Tag: Mark Wood

Ind vs Eng 5th T20I: Focus on handling pressure in World Cup year as India, England play T20I series decider | Cricket News – Times of India

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The five-match T20I series against top-ranked England has given India a chance to assess their standing in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup in October this year. It has also given some players who are coming out of injuries a chance to test their battle-readiness.
India will be happy with the return of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and the death bowling of Shardul Thakur. It was Thakur and Hardik Pandya who, despite the dew, tilted the scales in India’s favour in the fourth T20I on Thursday.

For a while during the 65-run partnership between Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes, it looked like England would continue the trend of chasing down targets in this series, in which the toss has been a significant factor, but Thakur’s two wickets off successive balls to get rid of Stokes and skipper Eoin Morgan ensured India did not miss the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja.
With the series level at 2-2 ahead of the final one in Ahmedabad on Saturday, India will have all to play for. It’ll be the frenetic rush of the IPL after this series followed by the World Test Championship (WTC) and the tour of England.
Unless the proposed T20I series against South Africa and New Zealand happen, India will have to ride on the IPL wave going forward. The Indian team management too will be happy with the way in which the IPL heroes have grabbed their chances.

Ishan Kishan’s stunning counter-attack in the second T20I reflected the confidence that comes from taking on the best in the business in the IPL. A groin injury saw him miss the fourth game but Suryakumar Yadav proved an equal replacement. That he didn’t get a chance to prove his worth on debut didn’t matter as he launched into the England attack on Thursday.
Kohli, however, will be worried about India’s show in the Powerplay. India’s best was 50/1 in the second match, but they’ve also recorded two of their worst Powerplay performances, 22/3 in the first and 24/3 in the third match, in T20Is in this series.
Jofra Archer and Mark Wood have combined clever variations of pace and bounce to unsettle the Indians upfront. The visitors have lived up to their top billing in all departments and won the third match by eight wickets in a fitting tribute to Morgan, as he became the first player from England to make 100 T20I appearances.
The Englishmen seem to be relishing the “pressure of T20 final in a World Cup year,” as Stokes put it. It remains to be seen who will have the last laugh.

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virat kohli: India vs England: Mark Wood walked up to Virat Kohli to praise his six | Cricket News – Times of India

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AHMEDABAD: England pace bowler Mark Wood said on Wednesday that he reached out to Virat Kohli, acknowledging one of his sixes, after the India skipper hammered him for 16 runs in an over during the third T20 international here.
After Wood had wreaked havoc in his first three overs, Kohli took him apart in his fourth and final over. The India captain hit two sixes and a four in those six balls. The first six was something that caught Wood’s eye.
Kohli walked across the stumps and anticipating the line and length, he got into a position to pull Wood in front of square.

“Good players are allowed to do that. I said to him at the end ‘that first ball you hit for six was a hell of a shot’. He got in, took his time and went at the end. He is a fantastic player we try to get out early. This time we didn’t but we were still pleased with the score we kept them to,” said Wood on Wednesday.
“I bowled what I wanted to do and he just played good shots,” added Wood.
Despite Kohli’s 77 not out, England managed to restrict India to 156 in their 20 overs and then easily chased the total, winning by eight wickets to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
The fourth T20I will be played on Thursday.

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India vs England: Top 5 Players To Watch Out For In Fourth T20I In Ahmedabad

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Rishabh Pant has given a glimpse of his destructive prowess in T20 cricket in the first three matches playing some outrageous shots against the likes of Jofra Archer and co. but is yet to play that match-defining innings in the series. With India set to bat him at number 4 or 5, Pant will look to make the most of the opportunity and produce a match-winning performance in a big match for India. Pant has a strike rate of close to 150 in all T20 cricket.

3. Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya is one of the most destructive lower-order batsmen in limited overs cricket with a strike rate of 145 in T20Is for India. Pandya’s cameo helped India chase down a stiff target set by England in the series decider in Bristol in 2018. He was also in devastating form for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2020. Pandya has done a decent job with the ball but is yet to fire on all cylinders with the bat in the series. Expect a Pandya special on Thursday!

Bizarre Match: Nagaland Women Bowled Out For 17, Mumbai Win in Four Balls

4. Dawid Malan

Dawid Malan has got a start in each of the three matches but has not been at his usual fluent best in the series. He has failed to convert the starts into a substantial performance and has also struggled with his scoring rate. But Malan is one of the most sought after batsmen in international T20 cricket with the highest rating points ever achieved by a batsman in the format. He would be looking for a big score in the crucial encounter and play a role similar to what Kohli does for India.

