Shan Masood and Younis Khan came together at 13 for 2 in a chase of 377, and responded with the highest fourth-innings partnership ever for Pakistan, leaving the visitors 147 runs adrift of achieving the highest successful chase ever in Sri Lanka

The Report by Abhishek Purohit06-Jul-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsShan Masood and Younis Khan came together at 13 for 2 in a chase of 377, and responded with the highest fourth-innings partnership ever for Pakistan, leaving the visitors 147 runs adrift of achieving the highest successful chase ever in Sri Lanka.The duo had to contend with a charged up three-man pace attack running in with a new ball. Masood had to overcome considerable nerves in general in his first Test outside the UAE, and discomfort against the short ball in particular. Their ally was the pitch, having slowed down enough for the ball to lose nearly all its threat along with its shine. Their pressure release was the inexperienced offspinner Tharindu Kaushal, who went for 92 in 20 wicketless overs.The first ball of Pakistan’s innings had summed up the task that lay ahead, when Dhammika Prasad squared up Masood with a ripper. Suranga Lakmal bettered that testing first over, beating Ahmed Shehzad with one that moved away and then uprooting his off stump with one that came in. Misfortune added to Pakistan’s worries when Azhar Ali nicked behind down the leg side off Prasad in trying to whip a wide one.The scoreline of 13 for 2 would not have helped Masood’s jittery beginning, but the arrival of Younis did. Younis was eager to move across and solidly got behind the line of deliveries. He was also keen to look for the single. Slowly, Masood started to find some confidence. He was still not comfortable against the shorter lengths but moved forward to drill a few drives down the ground when the seamers overpitched.The introduction of Kaushal in the 14th over changed the situation. The offspinner could not control his lengths, and repeatedly served up short balls and full tosses. Masood stepped out to lift him for fours, Younis pulled powerfully. By tea, Kaushal had conceded 43 from seven overs and the partnership had grown to 86 in 22.Younis had been in no trouble till tea; he became almost imperious after the break. He started jumping across and thumping the fast bowlers on the up through the covers. He whipped Prasad through midwicket and cover-drove him for successive fours to march past fifty.Masood had settled down, and though he was still getting beaten on the cut, he was also working the ball into gaps.With his fast bowlers flagging, and his offspinner leaking runs, Angelo Mathews tried himself, and almost broke through. Sri Lanka reviewed for leg-before against Masood, on 79, but with replays inconclusive about whether there was an inside edge, the third umpire had to go with the on-field call.Sri Lanka’s spread-out fields helped Masood and Younis to keep rotating the strike. Masood reached his maiden Test hundred stepping out and lifting Kaushal for a straight six. Younis never allowed the offspinner to settle, trying the reverse sweep now and then, and made it 30 Test centuries with a swept four in the last over of the day. He also became the first man to make five fourth-innings hundreds.In the morning, Mathews’ fifth Test century had stretched Sri Lanka’s lead to 376, even as Imran Khan picked up his maiden five-for with the second new ball.The overnight pair of Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal had furthered their rebuilding act to strengthen Sri Lanka’s position, adding 50 runs more to extend their sixth-wicket partnership to 117.The lead was nearing 350 when Imran finally got reward for his accuracy in the 16th over of the day, Chandimal going leg-before for 67. Prasad bagged a king pair, feathering one to the keeper.Imran, who had bowled lucklessly in the first innings, wrapped up proceedings to herald lunch, when Mathews chased a wide one on 122, and became the fourth successive man to be caught by Sarfraz Ahmed. By then, he had left Pakistan the task of mounting the second-highest successful chase in Asia to win the series. Masood and Younis’ 217-run partnership seems to have put Pakistan firmly on that path.

