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Kent batters add 318 for second wicket to pile on the advantage at Wantage Road

ECB Reporters Network26-Jun-2023Tawanda Muyeye and Daniel-Bell Drummond set batting milestones as Kent dominated on day two of their LV= Insurance County Championship match with hosts Northamptonshire at Wantage Road.Zimbabwean Muyeye cracked a stylish maiden first-class hundred complete with four huge sixes on his way to 179 while the more experienced Bell-Drummond inked in a new career-best of 271 not out, eclipsing his 206 not out against Loughborough University at Canterbury seven years ago. Bell-Drummond’s individual tally set a record for a Kent batsman at Wantage Road, beating Frank Wooley’s 217 back in 1926.The pair added 318 for the second wicket as the visitors piled up 550 for 5 by stumps, a lead of 313.On what was a tough day for a weary-looking Northamptonshire attack, Alex Russell and Ben Sanderson emerged from the onslaught with two wickets apiece.Bell-Drummond set the tone, on-driving the first ball of the day back past the stumps for four, but it wasn’t long before Muyeye took centre-stage.The 22-year-old, who originally arrived on these shores with his mother as an asylum seeker, showed his promise as a schoolboy at Eastbourne where he set records for the number of runs scored (1112) and sixes hit (56) in his first season.Initially with Sussex, he signed for Kent in 2021, scoring 89 against Middlesex at the end of that season as the hosts chased down a target of 375 in the fourth innings.Nevertheless, with England man Zak Crawley at the top of the order, his opportunities have been limited, so this was only his 13th first-class appearance, but there would be nothing unlucky about it.Tawanda Muyeye plays into the off side•Getty Images

Muyeye picked up where he’d left off on day one, using the long levers of his tall slender frame to showcase an elegant technique mixed with power, dismissing a short one from Sanderson to the mid-wicket boundary before despatching long hops from Jack White and Alex Russell to the square leg fence.A single to deep cover took him beyond that previous career-best against Middlesex and there were no nervous 90s either, a huge six over mid-on taking him to the brink of that maiden hundred which duly came minutes later courtesy of another half-tracker pulled to the fence.Off came the helmet amid a joyous celebration from a talented young player who’d played with the exuberance of someone enjoying a Sunday afternoon game in the park with his mates. He celebrated the milestone with a glorious straight six off White which raised the 200-stand.Bell-Drummond was less exuberant, but continued his rich vein of form in June, a 12th four carrying him to three figures in a wicketless first session for the hosts.The pair forged on after the interval, Muyeye plundering a third six, he’d only hit one in first-class cricket before today. The stand moved beyond 300 and the 2nd wicket record against Northamptonshire of 382 set by Sean Dickson and Joe Denly looked in sight before the youngster mishit Russell into the hands of Sanderson at cover.Such was the charm with which he’d played, that his departure took some of the sunshine out of the cricket, Denly and Jack Leaning falling cheaply either side of the second new ball, the latter to a sharply spinning delivery from Rob Keogh which bowled him through the gate.Bell-Drummond though picked up the mantle, a glorious straight drive taking him past his previous Championship-best of 166. His first Championship double hundred complete with 20 fours came soon after tea, and four through mid-wicket off White enabled him to chalk up the new career-best landmark.Jordan Cox kept him company either side of tea with an ebullient 41 in a stand of 106 before being castled by the persevering Sanderson.Bell-Drummond however batted through to stump and a triple century beckons on day three.

Sophia Smale, Chloe Skelton share seven wickets to defend 165 for 3 in match reduced to 22 overs per side

