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Weakened hosts stumble to 118 all out in rain-affected game before Essex knock off chase

David Hopps21-Jun-2021Essex 119 for 2 (Buttleman 56*) beat Surrey 118 (Cook 4-15) by eight wicketsAh, the summer solstice was upon Merrie England, the day when the sun is at its highest in the sky and in olden days at least festivals filled the land. Except, “Freedom Day” had been delayed for a month so no one was much in the mood for partying and hardly anybody saw the sun, certainly not in Hampshire where the World Test Championship final remains a bedraggled affair, nor in Kennington, where the T20 Blast began late because of a wet outfield and some spectators were keeping warm under blankets.Essex, though, marked the occasion with a spot of mischief, inflicting Surrey’s first defeat of the season. Track back a week and form suggested they might have been pulverised by a full-strength Surrey on a flat Kia Oval track. But this was a weakened and distinctly off-colour Surrey, and Essex benefited from first use of a bowler-friendly surface. Surrey fell for 118 with three balls of their 17 overs unused before Essex knocked off the runs in practical fashion to win by eight wickets with nine balls to spare.In 2019, Essex started slowly in the group stages and went on to win the trophy. They don’t inspire much belief that they are capable of a repeat, but they have at least stemmed the bleeding. They came to The Oval with one win in six – an opening-night defeat of Somerset at Taunton – and only 24 hours earlier, they had reached their nadir, a 67-run defeat against Kent at Canterbury during which they conceded 236 for 3 – Kent’s highest-ever Blast score. The win takes them off the bottom of South Group.This was the sort of Blast tie that is not about to improve the UK’s flagging exports figures – the sort of match that would not create much interest beyond these two old rivals. But Will Buttleman, one of three wicketkeepers in Essex’s top four, could take pride in his maiden Essex fifty in a career now five T20s strong, plus a solitary first-class appearance at Headingley when he helped Essex avoid a follow-on by blocking for 0 off 37 balls. Now there’s an innings to confuse a T20 algorithm.Buttleman’s most impactful boundaries came at the top of his innings – a slog-swept six against Dan Moriarty and a rasping straight drive against Will Jacks. He settled further with three boundaries in a tentative first over from Jade Dernbach, 35 now, and playing his first match of note since the Caribbean Premier League in September 2019. After that, it was just a matter of staying sensible.Rikki Clarke had some of Surrey’s best moments, such as they were. His 20 runs had included an exquisite check-drive over long-on for six against the wild-haired Shane Snater. His catch at short extra to dismiss Adam Wheater, and end Essex’s opening stand of 67, was a remarkable effort, diving low to his right to slip a couple of fingers under the ball.Surrey were not just without their England short-form contingent – the Curran brothers and Jason Roy – they had also lost Laurie Evans to a stomach bug. But Essex still needed an immediate boost and the fall of the toss provided it. Typically for The Oval, spinners predominated (even part-time ones) but Sam Cook was comfortably the standout seamer as he swung the ball to return 4 for 15.By the end of the Powerplay (reduced to 5.1 overs) Surrey had lost 3 for 39. Both Essex’s new-ball spinners struck with their first ball. Hashim Amla holed out helpfully to the first ball of the match, picking out short extra as the left-arm spinner Aron Nijjar tossed up an inviting delivery outside off stump. Jacks fell to Dan Lawrence’s first ball at deep midwicket. Jamie Smith was Cook’s first victim, bowled by one that swung back sharply.That left an odd couple as far as Surrey T20 was concerned: Rory Burns, seeking solace after England’s Test series defeat against New Zealand, and Ben Geddes, who first played for Surrey at Under-9s level and who was making his debut at 19. Burns found no release as he hooked Cook’s bouncer to midwicket, but Geddes, although he mustered only two boundaries, scrapped his way to 28 from 21 balls.When Lawrence found turn to have Jamie Overton caught off a faint inside edge, Surrey’ looked to the Clark/Clarke combination for an escape route. Jordan Clark was bullish, although he might have been caught on 12 – Ryan ten Doeschate never locking on to a difficult over-the-shoulder catch at deep mid-off – and would also have been run out on 22 if Simon Harmer’s throw had struck the stumps.It required something special for Surrey to escape, but Clark picked out long-off and Essex, a side who before Buttleman’s half-century, had made only one individual fifty in the Blast this season, had a target well within range.

