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Pujara also says that Washington should continue as the lone spinner ahead of Ashwin and Jadeja

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Nov-20241:25

Pujara: ‘Nothing later than No. 3, KL has to bat in the top order’

Perth has been won. On to Adelaide for the day-night Test next. And India have reinforcements arriving in the form of Rohit Sharma and, if all goes well between now and then, Shubman Gill. Should these two get into the XI straightaway though? Cheteshwar Pujara certainly thinks so, but feels the opening combination of Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul shouldn’t be disturbed.”I think, for some reason if we can carry on with the same batting order, like KL and Yashasvi to open, Rohit could come in at three, and Shubman could come in at five,” Pujara said in a chat with ESPNcricinfo. “If Rohit wants to open, KL should bat at No. 3. Nothing later than that. I think he has to bat top of the order, because it suits his game really well. I hope we don’t tinker around with that.”That might well be the way it works out, with Devdutt Padikkal, who scored 0 from 23 balls and 25 from 71 balls in Perth, making way. But with Rohit, Jaiswal and Rahul, followed by Virat Kohli at No. 4, where does Gill slot in, if, indeed, he is fit for the game?Related

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“Ideally No. 5. Because it allows him to come in at a time, even if we lose two wickets early, he is someone who can negotiate the new ball,” Pujara said. “But if he walks in after, say, 25 or 30 overs, he can play his shots. He can play his natural game. And in case we lose the first three wickets early, Gill walks in and saves Rishabh Pant for the old ball. [Pant] doesn’t have to face the new ball. I wouldn’t want him to walk in to bat when the ball is hard and new.”That would mean Pant, who batted at No. 5 in Perth, going down a spot, and Dhruv Jurel, who was so impressive for India A against Australia A in Melbourne just before the first Test, going out after scores of 11 and 1 from No. 6.Then come the allrounders, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar, in whatever order, because Pujara doesn’t want any changes to the bowling line-up in Adelaide. No R Ashwin. No Ravindra Jadeja. And no Prasidh Krishna or Akash Deep in place of Harshit Rana.”There is no question about it,” Pujara said when asked the question. “This bowling attack has given us success. [Jasprit] Bumrah looked really good. [Mohammed] Siraj was very good. And then it was supported by Harshit. He bowled really well, you have to accept that. He was playing his first game [for India], still he ended up pitching the ball up.”In Australia, it’s very easy to get carried away and sometimes when you look at the pace of the pitch, it offers a bit more extra bounce… But he was still looking to hit the right spot, good length, try and hit the top of off, and he has that ability.”So I think we should carry on with the same bowling attack. And Nitish also, he had a bit of a bowl. I felt that those four seamers are proper options and along with that, Washington Sundar.”That last name could be a bit contentious. Washington, as Pujara accepted, was chosen more for his batting than his bowling, and there are two battle-hardened veterans in Ashwin and Jadeja sitting out, awaiting their turn. But Pujara would still go in with Washington.”He [Washington] didn’t look really good when he started his bowling, but eventually he got a couple of wickets, he varied his pace, so Washy should be our spinner,” Pujara said. “Because he can bat well. The reason he was chosen in this squad is because he can bat. It will be important in the second Test match that, in case we lose a few wickets early, if the lower-middle order needs to contribute, Washington can do that role.”The second Test, in Adelaide, starts after a bit of a gap, on December 6. Before that, India play a two-day pink-ball warm-up game against a Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra.

