All posts by h716a5.icu

England turned the Trent Bridge Test around on the fourth day thanks to a record tenth-wicket partnership from Joe Root and James Anderson

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy12-Jul-2014
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFor three days England were a speck in India’s mirrors. Achieving a result would take some doing on this pitch, but if anyone was in position to think of winning it was India. By the time day four came to an end, the equation had turned on its head.England started the day trailing by 105 with just one wicket remaining. When they lost that wicket in the fifth over after lunch, they were leading by 39, after Joe Root and James Anderson extended their partnership to 198, a Test record for the tenth wicket. By stumps, they had sent back India’s top three, and all three wickets owed more to the batsman’s choice of shot than to the bowling.Batting in much the same way they had done during their first-innings partnership, M Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara put on 91 serene runs for the second wicket before Vijay jumped down the pitch and looked to show Moeen Ali who was boss, with half an hour to go for stumps.It wasn’t the greatest idea, considering Shikhar Dhawan had been out doing the exact same thing just before tea, punching a full-toss straight back to Moeen. Vijay aimed at the stands behind long-on, but only managed a thin outside edge to Matt Prior, who also took off the bails to give the umpire a choice of dismissal.This was the last ball of the 41st over. First ball of the 42nd was short and wide. The cut had been a profitable shot till this point in Pujara’s innings; now it went uppishly and straight to Ben Stokes at point. Stokes juggled the ball, and it hit his face and popped out to his left, but he put in a dive and managed to grab it one-handed.Till then it had seemed as if India would end the day having recovered the poise that Anderson and Root’s partnership had punched out of them. England’s seamers had bent their backs and asked a few questions of both Vijay and Pujara, and there was a slight increase in the frequency of uncertain bounce, but the second-wicket pair answered most of them with equanimity.Vijay offered a chance to Matt Prior before he had gotten off the mark, edging an Anderson outswinger after he pushed at the ball without moving his feet. Prior, though, was a touch late in diving to his right; the ball carried, but sped away narrowly wide of his gloves. The compactness of the first innings returned after that, and Vijay’s bat remained scrupulously close to his body even on the odd occasion when he was beaten.Pujara, meanwhile, had looked in fluent touch right from the moment he walked in and drilled the first two balls he faced, from Moeen, to the cover and long-off boundaries. He carried on punishing anything remotely loose after tea, and England must have wondered when their next wicket would come when he took two fours off one Plunkett over to join Vijay in the 50s. As it happened, they didn’t have to wait too much longer, or work particularly hard, for that moment.India, in the morning, had been made to wait much, much longer for their breakthrough. Anderson, who made his maiden Test fifty, was on course to join Root on a three-figure score when he went after a full, wide ball from Bhuvneshwar Kumar and edged it to the wicketkeeper. It was Bhuvneshwar’s fifth wicket. Root, who had hardly put a foot wrong since walking in early in yesterday’s middle session, was unbeaten on 154.In recent months, India have let a number of promising positions slip from their grasp in overseas Tests. Trent Bridge now joined Durban and Wellington. England had been on the mat yesterday afternoon, seven down and 255 behind. Their last three pairs had more than doubled their score.The morning began with Root steering Bhuvneshwar to deep point and chastising himself for taking the single and exposing Anderson to the strike so early. He needn’t have worried. England’s No. 11 played out the rest of the over comfortably, and even whipped Bhuvneshwar from off stump past midwicket for four.That first-ball single set the tone for India’s tactics throughout the session. In their second Test against Sri Lanka, England had paid for their approach of giving Angelo Mathews the single and focusing all their attacking efforts on his lower-order partners. Now Root was on the receiving end of similar largesse from India.He generally declined the singles early in the over, but the defensive fields did little to stop him from finding the boundary. He top-edged a slash off Ishant Sharma through where second slip might have been to move into the 90s. In the next over, against Mohammed Shami, he played two gorgeous cover drives, the first one through extra cover to go from 93 to 97, the second through cover point to go to 101.There was nothing in the surface to trouble either batsman, but India missed a few half-chances to end the partnership. England were on 378, and Root on 92, when he pushed the ball to mid-on and took off for a single. He had given up any hope of making the non-striker’s end safely but Mohammed Shami’s throw was wide of the stumps.Later, soon after England had passed 400, Anderson prodded the ball to point and set off, only for Root to send him back. A direct hit would have meant the end for Anderson, but Bhuvneshwar’s throw was inaccurate.In between, India’s mostly ineffectual short-ball barrage to Anderson nearly earned a reward when he popped one low towards gully, where M Vijay dropped a difficult chance, diving to his right. India kept adding men to the cordon, and at one point they had a semicircle of fielders surrounding Anderson, waiting for him to fend one in the air.That almost never happened, and he usually managed to keep the ball down. But when the chances came, he didn’t hold himself back. An uppercut off Ishant took him past his previous highest Test score of 34. Three overs later, Anderson jumped down the pitch and clubbed the ball past the midwicket boundary to go from 47 to 51. It was the first time he had reached fifty in any form of cricket – his previous best was an unbeaten 49 made while opening the batting for Burnley against Todmorden 13 years ago.Soon India’s attack began to resemble something out of the Lancashire League, as India went through the motions in the extra half-hour of the morning session, when they rested their fast bowlers and threw on first M Vijay, hoping he could winkle something out with his offbreaks, and then Stuart Binny, who sent down four overs to finally nudge his output for the innings into double figures. This surely wasn’t what India would have wanted from their seam-bowling allrounder when they decided to give him a Test debut.

