No other player comes to close to the impact he has on games in the league

Saurabh Somani14-Sep-2020

When the history of T20 cricket is written, Andre Russell will deserve a a tome to himself, with a few chapters devoted only to his batting. In T20 cricket, there isn’t another player like him. Kieron Pollard may come close, but in the IPL nobody can touch Russell.And data only corroborates what fans intuitively understand about Russell’s impact on matches. Has Russell got runs against the opposition’s best bowler? Has he bowled with an economy rate of less than nine in a match where both teams made 200? Has he had to chase down 50 in the last three overs more than once?ESPNcricinfo’s Smart Stats runs on an evolved algorithm capturing a T20 game’s every dynamic movement, ball by ball, and it tells us that out of the 64 games he has played in the IPL, Russell has had the top impact value in 17. He is the most impactful performer once every 3.8 matches, 25% better than the second-placed Chris Gayle, who achieves the same every 5.1 matches (among players who have played at least 60 IPL games). Among the elite of the elite T20 players, that is a massive margin.ESPNcricinfo LtdIn addition, Russell has the highest impact per match in absolute terms too – of any player, active or retired. He has often turned matches around with the bat, although he makes significant contributions with the ball too. And advanced as it is, even our algorithm can’t calculate the errors Russell forces bowlers to make, whether it be extras conceded while trying to perfect the wide yorker or trying to hustle an extra yard of pace.In terms of only batting impact per match, Russell is eighth on the all-time list. Ahead of him are Gayle, David Warner, Rishabh Pant, AB de Villiers, Jos Buttler, Virender Sehwag and Shaun Marsh, each of those a top-order batsman. The median value of when Russell has come in to bat in an IPL game is the 14th over. The next highest non-top-order batsman in this list is Glenn Maxwell, ranked 22.Is it any wonder that there is a clamour to see him bat higher up the order?He bowls less often now, but when his knees aren’t troubling him, Russell the bowler is quite a handful too.ESPNcricinfo LtdIn one of the highest-scoring matches of the IPL, against Kings XI Punjab in 2018, KKR made 245 for 6 and Kings XI put up a spirited chase, but only managed 214 for 8. Russell made 31 off 14 and took 3 for 41, but look at the scorecard and you’ll see some better numbers: Sunil Narine’s 75 off 36 and Dinesh Karthik’s 50 off 23 for KKR. For Punjab, KL Rahul made 66 off 29 and Andrew Tye took 4 for 41.Russell had a solid match, you would think, but measure his total impact on the match and he comes out on top. His bowling impact of 123.79 is only 20 points behind Tye’s and more than double that of the next best bowler in the match, Mohit Sharma (1 for 40) with 59.54. What Smart Stats accounts for is the timing of Russell’s strikes: a double breakthrough when Kings XI had raced to 57 without loss in 5.3 overs, and a further wicket at the end of the eighth over. His first wicket was that of Gayle, one of the few batsmen with the firepower to threaten a tall chase. Russell’s economy of 10.25 isn’t bad in a match where the run rate was 11.47, but when you look at it alongside his wickets, it’s a distinctly superior performance. And paired with the more-than-useful batting, it gave Russell the highest overall impact in the match, beating out Tye and Narine, who were great in one discipline but not so much in the other.ESPNcricinfo LtdThe impact of Russell’s batting shows up even more starkly on Smart Stats. While KKR lost this 2018 game to Chennai Super Kings, Russell was the dominant star. He came in at 89 for 5 after ten overs and blasted 88 off 36 balls to drag his team to 202 for 6. His batting impact of 173.04 was off the charts, way higher than that of Player of the Match Sam Billings’ 111.45 points. Russell had a positive impact with the ball too, giving away only 35 runs in four overs in a 200-plus game.There are a plethora of matches in which Russell’s impact can be seen via Smart Stats. Perhaps that book will in fact go into several volumes.

The inquisitions will come, but the truth is there is not a lot India could have done in the face of flawless fast bowling

Sidharth Monga19-Dec-2020There is a reason why batsmen are treated as the favoured children in cricket, and it can be easy to forget that in an era dominated by limited-overs cricket.Test batting is a fickle occupation. It turns many of its practitioners to compulsive behaviour, which can be loosely defined as feeling compelled to do things that you know have no bearing on your pursuit but somehow make you feel they help you control the outcome. Some carry a particular-coloured kerchief, some put a specific pad on first, some make sure toilet seats in the change rooms are up when they are batting, the list is endless.That’s because there are so many loose ends in Test batting that you can’t possibly control them all with your skill, technique and preparation. Watching Test cricket on demanding pitches, it is hard to imagine a batsman who is neither a philosopher nor insane.There is just not enough space in the scorebook to say “nought, but got the first shooter of the match”, or “15 but fell to one that swung one way in the air and nipped the other way after pitching”. Or even, “135 but dropped five times”, or “75 but it was predominantly a slog”.Related

