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That Miandad six, Saleem Malik’s miracle, Hrishikesh Kanitkar’s moment of glory, and more magic moments from one of the world’s great sporting rivalries

Shamya Dasgupta08-Apr-2020Sharjah, March 1985, Four Nations Cup

India had just beaten Pakistan comfortably in the final of the Benson & Hedges World Championship of Cricket in Australia, and one-day cricket was beginning to replace Test cricket as the most popular format. That’s when we got this magical low-scoring contest – with a match aggregate of 212 runs – in a tournament also featuring Australia and England, held in a shiny new part of the world. Imran Khan took 6 for 14 to bowl India out for just 125, but then Kapil Dev and the mesmerising L Sivaramakrishnan ripped through Pakistan, who lost their last four wickets for two runs to finish with 87. It left us stunned….Sharjah, April 1986, Austral-Asia Cup, final

… till we got Javed Miandad and that six! India and Pakistan met in the the final of a five-team tournament that also featured Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka. Both sides scored at nearly five an over – a big deal then – with India getting half-centuries from K Srikkanth, Sunil Gavaskar and Dilip Vengsarkar. Pakistan faltered in the chase but were steadied by Javed Miandad, who made a run-a-ball century despite wickets falling around him. He brought down the equation to a boundary needed off the last ball with one wicket in hand. Chetan Sharma looked to bowl a yorker, which turned into a low full-toss that Miandad hit for six over midwicket. Miandad was already a hero. This audacious innings made him an icon, and not only for Pakistan fans.Calcutta, February 1987, bilateral series

Not to take anything away from what Miandad achieved in Sharjah, but the defining ODI innings of the ’80s for me came from Saleem Malik in a game I watched from the stands at Eden Gardens. Back then you just didn’t see batsmen score 72 runs at a strike rate of 200. Pakistan were chasing 239 in 40 overs. Malik came in at 161 for 5 and seemed to smash every single ball exactly where he wanted to. At 174 for 6, when Imran Khan fell, we started celebrating in the stands. Malik scythed us down to size with his 11 fours and a six. For me, it’s still the greatest ODI innings ever.Venkatesh Prasad’s dismissal of Aamer Sohail in the 1996 World Cup quarter-final has become an iconic India-Pakistan moment•Getty ImagesHyderabad, March 1987, bilateral series

Those were the days when a Pakistan team could spend two months playing in India. And the days when the third ODI of a series could be played over a month after the second with three Tests filling the space in between. Pakistan had already won the first two games of the six-match series by the time the two teams met in Hyderabad. Abdul Qadir faced the last ball with Pakistan needing two to win. But after completing the first run, thus tying the scores, he attempted an impossible second and was run out. His dismissal meant Pakistan had lost seven wickets compared to India’s six, which, according to the rules for that series, gave India the win. Pakistan eventually won the series 5-1.Bangalore, March 1996, World Cup, quarter-final

India and Pakistan have faced off in all but one World Cup since 1992, but none of them have really been classic contests. Of the lot, this one from 1996 was the most dramatic. There was Ajay Jadeja’s exhilarating attack against Waqar Younis and the Aamer Sohail v Venkatesh Prasad face-off. It certainly was eventful and, for a while, looked like it could go either way.Chennai, May 1997, Independence Cup

It wasn’t really much of a contest, not after Saeed Anwar’s record-setting 194, but this match remains memorable because of that innings. Anwar was the dasher-who-didn’t feel-like-one and the double-century was definitely on. What a shame that he didn’t get it when, with more than three overs left in the innings, he was caught off the top edge sweeping Sachin Tendulkar, who would go on to get that record just under 13 years later.Shahid Afridi’s late hitting took Pakistan to a one-wicket win in a 2014 Asia Cup match against India•AFP Dhaka, January 1998, Independence Cup, 3rd final

I pick this one over India’s win in Karachi a few months earlier because of the occasion (the decider of the Independence Cup), the drama in fading light, the record (at the time the highest ODI chase), some outstanding innings, and Hrishikesh Kanitkar’s moment of glory in the end. It had looked like Anwar and Ijaz Ahmed had batted India out of the contest, but Sourav Ganguly fought back with a century and a 179-run stand with Robin Singh, and Kanitkar sealed it with a four off the penultimate ball.Karachi, March 2004, bilateral series

This was the first match of a historic tour and it suitably set the tone for what would be a riveting series. Close to 700 runs were scored in all; Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid played top knocks; Inzamam-ul-Haq got a century in the chase; and some really special bowling from Zaheer Khan, L Balaji and Ashish Nehra at the death stopped Pakistan just short.Dhaka, March 2014, Asia Cup

This was edge-of-the-seat stuff. India put 245 on the board and then applied the choke. Mohammad Hafeez led a professorial fightback, planned and calculated, but it needed Shahid Afridi to strut out and start biffing it around to give Pakistan the advantage. They needed ten off the last over and two typical Afridi sixes, off R Ashwin, sealed the deal.The Oval, 2017, Champions Trophy, final

This one will be fresh in the memory, of course. Was it a great game? No, it was one-sided. Why was it memorable then? Firstly, because it was the Champions Trophy final and Pakistan won it despite all pre-match logic favouring India, who had dominated Pakistan in the opening game of the tournament and only lost to them twice* before in a major ICC event. More than that, though, it was memorable because of Mohammad Amir. Fakhar Zaman’s century had set up a challenging chase for India, even with their mighty batting line-up. But Amir left no room for doubt in one dizzying spell that accounted for Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan. It was a masterful display against a top-notch top order. One of the best you’ll ever see.*04:18 GMT, April 9, 2020: It was incorrectly stated that India had only lost once to Pakistan in a major ICC event before the 2017 Champions Trophy. This has been corrected.

Three key seniors were sick in the lead-up to the final, but where others would have panicked, Saurashtra planned

