Derbyshire’s seam attack again delivered to keep the Division Two leaders on track for promotion before Kent’s tail fought back on the opening day at Derby.

02-Aug-2012
ScorecardTim Groenewald took three early wickets•Getty Images

Derbyshire’s seam attack again delivered to keep the Division Two leaders on track for promotion before Kent’s tail fought back on the opening day at Derby. Tim Groenewald claimed 3 for 41 in 19 overs while Tony Palladino and Mark Turner struck twice as Kent fell to to 238 for 8 after they had been put in on a green pitch.Sam Northeast made his fifth consecutive half-century and Michael Powell scored 45 but too many Kent batsmen got themselves out before an unbroken ninth wicket stand of 64 between Matt Coles, 51 not out, and Mark Davies earned the visitors a batting point.Rain wiped 26 overs from the day’s allocation although the skies were clear when Derbyshire won the toss and gave their bowlers first use of a pitch that had pace and bounce. Kent began well and reached 37 before skipper Rob Key aimed a firm-footed waft at Palladino and was caught at first slip. Northeast continued his recent prolific run by hitting nine fours in his fifty but Ben Harmison again struggled and made only five in 11 overs before he edged Turner to third slip.Northeast was dismissed in the next over when Jon Clare produced a good delivery that knocked back the opener’s off-stump and although Brendan Nash was put down on 13, he made only two more before a loose drive at Palladino was taken at gully to make it Derbyshire’s morning.Powell and Darren Stevens were starting to rebuild the innings until Stevens was bowled trying to drive Groenewald and although rain held up play for 50 minutes, Kent quickly lost their sixth wicket when the game resumed.Geraint Jones carved Groenewald to point just before another rain break which kept the players off the field until 4.45pm but Derbyshire quickly made another breakthrough when Groenewald beat James Tredwell with one that moved late to clip the top of off-stump. When Powell lost concentration and was caught behind driving wildly at Turner, Kent were 174 for 8 but Coles and Davies dug in to take their side past 200.Coles greeted the left-arm spin of David Wainwright by pulling him over midwicket for six and he gave the same treatment to Turner for another maximum before a cut brought him his fifth four and a deserved half-century off 74 balls.With Davies, he played out the last 16 overs of an extended day to put Kent back in the game and keep Derbyshire waiting for a third bowling point.

Chris Read’s battling knock hauled Notts over 200 on the second day at The Oval

Jarrod Kimber at The Oval05-Sep-2012
ScorecardChris Read almost single-handedly kept Notts in the match•PA Photos

Chris Read’s an eager well-meaning pixie from a fairytale. He always looks like he cares. In an office, he’d be the guy that said, “That’s funny, but we’ve got a lot of work to do”. If he dated your sister, you’d think he was a nice guy, but until he came over to re-grout your bathroom, you’d never truly value him. He probably does his own taxes, and tips his paperboy. He’s that guy.At The Oval on day one, Read was solid with the gloves, kept the spirits of his bowlers up, made sure runs never flowed and kept Surrey to a score that was easily reachable. On day two, he did everything he could with the bat to keep his side in the match. It wasn’t really about runs, the Notts batsmen all scored at a quicker rate than Surrey had, it’s just that none of them stayed in.Read did. He was a one man Gary Wilson and Zander de Bruyn partnership.This pitch, still sludge-like in nature and with occasional low bounce, is not hard to bat on when the afternoon sun hits it with the old ball being used. Yet only Read, and briefly youngster Sam Wood, looked like they wanted to handle it.Throughout this match Read has played like a captain who refuses to believe they can’t win the Championship. A belief he has had that doesn’t seem as evident on some of the other Notts player’s faces. It’s probably not surprising that Sam Wood, playing in his first full County game, was the other player. Wood was brought as another bowling option on the spin friendly Oval wicket but instead continued his good form that smashed a hundred for the England Under 19 side. At only 19, and with skills with bat and ball, Wood is a very impressive prospect.On the other side, Surrey have looked a bit more desperate, as you would be if you’re that close to County Cricket’s Tatooine, division two. Stuart Meaker was fast, really fast. His ball to Adam Voges would have electrified a crowd at an international match. Voges was beaten by pace, swing and skill. Meaker was putting on a clinic for a while, swinging the ball both ways at pace, but as the new ball faded so did he. At the other end Tim Linley is hardly going to produce the same excitement, but he ended with 5 for 62 through patience, skill and subtle variation. They were the honest, humble and hardworking wickets of a consistent county seamer. They’ll be forgotten by anyone who saw Meaker’s wicket of Voges.Kartik was the pick of the bowlers. Using a new technique, for him, of attacking primarily at the striker’s end, he flighted the ball beautifully, mixed up his pace like a master, spun the ball hard and even occasionally got some brutal bounce. It seemed for most of the afternoon the only way to score off him was accidentally. None of his wickets came from unplayable deliveries; they came from the cloud of doom he floated above the batsman’s eyes. Kartik’s miserly bowling allowed Surrey to just keep chipping away at the largely lifeless Notts line up who ended up on 227, 42 behind Surrey.Even though they faltered with the bat, it was perhaps with the ball in the morning that Notts looked their most anodyne. They allowed the newly capped Meaker and tailender Linley to score another batting point and add 38 runs – the third biggest partnership of the match. It was only ended when a Harry Gurney delivery kept a bit low. Read was trying to fire up his troops, but it was clear all day they weren’t quite right.After trudging off with his fighting 85 not out, Read was given a respectful clap by the Oval faithful. Read rarely entertained, except in the last over, but it was definitely a strong show of character. If you walked into the Oval today, not knowing the back-story of these two teams, it is Surrey you’d think were the team that got close to the title, and Notts the team that would be getting relegated if not for the strong mindedness and guts of their captain.Surrey are leading this match, Chris Read is leading Nottinghamshire.

