Bangladesh scored 291 for the loss of just three wickets, one of them being Naeem Islam, who made an emotional maiden Test century, and one being Shakib Al Hasan, who threw away what would have been his third

The Report by Abhishek Purohit15-Nov-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Naeem Islam made his maiden Test hundred•AFP

To think that five of the six Bangladesh batsmen to fall gave their wickets away, and the home side were still on course to go past their highest Test total of 488. It left you wondering what would have been had they not. It was still Bangladesh’s day in the end. They scored 291 runs for the loss of just three wickets, one of them being Naeem Islam, who made an emotional maiden Test century, and one being Shakib Al Hasan, who threw away what would have been his third. Naeem and Shakib batted through the first session and put on 167, which is the highest for the fourth wicket by a Bangladesh pair.Naeem batted the old-fashioned way – he gave the first hour of the day to the West Indies bowlers and by tea, he had constructed his hundred. Naeem’s effort, and his partnerships with Shakib and Mushfiqur Rahim carried Bangladesh comfortably past the follow-on mark of 328, and even raised hopes of taking a lead, which would certainly be a huge achievement for a side playing its first Test in a year. Mahmudullah and Nasir Hossain kept those hopes alive with a sensible unbroken 87-run partnership after West Indies had dismissed Naeem and Mushfiqur in quick succession after tea.Naeem’s knock stood out not only for its resolve but also for what Bangladesh have often missed – a solid foil to the genius of Tamim Iqbal and Shakib. On day two, Shahriar Nafees, instead of ‘doing a Naeem’, had tried to match Tamim stroke for outrageous stroke, and had perished soon. Today, as Shakib went about tackling the West Indies attack in his own way, Naeem ensured the pyrotechnics were limited to one end, as he defended and left with purpose.Naeem faced 50 deliveries for eight runs till the first drinks break, and took 27 off 47 in the next hour, and scored 40 off 71 in the second session. At the other end, Shakib prospered through a mixture of fortune and attack before ultimately perishing to an overdose of the latter eleven runs shy of a hundred.

Smart stats

• Bangladesh’s total of 455 is their second-highest in Tests and their second 400-plus total against West Indies. Their highest total is 488 against Zimbabwe in Chittagong in 2005.

• The 167-run stand between Shakib Al Hasan and Naeem Islam is the highest fourth-wicket partnership for Bangladesh surpassing the previous best of 120 against West Indies in Jamaica in 2004.

• Naeem’s century is his first in Tests and the 24th by a Bangladesh batsman. Five of these centuries have come against West Indies.

• There has been only one previous occasion when Bangladesh have managed more fifty-plus stands (6) in a single innings than the four in this game against West Indies.

• This is the third time that four centuries have been scored in the first two innings in a Test in Bangladesh. The last time this happened was against India in 2007.

• The 982 runs scored so far is the highest ever in the first two innings in a Test in Bangladesh. The previous best was 915 in the Mirpur Test against England in 2010.

