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The Netherlands batter talks about living alone since he was 16, and how a call out of the blue changed the trajectory of his life

Shashank Kishore26-Sep-2023The smell of tomato (a type of dal) elicits a child-like excitement in Teja Nidamanuru. He has had a long day of training in Bengaluru, surprisingly hot for late August, and is craving spicy Indian food for dinner. It’s a giveaway to where in India his roots are.Nidamanuru, 29, comes from Vijayawada in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, known for the heat of its cuisine, and is currently in the country to represent Netherlands at the World Cup. When he takes the field in their tournament opener against Pakistan in Hyderabad on October 6, his family will be watching him play for the first time.His maternal grandmother, who he says has promised to make him loads of , will be among those in attendance. It will herald a new chapter in an eventful journey that has taken him to Auckland, Amsterdam and Harare.On a hot June afternoon in the Zimbabwean capital at the World Cup Qualifiers earlier this year, he unleashed carnage on West Indies’ bowlers, scoring a 76-ball 111 from No. 5 – the fastest ODI hundred for Netherlands – to help his side force a tie in their steep chase of 375, before Logan van Beek’s heroics in the Super Over sealed a sensational win to all but confirm their World Cup ticket.Related

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“It’s surreal to even just be sitting here and talking of playing in a World Cup,” Nidamanuru says as he sips piping hot . In part that might be because moving to Netherlands wasn’t part of his plan when he first arrived in the country in the summer of 2019 to play club cricket.Nidamanuru had been living in Auckland, a city he moved to as an six-year-old when his mother took up a job there as a dialysis technician. After school he completed a double major in sports management and marketing, while also playing cricket.He made his List A debut for Auckland in 2018, having played age-group cricket alongside current New Zealand internationals Mark Chapman, Colin Munro, Lockie Ferguson and Glenn Phillips. But when Nidamanuru couldn’t break into the ranks of New Zealand’s domestically contracted players, he looked for opportunities elsewhere. That was when an agent helped him sign with the Kampong Cricket Club in Utrecht.”I’d finished my six-month stint in Utrecht and was in India on a short visit to see family en route to Auckland when I received a call that changed my life,” Nidamanuru says.”It was from someone I’d met through a common connection. I later found out he was an amateur club cricketer who I’d played against in Amsterdam. He happened to be the CEO of a company called StrateX. During a casual conversation after one of our games, I’d told him of my education background and where I come from. He’d asked for my CV and I’d sent it over to him out of courtesy.”So here he was now on the phone, and he’s like, ‘Are you happy to work in Netherlands?’ I had been exploring different avenues since I wasn’t a contracted domestic cricketer in New Zealand, so I said yes, ditched my onward journey to New Zealand and booked a flight back to Amsterdam once my work papers came through.”Nidamanuru’s innings against West Indies in the World Cup Qualifiers was the fastest ODI hundred by a Netherlands batter•Johan Rynners/ICC/Getty ImagesIt’s a strange quirk of fate in a way that a skilled worker visa, and not a sports visa, has helped Nidamanuru fuel his cricket dream in the Netherlands. Work, he says, was an outlet to give himself a safety net and secure himself financially before he went back to cricket.”Now I’ve gained valuable experience in a start-up environment, having worn multiple hats,” he says. “It’s given me life experience.”It’s nothing related to sports marketing, but it is only because of my educational degree that I’ve made my way into the Dutch team. Once I got a taste of it, I thought, ‘Maybe I can play international cricket.’ The road to it has been hard but today, it feels worth it.”Nidamanuru gets teary reminiscing about the sacrifices his mother made for the family. “My mum’s had a tough life. She brought me up as a single mother, but because of her own challenges, she returned to India. I’ve been living in New Zealand on my own from the age of 16.”I had to mature at a very young age. I was sharing a flat with someone at the age of 16, paying my own bills, I had a part-time job. I had to find a way to survive. Fortunately, I had friends who were like family. Had they not insisted I study, I wouldn’t be here.”Nidamanuru qualified for Netherlands selection in May last year, and he struck an impressive half-century on debut in an ODI against West Indies. In the period between settling in the country and trying to fulfil qualification criteria, he made his way up to the premier division, where a hundred against a team coached by former Netherlands captain Pieter Seelaar turned heads.An emotional Nidamanuru celebrates Netherlands’ Super Over win against West Indies•ICC via Getty Images”After that game, I spoke to Pieter of a desire to play for Netherlands if an opportunity came up,” Nidamanuru says. “He spoke to Ryan Campbell [head coach at the time] and got me involved with the group. He invited me for winter training in 2021, where I played alongside Bas de Leede, Scott Edwards, Max O’Dowd, who I knew from New Zealand as he’d also migrated there with his family when he was young. In a way, I knew most of the guys before my senior team debut, so that helped.”As his cricket took off, Nidamanuru found himself having to juggle work, which invariably led to long days, sometimes lasting 16 or 17 hours. He says a laptop is his companion at all times. It’s even present on our table during the interview.Two months ago the Netherlands Cricket Board (KNCB) offered him an opportunity to work in administration for them. That has allowed him “better balance”, he says, for the board understands the effort that goes into training to play international cricket. He currently has two contracts: a playing retainer, and another for his administrative job, which enables him to live in Netherlands.”In Netherlands currently, there are just three of them who make a living out of the game,” he says. “I’m on a summer contract as far as my cricket goes, which offers a retainer for five months. It covers fuel expenses, travel and a few meals, but isn’t enough to make a living. That’s why a lot of Dutch guys go to England to play county cricket. Paul van Meekeren, Roelof van der Merwe, Colin Ackermann, de Leede – they all have contracts.”Cricket in Netherlands needs a boost, the structures need to grow. I’ve now come on board to lead their cricket performance, look at things from a strategic aspect and develop strategies to grow the sport, develop pathways and work alongside the high-performance manager and CEOs. Being a player gives me an overview of everything – it allows me to contribute in different ways.””It is only because of my educational degree that I’ve made my way into the Dutch team. Once I got a taste of it, I thought, ‘Maybe I can play international cricket'”•Albert Perez/ICC/Getty ImagesOn the field, Nidamanuru swears by a philosophy called S.O.U.L, which he believes is slowly becoming the team’s World Cup buzzword. “It stands for: Selflessness, Ownership, Unity, Learning. All of us are as passionate about the game, as you guys are in India or anywhere else.”You may call it Associate cricket, [but] for us, it’s as important a game as we’ll ever play. In Associate cricket, something is always on the line when we play, whether it’s a qualifier or a bilateral. That’s the type of culture we’ve tried to create over the past year, from the T20 World Cup campaign in Australia. We’re very proud of how everyone works with the little resources we have. We’ve been able to achieve significant results despite that, and we want to do it more consistently now.”Nidamanuru’s immediate goal is the World Cup, for which he’s been “training like mad”. Indulgences, like gorging on rich Indian food, as he is when we speak, are rare. He draws inspiration from the physical regimen of players like Virat Kohli. “That kind of commitment is the difference between good and great, I guess,” he says.”I’m ready to do anything in my capacity to help Netherlands win. I definitely want to go out and have a World Cup to remember. I hope it’s the start of something big in Netherlands. We’ve also made it through to the T20 World Cup in West Indies and USA next year. It just shows how much one can achieve with commitment.”As we wind up our chat, Nidamanuru is offered a tempting assortment of desserts by the restaurant staff. “Nah, I’m good, thanks,” he says.”Discipline, discipline! I’m staying back in India after the World Cup to visit family back in Vijayawada. I’ll gorge on them then. For now, I can’t wait to get started.”

