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Despite sparkling knocks by Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, Royal Challengers Bangalore remain win-less in IPL 2019 after five matches

Sruthi Ravindranath in Bengaluru06-Apr-2019A couple of coincidences basically wrote the script for Friday’s match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders. Two weeks ago, Andre Russell had helped Knight Riders get 53 off 18 in the chase against Sunrisers Hyderabad. He faced a similar equation on Friday night against Royal Challengers. Last season, MS Dhoni hunted down 105 off 48 balls against the home team in Bengaluru. This time, Knight Riders were were also chasing a target of 206, with Russell in the middle.After AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli’s fireworks had kept the fans on their feet for most of Royal Challengers’ innings, it seemed like the side was finally going to taste their first win this season. But it took just one Russell innings, and some blunders in the middle from Royal Challengers, to undo their batsmen’s efforts as Knight Riders stole a stunning win in the 19th over. Here’s how it all turned the wrong way for the hosts.Sloppiness on the fieldDropped catches, misfield, conceding too many extras: Royal Challengers did it all. During Knight Riders’ innings, Navdeep Saini missed a chance to pluck the dangerous Chris Lynn out for 1 after he had top-edged a ball over the keeper’s head. With Lynn going on to lay the foundation for Knight Riders’ big chase, the missed chance proved to be a costly one.Much later, Lynn had raced to a 28-ball 42 when Marcus Stoinis tempted him with a wide delivery which he hit over Mohammed Siraj at sweeper cover, who failed to hold on to it. At this point, Knight Riders were very well on course, with their run-rate close to 10. While the drop itself wasn’t costly – Lynn added only one more run before he was dismissed in the next over – the missed opportunity came at a time when Royal Challengers were losing momentum and under the pump, and it left captain Kohli fuming.Where was Moeen?Lynn’s vulnerability to spin is no secret. In T20s since 2015, he’s been dismissed 33 times by spinners and averages just about 30 against them. Yet, Kohli brought in legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal only in the sixth over, and by then, Lynn had already dominated the Powerplay.And even though spinners, specifically left-arm spinner Pawan Negi, impeded the scoring in the middle overs, Kohli was still persistent about bowling his quicks even with the experienced Moeen Ali – who did not bowl a single over – in the mix.Negi, who was introduced only in the 10th over of the chase, went on to pick Robin Uthappa and Lynn and had 2 for 20 at the end of his third over. Royal Challengers’ have left themselves open to questions about their lack of planning but Kohli, speaking to the host broadcaster after the match, suggested that just giving his team-mates some space would help them come back stronger.Fast bowlers show no chill at deathDeath bowling has always been one of Royal Challengers’ major concerns. The Knight Riders’ win was the ninth time a team had won an IPL game when over 90 runs were needed off seven overs. And surprisingly – or perhaps not – Royal Challengers were the bowling side on six of those occasions.Particularly on Friday, Royal Challengers’ quicks seemed to lack composure towards the end, even when the opposition needed a steep 66 runs off 24 balls.It all started when Mohammed Siraj bowled his second beamer on the fourth ball of the 18th over, which meant he couldn’t bowl any more in the match. Russell had smoked that ball for a six. Stoinis replaced Siraj, and from there, the home side lost whatever control they had. Two more sixes were smashed in the next two balls and the game turned in Knight Riders’ favour.Tim Southee, who was brought in to bowl the next over, with 30 required off 12, was misfiring throughout. Russell feasted on ones that were short, wide too full or on a length. Southee also didn’t try and cramp Russell for space, offering generous width instead. That over pretty much sealed it – 29 runs came off it and Knight Riders then needed just one to win off the final over.

Manchester City added a new midfielder to their squad in the January transfer window.

Spaniard Nico Gonzalez joined the club from Portuguese giants FC Porto for a fee in the region of £50m. He was, in many ways, signed as a replacement for Rodri, who is sidelined this season with a knee injury.

The new City midfielder has certainly made a great impression to start the campaign. He has played nine times for the reigning Premier League champions so far this term and was even described as a “mini Rodri” by Pep Guardiola.

The Spain international might not be the only midfield recruit in 2025 for City. They have recently been linked with another player who can strengthen the centre of the park.

Man City’s new midfield target

After the success of the Gonzalez signing in the winter, City could now turn back to the market to add Tijani Reijnders to their midfield. The AC Milan sensation has been making waves for the Serie A giants this term and could now depart the club this summer.

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According to a report from Football Insider, the Citizens ‘have identified Reijnders as a top target’ for the 2025 summer transfer window and is ‘seen as a player who would fit seamlessly into City’s midfield’, alongside the likes of Rodri and Gonzalez.

