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Real Madrid comfortably beat Napoli 4–2 on Wednesday to secure the top spot in their Champions League group, with Jude Bellingham impressing again.

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Real Madrid win 4-2 over NapoliBellingham first Madrid player to score four in four CL gamesAncelotti praises Englishman's workrateGetty WHAT HAPPENED?

Fourteen-time champions Madrid defeated the visiting Italian champions in a thrilling match to claim first place after they had already qualified for the knockout stages on the previous matchday. Bellingham gave Madrid the lead after 22 minutes with a fantastic header that went over Alex Meret and in the net after David Alaba found him with a lovely cross. Bellingham is now the team's top scorer with four Champions League goals in just four games for Madrid, and a total of 15 goals in 16 appearances this season.

AdvertisementWHAT ANCELOTTI SAID

After the game, the veteran Italian manager was all praises for the English midfielder as he talked about his ability to arrive in the box from deep spaces.

"He's spectacular in getting into the box, he comes into the box like a motorbike," he told Movistar Plus [via The Athletic]. "It's surprising because nobody could have imagined such fast adaptation here, to this club and the football he is showing. He surprises the fans, teammates and even rivals."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

On the night, Bellingham also became the first Real Madrid player to score four goals in his first four games for the club in the Champions League. He also managed to register an assist from the game as Joselu grabbed Madrid's fourth of the night to secure their win and top spot.

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Getty Images WHAT NEXT FOR REAL MADRID?

After confirming their presence in the first pot of the Round of 16 draw, Madrid can now completely shift their focus to La Liga as they currently lead the standings, level on points with Girona.

Gloucestershire claimed a second successive LV= County Championship win as they beat Lancashire by 91 runs during an eventful final day at Old Trafford

Press Association13-May-2015
ScorecardCraig Miles picked up four wickets in Gloucestershire’s surprise win•Getty ImagesGloucestershire claimed a second successive LV= County Championship win as they beat Lancashire by 91 runs during an eventful final day at Old Trafford.Sixteen wickets fell in a day which saw Geraint Jones’s side set a target of 300 in a minimum of 70 overs shortly before lunch having declared on 275 for nine following the decision to not risk Liam Norwell’s injured finger with the bat.Lancashire fell to 22 for 4 before half-centuries for fifth-wicket pair Alviro Petersen and Alex Davies took them to 140 for 4 in the 33rd over, only to see Davies and then Petersen fall either side of tea for the addition of only eight more runs. Petersen and Davies hit 63 and 58 respectively, with the latter’s innings including three straight sixes against left-arm spinner Tom Smith.Lancashire, who retain top spot in Division Two following a first defeat in four, were ultimately bowled out for 208 inside 57 overs as Jones and company built on last week’s win over Essex with a 22-point haul. Craig Miles led the way with 4 for 58 and David Payne added 3 for 31.Reece breaks hand after dismissal

Lancashire’s out-of-form batsman Luis Reece is set for a spell on the sidelines after suffering a broken hand following his dismissal during Lancashire’s defeat against Gloucestershire at Old Trafford.
Lancashire head coach Ashley Giles said: “Luis has broken his hand, so he’s going to be out for a long time. That’s unfortunate, but it’s an opportunity for somebody else. I’m not sure yet how he’s done it. I will have to look into that situation.”

Eight wickets fell before lunch, including the first two in Lancashire’s second innings as they slipped to 11 for 2 following the departures of openers Luis Reece and Paul Horton. Reece, who has endured a miserable start to the season, was trapped lbw by Payne and Horton caught behind driving loosely at Miles.Shortly after lunch, Lancashire slipped further as Ashwell Prince and stand-in captain Steven Croft fell, leaving Lancashire four down and still 278 away from their target. Prince and Croft were both caught behind off Miles and Payne respectively.Petersen and Davies steadied the ship and then counter-attacked, with Davies taking a particularly liking to Smith. He hit 14 off Smith’s first over, including the first six, with the ex-Sussex man conceding 43 off his first five overs.The visitors were given a significant pre-tea boost when Davies miscued a pull at medium pacer Kieran Noema-Barnett to midwicket and when Petersen sliced Payne to cover, the game was Gloucestershire’s for the taking.Peter Siddle fell shortly afterwards to Norwell, caught behind off a top edged pull, but Jordan Clark and Nathan Buck continued to chase a home win. They hit three more sixes off Smith upon his return to the attack as the target dropped below 100 before departing in successive overs.Buck was caught behind off Norwell and Clark was trapped lbw by Miles, who wrapped up the win by bowling Simon Kerrigan.Gloucestershire started the day at 206 for 3, leading by 230, but they lost six for 69 to force a declaration following Norwell’s injury earlier in the match.Peter Handscomb was run out for 76 following a mix-up with Hamish Marshall, ending their fourth-wicket partnership of 134, before Jones was caught at mid-off off Kerrigan’s left-arm spin. Marshall fell eight short of his hundred when he was bowled by a Kyle Jarvis delivery which kept low. Siddle struck twice to finish with 4 for 39 in his final appearance.

