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This was one of New Zealand’s greatest days of Test cricket in recent times as they outplayed one of the strongest Test teams in the world from start to finish

Andrew McGlashan in Dunedin07-Mar-2013Was this really the team bowled out for 45 two Tests ago? Was it really the team who sacked their captain in such a way that he took time away from the game? Was it really the team whose off-field exploits make as many headlines as those on it? Was this really the team whose management and executive structure do not appear to see eye-to-eye?What this was, without doubt, was one of New Zealand’s greatest days of Test cricket in recent times. This was not dominating against a lowly Zimbabwe or Bangladesh side. They outplayed one of the strongest Test teams in the world from start to finish. There was an air of disbelief from those who have followed New Zealand cricket’s recent woes.”We’re in the position that every team can dream of at the moment,” Neil Wagner said, and even that sounded like an understatement.It was Wagner who sparked New Zealand’s incredible day. In his first over, with his second and third deliveries, he removed England captain Alastair Cook and trapped Kevin Pietersen lbw first ball. England’s top order looked a little vulnerable coming into the match due to the lack of match practice and the home side made it count.Wagner had been bullish in Queenstown after roughing up England’s batsmen, including removing Pietersen, and highlighted keeping him short of runs. He said New Zealand would try to “hammer” on his confidence. He was as good as his word today and, when asked about England’s performance, did not produce a dead-bat answer.”They were under a bit of pressure and thought they might take lower-risk shots but at the end of the day, that’s the way they play,” he said. “There’s days when it doesn’t come off and days when it comes off and on those days you don’t want to be the opposition and they can hurt you badly. Other days it doesn’t come off and it was just one of those days when it didn’t work for them.”The standout feature of New Zealand’s day, of which there were many, was that the key individuals – Wagner, Bruce Martin and Hamish Rutherford – could, in slightly different circumstances, have been playing in the Ford Trophy one-day tournament rather than a Test match.Wagner was only included in the squad after impressing for the New Zealand XI in Queenstown. Initially, Mark Gillespie was tipped to be the likely option to bolster the pace resources, but Wagner’s six wickets last week tipped the balance back his way. He may still have missed the final cut, though, if Doug Bracewell had not decided to clean up his house, in the process stepping on a piece of glass. In this case, Wagner’s glass was certainly half full.However, his first three Tests had brought five wickets at 68.80 and it was already being suggested that he was another player unable to transfer dominant domestic form to the top level. One good day does not mean he has cracked it, but the relief from him was palpable. “I needed it and I was just glad to get it under the belt I guess,” he said.Wagner shared eight wickets with Martin, but the 32-year-old left-arm spinner was not a certain starter in this match just the day before. Four quicks were being seriously considered by Brendon McCullum and Mike Hesson. It’s difficult to say Martin bowled for his wickets (caught point, deep square-leg and short fine-leg) but his presence ensured England’s batsmen could not settle in against four medium-fast bowlers.Martin also made it clear before the series that he was not too interested in being a defensive bowler and “would look to take a few poles and bowl to some attacking fields” if he got his chance. McCullum, a captain out of the same aggressive mindset, supported him with men around the bat and also gave him the ball straight after lunch when logic might have suggested resuming with two seamers. When Matt Prior began to open his shoulders, McCullum did not withdraw Martin to the safety of the outfield and the following over he claimed the wicket.Then there is Rutherford, like Wagner, an Otago cricketer playing on his home ground. Of all the problem areas in the New Zealand team over recent times, the opening partnership has been one of most vexing.Rutherford did not look remotely out of place, resisting England’s attempts to disturb him with the short ball and driving more confidently than during the one-day series. His opening stand with Peter Fulton, currently worth 131, is New Zealand’s best since Mark Richardson and Stephen Fleming added 163 against England, at Trent Bridge, in 2004.A compact left-hander from the same school as McCullum, Rutherford was picked on the basis of strong domestic form but was not the most prolific option available.  There is also the likelihood that if Martin Guptill had not been injured during the one-day series, he would have been given another chance alongside Peter Fulton.  It was a day for a host of accidental heroes.

