All posts by csb10.top

Scorecard1:00

County Championship round-up: Stoneman goes big for Surrey

Somerset’s young captain, Tom Abell, knows that the time has come for his batsmen, himself included, to respond if their memorable tilt at the Championship last season is not to be followed by relegation this time around.Knowing is one thing, doing another. Presented with an opportunity to complete a dominant first day after dismissing Yorkshire for 202, Somerset finished on 41 for 3 by the close. “What’s the forecast for tomorrow?” one sage asked. “More wickets,” came the reply.It is impossible not to have sympathy for Abell. Not that he wants sympathy. He wants runs. Not just from himself but from his team. Sympathy is a consideration of failure and so best avoided, especially when his only half-century in the previous match against Middlesex came on a dead final day.He made a second-ball duck. Ryan Sidebottom slanted one across him and he edged to the wicketkeeper. An exasperated swish of the bat and off he went. He needs someone to drop a sitter at first slip, followed by a successful slog the next ball.Sidebottom sniffs old batting vulnerability like an old sea dog sniffs out submerged rocks. Seven overs with the new ball brought him 3 for 15 – Dean Elgar caught at slip, Marcus Trescothick bowled as he drove loosely. Somerset’s batting has so many submerged rocks that somebody should build a lighthouse by the pavilion. Instead, they are erecting big temporary stands which almost, but not quite, destroy the atmosphere of the ground.It has been a difficult summer with the bat for Somerset. But if you play on a used pitch, the odds are that the bowlers will be on top. Both sides are presuming this is a three-day game if the weather does not disrupt things too much. As both sides have a home Royal London Cup play-off to prepare for immediately afterwards, they are not about to complain too much about that.When you are struggling, fate conspires against you. Somerset chose to call up Adam Hose, a 24-year-old batsman from the Isle of Wight who had been in prolific form for the 2nd XI. A Taunton favourite, Peter Trego, was the man dropped. That is the sort of thing that makes people change your cross on an election ballot in protest. The Lib Dems might have avoided a South-West wipe-out if they had protested.Hose seemed to strain a thigh while fielding, left the field, left the ground and, although Somerset offered no explanation, one only assume that scan-type things took place.To dismiss Yorkshire for 202 was far more cheery. There are good things for Somerset to cling to. Jack Leach, the left-arm spinner who was so influential last summer, is gradually regaining his confidence after England’s unnecessary testing of his action at Loughborough in the winter – a classic case, surely, of people justifying jobs. He took two wickets, bowling Gary Ballance on the sweep and following up with Matthew Waite, who is a promising allrounder but markedly high in the order at No. 6, via a cagey push forward and edge to first slip.The offspinner, Dom Bess, who stood alongside Leach as Somerset pushed for the title last season, also took a couple of wickets. Both will anticipate more spin second time around and will be confident that they can outbowl Yorkshire’s pair of Azeem Rafiq and Kyle Carver.Best of all was Jamie Overton. When everything clicks, he looks a giant of a fast bowler and he was impressive here, generating extra bounce to have Adam Lyth caught in the gully, Peter Handscomb lbw and defeat Jack Leaning’s attempted hook shot. Andy Hodd rallied Yorkshire with a half-century, but he took a few blows and admitted he never saw the first ball he received from Overton, which he ducked instinctively.Yorkshire, for all their Championship pretensions, are vulnerable. Sidebottom leads a weakened attack – no Tim Bresnan, who is on family duties, no David Willey, Liam Plunkett or Adil Rashid, who are in the Champions Trophy, no Ben Coad, one of the country’s leading wicket-taker’s, laid low with sore shins, no Jack Brooks, who was left out, a surprising decision even allowing for his poor Taunton record.They have not won in their last seven visits to Taunton, losing three. So there is hope for Somerset. Abell just needs his side to turn it into victory.

Match facts

Rising Pune Supergiant v Delhi Daredevils
Pune, April 11, 2017
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)2:42

Chopra: Lockie Ferguson should replace Dan Christian

Head-to-head

The teams have met twice and Rising Pune won both games chasing. They won the first one in Delhi by seven wickets, and the second by being 19 runs ahead of the D/L par score when rain interrupted a chase of 121 in Vizag.

