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ScorecardRyan ten Doeschate produced the innings of the night•Getty Images

South African spin bowler Simon Harmer led a parsimonious attack in defending a total of 170 to give Essex their first win of the NatWest T20 Blast campaign.Harmer, who has taken the red-ball domestic cricket by storm with 47 Specsavers County Championship wickets to date, added three more white-ball victims to his tally as his 3 for 39 from four overs ended Essex’s two-defeat start to the campaign.It was a fine response by Essex as they recovered from the shock of losing Tamim Iqbal who had abruptly returned to Bangladesh after only one match in unexplained circumstances.Harmer was backed up by a fine spell by Pakistan paceman Mohammad Amir, who posted outstanding figures of 1 for 17 from his 24 balls. Paul Walter took two wickets in the final over to finish with 3 for 28.Somerset were undone by two wickets in five balls by Harmer mid-innings and were unable to keep up with the required run rate, falling short by 22 runs.Essex had struggled to penetrate some outstanding Somerset fielding and were indebted to Ryan ten Doeschate’s 37-ball 56 and some lusty late hitting by Ashar Zaidi, who included three sixes in his 35, for setting what turned out to be a matchwinning total.Chasing 171, Somerset lost Johann Myburgh to a top-edge that lobbed to Harmer at backward point to give Jamie Porter his first T20 wicket.

‘I’d like to see top order get going’ – ten Doeschate

Ryan ten Doeschate (Essex captain):
“I’d like to see the top-order get going a little bit. It’s crucially important in T20 cricket. But we’ve relied heavily on the top three in the past – someone like Tom Westley has been leading run-scorer at the club for the last three or four years. It wasn’t a typical Chelmsford pitch – you couldn’t hit through the line easily – and the second half of the game with the ball was our best showing for a long time.”
Matt Maynard (Somerset director of cricket):
“This was probably the hardest game to try and get our batting form back. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned about it. If you start doubting yourself then things creep into your game. If you see the ball in the right area you’ve just got to try and hit it out of the park. But, look, we’re two games in, Essex were in the same position as us before this game and there is a long way to go.”

Two wickets in the eighth over for Harmer knocked the stuffing out of Somerset’s reply after they had reached 47 for 1. He had Jim Allenby caught in the covers by ten Doeschate and Peter Trego pouched on the long-off boundary by Tom Westley.Steven Davies was next to go when he swished at a wide one down legside from Ravi Bopara and was caught behind. Suddenly Somerset were 58 for 4 and nine overs gone.Like Essex, Somerset were struggling to get the ball away on a slow pitch, but Adam Hose and James Hildreth tried the aerial route with straight sixes off Zaidi and Bopara respectively. But when Hildreth attempted to do the same to Harmer he was caught by ten Doeschate diving forward on the long-leg boundary for 27.Hose got a bottom edge to Amir to give James Foster his second catch behind and Lewis Gregory was caught behind for a belligerent 23 off 12 balls. But time and overs were running out for Somerset. They required 36 from 12 balls with Amir restricting them to just eight from the penultimate over.Craig Overton went for broke but was caught at cow corner by Dan Lawrence before Tim Groenewald was held by Zaidi to give Walter two wickets in the final over.Essex had looked in some trouble themselves from the start of their innings and were 36 for 3 in the sixth over after being put in.Lawrence started the rot when he lost his off-stump going for an ungainly heave against Gregory. He was followed swiftly by Varun Chopra who was reprieved by Hose’s dropped catch at deep mid-on, but next ball skied Craig Overton and Groenewald took the catch at short third man. And Westley departed when he played over a slower delivery from Groenewald.Bopara and ten Doeschate set about a repair job, turning singles into twos, with the captain upping the tempo with a straight six and a one-bounce four off successive balls from Roelof van der Merwe.Lewis Gregory celebrates an Essex wicket•Getty Images

But when the partnership had reached 50 inside six overs, Max Waller took a brilliant return catch low to his left to remove Bopara for 24.Essex became bogged down in the middle overs before Zaidi pulled Waller for successive sixes over the short midwicket boundary and out of the ground.Ten Doeschate hooked Overton for four before pushing a two into the on-side to reach fifty off 34 balls that included five fours and a six. But he departed in the penultimate over, caught on the long-off boundary by Overton diving forward.Zaidi launched his third six over midwicket in the same over, but was caught out of his ground for 35 when James Foster hit the ball straight back to van der Merwe who turned and removed the bails. But Essex’s total proved to be enough.

