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The Bangladesh coach admitted to misreading the pitch before the match, which affected team balance, but put the daunting target in front of them down to the first-innings batting

Mohammad Isam05-Nov-2018After collapsing to 143 all out, which was largely down to some loose batting outside the off-stump, and conceding a massive first-innings lead in the process on the second day, Bangladesh seemed to make more of an effort to leave balls outside off on Monday in Sylhet. For a shot-a-minute batting pair that is reflective of the larger mindset of a batting unit still suffering from limited-overs hangover, it was a discernible change.Liton tightening up his outside off play, in particular, must be encouraging for a Bangladesh team looking to minimise damage in a chase of 321. Liton left 10 out of the 38 balls he faced, having left just four out of 25 in the first innings.Against the disciplined fast bowling of Kyle Jarvis and Tendai Chatara, it was the sort of batting that coach Steve Rhodes wanted to see so desperately. Even so, Liton and Imrul have done it for just 61 balls, and have all of the fourth day to negotiate with similar discipline.Rhodes said that the remaining 295 runs, particularly with 10 wickets in hand, are attainable. “It is wonderful to get through tonight,” he said. “We have a little platform. The ball is a bit older. We have got 10 wickets in hand. The boys are happy. The captain is happy. He did a good job out there today in marshalling the troops. He said some nice things about what we need to do. We are in a positive frame of mind, but we also know we have a big challenge on our hands.”Today, Liton [Das] and Imrul [Kayes] showed that they were very capable against two bowlers who did very well in the first innings. If you can get through those bowlers, there are definitely ways of scoring those runs. We are looking at a couple of very good partnerships. If we can achieve it, we can win the game. Chasing a score that is the highest score in the game is very difficult, but it is achievable.”Rhodes said that the pitch doesn’t have too many demons, which may make batting easier than it is usually on the fourth day. “The good thing is, it is not a raging turner. It is not turning every ball. The odd ball turns. As long as you don’t let that worry you too much, you can certainly play against spin on that wicket,” he said.Rhodes, however, admitted that they had misread the surface in the days leading up to the game, believing that it would turn a lot more than it did. “The wicket surprised us a little bit. The ends were extremely dry leading up to the Test. The middle was little bit more together, but it got drier and drier as the first day neared. We felt that there would be a lot of spin but it hasn’t happened.”I believe against Sri Lanka in Chittagong, there was a similar situation when everyone thought it would spin but it didn’t. It is spinning, but infrequently. Generally, you should be able to score off most deliveries.”Reading wickets is not easy. Sometimes, even with lots of experience, you can get it slightly wrong. We thought this wicket would turn a lot more, so we probably misread it slightly.”Misreading the pitch also led to Bangladesh choosing a third spinner, leaving Abu Jayed as the lone fast bowler. Rhodes said that the line-up lost balance because of this decision, but that it was the batsmen’s performance in the first innings that put them in a difficult situation.”I am desperate to get a couple of quicker bowlers to play for Bangladesh. It would be great for them then to be able to go overseas and have some experience from playing here. We were desperate to do it as a side, but as it turned out, when it came to the final call, it really came down to the wicket.”We felt that the best chance was to go with the one pace bowler and three spinners. It wasn’t a balanced side. It wasn’t a balanced attack. You could argue it was a 50-50 call; thankfully, we have taken 20 wickets. The reason we are in a slight hole is because of our first innings batting. We need to put it right.”

The opener’s seventh Test century and his unbeaten 118-run stand with captain Dinesh Chandimal laid the groundwork for Sri Lanka on the opening day of the pink-ball Test

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando06-Oct-2017Stumps
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDimuth Karunaratne was largely comfortable, both against pace and spin•Getty Images

Dimuth Karunaratne’s unbeaten 133 – an innings defined by its smoothness and control – ensured Sri Lanka’s first brush with day-night Test cricket was a success. They moved to 254 for 3 by stumps, after debutant Sadeera Samarawickrama contributed a delectable 38, and Dinesh Chandimal progressed to the verge of another cautious half-century. Earlier in the day, Kaushal Silva had hung around for 27 off 71 balls as well.Pakistan had got themselves in the match soon after the tea break, when Samarawickrama and Kusal Mendis fell in quick succession. Though they had Sri Lanka 136 for 3 at one stage, no further wickets would come in the second half of the day. Their frustrations were compounded in the last half an hour when Mohammad Amir pulled up in the middle of 88th over and left the field clutching his thigh, prompting concerns over the state of his hamstring. Sarfraz Ahmed also burned their two reviews trying to dismiss the irritating Chandimal.

