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The India captain praises Shastri’s man-management, credits him for bringing players out of their shells

Vishal Dikshit in Mumbai15-Nov-20181:24

Kohli: ‘Nobody says no to me more than Shastri’

After an “untenable” relationship that led to Anil Kumble’s resignation as head coach, Virat Kohli says he’s been working with a coach who has said “no” to him more than anyone else in Indian cricket.To give context to Kohli comments, he was asked ahead of the India’s departure for Australia whether Ravi Shastri merely said “yes” to everything Kohli said. The captain responded by saying it was “the most bizarre thing” he had ever heard.”About saying ‘yes’ all the time, that is the most bizarre thing I have heard,” Kohli said. “I don’t think there’s anyone who has said no to me more than him in Indian cricket. Honestly, because he’s one guy I can speak to and get an honest opinion and he’ll tell me something that if it doesn’t need to be done, it doesn’t need to be done. I’ve made more changes to my game listening to him than anyone else in the past.”These are very personal things that happen within the team environment and things that conveniently need to be put out there are put out there, and we’re not going to take a banner and say, ‘no, this is what happens in the Indian team’. As long as our heart is clear and our intent is right, we just want to keep moving forward.”Reports and a public image of Shastri and Kohli hardly differing on anything took shape following Shastri’s appointment as head coach in July last year. At the time, Kumble said he was informed by the BCCI that “the captain had reservations with my style and about my continuing as head coach”. Shastri had incidentally been team director just before Kumble was appointed in 2016, despite Shastri also applying for the job.Soon after Shastri took over as coach in 2017, he first made it clear the captain was going to be the boss. When asked about what exactly Shastri brought “to the table strategically or by motivation” as coach, Kohli jumped to his defence, saying he had pulled many players out of shells when they had been in poor form.”The contribution he has brought to the table ever since we started building this team is making people believe that they belong to this level,” Kohli said. “I can vouch for it because at a time when we all went through a really difficult time in England in 2014…for me to be able to come out of that shell [and] a lot of other players, like Shikhar [Dhawan] in the 2015 World Cup, he can vouch for that as well…you know to get the best out of players, I think he’s been the most important factor.”Man management is the most important thing at the level at which we play. I think a lot of people think that we don’t understand what needs to be done and someone needs to literally tell you where the bat needs to come from, where the head has to be. I think we’ve learnt those things enough, it’s the man management which Ravi has done brilliantly for the time that he’s been with the team.”About the other factors, look, everyone has their opinion on things, and they are absolutely free and entitled to voice their opinion, but we can’t stop living life, we cannot stop doing things that we feel are organic. Nothing is made up here, nothing is created or happening in a fake way. Everyone has a different personality, if someone’s personality doesn’t fall into someone else comfort zone, then that becomes a problem.”We’re all given a responsibility and we’re doing it to the best of our abilities. The only motive is to take Indian cricket forward. And if someone can say otherwise about the progress of the team, then that’s a very personal point of view because we all feel that we’re moving in the right direction as a team.”

The selectors decided not to name any replacement for the allrounder for the series which starts on August 17

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Aug-2018Allrounder Vijay Shankar has been ruled out of the upcoming quadrangular series in Vijayawada, scheduled to begin on August 17. Vijay, who was set to represent India B in that series, is currently undergoing rehabilitation for his injured left hamstring at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.The selectors have decided not to name a replacement for him for the quadrangular series, which will also feature India A, South Africa A and Australia A.India B, who will be led by Manish Pandey, have likes of Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Ishan Kishan, Jayant Yadav, Siddarth Kaul and Prasidh Krishna in their ranks, while India A include Prithvi Shaw, Suryakumar Yadav, Nitish Rana, Sanju Samson, K Gowtham, Krunal Pandya, Deepak Chahar and Shivam Mavi, under the leadership of Shreyas Iyer.The series will run till August 29, with India B scheduled to play their first match against South Africa A on August 17.India B squad: Manish Pandey (capt), Mayank Agarwal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubhman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Ricky Bhui, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shreyas Gopal, Jayant Yadav, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, Siddarth Kaul, Prasidh Krishna, Kulwant Khejroliya, Navdeep Saini.

