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The left-arm spinner underwent remedial work under CSA’s head of High Performance, Vincent Barnes

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Mar-2023Aaron Phangiso, the South Africa and Joburg Super Kings’ left-arm spinner has had his bowling action cleared following a re-test, the SA20 league announced via a press release. The league has also lifted the suspension previously imposed upon the spinner.Phangiso was reported for a suspect bowling action during Super Kings’ game against Pretoria Capitals on January 17 in the inaugural SA20. He was deemed to have a non-compliant action after undergoing a number of laboratory tests and subsequently suspended from bowling in the league.Related

• Aaron Phangiso suspended from bowling in SA20 due to illegal action

• Phangiso's bowling action found illegal

The 39-year-old has since undergone bowling action remodelling and remedial work under the guidance of CSA head of High Performance, Vincent Barnes. He undertook a test at an ICC Accredited Testing Centre at the University of Pretoria, which “noted an improvement in his action, and cleared the way for him to return to bowling.” The Independent Assessment report on Phangiso’s bowling action was presented to SA20’s Independent Expert Panel, which consisted of Zama Ndamane, Gerrie Pienaar, Russell Domingo and Vernon Philander.Phangiso played six matches at the SA20, picking ten wickets – including two four-wicket hauls – and finishing as the second-highest wicket-taker for his team. Super Kings made it to the semi-final of the tournament, where they were beaten by eventual winners Sunrisers Eastern Cape by 14 runs.This was the second time in his career that Phangiso’s action was deemed illegal. He was first reported during Lions’ win against Warriors in the semi-final of the Momentum One-Day Cup in 2016 and was cleared after undergoing remedial work on his action.Phangiso has played 21 ODIs and 16 T20Is for South Africa and last donned the national jersey in a T20I against India in 2016.

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.

Shanaka’s unbeaten 64 had taken Sri Lanka to 168 but it wasn’t enough

Andrew Fidel Fernando20-Sep-20251:49

Chopra: You look at Saif and go ‘there’s some serious talent there’

Three top order stands, one after the other, led by Saif Hassan, then Towhid Hridoy, propelled Bangladesh to overhaul Sri Lanka’s 168, on a dry Dubai track.Saif’s 59-run stand with Litton Das came off 34 balls. It saw Bangladesh set the platform. Then Saif joined Hridoy for a 54-run stand off 45 balls, that consolidated their innings through the middle overs. Hridoy then took charge in a 45-run partnership off 27 balls with Shamim Hossain that put Bangladesh on the cusp of victory. There were some wobbles very late in the game, but those batters had done enough. Bangladesh only needed five to win going into the final over, and they got there with a ball to spare, even if they’d lost two wickets and almost a third scoring the winning run.Sri Lanka struggled for wickets right through the innings, with Saif especially good at keeping the seamers at bay in the powerplay. By the end of the 15th over, Bangladesh had still only lost three wickets, and needed only 39 more to win. It seemed highly unlikely they would lose from there. In fact, they had looked good for the majority of this chase.In Sri Lanka’s innings, Dasun Shanaka’s promotion to No. 5 had yielded results, as he struck 64 not out off 37 balls, to give Sri Lanka a decent – if not spectacular – finish. But two Bangladesh bowlers had also shone: Mustafizur Rahman took 3 for 20, and Mahedi Hasan claimed 2 for 25.2:07

Maharoof: Shanaka showed up when the chips were down

Saif neutralises Nuwan Thushara

When Nuwan Thushara dismissed Tanzid Hasan in the first over, you wondered if this would be another match which his first spell goes some distance to winning. He has tended to have rich hauls against this opposition. But in Saif, Bangladesh had a beautiful counter to Thushara. Saif was outstanding down the ground as Thushara kept going full (as he often does in the powerplay). Saif hit a four over the bowler’s head first ball of the second over, before running at Thushara next ball and depositing him over the rope. Thushara’s second and third overs would cost 14 runs each, Saif doing the majority of that damage.

