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Yuvraj Singh and Manan Vohra also contributed significantly as Punjab chased down Mumbai’s target of 199 with three wickets in hand

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jan-2018Shreyas Iyer’s unbeaten 44-ball 79 was trumped by Punjab‘s collective assault as they chased down Mumbai‘s target of 199 with three wickets and four balls in hand in Kolkata. Yuvraj Singh struck a 34-ball 40, while Gurkeerat Singh (43 off 18 balls) and Manan Vohra (42 off 31 balls) produced quicker cameos.Iyer, who made his international debut last season, has been retained by Delhi Daredevils for INR 7 crore ahead of the IPL auction. The likes of Yuvraj – who has set his base price at the highest bracket of INR 2 crore – Vohra (INR 20 lakh) and Gurkeerat (INR 50 lakh) are likely to receive a few bids at the auction. Yuvraj has had a decent run lately, having produced scores of 50* and 35* during the zonal phase of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament.Earlier, Mumbai, having been put in to bat, began in rousing fashion with Akhil Herwadkar and Jay Bista scoring 45 runs in 5.2 overs before the latter was removed by Mayank Markande. Iyer and Herwadkar then put on 73 runs for the second wicket. After Herwadkar’s dismissal in the 14th over, there weren’t many big partnerships but Shivam Dubey’s 22 off 12 balls and captain Aditya Tare’s unbeaten 13 included a few big hits. Punjab captain Harbhajan Singh went wicketless in his three overs and conceded 27 runs.Punjab’s chase barely had a hiccup after Vohra and Mandeep Singh set things up with a 42-run stand in 3.5 overs. With Harbhajan continuing to bat at No. 3, Yuvraj, Gurkeerat and Sharad Lumba (21 off 10 balls) provided the middle-order muscle.

Having spent over three hours at the crease on his return from a hamstring injury, Shaun Marsh, not only led Western Australia’s efforts against South Australia in the Sheffield Shield but also took strides to retain his spot as Test opener

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Oct-2016
ScorecardShaun Marsh spent over three hours at the crease•Getty Images

Shaun Marsh marked his return from injury with a half-century on the opening day of Western Australia’s 600th Sheffield Shield match. Western Australia declared on 9 for 271 and were able to dismiss the South Australian openers cheaply before the close of play.Marsh’s 73 off 151 balls at the top of the order has come as a welcome sign with the national selectors picking the Test squad to face South Africa on Friday. He is the incumbent opener, having scored a century in Australia’s last Test, against Sri Lanka in Colombo, but he had torn his hamstring in a Matador Cup match earlier this month.This day-night Shield game was a way for Marsh to prove his fitness and he felt good having come through it. Besides hitting nine fours, he ran 23 singles, four twos and two threes over 206 minutes at the crease.”I’ve had no issues with the hammy and I ran out there at maximum speed,” Marsh told the . “I was concerned when I did it [injured myself] because I’ve had hamstring issues in the past but I knew it wasn’t that bad and it has come good in the past couple of days.”The first Test against South Africa begins in Perth on November 3. But Marsh wasn’t keen on looking that far ahead. “I will worry about this game first and see where it takes us,” he said.The other notable contribution of the Western Australia innings came from Michael Klinger. His 61 off 97 balls included eight fours but his wicket led to a middle-order collapse. Six wickets fell for 60 runs before the ninth-wicket partnership between Jason Behrendorff and Ryan Duffield, who struck 20 of his 23 runs in fours, frustrated South Australia. The declaration came when the stand was broken in the 80th over, having added 38 runs.Behrendorff continued causing trouble for the visitors, dismissing Kelvin Smith and Jake Weatherald in the third over. South Australia ended the day on 16 for 2, trailing by 255 runs.

