Quinton de Kock has also linked up with Super Giants but who will make way for him?

Hemant Brar06-Apr-20234:47

Moody: Stick with Mayers and bat him at No. 3

Big pictureKyle Mayers was part of Lucknow Super Giants’ squad in IPL 2022 but didn’t get a game. Had Quinton de Kock not been on national duty, Mayers wouldn’t have started this season either. But now he has two swashbuckling half-centuries in two games to give Super Giants a happy headache.With de Kock available and having smashed a 44-ball 100 against West Indies recently, do Super Giants drop Mayers? That will be sacrilegious. If they play both, who sacrifices the opening slot? Plus, who misses out in that case – Nicholas Pooran or Marcus Stoinis? Pooran made useful contributions in both games, while Stoinis gives them an extra bowling option, even though he is yet to bowl this IPL.After starting their campaign with a win at home, Super Giants went down to Chennai Super Kings in their next match. Now that they are back in Lucknow, can they return to winning ways?Sunrisers Hyderabad too are coming off a defeat; they were thrashed by Rajasthan Royals in their opening game. But there are plenty of reasons for Sunrisers to put that hammering behind them, the biggest being the availability of their South African players.Related

Kyle Mayers had one shot, and he didn't let it slip

For the Royals game, they were without their captain Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen and Marco Jansen. Now that the trio has joined the squad, they have all eight overseas players to pick from. And like de Kock, all three carry excellent form with them.Team newsBoth teams get reinforcements with their South African players who were part of the Netherlands series available now. Apart from Super Giants’ Mohsin Khan, there are no known injury concerns.Toss and Impact Player strategyLucknow Super Giants
With de Kock a shoo-in, Stoinis may have to miss out. When it comes to Impact Player, Super Giants could start with Ayush Badoni if they are batting first. Jaydev Unadkat or Yash Thakur could replace him in the second innings. Vice versa if they are bowling first.Probable bat-first XI: 1 KL Rahul (capt), 2 Kyle Mayers, 3 Deepak Hooda, 4 Quinton de Kock (wk), 5 Nicholas Pooran, 6 Ayush Badoni, 7 Krunal Pandya, 8 K Gowtham, 9 Avesh Khan, 10 Ravi Bishnoi, 11 Mark WoodProbable bowl-first XI: 1 KL Rahul (capt), 2 Kyle Mayers, 3 Deepak Hooda, 4 Quinton de Kock (wk), 5 Nicholas Pooran, 6 Krunal Pandya, 7 K Gowtham, 8 Avesh Khan, 9 Jaydev Unadkat/Yash Thakur, 10 Ravi Bishnoi, 11 Mark WoodAiden Markram will take over the captaincy from Bhuvneshwar Kumar•BCCI

Sunrisers Hyderabad
Given Klaasen’s recent form, and that he is a regular wicketkeeper, he could replace Glenn Phillips in the starting XI. Jansen may have to wait for his turn, though.Abdul Samad and Kartik Tyagi could be Sunrisers’ Impact Player pair.Probable bat-first XI: 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Mayank Agarwal, 3 Rahul Tripathi, 4 Aiden Markram (capt), 5 Harry Brook, 6 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 6 Abdul Samad, 7 Washington Sundar, 8 Adil Rashid, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Umran Malik, 11 T NatarajanProbable bowl-first XI: 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Mayank Agarwal, 3 Rahul Tripathi, 4 Aiden Markram (capt), 5 Harry Brook, 6 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 6 Washington Sundar, 7 Adil Rashid, 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 9 Umran Malik, 10 T Natarajan, 11 Kartik TyagiStats that matter Since the start of the last IPL, Super Giants have won eight out of nine games when batting first. But when it comes to chasing, they have won only two out of eight. Mayers’ strike rate against pace is 149.54. But against spin, it drops down to 103.15. Pooran has a great strike rate against both pace and spin, but Adil Rashid has been able to keep him quiet. In 36 balls to Pooran, he has conceded just 31 runs while getting him out twice. Since the start of 2022, Mark Wood has picked up a wicket every eighth ball.Pitch and conditionsTeams batting first have fared slightly better at this venue, with 17 wins and 14 defeats from 31 T20s. When it comes to bowling, spinners (6.49) have been more frugal than fast bowlers (7.87).

