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India will play England in the second semi-final in Guyana after winning all three of their Super Eight games

Alagappan Muthu24-Jun-20241:14

Manjrekar: ‘Rohit’s selflessness the most appealing thing about him’

Rohit Sharma is the reason India are in the T20 World Cup 2024 semi-finals. He was sublime. But then again he has been for a long time, simply with his commitment to an attacking game at personal cost. It deserves credit but until now it’s come in intangible form. Perhaps in five days’ time, it will take the shape of an ICC trophy.On a sunny morning in St Lucia, India’s captain scored 76 of his 92 runs in boundaries and left Australia with nowhere to hide. He even prompted them into mistakes. A total of 205 built on a series of broken records proved too much. It even offered insulation against Travis Head and that, in recent times, has been so rare it’s almost unheard of. Australia may yet make the final four, but they need Bangladesh to do them a favour and beat Afghanistan (by non-colossal margins) in St Vincent later on Monday.

Rohit’s rampage

On November 19, he was supposed to lead his team to glory but instead walked away with tears in his eyes. On June 24, he had reason to believe all that hurt might rise up again when his opening partner and world-beating bestie Virat Kohli fell for a duck. Some might have taken a backward step. Rohit took Mitchell Starc for 29 runs in an over instead. He was 50 off 19 in the fifth over. The other end had contributed 2 off 13. India’s 52 was the lowest score at which an individual player had brought up a half-century in T20Is where ball-by-ball data is available. Rohit was not playing.Related

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Pitch it up and get punished

Australia, though, played right into Rohit’s hands. Starc, for example, kept going full. It’s his one job. Try to find swing. Try to break stumps. But at the Daren Sammy Stadium, that was the wrong length. Josh Hazlewood showed the way there. He pitched up only two times in his entire spell and those were yorkers. Every other ball was on a length or just short of it and he came away with figures of 1 for 14. Rohit was invited to play his front-foot shots 24 times and he scored 71 runs, including seven of his eight sixes and five of his seven fours.

Rohit’s shots

Six of the 11 overs that Rohit was out there for went for double-digits. He was batting like he does in ODI cricket, when he’s 200 not out. Going down on one knee and slog sweeping Pat Cummins, who came into this game with back-to-back hat-tricks, for a six that thudded onto the roof of the stadium. Coming down the track like water flowing down a cliff – so devastatingly smooth – to smack Marcus Stoinis on the up over extra cover. Trying a version of the scoop but ending up with a version of the pull – new addition to the playlist. Bottom line was everything he was doing was working for him. Even a defensive push to cover had such an aura behind it that Australia ended up misfielding and giving up a second run.Travis Head gave India a lot of pain once again•ICC/Getty Images

Starc’s recovery

India scored 10 fours and 10 sixes while Rohit was at the crease. After he fell, they could manage only nine combined. Starc deserves credit for that. He came back in the 12th over, shifted his angle around the wicket to deny Rohit the freedom of his arms, and although he still went full, this time he took pace off and that made enough of a difference. The bat couldn’t touch ball and the stumps lay broken. Starc’s slower delivery took out Suryakumar Yadav too, right in the middle of a masterclass of his own, scoring his runs in a way that don’t always make sense. Cummins, once again, was the unlucky recipient as a ball that was close to the wide line ended up with a home on the square-leg boundary.India went 21 deliveries without a boundary between the 15th and 18th overs but they still managed a finishing kick as Hardik Pandya nailed three sixes in the final two overs to push the total past 200.Axar Patel’s sensational catch on the boundary was a turning point in Australia’s chase•AFP/Getty Images

Head start

David Warner fell in the first over of the chase and now there is risk that his 6 off 6 might be his last international outing. Australia still had batters capable of dictating terms out there though. Mitchell Marsh took the wicket-taker Arshdeep Singh for two fours and a six in an over and Head did even better by hitting Jasprit Bumrah off the length he likes to bowl with the new ball. That made the India quick turn to plan B – yorkers – and under pressure even he missed one and bowled a full toss. Australia finished the powerplay at 65 for 1, five runs better than India. Marsh’s power game and Head’s incredible skill at clearing his front leg and somehow opening vast swathes of the outfield on both sides had flipped the script.