Virat Kohli, in his second match as captain, smacked an 83-ball 102 to power India to a tall score against West Indies, but he said more than his innings, India earning a bonus point was more satisfying

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jul-2013Virat Kohli, in his second match as captain, smacked an 83-ball 102 to power India to a tall score against West Indies, but he said that earning a bonus point was more satisfying than his innings.India were in a difficult position in the tri-series before the start of the match because they had lost their first two games – the second against Sri Lanka being one of their heaviest defeats – and needed to win this match to keep their chances afloat. India’s much-vaunted batting line-up had struggled for fluency at Sabina Park, but at Queen’s Park Oval the openers responded with a 123-run opening stand to set an ideal platform. Kohli, despite limited support from other middle-order batsmen, ensured it wasn’t wasted.”We got a good start. It’s a bit of a tricky situation if you go in after a good start,” Kohli said. “You don’t know whether to play yourself in or go after the bowlers. To get a hundred in my second game as captain, I am pretty happy. I was getting good starts, but hitting that one shot straight to the fielder, so I was waiting for this big innings. But more than the hundred, I am happy we won with a bonus point.”Darren Sammy credited Kohli for lifting India’s score beyond 300, but said that West Indies’ bowlers could have bowled better. The fast bowlers were expensive and even Sunil Narine wasn’t able to control the flow of runs, giving away 35 in his five overs.”We have to give credit to Kohli and the Indians for the way they played. We did not bowl as well as we know we can,” Sammy said. “That is one area where we went wrong today. India played really well. They knew they had to come hard at us, to get a win and stay in the tournament, and they did just that.”Chasing 312, West Indies lost Chris Gayle early to Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who struck again in his next over to dismiss Darren Bravo. A rain disruption added to West Indies’ woes as the target was readjusted to 274 off 39 overs, but none of the West Indian batsmen stayed long enough to put up a challenge.”The way Kohli played just goes to show what can happen when a set batsman stays in to the end of the innings,” Sammy said. “We had two very good innings in Jamaica when Chris [Gayle] got a hundred against Sri Lanka and [Johnson] Charles got 90 against India to win those two matches for us, but we did not get any real big partnerships going today.”West Indies are still placed at the top of the table with nine points and need to win their next match against Sri Lanka to confirm their entry into the final.”We are still very much in the tournament. Today we lost but there is need to panic,” Sammy said. “We are still at the top of the points table and we have all to play for when we face Sri Lanka on Sunday. We still believe we can win this tournament. We will regroup and look to bounce back when we meet Sri Lanka on Sunday and look to move into the final.”

