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India bat, bring in Arshdeep and Harshit

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They have rested Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakravarthy

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Sep-2025Toss India captain Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and elected to bat against Oman in the last league fixture of the Asia Cup, in Abu Dhabi. With this being a dead rubber – India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have qualified for the Super Four – India experimented with their combination, resting their bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy. They handed Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh their first games of the tournament.With Abu Dhabi less conducive to spin than Dubai in recent times, India fielded just two specialist spinners in Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel though Abhishek Sharma can also pitch in with left-arm spin, if needed. Arshdeep, who returned to the XI, is on the brink of a milestone: he is just one strike away from 100 T20I wickets. He is set to become the first Indian to the landmark.Suryakumar explained that India chose to bat to test their depth. “We’ve not batted [first] in this competition and we want to know our depth. having game-time is important going into Super Fours,” he said.Oman also made two changes, with Zikira Islam and Mohammad Nadeem coming in for Wasim Ali and Hassnain Shah.Oman captain Jatinder said his team lacked experience and exposure at this level and were keen to compete against India. This is the first international game between Oman and India.India: 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Sanju Samson (wk), 4 Suryakumar Yadav (capt), 5 Tilak Varma, 6 Shivam Dube, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Harshit Rana, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Kuldeep Yadav.Oman: 1 Aamir Kaleem, 2 Jatinder Singh (capt), 3 Hammad Mirza, 4 Vinayak Shukla (wk), 5 Shah Faisal, 6 Zikria Islam, 7 Aryan Bisht, 8 Mohammad Nadeem, 9 Shakeel Ahmed, 10 Samay Shrivastava, 11 Jiten Ramanandi.

Australia continue hunt for whitewash, England playing for pride and careers

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Both sides make just one change with a flatter pitch expected at the SCG and some wet weather forecast

Alex Malcolm04-Jan-2022

Big Picture

It feels like an eternity since the end of the Boxing Day Test with the early finish on the morning of day three plus a later start to the New Year’s Test in Sydney only adding to the wait.But there is not much to wait for as the SCG prepares to host yet another Ashes dead rubber. Sydney cricket fans have not seen an Ashes Test where the urn is still to be decided since 1994-95, although the 1998-99 and 2010-11 series could still have been drawn there.Australia are in a luxurious position having secured the Ashes inside 12 days. They have lost Travis Head due to Covid-19 but there is a ready replacement in Usman Khawaja with 44 Tests experience and eight Test match centuries including one in the last Ashes Test played at the SCG four years ago. They have a bevy of fast bowlers to choose from and can now afford to look forward to their Asian tours mid-year although they have resisted the urge to give legspinner Mitchell Swepson a debut with the future in mind.England’s tour has gone from bad to worse with nine members of the support staff contracting Covid-19, including coach Chris Silverwood. As a result, their preparation in Sydney has been disjointed and challenging. Pressure remains on both Silverwood and captain Joe Root in terms of their leadership futures beyond this series while the ECB has taken fire from all quarters over the state of England’s red-ball cricket.Unlike some of the random Sydney selections England have made on the previous two tours, they are set to make one change with Stuart Broad returning to the side in place of Ollie Robinson while the batters get another chance to atone for a horror showing in Melbourne.

Form guide

(most recent first)
Australia WWWLD
England LLLLWPat Cummins relaxes ahead of a team photo at the SCG•Getty Images

In the spotlight

Usman Khawaja has not played Test cricket since he was dropped during the 2019 Ashes series. On that occasion he was squeezed out due to Marnus Labuschagne’s form and again in this series he was on the wrong end of a tight selection call at the Gabba. Now with a first-team player out with Covid-19, Khawaja has an opportunity, not unlike Labuschange’s in 2019. He can create a real headache for Australia’s selectors with a big score in Sydney and make a case to return to the side permanently.Jonny Bairstow has played one Test fewer than Steven Smith and is on his third Ashes tour of Australia. Although he was rushed in without any red-ball match preparation for the MCG Test, on the most challenging surface of the tour to-date, he showed he has the class and skill to counter Australia’s pacemen with 35 in the first innings. He then fell the wrong side of a 50-50 lbw call in the second. At 32, he still has a lot of time to add to his six Test hundreds and improve his overall Test record. England need him desperately to do so and a good batting pitch in Sydney is the perfect place to start.Related

