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West Indies’ batters faltered in a chase for the third match in a row, after their bowlers restricted England to 131

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Dec-2022For the fourth T20I in a row, West Indies were let down by their batting. And for a third straight game, they faltered while chasing. It means England lead the series 4-0 with one more game remaining on Sunday.The West Indies bowlers set the game up nicely, restricting England to 131 for 8. It was a particularly impressive effort because England were primed for 160 or thereabouts at the halfway mark. But from 73 for 2, they lost three wickets for no runs in the space of four deliveries in the 11th over to allow West Indies a foot in the door.Seamer Cherry-Ann Fraser did much of this damage, dismissing Sophia Dunkley, Maia Bouchier and Heather Knight. When offspinner Sheneta Grimmond dismissed Amy Jones in the 14th over, England were tottering at 82 for 6. Late cameos from Katherine Brunt and Charlie Dean, however, hauled them to 131 for 8. The pair added 44 for the ninth wicket to give England a score to defend.Dunkley’s 35 was the top score for England, while Brunt made an unbeaten 20-ball 24 at No. 8. Nat Sciver and Jones couldn’t capitalise on starts, getting dismissed for 15 and 21 respectively, while Dean, batting at No. 9, made 20 before being run out off the last ball of the innings.West Indies got off to a poor start, losing Aaliyah Alleyne and Rashada Williams in the first over to Lauren Bell. There was a semblance of a partnership between Hayley Matthews, the captain, and Shemaine Campbelle. The pair added 40 in just 4.3 overs to take the attack to England, before offspinner Dean sent back Campbelle.That was the start of West Indies’ troubles against spin as Dean and Sophie Ecclestone went on to pick up three more wickets between them. Bell, who triggered the collapse up top, returned to close out the game with the wickets of Grimmond and Kaysia Schultz in the 16th over.Bell and Dean ended the match joint-top of the series wicket charts, with nine each.

England captain’s first century at home in three years helped set India a target of 209

Sidharth Monga07-Aug-20212:06

Bell: England needed Root to go as big as possible

Joe Root and Jasprit Bumrah combined on the fourth day to set up a grandstand finish for the Trent Bridge Test, the series opener. Having fallen behind by 95 in the first innings, England roared back on the back of a colossal 21st century from Root, but just when they were slipping out of India’s grasp, Bumrah put in an immense five-for to rise above a tiring bowling unit to keep the target down to 209. India knocked 52 of those off in the awkward 65 minutes they got at the end of the day for the loss of just one wicket.England began the day 70 behind with all their wickets in hand, but it was believed they needed rain or Root to rescue their fledgling batting unit. The promised rain never arrived, but in the best batting conditions of the Test, Root batted with assured positivity to make sure England never went into a shell and put the pressure of runs on India. However, Dom Sibley, Dan Lawrence and Jos Buttler gifted their wickets away to keep India in the contest by the time the new ball arrived. Bumrah blew them away with it.In the morning, though, it was special bowling that brought Root to the crease. Mohammed Siraj continued his threat to left-hand batters, pitching in the blind spot on middle and leg and then getting away movement to take the edge from Rory Burns. Bumrah then produced a beauty to Zak Crawley, pitching on a length, close to off, holding its line, taking the edge. India had taken two wickets in the first half hour, and England were still 49 behind.Root came out intent on getting into the lead as early as possible. The third ball he faced was full enough for him to drive through the covers. In the first 18 balls Root had hit four fours, one of them off the edge. By that time Bumrah was done with his first spell of the day. Mohammed Shami was not quite at his best, providing overpitched balls every now and then. Shardul Thakur looked short of a gallop, and Root decided to cash in.There was a period of play when Root tried two late-cuts, one slog-sweep, one hook and one ramp for not a single run. Once he was out of this period, Root looked like he was batting on a flat deck and not in a Test where no one had scored a century. Conditions had eased out no doubt – England’s control percentage was up to 80 from 75 in the last two innings of the match – but Root was playing at a level above his team-mates.Post lunch, the clouds rolled in, and Dom Sibley – 28 off 132 till then – decided to have a drive at a short-of-a-length ball from Bumrah, which nipped back in to take the inside edge for Rishabh Pant to catch. The two still added 89, but effectively at 40 for 3, England had opened the window again.Jonny Bairstow took over the scoring duties from Root. He was helped out by boundary balls provided early. In fact every new batter received gifts from India on the day. Root now just went into cruise mode with singles available everywhere with Bairstow presenting India with a big threat. Bumrah’s first spell in the afternoon was done. The new ball was far away. India were not going to Shami or Thakur. The stage was set for England to dominate.Bairstow had hit four boundaries in 32 balls, but when he went for the fifth, he did nail the flat pull but found the man in the deep. It was Ravindra Jadeja, and he had been there for a while. While this – a bouncer that didn’t get high – was not the exact plan, there was a rough plan for Bairstow.1:19

