England were left in a spin after Zak Crawley’s battling 79 as their final assignment on a long tour of India threatened to go awry in Dharamsala.
Seeking a consolation win in a series they trail 3-1, England endured a chastening opening day to the fifth Test after crumbling from 137 for two before Crawley’s dismissal to 218 all out in 57.4 overs.
From 175 for three, England lost Jonny Bairstow, on his 100th Test, Joe Root and Ben Stokes in eight deliveries, the first three of five wickets to fall for eight runs in a frenzied afternoon session.
The most recent first-class match at the HPCA Stadium saw all 36 wickets fall to seam but it was the spinners in clover on a turning pitch as Kuldeep Yadav collected five for 72 and Ravichandran Ashwin, also celebrating his 100th Test, polished off the lower order to finish with four for 51.
India rubbed salt into the wound through Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 57 off 58 balls while fellow opener Rohit Sharma went to stumps on 52 not out as the hosts closed on 135 for one – just 83 adrift of England.
Crawley had earlier shown plenty of grit after being tested by seamers and spinners alike and gradually gained fluency before Kuldeep found prodigious turn to prise him out. England seemed unable to pick the left-arm wrist-spinner’s variations as Ollie Pope, Bairstow and Stokes all fell to the googly.
Before play, a tearful Bairstow stood with his mother, sister and partner who held their infant child at an emotional cap presentation conducted by Root in the team huddle.
While Shoaib Bashir was fit to play, Ollie Robinson remained unwell which meant England assistants and ex-internationals Marcus Trescothick, 48, and Paul Collingwood, 47, were among fielding substitutes.
Stokes’ prediction this week of an “absolute belter” of a batting strip was not initially borne out as Crawley and Ben Duckett were given a working over by the returning Jasprit Bumrah, as well as Mohammed Siraj, who exploited extravagant seam movement in the cooler conditions of the Himalayan foothills.
Bumrah may have wondered how he ended his spell with 7-1-24-0 despite often challenging the outside edges of both openers. Kuldeep had no such misfortune as Duckett undid his good work by hoicking into the air on 27 and Shubman Gill’s over-the-shoulder diving catch ended a 64-run opening stand.
Pope was again skittish and misguidedly advanced to Kuldeep in the final over before lunch, deceived and stumped by wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel by a long way for 11.
Crawley, though, had success off front and back foot as all 11 fours were through the offside while he danced down the wicket to Ashwin and dispatched him for six.
India failed to detect a thin edge when Crawley was on 61 after lunch while Jadeja shelled a caught-and-bowled chance on 78 but there was no third reprieve for the opener, who missed a big drive and was castled by a ripping Kuldeep delivery that landed outside off and crashed into leg stump.
Bairstow’s frenetic 29 off 18 balls included two sixes as he moved past 6,000 Test runs and a drop off Kuldeep, who then outfoxed the Yorkshireman with a wrong’un which grazed the edge on the way to Jurel.
Bairstow reviewed in vain, as did Root after he was beaten on the inside edge and struck on the front pad for 26 in Jadeja’s next over. When Stokes turned to DRS after playing back to Kuldeep, the on-field lbw decision was again upheld and England’s captain departed for a six-ball duck.
England lost their middle-order engine room in eight balls and used all their reviews, with Ashwin sweeping in to hoover up the tail after Ben Foakes’ 24 took the tourists past 200.
England’s bid for quick wickets to put pressure back on India was hampered by James Anderson and Mark Wood being unable to find anything resembling the assistance Bumrah and Siraj had in the morning.
Rohit settled into his work by using Wood’s express pace against him with a meaty pull for six off a bumper before overturning a caught-behind decision on 20 after Anderson thought he had strangled India’s captain down leg.
The in-form Jaiswal was watchful against England’s two seamers but peeled off three mighty sixes in four balls when Bashir came into the attack.
Jaiswal continued to attack but succumbed to a rush of blood and was stumped off Bashir but Rohit and Shubman Gill, unbeaten on 26, finished strongly.
Motie's heroics lead West Indies A to victory over Nepal in T20 thriller: Series level at 1-1
In a thrilling encounter at Kirtipur, Gudakesh Motie emerged as the standout performer for West Indies A, propelling his team to a crucial victory over Nepal in the second T20 International to level the five-match series at 1-1. Motie's exceptional all-round display, featuring an unbeaten 33 off just eight balls and impactful bowling, played a pivotal role in securing the win.
Batting first, West Indies A faced early setbacks but rallied behind Andre Fletcher's resilient 43 and Captain Roston Chase's 23. However, wickets fell at regular intervals, leaving the team in a precarious position at 115 for 7. When Fletcher departed, the onus fell on Motie to provide a late surge. With only 13 balls remaining, Motie unleashed a blitz, smashing two fours and four sixes to power his team to a competitive total of 160 for 7. Matthew Forde contributed with an unbeaten 11 as Sagar Dhakal and Kushal Bhurtel each picked up crucial wickets for Nepal.
