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India were coasting towards a convincing victory before a spirited late fightback from the South African tail made the home side sweat right upto the final delivery

The Bulletin by Sriram Veera21-Feb-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outRavindra Jadeja and Suresh Raina were two of the key contributors to the win•AFP

It went down to the last ball but when Jacques Kallis fell in the 43rd over, with South Africa requiring an improbable 74 from 43 balls and only two wickets in hand, it looked like game, set and match to India. From there, Dale Steyn and Wayne Parnell threatened to pull of an incredible heist but India held their nerve to clinch a final-ball win in Jaipur.The quality of cricket was actually below-par from both sides – India’s bowling threatened to completely disintegrate under the pressure and barring Kallis, South Africa’s batting was quite dismal – but the contest was made memorable by the tailenders Steyn and Parnell.
This is how it panned out in the end: Steyn lashed two straight sixes in the 46th over bowled by Suresh Raina, the pair pinched three boundaries in the 48th over bowled by an errant Sreesanth and when both batsmen struck audacious sixes down the ground against Ashish Nehra in the 49th over, South Africa required only 10 from the last over.Praveen Kumar bowled Steyn with a slower one off the second delivery but the drama wasn’t over yet. Charl Langeveldt pulled the penultimate delivery to long leg where Sachin Tendulkar dived full-stretch to prevent the boundary. Many replays later, the third umpire ruled it a legal save and South Africa had to be content with three runs but had the well-set Parnell on strike for the last delivery. More excitement lay ahead as Praveen hurled a wide leaving South Africa needing three to win. Parnell squeezed out the final delivery to third man where Sreesanth fielded the ball cleanly and threw in a slightly wide throw but MS Dhoni had enough time to break the stumps with Parnell just one yard short of levelling the scores.Until those dramatic end overs where India threatened to choke, they had actually done most things necessary to win the game. No batsman got a big score, but there were enough handy contributions from the top-order to push India to a strong 298. No bowler got more than two wickets but there was enough combined discipline in the attack, till they crumbled under the Steyn & Parnell show, to restrict South Africa.For their part, South Africa might have come very close in the end but the stand-in captain Jacques Kallis was the only top-order batsman to offer any resistance in the chase where Ravindra Jadeja starred for India with his unspectacular but steady spell of left-arm spin where he used the arm-ball quite liberally to keep the batsmen honest. When Jadeja came on to bowl South Africa were sitting pretty at 60 for 1 from nine overs. When he finished his first spell that read 8-2-23-2, and included the vital wickets of Herschelle Gibbs and AB de Villiers, South Africa had slowed down to 127 for 3 from 24 overs.He didn’t get the ball to turn but repeatedly slipped the one that went straight on with the arm to suffocate the batsmen. The ball also tended to skid on in this surface and at times kept a touch low and the batsmen struggled to put away his armers. He lured Gibbs to slice to long-off and troubled both Kallis and de Villiers with his skidding deliveries. de Villiers tried to wriggle free with an attempted cut shot that proved fatal as he completely failed to connect.From then on South Africa were always chasing their own tail despite Kallis’ effort and though Steyn and Parnell played the one-day innings of their lives, they fell short in the end.Like South Africa, India too didn’t have any centurion today but, unlike the visitors, there were enough contributions to charge them to a strong score. On a day when Virender Sehwag played a couple of typically stunning shots – a slashed six over third man and another flamboyantly carved over covers being the picks – two innings, from men who are yet to secure their spots in the playing eleven, caught the eye. Karthik’s entertaining 44 and Raina’s attractive 58 stood out for their sparkling shots, and also for their untimely dismissals. Both fell when they were well-set and had the opportunity to take India to an unassailable position.Jacques Kallis got little support from the other top-order batsmen•AFP

