A stellar batting display followed by an incredible performance with the ball saw Kolkata register a 37-run victory over Rajasthan at the Dubai International Stadium.

Here are the key talking points from the contest:

Cummins comes good

Since his disastrous performance against Mumbai Indians on his debut for the team, Pat Cummins has been worth his weight in gold for KOL and is justifying his hefty price tag. The Australian gave away 13 runs in his three overs with the ball while picking the prized wicket of RR skipper Steve Smith. This comes on the back of a sensational performance against HYD where he finished with figures of 1-19 in his quota of four overs, picking the scalp of the in-form Jonny Bairstow. Cummins is coming in clutch for KOL.

Robin a spot in the team

Veteran Robin Uthappa's experience is certainly handy in the dressing room full of young Indian talent but his form with the bat certainly isn’t justifying his place in the playing XI. Through three matches, Uthappa has scored 16 runs, failing to reach double figures in each of his three outings. With RAJ packing pinch-hitters across the batting line-up, Uthappa's role is to anchor the ship but he’s struggling to deliver so far. With the talented Yashasvi Jaiswal on the bench, RAJ have a rather simple decision on their hands of letting Uthappa make way for the young opener and pushing Steve Smith down to his natural position in the middle order.

Nagarkoti's stellar night

For years, Kamlesh Nagarkoti has been touted to have a breakthrough season and become India's next pace sensation but frequent injuries have derailed his career so far and have propped questions of his durability as a fast bowler. However, against RR, the 20-year-old finally showed a glimpse of his unbelievable potential, picking up two wickets for just 13 runs in his two overs. He also took a brilliant catch to dismiss Jofra Archer and was a handful with the bat at the tail-end of KOL's innings, proving his all-round ability. A great outing for a potentially great player.

Tom terrific

One of the silver linings on a truly terrible evening for RR was all-rounder Tom Curran's performance with the bat. The 25-year-old hasn’t batted much owing to the terrific form of the top six prior to this contest, but in his first proper outing with the bat, the Englishman showcased what a quality batsman he can be for his side. Curran scored 54 off just 36 balls, smashing two fours and three sixes in what was his maiden half-century in the Indian T20 League. This innings will do Curran a world of good and will give RR another batting option in an already deep batting line-up.

Feature image courtesy: Twitter.com / Indian T20 League

A brilliant bowling effort saw hosts England defend a modest total of 231 against Australia, who were bundled out for 207 in the second ODI of their ongoing three-match series.

The two teams will now play in a decider on Wednesday, September 15 at 5:30 pm at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester, England. We pick out two players from each side to watch out for in this winner-takes-all match:

Joe Root

Since his stretch of four half-centuries and two centuries in seven matches in 2019, Joe Root has hit a bit of a snag in ODI cricket.

The England Test captain has failed to score a half-century in nine straight innings. If he fails to score atleast 50 in the third ODI, it will be the longest stretch in his career without a half-century, surpassing the nine-match run that he had at the tail end of 2013 and at the start of 2014. With an average of over 50 in ODIs, Root is among the finest batsmen in the format. With Jonny Bairstow struggling for form, England need their talisman to deliver with the bat and the third ODI could be the perfect opportunity for him to end his lean spell.

Marnus Labuschagne

He may have played just eight innings so far in his nascent ODI career, but Marnus Labuschagne is one of Australia’s foremost batsmen. Averaging just a shade under 47, Labuschagne has scored two half-centuries and a ton in his eight innings so far. The 26-year-old played an assured knock of 48 before being dismissed in the second ODI, and his departure caused a collapse that the visitors failed to recover from.

Tom Curran

All-rounder Tom Curran was sensational in the second ODI with the ball as well as the bat. He came in to bat with England reeling at 143/7 before being reduced to 149/8 in the 41st over. Curran scored 37 off 39 runs and forged a 76-run partnership for the ninth wicket alongside Adil Rashid that helped England reach a fairly competitive and eventually match-winning total of 231.