Smart stats

870 – Test runs for Dimuth Karunaratne this year. He’s now third on te list behind Dean Elgar and Hashim Amla.
2 – Century partnerships for the fourth wicket for Sri Lanka in this series, both between Karunaratne and Dinesh Chandimal. In the home series against India they could collect only 77 runs from six fourth-wicket partnerships.
2012 – Last time a Sri Lankan opener scored three or more centuries in a year, before Karunaratne in 2017. Tillakaratne Dilshan was the last then and the last before that, in 2009.

Though the quicks gleaned good movement with the new pink balls, it was Yasir Shah who was the most menacing bowler, getting faster and faster turn off the Dubai pitch through the day. He bowled 29.3 overs and returned figures of 2 for 90. Amir was the other bowler to make a breakthrough – his first in the series.While other batsmen advanced at varying rates around him, Karunaratne was Sri Lanka’s day one metronome. Samarawickrama produced a boundary-filled cameo; Chandimal and Kaushal stonewalled, almost becoming completely inert at times. Karunaratne, however, progressed evenly, never getting pinned down, never pressing the attack for long. He struck three fours off one Mohammad Amir over just before the tea break, but that was as exciting as his day got. Otherwise, he was seen flicking balls to his favourite midwicket region, and working the spinners towards square leg. Over a hundred of his runs, and 11 of his 16 boundaries came on the legside.This seventh career hundred – his first in the first innings since 2015 – is an extension of his excellent run in 2017. Though he missed out on triple figures at Abu Dhabi, where he was run out on 93, Karunaratne has nevertheless struck three high-quality centuries this year, all against good attacks. Following two years in which he constantly tested the selectors’ patience, this has been a long-awaited harvest.Gone from his game are the impetuous flashes that frustrated him early in his career, and the tentativeness that plagued him twelve months ago. The Karunaratne that has emerged in 2017 is versatile and tempered – rarely short of scoring options for long, and often able to weather testing spells. On Friday, he saw out some early swing from Amir, and defused Yasir expertly, though the spinner was already gaining substantial turn from this surface. Even late in the day, he would make calculated trips down the track, to the spinners.Sri Lanka’s strong total had been built upon a sturdy opening stand, but it was the partnership for the second wicket that was the most watchable of the day. Samarawickrama, clearly unfazed by the occasion, showcased his considerable talent during his 35-ball stay. His battle with Yasir was particularly memorable.After the tea break, he cracked the legspinner through cover, then ran down the pitch to smoke him inside-out over the infield. Yasir occasionally beat his edge – especially with the slider – but Samarawickrama continued to attack nonetheless. After he flitted down the pitch to thump Yasir over the long off boundary, Sarfraz even took Yasir out of the attack. This, however, was no real victory for the batsman. Amir, the man who replaced Yasir, took Samarawickrama’s wicket with the first ball of his spell, leaping to his left to hold a return catch. So promising a maiden innings had it been, it was surprising how tamely it ended.The momentum that Samarawickrama had introduced to the Sri Lanka innings, however, would not last beyond his dismissal. After Mendis had also fallen, Chandimal played himself in slowly, as is his recent wont. He had one run off 21 balls before he attempted a boundary, and that sweep off Yasir may have been caught had Mohammad Abbas positioned himself better at square leg. In any case, Chandimal survived and just as he had done in the first innings at Abu Dhabi, set about making himself a nuisance. He would leave often, and defend even more, while his partner did much of the run-scoring. Toward their unbeaten stand of 118, Karunaratne contributed 68.With the pitch already turning, and an in-form Rangana Herath in their ranks, the visitors will feel confident about their position in the match. Their modest rate of scoring, however, means that Pakistan could still claim the advantage with early strikes on day two.

