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Not only will India not feature in the Boxing Day Test against South Africa later this year, but even the New Year’s Test in Newlands is in danger of being pushed back. The Boxing Day Test is usually the highlight of South Africa’s international season while the iconic venue in Cape Town usually hosts the second Test of the South African summer from January 2.However, it is understood that India will only land in South Africa in the last week of 2017 and will want to acclimatise for at least a week before starting the tour comprising four Tests, five ODIs and two Twenty20 internationals.According to a BCCI official, India cannot reach South Africa for the Boxing Day Test which starts on December 26 only because their home series against Sri Lanka is scheduled to finish on December 24. “We can’t make it make it in time. The Sri Lanka tour ends on December 24. After that we need to give the boys a few days’ rest,” the board official told ESPNcricinfo. “The South Africa tour is a big one, so they need to play two warm-up games, so it will take at least 10 days [before the first Test].The BCCI has already alerted Cricket South Africa on the scheduling difficulties, which both boards expect to sort out by next week. ESPNcricinfo understands CSA has accepted the fact that India will miss the Boxing Day Test, and, hence, have started looking for other options to stage a one-off Test. Pakistan and Afghanistan are reportedly the two possible options, but nothing concrete has emerged yet on that front.Tony Irish, the head of the South African Players Association, said that if the Newlands Test failed to start on January 2 or 3, it would be a “major blow” for CSA only because the match coincides with the holiday season. “I had been aware of the fact that they were unlikely to be there for Boxing Day, but for them not to be here for the New Year’s Day is a major blow to CSA and the fans,” Irish said. “To lose Boxing Day is a big thing, but to lose both of them would be massive hit for the fans.”Irish felt India could play a solitary two- or three-day game ahead of the first Test to facilitate things. But the BCCI official said that the Indian players could not be pushed.There are other repercussions of the India tour starting late. As soon India depart, South Africa are scheduled to host Australia for a four-Test series before the players arrived in India for the IPL. If CSA do manage to find an opponent for the Boxing Day Test, that would mean nine Tests crammed inside a two-month period.Irish felt such an “extremely gruelling” Test schedule combined with the limited-overs matches against India would exacerbate the workload on players. “If the India Test matches start much after January 2 or 3, there will be a lot of concern about the players’ workload,” Irish said. “You really compound the workload issue.” Irish has raised this concern with CSA, which has noted it.

Match Facts

Friday, June 30, 2017
Start time 0900 local (1300 GMT)

Big Picture

India came to the Caribbean after yielding their Champions Trophy crown but they haven’t taken long to find their happy place again. They scored 300-plus in less than 50 overs in their first completed match since the defeat to Pakistan, bringing the cricket world back to the status quo.If West Indies are to shake things up and more importantly stay alive in the series, they’ll have to find a way past India’s strongest suit: a top order that, by now, must be making runs as they sleepwalk. Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli are racking them up with such greed that their team-mates from Nos 4 might have forgotten how it feels to be out in the middle. Over the last six games, only twice has a middle-order batsman been needed to face even 40 balls. Both came in losing causes.If this trend is to be exploited though, West Indies have to do something India have, recently, been excellent at: maximising their strength. Jason Holder has under his charge a set of bowlers who are not typically threatening, but at this level, they should at least maintain a constricting line and length for as much as the 50 overs as possible. The two uncapped players they have added to the squad – Kyle Hope and Sunil Ambris – are batsmen so clearly this is the best bowling attack they have and perhaps Antigua will bring them better luck.2:37

I learn from my failures – Dhawan

Form guide

West Indies LWLLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
India WLWWL

In the spotlight

Skill-wise, there is very little going against Devendra Bishoo. He is a wristspinner – an essential commodity in ODIs now – but his consistency remains a problem. Good batsmen almost mark him down for approximately one short ball an over and milk him without too much trouble. If Bishoo can rectify this, he could be what West Indies need – a wicket-taker.He has always been a very good cutter of the ball, but now, when he plays the pull, and the hook, the change in Shikhar Dhawan is striking. He is no longer hurried into the shot, the swivel on the back foot is smooth, and the shot itself appears effortless – signs that he is picking the length early and trusting his technique, which he says has been calibrated to play the ball a little later and therefore a lot closer to his body. With 500 runs in his last nine innings, the adjustments are bringing rewards.

