The pacer bowled at full-tilt on comeback from injury, helping India A snatch third place off South Africa A in the quadrangular series

The Report by Hemant Brar in Alur29-Aug-2018BCCI

The scorecard at the KSCA Cricket Ground in Alur would say India A trounced South Africa A by 124 runs but much more than the result, every eyeball in attendance was focused on Bhuvneshwar Kumar, tracing his every step on the field. And the pacer – the sole reason for interest in an inconsequential third-place match – didn’t disappoint on his return from a lower-back injury.After half-centuries from Shreyas Iyer and Ambati Rayudu helped India to a formidable 275 for 7, and Deepak Chahar drew first blood, uprooting Cloete’s middle stump, Bhuvneshwar found his groove almost immediately. First ball he bowled a juicy half-volley that was smashed for four, but the next delivery was right on the money, pitching on a length and swinging back in to rap the batsman on the pads.He struck off the last ball of his third over, having Theunis de Bruyn caught behind with one that pitched on a length and moved just enough off the seam to take the outside edge. Then, he trapped Khaya Zondo lbw on the first ball of his next over, reducing South Africa to 22 for 3. Although Senuran Muthusamy prevented the hat-trick, it didn’t look like anyone on the field was aware of it in any case.Bhuvneshwar finished his first spell of six overs with figures of 2 for 15 – bowling at full tilt, bending in the follow-through to field the ball, and, more importantly, without showing any signs of discomfort.Pieter Malan and Muthusamy thereafter steadied the chase with a 64-run stand for the fourth wicket before Krunal Pandya dismissed the latter for 40. Soon after, Mayank Markande removed the well-set Malan and new batsman Robbie Frylinck off successive balls, leaving South Africa 90 for 6 and with little hope of a recovery. With the fate of match almost sealed, Bhuvneshwar was reintroduced into the attack in the 28th over. Bowling from the far end this time around, he dismissed Sisanda Magala lbw off his first ball and finished with figures of 3 for 33 from his nine overs, as South Africa were bundled out for 151 in 37.1 overs.Earlier, R Samarth and Abhimanyu Easwaran gave India a slow but steady start of 35 before Magala provided South Africa with a breakthrough in the 11th over by bowling Easwaran. Three overs and six runs later, Malusi Siboto trapped Samarth in front, reducing India to 41 for 2.However, Rayudu, in at No. 4, ensured India didn’t get bogged down and provided the innings much-needed impetus. He started by hitting Siboto over mid-on to get off the mark, before driving the next ball through the covers. Two balls later, he had some luck, as Siboto forced an outside edge which went between the wicketkeeper and a wide first slip. On the first ball of his next over, Siboto once again drew an edge to the right of slip, but the ball evaded him again. Riding his luck, Rayudu stepped out on the next ball and slashed Siboto past the backward point for four more, resulting in Zondo taking his pacer out of the attack after his two overs cost 24 runs.Rayudu kept dealing in fours, hitting two more off Magala to race away to 31 off 21 balls. Although spinners Tabraiz Shamsi and Muthusamy managed to seize some control back, wickets eluded them. Rayudu reached his fifty off 59 balls, while Iyer, who had started nervously, had by then grown in confidence. He used his feet against Muthusamy to launch him for two straight sixes, the second of which brought him his half-century, off 55 balls.Hendricks eventually broke the 130-run stand, dismissing Rayudu for 66 with a sharp return catch. Iyer fell in the pacer’s next over, caught at deep-backward point.At that stage, it looked like South Africa may find their way back into the game, but Nitish Rana’s breezy 19-ball 30 and a seven-ball 16 by Chahar pushed India past 270 and into a position of dominance.

