All posts by h716a5.icu

It is widely predicted that the older forms of cricket and bookselling will go the way of the dinosaur. But, like their book-loving counterparts, fans of the five-day format are a determined lot

Suhas Cadambi25-Feb-2013There exists a certain type of book-lover who is particular not just about what he reads, but also where he buys it from. It is mostly people of this ilk who are responsible for keeping the cult of the ‘friendly neighbourhood bookstore’ going strong. Clearly, there is a certain romance associated with the local bookshop struggling to compete with the rise of a big chain counterpart; director Nora Ephron even made a well-known romantic comedy on the theme.One might wonder why a reader should prefer the smaller, minimalist store to the giant, glitzy establishment when the latter offers essentially the same product, at superior levels of convenience. The reader would probably offer a multitude of reasons: the sense of personal belonging which you simply don’t get with the larger stores, the presence of knowledgeable owners or astute staff who wouldn’t need a computer to tell you if a certain book were available, the likelihood of finding a rare title, or simply the stimulating environment. This is a real-world parallel I hit upon while thinking about a seeming contradiction in cricket: the attitudes of die-hard Test cricket fans, including myself, towards the various formats of the game.I may profess not to like it, but every year I end up watching a fair bit of the IPL anyway. I’m often asked why this is so; the best explanation I can provide is that an IPL game, at its core, is still bat versus ball, and any cricket on television is better than none at all. Yet, my feelings about the Twenty20 format persist. Perhaps it’s not the league itself, but its knock-on effects – the proliferation of domestic T20 leagues, player availability, a badly compromised schedule – that leave some of us cold.Whatever it may be, like many others I am the proverbial passenger on the train who simply has to catch a glimpse of the game being played outside, driven by that compulsive need to know what will happen next ball. Similar to this is how the reader who swears by the smaller store can still be found leafing through a book in the bigger one; the effect of a flame on a moth.The older ways, however, continue to inspire certain affection. Every major Indian city now boasts an IPL franchise, but the Test match still has more of a community feel to it than the league. When we were discussing the schedule for New Zealand’s upcoming tour of India (Tests in Hyderabad and Bangalore), a Hyderabad-based friend insisted he would rather get tickets for the Bangalore game because “nothing beats the experience of watching a Test in your hometown”. People of Bangalore feel equally strongly about the quaint Premier Bookstore, which shut down three years ago, to the extent that a documentary film has been made on the owner.Further similarities can be uncovered. The big-chain bookstore is usually found in a bustling shopping mall, and is seemingly incomplete without additions such as a DVD section and a coffee shop. By the same token, it is difficult to imagine a T20 game without floodlights, an excitable crowd, loud music, and cheerleaders. It sure hits home with the larger public, even if the purist finds this all a bit repulsive.It is widely predicted that the older forms of cricket and bookselling will go the way of the dinosaur. But, like their book-loving counterparts, fans of the five-day format are a determined lot. Today, any reasonably absorbing Test match, never mind the attendance figures, is a reason (or is it excuse?) for renewed optimism. The cause may be a losing one, but it is still worth fighting for.

The expectations are heaped on Royal Challengers’ batsmen. But it’s the bowlers who have consistently let the team down