Form guide

• Rising Pune: lost to Kings XI by 6 wickets, beat Mumbai Indians by 7 wickets

• Dareveils: lost to RCB by 15 runs

In the news

Neither team has immediate, short-term injury concerns. Sri Lanka allrounder Angelo Mathews joined the Daredevils squad for training on the eve of the match, but it isn’t certain if he is available for selection. Earlier this month, Sri Lanka cricket manager Asanka Gurusinha had said it was unlikely Mathews would be 100% fit for the start of the IPL.Daredevils’ batting took a hit when Quinton De Kock’s injury was followed by JP Duminy’s withdrawal from the IPL. Their response was to sign Australian fast bowler Ben Hilfenhaus as a replacement, despite the seemingly endless list of bowling options available to them – Mohammed Shami, Kagiso Rabada, M Ashwin and Jayant Yadav make up only half of the bowlers they have in reserve.Rishabh Pant’s gutsy innings against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the face of personal grief drew praise from team-mate Chris Morris, who said the youngster is going to be a big player for India in the future. While Morris’ hypothesis will take time to test, Daredevils’ top-order performance against RCB made it all but certain that Pant is going to be their biggest player this season.Imran Tahir’s stoic declaration that his job was to ‘come and perform’ has been the only reassurance for Rising Pune’s bowling attack. He will also be keen to prove a point against the team that did not play him much last season, and then released him.Ben Stokes’ explosive batting against Kings XI Punjab on Saturday did not improve his bowling form, and Dan Christian’s went for 24 in two overs. Ashok Dinda has had a difficult start to the season as well, which leaves Rising Pune with an unsettled attack.

The likely XIs

Rising Pune Supergiant: 1 Ajinkya Rahane, 2 Mayank Agarwal/Faf du Plessis, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Ben Stokes, 5 MS Dhoni (wk), 6 Manoj Tiwary, 7 Rajat Bhatia, 8 Dan Christian/Shardul Thakur, 9 Rahul Chahar, 10 Imran Tahir, 11 Ashok Dinda/Ishwar Pandey
Delhi Daredevils: 1 Aditya Tare, 2 Sam Billings, 3 Karun Nair, 4 Sanju Samson, 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Chris Morris, 7 Carlos Brathwaite/Corey Anderson, 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Amit Mishra/Jayant Yadav, 10 Shahbaz Nadeem, 11 Zaheer Khan (capt)

Stats that matter

• The last four matches at the venue have all been won by the chasing side, which is congruent to Rising Pune’s record of never having won a game after batting first.
• Since winning five of their first seven matches last season, Delhi Daredevils have lost six of their last eight.
• MS Dhoni has made three single-digit scores in his last six innings for Rising Pune, including two innings of at least 10 balls where his strike rate was below 50.
• Ajinkya Rahane averages 77.75 against Delhi Daredevils, with six fifties in 13 innings. They have only managed to dismiss him once inside a Powerplay.
• Steven Smith has 32 runs off nine balls against Shahbaz Nadeem, his highest strike-rate against any bowler in the IPL. His strike rate against Amit Mishra, however, is 72 (18 off 25 balls), his lowest against any bowler in the IPL.
• Chris Morris had the best economy in the slog overs last season among all bowlers who bowled more than ten overs – 7.31. In Daredevils’ previous game against RCB, Morris gave away a combined nine runs in the 18th and 20th overs, of which eight were dot balls.
• Rishabh Pant has 11 runs from four innings when his team bats first in the IPL, as opposed to scores of 20, 69, 4*, 39*, 23, 32 and 57 when they chase.
• Karun Nair hasn’t scored more than thirty in his 12 innings across formats after his Test triple-century against England.
• Imran Tahir has taken five wickets in eight overs, with an economy of 7.12; all other Rising Pune bowlers have taken a combined six wickets in 31 overs, at an economy of 9.29

Match Facts

March 8-12 2017
Start time 11.00am local (2200GMT)1:37

Moonda: South Africa’s quicks could heat up Dunedin

The Big Picture

This match-up has a one-sided history. New Zealand have only won four Tests against South Africa and two of those came in 1962 when they shared a rare five-Test series 2-2. Since then, they won the first meeting after readmission, at Johannesburg in 1994, and their only home victory was inspired by Chris Martin at Eden Park in 2004.South Africa also plunged New Zealand towards their most recent nadir. At Newlands in early 2013, they were bowled out before lunch on the opening day. Nothing so one-sided is expected this time. Since South Africa last visited for a Test in 2012, New Zealand have only lost one series on home soil, against Australia last year.For their part, South Africa have been one of finest touring sides in the last decade with last year’s defeat in India being their first overseas since Sri Lanka in 2006. They overcame Australia late last year (although given subsequent events that feels a lifetime ago) and despite New Zealand’s strength on home soil, start the series as favourites.The key will be whether New Zealand can put enough runs on the board because in Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Neil Wagner they have the bowlers to put pressure on South Africa. It should be a series of quality pace bowling with Kagiso Rabada and Vernon Philander leading the opposite line.

