The opener tops almost all batting charts for his country

Sampath Bandarupalli07-Jul-20238313 Runs scored by Tamim Iqbal in ODI cricket. He retires as the only player with 8000-plus runs for Bangladesh in the format. His 14 ODI hundreds are also the most by any player for Bangladesh; no one else has even scored ten.1 Tamim signs off as the highest run-getter for Bangladesh in international cricket with a tally of 15,148. His 25 hundreds across formats are also the most by anyone for Bangladesh.62.83 Tamim’s batting average in ODI cricket between April 2015 and December 2018. It is the fourth-best average for any batter with 1000-plus runs in that period, only behind Virat Kohli (83.97), Ross Taylor (67.61) and Rohit Sharma (66.00). Tamim scored 2325 runs in that 45-month period, with seven hundreds in 44 innings.

Zaman will replace Naseem for Pakistan’s virtual semi-final against Sri Lanka

Danyal Rasool13-Sep-2023As if Pakistan’s record-breaking 228-run defeat to India wasn’t bad enough, Pakistan were dealt a further blow when two of their much vaunted fast-bowling triumvirate failed to see out the first innings with the ball or emerge with the bat in the dying throes of the second. To make matters worse, Naseem Shah has been ruled out of the Asia Cup, with Haris Rauf a significant doubt, hampering Pakistan’s chances of a third title. Fast-bowling reserves have since been flown into Sri Lanka.Any injury to key players three weeks out from the World Cup is bound to cause angst, and Pakistan were keen to point out they would rather err on the side of caution when it comes to managing Naseem and Rauf’s return. But when it comes to fast bowling, Pakistan’s reputation is one of high quality, as well as high quantity. In calling up Shahnawaz Dahani and Zaman Khan, Pakistan might argue they are drawing upon players who would play international cricket much more regularly in a side where competition for fast-bowling slots wasn’t so extreme.

Zaman Khan

Zaman makes his ODI debut tomorrow in what will be just his eighth 50-over game. The 22-year-old made his T20 debut just two years ago at the National T20 Cup and burst onto the national conscience as an express pace bowler with a slingy action in the following PSL. While control was initially an issue, he made his mark with a stellar PSL campaign earlier this year, taking 15 wickets, developing a reputation as a superb death-overs-yorker bowler, famously bowling the final over of the tournament and closing out a one-run victory for Lahore Qalandars against Multan Sultans.Related

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That has propelled him into demand on the T20 circuit, as well as an international debut in the format. He spent much of the summer in England with Derbyshire in the T20 Blast, and the Manchester Originals in the Hundred, and while the economy rate is a shade on the high side, Zaman’s yorkers at their most accurate can be as close to unplayable as it gets.

Shahnawaz Dahani

Dahani isn’t yet officially part of the squad but has been called up as cover in the event that Rauf is ruled out completely. Dahani, in the 2021 PSL, was a wholesome revelation, finishing as the top wicket-taker of the tournament, and delighting as much with his bubbling personality as his raw talent and a media persona that hadn’t yet been homogenised by professional sport.Accuracy, however, has eluded him, and the potential to go for huge runs on off days has limited his game time for Pakistan. Naseem’s white-ball emergence, as well as the presence of Mohammad Hasnain – currently injured – and Zaman has seen Dahani fall down the pecking order. He spent much of the summer in Zimbabwe playing first-class and List A cricket, where he was solid without quite setting the world alight. However, he has a knack of picking up wickets whenever he plays. A five-wicket haul for Pakistan A against Nepal was the highlight, followed by a somewhat indifferent stint in the Lanka Premier League, where he took four wickets in as many games.

There’s little glamour in the No.3’s methods, but the pay-off for his team is proving spectacular

