All posts by n8rngtd.top

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Mar-2015However, Kyle Coetzer joined by Matt Machan extricated Scotland from the early losses and steadily rebuilt the innings with a 78-run stand•AFPCoetzer then switched to top gear as Scotland plundered 50 runs off the batting Powerplay•Getty ImagesAided by cameos from Preston Mommsen and Richie Berrington, Coetzer kicked on to record Scotland’s first World Cup century•Getty ImagesHe was finally dismissed for 156 in the 45th over, holing out to deep midwicket•Getty ImagesHowever, that did not prevent Scotland from scooting to 318 for 8•ICCSoumya Sarkar, who was bumped up to open in the absence of the injured Anamul Haque, fell in the second over of the chase•Getty ImagesTamim Iqbal, though, rattled along at a brisk rate to keep his side in the hunt•Getty ImagesHe added 139 with Mahmudullah – the highest partnership for Bangladesh in World Cups•Getty ImagesScotland then hit back, dismissing both the set batsmen. To make matters worse, Anamul was ruled out of batting after dislocating his shoulder while fielding•AFPMushfiqur Rahim, however, diffused the tension, making 60 off 42 balls•AFPThough he couldn’t stay till the end, Shakib Al Hasan brought his experience to the fore, clawing the equation down to 30 off 30 balls•AFPSabbir Rahman gave him good company as Bangladesh sealed their highest ODI chase with 11 balls to spare•Getty Images

Be it breaking a world record or refusing an offer to play for his country, Charles Coventry has always been one for making a statement. So what has the batsman been up to since leaving Zimbabwe’s structures in 2013?

Firdose Moonda12-May-2015Charles Coventry used to regard his bat the same way a writer does a keyboard. It was for making his statements.The most common statement was the lofted drive, his signature stoke introduced in 2002, when he topped Zimbabwe’s run charts at the Under-19 World Cup. The most powerful statement was a world record, blasted in August 2009, when he hit what was then the highest individual score in ODIs, 194 not out. The most defiant statement came five years later in 2014, when put the bat away and refused Zimbabwe Cricket’s offer to rejoin the national squad ahead of the World T20.Now Coventry has dusted the machine off and is ready to start typing again, in a different font.”There were times in the past when I just used to go out and swing at everything but I feel that now my game is more controlled. I actually feel I am batting better than I ever have,” Coventry told ESPNcricinfo.The proof does not lie in his recall to the national team after a four-year absence, because Coventry does not have domestic statistics to back up his return. He has not played in Zimbabwe’s structures since 2013. It lies in the more measured, mature outlook Coventry has on the game, which he learned through stints at club level.He has been part of a Dubai’s Wings SRT XI and Johannesburg’s Wanderers. With them, Coventry has been part of teams that have won the league. The former was a job, where Coventry played as an overseas professional, the latter a hobby while he set himself up as a resident in South Africa.Since January, Coventry has been coaching cricket at the King Edward VII Preparatory School, the junior school of King Edward High School, which produced players like Jimmy Cook, Neil McKenzie and Graeme Smith. Down the road, at St Johns, Stuart Matsikenyeri has a similar position. Matsikenyeri was recalled for the World Cup and Coventry made contact with Zimbabwe shortly after to discuss the possibility of a comeback to the highest level, albeit in limited capacity.”I can’t go back to Zimbabwe permanently because I have a full-time job but I jumped at the chance to be involved somehow, especially with 20-over cricket,” Coventry explained. It’s not very dissimilar to the many freelance T20 cricketers who play across various premier leagues, but are limited to one country. “My plan is to go up a few days beforehand when there is a series, train with the squad and play a few games. I also plan to play in the Zimbabwe domestic T20 competition.”The World T20 next year is in his sights, but only peripherally so. Instead, it’s just the opportunity to play some international cricket and contribute to a Zimbabwean set-up that is making strides towards recovery following years of stagnation and strife.Coventry doesn’t mind even if he is “just there doing throwdowns in the nets”•AFP”From guys I’ve spoken to, it sounds as though things are really moving in a positive direction. There’s a good bunch of players and a good environment with Alistair Campbell back, trying to make things better for the players,” Coventry said. “That’s great for Zimbabwean cricket because it has a lot to offer. It would be good to be part of that.”Coventry, like Chris Mpofu and Vusi Sibanda, is being called on to be part of that because Zimbabwe are adding experience to their ranks in the absence of Brendan Taylor. Coventry, however, does not see himself in the same league as the former captain.”A lot of the younger guys have played a lot more than me so I don’t think of myself as a senior player but one of the things I hope I can bring is to be a good team man with good team ethics. If I don’t play a game and I’m just there doing throwdowns in the nets, that’s also fine.”If he does take the field, Coventry has promised he will not just be brandishing the bat like the way he used to with a microphone, but will use it as an instrument to play a slightly different tune. “I’ve been training really hard and been working on some technical things – there used to be talk about how I approached the short ball and that’s something I’ve concentrated on,” he said”I am not going there to prove any point or to try and be the best player in the world or to chase statistics or anything like that. I don’t want to make a big thing of me making a comeback. I just want to be the best that I can be. If it doesn’t work out, that’s fine.”Another statement, but this time, a quiet one.