Axar’s sensational catch

India needed something special and it arrived in the form of Axar Patel. He was a few yards off the fence at deep square leg, which seemed like an error considering it was Marsh on strike. The slog sweep flew off his bat. Flat. Hard. Destined to go for six. A support staff member was even ducking for cover fearing it would beat the fielder. But Axar didn’t let it. He leapt up, went for it with both hands, and got it with just his right. It was one of those that had to stick and it did. Every last one of his team-mates ran up to him to celebrate that wicket. Against the run of play, a partnership of 81 off 48 was broken.

Kuldeep’s intervention

Glenn Maxwell was busy negating the advantage India had thanks to the quality of their spinners. He saw that Ravindra Jadeja had no one on the boundary at third man and for that reason alone he went reverse sweep, which meant he was hitting with the turn, but against the wind, which when it was strong enough to basically carry Hardik away as he was running in to bowl, posed a significant problem. Maxwell’s wrists somehow overcame that. He was looking dangerous. Maybe enough to take on Kuldeep Yadav. So he charged at India’s wristspinner, and got bowled. That googly should be framed up on a wall somewhere. It messed with Maxwell on so many levels. It was slower than he wanted it to be. It was shorter than he needed it to be. It turned the exact opposite way. And it left his stumps a mess. The dip on that ball was everything.India struck twice in the three overs that followed, one of which was Bumrah foxing Head with his offcutter. Needing 53 from the last 18, the best Australia could do was reduce the margin of defeat.

A round-up of the Dhaka Premier League matches on February 7, 2018

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Feb-2018Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club overcame Asif Hasan’s hat-trick to kick off their Dhaka Premier League with a nail-biting three-run win over Legends of Rupganj at the BKSP-4 ground in Savar.Batting first, Dhanmondi Club’s sprinted to a solid start, putting on 66 at over seven an over. Asif then struck thrice in as many balls across two overs to reduce them to 67 for 3. They never quite recovered from the stutter, slipping to 131 for 7. Nurul Hasan then added 75 for the eighth wicket with Al-Imran to haul the score over 200. They eventually ended up with 230 for 9, Nurul having top-scored with 90. Asif finished with 3 for 29 in 10 overs; Mohammad Sharif, Mosharraf Hossain and Naeem Islam, the captain, picked up two apiece.Rupganj struggled in their reply, limping to 56 for five in the 21st over. Naeem fought alone with an unbeaten 116, but found support only from Nazmul Hossain Milon, who made 51 and added 89 for the sixth wicket with his captain. Abu Jayed, the Dhanmondi new-ball bowler, then struck thrice as Rupganj were kept to 227 for 8 in 50 overs.Alok Kapali’s unbeaten 95 helped Brothers Union to a five-wicket win in a chase of 231 against Mohammedan Sporting Club at the BKSP-3 ground. Kapali’s 91-ball effort, compiled with the help of six fours and four sixes, helped Brothers Union run down the target in 47.2 overs.Kapali and John Simpson, the English wicketkeeper-batsman, added 105 runs for the fourth wicket to get the chase back on track after Brothers Union had slipped to 51 for 3. Simpson made 39 off 57 balls.Earlier, Mohammedan’s 230 for 8 was built around their second and third-wicket partnerships. Salman Butt and Shamsur Rahman, the captain, added 94 after the early loss of Rony Talukdar, before Shamsur dominated a stand of 70 with Raqibul Hasan. Butt made 62 off 80 balls, while Shamsur’s 85 contained six fours and two sixes. But after the duo’s dismissals, the Brothers Union bowlers wereable to curb the scoring in the slog overs.Fifties from Mehedi Maruf and Zakir Hasan helped Prime Bank Cricket Club canter to a seven-wicket win over Kalabagan Krira Chakra at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium.Maruf and Zakir motored Prime Bank’s chase of 173 with a first-wicket stand of 74, before Prime Bank’s Indian recruit Kunal Chandela took them home with an unbeaten 41.Earlier, batting first, Kalabagan were restricted to 172 for 8 in 50 overs. The runs were largely down to an unbeaten half-century from their No. 7 Mahmudul Hasan, and his sixth-wicket stand of 66 with Taibur Rahman (45). Seamer Delwar Hossain took 3 for 32 in 10 overs for Prime Bank.