However, this will not be an easy deal for the East Mancunian outfit to do. Football Insider reports that the Milan ace will only be able to move to the Etihad Stadium if they pay £50m and sell three players to make room in their squad.

Why Reijnders would be a good signing

Should the Citizens bring Reijnders to the club head of the 2025/26 season, he would surely be a huge upgrade to their midfield. Football analyst Ben Mattinson believes he is one of the “top 5 midfielders this season”, high praise indeed.

The Dutchman has played a key role for Milan this term. He has scored 13 times and grabbed four assists across 43 games for the Serie A giants. One of those strikes was away to Real Madrid, in a fantastic 3-1 win at the Santaogo Bernabeu.

The Netherlands international is not the only midfielder City have been linked with in recent weeks. According to reports in Spain, they are targeting £50m-rated Hugo Larsson of Eintracht Frankfurt. The young Sweden star has six goals and one assist for the club.

Whilst both players will reportedly cost the same price, perhaps Reijnders will be the better option. Not only is he more experienced, but he offers more of a goal threat and lots of creativity in the final third. Just look at this assist for Christian Pulisic to see how technically gifted and creative he is.

Another way to get a picture of who will be the better signing out of Reijnders and Larsson is to compare their stats via FBref from the 2024/25 campaign. To preface these numbers, it is worth noting that Reijnders has played an average of 16 full 90 minutes more than Larsson.

Well, the metrics certainly make for interesting reading. For example, this term, Reijnders has averaged 6.40 progressive passes and 3.30 progressive carries per 90 minutes, compared to Larsson’s 4.89 progressive passes and 0.65 progressive carries each 90 minutes.

Progressive passes

6.4

4.89

Key passes

1.43

0.94

Shot-creating actions

3.27

2.44

Progressive carries

3.3

0.65

Successful take-ons

1.13

0.22

With both players potentially costing the same amount, you could argue there is not much difference in whom you sign.

However, the experience and all-rounder quality that Reijnders offers, particularly as a ball-carrier, perhaps give him the edge.

If City do decide to sign the Dutchman, he will bring technical quality on the ball and a goal-scoring threat as a box-crasher. He would certainly enhance the calibre of midfielder Guardiola has at his disposal.

He was saved by O'Reilly: Pep must drop 4/10 Man City dud after Bournemouth

Man City won their FA Cup semi-final 2-1 on Sunday

ByJoe Nuttall Mar 31, 2025

Influence with bat and ball shines through on another weather-affected day

ECB Reporters Network28-Sep-2023Ed Barnard’s effectiveness with bat and ball maintained Warwickshire’s hopes of victory over Somerset as this end-of-season, mid-table LV=Insurance County Championship clash meandered along under leaden skies at Edgbaston.At the end of a third successive heavily weather-affected day, Somerset were 90 for 2 in their second innings, 32 ahead, after bowling the home side out for 273. Josh Davey took 3 for 62 and Neil Wagner 3 for 67 but Barnard’s skilful and patient 73 (144 balls) maintained his excellent late-season form and gave his side a handy first-innings lead of 58. Barnard then took both wickets as Somerset ground their way in front.Rain and bad light have chopped 125 overs from days one to three but, with better weather forecast for the fourth, a decisive result remains possible. Quick wickets could herald a Warwickshire victory bid, or the captains could simply agree a target overnight.After Warwickshire resumed the third morning on 112 for 3, Davey struck with the fourth ball which Dan Mousley edged low to Andy Umeed at second slip. Alex Davies fell lbw to Jack Brooks and when Michael Burgess edged Wagner behind, the home side was 147 for 6, still 68 behind. Somerset sensed a lead.Barnard had set down roots, though, and received obdurate support from the in-form Danny Briggs. Confident after his 99 at Lord’s last week, the former Hampshire and Sussex player contributed 38 off 68 balls to a stand of 93 in 25 overs which moved Warwickshire in front.Briggs scooped Wagner to long leg and Craig Miles gloved the New Zealand international behind before Barnard’s excellent innings was terminated by a skied attempt to hoist Davey straight.The Worcestershire product had ensured Warwickshire a handy first-innings lead, though, and Somerset faced an awkward 15 overs batting before tea. Openers Tom Lammonby and Sean Dickson made 39 from the first 14 before the former clipped Barnard to short mid-wicket in the final over of the session.Barnard’s happy day continued when Lewis Goldsworthy feathered a pull to wicketkeeper Burgess. Still eight runs behind with two wickets down, Somerset needed ballast and Sean Dickson (36 not out) and Umeed (20 not out) supplied it with an important unbroken stand of 40 in 12 overs. Dickson’s two hours of resistance, in which he struck just three of 84 balls faced to the boundary, was exactly what his team needed in the circumstances.

