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Even team-mates may not have known much about Kusal Mendis when he debuted for Sri Lanka in October 2015, so limited had his exposure been to senior cricket

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Cape Town31-Dec-2016Even team-mates may not have known much about Kusal Mendis when he debuted for Sri Lanka in October 2015, so limited had his exposure been to senior cricket. Mendis had played in 10 first-class matches before playing a Test. He was 20 at the time. If West Indies (his first opponent) wanted footage of his batting for scouting purposes, they would have had to go digging.Fourteen months on, things have changed. Mendis played arguably the best Test innings of the year, against Australia, in Pallekele. But opponents now know he tends to nick off outside off stump early in his innings. Importantly, Mendis also knows that they know.”Well, as soon as we come to cricket bowlers don’t know your weak points,” he said. “They’ll watch videos of us, like we do of them. They’ll work out a batsman’s weaknesses – so they would have of mine as well. So we need to evolve and fix our mistakes. Otherwise it’s difficult. If we do the same thing you get out.”I’ve definitely worked on the problem of being caught behind a lot with the coach at training. The main thing is to stop playing that shot in certain situations. Not to do away with it completely, but maybe in the first few overs I’ll refrain from playing it. After I get a few runs and feel comfortable, maybe I can use it. There’s no major technical adjustment or anything. It’s just a shot selection thing. It’s important also not to impose a rule on yourself that you absolutely can’t play a shot. It depends on the situation.”Mendis nicked off attempting a booming off drive on zero in the first innings at Port Elizabeth, but produced a higher-quality innings in the second dig, when he made a boundary-laden 58 off 90 balls. His dismissal, however, cut short perhaps Sri Lanka’s most promising partnership of the match. He and Angelo Mathews had put on 75 from 108 balls, while very faint hopes of a successful chase of 488 still held out.”After I got out in the first innings the seniors spoke to me a lot. They came and told me not to be too disappointed, and that I have another innings, and to hit a big one there. I tried to avoid being caught behind and scored runs off shots I felt were safe. I was desperate to make runs in the second innings. I hadn’t planned on scoring quickly, actually. It just happened that way.”But I wasn’t able to hit a big innings in the end. I had the opportunity to hit a 100 or 150, but I didn’t take it. I think my getting out was terrible for the team, in that situation.”Sri Lanka now move to Newlands, where the surface is expected to be more seam friendly than it had been at Port Elizabeth. Among their primary aims will be neutralising the pace trio of Kagiso Rabada, Kyle Abbott and Vernon Philander, who took 15 wickets at a combined average of 23.40 in the first Test.”All three of their quicks are very good. We knew they’d played very well against Australia, which we had as well,” Mendis said. “They are in form. It’s not that they are too tough for us or anything – they just did their jobs better than us in the last Test. They did that really well. We’ve faced them now. All we’ve got to do is practice and play better in the next match.”

After he was forced to wait for the toss for 26 minutes by Sylhet Superstars captain Mushfiqur Rahim as two of his players did not have NOCs, Tamim alleged that he was abused