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At the end of the day, staring you in the face are cold numbers with their absolute finality. It is hard to find a trade that is less unequivocal and yet has such an unforgiving currency.And the cold numbers will forever remain 36 all out. Scores of 4, 9, 2, 0, 4, 0, 8, 4, 0, 4, 1. Terms such as “humiliated” and “embarrassed” will be used. There will be an obvious inquest into the techniques of the batsmen, into their preparation, even chauvinistically into other virtues such as courage, but perhaps there is a simpler explanation.Virat Kohli himself spoke of a lack of intent, but he is a proud participant of a Test match that was in his grasp. Not just any Test but a Test that Australia have never lost: the day-night fixture. He perhaps felt that if India had been more positive and had scored a quick 20-30 runs in the morning, that would have deflated Australia.Virat Kohli walks back, the key wicket in the middle of an India collapse•Getty ImagesHowever, the intent or the technique was not too different to how it has always been. Even in the last Adelaide Test, which India won, they capitalised on their 15-run first-innings lead with Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane batting at strike rates of 34 and 47. In terms of technique, pretty much everyone batted similarly to how they batted in the first innings for a lead of 53 runs.However, a few things happened that were not in the control of these batsmen, and proud competitors are loathe to admitting they couldn’t have done anything about it. What happened in the first session of the third day is the textbook definition of a perfect storm. The ball actually seamed less than it did in any of the sessions before this, which is what Kohli acknowledged but to say that his batsmen should have done better. Less movement meant more balls hit the edge than beat it.Usually in Test cricket, it takes a little over 10 balls of not being in control for a batsman to lose a wicket to a bowler. In this innings, India lost nine of them by not being in control only 32 times. Since the start of 2010, only once has a team’s bowlers taken nine wickets in an innings with fewer mistakes made by batsmen. That is true of all such spectacular collapses. When Australia were bowled out for 60 at Trent Bridge in 2015, they were not in control only 40 times. The number was the same in their 47 all out at Newlands in 2011-12. Fewer plays and misses, more nicks.It is also true that such spectacular collapses happen against exceptional bowling sides who have been at it for long and suddenly reap the rewards in a bunch. And this Australian attack is an exceptional one with three fast bowlers with three different skillsets and a high rate of accuracy, followed by an all-time-great spinner, but even they will be the first ones to admit they didn’t bowl much better than they did two days ago.Josh Hazlewood, who took five wickets for eight runs, was too stunned to explain what happened. He compared this to the time they bowled England out for 67. The bowlers, he said, didn’t do much differently: perhaps a touch fuller, perhaps a touch straighter. Those are his words.India bat in the dying moments of their horror innings against Australia•AFP/Getty ImagesSo the ball is moving just the right amount to take the edge, the length is just full enough to let it move without letting the batsmen drive, the bounce is steep thus keeping the batsmen stuck to the crease, and the last piece of the jigsaw is the quickening of the pitch from day one, giving you less time to adjust and also carrying the edges to hand. The proverbial “one of those sessions”, but one that has left the magnifying glass on the batsmen.Replay after replay will show you the batsmen stuck on the crease when edging in this innings, but not the countless number times when they drove for boundaries with the same technique. Or even the edges that didn’t carry as recently as two days ago. Or the plays and misses than now became nicks. This is what happens at the start of most innings. On most days you make your early errors and make the correction. On this day, your first error was your last. People will ask questions of Kohli’s drive away from the body, but on flat pitches, in this scenario, you had to capitalise on any width you got, rare as it was.Of course, if there are technical flaws, they need to be addressed. In New Zealand, when Prithvi Shaw’s lack of foot movement was exploited in the first Test, he had corrected himself by the second, getting closer to the ball when driving in his 64-ball 54. Shaw will be the first one to want to correct it again. Questions need to be asked, for example, why India repeatedly fail to get the better of overseas spinners in their conditions even keeping in mind the pressure that is created by their seamers. Coach Ravi Shastri knows he will be judged by these improvements, the growth of the players, and not just by the results produced by an amazingly talented group of players.Tim Paine and Virat Kohli catch up after the game•AFP via Getty ImagesOf course, there will also be schadenfreude around the world, which Shastri and the team will know comes with the territory if you deal in unfounded bluster and run down your own country’s legends to try to talk your current team up without acknowledging the dominance you enjoy now in terms of resources and finances. This is the day Shoaib Akhtar will not be the only one to tell them to “bear it, bear the criticism, this is gonna happen to you now.”However, this might be the day to listen to Sunil Gavaskar instead, who has been accused of firing blanks when criticising the team in the past and might have had reason to be opportunistic now. Gavaskar, though, knows batting too well to ignore what happened.”Any team that gets out for its lowest-ever total, it is never good to see,” Gavaskar told . “Having said that, most other teams, if they had been facing that kind of bowling, they would have also got into trouble. Maybe not all out for 36, maybe 72 or maybe 80-90, but the way Hazlewood, Cummins bowled, and the earlier spell of Starc, that asked a lot of questions. So it is not fair to blame the Indian batsmen for the way they got out because it was just simply superb by the Australians. Most of the teams would have struggled.”If ever there was need for bluster, to talk the players out of the misery they will no doubt be in, also keeping in mind how long they have been on the road and in biosecure bubbles, it is now.

