ESPNcricinfo presents the plays of the day from the third ODI at the Ageas Bowl

Alan Gardner at the Ageas Bowl14-Jun-2015The blow for blow
Ben Stokes was moving ominously through the gears when Mitchell McClenaghan came on to bowl during the batting Powerplay. Stokes crunched his first ball straight down the ground but McClenaghan hit back – literally – with a full toss that struck the batsman on the thigh and left him doubled over. Stokes was back on his feet with a grimace and, after a couple of unsuccessful swipes, succeeded in launching McClenaghan well beyond the boundary and almost into a burger stand. A whopper with extra relish.The lick of paint
Ben Wheeler, on his international debut, started with a wide down the leg side but he was soon making a good impression, following up with six dot balls to Alex Hales. With Jason Roy on strike for his second over, Wheeler produced a more than passable impression of the man he replaced in the side, Trent Boult, swinging a full delivery back into the right-hander and past the bat, only to see it miss off stump by a fraction of an inch. In fact, a bit of seam movement away probably prevented a maiden wicket.The contest
When Mitchell Santner came on to bowl, his career economy rate after two ODIs stood at 9.13. His third ball here was clubbed over long-on by Eoin Morgan, who had hit Santner for four sixes at The Oval and was reluctant to let the bowler improve on those figures, but he came back well thereafter and could have had England’s captain out twice. In his second over, Luke Ronchi couldn’t collect a leg-side wide with Morgan well out of his ground; then in his third, a low drive didn’t stick in Santner’s hand as he got down low to his left. Morgan was kept to 12 off 13 deliveries in their personal contest and Santner had a measure of revenge.The anticipation
Spunky batting and funky fielding are increasingly common features of limited-overs cricket but we almost saw an audacious bit of wicketkeeping from Jos Buttler. Facing Adil Rashid’s legspin, Ross Taylor reached out to paddle the ball to leg, only for Buttler to have anticipated the shot and moved across to intercept it. The ball sprung up off the top edge and Buttler stuck out a pre-emptive left paw, managing to divert the ball up but not within his reach to catch at the second attempt.The drops
It would have been tough to call that a genuine chance off Taylor but he was put down twice in short succession to all but end England’s chances of suppressing New Zealand in the chase. Both came off Mark Wood’s bowling, the first via a thick edge that Buttler could not take one-handed diving to his right; the second was a pull struck powerfully to midwicket, where the ball burst through Stokes’ hands. There was a sense of inevitably about the result from there on.The juggle
Wood probably felt a little miffed that his efforts had not been better rewarded but that was no excuse for the reprieve he handed Kane Williamson on 109. With David Willey bowling and the keeper up to the stumps, Williamson could not get to the pitch of a drive and ended up chipping it straight to mid-off. The ball was at waist height but Wood missed it at the first attempt, kneed it into the air as he tried to rectify his mistake and then finally dropped it as he crumpled to the floor.

Matthew Hoggard, who is taking to the water for charity, talks about the 2005 Ashes, current fast-bowling stocks and whether an old rival should take charge of England

Tim Wigmore06-May-20152:11

‘I can’t swim but at least it doesn’t hurt!’

