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34-year-old fast bowler gave away just one boundary and dismissed Rohit, Kohli, Pant

Matt Roller09-Jul-2022″They’re all human, at the end of the day,” Richard Gleeson told ESPNcricinfo last week, about the prospect of bowling to Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant on his England debut, at the age of 34. On Saturday at Edgbaston, he dismissed all three of them in the space of four balls.England’s second defeat to India in three days – by a near-identical margin, by 49 runs after losing by 50 at the Ageas Bowl on Thursday – was a chastening one, their seventh loss in their last nine T20Is dating back to their final group game at last year’s T20 World Cup against South Africa.Related

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But there is a balance to strike in bilateral T20I series: is winning more important, or learning? Jos Buttler said he was “very disappointed” with the defeat but with Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Adil Rashid and Mark Wood all due to return in time for the World Cup later this year, the side will look significantly different in Australia in October.Heading into this series, England’s main problem area had been death bowling: they have been one of the most expensive teams in the world at the back-end of the innings over the last two years. Gleeson’s selection was primarily intended to address that issue, after he nailed his yorkers for Lancashire in the T20 Blast this year.In fact, he was most destructive while the ball was still relatively new. Buttler brought him into the attack with India 43 for 0 after four overs and Rohit and Pant both set. He generally bowled just short of a good length, looking to hit the splice of the bat, and hit speeds of 89mph/144kph – though generally operated in the mid-80s.

“If you’d have said when I was 27 and starting out in pro cricket that I’d be playing at 34 for England, I never would have imagined it.”Gleeson to the BBC after his T20I debut

His second ball disappeared over midwicket for four, but it was the only boundary that he conceded across his four overs. To his fifth ball, Rohit looked to give himself room to hit through the off side but Gleeson followed him, rushing him for pace, and Buttler ran back to pouch his top edge on the edge of the ring.With the first two balls of his second over, the seventh, Gleeson hit a good length to Kohli, who looked to swing him over midwicket; Dawid Malan ran back from backward point, diving to take a superb catch after his thick outside edge. Pant, like Rohit, looked to give himself room but Gleeson cramped him for room, inducing a thin edge through to Buttler.Eight balls, three wickets – and three of the biggest in international cricket, in terms of reputation. Eight months ago, Gleeson’s career was on the line as his slow recovery from a back stress fracture left him staring at the prospect of retirement. Unlike most international debuts, there was a sense that Gleeson had a shot to nothing.0:54

Giles: Realistically England were never in the chase

The rest of his spell was impressive, too, not least the pace he generated: he bowled four consecutive dot balls to Hardik Pandya, then five in six balls to Dinesh Karthik with one wide in between as he hit a hard length, eschewing the yorker-heavy strategy that had earned him his place. His figures, 3 for 15 in four overs, were the second-best by an England bowler on men’s T20I debut.”I’m happy with where my speed is,” he said. “This year, I’m probably bowling a little bit quicker. [England selection] wasn’t on my radar: it was just to play the highest standard that I could. I just want to keep playing cricket and enjoying it, and playing for as long as I can. Who knows, if I keep performing, anything could happen.”I’ll do whatever role I get. It was different today but I was biting at the bit to get hold of the ball on debut and settle the nerves. My natural go-to is hard lengths, then some yorkers and slipping in some bumpers every now and again. Hard lengths, especially on that wicket today, was the way to go.”Gleeson’s contract with Lancashire expires in a week’s time after T20 Finals Day in the Blast but he will now have a T20 World Cup spot on his radar: “You want to play in the big occasions, don’t you?” he said, “so why not?” In the short term, he has done enough to merit opportunities against South Africa in the T20Is at the end of this month.Gleeson’s journey is remarkable – not only his late entry into the game, but his ability to overcome consecutive fallow years due to the back injuries that threatened to end his career. He had to ask his employers, Myerscough College in Preston, for permission to play in this series; his BTEC students will give him a hero’s welcome when he returns to work next week.”If you’d have said when I was 27 and starting out in pro cricket that I’d be playing at 34 for England, I never would have imagined it,” he told the BBC. “It just goes to show that if you keep persevering and you keep believing in yourself, you never know what can happen.”

The pair added 104 off just 10.2 overs to blindside Australia in the series decider

Shashank Kishore26-Sep-20221:54

Hodge: ‘It looks like Kohli has his mojo back’

Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav. One a decade-old veteran continuing to push boundaries, both physically and skill-wise, in trying to rediscover himself. The other, a late bloomer at 31, and in the absolute peak of his prowess, with magical wrists and instincts that give him a split-second more than others to hit balls to corners of the ground as he pleases.On Sunday in Hyderabad, it was this combination that put Australia under the mat, before Hardik Pandya sealed India’s series win from being 1-0 down just four days ago. Kohli and Suryakumar added 104 off just 10.2 overs in a fine display of power, skill, wristwork, fitness and the inventive to raze down India’s 187-run target.Related

