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The home side finished the Karachi leg of the tournament with a night to forget

Danyal Rasool06-Feb-2022
The PSL is halfway through, and Karachi Kings have one foot out of the tournament. The side that’s hosted the first leg slumped to it’s most spineless defeat in their final home game this season, with Islamabad United walloping Babar Azam’s men by 42 runs. On a pitch that wasn’t quite as free-scoring as most of the others on show so far this season, Islamabad United posted 177, thanks to a number of cameos from the top order.At the time, it seemed as if the Kings might have a chance of running it down, but United, and the Kings’ own self-destructive spirit, had other ideas. A couple of run-outs up top and regular wickets meant the Kings were swiftly out of the contest, before the undisputed player of the tournament Shadab Khan stepped up with the ball to rip the heart out of the middle order. His 4 for 15 added insult to injury, and the Kings finished tamely with 135.For just the second time in 38, United opted to bat first after winning the toss, capitalising on the recent trend of defending scores. While they didn’t quite get off to the whirlwind starts Paul Stirling and Alex Hales have made customary, it was swift enough to keep momentum on their side. Imad Wasim went for 12 in the first over largely at Stirling’s hands, and Chris Jordan’s first over was greeted by the openers with 16. By the time Imad returned to prise Hales out, United had added 66 in 7.3 overs.Stirling fell soon after and, for a while, the bowlers appeared to have a hold over the game. Shadab, though, was playing a delightful little knock, finding regular boundaries to keep the run rate up even as Colin Munro struggled at the other end. A fine running, tumbling catch by Babar – he would sparkle once more in the field with a sensational one-handed grab running back to see the end of Asif Ali – brought an end to Sadab’s knock, but true to brand, United just kept swinging. Another wayward Jordan over at the death and some crunching drives from Azam Khan brought 25 off the final two overs, and that took United to a total that looked slightly above par.The chase began disastrously for the Kings, with a mix-up between Babar and Sharjeel seeing the latter run out in the second over. Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim, Mubasir Ahmed and Waqas Maqsood took turns bowling during the powerplay but each maintained a stranglehold over the Kings’ batters, who managed just 21 in the first five overs. By this time, an off-colour Babar had been cleaned up by Mohammad Wasim, and the asking rate had soared above 10.Imad Wasim, promoted to five, was involved in another bit of calamitous Kings’ running, with Sahibzada Farhan finishing up at the same end as him.By this point, things had deteriorated into a farce for the Kings, and the feeling they wanted to be put out of their misery was inescapable. Shadab was the man for the job, an incisive four-wicket spell putting the home side on the brink of defeat. There was flight that deceived Lewis Gregory, the wrong ‘un that did for Imad and Jordan, and the full flat ball to trap Mohammad Taha in front. It was the Shadab show for a while, with Karachi cast in the role of sidekick.There was mild entertainment for the home crowd when Mohammad Nabi and Umaid Asif cut loose at the death, they way you do when there’s no pressure because all is doomed anyway. Mohammad Wasim was tonked for 20 in an over and Nabi smashed an entertaining unbeaten 28-ball 47 to see off the game, but all that provided was an illusion of competition in a game that contained very little of it.

Australia’s bowlers almost turned the game around but New Zealand’s lower order came through

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Mar-2021Beth Mooney believed Australia’s bowlers could close out the second T20I in Napier, but conceded the visitors had been under par with the bat on a surface where they were not able to significantly accelerate.Despite only having 129 on the board, Australia had squeezed the chase after the fall of Frankie Mackay to the extent that New Zealand needed 21 off the last two overs which they were able to achieve through Maddy Green and Hannah Rowe, the last ball being edged to fine leg.”I’d back our bowlers to defend 21 off 12, but Hannah Rowe and Maddy Green were outstanding,” Mooney said. “When you need three of the last ball, it can go anywhere.”Australia’s innings included nine fours and a six, while the home side managed 13 fours and two sixes. Mooney batted through the first innings for 61* off 54 balls, but Rachael Haynes scored 11 off her first 16 deliveries before lifting herself above a run-a-ball.Related