Ten years on from the 2005 Ashes, Matthew Hoggard is not feeling nostalgic. “No, I’m feeling quite tired,” he says, drawing breath as he gets out of an outdoor pool in Hackney as his preparations for his summer exertions intensify.Starting with the Great North Swim at Lake Windermere next month, Hoggard will complete four of Britain’s five great swims this summer to raise money for Cricket Without Boundaries, a charity that promotes cricket in Africa while promoting HIV/Aids awareness and female empowerment. “It takes money and it’s fantastic to be able to get into some open water and raise money for charity,” he says.”Until a month ago, the last time I swum a length of freestyle or front crawl was about 15 years ago so it’s been a very quick, steep learning curve, but I’m enjoying it – hopefully I can do these 3kms without drowning. Swimming in a wet suit is fantastic – it’s the first time I’ve been able to float in a swimming pool, being rather heavy!”The swims form the backdrop to Hoggard’s summer and, in warmer climes than this choppy morning, he will not lack for chances to reflect on that magnificent series a decade ago: the PCA are taking him to every Ashes Test. A number of dinners are also planned for members of the team, including England’s ‘Fab Four’ bowling attack: Andrew Flintoff and his relentless back-of-a-length hostility, Steve Harmison’s brawn and pace, Simon Jones’ reverse swing and Hoggard’s less demonstrative qualities. His job was to “brush up the debris of the shop floor” as he once put it.Together they formed a formidable quartet, albeit one seen too fleetingly. “We all had different attributes and couldn’t care less who got the wickets. We were a proper team and we just wanted to get off the pitch as quick as possible – whoever got the wickets it was fantastic, and the other three tried to support him. To be able to go into the series and stay a settled side until the last game was brilliant. Every one of us had a brief moment in the sun.”Tim Wigmore joins Matthew Hoggard in the water at London Fields Lido•ESPNcricinfo LtdIf Hoggard always embraced his role as a shaggy-haired shop steward, he was rather better than that, offering not only prodigious new-ball swing and nagging accuracy but also the ability to cut the ball on flat surfaces, as in Nagpur and Adelaide in 2006. He had longevity too – of the quartet, Hoggard ended up as the leading Test wicket-taker. “It’s a good bragging right – but when we do meet up we don’t really talk about cricket,” he says.The combination of the sheer drama of the 2005 Ashes and cricket’s absence from free-to-air TV since means that the series has come to be remembered as the last time when English cricket captivated the nation. But Hoggard is of the view that the benefits of free-to-air coverage risk being overstated.”I don’t think it’s the be all and end all. It’s nice if you can get cricket on free-to-air, but again you need money to grow the game, to put back into grassroots level, to be able to get the next group of youngsters coming through. So you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place,” he says. “Chance to Shine has been fantastic getting cricket into state schools, so everybody gets a chance to try the game.”Hoggard also thinks that a T20 franchise competition has the potential to galvanise the sport. “England cricket needs a boost – it’s finding that window to do that and finding the right formula that works for everybody.”England may currently seem overly reliant on one quick – James Anderson – but Hoggard avoids criticising the state of English fast bowling, citing Mark Wood and Mark Footitt as men who could provide the attack with extra pace. “We’ve got some good bowlers in the wings they’re just not quite ready for international cricket yet, but are plying their trade in county cricket,” he says. “So I think it’s not all doom and gloom and the next James Anderson is just around the corner.”But Hoggard is rather less positive about England’s current coach Peter Moores. It was Moores who ended Hoggard’s international career when he dropped him for Anderson in New Zealand in 2008 – “he’s been proved right” – but, like many members of the side in Moores’ first stint, Hoggard preferred life under Duncan Fletcher.”Duncan was very much a thinker and very much a strategiser, and would come out with different techniques, with different thoughts and different plans,” Hoggard says. Moores, meanwhile, had “lots of energy, lots of get up and go… completely different styles”.”What made him successful as a coach in county cricket is getting people up and getting people motivated and getting people to be up for the day-in day-out grind of county cricket. Test matches are a little bit different – you shouldn’t have to be motivated to get up for a Test match. You need that fine-tuning, you need to be in the right state of mind, you need to be thinking ‘I’ve got the backing of everybody, I just need to go out and show the world what I’m capable of.'”Hoggard has not been won over by Moores’ second stint either. “He’s just said we had a good tour [of the West Indies] and the young players are progressing – and you think, well, they didn’t blood the young players. Some of the things he says are a little bit baffling, and you cringe at times. Whether he’ll still be there come the Ashes is the new director of cricket’s prerogative.” On Andrew Strauss’ supposedly imminent appointment, Hoggard is unconvinced. “It’ll be tricky knowing everybody intimately.”In fact, it is an Ashes opponent from 2005 who Hoggard suggests England most need. He credits Jason Gillespie, who ended up with 11 more Test wickets than Hoggard’s 248, with Yorkshire’s recent success. “He’s gone out and given the players the power to entertain. He keeps it so simple,” Hoggard says.”He’s done a fantastic job with Yorkshire, and there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be able to do a similar job with England. Sometimes they say change is as good as a holiday.”

