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“It is all about what the team wants from me – and then go and contribute. And I am pretty much confident about that”

Sidharth Monga12-Feb-20212:37

Ajinkya Rahane: ‘I don’t need to worry about what happened in first Test’

Ajinkya Rahane is a man of few words. He keeps his assertions for on the field. On the eve of the second Test against England, though, he hit back at those questioning his batting, asking them to check his record. Rahane scored a resounding hundred in Melbourne, adjudged as the innings of the year by ESPNcricinfo, but either side of that knock have been 13 innings without reaching 50. More of a concern with Rahane is that his numbers are better away than at home, where he averages 37.75.”We are playing at home after two years,” Rahane pointed out. “We played last home series against South Africa. If you take that record out, you will find something over there. It is all about the team. It is not about any individual. My focus is completely on how I can contribute for my team. If you check out the last 10-15 Test matches about my individual performances, you will see some runs over there. I don’t need to worry about what is happening and what happened in the first Test match. It is all about what the team wants from me in this Test match. And then go and contribute. And I am pretty much confident about that.”Related

• ESPNcricinfo Awards 2020 Test batting winner: Cappy takes charge

• Rahane: 'Virat will always be the captain of the Test team'

• 'My job is to take a back seat and help Kohli' – Rahane

• Kohli: Don't jump the gun on India, or Rahane

The South Africa series that Rahane spoke about took place in October 2019. He scored a century and a fifty, averaging 72. In the series against Bangladesh that followed, he scored 86 and 51 in the two innings he got to play. In the most recent home Test, though, Rahane managed scores of 1 and 0.From being propped up as a full-time captaincy candidate to having his place questioned in the space of just one Test is some ride. Sanjay Manjrekar’s tweet summed it up: “My issue with Rahane the captain is Rahane the batsman. After that 100 in Melbourne his scores are – 27*, 22, 4, 37, 24, 1 and 0. After a 100, class players carry their form & carry the burden of players out of form.”However, Rahane enjoys full confidence from the full-time captain, Virat Kohli. “Ajinkya, I have said this many a times in the past as well, along with Pujara, he is our most important Test batsman and he will continue to be as we believe in his abilities and he is an impact player,” Kohli said after the first Test. “If you are talking about MCG Test, he stood up and scored a hundred when the team wanted it most. You can look at number of innings and what happens from thereon, the reality is we won the series in Australia.”Here it is just one innings, and today you can put that innings aside but in the first innings he wanted to score a boundary and it was a brilliant catch by Joe [Root] that got rid of him. If that goes for a boundary and he scores runs, then we are not having this conversation, so there are absolutely no issues and everyone is playing really well. We just need to be focused a lot more and understand that Test victories are earned in any condition whether you are playing at home or away from home. Nothing is given in Test cricket, and we need to work together as a team and put in a lot of pressure on the opposition.”If Rahane is to get the criticism off his back in Chennai in the coming week, he will have to do in conditions more difficult than in the first Test. He himself said the pitch would turn much more. “[The pitch] looks completely different, I am sure it will turn from day one,” Rahane said. “We will have to wait and see how it behaves in the first session and take it from there. We have to forget what happened in the first Test and focus on this. Play good cricket. And we know these conditions really well. We have to put our best forward tomorrow and play as a team.”In the Bangalore Test that India beat Australia in, from a similar 1-0 deficit back in 2016-17, Rahane led the turnaround in partnership with Pujara. In that innings, Rahane unsettled Nathan Lyon with the sweep, a shot that England employed to good effect against India. Rahane was asked if that is a shot India are looking at.”It depends on what they bowl,” Rahane said. “What lines and lengths they bowl. Accordingly we play those shots. England came up with their plans of playing sweeps and reverse sweeps. It is not necessary that we are going to play similar shots. It is about what they bowl and how we actually attack their lines and lengths and play our game.”

