Gujarat Titans rounded off a glorious first Indian Premier League season by beating the Rajasthan Royals in Sunday's final to crown themselves champions.
The Royals had been hoping to enjoy a first IPL final success since 2008 but once again came unstuck against Gujarat, who produced a professional display in front of a home crowd in Ahmedabad.
Gujarat beat the Royals by 37 runs in April and by seven wickets just last week, with the latter result repeated on Sunday.
There was a sense the Royals were waiting for the in-form Jos Buttler to provide inspiration, but shortly after seeing Devdutt Padikkal (two) slice to Mohammed Shami at short third man, the England international came up short on a delivery from the excellent Hardik Pandya (3-17), going for 39.
The Royals looked in trouble at 79-4 in the 13th over and their position did not get much stronger.
With Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore (2-20) also impressing with the ball, no one else managed more than 15 runs after Buttler's dismissal, with their score of 130-9 the second-lowest first innings total ever in an IPL final.
The Titans were fortunate in the first over of their chase as Yuzvendra Chahal inexplicably dropped Shubman Gill, who went on to make the Royals pay.
While the wickets of Prasidh Krishna (five) and Matthew Wade (eight) tumbled, Gill proved to be the backbone of the Titans' tilt with an unbeaten 45, aided by Hardik (34) for a while.
Chahal made amends to a degree with a classic leg spinner's dismissal of Hardik in the 14th over, giving the Royals a glimmer of hope.
But David Miller's emphatic unbeaten 32 off just 19 balls sealed the Titans' success with 11 balls to spare.
Buttler or bust
Buttler's angry reaction to being dismissed said it all. After a brilliant season in which he plundered four centuries, it ultimately felt like his campaign ended with a bit of a whimper.
While his 39 was only bettered by Gill, the scalp of Buttler was clearly decisive given the lack of runs elsewhere for the Royals.
Catches win matches
It is impossible to say how things would have turned out if Chahal had held on to that catch on the fourth ball of the Titans' chase, but considering it let Gill – the top scorer in the match – off the hook, it is difficult to look at that moment as anything other than key.
You could have sympathy with Chahal had it been a tricky one, but it looked routine and he simply appeared to misjudge the flight, almost jumping over it.
John Campbell fell agonizingly short of a century while Veerasammy Permaul claimed three wickets as the Jamaica Scorpions and Guyana Harpy Eagles played to a high-scoring draw in the West Indies Championship at Diego Martin Sports Complex.
Batting a second time, in pursuit of the Harpy Eagles' massive 584, the Scorpions ended the day on 271 for 6. At the top of the order, Campbell staged a brave resistance, putting on 105 for the first wicket with Leroy Lugg. Lugg added 67 before being bowled by Permaul.
Campbell then formed partnerships with Jermaine Blackwood and Oraine Williams but neither lasted long, both falling victim to Gudkesh Motie. Campbell himself saw his innings brought to an end, just two runs shy of triple digits, by Permaul, who trapped him lbw off a length delivery.
Paul Palmer and Alwyn Williams put together a 5th wicket partnership of 41 with both sides agreeing to a draw soon after the pair were dismissed. Overall, Permaul ended with figures of 3 for 61, while Motie took 2 for 73.
A sensational six-wicket haul from spinner Rahkeem Cornwall helped secure a dominant 228 run win for Leeward Islands Hurricanes over Windward Islands Volcanoes in the West Indies Championship at Port of Spain.
Resuming the day at 127 for 3, the Windwards were eventually skittled out for 184. Having accounted for the wickets of Devon Smith and Alick Athanaze on the previous day, Cornwall returned to rip through the middle order. Ackeem August was the spinner’s first victim after he was bowled for 18. Keron Cottoy then added just 6 before becoming Cornwall’s next victim and when the spinner returned to account for the set Kavem Hodge, who was just 7 runs short of his half-century, the writing was on the wall for the Windwards. Overall, the spinner ended with innings figures of 6 for 45.
Earlier, Cornwall had taken a five-wicket haul, which was critical in restricting the Windwards to 173 in their first innings.