As a technical advisor with Oman for the World T20 qualifier, former England cricketer Derek Pringle has been sharing tips with the side to get them to play smarter cricket

Peter Della Penna in Malahide23-Jul-2015A year ago, Derek Pringle might have expected to be sitting at Cardiff and Lord’s in the middle of July in his longtime role as the correspondent for the . But, in his own words, the former England Test player was “made redundant in the winter” and, as so often is the case, an opportunity curiously opened in the most unlikely of places.”One of my mates from Essex, John Stephenson who is head of cricket at the MCC, and Pankaj Khimji [director of Oman Cricket Club] approached me in February and said Oman have been to this stage of major competitions before and never proceeded any further,” Pringle told ESPNcricinfo ahead of Oman’s elimination clash against Namibia on Thursday at Malahide. “Can you help us out try and get to grips with British conditions, and I said sure.”So instead of giving his take on Ashes tussles, he was hired as a technical advisor for Oman at the World Twenty20 Qualifier in Ireland and Scotland. After going winless in the group stage in 2012 during their last trip to the qualifier in the UAE, Pringle has been along for the team’s ride and they are now one win away from reaching the World T20 after notching three unlikely wins in Scotland during the group stage.Pringle looks a bit sheepish when asked if he has been the magic ingredient for the team’s turnaround in fortunes between 2012 and now. Instead he says he’s offered a few tips to a group of some genuinely talented players who have been eager to listen.”I’ve offered suggestions and wanted them to play smarter cricket,” Pringle said. “T20 cricket is all about making the right decisions under pressure. It’s a game where you’ve got to get on with it and be aggressive. There’s aggression that’s controlled and there’s aggression that’s madness, and we want the former. I’ve spoken to them and sometimes they forget themselves but generally they’ve listened hard and tried to put things into practice.”Oman narrowly lost to Kenya by seven runs in their first match of the tournament, but bounced back against Canada by chasing 134 in 11.2 overs. They stunned Netherlands courtesy of a brilliant late-innings spell from Munis Ansari to set up a simple chase and then put in their best effort to date with a 40-run win over Afghanistan.”I must admit that I didn’t know much about Canada’s bowling but I said to Zeeshan Maqsood after that knock [86* against Canada] that I don’t think Chris Gayle could have played a better knock than that. He lost six balls in the river at Stirling. It was immense hitting and a fantastic knock that got us away in the competition. Munis Ansari is a bit of an unusual bowler like Lasith Malinga with a bit of a low arm but very controlled. He had a bad game against Scotland but generally he’s been very consistent.”In the game against Canada the batting fired, the game against Netherlands the bowling fired and in the game against Afghanistan, both aspects fired. So I’ve told them that’s the game we want to try and replicate. They used their brains there, batted well to get a competitive score, and then bowled and fielded like demons.”Pringle says though he was hired specifically as a technical advisor to assist the team in British conditions for this tournament, he would be open to any offer the team may put forward to keep him on board for the tournament in India should they qualify. Either way, he says despite not having “all of the [coaching] badges you need these days”, he is happy to pass his knowledge on.”It’s fresh ground for me but I always say to people it’s not rocket science. I might not have a computer program but I understand the game of cricket. I’ve enjoyed it thoroughly and it’s been an interesting experience.”

