After hitting his fifth T20I ton, Rohit starred again in the Super Overs to wrap up India’s clean sweep

Sidharth Monga17-Jan-20243:53

Takeaways: Relief for Rohit, spin-allrounder conundrum for India

Rohit Sharma became the first man to five T20I hundreds, as he took India from 22 for 4 to 212 for 4 through their highest partnership in T20Is, with Rinku Singh. It was not enough. He came out again to hit two sixes in the first Super Over, and then seemingly retired himself out to get a better runner at the non-striker’s end. Still not enough. He had to – and was allowed to – come back again and hit a six in the second Super Over too.This time, the valiant Afghans ran out of gas, hitting two short-of-a-length legbreaks straight to long-off to end a dramatic night still without an international win against India despite their highest score when chasing, despite stunning batting from Gulbadin Naib and Mohammad Nabi, and despite a great start with the ball in regulation time.Don’t let them tell you it was just a dead rubber of a bilateral series. Things happened that you don’t often see. Nabi and Rahmanullah Gurbaz ran overthrows off the body on the last ball of the first Super Over, leaving Virat Kohli incensed and clapping in Nabi’s face.Related

• Rohit Sharma becomes the most prolific T20I centurion

• Ball-by-ball: Rohit and Rinku set the Chinnaswamy on fire

Minutes later, with two required off the last ball, Rohit, the non-striker, walked off to allow Rinku to take up the running duties. But Yashasvi Jaiswal’s bottom edge went only as far as the wicketkeeper, and the second tie necessitated another Super Over. Within one ball, Rohit was ready to bat again, which, under point 22 of Appendix F of the playing conditions, should have only be allowed if Rohit had earlier retired with an injury or illness or “any other unavoidable cause”.India were now batting first. So one ball later, Rohit smoked Fareed Ahmad, India’s tormentor with the new ball in regulation time, for a six and a four. If Rohit did indeed get away with one there, he would probably think he was owed one after a clearly high full toss earlier wasn’t called a no-ball. Or after the umpire kept him waiting on 0, following his two ducks earlier, by calling leg byes when he had hit the leather off a ball on a leg glance. The match, though, twisted more as Fareed got Rinku out on review and then Rohit ran himself out trying to steal a bye.Avesh Khan, who had gone for 55 in the main match, and Ravi Bishnoi, who had conceded 38, then warmed up throwing one ball at each other. When India saw two right-hand batters come out, they went to Bishnoi’s legspin, who didn’t repeat the earlier mistake of bowling too quick. He kept it slow and back of a length, and Nabi and Gurbaz just couldn’t impart enough power in their attempts to hit sixes.Nabi, especially, had batted like a dream during his brief stay in the main match. He hit three sixes in the 16 balls he faced to give a fledgling chase the kickstart it needed. In overs 15 and 16, he scored 31 of the 34 runs, as the spinners, Kuldeep Yadav and Bishnoi, went flatter and quicker when under the pump.Gulbadin Naib’s unbeaten 55 took the contest to Super Over•BCCI

Washington Sundar then did the opposite. He bowled slow and away from the batters’ reach. It is like going against every natural instinct when you are under fire. He reaped rewards for it when he bowled the 17th over without a boundary, and also had Nabi caught at deep cover.Then Karim Janat, who had conceded 36 in the last over of India’s innings, got out immediately. The Afghan worm was still higher than India’s, but they needed 44 off 14. That’s how brutal the last few overs with the ball had been for Afghanistan. Now was when Naib found pace on the ball, and nearly ran away with the match with some sensational hits. The last of his sixes brought it down to five required off the last two.Mukesh Kumar, who would bowl straight yorkers successfully in the first Super Over, kept going for wide ones in the 20th over of Afghanistan’s innings, but got away with two hittable balls in the end. A weak throw from Rinku allowed Naib to come back for the second to level the scores.Not that the straight yorker is the only unequivocal option. Afghanistan bowlers tried a few of those and went for 103 in the last five overs, the highest in a T20I outside one Nepal vs Mongolia match. However, even that game was no match for the 58 India took in the last two overs.As it turned out, India needed every last one of those runs after the start they had had. On a pitch that started off tacky, Fareed and Azmatullah Omarzai made full use of the variable pace and movement out of the surface. Amid frequent miscues, India’s intent remained aggressive. Jaiswal skied towards deep midwicket trying to go over long-on, and Kohli and Sanju Samson bagged golden ducks trying to attack short-of-a-length balls. Omarzai got the better of Shivam Dube with three inswingers followed by one that nipped away.India players pose with the trophy after beating Afghanistan 3-0•BCCI

