All posts by n8rngtd.top

The opener played two Tests when he was far from fit but is confident ahead of his comeback for New South Wales

Andrew McGlashan03-Mar-2021David Warner has conceded that he rushed back too soon during the Test series against India following the groin injury he suffered during the ODIs. Warner made himself available for the last two Tests in Sydney and Brisbane when he was clearly significantly hampered by the injury and it has since meant another lengthy rehab.Speaking on commentary last week, Warner said how he expected to feel the effects of the injury for up to nine months but will make his return to action this week for New South Wales – firstly in the one-day competition before the Sheffield Shield against South Australia – and is confident he won’t do any further damage.Related

• Warner expects to live with pain of groin injury for most of the year

• Warner returns to New South Wales squad

• Green and Head hit thrilling tons before SA collapse decides run fest

“I made the call to play those Test matches, felt like I needed to be out there and help the guys,” he told reporters at Sydney airport before flying to Adelaide. “Looking back in hindsight I probably wouldn’t have done that, where I am with the injury it put me back a little bit.”If I’m thinking about myself I probably would have said no, but I did what I felt was best for the team and me being out there opening the batting was I felt the best thing for the team.”Warner added that the injury, which involved a tear in the abdomen plus two in his groin, was “horrible” and that he’d “never felt anything like it” but the stint on the sidelines has allowed him to spend time with the family – although even what he was able to do with his children was restricted by the injury – and given him the chance to reflect on where his career stands.Australia won’t have any more Test cricket until late in the year, unless England win the final Test against India to allow them to sneak a World Test Championship final berth, but Warner still faces a busy period of white-ball action following this spell in domestic cricket for New South Wales.He will head to the IPL in early April and after that Australia are scheduled for a white-ball tour of West Indies although this has yet to be confirmed. Warner recently secured a deal for the Hundred in England, which runs for a month from mid-July, then Australia are set to have tours of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh before the T20 World Cup in India in October which follows directly into the next home summer that includes a five-Test Ashes series.Warner has previously spoken about potentially reevaluating his workload around the three formats but currently has his sights set on the 2023 50-over World Cup in India which follows back-to-back T20 World Cups – the second of which will be hosted in Australia in 2022 – and is eager to play as much Test cricket as possible.”I’m not thinking about the end date at all, for me it’s about the 2023 World Cup,” he said. “We’ve got a good foundation with the white-ball team, we’ve got a good opportunity to play that and win in India. The core of the team with the age group it will probably be the last for a few of us. Then obviously it’s a given that you have to call it time unless you are going to play to 41 – it’s time for the new guys to come through.”From a Test cricket point of view I’d love to play as long as I can. We’ve got a lot of cricket coming up in that context after this year so for me it’s about staying fit and healthy and trying to manage my family time with cricket.”

Players lose 100% of their match fees for falling five overs short; Travis Head fined 15% of his match fee for use of an audible obscenity

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Dec-2021The England players have been fined 100% of their match fees, and team has also been docked five World Test Championship (WTC) points for maintaining slow over rates in the first Ashes Test in Brisbane, which Australia won by nine wickets on Saturday. Travis Head, Player of the Match for his 152 in Australia’s first innings, has also been fined 15% of his match fees for the use of an audible obscenity during the gameThe WTC playing conditions state that teams would be docked one point – and each player 20% of their match fees – for each over they fall short of after adjusting for time allowances, and David Boon, the match referee for the game, adjudicated that England had been short by five overs at the end of the match. That added up to the five points and the team’s entire match fees.Related

• The problem with Ben Stokes' problem with over-rates penalties

• England docked a further three WTC points for slow over rate in Brisbane

• Root: 'We are not scared of a challenge'

• Stats – England's win drought in Australia

Head was deemed to have used inappropriate language while batting, when he was beaten by a Ben Stokes delivery, which led to the fine and one demerit point, for Head’s first offence in a 24-month period.Head had not been part of the playing XI after the second Test against India at the start of the year, but came back strongly, hitting an aggressive 152 in Australia’s first innings, after England had been bowled out for just 147.England were better in their second innings, putting up a total of 297 built around a third-wicket partnership of 162 between Dawid Malan (82) and Joe Root (89), but another collapse left Australia with just 20 to win the Test, which they did for the loss of Alex Carey, who was opening in place of the injured David Warner.Australia now go into the second Test, scheduled to start in Adelaide on December 16, with a 1-0 lead.

