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Australia selector John Inverarity opened the possibility of Shane Watson following Jacques Kallis by moving further down the order to No. 4 in future

Daniel Brettig16-Oct-2012As Cricket Australia mounted a vigorous defence of Shane Watson’s early departure from the Twenty20 Champions League, the national selector John Inverarity opened the possibility of the allrounder following Jacques Kallis by moving further down the order to No. 4 in future.Watson has often felt embarrassed by comparisons with Kallis, his modesty well founded given the vast difference between their respective Test batting averages (37.54 to 56.94) and tally of centuries (2 versus 43). Nevertheless, Watson at his best offers a similarly compelling combination of robust top-order batting and muscular bowling, and Inverarity said the example of Kallis dropping from Nos. 3 to 4 for reasons of longevity was an instructive one.He suggested Watson may be set for a similar move whenever one of Michael Hussey or Ricky Ponting retires, as they must at some point not too far distant. “Watson at No. 3, could be a No. 4…” Inverarity said. “If Michael Hussey or Ricky Ponting retired, and if we included Phil Hughes, then it could be Hughes at three and Watson at four. That’s feasible. Mickey [Arthur] often talks about Kallis, and a very good position for Kallis is bowling and batting at No. 4. I just think Watson’s flexible.”The Sydney Sixers general manager, Stuart Clark, has expressed irritation at plans to bring Watson home from the CLT20, particularly their seemingly hurried nature. CA’s team performance manager, Pat Howard, said while the call was recent, the option had been flagged some months earlier, and was a simple case of prioritising Test matches and not allowing last summer’s events repeat themselves.”He’s right, the final decision wasn’t made until recently,” Howard said. “This is a very big series against South Africa – Shane is an important cog for the national selection panel to have consideration of and the reality is you can’t play all the games in all the tournaments, all the time.”The fact that he’s an allrounder makes him a pretty unique proposition. We’re trying to avoid the same mistakes that we made 12 months ago. Stuart and I have been talking, and it has been reasonable. Outside the limelight it has been a fairly cordial conversation. I know this debate could keep going on but the reality is we’ve made a decision in the best interests of Australian cricket and in the best interests of Shane Watson.”Australia’s increasingly directed and cohesive management of players has reflected the growth of thinking among its decision-makers that fresh, intermittently rested players are going to produce far better results than those forced to traipse around on the constant merry-go-round of international cricket.Inverarity, the sage voice of more than 50 years’ experience in the game, said keeping players on the park for every match was no longer an option. He raised the example of Mitchell Starc as proof of how the judicious management of a player’s workload could result not only in keeping him fit but also allowing his skills to develop.”Rotation is not a dirty word, rotation is reality,” he said. “The cold, hard facts are a cricketer can’t just play every game, and last and perform at his best. And in the interests of developing some depth and creating opportunities for players, I think just phasing a few in and out is the best way to go.”Mitchell Starc played in the first two Tests against New Zealand, then we kept him around the group for the first two Tests against India. We then played four quicks in Perth and he was the fourth; he didn’t play in Adelaide. He came into the one-day series, we took him to the West Indies in a sort of development role. We had a couple of injuries and he came in for the last Test there.”Then he went to Yorkshire and learnt to bowl in England. I think the planning with Mitchell Starc over the last 12 months has been pretty good. You saw how well he bowled first in the UAE and then Sri Lanka. He has been the beneficiary of the amount that he has bowled and the circumstances in which he has bowled, and being kept close to the team.”

Jacob Oram is set for his international comeback after being included in New Zealand’s 12-man squad for the first two ODIs against Pakistan that start in Wellington on Sunday

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jan-2011Jacob Oram is set for his international comeback after being included in New Zealand’s 12-man squad for the first two ODIs against Pakistan that start in Wellington on Sunday.Oram was named in New Zealand’s World Cup squad having completed his rehabilitation from knee surgery and hasn’t played for New Zealand since August last year.Hamish Bennett, the 23-year-old paceman, is also included after playing the last of his two ODIs in October last year while three players named in the World Cup squad – uncapped Luke Woodcock, Kane Williamson and Kyle Mills – have been left out of to play domestic cricket.Williamson was in New Zealand’s side during their recent ODI series against India but has struggled for form in the Test series against Pakistan.New Zealand face a resurgent Pakistan side who completed their first Test series win since 2006 after drawing the Wellington Test. Allan Donald, who has recently been named as New Zealand’s bowling coach, will join the squad ahead of the opening ODI.Squad: Daniel Vettori, Hamish Bennett, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Jamie How, Brendon McCullum, Nathan McCullum, Jacob Oram, Jesse Ryder, Tim Southee, Scott Styris, Ross Taylor.

