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“Players on both sides didn’t hesitate at the end and shook hands knowing it was the finish,” the Ireland team manager said

Peter Della Penna18-Jun-2018Team representatives from both Ireland and Scotland camps have said there was no plan in place for a Super Over to be played after their tied match on Sunday in Deventer. The fourth game of the tri-series became the first T20 international that ended in a tie which wasn’t decided by either a Super Over or a bowl-out, even though playing a Super Over is the current provision in the ICC’s playing conditions in T20Is after a match is tied.”We weren’t expecting one,” Ireland team manager Chris Siddell told ESPNcricinfo shortly after the match when he was asked why no Super Over had been played. The match had been livestreamed online by the Netherlands Cricket Board (KNCB), but players on both sides started shaking hands immediately after Stuart Thompson scampered a two to long-on off the final ball to level the scores in Ireland’s chase of 186.”Players on both sides didn’t hesitate at the end and shook hands knowing it was the finish,” Siddell said.Under the ICC playing conditions for T20Is adopted on September 28, 2017, Law 16.3.1 reads: “If the scores are equal, the result shall be a tie and no account shall be taken of the number of wickets that have fallen. In the event of a tied match the teams shall compete in a Super Over to determine the winner.”Siddell said he was well aware of the law. “My understanding is it’s not mandatory and playing conditions of specific tournaments or series dictate if there is or isn’t one,” he said before referencing Appendix F of the ICC playing conditions, which lays out regulations for a Super Over and the reasons for not having one.The reasons given for a Super Over not being played are weather conditions such as rain or failing light between the final ball of the match and the 10-minute interval before the start of the Super Over, or previous delays resulting in the match exceeding its allotted time. However, there were no delays in Sunday’s T20I due to weather or any other reasons. The final ball was bowled at 8.22pm local time and the official sunset time in Deventer was 9.59pm.Scotland captain Kyle Coetzer said that, like Siddell, he was also under the impression that the Super Over had been discarded for the tri-series.”It was just said at the start of the competition that there will be no Super Over,” Coetzer wrote in a text to ESPNcricinfo after the tie. “I think [ICC match referee David] Jukes said it. Not sure where or why the decision was made.”ESPNcricinfo reached out to ICC officials in Dubai for a comment on the matter but repeated emails did not receive a response.In the nine prior ties in men’s T20 internationals, the first three were decided by a bowl-out, with the most famous instance occurring during the group stage of the 2007 World T20 in South Africa when India defeated Pakistan. The subsequent six tied matches were all decided by a Super Over, with the most recent being England beating Pakistan in the third T20I in Sharjah in November 2015.

ESPNcricinfo previews the first ODI between West Indies and England in Antigua

The Preview by Andrew Miller02-Mar-2017

Match facts

March 3, 2017
Start time 0930 local (1330 GMT)

Big Picture

After the rigours of a winter in the subcontinent – and with little to show for their efforts following gruelling losses in all three formats against India – a spring sojourn in the Caribbean, three ODIs in the course of a fortnight on tour, has the distinct flavour of a rest cure. Nothing, however, is quite that straightforward for one-day cricket at the moment, as West Indies’ absence from this year’s grand jamboree amply testifies.Could it be that West Indies’ failure to qualify for this summer’s Champions Trophy is the wake-up call that cricket in the Caribbean has long needed? This time last year, of course, they were beating England in thrilling fashion in the final of the World T20, but that emotional triumph was achieved, quite literally, in spite of the WICB, which remains defiantly at loggerheads with so many of its star players, as epitomised by its failure to select the man of that match, Marlon Samuels, for these three games.But at the same time, the cosy assurances that West Indies cricket would forever be invited to the sport’s biggest gatherings has been shattered, and already their new coach, Australia’s Stuart Law, has admitted that qualification for the 2019 World Cup is the team’s over-riding priority.They are currently ranked at No. 9 in the world, one place outside the automatic slots, and it’s fair to say that West Indies’ record against England in the coming six months will make or break their ambitions. They have these three games, plus five more in the summer, ahead of September’s qualification cut-off, and there’s no time like the present to get their late push up and running.And what of England, the renaissance team of world white-ball cricket? Their stunning coming of age since the 2015 World Cup has been dissected ad nauseam but, two years down the line, Eoin Morgan’s men can no longer get away with surprising people with their potential. In particular, despite their fighting efforts in a historically heavy-scoring ODI series in India, their ambitions faltered because of the shortcomings of their bowling attack. These three matches – plus five more against Ireland and South Africa in May – will be critical to their fine-tuning process.They go into the series with a glut of absentees. David Willey, Mark Wood, Jake Ball and Reece Topley are among the seamers who might have been expected to press their claims in these three games, but injury has struck them all down and instead the stage is set for the likes of Liam Plunkett, Steven Finn and Tom Curran – newly inducted into the squad after a hefty journey from the heart of Sri Lanka.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
West Indies: LLTWL
England: WLLWL

