All posts by n8rngtd.top

They are the only team without a win in the World Cup so far, having lost their first three games

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Oct-2023Allrounder Angelo Mathews and fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera will join Sri Lanka’s World Cup squad as travelling reserves.They are expected to link up with the team on Friday, ahead of Sri Lanka’s fourth league game against Netherlands in Lucknow on Saturday, but can only be drafted into the squad in case of an injury to a player. Fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana had missed their previous game because of a shoulder niggle.Sri Lanka are presently at the bottom of the points table, having lost their first three games against South Africa, Pakistan and Australia; they are the only side without a win in the tournament so far.Their captain Dasun Shanaka has already been ruled out of the tournament with a quadriceps tear, an injury that needs a recovery period of around three weeks, and he was replaced by allrounder Chamika Karunaratne. Kusal Mendis captained Sri Lanka against Australia in Shanaka’s absence.Chameera, 31, would have been a first-choice pick in Sri Lanka’s World Cup squad but was not fit enough for selection by the deadline. He last played for Sri Lanka in June against Afghanistan and in the warm-ups of the World Cup qualifier. After that, he was initially out with a torn pectoral muscle, which he suffered ahead of the World Cup qualifier in Zimbabwe. And, after recovering from that, he injured himself again in the Lanka Premier League in August.Mathews has not played an ODI since the first game of the home series against Afghanistan in June, and he last played for Sri Lanka in the Colombo Test against Pakistan in July. Sri Lanka are also without legspinner Wanindu Hasaranga, who was ruled out of the World Cup with an injury.

Three-wicket hauls from Tymal Mills and Mohammad Nabi were not enough for hosts Chittagong Kings to halt Dhaka Dynamites

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Nov-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMohammad Shahid took three wickets in nine balls•BCB

Fast bowler Mohammad Shahid claimed 3 for 23 to help Dhaka Dynamites defend 148 against hosts Chittagong Vikings and secure their third consecutive victory in BPL 2016-17. The result meant Dhaka stayed on top of the table with eight points from five matches.Having been sent in, Dhaka got off to a blistering start thanks to Mehedi Maruf, who hit 33 off 20 balls, including six fours and one six. In the process, Maruf went past Shahriar Nafees as the top-scorer in this season’s BPL. His knock ended when he was pinned lbw by offspinning allrounder Mohammad Nabi in the fifth over.Tymal Mills, the fast bowler from England, then removed Nasir Hossain and Kumar Sangakkara in the tenth over to reduce Dhaka to 73 for 3. This came after a dramatic ninth over by left-arm spinner Saqlain Sajib . Nasir survived a caught-behind chance off the second ball of the over, despite getting an inside edge, which ricocheted off the thigh pad to Anamul Haque, the wicketkeeper. Saqlain responded by stopping halfway in his bowling stride to disturb Nasir’s concentration, only for the batsman to return the favour the next time he looked to bowl.Mills then bowled Nasir for 20 in the next over. The wicket gave way to a collapse: Dhaka lost 4 for 28 in 3.1 overs. Mosaddek Hossain then gave the innings a boost with the lower order, taking his side to 148. He top-scored with 35 off 26 balls, including two fours and two sixes. Mills and Nabi finished with three wickets each for Chittagong.In reply, Chittagong lost opener Jahurul Islam for 6 in the third over. The other opener – Tamim Iqbal – hung on for 26 off 35 balls before falling to Dwayne Bravo. Anamul and Mahmudul Hasan also reached double-figures, but failed to press on. Shahid then went on to rip through the lower-middle order, collecting three wickets in a space of nine balls. Eventually, the hosts fell 19 runs short of the target.

