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The wider sporting world has allowed athletes to play with the virus, but the league is adopting more stringent protocols

Nagraj Gollapudi18-Mar-2023Even as sporting authorities worldwide are permitting athletes to participate in events despite testing positive for Covid-19 over the last year, the IPL has decided to stick to its 2022 policy of asking players with the virus to go through a week-long isolation period before rejoining their teams.While the season will no longer need to operate out of a bio-secure bubble, which had been mandatory for the three years since the pandemic, the IPL has said it wants to be “careful” and players testing positive will not be allowed to participate in a match or in training until they return consecutive negative tests, the earliest of which can be taken on day five of recovery.”While there has been a decline in the number of Covid-19 cases in India we still have to be careful of the emerging strains which are becoming a concern at regular intervals,” the IPL’s medical guidelines, which were distributed to franchises this week, say. “Positive cases must be isolated for maximum seven days. Positive cases will not be allowed to participate in any match or any form of activity/event during the period of isolation.”From day five, they can undergo a RT-PCR, provided they must be must be asymptomatic without any medication for 24 hours. Once the first result is negative the 2nd test must be done 24 hours apart. Only after obtaining two negative RT-PCR tests 24 hours apart i.e. day five and day six, can they rejoin the group.”The IPL pointed out that testing will be carried out only for those actually showing signs of Covid-19, not for those who are asymptomatic. Any participant continuing to test positive even after day seven would need to present two negative tests 12 hours apart before rejoining the group.This is in contrast to the loosening of restrictions in dealing with Covid-19 cases in global sport including international cricket. Last August, Australian allrounder Tahlia McGrath became the first cricketer to play a match despite testing positive for Covid-19 in the Commonwealth Games T20 final against India.A few months later, at the men’s T20 World Cup, Mathew Wade, who had tested positive, was named part of the Australian team in the league match against England which was eventually washed out. In January, Australian opener Matt Renshwaw reported Covid-19 symptoms on the first morning of the New Year’s Test against South Africa in Sydney, tested positive before toss, but went on to play the match.The ICC has allowed players to participate in matches at global events including the CWG in England and the T20 World Cup in Australia last year. It remains to be seen, though, whether it will retain the same process during the ODI World Cup in India later this year.

There is a 90% chance of rain in Sydney which may put a damper on the opening match of the Super 12s

Deivarayan Muthu21-Oct-20223:23

Will Guptill find a spot in the NZ XI? Do both Milne and Ferguson play?

Big picture

Less than one year after New Zealand were blown away by Australia in the 2021 T20 World Cup final in Dubai , the two teams come together once again, this time to launch the main draw of the 2022 T20 World Cup at what will be a packed SCG. However, with the La Niña weather event in play there is a 90% chance of rain in Sydney, which could potentially play spoilsport.New Zealand’s warm-up fixture against India was also washed out though it was in Brisbane earlier this week. They will also have to contend with the injury-enforced absence of Daryl Mitchell – one of their heroes from the 2021 T20 World Cup – who is racing against time to be fit for the game against Afghanistan on October 26 at the MCG.Fast bowlers Lockie Ferguson and Adam Milne are also working their way back from injuries and were hence managed carefully in the most recent T20I tri-series at home in Christchurch. Then, there’s New Zealand’s record against Australia in Australia, which hangs like Coleridge’s albatross around their necks. Zero wins in any format since 2011.Related

• Zampa: World Cup opener will get Australia's 'juices flowing'

• Wade Interview: I'm trying to develop a new shot every 12 months

• High chances of rain affecting Aus vs NZ, Ind vs Pak

• After thorny run-in, Australia hope for smooth start to title defence

In their quest to remedy that and maximise the powerplay, in particular, New Zealand have made the tough call of relegating Martin Guptill to the bench and bumping Finn Allen up to the top along with Devon Conway. Allen is one of the most exciting short-format players currently, boasting a powerplay strike rate of 156.48 – the best among all batters who have played at least ten innings during this phase since his T20I debut in March 2021.1:31

Williamson: Both Ferguson and Milne bring something different

The selection headaches don’t end there. New Zealand will have to choose between Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi and Michael Bracewell, the Wellington Firebirds batting allrounder who has shown that he can do the job as a bowling allrounder too. It is very unlikely that all three can find a place in the same XI.Australia have also had their fair share of issues in the build-up to the World Cup, but their appear in much healthier shape, despite losing spare wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis to a golf injury. Matthew Wade, Josh Hazlewood and Adam Zampa have all excelled in T20 cricket over the past 12 months. Throw in the finishing skills of Tim David and the pedigree of David Warner at the top, and you have the ingredients of another title-winning side.If it comes down to a truncated shootout on Saturday, Australia arguably have more depth and explosive power than New Zealand. However, one can never count New Zealand out at a global tournament.