In the spotlight

Sometimes the best place to hide is in plain sight, out in the middle of a cricket field. That is rather how Ben Stokes feels, after admitting his discomfort at talking about his status as England’s most newly-minted cricketer. And yet, even without the small matter of USD 2.16 million in his back pocket, following his stunning acquisition by Rising Pune Supergiant in the IPL, Stokes was destined to be the talk of Antigua, given what happened to the last four balls he sent down against West Indies, in the World T20 final in Kolkata. And, even if that experience had all been a bad dream, we’d still have Stokes’ last visit to the Caribbean to look back on, and that broken hand courtesy of a punched locker in Barbados. In an otherwise low-key series, his presence alone adds an element of vital intrigue.It takes two to tango, however, and in the maroon corner, Carlos Brathwaite is revving up to resume his heavy bombardment against an England bowling line-up that – for all their strides as a team – has been under the cosh in recent contests. At least, that’s how the narrative is meant to pan out. Unfortunately for Brathwaite, life hasn’t been quite that simple since Kolkata. Expectations, both personally and from West Indies’ fans, have been through the roof in the past 12 months, much like those four sixes had been. “Unfortunately, it went downhill quickly,” he told the Daily Mail. “Because of what happened that night, people expected things and I guess, for a brief period, I expected them as well. It became a negative.” He has the chance, over the course of these four matches, to reset his ambitions, and those of his team.

Team news

Kieran Powell, back in West Indies’ one-day squad for the first time in three years, could pick up where he left off by facing England in an ODI at Antigua, just as he did on his last appearance in March 2014. If selected, he is likely to open the batting with Evin Lewis, who cemented his claim to a top-order berth with 148 in a thrilling run-chase against Sri Lanka in November.West Indies (probable) 1 Evin Lewis, 2 Kieran Powell, 3 Kraigg Brathwaite, 4 Shai Hope (wk), 5 Jonathan Carter, 6 Carlos Brathwaite, 7 Rovman Powell, 8 Jason Holder (capt), 9 Devendra Bishoo, 10 Ashley Nurse, 11 Shannon GabrielThough Ball remains with the England squad, he didn’t look comfortable during training and is unlikely to be risked following his knee injury. Alex Hales is likely to sit out as well as he fine-tunes his recovery from a broken hand, while Tom Curran is still in transit and won’t be in the frame until the second match at the earliest. Therefore, Sam Billings is expected to open with Jason Roy, with Jonny Bairstow squeezed out of a strong middle order. Plunkett and Finn could both feature, along with both the front-line spinners, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid.England (probable) 1 Jason Roy, 2 Sam Billings, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Jos Buttler (wk), 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 Liam Plunkett, 11 Steven Finn.

Pitch and conditions

In a development that would make Antigua’s local heroes Curtly Ambrose and Andy Roberts weep, Caribbean wickets tend to be pretty slow and low these days. Nevertheless, England’s captain, Eoin Morgan, admitted he had been surprised by the amount of grass still in evidence on this surface. With a 9.30am start in the offing, there may be some early assistance for his seamers if he manages to call correctly and bowl first.

