India have a long history of playing ODI cricket around their method of taking games deep, but batters were out going for big shots against Australia

Deivarayan Muthu23-Mar-20235:46

Rohit: Surya really unfortunate, we wanted to give him the last 15-20 overs

Virat Kohli has just brought up a typically risk-free half-century. A massive roar reverberates around Chennai’s newly-renovated MA Chidambaram Stadium. There are no signs of dew and the ball is gripping and turning sharply for Australia’s slower bowlers, but a Kohli century seems almost inevitable. At the other end, Hardik Pandya has run away to 28 off 20 balls. India are 185 for 4 in 35 overs, chasing 270, with batting all the way down to Ravindra Jadeja at No.8.Kohli then collapses his back knee and atypically hits the ball in the air, despite not reaching the pitch of an Ashton Agar delivery that breaks away from him. He looks to take on deep cover, but ends up plopping the ball much straighter to long-off for 54 off 72 balls. Kohli usually takes these chases deep and kills them off, but this time he has veered from his approach and holed out. David Warner pumps his fist after taking the catch and Australia captain Steven Smith pulls his collar up; Chepauk is hushed.The pitch plays more tricks. A skidder from Agar keeps low and storms through the defences of Suryakumar Yadav, who bags his third straight golden duck in the series. Hardik, too, holes out while trying to hit a six, leaving the door ajar for Australia. The visitors capitalise and consign India to their third bilateral ODI series defeat since 2015.Related

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Hardik and Adam Zampa have some history: six years ago, Hardik had said he could hit a six off Zampa anytime he wanted to. But Zampa is at the peak of his powers now. Since the end of the 2019 ODI World Cup, no spinner from a Full Member nation has more wickets than his 66, and only Alzarri Joseph (69) has more wickets during this period. In Chennai, both Zampa and Agar were getting some balls to spin viciously from the line of the stumps.KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja all fell trying to hit Adam Zampa for a six•Getty ImagesWith the asking rate hovering around eight and with Jadeja at the other end, Hardik could have seen out Zampa’s last two overs and targeted the medium-pace of Marcus Stoinis, who ended up bowling the 48th and 50th overs. With Mitchell Marsh playing as a specialist batter this series, Australia did not have a sixth-bowling option. However, despite the presence of a straight long-on, wide long-on and deep midwicket, Hardik throws his hands into a low-percentage slog against a Zampa legbreak and slices a catch to extra-cover. KL Rahul and Jadeja are also dismissed trying to hit Zampa for a six.India captain Rohit Sharma wasn’t too critical of India’s uncharacteristic batting approach, but he called for greater application on tricky tracks like the one at Chepauk.”No, I don’t think it was too many runs,” Rohit told at the post-match presentation. “The wicket was a little challenging towards the second half, but I didn’t think we batted well. The moment we thought we had a partnership, we lost a wicket. So, yeah when you want to win games like this, partnerships are crucial and it’s something that we failed to do today.”A bit of both [the nature of the wicket and manner of dismissals] actually disappointed me. You’re born and brought up playing on these kinds of wickets, so sometimes it will be challenging, but it’s important to apply yourself and try and give yourself a chance. We were not chasing 300, we were chasing 270. After the start we got, it was important for one batter to carry [on] as long as possible and take the game deep. But, again, having said that, we know these things can happen and all of us were trying our best to go out and achieve that, but it just didn’t happen.”At the press conference, Rohit said the team management would not judge the batters based on the batting malfunction on Wednesday. “If you look at the last few overs, it was probably a run-a-ball or probably more than that,” Rohit said. “So someone has to take a chance. We didn’t want to wait till the end for the last couple of overs. We’ve always spoken of playing a little fearlessly and if someone feels like they can take the bowlers on, we’ve given them complete freedom to go and do that. And while doing that, there’s a big possibility that they might not be able to achieve what they want to achieve, which is fair. Which is fine by us.”You will learn from that and we will definitely not judge [players] based on a couple of poor shots. All these guys have a lot of potential and they can play shots whenever they want and we want to encourage them to go out and do that quite often.”India have a history of winning ODIs with their tried-and tested method of taking games deep, and perhaps the batting failure in Chennai was just an anomaly.

They seem to complement each other well, guiding the team through the middle overs to facilitate a late onslaught

Madushka Balasuriya20-Jun-2023Sri Lanka’s opening game of the World Cup Qualifier was pretty much as textbook an execution of their game plan as head coach Chris Silverwood could have hoped for.The top order set a platform, the middle order kept things ticking, the set batters then began the acceleration in that brief period between the 30th and 40th over, before the launch was executed consummately at the death. The bowlers, led by Wanindu Hasaranga, then proved just too good for some admittedly spirited UAE batters.Now, as to whether Sri Lanka can put together such performances consistently remains a pertinent question for another day, but what we did learn from this resounding victory was that this is most definitely a side making rapid progress.Related