Mashrafe Mortaza has reported to his franchise an approach from a fellow cricketer regarding potential spot-fixing during the Bangladesh Premier League

Mohammad Isam09-Feb-2012Mashrafe Mortaza has reported to his franchise an approach from a fellow cricketer regarding potential spot-fixing during the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). His franchise, Dhaka Gladiators, say they have informed the BPL of the approach.”I have told my team management [about the approach] and I’m sure they will do the right thing,” Mashrafe told ESPNcricinfo. Gladiators media manager Minhaz Uddin Khan confirmed the report and said the franchise had passed on the information to the BPL.The story was first reported in Thursday morning’s Dhaka papers, which included a quote from Mashrafe saying he would step down from the team captaincy if he suspected any irregularities once the tournament got underway.The reports said Mashrafe was asked to provide information on whether he would play certain matches and even whether he’d be wearing his sunglasses or cap. In exchange, he was told, he would be paid 15-20% of the earnings from the spot-betting.However, there is some confusion over the details of the approach – the date and place – and which officials are in the loop regarding this. Former Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar, who is an advisor to the Gladiators, told ESPNcricinfo that he informed BPL governing council chairman Gazi Ashraf Hossain of the incident on Tuesday; however, the league’s secretary Sirajuddin Mohammad Alamgir said on Thursday morning he was not aware of any such report and had learned of it in the papers.”We have found out after reading the newspaper reports. I don’t understand why he went to the press first before telling us. There’s a proper process for all this,” Alamgir said. “If he had reported it to us, we would have started investigation right away. But even now, we will talk to Mashrafe and take his official statement.”Alamgir confirmed that an ICC ACSU officer is already in Dhaka for the BPL and will be made aware of this new information. “The protocol is for the player to report to the BPL governing council or for the franchise owners to report to BPL. None of them have done that before the news was published in the media. I will also tell our ACSU officer about the incident and we’ll conduct whatever is necessary in this situation.”

Virender Sehwag, India’s vice-captain for the World Cup, has said that he is “fully fit” for the tournament that begins on February 19

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Feb-2011Virender Sehwag, India’s vice-captain for the World Cup, has said that he is “fully fit” for the tournament that begins on February 19. Sehwag missed India’s five-match one-day series following the Tests in South Africa to attend to a shoulder injury, but says his recovery is well on track.”I was feeling some pain in my shoulder,” Sehwag told Indian news channel . “So [I thought it was] better to quit the South Africa one-dayers. I didn’t want to get injured in South Africa tour and miss the World Cup. So I came back and went to Germany to see a couple of doctors. I got a couple of injections and now I’m fine.”I am going to the National Cricket Academy [in Bangalore] and will spend a couple of days there, to check everything – if I can bowl and throw also but if I can’t, then I’ll let them know. But yes, at the moment I’m fully fit.”Sehwag is wary of the opening game against Bangladesh, who had derailed India’s 2007 World Cup campaign with a shock win. “Because we’re playing the opening game against them in Bangladesh, Bangladeshi people are expecting them to beat us again. But this time we have to prepare well … You can say it is a revenge game for us and we won’t take the game lightly. We will give our best shot and we will come hard on Bangladesh.”Sehwag was confident of India’s chances against the other major teams in Group B – South Africa, England and West Indies. “When we played against England last time, we won 5-0 and against South Africa we did well in South Africa and we have done well; when Sachin Tendulkar got the double hundred [in Gwalior], we won the series. West Indies have good players like Pollard and Gayle, if they click then maybe it’s difficult for us but India also have very good players.”

