He did it on Thursday. He did it on Friday too. This time he got to triple digits with shots all around the park, and celebrated in style after what’s been a tough cricketing period for him

Vishal Dikshit24-Jan-2025Shardul Thakur likes batting in difficult situations. He had said as much on Thursday, after he had put together 51 off 57 after coming in with Mumbai 42 for 6 against Jammu & Kashmir. On Friday, he took the rescue act up a notch, delivering an unbeaten century at almost a run a ball having come in at 91 for 6, with Mumbai leading by just five runs.All this when the recent past has not been kind to him. Shardul the allrounder was a regular in and around the India set-up at the end of 2023 before a foot surgery kept him out for more than half of 2024, and he hasn’t found a way back in since. Even though he has added consistency to his batting: four of his 14 first-class half-centuries and both his centuries have come in the last two domestic seasons. And much of this has been crisis batting, including 109 off 105 from 106 for 7 against Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy semi-final last season, followed by 75 off 69 from 111 for 6 against Vidarbha to set up the title win.And he went unsold at the mega auction ahead of the IPL 2025 season. “You have to forget whatever has happened in the past,” he had said on Thursday. It is perhaps this practicality that helps him stay in the present when he walks out to bat in tough situations.Related

• Ranji round-up: Jadeja demolishes Delhi, Thakur rescues Mumbai yet again

• Shardul Thakur on his rescue act: 'I like batting in difficult situations'

What worked in his favour on Friday was that the ball was more than 25 overs old when he came out, and had lost all its swing. So, when he saw width on offer, he didn’t shy away from slashing over the infield on the off side. When the fast bowlers pitched it short, he middled his pulls. And the shots kept coming.First ball after tea, when Mumbai were 174 for 7, Thakur punched Umar Nazir Malik through the off side for four and, three balls later, pulled a short ball to the boundary. In the next over he swept left-arm spinner Abid Mushtaq for another four to get to a 59-ball half-century. What did slow him down a bit was cramps; he had to call out the physio a couple of times after he crossed 50 and was clearly struggling between the wickets.The worst of it seemed to have passed by the time he got into the seventies, and his strokes reflected that. He pounced on fast bowler Yudhvir Singh outside off on 80 with such timing that he made it look like he was picking the length against a spinner. Two balls later, he clobbered Yudhvir over the covers with disdain to take the lead past 150 in style. On 94, he hooked Auqib Nabi and got a leading edge, but also four more. He was on 98, his team was still not on top of the game with the lead only 162, but Thakur kept going for it. He lofted the next ball straight down the ground, didn’t middle it at all, but it landed just beyond mid-off’s reach.

When Shardul Thakur saw width on offer, he didn’t shy away from slashing over the infield on the off side. When the fast bowlers pitched it short, he middled his pulls. And the shots kept coming.

Next over, against Mushtaq, he brought out the sweep on 99 and got the run that cued telling celebrations: he ran at speed (what cramps?) with his bat held high, punched the air, let out a scream, and pointed to the sky. It showed what the knock meant to him.The Mumbai dressing room, which had been dour and gloomy for most of the day, broke into rapturous applause, acknowledging a rare feat from a No. 8: Thakur was only the 13th player to score a fifty and a hundred in the same first-class match batting at No. 8 or lower since 2006.The J&K bowlers knew the pitch had nothing to offer now and they started peppering him with short balls. He took a blow on his chest near the left shoulder, got some ice treatment on the field, and still went on. He ramped Nabi’s short ball over the keeper for four, and eventually walked back unbeaten on 113 off 119 with Tanush Kotian – again, his support act from the semi-final last season – for company on 58 off 119.It was another Thakur knock that will go down as one that saved Mumbai’s blushes, even putting them a little in front after they’d been far behind. Maybe it will serve Thakur well to remember these bits of the past.

