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Hard-fought seven-wicket win allows visitors to leapfrog into September’s top flight

ECB Reporters Network14-Jul-2021Hampshire 486 for 7 dec (Gubbins 137*, Weatherley 78, Holland 74) and 56 for 3 beat Gloucestershire 229 (Phillips 47, de Grandhomme 4-31) and 310 (Lace 118*) by seven wickets Hampshire qualified for Division One of the LV= Insurance Championship with a seven-wicket win over Gloucestershire on the final day at Cheltenham.They were made to work hard as Tom Lace’s 118 led 126-overs of second-innings resistance but Gloucestershire were eventually bowled out for 310 and the target of only 54 was dealt with after tea.It ended Gloucestershire’s dreams of a maiden Championship title as they missed out on a top two finish in Group Two despite winning five matches – only Yorkshire won as many.But three heavy defeats from their final four games – taking a total of just six points from those losses – have cost them.They were well behind here after a weak first innings but, in a repeat of the return fixture back in May, made a good fist of trying to bat through the final day to save the game, with the draw good enough to stay above Hampshire.Hopes rose of another great escape as Lace made his first century for Gloucestershire but he became just the fifth first-class victim of Joe Weatherley’s career and no-one else could match his longevity.The day began, like day two, with an immediate reward for Hampshire as Glenn Phillips was trapped lbw by Colin de Grandhomme fifth ball of the day. Phillips thought he’d hit it. Replays were inconclusive.Ryan Higgins and Jack Taylor formed useful stands with Lace but Higgins drove loosely at Keith Barker and edged to slip three overs before lunch and Taylor played around Kyle Abbott and lost his off stump.Lace remained. He pulled de Grandhomme to reach a 114-ball fifty before Barker was flicked through square leg and then steered to third man to raise a century in 214 balls with 12 fours and two sixes – a pair of top-edged pulls off Abbott and Wheal.But his fine effort ended in agonising fashion as he shouldered arms to Weatherley’s very part-time off-spin and was plumb lbw. He and the rest of the county hung their heads.Ollie and Tom Price hung around for 22 overs before another groaning dismissal as Ollie pulled a Mason Crane long-hop into short leg’s back and the rebound popped up for leg slip. Matt Taylor was then lbw to Wheal shouldering arms before Dan Worrall drove to point.

Teams agree on draw after Jharkhand extend lead to 1008, the biggest in the history of first-class cricket

Himanshu Agrawal in Kolkata16-Mar-2022Their first-innings lead – a mammoth 591-run lead at that – over Nagaland took Jharkhand into the quarter-final of this season’s Ranji Trophy. Nagaland’s struggle finally ended just after halfway on the fifth day, as the two teams shook hands at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens, with Jharkhand having taken a lead of 1008, the highest in the history of first-class cricket, when they finished on 417 for 6 in their second innings.When the final day’s play started, Jharkhand were 132 for 2 in their second innings, already 723 ahead, and could have pushed for a win, as they might have when they bowled Nagaland out for 289 after putting up 880 in their first innings. But they chose to bat on, taking a result out of the contest. As a result, opener Utkarsh Singh and middle-order batters Anukul Roy and Kumar Kushagra, who had scored 266 in the first innings, added to their numbers.Jharkhand added 285 runs in just over 53 overs of play on the day. Roy followed his first-innings 59 with an entertaining 159 off 164 balls, smashing 14 fours and seven sixes in his knock. He added 163 with Kushagra, who scored 89 in 104 balls. Utkarsh was the first wicket to fall on the day, caught off Shrikant Mundhe for 73 after resuming on 50.Kushagra joined Roy at the start of the 51st over, and after the 58th, the two started to up the scoring rate. They took 41 off four overs as Roy edged closer to a century, and he got to the landmark, his second in first-class cricket, in the 66th over by hitting a six off left-arm spinner Imliwati Lemtur.He continued to have fun against the spinners, taking four and six off consecutive balls from Rongsen Jonathan in the 77th over, before cracking two successive sixes off Lemtur in the next. Though Roy fell to Jonathan for a career-best 153, Kushagra continued to go big, launching Jonathan for two sixes before being dismissed off the third ball of the 91st over, which turned out to be the final delivery of the match.The Ranji Trophy quarter-finals begin after the IPL concludes on May 29, the tournament having been split into two chunks this season. The fixtures for the knockouts have not been released yet.

