Shaheen Shah Afridi was rested again by the visitors

Hemant Brar03-Aug-2021Rain allowed only three overs to be bowled in the fourth and final T20I in Guyana, which meant Pakistan, courtesy of their win in the second game, won the four-match rain-marred series 1-0.After winning the toss on Tuesday, Babar Azam put West Indies in on a damp pitch on an overcast morning. With both sides unchanged from the last washout, Andre Fletcher and Chris Gayle once again opened the innings. Fletcher kicked off the innings by hitting two sixes off Mohammad Hafeez in the opening over and Gayle followed it up with two fours off Mohammad Wasim Jr in the next.

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West Indies were 30 for no loss after three overs when rain halted play. That was around 11.15am local time. When the rain eventually relented, the umpires had an inspection at 1.25pm and decided to resume at 2.00pm. The match was reduced to nine overs per side but just when play was about to restart, the rain returned to have the final say.At the toss, West Indies captain Kieron Pollard had said that this would be the last international game for Dwayne Bravo in the Caribbean and that his side wanted to give him a win. The weather though had other plans.

The two left handers are in the running to bat No. 5 against England

AAP26-Nov-2021Usman Khawaja will have no issues if he’s overlooked for his mate Travis Head in the first Ashes Test.Khawaja and Head are bidding for the vacant No. 5 batting berth in Australia’s team for the first Test against England starting on December 8. The state captains squared off in a Sheffield Shield match in Adelaide in their last first-class audition before the Ashes.Queensland’s Khawaja scored 4 and South Australian skipper Head 8 in their first innings. Head then scored a second-innings 101 before Khawaja slammed a 52 not out from just 36 balls to secure the Bulls an eight-wicket win.Khawaja shunned the billing of the Shield fixture as a shootout between the members of Australia’s 15-man squad for the first Ashes Test.”I’m going to be 100 percent honest with you, it’s not even on my mind right now,” Khawaja said. “I’m honestly just trying to win games for Queensland and whatever will be, will be.”Heady deserves it as much as I do. I’m really good mates with him. I have got no issues with whatever happens.”Khawaja and Head have both scored two Shield tons this season, with the former also posting two half-centuries and Head scoring one. The 34-year-old Khawaja, whose last Test was in August 2019, said his mind was at ease when, in the past, he would have been anxious about possible Test selection.”I wasn’t always mellow,” he said. “This is experience…I have just come to realise after a long time of a lot of work with myself and my mind and just learning about myself, it [being anxious] just doesn’t help.”The best time I play is when I am relaxed. And, to be honest I have got a lot of things in life that I am very grateful for and those are the things now that I focus on.”Because I know within the cricket bubble how much it can get you and that is how I used to be – it has taken years and years of practice to not be that way.”

Heather Knight says preparations have been “pretty average” less than a week out from T20Is

Alan Gardner14-Jan-2022England captain Heather Knight has admitted to “concerns and anxieties” among the touring party in Australia after news of a support staff member testing positive for Covid-19, the latest disruption to their preparations ahead of the Women’s Ashes.The unidentified individual received a positive result in the second round of PCR tests conducted since England’s arrival in Australia. They are now in isolation and will remain in Canberra while the group moves on to Adelaide ahead of the T20I leg of the Ashes, which starts on Thursday. No other positives have been reported, with a further round of testing to be carried out before the team flies by charter on Monday.England have been in Australia for less than a week and were already having to rejig their plans after the schedule was changed in the run-up to departure – the T20Is were brought forward, ahead of the one-off Test, due to quarantine requirements for the Women’s World Cup in New Zealand.Related

