Narine hits form too, meaning a question mark still hangs over CSK’s playoff spot

Karthik Krishnaswamy14-May-20231:59

Dasgupta: ‘You can see how well Rana has taken to leadership from his batting’

Kolkata Knight Riders tripped Chennai Super Kings in their last home game of the league season, out-spinning them and out-batting them on a tricky Chepauk pitch to stay in contention for the playoffs. CSK would have become the first team to seal a playoffs spot if they had won; they’re still in a good position to go through, but this defeat may have hurt their chances of a top-two finish.KKR’s mystery spinners played a massive role in restricting CSK to 144 for 6, with Varun Chakravarthy continuing his excellent season and Sunil Narine returning to wicket-taking ways after taking just one in his last eight games. KKR were always favourites from there, particularly with dew setting in, but they kept the contest interesting by losing three wickets within the powerplay before Rinku Singh and Nitish Rana put them back on top with a 99-run stand for the fourth wicket.KKR fined for slow over-rate

Nitish Rana and his team-mates have been penalised for KKR’s slow over-rate in the Sunday night game against CSK. Since it was KKR’s second such offence this season, Rana was fined Rs 24 lakh and the others in the playing group Rs 6 lakh or 25% of their match fee, whichever is lesser.

KKR eventually won with nine balls to spare. They may have hoped for a more comprehensive win, but Rinku and Rana had little choice but to put NRR considerations on the back burner after KKR lost three early wickets.Varun, Narine dominate after Dhoni chooses to batInterviewed at the end of the game, MS Dhoni said CSK would have needed 180 to have any chance of defending a total once dew set in, but there was no way they could have scored 180 in the conditions that prevailed through the first innings.It was, of course, Dhoni’s decision to bat first. Their innings began promisingly enough, with the first two wickets putting on 31 and 30 respectively. Varun ended both partnerships, with his carrom ball turning significantly both times to have Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ajinkya Rahane caught off miscues.Rahane’s wicket sparked a collapse, as CSK slumped from 61 for 1 to 72 for 5, with Shardul Thakur dismissing a scratchy Devon Conway for 30 off 28 balls before Narine struck twice in the 11th over to send back Ambati Rayudu and Moeen Ali.Dube repairs CSK innings from one endWith the odd ball stopping on the batter or turning sharply, or both, and with not a lot of batting to come, Shivam Dube and Ravindra Jadeja cut out risk-taking and looked to take the innings deep. But while Dube still found the boundary every now and then, Jadeja stagnated; he hit just the one six and no fours while scoring 20 off 24 balls.Dube, though, ensured CSK passed 140, hitting Suyash Sharma for two sixes, and clearing his front leg to clatter Varun for another in the 18th over. He found a way to score even when Varun bowled his typically strangulating lengths, working the ball between long-on and deep midwicket for a pair of doubles in that 18th over.Deepak Chahar picked up three wickets in the powerplay•BCCIChahar picks up an unusual three-forAt the innings break, it felt as if the result would hinge on how KKR dealt with CSK’s spinners. As things happened, though, the powerplay was all-pace, with Deepak Chahar from one end and Tushar Deshpande from the other. Chahar struck in each of his overs, but this was no vintage display of swing bowling: the wickets, instead, came off catches to deep point, short third and short third.Rinku and Rana bat CSK out of the gameBy the time the powerplay was done, Rana and Rinku had already showed signs of rhythm. Rana had whipped Chahar off his hip for six in the fifth over, and Rinku had hit Deshpande for a straight six to end the sixth over.Spin came on immediately, with Dhoni bringing on his two offspinners against the two left-handers. They began well, conceding just seven runs across the seventh and eighth overs, before Rinku relieved the pressure with a pair of fours off Moeen Ali in the ninth.Moeen continued to go for runs thereafter, with Rana hitting him for three fours across his third and fourth overs – a reverse-sweep and two inside-out drives. In all, he took 34 off 22 balls against the offspin pair of Moeen and Maheesh Theekshana. It was a demonstration of a well-known fact, that Rana is among the best left-hand batters against offspin in the IPL.ESPNcricinfo LtdRinku usually prefers pace onto the bat, but on this day he was excellent against the spinners too, and made sure that he dominated his favourable match-up, hitting Jadeja for two sixes.It didn’t help Super Kings that they put down the one chance they got to break this partnership when it could have still mattered, with Matheesha Pathirana putting Rana down at deep backward square leg when he miscued a sweep off Moeen in the 11th over. Rana was on 18 at that point.Both batters went on to bring up their fifties before Rinku was run out in the 18th over, attempting to take a tight single that would have brought up the century stand. By then, the contest was all but over, with KKR needing just 13 from 17 balls.