When Sophie Devine was growing up, she was a great drag flicker who netted penalty corners for fun in Wellington. The thrust she would impart on the ball, while picking trajectories at will, would send it screaming to different corners of the net. It was an early sign of her sporting potential.Growing up in a multi-sport country that rewarded additional skillsets in the form of academic credits had her also take up cricket. And nearly a decade-and-a-half later, much of this brutality and early promise that was on display on the hockey field continues to mesmerise fans the world over at cricket grounds, too.If you watched Devine’s savagery on Saturday night, chances are you’d be the first to endorse it’s time to rid the women’s game of 48-metre boundaries with immediate effect. She wasn’t just clearing them, she was tonking them into the top tiers or onto the adjacent tennis courts, some 90 metres away.The crowd, who’d come out hoping for some fireworks, the photographers who were trying to get that perfect picture, the umpires who were at striking distance, the poor bowlers – they were all left in awe. Sixes kept flying as fast as Mumbai’s taxis do along Marine Drive.Devine hit an astounding nine fours and eight sixes in her 36-ball 99. She holed out to mid-off going for her ninth six and had to be drag herself back after falling agonisingly short of WPL’s first century. Everybody in the ground stood up to applaud her. Her shell-shocked opponents were short of words as Sneh Rana later put it. Royal Challengers Bangalore are still a long way away from qualifying for the play-offs, but they’re still alive.Gujarat Giants, having set a formidable 189 to win, will perhaps look back and say it was just one of those nights, but their bowling line-up looked flaky all night and had few answers to Devine. Ashleigh Gardner was the first one caught in the storm. Having brought in to unsettle Smriti Mandhana, who had been out five times to offspin this WPL, she conceded 24 off her first over as Devine took her for a sequence of 0, 6, 4, 4, 6, 4 to set the tone for Royal Challengers’s reply. They waltzed to 77 for 0 in the powerplay.Devine raised her half-century off just 20 balls and then took her innings into orbit. Once Giants realised pace on the ball wasn’t working, they tried to slow it down. Devine, who spoke of “being in a zone”, wasn’t going to die wondering. Enter her quick feet and long levers and the ball was repeatedly tossed into the club house. The pose that she held while following the trajectory of the ball told you how much she enjoyed it.It wasn’t just Devine who enjoyed it, though.Sophie Devine missed her maiden WPL century by a run•BCCI

“There are few people who can do what she did tonight, but she’s been doing it consistently for years and what she did tonight was special,” Ellyse Perry told Sports 18 after the match. “To be fair, that last shot where she got out typifies Sophie. It’s not about runs for her but playing for the team.”To be going for a big shot on 99 when cover was open for a single, it speaks volumes to her character as a person. It was a special chase led by Sophie, it was fun to be a part of and it has kept us in the competition. I don’t know if Sophie can express to us what she is capable of. She’s got the quickest hands and has a good stable base where she gets her power from.”That stablility stems from her trusting her technique and not basing her game on second-guessing what’s coming. Much of it is instinctive; she derives that confidence from her innate ability to have different options for similar deliveries. She can club a length ball through midwicket and flat bat a similar delivery over the bowler’s head for six. It’s this range that she accesses that makes her a dangerous proposition, more so on surfaces with good bounce and carry.”Sometimes the best thing for me is I don’t have game plan,” Devine said as she tried to breakdown the events later. “When you’re chasing 180-190, you have to go hard. When I got a couple away, I thought it was time, it was a combination of freedom and determination to stay in since I’ve thrown my wicket away a couple of times.”Cricket can be so fickle. I’ve been struggling for six to nine months, if I have to be completely honest. To have some freedom on these wickets was good. It’s also been good to trust myself and free my hands up. Our batting coach RX Murali challenged me to bat a long time, so it was nice to score some runs tonight.”The “some runs” may have well delivered a blockbuster that will be etched in WPL folklore. The knock came at a time when you thought it would have been hard to top Laura Wolvaardt’s surgical precision and Gardner’s monstrous six-hitting.”I’m so used to hearing chants for Perry and Mandhana, and was feeling a bit left out,” Devine chuckled. “To hear your name and experience this atmosphere, it will stay with me for a very long time.”This much is certain. Devine isn’t going to be the only one to remember this knock for long. And Mandhana wasn’t the only one yearning for popcorn while enjoying the Sophie Devine show.