India were at 32 for the loss of Tendulkar in seven overs when Karthik started to go for his shots. Until then, he was playing the conventional strokes and even timing them well but was unable to find the gaps.Everything changed in the eighth over bowled by Parnell. The first ball, a short of a length delivery outside off stump, was flat-batted – a forehand cross-court swat – over the bowler’s head. Off the third delivery, he walked down the track to upset the line and length and whipped through midwicket for another boundary and a pull off the fifth delivery fetched him a couple before he collected another pulled boundary off the last ball.Karthik continued to innovate and play the big shots – a slog-swept six against Johan Botha being the highlight – before he fell. This ability to manufacture shots and pull out the big hits irrespective of the match situation has been his strength and weakness. Shot selection hasn’t always been his strong point but it looked like today was going to be his day until he was dismissed against the run of play, mistiming a pull shot off Langeveldt straight to mid-on.Raina took over after Karthik’s exit, starting off with a delightful, on-the-up, cover-driven boundary off Albie Morkel, and handled himself well against the short stuff from Kallis. The pitch was a flat beauty and there wasn’t great pace or bounce to cause any trouble and Raina collected boundaries with upper cuts and a couple of pull shots. He went on to heave a back-of-length delivery from Parnell over wide long-on boundary but in the 44th over, with India on 260 for 6, he moved away from the stumps to try an expansive inside-out drive over the covers, only to edge Kallis behind the wicket.It was left to the tail to push India towards 300, which proved more than enough in the end courtesy a fine spell from Jadeja. Kallis carried on gamely with a characteristic innings but he received no support from his team-mates: Mark Boucher edged a slightly wide delivery, Alviro Petersen was run out as he failed to ground his bat, and both Morkel and Botha fell playing across the line. Kallis dealt in singles initially, put away most of the bad balls, and tried to manufacture a few big shots in the end overs but the stiff target proved too much for him to pull off a one-man-show. Steyn and Parnell nearly pulled off the improbable but couldn’t complete a fairy-tale finish.

Mohammad Yousuf has been appointed Pakistan captain for the Test tour of New Zealand in November with Kamran Akmal as his deputy, according to media reports

Cricinfo staff11-Nov-2009Mohammad Yousuf has been appointed Pakistan captain for the Test tour of New Zealand later this month with Kamran Akmal as his deputy. The appointment came after Younis Khan sought a break from cricket following the ODI series defeat to New Zealand in Abu Dhabi, Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, said.”I have taken this decision after giving it serious thought,” Younis told AFP. “Since I am not in the best of form, I need rest and there is no personal grudge against anyone, that’s for sure. I want to tell my fans that I am not finished, I will come back. My country comes first, more than my family and more than myself.”Butt said he had no objection to Younis seeking a break. “We did appoint Younis captain until the 2011 World Cup, subject to his performance and fitness, but we have no objection to him asking for a rest, and I don’t think it’s a turmoil in Pakistan cricket,” he said.Pakistan’s 2-1 loss, after winning the first game, sparked criticism of Younis’ captaincy and media reports suggested he had lost the confidence of his players. The teams play two Twenty20 internationals on Thursday and Friday and Pakistan leave for New Zealand on Sunday.Yousuf’s appointment marks a full comeback for the batsman, who only recently was in exile from the national team for his involvement with the ICL. More importantly, it is the latest development in a period of uncertainty over the Pakistan captaincy that began after their semi-final defeat to New Zealand in the ICC Champions Trophy..Younis resigned as captain following that loss and it was believed that suspicions of match-fixing raised in the aftermath of Pakistan’s Champions Trophy semi-final exit, and murmurs about factions in the team and management working to undermine Younis, led to the decision.The PCB, however, rejected his resignation and Butt had a meeting with Younis, where Younis said he would return only if certain conditions were met. Stability of tenure was one, though those close to Younis insist he didn’t want an assurance till the 2011 World Cup. A streamlining of the selection process, as well as changes in the team management were thought to be the other conditions. Younis then took back his resignation and said that he was happy to return as captain following the wave of support he received.

