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India U19 178 for 4 (Suryavanshi 48, Kundu 45*) beat England U19 174 (Flintoff 56, Mohammed 42) by six wicketsIndia’s 14-year-old sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi scored 48 from just 19 balls as India’s Under-19 side made short work of beating England in the first of five Youth ODIs at Hove.Suryavanshi, who became the youngest-ever century maker in men’s T20 when he hit 101 off 38 balls for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL earlier this year, made a startling debut to competitive cricket in England, putting on 71 in 7.3 overs with his captain, Ayush Mhatre as England were overwhelmed, losing by six wickets with 26 overs to spare.The young India side have made a memorable start to their tour of England. Three days earlier they had won another 50-over game, against a Young Lions Invitational XI at Loughborough, by 231 runs.Here, Suryavanshi was the star attraction, bludgeoning five sixes and three fours. Jack Home’s first over cost 21 runs as the left-hander top-edged his pull shot for six before driving over mid-on and pulling to cow corner for other sixes. But when slow left-armer Ralphie Albert came on Suryavanshi immediately skied to point.It was a different game after that, with India losing three more wickets before crossing the line, keeper Abhigyan Kundu leading the way with an unbeaten 45.England had been bowled out for a disappointing 174 in 42.2 overs, with only Rocky Flintoff (56) and Isaac Mohammed (42) reaching the 20 mark.There was a constant cloud cover and a green tinge to the pitch but it was India’s spinners, Mohamed Enaan and Kanishk Chouhan, who caused most problems, sharing five wickets and proving the most economical of the bowlers.England, who had chosen to bat, had started so positively, with Ben Dawkins and Isaac putting on an aggressive 39 for the fist wicket. The left-handed Isaac, one of two debutants in the team, along with French, was particularly exciting, pulling Henil Patel over square-leg for the first of his four sixes – there were also three fours in his 28-ball innings.The 17-year-old is related to England’s Moeen Ali and Worcestershire’s assistant head coach Kadeer Ali. He signed a three-year contract for Worcestershire from the Warwickshire Academy earlier this month.England lost their first wicket in the eighth over when Dawkins edged to first slip. But Isaac responded by striking Yudhajit Guha for successive sixes to bring up the 50 in the ninth over. Isaac then pulled Enaan over square-leg and out of the ground for another six. But three balls later he was caught at backward square-leg going for another big hit.Flintoff, the youngest player to score a century for the side, again looked in fine form. But his efforts were compromised by the constant fall of wickets at the other end. Ben Mayes looked in good touch when he drove through mid-on for four, but he was caught behind next ball to make it 80 for three and then captain Tom Rew was caught behind third ball.Flintoff, unsure whether to stick or twist, waited for some decent company but it didn’t arrive. Joe Moores and Albert fell cheaply to the off-spin of Chouhan and then Home was run out for five to make it 129 for seven. Flintoff was finally forced to hit out, and there were three sixes and three fours in his 90-ball innings before he was last out, going for another heave.

Zimbabwe nosed ahead of Bangladesh after the second day’s play of the first Test in Sylhet with half-centuries from Brian Bennett and Sean Williams. Their lower order and tail also resisted to add 80 runs for the last four wickets that got them a lead of 82. They finished the day by breaking Bangladesh’s opening stand, and the hosts are still 25 runs behind.Bangladesh’s solace came in the form of Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s first five-wicket haul at home in nearly two-and-a-half years. He finished with 5 for 52 after speedster Nahid Rana picked up three wickets, including those of the openers. Zimbabwe strung together small partnerships after the opening stand of 69, often dominating periods of play.Bangladesh lost Shadman Islam in the evening for 4 in the fourth over, when a superb Blessing Muzarabani delivery had him edging to second slip. His opening partner Mahmudul Hasan Joy got a reprieve on 6 in the following over when wicketkeeper Nyasha Mayavo dropped a regulation chance to his right.Mahmudul finished the day unbeaten on 28, while Mominul Haque was on 15 when play was called off at 5.33pm.Rana earlier gave Bangladesh their first breakthrough when he banged in a bouncer towards Ben Curran’s chest. The left-hand opener only managed to tap it to short leg where Mominul completed the catch diving forward. It ended Zimbabwe’s impressive opening stand that lasted 16.5 overs.Rana then bowled a fuller delivery to get rid of Bennett, the other opener. Bennett was piercing the off-side field regularly, hitting eight of his ten boundaries in the range between backward point and cover. But when he looked to cut another ball square, it led to his downfall as he edged one behind on 57.Mehidy Hasan Miraz returned 5 for 52 but Zimbabwe still managed an 82-run lead•AFP/Getty Images

