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She struck back-to-back fifties in the last two ODIs against England but wants to convert those good starts into big scores

Valkerie Baynes19-Jul-2022Laura Wolvaardt is in search of big runs as South Africa look to turn around a disappointing tour of England ahead of the Commonwealth Games.Wolvaardt was one of three South African players to post half-centuries on an excellent batting pitch in Leicester on Monday, but they were trumped by Tammy Beaumont’s 107-ball 119 and fifties to Emma Lamb, Heather Knight and Sophia Dunkley as England won the final ODI by 109 runs.Related

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Wolvaardt’s 56 was her third ODI half-century in four games, including 89 against Ireland last month – it was also the ninth time she has passed the mark this year. But she is desperate to convert those innings into hundreds, as she did at home against West Indies in January.”I’ve got quite a few fifties in my career now and don’t have that many hundreds yet so it’s definitely something that I’ve been thinking about and obviously it didn’t go right today again,” Wolvaardt said.”I’m happy that I’m starting to start a bit faster. I’m getting to the fifties a bit quicker, but now, the next step is to try and take it further.”Encouraged by the fact that her back-to-back fifties in the last two ODIs against England have come at a strike rate above 100, Wolvaardt believes kicking on may be more of a psychological matter than a technical one.”It’s maybe just something that I’m going to have to look into, to try and restart or pretend that I’m on zero and have to get to fifty again,” she said.”I think it is a mental thing out in the middle. I feel I do all of the hard work to get to fifty and then I think maybe relax for a second too much. I think next time I get in there I just need to really focus harder to get to that hundred.”Also I don’t think it’s a lack-of-focus type of thing, but hopefully it’s just something that I can continue working on. I’m still quite young so I still have a bit of time hopefully. But yeah, it definitely will be a goal to try and get to three figures more often.”In T20Is, which is where the teams will now switch their focus for three matches which end their multi-format series and double as preparation for the Commonwealth Games starting next week, Wolvaardt only has three fifties from 36 appearances. The most recent of those came against India in Lucknow more than a year ago.South Africa must win all three T20s against England, starting with Thursday’s match in Chelmsford, to draw the multi-format series, with England leading 8-2 following their 3-0 sweep of the ODIs and the drawn Test.After providing a solid contest in the rain-hit Test – where Wolvaardt twice fell for 16 to debutant seamer Issy Wong – South Africa appear a more demoralised unit after struggling to compete in the ODIs. They have also had to contend with the shock retirement of Lizelle Lee, Wolvaardt’s former 50-over opening partner, and an ensuing social media furore.Wolvaardt acknowledged that the team needed to find a way to pick themselves up heading into the next phase of the tour.”It’s never nice to lose and especially… we’ve lost the last couple by 100 runs or something,” Wolvaardt said. “The T20 series is just around the corner so we’ll have to have some good, hard meetings to see where we’re going wrong and how we can come back refreshed and ready.”This was our last ODI for a long while so I think we’ll just be looking to be completely refreshed with a new focus to T20 cricket and have some good chats around that. That’s going to be our focus for a while going forward so hopefully we can start that off with a bit more momentum than what we have now.”

“This was among my top career achievements. I enjoyed every moment just being around this team”

Mohammad Isam15-Feb-2021West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite has said that sweeping Bangladesh at their own turf is an “amazing” achievement, especially having been on the receiving end of such a defeat, back in 2018 when Jason Holder had pulled out due to an injury. This time, it wasn’t just Holder who was missing, but a whole host of West Indies top players decided not to tour Bangladesh, which left the reins for Brathwaite.Related

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• Bangladesh fall 17 short as West Indies seal 2-0 win