Lancashire legspinner Matt Parkinson, the leading wicket-taker in the group stage of the Royal London Cup, has been included

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jun-2018Nottinghamshire captain Steven Mullaney will lead England Lions in their triangular series against India A and West Indies A later this month.The squad features five players capped by England – Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Craig Overton and Reece Topley – and also Ben Foakes who was part of the Test squad throughout the tour of Australia and New Zealand.Matt Parkinson, the Lancashire legspinner who has impressed this season with red and white ball, is included – he is the leading wicket-taker in the Royal London Cup with 18 wickets at 18.22.Topley’s inclusion is significant encouragement for the left-armer who has played 10 ODIs and six T20Is for England. He has suffered a succession of lower-back injuries and has opted to focus on white-ball cricket in 2018.Joe Clarke, the Worcestershire batsman, has not been included with a decision to allow him to play red-ball cricket. The tri-series coincides with two rounds of the County Championship – Worcestershire play Lancashire and Nottinghamshire during that period – and pulling players out for Lions duty has caused tensions in the past.Squad: Nick Gubbins (Middlesex), Tom Kohler-Cadmore (Yorkshire), Sam Hain (Warwickshire), Liam Livingstone (Lancashire), Steven Mullaney (Nottinghamshire, captain), Ben Foakes (Surrey, wk), Liam Dawson (Hampshire), Sam Curran (Surrey), Craig Overton (Somerset), Matt Parkinson (Lancashire), Matthew Fisher (Yorkshire), Reece Topley (Hampshire), Tom Helm (Middlesex)

West Indies will be without the injured Andre Russell in their must-win game against the new No.1 ODI side

The Preview by Deivarayan Muthu26-Jun-20194:11

Kartik: India’s middle order not a cause of concern

Big Picture

Thirty six years after India sprung a surprise on West Indies in final, the two sides meet again with plenty on the line at Old Trafford. Carlos Brathwaite fell inches short on Saturday, but it’s not quite the end of the road for West Indies, who have just won one of their six matches and are placed just above South Africa and Afghanistan, who are both out of contention for the semi-finals.England’s back-to-back defeats come as soothing news to West Indies, who can still sneak into the knockouts, provided they win their last three league matches and the stars align for them. Should Jason Holder’s men lose tomorrow, though, their dream will be over and India will take a big step closer to the semi-finals.West Indies will have to do without Andre Russell whose utterly wonky knees have given up. There’s also an injury cloud over Evin Lewis, who had hurt his hamstring in the field against New Zealand and later did not open the batting. Instead, he batted at No. 8 and bagged a three-ball duck.Chris Gayle and Shai Hope have blown hot and cold, compounding West Indies’ top-order troubles. They are the only side in the tournament without a fifty opening stand and they have the worst average for the opening partnership (11.2). Sunil Ambris, who has been drafted in as Russell’s replacement, could help remedy this and bring some attacking enterprise at the top while Brathwaite seamlessly fits in as a like-for-like replacement for Russell.Sheldon Cottrell: taking wickets and having fun•Getty Images

West Indies’ new-ball bowlers ditched the bang-it-in plan and hit much fuller lengths on Saturday, and Sheldon Cottrell was immediately rewarded with a double-wicket first over. His left-arm angle coupled with an awkward round-arm action could pose a threat to India’s batting line-up that still has some cracks in the middle order. Vijay Shankar is still feeling his way into the middle order, and he had his first – and only crack – at No. 4 on Saturday. Kedar Jadhav made a scrappy fifty, but he could not find a gear high enough to hurt Afghanistan.That brings us to MS Dhoni. As is his wont, he simply blocked the spinners and set up for the late burst. However, it never came and Dhoni fell in the most un-Dhoni fashion: jumping out to slog Rashid Khan against the break in his last over and getting stumped.Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s injury has also messed with India’s balance. Mohammed Shami bowled a fiery first spell and later closed out the game against Afghanistan with a hat-trick, but his inclusion has lengthened India’s tail. Against West Indies whose batting drips with power and depth, India could consider recalling Ravindra Jadeja in place of one of the wristspinners.ALSO READ: Aakash Chopra on what India need to do against West Indies’ key players

