England are 2-0 down in the Ashes. Stokes scored a stunning 155. As time wears on, they will be treated as independent events

Vithushan Ehantharajah03-Jul-2023There are, let’s say, three types of miracles.There are miracles written in religious texts. There are miracles that happen in every day life, like a train arriving just as you reach the platform. And then there are miracles that take place on sporting fields, neither divine nor happy coincidence, yet occupy this contradictory grey area of happening right in front of you and yet seemingly from out of this world. Moments when one man, let’s say Ben Stokes, looks fate in the eye and asks it to dance.But sometimes, miracles don’t end up being miracles at all. The crying statues of deities merely condensation in a badly insulated room. The train you jump on is eastbound when you actually wanted to go west. And one of the most outrageous Ashes innings by an Englishman ends up being a footnote in a convincing Australian victory.There was a point when you believed you were witnessing another Stokes wonder. And there is no shame in admitting that. Here at Lord’s, there was all the marvel we had witnessed before: the inner strength from the 2019 World Cup final on this very ground, the audacious striking of Headingley 2019 against this opponent, and the ruthlessness of 2022’s T20 World Cup final.Related

Have England ever before produced such a competitive, utterly compelling and talented cricketer as Stokes?

Stokes, Cummins expect fiery Lord's atmosphere to spill over to Headingley

Australia learn lessons of Headingley to exorcise demon Stokes

Stats – Stokes' maximums go through the roof

All three of those match-winning performances came on a Sunday, just as it was here. With God resting on the seventh, Stokes sensed an opportunity to be that higher power on day five of this second Test. This time, for nothing.England are now 2-0 down in the Ashes, Stokes scored a stunning 155 and as time wears on, they will be treated as independent events. And because of Stokes, this Test felt like it was fractured into two very distinct parts.One contained four days’ play, then 21 overs at the start of day five and 9.2 overs at the end. A lot of bouncers were bowled. A lot of pull shots played – most not well. Mitchell Starc took a catch that he actually dropped. Stuff happened, judgments were made, things were said, articles were written.The other was this swirling black hole of 21 overs sandwiching between those two Sunday passage with England’s captain at its epicentre, bending everything that preceded it back on itself almost to breaking point, as those observing were sucked into this world Stokes had on his own.His trigger for this period of maelstrom was different to the other three. Lord’s ’19, Headingley ’19, MCG ’22 were extensions of an allrounder’s mindset; always wanting to contribute, mixed with a personal dose of not wanting to let his mates down. And while those aspects were present here, this “miracle” carried a stench of Old Testament fury.

It was only in hindsight that you realised there was a reason Stokes protested the Bairstow stumping with only a hint of dissent. “I didn’t want to get myself sidetracked by something that I couldn’t change,” he later explained

You could say Jonny Bairstow’s stumping was the spark for the gasoline, but Stokes the spark and the gasoline, and since becoming captain, he has been reluctant to mix the two. Until Alex Carey’s under-armer gave him as good a reason as any. And so, with him on 62 off 126, they were reintroduced together.Before the sixes, those seemingly unending sixes raining hellfire on the Tavern and Mound Stand – not including the one the previous night from Stokes the mortal – there were as many fours as horsemen warning of impending doom. Cameron Green was following orders to go short, but none of the three men on the fence could stop Stokes puncturing midwicket or flipping all two-metres of the quick around the corner. Green returned with a wider line for his next over. To the leg-side fence he went once more, this time through Josh Hazlewood.Only then came the sixes. Oh lord, the sixes! By now, each boundary was scored by cheers followed by a rendition of “same old Aussies, always cheating”. A day at Lord’s six times cheaper producing six times as much noise.Green was taken for three on the bounce, sent into the stands at square leg with his back to the pavilion. The third – so flat it threatened to punch a hole all the way to Paddington Station just over a mile away – took him to a 13th century from 142 deliveries.Just like Headingley, there was no celebration. From him at least.1:50