The young side was no match for Bangladesh in the experience column, but when it mattered, they took control of the Tests in Chattogram, where they won by three wickets after staging a late comeback, and in Dhaka, where they clinched the 17-run win in the fourth day.”We lost 2-0 the last time we were here so to win 2-0 this time is pretty amazing,” Brathwaite said. “Winning away and sweeping the home team is truly amazing. We will never forget it. The future looks bright. We have to stay strong as a team, and keep the same attitude. This series was amazing.”We knew what we faced with all the Covid stuff that was going around. We stuck to the batting and bowling plans. This was among my top career achievements. I enjoyed every moment just being around this team, and it wasn’t easy obviously in a bubble.”Brathwaite said that his biggest source of confidence of winning the series came when they scored 409 in the first innings in Dhaka, as six out of seven teams scoring 400-plus in the first innings in Dhaka have won. Even when West Indies only gave Bangladesh a 230-run target in the fourth innings, that confidence stayed with Brathwaite.”Traditionally on this pitch, when you bat first and get a good total in Dhaka, you win 99% of the time. I was quite confident after the first-innings total. Obviously Bangladesh posted a good total as well. Pitch was still good.”Yesterday in the field, we were confident we could defend 230. They made a good start that put us under a bit of pressure. I knew that once we got a breakthrough, I thought the wickets would have tumbled.”Brathwaite said that West Indies’ discipline in the field handed them the advantage, particularly their catching, accurate bowling and batting partnerships.”Bangladesh played well but in some stages we got the better of them which was kudos to our discipline as a team. We were disciplined especially in the second innings of the first Test. (Nkrumah) Bonner and (Kyle) Meyers batted for two sessions, which was quite crucial for us.”I was confident all along. The key to winning is discipline. We took 17 catches in the Dhaka Test. We bowled to the fields, and from a batting point of view, building partnerships and putting runs on the board, I think we will continue to do well as a team,” he said.Brathwaite praised the newcomers Bonner, Mayers and Joshua Da Silva for showing fight in trying circumstances.”All three were fantastic in the series. I am not surprised. Before the series started, I had a chat with Meyers and Bonner. They were hungry. Joshua showed fight in his first Test in New Zealand, and I knew he would come out fighting here.”These guys wanted to represent West Indies, and made their families proud. They were all in the ODI team so their experience served them well. They were very motivated in the Test series to turn the table on Bangladesh.”Among his favourite moments during this series, Brathwaite recalled Shannon Gabriel’s third-day spell in which he pounded Mominul Haque, Shadman Islam and Najmul Hossain Shanto with one bouncer after another. Brathwaite also remembered how Jomel Warrican kept saying he can take the last wicket in Dhaka.”There isn’t one favourite moment. Kyle Mayers scoring the double-century, the way Bonner batted, just looked so easy working the spin, Joshua showing the fight and Shannon’s spell at the end of day three (in Chattogram). It was very inspiring.”It was a whole team effort. The final moment, when Warrican took the last wicket. He kept telling me he will do it. That capped it off.”

The ODI captain was upbeat about two relatively inexperienced players in the format leading West Indies’ charge

Vishal Dikshit11-Nov-2019Their first bilateral ODI series win since 2014, their first away ODI series win since 2011, and a few youngsters stepping up as the main performers to help West Indies take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series against Afghanistan – captain Kieron Pollard is understandably upbeat.Pollard, in his first ODI series as captain, praised two players who have both played fewer than 25 games in the format: Nicholas Pooran, for showing the “maturity” lower down the order, and Roston Chase, for his “cleverness” as a bowler.”Very happy to win an away series since I think 2011, a series in itself since 2014,” Pollard pointed out after winning the second ODI, by 47 runs. “It’s a great achievement for us. At the end of the day, we ask the guys to do certain things and they’ve responded pretty well and the results show the way that we prepare for the matches.”West Indies won the opening game after bowling out Afghanistan for 194, and then chasing it down with solid half-centuries from Shai Hope (77*) and Chase (94) for a seven-wicket win. In the second ODI, they defended 247 on the back of three-fors from Sheldon Cottrell, Chase and Hayden Walsh Jr.Pollard was, however, also appreciative of the fact that West Indies had beaten a team ranked lower than them.”So far, what has gone well is guys are sticking to the plans, sticking to what we actually want to do, and it’s actually coming off,” Pollard said. “The longer we do that and more consistently we do that, we’re going to put up consistent performances. Yes, it’s against Afghanistan but Afghanistan has beaten us recently.”A lot of people say, ‘it’s just Afghanistan’, but we take pride in what we want to do and the guys have shown by effort even off the field and then coming onto the field and trying to deliver the goods.”Chase has taken five wickets for 61 runs in his 20 overs in the series so far, with an impressive economy rate of three per over. He was also the first-change bowler in the second game and removed opener Hazratullah Zazai, Asghar Afghan and Ikram Alikhil to put Afghanistan in trouble at 109 for 5.”Roston, two games consistently he has played his role to perfection,” Pollard said. “Yes, he didn’t get many with the bat today, but again he showed with the ball the experience that he has, the cleverness, changing of pace, setting the fields in different aspects, trying to get the results.”The bowlers have been doing a very good job, limiting Afghanistan to 194 in the first ODI and then coming tonight, again just over 200, I think it was a fantastic effort by them, led by Sheldon and Jason [Holder], opening the bowling, getting the early wickets, those are the things we asked for.”West Indies got good starts with the bat in both games, but it was Pooran’s 50-ball 67 in the second ODI that helped them put on a competitive score when as no other batsman could score as quickly on a pitch that was not as easy to bat on.”If you look how we set up, our first four batsmen are guys who we want to just bat and bat long, and then from No. 5 Pooran, coming down, again changing that tempo and trying to clear the boundaries as well, as per the roles the guys have been given,” Pollard said. “He came in, he got his eye in, it was not a wicket where the ball was coming on to the bat, and he stayed there till the end. We needed one guy staying till the end or getting that one fifty for us, and he did it.”He hasn’t played many games and he’s showing that level of maturity as an individual, but again we’re not surprised by the results because of the work he’s been putting on and off the field.”

