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Arshdeep kept Punjab Kings in the game until the very end during an eventful final over

Sidharth Monga08-May-20233:09

Bishop: Varun doing the job that Narine did for KKR

Kolkata Knight Riders hung on by the skin of their teeth, both in their match against Punjab Kings and in the tournament. Rinku Singh sealed another last-ball win for them, but this was no miraculous comeback from the dead. This was a topsy-turvy contest set up by KKR’s spinners, but even their batters struggled on a slow surface.

Rana fined INR 12 lakh

The KKR captain was handed an INR 12 lakh fine after his side were deemed to be maintaining a slow over-rate during their fixture against Kings at the Eden Gardens. This was KKR’s first offence of the season under IPL’s Code of Conduct relating to minimum over-rate offences.

Nitish Rana set up the chase with 51 off 38, but it took Andre Russell to finally turn up and take 20 runs off the 19th over, bowled by Sam Curran, to bring the equation down to six required off the last over. Arshdeep Singh managed to push them all the way to the last ball, before Rinku Singh found the boundary with two runs required.The result left KKR and PBKS level at 10 points from 11 matches. Five teams are currently tied on that points total in the middle of the table, but both Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians – who meet on Tuesday – have a game in hand.Rinku Singh leaps in joy after hitting the winning boundary•BCCI

Harshit Rana keeps a check

PBKS were always going to target the new ball because they expected the spinners to be effective on this pitch, which is why they batted first. Prabhsimran Singh was up early, using Vaibhav Arora’s inswing to pick up three boundaries in the first over.The impressive Harshit Rana, though, bowled hard lengths and got disconcerting bounce from the pitch. He had both Prabhsimran and Bhanuka Rajapaksa caught at the wicket while looking to hit big shots. Rajapksa’s return to the side ended with a three-ball duck. Liam Livingstone still kept going hard, helping PBKS take 19 off the fifth over, bowled by Russell, to make it 51 for 2.

The spin choke

KKR are not shy to use spin during the powerplay or at the death. They had picked three spinners. So they began the spin attack in earnest. Varun Chakravarthy got the first shot, and produced a beautiful legbreak to trap the rampaging Livingstone in front.Having lost a third wicket inside the powerplay, PBKS had to go into rebuild mode especially with the KKR spinners bowling well. Jitesh Sharma then hit Suyash Sharma for a six, and Shikhar Dhawan had just about begun to open up again with sweeps and reverse-sweeps when Varun came back for the 13th over.Once again, Varun produced the breakthrough, spinning the ball away from Jitesh, taking the edge through to the keeper. Nitish brought himself on when two left-hand batters were at the wicket, and got Dhawan for 57 off 47. Suyash proceeded to tighten the screws with the wicket of Sam Curran. In effect, PBKS were tied down on a slow pitch by 13 straight overs of spin, which brought them just 92 runs for five wickets.Varun Chakravarthy picked up three wickets including those of Liam Livingstone and Jitesh Sharma•AFP via Getty Images

Pace on, game on

As soon as KKR went back to pace for the last two overs, PBKS came back to life and took 36 runs to make it a total of 87 from just seven overs of pace. Shahrukh Khan scored 21 off 8, and Harpreet Brar 17 off 9.

Nathan Ellis gives PBKS early lead

A similar pattern of batters going after pace followed but Nathan Ellis, deservingly playing ahead of Kagiso Rabada, flummoxed Rahmanullah Gurbaz with his slower one. At 39 for 1 after five overs, with Venkatesh Iyer not allowed to bat at No. 3 at that moment because he had spent time off the field during the PBKS innings, KKR needed something special.