England’s miserable World Cup defence is finally over. Alan Gardner sat down with Andrew Miller and Vithushan Ehantharajah to pick through the pieces

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Nov-2023England’s reign as World Cup-holders is finally over, although they spared themselves the ignominy of missing out on Champions Trophy involvement by winning their final two group games. With the dust beginning to settle – and squads already announced for a tour of the Caribbean – Alan Gardner was joined by Andrew Miller and Vithushan Ehantharajah to look at what went wrong and where the one-day side goes from here. Topics up for discussion included Jos Buttler’s form, departing greats and the next men in, and whether multi-year contracts are actually such a good thing after all.

Defeats against most opposition inflicts bruises, but Australia leave tattoos, and Pakistan are now covered in them

Danyal Rasool27-Dec-20233:55

Malcolm: ‘Cummins made something happen out of nothing’

There are some things you fly from Lahore to Melbourne for at this time of year. Warm weather, perhaps. More of a Christmas vibe, possibly. A reading of the air-quality index that doesn’t give you a panic attack, quite probably.And then you’re sat at the MCG on an idle festive evening. Tea was served only recently. Maybe you helped yourself to a cuppa, and a slice of pizza or cake to go with it. Or maybe both; you may be on holiday, and you wish to indulge.You settle down happily into your seat. Pakistan are doing all right. In fact, you dare yourself to think it: Pakistan are winning this day. Second day of the Boxing Day Test, they’ve knocked off Australia’s final seven relatively cheaply within a session, even if, possibly in generous holiday spirit, they have gifted a whopping 52 extras. And now, captain Shan Masood and opener Abdullah Shafique are neutering Australia’s pace attack with relative comfort. The partnership is 90, the score 124 for 1. Nearly 45,000 people are in to enjoy the Test cricket. You don’t get that in Pakistan.Related

