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Despite Corbin Bosch’s best efforts, South Africa fell short of the 350-run target by 17 runs

Sidharth Monga30-Nov-20254:46

Takeaways – Kohli in comfort zone; Jansen, Kuldeep and Rana sparkle

Virat Kohli added to his world record of most ODI hundreds, Rohit Sharma brought up the world record for most ODI sixes, and a Sunday full house on a pleasant evening in Ranchi enjoyed watching India beat South Africa in a close first ODI of the three-match series. Kohli and Rohit turned back the clock in a 136-run partnership, Kohli went on long enough to hit seven sixes, and the fast bowlers inflicted just enough damage before the pitch eased out in the dew under the lights.The toss disadvantage that India had to overcome – having lost a 19th consecutive one in ODIs – was huge. During the afternoon, the old ball proved to be difficult to hit, resulting in a slowdown after the start Kohli and Rohit gave India. In the night, the pitch became dramatically easier to bat on.Related

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• 'They are brilliant, and they are performing' – Kotak on Ro-Ko at 2027 World Cup

• South Africa find reason for ODI optimism despite top-order tangles

• Stats – Kohli and Rohit smash records in Ranchi run-fest

• Kohli: 'If I'm arriving somewhere I'll arrive at 120%'

In the end, India needed every last bit of that start of 161 in 21.2 overs and the two wickets in the first over that Harshit Rana bowled with the new ball. Even after being 11 for 3, this is how South Africa’s next three partnerships went: 66 in 10.2 overs, 60 in 6.4 and 97 in 11.1. Marco Jansen and Matthew Breetzke scored 70s, Dewald Brevis and Tony de Zorzi 30s, and the target came down to 123 from 17 overs when Kuldeep Yadav got the wickets of Jansen and Bretzkee in the same over to ease India’s breath.South Africa still refused to go away with Corbin Bosch’s 67 bringing them to needing 19 off 10, but with only the last man for company, Borch found himself handcuffed against Arshdeep Singh’s yorkers. It was especially heartbreaking for Bosch after he had bowled overs 46, 48 and 50 for just 21 runs to keep India down to 349.This ODI followed the grammar of ODI cricket in recent years in India. The new ball does nothing in the afternoon, but you can cleverly offset it with the pitch’s slowness when the balls go soft. Under lights there is a small window of movement with the new ball, which you need to maximise, because once the dew sets in, batting gets easier on every count.Kuldeep Yadav celebrates after getting rid of Tony de Zorzi•BCCI

Kohli and Rohit respected the need to maximise the new ball themselves when the early wicket of Yashasvi Jaiswal brought them together. For the first time when batting first in his career, Kohli hit two sixes in the first 10 overs, both off-drives that not long ago he might have kept down. Rohit, who is generally used to quicker starts, hit successive slog-swept sixes off offspinner Pernemal Subrayen to catch up with Kohli in no time.Rohit’s third six, a pull off Jansen moments after bringing up his fifty, took him past Shahid Afridi’s world-record tally of 351. It was also India’s eighth, the most they have hit in the first 20 overs of an innings. The next short ball from Jansen stayed low, trapping Rohit in front.Kohli, now 72 off 61, five sixes to his name, was deprived of strike as the next two batters struggled to come to terms with the slowness of the pitch. Ruturaj Gaikwad scored 8 off 14, Washington Sundar 13 off 19, and they also dominated the strike. Kohli had to grit his teeth and get through this period. He kept picking up singles with ease, but the period from Rohit’s dismissal to Kohli’s hundred brought India just 72 runs in 16.3 overs.When he brought up the hundred, Kohli broke into an emotional celebration. This was his first hundred since February; while he plays only one format, there is scrutiny around his and Rohit’s future. And now, Kohli went into a renewed assault, hitting two more sixes and scoring 35 off the next 17 balls. KL Rahul, who fought through the initial period, took India’s six tally to 16 and the score to 349.Rana immediately showed why the selectors and the team management show so much faith in him. In the second over of the innings, he swung the ball both ways and also found seam both ways to take the wickets of Ryan Rickelton and Quinton de Kock for ducks. Rickelton lost the top of middle with the ball swinging away and nipping back. Away swing and away seam were enough to take de Kock’s outside edge. Aiden Markram, captaining in the absence of the resting Temba Bavuma, looked to manufacture a cut off Arshdeep at the start of the fifth over but edged through to Rahul.Marco Jansen struck several meaty blows•Associated Press

