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New Zealand’s captain Kane Williamson will miss the upcoming three-match T20I series against India, opting instead to focus on the Test series that begins on November 25 in Kanpur. In Williamson’s absence, Tim Southee will serve as New Zealand’s captain in the first T20I.Williamson had arrived in Jaipur – the venue of the first T20I – along with New Zealand’s 15-man squad on Monday evening, less than 24 hours after the team had lost the T20 World Cup final in Dubai to Australia. With the opening game of the T20I series on Wednesday evening, followed by games on Friday (in Ranchi) and Sunday night (in Kolkata), an NZC release said a “decision was made for Williamson to join the Test specialist group already training in Jaipur as they focus on red-ball preparation.”Related

• Southee admits bubble fatigue taking its toll: 'It weighs you down after a while'

• Stead admits NZ are facing a 'tough and challenging' schedule

• Williamson produces masterclass but history repeats itself for NZ

• New Zealand name spin-heavy squad for India Tests

Williamson had ended the T20 World Cup as New Zealand’s leading scorer, with 216 runs from seven matches, including a fluent 85 in the final.NZC also confirmed that fast bowler Lockie Ferguson, who had to skip the T20 World Cup due to a right calf strain, was continuing to “progress well” and is expected to be fit for the T20I series.The two teams last played a bilateral T20I series in early 2020, with India registering a 5-0 sweep in New Zealand. However, New Zealand emerged victorious in the teams’ most recent encounter during the group stages of the T20 World cup.After the three T20Is, the Tests will be played between November 25 and 29 (Kanpur) and December 3 and 7 (Mumbai). New Zealand’s head coach Gary Stead had acknowledged after the T20 World Cup final that the team was staring down a “tough and challenging” schedule, with the support staff having to juggle with training the Test players in the morning and the T20I group later in the evening while in India.”It’s the first time that I can remember that we’re so quickly into another series immediately at the back-end of the T20 World Cup,” Stead had said. “It’s definitely tough and challenging but it is what is in front of us.”New Zealand squad: Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Kyle Jamieson, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee (capt)

You don’t have to worry about Fakhar Zaman. So said Pakistan batting coach Matthew Hayden despite Fakhar managing only 54 runs in four innings at an average of 13.50 and strike rate of 90 in this T20 World Cup.Hayden pointed out that Fakhar has contributed in the hotspots in the outfield and that he’s not too far away from hitting form with the bat.”Fakhar is a very interesting personality and character,” Hayden said. “The longer that I spend time with him, the more that I really enjoy his personality and character. The fact that he was in the navy for seven years gives you a pretty strong indication of his ability to be able to fight and fight hard. Not only from a batting perspective, the contribution within a T20 set-up is that you have to be as a general policy a two-dimensional player.”And I think Fakhar has been the standout outfielder for our team as well. He’s saved literally five-ten runs every game and five-ten runs within a T20 concept and batting line-up, include your runs maybe 20s and 30s here and there means overall he’s just been such an important part of the side.”Fakhar was originally just a reserve member in Pakistan’s T20 World Cup squad, but was later promoted to the main squad at the expense of Khushdil Shah. Hayden reckoned Fakhar’s experience and left-handedness at No. 3 could help Pakistan counter Adam Zampa.The Australia legspinner is currently the joint second-highest wicket-taker in the competition, with 11 strikes in five matches at an average of 9.90 and economy rate of 5.73. Fakhar and Zampa, however, have never faced each other in T20 cricket before.”Don’t be surprised if you see something incredibly special from him tomorrow (Thursday) as well because he’s smashing the ball in the nets,” Hayden said of Fakhar. “And in particular, if you look at the potential match-up against Adam Zampa, who has been the leading wicket-taker [for Australia] in the ICC T20 World Cup…I think that is a fantastic target and opportunity for Fakhar to really dominate and position Pakistan in a strong, competitive state.”Already he’s contributed nicely, and yet to start like some of the others. That’s the great benefit of having an in-form batting line-up and bear in mind, unlike Test cricket, T20 cricket is also just about impact.”We’ve seen Asif [Ali] come in and smash 24 runs against New Zealand to win you a game. If you look at the overall stats, you go: ‘Well is he impressive in this tournament or not’? But that’s not T20 cricket. Making [an] impact is significant and Fakhar is certainly one of those that can do that tomorrow.”Australia’s decision to tour Pakistan a ‘wonderful announcement’
Hayden stressed that the T20 World Cup was a particularly significant tournament for Pakistan in the aftermath of multiple aborted tours. In September earlier this year, New Zealand pulled out of their limited-overs series over a security threat. England followed suit, citing player well-being and “increasing concerns about travelling to the region Hayden, however, welcomed Australia’s recent decision to visit the country for the first time in over 24 years.”Yes, it [T20 World Cup] is an extremely important tournament for Pakistan, as it is for every membership nation,” Hayden said. “We face Australia tomorrow, a country that is incredibly proud to set high standards in terms of delivery on trophy for its country in World Cups and this is one where that has never got into that trophy cabinet. So, a lot of high-stake matches ahead of us now.”From a Pakistan cricket point of view, I feel as a nation that loves cricket as much as what it does and focused so heavily on cricket, and also have tournaments, including ones I was a part of, cancelled for numerous reasons. It’s never more important… the awareness has heightened that out of this great nation, we’ve got a squad of players here that are ready to perform and ready to take on not only the semi-finals, but should we get beyond that to the finals… very important for Pakistan cricket.”A wonderful announcement as well in the last few days about Australia touring Pakistan in February, something that hasn’t been done for, I think, 28 [24] years now. I know that from an Australian cricket point of view, that is not only a significant moment for Australian cricket, but also for Pakistan cricket.”

