Category Uncategorized

A round-up of all the Group A matches of the 2015-16 Vijay Hazare Trophy on December 14, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Dec-2015M Mohammed, the medium pacer, took 5 for 50, his best List A figures, as Tamil Nadu brushed past Services by seven wickets to register their third win in four matches. After being restricted to 192 for 8, Services were kept at bay by Abhinav Mukund, who top scored with 85, to set the foundation for TN. The match was polished off by B Aparajith, who remained unbeaten on 66, as TN won with more than 10 overs to spare. Diwesh Pathania’s three-wicket haul came as some consolation for Services, who also have two wins in three matches in the competition.Swarupam Purkayastha’s maiden List A century was in vain as Assam lost their Group A match to Punjab by a mere one run, while chasing 328.Sent in as an opener, Purkayastha was the common factor in two century stands that revived Assam’s chase after they lost early wickets. He first added 124 runs for the third wicket with Amit Verma (71 off 67 balls) and then paired with captain Gokul Sharma (60 off 55 balls) for a 107-run, fourth-wicket partnership. He struck 18 fours and a six in his 112-ball 125 before falling in the 39th over with Assam 82 runs short.Assam brought the equation down to seven off the last over, bowled by Brainder Sran, and then needed three off the last ball. However, Amit Sinha’s run-out while trying to complete a second run denied Assam a tie, and extended their streak of defeats in the tournament to four.Earlier, Mandeep Singh’s unbeaten 117 and fifties from opener Pargat Singh (69) and Gurkeerat Singh propelled Punjab to a total of 327 for 4 after they had been put in to bat. A rapid 128-run partnership between Mandeep and Gurkeerat for the fourth wicket, which came off only 11.5 overs, provided a strong finish to Punjab’s innings. While Mandeep’s 117 came off 97 deliveries, Gurkeerat struck seven fours and three sixes in his 36-ball 62.Fifties by Ashok Menaria and Manender Singh, followed by left-arm pacer Tanveer-Ul-Haq’s 4 for 44 set up Rajasthan‘s 102-run win over Hyderabad in Hyderabad. Opting to bat, Rajasthan were guided to 250 for 8 by Menaria(55) and Manender’s(51) efforts and Puneet Yadav’s 47. Ravi Kiran restricted Rajasthan’s middle-order in the death by picking two wickets each in overs 47 and 49, ending with returns of 4 for 57.Hyderabad slumped to 148 in their chase of 251 as Tanveer-Ul-Haq dismissed opener Danny Dereck Prince in the eleventh over and came back to clean up the tail later in the innings. As many as six Hyderabad batsmen failed to convert their starts, as the highest score was Hanuma Vihari’s 39.

Holders Hampshire survived a spirited Scotland challenge to win by five wickets and secure their second Yorkshire Bank 40 victory in three days.

05-May-2013Hampshire 194 for 5 (Dawson 51*) beat Scotland 192 for 7 (Mommsen 60*) by five wickets
ScorecardHolders Hampshire survived a spirited Scotland challenge to win by five wickets and secure their second Yorkshire Bank 40 victory in three days.After winning the toss and being put in to bat, Saltires openers Calum MacLeod and Freddie Coleman added 37 runs inside five overs. But the loss of MacLeod for 13, caught at short fine leg by Chris Wood off David Balcombe, sparked a mini collapse which slowed the Scots’ innings to a standstill.Coleman, after 27, was next to fall, Hamza Riazuddin striking in his first over to leave Scotland on 49 for 2. Matt Machan went soon after for 8, caught by Sean Ervine at midwicket to give Balcombe – playing his first list A game for Hampshire since 2009 – his second wicket of the day.Ervine became the second Hampshire bowler to strike in his first over, forcing Majid Haq to top-edge tamely to Liam Dawson at slip for just 5.Richie Berrington and skipper Preston Mommsen combined to briefly stem the loss of wickets, but their partnership ended when Berrington was stumped off the bowling of Danny Briggs for 19 to leave Scotland floundering on 88 for 5 in the 23rd over.Wicketkeeper Matthew Cross, on debut, added 43 with his captain, before holing out to James Vince off the bowling of Wood for 21. And Wood struck again a short while later, Briggs catching Moneeb Iqbal for a breezy 17 from 12 deliveries.A hard-hitting cameo from Gordon Goudie, 15 from five balls, helped Scotland add 33 runs in the last two overs, as the visitors ended on 192 for 7, skipper Mommsen top scoring with 60 not out.The total looked at least 20 runs light on an excellent batting track against an in-form Hampshire batting line-up, but the home side were soon in trouble. Michael Carberry edged Calvin Burnett behind in the third over, before opening partner Vince was caught by Haq off the bowling of Goudie.And when George Bailey was bowled by Gordon Drummond for 24, Hampshire looked in real danger at 61 for 3 in the 15th over. It got worse for Hampshire just two overs later when Ervine hit offspinner Machan straight to mid-on to leave the hosts 78 for 4, and falling behind the required run-rate.Captain Jimmy Adams steadied the ship in partnership with Liam Dawson, but when the former fell for 51, Hampshire hopes lay in the balance at 130 for 5.But the prospect of an embarrassing defeat was averted by Dawson, 54 from 62 balls, and keeper Adam Wheater, 35 from 32 balls, who batted without alarm to secure the win.