ScorecardLuke Wells continued his productive run of form•Getty Images

Luke Wells’ 90 not out, guided Sussex to a five-wicket victory on the final afternoon of the Specsavers Division Two Championship match against Leicestershire at the Fischer County Ground.Needing early breakthroughs when Sussex resumed chasing 232 to win, Leicestershire did dismiss nightwatchman Danny Briggs when only five runs had been added to the visitors’ overnight score of 100 for 2. Clint McKay found the edge of the right-hander’s bat, and Paul Horton at first slip held a brilliant catch one-handed to his left when the ball seemed to have gone past him.Wells, having resumed on 27 not out, had played himself back in though, and he received solid support from Stiaan van Zyl in compiling a partnership of 70 for the fourth wicket. Neither batsman took unnecessary risks, though Wells did go to his half-century in style, hitting offspinner Colin Ackermann for a beautifully timed straight six.He lost van Zyl shortly before lunch, when the South African unaccountably decided to leave a delivery from Ben Raine bowled from around the wicket which went on to knock his off stump out of the ground.Luke Wright went shortly after the break, edging a catch to Horton at first slip off Zak Chappell, and if Ned Eckersley had held a Wells edge behind the stumps off the same bowler shortly afterwards, Leicestershire might have had entertained hopes of an unlikely victory. The chance was spilled, however, and Wells and former Leicestershire player Michael Burgess saw the visitors home.

By the time legspinner Rahul Tewatia came on to bowl on Tuesday night, Kolkata Knight Riders had made their now-customary dash in the Powerplay to score 61 for 1 in a chase of 168. The seamers went for runs and, as is often the case, damage-control duties were assigned to Axar Patel, who bowled a tight seventh over. Tewatia was introduced with 104 runs needed in 13 overs. It was his first match in this year’s tournament, his previous appearance in the IPL having come in 2015.Tewatia began by conceding only four runs in his first over and did even better in the second. First, he tempted Gautam Gambhir into slogging a ball deep mid-wicket’s throat before snaring Robin Uthappa first ball courtesy Axar’s brilliance in the field. After Uthappa swatted a googly uppishly, Axar hared to his right from deep mid-wicket and flung himself to complete the catch.Knight Riders managed only two boundaries between the seventh and 14th overs, with Tewatia conceding one of those in his spell of 4-0-18-2. The seamers eventually got back their mojo and, led by Mohit Sharma and Sandeep Sharma’s cold precision at the death, ensured Kings XI clinched the game by 14 runs to keep their playoff chances alive. Mohit, who was the Man of the Match for his returns of 2 for 24, credited the spinners, especially Tewatia, for establishing a stranglehold in the middle.”The way our spinners bowled in the middle. This was the first match of the season for Rahul Tewatia and he hasn’t played too many other IPL games, overall either. His spell was the turning point,” Mohit said after the match. Axar and Tewatia later revealed to their plan to bowl slower through the air and deprive the batsmen of runs.”During the strategic time-out we had a discussion about how the pitch was playing. So you [Axar] had told me that there was some turn on offer for slower deliveries,” Tewatia said. “To Gambhir, first I bowled some sliders, and then I planned to bowl full-pitched googly. If he went to hit it then there was a chance to get a wicket. You had said that the game can change if we get one wicket.”Axar said he realised that he had to change his pace as the quicker deliveries were skidding on to the bat well: “To Gambhir, he’s always ready to play the cut and I wasn’t giving him any room at the stumps. I think he got frustrated when he didn’t get any runs.”While Kings XI had a decent cushion of 37 runs to defend in the last three overs, the biggest obstacle in their path was Chris Lynn, who eventually finished with 84 off 52 balls. After Matt Henry dismissed Manish Pandey with a slower one off the first ball of the 18th over, Lynn was run-out next ball after attempting a risky second run. Kings XI wrested control of the match thereafter as Mohit and Sandeep conceded only 14 runs off the last two overs.”Dismissing Lynn at any point in the 20 overs is important. The way he bats in T20s, it’s like he’s playing proper baseball,” Mohit said. “He never misses out on a loose ball and whenever a bowler gets his wicket, it is important. After he fell the match turned in our favour because a new batsman can’t hit shots straightaway and needs some time. And there was no time in that situation.”Mohit said it wasn’t that the Kings XI bowlers had bowled badly in the Powerplay, but that Lynn and Sunil Narine had taken them on. “If you see, they played well from the start but that doesn’t mean that we didn’t bowl well or plan properly,” he said. “After the strategic time-out we regrouped to think how Knight Riders would bat with the field spread out and then the spinners came on and bowled well and began turning the match to our side.”The pitch was a bit on the slower side but under lights, it eased out a bit. It wasn’t as dry as expected, compared to the match against Delhi Daredevils, which was a 4pm start. [With] The early start, the pitch plays out completely differently. But it’s not just about the pitch. T20 is a dot-ball game for the bowling side. So we try to bowl as many dot balls to build pressure on the batsmen and try and get wickets.”