واصل برشلونة استعداداته لمواجهة ليفانتي في الدوري الإسباني، وقد شهدت التدريبات عودة أحد اللاعبين الرئيسين تحت قيادة هانز فليك.

وكان فرينكي دي يونج قد أكمل مباراة يوم السبت الماضي ضد مايوركا بدون أي مشاكل وأكمل جلسة التعافي يوم الأحد دون مشاكل لذا أثار غيابه الثلاثاء بعض التساؤلات.

اقرأ أيضاً.. راشفورد يبشر جماهير برشلونة بشأن الصفقة الجديدة.. ويشيد بخوان جارسيا

ومع ذلك فقد تأكد أن سبب غياب فرانك دي يونج يعود لأسباب شخصية، حيث أصبحت شريكته على وشك ولادة طفلهما الثاني، وأراد أن يكون بجانبها.

وبحسب صحيفة “سبورت” الإسبانية وبعد غياب دي يونج عن أول جلسة تدريبية لبرشلونة هذا الأسبوع، فقد كان الهولندي حاضراً اليوم في المدينة الرياضية خوان جامبر.

وتدرب لاعب خط الوسط صاحب الـ28 عاماً بشكل طبيعي مع زملائه في الفريق، ويكثف برشلونة استعداداته لمباراة الدوري الإسباني يوم السبت القادم ضد ليفانتي.

ويعد دي يونج عنصرًا أساسيًا في فريق برشلونة بالنسبة لفليك في مركز خط الوسط الدفاعي وقائدًا في الملعب وغرفة الملابس، وينتهي عقده في 2026، ويبذل النادي جهوداً للانتهاء من تجديد عقده.

وكان فرينكي دي يونج قد قام بتعيين وكيل أعمال جديد، ومن المتوقع أن تسرع هذه الخطوة من إنتهاء إجراءات عملية تجديد عقده.

Keacy Carty’s 87 was the only bright spark in another error-strewn display from West Indies

Madushka Balasuriya07-Jul-2023A second straight ton by Pathum Nissanka and yet another four-for from Maheesh Theekshana headlined a dominant eight-wicket win over West Indies, as Sri Lanka completed a comfortable warm-up for Sunday’s final against Netherlands, in Harare.Set a middling target of 244, Sri Lanka ran it down with little fuss, inclusive of a tournament-best opening stand of 190 between Nissanka and Dimuth Karunaratne – though both were handed lifelines by an abject West Indian performance in the field. While both would fall before the chase was completed, Nissanka for 104 and Karunaratne for 83, Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama closed the game out with 34 balls to spare.For West Indies, the only bright spark was Keacy Carty, whose 96-ball 87 dragged his side to a fighting total, when at one point it seemed like they would become the seventh consecutive side to be skittled for less than 200 runs by Sri Lanka in this tournament.This had not seemed the case when Johnson Charles was flying high during a brisk 36-run opening stand with Brandon King. With Dasun Shanaka opening the bowling alongside Dilshan Madushanka, Charles and King had found the Lankan captain’s gentle pace to their liking. But the early introduction of eventual Player of the Match Theekshana turned the game.King was the first to go, his middle stump disturbed after he went too far across attempting to sweep. Shamarh Brooks then got a faint nick through to the keeper that was confirmed on review, while Shai Hope was trapped in front by one that skidded through off a good length to catch him sitting in his crease.Charles was still going strong at this point, but then the sometimes wayward Matheesha Pathirana grabbed his only scalp, trapping him lbw with one that was quick, straight and kept a touch low from back of a length. Theekshana returned later to leave the West Indies reeling on 155 for 8 when he knocked back Romario Shepherd’s middle stump.Pathum Nissanka scored back-to-back hundreds•ICC via Getty ImagesAt that point, it seemed like West Indies would struggle to reach 40 overs, let alone the full 50, but Carty – aided by the fact he was dropped on 8 – strung together a series of lower-order stands to haul his side into the game, on a pitch that had few demons in it.He first came to the crease at 62 for 4 with Nicholas Pooran already there, but the latter became legspinner Dushan Hemantha’s maiden ODI scalp, holing out at deep midwicket. Hemantha was playing for the rested Wanindu Hasaranga.Carty then put on 41 with Kyle Mayers, before the latter was castled by Sahan Arachchige – yet another debutant, in for Dhananjaya de Silva. Roston Chase shortly after became Hemantha’s second scalp of the game, caught lbw by a ripping googly, before Carty stitched together another defiant stand – this time 32 with Shepherd.Once Shepherd fell, the writing appeared to be on the wall, but Carty guided Kevin Sinclair and Akeal Hossein through stands of 63 and 25 respectively – the former the best of the innings – to lift the total to respectability.The application shown by Carty throughout would serve as an example from an otherwise dire West Indian effort. This was no more apparent than in the field when several chances of varying difficulty were dropped – a recurring theme throughout this tournament – the most glaring of which was by captain Hope himself, who let through a skier, despite having the gloves on.In a game that many might have assumed would have had far more significance when it was pencilled in at the start of the tournament, in the end only served to show the differing trajectories, not just of these two sides, but of West Indies and the Associates as well. When Sri Lanka turn up on Sunday to face the Dutch, they are likely to be in for a far sterner test.