Somerset’s Nick Compton scored 99 against his former county but Middlesex fought hard to stay in the game on day three

David Lloyd at Taunton07-Apr-2012
ScorecardIf winning the County Championship was easy then Somerset, presumably, would have managed it at least once in their long history. And if promotion from Division Two was followed, automatically, by relegation there would not have been much point in Middlesex turning up.Happily, nothing is automatic, especially in early season. But three days of this absorbing contest have produced enough evidence to suggest Somerset are prepared to graft their way into positions of strength when necessary and to indicate that Middlesex will be no one’s easy touch as they seek to re-establish themselves at the top table after five seasons of second-tier cricket.Somerset have enough stroke-players to dazzle any attack. In this match, though, it was the patience of Nick Compton (six-and a-half -hours and 312 balls for 99) that proved crucial in establishing what could still be a potentially decisive first-innings lead of 104. Dejected though Compton was at missing out on a century against his former county, he has played a vital role.True, if Marcus Trescothick, James Hildreth or Jos Buttler had hit their straps then the hosts would have roared ahead much earlier. But they did not and, thanks in no small part to the disciplined lines and lengths bowled by the visitors, even Craig Kieswetter had to be more circumspect than usual.England’s one-day wicketkeeper, who should have been run out cheaply on the second day, did threaten to break loose with some crunching straight drives. But the second new ball ended his innings on 83 when Corey Collymore found an outside edge that just carried to slip.Even before Kieswetter’s dismissal Somerset seemed to have shelved any thoughts of chasing a fourth, never mind fifth, batting bonus point. And following his exit, stretching the lead was the only thought in Compton’s mind.The fourth-wicket stand with Kieswetter was worth 152 – 144 more than would have been the case had Joe Denly’s run-out attempt on the second evening succeeded. But if that miss nagged away at Middlesex (and it must have done) they did not let it show. And nor did their heads drop when Compton was reprieved, first on 76 and then again at 81.Dawid Malan’s spill at slip, off Tim Murtagh, might be excused by the fact he had taken a blow on the fingers just a few balls earlier. And Neil Dexter’s inability to hit the stumps from mid-off when Compton went for a silly single was perhaps down to early season rust.Middlesex will need to take chances like the three spurned here more often than not if they are to prosper. The spirit is certainly willing, though. Compton, who left Lord’s in 2010, denied himself a century against his ex-employers by pulling a short ball from Toby Roland-Jones to midwicket but the visitors were quick to charge through the gap created by his exit – and 333 for 6 soon became 350 all out.The day still just about belonged to Somerset. But if home supporters thought the match would be in their pockets by close of play then more Middlesex resilience, plus early evening rain, scuppered that plan.Vernon Philander and Steve Kirby quickened pulses with wonderfully challenging new-ball spells that saw plenty of playing and missing. But only Denly succumbed during the 18 overs possible, pinned lbw by Kirby who also had Sam Robson dropped by Marcus Trescothick at second slip.Middlesex are still 66 behind but they have earned the right to fight another day.

