All posts by n8rngtd.top

On the face of it Bhuvneshwar Kumar has no quality that’s likely to catch a layman’s fancy. But face him with a bat in hand and you’ll know his worth

Aakash Chopra at Queen's Park Oval06-Jul-2013If you were to make an assessment about a fast bowler, from a distance, what are the attributes that are likely to catch your eye? The first few would be a fast run-up, high jump, strong action, pace and bounce.Those are exactly the virtues you won’t find in India’s best strike bowler at the moment. He gives the impression of just ambling in; his feet barely leave the ground as he loads up in his action. And since most of the time batsmen are on the front foot, it all gives the impression of a lack of pace. The wicketkeeper rarely collects his deliveries with the fingers pointing up, so even the bounce he gets isn’t appreciable.Prima facie, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has no quality that’s likely to catch a layman’s fancy. But to know his real worth, you need to stand at the other end with a bat in your hand. That’s when you realise how one of the most innocuous-looking bowlers is also one of the toughest to handle, especially if he has the new ball and the pitch has a little bit of assistance for seamers.So what makes Bhuvneshwar a serious threat?Bowling close to the stumps and a high-arm action
Bhuvneshwar’s approach to the crease reminds me of the great Shaun Pollock. Just like the South African, he gets really close to the stumps. The closer the bowler gets to the stumps, the tougher it gets for the batsman, for there are less pronounced angles to play with. The line of the ball is always in line with the stumps, which means the batsman has no choice but to play at most deliveries.And if the positioning on the crease is complemented with a high-arm action, like it is for Bhuvneshwar, the problems increase manifold: you, as a batsman, can’t play inside or outside the line of the delivery as you would for someone bowling with a round-arm action or from wide of the crease.For example, if Lasith Malinga was bowling from close to the stumps with a new ball, a right-hand batsman would play outside the line of the bal, assuming that the ball would swing away from him. Similarly, you would play inside the line while facing Makhaya Ntini to account for the acute angle he created by bowling from the edge of the box.Strong wrist position
The best way to swing the ball in the air and to get lateral movement off the deck is to release the ball with the seam bolt upright. The more still the seam is in the air, the better the chances that it will not only deviate in the air but also hit the pitch on the seam and dart around. While it sounds quite simple in theory, it’s extremely difficult to execute, for to keep the seam upright at the point of release, the wrist needs to be strong and also right behind the ball. That’s what Bhuvneshwar has; his immense control over his wrist allows him to not only release the ball with the seam upright but also allows him to make subtle changes (like pointing it towards slips or fine leg) by tilting his wrist to move the ball both ways. If you’re able to do that with control, you will trouble the best batsmen.A full length
Bhuvneshwar has neither the pace of Umesh Yadav nor the bounce of Ishant Sharma. What he does have is an understanding of the importance of hitting the right length time and again. He realises that since his strength is movement, he needs to pitch it a lot fuller, for the longer the ball stays in the air, the better the chances of it moving. Also, it’s a length that batsmen, especially openers, hate in the early part of an innings. Bhuvneshwar is not afraid of being hit through the line and that quality allows him to find edges often, for it isn’t possible for batsmen to always keep middling the ball when it is swinging.While the match between West Indies and India is likely to be remembered for Virat Kohli’s scintillating century, not mentioning the spell of quality bowling by Bhuvneshwar would be a grave injustice, for Chris Gayle, Darren Bravo and Kieron Pollard – the batsmen he dismissed – had the ability of changing the complexion, and perhaps the result, of the game.

England’s recurring first-Test failure may this time point to more ingrained issues

George Dobell in Brisbane24-Nov-20130:00

#politeenquiries: Australia win at The Gabba

Had you never seen England play Test cricket before this match in Brisbane, you would be forgiven for concluding that they had no hope of fighting their way back into this Ashes series.This defeat was as emphatic and complete as any in recent years. Indeed, only five times in history have England lost a Test by a larger run margin. It is understandable that some are suggesting that this game may be remembered as the start of a new era. An era in which Australia hold the upper hand.But we have seen England play before. We know that they have experienced similarly crushing defeats – Leeds 2009, Perth 2010 and Ahmedabad 2012 – and bounced back to win the next games and the series in which they were played. Perhaps they can do the same thing again?Certainly that was the view taken by Alastair Cook. England’s captain conceded that his side had been “outplayed” but then insisted that “there’s plenty of time to fight back”.”We’ve done it a lot of times in the past and that’s what we’re going to have to draw upon now,” he said. “In Ahmedabad everyone was looking at us and wondering how we could play cricket and we bounced back to win an amazing series in India.”The first thing we have to do is remember we are a very good side and there are some very good players in the dressing room. We’ve had a bad game and we can hold our hands up and say that. But we’ve got 10 days now. We’ll stay strong as a unit and we’ll come back fighting.”Whether that proves to be wishful thinking remains to be seen but it would be a mistake to dismiss the Test as an aberration. A team that has failed to score 400 for 18 consecutive innings is not in a barren run; it is in a famine. A team who continually start poorly in series and rely on their bowlers to bail them out of tough situations are not unlucky; they are flirting with danger. This result has been an accident waiting to happen.Just as worryingly, England have only played two Tests on quick wickets in the last four years – here and in Perth – and they have lost them both heavily. It bodes ill that Perth, perhaps the fastest wicket in the world looms again just around the corner in the third Test.0:00