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This partnership was a tad different, though.Teams tend to bring spin on to Kohli early in his innings. In all T20 cricket since 2021, Kohli strikes at just 108.85 in 40 innings against spin. In comparison, he goes at 137.81 against pace. So, when Aaron Finch brought Adam Zampa on within two balls of his arrival to the crease, it seemed a perfectly legitimate move. Zampa also had the wood over Kohli, having dismissed him eight times, the most he’s been out to a single bowler in white-ball cricket.Three nights ago, Kohli was out giving the charge to Zampa as he played all around a slider that snuck through bat and pad to crash into the stumps. Sunday was going to add another chapter to this match-up, and Kohli wasn’t in the mood to allow Zampa to dictate terms. His first delivery, Kohli’s third of the innings, was a perfectly tossed up delivery on off-stump. Kohli was forward and right to the pitch in a jiffy as he drilled the ball through extra cover to begin with a boundary. It set Kohli up for the rest of his innings.”When Surya started hitting it like that, I kind of looked at the dug-out as well,” Kohli said after the match to Star Sports. “Rohit and Rahul both told me, ‘you can just keep batting on’ because Surya was striking it that well. It was just about building a partnership, so I used my experience a little bit, stayed back.”Australia, though, didn’t just have to be mindful of Kohli. At the other end, Suryakumar was plotting carnage in his own style. One second, he was stepping out to leg, giving the impression he’d be going inside out, only to whip deliveries to bisect deep midwicket and long-on. The next, he was going deep into the crease, so deep you feared for his back leg nudging the stumps, to manufacture length to play his back-cut behind point. These two shots, in essence, are a peek into Suryakumar’s approach – no leeway, no luxuries to settle into a length.”It’s absolute clarity in what he wants to do,” Kohli said of Suryakumar’s brilliance. “Obviously he has the game to bat under any sort of situation, in any condition and he’s shown that already. He got a hundred in England; he batted beautifully in the Asia Cup as well. Here he’s striking the ball as well as I’ve seen him strike. I mean, for the last six months he’s been outstanding so it’s just the array of shots, and to play those shots at the right time is such tremendous for a guy who knows his game inside out and has no fear in executing those shots.”Kohli came out all guns blazing against spin, eventually hitting a match-winning fifty•BCCIAt the end of seven overs, Kohli had raced to 25, with Suryakumar on 6. Within four overs, Suryakumar had comfortably overtaken Kohli. Soon enough, he brought up his half-century with back-to-back sixes off Zampa in the 13th, with Kohli having slowed down to watch the show from the best seat in the house. This wasn’t to say Kohli went completely defensive. He took Zampa on from the get-go, walloping a massive six down the ground. More than the six, his manner of unsettling the bowler told you of how he’d meticulously planned to counter him.”I kind of made up my mind to go after him today,” Kohli said. “He’s a quality bowler. He kind of tries to control my scoring rate whenever we play, and I knew he is going to attack the stumps, so I was outside leg stump already. In the last game, I was kind of disappointed that after hitting a four, I went for a double rather than hitting him for a six, so I’m making a conscious effort to strike big in the middle overs, so that it can help the team’s situation.”Since he has returned from the break at the Asia Cup last month, Kohli has been visibly aggressive against spin. Shades of this dominance were visible in his takedown of Rashid Khan when he broke his century-drought earlier this month in Dubai. Such clarity can often be down to one’s confidence levels. On Sunday, Kohli arrived at the ground an hour and a half prior to the rest of the team and had a 30-minute net. This was a reinvigorated Kohli working his way back up to top form and wanting to cash in on good form that seemed to have deserted him for a while.”I’ve enjoyed my batting ever since I came back during the Asia Cup,” Kohli said. “I’m really enjoying my process, really working hard on my fitness all over again. I’m excited to go to the gym, excited go to practice and just contribute to the team’s cause. I know the last game wasn’t a big score, but I felt like I hit two impact boundaries, so am happy with my contributions. And am not putting myself down if I’m not getting big runs every time for the team. I’m just trying to stay in this space.”

First impressions were encouraging on South African cricket’s quest for renewal

Firdose Moonda10-Jan-2023There were people. For the first time in three years, Newlands was filled with thousands of fans. And not just any kind of fans. Happy fans.This is not a dog-bites-man story, but actually worth stating loud and proud up front because prior to this, the opening night of the SA20, there have been more than 1000 very difficult days in South African cricket. Unhappy days. And unhappy people.The tough times started right here, at this ground, in December 2019 when a new CSA leadership was unveiled amid administrative chaos. In the weeks and months and years that followed, pretty much everything that could go wrong, on and off the field, did go wrong and public confidence in the game shrivelled and shrunk. Even the most dedicated supporters took up residence in negative town and talk on their streets was that nothing could interest them in anything CSA did ever again. But 20,000 of them were lured back into Newlands on Tuesday afternoon, two weeks before January’s pay-day, and rumour has it the same number will turn up at Kingsmead on Wednesday and in Gqeberha the day after.They liked what they saw in Cape Town. People smiled and took selfies as they slowly found their seats in the afternoon sun. Young children, still on school holidays, came in with their parents, and would doubtless be permitted a later-than-usual bedtime. As had been the case just before the pandemic silenced our stadiums, the crowd was diverse in age, gender and race – a heartening sight considering the polarised state of the game outside of this tournament. And then they sang.Related