Scores
Windwards
173 (55.0) & 184 *(69.3) All out
Leewards
333 (95.5) & 252 – 8 (60.5) Declared
Spinner Rahkeem Cornwall claimed a five-wicket haul to hand momentum to the Leeward Island Hurricanes in a tight battle with the Windward Volcanoes in the West Indies Championship at Port of Spain.
Resuming the day at
At the close of play, the Windwards were 127 for 3 and needed a further 286 runs for victory. Earlier, it was Cornwall’s haul of 5 for 61 that played a pivotal role in
Kumar Sangakkara cannot recall seeing anyone bat better than Rajasthan Royals run machine Jos Buttler in the Indian Premier League ahead of the final against Gujarat Titans.
Buttler blasted the Royals into their first final for 14 years with a scintillating unbeaten 106 off only 60 balls to secure a seven-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore in Qualifier 2.
The England wicketkeeper-batter hit six sixes and 10 fours in a masterclass at Narendra Modi Stadium on Friday, taking his tally of centuries for the season to four.
Buttler is only one shy of Chris Gayle's record of scoring six IPL hundreds ahead of the final in Ahmedabad on Saturday.
The 31-year-old is the leading run-scorer in the tournament with 824 from 16 innings at an average of 58.86 and Royals director of cricket Sangakkara has never seen anything like it.
He said: "It's hard to describe what he has done for us this season. I think he started off so well, had a little bit of a flutter at one point in the tournament, but he calmed himself down, had good conversations rather than just training.
"He accepted he's mortal, he's human and he can't have that high level of excellence every single day. And to understand how you kind of reach that level at every game in different stages.
"Some days you have to fight and look ugly, other days your rhythm is there. The reality is you can't fight that condition, but fight what's happening on the day.
"You have to settle into it and build an innings. He can accelerate at any point, has all the strokes and understands the game really well. I can't remember anyone batting this well in the history of the IPL."
Rajasthan have not reached a final since they won the inaugural IPL in 2008, when the late Shane Warne captained them to victory.
Gujarat topped the table in their first IPL season and beat the Royals by seven wickets in Qualifier 1 to move into the final.
David Miller struck a rapid 68 not out in that victory and the South Africa batter says he is reaping the rewards of the Titans putting their faith in him.
He said: "I feel like I am repeating myself. But one thing that changed this season, is that I am playing every game.
"The last four-five years in IPL… I had a bad season in 2016 and then haven't really felt backed at all. That’s the nature of the IPL. There are so many overseas players and only four can play.
"I had to go back and work on my game. Although I felt really good playing for the domestic teams in South Africa, I was looking to find that good nick. That's what happened this season."
Centuries from Tagenarine Chanderpaul and Vishaul Singh pushed Guyana Harpy Eagles comfortably past the sizeable first innings total of Jamaica Scorpions and into the lead in the West Indies Championship at Diego Martin Sports Complex.
Resuming the day just four runs short of triple digits Chanderpaul went on to hammer 184, from a marathon 423 deliveries, which largely provided the fuel for the Harpy Eagles’ 584 for 7 at the close of play. Chanderpaul has, however, also had plenty of help. In fact, in addition to Chanderpaul, the first five batsmen in the Guyana top order had at least a half century.
Tevin Imlach added 79 from 198, Leon Johnson 57 from 72, Chanderpaul Hemraj 78 from 87, and Singh who remains unbeaten on 100 from 85. Against the Harpy Eagles batting onslaught, Nicholson Gordon was the Jamaica Scorpions' most successful bowler after claiming figures of 4 for 122. At the close of play, Guyana held a lead of 191 runs with Singh and Gudakesh Motie, who was on 12 from 15, at the crease.
The latest episode in Jos Buttler's outstanding 2022 IPL took Rajasthan Royals through to the final and a rematch with Gujarat Titans.
The Royals were beaten by the Titans in the first qualifier, forcing them to face Royal Challengers Bangalore on Friday for a place in the season's showpiece.
Buttler ensured RCB were soundly beaten, smashing an unbeaten 106 off 60 balls to clinch a seven-wicket victory.
The Royals still had 11 balls to spare when Buttler's sixth six completed the job on 161-3.
