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Desire is still there to remain a multi-format player, Buttler says

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jan-2022Jos Buttler says he remains committed to playing Test cricket, despite a disappointing Ashes campaign and mounting pressure on England players and management.Australia took an unassailable 3-0 series lead with comprehensive victories in Brisbane, Adelaide and – most emphatically – inside two and a half days in Melbourne, but Buttler insisted England had plenty to play for to avoid a 5-0 sweep. Personally, he spoke of his desire to remain a multi-format player despite his Test form struggling to match his stellar limited-overs record and the demands of travelling for extended periods with a young family.”It’s certainly my ambition,” Buttler said from Sydney, where England are preparing for the fourth Test, starting on Wednesday (Tuesday night UK time). “I don’t think I’d have put as much into it as I have done if it wasn’t.Related

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• Quinton de Kock announces sudden retirement from Tests

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“I have fantastic family support – they’re very supportive of me and my career, and make a lot of sacrifices for that. That’s one thing that gives you a lot of motivation and drive to try to make it all worth it. It’s certainly maintained my drive and ambition to try and play.”Asked if he hoped to be part of England’s squad due to play three Tests in the Caribbean in March, Buttler said: “Yes, I hope so.”During an Ashes campaign in which England’s highest team total has been 297, Buttler is averaging 19.20. In 56 Tests, he averages 32.53 with just two centuries.Buttler faced 207 balls for 26 in a spirited rearguard on the last day of the second Test in Adelaide, having come in on a pair, but he holed out to deep midwicket off Nathan Lyon on the stroke of tea in England’s first innings at the MCG. He took a brilliant catch to dismiss Marcus Harris in Adelaide but made costly drops in the same match.”In hindsight, just before a tea break is obviously a poor time to get out, but I wanted to be attacking and positive in that innings,” Buttler said of his dismissal to Lyon in Melbourne. “Mid-on and mid-off were up. I saw that as an opportunity to score, I didn’t execute that. That’s all it is.”It’s a very lonely place dropping a catch,” he added. “It’s one of the worst feelings in cricket, letting down your mates. It doesn’t just hurt you, it hurts the whole team. You’ve certainly got to be able to be very strong with your character to try to come through that. Especially when you’re wicketkeeping, there’s nowhere to hide.”Buttler’s comments came after South Africa wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock’s shock decision to retire from Test cricket at the age of 29.”That’s Quinton’s own personal situation, but as a fan of cricket and a huge fan of his, I’m disappointed that he’s at that stage,” said 31-year-old Buttler. “I love watching him bat, keep wicket and play Test cricket. The world of cricket will miss him in that format. But I guess commend him for making a decision that’s right for him.”Buttler said the entire England team were hurting, given their defeats by nine wickets in Brisbane, 275 runs in Adelaide and an innings and 14 runs in Melbourne. England have now lost 18 of their last 23 Tests in Australia, including 12 of the last 13.”There’s an overriding sense of disappointment and frustration with the situation we’ve found ourselves in,” Buttler said. “We’ve not competed or played the cricket we wanted to at the start of the tour. We’re not gelling as a group and individually playing well enough to compete with Australia. We certainly don’t want to be a team to lose 5-0.”

For the last four seasons the Duke had been used for the second part of the tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jul-2020Cricket Australia will revert to using the Kookaburra ball through the Sheffield Shield season for 2020-21, partly in an attempt to bring spinners back into the game, following four years where the second half of the competition had used the Dukes although they would consider a return to two balls in the future.The split season was introduced in 2016-17 as a way to give Australian players more experience against the Duke which had caused them problems overseas, especially on Ashes tours of England. With the Ashes being retained 2-2 last year – the first time Australia had managed to do that in England since 2001 – there was some success behind that move.However, there has been considerable criticism from players in the domestic game about the Dukes, including that the extra help it gives the quick bowlers means less opportunity for spinners in the Shield. Last season spinners averaged 47.25 in the Shield with Steve O’Keefe, who retired earlier this year after not getting a new contract with New South Wales, the leading bowler at 21st in the overall standings with 16 wickets at 22.25.ALSO READ: Steve O’Keefe demands more help for Australian spin bowling“The introduction of the Dukes ball has been a worthwhile exercise, particularly in the lead up to overseas Ashes series where the Dukes is used so well by our English opponents,” Peter Roach, Cricket Australia’s head of cricket operations, said. “We have been happy with how the ball has performed when used in Australian conditions over the past four seasons.”We do, however, feel that reverting to one ball for 2020-21 will provide the consistent examination of our players over a full season that CA and the states are presently seeking. The Kookaburra is the ball used for international cricket in Australia and many parts of the world and we see benefits this season of maximising our use of it.”We have noted that spin bowlers in the Sheffield Shield have been playing less of a role in recent seasons, most notably in games when the Dukes ball is in use. We need spinners bowling in first-class cricket and we need our batters facing spin. We hope that the change to one ball with have a positive benefit here.”We see a definite opportunity to reintroduce the Dukes ball at some stage in the future.”Last season, a newer version of the Kookaburra was used in the first two rounds of the Sheffield Shield.”We have worked very hard over many years in conjunction with boards around the world to develop a cricket ball that brings out all the skills of players,” Brett Elliott, group managing director at Kookaburra Sport. “We will continue to work with the sport to finetune our processes to produce the best possible cricket ball for the different formats.”

