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The trio shared all ten wickets, before Dimuth Karunaratne’s fifty took the visitors’ lead to 211

Madushka Balasuriya23-Mar-2024A day belonging to the bowlers ended with Sri Lanka 211 runs ahead, after their seamers ran through Bangladesh’s line-up to secure a healthy first-innings lead of 92 in Sylhet before the batters stretched it further. Dhananjaya de Silva (23*), one of two first-innings centurions, was at the crease alongside nightwatcher Vishwa Fernando, after Bangladesh again troubled Sri Lanka’s top order on a wicket that continued to prove further more challenging for batters.Nahid Rana continued his excellent debut, accounting for the wickets of Nishan Madushka and Kusal Mendis during a fiery opening spell. There was also finally some joy for the spinners, with Taijul Islam and Mehidy Hasan Miraz getting rid of Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal, respectively.But it was Shoriful Islam who grabbed the prized wicket of Dimuth Karunaratne. The former captain had been in the middle of one his patented scratchy but durable innings, notching his 36th Test fifty, when he top-edged a sharp bouncer straight to fine leg. That reduced Sri Lanka to 113 for 5, and produced a nervy final few minutes of play as Vishwa and Dhananjaya played out till the close.But despite the best efforts of the Bangladesh bowling contingent, it was Sri Lanka’s seamers who ensured their side would be ahead on the day after a disciplined and probing effort had been duly rewarded with the hosts being dismissed for 188 less than an hour before tea.Having begun the day with Bangladesh three down, Sri Lanka’s seamers hogged the ball across the morning session and for most of the afternoon as well – spinner Prabath Jayasuriya got just a solitary over – as they finished by grabbing all ten wickets, the first time the quicks did that in a Test innings in Bangladesh since 2008.In a display of endurance as much as patience, each of Lahiru Kumara, Kasun Rajitha and Vishwa Fernando produced tireless spells of disciplined and high-quality fast bowling.Shoriful Islam got Dimuth Karunaratne for 52 late in the day•AFP/Getty Images

Kumara did the damage early in the day, sending three frontline batters packing before lunch. The first to go was Mahmudul Hasan Joy, who hadn’t looked comfortable negotiating the seaming ball outside off and eventually pushed too hard at one that had a little extra bounce.Shahadat Hossain too fell prey to that nagging length outside off, edging into the slip cordon, but Kumara saved his best for Litton Das. Having bowled a couple prior that held its line outside off, he got one to jag back in and burst through bat and pad to crash into the stumps.Litton had been looking good up until that point, but his wicket just an over before lunch proved to be crucial, as it ended an innings-best 41-run stand and brought about the last recognised batter – Mehidy – to the crease.That said, Taijul, who had come in the previous evening as a nightwatcher, was still in and looking increasingly more confident. A couple of lovely drives earlier in the day, mixed in with surprisingly adept defensive resilience, had seen the spinner upstage his more illustrious batting counterparts.This was perhaps borne out of him being more aware of his limitations, and thus less likely to take the bait being offered by the Sri Lanka seamers outside off. But just as Bangladesh would have been hoping he would carry on, he flashed at a wide, full one from Rajitha and found the edge.Mehidy then attempted to shield Shoriful from the strike, but that strategy necessitated a more proactive approach, and so he wound up getting a leading edge looking to aggressively work a straight one through midwicket.Sri Lanka might have been hoping to wrap up proceedings swiftly from then on, but both Shoriful and Khaled Ahmed decided to shed any pretence of dragging the innings further and looked to slog at any available opportunity. A couple of lusty blows off Jayasuriya were the highlight, while some fortunate edges afforded runs even off the seamers.In the end, Shoriful top-edged one too many, and Khaled fell shortly after, getting a thick edge on a swipe across the line. The pair’s 40-run stand came off just 35 deliveries, and given the difficulty with which runs subsequently got scored, might prove pretty valuable in the grand scheme of the game.

