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Jadeja hit 62* off 28, then picked up 3 for 13, and also effected a run-out with a direct hit

Vishal Dikshit25-Apr-20216:18

Manjrekar: Jadeja helped CSK score 37 in 20th over because of ‘bad balls, awesome hitting’

“Yeah, today was not my day actually,” Ravindra Jadeja said at the presentation after the match against the Royal Challengers Bangalore.Jadeja was obviously joking, referring to the fact that he didn’t take a single catch in the match. He had done all right otherwise: a brutal 62* off 28 first, and then 3 for 13 from his four overs. The batting innings included four sixes in a row – and five overall – in a 37-run last over off Harshal Patel. The wickets included those of AB de Villiers and Glenn Maxwell. And while he didn’t take a catch, there was the direct hit that ran Dan Christian out.Related

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Turning serious, Jadeja agreed that he might not have had a better day in the field than this one. It was a comeback of sorts for the allrounder, who had been out of action for over three months. Jadeja had broken his left thumb in Australia and had flown back to India with a sling around his neck after surgery. He then missed the entire home series against England, and was expected to join the Chennai Super Kings training camp in the first week of April – only a few days before their opening game – but landed in Mumbai and instead joined their bubble in the last week of March itself.That he landed there well before time could be because of his freak fitness levels. During an interview last year, R Ashwin had said Jadeja was “a blessed cricketer who is completely, physically fit and these are all things beyond your control”. But what about the things that are in your control? It seems like Jadeja likes to completely control whatever he can. Ask his Super Kings or India team-mates how he trains, how he prepares, how he works in the nets and one of the first things they mention is his work ethic and the hours he puts in.ESPNcricinfo LtdJadeja could not jump right into the middle of the action though when he took the field in the IPL after such a long gap. He was “a little nervous” while fielding in the first few games, wary of getting hit again if the batter struck the ball really hard. In their second game against the Punjab Kings, Jadeja was at extra cover instead of backward point. He didn’t care about a muffled appeal against Chris Gayle. He sprinted towards cover point when he saw the batters trying to steal a single, picked the ball up quickly and fired in a throw at the batter’s end to find the Kings’ captain KL Rahul short.Jadeja was “waiting for a few games to gain that confidence” while fielding before resuming his position at point. But while he has been at the covers, he has been using every opportunity to run batters out, like it was on Sunday too. This time, de Villiers chopped the ball to Jadeja’s left – his natural side – and yet took off for a quick single with Christian at the other end. Jadeja swooped in as usual and hit the stumps yet again.”I’ve always thought, playing against Jadeja, that he’s always been the most dangerous fielder,” Faf du Plessis said at the post-match press conference. “When South Africa play against India, we always talk about being very careful about running twos with Jadeja on the boundary, because he’s got an absolute cannon of an arm.Ravindra Jadeja hit four sixes in a row in a 37-run last over off Harshal Patel•BCCI/IPL”But what he’s really doing well this season is he’s got a lot of energy in the field, he’s diving around, he’s stopping the ball, so he’s really leading from the front in that department. To be so accurate in the 30-yard circle is a great skill to have; not a lot of people can hit the stumps as consistently as he does. At the moment, he’s just really hot as a cricketer, he’s really enjoying his cricket. He’s batting, bowling and fielding really well.”Compared to a frontline batter or bowler, Jadeja has to put in nearly twice as much work, if not more, in the nets to work on all his skills as one of the best allrounders in the world across formats. MS Dhoni acknowledged after the match that Jadeja had taken both his batting and bowling up a notch in the last few years, and Jadeja acknowledged that he was always on the prowl on the field as well.”I focus a lot on training and running because in T20s one run-out or one catch can also change the momentum of the opposition,” Jadeja said on Star Sports Hindi after the game against the Kings. “I try to make the most of the small chances while fielding because those can also change the game.”I have been working hard on my fitness, skills, everything so luckily today it paid off. It’s been very tough being an allrounder, you have to do well in all the departments. During training, I don’t do all the things together on the same day. I just try and work on my skills one day and fitness on next day. That’s how I manage all the workload.”A batting strike rate of 192.45, the second-best for anyone who has batted more than once this IPL. An economy rate of 6.05 from 18 overs, the second-best for any bowler who has bowled more than eight overs this season. And seven catches, again, second on the list this IPL.Combine all those numbers and Jadeja will emerge not as the second-best but the best allrounder around – at least in T20s, if not across formats. And he has just started to warm up this IPL.