Cummins and Stokes respond to controversial Bairstow dismissal

Down came Stuart Broad, punching both hands in the air as he continued his role as the one who promised a reckoning. His innings – if you can call it that given the most notable bits came when he wasn’t actually facing up – was akin to a preacher at Speaker’s Corner wishing ill on all sinners. He baited close-in fielders with dramatic acts of staying in his crease, and constantly reminded Carey of burning in Ashes villainy. The quick-turned-troll knows as well as anyone what that’s like.It was only through Broad’s histrionics you became aware of the scale of Stokes’ focus. And only in hindsight you realised there was a reason he protested the Bairstow stumping with only a hint of dissent. “I didn’t want to get myself sidetracked by something that I couldn’t change,” Stokes later explained.There were more sixes to come. Hazlewood was pumped down the ground second ball after lunch, then twice in three balls two overs later. Two came off successive Mitchell Starc deliveries when the left-armer was reintroduced, retribution for three raps on the toes earlier, one of which was given LBW but overturned on review in the seventh over of the day when Stokes had 39. All the swings were calculated, even the fortuitous scuff on 114 which Steven Smith couldn’t claim, and exclusively to the leg side when facing the quicks from the Nursery End.The Lord’s slope and the wind going towards the Tavern and Mound Stands minimised the risk. According to CricViz, he struck 75 runs from the 94 deliveries pitched shorter than ten metres across his first and second innings for no losses. The rest of the batters in this match combined for 241 off 491 with 16 dismissals.

As Cummins patted Stokes on the back with the England captain making his way back, the crash back to reality was complete. The 9.2 overs required for the remaining three wickets were irrelevant. Stokes’ end was the game’s end

There were other moments of mindfulness within the maelstrom. Bunts for singles to give him the strike because he only trusted Broad to face two or three balls an over in the bumper barrage. Blocks were applied when necessary.”It just felt a lot more difficult to really take the attack and try and hit the boundaries or the sixes at the other end,” Stokes later explained. “Just because the slope was against me and I just felt it was a lot more difficult for me to play the pull shot for me from that end [batting at the Nursery End].”It was after the ninth and final six that things began to turn. Prior to the 67th over, Pat Cummins got his rattled bowlers together and removed the glaze from their eyes. With wide yorkers and better-directed short deliveries, those heaves became bunts and those bunts became blocks. And slowly, Stokes was dragged back to the mortal realm.He was scoreless from 22 of his final 29 deliveries, restricted to just eight runs on foot. An attempt to rally against the tightening shackles resulted in a flail of hands and a looped catch to backward point that was taken by a visibly nervy Carey.The relief from Australia pierced English gasps. A saviour in home eyes now a vanquished demon in those of the Australians. As Cummins patted Stokes on the back with the England captain making his way back, the crash back to reality was complete. The 9.2 overs required for the remaining three wickets were irrelevant. Stokes’ end was the game’s end.Ben Stokes heartbroken, Josh Hazlewood jubilant•Getty ImagesAs an innings and a passage, it will slot into Stokes’ legend nowhere near the top but clear to the man himself and those who were there. With a return to Headingley just three days away, it will be used as fuel for what optimism remains within the rest of a squad needing to win three on the bounce. Stokes already has enough as it is.A return to the real world brings a variety of questions.Some are rhetorical. Like, “how many miracles does one international team need?” The beauty is we all benefit from witnessing those of Stokes’ ilk accessing the farthest reaches of the spectrum where talent meets stubbornness the rest of us would not dare even dream of. Even for only 20-odd overs. Even in vain.The more pertinent questions will be answered in the next week. Such as, will England’s best chance for a first Ashes victory since 2015 be over at the earliest opportunity? And why does a team created in Stokes’ image, who have been given all the tools to succeed by their leader, still need him as a saviour?Finally, there is a question that can only be answered after it has been answered. That is if it ever is at all. Just how many more “miracles” does Ben Stokes have left? Because, through no fault of his own, this one has been wasted.