Deandra Dottin is also back in Stafanie Taylor-led squad set to travel to Australia

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jan-2020A fit-again Deandra Dottin has returned to West Indies’ 15-member squad, led by Stafanie Taylor, for the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia.Dottin had been out of cricket for eight months, recovering from a right shoulder injury that required corrective surgery and months of rehabilitation.Lee-Ann Kirby, meanwhile, returned to the West Indies squad after more than 12 years. The 32-year old allrounder from Trinidad and Tobago played the last of her two T20Is in July 2008.Kirby and batter Aaliyah Alleyne are the most inexperienced members of the squad. Alleyne made her debut during the home series against India last November, featuring in all three matches that West Indies lost.The semi-finalists from 2018 are looking to reclaim the title they won in 2016, when they beat Australia in a thrilling final at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.The star of that game Hayley Matthews is one of three frontline allrounders – the other two being Taylor and Dottin. Anisa Mohammed, the experienced offspinner, will spearhead the spin attack.The pace department will be led by Shakera Selman and Shamilia Connell, both of whom are returning from injuries, along with newcomer Cherry-Ann Fraser.”Lee Ann Kirby returns to the team after an extended absence but she has shown herself to be a prolific scorer,” chief selector Ann Browne-John said in a release.”In addition the introduction of the young fast bowler Cherry Ann Fraser is ideal for the Australian pitches which are generally fast with some bounce. The team has the experience and talent to excel at the World Cup.”West Indies, who last played international cricket in November, will play Pakistan in three warm-up matches in Brisbane ahead of the T20 World Cup.They begin their campaign on February 22 against first-timers Thailand in Perth, ahead of matches against Pakistan (Canberra) and England (Sydney) on February 26 and March 1 respectively. Their final group fixture will be on March 3 against South Africa in Sydney.Squad: Stafanie Taylor, Aaliyah Alleyne, Shemaine Campbelle, Shamilia Connell, Britney Cooper, Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Cherry-Ann Fraser, Sheneta Grimmond, Chinelle Henry, Lee-Ann Kirby, Hayley Matthews, Anisa Mohammed, Chedean Nation, Shakera Selman

England batter sustained a left thigh muscle injury while playing for Surrey in the Vitality Blast

George Dobell10-Jul-2021Ollie Pope is an injury doubt for the first Test of the LV= Insurance series against India after sustaining a thigh muscle injury.Pope, the 23-year-old batter, sustained the injury while playing for Surrey against Kent in the Vitality Blast on July 2. A statement from the ECB said: “Pope has been ruled out until England’s LV= Insurance Test Series against India after suffering a left thigh muscle injury.”The ECB and Surrey fitness teams will work together to deliver Pope’s rehabilitation with a focus for him to be available to return for the first Test against India.”That first Test starts on August 4 in Nottingham.While Pope has not reached 35 in his 15 most recent Test innings, he was highly likely to retain his spot in England’s Test side as he is seen as perhaps the most talented young first-class batter in the English game.His injury could open the door for a return for Dawid Malan, who has continued to impress with his temperament as much as his form with the bat in his opportunities in England’s white-ball side. Dan Lawrence could also prove a beneficiary.Pope’s injury is also likely to minimise his involvement in The Hundred. Had he been fit, he was likely to have been available for Welsh Fire’s first three fixtures. The tournament has been best with withdrawals with a host of overseas players pulling out due to the congested international schedules and complications around travel in the time of Covid.