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Throughout the third wicket stand of 49, Ash Gardner, who struck a superb 73 off 48 balls in the first T20I in Hamilton, was sat in the dugout and eventually walked in with a just ten balls remaining, but Mooney said the team had faith in all their batters to perform in any situation.”They were tricky conditions and it was really hard to start on,” she said. “Even someone like me, I was out there the whole game and never felt I could get the ball out of the middle. New Zealand bowled really well, had some great plans so credit has to go to the way they played. Thought they were an outstanding fielding outfit today, too.”Anyone in our batting line-up can bat anywhere. Rach Haynes has done really well in the middle order for our team and been going beautifully. [We] would never question the decisions the coaching staff make because at the time it’s the right one.”You look at the top six in our team we have some of the best batters in the world so we have batters who can play any role in any situation on any given day. Whilst it might seem from the outside that we don’t try too much or change too much within our group we are really confident and supportive of each other. We were probably 10 or 15 runs short. Whether Ash came in earlier or not, who knows, but it was definitely a really hard wicket to start on considering how tight they were bowling.”The victory was more notable for New Zealand as they achieved it without captain Sophie Devine, who was ill. It meant a reshuffling of the batting order with Mackay, who was due to be left out a few hours earlier, opening the innings and then she suffered a calf injury which left her largely restricted to trying to hit boundaries.Despite not being able to secure victory in Hamilton after reducing Australia to 14 for 3, stand-in captain Amy Satterthwaite said the performance had lifted the team’s confidence after the difficult time against England.”Really proud of the way everyone stood up,” she said. “The belief in what we were doing was getting bigger and bigger, the last game probably gave us more belief than people probably realised in the way we carried ourselves. It was a step forward of where we’d been against England. Today we talked about lifting that again. Thought the fielding had been setting the tone we were outstanding again. That lifted everyone and the bowlers were all brilliant.”

The incident occurred in the 19th over of Kings XI’s Super Over thriller against Delhi Capitals on Sunday

Nagraj Gollapudi21-Sep-20203:10

IPL 2020: ‘Decorum’ v ‘Common sense’: Manjrekar and Moody discuss the short-run incident

Kings XI Punjab have lodged an appeal with match referee Javagal Srinath over what they believe was an erroneous line call in the 19th over of their match against the Delhi Capitals on Sunday night. The “short run” call cost them the game, their CEO Satish Menon has said.Umpire Nitin Menon’s call for one-run short against Chris Jordan in the penultimate over of their chase, Satish Menon believes, could “cost them a playoff spot”. He said that technological intervention could have given them the extra run and possibly a victory.”We have appealed to the match referee,” he told PTI. “While a human error can happen and we understand that, there is no room for human errors like these in a world-class tournament like the IPL. This one could cost us a playoff berth. A loss of a game is a loss of a game. It is unfair. I hope the rules are reviewed so that there is no margin for human error.”Menon also told ESPNcricinfo there shouldn’t be any errors because of the presence of technology: “Even if you give the benefit of doubt to human error, in a Twenty20 match, a crunch match, there should be nothing called an error. Because you have got technology today for everything.”However, as per the playing conditions of both the ICC and the IPL, the umpire can use the assistance of third umpire only in cases of a possible dismissal or an unclear boundary decision. So there was no way under the rules that the on-field umpire could have sought the third umpire’s inputs. The third umpire can’t get into the game without being asked for by the on-field umpires or a player using a DRS review. The only exception to this is the no-ball calls, which he used to keep an eye on in cases of dismissals before he was mandated to check every delivery for overstepping.The incident on Sunday occurred when Mayank Agarwal tapped the ball towards mid-on to comfortably complete two runs. TV replays confirmed Jordan turned for a second run only after dragging his bat inside the crease for the first run. Yet Menon, stationed at square leg, deemed it to be a run short.Eventually, Jordan was caught at square leg off the final delivery with Kings XI needing one run for victory, thereby forcing the game into a Super Over.Is technology foolproof? The incident has reignited the debate about how cricket can utilise technology better for line calls. However, technology itself is not always definitive. On Sunday there was another incident that nearly became a talking point when Paul Reiffel, the TV umpire, called the last ball of the Capitals innings, bowled by Jordan to Marcus Stoinis, a no-ball.However, ESPNcricinfo understands that the two side-on cameras monitoring the line calls for no-ball showed different results for the particluar delivery. While one camera angle showed the Kings XI bowler had stepped over the line, the other one had his foot on the line. Regardless of the conflicting pictures, it was called a no-ball, but the wider point was: for the same delivery and same foot landing, two different cameras showing two different pictures.The short run incident could be similar to the no-ball event. It is understood that in the case of the short run, the camera angle that showed Jordan turning after the first run was from the side opposite to where Nitin Menon, the square-leg umpire, was standing. While Menon is understood to have seen Jordan’s bat touching the line, the camera angle from the opposite end showed the bat crossing the line. Incidentally, the replay was shown on TV only two deliveries later.