Team news

Considering West Indies dropped Kieran Powell and Jonathan Carter, who have played both ODIs of this series, and replaced them with Kyle Hope and Sunil Ambris, the two uncapped batsmen might just be looking at instant debuts.West Indies (probable): 1 Evin Lewis, 2 Kyle Hope, 3 Shai Hope (wk), 4 Jason Mohammed, 5 Roston Chase, 6 Jason Holder (capt), 7 Rovman Powell/ Sunil Ambris, 8 Ashley Nurse, 9 Alzarri Joseph, 10 Devendra Bishoo, 11 Miguel Cummins,India tend to avoid experimenting in ODIs, but considering the potential of Rishabh Pant, who has hit a first-class triple-hundred at nearly run-a-ball, they may make an exception.India (probable): 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Ajinkya Rahane, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 MS Dhoni (wk), 6 Kedar Jadhav, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Kuldeep Yadav, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 11 Umesh Yadav

Pitch and conditions

In 15 matches at the Sir Vivian Richards stadium in North Sound, the average run-rate batting first has been 5.05. That roughly translates to an average total of 252. And barring the odd brief shower, the weather is expected to hold up well.

Stats and trivia

• The last time West Indies won an ODI series against a top-eight team was in 2012, when they beat New Zealand 4-1. Since then, they’ve been beaten 16 times.
• India’s top-three have averaged 61.5 over the last two years. That’s 15 points higher than their nearest rivals South Africa

Stuart Broad is confident of being fit for England’s first Test of the summer, against South Africa at Lord’s next week, after suffering a heel problem while playing for Nottinghamshire last week. Broad said he was “sick with nerves” before coming through a full training session without discomfort the day before the Royal London Cup final, also at Lord’s, and is set to return to action against Surrey.England’s Test squad will be announced on Saturday morning, with Broad all but certain to be included after passing himself fit for Notts. His availability – assuming he comes through the Royal London final unscathed – will come as a relief to England, after a number of injuries among the fast-bowling attack.”I wouldn’t declare myself fit for a Lord’s final if I was not right,” Broad said. “At the end of the day, you can walk on to any field, bowl your first ball and go down – that’s cricket. But having bowled 100% in the nets, it feels good. I just have to keep managing it well, as you have to with your body when you get to 31. But yeah, I’m fit for tomorrow, which in my opinion, if I bowl okay, it means I’m fit for the Test.”Broad walked off after bowling one over in the second innings of Nottinghamshire’s win over Leicestershire, having suffered a 1cm tear to the fat pad in his left heel. After being told by medical staff that such injuries usually heal at a rate of 1cm a week, he was left sweating on his involvement during “the biggest three weeks of the year”, with the Royal London final and Lord’s Test being followed by a Test at Broad’s home ground, Trent Bridge. Jake Ball, Broad’s Nottinghamshire team-mate, has been ruled out for England after suffering a knee strain earlier in the week, while Chris Woakes was already absent with a side injury picked up during the Champions Trophy. James Anderson has only just returned from a groin tear, while Ben Stokes was hampered by a knee problem during the ODI series with South Africa last month and Mark Wood is on the comeback from a third ankle operation – although all three are expected to be in the Test squad.Stuart Broad undergoes a fitness test on his injured left heel•Getty Images

“It was nice to get out today,” he said. “I’ve felt sick with nerves for the last three-four days, because I’ve worked really hard for three months and played a lot of cricket, pretty much for the biggest three weeks of the year – Lord’s final with your county that you’ve played every game for, Lord’s Test and home Test. So obviously the first step is a tick, being fit for the Lord’s final.”The England guys have said it’s up to me, I’ve played enough cricket to know whether I’m fit or not. You go into a Lord’s final ready to bowl ten overs – you get through something like that comfortably then you’re fit for a Test match.”Having played in all of Notts’ Royal London Cup games, Broad still harbours ambitions of a one-day recall with England – “when Woakesy did his side, I was staring at my phone” – but the priority now will be getting him through a demanding schedule of seven Tests in nine-and-a-half weeks.He will play with extra strapping on his foot and has had Ottis Gibson to stay at his house while working on technical issues to offset pressure on the heel but, ultimately, sometimes rest is the only cure. “A week without bowling, it seems to have, touch wood, done the trick,” he said.