The former India offspinner says his priority is to revive the side’s Ranji Trophy fortunes

Deivarayan Muthu30-Jul-2021M Venkataramana, the former India and Tamil Nadu offspinner, has been roped in as the state side’s new coach ahead of the 2021-22 domestic season, which sees the return of the Ranji Trophy.Venkataramana takes over from D Vasu, under whom Tamil Nadu enjoyed an unbeaten run to the Syed Mushtaq Ali title this year. In the 2019-20 season, Vasu’s Tamil Nadu side had finished runners-up in both the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy.Related

• Ranji Trophy returns as BCCI announces full 2021-22 domestic season

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Venkataramana hoped to maintain those standards in white-ball cricket, but his top priority is to revive the side in the Ranji Trophy. Tamil Nadu have not qualified for the Ranji knockouts since 2016-17, when they lost to Mumbai in the semi-finals.”Ranji Trophy will be the goal,” Venkataramana told ESPNcricinfo. “We’ve been doing well in white-ball cricket for the last two years and now we have to do well in the red-ball duration games. We start off with T20 and one-dayers and by then we will know who are the players in form – so that will help us to form a formidable side for the duration games.”Even though it’s not the best choice to pick [for the Ranji Trophy] from the one-day side, at least you can see how the guys are in shape after one-and-half years. Already, they’ve done a good job under previous coach D Vasu in the shorter versions. We have to continue the good work that Vasu has done and I’m looking forward to it [the challenge].”Tamil Nadu’s players are currently involved in the 20-overs Tamil Nadu Premier League in Chennai, which, according to Venkataramana, will help tune up the players for the long season after the Covid-enforced lockdown in the state.”TNPL will help the boys to get in shape,” Venkataramana said. “Somewhere they have game-time and it will help. A smart cricketer can adapt to any format. If you’re good enough to play T20 and one-day, you can also play the longer format.”Venkataramana brings with him TNPL coaching experience, having been in charge of the Dindigul Dragons from 2016 to 2019. During his tenure, the Dragons reached the knockouts three times in four seasons before S Badrinath took over as the franchise’s coach for the ongoing season. In addition to stints at the NCA [National Cricket Academy] in Bengaluru, Venkataramana has also worked at the ICC-accredited bowling-action testing facility in Chennai. Along with his former spin-bowling colleague Vasu, Venkataramana helped correct former India left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha’s action at that facility.Venkataramana played 75 first-class matches and 30 List A games, taking 247 and 36 wickets respectively. In his debut Ranji season, in 1987-88, he emerged as the joint-highest wicket-taker, with 35 strikes in eight matches at an average of 20.45. Eight of those wickets came in the final against Railways at Chepauk, where Tamil Nadu secured the title with an innings victory.That season’s performance earned Venkataramana an India call-up, but he only got to play one Test and one ODI.The Indian domestic season will begin on October 20 with the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, which will be followed by the Ranji Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

The former South Africa allrounder, who retired two years ago, is a strategic consultant for the team for the T20 World Cup

Firdose Moonda01-Oct-2021JP Duminy always wanted to be part of the upcoming T20 World Cup. He will be there, but not in the way he expected.When Duminy announced his retirement from ODIs in March 2019, he remained available in the shortest format. During that tournament, he changed his mind and opted out of playing altogether. It didn’t take too long for him to find his way back, behind the microphone at first and now, as part of South Africa’s support staff.”On Sunday, I was packing my bag and I realised I needed to go into the garage and take out my South African blazer and tie. It dawned on me that I didn’t think I would be pulling that out of the cupboard two years after retiring. That was an emotional moment,” Duminy said on Friday. “I was reminiscing on the good times I had when I was playing and how I am now coming back in a different capacity.”Related