Laxman: Saha, Sridhar deserve credit for Pant’s improved keeping

Lawrence and Buttler would have left Root frustrated. Runs were still coming easy. Both got gentle sighters early. Between them they hit seven boundaries in 54 balls. India have not been that generous in years. Lawrence, though, planted his big front foot across with the ball clearly reversing to give the struggling Thakur a second wind. Buttler then proceeded to leave alone without even covering his stumps, getting out for the sixth time in Test cricket when not offering a stroke. And that was minutes after he had survived a close lbw call doing the same to the reversing ball.England were still only 142 ahead with six wickets gone. India were still struggling for an intense spell. The new ball was 10 overs away. Root and Sam Curran bedded in in those 10 overs. Root brought up his hundred, England reached 177 ahead. India took the new ball immediately. This was a huge moment. India still desperately needed to make the new ball count or England could run away with the Test.Arrive Bumrah. In the first over with the new ball, he produced the beauty he often does. On a length, holding its line just outside off, bouncing extra, taking Root’s edge. In the fifth over with the new ball, he went round the wicket to draw awkward bounce and inward movement to handcuff Curran and have him caught at mid-on. He bowled Stuart Broad with the next ball.The pesky tail was not going to bother India today. Shami had the fly slip perfectly placed for the edge off the Ollie Robinson slog to be pouched. India have, in recent times, been a well-spread bowling unit, but on this day one man – a little like Root – and some luck carried them. They have had desperately unlucky days, too, so this was not out of order.Against a charged-up bowling unit, with the loud capacity crowd in their ears, India had a torturous little period leading up to the stumps. With rain approaching, the openers didn’t even know how long they were in for. What they knew was the whereabouts of their off stumps.KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma were excellent again, making the bowlers desperate with their leaves and defence. Rahul got most of the error balls earned, and cashed in. He made Broad produce the best ball he could bowl, a bit like Bumrah’s two peaches earlier to get Crawley and Root, to get out, with 15 minutes to go. England went on an all-out attack in the last 15 minutes, but couldn’t get the wicket. In the process, they opened up scoring opportunities, which a struggling Pujara accepted.In the last over of the day, Rohit repeated the pull shot against Robinson after having been caught in the last over before lunch in the first innings, but executed it perfectly to keep it down.

If the T20 World Cup does take place this year, Australia would be one of the favourites

