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England’s established opener will walk out alongside a familiar face in Mount Maunganui

George Dobell in Mount Maunganui18-Nov-2019Rory Burns has only played a dozen Tests but looks set to link-up with his fifth* opening partner later this week in Mount Maunganui. But this time, at least, there will be a familiar face at the other end when he takes strike.While Dominic Sibley may have left Burns’ county, Surrey, a couple of years ago, the pair played a huge amount of cricket together as they were growing up. As well as providing many lifts to training and matches, Burns was also at the other end when Sibley made his Surrey debuts for the first-team and the seconds, as well as his debut in an England shirt last week in Whangarei. (Indeed, it is probably a reflection of England’s reliance upon private schools that three of England’s last four openers – Burns, Sibley and Jason Roy – all attended Whitgift.)ALSO READ: England settle for draw in tour matchAs a result, Burns is well placed to offer a view on Sibley’s capabilities as opener.”I’ve known Sibbo for – we were trying to work it out the other day – since I was 12 or 13,” Burns said. “I don’t really remember him at school because I left Whitgift at 16. But I remember seeing him down at academy stuff, Surrey stuff and he only lives a town down so I gave him a lot of lifts when he was coming through in the second team. I remember driving him to most of those games. I won’t have to drive him to this week: we’ve got the coach”It would be a pretty cool feeling to open with him on his Test debut, too. I’m very proud of him to have got to where he has, particularly having left Surrey and doing what he’s done at Warwickshire. That’s a testament to him as a character.”He showed all his attributes: his determination and his character to bat for days at a time, to put up the weight of runs he did and to bat the number of balls he did in tricky conditions you get in county cricket with a lot of assistance for bowlers a lot of the time. He’s earned his spot.”While Burns is somewhat defensive of Roy’s record – and not just because Roy served as one of his best men only a few weeks ago (Surrey seamer Matt Dunn was the other) – he accepts that Sibley may be more obviously suited to the role of Test opener.”Obviously Jason’s main grounding is white-ball cricket, but his red-ball cricket is very good as well. I don’t think we can judge him on his Test career batting out of position,” Burns said. “But I think him and Sibs’ styles are slightly different. Sibs is more traditional in terms of opening the batting in red-ball cricket because that’s where he’s learned most of his stuff.”His concentration levels and determination to go about that process are his strong points. He likes batting time, he can bat days at a time and he’s willing to grind bowlers down and not necessarily race away at the start of an innings. He’s willing to build an innings and wait for people to come to him and pick them off when he can. Sibbo was the standout batter in the country regardless of position.”Dominic Sibley removes his helmet on reaching three figures•Getty Images

There is little doubt Sibley has earned this opportunity. He not only scored more than 300 more runs than any man in Division One of the Championship in 2019, he faced more than a thousand deliveries more than anyone else in that division. But the New Zealand bowlers will have noted that he was struck on the grille of the helmet by an excellent short ball during the game against the New Zealand A side and flashed at one outside off stump a few minutes later. More short balls are likely.As for Burns, he is probably as established as any England opener since the years of Andrews Strauss and Alastair Cook. He has already achieved something Cook never could – a century in a home Ashes series – while his tally of runs in that series (390) also surpassed anything Cook ever achieved against Australia at home. Bearing in mind how tough opening the batting was in the summer of 2019 – David Warner averaged 9.50, remember – his average of 39.00 was a fine effort.He has also looked an asset in the field, taking some sharp catches in the cordon, and there have been early whispers that he could, one day, emerge as a leadership contender.”You’re never truly settled because there’s always another Test coming,” Burns said. “New Zealand have got a fine bowling attack to try and expose any weaknesses in your game. It’s a summer to build on for me, but at the end of it there were a few scores I left out there. So there’s a lot to keep improving upon.”There sure is. But, in picking two specialist openers to combat the new ball, England are, at last, giving themselves the best opportunity to improve in New Zealand.*Oh, and just in case you are wracking your brain trying to remember Burns’ Test opening partners, they are: Keaton Jennings, Joe Denly, Jack Leach and Roy.