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Duminy’s official title is “strategic consultant” to the South African squad. It’s a short-term role, which he explained as “about trying to add value wherever I can”. “It’s not necessarily about honing in on a particular department or skill,” he explained. “The way I see it, having had the experience I’ve had over the last 15 years, how I can contribute is with the understanding from that experience and by being aware of things that may unfold in this tournament.”I have played against many of these cricketers, and played with them, and I have relationships with all the players and staff that are in the mix in the South African squad so I am trying to see how I can add value to them in a personal capacity.”Duminy sees a key part of his role as being to make sure the players’ experience is the opposite of his own open-ended position. “Role clarification is, if I put my player’s hat on, what players want. They want to make sure that when they go out and face those pressure moments there is clarity,” he said. “We want to make sure we provide them with enough information for them to find the answers as well. This is an environment, it is not a dictatorship. It is a facilitation of learning. If we are in a position to ask the right questions, we can collectively find the right answers.”That may sound a little more philosophical than practical, but that’s the kind of approach Duminy has always taken. As a player, he measured his worth in his personhood, and not numbers. As a coach, he seems to want to judge the team on their impact on each other and society, not their victory count.”People want to feel valued and like they belong. Having had the experience playing here for 15 years, I truly understand that. It doesn’t matter who you are, in terms of playing 100 games or one game, there’s always in inherent need to feel like you belong to something bigger than yourself. That’s what the Proteas is about,” he said. “It’s a representation of 60 million people and there’s great responsibility in that. So for me, it’s just talking people through that and understanding what that responsibility looks like.”Duminy aims to mentor players through the challenges of being “seen as a role model” and of having to “live a certain way, day in and day out, where you are giving your best every day”. He admitted that “it can be challenging, particularly when we are living in a bubble life and things are restricted; you have to find ways to make sure you are refreshed continuously.”He described the current experience of operating in bio-bubbles as a “massive sacrifice” and stressed the importance of having a good support structure. “One can look at it and think sportspeople are paid to do this, so they’ve just got to live with it, but at the end of the day they are just human beings. They can go through some depressive states because they can’t handle the compression and coupled with that, particularly as a player, there’s expectation and pressure to perform,” he said. “Going into a World Cup, how are you going to handle that? It’s important to have perspective and to have a greater cause or purpose outside of the game. This is also where the families come in. The families play an integral part in calmness. They are a positive distraction, if one can call it that.”Duminy played in three 50-over and six T20 World Cups and has first-hand experience of the unique pressures that a South African squad, which usually enters the competition with expectation and leaves empty-handed, faces. This time, after a two-year period of inconsistent results, they are among underdogs, with nothing more than quiet confidence about their chances. “I am very optimistic about what I’ve seen over the last couple of days,” Duminy said. “I love what I am seeing. I am loving the conversations that’s happening and the clarity but also there is this belief within each other, which is great to see. And in many ways, also contagious.”After the T20 World Cup, Duminy will return home to work as a batting consultant with the Lions, with a view to growing his career as a coach, even though it has come unexpectedly. “It’s not something I ran after, it found me. In my role as Lions coach, I was asked to come into the environment,” he said. “The journey has been short in terms of the transition (from playing) and I’ve also done some commentary. There was always an idea of commentary and coaching balancing each other out and at some point one was going to leapfrog the other. I am enjoying it.”

The hosts will start as heavy favourites against a depleted West Indies who have been further hit by Covid-19

Saurabh Somani12-Dec-2021

Big Picture

West Indies will come into this T20I series hurting from how their title defence went at the T20 World Cup a month ago. They’ll have more than just hurt to deal with, given the positive Covid-19 tests for Sheldon Cottrell, Roston Chase and Kyle Mayers, which have ruled the trio out of all three T20Is.While West Indies are dealing with that, Pakistan will come back to a format in which they might feel they ought to be world champions in. They had trampled through the group stages in the World Cup and had the semi-final all but sewn up against Australia, when Matthew Wade struck. A different 10 minutes and it might have well been Babar Azam with his hands on the trophy instead of Aaron Finch. Their 3-0 sweep of Bangladesh in Bangladesh merely reinforced the point, winning handily in a country and against an opponent where the two finalists – Australia and New Zealand – had lost comprehensively.In all this, the larger picture is that there is international cricket happening in Pakistan for the first time since New Zealand pulled out, and then England followed suit, just about two months back. West Indies have already arrived, and the first T20I looks set to go ahead despite the positive Covid-19 tests. If any team had half a mind to pull out, surely a slew of positive tests provides a readymade reason, but that West Indies are still in Karachi and preparing to play, means cricket happen, barring the exceptionally unforeseen.Related