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)
New Zealand WWWWL
South Africa WWWLW

In the spotlight

Tom Latham and Jeet Raval will face one of their toughest challenges: seeing off Rabada, Philander and Morne Morkel. Latham’s confidence has to have taken a knock after his horror run in ODIs which saw him lose his place. Raval has played just four Tests, although showed impressive composure against Pakistan before giving away a few starts against Bangladesh. Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor are the key to New Zealand’s batting, but they have a better chance if not exposed to the new ball too soon.Two of South Africa’s batting engine room, JP Duminy and Temba Bavuma come into the series under a little scrutiny but for different reasons. Duminy regressed during the one-day series, scratching around and wasting starts when he made them, but elevated his Test game against Australia and Sri Lanka. Bavuma, meanwhile, made just 21 runs in five innings against Sri Lanka so he could do with reviving memories of England at Cape Town and Australia in Hobart. The latter, given likely conditions, could be relevant.

Team news

Williamson kept the door open for two spinners, but it is also Colin de Grandhomme verses James Neesham so it would be a major surprise if they omitted one of the three frontline quicks.New Zealand (probable): 1 Tom Latham, 2 Jeet Raval, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Henry Nicholls, 6 BJ Watling (wk), 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Colin de Grandhomme/James Neesham, 9 Neil Wagner, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Trent BoultFaf du Plessis confirmed that Morne Morkel will play his first Test in more than a year, being preferred ahead of Duanne Olivier. They will also play a specialist spinner in Keshav Maharaj.South Africa (probable): 1 Stephen Cook, 2 Dean Elgar, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 Faf du Plessis (capt), 5 JP Duminy, 6 Temba Bavuma, 7 Quinton de Kock (wk), 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Keshav Maharaj, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Kagiso Rabada

Pitch and conditions

This is the first Test surface for a new University Oval groundsman, but New Zealand don’t expect much different to normal. Dean Elgar termed the pitch “juicy” two days out but local knowledge from Neil Wagner indicated that the temperature was as important to the amount of movement on offer. The forecast for the first three days is good, but the weekend isn’t too promising at the moment.

Stats and trivia

• Excluding series involving Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, the New Zealand win-loss ratio against South Africa is the joint lowest in history alongside West Indies against South Africa.
• University Oval is New Zealand’s only unbeaten home venue. They have won three and drawn four at the ground. The final day of the 2012 Test against South Africa was washed out.
• Williamson’s average as captain of 55 is the best by a New Zealand skipper, fractionally ahead of Martin Crowe.
• The captain winning the toss has bowled first in New Zealand on 22 consecutive occasions. The last time a captain batted first was Daniel Vettori against Pakistan, at the Basin Reserve, in 2011.

Quotes

“I don’t get ahead of myself with silly ideas like that. We want to have a look at the surface, it can change. We don’t want to delve into that before we have any outrageous thoughts.”
Kane Williamson isn’t getting ahead of himself about what to do at the toss“With slower conditions here, our strongest team is the balance of three seamers and a spinner. If the wicket is slow, your spinner does become important.”

Pakistan registered a seven-wicket win in Port of Spain on Sunday to win the T20I series against West Indies 3-1. They also claimed their sixth victory in seven T20Is against West Indies in a little over six months; after sweeping them in the UAE in September, they have now won in the Caribbean too.What has been the reason for such dominance? According to pacer Wahab Riaz, it’s Pakistan’s bowling – both in terms of planning and execution. “If I have to give the credit, I’ll give the credit to the bowling coach [Azhar Mahmood], probably, as well as the captain and the other coaches,” he said after the final T20I. “Whenever they sat around, they told us what we did best, where these guys are good and where these guys lack capability. So we always try and bowl and attack them where we know they struggle a lot.”And I think we have been very successful because our execution of plans was good. And that is the difference, why we beat them in [the UAE] and here in the West Indies as well.”In the first two T20s of this series, it was debutant legspinner Shadab Khan who caused most of the damage, while in the final game fast bowler Hasan Ali stifled the hosts with two maidens and two wickets. Wahab said it was this combination of good spin and pace bowling that had helped Pakistan stay dominant.”It was a mix and match,” he said. “If you see, probably spinners plus fast bowlers both have bowled really well and when it was time they came and delivered. I think the best thing was everybody wanted to be a match winner and they did it.”Going into the three-match ODI series, West Indies don’t have as many pluses, but that doesn’t mean it’s all bad, according to T20I captain Carlos Brathwaite. “We’ll have to have our team chat,” he said. “One good thing is, every game, win or lose, there’s some good conversation in the team.”One area of concern, he said, was shot selection. “I wasn’t happy with the [batsmen’s] execution. When players come off, the same shots go over the boundary for six, you say well played, that was brilliant. As a management team, we want players to express themselves, but we’re just asking for a bit more awareness than we have seen thus far in the series.”Brathwaite singled out pace bowler Kesrick Williams for special praise. Williams, who debuted during West Indies’ visit to the UAE with figures of 2 for 15, has played five T20Is in all, and has conceded as much as seven an over on only one occasion. His 17 overs have gone for just 93 runs, and featured six wickets and several of his signature, impressive slow balls.”Kesrick’s performance was excellent,” Brathwaite said. “A young man who played his first game in Abu Dhabi, he showed the world what he could do. The challenge is always to come back and do it again and he did it again and again and again. His was one of the standout performances of the series and definitely a positive going forward.”The first of the three ODIs will be played in Providence on April 7.