England’s batting was amateur’

By reputation, Adelaide, the location of the second Test, is something approaching a batting paradise. It might, in normal circumstances, be expected to provide a tonic for England’s beleaguered batsmen. But no-one is quite sure how the fresh drop-in pitch will play and it would seem oddly hospitable of Australia to offer anything other than another pitch of pace and bounce. There may be no respite in store.The headlines will be dominated by Mitchell Johnson and England’s batsmen’s struggles against pace and bounce. Probably quite rightly, too. Even his poor deliveries – and there were a few – proved beneficial as they left the batsmen unsure what to expect from his slingy, low action. His success was another example of the benefits of unorthodoxy in cricket. The debate over whether such a player could emerge through the English system can wait for another day.There were other issues at play apart from Johnson. England also played the offspin of Nathan Lyon like novices; the lack of an effective third seamer saw them unable to exploit Australia’s position of 132 for 6 on the first day and Graeme Swann, arguably the best spinner England have ever had, was out-bowled by his Australian counterpart.The individual form of a couple of players is causing concern, too. Jonathan Trott appears most rattled by Johnson’s pace and, in his last nine Tests, has a better bowling average than batting average: 21.50 with the ball and 31.94 with the bat. Matt Prior has averaged 15 in the eight Tests he has played since May and only 17.50 in first-class cricket since the start of the last English season. He has passed 50 only once in 24 innings.England will be loathe to abandon their consistency of selection policy, but there was just a hint that changes could be made. Ironically after a defeat due to poor batting, it is the position of Chris Tremlett, the third seamer, which is most under threat, but Trott, too, is looking as insecure as at any stage in his four-year Test career.0:00

‘Adelaide has become much more important now’

“We are going to have to be very honest with ourselves in how we go about trying to play Johnson,” Cook said. “You can’t brush the issue under the carpet, he’s hurt us in this game and we’re going to have to come back show our ability in the next game.”We all need to be honest with each other as a group. It’s not just those three who haven’t had a good game – all eleven of us really need to improve if we want to win this series.”Trott has had a tough game and he knows that. But you have to remember the guy is class. He is a very good player. He’s had a little blip in these last couple of games but he’s a class player and class players bounce back.”I know he’s been working incredibly hard at playing the short ball and anyone who has seen the net sessions can see he is trying to work on it. It is just a matter of him trying to take that into the middle. When the emotion and the pressure of the game is on, it can be quite tough to think as clearly as you need to.”In the long-term, Trott has a good chance of finding a method to deal with the line of attack with which he is confronted. He will know, too, that his captain endured a similarly grim run of form in 2010 and benefitted from England’s loyalty and patience. But if the team management feel that Trott is, for now, mentally shot, he may not win a reprieve for Adelaide. It may be to his benefit that none of the squad’s reserve batsmen – Jonny Bairstow, Gary Ballance or Ben Stokes – is hammering at the door of the team.England can take consolation from one area: they know they have prevailed against Australia – with Johnson – on several previous occasions. Indeed, Trott’s debut century was against an attack that included Johnson.”We’ve got to look at the way we’re going to play him,” Cook agreed. “He’s bowled well in this Test. He bowled well in Perth last time and he hurt us there.”But there have been times in the past when we’ve played really well against him. We can draw on that. You can’t brush the issue under the carpet, he’s hurt us in this game and we’re going to have to come back and show our ability in the next game.”Perhaps most damaging of all for England is the fact that this result will encourage an Australian team who have been starved of success for almost a year. Motivated and now full of confidence, they may prove hard to stop.