The possibility of a Pakistan domestic side participating in the Champions League Twenty20 this year – though bleak – has not been entirely written off yet

Osman Samiuddin13-Feb-2010The possibility of a Pakistan domestic side participating in the Champions League Twenty20 this year – though bleak – has not been entirely written off yet, either by the league or the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).Pakistan did not have a representative in the inaugural tournament last year, the only Test-playing nation other than Bangladesh to not have a representative in the 12-team league. Sialkot Staliions – then Pakistan’s domestic Twenty20 champions – had been invited to participate in the very first Champions League, but that was postponed because of the
Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008.Since then, as ties between the governments and cricket boards of India and Pakistan have become frostier not only have the two countries not had a bilateral series, Pakistan’s players have not participated in the IPL and not been invited to the Champions League.Relations have worsened further following the decision of the IPL franchises this year to not pick any Pakistani players, despite Pakistan being the World Twenty20 champions and having as many as 12 players up for auction. The PCB eventually decided to revoke all NOCs it had given to players hoping to participate in the IPL, but the door may remain open for participation in this year’s Champions League, which is a multi-board venture and may not be played in India.Discussion on a Pakistan representative was expected to take place in the last meeting of the league’s governing council between officials from the Indian board, Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa. But a senior league official said the number of teams in this year’s tournament – to be held in September – has not been finalised.”No final decision on participating countries/teams has been made for this year’s event,” Dean Kino, the league’s director of business and legal affairs and key member of the core management, told Cricinfo when asked specifically about the possibility of a Pakistan side being invited.No contact has yet been made with the PCB and though the IPL remains off-limits, the Champions League is a possibility. “Nothing has been discussed with us by any of the boards involved in the tournament as yet,” Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, told Cricinfo. “The IPL remains persona non grata for us, but if there is some contact about the Champions League we will consider the situation, where it is played and when. We would be amenable to sending a team should we get an invite and the situation is feasible.”Pakistan’s domestic Twenty20 tournament has not yet been held this season; it is scheduled to be played between late February and early March. Pakistan’s ODI series with England in September also clashes with the dates of the Champions League, which makes it unlikely that any domestic champion will be able to call on its best players should there even be an invite.

Knight Riders brought in Dushmantha Chameera for his first game of the season

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Apr-2024Kolkata Knight Riders replaced Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc with Sri Lanka seamer Dushmantha Chameera for the game against Punjab Kings at the Eden Gardens on Friday. KKR captain Shreyas Iyer said at the toss that Starc had cut his finger during their previous match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.KKR fielding coach Ryan ten Doeschate later confirmed that the fast bowler was “very close to being back”.”Starcy caught his finger in one of his studs in the last game,” he said in the post-match press conference. “It’s abrased on his bowling finger, he’s obviously releasing from that finger and we just thought with that and Dushy [Chameera] being pretty fresh and ready to go that we give Dushy a game and give Starcy a chance to sort his finger out.”But as far as I know, he is very close to being back, which will either be the next game or the game after that.”Related

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Coming into the season, having been bought at the auction for a record sum of INR 24.75 crore (USD 2.98 million approx.), Starc has had a forgettable campaign so far with KKR. He has managed just six wickets while conceding runs at 11.48 per over.Against RCB at Eden Gardens, Starc was given the last over. He had to defend 21, and No. 9 Karn Sharma facing up. But he was hit for three sixes by Karn before eventually taking a good return-catch to eventually seal the win. He ended up with figures of 1 for 55 from three overs.That was the third time this season that Starc has gone for 50 runs or more in a game – and the second match in a row.His best performance of the season came against Lucknow Super Giants in a day game at Eden Gardens, when he took three wickets and gave away just 28 runs to help set up a comfortable victory.Starc is playing the IPL this year after a gap of eight years. He last played in 2015 for RCB, when he took 20 wickets at an economy of 6.76.Starc was interviewed at the ground on Friday ahead of the game against Kings, but he did not mention anything about his finger niggle. He spoke of coming back to the IPL after the long break, and what he’s learning from the experience. “Yeah coming back, obviously a different team to where I was last in the IPL, so getting to meet a lot of the guys I have played against a little bit… Some younger guys in the KKR squad, getting to know a few of the younger bowlers,” he said. “There’s a lot of talent around with bat and ball.”[I’m] getting to know how these guys go about it and learn from them as well, and try and answer any questions they’ve got. I’ve come back an older player than when I was last in the IPL, but it’s a lot of fun.”For Chameera, this will be his first appearance of the season. It’s his second proper go at the IPL: he was part of RCB in 2021 but didn’t get a game, and played 12 games for Lucknow Super Giants in 2022.