Form guide

India: WWWWL (Last five completed matches, most recent first)
West Indies: LLLLW

In the spotlight

Manchester is a special place for Vijay Shankar. He’s a die-hard fan of Manchester United and he enjoyed a tour of the football’s Old Trafford before pinning Imam-ul-Haq lbw with his first World Cup delivery at cricket’s Old Trafford, against Pakistan. The batting allrounder had a bright start against Afghanistan, but he threw it away, chancing a sweep just after fine leg had been whisked in. Can he make the No. 4 spot his own upon his return to Manchester?ALSO READ – Gollapudi: What Vijay Shankar brings at No. 4Shimron Hetmyer started the tournament quietly and then eased himself into back-to-back fifties against Bangladesh and New Zealand. That Hetmyer is a fine player of spin makes him one of the key figures in the middle order against Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav or Jadeja. Remember his rousing hundred in Guwahati last year, India?4:42

Ganga wants Bravo, Allen in WI’s XI

Team news

India are set to give Vijay another shot at the middle order. But, the big question is will they throw Jadeja into the mix at the expense of a wristspinner? Bhuvneshwar has resumed bowling at the nets, but India are unlikely to risk playing him on Thursday.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Virat Kohli (captain), 4 Vijay Shankar, 5 MS Dhoni (wk), 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Kedar Jadhav, 8 Kuldeep Yadav, 9 Yuzvendra Chahal/Ravindra Jadeja, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Jasprit BumrahWest Indies are likely include Ambris if Lewis is unfit, and Kemar Roach might keep his place ahead of the erratic Shannon Gabriel.West Indies (probable): 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Evin Lewis/Sunil Ambris, 3 Shai Hope (wk), 4 Nicholas Pooran, 5 Shimron Hetmyer, 6 Carlos Brathwaite, 7 Jason Holder (capt), 8 Ashley Nurse, 9 Kemar Roach, 10 Sheldon Cottrell, 11 Oshane ThomasChris Gayle has a hit in the nets•AFP

Pitch and conditions

The Old Trafford track is likely to be flat as usual, and there’s no rain forecast for Thursday.

Strategy punt

• Keep your inswinger ready against Gayle in the Powerplay. The opener has struggled against incoming deliveries in the first ten overs, managing only 19 off 30 such balls while being dismissed twice.
• Gayle sized up Mitchell Santner’s left-arm spin on Saturday, and West Indies have more left-handers in Lewis, Nicholas Pooran and Hetmyer, but India could still take a punt on Jadeja for his athleticism in the field and the batting cover he provides. Even if Jadeja, the bowler, is taken to the cleaners, India have an extra bowling option in Vijay.

Stats and trivia

• Jasprit Bumrah has bowled 15 yorkers in four matches this World Cup. Only Mitchell Starc has bowled more yorkers (16) although he has had the benefit of playing three more games.
• Gayle is 59 runs away from surpassing Brian Lara as West Indies’ top run-getter in ODI cricket
• Tomorrow’s ODI will be Hardik Pandya’s 50th. He needs two wickets to reach 50 ODI wickets
• In ODIs since 2017, at Old Trafford, spinners have managed only 15 wickets in 10 innings as opposed to 56 taken by the seamers.