The Australian quick was bought by Punjab Kings for INR 8 crore (US$ 1.096 million approx.)

Matt Roller18-Feb-2021Early days
Meredith made his professional debut playing for a Cricket Australia XI against Pakistan in early 2017, and played a handful of games for Tasmania in the 2017-18 season. An injury to Tymal Mills gave him an opportunity to play in the semi-final and final of the BBL that year – the first two T20s of his career – in an attack also containing Jofra Archer.Breakthrough season
The 2018-19 period proved to be a breakthrough home summer for Meredith across formats. He took 27 wickets for Tasmania in eight Sheffield Shield appearances, and snared 16 in the BBL as the Hobart Hurricanes reached the semi-finals. By that stage, he was already being tipped for international selection by Warne, who has proved to be a vocal advocate of Meredith’s talents over the last three years.Australia call
A side strain limited Meredith to just six BBL appearances in 2019-20, though he bowled at high pace when he did make it on to the park, taking ten wickets with an economy rate of just 6.68 across the season, and he dismissed both David Warner and Steven Smith in a Marsh Cup game against New South Wales. By that stage, his performances had caught the eyes of Australia’s selectors, and he won a call-up to the expanded limited-overs squad to tour England in 2020, though was not afforded an opportunity to play.Recent form
Meredith again impressed with his pace and bounce in the 2020-21 BBL, taking 16 wickets and maintaining an economy rate of 7.82 despite bowling a significant chunk of his overs in the initial four-over powerplay and often returning at the death. He has been named in Australia’s squad for their T20I series in New Zealand later this month.IPL hopes
Meredith expressed his ambitions of playing in the IPL last year. “It’s the premier domestic T20 comp in the world,” he said on a BBC podcast. “The best players are playing in it and if you get an opportunity to play in it, you’re definitely grabbing it with both hands. If I got an opportunity at some stage it would be awesome to get over there and play.”Off the field
Meredith is instantly recognisably after growing a Fred Spofforth-style moustache during the lockdown. He owns a greyhound named Elton.The expert view
“There’s been a bit of chat around him for a couple of domestic seasons now. He bowls fast. I think that’s a great thing about him, he can just run in and express himself with the ball now. If he gets his chance in Australian colours I think he’ll take it with both hands.”

With Joe Root seemingly unable to trust Moeen and Craig Overton, he repeatedly asked more of his senior seamers

George Dobell05-Sep-2021There was a telling moment, about 140 overs into the India innings, when Jasprit Bumrah launched a delivery from Chris Woakes down the ground.It wasn’t just the sight of England’s best bowler, in this match at least, being thrashed to the boundary by a man who came into this Test with a batting average of 4.81 that was revealing. It was also the fact James Anderson had to trot from his position at mid-on to fetch the ball.Related

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Joe Root, at mid-off, had attempted to intercept it. But he appeared to slip and, for a moment, clenched his leg in pain. So it was left to Anderson, as it so often is, to make amends.At that point, Anderson – the 39-year-old Anderson – had bowled 33 overs. Despite his age, despite the fact he has played in every Test in the series and despite the fact that England would like to include him in the final game, which starts in Manchester on Friday, he had bowled more overs in the innings than any of his colleagues.Anderson had, by his own admission, tried everything to gain some lateral movement. He had tried to swing the ball and seam the ball. He had tried to bowl cutters and tried to find reverse. He had bowled from both ends. In the end he settled for simply attempting to bowl dry and build pressure that way. Woakes and Ollie Robinson had, more or less, come to the same conclusion.The problem was, such a plan requires more than three bowlers to execute. And, at that stage of the innings, Craig Overton, the fourth seamer, had only bowled only 16 overs while Moeen Ali, the spinner, was conceding four-and-a-half an over. So Anderson, Woakes and Robinson were forced into spell after spell. Even when it became obvious, from their pained expressions and, in Robinson’s case, diminishing pace, they had to bowl as, to put it bluntly, their captain appeared to lack confidence in his other options.It was a passage of play which may well have consequences for the rest of the series. With the final Test starting on Friday, England will be loathe to press Anderson and Robinson, in particular, into service once again. They have already lost Jofra Archer for the T20 World Cup and Ashes. They have already lost Stuart Broad for the rest of this season. They really don’t want to be in a position where they are taking risks with Anderson or Robinson. It was, perhaps, telling that neither emerged after tea on day four. The exact reasons for this are, at the time of writing, unclear. But it is far from impossible the team management simply said “enough”.

