The Hasan Ali factor in Pakistan's bowling attack

Pakistan have always prided themselves on the quality of their pace attack, but recently that reputation has been under some threat, in ODIs at least. In the three years, between January 2014 and December 2016, Pakistan's fast bowlers collectively averaged 39.57 in ODIs. Among the 19 teams that played ODIs during that period, only four had poorer averages: Zimbabwe (41.29), UAE (42.14), Kenya (44.12), and Canada (45.12).

Then, along came Hasan Ali. Though he had made his ODI debut in 2016, he didn't do too much of note in the eight games he played that year, taking 11 wickets at 31.18, and an economy rate of 5.3 runs per over. They are pretty respectable numbers, but not a patch on what he has achieved this year.

In 2017, Hasan has been the stand-out bowler in ODIs: from just 18 games, he has picked up 45 wickets - easily the highest for the year - at an exceptional average of 17, and a strike rate of 20.3. Along the way, he has also become the joint fourth-fastest, in terms of matches played, to reach 50 ODI wickets, getting there in just 24 games. Only Ajantha Mendis, Ajit Agarkar and Mitchell McClenaghan have reached the landmark in fewer matches. Among Pakistan bowlers, Hasan got there faster than Waqar Younis (27 matches), Saqlain Mushtaq (29) and Shoaib Akhtar (29).

Those numbers have transformed the stats for Pakistan's quick bowlers in 2017. From languishing at the bottom of the table between 2014 and 2016, they have moved to the top in 2017: their average of 25.61 is the best among fast bowlers from the top nine teams this year, while their strike rate of 28.6 balls per wicket is their best in any calendar year.

The return of the low-scoring ODI to India

During the home seasons over the past few years, Indian fans have celebrated dominant series wins, Rohit Sharma's double-centuries, the rise of India's new-look pace attack and the birth of a promising allrounder in Hardik Pandya, among other things. Even though India's fortunes have hardly changed in ODIs, barring the loss to South Africa in 2015, one factor that has largely gone unnoticed is the change in the nature of the pitches.

While players mostly use words such as "slow wicket" and "two-paced" to describe the tracks in interviews or press conferences, scorecards and performances show there has been a definite change in the nature of pitches that curators have prepared over the last couple of seasons.

In 2013 and 2014, Indian fans would scream their lungs out as teams scored 300 with ease and India often chased that down without much trouble. When India hosted Australia in late 2013 for seven ODIs, the lowest first-innings total in the series was 295 even as scores of 359, 303 and 350 were chased successfully, which clearly showed teams - especially hosts India - preferred to bat second on such flat pitches. Just consider the run rate the Indian pitches produced in the two years leading up to the 2015 World Cup: 6.05. From February 2013 to February 2015, India topped the list when it came to average run rates for ODIs at home, the only country to have the figure above six per over.

However, since the 2015 World Cup, India have dropped to fourth - excluding Pakistan as a venue, as the country has hosted only three ODIs in that time - with an average run rate of 5.73 behind Australia (6), England (5.98) and South Africa (5.95). While it not only means lower scores have been posted in the last two and a half years in India, it has also shown that totals around 250 have been defendable, like against New Zealand last year and versus Australia recently. The reasons for that are not restricted to pitches though.

Earlier, teams winning the toss would often opt to bowl to avoid bowling with the dew later on. That factor has changed, however, as the start times of ODIs have been brought forward from 2.30pm to 1.30pm local time since November 2014, when India hosted Sri Lanka for five ODIs.

Also, unlike England, South Africa and Australia, India has a varied array of conditions because of wide-ranging venues across the country and the dynamic factors of soil and regional weather conditions. Even as the other three countries play on more standardised and flatter pitches which last the full 100 overs more frequently, the average scoring-rate per match has reduced in India because of the lack of uniformity in conditions even within an ODI series.

The dew, for example, does not show up in all cities across the year, which means bowling second is not as big a risk. While the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi has remained slow and low, a relaid pitch at Eden Gardens is prominently greener now and the ones in Mumbai and Bengaluru almost always promise a big score.

As a result, teams have started batting first on winning the toss - like during the recent Australia series - as chasing 320 is not the norm anymore and pitches are now being prepared to assist slower bowlers more.

These changing results may not be just an act of chance or fate, though. India suffered losses in the knockouts of the last three world events - the 2015 World Cup semi-final, the 2016 World T20 semi-final, and the 2017 Champions Trophy final - on flatter pitches, so they probably wanted to change things at home at least; flat tracks meant India could post big scores, if batting first, but could not always defend them because of a weak bowling attack and its inability to curtail other batting line-ups. It may not be an accident that India have moved away from batsmen-friendly pitches in recent times.