Fast bowler returns to group with England considering changes for The Oval

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jul-2025England have brought Jamie Overton back into their squad for the fifth Test against India. The addition of Overton, who played for Surrey in the County Championship last week, is the only change to the group from Old Trafford, where India salvaged a fighting draw to keep the series alive.England’s bowlers shouldered a heavy workload in vain during the fourth Test, sending down 257.1 overs across two innings, and captain Ben Stokes admitted afterwards that fresh legs might be required with a three-day turnaround between Tests.”If you look at how long we’ve been out in the field and the overs that we bowled as a bowling unit, everyone is going to be pretty sore and pretty tired going into the last game of the series,” he said. “There’ll be an assessment of everyone, and hopefully we can use these next two or three days’ rest period wisely and then have to make a decision.England squad for fifth Test against India•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“These recovery days are going to be pretty important, and we might have to make a few decisions to get some fresh legs in. But that won’t be decided until we get closer to the last game.”England have largely kept the same attack during the four Tests to date, with Jofra Archer replacing Josh Tongue after two games and Liam Dawson coming in for the injured Shoiab Bashir at Old Trafford the only changes. Chris Woakes has bowled more overs (167) than anyone on either side, while Brydon Carse (155) and Stokes (140) are not far behind. Archer, meanwhile, has only just returned to Test cricket after a four-year absence.Gus Atkinson had been expected to be involved by this stage of the series and could come in for Woakes, having proved his fitness after a hamstring injury while playing for Surrey’s 2nd XI last week. Tongue, who is still England’s second-leading wicket-taker in the series with 11, may also be in contention, while a recall for Overton would see him playing Test cricket for the first time since his debut Test in 2022.England have cancelled their training session for Tuesday to allow the players more recovery time, and will reconvene at The Oval on Wednesday.

England squad for the fifth Test against India

Ben Stokes (capt), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes

England allrounder resorts to bowling two overs of medium pace on return to first-class action

ESPNcricinfo staff and ECB Reporters Network19-Aug-2019Moeen Ali resorted to bowling two overs of medium pace as he endured a difficult return to first-class cricket following his omission from England’s Ashes squad.After a torrid Test match at Edgbaston, Moeen took a “short break” from cricket – which lasted all of two Vitality Blast matches – having been left out of England’s squad for Lord’s.He bowled 39.1 overs, but only managed three tail-end wickets against Northamptonshire, and surprised many by bowling two overs of seam-up swing bowling with the wicketkeeper standing back shortly before tea.As Moeen struggled, centuries from Dwaine Pretorius and Alex Wakely and an irresistible new ball spell from Ben Sanderson set Northamptonshire firmly on course for victory.Pretorius made 111 on his Championship debut and Wakely 102 – his first hundred of the summer – to help Northants take a first-innings lead of 190 before Sanderson claimed 4 for 13 in nine overs to leave Worcestershire 42 for 4 at the close, trailing by 148.It was a second dominant day for the home side who ground out 123.1 overs with the bat to make 376 before Sanderson seized his chance with the new ball in 17 overs Worcestershire were left at the end of the day.He drew edges from Daryl Mitchell to second slip for 4 and from Jack Haynes to the wicketkeeper for 19. Another one nipped away to flick the off stump of Callum Ferguson for a four-ball duck before he brought one back to pin Alex Milton lbw for an eight-ball duck.It was a wonderful spell of nine overs, five maidens, 4 for 13 which left Worcestershire with much to do to avoid an innings defeat.Northants’ day was set up in the morning session by Wakely and Pretorius, who arrived at the wicket for the start of play after Nathan Buck was removed from the game after being struck on the head on the first evening.Pretorius got off the mark straight driving Wayne Parnell for four and went back to cut Moeen’s first ball of the day past extra-cover. He slog-swept Moeen over midwicket for six but then should have been held on 25 when he lifted the offspinner to mid-off but Joe Leach spilled a straightforward chance.Moeen then went round the wicket and Pretorius sent him over deep midwicket again and drove him wide of point to put Northants into the lead. A short-arm pull past mid-on for four and a flashing drive through cover point brought him a seventh four an fifty in 67 balls.Resuming after lunch on 70, Pretorius lustily drove Parnell through cover point and next ball flicked him past midwicket for another boundary. Leach bowled short and wide and was cut hard past extra cover to take Pretorius into the 90s.A flick against Parnell past mid-on for four brought him closer to three figures, which he reached with a push into midwicket in 136 balls with 14 fours and those two slog-swept sixes against Moeen. He swung Ed Barnard to point soon after, becoming Worcestershire’s third wicket with the second new ball.The first of those was Wakely but only after a hard-earned ninth first-class century.Wakely resigned the captaincy back in May and has enjoyed some reasonable form since but this was his first major contribution to a Championship match.Returning on 63, he began his work for day two with a crunching back-foot drive for four off Parnell and two clipped threes through midwicket. An on-drive against Parnell took him past his highest score this season before a nudged single wide of mid-off brought him three figures.It was a grinding effort on a slow wicket in 233 balls with nine fours and a six and Wakely’s delight was obvious. But he could only add one to his lunchtime score before shouldering arms to a Parnell inswinger and losing his off stump.Adam Rossington also lost his off stump for 1 from a beauty from Leach and after losing Pretorius, Northants got stuck, failing to reach a fourth batting point despite only needing 26 in 11 overs. It was the only disappointing element to their day.