Former India coach John Wright remembers his professional relationship with Jagmohan Dalmiya, saying what a ‘tough’ and ‘fair’ boss he was

John Wright22-Sep-2015I am very sorry to hear about Mr Dalmiya’s passing away and as I look back at our time together when I was coach of India, he was probably the best boss I have worked for. He was a tough but fair boss. On the first day that I was in the job with India, Tony Greig said to me that Mr Dalmiya is a very powerful man in Indian cricket and it was ironic because he wasn’t even the president [of BCCI] then. I had been hired by Mr AC Muthiah. The next thing I heard when he came to power in 2001 were rumours that he wanted to sack me and [physiotherapist] Andrew [Leipus]. I met him for the first time when we went to Delhi for a long interview with him, two hours, in a hotel suite.At the end of it, I’ll never forget what he said to me. His exact words were, “I’ve heard a lot of things about you but you’re quite tough. I think we could work together.” He asked me to put a report together about what Indian cricket needed and I spent a lot of time on it. He always wanted you to report personally to him. I had to fly every month to see him and we got to know each other well over the next four years. A lot of people said a lot of things about Mr Dalmiya, but you take everyone for what you see and he was a great boss to work for.I remember early on while working together, we were on a tour of the West Indies. They were 400 something for 3 and Gautam Dasgupta, the manager, handed me the phone and said “it is the president.” We were sitting in the pavilion in Georgetown, Guyana and Mr Dalmiya came on the phone and said, “John, what is going on?” I can’t remember what I said, something like, “We have to do better, Mr President.”In those days I think failure wasn’t tolerated whether you were a captain or coach or even administrator, you needed to win, or things changed very quickly. There weren’t other types of cricket, it was just international cricket and the success of the Indian team was very, very important. Mr Dalmiya was a big part of that era and while he gave both Sourav [Ganguly] and me support, he was a staunch supporter of Sourav but he also wanted the results.The thing I loved about him as a boss was that he never interfered, but you knew very well where you stood with him. He didn’t interfere with me about how to coach, you just had to report and let him know what was going on. He was hands off in that respect and we gained a great friendship and respect for each other. It is why I say he is probably the best boss that I worked for, in terms of not telling you how to do your job, but telling you what was expected.During one of our meetings just before the team left for the 2003 World Cup, he wished me good luck and said, “if you don’t come first or second we might not be meeting again.”When we reached the final, I was re-employed, and to me that was okay, because we used to joke about it. We knew there was a lot at stake, that it was important that the team did well. He cared about the team very much and he cared about Indian cricket. But he was pragmatic enough to know that if things weren’t going well, then something would have to be done and it would probably start with the coach.We had that understanding that it was business and it was important for India and for the Indian cricket team. He understood that performance was important, that is wasn’t just about talking the good game, you had to get the results there. We would joke about it but it was real. He used to say, “well I might have to show you the door,” and I would say, “if things don’t go well, you will have to show me the door.”When I finished with India, he came over from Calcutta to attend a presentation in Delhi and he didn’t usually do that a lot, it was a nice gesture. We kept in touch irregularly over the last few years and I heard about his return to the top of the BCCI again and you would never underestimate him and his political ability in Indian cricketing circles.I had a lot of time for him, I enjoyed working for him because he was tough but he was fair. And he always did what he said.

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Nov-2015Imrul Kayes then anchored the innings with an attacking 76 that included six fours and four sixes•AFPKayes was eventually dismissed off a full-toss from Sean Williams, leaving the score at 151 for 5 by the 32nd over•AFPNasir Hossain and Sabbir Rahman tried to give the side a strong finish but Bangladesh eventually ended at 241 for 9•Associated PressZimbabwe got off to a horror start with a top-order collapse that reduced them to 45 for 3 by the ninth over•AFPElton Chigumbura once again tried to revive Zimbabwe’s innings..•AFP..building a 73-run partnership with Sikandar Raza, after Zimbabwe lost Sean Williams and Craig Ervine•Associated PressChigumbura was dismissed for 47 in the 36th over and Zimbabwe were eventually bowled out for 183 in 44th over, as Bangladesh sealed their fifth successive bilateral series win with a 58-run victory•Associated Press

