All posts by h716a5.icu

Despite their mighty batting line-up, there’s something South Africa haven’t done well in ODIs of late, and that needs addressing fast

Vishal Dikshit23-Oct-20232:14

Markram on how South Africa will approach chases

Eight 300-plus scores this year. Six totals of over 300 in their last seven games, and two of them over 400. Three 300-plus scores this World Cup already, including a 229-run thrashing of the defending champions England. All this with the most explosive batting of the tournament so far.So where’s the catch?That, dear reader, is in the fact that all but one of those feats have come batting first.If you leave out their successful chase of 343 against England at home back in January, all their blazing batting performances have been recorded when batting first. And their three wins in this World Cup have also come when batting first.Related

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They were lucky in their last game, against England, where they lost the toss but still got to bat first, and hammered one short of another 400. Jos Buttler later admitted that England should have batted first in the sapping heat and humidity of Mumbai.South Africa have been out of their comfort zone chasing in ODIs this year. It was evident barely a week ago when they tried chasing down 246 (in 43 overs) in Dharamsala against Netherlands, the lowest-ranked and only Associate team at the World Cup, but just about managed to cross 200 to fall well short.It is a new pattern with South Africa. Before the loss to Netherlands, their last attempt to chase down a target was in early September against an Australian attack without Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, yet they lost by a massive 123 runs. Their last successful chase came against Netherlands in March this year, but the target was a modest 190, and the one before that was also in March, against West Indies, who failed to qualify for the World Cup.In short, South Africa’s mighty batting line-up has smashed a lot of runs batting first in 2023, but has struggled while chasing. And if they lose the flip of the coin on Tuesday afternoon against Bangladesh, they could very well be asked to field first in the unforgiving weather of Mumbai – and have to chase a stiff target, because Wankhede could yet again provide a flat deck, with short boundaries thrown in as a bonus.ESPNcricinfo Ltd”Yeah, it’s more of an approach where we’re trying to… almost trying to approach it as if we’re still setting a target,” Aiden Markram, who was the captain in place of the injured Temba Bavuma in their last game, said on Monday of their chasing trend. “Although we are chasing in the game itself, to apply yourself as a batter and to get yourself in, doing it the same way as you would if you were setting a target. And then once you’re feeling in, to sort of try to understand the situation and what’s required of you at that certain time. And we have batted a lot and we haven’t chased a lot, so it’ll be a great challenge if we do get to chase tomorrow and try and implement what we’ve been chatting about off the field.”Chasing a target may not be the only challenge for South Africa on Tuesday. South Africa went down 2-1 in their last ODI series against Bangladesh, at home in March 2022, and their two losses to Bangladesh in World Cups – in 2007 and 2019 – also came while, guess what, batting second.”We haven’t done particularly well against them in the past, so that’s extra motivation for us to come out and replicate what was a good performance against England,” Markram said, “but more from an intensity level and a standards level, that’s something that we’re going to try to focus on and trust that if we take care of those sorts of things, hopefully it’s enough for us on the day.”They’re a fantastic team. If you don’t rock up on the day and if your skills let you down on the day against a team like Bangladesh you will be put under a lot of pressure. So that’s probably where we’ve got it wrong in the past. Naturally they bring a great attack that is well-rounded now. You can’t just say they’re going to bring fantastic spinners because their seamers have done a great job in the recent past. So, they’re a fantastic team.”South Africa found out early in this tournament – by losing their second consecutive World Cup game across formats to Netherlands – what an upset feels like. If they are thrown the challenge of chasing a stiff one on Tuesday, they would want to prove that their batters can shine under pressure too.

A new approach was the starting point, and since then, whatever India have done has worked like a charm

Shashank Kishore17-Nov-20232:22

Rohit’s start reminds Hayden of Gilchrist in 2003 World Cup final

India are unbeaten heading into Sunday’s World Cup final against Australia in Ahmedabad. The impressive results are a by-product of a mindset change they brought in collectively, the origins of which can be traced back to Adelaide last year, where they were handed a ten-wicket thrashing by England in the T20 World Cup semi-final.In the aftermath of that campaign, Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid decided to tear down old templates. Just before the Adelaide game, freakish performances like Virat Kohli’s magic at the MCG against Pakistan helped paper over fault lines, but India were far from being the world-beaters they look like today.They addressed the issues head on.Rohit, the hammer, leads by exampleRohit has shown the way. He has changed his approach in the powerplay, adopting a high-risk game, which has worked wonderfully.Take the semi-final, for example, against New Zealand in Mumbai, where he was up against the same side that had caused India’s downfall in Manchester four years ago. Rohit negated Trent Boult’s swing early on by charging at him and hitting him through the line and in the air. Next minute, he was flicking length balls over midwicket. India raised 58 inside six overs, with Rohit racing to 45 off 22 balls. It was a kick in the gut for New Zealand.Related