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And then you see something you are sure looks familiar, something you realise, with a pang of horror, you never needed to leave Lahore at all to see. Pat Cummins pitches one up, it’s moving in, and Abdullah Shafique pushes uncertainly at it in the bowler’s general vicinity. Cummins bends low in one lithe, graceful motion, and when he emerges from a dive, he’s got the ball in his hands.”It’s just one of those ones that… off the bat, they’re pretty hard to pick up, and they either stick or they don’t,” Cummins said later. “Luckily that one stuck – in the other hand to what I thought it was going to go in.”But against Pakistan, these catches seem to find a way to nestle into Cummins’ secure hands. Twenty-one months ago, Shafique – in the second series of his career – had put on a 150-run partnership with Azhar Ali – at the other end of his career – in Lahore. He’d fallen 44 runs earlier, but his stand with Azhar had helped Pakistan into a relatively secure position after Pakistan had triggered an Australian collapse to keep them below 400. It was 214 for 2 when Azhar played a near-identical shot: the nothing push.Cummins had thrown himself to the floor to strike, and Pakistan watched as Australia laid waste to the rest of their side, the last eight wickets falling for 54 runs. Pakistan never quite recovered, and Australia sealed a series-clinching victory two days later.Babar Azam was cleaned up by a Pat Cummins in-decker•Getty Images and Cricket AustraliaBack here at the MCG, you shift uncomfortably in your seat. You were there in Lahore that day, and you remember what happened immediately. It’s hard not to, because defeats against most opposition inflicts bruises, but Australia leave tattoos, and Pakistan are now covered in them.Australia have toiled all day with little to show for it until then. But like a cheetah that awaits its moment, they recognise the time to strike. Cummins needs just three more deliveries to produce the delivery of the Test match so far, one that lands outside off and moves in off the seam so sharply Babar Azam’s defensive prod only ends up going all around it. Australia sprang at the right time to knock their prey to the ground, and now it’s time to feast.Masood dances down the crease to attack Nathan Lyon – what he’s seen unfold at the other end need not impact his own approach. But there’s only so many times a bowler with 500 wickets at just over 30 will allow a batter with 1600 runs at just under 30 to punish him that way. Masood doesn’t recognise the slightly altered flight path, the length pulled a shade back, and goes through the shot anyway, losing his shape and his wicket.This is a dance the universe is all too familiar with, and each participant, unwitting and otherwise, knows the next steps by now. Josh Hazlewood and Cummins knock back the next two as Pakistan lose five wickets for 46 runs in a little over an hour. It is somehow both incredulous and yet inevitable that Pakistan would dominate the best part of two-thirds of a day against Australia, and somehow end up in a significantly worse position than they started it.Shan Masood was positive in his approach, but Nathan Lyon had the last laugh•Getty ImagesYou no longer remember the wickets Aamer Jamal took this morning, or the child-like excitement of Hasan Ali as he celebrated each dismissal. You have forgotten how hard Pakistan made it for Australia to score runs on a morning they were pushing for an advantage, or even the blinder of a catch Mohammad Rizwan took diving low to his right to trigger the collapse in the first place. You can barely recall the technical solidity of Shafique as he got Pakistan off to another bright start, or Masood’s commitment to a playing style that saw him post his highest Test score in nearly four years.Instead, you remember the extras Pakistan so blithely gave away, the cheap runs rather than the wickets, the fine margins that saw Australia survive two DRS calls. You recall Imam-ul-Haq’s dismissal off Lyon after the openers had survived another 15 overs, and you know exactly how many runs Pakistan are behind Australia with four lower-order wickets to go, each of those 124 weighing down on you.It’s a pleasant December evening in Melbourne, with the sun still out long after stumps have been called. But as you wearily trudge out of this cathedral of a stadium and walk up the Yarra, you can only see the clouds as they stealthily make their way over the city. Instead of being warmed by the sun, the southerly wind that’s suddenly picked up in intensity chills your bones. You realise you haven’t brought a jacket, and how little time it takes for a Pakistani to feel unprepared in Australia. It feels uncomfortably like a metaphor.You flew across hemispheres to the other side of the world, but this is an experience Lahore provided just as authentically as Melbourne. It has, after all, never been Australia’s style to give Pakistan a hiding place.At least you can see those Christmas lights in Federation Square, though. And the air quality is pure enough to allow you to take that familiar sigh of resignation.

What’s different, what’s the same? Where and when will the matches be played? What’s new about this season?

Ashish Pant20-Feb-2024Will it all be played in Mumbai again?
Unlike last year, when the tournament was held in its entirely across Mumbai, WPL 2024 will be played in Bengaluru and New Delhi. The M Chinnaswamy Stadium will host the first 11 games, while the second-half of the season, including the eliminator and the final, will be held at Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla.Is the format any different from last year’s?
No, the same number of games (22) will be played this year too. Each of the five teams plays the other four twice. The table-toppers directly qualify for the final, while the second and third-placed teams square off in the eliminator.After the Mumbai vs Delhi game, Royal Challengers Bangalore will open their campaign the following day against UP Warriorz, with Gujarat Giants, the fifth team, facing Mumbai on day three.Here’s a detailed look at the fixtures.What are the timings?
All the matches will start at 7.30pm IST and, unlike last year, there are no double-headers this time.Let’s go back to the auction: how did that go? Were there any major buys?
The biggest surprise in this year’s auction was the uncapped duo of Kashvee Gautam and Vrinda Dinesh pocketing bids of INR 2 crore (Giants) and INR 1.3 crore (Warriorz) respectively. Gautam, however, has been sidelined by injury and won’t feature in the competition.Amandeep Kaur is the only left-arm wristspinner in the WPL•Mumbai IndiansAustralia allrounder Annabel Sutherland, who was released by Giants ahead of the auction, was the most expensive overseas pick (Capitals) at INR 2 crore, while Shabnim Ismail, released by Warriorz, was picked up at INR 1.2 crore by Mumbai. Australia’s Phoebe Litchfield attracted a handsome bid of INR 1 crore from Giants. This will be 20-year-old Litchfield’s maiden WPL appearance.Related