Stats and trivia

• Stokes’ locker punch in 2014 was not the wisest shot he has ever played, but dare one say it, his frustrations were justified. In his last three ODIs in the Caribbean (all in Antigua, in fact) he made a grand total of nine runs in three innings, and took no wickets in six overs.
• Brathwaite’s struggles to live up to his Kolkata heroics have been telling. A grand total of 248 runs at 16.53 in 18 subsequent innings, with his solitary half-century coming in his one-off Test appearance against India in Antigua. Having struck four sixes in as many balls in Kolkata, he’s managed 11 more in 301.
• It is technically an away fixture for England although, in keeping with recent Test tours of the Caribbean, the visiting support is likely to be vast. Of a ground capacity of 13,000, some 7,000-8,000 tickets have been sold to England supporters.

Quotes

“I know the media will bill the series as Carlos Brathwaite v Ben Stokes, but it’s West Indies v England.”
“We do have one eye on the Champions Trophy, getting a reasonable squad together before then and one idea of nailing down our team.”

Virat Kohli has been rested for the three T20 internationals against Sri Lanka in February ahead of the Asia Cup later in the month

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Feb-20161:31

Quick Facts – Negi’s 173 runs at 173

Batsman Virat Kohli has been rested for the three T20 internationals against Sri Lanka in February ahead of the Asia Cup later in the month. Delhi left-arm spinner Pawan Negi, who used to play for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, received his first call up to the India side.Swing bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who missed the recent three-match T20I series against Australia due to a fractured thumb, has also been named in the squad along with middle-order batsman Manish Pandey.

India T20 squad for SL series

MS Dhoni (capt), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Ashish Nehra, Harbhajan Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Pawan Negi.
In: Pawan Negi, Manish Pandey, Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Out: Virat Kohli, Rishi Dhawan, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Umesh Yadav

Kohli was the highest run-getter in the T20I series in Australia that India swept 3-0 on Sunday, tallying 199 runs in three matches with a half-century in each game. In the preceding ODI series, Kohli had struck two centuries and two fifties, scoring 381 runs in five matches at an average of 76.20.From the T20 squad that played in Australia, Rishi Dhawan, Gurkeerat Singh Mann and Umesh Yadav missed out on selection for the Sri Lanka series, which starts on February 9 in Pune. Rishi and Gurkeerat had been called to Australia as cover for Bhuvneshwar and Ajinkya Rahane, who had both picked up injuries during the ODIs.Negi, who is a useful hitter lower down the order, struck 173 runs for Delhi in nine matches of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy in January, and claimed six wickets at an average of 33.66. Negi also played for the Delhi Daredevils franchise between 2012 and 2013, before he was signed by Chennai Super Kings in the 2014 IPL auction. In 14 matches for Super Kings, across the IPL and the Champions League T20, Negi took 13 wickets at an average of 29. His overall T20 record stands at 46 wickets from 56 T20 games with an economy rate of 7.42 and 479 runs with the bat.The three-match T20I series will be played in Pune, Ranchi and Visakhapatnam on February 9, 12 and 14 respectively. Delhi was earlier scheduled to host the second T20, but the match was moved out after the Delhi & District Cricket Association informed the BCCI that it would not be able to host the game.

Mickey Arthur has been sacked as Australia’s head coach less than three weeks before the start of the Ashes