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The SA20 organisers have spent significant resources on the entertainment and brought out two of South Africa’s best-known performers for an otherwise low-key opening ceremony. Sho Majozi, a rapper, and Master KG, famed for the lockdown hit “Jerusalema”, performed on a stage just outside the newly built office development at the ground while dancers did their bit in front of the embankment. A clutch of pre-converted MI Cape Town supporters, with branded azure blue caps, flags and t-shirts, joined them, complete with all the right moves. The fireworks in the day time only managed to blend in with the bright blue sky and were lost on just about everyone but the presence of the who’s who of South African cricket was not.On the grass embankment, a fenced-off area functioned as a makeshift commentary box. Graeme Smith, now in his role as the league’s commissioner but who has worn hats from national captain to director of cricket, was swamped by autograph-hunters. Smith has found himself loved and hated in equal measure over the last three years – for saving South African cricket after the terrible Thabang Moroe era, and for suspicions that he fostered a boys’ club of sorts in the national team (which was also implied at the Social Justice and Nation-Building hearings), but he still commands an audience. AB de Villiers was around too, and had a similar reception. But the biggest response was reserved for the men on the field. Specifically, the one we’ve called “Baby AB”, now known as DB: Dewald Brevis.He lived up to his reputation as the next big thing in South African innings with a match-winning knock in the tournament opener, after it seemed local players would be outshone. Cape Town’s own George Linde was tasked with bowling the first ball of the new competition and would never have played in front of a crowd this big at home. His first two deliveries went well but this third was threaded through extra cover by Jos Buttler. He conceded eight in total and then switched ends to bowl the fourth over, where he conceded nine more.Jofra Archer picked up a wicket in his first over on comeback•SA20In between that, Jofra Archer made a much-awaited comeback to competitive cricket, after 18 months on the sidelines, and he could not have asked for a better start. He removed Wihan Lubbe with his third ball, after swinging the first and zoning in on the toes with the second, and finished with a wicket maiden. The oohs and aahhs were admiring but probably also a little anxious. Remember that Archer will be part of the England ODI squad that plays South Africa in World Cup League matches later this month and if he’s already getting his speeds up to 145kph, how dangerous might he be then?The English performers continued to give South Africa plenty to worry about as Buttler found his groove with ramps and lap shots and then Olly Stone took out both his and Dane Vilas’ middle stumps. David Miller provided a reminder of what South Africans can do with a 31-ball 42, including a glorious six over long-on off Sam Curran, but became the first of Archer’s two-in-two. But then South Africa’s new names dominated.Brevis and Ryan Rickleton, both talked about as batters who should have been in the Test squad in Australia, made the target look small as in the president’s suite some of the national rugby team, including scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies, looked on. They batted with a freedom South African players have not had for the last three years, unshackled from the burdens of controversy and to some extent, expectation.A sunset walk around the ground revealed that as much as people were paying some attention to what was going on in the middle, they weren’t paying that much. This is, after all, a tournament that’s about more than cricket and many of the people at Newlands were enjoying the other things on offer. They were catching up with their friends, eating too many hot chips, queuing at the bars and every now and then appreciating a big hit. So far, so successful then as the SA20 officially starts.

Gujarat Giants’ 143-run loss is the biggest by runs for a team in the major women’s T20 leagues

Sampath Bandarupalli04-Mar-2023207 for 5 Mumbai Indians’ total against Gujarat Giants on Saturday is the joint second-highest total recorded across the major women’s T20 leagues*. The highest is 242 for 4 by Sydney Sixers against Melbourne Stars in 2017, while Melbourne Renegades also made 207 against Brisbane Heat in 2021.143 Victory margin of Mumbai is the biggest by runs for a team in the major women’s leagues. There have been only two wins by a margin of 100-plus runs previously: Perth Scorchers beat Renegades by 104 runs in 2022, while Sixers beat Hobart Hurricanes by 103 runs in 2017.64 Giants’ total in the 208-run chase is the joint second-lowest in those women’s T20 leagues. The lowest is 47 all out by Velocity against Trailblazers in the 2020 T20 Challenge, while Yorkshire Diamonds were also bowled out for 64 against Southern Vipers during the Women’s Cricket Super League in 2016.