After the new-ball bowlers did through the powerplay, legspinner Qais Ahmad extracted grip and turn from the same surface later. He even extracted an lbw decision against Rinku, but on review, UltraEdge recorded a faint inside edge that naked eye missed even on slow-motion replays. Had Rinku not got it overturned, it would have left India at 49 for 5 in the ninth over.What followed might tempt some to use as vindication for the conventional method of a slow start – Rohit reached a run a ball only in the 12th over, and then followed an explosive acceleration as he smashed 93 off the last 35 balls he faced – but it wasn’t like Rohit had dropped anchor. He had tried all kinds of shots, including five reverse sweeps, which is four more than he has ever tried in a T20 innings. His first reverse-swept six in T20 cricket took him to 40 off 36, the first time his runs outnumbered the balls faced.Once he found that six, Rohit broke free. He began taking liberties, starting out by targeting the debutant Mohammad Saleem. He just began to shuffle to off to target the leg side. If the ball happened to be in the slot, he went over midwicket or down the ground; if not, he manipulated the field.It was vintage Rohit with a little help from his friend Rinku. Rohit dominated the first part of the slog overs, managing to nudge good balls into gaps for fours, and monstering errors in length. And once your good balls are nurdled for fours, those errors tend to increase. Rinku ended the innings with three consecutive sixes to give Rohit’s innings just the impetus it needed, but little would Rohit have known that he would need to play two more pretty special knocks in the night just to win this match.

South Australia had been well-placed before a middle-order wobble but Ben Manenti ensured against a full collapse

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff01-Mar-2024South Australia and NSW were both been left satisfied but not fully content following an even opening day of their Sheffield Shield clash in Sydney.South Australia were in control early at 128 for 2 as Nathan McSweeney and Thomas Kelly posted fighting knocks before Ben Manenti resisted later in the day with an unbeaten half-centuryBut NSW hit back to limit the damage, ensuring their hunt for a spot in the Shield final remains alive. McSweeney’s innings was ended by a superb running catch from Daniel Hughes.NSW sit fourth on the ladder, and need to beat both South Australia and Queensland to have a chance of snaring a top-two berth.Chris Tremain, Jack Edwards, Chris Green and Jack Nisbet shared the bowling success.”I think everyone bowled very well today, especially the way we started,” Nisbet said. “During the middle overs when there was a partnership, I like the way we really stuck at it. To have them eight down at the end of the day, I think we’ll all be happy with that.”Kelly was disappointed South Australia didn’t make the most of their promising start, but felt the day ended evenly.”It’s probably a pretty even day – to not get bowled out after being dobbed in,” he said. We were definitely in front there…so to lose a couple is disappointing. The game is definitely in the balance. Hopefully Benny and Spence can push on tomorrow and get us towards 300.”For 23-year-old Kelly, the day was special after he posted his maiden first-class half-century in what is his sixth appearance.”I’ve been in and out [of the side] over the last few years, so it’s nice to finally get a bit of a run of it, and get past that first fifty,” he said. “Hopefully it flows from there.”

Australia’s captain said her side were challenged by Bangladesh’s bowlers in tough conditions

Andrew McGlashan05-Apr-2024Alyssa Healy was left delighted with the experience and knowledge her team were able to take away from the tour of Bangladesh with an eye on the T20 World Cup later this year.Australia completed a cleansweep of the visit, their first in bilateral cricket, with a 77-run victory in the final T20I and it was the fourth time their bowling attack kept Bangladesh to under 100. They will return in late September to defend the T20 World Cup title and Healy believed the trip ticked plenty of boxes.Related

