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India chased down their target of 305 with 33 balls to spare as Rohit and Shubman Gill reuinited at the top of the order with a 136-run stand

Andrew Miller09-Feb-2025

Rohit Sharma brought up his hundred off just 76 balls•MB Media/Getty Images

Rohit Sharma silenced the doubters and showed his readiness to lead India into the Champions Trophy, as he powered through to his 32nd ODI century to set his side up for an unassailable 2-0 series lead in the second ODI against England at Cuttack.With India set a stiff but far from daunting 305 to win, after a piecemeal England performance featuring seven double-figure scores but nothing more imposing than Joe Root’s 69 from 72 balls, Rohit demonstrated the blend of power and endurance that the black-soil conditions required, as he broke the back of the chase with 119 from 90 balls, including 12 fours and seven sixes.Related

• 'I really broke it down into pieces' – Rohit reflects on comeback innings

• Jacob Bethell 'ruled out' of Champions Trophy, Tom Banton called to India as cover

He reached his landmark from 76 balls with the last of those sixes, a glorious lofted drive over wide long-off off Adil Rashid, and had he not scuffed a Liam Livingstone full-toss to midwicket with 85 runs still needed, the margin of victory could have been crushing. Instead, India injected a few late jitters into their chase, losing three wickets in five overs after Shreyas Iyer was needlessly run out for 44, and it required Axar Patel’s calm 41 not out from 43 balls to guard against embarrassment.Realistically though, England had been chasing shadows long before Ravindra Jadeja, their chief tormenter with the ball, had driven the winning boundary with 33 balls to spare. Those shadows had been literal ones at one stage, when a floodlight failure in the seventh over caused a tedious 40-minute delay.Despite his well-documented struggles in Australia this winter, and notwithstanding his unconvincing 2 from seven balls in Nagpur on Thursday, Rohit has played too few ODIs of late to be considered out of form in the format. This was only his fifth 50-over innings since the World Cup final in November 2023, where his haul of 597 runs at 54.27 had been instrumental in his team’s march to the final. Since then, he had added two more fifties in three innings in Sri Lanka in August. Even with his 38th birthday looming in April, and with 11,000 career ODI runs beckoning in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, he’s looking good for a few more yet.As in Nagpur, Rohit’s first seven balls were the least convincing of his innings, although this time they weren’t also his last seven. His first boundary was a streaky four through deep third off Gus Atkinson, but when he found his range one ball later, it was as if a switch had been flicked in his game-brain. Out came a sublime pick-up off the pads which flew over deep midwicket for six – arguably the best shot he had played all winter – and suddenly his timing was attuned to the surface. Saqib Mahmood, who had troubled him in a tight first over, was blazed for two more sixes in overs three and five, over extra cover and long-off, and the chase was on.Fifties from Joe Root and Ben Duckett put England in a strong position before they collapsed•Associated Press

Rohit had eased along to 29 off 18 when the floodlight failure kicked in, and the frustration could have been all the more acute when Mark Wood entered the attack after the resumption and struck him on the knee-roll with his third ball. However, England’s review was deemed by ball-tracking to have only been clipping leg, and Rohit’s response was to slam his front foot to the pitch of his next ball, and lift Wood clean over long-off for his fourth six in eight overs – as many as England managed in their entire innings.Rashid, so often England’s trump card, was unable to stem the tide. Rohit clubbed him for two more fours in his first over, to march through to a 30-ball fifty, before Shubman Gill – hitherto the silent partner – showed he wasn’t about to waste his solid start with a wondrous slog-sweep for his solitary six.Another pull for four from Gill brought up the hundred partnership in the 14th over, and one over later, he had his own fifty – from 45 balls – and the 21st time in 49 ODI innings that he had got there, at an average that briefly nudged above 60. England’s lack of variety was exposed when Atkinson – still smarting from his brutal treatment in the opening T20I – returned to the attack to be hoisted for two more pulled boundaries by Rohit, including a rank half-tracker that was dumped behind square for his fifth six.The breakthrough, when it arrived, came somewhat out of the blue. Jamie Overton had been pumped for two fours in four balls by Gill when he hit back with a superb yorker that plucked out the off stump at 141kph. The momentary silence around Cuttack, however, was almost immediately replaced by a roar of acclaim, as Virat Kohli – back in the team after his knee niggle in Nagpur – walked out with the stage set at 136 for 1.It would not prove to be a lengthy stay. One smartly driven four off Atkinson got the crowd purring, but Kohli had faced just eight deliveries when Rashid turned a legbreak past another forceful drive, and Phil Salt’s excellent take was rewarded when England’s review showed a feathered edge. Having been recalled to the XI in place of India’s rising star, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Kohli’s failure was as acute as Rohit’s success, although he might argue – rather like his captain – that it wasn’t that many ODIs ago that he was Player of the Tournament for his 765 runs at the 2023 World Cup.Shubman Gill sent Harry Brook on his way with this stunning catch•MB Media/Getty Images

