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And if he retired out, how was he allowed to bat in India’s second Super Over?

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jan-2024Did Rohit Sharma retire out or retire hurt? That question hung in the air after a dramatic finish to the third T20I in Bengaluru, where it took India two Super Overs to clinch victory against a spirited Afghanistan side.The bone of contention revolved around Rohit, the India captain, batting in the second Super Over after seeming to retire out first time around. According to the ICC’s playing conditions for Men’s T20Is, “[a]ny batsman dismissed in any previous Super Over shall be ineligible to bat in any subsequent Super Over.”Related

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The match officials have not yet clarified whether Rohit retired out or retired hurt. In the latter case, the batter is marked “retired not out” and is eligible to bat again.Rohit, who scored an unbeaten 121 earlier in the day, hit two sixes and a single off the third, fourth and fifth balls of the first Super Over in India’s chase of 17. With two runs required off the last ball and Yashasvi Jaiswal about to face, India made a swap at the non-striker’s end, with Rinku Singh replacing Rohit.If Rohit retired out, it was likely a tactical choice to allow a quicker runner to be involved during the last ball.Jaiswal picked up an edged single off the last ball, which took the match into a second Super Over with the scores tied once more. India, having chased in the first Super Over, batted first now, and Rohit strode out to bat once again, this time opening alongside Rinku.Rohit hit a six and a four off the first two balls of the second one-over Eliminator, as India scored 11 for 2 before Ravi Bishnoi ended Afghanistan’s chase with wickets off his first two balls.Rahul Dravid likened Rohit’s Super-Over swap to R Ashwin’s retired-out dismissal in the IPL•PTI

Speaking to the broadcasters after the game, India coach Rahul Dravid seemed to suggest that Rohit had retired himself out, likening the moment to R Ashwin retiring out in an IPL game in 2022 – the first case of a tactical retirement in that tournament.”Taking himself out was Ashwin-level thinking,” Dravid said when he was asked about Rohit’s Super-Over swap. “That’s Ash-level thinking.”At the post-match press conference, Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott was also asked about the Rohit incident, and whether the match officials had communicated to his team whether he had retired hurt or retired out.”I have no idea,” Trott said. “Has there ever been two Super Overs? That’s what I am trying to say. It’s sort of like a new… we keep setting these new sort of rules. What I am trying to say is we kept testing the rules, we kept testing the guidelines.Trott seemed to suggest there was a lack of communication between the officials and the teams, though he addressed Afghanistan’s choice of bowler for the second Super Over rather than the Rohit situation. Afghanistan wanted Azmatullah Omarzai, who had bowled the first Super Over, to bowl the second one too, but had to give the ball to Fareed Ahmed instead. The playing conditions state that “[a]ny bowler who bowled in the previous Super Over shall be ineligible to bowl in the subsequent Super Over.””It was not communicated,” Trott said. “We wanted Azmat to bowl the second over again, Fareed bowled a great over. But those sort of things will be explained… because it has happened, these things will be explained and done in writing in the future. If those are the rules, that’s great. I just think we had a good game, and I don’t think that should be the talking point.”

Klusener is also in charge of Durban’s Super Giants in the SA20

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Mar-2024Lucknow Super Giants have signed former South Africa allrounder Lance Klusener as an assistant coach for IPL 2024. Klusener is also in charge of Super Giants’ SA20 affiliate (Durban’s Super Giants). Klusener will join head coach Justin Langer and fellow assistant coach S Sriram in Super Giants’ back room.This will be Klusener’s second stint as a coach in the IPL having served as an assistant to former South Africa captain Shaun Pollock at Mumbai Indians in the early years of IPL.Under Klusener, Guyana Amazon Warriors won their maiden CPL title last year. Klusener will reunite with West Indies sensation Shamar Joseph in the IPL – they had previously worked together at Amazon Warriors in the CPL. Joseph had joined Super Giants as Mark Wood’s replacement.Related

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• IPL 2024: S Sriram joins Lucknow Super Giants as assistant coach

Klusener has had stints as head coach of Afghanistan and batting coach of South Africa and Zimbabwe. He has also worked with Tripura in the Indian domestic circuit.In all Klusener had played 49 Tests and 171 ODIs for South Africa from 1996 to 2004.Super Giants will open their IPL 2024 campaign against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur on March 24.

