Tag Futebol

He will link up with Ricky Ponting in the US, even as he fights for a spot in Australia’s T20 World Cup squad

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Apr-2024Steven Smith has been confirmed as a signing for Major League Cricket (MLC) franchise Washington Freedom ahead of the second season of the tournament which begins on July 4. The move had been widely tipped, with Smith having signed as a brand ambassador for Freedom last year, and with Australia’s international schedule allowing a clear window for him to participate through July.New South Wales (NSW), Smith’s domestic team in Australia, have a high-performance partnership with Freedom, although NSW coach Greg Shipperd was replaced by Ricky Ponting in February.”I’m super excited about joining the Washington Freedom for season two of the MLC,” Smith said in a video posted on the Freedom’s social media channels. “I can’t wait to meet all of my new team-mates and play in front of some incredible crowds in America. I’m also really looking forward to working with Ricky Ponting again, and his amazing staff.” Freedom recently announced the signing of Rachin Ravindra, the New Zealand allrounder. They retained two overseas players from the 2023 season in Marco Jansen and Akeal Hosein.Smith, who owns an apartment in New York, has previously said it would be “pretty cool” to play in the USA.However, he faces a fight to earn a spot in Australia’s final 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup, which will be held in June, having been unable to play much T20 cricket in recent times. Since his prolific return to the BBL for Sydney Sixers in the 2022-23 season, where he made 346 runs at a strike rate of 174.74, Smith has played two T20Is in India, two matches in last season’s BBL and as many games against New Zealand in February, where he made 11 and 4 while opening the batting.But after the New Zealand series, he said he was relaxed about whichever way the selection call for the T20 World Cup fell, with Australia having to name their initial squad by May 1.Related

• Maxwell signs with Washington in MLC, clarifies that form was the reason for IPL self-omission

• Travis Head joins Steven Smith at Washington Freedom for Major League Cricket 2024

• Ponting confirmed as Washington Freedom head coach in MLC

• Texas Super Kings snap up Mitchell; Shepherd goes to MI New York

• Hundred faces MLC clash as 2024 fixtures are announced

“I think they’re pretty settled up top – to be honest – with [Travis] Head, [David] Warner and [Mitchell] Marsh in the top three,” he had told AAP. “I’m not really sure what [selectors] want to do. I’m not really too fussed either way. If I’m there, I’m there; if I’m not, I’m not.”Smith joins Adam Zampa (Los Angeles Knight Riders), Spencer Johnson (Knight Riders) and Tim David (MI New York) as confirmed Australian signings for the second season of MLC, with more expected to join for the tournament which starts immediately after the T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies ends on June 29.

Ageas Bowl to be renamed as club looks to solar-powered future

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jan-2024Hampshire’s home ground, the Ageas Bowl, is to be known as the Utilita Bowl, after the club agreed a new naming-rights deal with Utilita Energy amid plans to become the “world’s greenest cricket ground”.The venue, which was originally known as the Rose Bowl when it opened in 2001, has since become a major South Coast venue for sport, music and leisure, with its on-site hotels and golf course backing onto a ground that has hosted 50 men’s internationals in the past two decades, including the inaugural World Test Championship final in 2021.The venue is scheduled to host 19 more internationals from 2025 to 2031, including a Men’s Ashes Test in 2027 and a Women’s Ashes Test in 2031, and as the host venue for Southern Brave in the Hundred, the club management recently confirmed they had been in talks with “prospective investors”, including GMR Group, the co-owners of Delhi Capitals.The plans for the ground’s “pro-planet partnership” include the installation of more than 1,000 solar panels, capable of generating around 25 percent of the electricity used in the stadium each year. This, according to a club statement, will save the venue a six-figure sum each year in electricity costs – as well as 80 tonnes of carbon per year, the same level of emissions produced by driving 301,855 miles in the average passenger vehicle.”We’re delighted to partner with Utilita, a Hampshire-based business who share our values and can now help shape our vision of creating the greenest international cricket venue in the world,” David Mann, CEO at Utilita Bowl, said. “This is the dawn of a new era for the venue, and we’re excited by the possibilities this partnership will offer.”The announcement comes in the same week that more than 70 local residents gathered outside the venue to protest against Hampshire’s plans to build a new 171-home development on ground near the local village of West End, including a budget hotel, a wellbeing centre and a care home.

