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The squad includes two players from the runner-up side Saurashtra: wicketkeeper Snell Patel and left-arm spinner Dharmendrasinh Jadeja

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Feb-2019Ajinkya Rahane will lead the Rest of India side in the Irani Cup match against the Ranji Trophy champions Vidarbha, in Nagpur from February 12 to 16. The selectors named the squad shortly after the conclusion of the Ranji final, and included two players from the runner-up side Saurashtra: wicketkeeper Snell Patel and left-arm spinner Dharmendrasinh Jadeja.KL Rahul, meanwhile, will lead India A in their second four-day match against the touring England Lions, taking over from Ankit Bawne, who is currently captaining the side in the first match. The only change in the India A squad otherwise is the inclusion of the middle-order batsman Karun Nair.Rest of India squad for Irani Cup: Ajinkya Rahane (capt), Mayank Agarwal, Anmolpreet Singh, Hanuma Vihari, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wk), K Gowtham, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Ankit Rajpoot, Tanveer-ul-Haq, Ronit More, Sandeep Warrier, Rinku Singh, Snell Patel (wk)India A squad for second four-day game against England Lions: KL Rahul (capt), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Priyank Panchal, Ankit Bawne, Karun Nair, Ricky Bhui, Siddhesh Lad, KS Bharat (wk), Shahbaz Nadeem, Jalaj Saxena, Mayank Markande, Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini, Avesh Khan, Varun Aaron

Scott Boland will likely return if the selectors feel a change is needed

Andrew McGlashan05-Jul-2023The risks of asking Josh Hazlewood to push through three consecutive Tests is likely to be the decision that will most occupy the minds of Australia’s selectors ahead of Headingley, where the Ashes can be secured.Todd Murphy’s inclusion to replace the injured Nathan Lyon is all-but rubberstamped, but when Hazlewood appeared at Lord’s it became the first time he had played consecutive Tests since 2020-21 following a series of injuries.He was held back from the World Test Championship final against India to ensure he was ready for the Ashes and has since bowled 56 overs in two Tests, claiming eight wickets, although his economy is 4.64. It is not a massive workload, but one that may give the selectors some pause with the third Test beginning just three days after Lord’s.Related

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• England hope Bairstow stumping cloud can have silver lining

“He’d be the obvious one you’d be a bit more careful of,” captain Pat Cummins said. “The tour so far for him has gone as well as he could have hoped – no injuries, but he is kind of uncharted territory for the last year or two.”I think there will be some conversation around that. I think he bowled 25 and 35 [25 and 31], which isn’t extreme numbers, but again you weigh up this game versus the last two, how he’s tracking so we’ll work through that.”It’s a quick turnaround,” he added. “It’s obviously a huge match, but there are three matches to come. So you don’t want to put anyone in high risk than you’d like knowing that there’s a couple of fresh guys on the bench that come straight in.”While the major prize of retaining the Ashes with a series victory can be achieved at Headingley, the two remaining Tests at Old Trafford and The Oval would still carry important WTC points with this series being the first in the new cycle where Australia are defending champions.Should Hazlewood be benched for this game, Scott Boland would be the likely replacement ahead of Michael Neser, who has been retained in the squad. Boland played the opening Test at Edgbaston, where England took him at nearly a run-a-ball, but Cummins would have no qualms over his return.Josh Hazlewood took the match-deciding wicket of Ben Stokes at Lord’s•Associated Press

“We have such high standards of him [Boland] because of how well he has bowled,” Cummins said. “You saw in that little stretch where conditions were in our favour, how damaging he could be.”During the Lord’s Test, David Warner spoke about the difficulties he was facing with damaged fingers, but Cummins was not aware of them being a concern and Warner netted on Tuesday.”I saw him icing them at one stage in the changeroom and then him talking about it was the only time I’d heard of it,” he said. “So I don’t think it’s an issue.”Victory at Headingley, meaning a first away Ashes series win since 2001, would cement the legacy of this Australian Test team following their WTC title. Cummins was a central figure in the drawn 2-2 series in 2019, which meant the urn was retained, but conceded there were mixed feelings.”I think everyone felt a bit differently about it,” he said. “In Manchester, when we won that Test match to retain it, there was a big celebration where some people, me included, kind of thought, ‘do you celebrate when you retain it’. I genuinely didn’t know. For me it’s always about winning a series outright so that’s the goal. We want to win one of these last three Test matches.”

