Ajinkya Rahane and Suresh Raina got valuable game time under their belt in India A’s six-wicket win over England XI, while Rishabh Pant scored a nerveless 59 off 36 balls

The Report by Arun Venugopal in Mumbai12-Jan-2017
ScorecardAjinkya Rahane opened the innings and set the base for India A’s chase with 91•AFP

Ajinkya Rahane and Suresh Raina came into the second practice match needing a decent hit in the middle ahead of the limited-overs series against England. By the end of the match, they had the satisfaction of playing substantial knocks that helped India A saunter to a six-wicket victory over England XI with 10.2 overs to spare. While captain Rahane’s 83-ball 91 set the base for India A’s chase, Raina dashed to 45 off 34 before being dismissed with the game nearly in the bag.Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant, who has earned his maiden national call-up for the T20Is against England, has had no shortage of hitting time: he followed up his unbeaten 32-ball 84 in a club game two days ago with a nerveless 59 off 36 balls to rattle England XI, who underachieved with the bat.England squandered a strong start to collapse from 115 for 1 to 211 for 9 before a 71-run alliance between Adil Rashid and David Willey ensured they came close to playing out 50 overs. It wasn’t always reckless batting, however, as India A’s spinners Parvez Rasool and Shahbaz Nadeem and seamer Ashok Dinda bowled stifling spells to claim seven wickets between them on a pitch Jonny Bairstow described as two-paced with some lateral movement.That Rahane was playing his first competitive game in two months – he missed the last two Tests against England with a finger injury – wasn’t apparent given the free-stroking rhythm he was in. He played out a maiden and wasn’t off the mark until the 10th delivery, but once he produced his patented straight drive to Willey in the fourth over, the floodgates opened. A serious of drives, pulls and cuts – one square cut off Jake Ball went screeching over point for a six – followed, and his opening partner Sheldon Jackson did not hold back either.Both batsmen reached their half-centuries in successive overs, and had put on 119 when Jackson lofted Moeen Ali to Bairstow at long-on. Pant jumped out of his crease to the first ball he faced and failed to connect with an extravagant swish. Despite that, Pant was not going to modify his game much: he began with a powerful sweep and then launched furious strikes down the ground against Liam Plunkett and Ball.In the 27th over, Pant brought up his 50 off 32 balls with a string of searing boundaries: he lofted the first one over mid-on for four and upper-cut the next ball before slamming the third one for a ferocious pull. In the next over, Pant carted Rashid over long-on for six, but his attempted encore off the next delivery landed in the palms of the fielder, Alex Hales. The innings completed a good day for Pant, who also kept solidly to pouch four catches.Raina, who last played a competitive limited-overs fixture in May, spent quite a bit of time as acting captain in the morning after Rahane was off the field. He walked out to bat appearing chubbier than his usual self, but that didn’t come in the way of his inside-out tonks to the spinner or the slog over mid-wicket. Not long after Rahane was dismissed – he was bowled by Willey after he shuffled too much to expose his leg stump – Raina holed out in the deep. By that time, though, India A were only 15 shy of the target.England XI’s morning began well as they won their second consecutive toss, and they decided to test their ability to defend a total. Like in the first game, Alex Hales and Jason Roy provided a zippy burst at the top. After Roy was hit wicket in the fifth over – an unusual dismissal in that the stemguard on Roy’s helmet detached and dislodged a bail – Hales and Jonny Bairstow, who replaced Sam Billings in the XI, settled in with crisp drives, and forceful pulls and cuts.With the seamers bleeding runs, Rahane turned to left-arm spinner Nadeem, the highest wicket-taker in the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy. Nadeem wasn’t easy to take runs off – he bowled at the stumps, varied his pace well and threatened both the edges. The wicket-taking opportunity, though, came at the other end when Hales, on 46, drove one powerfully at the direction of Vinay Kumar, who couldn’t latch on to a tough return catch.Nadeem, however, covered up for the lapse with wickets in successive overs. First, he removed Hales in the 17th over after the batsman clipped the ball to Rahane at short mid-wicket, and then sent back captain Eoin Morgan for a first-ball duck. It was a soft dismissal: Nadeem bowled a slow, loopy delivery and Morgan lobbed a feeble shot back to the bowler. At the other end, offspinner Rasool was introduced in the 20th over and he bowled 10 overs on the trot to pick up three wickets for 38 runs.Bairstow and Ben Stokes counter-attacked but England’s sprint was scuppered by a three-over spell from Ashok Dinda. He forced Bairstow to edge one behind off the last ball of the 27th over, and was on a hat-trick after dismissing Moeen Ali in similar fashion with the first ball of his next over. Buttler was out for a golden duck after being caught and bowled by Rasool, who then went on to snare Chris Woakes and Stokes in consecutive overs. The last-wicket pair of Rashid and Willey heaved and hoicked to give England a decent total, which would eventually prove inadequate.

