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Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsChris Gayle struck two consecutive sixes twice•BCB

Chris Gayle, on his first day at this year’s BPL, provided the only entertainment of the day as Chittagong Vikings waltzed past Rangpur Riders’ 124 with nine wickets in hand, their fourth win in a row. The two teams are now on ten points each, though Chittagong are ahead on net run rate.Gayle played cautiously for 17 deliveries for 11 runs before opening his shoulders for two consecutive sixes off Sohag Gazi in the seventh over. He struck Shahid Afridi for two consecutive sixes in the ninth over but fell trying a third, caught by Anwar Ali at mid-on.Mirpur’s well-populated eastern gallery started to empty as soon as Gayle walked back to the pavilion after making 40 off 26 balls with two fours and the four sixes.Tamim Iqbal was not a quiet bystander at the other end, striking nine fours and a six in his third fifty in this season’s BPL. He was unbeaten 62 off 48 balls after he struck two consecutive fours to finish the match with four overs to spare.But it was the Chittagong bowlers’ continued disciplinary vein that rattled Rangpur’s powerful batting line-up. Mohammad Nabi and Taskin Ahmed finished with two wickets while Saqlain Sajib and Subashis Roy conceded 17 runs from their four overs each.Soumya Sarkar was once again cut short after getting a start, falling for a 21-ball 26 with two fours and a six. What mostly hurt Rangpur’s effort was the relative failure of Mohammad Shahzad and Mohammad Mithun, who contributed 21 and 12 respectively.Liam Dawson, who was brilliantly caught by Zakir Hasan running in from deep midwicket, and Afridi also fell cheaply while captain Naeem Islam retired hurt with a leg injury. Anwar struck a four and a six towards the end to lend some more meat to Rangpur’s modest total but it was not enough.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsA decade after the most high-scoring ODI in history, the Wanderers witnessed something far less competitive. South Africa’s batsmen overwhelmed Australia for the second time in as many matches, despite the visiting captain winning the toss and choosing to chase on a Wanderers pitch brimful of runs. The final margin of 142 runs was South Africa’s second-biggest over Australia.Where at Centurion it had been Quinton de Kock handing out the punishment, here it was the captain Faf du Plessis who prospered, helped either side of his innings by strong contributions by Rilee Rossouw and JP Duminy. Their innings ensured a difficult day for the Australian pace debutants Joe Mennie and Chris Tremain, who were taken for 160 runs between them in 20 overs.In reply to a steep target of 362, the tourists were never able to mount a decent challenge from the moment Aaron Finch skied an attempt to pull Kagiso Rabada in the second over. From there, regular wickets stymied progress to make it a more or less stress-free afternoon for the Proteas, who always had plenty of runs in reserve even as Travis Head posted his highest ODI score.On a pristine day for batting and a friendly pitch, Australia’s bowlers struggled again in the absence of Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood. Du Plessis’ 111 was a fine example of high tempo and good placement, not requiring a single six despite striking at nearly 120 runs per 100 balls. Duminy’s was a bigger-hitting innings, after Rossouw had produced a flurry of boundaries against the new ball to set South Africa on the road to a big total.After de Kock destroyed Australia’s bowling attack in making 178 in the opening match at Centurion, the visitors dropped Scott Boland and Daniel Worrall, replacing them with Mennie and Tremain. South Africa did not make any changes to the team that won the first match of the series. The captain du Plessis indicated that Hashim Amla was fit to return and had simply been left out, leaving Rossouw at the top of the order.It was Rossouw who duly got the Proteas going in the early overs, repeatedly piercing the off-side field with well-timed strokes that flew across a fast – if somewhat uneven – Wanderers outfield.Both Mennie and Tremain were able to beat the bat numerous times with a modicum of early seam movement, but in between whiles, a high number of boundaries meant there was little scoreboard pressure imposed. It wasn’t until John Hastings entered the attack that a wicket fell, de Kock failing to get hold of a lofted drive and offering a catch to Tremain.Du Plessis’ early minutes at the crease were eventful and painful, as a shy at the stumps struck him on the glove as he ran through for a single. The blow required treatment, and he was to be struck there again soon after by another ball that popped up towards the splice of the bat.Faf du Plessis notched his sixth ODI ton•AFP

