Who will captain Pune Warriors?

Match facts

Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Start time 1600 (1030 GMT)

Big Picture

Five of the nine franchises are captained by foreign players, leading to the debate about whether foreign captains are a liability when they don't perform well. Seven games into this tournament, Pune Warriors have already had three captains - Angelo Mathews, Ross Taylor and Aaron Finch (all foreigners). One was an enforced change, with Mathews forced to sit out a game in Chennai, leaving Taylor to lead. However, Mathews' poor form (5 matches, 52 runs, 1 wicket) has upset the team's plans and hence he was left out of Warriors' last game against Kings XI Punjab, handing the captaincy to the inexperienced Aaron Finch.

The leadership crisis hasn't helped Warriors as they stay at No.8 in the points table, above Delhi Daredevils. If Warriors decide to go with an Indian captain, the only logical option is Yuvraj Singh, who returned after missing two games to injury. Ross Taylor didn't feature against Kings XI, in order to accommodate Luke Wright. The questions remain - if not Mathews, who will walk out for the toss in Bangalore? Will they settle on an Indian captain once and for all?

They've been dogged by inconsistency all season. In Mohali, they had the upper hand at the start of the final over with 15 to defend, but Wright's horrid over handed the game to Kings XI. Warriors had positives to draw from the defeat, but against Royal Challengers Bangalore, their bowlers will have to step up.

Royal Challengers are the team with the best home record this season, having not conceded a single game at Chinnaswamy. Their match against Warriors will be their last at home before they embark on a six-matches tour. Their next home fixture is on May 14. Against Rajasthan Royals, their seamers did well to keep the total to an underwhelming 117. The chase was measured, with Chris Gayle scoring a patient 49. It may not have been the most entertaining chase, but Royal Challengers were determined to keep wickets in hand and not choke.

Form guide

(most recent first)

Pune Warriors LLWLW
Royal Challengers Bangalore WWLWW

Players to watch

Saurabh Tiwary was a regular in the Royal Challengers' line-up in 2012 but was missing at the start of this season due to injury. In his first game, against Royals, he scored an unbeaten 25 to steer the side home with Gayle. Gayle was unusually cautious towards the end, but Tiwary's flurry of boundaries hastened Royal Challengers' march. Tiwary could command a regular place going forward. When these teams met at Chinnaswamy last year, Warriors needed to defend 21 off the last over and yet managed to botch it, with Tiwary hitting the final ball for six with three needed.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar is Warriors' leading wicket-taker with eight wickets at an economy rate of 6.29, only behind Rahul Sharma (6.03). Against Kings XI, he was the best of the lot, with figures of 4-0-31-1. With Ashok Dinda proving expensive, the burden on Bhuvneshwar to contain the opposition batsmen has only increased. His inswing to the right-handers has been a revelation.

Stats and trivia

• Aaron Finch has three fifties so far which, along with Michael Hussey, is the most by any foreigner.
• Virat Kohli needs 39 more for 2000 IPL runs.

Quotes

"All the four fast bowlers are doing well and Zaheer Khan is still not playing. When he comes back, it will be a plus."
Royal Challengers fast bowler and Purple Cap holder Vinay Kumar

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Pitch questions for back-to-back Tests

Others may have taken it as a rest day but neither Zimbabwe nor Bangladesh opted to put their feet up on what would have been the fifth day of the first Test with both camps were back at work on Sunday.

Grant Flower held a net with his players who had not featured in the Test while Bangladesh were engaged in a full session after they crushing 335-run defeat. But they were not the only ones getting ready. The Harare Sports Club groundstaff were also out in full force, grateful for the extra day to prepare for back-to-back Tests.

This is only the 13th occasion in Test history that the same venue is being used for two Tests in the space of eight days but it is the first time in 11 years that is happening. Sharjah was the most recent case, where Australia and Pakistan played in 2002 and Harare has hosted consecutive Tests once before, in 1999 against Sri Lanka.

While it is an advantage to the teams, who have already played once at the ground and will have had some time to get used to it, it is a scramble for the organisers; this time even more so because drizzle is dominating the build-up.