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Sure there are still problems to be addressed, a seam-bowling unit that needs to be wrapped in cotton wool and an opening pair that consume dot balls like they’re hard-boiled eggs, are two very pertinent ones. But, whisper it quietly, despite all their recent chaos, in Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama, Sri Lanka may finally be coming close to resolving their longstanding middle-order woes – ironic since both batters are arguably better served at the top of the order.While a majority of their interactions in the middle have been for the Sri Lankan Under-19 side – they’ve played just six ODIs alongside each, of which three have come in the past month – it seems that they have nevertheless found in each other kindred spirits.For all of Mendis’ brashness and tendency to throw away promising platforms, Samarawickrama seems well equipped at ushering his former Under-19 captain through the middle overs and into the point in the game in which most damage can be done.While this strategy has admittedly fallen short in the two games this year that both have partnered up – Mendis falling for 78 against both Afghanistan and UAE – both games have nevertheless seen the pair combine to guide Sri Lanka through the middle overs and catalyse a late-overs onslaught.In the second ODI against Afghanistan earlier this month, they put on an 88-run stand at a little over a run-a-ball having joined up in the 23rd over – a partnership in which the highlight was a purposeful upping of the scoring rate from overs 30-35. A carbon copy of this blueprint was put into effect against the UAE, with the pair coming together in the 27th over and putting together a 105-run partnership off just 79 deliveries. It’s no coincidence that in both matches Sri Lanka have managed to surpass the 300-mark, a feat they’ve otherwise rarely accomplished over the past five years.But where Sri Lanka are truly fortunate, is that these two players seem to be linking up at just the right times in their respective careers.Sri Lanka are now reaping the rewards for keeping their faith in Kusal Mendis, even when he showed a downturn in form•AFP/Getty ImagesIt’s a fascinating microcosm of the chaotic progression structure of Sri Lanka’s cricketing setup, that despite both Mendis and Samarawickrama having come through the same Under-19 batch, they’ve had such diverging paths to the national side.Mendis, of course, was the older and more highly regarded of the two, having been captain of the Under-19 side and known for his brazen stroke play. He made his Test debut in 2015 aged just 20, and by the end of his sophomore year had notched a match winning 176 against Australia, as well as a handful of ODI fifties.As for Samarawickrama, his route to the national side was more winding. He scored a fluent 38 on Test debut against Pakistan in 2017, but following a chastening tour of India later that year was left out of the Test side for six years. He wouldn’t return until earlier this year against Ireland, when he registered a maiden Test ton. Meanwhile in ODIs and T20Is his inclusion was sporadic, never truly grabbing his chance but also never really being given a run of games to find his footing – another victim of a particularly dire period in Sri Lankan cricket, in which selection was at its most volatile.During this period, only a handful of players remained mainstays, one of whom was Mendis. While this spell coincided with a prolonged period of inconsistency, the selectors still kept their faith in a man seen as one of the stars of the future. That faith is now being handsomely repaid but it wasn’t without its trials. Coming through in an age in which social media was gaining increasing prevalence, Mendis’ downturn in form made him a prime target for the ire of disgruntled fans, which in turn impacted his performances further. He struggled off the field too, suspended for his role in breaking Covid protocols alongside Niroshan Dickwella and Danushka Gunathilaka.But upon his return from suspension, a more focused version of Mendis emerged. Last year saw him rack up 388 runs in ODIs at an average of 48.50, his best non-Covid impact in the calendar year since 2016, which was when he made his debut. In T20Is too he found another gear, consistently setting the tone at the top of the order, and playing an integral role in Sri Lanka’s Asia Cup triumph.Samarawickrama, in the meantime, was grinding the domestic circuit, patiently waiting for his opportunity – which given past evidence, something there was no guarantee would come. But it was his performances in last year’s Lanka Premier League, which arguably turned the tide in his favour. Scoring 294 runs at an average of 58.8 and a strike rate of 131.25 for champions Jaffna Kings, Samarawickrama was named Player of the Series, but more importantly his versatility across the batting order proved invaluable.Sadeera Samarawickrama’s temperament has been his best quality•ICC/Getty ImagesThis earned him a recall to the limited-overs and eventually Test squads, but even then it was only following a failed flirtation with Angelo Mathews that Samarawickrama eventually got his break in the playing XI. This time though he took his chance.If the Samarawickrama that was first called up all those years ago was an impetuous top-order batter prone to lapses in concentration, now his temperament is arguably his best quality.Against the UAE, he racked up 21 singles, but once it was time to pick up the pace, he had the ability and wherewithal to shift gears as needed. Having scored just two boundaries across his first 39 deliveries, he would score seven more across the next 25 balls faced – motoring from 31 off 39 to his eventual score of 73 off 64.”I was planning to go for a big one, but from a team point of view, I had to go for runs at that point,” Samarawickrama would state after the game. “I knew that there were power hitters to come after me, so I was just looking at scoring two boundaries an over at that stage.”What must be pointed out here is also the knock on effect on Mendis, someone who has in the past shown a propensity to get bogged down, unable to rotate the strike, and then lose his wicket trying to break free. With Samarawickrama by his side, he’s running more – against the UAE he ran 27 singles – and conversely feeling less pressure to search for the boundary.The next step is in getting Mendis to be around at the death, something that is likely a large part of Sri Lanka’s game plan if their World Cup campaign is to be any kind of success. Fortunately for them, in Samarawickrama they might just have found the ideal foil to help get him there more often than not.

Such a heavy workload after two years out of red-ball cricket was always likely to have consequences

Vithushan Ehantharajah18-Jun-2023Moeen Ali can’t have had many worse birthdays than this one.Turning 36 is bad enough, what with officially being in your “late thirties”. It began pleasantly enough as the England team presented him with a card before the start of day three of this first Ashes Test. Unfortunately, he was also presented with a 25% fine of his match fee by the ICC for spraying a drying agent on his bowling hand.The incident took just before Moeen bowled a two-over spell through to stumps on day two. He crouches by the boundary, picks up the canister and sprays away, oblivious that he is doing anything wrong. Sky Sports’ cameras picked up the whole thing.On Sunday, the need for the drying agent was crystal clear. Moeen’s right hand was in the lens once more, with photographs showing the tip of his spinning index finger blistered red-raw.Related

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It is said to be sore to touch, which is exactly as it looks. One can only imagine how painful it is gripping a proud Dukes seam and giving it a rip, in every sense. It was clearly a problem as Saturday wore on, with a few small spells off the field. You could track the decline in effect and confidence as the ball moved further into his hand as the Australian innings wore on.There were two full tosses to Pat Cummins in his final nine deliveries on day three. The only reason both were not carted into the stands was the Australia captain’s suspicion when presented with the first. Such were Ben Stokes’ tactics at the time – packing the leg side, packing the off side, then going with an umbrella field, often in the same over – Cummins had every right to think such an amateurish delivery might have been deliberate. It wasn’t.Moeen’s 33 overs across these two days are the joint-sixth-most he has bowled in an innings. Only once have there been more in a home Test; 36 in the first innings against Australia at Lord’s in 2015.It is worth noting that was Moeen’s 13th of what is now 57 caps. Early enough in his career for the spinning digit to be in sound health, and no doubt primed by the regular first-class cricket he was playing at the time. The issue with the finger emerged two years later, tearing open in the opening match of the 2017-18 Ashes. He played through, eventually leaving the tour with five wickets in as many games, a series average of 115 and an issue to manage for the rest of his career.There was a flare-up in the 2019 Ashes opener too, at this ground, which ultimately led to him being axed for the rest of the series. And the unfortunate symmetry here may be that he has to miss the Lord’s Test – beginning June 28 – to give it time to heal over. And thus England, having brought Moeen out of retirement to cover for losing Jack Leach to a stress fracture, will return to square one.Even Moeen could see this coming. While he was typically phlegmatic about his finger’s readiness for the grind during media duties on Monday, the fact his last red-ball work of any note was a Test in September 2021 meant its robustness was unknown.Moeen suffered a blister on the index finger of his right hand•Visionhaus/Getty ImagesThe white-ball overs, the practice sessions in the IPL, these were posited as reasons it might be okay. In answer to the queries, he rounded off with a prophetic: “We’ll see after I’ve bowled about 15 overs.” Well, now we know, and we can all see.It’s hard to blame Moeen in all this. He was happy with his white-ball lot, and who could begrudge anyone for accepting a golden ticket to such a high-profile series, under new management that perfectly suits their qualities and personality? You’d shake someone if they said no to that. There are, however, questions to be asked of the management.The pros to his selection were understandable to a point, and the prodigious turn shown – particularly the delivery that bowled Cameron Green, proved some of them were not out of date. But was the state of the finger discussed? And moreover – was it then wise to give him 29 overs on his first day in the field for two years?The figures, all told, are not dreadful, particularly when viewed through Brendon McCullum’s thick black lenses. Runs conceded – 147 – are way down on a list of priorities, and with the dismissals of Green and Travis Head, England will argue Moeen has done exactly what has been asked of him. Had Green or Alex Carey gone earlier, with Jonny Bairstow missing both chances – a different conversation we simply do not have time for right now – Australia would have been dismissed sooner and Moeen wouldn’t have had to bowl as much as he did.The full-tosses will be explained as “one of those things”. The eight sixes conceded (the most by a bowler in a single Ashes innings) simply the accepted by-product of giving the ball flight to entice attacking shots. Even Ollie Robinson seemed unperturbed by the finger at stumps: “As far as I’m aware, it’s fine.” It’s not, obviously.The selection of Moeen, like the Test itself, is fascinatingly poised. He has a chance to offer crucial runs to get England a big enough lead on Monday before getting the ball back in his hands for what needs to be a vital contribution in the fourth innings.Over the last year, this Test group have had a knack for getting marginal calls right. And while the selection of Moeen has not backfired just yet given the current state of play, we are not far away from being able to say so one way or another.