5. Mark Wood

Mark Wood returned to the XI with a bang in the third T20I making an immediate and huge impact on the match getting rid of both the Indian openers within the powerplay. He was restrictive and accurate which made it doubly difficult for the Indian batsmen to negotiate the speedster. Expect nothing less than more hostility from the England fast bowler.

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4th T20I: India need to effectively counter England’s rampaging speedsters to draw level | Cricket News – Times of India

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The Indian top-order’s aggression vs England’s raw pace. This face-off in the ongoing T20 series has been enchanting, with the latter holding sway more than the former.
This will again be the focal point when India, down 1-2, look to level the series in the fourth T20I in Ahmedabad on Thursday night.

The injury-plagued Mark Wood, who missed the second match, and Jofra Archer have been India’s bugbears, with some assistance from Chris Jordan. With their reliance on pace and the ability to hit the deck constantly at upwards of 140 kmph, they have deconstructed India’s top batsmen with clinical efficiency. In the process, they also seem to have shown the rest of the world what it takes to shackle Indian batsmen during Power Play, offering another option beyond swing to get the job done.
In the series opener, India were restricted to 22/3 in Power Play, amongst their lowest scores in the first six overs ever. In the second match, with Ishan Kishan opening the innings alongside KL Rahul, the home side were 50/1 at the six-over mark, batting second. But they failed again on Tuesday night, crashing to 24/3 on batting first for the second time in three matches.

While the top order has perished early, boundaries too have been few and far between. Wood (4) and Archer (3) have shared seven wickets but more importantly, they have struck at crucial junctures to put their team in a position of strength. Archer came up with a match-winning 3/23 in the opener, complemented by Wood’s 3/31 in the third contest.
Outlining his role in the team, 31-year-old Wood on Tuesday said, “My role in the team is to try and bang it on a good length and make something happen. We have some fantastic death bowlers – Archer and Jordan – but I can do the role.”

Thursday’s match is a must-win for India if they are to stay in contention in the series. In the larger scheme of things, these are among the few T20s in India’s schedule before the World Cup at home in October-November, and Virat Kohli & Co will be keen to tie up the loose ends.
A misfiring Rahul, who has opened with three different partners – Shikhar Dhawan, Kishan and Rohit Sharma – in as many matches, will have to find form quickly, especially given the open support offered by the team management. His return to run-scoring ways could be the answer to England’s menacing pace and probing lengths.

While the focus has been on the Indian batting, the bowlers haven’t been in peak form either. Where England have come out all guns blazing in Power Play, India will fret over having conceded 151 runs (50, 44, 57) in three matches and accounted for just two wickets in that 18-over pocket. They will have to bring their A game to the table and strike before the powerful English line-up settles down.

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Jofra Archer keeps pressure on, forces teams to attack other bowlers: Mark Wood | Cricket News – Times of India

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AHMEDABAD: England pacer Mark Wood on Wednesday said that his partner-in-crime Jofra Archer always keeps the pressure on the opposition and as a result, the batsmen are forced to go after the other bowlers in the team, leading to dismissals.
Wood had rattled India in the third T20I as he dismissed the likes of KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, and Shreyas Iyer as England registered an emphatic eight-wicket win to go 2-1 up in the five-match series.
“Jofra starts a lot of the times, because he keeps the pressure on, it forces the teams to take risks against the other bowlers. He keeps it tight, when I started well and I got the wicket, they had a new batsman and we could get a few dot balls in to build pressure. It is just about bowling in tandem and keeping the pressure on for each other. Just trying to make sure that we did not give anything loose,” said Wood during a virtual press conference.
Wood had not conceded many runs in his first three overs in the third T20I, but skipper Kohli showed his class in the death overs and he made a mockery of Wood’s fourth and final over. The Indian skipper utilised the crease really well and he went deep inside the crease to hit a pull shot off Wood that went ten rows into the stands.
“We have a plan as a group. Chris Jordon is an experienced bowler. We decide on the ball we are going to bowl and then you try to execute that. The plan was good but the execution was wrong. On a couple of balls, I felt I executed what I wanted to bowl, but Kohli just played good shots and good players are allowed to do that. The first six he hit off me, was a hell of a shot,” said Wood.
“If you allow good players to get in, he got in and he took his time and he caught up with it in the end. He is a fantastic player, but we were pleased with the score we kept them too. I will take the battering in the end for the early wickets which I got,” he added.
India and England will now lock horns in the fourth T20I of the five-match series on Thursday at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