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur23-Nov-2015Chittagong Vikings captain Tamim Iqbal had a placid expression as he waited 26 minutes for the toss to happen against Sylhet Superstars, whose captain Mushfiqur Rahim was delayed as a result of two of his players not having NOCs.Then, while walking out to open with Tillakaratne Dilshan, Tamim was left confused as he spotted Josh Cobb and Ravi Bopara in the Sylhet team. The pair did not feature in the team list that was given to him at the toss. Somebody then informed Tamim that they had the “permission” but Tamim wanted confirmation and walked off with Dilshan.”I didn’t know at first why the toss was delayed, so I asked the match referee [Raqibul Hasan],” Tamim said. “He informed me that the technical committee has raised questions about some of their players. I didn’t have a problem waiting to do the toss. It was supposed to take place at 1.40pm [the match referee is understood to have told both captains that the toss would initially be delayed by 10 minutes because of the NOC issue] but it eventually took place at 1.55pm [1.56pm]. The match referee and the technical committee member said that a player without NOC cannot play the match.”I saw the team list which had Munaweera and Mendis [as the only foreign players]. Normally there are three copies of the players’ list but I saw only one. The match referee told me that they will send it to me after the toss. When we went to bat, I saw they had four foreign players. I asked what happened here? They said there’s permission. But I left the field and everyone came down; the match referee, umpires and board [members] were all there. The match took place later, as you saw.”Mushfiqur, however, didn’t come forward with an explanation of the issue. He kept repeating that he wasn’t the person to be answering questions about why Sylhet went onto the field with two players who were not named in the playing XI at the toss, and why his signature wasn’t at the bottom of the players’ list that was handed out to the opposition captain. Mushfiqur said he signed a team sheet, but that had not been sent to the scorers or the press box.”There is no use asking me a question about this subject,” he said. “I did what we were supposed to do. I followed the instructions. I was told to do the toss, I did. The coach and I selected the XI.”Possibly there was miscommunication from all sides. I think they have to investigate the matter. They can answer you, there’s no point asking me. My signature was in the team list. I can’t do the toss without a signed playing XI. The match referee can tell you why the toss was delayed. My job was to do the toss. He said come after 10 minutes, and that’s what I did.”When Tamim walked back towards the dressing room to know who gave Sylhet the go-ahead to field Cobb and Bopara after their names had not been listed in the team sheet, discussions were already taking place between the BPL officials, franchise owners and officials from both sides near the boundary at the Grandstand.As Tamim sat down, the Sylhet Superstars’ owner Azizul Islam went up to him and a heated exchange between the two ensued. Later, at the end of the game, Tamim alleged that he was abused.”I want to say something to everyone: the national cricketers have to be respected. You can’t treat them like beggars because you have money. I have come here to play, not to listen to your abuse about my family.”I respected him enough by calling him ‘sir’,” Tamim said. He asked me to stand up and talk to him, I did. But then he said something very unpleasant about my family. I have seen richer owners in the IPL and I saw how they valued the cricketers. I don’t want to name him. You saw him.”Tamim said he hoped that the BCB would take action, besides admitting that he wasn’t in the “mentality to play” after the delayed start. Tamim, however, managed to make his second successive half-century, which set up Vikings’ narrow win. “I feel I am a part of the BCB whose disciplinary committee will take action,” Tamim said. If they keep treating us like beggars then we should just stop playing cricket. I didn’t have the mentality to play, after all this happened. I am lucky to have played such an innings.”

Amit Mishra, Ashok Dinda and Shami Ahmed are expected to miss out when India name their Champions Trophy squad on Saturday

Amol Karhadkar03-May-2013Three bowlers that featured in India’s squad during the home ODIs series against England in January are likely to miss out on the Champions Trophy, to be played in England from June 5.Legspinner Amit Mishra, one of the stars of the current season of the IPL, is set to be a casualty along with Bengal pace duo of Ashok Dinda and Shami Ahmed when the selectors name the squad in Mumbai on Saturday evening.While fast bowler Umesh Yadav is certain to return to international cricket after breaking down with a lower back injury during the first Test against England last November, Vinay Kumar and Irfan Pathan are front-runners in what would be a five-man pace bowling attack.With the conditions in England not favouring spin, Mishra, who was the reserve spinner for the England ODIs, is likely to miss the cut with R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja available. While Vinay has been ignored by the national selectors since the last year’s Asia Cup in March, Irfan broke down after returning from India’s limited-overs tour to Sri Lanka in July-August last year.This would mean that in the absence of Zaheer Khan, who hasn’t recovered from side strain, India would be able to field the seam attack of Yadav, Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar with Vinay and Pathan being the back-up bowlers. Both Vinay and Irfan have had an impressive IPL campaign so far, and one of them will lose out on a plane to England only if the selectors decide to stick with Ahmed. Dinda, having had a horrendous run with the ball for Pune Warriors, especially in the death overs, is all but certain to be axed from the 15-member squad.In the batting unit, the only major change is likely to be Shikhar Dhawan replacing Cheteshwar Pujara. Having recovered from the fracture that he suffered during his memorable Test debut, Dhawan is all set for another stint in the shorter version. Dhawan, who last featured in an ODI almost two years ago, hasn’t done much of note during his five ODI appearances.Despite being under pressure to retain their places in the squad, opener Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh are likely to return their places in the squad.