Buttler says Archer, a travelling reserve, could be an option in a worst-case scenario

Matt Roller09-Oct-2023Eoin Morgan believes it is “naive” to think that England could parachute Jofra Archer into a World Cup match if they were “desperate”, as Archer continues his comeback from an elbow stress fracture.Archer is due to arrive in India next week, linking up with England’s squad in Mumbai, and is their only designated travelling reserve for the tournament. He bowled in England training during their ODI series against New Zealand last month and has recently been bowling at Hove as part of his rehabilitation.Archer will be on standby in the event of an injury to one of England’s six frontline seamers. Morgan, the ex-England captain, said he would have to be managed “extremely well,” having played his most recent competitive game in the IPL four months ago and with no opportunity to prove his fitness in a match scenario.Related

• Malan slams 140 as England roar back with Bangladesh demolition

• Archer misses out on England's World Cup squad

• Buttler stresses loyalty to old guard as Roy, Root struggle for 50-over form

Asked about the potential value of Archer’s bowling on Indian pitches, Morgan said: “Right here and now, I don’t know – because he’s not played, and we don’t know what he’s capable of. Obviously, the feedback about when he’s trained with the team has been that he’s back bowling beautifully, but you would like to see that in a game.”You would like to see that in a continuous performance. You would have to manage that extremely well because, given the injury issue that he’s had in recent times, I think it would be naive of anybody to think [you should] just chuck him in whenever you can because we’re either desperate or feel that you are an option.”Jos Buttler, Morgan’s successor, said there would be “a conversation” around Archer’s readiness in the event that a seamer went down injured. “He’s coming out soon,” Buttler said. “The plan is obviously to finish off the rehab stages of coming back from his injury, so he’ll join up with the team soon.”He’s coming in as a reserve, so he’s not in the squad. And he’s continuing to build up and rehab, and that’s a great place for him to be able to do that, in and around the squad here. Obviously, if he builds up and everything then, should the worst-case [scenario] happen, it’s a conversation.”Morgan, speaking as an ICC Men’s World Cup ambassador, played down the likelihood of Archer featuring soon. “For him to play there needs to be quite a significant injury,” he said. “We’re only a week into the tournament, so it would need to be a six-week injury to a bowler.”

Khushi’s hard-hitting 40 makes light work of small target in fourth innings

ECB Reporters Network27-Jun-2023

Simon Harmer claimed the 14th ten-wicket match haul of his career as he helped Essex to a nine-wicket victory that catapulted them into second place in the Division One table.The South African off-spinner had played a key part in dismissing Warwickshire for 158 in the first innings with his 32nd five-wicket haul for the county, and he added No.33 second time around. He bowled unchanged from the River End throughout the 94 overs of Warwickshire’s second innings for match figures of 10 for 230. He now has 36 wickets this season.However, it was not all plain sailing for Harmer and his team-mates. That Essex did not have the win wrapped up much earlier was down to two lower-order half-century stands, both involving Yorkshire loanee Dom Bess (63).He shared 82 runs from 75 balls with Dan Mousley (61) for the seventh wicket, and 64 runs for the ninth with Jake Lintott, whose T20-esque hitting garnered him a career-best 78.The three of them helped take Warwickshire past and then beyond the total needed to make Essex bat for a second time. The Bears were eventually all out for 381, leaving Essex requiring 83 from a minimum of 122 overs.In the end they needed just 15 of them as Sir Alastair Cook (23 not out) and Tom Westley (12 not out) saw them over the line under leaden Chelmsford skies, reaching the target with four byes. However, en route they lost the aggressive Feroze Khushi who hit two sixes and five fours in a 46-ball 40 before chipping up to bat-pad off the ubiquitous Bess.The back-to-back home wins provided ample amends for Essex’s only defeat in the LV= Insurance County Championship this season in the corresponding fixture at Edgbaston last month.With 299 the target to make Essex bat again, Rob Yates and Will Rhodes, the not-out overnight pair, looked as if they were going to dig in until Christmas. They knocked off 31 in the first 55 minutes of the third day.However, the early tension in the home camp was eased when Jamie Porter brought one in from outside off-stump to Rhodes and Will Buttleman took the catch down legside. Rhodes batted for 118 balls for his 46.Five overs later, Yates became Harmer’s 400th first-class wicket for Essex when the left-hander leaned forward tentatively and fell to another catch behind.Warwickshire sent in Ed Barnard to break up the left-handed sequence at the top of the order. He did not last long, dollying a leading edge off Doug Bracewell to mid-off.Jacob Bethell had looked composed, driving the majority of his seven fours through the covers, but he departed to a bat-pad catch off Matt Critchley for 36. Three balls on, the leg-spinner who has gained a reputation this season as a ‘golden arm’, also accounted for Michael Burgess, caught by a diving Cook at slip.The 21-year-old Mousley reached his fourth Championship fifty of the season during a Harmer over from which he plundered 18 runs.However, as so often, Harmer had his revenge when Mousley charged down the wicket in an attempt to land a fourth maximum and was stumped by several country miles. His disgust with himself was plain to see.Hassan Ali cracked Critchley for a six but his was a short stay as he picked out Khushi at deep midwicket to give Harmer his fourth wicket of the innings.Eight-down, Warwickshire were then still 30 runs away from returning Essex to the crease, but Bess reached a well-deserved fifty just before that breakthrough point was reached in the 83rd over. He departed in an eventful over from Porter in which he hooked a six, was dealt a painful blow in the solar plexus and nicked behind.Lintott’s maiden first-class fifty came at a run-a-ball and had Essex struggling to defend the boundary, His free-wheeling innings of 14 fours and two sixes was ended when Khushi held on in the deep to provide Harmer with another match-ball for his burgeoning collection.