While hosts were indecisive with the bat, England bowlers were good at varying pace and length

Sruthi Ravindranath09-Dec-2023A batting-friendly Wankhede surface. Shorter boundaries. At the pitch report, the broadcasters said it should be a “belter”. But a great display of control and adaptability from England’s bowlers – and misjudgements from India’s batters – took all of that out of equation.It was a case of India’s batters being indecisive on a pitch where there wasn’t much turn. Players from both sides admitted that the ball was “skidding on” but it was also about the England bowlers being so good at varying their pace and lengths. For Charlie Dean, there were “no real demons” in the pitch. For Deepti Sharma, it was a “tricky pitch”.Offspinner Dean was told on Saturday morning that she’d have to open the bowling as a match-up for the left-handed Smriti Mandhana. She ended up doing more than was expected of her. She was also coming into the game having missed the first T20I with a stomach bug. But her impact was felt instantly as she put India in trouble in the span of just eight deliveries.Related

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After playing the first delivery – a length ball on off stump – straight back to Dean, Shafali Verma, next ball, played a similar delivery for the turn and looked to guide it into the leg side. She was pinned straight in front and departed for a duck. That also made it Verma’s 20th dismissal to an off-spinner in 43 T20Is.Mandhana looked somewhat settled, having hit a couple of boundaries off the quicker bowlers. Heather Knight, after giving the ball to Lauren Bell and Nat Sciver-Brunt to bowl the second and third overs, gave the ball back to Dean to bowl to the left-hander. Mandhana, expecting the ball to turn, rocked back to cut a length delivery outside off but got rapped on her pads instead and was given out by the umpire. Even a review couldn’t save her.”There were quite a lot of wickets today in the game,” Dean said after the match. “I wouldn’t have any complaints on the pitch myself. Of course I wouldn’t, I’m a bowler, I didn’t get a chance to have a bat out there but that’s good. A lot of our guys were saying it’s skidding on a bit but no real demons in the pitch. I guess just pressures and weaknesses in certain areas.”We executed our plans really well and so did India, to be fair they set really aggressive fields. They had to because of the way that game was dictated.”Harmanpreet Kaur injected some positivity into the innings by scooping fuller deliveries off Sciver-Brunt for back-to-back boundaries over fine leg. But Sciver-Brunt quickly changed her length, getting a length ball on off to nick sharply back into Harmanpreet’s knees to seal her dismissal. She went for the DRS but got three reds, and India had burnt both their reviews by the fifth over.And the misery continued for India. There was Deepti going for a drive only to edge the ball to the wicketkeeper. With the introduction of another spinner – Sophie Ecclestone – came another wicket, a brilliant caught-and-bowled dismissal that sent Richa Ghosh back for 4.It was then legspinner Sarah Glenn’s turn as she pulled back her length to remove Pooja Vastrakar. Vastrakar, having played Glenn out in the eighth over, charged down the track early to play for turn but the ball went through her bat and pad to hit the off stump. India at that point, were 45 for 6, Jemimah Rodrigues their only hope.Ecclestone, with her subtle variations and stump-to-stump deliveries, made sure to squeeze India in the middle overs, where they did not hit a boundary for 40 balls. It was Rodrigues who broke the pressure with two quick boundaries, in hopes of giving India a boost. But it all came crashing down when she was out lbw trying to play one into the leg side against Glenn, who changed her length after two tossed up deliveries.It did not take too long for England to finish proceedings as they bundled India out for 80, their lowest T20I score against England.According to Deepti, who was playing her 100th T20I, the pitch wasn’t exactly “difficult” to play on.”It wasn’t a 70- or 80-run wicket; we could have scored a bit more, around 110-115,” she said. “But it happens sometimes when conditions are not in your favour. You try to play well as a team but everyone can have an off day.”I think it was not difficult. We just had to play to the merit of the ball. We had a lot of takeaways but it was not as difficult. We will see what we can take away to make it better in tomorrow’s game.”India have lost 10 out of their 16 wickets to fall across the two T20Is to spinners. England had their plans in place and exploited India’s weakness with relative ease. With the next T20 World Cup set to be played in Bangladesh – where slower bowlers will play a big part – in less than a year, England will be glad their spin department is shaping up well.India’s batters, meanwhile, will have to work on changing their patterns against spinners.