Opener’s unbeaten 166 lays foundation for home side after Mason Crane defiance with bat

ECB Reporters Network20-Apr-2024Ricardo Vasconcelos hit a magnificent unbeaten 166, his ninth first-class century and his first in two years, as he indulged his liking for Glamorgan’s bowlers on day two of this Vitality County Championship match at Wantage Road.He shared a partnership of 191 in 52 overs with his captain Luke Procter and a stand of 103 with Karun Nair, who passed 7000 career first-class runs in the process as Northamptonshire closed on 314 for 2 in reply to Glamorgan’s 271, a lead of 43 runs.Playing his first game for the Steelbacks this season since recovering from injury, Vasconcelos put a lacklustre 2023 behind him to register his first century since scoring 156 at Warwickshire in May 2022. It was also his highest score since the 79 he made against Surrey in September that year, although he did make 106 against Glamorgan in the One Day Cup last season.He has previously posted two Championship scores in the 180s against Glamorgan in 2019 and 2021.If Vasconcelos looked rusty early on as a couple of false shots dropped short of fielders, he grew in fluency and confidence, timing the ball beautifully and taking the attack to Glamorgan with some crisp hitting which brought him 23 boundaries off 246 deliveries.Earlier Mason Crane hit 61, his maiden first-class half-century, to frustrate Northamptonshire’s bowlers and earn Glamorgan a precious batting bonus point. Crane carved out a spirited last-wicket partnership of 35 with Mir Hamza after a 19th career five-wicket haul from Ben Sanderson threatened to bring a swift conclusion to Glamorgan’s innings.Glamorgan had resumed their innings on 203 for 7. Colin Ingram, 69 overnight, moved onto 82 and was within sight of a second century of the season when he fell to a stunning one-handed diving catch by Nair at first slip. Sanderson then claimed his fifth wicket of the innings when he had Brad Wheal caught behind without scoring.Crane proved a thorn in Northamptonshire’s side as he eclipsed his previous highest score of 29. He was proactive, manufacturing shots, including a cheeky late dab down to third and an uppercut over the keeper. Strong on the pull, he struck one short ball from Chris Tremain for six before dispatching a Raphy Weatherall delivery over mid-on to reach 50 and take Glamorgan past 250. He finally departed after fending a short one from Procter to slip.For Northamptonshire, Emilio Gay looked fluent after scoring 261 against Middlesex last weekend, taking two fours off James Harris’ first over before the Welshman trapped him lbw.Even without as much assistance for the bowlers compared to the opening day, Hamza kept things tight, showing admirable control and conceded just 13 runs in his first nine overs either side of lunch. He got the ball to swing in the evening session and deserved some rewards for his efforts.Vasconcelos edged him just short of first slip on 10 and top edged an attempted hook against Wheal which landed between two advancing fielders on 13.But he started to find his groove, slapping Harris away through point to bring up Northamptonshire’s 50, before taking boundaries off the bowler’s next over. He drove fluently and played off his legs throughout his innings, while an early highlight was a perfectly controlled uppercut through point for four off Dan Douthwaite. He brought up Northamptonshire’s 100 and his own half-century off 95 balls by driving Zain-ul-Hassan down the ground and then played an elegant front foot punch off Hamza.Vasconcelos continued the offensive after tea. He twice clubbed Crane high over long-on to the boundary and dabbed Wheal down to third before running a single to bring up his century off 153 balls.Procter was happy to fly under the radar while Vasconcelos motored along at the other end. Strong off his legs, he clipped three balls away to the ropes early in his innings before pulling Wheal through midwicket after tea as he advanced to his half-century. His downfall came after 158 balls when he attempted to sweep Crane and picked out Billy Root at backward square who took a juggling catch.Nair played some graceful shots, driving and cutting sweetly and hitting five boundaries as Northamptonshire duly moved past 300 in the 81st over.

