All posts by n8rngtd.top

The win gives Brave an outside sniff of a direct entry to the final

ECB Reporters Network19-Aug-2023Georgia Adams slammed her highest Hundred score as Southern Brave bettered Oval Invincibles by seven wickets, ending the two-time champions’ reign.Allrounder Adams took control of a faltering chase with an unbeaten 50 off 32 balls while Freya Kemp – unable to bowl this season due to a stress fracture in her back – scored 41 not out off 21.Suzie Bates had scored 55 as Invincibles posted a creditable 130 but Adams and Kemp added 73 in 38 balls in front of another record crowd of 10,832 for a women’s match at the Ageas Bowl.Brave had already booked their place in the knockouts but still have an automatic final spot in their grasp, while their nemesis in the first two finals can no longer progress.Bowling first after losing the toss, Anya Shrubsole was shown a farewell video on the big screen ahead of her last Ageas Bowl appearance before retiring. She responded to the ovation by picking up Lauren Winfield-Hill’s wicket with her fifth ball, thanks to a stunning catch at mid-on by Maia Bouchier. The wicket slumped the Invincibles to 6 for 2 after Alice Capsey had already cross-batted Lauren Bell to midwicket.But the early trouble was abated by Bates’ anchoring during stands of 53 and 63 with Marizanne Kapp and Paige Scholfield. The New Zealand veteran’s innings was guided through her control and ability to pick out the right balls to score off, without getting bogged down. To typify that approach, her fifty came off 40 balls.Kapp played a similar role to get the visitors out of trouble but fell for 27 when picking out Chloe Tryon on the deep-square-leg boundary.At 59 off the first 55 balls, the tempo needed to flick towards allegro and former Brave all-rounder Scholfield reset the metronome with 30 off 17 balls, which included getting dropped on 3 and plundering a six next ball.Brave, often great at the death, once again flourished in the last end as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker Georgia Adams saw off Scholfield with her 15th wicket and Bates was run out for 55.
Nadine de Klerk slog-swept the penultimate ball to deep square leg with three wickets falling for 11 runs in the last ten balls.A slow start and the loss of both openers within the first 26 balls put Brave’s chase on the back foot. Smriti Mandhana top-edged a swing across the line off Kapp and Danni Wyatt was bowled by de Klerk – the Charlotte Edwards Cup’s top wicket-taker on her first appearance since replacing Dane van Niekerk.Bouchier and Adams put on 38 but the asking rate was rising after 17 balls without a boundary – caused by Kapp’s 1 for 18 – and the pressure saw Bouchier slap to cover.Brave desperately needed a Scholfield-esque innings; Kemp provided it, with Adams upping her strike rate. The game swung on Mady Villiers being smashed for two sixes in three balls as the duo stepped things up with 42 off the last 16 balls to end the game – Kemp hoisting a maximum to do it in style with four balls to spare.

He has not pondered what it would mean for him, or the team, if the move wasn’t a success

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jan-20240:51

Clarke on Smith: He’ll be the No. 1 Test opener within 12 months

A reinvigorated Steven Smith has not considered what it would mean for his future if the move to Test opener does not pay off for Australia.Three days out from the first Test against the West Indies, Smith’s life at the top of the order began when he faced the new ball in the Adelaide Oval nets on Sunday.One of Australia’s greatest ever batters, Smith revealed he first flagged the idea of replacing the retiring David Warner as opener during last year’s Ashes. He mentioned it again last month, but did not believe the idea was taken seriously until talking with coaches during the SCG Test against Pakistan.Related

• Persuasive Smith gets his new (and final?) challenge

• No waiting: Smith sees 2019 Ashes as evidence he can open

• Brathwaite 'quite clear' on his XI for first Test against Australia

Undecided at first, selectors have been won over by a history of players succeeding when going to the top.”I’ve kind of been pushing it for a few weeks, even before Perth I think, and I might have been floated in England just randomly and said ‘I’ll get up top and I’m happy to play up top’,” he said. “In Perth, I kind of said ‘you know after Davey’s done I’m actually keen to get up there’.”I don’t think they sort of took me seriously until I got to Sydney and I was like ‘I’m actually being genuine here. I’d be keen to get up top and face the new ball.’ And they were like, ‘all right, well, we’ll take that under advisement and see how it all looks.’But the move doesn’t come without risk. And the question remains that if Smith does not succeed and Cameron Green excels at No. 4, what would it mean for the former captain’s place in the side?”I don’t like thinking that way,” Smith said. “I don’t want to think negative thoughts at all. I’m not sure. If someone gets injured in the middle and the next batters in are genuine openers, then maybe they slot back in [at the top] and I go back down. I don’t know the answer. But for right now we’ve got what we believe is our best six batters playing.”Steven Smith hopes to be able to score more freely•Getty Images

