How India got the better of Latham

India's plan against Latham
Tom Latham's innings in Mumbai was one of the finest played by an overseas player in India. The way he swept the Indian spinners reminded one of Matthew Hayden and Andy Flower. The only place that he didn't target against spin was the long-off region (he had scored only one run towards long-off on Sunday) and it felt that the hosts fielded with only eight men. The Indian bowlers and captain Virat Kohli learnt from that experience, prepared a plan and executed it well. The spinners bowled only a couple of balls within the stumps and constantly had both fine-leg and square-leg inside the circle. The line and the field placement meant the option of padding a single from outside off was cut off, and the only way to find the fence was to go aerial. In addition to that, even after Latham was well set, India had six men inside the circle, which included a fielder at mid-off instead of long-off. The outside-off line forced Latham to walk across all the time and that's where the change of angle from Axar Patel worked. That was the only time Axar went around the wicket and instead of throwing it outside off, he pitched it towards leg and Latham played down the wrong line.

Bhuvneshwar's tight lines
It's a little difficult for a swing bowler to maintain tight lines but Bhuvneshwar Kumar has shown that he's capable of doing so without comprising on his ability to swing the ball bowl both ways. His beehive from today's match was a testament to his accuracy; most bowling coaches tell you to bowl the length that will make the ball hit the top off stump, and he did that consistently. He dismissed Martin Guptill with a ball that was too close to leave but still a little wide to play at and it moved away after pitching. Against Colin Munro he went around the stumps to bowl bouncers and came back over the stumps with a his knuckle ball that tends to float into the left-hand batsman, which accounted for an inside edge. Even for Henry Nicholls, he used the angle from around the stumps and hit the top of the wicket after going through the gate.

AB de Villiers joins Gayle, Dhoni in six-hitting club

3 - Scores higher bigger than AB de Villiers' 176, his highest, for South Africa in ODIs. Three of the top four scores have come since September 2016. Gary Kirsten's unbeaten 188 against UAE at the 1996 World Cup is still the highest individual ODI score by a South African.

25 - Number of centuries for de Villiers in ODIs. He is the seventh batsmen to score 25 or more ODI centuries and the second from South Africa after Hashim Amla to achieve this feat. Incidentally all his 25 hundreds have come at a strike rate in excess of 100. Six of his tons have come in less than 70 balls.

8 - Those who have ODI tons against all older Full Members (excludes Ireland and Afghanistan). Ricky Ponting, Herschelle Gibbs, Sachin Tendulkar, Hashim Amla, Virat Kohli, Ross Taylor, Upul Tharanga and de Villiers make up the super eight.

201 - Sixes hit by de Villiers in ODIs - the sixth cricketer to get past the 200 mark. He is fifth on the list of most six-hitters in ODIs. Shahid Afridi, Sanath Jayasuriya , Chris Gayle, MS Dhoni and Brendon Mccullum are the other members of this elite list.

2 - Scores bigger than de Villiers' 176 against Bangladesh in ODIs. Charles Coventry's 194* in 2009 and Shane Watson's 185* in 2011 are top the list.

7 - Instances of Bangladesh conceding 350 plus in ODIs. Five of these have come away from home, two of which are against South Africa. This is the first time they have conceded 350 plus since April 2011.

3 - Scores in excess of 300 at Boland Park in Paarl. The average first innings score at this venue in nine previous games is 230. South Africa's 353 on Wednesday is tops the 351 for 3 India made against Kenya was the highest team score at this venue going past the 351 for 3 made by India in 2001.

12 - Century stands between Hashim Amla and de Villiers - the most by any South African pair in ODIs. They went past the 11 century stands put together by Hershcelle Gibbs and Graeme Smith.

India's seven-batsman army didn't work

The pitch at the Barsapara stadium
The surface in Guwahati had a deep-brown look that suggested a lot of moisture. There was also an even covering of grass, which allowed the ball to grip the pitch and move laterally. The toss was critical and Australia did the right thing by choosing to field, after which Jason Behrendorff proved the value of a left-arm seamer. His natural angle - moving away from the right-hand batsman - accounted for Manish Pandey, and deliveries that came in got Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Behrendorff reaped rewards for his fuller length.

India's shot selection
In the first ODI, Pandey had fallen for a duck, nicking a full ball from Nathan Coulter-Nile. In Guwahati, Pandey stayed deep in the crease and was fortunate that Coulter-Nile rarely pitched full. Behrendorff, however, did pitch full and Pandey's front foot went down the pitch instead of towards the ball. He reached out for it with his hands and edged behind. Shikhar Dhawan had spent all but one ball in the first three overs at the non-striker's end, giving him ample time to assess the conditions. So the shot he played to fall to Behrendorff - an attempted chip over the infield - was careless.

Dhoni's footwork
The moisture in the pitch ensured the ball gripped and turned for the legspinner Adam Zampa. MS Dhoni tried to counter this threat by stepping out: in the over that he was eventually dismissed, Dhoni stepped out to Zampa five times. The idea was to force the bowler to shorten the length, which would allow Dhoni the freedom to stay in the crease and score off the back foot. It was interesting that Dhoni chose to step out - sometimes only to defend - to five consecutive balls without waiting on the back foot even once.

Seven-batsmen army
India have been picking seven batsmen in recent limited-overs games, the idea being to have extra firepower to set above-par totals or chase huge targets. It is also insurance against a collapse. The strategy hasn't always worked in ODIs with scores of 300, and even in Guwahati having Hardik Pandya at No. 7 did not prevent India from being dismissed in 20 overs. Playing the extra batsman also leaves you a bowler short, leaving no insurance for a bowler having a bad day. With the kind of batsmen India have, playing five proper bowlers is a tactic worth trying.

The Warner-Finch dismissals & Henriques' promotion
Most of the runs scored on this pitch were off the back foot and that led to Australia's openers being a little too eager. David Warner and Aaron Finch went back to balls that weren't short enough and paid the price. Australia were smart to promote Moises Henriques to no. 3, ahead of Glenn Maxwell. The conditions demanded a more technically sound batsman.

India's bowling plans
Travis Head and Henriques went after the left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav and medium-pacer Hardik Pandya. Every time Kuldeep pitched full, which is his strength, both batsmen went really hard at it. He was forced to bowl shorter and, on a slow Guwahati pitch, the ball sat up to be hit. The experience should encourage Kuldeep to expand his repertoire. From time to time, the situation will arise where he needs to bowl quicker and with control.

It was interesting that Kohli did not bowl Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Jasprit Bumrah in the middle overs despite Kuldeep going for plenty. Yes, it would have meant not having their overs at the end, but the only way to fight back was to break the Henriques-Head stand and take more wickets. As it turned out, with Australia winning in the 16th over, neither Bumrah nor Bhuvneshwar bowled their full quota.

The quiet signs of change in Pakistan's bowling strategy by RSBL

How open are we really to change? The entire human endeavour seems accented to carefully curating each day so that it mirrors yesterday and tomorrow. Sleep at the same time, wake up at the same time, go to more or less the same places, eat more or less the same food, listen to more or less the same music, be more or less with the same people. Routine is the real opium of the masses, that which keeps humans from destroying each other and the planet (and one day, we must continue to believe, this great theorem will be proven true).

On Thursday, Pakistan will walk into the Sheikh Zayed stadium and it will feel much as it has the last nine times they have walked into this venue for a Test. It is now home, now fortress. The stands will be empty and the immediate surrounds barren, and that sense of solitude, of diligently beavering towards a goal away from the eyes of the world - a sense that has helped them no end, by the way - will remain. Even the last few days of practice have progressed, more or less, as they always did, as if it's no big deal that they are elite athletes preparing for elite battle - no team's humanness, that they are not all that different to you and I, is as visible as Pakistan's.

Except, way out there somewhere, there's this low rumble gathering, maybe ominous, maybe not. It's the sound of change. The two men, in whose opposing personalities a pure essence of Pakistan was accidentally distilled - the unmoved ice of Misbah-ul-Haq meeting the moving lava of Younis Khan - are no longer here. Expect that rumble to grow louder. Eventually for sure, not right now necessarily.