West Indies used seven bowlers, of whom four went wicketless as Ankit Bawne smashed his third hundred in four innings after Mayank Agarwal’s brisk 90

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Sep-2018Mayank Agarwal jumps in jubilation•PTI

West Indies found moderate success on their first outing in a six-week tour of India, taking six wickets on the opening day of their two-day warm-up match against Indian Board President’s XI in Vadodara. The hosts scored at 4 per over to post 360 for 6.Legspinner Devendra Bishoo found the most success for the visitors, taking three wickets – including those of half-centurions Mayank Agarwal (90) and Shreyas Iyer (61) – across a 21-over spell while Sherman Lewis, the right-arm seamer, was economical as he picked up a wicket and conceded only 13 runs in 10 overs. Lewis’ wicket was that of India’s latest Test player, Hanuma Vihari. Ankit Bawne, the right-handed middle-order batsman who had made two centuries in three List A innings before this match, scored an unbeaten 116 at No. 6. His innings took 191 balls and he hit 15 boundaries during its course.Agarwal’s 111-ball innings was peppered with 14 fours and two sixes, as he made another push to the national selectors for a back-door entry into the Indian squad that plays it’s first Test on October 4. Ignored for the Tests in England, Agarwal had struck two half-centuries against the visiting Australia-A team in the past month, before which he had scored 220 against South Africa A in early August. Agarwal did the bulk of the scoring in a 92-run third-wicket stand with captain Karun Nair, after the two had come together with IBXIP on 40 for 2. By the time Agarwal was out ten short of a ninth first-class hundred just after lunch, the Board President’s XI were at 132 for 3.Iyer then hit a brisk 64-ball 61 through the afternoon, combining with a more sedate Bawne for a 113-run fifth-wicket stand, after which the latter took control and piloted his way to an 18th first-class century.Having been asked to field, West Indies had begun with Shannon Gabriel having opener Prithvi Shaw caught-behind in the day’s third over, after which Lewis sent Vihari back in the 13th. It was then Bishoo’s legbreak that broke the Agarwal-Nair partnership, after which he went on to dismiss both Iyer and wicketkeeper Smit Patel after tea. Paul, Jomel Worrican, Roston Chase and Kraigg Brathwaite went wicketless.The second and final day of the only tour match will see the West Indies batting be tested by the likes of Avesh Khan, Basil Thampi, Jalaj S Saxena and Ishan Porel.

Joe Denly hit a career-best 116 not out as Kent chased down 206 in the NatWest T20 Blast to beat Surrey by eight wickets in front of a near 25,000 sell out at the Kia Oval

ECB Reporters Network14-Jul-2017
ScorecardJoe Denly’s unbeaten hundred shocked Surrey at the Kia Oval•Getty Images