Essex collapse after 103-run powerplay before Masood, Wharton guide Yorkshire home

ECB Reporters Network13-Aug-2023Dom Bess and Matthew Revis produced career-best List A bowling figures to spark an Essex batting collapse and set up Yorkshire Vikings’ first Metro Bank One-Day Cup win of the season.Bess claimed 5 for 37 as Essex subsided from 103 for 0 – underpinned by Michael Pepper’s swashbuckling personal-best 63 from 34 balls – to 221 all out in 36 overs. Revis had earlier sliced through the Essex upper order with 4 for 54.The Vikings reached their target with 25 balls remaining, barely breaking sweat and only five wickets down. Shan Masood, their Pakistani white-ball captain, led the way with a patient 54 from 66 balls, with James Wharton seeing them over the line with an unbeaten 54 from 49 balls.Yorkshire had seen two of their previous three games in the competition abandoned without a ball bowled, and the other lost to Kent by just two runs under DLS. But they bounced back on the same wicket that Essex had won a thriller under the Chelmsford floodlights against Middlesex on Friday.Pepper’s whirlwind innings encompassed the entire powerplay before he fell to the last ball of the 10th over, skying Bess to cover. The wicket had come at a cost to Yorkshire, though, as Pepper had just gone through his repertoire off the previous three balls, sweeping, lofting over midwicket and reverse-sweeping for boundaries.In all, Pepper scored 58 of his 63 runs in boundaries, three of them clearing the ropes without bouncing, two of them in an over from Ben Coad that went for 22 as Essex rattled up three figures inside 10 overs. Das contributed 32 in the opening stand of 103 and tucked into Bess with three fours in a row during a run-a-ball 36.Michael Pepper was released by London Spirit for Essex duty•Getty Images

Tom Westley maintained the tempo in a brisk 17 before he chased a wide delivery from Revis and was caught behind. Three balls later Das drove straight back to the bowler. Luc Benkenstein put on 50 in six overs with Beau Webster, both of them hammering two sixes each as Essex continued to score at around eight an over.But that charge was stifled, starting when Revis claimed his third and fourth wickets in just six balls with Benkenstein clubbing to mid-on and Simon Harmer chipping to short midwicket.Jack Shutt had Charlie Allison lbw sweeping before Bess took centre stage with the final four wickets, three of them falling in six balls as Essex left 14 overs unused, He had Webster caught behind attempting to cut, Jamal Richards patting back a return catch, Will Buttleman beaten by one that kept low and Aron Nijjar playing on.In comparison, Yorkshire’s openers were more circumspect and had just 46 on the board at the end of the powerplay, less than half of Essex’s 10-over total. The pair were together for exactly an hour, having knocked off 80 from the target, before Bean was caught in two minds against Webster’s offspin and the ball was past him before he jerked his bat down.Fellow opener Duke reverse-swept Harmer for the first of four fours in his patient 42 before he was bowled attempting to scoop Nijjar. The spinner then had George Hill snaffled at short midwicket before Harmer dived full-length to his left to take a return catch and dismiss Will Fraine.The Vikings had become becalmed in mid-innings without a boundary for almost 10 overs before Masood added to his earlier six over long leg with successive fours off Nijjar. He put on 68 in 11 overs with Wharton to take Yorkshire within 42 of victory, but was strangled down the leg-side by Westley with Buttleman taking the catch.Wharton took Yorkshire within sight of the target with two sixes in an over from Webster, the second over midwicket to reach his first white-ball fifty from 47 balls.