Hridoy takes down Kamindu Mendis

Sri Lanka’s general strategy is to have Shanaka and one of the spin-bowling allrounders share four overs between them. Usually Charith Asalanka bowls himself. But in this game he chose not to bowl, and gave the 15th over of the innings to Kamindu Mendis. It would be the one in which the match would swing definitively in Bangladesh’s direction.Hridoy crashed him over cover for four second ball, then when Kamindu fired a shortish ball at the stumps, Hridoy got inside the line and launched it high over the deep square leg boundary. Later in the over, he slashed one between cover point and backward point to fetch another four. At the start of that over Bangladesh had needed 55 off 36 balls. Hridoy’s 16 runs off that over made the equation much simpler.1:55

Chopra impressed with Hridoy’s cricketing smarts

Shanaka’s blitz

Unlike Sri Lanka’s bowlers, Bangladesh kept striking regularly after Sri Lanka’s openers had put on 44 runs together. Shanaka was the only one to make a substantial score through the middle and later overs, crashing six sixes and three fours. He’d been dropped off the bowling of Mustafizur on 38, in a period in which Bangladesh gave at least three batters reprieves. Shanaka’s most productive over was against the spin of Nasum Ahmed, whom he clobbered for two sixes and a four in the 15th over.

Mustafizur and Taskin close well

Arguably the best over Bangladesh bowled was delivered by Mustafizur, who had both Kamindu and Asalanka caught in the 19th over, in which he conceded only five runs. Taskin Ahmed then bowled four dots to a mid-blitz Shanaka in the next over, delivering a clutch of good slower balls. He was hit for a six and a four too, but between them Bangladesh’s senior quicks had conceded only 15 in the last two overs, which Sri Lanka had been well-set to exploit.

The left-arm spinner helped keep South Africa to a 34-run lead on day one, after Bangladesh were bowled out for just 106

Srinidhi Ramanujam21-Oct-2024Sixteen wickets fell on an eventful opening day of the first Test between Bangladesh and South Africa in Dhaka. At stumps, the visitors managed to take a lead of 34 runs despite Taijul Islam returning a five-wicket-haul on a surface that has helped spinners to grip and turn the ball. Kyle Verreynne and Wiaan Mulder’s unbeaten knocks took South Africa to 140 for 6 before bad light stopped play six overs short.South Africa dominated the first two sessions but Bangladesh came back into the contest in the final session when conditions became difficult for scoring. Tony de Zorzi looked comfortable against spin and consumed the most of number of balls among the South Africa batters but Taijul sent him back for a 72-ball 30 in the last session to dent South Africa. This was after Taijul induced a top edge of David Bedingham for his second wicket. From a comfortable position of 65 for 2 post tea, South Africa slipped to 108 for 6.Debutant Matthew Breetzke exposed his stumps expecting the ball to turn away but the ball skidded on to clean him up, and that wicket made Taijul only the second Bangladeshi bowler to reach 200 Test wickets after Shakib Al Hasan, who was forced to miss his farewell Test game due to security reasons.Earlier, South Africa got into the act quickly with Mulder, Kagiso Rabada and Keshav Maharaj ripping through Bangladesh with three wickets each to skittle them out for just 106 inside two sessions.Kagiso Rabada dismissed Mushfiqur Rahim and Litton Das on the way to 300 Test wickets•AFP/Getty Images

The majority of the damage was done by the two fast bowlers in the morning session when they left Bangladesh six down and hurt them in hazy Mirpur after Najmul Hossain Shanto decided to bat first. Mulder and Rabada utilised the grass cover on the surface for extra movement off the surface while also finding early swing to leave Bangladesh reeling at 60 for 6. Mulder was exceptional in his six-over opening spell, taking three wickets and bowling three maidens. Rabada picked up two in the morning to cross 300 wickets in Tests.Maharaj spun a web around the lower middle order and had Mehidy Hasan Miraz lbw at the stroke of lunch. Mahmudul Hasan Joy was patient in his 97-ball 30 before offspinner Dane Piedt bowled him to end Bangladesh’s chances of redemption.Mulder’s third wicket was set up nicely when he removed the left-hand Shanto going around the wicket after four balls only for the batter to get a tame leading edge to Maharaj at extra cover when he tried to work through midwicket against the angle.Rabada, after bowling four overs in his first spell, came back and dismissed Mushfiqur Rahim straightaway when he got one to zip through the gap between his bat and pad to rattle the stumps. A few overs later, he hit the hard length and forced Litton Das to edge one to a flying Stubbs at gully.Taijul and Nayeem Hasan put on 26 runs for the ninth wicket – also the highest stand of the innings – but Rabada came back in the second session to remove Nayeem. Bangladesh added 46 runs and lost four wickets post lunch.Poor shot selection and good bowling saw Bangladesh being bowled out for a small total. South Africa have also lost half the side on the wicket that’s turning and bouncing but by gaining a small lead, they are slightly ahead at the end of day’s play.

