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ESPNcricinfo staff01-Mar-2015Misbah-ul-Haq was entrusted with the rescue ops, yet again•International Cricket CouncilPakistan had some breathing space when Misbah and Haris Sohail joined hands to raise 54 runs for the third wicket•AFPAfter Haris departed, Umar Akmal injected some urgency into the Pakistan innings•Getty ImagesBut, after putting on 69 runs with Misbah, Akmal perished to a beauty from Sean Williams•AFPAction replay. Two balls later. Only this time the batsman was Shahid Afridi, celebrating his 35th birthday, who was dismissed for a duck•AFPWahab Riaz whacked an unbeaten 46-ball 54 and the late thrust coupled with shoddy catching from Zimbabwe helped Pakistan finish with 235 for 7•Getty ImagesThe Zimbabwe batsmen were left hopping by lively spells from Irfan and Sohail Khan•Associated PressAnd Irfan converted his threat into a wicket, that of Chamu Chibhabha’s, in the fifth over•AFPBut Hamilton Masakadza resisted Pakistan’s battery of left-arm quicks•Getty ImagesAnd Brendan Taylor’s half-century fanned Zimbabwe’s hopes further as they neared their hundred•Getty ImagesMisbah was at the centre of another Pakistan turnaround when he caught Masakadza and broke a 52-run partnership for the third wicket•AFPThen Wahab had Taylor nicking behind to leave Zimbabwe at 128 for 4•AFPIrfan removed Solomon Mire and Craig Ervine to put Pakistan firmly on top•Associated PressAt 166 for 6, Zimbabwe’s injured captain Elton Chigumbura walked out to bat and put the game back in the balance•Associated PressZimbabwe needed 34 off 24 balls when Afridi bowled a maiden•Getty ImagesAnd Wahab finished Zimbabwe off in the final over to end up with 4 for 39 and lead Pakistan to their first win in this World Cup•ICC

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Mar-2015However, Kyle Coetzer joined by Matt Machan extricated Scotland from the early losses and steadily rebuilt the innings with a 78-run stand•AFPCoetzer then switched to top gear as Scotland plundered 50 runs off the batting Powerplay•Getty ImagesAided by cameos from Preston Mommsen and Richie Berrington, Coetzer kicked on to record Scotland’s first World Cup century•Getty ImagesHe was finally dismissed for 156 in the 45th over, holing out to deep midwicket•Getty ImagesHowever, that did not prevent Scotland from scooting to 318 for 8•ICCSoumya Sarkar, who was bumped up to open in the absence of the injured Anamul Haque, fell in the second over of the chase•Getty ImagesTamim Iqbal, though, rattled along at a brisk rate to keep his side in the hunt•Getty ImagesHe added 139 with Mahmudullah – the highest partnership for Bangladesh in World Cups•Getty ImagesScotland then hit back, dismissing both the set batsmen. To make matters worse, Anamul was ruled out of batting after dislocating his shoulder while fielding•AFPMushfiqur Rahim, however, diffused the tension, making 60 off 42 balls•AFPThough he couldn’t stay till the end, Shakib Al Hasan brought his experience to the fore, clawing the equation down to 30 off 30 balls•AFPSabbir Rahman gave him good company as Bangladesh sealed their highest ODI chase with 11 balls to spare•Getty Images

Scotland were perhaps not expected to be as competitive as Ireland and Afghanistan at the World Cup but their performances were far more encouraging than the end result suggests

