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Match facts

Sunday, April 24, Jaipur
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)

Big picture

Finally Rajasthan get a two-day break. The schedule of the tournament hasn’t been awfully kind to Shane Warne’s side – they have been playing every alternate day since April 15 until they found this extra day off. Those one-day gaps between games went in travelling from Jaipur in western India, to Kolkata in the east, to Bangalore in the south where their game was rained out, to Mohali in the north. It didn’t help that they get into a habit of losing on this kind of stretch. An injury to their best player of the season, Johan Botha, didn’t help either. Or the strategy of hiding their big names – Shane Watson and Ross Taylor – while facing a huge chase, as part of some inexplicable plan. They last won on April 12, and with just five points from six games, they are now left needing to win at least five of their remaining eight matches. Even that might not be enough.

With the state of affairs thus, Rajasthan will find some relief in coming back home to their once impregnable fortress Jaipur, and also in that one extra day to take stock and rethink strategies. However, the team that they face is on a hot streak. Kochi Tuskers Kerala were welcomed into the IPL fold with two losses, but they have made a comeback with three wins in a row to move up in the table. On the field, Rajasthan won’t be expecting too much by the way of relief.

Form guide (most recent first)

Rajasthan LLLWW (sixth in points table)
Kochi WWWLL (third in points table)

Team talk

Rajasthan will be desperate for Botha’s hairline fracture to heal in time for the game. He is not only a shrewd limited-overs bowler, but has also batted better than expected. Rajasthan will also need to sort out their batting order so that Watson and Taylor get to face as many balls as possible.

In their last game, Kochi brought in Muttiah Muralitharan ahead of his countryman Thisara Perera. The choice between champion spinner and allrounder seems like the only dilemma they have right now.Predict the playing XIs for this match. Play ESPNcricinfo Team selector.

In the spotlight

Ravindra Jadeja comes up against his old franchise, Rajasthan Royals, an attempt to move away from whom cost him a season of IPL cricket. There will be mixed emotions when he walks out in Jaipur.

4-0-50-1. Shane Warne‘s figures from his last game read about as pretty as the effect his new moisturiser has had on his face. Warne doesn’t need to do this. He still does this. It can’t be just the money. The man who won almost every big contest international cricket had to offer, now has a small little fight on his hands, both as bowler and captain.

Prime numbers

• Warne is only the third man to 50 IPL wickets. He has also conceded the most sixes in IPL
• RP Singh is the highest wicket-taker over-all, with 54 strikes to his name

The chatter

“It’s all about teamwork. We believe in our abilities. We try and execute game-plans accordingly. Everyone applauds each other’s success. It’s really great to have a group like that. We just had to be clinical in executing.”

Scorecard
Glamorgan wrapped up a resounding 189-run victory today against Gloucestershire at the Swalec Stadium. Matthew Mott’s men dismissed the West Country outfit for 195 as they celebrated their first County Championship Division Two win of the summer.Chris Taylor was the last man to fall for a defiant 83 after Gloucestershire lost their last six wickets for 31 runs in 10.1 overs. Gloucestershire resumed the final day on 42 without loss, needing 343 more for victory, but their sole intention was to save the game.Richard Coughtrie continued to anchor the innings while partner Ian Cockbain blazed his way towards 50. But when Adam Shantry trapped Cockbain lbw on 47, the visitors were still 323short.A moment of fielding magic followed from Gareth Rees when his direct hit caught Coughtrie napping at the far end and run out for 23 . Towards lunch, the ball starting to turn on the fourth day pitch and Dean Cosker took a great catch at short midwicket to dismiss opposition skipper Alex Gidman for 7, off the bowling of his own captain Alviro Petersen, who claimed his first wicket for Glamorgan.Gloucestershire reached 118 for 3 at lunch with Taylor standing firm. Glamorgan lost the services of Jim Allenby who did not reappear in the afternoon session because of injury, while Graham Wagg was also unable to bowl because of a hamstring problem suffered in the first inningsGlamorgan were initially forced to rely on spinners Cosker and Petersen as Taylor brought up his fifty in the afternoon session in 91 balls, including eight fours. Taylor survived on 59 when Ben Wright just failed to gain a hard catch at midwicket off Cosker’s bowling before four wickets fell for 13 runs in 31 balls with James Harris and Adam Shantry taking a couple of victims each.Harris struck with the second new ball when he bowled Jon Batty for 23 and claimed a second wicket to dismiss Will Gidman who edged to Mark Wallace for 1. Shantry struck in successive balls in the next over to dismiss Ian Saxelby and Jon Lewis. Rees took a bat pad catch to dismiss Saxelby before Lewis struck his first ball straight to Wright at cover.Spinner Cosker took a wicket with the first ball of his new spell with Rees taking the catch at short leg to dismiss Vikram Banerjee. And with Gloucestershire missing Chris Dent who was unable to bat because of a broken finger, the game was over.

