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Four women umpires will officiate in the Women’s World T20 Qualifier in Bangkok from November 28 to December 5

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Nov-2015Four women umpires will officiate in the Women’s World T20 Qualifier in Bangkok from November 28 to December 5. The ICC said in a release that New Zealand’s Kathy Cross, Australia’s Claire Polosak, England’s Sue Redfern and West Indies’ Jacqueline Williams have been picked for the tournament, in which Bangladesh, China, Ireland, Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Scotland, Thailand and Zimbabwe’s women teams will compete for two spots in the 2016 World T20.Cross, the most experienced of the four, had become the first woman to be named in an ICC umpires’ panel in 2014, having been added to the Associate and Affiliate panel. She umpired in the Women’s World Cup in 2000, 2009 and 2013, the Women’s World Cup Qualifier in 2011 and the Women’s World T20 Qualifier in 2013.Polosak is the youngest of the four at 27, and recently carried out the duties of third umpire in the Matador One-Day Cup, becoming the first woman to officiate in Australian List A cricket. Redfern has played cricket for England, bowling left-arm spin in six Tests and 15 ODI’s from 1995 to 1999, after which she took up umpiring. Williams, who is from Jamaica, recently made her international debut, standing in the first ODI and T20 between West Indies Women and Pakistan Women in the Caribbean. She is set to become the first woman to officiate West Indies’ first-class tournament, the WICB Regional Four-Day tournament, once she returns home from Thailand.Cross said she was happy to finally get the opportunity to officiate with other women, a big step for women in the game. “Each tournament brings something new for women’s cricket, and this latest development hopefully shows that the quality of [women’s] umpiring is getting better and better, as the calibre of [women’s] teams is certainly improving,” Cross said. “I have enjoyed the experience of officiating in different parts of the world, but I have been alone, as a woman, in the middle for quite some time.”So, it’s great for all of us to have this opportunity in Thailand this week at such an important tournament. I think that the selection of four females can set down a pathway for more people to come through the system.”Also officiating in the tournament will be umpires Allan Haggo and Nigel Morrison, and match referee Graeme Labrooy.

Doug Bracewell has recovered from a foot injury that kept him out of the recent England tour of New Zealand, and is fit and ready for the English challenge that awaits

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Apr-2013Doug Bracewell, the New Zealand seamer, has fully recovered from the foot injury that kept him out of the recent home series against England. He is expected to travel with the rest of the squad on Monday to England, where they will play in two Tests, three ODIs and two T20Is beginning May 16. The Champions Trophy, which begins June 6, coincides with the duration of the tour.Bracewell, however, realises the path back into the team will not be an easy one, as a few fresh faces have staked their claim on bowling spots within the team. “It’s changed a little bit,” he told the . “Obviously it’s hard when you get an injury. You’re out of the team, someone comes in and replaces you and they do quite well.”It’s a little bit frustrating to be left out. They [the selectors] will have their reasons and I’m sure we’ll talk about that in the future. I am sure the guys who are there ahead of me deserve it, so all I can do is train hard and work on my bowling and get back there. It’s been a good little break but I can’t wait to get over there.”Bracewell’s first major assignment will be the tour games against Derbyshire from May 4-6, and England Lions from May 9-12.

Graeme Swann has hit out at what he perceives is a “witch hunt” against Andrew Strauss following England’s four Test defeats this year and the captain’s poor return with the bat and backed him as the best captain in the game.

Andrew McGlashan in Colombo04-Apr-2012Graeme Swann has hit out at what he perceives is a “witch hunt” against Andrew Strauss following England’s four Test defeats this year and the captain’s poor return with the bat and backed him as the best captain in the game.Strauss was the major talking point from an England point of view heading into the Colombo Test. While the team was winning, as they have done for much of the last three years, the fact Strauss was not contributing hugely with the bat was generally overlooked. He has scored one Test hundred in 48 innings although showed the fighting qualities he has always had with his 61 on the second day in Colombo.Swann, who took 4 for 75 to help bowl Sri Lanka out for 275, insisted Strauss had not been affected by the debate while adding the dressing room has barely given it another thought.”He hasn’t shown any signs,” he said. “We only realise he’s under scrutiny because some of us can read. I see it as a bit of a witch hunt and I think it is unjustified, but you wouldn’t tell from way he carries himself. He’s very laid-back and phlegmatic. He’s the best captain in world cricket and a world-class opening batsman. He’ll get nothing but support from me.”Barring his first two Tests against India in 2008, during Kevin Pietersen’s brief time in charge and the two games Alastair Cook captained in Bangladesh, Swann has played his entire Test career under Strauss. He believes there is still a huge amount of credit available to him for his time at the helm which has included two Ashes series victories and the climb to No. 1 in the world.”When anyone’s in a position like Straussy and when things aren’t going well like they have been then pressure builds up,” he said. “My view is that he should be afforded leeway because of what he’s done over the last two or three years.”I don’t think there’s any man as capable of leading a team in world cricket. He’s not in horrible nick, he’s getting good starts and it’s just one of those things all players go through. His barren spell is a lot better than other people’s has been and he’ll bounce back and be scoring hundreds before you know it.”