Ravindra’s knowledge of the conditions makes him as local as anyone can be, while Williamson, who’s working towards his comeback, is no stranger to these shores either

Shashank Kishore08-Oct-2023YH Chandrasekhar, the curator at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, has one final look at the square at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, seemingly happy with the work behind the scenes to get ready for the New Zealand vs Netherlands match on Monday. He suddenly gazes left, where Rachin Ravindra is training. He signals to him, but Ravindra is focused on the ball. The curator walks towards the centre nonetheless to exchange pleasantries. It dawns then that there’s a sense of familiarity between the two.In July, Ravindra was part of the Hutt Hawks, the Wellington-based club that his father runs, on an exchange programme to Hyderabad where they trained and played a series of 50-overs matches against the academy team run by MSK Prasad, the former India wicketkeeper and chief selector. Four of those matches were in Uppal, where Ravindra batted on three different centre strips, “training like mad” – according to Prasad – to fine-tune his game against pace and spin.He’d have a bowling session in the early morning, followed by breakfast. And then a 50-overs game until 4.30pm, followed by an hour’s rest and another indoor net session with the ball before calling it a day. It’s a routine he followed for the entire duration of his stay in Hyderabad, before he travelled to Anantapur, adjoining the Karnataka border, for more game time before returning home to Wellington.Related

• Conway and Ravindra hand England a thumping to kick off World Cup

• Ravindra comes of age with an innings for the dreamers

• ODI World Cup digest: New Zealand's perfect start; Pakistan's return to India

• Ferguson, Southee likely to be fit; Williamson remains on sidelines for Netherlands clash

All this cricket was packed into a two-week calendar that was originally meant for him to be off to rest and recuperate ahead of the long season. While New Zealand’s squad hadn’t entirely been firmed up yet, Ravindra had been sounded out to be ready as he was among the probables picked for the high-performance camp.It’s this sense of familiarity that Ravindra will bank on as he returns to Hyderabad to play Netherlands in their second World Cup fixture. He may not be a local, but his knowledge of conditions and pitches makes him as local as anyone can be. His return to the venue couldn’t have been more grand, given he’s coming off a memorable World Cup hundred on debut against England in a sensational takedown with his good mate Devon Conway.A little over a week ago in Hyderabad, Ravindra batted with composure and poise to make 97 against a high-quality Pakistan attack in a warm-up game. Yet, he may have not played the World Cup opener had Kane Williamson been fit and available. But with Williamson still recuperating from an ACL injury, Ravindra had his chance and he’s made the most of it, giving Williamson and the team management healthy selection headaches.Rachin Ravindra hit a fine century on World Cup debut•Associated PressWilliamson himself is no stranger to these shores, having played eight IPL seasons for Sunrisers Hyderabad. He’s Kane to the local staff and fans. , a salutation in the local language Telugu, is reserved for someone much admired as Williamson is. But merely playing for the local franchise doesn’t guarantee cult status. With David Warner and Williamson, to a lesser extent, the popularity stems from their embracing the local culture, making them as much a fan favourite as a Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma.If Warner did an imitation of the dance to send the small crowd into a tizzy during the warm-up game last week, Williamson has given them moments to cheer with his imitation of a dance gig from , an Oscar-winning chartbuster, during an ICC promotion. Beyond the familiarity and colour, the real reel fans, especially those back home, are interested in is from the nets, where they want to see if Williamson has managed to get back the whole range of his movements, if Tim Southee is bowling full tilt and if Lockie Ferguson brings his bristling energy to training.Williamson surveyed the ground, and pointed to the bright orange seating that hits your eye as the peak afternoon sun glows bright. It’s a humid day, he’s already guzzled quite a few bottles of water already, and is out to train. Williamson has been confirmed to sit out, but he’s the central focus of the team’s physio and trainers.He goes through a series of carefully orchestrated movements to test his full range of mobility. Like doing forward stretches to defend, playing the sweep to test his hamstring, rising onto his toes to tuck the ball, sprinting between the wickets, the trigger movement when he turns at full stretch – they were all carefully monitored and ticked off. The hope is he’ll be fit in time to play Bangladesh on Friday. And for him to get there, Williamson seems to have done most things in his capacity.Southee too bowled a fair bit, even if not full tilt, feeling his way back into full rhythm in an afternoon session where temperatures hovered over the mid-30s. Southee was carefully monitored by Trent Boult, whose late swing back in was quite a sight. Every now and then, there was laughter, banter and wholesome encouragement for each other as they pushed hard on match eve. Daryll Mitchell batted and batted, as did Will Young and Ravindra before they retired to the dressing room. Or so you thought as they all began to walk off.Williamson then nudged assistant coach Luke Ronchi as they walked right back into the nets again. Williamson wasn’t satisfied with the full range of his straight hitting. So, he tried to perfect hitting on length deliveries, asking Ronchi to chuck him balls in an area he circled out, focusing on holding his shape and then carefully feeling his side. Then to top off the session, Ronchi fed him full tosses which Williamson kept pulling until it got to a point where he couldn’t stay out any longer, with the sun going down.Watching Williamson train was watching a perfectionist practice his craft, oblivious to the world around him. The police sirens that marked the arrival of Netherlands, the chaos of the shutterbugs that followed to snap the team getting off the bus, the sound of the generator that was running full throttle behind him and smoke from the fumigation around the nets area – none of this seemed to cross his mind. He was simply, to quote the old cliche, seeing ball, hitting ball until the last lux of light allowed him to.