The allrounder, who missed only one match across formats on India’s recent tour of England, was taken off after collapsing midway through his spell against Pakistan on Wednesday

Shashank Kishore in Dubai19-Sep-2018Hardik Pandya was stretchered off the field for an “acute lower back injury” during play against Pakistan on Wednesday in Dubai. He clutched his back during his followthrough in the 18th over of Pakistan’s innings before lying motionless. Initially suspected to be a case of cramps because of dehydration, he was taken off on a stretcher on physio Patrick Farhart’s advice. Pandya had bowled 4.5 overs for 24 runs uuntil that point. Ambati Rayudu was summoned to bowl the one remaining delivery.”Hardik Pandya has an acute lower back injury. He is able to stand at the moment and the medical team is assessing him now,” a BCCI official confirmed.While a proper medical bulletin is awaited, it left India with the prospect of having to employ a sixth proper bowler in Kedar Jadhav, who is also returning to full fitness from a hamstring injury that kept him out of action for almost the entire IPL season and India’s England tour that followed.Pandya’s potential injury could be the latest in a long list of concerns for the Indian team management. As things stand, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has just returned to full fitness from a back injury that flared up during the IPL. After having missed the England tour, he returned to competitive cricket during the quadrangular series for India A late last month. India’s first-choice Test wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha is also recuperating from a shoulder injury that could keep him out of action for at least another four months.Pandya has played in 44 matches across formats for India over the last 12 months, with only Rohit Sharma having played more with 46 games. Pandya’s recent workload has been among the heaviest for any Indian player on this tour – he played a full IPL season, and missed only one game across formats on India’s tour of England, which ended just over a week before Wednesday’s game against Pakistan.If Pandya’s injury is deemed serious enough for him to miss the remainder of the Asia Cup, India may struggle to find a like-for-like replacement. The closest contender currently is Tamil Nadu’s Vijay Shankar, who was picked in Pandya’s place for the Nidahas Trophy earlier this year. But he is just coming off a left hamstring injury that forced him to miss the quadrangular series for India A last month. He has, however, been picked to captain Tamil Nadu for the Vijay Hazare Trophy, India’s domestic 50-over competition.

Pakistan climbed to sixth on the ICC ODI rankings, two places above the bar for direct entry into the showpiece event

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jun-20172:17

Dravid: We saw the potential this Pakistan team has

Pakistan’s triumph in the Champions Trophy has pushed them to sixth in the ICC ODI rankings, and closer to direct qualification for the 2019 World Cup in England.

ODI team rankings

1. South Africa (119)
2. Australia (117)
3. India (116)
4. England (113)
5. New Zealand (111)
6. Pakistan (95)
7. Bangladesh (94)
8. Sri Lanka (93)
9. West Indies (77)

Pakistan, who began the tournament placed eighth, gained four points to move past Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, who are now ranked seventh and eighth respectively. Hosts England and the seven highest ranked teams at the cut-off date of September 30, 2017, receive direct qualification for the next World Cup.”We’ve got two years until the 2019 World Cup,” Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur said after beating India in the Champions Trophy final. “We’ve got the monkey off our back in terms of qualifying. We now have two years to identify a squad we want to take forward and give them enough game time.”In the ODI bowlers rankings, Pakistan’s Hasan Ali, who took 13 wickets in five games to be named Player of the Champions Trophy, broke into the top 10, leapfrogging 12 of his peers to claim the seventh spot.Batsman Babar Azam moved up three positions to reach a career-high fifth spot in the batting rankings. Babar scored 133 runs in five Champions Trophy games, without a fifty. Fakhar Zaman, who scored two fifties and a hundred in the tournament, was among the top 100 despite playing just four ODIs.The top four spots in both the batting and bowling rankings – with Virat Kohli and Josh Hazlewood in the lead – remained unchanged.