England managing director reveals 90-minute meeting in Manchester hotel, says Anderson ‘wasn’t expecting it’

ESPNcricinfo staff14-May-2024Rob Key, Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes told James Anderson that it was “time to move on” in a 90-minute meeting at a hotel in Manchester last month. Anderson announced on Saturday that he will retire from international cricket after England’s first Test against West Indies in July and Key has now revealed how the team management reached the conclusion that his time was up.Key, the managing director of the England men’s teams, regularly meets players for appraisals and told Anderson that they should meet in person. “When we made the decision and we thought, ‘OK, we need to go and meet Jimmy and discuss the future’, Brendon came to the conclusion that the right thing to do was to fly over to England [from New Zealand],” Key told the BBC’s podcast.”The three of us went up to see him: myself and Brendon caught the train up from London, and Stokesy was in Manchester, getting ready to fly out to America for a family holiday. We all met Jimmy in a hotel near the station and we had a conversation for about an hour and a half, which Baz led. I don’t think Jimmy was expecting it, but I don’t think it was completely unexpected.Related

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Key said that Anderson had made the decision to play one final Test. “In the back of his mind, he knew that the time was coming, and we discussed lots of different things as well, and the future for Jimmy after playing… we didn’t impress upon him that he had to make the decision there, and then not so long ago, he decided that the Lord’s game was going to be his last.”We just sort of said, ‘look, I think it’s time for us to move on.’ We’re coming to a stage now where we’ve got to start looking towards the future… people now need the opportunity to learn how to bowl with that new ball, to go through a day’s worth of Test cricket and then realise they’ve got to back it up the next day. Now’s the time that people have to start learning that.”Stuart Broad, who retired after last summer’s Ashes, described the lack of experience in England’s post-Anderson attack as “scary” but Key said he was “so excited” about the prospect of fresh players winning opportunities. “Sometimes it’s like following a comedian who’s just absolutely brought the house down and everyone loves him… but that’s an opportunity for someone else,” he said.Mark Wood and Chris Woakes are England’s most experienced seamers post Anderson•Getty Images

Chris Woakes and Mark Wood are both expected to be involved when England play West Indies and Sri Lanka this summer, while Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts, Josh Tongue and Ollie Robinson are all centrally contracted. Jamie Overton, Matthew Fisher and Saqib Mahmood all played Test cricket in 2022, while Key also mentioned Dillon Pennington, Olly Stone and Sam Cook as contenders.Key said that England have been “pretty clear” with Robinson that he needs to become more robust. “At his best, when he’s running in and attacking the crease and he’s in rhythm, he’s a very, very good bowler,” he said. “When he’s down to 78-79mph, he goes back into the pack and there’s other guys that do what Ollie Robinson can do.”Jofra Archer, another centrally-contracted fast bowler, is not in contention for Test cricket this summer but could play some part in Sussex’s 2nd XI fixture against Kent this week as he builds up his workload ahead of June’s T20 World Cup. Stokes, meanwhile, could feature in Durham’s County Championship fixture against Lancashire at Blackpool from Friday.

Club stands to be gifted 51% of London Spirit, will retain ‘right of veto’ on majority shareholders

Matt Roller06-Jun-2024Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) will let its members vote on the club’s growing involvement in the Hundred at a special general meeting in September. MCC plans to accept the ECB’s proposed gift of 51% of the shares in London Spirit and intends to retain its position as majority shareholder, but has asked members for their approval.The ECB publicly confirmed last week its intention to attract private investment in the Hundred’s eight teams and the appointments of the Raine Group and Deloitte as advisors. Under a proposed model, the eight Hundred ‘hosts’ – seven counties plus MCC – will be given majority stakes in their respective teams, with the ECB selling the remaining 49% to interested parties.Guy Lavender, MCC’s chief executive, wrote to the club’s members on Thursday outlining the committee’s support. “Subject to the satisfactory conclusion of negotiations between the various parties, we are firmly of the view that MCC should accept ECB’s offer of the 51% equity share in the London Spirit franchise and participate fully in a tournament which will grow the men’s and women’s game,” Lavender wrote.While some hosts may sell part or all of their stake, Lavender said the committee’s “initial thinking” is that MCC should retain its 51%. “We wish to retain control of the franchise and believe the tournament will grow over time,” he wrote. “Pragmatically, we will need to keep that position under review both through the initial sales phase and in the future.”Related