The result ended a run of 12 successive T20I defeats to India

S Sudarshanan27-Jun-20221:15

Powar: ‘We are on right track as far as batting is concerned’

Sri Lanka had lost their last 12 T20Is against India, and had never beaten them in a home game. But all that was put to rest as their captain Chamari Athapaththu led them to a seven-wicket win in the final match of the three-match T20I series in Dambulla. The hosts managed to salvage pride after conceding the series with back-to-back defeats.Athapaththu averages 22.57 in T20Is, but when she’s captained Sri Lanka to victory, she averages 42.61 and strikes at 142.41. Her best version was on show on Monday.The Athapaththu show, the beginning
Sri Lanka’s pursuit of 139 began in an attacking fashion with young Vishmi Gunaratne whipping Renuka Singh for a four over midwicket in the first over. However, she fell two balls later, and Athapaththu took over. Her first boundary was a streaky slice in the fourth over, but she was more authoritative next ball when she danced down and smote the offspinner down the ground. The assault continued when she welcomed Radha Yadav with a fiercely cut four and followed it with a sweep through backward square leg.The marauding left-hander then hit the only six of the chase when she slinked down the track to smash Deepti over long-off in the final over of the powerplay. Just like that, she had 28 off 15 as Sri Lanka ended that phase at 47 for 2.The deciding alliance
In the experienced Nilakshi de Silva, Athapaththu found a reliable partner and the pair killed the chase, mixing caution with aggression. De Silva was happy to play her strokes as well, hitting Pooja Vastrakar down the ground before swiping Simran Dil Bahadur over the on side.India’s shoddy fielding also contributed to Sri Lanka’s cause. Athapaththu’s mistimed slog to deep midwicket off Bahadur was spilled by Jemimah Rodrigues running to her right, and off the very next ball she found the gap between backward point and short third man to bring up her fifth half-century.Athapaththu and de Silva added 77 in just 57 balls – the highest third-wicket stand for Sri Lanka in the format – before de Silva was run out. Athapaththu remained in the middle to ensure Sri Lanka ended their run of losses against India. She was aided by more fielding mishaps towards the close and finished unbeaten on 80 off just 48 balls.India’s batting misfires
On a surface that seemed good to bat on, India’s batters failed to find their footing and were restricted to 138, which eventually was not enough. Smriti Mandhana found the going tough in scoring 22 off 21, and fell to Oshadi Ranasinghe for the second time in three games.Sabbhineni Meghana hit three crisp fours but couldn’t rotate the strike constantly against Sri Lanka’s slow bowlers. It was once again down to Harmanpreet Kaur and Rodrigues to keep India on course. The pair added 64 for the fourth wicket but consumed 56 balls, leaving India devoid of momentum heading into the death overs.Rodrigues fell for 30 while trying to scoop Ama Kanchana over short fine leg in the 19th over. Vastrakar’s 13 off six balls helped India get closer to the 140 mark – which had proved enough in the first T20I – while Harmanpreet stayed unbeaten on 39 off 33 balls at the other end.

She has been named in Canada’s squad for the Women’s T20 Americas Qualifier, a pathway to the 2024 T20 World Cup