Head coach doesn’t rule out the possibility of both players returning soon to the national team

Shashank Kishore09-Mar-2024Play domestic cricket, score runs and force the selectors to pick you again. This is India head coach Rahul Dravid’s simple message to Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan, on whom there has been much spotlight over the past two months for their decision to skip domestic cricket.Both Kishan and Iyer were not considered for the BCCI’s annual retainers in this round of recommendations for 2023-24. A board release at the time of announcement late last month reiterated its recent stance that “all athletes give precedence to participating in domestic cricket during periods when they are not representing the national team”.Kishan hasn’t featured in any form of cricket under the BCCI’s ambit since opting out of the two-Test series in South Africa. He had, instead, been training at a private facility for some time in Baroda with Hardik Pandya, his IPL captain.Related

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Iyer, who was left out after the second Test against England, missed the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals citing back spasms, even though he was medically passed fit by the board’s doctors. Iyer has since returned to play for Mumbai in the semi-finals and is due to play in the final starting Sunday.”They’re always in the mix,” Dravid said after India’s 4-1 series win over England in Dharmsala on Saturday. “Everyone who’s playing domestic cricket is in the mix. Firstly, I don’t decide contracts, right? Contracts are decided by the selectors and the board. I don’t even know what the criteria are. I’m involved in – people ask me my opinion on the 15, and me and Rohit select the XI. That’s how it works.”We’ve never discussed whether somebody has a contract or not, whether he’s going to be selected in the 15. There are enough examples of people playing different formats of the game, whether they have contracts or not.”I don’t even know sometimes what the list of the contracted players is, when we take these decisions, discussions on the 15 or the playing 11 for that matter. No one’s out of the picture, no one’s out of the mix, it’s just a question of hopefully them getting back and fit, playing cricket, and forcing the selectors to pick them again.”Minutes after India’s win, BCCI secretary Jay Shah announced a Test Cricket Incentive Scheme that will increase match fees of players by 300% should they feature in over 75% of the Tests played in a season.Dravid emphasised on the need to look at this step as a “reward” for hard work and not necessarily just think of it as a financial gain for being available to play Tests.”I really hope money is not going to be the incentive to play Test cricket,” he said. “It’s just nice the hard work and how tough Test cricket can be is being recognised. So, I wouldn’t see it as an incentive to make people play Test cricket, I hope not. I hope it never really comes to that. But I think it is just probably a recognition that this is a tough format, and it is a hard format.”And it takes a special person to do what [R] Ashwin has done, to play 100 Test matches. You go through a lot, and rightly so. You guys [media] celebrated Ashwin today, and Jonny Bairstow, you’ve celebrated Stokes a few games ago. Because I think all of you recognise how challenging the format is and what it takes to be able to have consistency and to be able to survive the test of time in this format.”We don’t celebrate 100 T20s in the same way, do we? But yeah, it is nice that the BCCI is recognizing it… I think it is a reward, not an incentive. Looking at the guys who came in and played in this series, I think everyone wants to play Test cricket. It’s just a recognition of what you need to be able to do to survive and play in Test cricket.”It’s only when you get here that you realise that sometimes it’s quite tough and it is not easy, but it is extremely satisfying. In especially a series like this and Test matches we’ve seen in the last 4-5 months, if they are well supported and well documented by people like you, I am sure that there will be a lot of people still wanting to play Test cricket.”

South Africa and Zimbabwe did not send full strength sides to the Africa Games and did not want their matches to have full international status

