Lucknow Super Giants captain K.L. Rahul
| Photo Credit: AP

Star pacer Mohammed Shami has termed Sanjiv Goenka’s “public reprimand” of his India teammate KL Rahul as “shameful” and said the Lucknow Super Giants team owner’s reaction to a loss in front of TV cameras “does not have any place in sports”.

Goenka’s animated chat purportedly reprimanding Rahul after Lucknow Super Giants’ record demolition at the hands of Sunrisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad has gone viral on social media and Shami was the first Indian cricketer to criticise the act.

“Crores of people are watching you and learning from you. If these things happen in front of cameras, and you see such reactions on screen, it’s shameful,” a blunt Shami said on ‘Cricbuzz Live’.

“Aapka ek dayra hona chahiye baat karne ka, yeh message bahut galat jaata hai. (You should have boundaries, there’s a way to talk. This sends a very wrong message).” SRH openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma smashed fiery fifties as the home side chased down the target of 166 in just 9.4 overs, which also became the record 10-over score in any T20 match.

But what followed after the result has become a big talking point.

The video of a furious RPSG Group chairman and Kolkata-based billionaire, Goenka apparently losing his cool on Rahul, has gone viral on social media .

TV commentators Graeme Smith and Scott Styris remarked that such discussions should occur privately, not in front of cameras.

“It’s very important to note that players have respect, and you are a respectful person too, as an owner. It’s not that you’re talking suddenly,” Shami said.

“If you have to do that, there are many different ways. You could’ve done the same thing in the dressing room or the hotel. It wasn’t necessary to do it on the field. Aise reaction de ke koi lal quile pe jhanda toh gaad nahi diya aapne (you didn’t hoist a flag on Red Fort by doing what you did),” Shami said.

Shami, who is currently recovering from an injury and is not taking part in the IPL, said such actions send a wrong message to the public.

“He’s the captain, not a normal player. It’s a team game; it isn’t a big thing if the plan isn’t successful. Anything is possible in the game. I understand there can be good or bad days, but every player has respect, and there’s a way to talk,” he said.

“There are a lot of moments in the game when tempers flare up, and players quarrel with each other. It should not happen in cricket or any sport, but it does happen.

“A player talking to another player is different, but someone from the outside discussing something with the player is different. We are only speculating from what we are seeing, and only KL Rahul can tell what the conversation was about, but these kinds of reactions do not have any place in sports.”

Amroha, UP:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday praised Team India pacer Mohammed Shami during an election rally here. Addressing the gathering, PM Modi said, “The whole world has seen the amazing feat that bhai Mohammed Shami did in the Cricket World Cup. The central government has given Arjuna Award to bhai Mohammed Shami for his excellent performance in sports.” “Yogi ji’s government has moved two steps forward. Yogi ji is also building a stadium for the youth here. I congratulate the people of Amroha very much for this,” PM Modi said.

Shami had grabbed seven wickets in the World Cup semifinal against New Zealand in Mumbai. He is currently ruled out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) owing to a left ankle injury.

The prime minister also praised the ‘dholak’ (a musical instrument) of Amroha.

Situated on the banks of Mother Ganga, this land has witnessed the footprints of Lord Shri Krishna, PM Modi said.

“This is the land of brave people like Raja Gaj Singh and Thakur Jairam Singh. I have been given dholak, another identity of Amroha and the beat of the dholak here resonates far and wide. Due to the efforts of our Yogi ji, the BJP government has given the GI tag to Amroha’s dholak and given it an identity in the entire world,” PM Modi said.

Voting in the second phase will take place on April 26 and it will cover eight parliamentary constituencies of Amroha, Meerut, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Gautambuddh Nagar, Bulandshahr (SC), Aligarh and Mathura.

In Amroha, the main electoral contest is between Kanwar Singh Tanwar of the BJP and Kunwar Danish Ali of the Congress. BSP’s Mujahid Husain is also in the poll fray. There are a total of 12 candidates contesting from Amroha. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mohammed Shami has not played competitive cricket since last year’s ODI World Cup final. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

Gujarat Titans have roped in Kerala medium-pacer Sandeep Warrier as a replacement for injured senior Indian seamer Mohammed Shami, the Indian Premier League said on Wednesday.

Shami recently underwent a successful Achilles heel surgery in London for his right heel problem.