Lutho Sipamla enjoys fruitful maiden series as travails of 2020 are put behind the hosts

Firdose Moonda05-Jan-2021South Africa did not have many certainties going into this Test series against Sri Lanka, except it was going to be tough for batsmen. The venues – SuperSport Park and the Wanderers – are known for pace, bounce, swing and seam movement and the strategy against teams from the subcontinent means those conditions are amplified.That has meant that South Africa’s own batsmen have had to struggle too in recent years, but that was considered a small price to pay for series wins over India (2018) and Pakistan (2019). It also allowed the cream among the home players to rise to the top, and over the last five years that has been just one person: Dean Elgar.Among openers, Elgar is Test cricket’s leading run-scorer in the five years since January 2016, and reclaimed top spot on the final day at the Wanderers after Dimuth Karunaratne had briefly overtaken him with his hard-earned century in Sri Lanka’s second innings.His returns are particularly impressive because they have come at a time when the rest of South Africa’s line-up has been inconsistent and without a clear leader. South Africa have long lacked a go-to batsman; a reliable top-order presence who is almost guaranteed to come good, in the manner of Kane Williamson or Virat Kohli, let alone Jacques Kallis or Graeme Smith. Elgar may not automatically be mentioned among those names, but in the current South African context, perhaps he should be.”I think that, with my experience and my time in the Proteas set-up, I need to contribute [more],” he said while receiving the Player of the Match and Series awards. “In years gone by, there’s always been experienced heads so you block it out and give them the older ball to try and score, but I feel that if I look to score and try and be positive, it’s something that we can gain from.”Lutho Sipamla bowls on Test debut•AFP via Getty ImagesMark Boucher, South Africa’s coach, is certainly impressed: “If you have a look at conditions our batters have had to face over the last period, there have been some tough conditions to bat in,” he said, “especially as an opening batter with the new ball. I’m very happy he is in good form and technically, is looking very good.”Although an Elgar innings is not always aesthetically pleasing and usually involves a few hours of grind, it is often an effective knock, and one that sets South Africa up well. “He has been nice and aggressive as well, which is something we have spoken about in the team,” Boucher added. “There’s nothing better than when a senior player takes those words on board, especially at the top of the order.”Elgar’s establishing of his own authority in this series was the most notable aspect of his batting. It is because of his 95 and 127 and the partnerships he featured in – the first century stand for a South African opening pair in more than three years, with Aiden Markram at SuperSport Park, and a 184-run second-wicket stand at the Wanderers with Rassie van der Dussen – that South Africa won. Elgar finished the series as the leading run-scorer and, if he can repeat that against Pakistan and Australia, don’t be too surprised if it results in him being named Test captain. Until then, he still has a major role to play for South Africa: the role of certainty.Related

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At the other end of the line-up is someone in an altogether different stage of his career. Lutho Sipamla made his debut at SuperSport Park amid South Africa’s uncertainty over who to anoint as their third seamer, and has now made a strong case for keeping the spot. Sipamla started poorly, with 66 runs coming from his first 12 overs, but finished strongly with 10 wickets and 101 runs from his next 27.5, and he has impressed Boucher with his tenacity.”It was difficult to judge Lutho on his first day of Test cricket – there are so many butterflies and nerves and certain people handle those feelings in different ways,” Boucher said. “He is very young and he has probably never felt like that before, especially because Test cricket means such a lot to him. That’s a good sign for me, when a guy is so passionate about playing for his country, especially for a Test match. He is one of the pluses for me. From where he started to where he is now, he has learnt a hell of a lot in the last two games.”Sipamla demonstrated an ability to adapt quickly, when he went from spraying both sides of the wicket in his opening spell of the first Test to plugging away in the channel outside off thereafter. He was rewarded with wickets in the Sri Lankan tail in both matches, which Boucher said came as a result of hard work. “It’s one thing cleaning the tail up but the areas that he was hitting, always asking questions, with some decent pace as well [show how he improved].”Aside from Elgar and Sipamla, South Africa had other sparks of excellence, such as Faf du Plessis’ 199 and Anrich Nortje’s second five-for, but also some indifference. Losing 9 for 84 on the second day of the second Test remains their biggest concern. “The collapse wasn’t ideal. There were a couple of good balls in between there and maybe one or two lazy shots,” Boucher said. “They got the ball to swing a lot and swing with a bit of bounce is always going to be very friendly to bowlers. The conditions were quite difficult to bat in. If you are a bowler and you got the ball in the right area, there’s always something for you.”That sums up South African conditions which will remain challenging for batsmen, from home and away, but which can be conquered. South Africa have started to show how that can be done again. Their real test will come later in the summer, against Australia, when, given the attacks in each camp and the likelihood of the bubble being in Johannesburg again, the only certainty is that it will be tough for batsmen.

How do the two squads square up against each other?