• Cottrell, Chase, Mayers test positive for Covid-19

• Akeal Hosein's time to shine

• Pakistan leave out Shoaib Malik, Imad Wasim and Hasan Ali for West Indies series

Form guide

Pakistan WWWLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)West Indies LLWLL

In the spotlight

He was part of the travelling reserves in West Indies’ T20 World Cup squad until Fabian Allen’s injury catapulted him into the main party, and Akeal Hosein has only grown since then. He’s the complete package for T20s, able to bowl restrictively through different innings phases, handy with the bat lower down the order, and an athletic livewire in the field. Hosein is likely to be a sure starter in the XI, and with greater responsibility in a depleted squad. If he can step up to it, West Indies could have themselves another great T20 prospect.The Babar Azam question will never really go away from Pakistan. It’s about whether the team is best served by Babar playing within himself and looking to bat long because the batting can be brittle, or whether it would be better that a batter with the kind of range Babar has should give it a full airing, and get the team off to dominant starts. Even at the cost of falling early more often. So far, Babar has largely preferred the first method. There are legitimate concerns about whether Pakistan’s batting can withstand early departures for Babar in the quest for more dominance. But until it is tried for a decent run, we’ll never know. Against an already depleted West Indies further hit by Covid-19, might be the best time to try out a more aggressive approach up top.A police convoy escorts mini buses carrying West Indies and Pakistan teams•Associated Press

Team news

West Indies have got plenty of exciting new talent to call on, despite missing Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, Jason Holder, Shimron Hetmyer and Fabian Allen. There’s the trio of Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith and Dominic Drakes – all fast-bowling allrounders. Each can hit the speed gun as well as the white ball to considerable distances, and all three could be in action in the first T20I.West Indies XI (possible): 1 Brandon King, 2 Shai Hope, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Nicholas Pooran (capt, wk), 5 Rovman Powell, 6 Romario Shepherd, 7 Odean Smith, 8 Dominic Drakes, 9 Akeal Hosein, 10 Hayden Walsh Jr, 11 Oshane ThomasPakistan rotated their players in the Bangladesh T20Is, rightly figuring that some needed a bit of a rest after the T20 World Cup and with a Test series against Bangladesh to follow. They’re back at full strength now, apart from leaving out Shoaib Malik, Imad Wasim and Hasan Ali.Pakistan XI (possible): 1 Babar Azam (capt), 2 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 3 Fakhar Zaman, 4 Haider Ali, 5 Khushdil Shah, 6 Asif Ali, 7 Shadab Khan (vice-capt), 8 Mohammad Nawaz, 9 Haris Rauf, 10 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 11 Shahnawaz Dahani/Mohammad Wasim

Pitch and conditions

The pitch at the National Stadium is expected to be full of runs, with the weather forecast to be pleasant and clear. The match is starting at 6.00pm local time, which reduces any effect dew might have.

Stats and trivia

• Pakistan have won all four T20Is they’ve played at this venue, although the first game was back in 2008 and the other three came in 2018 – and were against West Indies.

Quotes

– Babar Azam.

Sri Lanka looked a batter short in the second ODI, with the Zimbabwe quicks triggering a collapse

