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From Nandun Senanayake, Australia
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the new Indian legend, is praised by cricket fans all over the world, but I do not believe he is as good as fans believe him to be

Cricinfo25-Feb-2013Nandun Senanayake, Australia
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the new Indian legend, is praised by cricket fans all over the world, but I do not believe he is as good as fans believe him to be. Dhoni who usually bats at 3 down or 4 down takes absolute advantage of the spinners and medium pacers. Is it just me that has realised he cannot play fast bowling?In the recent test tour of Australia (2007) it was evident to me that he could not play consistent pace bowling properly. From what I recall his highest score was about 36 runs, I might be wrong on this fact but I don’t recall him getting a half century. In the ODI series however he played brilliantly, mainly against Sri Lanka who was filled with spinners and medium pacers, and he Dhoni did not manage to get Lasith Malinga away for many.The ODI series in Sri Lanka (2008), the !dea cup I believe it was called, Dhoni was obviously the best batsman in the series, take no respect away from that, but once again the two times he convincingly got out, he was taken by Dilhara Fernando the inconsistent Sri Lankan speedster. With a Sri Lankan line up lacking in pace Dhoni was almost lucky to not to have face Malinga, Amerasinghe and Fernando more. But this was due to Sri Lanka’s stupidity not to realise this rather than Dhoni’s weakness. Right?

AB de Villiers’ captaincy will be under scrutiny in the decider, as will South Africa’s ability to improve on a hit-and-miss performance in this ODI series so far

Firdose Moonda23-Mar-2013The childhood game of being able to make believe is considered a useless skill later in life but maybe it isn’t. People deploy it in many situations: mock job interviews or preparing to tell a loved one something important by acting it out in front of the dog first. In the case of the South African cricket team, they could use it by imagining the fifth ODI against Pakistan is a World Cup final.In a few ways, it could be. It’s a winner-takes all situation, the teams have been at it for the last few weeks so the competition has been sustained and public expectation is high. When South Africa have been faced with exactly the same set of conditions during a World Cup, they have never come out successfully.But in bilateral series they have had little trouble. Three times over the last three years, South Africa have entered the final match level with their opposition and twice they’ve won, against India and Pakistan in 2010 and 2011 respectively. Both times it was spoken about as proof that they are not chokers. Still, it did not translate into success at the World Cup.That’s why the outcome in Benoni could have no bearing on the upcoming Champions Trophy or South Africa’s state of mind going into it. If they lose, they will probably have less to live up to in England and if they win, it will be a case of more of the same unless they can go on to claim silverware in June.Where it can make a difference is by testing AB de Villiers’ captaincy and the collective capacity of the squad to pull together when it matters. Consistency is out of the window, as a unit and individually, as no-one except de Villiers himself has had a decent run.De Villiers’ showings with the bat are not a reflection on his leadership as he still appears uncertain despite saying he is settling in. He has made too many questionable decisions, most recently getting Colin Ingram to bowl the over that handed Pakistan the advantage in Durban. He changes fields too often and even needlessly, and is sometimes at loggerheads with the bowlers about where they want their men.De Villiers admitted that he needed time to establish a style of leadership – understandable given the amount of time Graeme Smith spent in the position- but that has surely run out. South Africa will go into a major tournament with a leader who is still uncertain unless he finds himself in seven hours on Sunday.He could, because the same Smith who has acted as an advisor so far has been ruled out of the final match so de Villiers will need to the job mostly on his own. David Miller thinks he will have some help, though. “Graeme’s record and his personality speaks for itself. He is a great role model to many of us but there are also many other senior guys who can fill that spot.”In reality, there are not that many. Hashim Amla is one but he is a reluctant leader, Dale Steyn is another but spends a lot of his time getting hot-headed and then cooling down. Robin Peterson is perhaps the closest to an old hand and how he and the other two support de Villiers will be important, not just with ideas in the field but the way they perform.So far, South Africa have not had enough from the key players to be comfortable. The main batsmen, Amla, Ingram, and to a lesser extent, Farhaan Behardien, have had one good score sandwiched between sub-standard performances. The bowlers have been impressive in patches – Lonwabo Tsotsobe’s opening spells, Rory Kleiveldt’s occasional squeezing, and Ryan McLaren’s slower-ball bouncer – but they have not consistently threatened. Catches have been dropped in between magical saves. On the whole, they have been a little hit and miss.What de Villiers wanted from the squad at the start of the series was a straight-line graph. He spoke about establishing a unit that could perform at a certain level for a period of time. What he’s got are peaks and troughs but that is not a crisis.Many pundits believe that a reliable ODI unit is not as a good as one that can up its game at the right time and one need look no further than South Africa as evidence of that. They spend the years in between World Cups clearing away most who come in their path but cannot repeat that in the few weeks over which the ICC event is played. Few can understand why.Is it because they spent too much effort on the build-up so that they lack freedom once the actual tournament comes around? Is it because they don’t understand how to make spur-of-the-moment decisions under intense pressure? Is it because others are just better on the day?Pakistan may agree with the final argument, especially as they were the team to knock South Africa out of two World T20s and have a reputation for being a side that could win a World Cup final tomorrow, on the moon, if they felt like it.”When they see a bit of sunlight at the end of the tunnel, their tails seem to wag,” Miller said. That tunnel could be a long tour like this one or a major tournament and Miller seemed to suggest that when Pakistan sense there is a way for them to get in and achieve something, they do. Just like that.That hunch has evaded South Africa and there seems to no secret way to develop it. Apart from maybe making believe that Benoni is Birmingham, while remembering, somewhere in the very back of their minds, that it is not.