Shakib rode his fortune in the morning to keep the runs flowing. He was caught behind off a no-ball and came close to getting dismissed a few times, all against Ravi Rampaul, but survived, and then thrived. Rampaul got consistent bounce from short of a good length, and had Shakib in trouble. He beat Shakib outside off stump, had him edging just short of gully and a half-hearted top-edged pull fell at vacant square leg. In between, Rampaul pushed Shakib back with sharp bouncers. Shakib tried to hit out, and edged a follow-up wide delivery to the wicketkeeper in the 43rd over, but replays showed Rampaul had overstepped. That was to be the closest West Indies came all morning to breaking through.Despite the close shaves, Shakib hardly held back. The accurate debutant Veerasammy Permaul was slog-swept for boundaries. The fast bowlers were driven through cover. Naeem changed character after the first hour. He swept the third ball after drinks from Permaul for four. Darren Sammy was squeezed behind point for consecutive fours. He responded by beating Naeem twice in his next over, but the batsman ended Bangladesh’s session on a high by steering Sammy to the third-man rope. Eighty-eight runs without a wicket in the first session – Bangladesh could have hardly hoped for a better start today.It was to get better indeed after lunch, for a while at least. Shakib calmly drove the first ball after the break, from Sunil Narine, through extra cover for four. Narine wasn’t able to create any impact, and was hit out of the attack next over by Shakib with consecutive boundaries. Rampaul now returned to finally get his due. With the attack at his mercy and a century beckoning, Shakib walked out and mis-hit Rampaul to extra cover to walk off with an angry swish of his bat.Rampaul now tested Naeem and Mushfiqur as he moved the old ball in at sharp pace, and Sammy created further problems by taking it away off the seam. It was the first time seamers were operating from either end today. Mushfiqur escaped with an edged boundary past the slip cordon, but recovered to clip Sammy off his pads through midwicket for four more.The new ball, taken in the 83rd over, did not do as much as the old one had, and Mushfiqur capitalised with a few punchy fours. Naeem, after playing out a maiden to Tino Best on 98, flicked the fast bowler to the fine leg rope and fell into his captain’s embrace. He eventually fell off his 255th delivery, a tired push to a wide Sammy delivery ending in the wicketkeeper’s gloves. Less than five overs later, Mushfiqur, who had batted with the crisp solidity that defines his batting, charged at Permaul to give a return catch on 43.Bangladesh were still 159 runs shy of West Indies’ total, but Mahmudullah and Nasir made the home side’s batting depth count. They targeted the spinners intermittently and battled against the fast bowlers, who tested them with short deliveries and yorkers. By stumps, Bangladesh were within sight of West Indies’ 527, and by now, the visitors must be wondering whether their declaration had come too early on day two, as the pitch remained largely placid on day three.

Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders will kick off IPL 2013 by hosting Delhi Daredevils at Eden Gardens on April 3

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Dec-2012Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders will kick off IPL 2013 by hosting Delhi Daredevils at Eden Gardens on April 3. The 76-game league will have the same format as it did in the 2012 season, with each of the nine teams playing the others home and away, before the playoffs.The top four teams at the end of the round-robin stage on May 19 will qualify for the playoffs. The Qualifier 1 will be played in Chennai between the top two teams in the league and the winner of that match will secure a place in the final, in Kolkata on May 26. The loser of the Qualifier 1 will play the winner of the Eliminator, contested between the third and fourth teams in Chennai, in Qualifier 2, and the winner of that match in Kolkata will make the final.Hyderabad Sunrisers, the new IPL franchise owned by Sun TV network, will play their first game on April 5, at home against Pune Warriors.IPL 2013 will be played at 11 venues – the nine home venues plus Dharamsala and Ranchi. Kings XI Punjab will play their last two home games in Dharamsala, while Knight Riders will travel to Ranchi for their last two home games.

Brisbane Heat have kept their finals hopes alive with a convincing win over the hapless Sydney Thunder

The Report by Alex Malcolm28-Dec-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsChris Lynn’s unbeaten half-century helped stage a comfortable chase for Brisbane Heat against Sydney Thunder•Getty Images