Abhishek Purohit14-May-2013After his bowlers failed to defend 175 with almost two overs remaining, the first thing Virat Kohli was asked at the post-match presentation was whether he and Chris Gayle could have approached their partnership differently. This after Royal Challengers Bangalore added 116 in the last nine overs. It said everything about the make-up of a side that relies heavily on three outstanding batsmen and expects its revolving door of bowlers to throw up four or five who will keep the opposition just in check, somehow.Admittedly, it was a rather slow build-up from Royal Challengers, at 58 for 1 after 11 overs. But in most cases, any side that goes on to score at over two runs a ball for nearly half its innings can be forgiven for that go-slow. Unless, they have taken it too easy on an absolute belter, which the Chinnaswamy pitch wasn’t at all in the first innings. Yes, Royal Challengers did not have the best of starts but even in hindsight, it is difficult to blame Gayle and Kohli for the loss to Kings XI Punjab.The pitch changed character as the match progressed. It started as a slow, low surface on which some good length deliveries from the Kings XI quick bowlers went around shin height. It would not have been out of place in a Test match at the Kotla. Adam Gilchrist, the Kings XI captain, said at the presentation he’d started to wonder if he’d made the correct decision to bowl, given the way the pitch behaved at the start. Gilchrist expected it would get slower and lower, and began to have second thoughts about batting second, but eventually found out it came on a lot better under lights.When the game began, Gayle just could not find any timing at all. He swung at and missed length balls a couple of times, something that does not happen often to him. He tried getting under a few to launch them over long-on but they just wouldn’t come on. He was struggling to connect even with the nudge to square leg, a tactic he uses all the time to rotate strike at the start, when he is sizing up things.Where Royal Challengers do miss out, during the few overs Gayle takes to build, is by having someone like Cheteshwar Pujara at the other end. Pujara himself likes some time to get going. Having a Tillakaratne Dilshan – when in form – or an aggressive batsman to partner Gayle does not allow the innings to stall from both ends at the beginning.Coming back to Gayle’s knock, despite being on 22 off 30 at one stage, he found enough rhythm towards the end to finish with 77 off 53, a strike-rate of 145-plus. Kohli was able to accelerate smoothly as well. As Kohli said at the presentation, if you’d put up 174 on that pitch batting first, you’d done well.When Kings XI came out, it was a different surface. Gilchrist managed mostly mishits for the major part of his innings, but they cleared the infield. They probably wouldn’t have if he was batting first. Azhar Mahmood could not pick a Muttiah Muralitharan doosra but was still able to power it flat over long-on. It would have been tough to clear the fielder if Mahmood was batting first.If the pitch had changed, so had the attack – an attack that few defending captains will feel safe with. Kohli said at the start of the season that Royal Challengers knew there was a weakness in the attack and had gone on a fast-bowler buying spree. Still, you get that old feeling of sameness with the Royal Challengers attack. And the foreboding sense that somehow, a bowler or two will have an off day and will leak runs throughout.They bowl short when they don’t have the pace to hurry batsmen. They bowl length from which they disappear for sixes. They don’t hit the blockhole often, though that is something all bowling sides in the IPL are guilty of. Further, Kohli had chosen the insurance of an extra batsman in Arun Karthik at the expense of a fast bowler. So when two of his bowlers went for runs, he had no back-up.The expectations though, as the question at the presentation showed, were heaped on the Royal Challengers batsmen. Could they have gone harder earlier? Could they have targeted, say 200? With an attack that conceded 176 for 3 in 18.1 overs, it probably wouldn’t have mattered even then.

Hampshire are one-day kings but they can also add promotion to their CV

George Dobell30-Mar-2013Last year: 4th, CC Div 2; Winners, FLt20; Winners, CB40.2012 in a nutshell: Excellent in limited-overs cricket and mediocre in the Championship. Hampshire won the limited-overs double in 2012 and, with three games to play in the Championship season, were in a promotion position. They lost all three (against Leicestershire, Essex and Derbyshire) and slipped into mid-table. They topped their CB40 group with seven wins from 10 completed matches and then defeated Sussex and, in the final, Warwickshire off the last ball to lift the trophy. In the T20 they reached finals day in Cardiff, beating Somerset in a low-scoring semi-final and outwitting Yorkshire in the final. Glenn Maxwell proved an astute signing, with slow bowlers Liam Dawson and Danny Briggs maintaining excellent control and Dimitri Mascarenhas providing a reminder of his excellence as a T20 cricketer.2013 prospects: Hampshire should continue to challenge in the shorter formats and must be considered one of the promotion favourites. Their top-order batting, containing Jimmy Adams, Michael Carberry, overseas player George Bailey and, from June, Neil McKenzie, is as strong as any in Division Two. Adam Wheater, Sean Ervine and James Vince will add impetus while Liam Dawson will be asked to bat long and slow. The bowling is, at first glance, slightly less impressive but, led by David Balcombe, strong as a bull and determined to make up for lost time in his career, and the left-arm swing of James Tomlinson, it will also be augmented by the spin of Saeed Ajaml for the last few weeks of the season. Having won four limited-overs trophies in the last four years, they clearly have a decent formula and there is little reason why that should change .Key player: Signing Adam Wheater as a wicketkeeper batsman was somewhat controversial. Not only did Wheater have a year of his contract to run at Essex, but his arrival threatens the position of Michael Bates, a homegrown Hampshire keeper who has made such a fine impression with the gloves. But Wheater, at 23, only eight months older than Bates, is a vastly superior batsman – he averages 20 more an innings – and will add depth to Hampshire’s batting line-up.Bright young thing: Such is James Vince’s talent that the England selectors ignored his largely unsuccessful season in Division Two last year – he averaged 24.52 and only passed 50 once – and took him on the Lions’ one-day tour to Australia. He struggled there but, at 22, remains a talented and unusually elegant young batsman, capable of scoring freely against decent bowling. His strength, at present, remains in the limited-overs formats – he averaged 55.50 in the CB40 and was Hampshire’s leading run-scorer in the FLt20 – but if he can curb his attacking instincts just a little, he can flourish in all formats.Captain / coach: Jimmy Adams will continue to lead the side in a positive, cheerful manner, leaving Giles White, the head coach, to continue in unobtrusive style. The days when Hampshire could rely upon being bankrolled by Rod Bransgrove are gone – it didn’t really work, anyway – leaving the club more reliant on player development. They seem stronger for it.ESPNcricinfo verdict: Hampshire look capable of winning promotion this year. The batting is unusually strong and the acquisition of Saeed Ajmal on late-season pitches is a major scoop. The one concern is the pre-Ajmal bowling attack which, with the heavy roller back in operation this year, may face some long days in the field. It won’t be easy to follow up a double-winning season, but Hampshire should continue to be a threat in the shorter formats.