Andrew McGlashan13-May-2020Adam Zampa believes that Australia holding the No.1-ranking in T20Is for the first time is the reward for giving the format the attention it needs.Although Australia’s climb to the top was in part due to the ICC’s annual update of their rankings – which also saw them top the Test ladder – it has come on the back of a very strong run in T20Is with seven wins out of nine matches during the 2019-2020 season, securing series victories against Sri Lanka, Pakistan and South Africa.The sequence goes back further, too, including the 2-0 victory over India last March which was sealed by Glenn Maxwell’s magnificent 113 off 55 balls in Bengaluru.ALSO READ: Adam Zampa wants to be more than a white-ball specialistDuring the recent season, the margins of victory weren’t close: ranging from seven to 10 wickets and 97 to 134 runs. They would have won all six matches at home if not for rain in Sydney against Pakistan and the only defeat was a 12-run loss in Port Elizabeth when a hesitant middle-order display undid them.With two T20 World Cups to plan for in 2020 and 2021 – although the October tournament in Australia is under threat due to the Covid-19 pandemic – the selectors moved away from seeing it as the format where key players, especially bowlers, would be rested and have also been boosted by the returns of David Warner and Steven Smith.”The emphasis we put on T20 cricket as an international team over the last couple of years has made a huge difference,” Zampa, who took 10 wickets in eight T20Is last season, said. “There was the Test format and ODI format leading up to the World Cup last year that we were focusing on but this T20 World Cup in particular has made a difference in the way we select teams, the way the scheduling looks.”I think it’s been an amazing 18 months in particular for the T20I team and we’ve got a really good balance leading up to the World Cup. It’s exciting to be a part of that.”Australia celebrate Adam Zampa’s breakthrough•AP Photo/Themba Hadebe

The T20 World Cup is the one piece of global silverware to elude Australia with their best returns being the 2010 final defeat against England in Barbados.There remains hope that the tournament later this year can still take place, although the challenge of getting 16 teams together for a global event amid the pandemic is one that may prove too great. There have been suggestions of moving it back to February next year but the knock-on effects of that are also considerable.If the tournament does proceed in October it could be a challenge for players to prepare depending on how much professional cricket is possible beforehand and there is no chance of international cricket until July at the earliest. Australia’s ODI and T20I tour of the UK that month is all-but sure not to take place as scheduled, with discussions around whether it will be shunted to September.Zampa, who has a Cricket Australia (CA) central contract and will come off annual leave on May 18, thinks some players would be able to adjust to a lack of competitive cricket but admitted he is someone who needs games under his belt. Plans are currently being drawn up, led by CA’s head of science and medicine Alex Kountouris, as to what training will look like over the next few months as states lift their Covid-19 restrictions.”Some guys could probably go straight into it like nothing has happened but personally I like to continue playing cricket,” Zampa said. “The last six weeks has been weird for me. Especially in T20 with different game situations, putting yourself under pressure. I need some game time to be ready for international cricket but we haven’t really had any messages about the World Cup so haven’t thought about preparation.””It will be a bit different to the last few years – playing IPL or county cricket – but I think once the leave period is done in a few days’ time, the message has been to train in your states for the foreseeable future and do pre-season as everyone else would.”

Tamim Iqbal hammered a run-a-ball century but Bangladesh collapsed around him and New Zealand’s openers were in control at stumps

Mohammad Isam in Hamilton27-Feb-2019Neil Wagner upset Bangladesh’s rhythm with a trademark short ball barrage as they were bowled out for 234, after being 121 for 1 shortly before lunch on the opening day in Hamilton, undoing the good work of a blazing century from Tamim Iqbal.Wagner finished with 5 for 47, his sixth five-wicket haul in Tests, before New Zealand consolidated their position with by reaching 86 without loss at the close. Jeet Raval, still searching for a maiden Test hundred, was unbeaten on 51 alongside Tom Latham who should have fallen in the second over as a maiden wicket for paceman Ebadot Hossain only for Soumya Sarker to drop a simple chance at second slip. Bangladesh finished the day in lethargic fashion with a number of misfields.Tamim Iqbal attacks the bowling•Getty Images

It had all looked so much brighter for them after being put into bat on a well-grassed surface as Tamim flayed the new ball around Seddon Park during his ninth Test hundred. He hammered 15 fours in the morning session – for a while it appeared possible he would reach a century before lunch – and brought up his hundred off 100 deliveries early in the afternoon.However, it quickly became a lone hand as Wagner and Tim Southee shared eight wickets. Wagner’s haul began with the wicket of Mominul Haque who tickled a short ball down the leg side to wicketkeeper BJ Watling just before lunch. Soon after the break, Mohammad Mithun and Mahmudullah top edged Wagner although both shots looked avoidable in the circumstances.Mehidy gave short leg a simple catch, also off Wagner, while Soumya Sarkar also fell to the shorter length, when he was unable to move his gloves away from a Southee delivery.