Head coach believes new regime shouldn’t carry the can for racism scandal

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jun-2023Ottis Gibson, Yorkshire’s head coach, has questioned the logic of punishing the club’s new regime for past failings, after the ECB recommended a £500,000 fine and points deductions at Tuesday’s hearing of the Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC).Gibson, the first Black head coach in Yorkshire’s history, was appointed in January 2022 following the sacking of 16 members of the club’s back-room staff, including his predecessor Andrew Gale and the director of cricket, Martyn Moxon.That decision was taken by the since-departed chairman, Lord Kamlesh Patel, whose own appointment had come in the wake of Azeem Rafiq’s explosive testimony before a parliamentary select committee in November 2021, at which he had laid out his experience of institutional racism at the club.The fall-out from the scandal left Yorkshire facing bankruptcy, with the ECB suspending their major-match hosting status (a move since reversed), while a swathe of leading sponsors also severed ties with the club – including Emerald, Headingley’s title sponsors, and Nike, the kit suppliers.And while Gibson acknowledged that some form of punishment was inevitable, he described the proposed sanctions as “harsh” – not least because the club, currently in the bottom three of the County Championship but in contention for a knock-out berth in the T20 Blast – has already played a significant portion of the season while knowing that their fate had yet to be decided.Given that promotion back to the top flight of the County Championship already seems unlikely, the ECB’s proposed hit of 48-72 points might not affect the club’s status much beyond prize money. However, the proposed 4-6 point deduction for the T20 Blast would almost certainly prove the difference in the race for the quarter-finals. Yorkshire are currently fifth on 13 points, just one point behind their arch-rivals Lancashire in second place, whom they play on Friday.Related

• Yorkshire fined £400,000, handed points deductions following racism charges

• Colin Graves withdraws from running to become Yorkshire chair

• Colin Graves insists he witnessed no racism during his tenure at Yorkshire

• English establishment must listen and learn in wake of ICEC report

• ECB requests £500,000 fine, points deductions in Yorkshire racism case

“If you remember when I came here in March last year and this whole investigation was going on, I said, ‘It would be nice of them to let us know before the start of the season what sanctions there were going to be’,” Gibson told the ECB Reporters Network.”We’re sat here the following June and we’re still not sure what it is or isn’t. It’s frustrating because a lot of change has taken place here at Yorkshire, including myself being here.”I feel like when this thing all started many years ago, long before I got here, the club was stripped of international cricket because of what had gone on.”Then the ECB said, ‘If you want international cricket back, you have to satisfy us that you’re doing these things’. They gave the club a list of things, and Lord Patel came in and made some tough and uncomfortable decisions I would imagine.”We got our international cricket back, which would seem to me to suggest that we’d satisfied the ECB and done the things they asked us to do in the first place.”So to sanction a group of people who are trying to move the club forward doesn’t seem to me to make sense. It would be naive to think that we’re not going to get some sort of punishment, but it does seem a bit harsh.”That’s my position as the coach of a fairly new group of players.”

He added 212 for the second wicket with Mahmudul Hasan Joy, as Afghanistan paid for too many no-balls and wides

Mohammad Isam14-Jun-2023Stumps Bangladesh 362 for 5 (Mehidy 43*, Mushfiqur 41*, Masood 2-67) vs AfghanistanNajmul Hossain Shanto’s attacking 146 – his first Test century at home – gave Bangladesh a high-scoring opening day in the one-off Test against Afghanistan in Dhaka. Shanto made 146, his third century overall – and the first since 2021 – as the hosts reached 362 for 5 at stumps. The total was Bangladesh’s second-highest score on the first day of a Test, only behind the 374 they put against Sri Lanka in Chattogram in 2018.At stumps, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mehidy Hasan Miraz were unbeaten on 41 and 43, respectively, after Bangladesh had lost 3 for 34 in a mini middle-order collapse from 256 for 2. That came after Shanto and Mahmudul Hasan Joy had added 212 for the second wicket, Bangladesh’s only third 200-plus second-wicket stand. Incidentally, Shanto had been involved in their last four 100-plus partnerships for this wicket too.On Wednesday, Mahmudul complemented him with a steady 76 of his own, although his innings was cut short due to a lapse of concentration against part-timer Rahmat Shah. That broke his partnership with Shanto in what would turn out to be a forgettable day for Afghanistan, who bowled 15 no-balls – one of which saw Shanto getting bowled on 143 – and seven wides on the day, apart from often misfielding and overthrowing. The heat also played a part, as only 79 overs were bowled in the day.Shanto had started the third session just like he had started the previous one – with boundaries. He swatted two bouncers from debutant Nijat Masood for a four and a six in the 51st over, but two overs later, the bowler retorted with Mominul Haque’s wicket. Come the 55th over, Masood had Shanto chopping on to his stumps, before the delivery turned out to be a no-ball.But luckily for Afghanistan, Shanto could add only three more to his score, with Amir Hamza having him caught at deep midwicket. Shanto’s innings of 146 took only 175 balls, and included 23 fours and two sixes. The day ended with Mushfiqur and Mehidy’s partnership unbeaten on 72, although Bangladesh’s dominance had began once Shanto was at the crease in the second over of the innings.Nijat Masood struck with his first ball in Test cricket•AFP/Getty Images

