BBL10: Renegades make it 1-1 against Stars in Melbourne derby

ICC Test Rankings: Rishabh Pant attains highest rank for a wicketkeeper batsman

An unbeaten 89 runs at the Gabba has helped Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant jump to his highest position on the ICC Test Rankings for batsmen. He has climbed to 13th spot—the highest by any wicket-keeper batsman in the latest rankings released by ICC. He is closely followed by the South Africa stand-in captain Quinton de Kock who is at 15th spot. Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne who scored s splendid century in the first innings of the Gabba Test has surpassed Virat Kohli to the third position on the rankings after attaining his career-best rating points at 878. Apart from the Gabba Test between India and Australia, the first Test between Sri Lanka and England too left its effect on the ICC Rankings as the tourists’ captain Joe Root has reclaimed a position in the top five batsmen with his highest rating points—738 in two years. The ICC Rankings for batsmen in Tests is still dominated by Blackcaps skipper Kane Williamson who is significantly ahead than his competitor Steve Smith. Williamson has 919 rating points while Smith stands at 891 points. The duo is followed by Labuschagne, Kohli and Root. The ICC Rankings for bowlers in Tests are topped by Pat Cumins, who is followed by Stuart Broad, Neil Wagner and Josh Hazlewood.

Why a cricket fan cannot afford to miss the last week of BBL 2020-21 group stage

The Big Bash League 2020-21 has been fought with so much competitiveness even without the top Australian players being there, that it has made a lasting impact on those who have watched it since the beginning. The brilliant catch and extraordinary ground fielding from the likes of Jordan Silk and Max Bryant, eventful batting with sixes hit as far as out of the stadium and onto the road by Ben McDermott, classy shots of Josh Phillippe, and the usual run-getters in the form of Alex Hales and Alex Carey. It hasn't just been about runs in this tournament, some exciting spells have also been bowled and there have come bowlers who have been terrific with their economy rate, one of them being Englishman Danny Briggs. Spinners, like Adam Zampa, Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman, the ever accurate Rashid Khan, and even young guns like Peter Hartzogolu and Tanveer Sangha have impressed one and all. But there is one guy who has been among wickets like none other, the paceman from Western State- Jhye Richardson. He has so far taken 21 wickets in just 11 innings and hit lengths that are hard to negotiate for the batters. But it isn't just the talent of all these players that would be at your display in the last seven days, including today, of the BBL. It is rather the situation of the Points table which is the key to ultimate excitement. As of 19th January, all eight teams have played 11 games each and apart from Sydney Sixers and Melbourne Renegades, nobody is secure in their positions. While Sixers have gathered up 32 points, which is more than enough to take them through, the Renegades are out of the race with just 10 points from their 11 games. Therefore the situation for the remaining six teams can and will change with every match in the next seven days, including today. Among the six, only three can get through to the Playoffs. The direct fight scenario The Scorchers with 24 points from 11 games are in a direct fight with Thunder, Stars, and Hurricanes as these teams have 23 points each from the same number of games. Also among these four teams, Scorchers play the two of them in their next three games. Thus making their two games a must-win while in the third game they face Heat who also have an outside chance at qualification. Apart from the Scorchers, the other teams have relatively easier games. For example, Thunder play Strikers twice, who are at 20 points. But if Strikers manage to beat Thunder in both the games, they would come in the race automatically. The other match of the Thunder is the Sydney Derby. Melbourne Stars, who are playing Renegades today, have to play Sixers and Scorchers. Out of the two only Scorchers are in a direct flight with them, so they can afford to take the other two games easily, but that doesn’t mean they can lose the two games. Because losing is really not an option for any of the six teams. Hobart Hurricanes have the same opponent as Stars, so it’s basically a race between the two as to who can get one of the three available seats for the Playoffs first. Outsiders in the race Brisbane Heat and Adelaide Strikers are separated by just one point as Heat have 21 and Strikers 20. Both are in with a very good outside chance to make it to the Playoffs, but as with the top four teams in the race, they cannot afford a loss. The game between the two of them on 21 January will clear a lot of things. The winner of that game will move to at least 23 and at max 25 points and will then enter the direct flight scenario with two matches to go. The loser will not be rendered useless, but apart from winning its own two matches, it would also have to depend on their results. Bash Boost's importance The real importance of the Bash Boost point is going to be evaluated now as from now onwards, every point matters. One point could be the difference between making it to the Playoffs or not and hence we might see teams defending or chasing that Bash Best way more aggressively than they did before. What's with Sixers and Renegades? In the above scenarios, we discussed how each team can beat Sixers and the Men in Pink wouldn’t mind. Actually, they can afford to do that. As even after losing their three matches, they would have 32 points. And with 32 points they are secure as four teams will never be able to cross that mark, no matter how much they tried. Though Renegades cannot reach the Playoffs themselves but can very well spoil the chances of the rest of the teams thus they become the most dangerous side. They have their matches left against Stars (Ongoing), Hurricanes, and Heat, all of whom are in contention for the Playoffs.