Brisbane Heat have kept their finals hopes alive with a convincing win over the hapless Sydney Thunder.Yet again it was Thunder’s batting that failed them. The injection of Matt Prior and Usman Khawaja into the line-up did little to help their cause as Daniel Christian, who had been wicketless throughout the first four games of the tournament, took 5 for 26 to help bowl the Sydney side out for just 126.The drop-in pitch at ANZ Stadium also played its part. Chris Rogers won the toss but his side found it exceptionally hard to score. Chris Gayle could not break out of his slump. He was just 5 from 14 balls at one stage before finally breaking the shackles when he slugged his West Indies teammate Kemar Roach into the stands.Prior, understandably, struggled to give Gayle any support. Having arrived from a Test series in India he battled to adjust to the conditions. Both men fell to soft shots in the tenth over, Christian’s first of the innings. Gayle guided a long hop straight to point. Prior failed to clear mid-off in a desperate search for a boundary.Thunder were 3 for 60 at the halfway stage when they decided to turn on themselves.Sean Abbott fell to a clever slower ball from James Hopes. But Ryan Carters and Khawaja were both run out in terrible fashion. Carters and Khawaja ended up at the same end, Khawaja put his head down for an achievable two and ignored Carters call.Khawaja, having made his ground safely on that occasion, was caught short two overs later when Hopes produced a direct hit in his follow-through as Simon Keen called for an ambitious leg bye.Christian then cleaned up the tail to finish with a somewhat innocuous five-wicket haul.The chase was never a fait accompli. Luke Pomersbach struck the ball beautifully at the top of the order for Heat but a steady flow of wickets kept things interesting. Dirk Nannes continued his outstanding form nicking out Hopes and Joe Burns in a double wicket maiden with the score anchored at 26. Prior’s low catch of Hopes at slip did have an element of doubt to it.But it did not stop Pomersbach or Christian from cracking five boundaries in the next two overs. But neither man lasted much longer and Heat slumped to 4 for 57 to give Thunder hope.Chris Lynn entered to snuff out any belief the home side might have had. It was not the controlled innings one might have expected given the situation stipulated less than a run-a-ball. Rather than work the ball into gaps Lynn hit them over the fence. He struck four sixes, all of them to the short straight boundary, and three off the leg-spin of Adam Zampa. The young spinner could have claimed Lynn, deceiving him in flight but Carters missed a tough stumping chance.From there the result was never in doubt. Lynn finished with 51 not out from just 38 deliveries to steer his side home with 20 balls to spare.Thunder are now simply playing for pride when they meet cross-town rivals Sixers on Sunday night. Heat have to wait for the New Year to arrive before they host Stars at the Gabba.

ESPNcricinfo’s preview of the first Twenty20 between Australia and Sri Lanka in Sydney

The Preview by Brydon Coverdale25-Jan-2013

Match facts

Shaun Marsh’s BBL form has earned him a recall to Australia’s side•Getty Images

January 26, Stadium Australia
Start time 1935 (0835 GMT)

Big Picture

Sri Lanka didn’t quite manage to win the one-day series but they will fancy their chances in this two-match Twenty20 contest. The No.1-ranked T20 side in the world, they are taking on an outfit led by George Bailey that sits in seventh place on the ICC rankings. Not that Bailey’s team bears that much of a resemblance to the side that played at the World T20 last year: of the 12 men in the squad for this game, only six were part of the World T20 group. The selectors have instead rewarded BBL form, allowing men like Shaun Marsh, Adam Voges, James Faulkner and Ben Laughlin another chance at international level. The Sri Lankans, on the other hand, have plenty of international experience in their line-up. The two matches also mark the end of Sri Lanka’s near two-month tour and after their disappointing Test series and shared result in the ODIs, they will be keen to finish on a high.

Form guide

(Most recent first)
Australia LLWWW
Sri Lanka LWWWT

In the spotlight

Twelve months ago, Shaun Marsh‘s international career was on life support. Three months ago it appeared the situation was terminal. A big night out in South Africa during the Champions League did Marsh’s reputation no good – although plenty of Perth Scorchers team-mates had also been out partying – and when the players returned home his form was so poor that he was dropped from the state side. But a productive BBL in which he was the leading run scorer encouraged the selectors to give Marsh another chance in the national T20 side. If he grabs it, 2013 might be a much more pleasing year for Marsh than 2012.Something about T20 cricket just agrees with Lasith Malinga. Only Dirk Nannes has taken more wickets in the format than the 191 Malinga has collected. At times in the BBL he was devastating as batsmen struggled to handle his yorkers, slower balls and bouncers. Although he was overshadowed in the ODIs by Nuwan Kulasekara, Malinga is back in his best format and looms as the key man for Sri Lanka.