Yuvraj Singh has said that Virat Kohli is a “very special kid” and that he had learnt a lot from the early years of Kohli’s career

Sharda Ugra in Delhi11-Apr-2012Yuvraj Singh has said that Virat Kohli is a “very special kid” and that he had learnt a lot from the early years of Kohli’s career. “Since the time he has joined the Indian team, I saw his work ethic and I wished and wondered why I didn’t have that work ethic when I was his age,” Yuvraj said during his first media conference on returning to India after receiving treatment in the USA for a rare cancer.Kohli has come to represent the most promising face of Indian cricket currently and was even appointed vice-captain ahead of Gautam Gambhir for the recent Asia Cup. At the start of the 2000s, after he made his ODI debut for India, it was Yuvraj who belonged in those shoes. He was asked as to what his advice would be to Kohli to prevent him from repeating the mistakes Yuvraj himself may have made ten years ago.As the question ended, a grin broke out on Yuvraj’s face and his reply in Hindi was completely tongue-in-cheek. “” roughly translates as a description of Kohli being both the next big thing in cricket as well as quite a character.More seriously, Yuvraj said that Kohli was a “very special kid” and “really talented”. “Actually I have learnt a lot from him,” Yuvraj said. “His work ethic is brilliant, his focus is immense. Since the time he has joined the Indian team, I saw his work ethic and wished and wondered why I didn’t have that work ethic when I was his age.” Yuvraj said he talked a lot to Kohli because he had realised that for an Indian cricketer, early success made his 20s “a very vulnerable age.” “When you get success in your 20s, you can get vulnerable and it can affect your focus. So I try and help him with whatever I can… at times you have to keep him in check, under control sometimes.”Kohli’s tally of 11 ODI centuries in 85 ODIs over a four-year period was “a phenomenal record,” according to Yuvraj. He said he wished he could have had such a record, “but unfortunately I batted down the order, but he is a very special player in the making.” Yuvraj was happy to see Kohli being made India vice-captain at a young age and said, “I hope he goes up the ladder stronger and stronger. I am very happy for his success.”Edited by Abhishek Purohit

Chennai grabbed a two-run last-ball victory over Kolkata in the opening game of the season

The Bulletin by Siddarth Ravindran08-Apr-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Yusuf Pathan’s dismissal was the start of Kolkata’s slide from a winning position•AFP