However the pain subsided enough for du Plessis to get into his stride, as Rossouw maintained his form. Together they took South Africa to 146 after 24 overs, separated only when Rossouw skied Hastings just when a century beckoned.Duminy’s arrival brought a further period of acceleration, with du Plessis also lifting his scoring rate with nifty placement and the occasional burst of power. Australia’s captain Steven Smith was hard pressed to find bowlers capable of keeping things quiet, and when Duminy began swinging – striking the first three sixes of the innings – a tally in the region of 400 looked momentarily possible.The Australians regrouped somewhat in the later overs, dismissing Duminy and du Plessis in quick succession to pull the run-rate back slightly, and it was a fair measure of the conditions that the hosts were left feeling they could have made even more than they did. That being said, only a strong partnership or two from the potentially explosive Australian top order was going to be able to turn the contest their way,However these sorts of stands have been missing from Smith’s team of late, with victories in Sri Lanka compiled in lower-scoring circumstances. Finch’s early wicket set the tone, with a critical moment to follow when Smith was well claimed down the leg side by de Kock from the bowling of Dale Steyn just as he looked capable of dominating.The vice-captain David Warner seemed similarly poised after moving to 50, but then threw away his innings by clouting a Duminy long hop straight to midwicket. That dismissal left Head and the wicketkeeper Matthew Wade trying to resurrect the innings, but their stand of 69 in 61 balls served only to delay the inevitable.Having entered this tour at less than full strength in bowling, the Australians needed to compensate in batting. A complete failure to do so in games one and two has left the series only one match away from being decided already.

Cricket in England looks set for its most dramatic change in a generation after the counties voted in favour of city-based cricket.Offered five options by the ECB executive, the counties (plus the MCC) voted by a margin of 16-3 in favour of Option Four, which will see a new competition played by city-based sides and starting as soon as 2018. For the first two years, at least, it seems the tournament will be broadcast by Sky and not involve England players. Both those factors may change after a new broadcast deal is agreed for 2020 onwards.The existing NatWest Blast competition is also expected to continue and is likely to be played in the weeks before the city-based tournament, which will be held in July.ESPNcricinfo understands that only Surrey, Kent and Sussex voted against the proposals at the meeting attended by the chairmen and chief executives of all 18 counties and the MCC.The ECB said the process has now entered a ‘consultation phase’ with county members. However, they hope to take the plan to their board for approval before Christmas. While some county figures insist this move is not binding – the vote was informal – and that they are simply keen to learn more about the ECB’s plans for city-based cricket, there is no other option left on the table.”We’ve all been looking at how we can use domestic T20 for an even bigger purpose, especially getting more young people to play,” Colin Graves, the ECB chairman, said. “This format was invented here and is successful worldwide. It can excite new fans, attract the best players and fuel the future of the game, on and off the pitch.”The need to grow interest and participation in the game we love is at the core of our thinking and this is a rigorous process. We’ve talked to each county individually about the need for change, a range of potential options and the implications.”There’s a constructive dialogue with county chairmen and chief executives, the MCC and PCA and now agreement to move forward and further develop this approach. The next steps for us all, as a game, will be to extend the discussions and get valuable input from players, members and other key voices across the game.”It will prove a tough sell for some county executives. There is very little support for the city-based idea among members of the smaller counties and this decision may well spark local rebellions. The ECB have lifted the non-disclosure agreement that originally forbade talking about the details for 10 years.The implications for English cricket are significant. Not only will the new T20 competition see domestic cricket played between teams other than counties for the first time in more than a century, it also seems that around 100 players will be taken out of Championship cricket for the month-long duration of the tournament. In the longer term, it is likely that the Championship schedule – already set to be cut from 16 to 14 games in 2017 – will be cut further.It also seems the ECB constitution will have to be altered. At present it states that all competitions have to involve all 18 counties.The development will be interpreted as a triumph for both the ECB chairman, Colin Graves, and the CEO, Tom Harrison. They have pushed for such consensus for some time and taken several defeats in the process. This step means they are very likely to achieve their hopes of introducing city-based cricket, lessen the control of the counties, and bring in new revenues.