Shai Hope scored his second century of the knockout stage to help lift Barbados to a 59-run win over Jamaica in the final of the WICB Regional Super50 in Antigua

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Feb-2017
ScorecardBarbados wicketkeeper-batsman Shai Hope backed up his 125 against Leeward Islands in the tournament semi-final with another century in the final against Jamaica to lay the foundation for a hard fought 59-run win that helped his side clinch the WICB Regional Super50 on Saturday.Jamaica had held Barbados in check through much of the first innings after Jason Holder elected to bat first at the toss. Barbados were 138 for 5 in the 35th over as John Campbell, Nikita Miller, Damion Jacobs and Damani Sewell tied down the batting order through spin. Kraigg Brathwaite was the first wicket to fall, going for 22 to Jacobs in the 13th over with the score on 59 after he played around a slider to be bowled, and wickets fell at regular intervals afterward, concluding with Shane Dowrich giving a return catch to Campbell in the 35th to make it 138 for 5.In a match-winning partnership, Holder joined Hope at the crease and the pair eventually added 127 for the sixth wicket in just 13.4 overs. Hope brought up his half-century off 69 balls in the 38th over and at that stage had only hit four boundaries as the pair initially continued steady accumulation. They were at 171 for 5 in 42 overs before Holder decided to attack Nikita Miller, charging him for the first Barbados boundary since the 35th. Hope was then dropped on 59 a few balls later by Chadwick Walton behind the stumps and he made Jamaica pay by hitting five sixes over the next five overs to speed toward three figures.The back-breaking over came in the 44th, when Jerome Taylor conceded 25. Holder began with a six off a full toss over midwicket, followed by a four behind point. A single put Hope on strike and he drove a straight six before a chest high no ball to Hope off what should have been the final delivery of the over allowed a free hit to Holder, who smacked a length ball over the rope at cow corner. Hope then hit Miller for two more sixes in the 45th as part of a 19-run over and the pair eventually hit nine sixes between them from the start of the 44th through the 48th.A straight six by Holder off Rovman Powell in the 46th brought up his half-century in 39 balls and a single by Hope in the 48th took him to 100 in 96 balls. Holder eventually fell to Powell for 69 off 47 balls to end the stand on the final ball of the 48th over. Two balls into the 50th over, Hope was run out for 101 by Powell off his own bowling as Barbados only managed to score six runs off the final 13 balls of the innings. By that stage, however, the damage had been done, as 94 runs came off the six-over stretch between the 43rd and 48th overs, which put the game out of Jamaica’s reach.Shai Hope followed a century in the semis with another in the final for Barbados•WICB Media/Randy Brooks of Brooks LaTouche Photo

Jamaica’s reply started in nervy fashion as Steven Taylor was nearly run out on the third ball of the chase before he had faced a ball, but a throw to the non-striker’s end was not backed up with Taylor stuck halfway down the pitch. He had made 9 before falling in the third over to Kemar Roach, driving to Carlos Brathwaite on the circle at mid-off. Roach applied the slightest bit of pressure to Jermaine Blackwood and two overs later the batsman fell chopping onto his stumps for 7 after an ill-advised charge down the pitch.Walton, who like Blackwood had made a century in the semi-final win over Trinidad & Tobago, fell to Sulieman Benn in the 16th for 26 to put Jamaica in an even deeper hole. Left-arm spinner Benn then took two more middle-order wickets to finish with match figures of 3 for 33 and a tally of 18 wickets in seven matches, tied with Holder for third overall in the tournament.Jamaica were 122 for 7 one ball into the 31st before Powell began a valiant fightback. He added 59 for the eighth wicket with Jerome Taylor but Taylor fell in the 40th to Holder and Miller followed to Holder in the 44th to put Barbados one away from victory. The Barbados captain then caught a Powell slog on the boundary for 65 off Carlos Brathwaite to end the match four balls later, Jamaica all out for 212.Offspinner Ashley Nurse had a relatively quiet final with figures of 1 for 42 but still finished as the leading wicket-taker in the Regional Super50 with 26 in ten matches at an average of 12.50 and an economy of 3.55. He took seven wickets more than the next closest bowler – Ravi Rampaul of Trinidad & Tobago. Kraigg Brathwaite and Hope finished on 484 and 482 runs respectively, behind only Leeward Islands captain Kieran Powell’s 513 runs at the top of the tournament runs aggregate.

