علّق مدرب أتلتيكو مدريد، دييجو سيميوني، على الفوز المهم الذي حققه فريقه أمام برشلونة في الدوري الإسباني، مشيدًا بالأداء الدفاعي القوي للاعبيه في مواجهة فريق يلعب بكفاءة عالية.

سيميوني تحدث عن صعوبة المباراة وأهمية صمود فريقه أمام هجمات برشلونة المستمرة، مشيرًا إلى أن الفوز تحقق بفضل تماسك المجموعة واستغلال الفرص.

وفي حديثه عن منافسه برشلونة، أكد سيميوني أن الفريق الكتالوني لا يستحق الخسارة في المباريات التي خاضها مؤخراً، مشيرًا إلى أن كرة القدم لا تمنح دائمًا المكافأة للأداء الجيد إذا لم يتمكن الفريق من التسجيل.

ويتصدر أتلتيكو مدريد الترتيب الآن برصيد 41 نقطة، ويليه برشلونة برصيد 38 نقطة.

اقرأ أيضًا | ترتيب الدوري الإسباني بعد هزيمة برشلونة أمام أتلتيكو مدريد

وقال سيميوني في تصريحات نشرتها صحيفة “ماركا” الإسبانية: “سعيد، لا أستطيع أن أكذب، الفريق عانى، برشلونة يلعب بشكل جيد جدًا، يهاجم طوال الوقت، اليوم كان لدينا ليلة دفاعية رائعة من عدة لاعبين، وأوبلاك تحديدًا، هذا سمح لنا بالبقاء على قيد الحياة”.

وأضاف: “الشوط الثاني كان أكثر تنافسية، كانت لدينا فرصة باريوس مع التعادل 1-1، هم كان لديهم العديد من الفرص، كان لدينا حظ كبير في الحسم، من كثرة الهجوم قد تصبح الأمور فوضوية، لكن الفريق كان صبورًا واستغل الهجمة المرتدة لتسجيل هدف رائع، هدف سورلوث كان هدفًا رائعًا”.

وواصل: “اللاعبون مستعدون للمنافسة، أقوى شيء لدينا هو المجموعة، المجموعة تظهر ذلك بالأفعال، التغييرات عندما يدخل اللاعبون، يفعلون ذلك بشكل حقيقي، هذا ما يريده المدربون. أن يكون الجميع بنفس الطريقة، طريقتنا في المنافسة مع عملاقين مثل ريال مدريد وبرشلونة هي أن نكون جميعًا في أفضل مستوى”.

واستطرد: “بدأنا نجد أنفسنا مع مرور الوقت، يجب أن ندعم ما يفعله اللاعبون بشكل جيد ونحاول تحسينه ومنح الفريق هيكلًا، رؤية أن الفريق يمكنه التقدم، ذهبنا إلى باريس وكان نفس الشيء الذي حدث اليوم، ما تركه النادي من إرث لجميع اللاعبين الذين مروا هنا هو ذلك”.

وعن لاعبه جالان، أفاد: “ما يفعله جالان شيء مذهل، لم نأخذ ذلك في الاعتبار عندما بدأ الموسم، كنا نعلم أنه قد يظهر، كنا نراه يتدرب ونشاهد أنه يمتلك موهبة رائعة، حصل على فرصة، ويلعب كرة القدم رائعة، إنه يقوم بذلك بطريقة رائعة”.

وأتم: “ليس لدي أي شك في أن جميع المباريات التي خسرها برشلونة، لم يكن يستحق الخسارة، ضد ليجانيس ولاس بالماس كان لديهم العديد من الفرص للتسجيل، لكن كرة القدم تحتوي على هذه المواقف، عندما لا يأتي الهدف، يبدأ الأمر في أن يصبح مشكلة”.

كشفت تقارير صحفية إسبانية، عن دخول قائد منتخب مصر وفريق ليفربول، محمد صلاح، ضمن قائمة اللاعبين المطلوبين للانضمام إلى برشلونة في فترة الانتقالات الصيفية المقبلة.