Warner will be able to apply to a three-person review panel to have his lifetime leadership ban modified

Alex Malcolm21-Nov-2022David Warner can now formally apply to have his lifetime leadership ban modified after Cricket Australia’s board amended its code of conduct policy.Warner was previously unable to hold a captaincy position in Australian cricket after being handed a lifetime ban as a result of 2018’s ball-tampering scandal and under the previous code of conduct, players do not have the right to have a sanction reviewed once it has been accepted.But the CA board requested a code of conduct review at the October board meeting to be conducted by CA’s head of integrity Jacqui Partridge.CA released a statement on Monday outlining that the recommendations of that review have been accepted and granted formal approval, with Warner now able to apply to have his ban modified.Related

• Warner – 'I'm not a criminal. You should get the right of an appeal'

• Warner eyes Test retirement within a year

• Warner's captaincy ban step nearer to being overturned

“Under the changes, players and support staff can now apply to have long-term sanctions modified,” the statement said.”Any applications will be considered by a three-person Review Panel, comprising independent Code of Conduct Commissioners, which must be satisfied that exceptional circumstances exist to justify modifying a sanction.”These circumstances and considerations will include whether the subject of the sanction has demonstrated genuine remorse; the subject’s conduct and behaviour since the imposition of the sanction; whether rehabilitation programs have been completed undertaken (if applicable) and the length of time that has passed since the sanction was imposed and whether sufficient time has passed to allow for reform or rehabilitation.”The code of conduct states this process: ‘Acknowledges that Players and Player Support Personnel are capable of genuine reform or rehabilitation and is intended to provide the Player or Player Support Personnel with an opportunity to resume their previously held positions or responsibilities in specific circumstances.'”The hearing of an application is not an appeal, or a review of the original sanction imposed.”Warner, 36, has been keen on returning to a leadership role having captained in the IPL since his CA leadership ban. He spoke recently about being keen to help Sydney Thunder in a leadership capacity on his return to the BBL.Warner also hinted that he was keen to play international cricket through until the 2024 T20 World Cup, with Australia likely to need a new T20I captain for that tournament.

Marsh confirms he is not ready to play yet but should be right for Australia’s World Cup opener “barring any setbacks”

Alex Malcolm02-May-2024Australia’s new T20I captain Mitchell Marsh has confirmed his recovery from a hamstring “is on track” despite initially taking longer than expected, although he admits he can’t afford a setback in the build-up in Australia’s first World Cup match against Oman on June 6 in Barbados.Marsh has not played since his last appearance for Delhi Capitals in the IPL on April 3 due to a right hamstring strain. He was flown home from the IPL to Perth on April 12 to do his initial recovery with Australia team physiotherapist Nick Jones, who is also based in Perth.Two weeks later, Capitals confirmed he would miss the remainder of the IPL after Marsh’s initial recovery from the injury had taken longer than anticipated.Related

• McDonald confident Marsh will be fit to bowl for start of the World Cup

• 'Where do you fit him in?' – Hazlewood says Fraser-McGurk's time will come

• Mitchell Marsh to miss remainder of IPL 2024 with hamstring injury

• Takeaways: Why Fraser-McGurk and Smith missed out on T20 World Cup selection

• Fraser-McGurk and Smith left out of Australia's T20 World Cup squad

Speaking in Perth on Thursday after being confirmed as Australia’s captain for the World Cup, Marsh said he was still working back to full fitness but was confident he would be right for the World Cup.”The hammy is good, it’s coming along really well,” Marsh said. “It’s pretty much exactly where we want it to be. It’s one of those things. Just got to get it right over the next three weeks and get on the plane.”If we had to play tomorrow, I would be in a bit of trouble. Still a couple of weeks away, and the timing probably sits perfectly barring any setbacks.”Marsh’s hamstring concern is part of the reason why Cameron Green has been included in the 15-man squad ahead of the in-form Jake Fraser-McGurk. If Marsh needs to play as a batter only or needs to be managed early in the tournament and anything were to happen to the other injury-prone pace-bowling allrounder in Marcus Stoinis, Australia would not have had a pace-bowling option to bat in their top seven.”Anytime there’s a World Cup team picked, there’s only 15 and some guys have to miss out,” Marsh said. “But I think we’ve got a really great squad that we’ve picked, we’ve got a lot of versatility, a lot of experience. And that brings a lot of excitement.”Australia T20I captain Mitchell Marsh poses in their new jersey for the T20 World Cup•Cricket Australia