With the country still basking in the afterglow of a World Cup win, the IPL needed a nailbiter to grab the already sated fans’ attention and there was one at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Three-quarters through the game, Kolkata Knight Riders were walking to victory before a brilliant run-out from MS Dhoni helped Chennai Super Kings stay in it. Then, Jacques Kallis holed out attempting a cute paddle-sweep, Eoin Morgan was undone by the part-time spin of Suresh Raina, and Gautam Gambhir added another chapter to his book of crazy running to leave the capacity Chennai crowd sensing victory.Even after the big guns of the Kolkata batting were gone, the target wasn’t exactly out of reach. Though one more of Dhoni’s gambles paid off with two massive wickets – Morgan and Gambhir – falling in Raina’s 17th over, Kolkata still needed 33 off the final three overs. That boiled down to an even more difficult 26 off 12 deliveries after Tim Southee showed off his death-over skills with a tight over.Time for another swing in the game as Suraj Randiv, on IPL debut, was hammered by Manoj Tiwary, the biggest name from Bengal in the side after the exit of Sourav Ganguly. After Laxmi Ratan Shukla’s plucky reverse-sweep fetched him a boundary off the first ball, Tiwary slammed a couple of big leg-side sixes bring it down to nine off eight. Kolkata favourites at that stage.To Randiv’s credit, he fought back with the final two deliveries of the over. He switched to round the wicket and fired it quicker and wider on the penultimate ball, and then got the breakthrough on the last delivery, sneaking it past the outside edge to give Dhoni an easy stumping.The tension-filled final over started with an outrageous stroke from Shukla, paddling a full ball from way outside off to square leg for a couple. Off Southee’s next ball Shukla was caught at short-third man, leaving two new batsmen at the crease, and five needed off three. Iqbal Abdulla slapped one over midwicket for two, before Southee resorted to inch-perfect yorkers. It came down to four required off the final delivery; after prolonged discussions with the captain, Southee sent down an into-the-legs yorker which was too good for Rajat Bhatia. Only a single resulted and Dhoni’s charmed run as captain continued.A close game seemed unlikely when Kallis had been giving another demonstration of how Twenty20 batting doesn’t need power-hitting. He capitalised when the bowler erred, highlighted by the fourth over from Southee. The bowler was too wide once, too short once and too straight once; each time Kallis dispatched him for boundaries, and as he guided Kolkata to 92 for 1 in 12 overs, Chennai’s total seemed completely inadequate.Chennai’s strong batting hadn’t made the most of a generous Kolkata fielding performance and the innocuous attack, which lacked any world-class bowlers. S Anirudha and Suresh Raina capitalised on three dropped chances to power Chennai to a strong 78 for 1, before Raina fell attempting a slog sweep. That slowed the pace down, and despite a six each from MS Dhoni and Anirudha off an over from legspinner Sarabjit Ladda, only 43 came between the 11th and 16th overs.Chennai needed some big hits towards the end, but a series of slower bouncers from L Balaji and Kallis kept the runs in check. Albie Morkel showed off his strength hitting down the ground, muscling a four and a six off the final two deliveries to lift the score past 150. It hadn’t seemed enough, but Chennai’s spinners thrived on the turn available to ensure the new-look Kolkata side didn’t get off to a winning start.

Jacob Oram’s catalogue of serious injuries is wearing him down but the lure of the World Twenty20 has motivated another comeback

Peter English21-Apr-2010Jacob Oram’s catalogue of serious injuries is wearing him down but the lure of the World Twenty20 has motivated another comeback. A torn patella tendon in the first ODI against Australia last month ruled him out of the IPL, where his price tag was US$675,000, and continued a desperate battle with his body.Oram, speaking at New Zealand’s training camp in Australia, said he is “good to go” for the Twenty20 tournament, which is a relief to himself and the side. In form Oram is one of the game’s most brutal hitters and a useful medium pacer, but he has been hampered by injuries – back, calf and Achilles problems occurred before the latest setback – throughout his career.”The knee is alright, at the moment there are no problems,” Oram told Cricinfo. “It’s nearly six weeks now since I was hurt, but it could have been a lot worse. It could have been four to six months instead of four to six weeks. It’s still been hellishly frustrating, especially missing the Australian series, which is the big one.”There was also the financial pain of losing his huge IPL fee, but throughout his rehabilitation he remained focussed on the event in the Caribbean. New Zealand open the tournament when they face Sri Lanka in Guyana on April 30 and back up against Zimbabwe on May 4.”The carrot for me was the World Twenty20, which is still a massive event, so I pinned my hopes to that,” he said. “I’ve had to start looking at the big picture. Three or four years ago I used to rush back and it doubled or tripled the time out. This time it hasn’t been like a winter break and I’m looking forward to more.”During the lay-off he was at home with his wife and six-month old son and the 31-year-old knows his life is changing. He has already retired from Tests after 33 games to prolong his limited-overs career, which includes 139 ODIs and 23 Twenty20s.With each new fitness problem Oram finds it harder to keep going. “Now it is. Maybe the first four or five lengthy injuries – going home from a tour or missing a series – didn’t worry me,” he said. “I was young and I just got back. Now it’s eroded the energy of my psyche. It weighs on my shoulders.”Oram, whose knee becomes “a bit stiff” after bowling, is not the only one in the New Zealand squad who is suffering. Kyle Mills (knee and shoulder), Jesse Ryder (stomach), Ian Butler (groin) and Aaron Redmond (groin) are also trying to eliminate doubts over their bodies in Brisbane this week. The training was restricted on Wednesday when they were forced into an indoor cricket centre after being hit by the sort of wet weather they knew they would get at home.Oram said having so many players coming back was not a problem. “New Zealand teams are used to it, a wealth of injuries,” he said. “Kyle and Jesse are very important to the team so it’s more about being excited to have them here than worried about them.”Having their core of star players firing is the key for New Zealand, who made the semi-finals in South Africa in 2007 and the second round in England last year. “If we can get everyone fit then we’re a real chance to go all the way,” Oram said. “The 40-over game helps us. For the five to 10 years that I’ve been playing, we’re always better and more comfortable with the shorter forms. If things go well it could play into our hands, but then Twenty20 is so fickle.”

