Friday, October 28, 2022

kohli: I would Bowl Yorkers to Kohli. 24 Out of 24: Jeff Thomson

In a format dominated by batsmen, bowlers often struggle to influence the outcome of T20 matches. While there is a great deal of variation in bowling, including many types of slower balls, very few bowlers are capable of bowling well with any reasonable success.

For example, someone like Jasprit Bumrah, is worth his weight in gold because of his ability to bowl over the top and end. So what should the bowlers do? At what length should he bowl? Are the bowlers overdoing it? Former Australia fast bowler Jeff Thomson talks to Boria Mazumdar about the art of fast bowling and what according to him bowlers should or should not do against quality batsmen, all of whom are batting with the better bat in the modern game . Excerpts:

Considering how friendly the T20 format is for the batsman, what would be your first advice to bowlers struggling to make an impact?

First you have to get rid of the notion that it is a batsman friendly format. If you think the batsmen have the upper hand or they are too good, you will always be on the back foot. I said something like Shardul Thakur a few years back. I wanted him to be more aggressive. See how well they have done in recent times. Whoever the batsman is, you have to be confident that you can get him out. That you are just as good, no matter what happens. You may have the speed or you may have the ability to move the ball but if you do not win the battle in mind, you will never win the battle on the field. The batsman, whoever it is, is your enemy. Not literally but figuratively. You need to be very aggressive when you bowl. You need to be tireless. That is the first and most important thing.

That is the mental side of things. There is also an element of skill, which is also very important. Take someone like Virat Kohli. He is batting at his best. How does a bowler bowl to him? It can’t just be mental.

When you bowl to someone like Kohli, you have to know that some days you will not win. But that’s not an excuse to feel tough when you come up against him. Instead, you go harder than anyone else. Give him balls he doesn’t want to face. Bowl him in areas he doesn’t like. In my case, I had the advantage of being the fastest bowler in the world in my time. And if you ask me, I will bowl him a yorker. 24 off 24 balls, I will bowl him a yorker. Keep one leg slip and the other slip on the boundary and keep bowling in the block hole. At my own pace, I want to see someone do a lap sweep or a paddle sweep. But this is what I would do with him.

Bowlers have a lot of variety these days. Is all this necessary?

You can have all the variety but unless you are able to execute, they are of no use. When you bowl to someone like Vivian Richards, Sachin Tendulkar or Virat Kohli, you need to be at your best in terms of execution. You need to implement the plans well. They are enough to feed you until you do. A limited bowler with better performance is always better than a talented bowler with great variety but poor performance. That’s what I’ve always believed.

Looking at the bowlers, the powerplay and all the other restrictions, would you like to bowl in T20 cricket?

Absolutely, I will. The most important thing bowlers should remember while playing in this format is that they need to bowl only 24 deliveries. Nobody is asking him to bowl three or four spells like we did in Test cricket. He doesn’t need to bowl long spells of 10 overs. He has to bowl just four overs. So, they can do their best with at least one ball. Take full steam in each of the 24 balls thrown by him. He is indebted to his team for making this happen. That’s why they are there. And if I had the chance, I would have been flat out every game knowing it was only a short burst that I had to bowl.

Would you say that the quality of fast bowling has declined over time as T20 has become the dominant format of cricket?

I would say a little. The result is a lack of continuity. Ask any bowler which ball will be most effective at the end of the innings. They’ll tell you it’s a yorker. Now ask them why can’t you throw the same ball six times out of six? Why is it that a great yorker is followed by a hall volley or an over pitched ball? There lies the problem. Modern fast bowlers don’t know how to be consistent and as a result they get thrown around. They just need to be more consistent as some of them have the necessary skill sets to do so.

Originally published at Pen 18

aus vs eng abondoned: T20 World Cup, AUS vs ENG: Match abandoned due to rain, two sides will share the points – The Economic Times Video

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Originally published at Pen 18

bhuvneshwar: Jasprit Bumrah’s absence doesn’t mean we start doing extra stuff: Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Senior India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar said Jasprit Bumrah’s absence is undoubtedly a big loss, but it did not mean that the current bowling unit would deviate from their individual plans to make up for the key bowler’s absence.

While Bumrah was ruled out of the T20 World Cup due to a back strain, Bhuvneshwar himself faced a tough time during the Asia Cup and the subsequent bilateral series as his performance in the death overs was questionable.

However, the Meerut man has been in excellent form overall and it was his first spell of fast swing bowling that put the pressure on Pakistan, helping young Arshdeep Singh pick up the wickets of Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam.

So did the bowling unit do anything extra to make up for Bumrah’s absence?

“The kind of bowler Bumrah is, it’s definitely a big loss for the team. It’s not like we have to do anything extra with Bumrah,” Bhuvneshwar told reporters in the mixed field after another tough performance against Netherlands. ”

“Even if Bumrah was around, we couldn’t have done those extra things. We are doing exactly what is our strength.”