As for England, their problems are rather more significant. Not unlike their low-wattage batting displays at the World Cup, this was another performance that promised far more than it delivered. After winning the toss, they were given another flying start by Ben Duckett and Phil Salt, whose opening stand of 81 in 65 balls was their third fifty-plus partnership in consecutive matches on this tour. And while Root and Jos Buttler were easing through the gears in a fourth-wicket stand of 51, England had had designs on a 330-plus total.Instead, both set batters fell in the space of four overs to trigger another dramatic collapse: England lost their last seven wickets for 85, including three run-outs, as they were dismissed for 304 with one ball left unused. India’s spinners, inevitably, were the catalysts, in particular Jadeja, who proved too wily for some one-dimensional shot selection as he returned the outstanding figures of 3 for 35.Foremost among these was Overton, whom England seem convinced can be their death-overs answer to Andre Russell. His inclusion at No. 7 was confirmed after Jacob Bethell had been ruled out with a worrying hamstring injury, but his innings of 6 from 10 balls was further evidence that, in spin-friendly conditions, his long-levered approach is doomed to failure.Livingstone at least got the memo with a powerful late knock of 41 from 32 balls, including two big sixes off Harshit Rana, as did Rashid, who struck three fours in a row off Mohammed Shami in reaching 14 from 5 balls, only to run himself out just when his eye was in.Worryingly for England, though, India had plenty of chances to close the innings out for even fewer runs. They missed two clear chances in the deep, including the most casually awful drop from Axar at deep third when Salt had made just 6 from 12 balls, while Rohit was left wincing at the big screen when Root was shown to have been plumb lbw to Axar for 16, with India having chosen not to review.Harry Brook, whose technique against spin has been under particular scrutiny on this trip, made 31, but might have been removed for a five-ball duck had umpire Chris Brown upheld an lbw appeal from his nemesis, Varun Chakravarthy, that ball-tracking suggested would clip leg. At the age of 33, Varun earned his ODI debut on the strength of 14 wickets at 9.85 in the T20Is. He needed just 11 deliveries to make his mark, ending Salt’s stay to trigger a familiar middle-overs squeeze that India would not ultimately relinquish.

Earlier in the game, Pujara battled throat infection and fever, and didn’t bat at his usual No. 4 slot for Saurashtra

Shashank Kishore in Rajkot11-Mar-2020Cheteshwar Pujara is in doubt for the remainder of the Ranji Trophy final because of back spasms. India’s Test No. 3 felt some stiffness in his back prior to taking the field on Wednesday, the third day of the ongoing final against Bengal, in Rajkot.He eventually didn’t take the field for the entire day and underwent a precautionary scan. “He will bat if absolutely necessary”, according to a Saurashtra Cricket Association official. “It’s not a major issue, he is feeling fine, and we’re just treading caution.” Samarth Vyas substituted for Pujara through the 65 overs Saurashtra bowled on Wednesday.On Tuesday, Pujara struck a crucial half-century, a 237-ball 66 that helped Saurashtra post a more-than-competitive 425 on a tricky surface that had little preparation time, as the semi-finals between Saurashtra and Gujarat had finished only three days earlier.His 142-run stand with Arpit Vasavada was a masterclass in deadbeat defense that prolonged Bengal’s agony on the second day. In the third session, when the bowlers lost steam, he cashed in to bring up his maiden fifty in Ranji finals, after four earlier attempts yielded the highest of 27.Earlier in the game, Pujara battled throat infection and fever, and didn’t bat at his usual No. 4 slot for Saurashtra. When he eventually arrived to bat at No. 6, he managed to bat through fo 40 minutes before retiring hurt after experiencing dizziness.Despite the illness, Pujara has been a constant feature in the Saurashtra dressing room. He has had a hectic three weeks first playing for India A in a four-day fixture in Christchurch in the lead-up to the two Tests, in Wellington and Christchurch. Prior to the final, Pujara shrugged off jet lag and trained for two days with the team after arriving from New Zealand on Wednesday.On Tuesday, Pujara took time off to arrange a visit to his academy, in the outskirts of the city, for visiting journalists, where he and Arvind, his father, train kids from underprivileged backgrounds.