Piyush Chawla, the Kings XI Punjab legspinner who has made a comeback into the Indian team for the World Twenty20 in the West Indies, is eager to grab the opportunity and cement his place in the team

Cricinfo staff20-Apr-2010Piyush Chawla, the Kings XI Punjab legspinner who has made a comeback into the Indian team for the World Twenty20 in the West Indies, is eager to grab the opportunity and cement his place in the national side.”I have worked really hard during the last one-and-a-half years to earn my comeback. Now that the selectors have chosen me for the job, I need to deliver the goods and make a long-lasting impression. I want to be part of the Indian team for a longer period and for that the World Twenty20 will be the most important tournament for me. The competition is tough but I need to stand out,” Chawla told PTI.Chawla was pleased with his form in the IPL, where he picked 12 wickets in Punjab’s 14 league games. “I enjoyed bowling on the Indian tracks as I was able to extract turn from the wickets and was happy to deceive the batsmen in the air. I am in fine form and bowling with rhythm. The IPL was only a dress-rehearsal for the World Twenty20,” he said.Chawla was confident that the pitches in the West Indies would aid spin. “I have never played in the West Indies. But I have been told that the Caribbean wickets are quite similar to the Indian ones. So, I am quite keen on bowling there. I have had a good domestic seasons but my IPL form will give me the required boost and confidence,” he said.Chawla was excited by the prospect of playing a support role to first-choice spinner Harbhajan Singh during the tournament. “I have had the opportunity of bowling with Harbhajan Singh on several occasions. I remember bowling alongside him in Australia in 2008. I was selected with Bhajji when we won the first World Twenty20 in South Africa in 2007, but unfortunately got injured. I hope the combination can work for India.”The World Twenty20 begins five days after the finals of the IPL, raising the issue of fatigue, but Chawla believed that it would not be a problem. “I don’t think so [that fatigue will have an impact]. Our top players like MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan are in top form so I think this will help them in the West Indies because we won’t have to start from the scratch. Also we have had closer look at our opposition players, so it will help us in a big way,” Chawla said.

Warner’s farewell speech got emotional and he hopes “the young kids out there can follow in my footsteps”

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jan-2024David Warner ended a glittering Test career on Saturday at his home ground after 112 Tests with an eight-wicket win against Pakistan that culminated in a 3-0 series sweep. An emotional Warner spoke to the host broadcaster after the game in a farewell interview, on his Test career, watching the Australia Tests on the TV going ahead, the role his family played and how he would want to be remembered.Could you have ever dreamed it would finish like this – runs, 3-0 series victory, a Test win in front of your friends and family and an adoring SCG? They talk about fairytales, I can’t imagine it could get much better?
“It’s pretty much a dream come true. Win 3-0 and cap off what’s been a great 18 months to two years for the Australian cricket team. On the back of the World Test Championship win, Ashes series draw and then the World Cup and then to come here and finish 3-0 is an outstanding achievement and I’m just proud to be with a bunch of great cricketers here.”What do these guys mean to you? You’ve spent a lot of time with a lot of them, especially the bowlers, Starc and crew, it’s been a long journey.
“I think their ears are going to get a break in the change room which is great. These guys they work their backsides off. The engine room, the big three quicks plus Mitchell Marsh. They work tirelessly in the nets and in the gym and credit to them to stay in the park, the physios, the staff that are behind that is outstanding. Look at them, they’re amazing. And I don’t have to face them ever again in the nets. Which I don’t do anyway. So that helps.”Tell us about your own day. You woke up this morning. I’m sure your family was surrounding you. What were your thoughts at that stage, David?
“Just a casual walk up to the local cafe and get a cup of coffee with the young one. I just got into the car and packed a wine or two. Shouldn’t say that too loud, I’ll get in trouble. I felt happy and really, really proud. And just to come here in front of your home crowd with the support that they’ve shown me and the Australian cricket team over the my last decade or my career, I can’t thank them enough. Without you guys we aren’t able to do what we do and it’s really really much appreciated.The innings itself, talk us through the innings. You finished like the way you started, full of shots, through midwicket, reverse sweeps, pulled out every trick in the book and I can see you smiling about it.
“We’re in the entertainment business and I’m just happy to come out here and showcase what I try to do all the time. I started with T20 and tried to come out here and tried and emulate that but I tried to play my shots, go out the way that I have played. And yeah, managed to get a win on the board which is great.We saw your girls and your wife Candice up there in the stands, your mum and dad. What does family mean to you? Obviously, it’s an enormous part of your life, David.
“Massive part of your life and without their support you can’t do what you do. I owe credit to my parents for giving me a beautiful and great upbringing. My brother Steve, I followed in his footsteps. And then [my wife] Candice came along and sort of got me in line. We’ve had a beautiful family and I cherish every moment I get with them. I love them to death and I’m not going to keep carrying on because I’ll get too emotional. But thank you, Candice, for what you’ve done. You mean the world to me, and I appreciate it.These boys are up against the West Indies in a few weeks time. What do you think that will be like for you?
“I think it’d be quite emotional to watch the guys go out there and not play and knowing that I was able to come out here and do what I could do. But as I just mentioned you got a great bunch of cricketers here. We are all almost over 30 years of age. So as time goes by, we’re not getting younger, but this team, they’re energetic, they’re world class and they’re a great bunch of guys.How would you like to be remembered? David Warner was …
“[Would like to be remembered as] exciting, entertaining, and I hope I put a smile on everyone’s face with the way that I played and hopefully the young kids out there can follow in my footsteps. White-ball cricket to Test cricket. It’s the pinnacle of our sport. So keep working hard to play the red-ball game because it’s entertaining as well.”

