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Match facts

Monday, November 14
Start time 1500 (1100 GMT)Misbah-ul-Haq’s stock continues to rise•AFP

Big Picture

With every passing match, the stock of Misbah-ul-Haq continues to rise. A dysfunctional board, the loss of world-class fast bowlers to the spot-fixing crisis, a fall-out between captain and coach earlier in the year leading to the brief retirement of the talismanic Shahid Afridi – none of that has stopped Misbah from steering Pakistan to an almost six-month unbeaten run. Some of the opposition along the way might have been the lightweights, but the thumping win in the first one-dayer came against one of the top limited-overs sides in the world. For a man whose international career seemed well and truly over a little more than a year ago, it’s been quite a ride since taking over as captain.Things haven’t been as smooth for the man who became Sri Lanka’s leader after the World Cup. There’s been some scattered Twenty20 success, but Tillakaratne Dilshan’s side has lost all their major Test and ODI assignments over the past six months. After the abysmal batting collapse in the first one-dayer, Dilshan was critical of the shot-selection, especially from a hugely experienced top order. His own one-day form hasn’t been great, and Sri Lanka have the added worry of Mahela Jayawardene struggling with a knee injury, which could put him out of Monday’s match.

Form guide

Pakistan WWWWW
Sri Lanka LWLWL

Watch out for…

The solidity of Pakistan’s openers in recent matches have reduced the opportunities for Umar Akmal, but a substantial performance from him will deter the team management from being tempted to replace him with Shoaib Malik. Umar was Man of the Match when Pakistan halted Australia’s 34-match World Cup unbeaten streak, but he hasn’t made a half-century against Test opposition in more than a year. The talent has never been in doubt, and he’s still only 21, but the results need more consistency.Another highly rated 21-year-old batsman looking to make an impression is Dinesh Chandimal. After the highs of a Lord’s century, his form has nosedived – three low scores against Australia led to him losing his spot. He regained his place in the XI on Friday and top scored with 28 but his position in the order is a source of debate. Jayawardene usually prefers to bat as high as possible, but Chandimal’s presence at No. 4 pushes Jayawardene down to three-down. “I want Chandimal to bat between Sanga and Mahela,” Dilshan said. “Sanga comes in at three and Mahela at five, and if Chandimal can bat around the two of them it would be good.”

Team news

After their comprehensive victory on Friday, Pakistan are unlikely to want to tinker with their combination.Pakistan (probable) 1 Imran Farhat, 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Umar Akmal, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt.), 6 Abdul Razzaq, 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 9 Umar Gul, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Aizaz CheemaThough it was the batting that was abject in their defeat in the previous game, Sri Lanka’s top six is more or less set in stone, unless if Jayawardene fails to recover from his knee problem. In that case, Dimuth Karunaratne, the 23-year-old top-order batsman from SSC, will likely take his place. Changes are likely to come lower down in the order, with Thisara Perera and Jeevan Mendis as possible replacements for the new boys, Kosala Kulasekara and Seekkuge Prasanna. Perera could even be brought in at the expense of Dilhara Fernando, who was erratic on Friday though he touched express speeds of 145kph.Sri Lanka (probable) 1 Upul Tharanga, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan (capt), 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Dinesh Chandimal, 5 Mahela Jayawardene, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Kosala Kulasekara 8 Thisara Perera 9 Seekkuge Prasanna/Jeevan Mendis 10 Lasith Malinga 11 Suranga Lakmal

Stats and trivia

• Shahid Afridi’s Man-of-the-Match award on Friday was his 25th, one more than Inzamam-ul-Haq has received. Saeed Anwar (28) is the only Pakistan player with more such honours.
• Tillakaratne Dilshan’s batting form has deserted him in ODIs since he took over as captain after the World Cup. In 12 matches, he has only one half-century and averages a paltry 13.66.

Quotes

“He handles things well and is somewhat like Arjuna Ranatunga and he has the patience to wait until he achieves what he wants to.”

“I’ve got experienced guys in the team and they’re really doing very well, especially Younis Khan, who’s always contributing to the team, now Shahid Afridi has come in and performed very well and Abdul Razzaq also bowled very well (on Friday).”