Chaminda Bandara has been called in as a replacement for the injured Dushmantha Chameera in Sri Lanka’s squad for the third Test against England at Lord’s

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jun-2016Uncapped left-arm seamer Chaminda Bandara has been called in as a replacement for the injured Dushmantha Chameera in Sri Lanka’s squad for the third Test against England at Lord’s. His selection follows Chameera’s lower-back injury, which ruled him out for the rest of the England tour.Bandara, 29, will leave for England with Kusal Perera, who replaced injured seamer Dhammika Prasad; both players will be available for selection for the Lord’s Test, which starts from June 9.”Bandara has been performing well domestically and he is the best choice available at the time for the English conditions,” chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya said.Sri Lanka will also wait for the results of tests on Shaminda Eranga’s bowling action, which will take place on June 6. Eranga’s action had been reported after the second Test, at Chester-Le-Street. If the tests conclude that Eranga’s action is illegal, he will barred from bowling in international cricket with immediate effect.Bandara was not in the preliminary squad for the tour, but leapfrogs Vishwa Fernando and Kasun Rajitha into the Test squad, thanks largely to his domestic experience. He was also the most successful seam bowler in this year’s first-class tournament, taking 33 wickets at an average of 26.30 for Ports Authority Cricket Club. He has played 51 first-class matches in all, taking 141 wickets at an average of 29.85.

Soumya Sarkar’s longest ODI innings before today was 58-balls long. Today, once he survived that period, he knew he had to make it big

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur22-Apr-2015Tamim Iqbal smiled as he turned away from Soumya Sarkar. The two Bangladesh batsmen had met in the middle after Soumya had jabbed Umar Gul over midwicket in the fourth over. He had mistimed the previous ball through the same area for a boundary but this one had come off the middle. Tamim’s reaction suggested just that.Soumya might have been worried after making just 20 and 17 in the first two matches. But he passed through his danger period in this game with ease. When he played the 37th delivery in this game, a single down to mid-off, it became his longest innings of the ODI series.After being dropped in the 18th over by wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan, when he played the next ball – the 59th, it was his longest ODI innings. By this point he knew he had to stay, make it big. That’s what Tamim told him.”I played today like I always do,” Soumya said. “I slowed down in the forties. I made fresh plans after talking to Tamim . He told me, ‘Make it big and stay till the end. Finish it, and you will see the pleasure will be something else’.””I was getting out in 20s and 30s. I was thinking about this. I was concerned. I talked to my seniors who told me to play my way. When I first saw the score, I was on 18. I thought that it had been done smoothly so I didn’t do anything differently today. I just started and ended the job.”Soumya sped away after his fifty, which came off 63 balls. The next 50 came off 31 balls, with five fours and three sixes. The hundred came off a six too, pulled into the deep midwicket boundary after which he cramped a little and then celebrated.”It is a habit. I don’t celebrate too much when I do anything big,” he said. “The shot I played it, didn’t go far and I didn’t understand if it would go all the way. Apart from that I had cramped immediately after hitting that shot.”When I saw that it was six, I think the cramp went away. At the end of the day, the celebration I did was from my heart,” he said.His final act was to lay into Umar Gul in the 38th over, after he was dropped in the same bowler’s previous over at deep square-leg. After Mushfiqur gave him strike, Soumya clattered it past the bowler, struck a majestic pull shot and then hammered one over long-on.Soumya is on five months into his international career, and he has now played ten ODIs. He was Bangladesh’s most impressive newcomer in the World Cup, although he struck only a single fifty in the competition. But Soumya’s game never wavered; his aggressive shotmaking was the biggest gain.Soumya feels that the support of the dressing-room, particularly his captain, made a huge difference to his outlook before and during the World Cup. He is reaping the rewards now.”My captain told me from the very beginning to play my way,” he said. “Play freely, don’t be afraid of anything. I was successful because the seniors supported me so much. I have only tried to be myself. The six World Cup innings went well for me. I tried my best in those innings and though I couldn’t make them big, it helped my confidence.”When he had ended the innings and taken the short victory lap thanking the full house in Mirpur, Soumya looked lost momentarily in the crowd that gathered in front of the dressing-room. He had just completed the interview with the broadcasters. But he towered over the rest around him, and when he was done with the photos and the hugs, he bowed his head as he strode back to the Bangladesh dressing-room.