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India vs England: India vs England: England bowlers’ pace, accuracy made it difficult for us, says Virat Kohli | Cricket News – Times of India

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AHMEDABAD: On a day when he single-handedly took on the England bowling with courage and skill, making an unbeaten 77 off 46 balls, skipper Virat Kohli attributed England’s superior pace bowling as the reason for India’s loss that saw the hosts go 1-2 down in the series.
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“It was a bit difficult to bat against the new ball. The pitch was tacky and the bowlers were getting a bit of assistance. The England bowlers had pace and were hitting good areas. They attacked the right lines and lengths and with their pace, they became more potent. They were brilliant with the new ball and made our lives difficult,” said Kohli after the match.
India were reduced to 24 for three in the first six overs, following which the recovery, primarily powered by Kohli innings, wasn’t good enough.

The 32-year-old India No. 3 batsman had made an unbeaten 73 in the second T20I to help his team win. This time, his 77 not out came in a losing cause.
“If that (his innings) helps the team, then for sure (I am happy with my innings). You don’t want to play knocks that don’t help the team. The key was partnerships and we had one little partnership. It was important for me to bat deep. The case was to get set and try to get a decent total,” added Kohli.
India had a poor start losing KL Rahul early. The right-handed batsman was dismissed for a duck for the second successive time. He had made just one in the first match.

Kohli, however, defended him saying that he needs to be given a long run.
“I was going through a lean patch two games ago. He (Rahul) has been a champion player and he will continue to be one of our main batters along with Rohit (Sharma) at the top of the order. T20 is an instinctive game. It’s a matter of five-six balls in this format,” added Kohli.

The talismanic India batsman said that India lacked intensity.
“We lacked intensity in the second half — in our body language in the second innings.”

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Ind vs Eng 3rd T20I: India’s top-order wobble hands England eight-wicket win | Cricket News – Times of India

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In recent times, intent has been Team India’s top buzzword, with aggression coming a tight second. Against England in the third T20 in Ahmedabad on Tuesday night, India’s top-order – KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan – failed to channelize the team’s mantra.
In sharp contrast, Virat Kohli funnelled his aggression in the right direction as he raised a well-crafted unbeaten 46-ball-77 (8×4; 4×6) which helped India to 156/6. But his efforts proved to be too little too late. Jos Buttler dished out a classy 52-ball 83* (5×4; 4×6) to see England through to runaway eight-wicket win with 10 balls to spare.
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Jonny Bairstow (40*; 28b; 5×4) played the perfect comrade in arms to Buttler.
While pacers Mark Wood (3/31) and Chris Jordan (2/35) flexed their pace against the home team’s erring batsmen, England opener Buttler tore into the Indian bowling attack. On an easing surface, the wicketkeeper-batsman spelt out his intentions early when he welcomed spinner Yuzvendra Chahal into the attack by dancing down the track to send the ball over long-on for maximum.

Four balls and a wicket (Jason Roy) later, he found the sweet spot again in the same direction and didn’t look back thereafter. He took a special liking to Chahal and Shardul Thakur and made batting seem like a walk in the park. Buttler’s knock was symbolic of England’s thumping victory, which ensured a 2-1 advantage in the five-match series for the visitors.
Earlier, sent in to bat, Kohli saw the team to a reasonable total in the company of Hardik Pandya (17), with whom he shared a 70-run sixth wicket association.

The home side brought in Rohit – in place of Suryakumar Yadav – to open the innings with KL Rahul. Wood, who sat out of the previous match due to injury, was impeccable with his line and length on a surface which didn’t scream seam but was liberal with pace and bounce.
The Indian openers failed to read the conditions and the first to make his way back to the dugout was the misfiring Rahul (0), whose indecisiveness in playing Wood’s allowed the ball to zip through the gate. Both Rohit (15) and last match hero Ishan (4) paid the price for poor shot selection with Rohit falling to a low catch to Jofra Archer at short fine leg.

