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Mandhana’s side are eliminated, while Harmanpreet’s team will want to make final tweaks before knockouts

Sruthi Ravindranath20-Mar-2023

Big Picture

A week ago, Royal Challengers Bangalore were languishing at the bottom of the table with zero wins. Mumbai Indians, meanwhile, were riding high on top of the table with a perfect five. Mumbai had sealed their top-three spot while Royal Challengers’ chances were hanging by a thread. Earlier in the tournament, Mumbai had inflicted a heavy defeat on Royal Challengers the last time these teams had met.Royal Challengers have roared back in some style since then. After a win against UP Warriorz, they went on to thrash Gujarat Giants by eight wickets in a high-scorer. Mumbai, meanwhile, were handed their first defeat of the tournament by Warriorz.But following Warriorz’s win against Giants on Monday, Royal Challengers have been eliminated from the competition*. Mumbai will have to turn up in less than 24 hours for this encounter, so Royal Challengers will want to make use of this chance to finish the tournament on a high.Meanwhile, Mumbai, for their part, will want to hold on to the top spot which would give them a direct entry into the final. If Delhi Capitals beat them on Monday and go on to win their last league game against Warriorz, then there’s a chance Mumbai might not finish first.The teams’ respective captains – two Indian stalwarts – have had contrasting fortunes. Harmanpreet Kaur has 205 runs with three fifties while Smriti Mandhana has crossed 30 just twice. Can Mandhana outdo her opposite number this time around?

Players to Watch

Having impressed enough with her bowling, Issy Wong showcased her batting skills in the match against Warriorz with a 19-ball 32 to resurrect Mumbai’s innings. She has bowled superbly in the three games Mumbai have played at the DY Patil Sports Academy so far, making the most of the early swing on offer and finishing with figures of 1 for 7, 3 for 10 and 1 for 24 respectively. Her economy of 5.78 in the tournament is the second-best among players who’ve bowled a minimum of 15 overs.Sophie Devine delivered a banging performance against Giants, smashing eight sixes and nine fours on her way to a 36-ball 99. In Royal Challengers’ last two games, she’s been effective with the new ball as well – removing Warriorz’s openers in the first over and sending Giants’ Sophia Dunkley back in the third over.

Possible XIs

Mumbai Indians: 1 Hayley Matthews, 2 Yastika Bhatia (wk), 3 Nat Sciver-Brunt, 4 Harmanpreet Kaur (c), 5 Amelia Kerr, 6 Issy Wong, 7 Humaira Kazi, 8 Dhara Gujjar, 9 Amanjot Kaur, 10 Jintimani Kalita, 11 Saika IshaqueRoyal Challengers: 1 Sophie Devine, 2 Smriti Mandhana (capt.), 3 Ellyse Perry, 4 Heather Knight, 5 Kanika Ahuja, 6 Richa Ghosh (wk), 7 Shreyanka Patil, 8 Disha Kasat, 9 Sobhana Asha, 10 Megan Schutt, 11 Preeti Bose.

Stats and Trivia

• Saika Ishaque’s economy rate is 5.63, the best economy in the tournament so far (minimum 10 overs)
• Devine’s batting strike rate against spinners during her 99 off 36 balls was 336.36. She scored 74 runs off 22 balls against spin on the day
• Mumbai’s bowlers have taken the most wickets (16) in the powerplay while Royal Challengers bowlers have taken the least (8)

Quotes

“I’m so used to hearing chants for [Ellyse] Perry and [Smriti] Mandhana, and was feeling a bit left out. To hear your name and experience this atmosphere, it will stay with me for a very long time.”
Sophie Devine after her match-winning knock against Giants*1.30pm GMT – The story was updated after UP Warriorz’s match against Gujarat Giants to say Royal Challengers Bangalore have been eliminated from the tournament

Al Amin Hossain, Hasan Mahmud, Rubel Hossain and Nasum Ahmed also miss out from the New Zealand tour party

