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Imran Khan might be the gold standard, but he has two England challengers coming up the ranks

Andy Zaltzman16-Aug-2018 is one of the shortest books in the many-shelved library of cricket. It is two pages long, the first of which contains only a large red question mark, and the second a cartoon of a puppy trying to catch a butterfly in its mouth, while barking “Play Your Natural Game”.England’s Auckland masterpiece in March, when they heroically threatened the seemingly unthreatenable lowest Test score in history, has been joined on the accompanying instructional DVD by India’s performance at Lord’s, a pallid disintegration against high-quality, relentless swervery. Virat Kohli, and the England fielders’ slippery fingers, papered over some cavernous cracks in the riveting first Test. At Lord’s, England’s bowling rapidly stripped that paper away, to find India’s batsmen chiselling away vigorously to help those cracks become chasms.I followed the first two matches of the series on holiday in Spain, where I was nearly hit by the ball that KL Rahul managed to drag back onto his stumps in the first innings at Edgbaston, but was otherwise largely divorced from visible cricket. The first Test was one of those rare matches that was soul-clenchingly gripping, even if you were following it via the medium of sneaky quarter-hourly peeks at the latest score on a mobile phone while pretending to be unbreakably focused on spending quality time with your family.The second, following the pattern of the 2013 Ashes, when England won a knife-edge first Test before helping their opponents disintegrate haplessly at Lord’s, was one of the more disappointing Tests of recent years in terms of its Anticipated-Competitiveness-of-a-Series to One-Sidedness-of-Actual Cricket ratio.Having seen admittedly little of the action, I present Five Incontrovertible Statistical Facts That Have Emerged From The First Two Tests.1. India have become considerably less good at not being bowled out very, very quickly in Tests in England.
India have been dismissed in under 55 overs 14 times in their 59 Tests in England. Six of those 14 failures have been in their last four Tests here (both innings in the fourth Test in 2014 and at Lord’s this year, and their second innings at the Oval four years ago and Edgbaston this time).They have been out for under 200 in eight of their last nine innings in England (since the second innings in Southampton in 2014), having been dismissed for less than that score only three times in their previous 29 Tests in this country, dating back to 1979 (and not once in five series from 1986 to 2007, inclusive).2. Facing James Anderson in England has become one of the toughest challenges in the history of Test cricket.
This summer and the two past have brought Anderson a total of 91 wickets in 17 Tests, at an average of 14.4. From 2001 to 2015, no bowler averaged under 16 in an English Test summer (minimum 12 wickets) – Anderson is on course to do so for the third successive year.Statistically, Anderson’s current run of home form is among the best that Test cricket has seen, roughly on a par with Muttiah Muralitharan’s best periods in Sri Lanka, and better (in terms of average) than, for example, Freddie Trueman’s peak years in England.Imran Khan, from 1982 to 1986, took 102 wickets in 16 home Tests for Pakistan, at an average of 12.89, so Anderson still has some catching up to do if he wants eventually to become prime minister.3. Lord’s did nothing to rectify England’s ongoing lack of second-innings centuries.
Winning by an innings was the last thing England wanted in the context of their attempts to improve one of the more curious statistical glitches of their play in the Trevor Bayliss era. Since the Lord’s Test against New Zealand in 2015, when Alastair Cook and Ben Stokes made contrasting, superb second-innings centuries against New Zealand to set up a dramatic fifth-day victory, England have made only one century in 39 second innings – Alastair Cook in Rajkot, in November 2016.This is despite their batsmen reaching the half-century mark 60 times in those second innings. In fact, in the last three years the only Test team with fewer second-innings hundreds than England is Afghanistan, who have the not unreasonable mitigation of only having played one Test match. Collectively, the other Test nations have posted 54 second-innings hundreds (out of 264 scores of 50-plus), at a rate of one century per 4.1 team innings.By comparison, from 2002 up to and including that New Zealand Test in 2015, England made 67 centuries in 137 team second innings (including eight in 13 Tests in 2013 alone), with a conversion rate of 32.8%, compared to the 1.7% since.

