SMAT 2021 Round up | Jan 17: Mumbai's dismal run continues

Hardik Pandya pens down emotional message for his father

India all-rounder Hardik Pandya penned down an emotional note for his father who passed away on Saturday due to a cardiac arrest. “To My Daddy and my Hero To lose you is one of the most difficult things to accept in life but you have left us so many great memories that we can only imagine you smiling! Your sons are standing where they are right now is only because of you, your hard work, your self belief and you were always happy. This house without you would be less entertaining! We love you and will always do Your name will always stay on top. But I know one thing, you are looking after us from above the same way you did here! You were proud of us but daddy we all are proud of the way you lived your life! As I said yesterday to you One last ride. Now rest in peace my king I will miss you everyday of my life 🙏🏾 Love you daddddy!” Pandya wrote on his Instagram. Hardik was with his father when he took the last breathe while brother Krunal was with the Baroda side for the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy. Krunal later left the bio bubble to return home. “Yes, Krunal Pandya has left the bubble. It is a personal tragedy, Baroda Cricket Association mourns this loss of Hardik and Krunal,” Baroda Cricket Association CEO Shishir Hattangadi told ANI. Hardik's father, in an interview had said that whenever he talks about his sons, he does get emotional. “Whenever I speak about Hardik and Krunal, I cannot control my tears and that they have done so well is God’s gift. Our intentions of letting them play cricket from a very young age was questioned and criticized by many relatives. But we were not willing to change our plans, and it is great to see what they have achieved now,” Himanshu Pandya had earlier told MI TV in an interview.

Match Preview: Hurricanes fight for survival against bruised Thunder in BBL 2020

Hobart Hurricanes would give it their all to fight for their hopes of reaching the playoffs when they face a Sydney Thunder which has had to face two continuous losses in their last two games. Hurricanes on the other hand have lost three on the trot and their Playoff hopes are hanging by a thread. This game is also important for the men in Purple as their main players in Matthew Wade and Tim Paine would return from national duties for the next game, so the team would like to be in the hunt till that happens. Thunder batting needs to own up responsibility It is the batting unit of the Thunder that has made its progress to the place that it has. But in the last two games, two collapses meant that they were not playing on their strength and that cost them the games. It is the business end of the tournament and the likes of Usman Khawaja, Alex Hales, skipper Callum Ferguson and Sam Billings, the four people who hold the key to any match. They would be looking to raise their hands and own up the responsibilities before it gets too late to get back in form. The other big asset of Thunder is its spinners and with Chris Green injured in the last game, they were put in a spot of bother, But with confirmation that he is fit and available for selection, the team would really like to choose the run flow of teh opposition with Tanvir Sangha and Green. McDermott, Malan need to bring on their best There is a saying ‘If not now, then never’ and the situation for the Hurricanes is the same. They have to win because if they don’t win now they would be dependent on other team’s results and it is one zone where no team likes to be. Ben McDermott, the wicket-keeper batsman of the ‘Canes has been the best man for them with the bat. The number one ranked T20 batsman Dawid Malan is another person on whom the Hurricanes would be banking. It is now the time that these two bring on their best game because if they are unable to do so, like in the last few games, the only way for the Hurricanes would be down the barrel in the points table. Thus McDermott, one of the leading run-scorers in this season’s BBL has his task cut out and so has Malan. They also have a chance of becoming heroes if they win that game for their team at the Manuka Oval. An opportunity beckons, but can the two of them seize it! Thunder vs Hurricanes: Match Details Match Number-43 Date and Time: Jan 18, 2021, 1:45:00 pm IST, 06.40 pm Local, 08.15 am GMT Venue- Manuka Oval. Canberra Broadcast: Sony LIV, Sony Sports Network Pitch Report The wicket at the Manuka Oval has been one of the best for a T20 game. It has almost everything in it. It could be high scoring if batsmen apply themselves and have something for the bowlers with the ball nipping back in and the odd one keeping low as was seen in the game between Renegades and Heat. The wicket has gone dry and therefore a total of 160-170 is now a fighting total if the defending team has two quality spinners and fast bowlers who could bowl cutters well. Weather and Bat Flip The weather did play some tricks in the last Thunder game against the Sixers. For tomorrow the weather is supposed to be all sunny with clear skies. Thus on winning the bat flip, chances are that the captain would decide to bowl first although losing the toss on such a wicket wouldn’t really be a bad proposition. Thunder Strongest XI Usman Khawaja, Alex Hales, Callum Ferguson (c), Sam Billings (wk), Alex Ross, Ben Cutting, Daniel Sams, Nathan McAndrew, Adam Milne, Chris Green, Tanveer Sangha Hurricanes Strongest XI D'Arcy Short, Ben McDermott (wk), Dawid Malan, Peter Handscomb (c), Colin Ingram, Tim David, Mitchell Owen, Nathan Ellis, Scott Boland, Riley Meredith, Sandeep Lamichhane