Joe Root passes 150, Matt Fisher claims maiden Test wicket with second ball

Valkerie Baynes17-Mar-2022Ben Stokes made a welcome return to the ranks of Test centurion with a belligerent display against West Indies as England set a commanding first-innings total.It had been well over 18 months and 23 Test innings without a ton for Stokes and much has happened in that time – from losing his beloved father, Ged, to a four-and-a-half-month absence from the game during which he had two operations to repair a serious finger injury and took time out to manage his mental health. But once he got going on the second morning in Barbados, it was something to behold.He struck four sixes and 11 fours as he reached 89 off just 92 balls by lunch, having started the day on nought after Dan Lawrence fell on the last ball of the opening day.A quieter period ensued after the interval as Kemar Roach and Jason Holder put the lid on England’s scoring for a time, but Stokes went out swinging once more, for 120, after bringing up his 11th Test hundred with a scampered single and celebrating with his crooked-fingered salute to the heavens in memory of his dad, who died in December 2020. Stokes’ last Test century had come against West Indies at Old Trafford in July of that year.Meanwhile, his captain, Joe Root, was at the other end of the pitch for the most part, during a 129-run partnership for the fourth wicket, having brought up his second consecutive Test century the evening before, his eighth in 19 Tests since the start of 2021.Root ended up with 153 on this occasion, before leaving Stokes to carry on and then seeing a 75-run seventh-wicket stand between Chris Woakes and Ben Foakes, allowing him to on 507 for 9 shortly after tea.Debutant Matthew Fisher, drafted into the squad after the Ashes debacle and handed his chance when Craig Overton fell ill on the eve of this match, struck with just his second ball in international cricket before Kraigg Brathwaite and Shamarh Brooks resisted further damage to steer West Indies to 71 for 1 at the close.Having seen John Campbell thread his first ball to the rope through backward point, Fisher elicited a prod outside off-stump and the ball flew off the toe-end of Campbell’s bat to Foakes behind the stumps. Poignantly, as he celebrated his maiden Test wicket, Fisher raised his finger skyward in tribute to his own father, Phil, who died when Matthew was just 14.Fisher thought he had his second wicket when Brooks jabbed in the direction of second slip, where Zak Crawley stooped very low to grab the ball in his fingertips, although he came up looking uncertain as to whether it had been grounded in the process and replays showed it had, confirming the not-out soft signal.Brathwaite was then given out lbw on 14, Jack Leach skidding one into his back pack – but not before it had grazed the bat, as the DRS confirmed to reprieve West Indies’ captain.Earlier, Stokes and Root had England innings looking like London buses as they carried their side past 300. That mark had evaded them for 12 innings and more than six months, until the first Test in Antigua, when they racked up 311 and 349 for 6 declared.Matt Fisher struck with his second ball in Test cricket•Getty Images

Having begun the day on 244 for 3, with Root on 119, Stokes lit up the morning. He twice advanced on left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul to launch him down the ground for six in consecutive overs, bringing up his fifty in the second instance. He later muscled Permaul over the fence at midwicket before clubbing the very next ball over cover for four.Stokes took to Alzarri Joseph in the following over with three consecutive fours, bringing up the 100-partnership with Root via a powerful drive through cover before launching him over long-off and through midwicket. But Stokes wasn’t done, passing 5000 Test runs with a mow down the ground to clear the fence by some distance.Root passed 150 for the 12th time in his career, the most by any England batter, but then Roach, with his first ball back into the attack and the seventh after lunch, ended his stay with one that nipped back from outside off and rapped the front pad. Initially adjudged not out by umpire Nigel Duguid, the hosts reviewed and Hawk-Eye showed the ball crashing into the top of leg stump to move Roach past Sir Garry Sobers and clear into seventh on West Indies’ list of all-time wicket-takers.Jonny Bairstow crashed Jayden Seales down the ground and through the covers before holing out to deep midwicket off Joseph, and with that Stokes threw the bat again. He heaved Brathwaite over the fence at deep midwicket for his first boundary since lunch, some 13.2 overs after the resumption, and was very nearly out on the next ball, lofting Brathwaite to long-on, where Campbell spilled a tough chance while stepping on the rope. Stokes came undone going big again one ball later, this time skying Brathwaite to Brooks at long-off.West Indies took three wickets for eight runs in the space of 14 balls, prompting Root to call his men in six overs into the evening session. Permaul, who had come in for some tough treatment, particularly at the hands of Stokes, had Foakes and Leach stumped by Joshua Da Silva to bookend Woakes’ dismissal, sending Roach high into the air on the leg side to be caught by Seales.

