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Young cricketers today have the option to become rich, successful cricketers without even aspiring to play Tests, but Rahul Dravid has urged them to “not sell themselves short”

Sidharth Monga04-Jul-2012Young cricketers today have the option to become rich, successful cricketers without even aspiring to play Tests, but Rahul Dravid has urged them to “not sell themselves short” because he feels there is no match for the satisfaction that can be derived from playing Test cricket. He was quick to add that he didn’t want to judge them on or blame them for their choices but that he wanted to challenge them to give Test cricket a fair go.Dravid was speaking at the launch of the book , an anthology of some of the best writings on him, published by ESPNcricinfo and Walt Disney. The book is a collection of 30 pieces, some new and some previously published; the writers include cricketers (Ed Smith, Jason Gillespie, Greg Chappell, Sanjay Manjrekar) and well-known cricket writers (Rohit Brijnath, Gideon Haigh, Rahul Bhattacharya, Suresh Menon).”There are more options now,” Dravid said of the quandary cricket faces. “Very hard for me to be judgemental about kids of today. Unfair. I had gone through a commerce degree in college, and not very successfully. When I grew up, if I wanted to be a successful professional cricketer – and making a living out of the sport became a part of that – the only option for me was to be a successful Test cricketer. There was no other way in which you could make a professional living out of the sport. I would have still played it, but I would have probably looked to do something else professionally if I wasn’t good enough.”Dravid said he could understand the lure of the other options. “People now have the option of not necessarily playing Test cricket but making a living out of the game,” he said. “And, you know, who’s to blame kids for taking that option? Who’s to blame kids for using that opportunity if they feel they are not good enough for Test cricket? If they are not good enough for Test cricket, I am sure they will feel, ‘Look at least I needn’t make a living out of this game. Let me at least play this, which is giving me money.'”I won’t like to judge them on that, but I will like to challenge them. What I’ll like to tell young kids is that the greatest satisfaction you are going to get is by playing Test cricket and playing in some of these great stadiums of the world. That will give you the greatest personal satisfaction, so don’t sell yourself short. Try and achieve. It is possible. It can be done. There might be kids in this era who will take that soft option. Some won’t. We will be able to see in time. Every era there have been people who have fallen by the wayside.”When asked if he saw enough players coming in who were desperate to play Test cricket, Dravid said it was not a concern right now but one that will confront cricket soon enough. “People like Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Manoj Tiwary, or whoever the youngsters are, have grown up watching and idolising Test cricket,” he said. “It’s the kids like Samit [Dravid’s son, 7] who will have grown up watching the IPL. That will be the challenge. What will those kids want? I don’t see this as an immediate problem. I see it as a long-term issue.”By long term I mean ten years, when those kind of kids grow up, what will their aspirations be? If one of the young kinds wants to play, will he want to play for a franchise? You have to understand that at the end of the day players are also performers, and they want to perform. When you look at the IPL, it’s a great stage to perform. Played in front of full stadiums, there is a great viewership on television, you are playing with some of the best players in the world, you are playing at some of the greatest stadiums in the country… It’s a great stage to perform. That challenge is going to arise in ten years’ time, and I think we have got to address it right now.”

Sohail Tanvir has said his experience with Rajasthan Royals back in 2008 helped him captain Rawalpindi Rams to victory in the Faisal Bank Super Eight T20 Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jul-2011Sohail Tanvir has said his experience in the IPL with Rajasthan Royals back in 2008 helped him captain Rawalpindi Rams to victory in the Faysal Bank Super Eight T20 Cup. Tanvir, who was the leading wicket-taker in the first IPL and scored the winning runs in the final, made special mention of Shane Warne, his captain at Rajasthan.”My experience of playing under Warne helped me,” Tanvir told the . “As a captain you must be on your toes when you need to make important decisions. I gave my players much-needed confidence and they performed to the best of their ability.”One of the features of Rawalpindi’s run in the tournament was that they relied on their young players to perform at crucial times, something Warne has always encouraged at Rajasthan. Jamal Anwar, Rawalpindi’s 20-year-old wicketkeeper, was their leading run-getter in the tournament and Man of the Match in their upset of Lahore Lions in the semi-finals. Raza Hasan, the 18-year-old left-arm spinner, took the second-highest number of wickets in the tournament with 11 at an average of 11.27 and economy rate of 6.20.Tanvir gave Hasan the responsibility of bowling the Super Over in the final, against Karachi Dolphins, and he delivered, giving away just seven runs to secure victory for Rawalpindi. “I was supposed to bowl the Super Over but I gave it to Hasan only because of his high confidence.”Rawalpindi were underdogs in the tournament, but won convincingly against favourites Lahore before holding their nerve in the thrilling final against Karachi. Tanvir said the best thing about the Twenty20 format was that it gave everyone a chance. “This is a modern format of the game and is tough. We were the underdogs but still managed to win through hard work. This is the beauty of Twenty20.”