Match facts

Wednesday May 17, Dublin
Start time 1045 local time (0945 GMT)Mitchell Santner’s five-for against Ireland was a tale of two spells•AFP

Big picture

Bangladesh have never beaten New Zealand at an away or neutral venue in 15 matches and will be keen to set that record straight, given how the last series between the two teams, in New Zealand, panned out.In all three of those matches, sudden and quick batting slumps from positions of relative stability cost Bangladesh. Some of that fragility was also on display in their opening match of this tri-nation series against Ireland: they lost wickets on either side of a promising stand, before Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah made a recovery. It’s a tendency Bangladesh will have to guard against, particularly if they want to tackle a New Zealand side which, although weakened, fought back well against Ireland.In conditions suited to seam bowling, how Bangladesh cope with New Zealand’s inexperienced but promising pace attack will be key. They will also be wary of New Zealand’s middle order striking form, although both George Worker and Ross Taylor were not quite fluent during their half-centuries against Ireland. New Zealand are likely to continue with Luke Ronchi as opener, giving the batsman freedom to hit out in order to ease the pressure on the middle order.

Form guide

Bangladesh: LWLLL (most recent first, last five completed matches)
New Zealand: WLWLW

In the spotlight

Mahmudullah‘s unbeaten 43 in the rain-interrupted match last week was only the fourth time he’s scored more than 20 in an innings since October 2016. While he has scored a half-century in that period, he has not been consistent. Mahmudullah had a disappointing ODI series in New Zealand, where he scored 4 runs in three innings. However, the solid patch of form from the Dhaka Premier League has extended to this tour, and Bangladesh will be happy that his runs against Ireland came after they were struggling at 70 for 4 in the 15th over. Mahmudullah needs another 79 to become the fifth Bangladesh batsman to score 3000 ODI runs.New Zealand coach Mike Hesson recently said they were not averse to opening the bowling with a spinner even in English conditions during the Champions Trophy, particularly if the track was flat. Mitchell Santner could be a key part of that strategy. Hesson was particularly impressed with how the left-arm spinner bounced back against Ireland: having conceded 43 and taken one wicket in his first spell of seven overs, Santner came back to take four wickets for seven in his second spell, decisively turning the match for New Zealand.

Teams news

Adam Milne is likely to be available for selection, having joined the team last week. He could replace Ish Sodhi if New Zealand opt to boost their pace attack in what are likely to be seaming conditions.New Zealand (probable) 1 Luke Ronchi (wk), 2 Tom Latham (capt), 3 George Worker, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Neil Broom, 6 James Neesham, 7 Colin Munro, 8 Scott Kuggeleijn, 9 Mitchell Santner, 10 Seth Rance, 11 Adam Milne/ Ish SodhiMashrafe Mortaza will return from over-rate suspension, at the expense of possibly Rubel Hossain. Apart from that change, Bangladesh may want to persist with the XI they picked for the first match, which was abandoned.Bangladesh:(probable) 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Soumya Sarkar, 3 Sabbir Rahman, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Mosaddek Hossain, 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Mehedi Hasan, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 11 Mustafizur Rahman

Pitch and conditions

This will be the first ODI, and the second international game, at Castle Avenue since May 2014, when Sri Lanka took on Ireland in a two-match series. At the time, conditions were green and seaming and it could be the same on Wednesday. The temperature in Dublin is expected to be between 15 and 18 Celsius during the day, with a chance of rain.