He is also hopeful of playing more Test cricket, which remains his favourite format

Matt Roller09-May-2023Trent Boult still has “a big desire” to represent New Zealand at the 50-over World Cup in India later this year, and remains hopeful that he will add to his 78 Test caps.Boult was released from his central contract last August at his own request in order to spend more time with his family and increase his availability for franchise leagues around the world.He has not played any international cricket since New Zealand’s T20 World Cup semi-final defeat to Pakistan in November and has not played a Test match in nearly a year, with New Zealand prioritising contracted players in their selection.Related

• Adam Milne offered NZC contract after five years

• White: Will be 'surprised' if Boult is not in New Zealand's 2023 World Cup squad

• Southee, Latham in consideration to lead New Zealand at 2023 ODI World Cup

• NZC agrees to release Boult from central contract

• Williamson set to miss ODI World Cup after IPL knee injury

But, in an interview with ESPNcricinfo in Jaipur, where he has been representing Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, Boult expressed his hope that he will return to India in October-November for the ODI World Cup.”I’ve still got that big desire to play for New Zealand,” Boult said. “It is what it is: I’ve made my decision. I’ve been lucky enough to have a 13-year career in the Black Cap and hey, I’ve still got a big desire to play in the World Cup as well. We’ll see how that unfolds: there’s still a bit of movement in the landscape at the moment.”I remember after the 2019 final, I said to Kane [Williamson] that we’ve got to be there again, come 2023 in India. It’s a shame with what’s going on with his knee but he’ll be working as hard as he can to try and get there. It’s such a great tournament… One hundred percent, I’ve got that desire to be out there.”We’re a great one-day side. We’ve got some players that have travelled to India and experienced the conditions a lot, and that’s what it comes down to in World Cups. You can’t buy experience, and you can’t replace players that have toured for however many years across these conditions.”Boult has not featured in any of New Zealand’s past six Test matches, and in February, was overlooked for the fixture against England in Mount Maunganui, where he and his family are based. “It felt bizarre,” he said. “Test match cricket was on, a couple of kilometres down the road, and I wasn’t part of it.”But he retains hope that he will be considered for their home Tests against Australia and South Africa in early 2024. “Hopefully not, no,” he said, asked if he had played his final Test match. “There are some big Tests coming up next year: Australia and South Africa are due to travel to New Zealand. And Test cricket is still my favourite format.”I’ve played nearly 80 Tests and had some pretty great times in the Black Cap, but they said that, if I chose to move away from that contract, my time in it would be limited. And I’m pretty sure they’ve never had anyone play Test cricket that isn’t contracted – so that probably makes it hard as well.”Boult has played in the Big Bash League and the ILT20 since stepping away from his national contract, and is likely to play in at least one other league later this year. With new tournaments emerging, heavily backed by IPL franchises, he predicted: “International cricket, I think, is going to suffer in some aspects.”It’s an interesting time for both franchise and international cricket, I reckon,” Boult said. “The leagues – there’s a lot of movement happening in that space, but the golden question is what it’s going to look like in a couple of years.”

Australia’s white-ball captain is expected to take 8-10 weeks to recover

Andrew McGlashan13-Aug-2021Australia’s limited-overs captain Aaron Finch has undergone knee surgery with the recovery expected to take eight to 10 weeks as he aims to be fit for the T20 World Cup.Finch missed the recent Bangladesh tour having suffered cartilage damage ahead of the series in West Indies. He managed to play the five T20Is in the Caribbean but aggravated the injury in the final game.Related

• Australia to monitor Aaron Finch's knee injury ahead of ODI series

• Alex Carey to captain Australia after Aaron Finch ruled out

• Aaron Finch faces knee surgery as uncertainty over T20 World Cup captaincy looms