By now the ball had stopped moving, the pitch had begun to skid, and the outfield had become moist only to become damp pretty soon. Everything played into the batters’ hands, leaving you wondering what a massacre it would have been but for those three early wickets.Kuldeep got de Zorzi lbw for 39 off 35, clever bowling from Rana contained a marauding Brevis for 39 off 28, and still Jansen and Breetzke proceeded to give India a right scare. After de Zorzi’s dismissal, Breetzke took upon the role of taking singles and watching the damage other batters did. What damage Jansen did in his 39-ball 70, the fastest fifty by a South Africa batter in India and the second-fastest against India.The dew got so heavy India had to forget about spinners for a while. Washington bowled only three overs. It was after having run through the fast bowlers that Rahul went back to Kuldeep, who, as wristspinners can sometimes do, drew the toe end from Jansen on a long hop. In the same over, Breetzke holed out to long-on, perhaps having got too close to the pitch of the ball.Incredibly, South Africa still refused to go away. Bosch kept South Africa interested with his maiden fifty, but never had the support left to pull off this heist. Arshdeep’s wicket-maiden in the 47th over seemed to have sealed the game, but Bosch still kept gasping. In the end, it probably came down to the two full tosses he missed from Prasidh Krishna in the 46th over.

Venkatesh Iyer and Shreyas Iyer made sure the job was done, in quick time, with the bat

Deivarayan Muthu21-May-20241:34

Aaron: ‘KKR bowled in great partnerships throughout the innings’

Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma are used to going bang, bang and pretty much killing off games in the first six overs at IPL 2024. But in the first qualifier in Ahmedabad, it was Mitchell Starc who went bang, bang, bang in the powerplay to secure Kolkata Knight Riders’ spot in the IPL final on Sunday in Chennai.After Starc scythed through SRH’s top order in an opening spell of 3-0-22-3, Varun Chakravarthy took over in the middle overs to help dismiss SRH for 159 in 19.3 overs.Related

• Starc bowls Head to win bragging rights

In reply, Shreyas Iyer and Venkatesh Iyer made unbeaten half-centuries as KKR ran down the target with more than six overs to spare.Sunrisers Hyderabad will face the winner of the Eliminator between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore, for a shot at a rematch with KKR in the final.

Swingin’ Starc

Starc’s first ball to Head was an outswinger that was squeezed to extra cover. His second threatened to angle in, but swung and seamed away late to breach the defences of Head and leave his stumps splayed.Travis Head had his stumps cleaned up second ball, bagging his second duck in a row•Associated Press

Head was gone for a duck. This was the fifth time that Starc had taken out Head across formats – four of those wickets ducks.In the second over, pacer Vaibhav Arora, who was picked ahead of spinner Anukul Roy on a surface that was a mix of red and black soil and had some early moisture, had Abhishek Sharma scooping a catch to Andre Russell at short cover for 3.SRH plunged into further trouble when Starc snagged Nitish Kumar Reddy (9) and Shahbaz Ahmed (0) off successive balls in his third over. Starc could have also dismissed Rahul Tripathi in his second over when he speared in a yorker that struck him flush on his boot and would have cannoned into leg stump. But KKR decided against a review and SRH went on to finish the powerplay on 45 for 4. Only twice in 14 innings have SRH scored fewer runs in the powerplay in IPL 2024.

