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Fifties from Billings and Sangha took Thunder to 200, and Scorchers eventually fell 34 runs short

Tristan Lavalette28-Dec-2021An Impressive Sydney Thunder inflicted Perth Scorchers’ first defeat of the BBL season with a comfortable 34-run victory in Canberra.Thunder proved Scorchers were beatable after a dominant all-round performance having set up the victory with a strong 7 for 200 before running through the league leaders’ powerful top-order.There were no heroics this time from red-hot Mitchell Marsh as Scorchers’ six-game winning streak came to a halt, while Thunder (3-3) made a statement.Thunder dominate Scorchers’ attackThunder haven’t really got going this season partly because dynamo Alex Hales has struggled and again he looked out of sorts falling for just 13. They were in deep trouble at 2 for 23 but English import Sam Billings came in and looked the goods from the get go – unlike his beleaguered compatriots earlier in the day at the MCG.He hit a beautiful on-drive boundary first ball and quickly changed the game’s momentum with shots all around the wicket. Billings swept the spinners with aplomb and also took a liking to the extra pace of speedster Lance Morris.He found a willing ally in Jason Sangha who continued his strong form as the pair combined for a century stand to put an increasingly ragged Scorchers under pressure. Billings’ exquisite timing meant he didn’t have to do anything rash until he tried to accelerate in the power surge to fall for a 35-ball 67.Thunder never lost momentum with handy cameos down the order and Jason Sangha the fulcrum throughout. They conjured the toughest task this season by dominating Scorchers’ brilliant attack to post their highest ever score against them and earn a standing ovation from the faithful in the terraces.Scorchers endure sloppy performanceFor the first time this season after winning the bat flip, Scorchers decided to go against their preferred method of batting first. Perhaps the league leaders wanted practice chasing or maybe they knew that seven of the last eight games at Manuka Oval had been won by the team batting second.Whatever the reasoning, the Scorchers struggled despite quick Matt Kelly starring with menacing late swing to finish with three wickets. With Tymal Mills resting, the returning Kelly made the most of his opportunity but the same could not be said of Morris, who made his season debut as an x-factor replacing spinner Peter Hatzoglou. He struggled to find his top gear of 150 kmh/93 mph and bowled just 1.3 overs.Scorchers were shorthanded when Andrew Tye bowled two waist high full tosses in the 15th over and he was not allowed to continue having only bowled 1.3 overs.It highlighted a sloppy performance from Scorchers with the ball and in the field – bad habits which trickled over after a lethargic effort late last game against Melbourne Renegades. Perhaps they are jaded having been confined to the road permanently but the Scorchers clearly didn’t meet their high standards.Disciplined Thunder throttle ScorchersEven though they posted a strong total, Thunder knew the job was not complete but quicks Saqib Mahmood and Nathan McAndrew ensured they didn’t need to stress with five wickets between them.Mahmood bowled with venom to set the tone while McAndrew hustled the batters, including the key wicket of Marsh. His most impressive scalp, however, was Scorchers skipper Ashton Turner who he deceived with a perfectly executed slower ball.Just when Scorchers were making a bold rally, Mahmood stepped up in the power surge with the wicket of Laurie Evans as the disciplined Thunder once again gained a stranglehold.With the quicks doing the heavy lifting, Thunder didn’t need to rely on frontline spinner Tanveer Sangha in a performance that should provide them with genuine belief for the second half of the season.Scorchers misfire in chaseJosh Inglis’ miserable BBL season continued when he was bowled for a golden duck but Scorchers still had hope when Marsh entered the crease and he smoked an early boundary to underline his sublime form.It didn’t last with Marsh enduring a rare failure when he holed out on 6. In-form Kurtis Patterson, making his return from a hamstring injury, and Turner also fell within seven overs.Too much was left for Colin Munro who tried gallantly with a half-century to revive Scorchers but to no avail despite some late fireworks from a pumped-up Tye.Scorchers will rue their off-performance and other teams might sense a blueprint on how to beat them.

Former Australia quick retired from internationals in the lead-up to Ashes series