Rana attacks Livingstone

PBKS went to take pace off the ball, but Jason Roy and Nitish managed to hit Livingstone for a total of five boundaries in his two overs. It softened the blow of KKR losing Roy to Brar with the ball arriving too late for his slog-sweep. The equation had got tricky – 104 from 10 overs on a tricky surface – when Nitish took down Livingstone’s second over, bringing KKR’s task down to 88 from 54 balls.Arshdeep Singh sinks to the ground after conceding a four off the final ball•BCCI

Chahar keeps PBKS in it

He might not be having the greatest season, but Rahul Chahar turned up for PBKS with the wickets of Iyer and Rana, earned through the slowing down of pace, which he himself carried out. At the fall of Rana’s wicket, KKR needed 56 off 28, and it was down to Russell and Rinku.

The finishing touches

Chahar bowled out in the 16th over, leaving KKR 51 to get off 24, but PBKS had a question to answer: bowl four overs of pace or go to Brar’s left-arm spin. They took the safe route. Ellis bowled out in the 17th, but went for 15 as Russell hit a four and Rinku a six. Ellis’ figures of 4-0-29-1 almost made up for the absence of the extra spinner, but KKR were still ahead in the game.With 26 required off two, though, Curran made a couple of errors in execution, and Russell climbed in with two sixes over the bigger boundary. For good measure he skimmed one over the short side too.Arshdeep bowled a superb last over, denying Russell the big hit, and then running him out as he scrambled for a bye to tie the game off the fifth ball. Off the last ball, Arshdeep finally erred, and Rinku flicked the full-toss square of fine leg to get twice the requirement.

Australia A and Sydney Sixers seamer reunites with head coach Charlotte Edwards

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jul-2023Southern Vipers have signed Sydney Sixers and Australia A seam bowler Maitlan Brown for their remaining July fixtures.The 26-year-old Brown will be available for Vipers’ Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy clash with Thunder on Friday and will be a part of their squad for matches up to and including the one against Northern Diamonds at Arundel on July 22 with fixtures against the Blaze and Western Storm in between.Brown made her debut for Melbourne Renegades in the WBBL in 2016 before moving to Sydney Sixers for the 2021-22 season. It was in Sydney that she was coached by Vipers head coach Charlotte Edwards in the 2022-23 competition.Edwards signed Brown to Southern Brave for £18,750 (A$35,875) in the inaugural women’s Hundred draft, held in March for the upcoming season, which begins in August.Brown was part of the Australia A squad which played three 50-over games and three T20s against England A on a tour running concurrently with the beginning of the Women’s Ashes, as well as a three-day red-ball warm-up game against England ahead of last month’s Test. She made her Australia A debut in 2018 against India, where she picked up figures of 2 for 16, and she has taken 20 wickets at an average of 28.25 in 24 matches.Adam Carty, Vipers’ regional director of women’s cricket, said: “As a cricketer and a person, Maitlan has all the characteristics and attitude to be a Viper and we are delighted to bring her into the fold for what will be a pretty busy 50-over period for us.”As a highly skilled, competitive bowling allrounder, we hope we’ll provide an environment that will allow Maitlan to show her best side both on and off the pitch at a time when we’ll be without a number of our senior players.”Three Vipers players – seamer Lauren Bell, offspinner Charlie Dean and batter Maia Bouchier – are part of England’s T20 squad currently locked 1-1 with Australia in their three-match Ashes contest, with a squad yet to be named for the three ODIs which will complete the multi-format series.

After winning their opening four games, Worcestershire have now lost four in a row

