All posts by n8rngtd.top

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jul-2016But Ross Taylor, resuming on 38, carried on strongly and raised his 14th Test century•AFPTaylor was supported brilliantly by wicketkeeper BJ Watling as New Zealand dominated the first two sessions, plundering 108 and 120 runs respectively•AFPSikandar Raza ended the 253-run sixth-wicket partnership, forcing Watling to fetch a pull from outside off and hole out to deep square leg. Watling had made 107•AFPKane Williamson called for the declaration after Watling’s dismissal with New Zealand on 576 for 6. Taylor remained unbeaten on 173 with the lead having stretched to 412•AFPZimbabwe’s woeful day continued with the bat too as Trent Boult struck thrice within his first two overs, reducing them to 17 for 4•AFPSikandar Raza struck 37 rapid runs and added 69 for the fifth wicket with Craig Ervine. Ervine remained unbeaten on 49 and carried Zimbabwe to 121 for 5 at stumps, still 291 behind•AFP

The DRS was a vital component of the Chittagong Test – with a record 26 on-field decisions being reviewed by the players – and Kumar Dharmasena was especially in the spotlight

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Oct-20161:29

Dobell: ‘Without DRS this would have been a farce’

As a former offspinner, Kumar Dharmasena would have enjoyed bowling on the Chittagong pitch. But it was a tougher job umpiring. With the ball spinning and spitting, it was a demanding match for the on-field officials and Dharmasena’s decisions were constantly challenged. In total 16 of his calls – out and not out – were reviewed with eight overturned, which set an unwanted record of the most reversed decisions for an umpire in a single Test.26.5 Shakib Al Hasan to Ali, no run, another big appeal, this time the finger goes up! Moeen has been dicing with danger, hit on the pads again and Kumar Dharmasena likes it – but England review. Shakib was bowling from over the wicket, the ball again spinning in to the southpaw, as with the review off Taijul… Moeen this time playing the sweep and struck on the front pad. Don’t think there was bat/glove on this… Or is that a murmur on Ultra Edge? Yes, it would appear so: S Ravi is convinced, anyway. A scrape of bat tape on it and the decision is overturned!28.2 Shakib Al Hasan to Ali, no run, that’s much better! Tossed up, pins Moeen on the front pad, and up goes the finger! Moeen has reviewed, again, but this looks adjacent … the DRS parameters have been tweaked in favour of bowlers, so if this is clipping, it is out … the tension is unbearable …but it is missing! Spinning too much … golly28.4 Shakib Al Hasan to Ali, no run, another sweep, another appeal, another review! Well this is extraordinary. Umpire Dharmasena’s finger is incredibly itchy at the moment – he has raised it three times in six balls! – but this one looked as though it was outside the line. There’s no bat involved … and indeed, it is outside the line!102.1 Taijul Islam to Broad, no run, huge appeal as Broad is bashed on the pads, sharp spin but was Broad outside the line? He reviews…. Dharmasena has had another shocker, I’m afraid. That was missing leg stump!ESPNcricinfo Ltd68.4 Shakib Al Hasan to Rashid, OUT, gentle lbw appeal here, Rashid defending with bat next to pad… Mushfiq asks his bowler if it was pad first and then, with a grin on his face, asks for the review. It’ll be close if it was pad then bat… Lots of rocking and rolling on the replay, looks like it did kiss the front leg before thudding into the bat, so we go to Hawk-Eye, impact in line and hitting middle stump! Another decision is overturned, Shakib has a five-for and England are eight down42.6 Ali to Tamim Iqbal, no run, turn and bounce, taken by Root diving to his right at slip, Dharmasena gives it! Tamim, however, reviews straight away – because why not? – and the initial replay suggests it might have come off his upper arm. It was an excellent low catch as the ball diverted past Bairstow, but went quite slowly, as if off something softer (and it turns out fleshier) than the bat. Yep, S Ravi concludes there was no bat or glove involved, checks the lbw just to be sure and then overturns yet another on-field decision! Who’d be an umpire, eh?27.5 Batty to Mominul Haque, OUT, down on one knee to sweep, and England review! Batty is adamant that there’s something in this … is it lbw, or an under-edge to bat-pad? Doesn’t seem to be bat involved … the bat hits the ground, but not the ball. Over to HawkEye then, did it pitch inside the line of leg stump? It hit! A huge roar from England as they watch the replay on the big screen, and England have their third wicket!81.1 Stokes to Taijul Islam, OUT, on the stumps, flicks the pad playing across the line, loops past the diving Bairstow… Stokes wanted the lbw and England have reviewed (they were topped up at 80 overs remember). Looked a bit speculative to me but here we go… Past the inside edge, struck in line, Hawk-Eye has it hitting leg stump! England are ecstatic, I thought they had gambled but Stokes just had a feeling it was adjacent and Taijul has to go! In this match of reviews, another dramatic reversal!It is worth noting that the last of those overturns, Taijul on the final morning, was only changed to out because of the new DRS protocols which effectively widened the stumps.