239-run partnership puts hosts in control at New Road

ECB Reporters Network08-Aug-2020Jake Libby scored a hundred on his home debut for Worcestershire as he and fellow centurion Brett D’Oliveira dominated proceedings after an initial three-wicket burst by Glamorgan paceman Michael Hogan in the Bob Willis Trophy encounter at Blackfinch New Road.The pair came together at 70 for 3 shortly before lunch and Libby, signed during the close season from Nottinghamshire on a three-year contract, completed the sixth first-class ton of his career from 205 balls with 11 boundaries. He ended unbeaten on 142 from 261 deliveries with one six and 14 fours.D’Oliveira went to his century from 183 balls with 14 fours and the stand was worth an unbroken 239 in 64 overs – a new record for Worcestershire’s fourth wicket in matches against Glamorgan. He finished on 123 from 206 balls with one six and 15 boundaries as Worcestershire closed on 309 for 3 from 91 overs.Libby followed on from his 77 in his first appearance for his new county in the eight-wicket success against Gloucestershire at Bristol. He had indicated a willingness to open when he signed for Worcestershire and fill the berth alongside Daryl Mitchell which has often been problematic in recent years.Libby was Nottinghamshire’s leading run-scorer in the County Championship in 2018 but a flux of signings restricted his red ball opportunities last summer at Trent Bridge and he ended his six-year association with the club. Worcestershire are hoping the best years of the 27-year-old lie ahead in the same way as they have recruited Gareth Roderick for next season from Gloucestershire.Libby had one slice of good fortune when dropped on 43 at second slip by Charlie Hemphrey off Timm van der Gugten but otherwise batted with great authority and received a standing ovation from his team-mates when he reached three figures.D’Oliveira also played a sparkling knock which maintained his fine start to the truncated campaign after his unbeaten 91 versus Gloucestershire. He had struck 14 fours before he reached his hundred with a square drive for two off Hogan which then resulted in four overthrows. The 28-year-old was also grateful to Hemphrey for a spilled chance at slip when on 67 as he went to cut spinner Kieran Bull.Hogan had been the star performer during the morning session when two spells produced combined figures of 9-3-15-3. But he was unable to add to his tally during the afternoon or evening session to leave him still one short of 600 first-class wickets in his career.The 39-year-old had dismissed Daryl Mitchell and Tom Fell in his opening spell and returned to account for Jack Haynes shortly before lunch.Worcestershire brought back Dillon Pennington for rested paceman Josh Tongue while Glamorgan recalled Tom Cullen and van der Gugten at the expense of Marchant de Lange and the injured Ruaidhri Smith (hamstring injury).Hogan dismissed Mitchell for a duck with the fourth delivery of the day after he flicked at a delivery down the leg side and keeper Chris Cooke held onto a fine catch away to his left.New batsman Fell had a left off when Cooke failed to hold onto a difficult chance from another testing Hogan delivery – but it did not prove to be a costly miss. On eight, he nicked another ball from Hogan and this time Cooke made no mistake with a sharp low catch.Libby and Jack Haynes attempted to rebuild the innings and experienced few alarms in adding 48 in 16 overs. But then Hogan’s return accounted for Haynes (21) when the England Under-19 batsman went for an ambitious hook and holed out to Dan Douthwaite on the backward square leg boundary.D’Oliveira and Libby batted with plenty of fluency after joining forces. A straight drive for four off van Gugten completed a half century for Libby from 94 balls with seven boundaries. D’Oliveira cut Douthwaite for four to bring up his half century from 78 balls and also the 100 partnership in the 34th over.The fourth-wicket pair both hit two boundaries apiece in successive overs from spinner Bull and accelerated in the final session as the milestones of a personal and team nature were clocked up.

Against Delhi Daredevils at the Feroz Shah Kotla, an injury-stricken Rising Pune Supergiants fell back on the reliable shoulders of Ajinkya Rahane, Rajat Bhatia and a brisk innings from IPL debutant Usman Khawaja to hand the hosts a seven-wicket defeat

The Report by Vishal Dikshit05-May-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAjinkya Rahane scored his fifth half-century of the tournament•BCCI