Joe Burns’ arms are scarred. The scars come from diving forward onto the abrasive squares of Sri Lankan cricket grounds in pursuit of catches at short leg. Painful as they are, deeper scars have been inflicted on Burns’ confidence as a batsman this tour, in which his struggles have been emblematic of a collective Australian failure not seen in many a long year.Having gone to India with Australia A last year, and again this year with a pre-tour advance party, and then spent two weeks in Colombo before the Tests began, Burns had seemingly been well prepared for the task. But from the moment he was bowled by a Rangana Herath skidder on the first afternoon of the series, Burns has slipped down an Asian wormhole of doubts and second guesses well known to plenty before him.In the second innings at Palekelle he was clean bowled by a Lakshan Sandakan special just when he looked to be getting set. He gifted Vishwa Fernando a first Test wicket in Galle with a hook to square leg, and then picked out cover when he attempted to take the attack to Herath in the second innings. If he has followed a personal mantra not to repeat the same mistakes, that is scant consolation for a return of 34 runs in four innings.”I’m not really one to be in or out of form,” Burns said in Colombo. “For me, every innings is different. I just try to focus on making sure I’m not making those same mistakes over and over. And in a place like the subcontinent, there’s so many things that you can learn from the experience that you don’t really worry about form, it’s about executing different game plans and developing different skills.”As a batter, you want to give yourself a chance to get in; it’s always disappointing to get out early in your innings. Especially in these conditions, you know it’s going to be tough to start. I guess that was the most frustrating thing about the second innings in Kandy – you know, when you do get a start you need to push on and make a game-changing score.”That’s probably been the most frustrating thing for me so far on the tour, having an opportunity there in Kandy to really go on with it, and not take that opportunity. Like I said, we don’t make any excuses, we just try to learn as much as we can. I’ve learned a hell of a lot over the last four innings, and hopefully I’ll take those lessons forward from here.”For a batsman raised on the hard, true Gabba surface, these lessons have been something like a young student’s first forays in Latin or quantum physics. Burns agreed it took courage to go away from what was comfortable and familiar in order to succeed in Asia, but also acknowledged this could not be used as an excuse for poor batting displays.”When you grow up, you learn a game, you play all your domestic cricket in Australia,” Burns said. “Some guys are lucky enough to play in the IPL or in County cricket and you get a taste of different experiences. I guess the courage comes when you’re asked to change your game in the cut-throat environment of the pressure-cooker that is international cricket. It does take courage.”I think all our boys are doing that. The results probably don’t show that so far. That’s why everyone wants to get back out there and prove it to ourselves, prove it to the world, that we are good enough to take the game on and to adapt our game and have success globally. Not only that, but to play well for Australia. We’re two-nil down in a series. It’s very frustrating at the moment. It’s a tough spot to be in. I feel like we’re doing everything we possibly can to turn it around.”Burns: “I guess the courage comes when you’re asked to change your game in the cut-throat environment of international cricket. It does take courage.”•AFP

All that is left for Burns, and for others such as Usman Khawaja and Adam Voges, is to hope they are retained for the dead third Test – Rod Marsh and Darren Lehmann will discuss team selection on Thursday – and then attempt to show evidence of learning. Australia must now be looking upon this match as much for next year’s tour of India as the saving of face in Sri Lanka.”It would mean a hell of a lot,” Burns said of making consolation runs. “The series has gone now, but you’re playing for your country. There’s so much pride to play for in the third Test, not just for the country but as a group. We’ve gone through a little bit of a tough time. But if we can turn it around and put in a good performance, it would be huge. I know all the boys are extremely motivated.”We’re doing absolutely everything we can to turn it around. We just have to trust that putting work into your game will get the results. International cricket is challenging because you play all around the world. To be an international cricketer you want to have success all around the world. That success hasn’t come so far in the first two Tests, with the losses that we’ve had.”But you want to be a part of winning teams as a group but also as an individual to be putting in strong performances around the world. That is what drives us as individuals and as a team. That’s why we’re working so hard and trying to be really open-minded to develop game plans and skills that are going to allow us to have success for a long period of time as a group.”As for fielding at short leg, the scars, bruises and near misses to the helmet have not yet dissuaded Burns from the job – something else for the selectors to keep in mind. “I don’t hate it because I feel like I’m always in the game in the subcontinent,” he said. “I feel like it’s an important position.”At times it is quite painful and scary. You can sometimes hear the ball fizzing past you. You can certainly feel it hit you when it does. Whenever you get scared you kind of just look at the badge on your helmet and it makes it all worthwhile.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Ishant Sharma struck with the first ball he bowled•Associated Press

