De Villiers changed the game in one over - SA batting coach

At 12 for 3, South Africa were looking for some calm, for someone to absorb the pressure and block out a few overs, for a little bit of good, old-fashioned Test defense. AB de Villiers was not in the mood for any of that and he used the ninth over, Bhuvneshwar Kumar's fifth as he claimed three top-order wickets, to show it.

In five balls, de Villiers drove Bhuvneshwar through the covers twice by smothering the movement with aggression and tucking into the full length. Then, he slashed a pair of short balls through point. With that intent, de Villiers grabbed momentum by the throat, flung it up against a wall and told it, "You are going to turn around." And it obeyed.

"Luckily our phones get taken away otherwise I would have been looking for an Uber to get back to the hotel," South Africa's batting coach Dale Benkenstein said. "They are a quality bowling attack and that stage I was sitting there wondering how we were going to score a run. The genius of AB de Villiers and the tenacity of the captain, that partnership got us back in the game and got that belief back in the change room. I think it was just one over where AB just changed the game. He made the bowlers have to worry about their lengths."

De Villiers started striking at over a run a ball after that over and continued playing aggressively, finding the boundary often and forcefully. He had the perfect foil at the other end in Faf du Plessis, who set up his typical rearguard action and bedded in. Between them, South Africa benefitted to the tune of 104 runs and quickly went from being dominated to dominating. De Villiers' ability to single-handedly change matches is well-documented, but now he seems to be doing it at will in the longer format, where South Africa are trying to play a more proactive brand of cricket.

That much was evident in the way all their batsmen played. Quinton de Kock, Vernon Philander and Keshav Maharaj all looked to get quick runs, not just because South Africa wanted to get India in as soon as possible, but also because they perhaps decided the best form of attack is to simply attack.

"As a general philosophy, as a batter you go out there to score runs, and on a wicket like that you're not going to get many opportunities to, so I would rather they are looking to score and then your last mindset is to leave or defend. They did that well," Benkenstein observed.

This aggressive thinking extended even towards team selection. They opted against the security of seven batsmen, by playing four quicks and a spinner in Maharaj. This meant Temba Bavuma, who has strung up gritty middle-order performances, had to miss out. Benkenstein admitted it was a difficult decision to leave him out, and by extension one of Chris Morris and Andile Phehlukwayo, but explained the need for experience swung the decision that way.

"With AB and Faf back, you've got your top six that all average over 40 in Test cricket," Benkenstein said. "We wanted to go with a strong bowling attack and our best batters at this time. As a group it was felt that was the best team."

Rohit hits the joint-fastest T20I century

35 - Number of balls taken by Rohit Sharma to score his century, which is the joint-fastest in T20Is. He equalled David Miller's record - he had done the same against Bangladesh in October. The previous fastest T20I century among India batsmen was 46 balls by KL Rahul, against West Indies in Lauderhill last year.

2 - Number of faster centuries in all T20 cricket, than the one by Rohit in this game. The fastest came off 30 balls by Chris Gayle in IPL 2013. The previous quickest T20 century among India players was in 37 balls by Yusuf Pathan in IPL 2010.

5 - Number of batsmen to score two centuries in T20 Internationals, including Rohit. Gayle, Evin Lewis, Brendon McCullum and Colin Munro are the others to achieve this. Overall, this is Rohit's fourth century in his T20 career, the joint-most among India players along with Virat Kohli. KL Rahul and Suresh Raina are the only India players to score centuries in T20Is previously, both with one each.

1- Number of bigger totals in T20Is than the 260 for 5 by India in this match. The highest is Australia's 263 for 3 against Sri Lanka in Pallekele last year. India's largest total before this was 244 for 4 against West Indies in a chase in Lauderhill last year.

0- Number of batsmen to reach their century quicker, in terms of team overs, in T20Is than Rohit got there in 2nd ball of 12th over. The previous quickest to get it were Richard Levi and Mohammad Shahzad in 13.2 overs.

12-0- India's record in the 13 bilateral series played this year across all three formats (series of 2 or more matches). They haven't lost any series this year.

10 - Sixes hit by Rohit in this innings - the most by an India batsman in a T20I innings. He eclipsed Yuvraj Singh, who had hit seven sixes against England in Durban in the 2007 World T20.

64 - Number of sixes by Rohit across all formats this year - the most by any batsman in a calendar year. He went past AB de Villiers' 63 sixes in 2015.

110* - The previous highest score by an India batsman in T20Is, by Rahul against West Indies last year. Rohit went past that with 118 off 43 balls, which is the joint-eighth-highest overall in T20Is.

91.52 - Percentage of runs scored in boundaries by Rohit - 108 out of 118. This is the highest for any T20I innings of 30 or more balls. The previous highest was 88.52% by Paul Stirling against Canada in 2012, when he hit 54 out of 61 runs in boundaries.

207 - Runs by the India openers in this match - Rohit 118 and Rahul 89 - the most for any team in a T20I innings. The previous highest was 182 by Loots Bosman (94) and Graeme Smith (88) against England in Centurion in 2009.

