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Royal Challengers have now lost nine playoff matches, the joint-most in IPL history

Sampath Bandarupalli27-May-20224 Centuries for Jos Buttler in IPL 2022, the joint-most for any player in a T20 series or tournament. Virat Kohli also scored four centuries during the 2016 edition of the IPL.2 Players to score more runs in a T20 competition than Buttler’s 824 runs in this IPL season. (And he still has one more innings left) Kohli and David Warner scored 973 and 848 runs, respectively, in the 2016 IPL.ESPNcricinfo Ltd5 Hundreds by Buttler in the IPL, including one in 2021. He is one of three players with five or more centuries in the IPL. Kohli also has five hundreds, while Chris Gayle tops the list with six.195 Runs scored by Buttler in the playoffs this season, a new IPL record, surpassing Warner’s tally of 190 in 2016. Rajat Patidar is third on the list with 170 runs across the Eliminator and Qualifier 2.Most hundreds in IPL•ESPNcricinfo Ltd2 Buttler’s hundred is only the second in an IPL playoff match, while chasing. Shane Watson scored an unbeaten 117 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2018 final. It is also only the sixth century recorded in an IPL playoff match and the first for Rajasthan Royals.8 Hundreds in IPL 2022, including the unbeaten 106 by Buttler on Friday. This is also a new tournament record, surpassing the seven that were made in 2016.ESPNcricinfo Ltd31 Sixes conceded by Mohammed Siraj, the most by a bowler in any edition of the IPL. Wanindu Hasaranga is second (30) on this list; both Royal Challengers Bangalore bowlers going past Dwayne Bravo, who held the record previously with the 29 sixes conceded in 2018.10.07 Siraj’s economy rate this year is the worst for a bowler across IPL history (min 50 overs). Siraj is also only the third bowler to finish with an economy rate in excess of ten in any T20 tournament (Min: 300 balls).9 Playoff losses for Royal Challengers, the joint-most in the IPL. Chennai Super Kings have also lost nine playoff matches, although they played 11 more than the Bangalore franchise. Delhi Capitals have lost nine out of 11. Royal Challengers have lost 11 playoff matches in all T20s, also the joint-most defeats for a team.

Mitigating circumstances aplenty for England, but formulaic nature of defeat is a concern

Andrew Miller23-Mar-2021The strut of champions is an indefinable attribute for a sporting team. You can project it without actually having a trophy to back up your confidence, as Eoin Morgan’s men managed to such convincing effect in the months leading up to the 2019 World Cup. And you can lose it just as quickly, even while the big prize is still glinting in your cabinet, as Liverpool for example have been demonstrating in this season’s Premier League.So, what should we read into the post-match musings of Morgan and Virat Kohli in Pune, as the captains of England and India put very different spins on their first ODI encounter of the new World Cup cycle?Morgan, in keeping with his very procedural take on England’s white-ball evolution, insisted he was happy once again to write off a pretty thumping defeat as a “learning” experience – even if he did have to rely unusually heavily on management buzzwords at the post-match presentation, as he called on his players to “upskill”, “execute better” and “push the envelope”, among other less-than-rousing exhortations.Kohli, by contrast, was not mincing his words, or his excitement, at getting one over the World Champs in such a surging fashion.”One of our sweetest victories in recent past … I am a really proud man right now,” he gushed, with particular reference to his latest debutants, Krunal Pandya and Prasidh Krishna, who emulated the efforts of Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav and Axar Patel, among others this season, by finding their feet on the big stage at the very first time of asking.Perhaps, like Scotland’s victory at Wembley in 1967, it was a bit too convenient for Kohli to over-state such a performance at precisely the wrong moment in a World Cup cycle. But then again, England as a team and a fan-base lapped up the thrill of watching Morgan’s men go toe to toe with Australia and New Zealand in the summer that followed the 2015 World Cup. You might quibble at the timing but never at the intent, and besides, that projection of attitude didn’t exactly go to waste in the long run.Either way, the excitement, and the energy, was as palpable in India’s moment of victory as it has been absent in England’s somewhat formulaic demises in their past three games – with three failed run-chases across two formats in Ahmedabad and Pune, ostensibly their favourite form of slam-dunking a white-ball contest.Virat Kohli was pumped up by India’s performance against the World Champions•BCCIAnd yes, there are mitigating circumstances (entire bio-bubbles full of them, in fact) as well as some live and kicking evidence of the team’s enduring class and threat – most obviously in another sensational opening partnership from Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy, an alliance that has now racked up more than 2500 runs in 42 innings, at an average in excess of 60 and a run-rate of more than seven an over.But, once that platform had been set, there’s no escaping the fact that England’s performance was defined by the follow-up that they lacked – most notably, the absence of Joe Root at No.3, who would have been able to stroll out to the middle at 135 for 1 in the 15th over, and tiptoe his way to a run-a-ball 30 before anyone had noticed he’d arrived.Instead, there was a short-lived appearance from Ben Stokes in his stead – an experiment that surely had more to do with his lack of traction during the T20I series than any suggestion that this will be his long-term berth in the 50-over format – and a pair of failed auditions for finishing roles from the returning Moeen Ali and the luckless Sam Billings, whose jarred collarbone had distressing echoes of his shoulder dislocation in the final months before the last World Cup.At least they got time in the middle, which is one of the most problematic aspects when it comes to stress-testing middle-order options in the 20-over format. And at least the absence of Jofra Archer at the death ensured that Tom Curran – and, to a less destabilising extent, Mark Wood – were exposed to the realities of death-bowling against India’s IPL-trained lower-order.Related