There was rain in the city on Sunday afternoon and early on Monday morning. After a few hours of sunshine, it came down again and more rain is forecast for both Tuesday and Wednesday, with clear skies for the start of the second Test on Thursday.

ESPNcricinfo understands that Zimbabwe would like to leave a similar amount of grass on the surface as was present for the first Test. Brendan Taylor was pleased with both the assistance it offered to the home quicks and that it "took the Bangladesh spinners, which we know is their strength, out of the equation."

The reverse applied too. Bangladesh's seamers, Robiul Islam in particular, also enjoyed the conditions and Zimbabwe's top-order battled. In the hope they will not face a similar early wobble, Zimbabwe have to be careful not to leave too much grass on it.

Their efforts in getting the balance right could all be washed away if wet weather persists for long enough to cause the surface to be underprepared. Batting could be even more difficult, which will not come as good news to either side.

An obvious question would be why the second Test is not played at Zimbabwe's other main venue, Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo? Conspiracy theorists have brought up the history - Zimbabwe have only won one Test there compared to seven in Harare while Bangladesh have never won here and drew once in Bulawayo - and the idea that the hosts may not want to play on a slower surface that may take some turn, but the real reason lies in the finances.

The costs of travel for both teams to Bulawayo for a Test, back up to Harare for ODIs, and then to Bulawayo again for more limited-overs games was steeper than simply staying in one centre for an extended period. Money has also limited the number of television cameras at the matches.

The broadcasters, SuperSport, are using the same number they would use to cover a domestic game in South Africa, nine, which is significantly fewer than the 24 they use for an international, and there is no DRS.

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BCCI defers decision on playoff venue

The IPL governing council deferred the decision of shifting the two playoff games that were scheduled to be played in Chennai on May 21 and 22, respectively.

Following political pressure before the tournament, the BCCI asked franchises to refrain from fielding their Sri Lankan players in games played in Chennai. With Sri Lankans featuring in many teams, the franchises have been asking for the playoff games - the first qualifier and the eliminator - to be moved out of Chennai.

However, the IPL governing council, which met in Chennai on Monday, decided to adopt a wait-and-watch approach. "If the political issue in Tamil Nadu subsides, the question of shifting the games won't arise," said a BCCI insider, who attended the meeting. "The playoffs are still a month away, so there is no need to rush into any decision."

If the political turmoil is not resolved, the games might be played in Bangalore or Mumbai. Sri Lankan cricketers have been an integral part of the IPL since its inception in 2008. In the current season, three teams - Sunrisers Hyderabad, Pune Warriors and Delhi Daredevils - are led by Sri Lankans. Though Sunrisers and Warriors have benched Kumar Sangakkara and Angelo Mathews, respectively, in a bid to improve their team balance, they remain key members of the side.

Thisara Perera, the Sri Lankan all-rounder, has emerged as the leading performer for Sunrisers, who have won five of their seven games so far. As the tournament moves towards the half-way mark, Sunrisers are among the favourites to make it to the top four, along with the Royal Challengers Bangalore, who have Muttiah Muralitharan and Tillakaratne Dilshan in their ranks.

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Super Kings batting might trumps Watson ton

Chennai Super Kings 186 for 5 (Hussey 88, Raina 51, Faulkner 3-20) beat Rajasthan Royals 185 for 4 (Watson 101, Binny 36*, Ashwin 2-20) by five wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Chennai Super Kings have more match-turning batsmen than any other side in the tournament, and that was on display yet again as they hunted down 186 against Rajasthan Royals. Michael Hussey, who made the slowest 40-plus score in the IPL in the previous match, showed off his versatility with a boundary-filled 88, the out-of-form Suresh Raina powered his way to a half-century, MS Dhoni narrowed the gap to the target though he couldn't close out the game this time. It was left to Dwayne Bravo to pound a final-over six and deliver victory, before breaking out into a joyous chukka chukka dance.

The endless depth in Super Kings' batting meant that Shane Watson's typically power-packed century, the first hundred of the season, and James Faulkner's pinpoint death bowling was not enough for the perennial underdogs Rajasthan Royals to pull off another upset.