The duo added 115 in an unbroken second-wicket stand to wrap up the chase in just 24.3 overs

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Nov-2021Murshida Khatun and Fargana Hoque struck unbeaten half-centuries as Bangladesh Women trounced Zimbabwe Women by nine wickets in the second ODI and took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.Set a target of 122, Murshida and Hoque added 115 for the second wicket – the second-highest stand for Bangladesh in ODIs – and wrapped up the chase in 24.3 overs.Earlier in the day, Zimbabwe opted to bat after winning the toss but didn’t have a great start as Jahanara Alam dismissed debutant Sharne Mayers on the first ball of the match. In the next over, Salma Khatun bowled Ashley Ndiraya, also for a duck, to leave Zimbabwe reeling at 2 for 2. Captian Mary-Anne Musonda tried to stabilise the innings but she too couldn’t last long and fell to Salma for 10.Modester Mupachikwa and Christabel Chatonzwa dragged the side past 50 during their 34-run stand for the fourth wicket but both batters fell within two runs of each other, leaving Zimbabwe 58 for 5.When Nahida Akter removed Precious Marange to make it 71 for 7, it started looking like the hosts will be bowled out for a sub-100 total for the second time in two games. Nyasha Gwanzura, though, hung around with the lower order, scoring an unbeaten 35 to ensure Zimbabwe reached 121. Along with Esther Mbofana, Gwanzura added 38 for the eighth wicket but despite her efforts Zimbabwe could last only 46.4 overs as Akter cleaned up the tail to finish with 3 for 30.Bangladesh lost Sharmin Akhter early in the chase but Murshida and Hoque kept the Zimbabwe bowlers at bay and moved closer to their individual half-centuries. Murshida was the first to reach the milestone, her maiden ODI fifty coming from 63 balls. Hoque was on 49 off 67 balls when she hit Mbofana for four to bring up her seventh fifty as well as seal the game.

Latest update comes after BCCI called it a “non-issue”; Dhoni likely to use the same gloves going forward, with the insignia covered by a tape

Nagraj Gollapudi07-Jun-2019The ICC has rejected BCCI’s request to allow MS Dhoni to wear wicketkeeping gloves with the dagger insignia. ESPNcricinfo understands the ICC sent it its response on Friday afternoon (UK time) explaining that Dhoni had breached two clauses of the clothing and equipment regulations: one relating to display of “personal messages” and the other concerning the logo on his gloves.The latest update followed a statement by Vinod Rai, the chairman of the BCCI’s Committee of Administrators, saying that the Indian board would not escalate the matter if the ICC insisted on following the regulations but had requested for some “flexibility” on the matter. It is expected to end a story that had run through most of Friday in India’s news cycle.The ICC raised the red flag after noticing the insignia of a dagger on the back of Dhoni’s green gloves during India’s tournament opener against South Africa on June 5. Dhoni is an honorary lieutenant-colonel in the Parachute Regiment of the Indian Territorial Army. The dagger is similar to the regimental emblem.It is believed that Dhoni is likely to continue to wear the same gloves but cover the insignia with tape.ESPNcricinfo understands that, in its email to the BCCI, the ICC explained that Dhoni had violated the G1 clause in of its clothing and equipment regulations. The clause reads: “Players and team officials shall not be permitted to wear, display or otherwise convey messages through arm bands or other items affixed to clothing or equipment (“Personal Messages”) unless approved in advance by both the player or team official’s Board and the ICC Cricket Operations Department. Approval shall not be granted for messages which relate to political, religious or racial activities or causes.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Dhoni also flouted the specific rule related to the display of logos on wicketkeeping gloves in the clothing and equipment regulations for the World Cup. The diagram in clause 19.47 shows that only two manufacturer’s identifications are allowed on the back of each glove. “No visible logos permitted other than those identified in the diagram,” the note accompanying the illustration says.Though the matter gained traction in India and even prompted the intervention of the country’s sports minister, the BCCI called it a “non-issue” earlier in the day. “We will play the game by the rules of the ICC in letter and spirit,” Rai told ESPNcricinfo. “If there is a specific norm that has to be followed, we will not break that norm. However, if there is any flexibility available, we have sought permission for the ICC to allow the player to wear the gloves.”The matter was discussed in the CoA meeting held in Mumbai on Friday, which was attended by Rai’s two other colleagues – Diana Edulji and Ravindra Thodge – as well as the BCCI chief executive officer Rahul Johri.Making the issue more complex was the Indian government’s support for Dhoni’s gloves. India’s sports minister Kiren Rijiju told the news agency ANI: “The government doesn’t intervene in affairs of sports bodies. But when the issue is related to the country’s sentiments, then the interest of the nation has to be kept in mind. I would like to request BCCI to take up the matter with ICC.”As per the rules, Dhoni would be reprimanded if he wore the gloves with the insignia on Sunday, when India face Australia in their second group match. The second offence, in case it took place within 12 months, would attract a fine of 25% of the match fee. A third offence would mean a 50% fine of the match fee, and a fourth would see the player losing 75% of his match fee.There is precedent for the ICC’s decision. In 2014, Moeen Ali was asked to remove wristbands bearing the slogans “Save Gaza” and “Free Palestine” during the third Test against India in Southampton. The ECB said Moeen’s actions were humanitarian rather than political, but the ICC’s view was that it was inappropriate for the field of play. No further action was taken. In January 2017 South Africa’s Imran Tahir was reprimanded by the ICC for a wicket celebration during a T20 match against Sri Lanka in which he revealed a t-shirt under his playing kit with an image of the late Junaid Jamshed, a one-time Pakistani pop icon and religious preacher who had died weeks before in an air crash.