I followed the first two matches of the series on holiday in Spain, where I was nearly hit by the ball that KL Rahul managed to drag back onto his stumps in the first innings at Edgbaston

4. Having your lynchpin No. 3 batsman being repeatedly run out for not very many runs is a bad tactic.

Cheteshwar Pujara has now been run out seven times, accounting for 7.6% of his 92 dismissals (compared to 2.3% of dismissals for all other top-six batsmen this decade). It is not only the frequency of his run-outs that is costing India but also the timing of them – he has made only 99 runs in those seven innings, averaging 14.1 when he has been run out, compared to 52.3 in all his other innings combined (including not outs).The average score of all other top-six batsmen this decade in innings in which they have been run out is 38.5, only a little under their average in all other innings (38.3), and above the average score of innings ended by the other forms of dismissal (33.6).Of the 69 batsmen in Test history who have been run out five or more times when batting in the top six, Pujara’s batting average when run out is the fourth-lowest, behind Alistair Campbell (9.6), Marvan Atapattu and Bevan Congdon (both 12.0), and the difference between his run-out average and his overall average is the greatest.Having travelled a little in India in recent years, I am of the firm belief that no Indian Test batsman should ever be run out. Anyone who has managed to negotiate crossing roads in Indian cities and survived to adulthood without suffering a career-ending injury ought to be able to judge when a single can be safely taken on the cricket field. Perhaps this is the view of someone cosseted by the relatively mayhem-free roads of Britain, but the fact is that Pujara’s run-outs have proved more than averagely costly to his team, heightened by the fact that the Indian batting line-up is currently displaying the resilient immovability of a meringue in an illegal cage fight against a sweet-toothed wildebeest.5. If Chris Woakes could become as effective in the rest of the cricketing universe as he is in England, he would make Garfield Sobers look like Ronnie Irani.
We live in an age of exaggeration, so please blame the above claim on the times we live in, rather than on this writer. Nevertheless, it is not as completely untrue as it might seem. In the last 55 English summers, from 1964 to 2018, 50 England bowlers have bowled 300 or more overs. Woakes, with 50 wickets at 22.7, has the best average of any of them, ahead of Ken Higgs (52 at 23.3), Bob Willis (176 at 23.5) and Anderson (357 at 23.6).By considerable contrast, in the last 55 English winters, in away Tests, 51 England bowlers have bowled at least 300 overs. Woakes, with 18 wickets at 61.7, has the worst average, some distance behind Moeen Ali (51 at 52.2). In the whole of England’s Test history, the only specialist bowlers to have played six or more away Tests and recorded a worse average are Gareth Batty (14 wickets at 62.1) and Ian Salisbury (11 at 63.5).With the bat, Woakes is now averaging 54 at home, and 20 away. Of the 111 players with at least 400 runs and 40 wickets in home Tests, no one else has averaged both over 46 with the bat and under 28 with the ball. Imran Khan’s figures are 45.2 and 19.2 (in 38 home Tests), suggesting that Woakes, if he can maintain his performance in home conditions for another few seasons, will one day oust Jimmy Anderson from No. 10 Downing Street and become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (at the very least).

Also: how many players have scored centuries on their birthdays?

Steven Lynch11-Sep-2018As Alastair Cook says farewell, I wondered what the highest score in a batsman’s final Test innings was? asked Savo Ceprnich from South Africa

The highest score in a batsman’s final Test innings remains 258, by West Indies’ Seymour Nurse against New Zealand in Christchurch in 1968-69. Nurse had already announced his intention to retire, and this innings – and pleas from his captain, Garry Sobers – didn’t change his mind. Two others have signed off with a double-century in their final innings: Aravinda de Silva scored 206 for Sri Lanka against Bangladesh in Colombo in 2002, while Australia’s Jason Gillespie made 201 not out, also against Bangladesh, in Chittagong in 2005-06. Andy Sandham (325 for England against West Indies in Kingston in 1929-20) and Bill Ponsford (266 for Australia v England at The Oval in 1934) both passed 200 in the first innings of their final Test.Cook became the fifth batsman to score a century in his first and last Tests. Ponsford and his fellow Australians Reggie Duff and Greg Chappell, and India’s Mohammad Azharuddin are the other four. Ponsford actually scored hundreds in his first two and last two Tests.Rashid Khan took over 150 international wickets while a teenager. If this is the record, who’s next? asked Suli from Saudi Arabia

This question is well-timed, as the Afghanistan legspinner Rashid Khan turns 20 next week. He has taken 174 wickets in international cricket so far: next comes Waqar Younis, with 125 wickets as a teenager (and there is some debate about his age). Three more precocious Pakistanis come next: Mohammad Amir took 99 international wickets while in his teens, Aqib Javed 98, and Saqlain Mushtaq 97. Daniel Vettori collected 79 for New Zealand.Of Rashid’s wickets, a record 108 came in one-day internationals; Aqib had 75 and Saqlain 73. And Rashid is even further ahead in T20 internationals: he took 64 wickets as a teenager, double the next best, 32 by Shadab Khan of Pakistan. Waqar leads the way in Tests, with 55 teenage wickets, one more than Vettori.I remember an over in a Test that needed three bowlers to complete it. When was this? asked Matthew McCormack from England