Ireland will play Pakistan in a two-match ODI series in May this year. The teams last played each other in an ODI in the 2007 World Cup, when Ireland pulled off a shock win on St. Patrick’s day and knocked Pakistan out of the tournament. They have got progressively better since then and stood out among the Associate teams in the 2011 World Cup in the sub-continent, beating England in a stunning chase, seeing off Netherlands, running Bangladesh close and competing well against India and West Indies.The ICC’s decision to stick to their plans for a 10-team tournament in 2015 was a setback to Ireland’s chances but increasing opportunities to play top teams – Sri Lanka have agreed to a tri-series later this year – marks a welcome development for them. “Following our recent World Cup campaign, the need to play the world’s best teams on a more regular basis has become more pressing than ever to give us the experience to continue to compete at the highest level,” Cricket Ireland chief Warren Deutrom said.”This is what we have been crying out for – fixtures against the top teams in the world,” Ireland coach Phil Simmons added. “We have shown just how much our cricket has improved, and by playing these type of games, it’ll keep growing in the right direction. We’re due to play Sri Lanka and England as well this summer, so that’s definitely a step in the right direction as far as Irish cricket is concerned.”The two ODIs against Pakistan will be played at Stormont, Belfast on May 28 and May 30.

In a game that was severely affected by rain, Jamaica thrashed Somerset by a whopping 61 runs at the Kensington Oval in Barbados to join Windward Islands and Guyana at the top of the table in Group B.The match was reduced to six overs per innings after the start of play was delayed by three hours due to rain. Somerset won the toss and decided to bowl. Jamaica promoted Marlon Samuels to open and it was a decision that paid rich dividends as Samuels thrashed the Somerset bowlers all over the park. Samuels and Danza Hyatt blasted 47 runs in three overs, including 14 runs off the first over bowled by Somerset captain Alfonso Thomas. Though Hyatt fell for a breezy nine-ball 21 in the fourth over to Max Waller, Samuels didn’t let the momentum shift. He hit four fours and three sixes in his unbeaten 21-ball 45 and was particularly severe on fast bowler Steve Kirby, whose only over went for 21 runs. Shawn Findlay chipped in with a handy 13 off seven balls as Jamaica reached an imposing 85 for 1 off their 6 overs.Faced with a daunting chase, Somerset’s batsmen capitulated right from the first over when Jerome Taylor dismissed Jos Buttler. They lost two wickets in the second over, Nikita Miller picked up two wickets in the fourth over and at that stage Somerset were reeling at 17 for 6. They finally ended up at 24 for 8off their 6 overs; an abject surrender as none of their batsmen managed to reach double figures.The second game between Windward Islands and Guyana was a more evenly-contested game that Windward won by two runs. Guyana won the toss and chose to field, but it was Windward who got off to a strong start with their openers Johnson Charles and Andre Fletcher slamming 27 runs in three overs before Charles was dismissed. Fletcher top scored with 40 and Keddy Lesporis and captain Darren Sammy chipped in with 26 piece as Windward reached 138 for 8 off their 20 overs.In reply defending champions Guyana started poorly as left-arm spinner Gary Mathurin who was brought into the attack in the second over, dismissed openers Travis Dowlin and Richard Ramdeen cheaply. Esuan Crandon and captain Ramnaresh Sarwan soon followed and at 36 for 4 in the eight over, Guyana looked in trouble. A 42-run fifth-wicket partnership between Royston Crandon and Steven Jacobs steadied the innings before they feel in quick succession. Christopher Barnwell and Derwin Christian who blasted a 13-ball 40 in Guyana’s thrilling two-wicket win over Combined Campuses and Colleges on Jan 14, hit some big shots but some tight bowling from Windward kept them in check as Guyana fell three runs short of their target. Nelon Pascal was the pick of the Windward bowlers with figures of 3 for 23 which included the crucial wickets of Jacobs and Barnwell.