Smith does see significant upside in the move, having only dropped down from No. 3 to No. 4 in 2017 to juggle the demands of captaincy.The 34-year-old believes he is at his best against the new ball. He averages 106.2 when walking to the wicket in the first two overs.Warner has also said teams would be unlikely to continue to regularly bounce Smith early in the innings, a tactic which has slowed the right-hander’s scoring down in recent years.”It would be pretty game if you’ve got a brand new ball bowling short stuff and wasting it,” Smith added. “It helps the scoring rate when you’re facing the new ball and there’s a bit more attacking going on.”Over the last few years I’ve come in after quite a lot of runs, the ball’s a bit softer. “[They] have a cover in and maybe four on the legside, guys are bowling straight and able to control the scoreboard a little bit more. That’s probably kept me quieter and made me face a lot more balls to score runs.”Perhaps that changes a bit with the new ball. You obviously have a bit more attacking fields and more gaps out there to score runs. I’m looking forward to that.”Sick of watching and waiting to bat, Smith said a desire to move was partly driven by the idea of a new challenge at this point in his career.But he also felt it unfair that Green could be forced to open this early in his career if the selectors’ desire to have the allrounder back in the team landed him there.”It didn’t sit right having him come in and bat up top,” Smith said. “I’ve played for a long time and I’m an experienced player and think it’s something that I should have done. He’s suited to No. 4. Plays there in Shield cricket, does well there.”

Naveen calls it “a surreal experience” as Afghanistan beat Bangladesh in a dramatic finish in Kingstown

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jun-20244:14

Rashid: It was hard to stay calm at some points

Rashid Khan has described Afghanistan’s qualification for the T20 World Cup semi-final as an “unbelievable feeling” and that it would be a “massive inspiration” for youngsters back home.”I think the semi-final is going to be a massive, massive inspiration for the youngsters back home in Afghanistan,” Rashid said after Afghanistan beat Bangladesh in St Vincent to secure their place in the final four and knock Australia out. “That Afghanistan team got into the semis for the first time. We have done it at Under-19 level, but this level we haven’t done that. Even Super Eight was first time for us and then in semis. It’s unbelievable feeling … We are capable – but as long we keep things very simple, and I think in the whole competition so far, we kept the thing simple. Yes, there were some tough times but we didn’t let ourselves down and we always try to come back stronger.”After Afghanistan posted 115 for 5, Rashid and Naveen-ul-Haq picked up four wickets each to help bundle out Bangladesh for 105, eight short of their DLS-adjusted target of 114 in 19 overs.”It’s something like a dream for us as a team to be in the semi-final,” Rashid said after the match. “It’s all about the way we had started the tournament. The belief came when we beat New Zealand. So it’s unbelievable. I don’t have any words to describe my feelings. Definitely back home everyone is so, so happy for this.Related

• Not just another piece of content, Afghanistan have been a headline-grabbing act

• Khawaja: Australia 'should be playing Afghanistan'

• T20 World Cup 2024 semi-finals: India vs England, Afghanistan vs South Africa

• Gulbadin Naib's apparent cramp comes under scrutiny

• Afghanistan storm into maiden World Cup semi-finals; Australia knocked out

“I think the only guy who had us in the semi-final was Brian Lara. At the welcome party, I told him, ‘We won’t let you down. We will prove that you are right.'”While Afghanistan needed only a win to qualify for the knockouts, the equation for Bangladesh was much tougher: they needed to chase down the target in 12.1 overs, something Afghanistan took advantage of. With rain in the air, the pendulum swung from one side to another multiple times before Afghanistan sealed the match.Rashid Khan and Jonathan Trott embrace after their semi-final spot was confirmed•ICC/Getty Images