Plays of the day from the fourth day at Old Trafford

George Dobell, Jarrod Kimber and Brydon Coverdale04-Aug-2013Gary Pratt of the day
It wouldn’t be an Ashes series without a run-out from a sub fielder. And this one even featured the Australia captain, just like Gary Pratt’s effort against Ricky Ponting at Trent Bridge in 2005. Only this time, it was Michael Clarke’s partner, Steven Smith, who was the victim. Smith steered a delivery from James Anderson down to third man and positively Usain Bolted through for the first run while Clarke strolled. Smith was already two-thirds down the pitch for a second run – which was clearly there – when he realised Clarke wasn’t coming. A relay throw from Matt Prior found Smith short of his ground and the man who had hurled the ball in from third man was Tom Craddock, the Essex legspinner, who was on the field for Kevin Pietersen. It was a brief and eventful spell on the ground; Pietersen jogged back on as Smith trudged off.Clash of the day
David Warner bolted out on the field, perhaps hoping to be out in the middle before the crowd realised it was him. He faced 57 balls. None of those were delivered by Joe Root. Root didn’t even warm up near him. They might have shared the same field, but that was about as close as it got. But the link between them couldn’t be broken that easily. A short ball from Tim Bresnan was pulled out to deep square leg. As it travelled for those fleeting moments, you could hear people start to say “Is that Root?” followed by the catch, and then “That is Root!” Then laughter.Tune of the day
Whatever Warner achieves in his career, it seems he will always be remembered for punching Root in a bar in Birmingham. Certainly the English crowd will never let him forget it. Here Billy Cooper, the Barmy Army trumpeter making his first appearance of the summer at this Test having been forbidden from playing in the first two games, played the theme from Rocky when Warner came out to bat in Australia’s second innings.Boundary of the day
A pleasing stroke from Stuart Broad in the eighth over of the day, a back-foot drive through cover off the bowling of Ryan Harris, drew prolonged applause from another full-house crowd of 25,000 at Old Trafford. But the applause was not just for a nicely timed stroke from a man who seems to be rediscovering some form with the bat. It was because it was the stroke that ensured England had averted the follow-on and therefore significantly reduced Australia’s chances of winning this game.Walk of the day
After the mountain of criticism Broad attracted for failing to walk after edge at Trent Bridge, it was particularly noticeable that he did not wait for the umpire’s decision here. Prodding forward to a nice delivery from Nathan Lyon that turned enough to brush the edge of the bat, it was a far less obvious nick than the one Broad survived in Nottingham, suggesting he may have reflected on events that day and decided to change his approach. Equally, it may be he decided that, with the follow-on already averted, the circumstances of the match made such a move a canny piece of PR. Graeme Swann also walked a few minutes later in similar circumstances.Review of the day
Broad was briefly in the umpires’ good books when he walked but later in the day he and the officials weren’t seeing eye to eye. Broad was convinced he had Warner caught behind trying to hook a bouncer, but Tony Hill disagreed. England reviewed the call and there was no mark on Hot Spot and no evidence that Warner had tickled the ball, and the decision stood. But England were convinced Warner was out, and Broad and James Anderson talked at length to Hill after the decision came down from the third official. Later, Snicko suggested Warner might have hit the ball after all, but there was no way on the evidence available at the time Kumar Dharmasena could have overruled Hill.

