Opposite day rules

Ramela's opposite day

Omphile Ramela strode out at No. 3 for the second time in T20s. Danny Morrison, from the commentary box, tipped him as preferring long-format cricket. A T20 strike rate of 88.16 corroborated that. But the fourth over from Doug Bollinger amended that impression. Ramela dispatched a bouncer over the square-leg boundary. If that wasn't emphatic enough, the next ball, which was fuller, was pummeled to the mid-off boundary. Bollinger's length was like a pendulum - it went short again - and lacked pace. Ramela's pull did not. Three balls, three different plans and 16 runs later, it was time for the slower ball. Ramela was on too much adrenaline not to slog and lost his middle stump and walked back with more than twice his career strike rate - 190.90. Opposite day had begun.

Levi's opposite day

Joe Mennie had had foiled Richard Levi's intention to make room for himself. A slower ball forced the batsman to reach outside off, so far that his bottom hand slid off the bat. The loft should have been mistimed. It flew up and both men tracked it's progress, all the way over the extra cover boundary. Levi continued on his way to 42 off 28 balls before another slower ball arrived from Ben Laughlin. This time it was hammered with both hands, but today was opposite day for Levi as well and he holed out at deep midwicket.

Laughlin and Peterson's opposite days

Hobart Hurricanes had caught on that slower balls were the way forward and had robbed Cobras of their early momentum. They were 143 for 6 in the 18th over when Robin Peterson spurned his definition as a left-handed batsman. Laughlin had seen the switch early and slid a slower ball down the leg side of the temporarily right-handed Peterson. For a second time on the day, the bowler's deception ended up in the batsman's favour as Peterson nailed the sweep to the boundary behind him. It seemed opposite day had caught on to Laughlin and Peterson as well.

Amla's opposite day

Hashim Amla was the biggest name in the Cobras batting line-up. However, his contribution of 8 was less than the extras. Ben Hilfenhaus induced an ambitions drive down the ground, the kind a power hitter would resort to when under pressure, not a batsman who can look effortlessly stylish in Test cricket. Amla's mistake allowed the ball to clang into his stumps. His day wasn't quite over though. Amla, who has never bowled in T20 cricket, was put in charge of wrapping up the seventh over when frontline spinner Dane Piedt had to go off the field after injuring his right arm. The first one ended up a wide, the second one was a full toss drilled to cover.

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Malinga to have ankle surgery in Australia

Lasith Malinga has suggested Sri Lanka would be wise to groom another bowler as a World Cup failsafe as he prepares to undergo surgery on Monday that will keep him out for around 16 weeks. Malinga consulted his orthopaedic surgeon in Melbourne on Sunday, and decided his long-term ankle complaint had degenerated to an extent that it required surgery.

If there are no complications during the arthroscopic procedure or recovery, Malinga is expected to return to full intensity at training in mid-January, giving him around a month of practice before Sri Lanka play the World Cup curtain-raiser against New Zealand on February 14. Sri Lanka's selectors remain hopeful that he will be available for at least some of the seven ODIs Sri Lanka are scheduled to play against New Zealand in January.

Malinga will undergo a three-dimensional CT scan before going under the knife on Monday and is wary that the surgery could put his World Cup plans in disarray. "I will do everything I can to be back for the World Cup," Malinga said. "But I think it would be good for us to give a young bowler a few opportunities in the meantime, so that we can at least have someone prepared."

The surgery will aim to "clean up" a joint in his ankle, Sri Lanka physio Steve Mount said. "It has been a long-term issue for Lasith, and he's had chronic pain there for some time," Mount said. "It's a regular complaint for fast bowlers, but it has reached a stage where his ankle didn't respond how it previously has done to methods like cortisone injections and load monitoring.

"If everything follows the normal recovery time, he could be a chance to play in some of those New Zealand one-dayers, but we'll also be careful not to rush him back."

Malinga will recover for around 10 days in Australia before returning to Sri Lanka. He had been expensive in his last two ODI series, against Pakistan and South Africa, when he was also clocked at consistently lower speeds than he had been bowling at in the past. He said the pain in his ankle had caused the dip in form.