RSBL & Windies dot matrix struggles to keep up with the times

Much has been made of the return of Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels to West Indies' one-day side but, while they give the batting line-up a stronger appearance, there is one aspect in which they don't improve the team: running between the wickets.

Neither of them are keen to put their body on the line to scurry up and down the 22 yards to put pressure on opposition fielders. At Old Trafford, Gayle reached the point of barely walking singles. Initially there appeared to be an injury - he was heard on the stump microphone complaining about a hamstring strain - although he fielded during England's chase and the West Indies camp said there was no fitness issue.

Samuels struggled for his timing, as did most of West Indies' batsmen barring Gayle and his early boundary collection, but rather than trying to drop and run a little more, it was either attempt to hit the ball the hard or defend it. Samuels eventually fell for 17 off 46 deliveries, 31 of which were dot balls.
In T20, the block-or-bash method has not hindered West Indies, the immense power in the batting order - over a short duration - means they can overcome dot balls by clearing the boundary. But in the 50-over game, an innings such as Gayle's 37 off 27 balls from a top-order batsman has less chance of defining a game, a point that was explored in greater detail in this feature.

Overall, there were 142 dot balls in West Indies' 42 overs at Old Trafford - 56.34% of the innings - something pinpointed by captain Jason Holder and Toby Radford, the batting coach, after the match. That, in fact, is a slightly better mark than their figure since the 2015 World Cup, a period in which they have averaged 59.84% of dot balls in an ODI innings. Only Hong Kong, Afghanistan, Papua New Guinea and UAE are below them in one-day internationals during the period.

"It's the way Chris has always played, he's a destructive batter and if you have him in for a period of time you can have a matchwinning score," Radford said. "He'll always play the way he does and Marlon plays a bit like that as well.

"What you tend to find when you come to England is that you have big boundaries and they look to push twos into the outfield, then try to limit our boundary hitting. It's the same when we travel around the world. It's something we talk about all the time and as a team we have to adapt, make sure we are pushing the fielders. Those ones and twos add up by the end. We have to find a way to get those singles, but sometimes you have to give credit to how a side bowls against you."

Gayle and Samuels are not for changing at this stage of their careers but it isn't just about the runs they themselves are missing out on, but the impact it has on the other batsmen. Anyone batting with them has to be aware how much to push the running, and it hasn't escaped England's attention that the run out is a likely source of a wicket. Gayle went that way in the T20 and could have been found short at Old Trafford as well.

"He doesn't run that well between the wickets, so maybe we can stop the singles and make him hit boundaries," Liam Plunkett said after the T20.

There could hardly be a bigger contrast than with England's approach. They have the lowest dot-ball percentage since the 2015 World Cup (49.48) and the partnership between Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root in Manchester was a lesson in how to milk the bowling. Bairstow faced just one dot ball more than Samuels in an innings that was 51 deliveries longer.

"Jonny is very quick between the wickets, always putting fielders and bowlers under pressure and it makes it a lot easier batting with him when there's someone so quick to run the runs with you," Root said. "I thought that was one thing he did really well, he picked up every single and really challenged the guys on the rope, getting the twos and threes when we could.

"It's such an important part of one-day cricket to try and scrape every run. It's so frustrating as a bowler when you feel like you are bowling good deliveries but the batsmen scratch a single, then when you miss your mark it goes for four. Instead of going at four-an-over you end up going at seven, eight or nine an over."

"It's the genetics," Bairstow said, "it's me being me. It's something I've grown up with up. If there's two to be had I'll try to come back. It's an asset to be quick between the wickets, like someone who can scoop or hit you straight down the ground. It's the intensity we want to play at as a side…if you are chasing a higher score and able to get the ones and twos and score a boundary an over, all of a sudden you are scoring plenty without taking too many risks."

There are many reasons why West Indies have failed to automatically qualify for the 2019 World Cup. Some require longer-term solutions, but there are other things the players can do immediately to try and improve their one-day fortunes. Getting a shift on between the wickets is one of them.

Evolving Babar cherishes scoring runs in front of home crowd News by RSBL

Babar, subsequently, made his international debut in an ODI in May 2015 in Lahore against Zimbabwe - a rarity because Babar's rise was during Pakistan's isolation as an international venue due to security concerns. He then smashed a hat-trick of hundreds against West Indies in the UAE, and became the joint fastest to 1000 ODI runs, equalling Viv Richards, Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott and Quinton De Kock.

Top-flight cricket returned to Pakistan on Tuesday night and Babar marked it with an exquisite 86 off 52 balls, in front of his home crowd. He missed a maiden T20 hundred, but provided great entertainment with 10 fours and two sixes - the highlight being a trademark pull through square leg off Morne Morkel. He followed it with attractive drives off Ben Cutting and a skillful jab through midwicket.

Babar's Test returns - he averages only 27.25 - haven't been as productive as his limited-overs returns, but the selectors have trust in him, largely because of his unflappable temperament, which came to the fore in Lahore. Babar cherished scoring runs in front of his home crowd and said it was "something special".

"It's obviously difficult to play your own home series away from home because playing at home is relatively easy for us," he said. "It's mainly because we grew up playing at our home venues, attuned with the conditions and with the crowd support it's more enjoyable. It helps a lot also playing in front of a crowd that loves cricket and loves you and performing make us more special. We unfortunately have been deprived of playing at home regularly [sic] while every team around the world enjoys the privilege of playing at their home. I did play one game earlier against Zimbabwe at home and it also gives you immense pleasure to play at your home ground."

Babar's match-winning knock against a diverse and robust World XI team highlighted his evolution as a limited-overs batsman. He is strong in defence, picks his shots smartly, and knows when to accelerate. With Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq retiring Pakistan cricket seemed to be in a crisis, but Babar has given hope. He is only 22 and seems set to carry the batting for a long time, like Younis and Misbah had done.

West Indies swing low, but finish their day on a high RSBL

Some days it doesn't matter what you do.

You can wake up after your best ever sleep, look in the mirror and realise you've lost five pounds, accidentally rub against a lucky rabbit's foot and find a fifty pound note in your pocket. The stars can be in alignment, the moon in your house and the sun shining on your back.

Sometimes you can prepare as best you can, mentally and physically, focus on your processes and kick the laurels from underneath you.

Some days you can do all of the right things and it counts for nothing.

At Edgbaston, West Indies were bowled out for 168 and 137. In their first innings at Lord's they were all out for 123. But while they managed fewer runs in their most recent outing, it didn't spark the same sense of calamity as did their batting capitulation in the first Test. Perhaps there was still a lingering and softening glow remaining from their Headingley victory. Or perhaps a realisation that, today, they simply came up against some outstanding swing bowling in the sort of conditions that would have seriously tested the most resolute batsman's defence.

The ball may have been red but there were similarities to Edgbaston. There, the Windies struggled against a moving ball under artificial lights and for much of the first day of this final Test the lights were required at a gloomy Lord's.

Kraigg Brathwaite and Kyle Hope were victims of the new ball leaving them under the expert guidance of James Anderson as he hunted down the last few wickets needed to reach his teasing milestone - he was so difficult to play, it probably cost him the elusive 500th wicket. Could they have left better? Opening batsmen nick off to good outswingers. Such is the nature of the game at this level.

Shai Hope did the early hard work, was patient and looked set; he could arguably have played Toby Roland-Jones better and perhaps have avoided the thin edge. But there will be far worse shots and poorer innings than this.

RSBL Saeed Ajmal to represent Faisalabad in Quaid-e-Azam Trophy

Saeed Ajmal, who last played first-class cricket in 2015, has been picked up by Faisalabad Region for the upcoming Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Pakistan's premier domestic tournament. As many as eight regional teams selected their squads, with eight players out of 20 selected through the draft process for the very first time in the history of Pakistan cricket. A total of 12 players, including two emerging players, were selected through the traditional process of picking players from their own senior inter-districts.