ECB Reporters Network24-Jul-2023Fran Wilson scored a blistering 56 to propel Western Storm to a much-needed six-run victory over Sunrisers in a rain-shortened Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy contest at Cheltenham.Alex Griffiths made 46 and Niamh Holland a quickfire 28 as the home side ran up a useful total of 165 for 3 after being put into bat in a match reduced to 22 overs a side.Grace Scrivens and Dane van Niekerk did their best to make a game of it, scoring 39 and 26 respectively to give the chase early impetus. But off spinner Chloe Skelton removed both in the space of two overs to strike a double blow from which Sunrisers were unable to recover.Skelton finished with 3 for 36 and fellow spinner Sophia Smale took 4 for 34 as Sunrisers came up short on 159 for 8, Storm registering their first win in the 50-over format since May to move off the foot of the table.Storm openers Dani Gibson and Griffiths did their best to utilise a reduced four-over powerplay, adding 22 in 3.2 overs before the former was bowled playing across the line for 12 by Eva Gray.Momentum was maintained as new batter Wilson scored at a run-a-ball, driving Gray down the ground for four and then pulling spinner Mady Villiers for another boundary to keep the scoreboard moving.The former England World Cup winner greeted leg spinner Abtaha Maqsood with a swept four and then pulled her through midwicket as Storm passed 50 in the ninth over. Griffiths proved the perfect foil, finding the gaps and rotating the strike as the second-wicket alliance realised 50 from 45 balls.A slow outfield proved problematic for Storm and Amu Surenkumar bowled tidily to restrict scoring from the Chapel End, but Wilson swept Scrivens for four in the fourteenth over to regain the initiative for the hosts.Wilson’s aggressive approach paid dividends when she went to a 45-ball half-century in the grand manner, pulling Surenkumar for six over mid-wicket to register the first maximum of the innings.Surenkumar avenged herself in her next over, Wilson attempting to drive and edging a catch to short fine leg with the score on 113 for 2. Her forthright innings occupied 52 balls, included five fours and a six and served as a crucial mainstay in a progressive stand of 91 in 13.3 overs.In contrast, Griffiths found the boundary only once in compiling 46 from 47 balls before holing out to deep midwicket off the bowling of Surenkumar, who finished with 2 for 37 from five overs. Nevertheless, her innings proved every bit as important as that of Wilson in helping Storm achieve a competitive total.Promoted up the order, England Under-19 international Holland picked up the cudgels at the death, helping herself to four boundaries in a high-octane innings of 28 from 17 balls. Storm captain Sophie Luff weighed in with nine runs, playing her part in a lucrative unbroken stand of 32 for the third wicket.Needing to score at 7.50 an over, Sunrisers’ chase was undermined by the early loss of Cordelia Griffith, the opener smacking a short delivery from Gibson straight to backward point in the third over with the score on 10.Introduced at the Chapel End, slow left armer Smale struck with her first delivery, bowling Jodie Grewcock for one as the visitors slipped to 19-2 in the fifth. van Niekerk immediately demonstrated her attacking intent, hoisting Smale over midwicket for six and then hitting her for four through the same area, but the experienced Phoebe Graham sent down three overs with the new ball for just 10 runs to pile further pressure onto Sunrisers.Lauren Filer proved expensive, conceding 13 runs from the eighth over, to give the visitors encouragement, van Niekerk and Scrivens advancing the score to 66 for 2 at the halfway point of the innings.Chloe Skelton then struck a crucial blow, taking an instinctive return catch to dismiss the dangerous van Niekerk, at which point Sunrisers required a further 96 off 63 balls. Their task became still more difficult when Skelton had Scrivens caught at the wicket by Katie Jones in her next over.Storm missed an opportunity to further tighten the screw, Filer dropping Villers at mid-off on nine off the bowling of Skelton. Encouraged by that mishap, Gray went on the attack, raising 27 from 19 balls before hoisting Smale to deep midwicket. When Smale pinned Amara Carr lbw next ball, Sunrisers were 121 for 6 and needing to score at more than 11 an over.Villers scored 22 off 16 balls, only to hit Skelton to mid-on in the 20th over, after which Storm were able to relax.

