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The India batter makes his comeback against Pakistan on Sunday and says that he is “feeling light” after his break

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Aug-202222:42

Virat Kohli on Ind vs Pak: ‘Atmosphere on the outside very different to any other game’

Virat Kohli has opened up about his recent struggle to cope with expectations, workload and mental fatigue, saying he came to the realisation that he had been “trying to fake intensity a bit” in his determination to keep playing. India’s first Asia Cup match against Pakistan on August 28 will mark Kohli’s return to international cricket after a 42-day break following the conclusion of the tour of England in July.”This is the first time in ten years that I have not touched the bat in a whole month,” Kohli told Star Sports during an interview with Jatin Sapru. “When I sat down and thought about it, I was like I haven’t actually touched a bat for 30 days, which I haven’t done ever in my life. That’s when I came to the realisation that I was kind of trying to fake my intensity a bit recently. ‘No, I can do it’… being competitive and convincing yourself that you have intensity but your body is telling you to stop. Mind is telling you to just take a break and step back… You can neglect it by saying you are fit, you are working hard on yourself, and you will be fine because you are fit mentally.”I have been looked at as a guy who is mentally very strong, and I am, but everyone has a limit, and you need to recognise that limit, otherwise things can get unhealthy for you. So this period actually taught me a lot of things that I was not allowing to come to the surface. When they did, I embraced it. , there is much more to life than just your profession. And when the environment around you is such that everyone looks at you through your professional identity, somewhere you start losing perspective as a human being.”Related

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On Sunday, Kohli will play his 100th T20 international, and become only the second cricketer after New Zealand’s Ross Taylor to play 100 matches in every format of the game – an indicator of the workload he has shouldered since his debut in 2008. And since 2020, no other Indian cricketer has played more internationals than Kohli’s 62 matches.Kohli said that the demands of his schedule had affected his love for training, something that “disturbed” him and made him realise he needed “to step away” for some time. “I have always been a guy who followed his heart from day one… I never wanted to be or tried to be someone else, which in this recent phase I have been. I have tried to keep up to the demands and the expectations, not really felt my inner being completely, which this phase [away from the game] allowed me to do. I was experiencing that I was not excited to train, I was not excited to practice, and that really disturbed me because this is not who I am, and I literally needed to step away from that environment.”Virat Kohli: “I was experiencing that I’m not excited to train, I wasn’t excited to practice, and that really disturbed me”•Getty Images

Kohli said taking this break helped him rediscover his excitement for training and cricket once again. “When you are involved in such an environment, you are unable to see anything. When you remove yourself from there, then you realise what was happening… This has been an amazing break. I have never had this long a break, and the first thing I realised was that I was getting up in the morning excited to go to gym. It was not a thing like, ‘Oh I have to keep up with this.’ So that was my first mark.”You can tend to get carried away with so many demands nowadays… You have seen the results of what happened to Ben Stokes and Trent Boult… Moeen [Ali] retiring from Test cricket. These aren’t abnormalities; it’s a very normal practice for people who are in touch with themselves and know what they want in life.”As Kohli prepares to make his comeback, his form will once again come under scrutiny. He hasn’t scored an international century since November 2019, and his T20 form hasn’t been great either. Kohli has played only four T20 internationals since the World Cup last year, and he scored only 341 runs from 16 innings for RCB in IPL 2022 at a strike rate of 116. While elaborating on his mindset, Kohli said he had been trying to push himself “into a zone of competitiveness” because it “was not happening naturally” and that he was feeling better after the break.”I’m feeling light now for sure, and it wasn’t just about the workload of cricket,” Kohli said. “There were many other factors on the outside as well, which contributed to me going into that space.”You get to learn a lot of things. Things you are looking at from a certain lens because you are playing with passion, with heart, but on the outside, people don’t perceive it like that and they don’t understand the value of those things. They don’t look at you from that lens. That gives you a reality check that this is how things are and you can’t expect everyone to think and be like you. I got to realise that too.”And intensity, as you said, I didn’t even realise I was faking it. I was trying to push myself into a zone of competitiveness. But it wasn’t coming naturally to me. I am a person who wakes up and feels like, ‘Okay, let’s see what the day has for me,’ and be part of everything that I am doing doing through the day with absolute presence and involvement and happiness. And that’s who I have always been.”People ask me a lot about how do I do this on the field, and how do I carry on with so much intensity. I just tell them I love playing the game, and I love the fact that I have so much to contribute every ball and I would give every inch of my energy on the field and for me it never felt abnormal. A lot of people who on the outside watched me, and even within the team, they asked me how do I keep up with it? And I just say one simple thing: I want to make my team win at any cost and if that means that I’m gasping for breath when I walk off the field, so be it.”That was not happening naturally. I was having to push myself but I didn’t know it because I had become this ideal kind of a sportsperson to look up to. I am very grateful for the fact that so many people get inspired because of me, but you can’t stop being a human being because of that. You also have to understand why people love you and support you. It’s because you were yourself always, and even in these moments, I’m not shy to admit that I was feeling mentally down and this is a very normal thing to feel.”I mean I’m a human at the end of the day, and that should be a thing or a space for people to say, ‘Hold on, if he can go through this, if he can experience the same, relax. It’s normal to feel this way; it’s not abnormal.’ Talk about it, discuss with people. No one is going to think you are weak, people will actually feel compassionate for you, and you will get help from sources you didn’t even imagine. But we don’t speak because we are hesitant. We don’t want to be looked at as mentally weak, or weak people. Trust me, faking being strong is far worse than admitting to being weak. And I have no shame in saying that I mentally feeling weak.”.