Facing the media for the first time since his recent selection, Sharjeel spent a lot of time defending himself against insinuations

Danyal Rasool23-Mar-2021For most players, a meteoric comeback to the national side four years after a player’s last involvement would be cause for unbridled joy and celebration. But in the case of Sharjeel Khan, things aren’t quite as simple. This was a player who seemed to fill a niche nakedly absent in Pakistan’s T20I set-up about half a decade ago – that of a power-hitter up top – and seemed earmarked for a lucrative career in the T20 game. All of a sudden, then, things imploded, and any hopes of involvement at the highest level seemed remote.The factors counting against Sharjeel’s inclusion have been numerous, at times overwhelmingly so. He was among a slew of players found guilty of spot fixing in the PSL in 2017, and alongside Khaled Latif, handed the longest sanction: a five-year ban (half of it suspended in the left-hand batsman’s case). Upon expiry of the ban, he returned to fierce criticism from PCB CEO Wasim Khan, not normally known for singling out players, lambasting him for turning up to the PSL unfit. Now that he has finally been selected after he was the top-scorer in the truncated PSL, chief selector Mohammad Wasim’s decision to include him – purportedly in contravention to the wishes of several senior members of the PCB’s management – continues to cause rumblings of discontent.Facing the media for the first time since he was chosen for the T20I squad that will play a handful of games in South Africa and Zimbabwe, the opener was forced to spend much of it defending himself against insinuations that he was still unfit for international cricket. On more than one occasion, he pointed to the amount of cricket he had played in the last six months, insisting it vindicated him.Related

• Misbah forced to defend Sharjeel selection, insists fitness not compromised

• Sharjeel Khan given fitness targets before T20I return

• Sharjeel's fitness 'not great' but he remains a match-winner – Babar

• Sharjeel returns to T20I side for tour of SA and Zimbabwe

• 'Focus on your own cricket' – PCB CEO Wasim Khan pulls up Hafeez

“Fitness is not an issue for me,” he told an online media conference. “I have played the full domestic season, and missed no match in seven months because of fitness. Every player has a different kind of fitness, and the plan I have been given I am following to the hilt. I am very happy to come back into the Pakistan side. I worked very hard, played a full domestic season, the whole PSL. It made for 60 playing days during which I played with full focus. The camp is going well, the environment is great and I just want to continue the hard work.”While former head coach Mickey Arthur had taken an inflexible, uncompromising hard line of fitness using a one-size fits all approach, there have been suggestions the current heads at the PCB are more malleable in their viewpoint. Mohammad Wasim spoke last week about different attributes required of different kinds of players, and while Sharjeel claims he accepted he needed to continue working on his fitness, he appeared to suggest his skills with bat in hand were ultimately what counted.”Being a professional cricketer, I am focusing not just on fitness but also on my batting,” he said. “Fitness is not everything, though of course it is very important, but I am working on my skills to a great extent, too. I am thrilled with my comeback, though I am aware the tour will be challenging. There are the one-dayers first, so that will give me time to suss out the conditions. I want not just to give good individual performances, but those that help the side out.”Fitness is required of everyone. The fitness session I conducted yesterday was an individual session. I had been given a plan by our trainer Yasir Malik. I’m trying to improve my fitness as soon as possible. I had a training session over the day that required a 15-kilometre drill – not in one go, but over the day. I was happy with how it went, and I am continuing to improve. Nobody has set me an ultimatum to reduce weight. Nobody has set me a task, I am just trying to reach a certain standard consistent with that of my peers.”Uncomfortable questions about the past still surfaced, though Sharjeel claimed he was never once made to feel unwelcome with the national side, despite the damaging cause behind his lengthy exclusion. “These are the same group of players who have been playing each other in domestic cricket. The environment is great and I feel really good, and I feel very comfortable with the players. Nobody has come up to me and told me I should not be selected. My focus is completely on performance.”In different circumstances, Sharjeel’s inclusion might have been one of the feel-good stories of the tour. While that is very much not the case for now, Pakistan’s cricket history indicates just about everything can be forgiven as long as the performances continue to flow. In that sense, for a man who had everything taken out of his hands four years ago, Sharjeel may yet be in control of his own destiny.