First, Afghanistan’s spin quartet ended with combined figures of 38-0-144-7. Bangladesh’s trio replied with 21.3-2-72-5. But where Afghanistan’s quicks bowled 12 overs for 108 runs without a single wicket, Bangladesh’s fast bowlers were more incisive with four wickets in 22 overs, which went for only 111. That was the difference in the end as Afghanistan fell 68 short in their pursuit of 253 and Bangladesh levelled the three-match series with one game to play.Bangladesh’s win was set up by captain Najmul Hossain Shanto’s 76. When Shanto fell on his 119th ball in the 41st over of the first innings, his innings appeared to be too slow. But the value of his runs was visible when the Afghanistan batters struggled to get going, justifying that batting wasn’t easy on a slow and used Sharjah surface. Six of Afghanistan’s top eight scored at least 14, but only one could go on to score a half-century. Rahmat Shah’s 76-ball 52 remained the highest.Afghanistan’s chase of 253 began in sedate fashion. The Bangladesh quicks started with tight lines and lengths with the new ball swinging, but their first two breakthroughs were down to some fantastic catches. Soumya Sarkar anticipated a ball rushing onto him at wide slip to have Rahmanullah Gurbaz caught off Taskin Ahmed, while Mehidy Hasan Miraz – at square leg – leapt and plucked one to send Sediqullah Atal back off Nasum Ahmed’s first ball.Atal departed for 39, ending a 52-run second-wicket partnership with Rahmat, but his dismissal started a sequence where Nasum and Mahmudullah kept a check on Afghanistan, conceding only 19 runs across the next seven overs.Mehidy took over captaincy duties after Shanto had to leave the field with a hand injury, and brought himself back to bowl in the 24th over. One over past the halfway mark, Afghanistan’s required rate had crossed six runs an over, and the slide began in the 29th.Mustafizur Rahman had Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi caught at fine leg for a 40-ball 17 and then Nasum bowled Azmatullah Omarzai for his second duck of the series with a beautiful ball which turned away to hit off stump.Three balls later, Rahmat paid the price for a mix-up with Gulbadin Naib, who pushed one to cover and called. With Naib watching the fielder, Rahmat was halfway down the pitch, and ultimately both ended up running towards Jaker Ali, the debutant wicketkeeper. Jaker, playing in place of the injured Mushfiqur Rahim, threw the ball to Nasum at the other end and Rahmat was well short.Thus, Afghanistan lost three wickets in the space of six deliveries, and although Naib swung his bat around for an entertaining 26, and added 44 for the sixth wicket with Mohammad Nabi, his dismissal left the rest with too much to do. They lost their last five wickets for only 21 runs and folded for 184 in 43.4 overs.That batting performance made Shanto’s half-century and Jaker’s death-overs batting cameo look even better. Bangladesh had lost Tanzid Hasan early in the afternoon, but Shanto and Soumya accelerated. Despite a Shanto slowdown after the powerplay, Bangladesh made 82 in 14 overs.However, it took a further 23 overs to get another 82 for Bangladesh, despite losing only two more wickets in that period. All four of Afghanistan’s spinners – Rashid, Nabi, Nangeyalia Kharote and AM Ghazanfar – operated during that phase, and conceded just two fours and a six.Rashid broke the 71-run second-wicket partnership between Shanto and Soumya when he trapped the latter lbw. Soumya, on 35, didn’t review despite a consultation, and later saw the replays show the ball had pitched outside the line.In all, Shanto took 75 balls to get to his half-century, which he completed halfway into the 28th over. Both Mehidy and Shanto struggled to put the Afghanistan spinners away, and had to rely on their running between the wickets amid a plethora of dots. In the 32nd over, Shanto was given out lbw on 55 off Ghazanfar, but he reviewed and overturned the decision.But Rashid broke the 53-run stand when he cleaned Mehidy up with a googly next over. With 12 overs to go and Bangladesh on 174, Bangladesh were on course for a strong finish but with Shanto slow but Kharote struck three times in the next three overs to dent their cause. Towhid Hridoy, Shanto and Mahmudullah all departed in quick succession.But Jaker and Nasum ensured Bangladesh would post a competitive score. The last six overs were taken for 60 runs, as Nasum started the fun with a slog sweep for six off Kharote. When Afghanistan switched to pace in the 47th over, Jaker bashed Fazalhaq Farooqi for back-to-back sixes, with one landing over the roof beyond deep midwicket. Nasum hit 25 at just better than a run a ball, while Jaker put the finishing touch. The debutant ensured Bangladesh crossed 250.