The ICC has handed official warnings under its pitch and outfield monitoring process to Kingsmead in Durban and the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Sep-2016The ICC has handed official warnings under its pitch and outfield monitoring process to Kingsmead in Durban and the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain. Kingsmead hosted the first Test between South Africa and New Zealand from August 19 to 23, and the Queen’s Park Oval the fourth Test between West Indies and India from August 18 to 22. Both matches were heavily curtailed because of outfield conditions.Andy Pycroft and Ranjan Madugalle, the match referees for the two Tests, both rated the outfields “poor” in their official reports.Madugalle and Geoff Allardice, the ICC’s general manager, reviewed CSA’s response to the “poor” rating, while Allardice and match referee David Boon reviewed WICB’s response.Since this was the first occasion either ground had received a “poor” rating, the grounds stood to receive either a warning or a fine not exceeding USD 15,000, along with “a directive for appropriate corrective action”.”The sanctions take into account Durban and Port of Spain venues’ history of producing good conditions for international cricket and commitment by both the boards to take appropriate steps to ensure similar events are not repeated in future,” an ICC release said.In all, 11 sessions out of 15 were lost to a wet and soft outfield at Kingsmead. Only 22 overs of play were possible in the Port of Spain Test, with no play at all on days two, three, four and five despite largely sunny weather.

Ashton Agar looks set to play his first competitive game since a shoulder injury sidelined him for four months

Deivarayan Muthu in Chennai28-Jul-2015Ashton Agar had a stellar start to his international career when he struck 98, the Test record for a No. 11 on debut in the 2013 Ashes. But he has yet to impress in his primary role, as a left-arm spinner and a shoulder injury has not helped. After being sidelined for four months from March to July, he is ready to get back to cricket and hopes to play the second unofficial Test against India A on Wednesday.”It’s been about 15 weeks [since the shoulder surgery],” Agar said. “The strength is improving, the range is improving. It has improved enough to allow me to play in this game. I won’t be diving in the field, but everything else is okay.”Agar got a surprise call-up for the fourth Test against India at the SCG, but he did not get to play. His last competitive game was the Sheffield Final in March. Playing for Western Australia, he took four wickets and scored a 44 not out in the first innings. He stressed that his ultimate goal was to have a long career with Australia, rather than making sporadic appearances.”That’s the ultimate goal, to play for Australia. You want to have a career for Australia, not just a few games here and there.” he said.”It means a lot, playing Ashes cricket, it’s enormous. The boys are really enjoying it now, the series one-all. There is a huge amount of pride if you’re playing for your country and in the Ashes its hiked up even more.”Agar also added that the Australians would relish the challenge of playing against Virat Kohli, who had requested the BCCI to let him play in Chennai so as to gain match practice ahead of the Sri Lanka tour.”It will be a good challenge for everyone to play against a player like Virat Kohli. I think everyone is excited about the opportunity and everyone is going to want to have his wicket.”Agar has been to India before, with the senior side in 2013 and was not worried about playing on slow pitches. He said that a chat with Gautam Gambhir in Perth had helped understand and adapt to how batsman tackle spinners.”I learnt the pace that I need to bowl on these wickets, I learnt how the batters like to play, how their use their feet and maybe got a bit shorter and then sit back and cut the ball or pull the ball,” Agar said.”So they pick up the lengths quickly, so I have to adjust very quickly to the way they are playing me. I have learnt what sort of fields I need to set from the first ball. I have spoken to Gautam Gambhir. He was with Justin [Langer] in Western Australia just before I came in from Perth for two weeks. It was a great experience. He played against me in a game. So, he could give some feedback and that was quite valuable coming here.”

A round-up of the last round matches in the Zimbabwe Pro50 Championship

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jan-2013
ScorecardThe match between the top two teams of the Pro50 Championship could not produce a result as it was abandoned to due to rain after 11.2 overs at the Kwekwe Sports Club. Matabeleland Tuskers chose to bat after winning the toss and lost their captain Keegan Meth on the first ball of the match. No. 3 Bilal Shafayat also departed soon, leaving them at 9 for 2. Craig Ervine steadied the innings from there along with the other opener Brian Chari before rain interrupted play. Both the teams got two points each and continued their lead at the top of the table which means the final on January 19 will be played between the same two teams.Not a single ball was bowled in the other match between the bottom two teams of the table which had to be played at the Triangle Country Club. Even the toss could not take place due to rains and the match was washed out.