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“Everyone in the squad is taking something home that they can work on for when we come back here in September, so it’s been hugely worthwhile for us,” Healy said. “The results went our way but from a big picture perspective, and what we’re building towards in September, October, I think we got everything we possibly could out of this series.”The tour was concluded with two players returning from long-term injuries, Tayla Vlaeminck and Sophie Molineux, taking player of the match and series awards respectively. Vlaeminck took a career-best 3 for 12 while Molineux finished the T20I series with six wickets at 8.33 as the pair all-but assured their places at the World Cup.”It’s obviously great to have someone like Tay back, she’s a real point of different within world cricket, with the sheer pace she bowls with, and Soph Molineux’s consistency is outstanding so they’re both real attributes to our side,” Healy said.Tayla Vlaeminck made a mark on her return to Australia duty•Getty Images

“We’ve had different players of the match and different players of the series across the two series, so that’s been really pleasing as well. Everybody’s standing up and when they need to, and grabbing opportunities which is cool.”Although the margins of victory were convincing in all six matches, Healy felt her team had been put under pressure by the home side. In the first ODI they were 48 for 4 and 146 for 7 before the lower order lifted them to a strong total and in the final T20I had to work hard to post 155 from being 98 for 5.”In particular with the ball they [Bangladesh] challenged our batting line-up,” she said. “They will be a real threat come the World Cup. Home conditions are a real advantage and I think the team will fly under the radar a little bit. They’ll be really dangerous for some of the top sides.”The conditions, especially the heat, also pushed the visitors with Healy prepared for more of the same at the World Cup although did not expect the pitches early in the tournament to offer the extreme turn seen at times in this series. Australia will split their matches between Dhaka and Sylhet which was not part of this tour.”We’ve heard it [the heat] will be even worse come September, October so we’ll have to wait and see what it throws at us there,” Healy said. “Naturally being an ICC event, I think the wickets will start out being really good then probably tire throughout the tournament.”1:59

Nigar credits parents for helping girls follow cricket dreams

Kim Garth, who took five wickets in the two ODIs she played, and legspinner Alana King did not feature in the T20I series as Australia used just 12 players in three games. King has not played a T20I since the last World Cup in South Africa although will likely retain her spot as back-up to Georgia Wareham. The experienced Jess Jonassen was the significant omission for this tour while Darcie Brown was ruled out with a stress fracture of her foot.The central contract list will be announced early next week while the players themselves now have time off following a hectic season which included series against West Indies, India and South Africa alongside the WBBL and, for many, the WPL.They will return to action with a T20I series against New Zealand in September as a lead-in to the World Cup, which will be followed straight after by the WBBL. They then host India in December and travel to New Zealand before Christmas ahead of the multiformat Ashes in January.”We’ve got a great break now. Our group is looking forward to going home and having a little bit of time off and a great opportunity to refresh and actually get ourselves right for the back end of the year, which is a huge summer for us,” Healy said.

The Rajasthan Royals captain engaged the on-field umpires in a prolonged conversation after third umpire Michael Gough had ruled him out

ESPNcricinfo staff08-May-20243:17

Why the decision to give Samson out was the right one

Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson has been fined 30% of his match fees for breaching the IPL’s code of conduct during his team’s match against Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday.Samson was found guilty of a Level 1 offence under Article 2.8 of the code of conduct, which relates to showing dissent at an umpire’s decision. He admitted to the offence and accepted the match referee’s sanction.Related

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Samson, who top-scored for RR with 86 off 46 balls, was out in the 16th over of their chase of 222, caught at long-on by Shai Hope off the bowling of Mukesh Kumar. Hope took the catch close to the boundary edge, and briefly stumbled before regaining his footing. Unsure of whether or not his foot touched the boundary cushions, the on-field umpires called on TV umpire Michael Gough, who adjudicated that Hope took the catch cleanly.Samson then engaged on-field umpires KN Ananthapadmanabhan and Ulhas Gandhe in a prolonged conversation before leaving the field.The dismissal was a key moment in the match, with RR’s hopes of overhauling their target resting largely on Samson’s shoulders – they needed 60 off 27 balls before he was dismissed.Out or not out? Shai Hope’s catch of Sanju Samson had the jury divided•BCCI

