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Afridi, Naseem and Rauf restricted the hosts to 140 before Pakistan completed a smooth chase in the decider

Tristan Lavalette10-Nov-2024Completing a remarkable revival, having been engulfed in turmoil ahead of the tour, Pakistan claimed a rare series triumph in Australia after a comprehensive eight-wicket victory on a bouncy Optus Stadium surface in the third and final ODI.Having lost a heartbreaker in the opener at the MCG, Pakistan rebounded brilliantly with almost flawless performances in Adelaide and Perth to completely overwhelm world champions Australia, who have plenty of question marks ahead of the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025.It was Pakistan’s first series victory in Australia since 2002 and a result made more incredible given white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten quit just a week before the tour amid well-worn Pakistani turmoil.But Pakistan appeared galvanised under Jason Gillespie, their Australian Test coach who is filling the shoes of Kirsten, and were ignited by a rampant four-pronged attack that routed a shorthanded Australia without their Test stars for 140 in just 31.5 overs.There were no infamous wobbles for Pakistan, who romped home in the 27th over.Australia capped a sluggish series with a sloppy performance in the field. Opener Saim Ayub had an early reprieve, while Adam Zampa spilt a sitter at deep square leg to reprieve Abdullah Shafique as Australia faced the humiliating prospect of a first ever 10-wicket ODI loss at home.But Lance Morris, who showcased his trademark pace by hitting speeds in the mid-140 kph, at least saved Australia from an unwanted place in the record books with the wickets of Shafique and Ayub in the 18th over.Lance Morris dismissed the two openers in one over•Getty Images

Interim captain Josh Inglis opted not to use Morris until the 15th over with allrounder Marcus Stoinis surprisingly given the new ball alongside Spencer Johnson.Skipper Mohammed Rizwan and Babar Azam, his predecessor, were nerveless with a flurry of boundaries to complete a match that finished two hours ahead of the scheduled close time.It completed a memorable first series in charge for Rizwan, who had no hesitation to bowl first and his decision was vindicated. Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah claimed three wickets apiece, while in-form Haris Rauf finished with 2 for 24 as his sheer speed once again shook up the batters.Numerous batters succumbed to hostile short balls, while allrounder Cooper Connolly had to retire hurt on 7 after copping a blow to his left hand attempting to pull Mohammad Hasnain. He was taken for scans and did not field in Pakistan’s innings.Pakistan’s attack smartly did not get carried away with the bounce on offer as their quicks bowled unrelenting line and lengths to totally smother Australia, who once again would be disappointed with their shot selections on a surface that was not a minefield. No Australia batter scored a half-century across the series.Pakistan entered in the unfamiliar position of favourites in a country where they have endured so much misery over the years.Their optimism was heightened by Australia making five changes after skipper Pat Cummins, Steven Smith, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Marnus Labuschagne were rested as they start to prepare for the first Test against India.Australia had to rejig their batting-order, but openers Matt Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk remained at the top of the order and desperate to fire having struggled across the opening two games.They appeared intent on backing their ultra-aggressive methods and scored 12 runs in the opening over. But things quickly went downhill with Fraser-McGurk caught at second slip after attempting to drive a good length delivery from Naseem.Josh Inglis gives the team talk on captaincy debut•Getty Images

He failed to move his feet in a dismissal that is common in Perth and his wicket brought to the crease allrounder Aaron Hardie, who was elevated to No. 3 in a role he fulfils with aplomb for Perth Scorchers in the BBL. Even though he was on his home ground, Hardie looked nervous and fell in a moment of indecisiveness and edged to second slip in a reward for Afridi, who conjured beautiful seam movement.The pressure was on Inglis, who was already amid a big day in his captaincy debut having been earlier selected in Australia’s 13-member squad for the Perth Test against India. Inglis has often performed a rescue role for Scorchers in the BBL, but he couldn’t get going and skied a short Naseem delivery to Rizwan.Short managed to get through the early barrage as he set his sights on furthering his bid to become Australia’s permanent ODI opener. But on 22 he picked out square leg to gift a wicket to Rauf, who was feeling giddy at his good fortune.Rauf ramped up his speed and claimed Glenn Maxwell for a duck as Australia stared down the barrel of being routed for under 100. The only momentary concern for Pakistan was Afridi grimacing in agony after being whacked on his left thumb taking a throw at the stumps.But he returned and was faced with a counterattack from Sean Abbott, who top-scored with 30. But Afridi ended Abbott’s resistance and then knocked over Morris to send the large contingent of Pakistan fans in the terraces into raptures and they continued to roar through the afternoon.

Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer put on a 106-run partnership to take Amazon Warriors to a big total before Imran Tahir picked up his first five-wicket haul in the CPL

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Aug-2025Captain Imran Tahir turned back the clock with a sensational five-wicket haul as Guyana Amazon Warriors stormed to their second consecutive win in CPL 2025, dismantling Antigua and Barbuda Falcons by 83 runs in a rain-hit match in North Sound.Chasing a steep target of 212 for their third win, Falcons were not allowed to settle at any point after a flying start, thanks largely to Tahir’s spell of 5 for 21. Falcons raced to 58 runs in the first four overs but lost both openers – Rahkeem Cornwall and Jewel Andrew – in the process, both to Dwaine Pretorius.Related

• Tahir: 'You always learn about the game every single day'

Karima Gore’s 31 off 14 balls kept the good work going, but once he was dismissed by Romario Shepherd in the fifth over, the run rate dipped sharply.Tahir, 46, made an immediate impact with a double-wicket maiden in his first over – the seventh of the chase – removing Shakib Al Hasan and captain Imad Wasim. His trademark googlies and flighted deliveries triggered a middle-order collapse as Falcons slipped from 77 for 3 to 116 for 8, losing five wickets for just 39 runs. Eventually, they folded for 128 in 15.2 overs. These were also Tahir’s best figures in the CPL.Earlier in the evening, Warriors had made a strong start before rain halted play for nearly an hour after 5.5 overs.Shai Hope top-scored with a clinical 82 in 54 balls at the top of the order. Having managed just 33 off his first 32 balls, Hope accelerated after the 11th over, smashing 49 off the next 22.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

He got big support from Shimron Hetmyer, who blazed 65 off just 26 balls, including five sixes and five fours, as the pair had a commanding 106-run partnership off just 44 balls for the third wicket.Even after Hope’s dismissal, the Amazon Warriors’ innings didn’t lose momentum, with a late flourish from Shepherd – an unbeaten 25 off just eight balls – pushing the total to an imposing 211 for 3.The last nine overs of the innings had Warriors accumulating 145 runs, 41 of which came from the last two, which proved more than enough in the end.The result took Amazon Warriors, with two wins in two games, to the second spot on the table, which is topped by Falcons, whose two wins have come from five outings.

Yorkshire’s fourth win in five matches moves them up to second with two rounds to go