"When you have a problem in the ankle you land on in your bowling stride, it affects the pace and also the control," Malinga said. "I did my best, but I couldn't put as much strain on it as I usually do."

Concerns over the state of his ankle had been raised when it failed to respond to a cortisone injection on September 5. However, he played the Champions League qualifiers for Mumbai Indians on his own prerogative, SLC's cricket operations manager Carlton Bernardus said.

The surgery will be carried out by Dr. David Young, who has previously treated Malinga for a separate injury on his right knee, which has prevented him from playing Test cricket since 2010.

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Breese provides another Durham 'fairytale'

'It was made for Breese' - Stoneman

Ten years ago, in Gareth Breese's first season with Durham, the youngest first-class county finished bottom of Division Two of the Championship. On Saturday at Lord's, Breese struck the winning runs in what is likely to be his final appearance for the club, earning Durham their fifth major trophy since 2007. It was no surprise that the word "fairytale" cropped up.

Durham's success has not been a case of waving a magic wand, however. Their resources are more limited than most, part of the reason that Breese will not be staying on. While the team that won Durham's first piece of silverware, the 2007 FP Trophy, was built around experienced signings such as Michael Di Venuto, Dale Benkenstein and Ottis Gibson, this side featured important contributions from homegrown players such as the captain, Mark Stoneman, England allrounder Ben Stokes and Chris Rushworth.

Breese, along with Paul Collingwood and Phil Mustard, played in both games. The 38-year-old Jamaican, who holds a British passport, could not eat his Lord's lunch due to nerves but showed stomach for the fight when joining Stokes in the middle with Durham seven down and 36 short of victory.

"He's been outstanding in his contributions for Durham and for him to go out on a high, hit the winning runs in a Lord's final - you couldn't script it any better really," Stoneman said.

Breese has not retired, despite being released, and is open to offers of a contract elsewhere. Pride in what Durham had achieved was his overriding emotion as he held the Royal London Cup, which had become a handy receptacle for a celebratory rum. "If it's my last game at this level, then I've had a fantastic last game," he said.

"It's a bit bittersweet. I'm enjoying my cricket, I'd love to play a bit more but circumstances dictate and I'm moving on. It's just been a fantastic farewell to have another team performance and bring another trophy to the northeast.

"To move from being one of the beating sticks of county cricket to having won five trophies in the last seven years, that is what the club is all about ... We've had some really good Kolpak and overseas players come in over the last few years, like Di Venuto and Benkenstein, who've contributed so much to Durham, and we've been able to mix that with the academy players we've been able to produce. You saw today, Paul Coughlin come in and have a really fantastic game.

"I was so nervous sitting in the dressing room, I couldn't eat my lunch - lunch at Lord's is fantastic, and not to eat it says enough. I just kept pacing the dressing room and in the back of my mind was 'Can we pull this off'?'"

They could, despite the best efforts of Jeetan Patel and a tenacious Warwickshire side who lost an important toss but fought to keep their hopes of a limited-overs double alive. When Breese attempted to leave what turned out to the final delivery of the match and the ball squirted off the bat to third man for the winning boundary, the boisterous team celebrations, which included a rendition of "Blaydon Races" with the Durham supporters, could begin.

It completed their sixth 50-over win in a row as part of a dramatic late-season resurgence, which has seen them win six consecutive games in all competitions. In August, when Durham lost by one wicket to Lancashire, the 2013 champions were second from bottom in Division One; they could end up finishing second, to go with the Royal London title.

In the revamped one-day competition Durham only used 13 players, again testament to a tight-knit squad. Stoneman also had praise for Coughlin after his first ever appearance at Lord's as a replacement for John Hastings, Durham's overseas signing who had left to take part in the Champions League. Next season, they can expect to see less of Stokes - though his ECB central contract may free up some funds to spend elsewhere - and Breese's departure will also leave a hole to fill in limited-overs cricket.

"It's going to be tough but when I look a the way we've gone this season, if we've lost a player someone has come in and performed," Stoneman said. "There's definitely strength and depth in the club and some younger players coming through, which is why Durham County Cricket Club came about in the first place. There are a lot of good cricketers in the region, so hopefully that production line can continue."