On day two in Ranchi, it was Australia’s quicks who troubled India’s batsmen with bounce and reverse swing, as the pitch continued to throw pre-match predictions out the window

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Mar-2017Day 2Pitch watchStandard, slow Indian Test-match pitch with something in it for everyone: fact.Stitched-up, tailor-made, doctored, raging, cracking dustbowl, which spits venom like a basilisk: alternative fact.After 177.3 overs of competitive Test cricket, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Ravindra Jadeja, India’s openers and Australia’s fast bowlers deserve all the headlines. The pitch does not. For starters, it has produced the longest innings of the series yet, as Smith and Co posted 451.India followed up with a 91-run opening partnership, without being put under any serious pressure by Australia’s spin attack. If they had any trouble dealing with the Australian bowling, it was because of the steep bounce the pace bowlers extracted from the pitch, and a testing spell of reverse swing from Josh Hazlewood after tea.As if to mock all the talk about a possible lack of bounce, the only Indian wicket on the day fell to a perfectly directed Cummins bouncer. Otherwise, it was normal service for the best part of the day, and any misbehaviour from the track was a rare, countable-with-one-hand exception. What will day three hold?Australia’s fast bowlers occasionally troubled India’s top order with steep bounce•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Aggression watchFor a while, KL Rahul and Pat Cummins had a duel going on, starting with the Indian opener giving him a brief glare after flicking one down the leg side for four. Cummins then treated him to some chin music, with steep rising ones directed at his head. He eventually came back to snare a well-set Rahul with a well-directed slower bouncer. Otherwise, this was a calm yet competitive day of Test cricket by this series’ lofty standards of punching and counterpunching.DRS watchA Ctrl+F on ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball commentary for “DRS”, “review” and other such terms returned a grand total of zero results until the penultimate over of the day; then, Australia lodged an entry in the book of unsuccessful DRS referrals, calling for a review against M Vijay after significant deliberation. It returned nothing more than a flat line on the snickometer, and life moved on.

Dale Steyn has been named in the South Africa A four-day squad for the tour of England with a view to proving his fitness for the Test series which begins in July

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Apr-2017With a view to proving his fitness for the Tests against England which begin in July, Dale Steyn has been named in the South Africa A four-day squad that tours England before the series.Steyn has been out of action since November when he injured his shoulder in the first Test against Australia in Perth. He has been building up his rehabilitation programme in the early part of the year and the plan is for him to be available for two of the three four-day matches South Africa A play in June.If he comes through those matches he would put himself in the frame for a spot in the Test squad for the four-match series against England which begins on July 6 at Lord’s. Steyn is five wickets away from overtaking Shaun Pollock as South Africa’s leading Test wicket-taker.”The shoulder rehabilitation has been good. It feels stronger every week,” he told ahead of the squad being named. “I want to play cricket for South Africa. I am nearly ready.”The A squad for the four-day matches will be captained by the highly-rated Titans batsman Aiden Markram while Khaya Zondo, who captains Dolphins, will lead the one-day side. Temba Bavuma, who will be part of the full Test squad, is included in both the one-day and four-day squads along with the recently capped Duanne Olivier, Lungi Ngidi and Theunis de Bruyn.”The four-day series will give us an opportunity to see how some of the players who are on the fringes of the Test squad perform in England ahead of the four-test series,” Linda Zondi, the convener of selectors, said. “We still have time to finalise the Test team so that series can give us some pointers before we finalise the Test squad.”South Africa A one-day squad Khaya Zondo (capt), Reeza Hendricks, Jon Jon Smuts, Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma, Theunis de Bruyn, , Heino Kuhn, Dwaine Pretorius, Mangaliso Mosehle, Sisanda Magala, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lungi Ngidi, Duanne Olivier, Junior Dala, Dane PatersonSouth Africa A four-day squad Heino Kuhn, Aiden Markram (capt), Theunis de Bruyn, Temba Bavuma, Khaya Zondo, Jason Smith, Heinrich Klaasen, Dwaine Pretorius, Rudi Second, Dane Piedt, Lungi Ngidi, Dane Paterson, Duanne Olivier, Junior Dala, Beuran Hendricks, Dale Steyn