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But MCC has made clear that, despite the club’s support for the ECB’s proposals, it will not move forward without member approval. It will continue to consult with members over the coming weeks and will hold an SGM on the week starting September 9, at which members will vote on the club’s acceptance of a 51% equity share in London Spirit. The results will be announced the following week.MCC will “retain the right of veto” on any bidder to become the minority shareholder in London Spirit. “This decision is not about accepting the highest bidder,” Lavender wrote. “It is about finding the right partner who has the skills and expertise to help us grow the franchise, whilst also recognising and understanding the history, values and uniqueness of MCC.”Lavender said MCC are “unclear” whether it is practical for members to vote on the identity of a potential partnership, but suggested that the prospect of them voting to reject a proposed investment partner could be “hugely damaging” to the ECB and the counties’ plans to generate revenues to support English cricket as a collective.London Spirit is expected to be the most valuable Hundred franchise due to its association with Lord’s. “Those MCC members are sitting on a bit of a goldmine,” Andrew Umbers, the co-founder of Oakwell Sports Advisory told the podcast. “With the scarcity premium of the two London teams, jeez, it’s [worth] a lot. I’m sure Reliance and the Ambani family are going to be really interested in one of the big two in London.”The seven other Hundred-hosting counties are evaluating their own positions on the competition’s future. They are: Surrey (Oval Invincibles), Hampshire (Southern Brave), Glamorgan (Welsh Fire), Warwickshire (Birmingham Phoenix), Nottinghamshire (Trent Rockets), Lancashire (Manchester Originals) and Yorkshire (Northern Superchargers).Hampshire is a private club rather than member-owned but the other six counties have not publicly committed to giving members a direct vote on the Hundred’s privatisation and it remains to be seen if MCC’s decision has set a precedent. At Surrey, for example, members are represented on the general committee which in turn advises the club’s board on their stance.”This shows that the MCC recognises the significance of the decision not just for the club but the game as a whole, and was sincere in its recent promise to listen to and respect members’ views,” Alan Higham, the coordinator of the County Cricket Members Group, told ESPNcricinfo. “We expect all well-run boards of member-owned counties to want their members’ approval before agreeing to such seismic changes.”

Birmingham get back to winning ways after visiting Vikings lose last nine wickets for 68

ECB Reporters Network14-Jun-2024Birmingham 151 for 6 (Hain 53*, Thompson 4-31) beat Yorkshire 145 (Root 39, Lintott 3-15, Briggs 3-26) by four wicketsBirmingham Bears returned to winning ways after successive Vitality Blast defeats with a comfortable four-wicket victory over Yorkshire Vikings at Edgbaston.Vikings, who had won three of their first four games, were undone by spin, bowled out for 145 in 19.5 overs as Bears’ three twirlers harvested a combined 10-0-61-7. Joe Root, with 39 off 27, and Dawid Malan (38 off 27) lifted their side to a promising 77 for 1 but the rest folded against an attack led by Jake Lintott and Danny Briggs.Bears then reached 151 for ‘6 with 11 balls to spare thanks to violent contributions from Mousley (41 off 29) and Jake Bethell (32 off 15) and a wise one from Sam Hain who passed 4000 career T20 runs on his way to an unbeaten 53 from 40.Put in, Vikings soon lost Adam Lyth, who played on to Richard Gleeson, but Malan and Root supplied a vibrant start with a stand of 62 in 46 balls. Chris Woakes, on his first Bears appearance of the year, was roughly treated, not least by longtime England pal Root who lifted him for successive sixes into the Hollies Stand.The charge was emphatically stopped by the spin attack. Root sliced a slog at Briggs and sent a simple catch to short third, after which wickets fell regularly. Shan Masood reverse-swept Lintott’s first ball to point and Donovan Ferreira shovelled Mousley to mid-on. When Briggs returned to lure two more batters to their doom – Malan caught at extra cover and Jordan Thompson at long-off – five wickets had fallen in 35 balls.Guilty of some reckless shots, Vikings responded by playing some more. Lintott took advantage to bowl Matthew Revis through an ill-judged sweep and have Jafer Chohan stumped off a fey swipe. Dom Bess chipped Hasan Ali to cover and Conor McKer slashed Gleeson to third to leave the last nine wickets having fallen for 68.Unsurprisingly, Vikings started with spin and Dan Moriarty’s fifth ball drew a fatal top edge from Alex Davies before Bess’ seventh beat a Rob Yates slog and bowled him.Hain settled calmly though while Mousley was belligerent from ball one. He kept Bears ahead of the clock before perishing in pursuit of his third six of the evening, and 29th of his T20 career, when he heaved Thompson to deep square leg.While Hain quietly delivered the sort of intelligent, match-shaping innings of which he has played so many, Bethell got off the mark by pulling a Root long hop into the Hollies Stand. Bethell’s blistering cameo left Bears needing just 30 from 39 balls. He and Chris Benjamin fell to successive balls from Thompson, who added the scalp of Woakes to end end with 4 for 31, but Bears eased home to their fifth win in their last six Blast tussles with Vikings.