Australia captain does not feel it is an option to avoid rain scuppering consecutive games as happened in Melbourne

Andrew McGlashan30-Oct-2022Aaron Finch has pondered whether removing double-header match days at a single venue would be a worthwhile option to avoid rain scuppering consecutive games as happened in Melbourne although conceded the logistical challenges of staging a World Cup were vast.The Australia-England contest at the MCG was abandoned, a decision that had felt inevitable for much of the day as the outfield became unplayable with the first match, Ireland against Afghanistan, having already been called off. It meant there had been three abandoned games in Melbourne following the loss of the New Zealand-Afghanistan fixture.Related

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While New Zealand’s match against Si Lanka was played in glorious Sydney weather on Saturday as was Bangladesh against Zimbabwe in Brisbane on Sunday, the weather threatens to again play a part in the coming days.The forecast for Australia’s crunch game against Ireland in Brisbane is promising with only a small chance of a shower. But Tuesday, which is another double-header day where Sri Lanka face Afghanistan and England play New Zealand in the city, has a forecast of 100 percent chance of rain and up to 35mm falling. Adelaide, where the tournament travels next week, is forecast to be cool and showery although the early indication for the game days is more encouraging.”I think with how condensed the schedule is, it’s really difficult to have reserve days for round games,” Finch said. “Saying that…it’s kind of interesting when you have back-to-back games in the same city, if one is washed out, we saw the other night then both get washed out, whereas if they’re in different cities, you potentially get one game on. Is that an advantage? I don’t know.”All I know is a lot of planning and effort goes in from the ICC to make these tournaments go ahead, and they’re extremely difficult to navigate through all the logistics and stuff as one nation, let alone controlling it for…16 teams. That’s an incredibly challenging position to be in.”The tournament is being staged early in the Australian season with previous World Cups in the country hosted in the February-March window. The east and south-east of the country is also feeling the effects of another La Nina, with Melbourne being especially badly hit with record-breaking October rainfall.It has not gone unnoticed that in Melbourne, just across town from the MCG, there is a ground with a roof which has raised the notion of whether Marvel Stadium, which is Melbourne Renegades’ home ground in the BBL, could have been used as an alternative venue, but the logistics of moving games mean that it is virtually impossible to do at short notice.”It’s not just as easy as seeing the forecast and moving a wicket over there,” Finch, who plays for Renegades, said. “There’s a lot more that goes into it than that. But that has been an absolute belter of a wicket for the last couple of years of Big Bash. I’m sure there are reasons behind it all.”Melbourne will host two more matches in the tournament: India against Zimbabwe during the final day of group games on November 6 then the final on November 13. Extra standing-room-only tickets have been released for the India game which is expected to attract another huge ground after the 90,293 who attended the India-Pakistan game. It is currently the only game on the ground to be completed without rain.

Only 40.2 overs were possible on a stop-start day in Malahide

Firdose Moonda11-Jul-2021An 87-run second-wicket stand between William Porterfield and Andy Balbirnie anchored Ireland and put them in a solid position before persistent rain washed out the first ODI in Malahide.Rain delayed the start of the match by 45 minutes, and there was another 75-minute pause after the 35th over of Ireland’s innings. The match was reduced to 43 overs a side at that point, but there were only a further 32 balls played, as rain returned and continued past the 5.30pm cut-off for a 20-overs DLS-adjusted chase.Under heavy cloud, Temba Bavuma opted to bowl first in the hope that conditions would aid his attack in running through their hosts but despite significant seam movement and some turn, wickets were hard to come by. Ireland had plenty in hand but their scoring rate remained sedate until they returned following the first rain break. They scored 50 runs in 32 balls thereafter before rain arrived once again.Porterfied, who was an injury doubt after hurting a finger in the lead-up to the match, scored his first fifty since May 2019 while Balbirnie brought up his second half-century in three innings. The pair were steady against a three-seam, two-spin South African outfit, who were economical without being overly aggressive.South Africa’s new-ball pair, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi, asked questions of the Ireland openers, beat them several times and induced edges in the first 10 overs. They would have been disappointed not to have any wickets to show for that as Ireland worked their way to 28 without loss.Ireland’s first boundary came off Porterfield’s outside edge, when he was squared up by a short-of-a-length Rabada delivery and the chance eluded Aiden Markram at second slip. His second boundary was more convincing. Porterfield flicked an attempted Rabada yorker through square leg. Paul Stirling took a little longer to settle in after an outside-edge off Rabada and an inside-edge off Ngidi. His first confident stroke came off the 20th ball he faced, when he pulled Ngidi over short midwicket.Andile Phehlukwayo, who did not feature in any of the T20s in the Caribbean, was introduced in the 11th over and was the only South African to have success until the 31st over. He had Stirling caught at extra-cover, top-edging a pull to end an innings that never really got going.Kagiso Rabada picked up a pair of wickets in the brief period of play between rain interruptions•Getty Images

