And in the process, he may have taken a step towards solving India’s long-term issue of white-ball batting depth

Saurabh Somani21-Jul-20213:42

Chopra: Chahar’s story is all about belief

“Only one thing was going in my mind: this is the kind of innings you dream of, when you start playing cricket and start batting. One day I’ll bat for India – bat at 7,8 maybe 9 – and finish the match. No better way to win the match for the country.”This was Deepak Chahar after the second ODI against Sri Lanka. Batting at No.8, he had made his highest-ever score in senior cricket, and finished the match.The most remarkable thing about Chahar’s innings was not the quantum of his score. It was not that he went from 2 off 18, to 23 off 45, to his eventual score of 69* off 82. It was not even that he willed a batting dream into reality. It was how he dealt with the 48th over of the chase, when Wanindu Hasaranga was brought back. Chahar faced the last four balls of the over, with 15 required from 16 balls, and didn’t try to score off any of them. With the match in its final stages, the kind of batter who can play out a threatening bowler when practically a run a ball is needed is not often found at No.8. Those kinds of batters usually sit in the top half, secure in their skill and their belief that they can pull off victory against other bowlers, even with a steeper equation.”His presence of mind, his calculation… even the last four overs they knew they don’t want to go against the legspinner,” captain Shikhar Dhawan would say after the match, admiringly.Chahar came in at 160 for 6 and saw it become 193 for 7, but his composure was that of a top-order batter. When in partnership with Krunal Pandya, he played himself in. He let the more pedigreed batter do more of the scoring. In his match-winning stand with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Chahar seamlessly switched to being the senior partner. At the start, he continued to knock the ball around. The scorching pace set by India’s top order meant that Chahar had enough time, without needing to worry about big hits. By the time boundaries became necessary, he was as “in” as he was going to be. With 56 needed in eight overs, he took calculated risks, starting by thumping Lakshan Sandakan over long-off.”When it (the target) came under 50, I thought we could win,” Chahar said of his approach. “I took a risk in between, got two-three boundaries. After the six, I thought I’m batting well.”The only comparable innings Chahar has played on a similar stage was his 20-ball 39 for the Chennai Super Kings against Kings XI Punjab in IPL 2018, when MS Dhoni promoted him to No.6.Deepak Chahar made his highest score in all professional cricket•ISHARA S. KODIKARA/AFP/Getty ImagesFor most people, that IPL innings was the first glimmer of Chahar’s batting ability. Not for the former India batter Hrishikesh Kanitkar. who tweeted this:

Deepak Chahar is not a slogger like most think. He is a talented batsman capable of surprising he best of the bowlers in the #ipl18 @ChennaiIPL @CskIPLTeam https://t.co/52ZrHApQkr

— HRISHIKESH KANITKAR (@hrishikanitkar) May 20, 2018

Kanitkar had observed Chahar more closely than most. It was under Kanitkar’s captaincy that Chahar made his first-class debut for Rajasthan. It began with a record haul of 8 for 10, but while the results waned after that, Kanitkar’s belief and backing didn’t.”I don’t have any political background or powerful backer, so maybe that’s where they thought I could be pushed around,” Chahar told ESPNcricinfo in 2019, when recalling his early years in senior cricket. “Generally people have backers. One person who backed me always was Hrishikesh Kantikar. He had come from outside (as a professional) so he was only concerned with your performances as players. It didn’t matter to him who has come from where. Till he was captain, he backed me fully. Now also he’s always supportive. Even when I had a bad phase in the middle, he was one person who believed I could play for India.”What Kanitkar knew then was in evidence on Tuesday. Chahar didn’t just clinch a series-winning lead for India in the ODIs, he made a massive push for a spot in India’s regular starting XI. The India team playing Sri Lanka is not at full strength, but even when it is, it could do handily with a No.8 who can reel off an under-pressure half-century to turn a seemingly lost cause into victory. Players who can get into the side on their seam bowling and contribute runs are among the few areas India don’t have a whole lot of options to choose from.Chahar’s primary skill remains his bowling, and he didn’t do too badly at that either. There was some amount of waywardness but there was also some bad luck in the form of a dropped catch, and a sixer that could have been a catch had Bhuvneshwar been standing at the rope at fine leg instead of ten yards inside the boundary. There was also precious little for a bowler like Chahar to work with: no swing or seam on offer, and sapping heat that made fast bowling more onerous. And still, there were two skilful knuckle balls that delivered wickets at important moments for his team.”He has good capability, like he showed today. If he continues that, of course, India will have another allrounder,” Bhuvneshwar said at the press conference after the game. “It’s too early to say, but the ability he has… and the way he practices too. He keeps different situations in his mind when practicing, and thinks what he can do, what should be done.”In his brief international career and a longer stint in the IPL, Chahar has grown from a powerplay specialist to a versatile bowler who can operate in every phase. Until now, he was one of several fast bowlers jostling for a place in India’s full-strength attack. His bowling had kept him in contention. Now, with his batting, he has shoulder-barged his way closer to the front of the queue. If he can stay there, India could finally have a solution to their vexing issue of white-ball batting depth.

