All posts by csb10.top

When JP Duminy had his first chance to play for South Africa it was through injury. Ashwell Prince’s fracture on the eve of the Perth Test in 2008 gave Duminy his chance. To say he took it with both hands would explain both what kept Prince out of the side and how Duminy stayed in it.Four years later, Duminy was picked again because of an injury – twice. Jacques Kallis’ stiff neck in Wellington gave Duminy an opportunity in the batting order. He responded with a century. He would have probably lost his place despite that hundred immediately afterwards but when Mark Boucher’s career ended with a freak eye injury, Duminy earned a more permanent spot in the Test XI and is a certain starter in Australia.To the folk down under, it will be as though nothing has changed. Duminy is now, as he was then, in sublime touch. They may not know that for a while he was a batsman interrupted by poor form, clear weaknesses and a closing out of his spot in the team.In 14 innings after the 2008-09 series in Australia, Duminy managed just 272 runs at an average of 19.43. The statistics were damning enough to result in him being dropped. What they don’t tell is that Duminy had consistent problems against the short ball and off spin and was regularly dismissed by either.His limited-overs game did not suffer similar setbacks and he continued to feature in that format, but in the longer version he was sent back to the first-class game to develop. A double hundred against Dolphins in December 2010 was a signal that Duminy had come full circle and he became a fringe player in the Test squad again. He had to join a queue, behind Prince and Jacques Rudolph and has only now become a regular again.”It was tough at times. I was coming off such a high [in Australia] and it’s difficult to maintain those sorts of performances,” Duminy said, reflecting on his match-turning century at the MCG. “You will go through ups and down and I was fortunate enough to have good people around me to work through those problems. The circumstances of being brought back into the team were also tough with Boucher getting injured but it was about taking the opportunity as well.”His chances have come in an unusual fashion as the composition of South Africa’s Test line-up has changed. Since Boucher retired, team management have opted to go with seven front-line batsmen to allow AB de Villiers to keep, although that does not seem to be a long-term option. Duminy slots in at No.7, behind Rudolph.It lengthens South Africa’s batting to the envy of other countries. Duminy has to play a bridging role between the batsmen and the tail, different to his usual middle-order batsmen. “One thing I have learned batting at No.7 and with the tail is that bowlers tend to forget about you,” he said. “With bowlers not worrying about you, you tend to get more lose deliveries. They are happy to get you off strike.”That much was evident at Lord’s in August when Duminy and Vernon Philander combined to take South Africa out of trouble. The England attack seemed to think they had got through the big guns but there was more to come. Duminy scored a half-century and Philander helped him ensure the bowlers had something to defend.It is that sort of strength that South Africa are trying to develop and Duminy said he understands that he will be required to operate as both mender and match at No.7. “You get let off by some bowlers but you can find yourself in difficult situations with the team 100 for 5, so there are two ways to look at it. I think I have grown in that role in the last three Tests and I want to start cementing a long career in Test cricket.”There would be few places as illustrious to do that as Australia, especially since it was the scene of Duminy’s breakthrough. He knows the hype will be around that but does not want it to dominate his mindset. “This is a starting point for me again. What’s happened in the past is in the past.”Already it has been a successful second coming, he has had four innings, scored 271 runs at45.17. It must be remembered that includes one not out, something that may become a more prominent feature in Duminy’s statistics given his position in the batting order. Whether he will stay there or get bumped up a place when South Africa either decide to play a specialist gloveman or are forced to because of de Villiers’ recurring injury, is a question for later on.Duminy likes to talk about the future because he sees his as bright, starting with the current tour of Australia. He is looking forward to the new challenge, especially since the complexion of the hosts’ bowling attack has changed since the first time he faced them. With young seamers stealing the spotlight and no Mitchell Johnson, South Africa may fancy their chances even more.”This time, there is a little less experience,” Duminy said. “With saying that, they have a quality attack. We’re going to have to play well against them. If we can get through the initial parts of the Test match and be positive in the first innings we can do well.”

