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Against Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi might field Chris Morris, while Sandeep Lamichhane could well join Amit Mishra to make it a two-pronged legspin attack

The Preview by Sidharth Monga in Delhi29-Mar-20193:22

Dasgupta: Chawla, Narine, Kuldeep key to KKR’s chances

Big Picture

This is a match between a side that is looking to establish roles for its players – and thus achieve success and establish itself in a city that has been cold to the home team for 11 years – and a team that doesn’t want established roles. Kolkata Knight Riders come to Delhi with the most fluid and flexible batting line-up among IPL sides, and an unbeaten record this year. The hosts, Delhi Capitals, soared magnificently in the first match against Mumbai Indians, but were laid low partly by their own home conditions and partly by their failure to adjust to the dry pitch that offered natural variations to bowlers.Knight Riders will provide Delhi as big a challenge as Chennai Super Kings did. They have three spinners of varying quality and mode of operation, and they are not short of quicks who can hit the deck. As Ricky Ponting said after the defeat to Super Kings, Delhi will have to find a way to bat smarter.Chris Morris is back for Delhi, and will give them a hit-the-deck bowler and a big-hitting allrounder possibly at the expense of Keemo Paul. Morris pointed out that the square doesn’t look like it did last year where they averaged around 190 batting first. In fact they scored 219 when they last faced Knight Riders at home. If they continue with their strategy of batting first – there hasn’t been much dew to speak of – they might set their sights on around 170 and then try to get to Andre Russell early and then past him.Amit Mishra celebrates a wicket with Rishabh Pant•BCCI

Likely XIs

Delhi Capitals 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Prithvi Shaw, 3 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 4 Colin Ingram, 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Chris Morris, 7 Axar Patel/Sandeep Lamichhane, 8 Rahul Tewatia, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Amit Mishra, 11 Ishant SharmaKolkata Knight Riders 1 Chris Lynn, 2 Sunil Narine, 3 Robin Uthappa, 4 Nitish Rana, 5 Shubman Gill, 6 Dinesh Karthik (capt & wk), 7 Andre Russell, 8 Piyush Chawla, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Lockie Ferguson, 11 Prasidh Krishna

Strategy punt

If they open with spin, Knight Riders prefer to do it with Piyush Chawla, but his record against Shikhar Dhawan is not great. Will either Sunil Narine or Kuldeep Yadav be used with the new ball then? In all likelihood, they will not use a spinner to open the bowling, and will wait for the ball to get slightly older.There has been a clamour for Sandeep Lamichhane to play, but Amit Mishra holds a good record against Russell. In fact, that probably makes a case for more legspin at Russell. They will play at least two anyway.

Stats that matter

• Knight Riders lead the head-to-head record 13-8.
• Last season, spinners averaged 31.5 and conceded 7.8 per over in Delhi, while the quicks managed corresponding figures of 34.6 and 9.4.
• Among players who have faced at least 100 balls at the death in the IPL, Rishabh Pant has the best strike rate at 233.33 and Russell the fourth-best at 198.83.

The batsman said that while he would enjoy captaining an IPL team again, the focus was on performing the role of a senior professional in the set-up