On the surface, a seamer’s paradise looks like the way to go against India, but with a few struggling batsmen in the team, a backfire cannot be ruled out

Abhishek Purohit13-Feb-2014New Zealand have rolled the dice. They wanted a green pitch, and a green pitch they have got at the Basin Reserve. They have left out the legspinner, and are playing three specialist fast bowlers and two seam-bowling allrounders. Brendon McCullum is an aggressive captain. He wants to go for 2-0, and he thinks the best way to go after this Indian team is through an all-pace attack on a grassy surface with the ball expected to seam, and also swing on an open ground.Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Neil Wagner have had a terrific home summer, having been denied only by rain and Darren Bravo in Dunedin in four Tests against West Indies and India. Jimmy Neesham and Corey Anderson are more than capable change bowlers. The ball swung around considerably, especially for Boult, in the previous Test at Basin Reserve, against West Indies, which lasted three days. McCullum says this pitch is greener and harder than the one for West Indies, and expects it to have pace, bounce and seam.The young group of Indian batsmen could possibly face their toughest examination so far on overseas soil, going by the composition of the opposition attack and the conditions. You would be wary of going into a Test on such a surface as a visiting side that has been winless in six games on this tour. Then again, wouldn’t you be wary if your batsmen have made 105 in their previous innings, like New Zealand did in Auckland? Ross Taylor made 41 out of those 105 in that madcap second innings at Eden Park. He is at home in Napier, expecting his second child, and New Zealand are fielding a debutant batsman instead at No. 4.New Zealand’s openers have had their spots in the side questioned even before this series began. Those questions became louder after the first Test. Peter Fulton made 13 and 5 at Eden Park, Hamish Rutherford 6 and a golden duck. Both could possibly be playing for their places at the Basin. Not exactly the frame of mind you want your openers to be in on such a pitch.McCullum is coming off a game-changing double hundred in the first Test, but his style of batting will always involve risk against the moving ball. Same with Anderson’s style. You can understand why New Zealand have a batsman as promising as Neesham coming down at No. 8, and not a fourth-specialist fast bowler.Given McCullum’s luck with the toss this tour – he has lost all six of them – he thinks New Zealand could well be batting next morning at the Basin. What gives him confidence is that New Zealand have been asked to do so three times this summer, twice by and once by India, and their first-innings scores have been 609, 441 and 503.”It [toss] is likely to go against me,” McCullum said. “Obviously we will look to have a bowl if we win the toss, but if we find ourselves batting, with Neesham at No. 8 as well, there is quite a bit of batting. We found ourselves in some precarious positions having to bat first so far in the summer, and we have come through those tests pretty well. Have found ourselves batting first on seamer-friendly wickets, something that we have had to overcome and we have done it really well so far…. but the opening batsmen, struggling for runs, might not be too thrilled•AFP”So getting big first-innings totals, and that allows us to obviously dictate the pace of the game and how we want to attack the opposition. It is going to be a challenge if we find ourselves batting first tomorrow. But we think we have had some success doing it and we should not be overawed by it, albeit it is going to be a tough proposition. We have one more big effort if we do find ourselves batting first on this wicket to make sure we get a competitive total in that first innings.”McCullum’s confidence is not misplaced, but there is also no doubting that this is a double-edged sword for New Zealand. They are sitting pretty with a 1-0 lead in a two-Test contest, and in trying to go flat out for 2-0, they are also giving the Indians a chance to square the series.Not that there is any chance of that happening if India bowl the way they did in the first innings at Eden Park. However, they went the other extreme in the second. MS Dhoni said he had not seen such a performance from his bowlers in the past three-four years. Zaheer Khan went even further, saying the last similar collective display he could recall was in 2002.You would normally expect something in between. A normal showing from the Indian seam attack will be where they release the ball, pitch it with discipline and expect some help from the pitch. Normal could work at the Basin. Dhoni said after Auckland that he preferred green pitches for his quick bowlers away from home, even if that made it challenging for his batsmen. The dice has been rolled by the hosts. Which way will it turn?

Plays of the day for the qualifying match between Bangladesh and Nepal in Chittagong

