KKR off to winning start in VIVO IPL 2021

 

KKR have begun this year's VIVO IPL campaign with a win against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Eoin Morgan's men winning their opening fixture by 10 runs at The Chepauk Stadium in Chennai.

Sunrisers lead by David Warner won the toss and elected to put KKR into bat. Shubman Gill and in particular Nitish Rana got KKR of to a solid start reaching 50 without loss after 5.4 overs, Rana scoring 34 of those with strong shots through extra cover and square of the wicket on both sides. SRH made the breakthrough in the 7th over when Warner introduced World No1 Rashid Khan to the attack, he produced a beauty of a googly to send Gill packing for 15. Rana was joined in the middle by Rahul Tripathi and the pair really set about the SRH bowlers, Rana went to 50 from 37 balls with 8 fours and an Unacademy maximum. 100 was on the board after 11.3 overs and the pair took their partnership to 50 from just 27 balls, both men adding 25. Tripathi then went to his own 50 with 5 fours and two sixes. A score around 200 looked on the cards at this stage but Mohammed Nabi returned to take two wickets in the 18th over and KKR were in danger of throwing away their good work with the bat. Dinesh Karthick however plundered 22 from 9 balls to take KKR to 187-6 from their 20 overs and leave SRH with a difficult chase.

That chase got off to the worst possible start as David Warner was caught behind by Karthik off Prasidh Krishna in the 2nd over to leave SRH 10/1. Worse followed in the third over as Shakib Al-Hasan bowled Wriddhiman Saha with his first ball of his 2nd spell with KKR to leave SRH 10/2 and facing an uphill struggle. Jonny Bairstow and Manish Pandey recovered to leave SRH 35/2 after the powerplay but with much still to do. Bairstow who was in red hot form during England's ODI series against India continued in the same vein with boundaries to all corners and he raced to 50 from just 32 balls with 5 fours and 3 sixes. KKR were becoming desperate for a breakthrough and wasted their review on a poor LBW shout that had been turned down, but it was the reintroduction of Aussie paceman Pat Cummins that broke the partnership as Bairstow slapped a short wide delivery straight to Rana at gully to expose SRH's weak middle order although at 102/3 they were still in with a shout. Nabi and Vijay Shankar made double figure scores but SRH were falling behind the required run rate and were left needing 23 from their final over. Pandey ended the match with a six to end 61* from 44 and Abdul Samad 19* from 8 with two maximums, but their efforts were in vein as KKR collected a deserved win.

Scorecard

Greg Griffiths

11 April 2021

3rd Test Preview

Following India's crushing 317 run win in the 2nd Test at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai the action moves to Ahmedabad for the Day/Night 3rd Test.

The 110,000 capacity Sardar Patel Stadium,
Motera, Ahmedabad.

England are rumoured to have dropped Rory Burns and Dan Lawrence in favour of Zak Crawley and Jonny Bairstow, although it is unclear if Bairstow or Crawley will open and which will replace Lawrence at 3.

Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Ollie Pope will stay at 4, 5 and 6 with Ben Foakes remaining as wicket keeper. The bowling attack is likely to feature Jimmy Anderson, Jofra Archer and Jack Leach and they will be joined by two of Chris Woakes, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad and Olly Stone.

India are likely to make just the one change from Chennai with Jasprit Bumrah replacing Kuldeep Yadav. Ishant Sharma is expected to make his 100th appearance for India in Test cricket.

The wicket at the impressive Motera Stadium is expected to be less spin friendly than the wicket for the 2nd Test in Chennai but it is believed it will still offer assistance for the slower bowlers. 

The SG pink ball will be used for only the 2nd time, following it's use in the Day/Night Test between India & Bangladesh at Eden Gardens, Kolkata in 2019.

The wicket for the 3rd Test

Expected Line-ups

India

Rohit Sharma

Shubman Gill

Che Pujura

Virat Kohli (c)

Ajinkya Rahane

Rishabh Pant (wk)

Ravi Ashwin

Axar Patel

Ishant Sharma

Mohammad Siraj

Jasprit Bumrah

England

Jonny Bairstow

Dom Sibley

Zak Crawley

Joe Root (c)

Ben Stokes

Ollie Pope

Ben Foakes (wk)

Chris Woakes

Jofra Archer

Jack Leach

Jimmy Anderson

Officials

Anil Chaudhary

Nitin Menon

TV Umpire - Chettithody Shamshuddin

Reserve Umpire - KN Ananthapadmanabhan

Match Referee - Javagal Srinath

Betting Odds

India 1/2

England 11/4

Draw 13/2

TV Coverage

Channel 4 0830-1700 GMT

Greg Griffiths

23 Feb 2021

Weird and Wonderful Stats

Cricket is a game that is statisticians joy, so just for fun below are 25 of the weird and wonderful one's that the game has thrown up over the years

1. Alec Stewart was born 8.4.63 and scored 8463 Test Runs for England.

2. Brian Lara is the only man to set the World Record for highest score 375* lose the record and then get it back 400*, both times against England at the same venue.