وسينتهي عقد محمد صلاح مع ليفربول بنهاية الموسم الحالي، صيف 2025. ولا يزال مستقبل الدولي المصري مغموراً مع فريقه الإنجليزي على الرغم من إعلان رغبته بالبقاء داخل جدران أنفيلد.

ويحتل محمد صلاح، صدارة ترتيب هدافي الدوري الإنجليزي برصيد 15 هدفاً، متفوقاً على المهاجم النرويجي إيرلينج هالاند، صاحب الـ13 هدفاُ. 

اقرأ أيضاً.. سبورت: برشلونة يقترب من حسم أولى صفقات الموسم المقبل

ووفقاً لما جاء في صحيفة “موندو ديبورتيفو”، فإن نادي برشلونة قد وضع 6 لاعبين من القارة الأوروبية بهدف التعاقد معهم في الصيف المقبل، مع إقتراب نهاية عقدهم مع فرقهم.

وضمت قائمة اللاعبين المطلوبين في برشلونة كلًا من مهاجم ليفربول، محمد صلاح، والغاني توماس بارتي لاعب آرسنال بالإضافة إلى المهاجم الكندي جوناثان ديفيد مهاجم ليل الفرنسي.

وشهدت القائمة أيضاً تواجد ثنائي بايرن ميونخ، جوشوا كيميتش وألفونسو ديفيز، بالإضافة إلى جوناثان تاه مدافع باير ليفركوزن الألماني.

وبحسب ما جاء في الصحف الإسبانية فإن إدارة برشلونة تعمل على التعاقد مع اللاعبين الذين تنتهي عقودهم بنهاية الصيف المقبل، نظراً للظروف الإقتصادية التي يمر بها النادي الكتالوني.

ومع اقتراب نهاية عقد هؤلاء اللاعبين، يحق لهم التوقيع لأي نادي بداية من شهر يناير المقبل، ومن المقرر أن تشهد الفترة المقبلة تطورات جديدة حول إمكانية تعاقد برشلونة معهم.

Down 1-2 in the series, this was a must-win game for Pakistan, and the pressure of the situation showed in the manner in which they approached their innings

On the Ball with S Rajesh16-Feb-2006Down 1-2 in the series, this was a must-win game for Pakistan, and the pressure of the situation showed in the manner in which they approached their innings. The Indian bowlers showed exemplary discipline early on, but Pakistan contributed with their attitude. The first couple of overs were maidens, and when the runs came, they were in trickles, interspersed with plenty of dot balls. The early defensive mindset of the batsmen allowed the bowlers to settle into a rhythm on a pitch which didn’t offer them too much assistance.The batsmen’s approach eventually resulted in a rash of poor strokes, so that after 15 overs their total read a miserable 38 for 4, from which there was no coming back. The pie-chart below shows just how much of a stranglehold the Indian bowlers had in the first 15: there were 32 defensive shots, while 18 balls were left alone. A comparison with the number of deliveries left alone in the earlier three games tells the story: in the previous match the number was six, while the figure from the first two games was three. Pakistan played 75 dot balls and managed just three fours in the first 15, and ultimately, that’s where the match was decided.

The regular Monday column in which Steven Lynch answers your questions about (almost) any aspect of cricket

Steven Lynch19-Sep-2005The regular Monday column in which Steven Lynch answers your questions about (almost) any aspect of cricket:

Kevin Pietersen’s 473 runs in the Ashes puts him in joint second place for the most runs in a debut series © Getty Images
Shane Warne dismissed Andrew Strauss six times in the Ashes series – is this a record? asked Amin Shukla from Trivandrum
The amazing Warne also dismissed Ashley Giles six times in the epic series that has just finished. As it turns out these were the 45th and 46th instances of a bowler taking the same batsman’s wicket six times in the same series, starting in 1894-95, when England’s Tom Richardson kept removing Syd Gregory. But the record is seven, which has happened four times now: the first was the South African Jack Siedle, who fell to a previous Australian legspinning legend, Clarrie Grimmett, seven times in 1935-36. Another South African opener, Trevor Goddard, lost his wicket seven times to Brian Statham in England in 1960. The other two are more recent: in the 1989 Ashes series Geoff Lawson dismissed David Gower seven times, while in 1997 Glenn McGrath accounted for Mike Atherton on seven occasions. While we’re on this subject it might be worth mentioning the England opener Peter Richardson, who had eight innings in the 1956 Ashes series and was caught behind in each of them, although the bowlers were different.Before the end of Kevin Pietersen’s epic 158 at The Oval, a caption showed that he was approaching the record for the most runs in his debut Test series. Did he get there? asked Ben Elmington from Glasgow
He didn’t quite break the record for England, which is still held by RE “Tip” Foster, who scored 486 runs in the 1903-04 Ashes series, including 287 on his debut at Sydney. But Pietersen did finish up with 473 runs in his first series, which puts him level in second place for England with Paul Gibb, who made 473 in South Africa in 1938-39, in the series that included the famous Timeless Test at Durban. George Gunn (462 in 1907-08) and Brian Luckhurst (455 in 1970-71) also made more than 450 runs in their first Test series for England. The Ashes record is 557, by Australia’s Herbie Collins in 1920-21, while Arthur Morris (503 in 1946-47) also made more than any Englishman. But all of these are quite a long way adrift of the record for any debut series. In 1970-71 Sunil Gavaskar collected 774 runs in just four Tests in his maiden series, for India in the West Indies. He broke the previous record, George Headley’s 703 for West Indies against England in 1929-30.Who has scored the most Test runs without ever making a half-century? asked Nusrat Vohra from Pakistan
It’s quite well-known that Shane Warne, with 2767 now, has scored the most Test runs without a century, but I’m not sure that I’ve ever been asked this question before, The answer is Pakistan’s Waqar Younis, who’s actually the only man to make more than 1000 Test runs without the aid of a fifty – his highest score in 87 matches was 45. Fred Trueman of England lies second with 981, ahead of Craig McDermott (940), Derek Underwood (937), Courtney Walsh (936), Andy Caddick (861) and Bob Willis (840). Caddick did have a near-miss – his highest Test score was 49 not out against Australia at Edgbaston in 2001.Is it true that Jai Prakash Yadav’s 69 in the recent Videocon Series was the highest score by a No. 9 in ODIs? asked Ganesh Mali from India
Yes, JP Yadav’s 69 against New Zealand at Bulawayo last month did indeed break the record for the highest score by a No. 9 batsman in ODIs. The previous record was 64, shared by Michael Holding for West Indies against Australia at Perth in 1983-84, and Andy Bichel for Australia v New Zealand at Port Elizabeth in the 2002-03 World Cup. Tahir Naqqash hit 61 for Pakistan v New Zealand at Auckland in 1984-85, and there have been 14 other ODI half-centuries from Nos 9 or 10 in the order, three of them by South Africa’s Lance Klusener, and one by Irfan Pathan in the same match as Yadav.Recently Muttiah Muralitharan, almost unnoticed, went past Wasim Akram’s overall record of international wickets, and is closing in on 1000. Who else has more than 800? asked Haider Abbas from Pakistan
Murali’s nine wickets in last week’s first Test against Bangladesh in Colombo took him to 939 international wickets all told – 558 in Tests and 381 in Odis. (He also has 999 Test runs as I write!) Wasim Akram did indeed hold the previous record, with 916, but Shane Warne has equalled him now. The only other one over 800 at the moment is Glenn McGrath, with 842, although Anil Kumble had 790 before the first Test against Zimbabwe.Where does the name “Cross Arrows” come from? asked Stephen Sellick
The Cross Arrows Cricket Club is the one that plays matches throughout September on the Nursery Ground at Lord’s. It’s mostly made up of people who work there – MCC staff members as well as current and former groundstaff players. They play a high standard of club cricket, against local teams and organisations, as well as the occasional centenary or other celebration game. The Cross Arrows were founded in 1880, and legend has it that early on, before the club had a proper name, they had an away fixture out in the wilds of Middlesex. Asked where the match was, one of the players said “It’s across ‘Arrow way” (Harrow, home of the famous school, is out to the north-west of London) … and the name stuck. I’m not quite sure if it’s true, but it’s a good story!