Shashank Kishore in Rajkot13-Mar-2020Exactly a week ago, the Saurashtra camp was hit by a slew of illnesses. Two days prior to the Ranji Trophy final, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, the left-arm spinner, Arpit Vasavada, a batting mainstay and Cheteshwar Pujara, their No. 1 batsman, were all sick. Jadeja and Vasavada were running temperatures while Pujara had a throat infection and bouts of dizziness.Three big players not participating in their training session two days ahead of a big game may have given a jolt to most teams. Saurashtra had back-ups and prepared them to be match-ready, even though they hoped the sick trio would be match-fit. And so, two days prior to the game, the reserves underwent a longer than usual hit out at the nets under Jaydev Unadkat’s supervision. The team channelled whatever mild panic they might have felt in a productive way.After victory was achieved on the fifth day of a dreary final that was decided on the basis of a first-innings lead, Pujara revealed how he had to battle against his own body to be ready for an occasion he simply didn’t want to miss.He eventually came out to bat at No. 6 in the first innings, but retired hurt after spending just 30 minutes at the crease. It was only on the second day, after a night’s rest and some medicines, that a “half-okay” Pujara returned to the crease. He then defied the bowling to play “probably one of my slowest knocks (laughs)”. He faced 267 deliveries for his 64, putting on 142 with Vasavada to set the tone for a sizeable first-innings score.ALSO READ: Stats – Saurashtra’s maiden Ranji Trophy title, Bengal lose another final”I had a blackout like feeling when I went in to bat,” Pujara said, with the Ranji Trophy beside him. “It was tough on my body. I was down with fever, throat infection so it wasn’t easy. It was frustrating when I couldn’t come out to bat at my usual No. 4 position for Saurashtra because I knew runs on the board was key and we had won a crucial toss.”On this wicket I thought if I can walk in early, I can start dominating later. The first day is the best time to bat, but I’m happy that I could play my part [later]. I wanted to respect the conditions. On day two when I walked in, it was not easy. I felt a blackout [again], so it was tough. But you have to be motivated and lead from the front and set a good example. We had to set a platform for the bowlers, and that partnership with Arpit (who made a 287-ball 106) gave us a lot of confidence. Once we had 350-plus, we knew with our remarkable bowling attack, we were in a good position.

“If someone takes 67 wickets in a season, I don’t [think] a performance can get bigger than that. There has to be lot of importance to Ranji Trophy performance to get picked for the Indian team and I will be surprised if he is not picked in the Indian team.”Pujara on Unadkat’s Ranji season

“It was a tough pitch,” Pujara continued. “The ball wasn’t coming on nicely, it was slow, so yes I didn’t want to bother about conditions. I needed to put my head down and play a crucial knock, ultimately we needed a good total for the bowlers.”With the ball, the onus was on Unadkat to strike. He came into the match with 65 wickets, needing just four more to break Ashutosh Aman’s record for most wickets in a Ranji Trophy season. As such, no other fast bowler has taken these many wickets in a season. Unadkat came in to a tense final day with no wickets to his name. Bengal needed 72 runs and Saurashtra four wickets, and Unadkat rose to the occasion when his team needed him the most.”It was very draining emotionally and physically to be out there for couple of days and fighting for the coveted trophy. The guys put in everything that they had,” Unadkat said. “Though the energy levels were down a little at times, I think the way we won the semi-finals gave us self-belief. It gave us a marker that there one twist was left in the game and we will have to work hard for it. That hope and belief helped us sail through.”Unadkat finished the tournament with 67 wickets, and Pujara, his best friend, couldn’t have been happier. “If someone takes 67 wickets in a season, I don’t [think] a performance can get bigger than that,” Pujara said. “There has to be lot of importance to Ranji Trophy performance to get picked for the Indian team. Jaydev was modest that he would not be thinking about the Indian call but I will be surprised if he is not picked in the Indian team.”The guys believed in each other and all of us were contributing towards one goal.”

Players – men and women – might look for other avenues of income if the situation doesn’t change soon

Mohammad Isam10-Jul-2020In the year leading up to February 2020, Marufa Akter had started to believe that she could pull her family out of poverty despite being just 15. Mohammedan Sporting Club, one of the oldest clubs in Dhaka, spotted Marufa during a trial and picked her for last year’s Dhaka Women’s Premier League. A few months later, she impressed enough in an Under-18 trial tournament in Mymensingh to be among 40 cricketers in a training camp in Cox’s Bazar. That was in February. Then came the Covid-19 pandemic, and the lockdown. And Marufa, like many others, is still waiting for life to get back on the rails.As the lockdown has extended to its fourth month, thousands of male and female cricketers, coaches, umpires, scorers and others have been put through a financial nightmare. Among the most vulnerable are the non-contracted players like Marufa. If the situation doesn’t improve soon, they may have to leave the game altogether in search of a steady income.ALSO READ: BCB looks for ways to get Dhaka Premier League back on the roadMarufa lives in Saidpur, a small town in the Nilphamari district, 350km to the north of capital Dhaka. It is one of poorest areas in Bangladesh. Returning home from the Cox’s Bazar training camp, she had happily handed over her first earnings, BDT 33,000 ($412 approx.), to her father. With two more tournaments scheduled from mid-March, it was looking good. But since the lockdown, the only money Marufa has seen is the BCB’s Eid gift, around BDT 8000 ($100 approx.), which was sent to more than 1500 cricketers across levels in May. That has also run out now.”My father is a peasant. He works on someone else’s land, so my earnings were a big contribution to my family. We are really not doing that well now. I handed my first earnings from cricket to Abba but now there’s nothing,” Marufa says. “I am at home all day. I can’t even go to practice. It is getting tougher every day.”ESPNcricinfo LtdSixty kilometers to the east of Saidpur is Rangpur, the divisional town, which is home to 18-year-old Khadija Akhtar, the wicketkeeper who has played in the women’s league in Dhaka a couple of seasons. It has been a tough ride for her anyway, and she even missed the BCB’s Eid gift and hasn’t figured out whom to call to get it.As such, when it became clear that the pandemic would put a stop to almost everything, one of the first things the BCB did was pay BDT 20,000 ($250 approx.) to the female players who took part in the 2018-19 Women’s National Cricket League and a recent training camp. But the others, like Marufa and Khadija, were only eligible for the Eid gift.”My father is a labourer, and we are a family of seven. I made a little money from cricket in the last three years, having played in the Dhaka league and in Narail. But this year there is no earning,” she says.

I think the government has to step in. They have provided stimulus package to other business sectors so I think it is time to consider this sector as well. Cricket clubs are expected to sustain their players but I doubt they can do anything. Traditionally, the clubs don’t have revenue source. They run on donationsBCB director Ahmed Sajjadul Alam Bobby