Team news

Australia’s batting line-up appears settled, with their main decision surrounding the make-up of the attack. There are four fast men in the squad – Ben Cutting, James Faulkner, Mitchell Starc and Ben Laughlin – along with the spinner Xavier Doherty and the allrounder Glenn Maxwell. They can also extract some overs of spin from Adam Voges.Australia (possible) 1 David Warner, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Shaun Marsh, 4 Adam Voges, 5 George Bailey (capt), 6 Matthew Wade (wk), 7 Glenn Maxwell, 8 Ben Cutting, 9 James Faulkner, 10 Mitchell Starc, 11 Xavier Doherty.Sri Lanka might choose to give the teenage spinner Akila Dananjaya his first outing of the tour, while Ajantha Mendis is also a likely inclusion.Sri Lanka (possible) 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Mahela Jayawardene, 3 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 4 Angelo Mathews (capt), 5 Lahiru Thirimanne, 6 Jeevan Mendis, 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Lasith Malinga, 10 Ajantha Mendis, 11 Akila Dananjaya.

Pitch and conditions

This will be Stadium Australia’s second international match, after it debuted last summer with a Twenty20 between Australia and India. In the four BBL games there this season scores were not particularly high, although that was perhaps as much more to do with the Sydney Thunder’s poor form as the venue.”A couple of low scoring games here [during the BBL] so we’ll have a look at that,” Bailey said. “It can be a little slow and the other thing with the drop-in wickets is you don’t get much pace off the square either so a little bit of adjustment. But it is always tempting to see how short it is straight here too.”

Stats and trivia

• Australia and Sri Lanka have met in six T20 internationals. Sri Lanka have won four and Australia two
• This will be Australia’s 59th T20 international and if Cutting debuts, he will be the 60th player to represent Australia in T20s

Quotes

“It’s the same game but just with accelerated decision-making and upping the ante a little earlier [than ODIs]. But I don’t think there’ll be too much as far as new shots or anything like that. I certainly don’t have that up my sleeve. And for those who haven’t been playing the one-dayers it’s perfect preparation – they’ve just come out of the BBL.”

“We would probably say the top seven batters [not just Warner], they’re really good, so we’re not concentrating on any individual, but we as a team have been doing really well in the one day series and we hope to continue in the T20 form as well.”

Mitchell Johnson is looming as a central player in Australia’s plans for the Test matches against India