Darren Sammy, the West Indies captain, has urged his batsmen to post “bigger, match-winning totals” and singled out the rotation of strike as an area his team needs to improve upon

ESPNcricinfo staff02-May-2011Darren Sammy, the West Indies captain, has urged his batsmen to post “bigger, match-winning totals” and singled out the rotation of strike as an area his team needs to improve upon in the fourth ODI against Pakistan in Barbados. The visitors have already taken the series 3-0 but Sammy is hoping to “pull one back” at the Kensington Oval.”Rotating the strike is one area we have to get better at,” Sammy said. “If we rotate the strike, that upsets the rhythm of the Pakistan bowlers and that would lead to us posting bigger, match-winning totals.”The ‘dot ball’ percentage has been high and we need to combat the opposition bowlers. One of our major problems has been that we have not been putting enough runs on the board. As a batting unit we hit a lot of boundaries, but we have to get better at ticking over the strike, especially against the Pakistan spinners.”The West Indian batsmen failed to post competitive totals in all three games so far, struggling to score against offspinners Mohammad Hafeez and Saeed Ajmal in particular. In the first two matches in St Lucia, they were restricted to 221 for 6 and dismissed for 220. They had reached a sound position of 92 for 1 in the 21st over in the third at Bridgetown before they collapsed for 171 all out.The bowlers also managed to take only five Pakistan wickets in the first two matches, but came close to winning the third, in which they took seven. Pakistan were 49 for 4 at one stage before Misbah-ul-Haq steered them to a series-clinching victory.”I can’t fault the bowlers,” Sammy said. “They have been superb for us and brought us close to a victory in the last match. I believe if we put the runs on the board, the bowlers will do the job for us. We are looking to create winning opportunities and when we do that we have to grab it with both hands.”West Indies brought back Ramnaresh Sarwan to the squad after he had been left out for the first three games. Sarwan’s previous appearance was the quarter-final defeat against Pakistan in the World Cup. “We know he is a good player,” Sammy said. “With him back it is a plus for the team and we wish him all the best. He will be a key player in those middle overs as we look to keep the strike ticking.”

Scott Styris has labelled as “massive” the absence of Kevin Pietersen for New Zealand’s must-win game against England on Monday

Cricinfo staff09-May-2010Scott Styris has labelled as “massive” the absence of Kevin Pietersen for New Zealand’s must-win game against England on Monday. Pietersen has flown home for the birth of his first child and although he is planning to return for the semi-finals, his temporary unavailability could hurt England’s hopes in this match.England are all but assured of a spot in the final four, while New Zealand have to win to progress. Pietersen is the third-leading run scorer in the tournament so far and his 53 was crucial in winning their game against South Africa on Saturday.”It’s going to be massive,” Styris said. “He’s probably been, along with Jayawardene, one of the two best batsmen in the competition. He was outstanding yesterday against South Africa and he can win a game single-handedly. He’s world-class and without him, we know that it makes our job easier, although we still have to put the ball in the right areas.”England are going to be very difficult. They’ve been the form team in the competition, or one of the form teams. They’re playing good cricket, they’re confident, and confident teams in Twenty20 cricket are hard to beat. I like to think we’ve got some momentum – we’ve won all bar one of our games. England are playing well as well so it’ll be a good contest.”New Zealand are coming off a morale-boosting last-ball win over Pakistan, but Styris said the result could not mask the fact that improvement was needed in their batting. The New Zealanders struggled to 133 for 7 from their full 20 overs and Styris said to go on and have greater success in the tournament, the batsmen had to be prepared to take more risks.”We seemed to play with a little bit of fear yesterday,” Styris said. “By that, I mean guys were a little scared of taking risks and playing the big shots. In this version of the game, especially in big games, you’ve got to be prepared to get out. I felt that as a group we didn’t do that. I think we have to go in to the next game [without] fear of getting out and failing, and try and take the game by the scruff of the neck.”

Cameron Bancroft adds fifty as India’s Siddarth Kaul takes four on Northants debut