Keshav Maharaj was brought into the attack before Tabraiz Shamsi and Porterfield appeared to have identified him as the bowler to target. He reverse-swept Maharaj’s second ball for four and tried to smash the final ball of the over down the ground but sliced it short of Rabada at short third. Balbirnie brought up Ireland’s fifty with a drive through the covers but could have been dismissed five overs later. He was on 15 when he tried to cut a Maharaj delivery that was not short or wide enough and top-edged to Markram at slip. Markram tried to take the chest-high catch reverse-cupped and the ball spilled out of his hands.Shamsi was brought on in the 21st over and started with a full toss that Porterfield swatted through mid-wicket. He went on to bring fifty with a heave over backward square leg off the 69th ball he faced and with almost half the innings left to bat, may have been eyeing a 12th century but fell 37 short. Shamsi was convinced Porterfield gloved a reverse-sweep that ballooned up behind the wicket-keeper and was caught by Markram, running from slip, and South Africa reviewed. Replays confirmed contact between the ball and the glove.South Africa hoped they had another when Balbirnie, on 48, attempted a sweep off Maharaj that cannoned off the pad to him in the chin. Maharaj convinced Bavuma to review. Replays showed the ball had brushed the top edge before the ball hit the pad. Balbirnie went on to bring up his second fifty in three ODI innings when he turned Ngidi round the corner for two.At the end of that over, the rain returned and reduced the match to 43 overs a side. Ireland had eight overs left to bat and their intention to accelerate was clear. Balbirnie drilled Shamsi through the covers and steered a Phehlukwayo slower ball through third man before chipping Rabada to midwicket, while Harry Tector hit the first six of the innings when he dispatched Rabada over deep midwicket but was caught behind two balls later.Pinch-hitter Mark Adair cleared the rope twice more, first with a cheeky bit of improvisation when he opened the face of the bat to ramp Ngidi over point and then sent a Rabada full toss out of the ground. The drizzle returned after 25 minutes with Ireland still due to face 16 balls, and that, eventually, was that.

Zampa made his first-class debut for NSW in 2012 before moving to South Australia in 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jun-2020Australia legspinner Adam Zampa has returned to his home state New South Wales after seven seasons with South Australia.Zampa made his first-class debut for NSW in 2012 and played three Sheffield Shield matches and four one-day games for them before moving to South Australia in 2013, where he picked up 95 first-class wickets and 51 one-day wickets in 35 and 34 matches respectively.”The prospect of moving back home and being able to play for the state I started with and where I played my junior cricket means a lot to me,” Zampa said. “The thing I’m looking forward to the most is playing with some guys that I was really close with when I was a rookie at NSW. The likes of Sean Abbott, Dan Hughes and Harry Conway. I love pushing guys around me to get better and I think NSW cricket teams have always been a great environment for this.”Zampa fills the gap created by left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe’s retirement from first-class cricket earlier this year after NSW decided not to offer him a contract.In the last two years, Zampa played only three Shield games for South Australia – where he picked up five wickets – but he is geared up. “I’m looking forward to testing myself in Shield cricket with a team of this calibre and I’m hoping to get the opportunity of playing with Nathan Lyon down the track. My partner Harriet and I will be able to spend a lot more time with both our families.”Zampa is one of seven contracted international players in the NSW side alongside Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc and David Warner.