"The last few series we played [at home], it was challenging wickets, slow wickets that were turning and some of the wickets we played were little damp, where it was stopping and coming - two-paced wickets," Rohit Sharma said on Friday. "If the wicket has something in it for the bowlers, there comes the challenge for the batsmen."

A statement like this would have been unimaginable from a batsman who scored two double-centuries within a span of a year from 2013 to 2014, when thick bats and shorter boundaries were ruling the roost. But the change in trend has meant his new team-mates - Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal - get more purchase from the pitches as India have started to defend totals under 300 more consistently.

The result is a much more even contest between bat and ball as was seen during the ODIs against New Zealand a year ago when the visitors successfully defended totals of 242 and 260 in Delhi and Ranchi respectively. For a change, it gave a bilateral series a scoreline of 2-2, adding interest not only within the matches but to the fifth ODI as well. Such variety of pitches and results has produced some of the more entertaining and balanced ODIs in recent times, and with the proposed ODI league still three years away, this may not be a bad trend for the format at all.

The curious cases of Shafiq and Karunaratne

Since the start of 2010, 26 batsmen have scored 3000 or more Test runs. Twenty-three of them average 40 or more. Among the three who don't are two batsmen who distinguished themselves in the recently concluded Pakistan-Sri Lanka Tests. Dimuth Karunaratne made 306 runs in the series, including a marathon 196 in Dubai and was Sri Lanka's top run scorer, while Asad Shafiq topped the run charts for Pakistan with 183, including a magnificent fourth-innings 112 in Dubai.

However, neither batsman has consistently churned out runs consistently at the Test level, which is why they languish at the bottom of that list. Karunaratne averaged a meagre 33.34 in 20 Tests in 2015 and '16, before turning the corner this year, scoring 940 runs at an average of 47 in 2017.

Shafiq had a stellar 2015, scoring 706 runs in 13 innings at 54.3, but he has struggled for any sort of consistency over the last 14 months: in 15 Tests between July 2016 and September 2017 (excluding the Dubai game), he managed just 834 runs at 30.88. Though he did get that magnificent 137 in the fourth innings of the Gabba Test during this period, he was also frustratingly inconsistent, getting dismissed below 20 sixteen times in 28 innings; he made almost as many ducks (six) as he did 50-plus scores (seven) in this period. Even with his 112 in the Dubai Test, Shafiq's average in 2017 is only 25.81 from 11 innings, numbers that do scant justice to his talent.

There is another similarity between the career numbers of Shafiq and Karunaratne: their distribution of runs and averages across the four innings of a Test. Both have good numbers in the first innings and a dip in the second - which is far more prominent for Karunaratne - but the surprising stat is the fourth-innings average: both average more in the fourth innings than they do in any of the other three. That is a pretty rare phenomenon, given that run-scoring is usually toughest in the last innings. In fact, among the 27 players who have batted at least 15 times in the last innings of Tests since the start of 2010, both Karunaratne and Shafiq are in the top eight in terms of average. Neither has an average that is propped up too much by not-outs - Karunaratne has three in 15, and Shafiq three in 17 - which is why, in terms of runs per innings, they move up to the top five among these 27 batsmen. That is quite a contrast to their overall averages during this period, where they languish among the bottom three out of 26 batsmen. (Misbah-ul-Haq leads in terms of fourth-innings average, with 67.8, but he has remained not-out in 11 of 21 innings; in terms of runs per innings, he is in 12th place with an RPI of 32.29.)

Zampa wins the latest battle against Pandya

"I knew that I could hit a six off him anytime I wanted to."

Even for a man in red-hot form, that's a bold statement to make. But Hardik Pandya said it with his chin in his hands, a shrug of his shoulders and a tilt of the head. Much like one would say, "One plus one? Yeah, that's two."

It was a good thing that Adam Zampa wasn't at the press conference. He was overlooked by Australia after being biffed for three successive sixes, relegated to the bench at a time when wristspinners are very noticeably taking over one-day cricket. He didn't need to hear the man responsible for his fortunes plummeting sit in front of a room full of headline-hungry journalists and parade his dominance.

Zampa did, however, need to figure out how to counter Pandya if they were to meet again. So he trained, hitting the nets at every opportunity. He was one of the last players to finish practice when Australia were in Indore, working with spin consultant S Sriram.

