'We choked them really nicely' – Jayasuriya

Sanath Jayasuriya believes Sri Lanka’s historic win over South Africa in Durban could rival their triumph over England at the Oval 13 years ago as the country’s most significant victory outside the subcontinent.

Firdose Moonda30-Dec-2011Sanath Jayasuriya believes Sri Lanka’s historic win over South Africa in Durban could rival their triumph over England at The Oval 13 years ago as the country’s most significant victory outside the subcontinent. Jayasuriya, the former Sri Lanka captain, scored a sensational double-hundred while Muttiah Muralitharan took 16 wickets in that match, which was achieved under the captaincy of Arjuna Ranatunga. The Kingsmead win was Sri Lanka’s first since Muralitharan retired 16 months ago and gave Tillakaratne Dilshan his first success as captain.”This win is very important because of all these dramas the cricketers have gone through,” a delighted Jayasuiya told ESPNcricinfo. “The team has not been doing well and they have had some administrative problems and mentally, they were quite down. They have done a very good thing now and they are on a high.”Russell Arnold, who was in Sri Lanka’s squad for the 1998 England tour, told ESPNcricinfo in his post-match analysis he regarded the South African success as even sweeter than the win over England because of the current state of the team. With two of their bowling stalwarts, Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas, retired and their impressive batting line-up, which includes Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, constantly under-performing in the last six months, Arnold said Sri Lanka’s performance in Durban defied belief. No-one, not even Arnold, thought they would be able to compete and challenge South Africa on home soil.Sri Lanka were shot out for 180 and 150 in the first Test in Centurion and Jayasuriya said their failure to adapt to conditions was worrying, but not insurmountable. On a less hostile surface, which allowed for a more even contest between bat and ball, it was South Africa who looked unable to adjust. Sri Lanka boasted two hundreds in the match, having only had one of their countrymen score a century in South Africa before, as both Thilan Samaraweera and Sangakkara achieved milestones.”It was exactly what I said before. We needed partnerships and one of the top six to get a hundred. That was the key,” Jayasuriya said, “Once we were able to put on more than 300, it gives the bowlers something to work with.” Sri Lanka scored 338 in the first innings, thanks to Samaraweera’s efforts and a crucial partnership with debutant wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal.The bowlers made use of the uneven bounce and turn out of the rough to run through South Africa for 168 and then Sangakkara returned to form with a century that took the match away from the hosts. Sangakkara had scores of 1, 2 and 0 in his previous three innings and was dropped on 3 in Durban, something which Jayasuriya said would have been his signal to end his barren patch. “Any batsman will hurt a lot after going through a bad patch,” said Jayasuriya. “But he got a chance and capitalised on it. When Sanga gets a start, he goes on to make big runs.”Chandimal also featured in a century stand in the second innings, with Sangakkara, to cap off a solid maiden Test. “I am very happy for him,” said Jayasuriya. “The selectors gave him an opportunity and he used it well.”Collectively, as Arnold said, rather than through a handful of performances from top players, Sri Lanka preyed on South Africa’s weaknesses – which ranged from tentativeness against a disciplined attack to an incurable mindset, stuck in the three previous defeats they have sunk to in Durban. It was this mental aspect that Jayasuriya said opened a crack for Sri Lanka and they did well not to waste it.”We choked them really nicely,” Jayasuriya said, using a word that will no doubt cause the South African squad to bristle. “We’ve seen with their history when it comes to crunch situations they don’t do well.”Jayasuriya expects South Africa to make the home advantage count in the decider in Cape Town, which starts on Tuesday. “They won’t want a flat wicket, so they will probably prepare something with pace and bounce,” he said. However, the Newlands pitch is the surface which best accommodates spin, which will be welcome news for Rangana Herath and Sri Lanka’s batsmen, who will likely feel a little more at home in South Africa now.