David Green’s tales of county cricket, which he played and then covered, are well-written and loads of fun

Paul Edwards09-Nov-2013″You’re a virgin! Excellent!” said David Green, and his eyes widened in anticipation of six hours’ innocent fun.Already a word of explanation is necessary. The former Lancashire and Gloucestershire opening batsman was speaking in the Old Trafford press box sometime in late August 2004. He was addressing this writer, who, after years of writing about cricket in comparative obscurity, had decided to make an honest woman of his craft and try his hand working for a national newspaper. To his astonishment the ; the account of the brief duel between a hungover Alan Brown of Kent and the similarly handicapped Green is quite hilarious. This is not a sober book, thank god.Yet it is far, far more than a retelling of drunken escapades. For one thing there is detailed technical analysis – Milton is much to the fore here, too – as Green explains the development of his method and considers the technical accomplishments of the cricketers of his time. And for all that the author disparages his own writing when compared with that of, say, John Woodcock, there are more than a few telling phrases. For example, a conversation about the late Brian Statham, whose accuracy was unparalleled, ends with the following: “Rather than Geoff Boycott’s ‘corridor of uncertainty’ Brian aimed at a hairline crack.”Even the title of the book is evocative, since the phrase “handful of confetti” celebrates those “whole hearted fellows… who rush up as if they are aiming for the pace of Larwood or Trueman but only manage to propel the pill some 20, 30 or even 40 miles per hour slower than England’s two greatest fast bowlers. That title, Green eventually decided, was better than another contender, . Those readers who are intrigued as to why the latter was considered at all will need to buy this most entertaining of cricket books. Is it repetitious at times? Certainly. Are some of the tales rather scandalous? Oh, to be sure, they are. But is it also a lot of fun and one of the most informative reads likely to appear on bookshop shelves frequently dominated by the dull autobiographies of Test cricketers? The answer to that is yes, as well. Nice one, Greeny, and thanks for changing my nappies.A Handful of Confetti
David Green
TME Publishing
165 pages
Available through mail order (£12.99, including P&P). Please email: [email protected] to order a copy

The second leg of our correspondent’s South Africa tour diary features steel bands, pelvic thrusts, Ethiopian food, and a low-key last innings