Jadeja jokes, Raina’s sixes and Steyn’s antics kept the crowd in good spirits, while the home team got routed

Videh Ranjan09-May-2013Team supported
I have always been a keen follower of CSK, because they are an entertaining and a balanced side with a lot of big names. I did hope for a Chennai win but surely wanted a closer contest than what transpired.My dream final will be between Chennai and Rajasthan Royals, with the latter winning a hard-fought contest marginally. I like the two men leading these teams, with very different approaches to cricket and leadership – they are both inspirational and cool-headed men who love competing and never give up without a fight.Key performer
This game was a Suresh Raina special. He once again demonstrated how much of a team player he is. He started by supporting Michael Hussey who was going strong, but once Raina crossed 50, he joined the run frenzy. The giant screen kept bestowing him with catchy monikers after each blow – Red-hot Raina, Smashing Raina, Hammer shot Raina and so on.The last ball of the Chennai innings had Darren Sammy bowling at Raina who was on 93. The Chennai fans, including our little party was praying for a no-ball. As luck would have it, Raina sprinted through for a tight second and somehow managed to make his ground – and yes, it was indeed a no-ball. It seemed that fate had conspired to give Raina the opportunity to reach a ton, but it was not to be. He could only pick up four runs off the last ball and finished on 99.One thing I’d have changed about the match

After the massive run-fest that was the Chennai innings, even the most optimistic Hyderabad fan would’ve been apprehensive. Everyone was hoping someone would play a David Miller hand – perhaps Shikhar Dhawan. I wish he had not been run-out so early in the chase. His presence might have ignited the fight in Hyderabad’s batsmen.Face-off I relished
Dale Steyn v Michael Hussey. Steyn, among the best bowlers this season, started off wonderfully with a maiden. Hussey bided his time, though, and capitalized against the other bowlers. In the end Ravindra Jadeja put him away for two exquisite off-side boundaries, but Steyn still finished with enviable figures.Accessories
We were the spies in the Sunrisers camp for this game. We wore the Sunrisers jerseys, but cheered for the Super Kings.Close encounter

Jadeja, whose jersey has the name ‘Jaddu’ on it, was fielding in front of us – and all the jokes were out of the bag. Every save was cheered, and every time he looked back at us, the mob went hysterical. He waved shyly but the crowd never let go of the Jadeja jokes.Steyn threw a water bottle across to the crowd in the stand above ours and a wild roar went up as a young guy caught it superbly.Shot of the day
By the time Sammy came on for the last over, Raina had discovered his golden touch and was simply unstoppable. The absolute disdain with which he dismissed Sammy’s first ball was a thrill to watch.Crowd meter
I have been to quite a few matches in Hyderabad – including the Test matches with New Zealand and Australia and a few IPL games. However, the atmosphere at the stadium today was easily the best. It was packed with people from all walks of life – kids aged five already fiercely loyal to their teams, and older people who were dancing to the Mexican wave as enthusiastically as the young ones.Perhaps because of the evening showers, the heat had eased a bit, prompting the crowd to dance and make merry. Surprisingly, there was plenty of support for Chennai. MS Dhoni was welcomed like a legend – and it was sad to see him disappoint the crowd with a couple of loose shots and a quick exit.Hardship factor
The parking facilities at the ground leave a lot to be desired. The stadium is quite far from the city and it takes quite some time to reach there. After having fought through the peak city traffic, we dread searching for a parking spot at the stadium. It is quite an ordeal, and we often end up parking very far away from the gate we are supposed to enter.TV v stadium

At a match like today’s, the stadium experience cannot even be compared to the TV. The atmosphere, the anticipation, the impromptu dance jigs, the Mexican waves and the big-hitting, all contribute to a very memorable experience.Marks out of 10

Definitely a 10 for the crowd, but only 9 for the match itself. We had gone along with a friend’s mother, who is a keen follower of cricket and it was her first time at a stadium. Even she got sucked into the Mexican wave and the other assorted revelry. If only Hyderabad had put up a fight.