Daniel Brettig11-Feb-2013For his durability, experience and current run of strong form, Mitchell Johnson is looming as a central player in Australia’s plans for the Test matches against India.There is something else that will also enhance Johnson’s chances of taking on a major role for the tourists, an attitude more so than an attribute. Johnson enjoys bowling in India, loves the feel provided by the SG ball, and has no qualms whatsoever about the adversity destined to be faced by all fast men on the subcontinent.Across six Test matches in India, Johnson’s returns have been serviceable rather than spectacular – 21 wickets at 37.23 – but he has developed an affinity for the region and its conditions. The captain Michael Clarke and the coach Mickey Arthur value his ability to deliver long spells and summon the occasional burst of reverse swing, despite conditions that could not be more different from Johnson’s happiest hunting ground at the WACA.If Johnson is yet to play in a winning Test match in India, on at least one occasion he should have. The 2010 Mohali Test ended in a one-wicket victory for the hosts, yet with a few runs still required Johnson pinned Pragyan Ojha for the plumbest of LBW shouts, only to have the umpire Billy Bowden deny the appeal. That day, the SG ball sat comfortably in Johnson’s left hand, and it did again recently when he began training with it again in preparation for the tour.”I love bowling with the SG ball. It’s a nice feel in the hands, it’s a bit thin at the seam but it stands up taller,” Johnson said. “In their conditions over there what I’ve learned is the ball really doesn’t swing. The last couple of times I’ve been there, watching the Indians they bowl a lot across the seam for 10-12 overs, and then they seem to really get into the rough side, getting a bit of sweat into it and shine the other side, and getting reverse swing. That’s something I’ve picked up over there.”Reverse swing is a very hard thing to face, so that’ll be something we’ll be trying our best to do … I’m sure the guys are already practising it over there. I’ve had SG balls at training sessions. I actually went back to club training while we were in Perth and bowled with an SG ball over there and it started to do a few things early on. All us fast bowlers have been given an SG ball to play with and we’ve been working on that. I’m looking forward to getting into that practice game [in Chennai] and seeing if it all works.”Australian knowledge of how to bowl fast in India reached a peak in 2004 when the visitors won the series 2-1, breaking a drought that stretched back to 1969-70. However those lessons had been all but lost by the time Ricky Ponting’s team returned in 2008, when none of the bowlers seemed to have any clue about how to get the ball moving.Their coach Troy Cooley appeared even less an authority on the topic, and the vistors’ eyes widened at how often India’s bowlers ignored the conventional seam-up approach and had the ball reverse swinging inside a handful of overs. Since then a little more know-how has been gained, and Johnson said he had taken time to watch footage of Zaheer Khan by way of refreshing his memory.”It does go [reverse] early, and with a hard reverse swinging ball it does make it even harder to face I think,” Johnson said. “I’ve been watching Zaheer Khan bowl, he’s an unbelievable left-arm bowler, and just watching the way he bowled over in their conditions. When the ball’s reverse swinging when it’s hard and then bouncing through a bit more it’s very difficult, and he’s had a lot of success over there.”Hopefully a few other guys like Peter Siddle have learned from that and are going to take that into the tour. We’ve got a few fast bowlers over there but I’ll be pushing as hard as I can to get into that first XI. It’s a great thing to have for Australian cricket in a Test series over in India, very difficult conditions to bowl in as a fast bowler. I love the challenge of bowling over there in those conditions, against a great side. There’ll be some fiery net sessions I’m sure.”While Australia’s selection of a 17-man squad has provided the team with a wide array of options, there is a view within the team that to load up with spin in deference to the slow, low surfaces likely to be on offer would detract from the great strength of pace bowling that has helped lift the team to third in the ICC’s Test rankings since Clarke became captain.Steve Rixon, the assistant coach, is adamant that high quality pace bowling will be as difficult for India’s batsmen to face as wily spin will be vexing for Australia. Though not a selector, he counselled those choosing the team for the first Test in Chennai not to sap an area Australia is strong simply because it is the done thing in India.”That’s one thing we keep forgetting about,” Rixon said. “We talk about swinging the ball up front and reverse-swing during the game is very important. But having tall bowlers hitting the deck hard at 145 (km/h) is equally as hard for any Asian player to combat as it would be for our guys to combat their spin bowling.”We’re going to have a distinct advantage with our quick bowlers. Our quick bowlers will play a part and it will be the fact that they hit the deck hard – whether [selectors] have a leaning towards your spinners, which I’m thinking is going away from our strength. But I don’t make that decision. Our quicks have put us where we are. In these conditions, we shouldn’t ignore that. Just because you’re playing in different conditions, your strength is still your strength.”

Alastair Cook heaped praise on bowlers James Anderson and Steve Finn after his side won the third ODI against New Zealand in Auckland by five wickets

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Feb-2013England captain Alastair Cook heaped praise on fast bowlers James Anderson and Steven Finn after his side won the third ODI against New Zealand in Auckland by five wickets, and with it the series 2-1.”They have been magnificent, these two games,” he said after the match. “Finny’s pace, I think, has been up around the 90mph mark pretty much all the time, and Jimmy’s world class and he showed it again here.”Finn and Anderson left the hosts reeling at 11 for 3 by the eighth over and Cook said it gave the team a definite advantage. “I think they were 20 for 2 in the game before, and today they were 20 for 3 after 10 or 15 overs. From a captain’s point of view it’s pretty easy after that. When McCullum gets going, it’s a little frustrating, but 180 wasn’t enough and we handled the pressure of chasing pretty well.”Finn said it was great to form a partnership Anderson, whom he called one of the best fast bowlers in the world. “To be able to bowl at the other end and to feed off him and learn off him is brilliant,” he said on Sky Sports 1. “We felt we didn’t quite get it right in the first game – maybe we were a little bit rusty but playing these last few games we felt really good. We’ve set the tone early and the batsmen have been brilliant as well, so it’s been great.”Cook also praised England’s comeback in the series after they lost the first ODI by three wickets. “We showed a lot of character in these last two must-win games and that can only bode well for us in the future.” He wanted England to maintain their level of focus as they prepared for three-Test series.”We’re going to have to do it again in the Test series because they’re very dangerous players, and if we’re off our game they’re going to punish us. There’s absolutely no complacency.”

