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Virat Kohli’s distress at his lbw dismissal was mirrored by “surprise” within an India dressing room still getting used to the concept of the DRS. Yet to make a score of note this series, Kohli was stunned to be sent on his way after unsuccessfully reviewing an lbw decision given by the umpire Nigel Llong.Llong had raised his finger quickly even as the bowler Josh Hazlewood pulled out of his own appeal in the apparent belief that Kohli had hit the ball. Other Australians behind and square of the wicket were, however, more vociferous. The TV umpire Richard Kettleborough told Llong he could find no definitive evidence that the ball had struck bat before pad, so as per current DRS protocols it left him no choice but to stay with the original on-field decision. Kohli made his unhappiness clear as he walked off the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Australia pacemen ‘too wide’

Josh Hazlewood has admitted he and Mitchell Starc have been outbowled by their Indian counterparts Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav in the second Test, conceding the visiting duo did not land enough balls on the line of the stumps to make best use of the variable bounce on offer.
While Hazlewood claimed three wickets and at one stage had India effectively 33 for 4 in their second innings, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane guided India to safer ground. This was possible, Hazlewood said, because he and Starc had not challenged the stumps often enough.
“The quicks were still too wide, I think with the odd ball shooting through and that up and down bounce you need to be a bit straighter,” Hazlewood said. “I think the spinners bowled really well again and Garry (Nathan Lyon) was quite unlucky in terms of a few of those balls around the gloves.
“The plans are pretty simple but sometimes they’re hard to execute. You’ve got to bowl stump-to-stump, the Indian quicks bowled really well for the majority of yesterday and I think we can still improve on today.”

His mood cooled as Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane guided the team to stumps, but India’s batting coach Sanjay Bangar said the hosts were united in their surprise at the lbw verdict being upheld on review. Their consternation formed another episode in their familiarisation with a system the BCCI had long barred from use in their bilateral series. “We all are a bit surprised by the call the umpire eventually did,” Bangar said.”In terms of was there conclusive evidence or not, that’s something that definitely the match referee will look into and they’ll have a chat about it. Obviously Virat was really pumped up, he’s a big match player, and he wanted to succeed very badly in this innings. It was a very normal reaction from a batsman in the dressing room when he gets out cheaply.”We are new to DRS and the rules have also been tweaked a bit, so it is very much the umpire’s call has become really crucial, and we haven’t really sat down and evaluated but that is the way it is, it’s new to us and we are learning from the number of games we are playing with DRS, we are in the learning curve.”Replays available to Kettleborough included super slow-motion and UltraEdge cameras – the version of Real-time Snicko developed by the HawkEye ball-tracking inventors – but not HotSpot, which uses infrared cameras to pick up heat signalling from balls striking bat or pad.Hazlewood said HotSpot, which is part of the full suite of technology available for use in Tests in Australia, would have been a welcome addition and can make a difference in similar circumstances. “Yeah I think so, it’s obviously a massive series and you want to have all the technology you can if it’s available,” Hazlewood said. “HotSpot works really well sometimes, we use it in Australia and it can be the difference between a not out and and out. If it’s there, it’s there.Virat Kohli wasn’t pleased after his review was struck down•AFP

“I think initially I just heard a bit of wood so I pulled out of the appeal but the guys behind the wicket and square of the wicket were pretty confident and obviously it got given out. I think after looking at the reviews you could see it just touching that pad before the bat so you had to stick with the on-field call.”Though the BCCI has shown interest, they has been unable to use HotSpot in a bilateral series so far. The board had contacted the operators of the technology about having it in place for the England series last year, only to be informed that the cameras would not be able to arrive until after the series had begun and perhaps even later.When HotSpot’s use for the Australia series was discussed, the board decided against it. Those talks took place during a complicated period, around the time the Supreme Court of India had removed senior board officials and frozen BCCI bank accounts.There remains hope, however, that the technology will be available when India next plays a home Test series later in 2017.