Carey’s form a cause for concern for the visitors as his batting average slips under 30

Alex Malcolm02-Mar-20241:18

Lyon: ‘Phillips has been talking to me nearly every morning about spin bowling’

The last time Nathan Lyon top-scored in a Test innings Australia was bowled out for 47 and lost the match.Lyon said he would not have any cheeky words with Australia’s batters after top-scoring with 41 as the visitors collapsed for 164 at the Basin Reserve and bring New Zealand back into the game from a vulnerable position.”No. That’s the second time I’ve done it in my career,” Lyon said. “And let’s hope it’s the last.”But there is a case to be made that some soul-searching should be done among Australia’s batting group. It is not the style of this team to have stern words with each other, or even introspect. They are not the anti-negativity evangelists that England’s Bazballers are, but they are relatively pragmatic about their failures.Lyon said that some of the batters would be disappointed with their dismissals in the second innings as Glenn Phillips, with a total of 11 Test scalps and 51 first-class scalps from 53 matches prior to this game, took five of Australia’s top seven to become the first New Zealand spinner to take a five-wicket haul at home in 16 years.”I dare say so,” Lyon said. “But I’ll never criticise our batters the way they go about it because they’ve been exceptional for a number of years now. But then you’ve got to give credit to the bowlers and this is my big thing. Bowlers are actually there to bowl good balls. And it’s not always the batters’ fault getting out and bowlers are allowed to come up with plans and execute and take wickets. No doubt there will be some frustration in there.”Glenn Phillips prised out Travis Head to start a collapse•AFP/Getty Images

Phillips did bowl some good balls. The one to remove Cameron Green was a beauty. But his four other scalps, while well-planned and well-executed, required Australia’s batters to get sucked into the obvious traps that were laid out.And one after the other, Usman Khawaja, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh and Alex Carey did just that.The first three have plenty of credits in the bank. But Carey is a cause for concern. His form with the bat is more alarming than the raw numbers. His Test batting average has slipped under 30 but it is the manner of his dismissals and the lack of a clear method to his batting that would be concerning Australia’s selectors the most.It was the second time in the match that he holed out to cover, and it was made worse that he nearly holed out twice before his dismissal to the two catching covers in place.He had scored half-centuries in his most recent first-class match for South Australia and in his last Test for Australia. But even those two innings ended in brainless fashion. Against Queensland, having cruised to 90, he premeditated to lap scoop Mark Steketee from way wide of the off stump and was caught behind.Nathan Lyon picked up the wickets of Tom Latham and Kane Williamson before stumps•Getty Images

In his last Test, after making an excellent momentum-shifting 65, he holed out to deep square leg, falling straight into a clear trap that was set for him.It is not the first time Australia’s thoughtless batting has left them vulnerable this summer. They remain in a strong position but much rests on the shoulders of Lyon and the bowlers.”If we do our job and put pressure on the guys for long periods of time, I’m confident that the bowlers in that change room will create more than seven chances,” Lyon said.He was a threat again in the evening session, picking up Tom Latham and Kane Williamson. He revealed that he felt like he had found a vulnerability in Williamson’s game by getting him caught at leg slip but did not elaborate on exactly what it was.”My biggest weapon and it’s no secret is my bounce all around the world,” Lyon said. “So I’ll continue to try and put some over spin on the ball and try and get the bounce and try and hit the stickers on the bat and challenge the guys’ defence on the crease. I’ve got a fair understanding of what their plan is going to be. So it’s a good opportunity for me tonight to reset some goals and reset some plans and we’ll go from there.”

