Jones’ century trumped Emma Lamb’s 107 as the captain sealed victory with two balls to spare

ESPNcricinfo staff08-May-2024A brilliant century from Central Sparks skipper Eve Jones proved a match-winning one as she carried her bat in a remarkable last-gasp victory against Lancashire Thunder at Emirates Old Trafford in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.Jones’ unbeaten 136 – the highest score by a woman at the ground – steered her side to a thrilling three wicket win that had still looked beyond Sparks as late as the last over, off which they required 11 runs to triumph.Earlier Emma Lamb and fellow opener, Seren Smale, shared an opening partnership of 140 – Thunder’s first ever century stand for the first wicket in the competition – as Lamb scored 107 and the hosts compiled a formidable score of 284 for seven.But the Sparks skipper was the hero of the hour, aided by a crucial knock of 40 from Australian batter Courtney Webb, as she hit the winning runs in the final over to seal a stunning win.With Lamb and Smale looking to build on their opening partnership of 89 in the previous win against The Blaze, the pair set about Sparks’ seamers with both skill and confidence. The 100-run partnership came off just 125 balls, with Lamb bringing up her own half-century off 51 balls, while Smale’s second consecutive 50 was made off 78.It took until the 30th over for Sparks to make the breakthrough when Smale was bowled by Hannah Baker for 67, bringing Australian batter Katie Mack to the middle.Mack has made a good impression at Emirates Old Trafford so far and she and Lamb set about upping the run rate with some frantic running between the wickets as Sparks’ bowlers began to toil in the sun.77 frenetic runs were put on for the second wicket before Lamb eventually fell for 107 off 104 balls after she was well caught at deep midwicket by a tumbling Bethan Ellis off Emily Arlott.Quick runs became the order of the day and after Mack was well caught at mid on by Ria Fackrell to give Baker her second wicket, Fi Morris (29 off 19 balls) and Naomi Dattani (17 off 13) both helped push the score along before the close.Undaunted by the sizeable target, Jones shrugged off the early loss of opening partner, Charis Pavely, bowled by a beauty from Kate Cross for 10, scoring at will on both sides of the ground and down the wicket.Jones lost another partner when Abigail Freeborn hit a full toss to a diving Dattani at mid on for 13 to leave the score 63 for 2, but the skipper finally found a foil in Chloe Brewer as the third wicket pair put on 81 to bring Sparks right into the game before Brewer was caught in the deep by Smale off Tara Norris for 26.If that made the hosts favourites once again, Webb had other ideas, as the Australian joined Jones at the crease and produced a sparkling knock off 44, containing three fours and one six.The next wicket felt crucial and when the impressive Hannah Jones produced a great ball to bowl the advancing Webb, Jones was left with the tough task of finding boundaries and dealing with an increasingly rising run rate.Somehow, she did it, assisted by a crucial cameo from Emily Arlott (15). Sparks went into the last over bowled by Cross, with Jones and Bethan Ellis still requiring double figures to snatch an unlikely victory.Two boundaries off the first two balls from Ellis eased the nerves and fittingly it was left to Jones to strike the winning runs through point to secure a memorable win.

Time in middle for South East Stars is best remedy for out-of-favour batter, says Gareth Breese