Pilloried for much of the summer before playing a quite brilliant innings at its conclusion, Shane Watson had a funny old Ashes series

Geoff Lemon16-Sep-2013It was one of those golden days that a player may be lucky enough to have once in a career, where the world outside the ground slows to a hum, where every strike is crisp and clean as sliced apple, where everything falls solely to the benefit of a man standing still at the eye of his cricketing hurricane.As Shane Watson walked off The Oval late on the first day of the final Ashes Test, the Australian response to his 176 went three ways. Some soaked up the present, that moment when a cricketer was untouchable. Some wondered if this could be the making of Watson’s future. And a great many looked back, to the series lost and the patchiness of Watson’s career. “Watson and England both have achieved their first objective this morning,” wrote Australian journalist Greg Baum on Twitter. “He’s playing in Brisbane.”It was tongue in cheek, but referenced a very real Australian sentiment: that Watson is a liability, a source of trouble, a weakness for opponents to exploit. Two of the last four Allan Border medals for Australia’s cricketer of the year have gone to Watson. In the same period, he’s generated more home-grown antipathy than anyone. The narrative is of Watson as selfish, demanding and self-absorbed. As with most assessments of public figures, it leans less on evidence than conjecture.Watson is not helped by having one of the most expressive faces in cricket. On-field, there is always the sense he has just been dealt an injustice. Bowling, his hands fly to his head every other ball, mouth twisting into a lupine O. When hit, he looks aggrieved. Hitting a bowler, he looks righteous. Troubled by one, he looks seasick. Dismissed, he looks betrayed, shaking his head in lamentation at the cruelty. In one Test, edging toward slip, the stump mic picked up an agonised “Ohhh no!” before the ball had even hit the catcher’s hands. Watson knew what that edge meant, and the depths of his unhappiness formed a dark sea that lapped into our living rooms.The tradition of Aussie gruffness says he should pipe down and get on with it. And so we extrapolate: sooky, soft, preoccupied by his own fortunes. The desire to do well is never interpreted as concern for the team. His tortured path to his first hundred is tendered as further evidence. But to criticise Watson here is to forget Ashton Agar’s swat at Trent Bridge, Rogers’ painful crawl at Durham, Smith’s false bravado at The Oval. Added to the mix are genuinely thoughtless moments – publicly coveting the opener’s role while Ed Cowan tried to establish a Test career, marginal DRS referrals, frustrated threats of retirement.Confirmation bias is the filtering of information to support an existing opinion. In this way, negatives from Watson’s career accrue while positives are discounted. Partly the angst is down to simple volume of opportunity: he’s been in the national line of sight longer than anyone but Michael Clarke. Resentments become disproportionate as the cause persists; we’ve all lived with someone who raged over bin liners or the location of soap. Nor is the sentiment universal – disapproval is louder than satisfaction, unless it’s coming through a motel wall. But it’s not just personality. Attitudes to Watson exist not in spite of his talents but because of them.Australian cricket in my lifetime has always been seduced by the romance of the allrounder. Mostly it’s because we never had one. While I was in bunny jumpsuits, the firmament brought Imran, Kapil, Botham and Hadlee into alignment. Australia got Simon O’Donnell. Steve Waugh’s bowling ossified along with his spine while we cast envious eyes at Kallis. However great Australia’s sides, we were always six and four, straight up and down, the only kid at the party wearing a tie. Commentators circled back to Keith Miller, or in desperation, Dougie Walters. Even Mark Waugh’s best offspin or the haircuts of Colin Miller couldn’t replicate that unlikeliest thrill of cricket: a man who could make a hundred then bowl the other mob out.

Watson wasn’t the next big thing, he was Luke Skywalker. He was talked up by all the last big things. He also proved to have the structural integrity of Mr Potato Head

In this context, Watson wasn’t the next big thing, he was Luke Skywalker. He came along, blithe and blond, batting top four in the Shield and bowling straight-out fast. He was talked up by all the last big things. He also proved to have the structural integrity of Mr Potato Head. And so it began, a stop-start career that never let him settle. He’s been a bowler who slogs, an opener who bowls as cover, an opener who doesn’t and a middle-order lynchpin who can’t. His bowling retirements are like Johnny Farnham farewell tours. He’s managed to look invincible and incapable; his periods of dominance have never become eras.Jarrod Kimber brilliantly explored the Australian obsession with the “natural”: the ferocious talent who would sweep all before him. When a young Damien Martyn panicked in Sydney, 1994, he was made scapegoat for his team-mates’ failings. “Any hopes of him becoming a captain, a legend or even a 10-year player left once he showed in one innings that he was not the one. His papers were stamped ‘non legendary’.”Watson has been similarly processed publicly, for a career that couldn’t deliver on its entirely unrealistic promise. But in an era short on talent he is not so easily discarded, and frustration with his performance is not entirely fair. At Old Trafford I badgered Darren Lehmann on whether he saw Watson as a proper batsman. “What I do see,” said Lehmann, “is when you can play an extra bowler in your top six, it’s such an advantage… So as an allrounder, no dramas.”It was an important distinction. And on reflection, my thinking was shaped by an Australian era where Justin Langer was the batting exception for averaging 50. Clarke’s 52.08 is the only remnant of that time. Of 11 top-seven batsmen since Mike Hussey retired, the best are David Warner and Watson, who top 36. The rest range from 35 to 9.Even against great allrounders, Watson is only a run behind Imran and Miller, and between three and nine ahead of Botham, Kapil, Mankad and Hadlee. His ratio of innings exceeding 50 is the best of the lot, once every second Test, with Miller and Botham closer to one in three, Imran three and a half, and the others toward four and beyond. Of course he doesn’t bowl like any of them, averaging fewer than half the overs and wickets per match, but we’re talking legends of the game’s history.As the numbers settle, we find ourselves looking at a man who may not have made the best teams of his country’s past but is among the best cricketers in his country’s present. Those who admire him are less vocal than those who don’t. What has plagued his career is uncertainty, and it’s here that the real antipathy is born. Ricky Ponting was hounded into retirement because we couldn’t stand not knowing when he’d retire. Watson is hounded because we don’t know if, when, and in what capacity he’s going to deliver.While resentment manifests itself at a personal level, the bulk of its cause is not inherently personal. If Watson’s 176 – and his recent technical work on his lbw problem – can prompt a more consistent phase of his career, concerns about his wicket-taking face will begin to seem strangely less important.