Having completed his mandatory two-week quarantine upon returning to Melbourne, Finch had the operation on Thursday with a Cricket Australia statement saying it was successful.”His recovery is expected to take 8-10 weeks meaning he should be available for the opening games of the World Cup in mid-October,” the statement added.The longer end of that timescale will push things tight for Finch with Australia’s involvement in the tournament due to begin in the final week of October. It is expected that tentative plans for warm-up matches against Afghanistan and West Indies will be cancelled due to logistical challenges with some players returning from the IPL which will be also be staged in the UAE ahead of the World Cup.Finch was one of eight potential first-choice players Australia were missing in Bangladesh where they were beaten 4-1 (the same margin they suffered in West Indies) including being bowled out for their lowest T20I total of 62 in the last match. If fit, Finch will be expected to open alongside David Warner at the World Cup.In Finch’s absence, Matthew Wade captained the side in Bangladesh where, like many of the batters, he had a lean time. Pat Cummins, the official Australia vice-captain, will be part of the World Cup squad.Australia have lost their last five T20I series, against England, India, New Zealand, West Indies and Bangladesh, having previously climbed to No. 1 in the rankings.Their planning has been disrupted by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on player availability but the results have also raised questions about the depth available especially in the batting.They have never won the T20 World Cup with their best performance being a runners-up finish in 2010 when they lost the final against England in Barbados.

Sunrisers too look a more cohesive unit after starting the season with two losses

Sruthi Ravindranath13-Apr-2023

Big Picture – KKR and SRH both on the rise

Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad were both thrashed in their first games of the season and there was no single noteworthy performer for either team. But brighter days are already here.Knight Riders have found some unlikely heroes. First, it was Shardul Thakur who did something sensational – with the bat – and in the next match, Rinku Singh took it to another level and did something beyond sensational. The cricketing world has still not recovered from Rinku’s five sixes in the last over against Gujarat Titans. Even MS Dhoni doing MS Dhoni things hasn’t been enough to completely upstage Rinku.It’s been three days since that miracle innings but Knight Riders will still be on a high. Two 200-plus scores – one defended and one chased – will have done their confidence a world of good.Sunrisers, too, look a more cohesive unit with the arrival of the South Africans after they’d struggled in the first two games. Against Punjab Kings, Marco Jansen bowled a superb spell and picked up two wickets with the new ball while captain Aiden Markram played a supporting role to Rahul Tripathi in the chase with a 21-ball 37. Legspinner Mayank Markande, who bowled an impressive spell of 4 for 15 in the match against Punjab Kings, will be key in the middle overs.

Team News – Roy and Litton arrive

Knight Riders are yet to settle on an opening combination. Rahmanullah Gurbaz has had three different partners in each of the three games so far and further change may yet be on the cards with Jason Roy and Litton Das having joined the team, and trained with them, in Kolkata.For Sunrisers, Abhishek Sharma is unavailable due to an injury. “Abhi is certainly an important player for us, and the message I’ve been told is he is still coming back from an injury and they feel he needs a bit more time,” captain Markram said during a press conference a few days ago.Harry Brook’s shift to the top of the order didn’t bring him a change in fortunes in the last game•BCCI

