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England batter Tammy Beaumont will return to Strikers for the first time in seven years

Alex Malcolm19-Jun-2025Sydney Sixers produced a shock in the WBBL overseas draft by taking England batter Sophia Dunkley with the No.1 pick which left long-time Sixers overseas Sophie Ecclestone available for Adelaide Strikers at pick No.2.There was a lot of uncertainty heading into the WBBL draft after Melbourne Renegades lost star pre-signing Hayley Matthews to a shoulder injury while Hobart Hurricanes announced they had pre-signed star England allrounder Nat Sciver-Brunt on draft day.A number of clubs were chasing top-order batting talent in the draft including Sixers who had the number one pick. Ecclestone, the world’s No.1 T20 bowler, had previously played two seasons with Sixers including last season. But Sixers general manager Rachael Haynes said the need for a top-order batter forced their hand with the first pick.”Sophie Ecclestone has been an incredible player,” Haynes told ESPNCricinfo. “It was really tough to let her go through the draft. But I think the last couple of seasons, our reflection as a club has been that our batting has been short, and the numbers certainly show that.”We definitely looked locally to try and address that. But the next option is at the draft, and so really excited we’re able to secure Sophia Dunkley.”A lot of clubs were unsure of what each would do in the opening round and Melbourne Stars and Perth Scorchers attempted to flush out some retention picks in the opening round.Related

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Stars tried to get India batter Jemimah Rodrigues with pick No.3 but Heat used their retention pick. They then tried to get England batter Danni Wyatt-Hodge but Hurricanes retained her.Stars finally landed in-form England wicketkeeper bat Amy Jones. Perth Scorchers had the right to retain but opted not to. Scorchers tried to poach Heather Knight and Deandra Dottin but Sydney Thunder and Renegades both used their retention picks immediately.Scorchers then used the final pick in the opening round on pre-signing Sophie Devine to lock her in at the platinum price.Most of the second round featured pre-signed players but Scorchers made a slight surprise in picking fringe England batter Paige Scholfield in the second round at the gold price. Scorchers also picked up South Africa allrounder Chloe Tryon, who will play for her fourth WBBL club after previously playing for Hurricanes, Sixers and Thunder.Thunder were thrilled to get South Africa quick Shabnim Ismail in the final round to walk away with arguably the strongest overseas trios, having claimed Knight as a retention and pre-signed Chamari Athapaththu.England batter Tammy Beaumont will return to Strikers for the first time in seven years having played 27 matches for them between 2016 and 2018. She has since played for Renegades and Thunder.Renegades were the only club not to take three players in the draft. The injury to pre-signing Matthews allows them to make another signing at a later date although they can only recruit a player who had nominated for the draft but was not selected.”We were at a distinct disadvantage,” Renegades coach Simon Helmot said. “We were the only team not to have a pre-signed player. But the allowance then was we only need to pick two today, and I suppose we can stop and have a look at what’s going on in the world of cricket over the next couple of months. I don’t believe there’s a rush in this decision. So we can look at what happens in the Hundred, look at what happens in the in the CPL, even look what happens in the World Cup, and see which players are in form, and also maybe what our needs are.”Adelaide Strikers: Sophie Ecclestone, Laura Wolvaardt, Tammy Beaumont
Brisbane Heat: Jemimah Rodrigues, Chinelle Henry, Nadine de Klerk
Hobart Hurricanes: Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Linsey Smith
Melbourne Renegades: Deandra Dottin, Alice Capsey
Melbourne Stars: Amy Jones, Marizanne Kapp, Dani Gibson
Perth Scorchers: Sophie Devine, Paige Schofield, Chloe Tryon
Sydney Sixers: Sophia Dunkley, Amelia Kerr, Maddy Villiers
Sydney Thunder: Heather Knight, Chamari Athapaththu, Shabnim Ismail

Australian has extensive experience playing in UK and joins after successful summer with Somerset