  • Steven Smith's search for rhythm one of Australia's good problems

  • Scott Boland retains spot with Josh Hazlewood not ready to return

  • Root hopes for SCG turnaround despite 'disjointed and challenging' situation in England camp

  • Travis Head tests positive for Covid-19 as Australia scramble for replacements

Team news

Australia have made just the one forced change from the side that won by an innings in Melbourne with Khawaja replacing Head at No.5. Josh Hazlewood is not ready to return from his side strain and Jhye Richardson has also been held back due to his shin. Scott Boland retains his place after it was remarkably under threat despite his 6 for 7 in Melbourne.Australia: 1 David Warner, 2 Marcus Harris, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steven Smith, 5 Usman Khawaja, 6 Cameron Green, 7 Alex Carey, 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Scott BolandOlly Robinson is out and Stuart Broad is in•Getty Images

Robinson has been left out after labouring a touch in Melbourne and Broad is his replacement having played just one Test in the series so far. England’s batting remains the major issue but no changes have been made despite only two players reaching 30 across two innings in Melbourne.England: 1 Haseeb Hameed, 2 Zak Crawley, 3 Dawid Malan, 4 Joe Root, 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jonny Bairstow, 7 Jos Buttler, 8 Mark Wood, 9 Jack Leach, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 James Anderson

Pitch and conditions

The SCG now has the mantle of the flattest pitch in Australia after the MCG’s rejuvenation in recent years. The pitch had plenty of grass on it a day out from the match but it is expected that curator Adam Lewis will shave some of it off prior to the first ball. The lone Sheffield Shield game played there this season produced a decent contest between bat and ball. The weather could well play a factor with showers forecast throughout the game.

Stats and trivia

  • England’s record at the SCG is better than any other venue in Australia. They have won 22 times in 56 Tests and it is the site of their last Test victory in Australia in 2011.
  • Khawaja has been in and out of Australia’s Test team several times since his debut in the fifth Ashes Test in 2010-11. But this is his longest stretch between Test appearances having last played in August 2019. His previous longest was two years and three months between August 2013 and November 2015.
  • Nathan Lyon averages 40.94 with the ball at the SCG, his least effective ground in Australia where he has played multiple Tests. Mitchell Starc averages 42.30 at the SCG, his worst ground in Australia by some margin.
  • England’s average of 18.75 runs per dismissal is their worst average in any Ashes series of three or more matches played in Australia. England averaged 20.20 in 1882 but won that series 2-1.

Quotes

“We are very privileged to get the opportunity to represent our country and we’ve got two games here to show how much we care about that, and to make sure that we put in better performances than we have done so far in this tour. Those guys in that dressing room really care about it and we’ve got to sort of find a way of showing that now in the field.”
“Traditionally here over the last 10 years, it’s been pretty hard work for the bowlers. I don’t see a lot that’s going to be different this week. There’s a bit of grass, there’s going to be a bit of weather. I don’t think we’re going to see it break up and turn or have that traditional kind of dusty spinning wicket from maybe 10-plus years ago. We’ll wait and see but it looks really even at the moment.”

Wrong'uns the right answer for UAE hat-trick man Karthik Meiyappan

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Legspinner explains his thought process after picking up the first hat-trick of the 2022 T20 World Cup