A list of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy teams

Regional: Lahore Blues, Lahore Whites, Karachi Whites, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Faisalabad, FATA, Peshawar
Department: WAPDA, HBL, UBL, SSGC, SNGPL, NBP, KRL, PTV

Ajmal, 39, last played for Pakistan in Bangladesh in 2015 after remodelling his bowling action, which was declared illegal by the ICC in September 2014. He struggled to maintain his performances ever since, and is yet to play for Pakistan since that ill-fated Bangladesh tour, which saw Pakistan lose all three ODIs and the solitary T20I. His personal performances on that tour were also a sharp diversion from his high standards before being sanctioned. They included figures that read 10-0-74-0 in the first ODI, the worst of his career.
He earmarked the Pakistan Super League (PSL) in 2016 as a stepping stone from which he would make a national comeback, but was never able to establish himself as an automatic selection for his franchise, Islamabad United.
The method to pick players via a draft was a radical change this year, but then again, Pakistan's domestic cricket has been the subject of an overhaul almost every second year for the past decade. The format remains intact for the second year running, with 16 teams (eight regional and eight departments), but the selection process was tweaked in spite of strong objections raised by Karachi, the largest cricket association in the country.
The move initially came under heavy criticism, leading to the board to agree to a compromise of the balance of players picked through the draft. The PCB had initially intended for 12 players to be selected through a draft system, leaving regions to pick only eight players from their districts. Facing pressure from cricket quarters within the country, the PCB found a middle ground by allowing associations to pick 60% of players through more conventional routes from their respective regions.
Eight players were picked through a draft and 10 through the usual selection process, with two set to be emerging players from the region's Under-19 circuit. The model, according to the PCB, was introduced to counter the problem of selections not based on merit, making it more competitive when competing with departmental teams, who can field much stronger players. The PCB wished to enhance the competitiveness of regional sides who have struggled to compete against department sides in the QEA; historically, when regional and department sides have been grouped together in the tournament, the latter have fielded the better players, enabled by greater financial resources at their disposal.

RSBL Bayliss has 'fingers crossed' at promising batting signs

Despite England's humbling defeat to West Indies at Headingley, head coach Trevor Bayliss has suggested they may be closer to settling a couple more names for this winter's Ashes party. Half-centuries from Mark Stoneman and Dawid Malan were ultimately in a losing cause but the grit shown by both during England's second innings earned praise from Bayliss ahead of a final audition in the third Investec Test at Lord's.

England have deployed a revolving cast of characters worthy of a soap opera - old favourites, new faces - in their top order over recent years, although selection for the Test side is a much more sober business than during the 1980s and '90, as demonstrated by Tom Westley retaining his place in the squad for Lord's.

Since the end of the previous Ashes, 18 different batsmen - excluding the bottom six in this list - have been tried in the top seven, with only Alastair Cook, Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow secure in their positions (and Moeen Ali currently fulfilling his auxiliary role at No. 8). Of the others, only Keaton Jennings has managed a century and just two - Haseed Hameed and Ian Bell - averaged more than 30.

Stoneman replaced Jennings at the start of the series against West Indies, becoming Cook's 12th opening partner since the retirement of Andrew Strauss in 2012, and made 52 in his third innings - a composed knock in which he batted on after suffering a dislocated finger, leading Bayliss to describe him as a "tough type of player". Malan, meanwhile, scored his second half-century in consecutive Tests, having grafted against type for 186 deliveries.

Bayliss' admission that he has "fingers crossed for them" is reflective of a patchy track record in Tests since joining the selection panel after his appointment in 2015 and there are still several rounds of the Championship remaining in which players - such as Lancashire's Liam Livingstone, who scored a career-best double-hundred on Tuesday - could come to the fore. While Westley's position at No. 3 remains less certain, Bayliss was optimistic Stoneman and Malan would present strong cases to be in Australia.

"We hope so. This last Test match will be another opportunity for them to really nail it down," Bayliss said. "They have started to look comfortable and they can both play off the back foot so the signs are looking good. But, as you know, we've said that before and we've had a change after a few more matches. I still have fingers crossed for them.

RSBL, Sriram, Robin Singh to coach SA T20 franchises

S Sriram and Robin Singh are set to coach Jo'burg Giants and Bloem City Blazers respectively in the inaugural edition of South Africa's T20 Global League in November.

Sriram, who played eight ODIs for India between 2000 and 2004, is currently the spin consultant with the Australian team on their tour of Bangladesh. It is a role he performed during their tours of India and Sri Lanka last season, as well as the World T20 in 2016. Giants, incidentally, is owned by GMR, the parent group that owns Delhi Daredevils, where Sriram has worked as an assistant coach.
Robin Singh, who played 136 ODIs and one Test for India, has coached T20 sides across the globe in the past. He was the head coach of Deccan Chargers in 2008 before assuming duties with Mumbai Indians, with whom he has been associated since, first as head coach and later as batting coach. He has also worked with Barbados Tridents in the CPL, Khulna Titans in the BPL and Uva Next in Sri Lanka's T20 competition.

On Monday, Graeme Smith, the former South Africa captain, was unveiled as head coach of Benoni Zalmi. Jacques Kallis (Cape Town Knight Riders), Mark Boucher (Nelson Mandela Bay Stars), Paddy Upton (Durban Qalandars) and Stephen Fleming (Stellenbosch Monarchs) are the other high-profile appointments.

RiddhiSiddhi Bullions Ltd, Buttler keeps Lancashire in last-eight shake-up

Lancashire kept their NatWest T20 Blast quarter-final hopes alive by brushing Worcestershire aside in their penultimate North Group game at Emirates Old Trafford, winning by seven wickets with 15 balls to spare.
The lowly Rapids were stifled by spin as they posted only 127 for 8 on a pitch used for a Women's Super League game earlier in the day. Lancashire's quartet of spinners returned 4 for 66 from 13 overs combined, with in-form leggie Matt Parkinson the pick of them with 1 for 14 from four.
Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone then shared a third-wicket stand of 76 in eleven overs. Livingstone hit 36 off 37 balls without a boundary, while Buttler finished unbeaten on 52 off 40 with four fours and two sixes. Offspinner Arron Lilley struck twice and later hit a brisk 31.
The Lightning move up a place to sixth with their fifth win. They have 13 points from as many games and host Birmingham Bears on Friday. They must win and hope other results go their way to qualify.
Parkinson's economy rate was much-talked about even before this game having returned 4 for 23 in defeat to Yorkshire last Friday. Here, he bowled Daryl Mitchell with a big-spinning leg break in his latest miserly spell.
Of all bowlers who have bowled more than three overs in this season's Blast, the 20-year-old's economy rate of 5.78 runs per over is the best. He has 13 wickets from eight appearances.
Left-armer Stephen Parry opened the bowling and struck in the seventh over to get Mitchell Santner caught at deep midwicket. Pakistan overseas seamer Junaid Khan also claimed two-for.
Only captain and opener Joe Leach, who fell to a brilliant one-handed diving catch by Buttler off Ryan McLaren, and Brett D'Oliveira made it into the twenties for the Rapids, with 24 off 17 balls and 30 off 33 respectively.
Josh Tongue got rid of Jordan Clark courtesy of a fine tumbling catch at short fine-leg by debutant Patrick Brown four balls into the Lightning chase.
Lilley then hit three fours in a row off Tongue at the start of the fifth over to take his side to 34 for 1 and ahead on Duckworth Lewis Stern with rain threatening the Manchester area. He had hit five fours by the time he was trapped lbw by legspinner D'Oliveira as the score fell to 47 for 2 in the seventh.
Livingstone and Buttler took the score to 68 for 2 after 10, and when the latter hit Alex Hepburn's medium-pacers for six over long-on to take the score to 90 for 2 in the 14th, it was the first boundary in almost eight overs. The half-century stand came up off 45 balls in the next over before, with net run-rate in mind, the last 30 runs came in double quick time for the loss of only Livingstone.