Asked whether his criticism of death bowling in the Asia Cup has hurt him from performing well for India for a decade, Bhuvneshwar gave the impression that he was not happy.

“So many saloons once happened thing bad. Toh ho gayi. Baat khatam. (All these years, I’ve done this out of a tournament. It’s happened. It’s done and dusted).

“The media and commentators can say a lot (about death bowling), but as a team we knew we would have our share of ups and downs.

“T20 is a format where it can be difficult for the bowlers and even for the batsmen if the track is difficult. But since the Asia Cup is a big event, people tend to judge you that much.”

Bhuvneshwar said that he stays away from social media during big events.

“During the World Cup, I keep myself completely away from social media and I don’t know what everything is written about. Because it’s social media you know all these things.”

In the first match of the tournament against Pakistan, Bhuvneshwar really troubled Rizwan with his swing and he said that he never expected so much swing in Australia.

The senior bowler said, “I never thought that my balls would swing so much. Whether me or Arshdeep who took two wickets, Arshdeep and I complimented each other. So you can say that I was happy.”

Talking about Arshdeep, there was a glow on his face.

“He has been amazing since his debut. He was always asking what kind of track would be offered and what kind of shots would the batsmen play on this track. He also asks me and Rohit and Virat. In their first T20Is With the World Cup in mind, he is doing really well.”

Bhuvneshwar also confirmed that there is no death bowler.

He said, ‘There is no such death bowler. You can’t do this kind of planning in cricket where you know who your death bowlers are even before the tournament starts.

“A lot of things are spontaneous and the captain takes care of how he assesses the situation at that very moment.”

Preparation was very important in Perth.

The Indian team had a seven-day camp in Perth and hence, playing South Africa on Saturday, could have been beneficial for the team.

“The first phase of preparation when we touched down here in Perth was the most important. The strategy changes with each team as the batsmen change. We discussed and coached the implementation of the plans.

“If you lose the first match in a tournament and that too against a tough team like Pakistan, it would have been difficult to come back.”

The trend in such events is that batsmen go to hell for the leather in the last 10, he said.

Bhuvneshwar said, “You can feel that as a bowling unit we gave 15 to 20 more (34 in the last 3 overs), but it has been a pattern of all the teams in this World Cup.”

“If you watch most of the matches, teams haven’t scored much in the first 10, but once the ball is a touch old, the set batsmen start scoring runs.”

Originally published at Pen 18

Thursday, October 27, 2022

pakistan zimbabwe match: T20 World Cup: Zimbabwe edge Pakistan by one run in Perth thriller

Zimbabwe all-rounder Sikandar Raza scored a sensational 3-25 against Pakistan on Thursday as his team registered a one-run victory off the last ball to register their maiden Super 12 win in the Twenty20 World Cup.

Pakistan, after an exceptional last-ball loss to arch-rivals India in their opening match on Sunday, went down 129-8 in 20 overs to restrict Zimbabwe to 130-8 at the Perth Stadium after being marginally banned. The tournament turns sour. ,

Mohammad Nawaz, from a screeching start in the last over against India that cost the match in his favor, watched as his nightmare tournament continued when he made 22 off the final ball of the match off Brad Evans (2-25). He was dismissed for 11 runs in the last over.

Shaheen Afridi was run out on the final ball, leaving Zimbabwe players celebrating on the pitch.

Man of the match Raza told reporters, “I really believe in this group of boys.”

“Since I have been a part of Zimbabwean cricket, I would rate it as the best win. There is no better stage. It is (the) World Cup, the biggest stage.”

Pakistan got off to a rocky start with world top-order T20 batsman Mohammad Rizwan reduced to 36-3 in the eighth over, cutting a delivery from a two-metre-long Blessing Mujarbani (1-) into the dugout for 14 runs. 18) On his stumps.

It was left to Shan Masood to stabilize the ship with a composition of 44, regularly driving two to exploit the large outfield.

But Raza overtook the Asian team with his off-spin and stumped Masood on wide.

After losing the first toss, the much-awaited Pakistan pacer bowled much for 47 runs in the powerplay overs, though quick wickets stalled the momentum to dismiss the Zimbabwe openers.

Signaling a return to form after scoring a score in his team’s washout against South Africa on Monday, all-rounder Sean Williams (31) hit three boundaries and scored 95-3 with six overs to spare. Look ready.

Spinner Shadab Khan (3-23) clean bowled the left-hander before getting a chance, falling for four wickets in six balls and scoring no runs.

A late run from Evans (19 off 15 balls) gave 11th-ranked Zimbabwe the lift they needed to eventually move to third place in Group Two.

Pakistan captain Babar Azam said, ‘Today we were not better in all three departments. (Reporting by Joel Duber in Perth; Editing by John Stonestreet and Ken Ferris)

Originally published at Pen 18

kohli: Virat Kohli stars again as ominous India thrash Netherlands

Virat Kohli scored a second consecutive fifty as India put themselves in a strong position to beat the Netherlands by 56 runs on Thursday to put themselves in a strong position in the Twenty20 World Cup.