ScorecardFile photo – Tom Curran played a role with bat and ball•Getty Images

England Lions set an imposing target and then took two early wickets on a rain-interrupted third day of the first unofficial Test with Sri Lanka A. Having recovered from 85 for 6 to post 215, Tom Curran removed Dimuth Karunaratne with the first ball of the fourth innings and Toby Roland-Jones had Sandun Weerakkody, Sri Lanka A’s top-scorer first time around, lbw for 16.Tom Curran and his brother Sam had played a central role with the bat, too, having extended their seventh-wicket partnership to 62. Dilruwan Perera then struck three times to complete a five-wicket haul before rain caused a delay of more than four hours.When the teams finally got back out, Ollie Rayner and Tom Helm held off the Sri Lanka A spinners to put on another valuable tenth-wicket stand. Helm was last out for 26, one run short of equalling his first-class best, as he and Middlesex team-mate Rayner added exactly 50 in 21.5 overs.That left Sri Lanka A facing a stiff requirement of 365 to win and they were quickly in trouble at 19 for 2. Rayner could have struck with the ball in the fading light, too, but Udara Jayasundera and Roshen Silva both survived chances to slip.The start of play was moved forward by 15 minutes to try and make up for time lost on the second day. The Lions already had a lead of 261 and the Currans set about extending it, both striking an early boundary.Sam Curran had reached 36 when when he was pinned lbw by Dilruwan, who also had Tom Curran stumped, for 29, in his next over. Roland-Jones, having cracked a belligerent 82 in the first innings, was taken at slip for 7 but Sri Lanka A had to wait several hours to separate the final pair, Malinda Pushpakumara eventually taking the second new ball to claim his fourth wicket and match figures of 8 for 174.

ScorecardFile photo – Suryakumar Yadav’s 73 in the first innings had helped Mumbai get a 106-run first innings lead•PTI