Jim Allenby scored an unbeaten half century to put Glamorgan in a handy position at the end of the second day of their match against Worcestershire in Cardiff

18-Apr-2013
ScorecardJim Allenby ensured Glamorgan built a useful lead on the second day•Getty Images

Jim Allenby scored an unbeaten half century to put Glamorgan in a handy position at the end of the second day of their County Championship Division Two match against Worcestershire in Cardiff.Allenby scored 71 not out with the Welsh county finishing on 235 for 7 – a lead of 112 – after Worcestershire were bowled out for only 123 on the first day. There were also useful contributions from opener Ben Wright (40) and Marcus North (48) in a low-scoring contest, while Worcestershire seam duo Alan Richardson and Gareth Andrew claimed three wickets apiece.An hour’s play was lost to rain in the middle of the morning session and when the players returned to the middle Andrew made the breakthrough by bowling Will Bragg to leave Glamorgan 22 for 1. Andrew was on target again after lunch, trapping Stewart Walters in front straight after the right-hander had cover driven the bowler for 4.North and Wright gave the Glamorgan innings some impetus by putting on a valuable 59 for the third wicket. Glamorgan had reached the 100-mark but, in the next over, Wright pushed forward and edged behind to give Richardson his first wicket.Former Sussex batsman Murray Goodwin still has to make double figures at the start of his Glamorgan career and he went for only 1 when he was caught at point by Neil Pinner to leave the home side 114 for 3.Allenby duly dispatched David Lucas for successive fours through the covers as
Glamorgan went into the lead just before tea. Resuming the evening session on 134 for 4, North looked certain to get his half century but he was two short of the target as he went leg before to Richardson.Glamorgan skipper Mark Wallace only made one from 11 balls before edging Andrew
behind. But the Glamorgan seventh-wicket pair of Allenby and Graham Wagg proved more
useful. Allenby registered the first 50 by a Glamorgan player this season and also brought up his side’s first batting point of the summer.The second new ball accounted for Wagg who top-edged Richardson to Lucas ending
a 63-run partnership with Allenby. Dean Cosker did a good job of guiding Glamorgan to the close with no further scares as the first innings lead went to three figures.

Azhar Mahmood, the Kings XI Punjab allrounder, was happy to contribute with the ball after failing with the bat, as his team edged Kolkata Knight Riders for a four-run victory in Mohali on Tuesday evening

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Apr-2013Azhar Mahmood, the Kings XI Punjab allrounder, was happy to contribute with the ball after failing with the bat, as his team edged Kolkata Knight Riders for a four-run victory in Mohali on Tuesday evening. Azhar had fallen for a first-ball duck, part of offspinner Sunil Narine’s hat-trick, but then took 3 for 21 as Kings XI reeled in Knight Riders in a chase they looked set to complete comfortably.Mahmood’s wicket haul included Jacques Kallis (whom he got early) and Eoin Morgan (who was well-set on 47), apart from Debabrata Das. The quality of the players he dismissed, left Mahmood pleased: “Kallis is one of the best allrounders in the world and Eoin Morgan, he is a finisher. I have played a lot of cricket against him so I know his strength and weakness. I bowled in the middle when it was crucial to get a wicket, and I got a wicket for my team,” he told the IPL website. “I am quite pleased with that after getting a duck.”Knight Riders had slipped from 106 for 2 (52 needed off 42) to 128 for 6 (30 needed off 12). Parvinder Awana picked up a wicket in the penultimate over, but conceded 19. That left seamer Praveen Kumar to bowl the final over, with the visitors needing 11.Mahmood, an experienced T20 practitioner, had advice for Praveen: “I used to bowl in the death, but Praveen hasn’t bowled in the death and I was telling him what to bowl and where to bowl because against tailenders sometimes it is different as compared to the regular top and middle order batsmen.”Kings XI had set Knight Riders a target of 158. That was a below par batting show, Mahmood said. “It is a brilliant win, but we didn’t play well enough. Our 157 was not good enough on this pitch. But as a unit we bowled really well and we got crucial wickets at crucial times.”That Kings XI even got to 157 was down to No. 8 Manpreet Gony, who slammed 42 off 18 balls after his side had been reduced to 99 for 6 in 15. Gony, who was bought by the team at the auction in February for US$500,000, was just the kind of lower-order big-hitter they were missing in their earlier games, Mahmood said. “He smashed the ball very well and that’s what we need in the lower-order. We were missing someone like him coming down the order and getting some quick runs, so quite pleased with his performance. He is a good asset for our team.”