Marufa and Khadija are among a few hundred female cricketers in Bangladesh’s club cricket scene. Their entry into the organised game had a lot to do with the senior women’s team’s 2018 Asia Cup triumph, which was scripted by a bunch of women who mostly came from small towns and humble backgrounds.In many of the impoverished areas in the country’s north and the hill tracts of the southeast, sports has been one of the few avenues to earn a decent living for women like them. That, of course, after convincing their families and dealing with the conservativeness all around. Many are still in school or college, because women’s cricket in Bangladesh is a new thing, and the surge in interest has only come in the last two years. Their pay structure remains basic for even the country’s best female cricketers, and the rest depend entirely on seasonal club contracts.The BCB has 19 female cricketers in its central contracts, and pay them a monthly salary that is one-third of the lowest category of contracts among the men. There was a mini uproar a couple of years ago when it was discovered that the BCB pays BDT 600 ($7 approx.) as match fee in the Women’s National Cricket League, an amount that is incomparable to the men receive in the corresponding, albeit first-class, tournament – Tier-1 team players get BDT 60,000 ($700 approx.) and Tier-2 players get BDT 50,000 ($590 approx.). Not to forget, male cricketers have many more avenues to earn from cricket. There are hundreds of cricket-ball and taped-tennis-ball tournaments throughout the year in various parts of the country. In fact, the year 2020 was expected to be one of the most lucrative for Bangladesh’s professional male cricketers, as hundreds of tournaments were scheduled to commemorate the birth centenary of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, the father of the nation.ESPNcricinfo LtdLike Mehrab Hossain. He was looking forward to his fourth season in the Dhaka Premier League after Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club retained him for the 2019-20 season. That aside, he was expecting to play smaller tournaments in Chattogram, Comilla, Sylhet and Satkhira to supplement his regular income by the end of the cricket season.”This is what we do. Apart from the Dhaka Premier League, we play around the country. But now I am out of money, simple as that,” he said. “The BCB had given us two payments since the lockdown started but it has now been a few months. The DPL clubs paid some of us 20%, but that isn’t enough for such a long period.”If the situation was normal, I would have probably played in 20 to 25 other tournaments, but all that is gone. The BCB paid us BDT 30,000 ($375 approx.) first and then the Eid gift. But you know, it’s been a few months now so that money is spent.”I have been in discussions with other cricketers, where we said that if this goes on for too long, we have to look for other work. Yes we love the game, but it also pays our bills, puts food on the table.”Debabrata Paul, the Cricketers’ Welfare Association of Bangladesh secretary, agreed that the situation is grim. “The current situation is far from ideal. Most of the country’s cricketers don’t fall under BCB’s salary, so they are not in a good way,” he said. “We have also found out that some Dhaka First Division League clubs haven’t fully paid their players [despite their competition having ended long before the lockdown], so now there are actually many cricketers who are suffering due to lack of income.ESPNcricinfo Ltd”We must coordinate between the cricket board and cricketers to make sure everyone’s voices are heard. The cricketers deserve to know what the board is planning in terms of a roadmap to returning to cricket.”It would, perhaps, be unfair to expect more money to be paid by the BCB. It has made multiple payments to non-contracted male and female cricketers and has also not imposed any salary cuts on their staff, and has also made big donations during the pandemic. As for Bangladesh’s contracted cricketers, some of them were among the first to contribute to the prime minister’s relief fund.According to Ahmed Sajjadul Alam Bobby, the veteran BCB director, the onus must now shift to the government, because the BCB’s resources will be stretched as the lockdown is extended and cricket’s comeback postponed.”I think the government has to step in. They have provided stimulus package to other business sectors so I think it is time to consider this sector as well,” he said. “Cricket clubs are expected to sustain their players but I doubt they can do anything. Traditionally, the clubs don’t have revenue source. They run on donations.Prominent women cricketers in Bangladesh are mainly from humble backgrounds•ICC via Getty”Of course, the players’ economic condition needs immediate attention. The board has helped them with a couple of payments early on, but we have limitations. Our earnings have become uncertain without cricket. We are yet to finalise the new broadcast deal and if the World Cup T20 is not held, we will lose money.”Bobby was also mindful of how women’s cricket has a lot to lose if the players are not helped financially at this time. “The female cricketers have very short shelf-life in our country. Usually they end up leaving the game after marriage. By playing cricket, they are not only inspiring their family members but also the next generation of women cricketers. So the board must have a role in sustaining them. The cricketers already earn very little from club cricket,” Bobby said. “The bottom line is that only after the health situation improves, we can do everything. Every aspect of society has been affected. Many employers are cutting salaries and letting go of people.”I wish I had an easy answer for all this, but there are many factors involved that we have to consider.”As much as Marufa, Khadija and Mehrab struggle, they are aware that these are unusual times. But they also need to feed themselves and their families.And, much as cynics say that Bangladesh’s passion for cricket is such that it will never run out of cricketers, for a young boy or girl sitting at home, cricket will seem less appealing if another avenue to earn money and make a livelihood emerges. It isn’t a happy situation, or a desirable one. And one way or other, Bangladesh cricket will likely lose out at the end of it.

The Knight Riders’ poor net run rate could be a problem even if they win their remaining two games

S Rajesh25-Oct-2020Kings XI Punjab: Played 12, Points 12, NRR -0.049The Kings XI Punjab’s impressive win – their fifth in a row – means they leapfrog the Kolkata Knight Riders and are now in the fourth place on the points table. Their net run rate (NRR) of -0.049 ensures that they don’t need to depend on other results if they win their two remaining matches. Sixteen points will ensure their progress into the playoffs, without any riders.However, if they lose one of their last two matches and finish on 14, then things will get tricky, because as many as seven teams can potentially finish on 14 or more points, while the Knight Riders and the top three teams can all get to 16 and eliminate the Kings XI.If it comes down to NRR, the Kings XI don’t have much to worry from the Knight Riders or the Rajasthan Royals, but the Sunrisers Hyderabad have a better NRR, which will further improve if they win their last three games and finish on 14. However, the Sunrisers’ last three games are against the top three teams – the Mumbai Indians, the Delhi Capitals and the Royal Challengers Bangalore – on the points table.The IPL 2020 points table after the game between the Kings XI Punjab and the Kolkata Knight Riders•ESPNcricinfo LtdKolkata Knight Riders: Played 12, Points 12, NRR -0.479
The Kolkata Knight Riders have slipped to the fifth place after their defeat to the Kings XI. They can still get up to 16 points if they win their remaining two matches, but their poor NRR could be a problem if it comes down to that.That can happen if the Kings XI also win their last two matches, for their NRR is far superior. Incidentally, both teams will play the Royals and the Chennai Super Kings in their last two matches.The Knight Riders’ best bet will be to win their remaining games and finish on 16, and hope that the Kings XI don’t follow suit. The Knight Riders’ cause will also be served if they finish on 16 and one of the top three teams lose all their remaining matches and remain on 14.If the Knight Riders win only one of their remaining two games, then they will finish on 14 and will be at the mercy of other results going their way. If it comes down to NRR, they will probably lose out.