His ability to pin down any specialist batter for long periods could well make the difference in this series

Sidharth Monga23-Aug-20216:44

What makes this Indian pace attack so lethal?

The game feels different watching from the outside. Several recently retired players walk out of teams and into the commentary box to start wondering why captains stop trying to get an established batter out when in company of a tailender. It is as though they never were parts of teams that did the same when cheap runs were on the line. When there is skin in the game, hardly any captain risks those chancy 20-30 runs these days even if it means the established batter keeps taking singles on the fifth or sixth ball to manipulate the strike for a while.In England’s first innings at Lord’s, though, something interesting happened. England were eight down, Root was batting on 160, the ball was around 40 overs old, and he wanted to shield Mark Wood and James Anderson. This was an extremely delicate juncture for India in the Test. It was towards the end of a long day, the best batting day of the series. England were around India’s score. Root is an adept limited-overs batter too. His successful manipulation of strike could possibly bat India out of the Test.Related

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For three straight Mohammed Siraj overs, Root was pinned to one end. One boundary, no single, no bouncer, no yorker. Siraj managed to shackle Root with just line and length. The line and length was just so good it presented undue risk if Root wanted to manipulate strike. The bowler at the other end kept getting a clear shot at the tailenders. Mark Wood was run out, and Jasprit Bumrah got a full over at Anderson.It takes either a treacherous pitch, which this wasn’t, or special skills and control with the ball to pin down any specialist batter for this long in such a match situation. Root didn’t even get a shot at a boundary with the field up for the single apart from the one that he managed to hit.This was a seven-over spell of high intensity from Siraj. He has had higher high points in his short career – the two-in-two earlier and later in the match, for example – but this was a feat of endurance and maturity that sets fast bowlers apart in an era tailormade for them. This is the intensity that England didn’t have when they had the chance to run through the Indian lower order on the fifth morning.Part of it comes from the superior depth in India’s attack, but part of it is credit to the bowler himself. Siraj managed to keep bowling his nipbackers that ended up in front of off. They weren’t full enough to drive. They weren’t short enough to pull or punch. Just the perfect line and length. This is what Test bowling is mostly about: deny risk-free runs for long durations and let your skills with the ball do the rest.Mohammed Siraj grabs a souvenir stump after sealing India’s win•Getty ImagesThe rest, it would appear, comes easy to Siraj. His first wicket – Marnus Labuschagne caught at leg gully – might have been part of a larger team plan, but the second was a delightful set-up. He bowled an over full of away-going deliveries to Cameron Green and Tim Paine followed by three more away swingers to Green before trapping him lbw with the sharp incoming delivery. That is something he did with Root in India too.With Jos Buttler at Lord’s, Siraj did the reverse. He bowled a spell full of incoming deliveries to right-hand batters and outgoing ones to left-hand ones before coming back for a fresh spell and bowling the one that went way. Buttler had been in, he had been leaving balls well, but such was the fear of the nipbacker that he let his hands play at this one outside off.That nipbacker is way more dangerous for left-hand batters, which is why Siraj is averaging just 16.7 against them. It is early days yet as he has taken just 10 left-hand batters out, but the dangerous angle he creates from them has been spoken about even before he debuted. It is the blind spot that around middle and leg that he keeps hitting again and again. Any straighter and you get picked off on the leg side, any wider and you get left alone. Siraj bowls that perfect channel where left-hand batters have to keep playing at him as Moeen Ali discovered in that over-and-a-half of torture before finally nicking off without doing much wrong.