James Vince, the Hampshire captain, praised Northeast’s calmness in the situation and believed it probably served to spur him on to produce a significant innings

Andrew McGlashan30-Jun-2018Kent captain Sam Billings criticised the reception given to his predecessor, Sam Northeast, during the Royal London Cup final at Lord’s.Northeast, who left Kent in rather acrimonious circumstances during the off-season, was roundly jeered by Kent supporters as he walked to the crease and again when he reached his half-century. Northeast would have the final say, however, as his unbeaten 75 off 60 balls helped propel Hampshire to a matchwinning total of 330 for 6.But asked if he was happy with the treatment Northeast received, Billings said: “In a word, no. That’s not really cricket, I know it’s a cliché, but Sam’s a classy player, he showed that today. Of course whenever a player leaves a club there will be a bitterness but I don’t think that’s fair at all, really, to be very blunt. I don’t agree with it at all.”It certainly gave the game an edge, everyone felt that in the ground. There was something bubbling there.”James Vince, the Hampshire captain, praised Northeast’s calmness in the situation and believed it probably served to spur him on to produce a significant innings. Hampshire were strongly placed on 193 for 2 when he walked in, but Northeast’s innings ensured they didn’t miss out on posting a record total for a domestic Lord’s final, even though they couldn’t quite scale the heights that looked possible at the 30-over mark.”I said to Sam when we knew we were playing Kent in the final how good it would be for him to get a hundred against them,” Vince said. “He’s obviously played a big part in getting Kent to where they are now, so it’s perhaps slightly unfair but he was fired up to do well for us today.”He’s a very calm man. There was no question that it wasn’t going to faze him. The players he played with have respect for him, the fans are entitled to their opinion and I think he’d respond well to that. It probably gave him the extra incentive to really contribute to us winning.”The most significant innings of the day, however, belonged to Rilee Rossouw who hit 125 off 114 balls to earn the Man of the Match award. Rossouw, who joined Hampshire on a Kolpak deal last year, has not had everything run his way of late, having his front teeth knocked out during the semi-final against Yorkshire in a fielding mishap, and spent 80 minutes stuck in a lift at the team hotel on the eve of the final, but was grateful that everything came together when it mattered.”I’ll take all the bad luck in the world to win a final,” he joked. “I’m happy to relax in victory after two weeks in the wars. I was stuck in the lift for 80 minutes in the hotel last night, on my own. I was actually on my way down to see my wife and my little baby. So I wasn’t happy.”And with my teeth, I dropped a catch in the semi-finals, it went straight through my hands, hit my front teeth, broke the front two right off and chipped a third. The front two are completely gone. I’ve got a good dentist though, so the credit goes to him.”I’m very pleased with my performance today. I wanted this very badly and I’m so happy that the team pulled it off. It feels great to pay back the club for what they have invested in me, I’m very happy.”

Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa, Beth Mooney and Ash Gardner also claimed international awards

AAP03-Feb-2025Travis Head has been named Australian cricket’s Allan Border Medallist and Annabel Sutherland has won the Belinda Clark Award.It was the first time for each player to win Australian cricket’s highest individual honours. While Head was a favourite for the top men’s prize, also claiming the one-day international player award, Sutherland was third in the one-day voting and a distant sixth for the women’s T20I international award.But she was awarded top votes for the two Tests played by the Australian women in the voting period over the past 12 months, most recently scoring 163 at the MCG as the hosts capped their Ashes whitewash.Related

• Annabel Sutherland: WPL will provide intel about India before the World Cup

• Travis Head expects Sam Konstas to open in WTC final

• The finisher: ODI icon Bevan elevated to Hall of Fame

• Christina Matthews inducted into Australian cricket Hall of fame

• 'Defined his generation' – Clarke joins Australia's Hall of Fame

Sutherland the first woman to score a Test hundred at the MCG. In February last year, she scored 210 in the Test against South Africa at the WACA.The extra weighting for the Test votes proved the difference for Sutherland. It is the first time she has won any of the top women’s categories – the Belinda Clark Award, the ODI or the T20I player.”For me, I love batting, probably my Test record shows that, and I try and make the most of that when I get out in the middle,” Sutherland said.Head, who received his award from head coach Andrew McDonald at the team hotel in Galle, was a clear winner of the Allan Border Medal and is the first South Australian to claim the award. He also won the ODI category for the first time.Josh Hazlewood was named men’s Test player of the year•Getty Images

Head polled 208 votes for the Border Medal, well clear of Josh Hazlewood’s 158, with Australian Test captain Pat Cummins third on 147.Head is coming off a bumper 12 months across. The 31-year-old scored a staggering 1427 runs across all three formats in the 12-month polling period that began with Australia’s home Test series against West Indies last January, and ended with the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy.Smith has the next-most runs with 806, while only Adam Zampa (31) played more games than Head (29) in the voting period.A blistering 140 off 141 balls in his home Test match at the Adelaide Oval against India was an undeniable highlight for Head, and helped reignite Australia’s series after their heavy loss in the first match in Perth.Asked for the highlight of his past 12 months, Head said: “I feel like the Indian series, the Test series that’s just gone. Nice to contribute. It’s such a big five or six weeks.”Sutherland polled 168 to win ahead of Ashleigh Gardner, who won the Belinda Clark Award last year. Gardner polled 143 and Beth Mooney was third on 115, with Gardner and Mooney two-time winners.Beth Mooney and Ashleigh Gardner took out the women’s T20I and ODI awards•Getty Images

While none of the top men’s winners were at the Monday night awards function in Melbourne due mostly to the current tour of Sri Lanka, the women were celebrating in the room after they dominated the Ashes series.Mooney and Zampa were named the top T20I players, while Gardner took out the women’s ODI category and Hazlewood the men’s Test honour.Ellyse Perry and Jess Jonassen were named the players of the WBBL tournament and, likewise, Cooper Connolly and Glenn Maxwell took out the BBL award.Boxing Day Test sensation Sam Konstas was named the Bradman Young Men’s Cricketer of the Year.West Australian Chloe Ainsworth won the Betty Wilson award for the top young women’s cricketer, while Beau Webster and Georgia Voll took the domestic awards.

Full list of award winners

Belinda Clark Award: Annabel Sutherland
Allan Border Medal: Travis Head
Women’s ODI Player of the Year: Ashleigh Gardner
Women’s T20I Player of the Year: Beth Mooney
Shane Warne Men’s Test Player of the Year: Josh Hazlewood

Men’s ODI Player of the Year: Travis Head
Men’s T20I Player of the Year: Adam Zampa
WBBL Player of the Tournament: Ellyse Perry and Jess Jonassen

BBL Player of the Tournament: Glenn Maxwell and Cooper Connolly
Women’s Domestic Player of the Year: Georgia Voll
Men’s Domestic Player of the Year: Beau Webster
Betty Wilson Young Cricketer of the Year: Chloe Ainsworth

Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year: Sam Konstas
Community Impact Award: Cameron Green