Stats

• This will be the first match at Clontarf between two Full Member nations. Bangladesh had played a match there against West Indies in 1999, but had not yet achieved Full Member status
• Sunday’s match against Ireland was only the eighth time that Ronchi opened the batting in an ODI. His score of 37 was also his best at that position.
• Tamim and Shakib Al Hasan have the most runs by Bangladesh batsmen against New Zealand – 442 and 436 respectively.

Quotes

“It’s a challenge for us because we have guys coming back from the IPL. So we will have players we will release back to England and we will give a little bit of time to acclimatise and then assess conditions, because there are still ODIs and we will need to keep picking what we deem to be our best team.”

Durham 162 and 162 for 5 (Jennings 62*) trail Nottinghamshire 305 (Fletcher 92, Pattinson 59, Rushworth 4-54) by 19 runs
ScorecardLuke Fletcher swopped bowling duties for the innings of his life•Getty Images

Nottinghamshire’s burly nightwatchman Luke Fletcher fell eight runs of a maiden first-class hundred when he was run out in desperately unfortunate circumstances as Nottinghamshire built a sizeable advantage against Durham at Emirates Riverside.Fletcher earned Nottinghamshire a formidable 143-run lead and they strengthened their position by taking four prime wickets before the deficit had been cleared and that of Paul Coughlin for a breezy 36 once it had.The home side’s hopes of recovery rest largely on the slim shoulders of Keaton Jennings, who composed a polished 62 not out in the 47-over evening session. But if this game ends as now expected sometime on the third day Durham will be a mere 89 points behind their current opponents. They do, though, have a game in hand.At Papplewick and Linby, the Nottinghamshire club where Fletcher first learned his cricket, they may have been raising a glass to their former player on the second evening of this game after his beautifully-constructed 209-minute innings had played the major role in establishing his side’s superiority in this game.There will also be talk of the disaster that befell him when his maiden century was in sight.Pattinson played the ball into the off side where Keaton Jennings effected a fine stop. By then, Fletcher had come two thirds down the wicket but was sent back by his partner who had at first made as if to run.Fletcher slipped onto his backside with the sort of thud that shifts tectonic plates. He got up without his bat and galloped back to the bowler’s end like a frightened shire horse yearning for its stable. But he failed to beat Jennings’ accurate throw and the bails were whipped off by Paul Collingwood with the batsman out of his ground. Fletcher had made 92, thus equalling his highest first-class score. He may well have got home if he could have stretched a bat out.Forget, please, the condescension often attached to nightwatchmen’s innings: this was a proper knock in which Fletcher made the most of his ability to drive through the covers and clip the ball off his legs. He defended the good balls with unruffled precision and took advantage of Durham’s curious willingness to feed his best shots.After Samit Patel was caught at slip off the seventh ball of the morning, Fletcher lost nothing by comparison with either Riki Wessels, who was leg before for eight when wafting across the line to Mark Wood, or Chris Read, bowled for 17 when playing loosely at a Paul Coughlin delivery which nipped back a shade.He dealt phlegmatically with a scoreboard malfunction which gave him extra runs and led to him twice being warmly applauded by admittedly hypothermic home supporters for reaching his fifty when he had not, in fact, done so, and then not at all when he actually achieved his fourth first-class half-century in 121 innings. Fletcher’s team mates on the balcony made good the deficiency in acclamation; they knew the value of this innings.Undefeated on 51 at lunch, the mighty megalith contemplated a yet loftier goal in the afternoon. With James Pattinson offering sound support, it seemed possible that his first century for Nottinghamshire was in range after a decade of wholehearted trying.Three fours in a Ryan Pringle over took him into the nineties, a position from which, so the former Kent batman Trevor Ward frequently asserted, all that is needed is “two good hits”.Ward, alas, was oft dismissed when attempting to put fine theory into rough practice and Fletcher, too, was denied his longed-for glory.Nottinghamshire’s seventh-wicket pair had put on 108-runs. After consoling his partner, although “Sorry, mate” may not have done the needful, Pattinson reached his own fifty and had extended his team’s advantage to 139 when he skied an attempted pull off Graham Onions to a scuttling Stuart Poynter behind the stumps.Already the Australian looks like one of the signings of the season. He has scored 148 runs in two innings and by the end of the second day here he had taken 13 wickets, a haul he completed when he removed Coughlin and Collingwood, the latter quite brilliantly snaffled one-handed by a leaping Wessels at first slip after making 40.In the first three overs of the innings Jake Ball had accounted for Stephen Cook and Jack Burnham, both of whom edged good balls to the cordon and Fletcher then enjoyed more joy when he had Michael Richardson leg before for eight. Down the road Chester-le-Street drew their match although Durham’s Adam Hickey made 58 and took three wickets for his new club. Across the land cricket is beginning and good coaching being done. On such a Saturday April’s cruelties seem well hidden.