Sri Lanka’s leading run-getter in last year’s Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, will lead his country in the upcoming Test and one-day series against England U-19s.Rajapaksa, a top-order batsman, accumulated 253 runs at an average of 63.25 in the World Cup in January 2010 and is one of four players who played in that tournament picked in a squad of 16 to meet England in two four-day matches and five limited-over internationals.The first of the four-day matches starts on January 14 at the Dambulla Stadium, while the second begins January 20 at the Asgiriya Stadium in Kandy. The ODIs will be played at the Colombo Colts grounds and the SSC between January 28 and February 5. England’s team is due to arrive in Sri Lanka on January 7.Sri Lanka junior selection committee chairman Sunil Wikramanayake said it was not easy picking the final 16 players for the series because of the wealth of talent that was available.Provincial selectors in consultation with the provincial and district coaches were given the responsibility to scrutinise players who performed well in the provincial tournament. A total of 110 players were recommended from all the provinces and their names were forwarded to the U-19 national coach Naveed Nawaz.”We had a preliminary squad of 110 players and after many practice sessions it was trimmed down to 57,” said Wikramanayake. “These 57 players took part in six limited-over games and taking into account the players skill-levels and performance the squad was further pruned down to 32 players.”The final 32 played a couple of two-day games and three limited-over matches after which the final 16 was named with four standby players.”From this squad, only nine players will be eligible to play at the next U-19 World Cup, which is to be held in Australia in 2012.Rajapaksa is among those who will miss out on the next World Cup due to being over age.Sri Lanka U-19 squad: Banuka Rajapaksa (captain, Royal College), Sanitha de Mel (vice-captain, St Sebastian’s College), Shehan Jayasinghe (Prince of Wales College), Kaushalya Gajasingha (Mahinda College), Yasoda Lanka (Richmond College), Dhananjaya Silva (Richmond College), Angelo Jayasinghe (Maris Stella College), Lahiru Jayaratne (St Peter’s College), Chathuranaga Kumara (St Joseph’s College), Ruwinda Shaman (Ananda College), Lasith Abeyratne (DS Senanayake), Saranga Rajaguru (St Anthony’s College, Kandy), Maduka Liyanapathirana (Lumbini MV), Supeshala Jayathilake (St Joseph’s College), Duleeka Tisakuttige (Mahanama College), Ramith Rambukwella (Royal College)

South Africa are unlikely to go into the second Test against India in Durban with an all-pace attack, according to coach Corrie van Zyl. “Experience has told us that we will most probably have a spinner in the line-up for a Test match in Durban.”Despite a seamer-friendly pitch at Kingsmead, which Graeme Smith said was the greenest he had seen for a while, van Zyl wants insurance in case the pitch flattens. “You never know what the weather is like, whether it will get really hot.” That virtually guarantees Paul Harris his place in the starting XI, again in a containing role, and means South Africa will use three quicks.The position of the third seamer, which was being talked up as a contest between Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Wayne Parnell, has also been decided on. “We’ve made our decision but we are not going to tell you,” van Zyl said. Tsotsobe played in the first Test and was targeted by the Indian batsmen, but is likely to get the nod. He bowled more than Parnell during practice this week, an indication that the younger left-armer may end up carrying the drinks.The scene is set for a re-match between South Africa’s bowlers and India’s batsmen, one that the hosts won convincingly in Centurion. van Zyl was particularly impressed with the spearhead of his attack, Dale Steyn, who reached speeds over 145 kph in that match. “Steyn bowled some really fast spells in the previous test. The pitch will not determine how quickly he will run in.”With much of the build-up centred around the pitch and the assistance it will provide for the bowlers, once again, the toss is being viewed as a crucial element in the contest. While MS Dhoni thinks that it could have a major impact on this green wicket, van Zyl talked it down. “I don’t think the toss is going to be the most important thing, it depends on weather conditions.” Durban has seen three days of sunshine but clouds rolled in on Christmas day. Overcast conditions are forecast for most of the match, which will be ideal for both swing and bounce.Despite the obvious home advantage and the emphatic way in which South Africa beat India five days ago, van Zyl does is aware of South Africa’s recent record in Durban, which has seen them fail to notch up a win in two years. The difference between this year and the last two years is that South Africa are coming into the Boxing Day Test off a win and have momentum on their side.”There’s a lot of talk about momentum and it’s important but it’s just there until the next game,” van Zyl said. That next game starts tomorrow and although the hosts have the impetus, van Zyl indicated that South Africa respect India enough to understand that they shouldn’t take their advantage for granted. “Momentum is important, but not that important. It’s not going to make us win the Test. We have to work hard.”That’s what they’ve been doing since assembling in Durban on Thursday. van Zyl said the squad had two “really good training sessions” and there is a “good spirit” in the camp. They held an optional practice on Christmas day for “those guys who want to make sure they are 100% ready.”