Rising Pune Supergiants had been marred by four major injuries in the last two weeks and were reeling at the bottom half of the points table with six losses from eight matches. But against Delhi Daredevils at the Feroz Shah Kotla, they fell back on the reliable shoulders of Ajinkya Rahane, Rajat Bhatia and a brisk innings from IPL debutant Usman Khawaja to hand the hosts their second loss in their last four matches.Supergiants first restricted Daredevils to 162 by slowing them down in the middle overs and taking regular wickets. The top order then, led by Rahane’s unbeaten and unflustered 63, made sure the chase, which got slightly tense towards the end, was sealed with five balls to spare.This looked like anyone’s game when Supergiants needed 37 from the last three overs. Captain MS Dhoni, who promoted himself to No. 4, struck a four and a straight six off Mohammed Shami, soon after five wides earlier in the 18th over, to bring the equation down to 17 from 12. Iman Tahir removed Dhoni with the first ball of the 19th over but two lusty sixes from Thisara Perera meant Supergiants needed three from the last over and Rahane finished it with a flicked four.Khawaja and Rahane accelerated in the chase after the third over by mainly targeting the quicks. They saw through Jayant Yadav’s three overs of offspin and reached 50 when the Powerplay ended. Amit Mishra’s googly and thrift then combined to stump Khawaja, who had already been dropped on 8 and had survived run-out chances on 9 and 22, for 30.Rahane continued in his usual risk-free and unruffled fashion and he was hardly troubled by JP Duminy and Carlos Brathwaite in a second-wicket partnership of 45 with Saurabh Tiwary. But Tahir had Tiwary caught at deep midwicket in the 14th over. By then, Supergiants were still 59 adrift with 40 balls remaining.Dhoni smashed his fourth ball for a six and after Supergiants took 13 runs off the next 16 balls, they needed 37 from 18. Duminy gave the ball to Shami who sent five wides way down the leg side on the second ball of the over and once Dhoni took strike, he tilted the momentum back with consecutive boundaries to make it easier for Rahane.Daredevils, who were asked to bat, were largely anchored by their stand-in captain Duminy, as Zaheer Khan had a niggle, but other batsmen could not convert starts into big scores. Once Dinda knocked over Rishabh Pant’s off stump in the third over, Karun Nair and Sanju Samson started scoring boundaries on both sides of the pitch to lift the run rate above eight. But Samson handed a simple catch to midwicket on the last ball of the Powerplay.Duminy, meanwhile, kept the score ticking by scoring at nearly run a ball but was running out of partners. Bhatia took the pace off the ball for another economical spell and Nair soon holed out to sweeper cover, for 32 off 23, while trying to break free.Sam Billings combined with Duminy to quickly score 24 runs out of the 45 they put together in five overs. Billings had struck R Ashwin for two consecutive sixes and posed a big threat before a switch-hit ended his innings. Brathwaite then took on M Ashwin for two more sixes but impressive fielding from Rahane and Tiwary resulted in two run-outs. Pawan Negi’s unbeaten 19 off 12 balls provided Daredevils a late push but it wasn’t enough.

Jim Troughton was perhaps never considered an artist as a batsman but he is now reaching for his easel to illustrate a new children’s book.

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jun-2015Jim Troughton was perhaps never considered an artist as a batsman but he is now reaching for his easel to illustrate a new children’s book. Troughton, who captained Warwickshire to the 2012 County Championship, has worked on The Legend of Morvidus, The Bear the bat and the Ragged Staff.All royalties Troughton, now Warwickshire fielding coach, receives from the book, written by local author Rachael Wong with a foreword by Ian Bell, will be donated to the Warwickshire Cricket Board, who support youth cricket across the county.Morvidus was the ancient Lord of Warwickshire and King of Britain, whose bear and ragged staff badge was adopted by Warwickshire.”Warwickshire has been a huge part of my life and the children who read The Legend of Morvidus will understand exactly why it is such as special club to so many of us,” Troughton, said. “Getting involved in the illustrations of the book has been fantastic and hopefully its publication will not only build a greater bond between youngsters and the club, but also encourage many to get involved in cricket.”Wong added: “Jim has put an enormous amount of time and effort to produce these wonderful illustrations and it has been great to work with him on this project, which will appeal to cricket fans of all ages and hopefully provide more cricketing opportunities for youngsters.”The book is based on how a young boy finds the strength to overcome his nerves ahead of his first cricket match. However, after finding out more about the bravery shown Morvidus, he goes on to excel.”