Steve Patterson again proved himself to be a reliable component of Yorkshire’s attack as Worcestershire struggled to avoid the follow-on at Scarborough

ECB/PA20-Jul-2015
ScorecardSteve Patterson took three Worcestershire wickets•PA Photos

Steve Patterson was the pick of the five-strong pack of fast bowlers as Yorkshire steadily built up a position of strength over Worcestershire on the second day of the LV= County Championship match at Scarborough.At the close Worcestershire had worked hard to reach 195 for 6 in reply to the Champions’ first innings score of 430 – and three of the wickets had been claimed by Patterson.Ryan Sidebottom, Jack Brooks, Tim Bresnan and Liam Plunkett may grab the headlines more regularly than the ever-reliable Patterson but his consistency and economy rarely desert him.And it was his length and line and inward movement that again stood him in good stead as Worcestershire fought gallantly but still lost wickets just when batsmen appeared to be well set.Only 19-year-old Joe Clarke, in his sixth match, really got established and he remained unbeaten on 76 to overhaul his previous best score of 70 made against Hampshire last week.Openers Daryl Mitchell and Richard Oliver safely negotiated the first five overs of the innings up to lunch and they had moved their stand to 32 before Oliver edged a drive at Brooks and was superbly caught by Plunkett moving smartly to his right at fourth slip.Patterson, coming on as second change, nipped one back to have Mitchell lbw for 14 the first ball after a short break for rain and a promising innings of 30 from Tom Fell ended when he edged Plunkett to Jack Leaning at second slip.Clarke built up his score in unflustered fashion but in a new spell from the Peasholm Park end Patterson struck twice to leave Worcestershire on 119 for 5. Brett D’Oliveira nibbled outside off-stump for Jonny Bairstow to take the catch and Ross Whiteley also edged to Leaning in the arc of slips.In rapidly fading light, Adil Rashid joined the attack and his long hop was struck for six by Clarke immediately before the players were off for an early tea and the loss of 16 overs. Three balls into the resumption, bad light caused a further four-over stoppage but the ground was then bathed in sunlight for the remaining 14.3 overs.Clarke completed a valiant 50 off 75 balls with two fours and a six but shortly before the close his 56 stand with Ben Cox ended when the wicketkeeper clipped Brooks low to Rashid at mid-wicket.Although Yorkshire were in a strong position at 357 for five off 88 overs when they resumed in the morning with Andrew Gale on 127, they still had to work hard to make it to maximum batting points.While Gale struggled to find his fluency of the previous day, wickets toppled at the other end, Joe Leach starting the slide with the dismissal of Bresnan before the persevering Charlie Morris chipped in with three wickets for one run in the space of 13 balls.Yorkshire were 391 for 9 in the 103rd over when last man Sidebottom joined his captain who raised the 400 for a fifth batting point by working Leach to the long-leg boundary.The innings was wound up by Jack Shantry who had Gale caught by Mitchell for 164 from 297 deliveries with 19 boundaries, Leach finishing with four for 139 and Morris three for 90.North Marine Road is a happy hunting ground for Gale who has now scored 815 in his last seven Championship innings at the venue.

Matthew Boyce, the 29-year-old Leicestershire batsman, has announced his immediate retirement from the game to take up a new career in the financial sector

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jul-2015Matthew Boyce, the 29-year-old Leicestershire batsman, has announced his immediate retirement from the game to take up a new career in the financial sector.Boyce has been associated with the club for 20 years, was awarded his county cap in 2013 and made his 100th first-class appearance earlier this season.His final match was the Championship fixture against Gloucestershire, at Cheltenham, where he made 18 and 22 to leave with him a first-class tally of 4882 runs at 27.89 with six centuries.He also made 67 List A and 55 T20 appearances, although one of his most notable performances came when he was not actually named in the playing XI. In the 2011 T20 final at Edgbaston he took four catches as the substitute fielder to help Leicestershire lift the trophy.Boyce, who has a degree in Management and Economics, will now set up his own wealth management firm.”I’d like to thank the club, including the coaches, support staff, players and supporters, for making my career in cricket so enjoyable,” he said. “Although it is not easy knowing I am not going to play again, I’m excited about the next chapter in my life and taking on a new challenge.”I’ve been fortunate to plan and prepare for life after cricket and would like to thank the PCA, in particular Charlie Mulraine, and club sponsor Peter Wilcox for their support. I’ve been coming to Grace Road for 20 years and nothing would make me happier than seeing my current team-mates do well in the future. Finally, I’d like to thank my family and close friends for all of their help and support.”Wasim Khan, the chief executive, said: “Matthew has spent his entire career at Leicestershire and we thank him for his immense contribution to the club.”Matthew scored a lot of runs for the club and was also an excellent role model for our younger players. He was somebody who always played the situation and put the team first. I know Matthew will enjoy success in his new career in the financial industry and I’d like to wish him all the very best for the future on behalf of the entire club.”