Rob Key has summoned some late-season batting form as he shows no inclination of stepping back as a confident young Kent side gathers momentum

ECB/PA09-Sep-2015
ScorecardRob Key is still going strong•PA Photos

Kent had the edge after the first day of their LV= County Championship match against Glamorgan in Cardiff produced 14 wickets and 374 runs.The visitors totalled 309 after winning the toss and choosing to bat in the Division Two contest, before restricting the hosts to 65 for 4 in reply.Kent were given a rousing start by Rob Key and Sean Dickson, who put on 122 for the second wicket, after Michael Hogan had dismissed Daniel Bell-Drummond with the eighth ball of the morning.Dickson, who was born in South Africa but has an English mother, was offered a contract by Kent after some impressive performances for the second team – and he scored 56 with an array of attacking strokes before being dismissed in the final over before lunch.Key, who made a career-best unbeaten 270 in Cardiff six years ago, was in sight of a second century in successive games, but was out for 94 when he edged David Lloyd to wicketkeeper Mark Wallace.Key and Sam Northeast strengthened Kent’s position with a stand of 85 for the third wicket, before Northeast, who had previously been dropped twice in an over, edged Hogan to Wallace.The visitors were in a commanding position at 212 for 2 – but they then lost their last eight wickets for 97.Most of those runs were scored by Darren Stevens, who struck a six and 10 fours in a belligerent innings of 64 off 61 balls but received little support – four of the last five batsmen failed to score.Hogan started the Kent collapse after tea when he took a wicket in his first three overs, part of a spell of 3 for 5 in 14 balls.After their strong start Kent would have been disappointed with their total of 309 – but their bowlers soon made inroads by dismissing Glamorgan’s openers in the first two overs.With Jacques Rudolph in South Africa on paternity leave, and Will Bragg dropped, Glamorgan opened the innings with James Kettleborough, who has not played championship cricket since May, and Jeremy Lawlor – making his championship debut.Matt Coles squared up Kettleborough with his fourth ball, then Lawlor was bowled by Matthew Hunn playing down the wrong line.When Colin Ingram and Lloyd were dismissed in the closing overs, Glamorgan had slumped to 65 for 4.It left Kent satisfied with their day’s work on a good pitch prepared by assistant groundsman Robin Saxton, who is now temporarily in charge after Keith Exton left the club last month.

The presence of a possible sixth day and the flat nature of the Wankhede pitch meant both Mumbai and Baroda set themselves up for the long haul in their Ranji Trophy quarter-final

The Report by Sidharth Monga07-Jan-2013
ScorecardFile photo: Abhishek Nayar scored his third hundred of the season•Fotocorp

The presence of a possible sixth day and the flat nature of the Wankhede pitch meant both Mumbai and Baroda set themselves up for the long haul in their Ranji Trophy quarter-final. Baroda stayed away from claiming the third new ball, and Mumbai showed no intent to go for quick runs and declare the innings closed: 252 runs came on the second day for the loss of three wickets, with final session representing a near ceasefire.However, that shouldn’t take away from another stellar effort from Mumbai’s most valuable player, Abhishek Nayar, who crossed 50 for the 10th time this season, converted it into a third century, and ended unbeaten on 852 runs, the fifth-highest tally this season. Three of the four mean ahead of him are already out of the tournament. Nayar has also fielded superbly and picked up 16 wickets to go with his runs.Mumbai began the day at 272 for 3 with Wasim Jaffer unbeaten on 137, but Jaffer never quite got going. After two dropped chances, Jaffer played on to be dismissed for 150. Mumbai were 286 for 4 then, and still needed runs to feel comfortable on a pitch that didn’t have much for the bowlers. Enter Nayar, who provided them momentum even as nightwatchman Dhawal Kulkarni enjoyed his rare chance at blocking and playing like a proper batsman.Kulkarni never looked in much trouble, but the runs on the slow pitch came off Nayar’s bat. He began sweeping and reverse-sweeping to distraction. Kulkarni grew a little adventurous, hit a straight six, and fell at the team score of 356 to bring in the last recognised batsman, wicketkeeper Aditya Tare. Tare, too, had a tough time scoring runs at the start, but Nayar kept manipulating fields with shots and style entirely his own. Against spin he played all kinds of sweeps, against pace he moved across and worked the ball to leg.Nayar scored 20 off the first 29 balls he faced, then moved to 42 off 62, and brought up the fifty with a nudge to leg. Immediately he reverse-swept a four to celebrate. While Tare persevered to score 31 off 102, Nayar went fluently and had reached 78 off 122. Baroda were trying to defend, but it was difficult to do so against the dexterous Nayar.Tare quickened up, brought up his fifty, but fell in the final session for 64. Nayar was 94 then off 155 balls, a healthy strike rate on a slow pitch, Mumbai were 479 for 6, but with more than 20 overs to go in the day they changed their strategy. Against deep-set fields Mumbai endeavoured to come back on the third day for no further loss, and Baroda tried to minimise damage, presumably, before they take new ball with bowlers fresh on a fresh day.Over the next 21.4 overs, only 45 runs came without any incident. Nayar added only 28 off 62 balls over that period, bringing up his 11th first-class hundred in the process, but indications were that he wasn’t done yet.