Hampshire keep their options open and take 13 players to Canterbury for their opening Benson & Hedges Cup clash with Kent on Tuesday.The squad is: Robin Smith (captain), Adi Aymes (Wicket-keeper), Neil Johnson, Will Kendall, Derek Kenway, Jason Laney, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Alex Morris, Zac Morris, Alan Mullally, John Stephenson, Shaun Udal and Giles White.

Match facts

October 26, 2012
Start time 1730 local (1530 GMT)Mitchell Starc: a possible Test star for years to come•Getty Images

Big Picture

As expected of a young tournament with potentially different qualifiers every year, we have a semi-final between two sides that have never met each other. However, these two sides – not literally, but the regions they are derived from – are traditional powerhouses in their respective countries.It is generally said that a healthy New South Wales equals a healthy Australia. The same can be said of Pretoria and surrounds, the region the Titans represent, and South Africa. This is one of the appeals of the Champions League. We can quibble about the formats, but here are two teams, traditionally best or thereabouts in their own domestic tournaments, facing each other for a right to play the final of a lucrative tournament.Sydney Sixers don’t have Shane Watson or David Warner (both New South Welshmen now) available, but Titans have lost out on more stars for various reasons. Morne Morkel, Dale Steyn, Faf du Plessis and AB de Villiers all come from the region, yet they are either injured or representing other franchises, South African or Indian. Sixers, on the other hand, have retained services of a homegrown pace attack that has even Test fans excited. If only Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood were going up against Steyn, Morkel and Marchant de Lange, we could even have looked at this as a bit-sized precursor to the blockbuster Test series next month.

Watch out for…

Starc and Cummins have been known outside Australia for some time now, but this was an important tournament for Josh Hazlewood. The rest of the world now knows of another potential baggy green holder. He might not have taken many wickets, but he has bowled his quota in all the four matches he has played, and has gone at just 4.5 per over. Starc, who is leading the charts with 11 wickets, will no doubt acknowledge Hazlewood’s contribution to his wickets.Forget homegrown players, Titans have the services of one who has taken a rather circuitous route. Alfonso Thomas was born in Cape Town, moved to the North-West team in Potchefstroom, then joined Titans, before leaving for Dolphins and then came back to Titans. Despite his one Twenty20 international representing South Africa, he is mostly known to those outside South Africa as a Somerset professional. He will be key if Titans are to exploit what remotely resembles a weakness: Sixers’ batting.

Weather and conditions

The forecast point to a “mostly sunny” day and a “mostly clear” evening in Centurion. If it does rain enough to wash the game out, we still have a reserve day on Saturday. That reduces the teams’ challenge to dealing with the slightly tacky bounce at SuperSport Park. That this is Titans’ home ground should give them a slight advantage.

Quotes

“There won’t be any change in game plan. Everybody knows their role and we will continue to play our roles whether Shane’s here or not. So, I don’t think that is going to be an issue.”