ECB Reporters Network10-May-2024Miles Hammond struck a sparkling 112 off 133 balls, his first century in two years to help propel Gloucestershire to 338 for 8 against Northamptonshire on day one of this Vitality County Championship match at Wantage Road.Despite hitting eight fifties last season, and three so far this year, this was the first time Hammond had gone on to reach three figures since making 169 against Hampshire in Cheltenham, the town of his birth, in 2022.While batting was never straightforward with swing on offer throughout the day, Hammond took the attacking route, hitting 17 boundaries and reaching his milestone by swotting Northamptonshire quick George Scrimshaw high over fine leg for a big six. Gloucestershire’s Australian overseas signing Cameron Bancroft also contributed a solid 53 at the top of the order.Indian international Siddarth Kaul meanwhile made an immediate impact on his Northamptonshire debut, taking 4 wickets for 58 in 23 testing overs, including three in the afternoon session. Ultimately though, his new county were unable to press home their advantage of having the visitors 119 for 3 as Gloucestershire made hay in the afternoon sunshine against some loose bowling.Northamptonshire did stage a good fightback, taking three late wickets with the new ball including one for evergreen seamer Ben Sanderson, playing his 100th first-class match for his adopted county.Northamptonshire won the toss and decided to bowl, fielding a largely new look attack, with Scrimshaw playing only his second game for the Tudor Rose, and Nottinghamshire spinning all-rounder Liam Patterson-White coming in on a one-match loan deal.Gloucestershire batted solidly during the morning, Bancroft taking on the extra pace of Scrimshaw, pulling him for four and cutting him crisply for two more boundaries.But it was the former Derbyshire bowler who made the first breakthrough, getting one to lift to Ben Charlesworth (16) who could only edge behind.Northamptonshire continued to apply pressure and create chances in the hour before lunch. New batter Ollie Price took 29 balls to get off the mark and both he and Bancroft edged balls which landed just short of the slips.After the interval, Kaul picked up the big wicket of Bancroft when he fell lbw to the third delivery of the session. The bowler, who is hoping to impress the Indian Test selectors during his Northamptonshire stint, bowled consistently all day, finding plenty of movement to trouble the batters.Kaul then accounted for Price (10) with a peach of a delivery which angled in before swinging away to take the edge, Emilio Gay taking an excellent diving catch at second slip.Hammond though looked in fine form, unfurling two glorious swivel pull shots against Scrimshaw before slapping him square for another boundary and driving Kaul firmly through the covers. He also took on the spin of Patterson-White, twice dispatching him over the infield.He was joined in a partnership of 75 for the fourth wicket by James Bracey (33) who cover drove Sanderson for two fours and hit Patterson-White over midwicket before he became Kaul’s third wicket, adjudged lbw to a full one which shaped back in.Hammond and skipper Graeme van Buuren (46) then put on 67, with runs flowing freely as Northamptonshire failed to capitalise on the movement on offer. Hammond finally fell soon after celebrating his century when he came down the wicket to Patterson-White and chipped the ball to midwicket where Ricardo Vasconcelos held a stunning diving catch.van Buuren brought out the sweep against Patterson-White to take Gloucestershire past 300 before the momentum swung back Northamptonshire’s way.Sanderson had been unlucky not to pick up a wicket earlier in the day, but had been wayward too, leaking runs down the leg side. He finally drew the edge from van Buuren with Vasconcelos taking a sharp catch at third slip. Then Tom Price (23), dropped early in his innings, was finally caught at slip to give Luke Procter a well-earned reward after toiling hard all day.Zafar Gohar became Kaul’s fourth wicket when he edged behind, but the bowler was denied a fifth in the penultimate over when Gay dropped Marchant de Lange in the slips.

“We certainly value contributions of people who’ve been there, and if they’ve missed out due to injury, they deserve the right to come back in”

Karthik Krishnaswamy15-Feb-202310:51

Dravid: ‘Nagpur is done, but we need to keep playing tough cricket’

Shreyas Iyer is set to return to India’s side for the second Test against Australia in Delhi, which begins on Friday, if he passes his fitness assessment on the eve of the match. Iyer missed the first Test in Nagpur with a back injury, and rejoined the squad in Delhi, where he had a long stint batting in the nets on Wednesday.India coach Rahul Dravid has said Iyer will “walk straight into the side” if he feels fine after batting on Thursday as well.”We’ll take a call after a couple of days of training,” Dravid said. “He’s had a long session today in terms of training today, we’ll assess it tomorrow as well, once he comes in for a light hit, and see how he feels in the evening. But certainly, if he’s fit and ready to go and ready to take the load of a five-day Test match, then it is without doubt that his performance means he will walk straight into the side.”Related

• Should Australia risk Cameron Green in the XI? Is there room for a third spinner?

• Starc 'still lacking a bit of strength', touch and go to be ready for Delhi Test