Both teams suffered heavy defeats in their opening games of the World Cup

Srinidhi Ramanujam05-Oct-20252:24

A case for Annerie Dercksen’s return?

Big picture – Who will bounce back?

New Zealand and South Africa meet for the first time since they contested the 2024 T20 World Cup final in October last year, under rather different circumstances. Both teams began their Women’s World Cup campaigns with heavy defeats and there’s little to choose between them as they face off in Indore on Monday.New Zealand’s 89-run defeat to Australia laid bare familiar concerns with the bat; they crumbled in a chase of 327 despite a century from Sophie Devine. Since the start of 2024, they have lost ten of 15 ODIs – a result of their inconsistency with both bat and ball. To add to their challenges, they entered this World Cup without playing a single ODI in the six months leading up to it.While there have been individual performances, the batting unit will be eager to click collectively. New Zealand have scored 250-plus only twice since 2024. In the bowling department, they have a mix of youth and experience with Lea Tahuhu, the Kerr sisters – Jess and Amelia – along with Bree Illing and Eden Carson, forming a unit capable of making a difference.South Africa had a disastrous start against England in Guwahati, where they were bowled out for 69. They will look for a reset in Indore. They remain a top-heavy side, with Laura Wolvaardt, Tazmin Brits, and Marizanne Kapp scoring the bulk of their runs. But their last two ODI defeats – including a 115 all out against Pakistan – have been due to severe batting collapses. A third in a row will be difficult to come back from in this tournament.

Form guide

New Zealand LWWLL (last five completed matches)

South Africa LLWWWSophie Devine made a hundred against Australia•Getty Images

In the spotlight – Brits and Bates

Tazmin Brits has hit peak form in 2025. In ten ODIs this year, she has scored four centuries and one half-century, averaging 81 at a strike rate of 93.91. Known for her power game, Brits has made noticeable improvements against spin. With the in-form Laura Wolvaardt at the other end, the pair forms a strong right-hand opening combination capable of dictating terms. If they get going, South Africa could get the platform they’ve lacked in recent ODIs.Suzie Bates will make her 350th international appearance for New Zealand on Monday – a landmark in the women’s game. The veteran remains a key presence in a top order featuring Georgia Plimmer and Amelia Kerr. Although she fell for a duck against Australia, Bates has scored three half-centuries in her last seven ODI innings. As New Zealand aim for their first win of the tournament, Bates will be eager to mark the occasion with a defining innings.

Team news

South Africa may reconsider their XI after leaving out allrounder Annerie Dercksen – one of four batters to make a century for them since the start of 2024 – for Anneke Bosch, who has neither been a regular nor scored a fifty since December 2023.South Africa:1 Laura Wolvaardt (capt), 2 Tazmin Brits, 3 Sune Luus, 4 Marizanne Kapp, 5 Anneke Bosch/Annerie Dercksen, 6 Sinalo Jafta (wk), 7 Chloe Tryon, 8 Nadine de Klerk, 9 Masabata Klaas, 10 Ayabonga Khaka, 11 Nonkululeko MlabaLeft-arm spinner Flora Devonshire was ruled out of the World Cup with an injury to her bowling hand and seamer Hannah Rowe was named her replacement. However, New Zealand are unlikely to change the side for their second match in Indore.New Zealand: 1 Suzie Bates, 2 Georgia Plimmer, 3 Amelia Kerr, 4 Sophie Devine (capt), 5 Brooke Halliday, 6 Maddy Green, 7 Isabella Graze (wk), 8 Jess Kerr, 9 Lea Tahuhu, 10 Eden Carson, 11 Bree Illing