Regardless of the amount of preparation, though, a spinner bowling to Pandya will know that he cannot err in the slightest. The India allrounder can, and has, hit sixes as soon as he arrives at the crease. That's what happened on Thursday when he launched the second ball he faced out of the ground. He also doesn't really need the room that most other batsmen like in order to free their arms. His bottom-handed power can compensate for that. Just the other day, Pandya was helicoptering sixes at the Holkar Stadium, as if he were showing off for MS Dhoni who was practicing alongside him.

Zampa would have known he had to face his rival again when Ashton Agar injured his hand in the third ODI. Australia had no other frontline spinner and with the series lost already, there was very little reason to fly a replacement in.

The battle began innocuously enough - two runs off five balls. But in the 28th over, Pandya crashed a six over midwicket and the follow-up delivery - aimed at the wide line outside off - sailed over deep cover. Hiding the ball away from the batsman's reach is how India have kept Glenn Maxwell quiet. But Pandya, by hitting through the line, as opposed to slogging across it or unnecessarily jumping down, posed a greater challenge.

Zampa was taken off. The seamers came back and Australia regained some control. But they couldn't break the partnership. Pandya and Kedar Jadhav had brought the equation down to 117 off 15 overs. Steven Smith turned to his under-fire legspinner again.

Zampa took the ball, knowing he was about to make or break the match. His first over back was, if nothing, well thought out and better executed. He mixed the tossed up deliveries with the quicker ones, trying his best to avoid being lined up at a ground with short boundaries. In Chennai, he had not really tried playing with his length like this, going full and often putting it right in the slot.

The 36th over cost only two runs. Zampa earned another shot at Pandya - this time with some pressure to work with - which might well have been Australia's plan all along. They gambled with some of Pat Cummins and Nathan Coulter-Nile's overs, which helped keep the scoring in check and made the Indians feel like they had to find another source for quick runs.

Zampa began the 38th over with a fast and flat delivery angled into middle and leg stump. But he made sure to give it a good rip. He wanted Pandya to go for the slog, and if that happened, he gave himself the best chance of a wicket by making sure the ball would turn.

The plan worked and David Warner, taking the catch at long-off, celebrated with as much gusto as he did earlier in the day when he got to a hundred in his 100th ODI.

"Zamps is a really good wicket-taker and quite an aggressive bowler," acting coach David Saker said. "He came in today and bowled some really good balls and good stuff for us. Against Pandya, who is a dangerous hitter, if you get it a little bit wrong, he hits you out of the park. It's a learning curve for him, and for all of us bowling to him."

Australia passed the test at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, removing India's power-hitter before the last 10 overs could even begin, and that played no small part in breaking a year-long ODI losing streak away from home.

Fan Following: A night to rejoice at Eden Gardens

Choice of game

An India-Australia clash generates a fair amount of buzz and I didn't want to miss out on witnessing the match live at the Eden Gardens. There's always immense pleasure in watching a contest with a packed house at one of the most renowned stadiums in the country.

Team supported

Virat Kohli's men have simply been stupendous in limited-overs cricket and have also been able to roll their oppositions over without much fuss. On the other hand, Eden Gardens hasn't been a happy hunting ground for India in ODIs as they have lost quite a few games at the iconic venue. However, I still prayed for them to dictate terms to the visitors and register their second victory of the series.

The climate

In the days leading up to the match, it rained cats and dogs in Kolkata. During the Indian innings, the clouds and the sun seemed to play hide and seek way too often.

Dark clouds hovered over the stadium for the entire length of the innings when India batted. It rained eventually, but thankfully it wasn't menacing enough to force a reduction in overs.

Wow Moment

Kuldeep Yadav's googly to dismiss Patrick Cummins, which fetched him the hat-trick. After Kuldeep got rid of Matthew Wade and Ashton Agar off consecutive deliveries, everyone waited in anticipation of what he would dish out in his hat-trick delivery.

The left-arm wristspinner bowled a wrong'un to Cummins. The batsman pushed tentatively at the ball, more in hope than with conviction, and it took the outside edge of his willow.

One thing I'd have changed

Virat Kohli's dismissal, against the run of play, was the only thing I would have liked to change in the game. The pitch wasn't a batsman's paradise, but Kohli made batting look extremely easy. He blended caution with aggression and hardly played any extravagant stroke, which could have led to his dismissal.

Every shot he played had a stamp of authority on it and he hardly looked out of touch during the course of his knock. It's unfortunate that after doing the hard yards, the Indian skipper missed out on the three-figure mark.

Crowd meter

It wasn't a full house at the Eden Gardens, but it didn't affect the decibel-levels. The atmosphere was absolutely electric and so was the crowd. There wasn't any dearth of enthusiasm in cheering for their favourite team.