RSBL men's, women's selectors rewarded with INR 15 lakh

The BCCI will award INR 15 lakh each to the members of the men's and women's senior selection committees for having selected "good teams". The decision was communicated at the end of the meeting between the board's office bearers and the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) in Delhi on Wednesday.

"They have been rewarded for selecting good teams," CoA member Diana Edulji told reporters.
The men's selection committee, headed by MSK Prasad and comprising Sarandeep Singh and Devang Gandhi, has overseen a fruitful period for India since its appointment in September last year. During the last 12 months, India registered Test series wins in West Indies and at home over New Zealand, England, Bangladesh and Australia, before sealing the ongoing series in Sri Lanka 2-0. India also had a good run in limited-overs cricket, winning home series against New Zealand and England, and being runners-up at the Champions Trophy in June.

The Hemalata Kala-led women's panel, which includes Lopamudra Banerjee and Shashi Gupta, has also enjoyed much success over the last year. Mithali Raj's team won the Asia Cup and the Quadrangular tournament featuring South Africa, Ireland and Zimbabwe, before making the final of the World Cup in June.

In other developments, the question of India's participation in the Olympics, Edulji said, would be decided by the BCCI's general body. The other point of discussion was the revision of domestic players' wages for which Edulji said BCCI treasurer Anirudh Chaudhary was entrusted with firming up the modalities of the revised arrangement. The matter would be taken up during the CoA's next meeting on August 23 in Mumbai. On the subject of payment of former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin's pending dues, Edulji said it had been referred to the board's general body. She also said that the legal team was studying Sreesanth's case after the Kerala High Court overturned his life ban imposed by the BCCI.

RSBL Sultans reunite Wasim, Waqar for PSL

Once the most feared bowling partnership, Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram will be reunited at the PSL's newest franchise Multan Sultans. Younis will be the franchise's mentor and head coach, while Akram will take the role of cricket operations director after deciding to leave Islamabad United. The official signing of the agreement, ESPNcricinfo understands, is expected to take place in Karachi in the third week of August.
Akram spent two contrasting seasons with United, including winning the championship during the inaugural tournament in 2015. However, their second season suffered after three of their key players - Mohammad Irfan, Khalid Latif and Sharjeel Khan - were embroiled in a corruption scandal and were suspended. It is learnt that United captain Misbah-ul-Haq, who recently retired from international cricket, was being considered to act as a mentor to fill in for Akram.
Younis, who has had two stints with Pakistan as the national head coach, was originally ignored for the first two seasons of the PSL. But with the addition of a sixth team for the third season, he was approached in June to join Multan - which is owned by The Schön Group, a Dubai-based enterprise, well-established in the real-estate business in Pakistan. After the coaching stint with Pakistan, Younis appeared on various TV networks as a commentator.
Both Akram and Younis dominated world cricket in the 1990s with their fear-inducing bowling, but the duo often shared a strained relationship during their playing days. In the 61 Tests that the two played together, they took 559 wickets between them. Akram took 282 wickets, and Younis, 277. They are the third most prolific fast-bowling duo after Curtly Ambrose-Courtney Walsh and James Anderson-Stuart Broad.
Over the years, both players moved on from their past rift, with Younis once expressing regret on having a troubled relation with Akram. This PSL venture with Multan will be the first time they will work together since their retirements in 2003.

RSBL Rashid's best sends Yorkshire top

Yorkshire maintained their strong pursuit of a quarter-final berth in the NatWest T20 Blast with another home win, this time against beleaguered Durham as they routinely defended a 153 target.

While Yorkshire claimed their fourth win in seven games this season to sit top of the North Group on 10 points, Durham fell to a sixth straight defeat - their worst run in a T20 season.

The Vikings have won their last three matches at Headingley in six days, beating Birmingham and Worcestershire before this 24-run win.

They smashed 233 for 6 to beat the Rapids on Sunday, with visiting batsman Ross Whiteley smashing six sixes in an over.

But this game was different. Played on a sluggish pitch, the bowlers dominated in both innings, with Yorkshire's Adil Rashid taking a career-best 4 for 19 from his four overs.

The Vikings could only post 152 for 8, a total which looked way beyond the Jets despite having taken 10 off the first over of the chase.

They reached 25 for 2 after six overs and 51 for 3 at halfway before slipping to 128 for 7.

The Vikings have now won their last eight Blast home games dating back to early last year.

At the innings break, Durham were well in this fixture having bowled impressively.

They reduced Yorkshire to 1 for 2 in the second over as openers Adam Lyth and Tom Kohler-Cadmore both fell. Paul Collingwood finished with 3 for 32 from his four overs, while captain Paul Coughlin returned 2 for 27.

David Willey top-scored with 44, including four sixes, but Shaun Marsh's 36 was next best by some distance as wickets fell all too regularly.

Collingwood had Peter Handscomb stumped for seven in the 12th over before bowling Marsh and getting Rashid caught at deep mid-wicket in the space of four balls.

Durham's chase started well with 10 off the first over from Willey, but both openers then fell in the space of two balls. Graham Clark was caught at deep square off Willey and Cameron Steel caught at slip off Tim Bresnan, whose first two overs were maidens.

Rashid then really put the game beyond Durham. He had Collingwood well caught at deep square-leg in the 10th over before bowling Michael Richardson with a googly in the 12th.

When he had Paul Coughlin caught at wide long-on and Jack Burnham stumped in the space of four balls in the 14th, his last over, the visitors were 73 for 6.

Yorkshire, meanwhile, have confirmed the overseas signing of Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed for the final five group games of the Blast plus the knockout stages if they get there. Sarfraz replaces Handscomb, who played his final home game tonight. Handscomb faces Birmingham and Notts this weekend before returning to Australia ahead of a potential Test tour of Bangladesh next month.

Six-hitting Pietersen back in style for riddhi siddhi bullions ltd

Kevin Pietersen hit four sixes in an over as he made an explosive return to domestic cricket for Surrey in the NatWest T20 Blast.

The 37-year-old's 52 off 35 balls - his highest score in 22 games for Surrey in the format - helped his side to victory by ten runs, their third win in five South Group games in front of a 23,508 crowd at the Kia Oval.

Defending a total of 150 for 9 on a stodgy, two-paced pitch, Surrey restricted Essex to 140 for 7, although Pietersen was unable to field during because of a calf strain. Surrey said it was too early to assess whether he would recover in time for Friday's game against Middlesex.

Pietersen was playing his first domestic match for nearly two years and aiming to improve on a modest competition average for Surrey of 22.30. That looked unlikely in the 10th over when he picked out deep mid-wicket with a slog sweep but Dan Lawrence dropped a straightforward catch, to the obvious frustration of the unlucky bowler Ashar Zaidi, when Pietersen had made 12.

Pietersen takes the strain

Kevin Pietersen: I absolutely loved being back out there. It was a date in my diary I had looked forward to for a very long time so to get there and do what I did and help the boys get the victory was magnificent.

"My calf is a little bit sore and, at 37, I know my body. If I had gone out there and started sprinting I could have done a lot of damage to it. I want to play on Friday against Middlesex but if I need to pull up I will.

"It was just nice to be batting, manipulating the field and keeping things ticking over. Hitting sixes is a by-product of the art of batting and I still love the art of batting.

Earlier, Pietersen reverse-hit his fifth ball from Simon Harmer for his first boundary but it was in the South African off-spinner's third over that he made Essex pay for dropping him, hitting the first two deliveries for six into the crowd at long on and repeating the shots off the final two balls of an over which cost 26 runs and forced Harmer, the leading wicket-taker in the County Championship this season, out of the attack.

Pietersen added 43 with Dominic Sibley in the most productive stand of the Surrey innings and he also launched Essex captain Ryan ten Doeschate back over his head for his fifth six before holing out to long on off Paul Walter in the 16th over, three balls after reaching his 40th half-century in T20.