Fourth-innings chase completed in an hour and a quarter on final morning

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay27-Sep-2025Essex 438 (Walter 158, Elgar 118, Overton 6-88) and 99 for 3 beat Somerset 433 (Goldsworthy 100, Thomas 86, Rew 74, Overton 60) and 99 (Thomas 39, Porter 4-18) by seven wicketsTwenty-year-old Charlie Allison kept his head during an otherwise nervy hour and a quarter as Essex claimed a seven-wicket victory to round off the Rothesay County Championship season.Allison, one of Essex’s stand-out performers during an otherwise disappointing season, finished the game with a second six off Jake Ball over long leg. He was 32 not out from 34 balls as Essex reached their target of 95 from just 18.4 overs.Lewis Gregory had given Somerset some hope of an unlikely upset by removing Dean Elgar and Tom Westley inside the first six overs before taking the catch in the deep to end Paul Walter’s tone-setting innings. Walter, a first-innings centurion, had amassed 30 from 31 balls when he departed with 39 runs still required.The Somerset captain was fired up in the face of desperate odds against and caused jitters in the Essex ranks as he repeatedly beat the outside edge of the bat. He bowled through unchanged and was rewarded with figures of 2 for 43 from his nine overs.For two-and-a-half days it looked like the game would peter out into a tame draw with handshakes accepted in mid-afternoon and the curtain brought down on a forgettable Championship season for both sides. However, that was before Jamie Porter initiated a collapse of monumental proportions amid the gloom of a day-three afternoon and early evening.Essex had subsided themselves earlier in the day from an overnight 295 for 2 to 438 all out and a nominal lead of five runs. But in 34 overs reminiscent of some of Essex’s glory years of the recent past, they rolled Somerset over for 99 with Porter taking 4 for 18 and falling just one wicket short of another 50-wicket haul for the season.Essex had already confirmed their Division One survival during this final match while Somerset had settled for the no-man’s land of mid-table. Three successive wins in May had even suggested a title challenge that did not materialise.However, with all day to knock off the runs, a modicum of tension was introduced in only the second over. Having put on 277 for the first wicket in the first innings, the opening partnership lasted just seven balls. Elgar departed for a golden duck, rapped conclusively on his front pad by Gregory without getting anywhere near the ball.Westley withstood the rest of a torrid over from Gregory but got off the mark with a characteristic drive through midwicket for four off Craig Overton. He followed that with an emphatic pull through midwicket off Gregory for a second boundary before he, too, fell to the same bowler. After putting on a run-a-ball 28 with Walter, Westley nibbled at one outside off stump and wicketkeeper James Rew dived in front of first slip to claim the catch.Walter had been busy turning twos into threes to the extent that Essex reached fifty from just nine overs when Allison walked down the pitch and smashed Overton through extra over for four.Overton had been relatively expensive, his five overs costing 25, but his replacement Ball struck with his first ball when Walter went for a big heave and paid the price.Allison made sure the target came down quickly and deposited Ball over long leg for six to take Essex within two runs of the target and then repeated the act to complete the victory.

Australia are expected to hand a T20I cap to Tim David, while Pant has something to prove for India

Sruthi Ravindranath19-Sep-20223:48

Jaffer backs Karthik over Pant in the India XI

Big Picture

Post the 2021 T20 World Cup, India have played a total of 29 T20Is heading into this series. Australia, meanwhile, have played just nine. Irrespective of their prep, Australia might turn up in their usual confident manner at the T20 World Cup – but this time they’ll have to defend the title in their backyard. And they have quite a bit to figure out compared to their better-prepped opponents.In the age of packed cricket calendars and schedules, it does seem quite surprising that these two teams haven’t played each other in a T20I since December 2020. India won that away series 2-1, while Australia won the last T20I series they played in India, in February 2019. Also, how can we forget match in Mohali, when Virat Kohli left Australia speechless? Irrespective of the format, the meetings between these two countries have always been high-octane and largely competitive, and this series should be no different, provided Australia can overcome a few selection questions.Related

• Tim David's long-awaited Australia debut is finally on

• Fit-again Harshal adds more strings to T20 bow

• Smith to bat at No. 3 in India T20Is in Mitch Marsh's absence

• Rahul: 'No one is perfect; strike rate is something I am working at'