Counties delaying the ECB’s plans for a new domestic T20 competition could be penalised according to a new document circulated by the ECB.While the ECB has previously guaranteed counties a minimum payment of £1.3m a year, they have now warned that only those counties which have signed their media rights over to the ECB will be eligible for such a fee. “Each First-class county which has signed the media deed would receive a guaranteed minimum annual sum,” the document states.They have not provided a deadline for the agreement but it could be interpreted as an attempt to ramp up the pressure on counties with reservations over the ECB’s plans ahead of what might well prove to be a pivotal vote.County chief executives and chairmen meet on March 27 when they will discuss a proposed change to the constitution of the ECB. The current constitution states that: “The board shall not have the power to deprive a first-class county club of the right to participate in all first-class county competitions authorised by the ECB.”If the new competition is to be authorised, two-thirds of those first-class counties will have to agree that such wording is changed to allow competitions that do not involve all 18 counties. It is anticipated that the vote will take place in April.It also transpires that county players appearing in the new competition will have to repay some of their salary to their counties. And, while it has previously become apparent that England’s Test players will not be available to appear in the competition, they will be used in the marketing and promotion of the competition.The key points are these:

• Test matches will be played during the window for the new competition. The document says this means: “Test Players are not anticipated to play in the new competition if selected in the relevant Test squads.”
• The intended start date of the new competition is July 24, 2020, with the final scheduled for August 30. The Blast is likely to begin at the end of May.
• The competition will consist of 36 games played in a 38-day window. Every game will be televised and each team will host four games.
• The domestic 50-over competition will continue at the same time despite the absence of the best 96 limited-overs cricketers; an average of five per county. That means, according to the ECB document, that “there is likely to be a requirement to play at out-grounds for counties whose venues are used by new teams.”
• County coaches are to be made available to coach the new teams if their county employers are willing to release them.
• Each of the eight new teams will have a 15-man squad for the new competition. There will be three overseas players per squad.
• Each team is to have a set player budget to be spent in the draft and, at the draft, 13 players will be selected per team. Two players per squad will be deemed “wildcards” and will be selected after the group stages of the T20 Blast (the existing T20 competition contested by all 18 counties). The intention, the ECB states, is “to reward in-form players not originally picked up in the draft and to link the narrative between the Blast and the new competition.”
• There will be six salary bands (A-F, with A the most expensive) with two players selected per team from each band, apart from the lowest band (F) from which three will be selected. Teams will draw lots before each round of the draft to determine who gets first pick. There will be a 24-hour trade period following the draft so teams can swap one or two players from within the same group. Overseas players will be able to pick a salary level at A, B and D grades only.
• It is proposed that teams could retain a maximum of eight players and a minimum of four players into the second year of the competition.
• It is the “the strong recommendation” of the marketing companies involved in the launch of the competition that it features “new team (i.e. non-county based) brands, to drive reappraisal and differentiation from existing cricket.”
• All commercial and ticketing matters will be centrally organised. Revenues will be taken centrally. Venues will be paid a staging fee and be allowed to keep hospitality and catering revenue.
• Venues will be chosen according to their capacity, transport links, catchment area, facilities and relationship with their local authority.
• A new sub-committee of the ECB Board, comprising a chairperson and independent directors bringing specialist skills would oversee the tournament design and implementation. A new central division within the ECB would be formed to run the tournament.

Rohit Sharma and Parthiv Patel have been chosen to lead the India Blue and India Red teams, respectively, in the Deodhar Trophy scheduled to begin on March 25. Tamil Nadu were the third team in the tournament, having clinched the Vijay Hazare Trophy on Monday.

