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Sachin Tendulkar and Ajinkya Rahane scored centuries on the first day to put Mumbai in a strong position in their Group A Ranji Trophy match against Railways in Mumbai

The Report by Siddhartha Talya at the Wankhede02-Nov-2012
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Sachin Tendulkar and Ajinkya Rahane were involved in a double-century stand•Fotocorp

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• Sachin Tendulkar scored his sixth century in his last seven matches for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy. However, he has played these seven matches in a period of 12 years.

• Tendulkar has now scored nine centuries in 25 first-class matches for Mumbai at an average of 80.63.

• Only Sunil Gavaskar, with 81 centuries, is ahead of Tendulkar (78) on the list of Indian batsmen with the most first-class centuries.

• The gap of 22 months since the century in Cape Town in January 2011 is the longest interval for Tendulkar between two centuries in his first-class career. Between December 2005 and February 2007, Tendulkar had gone 14 months without a century.

The start of the Ranji Trophy has rarely been under such scrutiny. The return of India’s star players to their domestic sides has been the biggest draw for fans, but not too far behind are those players possibly competing for a place in the Test squad during a long home season. At the Wankhede Stadium, Sachin Tendulkar, recovering from a severe stomach bug, batted with comfort, assuredness and ultimately supreme confidence to give a disappointingly small crowd of a few hundred spectators the performance they’d come to watch.”I’m happy with this knock,” Tendulkar told . “It was tough in this heat as I had food poisoning and an upset stomach.”At the other end, Ajinkya Rahane quietly continued accumulating runs, reaching another landmark in what has already been a hectic two months for him and boosting his own chances for a place in the Test squad. Together, they put Mumbai in a dominating position against Railways, who had chosen to field, hoping their attack comprising four seam options would derive some help from the covering of grass on the track.The wicket that brought Tendulkar and Rahane together at 143 for 3 was of another Test hopeful, who was understandably livid after being run out. Rohit Sharma batted 40 minutes in the nets yesterday, also with a wicketkeeper standing up against the spinners. He came in at No.4 – Tendulkar’s position – and his preparation appeared to be paying off when he charged out twice to left-arm spinner Murali Kartik to hit him for fours. Unfortunately for Rohit, he was dismissed in a manner he would have least anticipated.Tendulkar, too, had prepared rigorously for this outing. He began cautiously after being greeted with huge cheers from a sparse crowd, and bowling to him in that initial phase was Hardik Rathod, whose action is similar to Zaheer Khan’s. New Zealand’s Trent Boult had given Tendulkar a tough time with his left-arm pace in a series in which Tendulkar was bowled thrice, but Rathod lacked the swing or movement to cause similar troubles. Tendulkar played straight, appeared to pick the length well and waited for an opening. When on 12, he had a slice of luck against a ball from Rathod that kept low, inside-edging it past fine leg, but that was a rare moment of unease.It wasn’t until his 31st delivery that he struck a boundary, dispatching a wide delivery from seamer Anureet Singh through point. While initially circumspect against pace, he gained his fluency against spin. Ashish Yadav flighted the ball generously and Tendulkar struck him for back-to-back boundaries past mid-on, Shivakant Yadav was smashed over deep midwicket for six. After tea, Tendulkar would also turn his attention to pace while the ruthlessness against spin continued.Tendulkar targeted Yadav, cutting and pulling him for fours before clearing long-on and deep extra cover to speed past Rahane. When the pair had put on a century stand, in the 69th over, Tendulkar had scored 61 of those runs and he would be the first among the pair to reach a century – his first in first-class cricket since January 2011. The assault against Yadav had taken him into the nineties and the progress to the landmark – brought up with a nudge behind square – was interrupted briefly by a fan who ran in to shake his hand when on 99.Rahane faced more anxious moments, was more workmanlike in his approach and grew more determined to bat long. Chasing a fullish delivery from Rathod when on 7, Rahane was dropped by Murali Kartik at second slip and then had a couple of leading edges land safe as he walked across and closed the face. “Catches keep getting dropped, it’s a part and parcel,” Rahane said. “After that, I showed more determination and I tried to play as much as possible in the ‘V’.”Rahane was comfortable against deliveries that were held back, and scored freely off the back foot, punching through cover, whipping through square leg and picking off singles with ease when Railways employed a deep point.Once in the groove, Rahane drove well down the ground, past the bowler, mid-off and extra cover, prompting Sanjay Bangar, the Railways captain, to place a silly mid-off and a short extra cover at one stage. His steady approach was overshadowed by Tendulkar’s dominance, but Rahane, too, didn’t waste too many chances. Kartik almost had him caught at slip with a turning ball, but Rahane cut him through point and then cracked the first delivery with the second new-ball through cover for four – he reached his century the same over.Tendulkar’s aggression after tea – which included three fours in an over against seamer Krishnakant Upadhyaya – ended when he tried to upper cut Anureet but was caught at second slip. This, after a 200-run stand off 249 balls, a barrage of boundaries, and an imposing first-day score to complete a fulfilling day for Mumbai, its two centurions and the few who turned up.