England remain hopeful that Kevin Pietersen will be fit to play in the third Investec Ashes Test after he came through a series of fitness tests unscathed at Old Trafford.Pietersen, who sustained a calf strain during the Lord’s Test, batted in the nets, took part in catching practice in the indoor school and then underwent a series of sprints on the damp outfield without any obvious discomfort. While England will not make a final decision on his inclusion until the morning of the game, all the signs are positive.”He has gone through training the last two days and done everything we’ve asked of him,” Alastair Cook said of Pietersen. “Clearly we have to make that decision in the morning in case he pulls up differently, but we’re pretty hopeful.”We don’t know quite how he will pull up from today’s training, but he’s worked incredibly hard with the medical team over this last week to get himself right, so fingers crossed he has.”Pietersen’s inclusion would mean no immediate recall for James Taylor and a strong probability that England would play the same XI than dominated Australia at Lord’s. The development of Joe Root’s offspin and an impressive return from Tim Bresnan, who enjoyed his best Test in more than a year, have reduced the need for any changes and provided reassurance over the current balance of the side.It may well be wrong to read too much into the recalls of Monty Panesar and Chris Tremlett into the squad for this game. Or, indeed, into the omission of Steven Finn and Graham Onions. If Middlesex did not have a County Championship game scheduled for this week, there is a strong chance Finn would have been retained in the squad but the selectors concluded, reasonably enough, that he would benefit more from a game than time in the nets.Finn has not been abandoned; he has been given the best opportunity to recover the rhythm and confidence that may yet see him develop into a great fast bowler. He’ll be back.Similarly, Tremlett was not scheduled to play (Surrey do not have another Championship game until August 22) this week so there was nothing to be lost by the England management taking a close look at him in training. Blessed with unusual height and a remarkable physique, Tremlett is a bowler who, at his best, presents problems for batsmen that few can match. He was magnificent in the Ashes series in 2010-11, not just with his pace and bounce, but his ability to move the ball in the air and off the seam. At his best, there may be no bowler more unappealing to face in world cricket.That ‘at his best’ caveat is crucial, however. Despite Tremlett’s admirable attitude towards fitness and rehabilitation, there remains limited evidence that he has recovered his peak form after a series of injury setbacks. While the England management have proclaimed their delight in the fact that Tremlett has delivered in excess of 230 overs in the County Championship, it has partly been a lack of penetration that has forced him into spell after spell. A bowling average of 39.63 does not scream Test form.Anecdotal evidence and some excellent impressions in the nets suggest that Tremlett is, at last, reaching something approaching his peak, but the England management will have been able to use the last few days to reach their own conclusions. His place in this squad does not mean he is ahead of Finn, or indeed Boyd Rankin, in the fight for a place in the squad to tour Australia later in the year.While there are some reservations about Rankin’s somewhat diffident personality, he is continuing to make quite an impression with his pace, fitness and skills. The prospect of Rankin, Finn and Tremlett, as daunting a trio of fast bowlers as England have possessed for some time, all touring Australia is not as remote as it may seem.Panesar’s recall is more intriguing. Hampered by a shoulder injury and some unsympathetic pitches, he has endured a disappointing season for Sussex, claiming just 21 wickets in 10 Championship games at an average of 40.09. Indeed, so unimpressed were Sussex by his form and, in particular, by his fielding, that he was dropped at the start of June.That marked a significant setback for the left-arm spinner. Having played a key role in England’s Test series victory in India, where he took 17 wickets in three Tests at an average of 26.82, he endured a much less impressive tour of New Zealand, where he claimed five wickets in three Tests at an average of 70 apiece.With the strain of a heavy workload beginning to show, he returned to Sussex and failed to endear himself with some lacklustre displays in the field. Motionless as the ball was delivered, he developed the habit of stopping the ball with his foot and returning throws to the keeper underarm. A couple of senior players were underwhelmed and, in the end, Sussex arranged for him to have a cortisone injection in his left shoulder and a brief break from the game in the hope that it would revive him.It seems to have done the trick. Panesar has claimed two five-wicket hauls in the four Championship games he has played since his recall and taken his wickets at a cost of 29.58. He remains England’s second-choice spinner.Still, the fact that England recalled him rather than looking to Simon Kerrigan who, at 24, may well represent the future of English spin bowling, does underline how loyalty and continuity of selection have become engrained in this side. Both are admirable qualities, but there are times it seems much harder to be dropped than it does to be selected. Kerrigan, who claimed 12 wickets in his last first-class game on his home Old Trafford surface (Lancashire’s other spinner did not take any) and also another seven-wicket innings haul in the previous game, might wonder what more he has to do.The pitch for this game is expected to offer more pace than any surface encountered so far. Hard and bearing more grass than expected, it may offer more encouragement to the seamers, while it is also expected to turn as the match progresses. Heavy rain on the eve of the game and a fairly well-grassed square will do little to aid reverse swing but, whatever the surface, England’s bowler should have the weapons to damage an Australian batting line-up as weak as any that has toured England in many, many years.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIan Bell became the fourth Englishman to make centuries in three consecutive Ashes Tests•Getty Images