The sense that Surrey would face the sternest test of their title defence yet, a month into the new season, deepened on day two in Chelmsford, as Essex’s bowlers hounded the visitors between squally showers to secure what could be a vital first-innings lead.Jamie Porter’s four-for was the most substantial contribution but each member of the five-man Essex attack chipped in as the champions were repeatedly importuned in going about their business, like out-of-towners unsuccessfully trying to navigate safe passage through a crowded street market. Doug Bracewell and Sam Cook produced the key breakthroughs at the top of the order and while Simon Harmer was, on occasion, roughly treated, he will doubtless anticipate greater cheer on a wearing pitch should Essex drive home their 74-run advantage.The nature of the surface, which offered grip and seam movement as well as occasional low bounce, seemed to inculcate a fretful mood among Surrey’s batters, who were forever in danger of having their pockets picked. They had made a secure enough start at 105 for 1, with Dom Sibley grinding effectively through the low gears towards what would have been a second half-century of the campaign, only to lose 5 for 58 during an afternoon session delayed by three separate interruptions for rain.When Ben Foakes dragged a drive into his stumps shortly after tea, giving Cook his second success of the innings, Surrey were 167 for 7 and almost 150 in arrears – but as the sun shone into the evening, they were grateful to their overseas allrounder, Sean Abbott, who helped eke out 68 for the eighth and ninth wickets.We are long way from a coronation – at least in the vernacular of the Championship – but Surrey will know that they can’t avoid distractions this weekend as they look to maintain their position at the top of Division One. The weather forecast remains distinctly anti-monarchist but, with almost 80 overs bowled despite similar predictions on Friday, this game has moved on apace.Surrey’s top order boasted five players in possession of England Test caps, yet no one managed to produce a better individual contribution than Sibley’s 48. He and Rory Burns put on 56 for the first wicket as Surrey started in good fettle despite the lurking cloud cover, with a number of runs coming via angled dabs towards the deep third boundary. Burns was dropped on 11, Dan Lawrence attempting a flying take from third slip when the chance might have been better left to Harmer at second; but a Chefs special saw off Surrey’s captain, Alastair Cook’s low take giving Sam Cook his first success.Sibley’s duel with Harmer either side of two brief delays proved absorbing. In the livestream commentary box, Ray East, the left-arm spinner who took more than 1000 first-class wickets for Essex, opined that he would “quite like bowling to” Sibley, given the opener’s proclivity for shovelling the ball into the leg side. Moments later, Sibley launched the ball over the short boundary at deep midwicket for one of the three sixes he took off Harmer (whose offspin was, perhaps, more open to being targeted by in such a manner).Surrey resumed on 80 for 1 when the weather cleared for a post-lunch restart of 2.30pm, but Sibley’s progress was halted by an injudicious drive at a wide-ish Bracewell delivery and his dismissal sparked a slide of 3 for 5 in six overs as Essex clawed their way back into contention. Jamie Smith could do little about the ball he received from Bracewell, which straightened wickedly on off stump to produce an edge through to the keeper, and Ollie Pope was then left to glare suspiciously at the surface after Porter cannoned one into his shin.Will Jacks, whose disdainful treatment of Harmer at The Oval last summer helped turn a close-fought match Surrey’s way, attempted a similar counter in his first Championship appearance of the season, twice launching him over the leg side. However, Shane Snater produced another shooter – this time from the River End – to send Jacks on his way, and Cam Steel then further salved Harmer’s wounds by hoicking a dragged-down delivery straight to deep square leg on the stroke of tea.That eight of Surrey’s batters reached double-figures but none managed a half-century hints at wastefulness, though the pitch clearly played its part and credit should go to Tom Westley’s adroit uses of his resources in ensuring the hosts have the edge at the midway point of this contest.

