss record at home, easily the best; in second place is Australia’s 41-7.Over much of this period, India were extremely dominant with both bat and ball: from 2013 to 2020, when they had a stunning 28-1 win-loss home record, India averaged 44.05 runs per wicket with the bat, and 23.30 with the ball. Both were the best among all teams at home. In this period, the only year when the India batters averaged under 40 at home in a calendar year was in 2015, when they scored only 25.27 runs per wicket on dubious pitches in the four-Test series against South Africa. (These batting averages exclude runs scored from extras, while bowling averages include bowler wickets only.)ESPNcricinfo LtdSince 2021, though, that trend has changed a bit. In 17 home Tests in these four years, India’s batting average has dropped to 33.40 from the highs of 48 between 2016 and 2020 (actually 2019, since there was no Test cricket in India in 2020). In terms of rank, India have slipped from first to fifth. The bowlers held their end of the bargain though, averaging 21.29 runs per wicket, which is next only to South Africa’s 18.84 among all teams in their home conditions. India’s 12-3 win-loss record in this period points to a team which is still dominant, though not overwhelming so like they were earlier.The lower batting and bowling averages for India also point to another trend, of conditions getting tougher for batters in general in the country. How much more difficult is batting in India in these last four years, compared to an earlier similar period? Let the numbers provide the answer. We’ll look at the top-seven batters only, in the periods 2016-20, and since 2021.

The overall numbers in India – for both home and away top seven batters – show a significant drop, from 39.18 in the first period, to 31.65 since 2021. (This only includes Tests which involved India, and excludes the couple of matches where India was a neutral venue.) Between 2016 and 2020, the average in India was the highest among teams which hosted at least 10 Tests, with Australia coming in next at 38.3. (Pakistan hosted only three Tests in this period.) Since 2021, the overall average has dropped to seventh out of nine countries; only in the West Indies and South Africa do the top-seven batters have a lower average.The decline of these averages in India has largely been triggered by the home batters. Overseas batters have found the Indian pitches and the SG ball a tricky combination for a while now, but their averages have dropped only marginally – from 28.51 to 26.12 – in these two periods. For India’s top seven, on the other hand, the fall has been steep – from 54.43 to 38.30.ESPNcricinfo LtdIt’s true that all teams haven’t toured India since 2021: there have been a couple of series against England, but apart from that, the other tourists have been Australia, Sri Lanka and New Zealand. In the period between 2016 and 2020, the touring teams were New Zealand, England, Bangladesh (twice), Australia, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, West Indies and South Africa. The spread is wider, but the difference in averages for overseas batters is relatively small – there is only an 8% dip since 2021 compared to the 2016-20 period. For India’s batters, though, the drop is a whopping 29.6%, and a fall of five places from first to sixth, in terms of batting averages at home for the top seven of each team.In these four years, while India have still been winning fairly consistently, the batters haven’t exploited home advantage like they used to earlier: the top seven have averaged 38.3 at home and 34.78 abroad, a difference of just 3.52. Among the top nine teams, only two have a smaller difference – West Indies and Bangladesh. In the four preceding years, the difference was 19.53, the highest among all teams. That was largely due to an extremely high home average of 54.43, but their away average of 34.90 was also the highest during this period.

Much of this dip in numbers is because of a huge slump in form for batters who were the mainstays of India’s middle order. From 10 hundreds in 22 Tests at an average of 86.17, Virat Kohli’s returns have dropped to a solitary century in 11 matches, and an average of 34.47. Similarly, Cheteshwar Pujara’s average dropped from 56.85 to 24.53, a fall of almost 57%. Rohit Sharma has scored four hundreds in 15 Tests since 2021, but even he has averaged a shade under 45, compared to 101.1 in the 2016-20 period.ESPNcricinfo LtdThe only batter with stunning home numbers during the last four years is Yashasvi Jaiswal. He has two double-hundreds in a career which is just five-home-Tests old, but none of the others have similarly stamped their authority. Shubman Gill has shown similar signs, though, with three hundreds and a 50-plus average in his last seven home Tests, against Australia and England. Overall, the frequency of innings per century for India’s top seven has dropped from one every 6.9 innings to one every 13.1 innings.How have the numbers for India’s batters dropped so significantly in the last four years? The pace-spin split helps explain this. Between 2016 and 2020, India’s top-seven batters averaged 47.36 against seamers, and 63.36 against spinners. Since 2021, the average against pace has remained almost the same, but against spin it has fallen by almost 41%, to 37.56. The distribution of wickets has become lopsided too – from a nearly 50% split in the 2016-20 period, the opposition spinners have taken 75% of India’s wickets (of the top seven) in the last four years.ESPNcricinfo LtdThe averages for batters versus spin in each period further illustrates the huge contrast in the two periods. Among the batters who played a reasonable number of innings in both periods, the decline is again most apparent for Kohli and Pujara. Kohli scored 1342 runs for 13 dismissals against spin in the 2016-20 period, but since 2021 he has been dismissed by spinners 15 times for only 454 runs. Similarly, Pujara scored 1128 runs for his 13 spin dismissals between 2016-20, but since then managed only 277 for his next 12 dismissals. Apart from those two, there are also some dire numbers for Rajat Patidar and KL Rahul, while Shreyas Iyer’s stats here don’t support his reputation of being an excellent player of spin. In fact, the allrounders Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja have better stats against spin than many of the specialist batters. Between 2016 and 2020, all the major batters except Ajinkya Rahane averaged at least 48 against spin.