Our staff pick their men’s and women’s teams from among those who excelled through the year

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Dec-2023There’s a strong Ashes flavour to ESPNcricinfo’s men’s Test team of 2023: four Australians and three Englishmen – with two Indians and two New Zealanders to keep them company.Usman Khawaja, the leading run-scorer in the format this year, was an automatic pick at the top of the order, where he is joined by Travis Head – a stand-in opener, just like in the Border-Gavaskar series in March.Head is forced up to open since voting for Khawaja’s partner was split between Rohit Sharma and Zak Crawley; Kane Williamson, Joe Root and Harry Brook all had stellar years in the middle order, with Williamson managing an unrivalled four centuries despite spending most of 2023 recovering from an ACL rupture.ESPNcricinfo LtdTom Blundell, Williamson’s team-mate, takes the gloves, and should have plenty of chances behind the stumps thanks to this attack: Mitchell Starc and Stuart Broad with the new ball, before captain Pat Cummins brings himself on. It might be game over before R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are even required.ESPNcricinfo LtdIndia were dominant in men’s ODIs in 2023, winning 26 out of 33 completed games, including ten out of 11 at the World Cup – though we’re sure you remember which one they lost. The core of their side forms the core of ours, with Rohit captaining a familiar top three, and with Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Kuldeep Yadav at his disposal.Head, a revelation for Australia when he returned to fitness midway through the World Cup, slots into the middle order to break up the run of right-handers, while two late-bloomers, Daryl Mitchell and Heinrich Klaasen, form the rest of the batting line-up. In the absence of a specialist keeper, Klaasen takes the gloves.He is one of two South Africans included; Marco Jansen, who swung the new ball and showed off his talent with the bat at the World Cup, is the other. Shami and Bumrah are the other two seamers in our XI, while Kuldeep shares spin-bowling duties with the prolific Adam Zampa, Australia’s highest wicket-taker during their triumph in India.ESPNcricinfo LtdTwo young superstars – Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill – open the batting in our T20 side after stellar IPL campaigns that cemented their status as the coming men of India’s T20 set-up. Faf du Plessis turned 39 in July but is ageing like a fine wine, and his improvement against spin means he is just the man to slot in at No. 3.Glenn Maxwell and Suryakumar Yadav bring some creativity and flair to the middle order, while Klaasen was perhaps the cleanest ball-striker on the circuit, hitting hundreds in the SA20, IPL, and Major League Cricket. Sikandar Raza and Daniel Sams balance the side at Nos. 7 and 8 after impressing with both bat and ball through the year.Shaheen Afridi, who captained Lahore Qalandars to a second straight PSL title, takes the new ball with Sams, while Nathan Ellis will close things out at the death as he does in leagues around the world. There’s no real debate over the premier spinner in the line-up: T20’s GOAT, Rashid Khan.ESPNcricinfo LtdTwo left-handers open the batting in our women’s ODI XI in Chamari Athapaththu and Beth Mooney, with Sophie Devine shuffling down to No. 3 to accommodate them. Amelia Kerr was the format’s leading ODI run-scorer this year with 541, while Nat Sciver-Brunt, at No. 5 in the XI, hit three hundreds, including back-to-back centuries against Australia in July.South Africa’s Marizanne Kapp showed her adaptability with a century against Pakistan in Karachi in September, while Australia’s engine room of Ashleigh Gardner and Annabel Sutherland were both popular selections in the lower middle order – Gardner was a unanimous inclusion.Nadine de Klerk, Kapp’s South Africa team-mate, has proved to be a regular wicket-taker in the middle overs, while Lea Tahuhu, one of three New Zealanders in the side, provides the pace. The frontline spinner is Bangladesh’s Nahida Akter, who has been a reliable performer through the year.ESPNcricinfo LtdThere are three T20 World Cup winners and three WPL winners in our women’s T20 XI, reflecting a year where the launch of a new franchise competition in India changed the landscape of a global game for good.Mooney and Megan Schutt both played their part in Australia’s success in South Africa but it was Gardner who was named Player of the Tournament – and raked in the big bucks at the WPL auction as a consequence. Mooney opens the batting alongside Athapaththu, whose consistent success for Sri Lanka was finally recognised at the WBBL this year – if not the WPL and the Hundred.In March, Hayley Matthews, Sciver-Brunt and Kerr were the all-round core that underpinned Mumbai Indians’ success under coach Charlotte Edwards; they are joined by Devine and Kapp in the middle order of our side. Sophie Ecclestone and Shabnim Ismail round off the bowling attack.More in our look back at 2023

With first-choice players often rested for T20Is, it has given a chance for others to shine