He was a magnificent cricketer who battled hard on the field and refused to play the political game

Mark Nicholas07-Sep-2023At the start of the 1995 English summer, my last in first-class cricket after 18 years with Hampshire, we were engaged in a pre-season “friendly” with Sussex. Stationed at cover-point was our newly recruited overseas player: thick-set and strong, with a deceptive turn of speed, and the most wonderful eye for the ball.The Sussex opening batter cut hard to an area just behind point for what appeared to be a certain boundary off the first ball of the match. The fielder, who was naturally right-handed, threw himself to his left just as a goalkeeper might, and the ball smacked into the palm of his left hand. In one movement he rolled his body 180 degrees, sprung upright like a big cat threatened, and with the ball now cleverly transferred to his right hand, he took aim. The throw was wizard, flat and screaming, and hit one stump flush with the sound of perfect contact echoing around the small and empty ground. It was a breathtaking moment.That man was Heath Streak. It was with the heaviest heart that I read earlier this week of his passing aged just 49. I knew little of the cancer or of his new life but I knew him well back then and did not meet a better man. Modest and quietly spoken, his simple life as farmer, hunter and cricketer had become a complex one of leadership, politics and punishment. He kept sanity through wonderful parents, an extraordinary wife and lively children. He lost some battles but the hardest for any of those loved ones to take was the last one.I first met him as a boy who played cricket in the bush with the kids whose parents worked the family farm. Denis, his father, briefly served time in prison for raging against Robert Mugabe’s land-reclaim initiative that took much of the Streak farm, a magnificent place in Matabeleland about 50 miles from Bulawayo. His mother, Shona, stayed calm and strong through the traumatic experiences of those bewildering days, and somehow the Streaks managed, with about a tenth of what they once had, to keep a few cattle and make a turn from a small safari park.Related

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On my various cricket tours and holidays to Zimbabwe, their hospitality knew no boundary. In 1990 with an England A team that included the likes of Michael Atherton and Graham Thorpe, we stayed a couple of nights to ride horses, swim, play tennis and barbecue. Denis was a good enough seam bowler to have played for Zimbabwe himself, and on one balmy afternoon, we set up stumps and took guard against a couple of Streaks, each of whom made us think and, occasionally, even duck and weave. As the sun set, beer was drunk and the fire burned, and we told stories in the evening shadows and laughed until the stars in the sky laughed with us.Streak junior was a magnificent cricketer, all power, wit and will. Hampshire lost the first three Championship games of the 1995 season, and while reviewing the roles of every player in the team, I urged Heath to drop the modesty and get us winning a few matches. He did, and how! We went on a splendid run, climbing the Championship table to near dizzying heights before settling on the right place for our talent pool at the time, somewhere around mid-table. He bowled a heavy ball fast-medium, swung it late and never gave an inch. He smashed it long but was rarely in for long enough to fully justify that keen eye. He fielded as if he were fighting a war.Of course, it was the war at home that did for him. Made captain of Zimbabwe, he refused to play the political game. Specifically and publicly, Streak objected to the quota system that demanded at least five black players in the national team. His refusal to toe the line cost him his job. Upon the announcement of his sacking (the board’s explanation was that he had resigned), 13 white players stood down from the Zimbabwe team. Streak later returned to the side, albeit briefly, before retiring at 31 years of age.In 65 Tests he took more than 200 wickets, bowling out England at Lord’s and Pakistan in Harare. In one-day cricket he scored 2000 runs and took 200 wickets – remarkable.Streak with a four-legged friend at his farm in 1996•Chris Turvey/PA Photos/Getty ImagesHaving taken over the captaincy of the weakest team in international cricket in 2000, he led them successfully, winning four in 21 Tests and 18 of 65 ODIs. “Our talisman who single-handedly won many games for us,” wrote Henry Olonga, the Zimbabwe seam bowler, in his autobiography.Distressingly, Streak became embroiled in controversy when found to have taken bitcoin for information provided to a potential corruptor. He emphatically denied match-fixing. Having played with him and come to understand the character and beliefs that drove him forward, such an act would seem impossible.In essence, he made a mistake and fell foul of the ICC’s anti-corruption code. From it came an unfairly long eight-year ban, but even that could not wither his desire to return to coaching when it was over.Perhaps the cancer within came from the stress of an always challenging life played out mainly against the odds. It is heartbreaking to think of what Heath had been through and how early he has gone. Cricket can wrap its arms around you or spit you out on the sidewalk of life.I cannot help but think of Denis and Shona, Nadine and the kids, these fabulous people and their loss. They know best that this was a man who gave everything to every moment of his time on earth and that Zimbabwean sport, cricket in general we can say, owes him a great debt.For Denis, at least, there is the tiniest consolation. In 1995-96, he and Heath played a first-class match for Matabeleland together. Not many a father and son can say that. Right now, we can only say goodbye to our African friend and wish him peace at last and for evermore.