India’s hopes of retaining the No. 1 Test ranking going into the home season suffered a setback as only 22 overs were possible on the first day in wet Port of Spain. Forecast for the second day wasn’t great either, and the facilities at the ground came under scrutiny too. The first day’s play began half an hour late despite no rain since the evening before the Test, and it was called off as early as 2pm. There is no super sopper at Queen’s Park Oval.Any team will be a tad disappointed with losing two wickets in the first session after choosing to bat on a slow track, but such has been the state of the West Indies batting that they might take this, with the rain being the bonus. Only once in the series have they lost their third wicket after reaching three figures. Kraigg Brathwaite, who has shown the willingness to buckle down, did that job, but he will be disappointed they lost two wickets especially after he and Leon Johnson had seen off the first spells of the opening bowlers.West Indies will be all the more disappointed because the pitch was really slow after having spent a lot of time under covers because of rain leading up to the Test. It had left the outfield wet enough to delay the start of the Test by half an hour. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who had cracked open the last Test for India, wasted little time, though, in creating opportunities. In his first four overs, he hit the outside edge of Brathwaite’s bat four times: twice the ball fell short, once it travelled in the gap in the slip cordon, and once Virat Kohli dropped it at second slip, seeming to suggest he expected third slip KL Rahul to go for it.That wasn’t the first disfavour he had done his bowlers: he had decided to play just the four bowlers so that both Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma could be included. Also he dropped Shikhar Dhawan for M Vijay after an uncertain batting line-up had been reduced to 126 for 5 in the previous Test.After seeing off Bhuvneshwar and Mohammed Shami for a partnership of 31 runs, Johnson fell to the first ball bowled by Ishant Sharma. This was his second straight dismissal to short leg, and again straight off the bat. Ishant got it just high enough into the ribs, but Johnson could have left it alone.The second wicket didn’t take so much co-operation from the batsman. After Darren Bravo had picked R Ashwin for a two and a four at his home ground, the next ball was just a bit shorter, creating the distance between the pitch of the ball and the bat. Then it had enough time to turn from middle and leg and past the outside edge to hit the top of off stump. That in the first session of a Test is excellent for a spinner.Brathwaite, though, remained solid and in partnership with Marlon Samuels took West Indies to within 15 minutes of lunch when rain brought them early relief. As it turned out steady rain for the next hour or so was all it took for the day’s play to be called off.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo – Chris Gayle hammered a 29-ball 45 at No. 7•CPL/Sportsfile

Jamaica Tallawahs overcame a dramatic top-order collapse, that saw them slump to 2 for 4 in the first seven balls, to chase down 129 against Guyana Amazon Warriors at Sabina Park. Shakib Al Hasan and Chris Gayle, who batted at No. 7, put on an unbeaten 87-run stand to take Tallawahs home. Gayle had injured his back while fielding in the first innings and left the field in the 17th over, which meant he could not bat for the first 18 minutes of the chase. The win pushed Tallawahs to second on the points table, behind Amazon Warriors who have played seven games.Two wickets from Sohail Tanvir within the first five balls and the run-out of Andre McCarthy, who failed to slide his bat in despite making his ground, in the first over left Tallawahs tottering. Their situation got worse when Kumar Sangakkara was adjudged caught behind off debutant Ali Khan’s first ball, in the second over. The Kingston crowd was stunned and a padded-up Gayle was watching from the dressing room, counting down his minutes.Andre Russell, batting at No. 6, put the chase on track by hitting a six and a four in the first four balls he faced. He clubbed a 15-ball 24 but was dismissed when Adam Zampa took a one-handed diving catch at backward square leg off Veerasammy Permaul at the end of the fifth over. To the crowd’s respite, Gayle finally walked out with the score 45 for 5.Shakib and Gayle, who has not opened the batting on just three other occasions in his T20 career, provided impetus from the outset – six boundaries were struck in the first 12 balls of their partnership. Tallawahs needed 50 runs from 13 overs at that stage with a required rate of under four. One boundary was hit in the next six overs but Tallawahs cantered to the target with 25 balls to spare.After being inserted to bat, Amazon Warriors lost captain Martin Guptill, playing his last game of the season, for a duck.Chris Lynn struck an 18-ball 33 and Jason Mohammed anchored the innings with a 51-ball 46 but a failure to put together substantial partnerships meant Amazon Warriors could only post 128. Dale Steyn finished with 2 for 31 and best bowler was Pakistan left-arm spinner Imad Wasim who bowled an economical spell of 4-0-12-2.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:11