Mohammad Isam20-May-2021Najmul Hossain Shanto has been omitted from Bangladesh’s ODI squad for the first two matches of their three-match series against Sri Lanka. Shanto is one of five exclusions from the large white-ball squad that toured New Zealand in March. Shakib Al Hasan has returned to the side and is the only addition in the 15-member squad.Shakib had missed the New Zealand tour because of a thigh injury and opted out of the subsequent two-match Test series in Sri Lanka to play in the IPL. He and Mustafizur Rahman were in hotel quarantine since returning to Dhaka after the IPL’s suspension and started training on May 18 after completing 11 days in isolation.The squad also excludes Al Amin Hossain, Hasan Mahmud, Rubel Hossain and Nasum Ahmed, who toured New Zealand for the white-ball leg. Mahmud and Rubel are both recovering from back injuries, while Mohammad Naim, who played the T20Is against New Zealand, finds himself among the four standby players.Chief selector Minhajul Abedin said Shanto, whose 163 against Sri Lanka in the first Test in Pallekele had brought him out of a batting rut, was dropped due to his ODI form. “Shanto hasn’t done well in ODIs so we thought of giving him a break,” Abedin told ESPNcricinfo.Shanto has just 93 runs in eight matches so far, including 38 runs in three innings in the ODI series against West Indies. He was in the squad for the New Zealand tour but didn’t play any of the ODIs.Abedin was confident that the selected squad can turn things around after their 3-0 defeat to New Zealand and sought to focus on their 3-0 win over West Indies at home in January.”We beat West Indies quite comprehensively in the last home series, so we didn’t change the squad too much,” he told media on Thursday. “We have almost kept every one. The selection panel hopes that we play better cricket against Sri Lanka.”Things are a little different at home and we have done well against them [Sri Lanka] in the past. The team always feels better with the best players. Everyone is fit, and playing in the practice match.”We have kept four standbys with the 15-man squad. They will stay with the team. It is a contingency for Covid-19 situation.”All 19 players are taking part in a practice match in Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishtan (BKSP) on Thursday, before having two days of training ahead of the first ODI on May 23.Squad: Tamim Iqbal (capt), Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Mithun, Mahmudullah, Afif Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mohammad Saifuddin, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Soumya Sarkar, Mosaddek Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Shoriful Islam
Standbys: Mohammad Naim, Taijul Islam, Shohidul Islam, Aminul Islam Biplob

India’s players had a lot to celebrate with the latest update in the ICC rankings

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Mar-20216:53

Rohit Sharma – I don’t want anyone get upset when Pant gets out playing shots

The rise of Rishabh Pant continues. He has now secured the highest points tally (747) by any Indian wicketkeeper on the ICC Test batting rankings. That puts him at the joint-seventh place, along with team-mate Rohit Sharma and New Zealand’s Henry Nicholls.Much as he was when India beat Australia in their own backyard, Pant was a central figure in his team’s victory over England last week which sealed their place in the inaugural World Test Championship final. He struck his first century at home, in Ahmedabad, an innings that drew praise from the very best in the business – Adam Gilchrist and Brian Lara to name two. His coach Ravi Shastri was particularly effusive about the way he committed to a sterner fitness regime that is helping him churn out these big runs.Pant has amassed 544 runs from seven Test matches, making him India’s top-scorer in the 2020-21 season and third-highest overall. Among those runs was a 97 that helped India keep an incredible series alive in Sydney and then he sealed it in even more incredible fashion by scoring 89 thrillingly unbeaten runs in Brisbane.Providing equally invaluable contributions, but with the ball, R Ashwin is now ranked second among all bowlers in Test cricket. This comes soon after he set the record for fastest – in terms of balls (21,242) – to 400 Test wickets. The India allrounder had a stellar series against England, scoring a century on his home ground, which he said made him feel like a hero, and he finished it with 32 wickets from four Test matches.Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant are ranked joint-seventh among Test batsmen by the ICC•BCCI