Hemant Brar26-Nov-20234:16

Takeaways: Jaiswal’s blitz, Rinku’s destruction, Bishnoi’s comeback

It’s the first India-Australia T20I in Visakhapatnam and Rinku Singh has his arms spread wide in celebration. With one run required from the final delivery of the match, he deposited Sean Abbott over long-on for a six, sealing India’s highest successful chase in T20Is.A packed stadium erupted in joy, followed by the no-ball siren going off. Abbott had overstepped, which meant the game was over then and the six would not count. Rinku came to know about it only when he went inside the dressing room and Arshdeep Singh told him. It didn’t bother him, though. Winning the game for his side with an unbeaten 22 off 14 balls, he had proved his mettle irrespective.As a finisher, Rinku’s strength is a steady head and a calm mind. A strong base with almost no initial movement allows him to deal with every ball as it comes, instead of premeditating. This was on display during the second T20I in Thiruvananthapuram as well. Take the penultimate ball of India’s innings. Nathan Ellis bowled a high full toss from around the wicket. At that stage, most batters are looking to smash the ball as hard as they can. But Rinku stayed still and just opened the face of the bat to steer it between the keeper and short third for four.Related

Tilak wants to finish games for India without 'any pressure or expectations'

Jaiswal, Kishan, Rinku, Bishnoi dominate Australia for 2-0 lead

In the previous over, he had smashed Abbott for three fours and two sixes, dealing with variations in pace and length with aplomb. In all, Rinku scored 31 not out off nine balls with a strike rate of 344.44. In T20Is involving Full Member nations, only Hardik Pandya (32*) has scored more in a nine-ball innings. At 190 for 3 after 18 overs, India were eyeing 220. Rinku’s knock lifted them to a dew-proof 235 for 4.Suryakumar Yadav, India’s captain for this series, was also full of praise for Rinku. “When he came out to bat in the first game, we needed about 40 runs from 24 balls [55 from 31],” Suryakumar said. “The composure he showed was brilliant. And the same thing today when asked to bat in the last two overs. He providing that finish reminded us of someone.”Suryakumar probably had MS Dhoni in mind, but perhaps he didn’t want to put any pressure on the newcomer. So when prodded for a name, he said with a laugh: “Everyone who has done this for India.”Rinku Singh put on another display of his finishing skills•Associated PressIf Rinku indeed reminded Suryakumar of Dhoni, it’s not a coincidence, because he has been following Dhoni’s advice. “I asked Mahi once what he thinks when batting in the last few overs,” Rinku said on the BCCI website after the first T20I. “He said the more you stay calm, the more you try to hit straight, the better it will be. So I follow that now. I try to stay calm, try not to show any reaction, and that has helped me.”Being an ODI World Cup year, India’s focus until this series was on 50-over cricket. For T20Is, they rested some of their first-choice players regularly. That, in turn, opened up opportunities for some of the fringe players. Rinku is one of them and has probably made the best use of those chances despite batting in the most difficult position in T20 cricket.Rinku made his T20I debut in August. So far he has played only seven games, and batted just four times. But in those four innings, he has scored 128 runs at a strike rate of 216.94 while getting out once. Among those who have batted from No. 5 to 7 for India since the last T20 World Cup, his strike rate is easily the best.Moreover, everyone saw what he did in the IPL earlier this year. And recently, he was the second highest run-getter for Uttar Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, scoring 256 runs in seven innings at a strike rate of 170.66.With Hardik assuming more of an anchor’s role lately, India are searching for their next finisher for the T20 World Cup in June. At the moment, Rinku is the frontrunner.