Historian Ramachandra Guha has resigned from the Committee of Administrators, which was appointed by the Supreme Court of India to oversee the working of the BCCI

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jun-20174:22

Bal: Guha saying CoA hasn’t fulfilled its mandate

Historian Ramachandra Guha has resigned from the Committee of Administrators, which was appointed by the Supreme Court of India to oversee the working of the BCCI and the implementation of the Lodha Committee recommendations.Guha tendered his resignation in the Supreme Court in Delhi on Thursday. With the court in summer recess, however, a vacation bench of judges deferred accepting the decision to July 14, when the court will resume the hearing.Though Guha did not make a public comment, ESPNcricinfo understands he informed the CoA and the BCCI of his decision on Thursday, citing personal reasons.The committee now comprises managing director of Infrastructure Development Finance Company Vikram Limaye, former India women’s captain Diana Eduljee, and is chaired by Vinod Rai, a former Comptroller and Auditor General of India.In the four months since it was formed on January 30, the committee has played a part in the BCCI not pulling out of the ongoing Champions Trophy in protest against ICC reforms, has overseen the announcement of various IPL tenders, and has listened to the India coach and captain regarding player contract issues.The BCCI has also advertised for the India coach’s job during this period, with current coach Anil Kumble being given a direct entry in the process. It has been reported that the India captain Virat Kohli had apprised the CoA of the “overbearing” ways of Kumble, whose contract is up for renewal at the end of the Champions Trophy.

Mickey Arthur called India a “fantastic team” but insisted Pakistan will focus only on themselves in the build-up to the final

