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India offspinner R Ashwin has waded into controversy by comparing Chennai Super Kings’ return to the IPL fold to Manchester United’s recovery from the horrific plane crash at Munich in 1958, in which 23 people including eight of their footballers died.Chennai Super Kings finished their two-year suspension from the IPL on July 14 and will be back in the competition for the 11th edition next year.”I think the two-year hiatus for CSK probably increases its value much like what it did for Manchester United when the air crash happened,” Ashwin, who played for Super Kings between 2009-15, told the . “I don’t know if it’s in the same league but surely people in Chennai and fans across the world are waiting for CSK to return. I hope it turns out to be a good comeback.”The Manchester United squad had been returning home from a European Cup tie in Belgrade on February 6, 1958 when their British European Airways flight crashed on take-off following a refuelling stop. Ten years later, the team – including two survivors of the crash, Bobby Charlton and Bill Foulkes – became the first English winners of the European Cup with victory over Benfica at Wembley.The comparison drew instant flak from the public, with many venting their ire on social media. However, Ashwin himself claimed he had been “misquoted” when he later took to Twitter to clarify his remarks.”Guys please take the reporting with a pinch of salt with respect to the Munich tragedy and CSK. All I said was the break will make the fans turn up in numbers when the comeback happens. Not required to blow it out of context,” he wrote.”Now all those who hate me, please get off my mentions, we will catch-up sometime later when I get misquoted again. Thanks.”

All series long, West Indies have looked to bounce Virat Kohli, but on a damp surface that had seen rain pretty much throughout yesterday, the sticky steep bounce troubled Kohli much more than it ever did in the series. Kohli swayed out of a couple, fended at one that fell safe, and eventually couldn’t control one as he attempted a single to third man.In the 17th over of India’s innings, West Indies let the horse bolt. Yuvraj Singh nearly guided the first ball to gully and got a single. They responded by reinforcing the field with a slip to go with the gully, and Yuvraj took a single third ball. For some reason, though, they forgot to call the slip back in when Yuvraj came back on strike for the fifth ball. Kesrick Williams produced a regulation edge, which would have settled in the first slip’s lap and made a 300-ODI veteran his first ODI wicket. Instead Yuvraj got four.The horse kept coming back, though. After letting Yuvraj off early, West Indies reprieved him again when they didn’t review a plumb not-out on-field call off the bowling of Devendra Bishoo. Four overs later, though, Bishoo appealed for a similar lbw, drew a similar response from umpire Dharmasena, but reviewed this time and got the decision in his favour.As MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav took 81 off the last 7.4 overs on a slow pitch, they needed some innovation. Dhoni targeted Jason Holder, stunningly fetching one length ball from wide outside off and depositing it flat over square leg for six. Jadhav saw Dhoni’s innovation, and raised him a sweep shot off Miguel Cummins, having gone on a knee and well outside off well before Cummins released, and then pulling off the shot with surprising ease thanks to his still head.Brought on to bowl in the 11th over, Hardik Pandya used the bouncer effectively, to break a 45-run second-wicket partnership between Shai and Kyle Hope. He accounted for both batsmen in his spell using the short ball, ending with returns of 32 for 2 in six overs

