Sports
The Mace for Aotearoa
By Rajitha Ratwatte
Two years of Test matches to find the World Test Champions came down to a one-off six-day Test match in Hampshire. The English weather of course playing a part and everything down to the final session of play on the last day.
On a freezing cold winter day in Aotearoa, hunched over the TV, New Zealand needing 100 runs in the last session with the Baharat army in full voice, the drums pounding and New Zealand’s two most experienced batsmen at the crease.
Technically a sixth day wicket although less than four days have been played on it, slowing down, showing uneven bounce, and making shot playing difficult. Ravichandran Ashwin of India in the middle of a brilliant spell of spin bowling backed up solidly by Mohammed Shami. Even the experienced Sunil Gavaskar in the commentary box, rooting for India!
New Zealand with its five million people holds America’s Cup for sailing and is runners-up in the World Cup of Rugby and Cricket in the one-day format. Overachievers some may say and others say the opposite.
Small town boys can’t handle the pressure and choke at vital times is an assessment we have often heard. Kane Williamson the captain and the number two ranked Test batsman in the world in his bubble and fighting hard.
Ross Taylor the most senior batsman showing signs of panic at a minor collapse orchestrated by Ashwin and the resultant inability to get ahead of the run rate required. The best possible combination for NZ but notorious for running each other out under pressure!
Commentators speculating on a change in the batting order for the Kiwis with may be Colin De Grandhomme or even Tim Southee coming in early with a license to hit and break the back of this relatively small target.
A much-hackneyed phase but this is the ultimate form of the game and although it is scoffed at by younger and more populist sports reporters and others, Test cricket will never die in the hearts of the purists and true lovers of the game.
Virat Kohli the Indian skipper playing the crowd and chatting to his bowlers all the time. A marked opposite from the conduct of Ajinkya Rahane his deputy who did such an exceptional job in Australia.
The New Zealand public doesn’t rate cricket very high. It ranks way below rugby union of course and probably below rugby league and netball, with sailing also giving a good fight in the eyes of the sponsors.
India forced to rest the best bowlers and the advent of Ishant Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja to the attack resulted in a few runs and an eerie silence from the Bharat army.
Cheteshwar Pujara dropped Taylor off Jaspreet Bumrah, a sitter at first slip in the 20th over with 60 runs needed! Have theydropped the mace?
Drinks break before the last hour of the game and New Zealand were needing 35 runs in 15 overs to win with eight wickets in hand. Do the Gods of cricket and the “glorious uncertainties of the game” have any more surprises to deliver?
A flurry of runs off a Sharma over forced the Indian skipper to bring back his best bowlers. Williamson pulling Shami imperiously from outside off-stump for two, skipping down the track and driving Jadeja classically through the v and getting a little carried away with a wild swing that goes straight up in the air but eludes Bumrah.
Even Mr. Ice Cool is human after all. The small Kiwi contingent at the ground starts to believe and the chills of winter begin to get less depressing at home. Ross Taylor finishes it off with a regal front flick off his pads through the mid-wicket region to prove that sometimes the nice guys win!
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Tanzid Hasan’s century propelled Rajshahi Warriors to their first BPL trophy, after they beat Chattogram Royals by 63 runs in the final.
Tanzid became the third batter after Tamim Iqbal and Chris Gayle to score a century in the BPL final, helping Rajshahi to a competitive 174 for 4 after batting first.
Chattogram, the underdog side of the tournament which came good despite not having a proper team owner, were bowled out for 111 runs in 17.5 overs. Sri Lanka fast bowler Binura Fernando took four wickets, and left-arm spinner Hasan Murad took three wickets.
It was Rajshahi’s batting that set the tone for the win. They got an early boost when openers Tanzid and Sahibzada Farhan added 83 runs for the first wicket in 10.2 overs. Farhan made a run-a-ball 30 with two fours and a six, but it was Tanzid who held Rajshahi’s innings together. He added 47 runs with Kane Williamson, before reaching his third T20 century, off 61 balls. Tanzid struck seven sixes and six fours, before falling for 100 in the penultimate over.
Shoriful Islam took his BPL tally to 26 wickets for the season with two wickets, while Mukidul Islam was Chattogram’s best bowler on the day, taking 2 for 20 from his four overs.
Fernando gave Rajshahi another good start with the ball, removing Mohammad Naim and Mahmudul Hasan Joy in the third over. He returned to remove Asif Ali and Shoriful Islam to finish with excellent figures of 4 for 9.
Murad then struck, first with the big wicket of Hassan Nawaz, followed by wickets of Chattogram captain Mahedi Hasan and Mirza Baig. Chattogram’s chase never really took off, as the rest of the Rajshahi bowlers took control after Murad’s four overs.
