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Zimbabwe’s four-run loss in the first ODI suggests the hosts will continue to competitive against an Indian side missing its senior players

The Preview by Liam Brickhill11-Jul-2015

Match facts

Sunday, 12 July
Start time 0900 local time (0700 GMT)

Big picture

It was expected that the absence of India’s senior players might reduce the gap between India and Zimbabwe in terms of competition, and the first ODI proved to be Zimbabwe’s narrowest ever home defeat. Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s last-over mettle meant Elton Chigumbura never really had the chance to target the boundary, and India will be buoyed by their 1-0 series lead.They will, however, also have a few issues to iron out. Apart from Ambati Rayudu and Stuart Binny, who shored up the innings with a record 160-run stand, the batting looked docile and the performance of the middle order will be a worry. India’s bowling is in rather better order, and the spin pair of Harbhajan Singh and Axar Patel will only gain in potency as the pitches tire in the matches to come.Despite another honourable loss, the margin of defeat suggests Zimbabwe will continue to be competitive. The team balance may be affected by the absence of Tinashe Panyangara, who suffered a minor side strain in the first match and will sit out on Sunday, but Zimbabwe still have the resources to run India close, particularly if their own middle order plays to potential.The new playing conditions didn’t seem to have a huge effect on team tactics on Friday. Both sides kept close-in catchers for most of the match, and India were still able to plunder 90 runs from the last 10 overs despite the presence of five fielders on the boundary. The rules appeared to make it easier to defend a total, however, so the toss may not be as great a factor in these matches as it has been in previous winter series in Zimbabwe.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)

Zimbabwe: LLLLL
India: WWLLL

In the spotlight

Ambati Rayudu clearly enjoys Zimbabwean conditions. He made an emotional half-century on debut here two years ago – his 63 easing India to a six-wicket win – and started this tour in even more impressive fashion. Rayudu weathered Zimbabwe’s spirited charge with the new ball before shifting gears towards the end of the innings, finishing with a career-best 124 not out. His adhesive qualities may well be needed once again as India look to seal the series.Elton Chigumbura has undergone various incarnations in his decade as an international cricketer. He’s batted as low as No. 9 in the one-day side, but when he was shorn of his pace by a back injury in 2006 his batting contributions started to gain importance. Now Zimbabwe’s No. 4, Chigumbura has taken to the move up the order with aplomb. He started with 54 in the first T20 against Pakistan in May, and has now added two centuries in the same position in ODIs.

Team news

Tinashe Panyangara pulled up short with a side strain in his 10th over in the first ODI and will sit out Sunday’s game. While there isn’t a clear like-for-like replacement in the squad, Prosper Utseya may be an option, especially as he will help Zimbabwe control the middle overs of the innings, where they let things slip in the first match.Zimbabwe (probable): 1 Vusi Sibanda, 2 Chamu Chibhabha, 3 Hamilton Masakadza, 4 Elton Chigumbura (captain), 5 Sean Williams, 6 Sikandar Raza, 7 Richmond Mutumbami (wk), 8 Prosper Utseya, 9 Graeme Cremer, 10 Donald Tiripano, 11 Brian Vitori.India have little reason to change their playing XI, and the contingent of middle order hopefuls will be eager to capitalise on another chance to showcase their talent.India (probable): 1 M Vijay, 2 Ajinkya Rahane (captain), 3 Ambati Rayudu, 4 Manoj Tiwary, 5 Robin Uthappa (wk), 6 Kedar Jadhav, 7 Stuart Binny, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Axar Patel, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 11 Dhawal Kulkarni.

Pitch and conditions

The first hour will remain a challenging one for batsmen against the new ball, but the opening match showed there was profit in occupying the crease. Without the merest hint of rain about, the pitch will remain dry and is expected to ease out during the day.

Stats and trivia

• Ambati Rayudu has been dismissed only twice in four innings in Zimbabwe and has scored 225 at an average of 112.5.
• In nine innings at No. 4 for Zimbabwe, Elton Chigumbura has scored 427 runs at an average of 61.00 and a strike rate of 95.73.
• In the eight ODIs that have been played at Harare Sports Club in the month of July, the average first innings score is 245. Chasing doesn’t seem to be an advantage either, with a 4-4 split in wins batting first and second.