Mohammad Isam in Chittagong18-Mar-2014The split-second decision

Sagar Pun and Subash Khakurel had added just 19 runs as Nepal’s opening pair but they made a bigger impact with Anamul Haque’s run out. The batsman too contributed to his own dismissal. Pun first timed his dive at point well to intercept Anamul’s square-cut and was quick on his feet and mind to get up and throw the ball to wicketkeeper Khakurel. The split-second decision to throw at the right end is not an unusual occurrence but always worth a mention. Anamul walked off an angry man, perhaps at himself, but he did have a long conversation with Sabbir Rahman who had initially called a loud ‘no’ and never quite got going for the non-existent single.The smear through cover
Khadka got going in the last five overs, hammering boundaries mostly in front of the wicket. Two of his off-side boundaries matched any top-class international batsman, especially with the placement and power. The first one off Farhad Reza scudded to the extra cover boundary, and it was his statement of intent that got his opposite number Mushfiqur Rahim a bit worried. The second one came off Abdur Razzak in the next over, and perhaps this was the better blow as it came against an accomplished spinner.The missed stumping
Mushfiqur had a lot of time in hand when Vesawkar jumped out of the crease to Shakib Al Hasan in the 14th over. But the ball kept very low, beating Vesawkar and Mushfiqur, who had a tough time gathering the ball. It was still a missed opportunity for the keeper.The ungainly slog
Tamim Iqbal was missing out on all the fun as Anamul played some handsome shots from the other end. He struck a six, which just about cleared long-on but in his next big try two overs later, the shot looked more ungainly. He went after Basant Regmi in the eighth over, and almost fell over trying to hit the ball out of the ground but ended up giving short third-man a simple catch. It was similar to his dismissal in a Test match against Sri Lanka in January.

As Kevin Pietersen watched on, Gary Ballance produced a maiden century with many qualities of the man he has replaced, Jonathan Trott

Andrew McGlashan at Lord's15-Jun-2014Kevin Pietersen was back at an English Test ground on Sunday. And he was very close to the ECB. Two hospitality boxes away to be precise. It was, therefore, unfortunate timing that England produced a floundering batting display, especially as Pietersen left the ground well before Gary Ballance completed the rescue mission by reaching a maiden Test hundred with a six.Pietersen began his day by tweeting his hopes for what lay ahead. “Going to Lord’s today. Want to see SL out 460 & ENG bat positively to a 380 lead then declare…entertain today pls, Cook’s men!”His numbers were remarkably prescient: Sri Lanka were bowled out for 453 and England ended with a lead of 389 although the declaration did not arrive. With his 104 Tests of experience, he should be well aware that plans do not always come together perfectly.At 121 for 6 it was far from perfect for England, who were grateful for every one of the 122 runs they led by on first innings. Ballance, though, kept them steady, with further help from the lower order – an impressive display after his somewhat skittish display in the first innings. The split of his fifties was telling: 130 for the first and 54 for the second, while he went from 67 to his hundred in 17 deliveries.And of more significance to Ballance than to whether Pietersen was still in his seat, his parents and brother had flown in from Zimbabwe a few days before the Test. “It’s special to score a hundred in front of them,” he said. “It’s a great feeling, can’t really describe it to be honest, just very special. I’m over the moon.”But while the Ballance was very much right for England, there will again be questions over whether Alastair Cook got the balance right. He decided the chance for a maiden Test hundred (personal stats are of the utmost importance to most cricketers, whatever they may say) and a few extra runs outweighed the advantages of having a bowl this evening.Maybe Middlesex’s mammoth chase of 472, achieved for just three wickets, was preying on the mind. It came against Yorkshire and three of the England side – Ballance, Joe Root and Liam Plunkett – played in the game. But you sincerely hope that was not the case. That match was played on the edge of the first-class square with a very short boundary and captains should not be swayed by freakish results.

Going to Lord's today. Want to see SL out 460 & ENG bat positively to a 380 lead then declare…entertain today pls, Cook's men! #lords

— Kevin Pietersen (@KP24) June 15, 2014

When Matt Prior fell shortly after tea the lead was a precarious 243, but once it had passed 300 England were far more secure. Cook was proactive in the field on Saturday, but today he was not about to take a leap of faith, although giving Sri Lanka 20 minutes before close would hardly have been jumping into the abyss. Ballance will be forever thankful to him.He has barely batted at No. 3 in his professional career and while too much can be made of the difference in batting positions he is learning on the job. The man who has left the hole that needs filling, Jonathan Trott, would have been proud of the way he built the innings although Ballance showed acceleration that Trott may have struggled to reproduce. It was the first hundred by an England No. 3 since Trott made 121 against New Zealand, in Wellington, last March.The way he handled himself against Mitchell Johnson on his Test debut in Sydney earned praise – although partly because so much else around him was feeble – and a strong start to the season for Yorkshire meant he was not one of those jettisoned, although coming into this match his position felt the most awkward of the top order.Still, a few pieces to the jigsaw have slotted into place for England, from Root’s double century, Prior’s successful recall and Chris Jordan’s lively debut. It would be ideal if Moeen Ali could winkle out a couple of wickets on the final day.”I learnt a lot over the winter and then started well with Yorkshire,” Ballance said. “I was in good form in the one-dayers but didn’t get the big score, then to get the chance to bat three for England I wasn’t going to say no. It’s quite daunting batting anywhere in your first Test at Lord’s but at three I was in quite early in the first innings so didn’t have much time to worry about nerves.”After being caught behind driving in the first innings Ballance left studiously this time although he admitted a “heart in mouth” moment when Sri Lanka went up for an edge on 36 and used the DRS. But outwardly there appeared precious few nerves as he approached his hundred, racing through the 80s and 90s with drives, reverse sweeps and the occasional bludgeon, all the while knowing the close was approaching.”Luckily I got a few boundaries away and got to three figures,” he said. “With one over to go I needed three, I think, and didn’t want to nurdle around in singles so thought I’d go with the slog sweep I hit it out the middle but the breeze was blowing down the slope so I thought I might not have got enough of it but when I saw it go over the rope it was a great feeling.”Pietersen could not have done it better himself.