Justin Kemp’s magnificent unbeaten 100 from 89 balls completely changed the complexion of a match that seemed to be in India’s bag. Here at the stats highlights from his knock

S Rajesh26-Nov-2006

Justin Kemp scored 65 from his last 27 balls as India reeled under his onslaught © Getty Images
240.74 – Justin Kemp’s strike rate in his last 27 balls. After 62 balls he had made just 35.76 – The number of runs South Africa scored in the five-over period from 43 to 47. The sequence read 12, 15, 19, 11, 19.138 – The eighth-wicket partnership between Kemp and Andrew Hall, which is a record for that wicket in ODIs, beating the earlier mark of 119 between Shane Warne and Paul Reiffel against South Africa at Port Elizabeth in 1993-94.240 – Kemp’s strike rate against Irfan Pathan (24 off 10 balls). Against Zaheer Khan he hammered 21 off 11, while Harbhajan Singh vanished for 27 off 24. The only bowler who had respectable stats against him was Anil Kumble, who conceded just 11 from 25 balls.24.07 – Kemp’s average in his 20 previous ODIs this year. He had only scored two fifties in these matches.3 – The number of No.7 batsmen who have scored hundreds in ODIs. Before Kemp, only Hashan Tillakaratne (100 against West Indies at Sharjah, 1995-96), and Mohammad Kaif (111 not out against Zimbabwe at Colombo, 2002-03) had managed this feat51.20 – Rahul Dravid’s average in ODIs against South Africa in South Africa. In 11 innings, he has scored seven fifties25.89 – Sachin Tendulkar’s average against South Africa in South Africa. In 18 matches, he only has one fifty-plus score

It’s too early to judge but Dinesh Karthik and Wasim Jaffer’s average of 88.50 is the best for an Indian pair who’ve opened at least five times in Tests

George Binoy28-Jul-2007

Wasim Jaffer and Dinesh Karthik survived James Anderson and Ryan Sidebottom’s testing opening spells, and posted 147 for the opening wicket on the second day at Trent Bridge. It was a partnership that beat the odds, for India’s openers have had a horrendous record in England in the last three decades. The last time India had a first-wicket partnership of more than 100 in England was when Sunil Gavaskar and Chetan Chauhan added 213 at The Oval in 1979. Since then, the openers had added more than 50 only five times in 29 innings with Kris Srikkanth and Gavaskar’s 64 at Leeds in 1986 being the highest.India have a history of makeshift opening pairs and Jaffer, the specialist, and Karthik, who averaged 56 in six innings as opener before Trent Bridge, are a relatively new combination. They began impressively, adding 153 against South Africa at Cape Town in January and since they’ve put on 0, 0, 175*, 18, 38 and 147. It’s too early to judge but Karthik and Jaffer’s average of 88.50 is the best for an Indian pair who’ve opened at least five times in Tests.You cannot fault an opening stand that produces 147 but Karthik and Jaffer had large doses of luck on the second day at Trent Bridge. England’s fast bowlers swung and seamed the new ball considerably and both openers played and missed regularly. In fact, Karthik and Jaffer had a higher in-control percentage – that is, they middled the ball more regularly – at Lord’s, where India lost their first wicket on 18 and 38 in the two innings.

Chris Tremlett has been England’s best fast bowler so far in the second Test. He bowled predominantly on a good length or just short of a length and got the ball to bounce sharply. India scored 109 runs off 29 overs between lunch and tea but the batsmen managed to score only 15 runs off Tremlett’s eight overs, while Anderson and Sidebottom’s economy-rates during this session were five and 4.60 respectively.Anderson and Sidebottom were England’s most effective bowlers at Lord’s but their swing has produced no wickets so far at Trent Bridge. In the first innings at Lord’s, Anderson not only took 5 for 42, but also built immense pressure with his economy rate of 1.72. The difference so far at Trent Bridge has been a positive approach from the Indians compared to Lord’s, and a little bit of luck.More stats from the second day