The goal of attaining Full Member status was also laid out, but no financial disclosures were made at the AGM

Peter Della Penna22-Feb-2020USA Cricket board chairman Paraag Marathe and chief executive Iain Higgins declared their goal to host at least one major ICC global event in the next eight-year TV rights cycle, as well as a long-term objective to attain Full Member status. Both goals are part of a series of ambitious targets laid out in the inaugural USA Cricket annual general meeting on Friday night in New York.The pair also reinforced their commitment to launch a 22-team city-based “Minor League” T20 franchise tournament this summer to lay the foundation for a “Major League Cricket” T20 franchise event launch in 2021. However, USA Cricket did not disclose any specifics about city locations or the scale of the tournaments, nor did they disclose any documents communicating the board’s financial standing at the end of 2019 as part of an annual report published on the same day of the AGM.”To truly make cricket a mainstream sport in the US, we need to work together to tackle five things: to grow engagement, to increase participation, to improve the performance of national teams, to deliver financial stability, and to build trust within the entire community,” Higgins said during the AGM, which was conducted as a 35-minute listen-only conference call for members.”If we are able to grow the sport as we anticipate, if we are able to deliver on all of our strategic objectives in partnership with all of you, we all at USA Cricket – and I can also speak on behalf of the ICC and the international cricket community – we believe the future of cricket in the USA is extremely bright.”ICC officials have previously pinned major plans on expanding USA’s role in the global market and Higgins, the former chief operating officer of the ICC, backed that up on Friday night with the pursuit of hosting an ICC tournament. He also reaffirmed that USA Cricket will support the inclusion of cricket for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, which he believes would contribute towards a major transformation for the awareness and engagement of the sport in the USA.”At one end of the spectrum, we ultimately hope of course that USA Cricket, both men and women, can achieve Full Member status and can have regular cricket against Full Members, regular participation in ICC global events,” Higgins said. “At the other end of the spectrum, we’re hoping to see huge growth and rapid growth in the levels of engagement with cricket in schools and in community programs up and down the country.”Along the way we are also pursuing the exciting prospect of staging an ICC global event, if not more than one global event in the next eight-year ICC commercial rights cycle. We’re working with our friends in the international cricketing community now about how we best position ourselves to hopefully stage ICC global events in the future. Of course, we are hoping to seek the inclusion of cricket in the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 which we think will have an incredibly catalytic effect on the growth of cricket in this country.”In the last 20 years there have been multiple aborted efforts to launch a franchise T20 competition in the USA, beginning with ProCricket’s lone season in 2004 and followed by a failed partnership between New Zealand Cricket and USA Cricket Association in 2010. But Marathe, who doubles as executive vice president for the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers, said he believed the launch of USA’s own franchise T20 cricket tournament – starting with the Minor League T20 later this summer – will be a turning point in American cricket history.”The reason why we’re excited about this is because we really have an opportunity to make history together, both with Major League Cricket and ACE, and within USA Cricket and all of you guys with our USA Cricket membership,” Marathe said. “We always knew there is a latent fanbase within the US for cricket. You can see by virtue of the appetite for global cricket there already is here. Here we are the largest media market in the world without a league of our own.”So this is really neat for us to be able to do this partnership, to build this league and really build something that outlasts any of our lifetimes. Something that we look back on this 50 years from now or 100 years from now and people think about, ‘How did the USA become such a dominant global force in cricket?'”The pair were the only two to speak during the AGM. Aside from a passing mention in the annual report about a “dropoff in membership numbers,” there was no discussion for how USA Cricket plans to arrest the major decline in members from 2018 to 2019. After having approximately 5500 members registered and eligible to vote in 2018, just 725 renewed for this past year, an 87% decline. There was also no financial disclosure made during the meeting, other than to confirm that USA Cricket had spent money in the summer of 2019 to professionally contract numerous players as well as hire more technical support staff with funding provided through their commercial partnership with ACE.