The India women vice-captain didn’t show up for training on Wednesday, having sustained an ankle injury

Annesha Ghosh in Mumbai20-Feb-2019India women ODI vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur has been ruled out of the three-match ODI series against England in Mumbai with an ankle injury. Harmanpreet who trained on Tuesday at the Wankhede Stadium, missed the practice session on Wednesday. She will be replaced by batting allrounder Harleen Deol, who played for Board President’s XI in Monday’s warm-up match against a full-strength England side. The ODI series, part of the ICC Women’s Championship’s second cycle, begins on Friday.

England tour of India

• Three ODIs: February 22, 25 and 28

• Three T20Is: March 4, 7 and 9

ESPNcricinfo understands Harmanpreet sustained the injury a few days ago when she was in Patiala, where she trains under coach Munish Bali. Harmanpreet took part in the fielding sessions with the Indian team on Tuesday, to assess if she was comfortable running about. Harmanpreet, however, is understood to have not been feeling fully fit, and scans later revealed a grade-2 tear in the left ankle. She will fly to Bengaluru for a consultation at the National Cricket Academy, where the severity of her injury will be assessed further.No decision on her participation in the three-match T20I series, to be played in Guwahati, has been made yet. However, in the event of Harmanpreet, the T20I captain, being unable to recover in time, her deputy Smriti Mandhana is likely to lead the side.Harmanpreet’s injury comes off the back of her forgettable run in the recently concluded tour of New Zealand, where she made 21 in the only innings she played in the ODI series, which India won 2-1. In the T20I series that followed, her returns of 17, 5 and 2 compounded India’s batting woes in a 3-0 whitewash.Deol’s maiden national call-up, meanwhile, comes on the back of an impressive showing in the Challenger Trophy last month and more recently in the warm-up game against England on Monday, where she struck four boundaries in her 29-ball 21 before being run out by Natalie Sciver. During India’s botched defence of 158 in the warm-up game, she gave away 40 in her four overs of offspin. An opening batsman who also doubles up as a middle-order option, Deol had played a vital role in Himachal Pradesh’s run to the semi-finals in the inter-state one-day tournament last year.

St George’s Park underwent a transformation under lights as nine wickets fell for 88 runs in the post-dinner session after an Aiden Markram century had given South Africa a strong batting platform

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy26-Dec-2017Aiden Markram manages a smile after reaching his century•AFP