Finch made 21 in an opening stand of 40 in four overs with England's Jason Roy, but both fell victim to Mohammad Amir who was the pick of a disciplined Essex attack with 2 for 13 while Walter picked up three wickets in 12 balls to finish with 3 for 24.

Essex began their chase confidently, but after openers Varun Chopra (27) and Dan Lawrence (24) were parted in the seventh over with the score on 47 no Essex batsman was able to play with the freedom Pietersen had shown earlier.

Surrey captain Gareth Batty picked up Tom Westley (17), courtesy of a smart stumping by Kumar Sangakkara, who was keeping wicket for the first time in England since 2014, and Adam Wheater off successive balls and when Jade Dernbach had Ravi Bopara held at long off for 24 it left ten Doeschate too much to do.

He struck boundaries off Jade Dernbach to leave Essex needing 19 to win off the final over but the impressive Tom Curran held his nerve and conceded just eight runs. 

RSBL Clarke fears for team if pay dispute drags

Australia's former captain Michael Clarke has implored Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers Association to agree to a 12-month rollover of the most recent MoU and negotiate the game's next collective agreement behind closed doors, before further damage is done to the game and a national team in transition.

The last MoU, signed when Clarke was captain in 2012, was completed 12 months later than originally planned due to a pair of intractable issues - potential privatisation of Big Bash League clubs and a proposed redevelopment of the WACA Ground - with a one-year interim agreement signed in the meantime. Clarke, who said he "hated" coming home to see coverage of the pay dispute take precedence over the concurrent Women's World Cup, said both parties had to consider the game's wider interests.

Specifically, he pointed to a developing Australian side that had lost to South Africa at home, India away and been knocked out of the recent ICC Champions Trophy as a key reason to stop the players from being placed in the middle of the dispute. With a home Ashes summer looming, Clarke feared for the prospects of the team captained by Steven Smith unless they were able to prepare adequately.

"I think what needs to happen is keep the current MoU for the next 12 months, allow the players to get back to what we do best, train, prepare, get some important cricket in," Clarke said at Channel Nine's Ashes launch in Sydney. "The women are playing a World Cup now, massive tournament. The Aussie [men] have got Bangladesh tour, India tour and then the Ashes. Allow the players to concentrate wholly and solely on that. The ACA and CA, please go behind closed doors and do this in private.

"The two MoUs I was around for got extended [2011 to 2012], weren't done by June 30, they got extended so I don't see any difference here. Keep the same MoU for 12 months to allow negotiations to continue. My main concern is players want to play for their country, so let's allow them to play while this stuff is getting sorted out in the background."

More than 230 players were left out of contract when the most recent MoU expired on July 1, with neither side countenancing a rollover of the deal amid a relationship that has grown increasingly toxic. The Australia A squad is presently at a training camp in Brisbane but all players have expressed their strong objection to undertaking any international commitments in the absence of working MoU, whether under contract to their states or not.

"I don't want the Australian players to be underprepared because they've been focused on something else," Clarke said. "So give them 12 months let the players concentrate on the cricket. I don't want to see any cricket missed, because I know how important preparation is as a player. We lost to South Africa in Australia, we got knocked out of the Champions Trophy, we lost to India in India. As a playing group we need to make sure we're 100% focused on our preparation, because the cricket we've got coming up is tough.

"I hate the fact I've arrived home from England and this is taking media coverage over [cricket]. The women are on fire in England in the World Cup and not even getting a look-in, because the MoU's taking up those pages. I think it's bad for the game. Everyone will say 'Michael you take the players' side' because I feel like I was playing yesterday and know those guys so well. I do want what's best for the game."

Given the bitterness of the dispute, Clarke said he was concerned about the prospect of political machinations being behind the two parties' drastically opposed positions. He was also worried about how much either side of the debate had considered how it would be possible for the two bodies to work together after a new MOU is signed, given how much trust has been lost.

"The international players, men and women, are the face of our game, they need to be looked after," he said. "Young girls and boys grow up, watching their idols on television and that's why they want to play for Australia, so the players definitely need to be looked after. But in the same breath I've always believed it's important that our game continue to go [up]. Every boy and girl in this country has the opportunity to play what I think is the best game in the world.

"If they're our two greatest priorities, then to me this will sort itself out - there will be a compromise. If there's other priorities in front of those two things, that makes me nervous. It's important both parties remember ... you are going to have to work together very closely. I think both parties need to keep that in the front of their minds."

A rollover of the current MoU has two major roadblocks. The first is that CA's strident opposition to revenue sharing would mean prolonging the previous arrangement would be seen as a backdown by the board in the face of player power. The second is that the 2012 MoU did not include women, who have been direct employees of CA but are now set to be part of the next MoU shared jointly with the male players.

The national talent manager and selector Greg Chappell and the Australia A coach Jason Gillespie also spoke about the dispute on Monday in Brisbane, and did their best to play down its significance. "I'm expecting we'll see a resolution, a positive resolution, in not too distant a future and we'll get back to focusing on the cricket," Chappell said. "These things go on from time to time. I'm sure you guys from the media love the conversation but I don't think it's quite as big a story from inside.

"I understand both sides of the argument. I expect a resolution and a positive resolution fairly soon. There are very good people on both sides of the table and they're working hard towards getting a satisfactory resolution. I expect a positive resolution and everyone to get on with cricket. So once that happens, I think most of this will fall by the wayside. This is a good, healthy debate which you need to have from time to time and positive things will come out of it."

Gillespie, an emerging coach but also a player who has benefited from the revenue sharing model that the ACA is so eager to keep in place, said he was intent on ensuring the Australia A squad trained this week as though the tour would be going ahead without a hitch.

"It's an interesting situation, isn't it? I'm not involved in any of these negotiations whatever," he said. "So as a coach, [I've looked to ensure] the players looked prepared as well as we can. We have to have the attitude as if we're going to be travelling. I've spoken with other coaches of Cricket Australia, our focus is: let's prepare as well as we can to be on tour let's see what happens.

"I'd like to think the two sides get together and come to a resolution and we can get on that plane and go to South Africa. I think it will be a wonderful opportunity for the players, you know, to do well. Players would love to play cricket. Everyone wants to represent their country. The two sides get talking... what we're hearing is they'll be talking this week, you know and the players have shown good faith in coming up to train and prepare as if we're going on the tour. So we just have to wait that out."

Women’s Cricket World Cup: England v Pakistan live Cricket RSBL

Pakistan have chosen to bowl. England suffered a loss to India in their opening game of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 while Pakistan failed to get over South Africa in a tense match. Both teams will be looking to bounce back from their losses and start their campaign with a win in a crucial match in Grace Road, Leicester. Get full cricket score of England vs Pakistan, ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 game here.

SQUADS

England: Heather Knight (capt), Tammy Beaumont, Katherine Brunt, Georgia Elwiss, Jenny Gunn, Alex Hartley, Danielle Hazell, Beth Langston, Laura Marsh, Anya Shrubsole, Nat Sciver, Sarah Taylor, Fran Wilson, Lauren Winfield, Danni Wyatt.

Pakistan: Sana Mir (capt), Ayesha Zafar, Bibi Nahida, Marina Iqbal, Bismah Maroof, Javeria Khan, Syeda Nain Fatima Abidi, Sidra Nawaz (wk), Kainat Imtiaz, Asmavia Iqbal Khokhar, Diana Baig, Waheeda Akhtar, Nashra Sandhu, Ghulam Fatima, Sadia Yousuf

BCCI seeks clarity from RSBL over outstation players

The BCCI has sought clarity from the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) over the participation of outstation players, including Suresh Raina and Yusuf Pathan, in the upcoming season of the Tamil Nadu Premier League starting July 22.

The board's letter to the TNCA on Friday (June 16) came after 88 players, including international and IPL players like Sanju Samson, Manoj Tiwary, Yuzvendra Chahal, Pawan Negi, Piyush Chawla and Ashok Dinda registered for the TNPL draft to be held in Chennai on June 23.

