Four-day format 'encourages positive cricket' - de Villiers

Assessing whether four-day, day-night Tests have a future on the evidence of a match that lasted less than two days and only had one night session is a bit like deciding to move to India having only seen a picture of the Taj Mahal. Still, in the 907 balls of the Port Elizabeth Test, players from both teams saw enough to form a few opinions.

On four-day Tests:

The match didn't even get to its halfway point, but knowing there were only four days scheduled may have pushed South Africa to be more aggressive than usual. "The batters were a little bit more positive," their stand-in captain AB de Villiers said. "There were talks of declaring earlier than normal. It encourages more positive cricket. I still enjoy five-day [Tests] as well but there is an excitement in this format. We all enjoyed it and I think the spectators will enjoy it as well."

On day-night Tests and the pink ball:

As in previous day-night Tests, the pink ball moved around markedly more under lights. Zimbabwe took five of their nine wickets after the dinner break on day one, and the game's only centurion, Aiden Markram, felt it was the most difficult time to bat. "From that twilight phase that everyone speaks about, I do feel it moves around quite a bit," he said, after day one.

Because teams know the advantage of bowling in the third session, the side that wins the toss will most often look to bat first and have accumulated the bulk of their runs before the lights come on. They may even, as was the case with South Africa, declare earlier than usual in order to put the opposition in when it is most difficult to bat.

"Declarations will play a big part in day-night Tests with teams declaring a bit earlier or a bit later, because every seam attack will want to bowl at night," Zimbabwe captain Graeme Cremer said. "Like anything, the more it happens the more experience you'll get in knowing when to declare and which bowlers to bowl.

"It's also, during the day, about not pushing your seamers too hard and keeping them for that night period. All the batsmen are going to want to bat during the day but not at night."

As a result of that, the team batting under lights may look to rejig their batting line-up slightly to ensure their best batsman only get to the crease when conditions are easier to bat in. Cremer confessed to having "four of our tailenders padded up in the change room to get them out the way and to give our batsmen a chance during the day. It was a tactic that got forced on us but it's something we're going to have a look at."

Both teams still had concerns about the pink ball. De Villiers, who made 53 on the first day, and Heath Streak, the Zimbabwe coach, said the batsmen struggled to pick the seam.

The ball has also been known to wear and become soft fairly easily which necessitates pitches to be prepared to make things a little easier for the bowlers, with more grass left on them. De Villiers admitted that could skew the game further.

"Zimbabwe had the worst of the conditions last night," he said. "They ran into a wicket that was really spicy and it was going to spice up again this evening."

Four-day format 'encourages positive cricket' - de Villiers

Assessing whether four-day, day-night Tests have a future on the evidence of a match that lasted less than two days and only had one night session is a bit like deciding to move to India having only seen a picture of the Taj Mahal. Still, in the 907 balls of the Port Elizabeth Test, players from both teams saw enough to form a few opinions.

On four-day Tests:

The match didn't even get to its halfway point, but knowing there were only four days scheduled may have pushed South Africa to be more aggressive than usual. "The batters were a little bit more positive," their stand-in captain AB de Villiers said. "There were talks of declaring earlier than normal. It encourages more positive cricket. I still enjoy five-day [Tests] as well but there is an excitement in this format. We all enjoyed it and I think the spectators will enjoy it as well."

On day-night Tests and the pink ball:

As in previous day-night Tests, the pink ball moved around markedly more under lights. Zimbabwe took five of their nine wickets after the dinner break on day one, and the game's only centurion, Aiden Markram, felt it was the most difficult time to bat. "From that twilight phase that everyone speaks about, I do feel it moves around quite a bit," he said, after day one.

Because teams know the advantage of bowling in the third session, the side that wins the toss will most often look to bat first and have accumulated the bulk of their runs before the lights come on. They may even, as was the case with South Africa, declare earlier than usual in order to put the opposition in when it is most difficult to bat.

"Declarations will play a big part in day-night Tests with teams declaring a bit earlier or a bit later, because every seam attack will want to bowl at night," Zimbabwe captain Graeme Cremer said. "Like anything, the more it happens the more experience you'll get in knowing when to declare and which bowlers to bowl.

