Whatever Australia’s gains on day four in Mohali, they still ended it staring a third consecutive defeat squarely in the face

The Report by Daniel Brettig17-Mar-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMitchell Starc struck twice in an over, as Australia’s quicks restricted India to a 91-run lead, but that good work was undone by Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s burst•BCCI

Whatever Australia’s gains on day four in Mohali, they still ended it staring a third consecutive defeat squarely in the face. Further anxiety was created by the impression that the captain Michael Clarke’s degenerative back condition had finally caught up with him in a Test match. India’s 10 wickets were rounded up for a mere 210, but a pesky first innings deficit of 91 was made to look defining by the tourists’ all too predictable slide to 75 for 3 by the close.Beginning the day at a commanding 283 for 0, India lost Shikhar Dhawan for 187 from the 11th ball of the morning. Aside from M Vijay’s studious advance to 153 and Virat Kohli’s measured unbeaten 67, none of the rest held Australia up for a protracted period. All the bowlers played their part, but Peter Siddle deserved the greatest plaudits for an admirably sustained and well-directed effort that reaped 5 for 71 at the ground on which he made his Test debut in 2008.The most disquieting element of Australia’s day in the field was Clarke’s visible struggle with his back, which he was stretching almost as soon as he walked to the middle in the morning. Clarke spent numerous passages of the day receiving treatment, and he was ginger whenever he did appear. Notably absent when the tourists batted, the lack of Clarke’s reassuring presence no doubt having an effect on what followed. It is not yet known when Clarke will bat.David Warner, Ed Cowan and Steven Smith all fell by the wayside in the 21 overs bowled before the close, their tormentor not a spinner but the clever seam and swing merchant Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who moved the ball in a manner that emulated the success of Siddle and Mitchell Starc earlier in the day.Australia’s sole source of batting comfort was provided most surprisingly by Phillip Hughes, who was able to get his feet moving against a couple of overs of pace before the slow bowlers came on. This was a matter of circumstances, Warner’s early dismissal and Clarke’s bad back thrusting Hughes into the middle earlier than he has appeared for most of the series.He was the beneficiary of plenty of fortune, several edges landing safely and other deliveries snaking past his groping bat, but the sight of Hughes scoring any runs at all will be the source of some relief to the visitors. They had to find someone to do a job after Warner swished unwisely in the first over, Cowan played around a straight ball and Smith was undone by a devilish delivery that shaped as though an inswinger but held its line to pluck off stump.

Smart stats

• Shikhar Dhawan’s 187 is the sixth-highest score by a batsman on Test debut, and the highest by an Indian. The previous-best for India was Gundappa Viswanath’s 137.

• Dhawan’s score is the second-highest by an opener on debut, after Brendon Kuruppu’s 201 not out. Dhawan’s also the first Indian opener to score a century on debut.

• All three of M Vijay’s Test hundreds have come against Australia. His average in five Tests against them is 73.25; against other teams, he averages 22.43 in ten Tests.

• This is the 14th instance of both openers scoring more than 150 in an innings in Tests, and the second for India. The previous time it happened against a team other than Zimbabwe or Bangladesh was almost a decade ago, by South Africa against England in July 2003.

• The partnership of 289 between Dhawan and Vijay is the third-best for the opening wicket for India, and the 17th in the all-time list.

• Peter Siddle’s 5 for 71 is his seventh five-for in Tests, but only the second overseas, after his 5 for 21 at Headingley in 2009.

• In Australia’s second innings in Mohali, Phillip Hughes has scored 29 from 43 balls against spinners; before this innings, he had scored 8 from 82 balls against spin in the series, and been dismissed five times.