ECB Reporters Network11-Sep-2024Yorkshire moved a step closer to securing promotion after completing a three-day victory over Leicestershire in Division Two of the Vitality County Championship despite more time lost to the weather.Leicestershire, who had trailed by 281 on first innings after being dismissed for 98, were bowled out for 209 second time around as all-rounder George Hill played the starring role.The 23-year-old seamer took the last half-dozen wickets to fall for season’s best figures of 6 for 59, handing Yorkshire a fourth win in five matches by an innings and 72 runs, the last wicket falling just as dark clouds were threatening to cause a fourth stoppage in a disrupted day.The win lifts Yorkshire to second place in the table, where they will find themselves with two games left if Middlesex fail to beat Gloucestershire at Lord’s.All-rounder Rehan Ahmed celebrated his England recall with an aggressive but well-crafted 77 from 86 balls but India star Ajinkya Rahane could make only 32 and, with top-scorer Peter Handscomb having returned to Australia for his own domestic season, Leicestershire were unable to force Yorkshire to bat a second time.After more than half of day two was lost to the weather, rain restricted the opening session of day three to 14 overs, during which Leicestershire, who had been 35 for 2 overnight, advanced to 90 for 3, still 191 runs away from making Yorkshire bat again.Yorkshire’s pace spearhead of Coad and Fisher were eager to build on their work of the two days before, having shared eight wickets as Leicestershire were shot out for 98 on day one, which Fisher followed up by picking up both second-innings wickets to fall before rain set in on Tuesday.Coad’s celebrations were cut short in the fifth over of the morning when his appeal for caught behind against Ajinkya Rahane was turned down and it was Fisher who drew first blood on the day as Lewis Hill was caught low down at second slip in the next over.Two boundaries in Fisher’s next over gave immediate notice of Rehan Ahmed’s intended approach to his side’s predicament. He was dropped at first slip on 13 off Jordan Thompson shortly before the first of the day’s stoppages but looked in good touch nonetheless and he and Rahane, fresh from his first century for Leicestershire last week, had added 50 in as many minutes – 38 from Ahmed – when the England player crashed Coad square on the off-side for his seventh boundary.Ahmed lofted Coad somewhat imperiously over long-on for six and brought up his personal half-century from 47 balls, but if the division’s current leading wicket-taker was beginning to suffer any frustrations, they were abated in an instant when Rahane bottom-edged him into his own stumps, a major breakthrough regardless of Ahmed’s impact at the other end. At 131 for 4, Leicestershire were still 150 in arrears.Yet in the event, it was Hill who delivered the decisive spell of the day after replacing Fisher in the attack just before Rahane’s dismissal.In the space of six overs before tea, the 23-year-old found enough movement to remove Louis Kimber and Ben Cox leg before and, crucially, Ahmed, responding to belted back down the ground for six by finding the outside edge, Adam Lyth taking the catch at second slip.Hill’s spell continued after the interval and soon accounted for Tom Scriven, also leg before, before clipping Scott Currie’s off stump with another fine delivery past the outside edge, the wicket giving him the second five-wicket haul of his career after his 6 for 26 against Lancashire at Old Trafford in 2022.After 33 overs already lost on the day, Yorkshire were looking upwards anxiously as dark clouds rolled in from the west but Hill spared his teammates the prospect of coming back tomorrow as last man Chris Wright skied one into the offside field and Fisher ran round from mid-off to take the catch at just before 4:40pm.

“Whoever had the ball in hand wanted to make a contribution for the team,” Rohit says after hard-fought win over Pakistan

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jun-20243:25

Bumrah: ‘I wasn’t desperate for the magic delivery’

Rohit Sharma was effusive in his praise for his bowlers after India successfully defended 119 – despite looking like they wouldn’t be able to at various points – against Pakistan on a New York pitch where “140 was a good score to fight”.”We didn’t bat well enough,” Rohit said on the host broadcast after the game. “Halfway through, we were in a good position, 80 for 3 [81 for 3]. You expect guys to stitch partnerships, but we didn’t put enough partnerships there.”I thought we fell 15-20 short. We spoke about how every run matters on a pitch like that. We were looking at 140, but I thought the bowlers can [do], and did, the job for us.”Related

• Boom will always shake the room

• India defend a record low as head-to-head reaches 7-1

• Rohit, Bumrah and the art of defending

• Kirsten bemoans Pakistan's 'poor decision-making'

• Bumrah spearheads India's defence of 119; Pakistan on brink of elimination

Jasprit Bumrah cracked the game wide open for India in his third over, the 15th of the Pakistan chase. With Pakistan needing a straightforward 40 off 36, he beat Mohammad Rizwan’s swing to hit timber, and that was the twist in the tale.Then, in the penultimate over, with Pakistan needing 21 off 12, he conceded just three while picking up the wicket of Iftikhar Ahmed to leave Arshdeep Singh with 18 to defend. Bumrah finished with figures of 4-0-14-3 to earn his second straight Player-of-the-Match award.As for Pakistan, they went from 80 for 3 at the start of the 15th to 113 for 7 after 20 to fall six short.”We felt we were a little under par,” Bumrah said. “When the sun came out, the wicket got a bit better. So we had to be disciplined with what we were trying to do. I tried to keep it simple, the wicket got better, and the swing was less. So I tried to hit the seam as much as I can. I just tried to be clear with my plan and focused on my execution.”Rohit talked up India’s “never-say-die” attitude on a New York surface he felt was “good” compared to those in the earlier games. “With only 119 on the board, we wanted to make early inroads, which we didn’t,” he said. “Halfway through, I got everyone together. We said if things can happen to us, it can happen to them as well.”Bumrah aside, India also had key bowling contributions from Hardik Pandya (2 for 24), Arshdeep (1 for 31), Mohammed Siraj, who gave away 19 runs in four overs, and the spin twins – Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja – who conceded 1 for 21 in four overs between them.Axar, in particular, bowled an excellent 16th over that went for just two runs, even though the match-up of bowling to Imad Wasim, a left-hand batter, could have worked against him.”Absolutely! That’s what’s required in a tournament like this,” Rohit said of his bowlers. “We need everyone to show up. Those little contributions make a huge difference. Whoever had the ball in hand wanted to make a contribution for the team.”Bumrah is going from strength to strength. We’ve seen him over the years what he can do, I’m not going to talk too much about him. We want him to be in that kind of mindset till the end of the World Cup. He’s a genius with the ball, we know that, but hats off to the other guys as well.”