"It's also, during the day, about not pushing your seamers too hard and keeping them for that night period. All the batsmen are going to want to bat during the day but not at night."

As a result of that, the team batting under lights may look to rejig their batting line-up slightly to ensure their best batsman only get to the crease when conditions are easier to bat in. Cremer confessed to having "four of our tailenders padded up in the change room to get them out the way and to give our batsmen a chance during the day. It was a tactic that got forced on us but it's something we're going to have a look at."

Both teams still had concerns about the pink ball. De Villiers, who made 53 on the first day, and Heath Streak, the Zimbabwe coach, said the batsmen struggled to pick the seam.

The ball has also been known to wear and become soft fairly easily which necessitates pitches to be prepared to make things a little easier for the bowlers, with more grass left on them. De Villiers admitted that could skew the game further.

"Zimbabwe had the worst of the conditions last night," he said. "They ran into a wicket that was really spicy and it was going to spice up again this evening."

Sri Lanka's worst defeat in T20Is

The 93-run victory over Sri lanka in Cuttack bettered their largest margin of victory of 90 runs against England in 2012 World T20. Two of India's three biggest victories in the format have come this year. They had won by 75 runs against England in Bengaluru in February.

The loss by 93 runs is also Sri Lanka's biggest defeat in T20Is eclipsing the 85-run loss to Australia in Pallekele in 2016.

Yuzvendra Chahal is now the most successful bowler in the shortest format this year. His figures of 4 for 23 in the first T20I pushed his tally to 19 wickets in 10 matches, helping him go past went past Rashid Khan and Kesrick Williams, both whom have 17 wickets. Chahal was also adjudged Man of the Match for his performance. This was the second such award of his 13-match career and both have come in 2017. His first resulted in India's third-largest victory in T20Is and set the record for the best figures by an Indian bowler in the shortest format - 6 for 25.

Shane Warne has returned to the Rajasthan Royals franchise as its mentor ahead of the 2018 IPL season. Warne, 48, will renew his association with the side he led to a title in the inaugural edition of the IPL in 2008. The former Australian legspinner went on to lead the Royals for the next three editions, before retiring after the 2011 season. Warne, who has mentored the side in the past, remains the Royals' third-highest wicket-taker of all time, with 58 scalps from 56 matches.

"I am very happy and excited to be back with the Rajasthan Royals, who I believe hold a very special place in my cricketing journey," Warne was quoted as saying in the Royals website. "I am overwhelmed by the love and affection showered on me by the franchise and fans of Rajasthan Royals. We have a strong, young and energetic bunch of boys, and I am looking forward to work with them."

Sri Lanka's worst defeat in T20Is

The 93-run victory over Sri lanka in Cuttack bettered their largest margin of victory of 90 runs against England in 2012 World T20. Two of India's three biggest victories in the format have come this year. They had won by 75 runs against England in Bengaluru in February.

The loss by 93 runs is also Sri Lanka's biggest defeat in T20Is eclipsing the 85-run loss to Australia in Pallekele in 2016.

Yuzvendra Chahal is now the most successful bowler in the shortest format this year. His figures of 4 for 23 in the first T20I pushed his tally to 19 wickets in 10 matches, helping him go past went past Rashid Khan and Kesrick Williams, both whom have 17 wickets. Chahal was also adjudged Man of the Match for his performance. This was the second such award of his 13-match career and both have come in 2017. His first resulted in India's third-largest victory in T20Is and set the record for the best figures by an Indian bowler in the shortest format - 6 for 25.

Shane Warne has returned to the Rajasthan Royals franchise as its mentor ahead of the 2018 IPL season. Warne, 48, will renew his association with the side he led to a title in the inaugural edition of the IPL in 2008. The former Australian legspinner went on to lead the Royals for the next three editions, before retiring after the 2011 season. Warne, who has mentored the side in the past, remains the Royals' third-highest wicket-taker of all time, with 58 scalps from 56 matches.

"I am very happy and excited to be back with the Rajasthan Royals, who I believe hold a very special place in my cricketing journey," Warne was quoted as saying in the Royals website. "I am overwhelmed by the love and affection showered on me by the franchise and fans of Rajasthan Royals. We have a strong, young and energetic bunch of boys, and I am looking forward to work with them."