Pitch and conditions

Indore rolled out a flat track for the opening game and Australia piled on 326 batting first. A different surface will be used for the second match, but weather could be a factor. It rained heavily the day after the first game there and conditions are expected to be overcast with hazy sunshine. As Suzie Bates put it, “It’s all about who adapts the best tomorrow because it is a different wicket, and it can play differently.”

Stats and trivia

• Suzie Bates, the third highest run-scorer in women’s ODIs, is 104 short of 6000
• Marizanne Kapp is two away from breaking into the top five wicket-takers in women’s ODIs. She has 169 scalps from 154 matches.
• Wolvaardt and Brits have scored nine ODI hundreds between them since 2024.
• New Zealand have not scored a 300 in ODIs since the start of 2024.

Quotes

“Yeah, I think it’s a huge advantage. It’s not only playing in the same conditions, but not having to travel after that game.”
“For us as a batting unit is to just literally just knuckle down and just bat. Don’t think too much about the outcome. Just take it one ball at a time.”

Their previous tour to Bangladesh had ended on a bitter note, with Harmanpreet questioning the umpiring standards

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Apr-2024India Women’s five-match T20I tour of Bangladesh will start on April 28, with Sylhet to host all five matches.The three night games will be played in the main stadium, and the two day games will be held at the outer venue. The night games will start at 6.30pm local time and day games at 2pm.India will see this series as a preparation for the 2024 T20 World Cup, which will also be played in Bangladesh, in September-October.This is India’s second tour of Bangladesh in two years, and their third overall. In 2023, they had played three T20Is and as many ODIs. They won the T20I series 2-1, while the ODI series was tied 1-1.That tour had ended on a bitter note with India captain Harmanpreet Kaur criticising the umpires after the third ODI, which was tied. After being given out caught behind, Harmanpreet had smashed the stumps with her bat, and called the umpiring “pathetic” at the post-match presentation.”The next time whenever we are coming to Bangladesh, we’ll have to make sure we have to deal with this kind of umpiring and accordingly, we’ll have to prepare ourselves,” she had said. For her outburst, she was banned for two matches by the ICC.Smriti Mandhana, India’s vice-captain, had also hoped for neutral umpires for the next tour.The Indian team will arrive in Bangladesh on April 23.Fixtures

• April 28 – 1st T20I (night)
• April 30 – 2nd T20I (night)
• May 2 – 3rd T20I (day)
• May 6 – 4th T20I (day)
• May 9 – 5th T20I (night)

The hosts, however, still trail by 295 runs going into the third day

Sreshth Shah03-Jan-2023Stumps A confident 74 from Imam-ul-Haq and a slow, yet solid 13 from Saud Shakeel ensured Pakistan made a steady resurgence in their innings after they briefly appeared to fall apart. The pair’s unbeaten fourth-wicket stand of 55 lifted Pakistan to 154 for 3, still 295 behind New Zealand’s first-innings total of 449.Pakistan had made a steady start in their response to 449, but the dismissals of Abdullah Shafique and Shan Masood, and then the run-out of Babar Azam made it appear like day two would completely belong to New Zealand. But that wasn’t to be, with Imam and Shakeel ensuring Pakistan pulled things back, even though the visitors remained slightly ahead in the contest after two days of cricket.All eyes in the final session were on Imam, who had turned down a third run to cause a mix-up with Babar and effect a third dismissal, but he continued his batting fluency from the first Test to hit nine fours and a six in his 125-ball innings. He struck four fours through the covers, using his feet to good effect against the ball turning away from Michael Bracewell, and also played in the region in front of square on the leg side, collecting 23 runs in that area.Shakeel, at the other end, anchored himself for the most part, taking 42 balls to score his first run off the bat. Initially, he poked at the deliveries turning away from Bracewell in what appeared to be a tricky initiation into the innings, missing a few early on. His resistance came via his dead-batting ploy to see off the day, which he successfully did, playing 75 deliveries to make 13 in an innings that saw only one boundary in it.Related