Firdose Moonda01-Nov-2023It didn’t always look easy with Rassie van der Dussen. If he was not lunging forward, his 1.88 metre frame making it look ungainly to defend, he was pushing awkwardly, trying to come to terms with the line. It didn’t always look elegant – and it seldom does with van der Dussen – but it was definitely effective.Van der Dussen scored South Africa’s eighth century of the tournament, and 16th in ODIs this year, through a combination of patience and placement which perfectly demonstrated how he has moulded himself to his anchor role. He came in with nine balls remaining in the powerplay, after a brief but energetic knock from Temba Bavuma, and scored 21 off his first 33 balls. At the time, the talk was that South Africa were taking too long. That quietened when Quinton de Kock reached his fourth hundred of this World Cup. Van der Dussen then accumulated 112 off his next 85 balls to take South Africa within reach of 350, and went entirely silent after their 190-run win, but we’ll get to that.First, to van der Dussen, the number of runs he scored, the way he scored them and who he scored them off. After a watchful start, he ran 56 singles, four twos and the only three of the innings. He scored at a run a ball against Mitchell Santner (27 from 27), and took 33 runs off 22 balls from Glenn Phillips and Rachin Ravindra. None of that was an accident. Every time South Africa have been put in to bat – five times in total – they’ve followed a similar template: caution upfront, rotation through the middle and a strong finish.In part, that’s a nod to the quality of the opposition attacks, and especially the quick bowling at this tournament, but it’s also a way of ensuring a line-up that only includes six specialist batters can save their power-hitters for when they can actually make an impact. Afterwards, that’s what van der Dussen confirmed.”We felt they bowled pretty well upfront,” van der Dussen said at the post-match press conference. “Tim Southee and Trent Boult are very experienced and they didn’t give us much and then with their finger spinners, Santner is a guy who has some of the best control in the world. The other two (Phillips and Ravindra), we knew we could put under pressure but also that they have been bowling well in the tournament so far. We had to fight through that period. But we know we don’t always have to be in fifth gear. We can play in third gear and then at the end up it a little bit.””That period” lasted as long as 35 overs, as South Africa’s run-rate hovered between 4.5 runs to 5.5 runs an over. Instead of chasing sixes and sevens an over, they saw it as a way of “finding the balance between being attacking and scoring runs and also setting the base up,” van der Dussen said. Hindsight tells us that it was more than enough but South Africa, and van der Dussen, would not have known that at the time. Instead it was de Kock who acted as the pace-setter. “He really guided me through my innings today. I was under pressure and asking him about a few options,” van der Dussen said.At one stage, he asked de Kock whether he should start to score quicker. De Kock’s advice was to wait for as long as possible. “I said, if you want me to make a play, tell me,” van der Dussen said, “but he said, ‘no, no, just extend it and just look at your options for the spin, keep playing straight, keep being really relentless if it’s in your area but if it’s not, respect it, because we know how these guys bowl and they’re very disciplined with the ball’.”Quinton de Kock and Rassie van der Dussen raised the pace as they batted longer•AFP/Getty ImagesIntermittently, van der Dussen was allowed to play his shots, especially the flick and the sweep, that he practices so often in the nets, and has brought out several times at this tournament. His best run-scoring options were, as de Kock suggested, down the ground and that is where he scored four of his five sixes, and 37 runs off 17 balls. In the end, his century came at a strike rate of 112.71, which is a decent pace for scoring big runs and a retort to an oft-mounted critique against his methods.There is a school of thought that van der Dussen scores too slowly and there is some statistical evidence to support that. Of the South African batters who have scored at least 500 ODI runs this year (and there are six of them), van der Dussen has the lowest strike-rate. But that also proves something far more important about the role he plays: he is the fulcrum around which the rest operate and he owns that.On the eve of the match van der Dussen was asked about doing the “dirty work” for South Africa and he explained how it’s meant he doesn’t have the flashy reputation of some of his team-mates, let alone their pay cheques.Related

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“Me, Quinny and Temba often joke about it, saying the reason (Heinrich) Klaasen and the other guys get millions at IPL is because they can come in and hit sixes at the back. But it’s a role that needs to be done, and from my side and other guys as well, we’re really happy to be doing it. In our team, there’s a sense of … what’s the word I’m looking for?”The word was probably “selflessness”, given what he said next. “It’s amazing to see what you can achieve when it doesn’t matter who gets the credit, or when you don’t care who gets the credit, for getting the win or getting over the line or putting in a good performance. There’s a real sense of that in our team. And if that’s going to help us win matches and win the World Cup, then I’ll be happy not to be thanked for that.”But he won’t mind a little recognition for an ODI batting average that sits close to 54, a record that makes him the third highest run-scorer in ODI cricket for South Africa in the current squad, the second-fastest South African to 2,000 ODI runs after Hashim Amla, and sixth overall. He also won’t mind the acknowledgement that he has scored a quarter of South Africa’s tournament hundreds so far, even though there is a player who has done double that.Next to de Kock’s fourth tournament hundred and amid the narrative of his impending ODI retirement, van der Dussen may not get the plaudits he deserves, but he should. Like de Kock, van der Dussen could also be playing in his last World Cup (he is 34 years old), although he hasn’t said as much. And much like de Kock, who told the broadcaster in the innings break that “as my career is coming to a finish, I just bat as much as I can,” van der Dussen seems to want to do the same.

