IPL T20 LIVE: August 2014

Sunday 31 August 2014

Zimbabwe beat Australia after 31 years

The captain Elton Chigumbura engineered the 210-runs chase that changed 11,406 days of history.

By The Report by Firdose Moonda | ESPNcricinfo – Sun 31 Aug, 2014 5:30 AM IST

Zimbabwe 211 for 7 (Chigumbura 52*, Lyon 4-44) beat Australia 209 for 9 (Clarke 68*) by three wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Zimbabwe's players celebrate a famous win at the Harare Sports Club. (AFP)In the 30th ODI meeting between these sides, Zimbabwe did what they had not for 31 years and beat Australia. The captain Elton Chigumbura engineered the chase that changed 11,406 days of history, after his spinners had applied a stranglehold that kept Australia to their lowest total against Zimbabwe, and achieved only their second win against these opponents.

Chigumbura's opposite number, Michael Clarke, battled a hamstring niggle that ruled him out of the rest of the tri-series, and held his side together on a spin-friendly surface on which none of the other Australian batsmen settled. But Zimbabwe's challenge was always going to be chasing a total over 200 - they were dismissed for less in their last four ODIs - and when Nathan Lyonpicked up career-best figures and they were reduced to 156 for 7, another collapse seemed likely. A 55-run stand between Chigumbura and Prosper Utseya for the eighth wicket ensured Zimbabwe did not fold and sent Harare Sports Club into frenzied celebration.

The dancing in the stands had begun in the morning when Zimbabwe reduced Australia to 39 for 3. John Nyumbu bowled Aaron Finch, Prosper Utseya had Phillip Hughes caught at slip, and Sean Williams bowled George Bailey to give Zimbabwe early control.

Clarke was still there but needed a partner to rebuild and could not find one in Glenn Maxwell, despite him being the recipient of the first of five let-offs from Zimbabwe. Maxwell was on 13 when he edgedMalcolm Waller as he tried to drive but Brendan Taylor could not hold on. Fortunately for Zimbabwe, Waller bowled him with his next delivery to ensure no harm was done from that missed chance.

They could not say the same about all the others. Mitchell Marsh had not scored when he flicked Nyumbu to short leg but Tino Mawoyo put down the chance. Marsh added 40 runs with Clarke, although he only contributed 15. Brad Haddin should have been out on 5 but Waller dropped a return catch from a top-edge, on 14 when Chatara fluffed a chance in his follow-through, and on 17 when Chatara put down an easier opportunity at short fine leg.

Amid all of that, Clarke brought up his 50 off 80 balls, but left the field on 68 in the 43rd over because of hamstring trouble. That gave Zimbabwe the opening they wanted and they stormed through. Utseya had James Faulkner caught at slip off the first ball he faced and Williams bowledMitchell Starc through the gate in the next over to leave Australia 150 for 7.

Only Cutting's cameo at No. 10, Haddin's 49, and Chigumbura using seamers at the end instead of spinners took Australia over 200, but this time it was not enough, especially because their attack was without Mitchell Johnson, who was rested.

Zimbabwe had not made such a total in their last four ODIs but that changed because they got a better start today. Tino Mawoyo and Sikandar Raza delivered the best opening partnership of the last eight matches through patience and application.

They waited until the third over before taking their first run and Raza reined in his usual aggressive instincts as much as he could. He could not resist if anything was too short or too full but he got away with it until Australia introduced spin in the 12th over. Lyon's second legitimate delivery turned sharply from outside off into Raza, who was surprised by extra bounce as he tried to cut and handed first slip a catch. In his next over Lyon got rid of Mawoyo too.

Those wickets brought Zimbabwe's most experienced batting pair, Hamilton Masakadza and Taylor, together. Taylor swept with confidence and the pair negotiated flight and turn from both Lyon and Maxwell. They were separated only when Clarke, who returned to lead in the 19th over, brought Starc back. He fired one in full and fast to cut Masakadza in half and end the third-wicket stand on 56.

Seven deliveries later, Taylor went forward to a loopy ball from Lyon that snuck between bat and pad to hit off-stump, but it was only when Sean Williams was caught at slip to give Lyon career-best figures of 4 for 44 that Zimbabwe were in danger of unraveling. They teetered on 102 for 5 and Lyon still had 26 balls to bowl.

Chigumbura eased concerns with two fours off Lyon to suggest Zimbabwe were far from done. Waller helped to see Lyon off, though it meant defending rather than looking for runs. His 11 came off 39 balls and when he handed Maxwell a return catch, Chigumbura was left with the tail.

Donald Tiripano was dismissed for 3 but Prosper Utseya was not anywhere. He sliced Starc through point for his first runs and showed he was willing to move the score along to take pressure off his captain.