ScorecardIt was 11.37am when it became all but certain that the 270th Roses match would end in a draw. The four leg-byes gained at that time when Stephen Parry deflected a ball from Ryan Sidebottom to the fine-leg boundary saved the follow-on and left Yorkshire with little more ahead of them than the capture of four Lancashire wickets and some useful batting practice. Parry’s kick also meant that Lancashire would take one more point from the drawn game than their opponents, which must have seemed slightly odd to Gary Ballance’s players given that they had controlled long stretches of the match.So we were left with the prospect of statistics and spectacle, although the former often brings with it the opportunity for personal achievement. And no batsman took that opportunity with greater felicity than Yorkshire’s Peter Handscomb, whose unbeaten 101 off 77 balls was full of elegance and included the graceful destruction of Simon Kerrigan. The slow left-armer began his spell with a maiden and the wicket of Adam Lyth, who was bowled round his legs, but then conceded 65 runs off his next seven overs.Such minor victories count for something, especially given that the next Roses match begins at Headingley in ten days’ time. Quite why these games, which used to be played in May and August, have become back-to-back occasions is unclear. One suspects it has something to do with logistics and perhaps there are good reasons behind it. All the same, one sometimes has the feeling that cricket is pawning its Paul de Lamerie salvers and buying pewter trinkets with the proceeds.There was, though, little doubt about the provenance or pedigree of Handscomb’s innings. His cover-driving was a particular joy and he, unlike Lyth, can go into Yorkshire’s next match in prime form. Much of the power of Handscomb’s strokeplay came from nothing more than timing but he still reached his fifty off 34 balls and his century in the final over before the draw was agreed. He and Alex Lees put on 153 in 27 overs and they did so with increasing comfort against an attack dominated by spinners.But Lancashire’s lower-order batsmen had also had the chance to score good runs earlier in the day and most did so. However, instead of making his maiden first-class half-century Parry gave a bat-and-pad catch to Jack Leaning off Azeem Rafiq when he had made 39; and the same bowler lured Ryan McLaren into attempting a reverse sweep on 84 only to lob a catch to Andy Hodd. One doubts that McLaren was greatly exercised by his error; he already has the air of a man who takes wickets and scores runs when his side really needs them.Peter Handscomb smashed a rapid hundred during the evening session•Getty Images

However, Lancashire’s tail was still in no mood to droop forlornly. Tom Bailey and Kerrigan batted confidently on the easy-paced pitch and had added 57 for the ninth wicket in 12 overs when Tim Bresnan had Bailey lbw for 40 eight balls after lunch. Still there was time for Kerrigan to reach the second half-century of his career and to do so in the company of James Anderson, whose groin injury did not prevent him batting with a runner. Kerrigan showed his appreciation for Anderson’s appearance by concocting two pleasing cuts to the third-man boundary before he lost his middle-stump to Bresnan when trying to slog the ball to Eccles.The obstinacy of Lancashire’s later batsmen had left Yorkshire with a lead of only 16. That had been extended to 193 when the players shook hands at 4.50pm. The match had never threatened to end in victory for either side but the cricket had never been dull, especially when Handscomb was batting. We were, one supposes, back to William Hazlitt’s Indian jugglers and the ineffably childlike mystery which caused us to be entranced by cricket well before we understood what any of it meant.Yet even as the game drifted to a draw this stadium was being changed. Chairs were being carried hither and thither, barriers were set up and Emirates Old Trafford was being prepared for a concert to be given on the ground in five days’ time by a popular music ensemble from Middleton named The Courteeners. This group’s LPs include which, given the amount of rebuilding going on at the ground over the last few years, makes them the ideal chaps to regale the Trafford area with their tuneful melodies. Nevertheless, it is still difficult to imagine many of those who watched Lees and Handscomb bat the game out also turning up on Saturday to give it large in the mosh pit. Most of them, one would think, prefer Liam Livingstone to Liam Fray. But one never knows; it is so often the quiet ones who are the worst.As to the next Roses match, Lancashire will be emboldened by the steel they have shown in their four County Championship matches but one may assume they will be without both Anderson and Kyle Jarvis at Headingley. Yorkshire, of course, will be thirsting for their second victory of the season. Brian Sellers would expect nothing less from them.

Match facts

Delhi Daredevils v Kolkata Knight Riders
Monday, April 17, 2017
Start time 1600 local3:08

Agarkar: Delhi should bat Pant higher than Nair

Head to head

Last season Daredevils beat Knight Riders at home by 27 runs but were walloped in their away match, collapsing to 98 in a nine-wicket defeat.

Form guide

• Delhi Daredevils (third): beat Kings XI Punjab by 51 runs; beat Rising Pune Supergiant by 97 runs; lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore by 15 runs

• Kolkata Knight Riders (second): beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 17 runs; beat Kings XI Punjab by eight wickets; lost to Mumbai Indians by four wickets

Overall record Knight Riders have won 10 out of the 17 matches between the two sides. At Feroz Shah Kotla, Daredevils’ home ground, Knight Riders have won four out of six matches.