England wouldn’t want to look back at their stats – like the number of overs they batted or their bowlers’ economy rates – with any happiness

Sampath Bandarupalli16-Dec-2023347 – India’s margin of victory is the biggest by runs in women’s Tests, bettering Sri Lanka’s 309-run win against Pakistan in 1998. No other team has won by over 200 runs in the format.1 – It is India’s first Test win against England at home across six matches. They have, however, defeated England twice in nine meetings in England.27.3 – Overs batted by England in the fourth innings, the shortest all-out innings in women’s Tests. The previous record was at 28.2 overs by New Zealand when they were bowled out for 44 by England in Christchurch in 1935. England’s first innings in Navi Mumbai lasted only 35.3 overs, the fourth shortest.378 – Balls batted by England across the two innings – by far the fewest by a team in a women’s Test while being bowled out twice. The previous lowest was 544 balls by New Zealand against England in 1935.4.2 – The scoring rate in the match at the DY Patil Stadium is the highest in the history of women’s Tests – there have been 146 of them over the years. The previous highest was 3.67 between England and Australia at Trent Bridge earlier this year.0 – Number of women’s Tests with a bowling strike rate higher than the 36.9 in Navi Mumbai (The 1976 Test between India and West Indies in Jammu didn’t have complete scorecard of the second innings).5.3 – Overs bowled by Deepti Sharma for her five-wicket haul in England’s first innings. These are the fewest overs bowled while taking five or more wickets in an innings in women’s Test. Gargi Banerjee bowled 9.4 overs while taking six wickets in New Zealand’s first innings in Cuttack in 1985.9 – Balls per wicket for Deepti against England – the best strike rate for any bowler with eight or more wickets in a women’s Test match. Betty Wilson took 11 wickets against England in 1958 in 29.3 overs, a wicket every 16 balls.Only one player has had a better number in Test cricket (men or women) than Deepti – George Lohmann, whose 15 wickets against South Africa in Gqeberha (then Port Elizabeth) in 1896 came at a rate of 8.5 balls per wicket.1 – Indian with a five-wicket haul and a fifty-plus score in the same women’s Test before Deepti. Shubhangi Kulkarni was the first Indian with the all-round double, against New Zealand in 1985 in Ahmedabad.1 – The lead of 478 runs that India piled up before declaring was the highest for any team in women’s Tests. Their 292-run first-innings lead is also the highest for any team while batting first in women’s Tests.19 – Wickets to fall on the second day – the joint-second-most in a single day’s play in women’s Tests, behind the 24 on the second day of the Junction Oval Test between Australia and England in 1958. Contrastingly, the opening day saw 410 runs, the third-highest ever in women’s Tests.

By ensuring that they pair left-right combinations and spin hitters with pace hitters, CSK have significantly raised the ceiling of their line-up

Sidharth Monga04-Apr-2024There is something odd about the scorecard from the season-opener of IPL 2024.The three Royal Challengers Bengaluru spinners have bowled five overs between them for just 37 runs. The two fingerspinners have gone for just 13 in three. And yet that’s where they stop even though the Chennai Super Kings – Ravindra Jadeja and MS Dhoni in particular – are suspect against spin. That’s because of the presence of spin disruptor Shivam Dube, against whom RCB keep bowling their quicks.Of the 50 balls bowled after Dube’s arrival at the wicket, 44 are bowled by the quicks. Dube faces just 13 of the first 31 balls of pace in this period, letting Jadeja score 24 off 16 at the other end, which is a rate quicker than what is required.Let’s imagine the choices the RCB captain has. He can try to shut down Jadeja’s end by persisting with spin, but he runs the risk of conceding sixes to Dube, which can end the match in a hurry. So Faf Du Plessis goes for pace, and hopes to get Dube out early so that he can control the rest with spin. Dube, though, plays it smartly and lets Jadeja score runs against a favourable match-up.CSK have been called old-school in the past by T20 purists. That they go more on vibes and feel than data. Not very innovative, many have called them. What they instead are is this: less trigger-happy, but on the lookout for every small advantage. Even the vibes and their feel for the game are based on data accumulated in the great cricketing minds of Stephen Fleming and Dhoni.Related