Quotes

“If we get a chance to bat up front again early in the morning it’s crucial, with the Dukes ball that does swing and seam a bit, that we’ve got to give the bowlers a lot more respect.”
.”Obviously when you play at this level the main thing is to be consistent, and I’m going to try by all means to ride on the way I’m playing at the moment.”

Matthew Wade has been confirmed as Australia’s first-choice Test wicketkeeper but Brad Haddin remains a “player of significant interest”, according to the national selector John Inverarity

Brydon Coverdale29-Oct-2012Matthew Wade has been confirmed as Australia’s first-choice Test wicketkeeper but Brad Haddin remains a “player of significant interest”, according to the national selector John Inverarity. Wade was named in a 12-man squad to take on South Africa in the first Test, starting at the Gabba on November 9, and there were no surprises in the group, with Mitchell Starc included and Pat Cummins, who has not played first-class cricket for nearly a year, left out.The selectors chose four fast men – Peter Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus, James Pattinson and Starc – along with the offspinner Nathan Lyon, and the main question in the lead-up to the Test will surround the final make-up of the attack. There were no changes to the top six with the opener Ed Cowan given a chance to make the position his own, after beginning his Test career with encouraging but not outstanding performances against India and West Indies over the past year.The major decision for Inverarity and his panel was whether to give the gloves to Wade, 24, who was wicketkeeper for the tour of the West Indies in April, or return to the veteran Haddin, 35. Inverarity said both men had made compelling cases for inclusion and while Wade had won his place for the Gabba Test, Haddin, who still holds a Cricket Australia contract, remained in the frame for future international selection.

Australia squad for first Test

David Warner, Ed Cowan, Shane Watson, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke (capt), Michael Hussey, Matthew Wade (wk), Peter Siddle, James Pattinson, Ben Hilfenhaus, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon

“Matthew came into the Australian ODI team in February and has since acquitted himself especially well,” Inverarity said. “Matthew and Brad both went to the West Indies; Matthew as our preferred ODI and T20 player and Brad as our incumbent and preferred Test match keeper. As is widely known Brad returned to Australia early in the tour due to family circumstances and as a consequence Matthew was our Test keeper for the three Test matches.Matthew Wade has retained his place in Australia’s Test side•AFP

“He kept and batted very well and made a match-defining brilliant century in the second innings of the third and final Test against West Indies. Since then he has played and gained valuable experience in England, the UAE and Sri Lanka. As a young player, getting better by the month, he is thoroughly deserving of his retention. While Matthew has been retained as the Test keeper, Brad remains a player of significant interest.”The selectors decided against including Cummins, 19, although he is likely to be around the squad in Brisbane to prepare him for a potential place in the side later in the series. Injuries and short-form commitments have meant Cummins has not played a first-class match since his Test debut in Johannesburg last November, and with Siddle and Pattinson fit again after missing Australia’s most recent Tests in the Caribbean, the selectors decided there was no reason to rush Cummins.”We didn’t feel as though Pat Cummins was ready to play a Test match,” Inverarity said. “We hope he’ll be ready to play a Sheffield Shield match soon, and then he’s likely to come on the radar for perhaps the third Test in Perth. That’s not speculating that he’ll be selected for that, but he’ll be ready to be in contention at that stage.”The last Test match that Australia played, the third Test in the West Indies last April, included Ryan Harris. Ryan is continuing his rehabilitation from injury and is unavailable. Peter Siddle and James Pattinson have recovered especially well from the injuries that rendered them unavailable for that last Test in West Indies. In fact, they have been enjoying an ideal preparation for the first Test in Brisbane having played in three Sheffield Shield games with another one to come later this week.”The squad will assemble in Brisbane on Monday and will have three days of training ahead of the first Test. Two Sheffield Shield matches begin on Friday but the New South Wales v Queensland game at Allan Border Field does not start until Saturday and the Tuesday finish means some Test players might miss the final day of the match in order to prepare for the Test.”I’m definitely playing the Shield game and I’m not sure if I’m playing three days or four,” Australia’s captain Michael Clarke said. “I think the plan is it will be an individual case, if NSW are batting on day four it’d be silly for the batters to be pulled out to go into camp.”We’re very lucky we’re playing in Brisbane so once we finish we can go into camp, but in saying that, if a bowler has bowled a lot in the first innings I think it would be silly to overload them leading into a Test match. Pat Howard’s on to that, the plan at the moment is to pull everybody out, but I know he’ll make sure he assesses once we get closer to day four.”

