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England scored 138 runs in the 23.4 overs India bowled in the post-lunch session

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jun-2025Harry Brook threw his head back in anguish after picking out long leg on 99 but his free-scoring innings and some lower-order hitting cut India’s first-innings lead to just six at Headingley. They were led off by their spearhead, Jasprit Bumrah, who mopped up the tail to finish with 5 for 83 after three vital breakthroughs on the second afternoon.Brook had three reprieves but made India pay for their profligacy. He was caught miscuing an ugly pull to midwicket in the final over on Saturday night before he had scored, saved by Bumrah overstepping, and was dropped twice on Sunday: Rishabh Pant put him down off Ravindra Jadeja on 46, and on 80, Yashasvi Jaiswal made a mess of a simple chance at gully.He played a freewheeling innings, taking down Mohammed Siraj who tried to goad him into a verbal battle after being hit for consecutive boundaries; instead, he was slapped back over his head for a towering six into the lower tier of the Football Stand. There was an outrageous falling paddle-sweep off Jadeja too, emulating a shot Pant had played off Shoaib Bashir.Jasprit Bumrah finished with five wickets•AFP/Getty Images

But like Jamie Smith before him, Brook fell into Prasidh Krishna’s short-ball ploy and holed out to one of the leg-side boundaries riders. Smith’s brisk 40 ended when he hooked Prasidh to deep backward square leg, where Jadeja and B Sai Sudharsan combined for a relay catch; Brook tried to keep his pull down, but top-edged it straight down Shardul Thakur’s throat.Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse added 55 for the eighth wicket in just 7.2 overs as India grew ragged, Woakes reached 2,000 Test runs by clubbing Prasidh for consecutive sixes. But Siraj bluffed Carse with a yorker and Bumrah cleaned up Woakes and Josh Tongue to complete his third five-wicket haul on English soil.England trail by just six runs, and we have a one-innings shoot-out in store.

Litton Das, Bangladesh’s T20I captain, had questioned the decision of the selectors after Shamim Hossain had been dropped for the T20I series against Ireland

Mohammad Isam30-Nov-2025Bangladesh have added Shamim Hossain to the squad for the third T20I against Ireland, to be played on Tuesday.The move came after captain Litton Das had criticised the selectors for leaving Shamim out of the squad for the series, saying that neither he nor coach Phil Simmons had been informed about it. Chief selector Gazi Ashraf Hossain said last Friday that Shamim was being dropped to give Mahidul Islam Ankon a run in the middle order.”I think it would have been better if [Shamim] was in the team. But this is not my call, [it is] totally the selectors’ call,” Litton, known to be a mild-mannered man, had said before the first T20I. “I don’t know why, but the selector dropped Shamim without giving us notice. I have known that a captain would know which player would be in the team, and which player would be out of the team. I don’t see any reason behind Shamim getting dropped. It would have been better if he was in the team.”Ashraf countered Litton later the same day, saying that he didn’t need the captain’s permission to select or not select a player, though there has clearly been a change of heart now.The relationship between the two has reportedly been frosty since Ashraf dropped Litton during the ODI series against Sri Lanka last year.For the record, Shamim had recorded scores of 0, 0, 1 and 1 in his last four T20Is.The T20I series is level at 1-1 going into the decider.

Bangladesh squad for third T20I against Ireland

Litton Das (capt, wk), Saif Hassan (vice-capt), Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Towhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali, Nurul Hasan, Mahidul Islam, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Shoriful Islam, Mohammad Saifuddin, Shamim Hossain

Ghulam and Rizwan added 81, but Pakistan were eventually out for 211 on opening day