Daniel Brettig12-Oct-2013Australia’s solitary Test series victory in India since 1969-70 is one of the more humbling statistics in the record of the world’s ‘winningest’ cricket country. The series ledgers alone – 2-0, 0-0, 1-0, 2-1, 2-1, 1-2, 2-0, 4-0 – tell a tale of ignorance, difficulty in adjusting, and lessons often learned too late in a tour, then invariably forgotten in time for the start of the next one. Those results would suggest that there is no more difficult place on earth for an Australian cricket team to prosper, not least in the years after the greats began to retire in 2007.Yet the Antipodean ODI tale on the subcontinent is more about triumph than humiliation. Starting with a 1987 World Cup victory that marked the official start of Australian cricket’s regeneration under Allan Border and Bob Simpson, the 50-over format has brought something near to consistently strong results in India. Since 1998, when regular international series contact between the two countries was resumed after a mid-1990s freeze-out phase, Australian teams have emerged triumphant in five out of the six limited-overs series contested there, whether they be triangular tournaments as in 1998 and 2003, or bilateral visits on other occasions.They also won the 2006 Champions Trophy and reached the quarter-finals of the 2011 World Cup. In 2009, Ricky Ponting’s team managed to claw to a 4-2 victory despite having a full XI first-choice players absent injured.These series victories have come in a range of circumstances, whether after a Test series or standing alone. The only time Australia have not won a limited-overs contest against India in recent times is 2010, when the one match of three not to be washed out resulted in a home victory at Vizag after a high-scoring chase. But otherwise, the tourists have found themselves excelling away from home at a vast assortment of venues, from Bangalore in the south and Mumbai on the west coast, to Mohali in the north and even Guwahati on the distant eastern fringes. A multitude of factors can be pointed to by way of explanation, but here are a few of the most salient.A history of successConfidence in the knowledge that those before you have achieved great things in India has helped Australia’s ODI teams ever since Border lifted the Reliance Cup aloft at Eden Gardens 26 years ago. The doubts, phobias and conspiracy theories that cloud the mind of an Australian Test cricketer on the subcontinent tend to fall away for one-day matches, while the roars of Indian crowds feel less claustrophobic and distracting for the knowledge that they have not stopped the visitors before. Individuals, too, have benefited from strong records there. Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson, Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting have all fared better in ODIs than Tests, while the likes of the tweakers Nathan Hauritz and Brad Hogg have held their own in coloured clothing despite being swatted away in the five-day game.More familiar pitchesAustralia’s stand-in captain, George Bailey, believed this to be one of the most critical factors in the team’s greater level of comfort relative to Tests. Where five-day wickets are commonly worn, spitting and spinning, Indian groundsmen prepare their most even-tempered surfaces for limited-overs contests, sometimes allowing grass to hold them together and so granting fast bowlers a little more assistance. Add this to the swing that can be occasionally generated in early starts and the picture becomes far more familiar to Australian players. Damien Fleming, Nathan Bracken, Doug Bollinger and Johnson all profited from early morning seam and swing at various times, while Shaun Marsh, Cameron White, Michael Hussey, Ponting and Watson have played freely without worrying too much about the ground beneath their feet.Less reliance on spinAnother notable quality to Indian ODI surfaces is the fact that they seldom require the selection of a team brimful with quality spinners. Australia’s preferred reliance on fast men with the odd slow bowler for variety has worked effectively, with Shane Warne, Hauritz and Hogg playing fair supporting roles. It is arguable the ability of the pacemen to make headway in 50-over matches on the subcontinent has at times lulled the national selectors into thinking that the same might occur in Test matches, but the differences in pitch preparation have generally conspired against the success of such a tactic.A lower keyIt cannot help a team to view anywhere as the final frontier, even if the 2004 tourists managed to accomplish a Test series win while embracing the idea of India as their last mountain. The pressure Australian Test players feel in India, both in the middle of the ground and from the edges, has inhibited their performances at times, timid strokes and indifferent bowling spells reflecting the sense that the world is closing in around them. By contrast, that feeling tends to be on the other side during ODI series. No nation loves the one-day game more than India, and the expectations upon the home team for ODI tournaments that mean little in the wider scheme have allowed an unfancied Australia to sneak up on them more than once. The 2011 World Cup quarter-final in Ahmedabad is a notable exception.Ricky Ponting’s captaincyThree ODI series in India for three victories is one of many garlands Ponting gained over a storied career, though as he has noted it will be one of many obscured by the loss of three Ashes series. Nonetheless, his calm leadership, sparkling but sturdy batting and peerless example in the field contributed greatly to a legacy of limited-overs confidence on Indian shores. In this, Ponting shares something in common with Border. Both men provided a solid core around which transitional teams swirled and bubbled, while they showcased a greater tactical alacrity in 50-over matches that occasionally eluded them in Tests. His binding together of the injury-strewn 2009 tour party was something few on the tour will forget. Before departing, Bailey consulted Ponting about how best to tackle the current series. There was no better man to ask.