None of the England star's team-mates had to pass 25 runs as he did all the heavy lifting in partnerships of 61 with Yashasvi Jaiswal, 52 with Sanju Samson, 35 with Devdutt Padikkal and 13 with Shimron Hetmyer in reply to RCB's 157-8.
A stunning Buttler catch had removed the dangerous Rajat Patidar (58) in the outstanding moment of the RCB innings, too, as his almost single-handed pursuit of the title continued.
Buttler blowing away the competition
This has long since been Buttler's best IPL campaign, and there remains a slim chance he also takes the tournament record. In pursuit of Virat Kohli's 973 runs in 2016, he moved on to 824 for this tournament with his fourth century. The rest of the players in this year's IPL have produced only four hundreds between them.
As well as the most runs in the 2022 IPL, Buttler leads the way for fours (78, 26 clear of second place) and sixes (45, 11 clear).
Top two tussle once again
This will be the Royals' first final since the inaugural IPL in 2008, when they took the title, but Rajasthan will have their work cut out against a Titans side who are in their debut season.
Gujarat finished two points ahead of the second-placed Royals in the points table, having won the match between the pair by 37 runs. The margin in the subsequent qualifier was seven wickets. Buttler top-scored for Rajasthan on both occasions, but their opponents have collectively shown they have the firepower to match him.
West Indies all-rounder, Roston Chase, starred with the ball as the Barbados Pride strengthened their lead atop the West Indies Championship table with a dominant innings and 22-run win over the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force on Friday’s third day at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba.
The Red Force started the day 51-3, needing 110 more runs to make the Pride bat again, and they got off to the worst possible start after Chase removed Jason Mohammed for 10 to leave the score at 55-4.
55-4 became 64-5 as opener Keagan Simmons was next to go for 31, caught off the bowling of Chase.
Yannic Cariah was the only other batsman to put up any resistance, finishing 35 not out as Joshua Da Silva (14), Imran Khan (2), Terrance Hinds (1), Uthman Muhammad (7), and Shannon Gabriel (8) all fell in quick succession to restrict the Red Force to 139 all out, condemning them to their second straight outright loss.
Chase took 3-26 from 12 overs while Akeem Jordan and Justin Greaves were also instrumental with 3-31 off 11.1 overs and 2-27 from nine overs, respectively.
Final scores: Trinidad and Tobago Red Force 133 and 139, Barbados Pride 294.
Brendon McCullum insists he will pick his best England Test side at every opportunity with no interest in rest and rotation, while he suggested James Anderson and Stuart Broad can still work in tandem.
Anderson and Broad were surprise omissions for the tour of the West Indies in March, which ended in a 1-0 series defeat for Joe Root before he stepped down as England Test captain.
Ben Stokes was appointed as the successor to Root, who oversaw just one win in his last 17 Tests, while McCullum was named as red-ball coach, beating Gary Kirsten to the position.
McCullum's first task sees him face his home country New Zealand, starting at Lord's next Thursday, and he hinted Anderson and Broad – who have 1,117 Test wickets between them – could feature together.
"Why not? They can work together," he said to BBC Sport of the veteran bowling pair. "They have had successful careers together.
"There might have been times when the combination might not have been as good as everyone hoped, but there are circumstances around that – there might not have been enough runs, or they were bowling in benign conditions. I'm certainly not against picking them together.
"I'll probably get in trouble, but I like to pick the best team every time.
"My job will be to plan as if you'll live forever, but live as if you'll die tomorrow."
McCullum also sees similarities between himself and new captain Stokes, with the pair both known for their attacking batting displays in five-day cricket.
"He's going to be a wonderful leader," said McCullum. "He plays the game how I like it to be played and puts bums on seats.
"He might fly. He might grab the captaincy and go to a whole new level again. We'll just play what we see and feel in that moment – and I'm sure the relationship between Stokesy and I will really flourish."
There remain concerns over McCullum's experience, given he has only ever coached white-ball franchises Kolkata Knight Riders and Trinbago Knight Riders.
However, he played 101 Tests for his country and believes he will coach differently to the aggressive batting style he opted for as a player.
"I'm very different as a coach to how I was as a player," he added.