Royals have won all 15 matches in which they have had to defend more than 162, but once the Super Kings chase began, Royals never looked outright favourites. Ajit Chandila continued to have success with his seemingly harmless and variation-less offspin bowling, dismissing M Vijay cheaply, but Hussey began with a barrage of boundaries, including a six over midwicket to ensure Super Kings kept pace. It was a shot he used often and effectively as he shed his usual role of anchor, and turned into an aggressor.

Raina was no slouch either, playing two of his trademark strokes - the slog over midwicket and the inside-out lofted hit over extra cover - as the pair, helped by some erratic bowling, powered Super Kings past 100 in the 10th over.

Faulkner gave Royals some hope by getting Raina lbw, but with Cooper bowling too many wide deliveries that were easily guided by Hussey to behind backward point for four, and the finishing expert, Dhoni, in the middle, Super Kings were still ahead.

A spot-on direct-hit from Dravid to send back Hussey renewed Royals' fight, before Faulkner bowled two superb death overs, getting rid of Ravindra Jadeja for a duck, and then dismissing Dhoni caught at wide long-on. It was down to Bravo to score 11 off the final over, off Watson who has only recently re-started bowling. Watson missed the length on one and was drilled over sweeper cover for six to virtually kill off the contest.

It was a bittersweet match for Watson, who had been in imperious touch earlier. The carnage started in earnest from the third over, as he coolly launched Mohit Sharma's first delivery over the bowler's head for six. Chris Morris was helped over deep backward square leg for six, the giant West Indian fast bowler Jason Holder proved ineffective on debut and by the end of the seventh, Royals had whooshed to 71.

The over which defined the innings was the 17th, bowled by Jadeja. The first ball was a hit-me full toss that was clobbered over long-on for six. Jadeja, already taken for 27 in his first two overs, was flustered by the big hitting, and sprayed the next ball miles outside off stump. It was followed up by another full toss that was deposited for six, and another shocking wide, several metres outside off.

Watson ended that over on 99, and brought up the first hundred of the season with a gentle nudge behind square leg in the next over. With Stuart Binny regularly scything the ball over the off side, Royals ran up what seemed a terrific total of 185. Not against Super Kings.

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Davidson, Geldenhuys lead Namibia to 45-run win

Namibia 147 for 6 (Kotze 26, Rippon 2-24, Cooper 2-7) beat Netherlands 102 (De Grooth 22, Davidson 3-7, Geldenhuys 2-35) by 45 runs
Scorecard

Namibia moved to second place in the T20 Quadrangular lead with a 45-run victory over Netherlands.

Put in to bat, Namibia began well but lost regular wickets, with no batsman reaching a personal score of thirty. They were struggling at 98 for 5 in the 16th over, before a late charge by Sarel Burger and Jaen Kotze took them to 147 for 6.

In reply, Netherlands were in trouble after the fast bowling pair of Hendrik Geldenhuys and Jason Davidson struck to claim five wickets for 12 runs in the space of three overs, leaving Netherlands reeling at 36 for 5. Davidson, who took two wickets in his second over finished with figures of 3 for 7 off four overs. Michael Rippon and Tom de Grooth tried to revive the innings with a 32-run stand but once they were dismissed, Netherlands folded for 102.

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Batsmen guide Kenya to five-wicket win

Kenya 177 for 5 (Mishra 45, R Patel 37) beat South Africa Emerging Players 174 for 6 (Wiese 62*, Vallie 61, Variaya 3-35) by five wickets
Scorecard

Kenya continued their dominance in the T20 Quadrangular tournament, beating South Africa Emerging Players by five wickets on Sunday. The win puts them at the top of the table with two wins in two games.

Kenya, who won the toss, inserted South Africa Emerging Players and backed that decision by dismissing the openers quickly. A 56-run, third-wicket partnership between captain Jean Symes and Yaseen Vallie steadied the innings. Vallie added another 50 runs with David Wiese for the fourth wicket and once Vallie fell for 61, Wiese carried on, guiding the middle order to 174 for 6.