Hasan Mahmud joined in the act with a peach of an inswinger against No. 3 Nick Welch, who was bowled through the gate for 2. Captain Craig Ervine and Williams, Zimbabwe’s most experienced pair, steadied things for the next hour. They added 41 runs in 15 overs, before Rana had Ervine caught behind for 8.It was another short ball that reared up high on Ervine, who couldn’t get his bat out of the way. The ball brushed the face of his bat and he was caught behind by Jaker Ali. Williams forged another promising stand, this time with Wessly Madhevere, in the course of which Williams reached his fourth Test fifty. He did that in style too, sweeping Taijul Islam for a six and a four to reach the landmark.The 48-run partnership however ended when Madhevere played on to a Khaled Ahmed delivery, on 24. Williams too couldn’t kick on, mistiming a straight hit against Mehidy, caught by a tumbling Mahmudul running back from mid-off. Williams bent down in disbelief as he looked very well set, having scored 59 off 108 balls with the help of six fours and two sixes.Despite all their frontline batters back in the pavilion, Zimbabwe continued to fight. Mayavo made an enterprising 35 off 54 balls, including five fours, but he fell shortly after tea when Mehidy trapped him lbw. Wellington Masakadza played out 42 balls for his 6, and became Mehidy’s third victim, caught at cover.The tall pair of Muzarabani and Richard Ngarava then took on the Bangladesh bowlers in a 36-run ninth-wicket stand. Muzarabani struck two fours and a massive six, over long-on, during his 17 off 16. Ngarava was unbeaten on 28 off 44 balls, including a lovely straight hit for a six off Mehidy. The offspinner finished things off when he had Muzarabani stumped and Victor Nyauchi caught in the covers, to complete his five-for.

Toby Roland-Jones’s latest five-wicket haul gave Middlesex the edge on a bowler-dominated opening day against Kent at Lord’s.The evergreen former England seamer took 5 for 33, the 33rd time in his career he’d achieved a five-wicket haul as the visitors were skuttled for 129.Tawanda Muyeye top-scored with 29, but Zak Crawley’s poor run of first-innings scores continued as he made only sixKent though hit back with ball in hand on an unusually sporty Lord’s pitch, offering both seam and a hint of turn, George Garrett taking 2 for 39 as the hosts reached 158 for 4 at stumps with Ryan Higgins 44 not out.Crawley, named this morning in the squad for the Test against Zimbabwe in less than three weeks, was undone by a beauty from South-African quick Dane Paterson which angled in before leaving him off the pitch, beating his outside edge and pinning him in front.With his departure Roland-Jones took centre-stage. The Seaxes skipper, who would have played many more than his four Tests for England were it not for two stress fractures of the back when at the peak of his powers, demonstrated again, even at 37, his relentless accuracy can harass top quality players into error.Kent skipper Daniel Bell-Drummond appeared a little skittish before Roland-Jones produced a fullish ball which he nicked to wicketkeeper Jack Davies.That brought Muyeye in to join Ben Compton, a pair whose record third-wicket stand had won the reverse fixture between the sides three weeks ago.Any psychological scars were banished when Compton, having grafted for an hour, shouldered arms and was bowled by Higgins.Muyeye looked at ease, taking heavy toll of some loose deliveries from Henry Brookes, dispatching him to the short boundary three times in two overs.Roland-Jones though would return to dismiss him on the stroke of lunch, Higgins providing safe hands at gully.If that was a good catch, his left-handed grab to remove the dangerous Jack Leaning soon after the resumption was sensational and gave Roland-Jones his fourth victim. The five-for was celebrated shortly afterwards courtesy of Chris Benjamin’s nick behind.Paterson provided good support, though Joey Evison looked unlucky to be adjudged lbw with question marks over both height and line.Brookes mopped up the tail leaving the self-effacing Roland-Jones to reluctantly accept acclaim for his bowling feats as he reached the pavilion.With so few to defend and a bowling attack shorn of the likes of Nathan Gilchrist and the man who has often proved Middlesex’s nemesis Grant Stewart, they found a new-ball hero of their own in Garrett.In his first Championship game of the season, Garrett accounted for both openers, Stephen Eskinazi castled by one which pitched middle and clipped the off bail, while Robson, on his return from Paternity leave was unlucky to be adjudged leg before to one seemingly missing leg.The in-form Max Holden with over 500 runs so far in the campaign including two centuries at Lord’s also fell cheaply courtesy of Leaning’s super catch at slip.Luke Hollman, into the side at a career-high No.4 in place of the injured Leus du Plooy off the back of scoring 160 in the 2s last week, counter-attacked, some powerful drives taking him to 42 before Matt Parkinson got one to turn and take the edge.Higgins and Ben Geddes then further steadied the home ship with an unbeaten fifth-wicket stand of 62 to leave Middlesex in front ahead of day two.Before play began, the MCC gave Middlesex employee Lorraine Poole the honour or ringing the five-minute bell to mark the last day of her 25 years of service to the club.