Danyal Rasool26-Dec-2024South Africa did to Pakistan what they always do to Pakistan at Centurion, blitzing them with the ball in the second hour of the first session before skittling them out for 209. Corbin Bosch and Dane Paterson cashed in after a superb opening hour of bowling from Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen, which openers Shan Masood and Saim Ayub rode their luck to survive. A couple of partnerships for Pakistan were more than offset by the wickets Paterson, who ended up with five, and Bosch, took in clumps, and just after the third session began, Pakistan had folded for 209, Kamran Ghulam’s half-century the only real source of resistance. Pakistan responded gamely with the ball in hand, puncturing South Africa with three wickets, but having added 82, South Africa will feel they have had the better of the day.The story of the opening session changed the moment Temba Bavuma through the ball to debutant Bosch. He began with a loosener well outside off stump. Masood, who had been forced to deal with an unerring fourth stump all of the first hour, had his eyes light up as he slashed at it, with a thick outside edge carrying to Marco Jansen at third slip to give him a first-ball wicket.All of a sudden, the good balls that kept missing edges started to find them. Paterson nipped one away to Ayub, who was uncharacteristically defensive, accumulating a painstaking 14 off 35 balls. It kissed the outside edge, and both openers were back in the pavilion. Paterson wasn’t done, because Babar Azam, returning to the side, also had a prod at one well outside off stump, the tentativeness of his stroke revealing his lack of confidence; it was meat and drink for the slips again.Related

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With Pakistani defenses going haywire, Saud Shakeel went for the other extreme, looking to take every ball on, but it was just six deliveries before that strategy ran out of road. He gloved a hook through to the keeper, with South Africa successfully reviewing to send him on his way.It will be all the more frustrating for Pakistan after a magnificent first hour of South African bowling went unrewarded. With Kagiso Rabada and Jansen nipping it around, it was obvious why Bavuma had opted to put Pakistan in, but somehow, they had gritted out a way to see off the two leading bowlers.An 81-run stand between Ghulam, who scored an entertaining half-century, and Mohammad Rizwan looked to have dragged Pakistan out of the hole they were put in during the morning session. Rizwan and Ghulam had been building up the partnership the other side of lunch, and continued in similar vein. But with the clouds menacingly moving right overhead, the luckless Rabada was brought in for another excellent but fruitless spell. It produced the most engaging cricket of the day, with both KGs locking horns on more than one occasion; Rabada grew increasingly frustrated with Kamran Ghulam’s stubborn resistance and got close enough to tell him, with Ghulam responding in less than family-friendly terms to go back to the bowling crease.Kamran Ghulam was out for 54 off 71•AFP/Getty Images

With the crowd engaged, Ghulam edged one to the slips that Jansen shelled, and brought up his half-century, but South Africa would not be denied. Ghulam slogged Paterson, only to top-edge him to fine leg, where none other than Rabada stood to take the catch that sent a full SuperSport Park into a frenzy.
One wicket brought more for South Africa before lunch, and so it proved again. Rizwan nicked off in the next Bosch over before Salman Ali Agha and Aamer Jamal set about another rebuild. With ten minutes to tea, the duo was closing in on another 50-partnership, but one more South African burst would prove the knockout blow.South Africa had put down a couple of chances in the slips off the outside edge, so Bosch found the inside edge of Jamal as he chopped on, before a surprise bouncer from Paterson saw the back of Agha.Once Pakistan had wrapped up, there was enough time for the story of the day to be rewritten, and Khurram Shahzad threatened to do precisely that when he cut Tony de Zorzi in half with perhaps the ball of the day. Constantly threatening both edges of the bat, he found Ryan Rickleton’s outside edge to reduce South Africa to 24 for 2, and wrest momentum back to take into the second day.His peers, however, couldn’t sustain that quality, and South Africa settled. Aiden Markram has been under fire lately for getting out after getting in, and was brave enough to be positive all the same, never letting Pakistan put too much pressure on the batters. That was crucial, especially with Tristan Stubbs looking less than assured at the crease. His manner of dismissal, though was unfortunate, as one appeared to hit a crack and make a beeline for his front shin, giving Pakistan encouragement to take from a day that, thanks to Paterson and Bosch, South Africa will claim as theirs.