Champions survive a Matthew Revis hat-trick at soggy Scarborough

ECB Reporters Network01-Aug-2023Superb centuries for Joey Evison and Ben Compton helped champions Kent recover from early strife and later survive a Matthew Revis hat-trick to get their Metro Bank One-Day Cup title defence off to a winning start against Yorkshire at soggy Scarborough.The Spitfires, having slipped to 49 for 4 after 15 overs after being inserted, posted 282 for 9 before a trio of rain delays revised the home target to 261 in 43 overs, 235 in 35 and finally 181 in 24.Kent only won this one by two runs on Duckworth Lewis Stern, owing to late drama. After the third delay, Yorkshire resumed on 53 for 2 after 11 overs and raced to 117 for four after 17, only for more rain to leave them three runs short of a winning target.Ben Coad struck three times with the new ball in helpful conditions for Yorkshire, bowling his 10 overs straight through for 3 for 16.But Evison and opener Compton played contrasting innings – 136 off 106 balls and 103 off 137 – to share Kent’s List A record 219 inside 33 overs for the fifth wicket. All-rounder Revis then claimed a hat-trick as five wickets fell in the last 15 balls of the visiting innings.Evison, 21, was the player of the match in last season’s final win over Lancashire at Trent Bridge with 97 and two wickets, and he counter-attacked here to push on from 84 for 4 after 25 overs.Having offered a tough chance to diving Dom Bess at midwicket on nought off Dom Leech, he hit three of seven sixes to leg, including one over wide long-leg off Ben Mike to reach his hundred.Excellent Coad had opener Marcus O’Riordan caught at first slip and former team-mate Jack Leaning and then Harry Finch both caught behind on a nibbling pitch. George Hill, who also bowled his 10 overs straight, claimed the other early wicket.Left-hander Compton clipped the only boundary which Coad conceded but was in rebuild mode.Evison then whipped a six off Coad to begin the counter-attack. And by the time they both reached fifties, Kent were 143 for 4 in the 34th over.Having regained a foothold in the innings, Compton then increased his tempo and was strong through the off-side en-route to his third career century off 135 balls.But Evison had overtaken him in the early eighties and raced through the nineties to reach his second career ton first – reached off 84 balls (216 for four in the 42nd over).But, with 300 on the cards, Revis limited the damage by getting James Bazley and Grant Stewart caught at deep square-leg and Hami Qadri bowled in the penultimate over.Five wickets fell in the last 15 balls, including Evison and Compton, as Yorkshire’s director of cricket Darren Gough watched on. He had taken two of the previous four List A hat-tricks for the county.After mid-innings rain, Gough saw Yorkshire lose Fin Bean to Australian debutant Bazley’s seam to the fifth ball of their chase, Qadri taking a smart catch at point.But the Vikings, after a further brief stoppage, were recovering through wicketkeeper opener Harry Duke and his captain Shan Masood, who put on 49 to take the score to 52 for one after 10 overs.Masood, back from Pakistan duty, was playing confidently for 31, however he was run out by an Evison direct hit at the non-striker’s end from mid-on with the first ball of the 11th over.More rain came almost immediately at 53 for 2, leaving Yorkshire needing 10 an over upon the resumption.With the threat of more rain to come, Hill crashed the lion’s share of 21 off a Matthew Parkinson over, only to fall caught behind for 35 off Bazley to leave Yorkshire narrowly short.

Defeat for Superchargers means they are likely to miss out on automatic qualification for the women’s final

ECB Reporters Network20-Aug-2023Manchester Originals turned the Women’s Hundred league table on its head to inflict a three-wicket defeat on the high-flying Northern Superchargers at Emirates Old TraffordReplying to the visitors 107 for eight, the Originals, who have no chance of qualifying for the knockout stages of the competition, knocked off the runs with just one ball to spare, largely thanks to a stand of 65 off 51 balls between Kathryn Bryce, who made 32, and Amanda-Jade Wellington, who made 33 not out.The opening ten balls of the game could hardly have gone much better for the Originals, whose opening bowler, Mahika Gaur, had Marie Kelly caught at deep midwicket by Katie George for two and then bowled the in-form Phoebe Litchfield for a single.Jemimah Rodrigues and Armitage repaired some of the damage to the Superchargers innings with a stand of 36 in 20 balls before Rodrigues was leg before wicket for 17 when trying to sweep Wellington.However, the momentum of the visitors’ innings was maintained by Armitage and Alice Davidson-Richards who put on 48 and had taken the score to 93 for three after 83 balls before the Originals took five wickets in 16 to restrict the Superchargers to what seemed a modest total.Davidson-Richards was caught by George off Kathryn Bryce for 27 but the pick of the wickets to fall was that of Georgia Wareham, who was brilliantly caught and bowled by a diving Fi Morris. Armitage did what she could do maintain the run rate before she was stumped by Ellie Threlkeld off Kathryn Bryce for 46 off 43 balls.Bryce, Gaur and Wellington finished with two wickets apiece in what was a superb effort from the Originals’ bowlers in the enforced absence of their skipper, Sophie Ecclestone, who injured her calf during her first set of five.Georgia Wareham sent down 13 dot balls among her 20•Getty Images

Originals suffered the early loss of Emma Lamb, who was caught behind off her England team-mate Kate Cross for four, and Fi Morris was caught at mid-off by Davidson-Richards off Linsey Smith for 12.Moderately placed on 30 for two after the 25 Powerplay balls, the home side almost immediately lost Laura Wolvaardt, bowled by Wareham for eight, and the leg spinner struck twice more in her next set when she bowled Ellie Threlkeld for 10 and had Deandra Dottin leg before wicket for three.That left the Originals on 40 for five after 45 balls but Bryce and Wellington batted sensibly to take the score to 74 for five with 25 balls left in the innings.The sixth-wicket pair took their side to with three runs of victory before Bryce was leg before to Lucy Higham for 32 and Sophie Ecclestone, who was batting with a runner, was run out for a single. But George struck her first ball through the covers to seal the win.