Despite a career overshadowed by Imran Tahir, and the possibility of soon being overtaken by a younger crop of spinners, Aaron Phangiso still has a lot to offer South African cricket, according to his provincial coach

Firdose Moonda09-Sep-2015Despite a career overshadowed by Imran Tahir, and the possibility of soon being overtaken by a younger crop of spinners, Aaron Phangiso still has a lot to offer South African cricket, according to his provincial coach. Monty Jacobs, who was in charge of Phangiso at North West and will reconnect with him this weekend at the Africa Cup, sees the left-arm spinner as a “complete package”, who could play a major role in the upcoming tour of India, if selected, in any or all formats.”People tend to get boxed in easily and Phangi has got this label as a limited-overs bowler but that’s not exactly the case,” Jacobs told ESPNcricinfo. “The season before he got selected for South Africa, he was playing a lot of first-class cricket for me and that is what got him going. He has a lot of skill with the red ball.”Phangiso first played for South Africa in December 2012, in a Twenty20 against New Zealand and has since been a regular limited-overs squad member, although an irregular in the starting XI. In the two summers prior to his debut, Phangiso had his best returns in first-class cricket, taking 15 wickets at 25.13 in 2010-11 and 16 wickets at 28.50 in the 2011-12 season. Those figures were achieved at the provincial, semi-professional level, not franchise cricket where Tahir edged Phangiso out of the Lions side.A slew of spinners, including Eddie Leie, have since kept Phangiso on the fringes of the franchise first-class XI – he last played for them in the format in October last year – but the national selectors knew of Phangiso’s longer-form ability. He was selected in the Test squad which toured Bangladesh in July but did not play either of the two matches. He will be back in contention for the India series and Jacobs said he would not be surprised if Phangiso is picked across all formats, not just the limited-overs’ ones.”Coaches look for consistency and that’s what Phangi offers, especially in the longer format,” Jacobs said. “In one-day cricket, you tend to bowl with a flat trajectory and target the pads but Phangi is skillful enough to get the ball past the bat as well. He is a good fielder and has even done well with the bat. He is actually the complete package.”Phangiso has seven first-class fifties to his name, more than Dane Piedt (5) or Leie (1), but half that of Simon Harmer, who has 14 and a century. All three are likely ahead of Phangiso in the queue – Piedt and Harmer at Test level, and Leie as a T20 option. This could mean that even if Phangiso travels, as he did at the World Cup, he may not play. And that, according to Jacobs, will be South Africa’s loss.”I do feel a bit sorry for him because sometimes he is more of a tourist and deep down there may be that hurt of not playing but when you see him, Phangi is a happy guy,” Jacobs said. “He is a real character and a great guy to have in any team.”

Chris Morris suffered from an injury and a personal loss on the recent tour of Bangladesh, and hopes to perform well enough to fight of competition and secure a place in South Africa’s limited-overs sides