Plays of the day from the second ODI between South Africa and New Zealand in Potchefstroom

Firdose Moonda23-Aug-2015The tough chances
Adam Milne barely had time to catch his breath after celebrating Hashim Amla’s dismissal, when Rilee Rossouw gave him a chance for a second strike. Milne was looking for the yorker, but bowled a low full toss which Rossouw drove firmly to back down the pitch. The ball went low and so did Milne and although he got his hands to it, he had lost his balance and couldn’t complete the catch. Milne had the opportunity in the game, when Farhaan Behardien punched the ball to him at shoulder-height but the power behind the shot made it difficult to catch. Milne did not have to feel bad, though. Both Aaron Phangiso and Imran Tahir were offered chances in their follow through and neither could hold on.The easy chance
David Wiese was one of several South African players who put down catches in the first game and his luck did not improve in the second. Martin Guptill had been let off twice and it was third time lucky when he tried to hit Tahir over long off. But there was not get enough distance on the shot. Wiese moved to his left easily enough and was settled under the ball, which then burst through and hit him on his chest. Wiese tried to grasp it on the rebound but tumbled over instead.The miscommunication
As the search for runs became desperate towards the end of the South African innings, Phangiso decided to try and take them any way he could. He set off for a single after a gentle prod to point in the 47th over, but was ball watching instead of checking in with his partner. Vernon Philander, at the other end, had not moved when Phangiso was halfway down the pitch. A run-out was always on the cards and in the end, Guptill even had enough time to lob the ball to Luke Ronchi, rather than breaking the stumps himself. South Africa were hit by two more run-outs in the next three overs to end their innings three balls short of the full quota”Oh no.”
With the game gone, AB de Villiers decided to spice things up and brought himself on to bowl in the 42nd over. He had some success bowling in the World Cup, when he took wickets against Ireland, Pakistan and UAE but there was no repeat performance this time. Instead, he disappointed even himself and let out a loud “Oh no,” when he bowled a half-tracker that Guptill sent to the boundary.

Also: players with the lengthiest runs without facing defeat, and a host of Ashes trivia

Steven Lynch21-Jul-2015How many players have made their overall Test debut in an Ashes match at Lord’s? I can only think of Kevin Pietersen. asked Shivani Vaghela

Well, you’ve thought of the most recent one before Australia’s Peter Nevill: Kevin Pietersen made his Test debut against Australia at Lord’s in 2005, top scoring in both innings with 57 and 64. The most recent one before that was Bill Athey for England in 1980, in what was not strictly speaking an Ashes match (it was the one-off Centenary Test). Three Australians – Len Pascoe, Richie Robinson and Craig Serjeant – made their Test debuts at Lord’s in 1977, in what was, rather unusually, the first Test of the Ashes series. Two years previously, David Steele and Bob Woolmer made their debuts at Lord’s, while in 1972 Bob Massie famously played his first match for Australia there (taking 16 wickets) as did Ross Edwards. The only other post-war instances are by Norman Gifford (England 1964), Graham McKenzie (Australia 1961), Pat Crawford and Ken Mackay (Australia 1956) and Alec Coxon (Australia 1948). In all, 47 players (including Nevill) have made their Test debut in a match between England and Australia at Lord’s, dating back to Kent’s Stanley Christopherson in 1884. The only wicketkeepers to do it before Nevill were Dick Lilley (England) and Jim Kelly in 1896, and Gregor MacGregor (England) in 1890.Who has the most runs, most wickets, and most catches in Ashes Tests at Lord’s? asked Tina Chavda from India

The leading scorer in England-Australia matches at Lord’s is – surprise, surprise – Don Bradman, who made 551 runs in four appearances there, at an average of 78.71. He rated his 254 in his first match there, in 1930, as the best he ever played. Next comes another Australian, Allan Border, with 503 runs in four matches, ahead of David Gower (467 in four). The leading current player is Michael Clarke, with 318 runs in his three appearances prior to 2015. Bradman, Bill Brown, John Edrich, Jack Hobbs and Arthur Shrewsbury are the only batsmen to score two Ashes centuries at Lord’s. The leading wicket-taker is Glenn McGrath, with 26 in three matches, ahead of Hedley Verity, who took 21 in two – 15 of them in 1934 alone. Fred Trueman, Charlie Turner and Shane Warne all took 19 wickets. Rod Marsh leads the way for the wicketkeepers with 14 dismissals in five matches, ahead of the England pair of Godfrey Evans and Dick Lilley with 13, and Australia’s Gil Langley with 12 from just two matches. The leading outfield catcher is Allan Border, with nine, ahead of WG Grace (eight) and Herbert Sutcliffe (seven). Graham Gooch played six times for England against Australia at Lord’s, including the non-Ashes Centenary Test of 1980. Only the Australian Syd Gregory, with eight appearances at Lord’s between 1890 and 1912, heads him on this list. Gregory also played a Test against South Africa at Lord’s in 1912.Joe Root took just 43 innings to reach 2000 Test runs. Was this a record for England? asked Shane Cunningham from England