Megan Schutt never thought she’d play one game for Australia, let alone 200.But she is revelling at the prospect of achieving the milestone when Australia host South Africa on Saturday in the opening fixture of the three-match one-day series at her beloved home ground, the Adelaide Oval.”It makes you feel a bit old, to be honest,” Schutt, the 31-year-old quick, told reporters on Friday. “Game one, I didn’t even expect to play that in my lifetime. So to get to 200 is pretty darn cool and having it at Adelaide Oval is fate in itself and extremely special.”Schutt is just the sixth Australian woman to reach 200 internationals across formats.”I love the game,” she said. “It’s a stupid game and there’s so much more failure than success but I just love it. I love the people that are involved in it, and it’s a game that keeps evolving as well. I keep striving to be better. Being a fast bowler in a batter’s game is quite tough but I kind of like the challenge.”The most rewarding part is being a bowler and having played that much cricket, there’s not many players around that have played as much cricket as I have. I guess not being an express pace bowler helps me, but [reaching 200 games] as a bowler is probably a special achievement.”Schutt, who made her international debut in an ODI in December 2012, said she would continue playing “as long as my body holds out and as long as Cricket Australia want me”.”Admittedly, it’s a bit harder to get out of bed in the mornings,” she said. “But I’ll keep pushing hard in the gym, doing what I can, and if I keep getting a contract, I will keep playing.”Schutt, who has taken 260 wickets in her 87 ODIs, 108 T20Is and four Test matches, nominated Australia’s 2020 World Cup T20 triumph as her career highlight.”I mean, 86,000 people at the MCG; I was super-sceptical that we were going to get 20,000,” she said. “That was a real life-changing moment for me and something I’ll always remember. If I had to bank one moment in my life, it’s probably that.”

England haven’t lost a Test series since Stokes and McCullum took over but that could change in Ranchi

Hemant Brar22-Feb-20241:11

Manjrekar: Resting Bumrah shows India’s confidence

Big picture: Joe Root looks to bounce backEngland have not lost a Test series in the Bazball era. Of the seven completed series in this period, they won four and drew three. However, that could change over the next five days as India – after trouncing England by 434 runs in Rajkot – go into the fourth Test in Ranchi with a lead of 2-1.At various points in the series, India’s batting line-up has looked shaky. But with Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill back among runs, and Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel making impressive debuts, it no longer seems to be an issue.Their bowling line-up in Ranchi, though, could be their weakest until now. They have rested Jasprit Bumrah, the most influential bowler with 17 wickets at 13.64 in the first three Tests. Perhaps to offset that, they have prepared a pitch about which Ben Stokes said: “I have never seen something like that before.” But more on that later.Related

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How will India replace Jasprit Bumrah in Ranchi?