Squads

India Blue: Rohit Sharma (capt), Mandeep Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Ambati Rayudu, Manoj Tiwary, Rishabh Pant (wk), Deepak Hooda, Harbhajan Singh, Krunal Pandya, Shahbaz Nadeem, Siddarth Kaul, Shardul Thakur, Prasidh Krishna, Pankaj Rao
India Red: Parthiv Patel (captain & wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Manish Pandey, Mayank Agarwal, Kedar Jadhav, Ishank Jaggi, Gurkeerat Mann, Axar Patel, Akshay Karnewar, Ashok Dinda, Kulwant Khejroliya, Dhawal Kulkarni, Govinda Poddar

Rohit returned to competitive cricket earlier this month – with scores of 16 and 4 for Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare Trophy – following a thigh injury that had sidelined him for four months. He had sustained the injury in the series-deciding fifth ODI against New Zealand in October 2016, when he top-scored with 70.The other notable players in the India Blue roster were batsman Shreyas Iyer, offspinner Harbhajan Singh, left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem and 19-year old wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant.Rohit’s long-term opening partner in ODIs, Shikhar Dhawan, was part of the India Red squad, which also featured Kedar Jadhav, who had made 232 runs in three ODIs against England in January, and Manish Pandey, who had also played his last international game in that series-decider against New Zealand.The tournament is set to begin on March 25, with the final scheduled for March 29. All matches will be played in Vizag.

Eoin Morgan has revealed he will return to India after England’s two-match ODI series against Ireland to make himself available to Kings XI Punjab before coming home for good in preparation for this summer’s ICC Champions Trophy.Morgan, the England limited-overs captain, will arrive in England in time for a training session on May 4. Then, having played in the ODIs against Ireland on May 5 and May 7, he will return to India for two more IPL games on May 9 and May 11. He will then report for a training camp with the England squad that starts on May 14. ESPNcricinfo understands that the ECB are also considering allowing Jason Roy and Sam Billings to return to the IPL though no firm decision has yet been made.”I was pleasantly surprised to hear I’d been picked-up in the IPL auction,” Morgan said. “I wasn’t expecting to be picked up so it was good news. The perception of things was that I’d miss a lot of the IPL but in actual fact I only miss four days. I’ll only miss two games out of the 14 which is not very much.”There was, Morgan says, never any thought that he might skip the Ireland ODIs and remain at the IPL. While a few other England players have been allowed to do that, Morgan suggests that he and team director, Andrew Strauss, agreed that it was important the side had the same leadership as often as possible going into the Champions Trophy in June. Having missed the three-match ODI series in Bangladesh last October, Morgan has not had the opportunity to play with the likes of Ben Duckett, who could yet force his way into the squad.”It was a collective decision to come back,” Morgan said. “I think it’s important for me to come back for those two because, while we might not put out a full-strength team, there are players involved who might then play in the Champions Trophy. It’s a good opportunity for me to play with guys who are coming through.”Had Morgan not found a team in the IPL auction, he had been expecting to return to the Middlesex side for the start of the County Championship season, which would be his first red-ball action since July 2015 though he has conceded that the likelihood of being picked for a return to the Test side is slim. Having not played for Middlesex during the Championship-winning campaign of 2016, his availability will create quite a selection dilemma for their team management when he finally returns.”I was preparing to play in the first two first-class games of the summer for Middlesex,” Morgan said. “And potentially there’s an extra one being scheduled against Durham at the weekend and Cambridge again after that. Now I’m looking at playing three Championship games in August.”Yes, I probably could become a white-ball specialist if that’s what I wanted. But it’s not, not at the moment. It might be down the line, but it’s certainly not now. I think Test cricket has gone for me. I don’t think I’ll ever play Test cricket again. But I think it’s important for me to strive to keep working on my game in red-ball cricket, to continue to work on the first 30 balls I face in a white-ball game. Maybe not for T20, but for the 50-over game it is.”While that desire is still there, the idea in my mind that I need to keep working on the red-ball game, I’ll stick with it. And yes, the aim is to captain at the 2019 World Cup. That’s where all the plans are going towards, what we’re working towards as a side. It will be great to be a part of it.”All 14 members of England’s squad will feature across the two warm-up matches against a WICB President’s XI in St Kitts on Saturday and Monday, though each will be played as XI v XI List A games without the use of substitutes. The seam bowlers, in particular, will be rotated so as not to put them under any unnecessary strain.It was the batsmen who suffered on Friday, though. Training on surfaces described as “quite spicy” by Morgan, several batsmen sustained blows to the gloves though no damage was reported.”They’re not the best surfaces we’ve trained on,” Morgan said. “But as long as the guys can bowl and field, I think that’s more important that getting prepared for our batting.”Meanwhile Morgan suggested this ODI series may come a little too soon for Alex Hales as he recovers from a broken bone in his hand. But Morgan remains keen for Hales to join up with the rest of the squad in the next few days.”He will go back and play some county cricket after this,” Morgan explained, “and we want the team together as much as possible.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details0:41