In the news

Given the possibility of facing a pitch similar to Daredevils’ game against Kings XI Punjab on Saturday, which played slow, there could be a case for Knight Riders making a switch, with Shakib Al Hasan coming in for Chris Woakes or Colin de Grandhomme. This could bolster their already formidable spin attack and lengthen their batting a bit against one of the most economical bowling attacks in the end overs. Daredevils, this season, have an economy rate of 6.44 in the last five overs, the lowest for all teams. Woakes has taken wickets for Knight Riders but has had an economy rate of under 10 in only one out of four matches.

Likely XIs

Delhi Daredevils: 1 Sanju Samson, 2 Sam Billings, 3 Shreyas Iyer, 4 Karun Nair, 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Corey Anderson, 7 Chris Morris, 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Amit Mishra, 10 Zaheer Khan (capt), 11 Shahbaz NadeemKolkata Knight Riders: 1 Sunil Narine, 2 Gautam Gambhir (capt), 3 Robin Uthappa (wk), 4 Manish Pandey, 5 Yusuf Pathan, 6 Suryakumar Yadav, 7 Colin de Grandhomme/Rovman Powell, 8 Chris Woakes/Shakib Al Hasan, 9 Kuldeep Yadav 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Trent Boult

Strategy punt

Expect Zaheer Khan and Chris Morris to bowl at least three overs inside the the Powerplay, especially if Sunil Narine falls early. They have enjoyed success against Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa. Zaheer has bowled 40 balls to Uthappa for just 41 runs and two wickets. Against Morris he has scored just 26 off 27 balls. Morris has troubled Gambhir more: 21 balls, 16 runs, and three dismissals.

Key stats

• Knight Riders batsmen have scored a total of 224 runs in the Powerplay at a run rate of 9.20. Of these, Gambhir has scored 105 runs off 68 balls. His current strike rate of 154 is already his second best in Powerplays in IPL, after the 2012 IPL.
• Amit Mishra has 50 wickets at Feroz Shah Kotla. Harbhajan Singh and Lasith Malinga – at Wankhede Stadium – are the only other bowlers who have taken more than 50 wickets at one venue.
• It isn’t just Morris and Zaheer Khan that Uthappa is vulnerable against. Amit Mishra has dismissed him four times in 10 innings in the IPL.
• Daredevils’ batting top four is the least experienced of the eight teams in the league. The overall collective experience of batsmen in the current Daredevils squad who have played in the top four stands at 377 T20 innings with 8587 runs at an average of 25.55, with one century and 51 fifties. The next least experienced team is Rising Pune Supergiant. Their top four batsmen have 785 innings, with more than 19000 runs

Match facts

March 30, 2017
Start time 1230 local (1630 GMT)Debutant Shadab Khan stunned West Indies in the first T20I in Barbados with returns of 3 for 7•AFP

Big Picture

The first T20I between West Indies and Pakistan didn’t tell us much, confirming, instead, what was already widely known: West Indies appear a long way away from their World Cup-winning best at the moment, while Pakistan, though nowhere near perfect, have slightly too much quality for the hosts. If any team in world cricket can turn it around within three hours or so, it is Carlos Brathwaite’s men.With this being only the second T20I series that stretches beyond three games between two Test teams, West Indies still have time to make amends. They can start by avoiding falling into the trap Pakistan set for them in the first game: the visitors built up pressure with the spinners in the Powerplay, inducing false shots from the batsmen thereafter. The hosts might look to attack the spinners in the first six overs to force Sarfraz Ahmed to rethink his strategies. It also remains to be seen how wonder kid Shadab Khan, handles the pressure.Pakistan, on the other hand, will look to replicate much of what they did in the first game. While their bowling performance – with the exception of Wahab Riaz – was as close to flawless as head coach Mickey Arthur could have hoped for, concerns still remain in the batting department. It is early days yet, but there are barely any signs of Ahmed Shehzad or Kamran Akmal having managed to rid themselves of the inconsistency that has plagued their international careers so far. Still, Pakistan have won their last four T20I games against West Indies with relative ease.