Not far behind him was Axar Patel. The left-arm spinner playing only his first Test series struck 27 times in three matches to average a scarcely believable 10.54. Thanks to that performance, he climbed eight places to 30th, but more notably, he has 552 points. Only two bowlers have ever done better after their first three Tests – former India leg-spinner Narendra Hirwani (564) and Australia fast bowler Charlie Turner (553), who played in the 19th century.Sharma has reached his career-best spot after a string of excellent performances in tough conditions. His 161 in the second Test on a Chennai turner was later hailed as the turning point on which India were able to come back from 0-1 down and beat England 3-1. Overall, he is the team’s second-highest scorer this season – and fourth-highest overall – with 474 runs at an average of 47.40.The latest ICC ranking update also included a couple of blips for India. Their captain Virat Kohli (fifth place with 814) is sitting on his lowest points tally since November 2017 and their No. 3 Cheteshwar Pujara has slipped below 700 for the first time since September 2016.England, whose captain Joe Root admitted they didn’t take enough of their chances to trouble India, could take solace from James Anderson moving up to the fourth place in bowlers’ rankings. His burst of reverse swing on the last day of the first Test in Chennai was crucial in giving the visitors a lead that they couldn’t capitalise upon. Also moving up the ranks was batsman Dan Lawrence, who rose 47 places to 93rd. An equally rapid mover was Washington Sundar, who was stranded on 96 in the Ahmedabad Test match. He gained 39 places and is at the 62nd position.

Test cricket is “big-man cricket” and West Indies cannot use their youth and inexperience as a crutch to deflect against poor performances, according to Marlon Samuels

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Kingston29-Jul-2016Test cricket is “big-man cricket” and West Indies cannot use their youth and inexperience as a crutch to deflect against poor performances, according to Marlon Samuels. Two days before the second Test against India at Sabina Park, Samuels said the young players will have to keep earning their places with their performances.”Well, first and foremost, I’m not going to be here to tell you that it’s a young team,” Samuels said. “For me to say that is like finding excuses for the team. It’s a Test team, and Test cricket is big-man cricket, and the players should know that by now.”They are here, playing Test cricket. So we all have to step up to the plate, and put up a very good challenge against the Indians. The Indians are a very good team, a very good unit, so what we want to try and build right now is a team spirit, and build a stronger unit in order [to move forward]. Yes, we have new players coming in, but they still have to deliver. At the end of the day, you have to do that to keep your job here.”A string of impressive limited-overs performances won Samuels West Indies’ Cricketer of the Year award, but his Test form has been poor in recent months. Before scoring a half-century in the second innings of the first Test in Antigua, he had failed to pass 20 in his 10 Test innings.”You make a half-century, it’s a milestone,” he said. “You have to cherish it, but at the end of the day I always want more. I haven’t been getting the runs that I’m looking for in the Test arena, but I’ve been making up in the shorter versions, so it augurs well that I’m doing well for the team as well. It’s just, I need to start focusing more and putting in some big performances, so the team can benefit from my performances.”Samuels looked forward to another Test in front of his home crowd at Sabina Park, and said he wanted to show them “what they have been seeing over the years – me coming out here, playing shots and just enjoying myself in the middle”. But his main aim, he said, was to help West Indies bounce back from their innings defeat in Antigua.”It’s a great opportunity for me,” he said. “Not too many sportsmen get to play in front of their home crowd. I’ve got the opportunity more than one time, so I cherish it, playing in front of a Jamaican crowd. As I said, it’s a great opportunity, not only for me, but for the team to make a turnaround and come here and play some positive cricket and put up, not just a challenge, but a fight.”According to some media reports, Samuels has been considering Test-match retirement, and Jeffrey Dujon, the former West Indies wicketkeeper who is part of the TV commentary team for this series, had suggested on air that this might be his last Test series. Samuels did not reveal his plans, and said his only focus, for now, was to do well in this series.”Jeffrey Dujon can say anything,” Samuels said. “But what I say is, I’m here to focus on the Test series and put my best foot forward, and make a significant contribution, so that whatever I do, the team can benefit from it. So that’s my ultimate goal and that’s my focus at the moment.”

The Supreme Court’s strictures on N Srinivasan and the BCCI elections don’t seem to have affected preparations within the board for Sunday’s annual general meeting, of which the elections are a part