Record fifth-wicket stand for England against Australia

237 - Runs added by Jonny Bairstow and David Malan - the highest fifth-wicket stand for England against Australia in Tests. There was only one double-century stand for the fifth wicket in Ashes Tests previously and that was by Dennis Compton and Eddie Paynter in 1938 in Nottingham. This was also the joint third-highest fifth-wicket stand for England overall, and the first double-century stand for the fifth wicket since Paul Collingwood and Eoin Morgan added 219 in Nottingham against Pakistan.

37 - Innings since Jonny Bairstow scored his last Test century. He came close earlier this year when he was dismissed for 99 against South Africa. However, this is his first Test century in 2017 and also his first against Australia. In 2016 he scored three centuries and finished as the second-highest run-getter in Tests.

2 - Centurions in the England innings - first instance of this against Australia since the 2011 Sydney Test. Incidentally this is the third consecutive year in which Australia have conceded two centuries in a WACA Test. JP Duminy and Dean Elgar made 141 and 127 respectively in 2016, while Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor made 166 and 290 in 2015.

2006 - The last instance in which England scored more than 400 against Australia in the first innings of a Test match. This was in Adelaide in 2006 when they declared for 551 for 6. Incidentally they lost the game. Since then, they had averaged 253 in the first innings of the Test from five innings. However, in the successful 2010-11 campaign they had three such first-innings scores in the three matches they won.

1 - Instance of Australia winning from the previous six occasions after conceding 400 in the first innings of a Test in Perth. This was way back in 1977 against India, when they chased down 342.

35 - Runs for which England lost their last six wickets - the lowest in Australia for England in the first innings since 1998, when they added only 32 runs for these wickets in Adelaide.

3 - This is the third lowest all-out total in the Ashes for England in an innings that featured a double-hundred stand. The other two such instances were a while ago: in Nottingham in 1977 and in Adelaide in 1928-29.

World Cup stars set to light up third WBBL season

International players: Ellyse Perry (Australia), Alyssa Healy (Australia), Sarah Aley (Australia), Lauren Cheatle (Australia), Ashleigh Gardner (Australia), Marizanne Kapp (South Africa), Dane van Niekerk (South Africa), Sara McGlashan (New Zealand)

In: Lauren Cheatle (Sydney Thunder), Erin Burns (Hobart Hurricanes), Clara Iemma

Out: Lisa Sthalekar, Rhiannon Dick (Adelaide Strikers), Haylee Hoffmeister

Tons of runs: that's how the Sixers get it done. And that is why they are the defending champions, after beating the Perth Scorchers in a tight final last season. They did that without Ellyse Perry, who was injured at the time, with Alyssa Healy stepping into the breach.

Much like their crosstown rivals, the Sixers boast an imposing team sheet filled with international mainstays. Healy finished third in the run charts last year, while Sarah Aley's stack of 28 wickets was by far the biggest in the tournament, winning her an international debut in both white-ball formats at the age of 33.

Lauren Cheatle is a fantastic acquisition from the Sydney Thunder, the teenage left-arm seamer being one of the most exciting talents from the local system. The same could be said for Ashleigh Gardner, who this year catapulted onto the international stage due to 414 runs in the 2016-17 edition.

South African duo Marizanne Kapp and Dane van Niekerk give Perry a world-class seamer and wristspinner, but both will miss the final for the second year running, given commitments to play for their country in late January. The Sixers should dominate more often than not.

Perth Scorchers

Where they finished last season: Runners-up

Captain: Elyse Villani

International players: Elyse Villani (Australia), Nicole Bolton (Australia), Katherine Brunt (England), Nat Sciver (England)

In: Meg Lanning (Melbourne Stars), Natalie Sciver (Melbourne Stars), Mikayla Hinkley (Sydney Thunder)

Out: Suzie Bates (Adelaide Strikers), Anya Shrubsole, Emma Biss

Thirimanne the bunny, and Ashwin-Jadeja v Kumble-Harbhajan

When R Ashwin dismissed Lahiru Thirimanne in the morning session, not many would have been surprised. After all, this had already happened 11 times previously in all international cricket - six times in ODIs, five times in Tests, and once in T20Is. It is the most times he has dismissed any batsman, and the most times any bowler has dismissed Thirimanne in international cricket.

Since the start of 2010, only two bowler-batsman pairs are higher in this list: Mahela Jayawardene-Saeed Ajmal, and Mohammad Hafeez-Dale Steyn. Both Thirimanne and Ashwin feature once more in the top five - Thirimanne has been Anderson's bunny as well, while Ashwin has had plenty of success against David Warner as well.

In terms of frequency of dismissal, though, the Ashwin-Thirimanne one is better than any of the other entries in the top five. Of the 18 times that Ashwin has bowled to Thirimanne in internationals, he has dismissed him 12 times, which is a frequency of one dismissal every 1.5 innings.

For the 24th time in a home Test, Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were a part of India's team, and as usual, they wreaked havoc on the opposition batsmen, combining to take 7 for 123 to bundle Sri Lanka out for 205. In these 24 Tests, they have combined to take 273 wickets at 20.94, with 22 five-wicket hauls between them. In these 24 matches, these two bowlers have taken 64% of India's bowler-wickets; the other bowlers have combined to take 155 scalps at 33.35.