“In our mind, we felt 130-135 was a good total on this wicket but we were 15-20 runs short,” Rashid said. “But a few games we had watched before, 115 was the best total on this wicket. So it was all about the mindset. We knew they would come hard at us to chase it in 12 overs to get into the semi-final and that’s what we could take advantage of.”If we bowled into the stumps, we had the chance of bowling them out. We didn’t need to do anything extra. We were very clear with our planning. Putting in that 100% effort is always in your hands. Rain, drizzle is not in your hand. And we had to push ourselves for people back home, for their happiness, to make the country proud. That was the discussion we had and everyone did a wonderful job.”Rashid also lauded his fast bowlers – Naveen, who was named Player of the Match, and Fazalhaq Farooqi, who is currently the leading wicket-taker in the tournament. On Monday, they combined to reduce Bangladesh to 23 for 3 inside three overs.”That made our job easy,” Rashid said. “In T20s, if you start well, that gives us spinners to attack the batters in the middle overs. That was something we were missing before. But now with the quality of the fast bowlers we have… they are not as fast but they are skilful. I feel if you have skills in T20s, you are more effective and they have given us great starts so far in the competition. They were very clear in their mind and that’s something very pleasing for me.”Naveen, meanwhile, called it “a surreal experience”. Apart from picking up two wickets at the start, he dismissed Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman off successive balls, punctuated by a rain break, to kick off the celebrations.”I think these are the games where you never know what can happen,” he said. “After conceding one boundary, it felt like the game was gone. Suddenly you picked up a wicket and you were back in the game. So the margin of error is very small. But yeah, we had confidence that these wickets are not high-scoring wickets. As long as we didn’t give away easy runs or bowled easy balls, and picked up wickets, we were in the game. Luckily, that happened.”

Tilak will link up with the squad in Gwalior on Sunday morning

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Oct-2024Allrounder Shivam Dube has been ruled out of India’s T20I series against Bangladesh due to a back injury. Tilak Varma has replaced him in the squad for the three-match series which begins in Gwalior on Sunday.Dube had also suffered a side strain this February which had ruled him out of Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy semi-final game. He has been a regular in India’s T20I side since he returned to the national set-up last August.Since his comeback, Dube has scored 377 runs in 23 games at an average of 31.41 and a strike rate of 126.93. That run included back-to-back unbeaten half-centuries against Afghanistan in January and also crucial cameos in India’s title-winning run at the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA. He has also picked seven wickets in this period.Related

• Gwalior takes centre stage as youthful India prepare for experienced Bangladesh

• International cricket returns to Gwalior after 14 years, at a brand new venue

• Suryakumar: 'Mayank has the X factor, important to manage him well'

Dube’s last competitive game came for India A against India B in the first round of the Duleep Trophy in Bengaluru. He bowled only 12 overs in the match – all in the first innings – and scored 20 and 14 with the bat.Tilak, meanwhile, has played 16 T20Is so far, the last of which was the first T20I against Afghanistan in Mohali in January. Although primarily a middle-order batter, Tilak also bowls part-time offspin. A BCCI release said Tilak will link up with the squad in Gwalior on Sunday morning.

India’s T20I squad vs Bangladesh

: Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Riyan Parag, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakaravarthy, JItesh Sharma (wk), Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Mayank Yadav, Tilak Varma

Visitors are clear underdogs against an Indian side that has lost only two of the 17 T20Is since their T20 World Cup triumph

Shashank Kishore27-Jan-20252:01

Tilak’s finishing reminds Manjrekar of Dhoni

Big Picture: Fearless India meet wobbly England

Fifteen wins and two losses in 17 T20Is since winning the T20 World Cup last June has made India almost impenetrable in the format. This despite having to mix and match their players, owing to the cramped cricket calendar. It’s scary to imagine what they can achieve if Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav are back in the mix.Under Suryakumar Yadav, there’s a settled look to the squad that it’s hard to see how Yashasvi Jaiswal, one of their first-choice batters, slots in after the kind of performances Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson have been putting in.There’s fearlessness that stems from the freedom they’re reveling in under their captain. This has given Gautam Gambhir less headaches in at least one format, because India’s transition has been smoth post the retirement Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja.Related