A maiden Test hundred, a century at Lord’s, a triple against South Africa, and a 180 when his team-mates floundered are among Mahela Jayawardene’s virtuoso performances

Andrew Fidel Fernando12-Aug-2014167 v New Zealand in Galle, 1998
Mahela Jayawardene’s maiden hundred, not only announced his transition from schoolboy hero to Test asset, in his fourth Test, it also set down major themes of his career: superb technique against spin bowling, and a hunger to succeed where all else has failed. On a Galle surface that was crumbling from the outset, Jayawardene defused a spin attack headed by Daniel Vettori, and attacked the fast men who had begun to achieve inconsistent bounce from early in the first innings. No other batsman in his team scored more than 36. The highest score in the opposition was 53. Replete with the cover drives and late cuts that would become his trademarks, Jayawardene’s innings was the point on which the series pivoted, allowing Sri Lanka to win the Galle Test and the next one at SSC, to reverse a 1-0 deficit.119 v England at Lord’s, 2006
If the maiden ton in Galle was Jayawardene’s coming of age as a batsman, this knock marked his arrival as captain. Batting first, England piled on 551 before Matthew Hoggard, Andrew Flintoff and Sajid Mahmood combined to knock Sri Lanka off for 192, of which Jayawardene had scored 61. Following on after the team had a shellacking from coach Tom Moody, Jayawardene arrived at the crease late on the third day to begin his six-hour defiance. Typically for Jayawardene, even in rearguard-mode, he would not shelve his shots. He was driving and hooking early in his knock, and he continued to be positive against the quicks, if not always aggressive. Sri Lanka still had to bat out most of the fifth day after his dismissal – which Jayawardene felt should not have been given out – but he had seen the team out of immediate danger, and set them on course for a famous draw.374 v South Africa at SSC, 2006
The big one. Sri Lanka had gunned South Africa down for 169 after the visitors chose to bat, then Dale Steyn removed Sri Lanka’s openers in his first two overs to suggest the wickets would keep coming. Then, Steyn, Makhaya Ntini and Andre Nel ran into the most monumental Test counterattack of all time. Jayawardene’s first fifty runs came off 72 balls, and he sustained a strike rate of around 65 for the duration of his innings, while Kumar Sangakkara kept pace as well. Nel and Steyn were walloped. The spinners were milked. Jayawardene batted in seven different sessions before Nel sneaked a low one through his defences. The tempo Jayawardene had achieved during his knock meant the bowlers still had plenty of time to complete the innings win.123 v South Africa at the P Sara Oval, 2006
South Africa rebounded from that hiding to have Sri Lanka under pressure at the P Sara Oval just over one week later. They had taken a first-innings lead and made 311 in the second dig to leave Sri Lanka with a target of 352 – a figure higher than any that had been chased either in the country, or by Sri Lanka. Sanath Jayasuriya crashed 73 off 74 balls to set the hosts on track, but it was Jayawardene who bound the innings together, intelligently composing the only century of the match, on the kind of track on which batsmen found it difficult to stay in. Given the enormity of the task, and the quality of the opposition attack – which featured Steyn, Makhaya Ntini and Shaun Pollock – the fourth innings at the P Sara arguably saw Jayawardene at his finest.180 v England at Galle, 2012
Kevin Pietersen’s hundred in Colombo the following week is talked up as a great innings, but in Galle, Jayawardene produced another long, lone effort, denying a James Anderson’s swing and Graeme Swann’s bite to carry his team toward a respectable total. He was not just the only man to reach triple figures in the first innings, he was also the only batsman to pass 30 for Sri Lanka, after most of his colleagues had scattered at the sight of the pressure England’s bowlers exerted. Sri Lanka’s batsmen collapsed in the second innings, and Jayawardene’s 180 would prove to be the difference between the sides, as the hosts claimed a 75-run win.