RR head coach Kumar Sangakkara empathised with the third umpire for having to make a tricky call.”It depends on replays and angles, and sometimes you think the foot’s touched,” he said at his post-match press conference. “But it is a difficult one for the third umpire to judge. The game was at a crucial stage, so that happens in cricket. We have different perspectives on it. At the end of the day, you have to stand by that decision in terms of what the umpires did. If we have any other kind of opinion on it, we will share it with the umpire and sort it out. But irrespective of that dismissal, we still should have probably seen that game home.”Capitals assistant coach Pravin Amre hailed Hope for managing to recover his balance to complete the catch.”In IPL some moments are very crucial, and it [Hope’s catch] was a deciding moment in the game,” Amre said. “Sanju was batting so well. We have to give credit to the way Hope judged that catch, he balanced himself [well] with that. Umpires are there, and there is so much technology. Once he is given out by the third umpire, it was more [clear]. We also thought from the dugout that he has [touched the boundary cushions] but it [happens] in the game, and the umpire’s decision is the final decision. It wasn’t an easy catch, it was really travelling. After the game also I spoke [to Hope], he anticipated that very well, but he said the ball came very, very fast.”

Punjab Kings posted 214 on the back of a solid fifty from Prabhsimran, but SRH hunted it down with five balls to spare

Andrew Fidel Fernando19-May-2024
Prabhsimran Singh and Atharva Taide put on 97 for the first wicket off 55 balls, Rilee Rossouw hit 49 at a strike rate above 200, and Jitesh Sharma provided the closing fireworks, with 32 not out off 15. They set Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) 215 to win.And still it wasn’t enough for Punjab Kings (PBKS). Not nearly enough to halt the batting juggernaut that SRH have been in IPL 2024. They lost their best batter Travis Head first ball, but raced through the powerplay thanks to Abhishek Sharma and Rahul Tripathi, who hit 66 off 28 and 33 off 18 respectively, propelling the team to 84 for 2 at the end of their first six overs.From then, the scoring didn’t really slow until the target was within sight. Heinrich Klaasen led SRH to the brink of victory with 42 off 26. The winning runs were hit with five balls to spare.Dare we say something about the bowlers? Only SRH’s T Natarajan escaped with decent figures, taking 2 for 33.SRH now move into second on the points table. That they would finish their and play the Qualifier 1 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) was confirmed after Rajasthan Royals’ last league match against KKR in Guwahati was washed out.1:55

Should Rahul Tripathi play the playoffs for SRH?

Abhishek lights up Hyderabad one last time in IPL 2024

In what was their last home game this season, Abhishek gave the SRH faithful a show to remember a batting-powered season by. He smashed his first two sixes over fine leg, when bowlers delivered short-of-a-length balls into the body, and went on to hit six sixes in all, in addition to five fours. Most of these relied on excellent timing, but there was luck there too – one of the sixes came off the outside edge.He sped past 50 off 21 balls, but this was only his third-fastest half-century this season – he had hit fifties off 16 and 19 balls in the weeks gone by.Abhishek’s 72-run partnership with Tripathi, which came off 29 balls, was the foundation of SRH’s chase. Even after they were parted, the required rate seemed tame.

Klaasen plays a measured innings

As good as Abhishek’s fireworks were, SRH still needed 86 off the last 59 balls after he was out, and Klaasen delivered one of his more chilled-out innings. He still hit sixes when it felt good, of course, the most spectacular being the back-foot six down the ground off the bowling of Harpreet Brar, who had just delivered a standard length ball outside off stump.But as wickets fell around him, it needed someone to take responsibility and massage the chase home. Klaasen was bowled by Brar with SRH needing seven to win off 11 balls. But he had got them close enough.3:03

‘Punjab should hold on to their Indian players’

Prabhsimran and Taide’s opening mayhem

PBKS had reason to hope they would get a closing win for this season, though, and finish outside the bottom two, mainly because of the start they had in the game. Prabhsimran was outstanding on the leg side, hitting all his four sixes there in his 71 off 45. Taide made 46 off 27.

A match-defining four overs

There was something of a slowdown after Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, the young legspinner from Jaffna, took Prabhsimran’s wicket in the 15th over. Although Jitesh finished strong, perhaps overs 15 to 18 (both inclusive) was when PBKS lost their way. They had been 151 for 1 at the start of that passage, looking poised to push 250. By the end of the 18th over, they were 186 for 5.