After falling while trying to get out of the line of a short ball at the MCG, Rizwan went after the Australian bowlers in Sydney

Danyal Rasool03-Jan-2024Mohammad Rizwan had got out of the way, and he was furious. He pointed to his arm, gesturing towards a white spot further up the limb the ball definitely hadn’t hit, in an attempt to deflect from the soft, incriminating kiss it had given the wristband of his glove. He went to the Australian fielders to tell them he wasn’t out; given they had opted to send it up to the TV umpire Richard Illingworth, it’s safe to assume they begged to differ. When he was given his marching orders, he seethed some more, animatedly gesturing to the umpire before walking off the MCG in a huff. It wasn’t like Rizwan at all.He had been cramped for room (as he almost famously said in Hyderabad), and now he was acting out.But perhaps what angered him wasn’t the TV umpire’s decision – the evidence was fairly conclusive – but his reaction to Pat Cummins’ body serve of a delivery: he’d got out of the way. And that, if you know much about him, is even less like Rizwan.For the most part, Rizwan’s body is always on the line; he wears blows like badges of honour. It’s possible the mystery mark on his arm was just one of many such bruises decorating his flesh. He throws himself to the ground, diving to complete runs he could have dawdled and still completed, and invariably bruises an arm or a leg, or knocks his helmet grill back into his head keeping the concussion doctor on his toes. He cramps up and yes, he acts. But for a man of faith like Rizwan, getting out of the way must be as close as sport comes to sacrilege.Related

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And having sinned once, Rizwan was ready to repent in Sydney. At 56 for 4, Josh Hazlewood bowled a similar ball to him, arrowing into his body off a slightly short length, but one that would have made ducking tricky. Instead of stepping away, Rizwan moved his body further into the line and got down low, making himself even more vulnerable. Fine leg was stationed on the edge of the boundary, meaning an aggressive shot here would be as much a professional as a personal risk, but Rizwan didn’t care. And then, in a motion that was more a crack of a whip than a swing of a bat, one liquid motion that almost saw him use his ribs as a pivot, he clobbered one over fine leg’s head for six.Hazlewood pitched the next one on a length; it was nothing like the previous ball, nothing, even, like the Cummins ball. But with the zeal of a convert, Rizwan went after this one too, his head falling away well before he was through his shot, and his body following soon after. Either of those two balls could have got him out, but to note that was to miss the point. For Rizwan, there are certain things that bother him, but getting out isn’t intrinsically one of them.Rizwan went off for lunch, but his appetite was nowhere near sated yet. This time, he was facing Cummins himself, the man who had caused him to sin last week, snapping his side out of the heavenly dreams of victory and casting them back into this mortal realm. He bowled two balls wide of off stump, each of which Rizwan tried to attack, but it was when he sent one the third one in short that Rizwan delivered retribution. He rose to his toes, extending himself to his full height and carved him away for a boundary; it was now that Rizwan was tucking in.Mohammad Rizwan was unhappy with his dismissal during Pakistan’s chase at the MCG•Getty Images and Cricket AustraliaWhen Mitchell Marsh came on, Rizwan didn’t need so much as a second look. He cut the first ball over the slips, flashing hard over gully to pick up four, before nearly chopping on against Cummins the following over attempting another high-risk shot. It was that battle against Cummins which Rizwan was, for better or worse, never going to back down from. He attacked just under 20% of all deliveries he faced from the Australian captain, a higher percentage than any other bowler. And of the 61 runs Cummins conceded in 18 overs, 19 of them came off just 21 deliveries he bowled to Rizwan.Masood had fallen by now, but Rizwan was busy constructing a salvage job with Salman Ali Agha. An over before drinks, where he drove Nathan Lyon against the turn and swept him with it set the tone, and fittingly it was a boundary off a short Hazlewood delivery that took him to his second half-century in Australia.Rizwan’s commitment to this brand was so total it appeared to have a proselytising effect on Agha. Like a faithful disciple, he followed Rizwan in planting the front foot and sweeping Lyon, before charging down the wicket the following delivery and walloping him back over his head. Rizwan himself went one better, of course, dancing down and fetching six more off the spinner. Four days after Pakistan had dropped into the abyss following the breaking of a partnership between these two man, here they were, digging them out of it.Cummins ran through his options, bringing Mitchell Starc back on. Starc is perhaps the man who can land the most painful of body blows, but Rizwan flashed two short deliveries square for four as he hurtled towards a record he set the first time he batted in Australia four years ago. No Pakistan wicketkeeper has ever scored a century in Australia; Rizwan’s 95 in Brisbane in 2019 is the closest anyone has ever come. He could put that right in a few minutes. But Rizwan wasn’t looking to make amends from last tour, more from last week.With a weary sense of inevitability, Cummins brought himself back on, and sent down the same delivery that had accounted for Rizwan at the MCG. Rizwan swiftly got himself in line but the ball continued to rise, and the batter’s slash flew up to the square leg it had sailed over two hours earlier. Hazlewood completed the catch with ease, and Rizwan fell a dozen short of that history-making hundred. It was a bad time to get out, and if you watched it in isolation, inoculated from what happened at the MCG and of the way Rizwan thinks about cricket, a naïve way to depart.From Rizwan himself though, there was no remonstration this time. He put his bat underneath his arm and walked briskly off. Rizwan’s body was back on the line, and his team back in the contest. If Pakistan can turn disaster into anything resembling triumph, the origins of it might have been conceived a thousand kilometres away, with an uncharacteristically angry man pointing to a phantom mark on his forearm in late December sunshine.

At least in terms of balls remaining: there were 200 of them left when India won the game

Sampath Bandarupalli17-Dec-2023116 South Africa’s total on Sunday in Johannesburg is now their lowest at home in men’s ODIs. Their previous lowest also came against India, bowled out for 118 in Centurion in 2018.200 Balls remaining when South Africa lost the game. It is their second-biggest defeat in terms of balls to spare in men’s ODIs. Their worst loss was by 215 balls against England, who chased a target of 84 in 14.1 overs at Trent Bridge in 2008.48 Runs aggregated by South Africa’s top seven batters at Wanderers stadium. Only once have their top seven done worse in men’s ODIs, when they totalled 45 runs against Australia in Sydney in 1993, where they got bundled out for 69.1 Arshdeep Singh is the first Indian pacer to bag a five-wicket haul in men’s ODIs against South Africa. The previous best figures for an Indian pacer against South Africa were 4 for 27 by Venkatesh Prasad in Mumbai, 1996. Avesh Khan also finished with bowling figures of 4 for 27 on Sunday.6 Wickets between Arshdeep (3) and Avesh (3) when they pitched on a good length. Arshdeep’s 26 balls pitched on a good length went for only nine runs, while Avesh’s 22 good-length balls yielded only ten runs despite two boundaries.4 for 19 Arshdeep’s bowling figures at the end of the tenth over. He is only the second bowler with four or more wickets in the first ten overs of a men’s ODI innings against South Africa since 2002. The other one was Stuart Broad, whose bowling figures read 4 for 9 after his first five overs at Trent Bridge in 2008.8 Five-wicket hauls for Indian bowlers in 2023 in men’s ODI cricket. These are the most five-wicket hauls by a team’s bowlers in a calendar year. Six of the eight belong to the quicks, which is also a record.265 Total number of balls bowled in Johannesburg. It is the fourth-shortest men’s ODI in South Africa and the shortest that South Africa themselves have played at home.