Leading Bengal in Abhimanyu Easwaran’s absence, Tiwary wants his team to take their game to “the next level” to try and win the Ranji Trophy

Rajan Raj16-Dec-2022Manoj Tiwary has hinted that the ongoing 2022-23 season of the Ranji Trophy could be his last in first-class cricket, but he wants to make sure “to give Bengal a Ranji Trophy title on my way out”.Tiwary, who is in charge of Bengal because regular captain Abhimanyu Easwaran is away on national duty, led the from the front as the side, chasing 257 for victory against Uttar Pradesh at Eden Gardens, got to the target for the loss of four wickets in their Elite Group A game. Tiwary got in at 156 for 3 and ended with an unbeaten 60.Related

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“We have to play like champions. We won today, but it’s not like we played exceptional cricket,” Tiwary, also a member of the legislative assembly in West Bengal, told reporters after the match. “If we look session-by-session, there were phases when we bowled badly. And our opening batters must score runs. If we want to win the Ranji Trophy, we must take our game to the next level.”Bengal have won the Ranji Trophy only twice in all these years, once way back in 1938-39 and then in 1989-90. Tiwary, who started playing first-class cricket in the 2004-05 season, has played the Ranji final thrice: in 2005-06, 2006-07 and, more recently, in 2019-20.”I am quite relaxed about leading the team,” the 37-year-old Tiwary said. “When I stepped down as the first-class captain of Bengal [during the 2018-19 season], I was told to continue as captain of the one-day and T20 sides, but I had refused, telling them that we need to groom a younger player as captain. But [in Abhimanyu’s absence], I realised I have to take this responsibility because decision-making is such a crucial part of the game.”Though he did ask for more from the bowling unit – which was missing Mukesh Kumar, who was out in Bangladesh with India A – Tiwary had words of praise for his pace spearhead Ishan Porel, who hasn’t played a lot of cricket of late but earned the Player-of-the-Match award against Uttar Pradesh for his match haul of seven wickets, including a five-for in the first innings.”Porel’s comeback has been quite good,” Tiwary said. “He wasn’t available for the Vijay Hazare [50-over] Trophy tournament, but he proved his worth here. I have spoken to him: we are playing at a level where we must forget what has happened in the past; every minute, every second, we must tell the world why I am Ishan Porel, or why I am Manoj Tiwary. That is the mentality that will help him become a champion.”Bengal’s next game is against Himachal Pradesh, also at home at Eden Gardens, from December 20.

Tournament’s leading run-scorer credits ignoring criticism for her upturn in form

Vishal Dikshit11-Aug-2021India and Northern Superchargers batter Jemimah Rodrigues says she handled criticism by “ignoring it” as she overcame a few “tough months” in international cricket this year to emerge as the Hundred’s leading scorer after nearly 80% of the tournament’s league matches had been played.Rodrigues started the tournament with a scintillating and unbeaten 92 off 43 balls, studded with 17 fours and a six, to script a dramatic come-from-behind win for her team, and followed it with two more half-centuries – 60 off 41 and 57 off 44 – to accumulate 241 runs in five innings, averaging 60.25 and striking at 154.48.This purple patch came after Rodrigues had been dropped from India’s T20I side in England following her single-digit scores in the two ODIs she played before that.”For me the best way to handle criticism is to ignore it, not even go online or read stuff because it’s difficult when you are doing your best and working hard, nobody knows what you’ve gone through, the tears, the heartbreaks, the sweat you’ve put out to be where you are,” Rodrigues said while commentating on on Tuesday. “And someone sitting miles away posting stuff on social media…it’s tough, and the way I handled this time to stay away from it as far as possible so I can focus on my game and be in the right head space.”Rodrigues, 20, had been one of the most promising Indian talents after making her international debut in 2018 but found herself in a rut in 2021 when cricket finally resumed for India after a year-long hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In the ODIs against South Africa at home, she managed scores of 1, 9 and 0 before scoring 30 and 16 in the T20Is. In England a few months later, she played only the second and third ODIs and laboured to 8 off 15 and 4 off 21 before being benched for the T20I series. She was part of the Test squad too but missed out on a debut even as five of her team-mates were handed their maiden Test caps in Bristol.Jemimah Rodrigues is the leading run-scorer in the Hundred•Getty Images