India began with plans that were off, and continued with them for too long. To add to that, their fielding was lethargic in that first hour

Sidharth Monga at Adelaide Oval09-Dec-20145:28

Agarkar: India need to bowl the right line

The last time a team won an Adelaide Oval Test without scoring 500 in the first innings of the match was back in 2005. For an Adelaide win with a score of under 400, you have to go back seven more years, when Australia beat England despite being bowled out for 391 in the first innings. The average first-innings score here since that Test has been 457. You need to score big, over 500 mostly, when batting first to win in Adelaide.If Michael Clarke doesn’t come to bat – and there is a good chance he won’t – India effectively have Australia down at 7 for 354. During the Test that India won here in 2003, Australia were 5 for 400 after day one. There is another big “if” around Indian batting, which has lasted 180.1 overs in its last four Test innings put together, but India somehow find themselves in a position from where they can hope, especially against a team which is likely to be missing its captain and whose emotional composure hasn’t yet been put under stern test.However, let it not be forgotten that India were ordinary for the better part of the day. They began with plans that were off, and continued with them for too long. The fielding was lethargic in that first hour. A first-day pitch is not what a legspinner should be judged by, but Karn Sharma’s selection might have been too adventurous. Most disappointingly, though, after having been talked up as fast and fit by their stand-in captain, India’s fast bowlers struggled to build pressure – let alone maintain it – and when they would be on to something they would provide the release ball immediately.After his first day as Test captain, when Virat Kohli goes back into the change rooms, a conversation with MS Dhoni might be in order. “I’m sorry,” Kohli might tell Dhoni, “I spoke so much about aggression when you weren’t here, but now I can see why you aren’t aggressive: it is impossible to attack with the bowlers we have got.”Even after the start that David Warner had given Australia, Ishant Sharma’s introduction into the attack brought India back into the contest. Just after lunch, especially against Michael Clarke, India began to put together a cluster of good deliveries. The first six overs – bowled by Ishant, who was continuing his pre-lunch spell, and Mohammed Shami – were accurate, and even though they went for 23 runs, two boundaries came off edges. Two outside edges didn’t carry. You could sense India were close to driving the nail in.Then, bowling the 31st over of the innings, Shami summed up what has been wrong with him since the start of the England tour earlier this year. It was his ninth over, the fourth of this, his second spell. After bowling two dots, he pitched short and he pitched wide. All the pressure was released with a square-cut four. Shami came back well with the next ball, on a length, just outside off, holding its line, taking an edge that didn’t carry. The next ball again was short and wide, and went for four.Varun Aaron was selected to bowl fast. You shouldn’t be expecting the same accuracy and persistence you should of him as you would of Shami, who bowled in the early-to-mid 130s. It helps, though, if you swing the ball. Aaron found none with the new ball. And even if you are not expected to do the holding job, your pace should be good enough to allow you to keep one batsman on strike so you can work at something. Aaron failed to register more than three dots in a row in the first six overs he bowled. He was either too full or too wide – sometimes both – or too short despite there being the odd sharp bouncer.Between them, the two new-ball bowlers went for 178 runs in 34.2 overs, and can thank Ishant in part for maintaining some sanity at the other end, which played some part in their getting four wickets. You have to wonder if it is lack of fitness and stamina, concentration or awareness that makes them release pressure. You have to also wonder if faulty plans and persistence with them today might have something to do with it. While doing commentary during the English summer, Shane Warne made famous the word “funky” as an adjective for captaincy. Alastair Cook and Dhoni, you see, were both un-funky and passive.Kohli might have just have been too funky here. His opening bowlers operated round the wicket to both the left-arm Australia openers. The strength of both the said bowlers is to move the ball away from the right-handed batsman, which gives them a natural chance of getting lbws with left-handed batsman and outside edges if they can mix the swing up with the angle. Even debutant legspinner Karn stayed round the wicket. There must have been some plan at play, for you don’t give up that advantage just like that, but it took India an age to correct that mistake when they saw it was clearly not working. India bowled 130 balls from round the wicket to Warner and Chris Rogers, and conceded 126 runs for one wicket that was gifted away by Warner.Towards the end, though, India made good use of the lucky breaks they got. Clarke had to retire-hurt. To his credit, Kohli took the new ball immediately, even though the previous few overs had been among the quietest of the day. He was still looking for wickets, which hasn’t always been the case of late. The bowlers responded in that final burst. Australia helped them by sending in a nightwatchman with close to half an hour to go.Test cricket doesn’t throw such lifelines too often. India have shown interest in grabbing it, but they still need to wrap up the tail. Even then their batsmen will need to show they have improved big time since their last Tests. Still they have a chance, which was scarcely conceivable after how they had started.*GMT 4:40pm – this article had earlier stated, incorrectly, that the last time a team won an Adelaide Oval Test after scoring less than 500 in the first innings was in 2001. This has been corrected.