After becoming Stuart Broad’s bunny in last year’s Ashes, the Australia opener now has his hands full with another England quick

Andrew McGlashan14-Sep-2020This time last year David Warner was about to be dismissed by Stuart Broad for the seventh and final time in his horror Ashes series. His other three dismissals during the five Tests were at the hands of Jofra Archer and it is a duel which has resumed over the last couple of weeks in T20Is and now the ODIs with Archer claiming Warner every innings.In Warner’s defence, he had a half century to his name in the first T20 before giving himself room against a rapid yorker and the two deliveries to remove in the ODIs at Old Trafford have been beauties: one that nipped past his bat to take off stump and then a rearing shorter delivery which nicked the edge through to Jos Buttler.However, with seven dismissals of Warner in just 10 matches against him, Archer is already at No. 7 in the bowlers to dismiss the left hander most frequently – a table unsurprisingly headed by Broad. There is one more chance on Wednesday for the pair to go head-to-head, with the one-day series on the line, then Covid permitting there is the tantalising prospect of them perhaps meeting each other at next year’s T20 World Cup and then almost certainly in the Ashes.Here’s a reminder of a battle that, so far, has gone the way of the England quick:ESPNcricinfo Ltd

2nd Test, Lord’s, 2nd innings: c Burns, b Archer 53.3 got him! Length ball, doesn’t do much off the pitch but Warner dangles his bat – prods at it really – and the ball flies off the outside edge into the gully where Burns takes a sharp low catch. What a start for England…3rd Test, Headingley, 1st innings: c Bairstow b Archer 6131.4 finds the edge this time! Precision engineering from Archer, he recalibrates by a couple of millimetres and rips out Warner to get the crowd on their feet! Touching 90mph, straightening off the pitch as Warner felt for it on off stump – not much he could do to play a ball like that, bar miss it. Bulls-eye from Archer to remove the Bull!5th Test, The Oval, 1st innings: c Bairstow b Archer 51.5 flash and miss trying to cut. There’s a shout from England, given not out, and they review! They thought he hit it. Looks to be a gap between ball and bat on the replay. Ultra Edge says … there’s a tiny spike! He’s given out! Decision overturned. Wow. Legitimately looked like he missed it1st T20, Ageas Bowl: b Archer 5815.2 bowled him! Warner gives himself room for an inside-out drive, Archer follows him from round the wicket, and the ball cannons off the pads into the leg stump! Now then … it’s a big ask for England, but there are two brand-new batsmen at the crease…2nd T20I, Ageas Bowl: c Buttler b Archer 00.3 given caught behind, and Warner has reviewed straight away! He made the call in the instant he was given. Another cracking delivery, short of a length, nips back at Warner and beats the inside edge, but the replay shows that glanced the glove!1st ODI, Old Trafford: b Archer 63.1 ripper, Archer gets Warner again! 90mph/144kph, bit of late movement to beat Warner’s defences, and Archer pegs back the top of his off stump! That’s an absolute beauty, and England have a breakthrough. Warner’s stunned facial expression tells the story – as close to unplayable as it gets2nd ODI, Old Trafford: c Buttler b Archer 63.4 got him again! Archer has the wood on Warner. This was a scorcher at 91 mph, back of a length and moves across, has Warner poking at it in the channel. Awkward height too, with the ball near rib-cage. Takes a thin edge through to Buttler.