India’s wicketkeeper-batter has been remarkably good at what is less remarked on

Andrew Fidel Fernando01-Nov-20231:58

Kumble: KL Rahul looks like he’s back to his original self

Someone to help you move your books to a new apartment, an ear to vent to about your battles at work, a pick-up from the side of the highway when your vehicle breaks down, an arm around your shoulder after a break-up. For these and other wholesome acts of friendship, call KL Rahul.Not seriously, because obviously he doesn’t have time for the likes of you. Although, you sense, perhaps he’d like to.It’s been that sort of World Cup for Rahul – a player who even at his strokemaking finest has the bearing of someone producing the sweetest and most thoughtful support act. In the match against England, as Rohit Sharma took the lead on raising India from 40 for 3, Rahul was massaging his way to a 39 off 58 as the two produced the most consequential stand of the match. Their 91 together was more than the scores of England’s top seven combined.Related

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Against New Zealand, his 27 off 35 had helped arrest a potential slide, against Pakistan he made a perfectly adequate 19 not out in a small chase. Memorably, against Bangladesh, he had partnered Virat Kohli in the late stages of a chase. When Kohli was nearing a 48th ODI hundred, and only a few runs were remaining to complete the chase, Rahul convinced Kohli that they shouldn’t take singles off his own bat, to leave Kohli with enough remaining runs to get to 100.Kohli, we’re told, had refused at first. But how could you say no to Rahul? “I said, I mean it’s not won but still I think we’ll win quite easily. So if you can get to the milestone, why not? You must try it,” this is what Rahul told soon after the match ended. “I wasn’t going to run the singles anyway.”Sometimes it’s not enough to just offer buddies your support. Occasionally, you must insist that they need you. You got your hundred in the end, didn’t you, big guy? See? Knew you had it in you.With gloves on, Rahul has occasionally been memorably spectacular, but mostly spectacularly unmemorable. The former when he dived down leg to pouch in the tips of his left glove’s webbing, a catch off the inside half of Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s bat that had been travelling especially rapidly. The latter, pretty much anytime else, gobbling the remaining five catches that have come his way, plus effecting a straightforward stumping against England.KL Rahul has stepped up with the bat in crucial times in India’s World Cup campaign•AFP/Getty ImagesPerhaps you could point to the six byes across six matches, or the missed half-chance off the bat of Daryl Mitchell off Ravindra Jadeja in the 30th over of New Zealand’s innings in Dharamsala. But that was a catch beyond the reflexes of all but the wicketkeeping geniuses.Rahul has instead willed himself to excel at the the dull stuff: keeping low, reading from the hand, getting himself into strong positions by making footwork the foundation of his keeping. When you keep this way, you dive only occasionally, draw little attention, but generally end up with the ball inside your mitts.In that Dharamsala match, he had also fired in an excellent under-arm throw to run out Lockie Ferguson, as New Zealand attempted a bye. Typically this came after Mohammed Shami had already completed his five-wicket haul earlier that over. Don’t steal your bro’s thunder; never leave ’em hanging.If Rahul’s keeping has not made major splashes elsewhere, it has certainly had recognition within the team. He has twice been the recipient of the “best fielder of the match” medal, for which India have had increasingly elaborate presentation ceremonies. It has also allowed India to strengthen their batting against spin, Suryakumar Yadav coming in following the injury to Hardik Pandya, with India happy enough with Rahul’s keeping to keep Ishan Kishan – who keeps wicket more often than Rahul at the lower levels – not required in the XI.Rahul is much more than just a support player of course; his 97 not out off 115 against Australia had been among the first rumblings of India’s campaign, which has since become an avalanche. In fact, this year the guy averages 74.70, with a strike rate of 84.69 – not beta numbers. There was also the hundred that came against Pakistan, in the Asia Cup.But when team-mates have bossed the limelight, and all that was required of Rahul was to do the little things that keep a team ticking, he has been remarkably good at what is less remarked on.

England’s bravado was admirable, and what we’ve come to expect

Vithushan Ehantharajah05-Feb-20242:43

Harmison: England not guilty of ‘going too hard’

The bravado was admirable, and what we have come to expect. A team that has taken it upon themselves to question – even threaten – Test cricket’s traditional whims made their latest one on Sunday evening. No target would put them off. Brendon McCullum said they would have even had a go chasing 600.They ended up falling eight short of half that figure in pursuit of a “milder” target of 399. It would have been the highest chase of the Bazball era, and in India outright. In the end, the ethos wrote a cheque the batters could not cash.Having knocked 67 off for the loss of one last night, only 225 more was managed on day four. That those came in just two sessions is both noteworthy and redundant. The journey was quick, and yet the destination was still all of 106 runs away.The factors for defeat are all on the scorecard. On a pitch where the ones that got in had to make it count, India boasted Yashasvi Jaiswal’s first-innings 209 and Shubman Gill’s 106 in the second. England had a pair of seventies from Zak Crawley and, barring 47 from Ben Stokes in the first innings, no scores of note from a middle order with the most experience of these conditions.Related