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They then saw their first outdoor training session affected by torrential rain, with Knight describing England’s build-up so far as “pretty average”.The discovery of a positive Covid case in the camp has added to the restrictions England are under – although two scheduled intra-squad warm-up games in Canberra this weekend will still take place – amid an atmosphere of extreme caution before the World Cup.”We were prepared for this,” Knight said, “I think it would be pretty naive to think we wouldn’t be affected by it [Covid-19] but there’s concern and anxieties from the group. We’ve had to live under pretty strict protocols since we’ve arrived, we’ve only been allowed to socialise outdoors for exactly this reason, to try and limit the spread.”It’s going to be a nervous 24-48 hours, but the PCR tests we’ve done already have all come back negative. Fingers crossed. It was always going to be affected by Covid. We’ve had to ‘safe live’ for two weeks in the UK, from Christmas pretty much, just in order to get out here. It’s been a colossal effort.”With Covid numbers in England having surged during December after the arrival of the Omicron variant, players were told to limit contacts to those within their household ahead of departure for Australia – leading to some unusual training routines. Alongside the changes to the Ashes itinerary, Knight said it been “quite hard to focus on the cricket”.”It’s not been ideal, that’s for sure,” she said. “The lead-up has been pretty average, but that’s all out of our control. For those two weeks before we left England we could only train as individuals, with our households, so we’ve had mums feeding bowling machines, boyfriends slinging, girlfriends slinging, dads batting, and supporting our training. As you can imagine it’s been pretty comical, but also not ideal preparation for a series of this magnitude.”We found out that with that quarantine in New Zealand, our preparation’s going to be a bit shorter. Getting our heads around that and trying to find ways to get ourselves ready, physically and mentally, has been a little bit hard, and then you throw Covid in there and shifting goalposts with the World Cup as well, as you can imagine it’s been quite hard to focus on the cricket.”It didn’t help that the first training session it rained cats and dogs. We haven’t had the best preparation but what we’ve got to do is try and make the most of it.”Changes to regulations while the squad was in the air mean players are currently unable to eat together at restaurants outdoors, although Knight was hopeful of that being relaxed at some stage.”Restrictions are in place to try and protect the integrity of the series, but we also need to make sure that we look after players and staff and everyone who’s out here as well,” she said. “We need to find that balance between trying to keep the integrity of the series and staying as safe as possible but also feeling like you can live within the restrictions with a tiny bit of freedom, which I think is important.”The switch to beginning the series with three T20Is has meant changes to planning – in particular how to get overs into the bowlers ahead of the Test – but Knight also suggested that T20 was her side’s “strongest format” and represented an opportunity to start the series well. She also said the disruption may help to “take the pressure off” against the No. 1-ranked Australians.”Of course there’s a frustration but it’s the times we’re living in at the moment,” she said. “It’s very challenging to tour with Covid around. The restrictions we’ve been under have changed as well, so just being adaptable to that has been quite tricky. As soon as you get your head around something, something else changes.”But we’ve got no other option but to try and make the most of it and do the best we can. Maybe it will take the pressure off, we’ve just got to find a way to free up, go out there and throw caution to the wind a bit. Mentally it’s going to be tough but we’re doing everything we can to try and get ourselves prepped and ready for the first game.”England are looking to reclaim the Ashes for the first time since 2015, with three T20Is, three ODIs and a Test to be played under the multi-format points system. The touring party includes an England A squad, who will provide warm-up opposition before playing their own fixtures against Australia A.

The total prize money has also gone up by 75% to $3.5 million

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Feb-2022The ICC has doubled the prize money for the winners of the upcoming Women’s ODI World Cup to $1.32 million. They have also increased the overall prize money pot by 75%, with eight teams getting a share of $3.5 million, a figure $1.5 million more than the 2017 edition which England had won.The runners-up will take home $600,000, which is $270,000 more than what second-placed India received in 2017. The two losing semi-finalists will receive $300,000 each, while the four teams who will fly back home after the group stage will be awarded a sum of $70,000 – up from the $30,000 prize from the previous edition.Related

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Every group stage win will also earn the teams a reward of $25,000 per victory from a total pot of $700,000.That makes it a rise in the prize money for consecutive editions of the Women’s ODI World Cup. The total prize money between the 2013 and the 2017 edition had seen a ten-fold increase when it went up from $200,000 to $2 million. England, the 2017 winners, got a reward of $660,000 after beating India by nine runs at Lord’s to claim their fourth title.Eight teams are participating at the World Cup this year – to run from March 4 to April 3 in New Zealand – with a total of 28 league games to be played in a round-robin format. Four sides will then move to the semi-finals to be played in Wellington and Christchurch, followed by the final in Christchurch.

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.