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This coming together of a batting order where you can never pin down two batters with the same bowling type is as T20 purist as it can get. It is no accident. When they got together for pre-season last year, CSK had no real bowling attack thanks to injuries. So they looked to compensate with the bat, more so with the Impact Player available.In Dube and Ajinkya Rahane, they found spin and pace disruptors. Both had to work on their game to become the assets they did. Dhoni played a part in the mindset change of Rahane, who, in the words of Fleming, had forever been told to bat through the innings. Now he was just told to make sure he hits pace and then either hits or gets out trying to hit spin. Dube just practised hitting sixes in the nets.Since the last IPL, CSK are among the three quickest-scoring sides after years of staying in the middle of the table and winning through bowling. CSK have always been big on batting depth but now they could go even deeper using the impact rule. Then they sprinkled three left-hand batters among their top eight. This year they lost Devon Conway but managed to get what many consider an upgrade on him in Rachin Ravindra, another left-hand batter.Ravindra provides the explosive foil to the more conservative style of Ruturaj Gaikwad, who sets up to bat for long. Rahane looks to take apart pace, but if the openers bat through the powerplay, CSK can go straight to Dube and Daryl Mitchell, another right-left duo.In the 2023 IPL, 70.64% of the balls bowled to CSK were delivered to a right-left combination. Delhi Capitals were almost the same as them, and only Punjab Kings fared better. Added to the right-left pairings, CSK have been the most efficient side in pairing complementary batters, who protect their partner against their weakness.Shivam Dube’s six-hitting ability makes opposition captains hesitate to bring on their spinners when he’s at the crease•Associated PressDuring their second match this year, CSK were faced with Gujarat Titans’ Sai Kishore bowling a tidy spell. He was 2-0-13-0 when Rahane tried to hit him out of the ground and got stumped. Immediately Dube came in and took down Kishore, which meant his quota was left uncompleted. Rashid Khan’s final over was forced into the 19th.It was only when the ball swung and seamed for Delhi Capitals’ Khaleel Ahmed and Ishant Sharma that CSK were pushed off their plan. Two early wickets meant they were forced to promote Daryl Mitchell ahead of Dube. By the time Dube got in, the Capitals had got three overs of Axar Patel in. CSK still had Rahane to counter Anrich Nortje and Mukesh Kumar, but he fell to a slower ball from Mukesh.The occasional failure will happen. That is the nature of T20. However, CSK have put together a batting line-up that, while not full of feared hitters, provides a great deal of mitigation against failure. You will have to get both openers out early and then also hope for an early wicket in the middle overs to keep CSK down.CSK’s scoring contribution is also not dominated by a few batters. ESPNcricinfo’s Shiva Jayaraman puts it in numbers for us. In IPL 2023 they had 10 players bat in the top eight, with the median player among those ten (the average of the fifth- and sixth-highest scorers) contributing 7.18% of their runs. No team came close to having such little churn among their batters, such an even spread of contributions and also be in the top-two batting sides. The median percentage contribution for RCB was 7.67 but that’s also a factor of them using 13 batters in the top eight.Quietly, without fanfare, CSK have managed to pair batters who can counter a wider range of threats, spreading the scoring and keeping the churn to a minimum. In short, the foundation needed to build the perfect batting innings.

Also: was Sri Lanka’s 531 the highest Test total to not feature an individual century?