Durham's team spirit and sense of the collective was summed up the Man of the Match, Stokes: "We've been around each other for a number of years now and we know how everyone plays cricket and everyone's personality. Everyone fits into the changing room and we're not just colleagues, we're mates as well. I think that goes a long way to how successful we've been this year."

The celebrations, Stoneman acknowledged, would be at the player's own expense. "But we'll not worry too much about that." Durham, it seems, have a few things that money can't buy.

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Spinners stretch Knight Riders' streak to 11

Kolkata Knight Riders 153 for 6 (Gambhir 60, Uthappa 46) beat Lahore Lions 151 for 7 (Shehzad 59, Akmal 40, Narine 3-9) by four wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Kolkata Knight Riders' four-wicket victory over Lahore Lions followed the template that has largely been the basis of their 11-game winning run: bowl first to allow Sunil Narine and the other spinners to smother the opposition, before Robin Uthappa and the rest of the top order click to set up the chase of a lightweight target.

This match was blighted by abysmal fielding. The number of catches put down, stumpings missed and regulation stops messed up was astonishing. Narine, though, turned in another world-class performance that underlined his reputation as the best in the Twenty20 business, and 19-year-old chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav added to the buzz about him with a stirring effort to stifle Lions.

Lions' best phase of the game was the opening Powerplay, when Ahmed Shehzad struck some big hits down the ground to push the score to 47 for 0. This despite Narine bowling a maiden in the fifth over. A stunning direct hit from Andre Russell broke the opening stand in the seventh over, by when the wicketkeeper Manvinder Bisla had already mucked up two straightforward stumpings.

The Knight Riders' spinners took charge in the middle overs, with Kuldeep showing solid control for a wrist-spinner, getting his stock ball to turn plenty and using the wrong 'un to confuse the batsmen. Mohammad Hafeez spent much of his short innings trying to heave the ball to midwicket before he became Kuldeep's first victim, holing out for 9.

When Shehzad found Uthappa at long-off in the 13th over to finish on a chancy 59, Lions' top-heavy batting was in trouble, especially with three Narine overs to come. The trepidation of the lesser lights in the batting line-up was obvious when they faced Narine: Saad Nasim missed his first ball and edged his second to short cover, Umar Siddiq lasted one more before being done in by the quicker one, and Asif Raza was bowled first ball. Narine nearly had a hat-trick, but Wahab Riaz had his boot back in the crease before Bisla could break the stumps.

Umar Akmal was still there, though, and he clobbered Piyush Chawla and Pat Cummins to lift Lions past 150.

Gautam Gambhir and Uthappa, aided by some comically inept fielding, put on a century stand to set Knight Riders on course for victory. They were coasting for a large part of the chase before a slew of wickets towards the end briefly made things tight, only for Suryakumar Yadav to finish it off with a five-ball 14.

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BCCI's disciplinary committee defers decision on RCA

The BCCI's disciplinary committee has deferred taking a decision on what the future course of action in the Rajasthan Cricket Association suspension case should be. The decision was taken after a long meeting on Saturday between the committee and RCA officials, after the RCA officials raised several objections, including on the formation and make-up of the BCCI disciplinary committee itself.

The RCA was suspended in May by the BCCI after former IPL chairman Lalit Modi, who was expelled by the BCCI last year for "committing acts of serious misconduct and indiscipline", was elected the state association's president. The BCCI suspended it for allowing a banned individual to be a part of its affairs, and, later, omitted the various teams representing Rajasthan from its domestic programme for the upcoming season. That left the players anxious and confused as to what their future holds, and this meeting was supposed to clear up some of that confusion.

Given the objections raised by the RCA officials, though, the players will have to wait a while more. "Our objection [to the disciplinary committee] was on two grounds," Abdi, who was one of two RCA officials present, said. "One was the constitution and jurisdiction, and secondly about the quorum." BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel, who was also present, confirmed that the meeting had been deferred and the next date will be decided in due course.

The disciplinary committee consists of BCCI interim president Shivlal Yadav, vice-president Rajiv Shukla and sidelined president N Srinivasan. Srinivasan, who has been sidelined by the Supreme Court of India till the investigation into the alleged corruption in IPL 2013 is complete, was not part of the meeting.