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Kate Cross, who was working as a broadcaster last year, has gone to RCB, and Danni Wyatt (Warriorz) will also be a part of WPL 2024 after being unsold at the auction the last time. Scotland’s Kathryn Bryce (Giants) is the lone Associate player in the tournament.Did any major player miss out? Any withdrawals?
Chamari Athapaththu seemed set to miss out for a second straight season, but was picked up by Warriorz as a replacement for England’s Lauren Bell, who opted out to prepare for England’s tour of New Zealand (starting March 19). RCB’s Heather Knight too will miss the season for the same reason; she has been replaced by South Africa allrounder Nadine de Klerk.Among the notable exclusions are Australia bowling-allrounder Kim Garth, who was released by Giants after last season, and former West Indies allrounder Deandra Dottin. On the Indian front, there were no bids for Devika Vaidya, who was picked up for INR 1.6 crore in the inaugural season by Warriorz.Australia fast bowler Lauren Cheatle (Giants) too has withdrawn from this year’s WPL after undergoing a medical procedure for skin cancer on her neck. New Zealand veteran Lea Tahuhu has replaced her.And, along with Gautam, spin-bowling allrounder Kanika Ahuja has had to opt out with an injury. Gautam has been replaced by uncapped allrounder Sayali Satghare, while Ahuja has been replaced by Shradda Pokharkar at RCB.Gouher Sultana and Harmanpreet Kaur are the only Indians in WPL 2024 to have made their international debuts before 2010•Gouher SultanaAre the captains and coaches for the teams the same as last season?
While the five captains: Harmanpreet Kaur (Mumbai), Meg Lanning (Capitals), Smriti Mandhana (RCB), Alyssa Healy (Warriorz ) and Beth Mooney (Giants) remain unchanged, there have been some movements on the coaching front.Most notably, Giants parted ways with Rachael Haynes after just one season, bringing former Australia batter Michael Klinger on board as the head coach. Luke Williams, who won the WBBL with Adelaide Strikers, takes over from Ben Sawyer as RCB’s head coach.Which country – apart from India – has the maximum representation?
Australia has the biggest representation with 13 players, including three captains. Capitals lead the way with four Australians in their squad, while Giants, Warriorz and RCB all have three each. Mumbai are the only team to not have a single Australian player in their set-up. England have six players taking part in the tournament, while South Africa have five.Who were the breakout stars of WPL 2023?
Mumbai’s left-arm spinner Saika Ishaque and RCB allrounder Shreyanka Patil have gone on to play for India. They are considered to be products of the WPL to an extent.Recognising the need to reward performers, the BCCI has ensured that players who were capped between the two seasons automatically received an upgraded WPL contract. Signed at base price (INR 10 lakh) at the inaugural auction, both Ishaque and Patil will be paid INR 30 lakh this season following their India debuts.

The 2024 tournament has produced some exciting matches albeit on dodgy pitches

Ian Chappell15-Jun-2024Two of cricket’s greatest rivalries – India vs Pakistan and Australia vs England – were played in a 24-hour period during the 2024 T20 World Cup.While these fierce rivalries still generate great excitement, the Australia vs England bout fell short of expectations, with Australia winning the T20 match comfortably. India versus Pakistan always creates hysteria and once again this was the case even in New York as there are plenty of expats from both countries living in the USA.Going into the heavyweight bout India had only lost one World Cup contest to Pakistan and that was in the T20 format in 2021.Related

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This imbalance was partly explained years ago by a decorated Indian cricketer: “Pakistan tries to impress India,” he explained, “while we are only interested in having an impact on the West.”Pakistan cricket’s previous history may also help explain India’s stranglehold in their World Cup encounters. In early 1973 the Pakistan team were described as “Panikstan” because of the suicidal nature of their 92-run loss to Australia at the MCG. They then confirmed their newly acquired nickname by losing the third Test at the SCG by 52 runs despite only chasing a moderate target of 159.The “Panikstan” moniker was to the fore again in the 2024 World Cup as Pakistan lost a crucial contest to India in New York. After manoeuvring into a strong position where they were predicted to win, Pakistan capitulated and lost a low-scoring encounter by six runs.This was yet another typical big-brother-over-little-brother victory and that syndrome has weighed heavily on Pakistan in World Cup encounters.

There’s a highly competitive cricket rivalry still to be played in the Super Eight – India vs Australia. This has become a blockbuster contest in recent years.