Steven Lynch09-Apr-2024There were six half-centuries but no hundreds in Sri Lanka’s first innings at Chattogram. Was this a record? asked Sudarsan from India
As has been widely reported, Sri Lanka’s 531 in the second Test against Bangladesh in Chattogram last week was the highest Test total not to include an individual century. The previous-highest was India’s 524 for 9 declared against New Zealand in Kanpur in 1976-77, when the highest score was Mohinder Amarnath’s 70.That Kanpur innings was the first to contain six half-centuries but no hundreds; Sri Lanka’s effort in Chattogram was the sixth. The previous time it happened was in 2017, when six England batters reached 50 against West Indies at Headingley, but no one made it to three figures – the highest individual contribution then was Moeen Ali’s 84.There were only 21 dot balls in Sunrisers’ recent record IPL total. Was this the fewest dots for any T20 innings? asked Nikhil from India
Sunrisers’ 277 for 3 against Mumbai Indians in Hyderabad last month was indeed the highest total in IPL history, beating Royal Challengers’ 263 for 5 against Pune Warriors in Bengaluru in April 2013. And the 21 dot balls was also a record in a full (20-over) innings in the IPL; there were 23 (11 by Andre Russell) in Delhi Capitals’ 228 for 4 against Kolkata Knight Riders in Sharjah in October 2020, and 24 in Sunrisers’ 207 for 3 against Kings XI Punjab in Mohali in April 2017.We don’t have ball-by-ball details for many T20 matches, so it’s impossible to identify the overall record. But 22 is definitely not the fewest: there were only 19 dot balls in Melbourne Stars’ 273 for 2 in their Big Bash League match against Hobart Hurricanes at the MCG in January 2022. Note that the ESPNcricinfo database counts dot balls from the bowlers’ perspective – so a no-ball that doesn’t produce any runs off the bat doesn’t count, as the penalty runs go against the bowler (unlike byes or leg-byes). In the recent Sunrisers’ innings there was one no-ball (by Gerald Coetzee) that wasn’t scored from, so by some interpretations the innings included 22 dot balls.Sam Northeast’s innings the other day means he has scored quadruple- and triple-centuries in first-class cricket, but no doubles. Is there anyone else with such a record? asked Robert Jenkins from England
That innings of 335 not out by Glamorgan’s captain Sam Northeast against Middlesex at Lord’s last week was the highest individual first-class innings at Lord’s, beating the 333 of Graham Gooch for England against India in a Test in 1990. There have been only four other first-class triple-centuries at Lord’s.Northeast also scored 410 not out for Glamorgan against Leicestershire at Grace Road in 2022, but you’re right that he hasn’t yet made a score of between 200 and 299. He did come close, with 191 for Kent against Derbyshire in Canterbury in June 2016, and 190 a few weeks later against Sussex at Tunbridge Wells.None of first-class cricket’s other quadruple-centurions (there are only eight of them) failed to record a double-century, although Aftab Baloch came close: apart from his 428 in 1973-74, his next-highest score was exactly 200 not out the following season, also against Baluchistan. Apart from him, Archie MacLaren and Bhausaheb Nimbalkar also never made a triple-century to go with their 400s, but they did reach 200.Among batters who have played a minimum of 25 innings in the IPL, KL Rahul has the highest batting average of 46.26•BCCIWho has the best batting average in the IPL? asked Conrad Stephens from South Africa
Given a minimum of 25 innings, there are only two batters who average over 40 in the IPL. Both are current players, so this may change, but as I write KL Rahul averages 46.26, and David Warner 41.57. Heinrich Klaasen currently averages 42.56 from 20 innings, and Sai Sudharsan 45.28 from 16.Devon Conway, who has not featured in this year’s IPL, averages 48.63 from 22 innings. And if you don’t have any qualification at all, Vivrant Sharma had one innings for Sunrisers last April, and scored 69 against Mumbai Indians. For the full list, which is regularly updated, click here.I noticed that Paul Stirling recently became the first Irishman to appear in 300 international matches. Who’s the next closest to 300 from outside the top Test-playing nations? asked Peter Blundell from Australia
Paul Stirling played his 300th official international for Ireland against Afghanistan in Sharjah last month, and has now reached 304. Mohammad Nabi, who was on the opposing side that day, has now played 285 international matches.The leader among the non-Test nations is Scotland’s Richie Berrington, with 202; Collins Obuya, who retired recently after a long career for Kenya, played 179. For the list, which includes players from recent Test nations Afghanistan and Ireland but not the longer-established ones, click here.Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

It can take a lot out of you to silence the RCB fans, but Mayank made it seem like child’s play

Shashank Kishore03-Apr-20243:03

Should Mayank be fast-tracked into India’s T20 World Cup squad?