Australia beat West Indies by six wickets to secure berth in tri-series final

Mitchell Marsh and Glenn Maxwell provided overdue contributions in the middle order to help Steven Smith guide Australia into the triangular series final with a six-wicket win over the West Indies at Bridgetown in Barbados.Interim coach Justin Langer had been eager to see how his team responded under the pressure of possible tournament elimination, and Marlon Samuels’ fine hundred in partnership with Denesh Ramdin ensured Australia’s batsmen had little margin for error at Kensington Oval.However, Smith produced the workmanlike innings of a leader and was able to coax Marsh into one of his best and most complete international innings, albeit on a surface that bore closer resemblance to Australian climes than any other in this series. Maxwell then came in with the game still in the balance – Australia needed 62 off 50 balls – and responded with a starburst of shots that will help his own sense of esteem enormously after a series in which he was dropped for two matches.Even so, the Australians will still want to improve their fielding and bowling, two areas that were found wanting in the afternoon. On the fastest pitch of the tournament so far, three early wickets to the new ball gave Australia a fine start after Smith sent West Indies in. However Samuels found a willing ally in Ramdin and the pair put on 192 together, the best fourth wicket stand in all ODIs between the two teams.After Samuels went on to his first ODI hundred against Australia, late-innings hitting left the visitors to question their choice of bowling first. The selectors again ignored spin, and another indifferent fielding display was emphasised by Matthew Wade dropping Samuels on 65.Early on it appeared that the pace in the pitch would be ideal for Aaron Finch and Usman Khawaja to set up Australia’s chase, but both were to be hurried up by deliveries skidding through and out in the teens. Shannon Gabriel, the debutant, generated significant pace from his muscular action, though his impact was offset by the withdrawal of Jason Holder due to injury after two overs.Smith and George Bailey sought to stabilise the innings, conscious there was little in-form batting beneath them. They did well for a time, but Bailey was uncomfortable against the turn and lift gained by Sulieman Benn – amid a selection of loose balls – and skied a catch with 184 still required.The Australians elected to send Marsh in ahead of Maxwell, and the gambit paid off richly. Marsh enjoyed the extra pace in the pitch and grew nicely into his innings in Smith’s company, using some of the cross bat shots he had learned at his home ground at the WACA in Perth. With Smith working the ball around sensibly they kept the target in sight, and were able to generate the odd piece of slipshod West Indian fielding.In the end, the efforts to stretch the fielders cost Smith his wicket as he was comfortably run out when the target was looming within sight. His exit though served a useful purpose by allowing Maxwell to enter the fray. Earlier in the tournament he had looked completely at sea on slow Guyana surfaces, but now got past a nervy first few deliveries to accelerate in thrilling style.Though these closing passages served mainly to change the margin of victory rather than preventing defeat, Maxwell’s fireworks – including one audacious switch-punch six off the spin of Sunil Narine – will make a major difference to his confidence heading into the final and beyond. Marsh, too, will benefit from a fine innings that showed the kind of maturity the selectors have been hoping to see from him for quite some time.On a fine day in Bridgetown, West Indies replaced Jerome Taylor with Gabriel, while Australia named the same XI chosen for the washed-out encounter with South Africa. This meant that the visitors again ignored the spin of Adam Zampa and Nathan Lyon, while the hosts went in with the dual spin of Narine and Sulieman Benn.Starc had missed the previous encounter with the West Indies, and he immediately found pace and bounce to his liking. It was too much for Johnson Charles, who edged a fast, full delivery in the very first over, and Andre Fletcher fared little better as he groped at a succession of balls whirring across him.Hazlewood also generated plenty of lift, and it was with one such delivery that ended a promising Darren Bravo innings as Smith held a one-handed as he dived from a wide first slip. Fletcher was being battered verbally as well as technically by Starc, and it wasn’t long before he was taken off the shoulder of the bat at backward point.Three wickets down with the ball still new, West Indies were in a most precarious position when Ramdin joined Samuels. Initially their response was obstinate defence, absorbing the bounce and speed of Starc and Hazlewood, then the early forays of James Faulkner, Scott Boland and Mitchell Marsh.Nearly seven overs passed without a boundary, and it was 64 for 3 in the 20th over when Samuels decided Boland and Marsh had to go. In the space of two overs he clattered 27 runs from the support seamers, tilting momentum back towards the west Indies for the first time all innings.Batting conditions had eased considerably, and Smith had no quality spin-bowling option to change things up. He resorted to the part-timers of Aaron Finch before trying Maxwell, and neither man could procure a wicket. Samuels and Ramdin carried on with increasing authority, setting up the ideal platform for West Indies’ brute force further down the order.Ultimately Ramdin would fall short of a century, bowled having a swing at Starc, but critically Smith had been forced to use up his striker bowler’s overs well before the end of the innings. Pollard arrived in ideal circumstances, but after a Maxwell attempt to catch him off Hazlewood became six when the fielder’s foot slipped onto the midwicket rope, he was unable to repeat the trick against Boland.Australian frustration at the match situation was borne out in numerous verbal stoushes with Pollard and Samuels in particular – on the fringe of elimination, it was the most animated they had been all tournament. The niggle was evidence of a team trying to assert themselves, but also of the heightened stakes in the match. Smith, Marsh and Maxwell would rise suitably to the occasion. West Indies are left needing to beat South Africa to qualify for the decider.

