England’s reputation as the most fearless chasers in the game will be put to its biggest challenge yet after they were set a record 399 to win an absorbing second Test against India.
Since the ‘Bazball’ era began, Ben Stokes’ side have won eight of their 10 fourth-innings pursuits, including a new English record of 378 against the same opposition at Edgbaston 18 months ago.
Speaking after that match, Stokes said: “There was a bit of me that wanted them to get to 450, just to see what we’d do”. Now, he is one step closer to finding out.
That it is even considered possible after England ended day three on 67 for one speaks volumes for the way this team have raised expectations, not least in Hyderabad last week where they overturned a 190-run first-innings deficit.
But the challenge of finding another 332 runs in Visakhapatnam is even steeper, with a tricky turning pitch bringing the home spinners into play and the dynamic Jasprit Bumrah leading the attack.
England lost Ben Duckett for 28 when he was well caught off bat and pad but they refused to back down, Zak Crawley reaching 29 not out and Rehan Ahmed throwing the bat in a late cameo as the so-called ‘nighthawk’.
India had a chance to bat England even further out of the game but failed to back up Shubman Gill’s century as they were bowled out for 255.
England’s inexperienced bowling attack, featuring three young spinners with three Test caps between them coming into the match, Tom Hartley leading the way with four for 77.
The trio were perfect, with the occasional drag down or full toss creeping in, but their readiness to keep rolling up to try their luck showed plenty of heart. At 211 for four, with Gill on 104, that did not look enough but they clubbed together to take the next six wickets for 44.
India turned up already 171 in front and with all 10 wickets intact, a formidable starting point if ever there was one. But it was England’s old stager James Anderson who had the first say.
At 41 – and with no other seam bowlers in the side – he showed no signs of weariness as he blew away the Indian openers.
More than half of a sold-out Sunday crowd were still queuing outside when he struck with his fourth ball of the morning, a beauty that stood up off the seam and hit the top of Rohit Sharma’s off stump as he looked ruefully over his shoulder.
Yashavi Jaiswal, following up his stunning double century, was next to succumb to Anderson’s unforgiving line and length as he flashed a drive to slip. When Gill was given lbw to Hartley with just four to his name, England seemed to be calling all the shots.
But he took a chance on DRS and seemed more surprised than anyone when replays suggested a thin edge. A few moments later he had another scare, this time saved on umpire’s call as Anderson rapped him front.
Having survived his double scare, the Punjabi added exactly a hundred more runs. In the context of the game, against opponents not easy to intimidate, it was a crucial knock.
When Anderson exited the attack, the control went with him. Gill took the lead past 200 by launching Shoaib Bashir for six and dashed to 50 with successive fours off Ahmed. He shared a stand of 81 with Shreyas Iyer but Stokes’ refusal to give up on a lost cause got England back in the struggle.
Racing 20 metres as the ball sailed over his head he tracked it perfectly, dived at full length and pulled off a magnificent take before celebrating in front of a small pocket of travelling fans.
Ben Foakes produced a smart take of his own to give England a fourth success in the morning session, staying low to snatch Rajat Patidar’s bottom edge. There runs were ticking by too though, 102 of them before lunch and another 97 in the afternoon.
Gill took a six and two fours off one Ahmed over as he took India 300 ahead and brought his third Test hundred up in 132 balls. Bashir finally got him when he gloved a sweep behind, leaving Hartley and Ahmed to share the last four wickets.
Srikar Bharat, Kuldeep Yadav and Bumrah made six between them and Ravichandran Ashwin a frustrating 29 after Crawley put him down on four.
England were left with 14 overs to face, but allowed India an important breakthrough when Ashwin had Duckett well caught by the wicketkeeper off bat and pad.
Ahmed was pushed up the order to save Ollie Pope the ordeal and showed his fearless nature with three risky shots in a row in the final over before stumps.
Mottley renews call for Windies women to be treated equally to male counterparts
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley has once again encouraged Cricket West Indies (CWI) to invest and reward the region’s female cricketers in the same manner as the men.
Mottley, who first made the call last year, used the platform on Thursday’s opening day of the CARICOM conference on West Indies cricket themed ‘Reinvigorating West Indies Cricket’, to once again lobby for more attention to be paid to women’s cricket.
“It is the young people and I’m happy that finally it is not just boys, but boys and girls who will become the men and women who can become these global citizens with Caribbean roots. My heart filled with pride this week when Hayley Matthews was heralded by Wisden as the T20 Cricketer of the Year, and it did so because Mr. President, when you and I first met when you took over, it was actually International Women’s Day, March 8, and I asked you then to start the journey of removing the discriminatory practices between men and women,” Mottley said at the event in Trinidad and Tobago.