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Sep-2016But he was bowled on the sweep by Imad Wasim•AFP… who added the scalp of Jason Roy in a brilliant opening spell•AFPJoe Root attempted to improvise as the boundaries dried up•AFP… but Hasan Ali dismissed him for 6•Getty ImagesGetty Images… where the substitute, Amad Butt, took a well-judged catch•Getty Images… before Wahab Riaz had Eoin Morgan caught behind in a fiery spell•Getty ImagesBabar Azam had to be carried off the pitch after twisting his ankle•AFPPakistan’s fans were out in force at Old Trafford and made their presence felt•Getty ImagesIn reply, Sharjeel Khan laid into England’s bowlers•Getty Images… blasting a 30-ball fifty•Getty Images… while Khalid Latif finished unbeaten on 59 from 42 balls•Getty ImagesEoin Morgan led his dejected team from the field•Getty ImagesBut a nine-wicket win was the perfect way for Pakistan to sign off a memorable tour•Getty Images

Chasing 258 to beat Zimbabwe in Bulawayo, West Indies needed four runs off the last over, with five wickets in hand. Could Donald Tiripano somehow deny them?

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Nov-201649.1 Tiripano to Holder, 1 run, fuller ball outside off, drills it to sweeper cover. Singles will do it for West Indies49.2 Tiripano to CR Brathwaite, OUT, kind of a needless shot with three needed off five. It was a slower ball from Tiripano. Legcutter on a length and Brathwaite tries to swat it with a flat bat. It was a low percentage shot and he skews it to long-on, much to the delight of a large section of the crowd
Ashley Nurse is the new man in, but Holder on strike as the batsmen had crossed over.49.3 Tiripano to Holder, OUT, oh, what terrible luck. Run out at the non-striker’s end. It was a fuller ball and Holder makes good connection on the forward push and the ball goes on the bounce towards the bowler who tries to stop it with outstretched hands. But it goes off the finger and crashes into the stumps with Nurse out of the crease as he was backing away. What drama!
49.4 Tiripano to Holder, 1 leg bye, back of a length, outside off, looks to play across the line but it brushes the thigh and goes fine of short third manTwo off two. Zimbabwe’s players get together for a chat.49.5 Tiripano to Carter, 1 run, chance at deep square leg, did it carry to Chibhabha? It was a legcutter on a short of good length and Carter pulls it. It seems like it carried to the fielder who makes a brilliant effort as he dives forward. Unfortunately for Zimbabwe, he does not manage to grab it. But a superb effort as he did not allow the ball to go to the boundary. Those catches are always tricky and it is easy to miss the catch and let the ball escape from in between. Scores level now.49.6 Tiripano to Holder, OUT, unbelievable scenes at Queens. What a match! Zimbabwe are leaping in joy an why wouldn’t they! This has been a remarkable fightback. But let’s not forget to give credit to the bowler. What a superb delivery under pressure. Fires it very full and outside off, just around the line forcing the batsman to reach out. Holder can’t make contact but Carter sets off for the run from the non-striker’s end. The wicketkeeper has a shy at the stumps and Carter is caught short. An inch outside and it could have been a wide. A perfect last delivery and full marks to Tiripano

England embraced their inexperience in India to reach the final of the World T20 last year, but they’ll need a subtle shift of approach in the forthcoming ODIs