Matthew Wade knows his immediate fate in the baggy green could be in his own hands as the selectors

Brydon Coverdale17-Oct-2012Matthew Wade knows his immediate fate in the baggy green could be in his own hands as the selectors prepare to choose between him and Brad Haddin for the first Test against South Africa. Australia’s captain Michael Clarke and national selector John Inverarity have both said in the past few days that the Haddin-Wade decision has not yet been made, which gives both men extra motivation to perform over the next fortnight.The problem for Haddin is that he is in South Africa at the Champions League T20 and should the Sydney Sixers go all the way in the tournament, he won’t have any more Sheffield Shield opportunities to press his case before the decision is made. Although Haddin, who turns 35 next week, made a terrific 114 in his most recent Shield match last month, the selectors will need to weigh up his experience against the youth and talent of Wade.Wade was given a chance in Test cricket in the West Indies in April, when Haddin pulled out of the tour after his daughter Mia was diagnosed with cancer, and impressed with a century in his third Test. He began this season with 89 in his only Shield match so far and another big innings against Tasmania at the MCG next week could be enough to sway things his way ahead of a battle with the No.1 Test team in the world.”I feel comfortable within the Australian setup now, I understand what they’re all about and what we’re trying to do,” Wade told ESPNcricinfo. “I feel really comfortable around the team but that doesn’t guarantee you selection. It’s all about performance from here on in. I’ve got two more Shield games before the Tests and if I can perform in them, hopefully I’ll get picked.”I can only do what I can control. It was nice to come home early and play at the Gabba and get some runs there. I feel like I’m doing everything I can, I’m playing to the best of my ability. If that’s not good enough, that’s not good enough. I can only get told on the day whether I’m in or out.”Wade, 24, has racked up three Tests, 25 ODIs and 15 Twenty20 internationals since making his debut just over a year ago, and has gone from strength to strength. Inverarity has been impressed not only with Wade’s work for Australia but was also happy with what he saw against Queensland at the Gabba last week, when Wade came in with Victoria wobbling at 4 for 39 and rescued the innings in very trying conditions.”It shows what a very good batsman Matthew Wade is,” Inverarity said. “That innings, in the context of that game was the match-winner. They bowled very well in helpful conditions and that 89 was a very significant batting performance.”If you go back to February, he played for Australia, then he played on the wickets in the West Indies, then he went to England and played there, then the UAE, then Sri Lanka. The amount of experience he’s got into his experience in seven months is fantastic.”It hasn’t all been easy for Wade, as anyone who watched the one-day series in the Caribbean could attest. While his glovework was always sound, he found it especially difficult batting against the spin of Sunil Narine, but the way he worked through that trouble and emerged with a Test century in Dominica, having come to the crease at 5 for 157, pleased the coach Mickey Arthur.”We saw Wadey in the West Indies really battle with the turning ball, he hadn’t played in conditions like that before, he didn’t have a game-plan, he didn’t know how to score, he didn’t know where to score off Sunil Narine,” Arthur said. “But he worked it out and at the end of the series he got a really good hundred.”We saw a little bit of that in England, a little bit of that in Sri Lanka, he worked immensely hard through the T20 on his batting, his first-class batting. He learns very quickly. He’s like a little kid, he comes and he fights it and he moans and whinges and gets frustrated, but he works hard, learns quick and hopefully he gets the rewards. He’s got a good edge to him.”Arthur and Inverarity are both on the selection panel that will make the decision by the end of this month, as is Clarke, who said this week that Wade was “an amazing talent” who “is going to be a big player for Australian cricket over a long period of time”. Whether that period encompasses the South African series remains to be seen, but Wade would love the chance to tackle Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel.”There’s no tougher Test cricket than what that will be against South Africa,” Wade said. “As cricketers all we want to do is test ourselves against the best players in the world. Their bowlers are the best in the world at times. It’s going to be hard work all summer against those guys and then a pretty good team in Sri Lanka coming over as well.”It’s definitely a bigger jump up in intensity [to Test cricket] and you always get that one bowler that troubles you. The pressure is a little bit different. I think a home series is probably going to be even tougher, everyone is watching, but it would be fantastic to play in.”