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Rohit’s approach that afternoon was no different from the rest of the tournament. It has had a massive impact on the team’s overall game. India’s powerplay strike rate of 109 in the first ten overs is the highest among all teams in the competition. Rohit has scored more than half of India’s powerplay runs (354) this tournament, at a strike rate of 133. He has also hit the most sixes in a single edition of the World Cup already.But he has knuckled down when the situation has demanded. Like the 87 against England in a game where the next best was 49. On a two-paced Lucknow deck where run-scoring was challenging against a back-of-a-length attack, Rohit dropped anchor. Yet, he comfortably outpaced all other batters.Kohli anchors a dream scriptRohit’s robust approach has helped take a lot of pressure off the middle order, especially Kohli, who has played according to the team’s demands. He sits atop the hundreds tally in ODIs, having surpassed Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 in Mumbai two nights back. Kohli also has the most runs in a single edition of the World Cup, having crossed Tendulkar’s mark of 673 from 20 years ago.2:59

Hayden: Kohli a great story of resilience and professionalism

There’s simplicity and a robotic precision to Kohli’s new methods, which sit just about perfectly in a batting order that has Rohit’s fire, Shubman Gill’s consistency, Shreyas Iyer’s fearsome ball-striking that has now brought back-to-back hundreds, and KL Rahul’s inventiveness.In India’s very first game of the World Cup, the soft underbelly of the middle order – Iyer and Rahul were coming back from lengthy injury layoffs – stood exposed at 2 for 3 against a rip-roaring Australia attack defending 200.”Play it like Test cricket for some time, and see where it goes,” Kohli told Rahul then. He reined himself in remarkably after offering an early life – a pull that was grassed by Mitchell Marsh. It could have been 20 for 4. It wasn’t. It’s the slice of luck great batters use to their advantage. Kohli shelved his flair for grit and walked off to 85 valuable runs to put a ‘W’ on the points table.That knock set into motion a dream run, where it almost looks like he can’t be dismissed, as if there is a century there for the taking. He has more runs and more hundreds than any other batter in this tournament. This includes his first in a World Cup semi-final. Kohli hadn’t scored even a fifty before that in a knockout game of the World Cup. He has played the conditions and situations, while Rohit and the middle order have punched attacks.2:35

Is Shami India’s greatest ODI bowler of all time?

The balancing act after Hardik’s exitIt was perhaps India’s biggest fear. One you hope you don’t have to confront. Hardik Pandya picking up an injury, that is.When Hardik injured his left ankle three balls into his opening over against Bangladesh in India’s fourth game, India had a problem: how to replace a two-in-one player.Without him, they decided to punt on a five-bowler strategy. Enter Mohammed Shami, amid chatter around lack of batting depth, and the result was 5 for 54 in a four-wicket win over New Zealand.It was tougher against England in Lucknow, as India huffed and puffed to 229 for 9. In that game, India had to get through nearly ten overs with their lower order exposed. Jasprit Bumrah made sure they did that with an innings of 16 off 25 balls, priceless runs in the overall context.Then, with ball in hand, Shami stepped in to wreck England’s middle order to build on Bumrah’s sensational opening burst. Shami vs Ben Stokes was no less sensational than Ishant vs Ponting or Wahab vs Watson. It was the first time India were defending a score in the tournament, having chased successfully for four games.Shami worked Stokes over for nine balls and then clattered his stumps with the tenth. In a five-over spell of play where Bumrah and Shami picked up 4 for 9, they made England play 14 false shots. Even on the 16 occasions England middled the ball, they managed just eight runs. That’s way too much pressure to contend with, and England crumbled. Shami finished with a four-for, but Bumrah’s three wickets were no less important.4:23

What has made Bumrah and Shami so effective at this World Cup?