Arun Venugopal in Pune14-Jan-2017When England arrived in India for the World T20 last year, 10 of their 15 players had no experience of playing senior cricket in the country. To Eoin Morgan, the England captain, the “naïvety with a huge amount of talent” wasn’t a bad thing. He believed – and rightly so in hindsight after reaching the final in a high-powered campaign – that his players were better off not being scarred by previous defeats in India.A year on, England have arrived in India for three ODIs and as many T20Is, minus the naïvety but with the talent intact. Morgan said his team would this time draw confidence from the familiarity of the terrain – a few players were with the Test squad, and Jos Buttler partook of the IPL last year – and feed off the good memories from the World T20.”Coming to that tournament [World T20] in particular, this group of players had never played cricket in India,” Morgan said at a press conference on the eve of the first ODI. “I think there were four of us who’d toured here before and, having toured here and done well, we’ ve overcome the mental battle [particularly when] some pitches just don’t turn and some do.”You’ve to be responsive and stay in the moment as long as you can, and react as best you can to those circumstances. I think it worked for us in that tournament, and hopefully it’ll work for us throughout this series.”Morgan also drew inspiration from South Africa’s and New Zealand’s performances in the ODI series against India, and said that beating India wasn’t an impossible task.”Recently, South Africa turned India over, New Zealand pushed them close,” he said. “It’s nice to be about to come to a country where there is a huge hype and expectation on the series, not necessarily on us, but even if it was on us, the emphasis has always been internally as a side, and I’m trying to get them all set. One of the biggest challenges here is adapting to conditions.”When asked how the players who were part of the Test squad that suffered a 4-0 thrashing approached the series, Morgan pointed to the fundamental reason for playing the game – the love of it.”Regardless of how they’ve done [in Tests], the guys really look forward to how they play the 50-over and T20 game,” he said. “It’s a nice way to play cricket, regardless of whether you win, lose or draw – with that attitude you had as a kid. You wake up on the weekend and all you wanted to do all day was play cricket. You’d look out the window and hope the sun was shining. So, that kind of attitude is very important.”England’s attitude to white-ball cricket in the last two years, though, has been characterised by high-decibel ball-striking, led by the likes of Joe Root and Buttler. Since their first-round exit in the 2015 World Cup, England have won five of their seven ODI series, with their batsmen at the forefront. They have had six 350-scores, including the highest-ever total in ODI cricket at Trent Bridge. England also have the highest run-rate among all teams in that time: 6.25.Unlike what Brendon McCullum did with his New Zealand side, however, Morgan was careful not to qualify his team as a “fearless unit”. This team instead, according to Morgan, wanted to stay true to its character, and was comfortable doing its own thing.”The group of players that we have are very outgoing, very expansive and very explosive, and do what they say they’re going to do,” he said. “They can stick to their natural game, which is quite an aggressive game. Trying to be somebody else, or trying to be a different team, doesn’t work for us.”England’s rat-a-tat batting approach is not without its share of risks, though. The two tour games ahead of the series saw England’s wheels coming off in the middle overs after the batsmen refused to lower the gear. England went from 106 for 1 to 191 for 5 before eventually completing a successful chase of 305 in the first game, then lost eight wickets for 88 runs to post a sub-par 282 on a good batting track in the second.India’s captain Virat Kohli was quick to spot the trait, and said England’s approach would prove counter-productive if it wasn’t tempered with strike-rotation.”I’ve always felt, to be a consistent performer in the ODI format you need to understand strike rotation as well. You just can’t go with one sort of momentum,” he said.”Against a side like that, you need to be more aggressive in terms of wanting to pick up wickets. If you think of bowling dot balls, they can feed on that – that is something I’ve observed. It just takes one mistake to change the mindset completely about being offensive, and then things can turn around pretty quickly.”It’s going to be interesting how hard they come initially, but as I said, in ODIs we’ve seen it a lot of times that, when teams start off really well in the first 10, they really dominate and, once you lose two-three wickets in the middle phase, unless you know how to rotate the strike, it gets very, very difficult.”Morgan said he didn’t want to limit his batsmen’s instincts, but admitted it was a tricky balance between batting aggressively and settling for singles. “Some guys find it easier than others when they fall in and out of form,” he said. “You can play smart cricket and you can pat somebody on the back and be 10 overs, none for 45, and you say ‘yeah, that’s really smart cricket’. But then you lose the game by 50 runs.”