Moonda: Ideal conditions for debutant Olivier

At least one Sri Lankan enjoyed himself at the Wanderers. The third Test followed a largely predictable path as South Africa went about trying to secure a 3-0 series whitewash by following up a first-innings score of 426 with four top-order wickets before the close of the second day but Nuwan Pradeep’s ferocious four-wicket burst at least gave Sri Lanka something for their tour diary as the Wanderers lived up to its billing as one of the premier arenas for fast bowling.South Africa maintained a grip on the match despite losing their last seven wickets for 88, with Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada picking up a brace apiece to take their combined tally in the series to 31 at 15.03. Bad light brought an early close to the evening session, with Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal having battled through several overs of insistent probing as the clouds closed in above the ground. Sri Lanka’s hopes of respectability will lie with their two senior batsmen.They needed their top order to show steady heads after Pradeep and his whirling limbs had brought Sri Lanka back into the contest by taking 4 for 1 in 18 balls before lunch but Philander reinforced South African conviction that they had established a match-defining position with his first over with the new ball. Dimuth Karunaratne survived a review for caught behind to his third delivery but made certain of his fate two balls later when some seam movement from Philander’s immaculate line drew a clearly discernible edge to Quinton de Kock.Kaushal Silva and Kusal Mendis survived the odd streaky moment to reach tea but both fell soon after to Rabada. Another thin edge behind did for Silva to end a 47-run stand before Mendis, who struck six fours and a six and also saw the debutant Duanne Olivier put down a straightforward caught-and-bowled chance during a lively knock, was chiselled out by Rabada’s bouncer, a simple catch lobbing off the gloves to gully. In the next over, Dhananjaya de Silva speared a drive point as Sri Lanka subsided to 70 for 4.

SA collapse and Pradeep’s four-fers

• 88-7 South Africa’s score on the second day. They began at 338 for 3 and were all out for 426. They scored those runs at rate of 2.57, compared to 3.75 on the first day

• 6 Number of four-wicket hauls for Nuwan Pradeep, without a five-for. Only Australia’s Wayne Clarke, with seven, has taken more such hauls in Tests.

• 68.54 Percentage of South Africa’s runs that came from the single partnership of Hashim Amla and JP Duminy, 292 out of 426 – the third-highest contribution from a partnership in an all-out innings for South Africa. The highest for them is 70.77%, when Alviro Peterson and Amla made 209 out of a total of 296 at Eden Gardens in 2009-10.

• 33 Wickets taken by Sri Lanka fast bowlers in this series – the second-most for them in any away series. Their highest is 41 wickets in New Zealand in 1990-91.