Australia’s new captain Michael Clarke seemed unreasonably happy to be flying to Bangladesh only a week after returning home

Daniel Brettig05-Apr-2011Like war a veteran grappling to come to terms with life in peacetime, Australia’s new captain Michael Clarke seemed unreasonably happy to be flying to Bangladesh only a week after returning home from a failed World Cup campaign.The captaincy helped, of course, but after more than six months of continuous cricket Clarke knows far more of hotels than of home, where in the space of a few days he was harangued on all sides for interviews about his leadership, then captured on tabloid cameras doing nothing much at all wrong to celebrate his 30th birthday.”I think all the boys were pretty keen to get back on tour,” Clarke said. “We’ve had a week at home and it’s felt like a month at home to be honest with the amount of time we spend away these days, but it’s going to be a tough tour no doubt.”Tough is not a word habitually associated with Bangladeshi cricket, though visitors to the youngest of Test-playing nations require a certain hardiness to learn to enjoy the heat and humidity, particularly as the climate heats up in April.Nevertheless, the task for Clarke and company is vexing enough for an end-of-season assignment, taking in dusty pitches, wily slow bowlers and the start of the new International Cricket Council one-day rankings cycle.Clarke noted quickly that Bangladesh, from their allrounder captain Shakib Al Hasan down, will be seeking to tease the Australians, their bevy of right-handers in particular. “I think the conditions will certainly suit Bangladesh,” he said.”I imagine they’ll prepare pretty slow, turning wickets and they’ve got some very good spinners, especially left-arm orthodox spinners, which with a lot of right-hand batters we have in our line-up they’re going to be quite tough. But it’s going to be a good challenge, we’re looking forward to it.”We’re going to have to learn from our time on the subcontinent recently during the World Cup and then get over there and play some good cricket.”There is much to gain for Clarke over the next week, as he asserts himself as the leader of a group that has only known a world in which Ricky Ponting was king of all he surveyed. Now, Ponting must defer to Clarke, something that will not be as natural in practice as it appeared in theory during last week’s bloodless leadership handover.Similarly, Clarke must take on all the tasks, pleasant and less so, that Ponting has managed. “I really enjoyed being vice-captain for a few years, that was a great experience for me, it showed me a lot of what goes on off the field as a leader in the Australian cricket team and how much it’s not just about how you do on the field,” said Clarke.”Ricky’s had such a huge role to play in Australian cricket not only on the field but off the field, so I guess that probably gave me the chance to see that and to learn from him.”So now I have this chance to be captain of Australia I guess it’s about using all the experiences I’ve had in the past when I’ve had the chance to captain in the one-dayers or Twenty20s, and the knowledge I’ve been able to build up and learn from Ricky. I think it’s now an opportunity for me to go to Bangladesh and to use some of that.”The Australians’ last tour of Bangladesh took place in April 2006, a visit marked by a Jason Gillespie double century in the second Test at Chittagong, an innings that has entered folklore almost solely through the relentless promotional efforts of its maker. But Clarke also remembered the first Test of the series, a match in which the Australians trailed by 158 on the first innings before squeaking home by three wickets.”We’ve seen before in Test cricket in Bangladesh that if you’re not at your best you’re going to be put under a lot of pressure, and we know as individual players we have to get better,” said Clarke. “As a team any opportunity we get to play on the subcontinent and face more spin bowling I think is going to help all of our players.”