Chasing 400, Australia crumbled to 217 all out in a rain-hit game in Indore

Sreshth Shah24-Sep-20230:53

Chawla: Suryakumar gives India a good headache

A statement century from Shreyas Iyer, a fifth ODI ton in the calendar year for Shubman Gill, a 37-ball 72 from Suryakumar Yadav and a three-wicket haul for R Ashwin gave India a crushing 99-run (DLS adjusted) win over Australia in Indore to clinch the ODI series 2-0.The India batters pumped 31 fours and 18 sixes in all to post 399 for 5 on a batting-friendly surface, but Australia didn’t enjoy the same run. They were hurt by Prasidh Krishna – who had replaced the rested Jasprit Bumrah in the XI – first and, after a second rain delay to the game, they came undone at the hands of the spinners, 217 all out in a contest where the gulf was massive.In the afternoon, a partnership of 200 in only 164 balls for the second wicket between Iyer and Gill asserted India’s dominance for the first 30 overs of the innings. In the last 20, KL Rahul (52), Suryakumar and Ishan Kishan (31) put in the finishing touches to leave Australia chasing a record target.Iyer, who was run out for 3 in Mohali, started with five fours in his first 14 balls, and just before the first-innings rain break, Gill too found his rhythm. They brought up a fifty stand in 29 balls and by the tenth over had taken India to 80 for 1. Even after the field spread out, the pair powered on, with Gill especially dominant down the ground.That helped him accelerate from a score of 9 in 19 balls to a half-century in just 37. Like Gill, Iyer too reached his fifty with a six, getting there in 41 balls. With small boundaries and a flat pitch on offer, they went at 7.8 per over between overs 11 to 20 to take India to 158 for 1. It was only for a brief period while getting to their respective centuries did they slow down at all.A cramping Iyer reached his third ODI century in the 30th over of the innings and the whole stadium was up on their feet to celebrate the occasion. He was handed a second life when Sean Abbott failed to take a catch cleanly off his own bowling, but departed soon after for a 90-ball 105. Two overs later, Gill completed his sixth ODI century, and while trying to clobber Cameron Green for a six down the ground, he too was out for a 97-ball 104.Shubman Gill was likely seeing the ball quite well in his Indore special•AFP/Getty Images

Both Rahul and Kishan, Nos. 4 and 5, started their innings with sixes to get off the mark. Rahul then hammered two more – including one that flew over the highest stand near deep midwicket. The 33-ball partnership of 59 was the perfect follow-up to the twin centuries with Kishan then falling to Adam Zampa for 31.For most of the first innings, 400 was a realistic target, especially with the wickets in hand, but Australia slowed the game for a few overs in the final powerplay. India were 311 for 4 in 43 overs with the run rate going the wrong way.Suryakumar, though, ensured that was but a temporary blip. He hit Green for four sixes in four balls in the 44th over which cost 26 runs. At the other end, Rahul fell for 52 off 38 but Suryakumar had found his range. He toyed with Abbott in a 17-run 47th over to reach his second fifty of the series in 24 balls.Australia had a forgettable bowling day, even if they didn’t do much wrong, which is how you know you’re playing in Indore. This ground is merciless on the bowlers and it was on display again as debutant Spencer Johnson conceded 61 in eight overs while Abbott was hit for 91 in 10. Green’s 2 for 103 made him the fourth Australian bowler to concede triple digits in ODIs.Prasidh provided the early jolt in the chase with his dismissals of Matthew Short (9) and Steven Smith (0) off consecutive balls, leaving David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne to rebuild. As they were motoring along, a second rain break came and shrunk the innings to 33 overs. The DLS-adjusted target – 317 – looked even more daunting.David Warner bats right-handed against R Ashwin•Getty Images

When play resumed, Ashwin came on and unleashed his bag of tricks. One variation had a right-handed Warner lbw. Another had Labuschagne seeing his stumps pegged back. And a third one was too good for Josh Inglis and his attempted sweep.With the pitch offering massive turn – in contrast to afternoon conditions – and Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja getting the ball to spit across the batters, it seemed like the end was near. When Carey was bowled by Jadeja and Green was run out in lazy fashion, all that was left was consolation runs.That’s what Abbott offered with his 36-ball 54 from No. 9. From 140 for 8, his boundary-laden innings dragged Australia past 200, with Josh Hazlewood giving useful support. Abbott thumped Ashwin for a six to reach his fifty in 29 balls, and even though it never threatened the result, his blitz of four fours and five sixes provided something positive for Australia before they slumped to their fifth ODI defeat in a row.The only negative for India was their fielding. They struggled in dewy conditions late in the day and let the lower-order batters boost their score. Jadeja finished the game with a terrific turning ball that rattled Abbott’s stumps in the 29th over, and finished with a three-for himself.The teams now move to Rajkot with both sides set to field full-strength XIs in the final ODI. In that sense, this game provided the fringe players a final chance to impress, with some more successful than others.

