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TKR recently signed India’s Jemimah Rodrigues and Shikha Pandey for this year

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jul-2024Former India fast bowler Jhulan Goswami has joined Trinbago Knight Riders as a mentor for Women’s Caribbean Premier League 2024.”It’s an honour to join such a quality franchise,” Goswami said in a statement shared by Knight Riders. “Knight Riders have done so well in India and around the world, and to join TKR Women at the WCPL is a pleasure. Thanks to KKR management for thinking about me as a mentor and I’m really looking forward to this tournament.”Goswami retired from all forms of cricket in 2022 as India’s leading wicket-taker in women’s internationals. She is currently the bowling coach and mentor of Mumbai Indians in the Women’s Premier League. This will be her first stint in an overseas T20 league.Related

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TKR are led by former West Indies allrounder Deandra Dottin. They recently added India’s Jemimah Rodrigues and Shikha Pandey, and Australia’s Meg Lanning and Jess Jonassen – all four play for Delhi Capitals in the WPL – to their roster.”The conversation about me joining TKR started with Mr. Venky Mysore [CEO of Knight Riders group],” Goswami said. “As a management head, the way he takes care of everyone is amazing. I felt really honoured by the way both Shah Rukh Khan and Venky sir welcomed me and spoke to me when we met in Kolkata during the IPL.”Speaking about the signing, Mysore said, “Jhulan Goswami is an absolute legend of the game, and we are very happy to have her on board as the mentor of the TKR Women’s team. We strongly believe that under Jhulan’s mentorship, the team will reach greater heights. It’s a fantastic opportunity for the youngsters to pick Jhulan’s brains and learn from her experiences to become better cricketers themselves. We would like to wish her all the best, and look forward to seeing her in the TKR setup soon.”WCPL 2024 will run from August 21 to 29. The tournament comprises three teams – TKR, defending champions Barbados Royals and Guyana Amazon Warriors – and seven matches, all to be played at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba.

Ashes-bound spinner takes 3 for 16 as Bears edge past Northants in low-scorer

ECB Reporters Network09-Jun-2023Birmingham Bears returned to winning ways in the Vitality Blast with a 30-run victory over Northamptonshire Steelbacks in a low-scoring contest on a turning track at Edgbaston.Spinners dominated as the Bears, having chosen to bat, were bowled out for 137 in 18.5 overs after left-arm wristspinner Freddie Heldreich continued his excellent Blast campaign with a career-best 4 for 27. Heldreich took a wicket in each of his four overs as only Sam Hain (35 from 31 balls) and Alex Davies (32 from 18) passed 15 for the home side.The Steelbacks reply was then even more emphatically smothered – 107 for 9 from 20 overs – by the four-pronged home spin attack. Dan Mousley took 3 for 14 and Moeen Ali 3 for 16 to help his side to their first win in four attempts under his leadership before he now leaves to join England’s squad ahead of next week’s Ashes opener.Davies supplied the Bears with a punchy and, it was to prove, priceless start despite quickly losing two partners. Rob Yates lifted Tom Taylor to deep square leg and Moeen’s unproductive batting return to the Bears was completed when he skied David Willey to mid-off. The England player departs for Test duty on the back of 48 runs in four Blast knocks.Davies perished in pursuit of his third six when Saif Zaib took a well-judged catch on the rope in front of the Hollies Stand off Heldreich. That was the spinner’s fourth ball – he struck another big blow with his tenth which Glenn Maxwell, having hit the previous ball into the Hollies, chipped tamely to extra cover.Heldreich’s 17th delivery inflicted further damage when Mousley missed an attempted pull and fell lbw and when his 19th ousted Chris Benjamin, to another well-judged catch by Zaib at deep mid-wicket, the Bears were 93 for 6. As so often, the burden of responsibility fell on Hain and when he was bowled, making room to cut Zaib, a moderate total was assured.The Steelbacks found the going even tougher against the twirlers, notably Mousley who took two crucial wickets for eight in his first two overs. The 21-year-old bowled Chris Lynn and Josh Cobb either side of taking a fine catch in the deep to remove the dangerous Emilio Gay off Maxwell.Moeen then struck twice as Willey edged behind and Lewis McManus heaved to deep midwicket where the effervescent and ubiquitous Mousley took the catch. After ten overs, the Steelbacks had stuttered to 50 for 5 with 88 needed from the last ten.Scoring at that rate in such conditions was out of the question. Zaib and Taylor nurdled 29 from 30 balls but Mousley returned to the attack to have Taylor caught at extra cover and Danny Briggs hit James Sales’ middle stump to collect his 249th T20 wicket.A quest for 63 from the last five overs was hopeless. Zaib (25 from 29 balls) was bowled behind his legs sweeping at Moeen and the Steelbacks subsided swiftly under the shimmering mosaic of pinks, oranges and ochres in the dazzling iridescence of a Birmingham sunset.