Riyan Parag will lead Rajasthan Royals (RR) for their first three matches in IPL 2025 with regular captain Sanju Samson, who is recuperating from a finger injury, set to play as a batter till he gets cleared for wicketkeeping and fielding duties.Samson, who had finger surgery last month, joined the RR squad on Monday following his rehab at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. He is likely to play as an Impact Sub in the IPL, with Dhruv Jurel an option to keep wicket. Jurel had also kept wicket in place of Samson in the fifth T20I against England in February after he was hit on the finger by a Jofra Archer delivery while batting. Samson will return as captain once fully fit, an RR release said.”I’m not completely fit for three or more games,” Samson said in a video posted by the official RR handle on Instagram. “I think there are a lot of leaders from this group. From the last few years, there have been great people who have taken care of this environment really nicely. But for the three games, Riyan will be leading. He is well capable to do it and I expect everyone to be with him and support him.”Related

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Parag, meanwhile, will be captaining in the IPL for the first time and will be the fifth youngest to lead a team in the tournament. He has been part of RR since 2019 and was retained by the franchise for INR 14 crore ahead of the mega auction last year. In the 2024 IPL, he finished with 573 runs, the most by an RR batter and third-highest overall, and hit four half-centuries which even helped him earn a T20I and an ODI debut for India.”Rajasthan Royals’ decision to hand Riyan the captaincy underscores the franchise’s confidence in his leadership, a skill he has demonstrated through his tenure as Assam’s domestic captain,” a statement from the franchise said. “Having been a crucial member of the Royals setup over the years, his understanding of the team’s dynamic makes him well-equipped to step into this role for the initial phase of the tournament.”Parag will take charge in the opening fixture against Sunrisers Hyderabad on March 23, followed by home games in Guwahati against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders on March 26 and Chennai Super Kings on March 30. Parag won 10 of 17 matches leading Assam in T20 cricket between 2021 and 2023, averaging 67.09 and striking at 167.72.

Big picture: Pakistan’s fight for survival

If ever Pakistan needed a miracle, it is now. Not for the cricketers’ fault, they find themselves isolated in international cricket to the extent that this is the first ICC event they are hosting in 29 years. And barely three days into the Champions Trophy, following a thrashing against New Zealand, they are staring at the exit sign of a party they waited three decades to host.To stay alive in the tournament, Pakistan must beat their arch-rivals on a slow, tired track, where India have already played and won one match, and have five spinners to choose from. For no fault of India’s cricketers, Pakistan must leave their own party and travel to Dubai because India refused to travel to Pakistan for reasons neither their board nor their government will specify. Would you blame Pakistan for feeling under siege when they must fight to even reinstate their nation’s name in the official broadcast branding? At such times, the reasons behind any such omission can seem sinister even if they might not be.It creates a weird dynamic between the two sets of cricketers. Despite all the machinations, the cricketers respect each other and are civil to each other to the extent that it annoys those who want their own hatred to reflect on the field. The edge is also perhaps because of the gulf between the two sides.As is likely to happen with a team left isolated, Pakistan, once at the forefront of innovation in Asia, are woefully behind the times, especially in limited-overs cricket. India, once the land of accumulators but not always winners, are now continuously striving to push into the future. In an era that the ICC engineers its tournament schedules to ensure at least one big India-Pakistan match, it says a lot that Pakistan have won only in 2017 and 2021 since 2011.More than the four-year pattern of wins, Pakistan will look at the conditions with some hope. The slow pitches in Dubai, recently used for the ILT20, call for an old-fashioned game that could neutralise to an extent India’s big-hitting advantage in the middle overs. With no dew – 1pm starts anyway leave little room for dew to play a role – the toss on these pitches is a big advantage. In similar conditions last year, Sri Lanka got the better of India in a bilateral series at home with an unheralded spin attack. They won the tosses, batted first and got mid-200s in each game. Pakistan will hope for a repeat, but India will also lean on the lessons they have learnt.