Success for the home quicks was not unexpected after Pradeep had gambolled in to cause havoc during the morning. South Africa’s position was already bulwarked by the 292-run stand between JP Duminy and Hashim Amla but any hopes they had of batting on at their leisure disappeared amid a clatter of wickets in the second hour.De Kock was the only South Africa batsman to make a notable contribution to the scorecard after the two first-day centurions and he was last man out as the persevering Lahiru Kumara also finished with four wickets. Following a slide of 4 for 14, with Pradeep on the rampage, De Kock’s 34 helped swell the total to still-daunting proportions: only once in home Tests have South Africa lost after making 400 in the first innings.The sight of the ball seaming, swinging and flying through with a hungry cordon awaiting was double-edged for Sri Lanka, foreshadowing as it did another searching examination for their batsmen. The first session was nevertheless one to savour for the tourists, arguably their best during a difficult series, as Pradeep’s interventions caused South Africa to tumble from 364 for 4 to 378 for 8 in a rambunctious 30-minute period of play.South Africa’s captain Faf du Plessis – who was hit several times during his stay at the crease – may have spent lunch reflecting with satisfaction on his decision to get runs on the board first. This surface looked like only getting more treacherous to bat on.Even if the odds were stacked against Sri Lanka, after a dispiriting first day in which South Africa made 338 for 3, Suranga Lakmal and Mathews began with just the sort of tight, probing spells needed if they were to wrest the match back their way. Amla and the debutant nightwatchman, Olivier, had added just eight to the total in as many overs, during which ball regularly beat bat, when Mathews finally made an incision, with the aid of DRS. Olivier pushed at a rising ball in the channel and tickled a fine edge to Chandimal.The first hour was a cagey affair, as Amla attempted to retrench himself after marking his 100th Test with a revivifying hundred. Only 26 runs came, Olivier went and it could have been even better for Sri Lanka but for Mendis making an awful hash of taking a thick edge from du Plessis that looped to second slip, only to squirm from his grasp inches above the ground.Lakmal was the unlucky bowler on that occasion and figures of 7-4-9-0 were scant reward for a spell of controlled away swing. Pradeep had no such complaints, however. In humid conditions and with the pitch having seemingly quickened up overnight, he proceeded to rip through South Africa’s middle order.Du Plessis, who had been worked over by several blows to the body, enjoyed a let-off on 1 but was taken at the second time of asking by Mendis when Pradeep had him fending at a back-of-a-length delivery. Two balls later, Temba Bavuma reached for an ill-advised drive only to see Silva snap up a sharp, overhead chance at third slip, extending a poor series for South Africa’s No. 6.There was more to come, too, as Pradeep feasted on the Bullring’s famed pace and bounce. Amla was squared up by a beauty and Chandimal threw himself bodily to his right to cling on one-handed in front of slip; then Philander, having successfully reviewed a caught-behind off Kumara when his glove came off the handle, was removed by an absolute snorter that leapt from a length to take his thumb before settling in Chandimal’s gauntlets once again.De Kock and Wayne Parnell chanced their arm to good effect in adding 46 for the ninth wicket to stave off a complete collapse and take South Africa past 400. Pradeep was denied a maiden Test five-for when Karunaratne, the lone slip, could not hold on to diving chance to his left with Parnell on 21 but he was dismissed in the following over when he carved a square drive off Kumara straight to deep point. De Kock then fell in similar fashion two overs later, slicing a cut with only Rabada for company.

Remote, tranquil and alluring, little about the St. Xavier’s College Ground in Thumba is reminiscent of the archetypal cricket stadium. Away from the hubhub of the city, the gentle breeze that steadily blows across mitigates the lingering humidity due to the geographic location, with the St. Andrew’s beach to the west of the ground.Jharkhand return to the venue not just with fond memories – Ishan Kishan slammed 273, the highest in Jharkhand’s history in their previous match here – but an unwavering confidence that stems from having made the quarter-finals for the second successive season.Jharkhand’s youngsters have been the flavour of their season, and nothing encapsulated that better than that innings from Kishan. The 18-year-old has grabbed eyeballs not just for his attacking brand of batsmanship, but also for the remarkable consistency with which he has been able to do it. Kishan and Ishank Jaggi have scored over 1200 runs and six centuries, making Jharkhand one of only two teams – Tamil Nadu being the other – to have two batsmen with three or more centuries.At the other end, Odisha would be more relieved than confident heading into the match. A frantic week of uncertainties ended with Odisha qualifying for their first knockouts in a decade courtesy Delhi’s defeat to Saurashtra.Odisha have benefitted immensely from their team firing in unison. Six of their batsmen have scored centuries, and their bowlers too have shared the wickets. Odisha have welcomed Biplab Samantray’s return to form after a drab 2015-16. Samantray was sacked as captain and later left out, but has regained his mojo; his 498 runs to go alongside 11 wickets have served Odisha well.Govinda Poddar, the man who took over from Samantray as leader, has thrived in his new role and hasn’t let it affect his batting. Young Subhranshu Senapati and Sandeep Pattnaik have also impressed in their debut seasons. While opener Pattnaik’s performances have fallen off in the latter half, Senapati’s consistency despite floating a bit in the line-up has lent solidity in the middle order.Odisha’s new-ball combination has come good with Suryakant Pradhan topping their charts with 26 wickets and Basant Mohanty claiming 17. Samantray has performed the supporting seamer’s role well, while left-arm spinner Dhiraj Singh has also been among the wickets. Jharkhand, on the other hand, have primarily relied on Shahbaz Nadeem, the left-arm spinner, and medium pacer Ashish Kumar, although they do hold a slight advantage having already played a match here.Jharkhand are through to the knockouts for the second time running•KCA/Ranjith Peralam