"I like to allow guys to get to where they need to, to realise their potential rather than play how I played. I'd never want anyone to do that – that comes with an immense amount of disappointment at times. It's not for everyone, that style.
"Your job as coach is to understand everyone's game, understand them as people, get to know them and understand their aspirations. You try to piece that all together for one common goal."
In-form batsman Tagenarine Chanderpaul moved closer to a second triple-figure score of this season’s West Indies Championship after leading a spirited Guyana Harpy Eagles chase-down of Jamaica Scorpions' sizeable first innings total, on day 2 at the Diego Martin Sports Complex.
At the close of play, Chanderpaul remained unbeaten on 96 from 228 deliveries, with the Harpy Eagles at 213 for 1, still, 180 runs short of the Scorpions' first innings total. Chanderpaul Hemraj was the only wicket lost on the day, and he was caught by Aldane Thomas on 78 but not before sharing in a 112 first-wicket stand with Chanderpaul.
Earlier, Jermaine Blackwood only managed to add another four runs to his overnight total of 110 before being caught by Chanderpaul off the bowling of Keemo Paul. Aldane Thomas, who resumed the day with Blackwood, on 35, however, went on to do some damage of his own after getting to 100 off 101 balls. Thomas also featured in a productive 76-run 8th wicket partnership with Jamie Merchant who added a quickfire 39.
Veerasammy Permaul was the pick of the Guyana bowlers after taking 3 for 96, while Demetri Cameron, Kevin Sinclair, and Gudakesh Motie claimed two each. Tevin Imlach, who ended the day with 38, will resume with Chanderpaul on day 3.
Brendon McCullum concedes England took "a big risk" by appointing him as men's Test coach, but hopes his side can reinvigorate interest in red-ball cricket across the world.
England's new men's managing director Rob Key chose New Zealand great McCullum ahead of the likes of Gary Kirsten and interim coach Paul Collingwood.
McCullum will be tasked with transforming England's fortunes in five-day cricket after just one win in 17 Tests led to the resignation of captain Joe Root, with Ben Stokes his replacement.
However, McCullum's experience comes from white-ball cricket, where he has only ever coached T20 franchises; Indian Premier League side Kolkata Knight Riders and their Caribbean Premier League affiliate Trinbago Knight Riders.
While McCullum acknowledged a seeming lack of experience, the 40-year-old remains confident he can make a noticeable impact for England and cricket on a wider scale.
"I think for me red-ball cricket has always been the pinnacle of the sport, if you look at where the game sits currently, it's probably on a bit of a downward trend and to me the nation that can really change that is England," McCullum told Sky Sports.
"Because of the tradition of Test cricket here in England and I guess the fan following and the support that it gets in this country.
"For us to be competitive in Test cricket I think will go a long way in trying to be able to hopefully just shift that a little bit in terms of the perception of red-ball cricket moving forward.
"I'm confident in the skills that I've got and I'm confident in the group that we have to start things off as well.
“Obviously it might take a little while to become completely adjusted to the methods and the ways over here and it might take some time for guys to become adjusted to me as well, but I'm looking forward to it.
"For me it was a big risk taken by everyone but, for me, you don't get anywhere unless you take risks."
McCullum admitted he will be far from a hands-on coach with the mental aspects of cricket more of interest to him than technique, while he hailed Stokes' leadership.
"I certainly don't coach technically. I understand the technique obviously, but for me it's more around tactics and man-management and trying to provide the right environment for the team to try and go out there and be the best versions of themselves," he added.
"So I think with Stokesy as captain we've got a really strong leader, a 'follow me' type of captain and so I think my job will be to try and ensure that we’re consistent with a lot of our messaging.
"I'll look after the guys inside the environment as well and try and allow them to really grow at a speed which they might not have got to previously, so it's a big challenge."
McCullum faces home country New Zealand in his first Test in charge of England, which starts next Thursday at Lord's.
Enterprising half-centuries from Raymon Reifer and, Justin Greaves, underpinned the Barbados Pride’s early advantage as they surged past the first innings total of T&T Red Force on day 2 of the West Indies Championship, at Tarouba, on Thursday.