In the most high-pressure game of his young career, Sarfaraz Khan soaked up the early nerves and produced an all-round performance that turned the contest India’s way

Kanishkaa Balachandran in Dubai15-Feb-2014In any match involving India and Pakistan, be it at the senior or Under-19 level, pressure and increased expectations are inevitable. Sarfaraz Khan had played against Pakistan before, but on this occasion, there were many more eyeballs watching his every move. For this may have been the first time a worldwide television audience had its glimpse of the promising 16-year-old batting allrounder from Mumbai. The crowd was significantly bigger in Dubai compared to the opening day, given that this was the most anticipated clash in the World Cup’s group stages. Sarfaraz didn’t let stage fright get to him, either on the field or off it.Having scored 74 in a rescue mission, taken a wicket and grabbed four catches, the job for the Man of the Match adjudicators was ridiculously simple. Having fronted up to the television cameras at the presentation, he then had the spotlight on him in front of the media. Insisting that he speak in the language of his choice, Hindi, he cut a confident figure on the podium, visibly pepped up by his all-round show against the arch-rivals. He didn’t need a coach or manager by his side for moral support.Even at 16, Sarfaraz can say a thing or two about handling pressure and expectations. His father, Naushad, is also his coach and a hard taskmaster. He has stopped at nothing in making sure his son plays for the country, like installing a synthetic pitch near their house so Sarfaraz can devote most of his time to practice. His showing today would have made any parent proud.Sarfaraz walked in with his team in trouble at 94 for 4 in the 20th over and joined Sanju Samson, who was batting on 15. Sarfaraz looked ill at ease against the spinners initially, beaten in flight by a googly from the legspinner Karamat Ali. An edge was fluffed at slip even before he opened his account. After 15 scoreless deliveries, he banked on his favourite shot – the sweep – and smartly negated the spinners. Young Indian batsmen are not renowned for employing the sweep regularly, but Sarfaraz played it compulsively. His education on batting in turning tracks in Mumbai’s Azad Maidan was clearly paying off.”I read that it turns a lot here and the ball keeps low,” Sarfaraz said. “So I was not able to play straight and that’s why I could not score runs. And then when my catch was dropped, I decided to bat freely. Since the sweep is one of my favourite shots, I was confident about it and I went for it. As I started reading the wicket, I started growing in confidence.”Sarfaraz and Samson batted in different styles during their match-turning 119-run fifth-wicket stand. Samson was more passive compared to his partner, pushing the singles. It was a mature approach from the two since there wasn’t a great deal of batting to come.”Sanju and me were talking after each over and telling ourselves to bat deep into the innings. After us, there was only Deepak Hooda [who could bat],” Sarfaraz said. “Sanju was sharing his IPL experience with me and I was playing accordingly. It is fun playing with Sanju.”Despite his slow start, Sarfaraz had motored to his fifty off only 60 balls, throwing the Pakistan spinners off-guard. When he departed for 74 off 78 balls, India were looking at a total of over 250 and given their spin options, it was always going to be hard work for Pakistan.And Sarfaraz was one of those spin options. He is a versatile spinner, in that he bowls offspin to left-handers and legspin to right-handers. Given that the top four in the Pakistan line-up bat left-handed, the choice was easy.Though he only bowled three overs, he managed to pick up a wicket, bowling Hasan Raza, who stayed back to a fuller ball. Sarfaraz was everywhere in the field, taking four catches. His first catch broke Pakistan’s opening stand of 109. It was the breakthrough India needed, just when Pakistan were consolidating their position in the chase.Luck was still by Sarfaraz’s side during the bizarre run out of Kamran Ghulam. He stood near the bowler’s stumps looking to collect the throw from Deepak Hooda but accidentally knocked the stump with his elbow, dislodging a bail. Fortunately, Hooda’s throw was on target and the ball knocked down the other bail, with Ghulam well short of the crease. “Thankfully, one bail was there,” Sarfaraz said with a smile. “Or else the coach would have reprimanded me.”