Kenya's top and middle order set up the chase. Opener Tanmay Mishra led the way with a 32-ball 45, before Morris Ouma, Collins Obuya and Rakep Patel struck useful 30s to guide Kenya to a close win, with two balls to spare.

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Australia ask Hick to teach batting patience

Graeme Hick, one of the greatest batting enigmas in England's history, has been called up to sort out the mindsets of young Australia batsmen increasingly wedded to Twenty20 cricket.

Hick will not have time to influence the Ashes series - Australia, despite being in a state of turmoil, plan to announce their squad on Wednesday, even though the opening Test at Trent Bridge will still be 12 weeks away.

But Australia's decision to call up Hick to teach their batsmen how to play long innings reflects their uncertainty about how to deal with the influence of a T20 format that promises quick rewards and instant fame.

Nobody loved batting more than Hick. He only scored six Test hundreds for England in 65 Tests - none against Australia in 10 attempts and was pilloried by the English media during an international career that was viewed as largely unfulfilled.

But he made 136 hundreds in 25 years at first-class level when his batting often seemed inexorable. It was those qualities which has persuaded Troy Cooley, the head coach at Australia's centre of excellence and Stuart Law, the high performance coach, to summon him to Brisbane from his home nearby on the Gold Coast.

"In the first-class system here there was only one person who had scored two hundreds in Sheffield Shield cricket by mid-January, not including the guys that played in the Test matches," Hick told the Sunday Express. "That's unheard of, and when I spoke to Stuey Law and Troy Cooley (that was something they identified. Having put together some biggish scores in my time, they thought I could pass on some of my methods."

Hick will work with some of the younger players in Australia's set-up from mid-May onwards. "It's a unique system in that players can go from Grade cricket to Test cricket very quickly," he said. "The way the Australia team is at the moment I would think that a lot of these younger guys will feel they have a real chance of making it into the side in the next 18 months or so."

Hick's 405 for Worcestershire against Somerset in 1988 remains one of the most remarkable batting feats in England's first-class history - only exceeded twice in the country - but he has not been used in any capacity since his retirement. Australia are out to prove that his knowledge is worth tapping.

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Underdogs face another tough task

Match facts

Monday, April 22
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)

Big Picture

Rajasthan Royals' most recent opening stands are perhaps the most telling statement of how important a good start is for a side that doesn't bat deep. Their openers put on only 10 against Royal Challengers Bangalore and Royals were soundly thrashed; they put on 62 against Mumbai Indians and Royals coasted to a big win. As they take on Chennai Super Kings, a team with the best home record in the history of the IPL, Rahul Dravid would hope his openers can shake off their inconsistency and bat the way they did against Mumbai.

Given the collapse that ensued after Rahul Dravid's dismissal against Royal Challengers, Royals may contemplate bringing in Owais Shah, but dropping a foreign player will create a selection dilemma. Super Kings, meanwhile, will take note of another factor against Royals: they haven't shot down any big chases in IPL 2013, yet. Of their six games, Royals have chased a target only once, a paltry 124 against Kings XI Punjab.

Super Kings' campaign has moved in fits and starts, from thrashing Kings XI to losing to Pune Warriors and almost losing a low-scoring chase against Knight Riders. At the moment, they rely heavily on Michael Hussey, MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja for their runs. With M Vijay and Suresh Raina inconsistent, their over-reliance on Hussey and Dhoni can be a shortcoming Royals can exploit.

Super Kings have a better bowling attack with. Albie Morkel, Mohit Sharma, R Ashwin, Chris Morris, Dwayne Bravo and Jadeja doing well for the side. Although they lack a big name, the Royals bowling unit has looked cohesive with the only concern arising from the inconsistency of Sreesanth and Shaun Tait.

Form Guide

Chennai Super Kings WWLWW (most recent first)
Rajasthan Royals LWWLW

Players to watch

In the five games that he's played since missing Super Kings' first game, Chris Morris has settled into the line-up. He's taken nine wickets in five matches so far, the second highest wicket-taker for Super Kings this season after Dwayne Bravo. He's a good batsman, too, and a move up the order might benefit the side.