Firdose Moonda25-Mar-2024An oversight in communication has resulted in some matches at the recently concluded Africa Games being given T20I status while others were not.The ICC confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that fixtures involving South Africa’s men’s and women’s teams as well as Zimbabwe’s men’s team were not considered T20Is but games between the other six men’s teams and seven women’s teams were regarded as T20Is.Clarity over the official standing of the matches was required after Cricket South Africa wrote to the ICC over confusion around whether all the matches at the tournament were classified as internationals. In 2022, an ICC document titled “Classification of Official Cricket” recognised all T20 matches that are “played in accordance with the ICC Standard Men’s and Women’s Twenty20 International Playing Conditions and other ICC regulations pertaining to Twenty20 International Matches,” as internationals apart from matches involving A teams or age-group sides.With that in mind, South Africa opted to send an emerging women’s team and a university men’s team to the Africa Games, as they were unable to field full-strength sides due to player commitments elsewhere including at the IPL. Zimbabwe selected an under-25 men’s side but sent a first-choice women’s squad. They won gold in both events.The other participating countries, who are all Associate nations, sent their strongest available sides and understood themselves to be playing internationals, creating the confusion. It is not clear whether the onus lay with the African Games, the Africa Cricket Association (the continental body which successfully lobbied for cricket to be played at the Africa Games) or individual board to check on the status of the games or where the miscommunication occurred.However, when the uncertainty came to the attention of South Africa and Zimbabwe, who are both Full Members, they had queries over whether the results would impact their T20I rankings. South Africa also had a particular issue over one of their players: 16-year old wicketkeeper Karabo Meso, who played at the Africa Games and was then named in their senior squad to play Sri Lanka in a home series starting this week. CSA wanted to ensure that Meso, if capped, would get her debut with the full-strength national women’s team and not with an emerging side at the Africa Games which they did not consider a full international team.ESPNcricinfo understands that had the games been full internationals, South Africa would not have participated in the event.A separate concern was also raised about the infrastructure in Accra, especially for cricket. CSA was worried about the suitability of the venues and on the intervention of the Africa Cricket Association, a ground consultant from Zimbabwe traveled to Ghana to assist with readying the pitch and outfield.The cricket facilities were not the only ones which had questions over their readiness. The Africa Games were initially due to be held in August last year but postponed for seven months because not all facilities were completed in time. The event usually takes place every four years, in the year preceding an Olympic Games, and this was its 13th edition. This is the first time cricket has been played at the tournament.The Africa Games organisers were contacted for comment but had not responded at the time of writing.

They tested positive for a banned recreational drug, and will appear for a disciplinary hearing soon

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Dec-2023Allrounders Wessly Madhevere and Brandon Mavuta have been suspended with immediate effect by Zimbabwe Cricket for “allegedly breaching anti-doping rules”. They have been suspended from all cricket activities, pending a hearing, after they tested positive for a banned recreational drug in an out-of-competition case during a in-house dope test recently.They have been charged under the ZC Code of Conduct for Players and Team Officials, and will appear for a disciplinary hearing soon, which will likely decide the length of their suspension.Both Madhevere and Mavuta were part of the Zimbabwe side that faced Ireland in a home series until last week. Madhevere played all three T20Is while Mavuta played just the third T20I and the three ODIs after that.Mavuta made his international debut in 2018, and has so far played four Tests, 12 ODIs and 10 T20Is, while Madhevere, who first represented Zimbabwe in 2020, has featured in two Tests, 36 ODIs and 60 T20Is.While Mavuta didn’t play any competitive cricket after the Ireland series, Madhevere featured for Mashonaland Eagles in the ongoing Logan Cup, Zimbabwe’s first-class competition, to score 4 and bag 2 for 34.Madhevere’s and Mavuta’s suspensions come a day after Zimbabwe’s head coach Dave Houghton resigned from his post, as they failed to qualify for the 2024 T20 World Cup after also missing out on the 2023 ODI World Cup.

England, however, dropped down a spot to eighth as West Indies overtook them with their win at the Gabba

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Jan-2024India dropped three spots to fifth place in the World Test Championship (WTC) points table after their 28-run loss in the series opener against England in Hyderabad.The two-time WTC finalists were second, behind Australia, before the Test. But the result saw them slide below South Africa, New Zealand and Bangladesh, as their points percentage dropped from 54.16 to 43.33.Related

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India were briefly table-toppers too, when they had beaten South Africa inside two days in Cape Town earlier this month to draw the series 1-1. But their stay at the top was cut short when Australia completed their series sweep against Pakistan two days later to claim the top spot.India have so far won two and drawn one of their five Tests in the 2023-25 WTC cycle, while losing once each to South Africa and England.England, however, dropped a place despite beating India, as West Indies got a massive boost in their points percentage thanks to their stunning victory against Australia at the Gabba.West Indies overtook England to go seventh with their first win of this cycle.