The RCA alleged that the BCCI disciplinary committee wasn't constituted during the BCCI's annual general meeting in 2013 as per its rulebook. Abdi also said that the committee has only two members as of now - sidelined BCCI president N Srinivasan, who is a member of the committee, was not present at the meeting - whereas the rules prescribe a three-member committee.

In response, Patel stressed that the constitution of the committee was in accordance with rules. "As an honorary secretary who has attended that meeting, I am telling you that it is a proper committee," Patel said. "The committee is constitutionally valid, properly appointed and approved by the AGM in the AGM. Everything has been done properly."

However, to establish his point further, Abdi asked that the minutes of the last AGM, held on September 29, 2013, in Chennai, be produced. "They told us that the minutes of the 2013 AGM are not at the cricket centre, whereas under their own bylaws within two months of the AGM the draft minutes of the AGM should be circulated to all the state associations, which they have not done even after a year," Abdi said.

Patel said the minutes could not be handed over since they will only be approved in the next AGM. "AGM minutes cannot be given as they are not finalised. Even today they are draft minutes. Minutes can be considered minutes only when they are passed in the next AGM," he said.

Abdi also demanded that Rajiv Shukla be replaced on the committee since, he alleged, he holds a personal grudge against Lalit Modi. "There has been a series of public spats between Mr Lalit Modi and Mr Rajiv Shukla on various issues concerning cricket and cricket politics. We objected to it, Mr Shukla being a member of the committee, it will prejudice the interest of the RCA.

"The heart of the matter in the RCA controversy is election of Mr Lalit Modi, because the RCA was suspended only after Lalit Modi was elected as president. The suspension of RCA came about only on the day Lalit Modi was declared as the president of the RCA. Before his election there was no suspension. Mr Shukla having this kind of acrimony against Mr Lalit Modi should not be a member of the committee."

Abdi, who represented the RCA along with RCA secretary Sumendra Tiwary, also requested they be allowed additional legal assistance, but the request was turned down since the BCCI rules do not permit external legal assistance for internal matters.

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J&K games to be moved to Punjab - BCCI secretary

The BCCI has decided to move the home matches of Jammu & Kashmir across all age-groups to neighbouring Punjab, BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel has said. The board was forced to take such a measure, he said, because most parts of J&K, including the capital city Srinagar, are still submerged in the aftermath of the floods that hit the state on September 7.

"We have taken a decision due to the natural calamity in Jammu & Kashmir. Punjab Cricket Association has come forward and all of Jammu & Kashmir's home games will be played in Mohali," BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel said on Saturday.

However, ML Nehru, the secretary of the Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association, said the decision still had to be "ratified" by the BCCI. Punjab, he said, was put forward by the JKCA as a venue for the games that begin in October, but it remained to be seen if all J&K's matches are played there. Things would be clear next week, he said, when JKCA has a meeting with the other members of the North Zone.

"We are still waiting for the final decision which should be ratified at the BCCI working committee meeting. We had told BCCI Punjab would be one of the options for the immediate matches which start in October [the national Under-16 tournament begins in October]," Nehru told ESPNcricinfo. "But we will have to wait and see exactly how many matches will be played outside J&K across all age-groups. We are waiting to talk with other members of North Zone."

The Punjab Cricket Association said it was ready to host the games. "We had informed the convener of the North Zone that we would be willing to host their matches since the damage [caused by the floods] may take a long time to be repaired," GS Walia, PCA's joint-secretary, said.

The floods have wrecked normal life mainly in Kashmir, where the water levels continue to be high, forcing people to move around using make-shift rafts. Power and telephone networks continue to be disrupted, with some places completely cut-off from the outside.

Sher-I-Kashmir stadium in Srinagar is currently under 15 feet of water. The ground also houses the JKCA offices. Nehru pointed out it was impossible to move things forward in the current situation. "There is no alternative because of the floods. We want to play and do not want to deprive players of not playing cricket. We now have to look at which matches across age-groups can be moved out of J&K and where."