Michael Clarke believes Australia’s best Twenty20 players should be included in Cricket Australia’s contract list

Cricinfo staff28-Apr-2010Michael Clarke believes Australia’s best Twenty20 players should be included in Cricket Australia’s contract list. On the eve of the ICC World Twenty20 in the Caribbean, Australia’s Twenty20 captain said it seemed unjust that formal deals were not in place for short-format specialists like David Warner, David Hussey and Dirk Nannes.”I’ve told Cricket Australia that they should have contracts,” Clarke told reporters in St Lucia. “I think there should be a Twenty20 contract introduced to our system. Players like David Warner and David Hussey … they’re here playing in a Twenty20 World Cup. They should be paid for that.”We’ve got a lot of guys in this squad now who aren’t on CA contracts but they’re playing this form of the game for Australia in a World Cup. I think there needs to be some kind of recognition for those guys. I don’t know how that could work but I believe there should probably be something like Twenty20 contracts.”The Cricket Australia contract system rewards Test and one-day players while Twenty20 is not considered a major factor. Over the past few years Australia have generally used the same players in one-day and Twenty20 cricket but the trend towards more 20-over specialists could lead to a greater disparity between the sides.The tournament in the West Indies, which starts on Friday, will be the third Twenty20 world championship in four years as the format continues to gain impetus. Australia have not perfected their game in 20-over cricket and are keen to make up for last year’s surprise first-round exit.”For me, it’s as serious as a one-day match or a Test match,” Clarke said. “There are blokes in this squad who haven’t played Test cricket. They haven’t played one-day cricket. It’s the ultimate for them.”It’s become exactly the same as one-day and Test cricket. It’s a form of the game that we want to be the best in the world at. We’re not there yet, we’re improving, but this [tournament] is a way for us to start.”

Neesham instrumental in recovery from top-order implosion

ECB Reporters Network14-Jul-2024All-rounder Lewis Goldsworthy hit a career-best 67 as Leicestershire Foxes maintained their push to win a place in the quarter-finals of the Vitality Blast with a five-wicket victory over East Midlands rivals Notts Outlaws at the Uptonsteel County Ground.New Zealand’s Jimmy Neesham backed up Goldsworthy’s performance with 44 from 22 balls as the Foxes won with an over to spare – despite having been six for three at the start of their chase – condemning the Outlaws to an eighth defeat in what has been comfortably their worst season in the current Blast format.With seven of the nine North Group counties chasing four qualifying places in a tight finish to the group season, the Foxes have 14 points but may still have to defeat group leaders Birmingham Bears in their final fixture at Edgbaston next Friday if they are to go through.Ben Martindale, the 21-year-old left-hander, made 44 from 42 balls – his best in a fledgling T20 career – and skipper Joe Clarke 39 from 23 as the Outlaws made 160 for six, a mid-innings collapse rescued to a degree at the death by Liam Patterson-White (28 from 16) and Lyndon James (22 from 11), Scott Currie taking two for 35 for the Foxes.But it was a score that proved not enough despite Olly Stone taking two for 22 from his four overs, Rehan Ahmed chipping in with 34 from 38.Having opted to bat first, the Outlaws would have been pleased to be 49 without loss from six given their recent form. After taking only 10 runs from the first 16 deliveries, Clarke and Martindale plundered seven boundaries from the next 20.Clarke lifted a Rehan full toss over the short boundary on The Meet side of the ground for his second six, quickly adding two more fours, but the partnership was broken on 68 as he fell to a catch on the cover boundary.After a tentative start, Martindale grew in confidence, reverse pulling six off Goldsworthy but Notts were checked again in the 11th when Jack Haynes was caught at deep midwicket in a wicket-maiden by Josh Hull.Martindale briefly broke free from a Foxes squeeze as he slogged Currie over the midwicket rope but an attempted repeat was brilliantly caught by Louis Kimber, keeping the ball in the air as he crossed the boundary and stepping back to take it inside.Matt Montgomery and Tom Moores fell cheaply as the Outlaws slipped to 115 for five in the 17th but Liam Patterson-White, who hit back-to-back sixes off Hull before being caught off Currie off the penultimate ball, joined Lyndon James (22 not out off 11) in adding 45 from 20 balls to give the innings substance.Indeed, 160 looked a decent total as the Foxes made a calamitous start, losing Sol Budinger, pulling to deep backward square, and Peter Handscomb, miscueing to extra cover, and Rishi Patel, bowled off an inside edge, to be six for three from 14 balls.It could have been much worse for the home side, with two difficult slip chances and one comparatively comfortable return catch put down, Patterson-White giving Rehan a life on 21 in the third instance. As it was, by the halfway point, with no further losses, the Foxes needed 100 runs to win.Rehan was caught at mid-off off James after the fourth wicket pair had added 76 but Goldsworthy, on loan from Somerset, chose the right moment to make his biggest contribution so far, hitting two sixes and six fours in a fine innings before holing out to deep midwicket off Patterson-White.He added 54 with Neesham for the seventh wicket, leaving 25 more to get with his departure, the New Zealand all-rounder going most of the way to finishing the job with three sixes and two fours before Louis Kimber drove Fazalhaq Farooqi for the winning boundary.