The Sawai Mansingh Stadium continued to remain a fortress for Rajasthan Royals, though it came close to being breached by Pune Warriors during a high-scoring clash

The Report by Siddhartha Talya05-May-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Stuart Binny celebrates after scoring the winning runs in Jaipur•BCCI

The Sawai Mansingh Stadium continued to remain a fortress for Rajasthan Royals, though it came close to being breached by Pune Warriors during a high-scoring clash on Sunday. Royals moved to No. 4 in the IPL points table, their openers Rahul Dravid and Ajinkya Rahane guiding a challenging chase with half-centuries, and Stuart Binny and Sanju Samson chipping in with crucial cameos to help sneak their team home in the final over. The sixth straight win at home for Royals was a seventh consecutive loss for Warriors, who need to get their bowling in order to spoil a party or two this season.The dew was a factor in Jaipur, but Rahul Sharma’s long-hops in a game-changing 17th over could not be blamed on the environment alone. With 43 needed off 24 balls, he gifted a short ball outside off to Binny, who promptly slashed it past point. Two more short deliveries later, Binny pulled the next one over the deep midwicket boundary. Samson faced his first ball with 28 needed off 16, and began imperiously, showing no signs of nerves, driving Wayne Parnell on the up and then running him past third man for successive boundaries. Binny took charge, dispatching a length ball from Bhuvneshwar Kumar for six in the penultimate over and squeezing Parnell past mid-on for four to seal victory when one run was needed off two balls.Dravid surprised a few by walking out to open instead of Shane Watson during Royals’ chase of 179, but took the lead in delivering a brisk start that was the foundation for his team’s successful overhaul of Warriors’ score. He punched Bhuvneshwar for two boundaries through point in the opening over, then targeted Krishnakant Upadhyaya for three fours to three different parts of the ground. The best shot of his innings was an inside-out drive for four off Angelo Mathews, and he had a straight six up his sleeve off Rahul Sharma shortly before holing out for 58. It was part of a 98-run opening stand with Rahane, in 71 balls.Rahane will feel a little hard done to have missed out on a place in the Champions Trophy squad, and his latest knock ended an unsatisfactory run of scores over the last few matches for him. He played the supporting role to his captain, but took charge in the 14th over off Mathews, helping snatch 21, including two fours and a sweetly-timed six over extra cover. Not one to derive a lot of thrill playing cross-batted shots, Rahane dragged a couple from outside off stump against the Warriors seamers, one of them ending up as a flat six. When he fell, he left Binny with a task he’s become quite familiar with this season, as a finisher.On a good track to bat on, Robin Uthappa had given Warriors a real shot at victory with a second-successive half-century. He is known to have worked hard this season, having lost 17 kilos to get in shape. Together with Aaron Finch, with whom he added 97, Uthappa took advantage of some sloppy Royals bowling that included a series of wides down the leg side. He middled the ball, and Mitchell Marsh ended the innings on a high, cruising to an unbeaten 35 off 21 balls. It marked a second straight improved performance with the bat from Warriors, but wasn’t enough to rescue their bowlers.