The home side slipped to 12 for 2 after England’s captain had got their first innings close

Andrew McGlashan29-Jan-2022A stirring England fightback was halted by rain in Canberra after Heather Knight’s magnificent career-best 168 not out carried England to within 40 of Australia’s first-innings total on the third day before Katherine Brunt rattled the home side with two quick wickets.It left Australia with a precarious lead of 52 and a ball moving significantly for England’s quicks, but there was no more play after lunch as heavy rain swept through. There will be an early start on the final day with 109 overs to be bowled, but time is now running out to force a result. England are the side more desperate for the four points as they trail 4-2 overall. However, the fact they were even in such a position to consider it was down to the performance of their captain.The ninth-wicket stand between Knight and Sophie Ecclestone was extended to 100, an England record, then No. 11 Kate Cross chipped in with a useful hand until Ellyse Perry’s third wicket ended the innings.Brunt then made immediate inroads as the weather closed in. She found Alyssa Healy’s outside edge with one which bounced and moved away as the wicketkeeper bagged a pair and had Rachael Haynes taken at short leg with the penultimate delivery before rain arrived on the stroke of lunch. It took Brunt’s match haul to seven wickets and carried her to 50 overall in Test cricket.”Brunty’s having a brilliant Test and the way she bowled – the aggression, the skill – hunting Australian wickets, and to pick up those two wickets felt like we could really break the game open, try and get them out for a cheap score and set up a chase so obviously a little bit frustrating,” Knight said. “We are still holding out a little bit of hope…there’s a little bit of time left in the game so we are going to have bowl absolutely out of our skins to try and take early wickets and put the Aussies under the pump. We live in hope.”Knight, who resumed on 127, went past her previous best of 157 made in 2013 and become just the second batter to make two 150+ scores in Ashes Test after Karen Rolton. She had come out with positive intent from the start, unfurling a glorious cover drive, a hook against Perry and a slog-sweep off Jess Jonassen which took her to 150 off 274 balls.”Think it’s my best innings for England, definitely,” Knight said. “The situation we were in, in an Ashes game against probably the best team in the world, so super pleased. I felt quite rusty at the start, they bowled pretty well with the first new ball, but when you’ve played a lot of white-ball cricket and you have a red-ball moving it’s quite hard not to have a little flirt with it, and I did that a few times, but managed to get through that tricky period and when the spin came on I felt a lot more comfortable and found my rhythm.”The way Sophie batted was unbelievable, the team really need her to stand up. She’s got a really sound technique and really chuffed for her that she was able to put in that patient knock…to get us so close to the score. I was looking at a great situation being 70 or so behind, so to get to the deficit we did was a real effort.”It was a frustrating morning for Australia who had hoped to secure a far more substantial lead. When they finally bowled England out it felt a long time since there was talk of the follow-on.Ecclestone was given two lives, both by Meg Lanning at slip, the first coming in the opening over of the day and another when she had 33 but that was a tough one diving to the right. She was eventually trapped lbw by Tahlia McGrath who became the seventh bowler to take a wicket.

India will have to choose between Samson and Hooda again as New Zealand look to extend their superb ODI record in Christchurch

Vishal Dikshit29-Nov-20223:23

Jaffer: Would be unfair to drop Hooda after a washout

Big picture

Just as it was in the T20Is, the ODIs have also effectively become a two-match series because of rain, except that New Zealand lead 1-0 now and India can at best square it. But rain is threatening to spoil the game, in Christchurch, too, even though there is a chance of a shortened game being squeezed out around the showers.Whether a full 50-50 game or a reduced one – like they attempted in the Hamilton ODI – the pressure will be on India. Not just because they are trailing, but also because they are are missing first-choice players and looked short of ideas while defending 306 in the series opener. India had only five bowling options then, and replaced Sanju Samson with Deepak Hooda to have the cushion of a sixth bowler in the following game, where rain allowed only 12.5 overs of play.