Form guide

West Indies LLLLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan WWWWWSunil Narine’s pinch-hitting heroics can come in handy for West Indies•AFP

In the spotlight

Sunil Narine had a quiet first game, but he’s coming off the back of a successful PSL, even if his side didn’t make it past the group stage. He was the seventh-highest wicket-taker with an economy rate of under 6.50. However, it was his ability with the bat that surprised many. He scored 116 runs at a strike rate of 181.25, which was significantly higher than anyone else; Shahid Afridi was second with 173.52. In addition, he hit eleven sixes – as many as Pollard – during the tournament.In spite of his relative international inexperience, Imad Wasim is rapidly establishing himself as a mainstay of Pakistan’s limited-overs side. His left-arm orthodox spin has been vital to Pakistan’s T20I success, and has bowled his full quota in all but five games. His economy of 5.67 is almost unheard of in T20 cricket. Furthermore, with Pakistan’s top order currently not at its best, Imad is likely to get more chances with the bat.

Team news

Defeat in the first T20I for West Indies wasn’t down so much to poor team selection as shambolic execution. As a result, a raft of changes would be a surprise.West Indies (probable): 1 Evin Lewis, 2 Chadwick Walton (wk), 3 Marlon Samuels, 4 Lendl Simmons, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Jason Mohammed/Rovman Powell, 7 Carlos Brathwaite (capt), 8 Jason Holder, 9 Sunil Narine, 10 Samuel Badree, 11 Jerome TaylorShould any change occur in Pakistan’s ranks, it will occur in their top order. However, Pakistan are likely to keep their winning combination intact.Pakistan (probable): 1 Ahmed Shehzad, 2 Kamran Akmal, 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Babar Azam, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Sarfraz Ahmed (capt, wk), 7 Imad Wasim, 8 Shadab Khan, 9 Sohail Tanvir, 10 Hasan Ali, 11 Wahab Riaz

Pitch and conditions

The pitch at the Queen’s Park Oval is expected to behave much the same way as the one in Barbados, with runs hard to come by. Conditions are expected to be humid, and rain is unlikely.

Stats and trivia

• The three remaining T20Is this series will all be played at the Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad. This will double the number of T20Is ever played at this ground, which has not seen a T20I since 2011.
• Babar Azam has now gone 15 consecutive innings in limited-overs cricket without being dismissed in single figures. The last time he failed to reach double figures was during the third ODI in Nottingham against England last year, when he was dismissed for 9.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo – William Porterfield scored his 13th ODI fifty•International Cricket Council

Half-centuries from captain William Porterfield and Andy Balbirnie helped Ireland ace their chase of 203 and secure the two-match series against UAE in Dubai. Balbirnie remained unbeaten on 58 off 67 balls as Ireland completed the victory with eight wickets and 49 balls to spare.The win was set up by seamer Craig Young and offspinner Andy McBrine, who claimed three wickets each to help dimiss UAE for 202 in 47.5 overs.Young struck in his first over when he bowled Mohammad Naveed for 4. McBrine too struck in his first over – the fifth of the innings – when Ghulam Shabber lobbed a return catch. Shaiman Anwar and Rameez Shahzad then mounted a fightback by adding 76 for the fourth wicket in 19.2 overs.From thereon, things went downhill for UAE. Muhammad Usman pitched in with 29 but UAE lost their last six wickets for just 57 runs. George Dockrell and Jacob Mulder, playing his first ODI, complemented McBrine and Young with two wickets each.Porterfield and Paul Stirling then laid the foundation for the chase with a 94-run opening stand. Ireland simply launched from there and completed a handsome win. Porterfield struck eight fours during his 76 while Balbirnie hit seven fours in his third ODI fifty, as he and Niall O’Brien finished off the chase.