After three washouts and two losses, Durban Heat are on a roll, having won their third successive game

Firdose Moonda04-Dec-2019After three washouts and two losses in their first five games, Durban Heat have reeled off three successive wins, the latest coming in a high-scoring chase on Wednesday. This keeps them alive in the playoff race; they currently have 18 points in eight games, one behind third-placed Tshwane Spartans.Nelson Mandela Bay Giants’ record of the highest successful chase of the tournament barely lasted 24 hours as Heat eclipsed them in a 196 chase with seven balls to spare. While the season’s wait for a centurion continues, Alex Hales added to a string of quality 90-plus scores. He made 97 not out of 55 balls.Delport finally comes good Cameron Delport put on middling performances in his first seven matches. But in his eighth, he showed why he is such a sought-after player on the Global T20 circuit. His authoritative 84 off 49 balls included dismantling of two current South African bowlers and one former international. Delport took 15 runs off Kyle Abbott’s first over, including three fours. He sent Andile Phehlukwayo onto the roof of the stand at deep midwicket and dispatched Keshav Maharaj behind square on both sides to set up Paarl Rocks for an imposing total.Faf sustains momentumSo far, Faf du Plessis had only threatened to come good in the tournament. On Wednesday, he actually did by scoring his first half-century of the season at a strike rate of 183.33 despite initially playing second fiddle to Delport. After his dismissal, however, du Plessis was severe on Abbott, plundering 18 runs off his third over to remind the selectors and administrators of his abilities in the shortest format. It was a statement of sorts, given he was left out of the T20I squad that played in India, which also cast doubts over his future in the format. Performances like these will keep those who matter interested as South Africa look to build to the T20 World Cup next year.Look England, its Alex It wasn’t just du Plessis who was looking to catch the attention of the selectors. Hales, who last played for England in March, is also eyeing a comeback. The unbeaten 97 was his first significant score of the season, and it came at the right time. He went particularly hard at Hardus Viljoen’s short balls and struck four consecutive fours off his second over that went for 17. This kept the Heat on track at 53 for 1 in six overs. Yet, at the halfway mark, they needed 110 of the back 10. Hales held his shape and shellacked 61 from the next five to leave them needing just 49 in the final five. Hales remained unbeaten and saw them home.Shamsi calling Tabraiz Shamsi’s two wickets in this match put him joint-second on the wicket charts, alongside Imran Tahir and Junior Dala. He picked up two wickets in this match. The first came when Wihan Lubbe was caught in the deep while the second was the strike of David Miller, who was caught behind while attempting a cut. Miller’s wicket after he’d made a 22-ball 40. It was one of the key moments in the game.