Gaurav Kalra25-Jan-20182:00

Agarkar: A team like Delhi Daredevils will bid for Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir feels at home in Kolkata. So much so that he once went around the city in search of a house he could buy. No surprise really. Kolkata has embraced him with open arms since the city’s IPL franchise, the Kolkata Knight Riders, paid an astronomical sum of USD 2.4 million to bring him on board in 2011 after three middling seasons. Over the last seven years, Gambhir has led the team to a couple of titles, in 2012 and 2014, been its leading scorer, and helped forge one of the league’s most formidable outfits.Gambhir is in Kolkata these days, playing for the city of his birth, Delhi, in India’s domestic T20 Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament. He isn’t sure, though, if he will return to the KKR set-up. In a move that not many IPL observers saw coming, the franchise decided against retaining him in January, forcing Gambhir back into the auction.There was speculation that Gambhir and the owners couldn’t agree on his price point. There is also talk that KKR envisage keeping Gambhir in house by using one of their three Right to Match cards (RTM) at a lower price point than retention would have cost them. Gambhir, at least publicly, isn’t interested in the nitty gritty, insisting he understood the decision made by the franchise.”I get where they are coming from,” Gambhir told ESPNcricinfo. “Above all, the communication between the KKR management and myself has been superb. We spoke in a very cordial atmosphere and I respect their call.”The speculation will end this weekend of course and Gambhir will find out whether he will stay in Kolkata or head to another city. On reputation alone, he makes a compelling case to attract a substantial bid. Only three players – Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have made more runs in IPL history than Gambhir. While his strike- rate hovers around a none too collar grabbing 125, Gambhir catches the eye on several other indices. His 35 half-centuries are second most in IPL history after David Warner and he sits on top of the list of the most fours in the tournament with 484, comfortably ahead of Raina’s 402.Recent experience would suggest reputation alone no longer counts towards frenetic bidding at IPL auctions. Gambhir’s T20 form of late has been patchy with scores of 1,1,7 and 21 in his last four games in the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament. However, he was the second-highest scorer in last season’s IPL, with 498 runs at an average of nearly 42 with four 50+ scores, playing a key role in another appearance in the knockout stages for KKR.His form in last season’s Ranji Trophy, where Delhi made the final, was also quite impressive. He scored 683 runs, including three centuries, and finished as the sixth-highest run-getter. At 36, Gambhir remains convinced he can continue to contribute to teams he is part of, and isn’t fazed at the prospect of having to compete with much younger players.”I won’t have been playing the format if I was not convinced about my abilities,” he said. “I am feeling strong physically. Fitness and motivation have never been a challenge. When I turned 30 I promised myself that I needed to up the ante fitness wise as the game was changing, I was moving on and there is that thing called self-pride which you never want to dent. So, I do extensive gym training with my personal trainers, cross country in the ridge area behind my house in Delhi, yoga, kickboxing and also play badminton to stay in shape.”Besides his pedigree as a batsman, Gambhir is sure to be on the radar of franchises for his leadership abilities. Only M S Dhoni has more wins as captain in IPL history with 83 wins from 143 games while Gambhir has won 70 of his 123. In his time at the helm at KKR, players such as Manish Pandey, Kuldeep Yadav and Umesh Yadav have pressed their claims for India call-ups while the likes of Sunil Narine and Andre Russel have grown in stature. Now, as this next phase of his IPL career beckons, Gambhir said that while he would enjoy captaining a team again, the focus was on performing the role of a senior professional in the set-up.”I’d prefer both but the dynamics of the sport are such that each phase of a professional sportsperson’s career comes with responsibility,” he said. “The way I played in 2011 or 2012 is different to how I play now. Bowlers don’t bowl in my areas, as a senior member it is my duty to curb my game as per the situation. At the end of the day it is about a balanced approach because a team sport has to be played with a team’s interests in mind and not an individual’s.”

Eoin Morgan has said he remains ‘comfortable’ with his decision not to take part in England’s tour of Bangladesh due to his concerns over the security situation

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Dec-2016Eoin Morgan has said he remains “comfortable” with his decision not to take part in England’s tour of Bangladesh due to his concerns over the security situation.Morgan and Alex Hales made themselves unavailable for the tour following the terror attacks in the country earlier this year despite the unprecedented levels of security the team were granted for the visit.Andrew Strauss, the managing director of England cricket, who gave the players the right to choose, said an individual’s decision would not be held against them in future selection. Morgan, who is currently in Australia for a spell at the Big Bash for Sydney Thunder, has been recalled to captain the limited-overs squads in India next month. Hales has also been included with Ben Duckett, who made two half-centuries in the one-day series win over Bangladesh, losing his place.”I wasn’t comfortable travelling because of security concerns and I weighed up the question ‘would I be able to perform as a captain and as a player given the security concerns in Bangladesh?'” Morgan said. “I’m still comfortable with it. It is something I considered before confirming my decision to the ECB. I tried to imagine all the different circumstances and didn’t feel comfortable enough in my mind to go and be able to perform.”I have had a great deal of support, everyone who I trust in a tight-knit circle has supported me, everyone within the game that I trust has supported me, players ex and current who I lean on for big decisions. It’s been really good, it was a difficult decision to make and I don’t think a lot of people would have made it but I am certainly happy with the decision that I have made.”Shortly before Morgan confirmed his decision not to tour he cited being involved in previous security scares in both Bangladesh, when he played domestic cricket 2013-14, and India, during the 2010 IPL, as a factor that was weighing heavily on his mind. He has since returned to India on both international and IPL duty but explained that his concerns over Bangladesh also stemmed from the fact that England were the first western team to tour there since the attacks in Dhaka on July 1.”I think one thing that had changed from 2010 in India was that other teams had travelled there and security had increased, also since then there had been no terrorist attacks or sightings or threats in regard to either a tournament or a national team,” he said. “I think going to Bangladesh and being the first western team to travel there since the terrorist attack and the fact that Australia had pulled out even before the terrorist attack happened, was another reason.”England’s three-match one-day series begins in Pune on January 15 and is followed by a three-match T20 series. The first half of 2017 is entirely one-day focused for England with a short tour to West Indies followed by series against Ireland and South Africa in May ahead of the Champions Trophy.