Firdose Moonda16-Sep-20151:19

‘Our conditioning will be vital in India’ – Morris

Cricket changed Chris Morris’ life. Twice. The first time, it made him a millionaire, the second, it almost robbed him of everything money could not buy.In 2013, Morris received riches to the tune of R5.5 million (US$625,000 at the time) when he was bought by the Chennai Super Kings franchise at the IPL auction, after they spotted him during the Champions League T20 the year before. With the money, Morris bought his parents a house, got married and made a life, which included occasionally playing international cricket. He struggled to secure a regular spot in the South African side but remained part of their plans and was taken on their most recent tour to Bangladesh, where it all went wrong.Morris only played in two of the five limited-overs matches and struggled physically, with a groin injury, and emotionally, after the death of his grandfather. The combination almost cost him his career.”It was a really tough journey,” Morris said at a bowling camp in Johannesburg. “I’ve come back from a bad tour of Bangladesh that I don’t think I ever should have gone on but I was never going to turn down an opportunity to play for my country, so it was a lot of mental stuff that went on behind the scenes.””I had to find my reason for playing cricket again so I took a couple of days off, went to the bush, went hunting, played a lot of golf and found my passion again. It sounds horrible to say that as a young cricketer but I had a lot of things going on in my head that I needed sorted out and luckily we got them sorted. It was about going back to the drawing board.”When I was a youngster it was very easy to say why I wanted to play cricket and that was because I wanted to play for my country, and having coming back from that tour doing so badly I thought maybe I was not good enough to play for my country. I had a couple of dark days but there is always motivation when you put that jersey on.”Chris Morris wants his cricket to be enjoyable again•AFP

Morris’ returns of 2 for 32 and 0 for 29 are hardly the stuff of shattered dreams but they were disappointing for a player looking to push for a more permanent place. More devastating was the injury, which took extensive rehabilitation to overcome. “You are in a very dark space when you are injured,” Morris said. “I don’t think I ever wanted to throw in the towel but I was a little bit confused in my head as to why am I playing this game and what do I want to achieve out of the game. I think I almost lost sight of that a little bit.”During his time off, Morris had time to think about where his cricket was going. He was known for his bowling but remembered that when he first started playing, he had batted in the upper middle order and had designs on becoming a genuine allrounder. “When I first got into the Lions side, I had to bat at No.6 or 7 and bowl fast – that was my role,” Morris said. “So automatically batting takes a back step and you become that slogging tailender. I feel I have underachieved in four-day cricket very horribly. I know my bowling will always be No.1 and that will get me into most teams but I’d love to be a genuine allrounder.”Morris’ first-class batting average of 30.64 is better than his List A (25.29) or T20 (21.45) figures but he believes there is more he can do. ” I lost sight of my goals with batting recently and now, this is the hardest I have ever worked on my batting. I am hitting a lot of balls, I am doing a lot more drills which I absolutely hate but we’ve got to do them, so I am working hard on my batting,” he said. “Then, if my bowling is not up to standard on the day, hopefully my batting will lift me, and if my batting is not up to standard, hopefully my fielding and if I am not a good fielder, I will carry the drinks as well.”Warming the bench will not be an option for Morris on the tour of India, especially in ODIs, where he is all but guaranteed a spot after David Wiese was left out of the squad. He will complete with Wiese for a place in the T20 XI and both will be looking over their shoulders at the likes of Wayne Parnell, who will be at home but doubtless eyeing a comeback, and the rest of the reserve bowlers.Some of them like Marchant de Lange and Kagiso Rabada are in the squad, others like Beuran Hendricks are not, and competition is fierce enough for Morris to know he will have to stand out to earn a spot. “The pecking order I wouldn’t know, but I know there are a lot of gun bowlers pushing for that spot they say is missing in South African cricket,” he said.If Morris can fill it, the 2016 World T20 could be in his future and he admitted he had thought about it. “The World T20 squad is always going to be in the back of your head. It’s the World Cup, who doesn’t want to go? I will be pushing for it as hard as I can,” he said.For now, Morris is “just happy to be playing cricket without pain,” and hoping it can make him feel like a millionaire again.

Angelo Mathews’ excellent form with the bat and consistent performances with the ball, have earned him four major Sri Lanka Cricket awards

Andrew Fidel Fernando19-Oct-2015Angelo Mathews’ excellent form with the bat and consistent performances with the ball, have earned him four major Sri Lanka Cricket awards, including his second successive Cricketer of the Year prize. He also won the Test batsman trophy, and the ODI batsman and allrounder awards.