Australia's top order versus England's lower order

Australia have home advantage going into the 2017-18 Ashes series, but several pundits have suggested that the series is too close to call, with neither team having an overwhelming advantage. And while it is true that England were drubbed 5-0 the last time they toured here, in 2013-14, in terms of recent form there is little to separate the two.

Australia's worry over the last 18 months has been their batting, while England seem to have a few holes in their top order as well. In terms of recent results, England have a slight edge: since April 2016, they have a 10-9 win-loss record compared to Australia's 6-8. However, that is also because England have played two home seasons during this period to Australia's one: they have been 9-4 at home and 1-5 away, while Australia were 4-2 at home and 2-6 away.

The comparison is made easier by the fact that both teams have played similar opposition sides recently. In these last 18 months, both Australia and England have played at home against South Africa and Pakistan, and away in India and Bangladesh. Australia had a 6-5 record in these matches, compared to England's 6-8: they lost 0-4 to India and only managed a 2-2 draw against Pakistan, while Australia did better against these teams but lost at home to South Africa. In these four series, there is little to choose between the batting averages of the two teams, but Australia were the better bowling unit, averaging 29.14 to England's 33.23. (Apart from these four series, Australia toured Sri Lanka and lost 3-0 during this period, while England played home series versus Sri Lanka and West Indies, winning 2-0 and 2-1. These series skew the overall numbers in England's favour during this period.)

While the overall batting averages are almost the same in these series, the break-up by batting positions reveals the different strengths of these two teams. Australia's top five, which includes David Warner, Steven Smith, Usman Khawaja and Peter Handscomb, have pretty good numbers in these four series, with the top four slots all averaging in the mid- to late-40s. Smith has averaged 63.55 in these games, while Warner (45.04), Handsomb (49.07) and Khawaja (48.58) have also been impressive.

England's top five, on the other hand, struggled in these four series, with only Joe Root averaging more than 40. He averaged an outstanding 53.86, but next best was Alastair Cook at 39.62, followed by Moeen Ali (36.38) and Jonny Bairstow (34.10). Together, they managed only eight hundreds in 15 Tests, compared to Australia's 13 from 12. Among the failures for England in the top five positions in these series are Gary Ballance (304 runs in 15 innings), Keaton Jennings (294 from 12) and James Vince, who is slotted to bat at No. 3 in the Ashes. Vince has scored only 212 runs from 11 innings in his Test career, while batting at numbers four or five in those innings.

Vinay Kumar keeps his India comeback dream alive

R Vinay Kumar hasn't yet given up on his dream of playing for India again, four years after his last international appearance. The ghosts of that match still linger when his international career is discussed: on a flat pitch at his home ground, the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru against Australia, Vinay was battered for 102 runs, the second-most expensive nine-over returns in ODIs.

Opportunities since have been scant. He was part of the squad for home series against West Indies later that year, and travelled to Bangladesh in 2014, but did not make the XI. Vinay is at peace with his position, realising the competition among pacers in the national side, but is firm in the pursuit of his ambition. At 33, he is working harder than ever on keeping himself fit and has learned to be smarter about his bowling workload. "I'm matured enough to understand my situation. If I'm 21 or 22, then it (being out of the India team) may be very difficult to digest," he told ESPNcricinfo.

Vinay has learned to count every chance he gets as a blessing. He has had the right kind of people around to guide him, like Sachin Tendulkar, his mentor at Mumbai Indians, who impressed on him the importance of remembering the love for the game that he started out with in the first place.

"Bowlers are always happy to take five wickets. I'm the kind of bowler, who when a partnership needs to be broken, I'll be happy to come in and get a wicket. That's like getting five wickets for me. These small moments are what I enjoy very much. Breaking partnerships is a huge achievement for me. Indian team is always at the back of my mind, but I try to seek happiness from such small things and it makes me work harder on my game."

The time out of the Indian team has not affected his domestic impact. In the last four seasons, Vinay has been among Karnataka's top two wicket-takers in three of them. He captained them to six domestic titles in the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons. This year, he has already taken 13 wickets in three matches at 15.46, including a six-for against Maharashtra. With over 400 first-class wickets at an average of 23, Vinay has been a powerhouse performer in first-class cricket. His 369 wickets in the Ranji Trophy make him the highest wicket-taker among pace bowlers in the history of the tournament.

"Last three years, I got two awards from BCCI: best bowler award (highest wicket-taker in 2014-15 Ranji Trophy) and best allrounder award (in limited-overs cricket in 2013-14). Performance-wise, I don't have any doubt that I can come back into the Indian side, but I need to wait for an opportunity.

"There are two ways of looking at it - one, get frustrated and try to do something that you're not used to, or second is to keep it simple and keep doing what you have been, try to enjoy your cricket and whenever you get the opportunity, try to perform and raise your goals a little higher. You may or may not reach the goal, but that kind of challenges and motivates you to go out and perform. At the end of the day, when I go back to my room, I should be happy about the way I bowled. That feel-good factor is very important for me."