Neither team will settle for anything other than a win, although Sri Lanka will have to make up for missing some key players

The Preview by Mohammad Isam14-Sep-20184:51

How the Sri Lanka-Bangladesh rivalry became tense

Big Picture

Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will add another chapter to their rivalry when they meet in the Asia Cup opener in Dubai on Saturday. One needs to look no further than the last time these two teams met, in the Nidahas Trophy, which was marred by a few , to realise just how intense and fierce competition between the two sides has become. Which is why neither team will settle for anything less than a win, especially as Afghanistan, who have become increasingly competitive in limited-overs cricket, are themselves strong contenders to make the Super Four stage.Sri Lanka have had the better of Bangladesh in 2018, beating them in a tri-nation ODI tournament final in January, and a Test and T20I series in February. But Bangladesh’s twin victories over Sri Lanka, both in tight games, in the Nidahas Trophy, won’t soon be forgotten. They tasted further success on tour in the West Indies, where all five core members of the team – Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim – fared quite well and Liton Das struck a splendid half-century in the deciding T20I in Florida. Mustafizur Rahman and Mehidy Hasan, two key components, have also shown good form with the ball, but then some of the younger batsmen have work to do.Sri Lanka were hit slightly hard when they lost an ODI series to South Africa at home, after having crushed them in the Tests. Kusal Mendis and Upul Tharanga were especially disappointing making 86 and 93 runs in five matches respectively. That will be of some concern as Sri Lanka can ill-afford a weak top-order.Akila Dananjaya is likely to miss the first two matches on account of the birth of his child. The 24-year old spinner tormented South Africa with a six-for in the fifth ODI and was the leading wicket-taker of the series with 14 scalps. Sri Lanka have already lost Dinesh Chandimal and Danushka Gunathilaka to injuries.These absences may give Bangladesh a slight edge, but their batsmen still need to find a way through the middle overs, where Dilruwan Perera can be especially potent with his accurate offbreaks. But, as Tamim said two days before the match, the Dubai heat would make this a battle of will more than anything else.

Form guide

Sri Lanka: WWLLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Bangladesh: WLWLL3:43

Angelo Mathews on why Sri Lanka have struggled in ODIs

In the spotlight

Angelo Mathews looked in good form throughout the ODI series against South Africa last month, capping it off with a run-a-ball unbeaten 97 in a massive victory in the final ODI. In the absence of Dinesh Chandimal, Mathews needs to carry that form and step up with his experience to hold the middle order together.Tamim Iqbal is Bangladesh’s leading ODI batsman in 2018, averaging 89.83 for his 539 runs. He will have to do more of the same; without a stable opening partnership in a long time, Bangladesh rely heavily on Tamim for a sound start in ODIs.

Team news

Sri Lanka have Lasith Malinga back, and will likely be replacing Akila with Dilruwan Perera, who has had some success against Bangladesh in the recent past. Niroshan Dickwella and Shehan Jayasuriya are also on call.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Kusal Perera, 4 Kusal Mendis, 5 Angelo Mathews (capt), 6 Dhananjaya de Silva, 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Dasun Shanaka, 9 Dilruwan Perera, 10 Suranga Lakmal, 11 Lasith MalingaLiton Das is likely to open with Tamim, while Ariful Haque and Mohammad Mithun are vying to replace Sabbir Rahman, who was dropped alongside Anamul Haque.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Liton Das, 3 Shakib Al Hasan, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Mahmudullah, 6 Mosaddek Hossain, 7 Mohammad Mithun, 8 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 9 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 10 Rubel Hossain, 11 Mustafizur Rahman

Pitch and conditions

Four out of the five ODIs played last year at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium were won by the side chasing. The only team to lose batting second was Sri Lanka. The temperature is expected to be in the mid-30s throughout the game.

Stats and Trivia

• Bangladesh will be playing their first match in the UAE since April 8, 1995.
• In the last 18 months, Sri Lanka have a 3-2 win-loss record against Bangladesh in ODIs.
• The two Pereras are leading Sri Lanka’s batting and bowling charts in 2018. Kusal is the leading run-scorer with 309 runs at an average of 38.62. Thisara has taken most wickets for Sri Lanka, with 18 scalps at 19.38.

Quotes

“Every team should have one or two rivalries. I don’t think neither of us have the Nidahas Trophy incident in mind, and regardless of the history, both sides know how important the September 15 game is, to kick off the tournament.”