Woolworths Cricket Blaster of the Year: Frankie Mountney
Australian Cricket Hall of Fame inductees: Michael Clarke, Christina Matthews and Michael Bevan

Harmanpreet admits that the short turnaround between the ODIs in Australia and the T20Is at home against West Indies is “very difficult” to deal with

Sruthi Ravindranath14-Dec-20242:52

Harmanpreet: Australia series was learning experience for young bowlers

Harmanpreet Kaur has put India’s failure to win crunch games in big tournaments – specifically at this year’s Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup – down to the “mindset” of individual players.”I think it’s only the mindset because, if you see, our team has very good players,” Harmanpreet said ahead of the T20I series against West Indies, which starts on Sunday. “All of them have done really well whenever they got the opportunity. I think in the big games it’s only about the mindset and what you’re feeling individually. Because, as a player, as a team, you can only talk about the things you have done well. At the end of the day, it’s only you who is dealing [with the situation and pressure] in the middle and it’s only about you, how you are going to take these things forward.”We discuss whatever is required to win but, at the end of the day, it’s the individual performer’s mindset, about how you are going to win the game for the team.”Related

• India, West Indies meet with T20I records to set straight

• India drop Reddy; Kashyap, Bist, Rawal get maiden call-ups

• Australia rebound after T20 World Cup disappointment

While India have won 13 out of the 20 T20Is they have played this year, they have lost all-important games. They had an unbeaten run in the Asia Cup in July till they lost big to Sri Lanka in the final. Then they missed out on making the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup after losing a must-win match against Australia in the group stage. In the Asia Cup final, Smriti Mandhana top scored for India when the rest of the batters failed. Harmanpreet’s solo effort with the bat went in vain against Australia.India are now coming into the T20Is against West Indies on the back of a 3-0 loss in the ODI series in Australia.”It’s really tough when you’re going through this patch,” she said. “At the same time, we can only talk about the good things we have done in the past. I think having team-bonding sessions are very important. So, when we were coming back from Australia, we had good talks on the flight because that was only time we could talk and think about how we can start this series. Yesterday was a good off-day and today we had a good meeting where we discussed how we have to go about in this particular series.”The scheduling hasn’t helped. These T20Is in Navi Mumbai take place right after the ODIs in Perth and Brisbane – the last was on December 11 – and while Harmanpreet said it was part of playing at the highest level, she admitted it wasn’t easy.The Indians have a very short turnaround between the ODI series in Australia and the T20Is at home against West Indies•PTI

“To be honest, it is difficult because you know we’re coming from Australia. After the game, only within four-five hours we left the country and came back to India,” she said. “But as professionals, these things happen and we just want to stay motivated. Yesterday was an off-day so we tried to rest well and we are looking forward to the game tomorrow.”Think when you have very less time, it’s very difficult to come back and reflect on the things which you have done in the past. At the same time, we just have to keep talking about the positives. The young girls who have come into the team have done really well in domestic and they are also positive. I think staying together is something which is very important, which we have been doing.”Harmanpreet was tight-lipped when asked about the omissions from the squad for the series.India have rung in several changes to the T20I side, but the exclusion of Arundhati Reddy and Shafali Verma have been major talking points, particularly considering Reddy was India’s joint-highest wicket-taker at the T20 World Cup and Shafali has the second-most runs in T20Is for India this year.”I would say to ask the right person, because I can only talk about the team that’s here, and what things we can do to win this series,” Harmanpreet said. “I think regarding Shafali or any other player, [it’s] better to ask the right persons.”