Pant-Pujara partnership: Methods of a maverick, resilience of a monk

There are not many batsmen who make a batting pair as contrasting as the one pair of Rishabh Pant and Cheteshwar Pujara. One relies on his own game to battle and comes triumphant after forcing the opposition to go into oblivion walking on their knees while the other takes the game into the opposition camp and asks some tough questions on what is the best they can offer. Pujara likes to hang back in his batting crease and does not come forward until unless bowlers’ brilliance draws him into something he is accustomed in doing and that occurrence is very rare while Pant is always looking to come forward and plant his front foot to dismiss bowlers of their lengths. On the day when everything was at stake for the Australians, captain Tim Paine’s clarion calls were heard clearly by the two pacers among a trio that appeared to annihilate the tourists at the start of the series in Adelaide. Both Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins kept charging in and started testing batsmen on different accounts, but on the other hand, both Pujara and Pant had their own ways of countering them. Pujara took all the deliveries that could have seen him walking off from the field if he had offered his bat in the line, to his body and did not make any fuss about it, except for once when his fingers were jammed against his bat handle by Hazlewood rising delivery. He was hit on his body on numerous occasions and a graphic by the host broadcaster 7 emphasized what Pujara was up against as the Australians believed it was a moment of reckoning for them and if it was not to be for that day at the Gabba, it was the end of the world for them. India did not get off to a solid start as Rohit Sharma fell fairly early in the day and the hosts knew Pujara was the man who could thwart them for hours and hours and their tiring bowlers will eventually give up in the wake of an indispensable man who just loves to ‘bat, bat, and bat.’ Pujara laid the foundation and it must have made life easier for Shubman Gill to be himself as he started clouting the bowlers all around the park. All of a sudden, the Aussies were staring down at the game running away from their grasp as at the one end they could not do anything to displace Pujara while Gill was chipping away with the runs. The Pujara-Gill partnership outlined the approach India were looking to bat within in the daunting chase of 328 runs on a five-day Gabba pitch where Australia lost their last Test so far back that Sachin Tendulkar was an unknown entity in the arena of world cricket. The script was not different for hosts’ captain Tim Paine as he had seen a similar mixture of defiance and onslaught from India in the last Test at the SCG as well in the first part of a two-episode series while the second part had started to unfold at the Gabba of all the places where the wicketkeeper captain had taunted India on facing high bounce and pace. For Paine’s misery, Pujara was the common villain for them in both parts of the sequel. What must have been making Paine’s difficult was that the more vicious villain for his side at the SCG in that partnership, Pant was still sitting in the dressing room. Pant got the chance only after Ajinkya Rahane got out in a disappointing fashion when his search for ‘intent’ was outdone by Cummins who was not yet giving up in the game and had plenty in his cylinders to blast Indian away from the game. Once again, the Pujara-Pant started on their usual approach of one taking the game deep with all his defensive arsenals while the other will keep on launching artilleries in search of glory. Pujara was desperate to dance down the track in order to smother any hint of spin spinner Nathan Lyon was getting while Pant was prepared to reach to the pitch of the ball, but not to smother the spin, but with the ambition of smothering the fighting spirit and heart of the spinner. No wonder a Twitter user named ‘ThatWittyGal’ described the partnership between Pujara and Pant can be described as "For every Pujara, there is equal and Opposite Rishabh Pant" He was attacking but had a calculative method of doing so and it was not a reckless approach given Pujara was holding off all that the opposition had to throw at the India team. Pant offered a chance to Lyon when he could not reach the pitch of the ball, but to send Paine’s life in the game further on life support, he ball bounced more than he Australian skipper expected and much-needed luck worked in favour of India. Lyon got a sniff that Pant was taking the bait when he was giving the ball a bit more air and the footmarks also helped him rip one past Pant, albeit from so far outside off stump. Lyon smiled and looked at Pant politely but it was more of a challenge to throw and check if the southpaw was prepared to put his wicket on the line. It was a vital moment in the game as the second new ball was just 10 overs away and India were left with only Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur who could stay at the crease behind Pujara and Pant. A batsman who would calculate the risk of failing after taking the bait of taking on Lyon can be forgiven for not trying it as the consequences could well have been dire for both him and the team. But maybe, Pant dismissed off that fear of failure, or the maverick that he is with the bat, he might not have even thought about despatching Lyon over long-on just a delivery after the off-spinner had threatened him with ripping off-spinner that turned square off the pitch. Ultimately, Pujara’s resistance was finished when Cummins proved too good for him, but he could dislodge him before he took away valuable 211 balls away from the total 6000 balls they had to dismiss India to seal the series. Pujara played a total of 928 balls in the series, and while the hosts were smart enough to choke him for runs, he made sure that the Kookaburra was more or less softer for his other teammates that could ease the batting for his side. Pujara on the fifth day of Gabba Test was the epitome of India’s resilience throughout the series where they were tested in their technique, defiance, and also temperament in front of challenges that could hurt them physically in addition to failures on the field. He was batting in his cocoon and resembled a monk who could