Trinidad & Tobago open with win

Trinidad & Tobago took a big stride towards qualifying for the main draw of the Champions League with a hard-fought win over Ruhuna

The Report by Siddarth Ravindran19-Sep-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Darren Bravo anchored the chase with an unbeaten 44•Associated Press

Trinidad & Tobago added to their list of happy memories in Hyderabad by taking a big stride towards qualifying for the main draw of the Champions League Twenty20 with a hard-fought win over Ruhuna. They first stifled Ruhuna by taking the pace off the ball, keeping the Sri Lankan champions to 138, but the same tactic worked for Ruhuna as well, until Sherwin Ganga clobbered 39 off 15 deliveries to seal a low-scoring game.Ganga forged the game-winning partnership with Darren Bravo to drag T&T out of the hole they were in after 14 overs, needing another 58 runs with half the team dismissed. Bravo had played a relatively measured innings, entering in the first over and shelving the Hollywood hits that consumed several of his team-mates. He finished unbeaten on 44, leaving Ganga to play the big hits.After a bunch of boundaries from Ganga got T&T back on course, a tight over from the previously expensive TN Sampath made it a challenging 19 to win off the final two. T&T didn’t even need one full over as medium-pacer Arosh Janoda was taken apart. Ganga powered the first ball to the long-on boundary where a jumping Sampath could only palm it over for six; he then scythed a high, wide full toss for four past point before rounding off the game by launching the ball over long-on for six more.For a man who has only made 75 runs in his 26-match Twenty20 career, it was an unexpected effort from Ganga, who had been given only two costly overs in his primary role as offspinner. A similar surprise was the performance of Ruhuna’s biggest name, Sanath Jayasuriya, who got the headlines in anticipation of some cavalier batting, only to fail as an opener but shine with his left-arm spin.Ruhuna looked in big trouble after their stuttering batting performance – that included a record-equalling five run-outs – left them with a small total to defend but Jayasuriya and offspinner Janaka Gunaratne choked the runs and scooped the wickets as the batsmen went for the big shots. Two of T&T’s most talented batsmen, Adrian Barath and Lendl Simmons, were dismissed in the first three overs but the third of the exciting youngsters Bravo made sure his side stayed in the game.It had been another young batsman of whom much is expected, Dinesh Chandimal, who gave Ruhuna’s total some respectability, with a battling half-century after more experienced men in the top order flopped. Jayasuriya fell to a Samuel Badree googly in the third over, and a couple of run-outs in the next over – one a misjudged call for two, and the other a result of the bowler Ravi Rampaul barging into the non-striker’s path while looking to field – left Ruhuna at 26 for 3.Chandimal muscled a six over long-off in the sixth over but with Gunaratne lacking fluency, there were no boundaries for the next four overs. The relief was evident on Chandimal’s face when he tickled a leg side ball down to fine leg for four. The pair put on 67 to stabilise the innings, though the run-rate was only hovering around six.The introduction of Simmons into the attack kickstarted the Ruhuna innings as Sampath and Kushal Perera plundered 19 in the penultimate over. At 137 for 6 and one over to go, Ruhuna looked set to meet their captain’s toss-time target of a score of around 150 but Rampaul bowled a perfect final over to deny them. Some pinpoint yorkers and three run-outs ensured only one off the over and a smaller total than they would have hoped for.

'Congrats you massive little legend!'

Twitter reactions to Sachin Tendulkar becoming the first batsman to make 50 Test centuries

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Dec-2010
Sanjay Manjrekar: “He has got it finally! and judging from his reaction..meant a lot to him…the 50th test ton..this is one record that is there to stay.”
Harsha Bhogle: “All great players redefine their profession.50 Test hundreds was considered unthinkable. Sachin has done it.”Yuvraj Singh: “Greatest achievement by a bats man ever! His name is sachinnnnnnn tendulkarrrrrrrrrr!! Wooohooooooooo.”Iain O’Brien: “Congrats you little massive legend!”

Ravindra, Conway and Nicholls slam centuries to deflate hapless Zimbabwe

New Zealand ended 476 runs ahead after day two as Zimbabwe looked tired on a flat surface