Sri Lanka Women put up a strong performance on the field to win the fourth Twenty20 game against West Indies Women by 14 runs, their first in the five match series which West Indies now lead 3-1

ESPNcricinfo staff08-May-2012
ScorecardSri Lanka Women put up a strong performance on the field to win the fourth Twenty20 game against West Indies Women by 14 runs, their first in the five match series which West Indies lead 3-1.Chasing Sri Lanka’s total, West Indies opener Juliana Nero built a solid foundation with 32 runs and took West Indies past 50 for the loss of one wicket. However, Sri Lanka turned the tables with aggressive fielding which led to four run-outs and Maduri Samuddika, playing her first Twenty20 on this tour, bowled a stifling spell of 4-0-11-3. West Indies lost their last seven wickets for only 23 runs to fritter away a good start as no one apart from Nero was able to get to a double-digit score.Sri Lanka’s innings had followed a similar pattern as they were reduced from 51 for one to 62 for seven in three overs. However, an unbeaten 32-run partnership between Dilani Manodara and Sripali Weerakkody helped Sri Lanka reach 94, which in the end proved to be enough.The last match of the series will be played in Port of Spain on Wednesday.

As England had their first serious net session of the Ashes tour, events on the opposite side of Australia may not have escaped their attention as the Gabba served up a dramatic two-day Sheffield Shield match

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Nov-2010As England had their first serious net session of the Ashes tour, events on the opposite side of Australia may not have escaped their attention as the Gabba served up a dramatic two-day Sheffield Shield match with Queensland twice skittled for under a hundred. Kevin Mitchell, the Gabba’s curator, didn’t rule out a repeat of conditions for the first Test.Brisbane has suffered a large amount of rain in the early stages of the season and the bowlers enjoyed themselves on a lively surface, none more so than Mark Cameron who took 11 for 64 in the match. There are still three weeks to go before the first ball of the Ashes on November 25, but there is the prospect of England’s quicks feeling more at home than they may have imagined.”Anything is possible,” Mitchell told “If there are some cloudy and humid days [during the preparation] then the moisture will stay in the wicket and the grass will continue to grow – that’s what happens in the tropics. So it would be something that could possibly happen.”We are hoping for 10 or 12 days including the duration of the match to have nice sunny days – if that happens it will be a fantastic match. If we don’t get all that it will still be a fantastic match – you just won’t see as many runs.”However, it’s difficult to say which side a green-top would favour because pace bowling is Australia’s stronger suit, with the likes of Ben Hilfenhaus, Mitchell Johnson and Peter Siddle to call upon, while England will be confident of exploiting any turning conditions they encounter with Graeme Swann.”I know Ricky Ponting and the Australian guys enjoy the pace and the ball coming onto the bat – it provides fairly entertaining cricket,” Mitchell added. “But obviously when you get conditions like we have just had plus that bounce and pace, with movement and swing as well, it is a difficult wicket to play on.”Such conditions could raise the prospect of Australia playing an all-pace attack so there is some irony that Nathan Hauritz, who captained New South Wales, played in the match to regain some form instead of linking up with Australia’s one-day squad. He ended up bowling just two overs, although he did pick up the wicket of Cameron Boyce.England, though, will be wary of reading too much into conditions three weeks out from the first Test. Australia have a formidable record at the Gabba and haven’t lost since facing West Indies in 1988, 22 Tests ago. And if Andrew Strauss fears getting sucked in by conditions, he need only seek out Nasser Hussain who put Australia in on the 2002-03 tour and watched them finish the first day on 364 for 2.

For a moment, Paul Collingwood thought he’d made a fatal decision that would cost England the first Test at Centurion

Andrew McGlashan at Centurion20-Dec-2009For a moment, Paul Collingwood thought he’d made a fatal decision that would cost England the first Test at Centurion Park. Off the fourth ball of the penultimate over of the match, he called Graham Onions, the No. 11, through for a single then couldn’t regain the strike for the last over.It left Onions, who holds a first-class batting average of 12.32, to face the final over of the match from Makhaya Ntini and all Collingwood could do was offer advice from the non-striker’s end. Onions responded with excellent judgment and a straight bat, even managing to jab down on a typically scuttling delivery that had done for several more senior batsmen in the course of the match.Throughout the nail-biting final over, Collingwood had visions of a one-day international at Melbourne in 2002-03 where he left the tail on strike and the last two wickets were blown away by Brett Lee to secure a dramatic and traumatic victory.”As Straussy said, ‘all’s well that ends well’,” Collingwood said with relief. “I was hoping I was going to get a single off the last two balls. I was thinking I must face as many balls as I can. But I couldn’t get back to the other end.”When he was stuck down there I was saying: ‘Please, don’t get out, don’t get out – it will be my fault again’. But he was exceptional – very relaxed for a guy who probably hasn’t been in a situation like that. I thought he played that last over excellently.”Paul Collingwood and Graham Onions saw England through to the draw•PA Photos