Stars slip to heavy defeat as Davies rips through old side’s batting lineup

ECB Reporters Network10-Jul-2024Freya Davies’ impeccable four-for set up Southern Vipers’ no-nonsense seven-wicket bonus point victory over South East Stars to cement their place at the top of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy table.Former Stars fast bowler Davies hadn’t taken four in an innings since taking 4 for 23 in a T20 for England against New Zealand in March 2021, and last haul of four or more in 50-over cricket was a six-for for Sussex Women in 2018.But she extracted great pace to take 4 for 14 at Falkland Cricket Club, to restrict Stars to 120, with local star Ava Lee and Charli Knott both grabbing two wickets apiece.Knott – on her penultimate appearance – then made sure the chase was straightforward with a classy 57, as holders Vipers avenged their Charlotte Edwards Cup semi-final defeat to Stars in style.Vipers chose to bowl, and after a rain delay which knocked the overs down to 46 a side, they ruthlessly sliced through the Stars’ batting.Mary Taylor made the initial breakthrough when she found Tash Farrant edging a drive behind to Megan Sturge, who was keeping wicket for the first time due to a finger injury to Rhianna Southby.But Davies was the bigger danger in dumping the visitors to 22 for 4 with her swing bamboozling Bryony Smith, Alexa Stonehouse and Kalea Moore.The ball to bowl Smith and the one which Moore gloved behind were particular snorters in an often unplayable first seven-over spell of 3 for 10.Alice Davidson-Richards and Bethan Miles recovered things somewhat by putting on 35 but another collapse of 25 for 4 stymied Stars.This time it was the Vipers’ spin which took hold as Miles and Aylish Cranstone were undone by Knott’s smart offbreaks, before the Australian turned Elastigirl to incredibly catch Maddie Blinkhorn-Jones in the leg-side deep.It was the start of two wickets in an over for Lee – playing on the ground she began playing on at Under-11s for Falkland – as the England Under-19s spinner had Davidson-Richards caught behind.Chloe Hill and Ryana Macdonald Gay held things up with a patient 34-run partnership for the ninth wicket before Hill was run out at the non-striker’s end and Dani Gregory was Davies’ fourth victim and Sturge’s third.The reply was emphatic from Vipers. Where Stars had only scored six boundaries in their entire innings, Vipers, led by Knott, had equalled that inside 14 overs.Stars were also not helped by an apparent hamstring injury suffered by Farrant in the first over, which forced her to leave the field.Knott and Ella McCaughan put on 46 for the first wicket inside eight overs before the latter was outfoxed by a big turning offie from Moore.Georgia Adams, after a 43-run alliance with Knott, and Emily Windsor fell but Knott was graceful in dispatching width to reach a 56-ball fifty, her third half-century and fifth score over 40 for the Vipers.It was only right that Knott would cut the winning runs as Vipers romped to the target in 23 overs.