Pat Cummins’ young career may again be held up by injury as he awaits the results of scans on a sore back following his return from the Twenty20 Champions League in South Africa

Daniel Brettig31-Oct-2012Pat Cummins’ young career may again be held up by injury as he awaits the results of scans on a sore back following his return from the Twenty20 Champions League in South Africa.Though he arrived in Sydney hopeful of a cameo role on the final day of New South Wales’ Sheffield Shield match against Queensland starting on Friday, Cummins was also nursing back discomfort following his exertions to help the Sydney Sixers win the CLT20 title.He went on from the airport to have his back examined, also meeting with CA’s physio Alex Kountouris. “Pat came back from Champions League T20 with some back soreness,” a Cricket Australia spokesperson said. “He had preliminary scans today and is due to have further investigations over the next few days to establish a diagnosis.”While the scans may yet clear Cummins of any major problems, they are another unhappy episode in a year that has been beset by injury troubles since his compelling Test match debut against South Africa in Johannesburg a little less than a year ago.Cummins was man of the match as Australia squeaked home by two wickets, but foot soreness that developed across the match turned out to be the early signs of a stress fracture, keeping Cummins out of the entire home summer. He next played for Australia on the ODI tour of England in June, but was promptly forced home by a side strain.Having recovered from that injury, Cummins turned out for Australia on T20 duty in the UAE against Pakistan and the World T20 in Sri Lanka, bowling well in combination with the left-armer Mitchell Starc.However his 19-year-old body remains clearly fragile, and will now be monitored extra closely by CA as they try to work out whether Cummins may still figure in Australia’s home Test matches against South Africa and Sri Lanka.”You want to play as much cricket as possible and it starts with the Shield and I haven’t played Shield for close to 18 months now so I am chomping at the bit to get out there,” Cummins said on his return home. “It’s ok that is mapped out three or four months in advance but it does hurt when you are sitting on the sidelines and you feel relatively fit and there are other people playing.”Queensland had indicated their unhappiness at being made to wait to hear which players would be nominated as replacements for the Blues Australian representatives to be pulled out of the final day of their Sheffield Shield match in Brisbane. However the delay has been partly due to the wait for fitness reports on Cummins and also Brad Haddin, who nursed a wounded finger through the latter phases of the CLT20.

Against the backdrop of Chris Gayle’s continued omission, Ottis Gibson, the West Indies coach, has said that the team needed “committed” senior players

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Oct-2011Against the backdrop of Chris Gayle’s continued omission from the West Indies side, the coach Ottis Gibson has said the team needed “committed” senior players as they begin the tour of Bangladesh.With the captain Darren Sammy not in a position to answer questions related to Gayle, Gibson stepped in, refusing to believe that it was difficult for his side without senior players like Gayle.”Do we need our senior players? I think we need everybody who is committed to us,” Gibson said in Mirpur. “Some people will think we need them. We are building a team and of course we need senior players that are committed to mix with the youngsters.”The youngsters have taken the opportunity and done very well for us. As we are looking at the future, we will build a team around the younger guys.”Gayle’s 12-year international career came to a halt this year because of a breakdown in his relationship with the WICB after West Indies’ quarter-final exit from the 2011 World Cup.West Indies’ previous match against Bangladesh was also in the World Cup, when they routed the hosts for 58. It was revenge two years in the making after Bangladesh had beaten a weakened West Indies side in Tests and ODIs in the Caribbean in 2009. Sammy played down that World Cup match as a one-off, but the memories of March 4 are fresh in the minds of every Bangladesh fan.”The last time we played, we got the better of them,” Sammy said. “We’ll try to repeat such a performance, but you can’t bowl out teams under 100 every game.”They are a good side at home, winning quite comfortably against New Zealand last year. We never took them for granted and we won’t do it here. We want to focus on us and on what we could do. They say that you’re as good as your last performance. Hopefully it’ll play very much on their mind. It’s never about revenge. It’s about making full use of the opportunity.”Sammy was not happy about the absence of the Decision Review System for the series. “For us the DRS has been a very good inclusion in the game,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that we don’t have it in this series. Whatever could be made possible to eliminate errors in the game, we’d welcome it.”West Indies play one Twenty20 international, two Tests and three ODIs on their tour of Bangladesh starting from October 11.