Qualifier 2 and the final will be played in Ahmedabad

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Apr-2023The MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai will host Qualifier 1 of IPL 2023 on May 23 and Eliminator on May 24. The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will be the host for Qualifier 2 on May 26 and the final on May 28.Last year too Ahmedabad had hosted Qualifier 2 and the final. In the final, Gujarat Titans beat Rajasthan Royals to lift the trophy in their inaugural season. The 2023 season too kicked off in Ahmedabad, where Titans beat Chennai Super Kings.Currently, Royals are at the top of the points table with four wins from six games. Just below them, and separated only by the net run rate, are Lucknow Super Giants. Titans are fourth with six points from five games.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

This year, the competition is being played in the home-and-away format for the first time after a gap of three years. In 2020, the tournament had to be postponed from the March-May window to September-November and moved to the UAE because of the Covid-19 pandemic.In 2021, there was an attempt to play in the Indian summer but a breach of the biosecure bubble led to the season being interrupted midway, and the second half of the season resumed in the UAE in September. In 2022, the tournament was played in the March-May window in India, but the entire league phase was played at venues in Mumbai and Pune, and the playoffs and final in Kolkata and Ahmedabad.

Solid fifties from both openers, and Siddle’s four-for, paved the way for Hurricanes’ exit as they fell well short of a 189 chase

Tristan Lavalette21-Jan-2022Alex Carey starred with a half-century in his BBL return as in-form Adelaide Strikers ended Hobart Hurricanes’ season to start the finals with a 22-run victory at a barren MCG.In the Eliminator, a must-win match between the fourth- and fifth-ranked teams, Carey smashed 67 off 45 balls in his comeback from Ashes duties and combined brilliantly with opening partner Matthew Short, who made 89 of Strikers’ 6 for 188.Their strong attack then nullified Hurricanes, whose inconsistent season finished on a sour note.Strikers have stormed into unlikely title contention after their fifth straight win to book a clash with third-placed Sydney Thunder in the Knockout on Sunday.Carey and Short destroy HurricanesAshes heroes Carey and Travis Head returned for their first BBL matches of the season to significantly bolster Strikers’ batting order. Carey stole the show early with a calculated assault on the smaller boundaries down the ground.He showed his intent with a powerful straight blow off Test team-mate Scott Boland and stormed to 20 runs off his first 10 balls in an impressive switching of gears after playing in the long format.Carey’s fast start eased the pressure on Short, who, for most of a breakout season, had provided the fireworks during the four-over powerplay. He had a back seat to Carey before notching his half-century with a huge six off speedster Riley Meredith in the 12th over during the Power Surge.He then put his foot down just as a bogged-down Carey holed out in the 15th over to end the 145-run partnership. Short smashed spinner Wil Parker for consecutive sixes in the next over but his dismissal snuffed Strikers’ momentum at the death.Boland returns but Hurricanes struggleBoland was back in the BBL after playing his sole game this season in mid-December just before he became an Ashes cult hero. But this MCG deck was nothing like the green top he decimated England on during the Boxing-Day Test, with Boland suffering against a red-hot Carey.Hurricanes mostly struggled and badly missed frontline spinner Sandeep Lamichhane, who has left the BBL due to national commitments with Nepal. Parker, his replacement, was on a hiding to nothing and promptly smashed for 42 runs off four overs although picked up Short with his final ball.Hurricanes weren’t helped by ragged fielding marked by several dropped catches, with Tom Rogers’ sitter to reprieve Short on 15 particularly costly. Their sloppiness seemed to suggest the wheels were falling off but Hurricanes fought back late to give them some hope.Peter Siddle celebrates after sending back Tim David•Cricket Australia via Getty Images