Stats highlights from the sixth round of Ranji Trophy 2015-16 matches

Bharath Seervi10-Nov-20150:54

Ojha claims 11, while Prem becomes season’s top-scorer

10,005 Runs by Wasim Jaffer in the Ranji Trophy. He became the first batsman to complete 10,000 runs in the history of Ranji Trophy in Vidarbha’s first innings against Bengal. He reached the milestone when he scored his seventh run of the innings. At the end of the sixth round, Jaffer has aggregated 10,005 runs in 197 innings at an average of 57.50, with 35 centuries and 41 half-centuries. He scored 9759 of his Ranji runs for Mumbai from 1996-97 to 2014-15, and 246 runs for Vidarbha in this season. The next highest run-scorer in the tournament is Amol Muzumdar with 9202 runs at an average of 51.40 – he retired after the 2013-14 season. Mithun Manhas comes next with 8345 runs at average of 49.37 – he is still active on the domestic circuit.7 Number of double-centuries for Paras Dogra in the Ranji Trophy. He equalled Ajay Sharma’s record of most double-centuries in the Ranji Trophy with his knock of 227 for Himachal Pradesh against Services . Surendra Bhave, Abhinav Mukund and Ashok Malhotra come second with six double-centuries. Dogra scored his maiden double-century in the 2011-12 Ranji season, scoring his seven across just five seasons. In these five seasons, no other batsman has scored more than three 200s – Cheteshwar Pujara, Abhinav Mukund and Ravindra Jadeja scored three each.2 Number of Ranji Trophy seasons in which Paras Dogra has scored two or more double-centuries. He has scored two double-hundreds this season (209* and 227), and he did so in the last season as well (230* and 204*). He is only the second player after WV Raman to score two or more double-centuries in two different Ranji Trophy seasons. Raman scored three (313, 200* and 238) in 1989-90 season and two (206 and 226) in 1991-92. Dogra will enter another exclusive club is he scores another double-century in this season. Only Raman and Dheeraj Jadhav (2003-04) have scored three double-centuries in the same Ranji Trophy season previously.16-154 Jalaj Saxena’s match figures for Madhya Pradesh against Railways. He took 8 for 96 in the first innings and 8 for 58 in the second innings. His figures of 16 for 154 are the joint second-best figures in the history of the Ranji Trophy. The best figures are 16 for 99 by Anil Kumble for Karnataka against Kerala in 1994-95. Pradeep Sunderam also took 16 for 154 for Rajasthan against Vidarbha in 1985-86. This was the third time Jalaj Saxena took 10 or more wickets in a match in his first-class career, and he has 11 centuries as well. He averages 38.68 with bat and 32.38 with ball in first-class cricket.7-58 Pragyan Ojha’s figures for Bengal against Vidarbha. These are his best innings figures in the Ranji Trophy, and in first-class cricket overall. His previous best figures were 7 for 114 for Hyderabad against Rajasthan in 2006-07. He took 4 for 60 in the second innings to finish with match figures of 11 for 118, which are his best match figures in first-class cricket and his maiden ten-for in the Ranji Trophy. He took two ten-fors previously in his first-class career: 10 for 89 for India against West Indies in Mumbai in 2013-14 (and he hasn’t played any Test match since then) and 10 for 90 for Surrey against Derbyshire in 2011.8053 Runs scored by Robin Uthappa in his first-class career. He reached 8000 first-class runs during his innings of 148 for Karnataka against Odisha. His 8053 runs have come in 119 first-class matches (199 innings) at an average of 41.51. This was his 19th first-class century.6-32 Navdeep Saini’s figures for Delhi against Maharashtra, his maiden five-wicket haul in the Ranji Trophy, in 10 matches. His previous best figures were 4 for 48 for Delhi against Rajasthan earlier this season.6-39 Arup Das’ figures for Assam against Haryana. He bettered his previous best first-class figures of 6 for 87 for Assam against Jammu & Kashmir in the 2012-13 season.40 Number of wickets taken by Vidarbha’s Akshay Wakhare this Ranji Trophy season. He has surpassed Ravindra Jadeja’s 38 wickets to become the leading wicket-taker this season. The last bowler to take 50 or more wickets in a Ranji Trophy season was Ranadeb Bose (57 wickets) in 2006-07. Vidarbha have two more matches before the knockouts, meaning Wakhare has the chance to reach 50 wickets even if his team doesn’t qualify for the next stage.200 Number of Ranji Trophy wickets for Rishi Dhawan, and first-class wickets for Kamlesh Makwana. Dhawan got to this landmark playing while for Himachal Pradesh against Services, and Makwana for Saurashtra against Goa.38 Number of times Vinay Kumar has captained Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy. He eclipsed Erapalli Prasanna’s feat of captaining Karnataka the most times in Ranji Trophy (37). Prasanna led Karnataka to 18 wins, compared to Vinay’s 17, but Karnataka have lost only two matches under Vinay compared to four under Prasanna. Both Vinay and Prasanna have lead Karnataka to two Ranji Trophy titles.2008-09 The last time Delhi were unbeaten throughout a Ranji Trophy season. In six matches this season, Delhi have won three and drawn three, and are toppers in Group A. They have two more matches to play in their group. In the 2008-09 season, they won two matches and drew five of the seven group games and couldn’t qualify for the knockouts. In the season prior to that (2007-08), they had lifted the trophy without losing any match throughout the season.