Watch India tour of New Zealand LIVE on Prime Video from Nov 18 to 30

New Zealand also have an enviable 10-1 win-loss record at Hagley Oval in ODIs, where teams chasing have won the last three ODIs. So, if India lose the toss for the third time in a row, they will have to score big. The question is if they have that firepower – and the mindset – in the current line-up.Like India, New Zealand are also building up to the 2023 ODI World Cup starting with this series. They are ranked No. 1, there’s no qualification worry for them on the Super League table, and they haven’t lost an ODI series at home since early 2019, when India had won 4-1.After the washout in Hamilton, New Zealand would be eager to give some more game time to Finn Allen and Michael Bracewell, who have played most of their ODI cricket against lower-ranked sides in the past. There is a fair bit of inexperience in their batting, too, with the exception of Kane Williamson and Tom Latham, and Devon Conway; so Allen and Glenn Phillips could use the opportunity to get some runs and make a mark ahead of the ODIs in Pakistan in January 2023.

Form guide

New Zealand WLLLW
India LWWLWIt’s a chance for Devon Conway and Finn Allen to make an impression before the Pakistan ODI series•AFP/Getty Images

In the spotlight

Sanju Samson trends on social media as soon as he is left out of the XI, or each time he hits a crisp boundary, like he did a few times in the opening game during his 36 off 38. But he was then dropped for Deepak Hooda as India desperately needed a sixth bowler. Whoever plays on Wednesday will be under the spotlight; Samson to score runs to cement his spot in the middle order and Hooda to not only score but also contain the runs with the ball, and pick up a wicket or two with his part-time offspin.Michael Bracewell will be back where he returned 2 for 14 from four overs last month, in a T20I against Pakistan. He came in for Adam Milne in the second ODI, and if he gets another go in the last game, his lower-order batting could be handy for New Zealand, but his offspin will be tested by India’s batters on a pitch that assists strokeplay and fast bowlers.

Team news

There was hardly any game time in Hamilton, and New Zealand may not feel the need to change their XI unless they want to go back to playing four quicks, like they did in the Auckland ODI.New Zealand (probable): 1 Finn Allen, 2 Devon Conway, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Daryl Mitchell, 5 Tom Latham (wk), 6 Glenn Phillips, 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Michael Bracewell/Adam Milne, 9 Matt Henry, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Lockie FergusonWill India bring back Samson as a pure batting option, but Hooda is likely to play because of his bowling, which could be handy especially against left-hand batters Conway, Latham and Mitchell Santner. And will Kuldeep Yadav finally get a game? He was in both the T20I and ODI squads but hasn’t played on the tour yet, and is not even in the squad for the ODIs in Bangladesh next month.India (probable): 1 Shikhar Dhawan (capt), 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Shreyas Iyer, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Sanju Samson/Deepak Hooda, 7 Washington Sundar, 8 Deepak Chahar, 9 Umran Malik, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal/Kuldeep Yadav1:55

Arshdeep: My aim in ODIs is the same as in T20s

Pitch and conditions

Showers have been forecast for Wednesday and if the game is shortened, the toss will become crucial, and bowling first will be the choice again. The tickets are sold out for only the second day-night men’s ODI at Hagley Oval, where the hard pitch is expected to help the quick bowlers and batters.

Stats and trivia

It’s the second-lengthiest ban handed out by the ICC’s anti-corruption unit

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Feb-2024The ICC has banned Rizwan Javed, a UK-based club cricketer, for 17-and-a-half years – the second-longest sentence handed out by the ICC to date – after he was found guilty of five different breaches of the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) anti-corruption code.Javed was among eight players and officials originally charged by the ICC in September 2023 over allegations of corruption at the 2021 Abu Dhabi T10 league. The magnitude of the ban is only behind the 20-year ban given to Zimbabwe cricket official Rajan Nayar in 2018.Javed, as laid out by the ICC in a legal document, participated in matches for Cheadle Hulme Cricket Club in the Cheshire Cricket League until August 24, 2019, but in this case was under the scanner for his attempts to corrupt players in the T10 league, in particular within the Pune Devils franchise during the 2020-21 season.Last year, the ICC had said it had “disrupted” attempts to corrupt games, and charged eight people – including Bangladesh international Nasir Hossain – accordingly. While the ICC said that Nasir had co-operated with investigation and had received a two-year ban, in Javed’s case, the ICC said he did not respond to the charges or offer co-operation.Javed was found guilty of:

• Article 2.1.1 – Being party to an attempt to fix, contrive or influence improperly matches or aspects of matches in the Abu Dhabi T10 2021 (on three separate occasions).
• Article 2.1.3 – Offering a Reward to another Participant in exchange for that player engaging in Corrupt Conduct.
• Article 2.1.4 – Directly or indirectly soliciting, inducing, enticing, instructing, persuading, encouraging or intentionally facilitating any Participant to breach Code Article 2.1 (on three separate occasions).
• Article 2.4.4 – Failing to disclose to the DACO full details of any approaches or invitations received to engage in Corrupt Conduct under the Code.
• Article 2.4.6 – Failing or refusing, without compelling justification, to cooperate with any investigation carried out by the DACO in relation to possible Corrupt Conduct under the Code.

“Rizwan Javed has received a lengthy ban from cricket for his repeated and serious attempts to corrupt professional cricketers,” Alex Marshall, ICC general manager – integrity, said. “He has shown no remorse and no respect for the rules that are in place to protect our sport. The sanction imposed should send a strong message to other corrupters trying to target cricket at any level and demonstrates that any attempt to corrupt cricket will be strongly dealt with.”The ban is backdated to September 19, 2023, the date Javed was provisionally suspended on. The decision was handed out by Michael J Beloff KC, chair of the ICC code of conduct committee.

They were originally booked at a hotel 90 minutes from the cricket ground in New York

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jun-2024Pakistan have made a change to their accommodation in New York, switching to a hotel closer to the cricket ground in Nassau County, where they will play two T20 World Cup group games on June 9 and June 11.Pakistan were originally booked to stay at a hotel about an hour and a half away from the venue. ESPNcricinfo understands the PCB took exception to the arrangement and arranged for the team to move to a hotel in Long Island, about a ten-minute drive from Nassau County International Cricket Stadium.Pakistan arrive in New York from Dallas on June 7 and play India at the venue two days later. The Indian team has been accommodated at a hotel about ten minutes from the ground, and have been in New York for more than a week, having played their warm-up match against Bangladesh and their first group game against Ireland at the venue.Generally at World Cups, hotel bookings are handled by the ICC working with the Local Organising Committee (LOC), a body that includes the host board. It is rare for teams to change hotels but given Sri Lanka’s experience during their stay in New York, arrangements have come under scrutiny.Sri Lanka were staying in Brooklyn ahead of their game against South Africa, 90 minutes from the ground. The logistical complications resulted in them cancelling their training session on the eve of the game to prevent fatigue. Ahead of their morning match, Sri Lanka were forced to start their day at 7am and ultimately succumbed to a heavy defeat against South Africa. Bowler Maheesh Theekshana called the scheduling and logistics “unfair” and Sri Lanka’s manager Mahinda Halangoda told ESPNcricinfo they had lodged an official complaint about their travel arrangements in this tournament.The PCB decided not to wait and raised concerns about their hotel being too far from the ground, insisting on a change in accommodation. The ICC eventually acquiesced to the request. Pakistan play India on Sunday 9 June, and Canada two days later in New York.

Manchester franchise hoping to challenge United and City as IPL investors arrive in “UK’s number one sporting city”

Matt Roller14-Feb-2025Lancashire officials have played down the idea that Manchester Originals could be seen as a consolation prize by the RPSG Group, who are finalising a deal for 70% stake in the franchise after missing out on a minority share in London Spirit.Lancashire shortlisted four bidders with links to IPL franchises, though Reliance, the owners of Mumbai Indians, were removed when they won the auction for a stake in Oval Invincibles. The RPSG Group – who run Lucknow Super Giants – eventually saw off competition from Kolkata Knight Riders and Amit Jain, whose bid involved a cricketing partnership with Royal Challengers Bengaluru.The auction for Originals took place three days after the RPSG Group had missed out on London Spirit, the Lord’s-based franchise, in a three-hour bidding war with a Silicon Valley tech consortium. They were the final bidders remaining as Spirit’s valuation reached an eye-watering £295 million, and instead secured Originals at a valuation of £116m.Related

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• Lancashire want IPL link for Manchester Originals

• Hundred sale explainer: Who has bought what and for how much?