• Fit-again Shreyas Iyer to join India's Test squad in Delhi

• At fever pitch: Reviewing the Nagpur Test

Ever since scoring a century on Test debut against New Zealand in Kanpur in November 2021, Iyer has been a key middle-order batter for India especially in Asian conditions, and has been involved in several rescue jobs. Apart from his ability against spin, Dravid identified Iyer’s temperament and ability to find solutions under pressure as assets he brings to India’s line-up.Dravid took the examples of the innings Iyer played in pressure situations in both innings of his Kanpur debut, and the match-winning partnership with R Ashwin in Dhaka last December, which came after India were 74 for 7 in a chase of 145. He indicated that Suryakumar Yadav, who scored 8 in India’s only innings in Nagpur, where he made his debut, would probably make way for Iyer.”Without it being written in stone and without it being a rule, we certainly value contributions of people who’ve been there, and if they’ve missed out due to injury, they deserve the right to come back in, if they’ve performed, irrespective of what has happened in the time that they’ve been injured,” Dravid said.”So yes, it’s something that I can’t answer for everyone, but it’s certainly the outlook of the team management [in this case]. And yes, Shreyas has played well against spin, but what’s really stood out has been his temperament. We’ve been in quite a few pressure situations with Shreyas around, right from the first Test match that he played, his debut game in Kanpur.”We’ve been in some tough situations, and he and Rishabh [Pant] and [Ravindra] Jadeja, really, have been the ones who’ve been bailing us out and playing those critical knocks. His temperament in Bangladesh, when we were under pressure, along with Ashwin. That’s something that’s a really good sign, obviously along with his skill of playing spin really well.”He’s spent a lot of time in domestic cricket before getting in, so he obviously understands how to get runs, but I think at this level, also what really counts is your ability to deal with those pressure situations, that temperament, that ability to find solutions and find answers when we’re under pressure, and from the little sample size that we have, he’s been very good at that.”It’ll be nice to have him back, and he certainly has been one of our better players, he deserves it, and people in the team understand that as well. They know that if they are replacing someone who is injured, that person will probably come back, and the same thing will be followed for them as well – if they get injured, hopefully we’ll be able to give them the same treatment as well.”

Mortaza delighted at pacers stepping up for the team, says BCB could use Mirpur as a venue to develop quicks

Mohammad Isam08-Jan-2022Senior players Shakib Al Hasan and Mashrafe Mortaza have praised Bangladesh after their historic Test win against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui a few days ago. Shakib, who withdrew from the tour to spend time with his family, said that the victory proves the visitors don’t have to rely just on the senior players alone.”I don’t think my presence was necessarily important (in New Zealand),” Shakib said. “I am actually happy that they did it without me. Not just me… (but the others too). I think what really delighted me was that the notion, particularly in the media, that not many players apart from the four or five senior ones can win games for the team – that will be changed. If they are handed the responsibility, these youngsters will play better.”Related

• Mominul expects other teams will view Bangladesh differently after drawn series in NZ

• New Zealand look to bounce back against joyous Bangladesh

• Ebadot: 'If you are fit enough as a fast bowler, you can do anything'

• Bangladesh 'crossed all the barriers to bring a wonderful win'

• Mominul Haque 'didn't sleep at all' leading into final day

Shakib said that the victory was sweeter coming off a year of disappointing performances. The team endured two winless streaks of 10 matches each in 2021, from February to April and then from October to December.”We made an unbelievable start to 2022. I am very happy. Credit goes to all the players and coaching staff for playing well under so much pressure and in these conditions. Everyone tried hard. This was always going to be a challenging year after a difficult time in 2021 for us. I hope we can continue in this manner. Bangladesh do not play this well all the time”Not everything will change after a Test win. But it creates the opportunity for change. I think if we can hold onto this belief, particularly the BCB, we can do well in the World Test Championship,” Shakib saidMashrafe, who is preparing for this season’s BPL, said that fast bowlers winning a Test match for Bangladesh was their biggest takeaway. Bangladesh pacers picked up 13 wickets at Bay Oval, the most they have ever bagged in a Test match. Their previous highest was 11 against Zimbabwe in Harare in 2013.”Taskin (Ahmed) and Ebadot (Hossain) proved that if they put in the hard work, they can improve. It is good to see the pacers winning a game for us, but this win doesn’t necessarily answer all the questions.”This is not a reply to all the criticism in recent times. Rather, we should learn from this, that we can win matches if we give players the opportunity. Cricket boards should invest and see what’s happening so that it could bring better results in the future,” Mashrafe said.He also heaped praise on Ebadot for being patient and spoke about how the fast bowler has reaped the rewards after being given a long rope in Tests in the last two years.”Ebadot’s improvement isn’t recent. He has been playing for a while and has been kept in consideration in Tests. He must have been given assurance that he will play. He knows this is his career, his future. He has to serve the team.”Ebadot’s wickets [in New Zealand’s second innings] won us the game. It could have been a drawn game. You have to give the player a bit of time. He got set slowly. Rahi has been giving service for a long time (unclear). Giving them a bit of time always brings a good result,” he said.Mashrafe said that the BCB could look at turning one of their major venues to develop fast bowlers. “I think they could look at Mirpur to help the fast bowlers since the ball here goes up and down. It, however, depends on how much you depend on the fast bowlers. So it is good that the pacers won us the game,” he said.