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Dec-2025Hampshire have recruited Australia allrounder Amanda-Jade Wellington as one of their overseas players for the 2026 season.Wellington, 28, has previous experience of playing at the Utilita Bowl with Southern Brave in the Hundred – she is the second-highest wicket-taker across five seasons of the competition – and joins after a successful campaign with Somerset in the inaugural women’s Tier 1 season earlier this year.”I’m really excited to join Hampshire for the upcoming season,” Wellington said. “I had a great time at Utilita Bowl in my two years at Southern Brave and I look forward to catching up with familiar faces and making new memories which will hopefully result in trophies come end the end of the summer.”Related

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An attacking legspinner and capable batter, Wellington has played 23 times for Australia across all formats, but not since 2022. She is expected to be available throughout the summer for Hampshire.Regional director of women’s cricket, Adam Carty, said: “We’re really pleased to secure Amanda-Jade for the whole of next season. She’s a friend of the club and a vastly experienced cricketer, who boasts a fine record with bat and ball in England having featured effectively in the Hundred and in Tier 1.”We look forward to welcoming her back to Utilita Bowl in 2026.”

Visitors are clear underdogs against an Indian side that has lost only two of the 17 T20Is since their T20 World Cup triumph

Shashank Kishore27-Jan-20252:01

Tilak’s finishing reminds Manjrekar of Dhoni

Big Picture: Fearless India meet wobbly England

Fifteen wins and two losses in 17 T20Is since winning the T20 World Cup last June has made India almost impenetrable in the format. This despite having to mix and match their players, owing to the cramped cricket calendar. It’s scary to imagine what they can achieve if Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav are back in the mix.Under Suryakumar Yadav, there’s a settled look to the squad that it’s hard to see how Yashasvi Jaiswal, one of their first-choice batters, slots in after the kind of performances Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson have been putting in.There’s fearlessness that stems from the freedom they’re reveling in under their captain. This has given Gautam Gambhir less headaches in at least one format, because India’s transition has been smoth post the retirement Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja.Related

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England’s white-ball renaissance – much talked about since their 50-over World Cup win in 2019 and T20 World Cup win in 2022 – has somewhat hit a roadblock. Jos Buttler has endured one reversal after another, including two poor World Cups (ODI in 2023 and T20 in 2024) even as he continues to remain optimistic of a turnaround amid churn.Brendon McCullum’s entry as white-ball coach couldn’t have begun on a more challenging note and a series defeat in India, on the back of the T20 World Cup disappointment, could be yet another major setback.Jofra Archer breathing fire, with his pace, upon his return from a series of back issues, bodes well for England, as does the pace and hostility of Mark Wood. The batting has let them down in the first two games, and they’ll need to do heaps better if they are to prevent another series defeat.

Form guide

India WWWWL
England LLLWWLiam Livingstone was dismissed by Varun and Axar in the first two T20Is•Associated Press

In the spotlight: Suryakumar Yadav and Liam Livingstone

Suryakumar Yadav had a mixed bag in South Africa, but when he conceded his No. 3 spot to Tilak Varma for the third and fourth T20Is, the youngster stood up with back-to-back centuries. Suryakumar managed scores of 21, 4 and 1 in the three innings there, and now has 0 and 12 in two games in this series. The return to Rajkot may elicit happy memories of him hitting his first T20I century in India – in 2023 vs Sri Lanka.Liam Livingstone has come to India with a reputation of playing spin well, but has been out to spinners in both games. In Kolkata, he misread a Varun Chakravarthy wrong’un and was bowled through the gate. In Chennai, he didn’t account for Axar Patel’s lift and was caught pulling. With India likely to persist with their four-pronged spin attack, Livingstone needs to devise a method that allows him to score with the rate that has made him hot property.

Team news: Dube, Jurel or Ramandeep?

India should slot Shivam Dube back into the XI after being called in to replace the injured Nitish Kumar Reddy. This means Dhruv Jurel, who got a game in Chennai because India didn’t have another batter on the bench, will likely make way. Ramandeep Singh has an outside chance too.India (probable XI): 1 Sanju Samson (wk), 2 Abhishek Sharma, 3 Tilak Varma, 4 Suryakumar Yadav (capt), 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Shivam Dube, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Varun Chakravarthy.England have announced an unchanged XI. Jacob Bethell, who missed the Chennai T20I due to an illness, will therefore be on the sidelines. His replacement, Jamie Smith, struck a breezy 12-ball 22 in his first outing of the series.England XI: Phil Salt (wk), 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Jos Buttler (capt), 4 Harry Brook, 5 Liam Livingstone, 6 Jamie Smith, 7 Jamie Overton, 8 Brydon Carse, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Mark Wood, 11 Adil Rashid.