“Practices that go as far as the quality of the coverage and the camera covering the game, meaning that it becomes less alluring to those who may not be fully engaged purely because when you look at IPL and you look at the women playing cricket in many other jurisdictions it just doesn’t even look the same. That cannot be a metaphor for our own development and the fact and the obligation of removing the discrimination that exists between men and women’s cricket is absolutely critical,” she added.
Mottley declared her belief that the time was right for a historic mixed-gender cricket game to be played in the region.
“I have said to you, and I offer you now publicly again, that Kensington Oval, that iconic ground, could be a location where we break new ground again in history by having a mixed-gender game, recognizing that in the Olympics you’re going to soon have mixed gender relays and we don’t need to wait on others to lead us, but we can resume the leadership in ensuring that as the game has evolved from Test, to 50-over, to T20, to the increase in women’s cricket, that ultimately that will soon be the next step,” she shared.
On that note, the Prime Minister, pointed out that it was also important that opportunities be created for not only male and female cricketers, but for persons who have skills in other areas.
“We have an obligation to be able to level the field by the investments that we have to make in this sport, recognizing that not all may make the team and wear that maroon, but all can participate at different levels to make a living," Mottley noted.
“Whether it is exporting persons to help in coaching across the world…whether it is through the ability of us to have as many of our youngsters play. Whether it is in the creation of the supply of world class and first-class umpires, whether it is in people who are in the business of keeping the field, the outfield and the pitches in good form, or in the ability to sell pitches to the United States of America instead of them buying from Australia. Whatever it is, we must plan now the careful investment that will allow us to see this as a viable productive and economic sector," she ended.
Ramharack stars with four wickets as West Indies clinch thriller against Pakistan in first T20I
West Indies sealed a thrilling one-run win in the first women's T20I against Pakistan in Karachi. The visitors posted 122 after a disciplined bowling performance from Pakistan, which was spearheaded by Fatima Sana and Sadia Iqbal. But West Indies' bowlers responded in kind, shackling the Pakistan innings and turning the chase into a nervy one that went to the death. In the end, it would boil down to two runs off the final delivery, but Shamilia Connell beat the bat, and Shemaine Campbelle behind the stumps effected the run-out.
In the first of five T20Is, West Indies won the toss and elected to bat first as they looked to continue their 100% record in Pakistan on this tour. But on a pitch that gripped under the lights, it was Pakistan who started stronger as Iqbal struck of the second ball to send the talismanic captain Hayley Matthews back for a duck. Diana Baig, the most economical of the Pakistan bowlers, trapped Campbelle behind soon after to leave West Indies wobbling at 14 for two. The partnership between Qiana Joseph and Stafanie Taylor that followed did steady the ship, but Pakistan never quite let them get going.
A pair of valuable cameos - both Chedean Nation and Chinelle Henry scored 13 off 9 balls - helped West Indies tip over the run-a-ball mark, but Pakistan would have felt they had a slight edge at the halfway mark.
That advantage was bolstered by a dynamic innings from opener Sidra Ameen, whose 17-ball 23 put Pakistan ahead of the asking rate by the end of the powerplay. But losing both her and Gull Feroza within four balls of each other without adding to the score brought West Indies roaring back into it, and when Karishma Ramharack cleaned up Ayesha Zafar after a stilted innings, the visitors had edged ahead. But Pakistan captain Dar's 24-ball 27 saw Pakistan seize the advantage again as the game balanced on a tightrope throughout the innings.
It all came to a head in a dramatic final over, with Connell bowling. When Najiha Alvi smacked the penultimate ball for an exquisite inside-out cover drive for four, Pakistan appeared, for one final time, to be sneaking home. But a dot ball would follow, and as Pakistan hearts were broken, West Indies' streak held firm.
West Indies 122 for 9 (Joseph 34, Taylor 30, Sana 3-24) beat Pakistan 121 for 8 (Dar 27, Ramharack 4-15) by one run
IPL: Bairstow century gives Kings stunning win over KKR with record run chase
Jonny Bairstow scored an unbeaten century to lead Punjab Kings to a magnificent record Indian Premier League run chase against Kolkata Knight Riders.
England batter Bairstow scored a stunning 108 not out off 48 balls with nine maximums as the Kings somehow chased down a victory target of 262 with eight balls to spare at Eden Gardens.
Bairstow was helped by Shashank Singh, who smashed an unbeaten 68 from 28 deliveries with eight maximums of his own in a remarkable display of hitting.
Hosts KKR thought they had done enough for victory when a fast start from Phil Salt (75 from 37) and Sunil Narine (71 off 32) set them up a huge total of 261-6, but the Kings battled back to earn a famous triumph.
Data Debrief
This astonishing IPL 2024 campaign has already seen Sunrisers Hyderabad twice break the record for the highest innings score in the competition and now the Kings have made more history by recording the biggest chase ever seen in T20 cricket.
This was Bairstow’s second IPL hundred, more than five years after he registered his first while playing for SRH in 2019, and it has given the Kings just their third victory of the season to snap a four-game losing streak.
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