Dean Elgar, the Knights batsman, has been named as the replacement for the injured JP Duminy for the rest of South Africa’s Test series in Australia

Firdose Moonda11-Nov-2012Dean Elgar, the Knights’ left-hander who has played five ODIs for South Africa, has been called up to replace JP Duminy in the Test squad. Duminy was ruled out of cricket for six months with a ruptured Achilles’ tendon and while Faf du Plessis remains the favourite to take his place in the starting XI, Elgar has been called a “like-for-like replacement.”Although a top-order batsman rather than a lower middle-order one, Elgar also bowls left-arm spin and could be seen to offer the same part-time bowling option as Duminy. Du Plessis, though, bowls legspin and is regarded as next in line, given his inclusion as replacement batsman over the last two tours.Elgar, a former South Africa Under-19 captain, made his case for a place in the national squad soon after debuting in first-class cricket. In 2006-07, he averaged 55.06 and scored 881 runs in the first-class competition. But two lean patches followed and he only really caught the eye again two seasons later. Elgar’s 2009-10 summer resulted in 1193 runs at an average of 62.78 and 2010-11 one saw him score 816 runs at 54.49.With a reputation for being able to play all around the wicket, a strong square cut and proven form, he was named captain of South Africa’s Invitation side to play Sri Lanka in December last year. Elgar top scored with 78. Although always seen as a longer format player, he was named in the squad to play in the ODIs against them later in the tour. He tore knee ligaments on the eve of the series and was ruled out of most of the remainder of the season but continued to feature in South Africa’s plans.Elgar played in the A series against Sri Lanka A in June, where he scored 177 in South Africa’s innings victory. He also travelled to Ireland in August to shadow the men’s senior side in England and made his debut in the ODIs. Although he did not score a single half-century, scores of 15, 42, 35 and 1 were enough to have national convenor of selector Andrew Hudson labelling it a “good debut series.”Elgar will only travel to Australia once his visa requirements have been processed but with the second Test 11 days away that is not a worry. He will play for the Knights in their domestic one-day cup match on Sunday.While Elgar will celebrate his maiden call-up to the Test squad, some of the other players in contention may be aggrieved at being overlooked, especially as there are lower-order players who could be in line. Justin Ontong is the closest as an exact replacement for Duminy. He was the top-scoring middle-order batsman last season. In nine matches, he scored 658 runs at an average of 59.81, with two hundreds and four fifties.Ashwell Prince may not have fancied sitting on the bench but would have been keen on a recall. Since he was dropped after the Boxing Day Test against Sri Lanka in Durban last December, he has done well for Lancashire and started this season with 213 runs in three matches for the Warriors. He remains a nationally contracted player and Hudson said at the time of Prince’s exit that he would remain in their thoughts.Colin Ingram was another candidate. He fell out of favour after the ODI series against Sri Lanka in January but has been churning out the runs at franchise level. His 270 runs in three matches this season have come at an average of 54.00.None of that has any bearing on the current Test squad, with Elgar due to arrive in Australia soon.