Andrew Fidel Fernando20-Jan-2022

Big picture

On Tuesday, two significant weaknesses in Sri Lanka’s XI were exposed. On flat tracks, even with Dushmantha Chameera in the side, the bowling attack lacked for penetration through the early and middle overs, with only legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay claiming wickets in the first 35. Then, while chasing 303, the top order’s fragilities were laid bare. Against testing but hardly unplayable bowling, Sri Lanka were 31 for 3 inside eight overs, and 63 for 4 inside 15. Although captain Dasun Shanaka’s maiden international hundred kept Sri Lanka in the hunt, you don’t come out on top of many chases with the kind of start they had.Their strategy has come under serious review with that loss; perhaps they are a batter short. With Kamindu Mendis and Charith Asalanka capable of contributing overs, could they perhaps push Chamika Karunaratne down to No. 8? And it is possible they did not use their better bowlers enough. Vandersay had one over unbowled; Karunaratne, who had taken a wicket and gone at only four an over, delivered only six of his possible ten.Zimbabwe, meanwhile, will be thrilled at their own bowlers’ performances. Blessing Muzarabani was the standout on Tuesday, as he, Tendai Chatara and Richard Ngarava produced arguably the defining period of the game – the early overs of Sri Lanka’s innings. In fact, such was the dominance of those three quicks, and the control of left-arm spinner Wellington Masakadza, that Zimbabwe didn’t even need Sikandar Raza to bowl his offspin at any stage. The attack also held its nerve when the match seemed headed for a tight finish.A victory in the final match would give Zimbabwe their first series win of this inaugural Super League cycle after also tying a series against Ireland. And it would be the second successive ODI series they would have won in Sri Lanka, having done the same back in 2017, which amounts to serious bragging rights.

Big picture

Sri Lanka LWWLW (Last five completed matches; most recent first)
Zimbabwe WLLWLDasun Shanaka’s maiden ODI hundred was his first excellent innings since taking over as white-ball captain•AFP/Getty Images

In the spotlight

In the four years that Blessing Muzarabani has played ODIs for Zimbabwe, he has had a substantial impact. Away from home, his numbers are excellent: 25 wickets from 16 matches at an average of 27.32. And what is more, since late 2020, he is on a pretty serious run of form despite the infrequency with which Zimbabwe play. In his last nine ODIs, he has gone wicketless only once. Tall, sharp and accurate, he will likely be a menace again come Friday.While Dasun Shanaka did not have the best night as captain, perhaps mismanaging his bowling resources, he will at least be pleased that he produced his first excellent innings since taking over as Sri Lanka’s white-ball captain last year. His form had been a concern right through the last few months, and was perhaps the greatest sticking point in his captaincy so far. Another good innings will help shore up his leadership.

Pitch and conditions

Another flat surface is expected in Pallekele. The weather is not forecast to interrupt.

Team news

Offspinning allrounder Ramesh Mendis is likely to come into Sri Lanka’s XI in order to target Craig Ervine and Sean Williams, the two left-handers in Zimbabwe’s middle order, as well as to bolster the hosts’ batting. Maheesh Theekshana, who has been economical without being a major wicket-taking threat, is likeliest to make way.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Kusal Mendis (wk), 3 Kamindu Mendis, 4 Dinesh Chandimal, 5 Charith Asalanka, 6 Dasun Shanaka (capt), 7 Chamika Karunaratne, 8 Ramesh Mendis, 9 Dushmantha Chameera, 10 Jeffrey Vandersay, 11 Nuwan PradeepZimbabwe were unchanged in the second ODI, and will probably see no need to switch things up for this game too.Zimbabwe (possible): 1 Regis Chakabva (wk), 2 Takudzwanashe Kaitano, 3 Craig Ervine (capt), 4 Wesley Madhevere, 5 Sean Williams, 6 Sikandar Raza, 7 Ryan Burl, 8 Wellington Masakadza, 9 Blessing Muzarabani, 10 Tendai Chatara, 11 Richard Ngarava

Stats and trivia

• Zimbabwe have now won four of their last seven ODIs in Sri Lanka. Before 2017, they had never won a match on the island.
• In 12 innings in 2020, Shanaka averaged 22.45 with a strike rate of 71. But thanks to Tuesday’s knock, he averages 112 and strikes at 106 across two innings so far this year.
• Despite their modest overall ODI record, Sri Lanka have won three of their last four bilateral ODI series at home, defeating Bangladesh, West Indies and South Africa since 2019.