Despite being county team-mates for Durham, Collingwood admitted he hadn’t seen much of Onions’ batting talents, so he probably didn’t know that his first-class batting average is almost four runs higher than that of Monty Panesar (8.58) who helped England save the opening Ashes Test at Cardiff.”He keeps bragging that he’s got the best bat in the dressing room,” Collingwood said. “So I kept shouting down ‘Remember you’ve got the best bat, just keep using it’. I was trying to keep him as relaxed as possible, and he was happy with that.”Sometimes you can over-complicate things and the nervousness can overtake you. There was one that scuttled along the floor, and he watched it really well and got the bat on it. Once he’d done that I thought he’s going to see through this over. It was a great effort.”Andrew Strauss, whose face grew glummer with every wicket that fell, didn’t sound quite so convinced about Onions’ batting pedigree. “I think hopeful would be the right word,” he said. “I know he’s got a reasonable technique. But in those circumstances, you don’t want the ball that scuttles along the ground or nips back at you.”You need a little bit of fortune on your side – and you need the player himself to stay composed, switched on and on the ball and aware of what the situation is calling for. I think he did that all exceptionally well.”Graeme Smith also expressed his surprise that Collingwood took a single so late in the penultimate over, but was left to rue not being able to dislodge Onions over the 12 deliveries he faced. “In those pressure moments batters choose to do things. He must have had his reasons,” he said. “It offered us six balls at Onions but he was dogged and stood his ground.”

Returning Azhar Ali’s 74 made light work of Sussex’s 191

ECB Reporters Network20-Aug-2023Worcestershire Rapids are through to the knockout stages of the Metro Bank One Day Cup after completing a comprehensive eight-wicket success over Sussex Sharks at New Road.The Rapids ensured a top-three spot with a sixth win in eight group games after dismissing the Sharks in 45.5 overs and then knocking off their 191 target in just 26.4 overs to give their net run rate a massive lift.They maintained a grip with the ball after Dillon Pennington and Matthew Waite picked up a trio of scalps in the initial powerplay with spinner Josh Baker’s three wickets taking his tally to 15 in the competition.Danial Ibrahim’s List A best score of 51 provided the most resistance but the Sharks total was well below par after they chose to bat.Gareth Roderick and Azhar Ali then ensured there would be few alarms for the Rapids after laying the foundations during an opening stand of 82. Azhar, 74, and Kashif Ali, with a 26 ball half-century, then added a further 93 in 8.3 overs.Worcestershire will have to wait until the conclusion of the group on Tuesday to determine where they exactly finish and whether they have a home or away tie to look forward to.Worcestershire made two changes from the side which triumphed against Derbyshire at the Incora County Ground on Friday with Azhar and Logan van Beek replacing Ed Pollock and Pat Brown. Sussex handed debuts to a pair of 19-year-olds in batter Zak Lion-Cachet and off spinner Bertie Foreman.Sharks captain Tom Haines opted to bat first and his side quickly ran into trouble on the same wicket as which Worcestershire had been reduced to 25-5 in the powerplay against Warwickshire last Sunday.Waite made the first breakthrough when Harrison Ward was lbw to ball of full length which swung back into his pads. Pennington shared the new ball and he struck in successive overs. Tom Alsop played down the wrong line to a ball which nipped away and was pouched at second slip by Baker.The same combination then accounted for Haines after he drove at Pennington. Sussex reached 42-3 by the end of the initial powerplay and James Coles and Liam Cachet led a partial recovery during a partnership of 42. But Worcestershire captain Jake Libby broke the stand with a superb piece of fielding.Coles played Logan van Beek to mid-wicket and set off for a single but he was run out by Libby’s direct hit at the non-striker’s end with only one stump to aim at. Baker came into the attack and quickly cemented Worcestershire’s position of strength.Lion-Cachet (34) showed plenty of promise on his debut before making room to cut and being bowled via the bottom edge. Charlie Tear then stepped back and chipped a straightforward catch to Rob Jones at extra cover.Foreman (35) also created a favourable impression on his debut in adding 66 in 14.1 overs with Ibrahim. He eventually became Baker’s third victim when attempting a switch hit and being bowled behind his legs.Ibrahim completed his half-century from 85 balls with five fours before the innings was wrapped up. Van Beek had Ibrahim taken at deep square leg and the Netherlands international struck again when Sean Hunt could only find the hands of mid off. A second run out of the innings polished off proceedings when Brad Currie failed to beat Rob Jones direct hit from backward point attempting a quick single.Azhar and Roderick were initially watchful in seeing off the new ball attack of Currie and Hunt but gradually started to accelerate. A cover drive for four by Roderick at Atkins expense brought up the 50 in the 13th over.The stand was broken when Roderick holed out to long on off Foreman but Azhar completed a 61 ball half-century with six fours to sustain the momentum. Kashif Ali, who had smashed 88 off 36 balls against Derbyshire on Friday, continued in the same big-hitting vein.He struck three maximums off Coles on his way to a — fifty and, with Azhar stepping up a gear, 93 were added in just 8.4 overs. Azhar left the field to a standing ovation after he finally holed out to long on off Ibrahim, and then Kashif completed the victory with his fifth six, off Atkins.