Yet in Toronto in 1996 the two teams mixed amicably in a series at the suitably named Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club. The five-match series was tied at two-all when one Indian player hilariously noted: “The soldiers are lined up at the border armed with rocks but they don’t know which way to throw them.”So well did India and Pakistan get on that I asked a mixed group of players, “Why do the two countries fight wars when the players socialise comfortably?”The answer was revealing and yet concerning. “We understand each other and eat similar food,” said an Indian player, “and the people generally get on well but the politicians of each country like to keep the aggro simmering.”The pitches in the USA again generated controversy, particularly the New York venue, which attracted a lot of negative publicity and proved to be difficult for batters. In many cases a score just exceeding 100 proved to be a match-winner.The USA reputation for providing dodgy pitches isn’t a recent one. In September 1999, I covered an India A vs Australia A five-match series in Los Angeles, where the respective skippers were VVS Laxman and Adam Gilchrist, both of whom went on to enjoy illustrious international careers.The pitches on that occasion could only be described as “ropey”, especially when genuine pacemen like Brett Lee operated. Dodgy pitches were accepted with a shrug of the shoulders in 1999 but, with the USA team qualifying for the Super Eight and being promoted as a viable cricket nation, this is not good enough. Mind you, USA cricket has long been wracked by organisational turmoil and this could be yet another example of the chaos that exists among their administration.While T20 pitches should never totally favour batters, there’s no excuse for surfaces that are considered dangerous.There’s a highly competitive cricket rivalry still to be played in the Super Eight – India vs Australia. This has become a blockbuster contest in recent years.Even if these two teams provide yet another exciting contest, it shouldn’t camouflage the USA problem. If cricket wants to make headway in the USA it has to vastly improve the administration and their pitches, while also convincing locally born players it’s a game worth playing.

“When you cross 30, people start thinking your career is coming to an end, but I feel there’s a lot of cricket left in me”

Hemant Brar10-Aug-2024One of the markers of growing up, they say, is when you leave home for the first time. Mandeep Singh is on a similar journey at the age of 32. Having played for Punjab, his home state, for 15 years, he has decided to move to Tripura for the 2024-25 Indian domestic season.The decision may have come as a surprise to many, especially after he led Punjab to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title last season, ending a 30-year trophy drought for the team. However, in a T20 side overflowing with power-hitters, Mandeep, an anchor, was no longer the first name on the team sheet.Earlier this year, when Punjab toured Namibia for five 50-over games, he was left out of the squad. Perhaps that is what forced him to take this “huge step”.Related

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“When you cross 30, people start thinking your career is coming to an end,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “Last year, I didn’t get picked in the IPL either. But I feel there’s a lot of cricket left in me. I work hard on my fitness. I had a score of 18.3 in the Yo-Yo test last year. It’s not like I am just dragging my career further.”But I started getting a feeling that I would not be considered for all three formats for Punjab. Many youngsters are coming up and the team management may want to give them opportunities. But I want to play all three formats as of now. So when I got an offer from Tripura, I decided to accept it.”Winning a trophy for Punjab was my ultimate dream, which we achieved last season. So I felt this was the best time to leave. And it’s not like I cannot go back – I have left on good terms. In fact, I hope to finish with Punjab because my heart is with Punjab.”At Tripura, Mandeep is replacing Wriddhiman Saha, who was their captain as well last season. Saha has returned to Bengal. Mandeep does not know yet if he will lead Tripura.”I haven’t talked about it [with the Tripura association],” he said. “I spoke to our coach, PV Shashikanth, but we discussed only how to take the team forward. Everything is a bit new for me.”File photo: Mandeep Singh is in England at the moment, playing club cricket in the lead up to the domestic season in India•Ishan Mahal/Punjab Cricket AssociationShashikanth was with Karnataka for the last two seasons. So it will be his first season, too, with Tripura.Mandeep is stepping out of his comfort zone in more ways than one. After his leanest Ranji Trophy season, in 2023-24, where he scored just 216 runs at an average of 27.00, he is taking a new approach to preparation.In 2019, he had spent a summer playing league cricket in Chennai. That stint was followed by Mandeep’s most productive Ranji Trophy season to date, when he scored 696 runs at an average of 69.60. This time, he is exploring more distant shores. He is in England, playing club cricket for Hull Zingari Cricket Club in the Yorkshire Premier League North.”I had never played in England before,” Mandeep said. “I first tried for the County Championship. I asked a couple of people to help with a contract, but it didn’t happen. After that, I signed this two-month contract, which runs till mid-September.”It is a 50-over tournament but is played with the red ball. And it’s not like modern-day ODI cricket. If you score about 250 in 50 overs, that’s a good total. The pitches and conditions are really challenging. There is lot of turn; there is swing anyway. Since our domestic season is starting with the Ranji Trophy this time, I feel this is a good preparation.”In his first game, Mandeep scored 107 off 84 balls against Easingwold. He is hoping good performances there will open doors to county cricket.But given his three-format ambitions, he has been working on his T20 skills too.

“I have a few goals. One is, of course, to play all three formats, and then, hopefully, make a comeback in the IPL. Obviously, if you get back into the IPL and do well, you start getting into the mix [for the Indian team]”Mandeep Singh on his goal for the 2024-25 domestic season

“Earlier, I used to focus mostly on red-ball cricket during the off-season. This time I practised a lot with the white ball. Being a top-order batter, I normally take my time early on. But things have changed. The demand is for fast cricket. So I worked on my power-hitting, so that if I am required to go big right from the start, I could do that.”As for his fitness, he is breaking the mental barriers that came up after a major back surgery in 2017.”I have reduced my weight but improved my strength. Earlier I used to do squats with 50-60kg. After the back surgery, that fear was always there. This time I touched 100kg. I had never lifted this much weight. When it came to deadlifts, I would restrict myself to 70-80kg. I took that to 100kg in the off-season.”I have a few goals. One is, of course, to play all three formats, and then, hopefully, make a comeback in the IPL. Obviously, if you get back into the IPL and do well, you start getting into the mix [for the Indian team].”If I am not wrong, Suryakumar Yadav played for India at the age of 30. Shashank Singh is 32-33 [32]. He had his first taste of success in the IPL last year. So the inspirations are right in front of me.”