He can bowl offspin and he can bowl left-arm spin. He is also a handy batsman. Meet Akshay Karnewar

Nagraj Gollapudi17-Jan-2016A week ago, Himachal Pradesh captain and allrounder Bipul Sharma was trying to chase down Vidarbha’s 183 in a crucial league match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20. The winner would earn a ticket to enter the Super League.Bipul, a left-hander, was facing Akshay Karnewar, the 23-year-old Vidarbha left-arm spinner, who he dealt with effortlessly. Then Karnewar told the umpire he was switching to right-arm offspin. ? [How can this be possible?] He [Bipul] was absolutely shocked,” Ravi Thakur, Karnewar’s room-mate, says.”Sorry, what?” is an expression frequent among those who have faced the nearly six-foot tall Karnewar. Ever since his first coach, seeing him bat left-handed, instructed him to bowl left-arm spin, Karnewar has posed doubts in the minds of batsmen and umpires with his double act.Ambidextrous spinners are a rarity in cricket, and bowling with both arms is something that has only been tried in international cricket for a bit of light relief. But despite his freakish ability, Karnewar remains modest.He is a quiet individual. His room-mate Thakur, the Vidarbha fast bowler, pitches in and prompts Karnewar to point out how much of an “important” player he is. “Tell them why you are a player a team should pick. Even if there is a left-right combination, it is an advantage for you with your skills to move the ball out to both. The opposition might think you are a left-arm spinner, so let us send in a left-hander, but you can move to bowling right-arm offspin and spin the ball away from the left-hander,” Thakur points out. Karnewar smiles modestly.Karnewar originally started as a right-arm offspinner when he took up cricket seriously as a 13-year-old. His coach then, Balu Navghare, having noticed that Karnewar was doing everything else with his left hand – batting, throwing, everything except writing – encouraged him to try bowling left-arm spin, too. It took Karnewar about two years to feel comfortable bowling left-arm, since when he has bowled with both arms.Another turning point came around 2008, when Karnewar, who comes from Pandharkawda village in Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district, attended the Vidarbha Cricket Academy selection trials conducted by the former Mumbai wicketkeeper Sulakshan Kulkarni. Kulkarni motivated Karnewar to bowl in BCCI-organised tournaments, boosting his confidence and providing support.Soon he would play the DY Patil Twenty20, a tournament that features a number of Indian players. This was followed by trials for Rajasthan Royals, about five years ago – Karnewar does not recollect the exact year, but he was not picked.Karnewar is a good batsman as well, and again Thakur says he gets far less credit than he deserves. Thakur recollects the Vijay Hazare Trophy match against Odisha in Delhi where Vidarbha fell short by four runs chasing 227 for victory. Karnewar made 72. “Chance batting [I don’t get much of a chance to bat],” Karnewar says with a smile.Although he is nearly six feet tall, Karnewar delivers the ball with a flattish arm action, without imparting much turn. “My aim always is to maintain a wicket-to-wicket line, bowl dot balls, increase the pressure on the batsman, and I feel that will get me the wickets,” he says.Karnewar reckons his ambidexterity gives him the psychological edge. “There is the doubt in the batsman’s mind where he might think, ‘If he bowls offspin the ball will come in, and if I pad up to him, I could get bowled.’ Also in limited-overs cricket, I can wrap up the overs quickly.”Karnewar has for the first time registered himself for the IPL auction, but he is not disappointed that no IPL franchise has come forward to recruit him so far. “This is the first time I am playing [for Vidarbha] at the senior level [in Vijay Hazare and Syed Mushtaq Ali]. No one knows about my talent. The more I play, the more it will be reflected, and I would imagine people would take notice.”

Karnewar originally started as a right-arm offspinner when he took up cricket seriously as a 13-year-old. His coach, Balu Navghare, having noticed that Karnewar was doing everything else with his left hand encouraged him to try bowling left-arm spin

