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Skipper’s unbeaten ton follows seamer’s 5 for 29 as home side secures first victory of campaign

ECB Reporters Network09-Jul-2022Skipper Kathryn Bryce hit an unbeaten 109 after left-arm seam bowler Grace Ballinger had taken a career-best 5 for 29 as Lightning defeated Thunder by five wickets to record their first win of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy campaign at the Haslegrave Ground in Loughborough.Thunder captain Ellie Threlkeld posted a career-best 91 as Thunder made 238 for 9 in their 50 overs but it was not enough to prevent the North West representative side suffering a second defeat after Bryce and Sophie Munro, whose 50 was also a career-best, shared a 133-run partnership for the fifth wicket.Threlkeld hit six fours and faced 117 balls after being dropped on three, a vital innings to help her side post a competitive score in the absence of Emma Lamb on England duty.East Midlands side Lightning were without England spinner Kirstie Gordon and further hampered by the loss of Marie Kelly from their batting resources after the former Central Sparks player suffered a hand injury while fielding, but overcame both. Thunder took the match into the last over but Bryce’s 15th boundary saw the home side to victory with five balls to spare.Thunder had found themselves in early trouble after choosing to bat first, Ballinger’s opening spell left them 36 for 3 midway through the seventh over.The 20-year-old from Birmingham had Georgie Boyce leg before and bowled Danielle Collins with her seventh ball then should have had a third wicket in her third over as Kelly dived to her right at slip but could not hold on as Threlkeld was allowed to escape.West Indies batter Deandra Dottin hammered 20 in an over off Australian seamer Piepa Cleary, including three fours and a six over long-on, but Dottin’s aggression was short-lived as Ballinger soon had her leg before.Threlkeld made the most of her reprieve, adding 83 for the fourth wicket with Nat Brown before the latter was caught at backward square leg sweeping Cleary, and 73 for the fifth with former Lightning batter Shachi Pai, who fell for 27, top-edging one that eventually came down into the gloves of wicketkeeper Sarah Bryce as Ballinger returned to claim her fourth wicket in the 42nd over.Threlkeld, dropped again on 89, was run out by Cleary’s direct hit from mid-on, after which Daisy Mullan dragged one on to give Ballinger her fifth wicket before Teresa Graves had Phoebe Graham stumped and Cleary saw Hannah Jones caught at mid-off.Lightning’s response saw them 55 for 1 after the opening 10 powerplay overs, compared with Thunder’s 48 for 3, Beth Harmer having hit three fours in an eventful Graham over that saw her dropped on the boundary. Soon afterwards, she was bowled by Laura Jackson.Sarah Bryce plundered 25 of her 33 runs in another two expensive overs from the right-arm seamer Graham and her departure, bowled through the gate by Brown was another blow for Lightning, compounded when Gwenan Davies was given out leg before to Alex Hartley’s left-arm spin.But Thunder could not find another breakthrough as Lightning reached the 30-over mark needing another 114 at 5.7 per over, their bowlers offering too many scoring opportunities, with skipper Bryce and 20-year-old Munro, primarily a bowler playing here as a batter only, wasting few of them.Munro completed her maiden List A fifty off 63 balls with eight fours and though she was bowled by left-arm spinner Jones without addition she had helped her skipper take Lightning close to the winning line. Bryce completed her second List A hundred when she drove Dottin through the covers for her 14th boundary before pulling Brown to the ropes to win the match.

Australia remain in sixth place despite their 4-1 win over Sri Lanka

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Feb-2022India’s 3-0 series sweep over West Indies at home over the past week has taken Rohit Sharma’s side to No. 1 on the ICC T20I team rankings. India went past England to the top spot, with Pakistan, New Zealand and South Africa rounding off the top five.India’s lead at the top, though, is a slender one. Across the 39-game period that is under consideration in the current ranking cycle, India and England are tied at 269 rating points. India are fractionally ahead by virtue of having more points (10,484 to England’s 10,474).The series ended at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens – the venue for all three games – on Sunday, when India successfully defended a 180-plus total for the second game in a row. They had chased down 158 in the first T20I after a stellar debut for Ravi Bishnoi with the ball, while impressive efforts with the bat from Rishabh Pant, Virat Kohli, Venkatesh Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav did the job in the second and third games. Harshal Patel was another newcomer to international cricket who impressed, finishing as India’s top wicket-taker with five strikes and, crucially, holding his nerve against an onslaught from Rovman Powell in the second game to seal victory for India.