Brydon Coverdale24-Jun-2013Mickey Arthur has been sacked as Australia’s head coach less than three weeks before the start of the Investec Ashes and is expected to be replaced by Darren Lehmann. Cricket Australia is yet to officially announce the decision but the chief executive James Sutherland and general manager of team performance Pat Howard are due to hold a press conference in Bristol on Monday morning (UK time) to confirm the move.It has also been reported that the captain Michael Clarke will relinquish his role as a selector as part of the change in structure that will be announced by Sutherland and Howard. Whether Lehmann would remain a selector is unclear.Lehmann, who is in England having just finished a tour as the mentor of Australia A, has won rave reviews for the somewhat old-school approach he has taken with Queensland since he was appointed in 2011 and is widely regarded as one of the best coaches in Australian cricket.But whatever the case, the axing of Arthur so close to the first Ashes Test, which begins on July 10, has left the Australian camp in a state of disarray. The squad was due to meet in Taunton on Monday ahead of their first tour game against Somerset, with some of the players having been part of the Australia A squad, some having been playing in the Champions Trophy and others having been warming up in county cricket.The team will need to quickly become accustomed to the absence of Arthur, who was named head coach in November 2011. He replaced Tim Nielsen and the move came in the wake of the Argus Report into Australia’s team performance, which was commissioned after Australia’s thrashing at the hands of England in the home Ashes in 2010-11.During Arthur’s time in charge, Australia won 10 of their 19 Tests but the past few months had been especially challenging both on field and off it. The calamitous 4-0 defeat in India was overshadowed by the so-called homework sackings halfway through the trip, in which Arthur, captain Michael Clarke and team manager Gavin Dovey stood four players down for a Test for failing to complete an off-field task.The Champions Trophy campaign, in which Australia failed to win a match, was also dominated by events away from the game, when David Warner punched England batsman Joe Root in a pub. Warner was suspended until the first Ashes Test but the incident raised questions about why a group of Australia players were out until the early hours of the morning following a loss.

Surrey opened their Friends Life t20 campaign with a 17-run victory over Essex at The Oval

13-Jun-2012
ScorecardSurrey opened their Friends Life t20 campaign with a 17-run victory over Essex at The Oval. The hosts managed just 128 for 8 but defended that total, despite the visitors starting their chase with a 44-run opening partnership between Mark Pettini and Ravi Bopara in just six overs.When Pettini edged Jade Dernbach behind the wicket, the complexion of the game altered and by the time the score had been doubled, Essex were in deep trouble. The visitors lost seven wickets in 10 overs, three of them to the spin of Gareth Batty, who finished with 3 for 20.Batty trapped Owais Shah leg before wicket and two overs later gained the prized scalp of Bopara, who top-edged a reverse sweep and was caught by Matt Spriegel at backward point for 28. James Franklin completed Batty’s haul when he skied off a leading edge to mid-off as the visitors’ reply fell away alarmingly.As the panic button was pressed, a horrendous mix-up between Graham Napier and Franklin found both batsmen at the same end, with Napier departing for one as the innings disintegrated.Surrey’s significant partnership came from their sixth wicket pairing of Gary Wilson and Zafar Ansari, who added 40 after coming together with the score on 68 for five shortly after the halfway stage of the innings.Wilson top-scored with a run-a-ball 33 which included three of the 15 boundaries recorded by the home side, whilst Jason Roy contributed 22 from 19 balls. The pick of the Essex attack was Napier, who found line and length from the start to pose problems for the home batsmen throughout his four overs.Napier struck twice with successive deliveries in his opening over, taking a return catch off Rory Hamilton-Brown who skied the ball off a leading edge before Zander du Bruyn fell first ball when he lost his middle stump to a text book yorker.Napier ended with the impressive figures of three for 16 from his four overs, while last year’s leading bowler in the competition – left-arm spinner Tim Phillips – claimed 2 for 19. Phillips was to later finish unbeaten on 16, one of only three Essex batsmen to reach double figures in this South Group game.