Coach says it’s been “quite stifling” for Pakistan, but he did not use it as an excuse for their performances

Shashank Kishore03-Nov-2023Mickey Arthur, the Pakistan team director, has likened the extensive security ring and life around it as a throwback to “Covid times”. He spoke of the mental toll it can take on the players but isn’t using that as an excuse for their blow-hot-blow-cold performance so far at the 2023 men’s World Cup.”As a Pakistan team, we play a hell of a lot of cricket, so being on the road is nothing new for these guys. What has been tough is the fact that we’ve been under a massive amount of security,” Arthur said ahead of Saturday’s fixture against New Zealand in Bengaluru.Related

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“So, I’ve sort of taken it back. And to be fair, I’ve found it difficult. It’s almost like we’ve been back in the Covid times, where you were almost secluded to your floor and your team room. So much so that their breakfast is in a separate room to everybody else. So, it’s almost, that’s been the tough aspect.”Arthur didn’t stop there. He elaborated further on the “quite stifling” feeling of being restricted in their movements. While much of these security arrangements have been in adherence to protocols set by the ICC, it’s undeniable that Pakistan have had an extra layer of security whenever they’ve travelled.”The aspect about being on the road is, our boys are used to it,” Arthur elaborated. “But when they’re on the road, they’ve still been able to get out and go and have meals, etc at different places, and get out on their own accord, which we haven’t been able to do this time. And that’s been tough. That has been quite stifling.”Does this affect the players?”It certainly does. It definitely does,” Arthur said. “And I’ve seen it with some players where it has been, you wake up again and it’s like Groundhog Day. It’s exactly the same. You have breakfast and if it’s a non-training day, you’re back to your room.”We’ve tried to have sort of little fun team events and whatever within our team room. But you know, there’s only so much you can recreate. I think the guys have been out three times – we’ve managed to do that with security, get them out to a different restaurant or whatever, just to give them a little bit of a taste of the outside world.”In saying that, Arthur was merely presenting a picture of the circumstances they’re faced with. He underlined how they’ve embraced the situation in the best possible way, while being optimistic about a turnaround in fortunes.That turnaround looked unlikely last week when they were heartbreakingly confined to a one-wicket loss by South Africa in Chennai, but their own win over Bangladesh and South Africa’s “favour” to them by beating New Zealand has thrown the door open for a “typical Pakistan comeback.””Yeah, everybody tells me it’s the classic World Cup campaign,” Arthur said with a laugh. “And I hate that, because I’d rather, that we were cruising now and things had been really good, it would certainly be a lot less stressful.”But again, we got ourselves into a position before the Bangladesh game, where it was kind of out of our hands and it’s come back in a funny way into our hands again because albeit we’ve got to win and win big in both our games, it’s still in our control, which it wasn’t before the Bangladesh game. We had obviously a really good result there. And then South Africa did us a little bit of a favour as well.”Arthur accepted while forcing their way back in was still “a long shot”, the group still resonated a lot of calmness.”We actually spoke about it as a group yesterday in our one-on-one skill meetings,” he said. “The one thing that amazes me, and it’s amazed me so much with the Pakistan players, is generally how calm they are.”You know, it’s like, I’m a cat on a hot tin roof, the players are just really calm. They kind of take it in their stride. And that’s the feeling I got before the Bangladesh game. And it’s certainly the feeling I’m getting right now. So, yeah, we’re in a decent place.”Are Pakistan thinking of margins? As things stand, they are behind New Zealand on net run rate. While a win on Saturday will help, they will go into their final group game against England with an equation in front of them, if New Zealand beat Sri Lanka two days earlier. The only way Pakistan can then nudge New Zealand out of the semi-finals is on net run rate.”Yeah, look, of course it is,” Arthur responded when asked about the importance of keeping an eye on net run rates. “During the Calcutta chase, I had every scenario in my pocket as to if we won in 25 overs, if we won in 26 overs, 27 overs. So, we kind of knew as to how we were going to eat into the net run rate of particularly New Zealand. What I didn’t factor into was South Africa doing us a favour the next night. So, we do have all those scenarios.”Of course, we have those scenarios. I think the first thing for us, though, is we’ve got to respect our position. New Zealand are a very, very good team. I think they’re very well-coached. I think they’re very well-led. I think they’re a very experienced cricket team. We’ve got to respect it. And once we get ourselves in a position, only then can we start talking about those net run rates.”Now, I’ll have all the information, but I won’t necessarily give it to the players until we feel the time is right to put the foot down and potentially try and close that net run rate because we’ve still got to win the game as well.”