Four wickets fell for the addition of 251 runs in the first two sessions. Nine wickets fell in the third session, for the addition of 88 runs. Under clear blue skies, St George’s Park was close to being a batting paradise. Under lights, it turned into a seaming monster. It’s hard to say if this was fair and balanced Test cricket, but it provided rich entertainment for the Boxing Day crowd, especially those cheering the home side.At the end of it all, Zimbabwe were stuttering at 30 for 4 in reply to South Africa’s 309 for 9 declared. This being a four-day Test – the first since February 1973 – Zimbabwe will need to get to 160, rather than 110, to avoid the follow-on.South Africa’s heroes on this bizarre and breathless day’s cricket were Aiden Markram, who made his second century in only his fourth Test innings and held an otherwise profligate batting line-up together in the first two sessions, and Morne Morkel, who took three wickets and looked utterly unplayable in the 16 overs Zimbabwe faced before stumps.There was seam and there was bounce, and Morkel nipped one in to trap Hamilton Masakadza lbw off the first ball of the innings. Then he nicked off Chamu Chibhabha and Brendan Taylor to end the day with figures of 3 for 20 in seven overs. Vernon Philander, giving absolutely nothing away, had Craig Ervine lbw – the ball pitching on leg stump and straightening to give him the tightest of umpire’s-call decisions – and ended with 6-3-5-1. In just over an hour of batting, Zimbabwe went from elation to despondency, and may have wondered if they – like Don Bradman’s Australians at the MCG in 1936-37 – should have sent their lower order in first.South Africa’s line-up hadn’t had a great time under lights either. From a solid 272 for 4, they lost five wickets for 37 runs in seven overs before AB de Villiers, deputising for Faf du Plessis who is sitting out this Test with a viral infection, declared.When the post-dinner session began, South Africa were 251 for 4. It was a situation of seeming security, but they had lost Markram, who made his second Test century, off the last ball of the second session, and had Nos. 5 and 6 at the crease.Till that point, Markram had been the only South African batsman dismissed by a genuine wicket-taking delivery, Kyle Jarvis getting one to straighten in the channel and finding the edge after forcing the batsman to play.The other three wickets had all been soft dismissals. All three had something to do with the slowness of the St. George’s Park surface, but also with unwise strokes; Dean Elgar, who had moved attractively to 31, flicked Jarvis uppishly; Hashim Amla failed to keep down a back-foot slash; and de Villiers drove early to offer a return catch to Chris Mpofu.And so it was that South Africa began the post-dinner session four down. Only 14.3 overs remained until the new ball would become available, and they would have hoped Temba Bavuma and Quinton de Kock would survive until that point. As it happened, their entire innings didn’t get that far.Jarvis sent back Bavuma with a delivery not dissimilar to the one that dismissed Markram, before Graeme Cremer picked up a pair of quick lbws to send back Vernon Philander and de Kock. Kagiso Rabada was run out going for a needless second run, before Mpofu had Keshav Maharaj caught at gully to prompt the declaration.When Zimbabwe came out to bat, de Villiers wore the wicketkeeping gloves, with de Kock off the field with a hamstring injury sustained while running between the wickets.Until Jarvis sent him back with arguably the ball of the day, Zimbabwe had struggled to find a way past Markram. He punished anything he could cut or pull, and looked particularly impregnable in defence when the ball was on off stump or straighter. He was seldom tied down by good-length balls on or around off stump, getting off strike frequently by working the ball wide of mid-on, and anything remotely on his legs ran away to the leg-side boundary.A wider line tested him occasionally, his natural inclination to feel ball on bat leading him to play at deliveries other batsmen may have left, but such indiscretions were few and far between. On one occasion, Zimbabwe wasted a review when Blessing Muzarabani, the stick-thin, 2m-tall debutant, beat his outside edge.Zimbabwe made poor use of their second review as well, failing to spot a de Villiers inside-edge onto pad, and so, when they had an actual case to review a not-out decision against Markram on 70 – Chamu Chibhabha struck him just inside the line of off stump and ball-tracking suggested the ball would have gone on to hit the top of middle – they had none left.By that point, Markram and de Villiers had turned a position of relative parity at tea into one of South African dominance. De Villiers, playing his first Test since January 2016, looked like he had never gone away, playing with freedom and stroking the ball to all parts. He announced his arrival with a straight drive off Mpofu, which arrowed between the non-striker and the umpire, and gave Zimbabwe plenty to worry about with a series of boundaries off the back foot – the pick of them a pull for six off a slower ball from Jarvis – early in the second session.Soon after passing 50, however, de Villiers became the third South African to fall to an avoidable shot. Yet again, South Africa had shown Zimbabwe a chink of light when they should have slammed the door shut on them.