“England have already lost Archer due to an injury which may have been caused by an excessive workload. They have to find a way to spread the load more evenly”

“We’re all feeling it,” Woakes said afterwards. “I think we have all bowled 45 overs plus in the game. Naturally, you’re going to be a little bit sore. There are occasions in England where you can maybe bowl at about 90 percent but here you had to slam every ball into the pitch to get anything out of it. Naturally that takes it out of you, so there’s a few sore bodies in the dressing room.”None of this reflects especially flatteringly on either Overton or Moeen. Overton had a really encouraging match in Leeds where the surface provided assistance for his brand of fast-medium seamers. But if he is going to be a viable option in Test cricket, it is on days like this he must earn his living. It is on days like this he must ease the burden on his celebrated colleague and fulfil the task of stock bowler with hours of grunt work. It was his job to bowl 35 overs for around 60 runs and ensure Anderson and co could be used in shorter, sharper bursts. But such was Overton’s profligacy on day two – when he conceded four an over – Root seemed to have little faith in him.Much the same could be said about Moeen. He passed Jim Laker’s record for Test wickets during India’s innings (only Graeme Swann, among English offspinners, has more) but it was not a day which enhanced his reputation. England desperately required control but Moeen, in conceding 4.53 an over, was unable to provide it. He claimed a couple of big wickets – he has now dismissed Virat Kohli six times in Test cricket – but also made a fearful hash of an important run-out opportunity, was involved in the decision to use (and squander) all three reviews and, by his own admission, brought India back into the game with his dismissal in England’s first innings.”When I was batting in the first innings, I felt we had them down a bit and I tried to hit a six and got out and that brought them back in a bit,” he told Sky. “It was a crucial time.”Joe Root wears a dejected look•PA Images via Getty ImagesJack Leach may not offer Moeen’s ceiling with the bat or ball. But he is reliable, worthy and, in his Test career to date, has never let England down. You wonder if Root might not have wished he was around a few times during the day.In mitigation, it must be noted that India’s bowlers found the pitch no less heartbreaking than England’s. While there is just a little rough for the spinners to work with outside the left-handers’ off stump, there is almost no other encouragement for bowlers. As Moeen put it, “if Bumrah comes in and hits Woakesy straight down the ground, it’s a great wicket.” Moeen also pointed out that he has hardly played red-ball cricket in recent months and that his action is “a little bit off”. As he admitted: “I could have bowled better.”England have some lessons to learn here. They have already lost Archer due to an injury which may well have been caused by an excessive workload. They have to find a way to spread the load more evenly if others are not to follow.It was said long ago that Anderson was a sports car being used to deliver scaffolding. These days he is a classic sports car being used to commute to work, ferry the kids to school, hired out for weddings and to deliver scaffolding. And remember, that second-innings bowling average in his 15 most recent Tests is now 60.57. In the same period, his first-innings bowling average is 17.87. Over such an extended sample size, those are statistics that cannot be ignored. The warning signs are there.Still, all results are possible going into the last day. And there will be a sellout crowd at the Kia Oval on Monday for the fifth day in succession. It reflects well on this venue and this series. Test cricket faces many issues, many challenges. But the reason for sustained optimism is that we have a great game. Monday might just offer us something of a classic final day. Anderson will be hoping that, for once, England can get by without him being required a make a contribution.