Andrew Miller15-May-2024Sophia Dunkley will have to wait in line for a return to international action, according to England Women’s assistant coach Gareth Breese, despite an impressive return to form for South East Stars in the opening rounds of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.Dunkley, who is currently leading the tournament run-charts with 293 at 97.66 in five innings, including a century against Northern Diamonds last week, was dropped from the England set-up for the ongoing series against Pakistan after a desperate run of scores on this winter’s multi-format tours of India and New Zealand.In her absence – as well as that of Nat Sciver-Brunt, who is available once again after a minor medical procedure – England’s rejigged top-order endured a torrid start to the summer, collapsing to 11 for 4 in the first T20I at Edgbaston, before a strong middle-order fightback, led by the senior pairing of Heather Knight and Amy Jones, set their side up for a comfortable 53-run victory.Breese, however, insisted that England’s incumbents – including Dunkley’s nominal replacement Maia Bouchier, the stand-out player of the winter just gone – would be afforded the time and space required to grow into their roles, in much the same way that Dunkley herself will now be left to find her form, away from the spotlight, ahead of the final push towards this winter’s T20 World Cup in Bangladesh.”As batters, it’s one shot, one mistake and you might be back in a pavilion,” Breese said, ahead of Friday’s second match in Northampton. “It’s not an ideal situation to be 11 for 4, but one thing about the set-up here is that we back the girls. After one blip, we’re not just going to make an absolute U-turn on them.”It was the first game, a few people were a bit rusty, we didn’t get off to the start we wanted. Having the experience of Heather and Amy Jones coming in at that stage was brilliant in terms of setting up the recovery. But I’m sure the girls will have learned from seeing the Pakistani attack and will use that experience in a positive frame to go into the next game.”Dunkley, however, remains an integral part of the wider England set-up, as shown by her involvement in a red-ball training session at Loughborough on Tuesday. Breese, who is also her head coach at Welsh Fire, said this was part of a wider effort by the management to “touch base” when it was convenient for those players on the fringes, thereby leaving them more space to find form in their regional set-ups.”What we don’t want to do is bring girls all across the country for three hours, just for a session,” he said. “Every time a player leaves us, we try to support them as much as we can when they’re fairly close to us, while giving them an opportunity to get some more time in the middle. And it’s working exactly how we would want it to work.England’s top order (including Freya Kemp, above) endured a dramatic collapse in the first T20I•Getty Images

“Dunks has been working closely with her batting coach Alex Gidman, and she was in for a session with us yesterday, so she’s still in and around the fold. She’s gone back to doing what she’s done over the years, in terms of to getting herself selected, and that’s scoring runs. That’s all you can ask when you are out of favour, you let the runs do the talking, and I think she’s still in a really good place.”Any player who’s played for a while goes through ups and downs. And if they say they haven’t, then you don’t know how truthful they are in sharing.”In addition to the forthcoming ODI series against Pakistan, England have three ODIs and five T20Is coming up against New Zealand in June and July in which to finalise their World Cup plans. And while that does not, on the face of it, offer a huge amount of opportunities for out-of-favour players to make their case, Breese insisted that offering continuity to the squad incumbents was not remotely the same thing presenting a closed shop for selection.Related

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“We’ve seen people that have been selected from just outside our contracted group, and that’s what you want,” he said. “If you can have competition for places, then you’re pushing the girls who are contracted to be better. And that’s a really good environment to be in.”What you don’t want is a clear-cut 15, because if it’s too easy to select them, you probably haven’t got the girls in the right place.”The ultimate difference between the sides in the first T20I came in the bowling, particularly England’s three-prong spin attack. Sarah Glenn – back in the team after suffering concussion in New Zealand – led the line with four wickets, while Sophie Ecclestone and Charlie Dean contributed a wicket apiece. All three bowlers are now in the top five of the ICC’s T20I rankings, with Ecclestone remaining at the top of the pile – a fact that augurs well with favourable conditions looming in Bangladesh.As the team’s spin coach, however, Breese said he wasn’t about to let the players rest on any laurels, describing himself as a bit of a “grumpy dad” when it comes to demanding ever higher standards.”It’s a real credit to the girls for the work they’ve put in over the last few years, to get the recognition in the standings,” he said. “I’m happy with where they are but sometimes, like a bit of a grumpy dad, I keep trying to push them to be better.”I almost don’t try and get flattered by the ratings. I just want to keep improving and then that will happen as a by-product of that. But the three girls complement each other really well, and they also contribute with the bat, which allows you to play all three in the same T20 team.”But I think all of them can get better. Even though Soph’s been top of the rankings, you’ve seen her grow into one of our best death bowlers. Deano has been a real wicket-taker for us, and Glenny’s been stunning since she came in. I’ve been lucky enough to know her since she was on the academy, and her character is probably her stand-out trait. That reflects in how consistent she is with the ball.”