3. Joe Root is the only man to score a double century in his 100th Test.

4. Ricky Ponting is the only man to score twin centuries in his 100th Test.

5. Peter Siddle is the only man to take an International hat-trick on his Birthday.

6. Sir Garfield Sobers maiden Test century was his then World Record score of 365*. His previous best in Test cricket was 80.

7. Chris Gayle is the only player to hit the 1st ball of a Test match for 6.

8. Mahela Jayawardene is the only player to have scored a century in a World Cup Semi Final and Final.

9. Virender Sehwag's highest score in each format ends in 19. Tests 319, ODI 219, T20 119.

10. Rahul Dravid & Sachin Tendulkar both scored 7 centuries against England, they were both not out on two of these occasions and both scored 982 runs across those 7 innings at an average of 196.40

11. Inzamam ul-Haq took a wicket with the first ball he bowled in International cricket, dismissing Brian Lara no less.

12. Graeme Smith is the only man to lead his country in more than 100 Test matches.

13. Chris Martin took more Test match wickets 233 than runs he scored 123.

14. Wasim Akram 257 has a higher Test match best score than Sachin Tendulkar 248*

15. India are the only team to have won The World Cup in 60, 50 & 20 over formats.

16. Australian wicket keeper Adam Gilchrist bowled one ball in his professional career, he dismissed Harbhajan Singh with it.

17. Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis, Rahul Dravid and Sir Alastair Cook are the leading five scorers in Test Cricket. None of them ever scored a triple century.

18. Jason Gillespie holds the record for the highest score by a night watchman, his 201* against Bangladesh was completed on his 31st Birthday.

19. Mark Boucher effected 1000 dismissals during his career. 999 as a wicket keeper and 1 as a bowler

20. James Anderson is not only the leading wicket taker among fast bowlers in Tests with 611 to date, he also holds the record for most not out's with 91.

21. Nilesh Kulkarni is the only Indian bowler to take a wicket with the first ball they bowled in Test cricket. Unfortunately for Kulkarni Sri Lanka went on to post a World Record score of 952.

22. Sachin Tendulkar was only dismissed for a duck once in his Ranji Trophy career. Bhuvi Kumar was the bowler.

23. Australian batsman Charles Bannerman faced the 1st ball in Test cricket, scored the 1st run and scored the 1st century in Test cricket all in the same match.

24. India have had two Robin Singh's represent them at Test level. Both played only 1 Test.

25. The only thing that has remained unchanged in Cricket History is the length of the pitch which has always been 22 Yards.

26* When Javid Miandad played for Pakistan it was the only recorded instance of a father and two sons playing in the same Test team.

Greg Griffiths
19 Feb 2021 

Ashwin turns the screw on Days 2 & 3

 

Day 1 of the 2nd Test belonged to Rohit Sharma, however the next two days have been dominated by Ravichandran Ashwin. Firstly he had England's batsman in a spin as he claimed 5-43 to collect back to back 5-fors following his 6-61 in England's 2nd innings of the 1s Test, then hit his 5th Test 100 as India batted England out of the match on Day 3.

Day 2 had begun well for England as they wrapped up India's 1st innings for the addition of just 29 runs, Moeen Ali removed debutant Axar Patel smartly stumped by Ben Foakes and Ishant Sharma in the 2nd over of the day, Rishabh Pant then passed 50 for the 2nd time in the series before Olly Stone removed Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammad Siraj to close India's innings on 329.