Masood had taken a wicket with his first ball in his Test career when Zakir Hasan was undone by a ball which jagged away sharply, taking the outside edge on the way to wicketkeeper Afsar Zazai. Thus, Masood became the seventh bowler in the 21st century to strike first ball in Tests, and the first from Afghanistan to do so.However, Shanto attacked with a plethora of boundaries in the first hour itself. He hardly gave fast bowlers Masood and Yamin Ahmadzai any room to relax, even as left-arm wristspinner Zahir Khan was welcomed with three fours in his first spell. An enterprising Shanto reached his fifty in the first session, while Mahmudul held up one end.Shanto accelerated further in the post-lunch session, reaching his third century with another flurry of boundaries. After hitting 11 fours in the morning, Shanto began the second session with three fours in the same over off Masood. He struck him through the covers twice, and pulled him once. Two more fours off Hamza in the next over was followed by driving Karim Janat down the ground.Meanwhile, Mahmudul reached his fifty in the 35th over, shortly before Shanto got to his hundred, benefitting from the five runs resulting due to an overthrow. Three overs later, Shanto reached his century with a quick single.Shanto’s innings saw most of the boundaries coming down the ground, crashing nine fours through cover and mid-off. Seven of his fours came through midwicket, while both his sixes were hit over square leg. His heavy scoring on the leg side had much to do with how poorly Afghanistan bowled to him.Mahmudul struck the ball to his preferred areas of covers and midwicket. He fell before the tea break to Rahmat, as Ibrahim Zadran took a stunner at slip.

Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma has said he is likely to open for the remainder of the IPL season, ahead of their match against Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday

Nagraj Gollapudi in Kolkata12-Apr-20161:00

‘We can’t take any baggage with us as a team’ – Rohit

Just over a month ago, Rohit Sharma had scored an unbeaten 98 at Eden Gardens. It was in India’s first warm-up match of the World Twenty20, against West Indies. Incidentally, Rohit had made the same score at the same ground in last year’s IPL opener against Kolkata Knight Riders, who Mumbai Indians will face on Wednesday evening. Although Rohit had succeeded that day last year, Mumbai had failed. Eventually, they won the IPL with three Mumbai batsmen featuring among the top-10 run-scorers – Lendl Simmons, Rohit and Kieron Pollard.This IPL season is Pollard’s first competitive tournament since his knee surgery last year. In the tournament opener in Mumbai on April 9, Pollard struggled against Rising Pune Supergiants, labouring for eight balls to make just one run.Simmons, one of the heroes in West Indies’ triumph over India in the World T20 semi-finals, is now likely to be rested for the next few matches. He had originally dropped out of the West Indies squad due to a bad back, only to be flown in as a late replacement for the knockout matches.Ambati Rayudu, Hardik Pandya and England batsman Jos Buttler, playing his maiden IPL, form the Mumbai middle order, but it is difficult to imagine and expect them to play the lead batsman’s role in case the top order fails as it did against Supergiants.That leaves the onus on Rohit, the team’s best batsman and captain. T20 history is abundant with examples in which a good beginning often ensures a team defends a big or huge total. Rohit has been opening regularly for India in limited-overs matches since 2013. However, with Mumbai Indians he has not done the same. Last IPL, he opened only twice. This season, though, he has decided to open with a longer stint in mind.”It’s important to get the balance and the position of each player right, where they have batted for their country/state, it’s important to keep that going,” Rohit said on Tuesday. “For me, I’ve been opening for a while – three years now – so I’d like to continue that for the remainder of the series. But everything depends on the balance, if I feel me batting top of order is not right for the team, I’ll come down as a middle-order batsman. If it helps the team, I’m ready to do whatever it takes to help the team win.”According to Rohit, the Mumbai batting has depth, including batsmen who are proven matchwinners in international cricket. “We have to share the responsibility. I cannot be just one person winning the tournament,” Rohit said. “Last year, we hardly had anyone in the top five in the batting list which shows that everybody contributed and shared the responsibility. You will have individual performances and brilliance at times, but if you want to win the tournament, it has to come from everyone not just one person. In the last three years, we have had so much success because the responsibility was shared. I would expect the same, but as a leader, I would like to step up and perform every game.”Building momentum in the first half, especially in the first few matches, is what Mumbai coach Ricky Ponting has always said is the key to succeed in tournaments like IPL. Last year, Mumbai had a horrid first half. In order to not repeat the mistakes, Rohit and co. will have to play their roles convincingly.Mumbai have two IPL editions in the last three seasons – 2013 and 2015. And which Mumbai batsman was among the top-10 run-scorers in those two seasons? Rohit would once again like to lead from the front, although in a different role.

Fast bowler Rubel Hossain, who had missed the India Test earlier this month, has also been recalled for the series which starts from March 7

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Feb-2017Fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman has returned to Bangladesh’s Test squad for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka, along with pace bowler Rubel Hossain. Opener Imrul Kayes will miss the two-match series, which starts from March 7, due to a thigh injury.Bangladesh had omitted Mustafizur from the squad for the one-off Test against India earlier this month, as the team management felt the bowler was not yet 100% fit for a return to five-day cricket. Mustafizur had undergone shoulder surgery in August last year, after picking up an injury while playing for Sussex. He was selected for the New Zealand tour in December-January, and played four limited-overs matches before being ruled out of the two Tests due to a hamstring injury. The bowler has played only two Tests in his career so far – in the home series against South Africa in July-August 2015.Mustafizur went back to Bangladesh’s first-class competition, playing two rounds of the Bangladesh Cricket League, and his bowling spells in the matches convinced Bangladesh’s chief selector, Minhajul Abedin, that the bowler was ready for the full tour.”I am really impressed with the way he bowled in the second innings. I think he got back his rhythm,” Minhajul had noted last week.Mustafizur has replaced Shafiul Islam from the squad that traveled to India. Imrul had also been named in the team for the Hyderabad Test but withdrew after hurting his thigh in the tour match against India A, a recurrence of the injury that had kept him out of the Christchurch Test last month. Mosaddek Hossain, who flew to India as cover for Imrul, has been picked for the Sri Lanka Tests. Minhajul said on Tuesday that Imrul could be added to the squad for the second Test if he proves his fitness in the next round of the Bangladesh Cricket League, which starts from February 26. Imrul is playing the current round for South Zone and scored 31 on the opening day of their match against North Zone.Rubel had also missed the Hyderabad Test, losing his place to Shafiul after returns of 0 for 65 in Christchurch where Bangladesh lost by nine wickets. However, the bowler did well in the Bangladesh Cricket League, taking ten wickets in two matches for South Zone.The first Test will be played from March 7 in Galle, while the second match in Colombo, which starts from March 15, will be Bangladesh’s 100th in the format.Bangladesh Test squad Mushfiqur Rahim (c), Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mominul Haque, Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Sabbir Rahman, Mustafizur Rahman, Taijul Islam, Mehedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Mosaddek Hossain, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Subashis Roy, Rubel Hossain.

Healy, McGrath fifties go in vain as Mumbai continue winning run with fourth win in four games

Zenia D'cunha12-Mar-20235:58

What was the ‘double review’ all about?