As far as days go, it was something of a doozy for Matt Renshaw, with lots of firsts.Playing your first Test in India? Check.Facing the world’s two highest-ranked bowlers for the first time? Check.First occasion dealing with a spinner in the opening overs? Check.Making your first Test half-century outside Australia? Check.Suddenly feeling your tummy lurching like a lopsided rickshaw, realising you’re not going to make it to lunch without suffering an embarrassing accident on live television, having your bowel movements (figuratively) dissected by viewers all over the world after you’ve left the field and copping a barrage of criticism – most notably by a former Australia captain – suggesting you were a bit soft?Check. Mate. Maaaaaaate.Matt Renshaw has taken most tasks in his stride since he was elevated to the Australia Test team in November, but facing R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja on a raging Pune turner with a dodgy gut was a significant challenge.Renshaw’s inexperience wasn’t evident in the way he patiently saw off the new ball in the first session, but his callowness did mean he was unsure of his options within the Laws of the game when he realised he was unlikely to last until lunch.”It came pretty suddenly, probably about five or ten minutes before Davey [David Warner] got out,” Renshaw said. “I asked Richard [Kettleborough] how long there was till lunch and he gave me the answer of half an hour. I was struggling a bit then. It wasn’t an ideal situation to be in.”It was tough. I wasn’t sure of the ruling. I didn’t know you could retire ill, so thought I’ll just get out there and make sure I batted till lunch. It wasn’t an ideal situation, so I just had to make do. And then coming back, it was probably a bit strange for me, waiting to bat, because as an opener you just go straight out there to bat, so probably that was the most challenging bit, waiting to bat.”Steven Smith, who had just come to the crease at the fall of Warner’s wicket “wasn’t too thrilled” when Renshaw ran off, but, according to the opener, once Smith realised the predicament, he understood. “He didn’t really understand what was going on at the start, I sort of just ran past him, he didn’t really comprehend what was going on. I told him I needed the toilet. Obviously, we’d just lost a wicket, so there would be two new batsmen out there, but as I said, it’s a hard scenario to be in and he understood. We’ve had a chat now and we’re all good.”I felt quite bad knowing that I could be letting the team down, so that’s why I went back out there. I wanted to do my bit for the team and wanted to make sure we had a pretty good day.”If Smith was sympathetic, Allan Border was not. The former Australia captain was scathing in his assessment of Renshaw’s decision to leave the field. “I hope he’s lying on the table in there half dead,” Border said on . “Otherwise, as captain, I would not be happy.”Renshaw brushed off the criticism, turning it aside as deftly as he had India’s bowlers throughout the morning. “I guess that’s just something he grew up with and that was his sort of mentality,” Renshaw said of Border. “Steve was good and he understands that ‘when you need to go to the toilet, you’ve got to go to the toilet’.”After squirting an edge through the slips to the boundary in the first over of the match, Renshaw did the bulk of his scoring through the on-side, remaining watchful when facing Ashwin and going on the offensive to Jadeja when he came into the attack and turned the ball into the left-hander. On a pitch that unsettled older and more experienced team-mates, it was a solid tactic, admirably executed.”I’ve never seen a pitch like that,” Renshaw said. “So I went with a pretty open mind and I tried to do just what I normally do in Australia, which is bat as long as possible and weigh the bowlers down. It’s probably a bit harder to weigh them down if they’re spinners, but I think I just tried to keep my plan simple against each different bowler.”Despite losing nine wickets on the opening day, Renshaw was upbeat about Australia’s batting performance. “Yeah, I think we had a really good day. The fact that we had the 50-run partnership at the end of the innings. We’ve talked about how the top-order needs to score runs, but especially the tail needs to hang on and get some bonus runs (so to speak). I think we’ve had a great day and it’s a good confidence builder.”