Under sunny skies on a track good for batting, New Zealand failed to take advantage after winning the toss, allowing a disciplined Sri Lankan attack to first make inroads through pace before capitulating to Herath’s left-arm spin

The Report by Siddhartha Talya17-Nov-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
A three-figure score remained elusive for Brendon McCullum•Associated Press

New Zealand’s troubles against spin refused to leave them. They had few answers against R Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha during the tour of India, and ran into Rangana Herath in Galle in conditions less lethal. Under sunny skies on a track good for batting, New Zealand failed to take advantage after winning the toss, allowing a disciplined Sri Lanka attack to first make inroads through pace before capitulating to Herath’s left-arm spin. The assistance to the bowlers was limited, but a lack of patience from the batsmen combined with some probing bowling to produce enough mistakes that won Sri Lanka wickets and first-day honours.The highlights for New Zealand on a disappointing day were half-centuries to Brendon McCullum and Daniel Flynn, who put together a 90-run stand after three wickets went down in the first hour. But just as the innings was gaining in momentum after lunch, Herath struck to trigger a collapse that was to fetch him his fourth haul of five or more wickets in Galle.McCullum hasn’t scored a Test century in two years, and the previous time Flynn scored a Test fifty was in August 2009. Today, the pair, for the bulk of their stay, batted with determination after having watched Martin Guptill caught driving inside the line, Ross Taylor bowled trying to defend outside the line and Kane Williamson snapped up behind to a needless poke. Shaminda Eranga, who replaced Chanaka Welegedera, picked up two of those wickets, the extra yard of pace, consistency on a good length and a bit of away movement all contributing to his success.As they were trying to rebuild the innings, McCullum and Flynn had some moments of discomfort but were more watchful than their top order team-mates had been, leaving tricky deliveries outside off, covering the line well and defending solidly. And despite the attacking fields set – Flynn had three slips and two gullies at one stage – they were harsh on a steady dose of bad balls. Flynn cashed in on width by collecting boundaries through cover and point, improvised against spin by using the sweep, and pulled the slower of the seamers, Angelo Mathews, through midwicket.The pull was the preferred attacking shot against spin for McCullum, who smashed four boundaries through square leg, one that took him past 4000 runs in Tests and another that sailed over the ropes. He welcomed Eranga in his new spell by cracking him through extra cover and then behind square for fours, and grew confident against Herath by stepping out and launching him for a straight six. But the bowler wasn’t flustered. If the previous ball was tossed up and bowled on a length, he held back the next from round the wicket, and got it to turn away after it angled in, beating McCullum’s bat to crash into off stump.The turn on offer wasn’t alarming but still significant for a first-day pitch, and McCullum’s dismissal together with spin from both ends brought about a stagnation in New Zealand’s innings that had been moving fluently until then. The next 13 overs yielded just 12 runs as well as the wicket of James Franklin, who was trapped in front by Herath. Flynn had occupied one end safely but his patience deserted him at the stroke of tea, when he chased a wide one from Herath to nick a catch to the wicketkeeper.New Zealand have a long, inexperienced lower order whose ability to resist has not inspired much hope in recent times, but the last four wickets did put together 66 runs today. Doug Bracwell was caught at slip off a Herath delivery that kicked from a good length, and Kruger van Wyk, after working hard to get to 28, misjudged the length while trying to sweep and gave Herath his fifth wicket.New Zealand got some encouragement with the early dismissal of the nervous debutant, Dimuth Karunaratne, who was lbw to an inswinger from Southee. The new ball swung around, came perilously close to the outside edge and promised more anxious moments for the Sri Lanka batsmen in the early part of the second innings. But that was a small victory for New Zealand on a day they won a good toss, only to finish with a below-par total.

Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal and former captain Shoaib Malik have been denied permission by the PCB to play league cricket in Bangladesh

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Dec-2010Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal and former captain Shoaib Malik have been denied permission by the PCB to play league cricket in Bangladesh.Following their exclusion from Pakistan’s squad for the tour of New Zealand after the PCB’s Integrity Committee did not “give them clearance”, Akmal and Malik’s requests for no-objection certificates to the board for playing in Bangladesh have also been rejected.”I was very keen to go and play in the Bangladesh league but the board has told us to just focus on playing in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy in domestic cricket,” Kamran told reporters. “I had got a good offer and wanted to go and play there but unfortunately the clearance has not come.”Both had questioned the PCB for leaving them out of the team touring New Zealand. Kamran had been cleared for selection by the ICC after he had written to them asking if he was under investigation for any corruption.Along with Salman Butt, who has been provisionally suspended by the ICC for his alleged involvement in the spot-fixing controversy, Akmal was sent a notice by the ICC during the tour of England in August seeking information about events related to the 2010 World Twenty20 held in the Caribbean in May.Last month, Pakistani news channel Geo TV aired footage featuring alleged bookmaker Mazhar Majeed claiming Kamran was among seven players obeying his orders during matches. Kamran admitted Majeed was his marketing agent but denied that he had been involved in any wrongdoing.Kamran was also dropped following the Sydney Test earlier in the year for his poor wicketkeeping and again during the tour of England in August for the second Test. Malik, like Kamran, has been in good form in the domestic first-class tournament but hasn’t found a place in the national team since August this year.