Peter van der Merwe, the former South Africa captain, has died at the age of 75 in Port Elizabeth

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jan-2013Peter van der Merwe, the former South Africa captain, has died at the age of 75 in Port Elizabeth. He had been in poor health, Cricket South Africa said.Van der Merwe played 15 Tests for South Africa, from 1963 to 1967, and captained in eight of them, leading the team to a series victory in England in 1965 and their first ever series victory over Australia in 1966-67. He was originally a left-arm spinner and later developed into a middle-order batsman.After retiring, he served as South Africa’s chairman of selectors when they were re-admitted to international cricket in 1991, for the tour of India and the 1992 World Cup. He also served as an ICC match referee from 1992 to 1999.Jacques Faul, the acting CSA chief executive, said van der Merwe had played a vital role as a cricketer and administrator. “Peter made an immense contribution to South African cricket both on and off the field,” he said. “He played a major role in changing the mindset of South African cricket from a defensive to an attacking style of play. He was hugely popular with and respected by his players.”The Eastern Province Cricket Board president Graeme Sauls also paid tribute: “I was very sad to hear that Peter van der Merwe had passed away after a long illness. It is ironic that I have just finished reading the autobiography of Peter Pollock and he speaks fondly of his former shrewd South African captain who led South Africa to series wins against England in 1965 and against Australia in 1966-67. Peter, of course, also represented and captained EP during his playing days and I would like to on behalf of everyone involved in Eastern Province Cricket to extend our heartfelt condolences to Peter’s family.”

Dale Steyn, who is fit again after two months on the sidelines with a “broken shoulder,” explained that while Test cricket presents more of a physical challenge, the shorter format takes its toll in other ways

Firdose Moonda16-Mar-2016As is always the case at major tournaments, South Africa’s mindset will be under the microscope at this World T20, and the shortest format could prove to be their toughest test yet. Dale Steyn, who is fit-again after two months on the sidelines with a “broken shoulder,” explained that while Test cricket presents more of a physical challenge, Twent20s takes its toll in other ways.”The T20 game can be quite mentally hard. Being a bowler, you’ve only got four overs. If you find the edge, it can go for four and it’s not your fault. In Test matches you’ve got five days to make up for it,” Steyn said in Mumbai, where South Africa face England on Friday. “T20 is slightly easier on the body but it might be more taxing on the mind.”Steyn believes South Africa are in a good space. Despite losing at home to Australia, their five-match winning streak over England prior to that did wonders for their self-worth. “When I walked into the side, I could see the guys were glowing with confidence,” Steyn said. “I realised how much these guys have grown as a team even in that two month gap that I had.”Now, that growth will be tested under major tournament pressure.The fast pace of a T20 game means mistakes have to be forgotten as quickly as they happen, so South Africa have worked on living in the moment. “We talk about it in our bowling meetings and our team meetings: It’s the next ball that matters,” Steyn said. “You can go for 80 runs in 3.5 overs, but when a team needs four runs to win off the last ball, and you’ve got that ball in your hand, that’s all that matters.”Steyn has experienced that first-hand, albeit not in this format. At last year’s 50-over World Cup, New Zealand needed five off runs off two balls in the semi-final. Steyn was hit for six. All that mattered was that ball, even though Steyn has banished it from his memory. “It’s a pity that everyone thinks about that ball. I think about what happened after that ball. Grant Elliot came and picked me up.”South Africa have travelled to this World T20 with largely the same squad that played in that event, which will raise questions about old scars. But, of the three players who did not play in last year’s World Cup, one has tasted success the rest can only dream of. Kagiso Rabada is an under-19 World Cup winner and has injected new life into the senior side. Steyn hinted that Rabada’s state of mind – fresh and uncluttered – could make the difference.”He is fantastic. He is really quick, but he is also unpredictable. I don’t think many teams have played against him yet, so it’s not like they can plan for him. He is surprising for us too,” Steyn said. “I will be standing down there at fine leg thinking he is going to bowl a gun bouncer and he comes up with a beautiful yorker. He has got a gut feel for himself and that’s his biggest strength right now. People don’t know what he is going to deliver.”In Steyn and Rabada, South Africa have the core of a pace pack that will be the envy of all their opponents, but on Indian pitches, they may need something else, and it’s something they still lack – a spin attack.South Africa have Imran Tahir, who is ranked third on the T20 rankings and has won matches on his own, but their only other specialist spinner is Aaron Phangiso, who they may not use at all. Phangiso travelled through the 2015 World Cup without playing a game and has just remodeled his action after it was declared illegal. JP Duminy can bowl some part-time off-spin, but South Africa will still rely on the quicks to do most of the work.After New Zealand upset India with three spinners on a dry Nagpur pitch – where South Africa will play West Indies – South Africa may be wondering whether their resources will be enough. But Steyn wants to erase any doubts from their mind with an assurance that he can fill in any gaps.”I’ve always said I can bowl on anything. I prefer the wickets that are slow and turning because the ball stops. It makes it tough for batters to hit you out of the ground,” he said. “As a seamer, I back myself to bowl fast cutters. It is really difficult to hit out when the ball is coming at 140-145 [kph], its gripping and stopping. You don’t have to worry about running in and bowling the perfect yorker. You can bowl a back of a length ball, one might bounce and skid, one might stay low, and it’s really tough to bat on those wickets.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the first ODI between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in Dhaka