Lancashire have stressed that the RPSG Group had been their preferred partner for a significant period of time, and RPSG Group chairman Sanjiv Goenka has insisted his commitment to “developing a deep bond” with the club, saying he sees “huge potential” in the partnership.”Lord’s is Lord’s, but Manchester is Manchester,” Shashwat Goenka, Sanjiv’s son and the group’s vice-chairman, said at a launch event at Emirates Old Trafford on Friday. “While we did bid aggressively for Lord’s, we stopped at a point and I’m extremely happy with Manchester. We’ve been delighted with our interactions with Lancashire and I’m very excited with this partnership.”James Sheridan, Originals’ chair, played down the significance of the failed bids in London. “It doesn’t concern us,” he said. “We’ve had some amazing conversations… I was actually on the phone to one of Shashwat’s colleagues the minute after the auction finished in London. We’re not concerned. We’ve got 100 percent, total confidence that RPSG is in the right place.”ESPNcricinfo revealed last year that officials from the RPSG Group had visited Manchester during the Hundred, while Lancashire also sent a delegation to Kolkata – where RPSG is based – last year. “The team from Lucknow have just been exemplary from a partnership approach, right from day one,” Sheridan said. “We have got a fantastic partner that we can build something very special with.”Lancashire opted to sell part of their stake in Originals but will retain 30% and plan to include a reserved matters provision – effectively a set of veto rights – while drawing up contracts over the next six weeks. They will use their windfall of more than £30 million to pay down their debt and invest in infrastructure projects, including the development of a second home venue in Farington, near Preston.Daniel Gidney, Lancashire’s chief executive, believes that new investment will eventually help Originals compete with Manchester’s two Premier League football clubs. “We’ve talked about Manchester being probably the UK’s number one sporting city… We want the Manchester franchise in the Hundred to become the third-biggest sports team in Manchester and challenge those two [United and City].Sheridan and Gidney speak to the press•Lancashire CCC

“That is the scale and level of the ambition of both of us as partners… This is something that is incredibly exciting for us and that is why we wanted to partner with an IPL team and we always have done. You’ve got a 1.4 billion population of people who adore cricket: why wouldn’t we want to inject a bit of that energy and passion into Manchester and Lancashire?”The two parties did not confirm as much but it is widely expected that the franchise will be renamed Manchester Super Giants from 2026, following the lead of the Lucknow and Durban teams in the IPL and SA20 respectively. The RPSG Group also own Mohun Bagan, the Kolkata-based football club who play in the Indian Super League.LSG reached the play-offs in their first two IPL seasons before missing out on net run-rate last year, and spent a record INR 27 crore (£2.54m approx.) on Rishabh Pant at November’s auction. The arrival of four IPL owners in the Hundred has led to speculation that Indian men’s players could feature in future, but that appears unlikely in the short term.”If you could get Rishabh Pant playing in the Hundred, you’d have a lot more eyeballs on what’s going on,” Sheridan said. “But we all know that the BCCI doesn’t allow that to happen at the moment… I don’t think that is likely to change anytime soon.” Goenka added: “Where Indian players play and don’t play is the prerogative of the BCCI.”Phil Salt and Beth Mooney, who have both been retained for 2025, said that the partnership will benefit Originals. “There’s definitely a new level for this tournament to find,” Salt said. “At the inception of the IPL, their ambition was to bring the world’s best tournament that we’ve ever seen… We sit here today knowing full well that our ambition is to bring the world’s best cricket to Manchester.”Mooney, speaking from Vadodara shortly before playing for Gujarat Giants, added: “The IPL changed the landscape of men’s cricket, and we’re seeing that starting to happen with the WPL heading into its third season… The exciting part of the Hundred is that it’s only going to get bigger and better.”