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Australia remained in sixth place after their 4-1 series win over Sri Lanka (tied ninth with Bangladesh) at home, while West Indies stayed at No. 7 despite the shutout against India, while Afghanistan were at eighth place.India have the chance to extend their lead over England during the three-game T20I series against Sri Lanka later this month at home. England’s next T20I assignment is against India in the summer.

Stand-in captain leads way with bat before Moeen, Rashid and Parkinson share five wickets

George Dobell18-Jul-2021England’s spinners combined to secure a series-levelling victory in the second T20I of the series against Pakistan in Leeds. Adil Rashid, Matt Parkinson and Moeen Ali claimed five wickets for 87 runs in their 11 overs combined as England defended a total of 200 to secure a 45-run win.It means the series will be decided in the third and final game to be played at Emirates Old Trafford on Tuesday.For much of the afternoon, this was a pitch that looked full of runs. Certainly seamers gained little joy from it, with England’s total of 200 appearing little better than par when Pakistan’s openers started their chase by plundering 43 from their first five overs.But England’s spinners gained a surprising amount of assistance from the surface. Sohaib Maqsood and Azam Khan were both stumped off Rashid and Parkinson respectively, while Fakhar Zaman was bowled by a beauty from Moeen, which gripped, turned and took his off stump. With Mohammad Rizwan hitting a full toss back at Rashid and Mohammad Hafeez mishitting to the leg-side boundary, Pakistan lost 5 for 34 in six overs in the middle of their innings, which effectively defined the game.On a surface on which seamers experienced little other than heartache – Chris Jordan bowled only one over in the Pakistan innings – it was a performance that showed the depth and versatility of England’s bowling attack and will, perhaps, provide some encouragement ahead of the T20 World Cup on the slow, dry wickets of the UAEEarlier, a high-quality half-century from Jos Buttler helped England to a competitive total of 200 on another decent batting track. Buttler had not played a game since sustaining a calf injury during the victory over Sri Lanka in Cardiff almost a month ago, but you would never have known it to watch him.Timing the ball beautifully, Buttler produced a series of conventional – if unusually sweetly hit – strokes off front and back foot, as well as scooping Mohammad Hasnain for a six over fine leg.Although nobody went on to make an especially large individual score, Player of the Match Moeen Ali’s 36 from 16 balls followed by Liam Livingstone’s 38 from 23 ensured the innings retained momentum and England ended the 14th over with 150 on the board.While the innings fell away a little from that point – England subsided from 137-3 to 200 all-out, managing only 10 from the final two overs of their innings – it proved more than enough as Pakistan’s batters struggled against the spin.What next for Morgan?
As a key character in the revolution that took England from world chumps to World Champs, Eoin Morgan’s reputation is assured. He remains a figure of huge authority within the England set-up, too, and will probably remain once after his playing days are over.But his decision to leave himself out for this match was intriguing. While he had indicated ahead of the first game of this series that England intended to use it to take a look at different combinations and options, the fact is he has reached 30 only twice in his 17 most-recent international innings. And in his last 15 T20Is, he is averaging 12.10 at a strike-rate of 124.74.None of this means his place in the side is in immediate doubt. Batting in the middle order is notoriously tough in T20 cricket and England have very few contenders for the spot. Morgan has a vast amount of credit in the bank.But, given the competition for places among England batters – the likes of Alex Hales, Joe Root and Tom Banton are among those currently unable to break into the side and Ben is Stokes currently out as he continues his rehabilitation from a finger injury – and Jos Buttler’s presence a natural replacement as captain, that is a run of form that is bound to start raising concerns.Moeen Ali played an aggressive cameo•Getty Images