ECB Reporters Network16-Jun-2023Birmingham Bears cemented their top-two spot in the Vitality Blast North Group after triumphing by 21 runs in the West Midlands derby with Worcestershire Rapids at New Road.The Bears were indebted to late hitting from Dan Mousley and Jacob Bethell for setting a challenging target.Mousley’s unbeaten 49 was his T20 best this summer while Bethell’s 32 not out was his highest in the competition.Pakistan leg spinner Usama Mir had been re-signed by the Rapids for the remainder of the tournament after Michael Bacewell’s achilles injury and he returned 3 for 22.Club Captain Brett D’Oliveira struck his first T20 half-century of the season for the Rapids but his side struggled to break free from the Bears spinners.After winning their opening four games, Worcestershire have now lost four in a row as they suffered another dent to their qualification hopes.Worcestershire handed a first T20 appearance of the season to allrounder Matthew Waite while batter Adam Hose faced his former team-mates for the first time since moving to New Road on a three-year contract.Ex Worcestershire all-rounder Ed Barnard was recalled to the Bears side but key batter Sam Hain was ruled out with a hamstring injury.The Bears were put in to bat and openers Alex Davies and Rob Yates gave them a flying start. Yates top-edged Dillon Pennington for a huge six over keeper Ben Cox and then Davies was successful with a scoop off Pat Brown to bring up the half-century in 5.1 overs.But Brown made the first breakthrough in the same over when Davies slashed hard to Hose at point.Usama came into the attack and struck in his first over when Yates came down the wicket and was stumped by Ben Cox.Glenn Maxwell was quickly into his stride with a reverse sweep for six off D’Oliveira but soon perished at long on to give Mir a second scalp.Benjamin and Mousley added 51 in 6.2 overs before the former was run out attempting a second run after turning D’Oliveira to deep square leg.Barnard got off the mark with a boundary first ball but on seven tried to sweep Mir in his final over and was lbw.But some destructive hitting from Bethell and Mousley produced 51 runs from 3.1 overs to lift the final total close to 200.The Bears then made early inroads into the Rapids batting line-up.Ed Pollock was restored to the top of the order after Bracewell’s injury and off drove the first delivery from Hasan Ali for four. But the former Bears left hander was taken at mid off in the second over from Maxwell and then Jack Haynes was caught down the legside to the first ball of Henry Brookes’ spellD’Oliveira got the scoreboard moving with a scoop and cover-drive for successive boundaries at Brookes’ expense and back-to-back fours from the Rapids skipper brought up the 50 in 5.2 overs.Hose, who left Edgbaston to play more red-ball cricket, continued his recent good form and added 78 in 8.1 overs with D’Oliveira. But Barnard brought about his downfall with his second delivery as Hose could only pick out Maxwell at deep mid wicket.Worcestershire found it hard to get away the Bears spinners as the run rate climbed over 13 an over.D’Oliveira completed a half-century from 37 balls with one six and five fours but was stumped off Jake Lintott without addition to his score.Mitchell Santner could only find long off when attempting a big hit against Maxwell and, despite a late flurry of runs from Usama, the Bears ran out comfortable winners.

Uncapped batter Shawaal Zulfiqar named in the T20I squad which also sees the return of Syeda Aroob Shah and Natalia Parvaiz

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Aug-2023Pace bowler Diana Baig has returned to the Pakistan women’s ODI squad for the home series against South Africa next month. Baig was recently also named in the Asian Games T20 squad, having recovered from a finger injury that made her miss the T20 World Cup earlier this year. Pakistan and South Africa will play three T20Is and as many ODIs with the 50-over games being part of the ICC Women’s Championship and Baig has been picked for both formats. All matches will be played in Karachi.Pakistan have called up two uncapped players, 18-year-old batter Shawaal Zulfiqar, who was also picked for next month’s Asian Games, and wicketkeeper-batter Najiha Alvi for the T20Is scheduled from September 1 to 5. The T20I squad also sees the return of 19-year-old legspinner Syeda Aroob Shah, who last played international cricket at the 2020 T20 World Cup, and allrounder Natalia Parvaiz, whose last international game was in 2018. Parvaiz has also been slotted as a reserve player in the ODI squad. Offspinner Umm-e-Hani, who featured in one ODI in 2022, is picked for both formats.”After careful consideration, we have decided to bring Syeda Aroob Shah and Natalia Parvaiz back into the fold in the T20I format,” chief selector Saleem Jaffar said. “Their recent performances and improved fitness have been remarkable, and we believe they will bring a new dimension to the team.