The Preview by Mohammad Isam16-Feb-2014Match factsFebruary 17, 2014
Start time 1300 local (0700 GMT)Dinesh Chandimal has only one half-century in his last 10 ODI innings•AFPBig PictureBangladesh are slowly creeping closer to Sri Lanka. It happened in the Test series when they bounced back from a horrendous defeat in Dhaka to a first-ever drawn home Test against Sri Lanka. The two Twenty20s were last-ball finishes; Anamul Haque failed to connect a high full-toss in the first and Sachithra Senanayake hit a boundary when two were required to win in the second. Sri Lanka will however look to maintain their excellent record in Bangladesh, having won all their bilateral series in the country.The last ODI series between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka was a drawn affair. One match in Hambantota was rained off while Bangladesh won the rain-shortened third ODI in Pallekele. It was always important for Bangladesh to finally compete against Sri Lanka, the team against whom they have had a poor record for a long time. They have now drawn two Tests in the space of a year, and ran them close in Twenty20s. Given Bangladesh’s home record in bilateral ODI series over the last two years, they will be expected to push Sri Lanka in the ODIs.Bangladesh have a settled line-up, with Tamim Iqbal and Shamsur Rahman at the top of the batting order. Mushfiqur Rahim will have Shakib Al Hasan and Nasir Hossain for company, but have to choose two among Anamul Haque, Naeem Islam, Mominul Haque and Mahmudullah. Sohag Gazi’s bowling form is a concern while they are without Abdur Razzak, which would mean more emphasis on Shakib an Mashrafe.Sri Lanka, on the other hand, are a settled side, with their main batsmen among runs. Lasith Malinga, too, found some sting in the second T20 in which he picked up three wickets. But Sri Lanka have won just one bilateral ODI series out of their last five, drawing three. The win came against South Africa at home, whom they edged aside 4-1. Their last ODI series was against Pakistan in the UAE where they lost 2-1. The last time they won a series away from home was against Australia in 2010.Form guide(last five completed matches, most recent first)
Bangladesh WWWLL
Sri Lanka WLLWL
Watch out forMushfiqur Rahim has made just one half-century in his last ten ODI innings, so runs will be expected from him. He will also have a crucial role to play as captain, as Bangladesh have not lost a bilateral ODI series at home since 2011.Dinesh Chandimal was poor during the two Twenty20s but was successful as captain, winning both games. He is a crucial part of Sri Lanka’s middle-order, and will bank on his last ODI performance, an unbeaten 64 against Pakistan, to come back among runs.Teams newsBangladesh have a tricky task selecting their playing XI. Mushfiqur will not keep wickets because of an injury to his hands, but will bat. That would mean that either Shamsur or Anamul could keep wickets. Taking various factors like ODI performance, recent form and team building into account, either Mominul Haque or Anamul Haque would feature No 3, while Naeem Islam may get the nod ahead of Mahmudullah, who has made just one half-century in ODIs in 2013. Shafiul Islam and Al-Amin Hossain will also be second choice behind Mashrafe Mortaza and Rubel Hossain.Bangladesh (possible) 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Shamsur Rahman, 3 Anamul Haque/Mominul Haque, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (capt), 5 Naeem Islam, 6 Shakib Al Hasan, 7 Nasir Hossain, 8 Sohag Gazi, 9 Mashrafe Mortaza, 10 Arafat Sunny, 11 Rubel HossainSri Lanka could make two changes to their side that last played an ODI. Nuwan Kulasekara’s impact as a bowler and fielder in the Twenty20 series could bring him back into contention while Thisara Perera also has a chance. There is likely to be a choice between Ashan Priyanjan and Kithuruwan Vithanage.Sri Lanka (possible) 1 Kusal Perera, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Dinesh Chandimal, 5 Ashan Priyanjan/Kithuruwan Vithanage, 6 Angelo Mathews (capt), 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Sachithra Senanayake, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Ajantha MendisPitch and conditionsThe Dhaka wicket will be slow and low, as it has usually been over the years. Curator Gamini de Silva will stick to the tried and tested, and ensure runs are aplenty on the surface. There was rain in the air around Mirpur on the eve of the match, but clear skies are predicted on match day.Stats and trivia Mushfiqur Rahim is 49 short of 2500 runs in ODIs Dinesh Chandimal has scored only a single fifty in his last ten ODI innings. That innings came in the last ODI, against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi.Quotes”Dew factor might come in. There was overnight rain. We might play three pacers or three spinners.”