Ashwin finishes his Test career with the joint-most number of Player-of-the-Series awards in Tests

Omkar Mankame18-Dec-2024#1
West Indies in India, 2011-12
After taking 13 wickets in India’s victories in the first two Tests, R Ashwin showcased his all-round brilliance at the Wankhede Stadium with a century and a nine-wicket match haul. With India needing two runs to win and two wickets in hand, Ashwin managed a single before being run out on the final delivery of the series, leading to the rare instance of a match being drawn with the scores level.Related

R Ashwin: the great problem-solver who played cricket for cricket's sake

Only murmurs in the building: Gabba shrouded in mystery before Ashwin bombshell

'My last day' – Ashwin announces retirement from international cricket

'A GOAT retires' – The cricket world reacts to R Ashwin's retirement

#2
New Zealand in India, 2012
New Zealand’s batting lineup, featuring Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum, had no answer to Ashwin’s spin. He finished the Hyderabad Test with 12 for 85, his first ten-wicket haul in Tests, and followed it up with another six wickets in Bengaluru as India won 2-0.#3
Australia in India, 2012-13
After a poor home series against England, Ashwin finished as the highest wicket-taker in the series against Australia, with 29 wickets at 20.10, starring in India’s first 4-0 series series win in Tests. In the opening Test in Chennai, his hometown, he set the tone with a match haul of 12 for 198. Ashwin took two more five-wicket hauls in the remainder of the series and often bowled with the new ball, something that would become a staple at home for the rest of his career.Promoted to No. 6, Ashwin scored two centuries on the 2016 tour of the West Indies•Associated Press#4
India in Sri Lanka, 2015
Ashwin’s first series award away came in a tough series in which India had to turn over a 0-1 deficit. He became the first Indian spinner to take 20 or more wickets in an away series containing three or fewer Tests. In the first Test, he claimed his maiden 10-wicket haul outside India, and his seven wickets in the second Test secured India’s 278-run victory. He dismissed Kumar Sangakkara four times in four innings in what was the batter’s final Test series.#5
South Africa in India, 2015-16
In India’s sixth Test series win since his debut, Ashwin picked up his fifth Player-of-the-Series award, going level with Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag. His haul of 31 wickets in the series remains the second-highest by an Indian bowler in seven or fewer innings, after Harbhajan Singh’s 32 wickets against Australia in 2000-01. On raging turners, Ashwin tormented South Africa’s batters, dismissing Dean Elgar four times and AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis twice each as India won 3-0.#6
India in West Indies, 2016
Promoted to No. 6 in the first three Tests for India to play five specialist bowlers, Ashwin scored centuries in Antigua and St Lucia. With the ball, he took 7 for 83 in the second innings in Antigua and backed it up with 5 for 52 in the first innings in Jamaica. Having won Player-of-the-Match awards in both India’s victories in the four-match series, Ashwin was the obvious choice for Player of the series.#7
New Zealand in India, 2016-17
A series haul of 27 wickets, including a career-best match haul of 13 for 140 in the third Test in Indore, propelled Ashwin back to the top of the ICC Test rankings for bowlers. His series haul is the second-highest by any Indian bowler in a three-Test series, again behind Harbhajan Singh’s 32 wickets. Ashwin had opened the series with a 10-wicket haul in Kanpur and continued to hold it over New Zealand’s batters as India won 3-0.Ashwin took 32 wickets against England in 2021, but his favourite moment of the series was his hundred at Chepauk•BCCI#8
England in India, 2020-21