Gary Kirsten has been appointed coach of the South Africa team

Firdose Moonda06-Jun-2011Gary Kirsten has been appointed coach of the South Africa team for a term of two years. He will be joined by Allan Donald as bowling coach, and Russell Domingo, who coached the Warriors, as an assistant.”I’m delighted by the appointment and consider it a major honour,” Kirsten said at a press conference in Johannesburg. “It’s nice to be back … it’s nice to be among my people and to be working within that space.”Kirsten will begin his term as coach on August 1 and his first assignment will be a home series against Australia. He took over from Corrie van Zyl, who was an interim coach for 14 months after Mickey Arthur resigned following the home series against England in 2009-10.This is Kirsten’s second stint as coach of an international team. He finished a two-year term with India in April, after helping them win the 2011 World Cup and become the No. 1 Test team. At the end of his tenure, Kirsten indicated he would take time off to be with his young family.”There was a lot to consider from my side, from a personal perspective and from my time with Indian cricket,” he said. “A cooling off period was necessary.” Kirsten will have four months off from the end of his time with India to his starting date with South Africa.Kirsten described his new role as that of “team director/head coach” who would be at the helm of the “coaching team” which may also employ the services of a fielding coach on a contractual basis. CSA chief executive Gerald Majola said that after the board decided to appoint Kirsten, he was allowed to compile his own team of coaches, which included Donald and Domingo.Donald, who recently lost the Australia bowling job to Craig McDermott, turned down an offer from New Zealand Cricket in order to take up the role with South Africa. He was approached on Friday, when “some of my bags were packed” for New Zealand but did an about turn immediately “When I got the call from Gary it took me all but half a second to say yes,” Donald said. “It was almost like the very first call from Doctor Bacher in 1991, saying you are going to India and representing your country.” Donald will travel with the South Africa A team to Zimbabwe at the end of June for a tri-series which also involves Australia A.Donald’s appointment means Vincent Barnes’ contract will be terminated at the end of June. Barnes has been involved as South Africa’s bowling and assistant coach since 2003 and was hopeful of continuing his involvement. “He was offered the job of coaching Bangladesh and has turned it down,” Majola said. “We have offered him a role at the High Perfomance Centre and are waiting for him to respond.”The assistant role will be filled by Domingo, who was coach of the A side when they played Bangladesh A in April this year. He has been coach of the Warriors franchise for the last four seasons and won both the MTN40 and Standard Bank Pro20 titles in the 2009-10 season. “It is a positive for me having worked with a lot of players at South Africa A level,” Doningo said. “I suppose I can give Allan and Gary a little bit of insight into the players.”Kirsten did not discuss whether he would travel extensively, as it was initially thought he would not accompany the team on lesser tours. He indicated, however, that Domingo was being groomed for bigger things when he said, “There might well come a time when I feel that we can be quite flexible within our coaching staff.”

Vikram Solanki has received three penalty points under the ECB’s discipline code, following an incident during Worcestershire’s drawn County Championship fixture against Sussex at Hove on May 25-27

Cricinfo staff03-Jun-2010Vikram Solanki has received three penalty points under the ECB’s discipline code, following an incident during Worcestershire’s drawn County Championship fixture against Sussex at Hove on May 25-27.Solanki was reported by Umpires David Millns and Nigel Llong for a Level Two breach of the code (throwing the ball at or near a player, umpire or official in an inappropriate and dangerous manner).The points he has received will remain on his record for a period of two years. The accumulation of nine or more penalty points in any two-year period will result in an automatic suspension.

This will be the first time the two teams face off in the longest format

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jul-2024 • Updated on 27-Jul-2024Afghanistan are set to face New Zealand in a one-off Test in September. The match will be played in Greater Noida in India. This will be the first time the two teams face each other in the longest format.This will be Afghanistan’s 10th Test, and their third in 2024 – the most they would have played in a calendar year.It will also be their first Test at the Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground, which has previously served as Afghanistan’s adopted home ground.The Test is likely to be from September 9 to 13. That’s roughly one month before New Zealand’s three-Test tour of India, with the first of those games set to begin on October 16. New Zealand will tour Sri Lanka for a Test series in between – the dates are yet to be announced.”We are delighted to host a quality New Zealand Test team for the first time in our cricketing history. This is a testament to the hard work we have put in through numerous discussions and meetings with different boards on the sidelines of the various ICC Board Meetings,” ACB Chairman Mirwais Ashraf said. “The Blackcaps are an outstanding all-format team in world cricket, and we hope to reach an agreement with New Zealand Cricket for white-ball bilateral matches in the future.”Following the New Zealand Test, England, Australia, Pakistan and South Africa will be the only countries to not have played against Afghanistan in a Test match yet. Australia had pulled out from hosting them in a Test in 2021 citing humanitarian reasons.Australia had also pulled out of three-match T20I series scheduled for August this year, meaning Afghanistan had a hole in their schedule which will be partly filled by this New Zealand TestIn their two Tests so far in 2024, Afghanistan have lost to Sri Lanka and Ireland. They had also lost their one-off Test in Bangladesh last year, and their last win in the format came in March 2021, when they beat Zimbabwe in the UAE. In all, Afghanistan have a commendable 3-6 win-loss record in their first nine Tests.