Sidharth Monga02-Jan-2014December 16
“Must” has overtaken “should”. “How are you” has become “howzit”. “I am fine, thank you?” has become “goodandyou?” “Shap shap” is okay, all right, thank you, everything. Enough time has been spent in South Africa. There hasn’t been much cricket, though. Only two completed matches in 16 days. Only one team turned up during those.Elsewhere, people have begun draining out of Johannesburg. Restaurants and coffee shops are closed for the year. Biggest loss, Wolves. Nice little coffee shop and bar near the Wanderers, with free wi-fi. Owned by slightly obscure South African rock band, the delightfully named Desmond & the Tutus. One of their songs is “Car Guard Tan”, a tan presumably got from doing standing and doing nothing all day. All of Johannesburg away for a car-guard tan.December 17
Jimmy Cook. Former South Africa opener. Most of his career passed during apartheid. When the chance finally arrived, he was out first ball of a Test. Caught at slip off Kapil Dev. Jolly good talker of cricket. Has mentored and coached Graeme Smith since his childhood. As he has Stephen Cook, his son. Stephen is part of South Africa Invitation XI that was supposed to play India but couldn’t because of bad weather and a wet outfield. Story of his life, says Jimmy.”He had one fantastic season. One-day cricket, he batted beautifully. He did really well in the four-day stuff. He had had his best year by miles. And they were picking an SA A team to go to Zimbabwe. And I said, ‘He has got to get in there. He must be there.’ Anyway the team came out, and his name wasn’t there. I said, ‘Geez, you are unlucky.’ So I looked down the names, and I said, ‘Ah I can see who they have put in his place. Don’t even know this bloke. Who is this little bloke they put in in his place?'”It was AB de Villiers.December 18
Commentary boxes at the Wanderers are next to the press box. When off air, some commentators shoot the breeze in the lounge area and watch cricket on TV, which has a lag. One way to kill time is to predict from the crowd reaction what has happened, then watch on TV to see who’s right. Shaun Pollock knows his Wanderers crowd well, and wins a lot. Not a lot of wickets to cheer on day one, though. Especially after India’s openers are gone for 24. Virat Kohli, in his first Test in South Africa, scores a century to give the first signs India can compete in South Africa.December 19
Those sleep scientists “must” conduct their studies on South Africa. Incredibly sleepy country. Especially when it pitter-patters continuously. Wake up to rain, go back to sleep, certain play won’t start on time. Wanderers drainage has other ideas, and we have not lost a minute.Lots of wickets are lost, though. India lose their last five for 16, but fight back through their quicks to take five South African wickets for 16 and leave the Test in the balance.December 20
Vernon Philander becomes the fastest South African to reach 100 Test wickets. Morne Morkel injures himself when he slips while fielding. Cheteshwar Pujara and Kohli add 222 for the third wicket to start batting South Africa out of the game.Ethiopian food in the evening in the inner-city suburb of Kensington. Almost miss the restaurant because it seems locked. Turns out they take guests in, then lock the doors again. Not very safe late in the night, they say. Surprised to see a lot of Indian influence in their food, and music: Lots of unfit singers dancing in music videos. A -like feel even to dances around a bonfire in the desert. Informed of a large Indian population working in Ethiopia. bread it is, then.December 21
With Morkel injured, India rack up the runs before leaving South Africa 135 overs to bat to save or win the Test. Jacques Kallis bowls 20 overs to make up for Morkel’s absence, so he doesn’t bat at No. 4. Faf du Plessis is his replacement. Sign of things to come?Moyo’s. Restaurant that serves African food. Has live bands every Saturday evening. Congolese this night. Despite it being live, the music is trance-like, looping. Loud. Pelvic thrusts by the frontman. Crazy. Goes on for hours. Almost possessed. Turns around to thrust to each band member’s solo. Band play with straight faces. Sreesanth, man last seen with such thrusts on a cricket field, might be missed in this Test.December 22
Great finish to Wanderers Test. Du Plessis. Hard little nut. Reprises Adelaide. AB de Villiers. Considered soft. No more. Scores a hundred that keeps chase alive. Both teams get into one-upmanship after draw. Kohli says South Africa gave up chase, Smith says India didn’t have bowling to bowl them out. Crowd boos Dale Steyn and Philander who shut shop, knowing Morkel can’t even stand up properly, and Imran Tahir is no good with the bat. Need to appreciate how much rests on decisions Steyn and Philander make. Could easily have ruined all the hard work done by du Plessis and de Villiers.December 23
Tongaat. Outside Durban. Indian town. Temples. Sugarcane farms. White gold, they called sugar when they brought indentured labour to work here. Chinatown-type establishments. Start with provisions store. One door leads into a residential hotel. Cross it to reach bar. Another door into a private bar. Door at end of bar opens into a gambling den and pool parlour. Somewhere off this road used to live the Amlas. Logan and Mirinda live there now. Mirinda was Hashim’s teacher in primary school. Logan was “Logan uncle” to Hashim.Visit TV room where Dr Mohamed Amla and babies Hashim and Ahmed spent hours and hours and days and days watching and discussing cricket. Backyard where Dr Amla installed a bowling machine and net and built a swimming pool for the kids to do their stuff. Mirinda remembers a shy kid. Balls Hashim used to practise with still lie around in the house. Dr Amla still visits Tongaat everyday to work at his surgery – South African for “clinic”.December 24
Some things I know about Durban:Its roads go up and down so steeply it is like being on a rollercoaster.
Vasco da Gama discovered it on Christmas Eve, and named it Rio de Natal, meaning “Christmas river”.
Malcolm Marshall played domestic cricket here. They still talk about it with awe.
Over 100 streets have recently been renamed to honour heroes of the struggle against apartheid. Still, people use mostly the old names.
Durban Poison is the name of a punk-rock band in Canada.
Sixto Rodriguez: big in South Africa•Getty ImagesDecember 25
Christmas day. Not many present to watch practice at Kingsmead. Kallis bowls a lot of overs in nets. Later South Africa media manager in the dressing room seen discussing stuff with Kallis. Later he takes the seat and looks at her laptop. Don’t realise he is reading the media release that hours later will inform everybody he is retiring from Test cricket. Now the slightly sombre mood during their training a day before makes sense. Told they all shed tears when informed of the decision on December 24. Also told that Smith was the first one to know when Kallis told him from second slip during Wanderers Test. Haven’t confirmed it. Better this way. Shouldn’t ruin a great story.December 26
Boxing day. Crowd not great. This is Kallis’ last Test. Joke goes around he would have got a bigger crowd had he retired in India. Quietly M Vijay accumulates 91 on stop-start day, showing admirable discipline in leaving balls outside off. Says later he had realised he was playing at too many balls in home series against Australia. Good awareness of own game.Sixto Rodriguez. Folk singer-songwriter. Born in Detroit. Completely unknown in his country. Unbeknownst to him, he became a huge hit in South Africa. tells his fascinating story. Has footage of when he was finally found – he had been rumoured to have killed himself during a performance – and brought over to play in South Africa. Goosebumps stuff. Meet people who were at the homecoming concert. They remember how he had even forgotten his lyrics. Pretty old by the time he was rediscovered. Can’t take away from his earlier work, though.December 27
Zaheer Khan plays a horrible shot first ball as India lose their last five wickets for 14 runs. Second time this series, Ajinkya Rahane stranded at the other end. Punters at the nearby Suncoast Casino more careful. Suncoast not quite Vegas. No glamour here. People mean business. Can tell these are regular faces. Running tables must be extremely difficult. Dealing with someone else’s money. Place bets for different people with different coloured chips. Calculate earnings after every spin. Sometimes times 35, sometimes 17, sometimes seven. Watch ecstasy, glee, despair, sadness. Beginner’s luck. Veteran’s muck. Chat sometimes. Stay indifferent at others. Watched by cameras all along. Wonder if they ever gamble themselves.December 28
Kallis is batting for possibly one last time, but no crowd again. Is he going too slow, though? Rain around. Forecast not bright. Alviro Petersen says you can’t trust South Africa’s weatherman. Can’t plan for the weather. Truer words never spoken.December 29
Kallis goes on to get a century in his final Test, only third South African after Barry Richards and Lee Irvine. A low-key innings from a man who forever wanted to stay low-key. Setting South Africa up for win if weather stays good.If it’s Saturday, it must be Moyo’s. Storytelling through dances this time. Steel band makes a late appearance. Originated in West Africa, perfected in Trinidad.December 30
Steyn does it for South Africa once again. Went more than 70 overs without a wicket during the series. Now has run through India twice. Says he had to do it for Kallis. When asked how it feels to have the power to change games single-handedly, humbly says anybody could have done it. Also adds, “Kinda cool.”And suddenly it is all over. Everybody is asking about flight plans, saying farewells. Stand outside press box at Kingsmead and look at buildings that have become familiar. Want to know what will go on there and at Kingsmead tomorrow. Just like when passing a cricket field on a train and wondering what happened next ball. Shall never know.