Champions suffer first defeat at home in 19 first-class matches, going back to August 2020

ECB Reporters Network28-Jun-2023

Lancashire’s Tom Bailey and Will Williams took just 45 minutes to complete their team’s 123-run triumph against Surrey on day four at the Kia Oval – the county champions’ first defeat at their home ground in first-class cricket in 19 matches, going back to August 2020.Williams picked up 4 for 13 in just 4.3 overs on the final morning as Surrey were routed for 84, giving him overall figures of 4 for 23 while Bailey finished with 5 for 48.The two quicks took only 9.3 overs to snatch Surrey’s last five second-innings wickets to end a run of 18 first-class games at the Oval in which the current LV= Insurance County Championship Division One leaders have won 12 and drawn the other six.Bailey, whose heroic 11-over new-ball spell of 4 for 34 on the third evening had helped to reduce Surrey to 57 for 5 overnight – still 151 runs away from their 208 fourth-innings target – made the initial breakthrough in his second over of the morning, having nightwatcher Tom Lawes caught behind for 10.And then Williams got into the act, bowling Will Jacks for 20 in the next over as the Surrey all-rounder shouldered arms to one that jagged back into him off the seam.Batting was not straightforward against a ball still fewer than 30 overs old and in overcast conditions, with the Oval floodlights on, and later in the same over Williams grabbed the wicket Lancashire wanted above all others on the final morning as Sam Curran was bowled off stump for 12 by another superb ball angled across him by the New Zealander and then nipping back.Williams, however, was still not finished. In his third over of the day the 30-year-old – who made 61 in a four-hour stint as nightwatcher, a maiden first-class half-century, in Lancashire’s second-innings 293 – had Sean Abbott taken by keeper Phil Salt for a duck.Abbott had hit an unbeaten 87 in Surrey’s first innings of 360, adding a remarkable 130 for the tenth wicket with Dan Worrall, but now the Australian was gone to his third ball and at 75 for 9, having lost four wickets in 20 balls, Surrey could only hope for another final wicket miracle.It did not come this time, with Worrall finishing six not out as Jordan Clark, aiming a big hit, skied Williams to mid off to go for four and spark Lancashire celebrations. This was Lancashire’s second win of the championship season, and they remain unbeaten; for title favourites Surrey, however, it is a sobering setback.

NSW were in deep trouble at 73 for 5 on a day where Scott Boland broke a Sheffield Shield record

AAP16-Feb-2024A day after Australian women’s captain Alyssa Healy was out for 99 in the Perth Test, fellow New South Wales batter Jack Edwards fell on the same dreaded number.The emerging allrounder was out one run short of his third Sheffield Shield century in the Blues’ clash with Victoria at the SCG.Edwards was dismissed by Test quick Scott Boland after being caught by Victoria wicketkeeper Sam Harper in the final session of day one on Friday.The 23-year-old’s dismissal came less than 24 hours after Healy made 99 and was denied a maiden Test century, equalling the highest score of her husband, Mitchell Starc.But Edwards’ contribution was still vital, helping NSW to 252 after Victoria captain Will Sutherland won the toss and elected to bowl. Sutherland, who made his international debut in Australia’s ODI series against West Indies only two weeks ago, more than played his part with the ball, taking 5 for 51 for the sixth five-wicket haul of his first-class career.Sutherland’s heroics were almost overshadowed by Boland passing Paul Reiffel, who played 35 Tests for Australia between 1992 and 1998, as Victoria’s greatest Shield wicket-taker.By finishing with figures of 3 for 47, Boland went to 321 career scalps, ahead of Reiffel on 318. It is the 34-year-old’s last Shield appearance before he heads to New Zealand for Australia’s two-Test series, starting in Wellington on February 29.Young NSW opener Sam Konstas, fresh off an Under-19 World Cup win, made a bright start the Blues’ innings by making 26. Wicketkeeper Matthew Gilkes was the hosts’ second-best contributor behind Edwards, hitting a patient 51 at No.4.Victoria will start their first innings on Saturday after stumps was called when NSW lost their final wicket. All eyes will be on talented opener Will Pucovski, who is returning to the Victoria side after recovering from his most recent concussion.