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Before that, Both Shafique and Masood were out trying to play aggressively. Shafique, the right-hand opener, had struck four early boundaries to move to 19, but then tried pulling a rising short ball from Matt Henry while taking his eyes off the delivery. He ended up hitting the shot high, and to the only outfielder in the deep on the leg side.Masood then produced a fluent beginning, hitting four fours in his first ten deliveries to race to 20. In fact, he had crunched three boundaries in a single Ajaz Patel over before trying to search for a fourth when he sliced a half-tracker to the fielder at point.That had left Imam and Babar looking to start a Pakistan recovery after tea, but that partnership could never blossom, with the captain run out, on 24, for the sixth time in his Test career.Imam-ul-Haq was unbeaten on 74 at stumps•AFP/Getty Images

Earlier in the day, both Henry (68) and Ajaz (35) put on their highest individual Test scores while also becoming only the fourth pair in Test history to post a 100-plus partnership between a No. 10 and a No. 11. That lifted New Zealand from potentially folding for under 350 to eventually finishing at a run less than 450.The two came together when New Zealand lost their ninth wicket with the score reading 345. However, Henry took on Abrar early with a four through midwicket before hammering Hasan Ali for four, four and six in consecutive deliveries. The umpires called for an extra thirty minutes of play in the first session with New Zealand nine down, but Henry and Ajaz batted right through that. Ajaz was more circumspect, freeing his arms on rare occasions in his 78-ball stay. He hit three fours and looked quite comfortable on the whole, especially against the short-pitched bowling that Pakistan tested him – unsuccessfully – with.Henry reached his fifty before lunch, and the duo added a further 16 in the second session before they eventually folded for 449. The innings ended when Ajaz attempted to sweep an Abrar googly, only to get a top-edge for slip to gobble up.Before their entertaining final-wicket stand, it was Tom Blundell who started off strongly for New Zealand after they resumed day two on 309 for 6. After Ish Sodhi fell for 11 early, Blundell, in Tim Southee’s company, reached his ninth Test fifty. But Abrar dismissed Blundell for 51 and Southee for nine in quick succession before the Henry-Ajaz stand.Naseem Shah was the most impressive of the bowlers from the first innings, finishing with 3 for 71 while having an economy of 2.95. While Abrar took a four-for, he conceded 149 and Salman, who barely bowled in the first Test, took 3 for 75.

The availability of Gayle, Russell, Bravo and Pollard makes the hosts a terrifying proposition on paper

Danyal Rasool27-Jul-2021

Big Picture

West Indies’ extended warm-up for the T20 World Cup continues apace, with Pakistan the latest side the defending champions will host ahead of the global event later this year. While there might be legitimate concern around how relevant T20 cricket in the Caribbean is to a T20 World Cup on the other side of the planet in the UAE, you can’t really argue West Indies will go into it undercooked.A slightly below-par series in Grenada saw South Africa give the home side a bloody nose and walk away with the trophy, but Nicholas Pooran’s men bounced back strongly in St Lucia to hammer Australia 4-1 and get themselves back on track. Part of the excitement around West Indies stems from the return of most of their key players that have, for one reason or another, been unavailable to them for the large parts of the previous decade. With Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle, Andre Russell and Kieron Pollard all back in the maroon, West Indies are perhaps the most intimidating side on paper, and will be the most closely watched.Certainly more so than Pakistan, who fly to Barbados off the back of a 2-1 series reverse in England. It’s a measure of how much expectations have been managed in Pakistan that that result was viewed as something of an over-performance, so heavily unfancied was Babar Azam’s side against England. Things don’t get much easier, though, even if Pakistan have a perfect series record against West Indies, because the side they face bears little resemblance, both in personnel and intensity, to the one they beat on these shores in 2017.Still, that positive head-to-head means Pakistan are unlikely to fear the hosts going into this Covid-shortened series. Three T20Is in England ensure they don’t come in rusty against a well-oiled West Indian machine, and with the CPL among the more popular overseas T20I competitions for Pakistan players, this land carries little of the unfamiliarity it might have done in previous years. These two sides are very different from each other, both in style and T20 philosophy, and that contrast should make for an absorbing four games over the next week.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
West Indies WLWWW
Pakistan LWLWWHasan Ali is shaping up to be one of Pakistan’s most crucial players•Getty Images