Al Jazeera’s latest documentary has claimed that up to 15 international matches in the 2011-12 period had been subject to spot-fixing

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Oct-2018The ICC has appealed to Al Jazeera to share evidence with it, after the broadcaster released its second documentary on alleged corruption in cricket. The documentary has claimed that up to 15 international matches in the 2011-12 period had been subject to spot-fixing.Al Jazeera has claimed to have obtained recordings of a person identified as Aneel Munawar – who is said to work for the crime syndicate D Company – revealing details of fixed matches to an Indian bookmaker. Munawar was also at the centre of Al Jazeera’s previous documentary on corruption in cricket, which alleged that the Chennai Test in December 2016 and the Ranchi Test in March 2017 had been subject to spot-fixing by England and Australia players.In response to those claims, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket Australia (CA) had said there was no credible evidence linking any of their players to corruption.The ICC had then asked Al Jazeera for its cooperation in investigating these allegations, including sharing “un-edited and unseen evidence” – which it later said the broadcaster had refused to hand over. It had also sent out a public appeal to help identify Munawar.The ICC has now made another appeal to Al Jazeera.”The ICC is committed to working to uphold integrity in cricket,” Alex Marshall, the general manager of the ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit, said in a statement. “As you would expect we will again take the contents of the programme and any allegations it may make seriously and will investigate fully.”However, I must refute the assertion that cricket does not take the issue of corruption seriously, we have more resources than ever before working to rid our sport of corruption.”The investigation into these allegations has already commenced and will run alongside a number of other live unrelated investigations. When considering the claims, we will work with professional independent betting analysts.”As with the first programme we have, and will continue to ask for the cooperation of the broadcaster. We have made repeated efforts to engage with the broadcaster as it can play such a crucial part in the full and thorough investigation it has called for.”We do welcome the commitment from the broadcaster to share the files with Interpol and, I hope, other law enforcement agencies who can act upon the information and support us in ridding the sport of these criminals.”Of the 15 matches Al Jazeera claimed were subject to spot-fix attempts in the 2011-12 period, seven involved England, five Australia, and three Pakistan. Among the matches mentioned were all three Tests of Pakistan’s series against England in the UAE in January-February 2012.The ECB called Al Jazeera’s information “poorly prepared”, but said it had looked into the allegations and found no evidence against any England player.”ECB takes its responsibilities on anti-corruption and preserving the integrity of cricket very seriously,” an ECB spokesperson said. “Whilst the limited information we have been given by Al Jazeera is poorly prepared and lacks clarity and corroboration it has been properly assessed.”Analysis of this by the ECB Integrity Team has cast no doubt on the integrity or behaviour of any England player, current or former.”The materials we have been given have been referred to the ICC’s Anti-Corruption unit and we will continue to work with them, as is the correct procedure for protecting the game. We are also working closely with the PCA (Professional Cricketers’ Association) and keeping them informed.”On Monday, a day after the release of the documentary, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) issued a statement* responding to the allegations, terming them “unsubstantiated”.”The PCB is committed to its fight against corruption in cricket. It has and continues to cooperate, assist and coordinate with the ICC’s Anti Corruption Unit in respect of investigations related to international cricket.”The recent allegations of corruption emanating from a documentary released by a broadcaster are under review jointly by ICC and PCB’s Anti Corruption Units. The broadcaster has not been forthcoming with provision of any evidence whatsoever in the absence of which their allegations remain unsubstantiated.”PCB in the recent past has been proactive in uprooting the menace of corruption and has charged and banned numerous cricketers for failing to abide by the Anti Corruption Code. It stands by that resolve.”CA, meanwhile, had been aware of Al Jazeera’s plans to release a second documentary, and of the Australia matches mentioned in it. James Sutherland, CA’s then chief executive, had said a CA integrity unit investigation had been conducted into the claims.”Although not having been provided an opportunity to review any raw audio or footage, our long-standing position on these matters is that credible claims should be treated very seriously, and investigated,” Sutherland said in late August. “Cricket Australia’s Integrity Unit have conducted a review of the latest claims by Al Jazeera, from a known criminal source, and, from the limited information provided by Al Jazeera, our team have not identified any issues of corruption relating to current or former Australian players.”We have handed all material over to the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit to enable them to fully investigate and we will continue to cooperate with the ICC.”There was one game involving New Zealand among the 15 named by Al Jazeera and NZC also requested the broadcaster to share information. “New Zealand Cricket takes anti-corruption extremely seriously and has no wish to undermine its integrity by commenting on unsubstantiated allegations,” said NZC public affairs manager Richard Boock. “We would, however, join the ICC and Cricket Australia in urging Al Jazeera to make all information relating to the allegations available, in the interests of natural justice and good journalism.”*October 22, GMT 1450 The story has been updated to include the PCB’s response

