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Stats and milestones from an eventful first day’s play of the second Test between Bangladesh and England at Dhaka

Bharath Seervi28-Oct-201677.27 Percentage of runs in Bangladesh innings that came from just one partnership – 170 between Tamim Iqbal and Mominul Haque. The contribution is the second-highest percentage for a completed Test innings. The highest is 77.78% contributed by Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene for the third wicket – 168 out of 216 – against South Africa in Durban in 2000-01.49 Runs for which Bangladesh lost their last nine wickets – 171 for 1 to 220 all out – their third-lowest in a collapse of nine wickets. They lost their last nine wickets for 32 runs (102 for 1 to 134 all out) against Zimbabwe in Harare in 2013 and for 48 runs (14 for 1 to 62 all out) against Sri Lanka at Premadasa in 2007.2004 Last time England claimed the last nine wickets of a Test innings for less than 50 runs, against West Indies in Kingston. This was only the third such instance for England bowlers since 1980.2013 Last time a team lost their last nine wickets for less than 50 runs – also Bangladesh when they collapsed from 102 for 1 to 134 all out in Harare. There were seven such instances for various teams between 2011 and 2013, but none in the last 30 months.

Bangladesh losing last nine wickets for less than 50 runs

Score at fall of 2nd wkt Final score Runs by last 8 wkts Opposition Venue Date102 134 32 Zimbabwe Harare 4/17/201314 62 48 Sri Lanka Colombo (PSS) 7/3/2007171 220 49 England Dhaka 10/28/20161 Number of bigger partnerships for Bangladesh in Tests against England than the 170 runs between Tamim and Mominul. Tamim had featured in the highest stand as well – 185 with Imrul Kayes at Lord’s in 2010.5/57 Moeen Ali’s figures in the first innings – his second-best in Tests and best outside of England. His only other five-wicket haul was 6 for 67 against India in Southampton in 2014. His figures are now the best by any England spinner against Bangladesh.3 Centuries for Tamim against England – the most he has made against any opposition. He has two centuries against Zimbabwe. In 11 innings, he has made three centuries and five fifties against England. For Bangladesh, only Mohammad Ashraful has scored more centuries against a particular team, than Tamim – five against Sri Lanka. Tamim has hit at least a fifty in each of the six Tests he has played against England.190/2 Runs and wickets in the first 45 overs of the day. But in the next 36.2 overs, 11 wickets fell for just 80 runs. England too lost three wickets for 50 runs in 12.3 overs before the interruption of rain.

This series will be Steven Smith’s first major captaincy challenge at home, while Faf du Plessis leads a group that has no experience of losing a series in Australia.

Daniel Brettig in Perth02-Nov-20161:51

‘Smith will be great Test captain’ – Haddin

Not a single South African player knows what it is to lose a Test series in Australia. Not a single Australian player knows what it is to win a home series against South Africa. For a pair of transitional teams, that is a significant fact.Add to it another: Australia have been clean swept in their most recent Test series in Sri Lanka, then swept again – by the Proteas no less – in an ODI series in South Africa. Throw in a pair of underdone Australian pacemen, a porous middle order and a fielding side far less formidable than many who went before them, and the picture is clear: this is not going to be easy for the hosts.South Africa, of course, are not the side they were. For the first time in more than a decade they are not being led to Australia by the commanding figure of Graeme Smith. AB de Villiers isn’t here, and Morne Morkel is not yet 100% fit. But there is a sense of regeneration about the side, of setting new goals and forming a new identity. In junior years Faf du Plessis was often captain of the same teams de Villiers played in. Having gained his chance through injury, du Plessis, first seen by Australians with his serenely dead bat in Adelaide four years ago, now looks a natural leader.For Steven Smith, this is the series in which he faces a first major test at home. Well as he and his teams have performed against India, New Zealand and the West Indies, those sides boasted not a single series win down under between them over the past 23 years. South Africa’s methods are suited to Australia, much as the reverse is true on the other side of the Indian Ocean. Smith has taken solace in a wider record of home success – unbeaten since the Proteas’ last visit in 2012.”Traditionally we have played well at home and it’s about us knowing what we do well here,” he said. “We have scored big first innings runs and that is going to be crucial for us this year again.”Bowling aggressively to the tail, not being afraid to get it up there and intimidate them a little bit. To the top order consistently bowl good areas and challenge them on wickets that traditionally bounce a bit more than they are used to. It is important for us to do that this summer.”Obviously we haven’t come off the back of much great cricket, South Africa was disappointing and Sri Lanka was as well, that’s gone, we’ve left that behind and we are focusing on what we have can control now and that is this summer.”Much talk has centred upon the mental battle, whether it be Dale Steyn’s familiar refrain about “cutting the head off the snake” in reference to Smith, or David Warner hoping to see the visitors’ pacemen losing their collective rag with a flurry of short balls at the WACA Ground. Smith has reiterated his desire to see his men strut around the middle like they own the place, not retreating into themselves as happened in Sri Lanka.”It’s about making sure that each individual can get the best out of themselves and have a presence about them,” Smith said. “Everyone does it differently, for someone it might be about getting into a verbal contest with a bowler to get themselves going. Or with a batter as a bowler.”For me I don’t like to say a great deal it’s more about making sure that my body language is right and I’m puffing my chest out and looking like I’m out there and I own the place. It’s about each individual knowing what gets them going, and when they do that it’s going to be best for the team as well.”For well over a decade, that approach tended to unnerve the South Africans in Australia. Both sides knew who had the edge when matches reached their pointy end, and it was the team of Mark Taylor, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting. But du Plessis leads a generation unfamiliar with that kind of mental block: as uncomfortable as the Australians will try to make things for the visitors, they will know how to push back effectively.Steven Smith knows Mitchell Starc will be his key weapon in this series; Faf du Plessis knows his batsmen will have avoided a big threat if they can stop Starc’s short and sharp spells producing wickets•Getty Images”We are a team that respects the opposition, no matter where we go in the world,” du Plessis said. “If its gets to a tough stage in the game, which is what Test cricket is all about, and it gets a bit loud out there in the middle, it’s just about soaking it in and understanding that you have to work your way to get the momentum on your side again.”That’s Test cricket, that’s normal for me. I think that’s more the thing people forget to focus on, that Test cricket is like that. It’s up and down. Then you are on top, then you are under pressure and you just got to soak it up and ride the wave until it gets on your side to put some pressure on the opposition.”But the most pivotal factor in this series, and its opening match at the WACA, will be Mitchell Starc. Starc knows it, South Africa know it and Australia most certainly know it. Still nursing a deep cut to the left leg from a training mishap, Starc will push through some discomfort to try to be near his best and fastest. Smith said he will likely be using his most explosive asset in short bursts a la Mitchell Johnson.”I’d say there is a good chance of that,” Smith said. “He has traditionally done pretty well here at the WACA, I thought he bowled beautifully last year on a slow benign wicket, I would prefer this one to have some more pace and bounce to assist him out there.”The Proteas are braced for impact, knowing that the ability to see out his spells will more than likely tell the tale. “He is a fantastic bowler,” du Plessis said. “A guy that swings the ball and bowls quick, any captain would say that’s something they would want in their team. It’s important for us to make sure he doesn’t get his tail up and doesn’t get wickets. That would mean we put a big threat for Australia aside.”It’s important how we play him. If we’re going to win this series it’s going to be how well we’ve played him in those short bursts. He’s a wicket-taker so he needs to come on and get wickets. We as a team understand that. We need to make sure we get through those periods.”Happy history down under should make a difference to the Proteas, and recent failures will trouble Australia. It remains to be seen how much all that will matter in the fraction of a second it takes for Starc’s missiles to reach the other end of the pitch.