George Dobell at The Oval17-Jun-2017Mickey Arthur has dismissed India’s thrashing of Pakistan in the group stages of the Champions Trophy as “an aberration” and insisted his side have the bowling to “expose” India’s middle order.The two sides contest the final of the competition in London on Sunday with Arthur, the Pakistan coach, encouraged both by the progress of his younger players and the way in which they have bounced back from that 124-run defeat in their first game in Birmingham.And while he accepts India are “a fantastic team” who have the advantage of more “exposure to massive pressure situations”, he is confident his side will not suffer a repeat of the big match nerves which appeared to afflict them in the earlier match.To that end, the focus of Pakistan’s preparation has changed a little. Whereas, before the Edgbaston game, their attention was largely on India – what to expect and how to beat them – they have now decided it is better to concentrate on their own strengths rather than lingering over the details of the daunting challenge that awaits.”The way the players have dragged themselves off the canvas after the beating at Edgbaston was amazing,” Arthur said. “After the defeat against India, we had some honest conversations and the guys took it on the chin. It’s great to get to the final after where we were and credit goes to the players who have been outstanding the way they’ve prepared. I don’t think we’ve exceeded expectations at all.”We dissected India a lot before the game at Edgbaston and we’ve sort of backtracked a little bit. Now we’re sort of solidifying what we did really well, confirming what we’ve done well and building on that. So this match is going to be about us rather than the opposition. We’ve made the focus us as a team.”One of those strengths is their seam bowling. In Hasan Ali they have the tournament’s highest wicket-taker (10), while Junaid Khan is not far behind (seven). Mohammad Amir has recovered from a back spasm and is expected to share the new ball with Junaid.While they will be up against an impressive batting line-up – India’s openers, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, are the two highest run-scorers in the tournament, while Virat Kohli is fifth – Arthur hopes they can claim early wickets which he believes can “expose” a potential weakness.”Our strength has been the ability to take wickets,” Arthur said. “We’ve been able to take wickets consistently through the middle periods.”If we can get amongst them with the new ball, we can expose the middle order that hasn’t batted much this competition. That’s pretty much our aim and focus.”We can restrict them or defend against them. We have the attack to do that, providing we can strike up front.”There are a couple of potential flaws in that plan. The first is that, while Pakistan’s attack has taken more wickets than any other team in the competition – 31 – they have taken very few – just two – in the first Powerplay. They are, in this match, up against a side who have lost just one wicket in the first Powerplay all tournament and who have posted four century stands between them. So while the aim of claiming early wickets is sensible, it is a great deal easier said than done. Especially on what is expected to be an excellent batting surface.The other flaw in the plan is that, while it is true that the likes of Hardik Pandya, Kedar Jhadav and MS Dhoni have not scored many runs in this competition, it is largely because they have hardly batted due to the prolific form of the top three. In the few opportunities they have had, they have looked impressively fluent. Dhoni made 63 (from 52 deliveries) in his only innings against Sri Lanka, while Pandya (29 from 11) and Jhadav (25 from 13) have batted selflessly and effectively.To focus on such factors might well be negative, however, and one of the key changes in Pakistan’s outlook since that first match is increased positivity. Out have gone two of the more experienced players – Wahab Riaz, who is injured, and Ahmed Shehzad, who has been dropped – and in their place have come youngsters who are unscarred by previous setbacks and are apparently fearless about the occasion or the opposition.So while Kohli may have forgotten more caps than Shadab Khan (six caps), Faheem Ashraf (one), Fakhar Zaman (three), Rumman Rees (one) can boast between them, Arthur believes the fear that anxiety that stifled the team ahead of that first game has been replaced by a sense of excitement ahead of the final. And whatever happens on Sunday, he believes that bodes well for Pakistan’s future and the 2019 World Cup, in particular.”The youngsters have been great,” Arthur said. “They’ve come in with no fear of failure. They’ve come in committed to the way we want to play our cricket. Every one of the youngsters that have come in made an impact straight away. That’s a real confirmer for us. They’ve been outstanding.”I guess what it does is solidify the direction we want to move in. That’s the most important thing for us. But it also gives us an insight into the thinking of these younger players, and to see them come in and be very, very brave and very committed to the way we want to play our cricket has been very, very refreshing for all of us.”The guys are under no illusion as to what the expectation is on them, but they’re genuinely excited. I said before the Edgbaston game, I thought they were really, really calm, but they’re very, very excited now, and there’s a hell of a good vibe in that dressing room.”The focus after the final is certainly going to be on the 2019 World Cup. It’s going to be about creating a squad and some depth so that we can come here in 2019 and give it a shake. But it will also be about buying into the way we want to play our game. This will just be a nice confirmer for the players that we’re definitely on the right track.”He does feel, however, that his players’ progress would be accelerated if they had more opportunity to play in “high-pressure” situations. While India’s players benefit from their experience in the IPL, Pakistan’s players – who are not currently involved in the IPL – have only recently had their own comparable domestic T20 competition in which to gain such experiences. As a result, Pakistan are now “catching up with the rest of the world”.”I think one of the differences between the sides has been exposure,” Arthur said. “Exposure to massive pressure situations.”Let’s be under no illusion: India are a fantastic cricket team at the moment. They’re going in the right direction. They’re playing some brilliant cricket. But exposure to high-pressure situations is what India have had above Pakistan.”The PCB has changed that a little bit now with the PSL, which has been a very successful competition. That exposes more and more young players to pressure situations, and I think the more we can expose our guys to those situations, the better results we will get.”We can see our style and method catching up with the rest of the world because we’re being exposed to it now. In the PSL we’re getting all our top players rubbing shoulders with some of the best players around the world, so that is rubbing off on our cricket now, which is filling a void that had existed for a period of time.”