After battling illness last week, Philander has now been struck with back spasms on the eve of the final Test at Old Trafford and faces a fitness test

Firdose Moonda at Old Trafford03-Aug-2017A last-minute call will be taken on Vernon Philander’s availability for the final Test against England at Old Trafford after he began to suffer with lower-back spasms on the eve of the must-win game. Philander has only just recovered from the viral infection which limited his participation in the third Test and when he spoke on Wednesday he said had put the illness behind him and was “looking forward” to having more of a say in the upcoming fixture, especially as he felt his intensity was missed at The Oval.South Africa are similarly anxious to have a fully-fit Philander in their XI as they look to square the series and go home with something to show for what has been an otherwise disappointing three-month tour. After the third Test, captain Faf du Plessis cited Philander’s illness, which resulted in him only bowling 32 overs out of 183.1 at The Oval, as one of the key reasons for South Africa’s defeat. Before the fourth Test, du Plessis elaborated on how Philander’s fitness, or lack thereof, will impact on team selection.”Vernon at 100% fit means we can look at playing three seamers and play seven batters. Vernon at 90% doesn’t mean you can play three seamers because you don’t want to be in a position where you have a seamer break down and then you only have two bowlers, because that is basically the Test match over right there,” du Plessis said. “The one occasion where we managed to pull a miracle off was in Australia with two seamers, but normally you can’t win a Test match with two bowlers. If he is not 100% fit, it’s important to look at having four seamers.”The match du Plessis was referring to was played in Perth last November when Dale Steyn broke his shoulder. Then, Philander, Kagiso Rabada and Keshav Maharaj made up a three-man attack and were able to bowl Australia out with a lead of just two runs in the first innings. South Africa’s current crop of Rabada, Morne Morkel and Maharaj were unable to replicate that at The Oval, making Philander an even more crucial member of the side now than he was nine months ago. Not only is he the container-in-chief, but Philander’s runs have been also vital to South Africa, which is why he is key to balance.If Philander can operate at his optimal, South Africa seem to be pondering lengthening the batting line-up, which would likely mean the inclusion of Theunis de Bruyn ahead of Chris Morris, in order to make up for the lapses of their top five. Should they play an XI that includes de Bruyn and not Morris, Philander will have to bowl more overs. But if Philander’s workload needs to be monitored, then South Africa will need Morris to make up those overs and so can’t play de Bruyn. That means Philander will bat at No. 7, with Morris at No. 8, placing extra pressure on both of them to produce with bat and ball.This is the fourth time in the series Philander has carried an ailment. He went into the Lord’s Test on the back of an ankle injury sustained during a county stint with Sussex which prevented him from playing in the tour match. During that game, he was struck on the hand though that did not result in any serious damage apart from a dropped catch. Last week, Philander was laid low by a stomach bug which quickly escalated into a viral infection and now there is a back problem.Philander will undergo a fitness test on Thursday afternoon but South Africa will wait to see how feels on Friday morning before making a final decision.

Rare overseas feat for seamer sets up victory, as Mitchell delays inevitable with 84

Andrew Miller01-Dec-2024 England 499 (Brook 171, Stokes 80, Pope 77, Henry 4-84) and 104 for 2 (Bethell 50*) beat New Zealand 348 (Williamson 93, Phillips 58*, Carse 4-64, Bashir 4-69) and 254 (Mitchell 84, Carse 6-42) by eight wicketsBrydon Carse claimed his Test-best figures of 6 for 42, in the process becoming the first England seamer to take an overseas ten-wicket haul in 16 years, before Jacob Bethell capped the contest with an unbeaten fifty on debut, as New Zealand were hustled to an emphatic eight-wicket defeat in the first Test at Hagley Oval in Christchurch.Though Daryl Mitchell had delayed the inevitable with a doughty innings of 84 from 167 balls, 45 of which came in a spirited tenth-wicket stand with the steadfast Will O’Rourke, New Zealand’s eventual target of 104 was demolished in just 12.4 overs. Ben Duckett signalled the charge with an anarchic innings of 27 in 18 balls, while Joe Root capped his 150th Test with a no-less free-flowing 22 not out from 15.The was applied by Bethell in a performance of rare precocity – 50 not out from 37 balls, featuring eight fours and a six – with his maiden half-century coming up with the winning pull shot to deep square leg.New Zealand’s hopes had been slender at the start of the fourth day, as they resumed with a four-run lead and just four wickets left standing, but at least they were greeted by cloudless skies and a 49-over ball: two factors that persuaded Ben Stokes to shoulder the hard yards with the day’s first spell, albeit with unintended consequences.Midway through his fifth over, he pulled up awkwardly with what was later diagnosed with stiffness in his lower back, and immediately handed the rest of the over to Gus Atkinson. He stayed on the field through to the lunch break, and later insisted at the post-match presentations that he’d be fine for next week’s second Test at Wellington, but after the injury issues that clouded his recent tour of Pakistan, it was a worrying subplot in an otherwise uplifting day for his team.Daryl Mitchell’s half-century kept New Zealand fighting•Phil Walter/Getty Images