He insists that the final won’t be about Muzumdar vs Pandit and wants the spotlight to be firmly on the players

Shashank Kishore21-Jun-2022The Mumbai team haven’t had lengthy meetings. There have been no long messages or speeches either. Players have been left to prepare the way they want to and figure out what works best for them and what doesn’t. This doesn’t mean the players have been left to fend for themselves. It’s just a way to make players more responsible for their own actions.Amol Muzumdar, the man guiding them, has seen it all during a two-decade-long first-class career. Even as a player, he invariably played the role of a mentor towards the end of his career, especially once he left Mumbai to play for Assam and Andhra. He has also been involved with Netherlands, South Africa and in the IPL with Rajasthan Royals. Much of his coaching philosophy is born from his varied experiences in cricket.Muzumdar is clear this is not about him. He has won the Ranji Trophy as a captain and has been part of several title-winning teams. His opposite number, Chandrakant Pandit, has had a tremendous track record as coach, plotting title wins with Mumbai and Vidarbha in the past. Now, he is looking to shepherd Madhya Pradesh to their first title.Muzumdar and Pandit are old friends and team-mates. The mutual respect is evident, but the competitive streak hasn’t been lost. Muzumdar is mindful of not wanting to make this Mumbai vs Pandit or Muzumdar vs Pandit, as tempting as it may be to hype up the match along those lines.”It’s all about the players,” he stated firmly on the eve of the match. “Of course, every team has its own engine room, but at the same time the main focus has to be the players. He [Pandit] is a proven customer. This is my first season [as coach]; his must be the umpteenth season. I wouldn’t like to compare. He has been there, done that.”Muzumdar spelt out his priorities clearly the day he was appointed head coach in June 2021. “Getting back on track in red-ball cricket” was written in bold. Through the course of a Covid-shortened season, the focus was on building a core group of young players who could serve Mumbai cricket for many years to come. And so far, the signs are promising.This will be Mumbai’s first appearance in a Ranji final since 2016-17•Special Arrangement

“When I took up this job, all the entire association asked about was getting back in red-ball cricket,” he said. “That was our main focus. Coming so far, we’ve slightly tried to achieve that. Credit to the boys, they’re on track. Red-ball cricket was a concern for everyone from Mumbai. Looking at the last five-six years, even you guys [journalists] must have thought so.”But the guys have done splendidly well. The focus was on how to get gen-next hooked on to deliver in Ranji Trophy. With this kind of performance, we’re pushing towards it. I am certain these guys would serve Mumbai for a long time.”Yashasvi Jaiswal has only featured in three first-class games but has already racked up three hundreds. Prithvi Shaw’s talent has never been in question; he remains the “leader of the pack” even if his temperament for long-form cricket and technical adjustments remain focus areas.Suved Parkar missed out on a chance to represent India at the Under-19 World Cup two years ago but comes into the final with a reputation of being a marathon batter, much like Muzumdar. Then there’s Armaan Jaffer, a prolific age-group run-getter who has finally brought all that promise to the first-class level with a maiden century in the semi-finals.Sarfaraz Khan’s form has been pandemic-proof; he leads this shortened season’s run-charts by a mile with 803 runs in seven innings, including three hundreds. He is 297 runs ahead of Rajat Patidar, his nearest competitor in the final. This hunger for big runs in the dressing room augurs well for the future. Muzumdar underlines the culture and “processes” – that boring cliche – for helping bring about a change in mindset that first-class cricket is as important as the IPL.”I personally believe it is about the process and culture you have in the dressing room and automatically players will buy into that,” he said. “We’ve tried to do that, almost all of the [players] have bought into the future. Yes, IPL is a culture where people go in and play but they shouldn’t forget their roots, which is domestic cricket.”