England were proactive and stayed in the game but could not dislodge India’s No. 3

Sidharth Monga25-Jan-20252:01

Tilak’s finishing reminds Manjrekar of MS Dhoni

India are used to their No. 3 sealing tense chases in limited-overs cricket. With the legendary one retired from T20Is, the new one shepherded India to a 2-0 lead with a 55-ball 72 that Virat Kohli himself would have been proud of. With wickets falling around him, Tilak Varma had to tamper with his natural game and even farm the strike in the end, but he produced just enough hits to take India over the line with two wickets in hand.The two sides brought two diametrically opposite styles to the match. India continued testing England with spin, bowling 14 overs of them for 118 runs and six wickets. The beleaguered England side kept going hard at them, somehow managing to get to 165, and then unleashed high pace and bounce on a surface that gave them just enough zip. They defended bravely, gambling twice with spin, but while the pace and bounce brought them wickets, it also travelled. Jofra Archer went for 60 in his four overs. Tilak took his last over, the 16th, for 19 to tilt the scales decisively.Same, same but differentA first-over wicket for Arshdeep Singh. Check. This time with a bouncer bowled across the body of Phil Salt with two men back for the hook.A first-ball wicket with spin. Check. This time to home boy Washington Sundar, who replaced the injured Nitish Kumar Reddy.Wickets for Varun Chakravarthy. Check. Harry Brook bowled through the gate the first time he faced Varun.Tight bowling from Axar Patel. Check. And this resulted in the two big wickets of Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone.However, England refused to get bogged down. They kept hitting back despite the loss of wickets. Buttler scored 45 off 30. Score 90 for 5 in the 12th over.Varun Chakravarthy bowled Harry Brook for his first international wicket at his home ground, Chepauk•BCCI

Smith and Carse boost EnglandDebutant Jamie Smith, playing in place of the unwell Jacob Bethell, displayed early promise by playing Axar like a medium-pacer and lofting him over long-on. India seemed to have gone to the well too often when they introduced the part-timer Abhishek Sharma, the fifth spinner. Smith took him for a six and a four off the first two balls, but eventually he, too, went to the well once too often and hit a third arm ball straight to long-off.Brought in to provide batting depth, Brydon Carse displayed all-around ability, hitting three sixes in his 31 off 17. Two of them came off Varun, again under the assumption that everything turns in or goes straight on. A poorly judged second run, though, resulted in his run-out, costing them a big kick in the end. The last four overs brought them just 29.Pace meets fireArcher and Mark Wood let the ball rip under the night sky. Wood seamed a quick delivery back to trap Abhishek, but not before the opener had taken down Archer by carving him for three boundaries in the first over. Varma went a step further by giving him the 1-2: back away and cut for four, followed by a swept six out of the stadium. In between, Archer’s pace accounted for the wicket of Sanju Samson.Tilak Varma hit five sixes in his knock•AFP/Getty Images

England dig inEngland didn’t back down, and kept testing the middle of the pitch. They went for runs, but Carse managed to get the wickets of Suryakumar Yadav and Dhruv Jurel with just that length. Jamie Overton piled on with a corker first ball to take the glove of Hardik Pandya as India lost three wickets for 21 runs in four overs and slipped to 78 for 5 in 9.1.Rashid drops WashingtonWith a little bit of grip available to him, Adil Rashid bowled beautifully in the middle overs to pile the pressure on India. Four runs came off 11 balls for the stand. Then a flying bouncer for five wides brought India relief. However, Wood again seemed to have produced the wicket, but Rashid dropped a sitter at mid-on. A no-ball, later in the over, was followed by a six off the free hit, and two glorious back-foot aerial punches to hard lengths that cleared mid-off. Now 53 required off seven.England buy their way backCarse again produced a beauty to hit the top of middle of Washington. India still had one more allrounder before they could get into the tail. Buttler bought that wicket with the introduction of Liam Livingstone’s spin. Axar holed out to deep midwicket, to open one end up with 40 still needed off 31.Tilak prevailsButtler went to Archer to drive home the advantage but Tilak cracked the game open. A top-edged six didn’t quite amuse Archer, who had seen Tilak do that earlier as well, but the flat square-cut for the follow-up six stunned him. More desperation followed when Arshdeep toe-ended a boundary but Archer had been distracted by his backing away and wasn’t attacking the stumps at any rate.Buttler gambled again with Rashid. Tilak farmed the strike early, and gave Arshdeep just one ball to play out. Like Axar, Arshdeep, too, swung hard and holed out to deep square leg.Carse again bowled a tight over to leave 13 off the last two, and Buttler gambled again. Tilak took the first four balls again. For just three. Now you can’t blame the lower order for lack of consistency. Even Ravi Bishnoi swung at Livingstone, but this time the edge flew just over short third.Tilak finished it off with a searing cover-driven four with four balls to go.