Tripathi counters KKR

Tripathi, who kept his place at No. 3, repaired SRH’s innings with a half-century. He combined power with invention to manufacture scoring opportunities. He whacked Arora over midwicket and ramped a bouncer from Harshit Rana for six. He reached his fifty off 29 balls when he reverse-swept Varun for four.Rahul Tripathi hit a fifty off 29 balls•Associated Press

Tripathi, however, could not press on as Russell capitalised on a mix-up to run him out for 55 off 35 balls. Tripathi was so distraught that he sat on the stairs in Ahmedabad, with his head buried in his knee, for a long time. That image of Tripathi summed up SRH’s night.

Varun’s variations

Heinrich Klaasen had taken Sunil Narine for 16 off eight balls, but KKR’s other mystery spinner, Varun Chakravarthy, struck in his first over to cut Klaasen’s innings short on 32 off 21 balls. Varun darted one into the pitch and didn’t allow Klaasen underneath the length as he dragged a catch to deep midwicket. He then pinned Bhuvneshwar Kumar lbw with a wrong ‘un in the 16th over that cost KKR just one run. It was Varun’s 40th wicket in 27 IPL innings since the 2023 season started. No other spinner has more wickets than Varun during this period.At 126 for 9 in 16 overs, SRH were in danger of being bundled out for a sub-140 total, but Cummins’ 30 off 24 balls hauled them to a more respectable 159.Varun Chakravarthy finished with 2 for 26 off his four overs•Associated Press

KKR ace the chase

After doing a good job behind the stumps, Rahmanullah Gurbaz eased himself in with the bat in what was his first outing this season.Phil Salt had left the IPL to link up with the England side, and Gurbaz slotted into his role and picked off 23 off 14 balls. He hit four boundaries and when he aimed for a fifth, T Natarajan had him holing out in his first over.Three overs later, Cummins bounced out Narine for 21 off 16 balls, but KKR’s openers had already done enough damage in the powerplay by slashing 63 runs off their target.The Iyers – captain Shreyas and Venkatesh – then struck up an unbroken 97 partnership for the third wicket off only 44 balls to turn their chase into a cruise. Along the way, both batters posted half-centuries and it was Shreyas who finished it off in grand style in the 14th over, with a sequence of 6, 4, 6, 6 off Head.

Six Pakistan players were in action for their counties this week. Here’s how they got on

Osman Samiuddin18-Apr-2022The second round of the 2022 County Championship concluded on Sunday, with another strong showing from the Pakistan representatives. Here we take a look at how they got on.

Division One

Mohammad Abbas

As good as Hampshire looked in the first round against Somerset, so they looked ordinary in the second; an innings win followed by an innings defeat. Mohammad Abbas took six cheap wickets in that win; he took zero in this defeat. He was still very Abbas though, tidy as ever (economy rate of 2.16) and forever probing around those areas batters feel least comfortable with. There were chances, one edge falling short of slip – an Abbas leitmotif – and another that went through second slip’s hand, but no tangible reward.Hasan Ali

If anyone of Pakistan’s vast contingent in county cricket needs a bit of a reset and a refresh, it is Hasan Ali. For most of 2021, he was second only to Shaheen Afridi as Pakistan’s best bowler. But since the T20 World Cup – and admittedly mostly in white-ball cricket – he has seemed out of sorts. An injury picked up in the PSL, allied to a range of flat pitches, meant he was quiet in the Tests against Australia and immediately questions began to surface about his position in the side. Hasan has always been a bowler of streaks: irresistible when he’s on a good one, ordinary when he’s on a bad one. Match figures of 5 for 94 in a 10-wicket thumping of Kent is a good sign for the county, and a better sign for his country. Most pleasing will be reports that his in-dipper was in good working order: he is a different bowler when he’s getting the ball to move about. The bonus is that he may come out of it having learnt something from the maestro himself, Jimmy Anderson. He’s keen to, not least the wobble-seam (a nice full circle that one, given Anderson picked it up watching Mohammad Asif in 2010).Haris Rauf