He has been smashing sixes regularly of late and has already made a name in the IPL. He now wants to take it to the next level

Himanshu Agrawal01-Sep-2024As more and more state associations in India have started running their own T20 leagues, which also attract IPL scouts, there has probably never been a wider pool of T20 players in the country. But only a handful of them graduate to the IPL. Karnataka’s Abhinav Manohar is one of them.Now, in his second coming as a T20 batter, he has developed an X-factor. Fair, all the games of the Maharaja T20 Trophy – Karnataka’s T20 league – this season have been played at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, where the ball flies, but Manohar’s 52 sixes tower over the next best, Karun Nair’s 27.His team Shivammoga Lions finished fifth out of the six sides, but he was on top of the charts (until the final on Sunday) with 507 runs at a strike rate of 196.51 – the highest for a batter with at least 200 runs – with the standout aspect being his six-hitting. Manohar says he is blessed to have the ability to hit sixes “since a very young age,” and explains what has gone into him clearing the boundary effortlessly.”I have been practising a lot,” he told ESPNcricinfo on the sidelines of the Maharaja Trophy. “[To] each session I go, I bat [for] 300 balls, and hit about 150 sixes against spinners and fast bowlers, and to sidearm and throwdowns. That’s why it’s paying off today.”Manohar feels backing himself more has also helped him in upping his power game, something he didn’t do in the past.”When it comes to hitting sixes, I think I just back myself because I know I can clear any boundary,” he said. “Over the past few years, I didn’t back myself as much as I would like, but now I think I’m backing myself a little bit more.”The aggressive intent apart, Manohar also worked on some technical aspects over the last three to four months. He said he “didn’t have any goals as such coming into the season” and was content to just apply what he has worked on recently.”I just wanted to come out here and practice because this is the best stage to practice,” he said. “I have two batting coaches: Mithun Manhas from Gujarat Titans (GT), and Sudhindra Shinde, in Bangalore. Shinde has been helping me here because I go to him once a week, and we work on my batting.”They should take half the credit for my success in the Maharaja Trophy because they have been helping me day in, [and] day out. And hopefully, this is just the start of something better to come.”Manohar has learned to relax, even while freely flinging the cricket ball out of the ground – even with the opposition constantly in his ear and despite being a late starter in domestic cricket.Abhinav Manohar has showed some of his big hits in the IPL for Gujarat Titans•AFP/Getty Images”Just before going to bat, I tend not to be too serious because if I get into that serious zone about seeing what the other batsman is doing, [or] seeing how the wicket is playing, that plays in my mind,” Manohar said.Part of Manohar’s routine before walking out to bat includes joking around in the dressing room, which he says helps him remain calm. All he prefers in the form of practice in the lead-up to a game is to “knock the ball around just to open up my shoulders”.

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Manohar’s domestic debut came for Karnataka in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) in 2021-22. He was already 27, when some cricketers are at the peak of their powers.But Manohar immediately looked to make up for lost time. On T20 debut, against Saurashtra in the preliminary quarter-final, he thumped an unbeaten 70 off just 49 balls. That knock included six sixes and was a rescue act in a successful chase of 146. He walked out at 34 for 3, and with Karnataka slipping to 60 for 4 in the tenth over, he took over the chase.In his maiden T20 tournament, Manohar scored 162 runs in four innings at an average of 54 and a strike rate of 150 in Karnataka’s run to the final.In February 2022, at the IPL mega auction, (GT), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Delhi Capitals (DC) battled it out for him, before GT bagged Manohar for a whopping INR 2.6 crore, an amount 13 times his base price.Looking back at his first experience of the glitz of the IPL, Manohar said playing alongside Hardik Pandya, David Miller and Rashid Khan was surreal. That season, he played only eight of their 16 games and didn’t quite set the stage on fire, even as he rejoiced in GT’s title win.”It’s something that very few people are privileged to do,” he said. “I didn’t get to play in the finals, but that’s okay. It was a great feeling to actually share the dressing room with such great stars.”Although Manohar had a quiet start in the IPL, he featured in three half-century partnerships with Hardik out of the four times they batted together across the 2022 and 2023 editions. Manohar contributed with crucial cameos each time, and enjoyed his time with his captain both on and off the field.”Hardik is a very nice person; he’s very helpful,” Manohar said. “You can go to him with whatever you want. And he’s someone who just has that positive energy and aura around him all the time.”Despite a lean IPL 2022, Manohar’s power-hitting ability meant GT continued to mostly use him as a finisher in 2023, when he batted at No. 6 on four occasions out of six. Manohar then got only two games in 2024, though GT were without Hardik, but still took back some learnings from his 19 matches across the three seasons.”Having one or two good seasons in the IPL is a way to get noticed and break into the India side”•BCCI”To back myself a little bit more, and to have a steady mindset,” he said, when asked what he takes back from his IPL experiences. “Try not to let your emotions control you. That’s something that most of us don’t know how to do.”But Manohar kept pumping the runs when he got his chances. In the Maharaja Trophy in 2022, he hammered 352 runs at an average of 70.40 and a strike rate of 175.12 to emerge as the highest run-scorer for Mangalore United. That run of form carried on into SMAT in 2022-23, when Manohar played all eight matches, and struck 62 not out in the quarter-final against Punjab with five fours and as many sixes.Manohar was even the biggest earner at the Maharaja Trophy auction, bought for INR 15 lakh by Shivamogga. With 258 runs, he became Shivamogga’s second-highest run-scorer.But something much bigger is now coming up. It is the mega IPL auction for 2025, and Manohar not only hopes to remain with GT but also hopes to get more game time.”Wherever I go, I hope I get to play as many games as possible and get to express myself in the best way possible,” he said. “I feel I have finetuned my game this year, and I’m just hoping to carry the form I have in the Maharaja into the IPL.”That, though, is only one of his goals for the near future. His next wish is to find a permanent place in Karnataka’s List A side, having played just seven games since his debut in December 2021. Add to that his intention to also play first-class cricket which he hasn’t featured in yet.”I’m hoping the selectors back me a little more and see that I’m not only cut out for T20, but that I also have the skillset to play one-day and four-day [matches],” he said. “I’ve been fine-tuning my game to play the longer format – mindset-wise as well. So I’m hoping that this year I get a run in all three formats. And if I get a decent enough run, I’m sure I’ll do well over there.”The ultimate dream, however, remains wearing the India jersey. He has even charted a way out for that.”I would love to represent my country. Having one or two good seasons in the IPL is a way to get noticed and break into the India side,” Manohar said, citing the example of Riyan Parag, who made his India debut against Sri Lanka this year.