Avesh Khan struck before stumps on Sunday with Vidarbha still trailing by 69

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Mar-2024

Wicketkeeper and opening batter Himanshu Mantri struck a patient 126 to help Madhya Pradesh take a crucial 82-run lead on the second day of the Ranji Trophy semi-final against Vidarbha. He scored exactly half of MP’s total of 252 in response to Vidarbha’s 170 all-out.Vidarbha ended the day on 13 for 1, still trailing by 69, having lost Atharva Taide to Avesh Khan, who picked up a four-for in the first innings.Mantri held one end up firmly even as MP lost 3 for 12 in a middle-order collapse. MP had started day two at 47 for 1, with Mantri and Harsh Gawli as the overnight batters. But Yash Thakur broke the 61-run stand with the score on 81, trapping Gawli lbw for 25 in the 36th over. By the time the 42nd over ended, Umesh Yadav had dismissed captain Shubham Sharma for 1, while Thakur also got Venkatesh Iyer without scoring.Mantri, who got a life when Karun Nair dropped him at slip on 38, calmly got to his half-century off 123 balls before Iyer fell. Alongside Sagar Solanki, he took time to rebuild from 93 for 4. They added 52 together for the fifth wicket before Thakur ran Solanki out for 26 in the 59th over.It was time for a restart again, as Mantri now had Saransh Jain for company. In a rare show of aggression, Mantri smashed offspinner Akshay Wakhare for four and six off successive balls in the 62nd over, even as Jain got off the mark with a six. Jain had taken 15 deliveries to score his first run, but ticked along after that.Mantri then got to his sixth first-class century in the 71st over, as both batters were content in gradually heading ticking past Vidarbha’s first-innings total of 170. But MP lost a cluster of wickets in quick time again, losing their last five for just 38 from 218 or 5. The slide started when Wakhare removed Jain for 30 – the next best score after Mantri’s century – before also getting rid of Mantri to break his resistance.Aditya Sarwate, Thakur and Yadav then got a wicket each to wrap MP’s tail up.

Shubman Gill and Deepti Sharma have won the BCCI awards for best men’s and women’s international cricketers of 2022-23. Gill won the men’s award, named after the former India captain Polly Umrigar, for the first time in his career, while Deepti won the women’s award for the second time – she also won it for the 2019-20 season.The BCCI had not announced their awards since naming Jasprit Bumrah and Poonam Yadav the international cricketers of 2018-19. They have now cleared their backlog, announcing winners for the past four seasons in one go. Mohammed Shami and Deepti have taken the honours for 2019-20, R Ashwin and Smriti Mandhana for 2020-21, and Bumrah and Mandhana for 2021-22.Gill made the step up from exciting prospect to international superstar in 2022-23 (the award timeframe runs from October 1 to September 30), enjoying incredible returns with the bat particularly in ODIs, in which he scored a world-leading tally of 1418 runs at an average of 64.45, with five hundreds including a double-century against New Zealand in Hyderabad. In the same period, Gill also scored 387 runs at 35.18 in seven Tests, and 304 runs at a strike rate of 146.85 in 11 T20Is.Related

• Jasprit Bumrah, Poonam Yadav claim top BCCI awards

Deepti, meanwhile, was a key member of an India side that won the Women’s Asia Cup and the Asian Games gold medal in a year packed with T20I action. The offspinner picked up 38 wickets – the fifth-most in the world in the award period, and the most by a bowler from a Full Member nation – in T20Is at an average of 14.81 and an economy rate of 5.71, while also contributing 313 runs with the bat, including two half-centuries, at an average of 28.45. Deepti only played three ODIs and no Tests in the award period, but carried her form into a triumphant 2023-24 home season, taking 11 wickets at 10.81 and scoring 165 runs at 55.00 as India beat England and Australia in one-off Tests in Mumbai.Ravi Shastri excelled in various roles up and down the batting order•PA Photos

Shastri wins lifetime achievement award

Former India allrounder Ravi Shastri, meanwhile, has been bestowed the BCCI’s lifetime achievement award. A versatile batter who played multiple roles through his career – he had a particularly impressive record as opener outside Asia – and an accurate left-arm fingerspinner, he finished with 3830 Test runs at an average of 35.79 and 151 wickets at 40.96.After knee injuries ended his playing career when he was still only in his early 30s, Shastri moved effortlessly into TV commentary, where he established himself as an incisive voice with a distinctively punchy manner of calling big moments. While he only got to captain India in one of his 80 Tests, he got a wider canvas to express his skills as a tactician and man-manager as coach: his stints at the helm of India’s men’s team from 2014 to 2016 and 2017 to 2021 coincided with their rise as an all-formats, all-conditions force. Under him India became a near-invincible Test team at home and achieved unprecedented levels of competitiveness away from home, most memorably winning two successive series in Australia in 2018-19 and 2020-21.