A round-up of all the games played in Group A of the World Twenty20 Qualifiers on November 17, 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Nov-2013
ScorecardFile photo: Sarel Burger blasted 43 off just 36 deliveries•ICC/Helge SchutzAn all-round performance from Sarel Burger powered Namibia to an easy 35-run victory over USA, their first in the competition. Burger scored a 36-ball 43 that included two sixes and a four, and added 76 for the fourth wicket with Craig Williams, as Namibia finished on 163 for 4. He then bowled a tight spell of 4-0-16-1 to put pressure on USA during their chase.USA lost regular wickets throughout the chase and a 34-ball 44 from the opener Steven Taylor aside, no one else produced a significant score. Bernard Scholtz and JJ Smit picked up two wicket each, as USA managed 120 from their 20 overs.
ScorecardUAE came close to pulling off an upset, but Ireland held their nerve to register five-run win in Abu Dhabi, their second tight win in two days.UAE, helped by handy contributions from Khurram Khan and Rohan Mustafa, were 129 for 6 in the 19th over, 10 run away from a win. But in the next six balls, they lost four wickets for just four runs giving Ireland their third straight win in the competition. George Dockrell and Max Sorensen picked up two wickets apiece for the visitors.Ireland, choosing to bat, were earlier propelled by Gary Wilson’s first T20I fifty, and his 92-run fourth-wicket stand with Kevin O’Brien, that took the team to 138 for 5.

Increasingly, it is difficult to dismiss the suspicion that Nottinghamshire’s title challenge is on its last legs and that Warwickshire have one hand on the trophy

Jon Culley at Edgbaston28-Aug-2012Warwickshire 298 for 5 (Westwood 81, Ambrose 64*) v Nottinghamshire
ScorecardPaul Franks claimed three wickets but Warwickshire ended the opening day well placed•Getty ImagesIncreasingly, it is difficult to dismiss the suspicion that Nottinghamshire’s title challenge is on its last legs and that Warwickshire have one hand on the trophy. Quite apart from the knowledge that Chris Read’s team will be shorn of four of their top six batsmen when these sides meet again at Trent Bridge in the last week of the season, it now looks likely that Andre Adams, the bowler on whom so much of their recent success has rested, will be missing too.Adams, who turned 37 last month, was recalled after missing Nottinghamshire’s match against Durham nearly two weeks ago with a calf injury. However, it was clear during his 10-over opening spell that he was not at his best. He bowled two much shorter spells later and by the end of the second of those he was coming in off a shortened run in clear discomfort. He left the field soon afterwards.Mick Newell, Nottinghamshire’s director of cricket, confirmed that Adams was still troubled by the calf problem and that he feared his season was over.”He has been struggling since our game at Taunton three weeks ago and it isn’t getting better,” he said. “It was a bit of a gamble playing him here but it is a game we have to win so we felt we had to take that gamble. Unfortunately he has had a recurrence and I think that may be it for the season for him now.”Nottinghamshire are also without their left-arm quick, Harry Gurney, while Ben Phillips was ruled out of this match when he went down with a ‘flu-like virus overnight. With Samit Patel on England duty, Nottinghamshire are left with Luke Fletcher, Andy Carter and Paul Franks to share the seam-bowling duties, with Graeme White in as specialist spinner.However, though Fletcher and Franks – both keen to impress, for different reasons – performed well, with Adams ineffective they lacked enough armoury to contain Warwickshire’s strong batting line-up.A partnership of 102 between Tim Ambrose and Rikki Clarke, spanning 30 overs either side of tea against an ageing ball, built on opener Ian Westwood’s valuable 81 to take Warwickshire close to 300 at the close and with Ian Blackwell still to come it would be no surprise on a good pitch if the final total were closer to 400, even if a full quota of batting points might be out of reach.Westwood might have been out twice. He was dropped on 48 low down at first slip by Alex Hales off Fletcher and again on 62 at second slip by Adam Voges off Adams. In matches as critical as this, chances missed are forgiven less easily than ever and Hales, in particular, has not had the surest hands this season.Hales did hold on to one earlier as Fletcher made the first breakthrough by removing Varun Chopra. Fletcher, 23, is a favourite with Nottinghamshire supporters, who always appreciate a trier. A new-ball bowler with natural aggression, he is a broadly built character who plainly does not find it as easy as some to keep off the pounds yet is a handful for most batsmen when he is on song and this was such a day. He finished with 2 for 49 from 25 overs, proving his stamina when he came back for his fourth spell of the day, with the new ball, and almost immediately had Clarke caught behind.Compared with Fletcher, Franks is at the other end of his career. Like Fletcher, he can seldom be faulted for commitment, not least because he is also a Nottinghamshire man and wears his county allegiance on his sleeve. His motivation now is that he would prefer to finish his career there, after 17 seasons as a senior player, rather than move on. Although he has a year left on his contract, he has become peripheral to Nottinghamshire’s plans as they seek to build a new seam attack and he has been told he can speak to other counties.He had taken only seven first-class wickets before this match yet performed impressively, adding three to his score with swinging deliveries. He bowled William Porterfield with one that came back into the left-hander and persuaded another to move enough to trap Westwood leg before, having had Jim Troughton caught behind off an inside edge for 40 the over before.Those wickets threatened momentarily to shift the balance back towards Nottinghamshire. Had Adams been somewhere near his best, it might have been a turning point. As it is, Ambrose, who has hit 11 fours and looked in control, has taken the initiative back and Nottinghamshire’s chances of taking the win they need to stay in contention already look slim.