Rohit rewarded for sticking to 'set template'

It was for long the insurmountable peak for ODI batting, but one man might now have a template to score ODI double-centuries again and again. In Bengaluru, against Australia in 2013, Rohit Sharma reached 20 off 35th ball, 50 off the 71st, and the hundred in the 38th over of the innings. In Kolkata, against Sri Lanka in 2014, he was nearly caught for 4 off the 17th ball he faced, reached his 20th run off the 35th ball, but accelerated slightly earlier to bring up his century in the 32nd over of the innings. On a cold mid-week afternoon in Mohali this season, he was even slower to start, reaching 20 off 37 balls, 50 off 65 balls, and bringing up the hundred only in the 40th over.

All three were ODI doubles. One time can be a charm, but to accelerate so crazily three times after having set up the innings and to make it look predictable is a perfect combination of skill, fitness and the right mental approach to ODI batting. You can be all amazed at how he manages to do it, but Rohit's reaction to it is typically relaxed. "That's my template, no?" he tends to ask. He remembers the innings clearly: reaching "50 off 70 balls", bringing up the hundred "near the 40th over", and then knowing that the bowlers can't get him out unless he makes a mistake.

"That is my style of play," Rohit said. "You are set and seeing the ball nice and hard and you have understood what the bowlers are trying to do by then, and it's all about trying to play with the field once you get past 100. It's all about you not making a mistake and getting out. I am not saying it's impossible or difficult, but it's very unlikely the bowlers are going to get you out once you have scored a hundred.

"So it was all about me not making a mistake and batting as long as possible. That's what I did. There is no secret or formula to it. You just have to bat and not make any mistake. The ground is good, the pitch is nice and hard, so you can trust the bounce and play the shots."

Rohit was asked to expand on the mindset. "I started off very slow because I like analysing," Rohit said. "I like to analyse the situation, conditions more than that because the conditions initially were not so easy and we wanted to play out those initial overs, and then see what we can do. In all the three double hundreds, it is a very similar pattern that you will see... started off slow, then picked up the pace and then in the end I accelerated.

"That is only because unless you make a mistake, you are not going to get out because you are set and you are seeing the ball well. Bowlers are trying to get away with their plans because things are not going their way. So all those things, I count, I analyse and I talk to myself about it when I am batting. I feel after you get a hundred, batting will only get easier. You have been there, took out the toughest part of the game which is the initial phase with the two new balls. You have batted that, your team is in a good position and you also have wickets in hand, so all those put together, gives you freedom to play those shots. I exactly did that.

"I am not someone like AB de Villiers, or Chris Gayle, or MS Dhoni for sure. I don't have that much power. I have to use my brain to manipulate the field and I have to stick to my strength, which is to hitting through the line and playing with the field. Once you cross the three-figure mark, batting only gets easier. Unless you make a mistake, you will not get out. It can happen if you get a good ball, but eight out of 10 times you will not."

This might have sounded arrogant had it come from someone other than the affable Rohit. He does make it sound like the six-hitting in the last 10 overs is routine, easy even. "Nothing is easy in cricket," Rohit said. "May be when you watch it on TV it looks easier, but it is not. Trust me, when you are out in the middle, you have to use your brain and you have to time the ball. Otherwise, it is not easy. I was trying to play with the field, playing a scoop shot, trying to hit over point. Those are my strengths. It is not always that you can clear the rope easily. So that is the advantage of having five fielders inside. You can play with the field and shot selection becomes very important."

How about selecting which of the doubles is closest to him then? They all are, and Rohit went on to talk of the circumstances that made it impossible to choose between them. "I cannot rate this because the others were as important as this one," Rohit said. "Because the first one against Australia was a series-decider. The second one against Sri Lanka I was making a comeback after three months. I was injured before that and didn't play any cricket. It was a world record so obviously that has to be right up there. This one also having had a loss in the first game, we wanted to come back as batting group. This is my first captaincy stint, and you know I as a batsman first and then as a captain I wanted to do well."