Form guide

Australia LLWWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
New ZealandLWWWL

In the spotlight

The boundaries in Australia are bigger than the those in many other parts of the word. But they still might not be big enough for Tim David who has a bit of Kieron Pollard about his six-hitting. In addition to muscling the ball over midwicket, David is particularly good at hitting in the ‘V’ like his Mumbai Indians senior. His duel with Ferguson/Milne could set the pulses racing.John Cena’s Glenn Phillips‘ time is now. He only had a peripheral role to play in the last T20 World Cup but with Mitchell injured, he will be one of those asked to pick up the slack. Phillips is quite capable, his 360 degree game attracting the attention of T20 franchise owners all around the world. He is also a live wire on the field, can keep wicket and bowl some fastish offspin, if required.Everyone’s coming for the trophy in Australia’s hands•Getty Images

Team news

The sensational Cameron Green has found a way into Australia’s squad, but may not be able to make the XI, especially now that it looks like Marsh might just be available to bowl a few overs, if needed.Australia (probable): 1 Aaron Finch (capt), 2 David Warner, 3 Mitchell Marsh, 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Tim David, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Josh HazlewoodKane Williamson didn’t rule out the possibility of both Ferguson and Milne featuring in New Zealand’s XI. Bracewell emerged as the Player-of-the-(Tri)Series against Bangladesh and Pakistan earlier this month but might miss out if New Zealand opt for the experience of Santner and Sodhi and the batting insurance offered by Mark Chapman.New Zealand (probable): 1 Devon Conway (wk), 2 Finn Allen/Martin Guptill, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Glenn Phillips, 5 Michael Bracewell/Mark Chapman, 6 Jimmy Neesham, 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Tim Southee, 9 Trent Boult, 10 Lockie Ferguson/Adam Milne, 11 Ish Sodhi

Pitch and conditions

The pitch was under cover for most of Friday so Finch only got a brief look at it. He said it was on the drier side. Though the forecast is grim, the SCG recovers quickly from rain, which the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, says is likely to come in the afternoon and the evening.

Stats and trivia

• Williamson’s form has been iffy since the last T20 World Cup and his niggly elbow hasn’t helped him either. Since the final against Australia in November last year, he has managed only 420 runs in 20 T20 innings at a strike rate of 105.26.
• Boult could be New Zealand’s best bet to tackle Wade. The left-arm seamer has dismissed Wade three times in 23 balls in T20Is.
• No seamer has taken more wickets than Hazlewood (23) in the powerplay in T20 cricket in the past year. He has picked up 23 wickets in 32 innings at an economy rate of 6.20. Among all bowlers, only Sri Lanka’s Maheesh Theekshana is ahead of Hazlewood with 24 strikes, but he has had the benefit of 40 innings.

Quotes

“We haven’t thought too much about that. Nice to play against Australia first up, and it should be a good game.”

Home side dismissed for just 76 as Australia legspinner claims women’s Hundred first