The New Zealand captain is “very much here” for international cricket for the time being

AAP05-Sep-2022Kane Williamson says there’s still a balance to be found between New Zealand duty and ageing greats leaving the national team set-up to play in lucrative domestic competitions.Williamson will lead New Zealand in a three-match ODI series against Australia in Cairns this week, beginning on Tuesday.The 15-man squad includes Trent Boult, who has recently been released from his New Zealand Cricket (NZC) central contract, but not Colin de Grandhomme, 36, who has also walked away from his deal. Both scored Big Bash League contracts which clash with national team commitments.Boult, 33, is ranked as the sport’s best ODI bowler and the T20 World Cup next month could be a possible send-off.Related

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Others may follow given the age of NZC contract holders. By Christmas, just two of 19 contracted New Zealand players will be under 30: Glenn Phillips and Kyle Jamieson. Williamson said he understood the departures, but was taken back by the speed of changes.”It’s a tricky one because it is changing. So much seems to have happened so quickly,” he told reporters. “It does seem to be a movement in the landscape of the game. Every case is unique and every case has got their individual needs at different stages of their lives.”There are a lot of different franchise events happening and seeing players make decisions on their playing careers…suggests that there is a balance to strike and some things to work through.”The time may come where Williamson, himself 32 and hampered by injuries in recent years, may also consider a move – but not yet.”At the moment I’m very much here and looking to do my very best for the team,” he said. “I love being involved in this environment.”Williamson was part of the squad that last month toured the West Indies, claiming 2-1 series wins in both ODI and T20 formats. He sat out the final two 50-over matches with a quad injury, a move he labelled “precautionary”.”It’s nice to have those 10 days at home and the body is feeling good,” he said, adding a long-running elbow injury had also simmered down. “It’s nice to be training fully and batting for long periods in the nets.”The three-match series gives New Zealand the chance to end a 13-year run without a 50-over win on Australian soil.

Annabel Sutherland made her second hundred of the season but was again on the losing side

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Oct-2022The WNCL summer of hundreds continued as Nicola Carey’s unbeaten century guided defending champions Tasmania to a high-scoring win in their opening game of the season and left Annabel Sutherland with a second hundred of the tournament that has come in defeat.Carey’s 101 off 83 balls enabled Tasmania, the last team to get their WNCL season underway, to chase down what appeared an imposing 280 with 13 balls to spare at Junction Oval.She came in after an excellent base had been laid by openers Elyse Villani and Rachel Trenaman with a stand of 95 in 19 overs with Carey then adding 65 with Villani.The other crucial partnership came with Naomi Stalenberg as the pair added 82 for the fourth wicket and though Lizelle Lee, the former South Africa opener, collected a duck, Emma Manix-Geeves struck her first ball for four to secure the win.Victoria captain Sophie Molineux had used nine bowlers by the 23rd over with Ellyse Perry sending down six overall as she continued her return to action.Sutherland had gone one run better than her maiden century against South Australia but again came out on the wrong side of the result.She arrived with Victoria wobbling on 2 for 12 after Makinley Blows fell first ball, driving a full toss to point, and Perry was bowled shouldering arms at Heather Graham.The major stand came alongside Nicole Faltum for the fourth wicket as they added 111 in 24 overs before handy contributions from Kim Garth and Tess Flintoff – who hit 22 off 11 balls – kept the momentum going.Sutherland eventually fell in the 48th over to give Graham her fourth wicket.