The majority of Quetta Gladiators’ overseas contingent have opted not to travel to Lahore for the PSL final.Kevin Pietersen, Luke Wright and Tymal Mills all tweeted about leaving the tournament, while former New Zealand offspinner Nathan McCullum will also not travel. Rilee Rossouw, the South African batsman, had been considering playing in the final on March 5, *but he too wrote on Twitter that he was leaving the tournament. “Its with a sad heart that I must announce that i will not be taking part in the final.”Wright, the England allrounder, tweeted: “It’s with a heavy heart I will not be coming to Lahore. I have a young family and for me a game of cricket is just not worth the risk. I’m sorry as I know how much it means to you all and hopefully in the future the safety will not be in doubt to come play there.”Pietersen signed off from the tournament with 40 from 22 balls, as Quetta stole a one-run victory over Peshawar Zalmi, taking his tally to 241 runs. Rossouw is currently their top scorer with 255 runs at 42.50 and a strike-rate 123.18.Mills took seven wickets from five matches, while Wright played just one match and McCullum did not feature.One-off payments, ranging from USD 10,000 to 50,000, are being offered to foreign players should they agree to play in Lahore. That, as one foreign player considering taking part in the final pointed out, brings its own complications. “What is the difference in me playing in Lahore under a security threat and a Pakistani player doing so?” he said. “In any attack both are at risk. And physios and masseuses? A life is a life, mine or a Pakistani player’s.”Teams who end up severely shorthanded can rope in a pool of nominated foreign players. The list, initially of 54 names, has now grown to above 60, and is said to be composed of those who were not picked in the draft last October, as well as additional names from outside the draft, who are willing to travel to Pakistan.Each franchise will nominate five to six players from the long list and hand it to the PSL, who hope that ultimately, accounting for common names that appear in multiple lists, they have a shortlist of 12 to 15 waiting on standby to participate in the final.

A strong showing from Vidarbha‘s top order, who led the side to 172 for 6, set the base for the side’s 23-run win over Railways in Jaipur. Having lost Faiz Fazal for 1 in the second over after being put in to bat, Jitesh Sharma (41 off 40 balls), Ambati Rayudu and Akshay Karnewar put together substantial partnerships for the second and third wickets. Rayudu struck 45 off 29 balls, with four fours and three sixes, in a 67-run stand for the second wicket, while Karnewar scored a 24-ball 42, hitting five fours and a six. Vidarbha garnered 56 off the last five overs, helped along by Apoorv Wankhade, who was unbeaten on 34 off 19 balls. Railways’ response of 149 for 7 was propped up largely by wicketkeeper Mahesh Rawat’s 41-ball 55 and Anureet Singh’s 17-ball unbeaten 32 at No. 9. Karnewar and Ravi Jangid both picked up two wickets.A 110-run second-wicket partnership between Ankit Lamba (61 off 48) and Puneet Yadav (61 off 37) set up Rajasthan’s 16-run win over Uttar Pradesh in Jaipur. The two batsmen took Rajasthan past 150 in the 17th over before they lost six wickets in the next three to eventually finish on 169. Fast bowler Ankit Rajpoot – who struck thrice in the 18th – finished with career-best T20 figures of 5 for 20.In their pursuit, UP opener Prashant Gupta hit 40 in a 61-run opening stand with Samarth Singh. But the innings fell away once it was broken as Rajasthan took five wickets in five overs between the ninth and 14th to leave the score at 93 for 5. Offspinner Tajinder Singh took 2 for 13 and left-arm chinaman spinner Mahipal Lomror finished with 2 for 41 and UP spluttered to 153 for 7 in their 20 overs.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsRajshahi Kings removed the Khulna Titans openers with run-outs•BCB