Having flirted with inconsistency for a long time, the senior team has started to reap the rewards brought about by improved infrastructure and a streamlined feeder system

Akshay Gopalakrishnan in Thumba18-Dec-2016Over the last four seasons, Jharkhand have been consistently inconsistent. The quarter-finalists of 2012-13 were relegated to Group C in the following season. They finished fourth in 2014-15 before earning a promotion with their second-place finish last year. Now, they are the toppers in a group comprising traditional power houses Delhi and Karnataka. Having set themselves up to climb the summit – they’ve never been there before – the side is keen to prove the old adage of ‘two steps forward and three steps back’ doesn’t come back to haunt them.With a quarter-final berth sealed even before their final league game against Odisha in Thumba, Jharkhand had an opportunity to build on their gains. They could have opted to experiment, but they were ruthless in their demolition, winning by an innings to set up a quarter-final clash with Haryana.The reasons for their irregularities over the years are manifold, ranging from inexperience to lack of opportunities. But having invested in youth, their patience is slowly bearing fruit. That they haven’t been afraid to leave out experienced seniors like Shiv Gautam, Samar Quadri and Rameez Nemat is indication of their change in focus.Four members of their core this year – Ishan Kishan, Kaushal Singh, Virat Singh and Ashish Kumar – made their debuts two seasons ago. While Kishan – earmarked in Indian cricket as one for the future – has scored over 600 runs, Ashish, their pace spearhead, has taken 31 wickets. More importantly, he’s delivered in the absence of Varun Aaron, the designated captain, who has been out for most parts of the season.What stands out about their resurgence has been their brand of cricket; a defensive mindset has given way to a more flamboyant approach. It has resulted in them pushing harder to secure outright wins and not just settle for a lead. The turning point, according to Saurabh Tiwary, the stand-in captain, was an interaction MS Dhoni had with the team during a pre-season camp.”He speaks from the heart,” Tiwary told ESPNcricinfo. “One of the things he said was, when a spinner is bowling, we should be trying to score at least three-four runs every over. Previously, we used to bat an entire day and score 220-230. But look at our scores this season: we have scored over 300 in a day. So there has been a shift in our mindset that has resulted in us pushing for wins. Whatever he said were the basics, but that’s exactly what many don’t understand.”The results are there for everyone to see. In 2014-15, Jharkhand had just two outright wins. The season before that, they were winless. But they have picked up a total of nine wins in the last two seasons – five this time, along with Karnataka, being the most by a team across all groups.Jharkhand have made a conscious decision to shift from a defensive to a more flamboyant approach this season•KCA/Ranjith Peralam”The key has been not just in individuals identifying their roles and playing them well, but as importantly, in finishing what they set out to do,” explains Shahbaz Nadeem, their talismanic left-arm spinner and senior member. “Knowing why you are in the team and in what situation your skills come into play as a fast bowler or a spinner is very important, and we have done that well this time. My role as a senior is to communicate to all the bowlers and help them plan dismissals.”Nadeem and Tiwary have been two of the most consistent performers for Jharkhand. In four seasons prior to this one, they topped Jharkhand’s bowling and batting charts thrice. This year, Nadeem has again been their highest wicket-taker while Tiwary has taken the backseat only to Kishan and Ishank Jaggi.Jharkhand’s first outright win came in their season opener, against Maharashtra. In the next match, they conceded the first-innings lead to Karnataka but have since displayed remarkable consistency, beating Rajasthan, taking the first-innings lead against Vidarbha and Delhi, crushing Saurashtra by an innings, beating Assam by five wickets and then thrashing Odisha inside three days.Part of that consistency has been due to the importance given to fitness. Players have been given weekly fitness targets that have been monitored throughout the season. The results of some of that were discernible in the match against Odisha where Jharkhand impressed with their running between the wickets and fielding.That isn’t to say everything is perfect. There is still room for improvement, with Tiwary, who the team has monitored closely, being a case-in point. He limped off on the second day with cramps after scoring a half-century, albeit in sapping conditions. “We are only 40 percent there,” coach Rajiv Kumar explains. “Sometimes, when a good partnership is going, you need that one brilliant run-out. But creating that opportunity can happen only if you are fit.”Jharkhand let go of their defensive approach after spending time with MS Dhoni during pre-season•PTI Jharkhand also benefitted from comprehensive preparation that started with camps as early as in June last year. That apart, the players also took part in the Buchi Babu, before travelling to Bengal and then again playing a few matches in Ranchi. “In the past, 70 percent of the boys had no cricket before the Ranji season,” Rajiv says. “Things are different now.”As happy as they are with the immediate results, the association doesn’t want to sit back and rest on their improvements. Identifying the need to have a feeder system, JSCA president Amitabh Chaudhary said, was the first step towards improvement.If youngsters like Kishan have shone, it is because of a significant shift to a structured Under-14 and Under-16 system. More tournaments have been introduced and turf wickets have been installed across districts. To select a team for the Vijay Merchant Trophy, India’s premier U-16 tournament, there is now a districts league, and a detailed league-cum-final knockout inter-district tournament. Besides, the state has been split into four divisions that take part in a divisional league and the process is repeated for all levels from U-19 to seniors.”It takes a heavy toll in terms of finances and the collective energies of the associations, but it’s worth it,” Chaudhary says of the expansion plans. “And the best thing is with such an elaborate and comprehensive system in place, nobody can act funny with the selection process. The system is insulated.”Ten years ago, there would be a total of 50 matches. Today, we have over 50 tournaments. We’ve tried to cover even the remote corners of the state. There is a place called Torpa in the Khunti district, adjoining Ranchi. If you go there during mid-day, you will find it absolutely desolate. Guys from such areas are coming in and playing.”Of course, there is always room for improvement. And, as it is, we never believe in any sensational steps taken and anything with the intent of making a splash. We have been trying to put some systems in place and it’s taken some time. But we’ve had the satisfaction of seeing the systems finally falling in place and bearing fruit.”While getting to the knockouts is seen as a victory in itself, the team management has impressed on the need to dream big. Of that, there has been plenty of evidence during the course of the season. Now, for them to build on the improvements.