A day out from what will likely be one of the most-followed matches of this Women’s World Cup, both teams are insisting they are focused on the cricket. Pakistan captain Fatima Sana appeared to suggest that as far as Pakistan are concerned, India are a team like any other. She also spoke briefly about the good relations these teams have enjoyed in the past.India bowling coach Aavishkar Salvi said, meanwhile, that in a big tournament “the area of focus is only cricket”. There have been no indications on whether the India players would decline to shake the hands of the Pakistan players on Sunday, as the men’s team had done during the recent Asia Cup, although BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia did not rule out the possibility in an interview this week. Both teams also requested that questions at the pre-match press conference be constrained to the cricket.Sana did, however, speak briefly on the camaraderie between the players in past tournaments. At the 2022 World Cup in New Zealand, for instance, several India players were seen interacting with then-Pakistan captain Bismah Maroof’s six-month old daughter, as players comforted the toddler on their shoulder, in what was one of the most heartwarming moments of that tournament.Related

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Political tensions between the nations have worsened substantially since then. India’s male players were previously seen interacting with Pakistan players at earlier Asia Cups but refrained from doing so during the most recent edition, which ended last week.”We have great relationships with all other teams, and we try and keep good relations with everyone,” Sana said a day ahead of the match against India. “We’ll try to do everything within the spirit of the game.”Those pictures in the past with everyone mingling with each other around Bismah’s daughter – those scenes look good and everyone enjoys seeing that. But, of course, our focus has to be on what we’re here for – to play.”Both teams were keen to stress that they were doing their best to ignore the politics of this moment. “We’re like a family of 20-22 people here,” Sana said of the Pakistan team environment. “We don’t really worry about what’s going on outside our bubble. We get to hear about things happening external to cricket, but we focus on our game. The World Cup is something every player waits for, so we just want to focus on the thing we’ve come here for.”Salvi’s comments on the eve of the match echoed that sentiment. “The area of focus is cricket,” he said. “We want our girls to bring that ‘A’ game to the day. We want them to take it just as a game, because the World Cup is a long campaign. It’s a long campaign – there will be a lot of games coming up.”