“Siraj managed to keep bowling his nipbackers that ended up in front of off. They weren’t full enough to drive. They weren’t short enough to pull or punch. Just the perfect line and length.”

Siraj is no Bumrah, but still the movement he gets is not classic. It doesn’t come from a classic swing-bowling action. It’s all angles and quick arm speed. He bowls a scrambled seam. So it is not easy to line up the movement because it is late and unpredictable. He is beginning to play around with an offcutter, too.Of course Siraj gets to feed off the pressure created by a world-class unit, a luxury many Indian fast bowlers before him didn’t have, but he does his share of the heavy lifting. Since he debuted, he has bowled more overs, taken more wickets at better average with the ball aged 30 to 80 overs than any India fast bowler. Only Hasan Ali has taken more “old-ball” wickets than him during this period.The big difference between the India that toured England in 2018 and now is that Siraj is the fourth quick in a fully fit squad. He adds the depth to India’s bowling resources to an extent that the team management feels compelled to give up some batting depth and leave out an all-time great in R Ashwin.Sometimes you do wonder which are the “haters” that Siraj is shushing because all you see around is love for him. From Bharat Arun at Hyderabad to Paras Mhambrey at India A to Arun and Virat Kohli at international level, his bowling coaches and captains have backed him and not without reason.

Here’s the real truth about every team’s chances of winning

Andrew Fidel Fernando23-Oct-2021So you’ve probably read or watched a few men’s T20 World Cup previews. Many will have been sober and informative summaries of where the teams stand. Others will have highlighted key players and tournament history. Yet more will have revealed strengths and weaknesses through elaborate data analysis.Sadly, you’ve wasted your time. They are all trash compared to this preview.

West Indies

Motto: Eyeing title No. 3.Sample dressing-room pep-talk: “Men, everyone knows what we are. We’re T20 superstars who go off and have our own epic adventures before coming together in World Cup years. Yes, we have untold batting firepower, and bowling smarts, but maybe we’re missing something. Some X-factor. When we won in 2012, it was the ‘Gangnam Style dance. In 2016, it was Dwayne Bravo’s ‘Champion’. Who’s got a single coming out this year? No one? Okay, it’s panic stations. Everyone make a call to your choreographer.” How far they will go: Probably win it.

Pakistan

Motto: We live by grievanceSample dressing-room pep talk: “Brothers, we know what’s happened. We played a tour in New Zealand, and were made fun of around the world for opening our doors for biryani without our masks on, which, they say, broke their precious quarantine rules. How did they repay us? They ran from Pakistan without even giving a reason. And we went to England when their country was basically a petri dish of disease? How did they respond? Cancelled their tour. This time, these other teams can’t run away from us. We know we have to win this tournament. We can show the world the spirit and unity of Pakistan cricket. It will be glorious. But first, obviously, play like trash for a few games. I don’t want to see any of you jokers hold a catch, and if you can fight publicly among yourselves, that would also help.” How far they will go: Predict how Pakistan will do? Yeah, I’m not falling for this again.”Everyone take this time to work on your Ashes banter. Remember, if it doesn’t prick your conscience, it’s not good enough”•Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Getty Images

Australia

Motto: Can you believe we have to play this s**t?Sample dressing-room pep talk: “Oi. Mayte. What are we even doing here? Who bloody plays cricket in the UAE? Apart from the IPL, I mean (the highest form of the game, just to be clear). And what is this utter crap about us potentially having to play a match against Bangladesh, or West Indies, or maybe even bloody Scotland? Three weeks and there’s only one match against England scheduled. And not a single scheduled game against India (the highest form of cricket team/human beings, not that it needed to be said)? Who organised this trash heap of a tour? Absolute shambles.” How far they will go: They’ll hold it together until late in the group stage, but will eventually be overcome by their disgust at having to step on to a field with a team that should not be breathing the same air.