Bumrah has made an impact across phases. With the new ball, it has largely been seam and hard length that has proved to be the opponents’ undoing. His powerplay economy of 3.13 is the best in the tournament for any bowler to have bowled at least 60 balls in that phase. Teams have looked to play him out, because of the inherent fear of giving their wickets away. It has made for compelling viewing.The difference between Bumrah’s overall economy and the others’ economy in this World Cup is the highest for any bowler to have sent down at least 400 balls in any World Cup. If you slightly bring the cut-off down to 300 balls, only Mitchell Starc (2015) is ahead of him. It’s the kind of cutting edge attacks yearn for, allowing other bowlers to thrive.Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja certainly have. Sure, they have had their off days at times, but seldom have they had it together like Kuldeep and Yuzvendra Chahal did against England in 2019.India have been unchanged for six games now. Shami has picked up three five-fors already, the most in a single edition. Despite playing just six games, he sits atop the bowling charts, having taken 23 wickets at a mind-boggling average of 9.13.2:32

‘Shreyas’ strength and magical wrists make him a handful’

The comeback storiesWhen he injured his hamstring in Lucknow during the IPL in May, Rahul had feared for the worst. But he was declared fit in August. He still needed some more conditioning that forced him to miss the initial set of games at the Asia Cup. It was deemed highly risky to punt on a player who had to bat and keep wickets, heading into the World Cup with barely any match time.Iyer, too, had to go to the UK for back surgery; he was pretty much out of action for six weeks. He spent time in rehab but pulled up stiff after being included in the Asia Cup. For a while, it appeared inconceivable to see the team risk both Iyer and Rahul in the same XI. But just when it seemed like Rahul might be given more time out, he had to start playing.When Iyer had back spasms just prior to the toss in a Super Four Asia Cup fixture against Pakistan, Rahul was in. From knowing he wasn’t playing prior to the game – he hadn’t even carried his kit to the ground – he ended it by scoring a match-winning hundred and put together a mammoth stand with Kohli.Iyer eventually won his place back along with Rahul, but began the World Cup with a tame dismissal that elicited a public cry of anguish from India’s 2011 hero, Yuvraj Singh. He needs to be more responsible, Yuvraj said. And responsible Iyer has been since.2:01

Hayden: No obvious weakness in Rahul’s game

After a slow start, he has gathered pace to make four consecutive scores of 75 or more. This includes the centuries against Netherlands and then against New Zealand in the semi-final. There’s an air of audacity to Iyer’s game against spin, tempered aggression that stems from the confidence he has in his abilities, short-ball frailties notwithstanding.Then there’s Gill, who had missed the first two matches of the World Cup because of a bout of dengue, leaving India having to summon Plan B – Ishan Kishan – straightaway. Fortunately for India, Gill missed only two games.While the after-effects of his illness haven’t gone yet, he has been a calming presence in the top order. Gill is the only one in India’s top five to not have a hundred to show yet, but each of his four half-centuries had the hundred stamp all over it. Two nights back, in the semi-final, he made 79 before having to retire hurt with cramps. By the time he returned to bat in the last over, Kohli and Iyer had hit hundreds of their own, and Gill wasn’t ruing what he had missed.As India prepare for the final, it all seems a script straight out of a dream. Gill loves batting there, having hit three hundreds across formats this year. And one of those was against the very team he will face on Sunday.

Consecutive defeats on home soil brought a campaign to an end where they couldn’t quite cover key absences

Tristan Lavalette21-Jan-20241:29

Hardie admits Scorchers were well below their best in Strikers defeat

Perth Scorchers’ passionate fans still maintained the faith when Cooper Connolly and Nick Hobson, last season’s title-winning heroes, were at the crease as they grimly chased 156 against Adelaide Strikers in the knockout final.The confidence from the 33,000 Optus Stadium crowd was justified given Scorchers’ knack of pulling out miraculous victories over the years.But when Hobson fell to a stunning return catch from Strikers captain Matthew Short, Scorchers’ bid for a historic hat-trick of titles was effectively over. Many of the glum fans could not bear to watch any further as they headed for the exit in an unusual sight.Related