Rajshahi Kings made light work of Khulna Titans in the second qualifier on their way to the BPL final, against Dhaka Dynamites, completing a seven-wicket win in Mirpur. In front of a small crowd at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, they restricted Khulna to a below-par 125 for 9 before knocking off the total with four balls to spare.Their efficient bowling performance ensured a maiden appearance in the tournament’s final after their previous franchise (Duronto Rajshahi) failed to do so in the 2012 and 2013 editions.But it was not an altogether smooth chase for Rajshahi. They lost their openers Mominul Haque and Nurul Hasan within 4.2 overs after which youngster Afif Hossain led the recovery with a 33-run third-wicket stand with Sabbir Rahman. He fell lbw to Mahmudullah in the 12th over after hitting three fours in his 27-ball 26.Sabbir batted in an unusual subdued manner before unleashing his first six off the 35th delivery. His unbeaten 43 off 52 balls broke a three-week low which started one innings after his 122 against Barisal Bulls.His unbroken 62-run fourth wicket stand with James Franklin calmly completed the chase, with Franklin contributing an unbeaten 30 off 24 balls. His first six, a big one down the ground, completed the win.Khulna were always behind the eight-ball after starting poorly. Openers Mohammad Hasanuzzaman and Abdul Mazid were run-out in the third over. First they were involved in a mix-up after Hasanuzzaman pushed the ball into the covers, with both ending up at the striker’s end. In the process of running him out at the other end, wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan rammed into Farhad Reza, hurting him.Two balls later, Mehedi Hasan’s direct hit from short midwicket found Mazid short by inches after he turned back from taking a single. After Farhad removed Shuvagata Hom in the fourth over, Nicholas Pooran fell following two sixes and as many fours, giving an easy catch to long-off off Afif.Samit Patel then removed Benny Howell, Mahmudullah and Kevon Cooper before Kesrick Williams and Darren Sammy took the eighth and ninth wickets respectively.There was still time for Khulna to post a better total, with Ariful Haque hitting two fours and a straight six in his unbeaten 32 off 29 balls, but it did not prove to be enough.

Ben Stokes hailed the “most mature” performance of his career to date after saving England from a precarious position against Bangladesh in Chittagong.Coming to the crease with his side in trouble and the ball spinning sharply, Stokes responded with a mature innings of 85 to help England establish a lead of 273 with two wickets in hand going into the fourth day. On a pitch that continues to provide assistance to spin bowlers, that may already prove a decisive advantage.While Stokes’ innings lacked, for the most part, the fireworks of some of his previous Test performances, it was played in unusually demanding circumstances. In ferociously hot and humid conditions and with his colleagues struggling to negate the turning ball, Stokes showed that he had matured significantly as a batsman.Instead of being content with “batting for 20 minutes and then losing concentration” he defended skilfully, rotated the strike and provided the substantial contribution his side required. It is currently the only half-century in the England innings and the highest score of the match.”That was definitely my most mature performance with the bat in Test cricket,” Stokes said. “They were probably the toughest conditions I’ve had so far in international cricket – especially going in with all the men around the bat and the ball spinning as much as it was.”My defensive game against spin has gone up another level. That’s from working hard. I’m making sure I don’t fall into the trap of batting for 20 minutes and then losing concentration on what I’m actually trying to do.”We can all hit boundaries, but the hardest thing to do is defend when you first come in. I didn’t want to give my wicket away and made sure if I was going to get out it was going to take a good ball.”I knew that if we kept rotating the strike the game was going to get easier. There was so much time left in the game that it was just a matter of occupying the crease, rotating the strike and putting the bad balls away. The guys around the bat would soon disappear.”The longer you spend on wickets like that, the easier it becomes. If we can get through the tough periods – and there are going to be plenty here and in India – then the easier it’s going to get. I tried to put the foot on the gas towards the end to try and get the lead up as high as we could but I’m happy with how it went.”Stokes had already produced an outstanding spell of bowling to polish off the Bangladesh innings. Gaining pace, bounce and reverse-swing that has been absent for every other bowler in the match, Stokes bowled six overs on the trot at the start of the morning session – an outstanding effort in such uncomfortable heat – claiming three wickets for nine runs.While other seamers could barely get the ball about hip height or move it off the straight, he struck batsmen on the helmet and nipped the ball both ways. That brought him 4 for 10 in a 10-over spell continued from the previous day that saw Bangladesh collapse from 221 for 4 to 248 all out.Afterwards he credited Joe Root, in particular, for looking after the ball and ensuring it was in a condition where it would reverse.”Reverse swing is a massive weapon for us in the sub-continent,” Stokes said. “It can be quite tough to control how much the ball is going to swing. But we’ve been working a lot on reverse. We were very critical about keeping the ball in good nick. Joe Root has been non-stop in keeping the smooth side smooth and shiny and making sure the other side is as dry as possible.”It’s tough to tell the spinners to keep their hands off with the amount of bowling they are doing, but they did a really good job.”It’s actually very tough to maintain the ball because one little bit of moisture on the side that we keep dry can almost put you back two overs to where you started off. We all know that and we try to keep as few hands on the ball as possible. We did that and that’s how we managed to get as much sideways movement as we did with the old ball.”

Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza has called for an aggressive approach from the team on the eve of the first ODI against Afghanistan.”We want to play all-out aggressive cricket,” Mashrafe said. “We want to begin like we had finished last year. We sometimes have to play defensively, but we want to play our best cricket.”Mashrafe, however, was wary of Afghanistan, who had defeated BCB XI by 66 runs in the warm-up match on Friday.”Why shouldn’t we think of this as a tough series? We should keep that in mind when taking the field on Sunday,” he said. “We will do well if we can carry the confidence that we built through training in the last two-and-a-half months.”

We can give Bangladesh a run for their money – Rajput

Afghanistan coach Lalchand Rajput has said that his team can give Bangladesh a hard time, and is banking on the bowling attack to deliver.
“We get the confidence from the win in the practice match, and definitely, we will take the momentum,” Rajput said. “Bangladesh is a Test playing country, who have done well at home. It is not going to be easy, but, definitely, we will give them a run for the money. We have a very well-balanced team. We have good medium-pacers and spinners, who will get assistance in Bangladesh.”
Rajput reserved special praise for right-arm seamer, Karim Janat, who is uncapped at international level. He revved up the pace against BCB XI and was rewarded with the wicket of Imrul Kayes.
“We have a young guy who just came from the U19s, Rajput said. “He really impressed us in the camp in India. We have experience and youth. It will be great if the boys can perform in such a platform.”

Coach Chandika Hathurusingha felt that the long gap between international matches – one day short of six months – was the major problem for his team. He also believed that the first hour of the first ODI would be vital in shaking off the rust.”The main focus is to win the three ODIs against another national team,” he said. “Not playing for a long time is a bit of an Achilles’ heel for us. That is what we are trying to get over, that uncertainty.”The first match is very vital for us. The first hour is vital for us. It is important that we start well, so the focus is all about winning the first game.”Hathurusingha was pleased with the skills of the side, but said that playing in front of a large crowd could be a challenge for the players.’We have no concern over any skill part – batting, bowling or fielding. It is all about the mental side of the game – getting into the game, playing in front of a crowd for your country,” he said. “We played so many practice matches with the top 25 players in the country. You cannot create that atmosphere. Probably, we play a higher level of cricket, but you cannot create that atmosphere of playing another international team.”Bangladesh will be without their best bowler, Mustafizur Rahman, who is undergoing rehabilitation after a shoulder surgery. He is set to miss the home series against England too, but is likely to recover for the New Zealand tour at the end of the year.In the absence of Mustafizur, Mashrafe hoped himself, Taskin Ahmed, Rubel Hossain and Shafiul Islam would step up.”We had the same attack in the 50-over World Cup,” he said. We will miss the Fizz, but the ones who are in the team, they have a chance to prove themselves. I think this is our best possible bowling attack.”The Bangladesh squad includes uncapped batsman Mosaddek Hossain, who has been a prolific run-getter in domestic cricket. He staked claim for a place in the first ODI by top-scoring for BCB XI on Friday.”Mosaddek is in the team on merit,” Hathurusingha said. “He played very well in first-class and the Dhaka Premier League. We played four to five practice matches and we saw him, and yesterday, he obviously put his hand up. He is really putting pressure on the guys who are in the team, so that’s a healthy situation for me and the selectors.”