Inside out | Shardul-Washington turn the tide as Adelaide mayhem now a forgotten past

“There couldn’t have been any better hour of play to establish the story of the India team on this tour of Australia.” These were the words of commentator Harsha Bhogle as he was opening the in-match analysis show during the Tea of the third day of the fourth and final Test at the Gabba. Truer words could not have been spoken about the partnership of Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar which was just beginning to flourish before the tea interval and none could have elucidated it better than Harsha Bhogle having seen all the things going against India on overseas tours one after another. It was only the grit and never say die attitude of the Indian team that has carried them to this series-decider Test at the Gabba but the third day which is generally considered as the day in a five-day game that decides the fate of a team and for the majority of the day’s play, it looked like the tourists were finally falling short even with their immense mental toughness. Main batsmen had already failed in the morning session while the other two priming ones in Rishabh Pant and Mayank Agarwal bored off the field after throwing their wickets away in manners they would not be pleased to remember in their career. When the pair of Washington and Shardul arrived at the crease, Australians were cock-a-hoop as their main nemesis who had threatened to take the game away from them in the last game was dismissed before the 25-run mark. India were 183 runs behind, and the hosts could see a sniff to bat with a big lead in the pocket. Before he could walk on to the park to face the fiery pace attack of Australia, he had already defied many odds in his two-day long Test career, but the third day threw another set of a challenge at him. Now, he had to ratify the call taken by the team management in playing him over Kuldeep Yadav, who in the views of fans and experts could offer more wicket-taking options to the team. In the T20 series at the start of this tour, he was ridiculed by Mark Waugh and Shane Warne as the legendary pair had refused to call him a spinner for his inability to be the spinner and rather suggested he should be termed as a ‘slower bowler.’ On the first day of his career, he was also criticised for bowling negative lines on and around the middle and leg stump but nothing deterred him as the maiden wicket of Steve Smith was good enough to show his credentials. Following on the second day, India were facing an uphill task after a big partnership between Tim Paine and Cameron Green, and Washington miraculously turned the ball away from Green’s bat to hit the stumps and left the right-hander bamboozled. With the bat in hand, he could not hear any of the apprehensions about his place in the team as he had enough of the bowlers to offer a lot of chin music. He showed the composure of a batsman and exhibited the rare trait of watching the ball till it came near to him and then playing at it if it needed to be defended. He never played any shot in a rush and looked like a proper batsman who had trust in his game. On the other hand, Shardul Thakur had started his innings with a bang as he swivelled to dispatch Australia’s number 1 bowler over the fence. The hook shot looked instinctive but a fuller ball from Cummins was sent back towards the bowler in a real sign of his high calibre with the bat. After landing some hard punches at the start of his innings, Shardul settled down and never looked like a bowler who was just batting because his team desperately needed him to bat well, but it looked like he belonged to the level. There was no dearth of quality strokes as he developed his innings into a sublime one that will be unforgettable for both its context and the manner in which he started taking the game into the Australian camp. Mitchell Starc was once again guilty of being wayward, but Shardul Thakur showed the quality of vintage batsman and pounced on every opportunities to score and earned praise from all including the batting maestro Michael Hussey who saw a shade of Steve Waugh in the way he hit one of his drive that went blazing through the cover region. Between those strokes that left fans and commentators awestruck, Shardul was equally composed to treat the deliveries on their merit. The back of length deliveries were played off the back foot while teasing deliveries pitched in fuller areas outside his off stump were well left alone. He has earned a reputation of being a good striker of the ball with lusty cameos in the IPL and limited over the game for India, but today against a raging attack of Cummins and Starc, he was measured in his approach and showed he posses brain of a batsman who could read the length of the balls and also game situations before attempting a shot. They came together in the 67th over and the new ball was 13 overs from that stage. They showed excellent game awareness to understand pick Tim Paine’s brain who was reluctant to exhaust his two in-form bowlers before the second new ball and the duo reaped advantage of an inaccurate Mitchell Starc. Albeit Starc measured the full height of Washington's throat when he was new, the left armer was too full in following deliveries while the left-hander showed his readiness with the bat and half volleys were not left unutilised. In the process, both of them completed their maiden fifty while forging the highest wicket partnership for the seventh wicket at the Gabba for the Indian team. The run rate during the phase of their batting was higher than 3 runs per over but it never looked like the duo had to break their sweat and risk their wicket in search of runs. They showed immaculate precision in hitting gaps while being patient enough for half volleys to arrive which they duly dealt with absolute disdain in their sublime innings. The partnership that lasted 216 balls yielded frustrations and agonies for the Australian team which could not get their heads around the fact that all seemed to have stopped working for them. Once again Tim Paine was made to look like a helpless captain albeit having the quality of perpetually reliable Cummins, Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon along with the erratic genius of Mitchell Starc. The partnership saw a turning back of the clock for the Australians from a situation in the Adelaide Test where they could do nothing wrong and all the opportunities they were creating were getting to their hands in a session and hours of helplessness where their whole team started to look nervous with another series loss staring in their faces. In a way, the partnership also epitomised the efforts by India and their recovery trail after the humiliation at the Adelaide Oval to a situation today when they looked like a side who have left their dismays way back in the series. The Indian dressing room resembles more to a hospital ward where a majority of its heroes are down with severe injuries but there is something in the setup that keeps son throwing heroes every game. After the horrible humiliation at the Adelaide Oval, Indian have batted more than 100 overs in each of the complete four innings and it establishes nothing but ‘resilience’, a word that has now become a cliche for this Indian team on this tour which has been exhausting for them on all accounts. Indians were in desperate search of heroes with the ball and in came two bowlers who were deemed just good enough to help the batsmen in the net session to halt Australia’s surge at their fortress, while when the things started spiralling out of control and all looked doomed and gloomy for the Indian team again came the pair of Shardul and Washington to repudiate the utter dominance of the home team. There are two days left in this match and although all three results are still possible, the weather forecast suggests more than 50 per cent chance of precipitation in Brisbane over the next two days of the Test match can provide India with an escape route to bring back the Border Gavaskar Trophy. Two days is very long enough time to throw many surprises if one looks at the events that have taken place in the series so far, but the partnership of Shardul and Washington has kept India in the game amid all the barrage of heat and ferocity from Australian bowlers and that’s what ‘resilience’ is all about.