England coach says team must block out outside noise and focus on two crucial points

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jun-2024Matthew Mott, England’s head coach, says he hopes that Josh Hazlewood was joking about the prospect of Australia manipulating an early exit for the T20 World Cup defending champions, but admits his team can do little else but focus on victory against Oman on Thursday and hope the ongoing debate about run-rate calculations ends up falling in their favour.England were a distant second-best to Australia in their meeting in Barbados last week, and having endured a washed-out opening fixture against Scotland – who have since won two from two – they are no longer in control of their destiny in Group B, a situation which echoes their tame and early exit from the 50-over World Cup in India before Christmas.Even England’s own back-to-back victories over Oman and Namibia may not be sufficient to overturn their sizeable NRR deficit to the Scots – a point which Hazlewood highlighted when he suggested that Australia could be tempted to “knock it around and drag it out” when they themselves face Scotland in Group B’s final match in Antigua on Sunday.Such a tactic would echo Steve Waugh’s infamous go-slow against West Indies at the 1999 World Cup – when the target for elimination on that occasion had been New Zealand – but it would come with the risk of a two-match ban for their current captain, Mitchell Marsh, if Australia were deemed by the umpires to have contravened Article 2.11 of the ICC’s code of conduct, which pertains to the “inappropriate strategic or tactical” manipulation of matches.But Mott, who coached Hazlewood during his time at New South Wales, played down the comments as an example of his “tongue-in-cheek” sense of humour.”I think I know Josh pretty well and I know his integrity,” Mott said. “He has got a very good sense of humour and I am hoping it was very much tongue-in-cheek. I actually don’t think it is ever going to play out. Having grown up in Australia, and the will to win every game, I am sure they will come to the fore. I am very much hoping it was an offhand remark by a really good bloke who is having fun.”Either way, the potential for a run-rate rumpus is the sort of distraction that England could do without, given their lack of fluency in the tournament to date. Even before the Scotland match was abandoned, they had been notably off the pace with the ball in conceding 90 wicketless runs in ten overs, and the pressure to perform to the standard expected of defending champions is ramping up again, especially in light of their grim display in their 50-over defence last year.Related

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“Regardless of any outside noise about qualification, run-rates, all that sort of stuff, essentially, we’ve got to win this game and we’ve spoken a lot about that,” Mott said. “We’ve played good T20 cricket for a while now. It didn’t quite come off against Australia last game but I think we’ve got our structure in place, we’re really confident. Those who saw us train yesterday, you can see a buoyant group, up and about, that’s ready for the challenge ahead.”To offset any run-rate shenanigans, England need to beat Oman and Namibia by a combined margin of 117 runs (or the equivalent when chasing), thereby hauling their net run-rate above Scotland’s, so that only a surprise defeat of Australia can prevent them from progressing. But first things first, England must defeat a team that Scotland themselves saw off with 41 balls to spare in a pointedly fast finish in Antigua on Sunday.”We’re treating this game with Oman in isolation,” Mott said. “They’ve got our full attention. If we get into a position where we’re in a dominant position and can push hard, we will. If we have to scrap and fight and get the two points, we will as well. So, we’ll just keep an open mind, as we always will.”But essentially, we want to play that brand of cricket. I think we had glimpses of it the other day. I thought we started well with the bat, but to get a full performance in is really important. Get that on-field confidence. I think we’re really close, but obviously it’s been a bit of a disjointed tournament so far.”

He posted on social media that he would be “open” to next year’s tournament in Pakistan

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jul-2024David Warner has again left the door ajar to appear in next year’s Champions Trophy despite announcing his international retirement over the last 12 months.Warner retired from Test cricket in January when he also announced that last year’s ODI World Cup was his final outing in the 50-over format, but talked of being available for the Champions Trophy if he was needed. Last month his international career ended with Australia’s exit from the T20 World Cup.Related