Sam Billings may be a peripheral figure in England’s one-day set-up, but his appetite for learning and hard graft is increasingly hard to ignore

Will Macpherson12-Jan-2017Sam Billings laughs lots, smiles more, and has a growing reputation as gregarious company in cricket teams the world over. It’s easy enough to see why; Billings is a decent mimic (particularly of Danny Morrison), has quirky catchphrases, relishes his mates’ success, and much of that laughter comes at his own expense. He also has that happy knack of making the game – all rubber-wristed batting, athletic keeping and dizzying fielding – and the itinerant world of the Very Modern Cricketer, a genre of which he is the archetype, look enviably fun.Yet, despite the notably cheery disposition, and despite being lumped with the pet name handed to English cricket’s dabblers and dilettantes, Jazzer, the blue-eyed boy has a serious, sterner side.As evidence, take England’s tour of Bangladesh in October, where Billings went unselected for the first two ODIs, despite the absence of Alex Hales, Joe Root and Eoin Morgan. Given the unavoidable security measures, this was a strange, claustrophobic tour with few hiding places, and a familiar sight emerged: Billings, in the gym with England’s fitness staff, hammering himself.A day out from the decider, his old mate and now captain Jos Buttler came to tell him he would open the batting – a significant promotion (he had never batted higher than No. 6 for England). “I was a bundle of energy that day,” Billings said. “I think the GPS showed I did 18km in the field, which is mad in that heat. I was chewing it over, thinking that everyone expects me – the way I play, as a finisher, a T20 slogger, ‘only shot he’s got’s the sweep’ – to get 20, maybe 30, off 20 balls. I just wanted to show people I was capable of doing well out of my comfort zone.”Chasing 278 for a series win, Billings made a measured 62 with some trademark sweeps, but plenty more classical strokes, before falling at the halfway stage. Thankfully, England got home, leaving him relieved but unsatisfied. “I should have been there at the end with 120,” he says.