Since 2021, 11 overseas spinners have taken eight or more wickets in India, of whom four average under 30, and eight under 36. Between 2016 and 2020, five of the eight spinners who took more than five wickets in India conceded more than 48 runs per wicket.

Even with these improved numbers, the opposition batters haven’t out-batted India’s, in terms of their numbers against spin. The gap between them has narrowed, though: from being more than twice as good as the opposition, the India batters are merely about one-and-a-half times as good. In terms of absolute difference in averages against spin, for the top-seven batters it has dropped significantly from 33.35 to 13.51. However, R Ashwin, Jadeja, Axar and Kuldeep Yadav have been much better than the opposition spinners, and this difference is still enough for it to be decisive in most games.For opposition spinners, though, India is no longer the team against whom they have the worst average, like they did in the 2016-20 period; that honour now belongs to Australia, against whom spinners average 38.06. Against India, they average 35.50, which is a big improvement from the 49.86 they averaged in the earlier five-year period.

The recent batting numbers at home have been a bit worrying for India, but there is cause for optimism in the form displayed by the two players who are expected to be the flagbearers of India’s batting for the next several years. In the series against England earlier this year, Jaiswal slammed two double-hundreds and averaged 89, while Gill topped 450 runs and averaged over 56. Those are much better returns than what Pujara and Rahane managed in their last few Tests at home.Going into the home season of five Tests, India will want more from their batters than what they have delivered recently. If Kohli finds his groove again, there is every chance that the quartet of Rohit, Jaiswal, Gill and Kohli, with generous assistance from Axar Patel and Jadeja, will help India regain their home batting dominance.

Stats – Smith, Short shatter BBL batting records on Super Saturday

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

All the stats highlights from the two high-scoring matches at the BBL

Namooh Shah11-Jan-20251 For the first time in the history of the BBL, two players scored a hundred on the same day: 121* by Steven Smith and 109 by Matthew Short.251 for 5 by Adelaide Strikers is the second-highest team total in the BBL after 273 for 2 by Melbourne Stars in 2022. It was only the second time a team crossed the 250-run mark in men’s T20s in Australia.3 Hundreds by Smith is the joint most by any player in BBL, equaling Ben McDermott’s record.ESPNcricinfo Ltd446 Runs scored in the match between Strikers and Heat, is the second most in a BBL game, bettered only by 459 runs in the game between Strikers and Hurricanes in 2023. The 426 runs by Sydney Sixers and Perth Scorchers earlier on Saturday is the sixth highest.220 for 3 by Sixers is their highest total in the BBL, going past 213 for 4 they scored against Stars in 2021.49 Balls taken by Short to complete his hundred is the fastest by a Strikers player, bettering Travis Head’s 53-ball hundred on New Year’s Eve against Sixers in 2015.ESPNcricinfo Ltd6.4 Overs taken by Strikers to score the team 100 is the third fastest by any team in the BBL, with the top two spots with Heat: in six overs against Thunder in 2020 and 6.3 overs against Stars in 2019.134 Runs scored by Strikers in the first 10 overs is the second most by a team in a BBL innings, behind 158 runs by Heat against Stars in 2019.26 Number of sixes in the match between Strikers and Heat, is the joint most in a BBL match, equaling the sixes scored during the match between Sixers and Stars in 2020.The 60 boundaries in the match between Strikers and Heat is also the second most behind the 61 by Strikers and Stars in 2023.