Emilio Gay’s 88 from 110 balls was the day’s most eye-catching batting performance

ECB Reporters Network26-Apr-2024Northamptonshire 337 for 6 (Gay 88, Bartlett 71*, Procter 64) vs LeicestershireHalf-centuries from Emilio Gay, George Bartlett and skipper Luke Procter enabled Northamptonshire to shade the opening day of their Vitality County Championship match against Leicestershire, where they finished on 337 for 6.Gay’s 88 from 110 balls was the day’s most eye-catching batting performance but Bartlett’s unbeaten 71 and Procter’s 64 from 164 had much to commend them for grittiness as the home side’s bowlers, while expensive in the morning, did eventually make them work hard for their gains.Scott Currie and Tom Scriven finished with two wickets each but on-loan seamer Ben Green was unlucky not to have any success, while England leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed, returning to county duty for his second appearance of the season, was impressively difficult to score against.Gay was the dominant figure in a morning session in which Northamptonshire were the clear winners. Leicestershire, who also recalled Matt Salisbury for the injured Ben Mike, made only one breakthrough after skipper Lewis Hill had won the toss.The home attack struggled with length and line at times and both Gay and opening partner Ricardo Vasconcelos, both of whom have started the season well, hungrily took advantage. If there was something for the bowlers in a green-tinged pitch it largely proved elusive. Northamptonshire were 60 without loss inside the first hour.By lunch they had 128 on the board but had surrendered one wicket, Vasconcelos losing his off stump to an inswinging ball from Scriven but Gay, though a little streaky on two or three occasions, particularly against Scriven, had looked in serious trouble only when Currie backed up a brilliant stop at third slip with a shy at the stumps that would have run him out for 41 had it hit.The 24-year-old left-hander cashed in two matches ago with a career-best 261 against a Middlesex attack struggling with the Kookaburra. He reached 52 from 61 balls and looked good for a sixth career hundred here. However, after increasing his boundary count to 16, he fell on 88 soon after lunch when Currie pushed one through with some extra pace and bowled him off an inside edge.The visitors suffered another blow when their Indian Test batter Karun Nair, who also has a double-hundred under his belt this season, was dismissed for 18, Salisbury finding a thin outside edge to have him caught at first slip, via the gloves of ‘keeper Ben Cox.Leicestershire bowled with better control in the middle session than they had before lunch, with Currie in particular bowling some impressive spells that deserved more success. Yet they found themselves up against two solid adversaries in Procter and winter signing Bartlett, who had added 66 in a little under 20 overs when tea arrived at 242 for 3, Procter having posted his fourth fifty-plus score in five innings.With Ahmed growing to his task as a foil, giving little away from the pavilion end, and Currie continuing to bend his back at the Bennett End, pressure continued to build on the fourth-wicket pair after tea and it was Ahmed who eventually split them, bowling Procter with a ball the left-hander shaped to cut but did not sit up for the shot.Leicestershire made the visitors work hard for their runs but not once in the day did a breakthrough prompt a flurry of quick wickets. Bartlett now had James Sales for company, and another 46 runs were chipped out before the new ball brought a second wicket for Scriven, who found the edge with a beauty, Louis Kimber taking a good, low catch at first slip. Bartlett, meanwhile, had completed his first half-century for his new county from 114 balls, but Northamptonshire lost Saif Zaib before the close, well taken by Cox off Currie.