Her absence leaves the England team thinner on their spin stocks after Laura Marsh had also pulled up injured earlier

Annesha Ghosh26-Feb-2019England left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone has been ruled out of the remainder of the tour of India after fracturing the fifth metacarpal on her right hand during a warm-up session ahead of the second ODI on Monday.Ecclestone, who will fly home and not return for the tour of Sri Lanka, was not part of a select group of players who trained at Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday. This was a result of scans revealing the extent of her injury after the second ODI, with Ecclestone going wicketless while conceding 31 runs in seven overs as England lost by seven wickets. England thus are still searching for their maiden bilateral series win in India.Ecclestone, however, was, the pick of the England bowlers in the tour opener, taking 2 for 27 in a losing cause, picking up the wickets of Jemimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma.The 19-year-old Ecclestone is the second spinner England have lost to injury on this tour, after Laura Marsh, the offspinner, sustained a side strain ahead of the first ODI.”Yes, we lost the option of the ball going away from the left-handers with Laura picking up the injury,” captain Heather Knight had said after the loss on Monday. “Yeah, [her absence] potentially cost us a little bit. Losing Laura was a big disappointment for us.”Marsh was picked as a like-for-like replacement for the now-retired Danielle Hazell, but missed the first two games, and is unlikely to return for the third. She is, however, expected to recover in time for the ODI series in Sri Lanka.With Ecclestone and Marsh ruled out, England are left with only two frontline spinners in their squad: left-armer Alex Hartley and legspinning-allrounder Sophia Dunkley, who has yet to play a game in this series. However, left-arm spinner Linsey Smith, who is not officially part of the ODI squad but has been accompanying the team with a view to acclimatising to the conditions ahead of the T20I series, will be available for selection for the third ODI.A replacement for Ecclestone, meanwhile, will be named after the third and final ODI on Thursday.In December 2018, another promising young left-arm spinner, Kirstie Gordon, was ruled out of action with a stress fracture of her lower back after she made a promising start to her England career with vital contributions to England’s runners-up finish in the T20 World Cup in November.

The allrounder, who is returning form injury, will take the field for Baroda instead of India A with a view to specifically get match fit for Boxing Day

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Dec-2018Hardik Pandya, who is set to return to competitive cricket in Baroda’s match against Mumbai in the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy, is also targeting a comeback to the Indian Test side that is currently playing in Australia.Hardik had been sidelined with a back injury sustained during the Asia Cup in September, and he was originally selected in the India A squad for their three-match one-day series against New Zealand A. However, he said it made sense to focus his energies on the longest format first, with the ODIs against Australia only scheduled after the Test series ends.”If I am playing a Test match, I should play a four-day game (rather) than one-day,” Hardik told on Thursday. “Because one-day is later on. I am focusing right now that if I can make it to the team, because there is scope of me making a comeback into the Test team, if I am fit to play a Test match. That’s why I wanted to take my time and see where exactly I stand in Ranji Trophy.”Playing a Test match is a different league. The workload goes very high, so I wanted to see if I can manage the workload. I knew I would get enough match preparation before the Australia ODIs. Therefore I focused on playing Ranji Trophy.”India will play their second Test against Australia in Perth from Friday. That still leaves room for Hardik to be added to the squad before the last two matches, the Boxing Day and New Year Tests in Melbourne and Sydney.”Before I go for any major series, I wanted to see where exactly I stand,” Hardik said. “Ranji Trophy is the best domestic tournament. I wanted to check my fitness levels there, and then take a call about how I am feeling and what should be the next step. Right now, I am only focusing on the Ranji Trophy and then obviously, I want to get back to the team as soon as possible, because it’s difficult to stay away for so long.”Baroda are currently in fifth place on the combined Groups A and B points table with 13 points, while Mumbai, who have played four matches to Baroda’s five, are in 16th place with just five points. The top five teams at the end of the league stage in the two groups combined will qualify for the quarter-finals.

Paul Farbrace conceded that England don’t have the bowlers to compete on flat wickets, but refused to criticise the efforts of his team