They last played an ODI in July 2021, and on top of that, will have numerous first-choice names missing

Alex Malcolm27-Mar-2022″Didn’t I?” Australia’s last ODI was so long ago that captain Aaron Finch didn’t even know he did not play in it when asked about returning to ODI cricket after a long absence prior to arriving in Pakistan. Australia last played an ODI against West Indies in July 2021, and they have only played three since December 2020.They are set to begin building towards the 2023 ODI World Cup this week with a three-match series in Pakistan. But if the Australian captain himself didn’t know who was part of Australia’s last ODI XI, then it is likely everyone needs to be brought up to speed.Who played in Australia’s last ODI team?
If you can name the XI from Bridgetown, then you truly are an Australian cricket aficionado. Or alternatively, you watch far too much cricket. Finch did not play due to a knee injury despite thinking he did.Related

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A lot of Australia’s big guns were rested after the fallout from the 2021 IPL postponement. Alex Carey captained Australia for the first time and did so with distinction, leading them to a 2-1 series win in the West Indies. Josh Philippe and Moises Henriques had opened the batting the last time Australia played – seriously? – while Matthew Wade, Ashton Turner and Dan Christian were all in that side too. However, none of the five feature on this tour to Pakistan.Cameron Green has played just one ODI so far•Getty ImagesSo who playing in the ODI series in Pakistan?
It might be easier to tell you who is not playing. David Warner, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Glenn Maxwell, Steven Smith and Kane Richardson are the notable members of Australia’s first-choice squad that will be missing the ODI series. All bar Starc and Hazlewood had missed the last series in the West Indies too. Warner, Cummins and Hazlewood have been rested after the Test tour ahead of playing in the IPL.Meanwhile, Maxwell will not be touring since he got married only last week. Richardson was set to play but injured his hamstring at training in Melbourne before the limited-overs players left for Pakistan. And now Smith too has been ruled out of the series due to an elbow issue.Jhye Richardson was also left out of the squad as part of a long-term management strategy, but also got injured in Western Australia’s recent Marsh Cup final win over New South Wales.Thus, there are multiple new names who have not played ODI cricket before, including Sean Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Josh Inglis and Mitchell Swepson. Cameron Green has played just one game, while Travis Head has not played ODI cricket since 2018.Travis Head remains an option to open along with Aaron Finch, though he last played an ODI in 2018•Getty ImagesWhat will the batting look like?
Possibly an experiment. Finch will need an opening partner in the absence of Warner, after Ben McDermott missed out in his only two ODIs in the West Indies and didn’t take his chance while opening in the recent five-match T20I series against Sri Lanka either.Head has an ODI century opening the batting against Pakistan and actually has a good record at the top of the order, averaging 41.08 and striking at 97.04 in 12 innings as opener, including four 50-plus scores. Since he was dropped by Australia in 2018, Head’s List A performances have been incredible. In 23 matches, he averages 59.65 and strikes at 120.62 with three centuries, including his second career double; but all of those innings have been played either at No. 3 or at 4.Marnus Labuschagne opened in his last ODI innings in December 2020, but his other 11 innings – which include a century and three fifties – have come at No. 4 or lower.Mitchell Marsh would love to bat No. 3 again as he did in the T20 World Cup and in two of Australia’s last three ODIs. Inglis has made a case to bat in the middle order after a superb T20I debut series against Sri Lanka. But Marcus Stoinis and Carey look mainstays in Australia’s lower middle order in their best available team in Pakistan. Green could also be used at No. 6 or 7 depending on how Australia want to structure their bowling attack.Australia look set to rely heavily on Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar in Pakistan•Getty ImagesAnd the bowling?
It will be a big test without Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood and the two Richardsons on flat batting tracks in Lahore. Australia look set to rely heavily on the spin duo of Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar, and maybe use just two quicks and their allrounders to bowl the remainder of the overs.Swepson has also been added to the squad if they want a third specialist spinner or two legspinners in the XI. Jason Behrendorff has the most experience of the quicks, having played in the last World Cup. Along with Behrendorff, Dwarshuis provides a second left-arm option after being a late addition to the squad.Australia may play one left-armer and one right-armer, with Abbott and Ellis likely to get an opportunity at some stage.Do results matter for Australia with so many players out?
They do. Australia have won all three series they have played in the current World Cup Super League cycle, having beaten England, India and West Indies – each 2-1 – to have six wins and three losses. But they currently sit at seventh on the points table by virtue of having played only nine games.Australia have eight guaranteed ODIs scheduled in the next four months – the three against Pakistan will be followed by five against Sri Lanka – and all of them away from home. While their No.1 Test ranking is a priority and they will continue to rest their Test stars, the understudies won’t want to fall asleep at the wheel and put the team under unnecessary pressure heading towards the World Cup in India next year.Australia squad: Aaron Finch (capt), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey (wk), Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Ben McDermott, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Adam Zampa