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Bangladesh must address tactical issues

Bangladesh's failures on their West Indies tour were compounded by outmoded tactics and timid selections born of insecurity

When they stepped out of the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Saturday, the Bangladesh contingent emerged in batting order. First out of the VIP gate was Shamsur Rahman, who couldn't locate his car, followed by his opening partner Tamim Iqbal who smoothly got into his and left the scene. Next came Habibul Bashar, Bangladesh's most prolific No 3 and their manager during the West Indies tour, alongside Mushfiqur Rahim, to speak to reporters gathered in the parking lot.

Mushfiqur's eyes were bloodshot while most of the other players looked mildly disheveled after the long flight from St Lucia that took off almost two days ago. The majority of these players have a week's rest before they go to Incheon next weekend to defend their gold medal in the Asian Games.

While there is enough prestige in the competition to add to the existent pile of pressure, the foremost concern surrounding the team is the tactical issues that cropped up in West Indies. They were found wanting with their selections, their toss decision, their reading of conditions, their reactions to situations and their over-reliance on outdated tactics.

From a selection point of view during the West Indies tour, the benching of Abdur Razzak in the first ODI and the use of eight batsmen and just three bowlers in the first Test have confounded many. At the Dhaka airport, Bashar, who is also one of the three selectors, said the team management were trying a new combination in these two matches since the team wasn't winning.

There is some justification for a struggling team to rejig their combination but both selection calls ended up half-cooked. In the first ODI, Razzak's exclusion meant Sohag Gazi was the only spinner - Bangladesh made him open the bowling. It seemed a strange move, since they were defending 218, more so since the seamers were troubling the batsmen early on. Later on, with not many overs left from Gazi, Mushfiqur's rotation of his bowlers became haphazard.

The decision to play eight batsmen in the first Test was much more lop-sided, especially once Bangladesh decided to bowl first on a batting-friendly pitch. The selection and the toss decision seemed to be based on their insecurity as a batting unit, and the batting failure in the first innings went on to justify them in a strange sort of way. Predictably, though, it also exposed the limitations of the bowling attack.

When a team has a thin bowling attack and a batting line-up short of confidence, selections have to be decisive, with both eyes on the big picture. Half-cooked decisions, in such circumstances, can have a demoralising effect.

Bangladesh's mental shortcomings were also apparent on a number of occasions. They batted over-cautiously in the first ODI because they were unsure of the pitch, but in the same venue in the next game, they went to the other extreme, went for their shots and collapsed from 42 for 2 to get bowled out for 70. They lacked planning against Denesh Ramdin, and by the time they could react to his onslaught at Warner Park, with its short boundaries, the West Indies captain was hammering sixes at will.

Bangladesh also let go of chances to redeem themselves. In the second Test in St Lucia, their decision to bowl first was praiseworthy. They had reverted to the 7-4 combination with four specialist bowlers, but the three-man pace attack bowled poorly when a green pitch was at its freshest, on the first morning. They were far better on the second day, but by then West Indies had done enough with the bat.

Twice in the same match, Bangladesh's batsmen could not brace up to a sustained attack of pace and bounce. It was mostly a cerebral battle, with the bowlers preying on their patience to reveal technical frailties. Shamsur Rahman's approach in the second innings was a prime example of how Bangladesh often look to hit themselves out of trouble in such situations, and are unable to stop themselves from playing too many shots.

Lastly, Bangladesh seem to be hell-bent on using left-arm spinners against right-handed batsmen and offspinners against left-handers, no matter the situation of the game. It has cost them momentum on many occasions, with Mushfiqur seeming to lack confidence in his spinners to exercise control even when they are turning the ball into the batsmen.

Similarly in the case of rejigging the batting order to have a right-left combination at the crease. It makes sense if the batsman promoted has the skill level to do the job, but not otherwise. When Bangladesh sent in Taijul Islam ahead of Shafiul Islam and Robiul Islam in both innings of the second Test, it seemed as if they had become too attached to an archaic notion. Taijul more often than not backed away from of the line of the ball against the pace bowlers, and seemed afraid of getting hit. Shafiul and Robiul are tail-enders but possess far better technique.

The lessons from West Indies have come the hard way - 3-0 and 2-0 defeats in the ODIs and Tests respectively. On the way, a large chunk of their confidence has ebbed away, and nine months have now passed without a significant win. To be proactive, a player needs assurance from the top that they will be persisted with, whether it is Mushfiqur as captain or any of the out-of-sorts batsmen and bowlers. But to be practical, they only have to look at their past mistakes and try hard not to repeat them.