Australia are holding two separate training camps in Brisbane across each of the next two weeks for the players who aren’t playing in the IPL. Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa, Ashton Agar, Josh Inglis and Marsh will head there to get some nets and fitness preparation done before heading to the Caribbean. Marsh is a chance to be at both camps but would likely be on light duties for the first one. Others who missed out on the squad but could still be taken as a travelling reserve, including Xavier Bartlett, are also likely to be involved. Bartlett is set to head to England for the T20 Blast at the end of May.Australia’s other major fitness concern heading to the World Cup is David Warner, who is still recovering from some deep bone bruising in his finger after copping a blow on the hand while batting against Lucknow Super Giants on April 12. He missed a game and then returned to play against Sunrisers Hyderabad but was still experiencing soreness and hasn’t played since. It is understood he could return to batting later this week but Australia’s chairman of selectors George Bailey was unsure when he would be pain-free again.”It’s still causing him a fair bit of discomfort,” Bailey said on Wednesday. “So obviously we’ll monitor that. Hopefully, he can get back and play a couple more games in the IPL to finish off, but I think it’s just one of those ones, just some deep-seated bone bruising and is going to take a little bit of time.”But I don’t think anyone’s going to be able to give him a really definitive answer on how long that’ll be.”Marsh has backed Warner to be a vital cog in Australia’s campaign in what will be his swansong from international cricket after retiring from Test and ODI cricket earlier this year.”It’s been a long last hurrah, hasn’t it for Davey?” Marsh said. “We’re always really excited to have him in the team. Just the experience that he brings. I think if we look back at his career. There’s been so many big moments that you need your big experienced players to stand up and Davey has always been one of those. So we’re lucky to have him.”

He says the Dhaka Test against South Africa – which is still awaiting CSA’s security clearance – will be his last

Mohammad Isam26-Sep-2024Shakib Al Hasan has said that the Dhaka Test against South Africa in October will be his last. Speaking to the media ahead of the Kanpur Test against India, he also said the 2024 T20 World Cup, which was in June, was his final T20 assignment for Bangladesh, meaning his only international appearances going forward will be in ODIs.The series against South Africa is still tentative, with Cricket South Africa yet to give it security clearance after inspections of the venue earlier this week. That follows on from the unrest in Bangladesh in July and August in which several hundreds of people were killed. Shakib was a member of parliament of the Awami League-led government, against whom the protests were directed. Since the fall of the Awami League-led government on August 5, Shakib has faced complications and has not been in the country.”I am available for the South Africa series but since there’s a lot happening back home, naturally not everything depends on me,” Shakib said. “I have discussed my plans about Test cricket with the BCB. Especially this series and the home series. I was thinking that it could be my last Test series.”I have told [BCB president] Faruque [Ahmed] and the selectors. If there’s a chance and if I can play, my last Test will be in Mirpur. The board is trying to ensure that I can play and feel safe, at the same time that I can leave the country without a hitch.””I am a citizen of Bangladesh, so I shouldn’t have any problem going back to Bangladesh,” he said. “My concern is my safety and security in Bangladesh. My close friends and family members are concerned. I hope things are getting better. There should be a solution to it.”If the South Africa series does not go ahead, this Test in Kanpur, starting on Friday, will be his last – but the South Africa Tests are expected to go ahead.Shakib said that the recent weeks have been difficult for him, particularly when a murder case was filed against him. “It has been tough for me. Only Allah knows how I am focused on the game. Even I don’t know. There is a case against me. Everyone has the rights. You all know what type of case it is or where I was and what I was doing at that time. I don’t want to talk much about it.”Shakib however said that the decision to quit Tests and T20Is wasn’t an emotional one. He said that he discussed the matter with BCB president Faruque Ahmed and the Gazi Ashraf Hossain-led selection committee in recent days. He said that this, at age 37, is the right time for him to leave the two formats.”I am not hurt or disappointed. I think it is the right time to move on, and create a place for the new players. I have also informed the selectors and board president that I should move on from T20Is as well. I think I have played my last T20 in the World Cup [in June]. I won’t be playing the upcoming T20 series [against India and West Indies] where the new players have opportunities.”It is the best chance to take a look at new players. It will be a good move to build the team towards the 2026 T20 World Cup. We have taken this as a collective decision.”I am happy with the decision. I don’t have any regrets in my life. I have enjoyed my cricket career. I think it is the right time for me and Bangladesh cricket. The board president and selectors feel that it is the right time too.”Shakib leaves behind a rich legacy in both formats. He is the only cricketer in T20Is to score more than 2,500 runs and take 100-plus wickets. At the time of his retirement, he is the third-highest wicket-taker in the format.Shakib’s Test numbers have been invaluable to Bangladesh. He has 242 wickets and 4,600 runs in his 70 Tests leading into Kanpur. Currently he is among five cricketers – Jacques Kallis, Kapil Dev, Daniel Vettori and Ian Botham being the others – with 240 wickets and 4,500 runs.He was the No. 1 allrounder in both formats for many seasons too, and captained Bangladesh in both.Shakib will continue playing T20 franchise leagues.