India’s medical staff estimates the opener could take a minimum of eight weeks to recover

Nagraj Gollapudi01-Jul-2021Shubman Gill has a stress related injury in his left leg and could be in danger of missing the entire five-Test series against England, beginning in August. ESPNcricinfo has learned that as per the initial prognosis, the Indian medical staff suspects Gill is likely to take a minimum of eight weeks to get back to fitness.Related

• Ishant Sharma gets stitches on bowling hand but 'expected to recover in time' for England Tests

• Shubman Gill injures lower leg and in doubt for first England Test

• Joe Root hopes England rest-and-rotation is 'behind us' as India and Ashes Tests loom

Details of the injury, including its exact nature, remain unclear still. Throughout the World Test Championship final, Gill, who opened and even took a spectacular diving catch in New Zealand’s first innings, showed no discomfort. Although it could not be confirmed, it is believed that Gill is likely to have picked up the injury during a recent fitness training session.This is Gill’s first injury since he made his Test debut on the tour of Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in 2020-21, where he had impressed the team management with a bold attitude while opening the batting. At present, Gill is staying with the rest of the Indian squad in London. He is believed to have expressed a desire to play in the latter half of the England tour, but the team management is expected to take a final call shortly.The BCCI has not sent any update on Gill’s fitness. Currently, the Indian squad is on a three-week break which started from June 24. The contingent will reassemble in Durham from July 15 and train, including playing two warm-up matches. It is understood that the BCCI recently put in a fresh request with the ECB to organise a practice match against one of the counties so that the Indians would get some quality match training before the Test series which begins from August 4 at Trent Bridge.The second Test will be played at Lord’s (August 12-16), the third at Headingley (August 25-29), the fourth at The Oval (September 2-6) and the fifth at Old Trafford (September 10-14). Immediately after the final Test, the Indians will fly out of Manchester directly to the UAE to participate in the remainder of IPL 2021.It is believed that Gill will be fully fit in time for the IPL, where he plays for Kolkata Knight Riders.

The captain praised his bowlers despite the punishment they copped – as a unit – in the final

Deivarayan Muthu15-Nov-20211:45

Vettori: New Zealand one of the best all-round teams across formats

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson refused to blame his bowling attack and instead credited Australia’s batters after they hunted down 173 with considerable ease to win their first-ever T20 World Cup title.”The bowling attack has been a strong point for us throughout this whole competition,” Williamson said. “And you’re having to adjust from venue to venue, team to team, and that’s the nature of playing in tournament sport.”And tonight, yeah, you can always look at little bits that you want to do a little bit better. But ultimately the quality was there from Australia and they played really, really well and put us under pressure, and we weren’t able to get those breakthroughs. Then you can’t build that pressure, and 170 feels like a long way away. But they played really well. They got momentum and it never changed.”Related