Firdose Moonda08-Aug-2025Centuries from Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls and Rachin Ravindra took New Zealand to their highest total against Zimbabwe, and a 476-run first innings lead in the second Test. They have not declared, and have plenty of batting to come. With conditions suited to the filling of boots, and with three days left in the game, New Zealand might be eyeing more on a flat surface against a tired opposition.Already, three of New Zealand’s line-up have given them food for thought ahead of the next World Test Championship cycle. Conway brought up 2000 Test runs and his fifth hundred, two-and-a-half years and 32 innings since his last – against Pakistan in Karachi in January 2023. Nicholls’ century was his tenth in the format and an important one after he was left out of the XI for all of 2024. And Ravindra’s hundred was his third and fastest, off just 104 balls.Zimbabwe had three bowlers bring up unwanted triple-figure scores of their own. Blessing Muzarabani, Trevor Gwandu and Vincent Masekesa all conceded more than a hundred runs. They were also the only bowlers among the seven Zimbabwe used to get themselves among the wickets, though Gwandu’s came on the first day. Zimbabwe have bowled 130 overs in the match so far, including 91 on the second day.New Zealand resumed their innings in cold conditions on 174 for 1 on the second morning, 49 runs ahead of Zimbabwe. If there was anything to be offered from the overheads, Zimbabwe were unable to make much use of it. The first ball was short and wide, and Conway cut it for four in a sign of what was to come. To Tanaka Chivanga’s credit, he managed to hurry nightwatcher Jacob Duffy into two pulls – but the first fell short of mid-on, and the second short of midwicket. Duffy, though, got it right off Muzarabani, and his stand with Conway grew to fifty. Their partnership was worth 62 when Conway drove Muzarabani through mid-off to bring up his century off 143 balls.Brian Bennett did well to catch nightwatcher Jacob Duffy•Zimbabwe Cricket

Duffy batted for 13.2 overs on the second morning, and almost the full first hour, before he pulled Masekesa to short midwicket, where Brian Bennett moved quickly to his right to take a good catch. But Zimbabwe’s joy was short lived as that wicket brought Nicholls to the crease, and they would go 30 overs without another wicket.Nicholls took his time to get himself in, with nine runs off the first 25 balls he faced, before he was gifted a full toss from Masekesa and sent it to the square-leg boundary. That set Nicholls on his way, and he was particularly successful against spin, as Zimbabwe turned to their slower bowlers while waiting for the second new ball. In total, Nicholls scored 96 runs off Zimbabwe’s four spinners.New Zealand went to lunch on 306 for 2, with a lead of 181, and with the second new ball nine overs away. Before it arrived, Nicholls got to fifty and then Conway to 150 off the final delivery with the old ball.Zimbabwe took the second new ball as soon as it became available, and Muzarabani seemed to find some extra bounce. With a zip in his step, Muzarabani thought he had Nicholls lbw with a delivery that angled in and hit him on the pad, but must have been going down leg, and then did get Conway. Bizarrely, Conway shouldered arms to a back-of-a-length ball that he must have thought was going over the stumps but instead hit his body and ricocheted onto off stump. He was dismissed 2.3 overs into the second new ball.Henry Nicholls scored his tenth Test hundred•Zimbabwe Cricket

Conway’s dismissal did little to halt Nicholls’ momentum. He hit Chivanga wide of point for four as Ravindra arrived, also slightly circumspect. Ravindra scored seven runs off the first 13 balls he faced but then raced to 26 off 24 balls after carving Muzarabani up through extra cover, past gully and over the leg side for three fours in the sixth over of his spell. Zimbabwe were soon back to spin, and though Sikandar Raza occasionally beat the bat with flight, there was very little threat from Zimbabwe. By tea, New Zealand were 302 runs ahead.The final session was all New Zealand as Nicholls brought up his century when he flicked Gwandu past mid-on and ran three. Ravindra took back-to-back to back boundaries off the rest of the over to race to 75. The boundaries dried up from there on, and Ravindra had to work hard for his next 25 runs. But he got them in 36 balls, and then hammered Raza through extra cover for four for good measure. With milestones up for both batters and 500 up for New Zealand, they played with freedom and scored 88 runs off the last 11 overs in the day.Nicholls and Ravindra both reached 150, as Conway had done earlier in the day, to make only the third time in Test history that three batters had crossed that landmark in a Test. Neither Nicholls nor Ravindra looks ready to stop just yet – which could mean another long day in the field for a weary Zimbabwe side whose winless streak seems set to continue.