Rohit Sharma will lead a team that has named six specialist batters

Shashank Kishore25-Apr-20237:12

Muzumdar on Rahane’s selection: ‘They have gone with experience’

Ajinkya Rahane will have a second shot at WTC glory after being named in India’s 15-member squad for the final against Australia from June 7-11 at The Oval. Rahane is one of six specialist batters in the squad and comes in to replace the injured Shreyas Iyer, who recently underwent back surgery.Rahane’s inclusion means there is no place for Suryakumar Yadav, who was one of the reserve batters during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at home against Australia this February-March. Suryakumar featured in just one Test of that series – Nagpur – and made 20 in India’s innings victory.Rahane’s inclusion comes at a time when his IPL stocks have hit an all-time high. Playing for Chennai Super Kings, his powerplay batting and six-hitting have earned him many plaudits. In his most recent outing on Sunday night, he made a 29-ball 71 in a Player-of-the-match winning effort against Kolkata Knight Riders.Related

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Last month, Rahane, who led India to a famous Test series win in Australia in 2020-21 was omitted from BCCI’s central contracts for the current season, a demotion from the Grade B he’d been given prior to that. He last featured in a Test in January 2022, in South Africa.Rahane’s inclusion means his county championship debut with Leicestershire is likely to be pushed back after initially committing to play eight red-ball games and the entire 50-overs competition.Rahane was a constant feature for Mumbai during the 2022-23 domestic season in which he led them to the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s title. During the Ranji Trophy, he had insisted that he wasn’t giving up hopes of an India comeback and ended the season with 634 runs in 11 innings, with two hundreds and an average of 57.63.”I don’t want to prove anything to anyone,” Rahane had said, when asked where he thought his career was at. “I think my competition is with myself. If I stick to that, things will fall into place. I don’t want to run after anything… just want to back my game.”The only other surprise was the absence of a second frontline wicketkeeper after KS Bharat. It’s likely KL Rahul will take up that role if required. Rahul had earlier lost his Test spot during the Australia Tests to Shubman Gill.Jasprit Bumrah wasn’t considered as he’s recovering from back injury, with the team management keen to amp up his workload and have him fully fit in time for the 50-over World Cup this October-November.Jaydev Unadkat, who made a Test comeback after nearly 11 years in Bangladesh last December, keeps his spot alongside Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj and Umesh Yadav. Shardul Thakur, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel are the allrounders.India squad: Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul, KS Bharat (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat

Thirty-eight Sri Lanka players have signed a statement refusing to sign the tour contracts offered by SLC