Former England assistant coach hopeful of opportunity for 2023 season

Matt Roller07-Nov-2022Paul Farbrace has declared his interest in a role in the Hundred next year, after leaving his position as Warwickshire’s director of cricket at the end of the 2022 county season.Farbrace turned down a job offer during the initial recruitment phase for Hundred coaches in 2019 in order to join Warwickshire after four years working with Trevor Bayliss as England’s assistant coach, and said he would be interested in a role in the tournament if an opportunity presents itself.Head coaches in the Hundred are appointed on rolling one-year contracts and while most incumbents are expected to stay put for the tournament’s third season in 2023, Gary Kirsten appears unlikely to return after Welsh Fire’s winless campaign.Farbrace left his role at Edgbaston in order to spend more time with his family, who live in Kent, but is due to spend two of the next four months in the UAE, coaching Team Abu Dhabi in the Abu Dhabi T10 after taking the role on last year, before returning in January as head coach of Sharjah Warriors in the inaugural ILT20.”Before I took the job at Warwickshire, I was offered the head coach role at one of the Hundred teams when I came back from [England’s tour to] the West Indies,” Farbrace told ESPNcricinfo. “But I turned it down at the last minute because the Warwickshire role had come up.”I definitely would be interested, if things go well at these two franchises and an opportunity comes up in the Hundred. If I get a chance next year, that could be a nice way to go. As much as I love county cricket, the Hundred is a great tournament.”Related

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Farbrace hopes to use the winter to see whether he can take his skills as a coach from county and international cricket into the franchise world, and is approaching the challenge with an open mind. “For the first time in my life, I’ve actually given myself a bit of a breather,” Farbrace said. “The only time I’ve ever been in this position is when I got the sack at Kent 11 years ago.”I don’t know yet whether franchise cricket is for me or not but I’ve got these two opportunities and it gives me a chance to see what I want to do. Warwickshire was a 12-months-of-the-year job and after four years living in Birmingham with my wife living in Kent, it was probably the right time. With franchise cricket, you can do a month away and then a month at home.”Team Abu Dhabi finished third under Farbrace last season and he has signed Chris Lynn, Alex Hales and Adil Rashid for 2022 in a bid to win the title for the first time. “It was a real eye-opener for me last year,” Farbrace said. “I went in thinking it was going to be brutal for the bowlers but actually, it’s just as tough for the batters because you’re expected to line up world-class bowlers and hit them out the park.”We’ve learned from last year in how we’ve set our squad up: we took the second-most wickets and thought that would slow runs rates down at the end but didn’t quite manage that, and that cost us, so we’ve got a little bit more variation in our attack this time round. It’s a brilliant environment to be around with world-class players in every team.”

West Indies spinner takes 3-15 on BBL debut to dent Heat’s chase

AAP15-Dec-2022Melbourne Renegades captain Nic Maddinson plundered a scintillating 87 against Brisbane Heat to set up a 22-run victory in his 100th BBL game.Maddinson got out of the blocks quickly, kept his cool when four wickets fell in a clump, and put his foot down again late to lift the Renegades to 7 for 166 batting first in Cairns after being sent in.West Indies international Akeal Hosein opened the bowling for Renegades with his left-arm spin and dismissed opener Max Bryant for a duck with his fifth delivery. The momentum stayed with Renegades from then on.Hossein was playing his first game in the BBL and was the dominant bowler on the night to give Renegades a great start to the new campaign after finishing bottom of the ladder last season.Heat recruit Colin Munro (35 off 30 balls), with 65 T20 internationals to his credit for New Zealand, was finding top form with the bat before he was run out by a direct hit from Tom Rogers.When Heat skipper Jimmy Peirson was bowled by Hossein for 43 off 30 deliveries in the 15th over the required rate was nearing the unachievable.Maddinson earlier set the platform for victory. He took 20 off Xavier Bartlett’s second over and a further 22 off his third in a 49-ball innings, including 10 fours and three sixes, that produced his highest score in T20 cricket. Andre Russell (35 off 28 balls) celebrated his return to Renegades with a powerhouse innings including three sixes.The visitors rocketed to 0 for 65 off six overs before Sam Harper was well caught at fine leg by Josh Brown off the first delivery bowled by the impressive James Bazley.Renegades lost 4 for 13 in four overs due to some shrewd captaincy by Peirson and smart bowling by spinners Mitch Swepson and Matt Kuhnemann. Swepson knocked over Jake Fraser-McGurk with a classic googly. Then Kuhnemann took two wickets in one over by slowing down his pace and bamboozling Aaron Finch and off-season recruit Jono Wells.That was when Maddinson and Russell took control in a 78-run stand off 46 deliveries. Maddinson, when on 42, was involved in a bizarre incident when he played a pull-shot off Mark Steketee.The ball lobbed over the stumps but one bail came off. On review it was clear that the dislodged bail was an unexplainable mystery but no fault of the batter.