01:333rd T20I: Buttler show gives England 2-1 lead over India

3rd T20I: Buttler show gives England 2-1 lead over India

India were already in trouble, having slipped to 24/3 at the end of powerplay and a partnership between Kohli and Rishabh Pant (25) was crucial to get out of jail. But an attempt to steal a non-existent third run, with ample encouragement from Kohli, sent Pant back. Kohli then began to resuscitate India’s innings. Where Pandya struggled, Kohli played with authority.
Kohli shifted gears in the 16th over when he top-edged Archer for a six. What followed was a masterclass. Kohli brought up his successive half-century with a boundary off Jordan. Even Wood, who had kept it tight for his first three overs, was not spared as India milked 69 runs off the last five overs, but that failed to change the host’s fortunes.

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In Pics: Buttler stars as England beat India by 8 wickets in third T20I

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Jos Buttler’s blistering 83 not out trumped Virat Kohli’s majestic half-century as England beat India by eight wickets in the third T20I to go 2-1 up in the five-match series. (PTI Photo)

The hosts will need to address issues while batting first. Far too often they have lost T20I matches while batting first and skipper Kohli alluded to it in his post-match press-conference.
“Yes, we wanted to bowl first too and toss was a factor. But if you lose the toss, embrace what has been asked from you. The England bowlers attacked the right lines and lengths and with their pace, they became more potent,” Kohli said.
India would also like to take a look at the combinations and their tendency to try out too many things against a team that is on top of the world rankings and joint favourites for the World T20 which is scheduled to be played in India in October.
They have less than two days to salvage the series as the fourth T20I will be played at the same venue on Thursday evening.

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India vs England: Enjoyed extra bounce on pitches, says Mark Wood | Cricket News – Times of India

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AHMEDABAD: Pace bowler Mark Wood returned to the England side after missing the second match and took India by storm getting three early wickets from where India could never recover despite a heroic captain’s knock by Virat Kohli.
England beat India by eight wickets in the third T20I to take a 2-1 lead in the series.
“My role in the team is to try and bang it on a good length and make something happen,” said Wood after the match.
“The two pitches I’ve played on have a bit of bounce and I enjoyed those conditions,” he added.
The lanky right-arm pace bowler, who clocked close to 150 miles an hour, bowled a spell of 3/14 in the first three overs to dent India’s start and although he conceded 17 runs in the fourth over, his early blows did the trick for England.
“It’s a shame that I went for runs in the last over, but credit to Virat. He is a fantastic player and is very hard to bowl at and he played some great shots in the end. It’s good to play against great players and test yourself,” added Wood.
Wood got rid of KL Rahul, going through his defences and handing him his second duck in a row.
He then followed it up with the wickets of Rohit Sharma, off a short delivery and later of Shreyas Iyer whom he trapped with a wide delivery.
Wood had returned figures of 1/20 in the first T20 International.

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India vs England, 3rd T20I: Jos Buttler blitz trumps Virat Kohli knock as England reclaim series lead | Cricket News – Times of India

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AHMEDABAD: Virat Kohli‘s brilliance wasn’t good enough to paper over an otherwise inept Indian batting performance as England humbled the hosts by eight wickets in the third T20 International to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series, here on Tuesday.
Eoin Morgan unleashed his fast bowlers Mark Wood (3/31) and Chris Jordan (2/35) to restrict the hosts for 156 for six, which the visitors surpassed easily in 18.2 overs, riding on Jos Buttler‘s unbeaten 83 off 52 balls.
Skipper Kohli had mistakenly said at the toss that his team led 2-1 but Morgan, in his 100th T20 International appearance, made sure that opposite happened.
Match highlights | Scorecard
Buttler showed his mastery in white ball format after Kohli single-handedly carried the team to a reasonable score with an unbeaten 77 off 46 balls.

Buttler in the Powerplay pounced on Shardul Thakur and Yuzvendra Chahal in successive overs and England were never in danger of falling behind the run-rate after that.
He played the pacers and spinners with comforting ease, playing reverse slog sweeps interspersed between the lofted straight hits into the empty stands. In all, Buttler hit five fours and four sixes.