Match facts

Cape Cobras v Trinidad & Tobago, October 4, Chennai
Start time 1600 (1030 GMT)Can the T&T bowlers choke the opposition again?•AFP

Big Picture

After the last-ball and one-wicket loss to Mumbai Indians, and the Super Over defeat to New South Wales, one wondered what Trinidad & Tobago would come up with next. Along with MI, T&T did their best to infuse excitement into a tournament that has struggled to pull in crowds. They finally managed to get it right against Chennai Super Kings to give themselves an outside chance of making the semi-finals. T&T have one last opportunity, against Cape Cobras, to add more thrills to the Champions League. It is a must-win game for both sides.While T&T’s spinners will look to use the slowness of the Chennai pitch to their advantage, they would have also noted that the Cobras batsmen struggled more against the Super Kings’ seamers in their only loss so far.A win tomorrow will put Cobras at the top of Group A and ensure their qualification for the semi-finals. Victory alone will not be enough for T&T, though, as they will need the Super Kings to beat New South Wales to force a three-way tie for the second place.

Watch out for …

Unlike the T&T spinners, there is nothing mysterious about medium-pacer Kevon Cooper but he has gone for just over five runs an over in the tournament. Even fellow Trinidadian Dwayne Bravo could not go after him in the death. Cooper’s 28 at a strike-rate of 280 was the difference against the Super Kings. T&T’s next best strike-rate was 121. Cobras will have to be wary on both fronts.You either get Herschelle Gibbs early or else he gets you. New South Wales didn’t, and suffered. Super Kings did, and got a target that could be chased. Gibbs will go after all the sliders, wrong ‘uns and flicked legbreaks that the T&T spinners try against him. Who will get whom?

Team news

Barring last-minute injuries, neither side has reason to change their XIs.

Stats and trivia

• Not surprisingly, slow and low Chennai is where batsmen have struggled the most. It has the lowest average per wicket, 21.22, and the lowest economy-rate, 6.80, of the three venues used in the tournament
• T&T’s loss to MI was only the 11th instance of a Twenty20 being decided by the smallest margin of one wicket off the last ball.

Quotes

“There is still a remote chance of us qualifying. God only knows what will happen in the last game but we still hold faith that we will qualify for the semi-finals.”
“We are playing T&T at the end, so their spinners are not complete unknowns to us. We have done a little bit of work on how to face them.”

West Indies allrounder Stafanie Taylor has been named the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year for 2011, at the annual awards ceremony in London.Taylor, 20, played 10 ODIs during the voting period (August 11, 2010 – August 3, 2011), scoring 610 runs at an average of 76.25, and accounted for 15 victims with her offspin. She also picked up five wickets and made 49 runs in Twenty20 Internationals.Taylor staved off competition from the English duo of Charlotte Edwards and Lydia Greenway, and Australia’s Shelley Nitschke who was last year’s winner. The award rounds off a successful year for Taylor who was part of the West Indies side that won the ICC Women’s Twenty20 Cricket Challenge in South Africa.”It is a fantastic honour to be named the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year,” said Taylor, who was absent, having just finished a home series against Pakistan yesterday. “I said before the awards that my goal was to be the number one women’s cricketer in the world and I’m on my way there with the rankings and to be named the winner of this award makes me extremely happy.”I would like to thank my team-mates and coaches from the West Indies team, my domestic side Jamaica, and also my family for all the support they continue to give me and I hope I can continue to represent the West Indies with pride.”