Essex pad out their Group One lead as lbws abound in three-day thumping of Durham

One of the world’s most boring records takes Essex closer to shot at title defence

David Hopps29-May-2021As far as the County Championship is concerned, the relevance of Essex’s 189-win victory over Durham is that, with time running out, it has energised the defence of their title. But the ramifications go far wider, especially for cricket statisticians, who can be guaranteed to be in a stage of high excitement after the contest set a new record for the number of lbws in a first-class match in England.As many as 19 lbws were awarded by umpires David Millns and James Middlebrook at Chester-le-Street and it should be said in these days of video replays that, for the neutral observer, the overwhelming majority looked bang to rights.That the England (and Wales) record was beaten on a glorious sun-drenched evening in England’s most northerly first-class cricketing outpost when Jack Burnham, a former England U19 batsman suffering hard times, was struck in front by the former Australian international Peter Siddle. Burnham’s meaningful shrug appeared to be somewhat defeatist after Durham had battled grimly for much of the day against the spectre of near-inevitable defeat.To discover a first-class match with more lbws it was necessary, according to the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians, to turn to Guyana v Jamaica last year, which jointly holds the all-time record along with the West Indies v Pakistan Test in Guyana in 2011, both of them played at Providence Stadium. It is hard to suppress the ignoble thought that Guyana and Chester-le-Street are blood brothers, being the Test venues that many in authority would prefer to ignore.Ultimately this contest had to settle, globally, for joint second spot, alongside two India first-class matches – Patiala’s match against Delhi in 1953-54 and a more recent clash between Uttar Pradesh and Railways in Lucknow four years ago.Related

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Quite whether the Maharajah of Patiala, the last of the nine Maharajas, was so full of statistical anticipation after Delhi’s win (a world record at the time) sadly goes unrecorded, but it is likely it passed him by, on accounts of it being Christmas and the World Wide Web not quite being a thing. Interestingly, he did not bat in the first innings, but claimed a half-century batting at No. 11 second time around.Six years ago, the suggested that Gareth Sanders, a cleaning company manager from Bristol, had broken the world’s most boring world record by ironing for more than 80 hours. If you think that’s boring, imagine how the person felt who had to check that he was doing it properly.Statisticians can cavil all they like, but for two sessions this England (and Wales) record moved closer in an atmosphere of unremitting tedium. Durham needed 385 to win, they had never successfully chased more than 318 when they beat Nottinghamshire 20 years ago, and they had never conceded a chase of 335 here. But they had a new captain, new resolve and a relaid square on which Derbyshire had blocked out for a draw in April by losing only five wickets on the final day.It is possible to have sympathy for the groundstaff, who needed strong April grass growth after their winter’s refurbishments but were instead treated to one of the coldest, driest Aprils on record, and also register the fact that Chester-le-Street is not providing entertaining cricket. A meteorological record has helped to bring about a cricketing record: a square bereft of pace and bounce had to start damp (hence excessive seam) before reverting to its natural state: joyless and unresponsive and occasionally given to grubbers.Durham acquitted themselves professionally to the task which was impressive stuff as far as professionalism goes but, as they crawled to 137 for 3 midway through the 64th over, it did not represent Bank Holiday entertainment.Cameron Bancroft’s foot movement and defensive position to a back-of-a-length delivery was classically Australian, which meant he was bowled by the first low delivery of the day. Scott Borthwick, the skipper, was shin before wicket for 29 and walked off as if life was weighing heavily upon him; a man on such a long contract needs to concentrate on the long game. Alex Lees batted soundly for 48 then fell to the old partnership-breaker trick as Ryan ten Doeschate, four overs bowled all season, banged one in short at about 70mph and Lees found mid-off off a leading edge.Play low, however, and survival was possible. Essex attacked the stumps with unrelenting determination, the tone set by the admirable Jamie Porter who began with nine overs for eight runs. It was a dirty job and someone had to do it. Everybody did.Michael Jones averages 10 in 12 Durham innings but he has learnt a thing or two from batting on Scottish pitches and has a career to save. He resisted with great determination for 35 from 126 balls – his Mum may remember the details – then got the worst lbw decision of the match when Sam Cook nipped one back enough to be missing leg stump.Essex then closed the game out as the last seven wickets fell for 52 in 24 overs, Siddle and Porter, in particular, suddenly finding movement where there was little before. Once the key break is made what appears to be difficult suddenly becomes straightforward. Take note that they won this game without their talisman, the offspinner Simon Harmer, taking a wicket.As well as a statistician’s match, it was a coach’s match. Durham’s coach James Franklin, called the pitch “tricky”. Essex’s coach, Anthony McGrath said: “It was a very interesting game because conditions changed so much from day one” and talked about character and skill.Bully for them. They had good reason to be impressed with those under their command but for spectators in need of entertainment after 20 months without live cricket, this was inadequate. Essex go top of Group One, at least for 24 hours, but they have played a game more. Given better pitches, this group can reach an exciting conclusion.