It was a sweltering summer’s day with the prospect that Lord’s would stage one of the hottest Tests – perhaps hottest – in its history. And in this scorching atmosphere, so warm, by Gad, that a spectator was spied wearing a knotted handkerchief in the pavilion, Ian Bell produced his third Ashes hundred in succession to try to guard against an England calamity on the first day of the second Investec Test.But on hot days like these, strange things happen. Birds fly backwards, trees talk to each other and derided legspinners rediscover their ability to pitch it – or normally pitch it – and take joy in a skill reborn. Steve Smith, armed with noticeable spin and what was now a misleadingly cherubic style, took 3 for 12 in 22 balls as the day took an unexpected turn.If the day was dominated by Bell, it ultimately belonged to Australia, who bookended it in style. They even have the luxury of beginning the second day with the bowlers fresh and a new ball only two overs old.This was meant to be Bell’s story. At the SCG, Trent Bridge and now Lord’s, he has secured his reputation. He came to the crease at 28 for 3, with England collapsing in front of the Queen – and, for that matter, Ryan Harris – but followed Jack Hobbs (twice), Wally Hammond and Chris Broad in making hundreds in three successive Ashes Tests.The Big Easy is variously an American movie, a Chelsea restaurant and the nickname for New Orleans. But at Lord’s the Little Easy was a freckled son of Coventry securing his cricketing reputation. If Trent Bridge, a strikingly slow, dead surface, had been a test of his acumen, Lord’s increasingly became a pleasure. His exquisite cover drives studded most of the day.On drowsy days like these, the serenest batsman can seek to make a big Test score without causing the merest rustle of a leaf; to amass run after run with the most slumbering members, mouths agog at the heat rather than the cricket, barely taking notice; to make a major contribution without leaving the slightest indentation. Bell is that type of player: understated quality in an age of overstatement.England needed Bell’s input because Harris, a stout man bowling with aggression and intent, barging through the heat haze like a combine harvester powering through a cornfield, had three for 28 in 13 overs by tea. Like the best harvester, Harris maintained an immaculate line.England recovered, first through Jonathan Trott’s consummate half-century, then with a stand of 144 in 43 overs for the fifth wicket between Bell and Jonny Bairstow to stabilise the England innings.Then Smith took a hand. His sixth ball turned sharply, to have Bell easily caught at first slip; Bairstow knocked back a low full toss as he was deceived in the flight; and Matt Prior misread the length of one delivered out of the front of the hand and was caught at the wicket. For Australia’s captain, Michael Clarke, it was a reward for his willingness to experiment rather than just await the second new ball. He not only brought him on, with the new ball due he kept him on.Bairstow, who hit 67, had used up his fortune earlier. His fallibility, whipping across a full-length ball, was again evident when Peter Siddle bowled him on 21, only to be reprieved when the umpire called for a TV replay and Siddle was shown to have overstepped. It took a magnified image to prove it.The UK heat wave was designed to remind Australia of home – and they have an excellent record on this ground too, with 16 victories and six defeats in 36 Tests. As the crowd queued down from St John’s Wood tube station, few expected them to make a start like they did. England, who must have sensed a bountiful batting day after winning the toss, began gingerly: Alastair Cook, Joe Root and Kevin Pietersen all departing.The Queen was presented to both sides before play began. She does not normally linger at the cricket – horse racing is her true passion – and once somebody had tried to explain the Decision Review System, she doubtless made her excuses and left.But she would not have had to linger overlong to be aware of the fall of England wickets. Three were dispensed with in the little matter of six overs as Australia, 1-0 down in the series, made the start they had barely dared imagine.Clarke gave the controlled pace of Shane Watson an airing after only four overs and it worked like a charm. Cook forever fights against the tendency to get his head too far over to the off side and a gentle inswing bowler, bringing the ball back down the slope, could potentially expose that. It took two balls; Cook trapped in front. The umpire, Marais Erasmus, spared the onerous TV duties he had to shoulder at Trent Bridge, considered at length before giving Cook out. Watson’s spell lasted a single over.England’s refashioned opening partnership of Cook and Root, assembled after the dropping of Nick Compton, has yet to reach fifty in three attempts. This was definitely a chance wasted.Root’s decision to review Harris’ lbw decision in the next over was appropriate because he could not be entirely sure if the ball had struck bat before pad. But replays suggested that Root had squeezed it – with the pad fractionally first – and Tony Hill, the third umpire, rightly found no reason to overturn umpire Kumar Dharmasena’s on-field decision.Pietersen lasted only four balls, his two runs courtesy of a thick edge against Harris backward of square. Harris had him caught at the wicket, targeting the stumps and maintaining an attacking length as one of Australia’s finest, Glenn McGrath, did on his appearances at Lord’s.TV cameras showed the Long Room for the first time and revealed Pietersen giving a gentle tap to a stanchion as he passed through it, just polite enough to escape too much of a ticking-off, but inviting the question whether the stanchion was protecting KP from the members or the other way round.Trott and Bell began as passively as possible, leaving as much as they could until the game settled. James Pattinson sampled both ends at Lord’s by lunch without entirely settling to either. Siddle soon reddened in the heat. But a fourth wicket at 120 kept the initiative with Australia as Harris led Trott into an uncontrolled pull and Usman Khawaja held the catch at deep square.Bell did not hit a single boundary down the ground in his hundred at Trent Bridge. He again prospered square of the wicket here. But when he did go down the ground, handsomely so, against Siddle, it illustrated that this Lord’s pitch was far more amenable to good cricket than its predecessor. “It will turn, too,” the experts said. And then, by Gad, Steven Smith proved it.