The young Jharkhand wicketkeeper says his “dream is to represent India in all three formats”

Daya Sagar25-Jan-2024″People often seem to think that I’ll focus only on white-ball cricket if I’m sold for a good price at the IPL auction, but that’s not true. I know that if you need to get into the Indian team and build a long career, you need to be an all-format player. Being selected for India A is a good opportunity for me. At present, I’m playing a lot of red-ball cricket [Ranji Trophy] and am in good form too. Playing for India is my dream and I want to make sure I convert this opportunity and knock on the door of the Indian team.”These words come from Jharkhand’s young wicketkeeper-batter Kumar Kushagra. On Saturday he was picked in the India A team for their series against the England Lions. This is the first time Kushagra has been called up to the India A team. He celebrated this the next day by scoring a hundred against Services in the Ranji Trophy. It was the 19-year-old’s second first-class century.”Of late we’re seeing players become specialists in different formats,” Kushagra says. “Some specialise in limited-overs, others in red-ball cricket. You need to put in extra effort if you want to play all three formats. You need to be strong both mentally and physically. In our domestic season you end up playing all three formats in the span of two months and it isn’t easy to switch from one to the other.”It’s even more difficult to do this as a wicketkeeper. But my dream is to represent India in all three formats. Three-format players are at a different level, as you can see from Virat [Kohli] , Rohit [Sharma] and [Jasprit] Bumrah ‘s examples. If you make it to the Indian team at a young age, you can have a long career and you can make comebacks a little more easily even if you get a major injury. That’s why I want to get into the Indian team as soon as possible.”In December, Kushagra had made the headlines when Delhi Capitals (DC) signed him for INR 7.2 crores at the IPL auction. Kushagra’s mind, however, is occupied not by the IPL but by domestic cricket.

“I speak to a lot of wicketkeepers around the country. I met Wriddhiman Saha once at the Kolkata airport, and I discussed my keeping with him”

“I think I’ll get enough time to prepare for the IPL after the domestic season,” he says. “So my focus now is only on red-ball cricket. I had faith that I would get a place in the India A squad for the South Africa tour, but that didn’t happen. Now that I have been picked, I will make every effort to convert this opportunity.”It’s not easy to keep wickets against spinners on turning tracks in India. This is why even though KL Rahul kept wickets during their Test series in South Africa, a lot of former wicketkeepers have advised him to play as a specialist batter in India. For the same reason, KS Bharat and Dhruv Jurel were picked as wicketkeepers for the home series against England.Kushagra, however, is fully prepared for this challenge. He practises a lot against the left-arm spin of his Jharkhand team-mate Shahbaz Nadeem, who has played for India. He has also taken tips from two of India’s best keepers in recent times: Wriddhiman Saha and Rishabh Pant.”Whether it’s fast bowlers or spinners, keeping in India is not easy, especially in red-ball cricket, but I wouldn’t say it’s difficult either,” Kushagra says. “If your goal is big, you have to put in the hard work. I feel I’m on the right path and I’m constantly learning new things so that I can do even better in the future.”I speak to a lot of wicketkeepers around the country. I met Wriddhiman Saha once at the Kolkata airport, and I discussed my keeping with him. I asked him what changes I needed to make in my wicketkeeping technique for Indian conditions. When I was in the NCA in Bengaluru, Ravindra Jadeja was there too, and I asked him how to tackle spinners from behind the wicket. He told me a lot of things that I can’t tell you here [laughs].”Kushagra goes on. “Apart from this, during the DC camp I met Rishabh . He told me how I could make big improvements in my keeping without changing my technique in a big way, but by making small adjustments. He told me a lot of things about footwork and glovework. Apart from this I only began keeping wickets after watching Mahi [MS Dhoni], and I still learn a lot by watching his videos.”

They also look thin in the spin department, but in Jasprit Bumrah and a power-packed Indian batting core they have a lot going for them

Hemant Brar20-Mar-2024Where Mumbai Indians finished last seasonWith eight wins from 14 games, they finished fourth in the league stage. In the Eliminator, they beat Lucknow Super Giants but lost to Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2.MI squad for IPL 2024Hardik Pandya (capt), Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Tim David*, Dewald Brevis*, Nehal Wadhera, Vishnu Vinod (wk), Romario Shepherd*, Mohammad Nabi*, Shams Mulani, Naman Dhir, Anshul Kamboj, Kumar Kartikeya, Piyush Chawla, Shreyas Gopal, Jasprit Bumrah, Luke Wood*, Gerald Coetzee*, Kwena Maphaka*, Nuwan Thushara*, Akash Madhwal, Arjun Tendulkar, Shivalik Sharma*Overseas playersPlayer availability – Suryakumar a doubtful starterSuryakumar Yadav might not be fit in time for Mumbai’s first game. He had surgeries for an ankle issue and sports hernia in the last three months and is currently undergoing rehab at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.Related

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Jason Behrendorff has been ruled out of the tournament after breaking his leg in the nets. England left-arm seamer Luke Wood has replaced him. Dilshan Madushanka also had to be replaced by 17-year-old South African fast bowler Kwena Maphaka. Gerald Coetzee has joined the squad, but he is still recovering from a groin injury and is unlikely to be available for the first few games.What’s new with MI this year?The captain. Hardik Pandya is back at Mumbai, and as captain, having taken over the role from Rohit Sharma. This is the first time that a current India T20I captain will play under someone else at the IPL. It will also be interesting to see how Rohit fares without the extra responsibility.There are six new overseas players: Coetzee, Maphaka, Wood, Nuwan Thushara, Romario Shepherd and Mohammad Nabi. Thushara, who bowls with a slingy action like Lasith Malinga, recently picked up a five-for, including a hat-trick, in a T20I against Bangladesh. Among uncapped Indians, Shreyas Gopal has been added as a back-up for Piyush Chawla.The good – Batting and Bumrah A strong Indian core. Once Suryakumar is available, Mumbai can have an all-Indian top five: Rohit, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar, Hardik and Tilak Varma. With Tim David at No. 6, it is a batting unit that can consistently post, or chase down, totals in excess of 200, as they showed last season. Kishan and Tilak also help with the left-right combination.Hardik said at the pre-season press conference that he is fit to bowl, which lends the side great balance. In Shepherd and Nabi, Mumbai have two more quality allrounders but, as Mark Boucher hinted at, they may field only three overseas players at times.In Jasprit Bumrah, Mumbai have a fast bowler who can bowl across phases. After standout performances in the 2023 ODI World Cup and the recent Test series against England, he is expected to lead the way once again.Jasprit Bumrah: a world-class bowler that can plug many holes•BCCIThe not-so-good – Injuries and spin stocksMumbai will be hoping Suryakumar does not miss too many games, while Kishan has not played top-flight cricket since November. The biggest blow perhaps is Behrendorff’s absence as he was supposed to be the powerplay specialist. Coetzee’s unavailability early on further robs them of flexibility.Mumbai are thin on spin resources as well. Chawla was a point of difference for them last season; his 22 wickets from 16 games were the fourth-highest in the tournament. But his returns in the latest Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy were not as good: four wickets from seven games at an economy of 8.40. At 35, can he lead Mumbai’s spin attack once again?Kumar Kartikeya has age and form on his side but has not been effective in the IPL. Last season, he picked up five wickets from eight games at an economy of 8.73. Shreyas has played just four matches in the last three IPL seasons.Schedule insightsIn the schedule released so far (March 22-April 7), Mumbai are to play four games. The first two away, against Gujarat Titans and Sunrisers Hyderabad, and the next two at home, against Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals. After the third match, they have a break of five days.The big question