This unusual event happened near the start of the second Test between Sri Lanka and West Indies in Kandy in November 2001. The Trinidadian fast bowler Merv Dillon started the fifth over, with Sanath Jayasuriya facing, but had to leave the field after two balls with stomach trouble. Guyana’s Colin Stuart stepped in, but two of his first three deliveries were head-high full-tosses, and as Wisden reported, “umpire John Hampshire had no alternative but to direct the captain to remove him for the rest of the innings, the first instance of its kind in Test cricket”. With West Indies running out of bowlers, Chris Gayle finished the over in uneventful fashion (except Jayasuriya did hit his first ball for four). Stuart did bowl eight wicketless overs in the second innings, but never played another Test.Waqar Younis took 125 international wickets as a teen•PA Photos/Getty ImagesSomerset needed 78 to beat Lancashire the other day, but were all out for 77. Was this the lowest score to tie a first-class match? asked Mark Fenton from England

Somerset’s 77 in that extraordinary game against Lancashire in Taunton last week – they were 77 for 8 and lost their last two wickets without addition – was actually the third -smallest final-innings total in a tied first-class match, and the lowest for more than 120 years. The lowest remains 70, by Nelson against Wellington in Nelson in New Zealand in 1874. The only other lower total – and still the record for the English County Championship – is 74, by Lancashire against Surrey at The Oval in 1894.There was a lower total in a match in 1783, which is counted as first-class by some statisticians but not by Wisden: Hampshire made 61 in their final innings to tie with Kent at Hambledon.Jos Buttler narrowly failed to score a Test century on his birthday at The Oval. How many people have done this? asked Matthew Roberts from England

Jos Buttler made 89 on his 28th birthday (September 8) in the final Test against India at The Oval last week. It’s a slightly tricky one to work out, but it looks as if nine people have completed a Test century on their birthday. The first was England’s Reg Simpson, on his 31st birthday, in the Ashes Test in Melbourne in 1950-51; the most recent one was earlier this year, when Kusal Mendis marked his 23rd birthday (February 2) with 196 for Sri Lanka against Bangladesh in Chittagong.In between, the feat was achieved by England’s Peter Richardson (on his 26th birthday in 1957), Chris Lewis (25th in 1992-93) and Alec Stewart (31st in 1993-94), the South Africans Graeme Pollock (23rd in 1966-67), Lee Irvine (26th in 1969-70) and Andrew Hudson (29th in 1993-94), and Ramnaresh Sarwan of West Indies (26th in 2006).Two players have completed double-centuries on their birthdays: England’s Patsy Hendren, on the day he turned 41, reached 205 not out against West Indies in Port-of-Spain in 1929-30, while Jason Gillespie amassed an unbeaten 201 for Australia against Bangladesh in Chittagong in the match mentioned above. Gillespie, who had gone in much earlier as nightwatchman, reached 200 on his 31st birthday – and never played another Test.Use our feedback form or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

Yet another abject first-innings performance against top-class opposition has left the team management with more headaches