Imad’s contribution
At first glance, Imad Wasim’s figures of 2 for 37 don’t look especially pretty. He conceded almost 10 an over, after all, and was struck for three sixes. At one stage in his first over, he had bowled only three legitimate deliveries and already conceded 11 runs; he could have been forgiven for thinking he was in for a rough afternoon.But he also claimed two important wickets. And, despite bowling two overs in the Powerplay, delivered 11 dot balls. Nobody in the game bowled more. On another flat surface with relatively short boundaries, it was an impressive contribution and, on another day, those early wickets of Jason Roy and Dawid Malan could have proved decisive.Tailing off
One of the characteristics of England’s limited-overs cricket in recent years has been their commitment to the positive approach. This has routinely seen the lower-middle order continue to attack even if the top order have been blown away with batters as good as Adil Rashid (who has 10 first-class centuries) sometimes coming in as low as No. 11.Might that be changing a little? While there is no obvious alteration in England’s approach – they continue to attack all the way down the order – there are, perhaps, one or two questions about the depth of their batting.In this side, for example, Tom Curran came in at No. 7 (he had only batted as high in one previous T20I) and Rashid came in at No. 9. It meant the top order didn’t have quite the same safety net as before and might, in time, result in them playing slightly more careful cricket.This was not England’s first choice side, of course. The likes of Sam Curran and Chris Woakes might well come into the side ahead of the T20 World Cup. But the fact that they were bowled out in successive matches for the first time in their T20I history – albeit having made 200 on each occasion – was a reminder, perhaps, about the value of such batting depth.Eyes on Livingstone
So vital a player has Liam Livingstone suddenly become in this side, that even his dismissals are entertaining. Having just hit a vast six – the ball disappeared over the top of the new stand which borders the rugby ground; as big a hit as most have seen – he was run out when an attempted scoop somehow found its way to square leg. And while Haris Rauf had knocked off one bail with his elbow before completing the run-out, the other one remained in place to ensure the stumps could still be broken. The groan that went round the ground suggested that Livingstone has quickly become something of a crowd favourite – a remarkable thing for a Lancashire man in Leeds.

Fast bowler cleared a fitness Test and will be part of the squad for both remaining games

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Feb-2021Umesh Yadav has been added to India’s squad for the third and fourth Tests against England after clearing a fitness test. Yadav, who had given the fitness test on Sunday, was formally added to the squad on Monday, two days ahead of the third Test, which will be a pink-ball, day-night affair. Yadav will be available for selection for the match at the new stadium in Motera, which starts from February 24. The fourth and final Test will take place at the same venue from March 4, though that will be a traditional red-ball game.Yadav replaces Shardul Thakur in the Indian squad. Thakur has been released to play in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy – India’s domestic 50-overs competition – where he will turn out for Mumbai.Related

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Yadav was expected to be part of the squad once he had cleared his fitness test, and he joins a fast-bowling group that comprises Ishant Sharma – who will be playing his 100th Test, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.Yadav has played 48 Tests overall, of which 28 have been in India, where he has been particularly effective. Overall, he has 148 wickets at 30.54, but at home, he has 96 wickets at 24.54. He has been particularly devastating at home since 2018, averaging 13.86 with 38 wickets in seven games. His average and strike rate (24.3) in that period are the best in India of any bowler, given a minimum of three Tests played.Given the success Yadav has enjoyed and the likelihood of India bringing in a pacer in place of a spinner due to the match being a pink-ball one, Yadav could return to the playing XI straightaway, marking his first game since picking up a calf injury during the Boxing Day Test against Australia.