As has been the case throughout their history, Bangladesh show promise, fail to build on it, and are ultimately left wondering what could have been

Jarrod Kimber26-Feb-20155:05

Holding: Bangladesh need to give players longer run

If Tamim Iqbal gets going.That is the essence of a conversation between two people in the press box. The conversation is longer than Tamim’s innings.A photo of Tamim facing Lasith Malinga would have looked fairly close to perfect. He was on the front foot, his bat and pad were together, and the full face of the bat was right there. It was only the ball that made him look silly. The ball came into him, yet Tamim missed it on the outside of his bat. It was actually hard to tell if Tamim was leaving or playing, he was so far inside the ball. Had the stumps not been taken down, people might have assumed it was a good leave.That was, and maybe is, Bangladesh. A team that looks good at times, but ultimately, the stumps are broken. If only.

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A short, dangerous gully, and a short catching mid-off is just a part of Bangladesh’s plan to dismiss Lahiru Thirimanne.It looks good, but actually Thirimanne keeps edging behind. One is dropped by slip. Another is not attempted by Mushfiqur Rahim behind the stumps. Later, Mushfiqur misses a stumping as well. While the edges and general edginess of Thirimanne continues, the slips aren’t added too, or even restructured. There is a hint of a good idea, some very decent new ball bowling, and a bunch of missed opportunities.Eventually Bangladesh do take Thirimanne, but by then, the match is all but gone. If only they had taken him early.Bangladesh look fit. They look fit, and they look young. They look fit, they look young, they look well drilled. But they don’t always field like those three things. They should be, at worst, a competent fielding side. They often aren’t. On top of the several missed chances, they added shoddy ground fielding.They missed and fumbled simple balls, and at one stage, a shy at the stumps is backed up, but the fielder backing up is not actually watching, and so Sri Lanka collect some extra runs. It is not always like this, but today it is like this, all day. If only they had held their chances, kept the pressure on, and made Sri Lanka take more risks.The Bangladeshi plan is obvious, they have their men all out on the leg side, they have their men up on the offside. They try to bowl to that plan, but Sri Lanka keep hitting through and over the off side. Conferences are had, bowlers, captains and leaders discuss this plan.They stick with it, and the Sri Lankans stick with theirs of backing away and hitting the ball through the off side. The Sri Lanka batsmen know the plan, they see the plan, they react to the plan, and the Bangladeshis let them. If only Bangladesh had practiced their plans better.If ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ were wickets and runs, Bangladesh would probably be the greatest ever ODI side. But they aren’t.•AFP

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There is a Bangladesh woman in the crowd who looks close to tears. She wears a Bangladesh t-shirt and face paint. She holds her hands over her mouth as Mominul Haque walks off. Mominul has played two horrendous cut shots. One was reviewed by Sri Lanka, the other was caught by Sri Lanka. In Test cricket, Mominul averages 63. He averages over 50 both home and away against Sri Lanka in Tests. But in ODIs, he more often than not only makes women almost cry. If only he could turn his Test form into ODI results.A six from Anamul Haque gets the Bangladeshi press core screaming in the box. Unfortunately, there are few, virtually no other scream-worthy moments from him. Anamul spends most of his time at the crease scoring to fine-leg and facing dot balls. One over from Herath, he faces five balls without a run, and then pushes one off the last ball to take the strike.It was almost as if he was trolling his team-mates. Recently, Anamul said “Even if I am wasting balls, my team’s score crosses the 250-mark when I am in the middle”.Here, they needed well over 300 and it’s hard to see how they will do it as his 43 balls have produced only two boundaries. And he appears allergic to rotating the strike. Eventually Anamul is run out, oddly attempting a single for the non-striker. If only he had more experience taking ODI singles.

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Shakib al Hasan plays back to a ball he should have come forward to from Dilshan. Somehow, the ball doesn’t bowl him. In the confusion, Sangakkara fumbles it. Mushfiqur Rahim sets off and almost causes a run-out. In what was one of the straightest, easiest balls to face in human history, Bangladesh have manufactured two chances for wickets for Sri Lanka. And not just two normal batsmen, their best two ODI batsmen, sitting far enough down the order that by the time they come in, their chances of winning are non-existent. If only they had batted when it mattered.On Twitter, R Ashwin gushes, “My god this guy Soumya sarkar looks a solid bat”. He looks more than solid; he looks explosive and full of boundaries. As much as you can when you only face 15 balls. Soumya hints at something special. Soumya is out shortly after. He often is. In three ODIs, he has scored, 20, 25 and 28. His ODI career is 58 balls long. Twelve of them have gone to the rope, one more over them. If he ever stays in. If he ever stays around. If he ever builds on his house of dynamite.If.