Plays of the day from the match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore in Sharjah

Siddarth Ravindran24-Apr-2014The first-baller
Gautam Gambhir had begun the tournament with an eight-ball zero in Abu Dhabi, and followed it up with a four-ball blob in Dubai. Ahead of the toss in Sharjah he said, “Looks a belter, so hopefully I can get some runs.” He didn’t, lasting all of one ball as he was done in by a full swinging delivery from the pacy Mitchell Starc to complete a collection of ducks in every IPL venue in the UAE.The welcome
Forty-two year-old Muttiah Muralitharan was playing his first game of the season, and also his first in over three months. There was no mercy from Chris Lynn, though, as the spin great wheeled in for his first delivery. Lynn played the quintessential Twenty20 shot, the slog-sweep, to send the ball soaring beyond the rope. Not just beyond the rope, it nearly crashed into a giant-screen displaying Muralitharan’s photo and stats. Lynn repeated the dose later in the over, a flatter six that just cleared the boundary as Muralitharan conceded 15 in his first over.The boundary
Muralitharan’s first ball had been hit for six, but Royal Challengers Bangalore’s other spinner, Yuzvendra Chahal, hadn’t been hit for a boundary in both previous games this season. The streak might have extended further than Chahal’s first over today, if Mitchell Starc had held on to a difficult chance at deep midwicket. After Lynn swung the ball towards the boundary, Starc ran across to take the catch, sinking to his knees at the last moment; the ball popped out of his hands and hit his chest before he held on on the second chance. In the process, however, Starc’s feet brushed the rope. Chahal didn’t concede any other boundary in his spell.The innovation
Suryakumar Yadav has already given notice of his ability to innovate with a casual reverse-flick for four off Corey Anderson in the first match of the season. He showed more of that skill today against Ashok Dinda in the 19th over. Dinda fired in a 141.6kph ball full and wide outside off, to which Suryakumar responded by stepping forward, bending his back leg and slap-sweeping it to the midwicket boundary. Even as the commentators raved about the stroke, Suryakumar attempted the shot twice more in the over, botching it both times, taking some of the sheen off the original effort.The face-off
Morne Morkel was steaming in, regularly bowling shortish deliveries close to 150kph, but despite several swishes and misses there was no breakthrough. In Morkel’s second over, Yogesh Takawale started to connect, and scored a crisp boundary behind square before edging between the wicketkeeper and slip for four more. That prompted some snarling from Morkel, and the bowler’s mood didn’t improve after there was another four in the over. At the end of it Morkel, among the tallest players in the tournament, had words with Parthiv, among the shortest players in the tournament, his arm brushing Parthiv’s helmet as he walked past. Parthiv replied with an outburst of his own, but the two patched up soon after with a fist bump.