Alex Malcolm18-Oct-2022It’s not often that you find a player beaming after his side has been thumped by 79 runs in a T20 World Cup game, but nothing could wipe the smile off Karthik Meiyappan’s face following his hat-trick against Sri Lanka.Karthik, the 22-year-old UAE legspinner who was born in Chennai and has trained with both Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings in the past, put his name up in lights in Geelong with three magical deliveries in three balls to join Brett Lee, Curtis Campher, Wanindu Hasaranga and Kagiso Rabada as just the fifth man to take a hat-trick at a T20 World Cup.”It still hasn’t sunk in, the fact that I’ve got a hat-trick in a T20 World Cup, and to become the fifth bowler to do so,” Karthik said after the match. “It is really a proud moment and feels amazing. But, like I said, it would have been much greater and much better for me if we had won the game tonight.”He was genuine in his disappointment with the result. But Karthik, who moved to the UAE in 2007 when his father began working there, could not have done any more to help his team. He bowled a superb spell of four overs for just 19 runs, including 12 dots. His hat-trick came in his third over, the 15th of the innings, to stall Sri Lanka’s momentum after they had cruised to 117 for 2 with more than five overs to go on a difficult batting surface.Even more impressive than the three deliveries he bowled to dismiss Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Charith Asalanka and Dasun Shanaka was the clarity of his plans in the moment, and his execution. He was happy to talk everyone through the plans, too.”First up against Rajapaksa, the leg side was the long boundary for him,” Karthik said. “I thought he would take me down the deck as I think he was 5 or something that and… I tried to push it away bowling a wrong’un and he tried to go over covers but he sliced it.”When Asalanka walked in, that was a no-brainer for me: I was going to bowl a wrong’un straight up and Vriitya [Aravind, the wicketkeeper] took an amazing catch.”And then Dasun walked in, again I was just going through my motions being the hat-trick, but all I wanted to do was bowl on the stumps and whatever happens after that it is out of my hands. But, again, I just bowled a wrong’un and I think he picked it as a leggie.”He was asked after the match if he thought he might get a call from Chennai Super Kings again, this time for a bit more than bowling in the nets.”That is something I don’t know about,” Karthik said with a smile. “But I hope they do.”

Phil Simmons appointed Karachi Kings head coach

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The former West Indies allrounder takes over from Johan Botha, under whom the team finished second-from-bottom in 2023

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Dec-2023Karachi Kings have appointed the former West Indies allrounder Phil Simmons as their head coach ahead of the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL) season. Simmons takes over from the former South Africa allrounder Johan Botha, who coached Kings to a second-from-bottom finish, with three wins from 10 games, in PSL 2023.Related

  • Watson to take over as Quetta Gladiators head coach

  • Naseem moves to Islamabad United from Quetta Gladiators

  • Hesson appointed Islamabad United head coach

Simmons, who played 26 Tests and 143 ODIs from 1987 to 1999, has enjoyed an extensive coaching career including multiple stints with West Indies, the most recent of which ended after the team’s first-round exit from the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia. He is currently head coach of Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and LA Knight Riders in Major League Cricket (MLC).Simmons played one international game in Karachi, during the 1987 World Cup, and he said in a statement that he looked forward to returning to the city and working with Kings team director Haider Azhar.

“Returning to Karachi, a city I hold dear from my playing days, feels like a homecoming,” Simmons said. “I am thrilled to join forces with Haider Azhar and the rest of the team’s think tank, drawing from the rich cricketing heritage of this country.”I am thankful to team owner Salman Iqbal, CEO Tariq Wasi, and Karachi Kings management for this opportunity. We are eager to move ahead with our rebuilding and restart process of Karachi Kings and establish this franchise as a match-winning unit.”Kings have won one title – in 2020 – in eight seasons of the PSL. They will hope the appointment of Simmons will revive their fortunes after their failure to make the playoffs of the tournament in both 2022 and 2023.Simmons’ first task will be building Kings’ squad during the player draft on Wednesday. Kings currently have eight players on their roster: Shan Masood (captain), James Vince, Hasan Ali, Shoaib Malik, Tabraiz Shamsi, Mir Hamza, Muhammad Akhlaq and Muhammad Irfan Khan.The 2024 season of the PSL is scheduled to run from February 13 to March 18.

'Been whispering in his ears' – Powell is trying to get Narine to play T20 World Cup

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“Let’s see what the future holds,” Narine said after the match when asked if he’d reconsider his decision to retire

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Apr-20243:22

Powell: ‘Tried to take down KKR’s main bowler Narine’

Is Sunil Narine being coaxed into coming out of international retirement for the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and USA that follows IPL 2024?Three nights ago, Narine, who had announced his international retirement in November 2023, was certain he’d be watching the tournament from home. But on Tuesday night, after hitting a magnificent century to power Kolkata Knight Riders to 223 for 6, Narine gave an inkling of that stance changing.”It is what it is, but let’s see what the future holds,” Narine, said after the match, when asked if he’d reconsider his decision to retire.Related