That Mumbai did not so much storm as saunter into their second successive Ranji Trophy final and their 46th in all – a six-wicket win over Tamil Nadu in two sessions will qualify as nothing less – will gladden them for more than one reason. Firstly, it was a strong opening partnership, an elusive ingredient all season, that set up the chase of 251 on the final day.Secondly, and more importantly, it was Prithvi Shaw, a 17-year-old debutant, who was in the vanguard with a fearless hundred. During the course of his 175-ball 120, Shaw also became the first Mumbai batsman to score a hundred on Ranji Trophy debut in more than two decades, after Amol Muzumdar last achieved the feat in 1993-94.If one delivery were to sum up the contrasting fortunes of Shaw and Tamil Nadu, it was the second ball of the 51st over. Shaw, on 99, steered Vijay Shankar to gully, and as B Indrajith completed the catch, he was shattered. Even as Shaw tried to drag himself off the field, the umpires asked him to wait to check for the no ball.As it turned out, Shankar had overstepped; Suryakumar Yadav instantly went up to Shaw and patted his shoulder. Four balls later, Shaw steered Shankar to gully again. But, this time the ball went along the ground and Suryakumar dashed to the danger end. As Shaw’s helmet came off to reveal his pubescent face, the magnitude of his achievement on the big stage hit home.This wasn’t the first instance, though, of Shaw seeing off a nerve-wracking period; he and his partner Praful Waghela were put under considerable pressure by Tamil Nadu’s bowlers and close-in fielders yesterday – it showed in the nervy running between the wickets – and there was no respite in the morning session either, when play began after a 35-minute delay owing to poor visibility caused by dense fog.This time, however, Shaw wasn’t looking to play for stumps, and found his bearings with a crunchy backfoot punch through covers off Aswin Crist in the second over of the day. Despite two gullies and a short point breathing down on him, Shaw continued to middle the ball confidently. He was similarly unruffled by Dinesh Karthik’s chirp about the impending bouncers from behind the stumps, and was comfortably ducking them.When he leant forward to Crist and produced two punchy cover drives off successive deliveries, it became further evident that neither Crist nor Vignesh posed a threat to him. Also, with little swing on offer, captain Abhinav Mukund turned to Aushik Srinivas, his lead spinner. Aushik hadn’t conceded a run in his three overs late on Wednesday, but Shaw slog-swept his first delivery of the morning from the line of the stumps; it was a shot that would fetch him rich returns all day. Emboldened by Shaw, Waghela, too, unwrapped a brace of powerful sweeps against Aushik, who went for 31 in his four-over spell and was taken off the attack.Shankar and B Aparajith were introduced belatedly, but the outcome wasn’t going to change. If swatting Aparajith for a six over long on was another illustration of Shaw’s bravado, he showed in the next delivery that he could be sensible too; he stayed on leg stump, beside the line of the ball, and gently worked the ball off the backfoot into the vacant cover-point region for a single. Ironically, the top-edged pull for four that brought up Shaw’s fifty was the only shot that lacked conviction. Despite losing Waghela, who was caught after top-edging a pre-meditated sweep off a good length, Mumbai went into lunch the more confident team at 113 for 1.Left-arm seamer T Natarajan, who had been introduced only an over before lunch, was Tamil Nadu’s latest gambit. Mumbai’s response was to unleash a double-barrelled assault, with Shreyas Iyer and Shaw having fun at their opponents’ expense. Aushik returned for a fresh spell, and bowled from over the stumps to target the rough outside the right-hand batsmen’s leg stump. Whenever Shaw didn’t kick the ball away, he swept furiously off the rough.The field was now spread out and the spinners bowled defensive lines to provoke a loose shot, but despite only 29 runs coming in the first 10 overs after lunch, Iyer and Shaw didn’t lose their heads. Eventually, it was Tamil Nadu’s patience that wore thin, as neither the change of bowlers or ball – two balls were replaced in the space of 10 overs – brought them the desired results.Shankar ended the 91-run stand by removing Iyer in the 47th over, but Suryakumar blew out the faintest flicker of hope for Tamil Nadu with some lusty hitting. The only element of interest was if eventual man-of-the-match Shaw would hit the winning runs, but he perished to a slog after attempting to finish the game quickly The winning run in the following over was an anti-climax when Siddhesh Lad turned Aparajith’s delivery into the leg side for a single; it was a good few seconds later – after the scorers provided the confirmation – that Mumbai knew they had done it. In a chase that was as effortless as it was meticulous, who could fault them.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsA double-century from Azhar Ali. Pakistan batting until after lunch on day three. No fewer than 141 overs lost to rain. Fifteen wickets in four days on a surface more concrete than pitch. Australia won the Boxing Day Test. Yep, really.

Pakistan fined for slow over rate

Pakistan have been fined for a slow over rate during the second Test against Australia at the MCG. Match referee Ranjan Madugalle imposed the fine after Pakistan were ruled to be two overs short of their target when time allowances were taken into consideration.
Players are fined 10% of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time, with the captain fined 20%, in accordance with Article 2.5.1 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel. Misbah-ul-Haq was hence fined 40% of his match fee; he pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction.