Joe Denly hit a career-best 116 not out as Kent chased down 206 in the NatWest T20 Blast to beat Surrey by eight wickets in front of a near 25,000 sell out at the Kia Oval.Denly carried his bat, hitting 76 of his runs in boundaries – including six sixes – to ease the visitors home with three balls to spare for their second win in three South Group starts.Kent’s reply to Surrey’s 205 for 5 started in the twilight with Denly seemingly struggling to pick-up the early deliveries as Jade Dernbach conceded only a single in his opening over.Denly and Daniel Bell-Drummond opened their boundary accounts in the second and third overs of the pursuit, but starved of sixes the crowd entertained themselves by starting a Mexican wave. They soon sat and watched as Denly took the game by the scruff of its neck.Ravi Rampaul conceded 10 as Kent finished their Powerplay on 47 without loss – yet they were already 33 runs shy of Surrey’s total at the same stage. Denly upped the tempo with a massive six against offspinner Gareth Batty into the first tier of the OCS Stand and, in trying to follow suit, Bell-Drummond, on 34, sliced into the deep off Rampaul to be dropped by Dernbach at deep cover.Denly pulled his sixth four to reach a 32-ball 50 as Kent coasted to 91 without loss at the mid-point of their reply. The former Middlesex batsman clipped three sixes into the Pavilion in Sibley’s next over to match Aaron Finch and Jason Roy by posting a century opening stand to leave Kent needing 94 off the final nine overs for victory.Bell-Drummond notched his eighth fifty in the format from 36 balls and with five fours then Denly lifted six off Tom Curran to post Kent’s record stand in the format for any wicket, beating Denly and Bell-Drummond’s 151 scored against Surrey in Tunbridge Wells last July.With only 43 needed the opening stand ended for 163 when Bell-Drummond heaved a Dernbach full toss to Ollie Pope at deep midwicket to go for 64 off 44 balls.Kent promoted their IPL star Sam Billings to No. 3 and he soon laced Dernbach for a four through extra cover, then walked outside off stump to lap a six and four over fine leg against a bemused Sam Curran.Denly reached his hundred in the 18th over from 54 balls, with eight fours and six sixes, and made it a competition-best before Billings forced a low Dernbach full toss into the hands of Tom Curran at deep point to make it 187 for 2. With 17 needed off 12 balls Denly clattered a straight four that almost felled bowler Tom Curran and scampered three to be on strike for the final over from Rampaul with seven needed.Denly made room to clatter Rampaul’s first delivery to the ropes at extra cover to raise Kent’s 200. Alex Blake sprinted a single to tie the scores but Rampaul’s slow-ball bouncer sailed past Denly over head-height leading to umpire Jeremy Lloyds to call a no-ball and spark Kent celebrations.Batting first on an unusually green-tinted Kia Oval pitch after losing the toss, Surrey made a flying start through Finch and Roy, who plundered 108 for the first wicket.Surrey’s 50 was on the board after only 28 balls, forcing Kent to introduce the offspin of James Tredwell for the sixth over. The ploy backfired dreadfully for Kent skipper Sam Northeast as Finch clubbed three successive sixes and, with 23 coming off the over, the hosts reached
74 without loss by the end of their Powerplay.Roy raced to a 26-ball 50 with eight fours and then posted his side’s 100 with an impudent flip to the ropes at third man in the ninth over from Mitch Claydon, who ended the over by having Roy caught at long-off off a low full toss.In a bid to keep pace off the ball Northeast introduced legspinner Denly and was rewarded when Finch dragged on to go for 49 off 25 balls with three fours and as many sixes.Kumar Sangakkara’s back-foot force against Adam Milne was caught overhead at mid-off by Blake. Milne yorked Dominic Sibley in his final over and then sprinted from his follow-through to run out Sam Curran by kicking the ball on to the stumps at the striker’s end.Milne finished with 2 for 33 and Surrey eased past 200 to their second highest T20 total on the ground and set Kent a tough asking rate of 10.3 an over for victory.

Sanjay Bangar has been appointed India’s batting coach for their four-Test tour of West Indies. Abhay Sharma, who had been with the team in Zimbabwe as fielding coach, has been retained for the series in the Caribbean

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jun-2016Sanjay Bangar has been re-appointed India’s batting coach for their four-Test tour of West Indies. Abhay Sharma, who had been with the team in Zimbabwe as fielding coach, has been retained for the series in the Caribbean.Bangar had been the batting coach when Ravi Shastri had been team director for nearly two years from August 2014. His contract lapsed after the end of the World T20 in April, but was put in charge of the Indian team on an interim basis for the limited-overs series in Harare.The appointments were made after consulting with India’s new head coach Anil Kumble, but a BCCI release was specific that they pertained only to the seven weeks they would be playing against the West Indian teams from July 6. There won’t be a bowling coach travelling with the Indian team making Bangar the only one of the previous support staff, which had also included to B Arun and R Sridhar, to be retained.Regarding the absence of a bowling coach, BCCI secretary Ajay Shirke told : “Anil himself is one of the greatest bowlers. He insisted on not having a bowling coach for the West Indies tour since he is in charge.”Abhay Sharma had previously worked with Rahul Dravid and the India A and Under-19 teams. He was also among the Rest of India staff when they beat Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai in the 2016 Irani Cup.