SA tour of Pakistan

• Sept 1: First T20I

• Sept 3: Second T20I

• Sept 5: Third T20I

• Sept 8: First ODI

• Sept 11: Second ODI

• Sept 14: Third ODI

“Umm-e-Hani’s inclusion in both squads is based on her exceptional off-spin abilities. With the pitches in Karachi favoring spinners, we are confident that she will play a crucial role in our bowling attack.From Pakistan’s last T20I squad, which played in this year’s World Cup in South Africa in February-March, pace bowler Aiman Anwer, Javeria Khan, Ayeesha Nasem (retired from international cricket), wicketkeeper-batter Sidra Nawaz and legspinner Tuba Hassan have been left out. Allrounder Omaima Sohail is part of the reserves in the shortest format.In the ODI squad, Umm-e-Hani and Waheeda Akhtar have been picked in place of Ayesha and Kainat Imtiaz from the tour of Australia earlier this year.”To bolster our fast-bowling department, we have selected Waheeda Akhter in the ODI squad,” Jaffar said. “With Diana Baig and Fatima Sana leading our pace attack, it’s essential to have cover for them. These two fast bowlers have proven themselves to be pivotal in ODI cricket, especially considering the use of two new balls.”Currently, Pakistan occupy the fourth spot in the Championship table with five wins from nine matches. This will be Pakistan’s third home series in the Women’s Championship, after hosting Sri Lanka (2-1) and Ireland (3-0) last year in Karachi and Lahore, respectively.South Africa are ninth, having played only three games in the cycle so far, and winning all of them. The touring side will be reaching Karachi on August 27.Pakistan Women T20I squad: Nida Dar (capt), Aliya Riaz, Bismah Maroof, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Muneeba Ali, Najiha Alvi (wk), Nashra Sundhu, Natalia Parvaiz, Sadaf Shamas, Sadia Iqbal, Shawaal Zulfiqar, Sidra Amin, Syeda Aroob Shah and Umm-e-Hani. Reserves: Anoosha Nasir, Omaima Sohail and Waheeda Akhtar.Pakistan Women ODI squad: Nida Dar (capt), Aliya Riaz, Bismah Maroof, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Ghulam Fatima, Muneeba Ali, Nashra Sundhu, Omaima Sohail, Sadaf Shamas, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, Sidra Nawaz (wk), Umm-e-Hani and Waheeda Akhtar. Reserves: Najiha Alvi, Natalia Parvaiz and Tuba Hassan

Another impressive innings from young batter as Anuj Dal leads fight for visitors