White talks about T20 leagues vs internationals and how ILT20 is looking at all options for a window to maximise player availability

Nagraj Gollapudi09-Feb-20242:07

‘Local knowledge of UAE players has helped ILT20 teams’

Several major T20 leagues running concurrently have not only triggered a tug-of-war between franchises attempting to secure players but have started to threaten the quality of the bilateral engagements that are part of the ICC’s Future Tours Programme. The T20 leagues, though, enhance players’ financial security as well as provide the option of maintaining a better work-life balance.While players have started opting out of national retainers, boards, such as the England and Wales Cricket Board in the UK recently, have started redesigning contracts by offering more lucrative, long-term deals to secure their best players across the three formats.Former New Zealand batter David White, who served as New Zealand Cricket chief executive for more than a decade, is now the CEO of the ILT20, which recently became first Associate-run T20 league to be given the List A status by the ICC. White, thus, understands the predicament cricket boards are confronted with. In a chat with ESPNcricinfo this week, White talks about the progress the ILT20 has made in its second season, including the success of UAE players, how the tournament is looking at all options for a window to maximise player availability, and whether bilateral cricket is actually being threatened by leagues.Related

ILT20 bans Naveen-ul-Haq for breaching agreement with Sharjah Warriors

ILT20 becomes first Associate-run franchise league to get 'official' List-A status

New FICA report highlights T20 shift from country to club

Boult's choice a landmark moment in cricket's fast-evolving landscape

As a former CEO at New Zealand Cricket, you faced the challenge of T20 leagues pulling in international players. Now that you are on the other side, how do you look at the situation: is there friction between countries and T20 leagues?
I wouldn’t call it friction as such. Cricket is clearly going through a bit of a change at the moment. I think the positive thing is that we have got three formats of the game internationally very competitive and doing very well. It’s great to see the [ODI] World Cup do so well in India. Test cricket is going through a bit of a revival at the moment, which is fantastic. And of course, T20 has been the financial lifeblood – let’s not hide behind the fact that it comes from Indian broadcast money, principally the T20 revolution.But now you have got a situation where you have got some [T20] leagues. I wouldn’t call it friction because all the leagues are actually – bar the ILT20 and MLC – Full-Member leagues, so they’re from within the system.We are unique in that we are an Associate that doesn’t play [much] international cricket. There’s a bit of a misconception that these leagues are competing with international cricket when the majority of them are actually based in Full-Member countries. I don’t think you can call them competition as such within the Full-Member countries.

“I wouldn’t call it friction because all the leagues are actually – bar the ILT20 and MLC – Full-Member leagues, so they’re from within the system. We are unique in that we are an Associate that doesn’t play [much] international cricket”White on T20 leagues vs international cricket

The positive thing for me now working in a T20 league is that I see a real opportunity for not just the full-time international cricketers to earn a good living, but now you have got a lot of cricketers around the world who are plying that trade playing T20 cricket, and they generally play first-class cricket as well. So for them to have the opportunity to make a good living playing cricket around the world, it’s got to be a positive for cricket. If you think of the years gone by when first-class cricketers – and I was one many, many years ago – in the off-season struggled to get remuneration, or a job. So now you have got first-class cricketers who are plying their trade and making a good living. I have calculated that there are probably 150-200 players around the world who are playing in leagues.You say that, but SA20 is running parallel to South Africa’s Test series in New Zealand currently. Luckily, you are not the NZC CEO, else you might have wondered about the second-string South African Test squad. Similar debates surrounded the quality of the West Indies squad during their two-match Test series in Australia. The players will make the choice, but in the long run, will international cricket, especially Test cricket, take the hit? Will that need to be accepted?
I will answer it a different way. Firstly, the situation I was in within New Zealand Cricket, we always took a very pragmatic approach to our players playing in leagues. We were very keen to protect our domestic season, but then outside of the domestic season, we were very open to players playing in the IPL, CPL, the Hundred, PSL, BPL as long as they didn’t clash with the New Zealand window. But now what you are saying is that there are more opportunities for players.Ultimately, the market will determine where it goes. But from a New Zealand cricket point of view, when I was CEO there – and I can’t talk for them now – we always protected the Test window and the players did too.Recently Trent [Boult] decided to play T20 leagues, fully supported by New Zealand Cricket. He has been a great ambassador and world-class performer and played for many years, so he went with our full support. But over the next two to three, four years, it’s going to be interesting how Full-Member boards manage their contracting process to ensure that Test cricket does stay strong, yet they do give players the opportunity to earn revenue outside of the international game.Trent Boult opted out of the central contract with New Zealand Cricket in 2022•ICC via Getty ImagesWe have to treat this, in a way, as a business. If a player decides to play for the league, do you think it’s the responsibility of the league to pay the home board a certain amount?
It’s a big, big area of debate. The players are developed by their countries, not just the board, but the schools they went to, the clubs they played for, their first-class teams et cetera. There is provision in the regulations now, as I understand it, for some compensation going back to boards, but if it becomes too prohibitive, that will be a challenge. The market will determine itself over the next two or three years.The ICC also recently decided to impose a cap on overseas players in any new T20 leagues. The ILT20 allows a maximum of nine overseas players in the XI. Is there a cut-off date worked out internally where the number of local UAE players will increase in the team?
One of the motivations for setting up the league was for the future development of the UAE cricket and to build its strength. I am delighted with the performance of a number of the players already in the league. They have really excelled. Internally, the Emirates Cricket Board would like to see more of their players playing in a very short period of time. So in the next two, three, four years, you’ll see quite a few more UAE players playing in the league. There’s no target date, but I know that the people at the ECB are very motivated to ensure that [number] does grow.The other big sticking point for ILT20 is that it clashes with several major T20 leagues – the BBL, SA20, BPL and PSL. Is there a plan to create an exclusive window to avoid or minimise the clash as that would allow you player availability for a longer time?
It’s a very good question, and I can tell you that this morning I was looking at the FTP, looking at all the clashes, looking at also the Champions Trophy, which starts in early February [2025]. And, of course, international teams will be looking to prepare for the Champions Trophy with white-ball cricket.