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Scorchers had won 17 of their last 18 home matches before failing to defend 197 against Sydney Sixers in a last-ball defeat that cost them second spot and a double chance in the finals.They again let slip a strong position at the innings break to suffer a shock 50-run defeat against Strikers as they now come to grips with the end of their BBL dominance.Scorchers/Western Australia had swept through the domestic titles over the past two years amid a golden era. But there have been cracks over the season for Scorchers and here are a few takeaways over why their title defence ended abruptly.Ashton Turner’s absenceWhile it’s easy to rue the Sixers defeat, Scorchers’ turning-point was probably in their third match of the season when captain Ashton Turner limped off after bowling his first delivery against Hobart Hurricanes.He was ruled out for the remainder of the tournament following knee surgery having only faced 17 balls out in the middle. Scorchers were initially able to withstand his absence as stand-in captain Aaron Hardie led from the front with plenty of support from Josh Inglis and Laurie Evans in the middle-order.The turning point? Ashton Turner’s season ended with a knee injury•Getty ImagesBut Hardie and Inglis fell away as the season wore on and combined with Evans’ absence, after leaving for the UAE’s ILT20, Scorchers were exposed against Strikers.Turner’s composed and powerful batting in the backend of innings was clearly missed and so too his leadership. His tactical nous was widely lauded during Scorchers’ title-winning seasons and his players mirror his calm demeanour.Scorchers this season looked unusually ragged at times, with the ball and in the field, especially at the death against Sixers and Heat. You feel Turner would have been a steadying presence.It was always going to be tough shoes to fill for Hardie. Preferred over wicketkeeper Inglis, Hardie grew into the role and looms as a future leader – potentially at international level.Sticking with Scorchers’ well-worn manual, much like Turner, Hardie is understated and doesn’t give much away emotionally. He enjoyed an impressive performance initially against Strikers having had the courage to replace struggling frontline spinner Ashton Agar with little-used Connolly.Hardie had also started to take charge by bowling himself more and he was rewarded with the key wicket of Jake Weatherald and then James Bazley in the same over. But losing Turner, surely Scorchers’ most important player, ultimately proved too hard to overcome for a team that has shown plenty of resiliency over the years.Scorchers also lost quick Jhye Richardson to a side strain late in the season, while Mitchell Marsh did not play a match due to his Test commitments.”We’re happy to keep taking the shots and keep rebounding but I think there’s only a certain level that we’re able to do that,” Hardie said. “I still thought we had the team to win the title.”Top-order strugglesSam Fanning could have a part to play in the future of Scorchers’ top order•Getty ImagesScorchers were unable to find an effective opening partnership. The departure of Cameron Bancroft, who had been a stabilising presence in the top three during their back-to-back triumphs, to Sydney Thunder proved significant.Connolly was trialled as an opener at the start of the season, but it backfired. Scorchers ended up using five different opening combinations, but none could strike a half-century partnership.England opener Zak Crawley was a modest success in his six-game stint while Sam Whiteman, WA’s Sheffield Shield captain, could not fire in his return to Scorchers.Stephen Eskinazi had been a find for Scorchers last season, but he was mostly squeezed out until a hit on the knuckles against Sixers ended his season. Marcus Harris and Sam Fanning were late season signings and they ended up being Scorchers’ unexpected openers against Strikers.Fanning, in his BBL debut, unfurled aggressive strokes to provide an early launch pad that had been rarely seen this season. Scorchers’ batting blueprint had been to build a foundation before their big-hitting middle order launched in the second half of the innings.But, as Fanning showed with his enterprising knock, Scorchers might have to tinker with their philosophy.Ashton Agar’s home woesAshton Agar had some good days on the road, but struggled in Perth•Getty ImagesLeft-arm spinner Agar has been a fulcrum for Scorchers for many seasons. He has continually defied the pace-friendly Optus Stadium surface by bowling accurately through the middle overs.Agar had a delayed start to the season having come back slowly from the calf injury that ended his ODI World Cup dreams. He didn’t miss a beat when he returned with 1 for 15 from 3 overs against Hurricanes, which included eight dot balls.But while he bowled well on the east coast, including an extraordinary 2 for 6 from 4 overs against Thunder on a very slow Sydney Showground surface, Agar struggled at home and became a target for batters.Against Strikers, Weatherald used his feet and effectively smashed Agar down the ground in a game-changing counterattack. Agar had become a shell of himself with Hardie eventually losing faith in him after two overs. In his last four home matches, Agar took 1 for 152 from 15 overs.”Teams are coming to Optus with plans. They’re doing their research,” Hardie said. “People are looking at targeting certain bowlers and playing different lineups to what they normally do over here. “We have to look at ways to adapt and figure out ways to get better.”The futureScorchers are unlikely to undergo major changes. It’s an experienced group led by level-headed coach Adam Voges and list boss Kade Harvey.They will back their talented local core and keep building within, but falling off the rails late in the season at home should be a reality check.”We had the men to do the job,” Hardie said. “We just didn’t play our best cricket, especially in the past couple of games.”