Stuart Robertson, the ECB marketing man who devised Twenty20, speaks to Andrew McGlashan

Andrew McGlashan13-Sep-2007

The first ICC World Twenty20 is a satisfying time for Stuart Robertson. Back in 2000, as the head marketing man at the ECB, Robertson was set the daunting task of trying to bring more people through the gates to watch English domestic cricket. Test matches and one-day internationals were routinely sold out, even when England weren’t winning, but county matches really were for one man and his dog.The idea he came up with is what we now know as the Twenty20 game. Seven years and 9000 km later, the Wanderers, Newlands and Kingsmead are guaranteed sell-outs to watch some of the biggest names in cricket at the first world championship in the new format.”The key is, it’s such a simple format,” Robertson, who now works for Hampshire, told Cricinfo. “It’s not rocket science and that’s the beauty of it. I wasn’t surprised how quickly the game took off in England, but the international growth was a bit more unexpected, especially the pace at which other countries introduced it into their fixtures.”Twenty20 made its debut in the 2003 English season, and that winter South Africa introduced Pro20. Two years later Australia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka all made room in their domestic calendars for a competition. Since then, New Zealand have also joined in, while Stanford 20/20 sparked popular interest in the Caribbean and has now been incorporated into the official WICB season. Even India, who have a stubborn love-affair with the 50-over game, yielded to pressure and played a domestic Twenty20 tournament last year, although the reception was lukewarm. Cracking that market remains the game’s major challenge.”The data we had was fairly black and white,” said Robertson. “Across the board, attendances were down 20 per cent over five years when the project began in 2000-01. My job was to put together a report, looking in detail at how to bring people back through the gates, but importantly, doing it from a consumer perspective. There had been plenty of committees set up to look at the issue in the past, but they’d involved former players and county chairmen whose findings were not always in the spectators’ interests.

“We looked at why people weren’t coming to the games and there was a key theme: accessibility. This was a physical reason – the timings of the matches; people at work couldn’t get to the games during the day. But there was a cultural, social aspect as well. A lot of people said: ‘I thought you had to be a member to go a game.'”Robertson and his team identified key groups of people who were barely registering in the county game; women, the 16-35 age group, and young families with children. “We needed a product that would be attractive to them, and asked if there was a game that took less than three hours, would they come to that? The overwhelming response was that they would, so we went back to the counties and in 2001 it went to a vote of the First Class Forum. It was passed 11-7 in favour and that was the start of Twenty20.”It wasn’t a faultless progression from idea to inception. As the voting suggests, the format didn’t gain wholehearted support, although Robertson was confident from the outset that the early misgivings could be overcome. “There was scepticism before and after the start of the tournament, but the great thing was that once it got off the ground, everyone got behind it. Even those who voted against the proposal initially didn’t stand back and say they wouldn’t embrace it.”The advantage was that virtually all the commercial and marketing men
could see the potential that Twenty20 had, but it was the chairmen – brought up in slightly different eras – who offered the early obstacles. Once Twenty20 was voted in, the marketing men could hardly wait to get working on it.”

It wasn’t only off the field that Twenty20 found itself struggling for recognition. During its first season, players didn’t quite know what to make of it, having been brought up on a diet of 50-over and four-day cricket. “From the playing side there was certainly a feeling in the first year that it was a bit of hit-and-giggle, and a few teams didn’t take it seriously,” said Robertson. “I spent a lot of time speaking and giving presentations on it through the PCA [Professional Cricketers’ Association] and slowly the mood changed.”Sometimes the early misgivings actually came from the international players who were used to playing in front of full houses and weren’t sure it could be replicated on the domestic level. But for the young, upcoming players performing in front of six or seven thousand people it was a totally new experience. It’s what being a professional sportsman was all about.”The question now is, how far can Twenty20 go? The ICC has put a limit on the number of international matches in a year and Robertson agrees the current level “is just about right” with a match or two against each touring side, and the World Cup. But he doesn’t support the view that there’s a danger of overload, especially at domestic level. “It’s been such a success. Why shouldn’t there be more of it? In England I certainly think there is scope for a tournament to run throughout the season, maybe on Friday nights, rather than just the two-week period in midsummer.”One enticing prospect is the idea of a Champions League-style Twenty20 league where the top domestic teams from each country play each other. “It certainly would be interesting,” said Robertson. It might sound slightly far-fetched at the moment, but so did the ICC World Twenty20 five years ago.