Plays of the day from the match between Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals in Pune

Alagappan Muthu10-Apr-2015It was a juicy length ball and George Bailey had set his base and launched it into orbit. Away she soared down the ground, followed by every pair of eyeballs in the stadium. Tim Southee was among them as he went as far back on the long-on boundary as he could. It was going to lob him – he extended his right hand and caught the ball in the airspace beyond the boundary. But the very momentum that had helped him reach the ball was now about to push him over the ropes. That was when, out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Karun Nair. Out came a deft little flick, by instinct, to keep the ball in play, and Karun to dived low to his right, by instinct, to complete a catch that will likely break YouTube and ESPNcricinfo hit counters.Sehwag’s see-saw night
All of Steven Smith’s strengths were on view as soon as the seventh over – the leap outside off, the twirl of supple wrists, the gap found on the leg side, a boundary for the taking. Until Virender Sehwag took aim at every person who’s ever said he doesn’t move his feet. From long leg, he raced to his left, went into a full-length dive and swatted the ball back into the field of play. Pune, Kings XI Punjab’s home for today, roared. “Great stop viru bhai still rocking can’t wait to see your attacking batting,” Suresh Raina tweeted. Only, great expectations often foster anti-climaxes and Sehwag nicked off for a golden duck.The untouchable
Rajasthan Royals were 53 for 3 after eight overs when Mitchell Johnson’s bulky and tattooed arms began windmilling at fine leg. Stuart Binny is not unfamiliar to this sight, having spent the last summer in Australia with the Indian team, but today was the first time he was in the firing line. Nine balls he faced. Nine balls that beat the bat. A bouncer reached the wicketkeeper by the time Binny flashed and was followed by a yorker, flavoured with enough inswing to leave a shiner on his front toe in the morning. Nine balls that felt like Johnson was a predator playing with his food and the tenth confirmed as much. It was the only one Binny got bat to, an outside edge that sat safely in Wriddhiman Saha’s gloves.The security threat
At the other end there was James Faulkner, mauling Johnson for two sixes and two fours. So those behind the boundary line needed to be alert. Except the security personnel at IPL grounds do not have that luxury. Not even the security dogs and one of them had an uncomfortably close run in with a Faulkner-powered thump. In the 19th over, he picked up a Johnson slower ball so easily that he was able to get down on one-knee to give it the necessary air miles. Glenn Maxwell, at the square leg boundary, leaped up in hopes of intercepting it and got his right hand to the ball and palmed the ball over the ropes and almost onto the poor dog.The bonus
Southee doesn’t stray down leg often, but when he does the batsman better capitalise. Wriddhiman Saha managed a small deflection off the boot and he assumed it would be enough to beat the keeper. Steven Smith, at slip flew into a leg-before appeal and the rest of the in-fielders followed suit, but the wicketkeeper Sanju Samson had other things in mind – Saha had drifted out of his crease to nick a few runs. So Samson threw himself to his left, got to the ball, recovered from a minor fumble and threw down the stumps without even taking off his gloves. Smith still had his hands raised in that leg-before appeal and Saha was left stunned in the middle of the pitch.

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Mar-2015A fit-again Mohammed Shami got rid of Dwayne Smith for 6 in the fifth over•Associated PressA huge mix-up with Chris Gayle left Marlon Samuels way short of his ground three overs later•Associated PressGayle got a couple of boundaries away, but one of his slogs found Mohit Sharma at deep square leg•Associated PressThen Denesh Ramdin was bowled for a duck as West Indies slumped to 35 for 4 in the 10th over•Associated PressIt was the perfect situation for Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin to control. They took three wickets between them•Getty ImagesJason Holder was West Indies’ only source of resistance and his 64-ball 57 pushed West Indies to 182•Associated PressIndia’s chase started poorly as their openers fell when in single digits•ICCVirat Kohli looked good for his 33 but got out trying to pull one from outside off•Getty ImagesThe short ball was a useful weapon for West Indies as well on a fast WACA track•Getty ImagesAjinkya Rahane was dismissed 15 runs later, leaving India at 78 for 4•Getty ImagesThe gamble of bowling Dwayne Smith fetched the wicket of Suresh Raina for 22 and India were 107 for 5•AFPMarlon Samuels took a catch at deep square leg to remove Ravindra Jadeja with India 48 runs away•Associated PressBut MS Dhoni struck a 56-ball 45 to guide India to an eighth successive World Cup win•AFP