Chance to defend title comes after wrist surgery that showed level of support in women’s game

Andrew Miller10-Jun-2022Beyond the upbeat headlines and some well-deserved job security for the game’s elite players, the practical implications of professionalism within English women’s cricket haven’t yet been fully realised. But for Aylish Cranstone, the driving force behind South East Stars’ run to the Charlotte Edwards Cup Finals Day, there are all manner of reasons to be grateful for the regional contract that she received back in December 2020.Cranstone goes into Stars’ semi-final against Central Sparks on Saturday with 235 runs in six group-stage games, including three half-centuries and a towering average of 78.33 that is close to double that of any other batter with 100 runs in the tournament. But she might not have gone into the season at all had it not been for a bout of wrist surgery during the winter – a process that was made possible by her new standing within the game, and seems at this early stage of the summer to have helped her realise her potential.”I was having a lot of trouble with my wrist last year, and in November it was decided that surgery was the best option,” Cranstone told ESPNcricinfo. “It was a pretty difficult winter and, if I look back a couple of months, I wasn’t sure if I was going to be starting the season.”But the level of support I’ve had, from the surgeons and doctors, to having physio pretty much every single day, to the strength-and-conditioning coaches… it’s all been the next step above, and the support to get you back on the field is tremendous.”And it’s really nice for the team that has worked really hard, to see that I’ve come through the other side. And, fingers crossed, if I can keep going with this form, I can put my team in a position where we’ve got a really good chance of retaining our title.”If Cranstone can make a start on Finals Day, this season’s precedents suggest that Stars will be well placed in their quest. She’s yet to be dismissed in any of her three half-centuries in the tournament, and each has been in a winning cause, including a score of 59 not out from 53 balls to see off Sparks in their last encounter at Edgbaston two weeks ago.”I grew up very much as a 50-over player,” she says. “Opening the batting, leaving the ball, defending the ball, and then working your way into an innings. It’s only in the last couple of years that I’ve been moved forward into this opening role for the Stars, so I’ve really had to learn how to adapt and change my style.”It has been a little bit alien at times, but it’s also nice to play with that freedom,” she adds. “Our head coach Johann Myburgh is always promoting that positive play and to play with freedom. And that’s been really nice. I just want to keep going, and thriving, and see how far I can go with it.”At the age of 27, Cranstone is very much a senior pro within the women’s game – a player who clearly retains international aspirations but whose truest value right now is as one of the building blocks of the nascent domestic game. Earlier this year she took over from Hannah Jones as the new captain at Surrey, and as a former head of women’s cricket at Epsom College, she is already well used to being a role model for the coming generation of players.”When I’m working with the county age-group girls, it’s really great for them to see that pathway and to be able to have attainable goals,” she says. “There’s only so many people that are going to go and play for England, and it’s fantastic to have that goal, but 10 years ago, that was the only option and it was really difficult.Cranstone turned professional in December 2020•Alex Broadway/Getty Images”So the fact that that now there is this pathway, there is a structure in place, I think it keeps girls hungry. It keeps girls in the game. They want to work hard and train hard because they can see that there’s a career to be had out of cricket. So it’s nice for them to see me as an example of their way forward. It can only be a positive thing.”There certainly wasn’t that same structure in place when Cranstone graduated from Exeter University, and started out on her journey within cricket. “When I came out of uni, I did a lot of accountancy jobs, and I was temping in lots of different places. I guess I enjoyed it, but I wanted to do something a bit closer to my ideal goal.”So I had two years at Epsom College which I really enjoyed. It really helped enhance my coaching and I still look to put something back into the game with the age-group girls, the emerging player programme, and the South East Stars Academy. Being professional does take up a lot of your time physically, but also mentally, so it’s nice to have something that you can focus on for a day, and give your brain that bit of a rest.”Cranstone travels to Northampton with fond memories of last year’s Charlotte Edwards Cup triumph, in which she helped to cap Stars’ dominant campaign with 35 from 27 in the final. Chasing 139, she and Bryony Smith added 71 for the first wicket to break Northern Diamonds’s resistance as the title was sealed with 12 balls to spare. This time, however, it’s clear that Southern Vipers – whom the Stars haven’t met in the group stages – will start as favourites after receiving a bye into the final with six wins out of six.”Obviously we’re really excited to get to Finals Day, but the two teams that we’re up against, they are so strong,” Cranstone says. “We’re not naive to the fact that we’re going to need to put our best performances forward. Vipers in particular have had some really good, really strong performances.”Win or lose, however, it’s just the start of a thrilling season for the women’s game. The second season of the Hundred is looming in August, and this time it will be less of a journey into the unknown given the proven success of the women’s competition in 2021. Cranstone, who was part of the London Spirit set-up last year, has now moved south to join the defending champions Oval Invincibles, and says she can already feel the uplift that the whole game got from its exposure last year.Related