Ravindra Jadeja and Poonam Yadav receive Arjuna Awards

They were the only cricketers among the pool of 19 athletes to receive the award this year

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Aug-2019India men’s allrounder Ravindra Jadeja and women’s wristspinner Poonam Yadav received the Arjuna Award, an honour bestowed by the Indian government to outstanding individual achievements in sports.While Jadeja, currently on tour in the Caribbean, wasn’t there to receive the award in person, Poonam received hers from the president of the country on Thursday in New Delhi.Jadeja, 30, and Poonam, 28, were among four cricketers – Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah being the others – recommended for the award by the BCCI in April. They were the only cricketers among the pool of 19 athletes to receive the award this year. Jadeja occupies the fourth place on the ICC rankings for Test allrounders. He struck a half-century and picked up two wickets in India’s 318-run victory over West Indies in the North Sound Test and during the World Cup last month, he almost carried India to the final with a flamboyant 59-ball 79 against New Zealand.”First of all, I would like to thank the government of India for giving me the Arjuna Award,” Jadeja said in a video posted by on Twitter. “I would also like to congratulate the other winners as they all have done well in their respective fields. I will always try to be at my best when I play for India and make my team and the country proud. Whenever I play for India, I will try my best to help them win matches.”Poonam, meanwhile, is India’s leading wicket-taker in T20Is and is ranked No. 2 by the ICC. She was the world’s leading T20I bowler last year with 35 wickets in 25 innings at an average of 14.91 and strike rate of 15.4, including a career-best 4 for 9 in the final of the Asia Cup, which India lost off the last ball.Earlier this year, she was promoted to BCCI’s Grade A contracts list, having been part of the Indian sides that finished runners-up in the 2017 ODI World Cup in England and crashed out in the semi-finals in the T20 World Cup in November last year.Jadeja is the latest Arjuna Awardee among an elite list of former and current men’s cricketers, while Poonam is the fifth active India women’s cricketer – and 11th overall since 1976 – to win the award. Mithali Raj (2003), Jhulan Goswami (2010), Harmanpreet Kaur (2017) and Smriti Mandhana (2018) are the other current players in the list.

Dinesh Chandimal out of second Test, Charith Asalanka called up

Suranga Lakmal will captain Sri Lanka in Chandimal’s absence, as he did during the two-Test series against South Africa earlier this year

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Nov-2018Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal has been ruled out of the second Test against England in Pallekele. Chandimal suffered a groin injury during the defeat in Galle and will be out for two weeks, which could also make him a doubt for the third Test, in Colombo, starting on November 23.Suranga Lakmal, the team’s senior pace bowler, will captain Sri Lanka in Chandimal’s absence, as he did during the two-Test series against South Africa earlier this year, when Chandimal was serving a ban.Uncapped batsman Charith Asalanka has been called up to the squad, which also includes Roshen Silva. Asalanka, who scored an aggressive 68 in the second warm-up match against England, comes in ahead of Lahiru Thirimanne and Kusal Perera, who were the two batsmen on standby.Sri Lanka will also have to make a change to their bowling attack for the second Test, with Malinda Pushpakumara expected to come in for the retired Rangana Herath, while the news that Akila Dananjaya faces his action being tested – although he will still be eligible to play in Pallakele – is another headache.Meanwhile, team manager Charith Senanayake has resigned the position for personal reasons. Jeryl Woutersz, who has previously fulfilled the role, has been named as Senanayake’s replacement with immediate effect.