Pitch and conditions: Highway in Rajkot?

There are only two types of surfaces largely possible in Rajkot because of the geography. A road that many liken to the highway that runs next to the Niranjan Shah Stadium, and a rank turner that Saurashtra – the home team – often tailor, like they did last week, to suit their spin strength. Given this is a T20I, there’s little doubt what will be on offer. So expect a flat track full of runs, and dew that will most-likely make toss very crucial once again.

Stats and trivia

• Since the 2024 T20 World Cup ended, India and England are both neck-and-neck (England 9.35, India 9.34) as far as powerplay run-rate goes. It’s in the middle overs where India have stood out with their new mantra of all-out aggression, scoring at 10.07 compares to England’s 8.90. England’s sample size (eight T20Is) is smaller than India’s (17) though.
• England hit a boundary every 4.9 balls on an average in T20Is since 2024. This is the third-best among all Full Members in T20Is in this period, behind Australia (4.6) and India (4.8).
• India have won four of the five T20Is in Rajkot. This includes wins by 80-plus run margin in their last two outings.
• Tilak Varma has scored 318 runs across four innings since his last dismissal in T20Is and has struck at 182.75 in this period.
• England’s win-loss record in India in T20Is is 9-10. South Africa and Bangladesh are the only other countries where they’ve lost more T20Is than they won.

Quotes

“Him playing or not playing – I’m not the one who can answer. There’s definitely a plan, looking to the coming matches and one-dayers. That’s something Gautam and Surya will take a call, but his fitness is definitely not a problem.” — “I felt a little bit hit and miss — I’ve done a couple of good things, it’s great that my pace has been up there and I feel it’s coming out of my hand well, but the accuracy at times hasn’t been quite where I wanted it. But when I haven’t played since August, it’s pretty much expected — I’ve played two games since then. Hopefully the more I play, the better I get leading into the 50-over stuff and the Champions Trophy.” —

Litton Das, who had missed the second Test against SA last month due to fever, also returned to action

Mohammad Isam19-Nov-2024Rain couldn’t completely dent Bangladesh’s only practice match on their tour of the West Indies, as the visitors had a pretty good outing against the West Indies Select XI in Coolidge.After the four-and-a-half-hour delay on the second day, Bangladesh reduced the hosts to 87 for 9, with rookie left-arm spinner Hasan Murad bagging a hat-trick. Murad removed Daniel Beckford, Navin Bidaisee and Chaim Holder back-to-back in the 28th over, after which Bangladesh coach Phil Simmons immediately signaled the end of the match.The Bangladesh bowlers had a moderate workout on the second day. Taskin Ahmed and Hasan Mahmud took two wickets each, while Shoriful Islam and Mehidy Hasan Miraz also got one apiece.One of Mahmud’s strikes, which came on the first evening, included that of the West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite, who was also leading the West Indies Select XI. That might end up boosting his confidence ahead of the first Test against West Indies, which starts in Antigua on Friday.Earlier in the game, Bangladesh had batted for 73.2 overs on the first day, before declaring on 253 for 7. Jaker Ali and Mahidul Islam had retired on 48 and 41, respectively. Litton Das, who had missed the second Test against South Africa at home last month due to fever, retired on 31 to kickstart the West Indies tour.Mominul Haque, Bangladesh’s most experienced cricketer on tour, also made 31. Bangladesh’s concerns, though, will continue to revolve around the opening batters Mahmudul Hasan Joy and Zakir Hasan, who both got out cheaply.For the West Indies Select XI, Jair McAllister and Holder had taken two wickets each, while Kimani Melius top-scored with 23 when they batted.