The Uganda allrounder was allegedly told he would be no-balled for a suspect action if he bowled a second over against USA

Peter Della Penna in Oman11-Nov-2018Uganda’s hopes of a top-two finish at WCL Division Three in Oman were thrown into chaos during their loss to USA, when allrounder Irfan Afridi – the leading wicket-taker at WCL Division Four in May – was allegedly told by an umpire that he would be no-balled for a suspect action if he bowled a second over.”The umpire called me and told me after the first over he [Afridi] bowled,” Uganda captain Roger Mukasa told ESPNcricinfo. “They told me he was chucking. He’s suspect of chucking, he chucks the ball. Then they told me he’s not allowed to bowl the next over. If he bowls the next over, it will be called a no-ball.”The incident happened at the end of the fifth over in the first innings, after Uganda had sent USA in to bat. Afridi had been brought on first-change after four overs, conceding a lone boundary in his opening over. Mukasa told ESPNcricinfo afterwards that the umpires – UAE’s Akbar Ali and Sri Lanka’s Lyndon Hannibal – informed him they believed Afridi was throwing the ball, allegedly with the legspinner’s variation of offspin or carrom-ball.”They’re saying he’s bowling offspin and Lala [Afridi] doesn’t bowl offspin,” Mukasa said. “He’s bowling legspin. So I don’t know what they’re talking about. It disorganised us from that time and I had to come and bowl some overs. I think it disturbed our momentum. I have no words to say.”The ICC’s tournament playing condition 21.2 for ‘Fair delivery – the arm’ states, “Should either umpire or the ICC Match Referee suspect that a bowler has used an Illegal Bowling Action, they shall complete the ICC Bowling Action Report Form at the conclusion of the match, as set out in the Illegal Bowling Regulations.” It does not say anything about the umpires having the authority to call a no-ball on the field of play for an illegal action.According to a Uganda team official, Afridi’s bowling action became an issue on match day after a complaint was allegedly made by the USA head coach Pubudu Dassanayake to the umpires during Saturday’s match. A USA team official confirmed they did make a complaint to the umpires about Afridi’s action, also claiming that “they were already aware (and watching) given a complaint from the first game [between Uganda and Denmark].”Irfan Afridi breaks out the Starfish celebration pose after another wicket•Peter Della Penna

However, Denmark coach Jeremy Bray told ESPNcricinfo that his team had zero issues with Afridi’s action, both in Malaysia at Division Four and during their opening encounter in Oman, and any claim that Denmark made a complaint to the umpires about Afridi’s action was “a complete fabrication” and “1000% false”.An ICC spokesperson has told ESPNcricinfo that Afridi was reported by the on-field umpires during Uganda’s opening match against Denmark and have stated that a copy of the report was handed to the Uganda team manager the same evening. The ICC spokesperson also stated that the umpires had no obligation to warn that Afridi would be no-balled if he began a second over, but that doing so was “excellent match management” and that the umpires were within their rights to no-ball Afridi if he continued bowling during the match.”4.8 of the ICC Regulations for the Review of Bowlers Reported with Suspected Illegal Bowling Actions reads as: ‘Subject to the provisions of Article 4.4, throughout the period up to the date of receipt of the Expert Panel Report, the Player shall be permitted to continue bowling in International Cricket. At any time throughout this period the Player is subject to being called on the field by the Umpire(s) in accordance with Law 24.2 (which has become 21.2 following the October update),'” said the ICC spokesperson. “The Expert Panel process is already underway, with the results to be shared with the player and/or his board at its conclusion as soon as practically possible.”Mukasa also said no concerns were raised by on-field umpires Rahul Asher of Oman and Buddhi Pradhan of Nepal 24 hours earlier during the Denmark match. “They didn’t say he was chucking [against Denmark] because yesterday he bowled ten overs,” Mukasa said. “I’m so worried about what happened today. I think those nine overs have cost us a lot because he’s a main bowler, he’s a main spinner. So we don’t know what to do. We’re going to wait for the ICC. The manager is talking to the match referee about him. It’s a big issue so we don’t know what’s going to happen.”Afridi was not just the leading wicket-taker in Malaysia but also at the ICC World T20 Africa B Region Qualifier this summer in Rwanda. On both occasions, Afridi passed all video analysis tests, according to Mukasa, which made Uganda’s captain all the more upset with the actions allegedly taken by the on-field umpires on Saturday. There were also no issues raised during USA’s match against Uganda in Kampala during WCL Division Three in May 2017, when Afridi bowled his full quota of ten overs.”I think it’s not fair,” Mukasa said. “We did a video in Rwanda and in Malaysia and they said it’s fine. So I don’t know why they are still suspecting him of chucking.”Uganda have two off days before their next match of the tournament, against Kenya on November 13. If Afridi’s bowling action remains under a cloud, it could force a reshuffle with veteran spinner Frank Nsubuga a possible replacement in the starting lineup for Uganda. A top-two finish is needed in the six-team event in order to progress to WCL Division Two next year in Namibia, where the top four finishers will secure ODI status through 2021 as part of Cricket World Cup League Two.