Bangladesh have not beaten India in a global tournament since that famous win in 2007. We take a look at how they could halt India’s run

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jun-2017Apart from Tamim Iqbal, Bangladesh’s top order has been jittery so far this Champions Trophy•ESPNcricinfo LtdAddress top-order wobbles and over-dependence on TamimTamim Iqbal, with 223 runs from the first two matches, carried Bangladesh’s batting on his own. The rest of the top order, though, has had a lean time, and selection changes have failed to turn fortunes around so far. In seven innings in total, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes and Sabbir Rahman have scored just 67 runs at an average of 11.17. They will be up against India’s pace attack, whose economy rate of 4.33 in the Powerplay has been the best in the tournament so far.Rubel Hossain has had the measure of Virat Kohli in recent times•ESPNcricinfo LtdUnleash the Fizz, target Kohli’s Achilles heelIndia’s top order, on the other hand, has struck fine form in the three games so far, accumulating 609 from Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli. Bangladesh, though, have bowlers who have managed to trouble them in the past with variations and pace. For a start, India are Mustafizur Rahman’s favourite opponents – he has 13 wickets at 11.53 from three games against them. Rubel Hossain has had the measure of Kohli, dismissing him twice in the last four matches between these sides, including the World Cup quarter-final in 2015. India’s lower order has not been under pressure yet, and winning these mini-tussles could hold the key for Bangladesh.India’s late-innings accelerators will be up against a Bangladesh attack that has been miserly in recent years•Getty ImagesWin the death overs battleDespite having an ordinary tournament so far, Bangladesh’s bowlers possess the second-best record among the top eight sides in the death overs since World Cup 2015, conceding just 6.8 runs per over at an impressive average of 16.00. They will be up against one of the most destructive sides in the last ten overs, scoring at 8.18 per over in the same period. Should India bat first, Bangladesh’s ability to restrict them in this phase could make the difference between a competitive total and one beyond their reach.

ESPNcricinfo rounds up the highlights from the latest matches in the NatWest T20 Blast

Will Macpherson17-Jul-2017The Championship success of Simon Harmer and Kyle Abbott, and the concurrently touring South Africans, means that Kolpak has rarely been a hotter topic. There’s one outstanding T20 cricketer, perhaps because he has been here a little longer and prefers the white ball to red (he will not play Championship next year), who flies a touch under the radar: Colin Ingram.With centuries on consecutive Sundays, Ingram provided a reminder of why he is the best white-ball batsman in the county game. First there was a 46-ball effort against Sussex to trump Luke Wright, then his T20-best 114 from 55 balls in the last-ball win over Essex.Don’t forget that in the Royal London Cup this season he also made three centuries and averaged over 70. Glamorgan have themselves a gem; perhaps the IPL, where he has played just three games, and as long ago as 2011, will come calling once more.He might be 31, and he might describe himself as “a journeyman,” but he admitted upon signing a new Glamorgan contract earlier this season: “I’d like to get out there and experience what’s on the world stage.”

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Noise is the answer for the Blast The Blast is on notice. We know that in 2020, it will not be the premier T20 competition in the land. With funding, resources and exposure largely shifting to the as-yet-nameless Dream Competition, the Blast will have to find its place and relevance in the world.It is worth looking at Old Trafford on Friday, where the Roses match drew the largest Blast attendance outside London. Before rain intervened to ruin a match in the balance, the Roses crowd was everything the Blast should aspire to be.Such was the raucousness of the Roses match that conversation on comms turned to how it was much like a football crowd: loud, packed, partisan and boisterous. The Blast, of course, is not always – or even often – like this, and it is worth noting that another derby, Sussex and Hampshire’s El Classicoast (excellently monikered but perhaps not well marketed?) drew a disappointing crowd at little Hove two nights earlier.But a noisy, partisan response to the action should be the direction of travel for the Blast, just as tranquillity best suits the Championship. The new Dream Competition, like the very family-friendly crowds of the BBL, will hone in on attracting kids and new fans. Meanwhile the Blast already has supporters, and teams with history: it must play on this, pack fans in, charge their glasses, voice those loyalties and get the party started.Perhaps, just perhaps, the two competitions can then co-exist harmoniously.