Zimbabwe entered the last ten overs needing 44 to win and Chigumbura and Utseya hunted them down in calculated fashion. Chigumbura's finishing skills shone through when he guided Marsh to third man, but he largely concentrated on rotating strike and letting Utseya take risks. With the field spread, the pair did not have to take too many, apart from when Utseya cleared mid-on off a Faulkner length ball.

Chigunbura's 50 came off 61 balls with a punch through point and took Zimbabwe within 15 runs of victory. Even as they got closer, Chigumbura did not get over-ambitious and maintained a level head. Utseya struck the winning blow - a smoke over midwicket - with two overs to spare and gave Zimbabwe an outside chance of making the tri-series final.
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Friday 29 August 2014

Raina targets more England success

"The contest between England and India is always challenging. We did well in the last game so the atmosphere in the dressing room is very positive.”

AFP – 12 hours ago

Suresh Raina is hungry for more runs and success. (Reuters)

Nottingham (United Kingdom): India's Suresh Raina is looking to carry on from where he left off in the third one-day international against England at Trent Bridge on Saturday.

The 27-year-old's left-handed batsman's score of exactly 100 was the cornerstone of world champions India's dominant 133-run win over England in the second ODI at Cardiff on Wednesday.

That victory put India 1-0 up in the five-match series following Monday's washout in Bristol and saw the team return to winning ways against England after a chastening 3-1 Test campaign defeat earlier on tour.

For Raina, it was his latest ODI success against an England side where his average now stands at nearly 48 in 29 matches compared to a career mark of 35 in 193 matches.

"The contest between England and India is always challenging. We did well in the last game so the atmosphere in the dressing room is very positive," Raina told reporters at Trent Bridge on Friday.

"Everyone is looking forward to the next three games," he said of a series that marks the start of both India and England's preparations for next year's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Reflecting on his dynamic 75-ball knock, featuring 12 fours and three sixes, Raina said: "It was good. God has been very kind. I love batting against England.

"I have done it in the past. When I played first game against them in Faridabad, I got my first man-of-the-match. At the same time I am looking to the next game. I just want to continue my good form."

India will be without Rohit Sharma, who made a useful 52 in Cardiff, after the opener was ruled out of the rest of the series with a broken finger suffered while fielding at Sophia Gardens.

India have called up Murali Vijay, who opened in the Test series, as cover but he is not expected to arrive in time for Saturday's match.

Now the tourists could promote Ajinkya Rahane to open alongside Shikhar Dhawan, with Ambati Rayudu coming into the side.

"Opening in England is always a difficult job, but unfortunately he (Sharma) has got injured," Raina said.

"Still we have a lot of youngsters. Sanju Samson is here, we have Ambati Rayudu.

"And we have Vijay coming. He is a Test specialist, but he has done well in one-dayers and the IPL (the Twenty20 Indian Premier League)."

Wednesday 27 August 2014

India roar back to form in familiar format

Raina's 100 and Jadeja's 4 for 28 set up a massive 133-run win over England in the 2nd ODI.

By The Report by David Hopps | ESPNcricinfo – Wed 27 Aug, 2014 5:30 AM IST

India 304 for 6 (Raina 100, Dhoni 52, Rohit 52, Woakes 4-52) beat England 161 (Jadeja 4-28) by 133 runs

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

The Tests have departed into the folder marked "Red Ball Disasters"; India's intention is now to stage a party to help them forget what has gone before. One game into the Royal London ODI series, the outlook has been transformed. They look empowered again.

Raina made precisely 100 of 75 balls. (AP)Suresh Raina, ignored for the Test series, had the undamaged mindset to fill the role of party compere as he played with an exuberance rarely seen from India during their mauling in the Test series, proceeding with a cheerful vigour to make 100 from 75 balls, his first ODI century for four years.

England's response was dire, resulting in their second-heaviest defeat against India, in terms of runs. They can console themselves that people tend to lose interest when games are decided by Duckworth-Lewis calculations, but a passing stranger wandering down the banks of the Taff and armed only with an abacus could have concluded that this was a trouncing.

India have happy memories of Cardiff: they have made 300-plus here three times, the only side to do so, and beat South Africa and Sri Lanka here during their Champions Trophy success last summer. England did not get a look in as Ravindra Jadeja, whose left-arm spin has repeatedly tormented them in the limited-overs game, just needed to turn in a routine shift to yield 4 for 28. At the end, Ravi Shastri, imposed for the series as emergency team director, applauded seriously and shook hands with men in suits.