Scorecard
Yorkshire fell just short of an audacious attempt to secure victory over Sussex after being set 344 off a possible 54 overs in their County Championship match at Scarborough. The White Rose closed on 312 for 6, just 32 runs away from the winning line, as they settled for a draw.The platform for the chase was laid by acting captain Jacques Rudolph, who thrashed 120 off 125 balls with 12 fours and five sixes, in an opening stand of 174 in 39 overs with Joe Sayers.When Rudolph was dismissed the Yorkshire chase stepped up another gear again as the hosts sent in Jonny Bairstow in a brave bid to keep the momentum going.Bairstow celebrated his call-up by England for the one-day international with Ireland by reverse sweeping Chris Nash for four to get off the mark. The final hour arrived with Yorkshire needing 162 off 16 overs and consecutive sixes by Bairstow off Nash kept them in the hunt.But after he had slammed 26 from 13 balls, Bairstow was taken on the long off boundary by Wayne Parnell who threw the ball in the air before stepping over the line and coming back to complete the catch. Gary Ballance and Sayers took up the challenge until Ballance was lbw to Kirk Wernars to make it 236 for three in the 45th over and a mid-wicket six for Anthony McGrath off Parnell and two hits into the crowd by Sayers off Monty Panesar increased the tension.At 270 for 3, Yorkshire required 74 from seven overs and McGrath slapped a full toss from Parnell to Luke Wells at long on. The target became 45 from four overs when Richard Pyrah was held in the deep and the chase was effectively over when Sayers was caught on the point boundary by Murray Goodwin off Amjad Khan for 84 from 136 balls with seven fours and four sixes.The drama began after Sussex captain Mike Yardy had hit his second century of the match before declaring on 333 for 6. Yardy followed up his first innings 130 with 122 to become the first visiting player to hit a century in each innings on a Yorkshire ground since 1976 when Alan Jones achieved the feat for Glamorgan at Middlesbrough.Both Yorkshire and Sussex took nine points from the draw and Sussex’s director of cricket, Mark Robinson, said his team had hesitated over whether to declare because of a sickness bug which was sweeping through the camp.”It started with Mike Yardy and then Monty Panesar, Wayne Parnell and James Anyon all felt unwell at various times,” said Robinson. “We didn’t particularly want to be in the field for a long while but felt there was just a chance of forcing a win if Yorkshire lost a couple of early wickets,” he said.Sussex resumed on the final morning on 126 for 3 with an overall lead of 136 and the feeling in the Yorkshire camp was that they needed to take wickets in the first hour if they were to stand any real chance of forcing a victory.Rashid raised expectations by getting Goodwin caught behind when attempting to cut with the score on 150 but nightwatchman, Anyon, was rarely troubled as he built up a 153-run stand with Yardy – the third fifth-wicket stand in excess of 150 in the match. Yardy wasted few scoring opportunities, pulling consecutive balls from Ryan Sidebottom to the boundary and hurrying to his 50 off 67 balls with seven fours before striking Rashid for a leg side six.He was dropped by Ballance at backward point shortly before lunch but soon after the interval went to his century off 105 deliveries with 10 fours and a six. Anyon moved steadily to a career-best 53 from 116 balls with five fours and was then bowled by Rashid and Yardy’s innings ended when he drove the leg-spinner to substitute fielder, David Wainwright, at long on, the declaration quickly following.

Scorecard
However diligent their preparation and practice, Somerset cannot exert any control over rainfall that they feel afflicts the west country more than anywhere other than Old Trafford. A third severely interrupted day ensured that there was no time for their second innings at Taunton. A draw, the probable outcome on the third evening, became an inevitability once no play was possible before lunch. It was a question thereafter of how many points could be gathered in.For Somerset, that amounted to a mere six, for Samit Patel, called up by England for the one day international in Ireland next week, collected the 30 runs he needed to reach his century and finished with 128 in all off 163 balls with 20 fours and a six. Long before then, there was fulmination over the weather from Brian Rose, the director of cricket. It is undoubtedly true that Taunton suffers more rainfall than most other grounds in the country – but best not to tell him that this is a part of the charm of cricket.It remains to be seen whether poor weather will prevent Somerset becoming county champions for the first time, a repeat, in their opinion, of what happened last year. Yet they neither batted well nor bowled accurately in this match. Whereas Andre Adams had maintained a disciplined off stump line in bowling them out for 177, their own quicker bowlers were more profligate when bowling at Patel and Riki Wessels, who struck 82 from 79 balls with ten fours and two sixes, entertainment indeed.Still, there were two wickets in successive balls for George Dockrell, the slow left arm bowler who should play against England for his native Ireland. He dismissed Patel and had Steven Mullaney taken at the wicket, but was unable to take a hat-trick not least because Chris Read, the Nottinghamshire captain, has become accustomed to coming to the crease in such circumstances. Dockrell was a little expensive, but will have an opportunity for so long as Murali Kartik is injured and there is indecision over his future with Somerset.Nottinghamshire, unable to make runs sufficiently quickly to enable them to attempt to bowl out Somerset a second time, as was the intention of Mick Newell, their coach, batted out the day. For all Somerset’s concerns over their antiquated drainage system, which according to Rose is 120 years old, there is nothing that can be done about rain weekly, monthly and perennially sweeping across their county from Cornwall.”This was a pretty average day for us,” admitted Marcus Trescothick, the Somerset captain. “We did what we could to salvage something from losing 225 overs in the match and were pleased to pick up three bowling points. We now have two massive matches to come – against Hampshire here, Yorkshire at Leeds – followed by playing the leaders, Lancashire in our final fixture. Realistically, we need to have two victories by the time we face them.”