“In age-group sides, I couldn’t get it off the square, I was too small. But not being good enough spurred me on, because – as clichéd as it sounds – I hadn’t ever wanted anything other than to be a sportsman”

This innings is one of a number of impressive knocks he recalls with uncompromising clarity in which he was simply “trying too hard”. His first innings for Sydney Sixers, 42 against Hobart Hurricanes (the top score), is another. “My girlfriend’s learnt how to deal with me coming home and being hyper-critical,” he laughs.Last year was a breakout one for Billings. In terms of global leagues, his was the most nomadic year of any current England player, ever. Away from his white-ball international commitments in South Africa, at the World T20, during the home summer, and in Bangladesh, Billings played for Islamabad United in the PSL and Delhi Daredevils in the IPL. He then went back to Kent to play all three formats, with a bit of England Lions thrown in, before ending the year at the Big Bash with Sixers. He only opted out of the Bangladesh Premier League to briefly catch his breath.That he was drafted by Islamabad – who won the PSL – was something of a surprise, but also the catalyst for much that followed. They chose him due to the 24-ball 50 he made against Pakistan in November 2015, a decision supplemented by his stats for Kent. He was green, say staff, but also the overseas player most willing to mix with locals and embrace every aspect of the experience; it is little surprise that, as with Delhi, he was retained by Islamabad. PSL colleague Brad Haddin pressed his case when Sixers sought a second overseas player to join Billings’ close friend Jason Roy. In Sydney, team-mates talk glowingly about his impact, and opposition have scratched heads as to why Billings batted down the order.”I had the time of my life in 2016,” he says. “It’s been amazing. I’ve probably made 100 new mates across the world, and I absolutely love that. That’s what’s special about the game. I’ve played at grounds I’ve dreamed of playing at, and in front of huge crowds. The pressure of being the overseas player is huge. I’ve learned a huge amount, rubbed shoulders with some of the biggest names in the sport, and I’ve improved hugely as a cricketer. The IPL was a bit of a blur, but in the BBL, at Adelaide Oval on New Year’s Eve, there was a moment I just took it all in. Looking up at the huge new stands, I just thought, ‘How good is this? A world away from a freezing cold farm in Kent!'”There is a but. Of course there is with someone so demanding of himself. “On the flip side, that one in Bangladesh was the first ODI I’d played in over a year, and I only played a couple of T20s this year, despite being in lots of squads. I have so much to improve on.” Billings, it seems, is too enterprising to settle for life as a gopher, waiter and cheerleader, so his overall response to last year is the same as it was in Bangladesh: get fitter, work harder, be better. If there’s a conversation to be had about the game, or a means of bettering his, “I’m always going to throw myself at it.”Sam Billings wants to make it impossible for England to ignore him in white-ball cricket, and eventually he wants to play Tests as well•AFPT20 leagues are part of this: a life experience, not – as they are for some – a quick buck. “If I wanted to earn money, I wouldn’t be playing cricket,” he laughs, “I’d be working in the city!” This explains why he entered the IPL auction at the low base price of £30,000 – approximately one-eighth of Ben Stokes’ price this year – and enough to make an overall loss, due to the fees English players have to pay their counties (about 1% of their salary for each day missed) when spending time away.Because Andrew Strauss encouraged Billings to enter the auction and he does not have an England contract, the ECB felt obliged to reimburse him, although the enthusiasm with which he speaks about the experience suggests he would happily have played for free. He relished working with and under the likes of Zaheer Khan and Rahul Dravid, and he is not the only current cricketer to vividly recall chatting with Virat Kohli. “He told me he believes he has 15 years to improve our sport. That struck a chord.”And then there was what Kohli said about fitness, which shaped Billings’ spell in Bangladesh but also linked back to his degree at Loughborough University. “For me, fitness has got to be a non-negotiable in the modern game,” he says. “It’s a real base issue of where you are mentally. The sports science I did at uni taught me that fitness and psychology go hand in hand – if you are pushed to your optimum, you become more emotional and more raw character shows. That’s the purpose of preparing better – to get fitter, so my ceiling is higher and I’m calmer and I can perform better in those high-pressure situations. Kohli said he wants to be the fittest cricketer on the planet, and if it’s good enough for him…”Billings only went to Loughborough because he was not yet good enough at cricket. “Honestly,” he says, “I was crap at school. Nowhere near good enough to go from the Kent academy, where I’d been for a few years, onto the staff and get a contract. Growing up, coming through the age groups, blokes like Jos, they were miles ahead. In England age-group sides, I played as a keeper and lower-order batsman. I couldn’t get it off the square, I was too small. But not being good enough spurred me on, because – as clichéd as it sounds – I hadn’t ever wanted anything other than to be a sportsman.”

Billings is brutally self-critical and brazenly ambitious, while oozing talent and at once being silly and serious. All that might just make him England’s most interesting cricketer

University helped him “learn to look after” himself, and appreciate “how important self-discipline would be”, but also – through the MCCU scheme – handed him a first-class debut, in 2011, during which he scored a century against Northamptonshire; since then, the upward curve has been continuous, culminating in his stellar 2016. It’s hard to avoid the conclusion that his appetite for graft means this is not a coincidence. He was inspired by reading Matthew Syed’s Bounce: talent is one thing, but the best, he believes, work hardest.His aims for 2017 are clear. Among England players, he’s not alone in being profoundly moved by James Taylor’s story, and is thus determined to continue enjoying every minute. He wants to be impossible for England to ignore in white-ball cricket, and eventually wants to play Tests.But for all his extra-curricular activities, he also wants to pull Kent forward; it was hard to question his commitment to his county when, in September, he drove through the night from Manchester to Beckenham in the ultimately futile hope of salvaging a Championship draw against Northants, having been England’s 12th man against Pakistan the previous evening. He has offered to assist in wooing overseas signings and wants to set an example. On returning to pre-season training in November, he – unsurprisingly – topped fitness testing, but was shocked to see senior pros not only lagging behind but cutting corners too. That disappointment was not hidden.Billings says what he thinks, and is not afraid to seek new peaks. He is brutally self-critical and brazenly ambitious, while oozing talent and at once being silly and serious. He has plenty of competition, but all that might just make him England’s most interesting cricketer.