ScorecardEssex lost opener Jaik Mickleburgh in a 30-minute session of play on the second day of the Division Two promotion clash with Worcestershire at New Road.After a complete washout on Tuesday, the teams waited until after lunch for the ground to dry out but only 6.5 overs were bowled before the rain returned. Having won the last two games after putting their opponents in to bat, Worcestershire followed the successful formula when Daryl Mitchell won the toss.It was rookie Chris Russell who claimed the solitary success rather than his 38-year-old new-ball partner, Alan Richardson, who took 24 wickets in his county’s back-to-back victories over Kent and Gloucestershire.Russell got one to move across Mickleburgh as the opener shaped to play towards midwicket but edged to third slip where Moeen Ali held on to a smart catch, waist-high to his right.Tom Westley got off the mark in the seventh over, clipping Richardson through the leg-side, but only two more balls were bowled before umpires Jeremy Lloyds and Graham Lloyd took the players off because of bad light.They were not to return as steady rain set in until play was called off for the day at 4.20pm. This left Nick Browne still awaiting his first run after facing only two deliveries on his Championship debut for Essex.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsRobiul Islam led his team off the field after Bangladesh secured a big lead•Associated Press

The second and final Test between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh continues to hang by the proverbial thread. Bangladesh are 272 runs ahead with five wickets in hand, but are some way from dominating the proceedings.Zimbabwe fought back manfully in the second session, taking three quick wickets just before tea and adding two more in the final session. They were lucky too, being on the favourable end of two poor umpiring decisions and Shakib Al Hasan’s appalling shot late in the day.Shakib and captain Mushfiqur Rahim consolidated after Bangladesh had slipped to 65 for 4. The pair added 84 until Shakib got impatient, charged at Hamilton Masakadza’s innocuous medium-pace and edged behind like he had in the first innings. He fell this time for 59 off 104 balls, and had looked mostly in command. He was, however, dropped twice in the same region, behind point, on 45 and 48 but ultimately it was his own poor thinking that brought about his downfall.Mushfiqur remained solid till the end, remaining at the crease on 50 off 85 balls, tight in his defensive play. He was also mindful of variable bounce in the wicket, but took it ball by ball, rather than going after the bowling. It was quite different than the start of the Bangladesh second innings, which was nothing short of frenzy.Tamim Iqbal was the first to suffer at the hands of the umpire. The Shingi Masakadza delivery which rose considerably didn’t touch his bat as replays showed; in fact, the ball was quite far from the edge. But he was given the marching orders by umpire Tony Hill, who had earlier given two poor decisions in the Zimbabwe first innings too.Within a few overs, umpire Ian Gould was in action, adjudging Mohammad Ashraful leg-before to make it 18 for 3 when the Kyle Jarvis delivery looked to be sliding down even on first viewing. The replays confirmed this notion. Jahurul Islam was the second wicket to fall, when he prodded at a ball that was quite away from his body, edging it on way to the wicketkeeper.After tea, Mominul Haque gave away another good start and edged Shingi Masakadza to first slip to make it three for the fast bowler. The edge was easily caught by his brother Hamilton, the first instance in which both brothers were involved. Mominul had survived a dropped catch by Vusi Sibanda on 2 and a run-out in the 13th over, but he couldn’t make that count.Zimbabwe looked to be in the ascendancy with Shingi Masakadza bowling quite well. But they suffered without Keegan Meth’s accuracy and were later stalled by the Shakib-Mushfiqur partnership. The home side had earlier taken some control of the game in the first session with the bat but gave it away soon enough.Robiul Islam took five wickets, being Mushfiqur’s go-to man at every juncture. In the morning session, he broke the vital sixth-wicket stand between Elton Chigumbura and Richmond Mutumbami. He continued to be very accurate, unusual for a Bangladesh fast bowler. The other rare trait in this series for him has been his willingness to keep bowling.He found very little support from the two other seamers, as Mushfiqur insisted on using him in long spells. Sajidul Islam and Ziaur Rahman were hardly used, although the latter had Keegan Meth dropped at fine leg by Robiul.Chigumbura hammered eight fours and a six in his 111-ball 86, but he couldn’t complete the century after Robiul wrecked his off stump with a beautiful delivery. Before the dismissal, he got Zimbabwe past the follow-on mark and gave his bowlers a smaller deficit.He added 85 for the sixth wicket with Mutumbami, who made 42. The pair began slowly, but Chigumbura started to find boundaries regularly. Mutumbami joined in, even hammering a six off Shakib.Zimbabwe had gone off to a poor start to the day when Malcolm Waller holed out at deep square leg to a Sohag Gazi long-hop. It was a lucky day for Gazi who added the wicket of Meth, caught behind down the leg side. Gazi finished with four wickets, while Shakib took one. It was Shakib’s show with the bat, though, that was crucial.