Promising young batter moves down the coast to Ageas Bowl for 2024 season

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Nov-2023Ali Orr has become the latest promising young Sussex cricketer to move on from Hove, after agreeing to join Hampshire ahead of the 2024 season, on a multi-year deal.Orr, 22, had been part of the Sussex set-up since the age of ten, and enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2022 when he racked up more than 1500 runs in first-class and List A cricket combined, including three Championship centuries and a career-best 206 from 161 balls against Somerset at Taunton in the One-Day Cup.However, his opportunities were limited in 2023, in part due to a knee injury and a subsequent finger dislocation, and with Sussex missing out on promotion in the County Championship and as well as the knock-outs of both limited-overs tournaments, he has chosen to move on.”I am very grateful for the opportunity to play for Hampshire, it is a club I have always followed very closely,” Orr said. “I’m hoping I can contribute to the success of the club moving forward and can’t wait to get started.”Hampshire challenged for silverware across formats in 2023, reaching T20 Finals Day for a record tenth time before losing the One-Day Cup final by two runs to Leicestershire. The club also finished third in the County Championship after memorable victories over both title contenders, Essex and champions Surrey, in their final two games.Giles White, Hampshire Director of Cricket, added: “Ali has had an encouraging start to his career, he’s got a strong desire to win and I think he is an excellent fit for our squad.”During our discussions he impressed me with his determination to challenge himself and improve. He’s stepped outside of his comfort zone to join us and we are all looking forward to welcoming him to Hampshire.”Orr is the latest high-profile player to move on from Hove, following George Garton’s recent decision to quit his childhood club and link up with his former Sussex coach Mark Robinson at Warwickshire.”Sussex Cricket have agreed to the termination of Orr’s contract for him to make the move and will receive compensation from Hampshire for the switch,” a statement from the club read.”Orr had one year remaining on his contract and was seeking to renegotiate the terms with the Club, however with this not possible, he signalled his intentions to move elsewhere.”Everyone at Sussex Cricket would like to wish Ali all the best in his career moving forward.”

Royals’ opening pair has been in red-hot form, but they come up against a Titans attack that has been bossing the powerplay. Who will come out on top?

Sreshth Shah15-Apr-20235:30

Bishop: Titans should bowl Rashid to Buttler straight away

Big Picture – Rematch of the IPL 2022 final

Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals meet for the first time this season, following wins that should’ve been more clinical than they were. Rahul Tewatia’s scoop off Sam Curran gave a nervy Titans points against Punjab Kings while Sandeep Sharma held his nerve to clinch victory against MS Dhoni and Chennai Super Kings. They’d both want to be more ruthless on Sunday.Royals have had all their success setting sizeable totals and defending them. Against Super Kings, they became the first team to successfully defend a sub-190 score, earning their third bat-first win in four games. Titans meanwhile have put together chases in a calculative manner, with a deep batting line-up, and have lost just once chasing in 12 games since the start of IPL 2022.Rashid Khan could play a big role. Jos Buttler (strike rate 69 and four dismissals in 11 innings), Sanju Samson (strike rate 98) and Shimron Hetmyer (four dismissals) struggle against him. But Titans are not wholly dependent on Rashid either. Since the start of IPL 2022, no team has taken more powerplay wickets (35) than Titans with Mohammed Shami and Alzarri Joseph proving difficult to handle this year too. Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Vijay Shankar and David Miller have shown form as well.Royals will want their openers to set the tone. No pair this season has scored more runs in partnership quicker (194 runs at a strike rate of 202) or hit more powerplay boundaries than Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal (19 apiece). They also do exceedingly well against spinners, averaging 72 runs per wicket, the best (by far) among the 10 teams. Their experienced bowling has been exceptional too. R Ashwin (6.4) and Trent Boult (7.3) are among the tidiest bowlers in terms of economy this season while Yuzvendra Chahal (10 wickets) is an early purple cap contender.The rematch of the IPL 2022 final promises to be a high-quality affair between in-form teams. The perfect way to end week two of IPL 2023.