Andrew Strauss is very comfortable with England’s decision to change their opening batsman and wicketkeeper with the World Cup less than six months away

Andrew McGlashan at Chester-le-Street10-Sep-2010Andrew Strauss is very comfortable with England’s decision to change their opening batsman and wicketkeeper with the World Cup less than six months away, after Steve Davies, the latest man to take the gloves and slot in alongside the captain, hit 87 off 67 balls in the first one-day international against Pakistan at Chester-le-Street.It had looked as though the selectors had committed themselves to Craig Kieswetter after rushing him into the one-day side in Bangladesh earlier this year, then rewarding his World Twenty20 form with the gloves against Australia and Bangladesh this season. However, despite hitting a hundred in his third game in Chittagong, Kieswetter failed to take the chances offered to him, and his form faded alarmingly during the one-dayers in mid-summer.Struggling against Shaun Tait’s 95mph outswingers is one thing, but the alarm bells began ringing when he also struggled against the friendlier offerings of Mashrafe Mortaza and Rubel Hossain. Although he was retained for the two Twenty20s against Pakistan, a pair of skittish innings suggested he was still a long way from top form despite returning to Somerset and hitting 80 against Lancashire.”We felt it needed to be done,” Strauss said of the change. “Steve has been in outstanding form for Surrey, and Craig Kieswetter will tell you himself he did not bat as well as he would have liked in the one-day series against Australia and Bangladesh. We made a change, and at the moment we’re quite happy with that decision.”Davies also fell cheaply in the Twenty20s, twice picking out fielders on the leg side, but in Durham he took his chance to make an impression with a confident innings which set England on their way to 274 for 6 in 41 overs. With just 11 more ODIs between now and the World Cup England don’t have much time to make up their minds over such a key position, but Strauss isn’t concerned.”There are a lot of things that give me headaches. But one of our guys getting 80 off 60 balls is not one of them,” he said. “It was an outstanding innings. He’s been chomping at the bit to get a chance to play, and has had to wait very patiently.”He took his chance with both hands today. He’s got shots all round the ground – which is important in one-day cricket – and he seems to equally play seam and spin pretty well. It was a great start. He’s obviously got a lot to learn at this level, but he’s taken a big step forward today.”Davies knows that his latest England selection will allow him a run of matches at least until the end of the season to prove himself compared to the one-off appearances in a Twenty20 against West Indies in Trinidad, and the Champions Trophy semi-final against Australia last year when Matt Prior was ill.”The two games I played previously, one was when Matty was out and the other was just a one-off Twenty20,” he said. “But I feel this is now my time. It’s a great chance for me, and I’m really happy with the way things went today.”It highlights the depths to which this tour as sunk, and the gulf between the two sides during the Twenty20 matches in Cardiff, that everyone was relishing the ‘contest’ on offer in Durham even though England were always well placed for victory as they defended their total. However, it was an improved display from Pakistan as Shoaib Akhtar bowled quickly and without luck, Kamran Akmal hit a half-century and there was some lusty hitting from Umar Akmal and Asad Shafiq.”It was a definite improvement from the Twenty20 and we looked a much better unit,” said Waqar Younis, the Pakistan coach. “The boys really batted well which is what we’ve been struggling with. Asad Shafiq has just flown in from Sri Lanka and looked pretty good so there are definite positives out of this game. We could probably have managed to keep 275 down to 250 but that’s the way the game is. It was superb cricket from England, they batted superbly up the order and 270 was maybe a touch too many.”And Waqar admitted it will be a challenge for his team to overcome a confident home side. “England, no doubt, are playing superb cricket in Twenty20 as well as one-day cricket,” he said. “They’re a much better unit. It will take a special performance to beat them, but we looked pretty good and close to beating them. We just need a bit of momentum to go our way and hopefully in the next couple of ODIs if things fall right we can manage to beat them.”

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.