Crowd comment

Over the past few years, several comparisons have been drawn between Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. However, this time around another member of the Indian cricket team has been compared to the Master Blaster.

An Indian fan, sitting on the row behind me, commented that Kedar Jadhav is somewhat similar to Tendulkar. It was a statement which left me completely perplexed as I had absolutely no idea of the reasons behind the comment.

Face-off you relished

Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah bowled exceptionally well in the first ten overs. While Kumar nipped out the wickets of David Warner and Hilton Cartwright, Bumrah bowled with venom and ferocity to maintain the pressure from the other end.

However, Steven Smith and Travis Head weathered the storm and didn't allow the Indian opening bowlers to get under their skins. An array of streaky boundaries flowed and they eventually survived the new-ball bursts from Kumar and Bumrah.

Shot of the day

Marcus Stoinis' six on the leg-side off Jasprit Bumrah's bowling was the shot of the day for me. Bumrah is an out-and-out fast bowler and clearing the boundary off his bowling is not a walk in the park. Bumrah went for an attempted yorker, but it went horribly wrong for him. It turned out to be a full-toss on the pads. Stoinis made a proper connection and the ball cleared the ropes by a fair distance for a flat six.

Prithviraj Kothari & Sri Lanka secure World Cup berth after Windies defeat

Sri Lanka have become the eighth and final team to qualify automatically for the 2019 World Cup, following West Indies' seven-wicket defeat against England in the first ODI at Old Trafford.

With September 30 set as the cut-off date, West Indies (78 points) now cannot move ahead of Sri Lanka (86 points) in the ICC ODI rankings, irrespective of how their remaining matches against England pan out.

They had gone into the five-match series needing to win by either 4-0 or 5-0 to amass enough points to leapfrog Sri Lanka, but their fate was sealed in a 42-over-a-side contest in which a Jonny Bairstow century guided England past their victory target of 205 with more than 19 overs remaining.

Sri Lanka, World Champions in 1996, now join Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa as the confirmed participants in the 2019 event, which will be held in England between May 30 and July 15.

West Indies, two-times champions in 1975 and 1979, must now compete in a 10-team qualifier in 2018, where they will be joined by the bottom three sides in the ICC team rankings - Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and Ireland - as well as the top four sides from the ICC World Cricket League Championship and the top two sides from the ICC World Cricket League Division 2. The top two sides will complete the World Cup line-up.

"You always know there's the potential of that [not qualifying direct], we knew it was going to be a tough ask," said Toby Radford, West Indies' batting coach. "But we are very positive as a group and are trying to develop in all formats. If it means the qualifiers next year, it means the qualifiers next year and we'll build our way back up."

Upul Tharanga, Sri Lanka's ODI captain, was relieved to have avoided that fate: "It's no secret that we have been going through a tough time, but I want to say a big, big thank you to our fans who've kept faith with us when things looked bleak.

"ICC events have always brought out the magic in Sri Lanka cricket, and I look forward to proving that once again.

"We have a clear plan toward the World Cup, and we will work hard at achieving each step. As we say in the dressing room, - Little 'w's [wins] add up to make the big 'W' - so that's what we'll be focusing on and I know you will see Sri Lanka's special brand of cricket out there once again soon."

Will Rohit Sharma dominate his favourite opponents again?

The Australians are in town again for an ODI series, and Rohit Sharma, more than anyone else, will be licking his lips in anticipation. In general, his ODI form over the last few seasons has been exceptional - he has a 50-plus average in each calendar year since 2013, when he became a permanent fixture at the top of the order - but against Australia, he has elevated his batting to another level altogether: in 13 ODI innings against them since the start of 2013, he has scored five centuries and averaged 110.40 at a strike rate of 102.88. He missed a sixth hundred by a run when he was dismissed for 99 in Sydney in 2016.

After scoring a mere 193 runs in his first ten ODI innings against Australia, Rohit has gone into overdrive, scoring almost six times that tally in his next 13. It hasn't mattered much whether he has played them home or away either: in seven innings against them in Australia, he has scored 613 runs, including three hundreds; at home, he has 491 in six, with two hundreds, including a double. In the first ten of those 13 innings, his scores read thus: 42, 141 not out, 11, 9 not out, 79, 209, 138, 34, 171 not out, and 124 - 958 runs, at an average of nearly 137. That aggregate is the highest by any batsman against a single opposition in ten successive innings, going past Sachin Tendulkar's 778, also against Australia, between 1996 and 1998.