Charlotte Edwards could not mark the occasion with a victory – the weather saw to that – but in the second one-day international against Sri Lanka at the P Sara Oval in Colombo she achieved the landmark of becoming the most capped one-day player in women’s cricket. Edwards, who made her England debut aged 16 in 1996, won her 142nd cap in the match to pass Australian Karen Rolton’s record.”I’m very proud of my achievement. It’s been an unbelievable journey,” she said. “I dreamed of playing for England and I got the opportunity very young. It seems a long time ago – a lot has happened along the way. It’s been a long journey with a lot of highs and lows but more recently a lot of highs. I’m as motivated as anything now and want to keep making this team successful.”In a distinguished career, Edwards has been no stranger to significant achievements. She became the youngest woman to have played for England, when she made her debut against New Zealand at Guildford aged 16 – although that particular record has since been claimed by Holly Colvin, who played in the first Ashes Test in 2005 at just 15.Edwards’ youthful debut was vindicated, and her talent confirmed, when, in 1997, she smashed 12 centuries, including one off 118 balls against the touring South Africans. The day before her 18th birthday, she scored a then-record ODI score of 173 not out in a World Cup match against Ireland.In 2005, Edwards stepped up from her role as England vice-captain to take full charge of the side when Clare Connor was injured, and was appointed full-time when Connor retired in March 2006. She has led the one-day side 67 times since, an England record for both men and women.At the start of the one-day World Cup 2009 in Australia, England were favourites for the trophy and Edwards led an inspired team to the title, dropping only one game in the process. England also won the Women’s World Twenty20 title and the Ashes in 2009, and to cap a successful year she was awarded an MBE for her services to cricket.Connor, now the England and Wales Cricket Board’s Head of Women’s Cricket, praised Edwards’ contribution to the games, describing her as “a credit to women’s cricket globally, a superb role model for girls who aspire to play for their country”.

South Africa 125 for 4 (Smith 38, Ingram 32, Duminy 20*) beat Pakistan 120 for 9 (Theron 4-27) by six wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsShahid Afridi could not last long enough to make an impact•AFP

Another day, another batting collapse from Pakistan. They were shot out for 120 and it was too little to defend even for their talented bowling attack. Their spinners posed a brief threat but South Africa shut them out to seal a 2-0 series win. Graeme Smith’s 38 wasn’t a fluent effort but he fought on to push South Africa close before Colin Ingram and JP Duminy applied the final touches.When a struggling Smith was stumped off Saeed Ajmal, South Africa needed 53 from 40 balls, raising the possibility of an improbable twist in the tale. Ajmal had 3.4 overs left in his spell and there were two new batsmen in the middle but Ingram killed the contest with admirable coolness. He pulled Umar Gul for four before collecting three boundaries off Shoaib Akhtar in the 17th over – a smashed six over long-on and two fours dragged to square-leg – to push South Africa ahead in the chase. He fell, holing out to long-on, but Duminy stayed put till the end.Nothing went right from the start for Pakistan. Shahzaib Hasan continued to be a walking wicket and his exit, to an ugly slog across the line, opened the floodgates. Imran Farhat, who was bowled going for an over-ambitious heave, left one wondering whether the selectors were being too harsh on Imran Nazir. Like yesterday, it was Lonwabo Tsotsobe who removed the openers.Again there was no middle-order revival. Mohammad Hafeez averages just 20.01 from 53 ODIs and 16.53 from 17 Twenty20s. Today was yet another day where he played a couple of pretty shots before combusting. He was caught at the crease, pondering whether to cut or steer, and lost his stumps before he could make up his mind. Umar Akmal ran himself out following a mix-up with Misbah-ul-Haq, and Shahid Afridi scooped Rusty Theron to deep point. Abdul Razzaq improved on his performance from yesterday – he swung a couple of sixes – but tapped a full toss straight to mid-off.It was left to Misbah to push Pakistan over 100. It was another one of his meandering knocks that seemed to go nowhere until the last couple of overs when he showed some intent. Like yesterday, he initially struggled to find his timing but fought on to hold one end up. He went for the big shots in the end – there was a neat six over wide long-on, hit on a bent knee, and a shuffled swat to the backward square-leg boundary – but it was too little and too late.It was difficult to rate South Africa’s bowling in this context. Did Pakistan’s shoddy batting display make the bowling look better than it was? It would be unfair, though, to not credit them for their discipline. Tsotsobe punctuated his natural left-armer’s angle with the ones that straightened to collect early wickets, Johan Botha, as ever, strangled the run-flow in the middle overs with his variations, and Theron enhanced his reputation as a death-over specialist with three wickets in the last over. Pakistan’s bowlers again attempted the improbable but it was a bridge too far to cross.