Mitchell Santner will captain a global event for the first time with the side playing a tri-series in Pakistan as a warm-up

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jan-2025Fast bowlers Ben Sears and Will O’Rourke have been included in New Zealand’s squad for the Champions Trophy alongside allrounder Nathan Smith.Sears, who was a travelling reserve for the T20 World Cup last year, recently played his first game since April having returned in the Super Smash following injury and is in line for his ODI debut having played one Test and 17 T20Is. O’Rourke has impressed across formats early in his international career and has been especially eye-catching in Tests.Smith, meanwhile, will bring lower-order power with the bat and bustling seam bowling.Head coach Gary Stead said Sears had been in New Zealand’s Champions Trophy plans all along, with his pace through the air seen as a clinching factor on pitches in Pakistan.Related

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“We’ve been a little conservative in Ben’s return to play, but we always had an eye that we thought he would be part of this Champions Trophy squad,” Stead said. “He’s one of those guys, when you look at places like Pakistan, that pure speed is something that you’re looking for, and he certainly has that. A young tearaway is always nice to see, and very excited to have him in the squad.”Stead was confident Sears would hold up fine, match-fitness-wise, after his return from injury.”Ben’s been bowling a lot over the winter still,” he said. “He’s been in and around our Test squads before he had that injury, so we’re very confident that he will be where he needs to be.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

With Sears, O’Rourke and Smith included, there was no place in the main squad for Jacob Duffy, who is coming off a breakthrough season in international white-ball cricket.”It’s a tough decision,” Stead said. “Jacob Duffy has been probably the one that people would say is hard done by. He’s been very very good in what he’s played for us. I think the way to look at it, though, is that if some of these guys, perhaps like a Lockie Ferguson, were available, Jacob Duffy may not have got the opportunity, so for us it’s a real positive story that although Jake’s missed [out], it’s still positive that we’re growing that depth long-term for our team.”

Ferguson, Williamson and Conway face T20 league logjam

The same squad will take part in the ODI tri-series in Pakistan ahead of the Champions Trophy, which will also feature South Africa. Duffy has been named on standby for that series, if Ferguson is not available for those games due to the ILT20. There will also be a tight turnaround for Kane Williamson and Devon Conway who are at the SA20.The final of the SA20 will be played on February 8, with the ILT20 decider the following day. New Zealand will play Pakistan on February 8 in their first game of the tri-series followed by South Africa on February 10. They then have a warm-up match against Afghanistan on February 16.Lockie Ferguson could miss a chunk of the Pakistan tri-series if he features in the ILT20 playoffs•AFP/Getty Images

Stead said New Zealand were looking to have Ferguson, Williamson and Conway play at least two matches – including the warm-up – to ready themselves for the Champions Trophy. “Those three guys, they’re world-class players for us. So Kane, Devon and Lockie will join our squad – they could be there at the very start of the tri-series, [or] it might be a couple of days later.”Mitchell Santner will lead New Zealand for the first time in a global event and will be able to lean on the experience of the likes of Williamson and Tom Latham.Mark Chapman and Will Young have earned spots while spin-bowling allrounder Michael Bracewell has also been included.New Zealand will play the tournament opener against Pakistan in Karachi. Their second match is against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi before they travel to Dubai to face India.”We like to stick to the same team once we’ve picked it but it will probably be very conditions-dependent,” Santner said. “Karachi could play a lot different to Rawalpindi, and again in Dubai. With the short nature of the tournament, if you’re happy with your XI, you want them to be out there and perform for all three games. But we’re open to changes depending on conditions. You need to play your best team on what’s in front of you, and conditions will probably dictate it.”