Cape Cobras’ selection convener Alan Dawson has resigned with immediate effect. Dawson said that the off-field situation at the Cobras had made his position untenable

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Nov-2016Former South African medium-pacer Alan Dawson has resigned from his post as the Cape Cobras’ selection convener with immediate effect. Dawson said that the off-field situation at the Cobras had made his position untenable.The situation he referred to was the increasing tension between players and management that originated after 14 contracted players filed a formal grievance against head coach Paul Adams, and then persisted with their call that he be removed after a board decision was made to keep him on.”I feel like no matter what team I select, it’s not going to make a difference. I don’t feel like I can make a contribution,” Dawson told . “I used the saying yesterday to Nabeal Dien [the Cobras’ chief executive] that I feel like an Elastoplaster on a boil, and that no matter what the plaster does, it still won’t cure the boil. It has to be cured from the inside. The time has come to make proper cricket calls. I can’t work in that environment.”I’ve been involved for about two to three months and I’ve tried to find solutions and to ascertain where the real problem lies. I sought counsel from all over, current players, ex-players, administrators, selectors. Before I started I was told there were a few little issues between the players and the coach, but that was a lie.”After four games apiece this season in the Sunfoil Series, the Cobras currently sit at the bottom of the points table, the only team yet to record a win with three losses and a draw. Adding to their troubles, their captain, Omphile Ramela, has been suspended for their next match for breaching CSA’s code of conduct during their loss to the Knights.Dawson also stated his support for Adams. “The worst thing about all of this is, is that they are doing Paul an injustice. Paul is my mate, and it’s tough for me to see him go through this thing.”

Sudip Chatterjee’s 145 and Wriddhiman Saha’s 90 helped Bengal recover from 41 for 4 to finish the first day on 312 for 9 against Karnataka in Bangalore

The Report by Vishal Dikshit in Bangalore08-Oct-2015
ScorecardFile Photo – Sudip Chatterjee struck 16 fours for his 145•PTI

Sudip Chatterjee’s hundred rescued Bengal from what seemed set to be an extension of their previous season, against Karnataka in Bangalore. Bengal were reduced to 41 for 4 mainly by Vinay Kumar’s new-ball exploits, before Chatterjee and Wriddhiman Saha pulled them out of the pits with a stand of 173 runs for the fifth wicket. Saha fell ten runs short of a hundred in the last over before tea and Chatterjee was dismissed for 145, his third 50-plus score in four first-class matches, while Vinay ended the day with 3 for 80.Vinay opted to bowl and removed the Bengal top order all by himself. He didn’t swing the ball much in his first two overs, but once he did, he pitched it in the corridor to take the outside edges of openers Abhishek Das and debutant Naved Ahmed. There was more drama in the third dismissal when Vinay threw the ball back in his follow through to hit Shreevats Goswami’s bat and the ball deflected onto the stumps. Goswami had grounded his bat in time but when the ball hit the stumps, his bat was in the air and so were Bengal’s fortunes. Manoj Tiwary came out at 26 for 3 and struck an authoritative four off the back foot, but he gave his wicket away by pulling a short ball from well outside off, for a top-edge to square leg and Bengal were four down in just over an hour.That brought together Chatterjee and Saha in the 14th over. Chatterjee was more watchful out of the two and didn’t go for any extravagant shots. Saha, though, had a nervy start. He edged the ball a couple of times early on, but his use of soft hands made sure the ball didn’t carry to the slips. He switched gears as soon as legspinner Shreyas Gopal came on in the 20th over by greeting him with a six over long-off and a beautiful cover drive the next ball. Saha struck two fours in an over against Vinay too, not long before lunch, and lofted left-arm spinner J Suchith over mid-off early into the second session to earn some confidence.Bengal were 104 for 4 at lunch and the two batsmen, now at ease, struck the occasional boundary and soon brought up their 100-run stand with the ball old and the sun blazing down on the pitch. Vinay tried several bowlers in quick succession, unleashed his own reverse-swing, placed unorthodox fielders but wickets eluded Karnataka.Saha targeted the off side more, while Chatterjee found success off his pads as both batsmen attacked the spinners. Just when it looked like the second session would go completely in Bengal’s favour, Gopal turned one into Saha and Robin Uthappa, who was keeping instead of CM Gautam, took a sharp catch down leg.Chatterjee, on 99 at tea, didn’t take too long to move into three figures for the second time in this format and found an able partner in Laxmi Shukla to take the score past 250. By now Chatterjee had read the bounce well; he played the ball late, ducked under the bouncers, cut Vinay off the back foot for fours and was headed towards a big score. That his first first-class hundred was a score of 192 speaks of his patience and grit. Shukla was striking boundaries at will, including a six down the ground, and along with Chatterjee brought up the fifty stand in ten overs, but Karnataka, like they usually do once they make inroads, continued to pick wickets.Shukla chased one outside off with a big drive that flew to Manish Pandey at first slip in no time and Pragyan Ojha’s resistance of 35 balls, that included several short deliveries, ended as soon as Vinay took the second new ball. The big wicket came when Chatterjee threw his bat like Shukla and was also caught at first slip, off HS Sharath. At 295 for 8, Bengal were helped past 300 when No. 9 Veer Pratap Singh struck three firm drives for four before lobbing one off the back foot to mid-off which was Sharath’s third wicket and marked the end of the day.