Of all Pakistani hook-ups with county cricket, none is more intriguing than Haris Rauf at Yorkshire, and that’s not even considering the off-field significance of a Pakistani Muslim player at Headingley. Rauf is due to play six first-class games, which means that if he plays them all, he will have played more first-class games this season for Yorkshire than in his entire career before arriving here. And though he was part of Pakistan’s Test squad against Australia, this is really the first time he’s going to be seen as a long-form bowler. First impressions? It’s going to be a ride. He was quick through the game on a slow surface in Bristol – the quickest in the game, hitting James Bracey twice with bouncers. He was expensive too, going at over five an over in the first innings and 3.55 in the second. Three wickets in each innings played a part in a six-wicket win, but he was also box-office viewing. On the first day, as Rauf’s radar struggled against Gloucestershire’s left-handers, he also bowled one over in which there were two dropped catches off successive balls and two wickets off successive balls. A sign of his freshness in this format: he bowled 27 overs in the second innings, the most he has ever bowled in a first-class innings and only the second time he’s bowled more than 20.Zafar Gohar

Zafar Gohar’s game began by getting stumped for a duck in the first innings, jumping out to Dom Bess, and ended by going at over six an over as Yorkshire chased 211 to win. In the middle, though, the least high-profile of Pakistan’s contingent did what he so often does: contribute. He was the most economical of Gloucestershire’s attack in the first innings, before partnering with Bracey in the second and putting on 104 for the sixth wicket. That helped Gloucestershire set Yorkshire a decent – but not, alas, impregnable – target.

Division Two

Shan Masood
Shan Masood is the leading first-class run-getter in England after two rounds of the County Championship: now there’s a thing. Masood added to an encouraging start at Derbyshire with the first double-hundred of his career against Sussex. It was against a weakened attack – Steven Finn apart, the rest of the frontline bowlers (two pacers and a left-arm spinner) had played 23 first-class games between them before this one, with a combined age of 57. But first-class runs are first-class runs and tellingly, for what it says about Masood’s recent form, they came at a good clip: at lunch, he was 74 off 88 and at close he was unbeaten on 201, still striking at over 74. He remains in Pakistan’s Test plans but the more runs he scores here, the more likely that he will, before the year is out, be back in Pakistan’s Test XI.Mohammad Rizwan

Serious question: is there a better cricketer in the world right now than Mohammad Rizwan? Probably, but not that many and not by much. Which is why Sussex will be one of the better-followed teams (outside of England) this season. In acquiring both Rizwan and Cheteshwar Pujara, they’ve pulled off somewhat of a coup. There’ll be plenty of focus on an Indian and Pakistani in the same side county side, a bit of a throwback to the 70s county circuit when Bishen Bedi and Mushtaq Mohammad turned out for Northants together. Rizwan was unspectacular on debut, 22 and four catches – Pujara, meanwhile, ground out a match-saving double-hundred – but it’s inconceivable that he won’t have greater impact as the season continues.

And the non-combatants …

Naseem Shah sat out this round of games, with Gloucestershire saying they were managing a “minor shoulder injury”. Azhar Ali will next be in action at home to Sussex on Thursday, with Worcestershire not in action this week. And Shaheen Shah Afridi is likely to make his Middlesex debut in the same round of games, when they take on Glamorgan in Cardiff.

Coach backs legspinner Hasaranga to give Bangladesh tough time in fourth innings

Andrew Fidel Fernando24-Apr-2021Sri Lanka are still 29 runs behind Bangladesh’s first-innings total, but they think – or rather they hope – that they can still win the first Test, with one day left to play.The Pallekele surface continued to be abominably flat through large parts of day four, which Dimuth Karunaratne and Dhananjaya de Silva batted out without losing a wicket. The hosts have seven wickets in hand, though, so will likely aim to quickly establish a lead on the fifth morning before trying to skittle the opposition out.”We’re certainly thinking about winning,” said head coach Mickey Arthur after stumps on day four. “That’s how we want to play our cricket. That’s such an important culture to inculcate in a dressing room. We’re not here to make up the numbers.”I said to the guys in the West Indies [during their previous Test series] that, first of all, we want to be a team that’s hard to beat before we become a winning team, because that’s kind of the cycle. I think we are a team that’s hard to beat. We played some hard-nosed cricket in the West Indies on some very flat surfaces. We’ll show some intent tomorrow and who knows where the day goes? It is very flat, but pressure’s a funny thing. If we get ourselves enough in front and leave ourselves enough overs, who knows what could happen?”Related