New Zealand squad for Champions Trophy and Pakistan tri-series

Mitchell Santner (capt), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Will O’Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Ben Sears, Nathan Smith, Kane Williamson, Will Young

Fast bowler has no regrets about limited role as India are thwarted in Hyderabad

Vithushan Ehantharajah29-Jan-20241:03

Stokes: ‘Our best victory since I’ve become captain’

It was only as England were walking out to defend the 231 target they had set India in the first Test at Hyderabad that Ben Stokes informed Mark Wood he’d be opening the bowling, as he had done in the first innings. The catch? He would only be doing so for one over.Wood was not all that surprised. He was the only seamer in the attack, and bowled just two overs in his opening stint on day one. It was part of a broader plan concocted in the lead-up to the series to use the seamers as a point of difference. Wood’s extra pace and ability to reverse-swing the ball would be in bursts, with the spinners doing the bulk of the work.It was vindicated as England’s four spinners took 18 wickets in the match, with Tom Hartley starring with a match-winning 7 for 62. Wood admits the micro-spells – his eight second-innings overs were bowled in splits of one, three, three and one – took a bit of getting used to.”When we were at the ground, he said probably one or two,” Wood said on his instructions from Stokes. “I mean, I thought I may not even open the bowling second innings. But it was like ‘one over; that’s it’.”So that was a bit weird. Especially when the captain says you’re going to bowl one over with the new ball and it was a bit like, right, I’ll practice one over with the new ball.”Very rarely would you think you’d bowl one over and then be off. But weirdly I trust what he says. One over? Right, okay, I’ll give it everything for this over. And then he said ‘rest’ and I’m not annoyed. Like, I get it, we’re going to spin now. So it’s just a bit different.”Ben Stokes told Mark Wood he’d have one over to make an impact in the second innings•AFP

The Durham quick went wicketless, finishing with match figures of 0 for 62 from 25 overs. By contrast, India’s star quick Jasprit Bumrah took six wickets, including 4 for 41 in the second innings which featured a hellacious spell of reverse-swing.Nevertheless, Wood enjoyed the lone role, even if he missed the company of another seamer. And overall, he regarded it as a success given the bigger picture.”Bumrah didn’t do me any favours by bowling like a genius,” Wood said. “That was tough!”It was a bit odd, a bit weird at times. Usually at points during the game I’d think ‘I might bowl here’ but the spin is doing the damage.Related

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“I said to Jimmy [Anderson] that I found it more bizarre that I didn’t have anyone to talk to. I was sort of working it out as I went along. Usually if Jimmy is bowling a spell he can say to me ‘this worked well’, or ‘what about this?’ You are talking to the captain and not really knowing how it’s going to go.”It’s like, yes, that ball reversed, let’s try this, so that was probably the only thing that was different. I’m disappointed that I didn’t get any wickets but not really fussed, because the team played amazing. One of the great games that I’ve been involved in.”England will travel to Vizag on Tuesday 1-0 up ahead of the second Test which begins on Friday. Their last tour in 2021 also saw them take the lead before India switched up tactics and conditions, leaning hard on their superior spinners to eventually triumph 3-1.Rohit Sharma chats with R Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah while looking for wickets•BCCI

This time, however, they might go a different route. England effectively nullified Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel, particularly in their second innings of 420 scored at over four an over. Wood anticipates a reaction from the hosts and believes the team are prepared for whatever comes next.”It could, yeah,” Wood replied, when asked if India might switch things up. “I don’t know what they will produce. India have got the potential to produce any wicket here. I’ve played in World Cup games and IPL games where it’s seamed, flat pitches, spinning wickets. They have the potential to do any wicket they want.”But now, we’ve given them something to think about. It’s not a foregone conclusion that we are going to turn up here and they’re going to spin us out. Ollie Pope has played a fantastic knock, they’re now going to have to go analyse, like we would do if things didn’t go well, and analyse how they are going to try and combat that.”We’ve won one game, it’s a hell of an achievement, but I don’t think we need to get too far ahead of ourselves. Don’t build this up now and say, “ah we’re going to win”. It’s the same again. Go into the next game with the same belief, same process and hopefully get the same result.”