Resuming the day on 87 for 2, Reifer picked up where he left off overnight and went on to add another 45 to his total before being dismissed for 79, caught and bowled by Bryan Charles. Not before he had played the chief role in a destructive partnership with Jonathan Carter who added an even 50 as the pair put on 101 for the third wicket.
Roston Chase briefly joined Reifer at the crease but only managed to add 28 before being bowled by Terrance Hinds. Greeves and Akeem Jordan then added a valuable 59 for the 7th wicket before the innings wrapped up at 294 all out, a lead of 161. Hinds did his part to stem the damage after claiming best figures of 5 for 32.
In their second time at the crease, T&T closed the day at 51 for 3. Keagan Simmons and Jason Mohammed are the not-out batsmen at the crease.
The Leeward Islands Hurricanes were in command at stumps on day two of their West Indies Championship match against the Windward Islands Volcanoes at Port-of-Spain on Thursday.
At the close of play, the Leewards are 64-2 in their second innings, a lead of 224 with eight wickets in hand.
Colin Archibald scored an unbeaten 106 as the Leewards compiled a score of 333 all out from 95.5 overs. Archibald’s knock rescued the Leewards from an uncomfortable 179-9 while sharing in a 10th-wicket stand of 154 with Daniel Doram, who scored a patient 43.
Left-arm medium pacer Preston McSween was the pick of the Windwards bowlers with 5-92 from 27.5 overs. Kenneth Dember took 2-77.
Needing 334 to overhaul the Leewards’ total, the Windwards only lasted 55 overs and were bowled out for 173 thanks to Rahkeem Cornwall, who took 5-61 in 22 overs of his off-breaks. He was supported by fast-medium pacer Jeremiah Louis who returned figures of 3-26 from 14 overs.
Only Kerron Cottoy offered any real resistance to the Leewards’ attack with an unbeaten on 73 when the innings closed.
Opener Devon Smith, 35, Alick Athanaze, 12, and Denis Smith, 11, were the only other batters in double figures.
With a commanding lead of 160, the Leewards extended that lead beyond 200 runs by the close with Montcin Hodge (24) and Kieran Powell (18), the batsmen dismissed.
Ross Powell (14) and Devon Thomas (3) will resume their innings on Friday, hoping to put the match beyond the reach of the Windward Islands.
McSween (1-7) and Josh Thomas (1-12) were the wicket takers.
Five West Indies Championship squads have been updated as members of the West Indies team have made their way over to the Netherlands for their three-match One Day International series with the Dutch followed by a three-match ODI tour of Pakistan.
Leaders of the West Indies Championship after three rounds, Barbados Pride, have roped in fast bowler Miguel Cummins and batsman Jonathan Drakes to replace West Indies ODI vice-captain Shai Hope, who scored a well-played 119 against Guyana in round three, and Shamarh Brooks.
The Leeward Islands Hurricanes currently sit second behind the Pride and have brought in Jahmar Hamilton and Kofi James to replace Hayden Walsh Jr and Keacy Carty.
The Jamaica Scorpions have replaced round three centurion Brandon King and Nkrumah Bonner with Alwyn Williams and Brad Barnes, while the Windward Islands Volcanoes have replaced Sherman Lewis with Ryan John.
The Trinidad and Tobago Red Force have had to make the most changes with Jyd Goolie, Sharron Lewis, and Terrance Hinds coming in for Akeal Hosein, Jayden Seales, and Anderson Phillip.
Full squads for Round 4:
Barbados Pride: Kraigg Brathwaite (Captain), Jonathan Carter, Roston Chase, Shane Dowrich, Keon Harding, Chaim Holder, Akeem Jordan, Shayne Moseley, Raymon Reifer, Ramon Simmonds, Jomel Warrican, Camarie Boyce, Justin Greaves, Miguel Cummins, Jonathan Drakes.
Guyana Harpy Eagles: Leon Johnson (Captain), Keemo Paul, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Tevin Imlach, Vishaul Singh, Akshaya Persaud, Veerasammy Permaul, Anthony Bramble, Gudakesh Motie, Nial Smith, Demetri Cameron, Antony Adams, Kevin Sinclair, Ronsford Beaton.