Watch NZ v Ban Live

Followers in the United States can watch New Zealand v Bangladesh live on ESPN+

Wagner’s five-for was completed when Abu Jayed tried to ramp him and had Liton Das caught at fine leg. His short-ball approach is one of the most telegraphed in the world yet still so many teams have struggled to combat it.Southee finished with three wickets while Trent Boult had given New Zealand their first wicket, that of Shadman Islam, who impressed against the new ball before playing across a full delivery, after he and Tamim had provided Bangladesh a fine start with a 57-run opening stand.Tamim was the enforcer and the guiding force. He struck plenty of drives down the ground and also through the covers, while remaining steadfast against the short ball. He struck 21 fours and a six in his 126 off 128 balls, lasting just over three hours in which Bangladesh looked in better control.Unlike some of his team-mates, for the majority of his innings he wasn’t reckless. Knowing full well that being adventurous may cost his side heavily, he curbed his strokeplay to get to lunch first before branching out again either side of his century which included taking 14 off Southee in the space of four deliveries.New Zealand tried to pray on his attacking instincts, pitching the ball well outside off, and the plan worked when Tamin cut a short, wide delivery from Colin de Grandhomme – who he had previously been keen to mow down the ground – straight to Kane Williamson at gully. Tamim threw his head back in disgust, knowing that his team needed even more from him.With their talisman gone there wasn’t much else offered by Bangladesh although stand-in captain Mahmudullah could have provided more than the top edge to long leg having played himself in with some compact drives.In New Zealand’s reply, Raval did most of the early scoring with his three boundaries in Ebadot’s fifth over, to dent the promising start from the debutant, before he took on the part-timer Soumya and Bangladesh’s lone spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz. Latham, who enjoyed a prolific series against Sri Lanka earlier this season, then found his stride and pull Mehidy for six as the shadows lengthened. By the close, it already looked a tough situation for Bangladesh to recover from.

If West Indies concede the match, they will have to return home with nothing to show for their stay in New Zealand

The Preview by Alagappan Muthu31-Dec-2017

Big picture

It may just be arbitrary – an illusion of time even – but a new year can have a remarkable effect. Ask West Indies. They ushered in 2017 with their trophy cabinet bursting at the seams. Then they were booted out of an ICC tournament. They will have to play fringe teams in international cricket to qualify for the next World Cup. And, on the basis of their performance on Friday, even their often infallible T20 game needs work.If West Indies concede the match on January 1, they will have to return home with nothing to show for their stay in New Zealand and the only people that would be feeling worse than Stuart Law, Jason Holder and Carlos Brathwaite would be those who had ended up as designated drivers the previous night. So the Bay Oval better prepare itself. It’ll be hosting a hurt world-champion side looking for revenge.New Zealand may sympathise – they are apparently the nice guys of this sport, even if their bowlers keep picking up seven-fors and their fielders take leave of gravity to snaffle impossible catches – but, with their captain Kane Williamson returning, they won’t offer much quarter. They’ve written the book on winning matches without too many star players. And it isn’t a complicated read either: have plans at the ready, ensure the players buy into that and can execute them under pressure. They’ll get plenty of practice in that regard coming up against a team that has nothing to lose and a whole lot to gain.

Form guide

New Zealand: WLWLL
West Indies: LWWWWThe perfect on-drive from Martin Guptill•BCCI

In the spotlight

With so many of West Indies’ frontline players in T20 cricket missing, it may be time Chris Gayle produces one of his single-handed demolition jobs. Not so long ago, after winning the Bangladesh Premier League, he proclaimed that he was the best to ever play the game. He would be able to lend that statement a little more oomph if he were to, say, beat an international team.New Zealand have their own marauder at the top, even if he is coming off a break. Martin Guptill. An average above 30 and a strike-rate of 130 suggests he likes playing longish innings even in the shortest format and should he do so in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand’s job of winning a third successive trophy, and staying on course for a tour-wide whitewash, will get a little bit easier.