Alister McDermott’s seven-wicket haul narrowly failed to earn Queensland a stunning win at the Gabba, where Western Australia chased 68 for victory and got there nine wickets down

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Feb-2012
ScorecardAlister McDermott picked up 7 for 24•Getty ImagesAlister McDermott’s seven-wicket haul narrowly failed to earn Queensland a stunning win at the Gabba, where Western Australia chased 68 for victory and got there nine wickets down. In a thrilling finale, Ben Cutting collected the eighth and ninth wickets from consecutive balls with the Warriors still needing four to win, but the No.11 Michael Hogan picked up two from each of the next two deliveries to secure the win.Nathan Rimmington was at the other on 16 when the winning runs came, the top seven batsmen all having fallen to McDermott, whose 7 for 24 easily eclipsed his previous best first-class figures of 3 for 36. The small target started to look a bit tougher when McDermott had Liam Davis caught behind in the first over, Wes Robinson caught down leg side in the third over and Marcus North lbw in the seventh over.It left the Warriors at 3 for 23 and worse was to come when both Marsh brothers were caught pulling, Shaun for 12 and Mitchell for a duck. That gave McDermott his maiden five-wicket haul in his fifth first-class match, and he followed up with Luke Ronchi caught behind for 1 and Adam Voges, the top scorer with 18, snapped up at second slip.When Cutting chipped in with the wickets of Nathan Coulter-Nile and Michael Beer it left Queensland with a great chance to keep their unbeaten season alive, but Hogan edged two and then drove down the ground to secure the win. Remarkably, the Bulls also dropped two catches as the Warriors wobbled their way to 9 for 68, but the result was enough to push Western Australia within four points of the top-of-the-table Bulls.Earlier in the day, Queensland had lost their last six wickets for 64 runs, as Beer collected 3 for 19 and Rimmington also picked up three victims. Joe Burns top scored for Queensland with 43.

Damien Wright, the New Zealand bowling coach, will step down from the role at the end of the upcoming World Twenty20

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Aug-2012Damien Wright, the New Zealand bowling coach, will step down from the role at the end of the upcoming World Twenty20. Wright, in a New Zealand Cricket (NZC) release, said his decision to quit the job was influenced by his desire to spend more time with his family.”I have really enjoyed working with the New Zealand team and it was a tough decision to leave the position. The decision is related to time away from my family and a need to be based closer to home,” Wright said. “It has been a privilege to work with current crop of bowlers and I’m proud of the progression they have made over the past year.”Wright was appointed New Zealand bowling coach in mid-2011, after retiring from Australian first-class cricket. He played for Tasmania and then Victoria, and also doubled up as the Bushrangers’ bowling coach in his final season with them.NZC director of cricket John Buchanan said Wright had played a significant role in his short time with New Zealand. “Damien has done a brilliant job since he came on board and will be hard to replace. He brings a huge amount of passion and energy to the team. We have been particularly impressed with the growth and development of the young fast bowlers during his time in the role.”