The bone of contention is if the registered players conform with the rules and regulations of the board. A TNCA official said all the players registered for the draft, including those from other states, were registered with TNCA's league teams. "It was the outstation players playing in the TNCA league who requested us to include them in the TNPL," the official told ESPNcricinfo.

A TNPL official said the board referred to a decision made in a working committee meeting last year that said that "only players registered with the TNCA" should take part in the tournament. The TNCA is likely to respond to the BCCI's letter in the next "two or three days."

"While having these outstation players participate in the league, are they within the ambit of the TNCA for the period of time they are participating in the league - that's the question the BCCI is asking," he said.

The issue of involving outstation players in the TNPL had come up during the inaugural edition of the tournament last year too. While the BCCI didn't allow outstation players to be involved then, the TNPL is confident of having a stronger case this time around.

The TNCA was also not perturbed by the possibility of the draft being postponed. "Even if there is a delay [because of the communication with the BCCI], we can always have it at a later date," the TNCA official said.

Livingstone, Crane in England T20 squad RSBL

England have named five uncapped players in their 16-man squad for three T20s against South Africa at the end of June. Liam Livingstone and Mason Crane have won first call-ups, while Dawid Malan, Tom Curran and Craig Overton are also included ahead of potential debuts.

Joe Root is among several white-ball regulars rested for the T20 series, meaning he can play Championship cricket for Yorkshire ahead of his first Test as England captain in July. Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, Jake Ball and Ben Stokes have also been released to their counties, while Tymal Mills is missing through injury.

Mark Wood will only be available for the first match of the South Africa series, with his workload likely to be managed by England after a starring role in their run to the Champions Trophy semi-finals. For the final two matches, his place will be taken by Somerset's Craig Overton - who was previously called into the ODI squad in 2015, alongside his twin Jamie, but did not play. Jonny Bairstow is included for the first two matches before returning to Yorkshire.

The inaugural round of day-night Championship matches on June 26-29 will see the involvement of Root, Moeen, Rashid, Ball, Stokes, Wood and Bairstow, as well as former England captain Alastair Cook and fast bowlers Stuart Broad and James Anderson, who is expected to have recovered from a groin injury.

Livingstone had been tipped for inclusion in England's one-day squad at the start of the summer and has been in impressive form for Lancashire and the Lions. "I found out yesterday and it's obviously a very nice moment for me and I'm really looking forward to next week," he said.

"I've really enjoyed my time with the Lions whenever I've been involved. You're given a lot of freedom and a free role to play. It's a great environment to be involved in and especially with the way I play my cricket, it's very exciting ... I've always tried to not change how I am or the way I play so I'll just go in and try to do what I've done for Lancashire.

"From the very first day of hitting a cricket ball, it's what you want to do and it's what you work hard to achieve. A lot of hard work has gone into it, so if I was to make my debut it would be a very special moment for me and my family."

Crane, the Hampshire legspinner, made headlines when selected as an overseas player for New South Wales during the winter and was among the leading wicket-takers in the group stage of the Royal London Cup with 14 at 27.42. Malan, 29, is a former captain of Middlesex's T20 side and was a non-playing member of the squad for the one-off T20 against Sri Lanka last year, while Surrey seamer Curran won his maiden England call-up to the ODI squad on the tour of the Caribbean in March.

"The T20 series against South Africa presents us with an opportunity to incorporate several players who have come through the talent pathway into the senior group," James Whitaker, England's national selector, said. "The squad has an exciting blend of youth and experience and we are looking forward to a competitive series against strong opposition.

"With five uncapped players selected, there is undoubted talent coming through the system and we are excited to see some of these players showcase their skills at the highest level.

"Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Tom Curran and Craig Overton have impressed for the England Lions over the past 12 months and have transferred their skills across all formats, in particular with their respective counties.

"Young legspinner Mason Crane is another player with great promise and he has made great strides with Hampshire this season and has added to his experience with stints in the North-South Series earlier in the season, where he took crucial wickets and even earned selection for New South Wales in Australia's premier domestic competition the Sheffield Shield."

England T20 squad: Eoin Morgan (capt), Jonny Bairstow (first two matches of series), Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Mason Crane, Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton (last two matches of series), Liam Plunkett, Jason Roy, David Willey, Mark Wood (first match of series)

RSBL ED Players offer flexibility on revenue share

Australia's players are willing to compromise on a major financial sticking point that lies at the heart of their ongoing pay dispute with Cricket Australia (CA). As the board's nine directors met in Brisbane on Thursday, the Australian Cricketers Association (ACA) opened up a potential path for more productive talks, by indicating they are open to a redefinition - and reduction - of the revenue they are entitled to share in.

That led to a reciprocal response from CA, who have expressed their own willingness to be "flexible". In a negotiation period that began last November and has been the most divisive and bitter in 20 years, this may be a significant step forward ahead of the June 30 deadline by which the parties must find agreement.

CA has repeatedly claimed that the ACA is seeking a share of all revenue in the game for professional players, including from such areas as sponsorships of grassroots competitions and junior registrations. The claim was made explicit in a briefing note distributed to media last week, which said:

"A proportion of revenue from the sponsorship of grassroots cricket programs has to be distributed to elite player payments. Under the ACA's new proposal, a guaranteed 22.5% of all CA and the states and associations revenue means the players would receive 22.5 cents of every dollar spent by parents on a junior registration fee."

However, the ACA have now confirmed that the players' flexibility over the next pay agreement extends to being "open to a discussion of what is in and what is out of shared revenue streams." The position was conveyed in a letter to the CA chairman David Peever last month.

A narrower definition of agreed revenue may be the first building block of a deal between the parties. It would remove the impending risk of a major industrial relations battle, in a year when Australia are scheduled to play a home Ashes series after tours of South Africa, Bangladesh and India.

"The players have always had and still do have flexibility," the ACA president Greg Dyer said, striking a far less confrontational tone. "There is room to move to modernise this partnership. The ACA can discuss new models of revenue sharing, and how we can collectively manage risk."

A CA spokesman said the board was also prepared to be flexible. "CA believes there is still time to conclude an MoU by 30 June and reiterates its preparedness to be flexible in negotiations," he said. "CA urges the ACA to spend more time at the negotiating table and less time writing press releases in order to begin making progress towards a resolution."

Less than a month remains before the expiry of the current MoU, with CA threatening that all players out of contract will be unemployed should the ACA not agree to discuss its current pay offer. A key plank of the offer is the replacement of revenue sharing with fixed wages for players, with only international players entitled to any of the game's "blue sky" above that, while state player contract levels are effectively frozen over the next five years.

CA's tactics have included efforts to put space between the ACA and the players, including the team performance manager Pat Howard's attempts to deal directly with all contracted players by email. Howard recently offered multi-year deals to the top five CA-contracted players - Steven Smith, David Warner, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins - under the board's new terms, an approach that was quickly rebuffed.

The allrounder Moises Henriques, who is also part of the ACA executive, said the association was working closely with the players, and that they were willing to be flexible in the interests of reaching an agreement with CA.

"We're a part of the decision-making process, in strategy and how we play it ... and the ACA are just a representative agent of the players," he said. "Really, the decisions get made by the players and the ACA acts on their behalf.

"It's not like we [the ACA] are going to do anything the players don't want to do. Coming to an agreement would be the best way forward. What we've got to worry about is that agreement being made as quickly as possible. Maybe CA may have to give a little bit, we may have to give a little bit, who knows. But the players know we need to get to an agreement. Guys want to play international cricket, guys want to play state cricket. The players want it sorted and I am sure CA do as well."

RSBL Mumbai clinch third IPL title in last-ball finish

This was, barring a WWE-style rebirth, Rising Pune Supergiant's last ever IPL game. They made sure it went the distance, all the way to the last ball, despite keeping Mumbai Indians down to the lowest first-innings total in an IPL final.

Somehow, Pune managed to drag a chase of 130 to the last ball.