In another stellar series with both ball and bat, Ashwin scored a century at Chepauk, his first Test ton in almost five years, and finished with 32 wickets from four Test matches. He went past 400 wickets in the series, becoming the fastest to get there in terms of balls bowled (21,242). He also made headlines during the series by speaking against criticism of spin-friendly pitches, saying it was no different from pitches that assisted seam on the first day.#9
New Zealand in India, 2021-22
Continuing his dominance over New Zealand at home, Ashwin provided crucial lower-order contributions in the first Test in Kanpur while taking six wickets. He took 4 for 8 and 4 for 34 in Mumbai to seal India’s 1-0 win.#10
Australia in India, 2022-23
After being outbowled by Ravindra Jadeja and Nathan Lyon in the 2017 home Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Ashwin topped the wicket charts six years later and shared the Player-of-the-Series award with Jadeja, who took 22 wickets. After taking eight wickets in Kanpur, Ashwin bowled a memorable over on day one in Delhi, dismissing both Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith with outstanding deliveries. He showed he was in top form by even managing a five-for on a flat Ahmedabad track in the fourth Test. India’s 2-1 series win was their fourth straight over Australia.#11
Bangladesh in India, 2024
With India in trouble at 144 for 6 on day one in Chennai, Ashwin scored a fluent century, his first in three years and his second on his home ground. He went on to take 6 for 88 in the second innings, making it the fourth time in his career he had scored a hundred and taken a five-for in the same Test. He added five more wickets to his series tally in Kanpur as India romped to a 2-0 win.

The effect of the return of saliva and reverse-swing is there to see: fuller lengths have been more economical than shorter lengths for the first time in this decade this IPL

Karthik Krishnaswamy17-Apr-20251:38

Bishop: We saw the best of Starc tonight

“Why don’t they just bowl yorkers?”It’s a refrain you might hear from a disgruntled uncle watching fast bowlers get walloped in the end overs of a T20 game. You even hear it from TV commentators sometimes.The yorker remains the hardest ball for most batters to hit, but it’s one with a low margin for error. Err with your length a little bit, and you’re delivering two of the easier lengths for batters to hit: full-tosses and half-volleys.And over the years, events around white-ball cricket have made it harder and harder for bowlers to trust their yorkers. With the use of two new balls in ODIs, and the ban on the use of saliva to shine the ball brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, reverse-swing began to go out of the game.Related

• Axar Patel: 'I am not following a template' as captain

• Did RR choose the wrong batters for the Super Over? Bishop and Pujara think so

• Axar hopes to have du Plessis back for DC's next game

• DC win an IPL classic in Delhi after Super Over drama

• Samson on Starc: 'One of the best guys around in the world'

It’s coming back now, though, at least in the IPL, where saliva is legal again. Mohit Sharma believes it’s contributing to the ball reversing in 70% of games in IPL 2025, and Delhi Capitals’ (DC) match against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Wednesday night was certainly one of them.The ball showed signs of reversing as early as the fifth over of RR’s innings, when Mohit swerved two yorkers into Sanju Samson, with replays suggesting that the ball swung against the orientation of the seam, which was canted towards slip. This early reverse has happened in other games too – for example, in Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) match against Punjab Kings (PBKS) on April 12, when Eshan Malinga got the ball to reverse consistently, starting from the seventh over.Wednesday’s most dramatic moments of reverse came late in the game, though, when Mitchell Starc swung the contest in DC’s direction over the course of three overs. First, with RR needing 31 off 18, the left-arm quick conceded just eight runs in the 18th over and dismissed half-centurion Nitish Rana with a wickedly tailing yorker; an inside edge off the next ball saved Shimron Hetmyer from being bowled by a similar delivery. Then, with RR needing nine off the last over, Starc forced the game into a Super Over, curtailing Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel with ball after ball speared into the base of the stumps and landing there or thereabouts with late bend in its path.Quite naturally, DC entrusted Starc with the Super Over, and once again he showed an unwavering faith in the yorker. Despite bowling a no-ball when he cut the return crease while going round the wicket to the right-handed Riyan Parag, he kept RR to 11 runs, and induced enough panic for them to lose both their wickets to run-outs with a ball left unused. DC chased down their target in just four balls, and a match that had seemed lost was theirs, moving them back to the top of the IPL table with five wins from six games.Mitchell Starc induced enough panic for Rajasthan Royals to lose both their Super Over wickets to run-outs with a ball left unused•BCCIHere’s how much Starc swung the old ball: 1.2 degrees on average across the 18th and 20th overs, and 1.8 degrees in his Super Over (old balls are used for Super Overs, with the fielding captain allowed to choose from a box of used balls). He had bowled the first and third overs of RR’s innings and swung the new ball just 0.8 degrees.When you’re as quick as Starc and as good at executing the yorker as he is, the decision of what option to go for at the death becomes far easier to make when the ball is reversing.”I’ve played long enough that everyone pretty much knows what I’m going to do,” Starc said while receiving the Player-of-the-Match award. “If I can execute more often than not, it’s going to be okay.”I mean, you could play that [20th] over ten more times and do ten different things and it might be ten different results, so as I said, a bit of luck goes a long way, and fortunately I executed well enough to get us to a Super Over and then, yeah, we were on the right end of it.”It also helped Starc that left-hand batters Rana and Hetmyer were on strike for eight of his 12 balls across the 18th and 20th overs, which made his stock ball, swinging into the batter from over the wicket, an easier one to execute and set a field to.1:16