The former Kerala legspinner fills the vacancy left by Nitin Menon’s promotion to the Elite panel

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Aug-2020Former Kerala legspinner KN Ananthapadmanabhan has been promoted to the ICC’s international panel of umpires. Ananthapadmanabhan will be the fourth Indian umpire on the international panel and fills the vacancy created by Nitin Menon’s move to the ICC Elite Panel.The other three Indians on the international panel are C Shamshuddin, Anil Chaudhary and Virender Sharma.Ananthapadmanabhan has officiated in nearly every domestic tournament in India, including the IPL, an England Lions match, and Women’s List A and T20 games.Before moving into umpiring, Ananthapadmanabhan played 105 first-class matches for Kerala, starting in 1988-89, and represented them until 2003-04. He was the first player from his state to achieve the double of 2000 runs and 200 wickets in the Ranji Trophy, and was briefly in the reckoning for an India cap. Playing for India A against the visiting Australians in 1998, he took the wickets of Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting and Darren Lehmann.

After leaking 27 in his first two overs, the seamer gave away only ten runs in his last two while claiming the wickets of Rahul and Sarfaraz

Deivarayan Muthu in Chennai06-Apr-20194:42

Harbhajan and Tahir created pressure on Kings XI – Fleming

Scott Kuggeleijn bashed a hard length and cranked it up to 140kph for Northern Districts in the Super Smash, New Zealand’s domestic T20 competition. It was his hit-the-deck bustle that prompted Chennai Super Kings’ coach Stephen Fleming to get him on board as the injured Lungi Ngidi’s replacement.On the eve of the game against Kings XI Punjab at Chepauk, Super Kings received another major blow, with their designated death-overs bowler Dwayne Bravo joining Ngidi on the injury list.Three days after arriving in Chennai and after two training sessions, Kuggeleijn was asked to cut off his pace and, instead, make the batsmen manufacture it in the end overs. Kings XI Punjab needed 46 off the last three overs with eight wickets in hand. On IPL debut, Kuggeleijn was tasked with bowling two of those overs in front of a vociferous Saturday crowd. This, after he had repeatedly missed his lengths and leaked 27 runs in his first two overs.Kuggeleijn turned the tables on Kings XI, giving away only ten runs in his last two overs while claiming the crucial wickets of the well-set KL Rahul and Sarfaraz Khan, who had put on 110 off 93 balls for the third wicket.Having been punished for bowling too full in the early exchanges, Kuggeleijn dragged his length back and mixed it up with cutters that gripped on a tired Chepauk pitch. The slower balls tricked both Rahul and Sarfaraz into holing out in the outfield.”[Kuggeleijn] interests me because he had some pace and played international cricket,” Super Kings’ coach Fleming said at the post-match press conference. “The thing we can’t understand without working with him is his temperament. He has been here for only three days and to throw him in a big game in a home ground was a big ask and the first two overs was just that.”It was about being firm on what we wanted: hit the middle of the wicket and bowl your cutters which is what we saw a bit during scouting. We were strong with him during that [strategic] break. It was just very instructional so that to take away any doubt from him and just do that and he did that well. Once he had confidence that it was working, he was able to get into that. He was fractionally full [early on] and that can be nerves and the whole environment. I was a bit worried we were going to be putting him in a situation which was going to be tough and he responded well.Fleming believes that Kuggeleijn’s impressive IPL introduction could help fill in the void created by the injury-enforced absences of Bravo and Ngidi, and David Willey, who has withdrawn from the tournament citing personal reasons. Fleming, however, hinted that Willey could return at the fag end of the season.”[We] just have to back him [Kuggeleijn]. MS [Dhoni] is very supportive,” Fleming said. “It is a culture where if it [the plan] hadn’t worked, we are not scathing. We understand how tough it can be. When we bring someone in we look at what skills they bring and try to get the best out of them. Today was a massive step for him to be part of the group and to win a game. To be part of the last part of the game, to make a big contribution goes a long way in making you feel part of the group.”We are a little bit thin; there’s no doubt about it, so that’s why the introduction of Scott was important just to see how thin we were. We have to work hard; at home we can get away with spinners. The bowlers are trying hard to make sure they can contribute and today they did. Keep that in mind that our spinners were outstanding as well. We know we have holes and we’re just scrapping hard to hide them.”