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However, in an Instagram post reflecting on his career, Warner made another reference to the Champions Trophy which will be staged in Pakistan next February and March.”I will continue to play franchise cricket for a while, and I am also open to playing for [Australia] in the Champions Trophy if selected,” he posted.It is a highly unlikely scenario given Warner will not be available for any of Australia’s matches in the lead-up to the tournament. They tour England in September for ODIs then face Pakistan in November when Jake Fraser-McGurk, who Warner has endorsed as his successor, will be one of the frontrunners to come in at the top of the order. Back in January, Test and ODI captain Pat Cummins responded to the prospect of Warner making a one-off return for the Champions Trophy.”I think it’s probably time to give some others a crack [in ODIs], but knowing that he’s going to still be playing cricket,” he said. “So it might be more of a kind of break glass in an emergency option. But, you know, David is going to be scoring runs somewhere in the world. So you never quite know that this is [the end].”Warner finished his ODI career with 6932 runs at 45.30 with 22 hundreds, a tally second to only Ricky Ponting.”Chapter closed!! It’s been an unbelievable experience to play at the highest level for such a long period,” Warner began his Instagram post. “Australia was my team. The majority of my career was at the international level. It’s been an honour to be able to do this. 100+ games in all formats is my highlight.”I want to say thanks to everyone out there who has made this possible. My wife and my girls, who sacrificed so much, thank you for all your support. No person will ever know what we’ve been through. For all the cricket fans out there, I truly hope I have entertained you and changed cricket, especially tests, in a way where we scored a bit faster than others. We cannot do what we love without the fans, so thanks.”Warner will be in action in Canada’s GT20 and a T10 tournament in the Cayman Islands over the coming months while Sydney Thunder remain confident of seeing him return for the BBL although he also has a deal with Dubai Capitals in the ILT20 which overlaps and commentary commitments.

After playing just five Tests in the last two and a half years, he could play six in the next two months

Daya Sagar06-Sep-2024Imagine being a frontline spinner from a country that is known to produce world-class fast bowlers. Imagine then touring a tough place like India and grabbing a historic all-ten in only your 11th Test. Now imagine still not becoming a frontline spinner for your team and getting to feature in only five of the next 19 Tests your team goes on to play. That’s the life of left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel.The saving grace is that whenever New Zealand have toured Asia since his ten-for, Ajaz has played in all four Tests. Ajaz is aware of team combination and conditions, but isn’t it still a bit disappointing to hardly get to play in other countries?”If you ask all New Zealand spinners, it is difficult,” Ajaz said, three days before the one-off Test against Afghanistan in Greater Noida. “Sometimes, you don’t get as many opportunities at home because of our home conditions. But it breeds more hunger when you do come to conditions like this, and you know conditions that are spin-friendly and you’re quite hungry to get out there and put your best foot forward.Related

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“But it’s really important that you do prepare accordingly and prepare well. So it’s just about going into these games and really enjoying the conditions and making the most of it.”We are in a professional environment and, for us, it’s really important to just go out there and continue to work on our game and keep improving. After the ten wickets, you’re a little bit disappointed to not get as many opportunities but at the same time it’s still about growing your game and it’s an opportunity to develop and grow. Since my ten wickets, I have somewhat remodelled my run-up. So it’s always about improving and making sure that you are ready whenever that next opportunity comes and put your hand up.”After playing just five Tests in the last two and a half years, Ajaz could now go on to play six in just two months. After the Afghanistan Test, New Zealand will fly to Sri Lanka for two Tests and then return to India for three more. Form and fitness permitting, it could be a one-of-a-kind opportunity for Ajaz because once they leave India in November, their next trip to Asia for Tests, according to the Future Tours Programme, is in February 2027.”It always depends on conditions and on form and you making sure you play well,” Ajaz said of the possibility of playing all six Tests. “So you don’t take it lightly. But it is a great opportunity as a spinner with so many games in Asia. So it’s something that I’m looking forward to and pretty excited about.”Another opportunity Ajaz has is to pick the brains of former Sri Lanka left-arm spinner Rangana Herath, who will be New Zealand’s spin-bowling coach till the Sri Lanka series.”If you look at me and you look at Rangana, we are pretty similar in terms of our build and body types,” Ajaz said. “While developing and growing my spin, I watched him with a lot of admiration. So really, really special to have him here, and for me, it’s a great opportunity to spend some time with him and understand how he crafted spin bowling. He was obviously very, very successful and a phenomenal bowler, so it’s a great opportunity for me personally to learn from him.”