Match facts

Monday, April 8, 2013
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Shane Watson took part in a Rajasthan Royals training session on Sunday•Rajasthan Royals

Big Picture

Both Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders have begun this IPL campaign with victories, and their captains have had a significant influence on the outcome with strong batting displays. Knight Riders won their home game on a slower pitch, where Sunil Narine and the medium-pacers proved highly effective in containing Delhi Daredevils with regular wickets. Royals, too, beat the same opposition, in more batting-friendly conditions, but Daredevils pushed them close. Knight Riders’ chase was comfortable, Royals’ defense of 165 required two excellent overs at the death and a brilliant effort in the field to run out David Warner.As the teams look to build on their early success, they have some fitness worries heading in to the game in Jaipur. Rahul Dravid, the Royals captain, who hardly played since the last IPL season, scored a half-century but had to leave the field due to cramps, though is expected to play on Monday. Perhaps their most important player, Australia allrounder Shane Watson, has joined the squad and took part in a practice session on Sunday.For Knight Riders, Jacques Kallis, L Balaji, and Brett Lee reportedly suffered a stomach bug but are recovering. Apart from winning more convincingly, Knight Riders were excellent in the field against Daredevils, while Royals dropped a couple of catches – but they did pull off two terrific bits of fielding to transform the game. Though they’ll be playing at home, Royals may yet again start as underdogs against the defending champions.

Players to watch

The last month of India’s domestic season was a productive one for Yusuf Pathan, who has warmed up well for the IPL with a century and two half-centuries in a row in the Vijay Hazare Trophy before this. The IPL in 2012, despite his own team’s title triumph, was personally not as satisfying, with 194 runs in 16 innings at 19.40. He calmly guided Knight Riders to victory in the opening game after Gambhir’s dismissal, and his team will be looking for more assured performances from him this time around.Comparisons with Sanath Jayasuriya will chase Kusal Perera through the tournament, especially with his attempted flicks past square leg. He has a triple-century to his name in first-class cricket, had a good home series against Bangladesh, and played some attractive shots during his brief stay in the Royals’ IPL opener. Swapnil Asnodkar made a name for himself in the IPL in the first season in 2008 for the Royals (though he’s faded away since then), can Perera do better?

Stats and trivia

• L Balaji has conceded the most runs to Rahul Dravid in the IPL. Dravid has taken 59 runs off 43 balls off Balaji and has been dismissed just once.
• Brad Hodge has struck the most boundary fours in T20 cricket, with 549 in 180 games.