Who can stop Mumbai Indians in the WPL?At the halfway point of the league stage, the answer is: No one. Yet, at any rate.UP Warriorz were the only team not to have played, and therefore not to have lost, to Mumbai and the set was completed on Sunday at a packed Brabourne Stadium.Mumbai have now played four and won four with the following margins: 143 runs (Gujarat Giants), nine wickets (Royal Challengers Bangalore), eight wickets (Delhi Capitals), and eight wickets (Warriorz). Comprehensive, each of them.But don’t let this latest lopsided-looking result fool you. The win over Warriorz was not as straightforward as it might seem. Harmanpreet Kaur (53 off 33 balls) stood tall and produced a remarkable knock that made a tricky chase look easy, but it could well have been tougher. That it wasn’t, when Mumbai were finally tested, was down to their captain and their other trump card, the purple-cap holder Saika Ishaque.The match, and Mumbai’s prowess, might perhaps be best summed up with the tale of two overs. One bowled by Ishaque, one faced by Harmanpreet.Two overs. Two players who are on the opposite sides of the spectrum of Indian cricket. Two (more) reasons why Mumbai have been unstoppable.Saika Ishaque starred with three wickets•BCCI

Saika Ishaque takes out Alyssa Healy and Tahlia McGrath

In the first innings, Warriorz were cruising at 138 for 2 after 16 overs, and looking good for a big total, with Alyssa Healy past fifty and Tahlia McGrath almost there. Ishaque then came in for her last over, having been at the receiving end of Healy’s aggression a fair bit earlier.”Bowler , wicket (I am a bowler, I am here to take wickets),” she had famously said when she got the purple cap for the first time this season. It’s exactly what she did.
On the third ball, she dismissed Healy lbw for 58. Two balls later, she got McGrath stumped for 50. Cool as you please.She finished her spell with figures of 3 for 33, ensuring the purple cap remains firmly with her. Warriorz could only manage 159 in the end, a gettable target.Harmanpreet Kaur upped her scoring rate after a cautious start•BCCI

Harmanpreet Kaur amps it up

Then Mumbai were in a spot of bother at 72 for 2, after an uncharacteristically slow 17-ball 12 from Hayley Mathews and Yastika Bhatia falling after a good start (42 off 27). Warriorz’s spin, which had set up their previous win, was working well on a pitch that had started aiding turn, Harmanpreet and Nat Sciver-Brunt were yet to get off the mark, and the asking rate was climbing.It was still on Mumbai’s side at 88 needed from 60 balls, but Harmanpreet had taken six balls to get off the mark. She then got a stroke of luck when she was on seven. Anjali Sarvani bowled a slower one on leg stump, which seemed to graze the stumps, the bail lit up, but stayed put.Harmanpreet rode this luck to play a knock to remember.It was the 16th over, McGrath’s first. After the first ball, Sciver-Brunt was checked for concussion. One has to wonder what was discussed in the brief break because when Harmanpreet took strike again, she completely changed the game in just four balls with a four, six, four, four sequence, the six over cover such an effortlessly clean hit that it will go down as a shot-of-the-tournament contender.She took six balls to get off the mark, but got to her fifty is 31 balls. She scored 36 runs in the last 12 balls she faced. Sciver-Brunt (45 off 31) and Harmanpreet ensured that Mumbai had yet another big win in the bag, and one foot straight in the final.Just Harmanpreet things. Just Mumbai Indians things.

M Vijay showed sparkling form, hitting a brisk century, while KL Rahul broke a lean run with a half-century on the final day of the India’s tour match