The batting was a huge letdown, the bowling was encouraging, but will there be meaningful change in the aftermath of another disappointing campaign?

Mohammad Isam26-Jun-20243:21

Tamim: Bangladesh ‘lacking in a lot of things’

Another ICC tournament, another disappointment.But this time, there’s outrage among the fans.Bangladesh were just one brave (yes, difficult) chase away from qualifying for the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup despite going into their last Super Eight game against Afghanistan without a single point. And then their batters seemed to give up without trying hard.Their batting nightmare through this tournament in the USA and the West Indies might have fed their timid mindset, while in the bowling and fielding departments, there was marked improvement from their performances at previous competitions.Bangladesh remain the only team to have played every T20 World Cup without making the semi-finals. What will rankle most is how Afghanistan, the team they gave up against, qualified for their maiden semi-final despite starting their international journey only in 2009.So where did it go wrong again for Bangladesh?Dreaming smallBefore their first match of the Super Eight round, against Australia, Bangladesh’s coach Chandika Hathurusinghe said that making it out of the group stage was a “bonus” for his team. He said their primary target was to get into the Super Eight and now they could play this phase with more freedom. Bangladesh’s cricket in their three Super Eight matches suggested that Hathurusinghe’s message was misinterpreted. Or he set the bar too low.Bangladesh could have topped Group D had they won their close game against South Africa. Their bowlers set up wins against Sri Lanka, Netherlands and Nepal in favourable conditions, a relief after their 2-1 defeat in a bilateral series against USA shortly before the T20 World Cup.Their lack of initiative to push hard for a semifinal spot stems from this mindset. Bangladesh aimed for low-hanging fruit. After they beat Sri Lanka, it was only about avoiding getting beaten by the Associates. Once Nepal and Netherlands were out of the way, Bangladesh had realised what they set out to achieve.Shakib Al Hasan had a poor tournament with the bat•BCBExperienced batters fail to show upYou don’t have to go too far back to trace the slowdown. Bangladesh were batting positively against Sri Lanka in March. But by May there were signs of concern against Zimbabwe, a series Bangladesh used to experiment with their line-ups. Concern grew into worry a few weeks later, when they lost twice to USA in Houston.While batting conditions were tough during the T20 World Cup, Bangladesh’s top seven fared the worst – lowest average and strike rate – among the teams to make it to the Super Eight.Bangladesh’s shaky top order was the main problem for much of the tournament but by the time their campaign ended, the middle wasn’t much support either. 23-year-old Towhid Hridoy finished as their top-scorer (only 153 runs in seven innings) while their most experienced hands Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah averaged less than 20.Mahmudullah started well against Sri Lanka but couldn’t finish the chase against South Africa. He was also in the middle when Bangladesh slowed down in their Super Eight game against Afghanistan, but that was perhaps at the behest of the team management. Shakib, one of only two players to appear in all T20 World Cups, was poor with the bat: his fifty against Netherlands was his first in T20Is for nearly two years, but after that it was mostly soft dismissals.Bangladesh’s batters put safety first in the Super Eight. They didn’t try to push the run-rate against Australia and India, fearing early dismissals, and those meek performances left them with too much to do against Afghanistan.Legspinner Rishad Hossain was Bangladesh’s top wicket-taker at the T20 World Cup•ICC/Getty ImagesBowlers to the rescueBangladesh’s bowlers did most of the team’s good work during the T20 World Cup. They restricted Sri Lanka and South Africa, defended 106 against Nepal, and had Afghanistan’s batters under control for 19 overs too. The pace unit led the way and legspinner Rishad Hossain was a revelation. In his first big tournament, Rishad, 21, took 14 wickets, as many as Rashid Khan by the end of the Super Eight stage.Tanzim Hasan, another 21-year old, was their best fast bowler with 11 wickets and an economy rate of 6.20. His consistency kept Shoriful Islam, who was considered first choice, out of Bangladesh’s XI for the whole tournament. Mustafizur Rahman bowled superbly in the death in every game except the one against India, while Taskin Ahmed bowled with fire despite recently recovering from a hamstring injury.What next for Bangladesh?The players and team management are unlikely to face severe consequences for their performance. One or two press conferences, maybe a call for a probe, and perhaps identifying a scapegoat. That’s how the BCB usually react after Bangladesh exit high-profile tournaments.Real change is a pipedream. Afghanistan’s semi-final qualification at this World Cup and sixth-place finish in the ODI World Cup last year has established that they are now a better white-ball side than Bangladesh. Several Associate teams are also closing the gap.The lack of accountability in the BCB means the same people will run cricket with the same ideas and expectations. The team has regressed in T20 cricket. The appetite for big success is not evident. And the powers that be are seemingly only looking to tick the easiest box.