Super Kings dropped to No. 3 after failing to get 13 off the last over, with Unicorns going clear at the top after their seventh win

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Jul-2025The trend of low-scoring games in Lauderhill continued but this one – between table-toppers San Francisco Unicorns and Texas Super Kings – turned out to be a bit of a thriller.Chasing 149 for victory, TSK started the last over looking for 13 for victory with Calvin Savage still in the middle. Savage, however, got to face only one ball from Xavier Bartlett. And though his partner Mohammad Mohsin slammed two fours, it came down to three from one, Bartlett sent in a low full-toss, and the two batters could only scramble one, Savage run out as he ran desperately back for a second to tie the game.The result consolidated Unicorns’ position at the top of the MLC 2025 points table, with 14 points from nine games, and TSK slipped to third with 12 points from nine.Marcus Stoinis sent back the openers quickly•Sportzpics for MLC

Unicorns’ win was set up by captain Matthew Short, who continued his fine run-scoring form to get back to the top of the run-scoring charts. He batted from the first ball to the last after he had been asked to bat by Faf du Plessis, scoring 80 from 63 balls with five fours and four sixes. But it took him till Hassan Khan’s entry in the sixth over to find someone to bat with, Finn Allen, Jake Fraser-McGurk and Sanjay Krishnamurthi having fallen cheaply by then, Marcus Stoinis getting two of this three wickets for the match in that period.Stoinis got the next one, of Hassan, too, but that was only in the 13th over, and after Hassan had scored 40 in 25 balls in a 69-run stand with Short.Short carried on, with Romario Shepherd and Hammad Azam for company, to take Unicorns to 148, which might have looked just below par at the halfway stage, but turned out to be just about enough.And that’s because Brody Couch set the ball rolling in the defence with the wickets of the openers – du Plessis and Smit Patel – by the fourth over, and despite contributions from Stoinis (34 in 29 balls) and Donovan Ferreira (39 in 20), TSK were always slightly behind the eight ball. Then it came down to the last over, and Bartlett held his nerve to win it for his team.

Mumbai captain hit 108 in Ranji Trophy quarter-final, following on from being the highest run-getter in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

Rajan Raj11-Feb-2025Continuing his splendid form in domestic cricket this season, Mumbai captain Ajinkya Rahane struck a match-winning 108 in the Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Haryana to set up his side’s comfortable entry into the semi-finals. His returns in red-ball cricket have come as a solid follow-up to his performance in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) T20 competition, where he was the highest run-getter in the tournament.But Rahane, 36, brushed aside directly answering queries about his desire to return to the national side, instead opting to “leave selection matter to selectors”. However, he felt he had batted well enough in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia in June 2023, when he had top-scored for India with 89 in the first innings and followed that up with 46 in the second. On the West Indies tour that followed, Rahane fell for 3 and 8 in the two innings he batted, and hasn’t been picked for India since.Related

• Jaiswal ruled out of Ranji Trophy semi-final against Vidarbha due to ankle niggle

• Dias, Rahane and Shardul help Mumbai seal Ranji semi-final spot

• Rahane flying in T20 cricket after CSK stint frees him up

“I am not thinking about the future at all,” Rahane said after Mumbai beat Haryana at Eden Gardens. “But I do know that I am batting well. I had a good performance in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. This Ranji Trophy season is going well too. I batted nicely in the World Test Championship final in 2023 too. After that, I got dropped. Being selected or not selected is another matter, and the job of the selectors. But I thought I played well in that WTC final.”Rahane, though, said that his motivation hasn’t dropped, and he remains as hungry as ever for runs.”In all this, I feel I have a lot of cricket left in me,” he said. “That’s why I am playing domestic cricket consistently. I just have one goal right now, and that is to play cricket with a positive mindset, and whatever happens after that, happens.”This season, as Mumbai’s captain, Rahane has scored 437 runs at an average of 39.72 in the Ranji Trophy. In the SMAT, he smacked 469 runs at 58.62 with a strike rate of almost 165, which included three scores in the 90s.”Domestic cricket has given me everything,” he said. “I still have that (passion) within me. Before any match, I still have that desire and hunger that I possessed earlier. I don’t know about the future, but I do know I am far from done. That’s why I have been giving my 100% in domestic cricket.”Ajinkya Rahane enters IPL 2025 after finishing as the top-scorer in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy•PTI