Capitals’ playoffs hopes hang by a thread, while Kings need big wins to improve their net run rate

Ashish Pant12-May-20235:14

Moody: Punjab need to rethink their top five

Big Picture – Kings and Capitals in must-win territory

With five wins and six losses in 11 outings, Punjab Kings have seen more downs than ups so far in IPL 2023 and are currently eighth on the points table. But such is the mid-table logjam that a win in their next outing could potentially catapult them to fifth. Their net run rate, however, is -0.441, the third-worst in the league, so they need big wins in their remaining games to have a genuine chance of making the playoffs.First up, they will have to get past Delhi Capitals, who are languishing at the bottom of the points table and have their playoffs chances hanging by a thread. Capitals are on eight points from 11 games, and to make it to the top four, they not only have to win all their remaining games but will also require other results to go their way. A loss will bring the curtains down on their IPL 2023 campaign.The two teams are yet to face off this season, and there is not much to separate between them as far as the head-to-head record goes. They have met 30 times in the IPL and have won 15 games each. Capitals have, however, won the last four encounters between these sides.Kings have been better travellers this year, having won four of their six away or neutral games, and will hope for this trend to continue. They might want to sort out their top order, though. While Shikhar Dhawan, who returns to his home ground, where he has a stellar IPL record, has shown consistency, his opening partner Prabhsimran Singh has blown hot and cold. They also do not have a settled batter at No.3. Kings brought back Bhanuka Rajapaksa for their last game, but he failed to make much of an impact. Their middle order has shouldered most of the run-scoring responsibility this season, but in Delhi, where the pitches have been among the slowest-scoring in the tournament, Kings will want their top three to fire.Capitals return home after a loss in Chennai. They bounced back well after five successive losses to start their tournament but have failed to put up a collective display or, for that matter, a settled team. The two spinners, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav, have been their only shining lights this season, and Capitals will hope they can tie up Kings’ power-packed middle order.Teams batting second have won four of the five games this year in Delhi, so the toss could be a factor.Rilee Rossouw and Phil Salt are likely to be part of Delhi’s overseas-player-heavy top order•Associated Press

Team news – Kagiso Rabada for Sam Curran?

Capitals have lately picked four overseas top-order batters – of whom Mitchell Marsh offers a bowling option – and fielded an all-Indian bowling attack. Batting was Capitals’ weaker front through the first half of the season, and with David Warner, Phil Salt, Marsh and Rilee Rossouw doing well, they’ll likely stick with that overseas combination, especially with Anrich Nortje having travelled back to South Africa for personal reasons.Kings do not have any injury concerns, but Sam Curran’s form with the ball might be an issue. He has gone in excess of 11 runs an over in the last five games and has only picked up seven wickets in 11 outings, with an overall economy rate of 10.28. Kings could consider bringing in Kagiso Rabada for Curran to beef up the bowling attack, though that would compromise their batting depth. They might also get Matthew Short in for Rajapaksa at No. 3.