Southern Brave fall short after three wickets in seven balls derails chase

Matt Roller18-Aug-2024Saqib Mahmood put two years of injury hell behind him at Lord’s, winning the Hundred final for Oval Invincibles with a devastating spell of reverse-swing. With Southern Brave’s chase of 148 in the balance, Mahmood removed Leus du Plooy, Kieron Pollard and Laurie Evans to take 3 for 1 in seven balls, a timely reminder of his talents on the biggest stage in English domestic cricket.It meant the Hundred’s best team won their second successive title, as the Invincibles’ men of 2023-24 matched their women’s achievement of 2021-22 by retaining the trophy. That they had retained Mahmood despite him missing consecutive seasons with back stress fractures confirmed their success in building the clearest identity of any side in the men’s competition.They have not quite lived up to their moniker, but the Invincibles have lost only three games across the last two seasons. Sam Billings and Tom Moody, their captain and coach, have built their team around three allrounders – Will Jacks and the Curran brothers – in the top seven, giving them unrivalled balance.”Saqib Mahmood came and changed the game with that set of 10. That was a turning point,” Billings said. “It’s been a real team effort throughout, probably even better than last year… Your career goes past very quickly and these are the nights to really remember and cherish, as a group of mates as much as colleagues. Winning trophies is what it’s all about.”

Mahmood’s England reminder

The Invincibles can boast the Hundred’s most prolific spin attack, with 34 wickets between them this season after Adam Zampa, Nathan Sowter and Jacks snared four more in Sunday’s final, in front of a full house at Lord’s.Zampa made a crucial breakthrough in his second set of five, bowling Alex Davies with a googly for 35 off 23 following a bright start in the Powerplay. Having himself set the game up for the Invincibles with 37 off 22 balls, Jacks then roared in celebration after dismissing the season’s leading run-scorer in James Vince, bowled looking to hack leg-side.Will Jacks claimed the wicket of James Vince•Getty Images

But after Evans tucked into Zampa, slog-sweeping consecutive balls for four and six, the Brave needed a manageable 53 off 30 with seven wickets in hand. Du Plooy launched Mahmood past Dawid Malan’s sprawling dive at extra cover, but backed away to the following ball and lost his leg stump as Mahmood went full and straight.Mahmood had the old ball moving both ways and stayed on for a second consecutive set of five from the Nursery End after three dots to Pollard. Fresh from a breather at the strategic timeout, Mahmood went full and straight to smash Pollard on the knee roll, then had Evans chipping to short cover to leave the chase in disarray.With Australia touring in September for three T20Is and five ODIs, Mahmood’s impact will have nudged England’s selectors. He has not played international cricket since March 2023 and would not have featured in Sunday’s final if Spencer Johnson had been fit, but looked back towards his brilliant best.Chris Jordan, fresh from a match-winning hand in the ‘Super Five’ which decided Saturday’s eliminator, was the Brave’s final hope. When Zampa, the season’s joint-highest wicket-taker with 19, cleaned him up third-ball, the Invincibles’ name was on the trophy once again.Jordan Cox kept Oval Invincibles pressing towards a big total•Getty Images

Jacks sets Invincibles up

The Invincibles recovered from 34 for 5 during their comeback win over Manchester Originals in last year’s final, but made a serene start this time around thanks to Jacks. He raced to 31 off 14 balls with early sixes off Jofra Archer, Craig Overton and Akeal Hosein, and was then given a reprieve when Pollard dropped a straightforward chance at long-on.Archer, playing at Lord’s for the first time since his Test debut during the 2019 Ashes, looked sharp with the new ball, with Jacks top-edging a short ball into his helmet. He had Malan caught at deep midwicket for 7 and Tymal Mills removed his opening partner Jacks seven balls later for 37, his full toss slipping under the bat and crashing into middle and off stumps.Sam Curran and Jordan Cox added 46 for the third wicket, but Hosein then sparked a mini-collapse during a set of 10 consecutive balls delivered from different ends. Curran skied to cover, Billings played around a straight one, and Donovan Ferreira holed out to Pollard on the long-on boundary. When Cox top-edged Mills’ short ball through to Alex Davies, the Invincibles had lost 4 for 9.Tom Curran, the star of their 2023 triumph, crashed 24 off 11 balls to keep the innings moving – including one outrageous punch for six over extra cover off Archer – before falling to an excellent catch from James Coles at deep square leg, and Tom Lammonby added 16 from No. 8 in only his third innings of the season. Their 147 looked just above par – and so it proved.