George Dobell in Perth16-Dec-2017It tells you everything you need to know about England’s fortunes that, in one of the driest cities in the world, their best chance of achieving the draw that would sustain their Ashes campaign is the hope of rain.Australia scored 346 runs for the loss of just one wicket on the third day as England’s attack was rendered impotent by some fine batting and a flat pitch. The Australia lead is already 146 and there is plenty of power to add. If Australia win the game, they will regain the Ashes by taking an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series. But if England gain a draw, they can still retain the urn if they win the last two matches by virtue of the holding them at present.But despite the chastening nature of the day, Paul Farbrace had no criticism for the England bowlers. Instead the England assistant coach, a man brought out to explain such grim days for England with such regularity you wonder whether he should carry a scythe, praised their efforts but conceded the English system was not producing spin or pace bowlers required for such conditions. He also suggested that a lack of ruthlessness with the bat on day two had allowed Australia back into the game.The problem, he concluded, was that England simply don’t have the bowlers to unlock strong batting line-ups on flat pitches.”There’s always something for our bowlers in England,” Farbrace said. “A little bit of swing or a little bit of movement off the surface. We saw that in Adelaide when there was a little bit of swing or movement off the surface, we have high quality bowlers who can exploit those conditions.Craig Overton is caught in a tangle near the boundary•Associated Press

“But when it comes to flatter pitches, we don’t have that express pace. And we haven’t got the highest quality of magical spin. On flat wickets like this in Australia you need to be able to bowl 90-plus mph to have a chance of making a difference. They have a group of high-quality bowlers to do so.”I’m not being critical of our bowlers. I’m being honest. We don’t have bowlers bowling 90mph-plus in our set-up and we don’t have too many waiting in the wings to come in. And one or two that do bowl that pace can only bowl four-over spells. So they’re not exactly ideal for Test cricket.”We need to find those quick bowlers. And yes, in the long term, something needs to be done.”It has been an exceptionally tough day for our bowlers. But we feel we have managed to get stuck in and compete as hard as possible. In the field we have tried our best to back the bowlers up. I don’t think we have been flat, or lacking effort. On that wicket, we just haven’t got anything else to offer.”What can we do? We have tried various ideas and plans. The majority of ways we have of taking wickets with the attack we have is to be monotonous with line and length, and we have tried that. They have been very honest, toiled away with what they have got and on that flat surface they’ve found it exceptionally hard work.”Despite the scorecard, Farbrace hinted that the turning point of the match came when England let slip a strong foundation with the bat. England were well poised at 368 for 4 before a collapse saw the last six wickets fall for the addition of just 35 runs.”When you get yourself into a position where you can go on and make 550 and compete in the game…” Farbrace said. “And it’s been a pattern in this series. We have got in good positions and we have either not been good enough or they have been better and taken the initiative away.”It was very disappointing to be in a position where 550 looked a good score for us. It does knock the stuffing out of you a bit.”Two blokes played out of their boots and got us from 140 for 4 to 400 but it’s shown that it wasn’t enough. The two today have shown that, when you get in, you have to be greedy and go on and get big scores. That’s what the best teams do and we haven’t been able to do that.”But Farbrace insisted the Ashes had not gone and called upon England to show “some guts and determination” over the last couple of days.”It’s going to be tough,” he said. “We have to believe we can fight hard over the next two days and make sure there’s still a contest to keep going.”We’ve got to show some guts and determination. We’ve got to fight as hard as we possibly can. And if we get into a position where we were in the first innings, we have to make sure we capitalise on it.”

The Tamil Nadu batsman’s 181-ball knock, featuring 12 fours and two sixes, helped India Red recover from 159 for 7 to finish the first day at 291 for 9

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Sep-2017Stumps:
File Photo – B Indrajith waltzed to his fifth first-class hundred, making an unbeaten 120 off 181 balls•PTI

B Indrajith notched up an unbeaten 120 to shepherd India Red to 291 for 9 at stumps on the first day after India Green reduced them to 159 for 7 at Green Park. After captain Dinesh Karthik elected to bat, the India Red openers failed to build on strong starts before fast bowler Ankit Rajpoot broke into the middle order.Indrajith’s 181-ball knock, featuring 12 fours and two sixes, came against the backdrop of India Red capitulating from 70 for no loss to 123 for 5 in under 40 overs, before losing the next four wickets for another 82 runs. Batting at No.4, Indrajith cruised to his fifth first-class hundred, despite finding little support at the other end. Even as his side kept losing wickets at regular intervals, Indrajith added 86 unbroken runs for the last wicket with Vijay Gohil, who struck a 35-ball 22.Opener Priyank Panchal, coming off twin centuries in the previous game, fell for 36 after a 70-run opening stand with Sudip Chatterjee (34). After Rajpoot trapped Panchal in front in the 25th over, Suresh Raina accounted for Chatterjee seven balls later.Of the seven bowlers used by India Blue, Rajpoot was the most effective, picking up three wickets for 44 runs. Barring Pankaj Rao, all of the others picked up at least one wicket, with Jaydev Unadkat bagging 2 for 64.