not see the world other than his goal in his sight, irrespective of the adversity in and around him at that moment. With Pujara’s departure, India’s ‘centre of gravity,’ as one of the most prominent cricket writers of this generation Gideon Haigh described his efforts at the Gabba., was gone and hence it required Pant to change his methods. Life was coming full circle for Pant who had seen his name missing from the limited-overs squad for this tour after a substandard IPL where he looked like a pale shadow of himself who could not define what he intended to achieve while batting. He looked lost and cluttered in mind in the approach he should take after so much criticism of his mode of dismissals that suggested he did not care enough of his failure and that he lacked the temperament to pace an innings. He had come into the Test series after a debacle at the Adelaide Oval and only because India needed to utilise its sources judiciously to fill the insurmountable gap for Virat Kohli, while also keeping the window of the fifth bowler open. India did not replace Kohli with a batsman but rather backed Pant and Jadeja to makeup or even come close to what Kohli could have offered and the day was here to ratify that brave selection call taken by Ajinkya Rahane and the team management and show that there is more about him than an audacious batsman who just keeps on swinging his bat hard against bowlers and gets dismissed in disappointing manners. Pant took time and analysed the line of attack the Australians were offering him to go against. He knew Cummins was relentless to get off from the full length of the off stump line and so was Hazlewood unless he does something to put them off. Both the pacers went for wickets, and they had to make good use of the new ball, and Pant was smart enough to know their methods as he brought his supreme cover drives out to put pressure back on the home side. Pant was offered a lot of half volleys, for which a lot of credit should go to Pujara who had sucked the life out the attack and with Starc looking so far away from his best, Paine had no options but to back Cummins and Hazlewood to bring about a magical delivery to send the left-hander back to the pavilion. After Pujara floored them to just good enough for a short spell, Pant dismissed them with disdain as Paine had to come back to Lyon and induce Pant into taking another bait. By that time, Pant was in a different mode and he had changed his methods as per the game situation. He did not take any of the offering by Lyon outside the off stump and teased him to come closer to stumps in the greed of drawing a false stroke from him. Pant was winning the battle as Lyon had to straighten his line of attack and he pounced on it with his signature slog sweep over midwicket and sweep shot behind square. Pant was astute in managing his own methods while also limiting the options for the Australians as he allowed Washington Sundar to attack bowlers when the required runs started falling. He knew he had to stay till the end to ensure Australia didn't get a sniff to come back in the game. But, he did something but he has been guilty of doing in his IPL and limited-overs career for India—not closing the game he brought so much under his control when he decided to do the journey of a win away by five runs with a one glory shot. This time though, the luck was on his side as the ball fell in between three fielders, but in the end, it can be said that his fault-proof method at the start of the innings paved the way for no closing fielders who could have grasped that catch to give a lease of life to Australia. Pant could have got dismissed on those two occasions and he would have faced the abuse and consequences of it, but he did not care of it while he attempted to trust his methods. He gave up his cluttered mind and batted with clarity while his job in the middle kept on evolving with every wicket falling at the other end. The only thing one can predict about Pant’s batting is that they can’t predict what Pant has to offer on the next ball and hence it was only fitting for Pant when he struck Hazlewood down the ground with India needing three runs, no one including the commentators and fans could see that shot as the winning shot with no deep fielder and the moment the ball went past the closing mid-off fielder, it was heading towards the only destination that left the whole of India and the cricketing world in jubilation. Both Pujara and Pant had their own set of challenges coming into the Test match and the series. Pujara last played for India in March on the tour of New Zealand while Pant was coming underconfident into the series. At the end of the series, as Gideon Haigh best described "If Pujara is India’s centre of gravity, Pant is its centre of levity."

Suresh Raina retained by CSK

The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have retained Suresh Raina. “Yes, we will retain Raina and Dhoni will be the captain. Apart from Harbhajan Singh, we might release a few more players,” the CSK official told The Indian Express. According to the official there are few players who are going to be released. Earlier, spinner Harbhajan Singh confirmed that his contract with CSK is over. “As my contract comes to an end with @ChennaiIPL, playing for this team was a great experience..beautiful memories made &some great friends which I will remember fondly for years to come..Thank you @ChennaiIPL, management, staff and fans for a wonderful 2years.. All the best..,” Harbhajan tweeted. Raina had opted out of the IPL 2020 citing personal reasons. “As far as Suresh Raina is concerned, he is a great player who has done so much for CSK. We have a lot of respect for him. [We have] a lot of regard and affection for all that he has done. CSK will always stand by him,” Srinivasan told last year. Raina has been the most successful player for CSK amassing 4,527 runs from 164 appearances for the franchise. The left-handed batsman had announced his retirement from international cricket alongside MS Dhoni on August 15 last year. CSK is the second most successful franchise in the IPL and have lifted the trophy thrice. But it had a dismal run during the IPL 2020 when the side was knocked out in the group stage itself. This was the first instance when CSK failed to make a place in the play-offs.