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• On show in Pune: England and India's differing methods of ODI batting

But Curran, perhaps more than anyone in this England squad, is a player who leans on a mental projection of confidence as much as the skills that he can bring to an exacting role. He’s had a bruising time of it in recent months – at the IPL as much as with England – and right now, with his faith in his methods eroded, he’s living proof that the strongest teams are only as good as their weakest links.England are very capable of fighting back in this series, of course. But the manner of Tuesday’s defeat was markedly different from the round-for-round haymaking that the two teams indulged in four years ago, when England lost the ODIs 2-1 but not before they had posted scores of 350 for 7, 366 for 8 and 321 for 8 in consecutive innings – each one of them higher than the 318 they were set for victory here.And their deliberate retreat from the psychological high ground brings with it dangers of a different kind. Winning is a habit, as England discovered on their march to the summit in 2015-19, and confidence begets confidence along the way. Losing for the sake of learning, on the other hand, tends to become known simply as losing if you get too used to the feeling.”We actually don’t guard the No.1 status at all,” Morgan said. “Everything is built towards planning on being competitive at a World Cup and trying to improve our skills over that period of time.”The competitive nature in which we operate isn’t always about learning and making mistakes,” he added. “Sometimes people take how much quality you have to produce in an international game for granted. You can’t just have a good plan and win a game, or you can’t just learn along the way and lose a game. It has to work simultaneously.”

The ICC cites the issue of safety without appreciating that the world has changed

George Dobell15-Aug-2020It seems unthinkable that there was once a time when the Sunday of a Test was used as a rest day. Equally, it is hard to imagine spectators being prepared to sit through games with pedestrian scoring rates – it was 2.30 runs to the over in Test cricket in the 1950s – or the sort of safety-first cricket that saw a six-match series between India and England in 1981-82 finish in a 1-0 victory to India.The world has changed. It’s less patient. There are more leisure options available and what might once have been found acceptable now seems intolerably antiquated. We see far fewer draws, improved drainage has resulted in far shorter delays for rain and the rate of scoring… well, the advent of T20 has seen it change out of all recognition. Cricket might well never have been more entertaining.One of the few areas the game hasn’t made much progress is on the issue of bad light. Despite the improvement of protective equipment and use of floodlights, interruptions to the second Test between England and Pakistan have been pretty common. As a result, the momentum of games is dissipated. Spectators (when they are allowed in) become frustrated and, inevitably, drift off to other pursuits.ALSO READ: England ‘a little disappointed’ not to bowl Pakistan out – BroadHow bad was the light on day two in Southampton? Well, it wasn’t perfect. Clouds hung around the Ageas Bowl all day and the floodlights were on at all times.But, two balls before the players came off, Mohammad Rizwan had driven Stuart Broad through the covers. A couple of balls before that, he had skipped down the pitch and driven him over mid-off. He later said he had been “ready to play”. So it wasn’t the batting side that wanted to come off.James Anderson, meanwhile, suggested the fielding side hadn’t wanted to come off, either. “We’re a little bit frustrated we didn’t get a chance to finish them off,” he said. “It didn’t seem like the batmen were struggling too much.”So, it wasn’t the batsmen who wanted to come off. And it wasn’t the bowlers, either.It may also be revealing to reflect on the start of the day. With poor weather preventing play before 12.30pm and a poor forecast suggesting an early finish, it might have made sense to play as much cricket as possible once the resumption happened. A two-hour session, at least, seemed feasible.Instead, after one hour of cricket, we had a 40-minute lunch break at 1.30pm.Why? Well, that’s the way it’s always been. Nobody involved seems to have the gumption to do things differently and nobody involved seems to have a huge amount of respect for the paying customer. On the issue of bad light, in particular, the game still relies on hand-me-down thinking – much of it inculcated before batsmen wore helmets – that is starting to look absurdly archaic.(As an aside, Rod Bransgrove, the chair of Hampshire, says he did explore the possibility of putting a roof over the ground. It was possible from an engineering point of view, he found, but would have cost over £100m, and this was a few years ago.)