Namibia registered a crushing 160-run victory over Ghana at the Lugogo Cricket Oval. Namibia lost opener Louis van der Westhuizen off the second ball of the game, but Craig Williams and Sarel Burger waded into the Ghana attack, putting on 140 runs off 64 balls. Williams hit seven fours and six sixes in his 86 off 33 balls, while Burger took 52 deliveries to reach 82. Though Williams was dismissed in the 11th over, Burger featured in a couple of solid 30-plus stands that took Namibia to a formidable 237 for 6.In their reply, Ghana folded meekly, with none of their batsmen managing to go past 14. The highest partnership of the innings was between Francis Bakiweyem and Julius Mensah, who put together 30 runs for the second wicket at nearly a-run-a-ball. But once Mensah fell in the eighth over, things went downhill, as Ghana slumped from 38 for 2 to 77 all out. Sarel Burger backed up his batting heroics with a stellar bowling spell, picking up five for 10 in his four overs.Nigeria offspinner Olalekan Awolowo picked up five wickets to set up his team’s three-wicket win over Kenya in a low-scoring match in Kampala. Put in to bat, Kenya got off to a brisk start thanks to opener Duncan Allan who made 48 off 34 balls, and added 66 with Jignesh Hirani for the first wicket. But once the openers fell off consecutive deliveries in the ninth over, there was a dramatic collapse – only Joseph Ochieng managed to enter double digits, as Kenya were bowled out for 107. Awolowo picked up 5 for 14 and also effected two run-outs.Nigeria’s chase began on a tentative note, with none of their top four getting beyond 16. But No. 5 Kunle Adegbola managed to steady the innings with 36 off 33 balls. When he was dismissed in the final over, Nigeria needed three runs off four balls. Akabogu Okwudili took them home with one ball to go, handing Nigeria their second win of the tournament.Kenya‘s day worsened when they were suffered a 169-run defeat against Namibia who extended their unbeaten run. van der Westhuizen took the game away from Kenya early, launching Namibia’s innings with a 94-run stand in 46 balls with his captain Craig Williams. Williams’ exit did little to stop the run flow as van der Westhuizen blasted his way to an unbeaten 159 off 70 balls, which included 16 sixes. Burger continued his good form, with 53 not out off 30 balls as Namibia surged to 262 for 1 in their 20 overs. In their reply Kenya limped to 93 for 8 in their 20 overs. Pikky ya France was the most successful bowler for Namibia with 3 for 14.Uganda sneaked home by three wickets with ten balls to spare in an attritional encounter against Nigeria at the Kyambogo Cricket Ground. Batting first, Nigeria kept losing wickets regularly, with only Ademola Onikoyi showing some resistance with 42 off 53 balls. Ramit Gill and Ojajide Bejide contributed 20s to lift their side to 112 for 8. Uganda made hard work of the chase, losing wickets at regular intervals and it was down to tailenders Davis Arinaitwe and Deusdedit Muhumza, both of whom struck a boundary each to carry their side home in the penultimate over.

Rashid Latif has finally stepped down as coach of Afghanistan after weeks of growing discontent within the squad about the coach. His resignation has been accepted by the Afghanistan Cricket Board.”I take responsibility for the series defeat to Pakistan A and am therefore stepping down from the position,” Latif told ESPNcricinfo. “I cannot continue any longer because of my own commitments.”Latif joined the side as batting coach in July last year, eventually taking over as head coach after Kabir Khan left the post abruptly in August. Under his watch, the side beat Pakistan in the T20 semi-finals of the Asian Games before losing to Bangladesh in the final. They also beat Scotland in the ICC Intercontinental Cup and Canada in a warm-up game for the 2011 World Cup.But they were whitewashed in three 50-over games by a Pakistan ‘A’ side in Pakistan last month, after which murmurs of the players’ and board officials’ unhappiness with Latif grew. Latif is said to believe that some players deliberately underperformed in the series against Pakistan ‘A’ to undermine his position.Latif’s contract with the board was till July 20th. It is believed the players are now keen to bring Kabir back as coach, though he is currently with UAE.”I enjoyed my stint with Afghanistan and learnt a lot from the players and about the culture as well,” Latif said. “I am happiest that we held camps in Afghanistan for training and hope that more grounds are built there because that is how they will progress further. I wish them the best of luck for the future.”Afghanistan don’t play again until August, when they take on Canada in an Intercontinental Cup game in Canada followed by two one-day internationals.