• England vs Australia third ODI: When and where to watch

Curran was tremendous with the ball, giving away just 28 runs in his quota of 10 overs, curbing the scoring rate and helping England defend the total. Curran’s improved form came in clutch for the home side in the second ODI and the hosts will be hopeful of a repeat performance in the decider.

Alex Carey

Wicketkeeper batsmen Alex Carey waged a lone battle at the end for Australia and tried his best to guide the home side to victory. But with wickets crumbling at an alarming rate, there was little Carey could do to help his side.

Despite the loss, it was an encouraging showing from the batsman who has now gone nine games without a half-century to his name. But, that wouldn’t concern Australia given how loaded the top of the order is. They would, however, rely on Carey to give them a power-packed finish at the end or anchor the tail in a chase, which he himself has admitted to wanting to do.

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Feature image courtesy: AFP / Glyn Kirk

Season preview

With Steve Smith back at the helm and Ajinkya Rahane sold out, Rajasthan have a significantly different look to their squad in the upcoming Indian T20 League season. While a lot of their core players remain in the side, there were some interesting additions to the squad with the likes of David Miller, Robin Uthappa and Andrew Tye added for experience. 

They also seemed pretty intent on grooming the youngsters for the future, and under-19 players like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Akash Singh and Kartik Tyagi earned the deals in the process. In Tom Curran, Mayank Markande and Manan Vohra, they have also added a few underrated T20 players. 

Rajasthan have less clutter, but with Ben Stokes in doubt for the season after pulling out of Australia series, their batting, and more importantly bowling stocks might get a significant hit. Jaydev Unadkat is in a rugged form, having picked 65 wickets in the Ranji season and could be a key player for them this season.

Last 2 seasons - WIN/LOSS record

2018 - 7 wins, 8 losses

2019 - 5 wins, 8 losses

Rajasthan are preparing to take inspiration from their title-winning season (2008) and find a way to squeeze in another impressive performance. A franchise that often flies under the radar, Rajasthan have managed to make it to the playoffs only three times since their 2008 triumph (2013, 2015 and 2018).

Squad

Mahipal Lomror, Manan Vohra, Riyan Parag, Steve Smith, Robin Uthappa, David Miller, Ankit Rajpoot, Mayank Markande, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Varun Aaron, Jaydev Unadkat, Kartik Tyagi, Akash Singh, Oshane Thomas, Andrew Tye, Ben Stokes, Rahul Tewatia, Shashank Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Anirudha Joshi, Tom Curran, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson, Anuj Rawat

Top run-scorers from retained players (last 2 seasons) 

• Jos Buttler - 859 runs
• Sanju Samson - 783 runs
• Steven Smith - 319 runs

Top wicket-takers from retained players (last 2 seasons)

• Shreyas Gopal - 31 wickets
• Jofra Archer - 26 wickets
• Jaydev Unadkat - 21 wickets

Read | Hyderabad prepare for a bumper season

Strengths

Rajasthan's strength is their top-order that has Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson batting together with Ben Stokes and Steven Smith to follow. With David Miller, Riyan Parag and Shreyas Gopal also in the mix, Rajasthan have a formidable batting unit and some exciting bench strength this season.

Unlike the past, their bowling attack could well be the key this year. In the spin department, Gopal will be backed by Mayank Markande. Even if Archer is out, Rajasthan have Oshane Thomas, Tom Curran and Andrew Tye as options. In Ankit Rajpoot - acquired in the trading window from Kings XI Punjab - they have a swing bowler to complement Unadkat. The under-19 duo of Kartik Tyagi and Akash Singh also offer promise with the former likely to start a lot of games.

Weaknesses

Their strength could essentially be their weakness too. The batting group has a few restrictive players including Smith who isn't an out and out T20 player. His batting position and the point of entry to the crease could be a huge game-changer for Rajasthan this season. 