Ben Mike half-century keeps home side waiting but points are secured shortly after tea

ECB Reporters Network08-May-2022Glamorgan wrapped up a six-wicket victory on the final day of their LV= Insurance County Championship match against Leicestershire in Cardiff.Leicestershire resumed their second innings with three wickets in hand and just 41 runs in front. An excellent half-century from Ben Mike and 29 runs from stand-in captain Callum Parkinson took that lead to 149 before the final wicket fell.Glamorgan got off to a flying start in their pursuit of the victory target thanks to a brisk innings from David Lloyd but three wickets from Parkinson slowed their progress. While Parkinson was a consistent threat the Glamorgan batters chased down the required runs in 40.4 overs with Sam Northeast undefeated on 40.Leicestershire will be hugely disappointed to have given away such a strong position on day one and will need to work on their ill-disciplined bowling that saw them bowl 25 no-balls and concede 82 extras in the match.With the wicket of Harry Swindells falling to the last ball of day three Leicestershire were in urgent need of a partnership to give them any chance of setting Glamorgan a challenging target. That is exactly what they got from Mike and Parkinson.Mike narrowly missed out on a maiden first-class hundred in Leicestershire’s last match against Middlesex, with the final wicket falling with him stranded on 99 not out. In this match he carried on that good form as he made a counterattacking 64 to give his team a target that was potentially defendable.Leicestershire had looked frazzled during the last session of day three, and Glamorgan were in complete control. That was not the case on the morning of the fourth day as Mike and Parkinson put on an eighth-wicket stand worth 88.Mike’s enterprising innings was ended in the first over with the second new ball when an attempted pull shot and got a top edge off Michael Hogan that had serious hang time. Chris Cooke took the catch after waiting patiently underneath the skier.It was debutant Andy Gorvin who was given the new ball at the other end and he claimed the first wicket of his career when he had Chris Wright trapped lbw for 3. The innings was wrapped up when Hogan bowled Beuran Hendricks with Leicestershire 266 all out to set a victory target of 150.Lloyd was in no mood to hang around when the chase got underway as he raced to 36 from just 32 balls. He was bowled attempting to sweep, the first of three Glamorgan batters to fall playing that shot off Parkinson.Northeast and Kiran Carlson shared a match-defining partnership in Glamorgan’s first innings and they combined again in a stand worth 35 that got their team within touching distance of the target. Carlson was dismissed by Scott Steel but Northeast saw his side home.Glamorgan finished with 23 points from this match with Leicestershire claiming five bonus points.

Stalwart and debutant, friends since school, take hosts from precarious position to 44-run lead