A round-up of the second day’s play from the quarter-finals of the Ranji Trophy Elite League

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jan-2012Dishant Yagnik scored his maiden first-class century to help Rajasthan reach 421 at Uppal•Sakshi Telugu Daily

J Kaushik ran through the Maharashtra middle and lower order on the second morning at Chepauk, and Tamil Nadu‘s top order then put their team in control by stumps. Kaushik, a 26-year-old medium-pacer in his debut season, had received praise from his captain L Balaji before the game, and showed why with a five-wicket haul that sent Maharashtra crashing from 204 for 4 overnight to 232 all out. Kaushik struck with the first ball of the morning, dismissing SD Atitkar caught-behind. His third over of the morning brought three wickets: Kedar Jadhav and Ajinkya Joshi were caught in the slips off consecutive balls, and then Akshay Darekar was dismissed in similar fashion off the last ball of the over.A few overs later, Kaushik completed his maiden five-wicket haul in first-class cricket by bowling No. 11 Samad Fallah. After having set a base on the first day, Maharashtra had collapsed. Tamil Nadu’s batsmen took advantage. Abhinav Mukund, the second-highest run-getter in the Elite division this season, and M Vijay put together an opening stand of 173 to flatten the visitors. There was some respite as the two were dismissed in quick succession but S Badrinath settled in and finished the day on 35 not out with Tamil Nadu 259 for 3.Abhinav fell short of what would have been his third hundred of the season, getting trapped lbw by Ajinkya Joshi on 95, and Vijay fell to Akshay Darekar for 79. Despite those two wickets Maharashtra are staring at a big first-innings deficit unless they can affect a collapse on the third morning similar to the one Kaushik affected today.

Aakash Chopra and Dishant Yagnik completed centuries on the second day at Uppal to build an imposing total of 421 for Rajasthan. By the end of the day Hyderabad had slipped to 35 for 2. Chopra and Yagnik had begun a recovery act on the first day, rescuing their team from 129 for 5 to finish the day 220 for 5. On the second day, they seized control, extending the sixth-wicket stand to 185 runs. Chopra completed his second century of the tournament, and went on to get 142, an innings that took 450 balls and included just 42 runs from fours and sixes.Yagnik, Rajasthan’s wicketkeeper, got his maiden first-class century, also taking his time on the way to 101. Contributions from Vivek Yadav and Pankaj Singh down the order further frustrated Hyderabad, who were kept in the field for 167.1 overs. Debutant left-arm spinner Mehdi Hasan finished with 5 for 62 but the rest of the bowlers struggled to pick up wickets.Hyderabad’s batsmen then had to negotiate an awkward ten-over spell at the end of the day, and each of Rajasthan’s new-ball bowlers, Pankaj Singh and Sumit Mathur, found success. Akshath Reddy was dismissed by Pankaj for 12 and T Suman was bowled by Mathur for a nine-ball duck. Hyderabad now face an uphill climb on the final two days.

On another eventful day in Bangalore, which saw fifteen wickets fall, Karnataka won the first session, then gave away the middle one to Haryana, and just when it seemed like they had bounced back after tea lost their top order, giving the visitors a slight edge at the halfway stage of the quarter-final contest. Click here for the full report of the day’s action.

Kaustubh Pawar rescued Mumbai from a precarious position with a fiercely-determined century and along with the lower order, all but batted Madhya Pradesh out of the Ranji Trophy. Mumbai had begun the day 122 runs behind MP with only five wickets remaining, but Pawar showed tremendous character in grinding out his second hundred in his debut season at a time Mumbai desperately needed someone to bail them out. Click here for the full report of the day’s action.

Every team will play the same number of league games – 14, seven home and seven away – as in previous seasons

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jan-2011During the two-day long IPL auction in Bangalore, the BCCI announced the draw for the tournament’s 2011 season that begins on April 8. Every team will play the same number of league games (14, seven home and seven away) as in previous seasons with the following break-up: each team will play five other teams both home and away (10 matches), two teams only at home, and the remaining two teams only away. A random draw was used to decide who plays whom once and twice.