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Middlesex still can’t get it rightIt seems curious, given their star-studded side and big name new coach in Daniel Vettori, that Middlesex have won just one game (and they made a mess of that one, too) and that the youngsters seem to be doing some heavy lifting. In the loss to Somerset on Sunday, Nos 3-6 all got in, then got out, with Eoin Morgan the worst offender, making 33 from 31, leaving the potentially destructive Ryan Higgins in a no-hope position.One of those youngsters is the rather innocuous looking Nathan Sowter. His curious low leggies, all spindly variations, have proved expensive (8.73/over), but they get a wicket every 15 balls too. This was in evidence when he took 3 for 43 against Somerset.Daniel Vettori has been a fan since long before he joined Middlesex, and tried to sign him for Brisbane Heat this year. Sowter is Sydney-born, but turned the offer down because it would have rendered him ineligible for Middlesex.

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Tabraiz Shamsi: so very NorthantsNorthamptonshire have a way of doing things in T20, and it works. We know that by now. They look deep into the stats, then go low-key, high value and routinely pluck rabbits from hats. Moneyball, if that’s what you want to call it.So when Seekkuge Prasanna found himself back in the Sri Lankan fold, they turned to the South African left-arm wrist-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi for three games. One of them was rained off, but Prasanna returned with a niggle, so Shamsi stayed for a third match of a highly-successful spell, anyway. Another left-field pick has gone right.Having gone wicketless in the opening defeat to Derbyshire, Shamsi took 2 for 20 as Durham were strangled, then 2 for 24 to restrict Warwickshire to 156, a total Northants chased down off the final ball.Shamsi’s figures of 11-0-68-4 tell a tale and, judging by the joyous way in which he farewelled his new club on Twitter, he evidently made plenty of friends and fans. He leaves with Northants in fine shape (in the table, if not physically). Don’t be surprised if he returns.

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In Leicester, of all places, anything is possibleThe sides leading the two Blast groups have a different look about them. We should not be surprised by Hampshire’s ascension in the South. Having reached six straight Finals Days before missing out last year, they have a formidable T20 record, and have hardened up this year.The retention of Shahid Afridi was curious, but Abbott and Rilee Rossouw bulk them up, Reece Topley is finally fit and Mason Crane is actually playing. They might just have Liam Dawson back from England soon, too. T20 nous, in James Vince, Michael Carberry and George Bailey, teems through the batting.Also three from three, and atop the North Group, are the altogether more surprising Leicestershire. Theirs is, crucially, is a settled side (they have used just 11 players so far), with a well-travelled top order and a varied bowling attack.Clint McKay, a canny appointment as captain, took the club’s best T20 figures (5 for 11) as Worcestershire were swatted aside. In that game, Colin Ackermann made his second major unbeaten contribution in a chase (47 following 62 against Lancashire). Ackermann failed with the bat against Warwickshire on Sunday; never mind, he then took three for 21 to help defend 147.They are nothing if not resourceful, and they know better than anyone, in the city where Leicester won the Premier League barely a year ago, that anything is possible.

Rangana Herath mixed some cracking shots square of the wicket with a good sprinkling of plays and misses in a unique innings that was frustrating for India and very, very handy for Sri Lanka