The group of players from both teams will arrive in the UAE from England via a charter flight on September 17, moving from one bio-bubble to another

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Sep-20203:21

Venky Mysore confirms England, Australia players will arrive on chartered flight

Players coming to the IPL from the England-Australia limited-overs series will be available for selection for their teams’ first matches, contrary to fears they that might be held up by quarantine rules in the UAE. According to Kolkata Knight Riders chief executive officer Venky Mysore, the players won’t have to undergo the IPL’s mandatory six-day quarantine given they are travelling from one bio-secure bubble into another.That means those travelling to Dubai will be available to their teams from day one – Dubai has no mandatory quarantine period unless the person tests positive. KKR’s players – the team is based in Abu Dhabi – though will need to quarantine for six days under local government rules, but even by that timeframe they should be available for KKR’s first match on September 23. The players will all be flown into the UAE on September 17 – a day after the England-Australia series ends – on a chartered flight.Mysore also said negotiations were still on with the Abu Dhabi authorities to further shorten the six-day quarantining period. Abu Dhabi has had strict rules around people entering the emirate from outside (at present 14-day quarantines are mandatory) but, it is understood that a concession has been made in allowing players to train after six days as long as they remain within their team’s bubble.There are three players – England captain Eoin Morgan and batsman Tom Banton and Australian fast bowler Pat Cummins, who will be joining KKR’s squad in Abu Dhabi. KKR and Mumbai are the only two teams based in Abu Dhabi, and Mumbai has no players coming in from the England-Australia series. The six other teams are based in Dubai.”While they are still negotiating with the authorities, we are reconciled to the fact that we may have to quarantine our three players,” Mysore told ESPNcricinfo, in a wide-ranging interview that will soon be published in full. “They arrive on September 17, but our first game is on September 23, by which time they would’ve finished their [concessional six-day] quarantine. So it’s worked out well, and it’s good for the tournament.”Mysore said “receptiveness” from the IPL governing council towards the idea of ensuring a smooth transfer of players from one biosecure bubble in the UK to another in the UAE has made this possible. Earlier, Royal Challengers Bangalore chairman Sanjeev Churiwala too had confirmed players coming from the UK wouldn’t have to quarantine under IPL rules.”What we did was put a plan together and shared it with the medical team at the IPL,” Mysore said. “We told them, ‘they’re in a bio-secure bubble in UK. What if we brought them on a sanitised charter flight and we took care of all the elements of immigration, testing, contactless stuff and everything to allow them to come right into a bubble here?’ To give credit to IPL, they took it very constructively and they have a written Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for that, which says if you’re coming from a bubble to another bubble, you don’t need the mandatory quarantine period.”The same holds true of what Knight Riders aim to do for their IPL-bound CPL players from Trinidad & Tobago. The CPL ends on Thursday, and the players are going to fly out to the UAE on Saturday. Knight Riders have gone to the extent of ensuring the team bus, driven by a driver from within the bubble, will drop the players to the tarmac at the airport, thereby avoiding long procedural delays. Knight Riders have Andre Russell, Sunil Narine and Chris Green joining them from Trinidad.”We’re bringing all our players on a charter straight to Abu Dhabi. Even smallest of detail like how they will go from hotel to airport – they go in a bus with driver who is part of the bubble – straight to the tarmac. That is the level of detailing we have gone into, because of which they have waived the quarantine period.”Morgan, having already been through life in a bio-bubble, was asked to compare the ones in England with the ones in the IPL. “I think it’s going to be an easier challenge than staying at Southampton and Manchester, where the hotels are on the ground,” he said on Thursday, ahead of the first ODI against Australia. “Where we’re staying in Abu Dhabi will be nowhere near the ground. It has a beach, has a pool. So I think managing that might be a little bit better. And if you add in the fact that families are allowed into the biosecure bubble, it makes a huge difference. So, a lot more positive things than potentially the bubble that we have.”

Ntini, Kirsten, Klusener among nine former players who will be ambassadors of the project