Visitors ended Day 3 with an overall lead of 489 after a first-innings lead of 408

Tristan Lavalette14-Mar-2022Stumps Captain Pat Cummins resisted enforcing the follow-on after rampant quick Mitchell Starc delivered a reverse swing masterclass against a hapless Pakistan batting order to power Australia into an almost impregnable position in the second Test.In their second innings, the visitors reached stumps on day three at 81 for 1 with an overall lead of 489. Marnus Labuschagne was 37* and Usman Khawaja unbeaten on 35 as Australia capped an almost flawless day’s play to be well poised to draw first blood in this historic series, the first played between the teams in Pakistan since 1998.Cummins raised some eyebrows when he opted to bat again even though Australia had a massive first-innings lead of 408 after routing Pakistan for 148. It was Pakistan’s largest ever first-innings deficit, but Australia preferred sticking with their well-worn strategy of grinding the hosts into the ground as Cummins’ earlier decision to bat into day three appeared a masterstroke.Even though Australia’s bowlers had a relatively light workload, Cummins might have been influenced by oppressive conditions in Karachi, where the temperature again hovered in the mid-30s as he sought to give his bowlers a rest.It provided a chance for Australia’s batters to get an extra hit under little pressure, but opener David Warner’s relatively lean start to the series continued when he fell for 7. Khawaja, who has hit three tons in six innings since his Test recall in January, received a life just before stumps when he was dropped by wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan on 30, while Labuschagne played fluently, aiming to erase the memories of being run-out for a duck in the first innings.They toyed with Pakistan’s flagging bowlers, who probably still couldn’t quite believe they had to return to the field so soon. Australia will look to continue breaking Pakistan’s back before an inevitable declaration on day four when they will unleash their bowlers who relished a deteriorating pitch to leave behind the ghosts of Rawalpindi.With plenty of runs on the board against weary opponents, Australia’s attack bounced back brilliantly after taking just four wickets in 217.1 overs in the first Test amid a stale draw. In response to Australia’s marathon first innings of 556 for 9 declared, a weary Pakistan crumbled against relentless quicks Cummins and Starc, who conjured spectacular reverse-swing as he hit speeds of near 150kph.Mitchell Swepson claimed his maiden Test wicket when he dismissed captain Babar Azam•AFP/Getty Images

Justifying his selection over Josh Hazlewood, Starc was rewarded for his rapid bowling with the wicket of first-Test centurion Azhar Ali, who edged a full and wide delivery to Cameron Green at second slip. He then had Fawad Alam lbw for a golden duck with a searing yorker in the first delivery faced by the batter in the series.The red-hot Starc, who went wicketless in Rawalpindi, almost completed a hat-trick when he beat Rizwan with a pearler of a good length delivery that swerved past the edge. But Cummins removed Rizwan shortly after with a gem, and was unlucky to finish with a solitary wicket.Debutant legspinner Mitchell Swepson wasn’t greatly required but claimed his maiden Test wicket when he dismissed captain Babar Azam who miscued a well-flighted legbreak.The 28-year-old, who is Australia’s first specialist Test legspinner since Bryce McGain in 2009, added another to finish with 2 for 32, but his most important contribution was running out opener Abdullah Shafique with a brilliant direct hit to start Pakistan’s rot.All of Australia’s frontline bowlers shared in the spoils, with Green claiming his first Test wicket overseas when he trapped Faheem Ashraf lbw for 4. Even though they faced menacing bowling, Pakistan contributed to their demise with two disastrous run -outs and several reckless strokes, including in-form opener Imam-ul-Haq holing out on 20 straight after lunch in a tame dismissal against spinner Nathan Lyon.Babar played a lone hand as he batted through the type of carnage reminiscent of Pakistan’s woes in Australia during the past two decades. Underlining their batting horror show, tailenders Nauman Ali and Shaheen Shah Afridi’s tenth wicket stand of 30 was Pakistan’s highest partnership of a feeble innings.Australia dominated from the start of day three, with Cummins and Swepson adding a quickfire half-century partnership for the last wicket to frustrate Pakistan further. Cummins finally declared after 189 overs in their highest number of overs in an innings in Asia since 2000.After Cummins won a crucial toss, Australia made the most of batting-friendly conditions in an innings dominated by Khawaja’s brilliant 160 off 369 balls in the city his family hails from, while Alex Carey with 93 and Steven Smith with 72 notched half-centuries.Khawaja may have the chance on day four to complete twin centuries in a Test for the second time in four matches before Australia’s bowlers look to put the final nail in Pakistan’s coffin.