A half-century by captain and opener Babar Azam took Pakistan Under-19s to a six-wicket win over Australia Under-19s at Gold Coast

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Jul-2012
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A half-century from captain and opening batsman Babar Azam led Pakistan Under-19s to a six-wicket win over Australia Under-19s at Gold Coast. The visitors reached the target of 188 with four overs to spare, after the Australians had stuttered in their innings despite an 83 from Kurtis Patterson. Pakistan lead the three-match Youth ODI series 1-0 as they prepare for the Under-19 World Cup, which begins on August 11.Azam scored 79 off 121 balls to control Pakistan’s chase, building partnerships of 80 each with Imam-ul-Haq and Umar Waheed for the second and third wicket. Sami Aslam, Pakistah’s other opener, had departed early but Australia could not consolidate with further inroads. Pakistan accelerated towards the second half of the innings – the third-wicket stand took only 13.4 overs – and safely reached the target.”[Pakistan’s] captain, who opened the batting today, was very solid all day and kept the batting ticking over,” William Bosisto, the Australian captain, said.Unlike Pakistan, Australia’s innings lacked steadiness. Although Patterson tried to hold his side together, wickets continued to fall at the other end. A 67-run stand for the fourth wicket between Patterson and Bosisto was the only partnership of any substance. Left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz took 3 for 36.”I think Kurtis Patterson batted really well at No. 3 today and was the mainstay of our innings and also scored quite quickly. We just needed a few other batters to bat around him to get the score up to around the 220-230 mark,” Bosisto said. “Bowling wise Pakistan have got a lot of spinners who were quite accurate and difficult to score from.”The second Youth ODI is on July 31.

Torrential rain and a crucial ninth-wicket stand between Jim Allenby and Dean Cosker stalled Surrey’s progress on day three of the County Championship encounter with Glamorgan at the Brit Oval

09-Sep-2010
ScorecardStuart Meaker picked up 5 for 97 but Glamorgan avoided the follow-on•Getty Images

Torrential rain and a crucial ninth-wicket stand between Jim Allenby and Dean Cosker stalled Surrey’s progress on day three of the County Championship encounter with Glamorgan at the Brit Oval.Glamorgan had just scraped past the follow-on target of 231 when the heavens opened shortly before 2pm, and although the ground was bathed in sunshine after the rain relented, it was not possible resume until 5pm.When play did get under way again Allenby (65*) brought up his fifty in 80 deliveries and, in alliance with Huw Waters (16*), safely negotiated the remaining twenty overs, trimming Surrey’s lead to 107 as Glamorgan closed on 273 for 9.That Surrey even entertained the prospect of enforcing the follow-on prior to the rain delay was due to a superb exhibition of seam bowling from Stuart Meaker, who ended the day with 5 for 97, and Chris Tremlett, who chipped in with 3 for 53.Tremlett picked up the wicket of Ben Wright with his first delivery, caught at third slip. Seven overs later, Meaker accounted for Jamie Dalrymple, who provided Gareth Batty with the first of three catches. But Tom Maynard and Allenby put the home side on the back foot with an intelligent fifth-wicket stand that harvested 87 in 20 overs.Maynard, playing adeptly square of the wicket, hit a 79-ball half-century – his third championship fifty in six innings – which included nine fours. But having been 184 for 4 with five minutes to go before lunch, Glamorgan went into the break six men down.Maynard was caught at first slip for 61 of Meaker, while five balls later, Chris Schofield got one to skid on to leave Mark Wallace’s middle stump lying on the ground. Glamorgan’s ill-fortune continued after the break when James Harris was adjudged leg before.When Meaker had Robert Croft caught down the leg-side, to record his second five-wicket haul of the season, the visitors looked destined to follow-on. But thanks to a belligerent 33-run ninth-wicket alliance between Allenby and Cosker, Surrey’s hopes of sticking the visitors in again were thwarted.The follow-on was averted when, in the 60th over, Cosker stole a quick single off Meaker. Cosker departed in the very next over, but having achieved his team’s objective.