Gareth Harte’s maiden first-class century has put Durham in line for an improbable victory over Derbyshire in their Specsavers County Championship Division Two match

ECB Reporters Network11-Jun-2018
ScorecardGareth Harte’s maiden first-class century has put Durham in line for an improbable victory over Derbyshire in their Specsavers County Championship Division Two match at Emirates Riverside.The home side looked down and out in the contest at 159 for 7 and a lead of only 50 at the start of day three, after losing Cameron Steel in the second over. However, Harte battled with the tail to guide Durham to a total of 376, leaving Derbyshire 268 to win the match.Matt Salisbury and Chris Rushworth took quick wickets to leave the visitors four down, although Ben Slater remains at the crease giving Derbyshire hope of one final momentum swing to turn the match back in their favour on the final day, when they will need another 199 for victory.The home side began the day in dire need of a special innings, holding a lead of only 46 with four wickets remaining, but Steel lasted only three more balls as he edged behind. Durham would have been fearful of a collapse, but Rimmington held firm alongside Harte at the crease.Harte and Rimmington had a to deal with a hostile spell of bowling from Duanne Olivier and Hardus Viljoen, which resulted in Harte receiving a blow to the head. However, he held his composure at the crease, while the accuracy of Derbyshire’s two South African bowlers failed them, allowing the extras total to build beyond 50 runs.Durham’s batsmen picked their moments to find the boundary, with Harte notching his maiden fifty in first-class cricket off 120 deliveries. Rimmington provided an excellent foil at the other end as the duo put on 100 for the eighth wicket to defy the visitors before lunch. The stand was broken just before the interval when Matt Critchley pinned Rimmington in front of his stumps for 42.Harte and Salisbury put forward a faultless effort to see off the threat of the new ball from Olivier and Viljoen, blunting the visitors’ attempt to regain their grip on the contest. Harte was fortunate in the 90s when an outside edge off Olivier just went wide of second slip. He knocked off the final two singles to secure his maiden ton off 218 deliveries.The partnership was ended on 99 when Salisbury was bowled by Olivier, who notched his fifth wicket and 10th in the match. Harte cut loose to add quick runs, but was the final wicket to fall to Wayne Madsen, leaving Derbyshire 268 runs to win following a costly effort in the field, conceding 81 extras.The visitors were under pressure from the off as Salisbury struck to remove Billy Godleman, bursting through his defences. Madsen followed for a second-ball duck, receiving a vicious bouncer that offered a simple return catch to Salisbury.Rushworth then piled on the agony with two wickets in two deliveries, removing Alex Hughes and Critchley lbw. Slater was defiant late in the day, scoring 41 out of his side’s 69, to give Derbyshire a glimmer of hope.

The 40-year old offspinner did not have an extravagant farewell. He walked off the field after his final T20 match in Pakistan, waving to a nearly empty Rawalpindi Stadium

Umar Farooq in Rawalpindi29-Nov-20170:43

What’s Ajmal’s favourite cricketing memory?

With tears in his eyes, a slight tremble in his voice but with nothing to regret, Saeed Ajmal officially brought the curtains down on his international and domestic career, after Faisalabad exited the National T20 Cup following their semi-final loss to Lahore Whites in Rawalpindi.The farewell was not too extravagant: he walked off the field after the match, waving to a nearly empty Rawalpindi Stadium. However, players from both Lahore Whites and Faisalabad gave him a final guard of honour as he left the ground. The PCB, too, arranged for a press conference, which had “Thank you Saeed Ajmal” across its backdrop. Ajmal walked into the packed conference room, with every news channel’s reporters in anticipation, as the nation saw the Pakistan offspinner – via live feed – battle hard to keep from tearing up.”It’s been 25 years…my love for cricket…so when you retire you do get emotional,” Ajmal said, after taking a moment to gather his thoughts. “I am retiring with a heavy heart, but I am satisfied with my career. Although I am retiring from international and domestic cricket, I want to stay in touch with cricket through my cricket academy and want to contribute for the country.”Ajmal, however, did not completely rule out the possibility of playing in T20 leagues elsewhere. “I want to remain available for foreign T20 leagues, other than the PSL, and want to continue to play the format. But for now I have accepted Islamabad United’s offer to be their spin-bowling coach. I think now is the right time to go away. I am 40 years old and I think I am now considered as baggage in domestic teams. So I don’t want to lose respect here. I want to leave with my head held high and it’s time for the youngsters to come in and take my place.”Ajmal, who was captaining Faisalabad in the National T20 Cup, finished his final innings with figures of 1 for 13 in four overs. That, however, did not bring an end to his player duties right away. After the match, PCB conducted a dope test with him, the results of which are due only after a week.Nine years ago, he had made his international debut, when he was chosen by chief selector Salahuddin Salu for the 2008 Asia Cup. Back then, Ajmal was considered one of Pakistan’s best spinners, and was soon one of the world’s most successful bowlers. He ended his Test career with 178 wickets in 35 Tests at an average of 28.10. His form swelled under the captaincy of Misbah-ul-Haq, when he took 141 wickets in only 26 Tests, including the 24 wickets against England in the UAE in 2011-12, when Pakistan won 3-0.The scorecard paid a tribute to Saeed Ajmal•Khurrum Amin / PCB