“You just have to concentrate on your role, whether you’re a captain or a normal player in the side. You need to give your maximum to the team regardless of your position.”

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is likely to back the ICC revamp at the world governing body’s board meeting next month to give it leverage with other countries, especially India

Umar Farooq11-Mar-2014The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is likely to back the ICC revamp at the world governing body’s board meeting next month to give it leverage with other countries, especially India. The PCB is aware, ESPNcricinfo understands, that a pragmatic approach will give it the benefits of bilateral tours it needs in its current situation, while not signing it will increase the sense of isolation.The PCB is the only Full Member to have not extended its support as yet to the governance, finance and FTP changes in the ICC, which were proposed by the BCCI, the ECB and Cricket Australia in February. When the changes, which increase the power of those three boards within the ICC, were first proposed, four Full Members had come out against them: the PCB, the Bangladesh Cricket Board, Cricket South Africa (CSA) and Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC). The proposals have since been revised and were approved by eight of the Full Members on February 8. SLC and the PCB were the only two to vote against it at that meeting, and SLC extended its support to the revamp 10 days later.The PCB’s previous chairman Zaka Ashraf believed the revamp was against the principle of “equality”, and so the PCB, under, Ashraf objected to it. Current chairman Najam Sethi, though, who has been exchanging the reins of the PCB with Ashraf frequently over the past few months due tolegal and political reasons, said it was important to “safeguard” Pakistan’s interests.”I don’t think this is about principles, it is about safeguarding our own self-interests in the long run in world cricket,” Sethi said. “We are the only ones now, left alone [against the revamp]. Whomever I have spoken to says they also initially opposed the changes but later went with it because they were gaining a lot by supporting these changes.”Sethi reportedly met with his Bangladesh and Sri Lanka counterparts, on the sidelines of Asia Cup, in Dhaka.The PCB is keen on negotiating bilateral series with India. “The fact is every country wants to play India because they say it brings them much needed revenues. It is a fact that not playing cricket with India is damaging for us,” Sethi said.Ashraf, however, maintained that the revamp would be unjust to the other members. According to him, the PCB – given Pakistan’s commercial value to world cricket – was offered the chance to side with the ‘Big Three’ and benefit from the original proposals.”The situation is very tricky,” Ashraf told ESPNcricinfo. “The PCB obviously will be the last country [to accept the revamp], but that doesn’t make any difference. The restructuring is still against the basic principle of equality and the ‘Big Three’ will be acting despotically.”The [revised] financial model is based on merely theory and a dummy model [by which no Full Member loses] is shown with a verbal assurance that they won’t let the things slip. They promised that every board would get its fair share according to their commercial value. They also asked us to be the part of the scheme, to make it Big Four, as Pakistan holds a productive commercial value.””The revamped ICC model is bound to fail in the long run,” Ashraf said. “Their bid is to control things and that is what the whole idea was, but there is no indemnity if the structure collapses. And I am afraid the way cricket is being treated, the structure won’t sustain itself in the long run and in the next three years board members, especially the supporters, will start realising this and things will start splitting.”Pakistan have not hosted any Full Member at home since the terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore five years ago. Despite that, the PCB has been functioning rather well and that shows “the value” of Pakistan cricket, Ashraf said. “Pakistan, in last few years, despite being isolated are still standing tall and the PCB is not in debt as many boards are. No board is ready to help Pakistan at a crucial time to revive cricket in Pakistan. But Pakistan cricket is still going strong.”The world knows the value of Pakistan cricket and this is what keeps us going. Despite the isolation, cricket in Pakistan still a profitable product.”Currently, Sethi is discussing the matter of the revamp with previous chairmen of the board, including Ashraf, seeking their advice on what he has termed a “crisis”. It is understood that all of these former chiefs have suggested Pakistan remain in opposition to the revamp.