Some of the big names of the league upped their game and had standout seasons. Here’s a look at them

Hemant Brar27-May-2024Narine the batterNot many would have expected Sunil Narine to return as an opener in an IPL season where bowlers were allowed two bouncers in an over. Even fewer would have expected him to succeed, let alone have his best season with the bat. Narine ended the tournament with 488 runs – the most for champions Kolkata Knight Riders – at an average of 34.85 and a strike rate of 180.74. Before 2024, Narine had four 50-plus scores in the IPL. He doubled that tally this season, including smashing his maiden T20 hundred. Add his bowling exploits to it – 17 wickets at an economy of 6.69 – and it’s arguably the greatest season for any player in any league in the world.Bumrah at his miserly bestIn a season where the scoring rates went through the roof, Jasprit Bumrah was the standout bowler with an economy rate of 6.48. This was also Bumrah’s best economy rate in an IPL season, bettering 6.63 in 2019. That year, the overall economy rate in the tournament was 8.27; this year it was 9.41, which makes Bumrah’s performance even more remarkable. Bumrah was also the most economical bowler in the powerplay (6.00) and at the death (6.06) among those who bowled at least five overs in those phases. He went for less than six an over in seven out of the 13 games he played this season.Related

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Kohli tames strike-rate demonsWith the Impact Player rule giving teams an extra batter, the anchor has become an outdated concept in the IPL. That was also the reason Virat Kohli freed himself from the self-imposed restrictions and showed more intent this year. The result was his highest strike rate in an IPL season: 154.69 (previous best: 152.03 in 2016). What stood out was his approach in the powerplay and the use of the slog sweep against spinners. In the first six overs, he struck at 161.47. It was a significant jump from his previous best of 139.54 (in 2018) in that phase. His strike rate against spinners was 137.08, his best against them since 2017.Abhishek’s six appealAbhishek Sharma made his IPL debut in 2018, but this was the season where he made everyone sit up and take notice. Opening the innings for Sunrisers Hyderabad, he and Travis Head rewrote the template of T20 batting. Abhishek hit 42 sixes in the tournament – the most in IPL 2024 and the most for an Indian batter in a single edition of the IPL. He was equally brutal against pace and spin, which helped him become the first batter to score 400 runs in a T20 league without lasting 30 balls in any of the innings. All told, he scored 484 runs at an average of 32.26 and a strike rate of 204.21.Riyan Parag and Sanju Samson were the backbone of the Rajasthan Royals middle order•AFP via Getty ImagesSamson’s consistencyOver the years, a major criticism of Sanju Samson has been his lack of consistency. He would invariably start an IPL season with a bang but it would soon turn into a whimper. This time, taking that little bit extra time at the start of his innings helped him stay consistent and he crossed 500 runs in a season for the first time in his IPL career. His five 50-plus scores was also a personal best. In all, he amassed 531 runs at an average of 48.27 and a strike rate of 153.46, for which he was rewarded with a place in India’s T20 World Cup squad.Parag’s breakout seasonRiyan Parag finally repaid Rajasthan Royals for years and years of backing. After topping the runs chart in the latest Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Parag finished IPL 2024 as the highest run-scorer for his team, and the third-highest overall. Before this season, Parag had 600 runs in 44 IPL innings, at an average of 16.21 and a strike rate of 123.96. In 14 innings this season, he almost doubled that tally, scoring 573 at 52.09 with a strike rate of 149.21. Along with Samson, he formed the engine room of RR’s batting line-up and struck four half-centuries.Karthik takes on spinnersPlaying his last season at the age of 38, Dinesh Karthik did not stop improving. For the last five IPL seasons, he was one of the best hitters against pace in the death overs. This year, he unlocked his potential against spin, too. He smashed 63 off 38 balls against spinners without getting out even once. That gave him a strike rate of 165.78 – his highest ever against spin in an IPL season. His previous best was 160 in 2008, but since then he had never crossed 140. His overall tally of 326 runs this season, at a strike rate of 187.35, briefly put him in contention for India’s T20 World Cup squad as well, but that was not to be.

Our intrepid, if airport-weary, correspondent goes down the east coast of the USA and to points south

Sidharth Monga02-Jul-2024May 31
Must start with a confession. We Indians have a habit of trying to guess where people are from – from how they speak, how they dress, their facial features, their builds, how they behave. It’s not a good habit. Half a day in New York City and you’ll stop doing it. See too many different ethnicities to bother. Truly a great city with room for everyone.June 1
Wake up before the rats of downtown Brooklyn have gone back into the gutters. Have to leave at 6am to beat the traffic to Long Island. Takes just 40 minutes to Nassau County International Cricket Stadium if you leave before 7. At least two hours if you leave after.The stadium, a temporary modular structure, looks beautiful. Plastic portaloos cleverly made to look like they have wooden floors and wooden doors. Having got there well before India and Bangladesh, who will be playing a warm-up match, watch AKC Fastest Dogs USA on the telly.Related