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Trent Boult aside, the rest of New Zealand’s attack missed their lines and lengths, with Ish Sodhi and Tim Southee, in particular, copping heavy punishment.The Dubai pitch seemed two-paced, especially in the first half, with the ball holding in the surface. New Zealand managed just 32 for 1 in the powerplay – their lowest score in the first six overs in the tournament. Williamson, though, cranked up the tempo and carried them to 172 for 4, with his awe-inspiring 85 off 48 balls.”[The total was] roundabout par. I guess there’s always things that come in and factor, and conditions are a big part of that,” Williamson said. “But having said that, with runs on the board and you can build some pressure and you get a few opportunities, things can happen quickly, but wasn’t to be tonight.”It did feel tough. It was just holding in the wicket a little bit. Sort of normal characteristics I think of your Dubai surfaces. It was nice to sort of build a platform and accelerate from there which we were able to do.”Kane Williamson and his team-mates troop off after losing the final•Getty Images

Despite the defeat in the final, Williamson was proud of New Zealand’s performance in the tournament. Pooled in a group with three Asian sides – Pakistan, India and Afghanistan – who are all more familiar with the UAE conditions, they progressed to the semi-final, where they toppled England, the pre-tournament favourites.

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Match highlights of the Men’s T20 World Cup final is available in English, and in Hindi (USA only).

“But you come up against a very strong side in Australia and they are playing very, very well, and they did that again tonight,” Williamson said. “You know, if you look at the campaign on a whole, which we do, and the type of cricket that we have been able to play, I can say that we are very proud of our efforts throughout this period of time.”You get to a final and anything can happen. And all these different fine lines and results, they happen and today, we turned up and played some really good cricket. And it wasn’t quite good enough. That’s sort of just the way it goes, you know, and for us, it’s still putting our energy into the right areas.”For us, it’s still trying to build on the positives and grow as a team. You want to win these comps. You want the fruits, and so did a lot of other teams. When you do turn up on the day, anything can happen, and we can see how competitive this competition has been right through the group stages, as well, and there were so many sides that were more than capable of winning this competition. But like I say, really proud of the efforts that have gone in from our side across the board.”

Sam Hain unbeaten on 92 in losing cause as hosts seal match inside three days

David Hopps at Taunton22-May-2019Somerset’s thoughts are firmly on the Royal London Cup final at Lord’s on Saturday, and the prospect of their first limited-overs trophy for 14 years, but once their fate is known attention will turn again to what has become a perennial question: is this the year they can win the County Championship for the first time?In fact, that’s a conservative assessment. Tom Abell, Somerset’s captain, was asked after victory over Warwickshire if they could win the treble. With the first trophy not even gathered in yet, Young Mr Abell treated the assembled media to his most bristly, firm-jawed expression he could muster and pronounced something ultra-responsible about not looking too far ahead. Quite.Warwickshire took some chiselling out on the third morning with Somerset needing a delayed lunch to complete a 49-run victory. The chief obstacle was Sam Hain, who extended his overnight 43 to 92 not out. He registered the only half-century of the match and played with a sobriety while so many others were throwing back tequila slammers.ALSO READ: Dawson, Willey in Warwickshire’s sights as Farbrace looks to lift clubWith Liam Norwell’s seven-for on debut also in mind, Warwickshire’s head coach Jim Troughton reflected: “We had the game’s outstanding batsman and bowler, but still lost the game. But we went toe to toe with Somerset who are the in-form side in the country.” Nevertheless, Somerset remain top, Warwickshire bottom, and they will be grateful that only one county goes down this season to accommodate a divisional restructuring.Not too many conclusions can be drawn from such a fast-on-the-draw encounter on a skittish pitch, but Somerset’s Championship challenge can last deep into the season, especially as an outstanding side has yet to announce itself. Jack Brookes’ return to fitness will supplement their pace bowling stocks and the fact that they have loaned out players with as much ability as Jamie Overton and Dom Bess tells of the quality at their disposal. If they lack anything, it is one more batsmen with an old-fashioned desire to bat long, a Sam Hain in other words.Victory just after one o’clock on the third day gives Somerset ample time to prepare for a Lord’s final that is somewhat devalued by the absence of Hampshire’s England do, but Abell knows that Somerset’s weakest performance over 50 overs was against a below-strength Middlesex side so remains wary of over confidence.Jason Kerr, Somerset’s coach, played down suggestions that a green surface had been prepared with an early finish in mind. He was wise to say nothing to vex the pitch inspectors, and if Somerset pushed things a little, they remained within acceptable limits.”It is not an exact science what the surface is going to do,” Kerr said. “We wanted a little bit more pace in the surface than the match against Surrey. There were only two days between the games and preparation time was limited. I don’t think anybody anticipated the cricket to be as quick or as action packed as it has been.”I encourage the cricketers to adapt themselves but there’s no doubt we need to adapt as well. There is always a fine line. I am still not comfortable at the minute. There are too many soft dismissals. But the way we are operating as a bowling unit is arguably getting us out of a little bit of trouble with the bat.”Warwickshire began the morning on 103 for 6, needing a further 136 to win on a pitch that had assisted the seamers and, to a lesser degree the spinners, throughout the game. Three wickets fell in the first hour: Henry Brookes poking at Liam Gregory’s wide outswinger; Jeetan Patel bowled leg stump by one that came back sharply; and Norwell, Warwickshire’s hero with the ball, caught at the wicket against Tim Groenewald, trying to force off the back foot.An early finish appeared to be on the cards. The Somerset members who had grumbled about free admission (“what do we get in return then?”) were probably looking at the ne’er -do-wells and thinking it was a good thing too.But Hain was dropped on 49 by Davies after getting an inside edge to a ball from Gregory and the resulting single brought up the game’s only half-century, some reward for his technical excellence and determined mindset.Norwell survived a tough caught and bowled chance to Groenewald in the same over before edging a back-foot force to the keeper in the bowler’s next over. With 99 needed from the last pair, there was minimal tension, but Oliver Hannon-Dalby provided wholehearted support.On 84, Hain was given another life when Groenewald misjudged a top-edged hook off Gregory at fine-leg and allowed the ball to drop over his head before bouncing over the rope. With lunch delayed, the last-wicket stand grew to 49 before Hannon-Dalby steered a wide ball from Gregory to Overton (who had an excellent all-round match) at gully. “We were getting a bit twitchy,” Abell admitted. But victory had been logged and it was preparation time for the Lord’s final to begin in earnest.