Joe Root reached 2000 Test runs during his undefeated 182 against West Indies in Grenada in April. That was indeed his 43rd innings, rather surprisingly only the ninth-fastest for England after Herbert Sutcliffe (33 innings), Denis Compton (37), Wally Hammond (39), Jonathan Trott (40), Ken Barrington, Jack Hobbs and Kevin Pietersen (all 41), and Len Hutton (42). The fastest from any country – and in all there are 28 who got there quicker than Root – is Don Bradman with just 22 innings, ten quicker than the next-best, George Headley of West Indies. At 24 years, 115 days Root was the second-youngest Englishman to reach 2000, after Alastair Cook (23 years, 79 days in 2008) but six days faster than David Gower.Malcolm Marshall: unbeaten in his first 35 Tests for West Indies•Adrian Murrell/Getty ImagesPakistan’s Imran Khan faced his first ball as a batsman in his fifth Test match. Is this a record? asked Hemant Kher from the USA

That batting record by Pakistan’s new fast bowler Imran Khan is indeed unique. He did get to the crease on his debut, against Australia in Dubai last October, but didn’t face a ball – and then wasn’t required to go in again until his fifth Test, against Sri Lanka in Pallekele earlier this month, when he bowled for 0 by the eighth ball he faced. No one else has gone through their first four Tests without facing a ball. The record for the fewest runs after five Tests, before Imran set this unbeatable mark of none, was held by another recent Pakistan seamer: Aizaz Cheema made 1 not out in his fourth Test, against Bangladesh in Mirpur in December 2011. That was the only run Cheema managed in five innings spread over seven Tests – but he wasn’t out.I was looking at the career of the great Keith Miller, and noticed that of his first 25 Tests, Australia won 20 and didn’t lose any. Is that the longest anyone went without losing from the start of their career? asked Barry Aldridge from England

That record by the charismatic Australian allrounder Keith Miller, who made his Test debut in 1945-46 but didn’t lose one until 1950-51 (when England snatched the final Test of the 1950-51 Ashes series in Melbourne), puts him second on the overall list. Miller sits just ahead of three other members of the 1948 Aussie Invincibles, Ray Lindwall and Arthur Morris (both 23) and Ian Johnson 22). The only man ahead of Miller is Malcolm Marshall, who was unbeaten in his first 35 Tests for West Indies – his maiden defeat after his 1978-79 debut was inflicted by Australia on a turning track in Sydney in 1984-85. The record for going through an entire career undefeated is 21 Tests, by the Indian offspinner Rajesh Chauhan between 1992-93 and 1997-98.England’s team for the one-day internationals against New Zealand had an average age of about 26 – was this their lowest ever? asked Julian Clarke from Scotland

The average age of England’s team in the third match against New Zealand, in Southampton on June 14, was 25 years, 218 days. That turns out to be the fourth-youngest England ODI team to date, behind the ones against India in Mumbai in 2011-12 (average 25 years, 214 days), v India in Edgbaston in 2007 (25 years, 189 days), and England’s youngest – 24 years, 14 days against Ireland in Dublin in 2011. That’s still a fair bit more experienced than the youngest average age of any team in an official one-day international, 20 years, 290 days by Zimbabwe against Bangladesh in Dhaka in January 2005. Zimbabwean teams from around this time hold the next seven positions on this list too.