Nottinghamshire reassert status to take unlikely 159-run lead on first innings

Paul Edwards09-Apr-2022Spring is nature’s con-artist and every cricketer knows it. Two weeks ago in The Parks she was summer with its thin frocks and picnics; two days ago in Hove she was winter with thick scarves and steaming tea. This morning, though, there was no disguising the season or the pleasure derived from it. “Good morning, Paul,” said Sam, the tall, rubicund, limitlessly cheerful steward, who is so much a part of this ground that one might believe his ancestors were here when Duleep almost took the county to the title in 1932. That was the season in which Sussex cricketers became Alan Ross’s first gods, though the 10-year-old Ross little guessed they would also be his last. It was not much different for the folk who watched Tom Clark make his maiden hundred on Friday morning. Among them were his parents.Sussex supporters, though, were concerned, even as they queued to get into the ground today. The first half of this match had gone wonderfully well but surely at some point Nottinghamshire, the divisional favourites, would slip themselves and demand a reckoning.Such apprehensions proved well-founded. Much of this day’s play was disconsonant with the leisured ease that lay only a good hit from the County Ground. Steven Mullaney made the highest score of his career and 20-year-old Joey Evison his maiden century as Nottinghamshire’s batters overhauled the home side’s total and then built the 159-run lead that will determine the character of the final three sessions. The cricket was brutal at times and one was reminded that if you added together the first-class matches played by ten of this Sussex team, the total would not come close to the 158 appearances made by Mullaney.Related

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Left to weather 15 overs, the home openers batted capably until Tom Haines pulled Lyndon James straight to Liam Patterson-White at midwicket. And the last day’s play will be affected by injury. Danial Ibrahim has damaged his shoulder and will take no further part in the match and Luke Fletcher bowled only one over this evening before leaving the field with a tight hamstring. “Whatevs” as the kids say. The pitch looks true and flat but Sussex folk are surely set for a few hours that will trample on their nerves.But, in truth, the worries of home supporters had been deepened as soon as the 17th ball of the morning, when Delray Rawlins dropped Mullaney on 86, a low chance at cover off Steven Finn and one he should have taken; anxiety was then eased a shade when Rawlins made amends by having Tom Moores caught at slip by Tom Alsop for 43 two overs before the new ball was due. But that latter change only sharpened the visitors’ appetite for quick runs. Patterson-White heaved Henry Crocombe over the short boundary for two sixes and had also hit five fours in his 45-ball 44 before he was leg before to a full-length ball from Clark just before lunch.Throughout the session Crocombe and Jamie Atkins were receiving advice and encouragement from Finn at mid-off but nothing could prevent Mullaney reaching a fine century or Nottinghamshire scoring 118 runs in the session’s 29 overs. (It should be noted, though, that if Kevin Pietersen had his way, lads like Crocombe and Atkins would probably not have the chance to learn their trade. And there are players like them in all 18 counties. When people talk about “reforming English domestic cricket” their plans often entail denying opportunities and messing with young people’s lives.)Perhaps supporters of both counties and none were wise to stroll to the esplanade at lunchtime. For the light was resplendent across Brighton and Hove this afternoon. The sun shone on the tall, squashed terraces in Russell Square and the high-ceilinged apartments in Portland Place with their Greek salads and double-walled cafetières. More obviously, it shone on the many blues of the endlessly glittering sea and on the bathers who braved the Channel. “That blue is all in a rush / With richness,” wrote Gerard Manley Hopkins, and so it was again. Mysteriously, some folk sought refuge in the subterranean style of Hove Place, where the locals drank Harvey’s Sussex Best and the visitors sampled the cheeses.The cricket after lunch was nothing like so nourishing for Haines and his players. Fifty minutes after the resumption Nottinghamshire gained a first-innings lead and by then the spinners were on. Mullaney lifted Rawlins over mid-on to go to 150 and then over the long-on boundary to give his side their fifth batting point. It was ruthless stuff and all the more so because there was little obvious striving about it. Twenty-four hours previously Nottinghamshire had been 52 for 4 yet by this third mid-afternoon Sussex did not look like taking a wicket. Both Mullaney and Evison, his eighth-wicket partner, made career-best scores, and for the skipper this meant overhauling the 179 he made against Warwickshire three years ago. The contrasting ages and experience of the teams were suddenly stark.Three balls after tea Mullaney finally miscued a pull and was caught by Crocombe off Atkins for 192. He had batted five minutes over seven hours and one suddenly noticed that Nottinghamshire’s captain is 35 years old. Will he get another opportunity to score a double-century? Then Archie Lenham came to field below the press-box. He looked about 12 but was actually 22 months old when Mullaney made his championship debut for Lancashire in 2006.Our attention switched to Evison, who was suddenly addicted to smacking Rawlins for boundaries, either down the ground or into the Sharks stand at extra-cover. But he brought up his maiden first-class hundred in what is his seventh first-class match with a cut to the backward square boundary off Atkins who, along with Rawlins, had reached his own century shortly before. Crocombe joined them a few overs later and Mullaney declared. We resettled ourselves for what would surely be the tensest cricket of the day…And now the players have left the field and each side knows what it must do tomorrow. Brighton’s ubiquitous restaurants are preparing for their Saturday trade. The April evening settles down with smells of fries in passageways. But in Portland Place and Burlington Street a quiet evening in may be preferable; perhaps an act or two of on Radio Three. The newly washed morning, so recent, so distant, beguiles the memory. “Spring is here and they can’t stop you enjoying it,” wrote George Orwell in 1946. “The earth is still going round the sun, and neither the dictators nor the bureaucrats, deeply as they disapprove of the process, are able to prevent it.”