‘Not told about KKR captaincy’

After the Ranji Trophy ends, Rahane will link up with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as their senior-most Indian cricketer. With Shreyas Iyer gone to Punjab Kings and no standout captaincy choice currently visible, Rahane remains a candidate to wear the armband. However, the former Rajasthan Royals captain has not had any conversations with the KKR management about it.”They have not chatted about KKR captaincy with me at all. If they’d have spoken, you journalists would’ve known about it and you guys would’ve been the ones informing me,” Rahane said jokingly. “Till then, I’ll not bother checking my phone.”But he wouldn’t be shying away from the opportunity either, if it was presented to him.”I have had to see a lot of different challenges,” Rahane said. “I have captained before, and I have found myself in a variety of situations over the years. I know how to handle any situation in front of me. That’s why I am always ready for whatever is thrown at me. That said, I have not got any news or any call. You guys will have to call and let me know if I am appointed captain. I will wait for that call [laughs].”

Jaiswal scored twin fifties as India registered a remarkable win despite two days of no play due to rain in Kanpur

Vishal Dikshit01-Oct-2024Less than 24 hours after sparking off a near-unthinkable push for victory in a game in which only 35 overs had been bowled in the first three days, India’s batters completed the task they had started by smashing down their target of 95 in just over an hour. The highlight of India’s performance on Tuesday came from another record-breaker from the fourth day; Ravindra Jadeja’s triple-strike started a slide for Bangladesh in an extended first session, in which they were bowled out for 146. India lost three wickets in pursuit before Rishabh Pant hit the winning runs in the chase set up by a 43-ball fifty from Yashasvi Jaiswal, and extended their lead at the top of the WTC points table with a 2-0 series sweep.The 312 balls India batted for in this Test is the second-fewest they have faced – and the fourth-fewest overall – to win a Test match, behind the 281 against South Africa in Cape Town earlier this year.Related

• How Bumrah and Jadeja evened India's odds

• Rohit Sharma and the sixes that woke up a dead game

• Mominul Haque finds clarity in Kanpur maelstrom

Bangladesh started the day on 26 for 2, and with Jadeja starting things off in the company of Akash Deep, suffered a collapse of 7 for 55. R Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah also finished with three each. Jadeja first broke the stubborn stand of 55 between Najmul Hossain Shanto and Shadman Islam when he struck in three successive overs, also sending back Litton Das and Shakib Al Hasan. Bangladesh went from 91 for 3 to 94 for 7. After that, Bumrah wiped out the tail. There were no demons in the pitch, no vicious turn, just tight and skiddy bowling from Jadeja and the mounting pressure.Bangladesh were trailing by 26 when the day of 98 overs started and it was Ashwin who struck first. After using the sweep effectively in his unbeaten century in the first innings, Mominul Haque fell to the same shot when he handed a catch to leg slip for 2. Many might have expected Bangladesh to buckle under pressure but Shadman replied with a string of boundaries against Ashwin. He struck three confident cover drives and a back-foot cut for four fours in seven balls against Ashwin, which gave Bangladesh confidence and the lead.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

A few loose deliveries from Mohammed Siraj leaked a few more boundaries; he was struck for two fours each by Shadman and Shanto in his opening spell, although one of them would have been a chance had third slip been in place.It’s possible Jadeja was the last one to get the ball because only left-hand batters had been at the crease. But it took him only two balls to strike. Shanto missed a reverse sweep on his first ball against Jadeja to lose his leg stump before the bowler extracted extra bounce on a pitch that has been keeping low to have Litton caught behind on the cut for 1. Between those two overs, Akash Deep pitched one up to Shadman soon after the batter’s half-century, and the push to gully ended his 101-ball stay.Jadeja was all over Bangladesh by now. In his third over he sent back Shakib with an innocuous delivery bowled slow through the air, which Shakib only chipped back to give Jadeja figures of 2.2-1-3-3 early in his spell.2:35

Manjrekar: ‘This is the legacy Rohit Sharma will leave as captain’