In response, Nepal's captain Rohit Paudel led the charge with a magnificent 71 off 48 balls, keeping his team in contention. However, Nepal's batting struggled against the West Indies A bowling attack, with only Gulsan Jha offering notable support with 26 runs. Motie continued to make an impact with the ball, claiming 2 crucial wickets for 244 runs alongside Obed McCoy, who showed signs of returning to form with his 2 for 24.
Despite Paudel's heroics, Nepal fell short in their chase, ultimately conceding victory to West Indies A by 10 runs. Motie's exceptional performance earned him the Player of the Match award.
The third match in the series is set for Wednesday, May 1, 2024.
Russell defends CPL's contribution to regional cricket but open to suggestions on improvements
With their long-term agreement with Cricket West Indies (CWI) heavily scrutinised by government leaders and cricket stalwarts, chief executive, Pete Russell of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) defended the product’s positive contribution to cricket in the region.
Addressing the gathering on Friday’s final day of the CARICOM conference on West Indies cricket themed ‘Reinvigorating West Indies Cricket’, Russell said the CPL is one of CWI’s largest domestic commercial partners.
While noting that CPL contributed significantly to player economic welfare, with nearly US$28 million spent on salaries since the start of the tournament in 2013, Russell, also revealed that cumulative losses, across both the league and franchises for the past 11 years, stand at US$40 million.
“Dennis O’Brien and Digicel have been the principal investors, not only investing in the league from day one but they also spent money on sponsorship and media rights. The franchises have also pumped in significant money, money that helps pay players and coaches, as well as investing in local businesses around the region that help make the games happen. All the franchises have made losses.
“So, on the positive side, Cricket West Indies has been paid close to US$17 million in sanction fees, so over the past 12 years CPL would be one of CWI’s largest domestic, commercial partners. Caribbean players have taken home US$27.7 million in player salaries since the tournament’s inception, all paid for by the franchises,” Russell declared during the event held in Trinidad and Tobago.
“Each year, it takes US$25 million to run this tournament over five weeks. CPL and the franchises bear all these costs. There is no financial burden on CWI or the territorial boards, so the risk is 100 per cent ours.
“So that is our starting point each and every year. So as you can imagine, the commercial challenges are considerable just to break even,” he added.
Russell’s response came as government leaders and West Indies legend Sir Clive Lloyd, suggested that the 50-year contract between CPL and CWI be re-negotiated.
The issue of the league’s ownership was also called into question, as they view was largely expressed that there would potentially be more development and earnings for players, if CWI controlled the tournament.
But, Russell, a member of the CPL management team rebutted.
“What is interesting is that other leagues around the world are following the lead of CWI. They are also looking for third-party investors to help fund their leagues. The English Cricket Board are in the process of selling The Hundred, the Australian Cricket Board are courting outside investors for the Big Bash, Cricket South Africa sold all their rights to host broadcaster Supersport, and the new American Major League Cricket is 100 per cent privately owned,” Russell shared.
“In time, only the IPL will end up being 100 per cent owned by its domestic board and that is simply because they can afford to do so. So, trust me when I say, ownership isn’t everything, and smart stewardship and partnership can yield better results. But of course, we’re always happy to listen to any suggestions on how we can improve things,” he ended.
IPL: Royals extend lead at the top after Samson and Jurel see off LSG
Sanju Samson and Dhruv Jurel combined for an unbeaten partnership of 121 as Indian Premier League leaders Rajasthan Royals defeated Lucknow Super Giants on Saturday.
The Royals have now won eight of their nine matches in the 2024 campaign and are almost certain to be involved in the playoffs after chasing down their victory target of 197 with an over to spare in a seven-wicket triumph.
Another Royals win had looked unlikely when they fell to 78-3 in their run chase after Jos Buttler (34), Yashasvi Jaiswal (24) and Riyan Parag (14) all fell in quick succession shortly before the halfway mark.
But Rajasthan captain Samson fought back as he blasted 71 runs from 33 balls including seven fours and four maximums, while Jurel bounced back from a poor period of form to finish unbeaten on 52 from 34.
LSG reached 196-5 from their innings courtesy of a fine knock from their own skipper, KL Rahul. He reached 76 from 48 before eventually falling to Avesh Khan (1-42) in the 18th over.
Deepak Hooda made it to 50 as LSG rallied from 11-2, but ultimately their competitive total was within reach of the visiting Royals.
Data Debrief
This is the second time in as many home games Rahul has passed fifty, after he scored 82 against Chennai Super Kings last week.
Samson (385) and Rahul (378) are second and third respectively in the race to win this season’s orange cap, although RCB’s Virat Kohli continues to set the pace with 430 runs.
They also narrowly trail Kohli (40) when it comes to the most fours hit in this season’s competition, with Samson on 36 and Rahul just behind with 34.
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