ECB Reporters Network10-Sep-2023Ollie Price’s third first-class century put Gloucestershire in a strong position on the opening day of the LV= Insurance County Championship match with Derbyshire at the Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol.The 22-year-old followed up Championship hundreds against Yorkshire and Worcestershire this season with a career-best 125 not out, receiving excellent support from captain Graeme van Buuren (78) in a fifth-wicket stand of 157, which helped their side close on 333 for six.Anuj Dal was the most successful Derbyshire bowler with three for 42 from 16 overs. But it was a draining day in the field for the visitors in energy-sapping heat.Gloucestershire, who gave a first-class debut to 22-year-old Exeter-born leg-spinner Ed Middleton, opted to bat first, despite initially sultry, overcast conditions. The decision looked justified when Ben Charlesworth and Chris Dent took the total to 32 from the first seven overs with only the odd alarm.Sam Connors bowled four tight overs from the Ashley Down Road End for just seven runs, but new signing Pat Brown struggled to find the right line and conceded 21 from his opening three overs.The floodlights were already on when just half an hour into the match the umpires considered the light too poor for play to continue. Shortly afterwards rain started to fall and soon the heavy covers were brought on.Thirteen overs were lost either side of an early lunch before play resumed at 1pm. Batting conditions soon improved, with increasingly bright sunshine, and Dent, unbeaten on eight before the break, played more aggressively.The experienced left-hander had moved comfortably to 41, off 72 balls, with six fours, before edging a back-foot defensive shot off Luis Reece, in his first over, through to wicketkeeper Brooke Guest.The breakthrough ended an opening stand of 80 in the 20th over. Left-arm seamer Reece struck again in his second over when Charlesworth, on 30, looked to play into the leg side and got a leading edge which carried to Wayne Madsen at second slip.At 85 for two, Gloucestershire needed to rebuild. Price and James Bracey did so to good effect, adding 43 in 12 overs before Dal pierced Bracey’s apparently immaculate defensive stroke and bowled him for 23.Price had shown his confidence with an early reverse-sweep for four shortly after off-spinner Alex Thomson had been introduced from the Ashley Down Road End. Miles Hammond got off the mark with an edged boundary to third man off Dal and by tea the pair had put together a fourth-wicket stand of 33, taking the total to 161 for three from 42 overs.Brown had figures of none for 36 from six overs at the interval. But the former Worcestershire seamer soon notched his first Derbyshire wicket when Hammond top edged a short-arm pull shot and skyed a catch to Guest, departing for 21.He was the fourth member of Gloucestershire top order to lose his wicket, having made a promising start and at 169 for four the hosts needed stability. Price supplied it and moved to his fifth Championship half-century of the season with a two through the covers off Brown, having faced 71 balls and hit eight fours.Skipper van Buuren was soon busily milking singles while dispatching the occasional bad ball to the boundary, helping to build a half-century stand in 14 overs with Price in what was now glorious early evening sunshine.Price laced his innings with some sumptuous straight drives, while van Buuren reached a 68-ball fifty with his second six, lofted high over wide long-on off Thomson. By then Gloucestershire had bagged a first batting point and were looking to accelerate against a tiring bowling attack.The hundred partnership was brought up by a Price two off Conners, which took him into the eighties. A series of sweeps and cuts off spinners Thomson and Mark Watt saw him reach three figures off 155 balls, with his 13th four, handsomely struck off Thomson.Price then moved past his previous career-best score of 115. Dal ended van Buuren’s enterprising knock by bowling him with less than four overs left in the day and, with the second new ball, had Zafar Gohar caught behind to lift Derbyshire spirits.

Afghanistan captain believes his team is “far better” at playing spin than what they showed against Bangladesh

Sidharth Monga10-Oct-2023Afghanistan may have been undone by the Bangladesh spinners in their first match of this World Cup, losing six wickets to them for 62 runs in 18 overs, but they are not overly worried about facing spin against India, whose spinners got the better of Australia in their tournament opener.”You know, we play better spin in the nets sessions,” Hashmatullah Shahidi, their captain, said when asked what the conversation has been around playing a spin trio even better than the Bangladesh spinners.Shahidi probably meant they play high-quality spinners in the nets and not necessarily better ones than India or Bangladesh, but even if he did indeed mean Afghanistan’s spinners are better, it is not a claim to be summarily dismissed.Related

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“If you see Rashid [Khan], Nabi [Mohammad], Noor [Ahmad] and Mujeeb [Ur Rahman], we play them every day,” Shahidi said. “I think our team is far, far better [than what it showed against Bangladesh in Dharamsala] at playing spin bowling. That game we know we struggled, but [based on] one game, you can’t say you’re not good enough. That game is gone now, and we know we can play spinners better and we’ll try to come back in next game.”Also, looking at the conditions at Feroz Shah Kotla for its first match of the tournament, there might not be much turn on offer for the spinners. It was a true pitch with good bounce, which yielded the highest World Cup team score, the quickest World Cup century and a 300-plus effort from Sri Lanka in response. It won’t be a surprise if India play Shardul Thakur in R Ashwin’s place.However, Shahidi did say the batters needed to do better. “We have a good spin-bowling attack, but only one department can’t win you games,” he said. “You have to score runs for that, to win the game. I still believe, and as a team we have that belief, that we can come back in the next game and throughout the tournament, so the belief is there and the talent is there and we will try to move on and make it better and improve in tomorrow’s game.”As a team, the important thing is, when you lose [the sense of] how to deal with that situation. For me and for everyone, it’s the important thing. But still, it’s a long tournament. That game is gone from us. Now we are thinking and moving forward and the morale is still not down. We are looking forward to the other games. We have chances to win, and that’s [the feeling] inside the dressing room.”