Morne Morkel, who is attempting to make a comeback from a back injury, has revealed he was told he would never be able to play cricket again.”No one was 100% sure of what was going on with my back and to be honest there was a time when I was in doubt about my future‚” Morkel told while training with his franchise Titans ahead of their Momentum One-Day Cup match against Dolphins on Friday.”I was told that I would never be able to play cricket again and it was a mental thing to go to the gym. One doctor actually told me that my days as a player were numbered which was not a nice thing to hear.”Having ignored that prognosis and sought other doctors’ advice, Morkel has now recovered fully and hopes to rule himself fit for the Test-match leg of South Africa’s tour of New Zealand. Having last played international cricket in June 2016 and any cricket since a tour game in Melbourne November, he will begin his comeback with the Momentum One-Day Cup.In addition, Morkel is not making himself available for the IPL, in a bid to be at full fitness for South Africa’s tour of England later this year.Meanwhile, Vernon Philander, who has been battling a minor ankle impingement, is also going to be in action during the one-day cup. Philander is available for Cobras and will be closely watched by the national selectors after bowling coach Charl Langeveldt suggested he could be the new-ball bowler South Africa’s one-day outfit is looking for.

Carlos Brathwaite will exit the Big Bash League after defending champions Sydney Thunder’s final league match against the Adelaide Strikers on Wednesday. Brathwaite will return to the Caribbean to represent Barbados in the Regional Super50 domestic one-day tournament.Brathwaite said he will leave Australia on Thursday morning for Barbados, where the hosts will play their first Super50 match against Guyana on January 24. “Unfortunately, I still have to go home on [Thursday] morning to play in the Super50 tournament,” Brathwaite told the Australia.Brathwaite was hired by the Thunder as a replacement for fellow West Indies allrounder Andre Russell, who suffered a combination of hamstring and knee injuries. In the two matches he has played so far in the BBL, Brathwaite has taken five wickets: 2 for 31 against Hobart Hurricanes and 3 for 21 in the Saturday Sydney derby against the Sixers. He batted only against the Hurricanes and scored 6. He had become an instant hit in the tournament with his ‘dab’ celebrations.Currently, the Thunder are placed sixth on the table and a win against the Strikers would keep them in contention for the knockouts.