ECB Reporters Network13-Aug-2022Alana King took the first hat-trick in the women’s Hundred as Trent Rockets comfortably beat Manchester Originals by 43 runs at Emirates Old Trafford.Fresh from a gold medal for Australia in the Commonwealth Games last weekend, King had a near-perfect day with bat, ball, and in the field, as spin dominated the low-scoring affair.Seven of Originals’ ten wickets fell to spin as they were bowled out in pursuit of 119, after Rockets’ Abbey Freeborn top-scored with an unbeaten 45 off 38 amongst a solid bowling and fielding effort from the home side.But it was King, who scored a quick 19 off nine, claimed 4 for 15 off 20 with the ball, and took a fantastic catch to round her performance off, who will rightly take the headlines.King dismissed Cordelia Griffith, bowled for 12, before Sophie Ecclestone was trapped lbw first ball. With the crowd anticipating something special, Originals’ captain Cross was the victim of the hat-trick ball, as a jubilant King wheeled away in celebration after bowling the England international.After being inserted, Rockets struggled with the bat in the absence of Australia overseas signing Meg Lanning, who is taking an indefinite break from cricket, as they slipped to 43 for 4 after 40 balls.Elyse Villani, standing in as Rockets captain for Nat Sciver, who missed the match for personal reasons, attempted innovation in her three-ball innings, but was out reverse sweeping Hannah Jones for just 4. Marie Kelly, Mignon Du Preez, and Bryony Smith also fell for low scores, as Originals captain Kate Cross utilised the fast-changing nature of the format to introduce all six of her bowlers within the first 30 balls of the match to great effect.Freeborn was the mainstay of the Rockets innings, using a mixture of power and deftness on her way to 45. She was assisted by King’s aggressive 19, including two big sixes over midwicket – the only maximums of the innings – to drag the Rockets to what looked an under-par 119 for 5.The wickets were shared around for Originals with former West Indies player Deandra Dottin’s 2 for 21 from 20 standing out in restricting the Rockets total.Recently retired former South Africa international Lizelle Lee got Originals off to the perfect start, hitting the first ball of the chase for six, and then followed that up with two more fours to take 14 from Katherine Brunt’s opening set of five.However, after Lamb was bowled by Kathryn Bryce for nought, it was Rockets’ spinners that made the key contributions. First, the dangerous Dottin was caught off King without scoring before Sarah Glenn took a spectacular outstretched one-handed catch to dismiss the dangerous Lee for 17. Glenn then struck with her first ball, getting New Zealand’s Amy Satterthwaite stumped.But it was King’s historic hat-trick that the sizeable Mancunian crowd will remember. Her near-perfect day wasn’t over either, as she took an excellent catch diving forward to dismiss Ami Campbell off fellow legspinner Glenn for 13.From there the Originals innings petered out, finishing in disappointing fashion with a run-out to leave them with a heavy 43-run defeat.

Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli backed him up with fifties against a depleted West Indies attack that struggled for consistency

The Report by Deivarayan Muthu04-Oct-2018
It was coming, wasn’t it? After racking up the records in school cricket and domestic cricket, 18-year-old Prithvi Shaw marked his Test debut with a commanding 99-ball hundred – the third fastest (in terms of balls) on debut. Shaw also became the youngest Indian – and fourth overall – to hit a century on debut. He smashed more records and a depleted West Indies attack at the SCA ground in Rajkot, where he had cracked a ton in his maiden first-class game in January 2017.The local boy Cheteshwar Pujara was happy to ride in Shaw’s slipstream – although he struck at 66.15 – and seemed set for a hundred of his own, but fell 14 short, when the other debutant Sherman Lewis had him nicking off. Captain Virat Kohli, returning to the side after being rested for the Asia Cup, made an unbeaten 72 off 137 balls to cement India’s dominance.Not so long ago, Shaw himself had admitted to his technique not being the most perfect. Yet, he’s found ways to thrive by trusting his strong back-foot strokeplay. This was on display in his first knock in Test cricket: he picked off 76 of his 134 runs in front of square on either side of the wicket.Shaw’s first runs came via a crisp back-foot punch through the covers, and his first boundary came via an even crisper back-foot punch through point. The punchy shots weren’t just reserved for the back foot. Shaw also crunched the ball on the up off the front foot whenever West Indies’ seamers overpitched. Having progressed to his first fifty off 56 balls, he cranked up the tempo further and raised his second off 43 balls. His celebratory fist pump perhaps wasn’t as punchy as his shots, but it still made Kohli and Rahane stand up and applaud in unison from the dressing room.KL Rahul, the senior opener, had fallen to a sharp inducker from Shannon Gabriel for a duck in the first over. The recent trend of Rahul falling to incoming deliveries has been of particular concern for India: he has now been out lbw or bowled in his last eight Test innings. He also burned a review when replays confirmed that the 143.5kph thunderbolt would’ve crashed into middle and leg.Pujara, for a change, didn’t have to grind for his runs. He eased himself in with three fours in four balls, including a trademark bottom-handed drive that purred away straight of mid-on. He even flicked a bottle of water out of his pocket and sipped coolly on it. A half-volley here, a half-tracker there, and West Indies were feeling the heat – both literally and figuratively – on a 39-degree day in Rajkot.That they were without three of their frontline quicks played a part. Alzarri Joseph continues to recover from a stress fracture of the back suffered late last year. Kemar Roach has not yet rejoined the team after leaving the tour following the death of his grandmother, and captain Jason Holder also pulled out with an ankle injury on the morning of the match. Kraigg Brathwaite led the visitors in Holder’s absence.West Indies, though, found some respite when Lewis removed Pujara to end a 206-run stand and Devendra Bishoo had Shaw chipping a return catch for 134 off 154 balls, two minutes before tea. The legspinner tightened up after the break and bothered Rahane with turn – or the lack of it. Rahane was also uncertain against the extra pace of Gabriel before unfurling a velvet-smooth straight drive off the fast bowler.At the other end, Kohli was more sure-footed, and kept his side ticking with risk-free shots. He was only beaten twice, in 137 balls, and his stand with Rahane grew to 105 before Chase found Rahane’s bottom edge with one that skidded away from around the wicket.West Indies took the second new ball in the next over, but Kohli and Rishabh Pant, who ventured a couple of aerial hooks, saw out the day without any further hiccups.