On day three of the Galle Test, Herath, New Zealand’s bowling consultant, hatched a plan with Ajaz Patel to get rid of his former team-mate

Andrew Fidel Fernando20-Sep-2024Dimuth Karunaratne is one of cricket’s great nerds. He is also the one of the great openers of his era, and among the most prolific Test batters Sri Lanka has had.Rangana Herath is a massive cricket nerd as well, if in a slightly different way than Karunaratne. He is the most prolific left-arm bowler in Test cricket’s history.The two have played 47 Tests together. Herath has even captained Karunaratne in five of them. And on day three of the ongoing Galle Test, Herath, a bowling consultant for New Zealand, helped bring about Karunaratne’s downfall. This, at least, is the charge that Karunaratne is levelling (playfully) at his former team-mate.Let’s look at some facts.The background
Karunaratne is an outstanding player of spin bowling, and is quite fond of batting in Galle. Of his 7092 Test runs, more than 27% have come at this venue. Partly this is a function of Sri Lanka playing a lot of matches here – 21% of Karunaratne’s innings have been in Galle.Related

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Although he is a reluctant sweeper and reverse-sweeper, he has both of these shots in his repertoire. Against spin, he whips through the legside frequently, and goes back to chop it between point and cover just as often.”I love it when it turns here,” Karunaratne said about one of the most reliably spin-friendly venues on the planet. “With the way I play, and the options I take, it’s much easier for me when it turns.”Herath, meanwhile, is a spectacular reader of opposition batters’ mindset and intentions. We’re not trying to be mean. But had you ever expected him to be a 433-wicket bowler?The act
Not long after tea on day three, Herath came down the steps from the visitors’ dressing room to talk to Ajaz Patel. Karunaratne says it was soon after lunch, but he’d barely swept the ball before lunch, so it couldn’t have been.Here he is describing the situation, but just getting the timing wrong. For the record, Karunaratne was 72 off 109 at tea.”After lunch? Or maybe it was just before lunch? No, it was after lunch,” Karunaratne said. “At that time, Rangana aiya came down to the ground and gave a message to Ajaz Patel. It was after that they changed the field and the set-up against me.”They brought square leg up for me, and set the kind of field that we had set for Tom Latham. So when you have that field, you know as a batter that if you get the sweep slightly wrong, it can go up in the air and square leg can catch it, or short fine leg can catch it. It’s with that mentality that Rangana aiya would have told them to do that.”The result
Not long after tea, Patel sent down a sweepable delivery, Karunaratne got low and tried to sweep it square, but cleanly missed. The ball stayed low, snuck under his shot, and clattered into the stumps.”I had a little doubt in my head – maybe the sweep will go badly,” Karunaratne said. “These things happen. When the opposition has somebody who knows about how we play, they will share those things. So I was playing with that in my head, and that’s why I couldn’t pick that line, and I tried to sweep the ball too hard.”It’s true. Karunaratne very rarely gets out sweeping. But then he is up against not just Patel, a fine bowler all on his own terms, but also the intellect of Herath, who has more than 100 wickets at this ground.Karunaratne was out for 83, which at this stage of his career, feels like too low a score. He has spoken about wanting to get to 20 centuries. He is still stuck on 16.But he was hustled out of his 17th. And you can almost bet good money on him meeting up with the architect of his downfall and the pair talking it through, when life, and coaching contracts, allows for such a thing.

Team-mates and opposition players pay tribute to one of the best allrounders of the modern era after his retirement announcement

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Dec-2024

Ashwin, I’ve always admired how you approached the game with your mind and heart in perfect sync. From perfecting the carrom ball to contributing crucial runs, you always found a way to win.
Watching you grow from a promising talent to one of India’s finest match-winners has been… pic.twitter.com/XawHfacaUh

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) December 18, 2024