Clarke’s team had clearly resolved to tighten up their bowling considerably after allowing Dhawan and the match to gallop away from them on the third afternoon, and there was to be an almost immediate reward for the greater purpose with which they went about the fourth morning. Clarke posted a silly point for Nathan Lyon to Dhawan, and a hint of extra bounce had the ball deflecting gently from splice of the bat into Cowan’s hands.Siddle was gaining useful movement with the old ball at the other end, threatening Vijay’s stumps, but it was to be Cheteshwar Pujara who succumbed after waiting 289 runs for his chance. Siddle bent a delivery back into line with the stumps, and an inside edge was not enough to prevent the umpire Aleem Dar from raising his finger. Pujara stood aghast and shook his head while walking off, but it had appeared a strong shout to the naked eye – which is all the umpires are entitled to in this series.Tendulkar thus walked out to face some of the best Australian bowling of the series so far, Lyon and Siddle both delivering searching spells. But they were unable to add a third wicket for the morning, as Tendulkar settled in smoothly and Vijay maintained his serene progress, having lofted Lyon over straight midwicket to reach a third Test century, all against Australia.Starc and Xavier Doherty were not quite as dangerous as the bowlers they replaced, while Siddle and Clarke both spent time off the field, leaving the de facto vice-captain Brad Haddin to manoeuvre the field having been in India for less than a week. Tendulkar appeared to have settled in for a long stay, but Clarke’s decision to hand Smith the final over of the session brought a rich dividend: his first ball drifted, dropped, bounced and spun a touch, drawing a Tendulkar misjudgement, an inside edge and a simple catch for Cowan. Lunch came and went with Vijay and Kohli looking comfortable enough, but Clarke then took the new ball.For the first time in the series Starc found some appreciable movement, his first offering straightening down the line and surprising Vijay, who offered only his pad to be lbw. MS Dhoni pushed his first ball down the ground for four, but it continued to swing. He was very nearly lbw to his second ball, and very definitely lbw to his third, a curling ball of full length.Ravindra Jadeja was reprieved from becoming the third victim of the over via the thinnest of inside edges, but at the other end Siddle found useful bounce, and extracted neat edges from Jadeja and then R Ashwin, both held safely by Haddin.At this point India led by only 23 with three wickets in hand, and Australia sniffed a chance to roll up the innings and perhaps set the hosts a final-day target. But Kohli held firm in the company of Bhuvneshwar, Dhoni’s stubborn partner in Chennai, and the lead grew while valuable time elapsed. Their union did not last after tea, Siddle plucking the final two wickets with consecutive balls spread across two overs.

Waqar Younis, the former Pakistan fast bowler, captain and coach, will be joining Sunrisers Hyderabad as a bowling consultant for the 2013 IPL season

Nagraj Gollapudi08-Mar-2013Waqar Younis, the former Pakistan fast bowler, captain and coach, will be joining Sunrisers Hyderabad as a bowling consultant for the 2013 IPL season. Waqar will be the second Pakistani bowling coach in the IPL, following the footsteps of his former new-ball partner Wasim Akram, who has performed the same role with defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders since 2010. Akram, though, has taken a break this season.Former Australia allrounder Tom Moody, who is the Sunrisers’ head coach, was active in hiring Waqar, who is based in Sydney. “Tom is a fine buddy since our playing days and he asked me if I could come and help and I accepted the offer,” Waqar told ESPNcricinfo. “I want to go and have a feel about it and how it works.”After he stepped down as Pakistan’s head coach in September 2011, Waqar coached Ruhuna Royals in the inaugural Sri Lanka Premier League last year. During his stint as Pakistan coach, Waqar was instrumental in leading Pakistan to the semi-finals of the 2010 World Twenty20 in the West Indies where they were silenced by Michael Hussey’s heroics late in the match.Waqar said the IPL job would be a good challenge. “I am going to go the way I go about things. It will be a good experience for me also to interact with a lot of fast bowlers.” And he has already set himself a goal: working closely with the Indian fast bowler Ishant Sharma. “I am really excited to work with Ishant Sharma. He can be a better bowler than he is.”Dale Steyn, Clint McKay, Sudeep Tyagi are some of the other quick bowlers in the Sunrisers squad, who are bound to benefit from Waqar’s vast experience.”We hope Waqar’s experience and Steyn’s expertise will help our bowlers restrict the opposition batsmen’s charge and reduce the pressure on our batsmen,” a Sunrisers’ official said on Waqar’s appointment.Last October, the Sunrisers replaced Deccan Chargers in the IPL after the BCCI had terminated the contract with Deccan Chronicles Holdings Ltd (owners of the Chargers), due to a prolonged financial crisis. Sun TV network successfully bid for the franchise rights for 85.05 crores per year (approx $15.9m) for a five-year deal.Sunrisers Hyderabad Squad: Akshath Reddy, Amit Mishra, Anand Rajan, Ankit Sharma, Ashish Reddy, Biplab Samantray, Cameron White, Chris Lynn, Clint McKay, Dale Steyn, Darren Sammy, Dwaraka Ravi Teja, Hanuma Vihari, Ishant Sharma, JP Duminy (currently injured), Karan Sharma, Kumar Sangakkara, Nathan McCullum, Parthiv Patel, Quinton de Kock, Sachin Rana, Shikhar Dhawan, Sudeep Tyagi, Thalaivan Sargunam, Thisara Perera, Veer Pratap Singh.