This will be their first change of coach since the inauguration of PSL, as Moin Khan, who served for eight years, takes over as team director

Danyal Rasool06-Dec-2023Quetta Gladiators have reached a deal with former Australia allrounder Shane Watson that will see him appointed as head coach of the franchise ahead of the 2024 edition of the PSL. The announcement will see Gladiators’ first change of coach since the inauguration of the tournament, as former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Moin Khan, who served as coach for eight years, will instead be appointed team director of the side.ESPNcricinfo understands that a final agreement between Watson and Gladiators has been achieved, with an announcement expected later on Wednesday. However, it is not yet clear if Watson’s appointment means Gladiators are looking for a wider clearing out of a coaching staff that has seen them miss out on the playoffs for four successive seasons.Related

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Gladiators were the most consistent franchise of the PSL during its first four editions, when they reached the final three times, and also won the title in 2019. Watson, who joined the franchise in 2018 after two years with Islamabad United, was a huge part of Gladiators’ success, becoming arguably their greatest overseas player during his three-season stint until 2020. He was the leading run-scorer during their victorious campaign in 2019, hitting 430 runs at a strike rate of 143.81, a performance which earner him the the Player-of-the-Tournament award.However, Gladiators have fallen on harder times since, as the last four years have all seen them finish outside the playoff positions. While they had the same coach all along, they have also stuck with the same captain in Sarfaraz Ahmed, with no suggestion yet that a change will be made on that front.Watson, 42, retired from all cricket in 2020. He joined IPL franchise Delhi Capitals as assistant coach in 2022, serving alongside his former Australia team-mate Ricky Ponting. Earlier this year, he was appointed head coach of Major League Cricket franchise San Francisco Unicorns.While Watson played 59 Tests for Australia, it was in limited-overs cricket where he was at his best. In 190 ODIs, he scored 5757 runs at 40.54 with a strike rate of 90.44, in addition to taking 168 wickets at 31.79. He was part of two World-Cup winning Australia sides – in 2007 and 2015 – and was a powerhouse performer in the Champions Trophy, winning the Player-of-the-Match award in the finals of both the 2006 and the 2009 tournaments.In T20Is, he made 1462 runs at a strike rate of 145.32 and took 48 wickets while maintaining an economy rate of just 7.65. He was the Player of the Series in the 2012 T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka, where he topped the run charts with 249 runs at a strike rate of 150, and finished second on the wickets chart with 11 strikes.

A day after being released by Gujarat Titans, the keeper-batter made the second-fastest List A hundred by an Indian batter

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Nov-2023A day after he was released by Gujarat Titans, Urvil Patel scored an unbeaten 41-ball 100 for his state side Gujarat in their Vijay Hazare Trophy match against Arunachal Pradesh in Chandigarh. Urvil’s century was the second-fastest by an Indian batter in List A cricket.Yusuf Pathan leads the list of fastest List A hundreds by Indians with a 40-ball ton for Baroda against Maharashtra in 2010. Abhishek Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav are third and fourth in the list, having scored tons off 42 and 50 balls respectively.Opening the batting in a chase of 160, the right-hand keeper-batter slammed nine fours and seven sixes on his way to the landmark, and ensured that Gujarat reached their target in just 13 overs. With two wins in three matches, Gujarat are second in Group D, behind Rajasthan on net run rate. Gujarat’s next fixture is against Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday,Urvil, who made his debut in the 2017-18 season, has scored 204 runs in 10 List A innings at an average of 29.14 and a strike rate of 112.08. He has also played 41 T20 games, in which he has scored 847 runs at 21.17 and 155.41.Titans signed Urvil, who hails from Mehsana in Gujarat, for INR 20 lakh during the 2023 IPL auction. With Wriddhiman Saha, KS Bharat and Mathew Wade ahead of him in the wicketkepeers’ queue, Urvil did not get a chance to feature in IPL 2023. Titans finished the seasons as runners-up, losing to Chennai Super Kings in a thrilling final in Ahmedabad.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka post wins to put themselves in a comfortable position