Perhaps the only thing that could have stopped Anuj Rawat’s assault was the end of Delhi’s allotted overs. No matter which Uttar Pradesh bowler bowled at him in the death overs of the quarter-final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in Bengaluru, the ball either went to the boundary or pinged the objects that lay beyond it.Rawat rammed an unbeaten 73 off just 33 balls despite being on 9 from 10 at one stage. Six of his seven boundaries, and all five of his sixes, came from the 15th onwards. Delhi, who had 112 at the start of the 15th, finished with 193, before their bowlers restricted UP to 174 to book their place in the semi-final.The fun started when Rawat deposited Vineet Panwar for a four and six each, before taking Shivam Mavi for 23 runs in the 16th over. That featured a flick to fine leg and a loft over mid-off for four each, and two carbon-copy swivel-pull sixes over fine leg. Rawat brought up his half-century off 22 balls just after whipping Bhuvneshwar Kumar for six over deep square leg. He took three more boundaries off Bhuvneshwar, before ending the innings with a six off Mavi.In reply, UP’s chase hardly gained momentum. They managed only 18 in the first three overs, after which Priyam Garg decided to attack Simarjeet Singh. Garg lofted over Simarjeet’s head and ramped him over deep third for six each, before ending the over by going for four over cover. But Garg’s turned out to be a one-man effort, as UP slumped to 51 for 3 after seven overs.The loudest roar from the sparse crowd, though, was reserved for when Ayush Badoni had Nitish Rana caught at long-on. The two had come head to head earlier when Rana, bowling the third ball of the 13th over of Delhi’s innings, stopped short of delivering. Badoni then backed out of Rana’s next attempt, only for the bowler to get in the batter’s way after a single was taken when the delivery was finally bowled. The umpires had to intervene to prevent things from heating up too much.Badoni didn’t forget to give Rana a little send-off during UP’s chase, which only seemed to gather pace towards the end of the tenth over. Garg swatted and lofted Prince Yadav for four and six. He got to his fifty in the 11th over, in which Sameer Rizvi cut Suyash Sharma for four behind point.Next over, bowled by Simarjeet, Rizvi and Garg hit three boundaries off the first four legal balls. But Simarjeet got a return catch when Garg’s attempted pull resulted in a top edge – he fell having contributed 54 out of UP’s total of 104 at that stage. Rizvi scored a quick 26, but lacked long-term partners as Delhi’s bowlers kept chipping away.Bhuvneshwar, Mohsin Khan and Panwar provided some late entertainment by smashing five fours and two sixes between them. But the fact that UP needed their tailenders to do all this hitting to take them somewhat closer to Delhi’s total told the story of their batting on the day.

Barbados’ Kensington Oval will host the CPL final for the first ever time, in 2026. Guyana, meanwhile, will host the final in 2025, marking the fourth straight year that the CPL final will be held at the Providence Stadium.In a press release on Friday, the CPL announced that it had agreed one-year deals with the two venues to host the final for the next two years.”I want to take this opportunity to wish Guyana Amazon Warriors all success on behalf of all Guyanese as we try to make it two in a row,” Mohammed Irfan Ali, the president of Guyana, said just before Amazon Warriors, the defending CPL champions, booked their berth in Sunday’s final. “To all the other teams we wish you well as we play together in unity. I am also very delighted to announce that Guyana will be hosting CPL 2025 finals.”Barbados Royals are two-time CPL winners, having last lifted the trophy in 2019.”Guyana and Barbados have been amazing partners for CPL over the last 12 years and it is really exciting to be able to announce that they will be hosts for the finals in 2025 and 2026 respectively,” Pete Russell, the CPL CEO, said. “We would like to thank the governments of both Guyana and Barbados who have agreed to play host to the conclusion of CPL.”Amazon Warriors beat Royals in the second qualifier, as quickfire knocks from Moeen Ali, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Shai Hope helped them chase down 149 inside 15 overs. Warriors will now play St Lucia Kings for the title, on October 6.