Currently on eight points from five matches, Mumbai need three outright wins to give themselves a chance of qualifying for the knockouts

Ankur Dhawan in Mumbai17-Dec-2018With the Ranji Trophy clash between Mumbai and Baroda at the Wankhede Stadium ending in a draw, Mumbai’s stand-in captain Siddhesh Lad is now wishing for only two things: result-oriented seaming pitches, and the return of frontline quicks Dhawal Kulkarni – also captain – and Shardul Thakur.With Mumbai’s chances of making the knockouts hanging by a thread, Lad’s desperation was understandable. Currently on eight points from five matches, Mumbai need three outright wins to give themselves a chance of qualifying.While two of those matches, against Saurashtra and Chhattisgarh, are at the Wankhede, Mumbai have not been particularly prolific playing at home this season, only managing a high-scoring draw against Baroda after suffering a nine-wicket defeat at the hands of Gujarat. But despite that earlier loss, Lad is hopeful that the surfaces for the upcoming matches are more like the one against Gujarat, where the quicks took 26 off the 31 wickets that fell.”Our bowlers are back in form, they are bowling well, if we get a good seaming wicket in the next game we will definitely win,” Lad said.”It’s not in our hands because we have a neutral curator but we believe that at least the wicket like we had during the Mumbai-Gujarat game, if we have that, our bowlers are bowling really well now.”Lad should know the fate of his other wish over the next couple of days when the team for the Saurashtra clash is announced. Shardul had sustained a thigh injury during the second Test against West Indies which required him to undergo rehab for at least seven weeks, while Dhawal had injured his ankle, ruling him out of Mumbai’s previous two matches. That Dhawal rolled his arm over on the sidelines after day three against Baroda indicated that the swelling on his ankle had reduced, if not completely subsided.”I’m hoping that Dhawal and Shardul will be back in the next game or maybe in the Nagpur game,” Lad said.”The team will be selected maybe tomorrow or day after once we get the update from Dhawal, Shardul and Tushar (Deshpande), but Tushar might not be fit before the next game, mostly Nagpur.”

After White carried Victoria to 424 for 9 declared, Boland rattled Western Australia’s reply with three strikes

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Dec-2018
Cameron White’s century and three wickets from Scott Boland put Victoria in charge of the Sheffield Shield clash with Western Australia at the MCG.White scored his 22nd first class century as Victoria piled up 9 for 424 before declaring early in the afternoon. White lost opener Nic Maddinson early in the day for a fabulous 162 but he got good support from wicketkeeper-batsman Sam Harper who made 39.White fell to a stunning catch from Hilton Cartwright peddling back from mid-on. David Moody picked up three of the last four wickets of the innings including White, Harper and James Pattinson.D’Arcy Short made a rollicking start in WA’s innings, striking six boundaries in quick time before Scott Boland and Chris Tremain turned the screws. Tremain knocked over Jon Wells before Boland claimed Cartwright, Mitchell Marsh and Short to leave the Warriors 4 for 96.Marsh was caught behind trying to defend wide of his off stump, while Short fell to a sharp catch from White at second slip after slashing hard off the back foot.The Warriors slumped to 5 for 112 when Marcus Stoinis holed out to mid-on trying to hit Jon Holland into the stands. Ashton Turner and Will Bosisto then steadied the innings with an unbroken 58-run stand to get the Warriors through to stumps but they are still 254 runs behind.