Not even eight days rest, their best efforts with the bat and Amit Mishra’s three wickets were enough to earn Deccan Chargers a first win in IPL 2012

The Report by Firdose Moonda17-Apr-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details Brad Hodge’s 48 came at a strike rate of 228.57, and that was perhaps the difference between the two sides•AFPNot even eight days rest, their best efforts with the bat and Amit Mishra’s three wickets were enough to earn Deccan Chargers a first win in IPL 2012. After Kumar Sangakkara and Shikhar Dhawan put on the highest first-wicket partnership of the season, and JP Duminy and Daniel Christian blasted 77 off the last five overs, Chargers piled on a hefty score for Rajasthan Royals to chase, but they were unable to defend it on a flat pitch with small boundaries.Rahul Dravid and Ajinkya Rahane did the groundwork and Brad Hodge finished off fiercely. Almost everything Chargers did, Royals did better. Although Dravid and Rahane shared a stand of only 62, compared to Sangakkara and Dhawan’s 94 , the Royals pair scored at a faster rate. They went at 10.62 runs to the over compared to Sangakkara and Dhawan’s 8.81. Chargers had amassed 119 for 2 after 15 overs, Royals had the same score after 13. Duminy’s 58 came at a strike rate of 223.07, Brad Hodge’s 48 came at a strike rate of 228.57, and that was perhaps the difference between the two sides.With a tall task ahead of them, Royals approached it aggressively. Rahul Dravid tore into an out-of-sorts Dale Steyn in the second over, using the pace to club him for three fours. With the in-form Rahane on the other end, Daniel Christian and birthday-boy Anand Rajan also took a pasting and Royals raced to the fastest fifty in this season’s tournament, off 4.5 overs.Dravid seemed set for a much longer stay at the crease but was foxed by a Christian slower ball that was aimed at his legs. He did not get inside the line and the ball cannoned into the pads and onto the stumps. The wicket brought a short-lived calm to the crease as Rahane and Ashok Menaria consolidated.Unlike Chargers, who suffered a lapse in the mid-section of their innings and scored 23 runs between overs 13 and 16, Royals kept their slump to just two overs. The 8th and 9h overs yielded only eight runs in total but Rahane soon had the wheels turning again with a six over long-off after charging down the track to Mishra.Menaria was not expected to bat at No. 3, given the match situation which needed quick runs, but Royals stuck to their original line-up and he did not let them down. He freed his arms and found the boundary and seemed a worthy partner to Rahane until he pulled straight to short midwicket. Rahane holed out two overs later to cause jitters in the Royals camp. Those nerves would have grown when Shah was dropped by Steyn at long-on when he was on 10 and then caught two balls later at deep midwicket.Hodge did not waste time taking over and ensured the advantage was back with Royals when he clubbed Steyn for four consecutive fours. Hodge cut the short ball, turned the full toss to square leg, lofted another short one over third man and carved a half-volley through the covers to ensure Steyn had the most expensive return of the Chargers’ bowlers.With the anxiety shifting to Chargers, they dropped another catch, putting Johan Botha down and found themselves with only 11 to defend off the last over. Dishant Yagnik, little-known on the international stage, was the unlikely hero. Steyn offered him a touch of width and he found the gap on the off side and followed it up by slapping the ball through the covers to hand Royals victory.This is the second match of in the tournament that Chargers have lost from a seemingly winnable position. Last Monday, they let Mumbai Indians canter to a five-wicket win after having them under their thumb at 95 for 4, chasing 139, in the 17th over. Chargers’ three losses keeps them at the bottom of the points table.

Gloucestershire’s makeshift attack, led by 18-year-old Craig Miles, took control before a Hampshire fightback