Run-fest, the norm. Will it be different this time around?The ground has faced its share of criticism despite its short history. Sunil Joshi, the Assam coach, had expressed disappointment at the run-up areas that were too sandy and the dressing rooms where repair works were underway during their match against Vidarbha. Jharkhand too had some complaints.”I found the dressing room too small. There is no air conditioner, and in this heat, if you field for two and a half hours, what do you do?” Saurabh Tiwary, the captain, said. “In the last match we played, when we used to come back after fielding, we used to get our lunch and sit outside in the tent. This time, too, we will do the same. You will see it.”The dressing room works have been completed now. But with two new grounds coming up around the city, this venue is soon set to be used only for junior cricket, meaning the change room facilities are only temporary arrangements.The presence of sand, which can still be seen abundantly on the peripheries of the stadium, is a result of the ground’s topography. But on the flip side, it makes the outfield quick and soft, minimising the risk of injury.The last time a match was played here, between Delhi and Jharkhand in November, 1307 runs were scored across four days – the third-highest aggregate of the season. That game was played on a red soil surface, while Thursday’s clash happens on a clay surface. Nonetheless, it’s expected to be another high-scoring match, although spinners will find a lot of assistance and the pitch could start crumbling as early as on the second day.”The pitch for the first game (against Delhi), we knew that it was fully flat. But this one is entirely different,” Tiwary said. “For around eight feet on either side, there has been no rolling or watering. I reckon it should start spinning on the second or the third day.”While the result of this match will make no difference to the qualification scenario with both teams already through, there is still plenty to look forward to. Odisha, despite having qualified, have only two outright wins, and another one here will set things up nicely heading into the knockouts of what has been a huge season for them. For Jharkhand, this will be an opportunity to top the group.

West Indies T20I captain Carlos Brathwaite has urged newcomers Rovman Powell and Nicholas Pooran to play their natural game ahead of the three-match T20I series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates.Both Powell and Pooran had promising performances in CPL 2016. Powell, the 23-year old batsman from Jamaica, scored 228 runs in 13 matches for Tallawahs. Pooran, the 20-year old wicketkeeper-batsman from Trinidad, played for the Barbados Tridents and belted 217 runs in 10 matches at 27.12 and a strike rate of 197.27. Pooran also effected eight dismissals behind the stumps.”Go there, express yourselves, continue to be exciting and eventually win games for the West Indies. It’s a big task to represent the West Indies, and away from home is probably a little easier because you don’t have family in the stands with that extra pressure,” Brathwaite advised. “You’re just surrounded by your team-mates and it’s a good team to be in at the moment, so it’s just about going there and continuing to do the things that they did to get themselves here and do it for longer periods – it’s a higher stage, more pressure, but I’m sure they can continue with it and do well.”Brathwaite also credited the selectors for ensuring that youngsters got the best exposure possible. “The selectors were very big in ensuring that some young players are blooded and rubbed shoulders with some of the best T20 players in the world so we can continue our legacy of being dominant in this format, and those were two of the guys who fit the bill at this point in time,” he said.West Indies were in Dubai earlier this year when they held a preparatory camp ahead of the 2016 World T20, which they went on to win, so while they might know a bit about what to expect from the surfaces, Brathwaite acknowledged that the weather at this time of the year was a lot harsher.”It wasn’t as hot early in the year, but, apparently, we’re smack dab in the middle of their summer, so it can get very, very hot,” he said. “It’s for the players to prepare well, manage themselves well off the field, rehydration-wise, get enough rest, and each and every one of us is a professional and we know what our body needs to be an optimal thing to perform, so it’s just about us doing things we do off the field, planning well, preparing well, and evidently performing well when the games come.”The first T20I will take place in Dubai on September 23. The T20Is will be followed by a three-match ODI series, before the tour concludes with three Tests. This is the first series for West Indies after the WICB sacked coach Phil Simmons earlier this week. The team will be under the supervision of former West Indies fast bowler Joel Garner for this tour, along with assistant coaches Henderson Springer and Roddy Estwick.