Brydon Coverdale14-Mar-2015How their tournament panned out
Three campaigns, 14 matches, 14 losses. Scotland’s record at World Cups does not make for pretty reading. But their efforts in 2015 have been far more encouraging than their results suggest. A team full of fringe county players and modestly-paid Scottish professionals have competed well, and rarely have been embarrassed. There have been individual moments of brilliance and strong campaigns from several players, including batsman Kyle Coetzer, seamer Josh Davey and wicketkeeper Matthew Cross. All that was missing was the ability to put it all together in one match and record that elusive maiden World Cup victory. A comprehensive defeat at the hands of Australia in their final match was not reflective of Scotland’s campaign.The high point
Two on-field efforts stand out. The first was the finest piece of wicketkeeping of the tournament. Standing up to the 125kph offerings of Davey against England in Christchurch, Cross made a snappy take to a half-volley near the wide line outside off stump. That glovework was nifty, but his effort to move back across to the stumps and whip the bails off with James Taylor just out of his ground was outstanding. In a World Cup full of batsmen-wicketkeepers, Cross might just about be the best gloveman. Scotland’s other high point was the 156 struck by Coetzer off 134 balls against Bangladesh in Nelson. It was an innings that showed Scotland’s batsmen can go big.And the low
Scotland have never won a World Cup match and their best chance came against Afghanistan in Dunedin. Chasing 211, Afghanistan were 192 for 9 and needed 19 off 19 balls, but Scotland were unable to get the one wicket they needed and suffered a loss that must have hurt more than any others in the tournament. Perhaps the key moment came when Majid Haq at first slip missed a simple chance when Samiullah Shenwari had 20; he went on to score 96. Majid was also at the centre of Scotland’s off-field low point. After being dropped for the match against Sri Lanka in Hobart, he tweeted: “Always tougher when you’re in the minority! #colour #race”. Although he took the tweet down, he was sent home for disciplinary reasons.Top of the class
Towards the end of the tournament, Davey was briefly the leading wicket taker in the World Cup. That Davey, a bowler from an Associate nation, finished with 15 victims, equal second behind Mitchell Starc, was an achievement that cannot be underestimated. Bowling around the 120-130kph region, Davey just kept nagging away and finding ways to get batsmen out.Matthew Cross, possibly the best wicketkeeper in the tournament?•AFPWhat we learnt about Scotland
Ireland and Afghanistan were expected to be competitive in this World Cup, Scotland and the UAE perhaps not so much. But rarely throughout this campaign were Scotland embarrassed, and several times they were in positions from which, had a couple more things gone their way, victory could have been achieved. They got within three wickets of New Zealand, one of Afghanistan, scored 318 against Bangladesh – in other words, we learnt that Scotland are competitive at this level.What they learnt from the World Cup
Whatever XI they went in with, Scotland always seemed short a quality bowler. Davey was excellent but the depth of their attack was at times shown up. Their batsmen stood up well in the face of some challenging situations, but never did the batting, bowling and fielding really click in one match. Against Afghanistan in particular they learnt that winning from a winning position is not a fait accomplis, and the advantage must be pressed home.

Mumbai Indians prepared for him, made plans, executed them, but to absolutely no avail. ESPNcricinfo presents the main talking points from the clash at the Wankhede Stadium