Alex Winter in Bristol08-May-2013
ScorecardCraig Miles took the wickets of George Bailey, James Vince and Sean Ervine in his opening spell•Getty ImagesGloucestershire’s bowling attack is reflected in the state of Nevil Road at the moment – being in a state of repair. Cranes are swinging around the ground and the physiotherapist’s arms are equally as busy in the dressing room. But the bowlers Gloucestershire got on the field proved their worth on the opening day at Bristol.Around £10 million is being spent to upgrade the ground to keep Bristol as an international venue and, while only fractions of that sum are available for the playing staff, they earned every penny with a disciplined bowling display that ran through a far richer Hampshire batting order, save for Jimmy Adams’ loneliest of lone hands.The bowler who enjoyed most success must be one of the lowest paid professional cricketers in the country. Craig Miles, 18, signed a two-year deal last September when Gloucestershire’s financial pressure almost reached breaking point as they tried, and eventually succeeded on appeal, to get their development plans off the ground.Miles has potential to earn a few more quid from the game. He and all of Gloucestershire’s bowlers are capable of moving the ball either in the air or off the pitch but maintaining a consistent line and creating pressure has proved a major difficulty. They have leaked far too many runs too quickly.But here there was control not seen since Jon Lewis left the club two years ago. There were few four balls, they put together successive maidens and created sufficient pressure to force several loose strokes.The opening 10 overs was a textbook period of cricket with the new ball. Overs five, six, seven and eight yielded just one run and with the first ball of the ninth, Michael Roberts, an ersatz Michael Carberry, who is away with England Lions, followed a length ball from Will Gidman that nibbled away. He edged it behind and walked off with 9 on his Championship debut.Liam Dawson was drawn into driving to third slip in Gidman’s next over and a run out chance a delivery later encapsulated the pressure that Gloucestershire had developed.Hampshire bullied Leicestershire and Worcestershire in their opening two games but their mental capacity was found wanting last time out at Chelmsford and here they were guilty of being impatient. George Bailey attempted a second lavish cover drive in three balls and was bowled,Sean Ervine mistimed a drive and chipped to point, Chris Wood popped a catch up to mid-on and Adam Wheater swung across the line to be lbw to Jack Taylor. Indiscipline with the bat it may have been but Gloucestershire deserved much of their success. Miles’ second wicket of his three was a good delivery, nipping back to have James Vince lbw.Miles, born in Swindon, is one of a number of academy products creeping into the first XI out of necessity. A lack of available finance for the playing staff and a bad injury situation has given several Gloucestershire youngsters opportunities that might not have existed five years ago.He was called up last week against Leicestershire as the last fit bowler available. Currently Ian Saxelby, James Fuller, Liam Norwell and Paul Muchall are sidelined. You can therefore imagine the fear of the home supporters when Gidman left the field after tumbling in his follow-through. But it was a precautionary rest, described as an “ankle twinge” which Gloucestershire are not too concerned about.Before his early departure Gidman had bowled a fine opening spell – 8-2-10-2 – which in partnership with David Payne gave very little away. Miles then replaced Gidman to do the majority of the damage before rain, and Adams, prevented Gloucestershire closing out the Hampshire first innings on day one.

Sri Lanka coach Graham Ford has defended his side’s poor use of the DRS on day two in Sydney

Andrew Fernando at the SCG04-Jan-2013Sri Lanka coach Graham Ford has defended his side’s poor use of the DRS on day two in Sydney, after they burnt a review in Rangana Herath’s first over, but did not refer an lbw shout that would have been turned in their favour a few overs later.Sri Lanka could have had Michael Clarke out first ball when Herath struck him on the pad with one that pitched outside off stump and straightened, but were unsure if Clarke had inside edged a ball onto his pad. The unsuccessful review had been another lbw chance off David Warner, where the ball was not projected to hit enough of the stumps to overturn the original decision. Clarke went on to make 50.”It was tough for Mahela [Jayawardene],” Ford said. “I think he wanted reviews intact. Having blown one he was reluctant to blow another one unless he was absolutely sure that it was out. I think the captain tries to get as much information as possible from close fielders, like what the height was, and he has to follow his gut feeling.”It all happens quickly and standing in the slips, it’s very hard for Mahela. If they had reviewed that and maybe if one or two chances stuck today, and a couple of things had gone our way, we would have been in a better position. Although we are still in the game, we could have been in a powerful position.”Australia finished 48 runs ahead of Sri Lanka at stumps, with four first-innings wickets still in hand. However the SCG pitch has already shown signs of dryness on day two. With Australia having to bat last, Ford was hopeful a strong second-innings performance might take the visitors close to a maiden win in Australia.”We know we are in the game. We have fought hard and deserve to be in the game, because of the spirit and the fight we’ve shown. We’re well aware that it’s going to be tough from here on, but we certainly haven’t been blown away and we are sitting in a much better position than at the MCG. We will take heart from that. A number of young players have come in and shown that they have the guts and desire to play at this level.”Ford also praised Jayawardene’s knock on day one, which helped set a positive tone for Sri Lanka’s first innings, as their captain collected 72 from 110 balls, hitting 12 fours and a six. Jayawardene had struggled in the first two Tests, in which he made 12, 19, 3 and 0.”It was fantastic to see him go out and play so well. It shows what a fantastic leader he is. He was up for the challenge and went up the order and batted at three. He played superbly and I was hopeful he would get a hundred as this is his last Test match as captain, but I am sure he will have a bigger role to play in the second innings.”