Toss and Impact Player strategy

Kolkata Knight RidersKnight Riders brought in N Jagadeesan and Lockie Ferguson for Mandeep Singh and Tim Southee respectively in the last game. When they bowl, they are likely to pick Suyash Sharma in the starting XI, and might sub him out for Venkatesh or Jagadeesan, depending on which of the two does not make the XI when they bat.Probable bat-first XI: 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk) 2 N Jagadeesan, 3 Venkatesh Iyer, 4 Nitish Rana (capt), 5 Andre Russell, 6 Rinku Singh, 7 Shardul Thakur, 8 Sunil Narine, 9 Lockie Ferguson, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Varun Chakravarthy.Probable bowl-first XI: 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 2 Venkatesh Iyer, 3 Nitish Rana (capt), 4 Andre Russell, 5 Rinku Singh, 6 Shardul Thakur, 7 Sunil Narine, 8 Lockie Ferguson, 9 Umesh Yadav, 10 Varun Chakravarthy, 11 Suyash SharmaSunrisers HyderabadHarry Brook replaced Anmolpreet Singh at the top of the order and Sunrisers brought in Heinrich Klaasen to keep gloves in the last match against Kings. They might look to get Abdul Samad in when they bat – especially if it’s a chase – for one of the bowlers to strengthen their line-up.Probable bat-first XI: 1 Mayank Agarwal, 2 Harry Brook, 3 Rahul Tripathi, 4 Aiden Markram, 5 Heinrich Klaasen, 6 Abdul Samad, 7 Washington Sundar, 8 Marco Jansen, 9 Mayank Markande, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 11 Umran Malik/ T NatrajanProbable bowl-first XI: 1 Mayank Agarwal, 2 Harry Brook, 3 Rahul Tripathi, 4 Aiden Markram (capt.), 5 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 6 Washington Sundar, 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Mayank Markande, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Umran Malik, 11 T Natarajan.

Stats that matter – Sunrisers’ spin issues

• In 11 matches in IPL 2022, Varun Chakravarthy took just six wickets. He has already taken five wickets in three matches this season.
• Sunrisers have hit only 15 sixes in powerplay in IPL since 2022, the least for a team in this period.
• Sunrisers have struggled against spinners in IPL 2023. They have lost 12 wickets to spin so far, the second-most for a team behind Delhi Capitals. They also have the lowest strike rate (101) and average (13.7) against spinners this season.

Quotes

“T20’s a fantastic game. The game can be won or lost in the last ball, and throughout every IPL that I’ve been a part of, it seems like every game comes right down to the last over which is why it’s such a great product”

The focus will be on India’s top order with Prithvi Shaw waiting in the wings

Himanshu Agrawal28-Jan-20233:51

Jaffer: ‘India could look at an extra batter in place of Umran Malik’

Big picture

New Zealand finally have a win on this tour. After being whitewashed in the ODI series, their new stand-in captain Mitchell Santner led from the front with the ball to give his side hope of taking home the T20I series. Things that were not working during the ODIs suddenly clicked: Finn Allen gave them a quick start and their bowlers struck with the new ball.While Mark Chapman fell without scoring, and Glenn Phillips is yet to produce a substantial knock on the tour, the visitors will be backing them to come good in the second T20I in Lucknow, especially with pressure now on India to keep the series alive.For India, things went exactly the opposite way in the first T20I. During the ODIs, their top order was causing New Zealand big trouble. In Ranchi, though, Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan and Rahul Tripathi contributed only 11 runs from 17 balls as India slipped to 15 for 3 in the fourth over.

Watch live in the UK and USA

You can watch the first T20I between India and New Zealand live on ESPN Player in the UK, and on ESPN+ in English and in Hindi in the USA.

India do have Prithvi Shaw in the squad, but before the first T20I, Hardik Pandya had said that Shubman Gill was ahead of him in the pecking order. The team management is unlikely to change its mind after just one game.

Form guide

India LWLWT (Last five completed T20Is, most recent first)
New Zealand WTLLW

In the spotlight

Rahul Tripathi made his T20I debut during the Sri Lanka series. In his second game, he smashed 35 off just 16 balls, which included five fours and two sixes. All that inside the powerplay. After the game, Pandya had highlighted Tripathi’s intent, for which he was drafted into the side. So a six-ball duck in Ranchi will not dent his confidence, as a couple of early blows from him can put the opposition on the back foot.Glenn Phillips is yet to play a decisive knock on the tour•BCCI

Glenn Phillips had landed in India on the back of a match-winning 63 not out off 42 balls against Pakistan in the ODI series decider, but his scores in three ODIs and the first T20I against India have been: 11 (20), 36 (52), 5 (7) and 17 (22). It’s not just the low scores but also the strike rate. If he can find his form, it will really bolster New Zealand’s middle order.