• Tilak Varma is India's Swiss Army knife T20 batter

• Carse extends his excellent winter with a do-it-all performance

• Reddy and Rinku injured, Dube and Ramandeep join India's T20I squad

England’s white-ball renaissance – much talked about since their 50-over World Cup win in 2019 and T20 World Cup win in 2022 – has somewhat hit a roadblock. Jos Buttler has endured one reversal after another, including two poor World Cups (ODI in 2023 and T20 in 2024) even as he continues to remain optimistic of a turnaround amid churn.Brendon McCullum’s entry as white-ball coach couldn’t have begun on a more challenging note and a series defeat in India, on the back of the T20 World Cup disappointment, could be yet another major setback.Jofra Archer breathing fire, with his pace, upon his return from a series of back issues, bodes well for England, as does the pace and hostility of Mark Wood. The batting has let them down in the first two games, and they’ll need to do heaps better if they are to prevent another series defeat.

Form guide

India WWWWL
England LLLWWLiam Livingstone was dismissed by Varun and Axar in the first two T20Is•Associated Press

In the spotlight: Suryakumar Yadav and Liam Livingstone

Suryakumar Yadav had a mixed bag in South Africa, but when he conceded his No. 3 spot to Tilak Varma for the third and fourth T20Is, the youngster stood up with back-to-back centuries. Suryakumar managed scores of 21, 4 and 1 in the three innings there, and now has 0 and 12 in two games in this series. The return to Rajkot may elicit happy memories of him hitting his first T20I century in India – in 2023 vs Sri Lanka.Liam Livingstone has come to India with a reputation of playing spin well, but has been out to spinners in both games. In Kolkata, he misread a Varun Chakravarthy wrong’un and was bowled through the gate. In Chennai, he didn’t account for Axar Patel’s lift and was caught pulling. With India likely to persist with their four-pronged spin attack, Livingstone needs to devise a method that allows him to score with the rate that has made him hot property.

Team news: Dube, Jurel or Ramandeep?

India should slot Shivam Dube back into the XI after being called in to replace the injured Nitish Kumar Reddy. This means Dhruv Jurel, who got a game in Chennai because India didn’t have another batter on the bench, will likely make way. Ramandeep Singh has an outside chance too.India (probable XI): 1 Sanju Samson (wk), 2 Abhishek Sharma, 3 Tilak Varma, 4 Suryakumar Yadav (capt), 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Shivam Dube, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Varun Chakravarthy.England have announced an unchanged XI. Jacob Bethell, who missed the Chennai T20I due to an illness, will therefore be on the sidelines. His replacement, Jamie Smith, struck a breezy 12-ball 22 in his first outing of the series.England XI: Phil Salt (wk), 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Jos Buttler (capt), 4 Harry Brook, 5 Liam Livingstone, 6 Jamie Smith, 7 Jamie Overton, 8 Brydon Carse, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Mark Wood, 11 Adil Rashid.

Pitch and conditions: Highway in Rajkot?

There are only two types of surfaces largely possible in Rajkot because of the geography. A road that many liken to the highway that runs next to the Niranjan Shah Stadium, and a rank turner that Saurashtra – the home team – often tailor, like they did last week, to suit their spin strength. Given this is a T20I, there’s little doubt what will be on offer. So expect a flat track full of runs, and dew that will most-likely make toss very crucial once again.

Stats and trivia

• Since the 2024 T20 World Cup ended, India and England are both neck-and-neck (England 9.35, India 9.34) as far as powerplay run-rate goes. It’s in the middle overs where India have stood out with their new mantra of all-out aggression, scoring at 10.07 compares to England’s 8.90. England’s sample size (eight T20Is) is smaller than India’s (17) though.
• England hit a boundary every 4.9 balls on an average in T20Is since 2024. This is the third-best among all Full Members in T20Is in this period, behind Australia (4.6) and India (4.8).
• India have won four of the five T20Is in Rajkot. This includes wins by 80-plus run margin in their last two outings.
• Tilak Varma has scored 318 runs across four innings since his last dismissal in T20Is and has struck at 182.75 in this period.
• England’s win-loss record in India in T20Is is 9-10. South Africa and Bangladesh are the only other countries where they’ve lost more T20Is than they won.