Khurram Shahzad’s six-for had Pakistan on top, but they couldn’t capitalise on the opposition being 26 for 6

Ashish Pant01-Sep-2024In a comeback story for the ages, Litton Das’ sublime 138 backed up by Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s confident 78 helped Bangladesh bounce back from the depths of 26 for 6 to post 262 and keep Pakistan’s first-innings lead to a mere 12 runs in the second Test in Rawalpindi.This was Litton’s fourth Test century and his first in more than two years. He was also ably supported by No. 10 Hasan Mahmud, who hung around for a ninth-wicket partnership that frustrated Pakistan for 149 balls, on top of adding 69 valuable runs as Bangladesh closed in on parity. In the end, the visitors fell a mere 12 short.Bangladesh’s remarkable turnaround continued with the ball too with Hasan picking up two wickets in 10 balls. Pakistan, at 9 for 2, could only wonder what if having begun the third day’s play so well. Khurram Shahzad had set the tone, picking up his first Test-match five-for. He finished with 6 for 90, having ripped through the Bangladesh top order in a fiery spell of 4 for 15 in the first hour of the day. But Mehidy and Litton added 165 runs for the seventh wicket to herald the visitors’ fight back. Then there was more rearguard action in the final session.Resuming at 193 for 8 after tea, Litton and Mahmud stalled the Pakistan bowlers for more than two hours. Litton farmed most of the strike as he declined singles and only gave Mahmud a handful of balls to face. Mahmud showed solid defensive technique, playing his part in Litton reaching his century. The wicketkeeper-batter, who overcame severe cramps in the second session, reached the milestone with a delicate dab past backward point.Pakistan finally grabbed the last two wickets when Litton, trying to take on Salman Ali Agha, mistimed his shot for once and holed out at long-on. Two balls later No. 11 Nahid Rana shouldered arms to a straight ball and was give out lbw. Apart from Shahzad, Hamza and Salman also chipped in with two wickets apiece.Khurram Shahzad picked up his first five-for in Test cricket•Associated Press

Earlier, the Bangladesh top order seemed clueless against the Pakistan pair of Shahzad and Mir Hamza. They struck six times in 34 balls in the first hour, swinging the new ball through hoops, but more importantly sticking to their lines.Hamza created the opportunities, but it was Shahzad who got the wickets, picking three in five deliveries. His plan was quite simple. Target Bangladesh’s left-handers from around the wicket and always keep the stumps in play. It worked magnificently.Shahzad had Zakir Hasan flicking uppishly with Abrar Ahmed taking a simple catch around the short midwicket area. In his next over, he cleaned up Shadman Islam, the opener walking right across his stumps but failing to account for Shahzad’s swing. Three balls later, it was Najmul Hossain Shanto’s turn to walk back, playing all around a full ball to find his middle stump rattled.Hamza then had Mominul Haque caught off the first ball of the ninth over. It was a meek dismissal, with the batter chipping a full-length ball to mid-on with the Bangladesh score reading 20 for 4. That soon became 26 for 5 when Hamza got a length ball to nibble away ever so late with first-Test hero Mushfiqur Rahim only managing a thin edge through to Mohammad Rizwan. Shahzad then trapped Shakib Al Hasan, who played down the wrong line to be adjudged lbw. Shakib reviewed, but to no avail.Mehidy Hasan Miraz added a fifty to the five-for he’s already taken in this game•Associated Press

At 26 for 6, Bangladesh’s lowest Test total of 43 looked in danger. But Mehidy and Litton shepherded them past that hurdle and many more. With the sheen off the ball, and the Khurram-Hamza pair out of the attack, the two batters dug in and took Bangladesh to lunch without further damage.Litton went the aggressive route after the break. Still trailing Pakistan by 199 runs, he came down particularly hard on Shahzad, taking him for two fours in three balls in the third over of the session, before smashing him for three fours on the bounce in the next. Bangladesh scored 40 runs in the first six overs after lunch. Litton and Mehidy brought up the 100-run stand for the seventh wicket soon after which also saw them avoid the follow-on that was reduced to a margin of 150 as the opening day was washed out.Litton reached his fifty with a clip towards deep backward square leg while Mehidy also did not take much time to reach his eighth Test half-century. Pakistan were not helped by fast bowler Mohammad Ali leaving the field, feeling unwell.When Shahzad decided to go short, Litton and Mehidy took him on with the pull shot and had decent success with it. Litton clubbed the fast bowler over deep square leg while Mehidy got inside the line and achieved the same result over long leg. Having gone for just 15 off his first seven overs, Shahzad went for 58 from his next six. But he managed to make a comeback.He foxed Mehidy with a fuller ball which he lobbed back to the bowler. That gave Shahzad his five-wicket haul and he quickly added another one, trapping Taskin Ahmed right in front of the stumps which signalled the tea interval.Pakistan would have hoped of a swift end to the innings post the break but Mahmud and Litton were having none of it.