Naveen calls it “a surreal experience” as Afghanistan beat Bangladesh in a dramatic finish in Kingstown

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jun-20244:14

Rashid: It was hard to stay calm at some points

Rashid Khan has described Afghanistan’s qualification for the T20 World Cup semi-final as an “unbelievable feeling” and that it would be a “massive inspiration” for youngsters back home.”I think the semi-final is going to be a massive, massive inspiration for the youngsters back home in Afghanistan,” Rashid said after Afghanistan beat Bangladesh in St Vincent to secure their place in the final four and knock Australia out. “That Afghanistan team got into the semis for the first time. We have done it at Under-19 level, but this level we haven’t done that. Even Super Eight was first time for us and then in semis. It’s unbelievable feeling … We are capable – but as long we keep things very simple, and I think in the whole competition so far, we kept the thing simple. Yes, there were some tough times but we didn’t let ourselves down and we always try to come back stronger.”After Afghanistan posted 115 for 5, Rashid and Naveen-ul-Haq picked up four wickets each to help bundle out Bangladesh for 105, eight short of their DLS-adjusted target of 114 in 19 overs.”It’s something like a dream for us as a team to be in the semi-final,” Rashid said after the match. “It’s all about the way we had started the tournament. The belief came when we beat New Zealand. So it’s unbelievable. I don’t have any words to describe my feelings. Definitely back home everyone is so, so happy for this.Related

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“I think the only guy who had us in the semi-final was Brian Lara. At the welcome party, I told him, ‘We won’t let you down. We will prove that you are right.'”While Afghanistan needed only a win to qualify for the knockouts, the equation for Bangladesh was much tougher: they needed to chase down the target in 12.1 overs, something Afghanistan took advantage of. With rain in the air, the pendulum swung from one side to another multiple times before Afghanistan sealed the match.Rashid Khan and Jonathan Trott embrace after their semi-final spot was confirmed•ICC/Getty Images

“In our mind, we felt 130-135 was a good total on this wicket but we were 15-20 runs short,” Rashid said. “But a few games we had watched before, 115 was the best total on this wicket. So it was all about the mindset. We knew they would come hard at us to chase it in 12 overs to get into the semi-final and that’s what we could take advantage of.”If we bowled into the stumps, we had the chance of bowling them out. We didn’t need to do anything extra. We were very clear with our planning. Putting in that 100% effort is always in your hands. Rain, drizzle is not in your hand. And we had to push ourselves for people back home, for their happiness, to make the country proud. That was the discussion we had and everyone did a wonderful job.”Rashid also lauded his fast bowlers – Naveen, who was named Player of the Match, and Fazalhaq Farooqi, who is currently the leading wicket-taker in the tournament. On Monday, they combined to reduce Bangladesh to 23 for 3 inside three overs.”That made our job easy,” Rashid said. “In T20s, if you start well, that gives us spinners to attack the batters in the middle overs. That was something we were missing before. But now with the quality of the fast bowlers we have… they are not as fast but they are skilful. I feel if you have skills in T20s, you are more effective and they have given us great starts so far in the competition. They were very clear in their mind and that’s something very pleasing for me.”Naveen, meanwhile, called it “a surreal experience”. Apart from picking up two wickets at the start, he dismissed Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman off successive balls, punctuated by a rain break, to kick off the celebrations.”I think these are the games where you never know what can happen,” he said. “After conceding one boundary, it felt like the game was gone. Suddenly you picked up a wicket and you were back in the game. So the margin of error is very small. But yeah, we had confidence that these wickets are not high-scoring wickets. As long as we didn’t give away easy runs or bowled easy balls, and picked up wickets, we were in the game. Luckily, that happened.”