For a moment, no one quite knew where the ball was.Mayank Yadav had just clean-bowled Cameron Green. The ball clipped the stumps and flew over wicketkeeper KL Rahul’s head to the boundary.You couldn’t have faulted anyone for being swept off their feet by the visceral thrill of watching a raw fast bowler bounding in, gold chain gleaming and bouncing from side to side under the lights, with just pace, and nothing else, on his mind.Related

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He had just left Green, nearly six-and-a-half feet tall and expected to have undergone a trial by pace and bounce many times over as part of his cricketing initiation in Western Australia’s famed WACA ground, jittery. His feet movement told you so. Mayank had beaten him twice with the short ball, clocked at 156.8kph and 155.6kph respectively.The one that got him was bowled at 146.2kph. But the skid off the pitch made it appear quicker. Green made no effort to get behind the line; he stayed leg side of the ball and offered a tentative prod to a delivery veering into the stumps. He had been beaten by pace, neck and crop; it didn’t matter if he had played down the wrong line.It was as if the bails flying off was a siren ringing loud for Royal Challengers Bengaluru.Only a ball earlier, Green had flat-batted Mayank’s attempted short ball to the boundary with the ball bursting through Deepak Hooda’s hands at mid-on. When you are that quick like Mayank was, you can get carried away.Mayank Yadav clocked 156.7kph in his searing spell•BCCIWhile he seemed momentarily disappointed – he threw his hands up and looked skywards – he was calm amid the chaos he was causing once back to his run-up, trusting himself to trouble the batter once again. As it turned out, he had to wait all of one delivery. It was a thrilling sight.What could you have possibly said of Mayank that you didn’t the other night? Many things.What you could not was that the speed gun was faulty. And that his sensational debut spell in Lucknow was a one-off. You could see the pace and fire. The crowd, loud and often unabashed in their support for RCB, had been silenced. It can take a lot out of you to silence them, but Mayank had just made it seem like child’s play.This dream delivery was the sequel to a thunderbolt that felled another Australian, a maverick no less.Only Glenn Maxwell can tell if it was an ego thing. You wondered how much of his attempt to pull Mayank was down to him trying to stamp his authority over a rookie and tell him: “I’m Glenn Maxwell and the crowd’s here to watch me.” But the 153.7kph thunderbolt left him short-changed by a few milliseconds. Cramped for room, all Maxwell could do was spoon one high off the bat to Nicholas Pooran at mid-on.You could see that very moment – even without the speed gun influencing you – why there has been so much talk and attention around the 21-year-old. He was unlikely to escape attention bowling thunderbolts north of 150kph anyway. But he has shown over the course of his first two IPL games how he can marry that pace with accuracy – he didn’t bowl a single wide on Tuesday.3:15

Moody: Mayank has great control and a mature head to go with his pace

It wasn’t like RCB were caught off guard. Mahipal Lomror, one of their best batters on the night, touched upon the team having made plans for him prior to the game. The idea was to use his pace and access areas behind square, and not to attack him in front of it.Maxwell did. Green did, to an extent. Rajat Patidar, Mayank’s third wicket of the night, certainly did in trying to play a release shot. Hitting a 150kph bowler in front of square can be challenging enough; it can perhaps be even more so when you are trying to fetch it from head height outside off.Mayank’s spell of 4-0-14-3 earned him a second straight Player-of-the-Match award. It left you in awe as much for his pace as it did for the intrigue of what is to come. Sure enough, Mayank would be made aware of the pitfalls of stardom, if he has not been already. He only needs to look at Umran Malik from a couple of years ago.Umran’s has been a story of what could have been. But he is still young and could yet revive a career that has seemingly hit a rough patch at the moment. At 21, Mayank has already seen injuries rob him of a season, but there is a demeanour to him that points to oodles of maturity and understanding of his body.His rise to stardom has been as quick as his thunderbolts. He, and Indian cricket, will be dearly hoping the trajectory continues to curve upwards.