The perjury trial against Chris Cairns has been held together by “rumour upon rumour, sustained by a biased investigation” a Southwark Crown Court jury has been told as Orlando Pownall QC continued his summing up for the defence

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Nov-2015The perjury trial against Chris Cairns has been held together by “rumour upon rumour, sustained by a biased investigation” a Southwark Crown Court jury has been told.Orlando Pownall QC was summing up for the defence for a second day in the trial in which Cairns denies two counts of perjury and perverting the course of justice, relating to his successful libel action in 2012 against Lalit Modi who had accused him of match-fixing.Pownall sought to undermine a Crown case which has involved nine witnesses, including the evidence of Lou Vincent, who has confessed to match fixing, and the New Zealand cricket captain Brendon McCullum.”We invite you to be careful to make no assumptions,” Pownall said. “Beyond rumour, beyond self-motivated lies, you cannot be sure Mr Cairns is guilty. For that reason, we invite you to acquit him.”Vincent was described as the “foundation stone” of the case against Cairns. “He is someone who is dishonest, who has lied, who has lied to you,” Pownall told the jury. If the jury concluded he was lying they should acquit Cairns as a consequence and the evidence of McCullum “doesn’t matter”.Pownall also examined McCullum’s recollections of a meeting with Cairns over dinner in 2008 in a Kolkata hotel room. McCullum’s evidence, to the ICC and later the Metropolitan Police, had changed three times – in 2011, 2013 and 2014 – and was “shifting sands” he said.Pownall said match-fixing was never mentioned in the first statement McCullum made in 2011, although the word “betting” was used time and again.”There was a meeting and Mr Cairns has never denied it, in that hotel in Kolkata, but what was discussed in that meeting was very different from the description given,” Pownall said. “What he’s talking about here is betting. Not match-fixing, betting.”McCullum also did not remember that Cairns had “definitely” told him that Vincent and Daryl Tuffey were allegedly involved in match-fixing at Chandigarh Lions until after Vincent had been interviewed by the ICC in September 2013.Pownall also invited the jury to consider why would Cairns would try to recruit McCullum to cheat, as he was a young player yet to reach the “zenith of his career” paid large sums of money in the Indian Premier League, not a “flaky individual” like Vincent who would risk his career for the sake of a “few extra dollars”.When McCullum said in a second statement that he told Kyle Mills and Shane Bond that Cairns had approached him, it referred to a meeting in Worcester the same year. He had not mentioned Kolkata.”Does it make you wonder why didn’t Mr McCullum mention the hotel meeting? Was it because himself he wasn’t sure about what it was about?”Pownall then referred to McCullum’s final statement, three years later. Only then had the names of Vincent and Tuffey – who also played at Chandigarh – also been mentioned.Pownall theorised that McCullum and Daniel Vettori, who also gave evidence for the prosecution, did not want Modi to lose his libel case because he ran IPL and his defeat might put their income at risk. “‘I don’t want him to lose, because that might imperil my contract. I don’t want my reputation to be tarnished, was what they were thinking,” Pownall said. That, he said, led them to give an account to the ICC in 2011.Pownall said that the evidence produced by the prosecution had not shown Cairns to be a liar. “He was vulnerable, but he wasn’t shown to be a liar.” Pownall said. “That’s not because he’s some clever dick who is able to evade, he’s a combative individual.”Cairns is accused of lying under oath in court when he said in that libel hearing: “I have never, ever cheated at cricket. Nor would I ever contemplate such a thing”.His co-defendant and former legal advisor, Andrew Fitch-Holland, denies one count of perverting the course of justice.