The collective strength of the team shone through at Lord’s just as it did in Brisbane a few months ago

Nagraj Gollapudi17-Aug-20216:44

What makes this Indian pace attack so lethal?

Even before Virat Kohli declared* India’s second innings, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah were in for a surprise as they entered the Long Room inside the Lord’s Pavilion at lunch. The entire Indian squad, led by head coach Ravi Shastri, was at the door step, lavishly cheering the pair on.It was a mark of respect from the dressing room to the two tailenders after their unbroken ninth-wicket partnership of 89 runs had put India in an unassailable position. That unprecedented gesture played a big role in the two fast bowlers quickly changing and racing back out with even greater vigour to share new ball.Kohli said later that he wanted at least 55 overs to bowl England out. That he believed India could knock a team out on their own turf in front of a partisan crowd was because he had a bowling attack so sharp, so incisive that it has been compared to some of the very best in history.Bumrah, Shami and Ishant Sharma allied with the fast, furious and youthful Mohammed Siraj destroyed every England batter’s confidence with a combination of pace, discipline, accuracy, consistency and clever presence of mind. It was such a compelling display that even the great James Anderson would have quietly appreciated it from his dressing room.The show started with Bumrah’s intimidating first over to Rory Burns. The left-hander left the field rattled. And it ended in the dying light, with just about half hour of play left, with Siraj gleefully dodging all his team-mates to go and pluck the stump he had just knocked back despite all of Anderson’s best efforts.James Anderson is bowled by Mohammed Siraj, and it’s game over•Getty ImagesIndia have now managed two miraculous wins in 2021 – at the Gabba in January and now at Lord’s. The thread that connects both victories is the collective effort by the 11 members in the team. KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma put on a century opening stand, Kohli made a scrappy 42, and while England regained the advantage on the second morning with two quick wickets, Jadeja and Rishabh Pant took India to a strong total. By now, the pitch had flat-lined, but India’s fast men bent their backs and brought it back to life to crack open England’s batters, well everyone except Root, to limit their lead.On the penultimate afternoon, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane batted out nearly two sessions to not just keep India afloat, but also resurrect their careers which were in danger after repeated failures. Every time England thought they had a foot in the door, they would be pushed out by more than one Indian hand. And then came ‘Shamrah’, an R Ashwin trademark to describe Shami and Bumrah’s batting brilliance.Kohli agrees that there is a pattern developing where India are now winning not due to the heroics of one player, but all 11. “KL and Rohit, had an outstanding partnership on day one,” the captain told which conducted interviews with several Indian players immediately after the Lord’s win. “The opposition put us [in] and [they thought] we were going to get blown away. Just the character we showed, to get a result in 60 overs on day five when the pitch was not offering anything to the bowlers… all I can say is I am really proud of the team. We have had some amazing overseas wins but this one is right up there just because of the belief and character we showed and that’s been the hallmark of our team.”While he obviously had special praise for Shami and Bumrah’s batting efforts, Kohli never thought they would help secure a lead so big that it just turned the fate of the match. “Unbelievable. We all knew that we are counting on Rishabh to carry through with the tail and get us extra runs. We were thinking, ‘Okay, 200 would be great. 175-180, we’ll take that as well to have a crack at them.’ But 280 is something we could not have imagined.3:29