Team news

With Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav bowling economic spells in Ranchi, while also picking up three wickets between them, Yuzvendra Chahal may have to sit out again. Arshdeep Singh had leaked 27 in the final over but until then he had figures of 1 for 24 from three overs. So he should retain his spot, especially with India thin on experience in the fast bowling department.India (probable): 1 Shubman Gill, 2 Ishan Kishan (wk), 3 Rahul Tripathi, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Hardik Pandya (capt), 6 Deepak Hooda, 7 Washington Sundar, 8 Shivam Mavi, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Umran Malik, 11 Arshdeep SinghNew Zealand may not want to change a winning combination. That means left-arm seamer Ben Lister will have to wait for his debut.New Zealand (probable): 1 Finn Allen, 2 Devon Conway (wk), 3 Mark Chapman, 4 Glenn Phillips, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Michael Bracewell, 7 Mitchell Santner (capt), 8 Ish Sodhi, 9 Lockie Ferguson, 10 Jacob Duffy, 11 Blair Tickner

Pitch and conditions

All five T20Is hosted by the Ekana Stadium to date have been won by the side batting first. And with New Zealand defending 176 successfully in the first T20I despite a threat of dew in the second innings, both teams may prefer batting first after winning the toss.

Stats and trivia

• West Indies have featured in four out of the five T20Is played at this venue. India in only two.
• India’s previous T20I in Lucknow was in February 2022. Yet, because of a combination of form, injury and rotation, only Kishan and Deepak Hooda from that XI may play on Sunday.

Wicketkeeper batter set to be announced as a new signing by MI Emirates

Matt Roller20-Dec-2022Lorcan Tucker will join Josh Little and Paul Stirling in missing Ireland’s T20I series in Zimbabwe to play franchise cricket next month.Tucker, the wicketkeeper batter, shot to prominence at the T20 World Cup after his 71 not out against Australia and a crucial 45 not out against West Indies.Related

• Ireland's new 'golden generation' comes of age

• Stirling, Little to miss Ireland T20Is against Zimbabwe

He will be announced as a new signing by MI Emirates, the Reliance-owned franchise in the inaugural ILT20 in the UAE, in the coming days. Like Little and Stirling, Tucker will miss the T20Is from January 12-15 but will play the ODIs from January 18-23.Tucker’s involvement in the ILT20 is the latest test for Cricket Ireland’s selection policy, which has started to incorporate scope for players to skip certain bilateral series in order to make the most of the “development opportunities” offered by franchise leagues.Historically, Ireland have only tended to grant No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) to centrally-contracted players when leagues do not clash with their international schedule. But the growth of their fixture list, the increasing number of opportunities available in franchise cricket, and the new prominence of their leading players suggests their stance will soften in order to ensure they are not tempted to turn down central contracts and go freelance.Little, the left-arm seamer who is skipping the Zimbabwe T20Is to play for Pretoria Capitals in the SA20, is the player in the highest demand. Last week, he was signed on a lucrative ‘platinum’ deal by Multan Sultans at the PSL draft, and he is available at a base price of INR 50 lakh (£50,000 approx.) in Friday’s IPL auction.ESPNcricinfo understands he is likely to be made available for the duration of the IPL if signed – although a decision would depend on Ireland’s progress in the ODI Super League. If results elsewhere mean they are still mathematically in contention for automatic qualification to the 2023 World Cup, he would be expected to return home for Ireland’s final Super League series against Bangladesh in May.Left-arm quick Josh Little is another Ireland player wanted by T20 leagues•Associated Press