“Internally, the Emirates Cricket Board would like to see more of their players playing in a very short period of time. So in the next two, three, four years, you’ll see quite a few more UAE players playing in the league”

The interesting situation for us is most of the T20 leagues are based in the southern hemisphere with the exception of the Caribbean [CPL], England [the Hundred], and India [IPL] to a degree. So they play in their summer, but with the UAE, it’s still hot to play in the summer, so we play in the winter. So that kind of clashes with the southern hemisphere. So January-February next year is looking very crowded. There’s no hiding from that fact.And I am sure everyone is having a close look at that window and considering the best option going forward, including the complication of having the Champions Trophy so early in the southern hemisphere season.Could the ILT20 then happen in another window in 2025?
No, I’m not saying that at all. What I’m saying is that we are looking at the window, we are looking at the clashes. We are currently scheduled for January-February. That’s where the league has been played the last two years, and it’s been a very successful window. The climate’s very good, and we have had good quality players, but next year, in particular, is looming to be challenging for everyone.So there could be another window you might be looking at in 2025 in case the player availability becomes a big challenge.
Yeah. What I can say is at the moment it’s still pencilled in for the same period, but we are considering all options and just having a close look at what cricket is going to be played next year, what tours there are and the added complication of the Champions Trophy. So no decision has been made, still pencilled in the current window, but we’re having a close look at it.Shaheen Shah Afridi played for Desert Vipers this ILT20. White feels Pakistani superstars elevated the tournament•ILT20Did you consider conducting the ILT20 in the October-November window? Or you are going to stick in the long term to January-February?
What I’m saying is it’s a current window. But we are looking at options, looking at the FTP going forward, looking at the clash with the ICC events and keeping an open mind. The advantage of DP World ILT20 is that we don’t have a full international calendar like the other countries. We don’t play Test matches, so there is probably more flexibility than other countries, in particular the southern hemisphere countries.The main challenge remains player availability, isn’t it? Rival leagues are going to poach your players – you have already seen the example of Naveen-ul-Haq, where the ILT20 was very clear and strict about the incident by sanctioning him as you don’t want to entertain such things in the future. But you can’t avoid it happening again because rival leagues might want the same player.
I think so, but we do have some significant advantages. And talking to the players and coaches, they love coming here to the UAE at this time of year. The weather is beautiful, the facilities are good, they don’t have to travel. It’s a very family-centred environment. They bring their families, they stay in lovely hotels, and they play a very high level of cricket with nine overseas players. Players love to be competitive and the feedback we are getting is the league is very, very competitive from a player’s point of view. So it is a very attractive place for players to come and spend a month.One thing that has been really, really pleasing is the introduction of the Pakistani superstars this season. That really elevated the ILT20 and to see the interaction with the crowd and the animation of the crowd to the Pakistani players, in particular, was [amazing]. In the second week of the competition, I felt a real spike and a real momentum, which has carried on. We have had fantastic crowds: 45,000 people last weekend, and 17,000 people on Sunday at the Dubai Stadium.