Andrew McGlashan15-Dec-2020

Top order

Warner’s loss for Australia is huge. Coupled with Burns’ woeful form there is a strong chance the home side go in with a makeshift opening pair. Agarwal is certain to play and spent useful time in the middle in Sydney. Gill is a superb talent but may not yet force his way past Shaw. For both sides, the No. 3 is shaping as pivotal with Justin Langer having confirmed Australia won’t risk weakening a strength by moving Labuschagne to open. Two years ago, Pujara was the batting star of the series and with Kohli only around for one Test he may have to do it again.Who wins? With Warner, Australia. Without him it’s too close to call

Middle order

There was no Smith vs Kohli two years ago and this time there will be just one Test of it before Kohli heads home. From a purely cricket point of view it’s a massive shame. There is almost nothing to split them as, along with Kane Williamson, the finest of the current generation. The runs from the rest will be just as vital. Rahane has an excellent record overseas, averaging 44 in Australia, and is likely to captain from Melbourne onwards while last season it felt that Head was settling as a Test batsman. Wade is viewed as the most vulnerable although the opening issues may force a reshuffle. Green’s potential debut is one of the more eagerly anticipated of recent times for Australia. Vihari played a useful role in the 2018-19 series and India may be bolstered by Rohit for the last two Tests.Who wins? With Kohli, too close to call. Without him, Australia

Wicketkeeper

Rishabh Pant soaks in the applause of the SCG crowd after bringing up his 2nd Test century•Getty ImagesThe comparisons here are slightly different because for Australia, Paine has the captaincy. His batting, often unfairly maligned, was not needed much last summer but he did play a very important hand against New Zealand at the MCG with one of his most assertive Test innings. Also scored a century in the Sheffield Shield earlier this year. Pant can be destructive in the middle order, as he showed in Sydney two years ago, especially if he has a foundation to build on. Do we need anymore babysitting banter? Probably not. Saha is a fantastic wicketkeeper, the best gloveman out of the three, but Pant is likely to be preferred.Who wins? India, just

Pace bowlers

The two pace attacks could be the battle of the summer. It is just a shame that Ishant Sharma is missing for India because him in support of Bumrah and Shami makes a formidable trio, but Umesh should not be underestimated. Australia have the best collection of fast bowlers currently going around; whether the big three can play all four Tests remains to be seen but Pattinson is a handy first reserve and Neser would be deserving of a Test cap. Cummins and Hazlewood rarely bowl poor spells and Starc’s Test mojo returned last summer.Who wins? Australia, but watch out for Bumrah

Spinners

R Ashwin and Nathan Lyon share a laugh•AFPIn so many ways Lyon is the key to how this Australia attack, and team, have been able to operate. He is two bowlers in one, able to support the quicks and then grab his chance to win a game. He and Ashwin are the two finest finger spinners in the game. For India, Ashwin also has a key role to play with the bat at No. 8 (as would Jadeja). Kuldeep took five wickets at the SCG on the last tour.Who wins? Australia, but if Lyon was injured they would have a problem

He might not have ended with fantastic numbers, but du Plessis has been one of South Africa’s most respected and charismatic players