The allrounder became only the third player to score a half-century and take three wickets in a BPL match

Mohammad Isam01-Feb-2022How the match played out
Shakib Al Hasan continued his scintillating form to power Fortune Barishal to a 14-run win against Chattogram Challengers. He became only the third player to score a half-century and take three wickets in a BPL match as his side went clear on top with their fourth win in six matches.But the match would be remembered for two batting collapses, Chattogram’s being too defining as they slipped from 70 for 1 to 96 for 7 in the space of 33 balls. Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s late 26 off 13 balls wasn’t enough and Chattogram were bowled out for 135 runs in the final over.Apart from Shakib’s three, Mujeeb Ur Rahman had figures of 3 for 9 while Dwayne Bravo and Mehedi Hasan Rana took two wickets each.Earlier, Chattogram had fought back when Barishal batted, when Mrittunjoy Chowdhury, as the fifth-change bowler, took 4 for 12 in his two overs. Barishal lost their last seven wickets in 25 balls, but before that they had added 130, which held them in good stead even though they were bowled out for 149 runs in 19.1 overs.Big hit
Mrittunjoy removed Shakib, who made 50 off 31 balls with three sixes and as many fours, before taking the wickets of Nurul Hasan, Irfan Sukkur and Mujeeb in the 19th over.During the chase, Chattogram had moved to 70 for 1 in the 11th over before Shakib removed Afif Hossain for 39. In his next over, he dismissed Naeem Islam and, later, Chadwick Walton.Mujeeb, who had taken the crucial wicket of Will Jacks in the first over, took out Benny Howell and BPL debutant Akbar Ali in consecutive balls in the 14th of the innings.Big miss
Chris Gayle got off to a quick start but ultimately fell for 25 off 19 balls. He has now gone 27 innings without a T20 half-century, the last one coming during the West Indies-Australia T20I series last year.Another moment that stuck out was Najmul Hossain Shanto’s dismissal in the 11th over of Barishal’s innings. Upon reviewing via the ADRS (Alternative DRS), TV umpire Morshed Ali Khan gave it caught-behind to which on-field umpire Masudur Rahman reacted with a nod of the head, showing his disapproval of the changed decision. It prompted reactions from Shakib and Shanto too: Shakib argued with the umpire, while Shanto slammed his bat onto his pad.