Like India had, England soon found themselves 0-1, Rory Burns trapped leg before by Ishant Sharma, Ashwin opened from the other end and struck his first blow in the 8th over. Dom Sibley attempted a sweep and was taken at leg slip by Kohli. Although it was given not out India were convinced there was glove involved and reviewed with replays showing the ball brushing the top of Sibley's bat. Sibley knew and was half way off before the decision was shown on the big screen. Dan Lawrence was the next man to fall to Ashwin who changed to around the wicket for the last ball before lunch, finding extra bounce the ball hit Lawrence on the glove and went straight to Gill at short leg. Ben Stokes was bowled by a beautiful delivery again from around the wicket that drifted towards the left handers pads before spinning away to hit Stokes off stump as he looked to manoeuvre the ball to midwicket leaving England in all sorts of trouble at 52-5. Ashwin's 4th was a gimme as Olly Stone turned one off his pads but could only chip the ball straight to Rohit at midwicket and Ashwin ended England's 1st innings on 134 when Stuart Broad was bowled attempting his favoured sweep shot, leaving the host 249 runs ahead.

Ashwin joined Virat Kohli at the crease with India 101-6 in their 2nd innings the hosts leading by 355 runs and clearly thought it was time to have some fun with the bat. He swept, drove, cut and slapped England's attack to all corners going to 50 in just 64 balls with 7 fours, although he was given a life on 28 when Stokes dropped him at slip off Broad. Ashwin continued on his merry way even after Kohli departed for 62 dismissed by Moeen Ali for the 2nd time in the match. Kuldeep Yadav and Ishant Sharma followed reasonably quickly but Ashwin found a partner in Mohammad Siraj who was willing to block away at one end to allow him to complete a 5th Test century which came when an attempted hoick over the leg side caught the outside edge and ballooned over the slips down to third man for four. Both men then went on the all out attack with Siraj smashing two sixes over midwicket before Ashwin was bowled by Olly Stone leaving England needing 482 for a highly unlikely win.

It was the third time Ashwin had completed the double of century and a five wicket haul in a Test, only Sir Ian Botham who managed this on 5 occasions is ahead of Ashwin on that front.

Ashwin was not done for the day and produced a beauty to have Rory Burns caught ag gully for 25 and England ended Day 3 at 53-3 needing another 429 and it is only a matter of how many India will win by. If Ashwin can take another 4 wickets in the 2nd innings he will become only the 4th man to score a century and take 10 wickets in a Test.

There have been few bright spots for England so far in this match on what can only be described as a spicy wicket, however Ben Foakes has been superb with the gloves, equalling an England record of 3 stumpings in a Test as well as making a determined 42 not out in England's first innings and the debate over who should be England's Test wicket keeper is in full flow.

Scorecard

Greg Griffiths
15 Feb 2021

Rohit puts India in the box seat

 

Rohit Sharma gave India the advantage on Day 1 of the 2nd Test at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai, with the hosts closing on 300-6 on an action packed day.

It was England however that landed the first blow of the day, Olly Stone who was making just his 2nd Test appearance in place of the injured Jofra Archer, removing Shubman Gill with the score still on 0. Gill misjudged a length delivery from the Warwickshire pacer which nipped back and wrapped him on the front pad as he shouldered arms. Umpire Nitin Menon had no doubts and raised the finger. Gill pondered a review but following a brief conversation with opening partner Sharma, wisely decided against the idea.

Sharma was however unfazed by the early loss of his opening partner, and soon set about England's new ball pair driving boundaries through the covers and down the ground with both power and placement, once Jack Leach was introduced to the attack Sharma made full use of the sweep shot hitting the fence at deep backward square whenever the Somerset man went too full. Sharma dominated the 2nd wicket partnership he shared with Che Pujara, with the opener reaching 50 from just 47 deliveries including eight fours and a maximum. Leach would however end their stand when he removed Pujura, Ben Stokes taking a sharp low chance at slip to leave the hosts 85-2. 

What followed an over later will stay long in the minds of all that witnessed it. Moeen Ali on his return to the side having been out since 2019 produced a classic off spinner that drifted away from Kohli and then turned back sharply beating the Indian captain's ambitious cover drive and trimmed the bails from the top of the stumps. Kohli looked dumbfounded and disbelieving that Ali could produce such a delivery he refused to leave the middle. England knew they had the prize scalp of the opposition captain and began themselves to look slightly bemused as Kohli still refused to walk, it wasn't until a replay was shown on the big screen that Kohli would accept his fate and depart. Within minutes WG Grace was trending on Twitter along with his immortal quote of "they came to see me bat, not you umpire" that he is alleged to have said having been given lbw first ball during an exhibition match and proceeded to continue his innings. Had Kohli stayed in the middle much longer the groundsman may have been required to start up his tractor and drag Kohli from the field of play.