The ICC and its Members have to put spectators at the heart of future plans. At present, the game is run by people who have forgotten what it’s like to pay to watch cricket

Let’s put all this in context. In the short term, this Test series is being played during a pandemic. Both sides have made huge sacrifices to take part. Already, some of the established features of the game – such as using saliva to shine the ball – have been abandoned for safety reasons. At a time when schools and offices are shut, the ECB has created something close to a bio-secure bubble at vast expense. Both teams have been prepared to spend weeks in lockdown in, at times, modest hotels. All to ensure this series takes place and English cricket avoids financial meltdown.Meanwhile, in the longer term, the ECB has warned its stakeholders that the next broadcast deal could be worth 50% of the value of the current one. As a result, it remains imperative to provide an attractive product that can be staged with some of predictability. Several hours of men squinting at clouds might not be exactly what the broadcasters are after.The point is, everyone involved has been forced to adapt to ensure this series is played. Yet at no stage do the umpires appear prepared to consider this context. They have been given too much power – even if it was in response to players previously being “offered” the light and using it arbitrarily according to the match situation.The ICC previously tried to persuade players to “bite the bullet” and play on using floodlights. “However that approach wasn’t accepted by any of the teams,” David Richardson, then chief executive, said in 2015. “They felt that would be unfair and would lead to unjust finishes.”The playing regulations now state play can be suspended if, in the umpires’ view, conditions are “dangerous” or “unreasonable” to continue. There is a further caveat stating: “Conditions shall not be regarded as either dangerous or unreasonable merely because they are not ideal.”The floodlights were on throughout the second day•Gareth Copley/Getty ImagesThose definitions are subjective, however. The word “dangerous” can be utilised at pretty much any time. In Manchester, during the first Test, England’s fielders said they “couldn’t see” the ball. Not, you’ll note, that it was harder to see it; that they couldn’t see it at all.Now, we already accept that batting or fielding in some conditions is tricky. We accept that atmospheric conditions can change over the course of a day (or match), giving one side or another an advantage. We accept, too, that wearing pitches can make batting last a huge disadvantage. And we accept that players can sometimes struggle to follow the path of the ball against a background of packed stands or a bright sun. So why don’t we also accept that less-than-perfect light can, within reason, provide another dimension to the game?Safety has to be paramount, of course, and that is the line the ICC continues to stress. But using “health and safety” as a blanket answer to any question over this subject is disingenuous and limits the scope for debate and progression.Because, if we’re honest, the game needs to strike a balance between health and safety and competitive edge all the time. Was it safe when Jofra Archer was bowling at 96mph last summer? Is it safe when tailenders are on the end of a barrage of bouncers? Is it safe for bowlers or umpires in T20 or ODI cricket? Why is it only when the light is involved that the ICC and the umpires adopt a safety-first approach? And if we’re really in the business of minimising risk, shouldn’t the umpires be wearing helmets and all fielders be wearing some sort of head and neck protection? If we want to eliminate all risk, let’s have a conversation about using a different type of ball. If safety really is the ICC’s top priority, that’s the logical direction of travel.Short of that, what can be done? Well, we could also talk about using pink balls in such situations. It’s not uncommon to utilise heavier bails in windy conditions; maybe it should become established practice to change the ball in poor light? Yes, it might behave differently. But it behaves differently under cloud, after rain and according to the natural variation of it having been handmade, too. We accept that.ALSO READ: Umpire Kettleborough spoken to by anti-corruption officials over smartwatchMore pertinently, the ICC could conduct research in partnership with the appropriate scientific bodies (friends in eye places, if you will) and come up with a standardised level at which play is deemed to be unreasonable or unsafe. That figure could then be published with a reading included alongside the scoreboard both at the ground and for TV audiences. That way we could take this issue out of the hands of umpires and manage the expectations of all involved. The umpires would also have a cast-iron defence against criticism and in face of potential legal challenges from players who claim their safety was compromised by playing in unfit conditions.Again, as an aside, you wonder if such research might find that playing in gloomy light is easier than playing in bright light. Players say they lose sight of the ball in the sun quite often.Most of all, though, the ICC and its Members have to put spectators at the heart of future plans. At present, the game is run by people who have forgotten what it’s like to pay to watch cricket. Who have forgotten what it’s like to buy tickets, take holiday entitlement and buy TV subscriptions for the thrill of watching the game. Who cannot necessarily just watch the following day instead. Who will not tolerate these delays and will pursue other leisure opportunities instead.Former players have fantastic experience to offer. It is only right that their views are heard and incorporated into decision making. But the views of spectators should be considered and represented at all levels of the game, including on the ICC board. At present, the game is elitist, complacent, inconsistent and unaccountable. Spectators are treated like a barely necessary evil. Unless we start to put their concerns at the heart of decision making, we will lose them. It’s meant to be a spectator sport, after all.