Punjab Kings’ 25-year-old allrounder also made a vital 17-ball 25 in only his fourth IPL game

Vishal Dikshit01-May-20210:59

Harpreet Brar explains how he took down Royal Challengers Bangalore

Who is Harpreet Brar?
A left-arm spinner and a hard-hitting lower-order batter, Brar hails from Moga, a small city in Punjab, which is also the hometown of Harmanpreet Kaur. Brar played age-group cricket and several club competitions in Punjab before he was picked by Kings XI Punjab in the 2019 IPL auction for his base price of INR 20 lakh at the age of 23.Related

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What was Brar’s childhood like?
When he was a kid, Brar saw a flyer for a cricket academy stuck on a wall in a nearby market. Excited with the ambition of becoming a professional cricketer, Brar took the flyer home and showed it to his mother to which she said, “‘See, you can join if you wish, but only if you put your heart into it,” as reported by the Kings website in 2019.She said so because Brar came from a family that played cricket but most of his cousins gave up the sport due to “financial difficulties”. With a lot of pressure on him to make it big once he grew older and started representing Punjab in Under-16 and Under-19 competitions, there was even a time when Brar protested going to marriages because his relatives would tell his mother, “Cricket? The whole world plays cricket, nothing will come of it”.But Brar wanted to prove them wrong. If not cricket, he was destined to either join the Punjab Police, where his father worked as a driver, or move to Canada on a study visa for higher studies. But he decided to give cricket one final shot.How did he make it big?
When he was playing at the Under-23 level in 2018, Brar knew time was running out for him. He had already appeared in two trials for the Mumbai Indians but couldn’t make the cut.It was then that Punjab’s Gurkeerat Singh made Brar represent a Mohali district team where Brar shone with his performances, even though he didn’t have enough money to buy new bats at times. Gurkeerat helped him with that as well.”The bats were expensive, so we had to make them last longer by threading it,” Brar told the Kings website in 2019. “Or hope that a senior hands one down. One time Gurkeerat gifted me one.”The tournament that stamped him as a bowler for the next level was the 2018 Under-23 CK Nayudu Trophy in which he ended with a whopping 56 wickets from 11 games at an average of 16.41, that included six five-wicket hauls and best figures of 7 for 23.Not surprisingly, he was handed an IPL contract by the Punjab franchise in November 2018 for the 2019 season.The Punjab Kings left-arm spinner’s match-winning returns•ESPNcricinfo LtdWhat has his journey been like so far since 2019?
Brar made is T20 debut in the 2019 IPL against the Delhi Capitals, when his captain R Ashwin described him as a “mystery spinner” at the toss. Brar impressed with an unbeaten 20 off 12, that included a six off a Kagiso Rabada bouncer, but he was given the tough task of bowling in the powerplay. Brar’s spin was struck for a six first ball by Shikhar Dhawan in a 17-run over, and he went on to play just one more game for a wicketless five overs that season.Brar played the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy later that year and ended as Punjab’s highest wicket-taker with a tally of 14 and an economy rate of 6.89, in a bowling line-up that also featured Sandeep Sharma, Siddarth Kaul and Mayank Markande. Brar’s victims that season featured a star cast of Devdutt Padikkal, Dinesh Karthik, and Prithvi Shaw, among others.Around 10 months later, he flew to the UAE for the 2020 IPL but got just one game and this time he was taken to the cleaners by Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis for 41 runs off his four overs in a 10-wicket loss.In the Mushtaq Ali Trophy at the beginning of 2021, Brar rose again. This time his seven wickets at an economy rate of just 5.70 from seven games played a pivotal role in Punjab’s run to the semi-final after remaining unbeaten in the league stage. By now Brar was one of the main Punjab bowlers along with Sharma, Kaul, Markande and Arshdeep Singh.The magical IPL night
After losing four of their first six IPL games this season, the Kings made three changes against the Royal Challengers, and gave Brar his fourth IPL game.Brar first batted with his captain KL Rahul to finish on an unbeaten 25 from 17 at No. 7 that included 18 runs off five balls against Harshal Patel, this IPL’s highest wicket-taker, with the help of two sixes and a four, that took the Kings to a challenging 179 for 5.But the real magic from Brar came with the ball. Even though his first ball was struck for a six again, by Kohli, Brar broke the back of the Royal Challengers’ chase with his first two IPL wickets off consecutive balls that had the names of Kohli and Maxwell on them; one losing his leg stump and the other his off.And in his next and last over, he even had de Villiers caught at extra cover for a fairytale ending that left the chase at 69 for 4 from where the Royal Challengers never recovered.His first 11 overs in the IPL starting from 2019 went for a wicketless 106 runs, and his next seven balls didn’t concede a single run while removing not one but three big fish.”My first IPL wicket is Virat ‘s wicket so I was very happy when I got that,” Brar said after receiving his Player-of-the-Match award at the presentation. “Once you get one wicket, the mentality changes a bit, you get confidence that you’re landing the ball nicely, so I got the flow and more wickets.” (It feels like a dream).”

In the ECB’s new competition you are free to support who you want – even if it’s just your favourite player

Cameron Ponsonby27-Aug-2021During the early stages of the Hundred I got chatting to a Southern Brave fan named Shilly.Shilly was from Leicester but had no interest in her more local side, Birmingham Phoenix. So why Brave?”Jofra! I’m in love with Jofra.”And if Jofra Archer moved?”I would move with him.”This phenomenon of supporting an individual (and in this case an individual that didn’t even play in the tournament) as opposed to a team has been arriving steadily across sports over the last decade. But not in the UK. It’s been a very American thing, or Asian, or somewhere else. But not us.Here in England we thump our chest and pronounce that we will support our local team till the day we die. Cut me open and I bleed the blue-and-white hoops of Queens Park Rangers. Always have, always will. “We hate Chels…” you get the point. You Rsssssss!Related

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But a new competition brings new opportunities.You can still support your local team if you want to, but you don’t have to. Those historical ties aren’t as strong and households aren’t going to be divided when a child walks cap in hand to their parents to announce they are now in fact a Trent Rockets fan and not a Birmingham Phoenix one.”Get out,” says dad, crying. “Get out. After everything Benny Howell has done for you and you come in here and say you’d rather support a team with Tom Moores in.”All this means that people can choose. And the way that people make that choice is different now to how it used to be. And it seems that the pull of a specific individual is far stronger than it ever has been.But why has this trend begun? And what does it mean from a business point of view for the Hundred in the future?You need only look at La Liga having lost Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to see the pitfalls of individual branding. La Liga was Ronaldo vs Messi. And now they’re both gone. Individuals leave, teams don’t.So is it something the ECB should be wary of, if the pull of an individual becomes greater than the competition itself?Simon Chadwick is a Professor of Eurasian Sport at Emlyon Business School in Lyon. He is recognised as a leading voice on commercial issues regarding elite sport and regularly contributes to CNN, Al Jazeera, and the .”It’s a really good question and it’s actually quite a profound question because I don’t think it’s necessarily associated with sport,” Chadwick says.Chadwick points to the late 19th century and early 20th century as being the general time that sports in the UK were being codified and subsequently professionalised. Teams and leagues were being created and fans began to associate themselves with particular sides.