Rohit was struck on the knee while attempting to play a pull shot and had to be attended by the physio

Alagappan Muthu22-Dec-20242:54

Pujara: With two Tests left, India the happier side

The Indian team management is not concerned about any injury worries to Rohit Sharma after the India captain was struck on the knee during practice at the MCG on Sunday and needed some attention from the physio. Fast bowler Akash Deep also took a blow while batting but later brushed any injury issues for both players aside.Rohit, who seems to be settling into his middle-order role – he let KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill face the new ball in the adjacent nets while he started batting against spin – attempted to play a pull shot but it didn’t come off and the ball cleared the top flap of the pad and hit him on the knee. He needed some treatment – elevating the leg and putting an ice pack on it – and seemed in good order by the time the session was winding up, walking around and having little chats with his team-mates and coaches.India’s trip to Melbourne has been eventful since their arrival earlier this week. There was a Virat Kohli event at the airport. A misunderstanding about Australian media filming his children on arrival. There was a Ravindra Jadeja event at the MCG. A misunderstanding about taking questions in English. And now a Rohit event at training.Related

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Akash Deep took a hit to the arm while batting and at the press conference on Sunday, he said neither blow was anything to worry about. “Such blows are common when you play cricket,” he said when asked about him and Rohit . “I think this (practice) wicket was for white ball which is why the ball kept low at times. But these blows are common in training. There are no major concerns because of that.”Rishabh Pant received plenty of attention during India’s first nets session on Saturday, spending nearly an hour talking with head coach Gautam Gambhir several yards away from all the action. Prasidh Krishna, who was initially with the India A team on tour in Australia and later brought into the senior squad ahead of the Perth Test, looked sharp. He had a good outing at the MCG in November, picking up 4 for 50 and 2 for 37 against Australia A.With the MCG nets offering public vantage points, there were several fans who came around to watch India train. A little girl who kept trying to catch their eye was unimpressed when she wasn’t able to. “If they can’t wave, they can at least smile,” she said.With the series at 1-1 and considering they haven’t gotten the better of Australian conditions in the first innings, India’s focus was understandably elsewhere. There was a fair bit of green grass on the pitch to be used for the Boxing Day Test, but with it being four days away, it is likely some of it will be shaved off. The MCG has had a drastic change in character since the last time India were here – from batting-friendly to bowling-friendly.Rohit Sharma has an ice pack on his knee after getting hit in the nets•Getty Images

In 2020, they bounced back from a difficult loss in Adelaide, where they were bowled out for 36, with an eight-wicket victory in Melbourne. The next Test match that the MCG hosted saw Scott Boland pick up 6 for 7 as England were knocked out for 68 in the second innings. There has only been one total of 250-plus in the two games held at the venue in this season’s Sheffield Shield.Akash Deep has had a couple of highs since making the XI in Brisbane. From No. 11, he helped India save the follow-on and belted Pat Cummins for a huge six over wide long-on. “At the time we come in to bat, scoring those 20-30 runs are very important. My mindset is to contribute in whatever way I can and that day my mindset, I didn’t think about saving the follow-on, I just didn’t want to get out. And when you do well from that situation it gives confidence and that’s the confidence that the team was able to see in me and I was really happy.”Akash Deep had a nice battle with Steven Smith as well, beating his bat on both edges, and receiving praise both on the field and later at his press conference. Despite bowling well, he only got one wicket in that first innings. “At the time, I felt like, the skill with which I bowled, a lot of the times he was getting beaten on the inside edge and the outside edge and I felt that sometimes ‘what is this luck that I have, I can’t get him out’. But then I realised that the wicket is not in our hands. What we have in our hands is just bowling well. Bowling in the right areas.”