South Africa

Motto: This is our ti… wait, why are you laughing?Sample dressing-room pep-talk: “People can say what they like, but only we know how hard we’ve worked for this. We’ve won seven matches in a row. Who’s coming in with a better lead-up than that? We’ve got one of the best quicks in the world in KP… I mean KG. And not to mention the top-ranked T20I bowler in the world in… what’s your name, brother? Shamsi – that’s the one. We even have AB. Wait, no, we don’t, do we? You know what? It’s not easy giving these pep talks fellas, everyone’s attention is on me all of a sudden. Can someone get me a glass of water? God, is it me, or is it really stuffy in here?” How far they will go: They’ll be in line for a semi-final spot. Keep the popcorn handy.”Gently guys, we don’t want to startle the batter with a loud clap, do we?”•Gareth Copley/ICC/Getty Images

New Zealand

Motto: Are you ready for a cuddle? Sample dressing-room pep talk: “Hi everyone. I’m Kane Williamson. I know I’ve been the captain of the team for five years, but I didn’t want any of you to feel as if you should automatically know who I am. I’m not that entitled. I want to thank you for pushing pause on each of your charity causes to join us here in the UAE for this tournament. Let’s just go out there, enjoy ourselves, compete hard, but when it comes to the post-match fist bumps, let’s really put the effort in to make all our opponents and their support staff feel truly seen for who they are as people.”How far they’ll get: You wouldn’t bet against them to get to the semis. You shouldn’t bet against them anyway, you monster.

Bangladesh

Motto: We’ve been trying to tell you we’re serious.Sample dressing-room pep talk: “Come on everyone. I thought we were past this. We’re big boys now. We’ve got one of the greatest short-format allrounders. We have an incredible left-arm seamer, another bowler who regularly clocks speeds of over 140kph, plus experienced batters through the middle. We should be looking down our noses at the lesser teams. We can’t be embarrassing ourselves in front of the Associates again. Big boys.” How far they will go: A group-stage exit followed by a board-ordered inquiry at home.”Virat is stepping down from captaincy to mourn my departure, that sweet boy”•Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP/Getty Images

India

Motto: Shastri + Kohli: Don’t cry because it’s ending. Smile because it happened.Sample dressing-room pep talk: “Boys! We’ve come to our last campaign with me in charge. It’s been quite the journey. Kohli hit his first hundred in England under my watch. It was with me at the helm that he became the fastest batter to 12,000 ODI runs. These are all things we’ve achieved together. Of course there are jealous people out there who have constantly tried to run me down as a coach, accusing me of things like being Kohli’s yes man. Don’t these idiots realise that right from the start, Virat told me I could say no to him if I wanted? But he doesn’t have an ICC trophy as captain. Let’s go out and win this for him. That’s what you want, right, skipper?” How far they will go: Losing finalists.

Sri Lanka

Motto: Would you believe it if we said we won this seven years ago?Sample dressing-room pep-talk: “Hello. Answer, will you? HELLO! This bloody phone. Always on mute. Ah, you can hear? Look, us administrators have given you players everything you could possibly need. We’ve barely badmouthed you in the press this year. We were kind enough to let you have some contracts. We even organised a domestic T20 tournament that lasted a whole two weeks. If you fellows can’t even bring back a World Cup after that kind of backing from your cricket board, you shouldn’t be calling yourselves cricketers. We’ve already booked our hotel rooms to come there for the knockouts, so don’t screw it up, ah? Goodbye! …. Oof, that call really worked up an appetite. Where’s that cake? What? Is this call still going? Useless phone never does what I want…” How far they will go: Not very.”We’ll be flying high in this World Cup, chaps. High in the sky on our way home”•Aijaz Rahi/Associated Press