“Cricket Ireland’s view on franchise cricket involvement by our contracted players is that it’s Ireland-first by default,” Richard Holdsworth, Ireland’s long-serving performance director, said. “However, on a case-by-case basis, where an opportunity to leverage a franchise league offer may provide a benefit to the Irish set-up or player development, we will consider flexibility in selection.”It goes without saying that proximity to major tournaments or where the head coach would prefer to have the players available for international matches, that will be the priority.”The recent success of our senior squad on the world stage has attracted the attention of a range of franchise tournaments. We take this as both a positive sign of our trajectory as a cricket nation and long overdue recognition for the talent on this island.”This month alone eight of our senior squad have been involved in franchise leagues, and we expect the demand for Irish talent will only grow over coming years.”Andrew White, Ireland’s national selector, added: “The selectors have recognised the development opportunity for Lorcan Tucker in taking up the franchise T20 tournament opportunity next month given the location and quality of players involved.”While he had previously been named in the Irish squad for the Zimbabwe tour, we considered that the chance opportunity for Lorcan to play in the UAE franchise league would give him an experience that could greatly benefit his game, while allowing us an opportunity to expand our international talent pool.”Tucker has been replaced in the squad by Ross Adair, the spin-bowling allrounder and older brother of Mark Adair. He previously enjoyed a professional rugby union career with Ulster and described his call-up as a “huge honour”.

In a release, the board said that “tough decisions” were required to preserve cricket in Zimbabwe

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Aug-2018Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) will not renew the contracts of “almost all” of its staff members when they expire at the end of August as the organisation begins a radical financial restructure. Player contracts will be reviewed and agreed next week.”These are tough times and tough decisions are required to preserve cricket in Zimbabwe,” ZC said in a release.Zimbabwe Cricket remains committed to restarting its domestic season in November, and to hiring a small complement of staff to suit its needs.The drastic measures are a consequence of the drip-feed of funding ZC will receive from the ICC, who offered ZC a lifeline after their annual conference in June. In essence, ZC will no longer receive two annual payouts like other Member Countries, but funds as needed to prevent over-expenditure and help ZC manage its substantial debt; for instance, the ICC approved a release of funds earlier in the month to pay outstanding player salaries, which have been four months overdue.The extended non-payment led to five prominent players – Brendan Taylor, Graeme Cremer, Sikander Raza, Craig Irvine and Sean Williams – sitting out the T20 triangular series against Australia and Pakistan and five-match ODI series against Pakistan. Taylor had committed himself to “getting back to work” once payments are made. Zimbabwe’s next assignment is three ODIs and three T20s against South Africa, starting from the end of September.

South Africa’s captain refuses to blame slippery conditions for their fielding errors

Andrew McGlashan03-Nov-2022Temba Bavuma has admitted the “wheels probably came off” for South Africa in the field at the SCG as they suffered their first defeat of the T20 World Cup but did not see it as a major cause for alarm with progression still firmly in their hands.Pakistan had been reduced to 43 for 4 in the seventh over but managed to post 185 for 9 with 117 coming off the second ten overs which featured a significant deterioration in South Africa’s fielding, although the latter part of the innings took place under drizzle.Related

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Bavuma did not believe his attack had been agile enough to adjust to conditions as they changed, but with the final group game against Netherlands, they should still reach the semi-finals although will concede the top spot to India if they beat Zimbabwe.”I wouldn’t say it’s a concern,” Bavuma said. “Probably is a bit of a wake-up call. I thought the first ten overs, we were superb. We were able to get them under pressure. Then after that, the wheels probably came off.”Conditions changed a little bit with the ball going to skid [on]. I think in terms of our awareness, in terms of adapting to that, we were very slow. We allowed them to get momentum into their innings, and they were able to get a formidable score on the board.”We’re going to use our pace. We’re going to use our bounce. Unfortunately for us today, it probably wasn’t the right plan considering the conditions out there.”Like I said, I don’t think it’s a big concern. Yes, there are talking points for us, areas that we can learn from. Maybe it’s a performance that we needed to kind of bring us down back to earth.”Bavuma did not want to use a damp ball and slippery underfoot conditions as an excuse for an uncharacteristic number of fielding errors.”Maybe the intensity lowered a bit for the guys. Individually, the guys know, but it’s definitely not the standard of fielding that we pride ourselves on,” he said. “I guess we had a bit of a lifeline probably because of the way we played up until this point, but I think from now on it’s about us playing our best cricket. If we come unstuck, we come unstuck. Today we didn’t play our best cricket.”South Africa went into the match without the in-form David Miller who suffered back spasms although Bavuma indicated it should not be a major concern for the games to come. And the captain himself was able to make his highest T20I score since the previous World Cup with 36 off 19 balls which briefly put South Africa ahead of the DLS target.”It’s been a while since I hit the ball in the middle,” he said. “I felt a lot better today…I guess I just tried to enjoy it, to be honest.”