Former India batsman Mohinder Amarnath has quit the steering committee tasked with the responsibility of forming the players’ association

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Jun-2017Former India batsman Mohinder Amarnath has quit the steering committee tasked with the responsibility of forming the players’ association.Amarnath is understood to have left because of his commentary assignments. “He wants to do [those assignments]. He can’t do both,” a member of the Committee of Administrators told ESPNcricinfo.With two other members of the steering committee – Diana Edulji and Anil Kumble – already having recused themselves, the committee is now down to one; only its chairman, former union home secretary GK Pillai, remains. While Edulji opted out because of her role as a member of the CoA, Kumble withdrew after he had taken over as India coach.The CoA will now approach the Supreme Court for direction. “There is no steering committee as such as of today. We will be approaching the court to see what needs to be done,” the official said. “We will mention this in our status report that will be submitted to the court. Whether another sub-committee is created or the CoA is entrusted with the task, it is up to the Supreme Court to decide”.The steering committee was established in early 2016 to oversee the formation of the players’ association in accordance with the recommendations of the Lodha Committee. It was asked to “identify and invite all eligible ex-cricketers to be members, to open bank accounts, receive funds from the BCCI, conduct the first elections for office bearers, communicate the names of BCCI-player nominees to the board”.The Lodha Committee felt it was important to give the players “a voice” to express their concerns but barred them from forming a “trade union of any sort”. The committee also recommended the need to advance the welfare of players, including insurance, medical and other commercial benefits. While there was strident opposition to the recommendation initially from the BCCI, the board later “unanimously” accepted it at its special general meeting on October 1.The official said the CoA had also established a sub-committee to look into the registration and regulation of player agents. The Maharashtra Cricket Association’s Abhay Apte and BCCI CEO Rahul Johri are understood to be in the sub-committee, which has three members at the moment. Two more members will be added on later, comprising representatives of the players’ association. “The sub-committee of three members will carry out the duties till the players’ association is formed,” the official said. “Once the players’ association is formed two of its members will be drafted into this panel”.

India have runs, wickets, form and confidence on their side. Sri Lanka have the distant memory of that Oval victory and familiarity with conditions on theirs

The Preview by Andrew Fidel Fernando19-Aug-2017

Match Facts

August 20, 2017
Start time 1430 local (0900GMT)3:55

Gambhir: Kuldeep will be a wicket-taking option

Big Picture

India were monumentally dominant in the Tests, while Sri Lanka are in turmoil and have a new full-time limited-overs captain, but if there is still a wisp of hope that the ODIs will be competitive, it is based on the outcome of the Champions Trophy match between these sides.Remember that? It seems so long ago now, and so difficult to imagine. But it’s true. Sri Lanka did defeat India on June 8, after orchestrating a record tournament chase. The way, unsurprisingly, was led by Kusal Mendis. Chasing, and a big score for Mendis, again represent Sri Lanka’s best chance of an upset in Dambulla. While they lost a home series 3-2 against Zimbabwe in July, they will at least take a little encouragement from the fact that none of those losses came when they were batting second.India meanwhile, have jettisoned Yuvraj Singh for this tournament, and so plentiful are their options, even MS Dhoni’s future in the side is not set in stone, according to chairman of selectors MSK Prasad. Since their loss to Pakistan in the Champions Trophy they have also swatted West Indies aside 3-1 in the Caribbean – Virat Kohli making torrents of runs, while left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav was the joint-highest wicket-taker in his maiden ODI series.In short, India have runs, wickets, form and confidence on their side. Sri Lanka have the distant memory of that Oval victory and familiarity with conditions on theirs. During the Tests, it seemed like India could have played the worst XI in their squad, and still won. On paper, the ODI sides don’t seem like much more of an even match. To bring the tour to life, Sri Lanka will have to spring an almighty surprise.

Form guide

Sri Lanka LLWWL (completed matches, most recent first)
India WLWWL

In the spotlight

Sri Lanka’s batsmen did a poor job of picking Kuldeep Yadav out of the hand during the Pallekele Test, and they have struggled against wristspin all through the year in any case. In Kuldeep, India hope they have the kind of aggressive spin-bowling option that has prospered in ODI cricket over the last two years. On the evidence of the third Test, Kuldeep also has greater control over his deliveries than Lakshan Sandakan – the other left-arm wristspinner on show in this series.Upul Tharanga‘s dismissals in the second and third Tests did not make for pretty viewing. His scores during the Test series also did not dispel the idea that he is a fair-weather batsman – one who looks outstanding when the match situation is in his favour, but one who cannot be relied on to dig the team out of a difficult spot. He has confirmed he will bat at No. 4 in Dambulla, and now must restore some confidence to his own batting – in addition to instilling some in his ailing team in what his first series since being officially appointed limited-overs captain.Will Wanidu Hasaranga get the nod ahead of Milinda Siriwardana?•AFP