Abhishek Purohit at the Wankhede Stadium10-May-20154:13

O’Brien: RCB will finish in the top two

Mumbai’s plans work and failMumbai Indians had come out with plans against Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers, going by how they bowled to the two batsmen. The one against Gayle worked superbly as he fell for 13, the one against de Villiers failed spectacularly as he made his highest T20 score – 133.Mitchell McClenaghan used the left-armer’s angle to dig short balls into Gayle at pace and deny him width. On the other hand, Lasith Malinga provided width but off slower length balls, asking Gayle to go after them. McClenaghan’s ploy almost worked, when Gayle backed away pre-empting a bouncer that turned out to be not so short. The top-edge was put down by Rohit Sharma, but immediately in the next over, Gayle attacked a Malinga wide slower one and sliced it to short third man, where Lendl Simmons took a stunner.The approach against de Villiers was far more uniform. He was not to be given width by any bowler.De Villiers counters Mumbai’s plansAfter getting Gayle with the first ball of the fourth, Malinga went on to complete a maiden, keeping de Villiers quiet with five tight deliveries around the off-stump region. De Villiers was on 3 off 9 when he revealed one of the ways he was going to tackle the lack of width.The left-arm spinner J Suchith was bowling flat right on the line of the stumps. De Villiers made room off the back foot and punched over extra cover for four. It is not an easy shot to execute, but de Villiers would pull it off again in Suchith’s next over.The spinners tried to prevent that stroke by angling it in further and fuller. So de Villiers stepped out to clip Suchith past mid-on for four, and loft Harbhajan Singh for six over long-on.De Villiers toys with Mumbai’s bestBy the time Rohit Sharma finally brought back McClenaghan and Malinga, de Villiers was in the zone. McClenaghan tried bowling short. De Villiers displayed his range: a cut behind point, a hook in front of square, and a slap over cover. All fours.Malinga was the only Mumbai bowler to come out of the match with respectable figures – 1 for 27 – but some of de Villiers’ most innovative hitting came against the fast bowler. Malinga’s low trajectory, combined with accuracy and speed, make it extremely difficult to hit. Not for de Villiers, who had time to sweep Malinga for four before making room and drilling him to the extra cover rope. Similar line, same result, only on two opposite ends of the field.Mumbai Indians had no answer to AB de Villiers’ onslaught•BCCIMumbai’s attack exposed againMumbai have relied heavily on Malinga this year as always, and when he hadn’t found his rhythm at the start of the season, they had struggled. Harbhajan and McClenaghan have been among the wickets, but if even one of these three has an off day, Mumbai have no reliable bowler to fall back on in the second tier of their attack. No wonder they have been the most expensive bowling side in IPL 2015 conceding nearly nine runs an over.With the spinners Harbhajan and Suchith bowling five expensive overs during the middle stage of the innings, Rohit had to turn to Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya. The duo leaked 86 in six overs – 56 of those from de Villiers’ bat. De Villiers was all but unstoppable, but even lesser batsmen would have punished all those high full tosses.Kohli’s significanceDe Villiers acknowledged the role played by Virat Kohli during their partnership of 215, the biggest ever in T20s. If wickets had gone down at the other end, de Villiers would not have been able to bat with so much freedom for so long. But Kohli held that end up, rotating the strike regularly so that de Villiers’ rhythm was maintained.Kohli reached his fifty off 39 balls, Simmons off 43. Not much difference there, apart from Kohli’s acceleration thereafter. Kohli got to fifty only in the 16th over. Had he fallen, a new batsman coming in could have eaten up a few deliveries at the death. But Kohli took his final 11 deliveries for 32. Not bad considering even de Villiers managed 29.

Statistical highlights from the second day of the first Test between India and Sri Lanka in Galle

Bishen Jeswant13-Aug-20153 Indian openers who have scored two back-to-back hundreds in away Tests – Sunil Gavaskar, Rahul Dravid and now Shikhar Dhawan. Dhawan scored 134 in the first innings of this Test, and 173 in his last Test innings – against Bangladesh in Fatuallah.227 The partnership between Virat Kohli and Dhawan, the highest third-wicket stand for India in Tests against Sri Lanka. Their partnership was India’s 16th third-wicket stand of 200-plus runs, but their first in a Test against Sri Lanka.8 Test scores between 100 and 120 for Kohli. He has gone past 120 only thrice out of his 11 Test centuries. Kohli was dismissed for 103 in the first innings of this Test. In fact, this is the third time he has been dismissed on exactly 103, the only 100-plus score he has been dismissed on more than once.0 Previous instances in Test history of both opening batsmen being dismissed by spinners for ducks in the same innings. During the second innings, Sri Lanka’s openers, Dimuth Karunaratne and Kaushal Silva were dismissed for ducks by R Ashwin and Amit Mishra respectively.4 Centuries scored by Virat Kohli in his first four matches as captain. Only two other players have scored four centuries in their first four matches as captain – Alastair Cook and Sunil Gavaskar. Cook scored five centuries in his first five Tests as captain.8 Indian batsmen who were dismissed either bowled or lbw, the joint-most for India in Tests. There have been five instances of eight Indian batsmen being dismissed either bowled or lbw, with the last of those coming against Pakistan in 1982.72 Number of balls played by India at the start of the second day without scoring a single boundary. Dhawan hit India’s the first boundary – a four – in the 13th over of the day.1 Fifty-plus scores for Kohli in international cricket since his century (107) against Pakistan in the 2015 World Cup. Since then, he had not made a single 50-plus score in 12 innings till his 103 in the first innings of this Test.2 Number of of Indian wicketkeepers who have made a 50-plus score in Tests in Sri Lanka. The only keeper to do this before Wriddhiman Saha (60) in this Test was MS Dhoni, who scored 76 at the SSC (Colombo) in 2010.