He is expected to be undergoing rehabilitation for almost the whole of IPL 2024, thus ruling him out of the entire event.

Shami has not played competitive cricket since last year’s ODI World Cup final here, which India lost by six wickets against Australia.

As for Warrier, the 32-year-old has played five IPL matches since 2019, grabbing two wickets at an economy of 7.88.

“Shami – the veteran Indian pacer – recently successfully underwent surgery for his right heel problem and is currently recovering,” read a statement from IPL.

“His replacement, Sandeep Warrier, has so far played 5 IPL matches and will join GT for his base price of INR 50 Lac.” GT will be his fourth IPL franchise, having previously played for Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians.

GT will play their IPL 2024 opener against Mumbai Indians on March 24 here.

The BCCI has declared Rishabh Pant is fit to play the Indian Premier League 2024 brightening his prospects of a national comeback in the T20 World Cup.
| Photo Credit: PTI

The BCCI on March 12 declared Rishabh Pant fit to play as a wicketkeeper-batter in the upcoming IPL, brightening his prospects of a national comeback in the T20 World Cup after suffering multiple injuries in a harrowing car crash 14 months ago.

Pant, who will once again be back as Delhi Capitals skipper, has undergone extensive rehabilitation and is ready to shoulder the dual responsibility in the event starting March 22, ending weeks of speculation surrounding his exact role in the league.

“After undergoing an extensive 14-month rehab and recovery process, following a life-threatening road mishap on December 30th, 2022, near Roorkee, Uttarakhand, Rishabh Pant has now been declared fit as a wicket-keeper batter for the upcoming IPL 2024,” said the BCCI in a statement.

The T20 World Cup is scheduled to be held in the West Indies and the USA in June.

A few weeks back, Pant, in an interaction with Star Sports, had recalled telling his doctor that he would shave off at least six months from his recovery timeline.

“I asked the doctor how long will it take for me to recover. I told him that everybody is speaking different things, but you will give me the most clarity about it. He (Doctor) said it would take 16 to 18 months. I told the doctor from whatever timeline you give me, I will reduce six months from it,” Pant had told the official TV broadcasters of IPL.

The National Cricket Academy had declared him fit a week back after he passed all the fitness tests related to his ‘Return To Play’ (RTP).

It has been learnt that he batted for long hours and more importantly, kept wickets for extensive periods in match simulations organised by the NCA.

There was speculation that he might play only as an ‘Impact Player’ or batter but one of India’s biggest match-winners in the past six years has managed to get back in shape to go full throttle.

Pant keeping wickets also means that he would have a fair chance of playing the T20 World Cup if he can come up with some impactful innings during the IPL season.

“If he can make the T20 World Cup for us, that will be a big thing for us. He is a big asset for us. If he can keep, he can play the World Cup. Let’s see how he does in the IPL,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah had recently told PTI in an exclusive interaction.

Pant was present at the Capitals table during the IPL auction last year, and has been working on his fitness at the NCA after recovering from the injuries sustained in the unfortunate incident.

The accident had left Pant with a severe right knee injury that required a ligament reconstruction surgery besides a fractured wrist and ankle. But he has done well to bounce back.

“If there was any nerve damage, there was a possibility of amputation. That is when I felt scared,” Pant had said in Star Sports series ‘Believe: To Death & Back’ which documented his recovery.

“I had taken an SUV, but what I was seeing was a sedan,” he quipped as he remembered his mangled vehicle.

“There was someone around so I asked if he could help getting the leg back in the position. He helped the knee get back in place.

“It was the first time I had such a feeling in life. At the time of the accident, I was aware of the wounds, but I was lucky as it could have been even more serious,” he recollected.

The big-hitter had said the process of recovery was boring at best and frustrating at worst.

“I was focusing on recovery cut off from the world. It helped me in recovering fast, especially when the injury is so serious. For recovery, you have to do the same thing every day. It’s boring, it’s irritating, it’s frustrating, but you have to do it,” he elaborated.

Shami not to be back before September

The BCCI also confirmed the PTI news report from last month that Mohammed Shami (Gujarat Titans) will not take part in the IPL due to heel surgery.

Shami is not expected back before September this year.

“The fast bowler successfully underwent surgery on February 26th, 2024, for his right heel problem. He is currently being monitored by the BCCI medical team and is ruled out of the upcoming IPL 2024,” the BCCI statement read.