Plays of the day from the second T20 between India and South Africa in Cuttack

Firdose Moonda05-Oct-2015Cracking up
If the Dharamsala pitch was India’s version of the Wanderers’ surface, Cuttack’s was an impression of the back of the moon. It was carved with cracks, which prompted Faf du Plessis to use South Africa’s specialist spinner early. Imran Tahir bowled the second over and with his second legitimate ball found one of the crevices. The ball jumped up off it, from short of a good length, and startled Rohit Sharma, whose bat was knocked out of his hands.Angry young man
No-one does irritated quite like Virat Kohli and he had good reason to be when he was run-out on the first ball he faced. Kohli correctly took a single after he hit the ball to deep midwicket but Rohit wanted more. He persuaded Kohli to chance Chris Morris’ arm but the throw was fast and flat and AB de Villiers only had to get the bails off to find Kohli well short of his ground. To his credit, Kohli did not even wait for the replay before walking off but he made no secret of his dissatisfaction with Rohit.Angrier young man
KohlI did not have to wait too long to see Rohit get his comeuppance. Three overs later, Rohit decided to take a single off an Albie Morkel ball that he pushed to point but underestimated David Miller’s athleticism. The fielder swooped in on the ball and with one stump to aim at, managed a direct hit while on the move. Rohit had no chance of getting back and joined Kohli in the dressing room.Nothing going right
Without much to defend, India had to take every chance that came their way and thought they had done that when Shikhar Dhawan pulled off a direct hit in an attempt to run-out JP Duminy. The batsman had set off for a run as soon as he drove the ball to the left of Dhawan, who had fumbled the previous ball and was under pressure, but recovered well. Dhawan was down quickly and released accurately to break the stumps at the bowler’s end. The Indian fielders celebrations were cut short when they realised Duminy was home safe and their slim hopes of staying in the series were quelled.Crowd chaos
Forty-four thousand, seven-hundred and ninety (44,790) people filled the Barabati Stadium, as it said on the television, to watch the first T20 international to be played at the venue but they were not happy with what they saw. They sat through India’s batting collapse but could not bear watching South Africa canter to a win, and showed it. With nine overs left in the match and South Africa just 29 runs from a series win, fans threw plastic bottles, some of them as large as two litres, onto the playing surface. Play was stopped, the fielders took refuge near the middle of the field, where the bottles could not reach them and even Duminy and Farhaan Behardien sat down for a break while things settled. It took 27 minutes before play could resume but play was stopped again after two overs and this time the players went off the field.

Shiva Jayaraman and Barath Seervi13-Nov-2015 1974 The last time a team winning the toss chose to field first in a Test in Bangalore. This was the first ever Test at this venue, when India won the toss and sent in West Indies, who won that Test by 267 runs. In 19 Tests since then, teams winning the toss have batted first. However, with a win-loss record of 7-5 and losses in the last-two Tests, there is nothing to indicate that the team batting first holds a distinct advantage at this venue. 1 Number of Tests played by South Africa in Bangalore, which was in 2000. They won that Test by a margin of an innings and 71 runs. Since then and including that loss to South Africa, India have a win-loss record of 2-3 in Bangalore. In Tests since 2000, Bangalore is the one of the only two home venues where India have lost more Tests than they have won, the other being Wankhede Stadium. 1 Number of times South Africa have come from behind to win the second Test and level a series 1-1 in India. In a three-match series in 1996-97, South Africa had won the second Test in Kolkata after losing the first in Ahmedabad. However, they lost the third Test of the series in Kanpur to concede the series 2-1. South Africa have never recovered from 1-0 deficit after the first Test to win an away series. Playing at home though, they have managed this three times. The last such instance was when the beat West Indies 2-1 in 2007-08. Against India in 2006-07, South Africa had recovered from their loss in Johannesburg to beat them 2-1. The first such occurrence was in 1994-95 when they beat New Zealand in a three-match series. 2 Number of times before this series, a visiting team has recovered from 1-0 deficit after the first Test to win a series in India. On both occasions, England were the overseas team. The last such instance was in 2012-13 when they won the four-Test series 2-1. The only other such instance was in 1984-85 when England won a five-Test series 2-1 in 1984-85. On two other occasions, visiting teams have managed to salvage a draw from 1-0 down: West Indies did it in a three-Test series in 1994-95 and New Zealand did it in 1969-70. 6 Number of South Africa players who have played 100 or more Tests before AB de Villiers, for whom the Bangalore Test will be his 100th. De Villiers has made 7685 runs for South Africa at 54.54 and has hit 21 centuries. Only Jacques Kallis averaged better than de Villiers after his 100th Test: Kallis had made 7928 runs at an average of 56.22. 12 Wickets by Ishant Sharma in Tests in Bangalore – the joint second highest he has taken at any venue. The last time he played here, which was against Australia in 2008, Ishant took 7 for 117 in the match. His first Test at this venue was against Pakistan when he took a five-wicket haul in the first innings. Ishant averages 21.41 in Bangalore – the best he averages at any venue where he has played more than on Test. 154 Run by Virat Kohli in the only Test he has played in Bangalore before this in 2012-13. Kohli had made 103 and 51* against New Zealand on that occasion. M Vijay also got a hundred in the only Test he played at this venue – he had made 139 and 37 against Australia 2010-11. Apart from these two, only four other India players from their current squad – Cheteshwar Pujara , R Ashwin, Ishant and Umesh Yadav – have played in Tests in Bangalore.187 Runs Hashim Amla is short of completing 7000 Test runs. He will be the fifth South Africa batsman to the landmark after Gary Kirsten, Jacques Kallis, Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers. Amla will be playing the 86th match of his Test career and should he reach the landmark in Bangalore, he will be the second-quickest South Africa batsman after Smith, who got to this landmark in 85 Tests. 39.71 Runs spinners average per wicket in Tests in Bangalore – the second worst at any venue in India where they have taken 50 or more wickets since 2000. They have taken 116 wickets including nine-wicket hauls and one ten-wicket haul for the match at this venue. Fast bowlers have taken 126 wickets at 34.76 in Bangalore since 2000. 83 Wickets overseas fast bowlers have taken in Bangalore in Tests since 2000 – the most they have taken at any venue in India. They average 31.27 for each wicket at this venue, which is their second-best at any venue in India.