Jadeja took career-best figures of 7 for 42 as India won the second Test inside three days in Delhi

Sidharth Monga19-Feb-2023
This is what a Test on steroids looks like. Australia started the day effectively 62 for 1, had India worried as they raced to 86 for 2, then lost their last eight wickets for 28 runs, as India went on to win a Test that seemed lost on more than one occasion, retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in the process. Ravindra Jadeja registered his best Test figures, 7 for 42, and his second 10-wicket match haul; the other three second-innings wickets went to R Ashwin, who had looked more threatening when Australia were running away with the game.When Test matches in India are hurtling towards results at such breakneck speed, what we see doesn’t always make sense. Like Ashwin looking the better bowler, but Jadeja coming back from an ordinary start to run through Australia. Or the sweep shot, and the variations thereof, going from Australia’s best friend to their biggest enemy within minutes.The sweep, which resulted in six wickets in the second innings, had actually put India under immense pressure. At one point, Australia had scored 71 runs off 27 sweeps for just two wickets. Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne had used it distract India, forcing them to put fielders back for the shot. It was the shot that opened up the field for Labuschagne as Australia had India worried: Jadeja went for 31 in his first six overs, Ashwin was going over four himself, and Australia looked set to go well past 150, which would have been a challenging target on this pitch.That despite a beauty from Ashwin early on to take out the threatening Travis Head, beating the left-hander in the flight and then taken by the keeper. However, when Steven Smith played the big sweep off Ashwin, it was only the 18th time he was playing the shot in India. He missed the offbreak and was adjudged lbw.With a lead of 86 and seven wickets in hand, Australia still had the advantage. Ashwin, though, had created that bit of an opening. Warner’s concussion replacement, Matt Renshaw, didn’t look as assured. He began with two unsure sweeps first two balls, and eventually fell lbw to Ashwin on the sweep.Between the Smith and Renshaw wickets, Jadeja had struck a big blow by dismissing Labuschagne. In the second innings in Nagpur, Labuschagne had gone back to a flat but full ball to lose his wicket to Jadeja. He spent a lot of time looking at those replays, and worked hard between the Tests to identify the right ball to go back to. Eventually, perhaps because runs were at a premium, Labuschagne again went back to a fullish ball and was bowled by a straight one that stayed low.With the bit between his teeth, Jadeja was about to get lethal, bowling at high pace, one ball turning the other going straight. Peter Handscomb edged the one that turned, Pat Cummins missed the straighter one on the slog-sweep. Nathan Lyon survived the hat-trick ball, but the panic had well and truly set in.Things had happened so quickly – four wickets had fallen with the score on 95 – that there was hardly any time to regroup. Australia’s attacking approach – which had given them a first-innings lead despite batting fewer overs than India – meant the price to pay was steep once things went wrong.This is also where Jadeja proved dangerous by attacking the stumps. Alex Carey missed a straight ball on the reverse-sweep, Lyon played on going for a big hit, and Matt Kuhnemann played on while reverse-sweeping.If there was a criticism of Australia’s approach, it wasn’t about their aggressive approach or sweep shots, but that they didn’t give themselves a chance to bat later in the day. On the first two days, batting got easier as the day progressed.Rohit Sharma was aggressive in the chase of 115•BCCI