South Africa will enter the last two days of the Boxing Day Test under tremendous pressure, and Gary Kirsten said it was an opportunity for someone to be a put in a special performance

Firdose Moonda at Kingsmead28-Dec-2011South Africa will enter the last two days of the Boxing Day Test needing to achieve the highest successful fourth-innings chase to beat Sri Lanka in Durban, break a so-called jinx, and close out the series against Sri Lanka. It’s a tall order for a line-up that was shot out for 168 in their first innings, against an attack that many rated as incapable of 20 wickets in a Test match.With a task of this magnitude, South Africa can afford to be philosophical about what lies ahead. Gary Kirsten, the head coach, said one of the key things for them is simply to believe. “The one thing we do know is that it’s an opportunity for someone to do something special and be a hero for their country,” said Kirsten. “At the end of the day, we’ve got to dig ourselves out of this hole.”The hole was created by a poor first-innings effort with the bat, which showed a distinct lack of application by some of the side’s most senior players, such as AB de Villiers and Ashwell Prince. It was deepened by a lacklustre showing with the ball, in which the bowlers leaked 249 runs in the day, of which more than half came in the second session.Sri Lanka scored 142 runs between lunch and tea and lost just two wickets. It was in that passage of play that Kumar Sangakkara came into his own and marched to his first century in the country as though he owned the place. Kirsten admitted the bowlers lost their way.”We probably had a poor second session where we didn’t really stick to our plans,” he said. “We got a bit both sides of the wicket and we didn’t do a good holding job. You’d like one of your seamers to be able to bowl one side of the wicket. They are all talented and skilled enough to do that.”South Africa’s lack of a containing bowler has been lurking as a problem since they dropped Paul Harris for Pakistan-born legspinner Imran Tahir. It did not stand up as a real concern when they were shooting sides out, like Australia for 47 in November and Sri Lanka for 180 and 150 in the last Test. In those instances, the attack was under no real pressure to stop the run flow, as they were today in Durban. When they were, Vernon Philander, who brought what Graeme Smith has called a “degree of control”, had stepped in.With the prolific wicket-taker, Philander, out of the side because of a knee injury, South Africa have no-one to stem the tide. Jacques Kallis was unable to, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Tahir were too focused on taking wickets, and Marchant de Lange was trying to repeat his heroics of the first innings while finding his feet. Too many short balls were wasted, too many boundaries were allowed to be scored and Sri Lanka were given enough rope to run away.The lack of consistency in South Africa’s performances is now glaring and Kirsten said they are trying to find a way to string together more than one strong showing. “What we’ve been trying to focus on is how we stack up the days and how we play the sessions,” he said. “What is concerning for us all is that we can have two really good sessions and then have a blow out session. We need to focus on ways and means of stopping the bleeding.”There is little they can do to close the wound with the ball, so it will fall to the batsmen to do the repair job, something which seems fair, considering they are the chief cause of South Africa’s current position. “You are always chasing the game when you get bowled out for a score like that,” said Kirsten, adding a clean slate will be needed in the second knock. “We’ve got to look at it like a first innings, like you are setting up a total. All these guys are capable of getting big scores. It’s still a fairly good batting wicket. The pitch played pretty well today, which is a good sign for the rest of the Test match.”Although deterioration of the surface is expected, Kirsten has to think positively because South Africa have to find some inspiration and he may be the man to provide it. Twelve years ago, he did something special at this ground. Kirsten made a then-South African record score of 275 to save the third Test against England. The Proteas need an effort which mirrors that one to win this match. “It’s a great opportunity for someone to be a hero. These are the reasons why we play the game,” he said. “I am still quite excited by what can come out of this Test match.”