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jan-2022James Pattinson, the Australia fast bowler who retired from international cricket on the eve of the Ashes, is set for a third stint with Nottinghamshire after signing an all-format deal covering the 2022 season.Pattinson is a British passport holder but has been registered as an overseas player, having previously spent parts of the 2017 and 2019 seasons with the county, taking 40 first-class wickets at 15.52.He announced the end of his international career in October 2021, having played 21 Tests and 19 white-ball internationals since his debut as a 21-year-old in 2011. His 81 Test wickets at 26.33 apiece included a best of 5 for 27 in Australia’s thrilling 14-run defeat at Trent Bridge in 2013.Pattinson’s elder brother Darren, who made a one-off Test appearance for England in 2008, won the County Championship title with Nottinghamshire in 2010.”Trent Bridge felt like home from the moment I first stepped through the gates,” said Pattinson. “To arrive here and be met by a group of guys that made me so welcome from minute dot was pretty special, and I’m looking forward to getting back amongst them again.”The family link with Darren having done what he did in Nottingham a few years back, and with Dad having played football at junior level for Forest, made it feel like an authentic fit for me right from the off. I knew straight away that I’d found a county I could be really passionate about representing.”The bowling group did some special things last season. Hopefully I can add something to that and help the club enjoy some success in the coming years.”Once I get that badge back on my chest and the ball in my hand, there’ll be no backward steps taken for sure. It’ll be a case of ripping into the season and giving it everything to win matches for the club.”Pattinson claimed 32 wickets at 12.06 in his first Championship stint at Trent Bridge in 2017, and made an immediate impact on debut, scoring a career-best 89 not out, adding 122 for the eighth wicket with Stuart Broad, as well as claiming match figures of 8 for 84.He played in ten matches as Notts lifted the Royal London Cup, taking 13 wickets in the tournament and hitting the winning runs against Surrey at Lord’s, then returned for a brief stint in 2019.”We first recruited James in 2017 because we believed he possessed the two qualities you always look for in an overseas signing: tremendous pedigree and the desire to commit fully to life at the club,” Peter Moores, Nottinghamshire’s head coach, said.”In both respects, he proved to be everything we wanted and more, both with his performances on the field and the mark he left on us all as a character and a competitor, so we’re all really looking forward to welcoming him back over here.”Our bowling attack did great things in 2021, and the way to build on that is by going again and trying to get even better.”Jimmy will add a new dimension with his pace, hostility and experience. He’s someone our young players can benefit from spending time with and he adds more depth and quality to our bowling group, which we know is really important.”

Visits by India women and South Africa men, plus the Women’s World Cup and a tour by Netherlands men, are scheduled for the next few weeks

Andrew McGlashan23-Jan-2022Upcoming domestic and international matches in New Zealand, potentially including the Women’s ODI World Cup, will continue to take place – behind closed doors – after the entire country was put under enhanced Covid-19 restrictions after a community outbreak of the Omicron variant.New Zealand will move into the “red” setting of a traffic system late on Sunday after cases emerged on both North and South Island. It is not a lockdown but there is a limit of 100 vaccinated people at an event. An NZC spokesperson confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that while the red setting remained in force domestic and international matches would be closed to the public.New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern did not specify an exact timeline for the new restrictions, as the country deals with its first community outbreak of Omicron, but indicated it would be a number of weeks.Related

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The first international series to be impacted would be the visit by the India women’s team for a tour that includes one T20I and five ODIs beginning February 9. The South Africa men’s team is then due to visit for a two-match Test series from mid-February. India arrive on January 26 and South Africa on February 4 with squads needing to undertake ten days quarantine.Last week, New Zealand postponed a limited-overs tour to Australia because they could not secure MIQ rooms for their return, but the allocations for India and South Africa – plus the Women’s World Cup and a late-season visit by the Netherlands men’s team – had been locked in before a recent pause to the quarantine system.Speaking on Sunday, minister for sport and recreation Grant Robertson said that the World Cup organising committee had been planning for a change in restrictions. “Obviously we don’t know how long this will last,” he said. “The Women’s Cricket World Cup organisers have been planning for the tournament to take place in the red setting, and it can absolutely do that.”He also floated the possibility of expanding the use of the 100-person limit by using a “pod” system, which has been recently trialled in the Super Smash.”Bear in mind, when we brought the red setting in it is possible to use the defined space rules to effectively have pods of 100 people as long as they keep separate from one another and come into and out of the venue separately,” Robertson said. “I know the Cricket World Cup team have been thinking about that, if it is necessary.”The Women’s World Cup is scheduled to start on March 4 when New Zealand face West Indies in Mount Maunganui. Matches will also be played in Dunedin, Hamilton, Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.Cricket in New Zealand has so far largely escaped the impact of the pandemic with the country going for long periods without cases and then managing to keep numbers low when they have emerged.Last season, matches involving the Australia men’s team and the England women’s side had to briefly go behind closed doors when alert levels were changed following the emergence of cases in Auckland.

Both the players picked up on-field injuries during the final T20I against West Indies

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Feb-2022Deepak Chahar and Suryakumar Yadav will miss the upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka at home because of injuries.The two players picked up on-field injuries during the third T20I against West Indies in Kolkata on Sunday. Chahar has sustained a right quadriceps injury while bowling his second over in India’s last T20I fixture, and left the field after bowling 1.5 overs. Suryakumar, Player of the Series for the T20Is, was standing in the slips when he suffered a hairline fracture in his hand in the second innings after scoring a 31-ball 65 in the first innings.Related

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They will both now be at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for their recovery, a BCCI statement said.Despite the injury setbacks, the BCCI has not announced replacements. Earlier, the board had named an 18-member squad that included the returning Ravindra Jadeja and Sanju Samson.While Chahar’s services with the new ball will be missed by Rohit Sharma’s Indians, the side is loaded with seam-bowling options, with Jasprit Bumrah returning alongside Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Avesh Khan and Harshal Patel around, as the team looks to find its best group of players before the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia later this year.Samson could be a direct middle-order batting replacement for Suryakumar in the XI for the Sri Lanka matches. Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant have been rested.Updated squad: Rohit Sharma (capt), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Jasprit Bumrah (vice-capt), Avesh Khan.