Amol Karhadkar27-Sep-2013The Supreme Court’s strictures on N Srinivasan and the BCCI elections don’t seem to have affected preparations within the board for Sunday’s annual general meeting, of which the elections are a part. Srinivasan’s own confident statement that he would attend the meeting and stand for re-election is mirrored in the business-as-usual attitude of his colleagues on the board, making any discussion on whether he should or should not contest irrelevant.Right now, there is serious business to be concluded: The distribution of the various board posts and similar rewards. The deadline to file nominations for all the nine posts – president, secretary, treasurer, joint secretary and five vice-presidents – ends at 4pm on Saturday, enabling all sorts of possible compromises for all the top posts. The corollary – the prospect of losing out on staging matches or landing plum tour assignments – is what is keeping the opposition in check.All the five incumbent vice-presidents, one from each zone, are set to be replaced, the final decisions regarding their replacements to be taken in the zonal unit meetings on Saturday morning. At the same time, once the likes of Jagmohan Dalmiya, Arun Jaitley, Rajiv Shukla and Anurag Thakur – key figures in the BCCI – check in to their hotel, the candidates for other key positions, including that of the IPL governing council chairman, will be zeroed in on.Despite the board seemingly divided in the aftermath of the IPL corruption scandal, it is unlikely that there will be an election for any of the top posts. Traditionally, once a president is elected unopposed in the BCCI, even the other office-bearers emerge as consensus candidates from his group of supporters. It would be interesting to see whether Sanjay Patel and Ravi Savant, who were appointed secretary and treasurer in June following the resignations of Sanjay Jagdale and Ajay Shirke, end up retaining their positions.With Srinivasan’s re-election in little doubt, the sole question concerns who will preside over the AGM. Similar to most of the AGMs, where the members usually request the senior-most member attending the meeting to preside, it is likely that Dalmiya, who has been running the board’s day-to-day affairs during Srinivasan’s “exile”, may chair the AGM.In a way, BCCI officials appear relieved that Srinivasan’s decision to step aside, in the wake of the IPL spot-fixing scandal that saw his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan arrested, has been vindicated. While questions were raised over whether the BCCI constitution allowed for the president to “step aside”, the Supreme Court’s directive will most probably mean the arrangement will prevail till the BCCI’s legal tussle with Cricket Association of Bihar ends.In any case, officials believe it will only be a matter of days before the case is resolved. The Supreme Court’s next hearing is on Monday, the day after the meeting.

Not many sides win a Twenty20 game from 83 for 6 in the first innings. Not many sides have Kieron Pollard, who once again showed how much damage he can cause

The Report by Abhishek Purohit06-Apr-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKieron Pollard rebuilt the innings with the bat, and then took a game-clinching catch in the final over•BCCI

Not many sides win a Twenty20 game from 83 for 6 in the first innings. Not many sides have Kieron Pollard, who once again showed how much damage he can cause if he gets some time in the middle. On a pitch where both line-ups crumbled, barring both No. 6 batsmen, Pollard was the difference, although MS Dhoni almost stole the match from Mumbai Indians’ grasp with an ever more outrageous counter-attack. Fittingly, with Chennai Super Kings needing 12 off six, Pollard intercepted what looked set to be another Dhoni six on the deep midwicket boundary, sealing the game for his side with an acrobatic catch.Pollard had breathed life into a stalled Mumbai Indians innings, which had gone nowhere after Sachin Tendulkar had fallen leg-before to Dirk Nannes in the opening over for a golden duck. Ricky Ponting and Rohit Sharma soon followed Tendulkar. Although Dinesh Karthik looked in fine touch, when he departed for 37, Mumbai Indians were 59 for 4 in the ninth over and the Super Kings seamers were on top.Pollard batted quite sensibly, willing to go without scoring for several deliveries, knowing that when he wanted, he could always collect six with his power and reach. Half of the 38 deliveries he faced were dots, but he also biffed five sixes. Even when he went for the big strikes, he wasn’t taking risk. He would just lean forward to length or full deliveries and lift them over long-on.From 83 for 6, to add 65 in eight overs, with Harbhajan Singh for company, was quite an achievement. Harbhajan’s contribution, a run a ball 21, was crucial. Carefree swiping was put away and the strike was turned over. When it wasn’t, to Pollard’s disappointment in the final over, Harbhajan himself found the boundary. Pollard cracked Dwayne Bravo’s final ball of the innings over long-on to ensure there would at least be a contest in the game.There almost wasn’t one, though, as the Super Kings batsmen played a series of poor shots to leave their side gasping at 66 for 5. M Vijay walked too far across to be bowled, Michael Hussey missed a slog to be bowled, Bravo drove loosely, and S Badrinath went too far back when he should have been forward.Dhoni walked in, and the match started to turn. An upper cut appeared, a whiplash drive, a calm pull. Soon the long-on and deep midwicket boundary was being peppered with monster sixes, even as batsmen kept arriving and departing at the other end. Pollard took the most punishment, five of Dhoni’s eight boundaries coming off him.Forty needed off 18. Dhoni lashed 17 off a Pollard over. 23 needed off 12. Dhoni found the stands at deep midwicket again, this time off Mitchell Johnson, to zoom to 50 off 24. Both Pollard and Johnson sprayed a couple of wides each, such was the effect Dhoni’s assault had.First ball of Munaf Patel’s final over, Dhoni went for six more, targetting deep midwicket again, but this time, the towering figure of Pollard stood in the way, and made one final, decisive impact.