CSK’s Sri Lankan ‘slinga’ too good as Lasith Malinga watches his copycat from Mumbai’s dugout

S Sudarshanan15-Apr-20241:49

McClenaghan: ‘Pathirana a far more well-rounded bowler this season’

On the eve of the Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings game, Lasith Malinga was doing his thing. He stood still behind the single stump at the bowler’s end as Nuwan Thushara ran in and tried to hit the shoe placed at the striker’s end. It was a drill that Malinga used to use, and he was using it to help the new Sri Lankan slinga, Thushara, get it right.It’s a method that has now caught on.In the adjacent CSK nets, their own slingin’ Sri Lankan, Matheesha Pathirana, was not to be seen. A hamstring niggle had kept him off the field. He played two matches before being sidelined and head coach Stephen Fleming wanted him to play against MI only if he was 100% fit. So no training on Saturday.Related

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It’s understandable that CSK want to have Pathirana in their XI. Their death bowling had cost them games in the past, and their search for a reliable, long-term solution ended with Pathirana. His pinpoint yorkers and change-ups have been hard to get away, and his economy of 8.17 at the death is only bettered by Yuzvendra Chahal’s 7.73 among those who have bowled at least 15 overs in the last four overs since IPL 2023. Pathirana’s temperament under pressure has impressed one and all, including MS Dhoni, who had suggested that “he shouldn’t even get close to red-ball cricket”.Pathirana was fit enough by Sunday to make the XI, and it was natural, then, for captain Ruturaj Gaikwad to call upon him when MI were seemingly running away with the chase of 207. Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan had blitzed to 70 in seven overs when Pathirana was handed the ball. He had to bring his death game alive early. The home team was cruising and, despite being outnumbered by CSK fans, the MI fans were the noisier bunch at that point.His first ball was an attempted yorker that turned into a low full toss. It was on Kishan’s pads. He could have smacked it anywhere but flicked it straight to midwicket. A ball later, Suryakumar Yadav was slightly taken aback by the bouncer and, yet, managed to uppercut it. But Mustafizur Rahman took a well-judged catch at deep third to send Suryakumar back for a two-ball blob. Within just three balls, Pathirana had changed the script.

“I was really pleased with his accuracy tonight, he was outstanding. I said to him afterwards, the wickets are a bonus, but his accuracy was really good. Sometimes you’ll bowl accurately but not get wickets. Tonight, he was accurate and got wickets”Eric Simons

“What I have noticed from last year and the first time I saw Pathirana is he is a far more well-rounded bowler now,” Mitchell McClenaghan observed on ESPNcricinfo’s TimeOut. “He doesn’t just come in and try and bowl yorkers. He has got a good-length ball and a bouncer now. [With the bouncer to Suryakumar] he was trying to not let him get forward.”With Tilak Varma then joining forces with Rohit to keep MI in the hunt, Pathirana was summoned again for the 14th over. He delivered to end the 60-run partnership by dismissing Tilak, thanks to a tumbling catch running backward from mid-off by Shardul Thakur. A few overs later, Pathirana fired in a fuller ball to splay Romario Shepherd’s stumps. The chase had well and truly been derailed.With Pathirana’s action, there is a tendency to be wayward and bowl wides down leg, but on Sunday, he was accurate. He was especially clear in his methods and bowled to the field with the longer boundary on the leg side (for a right-hander) throughout his spell.Matheesha Pathirana struck off his first ball, picking Ishan Kishan•BCCI”I was really pleased with his accuracy tonight, he was outstanding,” Eric Simons, CSK bowling consultant, said at the press conference. “I said to him afterwards, the wickets are a bonus, but his accuracy was really good. Sometimes you’ll bowl accurately but not get wickets. Tonight, he was accurate and got wickets.”But, with his action being what it is, can he not get predictable? How does remain unique?”I give him a target and tell him to hit the target. How he does it, he works his own technique out for himself,” Simons explained. “That’s how we do it. I give him a glove, hit the glove. I give him a target at the bottom of the pitch, he hits the target.”When you’ve watched someone a lot you pick up little things and act like a mirror almost for some people, and you see something’s a bit different. I don’t try and coach internally. I don’t tell him how to do it, I tell him what to do and he tries and works it himself. His accuracy tonight was the most rewarding for me.”Allow him to be unique, don’t try to figure him out.”On the way to Gate 5 of the Wankhede Stadium before the game, a group of fans in blue were talking about Malinga. Little did they know that a slinga would undo Mumbai on their own turf and be the point of difference in a game Jasprit Bumrah was also a part of.