SMAT 2021: Mumbai bundled out for 94

Pondicherry had a brilliant day at the office after beating Mumbai by 6 wickets in Mumbai on Sunday at Wankhede in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021. Chasing 95 in 20 overs, Pondicherry chased down the target in 19 overs. Earlier, Mumbai were bundled out for a paltry total of 94 against Pondicherry . After being put into bat, Mumbai lost an early wicket in the form of Aditya Tare for 13. Tare’s departure saw a flurry of wickets and were reduced to 39/5 with the likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Siddesh Lad and Yashasvi Jaiswal back in the hut. Shivam Dube tried to hold the innings from one end as he scored 28 off 25 but ran out of partners. Akash who was the second highest scorer in the innings remained unbeaten at 20. Pondicherry rode on Santha Moorthy’s fifer to dominate the Mumbai batting. Moorthy’s wickets tally included the dismissals of Jaiswal, Tare, Suryakumar, Lad and Suit Naik. He eventually returned with figures of 5/20 in 4 overs. Former India player Sachin Tendulkar’s son Arjun was the last player to get out for 3. Mumbai have had a dismal run in the tournament so far. They have played three games in the tournament so far and have last all of them. Shivam Dube tried to hold the innings from one end as he scored 28 off 25 but ran out of partners. Akash who was the second highest scorer in the innings remained unbeaten at 20. Pondicherry rode on Santha Moorthy’s fifer to dominate the Mumbai batting. Moorthy’s wickets tally included the dismissals of Jaiswal, Tare, Suryakumar, Lad and Suit Naik. He eventually returned with figures of 5/20 in 4 overs. Former India player Sachin Tendulkar’s son Arjun was the last player to get out for 3. Mumbai have had a dismal run in the tournament so far. They have played three games in the tournament so far and have last all of them.