England

Motto: We probably won’t quit this tour. No promises, though.Sample dressing-room pep-talk: “How’s everyone feeling? No, really, did anyone see any red flags on the way here? Geez, baggage claim at the airport was a nightmare, wasn’t it? Unacceptable. We’re doing the ICC a favour by staying on, really. And from the team bus I saw a guy in the distance just sneezing away. That’s not sanitary in this day and age. We left South Africa for less, almost. Oh dear, what was that racket? Did a bat just fall to the floor? That’s it. I’ve seen enough. Pack up, everyone. We’re out of here.”How far they will go: Depends on how real karma is.

Afghanistan

Motto: Deep existential dread Sample dressing-room pep talk: “Look, it’s time to focus on the cricket. Yes, it’s been an atrocious few months for our country. Yes, our barely functional women’s team has probably been banned from playing. Our cricket board has had its chairman replaced by the Taliban. Australia refused to play a Test against us and our series against Pakistan was postponed. And although we may be cricket’s biggest success story in the 21st century, who knows how long we’ll be allowed to continue in international cricket, and there were questions even over our involvement in this tournament, and argh, oh wow, this is a lot.” How far they will go: With any luck, upsets will be sprung.”Let’s give the big boys a fright now”•Francois Nel/ICC/Getty Images

Scotland

Motto: Eat the richSample dressing room pep talk: “Right. You all know what’s waiting for us out there. Ten Full-Member fat-cat nations, gorging themselves on their plump ICC cheques, becoming snobbier and snobbier every year. Lads, let’s get out there and show them what playing for Scotland is all about. We may not have their resources, but the fight in us is bigger… wait, hold that thought, I have to take this call. () Oh, hello there. So listen, I’m really sorry but I’m going to need another two weeks off….”How far they will go: They might juuust have one more upset in them.

Namibia

Motto: Zimbabwe who?Sample dressing room pep talk: “Who would have thought we’d make it to the Super 12? No one. But we’re here, boys. We’ve shown the world what we can do, and now it’s time to seize this moment. We’ve got a shot that we barely dared to dream about. A golden opportunity to advance Namibian cricket by light years. By which I mean the chance to get as close as possible to the South Africa players, so we can lure a bunch of them over to play for Namibia in World Cups down the line.”How far they will go: You’d hate to think they’ve won their last game.

In the absence of allrounders Stokes and Curran, England find themselves with two different tactical visions to win T20s

Matt Roller22-Oct-20213:39

Talking tactics – Should Dawid Malan start for England?

When England have been at full strength in T20 internationals over the last five years, they have found it easy to balance their side. They have picked four frontline bowlers from No. 8-11, most of whom are capable with the bat, and then relied on Ben Stokes and one of Moeen Ali or Sam Curran to split four overs between them, sharing the workload of the ‘fifth’ bowler.In this T20 World Cup, they do not have that option available to them. Stokes has only recently resumed low-level training after a prolonged break from the game, focusing on his mental health and recovering from a broken finger, while Curran’s absence through injury is a significant blow: while his T20I career is still nascent, he is perhaps the closest thing England have to a genuine allrounder in the format as a six-hitter at the death and a versatile bowling option.Related