After a forgettable start, Kolkata Knight Riders built strong with foundations brick by brick and withstood the Kings XI Punjab storm to emerge winners again

Devashish Fuloria02-Jun-2014

Where they finished

Winners, for the second time in three years

What went right

After what seemed a customary start, everything. Match by match, brick by brick, Kolkata Knight Riders built themselves into a formidable team with rock-solid foundations, something they needed to withstand the rampaging Kings XI Punjab team in the final. To win nine games on the trot was no mean feat; to do so after losing five games out of seven was truly special.Knight Riders’ bowling prowess was never in dispute. With Sunil Narine continuing to be the mystery he has been in the two previous seasons, the team only gives their opposition a maximum of 16 hittable overs. That is 10% of the game in your hand even before the start of the match. Add to that the potency that Shakib Al Hasan’s left-arm spin has brought to the team this season and it’s easier to see why even a team like Kings XI Punjab have struggled against them. With an economy of 7.51, Knight Riders were the most difficult attack to score runs against.It was Knight Riders’ batting ability that was under some doubt and the results in the first seven matches only accentuated it. Unlike most other teams, they didn’t have any explosive players. But unlike other teams, they didn’t need that too much because of their strong bowling. What they needed was consistency, some clarity on their batting orders. And it came when the team landed back in India. Gautam Gambhir had shaken off his misery at the start of the tournament and was scoring runs and Robin Uthappa’s promotion to the top totally swung things around.After two losses in their first two games on the India leg, Knight Riders rode along with Uthappa to chase down five targets in five matches – all of them with ease. Among those five, the six-wicket win against Mumbai Indians was the tightest one, showing the high note their batsmen had hit. Uthappa piled on runs with unheard of consistency; the rest rallied around him to soon make it eight wins in a row as Knight Riders marched to their second final in three years.In the final though, Uthappa failed, so did Gambhir after their bowling had already cracked under Kings XI Punjab’s onslaught. Faced with the gargantuan task of chasing down 200, Knight Riders eventually quelled the doubts about their big-hitting capability. Manish Pandey and Yusuf Pathan powered 10 sixes between them during a 71-run stand between them. Then just at the right time, Piyush Chawla hooked Mitchell Johnson for a six too, rounding off a perfect campaign.

Key stat

Seven of Knight Riders’ nine wins came batting second. It was no wonder they chose to bat second in the final and even though it looked like the plan had backfired, they managed to pull it off.

Best player

When the league had moved back to India, Robin Uthappa, with 97 runs from five matches, was 23rd in the list of leading run-getters in the season, 203 behind Glenn Maxwell. In the next 10 matches though, Uthappa added 558 from 10 matches, driving past everyone else in the race and assuming the lead position. It has been some acceleration from Uthappa, who was thought to be a spent force in the IPL circuit. His remarkable run though not only brought rewards on a personal level – he is back in the national team for the tour to Bangladesh – but it also lent Knight Riders concrete-like solidity. With a lowest score of 40 in 10 innings (before the final), Uthappa became to batting what Narine was to Knight Riders’ bowling.

Poor performer

For someone who smashed the ball around to register the fastest IPL fifty, it would probably be a bit harsh to say he was the weak link in the team. But it is not actually. Take out that 72 and all Yusuf Pathan has to show are 196 runs from 11 innings. He threatened to play an important role in the final, but left the team in lurch after giving them hope. In four season with Knight Riders, Yusuf has received so much support from his team management but has only had a spike or two to show for it. When Knight Riders were struggling to start well in the early stages, a lot depended on Yusuf to take the team to safety. However, he continued to falter game after game. Gambhir turned around his poor run, but not Yusuf. In India, he had the advantage of strong starts, but still couldn’t fire, continuing to live up to the billing of the promise that never was.

Surprise package

For someone rated as one of the best allrounders in international game, Shakib Al Hasan had played smaller, defined roles in the Knight Riders set-up in the past. Bowling has been his stronger suit, but this year Shakib raised the stakes as a batsman. His 227 runs gave the fragile middle-order some girth and his ability to ramp up the pace of scoring lent much-needed intent. It all came together in the match against Royal Challengers Bangalore when he partnered Uthappa in a 119-run stand for the fourth wicket that took less than 12 overs and scored 60 off just 38 balls. Shakib’s all-round form kept Jacques Kallis, a proven stalwart, out of the Knight Riders’ XI.

Memorable moment

Chris Lynn’s acrobatic effort at the boundary in the match against Royal Challengers helped Knight Riders sneak out a two-run win has to be the wow moment. It was a catch that one cannot rehearse during practice and is likely to remain part of cricket’s freak moments show reel. As he moved to his left, Lynn slipped, then steadied himself on his one knee, kept eyes on the ball, dived backwards and managed to keep the composure to stay inside the boundary. The catch won Knight Riders an important match during the early stages when their batting was suffering collapses in almost every game.