Team news

Ross Taylor won’t be in action on Monday; he was only picked for the first T20I. Williamson will take his place.New Zealand (probable): 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Colin Munro, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Glenn Phillips (wk), 5 Tom Bruce, 6 Anaru Kitchen, 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Doug Bracewell/Lockie Ferguson, 9 Seth Rance, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Ish Sodhi*There may be some thought about bringing in Shimron Hetmyer into the batting line-up and Sheldon Cottrell into the bowling attack simply for the sake of variety.West Indies (probable): 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Chadwick Walton, 3 Andre Fletcher/Shimron Hetmyer, 4 Shai Hope (wk), 5 Jason Mohammed, 6 Rovman Powell, 7 Carlos Brathwaite (capt.), 8 Ashley Nurse, 9 Samuel Badree, 10 Jerome Taylor/Sheldon Cottrell, 11 Kesrick Williams

Pitch and conditions

There have been three T20Is at Bay Oval and runs have so far come by at a rate of 8 and above. Perfect conditions for a Gayle storm. The actual weather, though, is expected to be cloudy, with the possibility of showers late in the night.

Stats and trivia

• Williamson goes into the T20I with 133 fours, three less than Gayle. Of course, Gayle (103) has hit six times as many sixes as Williamson (16) has
• New Zealand have never lost a T20I in Mount Maunganui – and over their last 12 matches at home, they’ve only lost two
• Under the condition of at least 100 overs bowled, Samuel Badree has the second-best economy rate in T20Is; his figure of 5.78 is only just behind Daniel Vettori’s 5.70

Quotes

“Fantastic player, probably the best T20 record in the game and can take the game away at any time”

While the BCB release didn’t specify the nature of the breach, ESPNcricinfo understands that the incidents took place during the Chittagong leg of the ongoing season

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Nov-20161:25

Isam: Fine amounts unprecedented

Sabbir Rahman and Al-Amin Hossain have been handed heavy fines for “serious off-field disciplinary breaches” during the Bangladesh Premier League.While the BCB release didn’t specify the nature of the breach, ESPNcricinfo understands that the incidents took place during the Chittagong leg of the ongoing season.”A Governing Council investigation has found both players guilty of serious off-field disciplinary breaches during the current tournament,” a BCB press release read. “As a consequence, Al Amin has been penalised 50% of his BPL contract fees while Shabbir has been fined 30% of his BPL contract amount.Sabbir, placed in Grade A+ in the BPL player draft, was acquired by Rajshahi Kings for Tk 40 lakh (approximately USD 50,000), while Al Amin in Grade A was retained by Barisal Bulls for Tk 25 lakh (approximately USD 31,000).”The players have been reminded of their responsibility as national cricketers and have been warned that any repeat of similar acts of indiscretion in the future will result in harsher penalty,” the statement said.

Australia’s new-look batting group will be unveiled on Friday when the squad for the first Test against New Zealand is named