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AKC stands for American Kennel Club. The dogs don’t all run at the same time. Each one chases a rag that is being pulled away from them, and their speed is recorded. Coco, with the body of a hound and a woolly coat, asserts herself and refuses to follow the command. Smokey, a wee little Pekingese, deserves a participation certificate because it can’t run at all but follows the rag with great commitment. Blackie, the quickest, has run at 34.4mph.India warm up by winning easily, premiering Rishabh Pant at No. 3.June 2
This law firm has more money to buy visibility in New York than the World Cup. Seen their ads on multiple subway trains already.Sidharth Monga/ESPNcricinfo LtdJune 3
The NYPD and NCPD (Nassau County Police Department) tick every stereotype of American police officers in movies and shows. Firstly, they have deployed every kind of police official at a ground people are struggling to get to: traffic police, police in blue, police in khaki, police in cowboy hats, police on horses, police with sniffer dogs, snipers. Bazookas at what isn’t even a knife fight.Seems the first part of their training is to look intimidating. Ask for directions and they make sure their bodycam is trained at you. Brace for a “keep your hands where I can see ’em”, but most of them are polite.Leave a friend’s accreditation with a cop only in order to be able to strike up a conversation with one, and thus call a cop “Officer”. Item knocked off the US checklist.South Africa make light work of Sri Lanka, who are put up in a hotel far away in downtown Brooklyn, a hotel even I can afford. They need to leave before 7 o’clock themselves, so they have to eat breakfast at the ground. Spent the previous night in a Florida airport because of a flight delay.June 4
Next item off the US checklist: a run around the reservoir in Central Park, one of the world’s most popular running destinations. Stunning views of the city skyline. Still not used to the driving on the right and every other corresponding difference in the US. Get a strange look or three for running clockwise when most are going counterclockwise. Then again, most people don’t make eye contact, let alone stare. Everyone in a world of their own. So may worlds in one city.June 5
Next up on checklist: celebrity house-spotting. Walk past the apartment building in which Ricky Gervais lives. Barbizon 63 on 63rd Street on the Upper East Side was previously a hotel for women. After World War I, when women started joining the workforce in greater numbers, housing was unaffordable and hotels were not keen on housing single women after dark, fearing they were prostitutes. Barbizon 63 came up as a women-only hotel, offering them a pool, a gym, a library, soundproof music rooms, and no entry for men on the guest floors. Writer Sylvia Plath and actor Grace Kelly among famous guests. The title of Paulina Bren’s book on the hotel calls it “The hotel that set women free”.June 6
People of New York, why do you eat on the move? In the train, while driving, while walking. And the amount of plastic used to do so.India coach Rahul Dravid with the Reverend Wes Hall, of Barbados and West Indies fame, at Kensington Oval•ICC/Getty ImagesDon’t get me started on the food waste. Caterers at the ground throw away huge amounts of food every day because apparently the law doesn’t allow them to take it to soup kitchens. A lot of it is thrown away as India take only 26.2 overs to beat Ireland. One of the most wasteful places in the world. Especially with its fixation with turning every public place into the inside of a refrigerator through air-conditioning. The formula for a “good” temperature in office spaces was worked out in the 1960s, based on an estimate of the metabolic activity of a 40-year-old male weighing 155 pounds.June 7

Love how Americans give directions. “You wanna go straight and take the second left.” Or, “I would go straight and take the second left.” Thankfully, the practice facility for the World Cup is near a Long Island Rail Road station. This is where India train before their match against Pakistan. Don’t have to ask too many directions. Get a “We don’t do that here” when asking where to tap the ticket on the way out.June 8

New York City to Long Island seems like a journey in time. There are actual humans selling tickets, actual humans checking them on the train, and the suburban residents are predominantly white, with huge US flags in their front yards. New York City has restaurants where you just order and pay – tip included – on touchscreens, pick a table number from among the tokens available and punch it in, sit down, and have your food brought out to you.The mechanisation can create problems. Tap in to a subway station at one point, immediately exit, and then try to go back, realising I was on the right track after all, and discover the turnstile won’t let me in because the card has just been used. Presumably being done to avoid multiple people travelling on one card. Jump the turnstile to tick another item off the US checklist.June 9
India beat Pakistan again, this time through a promotion for Axar Patel and an innings from Mohammad Rizwan that neither kills off the chase nor takes the game deep.Late in the night in Brooklyn, see steam rise from the road. Another checklist item. It apparently comes from the hot Con Edison pipes underground that send steam to the many buildings that are still powered by steam. Now I wish to see a fire hydrant get knocked down and release a fountain of water.June 10
U2 are Irish but forever to me it has seemed their songs have a deep connection with the US. Not just the ones that are directly about the country – “New York”, “Hands That Built America”, the album , etc – but even the ones that aren’t. Play U2 on shuffle all the time when in New York. Discover Bono wrote “Silver and Gold”, which also appears on an album by Artists United Against Apartheid, in a hotel room in New York City. It is a song about a man in a shanty town in southern Johannesburg, a man ready to take up arms against his white oppressors. He is disenchanted with world leaders who do not support Bishop Tutu’s demand for economic sanctions against white South Africa.The most famous eatery on TV? Tom’s Restaurant, aka Monk’s Café, aka just plain “Restaurant” on •Sidharth Monga/ESPNcricinfo LtdThink of South Africa now, and how they are failing to meet transformation requirements in their cricket team. The ghosts of apartheid live on. Today they beat Bangladesh in a thriller.June 11
Canada stretch Pakistan but don’t have enough seam depth to take advantage of the conditions in New York. It’s a team full of Punjabis from India and Pakistan who helped each other in Canada. Like Karim Sana, who convinced Pargat Singh to take up cricket again. A lesser-known fact: Arshdeep Singh was almost packed off to Canada for a better life but asked his parents for one more year to try to make it in cricket. In that year he made the India Under-19 side. Canada could possibly have beaten Pakistan today had Arshdeep’s parents not given him that one year.June 12
Reminded of home in Goa when I hear the word “patrao” on the streets of New York. It literally means “boss” in Portuguese, but is also loosely used to address anyone with respect. You might call the driver of your car patrao, if you know he speaks Portuguese. Don’t need to know Portuguese to be called patrao or “ma-ray” (used to address a boy) in Goa.Spend last day in New York on a pilgrimage. Tom’s Restaurant at 2880 Broadway – shots of its exterior were used as Monk’s Café in the show. Discover Suzanne Vega was inspired by this restaurant to write “Tom’s Diner” well before . It’s basically a song about nothing. The address for the apartment building in the show has also become famous: 129 West 81st Street. Hilarious reviews on Google Maps.Spend the evening at a speakeasy. Another checklist item.June 13
All flights to Florida delayed massively as the state has been receiving record rainfall. Run into commentators Wasim Akram, Harbhajan Singh, Dinesh Karthik, L Balaji and Navjot Sidhu all waiting. Like me, all were told of the delay when already on their way to the airport. Poor Wasim stayed at the airport all day yesterday and returned to the city when his flight failed to take off. Karthik is still jet-lagged, having arrived only yesterday.Speak Punjabi to three of them. It’s like getting my fill after not having spoken the language for a while. As a Pakistani friend over in India once wrote to me: “When are you meeting me? Speaking Urdu/Hindi for so long has made my tongue crooked.”June 14
Poor Wasim is on duty early in the morning after two days of travel misadventures. However, he has not much work to do. The match between Ireland and USA cannot be played because of a wet outfield. This ground, owned by Broward County, needs repairs to its drainage system, and only has enough covers for the square. The ground staff try their best to get the game going, but a late downpour at around 2pm puts paid to it. This result knocks Pakistan out of the tournament, and sends USA into the Super Eight.June 15
Little rain since the last downpour yesterday but we still can’t get Canada vs India on. Embarrassing development for a World Cup. Discover that yesterday the Super Sopper ran out of fuel. And then, when fuel was brought, it broke down. Not that it made a big difference either way. Too much damage had been done by the rain.June 16
Most unexpected source for a wrestling spoiler: a cab driver from Puerto Rico. Start telling him how his compatriot Damian Priest is the WWE champion. “And he beat Drew McIntyre in Glasgow.” Oh well.June 17