The end of the IPL’s 2011 auction has shifted the franchises’ focus to filling up their roster of uncapped Indian players, but a controversy has arisen over the rules under which those players are to be signed

Nagraj Gollapudi09-Jan-2011The end of the IPL’s 2011 auction has shifted the franchises’ focus to filling up their roster of uncapped Indian players, who will form the base of any team. The process begins on Monday but a controversy has arisen over the rules under which those players are to be signed – and a general confusion over those rules hasn’t helped matters.The issue was raised a few minutes after Sunday’s auction by Vijay Mallya, owner of the Royal Challengers Bangalore, who said he wondered whether the BCCI could protect the uncapped – read: young – players from being the subject of a bidding war and other forms of poaching.”Now we look to sign uncapped players and try to complete our team,” Mallya said. “But I urge all the franchises and the IPL governing council to exercise the utmost vigilance while signing uncapped players.”The IPL has, as Mallya noted, laid down “strict guidelines” for the signing of these players, whose value has increased because of the general dearth of domestic talent and the need to fill squad berths. First, it has laid strictures on how these players can be signed, through a three-way agreement involving player, franchise and the IPL, and with the explicit permission of the board. It is the player’s decision, though, whether he wants to sign the contract and he is free to choose his team.It has also clearly categorised these uncapped players into three types and set wage limits for each. Those players who made their debut in the last two years will be paid Rs 10 lakhs ($22,000); those in the field for two to five years would get Rs 20 lakhs and those with more than five years’ experience Rs 30 lakhs.Those two conditions together have raised fears among the franchises – which Mallya vocalised on Sunday – that, far from protecting them from inducements, the system leaves them open to bidding wars that could violate the salary cap. More so because some of these players (see sidebar) could, in open auction, command several times the maximum they can under the BCCI’s rules. The only differentiator in a level playing field, it is feared, will be under-the-table deals.Mallya gave the example of Ravindra Jadeja, who was banned from IPL’s season 3 for attempting to negotiate a contract with a franchise on his own, and without the IPL’s knowledge. He’d been picked by Rajasthan Royals before the IPL’s first season when still an Under-19 player, and hence for a minimal sum, but sought better terms after success with the team.

The most sought-after uncapped Indian players

Dhawal Kulkarni (Mumbai), Ajinkya Rahane (Mumbai), Iqbal Abdulla (Mumbai), Manish Pandey (Karnataka), T Suman (Hyderabad), R Satish (Tamil Nadu), Siddarth Trivedi (Gujarat), Abhishek Jhunjhunwala (Bengal), Harmeet Singh (Punjab), Rajat Bhatia (Delhi) Pinal Shah (Baroda)

The current situation could have been avoided, the franchises feel, had the rule not been changed last month. The original plan was for domestic players who had played 75% of their teams’ matches in IPL 3 to be part of the open auction and a transparent bidding process. That rule was changed to the current one following a suggestion from Mumbai Indians.The one ray of hope is the IPL’s “catchment area” rule, which states that franchises have to sign four players from the neighbouring, or “catchment”, areas. That would lessen the bidding war for coveted players but, as one franchise official said, there was “no clarity at all” on the definition and applicability of this rule.On its part the IPL has said it will do everything possible to stop unfair dealings. “That [poaching] is a very difficult situation for us but we will be monitoring,” Chirayu Amin, chairman of the league’s governing council. “If we come to know anything was done underhand we will take stern action against them (player and franchise). I agree that it is a difficult situation but we will be very vigilant.”