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jan-2016Hamilton Masakadza then came in and started rebuilding Zimbabwe’s innings•Chris WhiteoakHe was joined by Peter Moor to add 101 for Zimbabwe’s third wicket•Chris WhiteoakTimely strikes from Afghanistan’s bowlers helped them pull things back in the middle overs•Chris WhiteoakThat, however, did not stop Masakadza from racing to his fourth ODI century•Chris WhiteoakZimbabwe’s momentum was slightly thwarted in the death overs, and Afghanistan were left staring at a target of 249 to seal the series•Chris WhiteoakMohammad Shahzad creamed five fours early on, but was unable to make good on his start, getting bowled for 25•Chris WhiteoakLuke Jongwe, who took a five-for in the third ODI, once again got among the wickets, his triple-strike reducing Afghanistan to 66 for 3•Chris WhiteoakHashmatullah Shahidi led a recovery, scoring a crucial 32 and put up 55 for the fourth wicket with Mohammad Nabi•Chris WhiteoakBut both batsmen were dismissed in quick succession, once again tipping the contest Zimbabwe’s way•Chris WhiteoakEnter Gulbadin Naib•Chris WhiteoakNaib, who last played an ODI 11 months ago, stunned Zimbabwe by hammering six sixes during a 68-ball 82 to steal a two-wicket win for his team•Chris WhiteoakThe win not only secured the series for Afghanistan 3-2, but ensured the team stormed into the top 10 of the ICC’s ODI rankings. The players marked their memorable achievement with wild celebrations•Chris Whiteoak

Stats highlights from the fourth day of the Delhi Test

Bharath Seervi06-Dec-20154 Number of Indian batsmen who have scored centuries in each innings of a Test before Ajinkya Rahane in this match – Vijay Hazare, Sunil Gavaskar (thrice), Rahul Dravid (twice) and Virat Kohli. Rahane followed his 127 in the first innings with an unbeaten 100 in the second innings.8 Number of batsmen, before Rahane, who had scored centuries in each innings of a Test when coming in to bat at No. 5 or lower. Rahane batted at No.5 in the first innings, and at No.6 in the second. Rahane is the first Indian to achieve this feat.7 Number of sixes hit by Rahane in this match – four in the first innings and three in the second. It is the joint second-highest by an India batsman in a Test. Navjot Sidhu holds the record with eight sixes against Sri Lanka in Lucknow in 1993-94. Rahane is only the second India batsman after Harbhajan Singh to hit three or more sixes in both innings of a Test.481 Target set by India in this Test; it is their highest against South Africa, going past the 461 they set against them in Kanpur in 1996-97. Against all teams, it is the fifth-highest target India have ever set.1 South Africa’s run rate at the end of the fourth day – they scored 72 in as many overs. It is the second-lowest by any team in a Test innings of at least 50 overs. It is also the slowest by any team against India (with a 50-over cut-off).72 South Africa’s score, which is the fewest runs scored by any team after 72 overs in a Test innings since 2002. The next three lowest scores after 72 overs during this period are also by South Africa: they twice scored 104 – against Sri Lanka in Colombo, and against Australia in Cape Town, both of which happened in 2014 – and also made 105 against West Indies in Georgetown in 2005.45 Number of dot balls Hashim Amla played before scoring his first run in this innings; it is the second-highest by a South African batsman in Tests. The highest is 46, by Clive Eksteen against New Zealand in Auckland in 1994-95. The overall record is 79 balls by John Murray for England against Australia in Sydney in 1962-63.11.11 Amla’s strike rate in this innings at the end of the fourth day; it is the lowest in any innings in which a batsman has faced 200 or more deliveries.0.78 The runs scored per over in the 23-run stand between Amla and AB de Villiers; it is the lowest among all partnerships of 175 or more balls (among all partnerships where balls-faced data is available). Amla and de Villiers have added these runs in 176 balls (29.2 overs). Before this partnership, Amla added 44 off 232 balls with Temba Bavuma at a run rate of 1.13, which is the is fourth-lowest. De Villiers features four times in the ten slowest partnerships of 175 or more balls, and also features twice in the ten fastest partnerships of 175-plus balls.43 Number of maiden overs bowled by India, out of the 72 overs till the end of the fourth day. It is the joint-highest maiden overs in an innings of 72 or fewer overs. There were 43 maiden overs by England bowlers in the fourth innings against West Indies in Birmingham in 1957.