Read | Revamped Kolkata can go the distance

They might also have to zero-in on their four overseas players. Given a plethora of options to chose from, picking a balanced XI would be a headache. While Tom Curran and Jofra Archer would top the bowling department, choosing from Smith, Miller, Buttler, Archer and Stokes would be a task.

Season prediction

Rajasthan might continue to struggle unless they have some stellar individual contributions from their Indian players. Overall, a last or a second-last finish appears to be in the offing for them this season as well.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Sajjad Hussain

After England’s historic chase in the second T20I, the hosts will look to win the series with another victory in the third and final T20I against Pakistan at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester.

Pakistan, who face a must-win situation, will likely be without pacer Mohammad Amir, who suffered a hamstring injury in the second T20I. Who can step up in his absence and who can England rely on to guide them to another series win? We take a look at the players to watch out for in the third T20I.

Dawid Malan

The 32-year-old Yorkshire batsman has finally found his footing in international cricket after years of piling runs aplenty in domestic cricket.

Batting at No. 3 in the absence of Joe Root, Malan, playing the anchor role for the hosts, has been good in each of his two outings in the series.

While the English batting line-up, with the exception of Tom Banton, crumbled in the first T20I, Malan played a gritty knock of 23 off 23 balls to help England put a respectable total on the scoreboard before rain interrupted proceedings and the match was called off.

In the second T20I, Malan was at his brilliant best, smashing 54 off 36 balls to help England chase down 194, the second-highest successful chase in the country. The 32-year-old has been in great touch in this series and England will be hopeful that the experienced southpaw will deliver in the third T20I as well.

Fakhar Zaman

It’s been over two years and 13 innings since Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman scored a half-century in T20Is for his nation.

After his brilliant 91 off 46 against Australia, Zaman failed to cross 25 in each of his next 12 outings for Pakistan. However, that changed in the second T20, as the opener struck a flashy 36 off 22 before being dismissed by Adil Rashid.

Zaman struck five boundaries and a six in his knock of 36 and looked confident out in the centre against the English attack. This could be the springboard that the 30-year-old needed to end his slump and Pakistan could really do with a big score from their experienced opener in the final match of the series.

Tom Curran

Despite playing twenty T20Is for his country, all-rounder Tom Curran is yet to have a meaningful impact on the international stage.

The 25-year-old has picked up 22 wickets in his 20 appearances, however, his economy rate of 9.25 makes him one of the most expensive bowlers operating at the international level. His fairly decent strike rate of 17.2 doesn’t quite make up for his inability to curb the runs.

With the bat, he’s managed just 38 runs in eight outings, but that could be attributed to the depth of the England batting line-up and the lack of chances that Curran has gotten at the international stage.

But, the point remains that he needs to perform well to keep his place in the playing XI and the third T20I against Pakistan could be one of the final opportunities he gets to showcase that he belongs on the international stage.

Shadab Khan

The 21-year-old all-rounder has performed quite well in the ongoing T20I series against England.

Shadab has picked up five wickets in two matches at a decent economy rate of 8.37. He was the pick of the Pakistani bowlers in the second T20I, finishing with figures of 3-34. Not only did he just pick wickets, but he also scalped two important ones, dismissing both English openers who were in stellar touch in the powerplay overs. 

Pakistan will be hopeful that Shadab can continue his good form in the final T20I.

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Feature image courtesy: AFP / Mike Hewitt

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author's and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SportsAdda.

England paceman Tom Curran will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a side injury, playing for Surrey against Sussex in the Twenty20 Blast, his county announced Saturday.

The 24-year-old, a member of England's victorious World Cup squad but not selected during the one-day tournament, has played one first-class, two List A and ten T20 Blast matches for Surrey this season, taking 26 wickets in total.

Curran, who has appeared in 17 one-day internationals and two Tests, will now undergo a period of rehabilitation ahead of England's off-season tours of New Zealand and South Africa, which he will aim to participate in if selected.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Geoff Caddick