Michael Klinger’s T20 hundreds record is next in his sights after fifth century

ECB Reporters Network02-Jun-2023James Vince followed up becoming the Vitality Blast’s highest run scorer by chalking up his fifth T20 century as Hampshire Hawks annihilated Essex.Vince is now only behind Michael Klinger in Blast hundreds having overtaken Luke Wright in the run charts on Wednesday, and only Wayne Madsen has more than his 280 runs in this year’s competition.His supreme 103 laid the foundations for a huge 215 target for the Eagles, which Nathan Ellis’ three for 10, Scott Currie’s three for 21 and Liam Dawson’s four for 21 made sure was never chasable.Dawson flowed with praise for his teammate. “It is a huge win. Vince was exceptional and proved how good a player he is. That hundred is the difference in the game.”I think he is getting better. He has been so consistent in his run scoring over the last couple of years. T20 is a high-risk game and the amount of times he scores runs is more often than not. He is getting better with age and is brilliant to have in our team.”Defending champions Hampshire eventually won by 118 runs with 35 balls to spare – the Hawks’ highest margin of victory after bowling the hosts out for 96 – to hand Essex their first T20 defeat of the year.Vince continued from his back-to-back unbeaten 88s, and his record-breaking, by pumping Aron Nijjar for two massive sixes back over his head with his first two balls faced.Ben McDermott was adjudged caught behind while Toby Albert took nine balls to get off the mark but Vince was terrorising the crowd and local residents – his eventual eight sixes threatened the slate and chimneys of the houses at the Hayes Close End.He monopolised the run-scoring, including 60 of the 101 stand with Albert, who improved his hitting to reach 38 before he was stumped.
Vince was cleanly striking anything that was sent his way and brought up his century with another pulled maximum in 45 balls.He was furious when he slapped a Matt Critchley long hop to the deep midwicket boundary which began the fall of five wickets for 35 runs.
Joe Weatherley had made a well-compiled 29 before he was caught at cover to follow Ross Whiteley, Aneurin Donald and James Fuller’s short stays.But a tame finale was avoided when Liam Dawson slog-swept three successive sixes to take 21 off the final over and give Hampshire 214. Daniel Sams was the only bowler not to go at a double figure run-rate for his three for 28, although Simon Harmer also pilfered three wickets.Essex tried to swing their way to victory but plays and misses dominated. Adam Rossington, who pumped two early sixes, was unfortunate to be given caught behind after the ball appeared to clip a stump rather than his bat.Dan Lawrence was lbw after 22 off 14, Feroze Khushi yorked by Dawson, Paul Walter stumped, Robin Das swatted to long off, Tom Westley drilled to cover and Nathan Ellis bowled Harmer. It had been a spell of five wickets in 23 balls for 20 runs.Dawson pinned Nijjar before Sams gave Vince his third catch of the night and Ellis his third wicket to finish off the comprehensive away victory.