John Mooney has been suspended for three matches by Cricket Ireland after posting an insensitive tweet about the death of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Apr-2013John Mooney, the Ireland allrounder, has been suspended for three matches by Cricket Ireland after posting an insensitive tweet about the death of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher.Mooney, 31 and from Dublin, tweeted following Baroness Thatcher’s death on April 8 that he hoped her demise was “slow and painful” before quickly deleting the tweet and issuing an apology for causing offence.Cricket Ireland’s chief executive, Warren Deutrom, described the comments as “crass, insensitive and offensive” and Mooney was found to be in breach of his central contract, which prohibits public statements that “denigrate, are derogatory, or prejudicial to the interests of cricket; or are of a nature which brings the game of cricket or Cricket Ireland into disrepute”.Mooney, who has scored 709 runs at 24.44 and taken 34 wickets at 28.55 in 45 ODIs, will now miss Leinster’s inter-provincial matches against Northern on May 6 and North-West on May 14-16 as well as Ireland’s first ODI against Pakistan on May 23. He will be available again for the second ODI on May 26.”John accepted that the tweet was offensive and inappropriate,” Deutrom said. “We took into consideration the fact that he issued a fulsome and swift apology and that he is genuinely remorseful for his action. However, given the breach of his contract and nature of the tweet, we felt it appropriate that a three match sanction be imposed. We have also severely reprimanded John and reminded him of his duties and responsibilities as a high profile international cricketer.”Mooney played for Ireland at the 2007 and 2011 World Cups and hit the winning runs in the famous chase against England. He was also named Ireland player of the year in 2010.

Stuart Broad has been ruled out of action for the next three weeks as he continues his rehabilitation from a calf strain sustained during England’s recent tour of Sri Lanka

George Dobell10-Apr-2012Stuart Broad has been ruled out of this season’s IPL in order to continue his rehabilitation from injury. Broad, who is contracted to Kings XI Punjab, sustained an injury to his right calf during England’s recent tour of Sri Lanka. Broad also missed the 2011 IPL season after sustaining a rib injury.Arvinder Singh, chief operating officer of Kings XI Punjab, said the franchise were “sorely disappointed over Broad’s absence but will soon finalise a suitable replacement”.Broad’s aim now is to return to cricket with Nottinghamshire in early May. He will train at Trent Bridge and receive regular assessments from the ECB’s medical staff. It is, at present, anticipated that he will return to duty in the County Championship against Middlesex at Trent Bridge May 9. Broad is also contracted to Kings XI Punjab for the 2013 season, subject to England commitments.Under the terms of Broad’s central contract with the ECB, he had originally been due to return to from IPL duty on May 5. Any England centrally contracted player appearing in the IPL – including Kevin Pietersen and Eoin Morgan – is monitored by the ECB’s medical staff who keep in touch with the franchises to oversee the treatment of niggles and adherence to any predefined programmes.The workload of Broad is beginning to concern the England team management. Broad, 25, is a member of the England squad in all three formats of the game and has suffered a series of injuries over the last 18 months. A stomach muscle strain ruled him out of three Ashes Tests in Australia before a rib injury curtailed his World Cup campaign. Towards the end of the English season he then damaged his shoulder and missed the end of the India home series and Twenty20 matches against West Indies, plus the return contest in India during October which meant Graeme Swann was required as a stand-in T20 captain.The ECB have also announced the availability of the rest of the squad that toured Sri Lanka. While some players, such as Monty Panesar, Ravi Bopara, Steve Davies and James Tredwell will be available for this week’s round of championship games, others – such as James Anderson, Graeme Swann and Alastair Cook – will be rested until the start of May.