Sanju Samson scored a half-century for Royals, but struggled to cut loose on a slow Wankhede pitch

Deivarayan Muthu02-May-20221:09

Vettori: KKR superb with their bowling plans for Buttler

Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh offset an early wobble and ensured Kolkata Knight Riders chased down 153 to snap their five-match losing streak, on a slow, grippy Wankhede Stadium track. After Trent Boult and Prasidh Krishna had made early inroads for Rajasthan Royals, Rana and Rinku dismantled R Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal respectively to bring the target within Knight Riders’ reach.Rana cracked Ashwin for 23 off 14 balls on Monday, taking his overall head-to-head to 99 off 52 balls without being dismissed by the spinner in the IPL. He first forged a 60-run third-wicket partnership with Shreyas Iyer (34) and then a livelier 66-run stand with Rinku to usher Knight Riders home.Sanju Samson’s wretched luck with the toss continued – he has won only one out of ten tosses this IPL – but despite that Royals made a decent fist of their defence by dragging it deep. However, with 31 needed off 18 balls, Rinku whacked back-to-back fours off Chahal to effectively kill off the game. It was Rana who ultimately finished it with five balls to spare, with an uppercut six off Kuldeep Sen.Sanju Samson began brightly but slowed down considerably after the 30-ball mark•BCCI

Royals’ go-slow
Umesh Yadav got the new ball to swing both ways to threaten both edges of Jos Buttler in his first over. Ankul Roy, who was picked in place of the out-of-form Venkatesh Iyer, kept Buttler – and Devdutt Padikkal – quiet with his stump-to-stump darts. Umesh struck in his second over when he had Padikkal spooning a return catch for 2.After watching Royals gulp down 18 dots in the first four overs, Samson got a move on in the fifth over, hitting Umesh for back-to-back fours. Buttler uncharacteristically dawdled to 22 off 24 balls before Shivam Mavi combined with Tim Southee to dismiss him. Southee had bowled one in his slot – or perhaps just short of it – and Buttler shovelled it away in the air with his powerful bottom wrist. For a moment, the ball seemed to sail away for six, but Mavi intervened by leaping athletically to his right at long-on to pluck the ball out of thin air. At that stage, Royals were 55 for 2 in the ninth over.Samson, Hetmyer give Royals a leg-up
Samson was more fluent, often jumping outside leg to manufacture swinging room and scoring opportunities. He progressed to 40 off 30 balls, but managed only 14 off his last 19 balls. The pick of his eight boundaries was a regal cut off Mavi, but the seamer bounced back to remove Samson for the fifth time in seven IPL innings. During the toss, Shreyas explained that Mavi had slotted back in place of Harshit Rana because of his favourable match-ups against the Royals batters. Mavi did his job, returning 1 for 33 in his four overs.Riyan Parg only flickered briefly (19 off 12 balls), but Shimron Hetmyer fired in the slog overs, as he has often done in the recent past, clattering an unbeaten 27 off 13 balls. He was particularly brutal on Southee, taking him for 17 off just five balls.Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh added an unbroken 66 for the fourth wicket•BCCI