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Kolkata19-Nov-20170:49

‘Compared to first two days, today much easier to bat’ – Herath

Bowlers who bat a bit (as opposed to bowling allrounders like Mitchell Starc or Vernon Philander) can be broadly divided into two camps: blockers, such as Ishant Sharma or Devendra Bishoo, and bashers, of whom Tim Southee – who has clattered 61 sixes in 57 Tests – would be an extreme example.Rangana Herath doesn’t really fall in either camp. He isn’t built like most bowlers, of spin or seam, and like other short, squat batsmen he’s happiest playing square of the wicket. Early in his innings on Sunday, Bhuvneshwar Kumar swung one into his stumps, late, and was on the verge of appealing for lbw when Herath braced his front leg to make last-minute room for his bat to flick the ball to the midwicket boundary.At that point Sri Lanka were 206 for 7 and led India by 34. Herath had walked in when India had taken three wickets for just one run, and Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar were snaking the ball this way and that. The first ball Herath faced, from Shami, beat his inside edge and whooshed over the off bail. His flicked four came in an over in which he was beaten four times. When he misread one that swerved away from him and tried to whip it through the leg side, he missed by more than a foot.But Herath, as he often does, kept fighting, kept punching, kept playing his shots. His glory shot is the pull, into which he puts everything he’s got, swiveling violently and slapping the ball like it’s the villain in a revenge melodrama. He unleashed it on 22, when Shami dropped one short, swatting it away well in front of square.Slowly, he gained a measure of the conditions and began looking relatively secure even while defending, getting behind the line, flourishing his bat high over his head when he left outside off stump.Dilruwan Perera, whose delayed decision to review an lbw on 0 earned him the chance to extend his innings by a further 27 balls, added 43 with Herath for the eighth wicket. Suranga Lakmal, weathering a barrage of short balls including one that hit him on the grille, added 46 with Herath for the ninth.BCCISri Lanka’s lead swelled. Herath, not really leaning over the ball but trusting his hands to do the job, square-drove Umesh Yadav to bring up his third Test fifty. He pulled Umesh in his next over and beat deep square leg sprinting to his right.That prompted Virat Kohli to place a fielder two-thirds of the way back at deep midwicket. No use. Herath pulled one to that fielder, Ravindra Jadeja, who fired at the non-striker’s end and gave away four overthrows.Next ball, Herath flashed at and missed a wide one from Shami. Wriddhiman Saha collected the ball and passed it to second slip, from where Kohli hurled it to R Ashwin at mid-off. It was a flat, hard, one-bounce throw more suited to a run-out chance than the passing chain from keeper to bowler returning to his mark. Few captains are as transparent with their emotions.By the time India found a way to take the last two wickets – Herath was ninth out for 67 – Sri Lanka’s lead had grown to 122. Every run of that lead was a run they would not need to score while batting last, whether they were to bowl India out quickly in the third innings or, as it turned out, chase leather in rapidly improving batting conditions.

They kept beating the bat, had two catches dropped off them, and were wicketless at tea, but Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami simply refused to let up with their discipline and intensity