As far as England are concerned, their middle order needs to fire. So Bumrah’s absence should bring some relief, especially for Joe Root; Bumrah has dismissed him nine times across 13 Tests, including three times in this series. As a result, Root has scored a mere 77 runs in six innings so far on this tour, and his average of 12.83 is the second-worst for him in a Test series.Another positive for England is that Stokes seems ready to resume bowling. Given the England captain’s ability to provide breakthroughs, the prospect must be mouthwatering, but the visitors will be wary of plucking the fruit before it is ripe.Form guideIndia WWLWL (last five Tests, most recent first)
England LLWWDIn the spotlight: Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jonny BairstowYashasvi Jaiswal has been head and shoulders above all other batters in this series. In six innings, Jaiswal has smashed 545 runs at an average of 109.00. Ben Duckett, with 288 at 48.00, is a distant second. And it is not just the runs but also how Jaiswal scored them. He has batted at a strike rate of 81.10, and his 22 sixes are already the most by a batter in a bilateral Test series. If England are to level the series, they need to find a way to stop him.Jonny Bairstow was bowled shouldering arms to Ravindra Jadeja in the first Test•BCCIJonny Bairstow has been at the opposite end of the spectrum. With Ben Foakes taking over the wicketkeeping duties, he was expected to bat without any worry. But so far in the series, he has managed only 102 runs at an average of 17.00. The team management is not worried, though. According to head coach Brendon McCullum, they want to “keep on giving him confidence and block out a lot of the external noise”. It is up to Bairstow now to repay their faith.Team news: England bring in Robinson and BashirThe only question for India is who replaces Bumrah. With three spinners already in the XI, they are likely to go for either Mukesh Kumar or uncapped Akash Deep. Mukesh should be the frontrunner even though he missed the optional practice session on Thursday, where Akash did a lot of batting and fielding.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 3 Shubman Gill, 4 Rajat Patidar, 5 Sarfaraz Khan, 6 Dhruv Jurel (wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Mukesh Kumar/Akash DeepEngland have made two changes. Ollie Robinson replaces Mark Wood and will play his first Test in India, while offspinner Shoaib Bashir has been preferred over Rehan Ahmed for his high release point.England: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Jonny Bairstow, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Ben Foakes (wk), 8 Tom Hartley, 9 Ollie Robinson, 10 James Anderson, 11 Shoaib BashirPitch and conditions: Rain in the airThe Ranchi pitch far more spin-friendly than any of the previous ones in the series. Stokes described it as “very dark and crumbly”. Ollie Pope noted that one half – if you cut it vertically – had significantly more cracks than the other. More grass was shaved off on Thursday. On the weather front, there is a forecast for showers on the third and fifth days of the Test.Brendon McCullum and Co have a close look at the pitch•Associated PressStats and trivia: Anderson on the cusp of 700 James Anderson is only four away from 700 Test wickets. Only Muthiah Muralidaran (800) and Shane Warne (708) have taken more. Stokes is three short of 200 Test wickets. When he reaches there, he will be only the third allrounder after Garry Sobers and Jacques Kallis to complete the double of 6000 runs and 200 wickets. Bairstow is 94 away from 6000 Test runs, and Rohit Sharma 23 from 4000. Ravindra Jadeja, who completed 3000 Test runs in the previous game, is closing in on 300 Test wickets as well. He needs 13 more to become the seventh Indian to get there.Quotes”We have been having a lot of conversations with him [Rajat Patidar]. One thing he needs to understand is that this is how this game goes. He has been batting really well, he has scored a lot of runs to get into the team, and he doesn’t become a bad player after two games. He has had a few tough games, awkward dismissals where the ball has stopped on him, which can happen – this is how this game goes. But I have absolutely no doubt that he is a good player and on his day he will come up with a very impactful innings.”
“There is going to be assistance for the spinners, but also the seam [bowlers] because of the dryness and cracks in the wicket. The way Jimmy [Anderson] and Robbo [Robinson] operate, zoning in on an area consistently, Robbo’s release point, I think we’re giving ourselves a good chance if it is spinning; we also have the chance to take wickets with the quick bowlers if there is some variable bounce.”

Anthony Elanga, Newcastle United's new £55 million ($74m) recruit from Nottingham Forest, has expressed his admiration for international team-mate Alexander Isak, labelling the striker among the world’s elite. However, Elanga also made it clear that speculation surrounding Isak’s future at St James Park is part and parcel of being a top player, referring to the transfer chatter as little more than “noise.”

• Isak linked with Liverpool transfer
• Newcastle determined to resist sale
• Forward has three years left on contract

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  In recent weeks, Isak has found himself at the centre of growing transfer speculation with Liverpool. The Reds are ready to pay close to £120 million ($164m), which could force the Magpies to lap it up. Despite this, the forward has remained with Newcastle during their pre-season preparations in Austria and no deal has yet been agreed for his departure.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Isak is under contract with Newcastle until 2027 and the club has been trying to secure his long-term future with a new deal that would make him their highest-paid player ever. However, an agreement has yet to be reached, leaving a cloud of uncertainty.