Kieron Pollard and Shane Bond were the biggest buys at the third IPL auction on Tuesday

Cricinfo staff19-Jan-2010Kieron Pollard and Shane Bond were the biggest buys at the third IPL auction in Mumbai, each fetching the maximum possible bid of $750,000 but the biggest surprise was the fact that not a single Pakistan player was signed up by any of the franchises.Tuesday’s auction was low-key compared to the previous two, the franchises guided more by player availability than star power (the first year’s trend) or pure Twenty20 skills, as in 2009. Ten overseas slots were filled, and Mohammed Kaif became the eleventh senior player signed up on the day.However, there was not a single bid for any Pakistani player, though most of the World Twenty20-winning team was up for auction – including Shahid Afridi, the captain, Mohammad Aamer, Umar Gul and Umar Akmal. What made the blackout stranger was that the names had been placed on the auction list by the franchises expressing an interest in the players.The official explanation was that the players were overlooked for reasons of availability and cricket strategy. “The franchises had the option to pick any player. If you look, they [Pakistan players] were not the only ones not picked,” Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, said. “There were other players, too, who were not picked in the auction.”Their loss was others’ gain, most notably Bond. The New Zealand fast bowler, who recently quit Test cricket to focus on the shorter forms of the game, saw his value rise the most, from a base price of $100,000 to the cap of $750,000 before Kolkata Knight Riders – who entered the bidding at $640,000 – and Deccan Chargers submitted their secret bids. Kolkata won, bidding an undisclosed amount.”From what we have understood he [Bond] wouldn’t be playing Test matches anymore and will play only ODIs and Twenty20 games,” Jai Mehta, co-owner of Kolkata, explained after the auction. “Yes, he has been prone to injuries but his coach said he is in pretty good shape. We wanted a fast bowler with experience and he provides us that.”Bond’s sale was the auction’s second tie-breaker; the first was among four franchises for Pollard, the explosive West Indies allrounder with a base price of $200,000. He was eventually signed up by Mumbai Indians, who beat off Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata. “The team strategy, discussed between Sachin Tendulkar, TA Sekar and Robin Singh was that we wanted a batting allrounder and we are happy to have him,” Nita Ambani, who represented Mumbai at the auction, said.

IPL Auction

Sold players: Kieron Pollard (Mumbai, USD750,000+), Shane Bond (Kolkata, 750,000+), Kemar Roach (Deccan, 720,000), Wayne Parnell (Delhi, 610,000), Mohammad Kaif (Punjab, 250,000), Eoin Morgan (Bangalore, 220,000), Damien Martyn (Rajasthan, 100,000), Justin Kemp (Chennai, 100,000), Thissara Perera (Chennai, 50,000), Adam Voges (Rajasthan, 50,000), Yusuf Abdulla (Punjab, 50,000)

Pollard and Bond’s final price was not disclosed and Modi said only he and the successful bidders would be privy to that information.The two other notable signings were Kemar Roach, the West Indies fast bowler, who was bought by Deccan for $720,000, and South Africa’s Wayne Parnell, bought by Delhi Daredevils for $610,000. “It is great for the player and he has a big future ahead of him,” Modi said of Roach’s price. “He is 100% available and that could have been a big factor [in his sale]. They [Deccan] needed a fast bowler and he met their requirement.Eoin Morgan, the England batsman, was picked up by Bangalore for $220,000. Offspinner Graeme Swann was one of the players in the first auction pool but he did not get any bids at his base price of $250,000. Modi said that player availability was an important factor in the team’s strategies.”Yes, availability is a serious issue with all teams without doubt, based on that the teams have formed strategies,” Modi said. “Eoin Morgan was not available 100 % of the time earlier but, before the auction, he was released for the full time by the ECB and hence he was bought.”Mohammad Kaif, the only Indian up for auction, went unsold in the first round of bidding but was later signed up by Punjab for $250,000.Only three of India’s Under-19 players, priced at Rs. 800,000 each, were eligible to play in the IPL and they were chosen by a draft system. Bangalore picked U-19 captain Ashok Menaria, Deccan went for Harmeet Singh and Mumbai opted for Harshal Patel.