By the time of that setback, Carse had already ripped the heart out of New Zealand’s resistance. In only his third Test, he has already made an extraordinary case to be England’s go-to third seamer: a man clearly unafraid of the hard yards, and – as he showed on debut in Multan – capable of extracting life from even the most unforgiving of surfaces, through his wholehearted attitude and the raw energy of his action.A case in point was his breakthrough wicket on this fourth day. Nathan Smith had looked steady for his 21 runs, getting solidly into line to the short balls and even picking off back-to-back boundaries when Carse strayed too full in his opening over. However, he had no answer for the first ball of the day that truly misbehaved, as Carse bent his back to jag a sharp seamer back into Smith’s shin, with the ball keeping low to draw a leg-sided lbw verdict.Four balls later, Carse had his second of the morning, and his fifth of the innings, to leave New Zealand deep in the mire at 192 for 8, a lead at that stage of just 41. Matt Henry was also done in by the fuller length, this time by a fast, inswinging delivery that thumped him in front of middle and leg. He took his leave with no thought of a review.Tim Southee, in his final Test series, arrived to a tumultuous ovation, and an expectant one too, for there wasn’t much doubt about how he’d be playing this particular situation. With 93 Test sixes to his name, and a maximum of five innings in which to post his century, he duly connected twice in three balls with two lusty blows over the leg-side off Atkinson. The same bowler, however, had smacked him on the helmet with his second ball, and brought the fun to an end with his 11th, as Root at wide long-on held onto a fine tumbling take.With just the No. 11 O’Rourke for company, Mitchell moved to his half-century from 132 balls, then decided it was time to up the tempo. A full range of T20 blows rained down thereafter, including a lap through fine leg off Chris Woakes and a trademark launch down the ground for six off the spin of Shoaib Bashir.The lead had nudged past 100 as the umpires called for the extra half-hour before lunch, at which point England’s thoughts might have strayed to another memorable tenth-wicket stand at Christchurch, Nathan Astle’s 222 onslaught alongside Chris Cairns in 2002. Carse, however, was not going to be denied. Back he came for yet another spell, and in his second over, he induced the error with another heavy length that Mitchell was unable to launch over Woakes at long-off.Brydon Carse soaks in the applause for his 10-wicket match haul•Joe Allison/Getty Images

Carse left the field with match figures of 10 for 106, the best by any England bowler overseas since Monty Panesar at Mumbai in 2012-13, and a feat unmatched by an England quick since Ryan Sidebottom at Hamilton in 2008. Neither James Anderson nor Stuart Broad, whose legendary partnership began one Test after Sidebottom’s feat, ever managed such a haul away from home.England’s chase began after the delayed lunch break, and for precisely 15 balls, New Zealand put up a fight. Zak Crawley, fresh from a first-innings duck, duly poked a return catch in Henry’s first over to troop off for 1 – the worst return by an England opener since Mike Atherton made a pair at Johannesburg in 1999-2000 – and a continuation of his abject record against New Zealand: 168 runs at 9.88 in 17 innings.Duckett, meanwhile, was briefly given a working-over by Southee, but only because he was treating him with the respect that his legendary career deserves. Midway through his second over, he chose to bin the deference, starting with a scoop over fine leg from way outside off, and culminating in a 16-run third over that included a vast six over fine leg.Ben Duckett launched England’s run chase with a rapid cameo•Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images

Bethell, similarly, had learned his lesson after a torrid baptism during England’s first innings. He was soon dancing down the pitch to hit Henry off his length, then exacted his revenge on Smith, the man who had dismissed him first time around. Four fours in a single over included a slap back past the bowler that had shades of Kevin Pietersen against Glenn McGrath at The Oval in 2005, and by the end of it, England were halfway to their target in a mere 42 balls.Duckett died by the sword, upper-cutting O’Rourke’s first ball to deep third, while Root – fresh from his first-innings duck – got off his pair with a streaky edge for four but then added two more in consecutive balls to ensure there’d be no further mishaps.By the end of it all, New Zealand had been flattened, at a run-rate of 8.21 an over, in a denouement that evoked their fourth-innings torments on the original Bazball series of 2022. Much has changed since then, of course, but hand this team a situation in which they can free their arms, and there are few more startling sights in world cricket.