Stand-in captain managed only 58 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 105 against South Africa

Hemant Brar20-Jun-20223:32

Jaffer: ‘Pant will find it hard to keep a spot in a full-strength India XI’

India head coach Rahul Dravid has backed Rishabh Pant, saying he remains “an integral part” of the side, despite the wicketkeeper-batter managing only 58 runs at a strike rate of 105.45 in the five T20Is against South Africa.Coming into this series, Pant had scored 340 runs at an average of 30.90 in IPL 2022. His strike rate at the tournament was 151.78, significantly higher than that in the last two editions – 113.95 in 2020 and 128.52 in 2021. Dravid said the team is expecting him to play a similar attacking role at the international level as well.”When you’re asking people to play a slightly more attacking brand of cricket in the middle overs and to take the game on a little bit more, sometimes it’s hard to judge based on two or three games,” Dravid said after the washed-out fifth T20I in Bengaluru.Related

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“I thought he had a pretty good IPL. He might not have looked good on the averages, but his strike rate was really good. He looked to move that up a little bit – to where he was probably three years ago. We’re going to hope that we can get those kinds of numbers from him at the international level as well. In that process, he might go wrong in a few games.”But he remains an integral part of our batting line-up. We know what he does with the power he has. The fact that he is a left-hander is very important to us as well in the middle overs. And he has played some good knocks. Of course, personally, he would have liked to have scored a few more runs but it’s not that concerning. For us, he is certainly a very big part of our plans going ahead in the next few months.”2:10