Captain also praises Jason Roy’s innings in straightforward run chase

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Mar-2021Eoin Morgan praised his bowlers for setting up England’s comprehensive victory in their T20I series opener by restricting India to a total that proved impossible to defend.The pace trio of Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Chris Jordan made life difficult for India’s batsmen, who managed just 124 for 7 from their 20 overs – having been 22 for 3 after the Powerplay – despite a fighting 67 off 48 balls from Shreyas Iyer. Archer claimed 3 for 23 from his four overs, his best T20I figures.Before the series, Chris Silverwood, England’s coach, had played down concerns about the quality of training facilities in Ahmedabad, saying they were “the same for both sides”. But speaking after England’s eight-wicket victory with 27 balls to spare, Morgan raised questions over the standard of the nets.”The wicket was as expected. [It] was better than the net facilities that we’ve had here, so that was a huge positive for us,” Morgan said in the post-match presentation. “But the plans were very basic: hit a good length, straight, we didn’t have to go to plan B and C very often, which is always a good sign when the bowling unit does that.”One of Jof’s strengths is that he can bowl really fast, amongst others, but Mark Wood’s super strength is that he can bowl fast. It’s hard to do the whole time but when he bowls like he did tonight it’s very good entertainment but also it’s great to have him in your side.”Our bowling unit, similar to our batting unit, there’s a lot of competition for places. There’s guys on the sideline today that could easily have got a call in that XI – Reece Topley, Tom Curran – today, so we’re trying to cover all departments, particularly when we’re put under pressure or under the pump.”Today the guys were so good that they almost didn’t allow that to happen. Throughout the series there will be continuous challenges and we will be up against it a lot of the time, so it’s important for those moments to produce your best.”Jason Roy and Jos Buttler set off England’s pursuit well with a 72-run partnership. Roy top-scored for the visitors, one shy of his half-century, having come into the match without reaching 25 in his previous 10 international innings going back to February 2020 and amid talk of Alex Hales possibly returning to the England fold, at least in a training capacity to begin with, after a strong BBL season.”There’s a huge amount of competition for places within the squad and even outside the squad,” Morgan said. “So it’s always nice, you know, there’s huge support in the changing room for anybody that scores runs and does well and when Jason scores runs and does well in the fashion that he plays, it really does gee the boys up.”Related

• India seek rapid response after England show how it's done

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• England's bowlers ensure the plan comes together

• Kohli: Didn't know what we had to do on that pitch

While it was pace and bounce that went a long way towards delivering England victory on Friday, Roy said he had been working hard on facing spin in the nets.”[It was] better than a slap in the face. I’ll take 49 at the start of the day and I’ll take a comfortable victory like that as well,” Roy said. “For us to come out and bowl like we did and field like we did in our first game was incredible to see and will hold us in good stead for the rest of the series.”I’ve done a lot of practice, especially against Adil Rashid in the nets. He’s helped me a lot to learn about my game, learn my strengths.”Morgan also said there was no hangover among his side’s multi-format players following England’s tough 3-1 Test series defeat, which ended at the same venue less than a week ago.”It’s a completely different format of the game and there’s a complete distinction between the formats as well,” Morgan said. “We’ve been on tours before where possibly the white-ball guys have played for us and we’ve not played well and it’s not lingered into the Test matches.”Likewise, the other way around, and particularly in big series, like the Ashes, for instance, we’ve come out of the back of it and learned from it and equally when we’ve won at home in the Tests we’ve used that as confidence coming into the white-ball series.”

The star allrounder, returning after a year-long ban, will arrive in Dhaka from Minnesota this week

Mohammad Isam04-Nov-2020Shakib Al Hasan, whose international ban ended late last month, is among 113 cricketers who must pass a fitness test – to be conducted on November 9 and 10 – before making it to the draft of the upcoming Bangabandhu T20 tournament.A total of 80 cricketers, including Shakib, will be tested on the first day at the Shere Bangla National Stadium’s indoor facility, supervised by the board’s strength and conditioning coaches. None of them need to undergo a Covid-19 test, though they have been asked to follow health protocols.The 12-month ban on the star allrounder, for failing to report corrupt approaches, ended on October 29. Shakib is currently in Minnesota, but is expected to arrive in Dhaka later this week.Chief selector Minhajul Abedin said last week that the board wanted Shakib to play the T20 tournament, the second event in the 2020-21 domestic season, which doesn’t have too much cricket as Bangladesh is recovering from the effects of the Covid-19 situation.ALSO READ: The coaches behind the success of Bangladesh’s best playersIn October, the BCB held a three-team President’s Cup, where 46 cricketers – from the Bangladesh preliminary squad for the postponed Sri Lanka series and from the high-performance set-up – were picked. The Bangabandhu tournament is likely to be a five-team competition, beginning in late November, with the BCB, which has been trying to bring cricket back in the country slowly, managing the bio-secure bubbles.It is the board’s continuous attempt to slowly bring back all the domestic competitions one by one, but not without managing the bio-bubble on their own in these two tournaments.Apart from Shakib, 31 Bangladesh internationals have been called up for the tests, including Nasir Hossain, Sohag Gazi and Shahriar Nafees, who haven’t been in the scheme of things for the national team for a long while – 35-year-old Nafees last played internationally in April 2013.The rest of the group is made up of first-class or club-level cricketers who played in last season’s National Cricket League, the Bangladesh Cricket League, and the Dhaka Premier League. Many of these cricketers have been training in the nets and gyms, and some have even participated in small T20 tournaments around the country to stay fit, as they haven’t played any competitive cricket since mid-March.