But for all of Ajmal’s successes until 2014, his career was dented due to his bowling action. He was reported for an illegal action twice in his international career and it brought the potency of his doosra – a delivery he used to devastating effect – under a cloud. He was later cleared to bowl by the ICC, albeit with the doosra still outside the limit, but the remodeled action came with a dip in form. He was eventually discarded from the Test team, with his last foreign tour coming against Bangladesh in 2015. Two ODIs and a T20I later, Ajmal faded away.Ajmal, however, has often been sensitive to criticism on his bowling action, including lashing out at the ICC over their 15-degree flex rule. “I feel only 10% of all bowlers would be able to stay within the limits defined by the ICC protocols,” Ajmal said. “I always felt ICC has been hard on Pakistan and PCB never did enough for the bowlers. Doosra is a regular delivery and it’s purely legal.”I don’t know why there is a false perception about its legality,” he said. “It’s a routine thing and if a bowler works on it it can be done easily. Not every fast bowler can bowl the reverse swing. Similarly, doosra isn’t for everyone. You have to work really hard to master it, and rejecting it is outrageously harsh. It should be encouraged as it was one of the finest deliveries by an offspinner.”Whatever I have done in my career, I am absolutely happy and proud. I came into the national team after the age of 30 and have done great things for Pakistan. What I have done, many take over 20 years to achieve. Therefore I have achieved everything in my career, but I wish my last match could have been in international cricket. However, I am still happy and thank you to every single person who has supported me through my ups and downs.”Since Ajmal’s exit from the national team, Pakistan had been struggling to find even one promising offspinner, but have never looked back after legspinner Yasir Shah took over the spin-bowling reins. Selectors, however, are still on the look out to find Pakistan’s next big offspinner, but haven’t found one yet.”PCB needs to think seriously about it,” Ajmal said on the lack of quality offspinners in Pakistan. “We are never short of talent and I believe we will never face a drought. We do have offspinners in the system, and they need to be developed, but I am afraid offspinners are being discouraged. They [PCB] should plan to bring offspinners back into the cycle and keep this system alive. We have great offspinners and historically, spinners have done a lot for Pakistan.”

Umar Akmal bludgeoned the highest score of the Pakistan Super League, his 40-ball 93 guiding Lahore Qalandars to their first win of the season, against Quetta Gladiators in Dubai

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Feb-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAhmed Shehzad applauds Umar Akmal following his 40-ball 93•PSL