Andrew Fidel Fernando05-Jun-2021Sri Lanka’s tour of England has been cast into serious jeopardy after the players expected to be selected refused to sign the tour contracts offered by Sri Lanka Cricket.This is as part of the men’s cricketers’ larger resistance to SLC’s new annual contracts scheme, which they believe lacks transparency and does not adequately compensate senior players. Although players have not been centrally contracted since last October when the previous round of contracts expired, series since then have been played under a succession of temporary tour contracts. But the players have now dug their heels in and are headed for a serious confrontation with SLC over the next 72 hours. The team is due to leave for England at 12.05am on Wednesday (June 9).Thirty-eight players have signed a statement refusing to sign the tour contracts – an increase from the 24 players who had previously made their resistance to the new scheme official. Primarily, the players’ contention is that the workings of the grading system devised by SLC to assign contracts of varying value to players have not been sufficiently made clear to them.”Because of the problems with the transparency of the ratings system devised by SLC, the players will not sign the [tour contract],” the release signed by 38 top players said.Their lawyer, Nishan Premathiratne, told ESPNcricinfo that in addition to refusing the tour contracts on principle, there was also a legal objection to these contracts.”The tour contract also refers to matters of the annual [main] contract for 2021, which is yet unsigned,” he said. “In the event, the annual contract is not settled and a dispute is pending, the validity of the tour contract referring to an unsigned contract is also an issue.”Related

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In addition to taking issue with transparency, the players have also stated they would prefer the only criteria for drawing up contracts lists should be player performance and fitness. SLC’s new scheme, however, also takes into account leadership, professionalism and future performance/adaptability.And while the annual contracts were offered to 24 players – a reduction from the 30 who were offered central contracts in the last round – players are also now suggesting that some compensation be given to a wider group of players. As 14 further players have joined the original 24 in resisting the new contracts scheme, this new request follows.”In addition, the players have decided they will not sign the contracts until players who have performed well in past years are looked after fairly,” the statement said.The new contracts scheme had been drawn up primarily by the technical committee headed by Aravinda de Silva and SLC’s new director of cricket Tom Moody. There will now need to be serious negotiations over the next few days if Sri Lanka are to fulfil their tour obligations.Players who have refused to sign the tour contract: Kusal Perera, Dimuth Karunaratne, Angelo Mathews, Dananjaya de Silva, Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Mendis, Niroshan Dickwella, Suranga Lakmal, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lasith Embuldeniya, Pathum Nissanka, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dushmantha Chameera, Kasun Rajitha, Lakshan Sandakan, Vishwa Fernando, Isuru Udana, Oshada Fernando, Ramesh Mendis, Lahiru Kumara, Danushka Gunathilaka, Ashen Bandara, Akila Dananjaya, Chamika Karunaratne, Asitha Fernando, Binura Fernando, Shiran Fernando, Avishka Fernando, Ishan Jayaratne, Charith Asalanka, Dananjaya Lakshan, Nuwan Pradeep, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Kamil Mishara, Praveen Jayawickrama, Roshen Silva, Minod Bhanuka

At 23, Pant will become the fifth-youngest captain in the IPL

Nagraj Gollapudi30-Mar-2021Rishabh Pant has been appointed the Delhi Capitals captain for the 2021 IPL. The development comes in the wake of the Capitals’ regular captain Shreyas Iyer being ruled of the season after he dislocated his left shoulder during the ODI series against England. This is the first captaincy assignment for Pant in the IPL, who was bought by the Capitals before the 2016 IPL and then became the first player to be retained ahead of the 2018 mega auction.At 23, Pant will become the fifth-youngest captain in the IPL after Virat Kohli, Steven Smith, Suresh Raina and Iyer. While Kohli and Smith assumed leadership at 22, Raina and Iyer were 23 too but younger in terms of days than Pant.Despite his inexperience, Pant was one of the frontrunners in the captaincy race to replace Iyer along with the senior Indian pair of R Ashwin and Ajinkya Rahane, who had long leadership stints at Kings XI Punjab and the Rajasthan Royals, respectively. Pant had only led Delhi in domestic cricket, but he has been in phenomenal form as a match-winner for India recently, starting with the historic Test series win in Australia followed by the series win across the three formats against England at home.Related