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The result is that England will have to shape their side differently, opting for either a batting-heavy or bowling-heavy approach. Their choice heading into their first match of the tournament against the West Indies on Saturday – a repeat of the 2016 final – is not so much between like-for-like players, but for two different tactical visions as to how best to win 20-over games.There is an idea in football that the majority of teams have to deal with a ‘short blanket’ when trying to find a balance between attacking and defending: “If you cover your head, you have your feet cold; but if you cover your feet, you have your head cold,” Rafa Benitez, the former Liverpool manager, once explained. The same is true in T20 cricket, with No. 7s in particular: picking a batting allrounder leaves your attack vulnerable; picking a bowling allrounder can leave you short on batting depth.For England, their balance rests on one question: can they trust the combination of Liam Livingstone and Moeen’s spin as their ‘fifth’ bowler, alongside Adil Rashid and three seamers? That option, the batting-heavy one, would place immense faith in two bowlers who have effectively been used as part-timers in the last year – Livingstone has bowled 10 overs in six games since his recall earlier this year, while Moeen has bowled 13.5 in his 10 T20Is since the start of last summer.ESPNcricinfo LtdJofra Archer’s absence through injury is relevant here too: a batting-heavy side would leave them relying on their seamers to bowl both in the powerplay and at the death, but most of their seamers in this squad have a focus on particular phases of the game rather than across an innings: Chris Woakes and David Willey are new-ball specialists, Mark Wood is best used as an enforcer through the middle, while Chris Jordan, Tymal Mills and Tom Curran are strongest at the death. Ideally, they would bowl in their strongest phase rather than cover gaps elsewhere.The alternative – which seems the likely option at this stage – is to drop one of their batters and include a fourth frontline seamer, which would give England significantly more flexibility with the ball but slightly compromise their batting depth. There would be challenges if England lost early wickets and Eoin Morgan’s form means that it is a bold move to include him as one of six batters, but with dew likely to play a major role in floodlit games, the prospect of having to bowl eight overs of spin with a wet ball in a run chase is too risky – not least with Rashid’s legspin matching up poorly against a West Indies side featuring several left-handers.The question, then, is which batter makes way, with Dawid Malan’s place under pressure once again. Malan has a remarkable overall record across his T20I career, averaging 43.19 with a strike rate of 139.33, but his proclivity to play himself in – he tends to reach 10 off 10 balls – before looking to accelerate appears ill-suited to conditions in the UAE, while there are doubts about his ability to play top-quality spin after a relatively lean year in this format.Malan may well have dominated a World Cup held in Australia – as the 2020 edition was due to be before its postponement – due to his strengths against fast bowling and his ability to hit spin through the line on true pitches, but innings of 18 off 18 and 11 off 15 in England’s two warm-up games highlight the concern about his role here on slower surfaces. In the UAE leg of IPL 2021, 74% of games were won by the team scoring more runs in the first six overs, emphasising the importance of fast starts; in his T20I career, Malan strikes at just 111.97 in the powerplay.A batting-heavy side would leave England relying on their seamers to bowl both in the powerplay and at the death•Aijaz Rahi/Associated PressInstead, England may end up with a relatively flexible batting line-up of Jonny Bairstow, Moeen, Livingstone and Morgan coming in behind Jason Roy and Jos Buttler, with entry points more important than order. Bairstow, for example, might come in at No. 3 if they were to lose a wicket inside the first over given his experience against the new ball, while Moeen would shuffle above him towards the end of the powerplay to utilise his ability against spin. Morgan has left open the unlikely possibility of dropping himself at some stage while Moeen and Livingstone are not totally guaranteed of their places – but if it would be bold to drop Malan, it would be bolder still to leave out one of two men in career-best six-hitting form.Leaving out the man at No. 1 in the ICC’s T20I batting rankings is a luxury that few teams could afford but England’s batting is strong enough that it is starting to look like the logical remedy to their selection headache. When José Mourinho, Chelsea’s manager at the time, brought the blanket analogy to English football, he concluded: “But the blanket I have is made of cashmere, so it’s good.” England will feel much the same, even if it means their heads are sticking out.