Starting off as a low-profile counterpoint to his more popular twin B Aparajith, B Indrajith’s consistent batting and tactical sharpness has been rewarded with Tamil Nadu’s vice-captaincy

Deivarayan Muthu30-Sep-2015The Baba twins in Tamil Nadu are something of an equivalent of the Waugh twins. Baba Aparajith shot to recognition after being a pivotal role in India’s Under-19 World Cup victory in Australia in 2012, and has already collected 40 first-class caps.Baba Indrajith, though, is only now stepping out of the shadows. His consistency in domestic cricket, particularly his performance in the Ranji Trophy last season where he scored 713 runs at an average of 44.56, has been rewarded with vice-captaincy of a young side. For a 21-year-old with only two years of first-class experience this is a big leap, but he, as well as those who have seen him from an early age, are confident he is well-equipped for it.Indrajith, who had racked up 713 runs at 44.56 in the previous season, said he relished responsibility and believed it would improve his batting as well. “If I achieve what I achieved last year that would be good. Vice-captaincy is a good responsibility and I think it will help my batting.”Indrajith has been talked up as a captaincy prospect right from the time he started playing age-group cricket. “He has captained in TNCA league, Under-16 and Under-19 cricket. Right from a young age he was seen as captaincy material,” his personal coach, S Balaji, told ESPNcricinfo.Indrajith hardly comes across as an authoritative figure. He is soft-spoken and resembles the studious class-topper or the quiet guy at a party. He may be young and inexperienced but, according to Balaji, he has made things happen as a captain in league divisions and age-cricket.”He is not a robotic captain and picks up things during crucial passages of play,” Balaji said. “He has played with senior players in Under-23 cricket and as a captain he makes his own decisions.”Recently when he led Tamil Nadu in the KSCA Invitation tournament ahead of the season, he marshalled the bowling attack well. The pitch assisted the seamers, but Indrajith brought spinners into play early on one of the days and they made breakthroughs.”Indrajith told me that the wicket was powdery and he used spinners there. Sometimes, he used spin from one end and a fast bowler from the other. He led really well,” recalled Balaji.”With many seniors not there, this is a young Tamil Nadu team and appointing Indrajith as vice-captain is a step forward. In fact, I expected it to happen last year itself. He knows most of these players and they know each other’s game well.”Apart from Indrajith’s calm temperament and solid technique with the bat, he can also pitch in with handy legspin though he has under-bowled himself of late, largely due to a shoulder problem.With responsibility comes pressure. “It is all about how me manage it,” Indrajith said. He has managed it efficiently in age-group and league cricket but biggest tests await Indrajith and Tamil Nadu. First up is Baroda in the Ranji Trophy first round, where Tamil Nadu will be without allrounder Vijay Shankar and pacer Aswin Crist, who join M Vijay on the injury list.

When Colin Povey arrived at Edgbaston he found a ground – and a club – in a state of disrepair. Although issues remain, both have been transformed