14 Sixes by Strikers against Heat is the most by them in a BBL innings, going past their previous best of 12 sixes in 2014.1 – Only the first time when three bowlers conceded 50-plus runs in an innings in BBL – Michael Neser (53), Xavier Bartlett (53), Matthew Kuhnemann (50). It is also the first time in a BBL innings where five bowlers conceded 40-plus runs.

Stats – India hit a high at Headingley by amassing 359 for 3

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Stats highlights from the first day’s play at Headingley, where Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal scored hundreds

Sampath Bandarupalli20-Jun-2025359 for 3 – India’s highest total on the opening day of a Test in England. Their previous best was 338 for 7 at Edgbaston in 2022.India’s 359 is also the highest opening-day total for a visiting team in England since South Africa made 362 for 4 at The Oval in 2003.5 – Indians with a century on captaincy debut in men’s Tests, including Shubman Gill. His unbeaten 127 at Headingley is the third-highest score on captaincy debut by an India batter, behind Vijay Hazare’s 164* against England in 1951 and Virat Kohli’s 141 against Australia in 2014.ESPNcricinfo Ltd3 – Test hundreds for Yashasvi Jaiswal away from home – 171 in Roseau in 2023, 161 in Perth in 2024, and now 101 in Leeds. All three centuries have come in his first Test in these countries. No other player has hundreds in their maiden Tests in the West Indies, Australia and England.23 years 174 days – Jaiswal’s age when he scored his hundred at Headingley. Syed Mushtaq Ali is the only younger India opener to score a Test hundred in England; he was 21 years and 221 days old when he scored 112 at Old Trafford in 1936.ESPNcricinfo Ltd402 – Number of international matches India have played between Karun Nair’s previous Test appearance in 2017 and this one – the most games a player has missed between two appearances for his country. Nair missed 77 Test matches in these eight years. Only Jaydev Unadkat (118), Dinesh Karthik (87) and Parthiv Patel (83) missed more Tests between two appearances for India.1 – B Sai Sudharsan became the first India player to bag a duck on debut while batting at No. 3 in men’s Tests. Only six Indians, including Sai Sudharsan, have bagged a duck in the top three on their Test debut.Sai Sudharsan’s first-class average coming into this match was 39.93, the lowest for a specialist batter on Test debut for India since 1990. Wriddhiman Saha made his Test debut as a batter with a first-class average of 35.59, but was predominantly a wicketkeeper.

Stats – Kohli with back-to-back tons again; SA ace record chase

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Stats highlights from Raipur, where India racked up 358 for 5 against South Africa

Sampath Bandarupalli03-Dec-2025358 for 5 India’s total in the second ODI in Raipur, which is their second-highest total against South Africa, behind the 401 for 3 in Gwalior in 2010. India’s 349 for 8 in Ranchi in the previous match is now their third-highest.195 Partnership runs for the third wicket between Virat Kohli and Ruturaj Gaikwad. It is the highest partnership for any wicket for India against South Africa in men’s ODIs, going a run ahead of the 194-run stand between Sachin Tendulkar and Dinesh Karthik for the second wicket in Gwalior in 2010.Related

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It is also the highest third-wicket partnership by any pair against South Africa in ODIs, bettering the 189-run stand between Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane in Durban in 2018.11 Instances of Kohli scoring back-to-back hundreds in ODI cricket, easily the most by any batter. AB de Villiers is next on the list with six instances of hundreds in back-to-back innings.77 Balls Ruturaj needed to complete his hundred, the second-fastest for India in ODIs against South Africa, behind only Yusuf Pathan’s 68-ball effort in Centurion in 2011. The previous quickest at home was off 80 balls by Sanjay Manjrekar in New Delhi in 1991.ESPNcricinfo Ltd7 ODI hundreds for Kohli against South Africa; two more than any other batter. He has scored four hundreds in his last five ODI innings at home against South Africa, including three in his previous three outings.34 Venues where Kohli has scored an ODI hundred, with Raipur being the latest entry to that list. Tendulkar also scored ODI tons at 34 different venues.17 Hundreds in List A cricket for Ruturaj before scoring his maiden ODI hundred on Wednesday, the most for a batter at the time of their maiden ODI ton. Matthew Hayden’s maiden ODI hundred came in 2001 against India, after scoring 16 in List A. A total of 13 others have 17 or more List A hundreds without scoring one in ODIs to date.