Form guide

Pakistan LLWLW (last five completed ODIs, most recent first)
India WWWWL

In the spotlight: Virat Kohli and Salman Agha

Virat Kohli has been out to legspin in each of the five last matches that he has faced such bowling. That’s five dismissals for 21 runs in the last 46 balls of legspin he has faced in ODIs. Now Pakistan don’t have a classic legspinner in their ranks, but Abrar Ahmed does turn the ball both ways like a legspinner. Most batters these days can hit big on flat tracks, but it is here you need the skill to pick singles without taking risks. It is not hard to imagine India needing just that in one of these games. Will the Kohli of the old turn up?Salman Agha has been the silver lining for Pakistan in recent ODI cricket. Since 2024, he has scored the second-most middle-over runs for Pakistan: 325, at an average of 65.00 and a strike rate of 88.07. Pakistan will need all of his industriousness in the middle overs when India try to choke them with their slower bowlers.

Team news: Imam or Usman in place of Fakhar?

Imam-ul-Haq has come into the squad as the replacement for the one dynamic opener Pakistan had, Fakhar Zaman. Usman Khan is their other reserve batter, but if he does make his ODI debut, he will have to do so in an unfamiliar role: he bats at No. 4 in List A cricket.Pakistan (possible): 1 Imam-ul-Haq, 2 Babar Azam, 3 Saud Shakeel, 4 Mohammad Rizwan (capt, wk), 5 Salman Agha, 6 Tayyab Tahir, 7 Khushdil Shah, 8 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 9 Naseem Shah, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Abrar AhmedThere’s no reason for India to make any changes to their combination or personnel.India (possible): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 KL Rahul (wk), 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Harshit Rana, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Kuldeep Yadav

Pitch and conditions

India wanted to field first in their opening game against Bangladesh but given the way the pitch slowed up and how there was no dew, don’t expect any side to make that mistake in Dubai again. Expect teams to make the most of powerplay before the middle overs tie them up. It is hard to see the trend changing on pitches that were recently used for a whole T20 tournament.

Stats and trivia: India dominate Pakistan

• India have won nine of their last 11 completed ODIs against Pakistan, across the World Cup, Champions Trophy and Asia Cup.
• Pakistan have beaten India in three out of five matches in the Champions Trophy, including the 2017 final.
• Kohli needs 15 runs to become only the third man – and the fastest among them – to score 14,000 ODI runs.

Quotes

“If you remove pressure, then what remains in an India-Pakistan game? A player needs that pressure to show his wares.”
“Because there is no dew, I don’t think the toss matters much. In every big match, if there is no dew, whichever team that bats second is under a bit more pressure. Whichever team handles the pressure better, has a better chance of scoring the win.”