Shem Ngoche’s four-wicket haul set up Kenya’s convincing seven-wicket win over Netherlands in the T20 Quadrangular series in Windhoek on Saturday

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Apr-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsShem Ngoche’s four-wicket haul set up Kenya’s convincing seven-wicket win over Netherlands in the T20 Quadrangular series in Windhoek on Saturday.Kenya immediately reaped the rewards of putting Netherlands into bat, as Nehemiah Odhiambo struck with the first ball of the match, taking a return catch to dismiss Netherlands wicketkeeper Wesley Barresi. The batting side never recovered from that start, losing wickets at regular intervals, and were dismissed for 113 in the 19th over. Ngoche was the most successful bowler, though he was expensive, picking up four wickets for 34 runs off four overs.In reply, Kenya needed just 74 balls to achieve the target, as Alex Obanda, Collins Obuya and Rakep Patel guided the chase with useful partnerships. Obuya and Patel put on an unbeaten 69-run stand for the fourth wicket, with Patel contributing 46 to the stand. His innings, which came off 20 balls, included five sixes and two fours.

Mervyn Westfield has endured a third day in the witness box as Danish Kaneria’s appeal against a lifetime ban from the game continues

George Dobell24-Apr-2013Mervyn Westfield has endured a third day in the witness box as Danish Kaneria’s appeal against a lifetime ban from the game continues.Westfield, a hostile witness forced to attend the hearing after the ECB obtained a High Court summons, spent much of Monday giving evidence and was then cross-examined by Kaneria’s legal team on Tuesday and Wednesday.Westfield’s testimony was key when Kaneria was banned for life and charged £100,000 in costs by an ECB disciplinary panel in June 2012 for his part in the spot-fixing case involving. Kaneria had been found guilty of inducing Westfield, his former Essex team-mate, to underperform in a limited-overs game in 2009 and of bringing the game into disrepute. Westfield was jailed for his role in the case.ESPNcricinfo understands that Tony Palladino, a former Essex team-mate of Kaneria and Westfield, has been one of the other witnesses before appearing in the current round of Championship games. It was Palladino, now with Derbyshire, who provided the crucial evidence that led to the conviction and imprisonment of Westfield.The verdict of the appeal is expected late on Thursday or on Friday.