Until the final lap of the chase, it was Leeward Islands who seemed ahead but Kieron Pollard killed the contest in his own inimitable style

Cricinfo staff25-Jul-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKieron Pollard smashed seven sixes in a 20-ball 53•Nicholas Reid/West Indies Cricket Board

Until the final leg of the chase, Leeward Islands appeared to be ahead the contest but Kieron Pollard won the match in his own inimitable style, steering Trinidad & Tobago to their second successive victory of the tournament.When Pollard entered the scene, T&T needed 80 from 41 deliveries. Until then, they had struggled; the top order had collapsed and Dwayne Bravo was cautious as he tried to rebuild. Runs were at a premium but it was exactly the sort of situation that made Pollard the Twenty20 star that he is. And in a blink of an eye the chase was over. Most of his seven sixes either flew deep into the stands or clattered on the roof but Pollard still gave the impression that he was playing within himself.Pollard began his attack in the 15th over bowled by spinner Justin Athanaze. There is a theory that Pollard isn’t great against quality spin and Athanaze had conceded only 12 runs in three overs and had also picked the wicket of Darren Ganga. Pollard, however, pulled him to fine leg for four before dragging a six over midwicket and collecting another six with a dismissive waft over long off. He was just beginning to warm up. Bravo scored three boundaries off Wilden Cornwall in the next over before Pollard swung back into action in the 17th. It was a massacre: Tonito Willet was pummelled for four sixes – the ball ricocheted of the midwicket roof, the crowd at long on watched the ball fly over them twice and he finished off with a dragged six over square leg. Game over.Just before Pollard turned it on, Denesh Ramdin had revived the chase with a breezy innings. The plan was straightforward: Bravo would bat through, Ramdin would hit out and Pollard would take care of the rest. In the 13th over, Ramdin went after Gavin Tonge, who had picked two top-order wickets, by hitting a six over midwicket and two on-side boundaries. Ramdin fell in the next over but Pollard took over in style.Until the Pollard blitz, Leewards had had a fairly good day. Javier Liburd, the opener, had taken on T&T’s spinners and laid a fair foundation. He lifted Dave Mohammed to the long-off and midwicket boundary and cut Samuel Badree to point for more fours. Although he fell, playing all around a full delivery from Sherwin Ganga, Kerry Mentore took over and guided Leewards to a healthy total. Mentore crashed Sherwin Ganga to the roof on the straight boundary, mowed Pollard over midwicket and found support from the lower-middle order as Leewards raced to 161. For nearly 15 overs into the chase, it seemed a stiff target before Pollard stamped his presence on the game.

“What’s in my power right now is to play the Buchi Babu tournament, go on to play the Duleep Trophy and then see what happens”

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Aug-2024Suryakumar Yadav, India’s T20I captain, wants to have some “red-ball fun” but is aware the road back to the Test side will not be all that straightforward.As things stand, there are at least four others, including his Mumbai team-mates Sarfaraz Khan and Shreyas Iyer, along with KL Rahul and Rajat Patidar, ahead of him in the pecking order. But he wants to give the long-form cricket another proper crack in a bid to add to his one-Test appearance last year, against Australia in Nagpur.”There are a lot of people who have worked really hard to earn their place and even I want to earn that spot again,” Suryakumar told reporters in Coimbatore on Monday after Mumbai’s training session on the sidelines of the Buchi Babu Invitational tournament.Related