Firdose Moonda28-Aug-2020Cricket South Africa will embark on a process of reparations for anyone involved in the game who has been discriminated against in the past as part of their Social Justice and Nation Building (SJN) project. Compensation amounts will be determined after complaints have been heard and mediated by the newly appointed transformation ombudsman Advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza, who will also be responsible for setting up the Restoration Fund.”My expectation is that based on the complaints, the ombudsman will be able to categorise them, and based on that, he will be able to determine what percentage goes to which player,” Dr Eugenia Kula-Ameyaw, a CSA Independent Board Director and their transformation chair, said. “If you work in an asbestos factory and they are affected by TB, you get compensated. There’s nothing wrong with compensation when people have lost income.”That means that anyone who believes they were denied opportunities on racial grounds could approach the ombudsman, who will then have to determine the severity of their case and the amount of compensation .The money for the fund has yet to be secured but CSA are hopeful of raising it through corporate involvement and even the South African government. “We’ve got to still raise the funds to see how we are going to restore. There are a lot of companies, even government, that is ready to restore people,” Kula-Ameyaw said. “The money will change hand at some point but the modalities and the formula must be worked out. It could even be after a year because the ombudsman will take a few months to set up and deal with complaints.”While the finer details, including a timeline, have not yet been finalised, Kula-Ameyaw called the launch of the SJN “one brick in this nation-building house,” which seeks to ensure that “everyone will be treated fairly in the game of cricket”. It also comes after several stories of exclusion were revealed in response to the Black Lives Matter movement. Former players and coaches have spoken out in the media and while none have actively asked for compensation (Thami Tsolekile demanded an apology), CSA are seeking to make financial contributions to those who were not able to earn money from the game because of discrimination.As an example, this might mean a player like Aaron Phangiso, who went to the 2015 World Cup and was the only member of the squad who did not play a game even after South Africa qualified for the quarter-finals with a game to spare, may be compensated in match fees or that Geoffrey Toyana, who missed out on the national coaching job in 2017 (which former CSA president Chris Nenzani has now called a “missed opportunity,”) may have a case for reparations.The ombudsman’s functions are not limited to people of colour only and Kula-Ameyaw indicated that anyone who has been involved in the game, at any level, can approach the ombudsman. “If something is fair, it will be fair to everybody,” she said.Potentially, that opens the door for players who see themselves as victims of the current target system, which requires franchise teams to field a minimum of six players of colour of which three must be black African. An example of such is Leus du Plooy, who told the Afrikaans-language publication in February that the reason he signed a Kolpak deal with Derbybshire was because, “the system we have disadvantages young, white players in particular.”Although the SJN will be open to hearing, and addressing, all stories of exclusion, Kula-Ameyaw stressed that CSA still need to accelerate the pace of change and ensure more representation for people of colour. While the work of the ombudsman will deal with historical complaints, CSA will continue its own transformation work, with an emphasis on on-field demographics. “Where we will focus the most, is the actual game. The plans will include building talent aggressively,” Kula-Ameyaw said. “The long-term plan is to make sure there is no racism in sport; no discrimination.”The SJN will be supported by nine former players, who have been named as the project’s ambassadors, and will assist with raising public awareness of the campaign. Some of the ambassadors, such as Makhaya Ntini, Monde Zondeki and Toyana, have already gone public with their experiences of discrimination. The list of ambassadors is: Zondeki, Gary Kirsten, Lance Klusener, Toyana, Ntini, Marcia Letsoalo, Shandre Fritz, Nolubabalo Ndzundzu and Dinesha Devnarain.

How ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball commentary recorded Keshav Maharaj’s brutal hitting

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jan-2020More Root, around the wicket81.1, Root to Maharaj, FOUR runs, swiped to deep midwicket’s right. Full toss on middle stump, gets low, watches that closely, and it’s a nice and controlled sweep81.2, Root to Maharaj, FOUR runs, full and down leg side, gets low again and has a swipe at it. No danger really with that line. Gets it off the under-edge and past Buttler81.3, Root to Maharaj, FOUR runs, and another! Maharaj loves attacking spinners, and right now he’s being fed. Another full one pitching outside leg and once more he’s down quickly to whip this past leg gullyNow he’s over the wicket81.4, Root to Maharaj, SIX runs, boom! That is some hit, whew. Length ball pushed through outside off. Slides into his arc and he wallops it over deep midwicket81.5, Root to Maharaj, SIX runs, and 24! Length outside off again, pushed through again. And slogged cleanly once more. This goes further back in the midwicket direction81.6, Root to Maharaj, 4 byes, and now he beats everyone. This is 99kph/62mph and moves away from the batsman, off the pitch. He’s squared up and Buttler is beaten too as this slides from underneathKarthik: “Please tell me that’s the most expensive over in test match Cricket!” — Joint-highest! Lara v R Peterson (2003-04), Bailey v Anderson (2013-14) the other contests with 28 in an over.