Coming into the Hundred, she was averaging only 9.71 across seven international innings this year with a tally of 68 runs and an unimpressive strike rate of 61.26.”It’s been a rollercoaster ride for me, I’ve had ups and downs,” Rodrigues said of coping with the pressures of being an India player. “That’s what cricket is all about, it teaches you so much, changes you personally not just as a player, as a human being.”I’m still learning how to find that balance because it’s not easy. The last few months were pretty tough but it’s good to be back and somewhere it’s important to find that balance in cricket.”Rodrigues further said the one-year gap she got after the 2020 T20 World Cup final against Australia also helped her “get back to basics”.”It was very difficult [to not play for so long] and sometimes it was annoying because we’re so used to living off our suitcases, travelling, going around the world and playing cricket,” she said. “The first two months were good because we needed a break and got a lot of time to spend with our family but after that my family was also fed up asking, ‘when is Jemimah going (laughs)?’ OK, they didn’t say that.”We couldn’t wait [to play]. And after that we watched a few matches, like the England and Australia women’s teams were playing and we were like, ‘when will we get to play?’ because there were a lot of [Covid-19] cases in India so it was very tough for us to practice, to get a ground. I used to practice in my building in a small lane, with a plastic ball so that the cars wouldn’t break. So it was tough times and it taught me a lot and helped me get back to my basics.”Jemimah Rodrigues used the time she had off during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic to ‘get back to basics’•Getty Images

With the men’s IPL set to resume in the UAE next month, Rodrigues also hoped for the return of the Women’s T20 Challenge too, which is usually played around the playoffs stage.”It’s high time we start the women’s IPL (Women’s T20 Challenge),” she said. “We all are very excited for it and the BCCI is doing a lot to get it started. Hopefully this time it starts soon because it’s only going to boost women’s cricket in India, and you never know you’ll get the likes of Shafali Verma and Richa Ghosh, all these players coming out. Like Shafali made her [India] debut after playing the Women’s T20 challenge. So hopefully we’ll have the Women’s T20 Challenge soon.”India have finished runners-up twice in the last three women’s global tournaments – the 2020 T20 World Cup and the 2017 ODI World Cup – and Rodrigues said it was the 50-over tournament in 2017 that made a “drastic change in women’s cricket in India”.”Things have changed a lot. After the 2017 World Cup, I personally saw a drastic change in women’s cricket in India. I used to go to a ground and there were 200 boys and I was the only girl. But now when I go there, there’s a special net only for girls right where I practice. That’s one of the most pleasing sights for me, that young girls taking up sport and parents coming up and telling ‘ (I want my daughter to play for India).’ Things have changed a lot.”