“The place that you were born was normally where you died and in between times you went to school, you got a job and you engaged with the local sports team. Locality was a crucial part of your identity”Simon Chadwick

“But that took place at a time when, not just in Britain, but I think globally, we had a relatively static population,” he said.”So the place that you were born was normally the place that you died and in between times you went to school, you got a job and you engaged with the local sports team. And locality, that’s the crucial thing, locality was a crucial part of your identity – it was programmed into your DNA.”What’s happened since then is that the world has become both bigger and smaller. Smaller, in that advances in transport and technology means we can travel long distances to work and talk to people across the globe as if we were sat next to them. And bigger, in that those changes mean the world extends beyond the four walls of your hometown. You can move. And people, including Chadwick, do.”Demographically, we’ve got a more transient population,” he says. “So then, when people like me are moving around the world and having children, our children are not wedded to a particular geographic location. So their notion of nationality and ethnicity and locality I think are more fluid.”Meanwhile, at the same time as traditional notions of locality and geography and identity are starting to dissolve, new notions, such as celebrity and influence within the modern digital environment, are on the rise.”So I think when you add all of those things together, it means that now, younger age groups and, kind of Generation Z and Generation Alpha are identifying with individuals rather than teams of their geographic location,” Chadwick said. “And this is not just cricket, we see the same thing in football [Messi to PSG] and we see the same thing in basketball [LeBron James to LA Lakers].”Chadwick is keen to express that while the reasons for this happening are in fact quite profound – “What we are experiencing and what we’re commenting on is a reflection of the ideological context within which we live” – the answers to what it means, are entirely practical.In short, individuals can transcend boundaries. So if you can sell Jofra Archer in one market, you can sell him in two markets. And if you can sell him in two markets, you can sell him in three and so on.And this is where the commercial potential of an individual holds an advantage over that of a team anchored to a location.”Short-to-medium term [that’s] great,” Chadwick says. “Our fans are in Wales, our fans are in London, our fans are wherever else they might be. But medium-to-long term, that’s a relatively finite market. And that market will mature, and you’re not necessarily going to get people switching from one team to another or one player to another.”So it’s at that point you then start thinking medium-to-long term and thinking, okay, how do we engage audiences in India or audiences in Australia and it’s at that point I think where the notion of locality becomes a more problematic one.”Brave 4 life? Or just here for Jofra?•Harry Trump/Getty ImagesWhilst not a direct analogy, an example of this can be found in IPL teams purchasing majority stakes in Caribbean Premier League sides. Most recently, the owners of Rajasthan Royals bought a controlling stake in Barbados Tridents in a move that will see Barbados rebranded as Barbados Royals. Rather than needing to be from Rajasthan to support the Royals, you simply support the Royals. And if you support the Royals, you can now support the Barbados Royals too.The emphasis on locality has been diminished and in turn the opportunity to support the team year round, and also to build the brand, has increased.Overall, Chadwick emphasises the fact that all the research over the past 30 years has shown that individuals are important. It’s just that now we are elevating them higher than we ever have before.From a commercial standpoint, it is both lucrative and also dangerous if done incorrectly. For it to be the former and not the latter is to “embrace the notion of succession”. Have your stars and lift them up in front of the rest of the world, but also have an eye on who is coming through next. And if played correctly, you can then have the best of both worlds, the strength of loyalty through locality, and also the reach of the individual to grow the game across markets.”The cricket authorities can’t just leave consumers, leave fans, for their minds to work and for them to get used to it,” Chadwick said.”They have to continue to reassure older viewers that ‘hey, you know this is still cricket, this is still the cricket that you love’. But at the same time they’ve got to assure new consumers that they’re not going back to the old times and this is modern and vibrant and lively and exciting and it’s going to stay that way.”And that requires really, really good leadership and good management and it requires strategy. So I think there is something about that which is walking a fine line between history and heritage and contemporary relevance.”Balancing history and heritage with contemporary relevance. Welcome to the Hundred. You Rsssssss!The Hundred Rising is providing eight aspiring, young journalists the opportunity to tell the story of the Hundred men’s and women’s competitions through their own eyes

Will Young, Matt Henry ponder return to drinks duty despite starring roles in Edgbaston win

Matt Roller13-Jun-2021If you want to know what sort of shape New Zealand’s Test side is in right now, just ask Will Young.Young, a top-order batter from Central Districts who has had to bide his time for an opportunity in international cricket, came into this series on the back of two hundreds in three innings for Durham in the County Championship, having signed an early-season deal to help him acclimatise to English conditions. After missing out on selection at Lord’s despite those runs, he came into the side this week with Kane Williamson resting his sore left elbow.Young was the top-scorer in this Test, with scores of 82 and 8, and was unfortunate not to be named player of the match. He was given an early reprieve in the first innings, dropped by Joe Root at first slip on 7, and was visibly furious after chopping on with five runs required in the second, but his willingness to dig in during tough periods – notably probing spells from Stuart Broad and James Anderson on the second afternoon – marked him out as a player well-equipped to succeed at this level.Related

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And yet he is almost certain to find himself left out of the side for the World Test Championship final against India at the Ageas Bowl next week. Devon Conway has made an irrefutable case to open the batting alongside Tom Latham, while Ross Taylor and Henry Nicholls are immovable in the middle order and Williamson and BJ Watling are both set to return for the showpiece.What would England give to have a player of Young’s temperament and record running the drinks for them? His first-class average of 42.68 compares favourably with that of a generation of England batters; of the side they fielded this week, only Joe Root and Ollie Pope’s are significantly higher. New Zealand have won four and drawn three of their last seven Tests against England; for a country of five million people, their strength in depth is remarkable.Will Young got to his maiden Test fifty in the first innings•PA Images via Getty ImagesMatt Henry is in much the same boat as Young. He took the new ball following the decision to rest Tim Southee and Kyle Jamieson ahead of the main event next week, and pipped Young and Trent Boult to the match award thanks to three wickets in each innings – five of them top-order (if not top-quality) batters. He is, in many ways, an English-style seamer, with no great pace but immaculate control of line in particular.But like Young, he has very little chance of retaining his place next week barring injury, with Southee and Jamieson both due to return. Even Neil Wagner, the joint-fourth best Test bowler in the world according to the ICC’s rankings, is not guaranteed a spot, given New Zealand’s instinct towards balancing their side with an allrounder – most likely to be Colin de Grandhomme – at No. 7.Like Young, Henry has benefitted from stints in county cricket, in particular with Kent in 2018, when he took more Championship wickets than anyone in the country with 75 at 15.48. For all the fingers pointed in its direction when England lose series like this, the county game is still seen as a finishing school overseas which has shaped the careers of a number of the world’s best players.”[Henry] was fantastic,” Tom Latham, standing in for Williamson as captain, said. “We’ve got a bigger group [with us] and through a mixture of injuries and guys being rested for next week, those guys that came in certainly took their opportunity. Matt has been with the group for a long period and probably hasn’t got the game time he would have wanted. For him to come in and put a performance on the board, that was really important, especially the work that he did yesterday with that new ball.”It was amazing from a personnel change of six guys. That hasn’t happened for a long time in this group and it has been a hard team to crack into. For all those guys to get that opportunity, Young, Henry, [Ajaz] Patel, was fantastic. They performed their roles really well.Matt Henry claimed six wickets in the match•Getty Images”It was a complete team performance. Different guys stood up at different times. A lot of these guys have been around the group for a while and probably haven’t played as much as they would have liked, but I think those experiences around the group in different conditions has held them in good stead.”Since their last series win in England back in 1999, New Zealand’s away record against the top teams in the world has been abysmal: two wins in 50 matches in Australia, England, India and South Africa ahead of this tour. Making six changes – some through injury, some through rotation – did not speak of a team desperate to address that record but it was testament to their strength in depth that the quality of the side hardly dropped off.Sixteen of the 20 wickets they took were shared between Boult, Henry and Ajaz Patel, none of whom played last week. For all the success of their seam attack, Patel returned match figures of 4 for 59 in 23 overs, demonstrating the folly of England’s refusal to field a spinner in either Test on dry pitches that have offered them some assistance. With some rain in the forecast next week, New Zealand may be tempted to follow suit, but will surely reflect that Patel merits retention.Patel is the picture of economy in his action, with five short paces at walking speed, a jump into his delivery side, and a single-step follow-through, and his control of line and length made him a potent weapon. While there may be a temptation to pick Mitchell Santner against India, if the cut on his finger heals in time, and field a four-man seam attack alongside him, Patel is far and away the better bowler in this format; if he is included, it is a toss-up between de Grandhomme and Wagner as to who should be left out.Given India’s remarkable win in Australia at the start of the year and the numbers of proven performers that New Zealand will leave out, it is clear that the final will be played not only between the two best Test teams in the world, but the two best Test squads.