Lanky fast bowler Prasidh Krishna (Rajasthan Royals), who had an unsuccessful Test debut in South Africa is also being monitored by the BCCI medical team. PTI had reported in January that Prasidh will be out for an extensive period.

“The fast bowler underwent surgery on February 23rd, 2024, on his left proximal quadriceps tendon. He is currently being monitored by the BCCI Medical Team and will resume rehab at the NCA soon. He will not be able to take part in the upcoming IPL 2024,” the BCCI said.

Mohammad Shami about to deliver a ball in a one-day international match against New Zealand, October 23, 2023.
| Photo Credit: Deepak K.R./The Hindu

At the 2023 ICC Men’s ODI Cricket World Cup, Mohammad Shami ended with the most wickets – 24 from only seven games. The standout feature of Mr. Shami’s bowling was his seam position, which commentators described as being “bolt upright”. When the bowled ball pitches seam-first into the pitch, the way it bounces back up becomes hard to predict – more so than if the ball is swinging, which batters can read ‘in the air’. Mr. Shami used this unpredictability to get batters into trouble.

In the ways in which it differs from spin bowling, seam bowling is a study in contradiction. In spin, the direction in which the bowled ball spins is the same as that of the arm that is spinning it. But in seam bowling, the bowler’s arm is moving counter-clockwise (when bowled towards the left) while the bowled ball spins clockwise. That is, the bowler’s fingers on the ball impart a backspin.

Finger positions

To achieve the best effect, intuitively, the two fingers can be said to be just to either side of the seam’s centre. So once the fingers impart torque (rotating force) on the ball, the angular velocity imparted by the rotating arm should vanish and the backspin velocity should increase. At this moment, the spin axis will rapidly shift hemispheres, passing through the seam.

To avoid a wobbling seam – which would reduce the chance of the ball bouncing on the seam as well as compromise the aerodynamics of the contrast swing – the spin vector should coincide with the torque vector.

This is why, when a seam bowler imparts torque to the ball, the position of the two fingers matters.

“As a very simple explanation, the spin vector coincides with the torque vector only if the middle finger imparts more force to the ball than the index finger,” Franz Konstantin Fuss, professor and Chair of Biomechanics, University of Bayreuth, told The Hindu. “This can be achieved naturally, since the middle finger is stronger than the index finger.”

Deviation from the ideal

However, a 2013 study reported a problem: at the moment the torque is imparted, if the torque vector is at the topmost part of the ball (i.e. if the torque is imparted at the ball’s ‘north pole’), the spin vector wouldn’t have time to move to coincide with the torque, leading to a wobbly delivery. The effect could be corrected by imparting more rotations on the ball. But the researchers found that there was a limit to this because the bowler has a fixed amount of time to impart those rotations: around 50 milliseconds.

As a workaround, the researchers – Dr. Fuss and Robert Masterton Smith, both then of the School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne – advised applying finger pressure around 10-15 degrees away from the topmost part of the seam, rather than right on top, and to ensure the fingers move parallel to the seam as the torque is being imparted. This way, they estimated, there was a better chance of the spin and torque vectors coinciding, reducing the wobble.

A good seam position increases the ball’s ability to take advantage of swinging conditions. Swing is the result of different air flow on either side of a ball moving through the air. This can be achieved by keeping one side of the ball rougher than the other. As a result, air flow is streamlined on the smoother side and turbulent on the rougher side. But if the seam is angled towards the smooth side, the air flow becomes turbulent on both sides and the ball no longer experiences a lateral force that produces the characteristic sideways movement.

More torque is better until it isn’t

In a 2014 study, the same researchers reported examining the bowling actions and seam deliveries bowled by four state-level cricketers using a ‘smart ball’ equipped with battery-operated gyroscopes. Based on the data recorded by this device, including the spin rate and the torque imparted, they reported some actions that could improve the accuracy of the ball bowled.

According to them, “The best way of preventing seam wobble is … a position of the middle finger closer to the seam. … [The] worst angular positions of the spin axis at release are 19 degrees undershooting, 15 degrees overshooting, and 16 degrees deviating. These angles cause a considerable side force”. ‘Undershooting’ means the angle of the spin axis with the plane of the seam is acute (from the bowler’s side); ‘overshooting’ means it is obtuse. Deviation refers to the angle between the moving spin axis and the axis at the time of the ball’s release.