After becoming most expensive Indian bowler at an IPL auction, he says: ‘In 2018, I had met Srinivasan sir, and he said, ‘you will play in yellow always”

Sreshth Shah13-Feb-2022One day after Deepak Chahar was bought by Chennai Super Kings for INR 14 crore (USD 1.8m approx.), making him the highest-paid Indian bowler at an IPL auction, he has said that he always knew he would return to the four-time champions under MS Dhoni.He told Star Sports on Sunday that in 2018, franchise owner N Srinivasan had told him that he would have a long association with the franchise, and since then, Chahar said, he had never broached the topic of retention or auction plans with the team.He also said that he “could not imagine” playing for any other franchise. “I’ve never spoken about all this to Mahi [captain MS Dhoni] or CSK management,” Chahar said. “In 2018, I had met Srinivasan sir, and he has said, ‘you will play in yellow always’. So I took his word that day and since then I have never spoken about retention. I knew CSK would bid [for me].”We [India’s T20I squad] were travelling from Ahmedabad to Kolkata, and the whole team was watching the auction. Everyone was saying (what’s the bid price?) and all that.”I wanted to play for CSK because I haven’t imagined myself playing in other colour than yellow. At one point, I thought it [the bid price] was too much. As a CSK player, I also want to build a good team. So after they spent 13 crore, I actually wanted the bidding to stop so I can go to CSK quickly and then we can buy some other players [with the money saved].Chahar will represent the Super Kings for a fifth season in a row, having been bought by the franchise before IPL 2018 for INR 80 lakh. Before that, he had worked with some of the Super Kings personnel at the Rising Pune Supergiant franchise, where he played between 2016 and 2017 alongside Dhoni and current Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming as the Super Kings sat out their suspension in the aftermath of the spot-fixing scandal of 2013.Chahar also said that despite batting rather low in the Super Kings line-up in previous seasons, he hopes to score more runs in the upcoming IPL edition. Over the last 12 months, he has shown his usefulness with the bat for the Indian ODI side, with his unbeaten 69 in Colombo taking India over the line, a 54 against South Africa last month to almost rescue the team, and an important 38 against West Indies in Ahmedabad last week.However, Chahar does have one regret, and that is not having his cousin Rahul Chahar in the same franchise as him. The duo did share the dressing room at Pune, but never played together.”In Pune, I played first game, he played second, I played third, and he played fourth, but we never played together. I was thinking this auction we might play together, but may be some other time. I’ll ask Rahul to come from Punjab for next year (laughs).”

Fast bowler has picked up 40 wickets in 27 IPL matches at an economy rate of 8.46

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Mar-2022Three days before the start of IPL 2022, Lucknow Super Giants have brought on board Australia fast bowler Andrew Tye – the IPL 2018 purple cap winner – as a late replacement for the injured England fast bowler Mark Wood.The 35-year-old Tye emerged as a specialist death bowler in the BBL for Perth Scorchers. He played a significant part in their title run this season as well, picking up 3 for 15 in the final. Known for his medley of slower balls and yorkers, Tye has picked up 40 wickets in 27 IPL matches at an economy rate of 8.46.Along with Tye, the Super Giants have IPL 2021’s second-highest wicket-taker Avesh Khan, Sri Lanka spearhead Dushmantha Chameera and Ankit Rajpoot as recognised specialist fast bowling options. They are expected to be backed up by the all-round skills of Jason Holder, Marcus Stoinis and Kyle Mayers.Wood was supposed to join the Super Giants after the end of England’s ongoing tour of the West Indies. But he suffered an elbow injury during the course of the first Test and has been ruled out of action for the foreseeable future.Super Giants open their IPL campaign against Gujarat Titans on March 28.

Both teams face off with inconsistent middle orders in focus

Himanshu Agrawal30-Apr-20222:19

Has Rishabh Pant managed his bowling resources well?

Big picture

Six games to go out of 14 may sound like a lot, but not when you are placed sixth in a mid-table logjam, with five teams above jostling to confirm a top-four finish, and two others below you breathing down your neck. Delhi Capitals’ rollercoaster lose-one-win-one ride has been on for six games now, and they will be looking for some consistency at this stage.Hit by Covid-19 and then a needless no-ball-that-never-happened controversy, they can still be buoyed by Kuldeep Yadav’s resurgence, Mitchell Marsh’s brief spark on return from quarantine, and their effective pace battery, led by Mustafizur Rahman and Khaleel Ahmed.

Live in the USA

You can watch the action on ESPN+ in English and in Hindi.