Evin Lewis has played eight T20Is for West Indies, a short-format team traditionally known for its power-hitters. He has crossed ten only two times in those eight matches; the first time he went on to a hundred with nine sixes; the second time, he struck 91 off 51 with nine sixes. Only Marlon Samuels has hit as many sixes in a T20I innings for West Indies, and only Chris Gayle has done better.That 91 helped West Indies mow down a target of 138 in Port of Spain against Pakistan on Saturday, with seven wickets and over five overs to spare. Lewis, who was run out for 10 and 3 in the first two games which West Indies lost, said he did a bit of introspection after his twin failures but did not put too much pressure on himself; he was confident he could make a difference if he batted a decent length of time.”I’ve been staying positive. The first two games, you know, run out, I had a long think last night,” Lewis said after the match. “I didn’t put pressure on myself. That’s how the game goes at times. I know once I bat at least five overs, I will get that score.”Lewis’ blitz helped West Indies stay alive in the four-match series; the final game will be played on Sunday, with the scoreline 2-1 in favour of Pakistan.The visitors’ coach Mickey Arthur was disappointed his team did not seal the series at the first opportunity, and put that down to inadequate batting; after being 4 for 2 four balls into the match, they recovered to 92 for 2 in the 13th over courtesy 88 off 69 between Kamran Akmal and Babar Azam before a dramatic slide.”We need to find some balance with our batting,” Arthur said. “For us it was an opportunity to close out a series and we didn’t do that. We’ve put ourselves under pressure, we can’t lose the series, but still we’ve put ourselves under pressure for tomorrow.Mickey Arthur on Shadab Khan: ‘Teams are going to analyse him now, we’ve got to try and stay one step ahead with him’•AFP

“It was a really good partnership between Babar and Kamran. They played really well on this wicket. We set ourselves up for 160-165 at one stage and then we lost six wickets for 45, and that’s a massive mountain to climb. In the last four overs we only got 19 [21], those are stats we can’t afford in games like these. So we’ll continue working on that.”The best way forward, Arthur said, would be to rotate strike more and frustrate the opposition through quick single and twos to make up for a lack of power hitting in the line-up. “We don’t have those massive boundary-hitters, so we’ve got to find another way to score runs. To do that we’ve got to be running hard between wickets and we’ve got to be putting the opposition under pressure that way.”West Indies’ chase was aided by the fact that Pakistan’s main threat with the ball from the previous two games, 18-year-old legspinner Shadab Khan, was taken for 38 runs off 3.5 overs, an economy rate of 9.91. Lewis played a big role in that, taking 25 runs off 14 balls from Shadab, including three sixes.Lewis said he did not plan anything specific to counter Shadab. “There was no big plan against him. I held back myself… I don’t really play bowlers, on my day I can hit any bowler. So I held back myself, and I went on to runs today. Just put him under a bit of pressure when he bowled a bad ball.”Arthur was not overly concerned by Shadab’s expensive display, saying it was natural for teams to deal with him more effectively as he became better known. It was up to his team, he said, to help the young bowler stay ahead.”Teams are going to take him on, teams are going to analyse him now, we’ve got to try and stay one step ahead with him. But he’s a great kid, he’s a great bowler, and he has got such a big future. For us it’s about giving him the right guidance now, and keeping him nice and grounded.”

