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“No Safe Total in T20s”— Shreyas Iyer’s Verdict After Ranchi Run-Fest

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Iyer (PC: BCCI) After losing the Ranchi T20I against the West Indies, India’s T20I captain Shreyas Iyer said that no total could be considered safe in the modern T20 era after the visitors chased down a record 249 with nine balls to spare to level the five-match series 1-1, with three matches remaining. The Men in Maroon completed their best run chase and the second-highest successful run chase in T20Is on Friday night, as India’s bowlers failed to defend the target. When Iyer was asked what would have been a safe total on that wicket, he said: “Honestly speaking, you cannot put a number to it, because when the dew factor comes in, it plays a massive role. And even 249 was chased down with, like, two overs to spare. So you cannot give a number or probably anticipate that, okay, this is the number we would be trying to score.” Iyer pointed out how difficult the conditions were for the bowlers, especially in the second innings, with few opportunities to settle into a rhythm. He also...
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New Zealand suffer injury blow as Will O’Rourke ruled out of India matches

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Will O’Rourke (PC: Photosport NZ) New Zealand faced a major setback as right-arm pacer Will O’Rourke has been ruled out of the upcoming home series against India while recovering from injuries to his left hamstring and calf. The team management has decided not to rush him back into action as the Black Caps will have a busy schedule ahead, including a four-Test series in Australia in December and January. In an official press release, New Zealand head coach Rob Walter revealed that the decision was taken after discussions about the fast bowler’s fitness and recovery. “Our pace bowling resources will be critical over the next few months, so we’re taking a conservative approach to Will’s return to ensure he’s fully fit before he takes the field again,” Walter said. O’Rourke was expected to play in both the ODI and Test series against India. However his recovery will take longer than expected. Walter hopes the pacer can return to domestic cricket for Canterbury in the ...
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The Smriti Mandhana Era begins — Cricket Needs a New Playbook for Leadership

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Image: X Earlier this week, Harmanpreet Kaur stepped down from India captaincy at 37, despite leading the women’s team to its historic ODI World Cup triumph. Smriti Mandhana, aged 30, takes over and her challenge is to lay down a new blueprint with her former captain playing a pivotal role in it. Virat Kohli’s withdrawal from T20 internationals and subsequently Test cricket, Rohit Sharma’s departure from T20 internationals, and the emergence of a younger generation of aggressive cricketers, point towards something larger than conventional succession. There was a time when experience was an almost unquestioned qualification for leadership. The longer you played, the more you understood. Seniority brought authority, authority brought responsibility, and responsibility eventually brought captaincy. The same philosophy governed corporations, where leadership was traditionally the culmination of decades of accumulated experience. Perhaps cricket is witnessing the emergen...
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“He Is a Phenomenal Player”: Rutherford Hails Hope After Stunning Chase Against India

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Shai Hope. (PC: X/ICC) Wicketkeeper-batter Shai Hope led from the front with an unbeaten century as the West Indies pulled off a stunning six-wicket win over India while chasing a daunting target of 250 in the second T20I in Ranchi on Friday. Hope remained unbeaten on 102 off just 45 balls, smashing six boundaries and nine sixes at a strike rate of 226.66. The West Indies captain carried his excellent form into the T20I series after scoring two centuries in the preceding ODI series. He made 104 in the second ODI in Guwahati before remaining unbeaten on 162 in New Chandigarh. He also scored 52 in the first T20I in Lucknow. During the post-match presentation, Hope, who was named Player of the Match, reflected on the challenge of chasing such a huge target. “We knew that it was going to be a tough chase,” he said. “It was always going to be challenging. When we got that partnership between me and Rovman [Powell], and then Sherfane did what he did.” Hope shared a crucial 120-run partn...
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Experience Over Youth Could Be Behind Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s T20I Recall

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Bhuvneshwar Kumar (PC: IPL/BCCI) Wealth of experience might be one of the reasons why Bhuvneshwar Kumar has earned a recall to India’s T20I side, according to India’s batting coach, Sitanshu Kotak. He also feels that the conditions in New Zealand, where India willplay their next T20I series, will have further strengthened the pacer’s case. Bhuvneshwar returned to the national team after a four-year hiatus, having been named in the squad for the five-match T20I series against New Zealand. Following two successful seasons in the IPL, the veteran pacer has earned his place inthe side. In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, the T20I side needed an experienced bowler for the away tour, and Bhuvneshwar’s selection provides just that. “One thing, obviously, is that it’s the selectors’ choice,” Kotak said at a press conference ahead of the second T20I againstthe West Indies in Ranchi. “But I can still give you an answer about what I think. In England, I also personally felt th...
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The return of Bhuvneshwar Kumar — ‘At some stage you need experience’

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Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Image: IPL Beyond Jasprit Bumrah, India’s pace attack in white-ball cricket doesn’t inspire confidence. Prasidh Krishna made his international debut in 2021, six years after cutting his teeth in first-class cricket. But even after so many years, he has failed to come of age. The Karnataka seamer is not in the T20I scheme of things at the moment. Arshdeep Singh has played 95 T20Is, taking 141 wickets. On the face of it, this is impressive. But the left-arm quick hasn’t grown into the role of leader of the pace pack. The likes of Gurnoor Brar, Mayank Yadav, Prince Yadav and Yash Thakur are spring chickens and fall into the emerging fast bowlers category. It’s a different ball game when Bumrah is bowling from one end and when he isn’t playing. The England tour in the summer laid bare the tattered fabric of India’s back-up seam bowling in Bumrah’s absence. Going ahead, the great man is unlikely to feature much in bilateral T20...
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India vs West Indies, T20Is: How Shreyas Iyer found his mojo

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In sport, an athlete doesn’t have a guarantee card that could assure their existence in top-flight competitions for years together. Elite-level sport demands continuous evolution. Shreyas Iyer, the India skipper in the shortest format, is someone who has looked to constantly upgrade his game. Over a decade or so, he seems to have tinkered with his methods and reaped the rewards in the abridged versions. Since returning to the T20I set-up, Iyer seemed a tad uncomfortable at the crease while landing the big shots. Incidentally, before he crunched a hundred in the Lucknow T20I against the West Indies, Iyer’s strike rate was hovering in the mid-130s during that phase. However, on the given day, he crunched a 43-ball 102 in conditions where a majority of the batters couldn’t find their top gear. Just skim through the outer layer of his power-hitting manual, and it could be seen that he had tweaked his bat-lift angle and trigger movement against pace. As it turned out, it...
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