Victoria, the side with perhaps the best pedigree in the tournament, will kick-off their Champions League campaign against Warriors – South Africa’s domestic champions and one of the stronger sides in the competition

The Preview by George Binoy12-Sep-2010

Match facts

Warriors v Victoria, Monday, September 13
Start time 17.30 (15.30 GMT)Dirk Nannes will be a handful for the Warriors batsmen•Getty Images

Big Picture

Once Victoria Bushrangers take the field against the Warriors at St. George’s Park on Friday, all the contenders for the Champions League Twenty20 would have been in action. Victoria are perhaps the side with the best pedigree in the tournament. They have won the Big Bash four out of five times, finished runners-up once, and qualified for this year’s event as Australia’s champions. They were semi-finalists in the inaugural Champions League Twenty20 in India as well.
Victoria, however, are without three excellent Twenty20 players, all of whom played a part in their Big Bash triumph. Royal Challengers Bangalore bought the services of their power-hitters Cameron White and Ross Taylor for these two weeks, while Mumbai Indians retained allrounder Dwayne Bravo, who was also one of Victoria’s overseas players last season. Those losses have weakened a line-up that could have been the tournament’s most formidable but Victoria still possess a strong engine room – David Hussey and Brad Hodge – and an incisive arsenal, which includes fast bowlers Dirk Nannes, Shane Harwood, Clint McKay and Peter Siddle.They will kick-off their Champions League campaign against South Africa’s domestic champions and one of the stronger sides in the competition. The Warriors entered the tournament $200,000 richer because Bangalore wanted the all-round skills of Jacques Kallis, but his loss has been made up for by a squad filled with proven South African stars and domestic players who can hold their own.Their bowling line-up – Juan Theron, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Makhaya Ntini and Johan Botha – matches Victoria’s quality and their top order sparkled in the opening game against Wayamba. Colin Ingram and Justin Kreusch, little-known domestic performers, powered Warriors’ chase of 154 and set it up for Mark Boucher to finish off, which he did brutally.

Team news

Victoria announced their XI on the morning of the match, and left out bowlers Bryce McGain, James Pattinson, and Siddle, as well as reserve wicketkeeper Ryan Carters.”With the depth of our bowling stocks available for selection at present, Peter, James and Bryce are all very unlucky to miss today’s game,” Victoria’s chairman of selectors, John MacWhirter, said.  “The selected team is evenly balanced and extremely flexible, which we believe will be important to tackle the Warriors in their home conditions at the St Georges Park Ground.”The pace attack will be led by Nannes and Harwood, with seam bowling support from McKay, Andrew McDonald and John Hastings.  Glenn Maxwell, Hussey and Hodge are spin options if required.Victoria Bushrangers: 1 Brad Hodge, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 David Hussey (capt), 4 Rob Quiney, 5 Andrew McDonald, 6 Matthew Wade (wk), 7 Glenn Maxwell, 8 John Hastings, 9 Clint McKay, 10 Shane Harwood, 11 Dirk Nannes.There was no specific news from the Warriors camp and they could field the same XI that brushed Wayamba aside.Warriors: 1 Davey Jacobs (capt), 2 Ashwell Prince, 3 Colin Ingram, 4 Justin Kreusch, 5 Mark Boucher, 6 Johan Botha, 7 Craig Thyssen, 8 Nicky Boje, 9 Rusty Theron, 10 Makhaya Ntini, Lonwabo Tsotsobe.