Mohsin Naqvi has announced that the redevelopment is “in its final stages and the last touches are being applied”

Danyal Rasool31-Jan-2025PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi has announced that the redevelopment of the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore is “in its final stages”. At a press conference held within the ground itself, Naqvi praised everyone involved in the construction of the stadium, saying it had been completed in record time.”The Gaddafi Stadium will be inaugurated on 7 February by the Prime Minister [Shehbaz Sharif],” Naqvi said. “It’s in its final stages and the last touches are being applied to it. It will definitely be completed by 7 February. We had begun demolishing this stadium in September, with the construction beginning in October. We promised it would be ready by the end of January, and you can all see how close it is to completion.”Related

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• No captains event or photoshoot before Champions Trophy

• Imran Khan stand to stay at Gaddafi Stadium

Naqvi said the National Stadium in Karachi, also undergoing significant renovation ahead of the Champions Trophy, was also on track. It is scheduled to be inaugurated in a ceremony on February 11 by Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, on the eve of the first game it is scheduled to host – a tri-series match on February 12.Pakistan are also hosting an opening ceremony on February 16 February in Lahore, though it will not include a captains’ call and photoshoot, which the PCB put down to logistical issues. Naqvi said the PCB had invited ICC chairman Jay Shah to the event, as well as the heads of all cricket boards involved in the event.”We are also holding a ceremony on the 16th of February in Lahore. We’ve invited the heads of all cricket boards of teams who are coming, as well as all ICC officials, including the ICC chairman Jay Shah. We are eager to welcome the board officials and anyone else who is attending.”The PCB has faced extreme scrutiny over the last few months concerning the fitness of its stadiums to host the tournament. With renovation and reconstruction work on the venues left to the last few months, there were concerns about whether the PCB would manage to bring its stadiums to a state of readiness in time for the tournament. The PCB had initially set a January 25 deadline for all development of the Gaddafi Stadium to be completed, before pushing it forward to February 2.Naqvi took aim at those who had raised doubts. “Across the border [a reference to India], there are many people who are trying to find the tiniest flaw in our stadiums and arrangements, and they will get no such opportunity. We will welcome all the arriving teams and their security and welcome arrangements. The whole of the PCB is working day and night to provide a seamless tournament.”Naqvi, who has been unapologetic about the rate of spend at the PCB since he assumed the post, also offered a first glimpse of the potential financial toll the work on the stadiums had taken, announcing the PCB had sold the tickets allocated to it by the ICC back to the governing council to go some way towards making up the costs of developing its grounds.The Champions Trophy, which is set to begin on February 19, is the first ICC tournament Pakistan will host since 1996.

Vaibhav Suryavanshi picked a wicket as India had England five wickets down and trailing by 310 runs

ECB Reporters Network13-Jul-2025Rocky Flintoff fell seven runs short of a century as England Under-19 fought back on day two of their Under-19 test with India at Beckenham.England were 230 for five at stumps in reply to India’s 540 all, out, trailing by 310.Flintoff was lbw to Deepesh Devendran for 93 just five minutes from the close of play and their captain Hamza Shaikh made 84. Henil Patel had India’s best bowling figures with 2 for 51.Earlier RS Ambrish hit 70 as India were dismissed for 540, with right-arm quick Alex Green claiming 3 for 74, and left-arm spinner Ralphie Albert three for 95.India were 450 for seven overnight and Ambrish reached 50 when he edged James Minto for four through the slips. He had added 20 more when he feathered Green behind.Green should have had a second wicket in the over, but Anmoljeet Singh was dropped by Archie Vaughan at second slip, the fifth drop of the innings. Anmoljeet then survived being hit on both feet and got another life when both batters ended up at the keeper’s end and England were too slow to react.Albert eventually had Henil caught on the boundary by Jaydn Denly, but only after he’d hit him for successive sixes on his way to 38 and Albert then wrapped up the innings by bowling Devendran with the final ball before lunch.Right-arm medium pacer Henil struck in the first over of England’s reply when he had Vaughan lbw for two. Denly was then dropped by Mohamed Enaan after square cutting Devendran when he was on 22, but Henil conjured a beauty that pitched on leg and hit the top of his off stump, bowling him for 27Flintoff was on 25 when he pulled Devendran straight to Kumar, who dropped a chest-high catch and he cashed in after tea when he thick-edged Enaan for four to pass 50.Shaikh then hit Anmoljeet for six over long off, but a partnership worth 154 was broken when 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi had Shaikh caught at mid-off.Ben Mayes was subsequently lbw to Vilhaan Malhotra for 11, but Thomas Rew got a life when India skipper Ayush Mhatre missed a difficult chance to catch him at slip off Anmoljeet when he was on three. The bowler had better luck in the penultimate over, when with a ton there for the taking, he trapped Flintoff lbw.