Veterans who were surprise hits at the biggest show in international T20

Shashank Kishore02-Mar-2016Mahela Jayawardene
Sanath Jayasuriya’s reputation as a white-ball destroyer meant Jayawardene’s role in Sri Lanka’s T20 side wasn’t well defined. But his first innings as an opener, in the 2010 World T20, yielded a 51-ball 81 on a Guyana turner, and he followed up with a century in the next game, against Zimbabwe, to put to rest all doubts over his batting position in the format. The golden run at the top continued in 2012, but an uncharacteristic reverse sweep in the final resulted in heartbreak. In 2014, he wasn’t to be denied: he walked away with the trophy, and finished as the top run-getter for Sri Lanka for the third successive World T20 as well. He remains the leading run scorer over the history of the tournament.Tillakaratne Dilshan
A combination of unorthodox technique and precise hand-eye coordination was key to Dilshan’s reinvention of himself as a T20 opener. While the fierce cuts and pulls stayed intact, he revolutionised batting in 2009 with a fine paddle stroke over the wicketkeeper’s head. The shot, soon branded the Dilscoop, found its place in cricket’s dictionary, and Dilshan finished the tournament as the leading run-getter. It marked his second wind as a batsman, and the start of a purple patch that did wonders for Sri Lanka for the better part of the next three years.Graeme Swann
Small boundaries, flat pitches and heavy bats threatened to reduce spinners to a sideshow, but Swann used his guile and flight to defy the thinking that he was largely a Test specialist. His two wickets against India at Lord’s in the second edition, including that of Yuvraj Singh, the wonder of the first World T20, sent the defending champions crashing out in the group stage. Equally impressive was his miserly 1 for 17 in the 2010 final against Australia, which kept the lid on the scoring, helping win England their only global title till date.Muttiah Muralitharan
An elbow injury put paid to his hopes of participating in the first World T20. Ageing body, broken fingers and tired wrists, they said; but he made a splash in 2009, as Sri Lanka stormed into the final. His telling contribution had come in the previous game, where he applied the choke after Chris Gayle’s blitzkrieg to send West Indies packing. In the title match, even in defeat, Murali’s figures were a respectable 1 for 20 off three overs. The 2010 edition, in the West Indies, was to be his last international T20 tournament.Jacques Kallis
T20 looked to have passed Kallis by when he was left out of South Africa’s squad for the inaugural world tournament. After some serious rethinking of his approach to the format, under the eye of Ray Jennings, he transformed himself into a dynamic opener, topping the run charts for South Africa in the 2009 and 2010 editions, to go along with his more-than-useful seam bowling, before being dropped. Two years later he was back for the World T20 in Sri Lanka on the back of an impressive showing for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL in the course of their first title-winning run, in 2012.