He led KKR to the title last year and Mumbai to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy earlier this season

Nagraj Gollapudi12-Jan-2025India and Mumbai batter Shreyas Iyer, the second-most expensive player in the player auction, has been appointed captain by Punjab Kings for IPL 2025. The announcement was made on Sunday night on reality TV show Big Boss, where Iyer appeared as a guest alongside PBKS team-mates Yuzvendra Chahal and Shashank Singh.Related

• Pant unveiled as LSG captain, says he will give the franchise '200%'

• IPL 2025: Rishabh Pant set to be named Lucknow Super Giants captain

• Ponting on his PBKS role: 'Not going to accept mediocrity'

• Shreyas gets 26.75 crore from PBKS

• Ponting on Iyer: 'He'll be a great leader for our team'

“I am honoured that the team has reposed its faith in me. I am looking forward to working again with coach [Ricky] Ponting,” Iyer was quoted as saying in a release. “The team looks strong, with a great mix of potential and proven performers. I hope to repay the faith shown by the management to deliver our maiden title.””Shreyas has a great mind for the game. His proven capabilities as captain will enable the team to deliver,” PBKS head coach Ricky Ponting said. “Shreyas has a great mind for the game. His proven capabilities as captain will enable the team to deliver. I have enjoyed my time with Iyer in the past in IPL, and I look forward to working with him again. With his leadership and the talent in the squad, I am excited about the seasons ahead.”Iyer, 30, is among only eight captains to have won the IPL, a feat he accomplished by leading Kolkata Knight Riders, whom he led from 2022 to 2024, to the title last year. PBKS, who had the strongest purse at the mega auction for IPL 2025, outbid Delhi Capitals, another franchise on the lookout for a captain, to bag Iyer for INR 26.75 crore (USD 3.18 million approx). For a few minutes, Iyer was the most expensive player in IPL history. But Lucknow Super Giants picked Rishabh Pant for INR 27 crore (USD 3.21 mn approx) to make him the most expensive buy at an IPL auction.PBKS will be Iyer’s third franchise in the IPL after DC, with whom he made his debut in 2015, and KKR. Midway through IPL 2018, DC appointed Iyer as their captain and made the playoffs in each of the next three seasons including a runners-up finish in 2020. He also led Mumbai to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy this season, and finished fourth among the tournament’s leading run-getters with 345 runs, including a century, in nine innings at a strike rate of 188.52 and an average of over 49.

Iyer will reunite with former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, who was appointed PBKS head coach for four years. The pair had a successful partnership as coach-captain for DC, which Ponting said was a key factor behind PBKS bidding so fiercely for Iyer at the auction.Ponting also dropped strong hints about appointing Iyer as captain after the mega auction. “I wanted to work with Shreyas,” Ponting told after the auction. “I’ve worked with him before and he is a great guy and a great player. He’ll be a great leader for our team if we decide to go that way, which I’m pretty sure we probably will. And obviously, he was the championship-winning captain last year. So there are lots of great things about bringing him to Punjab.”