Still, 115 was not going to be an easy target to chase down. Funny things happen during such chases in India. Like a struggling batter flicking one cleanly but getting out caught by the wicketkeeper after the ball bounces off the short-leg fielder’s pads. KL Rahul was the 10th wicket of the first session.India’s response post lunch was a proactive one. The idea was for Cheteshwar Pujara to try to bat through while the others put pressure back on the bowlers. Rohit Sharma did that as well as anybody. In the second over after lunch, he skipped down and lofted Lyon over wide long-on for a six followed by a paddle-sweep for four.Then Rohit went after Kuhnemann too, going past Ian Botham’s 67 Test sixes to move to No. 21 on the all-time list. However, he ran himself out when he called Pujara for a second run and then stopped midway. He didn’t assert himself though he was looking almost flawless in his 31 off 20, but accepted his mistake and kept on running.Pujara could have possibly sacrificed his wicket by running back, but he went on to be the anchor around whom the others could put in the cameos required to take India through. Virat Kohli made a breezy 20 off 31 before he was stumped, Shreyas Iyer took 12 off 10 before holing out to deep midwicket, and India now needed 27 with six wickets in hand.KS Bharat then scored a confidence-building unbeaten 23 off 22. In his 100th Test, Pujara might not have scored a big knock, but he scored the winning boundary in an innings of 31 off 74. Ashwin and batting coach Vikram Rathour would have noticed that he did finally loft a spinner after stepping out. Twice.With the win, India all but ensured they will face Australia in the World Test Championship final. Even if India lose the remaining two Tests, it will need Sri Lanka to beat New Zealand 2-0 in New Zealand to deny India a place in the final.

The start date for the second edition of the UAE-based T20 league was announced less than a week after Gulf Giants were named inaugural champions

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Feb-2023The second season of the International League T20 (ILT20) will begin on January 13, 2024.The UAE-based T20 league announced the starting date for the second edition on Saturday, less than a week after Gulf Giants were crowned inaugural champions in Dubai.”Following the huge success of the DP World ILT20 2023, work has begun on Season 2 which is set to commence from Saturday, 13 January 2024,” an ILT20 statement read. “Season 2 will be played on the same 34-match format with four playoffs including the final. The tournament schedule will be announced in due course.”The early announcement of the date is unusual by itself for a T20 league circuit where launch dates and fixture lists are revealed closer to the time the league starts. It also means that there will likely be the same schedule crunch with the SA20, the Big Bash League and most likely the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) as there was this year.The ILT20 was one of two new men’s franchise leagues added to the calendar this season, along with the SA20. With a crossover of team owners in both leagues – and the IPL – there was plenty of jostling for players and calendar space this year, with the likes of England’s Moeen Ali entering into agreements with both leagues.Eventually, both leagues played out concurrently almost to the day, a scenario likely to be replicated next season: though SA20’s dates have not been announced yet, it will begin after the New Year’s Test so a clash is almost inevitable. There had been talk in the run-up to the ILT20 this year that they may work with other boards to minimise clashes – including the prospect of staging the ILT20 before January.Ultimately, Moeen became a prime illustration of both the schedule crunch and ever-growing opportunities for players, turning out for Sharjah Warriors at the ILT20 around international duty in South Africa, before heading to Bangladesh for a couple of BPL games. The BBL had significant overlap with these leagues, and the Pakistan Super League began immediately after.

While Cummins remains at home, Warner and Ashton Agar are back in India for the ODIs starting Friday

Andrew McGlashan14-Mar-2023Steven Smith will captain Australia in the ODI series against India with Pat Cummins remaining at home following the death of his mother Maria last week.Cummins left the tour after the second Test in Delhi with Smith taking over as Australia clawed the scoreline back to 2-1.”Our thoughts are with Pat and his family as they go through that grieving process,” head coach Andrew McDonald said.Related

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Cummins won’t be replaced in the squad which leaves Australia with 15 players to choose from in the three-match series which begins in Mumbai on Friday. Nathan Ellis was previously called up as a replacement for Jhye Richardson who suffered a recurrence of his hamstring injury.With Smith taking charge of the side it means Australia will have had four captains in their last five ODIs. Aaron Finch retired after the series against New Zealand in September with Cummins named as his successor. However, when he was rested for the second match of the series against England in November, Josh Hazlewood took the role.Hazlewood was not an option on this occasion due to the Achilles injury which forced him home from the Test series. Smith has previously captained Australia in 51 ODIs.Aside from the absent quick bowlers, Australia have selected their full-strength ODI squad for this series with an eye on firming up plans for the World Cup in India during October and November. They have more ODIs against South Africa in August before needing to select their World Cup squad.This is an allrounder-heavy squad, even more so now with them not replacing Cummins, and Australia will continue to explore how they can balance the side with them. On a number of occasions last year they fielded very deep batting orders with either Cameron Green or Glenn Maxwell at No. 8.”We’ve got a couple conversations around the balance of the team we want to play,” McDonald said “We’ve gone in with a structure with eight batters to bat a little bit deeper, we’ve tried that. So there’ll be a mix of combinations as we lead into the World Cup. A lot of allrounders [have been] picked in the squad and they can all play in the one team. So we’ve got to answer a few of those questions.”Maxwell is returning from the badly-broken leg he suffered last November although it’s uncertain whether he will play all three games with a cautious approach likely to be taken.David Warner is fit again after the fractured elbow which forced him home from the Test series after Delhi while Mitchell Marsh is in line to return from the ankle surgery which disrupted his home season following the T20 World Cup.Ashton Agar is also back in India after a rapid fall down the pecking order among the Test spinners. He took 5 for 64 for Western Australia in the recent Marsh Cup final.Australia ODI squad vs India David Warner, Travis Head, Steven Smith (capt), Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Josh Inglis, Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa

Josh Hazlewood is likely to remain unavailable for Royal Challengers Bangalore

Matt Roller19-Apr-20235:07

Moody: Players are now used to Harshal’s change-ups and have a plan set against him

Big picture: Hesson’s return

Punjab Kings, in their old guise as Kings XI Punjab, missed out on the play-offs on net run-rate in 2019 but that was not enough for Mike Hesson, their coach, to keep his job.The squad that Hesson assembled for that season contained a number of players who have thrived in the IPL since then, though many of them for other franchises. Sam Curran made his IPL debut. Nicholas Pooran and David Miller batted in the middle order. R Ashwin captained. KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal thrived up top. A rookie named Arshdeep Singh played his first T20s at a professional level.Perhaps, with hindsight, Hesson was onto a good thing – but in keeping with Kings’ IPL history, he did not last long enough for them to find out. The following season, he started a new role as director of cricket at Royal Challengers Bangalore and in each of the three seasons he has overseen, RCB have qualified for the play-offs. Kings, meanwhile, have missed out in all three.Yet on Thursday afternoon, Hesson returns to Mohali feeling the pressure. After falling just short in their bid for a record run chase against Chennai Super Kings on Monday night, RCB can ill-afford to lose their fourth game of the season; Kings, meanwhile, are flying high after turning over Lucknow Super Giants on their own patch on Saturday night.

IPL 2023 form guide

Punjab Kings WLLWW (last five matches, most recent first)Royal Challengers Bangalore LWLLW

Team news: Will Dhawan and Livingstone return?

It remains to be seen whether Shikhar Dhawan is fit enough to play, after he underwent a fitness test in Kings’ training session on Wednesday afternoon. “I don’t know how bad it is, but hopefully it’s not too long,” Curran, who deputised as captain, said at the toss before their victory in Lucknow.Liam Livingstone arrived in India over a week ago but is yet to feature for Kings after straining a muscle – understood to be his hamstring – while batting in the nets. A cryptic recent Instagram post featuring crossed fingers and praying hands suggests he is hoping to be available soon. It is understood that he has recovered and could be in contention to play on Thursday.Josh Hazlewood has arrived in India but is still completing his rehabilitation and appears unlikely to feature at this stage. Wayne Parnell looks set to continue as their overseas seam option in his absence, though David Willey is a compelling alternative.

Toss and Impact Player strategy

Punjab KingsKings’ balance will depend on whether Dhawan is fit, and therefore whether or not they feel the need to cover his absence with an additional domestic batter. Livingstone, if fit, would represent a like-for-like swap with Sikandar Raza – though there is a chance that both play and Matthew Short drops out. Raza was named Player of the Match in their last game, picking a wicket and scoring a 41-ball 57. If Kings bat first, Prabhsimran Singh will likely start and be substituted by Rahul Chahar, and vice versa if they bowl first.Possible XII: 1 Shikhar Dhawan/Atharva Taide, 2 , 3 Matthew Short, 4 Harpreet Singh, 5 Liam Livingstone/Sikandar Raza, 6 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 7 Sam Curran, 8 Shahrukh Khan, 9 Harpreet Brar, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 , 12 Arshdeep SinghVijaykumar Vyshak impressed on is IPL debut against Delhi Capitals but had a rough outing against Chennai Super Kings•Associated Press

Royal Challengers BangaloreRCB have a decision to make on Vijaykumar Vyshak, who impressed on debut against Delhi Capitals but had a rough outing against Chennai Super Kings. If they choose to leave him out, they may return to Akash Deep. Suyash Prabhudessai’s cameo will earn him a run in the middle order, and he is likely to be involved in their Impact Player switch, either replacing or being replaced by a domestic bowler.Possible XII: 1 Virat Kohli, 2 Faf du Plessis (capt), 3 Mahipal Lomror, 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 , 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Shahbaz Ahmad, 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Harshal Patel, 10 Wayne Parnell, 11 , 12 Mohammed Siraj.