Matt Henry is the only senior seamer left standing in the squad

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Feb-2025New Zealand have lost their most experienced fast bowler to injury with Lockie Ferguson ruled out of the Champions Trophy 2025. Ferguson, who has played 65 ODIs, including the last two World Cups where his team reached the final four, suffered a hamstring injury while playing in the International League T20 (ILT20) tournament in the UAE earlier this month. Kyle Jamieson has taken his place in the 15-member squad who are slated to kick off the ICC event on Wednesday with a game against hosts Pakistan in Karachi.Ferguson picked up the injury at the start of February when he left the field without completing his full quota of four overs for the Desert Vipers. He did not play their two remaining matches of the season and was on the sidelines during the ODI tri-series that followed in Pakistan. Ferguson tested his hamstring out on Sunday, bowling three overs in a warm-up game against Afghanistan. On Tuesday, he was ruled out of the Champions Trophy.Related

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Ferguson is the second fast bowler that the Black Caps have lost in the last week with Ben Sears also down with a hamstring complaint. Although the Champions Trophy is expected to be played in conditions that might be hard work for the quick bowlers, New Zealand’s stocks now look very green. Jamieson joins Will O’Rourke, Jacob Duffy and Natham Smith as seamers with less than 15 ODIs’ under their belt, which places added focus on the only senior fast bowler left in the squad, Matt Henry.Jamieson, 30, has only just recovered from a back injury of his own, having spent 10 months out of the game. His hiatus from ODI cricket stretches back even longer – till September 2023. He has recent form going his way though. Jamieson proved his fitness during the Super Smash T20 competition, along with the talents that made him eye-catching in the first place, bowling full lengths and getting the ball to swing in. He picked up 14 wickets in 12 innings at an economy rate of 5.95. Helped by that performance, his domestic team, Canterbury, made it to the final. Jamieson has also earned a PSL deal and will play for Quetta Gladiators later this year.New Zealand are one of the pre-tournament favourites at the Champions Trophy. They won the tri-series final at the same venue where they will open their campaign, with their batting depth and their allrounders proving key at crucial moments. New Zealand are in group A and after the game against Pakistan, they play Bangladesh in Rawalpindi on February 24 and India in Dubai on March 2. The top two teams in each group go on to the semi-finals.

Hosts record their fourth win in five games after chasing down Essex in tense contest

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay18-Jun-2025Warwickshire continued their impressive Women’s Vitality Blast charge with a tense two-wicket win over Essex at Edgbaston.Georgia Davis’s side recorded their fourth win in five games after chasing down Essex’s 150 for 3. Cordelia Griffith, 47 not out off 36 balls, and Madeline Penna’s unbeaten 41 from 42 balls pulled the visitors round from 56 for 3 but never escaped the shackles of a disciplined attack.Warwickshire then slipped to 43 for 4 in reply but recovered to reach 154 for 8 with one ball to spare as Charis Pavely struck a dynamic unbeaten 68 from 40 balls with five fours and three sixes.Essex chose to bat and started solidly as openers Lauren Winfield-Hill and Grace Scrivens added 44 in 35 balls before Scrivens fell to the antepenultimate ball of the powerplay when she skied a slog at Phoebe Graham to midwicket.Laura Harris took that catch and accepted another four balls later when Alice Macleod drove Hannah Baker to extra cover. Those two blows for Essex were quickly followed by a big self-inflicted one. Winfield-Hill, on 30 from 23 balls, was called for a quick single by Griffith, hesitated and was run out by bowler Davis who chased the ball down with the precision and purpose with which she used, as a police officer, to chase villains round Walsall.The loss of three wickets for 12 runs in 11 balls required some shoring up and Griffith and Penna stemmed the collapse before seeking to accelerate. Each hit six fours in an unbroken stand of 94 from 75 balls to assure a competitive, if less than imposing total.MacGregor, leading wicket-taker in the competition, inflicted brisk damage on Warwickshire’s reply with two wickets in her second over. Davina Perrin chipped a low full toss to mid on and Meg Austin top-edged a leg-side scoop to the wicketkeeper.Essex’s bowlers continued to exploit Warwickshire’s top-order carelessness as Natasha Wraith swung Eva Gray to deep midwicket and Sterre Kalis missed an attempted cut at Abtaha Maqsood’s first ball and was bowled.That left Warwickshire 43 for 4 which could have been worse had an early big hit to long on from Pavely off Sophia Smale not passed through the hands of Penna for six. Pavely survived to add 43 in 28 balls with Issy Wong (33, 25) who batted responsibly to rebuild the innings but then misjudged a second run and was beaten by Joanne Gardner’s throw.Harris swept Gray to short fine leg but Pavely pulled MacGregor into the Hollies Stand for six to leave Warwickshire needing 35 from five overs. Successive fours took her to a 31-ball half-century and another handsome six, off Jodi Grewcock, put the equation firmly into the home side’s hands with just three needed from the last over.Scrivens started it with a dot ball and a wicket – Davis caught at mid-on – but two singles followed to level the scores with two balls left and Baker struck the next to the midwicket boundary.