Firdose Moonda17-Feb-2021Related

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110* vs Australia: Adelaide, November 2012
After traveling as a reserve member of the squad to England earlier that year, du Plessis’ Test debut came with South Africa trying to defend the Test mace in Australia. After a drawn first Test in Brisbane, the hosts had the advantage on the final day in Adelaide, with South Africa 77 for 4 overnight while chasing 430 to win. du Plessis was not out on 19 at that stage.He had given a solid account of himself with 78 in the first innings, despite almost being timed out because his boot slipped off his foot on the way down; but no one would have anticipated what came next. In an epic vigil, du Plessis faced 376 balls, spent close to eight hours at the crease, withstood jibes from David Warner and Ricky Ponting, a tireless effort from Peter Siddle and Nathan Lyon, three reviews and a dropped catch on 94 to bring up his first Test century and force an unlikely draw. South Africa went on to win the series in the third Test in Perth, with du Plessis scoring a second half-century.Faf du Plessis put on 205 with AB de Villiers in an exciting draw against India in 2013•Getty Images134 vs India: Johannesburg, December 2013
Although an established member of the team by this point, du Plessis had not crossed fifty in eight innings before this one. India set South Africa 458, and although they were chugging along nicely at 138 for 2 at the end of the fourth day, victory was far enough for it to not be on South Africa’s minds.du Plessis had been promoted to No. 4 – ostensibly as a nightwatchman – and bedded in. He shared a 54-run stand with Jacques Kallis and then a 205-run partnership with his school friend AB de Villiers in which they complemented each other perfectly. de Villiers was the aggressor, if only mildly so, while du Plessis the defender, who faced 309 balls in six hours and 35 minutes in the middle. By the time he was run out, South Africa were just 16 away from victory. They didn’t chase the win but opted for the tail to block out a draw, only to go on and win the series in the following match in Durban.112* vs New Zealand: Centurion, August 2016
It had been almost two years since du Plessis scored a hundred, and he had even been dropped in that time. But not only was he soon recalled, but also installed as temporary Test captain as South Africa sought to emerge from the ashes of the 2015 World Cup. The first match against a feisty New Zealand side had been drawn because of a damp outfield in Durban, and South Africa were desperate to make a statement in the second at SuperSport Park.Their top order fired, with fifty-plus scores for Stephen Cook, Quinton de Kock, Hashim Amla and JP Duminy, but only du Plessis got to a century. He scored slowly, as was his wont at the time, as it was an innings in which he never looked entirely comfortable. Yet, this was an innings of grit and nerve, of edges and near misses, and of figuring things out again. But it still showed that he belonged as a leader because of the way he lapped up the extra responsibility. South Africa thus declared on 481 for 8, and went on to win the series.Faf du Plessis hit a hundred in South Africa’s first pink-ball Test in 2016•Cricket Australia/Getty Images118* vs Australia: Adelaide, November 2016
Lightning only strikes once, they say. Except if you are du Plessis. Still in stand-in captaincy capacity, he took South Africa to Australia, where they were unflustered at losing Dale Steyn to a broken shoulder in Perth and took the lead before wrapping up the series win thanks to a potent bowling performance in Hobart. By the time the tour got to Adelaide, scene of du Plessis’ dream debut from South Africa’s previous tour, it was all fun and games. Sort of.du Plessis had only scored 76 runs in three innings on the tour until then but, more importantly, had been caught with a mint in his mouth in the second Test. This was not the first time though that he was accused of ball-tampering. In 2013, he was found rubbing the ball against the zip of his pants in the UAE, leading to zips being removed from the kit and a 100% fine of his match fee. He insisted the Australia incident was different, though the ICC disagreed as du Plessis had to forego his payment again but was not banned from the series finale, which was also South Africa’s first day-night Test.Amid boos and under lights, and against a seaming and swinging ball, he scored a century to take his team from 44 for 3 to over 250. du Plessis called it his “best” knock and admitted he had never been more motivated to show what he was made of after having his integrity questioned. But, after all that drama, South Africa still lost the match.120 vs Australia: Johannesburg, March 2018
The final frontier was hosting Australia. Though South Africa had won three successive series in Australia since readmission, they had not been able to do the same at home and du Plessis made it his mission to change that. By this stage, he was permanent captain and had made the side truly his own. When the series started with an altercation between Warner and de Kock, it was du Plessis who emerged from the change room to break it up, though only with a towel around his waist. He defended de Kock and criticised Australia’s on-field comments even as South Africa lost the first match in Durban.Things could easily have unravelled for them, but du Plessis kept his team together – and even regularly planted kisses on his fast bowlers’ foreheads as they performed beyond expectation – as they went on to win in Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. The latter game came after senior Australia players were found to have hatched a plan to use sandpaper on the ball to aid reverse swing. Mid-Test, Australia lost captain Steven Smith, vice-captain Warner and opener Cameron Bancroft, as South Africa went to Johannesburg knowing they could not lose the series.A broken Australia were 267 runs behind at the Wanderers, but du Plessis chose not to enforce the follow-on and instead to pile on more misery. South Africa added another 344, with 120 of them belonging to du Plessis, before finishing Australia off for 112 to win the series 3-1. This was an innings where du Plessis took the opportunity to rub salt in the opposition’s wounds, all while offering Australia sympathy for the struggles they were going through.199 vs Sri Lanka: Centurion, December 2020
Things went downhill for du Plessis after that summer as he led South Africa through series losses against Sri Lanka – both home and away – as well as a chastening tour of India in 2019. He returned home to administrative turmoil, racial controversy and a series loss to England that summer, following which he stood down as the Test captain. And though he stayed on as a player, he remained one under pressure. Between February 2019 and December 2020, du Plessis averaged 29 from nine Tests. The question was whether he still had it.In the Boxing Day Test, albeit against a Sri Lankan attack that was down to one frontline bowler for parts of the innings, du Plessis scored a daddy hundred which should have been a double. He batted with the carefreeness of a man unburdened and sauntered his way to 199 before picking out a fielder in search of a glory shot. The milestone aside, that innings was proof of the value he could continue to add as a senior batsman in a struggling side. But he only played five more innings, the last of them on South Africa’s first tour to Pakistan in 14 years, before calling time on a career that may not be remembered in numbers but for its nuances.du Plessis, whether a captain or not, was a man for a crisis. At a time when South African cricket went through so much, they could not have asked for a cooler head or a more caring character.

His maiden IPL five-for is a reward for the new dimensions he’s added to his bowling

Saurabh Somani10-Apr-20212:08

Harshal: ‘RCB were clear with me about my role’