Wahab Riaz has warned Australia to be prepared for the same hostile fast bowling he produced the last time he played against them on Australian soil. Wahab’s heated battle with Shane Watson at the Adelaide Oval during the World Cup was one of the most memorable white-ball spells in recent times, despite the fact it didn’t produce the wicket of Watson, who eventually saw his side to victory.That six-over spell elevated Wahab’s reputation in Australia and made him one of the more recognisable figures in a Pakistan squad that hasn’t played a Test here in almost seven years. Goaded by Watson when he was batting, Wahab struck back with several body blows in a display of searing pace and short-pitched bowling that, ultimately, couldn’t swing the match back in Pakistan’s favour.”That was one of my best matches I have ever played,” Wahab said at the Gabba on Tuesday in the lead-up to the first Test against Australia. “It was really exciting. I would love to repeat that performance from the World Cup, I want to bowl like that on this tour but I want to be amongst the wickets – I was lacking some wickets in that spell. So this is what I’m looking for.”Obviously, I have to do what I do really well. I can’t change myself because if I do that it’s not going to work for me. I am going to bowl aggressively, I will bowl short as well. It’s part of the plan. But it will all be according to the situations and what the situation demands, how I have to react like that.”While the Adelaide pitch hardly has the reputation of being a fast bowler’s dream, the Gabba is a different beast altogether. Wahab has only played one match here, also during the 2015 World Cup, against Zimbabwe, which brings other satisfying recollections; he took 4 for 45 and scored 54 not out in a man-of-the-match performance.No one could doubt the Australian players are relieved to be back in their series-starting fortress. A 28-year undefeated streak will do that – they have not lost a Gabba Test since 1988 – reinstating the sort of confidence that has been shaken and stirred by the series loss to South Africa.But, if the Australian fast bowlers are licking their lips at the prospect of a deck that offers pace and bounce, to Pakistan’s quicks the Gabba must seem a lush bowling oasis after years of plying their trade in an unforgiving desert.’It’s very exciting,” said Wahab. “We have played a lot of cricket in the UAE and the wickets over here are really good – they have bounce, they have pace. So it’s really good for the fast bowlers and I’m looking forward to bowling here.”The wickets are slow there [in the UAE] and we are used to playing on those tracks so that’s why it looks like our bowlers don’t have that much potential or we don’t have those kinds of spells every day consistently. It’s always different because it’s a spin track or a batting track in the UAE so that is the biggest difference.”There is no doubt Pakistan face a formidable task – no Asian team has won a series in Australia and Pakistan have won only four Tests here, two of them dead rubbers – and they arrive on the back of a 2-0 series loss in New Zealand, but Wahab says his side is not fazed by history, nor the Gabba’s intimidating record for visitors.”This is what we’re looking for as well – records are meant to be broken and this might be the chance for Pakistan to break that record,” Wahab said. “Obviously it’s not going to be easy, we have to do a lot of hard work. We have to take 20 wickets, and obviously we are looking for that – we know even no Asian country has won a series here in Australia. So looking for that and that should really give us a good boost and give us something to go for.”We have to take the challenge. We know Australia is good in their home conditions, it’s one of the best teams. To compete with them we have to counterattack them, we have to have that confidence. We’ve got the skills and everyone is prepared for these Test matches.”One positive for Pakistan is the presence in their group of Mickey Arthur and Steve Rixon, both of whom were on Australia’s coaching staff from 2011 to 2014 and worked closely with several members of the current Australia team including Steven Smith and David Warner. Wahab said the pair had been “a great help” in giving Pakistan’s players the inside running on Australia.”Everybody knows everything about David Warner and Steve Smith – you have to attack them,” said Wahab. “That’s it. You cannot look for them to give you their wicket. You have to buy their wickets.”It’s a great help having Mickey Arthur and Steve Rixon. Obviously they have been working really hard on us, and they have spent a lot of time with Australia as well. We get that information coming up from them, they are telling us their experiences. And obviously it’s time for us to deliver. So it’s more important how we deliver, we’ve got all the consequences so we have to deliver on the day.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo – Mohammad Shahzad struck 11 fours and three sixes in his unbeaten 80•International Cricket Council

Mohammad Shahzad marked his BPL debut with a blistering unbeaten 80, which helped Rangpur Riders thrash Chittagong Vikings by nine wickets at the Shere Bangla National Stadium on Wednesday evening. Shahzad’s 52-ball innings contained 11 fours and three sixes. Rangpur’s win, though, was set up by a clinical bowling display that saw them bowl out Chittagong for 124 in the last over.Soumya Sarkar kicked off Rangpur’s chase with an upper-cut six and a square cut for four off Tymal Mills. Shahzad found his rhythm with crisp drives and cuts off Dwayne Smith’s medium pace. The openers sped to 43 for 0 in the Powerplay, although Mills dropped a skier off Shahzad’s top-edged slog on 18. Soon, Shahzad struck his first six off Mohammad Nabi before slapping a Taskin Ahmed delivery over mid-off for his seventh boundary.Mills bowled a beamer at Soumya in the tenth over but dismisssed him with a short delivery off the next ball. Soumya contributed 23 to the 77-run opening stand.With a pulled heave off Taskin, Shahzad reached his fifty off 41 balls. His slog over midwicket off Taskin was arguably his most memorable shot of the innings, and he hit another four and six through the same region in the over. The winning run came off an inside edge of an attempted helicopter shot, as Rangpur finished the chase with five overs to spare.Earlier Chittagong slipped to 21 for after they were put into bat. A 48-run third-wicket stand between Shoaib Malik and Anamul Haque resurrected the innings. But when Anamul was run-out, for the second match in a row, via a ricochet off Liam Dawson’s hand, Rangpur didn’t let go of their stranglehold.Arafat Sunny removed Jahurul Islam and Malik, who top-scored with 30, while Rubel Hossain had Mohammad Nabi caught at cover. Zakir Hasan’s attempted scoop was caught at short fine leg before Richard Gleeson struck twice in the 19th over to hasten Chittagong’s fall.