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene has said a phalanx of allrounders will be his side’s biggest strength in the upcoming World Twenty20, because of the balance and flexibility they afford the team

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Sep-2012Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene has said a phalanx of allrounders will be his side’s biggest strength in the upcoming World Twenty20, because of the balance and flexibility they afford the team. Angelo Mathews and Jeevan Mendis are in Sri Lanka’s squad as batting allrounders, while Thisara Perera’s forte is with the ball. Nuwan Kulasekara has also batted well in the last eight months in addition to opening the bowling, and opening batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan has contributed reliable offspin as well.”[The allrounders] give us a lot of options in our team combination, so we can pick more batsmen or more bowlers to suit conditions and opposition, and still have a balanced team,” Jayawardene said. “They give me options, because if you have some guys who aren’t hitting their stride, I can keep rotating the bowlers and one bowler having an off day won’t hurt us. Likewise, if someone who wouldn’t be a first-choice bowler is going really well and getting wickets, you can get four really good overs out of him. If your bowlers can bat as well, that gives you the depth in your line-up.”Mathews and Dilshan scored heavily during the recently concluded SLPL, while Perera also struck form with the bat. Mathews’ average of 70.33 was the highest in the league among batsmen who had scored more than 100 runs, and his aggregate of 211 put him at second in the top run-scorers’ list. Dilshan finished two places behind, having made 195 in one fewer innings.Jayawardene said the progress of Mathews and Perera had been particularly encouraging, given their performances over the last 18 months. “[Perera] has worked on his bowling and he has seen the results of that in the last year, where he picked up a lot of wickets for us, and there’s a lot to like about how he goes about his game. We’ve all seen what [Mathews] can do as well. He played an amazing knock in the SLPL final, and he’s been playing those back-against-the-wall kinds of innings for Sri Lanka in the past, so those two look very promising for us. “Jayawardene said that despite several players being called upon to contribute in both disciplines, they are each aware of not neglecting their primary skill. “I don’t think there will be a problem with that, because everyone knows what they have to do and what their focus is,” he said. “We have a unit that has been together for a while, and everyone knows their role in the team.”Sri Lanka made the final in three of the last four limited-overs World Cups, but Jayawardene said his side’s inability to convert those chances into titles was not the result of a lack of mental fortitude. “Getting ourselves into the semi-finals and final means that we are doing most of the things right, but perhaps we need to push a little bit more in a big game, like a final, to win it,” he said. “I’ve always said that playing in big tournaments and playing well is a big plus. Yes, we’ve stumbled in a few finals in the last five years, but I look at it in a positive way and say, ‘We’re getting there and doing the right thing’.”Sri Lanka have picked 18-year-old spin bowler Akila Dananjaya in their World Twenty20 squad, despite him having played only six professional games in his career, all during the SLPL in August. Jayawardene said the team management was mindful about exposing Dananjaya to international cricket too early, but will not hesitate to play him, should he respond well to being in the international side. “We have to see how he reacts and handles himself around the squad. From what I’ve seen in the provincial tournament, he doesn’t look scared at all. We’ve got two senior spinners [Rangana Herath and Ajantha Mendis] in the squad who can do the job, but if Akila is up to the task, we will use him.”