Form guide (most recent match first)

Titans: WLWW
Royals: WWLW

Team news – All eyes on Trent Boult

Boult was rested due to a “small niggle” in their last game. If he returns, then fellow pacer Kuldeep Sen gets benched (and perhaps Adam Zampa makes way on the overseas roster).Titans have no injury concerns.

Toss and Impact Player strategy

Based on who bats and who bowls, Dhruv Jurel and Yuzvendra Chahal are likely to be the Impact Player swaps for Royals. Titans could use Josh Little and Vijay Shankar similarly.Gujarat Titans
Bat-first XI (possible): 1 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Sai Sudharsan, 4 Hardik Pandya, 5 Vijay Shankar, 6 David Miller, 7 Rahul Tewatia, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Mohammed Shami, 10 Mohit Sharma, 11 Alzarri Joseph.Bowl-first XI (possible): 1 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Hardik Pandya, 4 Vijay Shankar, 5 David Miller, 6 Rahul Tewatia, 7 Mohammed Shami, 8 Josh Little, 9 Rashid Khan, 10 Mohit Sharma, 11 Alzarri Joseph.Rajasthan Royals
Bat-first XI (possible): 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Jos Buttler, 3 Devdutt Padikkal/Riyan Parag, 4 Sanju Samson (capt, wk), 5 Shimron Hetmyer, 6 Dhruv Jurel, 7 Jason Holder, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Sandeep Sharma, 10 Trent Boult/Adam Zampa, 11 Kuldeep Sen.Bowl-first XI (possible): 1 Jos Buttler, 2 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 3 Sanju Samson (capt, wk), 4 Shimron Hetmyer, 5 Jason Holder, 6 Devdutt Padikkal/Riyan Parag, 7 R Ashwin, 8 Sandeep Sharma, 9 Yuzvendra Chahal, 10 Trent Boult/Adam Zampa, 11 Kuldeep Sen.

Pitch and conditions

Since IPL 2021, only twice in nine occasions has a team successfully defended in Ahmedabad. The average first-innings winning score in this period is 175.Sunday evening will be hot, with temperatures around 35 degrees C.

Stats that matter

• Shubman Gill is not fluent against Boult or Chahal. He has a strike rate of 98 against the pacer and 104 against the spinner.
• Sanju Samson enjoys facing Mohammed Shami: scoring 54 runs in 28 balls with only one dismissal.
• Shimron Hetmyer has faced Shami five times in T20s. He’s been dismissed by Shami on four of those occasions.
• Hardik Pandya has been out for single digits in all his three innings this season.
• David Miller has been among the best IPL chasers recently. Since the start of IPL 2022, he has been out only twice in 11 innings in a chase. He averages 184 with a strike rate of 151 batting second in that period.

The PCB hasn’t ruled him out of playing in Melbourne or Sydney just yet, but has called up Sajid Khan to bolster the spin stocks

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Dec-2023The knee injury that Pakistan legspinner Abrar Ahmed sustained during a tour game earlier this week has ruled him out of the first Test against Australia on Thursday and created doubts around his participation in the two matches that follow.A press release from the PCB on Sunday said Abrar will stay with the team and undergo treatment in Perth. Then he will undergo “conservative rehabilitation” and will have to be reassessed before the Boxing Day Test to “ascertain his availability on this tour”. The PCB hasn’t ruled him out of playing in Melbourne or Sydney just yet, but has called up Sajid Khan to bolster the spin stocks.On day three of the warm-up match against the Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra, Abrar went off the field after bowling 27 overs “due to severe pain in his right leg around his knee”. Following an initial assessment by the PCB medical team, he was sent for an MRI scan which revealed the extent of the damage.Abrar, who has picked up 38 wickets in his six Tests so far, was shaping to be the lead spin bowler for Pakistan as they attempt to win their first-ever Test series in Australia. If he is to spend an extended period of time on the sidelines, that will put the onus on Noman Ali to lead the spin attack in conditions that may not suit his style of bowling. The left-arm orthodox bowler has typically thrived on slow and low pitches, picking up 47 wickets in 15 Tests.Sajid, meanwhile, has 22 wickets from seven Tests, the last of which came in March 2022. He was the joint-12th-highest wicket-taker in the 2023 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Pakistan’s first-class competition, with 18 strikes in six games.Agha Salman, the spin-bowling allrounder in the squad, may be pressed into spin service as well.Pakistan have plenty of seam options to call upon with Shaheen Shah Afridi as their spearhead and Hasan Ali, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf and the uncapped duo of Khurram Shahzad and Aamer Jamal coming in as support.