The series next February could yet be vital in the World Test Championship

AAP04-Jul-2022Australia’s coaches have turned an eye to next year’s tour of India as they prepare for the possibility of pulling off a rare hat-trick on the subcontinent.Andrew McDonald’s men were set to return to training on Monday after two days off, as they begin to ramp up preparations for Friday’s second Test against Sri Lanka.A win or draw in Galle will secure a second straight series win in Asia, after breaking an 11-year drought with victory in Pakistan earlier this year. But they are also aware a bigger challenge awaits next February.Australia have not won in India since 2004, while victory there would mark just the third time in the team’s history they have won three straight series in Asia. None of those streaks have come inside the space of 12 months.There will also be greater implications, with the series the last played before the World Test Championship final and Australia well clear in first with India third.Related

• How Green's meticulous foresight helped reach the zone of proximal development

• It's no surprise that Stokes and Cummins have succeeded as captains

• Adaptable Australia make further strides on subcontinent mission

It’s why Australia are more than happy with their busy Asian schedule this year, offering up a greater chance to plan for how to best combat the conditions.Pakistan served up flatter wickets than those traditionally expected in Asia, with Rawalpindi a batter’s paradise and Karachi and Lahore only breaking up later. Galle meanwhile was a raging turner for the first Test against Sri Lanka, with some Australians describing it as the toughest they have batted on.In India, Australia expect a mixture of the two scenarios and anything in between during the four-Test series.”In a lot of ways it’s been nice to have a subcontinent tour of Pakistan, then here [in Sri Lanka] and build towards India,” assistant coach Daniel Vettori said. “Conditions will be very different. We will get a lot of variation from venue to venue.”You could get anything in between [the pitches in Pakistan and Sri Lanka]. If you play at Mohali it is going to be flat, if you play at Wankhede [in Mumbai] it could turn square like here. You can’t just have one plan.”Australia’s batters have made a point to meet the tempo of the match on both recent tours, playing the long game in Pakistan before upping the scoring rate in Galle. But regardless of the tempo, they want to use their crease and be busy enough to unsettle the spinners.A new-found willingness to sweep more is also key. Some 45.7 percent of Australia’s boundaries in the first Test were either swept or reverse-swept, compared to 20.8 per cent in their 3-0 loss in Sri Lanka in 2016.”In a lot of ways sweeps can be blocks over here,” Vettori said. “There have been plans for individuals to use whatever they feel comfortable with, and to be as proactive and brave as they could with it.”The guys who do sweep very well tried to emphasise that as much as possible. Alex Carey, I think his first 12 scoring shots were sweeps.”

Queensland’s openers needed 16 runs from three overs when the umpires called of play due to bad light.

AAP21-Oct-2022Umpire Greg Davidson determine the light was not good enough•Getty Images

It was so close and yet so far for Queensland in a drama-charged final session when bad light robbed them of Sheffield Shield victory against NSW with three overs remaining.Queensland’s openers needed 26 runs to win from the final five overs at Sydney’s Drummoyne Oval in what seemed like a formality. Joe Burns and Matt Renshaw polished off 10 of them in two overs before the umpires took the players off due to the light reading at 6.34pm AEDT.Bulls captain Usman Khawaja came onto the field to ask the umpires why they could not continue as the Blues players swiftly made their way to their dressing room delighted to have secured a draw.The bails were flicked off the stumps by umpires Greg Davidson and Simon Lightbody minutes later to bring an end to an extraordinary day’s play.Related