SLC Award Winners

• Cricketer of the Year – Angelo Mathews

• Test Batsman – Angelo Mathews

• Test Bowler – Rangana Herath

• ODI Batsman – Angelo Mathews

• ODI Bowler – Ajantha Mendis

• ODI Allrounder – Angelo Mathews

• T20 Batsman – Kusal Perera

• T20 Bowler – Nuwan Kulasekara

• Emerging Cricketer of the Year – Kusal Perera

• People’s Choice Award – Kumar Sangakkara

• Women’s Batsman – Chamari Atapattu

• Women’s Bowler – Inoka Ranaweera

• Women’s Allrounder – Eshani Lokusuriyage

Mathews’ stretch of good form has extended into 2015, but he received his prizes for last year’s work. The period under consideration was January 2014 to December 2014, in which he hit 1160 Test runs at 77.33 and 1244 ODI runs at 62.20. He claimed 18 ODI wickets at 36.16 during this period.Rangana Herath won the Test bowler prize for a 2014 that brought him 56 wickets at 27.17. Ajantha Mendis was the Best ODI bowler for his 38 wickets at 21.63. Mendis was not picked for Sri Lanka’s World Cup squad this year, however, and has since been out with injury ever since. Kusal Perera and Nuwan Kulasekara won the T20 batting and bowling awards respectively. Kusal also won the Emerging Cricketer of the Year award, having recently flourished in ODIs and made a bright start in Tests.Mathews could not budge Kumar Sangakkara’s six-year grip on the People’s Choice Award, which was voted through online and text message polling. However, Mathews’ award for Test batsman of the year broke Sangakkara’s five-year streak for the award. Both Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene were in attendance.Chamari Atapattu won the batting prize in the women’s category, with Inoka Ranaweera and Eshani Lokusuriyage taking the bowling and allrounder awards. The team had recently lost to West Indies in home T20 and ODI series, but had defeated Pakistan in an away ODI series prior to that.As for the domestic awards, Badureliya Sports Club’s Milinda Siriwardana, who recently made his Test debut, won the batting award for the Premier League Tournament, in which he struck 1144 runs at 67.29. Left-arm spinner Malinda Pushpakumara, who took 70 wickets at 16.72 playing for Ports Authority Cricket Club, claimed the Best Bowler award.Saracens CC’s Umesh Karunaratne won the allrounder prize. Pushpakumara also won the prize for List A bowling, with batsman Lahiru Milantha and allrounder Asela Gunaratne also picking up awards for the Premier Limited Over Tournament.The visiting West Indies team was in attendance, along with support staff. Clive Lloyd, Curtly Ambrose and Richie Richardson all presented awards.

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.”

Several of Australia’s Test cricketers will be made available for Big Bash League matches between the first and second Tests against West Indies, Cricket Australia has confirmed

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Nov-2015Several of Australia’s Test cricketers will be made available for Big Bash League matches between the first and second Tests against West Indies, Cricket Australia has confirmed.The BBL begins on December 17 and some of Australia’s Test cricketers will be available for at least the first four days of the Twenty20 tournament, given the lengthy gap between Tests. The first Test against West Indies will be played in Hobart from December 10 to 14, and there is then a 10-day break before the Boxing Day Test at the MCG.However, the Test fast bowlers will not take part in the BBL matches and opening batsman David Warner, who is yet to sign with a team for this season, will sit out to spend time with his pregnant wife Candice. Allrounder Mitchell Marsh’s availability is yet to be decided, with his workload in the coming Tests likely to determine if he will play in the BBL during that period.Steven Smith, Joe Burns, Peter Nevill, Nathan Lyon and, fitness pending, Usman Khawaja, will be available from December 17 to 20. There is also a possibility the Perth Scorchers players in the Test squad – Adam Voges, Shaun Marsh and Mitchell Marsh – will be made available for their team’s first game on December 21.The Test players will gather in Melbourne on December 22 ahead of the Boxing Day Test.