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“You can see from the levels over social media, and on the streams, the amount of views we’re getting that the whole sport is growing at the moment,” she says. “Obviously we were fortunate to play on Sky Sports the other day, when we were playing against Western Storm down in Bristol. So yeah, I think it’s really good to see that increase of support across the women’s game.”As for her wider ambitions, Cranstone is conscious that her performances this season are beginning to attract wider attention, and with the England women’s team at a crossroads following the recent World Cup, it’s not out of the question that she could yet propel herself into the international frame.”It’s not something I’ve massively thought about, to be honest,” she says. “I’m concentrating on putting performances in for the Stars and being really happy playing my cricket here. And if those performances keep coming in, then those things will naturally happen.”I don’t want to get too caught up on looking too far ahead, and maybe putting some extra pressure on myself in that respect. I just want to keep enjoying my cricket here, and fingers crossed, keep playing well. But we’ll see what happens. If I can do well for the Stars and do well for the Oval Invincibles, then you never know what’s going to happen.”

It was the first time a bowler has claimed five wickets with short and short-of-a-good-length deliveries in an IPL innings

Sampath Bandarupalli09-May-20225 for 10 – Bumrah’s figures were the best by any bowler against Knight Riders in the IPL and also the best figures overall this season. Also, his returns were the second-best for Mumbai behind Alzarri Joseph’s 6 for 12 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2019.2 – Bumrah’s returns were the second-best in the IPL for a losing team. Only Adam Zampa, of Rising Pune Supergiants, had better figures in a defeat – 6 for 19 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2016.1 – Number of cheaper five-wicket hauls in the IPL than Bumrah’s 5 for 10. Anil Kumble conceded only five runs in his five-for against Rajasthan Royals in the 2009 edition.5 – Bumrah’s effort was the fifth five-wicket haul recorded by a Mumbai player in the IPL. It’s also the most number of five-plus wicket hauls for any team in the competition.5 – All Bumrah’s five wickets came off short and short-of-a-good-length deliveries. As per ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball data, it was the first time a bowler had claimed five wickets with those lengths in an IPL innings.ESPNcricinfo Ltd1 – Run conceded by Bumrah in the death overs in this game, the joint-fewest by a player while bowling two overs at the death in a T20 innings [where ball-by-ball data is available]. Tom Curran, of England Lions, also gave away only one run against Pakistan A in 2015.16 – Balls Bumrah needed to complete his five-wicket haul. Only two bowlers have recorded a five-for in the IPL in fewer balls, in 12 balls – Ishant Sharma of Deccan Chargers against Kochi Tuskers Kerala in 2011 and Andre Russell of Knight Riders against Mumbai in 2021.18 – Dot balls bowled by Bumrah in his four overs, the joint-highest by a bowler for Mumbai in an IPL game. He equalled his own effort from the previous season, where he bowled 18 dots against Rajasthan Royals.

His quickfire fifty played a part in what has suddenly turned into a very exciting Test match