  • RCB have Narine to tackle, again, with their campaign starting to go belly-up

  • Ball-by-ball: How Royals and Buttler pulled off a heist at Eden Gardens

  • Buttler's 107* tops Narine's 109 as Royals ace record chase against KKR

After the match, Rovman Powell, West Indies’ T20I captain, revealed he’d been trying to change Narine’s mind through every channel possible.”For the last 12 months, I’ve been whispering in his (Narine’s) ears, but he’s blocked out everyone,” Powell said when asked about trying to convince Narine to reverse his decision. “I’ve asked [Kieron] Pollard, [Dwayne] Bravo, [Nicholas] Pooran. Hopefully, before they select the team, they can crack his code.”Powell himself was a key contributor to Rajasthan Royals’ chase, hitting 26 off 13 balls. He came into his own in the 17th over, when he took apart Narine for a four and two back-to-back sixes in a 16-run over that left Royals needing 46 off the last three.They eventually got home off the last delivery when Jos Buttler, who struck his second century of the competition, heaved Varun Chakravarthy into the leg side with the scores level.Powell was one of Royals’ big-ticket auction signings at INR 7.4 crore, but opportunities have been limited. Tuesday’s game at the Eden Gardens was just his second outing with the bat this season, but he was all praise for the team management.Rovman Powell played a crucial role in Rajasthan Royals’ win•AFP/Getty Images

“The morale in the team is very good, even when I am not playing the communication has been very good and as an international player, I really appreciate when the communication is precise and clear,” he said. “The guys are in good space and long may that continue.”Powell was also asked tongue-in-cheek if he’d been whispering into Kumar Sangakkara’s [director of cricket] ear about a batting promotion.”I told them, ‘hey, I bat at No. 4 or 5 for West Indies and if you think West Indies is a good T20 side, then you can push me up the order,” he said with a smile. “We have got a few days off now and I will keep ringing it in their (the management) ears.”Powell likened the emotions at the end to that of a roller-coaster ride as Royals pulled off IPL’s highest successful chase. He also revealed he went out to bat with not set plans of taking down spin, and was merely reacting to the situation.”The emotions are all over the place at the moment,” he said. “I didn’t plan to take on Sunil, I knew he’s their best bowler, but when it comes down to 80 off 30, you have to take your chances. I backed my strengths, took my chances and came off today.”

Anshul Kamboj becomes third bowler to take all ten wickets in an innings in Ranji Trophy

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Haryana fast bowler bagged 10 for 49 against Kerala, and became the sixth Indian to achieve the feat in first-class cricket

Shashank Kishore15-Nov-2024Haryana fast bowler Anshul Kamboj became only the third cricketer to take all ten wickets in an innings in the Ranji Trophy. He achieved this feat when he dismissed Kerala’s Shoun Roger at the Chaudhary Bansi Lal Stadium in Lahli, to finish with figures of 30.1-9-49-10 in the first innings.Two other bowlers had taken all ten wickets in an innings in the Ranji Trophy previously: Bengal’s Premangsu Chatterjee in 1956-57 and Rajasthan’s Pradeep Sunderam in 1985-86. Overall, Kamboj is the sixth Indian to achieve this feat in first-class cricket after legspinners Subhash Gupte and Anil Kumble, and Odisha seamer Debasis Mohanty. While there have been 90 instances of bowlers taking all ten wickets in an innings in first-class cricket, Kumble along with England’s Jim Laker and New Zealand’s Ajaz Patel are the only ones to do it in a Test match.

Kamboj, 23, comes from Karnal in Haryana, a boxing heartland, and began playing cricket on open fields. It wasn’t until the age of 14 that he began to take cricket seriously. In less than a decade, Kamboj has progressed to play for his state team and has also broken into the IPL.The milestone of ten wickets in an innings is yet another achievement for Kamboj over the last 12 months. He took 17 wickets in ten games with an economy of 3.58 in Harayana’s run to the Vijay Hazare Trophy title, including a best of 4 for 30 in the semi-final against Tamil Nadu.While playing for India C against India B during the Duleep Trophy in September, Kamboj picked up 8 for 69, his best first-class figures until the ten-wicket haul. That performance included the wickets of seasoned domestic batters like Sarfaraz Khan, Rinku Singh and N Jagadeesan. Last month, he was part of the India Emerging squad at the T20 Asia Cup, where he turned in a match-winning performance of 3 for 33 against Pakistan Shaheens.Kamboj also got his maiden IPL contract this year with Mumbai Indians and played three games at the back end of a season where they finished in last place. He was a candidate to be an uncapped retention ahead of the IPL 2025 auction, and although that didn’t happen his performances this year will make him one of the uncapped Indian players to watch at the auction on November 24 and 25.