Daniel Brettig in Abu Dhabi17-Oct-2018For a stadium in the middle of the UAE desert, some 12,000 km from Sydney and Melbourne, there was an awful lot familiar to Australians on the second day in Abu Dhabi.On the public address system was a playlist of pub rock hewn straight out of FM radio, from AC/DC, Midnight Oil and Powderfinger, to the inescapable strains of Darryl Braithwaite and Jimmy Barnes. Underfoot was a pitch still with a smattering of live grass, enough for seamers and spinners to gain deviation and pace from if good enough. And on the scoreboard was an Australian Test team producing a substandard first innings for the fifth match in a row. Unsurprisingly, none of them has ended in victory.While the Dubai version, losing 10 for 60 having been 0 for 142, was more dramatic, the steady slide to 145 here answered one question left hanging after the first Test: how would this lineup fare on days when Usman Khawaja goes cheaply?His early exit on the first evening, to a leg-side strangle caught wonderfully by Sarfraz Ahmed, gave Pakistan their opening, and further clarified the gulf left by the banned Steven Smith and David Warner. Aaron Finch continued to make a useful fist of his delayed start to Test cricket before being successfully worn down for the third time in as many innings, but the rest fell swiftly and in fashions that were largely reminiscent of the sorts of challenges faced by batsmen in Australia.In the right hand of the wonderfully skillful Mohammad Abbas, the red Kookaburra ball nibbled a little bit each way off the aforementioned live grass, with enough carry to result in Shaun Marsh and Travis Head falling to the first two slips catches off the pacemen for the series. Flung from the cocked wrist of Yasir Shah, the same ball bounced and turned just enough to ensure the vice-captain Mitchell Marsh’s open bat face offered another catch to slip. All dismissals might have taken place as readily in Adelaide as Abu Dhabi, something further underlined by how Nathan Lyon had utilised top spin on the first day. Another experienced member of the Australian attack, Peter Siddle, will wonder why he was unable to be as effective as Abbas.In some ways, the conditions the Australians faced were a long way from those they had spent two weeks preparing for at the ICC Global Academy in Dubai. Certainly, the grass on the surface had caused the captain Tim Paine and the tour selectors Justin Langer and Trevor Hohns enough pause to wait until match day before deciding to keep the same XI they had fielded in the first Test. Batsmen who had trained for reverse swing, low bounce and slow turn found nothing of the sort here, particularly in the morning session, when overnight dew appeared to both liven up the surface and slow down the outfield.But that same grass and moisture is far more common to cricket in Australia than in Asia, meaning that the touring team should have gained some sort of advantage from them. And perhaps they would have, without another example of an endemic problem in terms of batting quality when confronted with high-class performers from around the world. When he was quizzed about Australian batting collapses in the wake of the Dubai escape, the assistant coach Graeme Hick had pointed out that while starting an innings was difficult in Asian climes, this team’s problems with losing wickets in a rush was far from a problem confined to this part of the world. “I’m not saying we’ve only had collapses in the subcontinent. It’s been pretty rife.”That rifeness, which included seven instances of 10 wickets falling for fewer than 100 runs in the little more than two years since the 2016 tour of Sri Lanka, has also featured another more recent trend, stretching back to the start of the fateful South African tour. Since the first Test of the series in Durban, Australia’s first-innings tallies have been 351 in 110.4 overs, 243 in 71.3 in Port Elizabeth, 255 in 69.5 in Cape Town, 221 in 70 in Johannesburg, 202 in 83.3 in Dubai, and now 145 in 50.4 in Abu Dhabi.Even including Kingsmead, that means a rounded average of 236 per innings. Over the long and eventful history of Test cricket, the average first-innings score by winning teams is 376. In Asia, it is higher still, at 388. Either way, the Australians have fallen well short of the mark, and they started doing so at the time a mentally and physically fatigued Smith and Warner began dropping off from the sort of productivity the rest of the team had become used to. With no prospect of recalling either until April next year, the spotlight is then left upon the rest who, apart from Khawaja, look either to be still developing or struggling to match the required standard.Getty Images”I think that first innings is always key to set up the game,” Finch said. “We’ve seen Pakistan in the first Test go really big in the first innings and that gives them freedom in the second innings to play as aggressive as they want or as conservative as they want and then the game’s in your hand. You can pull out when you want and declare. Same again in this game, we’ve left ourselves a little bit too far behind the game.”So as soon as [Fakhar] Zaman comes out and plays aggressively and takes the game away in a few overs, then all of a sudden you’re unsure whether to keep your catchers in or retreat and try to control the scoreboard. That’s the beauty of going big in your first innings, you control the game. It goes a long way to winning games. Traditionally, wickets do get harder and harder to bat on, so we’ve probably left ourselves a little bit too much work to do at the back end of games in the past, which no doubt we’ll address and, hopefully, going forward we can keep improving on that.”For Langer, in particular, this will mean a few searching questions about several of the players he has identified as critical to the intervening months, none more so than Shaun and Mitchell Marsh. In the corresponding six Tests, they have cobbled their runs at averages of 14.27 and 18.27 respectively, with the younger brother’s 96 at Durban the only score beyond 50 for either. It was a statistic about reaching scores above 30 that caused rumbles following the selection of Australia’s Test squad, but another at the international level places the Marsh brothers in still harsher light.Among all players to have played Tests for Australia since 2011, Mitchell Marsh (42%) and Shaun Marsh (38.98%) both make the top five in terms of highest percentage of single-figure scores in that time. By comparison, Smith (22.02%) and Warner (21.17%) round out the top 10 despite being the only two players to have compiled more than 100 innings over the same period.The boom-or-bust nature of these figures will beg the question of whether Australia, with the team’s current profile, can sustain such inconsistency in the hope that the big innings Shaun and Mitchell Marsh do occasionally provide will result in victories. On commentary, Mike Hussey suggested that Shaun Marsh may be better suited to No. 5, where he batted successfully during the Ashes last summer, and Mitchell Marsh to No. 6 – both positions, of course, were theirs in a world where Warner was opening and Smith was No. 4.For the remainder of day two, there were more wearyingly familiar sights and sounds for Australians – the bowlers in particular. Mitchell Starc, clearly sore and stiff from his exertions already in the series, could manage only one spell with so little recovery time, while Pakistan took progressively more liberties with Siddle. Lyon and Jon Holland bowled decently, but without any scoreboard pressure to help them. And Marnus Labuschagne was unable to repeat the breakthroughs of day one.Another tune had rung throughout the stadium during the lunch break, at a time when the Australians had already given up their first-innings advantage. It was Holy Grail by Hunters and Collectors, beloved by the producers of sporting montages but actually a rather downbeat set of lyrics about the abortive retreat of Napoleon’s army from Russia in 1812. In the familiar hole the Australians found themselves in, they could reflect on the song’s bridge:

Four Vidarbha players, two from Saurashtra, and a cricketer each from Rajasthan, Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Gujarat make it to our team of the season

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Feb-20191. Priyank Panchal (Gujarat) – 898 runs, 17 innings, average 59.86The season’s highest run-getter during Gujarat’s march to their maiden title in 2016-17, Panchal shrugged off an indifferent follow-up season to top his state’s run-charts this time around. That he did so with the added responsibility of captaincy in Parthiv Patel’s absence for the most part lent greater weight to his performances. His four hundreds and five half-centuries propelled Gujarat to the quarter-finals, and also brought him back into the India A mix for the unofficial Tests against England Lions.2. Abhimanyu Easwaran (Bengal) – 861 runs, 11 innings, average 95.66The 23-year-old made a compelling case to be considered as the third opener for the Test team. He didn’t feature in the first part of the season because of a stint with India A in New Zealand. The confidence of playing a higher level of cricket showed, as he racked up three hundreds and as many half-centuries. His unbeaten 201 kept Bengal in the hunt for a knockouts berth until the last day of the group stage, as he helped convert a 260-run deficit into a 132-run lead, before they ran out of time to push for an outright win. A game earlier, he struck an aggressive 211-ball 183 not out against Delhi as Bengal hunted down 322, their highest chase in Ranji Trophy history.3. Wasim Jaffer (VIdarbha) – 1037 runs, 15 innings, average 69.13Ten Ranji finals, ten titles. How’s that for conversion rate? While many of his contemporaries have exchanged bats for mics in the commentary box, the 40-year-old showed no signs of slowing down, not just scoring runs for fun but also mentoring Vidarbha’s next generation of batsmen. He remains the only batsman to have made 1000 or more runs in two separate Ranji seasons. If not for the two runs he missed against Saurashtra on a Rajkot turner, Jaffer could have recorded four successive hundreds this season.Shubman Gill in Ranji Trophy 2018-19•ESPNcricinfo Ltd4. Shubman Gill (Punjab) – 728 runs, nine innings, average 104Player of the tournament at the Under-19 World Cup, a breakout IPL season, and a breakout first-class season – that was Gill’s 2018 in a nutshell. More than the runs he made, the manner in which he struck them, at a bruising strike-rate of 104, exhibited tremendous self-confidence. The runs didn’t go unnoticed as he earned an India cap exactly a year after scoring a match-winning century against Pakistan in the Under-19 World Cup semi-final. His 268 against Tamil Nadu was a standout performance in a game where no other batsman made a hundred.ALSO READ: Gill’s meteoric rise through the India ranks5. Rinku Singh (Uttar Pradesh) – 953 runs, 13 innings, average 105.88Rinku Singh, whose claim to fame before this season was a big IPL paycheque, turned out to be the crisis man for Uttar Pradesh. A left-hand batsman who doesn’t hesitate to play his shots, he often put opposition teams on the back foot with his counter-attacks. Playing according to his strengths and not letting the match situation dictate terms, he hit four hundreds in the tournament, second only to Milind Kumar’s mark.6. Akshay Wadkar (Vidarbha, wk) – 725 runs, 16 innings, average 60.41, 27 dismissalsHe hit a century and the winning runs in his debut season last year, and followed it up with an equally impressive tally in 2018-19. He isn’t an imposing batsman, but his dour methods and tenacity to fight through tough spells – like he did to arrest a top-order wobble to make a gritty 48 against Railways – has impressed the team management. Behind the stumps, he wasn’t just a chirpy presence but also extremely reliable, particularly impressive with his nifty footwork against spin.7. Dharmendrasinh Jadeja (Saurashtra) – 59 wickets, 19 innings, average 27.16, best: 7 for 55He has been around for quite some time now but this was the breakout season for left-arm spinner Dharmendrasinh Jadeja. Leading the Saurashtra spin attack in the absence of his namesake Ravindra, his 59 scalps put him fifth on the all-time list of wickets in a season. Often touted as someone who only takes wickets on the spinning tracks of Rajkot, he proved that notion wrong as well. Twenty-nine of his 59 wickets came at away venues, and at a better strike rate (48.9) than at home (53.2).8. Aditya Sarwate (Vidarbha) – 55 wickets, 19 innings, average 19.67, best: 6 for 43Two left-arm spinners in an XI can be one too many, but the weight of Sarwate’s match-winning 11-for in the final couldn’t be ignored. In addition to his wickets, his 49 to revive a floundering second innings in a low-scoring match was invaluable. Far from a permanent member in the XI when the season started, he ensured there were little doubts over who Vidarbha would turn to should they feature just one spinner going forward.Aditya Sarwate raises his bat after reaching his century•PTI 9. Jaydev Unadkat (Saurashtra, captain) – 39 wickets, 14 innings, average 17.17, best: 7 for 86Bowling aside, Unadkat makes the XI on the strength of his leadership and the ‘brand of cricket’ he’s tried to bring into the Saurashtra set-up. He took over the leadership from the retired Jaydev Shah midway through the season, and immediately left his mark. His empowering of young players like Vishwarajsinh Jadeja, Harvik Desai and Snell Patel, and their response to a receptive leader, augurs well for the team’s immediate future. With the ball, Unadkat dispelled notions of him being merely a T20 bowler. Bowling with improved speeds with the ability to reverse the old ball, his long spells and intensity always kept Saurashtra in the game, like in the semi-final and final against Karnataka and Vidarbha respectively.ALSO READ: ‘I am going to work my pants off and do well’ – Unadkat10. Umesh Yadav (Vidarbha) – 23 wickets, six innings, average 12.26, best: 7 for 48How to channel the disappointment of Australia, where he played just one Test? By bowling his side to victories with Man-of-the-Match efforts in the quarters and semis. First, he vanquished inexperienced Uttarakhand and then sent Kerala packing on what he termed the ‘spiciest pitch I’ve bowled on’ in Wayanad. His 12-for blasted Kerala out in precisely four sessions. He couldn’t feature in Vidarbha’s triumph last season, but at the first sign of availability, he bowled with venom and intensity that made him such a fearsome red-ball bowler two years ago when Australia toured India.ALSO READ: Car mechanic to pace merchant – the rags-to-renown story of Tanveer-ul-Haq11. Tanveer-ul-Haq (Rajasthan) – 51 wickets, 20 innings, average 18.52, best: 6 for 42One half of a formidable left-arm pace combine with Aniket Choudhary, Tanveer brought his A game to become the first Rajasthan bowler to take 50 wickets in a season. He lacks pace, but his ability to trouble batsmen with subtle movement off the deck made him a tough proposition. Rajasthan lost the quarter-final to Karnataka in a tight finish, but Tanveer’s season was stellar – an average of 18.52 and a strike rate of 40.3, while bowling more overs than anyone else in the team.