He’s 35 and has played just five Tests, but with a renewed action and plenty of first-class wickets behind him, he is primed to have an impact on South Africa’s WTC final chances

Firdose Moonda04-Dec-2024When Dane Paterson joined Nottinghamshire as an overseas player in 2021, he was 31, had 103 first-class matches and 354 wickets to his name and thought he knew his game as well as he could have. Then he met Kevin Shine.”He saw that I closed myself off as I was about to take my jump, so he just lengthened my run up and tried to free me. That gave me more space off the deck,” Paterson said in Gqeberha before he knew he was due to play in the second Test against Sri Lanka.The change helped Paterson find late movement, the kind that could challenge batters used to playing the swinging ball. “Things happen quicker when it comes to nip or late swing. In England, all the batters are used to swing bowling because of the Dukes ball but once you nip the ball, you’re in position to pose some danger, especially in county cricket.”Related

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The results spoke for themselves. Paterson took 180 wickets in 45 matches between 2021 and 2024 for Nottinghamshire, including 56 in the 2022 season, where he finished as the third-highest wicket-taker in Division 2.”I trained so hard and I listened,” Paterson said. “As an older experienced guy, you could think, ‘What is this guy [Shine] talking about when he says he is going to open me up, he’s going to try and get more energy off the ground and things like that?’ I’m glad I opened my ears and I listened and did the things that he told me to do.”Since joining Nottinghamshire, Paterson now plays pretty much all year and would return to the domestic circuit in South Africa hoping he could replicate what he learnt albeit with the Kookaburra. Since his first county game, he has played only 14 red-ball matches in South Africa but has taken 54 wickets at 21.11. Though the sample size of matches is small, the improvement can be seen in his average, which sat at 24.41 in South Africa before his overseas deal.

“We really broke down my run-up and I just had to remember when I was training to go back to that. I looked back at videos and thought about what I should do and I worked on it. And like we say: you can teach an old dog new tricks.”Dane Paterson