• Western Australia survive Murphy scare after Handscomb declines chance of 300

• Renshaw's double and Neser's hundred put Queensland in command

When legspinner Mitchell Swepson removed Nathan Lyon to dismiss the Blues for 256, victory had seemed assured.Queensland allrounder Michael Neser summed up the mood in the camp.”It is not the result we wanted. We fought so hard throughout the game,” he said. “We were so close to that win. If we could have [bowled NSW out] a couple of overs sooner it might have been a different result.”NSW batter Moises Henriques was left stranded on 99 after featuring in two match-saving stands.”We were just doing our best to stay out there for as long as we could,” Henriques said of his resistance.Henriques and Matthew Gilkes (48) batted through most of the first two sessions, which included a break for rain, in a 112-run stand. With Henriques at the crease NSW went to tea on 5 for 211 before the game took a roller coaster turn.Pacemen Neser and Mark Steketee then captured 3 for 2 in the space of 12 deliveries with Joe Burns taking two diving catches at slip and wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson snaring one of his own to remove Sean Abbott, Baxter Holt and Ben Dwarshius.Chris Tremain (5 off 68 balls) combined with Henriques to hold up Queensland for 27 overs in a 39-run ninth-wicket stand that was ultimately decisive.

Somerset fight through Aldridge, Rew and Lammonby but concede sizeable lead

ECB Reporters Network23-Aug-2024Ed Barnard’s five-for lifted Warwickshire into the ascendancy against Somerset on the second day of their Vitality County Championship match at Edgbaston.After Warwickshire, still looking for their first championship win of the season, extended their first innings to 337, Barnard took five for 54 as the visitors were bowled out for 239.Michael Burgess (69, 90 balls), Jake Bethell (64, 143) and some aggressive tail-wagging gave the home side a solid total against an attack led by Josh Davey (four for 80) and Craig Overton (four for 88).Somerset then lurched to nought for two and 65 for five against Barnard and Chris Rushworth (three for 42 in his first first-team bowl since April) before partially recovering through Kasey Aldridge’s elegant 84 (139), supported by James Rew (49, 75) and Tom Lammonby (44, 66).Warwickshire closed on 27 for one second time round and will be hoping the forecast third-day rain stays away to allow them to try to press home their advantage.The second day started with a highly entertaining 45 minutes as Warwickshire, resuming on 277 for six, added 60 for four in ten overs. Burgess and Bethell took their partnership to 122 in 29 balls before both fell in five balls. Burgess edged Overton and was superbly caught by wicketkeeper Rew, standing up. Bethell’s middle stump was knocked out by Davey.At 287 for eight, Warwickshire were in danger of coming in light but the last two wickets clubbed 50 from 40 balls with eight fours and two sixes. Michael Rae struck 28 from 22 before he skied a slog at Overton.After all the fluctuations, Warwickshire appeared to have finished with a total around par, but it appeared dominant when Somerset’s first five wickets fell in 20 overs. Their reply began in bizarre fashion when Tom Kohler-Cadmore charged at the first two balls from Olly Hannon-Dalby, missing the first and edging the second. When Rushworth knocked out Andy Umeed’s off stump, it was nought for two.Lammonby and Tom Abell added 36 but Barnard then struck twice as Abell fell lbw offering no shot and Tom Banton edged to Will Rhodes at first slip. Lammonby rose above the top order wreckage to score a polished 44 out of 65 but perished carelessly when he scooped Rushworth to long leg.Aldridge settled stylishly after a slightly sketchy start to add 87 with Rew and, after the latter edged Rushworth, 49 with Overton before the captain was castled by Hannon-Dalby. When Barnard bowled Davey and had Jack Leach caught at second slip in the space of four balls, Aldridge was 34 runs short of a ton with just last man Jake Ball for company. He acquired 18 of them before chipping a full-toss to extra cover to complete Barnard’s five-for.Warwickshire soon lost Rob Yates, who fatally edged Overton’s fifth ball, in their second innings but closed very strongly placed, 125 ahead with nine wickets intact, after Alex Davies and Will Rhodes survived until bad light lopped off the last 13 overs.

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

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

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

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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.” —