The Indians started the match on the back of their thrilling final-ball win over Pakistan in Melbourne over the weekend, where Kohli also acted with the bat.

They brought some of that energy to rob 179-2 at the Sydney Cricket Ground before putting the spirited Dutch to 123-9 in front of 36,000 fans.

Kohli (62 not out in 44 balls) and captain Rohit Sharma (53 off 39) were both in good shape with a 73-run stand.

Suryakumar Yadav, arguably the best T20 batsman in the world in current form, smashed a 25-ball 51 as India posted 112 runs in the last 10 overs.

“I thought it was a clinical win. When you are expected to win, the pressure is immense. It was the perfect game for us,” Rohit said.

“Yes, we played a little slow in the beginning, but it was a conversation between me and Virat, we had to wait on that surface to play the big shots.

“Not very happy with my half-centuries, but what is important is to score runs – it doesn’t matter if they are good looking runs or ugly runs.”

India had a stellar World Cup appearance, winning consecutive home series against Australia and South Africa, as they targeted their first global silverware since the 2013 Champions Trophy.

Thursday’s impressive win propelled them to the top of Group 2, three points ahead of South Africa, after the Proteas demolished Bangladesh earlier in the day. The Dutch remain at the bottom after two out of two losses.

Two of the six teams from the group will advance to the semi-finals.

Dutch captain Scott Edwards said: “Definitely the most noisy crowd I’ve played in. It was a great experience.”

“Chasing 180 was always going to be difficult. Thought we bowled really well, but if you don’t get wickets, it’s hard to restrict them along the batting order.”

– Flowing – After winning the toss and electing to bat in the first T20 between the two teams, Indian opener KL Rahul failed to fire again, was dismissed lbw for nine by Paul van Meeckeren.

It brought superstar Kohli to the crease – a huge roar from the drumming, flag-waving crowd.

He and Rohit overcame some top-class boundaries, but the stiff Dutch attack prevented them from running away with it, restricting India to 67-1 at the halfway point of the innings.

Rohit completed his 29th T20I half-century in his 144th game, smashing four sixes along the way, before Colin Ackerman took a Fred Klaasen delivery to the ropes before he was looking for another.

Yadav joined Kohli and the runs began to flow more freely.

Kohli rose to the second 50th and 35th in his T20 career as the pair lit up the innings with a last-ball six to take India to a strong total.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar sent down a maiden to kick things off in a Dutch reply and got his first wicket in his second over when Vikramjit Singh went for a pullshot but missed and the ball hit the bail.

Spinner Axar Patel was brought into the attack early and struck with his second ball, claiming dangerous opener Max O’Dowd was bundled out for 16, but missed.

It was difficult to score runs and Netherlands crawled just 51-3 in 10 overs.

Ravi Ashwin’s spin caused all kinds of problems and he removed Ackerman (17) and Tom Cooper (9) in the same over when he went for the big hit, with Netherlands’ tail barely wagging.

Originally published at Pen 18

T20 World Cup: South Africa beat Bangladesh by 104 runs

South Africa defeated Bangladesh by 104 runs in their T20 World Cup match here on Thursday. Batting first, South Africa posted an innings of 205 for 5, followed by Riley Rossouw’s 109 off 56 balls and Quinton de Kock’s 63 off 38 balls. The Proteas then bowled out Bangladesh for 101 runs in 16.3 overs.

Liton Das (34) was the top scorer for Bangladesh.

Enrique Nortje (4/10) was the most successful bowler for South Africa, while Tabrez Shamsi (3/20) took three wickets.

Shakib Al Hasan (2/33), Taskin Ahmed (1/46) and Afif Hossain (1/11) were among the wickets for Bangladesh.

Brief Scores:

South Africa: 205 for 5 in 20 overs (Riley Rossouw 109, Quinton de Kock 63; Shakib Al Hasan 2/33).

Bangladesh: 101 all out in 16.3 overs (Liton Das 34; Enrique Nortje 4/10).

Originally published at Pen 18

india: India post 179/2 against Netherlands in T20 World Cup

India scored 179 for 2 against the Netherlands in their T20 World Cup match here on Thursday. Opting to bat, India put on a solid batting performance with Rohit Sharma (53), Virat Kohli (62 not out) and Suryakumar Yadav (51 not out) – all scoring brilliant half-centuries.

Fred Klaasen (1/33) and Paul van Meeckeren (1/32) took one wicket each for the Netherlands.

Brief Scores:

India: 179 for 2 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 62 not out, Rohit Sharma 53, Suryakumar Yadav 51 not out; Paul van Meeckeren 1/32).

Originally published at Pen 18

new zealand: Rain interrupts play in second ODI against New Zealand with India on 22-0 after 4.5 overs

India were 22 for no loss in 4.5 overs against New Zealand when rain stopped play in the second one-day international at Seddon Park here on...