In a conjuring act to rival those of Sydney 2010 and Adelaide 2006, Steven Smith’s men produced a Test and series victory from seemingly nowhere. Nowhere that is, apart from Pakistan’s unrivalled propensity for either triumph or disaster, with little in between.This, we had been told, was a sturdier Pakistan, capable of fighting a match out in the manner they did at the Gabba after a horrid start. This was also the Pakistan side that had ascended to No. 1 in the world earlier in the year. But their descent from the summit has been just as rapid as Australia’s: both sides know what it is like to lose five consecutive Tests from the moment they reached the top of the ICC’s rankings.From the opening moments of the day, Pakistan had looked a team worried about defeat, Australia a team alert to the prospect of victory. After Smith and Mitchell Starc supercharged their scoring rate so effectively as to post the highest ever Test total in Melbourne, a pair of early wickets either side of lunch gave the hosts a glimmer.It was exploited brilliantly by Nathan Lyon, who in the space of a single spell unseated Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq and Asad Shafiq. Under extreme pressure to hold his spot entering the final day, Lyon’s response was emphatic, but not enough to cause Smith to keep him on after the tea break: he is not the first Australian spin bowler to struggle to retain the full confidence of his captain.That being the case, the final blows were struck by the seamers. Josh Hazlewood, Jackson Bird and Starc all found deliveries incisive enough to cut through the tail, much to the delight of a final day crowd that swelled the total attendance to 142,188, a figure as admirable in the rain-affected circumstances as Australia’s charge to victory.Much of Pakistan’s early bowling and fielding had been lacklustre when placed under pressure by Smith and Starc, personified by Sohail Khan’s wretched drop of Starc at long-off. Sohail finished with three wickets but was one of four expensive bowlers, none able to contain even with the help of Misbah’s often defensive fields.So quickly did Smith and Starc score that the home captain had the luxury of declaring before the interval, meaning the visiting openers were compelled to survive two bursts of the new ball either side of lunch.Mitchell Starc ripped out Sarfraz Ahmed with reverse-swing•Getty Images

In four overs before the interval, Pakistan lost the wicket of Sami Aslam, dragging a ball from Hazlewood onto the stumps via his body. The first over of the afternoon brought another, when Babar Azam was struck on the pad by a Starc inswinger that the umpire Ian Gould judged to be hitting leg stump – a decision the batsman’s referral showed to be marginal.Younis scored freely enough until Lyon’s introduction, when a fraction of extra bounce saw him turn an offbreak in the air towards short leg. Peter Handscomb moved forward to claim the chance a matter of millimetres above the turf. Misbah, out of sorts with the bat all series so far, tried a sweep first ball and then repeated it to his second, the top edge well caught around the corner by Nic Maddinson.This double left the door ajar for Australia, and it opened further when Shafiq advanced and pushed Lyon directly to Handscomb, who this time hung on after a juggle. Lyon, for so long this summer a harried figure, was now dictating terms, and his team could sense a remarkable result.It was a surprise when Smith did not keep Lyon on when play resumed, preferring Starc from the Great Southern Stand End. Hazlewood had found a modicum of reverse-swing and his tight lines were rewarded with Azhar’s wicket, the opener’s guard finally let down after 476 deliveries across two innings. Again, Gould ruled marginally in Australia’s favour on an lbw.That opened up an end, and after Bird surprised Mohammad Amir with a quicker delivery that was dragged onto the stumps, an exultant Starc blasted out Sarfraz Ahmed, Wahab Riaz and Yasir Shah in a fashion that would have impressed Wasim Akram.Australian celebrations were unrestrained and it was not hard to work out why. For most of the past five days it appeared that time was getting away from both sides; in the end Australia toasted victory with the last hour to spare.

Sumit Narwal, who held his nerve to help Delhi pull off a tense chase against Rajasthan last week, starred with the ball this time. His four-wicket haul helped skittle Vidarbha for 183 in Chennai. Shikhar Dhawan, on a comeback trail after recovering from a fractured finger, fell for 6 as Delhi went into stumps on 12 for 1. Gautam Gambhir, the captain, and Pradeep Sangwan were at the crease. Only one Vidarbha batsman – Shalabh Shrivastava (62) – crossed fifty, while one another Shrikant Wagh (46) contributed handy lower order runs. A good showing with the ball augers well for Delhi as they look to drive ahead. With rain forecast for the next three days, the drainage at the SSN College grounds could also be tested.Table toppers Karnataka suffered a second first-innings meltdown in as many games to be bowled out for 200, but somewhat recovered courtesy their captain R Vinay Kumar to reduce Saurashtra, currently scraping the bottom, to 19 for 2 at stumps in Patiala. Manish Pandey top scored with 75 and Shreyas Gopal contributed 38 at No. 9 to help the side stage a brief recovery. Vandit Jivrajani, the offspinner playing in only his fourth first-class game, and debutant Jay Chauhan picked up three wickets apiece. Jaydev Unadkat, their pace spearhead, removed Pandey and Shreyas to finish with 2 for 11. Snell Patel and Sheldon Jackson were at the crease for Saurashtra when play ended.Half-centuries from Saurabh Tiwary (88) and Ishank Jaggi (80 not out) helped Jharkhand remain steady on 251 for 4 after being put in to bat by Assam in Vizianagaram. The pair added 151 for the fourth wicket after Jharkhand were reduced to 98 for 3. Along the way, they also defied Assam’s bowlers for a better part of two sessions. Each of Jharkhand’s top three failed to convert starts. Pratyush Singh made 30 while No. 3 Sumit Kumar made 32. The spoils were equally shared by Assam’s bowlers – Krishna Das, Arup Das, Dhiraj Goswami and Abu Nechim were all among the wickets.Biplab Samantaray’s 89 helped Odisha recover from 31 for 3 to end the opening day against Maharashtra in Wayanad on 311 for 9. Samantaray’s 98-run stand for the seventh wicket with Deepak Behara, who made 58, helped arrest a slide triggered by Maharashtra’s pacers. Anupam Sanklecha, the bowling spearhead who had picked up 26 wickets in the last two matches, nipped out the top three, before Mohsin Sayyad ate into the middle order. Things could have been much worse for Odisha if it wasn’t for Samantaray’s defiance.