Relying on instinct and a game without half-measures, Shreyas Iyer capped off a prolific season with a crucial hundred in a high-pressure match

Shashank Kishore in Pune 25-Feb-2016 his team-mates yelled from the dressing room. The words echoed across the empty stands at the MCA Stadium in Pune. Shreyas Iyer looked up briefly, as if to suggest he didn’t know what the fuss was about. He had just been dropped in the slips by Arpit Vasavada. An over prior to that, he was beaten twice, with the outside edge missed by a coat of varnish. Did it seem to have a bearing on him? Hardly.Two balls after the drop, he walked down the pitch and waltzed the ball over the bowler’s head for six. Then, he unfurled a delightful back-foot punch and a whiplash over midwicket. Before Saurashtra knew what had hit them, Iyer had raced away to 51 in the team’s total of 66 for 2 at lunch. And thus began the run-fest for a better part of the next three hours, where the swagger in him surfaced in all its glory. The end result: a finely-crafted century in a Ranji Trophy final, that helped Mumbai gallop ahead, before a middle-order collapse somewhat pushed the game back in balance.For someone who struggled to make the cut immediately at any of the age-groups for Mumbai, it’s amazing how Iyer has quickly emerged as a key figure in the batting line-up, even though he doesn’t agree with the suggestion that he’s the pillar around which the batting revolves. The reaction after bringing up his century – looking up to the heavens, soaking in the applause of his team-mates – suggested the maturity of the 20-year-old, who, in only his second season, has underlined his importance in the Mumbai set-up.After all, walking in at 0 for 1 on a green top, and then bringing up a 114-ball 100 is no joke, this after easily missing three hundreds that were there for the taking this season. With every run he scored, he was nearing a landmark. More than the runs he’s made this season – 1321 runs at an average of 73.80 – the manner in which he has made them, with a strike rate of 92.70, indicate the kind of dominance that hasn’t always been a common sight among young batsmen in the domestic circuit in recent times.His dismissal left him just 95 runs short of VVS Laxman’s record for the most runs in a Ranji Trophy season. With so many numbers flying around, it’s hard not to wonder if the young man is even bothered about statistics. “No, not at all,” he sheepishly smiled. “But yes, it’s a good feeling. I had heard of Wasim Jaffer’s record, but I didn’t know the numbers. I’ve learnt that you should never be satisfied with what you achieve. You should be hungry all the time, and try to break your own records instead of looking at someone else’s record.”Iyer’s refreshing honesty and straight answers, much like the way he bats – without half measures – is different, and unlike the norm where players seem to border on platitudes. “It’s a good challenge, but I wouldn’t say I enjoy batting on pitches like these,” he laughed, again, catching everyone who was expecting a serious answer off guard. “It was tough to bat on this wicket. The ball was seaming right from the start. I decided to play on merit, and fortunately I was able to score well right from the start.”When asked to dwell a little more on his mindset, he offered: “I back my instinct, that’s a good thing about me. As a No. 3 batsman, you have the responsibility of taking the team forward. It’s a good feeling to get a century in a pressure game like the final. That’s where people remember you as a big-match player. I was thinking (about missing few 100s that were there for the taking), but today I decided as I approached the nineties that I will play the same way, like I did till that point. I didn’t want to change my approach.”Usually wickets are really good, there’s no dew factor as well. The fielders are also not up to the mark at times as the day progresses, so it can get a little boring at times when you’re fielding. But as a batsman, it’s a great advantage if you can score runs during that period. My mindset when I go out to bat is that I have to dominate the bowlers. So that helps the field spread out later, and then I can take the singles to keep the scoreboard running. It’s good for you and the team.”What about the regret of missing out on a daddy hundred? Or perhaps the regret of playing the shot at the time he did, with Mumbai running away with the game? “It was a predetermined stroke, I guess that was the fault I made,” he said in a manner that suggested he didn’t quite regret it. “But many of my sixes I’ve hit in the past have been predetermined too. It was important to back my instincts. I shuffle according to how the wicket behaves. If the ball is seaming, I’ve got three to four initial movements. I wouldn’t say I wasn’t timing the ball today. I was still hitting boundaries, so that’s what matters.”A tally of over 2000 runs combined in his first two seasons mean talks of national selection are inevitable. “I’ve said this before too. It doesn’t bother me if the selectors are watching or no,” he insisted. “I just want to keep doing my job. Whatever result I get, I’m happy.”Surely the runs have come about because of someone’s advice. It was even suggested to him that Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid may have played a part in shaping him. “I can’t take a single name, yes I’ve spoken to them,” he said. “Yes, all of them have helped me, but a majority of the credit goes to me because I have worked hard. Many of them give you advice, you have to just listen to yourself and keep performing.”As he finished facing the media, there was finally a sense of accomplishment on his face. Not because of the runs he had scored, but because he had proved to someone, who has seen him from the age of 11, that he could rise to the big occasion.”Pravin Amre messaged saying I should score a century in the knockouts. I think I proved him right.”