Match facts

Sunday, August 28, 2016
Start time 1430 local (0900 GMT)Tillakaratne Dilshan needs 158 or more in his final innings to finish among the top 10 ODI run-scorers of all time•AFP

Big Picture

Three days ago, there was no reason to expect that this third ODI would be particularly headline-grabbing – at least, not beyond Dambulla hosting day-night cricket for the first time in six years. Then, Tillakaratne Dilshan announced his impending retirement, Steven Smith flew home and handed Australia’s captaincy to David Warner, and, suddenly, there was more than your average amount of interest in the match. It will also be an important game in determining the outcome of the series – the winner will move 2-1 up with two to play.But for Sri Lankan fans, the attention will all be on Dilshan, the former captain, who is set to play his 330th and final one-day international. It will not be Dilshan’s last international appearance, for he is due to play in the T20s that follow this series, but it is the beginning of a farewell to a Sri Lankan favourite, and one of the last remaining international cricketers who made his debut in the 1990s.Much of the attention will also centre on Australia’s stand-in captain. The decision to fly Smith home to rest ahead of a busy upcoming schedule has been met with plenty of criticism. It does, though, provide an opportunity to test the leadership credentials of Warner, who has never captained Australia in any format. In fact, Warner’s only previous captaincy experience has come in Twenty20, so this is new for him on more than one level.

Form guide

Australia: LWWWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Sri Lanka: WLLLL

In the spotlight

At 39, Tillakaratne Dilshan has certainly been there and done that. And now, he’s doing it for the last time – in ODI cricket, at least. Barring a monumental knock of 158 or more in his final innings (which would see him overtake Brian Lara), Dilshan will bow out as ODI cricket’s 11th highest scorer of all time. His record against Australia might not be the strongest – he has averaged 26.33 against them in 43 ODIs – but this is one last chance to make a big score against the No.1 team in the world.David Warner will become the 23rd man to captain Australia in ODIs, and while he has never led a team in 50-over cricket, his record as a captain in Twenty20 cricket makes for remarkable reading. Warner has led teams in 34 T20s for 19 wins, but even more impressive is his personal figures as skipper: he averages 53.79 and has five scores of 90 and above. His most recent captaincy experience came in the 2016 IPL, where he led Sunrisers Hyderabad to the title and was second only to Virat Kohli on the tournament’s run charts. Australia’s powers that be will hope Warner continues to lead by example – at least, in terms of his run-making.

Team news

Sri Lanka have added 19-year-old right-arm pacer Lahiru Kumara for the remainder of the series, in place of allrounder Milinda Siriwardana. Like 18-year old batsman Avishka Fernando, who was named in the squad at the start of the series, Kumara has played no senior cricket at all. However, given their success in the previous match, there is every chance Sri Lanka will go in with an unchanged side.Sri Lanka (possible) 1 Danushka Gunathilaka, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 5 Angelo Mathews (capt), 6 Dhananjaya de Silva, 7 Kusal Perera, 8 Thisara Perera, 9 Seekkuge Prasanna, 10 Dilruwan Perera, 11 Amila Aponso.Smith’s departure will force at least one change to the top order, with either Shaun Marsh or Usman Khawaja coming into the XI. The selectors might also be tempted to strengthen the attack after Australia’s combined “fifth bowler” – Moises Henriques and Travis Head – leaked runs at an alarming rate in the second game. Henriques has struggled for form on this tour, and dropping him would allow Head – who has one-day scores of 202 and 175 in the past year – to move into the top-six.Australia (possible) 1 David Warner (capt), 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Shaun Marsh/Usman Khawaja, 4 George Bailey, 5 Matthew Wade (wk), 6 Travis Head, 7 James Faulkner, 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood, 11 Nathan Lyon.

Pitch and conditions

Although pace bowlers have a strong record of wicket-taking in Dambulla, the Australians anticipate that the pitch will still offer plenty for the spinners.

Stats and trivia

• This will be the first day-night ODI in Dambulla since 2010, when the floodlights were deemed to be of inadequate strength. They have now been upgraded
• Australia have played only two matches – in any format – in Dambulla. Both were ODIs played in 2004. They won one and lost one
• The departure of Smith deprives Australia not only of their captain, but also of the highest run-scorer in ODI cricket worldwide over the past year

Quotes

“I think he deserves a break, whether or not it was during the series or before the series. It is going to be very, very tough with the scheduling these days to play all three forms and every single game possible.”