Cricket Australia is expected to pour more money into growing the game at grassroots level and appealing to a more diverse fan-base after the new A$590 million broadcasting rights deal

Brydon Coverdale04-Jun-2013Cricket Australia is expected to pour more money into growing the game at grassroots level and appealing to a more diverse fan-base after receiving a massive financial boost thanks to the new A$590 million broadcasting rights deal. The organisation has been pushing for some time to increase its appeal to a wider multicultural demographic, which has continued with the offering of special marketing contracts to Fawad Ahmed and Gurinder Sandhu.Ahmed, a refugee from Pakistan, could yet play in the Ashes if legislation before federal parliament is passed in time to allow his Australian passport to be fast-tracked, while Sandhu, whose parents are from India, was New South Wales’ Player of the Year last summer.CA hopes both men will take up the marketing contracts, a concept which was introduced as a result of the reduction in the number of central playing contracts recommended by the Argus report. Under an agreement with the Australian Cricketers’ Association, players from outside the central contract list could be offered deals based on marketing appearances, and CA’s chief executive James Sutherland said Ahmed was a good fit for such a contract.”In terms of someone like Fawad, he’s done very well in domestic cricket at the end of last season and he’s got a different sort of background,” Sutherland told ESPNcricinfo. “Part of our real focus at the moment is to grow and diversify our participation base. There are a number of players from different cultural backgrounds who are playing in domestic cricket and I guess there are opportunities to really highlight that and for them to be some sort of inspiration to others in our community to be part of the Australian cricket scene.”That broader aim of appealing across cultures will continue to be a major focus of CA over the next few years and it will have significantly increased funds with which to tackle the issue as a result of the broadcasting deal. The new five-year arrangement with Channel Nine and Channel Ten is worth 118% more than the previous deal and while some of that increase will be directed to the elite teams and players, grassroots cricket will also be a winner.”How you spend your increases in revenue is just as important as the revenue itself,” Sutherland said. “We have a very clear strategy and approach that says that at least 75% of our revenue will be spent of fans, Australian teams and participants, and that will be a very sharp focus for us over the next five years.”Clubs are a really important part of the fabric of Australian cricket and whilst it’s difficult to be absolutely specific, what we are very focused on is ensuring that cricket is a sport of choice for fans and participants. Growing our participation base, diversifying our participation base is really important.”A fundamental within all of that for clubs is having good facilities and having the resources around them to attract people. It’s competitive out there. There are lots of sports options. Kids today play four or five sports at the same time. We’re really intent on making sure cricket is at the top of the list in summer time and part of that in our view will be looking for opportunities to improve facilities around clubs and communities to make sure that cricket is even more likely to be that sport of choice.”

Dinesh Chandimal will captain the President’s XI against the touring South Africans on Wednesday, ahead of what may be his first match as ODI captain against South Africa on Saturday

Andrew Fidel Fernando16-Jul-2013Dinesh Chandimal will captain the Sri Lankan Board President’s XI against the touring South Africans on Wednesday, ahead of what may be his first match as ODI captain against South Africa on Saturday. As the vice-captain of the national team, he could be in line to take the reins from Angelo Mathews, who has been suspended from the first two ODIs courtesy an over-rate offence.Chandimal is Sri Lanka’s Twenty20 captain, but his ODI form has been poor in the last 16 months – he has averaged 18.19 and hit only two fifties in 28 matches. He was dropped from the limited-overs sides during the latter part of 2012, though he retained his place in the national squad, and has been granted an extended run in the XI after assuming the vice-captaincy in February. Although he is viewed as a future leader, a promotion to acting captain may not be automatic, in light of recent results.Both Dimuth Karunaratne, and Angelo Perera, who are in contention for ODI debuts in the series, will also play in the warm-up match, as will Thisara Perera, who was dropped from the national squad for the West Indies tri-series.South Africa play five ODIs and three Twenty20 internationals during their three-week tour.President’s XI squad: Dinesh Chandimal (capt), Kusal Perera, Dimuth Karunaratne, Mahela Udawatte, Angelo Perera, Sachithra Serasinghe, Chaturanga de Silva, Jehan Mubarak, Thisara Perera, Dhammika Prasad, Vimukthi Perera, Madura Lakmal, Seekkuge Prasanna, Ashan Priyanjan

Shahid Afridi turned in one of the great all-round ODI performances to flatten West Indies in his comeback game