Almost exactly 100 years since Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe became the first pair to achieve it in Test cricket, the Afghanistan pair of Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi batted out a full day of a Test match without being dismissed. In the process, Rahmat became the holder of Afghanistan’s highest Test score (231*), Shahidi struck his second Test ton (141*), and the pair comfortably broke the record for Afghanistan’s best Test partnership (361). All in all, their addition of 330 runs across 95 overs on the third day has taken Afghanistan to 425 for 2, now only 161 behind Zimbabwe’s 586.Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo ranks among one of the best places to bat among Test venues, and Zimbabwe’s first-innings score across the first two days suggested a placid third-day surface, which it was, barring the occasional ball that stayed low.The Zimbabwe bowlers were made to grind by the strong defensive game showed by Rahmat and Shahidi, but they were also let down by their fielding. There were atleast four catches dropped, all off Rahmat, along with a few half-chances. Both spin and pace proved ineffective to get a breakthrough, and the set batters pounced on the loose deliveries from the inexperienced bowlers, a regular occurrence through the day.Starting the day afresh from an overnight partnership of 31 and staring at a mammoth 491-run deficit, Rahmat took a single in the first over of the day to bring up his fifty. But some disciplined bowling from Blessing Muzarabani and Trevor Gwandu kept the run-scoring in check. It took 12 overs for the day’s first boundary when Rahmat picked up one, by cutting left-arm spinner Sean Williams for four, and it would be a ploy he would use against all three Zimbabwe spinners. With no variable turn off the pitch, the pair could also trust their game when coming down the track against the spinners, something Shahidi did often against the part-timers Brandon Mavuta and Brian Bennett. Five overs before lunch, Shahidi brought up his half-century, and two overs later, Rahmat had completed his second Test ton.Rahmat Shah claimed the Afghanistan record for the highest individual score•Zimbabwe Cricket

Then came the first big chance in the 69th over with Afghanistan at 198 for 2 and Rahmat on 107. Bennett got a length ball to turn lesser than expected, Rahmat’s prod brought an outside edge, and the ball flew past Craig Ervine’s left at first slip. On 134, Rahmat survived a dropped chance at long-on, and on 152, escaped two catching opportunities in one Muzarabani over. In between, the pair brought up their 200 stand by finding the fence through midwicket or cover when Muzarabani and Gwandu overpitched their deliveries. And going into tea, Afghanistan were 298 for 2, with 203 runs collected in the first two sessions.Fresh off the two dropped chances in the penultimate over of the second session, Zimbabwe were further deflated at the start of the post-tea session when Rahmat struck three fours off Nyamhuri in the first over after resumption. In the same Nyamhuri spell, Shahidi cut him for four to move to 99 and next ball, picked up a single to claim his second Test ton.As the second new ball also turned old, the boundaries dried up again, but a four through cover from Rahmat to start the 108th over brought up the 300-run stand. When Rahmat moved to 199 with a single soon after, the partnership ticked over to 308, a new record for Afghanistan.Shahidi, the only double-centurion for Afghanistan previously, then watched on from the other end as Rahmat joined him on that list, and it came not in the form of a circumspect single but a full-blooded drive through mid-on. As the ball trickled to the boundary, Rahmat was applauded by his team-mates and by the sparse home crowd as he also went past Shahidi’s score of 200* from 2021 to claim the Afghanistan record for the highest individual score.As the final hour of the day began, and it dawned on Zimbabwe that they might have their first-ever day of Test cricket without a single wicket, Ervine tempted the two batters with some unusual fielding positions – perhaps to buy a wicket or force them to do something different – but there was no budging.If anything, Rahmat and Shahidi reined in their strokes. Only three boundaries were scored in the final 13 overs – only three fours and one six – as it was clear their aim was to finish the day unbeaten. As Williams bowled the final over of the day without much drama, Rahmat and Shahidi walked back with smiles, were congratulated by a few Zimbabwe fielders, and were welcomed with a standing ovation by their team-mates and support staff.

Head coach Phil Simmons lauded Bangladesh’s mental shift from trying to survive to trying to win, after they beat West Indies by 101 runs on the fourth evening of the second Test in Kingston. Simmons said their decision to bat first – after they had lost the first Test by 201 runs – paid off in multiple ways and that the batters will now have confidence that they can bounce back in tough conditions.Bangladesh were bowled out for 164 in the first innings, but they came strongly with the ball and skittled the home side for 146. They had an improved batting performance in the second innings and made 268, weathering a barrage of bouncers and verbals on the third afternoon to get into a winning position.”I loved the way the batters came out with a positive attitude,” Simmons said on the official broadcast after the game. “They had a survival attitude in the first few games [since I took charge]. On the third day, you saw that they were saying, ‘I have come to play the game’. I loved and enjoyed it. I made sure that they know that it is the way we have to play from now on. The Test win is something that these young players were looking forward to. It is nice to see them come back in their way after losing the first Test match. It’s total joy for me.Related