Partnership of 200 puts visitors within one run of Leicestershire with just two wickets down

ECB Reporters Network23-Aug-2020Openers Ben Slater and Haseeb Hameed put together a partnership of 200 as Nottinghamshire laid the foundations to build a formidable first-innings lead in their Bob Willis Trophy match against Leicestershire at the Fischer County Ground.In so doing they broke a record for the first wicket for Nottinghamshire against Leicestershire, beating the 159 compiled by George Gunn and Garnet Lee at Trent Bridge in 1919.Notts had resumed on 48 without loss, with Hameed on 34 and Slater on 12, and neither batsman gave a chance during the morning session as the Leicestershire seamers struggled to bowl a consistent line and length on an unrewarding pitch.Tom Taylor came closest to making a breakthrough, beating both batsmen with deliveries that swung late, but edges were rare, and when they came fell short of the waiting slips. Hameed, after picking up two boundaries in the first over of the day, played circumspectly, reaching his half-century off 80 deliveries, while Slater – who earlier this season had spent two weeks on loan at Leicestershire – mixed steady accumulation with the occasional flowing cover drive, reaching his 50 off 103 balls.By lunch they had beaten the previous highest first-wicket partnership in the Bob Willis Trophy, 153 between Slater and Hassan Azad, for Leicestershire against Lancashire.Rain meant only 5.1 overs were possible in the afternoon and the evening session saw Leicestershire bowling a better containing line. Even so, both batsmen looked odds-on to reach a century until Hameed, on 87, left a delivery from Alex Evans that swung back in and hit his back leg to be dismissed leg before.Ten runs later Slater – who had passed the landmark of 5,000 first-class runs earlier in his innings – was also dismissed, for 86, edging the persevering Taylor to second slip where Colin Ackermann held a sharp chance at the second attempt.Bad light saw play end when 10.5 overs remained to be bowled, but with better weather forecast to come over the final two days, Notts are in a strong position to end their run of 24 first-class county matches without victory.

Offspinner has overcome fitness issues to make 30-man training squad

Matt Roller26-Jun-2020He is the youngest and least-experienced of the five specialist spinners in England’s 30-man training group, but Amar Virdi has insisted he is not at the Ageas Bowl to make up the numbers.Virdi, 21, has only played 23 games in his first-class career, but has already been part of several England Lions squads and earned impressive reviews from his coaches at Surrey. And while he finds himself behind Jack Leach, Dom Bess and Moeen Ali in the pecking order going into next month’s Test series against West Indies, he is confident that he can push them for a spot in the side.”Obviously I’m here so I want to be playing Test cricket whenever that comes, so I’m going to keep on trying my hardest to make sure that I’m playing,” he said on Friday. “I don’t really try to impress as such – I want to do my own thing and be who I am. That’s what I want to show people and show people what I’m capable of doing, rather than doing other things or try to forcefully show my skills.”So far I’ve just been myself and just been bowling and doing all my other skills. I definitely do want to be playing in the first Test match, or at least be in the squad. If I didn’t want to do that I probably shouldn’t be here. I’m very proud of myself that I’ve got to this stage. The next stage is about pushing for a Test place, so whenever that does happen I’m going to keep working hard.”ALSO READ: Virdi’s attacking skill ‘could set him apart’ – SolankiVirdi’s new head coach at Surrey, Vikram Solanki, sung his praises last week, describing him as a “very attacking bowler” with “some real skill”. His statistics in his first-class career to date back that up: his strike rate of a wicket every 51.9 balls is bettered only by Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj in Division One of the County Championship over the last three years.”In my set-up as a bowler, it’s a fundamental thing. I think you’ve got to be aggressive and you’ve got to be looking to take wickets. Maybe the pitches aren’t always going to be suited to you but as a spinner even if you are looking to keep it tight, my eyes are always on taking wickets regardless.”Obviously being young, I’m still learning my skills and getting better at my skills, so you will bowl the odd loose ball or you might not get six balls in the perfect space. But I think you’ll bowl a lot more wicket-taking deliveries and that’s what makes you dangerous: when a batsman knows that you can get them out on any wicket.”It is worth remembering that it was only a year ago that Virdi was not being considered for selection at county level due to his fitness levels falling below an acceptable standard. He was shown some “tough love” by strength and conditioning coach Daz Veness, according to director of cricket Alec Stewart, and has taken his new regime very seriously. He even took a swig from a protein shake-branded water bottle during Friday’s virtual press conference, as if to drive home the point.Virdi has been training hard at home during lockdown•Getty Images