Although Khaleel missed Capitals’ last match due to a hamstring injury, the emerging Chetan Sakariya – another left-armer in their ranks – answered the call with three economical overs, which included the wicket of Aaron Finch off his third ball.But what of Capitals’ batting? Openers David Warner and Prithvi Shaw aside, their line-up hasn’t offered much encouragement. Rishabh Pant has occasionally flickered, but not lit up the show yet; Lalit Yadav’s form has faded away after a bright start; Rovman Powell has got respectable scores in only the last two matches; and Sarfaraz Khan has been in and out of the side.Despite four losses in eight matches, Capitals boast of the best net run rate among all teams. But that will count for little if they can’t pocket vital points. To summarise it all, only four playoffs spots are up for grabs, and eight teams – nine, if you are a Chennai Super Kings fan – are still in the running, a reality which Capitals cannot shy away from.Against this background they face Lucknow Super Giants, who will be eyeing a hat-trick of wins. A line-up filled with allrounders – two pace-bowling in Jason Holder and Marcus Stoinis, one left-arm spin-bowling in Krunal Pandya, and an offspin-bowling one in Deepak Hooda – Super Giants, on form, appear to have one foot inside the playoffs door already.Related

• Fearless Kuldeep Yadav continues reaping rewards of planning

• Krunal Pandya credits technical adjustments for improved bowling

Like Capitals, they have had star performers with the ball, the latest of which is the left-arm quick Mohsin Khan. Ravi Bishnoi hasn’t been consistent – although he has seven wickets, he averages 41 with an economy rate of 8.22 – but that hasn’t troubled his colleagues. Dushmantha Chameera has zipped through with rapid pace, Holder and Avesh Khan have been among the wickets despite being expensive, and now even Pandya has found his bowling rhythm.But, while having a plethora of allrounders has provided them with depth and multiple options, their middle order – like Capitals’ – hasn’t been at its best. Only captain KL Rahul and his opening partner Quinton de Kock have been regularly churning out runs for Super Giants.In their last five matches, their bowlers have successfully defended totals three times – two of which were only 153 and 169 – while they have lost batting second twice in a row. With not much time left, Super Giants, like Capitals, will be eyeing better consistency.

In the news

Khaleel was forced to sit out Capitals’ previous game against Kolkata Knight Riders, with no official word on his availability since. If Khaleel is fit to return, Sakariya’s impressive performance on his Capitals debut may cause some dilemma for them.

Likely XIs

Delhi Capitals: 1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 David Warner, 3 Rishabh Pant (capt, wk), 4 Mitchell Marsh, 5 Lalit Yadav, 6 Axar Patel, 7 Rovman Powell, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Khaleel Ahmed/Chetan SakariyaLucknow Super Giants: 1 KL Rahul (capt), 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Marcus Stoinis, 4 Krunal Pandya, 5 Deepak Hooda, 6 Ayush Badoni/Manish Pandey, 7 Jason Holder, 8 Dushmantha Chameera, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Mohsin Khan, 11 Avesh KhanRavi Bishnoi has got the wood over David Warner in T20s•BCCI