Their captain Aaron Finch’s recent form seems to be among the biggest of concerns. Steven Smith’s middling strike rate has also raised questions around his place in the XI. And, Australia are without the injured trio of Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Marsh and Marcus Stoinis for this series, while David Warner has been rested. The team playing this series looks quite different from Australia’s first-choice World Cup side. But it does give Australia the space to experiment with the back-ups but they will also want to build a winning momentum. They have five more matches after this series – a two-match series against West Indies and three T20Is against England at home – before the T20 World Cup.It’ll be interesting to see how Tim David, who will be in Australia colours for the first time, fits into the international set-up. Australia are also likely to experiment with Josh Inglis, making him open alongside Finch. Finch said there will be a lot of “mixing and matching” ahead of the World Cup.India, meanwhile, have had some time to figure out what has worked for them and, more importantly, what hasn’t. They’re back home after some travelling, having won bilateral T20I series in Ireland, England and the Caribbean. But it was their most recent prep – at the Asia Cup – that left them with key takeaways.After the Asia Cup Super 4s exit, captain Rohit Sharma said India were “90-95% settled” ahead of the T20 World Cup. Their aggressive approach has largely worked out well. Kohli finally hit form, so his place in the XI is – at least for now – no longer a debate. They are entering the series with the strongest available squad and will be looking to mainly focus on making roles clearer.4:48

Hodge: Australia shouldn’t look back from this point when it comes to Tim David

The return of Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel means Hardik Pandya no longer has to be the third seamer in the side. India will also want to see how they can use the likes of allrounders Axar Patel and Deepak Hooda better. Rohit was clear KL Rahul has his backing as the opener. As for Pant, India will be hoping he comes good in the series. India still have a home series against South Africa to go before the T20 World Cup to further firm up their plans.

Form guide

India WLLWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Australia LWWWL

In the spotlight

All eyes will be on Tim David, who will be looking to showcase his power-hitting skills, this time in Australia colours. The Singapore-born batter has impressed in various T20 competitions, most recently in the IPL as well, and he’ll be looking to replicate his success on the international stage. His big-hitting skills aside, his ability to take on spinners and quicks alike makes him a must-have in a T20 side. He averages 32.48 with a strike rate of 164.12 in T20s. He is likely to take up the middle-order spot in Stoinis’ absence in this series. But Australia will not be able to accommodate him if both Stoinis and Marsh are fit when the World Cup begins. It’s Smith’s position that appears a bit vulnerable as of now – but he too has the reputation of being the anchor in the XI – so it remains to be seen how Australia fit David into their XI at the World Cup.Rishabh Pant is yet to find his mojo in T20Is•Associated Press

Rishabh Pant has not quite been able to live up to the expectations in the T20 format. In T20Is since 2020, he has averaged just 27.63 and has struck at 129.95 in 32 innings. At the Asia Cup, Pant had to be brought into the XI in place of Dinesh Karthik following an injury to Ravindra Jadeja as India wanted a left-hand batter in the middle. But he could only make scores of 17 and 14 against Sri Lanka and Pakistan respectively in the Super 4s. While having Pant and Karthik in the squad offers them flexibility, it looks like India can currently accommodate only one of the two in the XI. Pant will have to make use of his time in the middle in the upcoming T20Is to get back into form before the T20 World Cup.

Team news

Umesh Yadav, who was originally meant to undergo rehab for a quad injury in Bengaluru, has been called into the squad after Mohammed Shami tested positive for Covid-19. But with the return of Bumrah and Harshal, India are unlikely to play Umesh in the XI.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 KL Rahul, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Rishabh Pant/ Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Axar Patel, 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar/ Deepak Chahar, 9 Harshal Patel, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Jasprit BumrahWith Marsh absent, Smith will bat at No. 3 against India. David looks set to make his Australia debut in the middle order. Australia are also likely to play Inglis – who has so far played at No. 3 and in the middle order in T20Is – as an opener and push Matthew Wade down the order. Cameron Green, who has been impressive with the ball and the bat, has been brought back into the T20I squad – having played a solitary match in April this year – and is also likely to find a place in the XI.Australia (probable): 1 Aaron Finch (capt), 2 Josh Inglis, 3 Steven Smith, 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Matthew Wade (wk), 6 Tim David, 7 Cameron Green, 8 Adam Zampa, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Sean Abbott/ Daniel Sams

Pitch and conditions

It is expected to be partly cloudy and humid in Mohali tomorrow, with a 25% chance of precipitation in the evening. In T20s since 2018, the chasing team has won seven out of 11 matches at the ground. On the eve of the match, Finch said the wicket had “a bit of grass on it”.