Watch out for …

Victoria have plenty of internationals in their side but the lesser-known John Hastings is one to watch for the future. An allrounder who topped Victoria’s wicket tally in all three formats last season, Hastings is a clever medium-fast bowler who should enjoy working on the South African pitches. He does not have the pace of Nannes or Harwood, but expect him to play an important role if Victoria are to succeed in the tournament.

Rusty Theron’s street cred is that of a death-over specialist, when he bowls full and straight to thwart batsmen intent on hitting sixes. Against Wayamba, however, Theron threw two decisive punches in the first over of the game, dismissing Mahela Jayawardene and Mahela Udawatte. A similar start against Victoria will go a long way towards securing a Warriors victory against one of the tougher teams in their group.

Key contest

Warriors batsmen v Dirk Nannes: Warriors’ top and middle order were able to score at a rousing pace against Wayamba’s fast bowlers, but they’ll have a tougher time reproducing that against Nannes, whose steep bounce and slant across the right-handers will be tough to get away. Expect Hussey to deploy Nannes when Mark Boucher attempts to wreak havoc.

Stats and trivia

• Colin Ingram, with 283 runs at a strike-rate of 144 in eight matches, was the highest run-scorer in South Africa’s Pro20 series in 2009-10.
• Allrounder John Hastings was Victoria’s top wicket-taker during the 2009-10 Big Bash, taking ten wickets in seven games.

Quotes

“We’ve probably started favourites in most of the domestic competitions and we made the final four last year, so there’s definitely an air of excitement and confidence this year.”

A win would seal the series for them with Bangladesh looking for batting improvement

Hemant Brar08-Oct-2024

Big picture: India’s attacking template

Despite two debutants and plenty of fresh faces in the side, India steamrolled Bangladesh in the first T20I in Gwalior, chasing down 128 inside 12 overs. Yes, India were always the favourites but this also showed how far Bangladesh are behind the curve in T20I cricket.The way India played showed that Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir are continuing the attacking template set by Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid that helped them clinch the T20 World Cup earlier this year. Apart from Nitish Kumar Reddy (16 not out off 15 balls), everyone batted at a strike rate above 150. Moreover, they no longer suffer from the problem of their batters not chipping in with the ball. Their XI in the first T20I had as many as eight bowling options, something Suryakumar called a “happy headache”.On the other hand, Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto admitted that his batters do not know how to score 180 in a T20I, as they are used to playing on 140-150 pitches at home. But that is one hurdle they will have to overcome if they are to keep the series alive.Related

• New-look India blow away Bangladesh to take 1-0 lead

• Bangladesh are behind the curve in T20I cricket, and it shows

• Varun Chakravarthy's emotional rollercoaster

• Mahmudullah to retire from T20Is after series against India

If they need further motivation, the current series will be Mahmudullah’s last in this format. He retires as Bangladesh’s most capped T20I player, and they will like to send him off on a positive note.

Form guide

India WWWWW (last five T20Is, most recent first)
Bangladesh LLLLW

In the spotlight: Hardik Pandya and Najmul Hossain Shanto

After the 2022 T20 World Cup, when Rohit took a sabbatical from the format, Hardik Pandya looked all set to replace him as India’s permanent T20I captain. That didn’t pan out. Even after Rohit’s T20I retirement, the selectors went with Suryakumar. Hardik, meanwhile, seemed to have settled into the role of an anchor, first at Gujarat Titans and then the Indian team. But in Gwalior, he showed he could still be as destructive as any batter, smashing 39 not out off just 16 balls. Before that, he opened the bowling and took 1 for 26 from four overs.Najmul Hossain Shanto and Bangladesh are looking for more firepower in their batting•Associated Press

If Hardik personified India’s brave approach, Najmul Hossain Shanto’s innings showed what Bangladesh need to work on. Coming in at No. 3, Shanto could manage only 27 runs, and two boundaries, despite facing 25 balls. A reason behind his cautious approach could be that Bangladesh had lost two wickets inside the first three overs, but even then a strike rate of 108 was too low. To change Bangladesh’s fortunes, the captain will have to lead by example.

Team news: Miraz to open?