There are plenty of new faces in Mikel Arteta's squad, but attentions must now turn to cutting away the deadwood ahead of a Premier League title tilt

Arsenal are going big this summer in what feels like a crucial juncture in their ongoing pursuit of ending their 21-year Premier League title drought. The Gunners have been spending freely, strengthening across the board, but attentions must now turn to outgoings.

After a protracted transfer saga, long-term target Viktor Gyokeres is set to become their latest big-money new arrival, following the likes of Martin Zubimendi and Noni Madueke through the door at the Emirates Stadium and taking the north Londoners' summer outlay to around £200 million ($269m).

Meanwhile, Jorginho, Kieran Tierney, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Thomas Partey – who has been charged with rape and sexual assault – have all left the club without generating any income. Head coach Mikel Arteta will know there is plenty more blubber to be trimmed and money to be made as he attempts to mould a potentially title-winning squad…

Getty Images SportKai Havertz

Do Arsenal need to ask themselves a serious question about Havertz?! Gyokeres' long-awaited, imminent arrival throws the German attacker's involvement into doubt, after he emerged as Arteta's main No.9 last season.

Nine goals in 23 appearances before a hamstring injury effectively curtailed his season was not a bad return, but the decision has clearly been made that he is not the prolific striker Arsenal need to carry them forward, while the No.10 role and the wings are occupied. It might be time to cash in…

AdvertisementGetty Images SportGabriel Jesus

It's a great shame, but it's probably time to face up to the fact that Jesus' much-heralded move to Arsenal in 2022 has been completely derailed by fitness issues, with the forward currently sidelined by a second serious knee injury since his arrival and those bookending a number of other niggles.

He still faces several months on the treatment table as he continues to recover from a dreaded cruciate ligament tear, but it would be little surprise if the Gunners were weighing up cutting their losses behind the scenes. Finding a buyer is another question, although a loan return to Brazil could be on the cards.

GettyJakub Kiwior

Strangely, Kiwior's place in Arteta's plans has rarely seemed secure since he signed for the north Londoners in January 2023, although he really stepped up in the run-in in 2024-25 amid a raft of defensive injuries. However, that spell only seems to have put him in the shop window.

With Riccardo Calafiori now back in action and Gabriel Magalhaes nearing a return, Arsenal have also completed the signing of highly-rated Spanish centre-back Cristhian Mosquera – all of which pushes Kiwior right down the pecking order. Unsurprisingly, it's been reported that he wants out.

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GettyAlbert Lokonga

One player who is pretty much guaranteed to be on his way this summer, forgotten man Lokonga is back at Arsenal having done his reputation no harm with a decent loan spell at Sevilla, albeit disrupted by injuries.

Now 25, the midfielder has surprisingly been included on the pre-season tour to Asia, but with just one year to run on his contract the club will be determined to find him a new, permanent home this summer. The Belgian says he needs "stability".

Top-order batter had played his country’s first official ODI in April 2009, and also in the T20 World Cup in 2010

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Mar-2024Veteran Afghanistan batter Noor Ali Zadran has announced his retirement from international cricket.He ends his career after two Tests, 51 ODIs and 23 T20Is, having first represented his country back in 2009. Noor Ali’s final appearance for Afghanistan was the one-off Test against Ireland earlier this month, which ended in a defeat for his team.Noor Ali scored 1216 runs at an average of 24.81 in ODIs, and 597 runs at 27.13 in T20Is. Both his Tests came in a one-month span – he played Sri Lanka in Colombo in early February before the game against Ireland in Abu Dhabi later in the month; he scored 117 runs across four innings.

Noor Ali Zadran calls time!

Top-order batter @NoorAliZadran decided to call time on his international cricket. He has represented #AfghanAtalan in 2 Tests, 51 ODIs and 23 T20Is and has scored 1930 runs with 11 fifties and a hundred to his name.#AFGvIRE pic.twitter.com/8UGGNjvBM0

— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) March 7, 2024