Jason Gallian to take charge for final weeks of difficult first season for Tier 1 team

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Sep-2025Andy Tennant has stepped down as Essex Women’s head coach after less than a season in the role. Tennant was appointed last year to take charge of the club’s first fully professional women’s team after Essex were awarded Tier 1 status, but departs with a record of five wins across all competitions.Despite securing a maiden trophy for Sunrisers in the final season of the regional women’s structure, he was unable to produce the same success with a group at Essex featuring many of the same players. They are out of contention in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup, with one win and eight defeats, and finished second from bottom in the Vitality Blast group table. Essex were also knocked out by Tier 2 Yorkshire in their only game in the T20 County Cup.”With the break in the fixtures for the Hundred, it has been an opportunity for both the club and myself to reflect and look ahead to next season,” Tennant said. “Following those conversations, it feels like now is the right time to step aside and seek my next opportunity.Related

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“I am proud of what we have achieved together as a group and I would like to thank Essex for giving me the opportunity to continue the job we started with the Sunrisers three years ago. I wish the club well and I am confident this outstanding group of young female athletes will continue to develop and go from strength to strength.”Danni Warren, Essex Women’s performance director who worked alongside Tennant at Sunrisers, will continue to oversee the team, with Jason Gallian, chair of Essex’s cricket committee, leading the coaching staff for the final month of the season. Essex’s hunt for a new women’s head coach will begin during the off season.”I have built a strong working relationship with Andy since he joined the Sunrisers in 2022, which culminated in the Rachel Heyhoe Flint Trophy triumph during our final season in 2024,” Warren said. “The transition of the group to Essex has been an exciting challenge, and Andy’s hard work in ensuring this process was as seamless as possible has been hugely important to the progress we have made on and off the field.”He should be proud of what he has achieved during his time at the club, which has also included many individuals starring in this year’s Hundred competition and representing their country at international level. We all wish him the very best of luck in his future endeavours within the game.”

In two of India’s chases against England, they promoted Axar Patel, and that left KL Rahul with little to do

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Feb-2025India beat England 3-0 quite comprehensively, but two irregularities in the batting department raised a few eyebrows, and both might have something to do with coach Gautam Gambhir’s preference for right-left batting combinations. In two of the chases, Axar Patel was promoted, which left KL Rahul with little to do. It attracted criticism from commentators, but it was in no way an assessment of Rahul’s batting abilities.”That’s the way cricket is meant to be played,” Gambhir said of Axar’s promotion. “I know a lot of people talk about it, but that’s the way we got to play the game, and that’s the way cricket should be played. It’s not about the batting order, it’s about who can create what impact. And it’s about just if you have the option of putting a quality left-hand batter in the middle; why won’t you do that?”Why would you want to have top five as right-handers? We don’t look at averages and stats and all that stuff. We look at who can deliver more at that number. And Axar has done fabulously well. Both the games [in which] he got the opportunity, he delivered for us. I know there will always be talk – there will always be people talking about it – but I think that’s the way we want to go in future as well.”Related

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That Gambhir likes right-left combinations is no secret. When he came back to Kolkata Knight Riders as a mentor, their right-left partnerships went up from 58% in 2022 and 2023, to 74% in 2024. Having said that, it doesn’t seem to be an unhealthy obsession. For example, it doesn’t penalise Rahul, who has done his job in the middle order well, just for being a right-hand batter.”At the moment, KL is a No.1 wicketkeeper for us, and he’s delivered for us,” Gambhir said when asked about Rishabh Pant’s chances. “And see, when you’ve got two wicketkeepers in this squad, you can’t play both the wicketkeepers with the kind of quality we’ve got. Hopefully, whenever he gets that opportunity, he should be ready for it. That’s all I can say at the moment. Right now, KL is the one who’s going to start.”