Shaheen Shah Afridi, the Pakistan left-arm fast bowler, has signed for Middlesex for the 2022 season.Afridi, 21, will join up with the Middlesex squad for pre-season training in the spring, and will remain with the club until mid-July, when Pakistan’s tour of Sri Lanka is due to take place. In that time, he will be available for County Championship fixtures as well as the entirety of the Vitality Blast campaign, including the knockout stages of the tournament should Middlesex qualify.”I am very excited to be playing for Middlesex next season,” Afridi said. “I know from my time in England they are a great county and to play at the Home of Cricket really will be a dream come true. I am looking forward to being part of the team and helping create a wonderful season for the club.”Afridi has played 19 Tests for Pakistan, claiming 76 wickets at 25.25 including three five-wicket hauls, and a best match performance of 10 for 93, against West Indies at Sabina Park six weeks ago.He has also featured in 28 ODIs and 30 T20Is, and starred for Pakistan at Middlesex’s home ground of Lord’s during the 2019 World Cup, when he took 6 for 35 against Bangladesh.Afridi’s previous experience of county cricket came for Hampshire in 2020, when Middlesex were his victims in a stunning final outing of that season’s Vitality Blast, as he returned figures of 6 for 19 in his four overs, including four wickets in four balls to seal a 20-run victory.”We are absolutely delighted to have secured the services of one of international crickets’ most exciting talents,” Andrew Cornish, Middlesex’s chief executive, said. “Shaheen is a world-class pace bowler, and we are thrilled that he will be representing us in 2022.”His signature was highly sought-after, and the fact that he has chosen to join Middlesex is a massive coup for us as a Club and speaks volumes of our ambitions.”We need Middlesex to be competing at the top level and challenging for trophies. Signing players of Shaheen’s calibre, who can add quality and experience to our existing squad, is a significant step towards us getting there.”Shaheen is a genuine match winner and I’m sure all our members will be excited to welcome him to Middlesex and share in our delight that he will be wearing the three Seaxes of the Club on his chest next season.”

Chennai Super Kings stormed into the playoffs with a six-wicket victory over the now eliminated Sunrisers Hyderabad. While they are yet to be assured of a top-two spot, which offers two shots at a place in the final, the progress MS Dhoni’s men have shown this IPL season suggests that target may not be too far off their reach.DJ in da house
Sunrisers were restricted to a meagre 134 for 7 on Thursday and this is how it happened.The match was played on a fresh Sharjah pitch. It remains unhelpfully slow but early on it also offered sideways movement. So Dhoni was prompted to do something he rarely ever does. He turned to Dwayne Bravo (4-0-17-2). It was only the sixth time in five years that the West Indies allrounder was on as early as the seventh over of an IPL game.But there was a reason for this and its name was Kane Williamson. The Sunrisers captain came into the game with an immense record against Super Kings – 327 runs at an average of 47 and strike rate of 145. Taking him out early means wrecking 90% of their batting plans. (Jason Roy had already been dismissed). So, Dhoni went to his “champion” and he obliged with a lovely outswinger that moved late, beat the bat, struck the pad and got the wicket.