Peter Siddle believes the days of a fast bowler playing every Test of the home summer are not a thing of the past, despite the ongoing changes to Australia’s attack

Brydon Coverdale22-Dec-2012Peter Siddle believes the days of a fast bowler playing every Test of the home summer are not a thing of the past, despite the ongoing changes to Australia’s attack this season. Jackson Bird looks set to become the seventh fast bowler to wear the baggy green this summer, with reports that Mitchell Starc might be rested from the Boxing Day Test in an effort to manage his workload, and that would leave Siddle as the only fast man to hold his place after the Hobart victory.A side injury has ruled Ben Hilfenhaus out of the Melbourne Test and should the selectors decide to save Starc for the New Year’s Test in Sydney, it will mean Siddle, Bird and Mitchell Johnson will share the pace duties next week. Already this summer, Australia have used Siddle, Hilfenhaus, Starc, Johnson, James Pattinson and John Hastings over the course of four Tests, a far cry from the days when the same attack was used for every Test, as occurred during the 2006-07 Ashes series.Over the past 18 months, Ryan Harris, Pat Cummins and Trent Copeland have also moved in and out of the Test attack, along with the spinners Nathan Lyon and Michael Beer. Whether the changes have been due to form, injury or workload management, it has meant learning about team-mates and developing bowling partnerships on the run, and Siddle said the bowlers had become adept at working with whoever was on duty from Test to Test.”That’s been the big thing that we’ve done well in the past 18 months is that whoever has come into the squad knew what they had to do,” Siddle said. “The guys who have come in in that time have shown that they can execute their skills and work with the rest of the players in that squad to maintain that pressure. The squad has changed a lot with the bowlers but we’ve stuck together and worked well as a team and we can keep doing that. That’s a big positive.”Siddle pulled up well after bowling 51.3 overs at Bellerive Oval, better than he did after the Adelaide workload that forced him to sit out of the next Test against South Africa in Perth, and he is in no doubt for Boxing Day. There is less certainty over Starc, who sent down 52.2 overs in Hobart and according to some reports is set to be rested for either the Melbourne or Sydney Test due to his age and workload.Last summer, the Australians were told by their sports scientists that Pattinson would break down during the Sydney Test and they played him anyway, only to lose him to a foot injury mid-match. Siddle said while no bowlers wanted to sit out of any Test match, the key was to be open and honest with the team management about how their bodies were recovering, as Siddle was when he stayed on the sidelines at the WACA.”[Starc] has had a big workload but he has had time to rest now back at home, he’s got another three or four days until we have to be out there playing,” Siddle said. “Everyone wants to play. I don’t think anyone ever wants to rest. But there does come circumstances where personally you don’t feel right and you might need to, like myself in Perth. I wasn’t right so I didn’t play.”The last two summers here I played all 11 Test matches, so it can be done. The same thing would have happened this summer. I did not want to miss Perth but personally I made the right decision. I knew that if I had have been selfish and gone out there and got injured I would have put a lot of pressure on the rest of the side. After what we had in Adelaide I didn’t want to do that.”You get plenty of say. It’s your body. No one knows your body. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the physio, the doctor or the selector, they don’t know how you’re feeling. It’s about being honest with them. That’s the big part of it, being honest with them about how you are feeling and how well you think you can go.”Now Siddle is preparing for his fifth consecutive Boxing Day Test at his home ground, and he enters it in fine form, having collected 15 wickets at an average of 19.93 in his past two Tests this summer. His MCG record is also strong – 18 victims at 22.44 – and it’s something he shares with Bird, who in two first-class appearances at the venue has collected 5 for 35, 5 for 61 and 4 for 73.”It’s a very patient ground. Our game plan works beautifully here,” Siddle said of the MCG. “I’ve had my success a similar way to him [Bird], you bowl nagging lengths and be patient, you bowl tight lines. That’s the go-to here for us. Sometimes it hasn’t been about the big swing, it’s more about being patient and working the batsman over and setting the right fields … He’s a very similar type.”