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“I made my debut for India in Tests. After that, I got injured as well. There were a lot of people who got an opportunity and have done well too. They deserve that opportunity right now.”Going forward, if I have to play, then I will automatically play. That’s not in my control. What’s in my power right now is to play the Buchi Babu tournament, go on to play the Duleep Trophy and then see what happens. But yes, I’m really looking forward. There are ten Test matches lined up and I’m obviously excited for some red-ball fun.”Suryakumar hasn’t played a first-class fixture since last year’s Duleep Trophy 13 months ago. Between then and now, he has recuperated from a groin surgery in Germany that kept him out of action for three months. During this period, he was part of the ODI and T20 World Cups.Suryakumar Yadav recently led India to a 3-0 sweep in the T20I series in Sri Lanka•Getty Images

He was named full-time T20I captain after Rohit retired from the format following India’s title win in the Caribbean. Recently, he led India to a 3-0 T20I series sweep in Sri Lanka. After the Buchi Babu fixture, he will head to Anantapur for the Duleep Trophy, where he has been named in the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led India C squad.”Red-ball cricket has always been my priority,” Suryakumar said. “When I grew up in the maidans of Mumbai and played a lot of local cricket, I started playing with the red cherry. The love for the longest format began there, and has always been there.”I have taken part in a lot of first-class matches for more than ten years now and I still cherish playing this format. There’s no question about it and that’s why I’m here before the Duleep Trophy.”I will always look for an opportunity to come and play for Mumbai, be it in first-class cricket or a tournament like the Buchi Babu. A lot of international players have played in this competition before and have gone on to represent the country.”Suryakumar’s return to long-form cricket comes at a time when India are slated to play ten Tests over the next four months, starting with the two-Test series against Bangladesh on September 19. That will be followed by three against New Zealand and five away, in Australia.For Suryakumar to make a pitch for a Test recall, he will need a series of tall scores. He is looking at the upcoming opportunity for Mumbai as a blessing to acclimatise to red-ball cricket quickly before the domestic season begins.”We are fortunate to have this tournament because we don’t get many multi-day games back home during this weather,” he said. “Yes, you can practise for a couple of hours, but standing in the heat for six hours and doing that three or four days in a row is only possible through a game. That’s very important going forward in the Duleep Trophy and, hopefully, in Tests.”Suryakumar has a decent red-ball record, having scored 5628 runs in 82 first-class matches at an average of 43.62. This includes 14 hundreds and 29 fifties. He could be a key player on turning tracks, where he can bring his attacking game to the fore. But he underlined the need to tailor his game to suit the demands of the format, and not bat like he would in a T20 game.”It’s necessary to adapt to the conditions well,” he said. “In Mumbai, you have red soil, but here [in Coimbatore] it is black soil and the wickets are a bit different. You have to be one step ahead in the challenging longest format and can’t bat like how you would in a T20.”But at the same time, intent is imperative. Everything else will take care of itself when you play. You can’t go into the game and ponder too much. You just have to go out, put your heart into it and enjoy the game. Stay humble if you do well. Go back to the drawing board and start again if you don’t.”

Alex Lees makes 70 as Ben Gibbon replies with four wickets for Worcestershire

ECB Reporters Network13-Apr-2023Durham 363 for 7 (Bedingham 118, Lees 70, Gibbon 4-75) vs WorcestershireDavid Bedingham pressed his international credentials with a brilliant century on day one of Durham’s LV= Insurance County Championship Division Two clash against Worcestershire at Seat Unique Riverside.Before the start of the season, Bedingham declared his intention to play for his home nation of South Africa rather than await his availability for an England call. He duly delivered a timely reminder of his quality with a sublime innings of 118 after Alex Lees provided the platform with a knock of 70 at the top of the order, allowing Durham to post 363 for 7.Ben Gibbon and Adam Finch were the pick of the Worcestershire bowlers, preventing the hosts from building a dominant position by taking timely wickets. Gibbon ended the day with four for 75, including the scalp of Bedingham in the final hour, to drag his team back into the game on day one.After being inserted, Durham opener Lees endured a streaky start to his knock. He survived two inside edges and was able to settle into a rhythm with Michael Jones, and Lees quickly brought up the fifty stand in the 11th over with a cut to the fence, continuing Durham’s attacking intent from their opening match against Sussex.Finch and Gibbon turned the momentum of the morning session by hitting the pitch hard with a tight line. Back-to-back maidens forced a mistake from Jones to hand Finch the breakthrough. Finch continued to run in from the Lumley End and his effort ball ended a difficult 58-ball stay for Durham captain Scott Borthwick, who looked rusty following his return from a finger injury.Lees remained stoic and ground out his second fifty of the season from 110 deliveries. The England opener was not at his fluent best but displayed much-needed resilience to hand his team a solid platform before he was finally undone by a peach from Gibbon, who found the gap between bat and pad and removed his middle stump.Bedingham was the beneficiary of Lees’ exploits and ensured that Durham capitalised on their position of strength, surging past his fifty at almost a run-a-ball. The South African was in pristine touch and pressed on toward three figures after taking 15 runs from Finch’s 14th over, including a brilliant pull into the pavilion to register his first six of the day.Bedingham notched his 14th first-class century with a gentle nudge into the leg side, earning the deserved applause of the Riverside crowd after a near-faultless knock. The right-hander was taken out of his rhythm by a rain break, and the brief pause allowed Gibbon to return with the new ball to prise out Bedingham, ending a stand of 113 with Graham Clark for the fifth wicket.One wicket became three in seven deliveries as the hosts were in danger of throwing away their grip of day one as Gibbon and Joe Leach struck to remove Jonathan Bushnell and Clark. Ben Raine and Paul Coughlin stemmed the tide with a fifty-run stand to give Durham a narrow edge on the scoreboard heading into day two.