This match was lost in its first half hour, irrespective of “positives” Root says can be gleaned from the wreckage

Andrew Miller11-Dec-2021Eleven Tests, ten defeats and a draw, and scarcely a whiff of an upset in any of them. Since their last series win in Australia in 2010-11, England’s record Down Under has been abysmal – so poor, in fact, that it was hard to feel especially moved by the totality of this latest loss at Brisbane.When a side has slumped to 11 for 3 inside six overs after choosing to bat first, it’s hard to muster much more than a shrug of recognition when the same outfit squanders its final eight wickets in an unseemly rush for the exits. This match was lost within half an hour of its beginning, irrespective of the “positives” that Joe Root, England’s captain, is adamant can still be gleaned from the wreckage.”We’re game-hardened now,” Root said, after England’s Covid- and rain-wrecked build-up to the first Test. “We’d not had that going into it, so we’ll be better for it. Those guys that have not experienced [the Ashes] before know what’s coming now, and sometimes that [next] game coming around quite quickly is exactly what you need, to get straight back out there and put things right.”Related

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It’s not that Root does not have a point. With the ball, Mark Wood and Ollie Robinson were outstanding in contrasting yet complementary ways, while Root’s own reaction to his first-innings duck was reassuring confirmation that the world’s No.1 batter has not mislaid his touch in the four months since his last competitive outing. His partnership with Dawid Malan was in-game evidence of the strides that this team can make, while Haseeb Hameed and Ollie Pope are among a cast of players who may feel better orientated for their incomplete displays.And yet England, by dint of their glaring inadequacies in Australian conditions, have now set such low expectations that all manner of bouncing dead cats could be mistaken for signs of an impending recovery – maybe even Rory Burns’ triumph in avoiding a king pair, a feat he achieved by avoiding the first ball of the innings for only the fourth occasion out of 264 in his first-class career. Even then, he had to rely on the lottery that was the Gabba’s technology back-up to overturn an lbw verdict two balls later.No amount of marginal gains from first innings to second can disguise England’s current run of 11 Tests – and 11 years – without a victory in Australia. It is a longer run of failure than they managed even in an era commonly recalled as the team’s nadir – the ten-Test stretch from January 1987 to January 1995, which began with Mike Gatting’s Ashes-winners being spun to defeat at Sydney by an unknown debutant Peter Taylor (whom legend has it owed his call-up to a case of mistaken identity) and ended with an extraordinary win against the head at Adelaide – one of those glorious 1990s flashes-in-the-pan that somehow made all of the team’s other indignities worthwhile.In between whiles, those indignities included Graham Gooch “farting against thunder” during a supine 3-0 loss in the “Tiger Moth” tour of 1990-91 – a series in which England managed to take a first-innings lead in each of the opening two Tests, only to then lose them by ten wickets (at the Gabba, natch) and eight wickets respectively. Thereafter, Shane Warne’s supremacy opened such a baffling new dimension in Ashes combat that England could hardly be blamed for taking an entire generation to work out how to play him.Rory Burns trudges off after a second failure•Getty ImagesThere’s no such mystery about Australia’s dominance these days. They have a mighty roster of fast bowlers, and a spinner in Nathan Lyon with sufficient guile to claim 403 Test wickets and counting. And while Steve Smith is a freak of nature who had been averaging 120 in Ashes Tests over the past four years, he’s still not quite Don Bradman – on whose watch England’s record barren run in Australia was recorded: 12 Tests (punctuated by a World War) between 1937 and 1951.Some might counter that Australia’s recent record in England isn’t so flash either. They haven’t won an Ashes series there since 2001, which – on the face of it – goes to underline the suspicion that home advantage is half the battle won in modern-day Test cricket. And yet, that doesn’t square with Australia’s impressive haul of four wins and a draw in their last ten away Ashes Tests.Nor does it square with the fact that there has been just one truly close contest, home or away, since Australia launched their 5-0 whitewash at the Gabba in 2013. Ben Stokes’ miracle at Headingley in 2019 was precisely the sort of heist that encouraged the fallacy (and everyone bought into it to a greater or lesser degree) that there could yet be a twist to this latest tale, despite all reasonable Test-match precedent stating that, when a team trails by 278 runs on first innings, there’s really no hope of salvation.But it’s an addictive narrative nonetheless, and one that England were leaning on during the summer as well, when they lost two series on home soil for the first time since that aforementioned Ashes summer of 2001. And yes, we know that – technically speaking – the India series isn’t over yet. But anyone who witnessed England getting mangled at Lord’s and The Oval knows where the balance of power lay going into the fifth Test at Old Trafford.Everything about England’s Test cricket at present is focused on the individuals within fronting up and giving more to the cause – be it Stokes, only just returned from the abyss after fearing his badly mended finger might prevent him from playing ever again – or more recently Root, on whom English cricket’s every expectation is currently piled. The moment he failed to reach his elusive maiden century in Australia was the moment that the scales fell from the optimists’ eyes. This year’s monstrous haul of 1544 runs at 64.33 could grow larger still at Adelaide and Melbourne, but even Root’s lifetime best hasn’t been able to prevent England from losing seven and winning one of their last ten Tests.But miracle-working is a tenacious narrative – just ask the Bible’s publishers. For Root in this contest, and Stokes in general terms, read James Anderson’s recall under the Adelaide lights next week. While there’s individual brilliance in England’s ranks, there’s always reason to believe that the collective can surge as one. But just don’t look too closely at Anderson’s overall win-loss record in Australia. Nor, for that matter, at the England Lions’ batting card in their unofficial Test against Australia A, which is taking place just down the road. The rot, it seems, is set deep into the system, and not simply restricted to those who’ve been outgunned at the Gabba.