With ODIs predominating in the months ahead, England have a much-anticipated chance to develop a new brand of one-day cricket. On this evidence, they should call it "Careworn". Faced by a slightly rejigged target of 295 in 47 overs, they survived the new ball convincingly enough - 54 on the board by the 11th over - but then five wickets tumbled for 31 in 12 overs as all their old doubts resurfaced.

Alastair Cook cobbled together some sort of form during the Test series to protect his captaincy but that is a long way removed from discovering the dash needed in the one-day game. He played in Alex Hales' shadow, making 19 in 33 balls, before he fell lbw to Mohammed Shami, manufacturing a leg-side shot. Ian Bell's leave alone saw him bowled second ball later in the over. No immediate retort then from the top-order players who Graeme Swann, a former team-mate has said will leave England's World Cup challenge stillborn.

Batting under the lights looked a more onerous proposition than when Raina sallied forth earlier in the day, particularly when Bhuvneshwar Kumar brought one back to bowl Joe Root, but it was England's deficiencies against spin bowling in mid-innings that were most galling for them as a deteriorating position left them unwilling to hit through the infield.

Hales had unfurled some flowing off-side drives - his trademark - during a debut innings of 40, but a top-edged sweep against Jadeja silenced him. Jadeja's extra bounce also fooled Jos Buttler into poking a furtive catch into the off side. With light drizzle in the air, Eoin Morgan's stretching sweep at R Ashwin lobbed to deep square leg.

For England, the collapse could hardly have been more disheartening. Up on a rain-spattered balcony, the coach Peter Moores checked his notes and Cook checked his fingernails. Neither offered a solution. At least Ben Stokes, whose average of 1.8 in his last 10 England innings was barely credible, could find a score of 23 faintly consoling. And James Tredwell hit his first ODI six - off Jadeja, too. Driftwood in a sea of despond.

There were also troubles for England with the ball. Chris Jordan delivered 12 wides in a return of 0 for 73, five of them in a single Powerplay over, as a lack of rhythm that had been apparent during the Test series turned into something more ghoulish in the 50-over format. Jordan, shaking his head and perspiring heavily, looked perplexed. It was another bad moment on that England balcony as David Saker, the bowling coach, scratched his teeth in concern.

But it was Raina, carefree even by his standards, who smash-and-grabbed the match for India. This was his first ODI hundred for 95 innings, stretching back to a tri-nation tournament in Bangladesh, when he made 106 against Sri Lanka in Dhaka in 2010. England's quartet of right-arm pace bowlers offered an unvaried challenge, although the offspinner Tredwell had a rewarding outing considering his difficult season during which he was loaned out by Kent to Sussex.

He was dismissed the ball after he had reached his century, making room to flay Chris Woakes through the off side but picking out James Anderson on the cover boundary. Woakes, despite conceding 20 from one over as Raina took charge, somehow returned 4 for 52.

Raina, unsurprisingly considering his lack of cricket, had a few streaky moments early on. Early boundaries included an unattractive leg-side swipe at Tredwell and an uncertain edge against Anderson, and he was fortunate to escape Tredwell's lbw appeal on 17 but, as the floodlights cut through a murky South Wales day, he became electrified.

England conceded 62 in the Powerplay between 35 and 40 overs - 42 of them in 16 balls to Raina. He withdrew his front leg to loft Woakes straight for six and then top-edge over the ropes to assert that his luck was in.

For Virat Kohli, though, there was no release from a miserable summer. After an unproductive Test series, in which he made only 134 runs at 13.40, the opportunity beckoned for Kohli to reassert himself in the one-day series, but he fell third ball for nought as he tried to come down the pitch to crash Woakes over the off side and plopped the ball into the hands of Cook at mid-off.

India began nervously. It took only two deliveries for them to be reminded of their deficiencies in the Test series as Anderson curved an outswinger past Rohit Sharma's outside edge. Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan twice survived after running mix-ups; Woakes had Dhawan caught at the wicket. But Rohit found an ally in Ajinkya Rahane in a third-wicket stand of 91 in 16 as England's back-up seamers failed to maintain the pressure on the sort of dibbly-dobbly day that would have made Ravi Bopara, a controversial omission from England's squad, a useful man to have around.

Rahane carelessly allowed himself to be stumped off Tredwell, who then added Rohit to the sort of inside-out swing which had proved his downfall against Moeen Ali at the Ageas Bowl, his sole Test appearance. At 132 for 4 with barely 20 overs left, there was much work to be done and Raina did it. For once, a one-day half-century from MS Dhoni, ended by Woakes' slower ball, was entirely overshadowed.
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Tuesday 26 August 2014

Dominant Sri Lanka level series

The hosts thumped Pakistan by 77 runs in the 2nd ODI at Hambantota.