George Dobell at Edgbaston17-Sep-2015
ScorecardEdgbaston was in a bad way when Colin Povey became chief executive•Getty ImagesThe first time Colin Povey visited Warwickshire in his position as chief executive – but before his appointment was announced – the first member of staff he found was too busy to welcome him as he was studying – if that is the correct terminology – a porn mag.As Povey explored the ground, he found a “water feature” – actually a serious leak – in the committee room, a “broadcast facility” that was actually a garden shed perched precariously on the roof of a dilapidated pavilion, a club with an ECB staging agreement that was close to expiry and a coach – Mark Greatbatch – who was hopelessly out of his depth. The data cables to the broadcast facility were fed through a cat-flap, which was fine except for the fact that it also let in cats, and there were no commercial deals in place for the following season. In short, the club was living on past glory and was in no way prepared for the cold wind of modernity that was about to hit.A decade later, he leaves with the ground established as among the best in the country. He leaves with the club having regularly challenged for trophies and regularly provided England players. He leaves with the club guaranteed an excellent package of major matches – an Ashes Test in 2019, an India Test in 2018 and several top games in the Champions Trophy of 2017 and the World Cup of 2019 – with membership rising, with 27 commercial partners tied in for next year and the non-cricket business growing rapidly.At a time of recession, despite planning objections, despite covenant issues and membership resistance, despite battling an amateur culture that did not understand the gravity of the club’s situation, he raised £36m – that figure, the real figure, has never been quoted before – for the new pavilion they had been trying to fund since the 1940s and negotiated a £20m loan from Birmingham City Council. The ground went from one that was rated as no longer fit to purpose by the ECB, to one that surpassed all required specifications.Where would Warwickshire be without him? Not at Edgbaston, that is for sure. While the club might – at a push – have been able to continue to host domestic cricket, they were in danger of part of their ground being shut for health and safety reasons. There was talk of ground-sharing with football and rugby clubs; talk of relocating to Coventry. It is no exaggeration to state that Povey saved the club in recognisable form.There have been setbacks. Not long after the completion of the pavilion, the ECB declined to award the package of matches that were required to begin the repayments. There was no Ashes Test for them in 2013; no India Test in 2014. Povey, it was said, was paying the price for having met the IPL founder Lalit Modi – an arch enemy of the then chairman of the ECB, Giles Clarke – in a fact-finding mission to India.A repayment holiday was agreed with the council, tickets were pre-sold for future series, non-cricket income was driven up and a professional management team was installed. It was tough, but Warwickshire survived. And, in the middle of all that, Greatbatch was sacked and Ashley Giles appointed to his first coaching position. It was to prove a happy union.There is debt to service, it is true. Substantial debt that will focus the mind of the next chief executive long into the future. Work continues to unlock the potential in the largely Asian inner-city community that is only starting to thaw in its attitude towards a club that has not always welcomed them as it should. Encouragingly, the final of the Parks Leagues is to be played on the main square at Edgbaston in the coming days.Povey hasn’t been to everyone’s taste. He is a man who get things done and sometimes, on the journey from amateurism to professionalism that Warwickshire have undertaken, he has ruffled feathers. Things needed ruffling at Edgbaston, though, and his was to prove a wise appointment. Make no mistake, Warwickshire owe Povey as much as they have owed any player at any stage of their existence.But while players leave the pitch with a raised bat and ovation, administrators hand back their car park pass and shuffle out with a wave from the gateman. The day Warwickshire won the County Championship in 2012, Povey found himself fielding angry calls from a club member who was unhappy with the quality of coat pegs in the women’s toilets. He will slip away in the next few weeks – earlier than originally planned – with little fanfare.So perhaps it was fitting that his final day overseeing a professional match at the club should be such a low-key affair. While Nottinghamshire may, if they finish second in the table, look back on it as an important couple of days, two days of rain had reduced this contest to an accumulation of bonus points. It made for a prosaic spectacle.Warwickshire, wearied and disappointed, lacked the intensity required to sustain a competitive performance. While their bowlers found the edge of James Taylor’s bat on four occasions, the fielders were unable to cling on to the chances. Keith Barker, swinging the ball dangerously, deserved his five-wicket haul, while Jeetan Patel finished the innings off with consecutive deliveries, claimed his 50th wicket of the Championship season.”It shouldn’t be difficult for the players when there are only bonus points to play for,” Patel said. “There shouldn’t be a loss of motivation because we have lost two days to rain. You have got a job to do and as individuals we probably weren’t up to it over two days.”We bowled well, but when you drop the same player four times… And we didn’t bat very well. We had 64 overs to bat and batted for 45 of them. That’s not good enough.”By contrast, Nottinghamshire’s trio of young seamers – Brett Hutton, Jake Ball and Luke Wood – appeared to be relishing the contest. In claiming full bowling bonus points for their side – and denying Warwickshire any batting points – they surpassed 100 Championship wickets for the season between them.For a club that has not always done everything it might to encourage their young players, it was a pleasing performance. Luke Fletcher, far too good a performer to spend much of the season in the seconds, is home-grown, too. Warwickshire, with eight points from the encounter, slip to fifth; Nottinghamshire, with 12, retain hopes of second.”It was a satisfying draw,” Nottinghamshire coach, Mick Newell, said afterwards. “We wanted to give ourselves a chance of overhauling Middlesex next week and we can do that if we have a big win.”And, credit to bowling coach Andy Pick, it was great to have four Nottinghamshire-born young bowlers in the team. Chris Tolley and Paul Franks deserve credit for discovering them.”