But having now presided over two losses, his task is cut out. And his batting is bound to come under more focus as the season progresses

Shashank Kishore29-Mar-2024The crowd was torn between their loyalty to Rajasthan Royals and their love for Rishabh Pant. They willed him to hit sixes, yet belted out a collective roar when he was out caught behind off Yuzvendra Chahal.The scorecard will tell you Pant made 28 off 26 balls. It could make you believe there was an element of struggle on his part in a tall run chase. But for much of his knock, he simply needed to play a supporting role as long as David Warner was around.That comes with a solid understanding of situations and of your own game smarts that Pant amply displayed. It also came with the belief that he could change the game later.Related

• The still feet and knee-flex of Rishabh Pant

• Report: Parag comes of age to keep DC, and away teams, winless

• A landmark day in the life of Rishabh Pant

• Pant on his comeback to cricket: 'I was pretty nervous'

Sure, it didn’t quite materialise the way he would have wanted, but there were plenty of shades of positivity in his innings, especially during his 67-run stand with Warner that brought Delhi Capitals back in their chase of 186.It seemed too far away at 30 for 2 when Nandre Burger breathed fire, dismissing Mitchell Marsh and Ricky Bhui with two beauties. Marsh was beaten for pace by a skiddy delivery that flattened his stumps, while Bhui gloved a short one to Sanju Samson.Watching Pant steer the first ball behind point for a boundary frustrated Burger. Not because he had erred in line ever so slightly, but because of the ease with which Pant found the gap behind square when the field was set in front of it.There was a ferociousness to Pant when he took on Chahal a little later. Chahal drifted one away from the hitting arc. It’s Chahal’s modus operandi – challenging batters by throwing it up full and wide – and the deep midwicket boundary was a long one. But by deciding to take him on, even thought Dhruv Jurel might have caught it in the deep another day, Pant sent out a loud and clear message that he was ready for it.When Kuldeep Yadav came on, Rishabh Pant’s instincts as a wicketkeeper kicked in•BCCIThere was intent in the running that, at times, bordered on over-eagerness. It nearly led to Warner’s run-out at the non-striker’s end in the ninth over. Pant charged down the pitch, only to send Warner back even as R Ashwin couldn’t gather an awkward throw on the bounce.That and the result aside, you couldn’t have picked out any glaring weakness. Pant’s picking of length was top notch. His use of the crease to spin, especially while rocking back to cut Ashwin even when was just fractionally short, pointed to no physical discomfort.In general, there was a sense of industry to his innings that made you wonder when it would snowball into something bigger. But the party didn’t last long enough for that to happen. Pant was out attempting a cut, only managing a thick bottom edge to Samson. Chahal had had his revenge.With the gloves on, too, Pant seemed fairly nifty. Early on, he took cues from where Marsh stood to adjust his position behind the stumps on a relaid surface that provided a lot of bounce and carry.When Kuldeep Yadav came on, Pant’s instincts kicked in. He was, at one point, blinded when Riyan Parag missed a googly, but still managed to grab the ball on instinct. Perhaps briefly excited by the nature of the grab more than the possibility of a nick, Pant unsuccessfully reviewed a caught-behind not-out decision.Rishabh Pant looked comfortable enough behind the stumps•AFP/Getty ImagesThat he was in no discomfort was further reinforcement of the NCA’s decision to give him an all-clear to keep wickets, especially because there had been a slight possibility of him starting IPL 2024 as a pure batter.All through his stay in Jaipur, there has been a sense of absolute normalcy around Pant, a welcome change from all the attention he quite understandably received during the first week of the IPL. Two days out from the game, Pant revelled in the thrill of hitting the ball long and far, and engaged in a six-hitting contest with Australia’s Jake Fraser-McGurk.There was a competitive streak to it as well, each pegging the other’s hit to a certain number they tried to outdo. They were at it until someone actually realised they were quickly running out of old balls.But having now presided over two losses, Pant has his task cut out. And, fairly or unfairly, his batting is bound to come under a lot more focus as the season progresses. For now, there’s enough promise that holds out hope that the bigger and more impactful knocks are just around the corner.