Pujara surprised by RR’s Super Over line-up

Starc was surprised, then, that RR chose to send out Hetmyer as one of their openers in the Super Over, and had another left-hand batter, Yashasvi Jaiswal, at No. 3.Starc’s problems came when the right-handed Riyan Parag came on strike. He went around the wicket and bowled that back-foot no-ball – he also erred in line with that ball, bowling wide of off stump with four of his five boundary fielders out on the leg side. Having given away five runs without bowling a ball, he overcompensated with his line off the next ball, with a brush off Parag’s pad stopping it from becoming a leg-side wide. An attempt to steal a leg bye, however, resulted in the first of two run-outs off successive balls.”Yeah, I was probably a little surprised they had left-handers with the ball tailing in and my angle,” Starc said. “Probably got two [balls] wrong there and obviously stepped on the wide line a bit, so yeah, I may even have got away with a couple there, but we obviously had the batting depth to chase the runs, so yeah, solid win in the end.”In his press conference after the match, Rana spoke of the difference that the return of saliva had made to the game.”The difference that comes from applying saliva, the reverse-swing that we got to see from Starc – obviously the credit goes to Starc, but the saliva makes a lot of difference,” he said. “We didn’t use saliva at all in the last two-three years, and we didn’t do this type of batting even in the nets, because reverse-swing had completely gone away from cricket, whether it was red ball or white ball. Suddenly, if someone can execute 11 yorkers in 12 balls at a 145 [kph] pace, then you have to give Starc the credit.”

“Getting reverse-swing is one thing, but executing it is very important. It was reversing, but at that time, under pressure, he [Starc] was executing it. I was just reminding him to be clear with his plans, and trust himself. I was getting the same response: ‘Don’t worry, skip. I’ll do it’Axar Patel

While acknowledging the role of saliva in the return of reverse, DC captain Axar Patel also highlighted the lack of grass on the pitches used in the IPL, which accelerates wear and tear on the ball.”Because we can use saliva this season, and since there isn’t much grass on the surface, you can get the ball to reverse,” Axar said in his post-match press conference. “I feel it’s fair for bowlers, given how the grounds are, and how batsmen’s bats are, and how runs keep flowing.”We’re getting 180-190 scores, and it’s fun when that happens, because it’s competitive cricket, and it’s not as if there’s nothing in it for the bowlers. So I feel we’re able to get reverse-swing because of the use of saliva.”And getting reverse-swing is one thing, but executing it is very important. It was reversing, but at that time, under pressure, he [Starc] was executing it. I was just reminding him to be clear with his plans, and trust himself. I was getting the same response: ‘Don’t worry, skip. I’ll do it’.”ESPNcricinfo’s data bears out the effect that the return of saliva and reverse-swing have had on the end-overs yorker in the IPL. While the overall economy rate of fast bowlers in the death overs has continued its season-by-season increase, the fuller lengths (full-toss, yorker, full) have become more economical than the shorter lengths (length, short-of-good length, short) for the first time in this decade.This could mean that batters are getting better at handling shorter lengths at the death; it could also, of course, just be the effect of reverse-swing encouraging bowlers to attempt yorkers more often and set fields accordingly, leading to shorter lengths suffering greater punishment. Or it could be a combination of the two.In any case, successive matches in Delhi have shown the value of the newly re-weaponised yorker, swinging games away from chasing teams in dramatic fashion. First it was Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah for Mumbai Indians (MI) against DC; now it’s Starc for DC against RR. Given that batters are still getting used to all this, we could yet see a few more end-overs heists before the pendulum swings back.