India captain also praises his fielders, saying some crucial catches hastened their push for victory in Kanpur

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Oct-20242:35

Manjrekar: ‘This is the legacy Rohit Sharma will leave as captain’

India captain Rohit Sharma has credited his players for embracing the risk involved in forcing a result in the second Test against Bangladesh in Kanpur, where there was no play for two days because of rain. Overall only 35 overs were bowled across the first three days, but despite that, India found a way to beat the weather, clock, and Bangladesh for a 2-0 series sweep, which extended their lead at the top of the World Test Championship (WTC) rankings.After India’s attack bowled Bangladesh out for 233 in the post-lunch session on day four, Rohit laid down the marker by launching the first two balls he faced for sixes. The other batters also bought into this approach, even if it mean that the result might go either way.”The bowlers came to the party first,” Rohit told . “They got the wickets that we needed, and then when we came inside, we had to take a little bit of risk to get a result. I know the result could have gone either way, but I was okay with it. So was the coach [Gautam Gambhir] and the other players as well because you have to be brave enough to take those decisions and go and play that way. When things fall in place, everything looks good. And that is where it can change quickly, when things doesn’t fall in place. Everybody would’ve started criticising the decision that we took and all of that but what matters is what we think inside this changing room. And that is what mattered. And that is what we went with in this game.”It was a clear plan that we want the result, how we can get the result. Everybody started finding answers for that. I think it was an exceptional series. It may go unnoticed.”Related

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• Rohit Sharma and the sixes that woke up a dead game

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Under Rohit, India have adopted an aggressive approach across formats, even at World Cups, and it was no different in Kanpur, where WTC points were up for grabs. So, what does aggression mean to Rohit?”For me aggression is all about your actions,” he said. “It’s not about my reactions: the kind of batting we do, the kind of field positioning we do, the kind of bowling we do; that to me is aggression.”Look, without the help of the other ten players, and, obviously people who are sitting in the dressing room as well, this wouldn’t have been possible when we had lost two days, two-and-a-half days actually, it’s very easy for everyone to just drift away from the goal that we had of winning this test match. When we came here on the fourth day of the morning, first things first, they [Bangladesh] were batting and we needed to get them out. We needed seven wickets quickly, so I thought everything started there.”1:43

Decoding Yashasvi Jaiswal’s superb slip catch

Both as a batter and leader, Rohit has transformed India into prioritising winning over everything else. He said that his captaincy style is based around trusting his judgement and decisions.”When you are playing at such a high level, you need to have a bit of everything,” Rohit said. “You need to be calm, to think wisely. There are a lot of decisions that you have to take on the field. Not every decision will go your way, but you have to back it and use your experience, use your knowledge. So that is what I do. I, I’ve been there enough to trust my judgment that I do take on the field, the decisions that I take on the field, I trust on it. And then, then I go by it. There are players around me who are open to giving suggestions, but at the end of the day, I trust my mind and I trust my judgment, and that’s all that matters.”