ScorecardGareth Batty produced a matchwinning return•PA Photos

It is hard to remember a Championship win that asked more of a bowling side. The pitch, for much of this game, looked like it would take the points and a few bowlers with it. Most of the Ageas Bowl pitches have. But with great focus and effort, and the sort of performance from Gareth Batty that will be remembered well beyond his career, Surrey sent Hampshire down for an innings and 13 runs.Batty was not so much leading from the front as picking up those around him, yapping under the helmet and then getting the job done himself. A century in the first innings began his work before two for 78 in the Hampshire reply was bested by a sensational six for 51 in the follow-on. Throw in Stuart Meaker’s reverse swing addled 18 overs of four for 40, and you wonder where the doubt in obtaining a result came from.But with 10 overs left in the day, hope had all-but gone. At the end of Batty’s 24th over (56th of the match) he walked duck-footed to mid off, shoulders slunk, cap in hand, dreading what might be. Of all long-form cricket’s gut punches, the handshakes after a drawn fixture take the most out of a skipper who has spent the last few hours on top. And Batty’s side had been ahead for the last three days.Summoning one last push, Batty returned to take two in his next over. Lewis McManus, having started the day with bat in hand, looked like he would finish it, too. But, after six hours and 21 minutes of crease time across both innings, he was finally dismissed to a fast arm ball. Three balls later, Andrew’s outside edge was found with a perfect off spinner. It was left to Meaker to finish things off. Late movement into the right hander did for Gareth Berg, before Mason Crane was the recipient of a bouncer that would haunt the most weathered opening batsmen, let alone a 19-year-old number 10.Surrey currently sit outside the relegation zone, 10 points away from Nottinghamshire, who have replaced them in the bottom two. Even if Hampshire were to win their game in hand with full bonus points, they would only go one ahead of Surrey. It bears reiterating: rarely will you see a side work so hard to achieve a four day win of this magnitude.On the evening of day two, Surrey’s players went to bed preparing themselves for what they knew would be six of the toughest sessions of cricket many of them will have experienced in their lives. So, too, did Hampshire. But Surrey, staying at the Ageas’ Bowl own hotel, will have drawn their curtains looking out onto the very field that would ask for as much energy and sweat as they could give and not necessarily provide anything in return.They needed 18 wickets to win the match: at least 18 chances to be created, certainly 18 to be taken to ensure that they are in control of their own destiny with five matches left to play. And while their own first innings of 637 for 7 taunted Hampshire throughout this match, it sent Surrey to sleep that night with a stark reminder of the unforgiving nature of this road. The skip was taken out of Crane’s step after 51 overs of toil.Even Surrey’s captain Gareth Batty was concerned, believing he was “thrown under the car” by Will Smith and Hampshire’s senior bowlers – Gareth Berg had the next greatest workload with 30 overs. “That wouldn’t be happening under my watch.”That part of Batty’s mantra as captain is to look at what is best for the individuals has, at times, seen him make calls that, from afar, confuse a touch. But given the task at hand, across two of the hottest days of the year, it was this sensitivity that ultimately saw Surrey triumph in extraordinary fashion.With 11 wickets to get on day four, the first ball to do something off the straight was the run out of Brad Wheal. Lewis McManus, who finished the first innings unbeaten on 133, was desperate to retain the strike when Aaron Finch, prowling the off side outfield, hurled down the stumps at the nonstriker’s end from all of 50 yards. Theirs was the longest partnership of the innings, clocking in at 37.1 overs. Surrey now needed 10 more wickets in the next 84 overs, having just taken the same amount from 133 overs.The first two to fall took 19 overs with them: Jimmy Adams tempted into one that left him late from Meaker, Tom Alsop edging Batty to first slip. For a while, that was their lot. The bowlers were cycled through, each getting a burst: an over or two at first to state their case. As “overs remaining” ticked to 44, Mark Footitt was removed from the Pavilion End after a spell of four that seemed to settle Smith and Ryan McLaren. The all rounder looked totally at ease while Smith, 18 from 112 balls at this point, was putting the finishing touches on a fort he had no intention of relinquishing.Batty brought himself on to bowl and, with various changes of pace, found a sliver of light shining through a gap in the closed drawbridge. Somehow a fizzed delivery snuck off Smith’s bat and between his legs to bump into his leg stump. Surrey were in. Adam Wheater, tea interval on the mind, left a reverse swinging delivery from Meaker that almost sent his off stump back to the pavilion with him.After tea, Batty came into his own. It was not so much the spin, but the changes in pace: the appreciation that keeping the interest of those around the bat – there were up to six for Batty – required enough fluctuations in delivery to put a batsman’s timing out of sync. Sean Ervine was hurried into guiding a ball to Aaron Finch at leg slip. Ryan McLaren pressing forward early and popping a catch up to Dominic Sibley at bat-pad.But so the overs ticked on, with four wickets still to get. But so Batty ticked on and these four wickets were claimed.He was naturally punchy in victory, using the opportunity to not only champion his young team, having grumbled away the opportunity to talk about his own century and eight wickets in the game, but to stick up for his coach, Michael Di Venuto, who has spent the aftermath of many a four day game fighting fires on Twitter.To Di Venuto’s credit, he looks to interact and appease each tweet sent his way, countering calls for change with the insistence that the hard work behind the scenes will soon be evident on the field. Most of the comments to Di Venuto comes from an honest place: fans worried about the plight of their club and wondering, out loud, what could be done differently. A handful have question Di Venuto’s merits as a coach. One or two have made their attacks personal.”I think it’s disrespectful. Unjust. The two run outs [Burns to remove Ervine and Finch to remove Wheal] – that’s from him working on us hitting the stumps. He takes all credit there. Nobody else. We’ve been very close in a couple of games and not got over the line. I think it’s very unjust for the man’s record, both as a player and a coach.”In victory, Surrey are bullish and you get a sense, from the way they have acquitted themselves throughout this match, that whatever they have left to give will be left on field before the season is up.”There have been a lot of people lobbing knives at us but we have pulled a few out of our back,” said Batty. “I say to them,- I hope you are enjoying the win tonight.”