Form Guide

Delhi Capitals: LWWLW
Punjab Kings: LLWLW

Impact Player Strategy

Delhi Capitals
Manish Pandey and Khaleel Ahmed are likely to remain Capitals’ batting and bowling Impact Subs, respectively.Probable XII: 1 David Warner (capt), 2 Phil Salt (wk), 3 Mitchell Marsh, 4 , 5 Rilee Rossouw, 6 Axar Patel, 7 Aman Hakim Khan, 8 Lalit Yadav, 9 Ripal Patel, 10 Kuldeep Yadav, 11 Ishant Sharma, 12 Sam Curran is key to Punjab Kings’ depth and balance, but his bowling form has been a worry•Associated Press

Punjab Kings
Kings went with three overseas players in their starting XI in their last game, with Nathan Ellis coming in for Rajapaksa in the second innings. They could retain a similar pattern in the next game. If not, it is likely Prabhsimran Singh swaps with a bowler, as has been the case for most of their games this season.Probable XII: 1 Prabhsimran Singh, 2 Shikhar Dhawan (capt), 3 , 4 Liam Livingstone, 5 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 6 M Shahrukh Khan, 7 Harpreet Brar, 8 Rishi Dhawan, 9 Sam Curran/Kagiso Rabada, 10 Rahul Chahar, 11 Arshdeep Singh, 12

Numbers that matter

• Warner has fallen to Rabada five times in 14 T20 innings but has a strike rate of 149 against him.
• The Capitals captain enjoys batting against Rahul Chahar. He has hit him for 61 runs in 34 balls and has a strike rate of 179.41.
• Dhawan has fallen to Kuldeep twice in six innings and strikes at only 91.89 against him.
• Rossouw has fallen to Arshdeep Singh three times in three T20 innings and is yet to score against him.
• Kings’ batters have the second-best run rate in overs 16 to 20 in IPL 2023 – 11.65 – behind Gujarat Titans.
• On the flip side, Kings bowlers have the second-worst economy rate from overs 16 to 20 – 11.20. They are only behind Mumbai Indians.

Pitch and conditions

Delhi is one of only three venues this season, along with Lucknow and Guwahati, that are yet to produce a 200-plus total. While conditions in Delhi have not been as bowler-friendly as those in Lucknow, where teams have scored at an average run rate of 7.10, they haven’t been the most batter-friendly either. Only Lucknow, Hyderabad and Chennai have produced a lower run rate than Delhi’s 8.65 so far.

The Big Question

Test quick’s stunning wicket-taking form continued, taking four out of five for Victoria as Jake Weatherald smashed a century and Daniel Drew finished 96 not out

Alex Malcolm09-Feb-2022Scott Boland picked up where he left off in the Ashes claiming four of five wickets to keep Victoria in the hunt after a century from Jake Weatherald and 96 not out from Daniel Drew put South Australia in a strong position on the opening day at Adelaide Oval.Boland was a one-man band for the visitors after the Redbacks won the toss and batted on a good batting strip. He knocked over Jake Carder and Travis Head in the same over before returning later to remove Weatherald for 122 and Test keeper Alex Carey.Boland claimed all four left-handers from around the wicket. He pinned Carder and Head on the crease and both were plumb lbw in almost identical fashion, within three balls of each other, to leave the Redbacks wobbling at 3 for 77. Head, who was player of the series in the Ashes, fell without scoring.But Weatherald and Drew took control of the match with an excellent 153-run stand. Weatherald put a difficult summer with the bat behind him striking 10 fours and two sixes on his way to his eighth first-class century. He played with typical aggression square of the wicket, punishing anything loose. Drew, playing in just his second first-class match and his first since 2019, struck 13 boundaries in his 243-ball stay. His 13th boundary came in the final over the day to move within four runs of a maiden first-class century but he faced three dots from Jon Holland to finish unbeaten on 96 at stumps.Drew might have got there without Boland’s disruptive spell with the second new ball. He picked up Weatherald from around the wicket with the opener closing the face to a ball that straightened off the seam and the leading edge ballooned to cover. Carey attempted a booming drive eight overs later and was bowled off the inside edge by a ball that just nibbled back off the seam.The only other Victorian bowler to break through was Mitchell Perry who removed Henry Hunt early in the day. Sam Harper took an outstanding juggling catch diving to his right for the first wicket of the morning.