Ellyse Perry’s 91-ball 71 formed the bedrock of Australia’s 220 chase, which they saw off with five wickets in hand in the penultimate over

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jul-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsJess Jonassen’s three-for stifled New Zealand’s top order•International Cricket Council

Ellyse Perry flexed her batting muscle to help Australia to their third win in as many games at the Women’s World Cup. Her 91-ball 71 formed the bedrock of the 220 chase against New Zealand, which they eventually saw off with five wickets in hand in the penultimate over.The heroes were, however, Jess Jonassen and Megan Schutt, who picked up three wickets a piece to scupper New Zealand’s hopes of posting a bigger total. Jonassen, who was left out of the previous game, did the bulk of the damage to the top order. Her strikes of Amy Satterthwaite and and Katey Martin within a space of three deliveries in the 23rd over led to a breakdown in momentum.Suzie Bates, playing her 100th ODI, soldiered on to bring up an uncharacteristic half-century, before playing to a premeditated sweep to Jonassen’s arm ball. At that stage, Jonassen’s figures read 3 for 22 off seven overs. Katie Perkins, playing her first innings of the tournament, provided the late lift with a sprightly 59-ball 52. She was complemented by Erin Bermingham, who made 35, as New Zealand, tottering at 147 for 6 in 37 overs, recovered to post 219 for 9.Beth Mooney and Nicole Bolton treaded a caution-first approach during the course of their 49-run opening stand. Meg Lanning and Perry, who came together with Australia at 72 for 2, then steadied the innings with a 71-run stand to take them close to 150. Australia were cruising, but not for long as 16-year old legspinner Amelia Kerr gave New Zealand a glimmer of hope.Lanning, who was looking to step out and defend, was deceived in flight and dip as she nicked one to the wicketkeeper for 48. Next delivery, Kerr accounted for Elyse Villani with a wrong’un. Australia were suddenly four down, with 77 to get. But they weren’t to be denied as Perry carried on in Alex Blackwell’s company – the pair took Australia to within a run of victory before Blackwell hit the winning runs with eight balls to spare.

The MCA has promised improved access to water for the fans from day two onwards

Deivarayan Muthu24-Oct-2024No access to drinking water for spectators at the MCA Stadium on a hot and humid day in Pune led to chaos and complaints of sickness among the fans who came to watch the first day of the second Test between India and New Zealand.During the lunch break, hundreds of spectators queued up near the North Stand for water, which was unavailable at the time. Police intervention was needed to manage that crowd. Around 20 people complained of dehydration and giddiness and needed attention at the first-aid kiosk at the North Stand. With temperatures over 30 degrees celsius, a member of the staff at that kiosk suggested that there were more cases of dehydration in other stands.The MCA stadium, located in the outskirts of Pune near the expressway to Mumbai, has a capacity of 37,000, and almost 18,000 spectators turned up for the third Test match at the venue and first since 2019. More than half of those spectators had to brave the heat and humidity as only six stands at the MCA stadium have a roof.The MCA had promised free water during this game, but amid the chaos, a number of fans ended up buying water from vendors at high prices. One fan said he had spent more on water bottles than his ticket for the entire Test match.Once water was made available to the spectators the MCA secretary Kamlesh Pisal apologised to the fans and said that more water booths would be set up across the stands from Friday.”We can only apologise to the fans for inconvenience caused,” Pisal told reporters. “But we want to assure them, through MCA, that this won’t be repeated, and everything will be taken care of.”Considering the scorching heat, we had decided to provide cold water. In our previous experience, the fans had complained about us providing warm water or boiling water. We, as management, thought we would provide them with cold water, so we had kept cool cages. Once the water in cool cages finished, we tried to refill it with the same cold water, and in that process, it got delayed. We have done a recce of the entire water in stands and will make sure everything is refilled properly tonight to avoid such situations.”