It can’t get better than a tied Super Over to finish off the Abu Dhabi leg of the IPL

Anil Joseph30-Apr-2014Choice of game
This was the last IPL match in Abu Dhabi, so I didn’t want to miss it. It seems another 20,000 people in Abu Dhabi had similar sentiments so yet another sell-out crowd turned up to bid adieu to the IPL from Abu Dhabi. Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals had identical 2-2 win loss ratios, and this match was crucial for both to keep their noses in front in the race for the IPL play-offs.And what a fitting farewell it turned out to be for Abu Dhabi – easily the closest match this season, and one where fortunes swung from start to finish.Team supported
I guess loyalties are not as deeply entrenched in the IPL (as compared to international matches), so most of the spectators applauded good performances from both sides even if they were more inclined towards Kolkata.I was supporting Rajasthan due to its connection with my favourite cricketer, Rahul Dravid. However, I also wanted to see Jacques Kallis, Sunil Narine and Gautam Gambhir do well for KKR, albeit in a losing cause.Getting to the ground
Parking at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium is quite an experience. The stadium is surrounded by acres of plain sand, which serves as a parking lot for the thousands of cars. I saw at least three cars that got stuck in the sand and their owners desperately trying to extricate their cars (mostly in vain). Long queues of arriving cars sometimes also caused miniature sand storms, but that would not deter the cricket enthusiasts. The security checks were extremely efficient and in no time, we were inside the stadium.One thing I’d have changed
Shah Rukh Khan made an appearance in the 18th over of the Rajasthan innings, and as has been the norm in all IPL matches, a large section of the crowd decided that catching a glimpse of SRK eclipsed any entertainment that cricket could possibly provide. For a diehard cricket fanatic like myself, ignoring a battle of Rahane-Steve Smith vs Narine-Morne Morkel in the final two overs of a T20 game for a long shot sighting of SRK was nothing short of sacrilege.Wow moment
The wow moment of the day for me was the crucial 19th over bowled by the birthday boy, James Faulkner. The three wickets he took in this over of Suryakumar Yadav, Robin Uthappa and Vinay Kumar resurrected Rajasthan’s hopes from a position of utter despair. What makes this performance all the more fascinating was that till that point, Faulkner’s only notable contribution to the match was being caught sleeping at the boundary line when Kallis offered a chance in the deep off Rajat Bhatia’s bowling in the seventh over.Shots of the day
The most stunning shot of the day was Suryakumar Yadav’s six off Shane Watson, which he picked up from way outside off stump (almost near the wide line), and casually slog-swept over square leg in a manner reminiscent of some of Moin Khan’s audacious sweeps.The other amazing shot of the day was Ajinka Rahane’s pulled six off Vinay Kumar. The first impression was that the ball was unlikely to carry very far, but the ball somehow hung in the air and went over for a highly unlikely six.Crowd meter
The excitement levels and associated decibel levels for this match remained relatively subdued for a large part, perhaps due to the attritional nature of cricket being played and the relatively fewer number of sixes and fours. However, the excitement and noise gradually rose to a crescendo during the second half of Kolkata’s innings as people realised this was going to be a close one. Towards the end, everyone was screaming, and as we trooped out of the stadium you could see the satisfaction on the fans’ faces at having witnessed something special.IPL v Pakistan’s home games
Having watched a Pakistan Test, ODI and T20 each here, I must confess only the T20 international could match the IPL for crowd support. The Test match had barely a few dozen people in attendance and the ODI was also played in a half-empty stadium. The IPL, in comparison, has been a runaway hit in these parts. I guess the Indian population in the UAE has been starved of watching Indian cricketers in action for over a decade now, and the IPL has been an avenue for the huge Indian population here to make a statement that we want to see more of Indian cricketers playing here. I have no doubt that if an India-Pakistan T20 match played here, a stadium three times the size of the existing stadia, would be insufficient to meet the demand.Overall
It was a thoroughly enjoyable day of cricket for me and my friends. A big thank you to the organisers for choosing the UAE as hosts and to Sheikh Nahyan for his unwavering support. The IPL has been the talk of the town for the last two weeks, and many of us Indians in Abu Dhabi are already feeling sad that the UAE leg is drawing to a close – a bit like a favorite cousin having visited us on a holiday and now heading back. I really couldn’t have asked for more.