Displaces Hazlewood at the top of the ICC rankings following his ten-wicket haul at the Asia Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Sep-2023Mohammed Siraj is back as the No. 1 ODI bowler in the world following his spectacular show in the Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka on Sunday. This is the second time Siraj has been at the top of the table, having previously held the position between January and March 2023 before being displaced by Josh Hazlewood.Siraj has climbed eight positions to the summit of the rankings following his Asia Cup haul of ten wickets at an average of 12.20. The highlight of that performance was the spell of 6 for 21 that dismantled Sri Lanka for 50 all out in the final. That spell – “like a dream”, according to Siraj – included a four-wicket over, a feat only achieved three times in men’s ODI history before.

Full rankings tables

• Click here for the full team rankings

• Click here for the full player rankings

Performances at the Asia Cup also took Afghanistan spinners Mujeeb Ur Rahman (No. 4) and Rashid Khan (No. 5) into the top five. They took two wickets apiece in the group stage. Hazlewood (second) and Trent Boult (third) complete the top five.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Kuldeep Yadav, who took nine wickets at the Asia Cup with an average of 11.44 has dropped three places from sixth to ninth. Keshav Maharaj moves up from 25th to 15th after helping South Africa complete a 3-2 turnaround from 0-2 down against Australia. He took eight wickets in the series at 16.87 apiece, including 4 for 33 in the series decider.

Klaasen breaks into top ten

South Africa batter Heinrich Klaasen produced a blistering 83-ball 174 against Australia in the fourth ODI, and as a result has jumped twenty places to No. 9 on the ICC rankings for ODI batters. It was a record-breaking innings in the sense that no batter has ever scored as many runs in an ODI innings at the strike rate of Klaasen’s (204) previously.Over in England, Dawid Malan has moved to a career-best 13th in ODIs after top-scoring (277 runs) in the home ODI series against New Zealand. He averaged 92.33 with a strike rate of 105.72 and is currently the highest-ranked England batter. Ben Stokes jumped up to 36th after his blistering 182 at the Oval. The top three positions remain with Babar Azam, Shubman Gill and Rassie Van der Dussen following the latest update.

Commanding day’s batting as Foxes build on confidence from first-round victory

ECB Reporters Network13-Apr-2023Leicestershire 243 for 2 (Ackermann 79*, Hill 75*, Budinger 72) vs Derbyshire Half-centuries from Sol Budinger, Lewis Hill and Colin Ackermann saw Leicestershire lay the foundations for a big first innings score after being put in on a shortened first day of their LV Insurance county championship fixture against Derbyshire.Bowling first was an understandable decision on the part of Derbyshire skipper Leus du Plooy after play could not start until early afternoon due to a wet outfield at Grace Road.But although Leicestershire lost Rishi Patel for just 8, caught at second slip by Wayne Madsen after edging a Ben Aitchison delivery that may have bounced slightly more than the batter expected, Budinger had already shown there were no demons in the pitch.The former Notts batter hit three fours in the first over he faced and continued to go for his shots, thumping eleven fours and a six in going to a first-class best 72 before top-edging an attempted pull to mid-on.Hill, playing rather more circumspectly, was then joined by Ackermann in putting together an unbroken partnership of 141 for the third wicket, offering no chances as the visitors toiled in a bitterly cold wind.Both sides could be said to have come into this match with something to prove. Leicestershire that their remarkable win against Yorkshire last week – the county’s first first-class victory at Headingley since 1910 – was a genuine indication of progress, as opposed to the flash in the pan cynics suggested: Derbyshire that their unexpected defeat at Worcestershire was a consequence of over-confidence as much as under-performance, and therefore correctable.A wet – in some places close to muddy – outfield meant that although the morning was dry and sunny, no play was possible throughout the morning session. Umpires Tom Lungley and Neil Pratt eventually decided play could commence at 2.15, and though rain clouds skirted the ground throughout the rest of the day, 63 overs proved possible.Budinger, playing only his ninth first-class innings, hit the ball wonderfully cleanly from the off, and with Hill playing an anchor role at three, Ackermann also unfurled a series of fine drives and cuts, passing 50 for the third time in as many innings this season.With Peter Handscomb, Wiaan Mulder and Rehan Ahmed – who before play received his full Leicestershire cap, the first Foxes player do so after being capped for England – among those to come, the home side will already be hoping to build a big enough score to bat only once in the match.