Before going away to work on the latest phase of his rehabilitation, Sachin Tendulkar spoke about the realities of aging, combating injury and coming back with desire for the game undimmed

Dileep Premachandran01-Jun-2006

Despite his best efforts, Tendulkar couldn’t be ready for a Caribbean swansong © Getty Images
Despite his best efforts, Sachin Tendulkar couldn’t make the tour of the Caribbean. The recovery from shoulder surgery has taken slightly longer than expected and Tendulkar now hopes to be in fighting trim for the start of the new season in August. Before going away to work on the latest phase of his rehabilitation, he spoke to Cricinfo Magazine about the realities of aging, combating injury and coming back with desire for the game undimmed.The last two seasons have seen gremlins creep into the machine. A tennis elbow problem and the shoulder tear haven’t helped – “It’s not like a fracture where you know it’ll heal in four weeks,” he says – and doubt, the performer’s greatest enemy, has crept in. “It’s not easy to forget the injuries,” he says. “There are times when you spend some time in the middle and the body complains. That’s when you need to hold back a bit and take it easy for a couple of practice sessions.”A rigorous training regime wasn’t enough to convince the physicians, or himself, that he was ready for the West Indies. Such disappointments have recently become commonplace, and Tendulkar is the first to admit so: “Your thought process changes. When you have a fit body, you think differently, but when you’re not 100% fit, or you’ve just overcome an injury, then your mind works differently. Thinking is everything in this game. It’s hard to express what it’s like, but there have been sleepless nights, there have been days full of frustration where you just want to get back in action but the body doesn’t cooperate even if your mind is ready to go out there and do it. You have to be sharp enough to pick up those signals.”On the matter of thinking, he has the right man by his side. “Greg Chappell was a top cricketer, one of the best to have played this game,” he says, when asked whether the coach has helped him through the lean times. “He understands the game very well. It’s important to have someone around who’s played a lot of cricket at the highest level. Technically, to a certain extent, one can progress, but mentally you can get better each time you go out into the middle. That’s where Greg chips in. It’s the thinking of someone who’s played and seen this game for over 40 years now. He understands the highs and the lows and he himself has experienced it.”Tendulkar smiles when asked how the ravages of time have changed both the man and his game. “I’ve never understood that aspect of the criticism,” he says quietly. “Change is part of our lives, and as you get older, you try to reach your destination in safer ways. “Let me give you a small example. Earlier when I used to hit the ball in the air and get out, people used to say, `Why can’t you play all along the ground? It’s simple. You don’t need to hit the ball in the air.’ Now, when I play all along the ground, people say: `Why don’t you hit the ball in the air nowadays?’ Basically, people are not satisfied with what one does.”He insists, however, that when body and mind are in perfect sync, he’s still capable of innings like the 114 in Perth [January 1992] that evoked so much awe all those years ago. “See the innings I played against Pakistan at the [2003] World Cup, and also Lahore [third one-day international, February 2006]. At Lahore, the first few overs, when the ball was doing a lot, I had to occasionally hold myself back – wait for an opportunity, or sometimes create chances. You’re obviously working on the bowler’s mind when you counter-attack. I have played a few innings like that.”It’s hard to express what it’s like, but there have been sleepless nights, there have been days full of frustration where you just want to get back in action but the body doesn’t cooperate even if your mind is ready to go out there and do itBefore injury ruled him out of the one-day series against England, he had played his part in India’s remarkable revival in the one-day game, and he has nothing but praise for the new faces, and the established ones that have taken their game to another level. “It’s a good blend,” he says. “It has worked wonderfully and the balance is just about right.”The newer crop is talented, and they’re match-winners. Even the bowlers – Munaf [Patel] has done well; Sreesanth has been quite consistent; and Irfan’s been around now for three years. He’s been delivering quite consistently with both bat and ball. When the batting hasn’t been up to expectations, the bowlers have made it a point to bowl some wonderful spells, and vice versa. We’ve got players who are fit and raring to go, with brilliant attitudes. With Chappell around, it’s a perfect combination.”And though he refuses to look too far ahead, nothing would please him more than World-Cup redemption after the disasters that were the 2003 final and the 1996 semi-final. “In retrospect, you feel that we could have done things differently,” he says. “But at that moment, you go out there to do what you feel is the right thing to do then.”I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself thinking about the next World Cup. It would be a dream come true if we can pull it off, but there are plenty of steps on the ladder and we can’t get carried away by emotion.”