ScorecardMichael Klinger’s century powered Gloucestershire to victory•Getty Images

Michael Klinger led from the front as Gloucestershire completed a NatWest T20 Blast double over arch-rivals Somerset with a seven-wicket victory at Taunton.The skipper scored a brilliant 101 as his side made light of a victory target of 168, winning with four balls to spare to go top of the South Group. Ian Cockbain contributed 41 to a second-wicket stand of 107.The hosts posted a disappointing 167 for 7 on the high-scoring ground, Mahela Jayawardene making a scratchy 41 and Peter Trego 32. Matt Taylor returned a career-best 3 for 16 and Tom Smith 2 for 28.That was never likely to be sufficient if Klinger got going and the ultra-consistent Australian duly obliged with a superb 71-ball innings, featuring 10 fours and four sixes. Jamie Overton was the pick of the home attack with 3 for 33.Somerset struggled to gain any momentum after being invited to bat. Jim Allenby fell early to a miscued pull off Taylor and at the end of the six-over powerplay the scoreboard read 40 for 2.Johann Myburgh produced the odd sweet shot in his 25 before falling to Howell, who was typically miserly in claiming 1 for 23 from his four overs of wily medium pace.Trego looked in good touch hitting five boundaries, but after he launched a catch to long-off to give left-arm spinner Smith his first wicket there was no one to clear the ropes in mid-innings.Jayawardene struggled for any semblance of the form that made him among the most elegant batsmen to have played the game and was dropped at extra cover off Smith on 26.By the time he was sixth man out, to the accurate Taylor, in the 18th over Somerset had just 141 runs on the board and were resigned to a below-par score.Jamie Overton’s successive sixes off Andrew Tye boosted the total, but with the sun shining, it didn’t look enough, even when he followed up with a perfect yorker to bowl Hamish Marshall in the fifth over with the score on 40.That was as good as it got for the home side, who had to wait until the last ball of the 17th over for their next wicket as Klinger and Cockbain produced an array of powerful strokes.When Cockbain was caught at long-on by Craig Overton off brother Jamie, having hit three fours and a six in his 39-ball innings, Gloucestershire required only 21.Klinger reached his hundred off 67 balls, having looked in total command. Although he fell in the penultimate over, the job was done against what on the night was a very moderate Somerset side.