Australia’s captain Steven Smith believes his dramatically changed team have found a way forward in their first Test since coming together, a rousing seven-wicket victory over South Africa in which the Queensland left-handers Usman Khawaja and Matt Renshaw played key roles.As well as Australia bowled, first-innings runs are going to be what defines the success or otherwise of Smith’s side. To that end, Renshaw’s effort to see through a tough period on the first evening followed by Khawaja’s subsequent masterclass in dogged batting dictated much about how the match panned out. Tellingly, Smith said it helped that three new batsmen were free of the “scars” of the preceding five Tests. Not surprisingly, Smith wants to see more of the same.”I thought we responded really well,” Smith said of the challenges posed by the pink ball and floodlit conditions. “We had three batters in the top six who had no scars or anything like that so they were able to come in and play their natural game, which was nice. I thought we adapted really well.”I thought Usman was outstanding to come in under a pretty tricky situation on that night, opening the batting and get through that difficult period in the night and then bat the whole next day. It shows a lot about his character and what he’s willing to do. I thought he played beautifully out there for seven hours to wear them down and score a big hundred. I guess that’s the sort of template we’re looking for in our top six batters.”Renshaw’s place will be a matter for some conjecture whenever Shaun Marsh returns to full fitness, but there was much to like about the way he played his game, tested the patience of the bowlers and put the highest premium on his wicket. Smith was enthused by what he saw.Matt Renshaw’s temperament was praised by his state captain, Usman Khawaja, and Australia captain Steven Smith•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

“I thought he played quite well. He knows his game very well,” Smith said. “Obviously he got beaten a lot, but he wasn’t chasing the ball. He was keeping his line. South African had some quality bowlers that nip the ball quite a bit so you can’t afford to follow them. Something I thought Usman did particularly well in the first innings.”He [Renshaw] played the line and let the ball that nips go past the bat and he didn’t seem fazed by it at all. He just got on with the job and made them bowl to him. When they got a bit straighter he picked them off and that’s the way he goes about his game and it was nice for him and Petey [Handscomb] – two guys on debut – to be there at the end.”Khawaja is Renshaw’s state captain, and spoke with a similar level of warmth for someone who has set himself up with a Test match method in mind. “He’s got a really good temperament, he’s got a really good head on him,” Khawaja said. “What you saw today or during this Test match was one bit of Matt Renshaw’s game. He does have a very good temperament, he’s got a good defence he plays the ball well and plays it late.”But I think hopefully you’ll also be able to see the other part of him because I’ve seen him take down some attacks. I’ve seen him come up against a few spinners and really heave them for some big sixes and really change gears. He’s 20 years old, playing Test cricket for Australia. I think he’s doing great for a 20-year-old. I’d think he was doing great even he was 25 years old. He’s doing pretty well.”Added to the way Australia batted was the team’s best fielding display for some time. In this, Smith singled out another debutant in Peter Handscomb for snaffling Faf du Plessis in the gully on the third evening. “I felt a bit of a switch straight away in energy and presence around the group in our first training session out here at Adelaide Oval,” Smith said.”Everything felt like it was running smoothly and when we got our chance to get out into the field we had good energy and presence about ourselves. That helps in the field as well, we were able to take some pretty good catches in this Test match, a part of our game that has probably been a bit disappointing for a while now.”It works hand in hand, when you have that sort of presence and energy you’re able to take chances like the one Petey took to open the game up. It’s been great to have these guys come in, create that energy and have that hunger and character about them to want to win and fight.”Looking at the wider picture, Smith was understandably delighted to have snapped a five-match losing run ahead of the next home series against Pakistan. After two weeks of fire and brimstone, there are now some green shoots of new growth to be optimistic about.”I’m very happy, it’s much better to be on this side of the fence,” he said. “A little bit bittersweet, it was a disappointing series, we were outplayed in the first two Test matches by South Africa, but I’m really proud of the way that the team came back in this game. There were some new players who came in, they stood up and we showed some fight and character. That’s what I want us to do and I’m really proud of the way we stood up.”I think we can grow from what we’ve done in this Test match. It’s been a great start for a young group that have come together so we’re going to have to continue to work hard as a group to get to where we want to. Obviously they [Pakistan] are going to be another tough opposition. I think they have been playing some very good cricket. They’ve got some quality players so we’re going to have to be at our best if we want to get on top of them this summer as well.”