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The Super Kings squeeze
Sunrisers were now in a horrible predicament. Their best batters were back in the hut. There were still 13.3 overs to face. And their opposition has a long and storied history of exploiting slow pitches.Super Kings went 48 balls without giving away a single boundary between the sixth and the 14th overs, with Ravindra Jadeja at the forefront of that squeeze. The left-arm spinner looked unhittable as he attacked the stumps, taking all the pace off and getting just enough turn. He finished with figures of 3-0-14-1.Josh Hazlewood then thrived at the death, picking up two wickets in three balls, as Sunrisers, having made it to the end of the powerplay on 41 for 1, just fizzled out.The Super Kings cruise
The rise of Ruturaj Gaikwad has been remarkable. When he first came along, he seemed rather ill-fitting with the needs of T20 cricket. A batter who didn’t have a power game, and worse who didn’t even bother to look for those big hits. All those fifties he made last season to pick up consolation victories came at about a run a ball.Cut to 2021 and Gaikwad (45 off 38) is not just looking for the big hits, he’s executing them better than virtually any other opener out there. His 75-run partnership with Faf du Plessis (41 off 36) broke the back of a small chase and ensured even a little hiccup towards the end – three wickets in eight balls – didn’t matter.

ScorecardThe first day of the season is as good a day as any to be reminded that Championship success is usually hard-won. Both Essex and Lancashire could feel satisfaction come the close at Chelmsford; both will know that further unstinting effort will be required to sway this contest over the coming days.Lancashire may feel they had the best of it, particularly after recovering from 160 for 6 to pass 300, thanks to a 51-run last-wicket stand between James Anderson and Kyle Jarvis, who then took a wicket apiece before the close. Nevertheless, Essex’s new-look attack acquitted themselves well by bowling out Lancashire after being put into the field. All but two Lancashire batsmen made starts but only Dane Vilas managed to pass fifty, as Neil Wagner and Aaron Beard – overseas pro and homegrown tyro – collected six wickets between them.No one faced more balls than Haseeb Hameed, who provided some proof of his fitness after sustaining a hand injury in Lancashire’s university match. Hameed was watched by James Whitaker, the national selector, and Mark Ramprakash, England’s batting coach, as well as his parents during his first significant innings since making a highly regarded Test debut in India over the winter.Hameed’s tour of India was cut short by a fracture to the little finger on his left hand, which required the insertion of a metal plate. He sustained a blow practising his fielding at short leg before play against Cambridge and then had to leave the field while batting; however, a scan detected no further damage and he batted without discomfort for just over two hours here before falling three runs short of fifty.”The finger’s fine, it was a bit of a freak incident, trapping it in the warm-up and then I tried batting and it got quite painful. So I think we made the right decision in getting it checked out and thankfully it was all okay,” he said.”The surgeon suggested, when there’s a bit of time off, it might be worth getting [the plate] out. But I think there’s a six-week recovery period from having that surgery to remove it, so it wouldn’t make sense now. If I’ve got a bit of time in the future, I probably will take it out.”Ryan ten Doeschate, Essex’s captain, suggested before the game that Lancashire’s batting might present a “chink in their armour” and that looked a shrewd assessment as the visitors experienced a middle-order slide of 4 for 42 on a pristine afternoon. However, Vilas, one of three new Kolpak signings on show, provided the grit that Lancashire desperately needed with 74 before a ticklish thrash between Anderson and Jarvis lifted them towards a more competitive total.For all the topics being discussed at the newly anointed Cloudfm County Ground on the first day of the new season – Hameed’s availability, Alastair Cook’s absence (depriving the crowd of a head-to-head with Anderson), the Kolpak issue, Essex’s survival chances (or Lancashire’s for that matter) – perhaps the closest to local hearts was the decision to drop James Foster for the first time in his 17-year Essex career. Adam Wheater, his replacement behind the stumps, has pedigree as a Division One batsman, as well as the advantage of being from the same east London manor (aka Gooch Country) but it will not be an easy gig.It is accepted around Chelmsford that Foster cannot go on forever but there were rueful shakes of the head when Wheater failed to get a hand on a stumping chance provided by Steven Croft in the first over after lunch. Croft and Hameed had quieted a healthy crowd during a third-wicket stand of 68 but there was a notable frisson of disappointment as the opportunity for Simon Harmer’s first Championship wicket zipped by.By then, Hameed had set about reassuring those nervous about the state of his delicate hands during a composed innings that featured several sumptuously timed drives. Barring a skittish swipe at the first ball he received from Wagner – a team-mate last season, back when Hameed was still a precocious talent smarting at missing out on the U-19 World Cup – he seemed to have everything in the right place, a sort of batting feng shui as he lined up the bowling with the precision displayed during his debut Test series in India. That is, until he fractionally misjudged a delivery from Jamie Porter that kept coming back in at him to clip the top of off stump the over after Croft’s reprieve.For a brief while, there was a vision of England’s possible batting future in the middle, as Liam Livingstone joined Hameed. Livingstone, now at first drop and with a chance to impress after batting in the lower-middle order during his debut season, showcased his revolving-door wrists with a second-ball four that rattled away to the deep midwicket rope and he stroked five more boundaries in between ducking Wagner’s head-hunting bouncers.Livingstone’s attacking instincts eventually got the better of him, a wild flash providing Beard with his first wicket – via a goalkeeper save from Tom Westley (second slip) that was collected on the dive by Varun Chopra (first). Beard also removed Vilas, as a leading edge sailed to mid-off, while Harmer did eventually get Croft, taken at short fine leg when sweeping. Shivnarine Chanderpaul, in his 43rd year and only in the country a few days, was run out after a mix-up with Vilas.