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Even while the inexperienced trio of Shoaib Bashir, Tom Hartley and Rehan Ahmed held firm in a toe-to-toe with Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav, India held the edge with Jasprit Bumrah. Match figures of 9 for 91 featured at least three match-turning spells, starting with a day two burst that handed India a first-innings lead of 143 and, ultimately, the Test.It was a reminder of the small margins and fleeting windows of opportunity when you play Test cricket in this part of the world. Getting that refresher with the series tied 1-1 ahead of a 10-day break before the third Test makes it easier to mull over. And as England knocked a football around on the outfield at around 5pm local time, long after the stumps had been pulled and the crowd had spilt out into Visakhapatnam, you sensed this was not a defeat that would derail them.”I think they’re playing very well,” said India head coach Rahul Dravid. “Whether you call it Bazball or whatever you call it. I know it’s just a term – I’m not sure how happy they are about it – but they’re playing really good cricket. I mean, let’s be honest, I think they played well.”England arrived on Monday determined, if slightly offset by a virus that had affected Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes and Hartley. They charged through the opening session, with 127 runs ticked off the remaining 332 required at the start of play. The problem was the loss of five wickets.Two batters did their job. Rehan continued his cavalier Sunday night cameo into Monday morning, swinging, charging, and, on one occasion, gorgeously caressing through the off side before Axar trapped him lbw for 23. By then, Crawley had settled back into his groove, caressing his usual drives and tucks through midwicket, all while facing up to most of Bumrah’s initial five-over spell.Zak Crawley was out lbw just before lunch•Getty ImagesA well-executed charge and punch down the ground brought him an eighth boundary and a second half-century of the match. Three overs later, Pope picked the wrong ball from Ashwin to cut. It still required something special from Rohit Sharma, who obliged with a stunning reaction catch at first slip, shooting up his left hand like a kid in class who knows the answer before anyone else.And he did, to be fair, particularly by not wavering as Joe Root introduced some uncharacteristic maelstrom. An innings which perhaps showed just how serious the damage to his right little finger may be. He spent most of day three off the field after damaging it in the 13th over of India’s second innings.He reverse-swept his first ball for four, scuffed his third up and over the keeper attempting a similar shot, skipped down and planted Axar into the stands for six with his seventh and then survived a strong leg-before review against him on Umpire’s Call.An ugly hack off his 10th, aiming for cow corner but finding the hands of Axar at backward point, gave Ashwin career wicket number 499. And off Root went with 245 still to get. Usually the sherpa in the pursuit of such summits, coming to the crease boasting a fourth innings average of 120.00 under Stokes and Brendon McCullum, Root was already back at base camp with the team less than halfway up the mountain starting to consider chewing on their own feet.Joe Root was caught slogging•BCCIA stand between Crawley and Bairstow had reached 40 by the time Rohit made his best call of the morning. With 20 minutes before the break, Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav were reintroduced. In the space of five deliveries, Kuldeep had accounted for Crawley – an lbw achieved through a tight DRS call to overturn a “not out” decision on the field – before Bairstow was prised out by Bumrah to send us to an early lunch.Even with Stokes coming back out after lunch alongside an able facilitator in Foakes, the 205 on the table would always be a tough ask. Only 16 had been cleared when Stokes inexplicably got himself run out.A thick inside edge as Foakes pressed forward to Ashwin saw the ball roll into the vacant square leg region. The single was on, but Stokes approached it with leisure, watching it all the way into Shreyas Iyer’s hand before speeding up. A direct hit found him short by inches.”It was like one of those dreams where you’re trying to run faster but you can’t,” explained Stokes at stumps, still trying to square it with himself. “I knew I had to go faster, but for some reason, I just couldn’t. It was a really bizarre couple of seconds.”As it happened, the rest seemed to go pretty quickly despite stubborn resistance from Foakes and Hartley. An eighth-wicket partnership of 55 did bring about some anxiety in the stands, particularly when both batters exchanged sixes early in their stand.But in waltzed Bumrah once more, hoodwinking Foakes with a slower ball for a return catch, then knocking out Hartley’s off stump to seal an emphatic equalising win.”You don’t get any points losing by five, you don’t get less points losing by 100,” said Stokes, by way of justification of trying to get it done today rather than use more of the available time. Not that he or England needed an alibi.Their chasing record has taken a hit, but still an impressive 8 out of 11 successes under Stokes. What will sting is they have been bested over these four days by the weakest India XI they will face on this tour. Some of the big guns are due back for the final three, adding an extra layer of intrigue on to an already thrilling series.England now head to Abu Dhabi for a break, with little but rest and relaxation on the agenda. Focus will soon shift to going again in Rajkot, exactly like this.