Chasing Chennai Super Kings’ 242, Dolphins opener Cameron Delport played nine action-packed deliveries in his innings. Here’s what happened ball by ball

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Sep-20140.4 – [Ashish] Nehra to Delport, 3 wides, full and fast down leg side, Dhoni fails to collect cleanly but gets some glove on it.
0.4 – Nehra to Delport, FOUR, a cracking shot from Delport, he comes down the pitch and plays a lofted off-drive against a length delivery, he hit through the line and almost cleared the boundary at long off
0.5 – Nehra to Delport, SIX, another length ball disappears, Delport gets on the front foot and swings across the line, hitting the ball high and into the stands at deep midwicket0.6 – Nehra to Delport, FOUR, that’s gone so fast to the square leg boundary! Nehra banged it in short and Delport swivelled and pulled, hitting the ball ferociously2.1 – [Mohit] Sharma to Delport, SIX, Delport has teed off! Golf-swinging a full ball from off stump over the long-off boundary. He’s striking at 5002.2 – Sharma to Delport, FOUR, Delport moves outside leg stump to create room for a short and wide ball, he then slashes hard and cuts the ball flat over point for a one-bounce four. He’s hit five boundaries in five balls2.3 – Sharma to Delport, FOUR, six in six, Delport is cutting CSK to ribbons, makes room once again and carves the ball over point, sensational hitting against the angle into him from round the wicket. They have already got 50!2.4 – Sharma to Delport, 2 runs, makes room and lofts the ball over cover, he’s mis-timed it and no wonder! The bat has broken as he played the shot, he’s left holding the handle in his hand. Delport will hope the replacement bat hits the ball as well as this one2.5 – Sharma to Delport, FOUR, bang! Sharma delivers a length ball and Delport hammers the drive through extra cover, makes a bit of room by moving outside leg and hits cleanly through the line2.6 – Sharma to Delport, OUT, bowled him! Delport’s blaze of glory has come to an end via a slower ball that cut into him from outside off, he played too early and aimed for point and missed. CSK players – some look a bit shell shocked – converge in celebration. Delport’s made some IPL owners sit up and take notice for sure.

Stats highlights from the drawn second Test in Dubai as Pakistan held on to their 1-0 series lead

S Rajesh21-Nov-20146 The number of consecutive Tests in Dubai, before this one, that produced a decisive result. Pakistan won four of those and lost two, to South Africa and Sri Lanka. The only other Test to be drawn here was the very first one, between South Africa and Pakistan in 2010.5 Wickets taken by New Zealand’s specialist spinners, Mark Craig and Ish Sodhi, in this Test. They bowled 105 overs, and went for 338, an average of 67.60 runs per wicket. Pakistan’s two specialist spinners, Yasir Shah and Zulfiqur Babur, took 15 wickets at an average of 26.93 runs per wicket.9 The number of sixes that were hit off Craig’s bowling in the Test. It’s the most sixes off a New Zealand bowler in a Test since 2001. Craig had also gone for eight sixes against West Indies in Kingston earlier this year.118 The number of runs Ross Taylor had scored in his six previous innings before getting 104 today. In three previous innings in this series he had scores of 0, 8 and 23.97 Taylor’s previous highest Test score against Pakistan. In 12 previous innings he had passed 50 five times – including scores of 97 and 94 – but had never gone on to a century. In seven Tests against Pakistan, Taylor now averages 44.61. He has Test hundreds against seven of the nine Test-playing sides, with the exceptions being Bangladesh (highest of 54 not out in eight innings) and South Africa (highest of 48 not out in nine innings). (Click here for Taylor’s career summary in Tests.)12 Number of Test hundreds for Taylor, which puts him level with John Wright; while Wright got 12 in 148 innings, Taylor has his in 108. Among New Zealand batsmen, only Martin Crowe, with 17 hundreds in 131 innings, has more centuries.50 Number of sixes in Test cricket for Tim Southee – all of them have been when he has batted at No. 8 or lower in the batting order, which equals the highest by any batsman batting in the last four positions. Wasim Akram has 50 sixes from 110 innings when he has batted at No. 8 or lower, while Southee has 50 sixes from 60 innings. For New Zealand, only three batsmen – Chris Cairns, Brendon McCullum and Craig McMillan – have struck more sixes.14.69 Taufeeq Umar’s fourth-innings average in Tests since the beginning of 2004. In 16 innings he has a highest of 39. In the first, second and third innings of Tests during this period, he averages 39.18.1 The number of ducks for Misbah-ul-Haq in 32 Test innings in the UAE. He has scored 1610 runs here at an average of 64.40. Younis Khan leads the run tally in the UAE with 1970, though at a slightly lower average (57.94).