Another win for MS Dhoni’s men will take them a step closer to making the knockouts for the ninth time in as many seasons

The Preview by Akshay Gopalakrishnan10-May-20185:23

Hogg: Revamped bowling has worked wonders for CSK

Big Picture

Barring their return from a two-year absence, there are not many similarities between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings. CSK have mastered the art of pacing an innings, while Royals have repeatedly stumbled to sub-par scores. CSK are approaching the playoffs, while Royals are fighting to stay relevant in the race for the playoffs. There were questions about CSK’s ageing group of players, but they have held on to catches under pressure, while Royals’ season has been marred by costly drops.The contrasting results are down to critical differences. CSK identified their best combination early, and gave their players well-defined roles. Ambati Rayudu, the floater in the batting line-up, has had his best IPL season, while Shane Watson has provided them firepower at the top and tidy overs with the ball. And MS Dhoni has rolled back the years with his big hitting.Royals’ big players, on the other hand, have not fired like they can. D’Arcy Short has sunk from the highs of the BBL, while Ben Stokes and Jaydev Unadkat continue to search for form. To add to their concerns, captain Ajinkya Rahane has had a mixed season.A win for CSK on Friday will take them closer to the playoffs, and put Royals on the brink of elimination.

Form guide (last three matches, most recent first)

Rajasthan Royals: beat Kings XI Punjab by 15 runs, lost to Kings XI Punjab by six wickets, lost to Delhi Daredevils by four runs
Chennai Super Kings: beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by six wickets, lost to Kolkata Knight Riders by six wickets, beat Delhi Daredevils by 13 runs

In the news

CSK physiotherapist Tommy Simsek hinted that seamer Deepak Chahar, who was nursing a hamstring injury, could return against Royals.After playing just one match in IPL 2018, England quick Mark Wood has flown back home to prepare for the Test series against Pakistan that begins on May 24.

Previous meeting

Watson smashed the season’s then-fastest century, as CSK racked up 204 and then skittled Royals for 140.

Likely XIs

Rajasthan Royals: 1 Ajinkya Rahane (capt), 2 Jos Buttler (wk), 3 Sanju Samson, 4 Ben Stokes, 5 Stuart Binny, 6 K Gowtham, 7 Mahipal Lomror, 8 Jofra Archer, 9 Jaydev Unadkat, 10 Ish Sodhi, 11 Anureet SinghChennai Super Kings: 1 Shane Watson, 2 Ambati Rayudu, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Dhruv Shorey, 5 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 6 Dwayne Bravo, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 David Willey, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Lungi Ngidi, 11 Shardul Thakur

Strategy punt

There is a case for CSK to open their bowling with Ravindra Jadeja. Rahane has managed only 40 runs off 36 balls against left-arm spinners this season while losing his wicket twice in six innings.Short, meanwhile, doesn’t fare too well against offspinners. While he strikes at 147.8 against them, he averages 11.3 and has got out to them thrice in four innings.Rayudu is a prolific batsman in the Powerplay. He scores at 9.64 an over during this phase and has been dismissed only once in seven innings, while averaging 172. He has shown the tendency to cut loose after the first six overs. Royals, however, could counter that by bowling offspinner K Gowtham to him. With five wickets, Gowtham has been Royals’ most successful bowler in the Powerplay.