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“I think when we had the delay [due to wet outfield on the first day] and the sun was out, as hot as I felt in Jamaica for a long time, there was no question that we had to bat first. The wicket had dried out. We had to make the running in the Test match, as were down 1-0. The decision to bat wasn’t a difficult one. I think breaking it to the batters… It is a team that likes to bowl first to see what’s there. Giving them the confidence that I believe in you, that you can bat first here, I think that led to how we batted in the second innings. We just needed to do better than the first innings.”Bangladesh had several performers in the Jamaica Test win. Nahid Rana led the fight with a five-wicket haul in the first innings, before Jaker Ali held the second innings together with his 91 in the second innings. Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam then took a five-for on the fourth and final day, with Taskin Ahmed and Hasan Mahmud picking up two wickets each in the final push for victory.Simmons praised Jaker’s ability to switch gears after a slow start. He was also impressed with Mehidy Hassan Miraz, who captained the side in Najmul Hossain Shanto’s absence after the regular captain ruled out of the Test series because of a groin strain.”Jaker scored three fifties in successive Tests, so he knows his game. We saw that he can also take on every bowler. He needs to take what he gets from here, and try to improve on it. This is not always going to be the way it is,” Simmons said. “I have been impressed with [Mehidy]. He took over from Shanto in short notice. He has taken the job and run with it. Mehidy and Taijul complement each other. Mehidy is a little bit faster and straighter, whereas Taijul uses his variations a lot.”Taijul loves hitting the stumps, so he bowls more arm balls than [conventional] spinners. He seems to be getting better every game. You could see that there was more thought in his bowling here in every session.”Having missed the first Test to manage his workload, Rana hit West Indies with rapid pace in Kingston for a match haul of 6 for 93. He now has 20 wickets in six Tests after making his debut against Sri Lanka earlier this year.”I was even more impressed [with Rana in Jamaica] than I was in Sharjah where he made his ODI debut, ” Simmons said. “For him to be so consistent on this wicket and hitting his lengths. At the end of the day yesterday, he was bowling in his mid-140s. We under-rated the young fast bowler’s ability to assess the situation.”The things he tells me before going on to the field, I wonder whether he is playing his fourth or fifth Test match. He is impressive with pace, but also with his hunger to learn. He keeps growing, and I am sure we will see a lot more of him.”

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.

Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto has said Shakib Al Hasan’s absence from what should have been his farewell Test was “unfortunate,” but urged his team to focus on the task at hand – the first match against South Africa starting on Monday.While Shakib was selected in the squad, and expressed his desire to end his Test career in Dhaka, protests in the city against him meant he didn’t travel to Bangladesh after government advice said his arrival would pose a security risk”It is unfortunate. It should have happened,” Shanto said. “But we can’t spend too much time talking about it on the day before the Test match. [Shakib’s arrival] is not in our control, so we are not spending too much time thinking about it. We have to focus on the two important Tests and that’s what the players are doing. We had plans to send off one of the world’s best players. All of us personally feel that it remains pending.”Shakib’s future as a Bangladesh player was put in uncertainty following the upheaval of the Bangladesh government in August; Shakib was a member of the political party that was overthrown. Shanto said the players were focused on the cricket, which is why they hadn’t spoken on the matter.”Our focus is on winning the Test that starts tomorrow. We would have been happy if it was his farewell Test. We all know why he is unable to come.”Shanto said replacing Shakib was going to be tough. He said Mehidy Hasan Miraz has shown he can step up but it would take him some time.”It is hard to match [Shakib], especially for the captain. He would usually allow us to play the extra batter or bowler. Now the No. 7 becomes a crucial spot. We don’t have anyone exactly like Shakib but Miraz can be a very good option. He is bowling and batting superbly. There are more responsibilities, which Miraz is prepared for. He has improved his batting. He is taking the team to good positions, if you look at the last few Tests. I would hope that Miraz can take that place in the next couple of years.”Uncapped left-arm spinner Hasan Murad replaced Shakib in the squad for the first Test. Shanto said Murad deserved the call-up, and expressed confidence in his spin attack.”We have four quality spinners in the side. Hasan Murad has an outstanding first-class record. He bowls well in all types of wickets. It is a deserving selection. Nayeem couldn’t break into the side despite playing well recently. Whether we pick three or four spinners tomorrow, they are all capable. Regardless of our combination, we will give our best.”Bangladesh go into the two-Test series against South Africa after winning their maiden series in Pakistan 2-0, before losing 2-0 in India earlier this month.

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.