Just to give as many players a chance, India could bring in Tilak Varma for Reddy and Harshit Rana for Mayank Yadav.India (probable): 1 Sanju Samson (wk), 2 Abhishek Sharma, 3 Suryakumar Yadav (capt), 4 Tilak Varma, 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Riyan Parag, 7 Rinku Singh, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Harshit Rana, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Varun ChakravarthyTamim Iqbal, who is in India as a commentator and an expert for the host broadcaster, said after the first T20I that he suggested to Shanto to open with Mehidy Hasan Miraz. Will Bangladesh listen to their former captain, or stick with what they have, or bring in Tanzid Hasan for Parvez Hossain Emon?Bangladesh (probable): 1 Parvez Hossain Emon/Tanzid Hasan, 2 Litton Das (wk), 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), 4 Towhid Hridoy, 5 Mahmudullah, 6 Jaker Ali, 7 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 8 Rishad Hossain, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Shoriful Islam, 11 Mustafizur Rahman

Pitch and conditions: A high-scoring venue

In the five matches played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in IPL 2024, the 200-mark was breached in eight out of ten innings. Obviously, those teams had an extra batter in the form of Impact Player, but even without the luxury, the expectation is for a high-scoring game on Wednesday. The weather should be clear with little chance of dew.

Stats and trivia: Suryakumar’s double dose

• Bangladesh have beaten India only once in 15 meetings in T20Is. The only team against whom Bangladesh have a worse record (minimum three T20Is) is South Africa: nine matches, nine losses.
• On average, Suryakumar hits 2.01 sixes per innings (139 in 69) in T20I cricket. Among those who have hit at least 50 sixes in T20Is, only Evin Lewis (2.13; 111 in 52) averages more than two sixes per innings.
• Hardik (87) and Arshdeep Singh (86) are fourth and fifth, respectively, on the list of most T20I wickets for India.
• Litton Das is 53 short of becoming the third Bangladesh batter to score 2000 T20I runs. Shanto needs 65 to reach 1000.

Quotes

“We [Punjab Kings] did not play here this IPL, but after seeing the scores, I did not feel like checking the wicket . But yeah, we will come tomorrow and see what could be a good plan here. And of course, the captain and the coach will check the wicket and share their plan.”
“Our bowlers are doing a wonderful job for the last few years. I don’t think we played that badly in the first game. We shouldn’t doubt ourselves based on one game. That’d be unfair. We have to come out of that zone and try to win the game. We tried to play aggressively with the bat. We have to be more organised, which will serve us better.”

Cross three-for after Knight half-century helped England stifle the visitors in a rain-curtailed chase

Valkerie Baynes18-Jul-2023Nat Sciver-Brunt starred again – this time in a winning cause – with her second successive century in three days as England defeated Australia in the final ODI at Taunton to win the 50-over leg of their Ashes series 2-1.Sciver-Brunt followed her unbeaten 111 off 99 balls on Sunday in Southampton, where Australia won by thee runs, with a pivotal innings of 129 as the hosts prevailed in a rain-affected final game. She shared a 147-run stand for the third wicket with Heather Knight to rescue England from a perilous 12 for 2 and, along with Danni Wyatt’s rapid-fire 43 off 25 balls, helped lift the hosts to 285 for 9. It was their joint-second-highest ODI total against Australia, who originally needed to produce their second-highest successful 50-over run chase to win until rain halted play for nearly an hour during their pursuit and forced a revised target of 269 from 44 overs.Kate Cross claimed three wickets and had a hand in running out the dangerous Ashleigh Gardner, while Charlie Dean and Lauren Bell took two each as the Australians were bowled out for 199, consigned to their first defeat in a bilateral ODI series in a decade. England also won the T20I leg 2-1 but it wasn’t enough to win back the Ashes, held by Australia since 2015 and retained on this occasion with the overall series drawn on eight points all.Bell removed opener Phoebe Litchfield in the second over, Sophie Ecclestone snaring a low catch at slip and Cross beat Alyssa Healy’s defences with a wobble-seam delivery that came back in from outside off to clip the top of middle stump as Australia slumped to 15 for 2 and Healy ended the tour with just two scores above 16 from nine innings, including her half-century in the Test where she also scored a duck.Sciver-Brunt bowled a wayward over in the 13th with three wides which tested wicketkeeper Amy Jones, who then effected an excellent stumping off the bowling of Ecclestone, who lured Tahlia McGrath forward and beat the inside edge, breaking a steadying partnership worth 53 with Ellyse Perry.Kate Cross picked three key wickets and was involved in running out the dangerous Ashleigh Gardner•PA Photos/Getty Images