The BCB has lifted the provisional ban on Mosharraf Hossain and Mahbubul Alam, two months after they were cleared of wrongdoing in the BPL

Mohammad Isam27-Apr-2014The BCB has lifted the provisional ban on Mosharraf Hossain and Mahbubul Alam, two months after the players were cleared of wrongdoing in the BPL by the investigation tribunal. Both players are looking to play in the Bangladesh Cricket League, which will restart in early May.The decision comes three weeks after the BCB had decided not to involve the duo in the National Cricket League, as it planned to appeal against the tribunal’s decision to hand the two a clean chit. But ESPNcricinfo has learned that the charges against the duo wouldn’t have resulted in suspension, which supposedly prompted the BCB’s legal team to suggest lifting the ban.BCB’s acting CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury said on Sunday that there is no bar on the duo from participating in any tournament. “They are free to take part in any form of cricket,” Nizamuddin said. “We have sought legal opinion and they suggested there is no problem regarding their returning to cricket.”Mosharraf and Mahbubul were among nine individuals accused by the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit for being involved in corrupt practices or failing to report corrupt approaches made to them during the BPL’s second edition. The BPL tribunal, on February 26, acquitted six players and officials and only found an owner of the defending champions, Dhaka Gladiators, guilty.Left-arm spinner Mosharraf said that he was happy with this decision of the BCB. “I am extremely relieved,” Mosharraf told . “I feel that the toughest phase of my life is just over. I am expecting to play for Walton Central Zone in the BCL. I was practicing and making every effort, still I could not play.”It was really hard. At times the future looked very bleak, making me wonder what is really in store for me. I am hoping to go to England after the BCL and see whether I can find a team in Minor County. Though their season has started, still I will try to get somewhere.”Pace bowler Mahbubul was also satisfied with the decision. “I cannot explain through words how I am feeling. For the last one year it was quite hard for me because of the mental pressure that I went through. Socially it was really hard, as these days cricket is followed by a lot of people.”I don’t know about my immediate future as there are only a few games left in the BCL. I feel that probably I will be back with the Dhaka Premier League.”

Melbourne Renegades, unfashionable and unfancied before the tournament began, won their third straight game, beating Hobart Hurricanes by seven wickets at Docklands Stadium

Alex Malcolm in Melbourne19-Dec-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMelbourne Renegades, unfashionable and unfancied before the tournament began, won their third straight game, beating Hobart Hurricanes by seven wickets at Docklands Stadium.They stuck to the formula of winning the toss and bowling. All 11 matches in this tournament so far have been won by the chasing team. But their attack is proving extremely effective as they strangled the Hurricanes on a surface that looked relatively good for batting.There is a touch of Moneyball about the Renegades. They have the all-time leading wicket-taker in international cricket, Muttiah Muralitharan, and the Man of the Match from the 2012 World Twenty20 final, Marlon Samuels, as marquee men. But there are two journeymen in Nathan Rimmington and Aaron O’Brien, who happen to be in the top five leading wicket-takers in Australian domestic T20 history, as well as the seamer Darren Pattinson (who played one Test for England) to round off a well-balanced bowling unit.The Hurricanes started steadily. Pattinson erred by dropping short to Ricky Ponting twice in the second over and paid for it by giving away two boundaries. But Rimmington’s late swing removed Tim Paine to start a rot that would prove fatal for the visitors. The dangerous Travis Birt nearly hit the roof when he launched Samuels but it landed in the doctor-safe hands of Daniel Harris.Ponting threatened to unleash when he lofted an imperious cover drive into the stands off Pattinson. But Ponting lost his off stump off an uncharacteristic reverse-sweep off Muralitharan and the Hurricanes began to slide. They lost 4 for 16 in 28 torturous deliveries, with Muralitharan striking twice, O’Brien and Rimmington once apiece.Owais Shah was unbeaten in that period but he did not help his team’s cause, scoring a boundary-less 14 from 29 balls before becoming Samuels’ third victim in the 18th over. Xavier Doherty and Doug Bollinger scored 15 from the last 10 balls to ensure the Hurricanes went past three figures and didn’t get bowled out.Aaron Finch continued to prove himself as one of the star players in Australian domestic limited-overs cricket, making light work of the chase with an unbeaten 46 from 40 balls. He went after Bollinger, but because it hit a beam supporting the roof, outside the boundary line, and bounced back onto the field it was ruled a dead ball. That denied him a fifty.Finch lost Harris early in the chase, but had the support of Samuels in maximising the Powerplay overs. Samuels smoked 21 from just nine deliveries before chopping Michael Hogan onto his stumps via his pads. Ben Rohrer made a crafty 18, and Tom Cooper made an easy unbeaten 10 to see the chase home with his captain Finch with 40 balls to spare.The Hurricanes, last year’s semi-finalists, have now lost two in a row and need to recover against Sydney Thunder on Sunday in Hobart. The Renegades will be gunning for four straight wins when they host Brisbane Heat on Saturday.