The grade-one strain has also left the Sri Lanka seamer doubtful for the South Africa Tests, that follow close on the heels of the Australia tour

Andrew Fidel Fernando20-Jan-2019Sri Lanka seamer Nuwan Pradeep has been ruled out of the series against Australia, after scans revealed he had sustained a grade-one strain in his left hamstring. He is also doubtful for the South Africa Test series that follows close on the heels of the Australia tour.Pradeep had picked up the injury on day one of Sri Lanka’s warm-up match against a Cricket Australia XI in Hobart, on Thursday. He immediately left the field, having bowled only two overs in the match, and underwent scans over the weekend that confirmed the severity of the injury. Pradeep’s career has been plagued by leg injuries – particularly hamstring complaints – and this is largely why he has not played a Test since October 2017.Although a fit Pradeep did not get a game during the two Tests in New Zealand, he may have been a good option for Sri Lanka at the seam-friendly Gabba Stadium, as he is often capable of generating appreciable movement off the deck.Despite his being one of the most experienced members of the pace-bowling battery, and although no replacement has been officially named yet, Sri Lanka are still left with a serviceable seam-bowling contingent in Australia. Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Kumara, Kasun Rajitha and Dushmantha Chameera all remain fit and available, with all four of those bowlers having played at least one Test over the past six weeks.Sri Lanka’s first Test begins in Brisbane on Thursday.

India took back their No. 1 ODI ranking by shacking Australia after yet another good start and then chasing down the possibly tricky 243 with apparent ease

The Report by Sidharth Monga01-Oct-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
1:29