ScorecardFile photo – Marnus Labuschagne fell short of a hundred•Getty Images

Allrounder Jack Wildermuth scored his second first-class century as Queensland continued to dominate their Sheffield Shield match against Queensland on the second day in Hobart. At stumps, the Tigers were 0 for 20 in their second innings with openers Alex Doolan on 8 and Jake Hancock on 7, but they trailed by 267 runs after Queensland piled on 437.The morning began with the Bulls on 2 for 131 and Marnus Labuschagne, who already had a half-century, moved along to what looked like becoming his third first-class hundred. However, on 96 he pushed at a shortish delivery outside off stump from James Faulkner and was caught behind.Queensland were 5 for 226, but they had plenty of batting left. Wicketkeeper James Peirson made 42 and Wildermuth registered his first hundred of the Shield season to take his run tally for the campaign past 500. He fell for 110, bowled by Cameron Stevenson, but Ben Cutting smashed a quick 68 off 50 balls to lift Queensland’s total even further.

Australia’s premier fast bowlers are used to carrying a heavy load. In the period before their bounce back during the home summer, when Australia’s batting line up collapsed in a Pune-India fashion with alarming regularity, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, in particular, have toiled long and hard in the middle.Even during the series against Pakistan, their workloads were significant: they each bowled 56 overs in the first Test in Brisbane. The only Test of the Australian summer in which they bowled less than 42 overs each was in Australia’s massive defeat by South Africa in Hobart.So for Starc and Hazlewood to only bowl two overs each in the second innings in Pune, and 11 and nine for the match, was the cricket equivalent of putting your feet up on the table and leaning back while all your mates fetch you cold beers. Time to collect.”It’s amazing,” said Starc. “I think it’s making up for the summer Josh and I had. The spinners bowled really well and the pitch didn’t have much in it for Josh and me. There was very minimal natural swing because it was so abrasive and it didn’t really go too much reverse. But when Steve’s [O’Keefe] taking that many wickets and Nathan’s [Lyon] bowling really well there’s not really much need for us on that wicket.”But Starc expects he’ll be required for heavier duties in Bangalore, particularly after Australia’s spinners were able to exploit the ragging Pune pitch which backfired on India so spectacularly.”I can’t see it being too bouncy or quick because it’s a weakness of the Indian batters,” said Starc. “We’ll probably see it not turning as much as this wicket has or breaking up as quickly. I think we’ll probably see a wicket similar to maybe the England series they had over here where it’s probably flatter and there’s some really big first innings totals and the game happens a bit quicker towards the end. It’s a smaller ground but a bit better of a wicket than what we’ve seen here in Pune.”But even on a Pune pitch offering him little, Starc produced a ripper of a delivery to dismiss Cheteshwar Pujara, the ball rearing up off the back of a length area and catching the glove as Pujara tried to defend. If there’s any bounce to be found in M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Starc will seek it out.”It’s probably something not many batsmen like, especially the guys over in the subcontinent, where they’re not used to those faster or bouncier wickets. So we can get up around their nose every now and again,” Starc said. “A lot of teams have showed that it’s not an area that the India batsmen like most. Hopefully there’s a little bit of bounce in the Bangalore wicket or the wickets to come in this series and we can try and exploit that as well.”While Pujara’s first-innings dismissal was a key moment in the match, the wicket of Virat Kohli is the most highly coveted by his former Royal Challengers Bangalore team-mate – he had him caught at first slip, chasing after a wide delivery. However, Starc admits there was an element of luck in his dismissal.”If you look closely at the ball it was supposed to come back in, so it was a bit of luck there. It was his first couple of balls at the crease so he was probably going a little too hard. Not one I’ll be giving back anytime soon, that’s for sure.Australia’s pacers enjoyed a rare deficit in workload, but Mitchell Starc expects that to change in the second Test•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