Allan Donald. Craig McDermott. Allister de Winter? Between them, the first two men have taken 621 Test wickets. A former fringe allrounder with Tasmania, de Winter scraped together 35 first-class victims at an unflattering average. And yet, all three are in the mix to become Australia’s new bowling coach.de Winter might seem out of place in the company of such champions, but he has already outlasted former internationals like Jason Gillespie and Andy Bichel to reach the final round of interviews. It is a vote of confidence in de Winter’s post-playing career, during which time he has worked as a zone coaching manager in Western Australia, and as head of Bangladesh’s National Cricket Academy.As the assistant to Tasmania’s head coach Tim Coyle since 2007, de Winter has had a strong focus on helping the state’s fast bowlers. He helped guide the Tigers to the Sheffield Shield last summer, and Coyle believes de Winter would be a valuable addition to Cricket Australia’s staff if he gets the job that has been vacated by Troy Cooley, another former fringe fast bowler from Tasmania.”The other guys have had outstanding careers at Test level and one-day level,” Coyle said. “Ali obviously doesn’t have that, but he’s been coaching for ten years. It depends how you weigh it all up, and what Australian cricket needs.”He’s got a similar background to Troy Cooley. They’ve had a similar growth as coaches. Ali has done his time at domestic cricket level more than Troy did. Troy went through the academy, whereas Ali has been to two states and he’s been overseas and worked in Bangladesh. He’s got experience with the Australian team in the elite coaching program.”He’s very hands-on. That’s where he’s based his coaching philosophy, with being hands-on with his players. He’s a practical kind of guy. He’s got a good grasp on the technical side of pace bowling, through all the experience that he’s had. He also has a very good idea of how to implement those things into a game situation.”Should de Winter get the job as Australia’s bowling coach, he will be very familiar with at least one of his new charges, the Tasmanian Ben Hilfenhaus. But de Winter has also played a key role in the development of newer faces on the fast-bowling scene in Tasmania, several of whom had breakthrough seasons in 2010-11.”If you look at the guys who have really put their hand up this year, Adam Maher, James Faulkner and Luke Butterworth are all in the top five wicket-takers in the country, domestically,” Coyle said. “Ali has had a hands-on role with all those three.”At this level, it’s about getting sound technique and being efficient and then being able to apply that to the game. He’s also worked with developing bowlers over the years, so he has a good understanding of the development of a bowler and the phases they go through.”All the same, de Winter, 43, faces a tough ask to be offered the job ahead of former champions such as McDermott and Donald. The new bowling coach is expected to be announced in the next few days.

Match facts

Sunday, April 17
Start time 1600 (1030 GMT)The hunt for swing continues for Irfan Pathan•AFP

Big picture

Pune Warriors and Delhi Daredevils are at opposite ends of the IPL 2011 table. Pune are the only side yet to lose a game, while Delhi are the only ones yet to register a win. Virender Sehwag’s men will be desperate for their first points on Sunday, but it won’t be easy against what is arguably the most complete Twenty20 outfit in the tournament.Jesse Ryder and Graeme Smith form a free-spirited opening combination for Pune, while Yuvraj Singh and Robin Uthappa are probably the most dangerous Indian middle-order batsmen in this format. But Pune’s real strength lies in the lesser-knows who complete the side. Mithun Manhas and Mohnish Mishra are not big names, but have played nerveless hands under pressure. Alfonso Thomas, Wayne Parnell and Shrikant Wagh have been dangerous with the new ball, stunning their opponents with early wickets. Can Delhi’s reputed top order tame them?The odds are stacked against Sehwag and Co., given their indifferent form and the spicy nature of the DY Patil track. Sehwag himself may have to take on extra responsibility, like he did when he played out a maiden over from the marauding Lasith Malinga, in the game against Mumbai Indians. David Warner was in good touch against Rajasthan Royals, while Venugopal Rao promises stability lower down. Can Sehwag and Aaron Finch turn the tide as well? Though the batting has been patchy, Delhi’s bigger worry is on the bowling front. If Morne Morkel doesn’t find some support quickly, Delhi’s search for their first win may not end at the DY Patil Stadium.