Star allrounder missed Australia’s match against England after returning home for personal reasons

Matt Roller04-Nov-2023Mitchell Marsh will join back up with the Australia squad at the World Cup in Mumbai on Sunday evening, after missing their game against England in Ahmedabad on Saturday.ESPNcricinfo revealed on Thursday that Marsh had returned home for personal reasons. Australia’s players wore black armbands during the England game as a mark of respect for Marsh’s grandfather, Ross, who passed away on Friday evening.Australia’s next fixture is at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday afternoon, where they play semi-final contenders Afghanistan. Cricket Australia confirmed that Marsh is likely to be available for selection.Marsh has scored 225 runs across six innings at this World Cup including one century – 121 against Pakistan in Bengaluru – and one half-century, 52 against Sri Lanka in Lucknow. He started the tournament opening the batting alongside David Warner but shifted to No. 3 when Travis Head returned from injury.Pat Cummins, Australia’s captain, described Marsh as one of the “star players of the tournament” on Friday and said that he had “got in my mind the main XI” that he hopes to pick when Australia have a full squad of 15 players available to them, having been riddled with injuries over the past four weeks.Glenn Maxwell, who missed the England game after suffering a concussion due to losing his grip on a moving golf buggy, is also expected to be available against Afghanistan and has trained with the rest of the squad at the Narendra Modi Stadium this week.Australia’s main conundrum could be whether or not Marnus Labuschagne, who top-scored against England on Saturday with 71, should retain his place. Labuschagne was omitted from Australia’s initial World Cup squad in August but has featured in all 15 of their ODIs since.

He also insists their firepower with the bat can’t be questioned despite the early defeats

Matt Roller18-Oct-20231:16

‘England need to adapt to Indian pitches’

England have not become a bad team overnight and their players remain confident that they can win the World Cup, despite early defeats to New Zealand and Afghanistan. That was the message put forward on Wednesday by Jonny Bairstow, who also pushed back against criticism of the squad’s focus.With two points from their first three games, England will probably need to win five of their remaining six group-stage fixtures to qualify for the semi-finals. They play against South Africa at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday night, which represents a chance to respond from a shock 69-run defeat to Afghanistan in Delhi.And Bairstow said the squad retains belief that they can put a run of victories together. “There’s a reason why the guys won the T20 World Cup last year; there’s a reason why the guys won the 2019 World Cup, and we’re the defending champions,” he said. “Just because we’ve lost a game to Afghanistan doesn’t make us bad cricketers or anything like that.Related

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“You look at [Fazalhaq] Farooqi, his record in the IPL; you look at the three spinners that they’ve got and their records. Just because they play for Afghanistan, they’re no slouches. They’ve actually got some of the world’s best in there and they’ve got match-winners. We lost that game, we didn’t play well enough, and we’ve accepted that and moved on from that.”Asked whether England’s batting line-up is still capable of dominating opposing teams in the way they have over the last eight years, Bairstow said: “I don’t really think much has really changed, has it? You look at the strength in depth that we have with our batting line-up… I don’t think the firepower can be questioned.Jonny Bairstow said one defeat doesn’t mean England are a bad team•Getty Images