Unused players

Veer Pratap Singh, Sayan Mondal, Kuldeep Yadav and Debabrata Das

The one-time master of a vast arsenal of strokes has smelted down his technique as age catches up with him. How he and his side have benefited

Andrew Fidel Fernando25-May-2014Eventually we all get old, and time erodes the faculties that quickened us in youth. For athletes, the slide is more acute. By 35, age has begun to diminish most batsmen; the reflexes slacken, the power fades, the feet grow heavy.For so long, TIllakaratne Dilshan had defied this inevitability of life. He was the man who refused to grow up – an impetuous whirr of wrists and blade, coiled menacingly at the crease, slashing outside off and hooking on the front foot. He has been the oldest man in the Sri Lanka team for some years, but as he smirked on behind his designer beard, it had been an odd truth to comprehend. Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara were elder statesmen. Dilshan was always a rogue.But there is no escape. Age gives no quarter. Over the past 18 months, fans watched as Dilshan’s feet became less sure. The whips through midwicket used to send the ball clattering into the advertising hoardings, but now the stumps were rattled instead. The bouncers he once bludgeoned to the fence, left bruises on his chest.It can’t have been an easy truth for Dilshan to accept. At 37, he is still said to make the most mischief in the dressing room. When he takes a fine catch, or claims a tough wicket, no one celebrates with more vigour. Yet, for all his on-field arrogance, he has come to terms with a kind of defeat. Finally dimmed by time, the one-time master of a vast arsenal of strokes, smelted down his technique. Now only a few sharp weapons of torment remain.On Sunday, Dilshan hit 28 of his 88 runs in boundaries. Not one of the seven fours was from his rasping cover drive. There were no wristy flicks to the legside fence. He pulled twice for four, but of those, one was off Ravi Bopara’s ambling pace, and he had waited on the back foot for the other, off Chris Jordan. Even the scoop he played off Bopara, was the garden-variety over-the-shoulder variant, not the overhead deflection he had ridden to acclaim several years ago. Once a peddler of ravishing early-innings impetus, Dilshan has become a prolific purveyor of the mundane.

A street fighter through and through, Dilshan knows only to roll with the punches, even those as bruising as his own waning talents.

And how he and his team has gained from it. Since his breakthrough 2009, Dilshan’s strike rate has dipped gradually every year, but his innings have grown in substance. In 2013, he had his richest 12 months yet, piling on 1160 runs at 61.05, though he had not scored so slowly since 2006. He had been the slow-burn that helped sink South Africa in a home series, while Sangakkara lay waste to that attack around him. He had ground New Zealand down late in the year, and defied Australia at home at its beginning.Dilshan has only played four ODIs in 2014, thanks to a hand-injury, but the 88 off 101 balls at Chester-le-Street was formed of the new measure and forethought a younger Dilshan might have scoffed at. He came down the track five times to James Tredwell, who went slowly through the air and pitched mouth-wateringly full, but until the bowler dropped one short and wide, Dilshan had no greater ambition than to push him away for a single. Even Sangakkara would not be so patient, sinking to his knees as he tried to heave Tredwell over the infield, against the turn. That stroke brought Sangakkara’s end.The smart running between wickets that had once been a sidelight of his cricket has now become its bedrock. When he strikes the ball well, he tears out of the crease, almost in reflex, before reason kicks in and he looks up to see where the fielders are.”That was an exceptional performance from Dilshan,” captain Angelo Mathews said after the match. “The character he showed – he was in doubt before the game, he was carrying a niggle – but the physio worked on him and his character paid off.”For all his new prudence with the bat, Dilshan still does the work of young men in the field. In the Powerplays, he stalks at backward point, where the sharpest earn their keep. In the middle overs, he ranges the deep, square of the wicket, where only the quick survive. At the death, he guards the straight boundaries that batsmen seek to clear. There are no cushy positions at short fine leg or mid-on. Here is the last bastion of his defiance.An 18th ODI hundred beckoned when Dilshan let an indipper from Jordan pass between bat and pad. It had been a fine delivery, but a batsman with tighter technique might have kept it out. Dilshan is no technician. A street fighter through and through, Dilshan knows only to roll with the punches, even those as bruising as his own waning talents.

The Plays of the day from the final league match, between Zimbabwe and South Africa, of the tri-series