Kamboj’s performance was among his most impactful yet in a nascent first-class career

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Sep-2024Haryana seamer Anshul Kamboj’s career-best haul of 8 for 69 and Ruturaj Gaikwad’s second half-century of the match were the major highlights on a dull fourth day in Anantapur, as India C’s second Duleep Trophy 2024-25 fixture petered to a tame draw.Having begun the day on 309 for 7, India B were bowled out for 332 with Kamboj picking up all three wickets to fall. Abhimanyu Easwaran, the India B captain, carried his bat through and was unbeaten on 157 as his side conceded a 193-run lead early on the final day.At this point, it seemed certain only India C could force a victory if they wished to. They instead decided to settle for the first-innings honours and were at 128 for 4 after 37 overs when both captains decided to shake hands.Kamboj’s performance was among his most impactful yet in a nascent first-class career. Coming into his 15th game, Kamboj hadn’t taken more than three wickets in a single innings previously. His eight-for in Anantapur brought him the second-best figures by a fast bowler in Duleep Trophy history, behind Debasis Mohanty (10 for 46).India C lost B Sai Sudharsan early when Mukesh Kumar had him bowled for 11. Gaikwad and Rajat Patidar put on 96 for the second wicket, Patidar hitting 42 to go with his first innings 40, before falling to Musheer Khan’s left-arm spin.Rahul Chahar, the legspinner, then had first-innings centurion Ishan Kishan for 1, followed by Gaikwad’s scalp in his very next over. The only blip for India C in this game was a leg injury to pacer Sandeep Warrier, which led to him hobbling off after just 1.1 overs.Manav Suthar, who picked up a match-winning seven-for in the first round of matches, went wicketless in this game. His figures read: 33-4-85-0. Musheer, the player of the match last week for his 181, managed just 1 while Sarfaraz Khan, asked to play in this fixture before linking up with the Indian Test squad in Chennai, managed 16.

India A gather healthy lead after India D are skittled out for 183

Shashank Kishore13-Sep-2024Khaleel Ahmed’s India career hasn’t quite taken off, but a decent IPL opened the doors for a white-ball return in Zimbabwe in July for the first time since 2019. Now, Khaleel is working his way back up to a steady diet of first-class cricket.The ongoing Duleep Trophy fixture is only his 14th since his debut in 2017, and with Yash Dayal having leapfrogged him to the Indian Test squad for Bangladesh, Khaleel had another opportunity to impress. On Friday, he built on his five wickets from the opening round to pick up another three first-innings wickets to give India A control.Having added just two runs to their overnight 288 for 8, India A bowled out India C for just 183, with Khaleel turning in a superb spell of swing and seam bowling to finish with 3 for 39.While he just bowled eight overs, he managed to create opportunities and kept batters guessing with his late movement and lift. He dismissed Atharva Taide with a wicked inswinger that he shouldered arms to off the third ball of the innings and then had Shreyas Iyer for a seven-ball duck in his second over.Iyer, seemingly troubled by the away-movement and a short ball that he somehow managed to sway out of, fell as he lobbed a full delivery to mid-on, unable to fully commit to the shot because he had been hanging back in the crease.Khaleel’s third was Zaheer Khan-esque for the angle he managed to create from around the stumps as he bent one back in late to strike Ricky Bhui on the pads. Bhui was overbalanced and was trapped plumb in front.File photo: Devdutt Padikkal scored 92 of India D’s total of 183 all out•PTI

Khaleel’s fire from one end was matched by the intensity of young Uttar Pradesh quick Aaqib Khan. Just 12 first-class games old, Aaqib isn’t express pace but makes up for that with his control and minute deviations off the pitch. In what is possibly his most high-profile first-class appearance so far, Aaqib remained unfazed by the quality of batters up against him.One of his three wickets early in his spell was that of the returning Sanju Samson, whose stay lasted just six deliveries as he miscued a pull to mid-on. Aaqib finished with 3 for 41.For India D, only Devdutt Padikkal was among the runs, a punchy 92 filled with sumptuous cover drives and a solid back foot game, especially off his statemate Prasidh Krishna, who bowled a lot better than his figures of 11-4-30-1 suggest.Prasidh had the last laugh, however, when he had Padikkal with one that decked away sharply to take the edge through to the wicketkeeper. Padikkal’s 92 came off just 124 balls with wickets falling around him. He hit 15 boundaries in his knock.Having taken a 107-run lead, Mayank Agarwal and Pratham Singh tucked into a tired attack to hit half-centuries late in the day, before an innocuous delivery from Iyer had Agarwal tamely lobbing a return catch in the dying moments of play.