Spin-bowling allrounder George Linde retained in the one-day unit after being part of the Test squad

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jan-2022Kagiso Rabada will not play South Africa’s ODI series against India, with Cricket South Africa (CSA) looking to manage his workloads.In a statement on Tuesday evening, less than 24 hours before the first ODI in Paarl, CSA said Rabada was being released from the squad “due to high workloads over a sustained period of time and the need for him to recover prior the outbound Test series against New Zealand next month”.Rabada has been playing in biosecure bubbles since early September, when he featured in three ODIs and three T20Is on South Africa’s tour of Sri Lanka. Soon after, he headed over to the second half of IPL 2021 in the UAE, where he played eight games for Delhi Capitals. That tournament ran straight into the T20 World Cup. There was a break of a month and a half following the global tournament, then South Africa’s Tests against India kicked off on Boxing Day.Now, the ODIs against India finish on January 23, and South Africa are set to leave for New Zealand on February 2, where they will have to undergo between 10 days and two weeks of quarantine. The two Tests against New Zealand start on February 17, and after that South Africa return home for two Tests against Bangladesh in mid-March.In Rabada’s absence, Marco Jansen looks likely to make an ODI debut against India, barely a month after earning his first Test cap. Lungi Ngidi will lead the attack with the death-bowling skills of Sisanda Magala also likely to be called on.South Africa also have a wealth of seam-bowling allrounders to employ: Wayne Parnell, Dwaine Pretorius and Andile Phehlukwayo can all slot in as the fourth seam-bowling option, should conditions call for that many pace bowlers.The selectors have also added more cover in the allrounders department, in the form of left-arm spinner George Linde. Linde was part of the Test squad against India, and has now been drafted in for the ODIs.CSA’s statement said: “No replacement will be brought in for [Rabada] as there is an extended squad in place in the Bio-Secure Environment (BSE), but George Linde has been retained from the Test team as an extra spin-bowling option for the series.”

Northern romped to their fifth consecutive win while a Fakhar Zaman-inspired Khyber Pakhtunkhwa condemned Central Punjab to their fourth straight defeat