The fans at the Sawai Man Singh stadium were treated to one of the joys of the IPL, watching journeymen cricketers take their chance in the limelight as Royals brushed away their underdog tag

The Report by Siddarth Ravindran17-Apr-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Ajinkya Rahane anchored the innings with an unbeaten 68•BCCI

This match was billed as a clash of the legends, with three of cricket’s greatest run-getters – Rahul Dravid, Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar – featuring, and there was the added draw of Sreesanth and Harbhajan Singh facing off days after Sreesanth’s barrage of tweets re-opened the Slapgate controversy from the first season of the IPL. To dash the dreams of the marketing men, the three legends played 12 deliveries in all, and Sreesanth was rested from the game as Rajasthan Royals wanted to ensure they didn’t overwork him soon after a long lay-off.Still, the fans at the Sawai Man Singh stadium were treated to one of the joys of the IPL, watching journeymen cricketers take their chance in the limelight as Royals brushed away their underdog tag to go top of the table after demolishing the high-profile Mumbai Indians. Dishant Yagnik made the most of being promoted to No. 3 to ensure the momentum wasn’t lost after Shane Watson’s high-octane start, the unheralded offspinner Ajit Chandila can tell his grandkids he’s the first bowler to have dismissed both Tendulkar and Ponting in the same match, and the under-rated Siddharth Trivedi virtually ended the chase by getting the dangerous Rohit Sharma in a wicket maiden.This was a night on which almost everything went right for Royals. Their Twenty20 superstar Watson took apart Mumbai’s main threat, Lasith Malinga, to lead Royals to 58 after six overs. The trouble for Royals has been that they have struggled to kick on once Watson departs – this time in the eight over – but Dravid decided to demote himself and gave Yagnik a go.Yagnik had shown in the limited chances he has got that he is not short on confidence, and loves to try unorthodox strokes. He began with a streaky four past the keeper, but then became far more assured as he thrashed Kieron Pollard over midwicket for six, and drilled several boundaries to point before falling for a 24-ball 34 while attempting a reverse-sweep.Ajinkya Rahane was at the other end when Watson and Yagnik were going ballistic, and though he too played some big hits in the Powerplay, he couldn’t find the boundary easily after that. He wisely decided to turn the strike over to the power-hitters, anchoring the innings with his typically orthodox strokes. He hit three fours in the final over after an extended dry spell in the second half of the innings, but the real acceleration came from Twenty20 expert Brad Hodge, who slammed a 15-ball 27.Mumbai had to chase 180 to win, and against the innocuous Chandila and left-arm spinner Ankeet Chavan, they lost Tendulkar and Ponting cheaply. Tendulkar top-edged a sweep and Ponting lobbed back a return catch, and when Trivedi had Rohit holing out to midwicket in the seventh over, Mumbai were virtually out of it. Pollard was promoted but he was done in by an inswinger from Stuart Binny in the eighth over, after which Mumbai were only looking to limit the margin of defeat. They didn’t do too well on that front either, slumping to their biggest loss in terms of runs.