Six months ago, he was almost certain to be India’s No.4 at the World Cup. But a poor run of form, coupled with the emergence of Vijay Shankar, ended his dream

Nagraj Gollapudi15-Apr-20190:50

‘Vijay Shankar offers three different dimensions’

How and why did Ambati Rayudu fail to secure a spot in India’s World Cup squad? How did someone who, only six months ago India captain Virat Kohli said had put an end to the never-ending hunt for the No.4 batsman, was the right buffer in the middle order who could offer balance and experience, slip out of contention?Going by pure numbers, Rayudu is the fourth-highest among runs since making his return to the Indian dressing room during the Asia Cup last September. Between then and the home series against Australia earlier this year, India played 24 matches, and Rayudu featured in 21. In this period, he scored one century and four fifties.He played only two ODIs on the tour of Australia, but was the highest run-getter for India in the ODIs on the tour of New Zealand, with 190 runs in five innings at an average of 63.33 and a strike rate of 82.25. In 20 innings since his comeback, Rayudu batted at No.4 on 14 occasions, scoring 464 runs at an average of 42.18 and a strike rate of 85.60.Getty ImagesClearly, then, you might assume Rayudu was not exactly struggling. However, scratch beneath those numbers and you begin to see some cracks. Of the 20 innings he has played since 2018, he has been dismissed below 25 on nine occasions. In fact, his 90 against New Zealand on a seaming pitch, which came in challenging conditions, was the only half-century he got outside the subcontinent.Even the Indian think tank seemed to have doubts. In January, Kohli said the team was looking to “solidify” the No.4 slot. The certainty about Rayudu had begun to slowly thin. Then Rayudu was dropped for a few matches during the home series against Australia. Even though MSK Prasad, the chairman of the Indian selection committee, said that IPL form was not factored in, Rayudu has managed just a solitary fifty in the tournament so far, though he has had to bat on slow pitches in Chennai.As Rayudu’s form wobbled, the selectors, by accident, found a favourable alternative in Vijay Shankar. The Tamil Nadu allrounder impressed the selectors not just with his fluent technique, batting in the middle order, but also bowl medium pace. Add to that his fielding, which was a weak point for Rayudu; he was dropped after being selected for the limited-overs leg of the UK tour last year because he failed the yo-yo fitness test.