Match facts

October 5, 2016
Start time 1500 local (11:00 GMT)Mohammad Amir will miss the third ODI after returning home due to his mother’s illness•Getty Images

Big picture

It has been more than two weeks since West Indies landed in the UAE, and are yet to win a game against Pakistan. West Indies, World T20 champions six months back, are now on the brink of their second successive whitewash of the tour.West Indies’ batsmen have looked out of place, despite showing some resistance in the second ODI. Fifties by Darren Bravo and Marlon Samuels sparked a comeback but the West Indies bowlers lacked penetration and had conceded far too many earlier in the day. Phil Simmons’ sacking just before their UAE tour didn’t bode well for the team either but with a gruelling Test series on the horizon, West Indies need to pick themselves quickly.Since their 4-1 rout against England last month, Pakistan have raised the bar, winning six consecutive matches: all of them one-sided. Their progress has been built on consistent performances from the top order, apart from captain Azhar Ali. The biggest upshot for Pakistan is their improvement in the ODI rankings as they strive to gain automatic qualification for the 2019 World Cup.

Form guide

Pakistan WWWLL (completed matches, most recent first)
West Indies LLLWL

In the spotlight

Azhar Ali‘s role as Pakistan’s ODI captain has repeatedly been questioned of late. His batting, though, may be more of a worry. His dismissal in the second ODI was greeted by cheers from the Sharjah crowd. After back-to-back failures in the first two ODIs, Azhar will be desperate for a score of substance.Johnson Charles came to the UAE on the back of some impressive T20 form and the experience of 42 ODIs. Scores of 7, 10, 5, 20 and 2 on this tour have only added pressure on West Indies’ middle order.

Team news

Pakistan scored 337 in the second Sharjah ODI, but the scoring rate dipped between overs 31 and 40, which indicated a lack of firepower. Umar Akmal, who last played an ODI for Pakistan in the 2015 World Cup in Adelaide, may be given a chance.Fast bowler Mohammad Amir has returned home due to his mother’s illness. Rahat Ali could step in.Pakistan (possible): 1 Azhar Ali (capt), 2 Sharjeel Khan, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Shoaib Malik, 5 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 6 Umar Akmal/Mohammad Rizwan, 7 Mohammad Nawaz, 8 Imad Wasim, 9 Wahab Riaz, 10 Rahat Ali, 11 Hasan AliDespite the batsmen showing some fight in the second ODI, West Indies may consider rejigging their top order. Evin Lewis, who struck 100 off 49 balls against India last month, is the reserve opener in the squad. Alzarri Joseph, who replaced Shannon Gabriel in the second ODI, is likely to retain his place.West Indies (possible): 1 Kraigg Brathwaite/Evin Lewis, 2 Johnson Charles, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Jason Holder (capt.), 8 Carlos Brathwaite, 9 Sunil Narine, 10 Sulieman Benn, 11 Alzarri Joseph

Pitch and conditions

The October heat and dew will be significant factors in Abu Dhabi. The stadium is located in the middle of the desert, so gusts of wind may offer additional movement to the seamers.

Stats and trivia

• 7 – ODIs that Pakistan have lost, out of their last nine in Abu Dhabi over the last three years. They haven’t lost as many ODIs in any other venue during this period.
• West Indies have not won an ODI in Abu Dhabi. They lost all three to Pakistan in 2008.
• Two Pakistan batsmen have scored hundreds in three successive ODI innings – Zaheer Abbas and Saeed Anwar. Babar Azam scored hundreds in the first two ODIs of the series.

Quotes

“Everyone knows that we have to be in the top eight come this time next year so we will be doing our utmost to win. We don’t want to think that we have won the series so [we can] back off. We have to make sure to tick off our goals; only then we will be comfortable that we can get into the top – not eight, but in the top four.”
“There are players who are playing in the Test series who are playing in the ODI series, so it’s important that they get used to the pitch and get used to the conditions, get used to the Pakistani bowlers as well, so there’s still a lot to achieve from this game.”