Former Mumbai and India fast bowler Paras Mhambrey, who is Vidarbha’s coach, says he would like to see Karnewar grow. According to Mhambrey, Karnewar is “not a big turner” of the ball and pitch conditions play a key role in his success.”It is a very different craft that he possesses,” Mhambrey says. “Somewhere down the line it would be interesting to see him bowl against the top guys. Maybe a couple of years down the line, after he plays a lot more cricket, matures, then we could see him out there. It is a little too early to push him at a level like the IPL.”Mhambrey wants Karnewar to focus on becoming more lethal with his offbreaks, and plans to bowl him more in the Ranji nets to make him sharper.Thakur prompts Karnewar to go back to the close defeat against Baroda in the first match of the Super League two days previously. Hard-hitting allrounder Hardik Pandya snatched the match from Vidarbha’s grip with a 20-run blast against medium-pacer Ravi Jangid in the 15th over.Asked what he would have bowled to Pandya, Karnewar says: “I would give him a single by pitching short of length outside the off stump. He was ready to step out and hit. But I would have my cover back, giving him no chance to hit over the inner circle.”Two overs before Pandya cut loose, Karnewar had kept Yusuf Pathan in check. Yusuf had hit Jangid for a six when Karnewar came on to bowl. “My plan was to vary my speed, because if I pitched on one length, he would easily hit me.” Yusuf wanted the big hit, but Karnewar did not offer him width or length. Trying to hit over midwicket, Yusuf was beaten by the slow pace of the delivery in flight and bowled.If Yusuf faced left-arm spin, his brother Irfan had to deal with offspin. “He said, , offspin,'” Karnewar says. After the match Yusuf praised Karnewar, and asked: [You bowl well with both hands or what?]”

Three West Indians, two Englishmen, Indians and Kiwis, and one each from Bangladesh and Afghanistan make up our team of the tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Apr-20162:18

Match Day – Mahela Jayawardene, Ian Chappell and Ajit Agarkar pick their players of the tournament

How’s this for a scary T20 team?1 Rohit Sharma, 2 David Warner, 3 AB de Villiers, 4 Steven Smith, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Mohammad Amir, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Imran Tahir.Before the 2016 World T20 began, imagine the odds on none of those players being part of the best XI of the competition? A combination of challenging pitches, muddled tactics, and bad form, however, resulted in just that, and an unconventional crew outshone the majority of the pre-tournament headliners. Here’s the XI our votes threw up:1. Mohammad Shahzad (wk) – 222 runs, 140.50 strike rate
The Afghanistan opener’s pugnacious hitting played an important role in his team making the Super 10s, where his assault on a hapless South African attack was one of the most memorable moments of the tournament. Shahzad may not be the sprightliest fielder so he’ll take the wicketkeeping gloves.2. Kane Williamson (capt) – 123 runs, 105.12 strike rate
Won all his tosses in the group stage, read pitches with precision, was ballsy enough to leave out Tim Southee and Trent Boult, and scored his runs in the toughest batting conditions any team had to face. Under Williamson’s leadership, New Zealand were the best side in the Super 10 group stage, until they lost the semi-final to England. He’s here for his captaincy – was a poor tournament for captains, wasn’t it? – having just pipped Jason Roy to the second opener’s slot. You can’t pick a player who didn’t captain in the tournament as captain, can you?3. Virat Kohli – 273 runs, 136.50 average, 146.77 strike rate
Fearsome numbers. So far above his team-mates. Master of the chase. Let’s move on.4. Joe Root – 249 runs, 146.47 strike rate
Runs batting first, and runs batting second. Elegant runs, and fast runs. Stunning catch to turn a must-win group game, and two wickets in an over in the final. He did everything England could have asked of him.5. Jos Buttler – 191 runs, 159.16 strike rate
Activate beast mode, and there are few more destructive batsmen at the moment than Buttler. With him at the crease, England can score anything.6. Andre Russell – 91 runs, 142.18 strike rate; 9 wickets, 7.87 economy
Smashes the ball as hard and far as anyone, bowls a brisk pace, and is swift on the field. Dumped favourites India out of the tournament. Russell now has a second World T20 title, to go with his IPL, BBL, BPL, PSL and CPL trophies.7. Carlos Brathwaite – 57 runs, 203.57 strike rate; 4 wickets, 8.05 economy rate
Six. Six. Six. Six. “Carlos Brathwaite! Carlos Brathwaite! Remember the name!” roared Ian Bishop. “History for the West Indies.”8. Mitchell Santner – 10 wickets, 6.27 economy rate
Bamboozled India. Was an integral part of New Zealand’s unbeaten run in the group stage, taking key wickets and curbing the run rate. Santner’s left-arm spin helped him edge Ish Sodhi out of the XI, because another legspinner had no rival.9. Samuel Badree – 9 wickets, 5.39 economy rate
A legspinner who barely turns his legbreak. Deadly accurate. Often bowled in the Powerplay. Delivered in every game.10. Mustafizur Rahman – 9 wickets, 9.55 average, 7.16 economy rate
Slower cutter, faster cutter, fuller cutter, shorter cutter. The Fizz foxed them all. A shining light in a dark campaign.11. Ashish Nehra – 5 wickets, 5.94 economy rate.
Took 1 for 20 three times, worst figures of 1 for 29, and went for only 1 for 24 when West Indies were pulverising India at the Wankhede. Bowling during the fielding restrictions, 36-year old Nehra used all his smarts to escape a thrashing. David Willey lost out by one vote.