Stats and trivia

• Kohli’s 718 runs against Australia are the most by any player against an opposition in men’s T20Is
• Australia have won each of their last three T20Is in India
• Jasprit Bumrah has dismissed Glenn Maxwell seven times in 15 meetings in T20s

Quotes

“… Only we know what role is expected of each person. Everyone is trying to give their best, and not every time will a player succeed. And that is the kind of environment we have created, that players are not afraid to play, or players are not afraid to make mistakes.”
“The last thing you want to do is have an injury derail your whole campaign because you’re pigeon-holed into playing one style of cricket or one structure of team.”

England (88 points) have dropped to their lowest rating in Test cricket since 1995

ESPNcricinfo staff04-May-2022Australia have consolidated their top position in the ICC men’s Test team rankings, while India and New Zealand remain the No.1 teams in the T20I and ODI rankings, respectively.The ICC’s annual update reflects all completed series since May 2019. The series played before May 2021 are now weighted at 50 per cent and subsequent ones at 100 per cent.

Full rankings tables

• Click here for the full team rankings

• Click here for the full player rankings

Australia extended their lead to nine points over second-placed India in the Test rankings, following a 4-0 thrashing of England in the home Ashes series at the turn of the year, and a 1-0 win in Pakistan. They now have 128 points.Pakistan have moved above England to fourth place in the Test rankings•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

India have gained a point to move to 119, and, with England’s 4-1 series win over India in 2018 now dropped from the rankings, they are at 88 points, their lowest since 1995. England’s home series against India, which began in 2021, will be included in the rankings post the completion of the fifth and final Test scheduled for July.India remained second following their home series wins against New Zealand, West Indies, and Sri Lanka, with tight competition for third between New Zealand (111) and South Africa (110). Pakistan (93) are fifth ahead of England.The gap between the top two ODI teams is down to just one point•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Meanwhile, in the ODI rankings, England have done well to close their gap from three points to one below leaders New Zealand (125 points) after overcoming Sri Lanka 2-0 and Pakistan 3-0 – both series at home – in the World Cup Super League, collecting 55 points.This has widened the gap between England and third-placed Australia (107) from seven to 17 points after the latter dropped five points. Though Australia produced two wins in three matches against West Indies, they dropped two matches on their tour of Pakistan. It also meant Pakistan (105) jumped one spot to fifth, replacing South Africa and reducing their gap from India (102) to three points.New Zealand have slipped two places to No. 6 in the T20I rankings•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

In T20Is, India have extended their lead over second-placed England from one to five points. Pakistan occupy the third spot. South Africa and Australia have jumped one spot each to fourth and fifth, respectively. New Zealand lost two places to drop to No.6 while West Indies remained in seventh.Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have both gained one position to be placed eighth and ninth, respectively. Afghanistan, who lost two places, occupy the tenth spot.Overall, the number of ranked teams has come down to 72 from 91, with each team being required to play a minimum of six rated matches since May 2019. Fiji, Costa Rica, Japan, South Korea, St Helena, China, Indonesia, and Myanmar have not played since May 2019 and have lost their rating.

