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Bumrah to miss Oval Test against England; Akash Deep likely to replace him
Jasprit Bumrah will not play the fifth and final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at The Oval starting Thursday. ESPNcricinfo has learned that the BCCI medical team has told Bumrah that the decision is in line with safeguarding his back and keeping the long-term in mind.
The development is not entirely a surprise, considering the medical team in coordination with Bumrah, the Indian team management, and the selectors had decided he would play only three of the five Tests during the England tour. Bumrah played in the first Test at Headingley, sat out in the second Test at Edgbaston, which India won, and played in the following two Tests at Lord’s and last week at Old Trafford.
With Bumrah having not bowled since the fourth morning at Old Trafford, coupled with a three-day break between the final two Tests, India might have toyed with the idea of changing the original plan, especially with a possibility of levelling the series 2-2 with a win at The Oval.
However, a combination of a slowish, flat surface and the workload had impacted Bumrah’s pace in the fourth Test. He picked two wickets in 33 overs, which was the most he has bowled in an innings, and for the first time, his runs column had breached 100. As the series progressed, the number of balls he bowled above 140kph in the first innings of each Test also reduced from 42.7% at Headingley to 22.3% at Lord’s to 0.5% at Old Trafford.
Bumrah is currently the joint second highest wicket taker with 14 wickets in the series alongside Mohammed Siraj. After the draw in Manchester, India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir had said Bumrah was available for the final Test, but two days later, India have decided to rest him.
Who will replace Bumrah was evident at India’s optional training session on Tuesday. Akash Deep, who missed the fourth Test with a groin niggle, found his rhythm easily as he seamed the ball appreciably on the greenish practice pitches. In the second Test at Edgbaston, which was his first Test since Melbourne in December, Akash Deep picked up a ten-wicket match haul, including a career-best 6 for 99 in England’s second innings, extracting movement from a benign surface.
In the following Test at Lord’s, though, Akash struggled for consistency, especially bowling down the slope from the Pavilion End. He picked up just one wicket in the Test, but the seamer-friendly conditions at The Oval could help Akash get back in the saddle quickly.
Still, Gill and Gambhir will have to deal with finding the right balance in the bowling attack. That it is a challenge is primarily because of the below-par performances from three other fast bowlers who have featured so far in the series:Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur and Anshul Kamboj. Prasidh has not played since the win in the second Test, while Thakur and Kamboj barely got to bowl after their first spells at Old Trafford.
In the absence of Bumrah, Siraj, the only fast bowler to play all the Tests, will once again lead the pace attack. Siraj has bowled the fourth-most overs among seamers this series – 139 – but hasn’t let his intensity down. India will be worried about his workload and fitness but they have little choice other than playing Siraj. Even then, India will have to make a call regarding the third seamer.
It is likely to be one of Prasidh and Arshdeep Singh, who bowled and batted without any discomfort, showing he had recovered completely from the freak injury he picked up on his bowling hand in the days leading to the fourth Test while trying to intercept a ball on follow-through.
With Risbah Pant ruled out of the Oval Test, Dhruv Jurel will keep wickets and bat in the middle order. Despite the boldness of his batting, which can turn eyes, Jurel’s inexperience, especially of playing in England, might tilt India to focus on retaining Thakur to provide the batting depth. That would mean there will be no room once again for Kuldeep Yadav.
India might also believe Kuldeep could be surplus to the requirement, especially keeping in mind the pitch and the cloudy conditions that are likely to play a role during the Test. Two days ahead of the match, the pitch had enough greenish patches, so India could continue with the spin pair of Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar.
Apart from that, the bowling numbers at The Oval this domestic season are predominantly favourable to the seamers: fast bowlers have picked up 131 of the 150 wickets in five matches. Surrey have won twice at home with three draws, including the last round against Durham, where the fourth-highest score in county cricket was registered. Surrey made 820 for 9 declared on the back of Dom Sibley’s triple-hundred, but that match was played with Kookaburra balls as part of the ECB’s drive since last year to upgrade the bowlers’ skills.
[Cricinfo]
Typhoon Noul has hit southern China, including Hong Kong, bringing strong winds and heavy rain to the region and prompting the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people in Guangdong province.
China’s national weather centre said Noul made landfall on the coast of Huidong county in Huizhou, southern Guangdong province, at approximately 3:50am local time on Sunday (19:50 GMT on Saturday).
China’s official Xinhua News Agency said Noul was the strongest typhoon to make landfall in China so far this year.
Hong Kong’s Observatory said Noul, with maximum sustained winds of 110 kilometres per hour (68 miles per hour) near its centre, was moving Sunday into inland Guangdong and weakening progressively, bringing strong winds and heavy rain to parts of the region.
More than 715,000 people had been relocated for safety by early Sunday in Guangdong province, according to state-owned China National Radio. On Saturday, authorities said some 340,000 people were evacuated.
China’s National Meteorological Centre expected parts of southern Guangdong and southeastern Fujian provinces to experience heavy rain and strong winds over the weekend.
Many trees were seen uprooted in Huilai county, located on the coast of Guangdong province, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Hong Kong’s airport authority said about 350 flights were cancelled on Sunday. At least nine people were injured across the city during the typhoon period, according to Hong Kong authorities.
As Noul approached Hong Kong, parts of a large scaffolding on a high-rise building collapsed on Saturday afternoon, local police said, although initial reports indicated there were no injuries.
[Aljazeera]
Colombo Kaps defended 197 runs to win the 12th match of the Lanka Premier League by restricting Dambulla Sixers to 176/8 at the Dambulla International Cricket Stadium on Saturday [25] night.
SCORES:
Colombo Kaps 197/5 in 20 overs [Rubin Hermann 39, Sadeera Samarawickrema 16, Sharujan Shanmuganathan 12, Kamindu Mendis 88*, Ben McDermott 14, Janith Liyanage 17; Fazalhaq Farooki 1-41, Dushmantha Chameera 1-41, Ramesh Mendis 1-05, Gulabdin Naib 1-15]
Dambulla Sixers 176/8 in 20 overs [Pavan Rathnayake 50, Marques Ackerman 40, Gulabdin Naib 28, Maheesh Thhekshana 13; Shahnawaz Dahani 2-20, Wanuja Sahan 1-34, Mujeeb Ur Rahman 2-33, Malsha Tharupathi 1-26, Milan Rathnayake 1-26]
Kandy Royals’ bowlers led by Nuwan Thushara were able to defend their score of 165 to win the 11th match of the Lanka Premier League by defeating Galle Gallants by 11 runs at Dambulla on Saturday.
SCORES:
Kandy Royals 165/6 in 20 overs [Lahiru Udara 16, Dale Phillips 34, Wanidu Hasaranga 16, Moeen Ali 41, Angelo Mathews 28, Vijay Shankar 15; Pramod Madushan 2-41, Akif Javed 2-26, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth 2-36]
Galle Gallants 154/8 in 20 overs [Sam Harper 14, Charith Asalanka 14, Chamika Karunarathne 52, Dasun Shanaka 57*; Nuwan Thushara 3-33, Asitha Fernando 2-33, Moeen Ali 1-11, Wanidu Hasaranga 1-26]
Typhoon Noul makes landfall in China, with hundreds of thousands evacuated
Colombo Kaps down Dambulla Sixers by 21 runs
Kandy Royals win by 11 runs
Showers will occur in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts
Govt. launches EPF, ETF shake-up
SLPI concerned over the proposed Chartered Institute of Media Professionals of Sri Lanka
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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