Stats highlights from the first ODI at Trent Bridge where England managed to salvage a tie from the final delivery

Bharath Seervi21-Jun-20163 Number of higher totals in a tied ODI than the 286 runs in this match. England and New Zealand tied with 340 runs apiece in Napier in 2007-08, India and England both made 338 in Bangalore in the 2011 World Cup and New Zealand and India tied at 314 in Auckland in 2013-14. Others to hit a six to tie an ODI, before Liam Plunkett in this ODI, are Asif Mujtaba against Australia in Hobart in 1992-93 and Michael Rippon against Ireland in Amstelveen in 2013.1 Number of quicker half-centuries for Sri Lanka against England in ODIs than Seekkuge Prasanna’s, off 24 balls, in this match. Thissara Perera made fifty in 23 balls at Premadasa Stadium in December 2014. In the last ODI against Ireland, Prasanna had reached his half-century from 23 balls en route to a 46-ball 95. In these two innings, Prasanna has increased his ODI average from 9.19 to 15.08 and his strike rate from 80.75 to 110.86.94.91 The percentage of Prasanna’s runs that came in boundaries – 56 out of 59 – is the joint-fourth highest in an ODI innings of 50 or more runs. The highest in this case is 96.15% by Andre Fletcher (50 out of 52 in boundaries) against Bangladesh at Basseterre in 2009. In fact, Prasanna scored 56 successive runs in boundaries. He took two singles at the start of the innings and then hit eight fours and four sixes before getting another single and then losing his wicket.3 Number of batsmen who have scored two consecutive 50-plus scores at a strike rate of 200-plus in ODIs. Prasanna scored 95 at a strike rate of 206.52 against Ireland in the last ODI and 59 at 210.71 in this ODI. The other two to do so are: Elton Chigumbura against Kenya in 2009 and Brendon McCullum against both England and Australia in the 2015 World Cup. Prasanna is the third Sri Lanka batsman after Sanath Jayasuriya and Thissara Perera to make two 50-plus scores at a strike rate of 200-plus in ODIs. Prasanna is only the third batsman to do it in ODIs against England; all three being non-English players.73 Angelo Mathews’ score in this match – his highest in ODIs against England. This was his fourth half-century in 18 innings against them and his second in England.2009 Last time four of England’s top-five got out for single-digit scores in an ODI innings – against New Zealand at the Wanderers in the Champions Trophy. The nine runs added by England’s top three is also the least added by them against Sri Lanka in ODIs.1 Number of higher seventh-wicket partnerships in ODIs than the 138 added by Jos Buttler and Woakes in this match. Buttler was involved in that stand as well – 177 with Adil Rashid against New Zealand at Edgbaston in 2015.2 Number of times Buttler has been out in the 90s in ODIs. Before his 93 in this match, he was out for 99 against West Indies in Antigua in 2013-14. Alec Stewart is the only other England wicketkeeper to get out in the 90s in ODIs, and he was also out twice.95* Woakes’ score in this match, which is the highest by a player batting at No. 8 or lower in ODIs. The previous highest was 92 not out by Andre Russell against India in Antigua in 2011. Woakes also took 2 for 56 with his bowling and was adjudged the Man of the Match – his second in ODIs.2013 Last time Sri Lanka scored fewer runs in the last ten overs (41st to 50th) of an ODI than the 61 runs in this match (on occasions when they batted all 60 balls) – they made 54 against India at Cardiff in the semi-finals of the 2013 Champions Trophy. Sri Lanka made 49 runs in three overs (31st to 33rd) and then just 98 runs in their next 17 overs (34th to 50th).