Gambhir: Wanted to see what Jaiswal can bring to the table

Then again, India did flirt with the idea of introducing Yashasvi Jaiswal, a left-hand batter, to the already packed line-up. After the first ODI, Shreyas Iyer revealed it was him who was going to sit out to accommodate Jaiswal, but an injury to Virat Kohli afforded him the opportunity to play a match-winning innings, which halted the Jaiswal introduction for the Champions Trophy at least. When asked if Iyer was going to miss the whole series had Kohli not got injured, Gambhir answered in the negative.”He wasn’t supposed to be benched throughout the series,” Gambhir said. “We wanted to give Yashasvi a go in the first game and see what he can bring to the table because he was in really good form in Australia. So we wanted to see what kind of an innings can he play. I know you can’t judge someone by one innings, but we always knew that Shreyas is going to be an important player for us. What he’s done at No. 4, be it the World Cup or forget about even the World Cup, he’s just an important player.”So sometimes when you’ve only got three games, you want to try and rotate your squad as well. See, like for today, we could have easily played Shami but we wanted to give Arsh a go. We could have played Jadeja as well, but we gave Washi a go as well. So when you’ve got Champions Trophy around the corner, you want to try and maximise these three games and try and give everyone an opportunity. Shreyas was always in the scheme of things, and good that he played all the three games.”

The left-arm spinner helped keep South Africa to a 34-run lead on day one, after Bangladesh were bowled out for just 106

Srinidhi Ramanujam21-Oct-2024Sixteen wickets fell on an eventful opening day of the first Test between Bangladesh and South Africa in Dhaka. At stumps, the visitors managed to take a lead of 34 runs despite Taijul Islam returning a five-wicket-haul on a surface that has helped spinners to grip and turn the ball. Kyle Verreynne and Wiaan Mulder’s unbeaten knocks took South Africa to 140 for 6 before bad light stopped play six overs short.South Africa dominated the first two sessions but Bangladesh came back into the contest in the final session when conditions became difficult for scoring. Tony de Zorzi looked comfortable against spin and consumed the most of number of balls among the South Africa batters but Taijul sent him back for a 72-ball 30 in the last session to dent South Africa. This was after Taijul induced a top edge of David Bedingham for his second wicket. From a comfortable position of 65 for 2 post tea, South Africa slipped to 108 for 6.Debutant Matthew Breetzke exposed his stumps expecting the ball to turn away but the ball skidded on to clean him up, and that wicket made Taijul only the second Bangladeshi bowler to reach 200 Test wickets after Shakib Al Hasan, who was forced to miss his farewell Test game due to security reasons.Earlier, South Africa got into the act quickly with Mulder, Kagiso Rabada and Keshav Maharaj ripping through Bangladesh with three wickets each to skittle them out for just 106 inside two sessions.Kagiso Rabada dismissed Mushfiqur Rahim and Litton Das on the way to 300 Test wickets•AFP/Getty Images

The majority of the damage was done by the two fast bowlers in the morning session when they left Bangladesh six down and hurt them in hazy Mirpur after Najmul Hossain Shanto decided to bat first. Mulder and Rabada utilised the grass cover on the surface for extra movement off the surface while also finding early swing to leave Bangladesh reeling at 60 for 6. Mulder was exceptional in his six-over opening spell, taking three wickets and bowling three maidens. Rabada picked up two in the morning to cross 300 wickets in Tests.Maharaj spun a web around the lower middle order and had Mehidy Hasan Miraz lbw at the stroke of lunch. Mahmudul Hasan Joy was patient in his 97-ball 30 before offspinner Dane Piedt bowled him to end Bangladesh’s chances of redemption.Mulder’s third wicket was set up nicely when he removed the left-hand Shanto going around the wicket after four balls only for the batter to get a tame leading edge to Maharaj at extra cover when he tried to work through midwicket against the angle.Rabada, after bowling four overs in his first spell, came back and dismissed Mushfiqur Rahim straightaway when he got one to zip through the gap between his bat and pad to rattle the stumps. A few overs later, he hit the hard length and forced Litton Das to edge one to a flying Stubbs at gully.Taijul and Nayeem Hasan put on 26 runs for the ninth wicket – also the highest stand of the innings – but Rabada came back in the second session to remove Nayeem. Bangladesh added 46 runs and lost four wickets post lunch.Poor shot selection and good bowling saw Bangladesh being bowled out for a small total. South Africa have also lost half the side on the wicket that’s turning and bouncing but by gaining a small lead, they are slightly ahead at the end of day’s play.