Former West Indies fast bowler Wes Hall was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame during the lunch break on the opening day of the Sabina Park Test, becoming the fourth cricketer to receive the honour this year after Betty Wilson, Anil Kumble and Mar

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jun-2015Former West Indies fast bowler Wes Hall was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame during the lunch break on the opening day of the Sabina Park Test between West Indies and Australia. He became the fourth cricketer to receive the honour this year after Betty Wilson, Anil Kumble and Martin Crowe.Hall, 77, received his commemorative cap from fellow Hall of Famer Courtney Walsh, and is now the 18th cricketer from the Caribbean to be bestowed with the award.Hall, who played 48 Tests for West Indies between 1958 and 1969, said he was “privileged” and “honoured” to receive the award which put him in the company of the “many greats of the game”.”Anytime you get these kind of encomiums, it is memorable,” he said. “It is fantastic to receive the award in the West Indies and in front of adoring fans, which makes it even more special. I have represented the West Indies as a cricketer, as the team manager, and as the President of the WICB, so I will treat this as something I value and will always remember.”Cricket has been extremely good to me and I was happy to give back to the game. This honour, presented to me by the ICC, is one I will cherish. It is not just for me but for the people of the West Indies.”Hall took 192 Test wickets at an average of 26.38. Overall, he played 170 first-class matches, collecting 546 wickets. He picked up a five-for on nine occasions in Tests, including 5 for 63 in the second innings of the famous tied Test against Australia in Brisbane in 1960, where he bowled the last over of the match with the hosts needing six runs with three wickets in hand.During the 1958-59 tour of India and Pakistan, Hall took 46 wickets from eight matches. In the third Test against Pakistan in Lahore, he became the first West Indies bowler to claim an international hat-trick.After retirement, he become an ordained minister as well as the Minister of Tourism and Sports in the Barbados government. Hall also managed the West Indies touring sides and in 2001, took over as the president of the WICB. In 2012, he was knighted in the Queen’s birthday honours list for his “services to sport and the community”.

Steven Finn will remain with the England squad and could be set to feature in the third Test against India after coming through unscathed in the England Performance Programme team’s match against Dr DY Patil Sports Academy

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Nov-2012Steven Finn will remain with the England squad and could be set to feature in the third Test against India after coming through unscathed in the England Performance Programme team’s match against Dr DY Patil Sports Academy. Finn will travel to Kolkata with the rest of the Test squad on Friday, meaning Stuart Meaker returns to the EPP party.Although Finn went wicketless from seven overs during the innings victory, he bowled with good pace and reported no discomfort. It had been expected that he would be sent home should any doubts about his fitness remain but he is now in contention to replace Stuart Broad for the Kolkata Test.Finn missed the first two Tests of the series after injuring his thigh during England’s opening warm-up match against India A. He subsequently aggravated the problem and had only bowled four overs on tour before being included in the EPP side. In the first innings he claimed 4 for 50 and his extra pace, carry and bounce could give England’s attack a different dimension on sluggish surfaces.Broad, who remains the fast bowler with the most Test wickets in 2012, has not added to his tally in two appearances against India and suffered from illness in the build-up to the Mumbai Test, which England won by ten wickets to square the four-Test series. Since July, Broad has taken 11 Test wickets at 54.00 and England bowling coach, David Saker, recently admitted that his performance in Mumbai “wasn’t up to scratch”.In the EPP match, Durham legspinner Scott Borthwick took six wickets on the final day, as the hosts were bowled out for just 87. Meaker, who was called up as cover for Finn at the start of November, again impressed by taking 3 for 8 in the innings-and-193-run win.Ian Bell will rejoin the squad in Kolkata, having returned to England on paternity leave, while James Tredwell has been added as cover for the senior spinners, Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann.