Though his reputation may be that of a dasher, there have been few batsmen in the history of the game as adept as Virender Sehwag when it comes to building on a start

Cricinfo staff24-Nov-2009There are few batsmen who possess the extra gear that Virender Sehwag does. On the first morning at Green Park, he was initially circumspect, having been dropped off the third ball he faced. There was some early swing for Chanaka Welegedara and there were no wildly adventurous swipes against Angelo Mathews either. Off the first 20 balls that he faced, Sehwag made just four, leaving Gautam Gambhir to keep the scorers busy. From the first 11 overs, India made 31. Hardly slothful, but no run-riot either.In a trice though, the mood changed. A cover drive and a crunching shot through midwicket off Mathews were a warning sign, and Sri Lankan heads would surely have dropped when he drove the same bowler down the ground twice in his next over. Eye in and feet moving, by Sehwag standards, the spinners then had no chance. In the next 30 overs, 201 runs came in a near-cascade.Ajantha Mendis, scourge of India in a Test series last year, was thrashed for 35 from 19 balls. Muttiah Muralitharan and Rangana Herath fared little better. If not for a fine catch from Tillakaratne Dilshan, the damage would have been far greater than 417 runs. Having scored 233 from the 41.2 overs that Sehwag spent at the crease, India then managed only another 184 from 48.4 overs. Still great going by Test-match standards, but a near-crawl compared to Sehwag’s pace.It obviously helped to have Gambhir at the other end, enjoying the sort of purple patch that batsmen experience only once or twice in the careers. For most of the morning and afternoon, he matched Sehwag stroke for stroke, throttling back only once the run-rate climbed near to a run a ball.As with most Sehwag innings, there was no dearth of the audacious. Herath was clubbed to the midwicket boundary even when he pitched well outside off stump, and Mendis found one sailing well over the man at long-on. The old cliches about giving the first hour to the bowler and battening down the hatches when in sight of an interval are all humbug as far as he’s concerned.By Sehwag’s standards, the past 18 months had been lean ones. Though he never struggled to the extent that his place in the side was questioned, the big booming centuries that had marked him out as a new-ball bowler’s worst nightmare were conspicuous by their absence. This was his first three-figure knock after that dazzling unbeaten 201 in Galle, though it would be foolish in the extreme to judge him by weight of hundreds alone.There would have no dramatic final-day victory for a grieving nation to celebrate in Chennai last December if not for his breathtaking 68-ball 83 on the penultimate evening. He also contributed 90s to both Indian victories over Australia. But the defining innings, the full-day flail that had so enervated the South Africans [Chennai] and the Pakistanis [Multan and Lahore, to pick out just two] was missing.That came as a surprise to many. Though his reputation may be that of a dasher, there have been few batsmen in the history of the game as adept as Sehwag when it comes to building on a start. Before his dismissal for 131 today, his previous 11 centuries had all been scores in excess of 150. And while the impetuous swipe at the MCG in 2003 when on 195 is still remembered by many, he plays according to the situation far more often than people give him credit for.In that context, his match-saving innings in Adelaide just under two years ago probably has pride of place. Having just negotiated a path back into the XI, it was a big match for Sehwag. And after scoring big in the first innings, India were in real danger of defeat on the final day. But Sehwag knuckled down to play what was, for him, a sedate innings. By the time he departed, after 151 from 236 balls, the game was safe.His strike-rate that day was 63.98, and no other figure tells you as much about the man. Consider the other aggressive opening batsmen of the age. Chris Gayle scores his runs at 57.46 per hundred balls, Andrew Strauss at 49.49. For Matthew Hayden, who loved nothing more than to dominate the bowlers, the figure was 60.10. For Graeme Smith, the number is 61.2. Sanath Jayasuriya’s was 65. And Sehwag? A staggering 79.26.To put that into perspective, just compare him to Adam Gilchrist, widely accepted as the most destructive batsman of this era. Gilchrist never had to confront early swing or seam movement, and he could often take toll of attacks demoralised by those that had gone before. Yet, his strike-rate (81.95) is only marginally better than Sehwag’s.It’s too early to pass judgement on this pitch, but Sri Lanka will rue that Prasanna Jayawardene dive across first slip in the day’s opening over, and also the lack of discipline from the bowlers, who bowled far too many deliveries on the batsmen’s pads and wide of off stump. The gains of the Motera have been wiped out in the space of three sessions and the next four days could be one long haul to safety. They can console themselves only with the thought that they aren’t the first team to suffer so at Sehwag’s hands. And they certainly won’t be the last.