Nagraj Gollapudi31-Aug-2023Danielle McGahey is set to become the first transgender player to feature in international cricket after being named in Canada’s squad for the Women’s T20 Americas Qualifier, the pathway tournament to the 2024 T20 World Cup.McGahey, a 29-year-old batter, is originally from Australia but moved to Canada in 2020. According to , which reported the story first, McGahey socially transitioned from male to female in 2020, before undergoing a medical transition a few months later in 2021.On Thursday, the ICC confirmed that McGahey had fulfilled the eligibility criteria for male-to-female (MTF) transition to play international cricket. “We can confirm that Danielle went through the process as required under the ICC’s Player Eligibility Regulations,” an ICC spokesperson told ESPNcricinfo, “and as a result has been deemed eligible to participate in international women’s cricket on the basis that she satisfies the MTF transgender eligibility criteria.”McGahey told that she was “absolutely honoured” to play as a transgender athlete at international level. “To be able to represent my community is something I never dreamed I would be able to do.”McGahey played four matches for Canada at the South American Women’s Championship held last October in Brazil, which Canada won. That tournament did not have international status.The Americas Qualifier, which will be played in Los Angeles, USA from September 4 to 11, will feature Argentina, Brazil, Canada and hosts USA. The winner will progress to the global Qualifiers where teams from other regional Qualifiers will contest for spots in the next T20 World Cup, to be played in Bangladesh.The ICC amended the Player Eligibility regulations in 2021. In Article 3, dealing with eligibility based on gender recognition, the term transgender is defined as “individuals whose gender identity is different from the biological sex assigned to them at birth (whether they are pre- or post-puberty, and whether or not they have undergone any form of medical intervention)”.For a male transitioning to female, testosterone levels are the key measure and have to be “less than 5 nmol/l (nanomole per litre) continuously for a period of at least 12 months, and that she is ready, willing and able to continue to keep it below that level for so long as she continues to compete in the female category of competition”.The ICC’s existing regulations are based primarily on the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) guidelines from November 2021, a 10-principle approach it offers as a framework to sporting bodies, in which it has attempted to to balance inclusivity in participation with fairness of competition.That approach has, however, been polarising, with some scientists and medical experts criticising the dropping of the requirement for trans women to lower testosterone levels as well as not presuming any performance advantage. The new framework has been criticised as prioritising inclusion over fairness and is seen by critics as a reversal of the original IOC regulations formulated in 2015, which relied heavily on the science of testosterone levels. Those regulations required transgender women athletes to maintain testosterone levels under 10 nmol/l and use testosterone-suppressing medication for at least a year.The IOC also stated that each sport should have its own guidelines, and many have stuck to the original 2015 regulations. Several sports bodies, from rugby to athletics and cycling, do not allow transgender women to participate in women’s competitions.Though McGahey is eligible, the ICC itself in the process of a detailed review of its guidelines, led by its medical advisory committee. Regulations have been under review since March and there remains the possibility that they may change.For the moment, McGahey is on the verge of making history.

Australia sweat over captain Healy’s fitness ahead of the knockouts

Sruthi Ravindranath16-Oct-20242:46

Aus vs SA match-ups: Can Schutt trip up Brits?

Australia vs South Africa

Dubai, 6pm local timeAustralia squad: Alyssa Healy (capt & wk), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham, Heather Graham, Tayla Vlaeminck (ruled out)South Africa squad: Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Mieke de Ridder, Ayanda Hlubi, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Sune Luus, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Seshnie Naidu, Tumi Sekhukhune, Chloe TryonTournament form guide: Australia are unbeaten in this T20 World Cup, winning all four of their games so far. In their last group match, they beat India in a high-octane clash by nine runs. South Africa have a 3-1 record having lost their second match of the tournament to England.News brief: Australia were without captain Alyssa Healy for their match against India. She arrived at the game in Sharjah on crutches having sustained a foot injury while batting on 37 against Pakistan on Friday. Tahlia McGrath led the side in her absence, with Ellyse Perry deputising and Beth Mooney keeping wicket.”As it stands, it’s the same thing for Midgie [Healy],” Perry said on the eve of the semi-final. “The medical staff and the team are going to give her every opportunity and possibility of playing tomorrow night but I don’t think anything’s changed in that respect. We’ll just have to see in the next 24 hours.”Alyssa Healy watched Australia’s win against India from the sidelines•ICC/Getty Images