He matched Gujarat’s Urvil Patel for the fastest T20 hundred by an Indian

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Dec-2024Abhishek Sharma has matched Urvil Patel for the second-fastest T20 century, reaching the landmark in 28 balls in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match for Punjab against Meghalaya. Urvil had got there last week, when he scored 113 not out in 35 balls for Gujarat against Tripura in the same tournament. The record belongs to Sahil Chauhan, who scored a 27-ball century for Estonia against Cyprus in June this year.This was also Abhishek’s fourth century in the tournament, making him No. 1 on that list, ahead of Unmukt Chand, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer, who have three each.Opening the batting in Punjab’s chase of Meghalaya’s 142 for 7 in Rajkot, Abhishek finished with 106 not out off 29 balls. Punjab got to their target in just 9.3 overs thanks mainly to Abhishek’s swashbuckling innings. The win was Punjab’s fifth in seven Group-A matches and the net-run-rate boost as a result of the speed of their win keeps them in the fray for progressing to the knockouts.Abhishek, who formed a destructive opening combination with Travis Head for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2024, was retained by the franchise ahead of the upcoming season for INR 14 crore (US$1.67 million approx.).Earlier in the day, Baroda broke the record for the highest team total in men’s T20 cricket when they posted 349 for 5 against Sikkim in Indore.

Canada’s fifth consecutive win in the Americas regional qualifier assured them of a top-of-the-table finish

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jun-2025Canada have become the 13th team to qualify for the 20-team 2026 men’s T20 World Cup, to be held in India and Sri Lanka, after their seven-wicket win over Bahamas in Ontario in the Americas regional qualifying finals.It was Canada’s fifth consecutive win in the four-team event – Bermuda and Cayman Islands are the other participants – and ensured them of a top-of-the-table finish irrespective of the results of the last two games.This will be Canada’s second appearance at a T20 World Cup. They had qualified for the 2024 edition in the West Indies and the USA via the same route.The others to have already qualified are the hosts India and Sri Lanka, as well as Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, USA and West Indies. Seven more teams – two from the Europe qualifier, two from the Africa qualifier, and three from the Asia-EAP qualifier will join them.Playing at home, and with no USA to compete with as they had already qualified, Canada were the favourites to top the tournament. They lived up to the billing, winning their games by margins of 110 runs, 59 runs, ten wickets, 42 runs and seven wickets. In their latest win, they bundled Bahamas for a mere 57 in 19.5 overs. Kaleem Sana picked up 3 for 6 from his four overs, Ansh Patel 2 for 7 from his quota, and Shivam Sharma 3 for 16 in 2.5.The Canada batters chased down the target in just 5.3 overs with Dilpreet Bajwa top-scoring with an unbeaten 36 off 14 balls.Canada’s last game is on Sunday against Bermuda.

He shares 193 stand with Rapids skipper Jake Libby as Jack Taylor’s ton goes in vain