• WHAT ELANGA SAID

  Having played alongside Isak for the Swedish national team, Elanga is familiar with the forward’s movement, mentality and qualities on the pitch. Their existing chemistry could be an asset for Newcastle heading into the new season, especially if the club can hold onto their prized striker.

  He said: "Alex is one of the best players in the world – there is always going to be noise around him. He's somebody I know from my national team, so I know how good he is."

  Speaking about his decision to leave Nottingham Forest and join the Magpies, Elanga revealed teaming up with Isak again was among several motivations.

  "There were a lot of factors that played into it," he added. "The city, the fanbase, as well as Alex, Anthony Gordon, Bruno, Joelinton, Joe Willock and also winning a trophy after 70 years. Getting that winning factor back into the city. They came so close but now they have a trophy. I think that played a huge part. You can see in training, the intensity and competitiveness, it is second to none."

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• DID YOU KNOW?

  Although Liverpool’s interest remains serious, recent developments suggest they may be shifting their attention to French striker Hugo Ekitike, whose talks with the Reds have reportedly advanced. Still, Isak remains on the radar at Anfield, especially with the potential departures of Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez on the cards.

Newcastle are reportedly determined to sign Yoane Wissa amid the Alexander Isak transfer saga despite Brentford's hardline stance on exit. The Magpies view Wissa as a crucial addition to their frontline and are reportedly willing to return with an improved offer after seeing an initial £25 million bid turned down by Brentford.

Newcastle continue Wissa pursuit View him as a potential replacement for Isak Saw a £25m bid turned down by The Bees Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

According to Wissa is keen to make the move to St. James’ Park, driven by the chance to participate in the UEFA Champions League. At 28, he believes this may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and is eager to compete at Europe’s highest level before the peak years of his career fade.

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Newcastle’s interest in Wissa was originally part of a contingency plan should they lose star striker Alexander Isak this summer. The club had been preparing to bring in RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko as a long-term first-choice striker, with Wissa viewed as a dependable backup who could also provide versatility in attacking roles. Despite the situation remaining fluid, Wissa’s desire to join the Magpies has only strengthened their resolve to bring him in.

DID YOU KNOW?

Fueling the speculation further, Wissa departed Brentford’s pre-season training base in Portugal earlier this week and returned to the UK. His return was reportedly to facilitate talks with Brentford’s top brass regarding his next steps and to push for a resolution over his immediate future.

However, newly-appointed Brentford head coach Keith Andrews, speaking after his managerial debut, a 1-1 draw against Gil Vicente, addressed Wissa’s current absence from the squad.

"He has gone back to London. It was his decision, obviously because of speculation," Andrews said.

"There are clubs interested, and he felt it was the right thing to go back to London. It's simple, really, he folds back into the group next week when we come back to training."

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Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR BRENTFORD?

Brentford’s recruitment team continues to monitor potential reinforcements. One name under serious consideration is Ipswich Town winger Omari Hutchinson. A move for the talented youngster nearly materialised earlier in the transfer window but collapsed due to disagreements over payment structure. The club still views Hutchinson as a valuable target and may return with revised terms if Wissa eventually departs, ensuring the squad retains enough depth and attacking threat.

Marizanne Kapp’s mind-boggling figures of 3 for 5 and Shafali Verma’s unbeaten 64 helped Delhi Capitals thrash UP Warriorz by nine wickets and collect their first two points in WPL 2024, in Bengaluru on Monday. Warriorz, after being restricted to 119 for 9, succumbed to their second straight defeat.