Tamil Nadu’s relatively inexperienced line-up was out-thought by Mumbai’s bowlers and out-batted by their batsmen

Kanishkaa Balachandran in Chennai17-Nov-2007

Tamil Nadu’s batsmen could have learnt from Abhishek Nayar’s counter-attacking 105 on Friday © Cricinfo Ltd
The result, an eight-wicket win, was predictable. Mumbai, the defending champions, were searching for their opening victory of the season; a young Tamil Nadu side was trying to establish an identity for themselves after an exodus of senior players. It wasn’t much of a contest: Mumbai spotted a weakness – the batting – within the first session and chipped away at that, inducing mistakes rather than walking away with gimmes.It was a good toss to win for captain S Badrinath but, as he and the coach, WV Raman, later admitted, the game was all but lost after the first hour. The first ball after the first drinks break saw a wicket fall and two more followed in quick succession. One of those was Badrinath, the team’s most consistent batsman and one on the fringes of national selection, who chopped one onto his stumps without opening his account.Despite chanceless half centuries from Dinesh Karthik and R Srinivasan, Tamil Nadu were shot out for 206 before stumps on day one. It’s easy to blame devils – real or otherwise – in the pitch and it was two-paced but, refreshingly, Badrinath and Raman didn’t go down that road. “We simply didn’t take advantage of the toss,” Raman told Cricinfo after the match. “It was the same pitch for both sides. Mumbai just made fewer mistakes.”What, then, caused Tamil Nadu to fold up for 206 and 214? One observation was that the batsmen at times failed to cover the line of the ball quickly enough, not knowing when the ball would suddenly shoot low. When sound technique was needed, Mumbai’s batsmen rose to the task on more occasions, covering the line and defending off the meat of the bat, the sound of leather hitting willow reverberating across the ground. Even defensive strokes were met with cheers and claps from the players’ tent, and it clearly wasn’t meant for fun.Of the 20 Tamil Nadu wickets that fell, seven were out bowled, and five of those were in the second innings, with the side under pressure to wipe out the deficit and build a substantial lead. Ajit Agarkar got one to sneak between bat and pad on the second ball of the third morning, and Aavishkar Salvi hit the timber in all his three dismissals in the second innings. Badrinath dragged one onto his stumps playing away from his body, R Srinivasan didn’t get his foot across to cover the inswing while K Vasudevadas paid the price for not knowing where his off stump was. Mumbai, by contrast, lost just two wickets in the same manner.The chief wrecker in both innings was Powar with match figures of 9 for 123 and it was clear the home team’s batsmen had problems tackling his slow and canny offspinners. Too rarely did the batsmen get adventurous and use their feet against him. Srinivasan survived a few nervy moments and close shouts for leg-before, attempting back-foot strokes. They could have followed the example of the young R Ashwin, whose willingness to get a good stride forward helped counter Powar’s spin. Abhishek Nayar’s aggressive 105 was the best example of how to counter-attack the conditions. His unusually wide stance helped him get to the pitch of the ball and cart it over the infield.Perhaps it’s hard to expect too much out of a young side, with a few pushed into the big league earlier than expected. Raman spoke of the happy dressing-room atmosphere and a few younger players, in turn, spoke about his positive influence. As Raman put it, with a young side, the only way, is up.