The allrounder from Australia doesn’t have the spectacle or cult-hero status of a Gayle or Dhoni. But he can more than match their exploits with bat in hand

Nagraj Gollapudi in Pune21-Apr-20182:16

‘Dreaming of days like this over the last couple of years’ – Watson

On Thursday Chris Gayle, in the same breath, both demanded and commanded respect after becoming the first centurion in IPL 2018. A day later, Shane Watson, another middle-aged cricketer, reminded us that experience remains a vital asset in a format made for the young, becoming the first player in the tournament’s history to score a ton for and against a team he represents.Otherwise Gayle and Watson are chalk and cheese. Gayle calculates his assault, runs only when pushed to. Watson is a contrast: a busybody, he will muscle a few big hits, but otherwise uses his powerful wrists and precise placements to gain momentum.With Gayle bowlers always have this nagging fear of being bludgeoned. Watson meanwhile stays in his pen without barking too much. And yet he can bite. A big man, Watson, like Gayle, hits the ball hard. Unlike Gayle, who likes to stay quiet as far as possible in the first half of the innings, Watson likes to clear the infield and stay deep in the crease to cut and glide the ball to the ropes.In their previous three matches, Super Kings had chased. They had taken the chase to the virtually the last ball in all those three games. Dwayne Bravo, Sam Billings and MS Dhoni had put Super Kings in a winning position. The top order most often provided decent starts, but nothing like today.He was given a reprieve in the very first over by Rahul Tripathi, who dropped a simple catch at first slip. Watson never looked back. Unlike the previous matches, there was a conscious change of plan in the way Watson attacked today – he did not slog, but took advantage of the ample loose balls dished out by Royals’ bowlers in the first half of the innings. Barring the death overs, where he was largely kept off strike by Dwayne Bravo, Watson did not slow down at any stage during the innings.Another significant difference between Watson and Gayle was the dot balls. Today Watson played only 13 dots out of the 57 deliveries he face as opposed to Gayle’s 21 out of 63 on Thursday. Obviously, there are few batsmen who come close to Gayle in taking rapid strides to make up for the initial lull. But if Gayle is brute force, Watson carves out strokes with both power and subtlety.0:46

‘Watson more classical batsman than Gayle’ – Laughlin

Overall, in terms of Smart Runs – part of ESPNcricinfo’s new metric to make sense of numbers in the shortest format – Watson’s runs today were worth 31 more than his actual score. While Watson’s 106 came off 57 deliveries at a strike rate of 185.96, the other Super Kings’ batsmen scored at strike rate of 143.Watson’s desire to excel has always been there. Fitness issues, perhaps, did not allow him to become someone like a Jacques Kallis. But his commitment to the task has always been unwavering. He was modest enough to admit he was lucky to play in the IPL again and bat at his “favourite” position – as opener. He said he had been “dreaming of days” like Friday over the last couple of years.He also acknowledged the role of good form coming into this IPL; Watson was the fifth-highest run-getter in the Pakistan Super League [PSL] season that finished late last month. “This is as good as I have batted over the last three or four months, from the Big Bash [League in Australia], the PSL and now here,” Watson said after the game. “The previous couple of years, I certainly wasn’t batting well for a few different reasons I was working on. But I just was not at my absolute best at Royal Challenger Bangalore. The pleasing thing is to be able to score runs. Of course a hundred is a real bonus.”On Friday, the Pune ground was awash with No. 7 yellow jerseys, homage to Super Kings’ captain MS Dhoni. Two days ago Mohali was full of Gayle fans. Watson, despite playing an innings like Friday’s on several occasions, has never been known for the miracles and spectacle that the likes of Dhoni and Gayle have built their legends on. Still, Watson is strong enough to match them on field, with less show, in his own style.