India were now wobbling at 86-3 but even this did not deter Sharma as he continued to play the bowlers with an ease no other batsman could come close to matching, and he had made 80 out of 106 when the players broke for Lunch.

He and vice captain Ajinkya Rahane would then forge a partnership of 162 as England went wicketless during the afternoon session. Despite a couple of false strokes in the 90's Sharma completed a 7th Test century from just 130 balls with the score on 147-3, his innings included 14 boundary fours and two maximums and the hosts comfortably took the score to 189-3 at Tea with Sharma on 132 & Rahane 36.

Rahane passed 50 and Sharma 150 for the 4th time in his Test career before the days controversies returned. Leach produced a fine delivery that drew Sharma forward before spinning past his outside edge and Ben Foakes whipped the bails off in a flash. The original side on replay was inconclusive but rather than asking for a zoomed in view, 3rd Umpire Anil Chaudhary declared his compatriot not out. Leach would get his man in his next over when Sharma who had swept so well all day top edged one and found Moeen in the deep and the Worcestershire man made no mistake.

Further controversy followed eight deliveries later as England had Rahane caught at short leg by Ollie Pope off Leach's bowling. On field Umpire Virender Sharma gave it not out and England reviewed. 3rd Umpire Chaudhary checked the initial phase of the ball passing the bat and found nothing on the snickometer and proceeded to check for lbw. Finding in Rahane's favour on both grounds he gave his decision as not out. However replays showed that following the ball striking Rahane on the pad the ball then looped up taking him on the glove and a clean catch was taken by Pope. Despite the protestations of England captain Joe Root, the on field umpires refused to get the 3rd umpire to re check for this and Rahane survived. Match Referee Javagal Srinath would later reinstate England's review.

Perhaps consumed by guilt Rahane tried a sweep shot off Moeen Ali in the next over, a shot he rarely plays and connected with nothing but fresh air as the ball crashed into middle stump to end his stay for 67 with India 249-5 and the 3rd umpire had at least not inflicted too much damage through his ineptitude. 

We were now into Leach v Pant Round 2, Pant had won Round 1 in the 1st Test convincingly and Root had to remove his man from the attack when he had figures of 0-80 from 8 overs. This time around Pant played in exactly the same manner scything a cut shot through point for four, before dancing down the track to loft Leach over long on for a maximum and Root removed his man from the firing line once more, turning to his own part time off breaks instead.

England thought they had Pant a couple of overs later when he was given caught behind off Moeen but he reviewed immediately and the replays showed clear daylight between bat and ball and the decision was reversed.

Root would get England's sixth wicket of the day when he dismissed Ravi Ashwin for 13 caught by Pope at short leg. Ashwin advanced at the England captain but his defensive prod offered Pope the simplest of chances and he made no mistake. Pant and debutant Axar Patel would then see India through to stumps with no further alarms.

England will want an early breakthrough in the morning and to wrap the Indian innings up for less than 350. India though have put themselves in the box seat on Day 1 and a score above 350 will have England fighting for their lives on a pitch that is already playing more like a Day 4 wicket than Day 1. England toiled admirably to be fair not conceding an extra all day and took the chances that came their way and will be reasonably pleased with their efforts. India in the main batted nicely but Day 1 belongs to Rohit Sharma who seemed to be playing on a different deck to everyone else and has given his side the early advantage.

Scorecard

Greg Griffiths
13 Feb 2021

 

We need to talk about DRS

During the 1st Test between India and England something very curious happened and it seems to have passed over the heads of everyone. As it transpired it hardly mattered as Jimmy Anderson removed Ajinkya Rahane's off stump with the very next delivery. However to leave it there would be to miss the point.

In the above photo you can see the appeal from Anderson which was correctly under the laws of the game given not out by Umpire Nitin Menon. England were of course entitled to review the decision which they did but as more than half the ball was outside the line of off stump at the time of impact with Rahane's pad Menon's decision stood and Rahane survived. All it seems is well. However...

Had Menon raised his finger and given Rahane out this would also have been the correct decision. Rahane could of course have reviewed, and as before the out decision would of been upheld.

So how have we ended up in a scenario where an Umpire can give a batsman not out or out to the same delivery and be correct in either case?