Delhi will play their second Vijay Hazare Trophy final after Unmukt Chand’s 80 off 86 balls set up a six-wicket victory over Himachal Pradesh in Bangalore

The Report by Nagraj Gollapudi in Bangalore26-Dec-2015
ScorecardFile photo: Unmukt Chand hammered 80 off 86 balls to seal a chase of 201 for Delhi•PTI

Delhi will play their second Vijay Hazare Trophy final after a comfortable, six-wicket victory over Himachal Pradesh in Bangalore. The last time Delhi set up a summit clash was quite recent too – in 2012-13 – and they won it.The difference between both teams was the contrast in their batting styles. While Delhi were assured and always in control, Himachal were subdued and impatient and could only muster 200 for 9 after being put in to bat.No one epitomised Delhi’s confidence as much as Unmukt Chand, who became the first batsman from his team to cross 300 runs in the tournament. His unbeaten 80 today included nine boundaries and was his third fifty-plus score in List A cricket this season.Chand had walked in after Rishabh Pant became the first wicket to fall, but not before the opener had set the tone for the chase with three crunching fours in the first three overs.Chand too began with a solid straight drive, then moved inside the line of another fuller ball for a flick to the fine leg boundary and capped the series off by skipping down the pitch for a six over long-on. Ronit More was the bowler being targeted; he bowled only eight balls to Chand but gave away 16 runs.Chand’s positivity was apparent even in the break between overs during chats with senior partner Shikhar Dhawan, who joined in the early fun and punished Himachal’s 20-year old medium-pacer Pankaj Jaiswal for trying to bowl short. Delhi collected eight fours and a six in the first 10 overs to set up a strong foundation to their chase.Himachal did have a chance to turn things around. A lapse in concentration resulted in Shikhar playing on to Bipul Sharma’s left-arm spin in the 18th over. Delhi captain Gautam Gambhir misread the line of one from part-time spinner Nikhil Gangta and was trapped leg before, continuing a dismal season with the bat – he averages 24.85 after eight matches with only one fifty. Milind Kumar lifted Himchal’s spirit further when he was run out by Ankush Bains in the 29th over.But Chand was still out there and he remained in charge. Barring a misjudged sweep against Bipul when he was on 55, he dominated the Himachal bowling and sealed the chase without any further hiccups.That Himachal even managed to get to 200, and last the 50 overs, was because of an aggressive half-century from their captain Bipul. He made 51 off 45 balls, the only man from the team to have a strike rate better than 100 on condition of at least five balls faced.Bipul had walked in with his team on 98 for 4 in the 31st over. Allrounder Rishi Dhawan had just got out for 9. The other two batting mainstays – Robin Bist and Paras Dogra – did not make much of an impact either.So it was down to Bipul to provide some substance to the innings. His first boundary came off a back cut against Pawan Negi. Then Bipul went with the turn and lofted the left-arm spinner for a straight six. Next Nitin Saini was taken for consecutive fours, and Nitish Rana’s offspin was launched down the ground for another maximum.His third six – straight again, off medium-pacer Subodh Bhatti – brought up the fifty partnership with No. 9 Mayank Dagar off only 46 balls. A dab into the off side for a single brought Bipul his first fifty in the tournament. But the enterprise he showed was absent in the rest of the Himachal batting line-up.Rishi Dhawan, who is part of the India squad for ODI series in Australia, punched the back of his bat in disgust after he was bowled attempting to sweep across the line of a straight delivery from Negi. Bist, who hit a match-winning century against Punjab in the quarter-final, nicked off when Saini was able to get one to move away off the straight.Dogra, Himachal’s most experienced batsman, was a victim of impatience. He had been part of a slow partnership – 45 off 78 balls – with opener Prashant Chopra who struggled to shift gears during his 33 off 69 balls. Chopra failed to capitalise and cut straight to point, the pressure slowly increased and Dogra, 28 off 64 balls at the time, succumbed to it when he played a half-hearted loft against Negi and was caught at long-off.Himachal could only put up 77 after 25 overs in their first innings, and it was this conservative approach with the bat that proved fatal for them.