KKR’s go-slow
Samson’s early impetus and Hetmyer’s late blows gave Royals’ attack something to work with. Trent Boult swung the new ball and bothered both Aaron Finch and B Indrajith – Knight Riders’ fifth different opening combination this IPL. It was Sen who made the first incision when he rushed Finch and had him chopping on for 4 off 7 balls.Indrajith showed a glimpse of his improved white-ball potential when he ramped Prasidh over short fine leg for four. Prasidh, however, banged in a head-high bouncer next ball to have Indrajith top-edging a hook to fine leg, who had been pushed back onto the boundary after that four. Knight Riders stuttered to 32 for 2 in the powerplay.The Rana-Rinku show
Ashwin was introduced into the attack in the next over, and Shreyas carved his first ball away between backward point and short third man. Rana then laid into him in his third over, picking him off for 4,6,4 with a variety of sweeps, including the reverse-hit.Boult had Shreyas caught by Samson down the leg side for 34 off 32 balls, but Rana and Rinku completed the job for Knight Riders without much fuss. With Rana vulnerable to rapid pace and bounce, Rinku took on both Prasidh and Sen before lining up Chahal too. Often confined to being KKR’s regular substitute fielder in the IPL, Rinku showed off his batting chops by contributing 42 off just 23 balls to an unbroken 66-run stand with Rana.

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.

Steven Smith says he and Usman Khawaja have moved on following their mix-up in the first Test in Sri Lanka, with the pair chilled over Smith’s on-field reaction.

AAP06-Jul-2022Steven Smith insists there is no lingering fallout from his mid-wicket mix-up with Usman Khawaja after his fiery first Test dismissal against Sri Lanka.Smith created headlines last week when he gestured back at Khawaja and stormed off the field after being run out for six in Galle. The incident drew criticism back home in Australia, including from former captains Mark Taylor and Ian Chappell.Chappell in particular was harsh on the right-hander, claiming he should have been in better check of his emotions as a vice-captain on the field. But Smith insisted he and Khawaja had immediately moved on, and he was more frustrated at his own dismissal.”I hate getting run out. I think anyone does,” Smith said on Wednesday when asked if he had reflected on the situation. “Particularly given the [tough] conditions and gifting them a wicket. As one of the most experienced players I was pretty upset.”That happens in the game. I got over it pretty quickly. I had to keep moving forward and that is part of the game.”I spoke to Uz straight after and he was pretty chilled. Mix-ups happen, we keep moving on.”What Smith is desperate for is more time in the middle. He missed the final three one-day internationals in Sri Lanka with a quad injury and only faced 11 balls in his one innings in Galle before his run out.The former captain batted through another lengthy net session on Wednesday, working hard on facing left-arm spin with throwdowns from former New Zealand spinner Daniel Vettori.Smith employs a different approach to most Australians against the spinners, only using the sweep when the ball spins back into him. He was Australia’s leading run-scorer on the last tour of Sri Lanka, relying on a fast-feet method to try and unsettle the bowlers.”I’m not a huge sweeper so I prefer to run down the wicket and get them off their lengths that way or come back into my crease,” Smith said. “Really it’s about not getting stuck on the crease with the ball spinning into me.”If I’m doing that well and fast on my feet, I usually feel pretty good.”Australia expect the wicket to spin just as much in the second Test in Galle starting Friday, with Sri Lanka adding more spinners to their squad.Smith had attempted to lead a more positive team with the bat when he captained Australia’s 3-0 loss in 2016, only for the side to be tentative in defeat. But that approach has been put into far better effect on this tour, as Australia scored at a rapid rate in the first Test.”It’s about having courage in the way guys are playing,” Smith said. “It’s good we all play a little bit differently.”There’s not the same continuity, so bowlers have to change their lengths a bit and when they’re doing that in a partnership you can cruise along quite freely.”