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Dec-20181:18

‘Australian conditions suit my game’ – Vijay

A solid top-order show from Murali Vijay and KL Rahul headlined the final day of the drawn encounter between India and Cricket Australia XI. Vijay demolished an inexperienced host bowling attack as he made a 132-ball 129 laden with 16 fours and five sixes, while Rahul hit form with a 98-ball 62, following a string of low scores.Australia batsmen made the Indian bowlers toil at the start of the day, as they amassed 544 from 151.1 overs, after beginning the day 6 for 356. Harry Nielsen, who added 44 runs to his overnight score to bring up 100, was dismissed by Virat Kohli in the 21st over of the day. Aaron Hardie’s 86, and three 30-plus contributions from the tail, helped the hosts take a 186-run lead.In reply, Rahul reached his half-century shortly after tea in the 25th over, while Vijay was batting on 33. There was a short break in play in the 30th over, when a grimacing Vijay sought medical attention to his right thumb, and he resumed playing with a bandage on the finger. In the very next over, D’Arcy Short got the much-needed breakthrough as he dismissed Rahul for 62.Overcoming the pain in his thumb, Vijay set off to entertain the sizeable crowd at the SCG once he crossed 50. He destroyed the young Western Australian offspinner Jake Carder for 26 runs in an over, including three fours and two sixes, to move from 74 to 100. He smashed three more fours and two sixes before falling to Daniel Fallins in the 44th over, following which the teams shook hands with 15 minutes left to play.Vijay had been recalled for the Australia tour after losing his place due to poor form in the last two away Tests against England earlier this year. He impressed in a county stint with Essex and his first-class form was enough to get him picked for the Tests. Speaking about his comeback after the match, Vijay said his focus, even when he was out of the team, was on making sure he was always ready for the top level.”You’ve got to find ways to be in that positive frame of mind, where even if you’re not part of the team, you’ve still got to make sure you keep your work ethics to the top level, and once you get a chance, you should be ready to go,” he said. “That’s my basic funda. Once you play international (cricket), you’ve got to handle responsibility well. Whether it is four years or your first year, it’s about taking the responsibility and doing it for your team. Age doesn’t matter here.”

Among the more sweeping of the Lodha committee’s recommendations is a players’ association, intended as a “necessary” mechanism for addressing player concerns

Arun Venugopal04-Jan-20163:27

Joshi: Players’ association not just for collective bargaining

Among the more sweeping of the Lodha committee’s recommendations is a players’ association, intended as a “necessary” mechanism for addressing player concerns. It would be radical because India is the only Test-playing nation not to have a players’ association – and has not contemplated one in the recent past. The BCCI has historically opposed the idea and two earlier attempts have come to naught; this latest venture, if mandated, will be financed by the board and comprise only those players who have retired from competitive cricket in all forms.

Stricter rules for player agents

The Lodha Committee has proposed a rigorous system for a person to be accredited as a player agent, who will be monitored by the BCCI in conjunction with the players’ association.
1. An applicant needs to submit a clearance certificate issued by the ICC ACSU, and must not have any criminal record
2. There should no conflict of interest or dual representation
3. A player agent is required to undertake that he will charge no more than a maximum agent fee of 2% of the total annual revenue earned
4. The five-member committee on agent regulation will have powers to initiate disciplinary proceedings against agents