Team talk

Ashok Dinda was all over the place against Rajasthan, and might make way for Umesh Yadav in the Delhi XI. Given the lack of solidity in the middle order, Delhi may consider bringing in either James Hopes or Andrew McDonald to replace Roelof van der Merwe.Pune, on the other hand, are unlikely to fiddle with their winning combination. Graeme Smith and legspinner Rahul Sharma, who were both injured after colliding while attempting a catch against Kochi Tuskers Kerala earlier this week, are both recovering well, though a final call on their availability will only be taken on Sunday.Predict the playing XIs for this match. Play ESPNcricinfo Team selector.

In the spotlight

Can Irfan Pathan stop teasing his fans and just let them know if he still has it in him to swing the ball consistently? Against Mumbai, in his first game after a long injury lay-off, he began by bending those banana inswingers into the right-hand batsmen. They weren’t as lethal as they were back in 2003-04, but they held promise. Yet, at the first sign of trouble against Rajasthan, in Delhi’s second game, he reverted to listless offcutters, with the wicketkeeper standing up to the stumps. Which Irfan will turn up against Pune?Yuvraj Singh the captain has so far been a revelation. In the first game, one could sense his involvement from the way he ran in from the dug-out at the strategic time-out to caution Manhas about Piyush Chawla’s deceptive googly. Against Kochi Tuskers Kerala, despite Mohnish’s eagerness to bat up the order, Yuvraj convinced him to play at No. 6 and the batsman delivered in a tough chase. While the captain continues to make the right calls, will Yuvraj the batsman also make an impression against Delhi?

Prime numbers

• In 15 games so far this season, only four have been won by teams batting first. Pune chased in both their wins, while Delhi batted first in both their losses
• Four Pune bowlers figure in the six most economical bowlers so far this season. Morne Morkel is fourth in the list
  

  The chatter

  “We will have our plans for Sehwag. I hope he takes it easy against us tomorrow”

  “Good performances here in the IPL could go a long way in securing a place in the national side. There are a lot of big tours coming up. So I want to do well and find a place.”

Match facts

Friday, April 29, Bangalore
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Yuvraj Singh will look for more support from his batting line-up•Associated Press

Big picture

Time is running out for Pune Warriors. With four losses out of six matches, they have severe catching-up to do in their remaining eight games. And it all has to start with snapping a four-match losing streak they have accumulated. In their last three matches they have been 17 for 4, 40 for 4 and 41 for 4. The batting order is surely not ideal: Yuvraj Singh at No. 5 always runs the risk of being wasted, Mithun Manhas and Mohnish Mishra in the top four make it one non-international batsman too many, and Callum Ferguson definitely should not be on the bench considering their batting failures.Royal Challengers Bangalore, on the other hand, have started a turnaround of sorts with Chris Gayle’s arrival. They have seven points after seven matches; 14 after 14 can get them through to the qualifiers. However, they will want more than that, and will be aiming at four wins at least in the remaining games.

Form guide (most recent first)

Bangalore WWNLL (fourth in points table)
Pune LLLLW (ninth in points table)

Team talk

Pune will need to find a way to get Ferguson in. Given that they have five specialist bowlers doing a good job for them, they can easily bring him in ahead of Mitchell Marsh, who replaced Nathan McCullum for Pune’s last game.Bangalore will want to persist with their winning combination.Predict the playing XIs for this match. Play ESPNcricinfo Team selector.

In the spotlight

Jesse Ryder has got off to good starts, but has also fallen to the short ball on more than one occasion. Expect more of that from Zaheer Khan & Co.Tillakaratne Dilshan scored a golden duck in the previous game, and will look to pull his weight in what is, on paper, one of the most destructive opening combinations in the IPL.

Prime numbers

• Virat Kohli, with 227 runs to his name, is 43 short of claiming the orange cap
• Rahul Sharma’s 6.04 an over is the fourth-best economy-rate among bowlers who have bowled a minimum of 10 overs. Daniel Vettori, Yusuf Pathan and Doug Bollinger are ahead of him

The chatter

“We didn’t apply our brains while batting. We kept on making the same mistakes again and again.”