Razzak recalled for Tests after nearly four years

Razzak’s addition makes it a 16-man squad after the selectors also included left-arm spinner Sunzamul Islam and allrounder Tanbir Hayder on Saturday

Mohammad Isam28-Jan-2018The Bangladesh selectors have recalled veteran left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak for the Chittagong Test against Sri Lanka, as further cover for the injured Shakib Al Hasan.Razzak’s addition makes it a 16-man Test squad after the selectors also included left-arm spinner Sunzamul Islam and allrounder Tanbir Hayder on Saturday evening, hours after Shakib was ruled out of the Test. Shakib sustained a left hand little finger injury during the tri-series final.Razzak, 35, returns to the side after over three years during which he was overlooked in all formats; even for this Test side, someone as inexperienced as Nayeem Hasan was considered ahead of him.Razzak recently became the first Bangladeshi bowler to take 500 first-class wickets, and has been the standout performer in Bangladesh in the format in the last few years. He leads this season’s wicket-takers’ list with 40 scalps in nine matches, combined in BCL and NCL.But Razzak has a modest Test record, having taken only 23 wickets in 12 Tests across nearly eight years. Since his last Test in February 2014, however, he has taken been the top wicket-taker in Bangladesh domestic first-class cricket, with 244 wickets. The next best during the same period has been Sunzamul who is behind by 94 wickets.During the last three years, the selectors have instead picked the likes of Taijul Islam, Mehidy Hasan and Jubair Hossain for Tests and Arafat Sunny, Saqlain Sajib, Sunzamul and Tanbir for the shorter formats. The selectors have often cited Razzak’s fitness and fielding for not picking him, with suggestions that picking him would be like taking a step back.Squad for first Test: Mahmudullah (capt), Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Imrul Kayes, Mominul Haque, Mosaddek Hossain, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Kamrul Islam, Mehidy Hassan, Rubel Hossain, Nayeem Hasan, Sunzamul Islam, Tanbir Hayder, Abdur Razzak.

KKR top table with Uthappa and spinners

In an error-strewn match, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Kuldeep Yadav bowled equally immaculate spells, but it was Kolkata Knight Riders who came away with their third win of the season and jumped to the top of the points table

The Report by Deivarayan Muthu15-Apr-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details3:41

Agarkar: Sunrisers too reliant on Warner

In an error-strewn match, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Kuldeep Yadav bowled equally immaculate spells, but it was Kolkata Knight Riders who came away with their third win of the season and moved to the top of the points table.Robin Uthappa nicked his first ball to the keeper, but umpire Anil Dandekar did not spot it. Uthappa continued to lead a charmed life and struck 68 off 39 balls, which formed the crux of KKR’s 172 for 6. They could have got more had Bhuvneshwar not nailed his lengths. For the 11th time in an IPL match, Bhuvneshwar went for a run-a-ball or less from his four overs, all bowled in the Powerplay or the last five overs. He finished with 3 for 20, but it was not enough for Sunrisers.David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan sauntered to 45 for 0 in the Powerplay, but Kuldeep’s dismissal of Warner derailed the chase. They lost 6 for 83, and eventually their second successive match.Brought down to earth
On Thursday, Sunil Narine and Gautam Gambhir ran up 76 in in 34 balls, taking KKR to their best Powerplay score. They were also helped by some lacklustre bowling from Kings XI’s seamers, who kept feeding Narine with hip-high balls, which he comfortably swatted away, taking 23 off his 37 runs through the leg side. At the other end, they kept offering Gambhir width.Narine usually camps back in his crease, which means the perfect ball to him is a yorker. Kings XI did not bowl a single yorker to him, but Bhuvneshwar bowled one in his second over and scythed through the defences of Narine. Gambhir again went after anything that was remotely full and outside off. Then, in Rashid Khan’s first over, he was bowled, attempting to cut a non-turning legbreak, and KKR were kept to their first sub-50 score in the Powerplay this season.Robin Uthappa and Kuldeep Yadav were central to Kolkata Knight Riders’ win•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Uthappa, Pandey cash in
Uthappa thickly edged his first ball to the keeper but got away. Dhawan then missed a direct hit when Uthappa was on 15. Uthappa went on to bring up a fifty off 27 balls. It wasn’t wild slogging. He read Rashid’s googlies and lined up the short balls that sat up on a surface that was drier than the one used for the Kings XI game. Uthappa took Rashid for 21 runs in 12 balls, the most any batsman has scored off him in this IPL.Pandey could have been dismissed for 8 had Naman Ojha not missed a stumping chance off left-arm spinner Bipul Sharma. Pandey was on 26 off 26 balls, including two fours, at one point, but hit three boundaries off his next five balls.Staying alive at the death
In the previous season, Bhuvneshwar had picked up 13 wickets in 162 balls in the death overs – the joint highest with Shane Watson. After bowling two overs in the Powerplay, he returned to the attack in the 18th over and nabbed Pandey with a slower offcutter. In his next over, Bhuvneshwar cleaned up Colin Grandhomme with an inswinging yorker.Kuldeep turns it around
Warner and Dhawan punished width, and hit a collective eight fours in the Powerplay. The introduction of Kuldeep, however, applied the brakes on the chase.Kuldeep had harried Sunrisers last season, collecting 3 for 35 in the Eliminator. So, it wasn’t really surprising that he was picked ahead of Piyush Chawla for this game. Warner, however, was surprised by Kuldeep’s dip and turn. He managed only 7 off 13 balls against Kuldeep before skying a catch to long-off. Chris Woakes backed that up by removing Moises Henriques in the next over.When Yuvraj Singh fell, Sunrisers needed 61 off 31 balls. It was too tall a task, and KKR secured their fifth win in as many matches against Sunrisers at Eden Gardens.