Brydon Coverdale29-Oct-2015Australia’s new-look batting group will be unveiled on Friday when the squad for the first Test against New Zealand at the Gabba is named. Openers Cameron Bancroft and Joe Burns, and top-order batsman Usman Khawaja are all hoping to be part of the squad despite failing in their final chance to impress the selectors during their Sheffield Shield innings on Wednesday.All three men, plus Shaun Marsh, were part of the 15-strong outfit named last month for the Test tour of Bangladesh, but the abandonment of that trip has left question-marks over who will be favoured for the first Test of the home summer. The Brisbane match will be Australia’s first Test since the retirements of Michael Clarke and Chris Rogers, key members of the top five over the past two years.David Warner was set to miss the Bangladesh tour due to a fractured thumb, but he is fit to play in Brisbane and the identity of his new opening partner remains a mystery. Bancroft, 22, may get the nod as a red-ball specialist and long-term prospect, although Burns scored a century in a tour match against New Zealand at the weekend and performed well in two Tests last summer.Khawaja appears likely to move into the No. 3 position, with captain Steven Smith considering a move down to No. 4, and Adam Voges looks set to retain his place at No. 5. That would mean the only way Burns and Bancroft could both fit into the XI would be if the selectors abandon their preference for an allrounder at No. 6, an improbable move given how keen they have been on a fifth bowling option.It is not out of the question that Bancroft, Burns and Khawaja could all be named in a 13-man squad, with a final decision on the XI to be made in the lead-up to the Test. All three men were comprehensively outperformed in the ongoing Sheffield Shield round by Michael Klinger, whose double-century was his 14th hundred of the past year across all formats, but his age – 35 – will go against him.Retired captain Michael Clarke wrote in his News Ltd column on Thursday that his preference would be for Shaun Marsh to open with Warner, but that would seem a retrograde step given the opportunities he has already had. Marsh scored two centuries in the recent Matador Cup competition but managed 0 and 2 when called into the Test team during the Ashes at Trent Bridge.Mitchell Johnson will be back in the squad after he was to be rested for the Bangladesh tour, and Josh Hazlewood may also slip back into the group after being dropped for the final Test of the Ashes series. Mitchell Starc should be a guaranteed starter given his recent form, and Peter Siddle will hope to retain his place in the squad after impressing when he replaced Hazlewood at The Oval.Gone from the 15-man squad named for the Bangladesh tour will be fast bowler Pat Cummins, who has again suffered a back injury, and there is unlikely to be room for any of Andrew Fekete, Steve O’Keefe or Glenn Maxwell, all of whom were part of the Bangladesh squad. The squad will be named early on Friday afternoon in Adelaide.Probable squad David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Usman Khawaja, Joe Burns, Steven Smith, Adam Voges, Mitchell Marsh, Peter Nevill, Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Peter Siddle, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.

Tamim Iqbal, the Bangladesh batsman, has been ruled out of the rest of the ODI series against Sri Lanka due to a hairline fracture on his right thumb

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Mar-2013Tamim Iqbal, the Bangladesh batsman, has been ruled out of the rest of the ODI series against Sri Lanka due to a hairline fracture on his right thumb. Tamim picked up the injury while fielding in the first ODI in Hambantota, a match in which he had earlier hit his first one-day century in three years.Tamim was hurt attempting to stop a powerful shot from Kushal Perera in the seventh over of the chase. He started wringing his hand in pain after being struck by the ball and went off the field. He was taken for scans to a hospital, where an X-ray revealed the fracture.”It is a fracture which normally takes around 4-6 weeks,” Tamim later said. “For further information, I will go to Dhaka day after tomorrow. I will have an MRI, but it is definitely a fracture.”The news is a major blow for Bangladesh, who are already without two of their most experienced players in Shakib Al Hasan and Mashrafe Mortaza. Tamim had returned to fitness little over a week ago after a wrist problem that he suffered at the Bangladesh Premier League forced him out of the opening Test in Galle.Sri Lanka are currently 1-0 up in the series, with two more ODIs to play. The tour ends with a Twenty20 on March 31 in Pallekele. Bangladesh’s next assignment is a Zimbabwe tour, with the first match scheduled to start on April 17.

ESPNcricinfo previews the Asia Cup match between India and Pakistan, in Mirpur

The Preview by Kanishkaa Balachandran17-Mar-2012

Match facts

March 18, 2012
Start time 1400 (0800 GMT)Pakistan look more settled overall, with a superior bowling attack•AFP