Royals have ticked all the boxes so far, and Royal Challengers must get their batting right, firstly, to make it tough for the table-toppers

Srinidhi Ramanujam04-Apr-20221:44

Should batting teams be conservative in the powerplay?

Big picture

A power-packed Rajasthan Royals have turned it on already this IPL, winning two matches after posting scores of 193 and 210, and would be keen to extend their stay at the top of the table, when they run into Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Wankhede Stadium.Having finished second from bottom in 2021 with just five wins from 14 matches, Royals appear to have ticked all the boxes this time, on the evidence so far. Their batting approach has been markedly different, with a run rate in excess of 8.5 in both games. Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson have hit a total of 16 sixes and they also have the likes of Devdutt Padikkal and Shimron Hetmyer, who can notch up big hits without spending too much time in the middle. While teams generally tend to slow down in the middle overs, Royals have scored at 10.07 runs per over in this phase, the highest for any team in IPL 2022.

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So far, 200-plus totals have been chased down two of the three times they have been put up, but Royals have defended well in both their games. Barring Nathan Coulter-Nile, who sat out the second match after pulling up in the first with a leg injury, all of their frontline bowlers have been among the wickets, and Yuzvendra Chahal and R Ashwin, who have come together in a dream spin combination, as well as Trent Boult and Prasidh Krishna boast economy rates under seven. These are early days, but if Royals continue playing with the same intent, they might be serious title contenders.On Tuesday, Chahal will be up against his old team Royal Challengers, for whom he thrived from 2014 to 2021. He was the leading wicket-taker for the franchise in four of those seasons and was the highest wicket-taker overall for them with 139 strikes. Going by his form, the legspinner could be a handful for the Royal Challengers batters.Royal Challengers are coming off a five-day break, having lost their opener against Punjab Kings despite posting 205 and surviving a scare while chasing 129 against Kolkata Knight Riders to collect their first points. A strong start from the top order of Faf du Plessis, Anuj Rawat and Virat Kohli would be key to their chances.In the bowling department, Royal Challengers would be relying heavily on Wanindu Hasaranga and Harshal Patel, who had a breakthrough IPL 2021 and has carried that form into this year with three wickets at an economy rate of 5.87. Hasaranga, with five wickets to his name from two innings, has provided crucial breakthroughs and should be one of the bowlers Royals have to be wary of.

In the news

Royal Challengers are likely to stick with du Plessis, Sherfane Rutherford, David Willey and Hasaranga, with Australian quicks Jason Behrendorff and Josh Hazlewood available for selection only from April 6. Meanwhile, Glenn Maxwell will be available only from April 9.Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli, or at least one of them, must take the lead with the bat•BCCI

Likely XIs

Royal Challengers Bangalore: 1 Faf du Plessis (capt), 2 Anuj Rawat, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 5 Sherfane Rutherford, 6 Shahbaz Ahmed, 7 Wanindu Hasaranga, 8 Harshal Patel, 9 David Willey, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Akash Deep Rajasthan Royals:: 1 Jos Buttler, 2 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 3 Devdutt Padikkal, 4 Sanju Samson (capt, wk), 5 Shimron Hetmyer, 6 Riyan Parag, 7 R Ashwin, 8 Navdeep Saini, 9 Trent Boult, 10 Prasidh Krishna, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal

Strategy punt

Kohli has an exceptional record against Prasidh and Boult and his strike rate jumps to 140 or above against these pacers in T20s. Kohli has also gotten out only once to Ashwin in 20 innings and averages 162 against the offspinner and will be looking to dominate again.Hasaranga has troubled Samson in the past, dismissing him thrice in four T20s in the span of 11 balls. Buttler also has had little success against Hasaranga – he is yet to hit a boundary in the 23 balls that he has faced from him in the T20s.

Stats that matter

• du Plessis has hit 30 sixes since IPL 2021, the second-most after KL Rahul’s 33.
• Hetmyer has a strike rate of 248.14 in this edition, the highest for a batter who has scored 50 runs.
• Chahal has picked up 23 wickets in 17 matches since IPL 2021, the most by a spinner.

“We needed another team, but from now on it’s all us,” Glenn Maxwell said.

ESPNcricinfo staff22-May-2022There were delirious scenes in the Royal Challengers Bangalore camp after they qualified for the playoffs courtesy Mumbai Indians’ five-wicket win over Delhi Capitals on Saturday. Royal Challengers were on 16 points and Capitals on 14 ahead of the game, but Capitals only needed a win to make it to the playoffs because of their superior net run-rate.On the other hand, Royal Challengers’ hopes of making it to the final four rested on the already-eliminated Mumbai’s shoulders, and the Rohit Sharma-led side did not disappoint them. Led by Jasprit Bumrah’s three-wicket burst and Tim David’s 11-ball 34, Mumbai chased down the 160-run target, prompting wild celebrations in the Royal Challengers’ unit at their hotel.