“I don’t think I’d be here if that didn’t happen,” he said. “I probably didn’t put as much focus on that part of my game as I should have, and it probably took something like that to understand how important it was. If that didn’t happen, I would have struggled then progressing to the next level.”It’s had a big impact on my bowling and everything like that,” he said. “I’m hitting most of those minimum standards and now it’s a case of making sure I’m fit enough to play the game and making sure that even after a long day’s play I’m ready to go the next day and that’s key for me especially wanting to play Test cricket.”England’s 30-man squad has been split into two groups for training, to help manage its bloated size. Virdi has found himself in the same group as two of his rivals for a Test spot – Moeen and Matt Parkinson – and said he has felt the benefits of working with Moeen already.”He’s definitely a seasoned spinner. It’s just how free people are with their advice. You can ask whatever you want and they’ll always try to help you as much as possible. Whatever opportunity I’ve had in the past, I’ve always tried to ask him a few questions. Chatting with him and bowling with him in the nets has been really good.”I really enjoy watching Moeen bowl now. That’s been really good to see how he goes about his business, and he’s a great help in the nets. Whenever you’re around him he’s always helpful [and] gives you advice.”

He is scheduled for surgery early next week and will miss at least eight weeks of action

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Dec-2019South Africa opener Aiden Markram will miss the remainder of the four-Test series against England after sustaining a fracture to his left ring finger.Markram picked up the injury while fielding on the second day of the ongoing Centurion Test. It was reset at time and he continued to play, but x-rays taken afterwards suggested he should sit out. Markram, who scored 20 and 2 in the match, is scheduled for surgery early next week and will miss at least eight weeks of action.Before this game, Markram last played an international match in October, failing to get off the mark in either innings of the Pune Test against India. After his dismissal in the second innings, Markram fractured his wrist when he “lashed out at a solid object” in frustration and subsequently missed the Mzansi Super League.”Aiden sustained a fracture affecting the distal joint of his left ring finger,” CSA’s chief medical officer Dr Shuaib Manjra said. “After consulting with a number of hand specialists yesterday we arrived at a decision that the best outcome would be achieved through surgical reduction and fixation.”This would mean him unfortunately missing the rest of the series against England. We feel for Aiden who worked extremely hard to come through his previous hand fracture sustained in India to be Test match ready.”

Spark Sport will show all home cricket from next April with a small selection of games also on free-to-air

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Oct-2019There will be a major change in the New Zealand broadcast landscape next year after NZC entered into a six-year deal with streaming service Spark Sport to show all home cricket ending a relationship with Sky that dates back to 1995.Spark is showing the current rugby World Cup and will add New Zealand’s men’s and women’s internationals as well as the T20 Super Smash competition and the domestic one-day final after the current deal with Sky ends in April 2020.There will also be a small amount of cricket on free-to-air with TVNZ to show the first T20I of each men’s and women’s series along with a collection of Super Smash matches.”This is a deal which future-proofs the whole of cricket in New Zealand,” David White, the NZC CEO, said. “Live streaming is the future. It allows viewers to free themselves from fixed linear schedules to watch live, delayed, highlighted or clipped content when and where they choose, and on a wide range of devices.”Together with the free-to-air component provided by TVNZ, this accord means more cricket games than ever before will be broadcast live. It’s timely that we make this move now, at a time when more New Zealanders than ever – and especially young Kiwis, consume their sports content through digital devices.”There have been some challenges for Spark during the rugby World Cup with users complaining about the quality of the streaming while there are rural areas of New Zealand that do not have the internet connectivity available to access the service.Sky currently retain the rights to New Zealand’s overseas tours.