Umar Akmal bludgeoned the highest score of the Pakistan Super League, his 40-ball 93 guiding Lahore Qalandars to their first win of the season, against Quetta Gladiators in Dubai. The 63-run defeat was Quetta’s first of the tournament, after they had set the early pace with three consecutive wins.Not many could have seen Akmal’s blast coming when Lahore crawled to 62 for 1 in 10 overs. But with Cameron Delport providing the initial spark and Akmal the finishing punch, Lahore cruised to 194 for 3 at the end of 20 overs. The pair added 95 runs in only 42 balls, with Delport smoking a 55-ball 73, an innings that featured eight fours and three sixes. Although the carnage could have been cut short – Akmal survived a close lbw shout off the third ball he faced and Zulfiqar Babar was visibly distraught when it was given not out.Babar eventually trapped Delport lbw when the batsman attempted an extravagant reverse flick, but any hope Quetta had of drying up the runs were quickly dashed by Akmal, who treated himself to six fours and eight sixes, including 18 runs off the penultimate over, bowled by Umar Gul. Akmal could not reach his maiden T20 ton, but he made sure Quetta needed to score at nearly 10 an over right from the off. They could not.Lahore’s spinners took wickets at regular intervals and only Mohammad Nawaz (42) and Sarfraz Ahmed (31) offered any resistance. Once Sarfraz was dismissed in the 13th over, Quetta lost their next six wickets for 13 runs and folded for 131. Zafar Gohar was the pick of the bowlers, collecting 4 for 14, while Ajantha Mendis chipped in with 3 for 17.

Chennai Super Kings have had a poor start to the season, while their opponents Royal Challengers Bangalore lost their previous game at home

The Preview by Sidharth Monga11-Apr-2012

Match facts

Thursday, April 12, Chennai
Start time 1600 (1030 GMT)Royal Challengers are Muttiah Muralitharan’s third IPL team from the south of India•Associated Press

Big Picture

Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore’s respective states are fierce rivals in the Ranji Trophy, and these two franchises contested an IPL final, two semi-finals and a qualifying final. Chennai and Bangalore are also two cities that have taken to franchise cricket.These two sides are the closest thing to a rivalry in the IPL – Super Kings lead the head-to-head 7-5. The tournament can do with a closely fought game after several one-sided contests this season.

Players to watch

Muttiah Muralitharan was an important part of Super Kings’ success over the first few years, but he is now up against his former team. He was exceptional in Royal Challengers’ first game against Delhi Daredevils, but took a beating in the second against Kolkata Knight Riders.The Chennai curator, who over the last few years served up slow and low pitches that made for unattractive cricket, produced a surprise with a green surface for the opening game. The ball came on, but it also bounced generously. Super Kings couldn’t manage a defendable target, Mumbai Indians’ Rohit Sharma got hit in the unmentionables, and Sachin Tendulkar missed three games after a blow to his hand. All this a day after the IPL chairman had asked for pitches that produced a minimum of 160. That strip will be under the scanner.

2011 head-to-head

Royal Challengers and Super Kings met four times last year. They were 1-1 after the league games, but Super Kings won both the qualifying final and the final.

Stats and trivia

• Two of the IPL’s most prolific six-hitters will be on display in Chennai: Suresh Raina, with 81, is behind Adam Gilchrist’s 83, while Chris Gayle has smoked a whopping 70 in just 29 games.
• MS Dhoni holds a clear lead for the record of most Twenty20 matches as captain – 103. Gilchrist is next with 65.

Quotes

“He [Dhoni] never seems to be under any kind of pressure. Obviously, he has pressure but that he has been living with for quite some time now.”

“We bowled quite well last year too. The addition of Vinay Kumar has been outstanding for us. He can bowl at any stage of the innings. And obviously Muralitharan.”
.

The visitors lost 6 for 37 but a target of 369 would mean breaking records for New Zealand

Tristan Lavalette02-Mar-20242:48

Malcolm: Lyon looms as the big threat for New Zealand

Nathan Lyon outfoxed Kane Williamson and menaced on a sharp turning Basin Reserve surface as Australia remained in the box seat for a first Test victory despite a stirring fightback from New Zealand on day three.Chasing 369, New Zealand reached stumps at 111 for 3 with Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell weathering challenging conditions in an unbroken half-century partnership. They defied Lyon, who was the predictable danger bowler and took 2 for 27 from 16 overs.Related

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• When 'mini-Buddha' lost his calm and New Zealand lost the plot, again