Atletico Madrid sunk Pep Guardiola's treble winners thanks to tremendous long range strikes from Memphis Depay and Yannick Carrasco

A pair of sizzling goals from Memphis Depay and Yannick Carrasco brought Manchester City back down to earth as Atletico Madrid beat the treble winners 2-1 in the last match of their pre-season tour.

The match at the Seoul World Cup Stadium was in danger of being called off after a thunderstorm but following a 45-minute delay, the friendly finally kicked off. But it was no friendly.

Pep Guardiola named a formidable starting XI but Diego Simeone's side were as fiercely competitive and intense as usual and were the better team for much of the match. After missing a slew of chances they found their breakthrough thanks to a tremendous strike from outside the area from Memphis.

Carrasco then scored an even better goal to double Atletico's lead but Ruben Dias, who was unusually lacklustre, reduced the deficit late on with a thumping header. However, City could not respond again and slumped to their first defeat since losing to Brentford on the final day of last season.

GOAL looks at what we learned during the clash at Seoul World Cup Stadium.

Getty Dias looking rusty

The towering Portuguese is normally the one defender City can rely on but he was not on it today. Dias gave the ball away on several occasions and in dangerous areas too. He was fortunate that Pablo Barrios did not give Atleti the lead when he presented him with the ball and it fell on Stefan Ortega to get him out of jail.

He also gifted a chance to Memphis which the Dutchman failed to take advantage of, sending the ball over the bar. Dias did not heed the warnings, however, and he was careless in possession once more and just moments later Carrasco scored.

He sought to make amends with a crashing header which gave City faint hope but that should not mask the fact he was way off the pace. The Portuguese was one of Guardiola's most consistent performers in the final stretch of last season but will need to be sharper when the Premier League season begins.

AdvertisementGetty Kovacic is no Gundogan in front of goal

It is a far from easy to come in and replace a modern club legend like Ilkay Gundogan but that is ultimately what Mateo Kovacic has been tasked with doing. The Croatian still looks like a good fit for City but one area he desperately needs to improve in is his finishing.

He was presented with a glorious chance to give City the lead early in the first half, arriving in the area to meet the ball first time. It was the type of chance Gundogan would have had for breakfast, but Kovacic spooned the ball over the bar.

Gundogan scored 60 goals for City and always seemed to find the net on the biggest occasions. Kovacic, meanwhile, struck just six times in 221 games for Chelsea. He has a lot of work to do.

GettyAtletico don't do friendlies

Diego Simeone is the type of man who almost certainly cheats in board games with the family at Christmas. And he does not understand the concept of a friendly match.

Atletico treated this game as if it were a Champions League knockout game. Indeed, you could argue they showed more ambition in Seoul than for most of their quarter-final tie with City two seasons ago, which ended in a mass brawl.

There were no punches thrown here but tempers flared on a number of occasions and Rodrigo De Paul was in a particularly combative mood. While City seemed to fade in the second half, Atletico turned the screw. They thoroughly deserved the win and, on this evidence, City will be hoping to avoid them in the Champions League group stage draw.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

Getty ImagesMemphis and Carrasco show class is permanent

Atletico's two goalscorers have had strange careers. Memphis was good enough to be signed by Manchester United at the age of 21 but his time at Old Trafford was a disaster and it was only years later that he managed to get his career back on track.

Carrasco, meanwhile, scored in the 2016 Champions League final and was a crucial player for Atletico but then two years later decided to move to the Chinese Super League. He saw sense in the end and has been back to his best since returning to Atletico in 2020.