Strikers impress with ball and in the fieldShort’s terrific game continued with the key wicket of Ben McDermott as he bowled four overs of his handy offspin on the trot. Peter Siddle, who took the most wickets in the BBL’s regular season, then claimed opposite number Matthew Wade to tighten Strikers’ stranglehold and he finished with four wickets to lead from the front.Strikers have not missed a beat since losing talisman Rashid Khan late in the season with veteran spinner Fawad Ahmed proving a more than useful replacement.They’ve also been rejuvenated by the inclusion of quicks Harry Conway and Henry Thornton, whose fast and straight bowling has been a revelation after playing just one BBL game before this season for Sydney Sixers five years ago.The duo claimed four wickets between them with Thornton holding his nerve against a rampaging D’Arcy Short, who briefly rattled Strikers.In a major contrast to Hurricanes, Strikers were sharp in the field to underline their remarkable resurrection, having spent most of the season in the bottom two.Short fires in vainHurricanes’ batting oozes with firepower on paper but hasn’t quite clicked all season. They’ve been reliant on McDermott, whose terrific tournament ended when he fell in the first over. A failure from Wade made their chase particularly grim and they needed Short to recapture his belligerent best from his heyday.He responded with his best knock of a sluggish season to give Hurricanes a flicker of hope. He smashed 22 runs in the Power Surge but his wicket in the 15th over triggered a collapse.Big-hitter Tim David, who has been their designated finisher all season, showed off his prowess but it was too late. Perhaps Hurricanes’ brains trust will rue once again not allowing the Singapore national player more time at the crease.There was much hype over Hurricanes heading into the season but their early finals demise should be considered a disappointment.

Along with data, “instinct comes in and ability to read the game, which Dhoni clearly has”, says Dravid

Deivarayan Muthu02-Aug-20201:17

Nehra: This IPL has nothing to do with Dhoni’s international career

T20 is a format that’s fickle and frantic, but MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings have somehow cracked consistency, reaching the IPL knockouts in each of the ten seasons they have been a part of. Rahul Dravid, who has come up against the Super Kings both as captain and coach, put down the team’s success to a combination of their use of data and Dhoni’s instincts.Dravid was speaking at a webinar hosted by the Great Lakes Institute of Management, where N Srinivasan, the former BCCI chief and head of India Cements, which owns Super Kings, was also present, and he labelled Dhoni a “pure instinct man”.”If you look at the success CSK has had, they’ve got really good access to data and they’ve got really good access to people behind the scenes and they’ve run cricket teams at the junior level,” Dravid said. “They understand talent and they’ve obviously got a good scouting process in place. But, what they also have is a captain who really understands instincts. So, I mean, look, I know Dhoni quite well and I hope he hasn’t changed, but I know Dhoni is probably not one to look at reams of data and statistics.”And he’s probably not going to get as involved in the auction process because when you’re looking at picking a squad of say 25 players or 28 players as CSK would, they need so much of information because there are so many players that they can pick from. They are probably not going to have the ability to see each and every one of the thousands of cricketers who play cricket in India and the overseas players, right?”So, you’re going to heavily rely on data and whatever metrics you put up. And, I think, the right metrics is critical because obviously CSK does that when assembling a squad. Then, what you do is once you’ve handed over the squad to the coach and to captain on the field, it’s critically important to have somebody with instincts and get the better of it, which obviously Dhoni is good at.”In the heat of the battle, you have your analysis, you got your coach and you’ve probably planned the game. But there are critical moments in a game, especially in a Twenty20 game, when every over matters. You can’t rely on data all the time… because you collect it from a past event. But, on that particular day, he (the player) might not be feeling very well or the captain might have noticed that his form is not good on that particular moment. That’s where instinct comes in and ability to read the game, which Dhoni clearly has.”Dhoni’s instinct and game-smarts came to the fore again during the 2010 IPL final, where he trapped Kieron Pollard with a funky field. Given Pollard’s propensity to hit the ball down the ground, Dhoni posted Matthew Hayden at straight mid-off and challenged Pollard to clear that fielder. However, Pollard only scooped Albie Morkel straight to Hayden as Super Kings went on to win their maiden IPL title.More recently, during the 2019 IPL final, Dhoni had one of his best fielders, Faf du Plessis, at straight long-off or straight long-on against Pollard. And when R Ashwin was at the Super Kings, Dhoni used the spinner as a powerplay option and often deployed a leg slip for him.During a Champions League T20 fixture in 2010 against Victoria in Port Elizabeth, Dhoni entrusted part-time offspinner Suresh Raina with the responsibility of defending 11 off the final over. Raina plucked two wickets and gave up two boundaries before Bryce McGain’s run-out off the last ball helped the Super Kings tie the game.Hindustan Times via Getty Images