The Report by Siddarth Ravindran14-Jul-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Boom boom: Shahid Afridi walked in to bat with Pakistan at 47 for 5, and then belted a 55-ball 76•WICB Media

“Who writes your scripts?” England’s legendary allrounder Ian Botham was asked after taking a wicket first ball on his Test comeback in 1986. The same question can be asked of another flamboyant cricketer today as Shahid Afridi turned in one of the greatest all-round ODI performances to flatten West Indies in his comeback game.With Pakistan axing a whole host of experienced players in recent months – including Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik and Kamran Akmal – there had been murmurs over whether Afridi’s ODI career should have been given yet another lifeline. He’s someone who sees himself as a bowling allrounder in recent years, and with no wickets in six previous ODIs, the doubts were justified. Afridi squashed them, and how – a game-transforming half-century and then the second best one-day bowling figures of all time.Even in a career as wildly fluctuating as his, there can be few moments when the turnaround in fortunes is this stark. It is the ability to deliver these truly gobsmacking performances that has earned him a loyal legion of fans, who swear by him even during extended runs of failures.Before he walked in to bat on a drizzly morning in Providence, Pakistan’s top order had once again keeled over against the moving ball as Jason Holder delivered a searing new-ball spell of 8-4-8-4. The manner of those dismissals would have been as demoralising for Pakistan’s fans as the scoreline, with two top-order batsmen being bowled when looking to leave the ball.Misbah-ul-Haq was playing his usual hold-the-innings-together role scoring at about a run an over, but when Afridi strode out, he was immediately looking to score at a run a ball. Pakistan were 47 for 5 and the team’s last recognised batting pair was in the middle, but that didn’t prevent Afridi from launching his third delivery for six over long-off. Given his kamikaze style of play, a quick end to his innings wouldn’t have surprised. It almost did after he belted another six and a four, but Chris Gayle put down a tough chance at slip.After that, he could take lesser risks despite scoring rapidly as West Indies’ bowlers offered several boundary balls. Marlon Samuels offered long hops and full tosses that were dispatched beyond the rope, Darren Sammy was cleverly dinked over the shoulder before his half-volley was pounded through extra cover to bring up the half-century off 35 deliveries. The man who was expected to be the biggest threat, Sunil Narine, was caned out of the attack, taken for 32 in three overs.On a track where the rest of the Pakistan team combined to score 120 off 245, Afridi plundered 76 off 55, showing the insouciance and big-hitting that typifies his batting. Misbah added to his ever-expanding collection of ODI half-centuries as well, on a track which he called one of the toughest he has come across, and his partnership with Afridi underlined how two vastly different styles of batting can both be crucial to the team’s cause. Their efforts drove Pakistan to 224, which seemed like a challenging target for West Indies.Twenty minutes into the chase, that seemed a far larger score as West Indies were reduced to 7 for 3, the second lowest score for which they have lost three wickets in ODIs. It began with Mohammad Irfan’s swinging, 146kph low full toss that resulted in a golden duck for Johnson Charles in the first over. The pace and bounce of Irfan disconcerted the batsmen, with Darren Bravo the next to go, caught down the leg side.The biggest breakthrough, though, came through a direct hit from Misbah at cover, catching Chris Gayle well short while attempting a single that would have been tough for the quickest of runners, but was hara-kiri for a slow-mover like Gayle. Pakistan knew well the importance of that wicket – Misbah was midway through celebrating the dismissal when he was swamped by his joyous team-mates.Marlon Samuels and Lendl Simmons then cut out all risk, and played ultra-cautious cricket against some top bowling from Pakistan. “Huge pressure is there, huge pressure,” wicketkeeper Umar Akmal frequently reminded the batsmen. The biggest strength in the Pakistan line-up is the quality they have across their bowling, with no major weak links.With Simmons and Samuels batting out 15 overs – and scoring only 34 on a turning track – the required-rate had crept above six, but West Indies were still optimistic of winning. Afridi was only brought on as the sixth bowler, but there was no stopping him from being the headliner. In his second over, he had Simmons stumped and Dwayne Bravo lbw next ball. He was showing off his famous starman celebration, and West Indies’ chances were evaporating.His mix of legspinners, quick sliders, the occasional googly and even the odd offbreak proved too much for West Indies’ batsmen. Kieron Pollard’s had three ducks in his previous four ODI innings, and his lack of confidence was apparent, as he holed out to long-off for 3. Not long after, Afridi had Samuels lbw with a delivery that turned in. The big crowds that had turned up in Guyana knew the game was up and headed for the exit.Afridi’s five-for came soon after as Kemar Roach handed a simple return catch, and his figures were an unbelievable 6-2-6-5, with every delivery seemingly a wicket-taking one. He didn’t strike in the next couple of overs though and was taken out of the attack, before being brought back six overs later as Sammy and Narine somehow survived the other bowlers. They didn’t last against Afridi, though, who needed only one over to wrap up the match and consign West Indies to their lowest ever total in a home ODI.The fans in Guyana had been starved of international cricket for two years after a conflict between the government and the country’s cricket board, and while they were treated to an awe-inspiring performance from Afridi, they would have wanted more from the consistently misfiring West Indian batting.

Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel prevailed in a tense last-over victory against Antigua Hawkbills in Port-of-Spain to move to fourth place in the points table after their second successive win

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Aug-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAdrian Barath’s 38 helped setup a strong target for Antigua•Getty Images

Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel prevailed in a tense last-over victory against Antigua Hawksbills in Port-of-Spain to move to fourth place in the points table after their second successive win. Antigua needed 33 off the last two overs and 19 off the last but they fell short by a run despite hitting three fours and two sixes in the last two overs in the rain-affected match.After T&T scored 169, Antigua’s innings was interrupted by rain in their first over and the revised target was 134 from 15 overs. They lost two wickets, of Kieran Powell and Rahkeem Cornwall, within six overs but Johnson Charles smashed three consecutive sixes in the fourth over off Samuel Badree to hoist their run-rate to 10. However, Dwayne Bravo counterattacked with a slower delivery and dismissed Charles for 46 in the eighth over which conceded only three runs. Sulieman Benn followed it with another parsimonious over by giving two runs in the next and Antigua now needed 66 from 36.Benn then removed Marlon Samuels and Devon Thomas in three balls in the 11th over despite being hit for a six in the same over. Out walked Ricky Ponting at No. 7 but he was soon caught and bowled for 1 by Kevon Cooper in the 12th over at the end of which Antigua needed 45 from 18. A six from Ben Rohrer and a few singles helped them score 12 in the next over. Cooper started the penultimate over with a wide and a four but struck with Kemar Roach’s wicket on the third ball. But Roher and Sheldon Cotterrell struck a four each to still keep them in the game.Now needing 19 form six, Cotterrell smashed a six on the first ball and took three byes on the next but Rohrer fell for 28 on the third ball. Ten required from three and Delorn Johnson gave only two runs in the next two balls to seal another thrilling win for T&T despite being hit for a six on the last ball.When T&T chose to bat earlier, they lost Kevin O’Brien in the second over but Adrian Barath and Ross Taylor put on 54 from 45 before Taylor departed for 25, and Barath was run-out in the 12th over for a quick 38. The Bravo brothers took on the Antigua bowlers from there, Dwayne being more aggressive hitting two fours and four sixes during his 25-ball 46. Darren scored 38 from 30 in the 73-run stand which they put on in 44 balls. Three wickets and only five runs in the last over gave some consolation to Antigua, but T&T had amassed 101 runs in the last 10 overs by then.