Shanaka’s unbeaten 64 had taken Sri Lanka to 168 but it wasn’t enough

Andrew Fidel Fernando20-Sep-20251:49

Chopra: You look at Saif and go ‘there’s some serious talent there’

Three top order stands, one after the other, led by Saif Hassan, then Towhid Hridoy, propelled Bangladesh to overhaul Sri Lanka’s 168, on a dry Dubai track.Saif’s 59-run stand with Litton Das came off 34 balls. It saw Bangladesh set the platform. Then Saif joined Hridoy for a 54-run stand off 45 balls, that consolidated their innings through the middle overs. Hridoy then took charge in a 45-run partnership off 27 balls with Shamim Hossain that put Bangladesh on the cusp of victory. There were some wobbles very late in the game, but those batters had done enough. Bangladesh only needed five to win going into the final over, and they got there with a ball to spare, even if they’d lost two wickets and almost a third scoring the winning run.Sri Lanka struggled for wickets right through the innings, with Saif especially good at keeping the seamers at bay in the powerplay. By the end of the 15th over, Bangladesh had still only lost three wickets, and needed only 39 more to win. It seemed highly unlikely they would lose from there. In fact, they had looked good for the majority of this chase.In Sri Lanka’s innings, Dasun Shanaka’s promotion to No. 5 had yielded results, as he struck 64 not out off 37 balls, to give Sri Lanka a decent – if not spectacular – finish. But two Bangladesh bowlers had also shone: Mustafizur Rahman took 3 for 20, and Mahedi Hasan claimed 2 for 25.2:07

Maharoof: Shanaka showed up when the chips were down

Saif neutralises Nuwan Thushara

When Nuwan Thushara dismissed Tanzid Hasan in the first over, you wondered if this would be another match which his first spell goes some distance to winning. He has tended to have rich hauls against this opposition. But in Saif, Bangladesh had a beautiful counter to Thushara. Saif was outstanding down the ground as Thushara kept going full (as he often does in the powerplay). Saif hit a four over the bowler’s head first ball of the second over, before running at Thushara next ball and depositing him over the rope. Thushara’s second and third overs would cost 14 runs each, Saif doing the majority of that damage.

Hridoy takes down Kamindu Mendis

Sri Lanka’s general strategy is to have Shanaka and one of the spin-bowling allrounders share four overs between them. Usually Charith Asalanka bowls himself. But in this game he chose not to bowl, and gave the 15th over of the innings to Kamindu Mendis. It would be the one in which the match would swing definitively in Bangladesh’s direction.Hridoy crashed him over cover for four second ball, then when Kamindu fired a shortish ball at the stumps, Hridoy got inside the line and launched it high over the deep square leg boundary. Later in the over, he slashed one between cover point and backward point to fetch another four. At the start of that over Bangladesh had needed 55 off 36 balls. Hridoy’s 16 runs off that over made the equation much simpler.1:55

Chopra impressed with Hridoy’s cricketing smarts

Shanaka’s blitz

Unlike Sri Lanka’s bowlers, Bangladesh kept striking regularly after Sri Lanka’s openers had put on 44 runs together. Shanaka was the only one to make a substantial score through the middle and later overs, crashing six sixes and three fours. He’d been dropped off the bowling of Mustafizur on 38, in a period in which Bangladesh gave at least three batters reprieves. Shanaka’s most productive over was against the spin of Nasum Ahmed, whom he clobbered for two sixes and a four in the 15th over.

Mustafizur and Taskin close well

Arguably the best over Bangladesh bowled was delivered by Mustafizur, who had both Kamindu and Asalanka caught in the 19th over, in which he conceded only five runs. Taskin Ahmed then bowled four dots to a mid-blitz Shanaka in the next over, delivering a clutch of good slower balls. He was hit for a six and a four too, but between them Bangladesh’s senior quicks had conceded only 15 in the last two overs, which Sri Lanka had been well-set to exploit.