McAndrew, McSweeney star as SA belt NSW in Shield

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McAndrew’s maiden 10-wicket haul and McSweeney’s scores of 64 and 100 helped South Australia to a 186-run win

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff18-Oct-2023Nathan McAndrew and Nathan McSweeney have propelled South Australia to a commanding 186-run win that extends New South Wales’ winless streak in the Sheffield Shield.McAndrew produced the most dominant individual bowling performance of the competition so far this season, taking two five-wicket hauls including 5 for 19 in the second innings that restricted the Blues to totals of 183 and 136 at Adelaide Oval. It marked the first time the New South Wales’-born paceman, 30, had taken 10 wickets in a first-class match.It wasn’t enough to claim player of the match honours though with McSweeney rewarded for his superb batting display, making 64 and 100 in a low-scoring match where only three players passed 50. The next highest score in the match was just 58 from Daniel Hughes. No other South Australia batted passed 33 in either innings.McAndrew began the final day with nine wickets already to his name in the match having ripped through the Blues late on day three, taking 4 for 19, as the visitors slumped to 99 for 6 chasing 323 runs for victory in the fourth innings.But there was a chance his 10th wicket would not come. He was strangely not used by captain Jake Lehmann in the first seven overs of the day as Blues duo Jack Edwards and Jack Nisbet added 25 runs for the seventh wicket before Conway broke through.McAndrew was called on from the other end and bowled a maiden first up but Conway added another wicket to his tally in the following over as Edwards pulled one straight down fine leg’s throat. McAndrew bowled another maiden before Conway removed Chris Tremain to grab a fourth wicket for the innings and leave New South Wales nine-down.But McAndrew was able to his 10th with Jackson Bird caught in the gully as the Blues were bowled out for 136.

KKR pin their hopes on Narine and Russell against Kohli-powered RCB

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Knight Riders’ top six faces a big challenge as the IPL returns to the Eden Gardens

Vishal Dikshit05-Apr-2023

Big picture – will KKR’s batting stand up?

If a depleted Royal Challengers Bangalore attack could deflate the power-packed Mumbai Indians at the batting-friendly Chinnaswamy Stadium, imagine what they could do at a more pace-friendly Eden Gardens against the underwhelming top six of Kolkata Knight Riders.Against Punjab Kings’ bowling attack, which doesn’t look the most threatening in the tournament, Knight Riders were 146 for 7 in 16 overs, without a single marquee name in their top six which managed a combined 90 runs off 74 balls, leaving too much on Andre Russell’s shoulders and weathered knees. They signing of Jason Roy is a clear boost, but he won’t be joining them in time for this game.On Thursday, they have to match the fired-up top order of Royal Challengers. In the previous match, Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis scored blazing half-centuries, hammering 11 sixes and as many fours together. Both of them like pace onto the bat, which could put the onus on the Knight Riders’ spin trio of Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy and Anukul Roy, if he gets another game. Spinners have been more economical compared to the quicks in Kolkata since 2018, and both du Plessis and Kohli haven’t scored as quickly against spinners in the last three IPLs. Kohli also doesn’t have a great record against both Narine and Varun. Remember the 2021 eliminator when Narine single-handedly took out the trio of Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers to help his team to the final?Even if Knight Riders can’t replicate that performance, they will be hoping to put up a better show in front of their home crowd.

Team news – RCB without Topley

Royal Challengers will continue to be without Wanindu Hasaranga and Josh Hazlewood, who are yet to join the squad, and Rajat Patidar has been ruled out of the tournament. Their left-arm quick Reece Topley, who snared Cameron Green with a searing yorker in their last game, hurt his right shoulder badly while fielding and traveled to Kolkata with his arm in a sling. They can bring in David Willey as a like-for-like bowling replacement.Roy will join Knight Riders in time for Sunday’s game in Ahmedabad, and Litton Das will fly in from Dhaka after the ongoing Test against Ireland. Lockie Ferguson, who missed their first game as well, is still bowling with half a run-up in the nets and is unlikely to play.Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis were on fire in RCB’s first match against Mumbai Indians•Associated Press