Umar Akmal, the Pakistan batsman, will miss the limited-overs leg of the Zimbabwe tour

Umar Farooq17-Aug-2013Umar Akmal, the Pakistan batsman, will miss the limited-overs leg of the Zimbabwe tour. Akmal, who is in the West Indies playing in the Caribbean Premier League, spent a night at the hospital after a seizure on the flight to Jamaica on Wednesday.The PCB has asked Akmal to return to Pakistan so that he can be further examined by a neurologist. He will be accompanied by a doctor on his return flight as a precautionary measure. Wicketkeeper batsman Sarfraz Ahmed has been named his replacement for the ODIs and the T20s.The PCB received the confirmation from the West Indies about Akmal’s medical condition and decided not to send him on the tour of Zimbabwe.”He has immediately been called back,” the PCB said in a statement. “He will undergo complete medical examination to reassess the level of his fitness, meanwhile National Selection Committee has proposed the name of Sarfraz Ahmad as his replacement for Pakistan ODI and T20 squads for the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe.”Akmal, 23, had recently been awarded a cash prize of Rs. 600,000 (USD $6000) for his performances in the limited-overs series against West Indies. He played some valuable knocks during the series and was solid behind the stumps. However, he has had a disappointing run at the CPL, where he is representing the Barbados Tridents, scoring 49 runs at an average of 8.16. Akmal was scheduled to join the Pakistan squad directly in Zimbabwe next week.

It’s easy, if Trinidad & Tobago beat Chennai Super Kings on Wednesday, they qualify for the semi-finals. If they don’t, they need to lose by a tiny margin to progress

The Preview by Vishal Dikshit01-Oct-2013

Match facts

October 2, 2013
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Trinidad & Tobago’s bowling attack has relied much on Sunil Narine•BCCI

Big Picture

It’s easy, if Trinidad & Tobago beat Chennai Super Kings on Wednesday, they qualify for the semi-finals. If they don’t they will be tied on points with the Titans. T&T are ahead of the Titans on net run-rate, but it is only a marginal advantage. For instance, if they bat first and score around 125, or more, they need to lose with three or lesser balls to spare to qualify. In other words, they should make Super Kings play at least 19.3 overs, or the Titans will go through.If T&T are chasing, they need to make sure they lose by five or lesser runs to qualify. So whether Super Kings score 50 or 250, all T&T need to do is fall not more than five runs short if they end up losing. Even though T&T have won two of their three games batting first, they may want to chase this time as taking an in-form Super Kings side to the last three balls of the chase might be tougher than getting within five runs of the target themselves.T&T draw confidence from their progress in the tournament as their totals have ascended from 135 to 160 and then to 188. What they need to work on, is their bowling. Since Ravi Rampaul’s four wickets in their tournament opener, against Brisbane Heat, their attack has relied heavily on Sunil Narine’s dexterity. As they don’t have their fate in their own hands, Titans can only watch from the sidelines and hope for a qualification.Super Kings are not playing for nothing. Currently at the top of the table, they can still be displaced if they lose heavily to T&T. Much will have to go against Super Kings for that to happen as they have clicked in all departments in the three matches so far. Their opening looks stronger after M Vijay followed his two ducks with a 27-ball 42, Suresh Raina, Dwayne Bravo and MS Dhoni have torn oppositions apart from the middle order and their slower bowlers made a comeback in their previous match. What needs to be worked on is their pace bowling, and T&T may want to target the fast bowlers in the initial overs as Dhoni has not been opening with R Ashwin in this tournament.

Players to watch

After making headlines in the Caribbean Premier League with a quickfire 54 from 24, 17-year-old Nicolas Pooran has not done much. He has managed scores of 11, 6 and 8 in the tournament and since T&T’s middle order has not mustered big scores till now, Pooran is the man they might need to do the job against Super Kings.Dwayne Bravo was among the top three run-scorers for T&T in the Caribbean T20 with 153 runs at an average of 38.25 and strike rate of over 110. He has also been in fine form recently with four wickets in the tournament and a quickfire 38 against the Titans. However, he will be under the spotlight against his home team now facing the same attack he was a part of and will bowl to the batting line-up he scored with, to win the T20 event earlier this year.