Muzumdar: Haven’t seen India this intense in a dead rubber

India took back their No. 1 ODI ranking by shackling Australia after yet another good start and then chasing down the possibly tricky 243 with apparent ease. India won the series 4-1 – a reversal of the scoreline in the ODIs in Australia early last year – with just one century from their batsmen, that too in the last innings by Rohit Sharma, but a third successive hundred-run opening partnership between Rohit and Ajinkya Rahane.India won the final match on the dry and slow Nagpur track through spin. India’s spinners pulled back a bolted horse, conceding 134 for 4 in 30 overs between them; Australia’s Adam Zampa released all the pressure exerted by the quicks with the new ball, conceding 48 in six insipid overs before getting Rohit out with a long hop when the match was over for all practical purposes.For a change, Marcus Stoinis and Travis Head staged half a recovery from the strikes of the spinners, but the returning Jasprit Bumrah put in a stellar spell of death bowling, removing Stoinis, bowling a maiden in the 45th over, not conceding a single boundary in his last six overs.Australia went from 100 for 1 to 118 for 4 to 205 for 4 to their eventual total, which was not straightforward on this pitch. However, Rohit and Rahane absorbed the good spells from Nathan Coulter-Nile and Pat Cummins at the top, before cashing in on the absence of the unwell Kane Richardson and the error-prone spin.India, too, had to contend with the illness of Yuzvendra Chahal, but Kuldeep Yadav proved to be a more than fitting replacement, Axar Patel returned another impressive set of figures of 3 for 38, and for the first time in his career, Kedar Jadhav bowled his full allotment of 10 overs. He also kickstarted the first collapse by adding Steven Smith to the illustrious list of batsmen he has dismissed, which includes Kane Williamson, David Warner, Angelo Mathews and Tamim Iqbal among others.This had come after yet another rapid start by Aaron Finch and David Warner, who seemed mindful that batting was going to get difficult once spin came on. In striving for quick runs before the inevitable slowdown, Finch took one risk too many and fell to Hardik Pandya in the 12th over. Smith and Warner added 34, but Smith, who seems to have allowed the frustrations of leading a flattering side creep into his batting, played a frustrated sweep after Jadhav had gone for 11 in his first three overs. The almost underarm delivery came slowly and bounced little. Smith didn’t even wait to check with Warner if he should review the lbw decision.There would have been lots the two could have discussed in the dressing room when Warner soon miscued an intended chip over midwicket to give Axar his first wicket. The frustration that singles weren’t coming easily enough showed in the aerial shots attempted. Warner had attempted it after reaching his fifty, but Peter Handscomb did so even before getting his eye in. The big sweep dragged from wide outside off only produced a fatal top edge.Watching in the balcony, Smith couldn’t hide his exasperation. You couldn’t blame him. You know how ugly these Australian collapses can get. With more than half the innings to go, you wondered if they would even play the whole 50 overs out. Stoinis and Head, though, staged a recovery. They played Jadhav only down the ground, with Stoinis taking the odd risk every now and then. Stoinis did enjoy some good fortune, as he edged Axar three times without getting caught. Two of these went between MS Dhoni and Rahane, who stood a touch too wide at slip, with his left foot outside the return crease.Stoinis began to look dangerous as the last 10 overs approached. He hit Jadhav for a four and a six in his last over, and then went after Kuldeep in the 40th. Before signing off, though, Axar sent back Head with a fast yorker, which Head had already premeditated to sweep. Then it was all down to Bumrah, who first produced just enough movement to trap Stoinis and then handcuffed the rest. Only two boundaries came in the last 10 overs, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar playing an able supporting role to Bumrah.The value of these last few overs cannot be overstated. That even 242 was tricky showed in how Rohit struggled to get his timing for a long time. He didn’t score a run off the first 14 balls he faced. He tried an ungainly heave off the 14th. Had the asking rate been higher, would he have been able to take his time and pick his targets?How well Rohit picked his targets, though. Not one of the first 14 balls was pitched up to him. He was clearly looking uncomfortable, but when the 15th one was in his driving arc, he caressed it to the right of mid-off. The next full ball went sailing over mid-off. Coulter-Nile, the highest wicket-taker of the series, and Pat Cummins tested the openers, but ran out of support.As the bowling errors piled on, the India openers delighted the capacity crowd in the outskirts of Nagpur. If Rahane drove on the up through covers, Rohit managed to somehow find enough timing on this low pitch to punch a short ball for a six over long-on. Twice. Despite a slow start to the series, Rohit now topped the runs chart. If there was one blemish on the victory, it was that despite his fourth straight half-century, Rahane once again perished the moment he tried to look for a higher gear.

Having picked up their first ODI win over a Full Member nation, Scotland will now target a maiden ODI series win over a Full Member, while Zimbabwe fight to avoid a series sweep

The Preview by Peter Della Penna in Edinburgh16-Jun-2017

Match facts

June 17, 2017
Start time 10:45 local (09:45 GMT)Con de Lange and Malcolm Waller, who played huge roles for their respective teams in the first ODI, once again figure to be crucial to their teams’ success•Peter Della Penna

Big Picture

The far north of the UK is a place where chilly, damp weather is a common occurrence round the year. Regardless of what Zimbabwe may have read about Edinburgh beforehand, not much would have prepared them for the cold shower they experienced on Thursday in the form of a loss to Scotland in the maiden ODI between the two countries.Losing a pair of home series to Afghanistan is one thing, with the consensus being that Afghanistan’s on-field quality has outstripped their administrative status as an Associate – a view further cemented by Afghanistan drawing the ODI series on their first visit to the West Indies earlier this month. As much as Scotland have improved their on-field product in recent years under coach Grant Bradburn, the bare fact was that they’d never beaten a Full Member in 23 attempts prior to Thursday. But, by the end of the day, Zimbabwe found themselves on the wrong side of history.Less than two days after that wake-up call, Zimbabwe have a chance to save face and level the series. Scotland are currently third in the WCL Championship, three points behind Netherlands, and if Zimbabwe are swept 2-0 in Edinburgh, the prospect of three one-dayers next week in Amsterdam becomes even more daunting.Scotland, on the other hand, have a chance to create a double-dose of history. “Securing a maiden ODI win over a Full Member” has been checked off the to-do list. They have the pen in hand waiting to mark off the next item on their summer agenda: “securing a maiden ODI win over a Full Member.”