Umar Farooq06-Oct-2020 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa beat Central Punjab by 29 runs
Fakhar Zaman’s form in the tournament continued, the Pakistan left-hander’s second 60-plus score in 24 hours powering Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to a 29-run win over Central Punjab. He struck five sixes and three boundaries to help Khyber surge to 178.In the second innings, the bowlers bowled out Central Punjab for 149 to register their fourth successive win in the tournament so far, and inflict a fourth straight loss on their opponents in the process.Shoaib Malik gave Zaman support with a breezy 27 off 24 even though the red-hot Mohammad Hafeez could only manage 17. Asked to bowl first, Central’s bowlers remained accurate without getting enough wickets to put too much pressure on Khyber. Ahmed Bashir was the pick of Central Punjab’s bowlers with three wickets, while Zafar Gohar, Ehsan Adil, and Usman Qadir shared a wicket each.While chasing, Central had a shaky start losing a wicket in the opening over, and managing just 34 in the first five. A 92-run partnership between Kamran Akmal and Abdullah Shafiq put them on top, but once Shoaib Malik coaxed a false shot off Akmal, Central Punjab began to wobble. They never got a partnership together again, losing their last nine wickets for 50 runs, while Asif Afridi, Arshad Iqbal, Wahab Riaz and Junaid Khan snared two wickets apiece to secure the win.Northern beat Balochistan by seven wickets
In the evening contest, a flawless Northern thumped Balochistan to register their fifth straight win, cementing their position at the top of the table before the tournament moves to Rawalpindi. Losing the toss and forced to chase, they eased to their target of 157 with seven wickets and 13 balls in hand. At the midway point, Northern have beaten each team once.Chasing for the first time in the tournament, Northern lost opener Ali Imran early but Rohail Nazir (42 off 27) and Umar Amin (30 off 25) put on a 56 runs for second wicket to put them back in control. Yasir Shah, who took three wickets yesterday in a successful defence, removed both at crucial moments but couldn’t stop both Asif Ali – whose unbeaten 30-ball 41 sealed the game – and Hammad Azam from taking their side home.Earlier in the evening, after opting to bat first to bat first, Balochistan got off to a sluggish start losing the top three inside five overs. Awais Zia’s brisk eight-ball 14 looked to get them going but when he and Bismillah Khan fell cheaply, Balochistan were forced to regroup again. Mohammad Amir and Sohail Tanvir were both economical and incisive, their eight overs combined for just 58 runs and four wickets. Haris Sohail (51 off 41) and Akbar-ur-Rehman (38 off 32) got together for an 83-run partnership to put a respectable total on the board, one not too distant from the 168 they had managed to defend 24 hours earlier. But Northern are a different prospect, and one for whom a target of 157 wasn’t nearly challenging enough.

Stokes stole the plaudits, but England’s stunning fielding against South Africa was a major factor in their win

George Dobell31-May-2019If you required proof that this England team was different to those which have preceded it at recent World Cups, it came not just in the result at The Oval but in the performance in the field.Ben Stokes’ boundary catch – an effort that seemed to defy both gravity and logic – dominated the headlines. But the game also contained numerous examples of outstanding ground fielding which saw England’s analysts rating it as one of the team’s best performances since the last World Cup. It was also a rare example of England out-performing South Africa in an area where they are habitually excellent.One man who stood out was Jason Roy. Making several incredible interventions at backward point, Roy not only saved runs – sometimes turning what appeared certain boundaries into dot balls – but ensured pressure built on frustrated batsmen.”We’ve been incredible with the bat and ball, but our fielding has sometimes let us down,” Roy said. “We pride ourselves on our fielding, but we have been disappointed quite a lot with our fielding over the last year.”As a collective it was very good at The Oval. Everything gets logged and the analysts told us it was our best ever fielding performance. The best ever recorded in the four-year period, anyway. Sixty runs were saved, which is pretty impressive.”Indeed, it is. The actual figure for England – calculated on an index devised by England analyst Nathan Leamon – was +35, which means they saved 35 runs in the field more than might be expected. South Africa, meanwhile, saved 30, leading to a match figure of +65. That is the highest ODI figure CricViz have recorded since May 2016. The +35 figure is England’s second-best in ODI cricket following a +51 score registered against New Zealand in 2018.”We’re really proud,” Roy said. “You get a buzz out of it. You know that if you’ve saved a one and that guy is on strike and then there’s a wicket, you feel like you’ve played a part in it.”I’m not a bowler, so if I don’t do so well with the bat then I can add to my performance. In this game I got a fifty and would have liked to go on, but if I’ve saved 20 runs in the field then that is like a 70-run contribution. That fielding performance is as good as it gets from us so far.”ESPNcricinfo ball-by-ball commentary