“I had a bit of a chuckle the ball before and while I was fielding at long-on and and he was in the dugout. Nice to get that one early in the series. He’s a class player, we all know that. He’s scored a mountain of runs already this year. I’m sure he’ll come back bigger and stronger in the next Test and be wary of the Virat comeback.”With Australia’s spinners dominating the first Test on such an abrasive wicket, there was little opportunity for reverse swing to come into the equation for Australia’s quicks but Starc believes it could be a key factor in the second Test and an area in which Australia can improve.”Obviously we’ll wait until we get there to see what the conditions are like but I’m sure it will be a pretty dry wicket again, so that’ll probably help reverse swing there and it’s something we’ll be working hard at all the time in the nets,” said Starc.”We know we’ve got huge reverse swing every time we’ve got it here in India, so we’ll have a look at what the wicket has got for us. It’s about looking after that shine on an abrasive square. And if it’s not going to spin as much in Bangalore, we’re going to have to make sure we’re using that reverse swing to make up for not as much spin as we’ve seen here in Pune.”For Starc, the lead in to Bangalore couldn’t be much better. It’s been a long time since he’s been able to go into a second Test this physically fresh and off the back of such a confidence-boosting victory that has silenced the doubters.”Obviously we’ve come here as a group believing we can win, and I think everyone has written us off and expected India to win,” said Starc. “So to shut a few people up and really show that this young team is here to play – and we’ve adapted really well in our lead-up – has been great for the group. But it’s one Test win, it’s not a series win yet so we’ll be doing all we can. Especially in the next Test in Bangalore. It’s going to be pretty special for this young group [if we pull it off].”

Andre Russell is praying and hoping that the independent anti-doping tribunal does not ban him for missing out on filing his whereabouts on three occasions in 2015. The three-member tribunal will deliver the verdict in Kingston on Tuesday.If found guilty, Russell could face a maximum ban of up to two years under the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules. Missing three tests in 12-month period amounts to a failed dope test under the WADA guidelines.”It’s been stressing and hard playing cricket and all that’s in the back of your head. But at the end of the day you have to do what you have to do,” Russell told . “It’s like a big cloud over my head. If I get a ban then definitely I’m out of cricket [during the period of the suspension]; I mean all formats. So I’d just love to know I’m back and I can represent Jamaica Tallawahs, West Indies, and all the other teams I play for in the world.”Honestly, I’m being positive and I haven’t been thinking about anything else that I want to do apart from playing cricket; doing what I love. I have so many fans out there and they would be disappointed, just as I would be. I just want to remain positive at the moment. I think I can [avoid a suspension] with the help of God; I think it’s out of my control, so I just have to wait on what happens on Tuesday.”In March 2016, Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) pressed a legal charge against Russell for failing to provide his whereabouts between January and July 2015. According to JADCO Russell had failed to file his whereabouts on January 1, July 1 and July 25 that year despite several reminders over email, phone and letters.In his defence, Russell told the tribunal that he had not been properly trained to file the whereabouts, and that he had authorised his agent and travel agent to file his whereabouts since he was busy with cricket commitments.The three-member tribunal comprising Hugh Faulkner, Dr Marjorie Vassell and Dixeth Palmer, a former Jamaica cricketer, has been deliberating on the case for a long time and even delayed the original verdict date last December.Russell, who is recovering from a left hamstring injury which forced him out midway through the Big Bash League in Australia earlier this month, tested his fitness last Saturday when he turned to play a league game for St Catherine’s Cricket Club. He ended up with three wickets which played a role in his team’s victory.Last July, while playing for the Jamaica Tallawahs in the Caribbean Premier League, Russell had said it had been “depressing” for him to carry on playing while the hearings were on. Ahead of the hearing, he hoped his prayers would be answered.”As I said in the team meeting to the guys, I just would love for them to say a prayer for me, and I’ve been praying for myself as well,” he said. “I have faith (in) the work that my lawyers put out… I think they summed up things very well.”