Kapp’s freakish spell destroys Warriorz

Four overs. One maiden. Five runs. Three wickets. Capitals could not have asked for a better start from their pace mainstay. Kapp carried forward her red-hot form from international cricket to the WPL to rattle Warriorz’s top order.In a brilliant display of swing bowling, Kapp started the first over conceding just a run. In her second over – which was a maiden – she removed Vrinda Dinesh, who chased a wide outswinger only to be caught at deep third. Her third over began with the wicket of Tahlia McGrath, who played down the wrong line to a back of a length delivery that went past her outside edge to take the top of off stump. Five balls later, Kapp had Warriorz captain Alyssa Healy as she miscued one to wide mid-off. Shafali did her part, running back to pluck out a clean superb catch.

Arundhati Reddy fined for breaching code of conduct

Delhi Capitals quick Arundhati Reddy has been fined 10% of her match fees for breaching the WPL code of conduct. She admitted to the offence, which related to her send-off to UP Warriorz batter Poonam Khemnar.

Kapp bowled four overs straight to set the tone for Capitals.

Sehrawat’s 45 in vain, Radha takes four

From 16 for 3, Warriorz kept losing wickets at one end to be 57 for 5 and then 85 for 6. But Shweta Sehrawat, on her 20th birthday, held firm at her end. She took her time at the start and also benefited from two lives, but then got going. Sehrawat smashed legspinner Minnu Manni for a six with a slog-sweep and followed it up with three fours off Annabel Sutherland in the 17th over.Sehrawat eventually fell to left-arm spinner Radha Yadav, who had picked up two wickets until then. She was stumped by Taniya Bhatia when she came down the track to hit a short, wide ball but completely failed to connect.Radha, who varied her lengths cleverly, added one more wicket to her tally when she got rid of Sophie Ecclestone in the final over to finish with 4 for 20.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The Shafali-Lanning show blunts Warriorz

A target of 120 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium is hardly going to be a tough task for any side. And Capitals, who are coming off a four-wicket defeat against Mumbai Indians in the tournament opener, decided it was their chance to improve their net run rate. Meg Lanning and Shafali’s 119-run opening stand completely blunted Warriorz and helped Capitals chase down the target in 14.3 overs.Lanning was happy to rotate the strike initially, with Shafali – after getting out for 1 against Mumbai – bouncing back strongly with a 36-ball fifty. Shafali struck a boundary in every over of the powerplay to power Capitals to 57 for 0 by the end of the first six. She was merciless especially against McGrath, hammering two fours and a six off the sixth over. In no time, she moved to 41 off 22 balls and brought up her fifty with a six towards deep midwicket.Lanning picked up pace too and eventually scored her fifty off 42 balls in what was the final over of the game.Warriorz’ attack looked one-dimensional: heavy on spin with McGrath being their only recognised seamer. They had replaced seamer Saima Thakor with left-arm spinner Gouher Sultana, and the move did not work on the night.

The Victoria batter has been included in the squad to face New South Wales at the SCG

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff15-Feb-2024Luckless batter Will Pucovski is over his most recent concussion and has been recalled to Victoria’s Sheffied Shield squad for a crucial clash with NSW.The 25-year-old missed Victoria’s last-start Shield win against South Australia after being struck on the helmet while batting in a 2nd XI game on January 22. But Pucovski has been declared fit to take his place against NSW at the SCG, starting on Friday.”Unfortunately our white-ball campaign came to an end on Wednesday but we now turn our attention to putting together a strong Shield performance at the SCG and put ourselves in the running to make the Shield final,” David Hussey, Cricket Victoria’s head of male cricket, said.Related