Danyal Rasool04-Dec-2022For the first three days, it was England who shouted their intentions from Rawalpindi’s rooftops; they were here to win this Test match. That was made obvious by the record-smashing onslaught of the first day. Will Jacks said 24 hours later Pakistan looked like they were content with a draw, whereas his side was going all in on victory. Joe Root on day three echoed those sentiments. Pakistan, meanwhile, were rather more taciturn; the match situation had ensured a more optimistic assessment would have bordered on the delusional.But at stumps on Sunday evening, setting up a final day climax this pitch scarcely deserves, Pakistan’s tenor began to change, and the first hints of confidence seeped back into their outlook. A surprise declaration at tea from England had set them a target of 343 on a surface that looks like it could withstand another four days before the first signs of deterioration. It looked foolhardy at the time, though two quick wickets – including that of Babar Azam – had sceptics swiftly putting their faith in England’s intrepid tactics once more. Add to that an injury to Azhar Ali that threatens further involvement in this match, and a tail that begins at No. 8 for Pakistan, and the ingredients for a historic English win had begun to blend together nicely.But an unbeaten half-century stand under the setting sun between Imam-ul-Haq and Saud Shakeel, with neither batter looking troubled in the least, meant Pakistan’s hopes of running England’s score down were reinvigorated. Pakistan now need a further 263 runs for victory, and with a full day’s play left, the draw has been taken out of the equation altogether. This time, though, it is Pakistan who were bullish with their match evaluation.”We’re talking in the camp that we need to go and win this match,” Agha Salman at the end of play. “We don’t know how the pitch will react on the fifth day, but we have it in our minds that we’ll go for it and try to win it.”England managed to pack so much into another truncated day of Test cricket it’s easy to forget that when play commenced, Salman was the only roadblock to the visitors taking complete control over this Test. Pakistan were still 160 runs behind in their first innings when the seventh wicket fell overnight. A collapse from that point would have left the hosts facing an insurmountable target and the best part of two days to survive. The sledgehammer is England’s scoring rate had virtually guaranteed that.But Salman, playing just his third Test, and the first at home, counter-attacked in a 67 run-stand where his partner, Zahid Mehmood, scored just 5. By the time he fell, Pakistan had whittled England’s lead down to just over 100, and taken most of the first session out of the game. It was a breezy knock (though given England’s truculence, that is relative), his 67-ball 53 decorated with seven fours and a six.”The management tells us to play as we naturally play,” he said. “My game is such I try and score runs and attack. I applied myself today and looked to keep them on the back foot. When you’re playing with the tail, you know you have to score runs, so that decision gets made for you.”The day wasn’t all rosy for him, though. With England making a mockery of a Pakistan bowling attack further depleted by the loss of Haris Rauf, he had the misfortune to be called upon to turn his arm over for five manic overs. England plundered 47 off those 30 balls, but Salman said that was simply a matter of accepting how England play and the advantageous position they found themselves in at the time.”When we started bowling, we tried to restrict the runs and not give them boundary opportunities. But you have to give them credit, they’re playing positive cricket. That shows in their declaration too, which was quite positive. The way they’ve been playing in the last few months, this was expected from them, and we believed they’d put us in to bat around this sort of target. But now we have a chance to win, and that’s what we’re aiming for.”There’s little reason to doubt England’s commitment, but the tone post-match had shifted ever so subtly. The visitors had spoken only of the pursuit of victory over the first three days, but for the first time this Test, assistant coach Paul Collingwood framed the same point in slightly different terms.”It’s been pretty clear we’re willing to lose games for the sake of putting ourselves in a position to won. Some will say it was an early declaration, we’ll see tomorrow if it was. We’re not scared of losing, it takes the consequences away from the players – tomorrow we can hopefully get on the right side of it.”It’s exciting isn’t it – on a pitch that’s been docile, to be in a position to watch an exciting game on the final day is great for everyone. The bigger picture for Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum is for Test cricket is to be entertaining.”That now looks set to happen in spite of the conditions both sides have had to play in, rather than because of them. In a Test where every string has been pulled by England. But tomorrow, they might find out that in Test cricket, control and victory are two very different things.

The last time Australia had won a Test in India despite losing the toss had come in Bangalore way back in 1998

Sampath Bandarupalli03-Mar-20231135 Balls bowled across the four innings in Indore, the fourth-shortest completed Test hosted by India. The shortest completed Test in India was 842 balls when the hosts faced England in 2021 in Ahmedabad, followed by 968 balls during the India-Bangladesh Test in Kolkata in 2019 – both being day-night games. Afghanistan’s debut Test in 2018 against India lasted 1028 balls, the shortest red-ball Test in India.2012 The last instance of India losing a Test at home when they won the toss – against England at Eden Gardens. India won the toss in 22 matches at home since that defeat before the Indore Test, winning 19 games and drawing three.9 Wickets for spinners in Indore when batters played on the back foot. In the first two matches of the series, the spinners got only four wickets each when the batters were playing on the back foot.