With Bangladesh seven down for 94, Rohit Sharma brought back Bumrah and the spearhead did his job straightaway. His third ball of the fresh spell was a beauty that got Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s edge. It was only Mushfiqur Rahim who delayed the inevitable, extending the lead towards 100. He saw off the quicks and belted two back-to-back fours against Jadeja.Bumrah trapped Taijul Islam lbw to extend the first session at the stroke of lunch before Mushfiqur frustrated the hosts further. He started to farm the strike with only one wicket left but again it was Bumrah who made the difference. Back for one over before lunch, his slow offcutter at 125kph went through a big swing from Mushfiqur on the last ball of the session as he put to waste all his hard work.India again came out all guns blazing as Bangladesh didn’t use any pace in search of wickets. Rohit missed a big swing to the leg side in the first over and when he middled a sweep, he found deep backward square-leg in Mehidy’s second over. Shubman Gill was trapped lbw for 6 by Mehidy to a delivery similar to the one that kept low and dismissed Rohit on Monday. Otherwise India cruised in their chase thanks to Jaiswal’s third half-century of the series. He muscled his back-foot punches and sweeps and came down the track to smash a few boundaries, including a six, down the ground. His brisk partnership of 58 with Virat Kohli nearly saw India through except that Jaiswal miscued a swing to the off side with only three runs required.

An unpredictable Afghanistan start as favourites, however, there’s rain threat across all five days

Sreshth Shah25-Dec-2024

Big Picture: Zimbabwe gets a home Boxing Day Test in 28 years

The final week of the year is like a Roman feast for the Test cricket fan, and Boxing Day this year promises mouth-watering contests in Melbourne and Centurion, but look this way too, will you? Bulawayo is set to host Zimbabwe’s first Boxing Day Test in 28 years too, and with unpredictable Afghanistan on the other side, a real tussle is expected between two teams, who despite their recent underwhelming performances, would feel like they’re favourites. After all, the last time either side won a Test was against each other.But that was way back in 2021. Since then, they have not found a way to win. And one look at the Zimbabwe and Afghanistan squads for this two-Test series suggests that they’re both looking to change that by taking a different direction for 2025 and beyond. A splattering of Test debutants are expected – theoretically, there could be as many 15 debuts across the two XIs – and this series could very well be the one that births a new generation.The keys to success, nonetheless, will still be best known by the experienced heads. Craig Ervine, Sikandar Raza, Sean Williams, Blessing Muzarabani, Hashmatullah Shahidi and Rahmat Shah will all be there, but Rashid Khan has made himself unavailable due to personal reasons for the opening Test. He had originally made himself available for both Tests after recovering from injury; teen spinner AM Ghazanfar was added to the squad late on Tuesday to accommodate his absence.However, all the headlines could be stolen by the weather unfortunately. Like Afghanistan’s last encounter in Greater Noida that got washed out without the toss, this one could go to similar territory, although some action is promised every day amid forecasts of rain and thunderstorms every afternoon.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
Zimbabwe LLDLL
Afghanistan ALLLW

In the spotlight: Ben Curran and Ghazanfar

Zimbabwe have been looking for one person to hold onto one position in their top order for a long time, and potential debutant Ben Curran could be one to steady the wobble. Left-hand batter Curran – the middle brother of England internationals Tom and Sam, and son of former Zimbabwe international Kevin Curran – has been rewarded for being the leading run-scorer of the Logan Cup this season, averaging 74.14 in seven innings with two centuries and two fifties. However, he has had a difficult start to his international career, with scores of 12, 0, and 15 in the three ODIs against Afghanistan.AM Ghazanfar was impressive in the ODIs•ACB

Could 18-year-old AM Ghazanfar walk into the Test XI right away? A late addition to the squad, Ghazanfar has not played any first-class cricket, but his T20 average of 11.62 and ODI average of 13.57 makes him an exciting prospect for any form of cricket. He has been the flavour of the season in T20 leagues around the world, and he spun a web around Zimbabwe with figures of 3 for 9 and 5 for 33 in his last two ODIs. With teams likely to race against time in this Test, a spinner who can run through opponents is a deadly weapon.