Toss and Impact Player strategy

Royal Challengers Bangalore
Royal Challengers didn’t have to use the Impact Player rule in their convincing win against Mumbai. If they bat second like they did that day, they can bring in another batter like Suyash Prabhudessai or Anuj Rawat in place of Akash Deep or Mohammed Siraj, and do the opposite while batting first.Probable bat-first XI: 1 Faf du Plessis (capt), 2 Virat Kohli, 3 Glenn Maxwell, 4 Michael Bracewell, 5 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 6 Suyash Prabhudessai, 7 Shahbaz Ahmed, 8 Harshal Patel, 9 Akash Deep, 10 David Willey, 11 Karn SharmaProbable bowl-first XI: 1 Faf du Plessis (capt), 2 Virat Kohli, 3 Glenn Maxwell, 4 Michael Bracewell, 5 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 6 Shahbaz Ahmed, 7 Harshal Patel, 8 Akash Deep, 9 David Willey, 10 Karn Sharma, 11 Mohammed SirajKolkata Knight Riders
While batting second against Kings, they subbed out Varun to bring in Venkatesh Iyer in the chase, and they could stick to a similar strategy in this game as well. Batting first, they could start with an extra batter with Russell slotted at No. 7 and Narine at 8, and sub out Mandeep Singh for a bowler to retain Venkatesh’s bowling option for the second innings. In either case, they could also play Kulwant Khejroliya instead of Shardul Thakur, who leaked 43 in the first game, with enough batting depth.Possible bat-first XI: 1 Mandeep Singh, 2 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 3 Anukul Roy, 4 Venkatesh Iyer, 5 Nitish Rana (capt), 6 Rinku Singh, 7 Andre Russell, 8 Sunil Narine, 9 Shardul Thakur/Kulwant Khejroliya, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Tim SoutheePossible bowl-first XI: 1 Mandeep Singh, 2 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 3 Anukul Roy, 4 Venkatesh Iyer, 5 Nitish Rana (capt), 6 Andre Russell, 7 Sunil Narine, 8 Shardul Thakur/Kulwant Khejroliya, 9 Varun Chakravarthy, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Tim Southee

Stats that matter – Tie Kohli up with spin

  • Maxwell, Kohli and du Plessis don’t have great strike rates against Narine in the IPL. Maxwell’s stands at 101.75 (58 off 57 balls), Kohli’s at 103.06 (101 off 98) and du Plessis’ at 80 (36 off 45 balls)
  • On the other hand, Kohli loves hitting out against the India quicks in the Knight Riders squad. He has hit Umesh Yadav for 150 runs off 85 balls and Thakur for 67 off 42. So don’t be surprised if they introduce Narine early against Kohli and du Plessis.
  • Russell is going to play his 100th IPL game and Narine his 150th, and it will be in front of the Knight Riders home crowd.

Pitch and conditions – Home disadvantage

The trend at Eden Gardens in the IPL has mostly been to chase. The pitch usually has something for the quicks and spinners both, and the bigger dimensions mean boundaries may not come as often as they did for Kohli and du Plessis at the Chinnaswamy Stadium a few days ago. It’s expected to be slightly humid with temperatures in the late 20s in the evening, and some early swing and dew later as usual.

Quotes

“One cannot be judgmental after only one game. Even in the last game, we were in the game till the end and it was unfortunate [that we lost]. I’m pretty confident about the side we have.”

Haris to lead Pakistan A in Emerging Asia Cup in Sri Lanka

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Pakistan A will play against India A on July 16