Quotes

“Him playing or not playing – I’m not the one who can answer. There’s definitely a plan, looking to the coming matches and one-dayers. That’s something Gautam and Surya will take a call, but his fitness is definitely not a problem.” — “I felt a little bit hit and miss — I’ve done a couple of good things, it’s great that my pace has been up there and I feel it’s coming out of my hand well, but the accuracy at times hasn’t been quite where I wanted it. But when I haven’t played since August, it’s pretty much expected — I’ve played two games since then. Hopefully the more I play, the better I get leading into the 50-over stuff and the Champions Trophy.” —

Vaibhav Suryavanshi picked a wicket as India had England five wickets down and trailing by 310 runs

ECB Reporters Network13-Jul-2025Rocky Flintoff fell seven runs short of a century as England Under-19 fought back on day two of their Under-19 test with India at Beckenham.England were 230 for five at stumps in reply to India’s 540 all, out, trailing by 310.Flintoff was lbw to Deepesh Devendran for 93 just five minutes from the close of play and their captain Hamza Shaikh made 84. Henil Patel had India’s best bowling figures with 2 for 51.Earlier RS Ambrish hit 70 as India were dismissed for 540, with right-arm quick Alex Green claiming 3 for 74, and left-arm spinner Ralphie Albert three for 95.India were 450 for seven overnight and Ambrish reached 50 when he edged James Minto for four through the slips. He had added 20 more when he feathered Green behind.Green should have had a second wicket in the over, but Anmoljeet Singh was dropped by Archie Vaughan at second slip, the fifth drop of the innings. Anmoljeet then survived being hit on both feet and got another life when both batters ended up at the keeper’s end and England were too slow to react.Albert eventually had Henil caught on the boundary by Jaydn Denly, but only after he’d hit him for successive sixes on his way to 38 and Albert then wrapped up the innings by bowling Devendran with the final ball before lunch.Right-arm medium pacer Henil struck in the first over of England’s reply when he had Vaughan lbw for two. Denly was then dropped by Mohamed Enaan after square cutting Devendran when he was on 22, but Henil conjured a beauty that pitched on leg and hit the top of his off stump, bowling him for 27Flintoff was on 25 when he pulled Devendran straight to Kumar, who dropped a chest-high catch and he cashed in after tea when he thick-edged Enaan for four to pass 50.Shaikh then hit Anmoljeet for six over long off, but a partnership worth 154 was broken when 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi had Shaikh caught at mid-off.Ben Mayes was subsequently lbw to Vilhaan Malhotra for 11, but Thomas Rew got a life when India skipper Ayush Mhatre missed a difficult chance to catch him at slip off Anmoljeet when he was on three. The bowler had better luck in the penultimate over, when with a ton there for the taking, he trapped Flintoff lbw.

Shaheen and Rauf set to travel to Sri Lanka for Pakistan’s three ODIs against Afghanistan

Matt Roller07-Aug-2023Welsh Fire plan to replace Pakistan’s fast-bowling spearheads with two of New Zealand’s next week, with Lockie Ferguson and Matt Henry lined up as replacements for Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf in the men’s Hundred.Shaheen and Rauf have made an immediate impression on the tournament, taking five and three wickets respectively in Fire’s first three games. Having lost all eight group games last year, Fire have enjoyed a resurgence under new coach Mike Hussey, winning their first game, losing to Southern Brave by two runs and tieing with Oval Invincibles.The pair are both due to travel to Sri Lanka for Pakistan’s three-match ODI series against Afghanistan, with the first fixture on August 22. They are expected to play Fire’s next three fixtures before flying, and are therefore set to miss their final two group games on August 20 and 22.ESPNcricinfo understands that Fire have identified Ferguson and Henry as their replacements and have sent the relevant paperwork to the ECB for confirmation. Ferguson is a like-for-like replacement for Rauf, while Henry will fill a similar role to Shaheen, bowling predominantly with the new ball.Both players are part of New Zealand’s T20I squad for their tour to England which begins immediately after the Hundred, and Henry had already informed NZC that he would be unavailable for the tour to the UAE (August 17-20) in anticipation of a replacement contract. Ferguson is part of the squad for that tour but may now be withdrawn.Henry has been in excellent form, most recently winning the Vitality Blast with Somerset and finishing the tournament as its leading wicket-taker, with 31 wickets at 13.23. Ferguson has only made two appearances since the IPL, taking three wickets for LA Knight Riders in the inaugural Major League Cricket season last month.