Barbados quick-turned-coach dies following collision with SUV near Bridgetown

Andrew Miller06-Feb-2021Ezra Moseley, the former West Indies fast bowler, has died at the age of 63 following a traffic accident in his native Barbados.According to local reports, Moseley, who burst onto the scene with Glamorgan in 1980 and played a brief but significant role in two Tests against England in 1990, was struck by a car while riding his bicycle in Christ Church, near Bridgetown, and pronounced dead at the scene.”It has come as a shock to hear of the passing of Ezra Moseley, earlier today, with the tragic news coming out of Barbados,” CWI director of cricket, Jimmy Adams, said. “The entire CWI family are deeply saddened. Ezra was one of our region’s premier fast bowlers from the late ’70s through the ’80s and into the early ’90s, when he went on to play for the West Indies after playing professionally in the Caribbean, England and South Africa.”After his playing day were over Ezra continued to serve cricket in the region by coaching at the junior levels in Barbados and moving into positions with our international women’s team. On behalf of CWI I want to extend our sincere condolences to his family and let them know they are in our thoughts and prayers at this time.”Had it not been for a stress fracture in his back, diagnosed at the age of 24, Moseley might well have risen to become a more vaunted member of the seemingly endless line of West Indian fast bowlers that ruled the sport in the 1980s and early 90s.Instead, he ended up securing a shorter but undeniably significant place in West Indies’ Test history, due in no small part to one delivery that arguably changed the course of his one and only series.As the sole member of the 1983 rebel tour to South Africa to overturn his life ban from the sport, Moseley managed to overcome the opprobrium that tarred most of the other members of the tour party, and having returned to Barbados after a spell with Eastern Province, he was selected to make his Test debut at Port-of-Spain at the age of 32.West Indies were in some disarray going into that contest, having lost the opening Test of the series in sensational fashion to Graham Gooch’s unfancied England team, and with a team shorn of their captain Viv Richards as well as Patrick Patterson and Malcolm Marshall, they were once again up against it in Trinidad, with England chasing an obtainable 151 to claim a 2-0 series lead.Graham Gooch winces in pain after fast bowler Ezra Moseley bowled a ball that crashed into his fingers and broke a bone•Adrian Murrell/Getty Images

However, Moseley’s slippery pace would change the course of the match and the series, as he twice struck Gooch on the glove with rising deliveries, the second blow forcing the captain to retire from the match and the series with a broken hand – a fact telegraphed in an iconic photo of Gooch roaring with pain, as England’s physio Laurie Brown tended to the wound.A combination of rain and controversial West Indies delaying tactics secured a draw for the hosts, and though Moseley would play just the one more Test, a series-levelling win at Barbados, West Indies overwhelmed England in Antigua for a 2-1 win, preserving their decade-long unbeaten run, and his place in folklore was secure.In all, Moseley claimed six Test wickets at 43.50, in addition to seven at 39.71 in nine ODIs, the last of which came against Australia, also at Port-of-Spain, in 1991. In all, he claimed 279 first-class wickets at 23.31 in a 135-match career. He also picked up 102 wickets in 79 List A matches.Moseley’s big break in cricket had come as a 22-year-old in 1980, when he was signed by Glamorgan on the strength of his performances in Barbados club cricket, and he lived up to his billing with 50 wickets in each of his first two seasons, after which he went on to debut for Barbados in 1981-82.However, he was then forced to undergo a back operation and it was during his lengthy recuperation that he was signed up for the West Indies rebel tour of Apartheid South Africa, and at the age of 25 his career at the highest level seemed over before it had begun. He played one more season for Glamorgan in 1986, as well as a stint as a professional in Lancashire League cricket, before his improbable late career flourish.After retiring, he remained in the game as a coach, and ended up at St Michael, one of Barbados’s top secondary schools, where he played a key role in the development of the current West Indies captain, Jason Holder.He also he served as a national selector for Barbados men’s and women’s team, as well a spell as assistant coach for the West Indies’ women’s team, helping them to lift the 2016 Women’s World T20 in India.Deandra Dottin, West Indies’ allrounder, paid tribute to Moseley’s involvement with the women’s squad on Twitter.”I remember the day we were doing sprints at Kensington Oval and you tried to out run us and fell down,” Dottin wrote. “Fun times with you May you Rest In Peace Coach.”

ESPNcricinfo’s updates from the 49th match of IPL 2020

Matt Roller29-Oct-2020