Brief scores:
Rajshahi Warriors 174 for 4 in 20 overs (Tanzid Hasan 100, Sahibzada Farhan 30, Kane Williamson 24, Najmul Hossain Shanto 11; Shoriful Islam 2-33, Mukidul Islam 2-20) beat Chattogram Royals 111 in 17.5 overs (Mirza Baig 39, Hasan Nawaz 11, Zahiduzzaman 11, Asif Ali 21; Binura Fernando 4-90, James Neesham 2-24, Abdul Gaffar Saqlain 1-24, Hasan Murad 3-15) by 63 runs
[Cricinfo]
Bangladesh cruised to a seven wicket victory to close out their group stage, with a three-for from Iqbal Hossain Emon, and an 82-ball 64 from captain Azizul Hakim leading the way against USA.
Batting first, USA lost opener Amrinder Gill and No. 3 Arjun Mahesh by the end of the third over. But a more applied approach from Sahil Garg and Utkarsh Srivastava took them out of the powerplay to the relative safety of 33 for 2.
The scoring rate was slow throughout their innings, with Bangladesh’s Al Fahad, Shariar Ahmed and Rizan Hossan all taking two wickets, and keeping the scoring rate around a touch below four. When Adnit Jhamb walked out at No. 7 in the 30th over, he kicked into a higher gear. He hit just three boundaries and a six during his knock of 68, but rotated the strike much better than any other USA batter on the day. Alongside the lower order, Jhamb dragged their total up to a respectable 199.
Bangladesh, however, remained in cruise control during the chase. Opener Zawad Abrar was particularly brutal, hitting five fours and three sixes as he raced away to a 42-ball 47. He fell to a caught-and-bowled effort off Garg, but by that point, Bangladesh were 78 for 1, and more than a third of the way to their target.
Another big partnership followed after his dismissal: Hakim hit the sole half-century of the match, stitching together an 88-run partnership with Kalam Siddiki. By the time he was the third batter to be dismissed, the result was a foregone conclusion.
Rizan Hossan hit two sixes in back-to-back overs in the company of Siddiki. The second one closed out the match, giving Bangladesh their first win of the tournament, and pushing USA out of contention for the Super Sixes
Brief scores:
Bangladesh Under 19s 201 for 3 in 41.3 overs (Azizul Hakim 64, Zawad Abrar 47; Rifat Beg 30, Kalam Siddiki 30*; Ritvik Appidi 1-27) beat USA Under 19s 199 in 50 overs (Adnit Jhamb 68*, Utkarsh Srivastava 39; Iqbal Hossain Emon 3-41, Al Fahad 2-38, Shahriar Ahmed 2-32, Rizan Hossan 2-27) by seven wickets
A five-wicket haul from Will Byrom helped Australia top Group A of the Under 19 men’s World Cup after they skittled Sri Lanka for 58. Byrom and Charles Lachmund ripped through Sri Lanka in the first powerplay, reducing them to 31 for 6 at the ten-over mark.
In the third over, Lachmund had yorked out Viran Chamuditha right in front of the stumps, while Dimantha Mahavithana edged one to slip. From there, the procession never stopped. The two tall pacers extracted movement and bounce off a pitch that had plenty in it for those who bowled it quick. Most Sri Lanka batters were either caught in the slip cordon or stuck in front of the crease, unable to counter the movement, and often late on their feet.
Hayden Schiller and Kasey Barton slipped into the attack once the powerplay was done, and immediately took over the same lines and lengths. The highlight of Barton’s own spell was his wicket of Sethmika Seneviratne. He dropped it on a full length and fizzed it back into the off stump, trimming Seneviratne’s bails and breaching through Sri Lanka’s last recognised batter.
Sri Lanka’s bowling defence began with Rasith Nimsara extracting similar movement off the pitch. However, both his bowling, and Kugathas Mathulan’s from the other end, were plagued by inconsistent lines that often drifted down leg. Sri Lanka ended up conceding 11 extras, which included nine wides. After Will Malajczuk fell early, Nitesh Samuel was a little circumspect. But Steven Hogan ensured to finish the run chase with little fuss, just as time before rain drifted in towards the ground.
Brief scores:
Australia Under 19s 61 for 1 in 12 overs (Steven Hogan 28*; Rasith Nimsara 1-20) beat Sri Lanka Under 19s 58 in 18.5 overs (Chamika Heenetigala 14; Will Byrom 5-14, Charles Lachmund 2-19, Kasey Barton 2-13) by nine wickets
[Cricinfo]
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