Former Queensland quick Gannon was the leading Shield wicket-taker last season

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jun-2020Nathan Coulter-Nile and AJ Tye have lost their state contracts with Western Australia while Cameron Gannon, the leading wicket-taker in the Sheffield Shield last season, has had his move confirmed.Gannon, who played T20I cricket for the USA last year having qualified through his mother’s side of the family, took 38 wickets at 20.92 for Queensland in the 2019-2020 campaign, which was truncated by a round due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and becomes one of the more significant off-season deals.The cutting of Coulter-Nile, who a year ago was part of Australia’s World Cup squad but lost his CA contract in April, had been flagged and he is expected to look for opportunity interstate. In the BBL he plays for the Melbourne Stars.Tye, like Coulter-Nile, is very much a white-ball specialist and has not played a first-class match since 2018. One of the focuses of Adam Voges, the Western Australia coach, was to rebalance the squad with an eye on Sheffield Shield cricket after a poor second half to last season when they were hit by injuries.Legspinner Liam O’Connor has earned a contract after taking a five-wicket haul on his Western Australia Shield debut last season while pace bowler Lance Morris has been upgraded to a senior contract. “We identified at the end of last season that our bowling depth in Shield cricket and our spin stocks needed a boost and we’re really pleased with our new additions to the squad,” Voges said. “It’s exciting to have Cam [Gannon] come across to the West. He had a terrific season in red-ball cricket being the leading wicket taker in Sheffield Shield cricket and will bring experience and leadership to our young bowling group.”We were strong in the Marsh Cup last year and will be looking to start the season well in 50-over cricket. Our focus, no doubt, will be to improve our Sheffield Shield results, we were disappointing at the back end of last season and will be looking to rectify that this year.”In the women’s squad, which won the WNCL title last season, Victoria legspinner Alana King has made the move across the country. Allrounder Heather Graham has switched to Tasmania and New Zealand allrounder Sophie Devine won’t be available due to international commitments.”We are thrilled to have Alana join us from Victoria, she’ll bring a wealth of experience to the group having played state cricket for a number of seasons now and provides us with another attacking option with both the bat and ball,” head coach Becky Grundy said.Western Australia men’s squad Ashton Agar*, Cameron Bancroft, Jason Behrendorff, Jake Carder, Hilton Cartwright, Sam Fanning (rookie), Cameron Gannon, Cameron Green, Liam Guthrie, Aaron Hardie, Bradley Hope (rookie), Josh Inglis, Matthew Kelly, Mitchell Marsh*, Shaun Marsh, David Moody, Lance Morris, Liam O’Connor, Joel Paris, Josh Philippe, Jhye Richardson*, Corey Rocchiccioli (rookie), D’Arcy Short, Marcus Stoinis, Ashton Turner, Sam Whiteman*CA contractedWestern Australia women’s squad Megan Banting, Nicole Bolton, Zoe Britcliffe, Mathilda Carmichael, Piepa Cleary, Sheldyn Cooper, Ashley Day, Amy Edgar, Molly Healy, Alana King, Emma King, Taneale Peschel, Chloe Piparo, Georgia Wyllie

Performance of lower-order batsmen throughout the match is something to keep in mind, says Ganesh Satish