Big Picture

If India had beaten Bangladesh, their match against Pakistan would have been a preview to the final. Thanks to their inept bowling in the dying stages of their previous match, and some fearless Bangladesh batting, this tournament is still open. No team has bowed out of the tournament yet, including Sri Lanka, who are yet to open their account. If India and Bangladesh win their remaining games with bonus points, it will leave three teams tied on nine points, meaning the finalists will be decided on net run-rate. If the same two teams win without bonus points, then Bangladesh will go through because they beat India in the head-to-head. A win, tie, no-result, or even a loss without conceding a bonus point, for Pakistan tomorrow will guarantee them a place in the final.Bangladesh’s stunning turnaround has given tomorrow’s clash greater context. However, a downpour at the Shere Bangla Stadium the day before the game means the groundstaff will have to work to ensure the match goes ahead as scheduled. Should weather intervene, there is a reserve day on Monday.The encounter promises to live up to the tournament’s top-billing because these teams have hardly played each other, due to political reasons. India trumped Pakistan in the semi-final of the World Cup, so Pakistan have a score to settle. Despite being drubbed by England in the one-day series in the UAE, they still look a far more settled unit than India.The gulf between the two teams lies in the bowling. Both attacks are spin-heavy, but Pakistan’s is a league ahead in terms of experience and penetration, with the likes of Saeed Ajmal and Shahid Afridi. Ajmal’s doosras derailed Sri Lanka in the batting Powerplay and from that point on Sri Lanka were playing catch-up. India failed to run through the Bangladesh batting but they were still well-placed to defend 290. Swinging yorkers from Praveen Kumar and Irfan Pathan gave India a sniff, but the consistency was lacking. Yorkers made way for length deliveries and full tosses, which were either muscled over the ropes or sliced over point.India’s top order looks more reliable than Pakistan’s, with their top three each having scored a century in the tournament. Sachin Tendulkar may well play with the kind of freedom missing over the last 12 months, after getting the monkey off his back. The Pakistan top order didn’t look fluent against Sri Lanka, and the slow run-rate early led them to throw away their wickets.

Form Guide

(most recent first)
Pakistan WWLLL
India LWWLL

In the spotlight

Ravindra Jadeja is yet to justify the US$2million contract he earned from Chennai Super Kings with performances on the field. He underperformed in the Commonwealth Bank series with both bat and ball, though his fielding remains an asset. He was not used much as a bowler and failed to convert his opportunities with the bat, struggling to clear the bigger Australian grounds. There have been calls for the big-hitting Yusuf Pathan to replace him. However, Jadeja offers the variety of left-arm spin, to go with three offspinners.Fifteen, 5, 12, 2 – scores you would not normally associate with Younis Khan. His last ODI half-century came against Afghanistan, and he has struggled against quality opposition. His shot-selection against Sri Lanka was poor; he attempted an extravagant flick to midwicket and ended up chipping it to mid-on. With Asad Shafiq in the reserves, Younis will have to justify his place with a big score. He is too experienced to endure a prolonged slump.Misbah-ul-Haq’s calm presence is the reason for Pakistan’s upswing, and they would not want to lose his services for a crucial game because of a slow over-rate. The Pakistan captain will be suspended for one game if his side makes another transgression in the next 12 months after the team fell two overs short of the target against Sri Lanka. For tips on how to ensure a quick over-rate, Misbah would rather not consult his counterpart MS Dhoni, who has already been banned for a Test and ODI in recent months for the same offence.

Pitch and conditions

Despite the rain on Saturday evening, the forecast for Sunday suggests a full game will be possible. Both captains will be unsure of how the rain would have affected playing conditions, in particular the usually lightning-quick outfield. In general, the pitches have become better for batting in the evening, and the team defending a target will also have to watch out for possible dew. After Bangladesh’s heist, the captains may back their teams to chase down any target.

Teams

Ashok Dinda was all over the place against Bangladesh, going for 38 off 5.2 overs, so India could consider bringing back Vinay Kumar, if he recovers from injury. There’s still no indication that Manoj Tiwary, who has warmed the bench for so long he may have set it on fire, will get a game.India 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Rohit Sharma, 5 MS Dhoni, 6 Suresh Raina, 7 Ravindra Jadeja/Yusuf Pathan, 8 Irfan Pathan, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Ashok Dinda/R Vinay Kumar, 11 Praveen KumarWith Shahid Afridi not in the best of form with the bat, Pakistan are likely to play an extra batsman, with Umar Akmal taking the wicketkeeping gloves.Pakistan 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Nasir Jamshed, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Umar Akmal (wk), 5 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 6 Asad Shafiq, 7 Hammad Azam, 8 Shahid Afridi, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Aizaz Cheema

Stats and Trivia

• The head-to-head record between the two sides in the Asia Cup stands at 4-4.
• India have the better head-to-head record in matches played in Bangladesh, winning five and losing three.