KKR are hoping for a change of fortunes after finishing seventh in both 2022 and 2023

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Nov-2023Gautam Gambhir, who was captain when Kolkata Knight Riders won the IPL in 2012 and 2014, has linked up with the franchise as the team’s mentor, starting with the upcoming season in 2024 with no fixed period decided on yet.”I am not an emotional person and not many things move me. But this is different,” Gambhir said in a statement. “This is back to where it all started. Today, there is a lump in my throat and fire in my heart as I think about slipping into that purple and gold jersey once again.”Gambhir, a T20 (2007) and ODI (2011) World Cup champion, joined Knight Riders in 2011 and was with the team till 2017. During the period, Knight Riders qualified for the IPL playoffs five times (including the two years they won the tournament) and also reached the final of the now-defunct Champions League T20 in 2014.”Gautam has always been part of the family and this is our captain coming back home in a different avatar as a ‘Mentor’,” team co-owner Shah Rukh Khan noted. “He was sorely missed and now we all look forward to Chandu [Chandrakant Pandit] Sir and Gautam in instilling the never-say-die spirit and of sportsmanship they stand for, in creating magic with Team KKR.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The Knight Riders support staff is led by head coach Chandrakant Pandit, with Abhishek Nayar (assistant coach), James Foster (assistant coach), Bharat Arun (bowling coach) and Ryan ten Doeschate (fielding coach) in the line-up.Knight Riders, one of the few teams to have been a part of every edition of the IPL since its inception in 2008, reached the IPL final, where they lost to Chennai Super Kings, in 2021, but have since finished seventh in both 2022 and 2023.In recent years, apart from being a member of parliament and a TV cricket pundit, Gambhir was a part of Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL. He joined Lucknow Super Giants, one of two new teams in the 2022 season of the IPL, and was subsequently elevated to the role of “global mentor”, which made him a part of Durban’s Super Giants in the SA20 league in South Africa as well.

Rahul’s absence could mean an overhaul of the LSG line-up

Sruthi Ravindranath02-May-20235:58

Dasgupta: CSK will be favourites for a day game in Lucknow

Big picture – LSG look to course-correct after RCB drama

What’s an IPL without a little bit of drama, amirite?When Lucknow Super Giants lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore on Monday night, Virat Kohli, Gautam Gambhir and Naveen-ul-Haq picked up big fines. But, more crucially for LSG, KL Rahul injured his hip flexor while fielding and walked off in the second over of the match, and has also been ruled out of the match against Chennai Super Kings*.LSG will want to quickly put all of that behind them as they enter this match. This is the same team that smashed 257 in Mohali less than a week ago, but on Monday, their batting looked toothless, with most of their batters getting out trying to attack on a slow surface at the Ekana Stadium.Related

• LSG receive injury blows to Rahul and Unadkat

With Rahul out, will Quinton de Kock finally get a chance? If they do want to get de Kock in, then one of their options is to bench Naveen-ul-Haq and bring in Avesh Khan. But that makes it an all-Indian bowling attack. They could also make Ayush Badoni play up the order. Or even Marcus Stoinis, Deepak Hooda, Manan Vohra or Prerak Mankad. Options aplenty there.CSK are coming off back-to-back losses, which have taken them from No. 1 on the points table to No. 4, but the Lucknow pitch might work for them. The surfaces have been slow and have aided turn, and though this one is likely to be played on a red-soil strip, CSK have quality in their line-up.LSG lost to CSK in a high-scoring contest in Chennai the last time these sides met this season.2:41

Should Dhoni bat ahead of Jadeja for CSK?