Pakistan captain says batters “have sacrificed individual milestones for team results”, while seamers could have chance to shine when subcontinent teams visit

Danyal Rasool19-Jan-2025Pakistan captain Shan Masood put up a strident defence of Pakistan’s decision to produce a pitch that was heavily spin-friendly. After Pakistan wrapped up a 127-run win in the shortest-ever Test to produce a result on Pakistani soil, much of Masood’s press conference was dominated by talking about why the soil in question was quite as dry and brittle as it was.”We will do what we need to take 20 wickets and win the match,” Masood said. “We don’t even play domestic cricket in these conditions. It’s a new thing for us as well. We changed it during the England series because we wanted our team to win. We should appreciate the hard work of our bowlers, who got us 20 wickets consistently.”On those counts, the decision has been an unmitigated success. Ever since losing the first Test to England in October on a flat deck, Pakistan volte-faced on the kind of surfaces they wanted to prepare. Particular attention has been focused on the measures they have taken to ensure spin remains the most potent – arguably only – threat.Related

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The second Test against England was played on the same used surface of the first Test, with large fans to dry it out. The third Test in Rawalpindi, which naturally does not take spin until late in games, was dried out by wedding-style heaters and fans enclosed by windbreakers; England even accused it of being raked, though concrete evidence of that has not emerged. Ahead of this Test in Multan in the middle of winter, Pakistan went one step further, encircling the surface in a greenhouse as it was warmed up by those giant heaters and fans.Every surface has produced the effect – and result, Pakistan were after. Their spinners – Sajid Khan and Noman Ali in particular – have had little trouble taking 20 wickets; none of the 60 opposition scalps have fallen to seam bowlers since. And each of those three games have produced convincing Pakistan wins.Masood pointed out the wins were not an inevitability, but a consequence of Pakistan playing the better cricket across all departments in each game. “If you’re looking individually at the batters, it doesn’t make for good reading. But our batters batted better than West Indies, and better than England’s batters in October. If you just look at hundreds and fifties and judge them by raw numbers, then it’ll be misleading. Just like we’ll have to be flexible with our playing style, viewers will also need to be flexible in their thinking. Look at India’s blueprint and their averages at home and you’ll get the point. If conditions are flat, getting 20 wickets is hard. We’ve sacrificed individual milestones for team results.”Masood’s comments indicate that Pakistan have no plans yet to change what has been a successful strategy for them. While this World Test Championship (WTC) cycle has proven an unhappy one – they will finish second from bottom in the standings – they have, on paper, a much softer draw in the next two-year cycle. It sees them play three two-Test series at home against South Africa, New Zealand and Sri Lanka, and three series away from home against West Indies, England and Bangladesh. Masood made it clear they had eyes on a final berth in 2027, and that, should it happen, the route lay through “winning all our games at home”.He also dismissed any concerns over dissatisfaction of his fellow batters regarding these playing conditions, and allayed fears over the redundancy of Pakistan’s Test fast bowling. “We can’t pit our bowlers and batters against each other,” he said. “The hardest thing to do here was batting and fast bowling. West Indies didn’t score 141 in either of their innings, and yet we had one partnership [Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan] do it. The mistake is we should maybe have tried to string a few partnerships around that big one. Performances aren’t just about scoring centuries; in some conditions, 10-20 extra runs can make all the difference.”If someone has to sacrifice there, like fast bowlers or batters, then so be it. There will be oppositions where we feel we can prepare seam-friendly pitches. Then fast bowlers will get the opportunity to get wickets like the spinners got here. We need to work on how we can progress as a team. A WTC is a two-year cycle, so fast bowlers will come into it. We have away series in England and the West Indies with the Dukes ball. When a subcontinent team comes here, we may prepare seam-friendly wickets. Over the bigger picture, no one’s role is being diminished.”Pakistan do not play another Test for nine months, and have just two scheduled over the next 14 months. For Masood, this was the biggest concern, and a situation he deemed unacceptable.”I’ve complained about this issue and raised it several times; a nation like Pakistan cannot just play 4-5 Tests a year. This is something we as a nation need to push for. A ten-month gap, and then if you come and play in these conditions, it can be completely different. Our first-class season will also likely only just have begun at that time. These ten months are important, and I hope we get international and domestic cricket, and the Test players we have, hopefully we can look after them in the next ten months so they’re ready for the series against South Africa in October.”Ten months is a long time in cricket and, as Masood knows only too well, especially in Pakistan cricket. But in a nation where captains can live or die by the results their team produces, it is little surprise Masood makes no apology for a strategy which, for now, has been giving his team those wins, regardless of the optics that accompany them.