Jamshed arrested in alleged PSL corruption case

Nasir Jamshed, the former Pakistan opener, and one other man have have been arrested in the UK in relation to the ongoing investigation into alleged corruption in the Pakistan Super League (PSL)

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Feb-2017Nasir Jamshed, the former Pakistan opener, and one other man have been arrested* in the UK in relation to the ongoing investigation into alleged corruption in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The National Crime Agency (NCA) released a statement on Tuesday saying that it was “working closely” with PCB and ICC anti-corruption units and that both men had received bail.The NCA statement said: “Two men in their thirties have been arrested by National Crime Agency officers in connection with bribery offences as part of an ongoing investigation into international cricket match spot-fixing.”The men were arrested on Monday 13 February and have been released on bail until April 2017 pending further enquiries.”As part of the ongoing investigation we are working closely with the Pakistan Cricket Board and International Cricket Council’s anti-corruption units. The Pakistan Cricket Board has launched its own investigation which has resulted in the suspension of three players.”Jamshed was arrested on the same day that he was provisionally suspended by the PCB, the third player to face that fate after the allegations first emerged. Pakistan openers Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif were provisionally suspended from the PSL last week over alleged breaches of the anti-corruption code. Three other players were questioned by anti-corruption officers in relation to the investigation: Mohammad Irfan, Zulfiqar Babar and Shahzaib Hasan. None was suspended and they were cleared to continue playing at the PSL.The next step for the PCB is to issue show cause notices to the suspended players and initiate a disciplinary inquiry into the breaches of the code. Any inquiry, in the shape of an independent tribunal, is likely to be headed by a retired High Court or Supreme Court judge.”We had a lot of evidence on which we based our decision,” Najam Sethi, the PSL chairman, said on his talk show on , before the announcement of the arrests. “We know what we are doing. We have all evidence. We had this for a while, we had information – we cannot talk about stuff right now but a charge sheet will be given to players soon.”We had definite information, and not just us, we were collecting it. We knew it was happening, we had identified a few players and then at final stages we knew the ICC had some information as well and when we compared it the information was the same, then we decided to act on this.”Sethi said the PCB investigation into alleged corruption had begun before the PSL’s second season began.”You will know in 3-4 days what the plans were, what they were going to do, we have these players’ phones in which there is more information. Who they were in touch with, what they talked about, their text messages, WhatsApp messages.”We had an idea this was happening. We had also infiltrated into Pakistani bookies and we had some information from there as well before we got here. The league was huge last year and we knew it would attract bookies. We were waiting for it and we knew some players outside the PSL would be involved in it.”We suspended Nasir Jamshed as well, about whom we know what role he played. We nipped it in the bud.”*18.15 GMT – This story was updated with new information

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