Fast bowler Tayla Vlaeminck, who hurt her shoulder on her T20 World Cup return against Pakistan, was ruled out of the tournament with Heather Graham named her replacement. Grace Harris and Darcie Brown came into the playing XI as replacements for the India game.South Africa do not have injury concerns and are unlikely to make changes to their winning combination. Their record against Australia is not great, having won just one out of the 10 T20Is they’ve played each other. Their first-ever win came in Canberra in January this year in a bilateral series. South Africa have not won a single World Cup game against Australia in either format. Thursday will be a rematch of the 2023 T20 World Cup final, in which South Africa suffered a heartbreaking loss in front of their home crowd in Cape Town.South Africa have played three matches in Dubai this tournament while Australia have played just one match – against Pakistan – at the venue. The average first-innings score is 126, with India posting the highest total of 172 against Sri Lanka last Wednesday.Player to watch: Experienced pacer Megan Schutt’s miserly spells have been crucial to all four of Australia’s wins. She started the tournament with 3 for 12 against Sri Lanka on a spin-friendly track, finished with stunning figures of 3 for 3 against New Zealand and followed it up with 1 for 7 in her three overs against Pakistan in Dubai. Against India, she gave away 24 runs in her first three overs but returned to turn the game on its head in the 17th over by conceding just one run, leaving India with 40 to get off 18 balls.Tazmin Brits’ solid starts have been among the biggest positives for South Africa. After a 57 not out to start the competition, she crossed the 40-run mark in each of her last two matches. Against Bangladesh, on a slow track, she played a patient innings of 42 off 41 balls to help South Africa to a comfortable win. She also played an important hand in South Africa’s first and only T20I win against Australia earlier this year, scoring a fiery 41 off 28 with eight fours in a chase of 143.

Brook came in for criticism during a relatively lean Test series against Sri Lanka but he has gas left in the tank after a long season

Matt Roller18-Sep-2024It tells you just how serenely Harry Brook’s international career has progressed that he came under scrutiny after averaging 30 in a series win. But by his own admission, Brook finds himself trying to avoid paralysis by overanalysis as he prepares to captain England for the first time at Trent Bridge on Thursday after his approach was questioned during Sri Lanka’s recent victory at The Oval.Brook made 19 and 3 in the final Test of the English season, having made between 32 and 56 in his first four innings of the series against Sri Lanka. If the scores were underwhelming, it was his manner at the crease that drew most attention: he grew visibly frustrated when Sri Lanka bowled wide outside his off stump, to the extent Michael Vaughan accused him of “taking the mick out of the game”.Related

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• Champions Trophy looms into view as multi-format stars return

This has been a long season for Brook, who was England’s only ever-present across both June’s T20 World Cup and their six home Tests. He spent the three weeks between the West Indies and Sri Lanka series captaining Northern Superchargers in the Hundred, and will fly to Pakistan for October’s Test tour only three days after the fifth and final ODI of the Australia series.Brook seemed characteristically relaxed on the eve of his England captaincy debut at Trent Bridge, grinning through his pre-match press conference and laughing off the idea that he had ever craved leadership. He conceded that his Test summer had not quite gone to plan, but played down the suggestion that he was mentally drained after an intense season.”Because I wasn’t scoring the runs I wanted to, I probably was [feeling] a little bit [tired],” Brook said. “But if I’d have gone out and got two hundreds against Sri Lanka then I’d have been like, ‘I’ll just carry on’. But no, not really. I love playing cricket: I want to play as much as I possibly can. I do think breaks are important at certain times, but I was pretty chilled.”Obviously I didn’t do as well as I’d wanted. I want to get a hundred every innings, but it’s not going to happen, is it? Professional sport is not easy… I felt like I batted really well against West Indies and then didn’t play as well as I wanted to against Sri Lanka, but those things happen. You go away and think about it for a little bit, and hopefully come back stronger in Pakistan.”Harry Brook was in good spirits despite a long, busy season•Getty Images