Joe Root’s 120 off 111 balls – his first ODI ton since 2019 – went in vain for England

Andrew Miller26-Feb-20252:22

Knight: Zadran showed he’s good against pace as well

The politicians hadn’t wanted this game to go ahead, but who could have wished to deny the scenes of raw euphoria that unfolded in Lahore as Afghanistan completed the double they had set in motion at the 2023 World Cup, dumping England out of the Champions Trophy in a wildly undulating, anxious scramble for glory.Eight runs was the margin when – with Mark Wood hobbling and all the recognised batters gone – Adil Rashid swung for the hills off the penultimate ball of the match and picked out the man of the hour, Ibrahim Zadran, whose take in front of the dugout was completed with the same coolness with which he had compiled his exceptional 177 from 146 balls – an innings that had simply been too good to fail.Much the same could have been said for England’s main man of their 326-run chase, Joe Root, whose 120 from 111 balls was his 17th in the ODI format but, remarkably, his first since the 2019 World Cup. Had he had a bit more support, and had he not been racked with cramp going into the final push, his run-a-ball tempo might have been more than sufficient to seize the day. Instead, he was undone by an effort ball from the indefatigable Azmatullah Omarzai, whose five-wicket haul followed a priceless knock of 41 from 31 balls that had helped to pull his own team out of a tailspin.Related

• Decline and fall: England face up to scale of ODI rebuilding job

• Ibrahim Zadran goes from staid to spectacular to finish England off

• Buttler on captaincy future: 'You've got to consider all possibilities'

Speaking straight afterwards, a shell-shocked Jos Buttler insisted he would not be making any “emotional” statements about his future as captain, but acknowledged the fundamental lack of confidence that had contributed to his team’s downfall.After Afghanistan had opted to bat first, Jofra Archer’s three-wicket powerplay onslaught should by rights have settled the contest there and then. And yet, from 37 for 3 in the ninth over, Zadran and his captain Hashmatullah Shahidi focused solely on survival until the point that their 103-run fourth-wicket stand had, almost imperceptibly, transformed itself into a platform for a thrillingly smooth acceleration.Ultimately, Afghanistan’s scorecard told the exact tale of their innings. Three single-figure scores at the top – for a combined total of 14 runs from 28 balls – then a trio of 40s, at ever increasing tempos, from Shahidi, Omarzai and the forty-something himself, Mohammad Nabi, whose 24-ball onslaught was a typically ageless display from a player who has been on every step of this Afghanistan journey, right from their exploratory tour of England as a club side way back in 2006.And then, underpinning it all, a performance of rare majesty from Zadran, whose sixth hundred in 35 ODI innings was not only the highest by an Afghan in the format, but the best in Champions Trophy history, trumping the 165 that Ben Duckett had posted against Australia in the previous fixture at Lahore.It was a controlled explosion of an innings, and one of the most impressive ODI performances that can ever have been compiled. Zadran showed the tenacity to hang tough while England’s quicks were dominating the early exchanges, but after reaching his first fifty from 65 balls, he marched through to his hundred from 41 more, then clattered along at a near 200 strike rate thereafter.1:58

Knight: England’s attack has not clicked

By the time he holed out to square leg at the start of the 50th over, Zadran had worked his way so smoothly through the gears that England had been left with scarcely any agency in their predicament. This was summed up when Wood, who had already spent 38 minutes off the field after his left knee gave way midway through his fourth over, was forced to leave the field once again, this time for good and with two overs of his allocation unused.It had been a typically masochistic effort from Wood, whose willingness to bust a gut for the cause has never been in doubt. But England’s desperation to get him back into the fray there epitomised their threadbare resources. In a throwback to the sort of bit-part tactics that dominated ODI cricket in the 1980s and 1990s, Root and Liam Livingstone had been charged with cobbling together 12 overs between them. But when, with nowhere else to turn, Root’s offspin was served up to the hard-swinging Nabi, two massive leg-side sixes ensued in a 23-run 47th over.Not even Archer could stem the tide. He’d already been crashed for a six and three fours by Zadran, now in overdrive, who then launched a slower ball in Archer’s final over over long-on to seize Duckett’s record.England’s target of 326 was daunting but not insurmountable, as they themselves had discovered on this same ground on Saturday night, when their own hefty total of 351 for 8 had been hunted down by Australia with 15 balls to spare. And yet, it was close to double the sort of target that England might at one stage have envisioned.