A round-up of last week’s Super Smash matches where Colin Munro, Devon Conway and Tarun Nethula sparkled

Deivarayan Muthu04-Feb-2019

No. 1 v No.2? No contest

The match between table leaders Knights and the then second-placed Stags came with a big billing, but it petered out into a one-sided affair, with the Knights racking up 230 for 5 in a 131-run victory. Highest team total: check. Biggest margin of win for the team: check. Best figures for the Knights in an innings: check. They checked nearly every box at the McLean Park in Napier on January 25.After being inserted by the Stags on a flat pitch, they blitzed past 200 thanks to rapid half-centuries from Daryl Mitchell and Brett Hampton. Both batsmen went on a six-hitting spree and kept mowing the ball over the leg side. All told, they muscled 98 runs together in just 34 balls.The Stags then subsided to 99 all out in the chase as Tarun Nethula stepped up spectacularly in Ish Sodhi’s absence with 6 for 23.

Mitchell, Tickner rewarded for Super Smash form

Heard of former All Black John Mitchell, who later coached the side? Meet his son Daryl, who grew up with the dream of becoming an All Black or a Black Cap. Rugby’s loss could well turn out to be cricket’s gain as Mitchell is likely to make his international debut in the upcoming three-T20I series against India.Mitchell is among the cleanest strikers in New Zealand domestic cricket and often bowls at the death for the Knights. He is currently the second-highest run-getter this season with 318 runs in nine innings at an average of 35.33 and strike-rate of 140.08. But the most telling stat is that no batsman has hit more sixes this season than his 19.When Mitchell and Hampton was smoking the ball to all parts of the McLean Park, quick Blair Tickner used his height to his advantage and bothered them with his extra pace and bounce. He isn’t as quick as ‘Flash’ Ferguson, but has been rewarded for his consistency. After bagging 21 wickets and ending has the top wicket-taker in the 2017-18 Super Smash, he has claimed 15 wickets this season, just four behind the chart-topping Kyle Jamieson.

Match of the week

The clash between Knights and Aces in Auckland. The Knights had a chance to secure a home final, but the Aces toppled them to confirm their place in the knockouts, with four balls to spare. Colin Munro’s spot in the ODI team is under threat, but in his most favoured format, he punched his way to 54 off 30 balls to set up the Aces’ chase of 197.Craig Cachopa and Robert O’ Donnell then sustained the surge in the middle overs, leaving them with 56 to get off the last five overs. Knights’ death bowlers Kyle Abbott and Mitchell missed their lengths as Cachopa and O’Donnell took the game deep. The equation eventually boiled down to six off the last over. Abbott started with two off-side wides, the second of which was a tight call, and then bowled Cachopa with the next ball, but Daniel Bell-Drummond calmly finished off the chase.

Batsman of the week

Wellington Firebirds’ Devon Conway. He smote a 58-ball hundred – the second of the season – against the Volts in Dunedin to fashion a 11-run win. He followed it with a 22-ball 39 against the Stags, but it was not enough to take his team into the knockouts.

Bowler of the week

Nethula gets a game only when Ish Sodhi is away on national duty. He took 6 for 23 in only 19 balls at the McLean Park – the second-best figures in a New Zealand T20 competition. On a flat track, Nethula went wide of the crease and unleashed a slew of wrong’uns to hasten the Stags’ collapse. However, he found himself out of the team when Sodhi returned. Such is the depth of the Knights.