• Pucovski ruled out of Sheffield Shield clash with delayed concussion

• NSW overcome scare to maintain Sheffield Shield climb

• Green could earn T20 World Cup spot through IPL performances

“It is fantastic to welcome back our captain in Will Sutherland for the Shield after his international debut, while it is also great to have Will Pucovski back in the squad.”Pucovski was cleared of concussion at the time when he was hit on the helmet last month, but experienced delayed symptoms in the following days.After taking leave for mental health reasons in 2022, Pucovski has returned to cricket this summer after suffering 11 concussions.Before his return, the right-hander, widely regarded as among Australia’s best young batters, had a year out of the game.Pucovski has played three Sheffield Shield matches this season, with a top score of 65 and also featured in a tour game for Victoria against Pakistan.His one and only Test came against India at the SCG in January 2021, impressing with a first-innings 62, but suffered a serious shoulder injury in the same match.Victoria sit second on the Shield table and remain a chance to secure a home final with three matches remaining. They will head to Sydney at full-strength, taking seven players with international experience.NSW have remarkably turned their campaign around, winning three of their last four matches, including defeating reigning champions Western Australia twice.Meanwhile, Cameron Green will play for WA ahead of the New Zealand Test series when he lines up against Tasmania. WA are also able to include Aaron Hardie after Australia limited-overs duty. Wicketkeeper Alex Carey is available for South Australia before heading across the Tasman.

Despite an excellent 19th over from Curran and a good effort from Arshdeep, Hetmyer guided Royals home with an unbeaten ten-ball 27

Andrew Fidel Fernando13-Apr-2024

Shimron Hetmyer came in with Rajasthan Royals needing 35 from 20. Perhaps it should never have got this close, given Punjab Kings’ 147 for 8 felt at least ten runs too light on a pitch that had some bounce but no known witchcraft performed upon it. It had also seemed from Royals’ own solid – but not rampant – 56-run opening stand, that they weren’t sweating it.But then Kagiso Rabada bowled his four overs for 18, and suddenly the back end of this match became tight. Rabada had taken two big wickets as well – of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson – and as such was doing as much as any Kings player to produce a match-winning hand.The final word, though, went to Hetmyer, who, despite an excellent penultimate over from Sam Curran and a good effort from Arshdeep Singh, won with a six off the penultimate ball. There had been two sixes from Hetmyer in the lead-up to that.The last overCurran dismissed Rovman Powell and Keshav Maharaj in the 19th over while conceding ten runs, and Royals needed another ten off the 20th over. Hetmyer was on strike, so it always seemed likely, but then Arshdeep delivered two glorious yorkers first up, which the batter could not make anything of, and the equation came down to ten from four.The key shot in the final over was Hetmyer’s desperate wallop down the ground off the third ball. Arshdeep had not missed his length by much, but this was not quite in the blockhole. Hetmyer swung hard and managed to bully this ball into the boundary cushion – not over it – behind the bowler.Only centimetres were in it. Had Arshdeep pitched a fraction fuller, Hetmyer would not have been able to get under it. Had Hetmyer not hit it with slightly fewer newtons of force behind it, the shot would have only brought four, and six would have been required from the last three.Hetmyer muscled the next ball towards long-on and got two, but the worst ball of Arshdeep’s over was the fifth one, and almost anyone could have hit that for a boundary. This came juicy, knee-high, and on the stumps. Hetmyer shuffled across and thwacked it over deep fine leg, clinching a thriller.Kagiso Rabada removed Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson in successive overs•BCCI

Rabada’s chargeIn defence of a modest target, Rabada was intense. He bowled two tight powerplay overs, off which just 12 runs came, and then bowled aggressively through the middle overs, as Kings were looking for wickets. He got Jaiswal with a short wide one the batter toe-edged, then claimed the prized wicket of Royals captain Samson when he jagged one back to hit the batter on the back leg. Rabada conceded only two boundaries, which was also the number of wickets he took.Kings’ underwhelming inningsUntil the last two overs, in which Impact Sub Ashutosh Sharma made the most of a let-off and hit 20 off the last nine balls he faced, Kings never seemed capable of moving into high gear. Every time some semblance of a partnership seemed to be forming, a wicket fell. Often this was because batters fell for cross-bat shots to short balls that got big on them. They were 38 for 1 after the powerplay, 53 for 4 after ten overs, and 86 for 5 after 15.From that point, Ashutosh, Rabada and, to some extent, Curran did well to make such a tight game out of this.