• 'If our batters average 40, with our attack, we'll have enough to bowl sides out'

• Double-centurion Karunaratne and de Silva bat through wicketless day

• Lahiru Kumara ruled out of Bangladesh Tests due to hamstring injury

Sri Lanka’s attack is short-staffed for their second-innings victory push, though. Seamer Lahiru Kumara has picked up a hamstring strain and is out of the series. And they have played only one specialist spinner in legspinner Wanindu Hasaranga. Playing only his fifth Test, Hasaranga has so far seemed much more suited to limited-overs bowling, than a serious wicket-taker in red-ball cricket.”There will be a burst from the fast bowlers with the new ball, but if we’re going to get close tomorrow, it’s going to be Wanindu Hasaranga that’s going to get us close,” Arthur said. “I don’t want to put too much pressure, I just think he’s such a fantastic player.”Arthur did concede, though, that Sri Lanka’s plan to defeat Bangladesh on a green, seaming surface had perhaps been ill-conceived, as those kinds of surfaces are rarely seen on the island. Sri Lanka had expected much more help for the quicks on the first two days than has been evident from this pitch.”Maybe it was a little bit naive of me in terms of strategy – this is my first Test in Pallekele – in understanding the surface. We wanted to beat Bangladesh with a bit of pace and bounce, but it’s just been extremely flat. We’re going to have to reassess that. We’re going to have to look at how we go for that second Test. We’ll have a discussion about that Test tomorrow, we’ll let this Test happen first.”

Financial pressures may persuade clubs to resume action taken at start of season

George Dobell27-Sep-2020Staff at several first-class counties are expected to be put back on furlough at the end of this week.ESPNcricinfo understands that several of those counties not involved in the knock-out stages of the T20 Blast will put a proportion of their staff – including players – back on furlough in October. This could include the Essex and Somerset teams which have been contesting the Bob Willis Trophy final at Lord’s in recent days.The government’s furlough scheme was set up to counter the financial challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. It has seen the government take responsibility for paying employees, allowing businesses to survive without laying off staff. The scheme ends at the end of October.All but Lancashire and Surrey put their players on furlough at the start of the summer when it became apparent that the season would be delayed. While some counties topped up the government’s furlough amount – which was originally capped at around £2500 a month – others did not. Current legislation means the government will be expected to pay 70 percent of employees’ monthly salary up to a maximum of £2,187, with the employer required to top up another 10 percent.Other county employees, including groundstaff and administration teams, are also expected to be put back on furlough at several clubs.Teams involved in the knock-out stages of the T20 Blast will have to wait to make a claim. The quarter-finals are due to be played on October 1 with Finals Day on October 3.It is understood the players at counties due to be furloughed have not yet been notified of the intention.

The captain returns to action, having been cleared fit after a bout of appendicitis that kept him out of the World Cup Qualifier till now

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Mar-2018Asghar Stanikzai, Afghanistan’s captain, will return to action, having been cleared fit after a bout of appendicitis that kept him out of his side’s World Cup Qualifier campaign till now. He comes into the squad in place of Afsar Zazai, who has been ruled out due to a hamstring injury picked up during training over the weekend.Stanikzai was forced to undergo surgery for appendicitis in late February, and was expected to be sidelined for about ten days, missing the start of the qualifiers. However, his recovery has taken longer, meaning 19-year-old vice-captain Rashid Khan has had to lead Afghanistan through the majority of the tournament.Afghanistan now have two games left in the Super Sixes, but their chances of securing a spot in the 2019 World Cup are very slim. They need to win both their remaining games by big margins to boost a poor net run-rate, and then hope Scotland and Zimbabwe both lose their final games to West Indies and UAE respectively.Afghanistan’s next game is on Tuesday, against UAE, before a clash with Ireland on March 23.