The committee has appointed a four-member standing committee, comprising former union home secretary GK Pillai (chairperson) and former India cricketers Mohinder Amarnath, Anil Kumble and former India women captain Diana Edulji, to “identify and invite all eligible ex-cricketers to be members, to open bank accounts, receive funds from the BCCI, conduct the first elections for office bearers, communicate the names of BCCI player nominees to the board.”The committee, having taken note of the BCCI’s “apprehension of unionisation”, has deemed it important to give the players “a voice to raise their concerns” while barring them from forming a “trade union of any sort.” It recommends the need to advance the welfare of players, including insurance, medical and other commercial benefits.In the early 2000s, a group of players, including MAK Pataudi (president), Arun Lal (secretary), Anil Kumble, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Ravi Shastri and Abbas Ali Baig were the founding members of a players’ association, but that eventually served as no more than a means to the end of player contracts.”The BCCI would tell the senior players ‘we will give you what you want, why do you need an association?’,” a source privy to the formation of the association then told ESPNcricinfo. “They would talk to Ganguly, Dravid, Tendulkar and Kumble as senior players but not as representatives of a players’ association.”He said there was an effort to organise a body under Kapil Dev as the president in the late 80s as well to put forward genuine concerns. “Playing cricket was not a career then. Ranji Trophy cricketers would only get Rs 50 a day to play a match. This was not [an attempt to get] a larger share of the pie, it’s just genuine concerns.”The source said the board always looked at players’ associations as “anti-establishment” bodies, and would discourage them overtly and covertly. “Everybody didn’t join because they were scared. I don’t blame them. If my state association secretary warns me against joining such an association, how will I dare join then?”Former India fast bowler Javagal Srinath felt the players’ association was a greater responsibility of the players than the board. “It’s up to the boys,” he said. “At that time we felt there was a need for all of us to come together. We started cricket as a profession [for the first time]. Anything of that sort is always a start and stop kind of thing in India.”Even if it was started by someone there have to be reasons for players to see what could be achieved from players’ association.”The source, however, felt the senior players in the early 2000s didn’t carry forward the early momentum that was achieved. “It’s also the fault of the players because you start something with conviction and you don’t follow it through,” he said. “They were the power base at the time and owed it to the next generation to carry it through.”The BCCI was willing to help out as long as you approached them as players and not as players’ association representatives. The best way to kill an association is give them what they want so that there is no need for one for a while, and it dies a natural death.”Srinath, though, was of the belief the time was ripe for such an association to come into being, given that players have a more professional outlook.”Cricket has taken such a big professional dimension in India. It will be good for the game, the board and the players,” he said. “I think more than addressing the rights, it’s players coming under the umbrella, players starting to accept various contracts.”It’s just not about fighting for your rights alone, because most things are taken care of. The odd incident has to be customised, but I don’t think any player is put under any financial discomfort. “A BCCI official took a contrarian view and suggested that the creation of such associations would encourage politicisation and politicking among players.”Such politics is already there in the BCCI and a lot of state associations, and you curse it day in and day out,” he said. “You will have a situation where this will happen among players as well. Why would you want that? Won’t these associations have control over players and create lobbies? In any case, the interests of the players have been traditionally looked after by the BCCI more than anybody else.”

Saurashtra are looking for their second 50-over title, while Maharashtra are in the final for the first time

Shashank Kishore01-Dec-2022

Big Picture

Saurashtra’s previous Vijay Hazare Trophy success came in the pre-IPL era, around the time Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja were beginning to make a mark in domestic cricket following their success at the India Under-19 level.Current captain Jaydev Unadkat, who hails from Porbandar, a town remembered by history as the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi, was inspired by their heroics as he took to cricket. Both Pujara and Unadkat would make their Test debut two years after that Hazare triumph to put Saurashtra firmly on Indian cricket’s map.Related

• Gaikwad smashes List A record with seven sixes in 43-run over

• Maharashtra to take on Saurashtra in Vijay Hazare Trophy final

Pujara and Jadeja have gone on to have stellar India careers and Unadkat has established himself as a bona-fide domestic legend, spearheading a revolution in Saurashtra. In 2020, they won their maiden Ranji title with Unadkat picking up 67 wickets in the season, one short of the all-time record. It was the result of several years of trying and being blown away at the final hurdle, most notably twice against Mumbai.When red-ball success was achieved, Saurashtra decided to rewrite their white-ball template. A team that didn’t have a full-time fitness trainer until the start of this season vowed to become better tuned to the one-day game. Players who would take the safe option were told to be bold, while receiving unequivocal backing.Where teams struggle to have one seam bowling allrounder, Saurashtra have unearthed and nurtured two – Prerak Mankad and Chirag Jani. Unadkat too has reinvented himself as a handy lower-order hitter. In between, they’ve helped wicketkeeper Harvik Desai, who played a crucial part in India’s Under-19 World Cup win in 2018, by backing him ahead of some tried and tested options. On top of all that, Sheldon Jackson is back.Saurashtra were unlucky at the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s, where they dominated the group phase before enduring a final-over heartbreak against Mumbai in the quarter-finals. Here, in the 50-over tournament, they have set the record straight, comprehensively beating two white-ball giants Tamil Nadu and Karnataka in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively.Standing in their way is Maharashtra, fuelled by Ruturaj Gaikwad’s glut of runs and their itch to win a maiden List A title. They may be in uncharted territory, but Maharashtra are riding a wave of confidence like never before, overcoming stiff competition from Mumbai and Bengal to come through the group stage unscathed.File photo – Ruturaj Gaikwad comes into the final in red hot form•Maharashtra Cricket Association