The Delhi Capitals medium-pacer talks about his most memorable final overs in T20 cricket, the guidance he has received from Ashish Nehra, and more

Interview by Nagraj Gollapudi15-Apr-20254:56

‘Preparation is my greatest strength’

Mohit Sharma corrects me and points out he is not 34 but 36 years old. “I will take it as a compliment, though,” he says, chuckling, during our meeting in Chennai earlier this month. Despite his international career falling off the map due to a combination of back injuries and the emergence of younger, fitter, highly skilled fast bowlers, Mohit, who last played for India in 2015, has managed to find a second wind in his IPL career. In 2022, eight years after he topped the IPL wickets table for Chennai Super Kings, he joined Gujarat Titans as a net bowler, and the following season was the second highest wicket-taker in the tournament. He delivered the eventful last over in the 2023 IPL final, where his former CSK team-mate Ravindra Jadeja denied Mohit and Titans what would have been their second title in a row.The backbone of Mohit’s fast bowling has been his variations, delivered with a grunt. Cutters, slower balls and slow bouncers are the weapons he uses to counter the batting carnage in the second half of T20 innings, where he normally operates. In this interview, he speaks of having only gratitude and no regrets about that 20th over in the 2023 final, and opens up on a career that is now limited to just domestic T20s and the IPL.How’s life at the moment?
My life is in peace right now. It is going good. Pressure is part of the process, and personally, I feel it is important to have pressure. Even if, at times, the pressure can be too much, it always teaches you something.Related

Versatile GT seek first win against well-rounded DC at home

Reverse in fast forward – Starc's three overs of yorker mayhem

Mohit Sharma: Use of saliva is 100% helping the ball reverse swing

'My confidence goes up when Dhoni throws me the ball in tough situations' (2014)

Almost-forgotten Mohit is back, and he's the same bowler he used to be

When I say “last over”, what comes to your mind?
A lot of things have been associated with the last over for me ( [Ashish Nehra, the head coach] was repeating the same things from sidelines throughout the match: “Pandit [Mohit’s nickname], breathe, relax.” He always says when you are at the top of your bowling mark, you need to be clear about what you are going to do. The ball is in your hand. It doesn’t matter what others come and tell you. You have to execute it, so there shouldn’t be two things in your mind.

“I thought there is no bigger thing than education. I started reading up on biomechanics of fast bowling. Then I started dabbling in a course on sprint mechanics. If you want to pursue coaching, you need to understand what coaching is, because it is totally different to playing”