This one did have an extra icing on the top, coming as it did on his wedding anniversary and in the presence of his wife, whom he saluted with a little peck on his ring finger after reaching the double hundred. "You must have seen on visuals, she was more happy than me," Rohit said. "She got a little emotional because it was the first double-hundred that she witnessed. It is not that I score double-hundreds every day. The way she came and told me was quite funny. But it was good to have her there and let her witness what I did today. I am very happy about that part. But more than that, winning the game... my first [successful] game as a captain... very happy with that."

Rohit rewarded for sticking to 'set template'

It was for long the insurmountable peak for ODI batting, but one man might now have a template to score ODI double-centuries again and again. In Bengaluru, against Australia in 2013, Rohit Sharma reached 20 off 35th ball, 50 off the 71st, and the hundred in the 38th over of the innings. In Kolkata, against Sri Lanka in 2014, he was nearly caught for 4 off the 17th ball he faced, reached his 20th run off the 35th ball, but accelerated slightly earlier to bring up his century in the 32nd over of the innings. On a cold mid-week afternoon in Mohali this season, he was even slower to start, reaching 20 off 37 balls, 50 off 65 balls, and bringing up the hundred only in the 40th over.

All three were ODI doubles. One time can be a charm, but to accelerate so crazily three times after having set up the innings and to make it look predictable is a perfect combination of skill, fitness and the right mental approach to ODI batting. You can be all amazed at how he manages to do it, but Rohit's reaction to it is typically relaxed. "That's my template, no?" he tends to ask. He remembers the innings clearly: reaching "50 off 70 balls", bringing up the hundred "near the 40th over", and then knowing that the bowlers can't get him out unless he makes a mistake.

"That is my style of play," Rohit said. "You are set and seeing the ball nice and hard and you have understood what the bowlers are trying to do by then, and it's all about trying to play with the field once you get past 100. It's all about you not making a mistake and getting out. I am not saying it's impossible or difficult, but it's very unlikely the bowlers are going to get you out once you have scored a hundred.

"So it was all about me not making a mistake and batting as long as possible. That's what I did. There is no secret or formula to it. You just have to bat and not make any mistake. The ground is good, the pitch is nice and hard, so you can trust the bounce and play the shots."

Rohit was asked to expand on the mindset. "I started off very slow because I like analysing," Rohit said. "I like to analyse the situation, conditions more than that because the conditions initially were not so easy and we wanted to play out those initial overs, and then see what we can do. In all the three double hundreds, it is a very similar pattern that you will see... started off slow, then picked up the pace and then in the end I accelerated.

"That is only because unless you make a mistake, you are not going to get out because you are set and you are seeing the ball well. Bowlers are trying to get away with their plans because things are not going their way. So all those things, I count, I analyse and I talk to myself about it when I am batting. I feel after you get a hundred, batting will only get easier. You have been there, took out the toughest part of the game which is the initial phase with the two new balls. You have batted that, your team is in a good position and you also have wickets in hand, so all those put together, gives you freedom to play those shots. I exactly did that.

"I am not someone like AB de Villiers, or Chris Gayle, or MS Dhoni for sure. I don't have that much power. I have to use my brain to manipulate the field and I have to stick to my strength, which is to hitting through the line and playing with the field. Once you cross the three-figure mark, batting only gets easier. Unless you make a mistake, you will not get out. It can happen if you get a good ball, but eight out of 10 times you will not."

This might have sounded arrogant had it come from someone other than the affable Rohit. He does make it sound like the six-hitting in the last 10 overs is routine, easy even. "Nothing is easy in cricket," Rohit said. "May be when you watch it on TV it looks easier, but it is not. Trust me, when you are out in the middle, you have to use your brain and you have to time the ball. Otherwise, it is not easy. I was trying to play with the field, playing a scoop shot, trying to hit over point. Those are my strengths. It is not always that you can clear the rope easily. So that is the advantage of having five fielders inside. You can play with the field and shot selection becomes very important."

How about selecting which of the doubles is closest to him then? They all are, and Rohit went on to talk of the circumstances that made it impossible to choose between them. "I cannot rate this because the others were as important as this one," Rohit said. "Because the first one against Australia was a series-decider. The second one against Sri Lanka I was making a comeback after three months. I was injured before that and didn't play any cricket. It was a world record so obviously that has to be right up there. This one also having had a loss in the first game, we wanted to come back as batting group. This is my first captaincy stint, and you know I as a batsman first and then as a captain I wanted to do well."