Quotes

“You cannot take revenge on anyone, but we will try to give our supporters the joy we could not give during that game.”
Edited by Dustin Silgardo

Graeme Smith, the South Africa captain, is aware England will be hurting after their loss to Ireland and will look to come back in the game against South Africa on Sunday

Firdose Moonda in Chennai05-Mar-2011While Graeme Smith, the South Africa captain, was waxing lyrical about the merits of having a varied bowling attack and the advantage of an attacking spinner, an abrupt sound silenced him. It was an electronic sheep bleeting its way out of someone’s cellphone.”Well, that’s just beautiful,” Smith said before guffawing in his usual meaty fashion. If he’d been gearing up for a match against Australia, it may have been considered sabotage instead of a big joke, but with Smith’s new, relaxed attitude, there’s a good chance it wouldn’t have fazed him even then. Smith hardly moved a muscle in anger when he was asked about South Africa’s first real test of the World Cup.”England and South Africa is always a big game, it’s always been competitive,” Smith said. “I expect tomorrow to be no different.”After brushing aside West Indies and Netherlands, both of whom South Africa had lengthy unbeaten records against, they now face an England side that has beaten them in seven of the last eight completed one-day matches between the two teams, including in a series in South Africa. Smith refused to read too much into that bit of history, saying the reason for England’s success against his men was really, quite obvious. “They played better than us in those eight games.”Since England last played South Africa, they have lost almost as many one-day games as they’ve won – losing 12 and winning 14. They notched up series wins against Bangladesh, Australia and Pakistan but much of the good work was undone when they crashed to a 6-1 defeat in the post-Ashes one-day series in Australia, and have yet to settle at this World Cup. “They are a very proud team; they’ve had some really good ups in the last two years and their performances have been credible over the last while,” Smith said.More pressingly for England, they’ve just come off the event’s first upset: a three-wicket loss to their little brothers Ireland and although they don’t have the same instincts that scream ‘backlash’ like Australia do, they’ll still feel as though they have something to prove. That something could come against the team they knocked out of the 2009 Champions Trophy.Graeme Smith has not scored a one-day century since September 2009•Associated Press

Smith was aware England would be determined to fight back. “The Ireland game would have hurt them a lot. It was terrific for the spirit of the World Cup but they will be looking to bounce back.” This was not a man bracing for a backlash, it was a man who had anticipated it and who knew it was coming.There’s always been a psychological element to matches between these teams, intensified by the number of South African-born players in the England side. While that story has become old, with Smith saying it was “about the fiftieth time I’ve had to answer that question,” he did say South Africa would try to capitalise on whatever mental frailties conceding 959 runs in three matches may have caused in England’s bowlers. “Maybe we can take advantage of that lack of confidence,” Smith said, referring specifically to the opening pair of James Anderson and Stuart Broad.Smith and Hashim Amla will be the two batsmen best placed to hurt Anderson and Broad, but Smith has problems of his own. In his last 23 one-day innings, he has not scored a century and while he has a 92 and a 77 under his belt against Pakistan and India respectively, he has looked awkward in the tournament so far. “I’ve got starts in all the warm-up games, and it will be nice to turn one of those into a big score.” That was all he was willing to say, preferring to steer away from analysis of individuals and concentrate on the group.South Africa have the advantage of having been in Chennai just three weeks ago. It was the first stop on their tour and the place where the World Cup preparations started. Smith said he was looking forward to the warmer climate. “Being in Chennai is more like the real India, the warmth, after coming from the cold.” Delhi and Chandigarh, where South Africa played their first two matches of the tournament, had temperatures hovering between 20 and 25 degrees while Chennai was topping 35.India is also a place where South Africa have been more successful than England, winning seven out of 13 matches to England’s six out of 23 in the last ten years. That may not be on either captain’s mind going into the match, but it may be something they can keep in the bank for next time.