Team news

Zimbabwe: 1 Joylord Gumbie (wk), 2 Ben Curran, 3 Dion Myers, 4 Craig Ervine (capt), 5 Sikandar Raza, 6 Sean Williams, 7 Brian Bennett, 8 Johnathan Campbell / Brandon Mavuta, 9 Blessing Muzarabani, 10 Richard Ngarava, 11 Newman NyamhuriAfghanistan: 1 Ikram Alikhil (wk), 2 Sediqullah Atal, 3 Rahmat Shah, 4 Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), 5 Azmatullah Omarzai, 6 Bahir Shah / Riaz Hassan, 7 Zia-ur-Rehman, 8 Zahir Khan, 9 Fareed Ahmed, 10 Naveed Zadran, 11 AM Ghazanfar

Pitch and conditions

Bulawayo usually offers dry pitch conditions. The surface largely assists fast bowlers and helps spinners later, but with cloudy conditions expected, the fast bowlers may have a bigger role to play across the five days. Rain is forecast across all five days, especially during the second and third sessions.

Stats and trivia

• Zimbabwe have lost six out of their last seven Tests with one resulting in a draw.
• The Queen’s Sports Club is an inauspicious Test venue for Zimbabwe. They have not won a Test here since April 2001. Since that win, they have played 17 more Tests, losing 13 and drawing four.
• If Ghazanfar makes his debut, he will be the eighth teen debutant in Tests for Afghanistan.
• This will be Zimbabwe’s fourth Boxing Day encounter in their Test history and Afghanistan’s first.

Victoria were in control after the work of Nic Maddinson, Marcus Harris and Peter Handscomb but Iain Carlisle’s spell changed things

AAP03-Mar-20243:30

Renshaw, Bancroft, Maddinson: assessing Sheffield Shield form

Victoria coach Chris Rogers was pinning his hopes on a Will Sutherland masterclass after his side suffered a costly late collapse in their Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania in Hobart.On a day when Will Pucovski was subbed out after being felled by a Riley Meredith bouncer, Victoria went to stumps on day three needing another 69 to win with two wickets in hand.Related

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• Pucovski retires hurt after being struck by bouncer

Nic Maddinson was the hero for Victoria on Sunday, cracking 109 off 145 balls and combining with Marcus Harris for a 178-run opening stand.Victoria were in the box seat when Peter Handscomb and Pucovski’s concussion sub Campbell Kellaway guided the visitors to 348 fo 4.But a collapse of 4 for 25 late in the day thrust Tasmania back into the box seat. Victoria’s hopes rest in the hands of Sutherland, Todd Murphy and No.11 Peter Siddle.Paceman Iain Carlisle (3-63) helped spark Tasmania’s comeback late on Sunday, snaring the scalps of Handscomb, Mitchell Perry and Fergus O’Neill in the fading light.Iain Carlisle trapped Peter Handscomb lbw to turn the game around•Getty Images

Sutherland was still lucky to be there after being dropped by Beau Webster on 7. Webster reached across his team-mate at slip in a bid to take the one-handed catch, but it went down.”We’re still in it. It feels like a long way to go, but there’s still hope,” Rogers said. “You never know what can happen.”Will Sutherland is still there. He can score and score quickly. If he can get some support down the other end, you never know what can happen.”Victoria entered the match second on the table and knowing a loss could tumble them to as low as fourth with just one round remaining.But a win over Tasmania would leave them in the prime position to secure a spot in the final – and possibly hosting rights – ahead of their final-round clash with Western Australia at Junction Oval.Tasmania can secure their spot in the decider with victory, with hosting rights also within their reach.Nic Maddinson made his third hundred in three Shield matches•Getty Images

A whopping 17 wickets fell on the opening day and 13 on the second at Blundstone Arena. But the pitch looked as flat as a road for most of day three as Maddinson and Harris put the Tasmanian attack to the sword. Maddinson’s ton, his third in consecutive Shield matches, came off just 112 balls, with 14 fours and a six.His departure sparked a chaotic period in which Pucovski retired hurt after being struck by a Meredith bouncer as Victoria lost 3 for 33.Pucovski went into the match having suffered at least 11 previous concussions in his career, and it remains to be seen what impact his latest head knock will have on his playing future.