Until the Hundred this year – where he oversaw five wins in six completed games – the majority of Brook’s captaincy experience came with England Under-19s, whom he led in 11 Youth ODIs, including five at the 2018 World Cup. Since then, he has played 50-over cricket only sporadically. Half of his 30 List A games have been full ODIs, and his record in them is underwhelming: 407 runs at 29.07, with three half-centuries.He will aim to keep things simple against Australia, batting at No. 4. “I’m just going to go out there and watch the ball as closely as possible,” he said. “If you have a few low scores here and there, you start thinking about different things and your technique and whatever. I’m just going to go out there, watch the ball as closely as I can and play on instinct.”Brook is only standing in as captain for Jos Buttler, who was with the squad on Wednesday as he continues his rehabilitation from a calf injury and will return for November’s Caribbean tour. “I might pick his brains here and there,” Brook said, “but he’s said I’ve got full rein to do whatever I want.”Buttler has challenged Brook to “identify those moments” in the field where he can change the game – something that Buttler himself has struggled with in ODIs. Brook showed signs of that instinct during the Hundred, and said that he would liberate his bowlers to make decisions: “Whatever you feel like doing, just do it. The only bad outcome is you could get hit for a boundary and the next ball could be a dot ball.”This ODI series is one of only three for England before February’s Champions Trophy, and the first since Rob Key announced that Brendon McCullum will take over as limited-overs coach as part of a “strategic restructure” of the senior set-up. The implication is that there will be greater convergence between formats, as evidenced by Ben Duckett’s promotion to open the batting on Thursday.Brook said that he has hardly spoken to McCullum, who has instead delegated responsibility to his Test assistant coach Marcus Trescothick. “It’s all going to merge into one at some point,” Brook predicted. “We want to go out there and entertain the crowd, take the game on, try to take wickets and put the pressure on their bowlers.”And after ending the Test summer on autopilot at The Oval, Brook hopes that this new challenge will prove reinvigorating. “I’ve only been here for two days, but the way the lads have gone about their business in training just seems so chilled at the minute. We’re all looking forward to going out there and having some fun.”

Four Tests, three ODIs and five T20Is now make up the tour earmarked for February-March 2021

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Nov-2020England men’s upcoming tour of India in February-March 2021 will feature four Tests instead of the five originally, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly confirmed on Tuesday.With 2021 being a T20 World Cup year – India is slated to host it in October-November – the extra Test has now been scrapped to accommodate two additional T20Is. That means the tour, which the BCCI hopes to host entirely in India, now comprises four Tests, three ODIs and five T20Is.England were earlier scheduled to tour in India for three T20Is and as many ODIs in September, but it was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the uncertainty over the status of the 2020 T20 World Cup, which was scheduled to be held in Australia in October-November.”England is touring India for four Test matches, three ODIs, and five T20Is,” Ganguly said at a virtual event. “It is easier to have bilaterals than having eight-nine-ten teams, which gets difficult, but we have to keep assessing the situation.”A lot of people are talking about the second Covid wave. We’re already hearing of cases being on the rise again in Mumbai and Delhi, so we have to be careful and make sure everything is in order.”As such, the UAE, which hosted IPL 2020, continues to remain a back-up venue, not just for the England series but also IPL 2021 that will follow immediately.”The next IPL is five months away and we’re very much trying to have it in India,” Ganguly said. “I always tell people that they need to be here to see what the IPL means to India. We’re also going to be hosting domestic cricket in India.”The details of the domestic season haven’t been announced yet, although it is understood that the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the domestic T20 competition, and the Ranji Trophy, the first-class competition, are the only two tournaments that can be accommodated in a short window. Plans for Under-19s and the women’s season are still being worked out.”We have had extensive discussions on domestic cricket and we have tentatively decided to start the competitions from January 1, 2021,” Ganguly had told PTI in October. “We will certainly have the full-fledged Ranji Trophy. [But] it will probably not be possible to hold all tournaments.”We also have elaborate plans for our age-group and women’s cricket. We will start with the Ranji Trophy and then we will also have the other tournaments between March and April.”