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'I tried to swing as hard as I could' - Marsh

Having pulled off an improbable win by hitting two successive sixes off the last two deliveries, Perth Scorchers' Mitchell Marsh has said that his team was lucky to be on the winning side as they defeated Dolphins in a CLT20 league encounter in Mohali. The team from Australia beat South Africa's Dolphins by six wickets.

Needing 12 off the last two deliveries, Marsh dispatched seamer Robbie Frylinck over deep midwicket and long-on to successfully chase down a target of 165 set up by the Dolphins.

Marsh, who was adjudged Man of the Match for his 40 off 26 balls with three fours and two sixes, told reporters after the match that they were lucky to win in the end.

Asked with two balls remaining, did he think there was any chance of hitting two sixes, he said his mind was racing to get the runs needed. "Lucky, we were on the winning side," he said.

Asked what was his thought after he hit the first six in the final over, Marsh said, "I knew we needed to hit the six. We had a big focus as a whole squad the whole batting unit to just have a clear mind and back ourselves, nothing changed in those last two balls. I tried to swing as hard I could and watch the ball."

Marsh gave credit to the Dolphins bowlers for the way they bowled and restricted the Scorchers despite the Aussies being well in control of the game earlier in the innings.

Asked if stroke-making was difficult or was it the case of good bowling towards the end, Marsh said, "It's a beautiful wicket to bat on. I thought they bowled really well in the end, to be honest. They bowled good yorkers and we did not get those boundaries when we needed them." .

Coach Justin Langer said he was also happy with the win but gave credit to the Dolphins for the way they batted after losing early wickets and then bowled tight towards the end barring the two hits which went for sixes.

"I actually admired the way they batted, they lost some early wickets, but kept going really hard right throughout the innings. Rather than being surprised, I respect the way they did that under pressure, they kept coming back at us hard. After the runs we had, it was a great credit for that."

Asked if he thought the Scorchers bowlers lost the plot a bit or did he think 160-odd was a par score, Langer said, "I don't think I would be using the word 'lost the plot' when I talked to them. I felt we did not finish very well with the ball, that scenario we need to get better. But we saw in our innings as well it is the hardest thing for any team to do to bowl at the in the end, but I thought Joel (Paris) bowled magnificently well, probably showed our senior players how to do it actually."

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Williamson ton crushes Cobras

Northern Knights 206 for 5 (Williamson 101*, Devcich 67) beat Cobras 44 for 2 by 33 runs (D/L method)
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

In most Twenty20 matches, the brevity of the format allows teams a chance to mount a comeback even if the scorecard makes for grim reading. This did not seem like one of those matches. Kane Williamson showed off his increasing proficiency in the format with a maiden T20 century to lead Northern Knights to their highest score, and Trent Boult and Tim Southee underlined their customary threat with the new ball to leave Cobras on the mat. By the time the rain came down in the eighth over of the chase, the asking rate was nearing 13 and saved Cobras from what was shaping to be an hour of minimising the margin of defeat.

At the start of the year, Williamson was not seen as someone who could play Twenty20s. Everything about him seemed old-school, from the manner in which he batted - lacking the glamorous mega hits the fans and the format loves - to the way in which he celebrated his centuries - with a mild wave of the bat. He hadn't played a single game in the format in all of 2013.

In 2014, though, he has been immense in Twenty20s, averaging over 40, striking at 137, and almost doubling his aggregate in the format. In Raipur, he showed how versatile his game is. His first 15 runs all came behind the wicket as he used the pace of the bowlers. He picked off four successive twos in the fourth over, nudging the ball in the gaps and running hard to signal a shift in momentum after a tight start from Cobras bowlers.

There had been plenty of close calls for both him and opening partner Anton Devcich early on: in the first over itself, there was a mix-up and Williamson was nearly run-out; in the second, there was an unintentional four for him to third man as he was late in leaving the ball; in the third, Devcich just beat the throw from point; in the fourth, a Williamson top edge flew for six over fine leg; in the fifth, Devcich was reprieved at short fine leg by Justin Kemp, who hurt his hand attempting a low catch.