Ashar Zaidi has given Comilla Victorians exactly what they were looking for at the BPL player draft: a genuine allrounder

Mohammad Isam12-Dec-2015Ashar Zaidi’s walk to the crease, while approaching it to bat or bowl, is that of a man with the certainty that comes from playing 107 first-class matches. He has brought all that experience to the BPL and provided Comilla Victorians exactly what they had been looking for since the draft pick: a genuine all-rounder.The Comilla management went through a long list of potential allrounders from around the world but when they settled for Zaidi, they didn’t know his match-winning abilities. He has so far made 199 runs at an average of 66.33, and his 16 wickets have come at an average of 9.43. He bowls economically, and with the bat his slogs, pulls and cuts remind you of Darren Lehmann in his pomp.On Saturday, Zaidi’s 15-ball 40 and four-wicket haul came at crucial stages for Comilla in their Qualifier battle against Rangpur Riders. It won him the man-of-the-match award too, though he didn’t want to talk big. It seems to go with his on-field performance and persona; he said his main aim with the bat and ball was not to go overboard.”We speak in the meeting about what we should do in different situations,” Zaidi told ESPNcricinfo. “So we are prepared for anything that happens in a match. It is happening for me. I don’t try to overdo anything. I get in first and try to target different bowlers.”I am happy that the team has gone into the final. It is a young team which has made a big achievement. I am proud to be part of this team. I think all the boys should get credit.”But he has made telling contributions. In the first three matches he didn’t get to bat but took six wickets. Then came the unbeaten 53 against Sylhet Super Stars in Chittagong before he hammered unbeaten scores of 45 and 20 in his next three innings. In Comilla’s last league match, Zaidi blasted 31 at a crucial period too.He has done an important job batting down the order, particularly when required to provide the final thrust in the last five overs. In the first qualifier too, Zaidi’s late-overs hits took Comilla to what Shakib Al Hasan called a “formidable” score. But Zaidi believed the 79-run opening partnership between Imrul Kayes and Liton Das was more helpful.”Everyone will talk about the last over but I think the more important job was done by the openers who batted out a difficult period,” he said. “Things would have been tougher for us had we lost two or three early wickets. So the credit should go to them, and not really all the credit should go to the last few overs.”Zaidi said his bowling plan was quite simple, especially in T20s, based around gathering together enough dot balls to get batsmen to panic. “I have been playing here for the last two years so I know how the wickets help the spinners,” he said. “There is no bounce so I have to bowl stump-to-stump and try to bowl dot balls, and wait for the batsmen to make a mistake.”The plan is not to get panicked, and keep bowling the dot balls. They will try to make it up with a boundary here and there, and that’s when you have to look for mistakes.”Comilla captain Mashrafe Mortaza said Zaidi had given his team the boost it required with bat and ball, but said he had not predicted the extent of his contributions.”The way Zaidi has given us service in this competition is unbelievable,” Mashrafe said. “We never expected him to perform that way. With regards to his batting, we had given him a message that we want to score 140-145, but the way he finished it for us, was unbelievable.”If Comilla fall into trouble in the final on Tuesday, they know who to look for.