Clash of table-toppers ends in one-sided win after Will Jacks’ half-century drives hosts

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay13-Jul-2025Surrey 201 for 6 (Jacks 57) beat Somerset 134 (Topley 3-20) by 67 runsSurrey booked a home tie in the Vitality Blast knockout stages as they thrashed Somerset by 67 runs in the battle of the South Group’s top two at the Kia Oval.Reece Topley (3 for 20) led the charge for wickets, while Jamie Overton, Sam Curran and Adam Zampa all got two apiece as Somerset collapsed from 73 for 2 to 134 all out in pursuit of 202 to win, Tom Kohler-Cadmore top-scoring with 38.Earlier, Will Jacks made 57 in 37 balls with four sixes to provide the backbone of Surrey’s 201 for 6. Migael Pretorius was the pick of the visitors’ attack with 1 for 28.Jacks lofted the second ball of the match from England spinner Jack Leach into the crowd. Pace too got the treatment early on as Ryan Patel sent one from Riley Meredith over the ropes and Jacks planted the last ball of the over into the crowd at cow corner as 61 came from the powerplay.Leach broke the stand a run later, luring Patel down the pitch to be stumped, but another six helped Jacks to 50 in only 30 balls as he and Jason Roy kept up the pressure with a second-wicket stand of 49.Jacks’ departure lbw to Lewis Goldsworthy sparked a slump, the all-rounder then castling Surrey skipper Sam Curran first ball.Roy thumped another huge six and looked to be moving into overdrive, but when he under-clubbed another from Leach and found the hands of Tom Abell in the deep, Surrey were 127 for 4.Dan Lawrence threatened to pick up from his century two days earlier with two sixes in a breezy 16-ball 32, but it needed a last-over six into the sightscreen from Chris Jordan to set Somerset 202.That target looked larger 15 balls into the chase when Topley splayed Tom Lammonby’s stumps with 13 on the board, but five fours from Jordan’s first over, four of them from the bat of Kohler-Cadmore put the Cidermen on the charge.A collector’s item followed as Ben Foakes dropped Kohler-Cadmore on 20 from an attempted ramp off Topley.In search of a momentum shift, skipper Sam Curran brought himself on and struck immediately, Will Smeed slapping the first delivery straight to cover.A tight following over from Overton lifted the rate over 11, but Kohler-Cadmore’s response was to spank one from Zampa into the JM Finn Stand for six. The Australian legspinner’s revenge was swift as three balls later Kohler-Cadmore skied a top edge into the gloves of Foakes.And top-edges were catching with Abell following suit from the bowling of Overton, Lawrence the catcher on this occasion.As the rate soared, Overton caught and bowled Tim Dixon and while skipper Lewis Gregory sent one from Sam Curran high into the seats, he perished trying to repeat the feat and Somerset collapsed.