Liverpool's friendly against Yokohama F Marinos is expected to go ahead despite a tsunami warning in Japan following an earthquake in Russia.

Liverpool in pre-season action in JapanSet to play Yokohama F Marinos Game set to go ahead as plannedFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

The Reds are in Yokohama for a pre-season friendly on Wednesday, with the game still scheduled to go ahead despite a tsunami alert in the country, according to the . Millions of people in Hawaii, the United States and Japan have been ordered to evacuate after an earthquake with an 8.8 magnitude hit Russia's east coast, causing tsunami waves.

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The earthquake has led to 1.9 million people being ordered to evacuate in Japan. According to the country's weather agency, a tsunami wave of 4.3ft (1.3m) has reached the northern Iwate prefecture. The situation had led to doubts about whether Liverpool's friendly would go ahead but it is expected to to be played as planned, with public transport still running normally in Yokohama.

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Liverpool will be without Luis Diaz for the match after he left the tour and completed a move to Bayern Munich. However, new signing Hugo Ekitike is in line for his first appearance for the Reds since completing his blockbuster move from Eintracht Frankfurt.

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The game against Yokohama F Marinos is Liverpool's final match of their tour. Arne Slot's side are then due to jet home for a friendly against Athletic Club before a Community Shield clash against Crystal Palace.

Stats highlights from India’s comprehensive win in the second Test in Chennai

S Rajesh16-Feb-2021317 – The margin of victory, India’s largest, in terms of runs, in a Test against England. The previous highest was 279 runs, at Headingley in 1986. India have also beaten England six times by an innings.2 – Instances of R Ashwin scoring a century and taking eight wickets in a Test; he had earlier achieved the feat against West Indies in Mumbai in 2011, when he scored 103 and took 9 for 117 in a memorable drawn Test which ended with scores level: India finished on 242 for 9 chasing 243 for victory. No other India allrounder has managed this in a Test.9 – India bowlers who have taken a five-for on debut; Axar Patel became the latest to join this group with his 5 for 60 in England’s second innings. The only other left-arm spinner in this group is Dilip Doshi, who took 6 for 103 against Australia in Chennai in 1979.ESPNcricinfo Ltd21 – Test wins in India for Virat Kohli the captain. He equals MS Dhoni’s record for most wins by an Indian captain at home. Overall, India have won 34 Tests under Kohli, which is seven clear of the next-best, 27 under Dhoni.10 – Instances of Ashwin dismissing Ben Stokes in Tests. Stokes averages 17.8 against him. Stokes and David Warner are the two batsmen who have been dismissed most often by Ashwin in Tests. Both average less than 20 against him.ESPNcricinfo Ltd298 – England’s match aggregate, their third-lowest in a Test against India in which they lost 20 wickets. Their lowest is 230 (102 and 128) in that Headingley Test in 1986. It is their second-lowest in any Test in Asia.4 – Instances of a team winning the second Test of a series by 200-plus runs after losing the first by a similar margin. The three previous instances were by South Africa in England in 2017, by South Africa at home against Australia in 2014, and by West Indies in England in 1950. On both occasions when South Africa fought back to win the second Test, they ended up losing the series, 3-1 to England and 2-1 to Australia.ESPNcricinfo Ltd0 – Half-centuries for Joe Root in the match; it is the first time Root hasn’t passed 50 in a Test, in the eight matches he has played against India.8.16 – England batsmen’s average when playing the sweep shot in this Test – they scored only 49 runs off the shot and were dismissed six times. In the first Test, they averaged 38.75 when playing the shot, scoring 155 runs for four dismissals.15 – Test wins for India at Chepauk, which is their highest at any venue. They have 13 wins in Delhi and Kolkata each.238.9 – Moeen Ali’s strike rate in the second innings: he scored 43 off 18. It is the highest by an England batsman for any innings of 15 or more balls (in matches where balls-faced data is available). For all teams, this is the second-best, next to Abdur Razzak’s 17-ball 43 against Zimbabwe in 2011.