33 Number of 150-plus stands featuring Kohli in ODIs, the most by any batter, going past Tendulkar, who was involved in 32 of them. Ruturaj was Kohli’s 14th partner with whom he has shared a 150-plus stand in this format.3 Instances of two batters scoring hundreds for India in a men’s ODI against South Africa. Ravi Shastri and Manjrekar at New Delhi in 1991 and Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly at Johannesburg in 2001 were the previous instances.Overall, this was the 44th instance where two Indian batters scored centuries in the same innings in men’s ODIs, but the first since Kohli and Shreyas Iyer managed it against New Zealand at Wankhede in the 2023 World Cup.Matthew Breetzke celebrates his fifty•Getty Images359 Target that South Africa chased down in Raipur, which is the joint-highest successful target chase against India in ODIs. Australia also won chasing a target of 359 against India in Mohali in 2019.It is also the joint-sixth highest successful target chase in ODI cricket and joint-second on Indian soil, only behind India’s 360-run chase against Australia in 2013 in Jaipur.3 Number of successful chases of 350-plus targets by South Africa in ODI cricket, including the top two highest chases ever. India and England also have three successful 350-plus chases in ODIs.720 Runs scored by India and South Africa in Raipur, making it the highest aggregate for an ODI match between the two teams, going past the 681 runs they scored in the previous game in Ranchi.The aggregate of 1401 runs in this series so far is the fourth-highest across the first two matches of a bilateral ODI series.7 Fifty-plus scores for Matthew Breetzke in 11 ODI innings. These are the most fifty-plus scores for any batter in men’s ODIs after 11 innings, alongside Sherfane Rutherford. Breetzke has 682 runs so far, the most in the first 11 ODI innings, going past Kevin Pietersen, who scored 668 runs.2 Number of bilateral ODI series where both teams made 330-plus totals in the first two matches. India hosted the previous such series in 2017, when both India and England went past 350 in the first two matches.4 Hundreds for Aiden Markram in ODI cricket; all have come since the start of 2023. Only Quinton de Kock (5) scored more centuries for South Africa in men’s ODIs in this period. All four centuries by Markram have been brought up in less than 90 balls, and his hundred against India was his first in a chase.

India spinner Gouher Sultana retires from all forms of cricket

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

She last played for India in 2014, and returned to the limelight in the WPL a decade later

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Aug-2025India left-arm spinner Gouher Sultana has announced her retirement from all forms of the game. She played 50 ODIs and 37 T20Is after making her debut in 2008, and last represented India in April 2014. Thereafter, Sultana came back into the limelight a decade later when she featured in the 2024 and 2025 WPL seasons.”To have represented India at the highest level – in World Cups, tours and battles that tested both skill and spirit – has been the greatest honour of my life,” Sultana wrote in her retirement announcement on Instagram. “Every wicket taken, every dive in the field, every huddle with my teammates has shaped the cricketer and the person I am today.”Sultana finished with 66 ODI wickets at an average of 19.39, the third-best for any India bowler to have taken at least 50 wickets in the format.Related

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Sultana played in two ODI World Cups, in 2009 and 2013, and picked up 12 wickets in 11 matches at an average of 30.58. She also played in three T20 World Cups from 2009 to 2014, and took seven wickets while going at an economy rate of 5.81.Sultana was signed by UP Warriorz (UPW) ahead of WPL 2024. She played two matches in the tournament, going wicketless across five overs. In 2025, Sultana again played two games for UPW, and only got to bowl the one over.”There were times when I thought of quitting – seasons I didn’t do well, my mental health was affected,” Sultana told ESPNcricinfo before her comeback tournament in 2024. “But then even when I was about to give up, I was like, ‘No, this shouldn’t be the end. I want to end it the way I want it.’ It was not to prove anything to anybody, but I enjoyed playing and I still enjoy playing. That’s the primary reason I am still here.”Sultana, 37, is also a BCCI Level 2 coach.