A calm dressing room environment is making the finisher play better

Hemant Brar18-Jun-20224:29

Steyn: Karthik will be among the first names in India’s T20 World Cup squad

Certain statistics in cricket feel straight out of , and Friday produced not one but two of those. First, England posted nearly 500 in a 50-over game in Amstelveen. Then, in Rajkot, Dinesh Karthik scored his maiden T20I half-century – more than 15 years after making his debut in the format.When Karthik made his debut, in what was also India’s first T20I outing, he was playing with a different generation of players. For instance, Graeme Smith, who was the opposition captain in that match, was one of the commentators for Friday’s game. Charl Langeveldt, who picked up 2 for 20 then, is now South Africa’s bowling coach.But Karthik got to play only 34 T20Is in the intervening years, and there was a seven-year period from 2010 to 2017 when he didn’t play a single T20I for India. That’s because he was a second-choice wicketkeeper behind MS Dhoni during this time, and wasn’t always deemed good enough to play as a pure batter.But over the years, the format has evolved so much that there are opportunities for super-specialists. And in the last few months, Karthik has emerged as one in closing a T20 innings. He has taken his finishing skills to such a level, as he showed during IPL 2022, that India’s team management had to make space for him in the playing XI.India probably plan to use him mainly in the last five overs of the innings. Therefore, in the second T20I of this series, when they lost their fourth wicket in the 13th over, Axar Patel walked in ahead of Karthik. The move, though, didn’t prove as successful, with Axar consuming 11 balls for his ten runs.In Rajkot too India’s fourth wicket fell in the 13th over. But the pitch was playing a few tricks. It was slightly on the slower side, because of which the ball was not coming onto the bat easily. Then there was uneven bounce to deal with. Anrich Nortje’s first ball in the ninth over scooted underneath Hardik Pandya’s bat; the fifth stung Rishabh Pant on the gloves.Perhaps considering all that, India decided to send Karthik, and not Axar, at No. 6. Hardik told him straightway to take his time as it was much easier to score once set. He took four balls to open his account, and was on 6 off 8 at one point. But that allowed him to assess the conditions and settle down.Dinesh Karthik infused the much-needed impetus to India’s innings•BCCIWith five overs left in the innings, Temba Bavuma brought Nortje back into the attack. By this time, the game had entered Karthik’s territory. He skipped down the track and smashed him over mid-off. Two balls later, he cut him in front of point for another four.From the other end, he swept, drove and reverse-pulled Keshav Maharaj for three more boundaries. “He scores in very unorthodox areas, which makes him difficult to bowl to,” the left-arm spinner would say later.Dwaine Pretorius had conceded only nine off his first two overs. But now he was up against a rampaging Karthik, who stood deep inside his crease and shuffled across to hit 6, 4, 4 off the seamer in successive deliveries. With another six off Pretorius on the first ball of the 20th over, Karthik raised his half-century.When Pant had got out, leaving India 81 for 4 in 12.5 overs, ESPNcricinfo’s Forecaster predicted a total of 149. But Karthik’s 27-ball 55 lifted them to 169 for 6, which turned out to be almost double of what South Africa could manage.Since the start of IPL 2022, on more than one occasion Karthik has spoken about how he has worked hard with his coach behind the scenes. All that work, he says, has allowed him to assess situations better and play accordingly. But after Friday’s game, he also talked about how the atmosphere in India’s dressing room has been of great help.”I am feeling very secure in this set-up,” he said at the post-match presentation. “In the last game, things didn’t go exactly according to the plan for me [Karthik was out for 6 off 8], but the way I felt in the dressing room post the game was very comforting. Right now, the dressing room is a very safe, secure place. It feels warm, it feels fuzzy when things go well, and it feels the same when they don’t go as well. There is a certain sense of calmness.”Rahul [Dravid, India’s coach] has been very clear about how we should approach the series. I don’t think he has been saying we should beat South Africa. What he has been saying is what he expects batters and bowlers to do. I think that clarity is very, very important.”After his IPL exploits, Karthik forced his way into the Indian side. Now, he is strengthening his case for inclusion in the T20 World Cup squad as well.