Team news – Unadkat ruled out, question marks over Rahul

Super Giants’ left-arm quick Jaydev Unadkat has been ruled out of the remainder of IPL because of a left-shoulder injury, which he picked up while training in the nets on Sunday**.Krunal Pandya, who stood in for Rahul on Monday, is likely to lead the team. Mark Wood is expected to be available for their next two games before flying home for the birth of his daughter, and LSG would be tempted to give him a go if a red-soil pitch is in use.

Form guide

Super Giants LWLWL
Super Kings LLWWW

Impact Player strategy

Lucknow Super Giants
Super Giants will have to make a forced change because of Rahul’s injury. De Kock could finally get a game, but it would mean many changes to their make-up. The likelier option is, perhaps, to get an Indian batter to fill in.Probable XII 1 Kyle Mayers, , 3 Ayush Badoni, 4 Deepak Hooda, 5 Krunal Pandya (capt), 6 Marcus Stoinis, 7 Nicholas Pooran (wk), 8 K Gowtham, 9 , 10 Ravi Bishnoi, 11 Amit Mishra, 12 Naveen-ul-Haq/Mark Wood.

The big question

Chennai Super Kings
Mitchell Santner had been performing well but was dropped once Maheesh Theekshana became available. Theekshana has taken just five wickets in six innings at an economy of 8.4 this season and he hasn’t taken a single wicket in nine overs in the powerplay. CSK could be tempted to bring Santner back, given he’s also a gun fielder and can contribute with the bat.Probable XII: 1 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 2 Devon Conway, 3 Ajinkya Rahane, 4 Moeen Ali, 5 , 6 Shivam Dube, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 9 Matheesha Pathirana, 10 Tushar Deshpande, 11 Maheesh Theekshana/Mitchell Santner, 12

Pitch and conditions

A red-soil pitch, instead of the black-soil surface for the RCB game, is expected to be used at the Ekana Stadium, which will mean more bounce on offer. Despite expected cloud cover in the afternoon, there is no forecast of rain. The average first-innings score at the venue this season has been 147.

Stats and Trivia

• Kyle Mayers has taken on spinners with confidence, striking at 175 against them this season, which is the second highest for batters who have at least 75 runs. But Moeen Ali has dismissed him twice in three meetings in T20s. Against CSK earlier this season, Mayers brought up a 21-ball half-century before getting out to Moeen in the sixth over.
• Amit Mishra has dismissed Ajinkya Rahane three times in ten meetings.
• LSG have the lowest win percentage (33.3%) while chasing in the IPL since 2022, losing eight out of the 12 matches in which they have batted second.
• Ravindra Jadeja has struggled against spin. This year, he’s scored 21 off 16 balls against that style of bowling.
• Tushar Deshpande could be on his way to setting a dubious record. With 17 wickets in nine games, he is the leading wicket-taker so far in IPL 2023, but he’s also leaked runs at an economy rate of 11.07. Of all previous Purple Cap winners, Mohit Sharma (23 wickets in 2014) had the poorest economy rate: 8.39.

* GMT 8.24am: The preview was updated with information on KL Rahul’s availability for the match
**GMT 4.50am: The preview was updated with the news of Jaydev Unadkat being ruled out

Australian has extensive experience playing in UK and joins after successful summer with Somerset

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Dec-2025Hampshire have recruited Australia allrounder Amanda-Jade Wellington as one of their overseas players for the 2026 season.Wellington, 28, has previous experience of playing at the Utilita Bowl with Southern Brave in the Hundred – she is the second-highest wicket-taker across five seasons of the competition – and joins after a successful campaign with Somerset in the inaugural women’s Tier 1 season earlier this year.”I’m really excited to join Hampshire for the upcoming season,” Wellington said. “I had a great time at Utilita Bowl in my two years at Southern Brave and I look forward to catching up with familiar faces and making new memories which will hopefully result in trophies come end the end of the summer.”Related

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An attacking legspinner and capable batter, Wellington has played 23 times for Australia across all formats, but not since 2022. She is expected to be available throughout the summer for Hampshire.Regional director of women’s cricket, Adam Carty, said: “We’re really pleased to secure Amanda-Jade for the whole of next season. She’s a friend of the club and a vastly experienced cricketer, who boasts a fine record with bat and ball in England having featured effectively in the Hundred and in Tier 1.”We look forward to welcoming her back to Utilita Bowl in 2026.”