Laxman: This win on par with the Brisbane win for India

“Just shows that in this game when you walk on to the field you have a chance as an individual. If you have that belief to take that chance special things can happen. Jasprit and Shami were outstanding – what they did shifted the momentum towards us. The opposition was completely out of the game. We knew that they were going to play for survival and if we got the right breakthroughs then it is going to be so tough for them which ended up being the case.”He might polarise opinions, but Kohli the captain, like the batter, has always been clear about his aim: play to win. Now he leads a team in his image, a fact made clear by Shami when he said none of the bowlers wanted to let the opportunity to win a Test match at Lord’s go to waste. “There was no pace, low (bounce). But all of us including Ishant, Bumrah, Siraj and myself bowled really well. Our aim was to attack the stumps at all times and make them play because we had very limited number of overs. The biggest happiness is we now have the series lead. Incredible.”This collective strength is even helping young players to feel like they belong on the biggest stage. Siraj, for example, has now played a role in two historic overseas victories. As a teenager, when he was busy playing tennis-ball cricket in the dusty by-lanes and in Hyderabad and Secunderabad, Siraj would dream of playing at Lord’s one day. In his Test at the fabled ground, where many-a-fast bowler has been distracted by the vagaries of the slope, he emerged as India’s highest wicket-taker. “From childhood I used to watch Lord’s, but to play here now and perform and help the country win I cannot express my happiness. I will enjoy this.”Kohli agrees that there is a pattern developing where India are winning not due to the heroics of one player, but all 11•AFP/Getty ImagesKohli has moved into the top echelon of Test captains with with only Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting and Graeme Smith boasting more Test match wins. But he is still work in progress. It is only recently that he has sought out and allowed the likes of Rahane, Rohit, Bumrah, Ishant and Ashwin to help him with bowling plans. Rohit was a key sounding board for Rahane in Australia, too. His success as opener has played a huge role in India successes and he has also played mentor to young players like Pant and Shubman Gill.”To win a Test match like that you need character and that’s exactly what everyone showed,” Rohit said after the Lord’s win. “Not just one or two guys, but all 11 came together at different stages, put their hand up and took the responsibility. And that’s a great sign.”On Tuesday morning Shastri put a picture of the entire Indian squad along with the support staff bunched together under the visitors’ honours board at Lord’s. There was a palpable sense of joy on each and every face in that photograph because everyone in it had contributed to a miraculous victory. A win for the ages.

Australia’s qualification for the 2019 event might have been touch and go under the new rules

Daniel Brettig30-Jul-20202:16

The World Cup Super League explained

“Try explaining that to the man on the street.”Given the mouthful of terms and conditions plastered onto the screen during a rain delay in excellent coverage of the recent Test series between England and West Indies, it was perhaps understandable to hear Mike Atherton utter these words about the ICC’s new ODI league, after Ian Ward had wondered aloud why the existing rankings weren’t enough.What may have been more helpful, though, is to use a scenario from recent history to underline how different things will be in a world where cricket’s establishment nations actually face an equitable qualification bar to play in a global event. This is rather a change from the usual task of just turning up on the scheduled start date every four years and trying their luck from there, while the game’s other nations scramble, scrape and struggle to fight their way into the token couple of tournament spots left over.Of course, there had already been an attempt to use the rankings as a qualification method for 2015 to 2019, but it raised a couple of pretty large red flags. First, that historical points from a previous World Cup cycle still factored into rankings right up to the cut-off date – Australia, for instance, were still being pushed up the ICC table by their performances in the 2015 World Cup to ensure automatic qualification in late 2017, long after those results had lost currency.Second, and arguably more troublesome, is the fact that teams could manipulate the rankings by scheduling extra matches in order to try to reach the qualifying threshold. Essentially it was possible for nations to “game the system” by slotting in extra fixtures if needed.As the ICC’s cricket chief Geoff Allardice put it: “Ahead of the World Cup in England, in 2019, the qualification process was based on the ODI rankings. And the rankings can be influenced by the access to which opponents you get and if you end up playing against high rated teams you can move more speedily up the rankings.”So, the idea of creating a league and having each of the eligible teams competing over the same number of matches against the spread of opponents was felt to be a way to be able to bring a bit more meaning to the matches that were being played.”Funnily enough, there’s a terrific example of how greater meaning might have be gleaned from 2019, involving the eventual semi-finalists Australia, that clearly demonstrates how the new league, while far from perfect, will fundamentally change how “the man on the street” sees bilateral ODI series.