History or no history, with or without #MisYou, Pakistan’s final-day collapses have been a constant since August last year

Osman Samiuddin in Abu Dhabi02-Oct-2017The impulsive response would be to frame this collapse as merely the afterthought to the departures of the greatest hashtagged middle order duo that ever played for Pakistan. What else would Pakistan do in the first Test they played without Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan other than crash, limp and whimper their way to 114 chasing 136?You don’t replace these guys overnight; you can’t just buy that kind of experience; you can’t score the runs they’ve scored without going through the careers they’ve gone through.Greybeards will sit back and chill (and maybe Netflixing might not have been a bad option today). One hundred and fourteen chasing 136 sits comfortably in the dark, cold halls of Pakistan’s chasing history, a brief sample of which is here. This is just how they roll. It is the penance to be paid for those other days (you know which ones).The accurate response, however, would be to acknowledge that it is a condition that has become acute over the last year. History or no history, with or without MisYou, this is what Pakistan’s batting has been doing since the Edgbaston Test last August.

Pakistan’s day-5 performances in Tests since 2016

Runs Wkts Against Venue Result 201 10 England Birmingham Lost 229 10 New Zealand Hamilton Lost 68 2 Australia Brisbane Lost 163 10 Australia Melbourne Lost 189 9 Australia Sydney Lost 36 3 West Indies Kingston Won 81 10 West Indies Bridgetown Lost The 10 wickets lost on the final day today was the fifth time it had happened to them. On one occasion they lost nine in a day. They have done it around the world, to all kinds of bowlers and bowling, in all kinds of conditions, in all kinds of circumstances.At Edgbaston, they were done in by reverse swing, when a draw was their only option. In Hamilton, their own indecisiveness in planning a chase and a combination of pace and spin did them in. At the MCG, when a draw again was their only option, their middle order gave way to Nathan Lyon, on a concrete strip of a surface with nothing for no bowler.At Bridgetown, they could at least point to a deteriorating surface, but 81, when chasing 188? To a pace attack of – no disrespect intended – Shannon Gabriel, Alzarri Joseph and Jason Holder? In Sydney, with the series long gone and only a draw to play for, they lost nine wickets on the last day to spin and pace. And now, Abu Dhabi, where they had not ever lost a Test, on a surface that had deteriorated in no extraordinary way, against a side ranked lower than them and coming off one of their worst runs of form ever.All of which is to say that it has happened enough times and in enough different ways for specific situations and conditions to not be relevant. Pakistan batting, final day – a disaster foretold. They are no nearer to locating a root cause let alone presenting a solution and it is an epidemic. These days can scramble the mind so much that in trying to answer why it was happening, Mickey Arthur first said:And then, pressed about whether it was a trend:So which will it be? That a young line-up explains it or that it isn’t and shouldn’t? To be fair, Arthur is not the first Pakistan coach who has had trouble making sense of these collapses. If history is a guide, he won’t be the last. And to be even fairer, there is no simple answer.Pressure. Poor game sense. Bad decisions. Concentration lapses. Poor judgment. Failures of technique at key moments. Poor starts – Pakistan’s middle order usually finds itself, but it can be no coincidence that five different opening partnerships played in the six examples mentioned. In these last-day situations, a poor start – whether in loss of wickets, or lack of intent – is fatal. This isn’t it. There must be much more.Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq and Sarfraz Ahmed, the core of this batting order now, have played through all of these final days. Given how long each of them has been around, why do they not appear any closer to working out what goes wrong for them on days such as this? Why were Misbah and Younis, with all their experience, unable to turn these days around and pass it on to these men? Babar Azam and Sami Aslam, the future, have now played in five and four of these final days respectively. How deep, Pakistan should worry, are those cuts going to go?

The hosts could draw confidence from their recent ODI run and comeback wins against England and Sri Lanka in Tests

Mohammad Isam in Chittagong03-Sep-2017Before the Mirpur Test, Bangladesh had secured leads of 1-0 three times – twice against Zimbabwe in 2005 and 2014 and against a depleted West Indies side in 2009 – since being granted Test status in 2000. They pressed on to win the series on all three occasions. After beating Australia for the first time in Test cricket, Bangladesh find themselves with a shot at a landmark series victory. However, despite their difficulties in the subcontinent, Australia pose a threat to Bangladesh in Chittagong.The tourists had reduced Bangladesh to 10 for 3 in four overs in the first innings in Mirpur, and later engineered a mid-innings collapse in the second. David Warner slammed a rapid hundred, and Matt Renshaw, the other opener, showed promise, but these contributions were not enough for Australia. Mushfiqur had a glint in his eyes when he said “they (Australia) are under pressure” but he was also wary of a comeback from Steven Smith’s men.Losing a Test series to the ninth-ranked side will put pressure on Smith and in this scenario, Australia have more to lose than Bangladesh.Bangladesh, meanwhile, will be keen not to blow the opportunity of a lifetime. It is uncertain when Australia will next visit Bangladesh, and the odds will be heavily stacked against them when they tour Australia next year.In this series, though, Bangladesh’s players have not just dominated Australia with bat and ball but have also won the verbal battles. Tamim Iqbal picked up a demerit point after the Mirpur match for approaching Matthew Wade, and gesturing him to leave the field upon dismissal. In the first Test, Bangladesh’s body language was aggressive, their fielding better than before, and their bowling mostly accurate. Shakib Al Hasan wasn’t quite in a “Hadlee and Ilford Second XIs” situation, as Taijul Islam and Mehidy Hasan provided able support.How Bangladesh will react to the unique pressure of a 1-0 lead will be interesting. Their history of taking a lead against higher-ranked sides in ODIs offers a possible window into their mentality. Against New Zealand in 2010 and 2013 they took 2-0 leads. Against West Indies in 2012, they were rampant in the first two games before giving up the lead but went on to win the decider. Against Pakistan and India in 2015, they took the lead and ended up winning the series, too.These examples show glimpses of consistency in a single series. Bangladesh are not associated with getting on a roll, but these series wins over New Zealand, West Indies, India, Pakistan, and South Africa in the last seven years have helped their confidence soar.Bangladesh’s bouncebackability against England at home last year and in Sri Lanka this year should also keep them in good stead. They lost a tight game in Chittagong against England, but then leveled the two-Test series with a win in the second match. In Sri Lanka, they lost badly in Galle but rallied in Colombo.All these developments have contributed to their overall progress. There have been many false dawns, too, most notably their slump after a good 2007 World Cup. It took them another five years to become a more consistent side. Ensuring a series win over Australia, either through a win or a draw in Chittagong, will certainly inject more confidence into the system. If a victory resembles the one in Mirpur, with a cheeky smile on their battle-hardened faces, it will be a huge triumph.