The Mumbai Indians captain picked up 3 for 31 on Monday night, and has bowled his full quota in three successive games

Vishal Dikshit07-May-20241:14

‘Hardik’s bowling a positive sign for India with the World Cup coming’

A strange trend had emerged soon after India’s T20 World Cup squad was announced. Of course, it was more for the LOLs on social media and WhatsApp groups, but a number of players in that squad of 15 began going through lean times in IPL 2024. Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube bagged ducks; Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and Suryakumar Yadav fell cheaply; and Yuzvendra Chahal and Arshdeep Singh leaked over 50 runs each in the games that followed the squad announcement. There too, like he has been all season at Mumbai Indians, the outlier was Jasprit Bumrah.Until Monday. Until then, Suryakumar had scored a not-so-inspiring 232 runs from eight innings. Then he unfurled his scintillating, vintage boundary hitting against Sunrisers Hyderabad, putting to bed all kinds of questions around his form heading into the T20 World Cup 2024.The real reversal of that World-Cup-bound players’ trend came before Suryakumar’s fireworks, when Hardik took the best figures of the night with 3 for 31. That showed promising signs of his wicket-taking ability and his fitness and the possibility that he could play the fifth bowler’s role in the India XI come the World Cup next month. Just like he was in the ODI World Cup six months ago, Hardik will again be a crucial cog in the India XI as finisher and third pace-bowling option whenever India play two spinners and two quicks. For someone who has “no replacement” in the words of chief selector Ajit Agarkar, Hardik’s bowling form and fitness would have given him and the team management bundles of confidence.Related

Hardik turns to 16-year-old self to get out of 'difficult phase' in his career

KKR look to make it two in two vs MI and line up top-two finish

Suryakumar stands alone on tricky Wankhede deck

India's T20 World Cup squad: Pant, Dube and Samson make the cut

Live Blog – Suryakumar special gives MI big win

Monday was the third game in a row in which Hardik bowled his full quota of overs, which bodes very well for the allrounder, who came into the competition after a long ankle-injury layoff. In those three games, Hardik has picked up seven wickets across all phases of the game: one in the powerplay, five in the middle overs (7 to 16) and one in the death overs (17 to 20). And he has done that by bowling a variety of deliveries from his repertoire, depending on the conditions and the batters.Hardik Pandya picked up 3 for 31, the best figures of the night in Mumbai•BCCIAgainst Kolkata Knight Riders, he first sent Sunil Narine back in the powerplay before dismissing a set Manish Pandey by taking the pace off off a cutter that the batter miscued to extra cover. While bowling against Lucknow Super Giants a week ago, Hardik kept going for the hard length with a fairly new ball that made KL Rahul and Deepak Hooda miscue their shots. Hardik’s three-for against SRH, however, would have been much sweeter because it set up a thumping win for MI after four losses on the bounce. Hardik came on as soon as the powerplay ended, and on seeing the movement on offer, he tried to hit tricky lengths and get the ball to nip around.”I like bowling to the areas and see what the situation requires [me to do],” he said at the presentation. “If the wicket has grip, I do it, if not, like today, I thought the ball was nipping around and bowling at the right areas would be a right option and I think it worked.”Hardik brought himself into the attack after six overs when SRH were 56 for 1. MI had fielded a thin pace attack that started with Nuwan Thushara and IPL debutant Anshul Kamboj, who leaked 32 runs in his first two overs. If Hardik had not stepped up on the night as the fifth bowler, SRH might have scored a lot more than 173.”It is good for him and obviously good for Indian cricket. Obviously, he’s been selected in the World Cup team,” Kieron Pollard, MI batting coach, said of Hardik’s recent bowling displays. “It’s all coming at the right time, though one thing for us is that we’ve never doubted the ability and the talent in that individual.”MI have two more games to go – against KKR and LSG – and if Hardik can bowl eight more overs while collecting some wickets and not going for too many, he might be among the most confident Indian players flying out to New York.