“The rankings can be influenced by the access to which opponents you get and if you end up playing against high rated teams you can move more speedily up the rankings.”Geoff Allardice

Having lifted the Cup on home soil in 2015, the Australian ODI team went more or less into mothballs as a competitive team over the next three or so years. With Test cricket as Cricket Australia’s publicly stated priority, ODI results were spotty at best, and often, as when they toured South Africa in late 2016 or faced England at home and away in 2018, downright embarrassing from one of the world’s best and certainly richest teams.”One of the challenges we know is trying to get our best players playing all forms of the game when they play most of the year,” Australia’s coach Justin Langer said. “So in the past it seemed to be that our ranking in T20 cricket wasn’t great because a lot of times some of our players were rested through that form of the game, and it’s the same now with one day cricket. It’s hard to have them playing all forms so you’ve got to work out what your priorities are.”The reality now though is that every form is a high priority, and we’ve been doing a lot over the last couple of months around how we can improve our 50-over cricket, we haven’t been great at it since the guys won the last World Cup in Australia. It’s certainly something we’re focusing on, and I guess it gives it more importance now with the table and new schedule as it is.”By unofficially ranking the world’s ODI teams on a win percentage basis in bilateral matches between the 2015 and 2019 Cups, Australia actually finished in seventh spot, just above the cut-off line for automatic qualification under the new league’s terms. In doing so they pipped Pakistan, while West Indies and Sri Lanka sagged a long way behind. Though they played fewer matches, Bangladesh and Afghanistan outperformed these “bigger” nations, illustrating why a more meritocratic system is long overdue.”The prioritisation even from a playing POV, prior to Covid-19, some countries talking about their series in the Super League, wasn’t as easy to rest players as it used to be because the matches all counted towards World Cup qualification,” Allardice said. “In terms of making sure teams were putting out their strongest XI, teams aren’t going to take any of these teams lightly and we’re probably going to see a higher quality of ODI cricket as a result.”What makes things still more intriguing for Australia however, is this. Because they had more or less ignored ODIs as a format of priority in intervening years, they entered their final three assignments: home and away ODI series against India and another in the UAE against Pakistan, struggling to maintain what would now be one of the automatic qualification places based on their winning percentage.Anyone who has watched the Amazon documentary will know that the early months of 2019 were far from easy for the Australians. Langer was struggling under the strain of the national coaching job, ODI captain Aaron Finch woefully out of touch as a batsman after being pitched into the Test team, and there was uncertainty about the looming returns of Steven Smith and David Warner from their Newlands bans.Australia’s win percentage between the 2015 and 2019 World Cups was fairly low•ESPNcricinfo LtdGiven their lack of context or any pressure in terms of qualification for the World Cup, the white ball matches against India and Pakistan ultimately served as a time in which, under less pressure, the Australian side was able to regroup and pull together a workable formula for playing ODIs, losing creditably to India at home, then coming from behind to win a thrilling series against Virat Kohli’s men 3-2 away, then swatting Pakistan aside 5-0 in the UAE. They won eight matches in a row to finish with a 50% winning record for the cycle.Contrast this with the kinds of suffocating pressure experienced by the likes of Scotland or Ireland in their failed efforts to qualify for a World Cup played more or less on their doorstep, or the cycle of anxiety and jubilation and/or desolation faced by major nations trying to qualify for a FIFA World Cup.Faced with the prospect of missing automatic qualification and then needing to enter an extra tournament just to take part in the World Cup proper, it is not hard to imagine Langer’s image in The Test coming to resemble that of the harried England football manager Graham Taylor during qualifiers for the 1994 football World Cup in an earlier fly-on-the-wall effort, An Impossible Job.”It certainly puts a new perspective on it,” Langer said. “For a long time there’s been discussion or whispers or observations that perhaps a lot of one day cricket is, not meaningless cricket, but people will say ‘what’s the point of it’ and we all know what the point of it is, but from a pure performance point of view, it gives us a whole new perspective and a really good one I think.”In terms of performance it gives it great relevance, so hopefully that means we have our best players on the park more often. You’ve got to make sure you qualify – with the schedule as it is, you don’t want to have to qualify for the World Cup. With the Ashes and probably India Test series now, the World Cup is numero uno in white ball cricket, so of course we want to be qualifying for it, playing great cricket and building up to the World Cup at the same time.”As it stands, the cut-off date for automatic qualification ahead of the 2023 event is likely to be around February of that year, before the qualification repechage event in June/July ahead of the World Cup itself in India in October and November. That sort of time-frame would mean that Australia’s typical program of home ODIs following a Test summer would loom as a last chance to qualify: either for the hosts themselves, or opponents including England and South Africa.That, undoubtedly, would be a pressure understood by “the man on the street”, regardless of how complex the ODI league might look at the current distance.