Laura Wolvaardt, Smitri Mandhana, and Katie Mack all play important innings to set up a good total

AAP19-Nov-2024Adelaide Strikers put a severe dent in the WBBL finals hopes of the Perth Scorchers with a 30-run victory as Megan Schutt put on a masterclass.Strikers posted 169 for 6, with Laura Wolvaardt, Smriti Mandhana, and Katie Mack the chief contributors at Karen Rolton Oval. Scorchers slumped to 17 for 4 as Schutt ran through the top order, leaving their finals chances hanging precariously.With two games left, Scorchers remain in fifth spot with eight points and they trail fourth-placed Hobart Hurricanes by a sizeable run rate difference.Strikers, champions of the past two tournaments, climbed from bottom of the ladder to seventh – they have six points but just one match remaining.Strikers were sent into bat openers Mandhana and Mack made an instant impact, taking 40 from the initial four overs. They reached 81 in the 10th over when Mandhana was caught at mid-off from the bowling of Sophie Devine, ending a knock featuring five fours and a six.Just eight balls later, Mack advanced down the pitch but was beaten by a perfectly flighted delivery from legspinner Alana King and was stumped.Wolvaardt soon took centre stage with her rapid-fire innings featuring three fours and three sixes – two from consecutive balls from Chloe Ainsworth.The South African was caught on the cover boundary with three balls remaining and King finished with another stumping on the last ball, giving her figures of 3 for 29.Scorchers’ run chase began terribly with Maddy Darke bowled by Schutt second ball. And in the third over, Schutt struck with consecutive deliveries, dismissing Dayalan Hemalatha and bowling Amy Edgar for a golden duck with a top-shelf inswinger, to boast figures of 3 for 6.Schutt was denied a hat-trick by Scorchers stalwart Beth Mooney, who fell in the next over for 6 as the Scorchers crashed to 17 for 4 from 3.3 overs. Skipper Devine and new signing Brooke Halliday rallied but the task was beyond them.

Bangladesh haven’t had a great run in ODIs lately but Shanto believes they are title contenders

Mohammad Isam12-Feb-2025Bangladesh haven’t had a great run in ODIs lately. In addition, they have little to no prep heading into the Champions Trophy 2025. But captain Najmul Hossain Shanto strongly believes Bangladesh are title contenders.”We are going to the Champions Trophy to become champions,” Shanto said. “All eight teams deserve to be champions in this tournament. They are all quality teams. I believe our team has the ability. No one will feel extra pressure. Everyone genuinely wants (to become champions), and believes in their capabilities. We don’t know what Allah has written in our fate. We are working hard and doing our best. I believe we can achieve our goal.”Since 2023, Bangladesh have lost 24 out of the 41 matches they’ve played, which includes series losses against Afghanistan and West Indies. Shanto, too, has not been in great form, as he is coming off an injury and a string of low scores in the Bangladesh Premier League [BPL]. He also hasn’t played international cricket since November after he missed the West Indies tour due to a hamstring injury. Bangladesh last played ODIs at the start of December in 2024, which they lost 3-0.Related