Chennai Super Kings’ line-up is one of the strongest around in T20 cricket, but they come into the Champions League T20 with off-field controversy hanging heavily about them

Nikita Bastian20-Sep-2013Overview
Chennai Super Kings finished runners-up in IPL 2013, having lost to Mumbai Indians in the final. They might not be the current IPL champions, but they have consistently been the team to beat in the competition. Five times in six IPLs they’ve made the final, they’ve won the title twice – in 2010 and 2011 – and took home the Champions League T20 title in 2010.The team comes into this tournament with off-field controversy hanging heavily about them. News of one of their top officials Gurunath Meiyappan being arrested for alleged betting – which is illegal in India – broke a week before the IPL 2013 final, and he has been chargesheeted on the eve of the team’s first CLT20 game*. Gurunath is the son-in-law of BCCI president N Srinivasan, and his arrest raked up the longstanding conflict of interest questions over the board president also being managing director of the company – India Cements – that owns Super Kings. MS Dhoni too had conflict of interest queries thrown his way, after it was learnt he temporarily owned shares in a player-management company that looked after the financial interests of his India and Super Kings’ team-mates, Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja.On the upside, Super Kings’ line-up is one of the strongest around in T20 cricket. They have ever-dependable batsmen in Michael Hussey and S Badrinath, big-hitters in Dwayne Bravo and Albie Morkel, and a combination of the two in Dhoni and Raina. Hussey and Bravo topped the batting and bowling charts in IPL 2013. In the spin department they have India’s leading spinner across formats, R Ashwin, and the current No. 1 bowler in ODI cricket, Jadeja. Previously, pace bowling was a bit of a weakness, but they beefed up their attack in the lead-up to IPL 2013, signing lesser known but testing bowlers Chris Morris, Jason Holder and Mohit Sharma.Super Kings will be keen on doing well for another reason. They have had by far the most settled squad in the IPL – Dhoni, Raina, Hussey, Ashwin, Morkel and Badrinath, among others, have all been with the franchise since its inception in 2008. In February, the squad – or most of it – is likely to be disbanded; as per the IPL regulations all players are supposed to go back into the auction in 2014. Given the possibility of this being the last tournament this bunch plays together, and the camaraderie that has built up over the seasons, they’ll be eager to end on a high.Super Kings will not play any matches at home, at Chepauk, but that’s not to say they won’t be treated like the home team: three of their four group games will be in Ranchi, Dhoni’s hometown.Key players
As they have been for years now, MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina and R Ashwin will be the cornerstones on which Super Kings’ campaign is built. Dhoni’s stats for Super Kings are solid – he has 2488 runs at a strike-rate nudging 140, and only two ducks in 97 innings for the team – but it is his temperament that is most prized. How many times has he “taken it late” and, despite it getting to a point when the chase seems beyond the team, delivered with an almost unnatural calm? Suresh Raina is the only player to have featured in every single one of his IPL franchise’s games so far, scoring 3189 runs in 113 matches, while R Ashwin’s economy rate of 6.53 is the best among all IPL bowlers who’ve sent down 150 overs or more for one franchise.Surprise package
Given Super Kings’ line-up has remained largely the same over the seasons, the team rarely fields untested performers. In IPL 2013, though, they did have two new faces: pace bowlers Mohit Sharma and Chris Morris. Both proved to be highly effective and featured regularly in the eleven, and have since gone on to represent their countries in ODIs. Mohit was even named Man of the Match on international debut.Weakness
It’s hard to pinpoint on-field weaknesses in Super Kings’ line-up. Their biggest challenge could be putting the off-field controversies that have recently plagued the franchise out of their minds. Following their deflated showing in the IPL 2013 final, coach Stephen Fleming said the team had “been through a lot and didn’t respond well”. They’ve had more than enough time for the initial shock of Gurunath’s arrest to wear off, but the controversy still rages on. They can’t afford to let it distract them once again.*12.30GMT, September 21: The preview has been updated after Gurunath Meiyappan was chargesheeted