Wasim Akram, the former Pakistan captain, has offered his services tp the PCB as a part-time bowling coach

Umar Farooq17-Oct-2011Wasim Akram, the former Pakistan captain, has offered his services to the PCB as a part-time bowling coach. Akram said he is ‘ready to work for Pakistan’, but would not be able to do it full-time because of family commitments.”Coaching is a very demanding job,” Akram told reporters at Lahore airport. “It requires a 24/7 [twenty four hours, seven days a week commitment] that I cannot afford while my personal life is a little unsettled. I have two kids to look after. But if they want my services, I am ready to work, but only in my free time.”In the past Akram has turned down the PCB’s offers to coach, citing his responsibilities as a commentator. While he did state that he still doesn’t have much free time, he said that whenever he is in Pakistan, he could juggle his routine to have time to coach fast bowlers.”I have emphasised before that while I am free in Pakistan, give me about 10 to 15 young fast bowlers to coach for a month and I am ready to work. We have outstanding facilities at the National Cricket Academy. Send them to Karachi or I can come to Lahore as well.”When asked about the upcoming series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the UAE, Akram said Sri Lanka are a good side but not good enough to beat Pakistan. He pointed out that the bowling attack has struggled without Muttiah Muralitharan, who was responsible for 40 per cent of the team’s wickets during his career.”Sri Lanka is a good team but without Murali [Muralitharan] and [Lasith] Malinga they can’t bowl out Pakistan twice in Test cricket,” Akram said. “I don’t see Pakistan losing unless they play very bad cricket.”Pakistan has experience as Younis [Khan], Misbah [ul Haq] are there in the line-up and another veteran (Shoaib) Malik is back in the side. So with all this, we can understand that the team isn’t lacking any talent. They just need support and need to play good cricket.”Pakistan will play three Tests, five ODIs and a Twenty20 International in the three Emirates of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, as Pakistan are currently unable to host international cricket amid security concerns since the attack on the Sri Lanka team in 2009. Given the situation, Akram said the PCB should create an alternative home country for the team.”The idea is to play as much cricket as they can,” Akram said. “If teams aren’t heading to Pakistan, come up with an alternative hub and a system for Pakistan’s home series and give its team more cricket – that will help them to flourish.”

Level on points after playing six games, each team will aim to consign the other to the bottom three at the halfway stage in the tournament

The Preview by Siddhartha Talya28-Mar-2010

Match facts

Monday, March 29
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)
Sourav Ganguly, jolted by three straight losses, was in charge of a much-needed revival against Punjab•AFP

Big picture

Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils’ progress through the competition has been almost identical. Both began with wins in their first two games but slipped to lose three in a row. And they bounced back to get their campaign back on track with resounding wins over Kings XI Punjab and Royal Challengers Bangalore respectively. Level on points after playing six games, each team will aim to consign the other to the bottom three nearing the halfway stage in the tournament.Both victories were built on batting performances. David Warner and Kedar Jadhav were the architects of Delhi’s imposing score against Bangalore, while Sourav Ganguly and Manoj Tiwary combined to do the same against Punjab.Ganguly, gradually improving at the top of the order, in his article on the eve of the Punjab game, sought inspiration from the turnarounds wrought by Pakistan in the 1992 World Cup, India in the ’03 World Cup and Bangalore in the previous IPL. Delhi will seek to continue what they’ve started, with the hope of getting back two of their star players – Gautam Gambhir and Ashish Nehra, both of whom were declared fit before being included in the Indian squad for the World Twenty20 next month.

Form guide (most recent first)

Delhi Daredevils: WLLLW
Kolkata Knight Riders:WLLLW

Team talk

Kolkata‘s comprehensive win over Punjab could prompt them to retain their XI, as has been the trend among teams who’ve had a run of success in this competition. They made five changes, two of which made an impact – Manoj Tiwary and Ajit Agarkar.Ashok Dinda and Iqbal Abdulla bowled just two overs each, while David Hussey, who replaced Owais Shah, managed just 3 with the bat. Ishant Sharma and Murali Kartik are not likely to remain on the sidelines for too long, so their replacements have to make the most of what they’re given.If Delhi choose to take it easy on Gambhir and Nehra, allowing them more rest for the injuries they had picked up, one can expect them to stick to same team that halted Bangalore’s winning streak. If they return, however, Mithun Manhas and Pradeep Sangwan could be left out.

Previously…

Delhi 2, Kolkata 1
Kolkata won the opening encounter between the teams, with Shoaib Akhtar grabbing 4 for 11 and the second game was washed out.Delhi had the better of both games in the second edition, winning by nine wickets in Durban and seven wickets in Johannesburg.