Allrounder recalls ‘prison’-like circumstances of Covid tour in 2020

Andrew Miller08-Jul-2024Jason Holder says that his experience of looking on from afar as West Indies sealed their thrilling eight-run victory over Australia at the Gabba in January has given him “renewed energy” to pick up where he left off, as he prepares to face England at Lord’s in his first Test for almost a year.Holder, 32, was one of the notable omissions when West Indies chose to send a weakened squad to Australia earlier this year, having turned down a central contract in order to fulfil his lucrative deal with Dubai Capitals in the ILT20. In his absence, Kraigg Brathwaite’s team bounced back from a ten-wicket defeat in Adelaide to square the series in extraordinary style in Brisbane, a venue where Australia had lost just one Test since 1988.”It gave me a renewed energy to come back to the group, and try to be a part of something special again,” Holder said. “I missed Test cricket. This is my first Test match in a long time, so I’m looking forward to it. I’m just happy that I’ve been able to still get the body up and going and being up for the challenge here.”On the lure of franchise cricket, Holder insisted “it’s not my job to find a solution”, but pointed out that South African and New Zealand players have similarly opted out of central contracts in recent months to maximise their earning potential in T20 tournaments.”It is what it is,” he added. “This is where the game is moving, each and every person has their own personal decision to make. I was just so happy for the boys when they when they did what it did in Australia.”West Indies have arrived in London, where they will go into the Lord’s Test as underdogs given that 1988 was also the last time they won a Test series in England. But, as holders of the Richards-Botham Trophy after a hard-fought 1-0 win in the Caribbean in 2021-22, and with memorable victories at Headingley and Southampton in each of their last two away series in 2017 and 2020, Holder is confident that his team has the wherewithal to go one better this time out.”The guys took a lot from that Test victory in Australia,” he said after West Indies’ training on Monday. “We’ve been doing some really positive things over the last couple of months. And I think as a young side, the main thing is just to keep learning. What we have in the dressing room is some special talent, no doubt about it. It’s just a matter for us just to play some solid cricket and they’ll have just to believe. It’s time for someone to break the shackles, and there’s no better time for us to come here and beat England.”The circumstances of West Indies’ current visit could not be much further removed from their last tour in 2020, which took place at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, behind closed doors and in bio-secure environments at Southampton and Old Trafford. Holder himself was captain back then, and though his team earned huge respect for helping to keep international cricket alive in uncertain times, it was not an experience he looked back on with any great fondness.Jason Holder runs in to bowl at West Indies’ training session ahead of the first Test against England•Getty Images

“Firstly, it’s just good to be out in the open again,” he said. “I remember being locked in Manchester for three weeks before the Test series, which was tough because you stayed at the ground. And then we went down to Southampton for a week, which felt like a week out of prison. And then we went right back into prison after Southampton.”Related

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The fact that the show went on, however, offered a degree of normality to a world that was otherwise in lockdown, and Holder hoped that something of the same could apply to the people of the Caribbean, a region that was last week hit hard by the devastation of Hurricane Beryl.”It was tough man, but reflecting on it, you just count your blessings right now,” he said. “Obviously, there were a lot of lives lost during Covid. And again, it’s a similar situation with the hurricane that just passed. The only impetus that people had was cricket. They finally got a chance to see some cricket which put a smile on people’s faces in the Caribbean.”So coming back here in England four years later, we’re just looking to take it one step further. We won one Test match last time out of three. Yeah, two will be a lot better on this trip.”Holder’s preparations for his Test return included two first-class matches for Barbados in March, followed by a five-match stint for Worcestershire in the County Championship, for whom he made an unbeaten century against Kent in his final appearance.”It was one hell of an experience,” he said of his time with the club. “It gave me new energy because the love that the boys showed me was second to none.”Although much of the buzz around the first Test will centre on James Anderson and his impending retirement, Holder was reluctant to be drawn into the conversation at this stage. However, he acknowledged the hole that Anderson will leave in England’s dressing room could be similar to that left in West Indies’ after the departure of Shivnarine Chanderpaul after his own 21-year career.”It was a bittersweet feeling in a sense,” he said, “where someone who’s done so much for West Indies cricket Is being pinched to wake up that he’s actually finishing.”You’re losing such a powerful figure in the dressing-room, I guess it’ll be the same thing for England. But, as with everything else, we’ve got to move on many times. You unfortunately can’t play professional sport forever. At some point, we’ve got to close the curtains.”Some people get to do it on their own terms, some people don’t . But the experience of me playing with Shiv, it was great to be in the dressing room with him and just learn so much from him.”