Runs against Sri Lanka earned Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan their places in India’s XI for Cape Town, ahead of Ajinkya Rahane and KL Rahul respectively, but neither justified his selection

Sidharth Monga in Cape Town08-Jan-2018Sri Lanka might have done South Africa a favour. All those runs Rohit Sharma scored against them – a hundred and two fifties in the Tests, a third ODI double-century and a T20I century – led to his selection ahead of the accomplished No. 5 Ajinkya Rahane, who has the best all-conditions record among India’s current batsmen. Rohit scored 11 and 10, and looked uncomfortable against the pace and movement of South Africa’s fast bowlers.Sri Lanka also kept taking out Rahane early, consigning him to his first series without a meaningful contribution. It was anticipated that all the poor series would have done was put Rahane under pressure in case he failed in the first Test in South Africa. India, however, didn’t even give him that first chance.”Well, we decided to go on current form,” India’s captain Virat Kohli said. “Rohit had scored runs in the last three Test matches that he has played, and he was batting well, even in the series against Sri Lanka. We did that similar thing in the past with Shikhar [Dhawan] as well. Look, these things can always be looked at in hindsight – thinking what if or what if not. But we decided to go with this combination, and current form was definitely the criteria.”Getty ImagesThe first of Rohit’s three most recent Tests before this one actually came in October 2016, which means the “current” form Kohli spoke of wasn’t entirely current. India have received widespread criticism for dropping one of their most reliable batsmen in these kinds of conditions, and getting influenced in part by Rohit’s sensational limited-overs form. Kohli didn’t speak of any limited-overs runs, but the fact remains that Rohit’s recent Test runs had also come when he walked in at 410 for 4, 365 for 4 and 144 for 4 while setting up a declaration. It is arguable whether Rohit has any prior experience of contributing big runs in seaming conditions and without a good top-order platform to build on.Another contentious selection in the Test was that of Dhawan ahead of KL Rahul. This selection had seemed a foregone conclusion as India flew to South Africa, but a late injury to Dhawan seemed to have pushed him out of contention. However, two days before the Test, Dhawan declared himself fit, and two training sessions later he was back in the XI. In his press conference, Kohli spoke a lot about batting with intent, but that, he said, was not the reason why Dhawan was preferred over Rahul.”Well, the left-hander always helps, that’s what we felt,” Kohli said, explaining that selection. “They have got two, including Quinton [de Kock], in their batting order. I mean it’s difficult for the bowlers to set their lines and lengths every time with the strike rotating well. It has worked for us in the recent past, that’s something definitely is a combination that a lot of international sides want to go with these days, because you don’t want the bowlers to settle against one kind of batsmen and one line and length, especially with the new ball. We have to try and create plans that we feel will not let the opposition gain momentum very early on in the game and that’s the idea behind it.”Dhawan played two ordinary shots to get out for a pair of 16s. He also dropped a sitter at third slip, which cost India plenty: Keshav Maharaj, the beneficiary, went from 0 to 35 in the first innings and was involved in valuable lower-order partnerships. All of Dhawan’s current form too is runs against Sri Lanka before which he had been dropped from the squad that was travelling to Sri Lanka. Then it emerged that M Vijay had not recovered enough from an earlier injury, which gave Dhawan a look-in, and he grabbed the opportunity with two quick hundreds in that series.

Rajasthan Royals are reaping benefits of making Jos Buttler open in their last five games. And they have rain to thank for it