The researchers also wrote in their paper that “a clear result is that spin rate and magnitude of torque influence deviation angle, and the higher spin rate and torque, the larger is this angle.” So simply imparting more and more torque isn’t a good thing either.

It isn’t easy to do what Mr. Shami did – but that’s the point.

Watch | How India became a pace-bowling superpower

India’s success in Test cricket has always been associated with its batting prowess and its unique spin-bowling core, several generations of which have helped build India as a Test fortress.

But in the past half a decade or so, a breed of fast bowlers have changed the script. India has since became a pace-bowling superpower, highlighted by Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammad Siraj at the centre of it all and well supported by other stalwarts like Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and more.

How did India get so good at fast bowling? What does the data say?

The Hindu spoke to Bharath Arun, the former India bowling coach who was in instrumental in getting the likes of Shami, Siraj and Bumrah to find their peak. Arun gives insights into the importance of seam position, consistency, the science of inswing/outswing/reverse swing, and more.

The Hindu also spoke to Shanker Basu, who was a key figure in ensuring the fast bowlers keep fit while he was the head trainer of the Indian team.

Reporting: Srinivasan Ramani, Dipak Ragav

Videography: Johan Sathyadas, Shiva Raj, Thamodharan B.

Production: Johan Sathyadas, Shiva Raj

3D animation: Archit Ramesh

2D animation: Soumyadip Sinha

Graphics: Kannan Sundar

Fast bowler data: Hayagrive Srikanth, Cricket21

Voiceover: Kunal Shankar

India’s Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer take a run during the second one-day international cricket match between India and South Africa, in Ranchi.
| Photo Credit: K.R. Deepak

Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan, who were members of India’s ODI World Cup squad, have been stripped off the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI’s) central retainer for 2023-24.

The list of 30 men’s cricketers was announced by the BCCI secretary Jay Shah on Wednesday. “Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were not considered for the annual contracts in this round of recommendations,” Shah stated.

While the statement does not specify the reason, the BCCI administration, along with the team-management and the selection panel, has been extremely unhappy with Kishan and Shreyas over their reluctance to participate in the Ranji Trophy.

Despite repeated directives, Kishan did not feature in the Ranji Trophy, instead preferring to train in Vadodara along with his franchise captain Hardik Pandya after returning midway through India’s tour of South Africa. After being omitted from India’s Test squad after the second Test against England, Shreyas did not turn up for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy. On Tuesday, he made himself available for Mumbai’s Ranji semifinal versus Tamil Nadu.

“The BCCI has recommended that all athletes give precedence to participating in domestic cricket during periods when they are not representing the national team,” Shah reiterated in the statement.

Despite being eligible for a pro-rata contract, The Hindu understands that the duo will not be offered a retainer at all as disciplinary action and to set a strong example for the cricketers who have been increasingly prioritising the Indian Premier League over other competitions.

Without a BCCI contract, the duo will also be unable to have the medical cover offered by the BCCI and will be able to access the BCCI training and rehab infrastructure, including the National Cricket Academy, only through a request by their respective State association.

For the first time, the BCCI has offered fast-bowling contracts for five pacers who are not among the list of 30 centrally contracted players. They include Akash Deep, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Umran Malik, Yash Dayal and Vidwath Kaverappa.

Among the list of 30 contracted cricketers, K.L. Rahul, despite a mysterious quad injury at the moment, Mohammed Siraj, Shubman Gill, Kuldeep Yadav and Yashasvi Jaiswal have been the big gainers. Jaiswal makes an entry into the contracts fold in Grade B, while Kuldeep has been promoted from Grade C to B. The remaining trio has been promoted from Grade B to A on the back of their performance in the previous contract cycle.

The BCCI’s central retainer cycle runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30, so the list of 30 cricketers announced on Wednesday will be in effect till September end.

Left-arm spinner Axar Patel and wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant who has been working hard on a comeback since his road accident almost 15 months ago, have been moved from Grade B to A.

All the annual retainer fees, along with the match fees, have been left unchanged. As a result, Grade A+ cricketers will earn ₹7 crore, while the ones in Grade A, B and C will take home ₹5 crore, ₹3 crore and ₹1 crore, respectively.