Capitals have won two out of three matches and seem like a settled unit with most boxes ticked

Srinidhi Ramanujam21-Feb-20254:24

Deepti should have in-form players bat around her – Mithali

Who’s playing

Delhi Capitals vs UP Warriorz
M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, 7:30pm IST

What to expect: Warriorz searching for first win

UP Warriorz are yet to find their feet and will hope a change of venue brings a change in fortune, heading into the first reverse fixture of this season. They are also the only team without a win in WPL 2025. Under new captain Deepti Sharma, they haven’t been able to lock their XIs or their batting line-up. While there has been some individual flashes of brilliance – such as Kiran Navgire’s blazing fifty, Chinelle Henry’s death-over hitting and Sophie Ecclestone’s economical spells – Warriorz have not fired as a unit. They do not have a strike bowler (Saima Thakor was dropped after one game). Misfields and dropped catches have also hurt. The likes of Grace Harris and Tahlia McGrath have also not fired in the middle order.On the other hand, Capitals have won two out of three matches and seem like a settled unit with most boxes ticked. Their middle order consisting of Annabel Sutherland and Marizanne Kapp has stepped up, their captain Meg Lanning has found her rhythm with a fifty against Warriorz in the last game and their pace attack has collectively taken 11 wickets in three matches.

Team news and likely XIs

Capitals are unlikely to change their winning combination which means they might still prefer Niki Prasad’s lower-order batting over Radha Yadav’s left-arm spin.Delhi Capitals: 1 Meg Lanning (capt), 2 Shafali Verma, 3 Jemimah Rodrigues, 4 Annabel Sutherland, 5 Marizanne Kapp, 6 Jess Jonassen, 7 Sarah Bryce (wk), 8 Niki Prasad, 9 Shikha Pandey, 10 Arundhati Reddy, 11 Minnu ManiTahlia McGrath has had scores of 0 and 1 in the two matches and had an average outing with the ball too, picking up one wicket for 47 runs in 6.5 overs. Warriorz might bring in allrounder Chamari Athapaththu for the Bengaluru leg before she joins the Sri Lanka squad on a white-ball tour of New Zealand to bolster their batting.UP Warriorz (likely): 1 Kiran Navgire, 2 Chamari Athapaththu, 3 Vrinda Dinesh, 4 Uma Chetry (wk), 5 Deepti Sharma (capt), 6 Tahlia McGrath/Grace Harris, 7 Shweta Sehrawat, 8 Chinelle Henry, 9 Sophie Ecclestone, 10 Rajeshwari Gayakwad, 11 Kranti GoudCan Shafali Verma make a big score in Bengaluru?•WPL

Players to watch: Shafali Verma and Sophie Ecclestone

Shafali Verma smashed two half-centuries in four attempts at an impressive strike rate of 140.6 in the Bengaluru leg of WPL last year. Having hit 43, 0, 26 so far this edition, Shafali might be keen on converting her starts and making a big score at the venue again.Sophie Ecclestone has accounted for three of the seven wickets taken by Warriorz so far and has looked most threatening in the bowling attack. She has an economy of 5.87, and her spell in the powerplay will be crucial for Warriorz to make early inroads. Against Gujarat Giants, she had figures of 2-0-6-1 in the powerplay, but she was given only one over against Capitals where she leaked eight runs.

Key stats

• Capitals are the second-best bowling unit in the death overs (17-20) in WPL 2025 so far, having conceded 8.53 runs an over.
• Ecclestone and Deepti are the only Warriorz bowlers to have bowled their full quota of four overs each in both their games.
• Navgire’s 24-ball fifty against Capitals was the joint fastest by a Warriorz batter in WPL.