S Rajesh15-May-2018If Rajasthan Royals do make the playoffs this season, they will thank the rains in Delhi on May 2, which arrived during their game against Delhi Daredevils and reduced their chase to just 12 overs. With just 72 balls to play to get to a target of 151, Royals rejigged the batting order and promoted Jos Buttler, who had been languishing in the middle order until then, to open the innings. Though Royals lost that game narrowly, they have been on a roll recently, winning three on the trot. Much of the credit for that belongs to Buttler, who has scored two unbeaten 90s in consecutive winning chases, against Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians.In five innings at the top of the order, Buttler has passed 50 each time, becoming only the second batsman after Virender Sehwag to score five successive fifties in the IPL. In these five innings, he has amassed 389 runs in 236 balls at a conventional strike rate of 164.83; in seven innings in the middle order earlier, he had scored 120 at a strike rate of 126.31.Jos Buttler has clearly flourished at the top•ESPNcricinfo LtdWhen viewed through the prism of Smart Stats, ESPNcricinfo’s new suite of metrics which take into account match context, Buttler’s numbers in the last couple of weeks are even more impressive. In April, when he batted in the middle order, Buttler’s Smart Strike Rate – a metric which takes into account the match strike rate and the scoring rate at the other end when he was batting – was a mere 114.72. His Smart Runs Index (SRI), which compares the smart runs scored by the batsman in an innings with the average smart runs scored historically by other batsmen at the same point of entry, was -3.59, which means he was performing below par in the historical context.Since moving to the opening slot, his Smart Strike Rate has zoomed to 200, and his Smart Runs Index is 65.13, which means he has outperformed the average batsman who has come in at the same stage, by 65 runs. That is a huge improvement on his earlier numbers. In fact, in terms of SRI, Buttler is on top of the IPL charts in May, seven ahead of Rishabh Pant, and 25 ahead of KL Rahul, the two other batsmen who have been in top form this season.ESPNcricinfo LtdIn the last five matches, Buttler has scored a whopping 50.1% of Royals’ runs scored off the bat, while the average run rate for their opening partnerships has increased to 11.42, the best among all teams in this period. Before he started opening, the run rate was 7.82, fifth among all teams.Jos Buttler has scored more than half of Rajasthan Royals’ runs in May•ESPNcricinfo LtdRoyals took a while to figure out the best slot for Buttler, but luckily they have done so in time for them to mount a strong challenge for the playoffs. With two games to go and everything to play for, they need Buttler to continue his outstanding run.

The threat of the offspinner’s overspin and bounce was magnified by the rough outside off stump, but India’s No. 3 found an unusual and highly effective way to deal with it

Sidharth Monga in Adelaide09-Dec-20182:44

‘Pujara showed a lot of resilience’ – Bangar

Virat Kohli’s second innings in this Test was an impressive display of putting aside the pride of a dominant batsman. His control percentage was 87, but this was Kohli’s slowest innings of 30 or above. He was determined to bat long; that meant taking no risks against some pretty good bowling. With India ahead in the game, that spell didn’t carry the apparent intensity, but the bowling was testing and the pitch had enough to keep the bowlers interested. Eventually, even Kohli made a mistake against Nathan Lyon, playing a forward-defensive and leaving himself prone to the ball exploding from the rough and taking the inside edge. This was a slight misjudgment of length, which meant he couldn’t smother the turn; if you couldn’t do that on this pitch, it became perilous.Lyon ended the innings with six wickets. He is now the second-most successful spinner against India, with a better average and strike rate than the leader, Muttiah Muralitharan. Yet, India can be satisfied with their work against Lyon in the second innings. In conditions tailormade for his overspin, Lyon had to bowl 42 overs for his six wickets. It was thanks largely to his fascinating contest with Cheteshwar Pujara, who came up with an interesting method of negating the dangerous rough on a good length just outside the right-hand batsman’s off stump.On more than one occasion in England, India found themselves in a sticky situation with Moeen Ali and the same sort of rough. England didn’t have to contend with it that much because they had a lot of left-hand batsmen facing India’s offspinner R Ashwin. The case was something similar here. Lyon is an even more dangerous bowler than Moeen if you give him a spot outside off. Pujara doesn’t play the sweep, which is anyway a dangerous shot on pitches with extra bounce. He began to negate the threat by stepping out of the crease, but as Lyon adjusted the length, making the batsman search for the ball, Pujara just began to kick it away.This was a smart strategy, given the amount of turn and bounce available, which made getting an lbw decision unlikely even if he didn’t play shots. This was a ploy designed to deny Lyon even a sniff at the bat-pad catch. Sometimes he pretended to play, with the bat hidden behind the pad, but the ball hardly ever refused to turn, which could have threatened his outside edge. On the third evening, Lyon missed out on a trick by not getting a silly point or silly mid-off in to prevent him from doing that.”You’ve got to clearly understand that in that position your role is more than just to take catches,” Tony Greig once told ESPNcricinfo. “You’re changing the way the batsman plays, and that’s something that I don’t think is done enough. If you’re up against any of the top players and you let them play the way they’re comfortable playing, then you’re asking for trouble.”And Pujara is a top player who loves to leave the crease, often just to pick up a single or to defend, and most importantly to shorten the length of a spinner for future runs. data corroborates that. He steps out to 17% of the balls he faces from spin, averaging 315 when he does so. In this Test, runs were hardly the consideration when he left the crease.The effect of silly point on the Lyon vs Pujara contest•Freddie Wilde/TwitterOn 11 occasions in this Test, Pujara stepped out and padded up to Lyon – he was the only batsman to do so. In all, he padded up 14 times to Lyon, according to ESPNcricinfo’s logs, but that doesn’t include the large number of times he just pretended to play. He left the crease 59 times in all. In both his innings put together, Pujara inside-edged Lyon only seven times, that being his biggest threat, with lbws all but ruled out and not enough natural variation in the pitch for him to threaten the outside edge.Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane were caught in a similar situation in the first innings, but their response was to play aerial shots. A six each for them was not enough to hit Lyon off his length. He got Rohit twice, Rahane once, and the pressure he created contributed to the loose shot Rahane played against Josh Hazlewood to get out in the first innings. By contrast, Pujara was at the top of his game against Lyon.The offshoot of this was the back-foot runs Pujara took off Lyon. Always ready to leave the crease or press forward, Pujara was quick to pick the flatter trajectory and go back to cash in. This was his reward for precise forward movements. To his credit, Lyon stuck at it, trying to pitch it slightly fuller or wider to try to break past Pujara’s pad. When he eventually did so, with some extra turn and bounce, Lyon didn’t even realise he had got Pujara out. Had the umpire not given Pujara out then, Lyon said he wouldn’t even have reviewed it.”My idea was to just keep bowling my offspin,” Lyon said of the contest. “That is what works here in Australia. It was a ploy he used to counter me. Now I have to come up with mine.”Pujara ended up as the top-scorer in both innings, faced the most balls he ever has in an overseas Test, and stands on the brink of having fashioned a rare away win. Round two of Lyon v Pujara can hardly come soon enough.