New Zealand began the fourth day in Indore way behind but still determined not to give up. By the end of the day, they finally parted ways with their spirit, allowing India to savour the fruits of their hard work

Sidharth Monga in Indore11-Oct-20161:42

Agarkar: New Zealand approach made Ashwin’s job easier today

Test cricket is a difficult place; you fight and fight session after session, but then you happen upon days like the fourth day in Indore when everything begins to seem easy. It’s like enjoying that last stretch of the marathon when you know nobody is going to chase you down. You can relax, you can let your thoughts wander, you can contemplate what you are about to achieve, think of all the training and the hard work, plan your celebrations. On Tuesday in Indore, as New Zealand finally gave in, India got to enjoy that home stretch where everything went to plan. They didn’t even have to keep at those plans for long. That, though, began later in the day.When you take a 258-run first-innings lead and bat again primarily to let the pitch deteriorate more, it can make for two-three sessions of cricket where you can look away, read the newspapers and wait for the declaration. Teams stronger than New Zealand have played the waiting-for-declaration game because there is no motivation left for them, but the morning session featured one final push from New Zealand. There were soiled shirts from desperate dives, direct hits, fielders running in from long-on and deep midwicket to back up throws. New Zealand were not going to roll over and die, they were not going to let India race away to a declaration. Every economical over would mean less time to survive, though it was anyway going to be a massive ask whenever they were going to begin batting one last time.It wasn’t quite a lark in the park for India’s batsmen. There was one man with an injured shoulder, just given a career lifeline through injuries to two other openers. There was no way he was going to stroll through this. The next Test is almost a month away; the other openers are liable to regain fitness, so Gautam Gambhir had this last chance to press a claim. There was another man who has suffered because, of late, he has not converted his struggles on the team’s behalf into big innings for himself. Cheteshwar Pujara wanted a century after having failed to convert ten scores of over 20 and six over 40 into hundreds.The New Zealand resistance had to break at some point. Having retired hurt on day three, Gambhir came back to get himself a fifty to go with his 29 in the first innings. Pujara showed power and deft touches to finally get to his hundred. Virat Kohli, the captain who might have put him under pressure earlier, duly waited for him to get to that landmark and declared immediately after. It wasn’t all easy, as Pujara’s soiled shirt, from dives to make his crease for the runs he wouldn’t always take, showed.Then, given 45 overs plus a day to survive, New Zealand finally parted ways with their spirit. Suddenly, it all became too easy. Every plan India might have made in the lead-up to the series or on the fly began to work as if to provide them a highlights reel.All series, India’s quicks have gone around the wicket to try to trap Tom Latham lbw, falling over and on the crease. All series, Latham has proved a hard nut to crack, the only New Zealand batsman to reach 50 in each of the Tests. Mohammed Shami is the man to execute this plan as he did it in Kolkata, but here, Umesh Yadav did it, only more emphatically. Latham just missed a straight ball on the angle.Kane Williamson resumed one final duel with R Ashwin just before the tea break. Ashwin has left the cut open for him, getting him bowled twice when he has tried to play that shot. This time, he opted for a silly point, which meant he had one man fewer on the leg side, only five now. Williamson hit him for two boundaries there. Ashwin came back after tea with the original plan, just the slip, cover and mid-off, reinforcing the leg side, taking away the freedom Williamson had exercised earlier. Soon enough, he went back, played circumspectly and was out lbw. Out to Ashwin all four times he has batted, all four times off the back foot.Ross Taylor came out hitting like he had nothing to lose. He hadn’t. He played some excellent shots that might have put India on the back foot if they weren’t so far ahead. You wondered if it would have made any difference if Taylor had played so freely with the games in balance. Then again, would he have been able to enjoy this freedom, which nothing to lose brings, when the games are actually in the balance?Taylor used his feet well, drove gracefully, picked gaps, but then a small field change brought about his dismissal. He had just driven a full Ashwin offbreak through cover for four. Ashwin packed that area. One ball later, Taylor chose to hit into the leg side, and was bowled when sweeping. Ashwin’s farewell celebration suggested it had been too easy.Martin Guptill has had a wretched series. Not being the most comfortable batsman against spin, he didn’t need the added misfortune of getting out caught because his boot lobbed the ball up, bowled off his elbow, and run out by the bowler’s unintended deflection on to the stumps at the non-striker’s end when he had actually batted well to score a half-century. He resisted for 60 balls here, but fell to the old Ravindra Jadeja strategy: bowl at the stumps, let some turn, let some go straight on. Guptill lbw to the straighter one.By now, the word had spread in Indore that India could wrap the match up on the fourth day itself. The smallest crowd of the Test soon swelled into a rambunctious appeal and celebration almost every ball. Catches began to fly exactly where fielders were placed. The only ball that stayed low hit the stumps too. New Zealand’s batsmen, after all their desperate fight, started playing crazy shots. Ashwin and Kohli began to work the crowd. This was the time to savour all the hard work. To plan your dash towards the stumps you want as souvenirs as soon as the last wicket falls. One home Test series down, three to go.