The one exception in the field was Jos Buttler. Buttler has been struggling a little with the gloves for a few months now and, on another day, his drop of Rassie van der Dussen on 6 might have proved crucial. Andile Phehlukwayo may have survived another chance on 4.England have surely learned from previous campaigns that there is little to be gained from tinkering with key positions at this stage, but Buttler’s struggles will not have gone unnoticed by the management.Roy admitted he was surprised by South Africa’s decision to open the bowling with Imran Tahir. “I saw Quinton de Kock turn round and ask for his helmet,” he said. “And I thought, you can’t be standing up to Rabada here, surely?” And while the decision brought the early wicket of Jonny Bairstow, Roy also felt it offered “a lot of boundary options”. Tahir’s third over cost 13 including two fours – one swept, the other cut – for Roy.”There are more boundary options against a spinner than a seamer,” he said. “If a seamer came in on that pitch and tried to hit the top of off, it was hard to get it away.”Perhaps South Africa’s error was not entrusting the other new ball to Kagiso Rabada. With Lungi Ngidi opening the bowling from the Pavilion End, Rabada didn’t come into the attack until the seventh over. By then, there was minimal chance of any conventional swing, the batsmen had some time to settle and any moisture there may have been in the surface had all but gone. It seemed a bit of a waste of a special bowler.England may also have had a bit of luck with the surface. When they looked at the pitch on Wednesday, they were surprised – and just a little disconcerted – by the amount of grass on it. Facing Rabada at 10.30am would have been a huge challenge, whereas they had already decided to pick Liam Plunkett ahead of Mark Wood largely on the basis that Wood might benefit from a few more days to gain full match fitness.ALSO READ: ‘No way! You cannot do that!’: What they said about Stokes’ catchBut, ahead of the game, the groundstaff cut the grass again. As a result, the pitch was drier and more responsive to slower balls and spin than had been anticipated. It allowed Plunkett, in particular, to gain purchase with his cutters and he responded with two key wickets: Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla. Wood, for all his extra pace, may not have enjoyed the surface as much.Perhaps that is more a reflection of England’s options with bat and ball. They have pace, swing, seam and spin available to them. They have a man coming in at No. 11 who has scored 10 first-class hundreds. And they have some fielders who look as if they could catch Lord Lucan. They really should be able to adapt to most conditions.”That score was probably 30 over par,” Roy said. “It was a tough pitch. But we put on a score and that shows a huge amount of spirit and gives us a massive confidence boost. Trent Bridge [the venue for their next match against Pakistan] is known for being flat.”These are early days, though. India, Australia, New Zealand et al. still lie ahead. And however impressive England looked in London, Eoin Morgan acknowledged his side’s occasional propensity to crash when saying “We are going to lose games throughout the tournament” even while reflecting on the victory.Bearing in mind Pakistan’s struggles against the short ball at Trent Bridge on Friday, it would seem there is a good chance Wood could come in for Plunkett on Monday to add further pace and hostility to the attack.Meanwhile the ECB confirmed that Mark Ramprakash was to leave the organisation in June. Ramprakash was removed as the Test team’s batting coach in March but remained employed as one of the ECB’s lead batting coaches. “I feel the time is now right for me to move on from my role at the ECB and seek to further and broaden my career,” he said.

“I have to be very careful with how I go forward with my cricket,” the India captain said, welcoming the break he has been on

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Mar-2018India captain Virat Kohli has welcomed the short break from cricket that he is on currently, saying it has helped him recover from a “few niggles”. Kohli opted out of the ongoing Nidahas Trophy, the T20 triangular series also featuring Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, with Rohit Sharma captaining the Indian team instead.”Physically, I had a few niggles, I am just getting over those,” Kohli said at a promotional event in Mumbai. “The workload has started to disagree with me a little bit. I have to be very careful about how I go forward with my body, my mind, my cricket. Times like these are very, very important. I am totally enjoying it; I do not even have an inch of me missing out on anything because my body really needed this.”Kohli was rested for the tri-series on the back of an almost two-month-long South African tour, where he played every match barring one T20I. The Indian contingent for the Nidahas Trophy excluded several notable limited-overs regulars, including Kohli, MS Dhoni, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav, with MSK Prasad, the chairman of selectors, explaining that the selection committee was mindful of their workload and upcoming schedule.This is not the first time that Kohli has raised concerns about workload management. He had been pretty vociferous about it during the home Test series against Sri Lanka last year. “Definitely, I do need a rest. Why not? When I think of the time when my body needs to be rested, I’ll ask for it. I am not a robot, you can slice my skin and check, I bleed,” he had said then. He was subsequently rested for the limited-overs leg of the tour.India’s players have a long season ahead of them. After the tri-series in Sri Lanka, they will be engaged in the IPL through April and May, then host Afghanistan for a one-off Test in June, before heading England for three T20Is, three ODIs and five Tests starting in July and running through to September.