A round-up of the third day’s action of the second round of the WICB Four-Day Competition 2009-10

Cricinfo staff18-Jan-2010Narsingh Deonarine orchestrated a late collapse as Guyana roared back into contention against Trinidad & Tobago at the Vivian Richards Stadium. T&T held the aces, beginning their second innings with a 143-run lead and piling on the runs to reach 131 for 2. Despite losing first-innings centurion Lendl Simmons early, and Justin Guillen a little later, T&T prospered through a 92-run stand between Daren Ganga and Jason Mohammed. That’s when Deonarine intervened to have Jason caught at short-leg, triggering a manic collapse where five wickets fell for eight runs in five overs. Sherwin Ganga joined his brother at the crease, but a misunderstanding left them stranded at the same end, Sherwin sacrificing his wicket. Dave Mohammed was out without troubling the scorers after which Ravi Rampaul spooned one to mid-off to leave the innings in disarray. Deonarine capped the collapse that he had engineered, the way he had begun it, by getting Daren Ganga to nick to short leg. Deonarine’s heroics stole the thunder from T&T left-arm spinner Imran Khan who ran through the Guyana lower order to secure his side the first-innings advantage. His unpredictable mix of left-arm leg breaks and topspinners proved hard to read as overnight batsman Vishaul Singh found out. Rampaul dismissed Denoarine to put Guyana in strife, from which Imran never let them recover. Derwin Christian and Esuan Crandon tried to launch a recovery and survived to add vital 40s, before Imran ran through the tail, as four wickets fell for 18 runs. T&T were smiling then, but the chaos in the closing stages of play wiped the smiles off their faces.Rain proved to be Jamaica’s biggest obstacle on the third day at Warner Park in a match where they have dominated Leeward Islands from the outset. Torrential overnight rain and persistent drizzles through the day prompted Jamaica’s overnight declaration, 191 runs ahead in the first innings. Play eventually began in the evening, and Jamaica pushed forward in their quest for victory in the 21 overs of play that were possible. Daren Powell and David Bernard, wary of the time that their side had lost in the game, bowled with aggressive intent to remove both openers for ducks. Kieran Powell was the first to go, caught spectacularly by a diving Nikita Miller in the slips off Daren. Bernard then did his bit, getting Montcin Hodge to join his opening partner in the hutch, edging one to forward short leg. Bernard kept up the pace, striking Tonito Willett in the box, forcing the batsman to retire on five. Runako Morton struck an unbeaten 42 and, in the company of Steve Liburd, denied Jamaica further success, but the bowlers will push hard for a win on the fourth day.Barbados and Combined Campuses and Colleges were forced to cool their heels indoors all day as rain washed out third day’s play in Charlestown. The heavens had opener even before players reached the ground, and continued unabated beyond the lunch break, at which point the umpires called off play for the day.

West Indies gave a better account of themselves with the bat than in Ahmedabad, but India remained in control of the Delhi Test

Sidharth Monga11-Oct-20252:57

Chopra: Gill destined for greatness

West Indies gave a better account of themselves with the bat than in Ahmedabad, but India still remained in control of the Delhi Test after Shubman Gill scored his 10th Test hundred and declared midway through the day at 518 for 5. In response, West Indies put on their first half-century stand of the series – a contrast to at least 57 for every wicket for India in this Test, Alick Athanaze posted their highest individual score of 41 and they went 43 overs with the loss of four wickets. It was an improvement after they failed to bat 50 overs in either of their innings in Ahmedabad, but they still needed 179 to avoid the follow-on.The day began on a sour note for India when the voracious Yashasvi Jaiswal was run-out after he had added just two to his overnight 173. He was quite demonstrative in letting his partner, Gill, know it was his call and that he should be looking at him and not the ball. However, Jaiswal had hit the ball to mid-off a little too well, and Gill had been quick to turn his back. Jaiswal, though, kept going, and left himself no opportunity to recover.The ever-calm Gill took it in his stride, and – at least for the spectators – more than made up for the run-out with sumptuous strokeplay to bring up his fifth century in just seven Tests as captain. For company he had 40s from Nitish Kumar Reddy, promoted so he can play some role in home Tests, and Dhruv Jurel, whose dismissal brought about the declaration.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