The India quick is like a lifeline, and has to be used when really needed, but it looked like he may have been left too late in the final

Sidharth Monga29-Jun-20241:23

Flower: ‘Fascinating game of cat and mouse from Rohit’

About 20 minutes before the toss, as he finishes measuring his run-up and bends low to mark it with white paint, Jasprit Bumrah feels a pat on his back. He turns back to see it is his wife, Sanjana Ganesan, a media professional herself, who minutes ago was shadow-boxing with Crystal Arnold, a TV anchor from South Africa, for the camera.She perhaps wishes Bumrah luck, who puts the bucket of paint down and hugs her, followed by a quick peck on the cheek. The final kiss of luck needed for the perfect fast bowler, still awaiting a world title despite three finals and a semi-final all formats put together? This is his fourth. With the skill, the discipline and the brain he has, Bumrah hardly needs any luck, but perhaps his team does. Just that little bit in a crucial moment. The rest they can leave to Bumrah.They have made the knockouts of five out of the last six World Cups, but are called chokers for not winning any. This is the sixth of seven. They are playing against another team that is called chokers.Related

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****

The last ball of the eighth over, bowled by Kuldeep Yadav, has been deposited in the stands by Quinton de Kock. India have got what can be called a strictly par total only because of Kuldeep and Bumrah. Otherwise it is insufficient. After a World Cup full of brave cricket, they have suddenly dropped that method in the final. There have been just three boundary attempts from overs 6 to 13, none of them from Virat Kohli.South Africa look in control, the last five overs have gone for 48 and no threat to the wicket, the momentum is with them, the pitch is not gripping, and the volunteers are now looking for the ball that de Kock seems to have lost for them. The cameras don’t catch it, but Bumrah goes to Kuldeep, probably tells him it’s okay, one day or one over doesn’t make you a bad bowler, and gives him a high five. Kuldeep has previously shown he can be down on himself perhaps too readily. You have got us here. Let’s hang in. Perhaps leave the rest to me?

****

De Kock has played his favourite pick-up pull shot off Arshdeep Singh because there is no fine leg. Next ball he tries it again but there is a fine leg there now. It is Kuldeep. Takes a safe enough catch. All the attention goes to Arshdeep standing on the pitch with arms aloft. Bumrah, though, runs towards Rishabh Pant pointing with his finger. It’s an “I told you so.” Pant acknowledges him.Even without the ball in hand, Bumrah is cooking.

****

Jasprit Bumrah’s final over changed the game•Getty ImagesWith the ball in hand, Bumrah has to be used judiciously. He is like the lifelines at a game show. After the powerplay, you use his overs only when you can’t do without it. Like against England, you don’t even use them all. Sometimes you keep them just to make the target look 10 runs bigger. When Marco Jansen is the opposition’s No. 7, it is possible you can hold him back till too late.From the fifth to the 14th over, South Africa have hit at least one boundary every over. The ball is coming on nicely, and Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller are looking good. Rohit Sharma still doesn’t go to his lifeline with just nine an over required over the last six overs with six wickets in hand. Probably because he knows he can use Bumrah to barge through once a wicket falls.Klaasen, though, gets stuck into Axar Patel’s last over. Axar has been an inspired selection because India had one left-arm spinner allrounder already. During this World Cup, Axar has been Rohit’s go-to man: promoted when wickets fall early, often the first spinner to bowl, often inside the powerplay. Even in the final, his 47 off 31 has allowed Kohli to bat the way he did. His closing, though, hasn’t been good: dozily run-out and now 24 runs off his last over.At 30 off 30 now, it seems it is too late for even Bumrah to do something. Is it ever?First ball: an inside edge mighty close to taking a wicket. On the second ball, Klaasen takes a couple to bring up the fastest fifty a World Cup final, off just 23 balls. Then Bumrah gets some tail into the pads. Then the yorker. Rohit says it is reverse. Bumrah with reverse. A lifeline with a lifeline. South Africa, though, need just 30 off five overs.The captain and his man of the World Cup – Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah share a moment together•ICC/Getty ImagesWhen Hardik Pandya gets an outside edge on a wide slower ball to send Klaasen back, and the way Jansen bats that over out, Miller becomes the massive wicket. Bumrah starts the 18th over around the wicket, the seam is up, the ball angles in and then leaves Miller so late he can’t do anything. Everybody thinks he is bowled, but that expectant flashing bail doesn’t appear. He has missed by a whisker. Miller has survived.Against Afghanistan, right here, Bumrah began his day with a slower ball at the start of the second over to get Rahmanullah Gurbaz. Here he is hardly bowling slower balls. He just knows what to do. Except that he doesn’t have the luck to take the wicket that can settle it here and now. He continues, though, and bursts through Jansen with the possible reverse. Just three from the over, he leaves others 19 to defend in two overs. From 30 off 30 when he came back earlier than usual. Is it ever too late for Bumrah?

****

It’s all done. Criminally, Bumrah is not the Player of the Match. India, though, have a World Cup trophy. Finally. For the first time since 2011. A stamp on the quality they have always known exists in their team. You can’t deny Bumrah the other award, though. With 15 wickets at 8.26 apiece and just 4.17 per over, Bumrah is the Player of the Tournament. While many are celebrating and being interviewed, Bumrah quietly stands with his wife and baby for a quick moment before she has to rush off.Sanjana still has work to do. Jasprit’s is done.For now.