It all comes down to DRS of course, and the inbuilt allowance for error in the ball tracking part of the system. However the inbuilt allowance for the ball tracking being wrong only applies to the predicted path of the ball once it has struck the pad. Due to the wonders of technology we can see the stumps super imposed behind the batsman and we can see in the above photo that a good chunk of the ball is in fact in line with off stump at the point of impact. It is also clear that even if ball tracker had been slightly wrong in it's projected path for the ball that it was going on to hit the stumps. Or to put it another way Rahane was stone dead lbw.

Maybe the bods that came up with the procedure for DRS have overthought the issue, but it is clear that we don't really need "Umpires Call" for impact with the pad, Hawkeye tracks the ball from the bowlers hand until the point it strikes the pad and then using it wizardry predicts the path of the ball from impact with the pad until the point the ball would of reached the stumps.

There is nothing predicted between the ball leaving the bowlers hand and it striking the pad so why do we need to give the umpires a margin of error to work with? Why not just work with what we know to be fact? 

I would in these tight calls be happy for England or whatever side was in the field not to lose a review over such a tight call and vice versa for a batting side as is the case now.

I am happy to keep the "Umpires Call" part for the ball actually hitting the stumps because for that the Umpire does actually need to use his/her judgement on the projected path of the ball.

As I said earlier in this case none of this mattered due to what happened the ball after, but one day a Test Match or Series or maybe even a World Cup could be decided on such an issue.

We must clear up the rules so we can decide if a delivery is either out or not out, not both depending on which way the Umpire originally makes up their mind.

Greg Griffiths
11 Feb 2021

 

Selection Issues ahead of the 2nd India v England Test

The 2nd Test of the India vs England series kicks off in Chennai on Saturday morning so what changes can we expect to the line-ups?

For England one thing is for certain Jos Buttler returns home as part of the rest and rotation policy in place due to their heavy Test schedule and the forthcoming T20 World Cup. Surrey gloveman Ben Foakes will deputise. Foakes scored a century on debut at Galle during England's tour to Sri Lanka in late 2018 and followed up with an unbeaten 65 in the 2nd Test in Pallekele. He made a fighting 36 not out in the second innings of the 3rd Test as England won the series 3-0. He fared less well on England's tour of West Indies in January 2019 and was dropped after the 2nd Test. Foakes however is widely regarded as the finest gloveman in England and his record with the bat in Sri Lanka should hold him in good stead for the rest of the series in India where he will face similar conditions.

Dan Lawrence looks set to continue at three with Zak Crawley injured and Jonny Bairstow not scheduled to return until the 3rd Test in Ahmedabad. 

There has been some talk about Moeen Ali replacing Dom Bess as 2nd spinner but reading between the lines of comments by coach Chris Silverwood I would expect Bess to retain his place in the side for the 2nd Test.

Stuart Broad will almost certainly come in for James Anderson, not that Anderson has done anything wrong, far from it in fact, England are managing the work load of their premier fast bowlers and will have one eye on the 3rd Test in Ahmedabad being a day/night match with the pink ball, conditions that should suit Anderson down to the ground. 

Jofra Archer has had an injection in his right elbow following discomfort during the 1st Test, England's medical team are hopeful he will be fit for the 3rd Test. I would expect Olly Stone to come in as a genuine like for like replacement or England to pick a third spinner with the Chepauk surface expected to take turn from the first day.

For India there is concern over the form of Rohit Sharma at the top of the order and he could lose his place to KL Rahul who has returned to fitness following injury during the tour of Australia. Vice captain Akinkya Rahane's form is also a concern he has passed fifty only once in his last 14 Test innings, the exception being his match winning 112 in the second Australia India Test at The MCG, although being the VC I would be surprised to see him lose his place.

Washington Sundar went wicketless in the 1st Test but made an excellent 85* in their 1st innings and India are likely to stick with him as 3rd spinner for now given the added depth he brings to the batting line up although he could be replaced by Hardik Pandya if India feel two spinners is sufficient. Shahbaz Nadeem has been dropped with Axar Patel now fit. Kuldeep Yadav is India's other spin option and he could replace Sundar although this leaves India with a very long tail.

Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah bowled well in the 1st Test and should retain their places but India can call on either or both of Mohammad Siraj and Shardul Thakur if they decide to rest or rotate their seamers.

India squad for first two Tests: Virat Kohli (capt), Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Rishabh Pant (wk), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul, Ravichandran Ashwin, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur.

England squad for first two Tests: Joe Root (Capt), Jofra Archer, Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler wk (1st Test Only), Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes wk, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes. Reserves: James Bracey, Mason Crane, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Robinson, Amar Virdi.

Greg Griffiths
11 Feb 2021