ECB Reporters Network10-Aug-2023Worcestershire Rapids keeper-batter Gareth Roderick marked his return from illness with a superb century against his former club to help secure an 85-run success in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup at New Road.Roderick had missed the opening three games in the tournament but continued the excellent form he has been demonstrating in the LV=Insurance County Championship with his List A best score of 137.He showed his battling qualities in fighting through a testing time with the new ball in seaming conditions after the Rapids had been put in to bat.But Roderick, who spent eight seasons with Gloucestershire, then accelerated to such an extent that he faced only 114 balls and hit four sixes and 12 fours.Rapids captain Jake Libby, also enjoying a prolific season, gave him excellent support during a partnership of 193 in 23.2 overs, a Worcestershire record for the third wicket against their local rivals.With Kashif Ali and new signing Logan van Beek providing late impetus, Worcestershire’s total of 375 for 7 was their second-highest in 50-over cricket.Gloucestershire then lost wickets at regular intervals against the seamers including four for van Beek.Jack Taylor, who has scored four Championship hundreds against Worcestershire, provided some late entertainment for the Gloucestershire supporters in the 4,000-plus crowd with a 94-ball century.But it only served to bring some respectability to the outcome as Worcestershire sealed a third win in four matches.Worcestershire made five changes from the side beaten by Somerset at Taunton on Sunday with Brett D’Oliveira, Azhar Ali and Cameron Jones injured and Joe Leach and Dillon Pennington rested.Netherlands international van Beek was handed his debut and there were recalls for Matthew Waite and Ed Pollock, Roderick and Brown.Pollock and Roderick were given an examination by Zaman Akhter and Tom Price, who had taken a hat-trick and scored a century on the same day in the corresponding LV=Insurance County Championship match between the sides.Tom Price made the first breakthrough when Pollock edged to first slip and the powerplay only yielded 24 runs.Roderick and new batter Rob Jones fought through this challenging period and gradually upped the tempo.Jones, initially on loan from Lancashire before starting a three-year contract next summer, gloved Anwar Ali through to keeper James Bracey.But from this juncture bat dominated ball for the remainder of the innings with Roderick in prime form and given superb support by Libby in surpassing the 159 by Tom Fell and Alexei Kervezee at New Road nine years ago.A single off Paul van Meekeren enabled Roderick to move to three figures and was the cue for a standing ovation.A straight six by Roderick of Anwar Ali established the third-wicket partnership record against the visitors and it came out of the blue when Libby (86) was pouched low down at gulley off Zaman Akhtar.Roderick produced the shot of the innings with a reverse scoop for six off Tom Smith but in the same over he sliced the spinner into the hands of short third.Smith also held onto a return catch from Ben Cox but the innings momentum was sustained by Kashif Ali and new signing van Beek.Kashif Ali raced to 39 from 22 balls before he pulled Graeme van Buuren to backward square leg but van Beek struck Tom Price for two sixes over long off in making an unbeaten 41 from 19 balls.When Gloucestershire batted, Matthew Waite bowled an excellent opening spell, beating the bat on several occasions and deserving better figures than 6-1-12-0.It was van Beek who made the first breakthrough when Bracey holed out to Kashif Ali at wide mid on.Ollie Price, a century-maker in the recent Championship match at Cheltenham, fell to Ben Gibbon via a sharp catch by Rob Jones at backward point.Pat Brown came into the attack and three wickets went down inside his first three overs as Gloucestershire subsided to 80 for 5.Harry Tector was run out after being sent back when he turned Brown to cover and failed to beat Kashif Ali’s throw to Ben Cox.Van Buuren went lbw and Chris Dent offered a simple caught-and-bowled.Sub fielder Rehaan Edavalath got into the thick of the action with an excellent diving catch at midwicket to dismiss Tom Price off van Beek.Libby brought himself into the attack and had Anwar Ali taken at deep cover before Tom Smith was neatly caught down the leg side off Baker.But Taylor illuminated the dying embers of the game with some big hitting and his century included five sixes and five fours before he and van Meereken were dismissed in successive balls from van Beek.

Captain all praise for KKR’s “flawless” showing at IPL 2024, a sentiment echoed by this team-mates Mitchell Starc and Sunil Narine

Ashish Pant26-May-20241:21

What changed for Starc towards the end of the season?

Shreyas Iyer called the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the IPL 2024 final “comprehensive”, lauding his team for playing “like invincibles throughout the season”.”This is what we demanded from the team and every individual, they stood up on the right occasion,” Iyer said after KKR secured a third IPL title, their first since 2014. “It is hard to express how we are feeling right now. The wait was so long. We played like invincibles throughout the season. There is so much to cherish right now.”KKR enjoyed one of the most dominant IPL campaigns ever, equalling Shane Warne’s Rajasthan Royals from 2008 for the fewest losses across a season (three). Having topped the league table, they beat SRH in Qualifier 1 by eight wickets with 38 balls to spare and amped it up a notch in the final with another eight-wicket rout, this time with 57 balls remaining.Related