The Sri Lanka offspinner was officially banned from bowling in international cricket in December last year

Madushka Balasuriya18-Feb-2019Spinner Akila Dananjaya has had his bowling action cleared by the ICC and has been included in Sri Lanka’s squad for the five-ODI series in South Africa.Dananjaya’s action had been reported during England’s tour of Sri Lanka late last year. He was then officially banned from bowling in international cricket in December after an independent biomechanics assessment found that he was flexing his arm beyond the allowed 15-degree limit, when bowling the offbreak, his stock ball.After working on his action, Dananjaya was tested in Chennai and the results declared his bowling action to be legal.The return of the 25-year old will be a major boost for a depleted Sri Lankan attack ahead of what promises to be testing ODI and T20I series against South Africa in the coming weeks.As the ban allowed him to bowl in domestic cricket, Dananjaya turned out for Colts CC earlier this year and the SLC has been impressed with what they have seen.Dhananjaya has been one of Sri Lanka’s main threats in limited-overs cricket in recent times, taking 28 ODI wickets at an average of 23 in 2018, and a further 27 wickets at 24.25 in Tests.

With seven for RCB to win off the last ball and six to tie, Lasith Malinga delivered a no-ball that was missed by the umpire

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Mar-20194:15

Dasgupta: Hand all front-foot no-ball calls to third umpire

Virat Kohli was left fuming after replays revealed that the last ball of RCB’s chase against Mumbai Indians was a no-ball, which umpire S Ravi missed. The no-ball became apparent after the big screen at the Chinnaswamy Stadium showed replays of the delivery, off which RCB needed seven runs to win and a six to tie.Mumbai’s Lasith Malinga was able to deliver close enough to the blockhole so that the batsman, Shivam Dube, could only bunt it down to long-on. But Malinga had overstepped. Had that been spotted, RCB would have got the extra run and extra ball – a Free Hit – and AB de Villiers, who was batting on 70 off 41, could have been on strike.”We are playing at IPL level, not club cricket,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation. “That’s just a ridiculous call off the last ball. The umpires should have their eyes open, it was a no-ball by an inch. It’s a completely different game altogether [if there was the extra delivery]. So if it’s a game of margins, I don’t know what’s happening. They should have been more sharp and more careful out there.”Even the winning captain, Rohit Sharma, was unhappy with the gaffe: “The over before that, Bumrah bowled a ball which wasn’t a wide ball [which was given wide]. They have to watch what is happening. The players can’t do much about it. Just walk off and shake hands. It is disappointing to see that, but I hope they can rectify their mistakes like we do.”Rohit spoke sharply of the incident at the post-match press conference as well, saying such mistakes were “not good for the game”. “I seriously don’t know what is the solution. ICC, BCCI… whoever makes these decisions have to take a call on that,” he said. “I say it because eventually it’s not good for the game. Whatever is not good for the game, I’m not going to stand for it. It’s pretty simple, those decisions can cost you games. We prepare too much to win this tournament, to win games, and those kind of mistakes are not acceptable.”The match in Bengaluru had see-sawed all over the place. RCB needed 61 off the final 30 balls when de Villiers went berserk. He got to fifty with a flurry of boundaries and the equation suddenly read 22 off 12. Then came Bumrah, with his yorkers, bouncers and slower balls. The execution was near-perfect – except for that wide that Rohit spoke of, which was called by umpire Nandan and was met with disbelief from both the bowler and wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock.6:13

Umpiring errors like these not good for the game – Rohit

Malinga had 17 to defend off the last over and though he conceded six off the first ball, he was able to pull things back well enough to win the game for Mumbai. And even as he was celebrating with his team-mates, the replay went up on the big screen, prompting fury from the RCB camp. Their bowling coach Ashish Nehra stormed out to the middle and was involved in an animated chat with the fourth umpire.By then, as per the Laws of the game, it was too late for the umpire to change his decision. Law 2.12 of the MCC’s Laws of the game says: “An umpire may alter any decision provided that such alteration is made promptly. This apart, an umpire’s decision, once made, is final.”The host broadcaster’s commentators, in their post-match analysis, strongly advocated the introduction of technology to deal with such issues. Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen called the incident unbelievable. “It should’ve been a no-ball and it should’ve been a Free Hit. We can fly drones. We have got Spidercams. We have all sorts of technology, cars that drive themselves. How can you not have technology in a cricketing arena where millions are in play in terms of fans and the entertainment that the package brings. How can you not have technology in place to call it?”Maybe the umpire should have called it, but maybe you take it [the call] away from the umpire. You just think to yourself… well, the emotion, the human emotion involved in such a crucial play in the game can affect the human. We are all humans. Should there be a technology in place that just calls a no-ball?”Former Australia batsman Matthew Hayden said it was a “bigger mistake” than any in the match. Hayden agreed with Pietersen that it was time for administrators to think of introducing technology in this respect, to detect line calls like in tennis.