Black veil of secrecy: India begin training in privacy in Perth

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Pant was the main attraction on Tuesday before Kohli hit the nets on Wednesday afternoon

Tristan Lavalette13-Nov-20242:06

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While the shiny 60,000-seat Optus Stadium, the site of the series-opener in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, takes centre stage in Perth these days, the WACA ground – that old warhorse located on the opposite bank of the Swan River – remains the spiritual home of Western Australian cricket.Walk along Braithwaite Street in East Perth and you pass the famed WACA nets where there is the familiar sight of cricketers – ranging from state to junior players – going through the paces.But on Tuesday it was rather an eyesore, with the nets completely covered by black shade cloth that snaked around near a construction site amid the ground’s major redevelopment, which is expected to be completed before next season.Related

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It was day one of India’s tour of Australia and the secrecy was reminiscent of their last visit to Perth during the 2022 T20 World Cup when a similar effort to thwart prying eyes took place. On that occasion, however, India did play two matches against a WA XI side that attracted near capacity crowds with the entry fee donated to the WA Cricket Foundation.This time around India have opted for total privacy, though the BCCI clarified* that no instruction was given by the team to the WACA stadium authorities or the media that Wednesday’s training would be behind closed doors.As ESPNcricinfo had reported earlier in the month, India opted to scrap a three-day intra-squad game – which would have been played behind closed doors – at the WACA from November 15 to 17 and instead the squad will train during those three days.It was unclear exactly what their training plans are this week, but India decided to get to work quickly having had staggered arrivals into Perth at the weekend. After the WACA ground staff spent Tuesday morning getting the nets into shape, India arrived in the early afternoon to a quiet reception with only a sprinkling of fans greeting them off the team bus.The WACA was in a state of “lockdown”, as splashed around the media, although perhaps slightly alarmist as its front gates were open and staff strolled in and out. But staff – with the ground doubling as WA Cricket’s headquarters – and construction workers have been told not to film or take photos of the training sessions.India have been training behind a black cloth at the WACA in Perth•Tristan LavaletteWhile the massive tarp obscured most of the public view, there were several vantage points along Nelson Crescent – right behind the batters in the nets. The secret training session suddenly became a free for all although onlookers had to take turns standing along a retaining wall with limited space.India’s net session lasted a few hours on Tuesday, but experienced players such as Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin were not present. Among those in the nets were Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul. They faced around six deliveries at a time and spent about an hour in total in the nets.With fast and bouncy conditions expected at Optus Stadium, the WACA nets are hoped to acclimatise India’s batters. Several local Perth club quicks, undoubtedly selected for their pace, unleashed hostile bowling with a back of a length seemingly encouraged. But bouncers were rare.Jaiswal was intent on aggression and one of his mighty blows cleared the nets and sailed onto Braithwaite Street which at that time of day is usually teeming with cars and students around the nearby school. Fortunately, the street was momentarily quiet as a keen fan scurried to pocket a memento. Pant was in fluent touch but did cop a blow to his body, while another fierce delivery also hit his bat flush and flew out of his hands. He glanced at the onlookers, some of whom giggled, and sported a wry smile.With Kohli not around on Tuesday, Pant became the main attraction although perhaps in an indication of cricket’s standing in an Australian-rules-football-obsessed city, many locals didn’t seem to know who he was.”Do you know which one is Pant?” an exasperated photographer asked me. “I thought I’ve been shooting him, but it’s actually Jaiswal!”

After he was done training, Pant was spotted walking down a major road near the ground amid the post-work rush but those around him seemed oblivious that they were in the presence of one of the most famous cricketers in the world. While the photographers and cameramen started to trudge off amid the late afternoon heat, those hanging around clung on to hope that Kohli would make a late appearance.”Good shot, Virat!” said a construction worker who had leapt onto a hedge along the perimeter. It sparked a frenzy with numerous fans quickly finding vantage points only to be left disappointed when the batters in the nets were all left-handed. Eventually, a security guard came around and it was quite clear our welcome had worn thin.By Wednesday morning, with India set to train through the day, those vantage points from the previous day had been covered by more black shade cloth. Kohli finally appeared on Wednesday afternoon along with India’s other main Test players, including Bumrah, Jadeja and Ashwin. He looked sharp batting for more than an hour as he spent time in each of the four nets. He was mostly tested by back-of-a-length and full deliveries, with a member of the coaching staff occasionally positioned behind him.Despite the measures taken to protect India’s training from eager eyes, some keen fans came equipped with ladders. The same security guard was on patrol but it appeared no local law had been broken.”It’s going to be a long week,” he muttered as he trudged past the shade cloth and down Braithwaite Street.

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