Before 2023, you had last played a full IPL season in 2018. In 2019 and 2020, you played one match each. In 2022, you went unsold in the auction, but Nehra called you to train with the Titans squad. Is it true that around this point you were thinking of ending your career but that Nehra advised you not to?
A lot happened for me between the end of the 2018 IPL and the start of the 2022 season, including having back surgery. I had a good domestic season [in 2021-22], including the Syed Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Hazare Trophy. My body was responding well post-surgery. When I went unsold, Ashu videos of my bowling. Ashu ). He is like an older brother in my life and has always guided me. If not for that chat, I might have taken a call on my career that year or the following season. After that I thought I will continue playing till my body supports me.I have been lucky that in the second phase of my career, the coaches I have encountered have been like my older brothers more than coaches. They don’t think it is my decision, so I should take it [alone]. They jump in to guide me to the right path. They have experienced more in life. If I have encountered such a situation once or twice in my life, some of these coaches might have been through it 20 times.Mohit chats with his Titans captain Hardik Pandya during the 2023 IPL final against CSK. At the start of the final over, CSK needed 13. Mohit conceded only three from the first four balls, but Ravindra Jadeja hit him for a six and a four off the last two balls•Associated PressLike, the Delhi Capitals coaching staff – Hemang [Badani] bhai, Munna [Munaf Patel] nicknamed me “Maria Sharapova” [the former Grand Slam champion known for her loud grunt]. I’d say: “With the grunt, batsmen will feel the ball will come at 145-150kph even though the ball comes slower, so it is a plus point for me!”What is the fastest you have ever bowled?
After the 2015 World Cup, in the T20 series against South Africa, I clicked 145.4kph once. At that World Cup, Umesh [Yadav], Shami and myself were consistently operating at 140kph.One has to accept things change with age, and in T20 cricket speed is not everything.
Absolutely. You have to accept that. You can’t have an ego. Cricket will not stop for you. You will have to adapt yourself according to the way cricket is evolving.When we spoke back in 2014, you mentioned that you write down your positive and negative feelings on two separate sheets and bin the one with the negative thoughts. Do you still do that?
Yes, I still do that. I tear up the negative ones. Regardless of the result, I have ensured the work ethic that I have had since my Under-19 days does not change. As long as I’m playing I will continue doing things the way I did when I started.”When I am bowling at the death now, my options include bowling a dot ball, but I also have an option to get a wicket every second ball”•Deepak Malik/BCCIDoes doing those things keep you sane?
[stillness, stability] is probably the right word. I get clarity on what I should focus on and what I should not focus on. In current times, our minds get scattered even if nothing much has happened in two balls. So my work ethic has taught me that if I have only three things, then I need to stick to those three rather than thinking that if I get hit for a six off a bouncer with pace then I ) The bowler runs in saying: I will get you out; the batsman says: I will hit you for a six. When there’s nothing to lose, a person learns a lot. If you disregard some of the early matches of this IPL [as of April 3], and three-four matches from the last IPL, the bowlers have started to dominate.If you noticed last evening [in the RCB vs Titans game], how brilliantly [Mohammed] Siraj bowled [against RCB] and Prasidh [Krishna] too. Our bowlers are also learning how to execute the plans more accurately so that [the carnage] that starts from the first ball, we can delay that a bit and at least we [bowlers] get some breathing space.Has the planning changed or have the pitches also become more supportive of bowlers?
It sounds nice hearing such a thing, but with the bounce, you also get hit for sixes! The wicket in [the RCB-Titans] match was good, but it was not like it was seaming or there was extra bounce. It was RCB’s home ground, they provided that wicket. But how GT’s bowling unit executed plans was magical for me. They were bowling in such good areas and the ball was swinging amazingly. If you saw, Siraj was not just swinging the ball, he was also bowling cross-seams and other variations, and his plans were very clear. I am not saying the wicket should not be supportive, but whatever pitches we get, our plans need to be clear.

India hit back to level the series at Edgbaston. Alan Gardner hears from Andrew Miller and Sid Monga about where the second Test was won and lost

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Jul-2025India levelled the Test series at Edgbaston, Shubman Gill’s runs laying the platform before Akash Deep finished England off with a ten-wicket haul. With a short turnaround to Lord’s, Alan Gardner was joined on the pod by Andrew Miller and Sidharth Monga to dissect the action. How good was Gill? Has Bazball gone off the rails? And should England turn to Jofra Archer with the series on the line?