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Jan-2016Rohit took India close to 150 with a brisk 47-ball 60•Cricket Australia/Getty ImagesKohli took charge of India’s innings at the death, smacking seven fours and a six in his unbeaten 33-ball 59•Getty ImagesKohli’s late surge took India to a competitive total of 3 for 184•Cricket Australia/Getty ImagesAustralia too started well, Aaron Finch leading the way with a quick fifty, as the openers added 94 in 9.5 overs•Cricket Australia/Getty ImagesIndia then clawed their way back into match with quick wickets in the middle overs, to reduce Australia to 5 for 124•Getty ImagesRavindra Jadeja took a stunning return catch to dismiss Shane Watson, tilting the match in India’s favour•Getty ImagesAustralia’s slide continued as they ended at 8 for 157, meaning India clinched the T20I series with a 27-run win•Getty Images

Plays of the day from the fourth ODI of the series between England and Sri Lanka

Alan Gardner29-Jun-2016The foot race
Sri Lanka had clearly resolved to try and push England a bit harder on a ground known for high scores but good intentions were no match for Jonny Bairstow’s quick reactions in the second over. Danushka Gunathilaka dropped the ball down into the covers and immediately called his partner, Kusal Perera, through for one. Bairstow was far quicker off the mark – though Perera’s running line was slightly obstructed by the bowler, Chris Woakes – and his scampering underarm throw caught the batsman inches short. Perera, who has been run out four times in his last 10 ODI innings, might have stood a better chance with a dive.The finger stinger
England chose to include two spinners, despite the poor forecast and a pitch that had sweated under covers, and it was hard not to have sympathy with Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali as they hugged themselves in the field and waited for the call. There was little for them in a true batting surface, either, but Moeen did get some heat into his fingertips when Gunathilaka drove uppishly back to the bowler’s right. Moeen threw himself low to try and take a one-handed catch but the ball burst through his fingers and away – probably leaving his bowling hand feeling even more numb.The statement six(es)
With a solid platform from which to attack England from at last, Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews came out swinging. Both smeared Moeen over deep midwicket, Mathews with a particularly brutal swipe into the crowd; but Chandimal upped the stakes a couple of overs later when he took on Liam Plunkett, giving the charge to an 86mph delivery and driving back over the bowler’s head and into the second tier of the pavilion. Not content with making Plunkett look like a medium-pace trundler, he then jumped across to uppercut a short ball over third man to go to his half-century with another six.The scoop
Mathews’s hitting during the closing stages ensured his side would soar beyond 300 for the first time in the series, particularly when he helped himself to 14 off the penultimate over, bowled by Plunkett. That included a sequence of three consecutive fours and it was one of his more deft strokes that stood out, as he contorted his body to flip a full, fast attempted yorker from around off stump clean over short fine leg, much to Plunkett’s chagrin.The assault
Jason Roy is the sort of opener who forces bowlers to wake up and smell the coffee whether they like it or not. He was well into his stride, having reached 50 from 39 balls, when Nuwan Pradeep began his fifth over. Pradeep began with a leg-side wide – although there was a suspicion Roy might have got a tiny edge on it – and was then subjected to a disdainful barrage of 6-4-4. The first was a crashing blow over long-on; the second dispatched through the covers with a fluid drive; the third clipped smartly off his pads as he walked across to make use of Pradeep’s change of line. Up came the England hundred and a sense of the momentum shifting.The stunner
Gunathilaka had already made his third ODI fifty and picked up the second wicket of his short career when he latched on to what must surely be his best catch in a Sri Lanka shirt. Eoin Morgan connected well with a slash off Suranga Lakmal that looked set to give third man a test when a flying Gunathilaka intercepted it one-handed leaping to his right at backward point. Sri Lanka’s catching has not been perfect on this tour but Gunathilaka’s celebration in the direction of the dressing room suggested he has not been shirking.The final word
Roy’s hundred on his home ground was met with a rousing reception, as the crowd rose for a player much appreciated in these parts. Whether he took Chandimal’s effort at endangering spectators in the pavilion as a personal challenge is unknown but the clean strike over the sightscreen off Seekkuge Prasanna in the 25th over, the ball ricocheting off the concrete steps, was as emphatic as anything seen all night.