CPL 2018 broke records for the most sixes, the most 200+ totals, and the most overs with 30+ runs

Bharath Seervi17-Sep-2018Record run rate, number of sixes, and totals
The Caribbean Premier League 2018, which was won by Trinbago Knight Riders, had the highest ever scoring rate in the tournament’s history. The average run rate in this edition of the tournament was 8.53, which was about 0.4 runs higher than the previous best: 8.13 in 2016. The run rate in the last edition was 7.93 per over. However, the scoring rate at the start of the edition was 9.01 in the first 12 matches, before dropping off a bit.The average runs per wicket for the season was 26.63, again the highest among all six editions.ESPNcricinfo LtdThe season had a record nine totals of 200 or more. The total number of such scores in the first five seasons were just six, with not more than two 200-plus totals in any season. There were three matches in excess of 400 runs this time, compared to just one such aggregate in the first five seasons. Six of the seven highest totals in CPL history have come in the 2018 edition.There were a record 530 sixes hit in the season, which is 82 more than the previous highest in a season. The 2018 season is also the first when a boundary was hit within every six balls on an average.

Key numbers of Caribbean Premiler League – Seasonwise

Year Run rate Ave runs per wkt 200+ totals Sixes BpB2013 6.98 21.25 0 240 8.252014 7.62 24.85 1 386 7.042015 7.53 22.42 1 383 6.982016 8.13 25.74 2 434 8.802017 7.93 24.43 2 448 6.642018 8.52 26.63 9 530 5.68Trinbago’s third title, Guyana’s fourth lost final
Trinbago Knight Riders won their second successive CPL title and their third in four seasons. While Trinbago are the most successful side in the tournament, Guyana Amazon Warriors have been runners-up four times in the six seasons. In the last four years, no team has won more T20 tiles than Trinbago and no team has lost more T20 finals than Guyana. Titans, of South Africa, have also won three titles in the last four years.Bumper overs
The number of overs than yielded 30 or more runs in this edition of CPL were four. The highest was 32 runs, and there were three overs worth 30 runs. There were another five overs of 27 runs each. Comparing this to other T20 tournaments, there was no such over of 30+ in this year’s Indian Premier League. In the first four seasons of CPL, there were only two overs of 30 or more runs.Darren Bravo was the batsman who hit Kieron Pollard for those 32 runs in an over, which included five sixes. Pollard, while batting, hit 30 runs off Devenra Bishoo eight days later.Munro’s massive season
Colin Munro smashed 567 runs in CPL 2018, easily the most by a batsman in any edition of the CPL. Chadwick Walton’s 458 in the 2017 season was the previous highest. Munro scored 109 runs more than that tally. He averaged 51.54, scoring at strike rate of 140.34, and hit six fifties in 13 innings. Munro has made 350-plus runs in each of the last three seasons of the CPL; no other batsman in the tournament has scored more runs than his 1315 runs in 37 innings in this period.

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Smart Stats champs
Dwayne Bravo scored 209 runs but his Smart Runs* were 280.62, meaning he contributed 71.62 runs more taking into account the context under which he scored his runs. His Smart Runs contribution was the highest among all players.The batsman with the highest Negative Smart Runs was, rather surprisingly, David Warner. He scored 220 but his Smart Runs were just 162.46, thus he effectively cost his side 57.53 runs. Hashim Amla, Andre Fletcher and Chris Gayle are the top four in this list along with Warner.Bravo also had the best Smart Strike Rate among all batsmen who faced 100-plus deliveries: 252.81. Andre Russell had a Smart Strike Rate of 259.88 facing 83 deliveries.Martin Guptill had the least Smart Runs (95.54) among all players who faced 100+ balls and Evin Lewis slotted in last in the Smart Batting Index (-12.29).

Batting Smart Stats for CPL 2018

Type Best WorstSmart Strike Rate Dwayne Bravo (252.81) David Warner (82.46)Smart Batting Index Colin Munro (23.25) Evin Lewis (-12.29)Smart Runs Colin Munro (601.86) Martin Guptill (95.54)Smart Runs Contribution Dwayne Bravo (71.62) David Warner (-57.53)Bravo was one of the best batsmen according to ESPNcricinfo’s Smart Stats but he was also one of the worst bowlers by the same metrics. His Smart Economy Rate was 11.77, which was the worst among all bowlers who bowled 100-plus deliveries. Imran Tahir had the best Smart Economy: 4.23. Tahir also saved the most runs for his side (80.56) while Rayad Emrit leaked most runs (55.24).Nepal’s Sandeep Lamichhane impressed with his ability to bowl dot balls in a row. He had the best Dot Ball Pressure Index among all bowlers to deliver 100-plus balls: 1.86.

Bowling Smart Stats for CPL 2018

Type Best WorstSmart Economy Imran Tahir (4.23) Dwayne Bravo (11.77)Smart Runs saved Imran Tahir (-80.56) Rayad Emrit (55.24)Dot Ball Pressure Sandeep Lamichhane (1.86) Adam Zampa (0.11)