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jun-2023Mohammad Haris will lead Pakistan A in the eight-team Men’s Emerging Asia Cup, which will run from July 14 to 23 in Sri Lanka. Omair Yousuf has been named his deputy in the 15-member squad that includes the likes of Saim Ayub, Shahnawaz Dahani and Mohammad Wasim among others.Haris was part of the senior T20I squad in the most recent series that Pakistan played against New Zealand at home. In all, he has represented the senior side in five ODIs and nine T20Is. Others in the squad who have senior international experience include Arshad Iqbal, Kamran Ghulam, Wasim, Ayub, Dahani, and Tayyab Tahir. Wasim is the most experienced out of the lot, with two Tests, 14 ODIs and 27 T20Is under his belt.Haris’ deputy Yousuf has not turned out for Pakistan but has a good domestic record, wherein he averages 43.33 in 40 first-class games. In List A cricket, Yousuf has scored 1158 runs in 41 matches at 32.16. He was Pakistan A’s leading run-scorer when they visited Zimbabwe for a six-game unofficial ODI series in May this year, with 275 runs in four outings at 91.66. Pakistan A had gone down 4-2 in that series.Pakistan A, the defending champions, have been placed in Group A alongside India A, Nepal and Sri Lanka A. They will open their campaign against Nepal A on July 14, followed by the clash against their Indian counterparts on July 16 and Sri Lanka A on July 18. The tournament will be held in the 50-over format. Group B consists of Afghanistan A, Bangladesh A, Oman and UAE.The top two sides from each group will qualify for the semi-finals. The final will be held on July 23.Pakistan A squad: Mohammad Haris (capt & wk), Omair Yousuf (vice-capt), Amad Butt, Arshad Iqbal, Haseebullah, Kamran Ghulam, Mehran Mumtaz, Mubasir Khan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr., Qasim Akram, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shahnawaz Dahani, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab TahirReserves: Abdul Bangalzai, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Junaid, Rohail Nazir

Plenty of internationals in Afghanistan A

Shahidullah Kamal will lead a strong 15-member Afghanistan A squad consisting of eight capped players for the competition. The squad has the likes of Ihsanullah Janat, Ikram Alikhil, Riaz Hassan and Noor Ali Zadran in the mix. Noor, who has represented Afghanistan in 51 ODIs and 20 T20Is, is the most experienced out of the lot.Afghanistan A are part of Group B and start their campaign against Oman on July 14, followed by Sri Lanka A on July 16 and Bangladesh A on July 18.Afghanistan A squad: Shahidullah Kamal (capt), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Ishaq Rahimi (wk), Riaz Hassan, Ihsanullah Jannat, Noor Ali Zadran, Zubaid Akbari, Baheer Shah, Allah Noor Nasiri, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Izharulhaq Naveed, Wafadar Momand, Ibrahim Abdulrahimzai, Salim Safi, Zia Ur Rehman Akbar, Bilal Sami.Reserves: Abdul Malik, Asghar Atal, Abdul Baqi, Zuhaib Zamankhil

Suryakumar to lead India for Australia T20Is; Axar returns

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Shreyas Iyer will be available for only the last two games

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Nov-2023With Hardik Pandya yet to recover from his ankle injury, Suryakumar Yadav will lead India in the five-match T20I series against Australia, starting November 23. Ruturaj Gaikwad will be the vice-captain for the first three games before handing over the responsibility to Shreyas Iyer who will join the squad for the last two matches.The series starts just four days after India lost to Australia in the ODI World Cup final in Ahmedabad. But with the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA roughly six months away, the focus will now shift to T20Is.From the ODI World Cup squad, Suryakumar, Ishan Kishan and Prasidh Krishna are the only ones named for the whole series, while Axar Patel, who was ruled out of the World Cup with quadriceps strain, is back.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

However, there was no room for Sanju Samson and Shahbaz Ahmed, who were part of the squad for the Ireland T20Is in August. Riyan Parag, who almost single-handedly carried Assam to the semi-final of the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and Abhishek Sharma, the Player of the Tournament, could not find a place either.Apart from Axar, Washington Sundar is the other allrounder. Shivam Dube, too, is in the mix, but he has bowled only sporadically of late, sending down just four overs in eight games in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Ravi Bishnoi is the only wristspinner in the squad.This is the first time Suryakumar will be leading India. Previously, he has led Mumbai in 36 matches across formats in domestic cricket. Earlier this year, he also captained Mumbai Indians against Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL.Related

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VVS Laxman, who had coached the India men’s team to the gold medal at the Asian Games, will be in charge of the team for the five T20Is. The first match will be played in Visakhapatnam before the caravan moves to Thiruvananthapuram (November 26), Guwahati (November 28), Raipur (December 1), and Bengaluru (December 3).India’s squad for Australia T20Is: Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Ruturaj Gaikwad (vice-capt), Ishan Kishan (wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar, Shreyas Iyer (vice-capt, available only for last two T20Is)

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