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“It is pleasing and the performance has been flawless throughout. I am running out of words right now,” Iyer said of KKR’s season. “We have been tremendous right from game one, and when we stepped [out], all we demanded from ourselves was to back each other no matter the situation.”The game could have gone either way – they have been playing phenomenal cricket, SRH, throughout the season. Today, we were lucky enough to bowl first and, at the same time, every situation went in our favour. Thanks to SRH [for] the way they have played throughout the season. They have been simply phenomenal.”It was one-way traffic from the time Mitchell Starc snared Abhishek Sharma with arguably the ball of the tournament. It pitched on middle and leg and zipped sharply past Abhishek’s outside edge to smash into off stump. That wicket started a slide; Vaibhav Arora took out Travis Head for a first-ball duck with a peach of an awayswinger before Starc struck for a second time, dismissing Rahul Tripathi for 9, and SRH were 21 for 3 inside five overs.”That [big games] is when all the big players stand up,” Iyer said of Starc. “It was a high-pressure game. He has been so good off the field. He has never shown any sort of complacency in his work ethic. Every time we used to go for the plunge pool, he used to be there… something for everyone to learn.”Iyer was also effusive in praise of Andre Russell, who picked up 3 for 19 in 2.3 overs to finish with 19 wickets for the season, his best tally with the ball at any IPL. “He has got that magic wand, which he is hiding somewhere on the field,” Iyer said. “He is hoping to come and bowl and deliver for the team. He is waiting for me to call him all the time.”Russell has been lucky for us. Almost in a majority of the games, whenever he has bowled, he has picked up the wickets and he has given us the breakthrough.”Mitchell Starc was bending the ball sideways in his opening spell•AFP/Getty Images

Starc: ‘There have been plenty of jokes about the money’

Mitchell Starc reckons being “more experienced and older” since the previous time he played in the IPL (2015) helped him deal with the pressure of his huge price tag. Starc became the most expensive player in the history of the IPL, going for INR 24.75 crore (US$2,982,000 approx.) at this season’s auction. He then had a tough start to the campaign, going for 100 runs across his first two games without getting a wicket, but was Player of the Match in both KKR’s playoffs – the first time a player has done this at the IPL.”There have been plenty of jokes and whatnot made about the money,” he said with a laugh after the final. “It’s been a long time since I have played in the IPL. I am certainly an older and more experienced player now. It’s probably helped with managing all the expectations or leading the attack or whatever it maybe. I am certainly glad I am a bit more experienced and older to deal with all of that.”Personally, it has been a lot of fun, been great to learn and see how these guys go about it. Full credit to the whole squad of players and staff, it has made my life pretty easy.”It is a great night for KKR. What a game, what a series, what a season. It was an upward journey through from the start of the IPL to now, but we have a fantastic squad of bowlers and batters and our staff have been fantastic to get everyone peaking at the back end of the tournament. We have been such a consistent side. We haven’t had one or two people standing out, it’s been contributions from everyone. So, great to contribute personally but I think the fact that we’ve had everyone contribute throughout the year has been a big part of our success.”

Narine: ‘Couldn’t ask for a better birthday gift’

Sunil Narine said the freedom he got, especially form team mentor Gautam Gambhir, to express himself with the bat made a huge difference to his season. His final tally read 488 runs in 14 innings at a strike rate of 180.74. He also got 17 wickets, and took home the MVP award for a record third time.”Getting the role to just go there and express myself, trying to get the team off to a flier, that’s key,” Narine said. “The backing of the support staff, especially GG [Gambhir] just saying, ‘go there and enjoy it, just try to win a few games for the team; I am not asking you to do the entire season, but just a few games.’ That was very good advice.”This is Narine’s third IPL title with KKR after 2012 and 2014, and it came on his 36th birthday.”Coming into the ground today it felt like 2012 [when the final was also played in Chennai]. I think the feeling is overwhelming and I genuinely couldn’t ask for a better birthday gift,” he said. “I am enjoying my cricket at the moment, batting, bowling and fielding. What helps is when your team is winning. We have a great bunch of guys who put out a lot of work throughout the season and the fight we gave throughout the season is very good. It shows how good a team we are.”

Bangladesh were unable to bounce back after losing four wickets in the powerplay

Ashish Pant20-Jul-2024An excellent all-round show from Sri Lanka in the field, backed up by Vishmi Gunaratne’s steady half-century, helped Sri Lanka start their Women’s Asia Cup 2024 in style as they beat Bangladesh by seven wickets in Dambulla.After Bangladesh elected to bat, everything that could have gone wrong for them did as they lost four wickets inside the powerplay. It needed captain Nigar Sultana playing an anchor role and some lower-order hitting from Shorna Akter, who smashed 25 off 14 balls, to take Bangladesh to 111 for 8.In the chase, Sri Lanka lost their captain Chamari Athapaththu early, but as they have shown time and again this year, they are no longer a one-woman team. Gunaratne, who is having a stellar 2024, continued her excellent form and smashed her third T20I half-century, all three coming this year. She got good support from Harshitha Samarawickrama as Sri Lanka got over the line with 17 balls to spare. That meant Bangladesh’s winless run in T20Is in 2024 extended to nine.