Sometimes, he had to remind himself of his new technique in different conditions when he “tried to do things the old way”, and soon it became second nature. “After the first season, I could see that it was working. When I came back to South Africa, I just tried to keep those mental notes in my head.”Bowling is never perfect and you’re always going to have a bad day but it was just remembering those small points. We really broke down my run-up and I just had to remember when I was training to go back to that. I looked back at videos and thought about what I should do and I worked on it. And like we say: you can teach an old dog new tricks.”Those skills and his old relationship with Test coach Shukri Conrad earned Paterson a place in South Africa’s Test squad to New Zealand in February, which many would have thought was a one-off. But Paterson has found himself in squads to tour West Indies, Bangladesh and now, to play against Sri Lanka at home, where he has been confirmed to play at St George’s Park. He may not have got the chance if both Wiaan Mulder and Gerald Coetzee had not been injured in Durban, which speaks to the carefulness with which Conrad has planned his replacements.At a venue that can be slow, requires discipline and can offer swing in certain weather conditions, Paterson is an obvious choice and was picked ahead of 18-year-old tearaway Kwena Maphaka and instead of spin-bowling allrounder Senuran Muthusamy.Speaking to reporters two days before the match, Paterson said he was prepared to do the “dirty work” of holding up an end so Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen could operate at full intensity and that is exactly what the South Africa captain also expects of him.”If you look at all our bowlers, apart from Wiaan Mulder, he’s probably the one guy that can hit the stumps more consistently, being shorter in stature,” Temba Bavuma said of Paterson. “St George’s is one of those wickets where the lbw, bowled and even the nick off becomes predominant in terms of wicket-taking options. He adds that variety to us as a team, where we have a guy who can target the stumps more From a skill point of view, there’s not many guys who are better than Patto in terms of getting the ball up there, swinging and nipping it around.”Dane Paterson has had a sensational time with Nottinghamshire•Getty ImagesThe westerly, drying wind is currently blowing in Gqeberha and may only change later in the match, when there could be swing on offer which means that batters can expect the best of the early exchanges even with significant grass on the pitch. Still, South Africa have chosen to go in with only four frontline bowling options and Bavuma accepts it may take a “bit longer” than it did in Durban for wickets to fall.Patience is something Paterson has in multiples. He waited four seasons to move from what was then provincial cricket to franchise cricket (essentially B team to A team domestic cricket) and when he did, he debuted for the Cobras at St George’s Park. He waited six more summers to get international recognition and when that came, it was at St George’s Park.It’s a venue where he has 31 first-class wickets at an average of 21.22, which reads a bit like his Nottinghamshire numbers and suggests it’s somewhere that suits him. So it was no surprise to hear he has a plan for how to bowl here. “Find your length and settle on it,” he said “As the Test goes on it gets quite squatty so I think that’s when things like nip come into play.”At optional training the day before the Test, Paterson was the only one of the seamers in the playing XI at the ground. He spent around 40 minutes bowling on a practice pitch with Maphaka, overseen by Test bowling coach Piet Botha. And it was clear who was preparing for a match.Dane Paterson gets ready to have a bowl•Getty ImagesPaterson ran in purposefully, had zip and hit a similar spot throughout. Maphaka must have been instructed to take it easy and was far more languid. They did not speak much and any communication was done with the eyes, in much the same way Paterson would have experienced things when he was a youngster.”I played with the likes of Rory Kleinveldt, Charl Langeveldt and Johan Lowe and I learnt from them especially in the nets, especially when I played B team cricket. I would just go to nets and learn,” he said.That knowledge is why South Africa have named Paterson in the XI for a must-win Test, with the World Test Championship final three wins away. When Paterson considered quitting South African cricket on a Kolpak deal four years ago (which was then scuppered by Brexit), he would not have imagined he’d be part of a team challenging for the title. And now? He can dare to dream.”The amazing thing about it is the calmness with which we are going about this,” he said. “Every Test is a must-win and we remind ourselves this is the goal, but that’s where it stands. We’re not speaking about it all the time. There’s a calmness in the group, which is very good.”

A sprint to victory or a draw for the win. Pick between two opposite games as we begin to identify The Greatest Test of the 21st century

ESPNcricinfo staff04-May-2025Update: This poll has ended. The IND-ENG 2008 Chennai Test moves to the round of 16.

India’s triumph of belief vs England – Chennai, 2008

It was not a match India were supposed to win. For three days and two sessions at the Chepauk, England were on top. India were staring at a target close to 400, when nothing above 300 had ever been chased before in the country (and the highest target chased at the venue was 155).But then the English bowlers were met with a belligerent Virender Sehwag, who laid down the platform for India to push for the win on the fifth day. Gautam Gambhir put in the grind at the top. And then Yuvraj Singh, with his Test credentials under the scanner, joined Sachin Tendulkar at the crease to take India over the line on a pitch with awkward bounce.Tendulkar applied the icing on the cake, hitting the winning runs – which also brought up a fine fourth-innings century. Only six higher totals have been chased in Test history than the 387 by India in Chennai, only two of which have come in Asia, and none in India. It was a win, as ESPNcricinfo’s Editor-in-Chief Sambit Bal noted at the time, forged by unwavering belief to go for the jugular and not just settle for a draw.

South Africa’s blockathon vs Australia – Adelaide, 2012

If this Test was part of a video game, you’d autoplay the final innings once South Africa were 45 for 4. There were 110 overs to go, Nathan Lyon – who had been the curator at the Adelaide Oval, had a two-for. Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle almost hypnotically kept hitting a good length.Faf du Plessis, on Test debut, joined AB de Villiers with a South Africa win out of the window. So, they abandoned the search for runs and committed to the blockathon for 408 balls despite nervy moments.Du Plessis was given out lbw twice but overturned the decision using DRS; he also survived a sharp caught-behind chance with Matthew Wade standing up to the stumps. De Villiers faced 220 balls but when he was bowled by a nip-backer from Siddle, 60 overs still remained in the day.The partnership between Jacques Kallis and du Plessis – 99 runs in 235 balls – wasn’t as stoic but took up nearly 40 overs. Lyon got turn and bounce to dismiss Kallis and Siddle got a couple of tailenders. High resilience and hyper-aggressive fields led to 71 maidens in 149 overs, but couldn’t stop du Plessis from getting a maiden ton and staying unbeaten as Morne Morkel played out Siddle.For nearly four days, only one result seemed possible. Australia had done everything right. They made 550 at a run rate of 5.12 in their first innings on the back of Michael Clarke’s 257-ball 230 and Michael Hussey’s 137-ball 103. They had taken a 162-run lead and set a 430-run target which should have ensured a win.There were no caveats or rain, just a once-in-a-lifetime exhibition of defensive batting that denied Australia a series lead. South Africa went on to win the next game and became the first team in the 21st century to win back-to-back Test series in Australia.