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Pant was “humbled” to take on the captaincy, which, he admitted, was a “dream” from the time he started playing for the Capitals.”Delhi is where I grew up, and where my IPL journey began six years ago,” Pant said in a Capitals media release. “To lead this team one day is a dream I’ve always harboured. And today, as that dream comes true, I feel humbled.”Iyer, who is awaiting surgery on his hand, said Pant was the “best man” to take charge at the Capitals in his absence. “I had no doubt that Rishabh would be the best man for the job,” Iyer said in the media release.The decision to appoint Pant was taken collectively by the franchise co-owners Kiran Kumar Grandhi and Parth Jindal along with the Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting.In the 2016 auction, the Capitals (then Delhi Daredevils) bought Pant for INR 1.9 crore and in 2018, he got INR 15 crore (USD 2 million approx). In 2022, the IPL will host a mega auction where teams will overhaul squads while being able to retain a few players. Pant will once again be expected to be the first retention on the Capitals’ auction sheet. Along with Iyer, he is expected to be among the core group of players.The development marks a turnaround of sorts for Pant since the 2020 IPL. Pant had entered last IPL, which was played in the UAE, on the back of some strong words from the Indian team management, with his shot selection coming under the scanner.Although the Capitals reached the IPL final last season, Pant’s batting remained under par by his standards. Overall, he made 342 runs in 14 innings at a strike rate of just 114 and an average of 31, with just one half-century. The Indian selectors wanted Pant to work on his fitness and did not include him in the squads for India’s limited-overs segments on the Australia tour. Despite the snub, Pant ended the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as India’s best batsman, including setting up the historic win on the final day of the Brisbane Test, where several of India’s frontline players were absent.Pant then dominated England both in the Test series as well as the white-ball segments, with some adventurous and dominant strokeplay including the memorable reverse scoop against James Anderson in the Test series against England.Ponting said Pant now had a “tremendous opportunity” to bring that form in the IPL. “The previous two seasons under Shreyas’ leadership have been incredible, and the results speak for themselves,” Ponting said in the media release. “This is a tremendous opportunity for young Rishabh, who is coming off successful stints against Australia and England which will no doubt give him the confidence needed to take on a new role that comes with a lot more responsibility.”According to Jindal, Pant with his brand of cricket “embodied” the ethos of the Capitals. “Delhi Capitals as a team plays a passionate and fearless brand of cricket, and Rishabh Pant embodies that best. The Delhi team has played an important role in his growth as a cricketer, just like he has played an equally important role in the growth of the Delhi team.”

The side will instead demonstrate their commitment to the eradication of gender-based violence

Annesha Ghosh17-Jan-2021The South Africa women’s team is unlikely to take a knee or do anything else in terms of a gesture in support of the global movement against racial intolerance when they take on Pakistan for six limited-overs matches in Durban from Wednesday. They will, however, be expressing their protest against gender-based violence.When asked if there have been discussions within the team about showing solidarity towards the fight against racial injustice in the upcoming home series, their first international assignment since March last year, senior batter and former captain Mignon du Preez instead focused on what the team is planning to do.”Something that we’re definitely going to talk about in this series is gender-based violence. I think that’s also something that’s close to our hearts and is a big issue in South Africa,” du Preez told ESPNcricinfo. “We, actually, will have a ‘Black Day’, where we will be playing in black, standing together.Related

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“For us that’s going to be the focus this time around. There’s been a lot of talk around other racial issues, and we know it’s a big issue around the globe. But, for us, this is one that really touches home, and we’re going to focus on that during this series.”In the WBBL in October-November, where eight South Africans, including du Preez, made up the largest single-nation overseas contingent and were spread across seven of the eight squads, all teams performed the Indigenous Barefoot Circle ceremony to “reaffirm their commitment to reconciliation and taking a stand against racism”. Several teams even took a knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.As far as international cricket goes, the South Africa men’s team had made a belated decision to adopt the “raised fist” gesture ahead of the start of their two-Test series against Sri Lanka on December 26, in protest against racial injustice. On December 21, the interim CSA board chairman Judge Zak Yacoob wrote to director of cricket Graeme Smith and men’s national head coach Mark Boucher noting individuals’ right to freedom of expression, but stating that he felt South Africans should show “the world that all of us are together in opposing racism at every turn”.This came as a reaction to the team not taking a knee – or making any other gesture – on its return to international cricket, against England on November 27, the first time they played together since March. They did, however, wear black armbands to mourn the lives lost in the Covid-19 pandemic.When South Africa staged its first live cricket match following the resumption of the sport after the pandemic-induced break – the 3TC on July 18 – the country’s elite male cricketers showed a united face against racism by taking a knee at Centurion’s SuperSport Park.As for the campaign against gender-based violence, originally launched in February last year, Cricket South Africa had at the time said in a statement that the “focus point” of the drive would be South Africa’s ODI match at Kingsmead against Australia that was scheduled for March 22. However, the Covid-19 pandemic-enforced cancellation of the tour put paid to those plans.