Bangladesh’s forward-thinking method against India made them look stronger and more confident, so it should not be overruled by a safety-first approach in the next encounter against UAE

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur24-Feb-2016Bangladesh made enough mistakes to lose the Asia Cup opener to India by 45 runs and they will have to duly improve in those areas quickly. But their general approach was fresh towards the format and opponent.The home side, perhaps influenced by India’s recent troubles on a similar pitch in Pune against Sri Lanka, went for a green top though it was mainly cut grass that the groudsmen sprinkled generously on the surface. But while seam movement wasn’t exaggerated, it was enough to encourage the pace bowlers.Bangladesh’s decision to go with four pace bowlers was hardly surprising given their own success using four pace bowlers against India just last year. The conditions in Mirpur back in June weren’t as helpful as they were on Wednesday, so Bangladesh’s plan to stop India through pace wasn’t out of place.Their batting order appeared a bit jumbled too with regular opener Imrul Kayes coming in at No. 4 which pushed Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah too deep down the order, especially chasing a stiff 167-run target. But as the captain Mashrafe Mortaza said later, they wanted to have at least one right-handed batsmen in the crease to counter R Ashwin’s consistency.Both approaches to batting and bowling were sensible ways to take on a format they are not really good at. Taking help from the conditions, tweaking the bowling attack and ensuring the batting order isn’t top heavy were all with the intention to rejuvenate a flagging T20 team but as a general rule, a T20 game has very little room for error. In this case, Bangladesh were undone by a crucial dropped catch, offcutters and legcutters that didn’t grip on the grassy pitch and a batting approach that required a slightly more proactive mindset.Mashrafe didn’t blame Shakib for dropping Rohit Sharma’s chance at point in the 11th over but said that dew played a part in Mustafizur Rahman’s specialty cutters sitting up to the Indian batsmen rather than gripping and getting big on them. There were one or two that took Rohit and Hardik Pandya by surprise but the slightly wetter surface ensured the ball didn’t get a kick after pitching.”[Dropped catch] is part of the game,” Mashrafe said. “We can’t really do much about it. A catch can be missed. He is one of our best fielders and I wanted him at point in that over because from the 12th or 13th over in T20s, we usually have most of our better fielders in crucial positions in the deep.””The grass on the wicket helped us and the new ball swung too. I think both teams bowled well in the first six overs. We were in the game for quite some time and even our spinners did well in these conditions. But I think since dew took over, the ball didn’t grip as we would have liked, particularly the cutters. With Rohit Sharma set in the wicket we also couldn’t bowl too full at him. I think we gave away 15-20 runs extra towards the end. If we could have had Rohit Sharma earlier, we may have stopped them for around 135-140.”In three out of the last five overs, India scored in excess of ten runs with one Mustafizur over going for 21 runs. Rohit and Pandya added 50 runs in the first 13 minutes of their fifth-wicket partnership, and ended with adding 61 runs in just 4.3 overs. By contrast, Bangladesh had only one over in the last five of their chase in which at least ten runs were scored. Sabbir Rahman, despite being dropped in the 11th over like Rohit – though it was a tougher chance for Pandya off his own bowling – couldn’t kick on as he tried to manufacture shots. Rohit on the other hand mostly played his natural game and succeeded.Mashrafe said that they lacked partnerships and the ones they did conjure had to be done at a faster rate. “We should have had some partnerships going from the start but we also had to consider that in T20s, it becomes harder if we try to build a partnership, particularly in a chase.”I think something like 15 runs is just a matter of one over but because those early wickets really hurt us. If we had wickets in hand towards the end, 15 or 20 runs in an over would have helped us,” he said.Bangladesh next take on the UAE on Friday against whom they would be expected to win. The forward-thinking method made them look stronger and more confident, so it should not be overruled by a safety-first approach. Bangladesh have long been in the back of the line when it came to getting on with the T20 bandwagon. Wednesday was one way to show that they can be bolder.