R Ashwin has a career strike rate of 55.35 with the bat. But in his first three innings at No. 6, he has scored his runs at 40.90. Speaking to the media after scoring his second hundred of those three innings, and becoming only the fourth allrounder ever to score two hundreds and take two five-wicket hauls in the same Test series, Ashwin said his promotion up the order had induced a conscious change of approach with the bat.”It’s difficult to try and think too far ahead [at No. 6],” Ashwin said. “That’s easily possible if you are batting at No. 7 or 8, which has happened to me before when I have batted at No. 8. When I have batted at No. 8, you think like a bowler at times and want to get a few extra runs. So I used to play a few more shots.”Thankfully I had a very good preparation one month before the series. I batted quite a lot and devised a gameplan if and when I got a chance to bat at No. 6. The idea was to knock as many balls as possible. My goal is very simple. If I get a good start, if I get to 20 runs then I’m going to capitalise on it. Then I’m going to play percentage cricket. It’s all about trying to play the percentages and trying to string together a partnership and not look too far ahead in the game.”One thing I try to do is to bat sessions. There have been times when I’ve scored hundreds in two sessions or less than two sessions. This is kind of different, but I do enjoy it. It’s time-consuming and concentration-consuming but it’s enjoyable.”Ashwin came in to bat at 87 for 4, and was joined by Wriddhiman Saha at 126 for 5. They added 213 for the sixth wicket, allowing India to post a first-innings total of 353. Ashwin said his 118, which lasted 297 balls and was his longest Test innings – could prove a “series-defining” effort.”It is indeed,” he said, when asked if he considered it a special hundred. “I mean if we look at the scenario in hindsight later on, this could very well be a series-defining knock because we were in some trouble yesterday and there was every chance that we could be skittled out and also I thought it needed a bit of application.”It was not like making a hundred back home or anywhere in the world. I’m sure about that because it was definitely not a wicket where you could just plonk your front foot and play through the line. It was a hard-fought day yesterday and it was no different today. We just hope we can capitalise on the rearguard action later tomorrow.”Given West Indies’ bowling discipline, a bit of help from the surface, and a slow outfield, Ashwin only hit six fours and a six in his innings. While Saha played his shots after negotiating the first hour of the morning session, he too went through periods of almost pure defence. Ashwin said it had been “very difficult to score” at times.”When we got together we were in quite a bit of trouble and it was one of the wickets, I don’t know whether it’s improving any bit, where you are not in at any time,” he said. “There was a good chance that you might be nicked off or you might get a good ball any time. It was very difficult to score.”So we went and bit the bullet quite hard and wanted to just stick in there even if the runs weren’t quite coming. Obviously, the results came later on. It was a good partnership and both enjoyed each other’s company to be very honest.”Having batted with Saha in the past and watched him in first-class cricket, Ashwin knew what to expect from him.”I think we’ve batted a few times in the past,” he said. “Even [in Sydney] we put together a gritty partnership. The thing with Saha is he puts a price on his wicket and he’s a damn good player of spinners. He can tonk the ball, that I know from having played first-class cricket with him.”I know Saha pretty well and the communication was sticking around rather than look for avenues to score. It was just that even if we played a couple of maiden overs, we wanted to tell each other that we need to keep going and it was not about the maiden overs they keep bowling.”During the partnership, Ashwin said he and Saha had also picked up clues that might help India’s bowlers later on.”When Saha and me were batting, we were communicating about which way the ball was swinging, what the bowler was trying to do. There was a lot of help when the bowlers bowled cross-seam, and we’ve communicated to the bowlers and we hope they will find their rhythm tomorrow as well.”West Indies began strongly in their reply, ending the second day 107 for 1, with Kraigg Brathwaite batting on 53. Ashwin said India would need to stay patient and try to capitalise whenever a new batsman was at the crease.”Long partnerships came in, one breakthrough and somebody gets into a spell. That’s what we’re looking at. If and when a couple of wickets fall, we can squeeze and jam them in.”The thing is that [West Indies] did get some momentum, I believe, from the Jamaica Test, but that’s how Test cricket is like. We didn’t come over here thinking or expecting to roll them over. They’re also a Test team, and in their home conditions, it’s going to be hard and we expected it.”