Ex-England captain says “timing not right” to consider head coach role

Matt Roller23-Jul-2024Eoin Morgan has categorically denied reports that he could replace Matthew Mott as England men’s white-ball coach after their semi-final exit at last month’s T20 World Cup.Morgan was linked with the job on Tuesday but passed it off as nothing more than “speculation” while commentating on the Hundred for Sky Sports. “This news is actually news to me,” he said. “It’s obviously not nice when a coach comes under fire and there is a lot of speculation about his future, but only time will tell what will happen.”Mott, who is halfway through a four-year contract, won a T20 World Cup only six months after his appointment, but is under scrutiny after England’s underperformance in the last two global tournaments. Both Mott and Jos Buttler came under pressure after England won three out of nine games at the 50-over World Cup last year, two of which came after their elimination.At the T20 World Cup, they reached the semi-finals but were thrashed by India in Guyana, and only won once in their four matches against Test-playing opposition. Rob Key, England’s managing director, said he would review that tournament “in the next few weeks” after their elimination and that process is now underway.Related

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The reported that Mott is likely to leave his role and that Key was sounding out potential candidates. Those include Morgan, who earlier this month backed both Mott and Buttler to continue, and he added on Tuesday that he has no interest in the role due to his young family and his broadcasting work.”I’ve been asked a lot [in the media] over the past couple of months about the role, and if I would take it on,” Morgan said. “My answer has simply been that the timing for everything in my life at the moment is not right. Yes, I want to coach down the line. But I have a young family, and I spend a lot more time at home and watching cricket doing this [commentary]. I’m absolutely loving what I’m doing.”Meanwhile, Buttler is expected to miss the Hundred this year after undergoing scans on Monday, having injured his calf while preparing for the tournament. He has not yet been ruled out definitively but ESPNcricinfo understands Manchester Originals have been lining up potential replacements.”He’s our captain, a huge player for us at the top of the order, England captain as well,” Simon Katich, their coach, told Sky. “If he does happen to be ruled out, it’s a big loss for our team. Fingers crossed, he’s alright… if he isn’t, we’ve got a history of giving young players an opportunity.”

Somerset fight through Aldridge, Rew and Lammonby but concede sizeable lead

ECB Reporters Network23-Aug-2024Ed Barnard’s five-for lifted Warwickshire into the ascendancy against Somerset on the second day of their Vitality County Championship match at Edgbaston.After Warwickshire, still looking for their first championship win of the season, extended their first innings to 337, Barnard took five for 54 as the visitors were bowled out for 239.Michael Burgess (69, 90 balls), Jake Bethell (64, 143) and some aggressive tail-wagging gave the home side a solid total against an attack led by Josh Davey (four for 80) and Craig Overton (four for 88).Somerset then lurched to nought for two and 65 for five against Barnard and Chris Rushworth (three for 42 in his first first-team bowl since April) before partially recovering through Kasey Aldridge’s elegant 84 (139), supported by James Rew (49, 75) and Tom Lammonby (44, 66).Warwickshire closed on 27 for one second time round and will be hoping the forecast third-day rain stays away to allow them to try to press home their advantage.The second day started with a highly entertaining 45 minutes as Warwickshire, resuming on 277 for six, added 60 for four in ten overs. Burgess and Bethell took their partnership to 122 in 29 balls before both fell in five balls. Burgess edged Overton and was superbly caught by wicketkeeper Rew, standing up. Bethell’s middle stump was knocked out by Davey.At 287 for eight, Warwickshire were in danger of coming in light but the last two wickets clubbed 50 from 40 balls with eight fours and two sixes. Michael Rae struck 28 from 22 before he skied a slog at Overton.After all the fluctuations, Warwickshire appeared to have finished with a total around par, but it appeared dominant when Somerset’s first five wickets fell in 20 overs. Their reply began in bizarre fashion when Tom Kohler-Cadmore charged at the first two balls from Olly Hannon-Dalby, missing the first and edging the second. When Rushworth knocked out Andy Umeed’s off stump, it was nought for two.Lammonby and Tom Abell added 36 but Barnard then struck twice as Abell fell lbw offering no shot and Tom Banton edged to Will Rhodes at first slip. Lammonby rose above the top order wreckage to score a polished 44 out of 65 but perished carelessly when he scooped Rushworth to long leg.Aldridge settled stylishly after a slightly sketchy start to add 87 with Rew and, after the latter edged Rushworth, 49 with Overton before the captain was castled by Hannon-Dalby. When Barnard bowled Davey and had Jack Leach caught at second slip in the space of four balls, Aldridge was 34 runs short of a ton with just last man Jake Ball for company. He acquired 18 of them before chipping a full-toss to extra cover to complete Barnard’s five-for.Warwickshire soon lost Rob Yates, who fatally edged Overton’s fifth ball, in their second innings but closed very strongly placed, 125 ahead with nine wickets intact, after Alex Davies and Will Rhodes survived until bad light lopped off the last 13 overs.