Prime numbers

• The Kolkata bowlers have conceded the least extras in this competition thus far. They’ve only given away 38, while Chennai top the list with 69. Delhi have given away 63.
• The Kolkata slow bowlers have the second-lowest economy rate in this IPL. They’ve gone for 6.41 an over and have an average of 29; Bangalore top the list with 5.78 and 18.33. Delhi’s spinners have the second-highest economy rate, 8.27, and the second-best average – 23.14.

In the spotlight

Chris Gayle v Delhi opening bowlers: Dirk Nannes and Umesh Yadav can work up some good pace – both have gone past the 140 mark consistently. Gayle took a while to open up against Mumbai Indians, facing Lasith Malinga and Zaheer Khan, but went on to get 75. Will the Delhi bowling pair be able to rein him in?Amit Mishra: He conceded just 23 in four overs against Bangalore, and nipped out two wickets. He got turn, mixed his variations well, and did not hesitate to toss it up against a power-packed line-up. Against a middle order comprising Manoj Tiwary, Angelo Mathews and Hussey, he’ll aim for a repeat.

The chatter

“After the first two matches people were going gaga over us; they even went to the extent of stating that we are a different side this season. The same people are airing completely different views after our three straight losses!”
Sourav Ganguly.

Allrounder staves off threat of follow-on as title-chasing Notts settle for draw

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay25-Jul-2025 Nottinghamshire 578 for 8 dec (James 203*, Haynes 103, McCann 79, Hutton 71) and 108 for 1 dec (McCann 52*, Hameed 50*) drew with Hampshire 454 (Organ 122*, Varma 112, Weatherley 52, Middleton 52)Hampshire’s Felix Organ scored his fourth Rothesay County Championship century to dash any final-day excitement for title-chasing Nottinghamshire at Utilita Bowl.Organ patiently collected his highest first-class score of 122 not out to make sure Hampshire avoided the follow-on to turn the day into a wait for the inevitable 4.50pm draw.The 14 points Nottinghamshire take from the match puts them level with Surrey at the top of Division One – with four rounds still to play.Hampshire’s 12 points leaves them sixth but just 13 points above the bottom two, having only won twice in the Championship this season.Organ is Hampshire’s version of James Milner. He fills in with whatever role his side needs.He began his career as an opening batter but more often finds himself in the side when a spinning pitch is expected, where he slots in lower down the order to lengthen the batting options.He is a fairly reliable insurance in both his skillsets, and it was his batting that took the fore on this occasion.He’d begun the week by scoring 101 out of 171 for his Southern Premier Cricket League side St Cross Symondians, where he also took a five-for to secure a victory.He ended it by making sure his county didn’t lose, and slip deep into the relegation battle.Organ had already scored 70 on the third evening, largely in a 126-run partnership with Indian sensation Tilak Varma, but returned this morning with 61-runs still required to avoid the follow-on.He needed others to stick with him.Nightwatcher Eddie Jack fell leg before to Josh Tongue – who produce a ferocious early morning spell – but James Fuller hung around for over and hour to score 16 in 40 balls to get Hampshire within a sniff of their target before he was bowled.Kyle Abbott simply went dot, four, six, six to alleviate any fears of defeat and beat the follow-on requirements. It left just over four hours to reach the earliest possible finish time.Each of Organ’s three previous centuries have bettered his previous best score. His maiden effort was exactly 100 back in 2019, before scoring 107 at home to Gloucestershire and then 118 in the reverse fixture in 2022.The trend continued after he went to three-figures in 266 with a six, as he was left unbeaten on 122 after Abbott was castled by Farhan Ahmed and Sonny Baker – who took 35 balls to get off the mark – was lbw.Nottinghamshire boasted a first-innings lead of 124 but there was little chance of setting up anything. Ben Slater calved to point before the last half an hour turned into a classic bore-draw farce.Wicketkeeper Ben Brown gave his pads and gloves to Varma to bowl some left-arm in an attempt to add to his one first-class wicket, while Fletcha Middleton showed off his medium-pacers for the first time in professional cricket.Haseeb Hameed and Freddie McCann reached the easiest half-centuries of their career in a 99-run stand before 4.50pm and handshakes rolled around.