Mortaza led the bowling effort to rein in West Indies, and all of Soumya, Tamim and Shakib hit half-centuries in the chase

The Report by Mohammad Isam07-May-2019A bowling fightback and a solid chase from Bangladesh’s top-order led them to an eight-wicket win over West Indies in the second match of the tri-series in Ireland. Mashrafe Mortaza had led a fine bowling effort to engineer West Indies’ batting collapse at the death, where they went from 205 for 2 in 40.4 overs to 261 for 9 in 50 overs. After that, Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar set up the chase with a 144-run opening stand. Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim completed the job with five overs to spare.Shakib completed the win with a beautiful straight drive, which took him to an unbeaten run-a-ball 61 that included three fours and two sixes. He added 68 runs for the unbroken third wicket stand with Mushfiqur, having already put on 52 with Tamim for the second wicket.Tamim, who top scored with 80 off 116 balls with seven fours, and Soumya added 144 runs, Bangladesh’s highest opening stand against West Indies in ODIs. But it started with a bit of luck when Roston Chase dropped Tamim’s uppish drive at cover, when he was on 1. The pair had put on only 38 runs in the first ten overs, with Soumya hitting three gorgeous boundaries and Tamim, after patiently waiting for the right opportunity, slamming Kemar Roach for successive fours in the tenth over.It set them for the next ten overs, in which they added 69 runs. Soumya blasted Jason Holder for a straight six, and then played the upper-cut off the same bowler a few overs later. Soumya and Tamim were looking ominous in the next six overs, hitting boundaries and picking up singles quite easily.But a moment of brilliance in the field separated the openers, when Darren Bravo caught Soumya at the deep midwicket boundary. He held the ball at first, was overbalancing, so he threw it up in the air, then stepped over the boundary and came back inside to complete the catch. It was against the run of play, and gave West Indies a lifeline. Soumya had made 73 off 68 balls with a six and nine fours, but where West Indies should have tightened their bowling and fielding, they did the opposite.Their fielders kept missing regulation balls, while their bowlers couldn’t string together a tight spell. Tamim and Shakib added 52 for the second wicket before Mushfiqur and Shakib kept hitting the gaps, and waiting for the West Indies bowlers to err in length, or for the fielders to mess up.Sunil Ambris couldn’t judge a Mushfiqur slap towards deep point, and the wicketkeeper then slammed a pull to reduce the target down to four runs.While Bangladesh accelerated as the innings progressed, West Indies went in the opposite direction as they lost their last seven wickets for 56 runs in 9.2 overs. The collapse split their innings into two parts, but one didn’t complement the other as it should have. West Indies started off well, with Hope and Sunil Ambris putting on 89 runs for the opening wicket. Mashrafe bowled a mean spell during the Powerplay but control only came when he introduced spin in the 14th over. Shakib started with a tight couple of overs before Mehidy Hasan Miraz removed Ambris, with Mahmudullah taking a smart catch at cover.Bravo fell in the next over, but Hope and Roston Chase put together 115 runs for the third wicket, seemingly setting up a final flourish. Shakib and Mehidy applied pressure in the middle overs to cut down the scoring, with Mashrafe utilising his bowlers splendidly.Chase fell in the 41st over when he top edged Mashrafe to short fine-leg, having made 51 off 62 balls. The Bangladesh captain also removed Hope and Jason Holder in the space of three balls. Shakib then took a brilliant catch, diving to his left at long-on, to send back Jonathan Carter. Mohammad Saifuddin and Mustafizur Rahman conceded 50 runs in the last seven overs, and didn’t concede a single boundary in the last 2.4 overs.More runs in the last 16 balls perhaps could have helped West Indies, as would have more consistent bowling and better fielding. Bangladesh would also have liked to see Mustafizur bowl better, but that is why theseteams are playing the tri-nation series: so that they can iron out the gaps that exist before the World Cup comes around.