Shashank Kishore29-Jan-2024We’re halfway through the 2023-24 Ranji Trophy. No team has broken away from the pack but 41-time champs Mumbai are looking good for the knockouts despite being stunned by Uttar Pradesh. Saurashtra, the defending champs, are in a pickle, while Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are on an upswing. Here are the highlights from the fourth round of matches.Himmat the hero as Delhi clinch thrillerYou concede a 97-run lead. Then you’re 11 for 5 in the second innings, with the top four all dismissed for ducks. Your captain has been sacked midway, and the team is in the midst of administrative turmoil. The selectors aren’t on the same page. Senior players have quit the team to play elsewhere. Another 100-Test veteran, Ishant Sharma, is absent. Relegation is a realistic possibility.Related

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• Rana breaks century drought against Mumbai, and is now hungry for more

These aren’t the kind of circumstances you wish for in your first few games as a new captain wanting to make a mark. But it’s what Himmat Singh walked out to, trying to save his side from further embarrassment.A counter-attack that turned into full-blown consolidation eventually ended in an unreal 217-ball 194, comprising 27 fours and a six, as Delhi set Uttarakhand a target of 173, competitive at best if not match-winning.Young seamer Himanshu Chauhan, all of four games old, then picked up his maiden five-for to ensure Uttarakhand were bowled out for 165 as Delhi squeezed home by seven runs to lift themselves off the bottom of the group.UP halt Mumbai’s winning runElsewhere at the Wankhede Stadium, Uttar Pradesh, after three weather-interrupted games, finally put their pieces of the jigsaw together to hand Mumbai their first defeat. UP’s two-wicket win was scripted by Aryan Juyal (76) and Karan Sharma (67) as they helped chase down 195.UP seemed to be cruising at 145 for 4 when offspinner Tanush Kotian ran through the middle and lower order to pick up five wickets, before UP held their nerve. Some of the other contributors for UP were Nitish Rana, the captain, who struck 106 in the first-innings and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who picked up five wickets in the match.Despite the loss, Mumbai still top Group C. Andhra and Bengal, who beat Assam with a bonus point, are second and third respectively.File photo: Vijaykumar Vyshak put up an all-round show for Karnataka•PTI

TN, Karnataka recoverA week after making a match-winning 245*, Tamil Nadu’s N Jagadeesan smashed 321 to help the side to a bonus-point win over Chandigarh. This has helped TN storm back into knockouts contention after they started with an outright loss to Gujarat followed by a weather-interrupted fixture against Tripura.Meanwhile, Karnataka overcame a mid-tournament stutter to pull off a tense win over Tripura, their second in the season. After a stunning collapse against Gujarat followed by a drawn fixture against Goa where they only managed first-innings honours, Karnataka needed a massive win to bounce back into knockouts reckoning.They did just that in Agartala, with debutant middle-order bat Kishan Bedare chipping in with two crucial knocks – 62 and 42. He wasn’t the only one with key contributions. Vyshak Vijaykumar, the seam bowler, displayed his all-round chops by hitting 50 to help Karnataka make 241. Then in the second innings, he picked 3 for 62 as Karnataka defended 193 in style.Other significant results:Defending champs Saurashtra in choppy waters after Services result
Umesh Yadav’s four-for helps Vidarbha bounce back to top Group A
Hanuma Vihari’s 183 helps Andhra beat Chhattisgarh in Group B
Hyderabad run-away Plate toppers after Tanmay Agarwal’s record triple

They lead England 2-1 having stayed calm in the face of an early onslaught in Rajkot

Karthik Krishnaswamy18-Feb-20245:02

Rohit: ‘The youngsters belong here and want to stay here’

It ended like so many India home Tests over the last decade. A hefty winning margin was in sight, and R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were fighting over the final wicket.Ashwin has more Test-match-ending wickets than anyone else in history, 23, one more than Shane Warne in second place, but Jadeja won on this occasion, completing his 13th five-wicket haul as India sealed victory by a record 434 runs.It was an entirely familiar finish, but seldom have India got to one in quite this manner. They had been 33 for 3 on the first morning, and recovered to post 445. England, in reply, had rocketed to 207 for 2 in 35 overs by stumps on day two. Later that night, Ashwin, the most experienced member of India’s line-up, had left Rajkot for personal reasons, leaving them with only four bowlers for the remainder of England’s innings.From there to the accelerated finish in the dying moments of day four, when England collapsed to 122 all out, India had played some of their very best cricket. And while it was in one sense a comeback win, it didn’t necessarily fit the traditional narrative of a comeback – where a team changes its style of play to counter and overcome a dominant opposition.Related