This one did have an extra icing on the top, coming as it did on his wedding anniversary and in the presence of his wife, whom he saluted with a little peck on his ring finger after reaching the double hundred. "You must have seen on visuals, she was more happy than me," Rohit said. "She got a little emotional because it was the first double-hundred that she witnessed. It is not that I score double-hundreds every day. The way she came and told me was quite funny. But it was good to have her there and let her witness what I did today. I am very happy about that part. But more than that, winning the game... my first [successful] game as a captain... very happy with that."

Australia 4-0 in day-night Tests

Having won in Adelaide, Australia now take a substantial lead in this Ashes series. England have to win a minimum of two more games and draw one to retain the Ashes. However on the last three occasions when England have lost the first two Tests of a series they have been whitewashed. England suffered whitewashes against Australia in 2006-07 and 2013-14 and Pakistan in the UAE in 2012. England will be hoping to change their fortunes this time around. With this win, Australia have now won all the four day-night Tests they have been part of. They have won three in a row in Adelaide and one in Brisbane. Shaun Marsh and Mitchell Starc played key roles in Australia's victory at Adelaide. Marsh scored an unbeaten 126 in the first innings and received his first Man of the Match award in Tests while Starc became the seventh left arm-pace bowler to take a five-wicket haul at home against England. In the last seven Ashes Tests in Australia, left-arm pace bowlers have taken five five-wicket hauls. Mitchell Johnson took one each in the first four Tests of the 2013-14 Ashes while Starc now has one. This is Starc's first five-wicket haul at home since 2012, when he took 5 for 63 against Sri Lanka in Hobart. It has taken Starc 25 innings since then to take five wickets in an innings. In the same period, Starc has taken two such hauls away from home, in Sri Lanka and England respectively.

Nathan Lyon has 11 wickets in the series so far and is the second highest wicket-taker after Mitchell Starc. Lyon has been constantly troubling the batsmen and has taken a wicket every ten overs. However, his wicket-taking ability is severely skewed towards left-handed batsmen and Lyon will hope to change that over the next three matches. Lyon averages 119 against right-handers and has taken just one wicket from 281 deliveries. In comparison, Lyon has 10 wickets at an average of 13.1 and strikes once every 37 deliveries against left-handed batsmen. In this series Lyon has dismissed Moeen Ali on all four occasions while conceding 67 runs from 149 balls.

Australia 4-0 in day-night Tests

Having won in Adelaide, Australia now take a substantial lead in this Ashes series. England have to win a minimum of two more games and draw one to retain the Ashes. However on the last three occasions when England have lost the first two Tests of a series they have been whitewashed. England suffered whitewashes against Australia in 2006-07 and 2013-14 and Pakistan in the UAE in 2012. England will be hoping to change their fortunes this time around. With this win, Australia have now won all the four day-night Tests they have been part of. They have won three in a row in Adelaide and one in Brisbane. Shaun Marsh and Mitchell Starc played key roles in Australia's victory at Adelaide. Marsh scored an unbeaten 126 in the first innings and received his first Man of the Match award in Tests while Starc became the seventh left arm-pace bowler to take a five-wicket haul at home against England. In the last seven Ashes Tests in Australia, left-arm pace bowlers have taken five five-wicket hauls. Mitchell Johnson took one each in the first four Tests of the 2013-14 Ashes while Starc now has one. This is Starc's first five-wicket haul at home since 2012, when he took 5 for 63 against Sri Lanka in Hobart. It has taken Starc 25 innings since then to take five wickets in an innings. In the same period, Starc has taken two such hauls away from home, in Sri Lanka and England respectively.

Nathan Lyon has 11 wickets in the series so far and is the second highest wicket-taker after Mitchell Starc. Lyon has been constantly troubling the batsmen and has taken a wicket every ten overs. However, his wicket-taking ability is severely skewed towards left-handed batsmen and Lyon will hope to change that over the next three matches. Lyon averages 119 against right-handers and has taken just one wicket from 281 deliveries. In comparison, Lyon has 10 wickets at an average of 13.1 and strikes once every 37 deliveries against left-handed batsmen. In this series Lyon has dismissed Moeen Ali on all four occasions while conceding 67 runs from 149 balls.