Courtney Browne, the West Indies chairman of selectors, has said that allrounder Carlos Brathwaite cannot be expected to produce the heroics of the World Twenty20 final each time he plays. Browne was commenting on Brathwaite’s lean form with the bat in the recently-concluded Regional Super50 domestic one-day tournament, won by Barbados Pride, Brathwaite’s team.Since the beginning of 2016, Brathwaite has scored just 304 runs in 27 List A games at an average of 14.47, with a highest score of 46. With the ball, he has taken 46 wickets at an average of 30.66. Brathwaite, who was recently made West Indies’ T20 captain, hasn’t enjoyed too much success in the shortest format either. In 26 T20s since 2016, Brathwaite has managed just 212 runs at 12.47 and 33 wickets at an average of 30.66.”What you must understand is this is still a young man,” Browne told a Caribbean radio station. “If we expect Carlos to repeat what he did in the World Cup every single time, we’re going to fool ourselves. Carlos needs to develop like any other cricketer. We’ve dug ourselves in a massive hole over the years, there’s no quick fix to our problem. It is about hard work. It’s not about ‘you’ve had five games, you have not performed’ so just throw the player away.”Browne pointed out that Brathwaite has earned a lot of respect from coaches and captains over the years with his attitude and hardwork. In January, Brathwaite opted to leave early from the Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League where he was signed as a replacement for fellow West Indies allrounder Andre Russell.Incidentally, he was one of the three players – along with Darren Bravo and Marlon Samuels – to decline a WICB contract late last year. Although he is an attractive buy for teams across domestic Twenty20 leagues, Brathwaite has said he wants to focus on doing well for West Indies.Brathwaite, Browne said, was an “investment” that would come good eventually. “He’s a young player who is a very exciting player on his day, who hasn’t played a lot of international cricket either,” Browne said. “He’s an investment and we all know if we get him right what he can produce for us. Carlos’s strike rate would be more than the other bowlers because of the time of the games when he bowls.”Carlos and a lot of the other players, we have players now who actually want to play, we have players who are committed, they are self-starters, they work hard. When you see players who are doing that, you know that you will be able to create that environment that is conducive to producing cricketers that can perform consistently.”Browne said West Indies’ selection panel are likely to give players an extended run in the playing XI to help them develop, as opposed to the approach of selection in the past.”We are number eight in the world because we put ourselves there by playing bad cricket over the years by making bad decisions. When you look at our players, there are some who have been given a little extension because you want them to develop,” Browne said.”We don’t want to have a case where you have a whole bunch of players, like what used to happen in the past, where we had so many players, all of them had games under their belts but none ever got a good extension or fair run to help them to develop. We need to develop cricketers.”

Queensland wicketkeeper Chris Hartley will miss his first Sheffield Shield match in nearly 10 years after breaking a finger while batting in club cricket at the weekend. Hartley is expected to be sidelined for at least three weeks by the injury, which will allow gloveman Jimmy Peirson to play his first Sheffield Shield game, against South Australia at Adelaide Oval starting on Saturday.Opening batsman Joe Burns will captain Queensland for the first time in the absence of state captain Usman Khawaja and Hartley, the regular stand-in. Hartley’s injury – a fracture to the middle finger of his left hand – comes at a time when he was displaying strong batting form: in his past three Shield innings he had made 102*, 15* and 86*, and has 460 runs at 92.00 this Shield season.Hartley recently went past Darren Berry as the owner of the most wicketkeeping dismissals in Shield history, and in his most recent match completed the rare feat of 100 consecutive Shield games. Last time Hartley missed a Shield match was October 2007, when Murray Bragg replaced him behind the stumps against Tasmania at the Gabba in what became the only first-class match of Bragg’s career.Although Hartley is expected to miss at least two matches, he could yet return for the final regular-season match against Victoria, starting at the Gabba on March 16. He will be joined on the sidelines for this week’s match by fast bowler Michael Neser, who injured his ankle while playing club cricket at the weekend and will be replaced in the squad by Luke Feldman, who has recovered from a side strain.Meanwhile, wicketkeeper Seb Gotch is set to make his first-class debut in Victoria’s game against Western Australia in Perth, also starting on Saturday. Gotch has been called in to replace Sam Harper, who suffered concussion during the previous game when he was struck in the head by Jake Lehmann’s bat.Harper is still being monitored in hospital, but Cricket Victoria said his condition was improving and there was a chance he would be released from hospital later this week.Queensland squad Joe Burns (capt), Peter Forrest, Marnus Labuschagne, Sam Heazlett, Sam Truloff, Jack Wildermuth, Jimmy Peirson (wk), Jason Floros, Mark Steketee, Peter George, Cameron Gannon, Luke Feldman.Victoria squad Marcus Harris, Travis Dean, Marcus Stoinis, Rob Quiney, Aaron Finch, Cameron White (capt), Daniel Christian, Seb Gotch (wk), James Pattinson, Chris Tremain, Scott Boland, Jon Holland.