Where Saurashtra have had different players step up and deliver, Maharashtra have relied almost solely on Gaikwad and Ankit Bawne’s power-packed show at the top of the order. Bawne has hit 571 runs in eight innings. Gaikwad is a shade behind with 552 in just four games, including a record-breaking 220* where he hit seven sixes in a single over. They are third and fourth on the top run-getters list this season.Like Saurashtra, Maharashtra too are punting big on a young allrounder – Rajvardhan Hangargekar. A success story from India’s Under-19 World Cup campaign, the 20-year-old brings with him the heady cocktail of lively pace and big muscles lower down the order. These have translated into two impact performances in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, apart from winning a game out of nowhere in the group stage when he hit the six Maharashtra needed off the last ball against Bengal.On Friday, one of them will walk away champions. If Saurashtra do, it will be another step towards becoming a formidable force across formats. If Maharashtra win, it’ll be the first step towards a larger goal of reclaiming their glory days of the past.

Form guide

Saurashtra WWLWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Maharashtra WWWWW

In the spotlight

Sheldon Jackson has had a disappointing tournament by his standards. In nine innings, he’s managed all of 164 runs with a solitary half-century. He’s also been released from his IPL contract by Kolkata Knight Riders. With franchises keeping a close eye on the action, it’s a chance for him to once again prove that even at 36 he has what it takes. Oh, and the India selectors, whom he’s been sounding out time and again, will be watching too.Left-arm swing bowler Mukesh Choudhary has had a breakthrough year. Having made waves in the IPL under MS Dhoni at Chennai Super Kings, he would’ve been expected to spearhead the Maharashtra attack with some degree of success. That hasn’t been the case so for – he has only six wickets in six matches – but the final is another chance for him to deliver a knockout blow.File photo – Sheldon Jackson has had a disappointing campaign so far•PTI

Team news

Pujara, who was available for the group stage, won’t be playing the final. He’s with the India A team in Bangladesh preparing for a Test series. Saurashtra also won’t have the services of left-arm seamer Chetan Sakariya, who is nursing a finger injury he picked up in the quarter-finals against Tamil Nadu.Saurashtra (probable): 1 Harvik Desai (wk), 2 Sheldon Jackson, 3 Jay Gohil, 4 Samarth Vyas, 5 Prerak Mankad, 6 Arpit Vasavada, 7 Chirag Jani, 8 Jaydev Unadkat (capt), 9 Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, 10 Parth Bhuth, 11 Kushang PatelMaharashtra, meanwhile, won’t have the services of Rahul Tripathi, who is also away on national duty. He is one of two uncapped players part of India’s ODI squad for the three-match series in Bangladesh beginning December 4.Maharashtra (probable): 1 Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), 2 Pavan Shah, 3 Satyajeet Bachchav, 4 Ankit Bawne, 5 Azim Kazi, 6 Rajvardhan Hangargekar, 7 Kaushal Tambe, 8 Shamshuzama Kazi, 9 Saurabh Nawale (wk), 10 Mukesh Choudhary, 11 Manoj Ingale

Pitch and conditions

With the match beginning at 9 am, the team winning the toss could claim the advantage of bowling on a moisture-laden surface. A red-soil strip will also aid good bounce and carry. It’s all set up for a fascinating contest between a fantastic Saurashtra seam-attack and a marauding Maharashtra batting line-up.

Stats and trivia

• When Gaikwad and Bawne hit their 11th Vijay Hazare Trophy century in the semi-final against Assam, they equalled Robin Uthappa’s tally for most centuries in the tournament’s history.
• Saurashtra have conceded an opening stand in excess of 35 just once in nine innings this tournament – the 214 against Hyderabad in the group phase.