Strategy punt

Clarke, Moores combine to seal tight four-wicket win at Trent Bridge

ECB Reporters Network27-May-2022A half-century from Joe Clarke and 47 by Tom Moores saw Notts Outlaws launch their Vitality Blast campaign with a tight four-wicket win over Worcestershire Rapids at Trent Bridge.Seamer Luke Fletcher took a career-best five for 32 as the Rapids were restricted to 164 for nine in their 20 overs, before Clarke hit 52 from 34 balls and Moores clubbed three sixes in his 31-ball assault before Calvin Harrison hit the winning boundary with just two balls to spare.New Zealand big hitter Colin Munro, who spent the 2014 and 2015 seasons at New Road, began his third Blast campaign with the Rapids with 66 off 43 balls – his highest score in their colours.Otherwise, it had looked like a below-par display by the visitors after being asked to bat first, with Ben Cox’s 20 the next highest score, but with two wickets each from Brett D’Oliveira and Yorkshire loanee Matthew Waite the finish was closer than anticipated.Fletcher’s five-wicket haul came after his first three balls of the night had gone for four, six and six at the hands of Ed Pollock. Former England pace bowler Jake Ball, in his first match since last July after recovering from a stress fracture in the back, took two for 24 and skipper Dan Christian two for 22.Worcestershire had 56 runs on the board from their powerplay but lost a third wicket to the last delivery when a slow bouncer from Ball deceived Jack Haynes, who shaped to cut and succeeded only in nicking a catch to ‘keeper Moores. It meant that a dropped catch in the same over, when Haynes was put down at deep point, had cost only one run.The other casualties were Pollock, who attacked Fletcher in characteristic style with four-six-six as the Outlaws stalwart struggled to get his length right, only to hit a low full-toss straight into the hands of Alex Hales at mid-on. D’Oliveira was caught behind off Dan Christian in an attempted scoop.Rapids were 86 for three at halfway. Munro pulled six and cut for four off consecutive balls of Calvin Harrison’s leg spin and after Jake Libby skied Christian to mid-off a lot seemed to rest on the shoulders of the Kiwi.A big chance went begging when Moores missed a good stumping chance off Matt Carter when Munro was on 66, but in the event the error cost nothing as Munro top-edged a slow bouncer from Fletcher and was well caught at short third man, having hit seven fours and two sixes.Cox pinged a six over midwicket in the same over but fell two balls later attempting the same shot as the innings ended badly for the Rapids, who lost five wickets in the last four overs while adding only 28 runs, with Fletcher picking up two more in the final over.After the Outlaws lost Hales cheaply, Ben Duckett cleared the legside boundary twice in his 29 from 14 balls but after nonchalantly lofting the second of those sixes was caught at square leg attempting a repeat, rather throwing away the chance of a big score.At 66 for 2 from the powerplay, Notts were ahead, although they lost Samit Patel for four and Clarke too might feel he should have had more, going after D’Oliveira’s leg spin with fewer than 50 required in the 13th over and paying the price.A bad drop by Haynes at long on off D’Oliveira let Moores escape on 28 and though Moores and Steven Mullaney holed out off Matthew Waite in the penultimate over as the home side threatened to wobble at the death, Harrison found the boundary off Charlie Morris to see them home.

Henry Hunt also struck a century while Aaron Hardie helped complete a demanding chase of 367

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jun-2022Queensland wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson completed an outstanding match for Australia A with an unbeaten century to lead them home in a big run chase against Sri Lanka A.The victory was made more impressive by the fact Australia A were struggling on 69 for 4 having been left a target 367. Firstly, Peirson added 151 with Henry Hunt who made a fine century of his own and then the match-clinching partnership in an unbroken stand of 150 with allrounder Aaron Hardie.Peirson’s unbeaten 128 followed his undefeated 67 in the first innings which helped keep Australia A in the game after the rest of the batting struggled. It also meant he was not dismissed in his three innings during the two-match series having been subbed into the opening match when Travis Head was called into the ODI squad.Peirson had not been an original member of the Australia A squad but was called up when Peter Handscomb left the tour for family reasons.Earlier, Hunt had made 107 from 212 deliveries after the top order had been removed by Lakshitha Rasanjana and Dilshan Madushanka. A notable element of both centuries was the relative lack of boundaries: Hunt hit just three while Peirson’s 189-ball stay only included four in what became a one-day style chase during the final session.The five-wicket victory completed a successful tour for the Australia A which saw them take the four-day series 2-0 following a share of the two one-day matches. The benefit of the concurrent series to the senior tour was also emphasised by the ability to draft players in amid what has been a lengthy injury list during the T20Is and ODIs while giving others preparation.At various times Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Matt Kuhnemann and Scott Boland have moved between the squads. Kuhnemann made his ODI debut and played four matches in the series while Boland, who is part of the Test squad, claimed seven wickets in this match in his first competitive bowl since the end of the Australian season in late March.Left-arm spinner Jon Holland and offspinner Todd Murphy, along with Kuhnemann, will stay on with the Test squad as part of the preparation for the two-match series in Galle. None of them have yet been officially added to the group, but with doubts continuing over Ashton Agar after his side strain there could yet be an opening.