Team news

Sri Lanka’s top five is settled, but there is a lot in flux in the lower half of the batting line-up. There will likely be a toss-up between left-arm spinning allrounder Milinda Siriwardana and legspinning allrounder Wanindu Hasaranga. Thisara Perera may make a return to the XI. They will then also have to choose between Dushmantha Chameera and the uncapped Vishwa Fernando.Angelo Mathews, meanwhile, is likely to return to bowling – though he may contribute only a few overs at first.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 2 Danushka Gunathilaka, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Upul Tharanga (capt.), 5 Angelo Mathews, 6 Chamara Kapugedara, 7 Wanindu Hasaranga, 8 Thisara Perera, 9 Akila Dananjaya, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Dushmantha ChameeraIndia may consider playing Manish Pandey, given his outstanding recent form for India A, but that spot may be reserved for Kedar Jadhav. Elsewhere, Rohit Sharma comes back into the top order, displacing Ajinkya Rahane, who had scored heavily in the West Indies.India (possible): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli (capt.), 4 KL Rahul, 5 MS Dhoni (wk), 6 Kedar Jadhav, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Axar Patel/Yuzvendra Chahal, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Kuldeep Yadav, 11 Jasprit Bumrah

Pitch and conditions

The Dambulla surface has flattened out a little in the past year, but 300 remains an excellent score at this venue.The weather is expected to be cloudy, but fine, with temperatures reaching a high of around 31C during the day.

Stats and trivia

• Sri Lanka need to win at least two matches to ensure their automatic qualification for the 2019 World Cup does not depend on other results
• India have won 14 of the last 18 ODIs they have played against Sri Lanka
• Despite MSK Prasad’s equivocation on Dhoni’s future, Dhoni averages 64.33 at a strike-rate of 86 in ODIs in 2017

Quotes

“This will be an important series as we are ranked eighth [with a chance of failing to automatically qualify for the World Cup]. India have been very consistent in the last three-four years, but we have confidence having beaten them in the Champions Trophy when no one thought we would.”
“I don’t see this pitch having three spinners. I have played here in the past. It’s probably a three-fast-bowlers kind of pitch. Hardik Pandya does the role for us as a third seamer, and he is good enough to give us seven or eight overs.”

Leicestershire continued to hold the upper hand at New Road but Brett D’Oliveira’s hundred ensured Worcestershire were not completely derailed in their pursuit of promotion