“We’re just focusing on ourselves. That’s what we do. We’ll go out and play the way that we’re looking to play, put pressure on the opposition like we said that we’d try and do. People are allowed to bowl or bat well. But if our mindset is right and if the way in which we approach the game is right, then that’s the bit that we can control.”England’s players came in for significant criticism across broadcast and print media after their defeat on Sunday, which the squad have largely ignored. But they have taken issue with one report which focused on the players’ use of their downtime and suggested that they should spend less time on the golf course, and more in the nets.”The group remains calm within it,” Bairstow said. “Belief and confidence isn’t something that’s been questioned one bit. That’s something that you’re able to call upon when you do lose a game. We lost to Sri Lanka in 2019. We lost to Pakistan in 2019. We still went through. There were similar things that I’m sure you guys [the press] wrote in 2019 at the home World Cup.”But that’s OK. That’s what you’ve got to do. You’ve got to write certain things about certain members and what people do and don’t do in their downtime. That’s things that you’ll fill in the [column] inches and you’re doing that. Whether it’s true, whether it’s incorrect, whatever it is – that’s up to you to do that, isn’t it?”The confidence is there. It’s unwavering. There’s no lack of belief within this group.”Responding to a question about whether criticism would bring the squad closer together, Bairstow said: “Not really, no. I don’t read it [but] I got told about some of the stuff that you put, so we’ll leave it at that.”South Africa, England’s opponents on Saturday, started the World Cup with convincing wins over Sri Lanka and Australia but were beaten by Netherlands on Tuesday night, which Bairstow described as “a great result to wake up to”. He believes South Africa have “a quality attack” and also cited Quinton de Kock and Heinrich Klaasen as two “exceptional” batters.England will also face South Africa in the semi-finals of the Rugby World Cup in Paris on Saturday night, which Bairstow said would be “a great day” for two “extremely proud nations”. He added: “You’ll have people in South Africa having a few brandy-and-cokes and a couple of braais, and you’ll have a few Englishmen popping down the pub… it’ll be great, and hopefully both results go our way.”

Santner, Neesham and Allen starred as New Zealand overcame an early collapse to level series

Sreshth Shah30-Dec-2023Mitchell Santner and James Neesham saved New Zealand the blushes by helping the hosts crawl back from 49 for 5 to seal victory in a low-scoring third T20I to share the series honours 1-1 with Bangladesh.Bangladesh finished on a below-par 110 courtesy Santner’s 4 for 16 through the middle overs, but the bowling of Mahedi Hasan and Shoriful Islam led a fightback. When Neesham and Santner joined hands, the early wickets had put New Zealand behind the DLS par score, but their unbeaten 37-ball 46 partnership dragged them ahead.Rain arrived with New Zealand’s innings back on course – needing only 16 more runs in 5.2 overs. They were adjudicated winners by 17 runs (DLS method) once the rain settled in.Finn Allen scored a quick 38 in a small chase•AFP/Getty Images

New Zealand collapse breathes life into contest

A chase of 111 was meant to be regulation, but four of New Zealand’s top five batters were out for one run each. Offspinner Mahedi had opener Tim Seifert stumped and No. 3 Daryl Mitchell caught at mid-off, while Shoriful got a length ball to rattle Glenn Phillips’ stumps.No. 5 Mark Chapman then collided with Finn Allen only to be run out, leaving New Zealand behind the DLS with the conditions turning cloudy rather fast at 49 for 5.

Experienced pair step up

The Chapman run-out appeared to be the unravelling of New Zealand, but Bangladesh captain Najmul Hassan Shanto’s part-time offspin in the tenth over offered a release. Neesham smacked Shanto for six and four off consecutive balls to ease the pressure, and then knocked it around once New Zealand were ahead on DLS.Neesham then hammered legspinner Rishad Hossain for a six in the 14th over, and the flow of runs allowed Santner to play low-risk cricket shots alongside him. Together they batted for 6.1 overs before rain played spoilsport, with Neesham unbeaten on 28 and Santner on 18, both off 20 deliveries apiece.Mitchell Santner ended 2023 with a four-wicket haul•Getty Images

Before their partnership, though, the other opener Allen found some semblance of form with his 30-ball 38 that ended a string of low scores. He clubbed four fours and two sixes that gave the hosts the early momentum. He punished left-arm spinner Tanvir Islam heavily in the first over that went for 12 runs, and then hit Shoriful for two fours over mid-on in the fourth.Even though he slowed down after the powerplay and was eventually dismissed by Shoriful in the ninth over, had it not been for his innings up top, the Neesham-Santner stand could have ended on the losing side.