When Harshal Patel stood with arms aloft, looking at the skies, after getting his fifth wicket in the innings, it felt like a release. Indian players who haven’t played international cricket yet do have their moments to shine in the IPL, but it’s rare for someone who hasn’t been a regular in IPL XIs to have a moment quite as stunningly successful as Patel did.Since 2016, he had played a total of only 18 IPL games – barely a season’s worth spread across five years. And yet, traded back to the Royal Challengers Bangalore after three years with the Delhi Capitals, Patel responded by taking 5 for 27, the IPL’s first-ever five-wicket haul against the best T20 side in the business – the Mumbai Indians.What made Patel’s feat impressive was not just the opponents it came against, but the manner it was achieved in and the batsmen he conquered. Together, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard and Krunal Pandya form the most lethal middle order in the IPL. There is no set of batsmen in any other side manning positions four to seven who can match up to this quartet, each one demonstrably capable of match-winning innings on their own.Patel not only dismissed each one of them, he did it in ways that left no doubt that the bowler had won the battle against the batsmen. He did it by bowling yorkers that tailed in late with reverse swing, by changes of pace that the batsmen failed to detect and thus hit the ball where he wanted them to. Crucially, he did it at the death, where Mumbai have devastated and pulverised opponents, oftentimes a combination of these four doing the heavy hitting.Death bowling was expected to be the Royal Challengers’ biggest gap in IPL 2021, and they were up against the most fearsome death-overs batting line-up in the competition. Three of Patel’s overs were held back for the death, and before he began his second spell, ESPNcricinfo’s Forecaster pegged Mumbai’s expected total at 182, with five overs to go. That it ended up on 159 instead was entirely due to Patel.”When we gathered for the first camp there was a very clear instruction to me that I’m going to bowl at least two overs at the death,” Patel said at the post-match press conference. “That gave me a lot of clarity and confidence to work on my skills and develop plans against the batters I’m going to face in the death overs in various teams. It made my preparation a lot more concise.”The slower ball is something Patel has had for a long time. In fact he had two varieties, an off-cutter and one from the back of the hand. When he was told that he would be filling up the Royal Challengers’ death bowling gap, he set to work to develop the yorker too.Harshal picked up IPL’s first five-for against the Mumbai Indians•BCCI/IPL”My slower balls have been my biggest strength for almost ten years now and the yorker is something I’ve been working on,” he said. “If you need to bowl in the death overs you definitely have to rely on the yorker. You can’t just keep bowling length balls and slower balls, people are going to line that up. It’s important to have that one delivery which can get the batsman off strike. It gives you options at the death.”My yorker is something I’ve been bowling for a long time but I was not confident enough to take that into the game. But now, in the last 15-20 days I made sure I put myself in situations where I have to bowl a yorker and get confident at it.”His captain, Virat Kohli, was in no doubt about the quality of Patel’s spell. “The last six overs for us, probably the best we’ve ever had,” Kohli told Star Sports at the post-match presentation. “I think his spell was the difference in containing those 20-25 runs at the end. He is going to be (our designated death bowler). And he’s relishing the responsibility. Very confident of what he wants to bring to the table, and as captain you want guys with clarity, confidence.”The wickets that he got weren’t fluke wickets, he actually wanted the guys to hit where they ended up getting caught. That was the hallmark of his game, because he was very clear in what he wanted to do.”The pitch at Chepauk was uniquely conducive to Patel’s bowling  too, but none of what he has achieved has been a fluke. In 2019-20, Patel went on a tear through India’s domestic circuit, playing three formats back to back and achieving the following: in nine first-class games, 292 runs at an average of 22.46 and 52 wickets at an average of 14.48 and a strike rate of 27.1. In eight List A games, 39 runs at 5.57 and 10 wickets at 19.80 and an economy rate of 5.07. In 12 T20 games, 374 runs at an average of 31.16 and a strike rate of 165.48, to go with 19 wickets at an average of 15.94 and an economy of 7.04.The tally of runs in List A makes it seem authentic, because otherwise, these are returns more suited to scripting rooms than playing fields. But that’s exactly what Patel did. He had an okayish start with the Vijay Hazare Trophy 50-over games, caught fire when the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 matches took place, and continued to scorch the field during the subsequent Ranji Trophy. And he did it while leading his state, Haryana.It should have been the launchpad to bigger and better, but as soon as the Ranji Trophy was done, Covid-19 struck. Instead of carrying that red-hot form into the IPL that was scheduled next, Patel had to endure a lull like the rest of the world. When IPL 2020 finally happened, he linked up with the Delhi Capitals, but could get only five games for them. The Capitals having gone with a strategy of two overseas pacers in Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje meant the space for an Indian seamer was constrained.It’s the lot of domestic cricketers in India. The overwhelming riches of talent that gather at the IPL mean that you will most likely be considered for bit-part roles, even if you come in on the back of a season that Patel had. Until you break through with that blockbuster season which drags you from the footlights to the limelight. Patel is not there yet, but with his first game, he’s given himself the opportunity of rising beyond bit-part roles.

All the stats and records from the thrilling contest between Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings

Sampath Bandarupalli22-Sep-20214:52

Steyn: The better team lost tonight

4 – Runs defended by Kartik Tyagi in the final over, the joint-lowest by any player in the 20th over of an IPL game. Munaf Patel also defended four runs against Mumbai Indians in 2009, also for Rajasthan Royals.ESPNcricinfo Ltd8 – Target runs for Punjab Kings at the start of the 19th over, the least any team has failed to chase in the last two overs of an IPL game. The least runs a team failed to score previously was 13 by Kolkata Knight Riders against Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in 2012.99.70% – Kings’ win probability as per the ESPNcricinfo Forecaster at 18.5 overs, the highest at any point of the chase. However, they scored only two runs in the last seven balls while needing five runs to win. The win probability of the chasing team never dropped under 99% between 17.1 and 19.3 overs.Related

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How Mustafizur and Tyagi won it for Royals in the last two overs

1 – The one run conceded by Kartik Tyagi in the final over is the joint second-fewest by a bowler in the 20th over of an IPL chase (while bowling all six balls). Irfan Pathan bowled a maiden over against Mumbai Indians in 2008, while Jaydev Unadkat replicated the feat against Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2017, including a hat-trick.4 – Number of century partnerships between Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul for the first wicket in the IPL, all four for Punjab Kings (earlier Kings XI Punjab) and each of them resulting in a defeat. The number of century stands by the pair in defeats is the joint-most for an IPL pair. The former Royal Challengers Bangalore pair of Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli also had four century partnerships in losses. These two pairs also jointly hold the record for most century stands in defeats in all T20s.ESPNcricinfo Ltd120 – Partnership runs between Rahul and Agarwal for the first wicket. It is the second-highest opening stand in a defeat in an IPL chase. The highest is 121 between Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa for Kolkata Knight Riders in 2014, also against Royals.3 – Arshdeep Singh’s five-wicket haul is only the third for Punjab Kings in the IPL. The first was by Dimitri Mascarenhas, who took 5 for 25, against Pune Warriors in 2012, while Ankit Rajpoot bettered it with figures of 5 for 14 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2018. Arshdeep’s five-for is also the second in the IPL against Royals, after Anil Kumble’s 5 for 5 in 2009, playing for Royal Challengers.11 – Instances of a team winning after being bowled out in an IPL game. This victory by Royals was their second such win, having won by two runs against Deccan Chargers in 2010 despite having been bowled out for 159. The 185-run total by Royals was the third-highest all-out total in the IPL and the highest by a team batting first.