Simon Harmer rips through visitors in follow-on after Hameed resists with hundred

ECB Reporters Network12-Sep-2024Simon Harmer claimed his second four-wicket haul of the Vitality County Championship match as Essex wrapped up an innings victory over Nottinghamshire before lunch on the final day.The South African off-spinner finished with 4 for 93 as Nottinghamshire’s batting collapsed for a second time in double-quick time to lose by an innings and 83 runs.The relegation-threatened visitors folded from their overnight 180 for 2, still needing 184 to make Essex bat again, losing their remaining eight wickets in 38 overs while adding 101 runs in an extended morning session. They had conceded a 364-run deficit on first innings when bowled out for just 93.Harmer, who added two wickets in the morning, was ably supported by Sam Cook and Paul Walter, who took two wickets apiece to condemn Nottinghamshire to their fourth defeat of the season.Needing to take eight wickets to claim their first win in five games, Essex made early inroads. Cook sent back the two overnight batsmen, Haseeb Hameed and Joe Clarke, inside the first 20 minutes to end their 137-run third-wicket stand. Hameed shaped to play the ball down to third man and was lbw after advancing his score by five to 105 from 166 balls.Clarke followed, chasing a delivery outside off-stump for Harmer to take the catch high to his right at second slip.Jack Haynes and Kyle Verreynne weighed anchor, scoring at two an over for a dozen overs before Walter struck twice in the space of three balls. Haynes departed for eight from 48 balls, aiming to play to leg but getting a leading edge back to the bowler. Lyndon James then fell to a spectacular flying catch at cover by Shane Snater.The new ball accounted for Liam Patterson-White slashing at the third delivery from Jamie Porter with Michael Pepper moving across the claim in front of first slip.The new Kookaburra was only six overs old when Harmer returned and with his fourth delivery had Rob Lord lobbing the ball into bat-pad’s hands. Two balls later Luke Fletcher fell for a three-ball pair when he was bowled.With one wicket standing, Essex claimed the extra half-hour but found Verreynne in obdurate mood for his unbeaten 38. Sixteen-year-old Farhan Ahmed was learning on the job before he nicked behind Snater’s second ball of the seventh extra over.

Tilak will link up with the squad in Gwalior on Sunday morning

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Oct-2024Allrounder Shivam Dube has been ruled out of India’s T20I series against Bangladesh due to a back injury. Tilak Varma has replaced him in the squad for the three-match series which begins in Gwalior on Sunday.Dube had also suffered a side strain this February which had ruled him out of Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy semi-final game. He has been a regular in India’s T20I side since he returned to the national set-up last August.Since his comeback, Dube has scored 377 runs in 23 games at an average of 31.41 and a strike rate of 126.93. That run included back-to-back unbeaten half-centuries against Afghanistan in January and also crucial cameos in India’s title-winning run at the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA. He has also picked seven wickets in this period.Related

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Dube’s last competitive game came for India A against India B in the first round of the Duleep Trophy in Bengaluru. He bowled only 12 overs in the match – all in the first innings – and scored 20 and 14 with the bat.Tilak, meanwhile, has played 16 T20Is so far, the last of which was the first T20I against Afghanistan in Mohali in January. Although primarily a middle-order batter, Tilak also bowls part-time offspin. A BCCI release said Tilak will link up with the squad in Gwalior on Sunday morning.

India’s T20I squad vs Bangladesh

: Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Riyan Parag, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakaravarthy, JItesh Sharma (wk), Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Mayank Yadav, Tilak Varma

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.

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.

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.” —