Firdose Moonda04-Sep-2014Dot of the day After two first-ball ducks in his first two matches, Rilee Rossouw must have been nervous when he geared up to face the first ball in his third match. It would be delivered by Neville Madziva, who he had not faced before. Although it would not stop the possibility of a run-out, which is how Rossouw was dismissed on debut at least Madziva was unlikely to make it turn and take the edge, which is how Rossouw became part of Prosper Utseya’s hat-trick in his second game. Rossouw was greeted with a good length ball on offstump which he blocked boldly, striding forward and presenting the full face of the bat. The stroke was met with cheeky applause from the change-room because, for the first time in his ODI career, Rossouw would face a second delivery. He smiled, mostly in relief.Run of the day And on the next delivery, Rossouw registered his first international runs when Madiva grew a little too generous. He bowled it a little full, a little wide and Rossouw leaned into a cover drive and watched the ball roll to the boundary. This time the dressing room’s clapping was genuine and Rossouw’s grin was much wider and even Faf du Plessis, who was batting with him, walked to Rossouw’s end of the pitch to offer congratulations which included a pat on the helmet and a hug. Almost the stuff of a half-century.Stat of the day Rossouw would not go on to enjoy the festivities that accompany a fifty because he was foxed by a sharp turner from Sean Williams and was bowled for 36 off 39 balls. His first three innings: 0(1), 0(1) and 36 (39) which is eerily similar to someone else’s first three ODI knocks which read: 0(2), 0(2) and 36 (39). Guess who the second person is? Sachin Tendulkar. Rossouw will likely take that as a good omen.Run-out of the day After AB de Villiers was run-out thinking the ball had been flicked fine of the keeper when it had in fact dropped at his feet in South Africa’s first match of this triangular, he may have thought things would not get more bizarre but they did. De Villiers was going nicely on 16 off 18 balls and was at the non-striker’s end with Faf du Plessis on 49 and was anxious to get his team-mate and childhood friend to a sixth fifty on the Zimbabwe tour. De Villiers had stepped well out of his crease at the non-striker’s end when du Plessis pushed a Nyumbu delivery back to the bowler who fluffed the return chance. But in moving across the pitch, Nyumbu was in the line of the ball’s path and it deflected off him and hit the stumps. De Villiers had his bat in the air as he tried to get back in time and was short of his ground. .Wicket of the day Rossouw’s day had cause for a double celebration when he was called on to turn his arm over because South Africa did not have a third spinning option. During Rossouw’s first over – the 26th – South Africa were assured of their place in the final because that was when Zimbabwe needed to reach the target by if they wanted to play on Saturday, but during his second, Rossouw picked up a wicket. He sent down a juicy short ball that asked to be hit over midwicket but Elton Chigumbura could only find the fielder. Not only did that gave Rossouw his first international run and wicket on the same day, but it also gave him his first wicket in any limited-overs match.Idea of the day Without a second specialist spinner in the XI, South Africa were toggling between Aaron Phangiso, JP Duminy and Rossouw but when AB de Villiers ran out of ideas, he chose to go with what he knows best – himself. De Villiers marked out a run-up at the start of the 35th over and gave the ball a little twirl before jogging up and delivering his first. It went down the leg-side and kept moving away to trickle for a wide plus one. De Villiers’ second delivery was no better – also a wide. And later in the over he was hit for six by Brendan Taylor. Maybe that was not such a good idea after all.

Several Zimbabwe players, both fringe and veteran, impressed in a recent internal practice game, and with only five ODIs scheduled till the World Cup, the team will be looking to make the most of their upcoming tour to Bangladesh

Firdose Moonda14-Oct-2014Zimbabwe’s key batsmen, including Test captain Brendan Taylor and openers Hamilton Masakadza and Vusi Sibanda, scored half-centuries in a practice match ahead of their trip to Bangladesh, but their promising form was overshadowed by impressive displays from the fringe players.Middle-order batsman Peter Moor and left-arm spinners Wellington Masakadza and Herbert Chikomba put in performances which may force their way into the touring party, as Zimbabwe embark on their first three-Test series in more than a decade, and the only ODIs they will play ahead of next year’s World Cup.Preparation for the visit to Bangladesh has been intense, with a lengthy training camp in Harare followed by a Chairman’s XI v President’s XI internal game played at the Triangle Country Club in Masvingo. Conditions in Masvingo are thought to be as close as Zimbabwe can get to replicating the conditions in the subcontinent, with heat, humidity, low bounce and slow turn on offer. Head Stephen Mangongo told there is a “huge similarity,” to what Zimbabwe will face in Bangladesh.As a result, Mangongo was pleased to see Taylor and Masakadza prosper in those conditions, but was equally excited by the pressure put on them from that.”Senior guys like Hamilton Masakadza and Brendan Taylor have batted for more than 40 overs and that is what we expect of them,” Mangongo said. “But Craig Ervine has also shown good occupation at the crease.”Ervine returned to the Zimbabwean fold this month after an 18-month absence in which he played club cricket in Ireland and Australia and waited for the financial situation in Zimbabwe to stabilise. When he last played for Zimbabwe, on their trip to West Indies in March 2013, he was their top scorer in all formats and is expected to be part of the squad to tour Bangladesh to bolster the team’s middle-order.Another possibility for that role is Moor, who was a member of Zimbabwe’s Under-19 World Cup squads in 2008 and 2010. Although Moor’s domestic numbers have not been outstanding, he scored a century for President’s XI and was identified by Mangongo as one of the “exciting upcoming players,” to keep an eye on.In the bowling department, Zimbabwe are also likely to see some new faces, as they search for a replacement for Prosper Utseya, who was suspended from bowling because of an illegal action. Greg Lamb has come out of retirement and is likely to be taken to Bangladesh along with John Nyumbu but Zimbabwe will need other options too. “Utseya is a big player and would have added value to the side,but when one door closes another one opens,” Mangongo said. “It could be a chance for the younger players to show what they can do and that also includes Wellington Masakadza.”Wellington, the younger brother of Hamilton and Shingi, claimed eight wickets in the match, including six in an innings for President and six in one innings for the President’s XI. He will likely compete for attention with Chikomba, who was part of Zimbabwe’s most recent Under-19 World Cup squad and took three wickets on Tuesday to dent President’s XI’s chase.Ultimately it was not enough, as the team led by Taylor won the fixture by three wickets, but individual performances, rather than the result, were more important in this game. Zimbabwe are expected to name their squad to tour Bangladesh on Wednesday. The three-Test series gets underway on October 25.