Chamari Athapaththu dominated for Renegades but her 75 wasn’t enough

AAP03-Nov-2022Hobart Hurricanes legspinner Maisy Gibson returned career-best figures in a four-wicket win over the Melbourne Renegades in the WBBL.Gibson put in a supreme display with the ball to help restrict the Renegades to a modest 5 for 133 batting first at Blundstone Arena.In the run chase, Hurricanes allrounder Heather Graham (39* off 26 balls) put her foot on the accelerator at the right time to ensure her side cruised to victory with 11 balls to spare.The turning point in the chase was the 27 runs Hurricanes made in the power surge, which they took in the 13th and 14th overs.Hurricanes captain Elyse Villani (29) made her highest score this season before she was bowled by a superb skidding delivery from Renegades captain Sophie Molineux.Renegades slumped to their sixth consecutive defeat and are in last position in the ladder, while Hurricanes are in fifth spot but have a game in hand over the top four sides.Opener Chamari Athapaththu was the star of the Renegades innings with an unbeaten 75 from 59 deliveries. The Sri Lanka captain was on a different level to the rest of the batters, with her straight hitting clinical and power-packed.Renegades got off to a fast start with the bat, with opener Hayley Matthews (26 off 23) the prime mover.Gibson took two wickets in her first over, including Josephine Dooley with an athletic caught and bowled in her outstretched left hand. She was in the groove and another over where she snared two wickets made sure the Renegades never got away.The fielding of the hosts was supreme, with Ruth Johnston diving full stretch to take a one-handed diving catch with her left to dismiss Molineux.

Also, can Sri Lanka and Netherlands still qualify?

S Rajesh01-Nov-2023India
With 12 points already in the bag and three games still to come, India are almost through to the semi-finals. Another win will confirm qualification, but even if they lose all three, Afghanistan will have to win their three remaining games, while New Zealand and Australia will have to win two each. If those three teams have higher net run rates than India, then they, along with South Africa, can qualify ahead of India.South Africa
South Africa have as many points as India but have played one extra game. Two more points will confirm qualification, but even with 12, their exceptional NRR should keep them safe.Related

• Pluck or luck: New Zealand trust in the 'Kiwi' way

Australia
After a slow start, Australia have come into their own with four wins on the trot. Three more wins will confirm the qualification, but two will also do if one of those comes against Afghanistan. Given that they also play Bangladesh, who are already out of the tournament, Australia are favourites to qualify.New Zealand
New Zealand won four games at the start but lost their next three matches. The huge loss to South Africa has also brought their NRR crashing down, while the numerous injuries are doing their chances no favours.If they win their last two and finish on 12, New Zealand will still have an excellent chance of qualifying, but a defeat on Saturday against Pakistan will put both the teams on eight points each from as many games, while a defeat by 84 or more runs (in a chase of 301) will push them below Pakistan on NRR. Afghanistan will get to eight too if they beat Netherlands on Friday, while Sri Lanka might also be in the mix.All of this means the next ten days will be crucial for all these teams. New Zealand’s last game is against Sri Lanka, and even if they win that one after losing to Pakistan, it could still come down to net run rates.Afghanistan
Afghanistan are the only team other than those in the top four that can still get to 12 points. However, two of their three remaining games are against Australia (in Mumbai) and South Africa (in Ahmedabad). Two wins in those three matches will keep them in the mix if the top four teams don’t all get to 12 points. A win on Friday against Netherlands will take them level with New Zealand on points, but they will also need to win by a significant margin to improve their net run rate, which is currently a poor -0.718.One of the teams that could benefit from New Zealand’s loss to South Africa is Pakistan•Associated Press

Pakistan
New Zealand’s walloping by South Africa has opened up the points table, and one of the teams that could benefit is Pakistan. They are now only one win behind New Zealand, and a victory against them on Saturday will mean both teams are level on eight points from eight games. Pakistan’s last match will be at Eden Gardens against bottom-of-the-table England. Depending on other results, Pakistan’s qualification chances could hinge on that result.If Pakistan lose on Saturday, their chances will hang by a thread: Australia will have to lose all their matches and stay on eight, while other results involving Afghanistan and Sri Lanka will have to go in Pakistan’s favour as well.Sri Lanka
If Sri Lanka win their three remaining games, they will finish on 10, but even then they will need other results to go their way. A defeat against India will mean they can end up with a maximum of eight points. For them to still be in contention, several other results will have to work in their favour, but it’s still possible for multiple up to seven teams to finish on eight points, fighting for two slots.Netherlands
Netherlands have the same points tally as Sri Lanka, but their NRR is much poorer. Wins in all their remaining games will give them a chance, but eight points is unlikely to cut it for them.England
England could still finish on eight points if they win their remaining games, and join the melee if several other results align, but with a net run rate that currently stands at -1.652, their best bet will be to try to make it to the top seven and qualify for Champions Trophy 2025.