England women claimed a series whitewash with a five wicket victory over South Africa at Senwes Park

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Oct-2011
Scorecard
England Women claimed a series whitewash with a five-wicket victory over South Africa at Senwes Park.Charlotte Edwards won the toss and inserted South Africa for the final match of the one-day international series. Jenny Gunn ensured the hosts could not settle in the middle as she trapped Shandre Fritz in front leaving South Africa on 39 for 1 in the eighth over.Tight spells from Danielle Hazell and Laura Marsh built the pressure in the middle and set things up for Arran Brindle (2 for 20) and Heather Knight (2 for 15) to force a middle order collapse. Brindle and Knight took four wickets in 24 balls as South Africa struggled to build the runs and were left on 103 for 6 after 28 overs.Having opened the attack, Georgia Elwiss returned in the final overs to claim her first international wicket as Sunette Loubser was caught behind by Tammy Beaumont. Four balls later the hosts were reduced to 144 for 8 through the quick hands of Beaumont. Sarah Taylor then claimed the run-out of Denisha Devnarain and with five balls remaining South Africa hung on to post a total of 181 for 9 from their 50 overs.As England set about the chase they suffered a setback losing both Edwards and Danielle Wyatt in the first five overs. Edwards was bowled round her legs and Wyatt was caught as she scooped to mid-off.Taylor attempted to rebuild with Lydia Greenway but was caught behind trying to glance to third man, then in the following over Brindle went leg before wicket, leaving England on 42 for 4.Fifteen overs in Knight joined Greenway to resurrect the innings and put on a solid 87-run partnership before Player-of-the-Series Greenway was caught trying to scoop over mid-off.Knight went on to knock off the runs with Gunn in an unbeaten partnership of 54 as England claimed a five-wicket victory with seven overs to spare.”It was a good win, great to finish the series three nil, another good team performance,” Knight said. “I enjoyed going into the new role of batting at No. 6 and it was good to get some runs. It was brilliant to bat out there with Jenny and Lydia and I was pleased to be able to finish the game off. It was a good feeling to get my first not out for England.”Arran and I established a good partnership in the middle, I think she bowled really well and I backed her up. It was pleasing to get a couple of wickets.””It’s great to win the series three nil, that’s what we came out here to do so I’m really pleased,” captain Edwards said. “It was our best bowling and fielding performance of the trip so far and I thought we stuck at it with the bat. Although we lost early wickets Heather Knight and Lydia put on a really good partnership.”People have stood up, especially the bowlers, who have got better and better throughout the trip which bodes well for the Twenty20 series. We’ll take momentum from this as we move into the Twenty20 series on Thursday, which I’m sure will be a high-scoring affair.”England play the first Twenty20 of the three-match series against South Africa on Thursday October 27.

Tamil Nadu opener Abhinav Mukund and Saurashtra quick bowler Jaidev Unadkat, both of whom are uncapped, have been named as replacements

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Oct-2010India have omitted Gautam Gambhir and Ishant Sharma from the second Test in Bangalore following injuries to their right knees. The squad for that Test, announced hours after the win against Australia in Mohali, includes Tamil Nadu opener Abhinav Mukund and Saurashtra quick bowler Jaidev Unadkat, both of whom are uncapped, as replacements.Mukund, 20, has been a consistent performer in domestic first-class matches since his debut in late 2007. He has nine centuries in 29 matches, and an average of 55.88, and his career highlights include an unbeaten triple-century against Maharashtra in 2008 and a 257 against Hyderabad last season.Unadkat, 18, has been promoted despite not having played a Ranji Trophy match. He first came into the spotlight when his Kolkata Knight Riders bowling coach Wasim Akram endorsed his talent ahead of the 2010 IPL season. Though Unadkat did not make much of an impression in the IPL, he made the cut for India A’s tour of England. He impressed with a 13-wicket haul at Grace Road on first-class debut against West Indies A. He was included in the Rest of India squad for the Irani Trophy game against Mumbai that coincided with the first Test, and he returned figures of 4 for 41 in the first innings to put his name firmly in the selectors’ radar.The youngsters get their chance due to the injuries to two of India’s first-choice players. Ishant had been off the field for much of the first innings due to his injury but returned to play a crucial role in India’s heart-stopping win in the first Test in Mohali. On Monday, he took three quick top-order wickets to deflate Australia’s strong start and on Tuesday he stoutly hung on for a career-best 32 – and a match-turning 81-run stand for the ninth wicket with VVS Laxman.Gambhir, who scored 25 and 0 in the first Test, was hit in the knee while fielding at short leg on Monday when he was trying to take evasive action to save himself from a Michael Hussey sweep off Pragyan Ojha.