Nagraj Gollapudi at The Oval07-Sep-20181:01

Roland-Jones: Patient India seamers deserved their rewards

Jasprit Bumrah’s expression immediately after Alastair Cook played on in the fifth over of the third session was revelatory. It was a ball that Bumrah did not fancy taking a wicket with. A regulation delivery outside off stump that Cook could have safely left alone. But he poked and inside-edged onto his stumps.Bumrah flicked both his hands and broke into a wry smile. He, along with Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami, had persevered through the first two sessions, beaten the bat frequently, and even found the edge a few times, but the wickets column for all three bowlers had remained empty. Now, just like that, he had got a wicket off a not particularly threatening delivery.The onus was on always on the fast bowlers to create pressure, especially in the absence of R Ashwin, who Kohli declared at the toss had aggravated his hip injury during the Southampton Test last week. Ravindra Jadeja, playing his first overseas Test since last August, stuck to his strengths – bowling flat and fast and playing the holding role. Although Jadeja had managed to distract Keaton Jennings into playing a false stroke before lunch, he did not pose too much of a challenge to Cook and Moeen Ali post the break.Conditions didn’t really favour India’s fast bowlers after England won the toss and The Oval dressed up for Cook’s farewell Test. There was no real movement in the air or off the pitch with the new ball. Bumrah and Ishant erred with their lengths slightly to begin with, allowing Cook and Keaton Jennings to settle. Before lunch, India’s quicks bowled 63 balls on a good length and 44 short of a good length, and only 18 full.The fast bowlers came out with recalibrated radars in the second session, bowling noticeably fuller between lunch and tea: 65 balls on a good length and 29 full, but only 29 short of a good length.All three sustained pressure on Cook and Moeen, and both batsmen enjoyed lives early in the session. Ajinkya Rahane put Cook down at gully when he was on 37, and Virat Kohli shelled Moeen at third slip in the next over, when he was on 2.Ishant and Bumrah were the unfortunate bowlers, but Shami was the most consistent threat through the session. In a nine-over spell between lunch and tea, he kept drawing Cook and Moeen into playing at balls in a tight channel outside off stump, and kept beating their edges. His round-the-wicket angle forced the batsmen to play, and he kept finding movement to straighten the ball past their groping bats.At one point he beat Cook’s outside edge three times in four balls. All three times, Cook looked down and re-marked his guard. Yards in front of him Shami stood quietly, hands on hips, disbelief all over his face. But he did not change his plan or lose intensity. He kept running in, with wrist right behind the ball and seam upright, and stuck to his line of attack. He only conceded 13 runs in those nine overs.England only made 55 runs in the session, in 31 overs, and their uncertainty was summed up in their control figures. Before lunch, they had a control percentage of 79.54 against India’s quicks. Between lunch and tea, it dropped to 69.84.Getty ImagesShami, Ishant and Bumrah were validating Kohli’s decision to leave out the allrounder Hardik Pandya and go in with just four specialist bowlers. India might have felt Pandya’s absence had any of the three quicks been wayward and released the pressure on England’s batsmen.But nothing swayed them from their lines and lengths and plans. Nothing could distract them, not the two dropped catches, not the plays and misses, not the loss of both of India’s reviews, by the second over after tea, as Kohli grew restless for a wicket.That wicket didn’t come for 40.1 overs as Cook and Moeen added 78 at 1.81 per over. It was frustrating, but the fast bowlers knew they had no choice on this slow pitch but to remain disciplined and build pressure from both ends. Right through the series, they had seen the rewards of staying patient rather than going all-out to attack.The wicket, as Bumrah’s subdued reaction showed, didn’t come in the way India may have envisioned it, but they had found the opening. Minutes after Cook walked back, Bumrah erupted in joy after sending Joe Root back for a duck with a vicious incoming ball that pinned him to the crease and trapped him in front. England’s captain reviewed in vain.In the next over, after straightening one and forcing Jonny Bairstow to nick behind, Ishant walked back to his mark in a matter-of-fact way. The job wasn’t done yet.The accuracy of India’s quicks, already so impressive, reached a peak in the final session as they kept hitting a good length over and over. They bowled 81 balls on a good length, 28 short of a good length, and 17 full.Ishant, Bumrah and Shami kept coming back, kept bowling at a high pace, and kept asking questions of England’s middle and lower order. At tea, murmurs around the crowd had predicted a big century for Cook and a massive total for England. By close of play, the India fans at The Oval were dancing the in the aisles.

This was only the 10th double-century opening stand ever made against Australia in Test cricket

Gaurav Sundararaman07-Oct-20185 Double-century opening stands for Pakistan in Tests. This is the first one since 2016 when Azhar Ali and Sami Aslam added 215 against West Indies at the same venue. Since November 2010 Pakistan have had 13 century opening stands – the third-most for any team behind Australia and England.10 Instances of Australia conceding double-century opening stands. Since 1990, they have conceded only three such stands. Most recently, M Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan added 289 against them in Mohali in 2013.0 Wickets taken by Australia in the first 60 overs of the innings – the first instance in which Australia have gone wicketless for so long while bowling first in a Test since 2000. However the latest they have taken the first wicket since 2000 is in 66.2 overs against England during the second innings of the first Ashes Test in Brisbane in 2010.4 Hundreds scored by Hafeez in the UAE. This is his first century against Australia and second consecutive hundred in the UAE. Hafeez scored 151 against England at Sharjah in 2015. Hafeez now has 3465 runs as an opener and 10 centuries. Only Saeed Anwar has more centuries as Pakistan opener than Hafeez. Hafeez averages 55.27 in the UAE10 Balls that beat Imam Ul Haq or Hafeez during their 205 run stand. This is an indication of how much the conditions favoured the batsmen.ESPNcricinfo Ltd135 International matches played by Aaron Finch before his Test debut – the second-most behind Rohit Sharma, who had played 144 games. This excludes Afghanistan and Ireland who played their inaugural Tests earlier this year.