Rahul Dravid wants to firm up India’s T20 World Cup squad

Dinesh Karthik, meanwhile, continues to impress in the niche role as a strictly final-five overs batter. In the fourth T20I in Rajkot, Karthik had smashed a 27-ball 55, the sort of knock that, Dravid said, “certainly makes you start”. Karthik and Hardik Pandya, who hit 46 off 31 deliveries, had added 65 off 33 balls to lift India to 169, which proved to be a winning total.”He was picked for a very specific skill,” Dravid said of Karthik. “And it’s nice when that’s kind of indicated in a sense that it came together brilliantly for us in the Rajkot game, where we needed that big performance in the last five overs to be able to make a par score. He and Hardik [Pandya] batted beautifully for us; both of them are our enforcers at the end, guys who can capitalise on those last five-six overs.”They are probably two of the best in the world in those last five-six overs. So, yeah, it was really nice to see Karthik come off and do what he has been picked to do. It certainly opens up a lot more options for us going forward. Innings like that certainly make you start. Like I was telling the guys it’s not about knocking the door – you have to start banging the door down, and an innings like that certainly means he is knocking very hard.”With Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli not part of the series, there was a chance for fringe players to present their cases. Ishan Kishan scored 206 runs – by far the most in the series – at a strike rate of 150.36, but Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shreyas Iyer failed to impress. Gaikwad tallied only 96 runs in five innings at a strike rate 131.50, and Iyer 94 runs at 123.68. But Dravid isn’t disappointed with them.”We’re not going to make knee-jerk reactions,” he said. “As you have seen, I don’t like judging people after one series, or one game. Every one of the guys who got the opportunity here truly deserved the opportunity; they have earned it. And in this format of the game, you’re going to have some good games and some bad games.”I think Shreyas, in the early part [of the series] on a couple of tricky wickets, showed a lot of intent and played really positively for us. Ruturaj showed in one particular innings [in the third T20I] what quality and skill he has got.”In Twenty20, you can have the odd games [where] your form and performance goes up and down a little bit. So we are not very disappointed with anyone. As a group, we were looking to play a slightly more positive and attacking brand of cricket right from the beginning. And we knew you when you’re trying to do that, it’s not always going to come off. But what we are certainly clear about the kind of cricket we want to play.”

The pitch condition on day three had forced a restart on a new pitch, but with the batsmen once again affected by inconsistent bounce, the match was called off after 15 overs of play

Saurabh Somani in Puducherry25-Dec-2018The Ranji Trophy 2018-19 match between Puducherry and Uttarakhand started afresh on the fourth day, with a new toss taking place on a fresh pitch at the CAP Siechem Ground in Puducherry. However, only 15 overs were possible before the match was called off, with the pitch once again showing inconsistent bounce.On the fourth day, Puducherry had reached 23 for 3 in 15 overs when lunch was taken. However, off the last delivery before the interval, batsman Paras Dogra was hit below the chest. Following a meeting between the captains, umpires and match referee, the match was called off. ESPNcricinfo understands that with the possibility of a result, or even of establishing a first-innings lead, all but gone, Puducherry felt it was better to call the match off rather than risk injury by continuing to play.The game had been badly affected by rain, with the first two days completely washed out. The skies cleared on the third day and the toss finally took place with Puducherry opting to bowl. Play, however, began late, with only six overs bowled before lunch. At that stage, Uttarakhand were 17 for 0.After lunch though, only 14 balls were bowled as umpires M Kuppuraj and Yeshwant Barde took both teams off. This came after Uttarakhand’s openers – Vineet Saxena and Karn Veer Kaushal – indicated discomfort when they copped blows on the body. Saxena was facing up to Pankaj Singh, in his fifth over, and the second ball struck him on the gloves, prompting the action. Uttarakhand were then 20 without loss in 8.2 overs, with Saxena on 11 and Kaushal on 4. There had been five leg-byes.The relevant law for such a case in BCCI’s playing conditions is Law 7.2.1, which states that “in the event of a pitch being considered too dangerous for play to continue in the estimation of the on-field umpires, they shall stop play and immediately advise the BCCI Match Referee.”If, after consulting with the captains, the decision is not to resume play immediately, the on-field umpires have three options, in the following sequence:a) “whether the existing pitch can be repaired, and the match can be resumed from the point it was stopped. In considering whether to authorise such repairs, the BCCI Match Referee must consider whether this would place either side at an unfair advantage, given the play that had already taken place on the dangerous pitch.b) whether an alternative pitch can be used.c) whether the match has to be abandoned.”Having decided that the same pitch could not be repaired, the umpires offered the option of an alternative pitch to the teams. In accordance with Law 7.2.9 of the BCCI’s playing conditions, the match had to be restarted from the first ball.However, the restart could happen only on the fourth day.The alternative pitch had to be prepared and rolled, and there was no further play possible on Day 3. On the fourth day too, the start was delayed by 75 minutes, and play began at 10.30 am. Puducherry captain Rohit D won the toss again, and this time opted to bat.A Cricket Association of Puducherry official expressed unhappiness with how events had unfolded. “There weren’t too many balls that bounced awkwardly,” he said of the original pitch.”And Vineet Saxena has faced Pankaj Singh so many times earlier, they were team-mates for a long time in Rajasthan. I don’t think the pitch was unplayable,” the official told ESPNcricinfo.The official also pointed out that the pitch was under the care of a BCCI-appointed curator in the lead-up to the match, so there wasn’t much the CAP could have done.The decision to abandon the match, has meant it’s been classified as a drawn game with the first innings unfinished, which results in both sides getting one point each.ESPNcricinfo understands that the decision to classify the match as drawn was not arrived at immediately. Initially there was the possibility of looking at whether the fixture could be played at a later date. However, given the schedule with the Ranji Trophy in its end stages, this was not feasible. Puducherry are slated to play the next two rounds of the Ranji Trophy at home: against Manipur from December 30 to January 2, and against Nagaland from January 7 to 10. Uttarakhand are not playing in the next round but will square off against Mizoram in Dehradun from January 7 to 10. Given that the quarterfinals are scheduled from January 15 onwards, this leaves no window to fit in a replay of a four-day match.With both teams get one point each, Uttarakhand have moved to 37 points with a game in hand, while Puducherry have 25 points with two games in hand. Bihar, the other team in the race to qualify from the Plate Group, have 27 points with two games in hand.