It was the end of a rotten run of scores for the Royal Challengers batter. But did his scoring rate hurt his team in the end?

Nagraj Gollapudi30-Apr-20222:29

Vettori: Kohli innings had too many dot balls and singles between the boundaries

A nine-year-old girl was jumping up and down in the Brabourne Stadium stands. She had a placard held aloft, waiting for the TV cameras to help her tell the world that she had travelled from Telangana, roughly 700 kilometres away from Mumbai, only to watch Virat Kohli. And to see him succeed. She was one of several hundred Kohli fans in the stadium, and among thousands across India and beyond that desperately wanted Kohli to score. Score big. To put an end to the rotten run of form in which he had even collected successive golden ducks.Related

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Kohli’s facial expressions have always been somewhat exaggerated, but after every failure in the past month, he appeared more and more lost. The man whose greatest strength, arguably, is his clear head, looked confused. Royal Challengers Bangalore couldn’t drop him. The experts could not stop giving suggestions. But his fans – they would not give up. If you’ve been to any of the IPL venues on a Royal Challengers match day, you would have seen virtually every fan wearing the “Virat 18” on their backs.Having been treated to all sorts of Kohli spectacles over the years, his fans were – and are – willing to be patient. And despite 40-plus-degree (Celsius) heat on Saturday afternoon, Brabourne was abuzz an hour before toss. When Kohli walked out to take throwdowns before the game, the stands virtually shook with excitement.A bit later, bat resting on his right shoulder, Kohli walked out to open with Faf du Plessis, his body language as positive as always. He pushed the first delivery of the match, pitched on length by Mohammed Shami, toward the leg side confidently. Shami then missed his run-up twice in a row and had to re-measure it. Kohli waited patiently. The fans not so; they booed the bowler. Shami resumed, but the length was slightly full. Kohli punched a straight four and then powerfully flicked the next delivery for another easy boundary. “Kohli! Kohli! Kohli!”After facing ten balls, Kohli had 14 runs, the joint-highest this IPL for him in terms of the strike rate in his first ten-ball phase. Alzarri Joseph replaced Shami to deliver the fifth over. He started with a loosener, which Kohli flicked past midwicket for a four. Next ball was on length on the fourth stump, and Kohli took a big stride and placed his drive between short cover and wide mid-off for another four. Gujarat Titans’ skipper Hardik Pandya, who was wide at mid-off, gave up the chase almost as soon as he had started. Hardik might be carrying a niggle (he didn’t bowl on the day), but even if he had been fully fit, he would have known the chase was futile.0:35

‘Our bowlers kept it tight and didn’t allow Virat Kohli to get into his rhythm’ – Hardik Pandya

The fans had now started to dream. The numbers were on their side: Kohli averages 88 and has scored at a rate of 161 in T20s each time he got five or more boundaries in his first 20 balls. He also had 11 fifties and two hundreds in 18 such innings before Saturday.Lockie Ferguson bowled the eighth over. He has blown hot and cold in the last few matches, but he cramped Kohli for room with tight lines and his signature high pace this time. Four dots and Kohli played his second not-in-control stroke. Responding to a short-and-wide delivery, he attempted a ramp but away from the body. The outside edge, though, fell in front of the fielder at third man. Kohli was annoyed with himself, visibly, realising he could have done better, perhaps by going on the back foot and attempting a cut.In Ferguson’s next over, Kohli picked a six over long-on off a full toss. Ferguson repeated the short delivery outside off at nearly 145 kph. This time, Kohli moved closer to the line, opened the face of the bat, and steered the ball for four. “Kohli! Kohli!” You would have been forgiven for thinking Kohli was in complete control, totally dominant.But at the end of that Ferguson over, which also was the halfway stage of the innings, Kohli had 44 from 38 balls. He was striking at just over 100. He would eventually raise his bat to acknowledge the cheers upon reaching his first fifty of this IPL. But he had taken 45 deliveries to get there. Stack that up against the two best batters so far this IPL. Jos Buttler strikes in the high 150s and KL Rahul over 140. They have scored five centuries between them, taking an average of about 60 deliveries to get there.Kohli has scored 48 half-centuries in the IPL over the years and his effort today was his second slowest. More stunning is the fact that his innings strike rate of 109.43 on the day was his slowest in all T20s.Virat Kohli is bowled by Mohammed Shami after scoring 58 in 53 balls•BCCIUnderstandable. Kohli needs time to get back to his best form, which he is still searching for. But the question that both he and Royal Challengers would need to confront is: did Kohli’s scoring rate hurt the team in the end?Rajat Patidar, who hit a 29-ball 50, as well as Glenn Maxwell (33 in 18) and Mahipal Lomror (16* in eight) in the Royal Challengers innings, and then David Miller (39* in 24) and Rahul Tewatia (43* in 25) proved that the pitch was full of runs and there were no demons in it.Unless he speaks, we won’t know what was on Kohli’s mind during his innings. But if Kohli is opening the innings and aims to bat deep, he needs to score quicker.The afternoon started with the Kohli question. Tewatia and Miller grabbed the headlines in the end. But Kohli will remain the talking point as we wait to know the answer.When he picked a single to get to the half-century today, there were no exaggerated celebrations. He raised the bat in the direction of the team dugout and his family and then looked heavenwards. Then came a sigh of relief. But when the team meets to review the game, Kohli will be the first to raise his hand and acknowledge that he has work left to do. The fans will wait, with a prayer on their lips.