Rohit: Some crucial catches turned the game

Rohit was also impressed with India’s fielding, especially their slip catching, during the home Test series against Bangladesh. It was Yashasvi Jaiswal who had set the tone on the first day in Kanpur, where he took a smart, low catch to dismiss Zakir Hasan for a duck. Then, in Bangladesh’s second innings, Jaiswal completed another sharp catch, this time at gully, to send back a well-set Shadman Islam for 50 and hasten India’s push for victory.”I was just informed out of the 24 catches that came our way, we took 23 of them, which is a great result especially in the slips,” Rohit said.”You don’t often see in India ball carrying through the slips. But the guys who were standing behind were so sharp and to take those catches, it may look easy on television, but it is not, trust me, because they are standing way ahead than they normally do. So all those catches that come the way, they are very hard to take those catches. The reaction time is very less, and I have seen it. They put everyone puts a lot of effort in getting those things right.”And the Dilip [T Dilip, fielding coach] obviously is helping with the players. Some crucial catches as well, which actually turned the game around.”

South Africa were being turned inside out by India’s spinners but they found a way through to level the series

Ashish Pant10-Nov-2024Tristan Stubbs admitted that he was “proper nervous” and just tried to control his breathing as he struck an unbeaten 47 off 41 balls to shepherd a tricky chase and take South Africa over the line by three wickets in the second T20I against India.”I was just trying to breathe,” he said with a smile after the game. “It’s my favourite place to play cricket and I was nervous, proper nervous, so I was just trying to control my breathing.”Stubbs grew up in Knysna, a small town about 260 kilometres up the road from Gqeberha and has played all his domestic and franchise cricket at St George’s Park. This knock was even more special for Stubbs as it was his mum’s birthday and he had plenty of his family and friends in the crowd who had driven down to the ground to celebrate.”Normally there’s a whole bunch of them [his friends and family], probably I reckon 30 to 35 of them,” Stubbs said. “They come through normally once a year for the SA20 and they’ve made a trip now. It’s my mom’s birthday too, so it’s sort of a celebration.”Before I met the team I went and said hello to everyone at the house that they’re staying at. So yeah, it’s been a really good day.”Coming into bat at 33 for 2 in the sixth over with South Africa chasing 125, Stubbs saw his side slip to 66 for 6 in the 13th. That soon became 86 for 7 in the 16th, but he got vital support from Gerald Coetzee with whom he shared an unbroken 42-run stand for the eighth wicket off just 20 balls.”Fortunately, the run rate never got away from us,” Stubbs said about the chase. “Once we lost the wickets, I had 30 in mind off the last three and then G [Coetzee] really came and played an innings to help that out and then, fortunately, we got over the line.”He walked in and he said straight away we can win this. I believed it all the time. We were always two hits away from being back to run-a-ball and then we had the crowd behind, which was just amazing.”Stubbs was caught right in the midst of an intense Varun Chakravarthy spell, who ran through South Africa’s middle order with a career-best 5 for 17. Ravi Bishnoi also kept things tight at the other end, but Stubbs bided his time before taking on the fast bowlers at the death. He later admitted the South Africa batters were out-skilled by the two spinners on a surface that was “typically staying low” but was pleased to stay till the end to take his side home.’They got the better of us in the middle there by just outskilling us,’ Stubbs said of India’s spinners•AFP/Getty Images

“They both [Chakravarthy and Bishnoi] were doing just enough to beat you on either side,” he said. “It wasn’t easy to come in and just rotate even, let alone take them on. They are two of the best spinners in the world so when they are on, it’s really tough and they got the better of us in the middle there by just outskilling us.”So yeah, it was really nice to get the team over the line and be there not out at the end. I think as someone who bats in the middle, that’s your whole goal when chasing, get the team over the line but do it by being not out at the end.”It’s been quite the breakthrough year for Stubbs. In February, he became just the 11th batter to score a first-class triple-century in South Africa while in the last month and a bit, he’s racked up his Test and ODI centuries. Stubbs also played a key role in Sunrisers Eastern Cape’s second-successive SA20 title while he finished the IPL 2024 as Delhi Capitals’ second-highest run-getter with a terrific strike rate of 190.90.What’s brought about this maturity in Stubbs’ game?”I don’t actually know how to answer that. It’s just been nice,” he said. “I really enjoy the longer format because you can spend more time in the middle without feeling like you need to play a big ball and I really enjoy the graft of batting long.”I think the longer form cricket just naturally helps your T20 game and the batsmanship and spending time in the middle and not having to make a play really helps the rest of the formats. So I think that’s been the biggest thing.”