Stats that matter

• CSK have won four out of their last five games against Royals, and a former Royals player has had a decisive hand in each of the wins: Ravindra Jadeja won the Man-of-the-Match award thrice, and Watson once.
• Stokes has an interesting dynamic with Imran Tahir in T20s. While he has scored an average of two runs per ball against the legspinner, he has also lost his wicket twice in three innings to him.
• Dhoni is 63 runs away from completing 6000 runs in T20 cricket. He will become the fifth Indian batsman to the milestone, after Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir. Dhoni is also 79 runs away from completing 4000 runs in the IPL.

Fantasy pick

Buttler has peaked in the second half of the season with three successive half-centuries. Since he moved from the middle order to the top, Royals’ Powerplay run rate has shot up from 7.62 (the worst among all teams) to 10.39 (the best).Dhoni relishes facing this Royals attack. The CSK captain has faced 122 balls from them in all T20s and hit 200 runs while losing his wicket just twice. Overall, he strikes a boundary every 4.7 balls against them.

India will miss Yuvraj Singh, who is recovering from viral fever, and Rohit Sharma, who will join the team on match day when they face New Zealand in their first Champions Trophy warm-up match on Sunday

Nagraj Gollapudi27-May-2017Yuvraj Singh and Rohit Sharma will miss India’s first Champions Trophy warm-up match, against New Zealand on Sunday. Yuvraj is down with viral fever, while Rohit will join the squad on Sunday. Both are expected to be ready for India’s second warm-up match, against Bangladesh on May 30.Yuvraj and Rohit were the only two players to miss the two training sessions India have had in the last two days: Friday, at Lord’s, and Saturday, at The Oval.The BCCI sent out a medical update on Yuvraj, stating he was making “steady progress” after he woke up feeling crook on Friday morning. After undergoing tests, Yuvraj was advised rest. “The BCCI Medical Team confirms that Indian allrounder Yuvraj Singh who is presently down with viral fever is making steady progress,” a media release said. “There are no major health concerns and he is recuperating well, to the satisfaction of the medical team.”Rohit had got permission from the team management to attend a family wedding on Saturday. He was booked on a late night flight to join the team the next day.After the two warm-ups, India will travel to Birmingham, where they play Pakistan in their first match on June 4.

The costly drops and missed run-outs in the Galle Test have spurred West Indies to renew their focus on fielding in the approach to the second Test