Gary Ballance is to have an X-ray on his left index finger after sustaining a blow on it when batting on the fourth day of the Trent Bridge Test

George Dobell17-Jul-2017
Gary Ballance is to have an X-ray on his left index finger after sustaining a blow on it when batting on the fourth day of the Trent Bridge Test.Ballance was hit by a delivery from Morne Morkel as England slid to a 340-run defeat at the hands of South Africa. It is, in terms of runs, the second-largest defeat South Africa have inflicted upon England.Any break would render Ballance a severe doubt for the third Investec Test which starts at The Oval on July 27.With only 85 runs in the series at an average of 21.15, Ballance has not made a compelling case for his continued selection. While recent policy would suggest the selectors would allow him until the end of the series to prove himself, it is not impossible they could be swayed by any injury doubt.Mark Wood’s bruised left heel will also be monitored over the coming days, with an England spokesman suggesting “he might have a scan” if it was deemed necessary. Wood returned to Test cricket at Lord’s for the first time since October 2015 and has undergone three bouts of surgery on his left ankle.The England selectors are expected to meet over the next couple of days to name their squad for the third Test.Speaking after the game, England’s new captain Joe Root kept his options open in terms of selection, but hinted that he favoured no dramatic changes.”We will sit down over the next couple of days,” he said. “The top six are talented players and they will be desperate to make their chances count when they come along.””It’s important at The Oval we try to get off to a really strong start especially in the first innings and those guys are more than capable of doing it. The way they’ve gone about things in practice and the runs they’ve scored in county cricket have been outstanding and now it’s just about doing it in international cricket.”

The BCCI said “there are no serious concerns which will hamper his speedy recovery” and he will continue to receive treatment, which will assist him to play the match.

Karthik Krishnaswamy16-Mar-2017Virat Kohli is undergoing treatment after suffering a strain in his right shoulder on the opening day of the Ranchi Test and is expected to continue playing the Test, the BCCI has said. The board also stated that “there are no serious concerns which will hamper his speedy recovery” and he will continue to receive treatment, which will assist him to play the match.Kohli suffered the injury in the 40th over of the day, when he chased a drive from Peter Handscomb off Ravindra Jadeja. Sprinting from mid-on towards the long-on boundary, Kohli dived to pull the ball back before it reached the rope, tumbled, and landed on his right shoulder as he did so.He went off the field immediately, and did not return for the rest of the day, with Ajinkya Rahane standing in as captain. Kohli watched the rest of the day’s play from the dressing room with an ice pack strapped to his shoulder.Given that the injury is an external one, India have been told that Kohli can bat at any position he chooses to.The ICC’s playing conditions state that if a player is absent from the field for longer than eight minutes, the player, “shall not be permitted to bat unless or until, in the aggregate, he has returned to the field and/or his side’s innings has been in progress for at least that length of playing time for which he has been absent or, if earlier, when his side has lost five wickets.”However, the clause does not apply if the player has suffered “an external blow (as opposed to an internal injury such as a pulled muscle) whilst participating earlier in the match and consequently been forced to leave the field. Nor shall it apply if the player has been absent for very exceptional and wholly acceptable reasons (other than injury or illness).”Soon after the day’s play ended, India’s fielding coach R Sridhar had said Kohli had suffered a shock on the shoulder after landing badly and he was rested as a precautionary measure.”Virat Kohli’s injury, the exact status of it will be known by tomorrow morning,” Sridhar had said at the time. “He’s going to undergo some scans later today and we’ll know the exact status of it tomorrow morning and what happened today is that we took a precaution to make sure he doesn’t aggravate that injury.”And as far as the technique of the dive is concerned I think it was quite an intense chase to the boundary line and in his intent to save that one run he stopped the ball and landed on his right shoulder when he rolled over. Impact was quite heavy because of the momentum he was carrying and so there was a shock on his right shoulder. That is the current status.”

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.”