As per the convention, any non-contracted cricketer — except Shreyas and Kishan — who will play a minimum of 3 Tests, eight ODIs or 10 T20Is during the contract period is eligible for a contract on a pro-rata basis since the date of his eligibility.

File picture of India’s Mohammed Shami
| Photo Credit: PTI

Senior India pacer Mohammed Shami has undergone a successful surgery on his left achilles tendon, which rules him out of next month’s Indian Premier League and possibly the T20 World Cup in June.

The 33-year-old, who last played for India in the ODI World Cup final against Australia on November 19, went under the knife in the London on Monday, as reported by PTI last week.

Shami, who is eager to “get back on my feet soon” stares at a recovery time of a minimum of three months. The IPL is slated to be played from March 22 to May 26 followed by the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and USA.

“Just had a successful heel operation on my achilles tendon! Recovery is going to take some time, but looking forward to getting back on my feet,” Shami tweeted, along with several pictures of him in the hospital, on X on Monday.

Shami, who was one of the architects of India’s stupendous ODI World Cup campaign with 24 wickets, had played through pain as he had problems with his landing but didn’t let it affect his performance.

He had flown to London in January to take special ankle injections. However, the medication didn’t work and the fast bowler had to opt for a surgery.

Shami, who was recently conferred with the Arjuna Award, has 229 Test, 195 ODI and 24 T20 wickets in his decade-long career.

Wrecker in chief: The Sri Lankan batters found
Shami too hot to handle and fell like nine pins.
| Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI

Like biting into a bun-maska dunked in Irani tea in those old Parsi restaurants in this teeming metropolis, India revealed a similar ease as it tucked into a hapless Sri Lanka here on Thursday.

The Men in Blue’s seventh triumph in this World Cup was mounted upon muscular batting and relentless fast bowling and the fans at the Wankhede Stadium relished every second of a lop-sided contest that sealed the host’s semifinal berth.

Huge margin

Having posted 357 for eight, Rohit Sharma’s men bundled out Sri Lanka for 55 in 19.4 overs and won by 302 runs. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj dismissed Pathum Nissanka and Dimuth Karunaratne respectively when the batters were yet to open their accounts. If the openers were trapped right in front with ruffled pads, Sadeera Samarawickrama edged Siraj and skipper Kusal Mendis found the Hyderabadi dismantling his citadel.

No respite

With four batters in the hut and just three on the board, there was no respite as Mohammed Shami bustled in. He missed a hat-trick but inflicted enough damage as Sri Lanka hobbled at 14 for six in 10 overs, and once Shami (five for 18) castled Angelo Mathews, the visitors were down for the count.

In the afternoon while a sea of blue slithered in from Marine Drive and Churchgate station, Mendis won the toss and elected to field. His counterpart Rohit flicked the first ball for four but an unfazed left-arm speedster Dilshan Madushanka thudded the next ball into the stumps while the opener played inside the line.

The initial worries were allayed by Virat Kohli. He redirected Madushanka towards fine-leg and Shubman Gill pulled the seamer as a partnership began to take shape. There were some close shaves too as Charith Asalanka dropped Gill on eight and Dushmantha Chameera failed to latch onto a caught and bowled chance off Kohli when the latter was on 10. They were difficult catches but matches turn on such slender threads.

Peach of a shot

Soon Kohli essayed his drives but the peach was a straight-driven four off Kasun Rajitha. Gill, the stylish apprentice to the master at the other end, cut and flicked. He switched to turbo-mode, hoisting sixes off Chameera and Dushan Hemantha. However, the 189-run second-wicket partnership concluded when Gill (92, 92b, 11×4, 2×6) lobbed Madushanka into the gloves of Mendis.

Just like Gill, Kohli (88, 94b, 11×4) too fell against the run of play, popping up a catch off Madushanka. The much-anticipated record-equalling 49th ODI ton proved elusive while the original maestro Sachin Tendulkar watched from the stands. The next duo of Shreyas Iyer and K.L. Rahul scored briskly with the former hoisting sixes for fun. But another soft dismissal emanated when Rahul picked the fielder at short-cover.

Suryakumar Yadav too did not last long but Shreyas cruised. A pulled six off Madushanka (five for 80), followed by one straight down the ground showed the Mumbaikar in all his glory before he (82, 56b, 3×4, 6×6) holed out as another imminent century became a mirage. India by then had enough to leave the visitors deflated.