Michael Clarke passed his first test as Australia’s full-time captain, leading from the front with a century before his bowlers backed up the effort to complete a 60-run win over Bangladesh

The Bulletin by Brydon Coverdale09-Apr-2011
Scorecard and ball by-ball detailsMichael Clarke led from the front with 101•Associated Press

Michael Clarke passed his first test as Australia’s full-time captain, leading from the front with a century before his bowlers backed up the effort to complete a 60-run win over Bangladesh. Australia have a 1-0 lead in the three-match series and while the results might seem inconsequential after the World Cup, the subplot of Clarke taking over the leadership from Ricky Ponting has created some interest.Clarke’s 101 suggested that the responsibility could sit well with him, and he needed to anchor the innings after Australia lost three wickets in their first 14 overs having been sent in on a good batting pitch. He helped get the Australians to a strong total of 270 for 7 and Bangladesh, who only twice in their ODI history have successfully chased totals of that size, were not up to the task.They stumbled to 9 for 2 in the fourth over of their pursuit and although Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan both made half-centuries, the result was all but certain by the halfway point of their chase. It was a strong all-round performance by Australia in the field, seven bowlers being used, including the rediscovered legspinner Cameron White, and five men claimed a wicket each.Brett Lee got things started when he had Imrul Kayes caught behind in the third over and in the next over, Shahriar Nafees fell for a golden duck when he got his pad in the way of a Mitchell Johnson delivery that would have hit the stumps. Raqibul Hasan followed for 7 when he drove John Hastings to short cover, where Shane Watson took an Aussie rules-style mark, leaping high to his left, and the hosts were in trouble.Tamim grew more cautious, Shakib steadied without scoring quickly, and the required run-rate started to expand. Although Bangladesh retained a glimmer of hope while that pair remained at the crease, the match was firmly in Australia’s control when Tamim (62) tried to clear midwicket off Xavier Doherty, only to pick out the fielder in the deep.Shakib also holed out for 51, but by that stage Bangladesh needed to score nearly 14 an over, which was as likely to happen as Australia calling on the commentator Greg Matthews for a few overs of offspin. The crowd cheered a few late boundaries from Mushfiqur Rahim (44 not out) and Mahmudullah (28 not out), but it was too little too late.Not that Australia’s victory was flawless. There remains a major concern over White’s batting form after he laboured for 50 deliveries to score 20, and continued a lean patch that stretches back to the start of the Australian summer. He was dropped at midwicket on 18 and two runs later rolled his eyes in disgust at his own miscue when he failed to clear mid-on and saw Kayes take an outstanding catch, diving to his right.Nor would Brad Haddin want to see any replays of his dismissal for 10. He wandered aimlessly down the pitch and wafted well away from his body, playing the wrong line to a Mashrafe Mortaza ball that rattled his stumps, and for a batsman capable of beautiful strokeplay, it was a horrid shot.That those lapses didn’t affect the result was thanks to the new captain Clarke, who brought up his sixth one-day hundred with a six pulled over midwicket in the 50th over. Clarke and Michael Hussey didn’t rush things through the middle overs, and at one stage played out 65 deliveries without a boundary, but their 84-run stand built a platform from which late runs could be added.Australia amassed 31 in the final two overs of the innings, and what looked like being just a competitive total was suddenly a very strong one. Clarke skied a catch from the second-last ball of the innings, but his 101 was extremely valuable after his side looked like underperforming when Haddin, Shane Watson and Ricky Ponting all departed early.He used his feet well against the spinners and struck six fours and two sixes, and his tempo was just right for the circumstances – keep things steady early and attack later. His partnership with Hussey ended when Hussey (33) tried to clear the boundary but was taken at long-off from the bowling of the left-arm spinner Suhrawadi Shuvo, who took 3 for 44.Bangladesh were generally sharp in the field and backed up their bowlers, including the captain Shakib Al Hasan, who didn’t take a wicket but helped build the pressure with 0 for 34 coming off his ten overs. An excellent piece of fielding accounted for Ricky Ponting, who swept Shuvo and saw the ball saved on the fine-leg boundary by a diving Shafiul Islam.His throw to the wicketkeeper was relayed to the bowler’s end where Ponting, who had hesitated before taking off for the third run, was caught short for 34. It was a disappointing end to a very promising innings, Ponting’s first in an ODI under another captain in nine years. He collected three consecutive boundaries off Mortaza, who was in his first match back having missed the World Cup due to a knee injury; the first a brilliant cut, the second a sweetly-timed straight drive and the third a punch through point.Ponting and Watson had looked ominous during a 65-run third-wicket stand that ended with the run-out, and soon afterwards Watson was lbw for 37, trapped by an Abdur Razzak delivery that skidded on and struck him in front. But Australia’s new leader engineered a recovery, and if his team puts in another solid all-round performance on Monday, he’ll begin his full-time captaincy era with a series win.