Santner squeezes Bangladesh

No team had ever won chasing in Mount Maunganui, but Santner chose to do that at the toss with one eye on the weather. It looked like the right call with Tim Southee, Ben Sears and Adam Milne taking a wicket each in the powerplay to leave Bangladesh at 45 for 3. The trend continued after that as well, with Bangladesh’s batters looking like getting starts but falling soon after. Five batters in the top eight reached double digits but the highest innings score was Shanto’s 17.The main reason for Bangladesh’s middle-overs collapse was Santner’s spell. He kept it tidy just outside off and Towhid Hridoy and Mahedi found the edge to the wicketkeeper. Afif Hossain was deceived by a length ball that hit his glove and popped up, while Shamim Hossain was caught at short fine leg sweeping.That left Bangladesh at 81 for 7, and Santner brought the pacers back. The trio cleaned up the tail to finish with two wickets apiece, ending the Bangladesh innings at 110 in the 20th over.” Our bowlers did a great job, but batsmen didn’t get the runs today,” Shanto said after the game. “Our batsmen got starts like 15-17 but didn’t go deep, that was our mistake.””The seamers were brilliant in the powerplay,” Santner said. “The pacers used the wind and bowled really well. The bowlers did the job upfront.”

Head coach also confirmed that Ishan Kishan had asked for a break for this series and Shreyas Iyer was dropped, not rested

Hemant Brar10-Jan-20244:59

Dravid not concerned with lack of T20Is ahead of World Cup

Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal are India’s first-choice openers for now, head coach Rahul Dravid confirmed ahead of the first T20I against Afghanistan in Mohali. With Virat Kohli not available for Thursday’s game, Shubman Gill, the third opener in the squad, could slot in at No. 3.”As of now, we will be certainly opening with Rohit and Jaiswal,” Dravid said. “But when you have a squad, you have to have that flexibility to do whatever is required if that is in the best interest of the team, and gives us the best chance to succeed. So nothing is closed. But certainly, we’re really happy with what Jaiswal has done as an opener for us, and he gives us a left-right combination as well at the top.”Jaiswal came into the side on the back of an excellent IPL 2023, where he was the fifth-highest run-getter, with a tally of 625 runs. What separated him from other Indian openers was his whopping strike rate of 163.61.Related

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More importantly, he has been able to replicate those numbers at international level. Since making his T20I debut, against West Indies in August 2023, Jaiswal has 430 runs in 14 innings at a strike rate of 159.25. And across T20s since the start of 2023, his powerplay strike rate is 163.69. For comparison, Gill’s powerplay strike rate in the same period is 138.44.

Kishan ‘not available’; Iyer dropped

Dravid also clarified that Ishan Kishan had asked for a break during this series, and that Shreyas Iyer was dropped. After the squad was announced, there was speculation over whether Iyer had been rested or dropped. Earlier this week, he was named in Mumbai’s squad for their second Ranji Trophy game, against Andhra from January 12. Dravid clarified there was no disciplinary reason behind Iyer’s exclusion.”Ishan Kishan was not available for selection,” he said. “Ishan requested for a break [while] in South Africa – which we which we agreed to, which we supported, [and] which we recognised – and he has not yet made himself available for selection. I’m sure when he is ready, he will play domestic cricket and make himself available for selection.”And certainly in Shreyas Iyer’s case, there was absolutely no disciplinary reason for his non-inclusion. There were a lot of batsmen in the team, and Shreyas Iyer missed out. He didn’t play the T20s in South Africa as well, if you notice, and it’s unfortunate. He is a fine player, but there are a lot of batsmen, and it is not easy to fit everyone in the squad and the playing XI. There are absolutely no disciplinary reasons, and that was not discussed at all – at least in my discussions with the selectors when they were having these deliberations and discussions.”For this series, Afghanistan are without Rashid Khan, who is recovering from his back surgery. But they still have a strong spin attack comprising Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Qais Ahmed, Noor Ahmed and Sharafuddin Ashraf, and Dravid looked forward to the challenge India’s batters faced.”We know they have got some really good spinners,” Dravid said. “So it will be a good challenge for our batsmen. We have discussed about it as well – how to play and dominate their spinners. So it will be a good challenge, and we are looking forward to it.”