BBC anchor keen to “get the balance right” between satisfying traditionalists and bringing in new audience

Matt Roller20-Jul-2021Few sporting events have split opinion in the way the Hundred has since its soft-launch in April 2018 but its loudest critics and most brazen proponents agree on one thing, at least: its dominance of the English cricketing calendar over the next month is a seminal moment for the game in this country. Between the fifth Ashes Test in 2005 and the 2019 World Cup final, live cricket was hidden behind a paywall and unavailable on free-to-air TV in England; a handful of games have been broadcast live by the BBC or Channel 4 in the last two years, but the Hundred will be freely available on television in a way not seen in this country for the past 16 years.Wednesday night’s opening match between Oval Invincibles and Manchester Originals sees domestic cricket broadcast live on a main BBC channel for the first time in the 21st century; the most recent is believed to be Lancashire’s nine-wicket win against Derbyshire in the NatWest Trophy final in 1998, when one-day cricket was played over 60 overs with teams wearing whites and using a red ball. The level of coverage across platforms is vast: every match in the competition – men’s and women’s – will be broadcast live by Sky, every women’s match and a “significant number” of men’s matches will be streamed on Sky’s YouTube channel, and the BBC is broadcasting 10 men’s and eight women’s fixtures.”It’s a real privilege to be involved and part of an amazing broadcast team,” Isa Guha, who will front the BBC’s coverage, tells ESPNcricinfo. “What the BBC brings is that fact that it can play out to the masses, and that is what is really exciting about our TV and radio coverage. People might be tuning in for the Olympics but then stumble across the Hundred, and I think cricket fans will tune in anyway because there will be intrigue around the new format and how it works. I think it will cut through.”There are challenges to navigate. The BBC’s coverage of recent England men’s T20Is against Sri Lanka and Pakistan was pitched mainly at existing cricket fans but with some interludes designed to make the game more simple, and there is an obvious tension between getting stuck into the game’s intricacies or the tactical nuances of the new format and trying to appeal to the new audience that the ECB is so desperate to attract. That was made particularly evident in April when the revealed a plan to replace the word “wickets” with “outs”, which sparked a backlash strong enough for the term to be dropped a week later.Related

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“It’s about getting the balance right,” Guha says. “You don’t want to offend cricket traditionalists but at the same time, you’re trying to bring a new audience in. We’ll still have the same vibe in terms of the fun we want to bring to it – the energy and banter between commentators – but we want to bring out the personalities of the domestic players who might not necessarily get much exposure on television, too.”We’ll be navigating through the new tactics with everyone else. What I found with the Big Bash in Australia last winter with the new rules that were applied was that we were working it out on commentary at the same time as the players and coaches on the ground, which is exciting and interesting for existing fans. But for the new audience, it’s a great entry-level format; it’s about educating people on things like fielding positions and cricketing lingo but not being too hard to understand.”There is a tension too between the ECB’s public commitment to present the men’s and women’s competitions as equal and the fact that only three of the eight games the BBC is broadcasting live will be available on a linear TV channel, with the other five online-only. “There are a lot of online users anyway,” Guha responds. “I think we will still get a good audience as long as people know where to find it. The biggest thing is being able to direct people towards it, but then again, there are a lot of online users that would be watching BBC Two on digital platforms anyway.”A BBC publicist jumps in at this stage, saying: “Those games will be on iPlayer, the BBC Sport website and online – and the same people who can access BBC Two can also access any of those with the touch of a button.” But realistically, the women’s competition will rely on viewers knowing where to find it; if a child with no interest in cricket stumbles across the Hundred while channel-surfing, it is highly likely that they will come across a men’s game.On the flip side, the BBC is hoping to promote the tournament through as many platforms as they can: James Anderson’s podcast with Greg James and Felix White, which has grown and nurtured a cult following in recent years, will be a key component of the broadcast coverage, and players are expected to pop up for radio and TV interviews during chat shows. A number of players involved in the tournament including Heather Knight, Tymal Mills, Alex Hartley and Carlos Brathwaite have also signed as commentators, and the live music that will be played at grounds in an attempt to create a family-friendly matchday experience has been sorted through a partnership with BBC Music Introducing.”When you’re at the ground, that partnership will help create that buzz and atmosphere that people have been starved of in the past couple of years,” Guha says. “We saw in the Euros how much excitement and energy people get from being at a stadium and to have that music around it is going to make it feel like a full day out, a full entertainment package. It should boost the coverage.”As with the tournament as a whole, it is difficult to know what will count as a success for BBC’s coverage of the Hundred: audience figures and demographics will be monitored closely but the real test will be the ability to retain new viewers in years to come, using the Hundred as a gateway to other formats. Perhaps the enthusiasm of a free-to-air broadcaster to show a significant chunk of games in primetime slots constitutes success in itself, but the English game as a whole can hardly afford the next month to go wrong.The Hundred will be on BBC Two, radio and online from Wednesday, July 21