Perry looked threatening, as she had been in Southampton, passing fifty with a huge six over long-on off a free hit after a no-ball from Dean, the offspinner who had replaced Sarah Glenn in the side after she underwent surgery for appendicitis on Monday. But Cross returned to the attack and struck twice in as many overs with the big wickets of Perry, skying to point, and Beth Mooney chipping to mid off.Gardner eased the pressure by taking 17 off one Bell over, including sixes down the ground and over midwicket followed by two fours in three balls from Cross en route to 41 off 24 balls, but Cross stayed in the action, collecting a sharp throw from sweeper Wyatt and breaking the stumps at the non-striker’s end as Gardner dived in vain attempting a second run and Australia were six down needing 103 from 96 balls.When Sciver-Brunt and Jones teamed up for Georgia Wareham’s stumping, England grasped the momentum. Dean ensured England didn’t give it back, bowling Annabel Sutherland in a wicket-maiden next over and claiming the final wicket of the series, Jess Jonassen lofting the ball to Bell at short third after Bell had had Alana King caught behind.Earlier, Sophia Dunkley extended a lean run in which she has scored just 55 runs in five innings since her 56 in the opening T20I at Edgbaston when she skied a fuller ball from Gardner high over the covers, where Litchfield turned and made good ground running back to take the catch comfortably after Dunkley had faced 13 balls for just two runs. Megan Schutt struck in the next over with a full inswinger that had Tammy Beaumont edging onto her stumps toppling into the splits as the ball struck the timber.By the end of the powerplay, England had recovered to 43 for 2 on the back of the burgeoning partnership between Sciver-Brunt and Knight. Sciver-Brunt brought up England’s fifty with an exquisite drive to the boundary through extra cover off King, whom Sciver-Brunt then dispatched wide of long on, once for four then onto the top of the boundary sponge for six.England managed to score only 16 runs in six overs after the first drinks break but scored 21 off the next two, Sciver-Brunt bringing up her fifty by plundering another four through wide long on off Georgia Wareham and Knight moving to 49 on the charge and lofting Wareham over the rope at long-on to bring up the century partnership. Knight turned a full McGrath delivery off her pads through fine leg for four to bring up her fifty and Sciver-Brunt was on 54 when McGrath put down a straightforward caught-and-bowled chance so that by the halfway point of their innings England were 121 for 2.It was King who made the breakthrough for Australia, enticing Knight down the pitch with a swing and a miss, the ball clattering into her stumps. When Alice Capsey holed out to long-on off Jonassen, Sciver-Brunt faced another rebuilding task and she found a willing accomplice in Wyatt, who injected plenty of energy with her enterprising shot selection and lively running between the wickets.The duo added 66 runs in 43 balls for the fifth wicket, Sciver-Brunt moving to 99 turning McGrath to the fine leg boundary and raising her fourth century in five ODIs against Australia – the other three coming in England defeats – next ball with a single clipped to square leg. Wyatt, meanwhile, added 43 from 25 balls before Gardner produced a brilliant yorker which slid under her bat and crashed into leg stump.Jones was run out by an excellent direct hit from cover by substitute fielder Darcie Brown moments after she replaced King, who went off with a swollen lip when she was struck by the ball while fielding. Sciver-Brunt followed, to a standing ovation, when she picked out Gardner at deep midwicket but she had done a magnificent job for England once again and this time it was enough.