Williamson and Devcich capitalised on that fortune to build a 140-run stand at more than 10 an over. Williamson was superb at placing the ball behind the stumps, and used the inside-out chip to good effect, while Devcich unveiled a series of sweeps and reverse-sweeps. The acceleration came in the middle of the innings, with 74 runs arriving in a five-over spell - there was also a 37-ball sequence in which there was only one dot delivery. The next scoreless ball was in the 14th over when Devcich was run out.

Daniel Flynn followed for a duck, but BJ Watling kept the frenetic pace up with a 20-ball cameo in which he feasted on Kemp. Williamson was muscling the ball around by this stage, including a powerful hit to cow corner for six off Rory Kleinveldt.

Charl Langeveldt, who hasn't played a competitive game in nearly a year, delivered several yorkers to stifle the runs and for a brief while it seemed as though Williamson might struggle to reach his hundred. He got there in grand style, though, with a stunning shot that sailed over cover for six even though he was flopping over towards the leg side. That also took Knights beyond 200, to a score that looked beyond Cobras' reach.

A full-strength Cobras line-up would have had Dale Steyn, Sunil Narine and the Ram Slam's most successive bowler, Beuran Hendricks. Instead, a severely weakened Cobras were taken apart by a team that had already played three matches at the same venue.

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Tridents out to show they belong

Match facts

Saturday, September 20, 2014
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)

Big Picture

Compare the overseas contingent for the two sides, and it seems like a massive mismatch is lined up: Kings XI Punjab can call on top-drawer international talent in Glenn Maxwell, George Bailey, Thisara Perera, David Miller and - later in the tournament - Mitchell Johnson, while Barbados Tridents have the less luminous talents of Sri Lankan opening batsman Dilshan Munaweera, allrounder Jeevan Mendis, Zimbabwe's Elton Chigumbura, New Zealand allrounder James Franklin and South Africa's Neil McKenzie.

To make matters worse, Tridents are missing their captain and Twenty20 superstar Kieron Pollard, the vastly experienced Shoaib Malik and allrounder Dwayne Smith - their three best batsmen in the Caribbean Premier League this season.

But it might not be all one-way traffic. McKenzie knows a thing or two about beating fancied IPL teams in the Champions League, having made deft half-centuries in 2010 and 2012 to help South Africa's Lions franchise defeat Mumbai Indians. They also have a solid pace attack, which includes Ravi Rampaul and Jason Holder, both of whom have plenty of experience of playing in Twenty20s in Indian conditions.

That attack will be severely tested though against a batting line-up that is arguably the best in the IPL. On Thursday, Kings XI gave another demonstration of their batting might - even ducks for Virender Sehwag and Miller didn't prevent a barrage of big blows that took them to victory with plenty of deliveries to spare. Can Tridents stop the batting machine?

Form guide

Kings XI Punjab WLWLW (most recent first, completed matches only)
Barbados Tridents WWWLW

Watch out for

Kings XI were missing Johnson and Sandeep Sharma due to injuries in their first game, but instead of the experienced L Balaji or the highly-rated domestic allrounder Rishi Dhawan, they picked Railways' Anureet Singh. He showed it was a good move too, getting the new ball to swerve round and then producing a burst of leg-stump yorkers towards the death to stem the runs.

In a squad filled with players lacking international experience, Ravi Rampaul - the leading wicket-taker in the CPL - will have a major role to play. Ben Hilfenhaus and Doug Bollinger rattled the Kings XI top order on Thursday with the new ball, something Rampaul will have to repeat, given the depth of the Kings XI batting.

Stats and trivia

• When it comes to six-hitting in Twenty20s, Virender Sehwag and James Franklin have almost exactly the same record - Sehwag (133 sixes in 140 innings), Franklin (132 sixes in 139 innings)
• Only Essex (8) have hit more Twenty20 centuries than Kings XI (7)

Quotes

"We are not intimidated. We are a good unit. We didn't win the CPL by luck. We played good cricket throughout and if we can continue that momentum in the Champions League, I think we are going to have a good chance of reaching very far."
Barbados Tridents captain Rayad Emrit

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