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It was, instead, a win of persistent belief in Plan A when Plan A may not have seemed to be working in any obvious sense. It had not seemed to work in the first Test in Hyderabad, where England pulled off a remarkable come-from-behind win. It had brought India a win in Visakhapatnam, but it seemed – at least to the spectator – that the result could have been different if not for a great display of fast bowling from Jasprit Bumrah. When Plan A led India to where they were at the end of day two in Rajkot, other teams may have wondered whether it was time to try something different.India did not. While they made micro-level tactical adjustments, like any bowling group would, their overall strategy remained much the same: hammer away on a good length, and keep the stumps in play as much as possible. They trusted in these methods, and trusted that they had too much quality in their bowling group for those methods to not bring rewards at some point.”When you’re playing Test cricket, it’s not played over two days or three days. We do understand the importance of extending the game for five days,” India captain Rohit Sharma said at the post-match presentation. “[England] played well, to be honest, and played some really good shots. They put us under pressure a little bit there, but look, we’ve got class in our squad, when it comes to bowling.”Obviously, the message was to stay calm because when things like that happen, it’s actually easy to drift away from what you want to do as a team. But I’m really proud of how we came back the next day, stuck to what we discussed, and when those things happen, it’s a delight to watch.”2:04

Harmison: Rohit’s captaincy applied pressure on England

Ben Duckett peppered the boundaries in Rajkot, hitting 23 fours and two sixes in a 151-ball 153, but India kept reminding themselves to judge themselves on whether they were bowling good balls and forcing the batters to take risks to score their runs.”Yeah, look, they actually played shots off really good balls,” Rohit said at his post-match press conference. “Even the first Test match where [Ollie] Pope got that [196], he was very much in control and played shots off some really good balls, and when the batter is doing that, obviously the plan is to keep it very simple, nice and tight, follow the plans that have been discussed.”These guys have bowled a lot in these conditions, so they exactly know how to keep coming back into the game. Rather than getting frustrated and doing too many things, it is important that you stick to your strengths, understand where the run-scoring opportunities are, for the opposition, and then try and stop them.”India’s persistence paid off, as Kuldeep Yadav bowled 12 incisive overs of wristspin on the third morning to lay the groundwork for Mohammed Siraj to burst through England’s lower order with an irresistible spell of reverse-swing. Their efforts, and those of the relentless Bumrah and Jadeja, helped India claim a 126-run lead. That swelled to 556, thanks to Yashasvi Jaiswal’s second double-hundred in consecutive Tests and half-centuries from Shubman Gill and Sarfaraz Khan, before India declared 50 minutes before tea on day four.”Lot of turning points,” Rohit said. “Once we won the toss… that was actually a good toss to win because we know in India how important it is to win the toss and put runs on the board. And the lead that we got was very, very crucial for us. And the way we came out and bowled after that onslaught from the English batters was important for us to stay calm. The bowlers actually showed a lot of character and not to forget we didn’t have our most experienced bowler as well. But for this group to come out and get the job done in that fashion was really, really proud to watch.”The group Rohit referred to was one of the more inexperienced combinations India have used in a home Test in recent times.Kuldeep, who made his Test debut in 2017, was playing just his 10th Test match, and Jaiswal his seventh. Sarfaraz was on debut, as was wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel, while Rajat Patidar, at No. 4, was playing only his second Test. Gill (23 Tests) is still new to the No. 3 role that was occupied by Cheteshwar Pujara for most of the last decade.India have been without Virat Kohli (113 Tests) and Mohammed Shami (64) all through this series, while KL Rahul (50) has featured only in one Test. Jadeja (70) missed the second Test in Visakhapatnam, and Ashwin (98) bowled only 13 overs across the two innings in Rajkot.”Two debutants and not a lot of Test matches amongst the playing XI as well,” Rohit said. “So lot of these guys are learning from the experience they’re having in the middle. We got a lot to learn [from] how we played in Hyderabad, and then in Vizag when we won, obviously we knew it’s not going to be an easy one for us to just come out here and win this series, we have to work really really hard, especially with a lot of our frontline players missing as well.”A lot of credit to these young boys who have come in and shown a lot of character. Looks like they belong here, and they actually want to stay here as well. So yeah, it is quite satisfying when you win a Test match like that. We always talk about the bench strength. Today and even in Vizag, we got to see a lot of bench strength as well.”