Jamaica Scorpions: John Campbell (Captain), Jermaine Blackwood, Leroy Lugg, Oraine Williams, Aldaine Thomas, Gordon Bryan, Paul Palmer Jr., Jamie Merchant, Marquino Mindley, Nicholson Gordon, Derval Green, Patrick Harty, Kirk McKenzie, Alwyn Williams, Brad Barnes.
Leeward Islands Hurricanes: Rahkeem Cornwall (Captain), Devon Thomas, Amir Jangoo, Kieran Powell, Colin Archibald, Terence Warde, Jeremiah Louis, Sheno Berridge, Daniel Doram, Damion Williams, Ross Powell, Kian Pemberton, Jahmar Hamilton, Kofi James
Trinidad & Tobago Red Force: Imran Khan (Captain), Jason Mohammed, Jeremy Solozano, Isaiah Rajah, Khary Pierre, Shannon Gabriel, Darren Bravo, Terrance Hinds, Bryan Charles, Yannic Cariah, Sharron Lewis, Uthman Muhammad, Jyd Goolie, Keagan Simmons, Joshua Da Silva.
Windward Islands Volcanoes: Kavem Hodge (Captain), Keron Cottoy, Denis Smith, Devon Smith, Ackeem Auguste, Alick Athanaze, Alick Athanaze, Daurius Martin, Desron Maloney, Josh Thomas, Kenneth, Dember, Kimani Melius, Preston McSween, Ryan John, Teddy Bishop, Larry Edward.
A battling lower-order ton from Leeward Islands Hurricanes Colin Archibald and a four-wicket haul from Windward Island Hurricanes bowler Preston McSween typified the see-saw nature of the battle between the franchises in the West Indies Championship, at Port of Spain, on Wednesday.
Batting first, the Hurricanes seemed set for a below-par total after losing wickets at regular intervals at the top of the order. The top three of Montcin Hodge, Kieron Powell, and Ross Powell were removed with just 65 runs on the board. Devon Thomas was next to go just two overs later and was, like Powell before him, bowled by the excellent McSween.
Jahmar Hamilton paired with Terrance Ward to add a respectable 47 for the 6th wicket but the partnership came to an end when Hamilton was caught, attempting to pull Kenneth Dember. Rahkeem Cornwall managed to add just one run before becoming McSween’s 3rd wicket and the writing seemed on the wall when the bowler returned to pick up the valued wicket of Ward a few overs later.
Archibald’s brutal 104 from just 97 deliveries, at the bottom of the order, however, changed the complexion of the innings entirely. At the close of play, the batsman remained not-out at the crease and was partnered by Daniel Doram on 17 from 69 deliveries.
Left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican led a strong bowling performance that gave the Barbados Pride the early advantage against Trinidad and Tobago Red Force in the West Indies Championship, at Tarouba, on Wednesday.
At the end of play, the Pride were 87 for 2, just 46 runs short of the Red Force first innings total of 133. Barbados’ success was due in large part to Warrican’s haul of 3 for 21. Batting first, the Red Force found themselves in early trouble after losing opener Keagan Simmons, for a duck, after just three deliveries.
It did not take long for his opening partner Jeremy Solozano to follow, leaving the Red Force struggling on 11 for 2. Jason Mohammed added just 12 before driving a half volley into the hands of Floyd Reifer off a delivery from Ramon Simmonds. The trend of losing wickets at regular intervals continued when Darren Bravo was bowled for 8 after attempting to flick away Justin Greaves.
Warrican claimed the first of his three wickets when he removed Terrence Hinds, who was stopped in his tracks on 25. Prior to that, Imran Khan (29) also got a start alongside Joshua Da Silva but was dismissed by Simmonds just as the pair had put together a useful 41-run partnership. Da Silva attempted to hold the innings together but continuously ran out of partners before he himself was trapped lbw by Warrican, on 23, with the Red Force limping along at 132 for 9.
Greaves, Simmonds, and Akeem Jordan also got in on the act for the Pride, each claiming two wickets. At the close of play, Raymon Reifer (32) and Jonathan Carter (19) were the not-out batsmen for Barbados Pride.
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