Mohammed Siraj celebrates the wicket of Sri Lanka’s Dimuth Karunaratne during their match in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on November 2.
| Photo Credit: ANI

India became the first team to secure a semifinal spot at the Cricket World Cup after Mohammed Siraj bowled a stellar opening spell to help the hosts dismantle Sri Lanka for a 302-run win on November 2.

Siraj took three wickets for nought in the first seven balls as Sri Lanka lost its first four wickets for just three runs within 19 deliveries.

Mohammed Shami then took four wickets in three overs in his opening spell, as Sri Lanka was bowled out for 55 runs in 19.4 overs. That was after Shubman Gill’s 92 and a quick-fire 82 off 56 balls from Shreyas Iyer helped India reach 357-8. It was the second biggest margin of victory in World Cup history.

Shami finished with 5-18 in five overs, his second five-wicket haul in this tournament. Siraj finished with 3-16 in seven overs.

Virat Kohli also scored 88 runs, and he and Gill put on 189 for India’s second wicket. It was the highest team score without an individual hundred in a World Cup.

India rose atop the points’ table with a perfect record after seven games and is the only unbeaten side in the tournament. It will play its semifinal at the same venue on Nov. 15, unless it meets archrival Pakistan in the last four — in which case the game would be played in Kolkata on Nov. 16.

With a fifth defeat in seven games, Sri Lanka still has a mathematical chance of reaching the semifinals by winning its remaining two games, but will also need other results going its way.

Siraj’s stunning opening spell began with Jasprit Bumrah sending back opener Pathum Nissanka for a first-ball duck, out lbw. He then trapped Dimuth Karunaratne lbw for a golden duck, Sadeera Samarawickrama was caught at slip for a four-ball duck, while Kusal Mendis was bowled for one run.

The scorecard read an astonishing 3-4 after 3.1 overs — the joint lowest total for the top four batsmen in ODIs, matching Pakistan’s one run against West Indies in 2015.

Sri Lanka’s problems weren’t over yet, as India deployed Shami at the other end and he picked up three wickets in his first nine deliveries.

Charith Asalanka was out for one, while Dushan Hemantha and Dushmantha Chameera were caught behind without troubling the scorers.

Only Angelo Mathews managed more than a run amongst the first eight batsmen, and then reached double digits, scoring 12 off 25 balls.

The 1996 champions were down to 14 runs for six wickets in 9.4 overs. It became 22-7 in 11.3 overs, and Shami then bowled Mathews to make it 29-8 in 13.1 overs. Five Sri Lankan batsmen were out for a duck, and only three managed to reach double digits.

Shami picked up his fifth wicket as Kasun Rajitha was caught at slip, making him India’s leading bowler in World Cups with 45 wickets. He went past Javagal Srinath and Zaheer Khan, both with 44 wickets.

Put into bat, India had made a poor start as Dilshan Madushanka stunned the Wankhede into silence by bowling Rohit Sharma for four off the second ball of the Indian innings.

India could have been in further trouble as both Gill and Kohli were dropped across three deliveries. But the duo didn’t give a sniff to the Sri Lanka bowlers after that as Kohli got to a run-a-ball 50, with Gill scoring 50 off 55 balls. Their 100-run partnership came off 98 balls.

Kohli set the pace initially but slowed down as he approached a record hundred. At the other end, Gill increased his pace and hit some choice boundaries to regale the weekday crowd.

The young opener was out when he tried to ramp a short delivery to the boundary and was caught behind in the 30th over.

Madushanka got the breakthrough and two overs later sent back Kohli as well — a slower delivery inducing the batsman to a false shot — out caught at short cover.

Gill had hit 11 fours and two sixes, while Kohli hit 11 fours. It brought Iyer and Lokesh Rahul to the crease and they put on 60 off 47 balls for the fourth wicket.

India lost its way a bit in the middle overs as Rahul was out caught for 21, while Suryakumar Yadav was out for 12. He was Madushanka’s fifth wicket as the pacer finished with 5-80, the second most expensive five-wicket haul in ODIs.

Iyer, though, held one end together by bringing up 50 off 36 balls. He put on 57 off 36 balls with Ravindra Jadeja, who scored 35 off 24 balls.

Overall, Iyer hit three fours and six sixes to help India cross 350, but missed the chance to score a World Cup hundred on his home ground.