Srinivasan agreed that Dhoni’s tactics and judgment had been central to Super Kings’ set-up. He also said that Dhoni didn’t really believe in team meetings, something Dwayne Bravo revealed last year.”We’re awash with data just now,” Srinivasan said. “To give you an example, there are bowling coaches and in a T20 game, they play videos of every batsman whom they’re going to come against and they see how he got out, what’s his strength, what’s his weakness etc. So, MS Dhoni doesn’t attend this, he’s a pure instinct man. The bowling coach, [head coach Stephen] Fleming will be there and everybody will be there, everyone is giving opinions, [but] he’ll get up and go.”In the context of instinct, he feels that he can assess a batsman or player on the field, that’s his judgement. On the other hand, there is so much of data that is available to help a person also analyse. It’s a very difficult line to draw [between data and instinct].”Srinivasan also outlined the challenges of bringing players from different cultures together and running an IPL franchise.”There was one outstanding player that we suggested to MS, he said: ‘no sir, he will spoil the team’. The cohesion within the team is important and see in America, franchise-based sport has been there for such a long time,” he said. “In India, we’re just starting and we’re new to it. But we at India Cements have had a lot of experience running teams at junior levels – Rahul has been part of us – [and] one aspect is that we understood from the beginning is when you manage and run a team, you own the franchise, not the player. You own the team, but not each and every player.”If we’re talking of competitive IPL or competitive T20, all of them are outstanding performers. To get 10-12 people together and to keep the peace between them itself is not an easy task.”

The captain warned his team against getting stuck in predictable ways after their third defeat in a row

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Mar-2019Winless after three games, Royal Challengers Bangalore will need to be more “experimental” and “brave” when things aren’t going their way, if they are to turn their fortunes around this season. This was Virat Kohli’s view after Royal Challengers slipped to a 118-run defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad, which he termed as one of his side’s “worst losses ever”.The platform for Sunrisers’ thumping win came from their openers Jonny Bairstow and David Warner, who both made hundreds and put on 185 in just 16.2 overs. While giving the two batsmen credit for their “brilliant effort”, Kohli felt his bowlers could have varied their plans to them a little more.”Probably one of our worst losses ever. I mean, there’s literally nothing I can explain right now,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation. “Nothing went right for us from ball one, until the last wicket fell in our batting innings, so really difficult one to explain, I guess. We were outplayed in all departments by a quality, quality side, and this showed why they won the previous year, made the finals last year, and now they’re up and running again, so credit to them, they played really well and deserved to win.”We could have tried a few different things, probably [taking the] pace off the ball and a few more bouncers in our innings should have been good, but we really didn’t try anything once those guys got in. It was very difficult to contain runs, and a few of the edges just fell in between as well, you need some luck going your way, get a couple of wickets and stop the run flow.”But the way they batted, I think it was outstanding, just to show intent for 16-17 overs on the run is a brilliant effort, especially in the first innings, where we thought the ball wasn’t coming on as well as the second innings. So credit to both of them, they were world class today and they definitely deserved to be on the winning side.”Kohli once again stressed on the need to be more flexible, and not become predictable, when asked about Royal Challengers’ prospects for their next game, against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur.”Well, the pitch is definitely going to be nice, so we’re going to be in with a contest again. We have to bring our A game to the table. What we did against Mumbai [Indians] is the kind of intensity we need to bring to the ground, and when things don’t go our way we need to be a bit more experimental, a bit more brave out there in the middle.”If we go through the motions, if we do the regular basic stuff, then things are going to keep going away from us. So we’ll have to find ways of winning moments, and eventually getting the result our way and really get going in the tournament, which is very important. If we want to gain some momentum we need to start well, and probably next game should be that game for us.”Kohli opened the batting in Royal Challengers’ season-opener against Chennai Super Kings, but has since moved down to No. 3. He felt this lent his team the best possible balance, and didn’t think any drastic changes were necessary for the rest of the tournament.”We’ve thought about that initially as well. When I’ve opened I’ve done well for the team, but the important thing is to find the right balance in the batting line-up, and I feel myself at three brings in that balance to the side,” Kohli said. “Myself and AB [de Villiers] batting together has always been an advantage for us, so that’s probably the mindset behind me batting three. So I don’t see that changing.”We just need a better start from the boys up front. Just three games into the tournament, we still have 11 games, and things can turn around pretty quickly in this particular league. We’ve seen that in the past, so we’ve got to stay optimistic, not think of too many changes now, and just go with that set batting order and try and capitalise on the moments that come our way.”