Andrew Fidel Fernando21-Oct-2015The costly drops and missed run-outs in the Galle Test have spurred West Indies to renew their focus on fielding in the approach to the second Test, captain Jason Holder said. The visitors had reprieved Sri Lanka batsmen on at least six occasions – the costliest of which was the drop off Dinesh Chandimal on 11. The batsman went on to hit 151.After that match, Holder had suggest Sri Lanka’s total of 484 would have been significantly reduced if his team had held their chances. It is the area they have focused primarily on, during the four-day gap between games, he said.”In the last few days we’ve done a lot of analysing – we’ve looked at a lot of footage. We’ve come in the practice sessions in the last few days and paid a lot of attention to our fielding.”From my point of view, I think practice does a lot for fielding. When you get in the habit of doing something repeatedly it becomes the norm. That’s something we try to stress in the dressing room – to practice properly and do it in a sense that fits a game scenario. We try to replicate a match scenario in our fielding drills. We’ve picked up the volume of our fielding over the last few days, so hopefully we’ll be in better stead for this game.”West Indies batting had also faltered in Galle, with only two batsmen passing fifty across two innings. The visitor’s first-innings performance had been particularly disappointing, partly because each of the top 10 moved into double figures, but only Darren Bravo went on to hit a half-century. Holder said his top order had been urged to improve their shot selection.”We’ve done a lot of talking in the dressing room and different of batsmen come up with different things. I think it boils down to guys just digging a little deeper. We saw that we all got starts. It’s an opportunity for guys to put their heads down and dig a little deeper. I think that’s needed in the second Test match.”I think we’ve got to be selective and just to play to your personal game plan. Just said to the guys, ‘Be positive, but be selective.’ Once you’re selective and you’re patient enough you will get runs. It’s all about occupying the crease and spending as much time as possible.”Among those who did not spend time at the crease was Marlon Samuels, who collected 11 and a first-ball duck from his two innings in Galle. Samuels was also reported for a suspect action after the Test. Holder said Samuels’ role as a top order batsman who bowls offspin does not change for this Test, and backed him to come good with the bat. All reported bowlers can bowl in internationals until their action is found to be illegal.”Marlon’s just had a bad game – that’s Test cricket,” Holder said. “What’s important is for Marlon to come back stronger. He’s one of the guys who digs deep when his back is against the wall. I’m not saying that his back is against the wall now, but he obviously got two low scores in the last Test match. He’s quite eager to get in this second Test match and get a score for the team.”Garfield Sobers has arrived in the country ahead of the second Test, and will attend the match alongside former Sri Lanka captain Michael Tissera. The series trophy is named for both men. Holder hoped Sobers’ presence would spur his side.”I personally saw Garfield Sobers yesterday in the hotel lobby. It was inspiring to see him come all this way just to watch the series. I’m sure most of the guys know of his presence and know that he’s here. I hope we can go ahead in this Test match and win it for him.”

Pakistan batsman Ahmed Shehzad said he was happy with his consistency during the T20 series against Zimbabwe

Umar Farooq25-Aug-2013Pakistan batsman Ahmed Shehzad said he was pleased with his consistency after helping Pakistan win the T20 series against Zimbabwe with a record knock. Shehzad, who is making his third comeback to the national side in four years, hit two successive half-centuries, including the highest ever international Twenty20 score by a Pakistan batsman, to lead the team to their second win in as many days at the Harare Sports Club.”It is important to be consistent and I tried very hard to remain so,” Shehzad said. “In the first few overs, I did not get much strike and could have panicked, but then as my confidence built up, I was able to get on strike more often and hit good shots. Zimbabwe played some good cricket and now we will be looking forward to playing them in the ODIs.”Shehzad, who hails from a street near the Anarkali Bazaar in Lahore, was among a crop of the most promising young cricketers in the Pakistan set-up in recent years, and played at the Under-19 level with the likes of Umar Akmal, Mohammad Amir, Umar Amin, Junaid Khan and Raza Hasan. In last 12 List A matches played between 2007 and 2009, before his debut for Pakistan, Ahmed racked up five fifties and his form caught the attention of the then chief selector, Abdul Qadir. His career, however, has been under scrutiny following discipline issues.On Saturday, Shehzad smashed an unbeaten 98, after scoring 70 in the first T20. He hit six sixes during his innings, but missed out on a historic century, scrambling for a single off the last ball of the innings. He had a slow start and hit just one six in his first 20 deliveries, off Prosper Utseya in the first over. However, he began to accelerate after the wicket of Nasir Jamshed in the sixth over, reaching his fifty in just 42 balls and scoring the next 48 off just 22 deliveries, to finish with a strike-rate of 153.12. The performances helped him move up 41 places on the ICC rankings for T20 batsmen and he is now ranked 18th.Even though the runs came against a 12th-ranked Zimbabwe team that has been overshadowed by off-field issues in recent weeks, Mohammad Hafeez, Pakistan’s T20 captain, said that the batsman had fulfilled an important role for the side.”I am pleased to see Ahmed batting nicely throughout the series,” Hafeez said “We really need someone to hold the innings from the top and he is the one who gave us the result we wanted to achieve.”When Pakistan lost Jamshed for 23, they were 36 for 1 in 5.4 overs at a run-rate below seven. But Shehzad and Hafeez powered on, and shared an unbeaten 143-run partnership for the second wicket to give Zimbabwe a target of 180 runs, much to Hafeez’s delight.”We knew they (Zimbabwe) were very much capable of causing a set back for us, so every game was important for us,” Hafeez said. “We were thinking of getting around 150-160 runs on the board but Ahmed boosted our total and we knew we just had to bowl a disciplined line to clinch the match. The boys are very confident and have started trusting each other, which is something we’ve been trying to develop.”