Ravindra mixed defence with proactiveness like when he clobbered the offspin of Travis Head for a towering six late in the day’s play. He reached his fifty off 77 balls by whacking a short delivery from Mitchell Starc to the leg-side boundary.Ravindra did endure several anxious moments, including an lbw appeal from Lyon that Australia unsuccessfully reviewed, but made it through to give New Zealand hope of conjuring a remarkable victory. Given the difficult situation, Mitchell curtailed his innate aggressiveness to finish 12 not out from 63 balls.New Zealand will need to rewrite the record books if they are to take the lead in this series, with the highest ever run chase at Basin Reserve being 277 for 3 by Pakistan in 2003.Glenn Phillips went all out with his five-for celebrations•Getty Images

New Zealand’s comeback started when Australia lost 6 for 37 as Glenn Phillips became the first New Zealand spinner to claim five wickets at home since Jeetan Patel in 2008. He finished with 5 for 45 from 16 overs as Australia was bowled out for 164 in their sixth lowest total against New Zealand in Test cricket.But New Zealand’s chase started poorly when opener Tom Latham gifted Lyon a wicket when he nicked off a short and wide delivery on the stroke of tea. Lyon, who entered the attack in the sixth over, had a huge caught behind appeal turned down on Williamson’s first delivery and Australia unsuccessfully reviewed.The riveting battle continued after the interval with Williamson, who made three hundreds in four innings against South Africa, determined to make amends after his horrendous run out for a duck in New Zealand’s first innings.Williamson made a statement by climbing into a couple of rare short deliveries from Lyon, who reverted to around the wicket and was armed with a leg slip. Williamson fell in the trap, unable to get on top of a Lyon delivery that pitched on middle and straightened as he inside edged into the safe hands of Steven Smith at leg slip.After a rare double failure, Williamson was visibly annoyed with himself as his modest career mark against Australia fell to 37.26 compared to 55.25 overall.With spin spitting off the surface, skipper Pat Cummins turned to Head and it proved an inspired decision with his third delivery accounting for opener Will Young, who played needlessly and edged to slip where Smith completed a stunning one-handed catch. It moved Smith past Mark Waugh’s tally of 181 Test catches and into sixth spot on the all-time list.Rachin Ravindra took the fight to Australia•Getty Images

Lyon’s performance had Australia remaining confident despite a collapse in the middle session that loosened their stranglehold.As they seek a rare Test victory over Australia, New Zealand have seemingly been overawed at times in the series-opener. But Phillips has been a standout after he top-scored for New Zealand with a defiant 71 off 70 in their disappointing first innings of 179.He has also stood up with the ball after frontline spinner Mitchell Santner was overlooked for this match. Having had Usman Khawaja stumped in the first session, Phillips provided New Zealand with a much needed spark shortly after lunch with the wickets of Head and in-form Mitchell Marsh on consecutive deliveries.Head, who had made just one run in his last three innings, raced to 29 off 36 balls before holing out to long-off. Marsh was dismissed for a golden duck after being caught at short-leg with Phillips equalling his career best of four wickets in an innings.Phillips soon captured his fifth after Cameron Green, backing up from his masterful unbeaten 174 in the first innings, poked to short-leg to end his 80-ball 34 with Young taking a very sharp catch.Phillips was denied a sixth when Cummins was dropped twice, but Matt Henry claimed the last two wickets – finishing with eight for the match – to complete New Zealand’s fightback.Having never taken a five-wicket haul in first-class cricket, Phillips became the first New Zealand spinner to reach the feat at Basin Reserve since 2006 when Daniel Vettori, who is now part of Australia’s coaching staff, claimed 7 for 130 against Sri Lanka.A New Zealand rally looked unlikely when Lyon, the nightwatcher, dominated the first 30 minutes of play. Having scored the most runs in Test history without a half-century, with a highest score of 47, Lyon fell short after making a breezy 41 off 46 balls in the top score of the innings.Lyon’s milestone bid ended after whipping Henry to a leaping Young at midwicket, but he was back in the thick of the action later in the day’s play.