Form guide

Scotland: WLLWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)Zimbabwe: LLWWL

In the spotlight

South Africa-born Con de Lange first came to Scotland in 2003 as an overseas pro for Ferguslie CC in Paisley. After marrying a local girl and putting down roots in his adopted homeland, he made his Scotland debut in 2015 and has since become one of their most reliable talents. Named vice-captain in January, he turned in his maiden ODI five-for in the win on Thursday and will look to restrict Zimbabwe once again.Malcolm Waller’s last four scores, playing for Rhinos in Zimbabwe’s domestic competition Pro50 Championship, prior to the Scotland tour were 52, 49, 57 and 113. His 92 off 62 balls in the first ODI was his fifth ODI half-century, and he came within inches of making it a match-winning maiden ton before being snuffed out by a controversial catch. Scotland had few answers for containing him in the first match, and he may be a handful once again in the middle order.

Team news

Somerset’s Josh Davey has been released from the county for the second ODI, and he won’t be making the trip up north just to sit on the bench. Though Chris Sole is the youngest and least experienced of Scotland’s medium-pace unit, his opening five-over spell of 1 for 10 was exceptional. But Sole looked rattled by Waller, conceding 0 for 30 in three overs later in the innings. Safyaan Sharif was also expensive, finishing with 1 for 69, making them the most likely candidates to make way for Davey, with Alasdair Evans staying to take the new ball.Scotland (probable): 1 Kyle Coetzer (capt), 2 Matthew Cross (wk), 3 Calum MacLeod, 4 Richie Berrington, 5 Preston Mommsen, 6 Craig Wallace, 7 Michael Leask, 8 Josh Davey, 9 Con de Lange, 10 Chris Sole/Safyaan Sharif, 11 Alasdair EvansChris Mpofu, who was Zimbabwe’s leading wicket-taker in the five-match series against Afghanistan, was a surprising omission in the first ODI. Richard Ngarava struggled badly, both with the new ball and at the death, to finish with 1 for 96 – the joint second-worst figures for a Zimbabwe bowler in ODIs. A direct swap for the two is most likely on the bowling front, while Chamu Chibhabha might also get a look in after another ODI failure for Ryan Burl.Zimbabwe (probable): 1 Hamilton Masakadza, 2 Solomon Mire, 3 Chamu Chibhabha, 4 Craig Ervine, 5 Sean Williams, 6 Sikandar Raza, 7 Malcolm Waller, 8 PJ Moor (wk), 9 Graeme Cremer (capt), 10 Tendai Chatara, 11 Chris Mpofu

Pitch and conditions

Unlike the on-and-off rain on Thursday that resulted in Zimbabwe’s chase being reduced to 43 overs, Saturday is forecast to be one of the clearest and hottest days of the late spring and early summer in Edinburgh with a high of 24 degrees centigrade and no rain in the area. Expect another flat, bat-first pitch with a 300-plus target in mind.

Stats and trivia

• Con de Lange’s 5 for 60 was just the sixth five-wicket haul in Scotland’s ODI history and the first since Josh Davey’s 6 for 28 against Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi just before the 2015 World Cup.
• Scotland’s 317 for 6 in the first ODI was the fifth time they scored 300 or more in an ODI innings, and their second-highest total against a Full Member, one short of the 318 for 8 they made in a World Cup loss to Bangladesh.
• Zimbabwe’s overall record against Associates in ODIs is 49-20-1 after the loss to Scotland. But since that lone tie, against Ireland in the 2007 World Cup, it has been much less dominant at 25-17. That includes 11 losses to Afghanistan, three to Ireland and two to Kenya.

Quotes

“This is what we’ve been waiting to do for a little while. We’ve taken a little bit longer than other teams have, but we’ve now got a strong squad of players and we hope that we could still keep on challenging and maybe play some of the other Test-ranked teams.”
“They do play good shots and we knew we were going to be up against it, especially in their home conditions, our first game. But we’ve got to jump around. We’ve got to be ready for the next game and make sure that we finish on top.”