In the spotlight

Is the greatest batsman in T20I history now a liability for West Indies? Chris Gayle is difficult to omit whenever he makes himself available, the 41-year old now appears to be a pale shadow of the man who carried his side’s T20I hopes for a decade and a half. No longer a basher of the ball from the outset, Gayle likes to take his time settling in before unleashing, except more often than not, the opposition get rid of him before that actually happens.In 12 T20Is this year he averages under 18 with a strike rate of 120.88, down from a career figure of 140.16. If he’s looking to play himself in, he doesn’t do much of that either; just two of these 12 innings have seen him cross 21. The PSL is the league he’s struggled in more than any other, so it isn’t like Pakistan’s bowlers don’t know how to keep Gayle quiet either. Expect an engaging battle.If there’s one Pakistani player who might feel at home in the West Indies side, it’s Hasan Ali. Not that there aren’t other members of the visiting squad good enough to get into a West Indies team, but there’s something delightfully Caribbean about Hasan’s charismatic personality and outgoing disposition. There’s a swagger about him that should endear him to any crowds allowed to attend.It isn’t just style, though; there’s substance to go with it. He missed the first two T20Is against England, but played crucial parts with both bat and ball in the thriller at Old Trafford. His nascent rise as perhaps Pakistan’s most valuable power hitter down the order is perfectly timed, coming as it does ahead of a series in the nation that has revolutionised the power game in the shortest format.

Team news

Kieron Pollard is slated to captain West Indies, but did not play the T20Is against Australia, with Pooran standing in.West Indies (possible): 1 Lendl Simmons, 2 Evin Lewis, 3 Chris Gayle, 4 Shimron Hetmyer, 5 Nicholas Pooran (wk), 6 Andre Russell, 7 Kieron Pollard (capt)/Fabian Allen, 8 Dwayne Bravo, 9 Hayden Walsh, 10 Obed McCoy, 11 Fidel Edwards.Misbah-ul-Haq admitted after the England series Pakistan weren’t making much headway in working out how to resolve their middle-order issues. That, arguably, is what series like these are for, so expect some tinkering over the next few games.Pakistan (possible): 1 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 2 Babar Azam (capt), 3 Fakhar Zaman, 4 Sohaib Maqsood, 5 Mohammad Hafeez/Sharjeel Khan, 6 Azam Khan, 7 Shadab Khan/Usman Qadir, 8 Imad Wasim, 9 Hasan Ali, 10 Mohammad Hasnain, 11 Shaheen Shah Afridi

Pitch and conditions

Showers are expected for the late morning in Barbados, around the time the game starts. A shortened contest likely benefits the big-hitting West Indies, but there are enough dry spells tomorrow to perhaps get a full contest in.The Kensington Oval isn’t the highest-scoring T20I ground, but with no T20I played here for four years, predicting how the pitch might turn out is something of a fool’s errand.

Stats and trivia

• This will be just the fourth four-match T20I series between two Full Member nations. One of the others also involved these two sides, when Pakistan beat West Indies 3-1 in 2017. The most recent such series took place in April, when Pakistan triumphed 3-1 in South Africa.
• The last T20I in Barbados took place in 2017. It was also a West Indies-Pakistan game, a low-scoring contest with Pakistan chasing 113 and winning by six wickets.

Quotes

“All those bad mistakes we committed in England, we don’t want to repeat them. We discussed them and we are taking forward all the learning curves. Batting and bowling is one thing but we are putting extra, a lot of time into fielding in practice. This is an important series in a way that we will check out different combinations and check our bench strength.”