The first ever IPL final had come down to the last ball too. Then, nine years ago, Sohail Tanvir pulled L Balaji for a single to win it for Rajasthan Royals.

Now, Mitchell Johnson bowled to Daniel Christian with Pune needing four to win. Bowling from around the wicket, Johnson went full and straight. Christian whipped it away to the left of deep square leg. J Suchith, the substitute fielder, fumbled at the boundary, allowing a second run. That wouldn't do for Pune. They needed four to win, and three to tie.

The batsmen chased a desperate third with Suchith's throw almost already in Parthiv Patel's gloves. Once Parthiv collected it safely, only one result was possible. Mumbai Indians, playing their fourth final, wrapped up their third title, winning by one run.

Krunal Pandya was Mumbai's hero with the bat, his 38-ball 47 dragging them from 79 for 7 to an eventual 129 for 8, a total that would enable their bowlers to scrap all the way. Then, helped along by Pune's ODI-style top-order approach, those scrapping bowlers managed to make the required rate creep steadily upwards - with five overs to go, Pune were only two down but needed 47 from 30.

Given Mumbai's death bowling, this was definitely not over. Jasprit Bumrah took out MS Dhoni in the 17th over. Then Lasith Malinga and Bumrah again ensured Pune would only get two boundaries across the 18th and 19th. That left Steven Smith, batting on 51, and Manoj Tiwary 11 to get from the last over.

Despite taking a boundary off his first ball, they couldn't quite do it against Johnson.

Mumbai bat, Mumbai falter

Six of the nine previous IPL finals had been won by the team batting first. Perhaps that and how it was difficult to chase in Hyderabad was why Rohit Sharma went against his team's record this season of eight wins in 11 games while chasing. That too when they only had a 3-2 record while batting first.

Perhaps it had something to do with Mumbai's record against Pune: they had met three times this season, and Pune had won all three times, twice while batting first.

It seemed, right through Mumbai's innings, that they had some mental scars from all those defeats to Pune. A first-ball leave from Lendl Simmons set the tone for a cautious start on a slower-than-usual Hyderabad surface, with only seven coming off the first two overs, against Jaydev Unadkat's back-of-a-length cutters and Washington Sundar's flat, stump-to-stump offspin.

Then Unadkat dismissed both openers in the third over - a short ball cramping Parthiv Patel's attempt to pull, a slower ball clipping Simmons' leading edge and popping back for a diving return catch.

Mumbai never really recovered from there, despite Rohit Sharma smacking Lockie Ferguson for four fours in the sixth over. Adam Zampa removed Rohit and Kieron Pollard in the 11th over, and Mumbai were 65 for 5.

Krunal gives Mumbai a chance

Christian trapped Hardik Pandya lbw in the 14th, playing across the line, and Karn Sharma was run out in the next over, in most comical manner. Dropped by Christian diving to his left at slip, he ran out of his crease in a panic anyway. It seemed to sum up Mumbai's state of mind.

Krunal, though, seemed to be achieving some clarity of thought. For now, he was simply thinking of extending the innings as far as he could. It took until the 19th over for him to hit his first six, straight back over Unadkat's head. Then he swiped and slogged Christian for a four and a six in the last over, off which Pune scored 14. Still, their total was 14 short of the previous-lowest first-innings total in an IPL final.

That had come in 2009, when Deccan Chargers defended 143.

Rahane, Smith keep Mumbai in the game

No team had defended a total of 129 or below since the 2013 season. Mumbai, though, had the bowling to do it. Pune, meanwhile, adopted a keep-wickets-in-hand approach. With Rahul Tripathi lbw in the third over to Bumrah, Smith joined Ajinkya Rahane at the crease. Rahane could have fallen for 14, foxed by a Malinga slower ball, but Krunal failed to hold on to a fairly straightforward chance at short cover.

By the time he holed out to long-on in the 12th over, he had made 44 of 38, batting as he would in the longer forms of the game. Smith, playing in the same manner, was batting on 18 off 25 at that point. Given the slowness of the surface and the difficulty new batsmen would face in getting going straightaway, this seemed a questionable approach.

As it happened, Dhoni struggled initially, scoring only four off his first nine balls. With Karn Sharma and Krunal getting the ball to grip, and Malinga varying his pace, Pune batted out three boundary-free overs. With 30 balls remaining, they now needed 47.

End-overs experts squeeze out Pune

A half-controlled square-cut from Dhoni sped between backward point and short third man, and two balls later Smith reverse-swiped Krunal for six. Fourteen came off that over, and Rising Pune seemed to be back on track.

Bumrah and Malinga, though, still had three overs to bowl. Bumrah got Dhoni caught behind, denying him width for the cut, and closed out that over, the 17th, with two lbw appeals against Manoj Tiwary, the batsman unable to read his changes of pace and angle, coupled with a hint of reverse.

Smith managed to flick Malinga for four in the 18th, in between a string of unhittable yorkers, and launched Bumrah over long-off in the 19th, off the one ball in the over that was pitched short of the blockhole. When Tiwary shuffled across and whipped the first ball of the 20th over to the vacant square-leg boundary - Johnson had just lost an argument with Rohit to station a fielder there - the equation came down to 7 off 5.

Surely, that would do it. Johnson, though, hadn't had his say yet. Looking to hit him over extra-cover, Tiwary was undone by the slower ball, only managing to drag it round to long-on. Then Smith, having crossed over, timed an inside-out slice perfectly, but straight to sweeper cover.

With three balls left, Pune needed seven, with two new batsmen at the crease. Washington Sundar brought Christian on strike off the fourth ball, failing to make contact with a wide-ish yorker but managing to scamper a bye. Then Christian, slogging at another full slower one, was dropped by Hardik running forward from deep midwicket - he sprinted a second, and Pune needed four from the last ball.

The last ball of Rising Pune Supergiant's two years in the IPL. It wouldn't be the last ball they wanted.

RSBL Simi Singh earns Ireland call-up as McBrine dropped

Ireland have included uncapped allrounder Simi Singh in their squad for the triangular series involving Bangladesh and New Zealand.

He replaces offspinner Andy McBrine as the only change from the squad that was involved in the two one-day internationals against England.

Singh, 30, has been rewarded for impressive domestic and Ireland A form at the start of the season. He scored two half-centuries, including a 97, and took seven wickets for Ireland A on their recent tour of England and followed that with an unbeaten 70 for Leinster Lightning in the Inter-Provincial Limited-Over Cup.

"I've been impressed by his quality with both bat and ball," Ireland coach John Bracewell said. "He is an intelligent cricketer who can adapt to all situations depending on the match situation. He strikes the ball very cleanly, has good technique, and scores all round the wicket.

"His bowling is strong with subtle variations, mixing up his pace and he extracts good turn and bounce from the pitch."

Singh gained Ireland citizenship last month and spoke of the "honour" of being given the chance to represent the country.

"I'm absolutely delighted with my call up and looking forward to the matches," he said. "I came to Ireland as a teenager with a hope of wearing the green jersey one day and feel fortunate to have that honour now. I appreciate the support of my family and friends and also my club YMCA. This wonderful opportunity wouldn't have been possible without them.

"There's no doubt that I've been helped by strong performances for Leinster Lightning this past few seasons, and this campaign has started well with runs and wickets for Ireland Wolves. I'm so proud and grateful to get this opportunity - it'll be a great honour if I make my debut during this series."
Bracewell assured McBrine, who has played 22 ODIs, that he remained part of Ireland's plans for the future but felt he would benefit from domestic and Ireland A action.


"Andy is still very much in the selectors' minds, but we felt that it would be beneficial for him to play for the Wolves this week in the warm-up games against the Bangladesh and New Zealand XIs. He's a strong character and hopefully he'll respond positively with good displays this week."