Nottinghamshire strengthened their overall advantage on the second day of their day-night pink ball Specsavers County Championship match against Worcestershire

ECB Reporters Network26-Jun-2018Worcestershire 215 for 7 (Gurney 3-60) trail Nottinghamshire 499 for 9 dec (Wessels 75*, Moores 56) by 284 runs
ScorecardNottinghamshire strengthened their overall advantage on the second day of their day-night pink ball Specsavers County Championship match against Worcestershire at Trent Bridge.The home side closed their first innings on 499 for 9 declared and then made steady inroads to leave the visitors on 215 for 7. Joe Clarke top-scored with 40 and the remainder of the top order all reached double figures before falling, with Harry Gurney taking three for 60.Earlier, Riki Wessels scored an undefeated 75 for Notts, joining first day batting heroes Chris Nash, Jake Libby and Samit Patel in registering their highest score of the summer. Steve Magoffin, who bagged his three wickets within the space of five deliveries, late on the first day, ended with figures of three for 70 for the New Road side.Wessels’ runs came from 127 balls faced and contained nine boundaries. Tom Moores made a typically punchy 56 but fell when going in search of the runs needed for a fifth batting point.Resuming from their overnight score of 336 for 5, Notts showed a marked acceleration in their run-rate, with Moores hitting left-arm spinner Ben Twohig away for two huge sixes, the second of which took him to a 60-ball half century. Stuart Broad and Luke Fletcher both fell to Brett D’Oliveira during the early part of the second session, as the tempo increased further but their dismissals, as well as that of Matt Milnes, prompted the declaration.Martin Guptill made a flying start to the Worcestershire reply but then cut Gurney to point for a run-a-ball 28. Either side of the tea break Daryl Mitchell was also removed by Gurney and Tom Fell was athletically caught by ‘keeper Moores off Fletcher’s bowling.With the shadows lengthening – and the floodlights starting to have an effect – Notts then picked up the key wicket of Clarke, pinned lbw by Fletcher for 40.Two more Worcestershire batsmen scraped into the 20s but fell in quick succession; Ben Cox appeared to play down the wrong line and had his off peg snapped by Gurney and a fired-up Broad had captain D’Oliveira smartly pouched by Chris Nash at slip. Broad then put the finishing touches to a fine day for the hosts by removing Twohig to leave the Worcestershire first innings in some disarray and still 135 runs away from saving the follow-on.