Kamran Akmal’s 104, the first century of the 2017 Pakistan Super League, to propel Peshawar Zalmi past Karachi Kings by 24 runs and into the final on Sunday in Lahore

The Report by Danyal Rasool03-Mar-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIn a nutshellA clinical all-round showing by Peshawar Zalmi ensured they would avoid last season’s heartbreak, seeing off Karachi Kings to qualify for the PSL final. In a resounding performance at the Dubai International Stadium – spearheaded by a superlative hundred from Kamran Akmal – Peshawar never really let Karachi within touching distance of the target of 182, starving them of runs in the first six overs, and ensuring not even a stirring Chris Gayle and an explosive Kieron Pollard could rob them of a spot in Lahore.Peshawar looked ready for the occasion from ball one – which Akmal smashed for four – with the openers making up for the horror start in the first playoff loss to Quetta Gladiators. Kamran and Dawid Malan put on a classy 97-run stand to set a solid foundation to push toward a 200 total. Akmal seemed to get better as the innings wore on, no bowler able to subdue the diminutive keeper’s power hitting as sixes flew off his blade and he roared towards the PSL’s first century of 2017 and second in the two-year history of the competition. Accurate death bowling, particularly from Mohammad Amir, meant only 21 runs came off the last three overs, but the 181 that Peshawar put up was more than enough to handle for Karachi.Where the match was wonA chase of 182 on a pitch friendly to the batsmen wasn’t impossible, but a hopeless start for the Kings surely made it so. Leading scorer Babar Azam falling for 1 wasn’t ideal, but Gayle’s mystifying approach would have maddened Karachi fans more than anything else. He scored 2 off his first 15 balls in what could only be called a solipsistic performance: one man’s quest to get his eye in oblivious to the demands of the asking rate.It placed pressure on batsmen at the other end; Kumar Sangakarra and Shoaib Malik fell in the Powerplay attempting to kick on, and by the time Pollard arrived, Karachi found themselves at 34 for 4 in the ninth over. It was a deep hole, and in the end, too deep even for Gayle and Pollard to dig their team out of.The men that won itKamran seems to have found a new lease of life at 35 years of age, and Peshawar have benefitted richly from it this PSL campaign. His form was obvious from the very start, the wicketkeeper batsman guiding the first two balls for two elegant offside boundaries. He picked the bowler’s lengths exceptionally early, and was particularly devastating against the spinners, taking on any full-length deliveries and launching them straight down the ground. He seemed unplayable towards the latter stages of the innings, Ravi Bopara’s medium-pacers coming in for particular punishment.When he ended his innings, Kamran had become the highest scorer of the PSL, and his century in the biggest game of the tournament so far, coupled with the form leading up to it, has made him harder and harder to ignore for the national side. For Peshawar, at the moment, he is simply indispensable.Who’s playing the final?The struggles the PSL has faced in trying to organise the final in Lahore have been well-documented, particularly with regards to the availability of foreign players for the showpiece occasion. Peshawar, however, experienced an ill-timed injury today to one of their biggest domestic stars. On the first ball of the tenth over, Pollard smashed a ball to cover. As Shahid Afridi attempted an improbable catch, it burst through his fingers, splitting the webbing on his right hand.Blood streamed down his index finger as he rushed off the field, and though Peshawar have plenty of reasons to celebrate today, the last thing the PSL needs is the absence of its biggest local superstar and unfortunately that is the case. Afridi was pictured after the match with his hand heavily bandaged and has been ruled out of the final.Moment of the matchIf any player deserved to carry his bat through a T20 innings, it was Kamran today. But what he perhaps deserved more was the overwhelming adulation he received when he was run out in the final over of the innings.A packed Dubai crowd rose as one, his trudge back to the pavilion met with thunderous applause. Even the Karachi players joined in the ovation, most coming up to the Peshawar opener to shake his hand as he made his way off. Kamran, never one as comfortable with stardom as some of his Pakistani teammates, looked genuinely humbled at the respect he got, even if it was no more than he had earned.Where they standThis was a virtual semi-final, and Karachi’s loss eliminates Sangakkara’s men. Peshawar go through to the final, to be played against Quetta Gladiators at the Gaddafi Stadium on Sunday.