New Zealand Cricket chairman Chris Moller has apologised to Ross Taylor for the manner in which the team’s captaincy changeover played out, but he said there was no need for heads to roll over the saga

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Dec-2012New Zealand Cricket chairman Chris Moller has apologised to Ross Taylor for the manner in which the team’s captaincy changeover played out, but he said there was no need for heads to roll over the saga.Brendon McCullum replaced Taylor as captain in all formats last week after Taylor declined an offer to stay on as leader in Tests only, and the way the captaincy issue was handled left Taylor feeling disaffected enough to sit out of the upcoming tour of South Africa. Much of the tension surrounded the relationship between Taylor and the coach Mike Hesson, who recommended changes in the limited-overs leadership.”The board has reviewed all aspects of the captaincy issue and wishes to publicly place on record its apologies to Ross Taylor and his family for the manner in which events have unfolded,” Moller told a press conference in Wellington on Wednesday.Moller also said that “additional material” on the captaincy saga had come to light and would be reviewed by NZC. However, he said there was no need for any sackings over the messy way the changeover was played out in the public.”No heads are going to roll,” Moller said. “here were no hanging offences in all of this. Yeah, the ball’s been dropped, absolutely. Could we have done things better? Absolutely. Are we going to learn from those mistakes? Well we hope so. Is there any reason for anybody to have their heads taken off? No, and that is a decision the board has made.”

Chris Gayle is not playing for Jamaica in the ongoing Caribbean T20 after the selectors decided to omit him from the squad because of a clash with the Big Bash

Nagraj Gollapudi08-Jan-2013Chris Gayle is not playing for Jamaica in the ongoing Caribbean T20 because the selectors decided to omit him from the squad, after the batsman said he would be available only if his Big Bash League franchise, Sydney Thunder, did not make the knockouts of Australia’s ongoing domestic T20 competition.Thunder failed to make it past the league stage of the BBL but, according to the Caribbean T20 playing conditions, Gayle cannot be added to Jamaica’s squad unless one of their players is injured.The WICB had set a December 16 deadline for all the regional teams to send in their squads for the final edition of the Caribbean T20, which will be replaced by the franchise-based Caribbean Premier League next year. Eager to have Gayle in their squad, Jamaica’s three-man selection panel, led by Courtnay Daley, contacted him in December, when West Indies were touring Bangladesh. Gayle was open to the offer, but made it clear that he would be available for Jamaica only after his stint with Thunder. Though Gayle found form in the final match for Thunder with the fastest fifty of the BBL, it came too late in the day.*”When we got in touch with Chris, he said he could only come if his team [Thunder] did not go through,” Daley, the chairman of selectors, told ESPNcricinfo. “So based on our situation we decided to go ahead and name the squad [without Gayle].”Thunder had a dismal run in the BBL, losing all seven games and finishing bottom of the league. Gayle, one of the most destructive batsmen in T20 cricket, made only 72 runs in six innings.According to Daley, the Caribbean T20 rules do not permit squad changes and the only way Gayle can be accommodated is as a replacement in case of an injury to an existing player.Jamaica are also without the services of Marlon Samuels, who is playing for Melbourne Renegades, the BBL leaders with six wins in seven matches. According to Daley, Samuels could not be directly contacted but the selectors had tried to check his availability through Gayle. “We could not reach Marlon directly and asked Chris to relay the message. But Chris did not get back,” he said. “With the Big Bash going on, we could not take a decision. We would have loved to have both Gayle and Samuels.”Unlike Jamaica, defending Caribbean T20 champions Trinidad & Tobago will be boosted by the presence of Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine, who are also part of the Big Bash. Narine, who played for Sydney Sixers, had returned to play in the washed-out tournament opener against Jamaica on Sunday evening. Pollard, who represented Adelaide Strikers, is expected to join the squad on Tuesday. Both players had worked out an arrangement with the Trinidad & Tobago Cricket Board and their Big Bash franchises to play in the Caribbean T20. * – 12.30 GMT – Updated following the result of Thunder v Stars