Just Ordered a new set of 3d glasses to watch the world cup ..

— Ambati Rayudu (@RayuduAmbati) April 16, 2019

Also, Rayudu has not bowled since his action was reported during the ODI series in Australia. So, overall as a package, Vijay offered more than Rayudu did.”It’s not anything that went against him,” Prasad said on Rayudu’s absence from the World Cup squad. “It’s only the thing that went in favour of Vijay Shankar because he adds a bit more dimensions to that role and with his fielding and bowling abilities. That’s where he scored ahead of him.”As convincing as the reasoning goes, it is hard to figure how someone who had been drummed up as a key player in the batting order could be left out? Were the Indian think tank, along with the selectors, too hasty in reaching conclusions about Rayudu last year?Rayudu is bound to feel disappointed. He was initially picked for the UK tour last year, based on his powerful form in the 2018 IPL with Chennai Super Kings, who won the tournament. In between, he had given up playing first-class cricket for Hyderabad to focus all energies on fulfilling the desire of playing at the World Cup. A year later, with his form patchy, his confidence low, he finds himself at a crossroads.

An India fan was forced to change plans last-minute to make the semi-final at Old Trafford, where a thrilling two-day match took place

Sudhindra Prasad11-Jul-2019The build-up (or Probability 101 failure)
The effects of having bunked probability theory class in college to watch a game of cricket at the Chinnaswamy Stadium?
Dismissing South Africa’s chances to defeat Australia, our plans were made for a road trip from Germany for a long weekend involving the second semi-final at Edgbaston and the final at Lord’s.Result?
That sinking feeling as Alex Carey holed out off Chris Morris and an almighty scramble to rejig travel plans. But that drove home the old adage: “Cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties”!Choice of game
This was my tenth India game out of a maximum of 11 that I had hoped to attend when the tournament schedule was announced. After expecting India’s semi-final opponents to be Pakistan or England for the most part, a match-up against New Zealand was fitting, given their league stage match was washed out. Unfortunately, there will be no 11th match for India at this World Cup.Team supported
Having lost to Australia in the 2015 World Cup semi-final, I was hopeful India would make the final in this edition.Key performers
Matt Henry and Trent Boult were the absolutely vital to this New Zealand win. Under helpful conditions, their accurate line and length and constant movement fetched deserved rewards. They scythed through the India top order, exposing the vulnerable underbelly of this India team – the brittle middle order.One thing I would have changed
Day 1: Sunny weather all through the day.
Day 2: I would have sent in MS Dhoni at No. 4 or no later than No. 5. In such a chase, Dhoni’s recent scoring pace would have helped India weather the storm with minimal risk. Sending in Hardik Pandya at No. 6 and Dhoni at seven left India with no power-hitting options. Despite Ravindra Jadeja stepping up, the remaining batsmen couldn’t score quickly in the final overs.Shot of the day
Jadeja’s six off Lockie Ferguson was the shot of the day. It just seemed like a drive with exaggerated follow-through, but the shot had so much power that it cleared the long-off boundary.Accessories
Sky blue attire overall with 1991-92 Benson & Hedges World Series India jersey for my brother and myself, face paint, flaming hair-dos, a few India flags and the bugle that’s my constant companion at the cricket. My travel tea mug to assist with a severe bout of flu, and some supermarket food to avoid the horrid lines at food stalls, which had been a key feature at all India matches this tournament.ODI/TDI?
It was certainly a first to witness an ODI in person across two days. The only game I can recall of this nature was the England-India encounter in the 1999 World Cup, where India beat the hosts to seal a Super Six spot. Two-day internationals can be a concept in countries with poor attendances, if one team bats on day 1 under lights and the other team follows suit on day 2.AFPWow moment
With India’s batting resurgence gaining momentum around the 40th over, the tense India fans suddenly found their voice. After Dhoni hit Henry for a six, Old Trafford was absolutely buzzing. As Dhoni followed up his six with an ungainly glance to wide square-leg, the push for two certainly looked tight. Martin Guptill quickly swooped in on the ball and released it in quick time, hitting the stumps directly. From side-on the signs were quite ominous and it turned out that way as the replays were shown on the big screen. With that, Guptill had indeed stepped on the mute button at Old Trafford and Megadeth’s ran in my head, as India’s 2019 World Cup dreams ended right then and there.Fan index