More than the Buttler’s blade, the difference between two sides was the sheer pace generated by England pacers after Morgan won another good toss.
Mark Wood rocked the Indian top order during the Powerplay overs and even Kohli’s magnificence wasn’t good enough to save the night for the ‘Men In Blue’.
Wood’s thunderbolts at 90 plus miles per hour found the younger Indian batsmen in considerable discomfort.
He didn’t do anything extra but bowled fast and straight, mixing the well disguised short pitched stuff to get them into a tangle.
Save Kohli, other Indian youngsters found it difficult to put bat to ball as pace and bounce off the pitch worked wonders for English speed merchants.
The Indian skipper with his near perfect technique fought fire with fire, playing pull shots and the lofted hits, shuffling towards leg stump to make room for himself.
He was lucky when his mis-timed flick off a short ball from Jofra Archer fetched him a six but then the second flick off Chris Jordan was perfectly dispatched to the longest corner for a maximum.
But the shot of the night was a straight six off Wood, which made the bowler take his time to finish the over. Not to forget the shape which he was in while executing a ramp shot off Archer.
His partnership with Hardik Pandya (17 off 15 balls) fetched 70 runs off just 5.3 overs but it was all about Kohli for the better part as the Baroda all-rounder was struggling to time the ball.
But others were not so lucky with Wood making life miserable for them.
KL Rahul (0) was once again in the midst of a forgettable patch where all the good deliveries were being earmarked for him.

Wood bowled one at 91 mph, that pitched on length and nipped back enough to breach through the opener’s defence before he could bring his bat down.
Rohit Sharma (15 off 17 balls) was playing his first game of the series and while he managed to read Adil Rashid’s googlies well, Wood’s well directed bouncer got him as he was holed out in the deep.
Ishan Kishan (4), after a dream debut, got a hostile welcome from Wood, who managed to soften the Jharkhand dasher.

The result was Chris Jordan extracting extra bounce and the ill-timed pull shot bringing Kishan’s downfall as the hosts looked in complete disarray.



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1st T20I: England thump India by eight wickets in series opener | Cricket News – Times of India

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AHMEDABAD: Indian batsmen had little to offer in the face of a regimented English bowling effort on a two-paced track as the hosts received an eight-wicket hammering in the opening Twenty20 International here on Friday.
Indian batsmen struggled to score freely before Shreyas Iyer showed the way with a dogged 67-run knock that took Virat Kohli‘s men to 124 for seven at the the Narendra Modi stadium.
The home team could only manage 124 and in the absence of scoreboard pressure, England overhauled the target with ease in 15.3 overs to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
The Indian batsmen never got the momentum going as England’s pace-heavy attack, led by Mark Wood, used the extra bounce effectively to trouble them.
Match highlights | Scorecard
Most of the Indian batsmen went for flashy shots when placement would have served them well, as Iyer did later in the innings.
The world’s biggest stadium, which has a seating capacity of 1,32,000, played host to 67,000 fans, according to Cricinfo, way more than the 50 per cent capacity that was to be filled for the game in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jason Roy scored a well-calculated 49-run knock while Jonny Bairstow’s big hits showed there were no demons in the pitch as the Indians made it seem after being invited to bat by England skipper Eoin Morgan.
Roy struck the ball clean and hard to form a 72-run opening wicket stand with Jos Buttler (28), ending any hopes that the Indians harboured of getting back in the game.
The luxury of time allowed the England batsmen to play freely. None of the Indian bowlers looked like asking tough questions to the visitors.
Roy was trapped by Washington Sundar but by that time England had put 89 runs on the board. Bairstow (26) and Dawid Malan (24) took the side past the finish line.

Earlier, after India’s top-order was blown away, Iyer gauged the nature of the pitch quickly and adjusted his game accordingly, playing a sensible innings that helped them cross the 100-run mark.
Laced with eight boundaries and a six, and coming off 48 balls, it was Iyer’s best T20 knock. He fell in the last over.
England surprised India by opening the attack with leg-spinner Adil Rashid, who was not only economical but also dismissed Kohli (0) after KL Rahul (1) dragged one back onto his stumps from Jofra Archer (3/23).
Feeling the heat, Shikhar Dhawan, who got the opportunity since Rohit Sharma was rested, attempted to break the shackles with a flashy shot off Wood but completely missed the line to see his timber disturbed.
In-form batsman Rishabh Pant (21) was promoted to number four. He struck the ball clean, which included a reverse-flick off Archer for a six, but the England bowlers kept it tight.

The home team was tottering at 34 for three in eight overs.
Pant and Iyer added 28 runs for the fourth wicket before the former hit one straight to Bairstow off Ben Stokes.
That brought Hardik Pandya to the crease, who true to his style, looked for some big hits but could not do much. The visiting players wore black armbands in memory of former cricketer Joey Benjamin, who died Wednesday.



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