Arthur Morris, the late Australia batsman, has been inducted as the 82nd player into the ICC hall of fame. He played 46 Tests and was the highest scorer among Don Bradman’s “Invincibles” in the 1948 Ashes. Noted for his elegance at the crease, the left-handed opener was also a destructive presence, averaging 46.48 with 12 hundreds and a top score of 206. He died in Sydney in August 2015, aged 93.Judith Morris received a personalised cap celebrating her husband’s contributions from Steve Waugh, another member of the ICC hall of fame, at tea during the New Year’s Test at the SCG. “It is a great honour to be receiving this award, which brings in a flood of memories along with it,” she said.Among them might have been how Morris had struck hundreds in his first two first-class innings – or his 155, 122 and 124 not out in consecutive innings in his first Test series. He was at the other end when Bradman made a duck in his final innings at The Oval and finished with 196, which helped Australia to an innings victory and did not give Bradman the chance to lift his average into three-figures. selected Morris as one of their cricketers of the year in 1948 and said he had an “air of complete composure” and that “he combined unusual defensive qualities with the ability to decide early in the ball’s flight what his stroke shall be”. He was named in Australia’s team of the century in 2000, and in the following year, he was inducted into the Australian hall of fame.Tuesday marked an occasion for more praise for Morris. “Cricket has developed over the years and decades due to the contribution of players who entertained the crowds with their attractive game and made contests memorable due to their steely resolve. Arthur Morris was one such cricketer and that is why he is remembered even so many years after he played the game,” Waugh said.Morris’ form tapered away towards the end of his career, coinciding with Sid Barnes, his long-time opener partner, getting into problems with the administrators. He played the last of his 46 Tests in June 1955.”He spent a long period in the motor trade, then played a significant part in the introduction of tenpin bowling to Australia, before finishing in PR,” Morris’ obituary in says of his life after retirement. “He remained an honoured guest at cricket grounds everywhere, his dignity never puffing up into pomposity, thanks to an acute sense of the ironic and the whimsical. He was appointed MBE in 1974, and was a member of the Sydney Cricket and Sports Ground Trust for 22 years. Three days before he died, the Arthur Morris Gates were unveiled as a tribute to his long association with the SCG.”

First dates are hard, and the one India are having with DRS has thrown up its share of adorable and awkward moments.Batting for the first time in front of his home crowd in a Test match, Cheteshwar Pujara used the system to overturn an lbw decision against him and score a “special century” in front of his family and friends. That high, however, dissipated in the second innings when he was again caught in front of the stumps again but did not realise the ball had pitched outside leg. His wingman M Vijay was no help, and his coach Anil Kumble gave him an earful for not being brave enough to take the plunge. Poor Pujara.In Visakhapatnam, India’s difficulties in judging when to use the system came out in the span of three balls from Moeen Ali. A ripping offbreak took Wriddhiman Saha’s pad and after an eternity Kumar Dharmasena raised his finger. Perhaps the delay encouraged Saha to review, but replays showed it was three reds.Ravindra Jadeja should have reviewed his lbw decision•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Two deliveries later, Ravindra Jadeja went forward to defend the second ball he faced, expecting turn from Moeen bowling around the stumps. Instead he was met by a full delivery that held its line and struck him low on the front pad. Dharmasena upheld the appeal for lbw, and it was time to engage the temptress.Jadeja strode down the pitch to get some advice from R Ashwin, his partner, who wasn’t sure it was a good idea. India now had only one review left. But they had just lost one of their best lower-order batsmen. It was probably worth the gamble. When the replays came on, it confirmed as much, with the ball missing leg stump by a whisker.England and DRS have had a much longer fling, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they do not have their own issues. Alastair Cook, in the first morning of the series, was given out lbw after he missed a flick to a delivery from Jadeja that seemed like it would clearly miss leg stump. Here too the non-striker was consulted, but Haseeb Hameed, the 19-year old on Test debut, had enough to worry about without having to calculate the ball’s trajectory.India managed a happy ending though. Jayant Yadav, on debut, struck Moeen on the pads in the first over after drinks in the final session. The batsman had come down the track, but the offspinner had seen that he hadn’t really covered that much distance and more importantly the ball had straightened. Umpire Dharmasena had ruled against the on-field appeal but Jayant knew a debut wicket was only a ‘T’ sign away and convinced his captain to go for a review.The ball pitched in line, hit the batsman on middle and went on to hit leg stump, three reds when so often in such cases the umpire’s call comes into play. The Indians’ celebrations – Virat Kohli, who just about raised his bat on scoring a century earlier, was punching the air in triumph – were indicative of an unfamiliar job very well done.