Lisa Sthalekar, the Australia women’s allrounder who was part of Sunday’s World Cup-winning team, has announced her retirement from international cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Feb-2013Lisa Sthalekar, the Australia women’s allrounder who was part of Sunday’s World Cup-winning team, has announced her retirement from international cricket. Sthalekar said she did not want to cut ties with the game following her retirement, but planned to remain involved and help women’s cricket develop further.”To finish my international career by playing in a successful Women’s World Cup in the country of my birth is quite special for me,” Sthalekar said. “I feel that this is the right time for me to retire.”On Sunday, Australia beat West Indies in the final of the World Cup in Mumbai by a whopping 114-run margin. Sthalekar put on a fine show, claiming the big wickets of West Indies captain Merissa Aguilleira and big-hitter Deandra Dottin, and then closed out the game with a spectacular diving catch.It was Sthalekar’s 125th ODI, and she remains the only woman to score 1000 runs and take 100 wickets in the format. She finished with 2728 ODI runs in all, at 30.65, and 146 wickets at 24.97. That puts her at No. 10 on the all-time women’s ODI batting charts, and at No. 3 for Australia. Her ODI wickets’ tally is third-highest in history.In international Twenty 20 cricket, too, she has made quite an impact, taking 60 wickets at 19.35 – the second-highest aggregate among women. Sthalekar also played eight Tests in an international career that spanned 12 years and included two titles each in 50-overs World Cups and World Twenty20s.”Women’s cricket has changed a lot during my time in the game and it’s been an honour to witness this evolution first hand,” Sthalekar said. “We have seen at this year’s World Cup that the standard of women’s cricket across the world has grown immensely in the last few years alone. I would like to continue my involvement in all aspects of the game. Cricket has given me a great deal during my life and I want to be able to give something back, whether it be through coaching, mentoring or other avenues. I am looking forward to the opportunity to help women’s cricket continue to develop.”Off the field, Sthalekar became the first woman to be appointed to the Australian Cricketers’ Association Executive in 2011.Julie Savage, Australia’s chief women’s selector, highlighted Sthalekar’s contributions towards the development side of the game: “Lisa has been a tremendous player for Australia for a number of years and it’s fantastic to see her go out at the top of her game. She also, through her coaching, contributed to the development of the younger players that are now coming through in our group.”So, not only was she contributing on the field, but she was also contributing off the field to the success of Australian Cricket. Lisa will certainly be missed, but through her coaching and development work she’s actually helping to fill the void that her retirement will leave.”

Shikhar Dhawan stroked his way to a breathtaking century, its 85-ball duration the swiftest ever by a Test debutant

The Report by Daniel Brettig16-Mar-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsShikhar Dhawan’s century was the fastest by a Test debutant•BCCI

Shikhar Dhawan could possibly have been out before he had faced a ball in Test matches. The first delivery of the innings slipped out of Mitchell Starc’s hand and landed on the stumps with the debutant out of his ground at the non-striker’s end. There was no appeal, but if made it would have sent many running for the law book and coming back with varying interpretations of two laws: mankading and dead ball.Dhawan, though, felt he was out, and took full advantage of what he felt was Australian generosity with a breathtaking century, its 85-ball duration the swiftest ever by a Test debutant. By the close he was still there on a commanding 185, looking utterly impassable while gathering runs with the kind of rare ease that invoked memories of Mark Waugh’s debut against England at Adelaide Oval in 1991.*Australia’s tally of 408 had been swelled by Mitchell Starc’s 99, but it was made to look laughably puny by how Dhawan set about his task in the company of the neat and tidy M Vijay. They formed a beautifully balanced union that did not take long to become plainly disdainful of the visiting bowlers, and by the close it was comfortably India’s best opening stand against Australia.On the way to what was also the highest total by an Indian debutant, Dhawan’s stroke range was awe-inspiring, no fewer than 33 fours and two sixes streaming from his bat to all parts of the PCA ground. He was most savage through cover, piercing gaps no matter how many fielders Michael Clarke employed to patrol the region.In doing so, Dhawan laid waste to a touring attack that should have been feeling quite haughty about prolonging Australia’s innings on the third morning. The worst punishment was saved for Moises Henriques, Nathan Lyon and most of all Xavier Doherty, who in one over conceded an eye-popping 18, all to Dhawan’s impudent blade.Among the liberties taken in that over was a reverse sweep, conveying just how little Dhawan thought of the visiting spin bowlers. At the age of 27, Dhawan had been made to wait 81 first-class matches, 5679 runs and 16 centuries for this chance, coming in at the expense of Virender Sehwag. The flourish with which Dhawan took it was supreme, and indicated that India have not given up hope of forcing a victory over the remaining two days.Vijay meanwhile constructed another innings entirely suitable to the occasion, settling in quietly and safely in Dhawan’s slipstream but never becoming so tied down as to suggest the Australians had him covered. He too attacked the slow bowlers for a pair of sixes, and it was possible to imagine India have found an opening partnership to last for some time.Clarke exhausted all of the bowling options except his own, though this is at least partly to spare his problematic back. At no point were his bowlers able to deliver spells consistent enough to create pressure, despite the fact that both Peter Siddle and Mitchell Starc extracted reverse swing and there was enough bounce and spin for Lyon, Doherty and Steven Smith.Most of all Australia missed James Pattinson, their most dangerous bowler in the first two Tests and an absentee here for punitive disciplinary reasons. Mitchell Johnson, another suspended bowler, has enjoyed success on this ground in the past, and it is difficult to imagine Clarke not wondering who else he might have called upon had team management not chosen to rule out four players for failing to follow the instructions of management.Only once did Dhawan give the ghost of a chance, a thick edge on 94 flying through the hands of Phillip Hughes in the gully from Peter Siddle’s bowling.The Australians might have had some inkling of how swiftly the runs might flow when India batted after watching their own tail wag furiously. Starc assembled a brave 99, Smith managed 92, and in all 157 runs were added for the final three wickets.For most of his innings Starc played nervelessly, hitting with power and pushing through gaps with finesse, while also defending when necessary. But he tightened up noticeably with one run to get for a hundred, beaten twice outside off stump by Ishant Sharma then edging an attempted drive behind after MS Dhoni brought the field in.In that moment Australia were denied their first centurion at No. 9 since Ray Lindwall in 1946-47, and a rare chance to feel a rush of shared jubilation on this tour. So even during a session in which India were dominated, the hosts still managed to deny the tourists a feeling of achievement.Smith’s innings reached a similarly flat conclusion after he had also played with great assurance at No. 5, demonstrating a steadier approach and straighter bat than he had shown in his earlier Test match appearances in 2010 and 2011. It was a chanceless innings, and took a practically perfect ball from Pragyan Ojha to dislodge him.*07.00pm GMT, March 16: The copy has been updated after reviewing the laws of the game.