For most part, Gill hardly played a shot in anger. When the seamers produced a mildly testing spell in the morning, Gill prospered with short-arm cuts and defensive pushes for boundaries into the leg side, often after stepping out of the crease. He brought up his half-century with slight abandon, a lovely flick through midwicket. When Justin Greaves tried to mix cutters, he picked one even as he stepped out and then lofted him for a six.Reddy, who bowled just four overs in the first match and didn’t get to bat, was sent in at No. 5 so that India can give him time in the middle and give him every opportunity to develop into an allrounder when he is next needed overseas. It wasn’t the smoothest of innings, with an early edge falling short, but featured two sixes against the turn before a third attempt ended it on 43 off 54.Jurel was a more reliable ally, once again showing good judgement of length against spin. He preferred to press forward in preparation to face the ball, but was quick to rock back every time the spinners dropped short.Gill strolled through to his hundred before flicking into a higher gear, scoring 27 off 19 after reaching the landmark. In trying to match Gill’s pace, Jurel tried to manufacture a pull and was bowled off Roston Chase, the first man other than Jomel Warrican to take a wicket.Gill pulled the plug on the innings with that dismissal. Unbeaten, he now averaged 43.47 in Tests and 84.81 as captain. No India captain has scored more hundreds in a year than Gill’s five after he took over practically in the second half of 2025.1:08

Warrican: Need to be ‘extremely disciplined’ bowling here on first two days

Averaging 20 over the last 40 innings, the West Indies opening wicket failed to change that number either way, although this time they were unlucky. John Campbell and Tagenarine Chanderpaul had looked comfortable against pace. Campbell welcomed Ravindra Jadeja’s spin with a paddle-swept boundary, but the next sweep, nailed off the middle of the bat, hit the short leg’s helmet and lodged itself in the fielder’s arms. B Sai Sudharsan, the fielder, stayed off the field for the rest of the day, but had brought about a breakthrough.Chanderpaul and Athanaze then put together West Indies’ most assured phase with the bat, using their feet, sweeping, lofting down the ground, and then Chanderpaul was beaten in the air by a quick Jadeja delivery, which he steered for a sharp catch at first slip.Athanaze then hit Kuldeep Yadav’s first ball of a new spell straight to midwicket, having got too close to the pitch of the ball on this slog-sweep. Captain Roston Chase tamely flicked one back to Jadeja. In the stands, Viv Richards and Brian Lara were seen gesturing he should have defended it with the turn and not flicked against it.Shai Hope and Tevin Imlach saw West Indies through to stumps without further damage but they still had a mountain to climb.