Valkerie Baynes28-Jun-2022Centuries for Test debutant Alice Davidson-Richards and stalwart Nat Sciver turned England’s innings around and put the hosts back in control of their contest with South Africa in Taunton.Friends since their school days at Epsom College, where they played cricket, hockey and netball together, the two rescued their side from a precarious position at 121 for 5 with a record sixth-wicket partnership for England Women in Test cricket. Worth 207 runs, it was also their joint second-highest stand for any wicket and it took the side to 328 for 6, a lead of 44 runs.At the age of 28 and making her first England appearance since she played six white-ball games in 2018, Davidson-Richards became the second England player after WG Grace to score a century and take a wicket on Test debut after she had Nadine de Klerk caught behind on the first day.She was resolute in supporting Sciver to her fifty, brought up with a lovely drive for four through mid-off. Davidson-Richards had nine runs from 45 balls before driving Nonkululeko Mlaba through the covers for her first four.By tea she had struck four more boundaries and of the 17 she had scored by the close, the best was arguably her delicious cover drive off de Klerk to move to 75, holding her pose and shaking her bat in in approval as the ball sped to the rope. That was before her gloriously timed punch in front of point to bring up her century before she was met with the warmest of hugs from Sciver.When Sciver had raised her century a little earlier with a scampered single off Marizanne Kapp, Davidson-Richards celebrated just as enthusiastically as her team-mate, pumping her fist and jumping into the air as Sciver removed her helmet, raised her bat and acknowledged the applause from the stands.It was Sciver’s maiden Test hundred in her eighth match and continued a rich run of form that played a key role in her side finishing runners-up at the World Cup in April, where she scored unbeaten centuries against Australia in England’s opening match and again in the final.It also came in the midst of a tense match situation. After England had reduced South Africa to 45 for 4 on the opening morning, Kapp’s brilliant 150 carried them to a respectable total of 284 by the close. In reply, England began brightly, their new opening pairing of Tammy Beaumont and Emma Lamb, another of England’s four Test debutants, putting on a 65-run stand as the South African bowlers struggled to hit the right lengths.But then Anneke Bosch trapped Beaumont lbw playing round one that swung away late and struck her on the toe in line with middle and leg stump and followed up with the wicket of Lamb for an accomplished 38 with a gem of a delivery that nipped back in off the seam and through the gate to uproot off-stump.Kapp should have had Heather Knight’s wicket shortly before lunch, but wicketkeeper Sinalo Jafta dived across first slip and Sune Luus, poised for a catch that looked sure to be hers, spilled the ball in the confusion.As it happened, Knight fell without adding to her score of 8 on the first ball after the break, caught short of her ground despite a desperate full-length dive after Sciver had turned a de Klerk delivery towards square leg and called for a single. The slightest of hesitations mid-run from both of them proved crucial as Tumi Sekhukhune fired the ball to Jafta, who removed the bails at the striker’s end.Bosch then claimed her third wicket when she invited Sophia Dunkley to drive with a fuller ball just outside off stump, finding the edge which sailed to Andrie Steyn at slip.In the next over, Mlaba bowled Amy Jones for duck with an excellent ball tossed up on middle stump and straightening as Jones chopped onto her stumps and England looked to be in serious trouble still 163 runs behind.But from there Sciver and Davidson-Richards set about their task with great class, Sciver unbeaten on 119 when, off the last ball of the day, Davidson-Richards sent a straightforward catch to Lizelle Lee at backward point off Sekhukhune.

Fifties from Dinesh Karthik and R Ashwin weren’t enough to prevent India A from slipping to a 43-run defeat

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Oct-2018Shahbaz Nadeem celebrates a wicket•AFP

An unbeaten 87 from Hanuma Vihari and three top-order wickets from Shahbaz Nadeem helped India B make a winning start to their Deodhar Trophy campaign, as they defended 261 to beat India A by 43 runs. Nadeem, the left-arm spinner, took the new ball and struck with successive balls in his second over to send back Prithvi Shaw and Karun Nair, both lbw.India A’s top order continued to flounder until R Ashwin joined Dinesh Karthik at 87 for 5. The Tamil Nadu pair added 123 to bring parity back to the contest: at one stage, India A needed 52 from 47 balls with five wickets in hand.But Mayank Markande broke the partnership, having Ashwin stumped for 54 (76b, 5×4), and Nadeem dismissed Karthik in the very next over, having him caught and bowled one short of a hundred. Karthik’s 114-ball innings contained 11 fours and a six.India A’s lower order then collapsed against the legspin of Markande, who finished with figures of 4 for 48. The last five wickets only added eight runs to India A’s total.Ashwin had a good match with the ball too, finishing with figures of 2 for 39 in nine overs as India B, who chose to bat first, limped to 261 for 8 after threatening to post a much bigger total. Forties from Mayank Agarwal and Shreyas Iyer set up Vihari and Manoj Tiwary (52, 58b, 1×4, 2×6) to put on 99 for the fourth wicket. At one stage, India B were 194 for 3 with 12.4 overs remaining.The run-out dismissal of Tiwary, however, sparked a collapse. No one from No. 6 downwards got into double figures even as Vihari tried to keep the scoreboard moving at the other end. Following Tiwary’s dismissal, Vihari scored 39 off 30 balls to finish unbeaten on 87 (95b, 9×4). At the other end, India B’s lower order and extras combined to score only 28 off 45 balls. Even so, India B’s total of 261 for 8 proved more than adequate.