“Our execution was nowhere near as good as we would like,” Eoin Morgan admits

Matt Roller24-Jan-2022Two months after England lost an unlosable game against New Zealand in their T20 World Cup semi-final, they almost lost another. As the wheels came off in the final stages of their eventual one-run win against West Indies in the second T20I in Barbados on Sunday evening, there was a simple conclusion to be drawn: England have a death-bowling problem.Back in November, New Zealand needed 57 to win off the final four overs in Abu Dhabi, an equation that no batting team had solved in T20 international history. They hauled it down with an over to spare, with Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid and Chris Woakes put to the sword by Jimmy Neesham and Daryl Mitchell.Related

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In Bridgetown, West Indies left themselves 61 off 18 balls with two wickets in hand after a mid-innings collapse, a tally which has been achieved only once in the final three overs of a T20 international and never in a run chase. They fell two runs short and could justifiably feel aggrieved by an umpiring decision: Akeal Hosein – who struck 44 not out off 16 balls, a record for a No. 10 batter – was aghast to see a full, wide ball from Saqib Mahmood deemed to have passed him inside the tramlines.The 59 runs that came from the final three overs were the joint-most that England have conceded in that phase, made by India – and primarily Yuvraj Singh – in Durban nearly 15 years ago. Mahmood seemed to suffer the same stage fright that afflicted Stuart Broad on that night as he missed yorker after yorker and was slugged over the short leg-side boundary.Jordan’s over, the 18th, was eerily reminiscent of the 17th in the semi-final – not least because it cost the same number of runs, 23. With one boundary significantly shorter than the other, he planned accordingly and banged the ball into the pitch on a good length; Hosein (over cover) and Romario Shepherd (twice, over midwicket) responded by carting him for sixes over the bigger boundary.For Mahmood, the discrepancy in boundary sizes again informed his plan to bowl full and wide outside Hosein’s off stump. But after his first ball was given as a wide and his second narrowly escaped the same fate, he lost his nerve: Hosein hit consecutive boundaries either side of long-on, failed to reach another wide, then slammed three sixes to leave West Indies two runs short of their target.”Every team in the world is trying to get better at it,” Eoin Morgan, England’s captain said. “It is the hardest job in T20 cricket, death-bowling. Conditions did get a little bit better towards the end – the ball did skid on as opposed to our innings in the first innings – but ultimately, we need to find better ways of going about it. Our execution was nowhere near as good as we would like.”The inevitable question was asked: why aren’t England trying to bowl yorkers? “We are, we’re just getting it wrong,” Morgan conceded. “The majority of our plan today was to bowl yorkers, use the long side, and we missed. That’s being brutally honest. The guys are always honest with executing in order to try and move on [and to] identify areas that we can get better – this is definitely one of them.”They’re games that you want to play in. Looking back at the build into the [2021] World Cup, we didn’t play in many tight games to work on our death hitting and our death bowling, so today is a good example of that. The more experience, hopefully, the better we’ll get at executing.”

“It is the hardest job in T20 cricket, death bowling.”Eoin Morgan

The one bowler to escape with both figures and dignity intact was Reece Topley – ironically, playing his first T20 international since he was hammered at the death by JP Duminy in the 2016 World Cup. He too used the dimensions in his plans, hanging the ball wide outside Shepherd’s hitting arc with a short leg-side boundary and angling the ball into the left-handed Hosein’s pads. Crucially, his execution was significantly better, in keeping with a fine return to the side: he took 1 for 18 in his four overs, had Nicholas Pooran dropped, and pulled off an athletic run-out off his own bowling.One of the men tasked with post-match analysis in BT Sport’s studio, Tom Curran, was better-placed than most to talk about England’s travails, having himself slipped down the pecking order after some rough nights at the death – though he would have played in this series but for a stress fracture suffered in the Big Bash League.”It was interesting to hear Morgs say that they were all going for the yorkers,” he said. “I think a lot of the time what we’ve spoken about over the last year is actually the value of hard, heavy-length balls at the death.”Yorkers are a funny one. You can be nailing them in practice but when you get out there in the middle, it’s hard to describe – it really is a ‘feel’ thing for a bowler. You can find one early on in your spell and get your radar; on other days, you’ll be struggling.”In the long term, the Hundred should help England’s death-bowling depth by exposing young seamers to tough situations at the end of an innings. But in its first season, three of the five best regular death bowlers were overseas recruits (Adam Milne, Lockie Ferguson and Marchant de Lange) and the two domestic players (Jordan and Tymal Mills) are already in the England set-up.It should serve as consolation for England that their first-choice death bowlers, Mills and Jofra Archer, were only onlookers in Barbados due to rotation and injury respectively, and as Mitchell Starc and Shaheen Shah Afridi showed in the other World Cup semi-final, even the best can have off-nights.But this was a chastening night for Jordan and Mahmood all the same. Morgan often says that he wants England to be ruthless in white-ball cricket; across the last 12 months, their death bowlers have been anything but.