By The Report by Siddarth Ravindran | ESPNcricinfo – Tue 26 Aug, 2014 5:30 AM IST

Sri Lanka 310 for 9 (Mathews 93, Jayawardene 67, Thisara 65, Hafeez 3-39) beat Pakistan 233 (Hafeez 62, Shehzad 56, Thisara 3-19) by 77 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

The varying rhythms of the one-day game were on full display in the second ODI in Hambantota, where the spinners thrived and the quicks toiled in a high-scoring encounter. There were bursts of boundaries alternating with periods of lull, with Sri Lanka's run-rate sharply increasing and decreasing through their innings, till a final blast lifted them beyond 300.

Thisara Perera blasted a 36-ball 65. (Reuters)The hosts began in a hurry despite losing early wickets, then counterattacked against the spinners before being becalmed through Mahela Jayawardene and Angelo Mathews who put on a big partnership, lost a bunch of wickets to Mohammad Hafeez, and were only bailed out by a brutal onslaught fromThisara Perera in the death overs.

No team has ever successfully hunted down more than 300 in Sri Lanka, but Pakistan were bursting with confidence after the back-from-the-dead chase in the first ODI. Though Pakistan lost Sharjeel Khan in the fourth over, Hafeez hit a dazzling half-century that included six fours in his first 10 deliveries. With Ahmed Shehzad playing the supporting act, Hafeez tore apart the new-ball bowlers to drive Pakistan to 98 for 1 after 12 overs.

Then came the big squeeze from the Sri Lankan spinners. Seekkuge Prasanna was playing his first ODI since December and had messed up with the bat after being promoted to No. 6, but he flourished with the ball and was electric in the field. Prasanna and Rangana Herath exploited the help in the surface to string together loads of dot balls to pile the pressure on Pakistan.

After a six-over spell in which only 16 runs were scored, the wickets duly arrived. Hafeez missed a straighter one from Prasanna and was lbw for 62. With only two genuine spinners in the line-up, Sri Lanka turned to the part-time tweakers of Tillakaratne Dilshan. He responded by getting the dangerous Umar Akmal caught behind off his first delivery.

Those wickets resulted in a galloping number of dot balls as Misbah-ul-Haq took time to settle and Shehzad could not force the pace. By the 30th over, Pakistan had played out 100 scoreless deliveries. The quick-thinking Sangakkara produced a breakthrough with another superbly anticipated catch down the leg side when Shehzad went for the lap sweep.

When the Powerplay came along, Sri Lanka belatedly decided that Herath should have the responsibility of bowling three overs in the Powerplay, and not Lasith Malinga. Herath delivered, first dismissing Misbah and then the hero of the first ODI, Sohaib Maqsood.

It was not yet game over as Fawad Alam was still battling, and no one can tell what Shahid Afridi will do. Afridi began with some powerful boundaries, and with the spinners bowled out, Sri Lanka would have just started worrying when he holed out for 17. The tail did not last too long and Sri Lanka wrapped up a 77-run victory, though the match was tighter than the margin suggested.

The margin too would have been tighter had Pakistan's bowlers not lost their way in the final stages of the innings earlier in the evening. After having Sri Lanka down to 194 for 6 in the 38th over, thanks to Hafeez's triple-strike, they still gave away 80 runs in the final six overs as Perera and Mathews ran amok.

The power-hitting that makes Perera such a valued limited-overs player was in full display as he launched everything in his range over the leg side. From 15 off 18, he rocketed to 57 off 32 as the bowlers wilted under the blaze of big hits. At the 40-over stage, Sri Lanka would have been satisfied with a final score around 275, but the Perera blitz shot them past 300.

Mathews had been less spectacular but his 93 was the knock around which the Sri Lankan innings revolved. After letting Jayawardene dominate a 122-run fourth-innings partnership, and keeping his strike rate below 70 for much of his innings, he opened out with a series of muscular hits over extra cover and towards midwicket at the end. He went past 3000 ODI runs, and had time for a maiden century in the format, but he, as so often this year, perished in the 90s.

Jayawardene had been the stand-out performer in the first half of the innings, showing yet again that violent strokeplay was not necessary to score at a pace demanded by modern cricket. He used the lap sweep and the late cut past backward point, he scooted down the track to chip over mid-off and midwicket - there were four fours from him in a five-ball sequence against the spinners, and the pressure built by the early wickets evaporated.

Pakistan needed to capitalise once Hafeez provided the breakthroughs during the Powerplay, but their new-ball bowlers, Junaid Khan and Mohammad Irfan, had days to forget as Sri Lanka ramped up the score to nearly unreachable levels.
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