And against the European champions and treble winners, they proved their enduring class. Memphis looked threatening throughout the match and struck the ball perfectly to break the deadlock from outside the area. Carrasco then pulled off a zig-zagging run down the left wing before producing a thumping low finish.

Nisarg Patel, who finished as Most Valuable Player in the recent USACA T20 National Championship, and 22-year-old fast bowler Jasdeep Singh have been picked in USA’s 14-man squad for next month’s ICC Americas Division One T20 tournament in Indianapolis

Peter Della Penna08-Apr-2015Nisarg Patel, who finished as Most Valuable Player in the 2014 USACA T20 National Championship, and 22-year-old fast bowler Jasdeep Singh are in line to make their senior team debuts for USA after being named in the 14-man squad for next month’s ICC Americas Division One T20 tournament in Indianapolis.Long-time veterans Usman Shuja and Steve Massiah have been passed over for selection, and USACA is yet to name a captain for the newly-assembled squad.After leading the run charts at last year’s USACA T20 National Championship, Patel finished second in this year’s event behind Steven Taylor. Jasdeep, born in New York City and currently residing in New Jersey, was the leading fast bowler at last week’s tournament and finished with 10 wickets in six games according to unofficial stats.”I’ve been waiting for this opportunity for a long time,” Jasdeep told ESPNcricinfo on Wednesday. “I’ve been working hard and now that I’ve gotten the opportunity I’m going to work even harder to make it count so I can have a long career and play for USACA for a long time as an attack bowler.”Patel and Jasdeep were two of seven changes made following USA’s fifth place finish at last year’s WCL Division Three in Malaysia. Their performance in that tournament saw them being demoted to Division Four after they only managed a pair of wins against regional rivals Bermuda, and batsmen Sushil Nadkarni and Aditya Thyagarajan announced their retirements upon returning from Division Four. The others to be dropped were fast bowlers Elmore Hutchinson and Jermaine Lawson and allrounder Srini Santhanam. With the exception of Santhanam, the other players who were dropped were absent from last weekend’s T20 National Championship.The five players recalled to the squad are allrounders Japen Patel and Barrington Bartley, wicketkeeper Akeem Dodson, batsman Nicholas Standford and fast bowler Hammad Shahid. The 23-year-old Shahid is one of four American-born players in the squad, along with Jasdeep, Dodson and Taylor – the first time the squad has so many American-born players since Taylor, Dodson, Mital Patel and Ravi Timbawala toured Canada together for the 2013 Auty Cup.Despite being the leading wicket-taker in last week’s national tournament, offspinner Pranay Suri was unable to break into the USA squad and instead was named as one of four reserve players. Suri took 12 wickets in five games, including two four-wicket hauls, at an average of 9.83 and an economy rate of 6.38.Incumbent offspinner Muhammad Ghous earned a reprieve despite poor returns in recent ICC tournaments. Ghous took four wickets in six games at an average of 41.50 in Malaysia at Division Three and had also struggled at the 2013 World T20 Qualifier in the UAE where he could only manage two wickets in six games at an average of 75.50 and an economy rate of 8.38. Ghous claimed just four wickets in four games at the USACA T20 but had a solid economy rate of 4.27.Suri’s North West Region team was the only one of the four semifinal teams at the USACA T20 that is not represented in USA’s 14-man squad. National runner-up USA Development XI and New York each had four players selected while Taylor and Japen Patel were selected from the championship-winning South East squad.Bartley and Timil Patel are the only two players over the age of 30 in the squad and five players are under 25, making this one of the youngest USA senior team squads to participate in an ICC tournament.USA will compete against Canada, Bermuda and Suriname in the ICC Americas Division One T20 event. The tournament will have a double round-robin format and takes place between May 3 and 10 with the top two sides advancing to the global qualifier in Ireland and Scotland, beginning July 6. The Americas qualifier will be the first time the new cricket complex at World Sports Park in Indianapolis will host a major national or international tournament.USA squad: Danial Ahmed, Fahad Babar, Barrington Bartley, Adil Bhatti, Akeem Dodson (wk), Karan Ganesh, Muhammad Ghous, Japen Patel, Nisarg Patel, Timil Patel, Jasdeep Singh, Hammad Shahid, Nicholas Standford, Steven Taylor (wk)