India’s coach praised the contributions of the middle order, and was also pleased with how the team coped with Hardik Pandya’s absence

Shashank Kishore11-Nov-2023Rahul Dravid, the India coach, has all but ruled out the possibility of making wholesale changes to the XI for their final World Cup league game against Netherlands, even though they are guaranteed to finish on top of the points table. India have played the same XI for their previous four games, the last of which was against South Africa on November 5.”I mean, honestly, we’ve had six days off from the last game,” Dravid said on the eve of the match in Bengaluru. “So, we’re pretty well rested. We’ve got one game before the semi-final and the guys are in good shape. That’s all I’ll say without giving away much.”Dravid was asked whether someone like Prasidh Krishna, an injury replacement for Hardik Pandya, could get a chance just to have him ready in case he’s needed in a knockout game.”So now at this stage, it’s about just focusing on getting the guys who you think are going to be playing in the XI in the best possible space mentally and physically, to be able to play that semi-final and, hopefully, the final if we earn it,” he said. “So that will be the single-pointed thinking. There are times for larger-picture thinking and there are times for narrow-focus thinking in my opinion and now’s the time for narrow-focus thinking if everyone is fit.”Dravid went to great lengths to underline the efforts of India’s middle order, considering two of the three players – Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul – were on the mend from serious injuries and missed much of India’s run-up to the World Cup.”Yeah, it’s terrific,” Dravid said. “I answered this question if I remember in Chennai. I said middle orders are going to be very, very important in a tournament like this. How well your middle order performs in, sometimes, very tricky conditions and challenging situations under pressure is actually going to probably decide how well you do.”While our top order also performed exceptionally well, I think our middle order has played very critical roles. Sometimes you can’t judge them by sheer numbers. It’s obvious that when you look at a leaderboard of scores and runs, it’ll always be someone in the top three. I mean, it’s pretty obvious. You look at that whole board and it’s all filled with guys from any country who are in the top three.”That only gives you one half of the picture, but it’s actually some of those 30s, 40s, [that are] critical knocks. I can look back on this whole campaign and look at the contributions of our middle order and they’ll come only in sort of spurts, or one knock here, or two knocks there, and somebody done something there, or a Shreyas, or a KL, or a Surya’s knock here, and Jaddu’s [Ravindra Jadeja] important knock in Dharamsala.Rahul Dravid had praise for the contributions of India’s middle-order batters during the World Cup•Getty Images

“And you can look at a lot of these small, small things, and actually that’s what really gives you those ticks, or gives you those wins at the end of the day. So, it’s a combination of things. And touch wood, our middle order has been truly exceptional in this tournament.”Dravid was also pleased with the “systems” and “processes” India have put in place at the World Cup, especially for contingencies, like the plan they adopted after Hardik Pandya’s injury. Until then, India were playing with another allrounder – Shardul Thakur or R Ashwin – at No. 8 for batting depth.Following Hardik’s injury, India started playing with only five bowlers and they haven’t missed the sixth option, with Mohammed Shami coming into the team and completing a formidable attack comprising Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav.”I think when you’re playing big tournaments like this, you want your best players playing. Unfortunately, at the T20 World Cup [last year], we probably didn’t have a little bit of that luck, especially when you lose players like Bumrah and Jaddu. At the World Test Championship, we missed a couple of guys. Even here, to be honest, we have missed a couple of guys, one before the tournament and one during the tournament. But we’ve been able to respond really well so far. And I think that’s been, again, something I’m very proud of.”We had a balance. We’ve structured the whole thing around certain things. But when that hasn’t happened, we’ve had the ability, the skill, and the mental fortitude to be able to bounce back, and to be able to still compete and do really well. So yeah, I think credit to the guys, credit to, like I said, I think even the NCA for all the work that they do.”A lot of the stuff is behind the scenes. People don’t get to see it. People don’t see it. It’s not easy. Sometimes people think, oh, it’s easy to get injured players playing. Again, it’s not that simple. You know, it’s easy to get people playing when you have an injury in normal life and getting back on the park and getting back to normal office work is easy, but getting people back to professional sport is not easy. So well done to everyone so far.”