While day 1 was very vibrant, loud and engaged, the second day was simply tense. Plenty of fans made the effort to return on the reserve day. I had to postpone my return to Germany and take an additional day off work. Others weren’t so lucky.(Self composed) Song of the day
To the tune of the Cuban classic “Guantanamera”
One KL Rahul
There’s only one KL Rahul (Replace with “Nam huduga, One KL Rahul” if KL is in earshot – which stands for “our lad, KL Rahul” in Kannada)
One KL Raaaaaaaaaaahul
There’s only one KL Rahul.Close encounter
During the long rain break, my eyes suddenly spotted a gentleman with a handlebar moustache, who calmly stood by an entrance in an Aussie jersey. It didn’t take too long to recognize the “Big Merv” Hughes, who was one of the most popular characters of the game back in the late 80s and early 90s. He looked comfortable interacting with the selfie- and autograph-seeking fans.Rainy corner
The stands at Old Trafford offered almost no rain cover and left much to be desired. While some fans squeezed in the limited room under the stands sipping some drinks, singing or partaking in the , others had no option but to get soaked or just sit in the open with their umbrellas. To make matters worse, there were several spots under the B stand where the water dripped through.AFPImprovisation
At Old Trafford, Stand D is an enormous temporary stand, which was built a few years ago and has since been left that way. The stand is all metal and is an extremely tall structure.Around the 45th over of the India innings, a sudden but loud noise started to emanate from stand D and this just continued to increase in intensity. Upon close review, the spectators were stamping on the metal floor to produce an enormous rhythmic noise. This went on for a few more iterations; a wonderful way to lend support to their team.Swansong
As the guitar at the stadium wailed out the main riff of Eric Clapton’s , Dhoni walked in and I wondered if the experienced campaigner had one last magic innings left in him to take India to the final. Although he tried his best, the free-stroking Dhoni of the old did not surface at Old Trafford. True to that song, MSD has brought opposition bowlers on their proverbial knees often over the years with his stunning batting and finishing skills. It would be safe to say that this was indeed his World Cup swansong, if not even for his ODI career. Thanks for the memories, MS.Like the eternal “Sachin Sachin” chant, we will continue to sing away the “Team of Dhoni” song and remember how it was to be “high on MSD”.”Team of Dhoni” (to the tune of by the Beatles)
We all dream about a team of Dhonis, a team of Dhonis, a team of Dhonis
Number 1 Dhoni
Number 2 Dhoni
Number 3 Dhoni
Number 4 Dhoni
Heyyy

We all dream about a team of Dhonis, a team of Dhonis, a team of Dhonis

Number 5 Dhoni

Number 6 Dhoni

Number 7 Dhoni

Number 8 Dhoni
Heyyy

We all dream about a team of Dhonis, a team of Dhonis, a team of Dhonis

Number 9 Dhoni

Number 10 Dhoni

Number 11 Dhoni

Number 12 Dhoni
Overall
The disadvantage of having to chase in big games continues for captain Virat Kohli (win the toss or otherwise). The quality of cricket in this game was brilliant and New Zealand fought hard, just like they did in the 2015 semi-final. India did not get rolled over and to see a certain “bits & pieces” cricketer prove a point was refreshing. Although I am gutted at India not being in the final, New Zealand were deserving winners on the day. It will certainly be nice to see new World Cup champions in New Zealand or England.Marks out of 10
Eight. That rain gripe and the result notwithstanding, the rejig and re-rejig of travel plans was well worth it. It was one of the most tense games of cricket I have ever witnessed. I am proud of the Indian team’s overall performance and display across the tournament. The middle-order weakness had to show up some day. As my brother and I travelled across England for the ten India games, we have been blessed with so many experiences, beautiful sights, new friends, getting a chance to meet old friends and so many memories that will go beyond this tournament. What next? Back to the travel board preparing for the next tournament. 2023 World Cup? Absolutely. The T20 World Cup in Australia? Hmm… unsure at this moment.Want to do a Fan Following report? Read our FAQ here.