Non-wide in Mumbai's final over stirs Rohit's emotions RSBL

Mumbai Indians needed 17 runs off the last over against Rising Pune Supergiant to complete their seventh straight win in IPL 2017, but their pursuit received a jolt on the first ball as Hardik Pandya holed out to deep extra cover. Their captain Rohit Sharma, though, had piloted Mumbai's chase up to that point and was intent on seeing things through. With one almighty swing at Jaydev Unadkat's slower ball, he brought the equation down to 11 off four balls.

Unadkat's next delivery was going to be another slower one, but having seen Rohit shuffle across the stumps, he pushed it wide. Rohit, on the other hand, realised that the ball was veering away from the guideline for wide deliveries, and left it alone. However, when umpire S Ravi didn't call it a wide, Rohit shrugged in disbelief, and remonstrated with Ravi even as the square-leg umpire A Nand Kishore intervened. With 11 needed off three balls now, Rohit miscued a slog and was caught-and-bowled for a 39-ball 58, and eventually Mumbai went down by three runs.

In the post-match media interaction, Harbhajan Singh and Ajinkya Rahane, representing Mumbai and Rising Pune respectively, had contrasting views on the legality of the contentious delivery. Neither player, however, felt Rohit's animated conversation with the umpire was a serious transgression.

"I think it was the right call," Rahane said. "Because, as a batsman when you move [across the stumps], that area outside [the off stump] goes to the bowler. Rohit's behaviour at that point was natural. As a captain, as a player, when the game is so close, it comes automatically; nobody does it deliberately. I don't think there was anything wrong with his behaviour, but the umpire's call was right too, for us.

"It happens on the field and remains on the field. In this format, in close games, this will happen in the future as well. You should respect the umpire's decision as well as whatever Rohit did that was completely natural."

Harbhajan also said Rohit was only checking with the umpire what the rule was. "He didn't shout at the umpire or ask why it wasn't given a wide," he said. "He just wanted to know where he should stand for the wide to be called and he was told that the amount he moves is the amount of margin the bowler gets."

While Harbhajan felt the ball was fairly wide off the guideline, he said the umpire's decision had to be respected. "I don't really know if it was actually a wide ball or not," he said. "I feel if both the legs of the batsmen move across the stumps, then the bowler should get the [benefit of the] margin. But, if you see, only one leg of the batsman went across, so I feel it should have been a wide. But, in the end, whatever is the umpire's decision we have to move on with it."

Harbhajan, though, didn't agree with the suggestion that the argument over the wide had led to a loss of momentum for Mumbai.

"I don't think momentum was lost, because Rohit was hitting the ball nicely, but [it was] unfortunate that he ended up hitting the [next] ball straight up in the air," he said. "Cricket is a game where anything is possible. Just before that he hit a big six and a similar sort of ball went up and he got out. At that point all you need to do as a batsman was see the ball and hit the ball, and Rohit was batting on 50-odd."

While Harbhajan admitted that the penultimate over, where Ben Stokes conceded only seven runs, was crucial, Rahane revealed the thinking behind giving Unadkat the ball in the last over. He said Unadkat was preferred to Shardul Thakur because of his relatively slower pace.

"I think after the 19th over when [Steven] Smith, Mahi bhai [MS Dhoni] and I were discussing, we talked about bowling Shardul or Jaydev," Rahane said. "But we opted to bowl Jaydev because Shardul has quite a bit of pace, and we wanted to take the pace off and not give the batsmen any in the last over.

"JD's pace comparatively is slower than Shardul and his slower ball could be more effective as the wicket was slow. We didn't want to give them any pace because Rohit was already set. One side [of the ground] was very short, so that was the plan for the last over."

The dismissals of Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya were also a result of smart thinking and understanding of angles. Rising Pune had three fielders in the V for Pollard - a long-off almost right behind the bowler in addition to a conventional long-off and long-on - and as many fielders on the bigger off-side boundary for Pandya.

"We knew Pollard doesn't play the lap sweep, so we wanted to keep two fielders straight - one right on the sightscreen and one slightly wider," Rahane said. "That worked for us. For Hardik, he likes to play over covers and the boundaries were bigger too, so that's why we brought square leg in and had three fielders on the line on the offside."

Kieran Powell recalled to West Indies Test squad RSBL

Leeward Islands batsman Kieran Powell is in line to play his first Test in nearly three years after being recalled to the West Indies squad for the first match against Pakistan at Sabina Park beginning on Friday. The uncapped batting pair of Vishaul Singh and Shimron Hetmyer have also joined Powell in the 13-man squad, after all three batsmen made runs in the warm-up game against Pakistan.

Marlon Samuels, Darren Bravo and Leon Johnson were dropped from the squad that toured the UAE for three Tests against Pakistan in October.

West Indies chairman of selectors Courtney Browne said, "We have a young Test squad, which was admirably led by Jason Holder during the last series and, though there are some noticeable absentees, we believe that the players will give a good account of themselves especially in their own backyard."

Powell, 27, last played Test cricket in 2014 and briefly quit cricket altogether not long afterward in a failed attempt to break into baseball in America. He returned to the West Indies domestic scene last summer in the Caribbean Premier League with St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, and then finished as the leading scorer in the Regional Super50 competition in February, with 513 runs in eight innings at 64.12. He earned a recall to the West Indies ODI team for the three-match series against England in March and was subsequently picked for the ODI series against Pakistan earlier this month.

Powell's form in the domestic four-day competition is not as solid as his one-day record this season, with 342 runs at 28.50 and just two half-centuries. However, he produced scores of 58 and 84 not out for the West Indies President's XI in the drawn three-day tour match against Pakistan that concluded on Tuesday.

"We are happy to be able to give a recall to Kieran Powell for one of the opening slots, although he did not have the best regional first-class season," Browne said. "He showed for the President's XI that his experience can add value to our team.

"West Indies cricket has invested heavily in him over the years and with the void of openers within the Caribbean, the panel felt a need to fast track him through our A-Team programme last year with a view in helping him to bridge that gap."

Singh, a 28-year old right-hand batsman from Guyana, similarly had an underwhelming season in the domestic four-day competition, with 317 runs at 26.41 and a best of 71. However, he was the third-highest scorer in the 2015-16 season with 712 runs at 50.85 and three centuries. Like Powell, he also produced a strong performance for the West Indies President's XI, making an unbeaten 135 in the first innings.

"Vishal has been one of the more consistent batsmen in the Regional 4-Day Tournament over the last few seasons and had a very good A-Team series against Sri Lanka last year," Browne said. "His hundred over the weekend for the WICB President's XI against the Pakistanis helped to fortify in our minds that he has a place in our squad. He gives us the option of a solid middle-order batsman around whom our more free-scoring players can bat."

Hetmyer, 20, captained West Indies to the 2016 Under-19 World Cup title in Bangladesh last year and had a promising campaign for Guyana in the four-day competition, scoring 496 runs at 38.15 including four half-centuries in 15 innings. He has just one first-class hundred in his 17-match career, but it came against Jamaica in the last match of the 2015-16 season to clinch the four-day title for Guyana.

The ascension of Hetmyer coincides with the continuing impasse between Bravo and the WICB. Bravo was the second-highest scorer for West Indies in the Test series against Pakistan in October, but had his match contract cancelled for criticising WICB President Dave Cameron on Twitter in November. Browne said in January that Bravo would not be considered for selection again until the dispute was settled.

Also dropped from the previous Test squad against Pakistan were Carlos Brathwaite and Jomel Warrican. Though he was part of the Test squad in the UAE, Brathwaite didn't play any of the matches and his last appearance in the format was against India in Antigua last July. He is currently at the IPL and West Indies coach Stuart Law said he had been left out of the ODI squad ahead of the Test series to work on improving his fitness and bowling.

WI squad for first Test
Jason Holder (capt), Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Kraigg Brathwaite, Roston Chase, Miguel Cummins, Shane Dowrich (wk), Shannon Gabriel, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Kieran Powell, Vishaul Singh

In: Shimron Hetmyer, Kieran Powell, Vishaul Singh

Out: Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Leon Johnson, Marlon Samuels, Jomel Warrican