Amit Pachhara, the 21-year old on T20 debut, led Services to a four-wicket victory off the penultimate ball of a 15-overs-a-side game against Himachal Pradesh in Dharamsala. Pachhara came to the crease with his team on 48 for 4 in the sixth over chasing 129, and struck an unbeaten 47 off 30 balls, with three sixes and three fours. His knock redressed a top-order wobble after Pankaj Jaiswal took two wickets in two overs to spur Himachal Pradesh’s hopes of defending their total. They had got to 128 with a late surge from Amit Kumar (34 off 24), Rishi Dhawan (37* off 24) and Bipul Sharma (10* off 4) but as has become custom, the side chasing in a shortened game came out on top.File photo – Jayant Yadav conceded just 10 runs in his four overs as Haryana defended 153 against Punjab•BCCI

In a match where batsmen outside of the top four in either team couldn’t score in double figures, Haryana inflicted a collapse on Punjab to win by 47 runs. Haryana posted 153 after being put in, thanks to a 73-run alliance for the second wicket between debutant Shubham Rohilla (37 off 34) and Rajat Paliwal (44 off 39). No. 4 batsman Shivam Chauhan, also on debut, then hit a 24-ball 41 even as the middle order collapsed around him to lift Haryana to 153 for 7. In reply, Punjab’s loss of an early wicket was offset by Manan Vohra (24 off 27) and Jaskaranveer Singh (27 off 20), as the pair put on 45 for the second wicket. But they succumbed to the spin duo of Jayant Yadav and Rahul Tewatia, who finished with figures of 3 for 23 between them in eight overs. Sanjay Pahal then stuck to the pattern of memorable debuts, as he ran through the lower-middle order to finish with 3 for 8. Punjab folded for 106.Unmukt Chand struck two fours and four sixes in his unbetaen 49•PTI

Unmukt Chand struck an unbeaten 49 as Delhi made light work of Jammu & Kashmir’s 104-run target, winning by six wickets with 22 balls to spare. Only two J&K batsmen – Shubham Khajuria and Pranav Gupta – managed to cross 20 after they were put in to bat. Left-arm spinner Manan Sharma applied the brakes to take 2 for 13 off his four overs. Delhi were rocked early when they lost Gautam Gambhir in the second over. Chand then added 61 with Shikhar Dhawan (30) to help Delhi drive ahead and smoothen the passage for victory.

Hong Kong allrounder Nizakat Khan’s bowling action has been cleared by the International Cricket Council, following remedial work after his action was found to be illegal in July 2015 during an ICC World Twenty20 Qualifying match against Nepal.Nizakat underwent a reassessment of his bowling action on December 6 at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane, where his elbow extension for legspin deliveries was found to be within the 15-degree level of tolerance permitted under the ICC regulations. His offspin has not been cleared since he did not bowl it during the assessment.Before the ban, Nizakat had economy rates of 3.67 in ODIs and an impressive 5.30 in five T20Is. He has continued to play for Hong Kong since, averaging 35 in 10 ODIs as a top-order batsman.