Kings XI Punjab, slow starters in this IPL, broke through into the top half of the points table

The Report by Siddhartha Talya02-May-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Nitin Saini made his maiden Twenty20 half-century•AFP

Kings XI Punjab, slow starters in this IPL, broke through into the top half of the points table with what should have been a comfortable win over Royal Challengers Bangalore, who fell significantly short of the formidable target they looked good to set. Kings XI scaled down 159 amid some late panic that produced three run-outs, taking the game to the penultimate ball when it deserved a swifter ending.The platform for a successful chase was laid by youngsters Mandeep Singh and Nitin Saini, who batted assuredly, and stand-in captain David Hussey took them close with a fiery cameo. In the end, Piyush Chawla’s match-sealing six apart, Kings XI’s bowlers made the difference, with Praveen Kumar’s excellent opening spell and Azhar Mahmood’s economy at the death combining to undermine another Chris Gayle special and Virat Kohli’s return to form.Kings XI had no business losing with 13 needed off the last four overs. Not even after Saini fell trying to finish things off, miscuing a catch after scoring a half-century. Just one run came off the 17th over, and Mahmood was caught short in the next by an accurate throw from KP Appanna in the deep. Hussey followed when six were needed off nine, his dive to complete a second run beaten by AB de Villiers’ superb collection of a throw on the half-volley. Abhishek Nayar went next ball, trying an impossible run.Vinay Kumar brought it down to five off four in the final over, and the game was on a knife’s edge with two needed off two. Then came a length ball, allowing Chawla to free his arms, and he thrashed Vinay over deep midwicket. It brought up Kings XI’s fourth away win of the season, they’ve won five in all.The manic end almost undid an impressive show by Kings XI’s two upcoming talents. Mandeep was occasionally scratchy but delivered the start his team needed, timing the ball beautifully and even displaying some spunk against the accomplished bowling of Zaheer Khan. He pulled over midwicket and whipped over square leg for six, and slashed Vinay through point. He took the lead in the chase, over the more experienced Shaun Marsh, and Saini consolidated the good start.Saini was less attacking but batted with maturity, picking off the singles and twos comfortably, interspersed with some lovely strokeplay of his own. He drove Andrew McDonald beautifully down the ground, cut well against medium pace and spin, and marched close to his half-century with a confident pull off Zaheer. Saini didn’t feel the urgency to open up, his job made easier by Hussey, who smashed the left-arm spin of Appanna for two massive sixes before delivering the same treatment to Asad Pathan. By then, the pair had added 73 in 43 balls and the game was as good as over. Or so we thought.The batting backed up a superior show with the ball by Kings XI. Praveen, who conceded just eight off his four overs, the most economical spell this season, was the beneficiary of some early swing after his team chose to field. Though he went wicketless, the batsmen had few answers against his exploitation of the conditions, which included good bounce. Praveen beat the bat often, squaring up Gayle, troubling Kohli with outswing, forcing the batsmen to look for an opening at the other end while playing him with caution.Having conceded just 48 off the first nine overs, Kings XI were ahead but the introduction of spin and stark decline in the quality of bowling sparked a turn in the tide. Gayle and Kohli feasted on Piyush Chawla’s long hops, collecting 11 off his first over, and then launching him for a six each in his next. Gayle – who was dropped on 39 – then targeted an erratic Parvinder Awana, taking 19 in an over that included a powerful, flat six over long-on. The pair tore into length balls from Abhishek Nayar the next over, dispatching them over the fence, and five overs had suddenly yielded 68 runs. Just as Royal Challengers looked set for a commanding score, the momentum changed hands again.Gayle holed out in the deep against Mahmood, Kohli was done in by a skidder from Chawla – the two had added 119 – and the batsmen who followed weren’t able to bat as freely. Andrew McDonald and de Villiers targeted Awana for 14 in an over but fell in a space off three deliveries in the final over from Mahmood, who conceded only four off it. He varied his pace, surprised the batsmen with the short ball and was on target with his yorkers, ensuring Kings XI walked back satisfied with the hope of chasing a gettable total.