Preview of the match between Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders in Mohali

The Preview by Kanishkaa Balachandran15-Apr-2013

Big Picture

April 16, 2013
Start time 1600 local (1030 GMT)Kings XI need runs on the board for their above average attack to defend•BCCI

Big Picture

On paper, Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab appear mismatched on one count- the batting. Kings XI were not tested in their opening game, chasing a paltry 100, but in their next two managed under-par scores of 138 and 124, losing both. A look at their batting line-up explains their apathy. Their captain Adam Gilchrist is struggling for runs, and in trying to break free played a poor shot on Sunday against Rajasthan Royals. Their middle order comprises uncapped Indian players in Manan Vohra, Mandeep Singh and Gurkeerat Singh and expectations from them will always be low, though all have potential. It leaves a heavy burden on David Hussey, who, not surprisingly, was their top scorer in their last two games. Azhar Mahmood is their most experienced player after Gilchrist, but Kings XI cannot afford to leave everything to their middle order and below to bail them out. The top order needs to step up, and give their bowlers a decent total to defend.Knight Riders in contrast have a stronger top order and it makes a difference when the captain fires. While Gilchrist has been under par, his counterpart Gautam Gambhir hasn’t, already piling on 175 runs from four matches. Jacques Kallis’ experience is unmatched, and with Brendon McCullum fit, Knight Riders will find it hard to leave out either Kallis or Eoin Morgan to accommodate him. Having piled on 180 in their last match, against Sunrisers Hyderabad, and winning by 48 runs, it is unlikely they will want to tinker with their line-up, unless they have to.

Players to watch

Sachithra Senanayake played his first IPL match on Sunday, and Knight Riders didn’t regret picking him. The Sri Lanka offspinner opened the bowling and finished with miserly figures of 4-0-18-1. His spell didn’t allow Sunrisers to get away to a strong start chasing a big target. Knight Riders will want to retain him for at least another game.It’s good news for Kings XI that Adam Gilchrist‘s wicketkeeping reflexes haven’t waned, having pulled off two difficult takes against Royals. It will be better news for them if he can score more runs, and improve on his scores of 15, 9 and 0. As a captain and an overseas player, he picks himself. Explosive starts from Gilchrist will be crucial for Kings XI going forward.

Stats and trivia

• Jacques Kallis needs two wickets to become the second-highest wicket-taker for KKR in the IPL. Sunil Narine is first (31) and Rajat Bhatia is second (26).
• Adam Gilchrist and Shaun Marsh hold the record for the highest partnership in the IPL. They added 206 runs for Kings XI against Royal Challengers Bangalore in May 2011.
• Gautam Gambhir is the third highest run-getter in the IPL against Kings XI Punjab with 312 runs from 9 matches at an average of 52.

Quotes

“Last year, trying to get into a winning side was very difficult. I hope I get to play as many games as possible for KKR this year.”
“We did not play our full quota of 20 overs so that did make a difference. Maybe we could have added 12-15 runs in those balls.”