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Feb-2019″Confident, but not getting carried away,” Ganesh Satish said of the mindset in the Vidarbha camp at the end of the fourth day of their Ranji Trophy 2018-19 final against Saurashtra in Nagpur.On a pitch assisting spin and showing signs of variable bounce, Vidarbha are in a strong position – Saurashtra, chasing 206 for victory, are 58 for 5. A steep ask from here on, and that explains Satish’s confidence. But the three completed innings so far have seen the last three wickets add 116, 123 and 66 runs respectively. “So we’re not getting complacent. We’re taking it one wicket at a time,” Satish said of his team, despite them being the defending champions and playing the game at home in Jamtha, Nagpur.Vidarbha have Aditya Sarwate to thank to a large extent for getting them into a position from where they can realistically hope to defend their title successfully. With Vidarbha stuttering in their second innings, Sarwate got in and hit 49 to take them to 200 and set Saurashtra a tricky target. Then, following up his five-wicket haul in the first innings, the left-arm spinner picked up the first three Saurashtra wickets in the second innings, including, Cheteshwar Pujara for the second time in the match. This time for a five-ball duck.”Throughout the season, and even last season, he’s consistently performing. He’s always getting crucial runs for us, and obviously with the ball – 50-plus wickets. It’s really a great achievement,” Satish said.The target of 206 would qualify as a low one, especially against a team that chased down a tournament-high 372 in the quarter-final against Uttar Pradesh and then a steep 279 against Karnataka in the semi-final.”We knew we had to be positive. We knew there was some help for the spinners, so we knew we were always in the game,” Satish explained. “If you see even last year, we defended a couple of low totals. So that gave us confidence. The coach and the senior players, we spoke about it, that anything can happen. These low targets are never easy to chase, especially in such a high-pressure game. Anything can happen … a couple of quick wickets. So we were just thinking of getting a couple of quick wickets and putting some pressure on them.”They certainly got those wickets quickly enough, and with the pitch not getting any easier to bat on, it might be tricky for Saurashtra to claw back from here.”It’s a bit difficult to make runs. If you look to block, it’s not easy to get wickets as well. But it’s not easy to score runs, you’ve got to rotate the strike, take singles on this wicket. After a while, the ball does get softer, and the odd ball does, but not every ball. So you feel you’re in, but one good ball, that’s all it takes,” Satish said. “I think the bounce is okay, I don’t think that’s changed, it’s the speed of the wicket, it’s a little slow now.”Saurashtra’s Dharmendrasinh Jadeja said that Sarwate’s accuracy was the reason behind his success, but said that his own team was let down because not everyone contributed. That said, he believed Vidarbha were still in the reckoning to post a come-from-behind win.”Sarwate was just bowling at one spot, and the wicket was doing the rest – whether turning or not,” Dharmendrasinh said. “That was my plan too, to deliver at one particular spot on the pitch.”This was a crucial game for us, and we needed everyone to perform together. That didn’t happen, but we still have hope. We just need one good partnership. Sheldon’s wicket, just four overs before the stumps, did hurt us, but Sheldon was just playing his natural game.”

The Sri Lanka captain said the team is prepared to field a fifth bowler or an allrounder in keeping with their “changed” attitude to win the match

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Nagpur23-Nov-20172:12

We can pull off miracle in India – Chandimal

Conditions in Nagpur will not assist seam-bowling to the extent they did in Kolkata, according to Dinesh Chandimal, the Sri Lanka captain. There is a fair amount of grass on the VCA Stadium pitch as well, in line with India’s desire to test themselves in pace-friendly conditions ahead of their tour of South Africa. Chandimal, however, felt there would be a more even contest between bat and ball here.”We saw so much grass at Eden Gardens,” he said. “This is much less. This looks a good Test pitch. It’s a challenge for us as a team. We are looking forward to the game.”He went on to explain what he meant by a “good Test pitch”: “The first few days will be good for batters. Then it might turn. That’s the kind of wicket I think that is.”Sri Lanka were the dominant side for most of the first Test – until the last innings in which they slipped to 75 for 7 before bad light saved them – and Chandimal felt it was the result of their changed attitude since a 0-3 home series defeat to India in July-August. Sri Lanka, he said, are now looking to win Test matches and series, and are prepared to play a fifth bowler or allrounder to be able to do this.”We learned a lot from the last Indian series in Sri Lanka,” he said. “The most important thing is we came here to win the series. Our attitude has changed. As I said every time our fielding also has made a huge difference – there’s a lot of energy.”We have looked at a six-five combination or six-four – plus [an] all-rounder. That’s the combination we are looking at. Most importantly we have come here with a mindset to win a Test match.”Despite all the help for the quicks in Kolkata, Lahiru Gamage did not enjoy a hugely productive Test, only picking up three wickets in 40.3 overs. Chandimal, however, backed Gamage to come good through the rest of the series.”Calcutta was his second game [in Test cricket],” he said. “His first game was in Dubai and he did well against Pakistan. You can have a bad day and you can have a bad game. He is a really good player. He has a lot of experience, having played quite a bit of domestic cricket. I am sure he will be a good asset, especially when bowling on a wicket like this. We will make a call on the side tomorrow morning.”