Preview of IPL 2013’s first qualifier, between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians in Delhi

The Preview by Nikita Bastian20-May-2013

Match facts

May 21, 2013
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Chennai Super Kings sent Mumbai Indians packing in last year’s playoffs•AFP

Big Picture

After 72 league matches – mismatches, in some cases – we’re into the final week of the IPL. The most important week. The week Chennai Super Kings have negotiated five times previously, with more success than failure; they’re the only team to progress past the league stage in every edition of the IPL so far, losing once in the semis, finishing runners-up twice (including last year), and winning the title in 2010 and 2011. Of the 10 playoff matches they’ve contested, they’ve won seven. They will go into the first qualifier knowing just how to win these big games, and with the cushion of having a second chance at making the final should they need it – both huge pluses.But, in Mumbai Indians, Super Kings face the only IPL line-up that is arguably even stronger than their own. While the two teams match-up on the batting front – both in terms of proven performers and power-hitting – Mumbai hold the clear edge in the bowling department. This season, especially, Mumbai’s bowlers have been lethal as a unit (as opposed to Lasith Malinga being the single biggest threat), with Mitchell Johnson swinging it at pace, Harbhajan Singh striking consistently while being economical, and Pragyan Ojha and Dhawal Kulkarni providing reliable support. They’ve already demolished Super Kings’ line-up once this season, rolling them for 79 – the tournament’s lowest total – at the Wankhede.Both teams are coming off losses after seemingly letting their guard down in inconsequential matches, but before being tripped up in Dharamsala Mumbai had five comfortable wins in a row. Super Kings, on the other hand, have an up-and-down record of late after posting an record-equalling seven consecutive IPL victories earlier in the tournament. That has prompted talk of them having peaked too early.Both teams have injury concerns to key players: Albie Morkel and Sachin Tendulkar. If Morkel is fit, he is likely to slot in as one of three overseas seam-bowling allrounders for Super Kings. If Tendulkar is fit, Mumbai will have to take a tough call – his replacement, Aditya Tare, has made two handy contributions, scoring rapidly as opener for a team that has got off to slow starts more often than not. Ambati Rayudu, who has 196 runs in 16 matches at 17.81, could be the one to miss out.

Form guide

Chennai Super Kings: LWLWL (most recent first)
Mumbai Indians: LWWWW

In the spotlight

M Vijay has had a woeful IPL 2013 so far. He came into the tournament having enjoyed much success in India’s home Test series against Australia, but his form has fallen away rapidly. More than his stats – 271 runs at 22.58 in 13 games – it has been the manner in which he has batted that has inspired very little confidence: he has swung and missed, scratched around, and hardly ever dominated the bowling. Against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Saturday, Super Kings seemed more interested in allowing Vijay to bat his way back into form than going after the steep target in the eight-over shootout. The team, and Vijay, will be quietly hoping for a repeat of last year, when he followed up a forgettable league stage with 113 off 58 balls in the qualifiers.Lasith Malinga, by his standards, has had an average IPL. He has not been in contention for the purple cap at any point, and is only third on Mumbai Indians’ bowling charts in terms of wickets taken. But his record of 17 wickets at 21.05, with an economy rate of 6.71, is far from poor and it would be silly to underestimate him; it is still likely to be Malinga who causes the most telling damage if he gets those killer yorkers right.

Stats and trivia

• Mumbai are comfortably ahead in the head-to-head against Super Kings, winning eight off 13 games. In their last six encounters, Super Kings have won only once. But, revealingly, Super Kings have won both the playoff games between the two
• On Saturday, Malinga became the first bowler to 100 IPL wickets. Harbhajan Singh and Albie Morkel, with 73 wickets apiece, are joint-third behind Malinga and Kings XI’s Piyush Chawla for the most wickets taken for a single team in the IPL

Quotes

“I have been given the role of bowling in the Powerplays. But the only instruction I was given was to stick to whatever I have been doing so far, not think too much and try to remain as blank as I can. The coach and captain told me that whatever I have done on the cricket field so far has brought me into the IPL and the same will take me forward in my career.”