Miami airport less stressful than JFK, which is peak American capitalism. Create panic with too few security-check counters, resulting in huge queues, and prey on those who fear they will miss their flight by getting them to buy up to a priority security check.Wasim has flying problems again. Takes off for Antigua but the flight has to come back because of bad weather in Antigua. Poor Wasim.June 18

First thing about Barbados: whistling frogs. It is the soundtrack of Barbados. All through the night they whistle. Sugarcane juice machines in India have a bell attached to them. The frogs sound exactly like those bells.June 19
Barbados feels like coming home. Same driving on the left, same candy-coloured houses like in Goa, same narrow roads, same relaxed attitude, same weather. Just cleaner. Way cleaner. Can see the bottom of the sea. No wonder Rihanna can dip a mango in the sea and eat it.Perhaps Bridgetown’s No. 1 pilgrimage spot, the green house where Rihanna used to live•Sidharth Monga/ESPNcricinfo LtdJune 20

Get a look from security at Kensington Oval when they pat me down. Drenched with sweat, having walked from Rockley. They are shocked I have walked about six kilometres. Am later told Ian Bishop used to finish a whole day of cricket and then jog back to Rockley. Man confirms it. “It is a nice jog, but I don’t know about the walk.”June 21

Finally feels like a World Cup. Night match, home crowd, a stadium right in the middle of the city. Surreal to be in the presence of David Rudder himself, performing “Rally Round the West Indies”. Goosebumps. West Indies do enough against USA to make their last match against South Africa a direct knockout.During the match, the prime minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, walks into the press box and goes straight to the press scorer, Suzanne Belle. Just catching up with her senior from school. One boss lady to another. “She looked after me in school,” says Mottley, who has been instrumental in abolishing the country’s constitutional monarchy. Her 39-minute speech at the United Nations in 2019 on climate change and its effects on Barbados is often spoken about. Under her, Barbados targets to produce all its electricity with renewable resources by 2030.June 22

Just up the road from Kensington Oval on Westbury New Road is where Rihanna used to live. A beautiful small green house, nicely kept. Poor neighbours don’t even wait to be asked; they see new people and just point them to the house. Rihanna is also featured on National Heroes Square in Bridgetown.June 23

Spot the delightfully named Lime Tree Bar on the way to watch England demolish USA and punch their ticket to the semi-final despite having lost two matches. South Africa, unbeaten so far, have to win nine out of nine in all to win the title. That’s what happens when you play a largely inconsequential first round. Earlier formats were better, when you carried forward points from matches played against the teams that advanced from your group.June 24
Barbados has to be the loveliest airport I have been to. Check-in counters right by the entrance. No air-conditioning. Just great ventilation and sea breeze. No upper floors. No need for coaches to get to the aircraft. Just walk everywhere.June 25

Port-of-Spain is like a bustling Indian city. Going there from Barbados is like going from a Goan village to Dehradun. The hills give it that feel. The pilgrimage here is to walk around and through the Queen’s Park Savannah to get to the historic Queen’s Park Oval – which is not being used in this World Cup. The word is, the private owners of this club are snooty and don’t want to upgrade to keep up with the times. A bit like how the Cricket Club of India was, forcing the development of the Wankhede Stadium in Bombay. The Wankhede was a few hundred metres north of the CCI; the Brian Lara Cricket Academy is so far away, it might well be the Pune ground.Another cricket-loving PM: Mia Mottley, prime minister of Barbados (top) catches up with schooldays friend Suzanne Belle, the press scorer at Kensington Oval•Sidharth Monga/ESPNcricinfo LtdQueen’s Park Oval shows signs of wear and disrepair, especially the posters of legends on the walls outside. Walk into a bar nearby and the first words I overhear are “Malcolm Marshall”. The stories of cricket craziness in the West Indies must be true.June 26

No time to sample the doubles or the mangoes of Trinidad. Have to leave at 2pm to beat the traffic to get to the Brian Lara Academy early. Spend the rest of the afternoon talking about doubles instead. And mangoes. Julie is the consensus favourite. Starch is supposed to be sweet. Suzi is on the sourer side. Most interesting name: Donkey Stone mango, because it is huge. The mango talk lasts longer than the semi-final, where South Africa brush aside Afghanistan on a brutish pitch with uneven bounce and seam movement.June 27

The ICC is kind enough to take me on their charter along with the South Africa team, match officials, commentators and ICC officials. The two commercial flights between Trinidad and Barbados between the semi-final and the final were all booked out practically as soon as the schedule was announced. Just South Africa’s luck that, after having spent the night at the airport in Florida along with Sri Lanka, they now have to spend the whole day in the Port-of-Spain airport because someone has crashed a small aircraft in Barbados, and it is stuck right in the middle of the runway. All operations at the Barbados airport are shut for six hours. Any frustration I feel is offset by putting myself in the South Africa players’ shoes: they will be playing the match of their lives in less than two days, and are stranded in an airport.June 28

Having reached Barbados only at midnight, India decide not to train before the final. Their brains trust comes to check the pitch, though. Rohit Sharma makes sure they get the same dressing room they had earlier. He has missed out on winning many titles not because of lack of quality but because of the nature of knockout matches. This sport makes people obsessive. They start following their own peculiar rituals to keep the cricketing gods happy.June 29
India finally win the title thanks to some high-quality bowling in the death overs, some reverse to help them, and some ordinary decision-making by South Africa, who need just 30 off 30 at one point. Rohit’s release of emotions is spontaneous and joyful. He is feeling so much joy, he spreads it everywhere. He brings the trophy to the press conference, and then calls the media aside if they want to take a photo with the trophy or him, or both.June 30
One last travel nightmare with all flights out of Barbados on July 1 and July 2 getting cancelled because what started a tropical storm has intensified into a Category 4 hurricane. This is the earliest in the year there has been a hurricane in these parts. There are worse places to be stranded in.