Stats that matter

• Kings have won five of their last six games against RCB, and did the double over them last season.
• Kagiso Rabada has a strong head-to-head record against RCB’s main batters: he has dismissed both Virat Kohli and Dinesh Karthik four times in all T20 cricket, and Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell three times each.
• RCB have been the safest catching side in the league this season, dropping only two out of 28 catching chances.

Pitch and conditions

The average first-innings total at Mohali in IPL games since 2018 is 175, but the average first-innings total is 186. Kings won their first home fixture, defending 191 against Kolkata Knight Riders (via DLS), then slipped to defeat against Gujarat Titans in their second. The weather will be warm, with some chance of rain.

Canterbury’s biggest Sunday crowd silenced as Surrey grab 48 from last four overs

ECB Reporters Network04-Jun-2023Surrey pulled off a last-ball win against Kent Spitfires after a nerve-shredding run chase at Canterbury in which they successfully managed a target that had swollen to 48 from the last four overs.Surrey were nine short entering Michael Hogan’s final over. They tied the scores with one ball remaining when Jamie Smith shuffled across his stumps to sweep a boundary, and Jack Leaning just failed to cling on to a fierce drive from Smith at short point when Hohan delivered a low, wide full toss off the last delivery.Surrey went second to Somerset in South Group while kent, with only one win to their name, need a rapid change of fortune.Surrey seemed to be cruising to the target after Laurie Evans hit 52, but a cluster of wickets kept Kent in contention until Smith, who finished unbaten on 49, and Sean Abbott edged them over the line for a five-wicket win.Earlier, Will Jacks took three for 28 as the Spitfires were limited to 173 for 5. That was a recovery: only 122 for five after 16 overs, Kent at least made things interesting. Leaning was unbeaten on 34 and Sam Billings was Kent’s next highest scorer with 30.Kent were unable to reward a crowd of 4,500, modest perhaps in the great scheme of things, but believed to be a record for a Sunday afternoon at the Spitfire Ground,After winning the toss, they lost Tawanda Muyeye for nine at the end of the first over when he was bowled by Jacks. Joe Denly then blasted 27 from 14 balls, but when Jacks pinged his off stump it drastically slowed the run rate.Daniel Bell-Drummond was out for 25 when he drove Jacks straight to Abbott at deep mid-on and 6.2 overs went by without a boundary until Jordan Cox pulled Chris Jordan for four in the 11th. Billings then reverse swept Sunil Narine for six in the 13th but he was bowled leg stump off the fifth ball of the over.The score would have been significantly lower had Surrey not shelled four chances. Cox was the first to be reprieved when he was dropped by Jamie Overton on 20, although he only added another three when Overton atoned, snaring him on the boundary after he had reverse-swept Narine.Leaning was then dropped by Gus Atkinson on seven and George Linde was on 15 when Jacks parried a catchable slog off Jordan over the rope for six. Ben Foakes couldn’t cover enough ground to snare Leaning after a miscued scoop off the same bowler. Leaning cashed in when he hit Sam Curran for 16 off the 20th, including an overthrow after a rash shy at the stumps by the bowler from the final delivery.The total allowed the home fans some hope and, although Jacks and Evans charged to 62 for nought at the end of the powerplay, there was a mini-wobble when Jacks was out for 30, skying Denly to Hogan. Grant Stewart then duped Sam Curran, who was caught by a diving Joey Evison at mid-off for 10.When Linde struck twice in 13th to remove Foakes and Evans, both caught on the boundary by Kane Richardson and Muyeye respectively, the game was back in the balance and in the next over Tom Curran swiped Stewart to Richardson, leaving Surrey on 106 for five.
At that point Abbott and Smith intervened. With 48 needed from the last four Kent were arguably favourites, but Richardson’s 17th over went for 16, Stewart’s 18th went for 14 before the penultimate, from Richardson, shipped seven. Then came Smith’s final assault.