Jon Culley at New Road13-Sep-2017This has been another generally miserable season for Leicestershire but they are at least giving Worcestershire a fight. Who knows, they might even break their duck for the season, which would not be the outcome the home side had in mind when they lowered Nottinghamshire’s colours last week.That result not only ended the treble-seeking Division Two title favourites’ unbeaten record for the season but created the possibility, with Nottinghamshire out of action this week, that Worcestershire could knock them off the top. Their mood going into this match could hardly have been more buoyant.Apart from the first hour of the opening day, though, Leicestershire have had the upper hand. After recovering from 25 for 3 to be 325 for 7 at Tuesday’s close, they continued to prosper in the blustery sunshine of the second morning, missing out on a full set of batting points but at least enjoying the satisfaction of putting 400 on the board, something they had not done since May.Worcestershire are not out of it, by any means. Brett D’Oliveira played magnificently for his third hundred of the Championship season, yet they need another 134 to achieve parity, let alone a lead of any substance.It fully vindicated Mark Cosgrove’s decision to take his chance with the toss. R Ashwin, who took eight wickets on his debut here a couple of weeks ago, on a used wicket, was not nearly so effective, finishing with 2 for 132, although he might reflect, looking ahead to India’s tour here next summer, that the experience of bowling in less helpful English conditions could actually be quite educational.Neil Dexter, who extended his 102 overnight to 114 before Ashwin had him leg before, was the fulcrum, having batted 13 minutes short of four hours. The former Middlesex allrounder has had a difficult year in many respects, off the field as well as on, yet gave glimpses of his best in this innings. It will have pleased the Leicestershire hierarchy, too, that the innings did not peter out, as it might have done, after Dexter was eighth out at 354.Zak Chappell, the 21-year-old who looks a good prospect with bat and ball, followed Dexter back in the next over, out to a sharp catch at short leg by Tom Fell, but Dieter Klein and Callum Parkinson batted positively to add another 44 for the last wicket, giving the total a psychological bonus.Yet Worcestershire achieved their first objective by taking maximum bowling points – which always seems faintly absurd when the opposition have scored 400 – and completed a second late in the evening session when the partnership between D’Oliveira and George Rhodes for the fourth wicket guided them safely past the 255 required to avoid the follow-on.D’Oliveira and opening partner Daryl Mitchell have been the bedrock of Worcestershire’s success this season, scoring almost 2,000 runs behind them, their partnerships often the key to a win. They shared 119 before a wicket fell this time, and it might well have been many more had Mitchell, going after Callum Parkinson’s left-arm spin, not fallen victim to a superb catch by Klein at deep extra cover. The shot was miscued high into the air but Klein had to cover a lot of ground to be under it, with a gusty wind adding an extra degree of difficulty.Parkinson finished with three wickets on the day, claiming a bonus in the last over when Rhodes, who had played solidly for his 47, offering sensibly measured support to D’Oliveira, chipped wearily to Michael Carberry at short midwicket.Mitchell’s season has been phenomenal, encompassing six Championship hundreds and eight partnerships of 106 or more, including three with D’Oliveira. His statistics alone deserve the reward of promotion.It has been a road he has travelled before, of course. Worcestershire have been promoted to Division One four times since he made his debut, five times in all since the Championship was divided. They have also been relegated five times. No county has yo-yoed quite like them.The win at Trent Bridge created a wide enough gap between themselves and the chasing group to suggest they will pull it off again, potentially with an added cause for satisfaction if Warwickshire do pass them in the other direction, which now seems all but certain. Not since the Championship went to two divisions in 2000 have Worcestershire been in the division above their Midlands neighbours.

A round-up of the all the action from Pakistan’s Quaid-e-Azam Trophy after the conclusion of the fourth round

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Oct-2017Amin revives himselfUmar Amin’s 270-ball 145 helped Sui Southern Gas Corporation build a solid first-innings total of 323, thereby leading his team to victory by an innings and three runs against Faisalabad. The 344-minute knock was Amin’s second hundred of the season. Over the past few seasons, he had been out of selection contention due to injuries but his name has come up again after the retirements of Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan. He is currently considered one of the top choices to replace the two recently-retired players, and while he has already made his mark in the shorter format, Amin looks to revive his lost form in the longer format as well.Test openers continue dry runShan Masood and Sami Aslam – after having a disappointing Test series against Sri Lanka – returned to the domestic circuit after the series ended. But their poor run of form continued at home too. Although Sui Southern Gas Corporation won, Aslam contributed only 16 with the bat.And while Masood’s captaincy led United Bank Limited to a seven-wicket win against Rawalpandi, the opener scored only 15 and 21. The duo has been struggling to get big runs, and their dry spell has opened up a slot in Pakistan’s top order – allowing for more experimentation – ahead of Pakistan’s next red-ball action against Ireland in May 2018, before the tour of England.LCCA pitch comes under spotlightAs many as 17 wickets fell on day one at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground as Lahore Blues were bundled for 108 in the first innings before SNGPL, led by Misbah, lost their seven wickets before stumps. Blues fought back in the second innings to put up 215 but that set SNGPL a target of only 125 which they chased down by losing no more than five wickets. The pitches being prepared during the tournament received criticism from Misbah who expressed his “disappointment” saying the tracks were being overused.Fawad watch
Fawad Alam’s season of ups-and-downs continued after he scored only seven runs and returned bowling figures of 0 for 19 against Faisalabad in the fourth round. After being overlooked by the selectors in the past, which raised eyebrows across the board, the spotlight was on him to shine but he couldn’t do so.Fawad’s form this season has been much worse than the last few seasons, but despite the lack of runs, his first-class average still reads 56.11, having scored over 10,000 runs in his career. Fawad did, however, score a match-winning 105 against Lahore Blues in the third round.