Before the tournament started, Rahul Dravid stressed on Shane Watson's importance for the side. The Australian allrounder, one of the top Twenty20 cricketers in the world, also bowled for the first time in four months against Royal Challengers, picking up two wickets in two overs. He got Royals off to their best start against Mumbai and the team will bank on him to do the same against Chennai.

Stats and trivia

• Michael Hussey (217) and MS Dhoni (147) have scored 41% of Super Kings' runs so far in this season.
• Siddarth Trivedi is the highest wicket-taker for Rajasthan Royals with 59 wickets from 55 matches.
• Ajinkya Rahane is the first Royals batsman to cross 200 runs in this season.

Quotes

"We still haven't played our best cricket and hopefully we can do that."
Rajasthan Royals' captain Rahul Dravid backs his team's potential to win away matches

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Rain forces tame draw in Sylhet

Sri Lanka Under-19 185 (Mendis 54, Jubair 4-35) and 59 for 0 drew with Bangladesh Under-19 271 for 7 dec (Shanto 69, Mehedy 59, Mosaddek 74, Mendis 4-76)
Scorecard

Rain robbed much of the action in the drawn second four-day game in Sylhet. There were four half-centuries and two four-wicket hauls from either side, and only two completed innings.

Only 5.2 overs were possible on the first day after Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis decided to bat. The visitors resumed on the second day, but only to be bowled out for 185. Legspinner Jubair Hossain took four wickets while Mendis top-scored with 54 off 83 balls with nine fours.

After the third day which was completely washed out, Bangladesh responded well on the final day, with Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Mehedy Hasan and Mosaddek Hossain scoring fifties.

For the visitors, offspinner Ramesh Mendis took four wickets before the hosts declared at 271 for 7. Sri Lanka batted out 26 overs in the final session, without losing a wicket, as the match ended in a tame draw.

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Samaraweera holds up Glam

Worcestershire 123 and 186 for 5 (Samaraweera 71*, Moeen 55) lead Glamorgan 295 by 14 runs
Scorecard

Glamorgan go into the final day at the SWALEC Stadium as favourites to win but half-centuries from Thilan Samaraweera and Moeen Ali ensured Worcestershire would not lose by an innings and by the close they had reached a lead of 14.

Glamorgan's most effective bowler was Will Bragg. His part-time medium pace accounted for Moeen and Alexei Kervezee in the space of four balls either side of tea as he recorded figures of 2 for 7.

Glamorgan resumed the third day on 235 for 7, a first-innings lead of 112 with Jim Allenby (71) and Dean Cosker (8). The duo moved the score onto 244 before a light shower forced the players off the field. When they returned Allenby's 212 minute vigil ended when he edged Gareth Andrew to Daryl Mitchell at second slip. Allenby made 78 from 162 balls.

Michael Hogan was dismissed three balls later when a ball from Chris Russell trickled onto his stumps. The last wicket of Cosker and Mike Reed produced some entertainment as they put on 36 before Russell brought the innings to a close when he yorked Reed for 15 with Cosker unbeaten on 44 from 88 balls with five fours. Gareth Andrew was Worcestershire's best bowler ending with figures of 4 for 79.

Glamorgan struck in the first over of the Worcestershire second innings when Graham Wagg bowled Matt Pardoe for 0 shouldering arms before the visitors reached 5 for 1 at lunch, still 167 runs adrift of making Glamorgan bat again.

Worcestershire had reached 50 for 1 before Jim Allenby made the breakthrough to remove skipper Daryl Mitchell with Bragg making a fine diving catch at midwicket. Moeen went on to make 55 with nine fours in a stay in the middle of two hours 39 minutes before perishing in the final over before tea. Moeen's defiance ended when he chopped a ball from Bragg on to his stumps.

From 97 for 3 at tea, Worcestershire lost another wicket three balls after the break when Kervezee went for a duck - the second victim of Bragg's medium pace after he was caught at slip by Allenby. But Samaraweera and Michael Johnson ensured a lead as well as no more scares for Worcestershire, putting on 48 for the sixth wicket by the close.

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