Pakistan’s coach, Waqar Younis, admitted that their series-salvaging victory in the third ODI against England was the result that his team needed as they enter the final week of a long, fraught and controversial tour. Having been faced with the prospect of a 3-0 scoreline and two dead-rubber matches at Lord’s and the Rose Bowl, an uplifted squad has been imbued with renewed optimism.”After the two losses, we really needed something like this,” said Waqar. “The series is still alive, and this gives us the incentive that we can come back and maybe win the series now. It’s been a really tough tour on the field and off it, so we’re pretty pleased to be back in this one-day series, but there’s still plenty of work to be done.”Pakistan’s victory came on the day that Scotland Yard’s investigators passed a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service, as the spot-fixing controversy prepared to move forward to its next phase after several destabilising weeks in which the team has been deprived of the services, through suspension, of three of its key players, including both new-ball bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif.Waqar denied any knowledge of this latest turn of events, and insisted that the squad had been fully focussed on its cricket, and that seemed self-evident from the performance of Umar Gul, the most influential seamer still within the Pakistan camp. He produced a performance of irresistible full-length reverse-swing to rout England’s lower-order and deliver victory with his career-best figures of 6 for 42.”The way Umar bowled was outstanding,” said Waqar. “[After making 241], there was no way for us to bowl 50 overs and win this game. Our only chance was to bowl the English team out – and we’ve done that. Shoaib Akhtar was important too, because we really needed early wickets, but this wasn’t a fluke. The boys really played well in a team effort, and the entire thing was what we needed.”Gul’s performance was his finest in England since the World Twenty20 in 2009, when he once again starred on this ground with the remarkable figures of 5 for 6 against New Zealand. On that occasion, Daniel Vettori cast aspersions on the legitimacy of his performance, a suggestion that had caused Waqar to react with fury. There was no need for such a strident defence of his efforts on this occasion, as England knew they had been beaten fair and square.”One big reason for his reverse swing is that he’s got an action that really helps,” said Waqar. “He also does a lot of practice, which really makes him a good reverse-swing bowler, especially at the death with his yorkers because you have to know how to manage them.”One concern for Pakistan as they look ahead to Lord’s on Monday was the fitness of their wicketkeeper, Kamran Akmal, who took a blow on the ring finger while spilling a low edge off Michael Yardy, and had to be replaced by his brother Umar for the latter stages of the innings. Waqar could not confirm whether he’d suffered a fracture as yet, but remained optimistic at this stage. “He’ll go for an x-ray tonight, and we hope he’ll be all right,” he said.

New Zealand Cricket is bracing for a financial hit in their home series against Pakistan later this year, due to what NZC chief executive Justin Vaughan called a “residual impact” of the spot-fixing controversy.Vaughan told the that while NZC’s earnings from television rights would not be affected, crowd figures and gate earnings could drop. “I can understand the public may not be quite as excited about Pakistan as they otherwise might have been,” Vaughan said. Pakistan’s tour of New Zealand, which is part of the ICC’s Future Tours Programme, will be the only international series of the summer in the country and Vaughan said, “We’re kidding ourselves to think that there won’t be some residual impact out of all this, which is sad.”Vaughan said the option of inviting teams other than Pakistan for the home series was not being contemplated. “To me the question will be in terms of the strength of the Pakistani team. We certainly haven’t looked at any other options in terms of touring teams”.Pakistan’s six-week tour begins on Boxing Day and will comprise three Twenty20 internationals, two Tests and six ODIs. “New Zealand will be dead keen to make sure they play at their very best as it is the prelude to the World Cup,” Vaughan said.A few Pakistan players were reported to be in talks with Wellington to play in New Zealand’s domestic Twenty20 competition in December. Vaughan said NZC had no objections to any future singings by domestic associations, provided they were convinced that the players being signed were “appropriate”. “A blanket ban against Pakistan players doesn’t seem to be terribly fair … As long as there doesn’t appear to be any reason not to allow them, then I think that’s fine.”When asked about the ongoing inquiry against the three Pakistan players – Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir – Vaughan said, “You’d need to understand the personal contexts around each of them, but I think there’s got to be pretty low tolerance; really lengthy bans, if not life bans”. The scandal had “put a dampener on the game. Cricket’s had body blows in the past and bounced back and I’m sure it’ll just bounce back from this.”