Misses out on hundred but hefty stand with Pretorius puts team on course

ECB Reporters Network20-Apr-2024Craig Overton hit an unbeaten 95 off 111 balls as Somerset tightened their grip on the second day of the Vitality County Championship First Division match with Nottinghamshire at Taunton.From an overnight 116 for one, the hosts were bowled out for 454, building a first-innings lead of 261 after being 246 for seven. Sean Dickson made 72, Tom Banton 83, Migael Pretorius 77 and nightwatchman Josh Davey 45, while leg-spinner Calvin Harrison claimed four for 93.By the close, Notts had made 38 for one in their second innings, Ben Slater falling to a brilliant running catch by Dickson at mid-wicket off Davey, and still trailed by 223.It took Somerset until the final over before lunch to score the 78 runs needed for first innings lead as the Notts seam attack performed well under cloudless skies.Dickson had added only two to his overnight 70 when attempting to drive a wide delivery from Luke Fletcher. He made good contact, but directed the ball to Jack Haynes, who held an excellent low catch at cover.Tom Lammonby walked out with 241 runs already to his name in three Championship innings. He and Davey added 41 for the third wicket before he fell leg before to Brett Hutton playing across the line for 17.Lewis Goldsworthy had made only three when edging a defensive shot off Lyndon James to wicketkeeper Joe Clarke and Hutton was unlucky not to add Banton to the list of batting casualties, going past the outside edge of his bat three times in one over.But all the while Davey stood firm, looking in little trouble as he progressed to 44 not out at lunch, with eight fours. Banton survived the early scares to be unbeaten on 13, a single off the miserly Fletcher giving Somerset the lead with six first innings wickets in hand. They lunched at 194 for four from 63 overs, Fletcher having taken one for 36 from 17 overs.Those figures took a hit in the experienced seamer’s first over after lunch as Banton hit him for three fours off as many balls. The England T20 international, who has worked hard to establish himself in red ball cricket, was visibly growing in confidence.He lost Davey as a partner with the total on 218, bowled between bat and pad by Harrison’s third ball of the day. By then the nightwatchman had faced 104 balls and hit 8 fours.Notts were fighting back. James Rew, on 13, was beaten for pace by a short ball from James and top-edged a catch to Haynes at square leg. Then Lewis Gregory fell lbw to a quicker ball from Harrison, having contributed only a single.At 246 for seven, Somerset’s lead was just 53. But that was as good as it got for the visitors as Banton moved to his fifty off 80 balls, with seven fours, while Overton, fresh from a half-century against Surrey at The Oval, looked in prime form from the start of his innings.Notts took the new ball at 262 for seven. Overton greeted it with successive boundaries off Hutton, a sumptuous straight drive and a flashing cut shot. Banton had blossomed from early insecurity and it was a surprise when he departed, chipping a low catch to mid-on off Paterson, having faced 158 balls and extended his boundary count to 11.
Overton’s 67-ball fifty featured some of the best batting of the day. He was unbeaten on 57 at tea, which was taken with Somerset 347 for eight, leading by 154.The final session saw Overton and Pretorius turn the screw with a century stand off just 95 balls. They had extended it to 139 when Pretorius, having moved impressively to a 52-ball fifty and hit 2 big sixes off Harrison, was bowled by the occasional off-spin off Matt Montgomery in what proved his only over.Overton, who had struck nine fours and a six, was denied the chance of his second first class century when last man Shoaib Bashir inexplicably tried to slog Harrison and skied a simple catch. His clearly exasperated partner raced off the field without acknowledging the well-merited applause.

Jadeja and Rohit met with match-referee Pycroft to clarify visuals of spinner rubbing a substance on his bowling finger

Nagraj Gollapudi09-Feb-2023The Indian team management has told ICC match referee Andy Pycroft that Ravindra Jadeja was applying pain-relief cream to the index finger of his bowling hand in the video clips widely circulated on social media on the first day of the Nagpur Test against Australia.In the video footage, Jadeja was seen taking a substance off the back of Mohammed Siraj’s palm with his right hand. Jadeja then appeared to rub this substance on to the index finger of his left hand – his bowling arm – just before beginning to bowl a delivery. At no point in the footage was Jadeja seen rubbing anything on the ball itself, though he did have the ball in his hands at the time.Related

• What's the big deal with the Nagpur pitch?

• Rohit leads strong reply after Jadeja five-for

• Krishnaswamy: The underappreciated genius of Jadeja

The incident took place when Australia were 120 for 5, by which time Jadeja had already dismissed Marnus Labuschagne, Matt Renshaw and Steven Smith.ESPNcricnfo has learned that immediately after play ended on the first day, Jadeja along with India captain Rohit Sharma and the team manager, were shown a video clip of Jadeja’s actions. Pycroft, it is understood, wanted to just inform them about the incident and no charge has been laid against Jadeja.While the incident triggered debates on social and mainstream media, it is learned that the Australia team had not brought the matter to the attention of the match referee. According to the playing conditions, the match referee can independently probe such incidents without needing a complaint to be lodged. And under the Laws of Cricket, the bowler needs the umpire’s permission to apply any sort of substance on their hands to ensure the condition of the ball remains unaffected.Jadeja had made a successful return to international cricket after a five-month injury layoff on the first day of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He ran through Australia’s middle order, dismissing Labuschagne and Renshaw off successive deliveries, before picking up the wickets of Smith, Todd Murphy and Peter Handscomb. He finished with 5 for 47, as Australia were dismissed for 177 in their first innings in Nagpur.