Quotes

“We have some depth in our team this year. We want to mix and match our team and when Shane Watson comes back we will be even stronger.”

“We approach every game as if it’s the last, that it means everything. There’s no use worrying about added pressure, just go out and play better cricket than the opposition.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsManan Vohra played an eye-catching innings on IPL debut•BCCI

Kings XI Punjab’s accurate seam bowling was complemented by an all-round fielding display as they raced to an eight-wicket win over Pune Warriors in Pune. It was the first time Punjab had begun an IPL season with a victory and they took just 12.2 overs to chase the target and hand the home side their second successive loss.Two run-outs and Gurkeerat Singh’s spectacular catch were the highlights as Kings XI took control of the game from the first over. The four-man seam attack hardly gave the Warriors batsman a chance on a pitch that perhaps misled them into batting first.Manish Pandey’s hesitant prod started Warriors’ slide and they struggled in the Powerplay overs. T Suman, who replaced the injured Yuvraj Singh, added 20 for the second wicket with Robin Uthappa, but both fell trying to push the run-rate. Suman skied Azhar Mahmood while Uthappa’s charge to the legspinner Piyush Chawla was poorly judged.Mandeep Singh then ran out Marlon Samuels with a terrific throw running in from the deep midwicket boundary, and Chawla later ran out Rahul Sharma with a direct hit from long-off, off the last ball of the innings.Parvinder Awana was a force among the quicks. After a good first over he bowled the best ball of the game, which took Angelo Mathews’ outside edge. Warriors were 38 for 5 at the end of the 10th over, and the game had slipped away from them.Kings XI’s accurate bowling made the difference, but the first-match energy from the fielders left Warriors batsman stranded at either end for long patches. The highlight in the field came in the 14th over, via a jaw-dropping catch. Ross Taylor’s trademark pull towards long leg was intercepted by Gurkeerat, who dived full length to his right and caught the ball after it had passed him and held on to it after crashing to earth.Had Mitchell Marsh and Abhishek Nayar not added 25 for the seventh wicket, Warriors would have had to defend fewer than the 99 they got in the end.Kings XI captain Adam Gilchrist took fourteen runs off the first over of the chase. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was hit for two straight fours and a flicked six, but Gilchrist fell soon after to a catch at deep square-leg.Then it was the turn of little known Manan Vohra to make a spectacle of his IPL debut. The No. 3 batsman smashed four out of five fours in the fourth over bowled by Ashok Dinda. There were nice shots on the offside before the youngster brought out a swivel-pull to finish the over. He then drilled Mathews to the straight boundary to make it five fours in as many balls.Warriors were poor in the field too. Dinda dropped Mandeep Singh at mid-on before Taylor dropped Vohra at slip. Mandeep and Vohra added 58 for the second wicket with the debutant making 43 off 28 balls.

ScorecardSri Lanka continued their inconsistent run in this World Cup, losing to South Africa by a massive 110-run margin in their last Super Six game in Cuttack on Wednesday. Set a target of 228 for victory, Sri Lanka folded for a paltry 117 with just two batsmen reaching double-figure scores. Sri Lanka will play South Africa again on Friday for fifth place.Opener Chamari Atapattu scored 63 of her team’s 117 runs, the only batsman to offer any resistance to the South African bowling that was led by legspinner Dane van Niekerk. Atapattu’s 61-run, fourth-wicket partnership with Sandamali Dolawatte took Sri Lanka past 100 and the duo looked good to build a platform for Sri Lanka’s chase. However, Atapattu’s run-out triggered a batting collapse as Sri Lanka lost six wickets for 13 runs.Earlier, South Africa, who were put in to bat, recovered from a top-order stutter to score 224 runs. Sri Lanka dismissed openers Yolandi Potgieter and Trisha Chetty for 24 runs before the middle order, led captain Mignon du Preez, steadied the innings. Cri-zelda Brits and Shandre Fritz added 70 runs for the fourth wicket, while Fritz added another 71 runs with van Niekerk. Medium pacer Chamani Seneviratne took three wickets for Sri Lanka.