Bangladesh’s powerplay to forget

It started on a bright note for Bangladesh with Dilara Akter lofting Udeshika Prabodhani for a straight four first ball. But, it all went downhill from there. Two balls later Prabodhani went fuller, getting the ball to tail back and leaving Dilara’s stumps in a mess. The very next ball she had Rubya Haider chipping a drive meekly to the right of cover-point where Nilakshika Silva took an excellent catch running back and diving sideways.Nigar Sultana top-scored for Bangladesh with 48 off 59 balls•ACC

Ishma Tanjim’s debut lasted all of three balls when she gave a simple catch to backward point off Inoshi Priyadharshani. In just nine balls, Bangladesh had slipped to 8 for 3 which soon became 17 for 4 in the sixth over courtesy of a stunning return catch from Priyadharshani. Ritu Moni jumped down the track and smashed a length ball hard to Priyadharshani’s right. But she stretched her right hand to grab the ball and kept hold of it even when her elbow hit the turf. Moni was left flabbergasted as Bangladesh’s powerplay ended on 18 for 4.

Nigar firm, but Sri Lanka keep chipping away

The responsibility to take Bangladesh forward was on Nigar’s shoulders. She started slow, her first 18 balls yielded only six runs. Bangladesh reached 46 for 4 after ten overs and the pressure brought about Shorifa Khatun’s downfall. Athapaththu, sensing her willingness to break the shackles, kept a length ball slow on off stump. Shorifa took the bait eyeing an across-the-line hack only to see her off stump disturbed.Rabeya Khan got off the mark with a four but was soon sent back trapped plumb in front of the stumps by Sugandika Kumari for 10. At 67 for 6 after 15, Bangladesh’s chances of reaching 100 looked bleak.

Shorna shores up Bangladesh

Bangladesh finally got the momentum they so dearly required, via 17-year-old Shorna’s blade. She first thrashed Priyadharshani through midwicket before slog-sweeping Athapaththu for four more. Shorna then struck Kavisha Dilhari for three back-to-back fours taking Bangladesh close to 100. Her attempt at a fourth boundary, however, failed with Silva taking another good catch, this time at long-on.Nigar kept things going at the other end. Bangladesh reached 100 in the 19th over before Nigar struck two fours off Prabodhani in the 20th. Bangladesh added 44 runs in the last five overs, but 111 against an in-form Sri Lanka unit was never going to be enough.Inoshi Priyadharshani came away with 2 for 17 in her four overs•ACC

Gunaratne sparkles in comfortable Sri Lanka win

Sri Lanka’s over-reliance on Athapaththu has often cost them dearly in the past. But Gunaratne kept a calm head after her captain fell early. Athapaththu started with a six over deep midwicket but failed to clear long-on soon after against Nahida Akter.Gunaratne, however, kept Sri Lanka on track. She got going with a four over mid-off and then whacked Marufa wide of long-on. Gunaratne collected five fours in the three overs after the powerplay as Sri Lanka sped towards the target. The highlight of her innings was her running between the wickets. When the boundaries didn’t come, she tapped and ran.She got good support from Samarawickrama. The duo added 54 off 48 balls for the second wicket and did not let Bangladesh into the game at any stage. Gunaratne brought up her fifty with a reverse sweep, a shot she played seven times during her innings.By the time she fell for 51 off 48, cleaned up by Nahida, Sri Lanka needed just 26 from 37 balls. Samarawickrama then took up the mantle and she and Dilhari struck three fours in a Shorna over to bring the target down to single digits before Dilhari finished the chase with a four over mid-off.For Bangladesh, Nahida picked up all three wickets to fall, ending with 3 for 12 from her four overs.