They have the option to play Nathan Coulter-Nile instead of James Neesham, but that would weaken their batting

Sruthi Ravindranath22-Mar-2022

Where they finished in 2021

They failed to make the playoffs for the third consecutive season, finishing seventh with five wins in 14 matches.

Potential first XI

1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Jos Buttler, 3 Devdutt Padikkal, 4 Sanju Samson (capt, wk), 5 Shimron Hetmyer, 6 Riyan Parag, 7 James Neesham/Nathan Coulter-Nile, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Yuzvendra Chahal, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Prasidh KrishnaRelated

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• Malinga named Royals' fast-bowling coach for IPL 2022

Batting

Royals are likely to go with a mix of youth and experience at the top of the order and opt for the left-right combination of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler – both of whom were retained ahead of the mega auction. This would mean Devdutt Padikkal, one of the new entrants who is coming off two superb seasons with Royal Challengers Bangalore, is likely to bat at No. 3 instead of his usual opening position. With two big hitters in captain Sanju Samson and Shimron Hetmyer to come in next, their top order looks power-packed. And they have Riyan Parag and James Neesham to further bolster their line-up.Royals have been marred by inconsistency with the bat, and have resorted to constant chopping and changing, which has been one of their biggest issues in the last few seasons. They’ve had several individual performers but haven’t always been able to click as a unit. So this time, they will be keen to pin down batting positions. The team will be one to watch out for if the top five play true to their ability.There is also a bit of pressure on Parag – whom they bought back in the auction despite his lukewarm performances in the last two seasons – to step up in the role of finisher.If required, they also have the option of slotting in Rassie van der Dussen, who has been in sublime form across white-ball formats for South Africa in the last year.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Bowling

One of the biggest pluses for Royals at the auction was their putting together of a strong Indian core, with the additions of R Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal in the bowling department being key to this. Given their experience, the two will be expected to keep the opposition in check in the middle overs.They also have a potent new-ball duo in Prasidh Krishna – their most expensive buy (INR 10 crore) at the auction – and New Zealand’s Trent Boult to handle the powerplay.One point of worry could be their death bowling. They have the option of playing Nathan Coulter-Nile instead of Neesham at No. 7 to bring some control at the death. But that would weaken their batting. They’ll want to take some notes from Lasith Malinga, their newly appointed fast-bowling coach, and one of the best death bowlers in T20 history, to prevent those issues.Can Yashasvi Jaiswal repay the management’s faith?•BCCI/IPL

Young player to watch out for

That Yashasvi Jaiswal was one of three players to be retained by the franchise should say a lot about his calibre. The top-order batter who rose to prominence with his U-19 performances was snapped up by the franchise in 2020. He was given a chance to open that season, and while he impressed with his cameos in the second half of IPL 2021, a return of 289 runs at 22.23 over two seasons, with a strike rate of 136.32, suggests he hasn’t found consistency yet. If he can add that ingredient this season, he will have repaid the management’s faith in his ability.

Coaching staff

Kumar Sangakkara (head coach and director of cricket), Lasith Malinga (fast-bowling coach), Steffan Jones (high-performance fast-bowling coach), Paddy Upton (team catalyst), Trevor Penney (assistant coach), Zubin Bharucha (strategy, development and performance director), Dishant Yagnik (fielding coach)

Poll