Australia have a good attack, established stars with the bat, and a new captain who is the best man for the job

Ian Chappell05-Dec-2021This is the hardest Ashes series to decipher.First, there are the controversies to be assessed on both sides; the Tim Paine crisis and the Azeem Rafiq Yorkshire debacle. Then, neither team has played much serious cricket in the build-up and therefore it’s hard to equate the successors in each side.However, it’s still the Ashes and one team will gain an advantage over the other. It seems that England has to quickly establish their credentials at the Gabba or they will be overrun by an Australian team in the ascendant.England have that opportunity in the first Test. There is an unknown quantity about the pitch, Ben Stokes is making his comeback as a full allrounder, and Pat Cummins is yet to establish his captaincy credentials.Related

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The last point is the most crucial for Australia. Cummins is the right choice as captain. He is by far the most inspirational cricketer in Australia. If a team-mate is not inspired by Cummins’ heartfelt leadership, he’s playing the wrong grade. However, Steven Smith as vice-captain is a controversial choice. How come Smith’s leadership punishment carries a different weight to that of David Warner?Cheating is cheating and both players indulged in the crime at Newlands in 2018. That being the case, their punishments should be identical but they are not. I can only assume Smith received the lesser punishment, in terms of not being disbarred from the captaincy, because someone at Cricket Australia (CA) didn’t like Warner. Like and dislike cannot be part of any selection dilemma and CA should have made a complete break from the past with a brand new leadership duo.England need to establish authority quickly at the Gabba because the wicket may help them early on. If Stokes can then put himself in the mind of the Australians, this will undermine their confidence and may create some unwanted doubts in Cummins as a leader. Even if England don’t win the first Test, they need to finish the game on top to head into the Adelaide day-night affair with a full head of steam. If, on the other hand, Australia win or at least establish authority in Brisbane, a shaky English outfit will struggle to regain a winning psychological advantage.Joe Root’s leadership qualities are tenuous at best. As a captain he lacks imagination, which can be a necessary quality in Australia. England’s best hope is that Stokes can establish himself as a player of authority and that his advice will be well received in the Test side. Stokes’ assertive nature, if Root accepts his input, would make a big difference to England’s on-field leadership.Australia have three established stars with the bat: Warner, Smith and Marnus Labuschagne. They have three others who are a gamble, with Cameron Green the most likely to succeed. Marcus Harris and either Usman Khawaja or Travis Head are the players who are most likely to be found wanting.Australia’s best attribute is a strong bowling attack which will fare well if Alex Carey provides the expected input as keeper. England, on the other hand, have an attack well suited to home conditions but one that has plenty of question marks over it when it comes to a series in Australia. If Stokes establishes his credentials as an aggressive bowler in Australia, this will improve England’s chances immensely.On the batting side only Root and Stokes are confirmed English players of Ashes quality. The rest of the side need to make their mark. The most changes in the series are likely to occur in the England batting, and if this happens Australia will have triumphed.Australia don’t have much wiggle room in their batting, and this is one reason why a hard-fought game in Brisbane is critical.I expect Root’s leadership to wane over the series and Cummins to establish his authority by the end of the five matches. If this happens, Australia will comfortably finish the series winner.

All the numbers – at once interesting and intriguing – from the T20 World Cup 2021

Sampath Bandarupalli15-Nov-2021Win toss and chase – the formula for success
The teams that won the toss had a win-loss ratio of 2.00, the highest in any edition of the men’s T20 World Cup, as 30 of the 45 matches were won by the sides that won the toss. The previous highest was 1.75 in 2016 – 21 out of 33 completed games.The tournament also favoured the chasing teams – the win-loss ratio was 1.81, the highest in any edition. The previous highest was 1.50 during the 2014 edition hosted by Bangladesh – 21 out of 35.Focus on the top three
The top-three batters did the majority of the scoring. Each of the top-four run-getters in the tournament were openers: Babar Azam, David Warner, Mohammad Rizwan and Jos Buttler. The top-three batters of New Zealand – Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell and Kane Williamson – all scored over 200 runs. A total of 54.38 % of the runs in the tournament were scored by the players batting in the top three, the highest ever in a men’s T20 World Cup.ESPNcricinfo LtdAustralia’s luck at the toss
Aaron Finch won six tosses in the tournament and Australia won all those matches while chasing. The only time they lost the toss – against England – they lost by eight wickets. Afghanistan won five tosses in their five matches – the only team with a better success rate at the coin toss than Australia in this edition.West Indies – six each in 2012 and 2016 – are the other instances of a team winning six or more coin tosses in an edition of the men’s T20 World Cup. Australia joined West Indies in winning the men’s T20 World Cup despite not defending a total even once. West Indies did not bat first at all during the triumph in 2016. However, in 2012, they won the title despite not winning a match while chasing, replicating what India had done in 2007.