The UP fast bowler talks about his skill development, support from his family, his IPL growth, and more

Vishal Dikshit and Nikhil Sharma16-Jun-2022Yash Dayal is a fearless bowler, and he loves bowling the bouncer. On his IPL debut against Rajasthan Royals, he was smashed for two fours and a six in the space of four balls by an in-form Jos Buttler, but Dayal didn’t hold back and banged in another bouncer. He couldn’t get Buttler out, but he was not going down meekly in this battle.Nearly 10 days later, Gujarat Titans were defending 156 against Kolkata Knight Riders, and again, the left-arm quick resorted to his bouncers. He had already dismissed Shreyas Iyer and Rinku Singh, and when Andre Russell took strike, Dayal sent down three bouncers in a row to one of the most feared batters in T20 cricket. The first one Russell ducked under, the second was edged for four, and the third got Russell in an awkward position when he fended to fine leg, but Dayal had overstepped.Related

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“I will be competitive and aggressive even if the batsman is going after me, there won’t be any change in that,” Dayal told ESPNcricinfo before the Ranji Trophy semi-finals. “Backing yourself is very important. A lot of things can come to mind [while bowling], but I try to back my instincts as much as possible. Then I bowl what is my strength, like a bouncer or yorker… balls I have confidence in, and I have mastered. I try to bowl those when things aren’t working properly like when I’ve been struck for a few boundaries in an over.”I was obviously nervous [on IPL debut], but I was not looking at the batsman. I was just focusing on what to bowl. I knew there would be pressure. He [Buttler] hit one boundary, then another, and I was not thinking that Jos Buttler is batting, but which is my best ball that can get him out. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. And I was not worrying too much about what if he hits me, how many people are watching this game, etc. I just thought it’s a game, it may or may not go in my favour, but I must focus on doing my best.”I knew the bouncer is my strength. Whether it’s Jos Buttler or Andre Russell, I try to bowl my best ball and that happened too when I got Russell out, but it was a no-ball. At that time, I felt like I had committed a crime. I felt horrible. The captain and senior players motivated me, they said, ‘focus on the coming overs, it’s not like he can’t get out again.’ But at the same time, I was feeling horrible, thinking what have I done?”

Ashish Nehra was like a blessing to me. Even if I was leaking runs, the team management saw my intent and backed me for that and played me till the final. And I tried my best in every gameDayal on support from Nehra and Gujarat Titans

Dayal, 24, had played fewer than 15 T20 games when he came into the IPL and is currently playing only his 16th first-class game, the Ranji Trophy semi-final for Uttar Pradesh against Mumbai. His aggressive attitude might have leaked a few runs too many – his economy rate was 9.25 after nine IPL games for 11 wickets – but it also fetched him some big wickets: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Aiden Markram and Quinton de Kock, among others. Dayal believes he has come out of the tournament a much-improved bowler, having been under the tutelage of the former India left-arm quick Ashish Nehra, who is the head coach of Titans.”Ashish Nehra backed me a lot from the beginning,” Dayal says. “Earlier I used to try a lot of different things and experiment. But Ashish sir taught me that one must be centered and focused, and taught me some basic plans to follow without taking too much pressure and not being harsh on yourself. It’s a very competitive level of cricket so you must be smart too.”With his ability to swing the new ball and ace the slower ones and cutters, Dayal quickly became Mohammed Shami’s settled new-ball partner at Titans. Nehra, whose hands-on methods have been credited by several players for Titans’ success, had done his homework on Dayal. He knew what work was needed on him, and held separate net sessions to hone the bowler’s skills.”[He taught me] seam position for outswing, how to position the hand if you’re bowling inswing,” Dayal says, listing his learnings from Nehra. “He made me work on control a lot. He said how you deliver and execute is crucial, like how you bowl to the openers initially, what’s your plan for them, different plans for death overs.”Despite his high economy rate through the IPL, the Titans management, Dayal says, backed him and captain Hardik Pandya let him take his own decisions on the field, which further boosted his confidence.”Ashish Nehra was like a blessing to me,” Dayal says. “Even if I was leaking runs, the team management saw my intent and backed me for that and played me till the final. And I tried my best in every game.”He [Hardik] is very calm and confident, and he knows what to do at what point of the game. He is a bowler’s captain. If you have confidence in yourself, he lets you take your own decisions. That further boosts the confidence of a bowler. I would say he is the best captain I have played under.”Dayal (first from right, bottom row) was an IPL winner in his debut season•PTI Dayal was not a completely unknown entity when he was among the many uncapped players in the IPL mega auction this year. He had collected 14 wickets in seven games of the Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2021-22 at an economy rate of just 3.77, the best in the team. He had already made a name for himself after his first-class debut season in 2018-19 which saw him bag as many as 30 wickets at an impressive average of 24.70 in the Ranji Trophy.As a left-arm quick, a new-ball bowler who could bowl around 135-140 kph, and possessing variations like the knuckleball and the yorker, Dayal was fast-tracked into the India squad as a net bowler in January-February this year for the home series against West Indies. Straight from domestic cricket, Dayal was now rubbing shoulders with some of the best in the world.”Rahul Dravid sir [head coach] spoke to me at times, but Paras Mhambrey [bowling coach] spoke to me the most,” Dayal recalls. “He took a lot of interest and spoke to me after every ball I’d bowl in the nets, where to bowl to what kind of batsman, what kind of variations to use etc.”

My father has helped a lot in teaching how to shine [the ball] when it gets old, how to maintain it to reverse.Yash Dayal

Dayal was new to the dressing room, but he was familiar with most of the bowling tricks already. The outswinger to right-hand batters came naturally to him, he says, and he wanted to work on the one that comes in. He had already picked up the knuckleball from TV and YouTube and honed it further with his UP senior Bhuvneshwar Kumar. With a repertoire of deliveries very few possess at such a young age, he arrived in Ahmedabad to join the India squad.”I squared up Ishan Kishan once and one other time I beat Mayank Agarwal, piercing the gap between his bat and pad when he tried to defend,” Dayal remembers with glee about his highlights in the nets. He says there wasn’t a single batter in the nets he did not beat or dismiss, either bowled or caught behind. His big weapon was the inswinger, which was once his weak point.Dayal, as a result, was already on the wishlist of a few franchises in the IPL auction. Three teams bid for him and his value shot up from his base price of INR 20 lakh to the eventual INR 3.2 crore that Titans paid for him.Dayal comes from a humble socio-economic background in Prayagraj in UP. Born to an accountant and a housewife, Dayal learned the tricks of the trade from his father, who was a right-arm fast bowler in local cricket tournaments.”My father has helped a lot in teaching how to shine [the ball] when it gets old, how to maintain it to reverse,” Dayal says of his teens when he idolised Zaheer Khan while watching him on TV and indulging in videos of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis on the internet.”I would wonder if doing such skillful things would be possible. Then I started watching their videos closely, my father helped a lot, and I started practising. Gradually there was a lot of progress and even now I haven’t mastered reverse swing. I’m still learning how to get better at it.”Dayal senior realised the potential in his son and took him to Bishop Johnson School in Prayagraj to be coached by Ghulam Murtaza, father of the UP left-arm spinner Ali Murtaza. Perhaps realizing that learning from only one coach wouldn’t be enough, he started taking his son to the city’s A division league, to compete against much older players, and to different coaches across the city.While Dayal was getting rejected in Under-14, 16 and 19 trials, he kept honing his skills and fitness. The door finally opened when he broke into the UP Under-23 squad in 2017-18, and he made his senior-level debut in the same season.Nearly four years down the line, Dayal is a regular in the UP squad now, an IPL winner, and on the fringes of the India squad. Until he breaks into that squad too, he wants to “keep working hard, keep training, and keep bowling.”