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Bangladesh will also be without senior allrounder Shakib Al Hasan, although his absence was along expected lines. He has been suspended from bowling in top-flight cricket due to an illegal action and recently failed a second independent assessment of his action. When asked whether Bangladesh would miss Shakib’s presence, Shanto said that the team does not linger on hopes of a miraculous Shakib comeback, adding that it was “irrelevant” to discuss the subject before the tournament.”Of course, we will miss him but I don’t know why this question is being asked,” Shanto said. “Everyone already knows the answer, and many players have said it before. Of course, we will miss Shakib . It would have been great if he were here. This question has been answered many times. I don’t think it’s relevant to talk about this before a tournament.”So who will take over Shakib’s role in the team? “Whoever gets the responsibility will have to play Shakib’s role,” Shanto said.There are a few more big names – like Litton Das and Tamim Iqbal – missing from the Bangladesh squad, but Shanto insisted that he was happy with his team. “I am very happy and confident with the 15 players in the squad,” he said. “Anyone who plays has the ability to win a match single-handedly.”Shanto also called for Bangladesh to asses the conditions quickly and raise their game by chasing and defending 320-plus totals. Bangladesh are set to play their first match against India in Dubai before facing New Zealand and Pakistan in Rawalpindi.”I expect the pitches in Pakistan to be 300-plus wickets. If we bat first, we need to put up such scores. Even while defending, we will need to defend such scores. In Dubai, conditions vary at different times. Still, I think scores will be around 260-280. It’s tough to predict exact numbers, but historically, that’s how it has been. We will analyse how many runs are needed on a given day or how many we need to restrict the opposition to.”Shanto also hopes his bowling attack, particularly the pacers, continue to give their best, and believes Bangladesh have a “balanced team”.”Not too long ago, we didn’t have quality pace bowlers, but now we have a strong pace bowling unit,” he said. “We didn’t have wristspinners before, but now we do. Overall, we have a balanced team. If everyone fulfills their responsibilities properly, we can defeat any team at any time.”

The medal matches will be played on July 20 and 29, with all games to be held at the Fairgrounds Stadium

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Jul-2025Cricket’s return to the LA Olympics 2028 will begin on July 12, with the medal matches scheduled to be played on July 20 and 29. All the matches will be held at the Fairgrounds Stadium, a temporary, purpose-built venue in the city of Pomona, about 50km from Los Angeles.Six teams each in the men’s and women’s sections, and a total of 180 players, will compete in the T20 format. Each team can name a 15-member squad for the competition.Most match days will be double-headers, while there are no matches slotted on July 14 and 21. The matches will begin at 9am and 6.30pm local time. It will be the same for the medal matches as well.Related

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The Fairgrounds Stadium, officially known as Fairplex, is a nearly 500-acre complex that has hosted the LA County Fair since 1922 and regularly serves as a venue for concerts, trade shows, sporting events, and cultural gatherings.”When the world comes here for these Games, we will highlight every neighbourhood as we host a Games for all and work to ensure it leaves a monumental legacy,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement. “We are already delivering that legacy as we announce there have been more than one million enrollments in PlayLA.”I want to thank LA28 and the International Olympic Committee for making these programs possible and for their continued work to host the greatest Games yet.”This is the first time that cricket will feature in the Olympics since 1900. Then, only two teams, Great Britain and France, had competed in a two-day match, with Great Britain winning the gold medal.Cricket’s inclusion in the Olympics further propels the growing stature of the sport. Women’s cricket made its CWG debut in Birmingham in 2022, while both the men’s and women’s games have been part of the Asian Games in 2010, 2014 and 2023. Recently, Grand Prairie, Lauderhill, and New York hosted a number of matches at the 2024 T20 World Cup, co-hosted by the USA and the West Indies.

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has made clear that bilateral contests are off but matches in multi-nation tournaments can go ahead

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Aug-2025India will not host or visit Pakistan for bilateral contests, but their athletes and teams can take part in multi-nation events that also involve Pakistan, clearing the path for their upcoming fixtures in the men’s Asia Cup in September and the women’s ODI World Cup in October.Pakistan sportspersons can also participate in multilateral events hosted by India.The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports set down these guidelines in a statement, clarifying the Indian government’s position on sporting relations with Pakistan at a time of strained political relations between the two South Asian countries. The statement left one question unanswered: whether Indian athletes can take part in multilateral events hosted by Pakistan.Related

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The statement comes less than three weeks from the scheduled start of the Asia Cup in the UAE, where India and Pakistan, drawn in the same group, are set to meet at least once (on September 14 in Dubai), and potentially up to three times. It will be India’s first cricket match against Pakistan since the two countries exchanged cross-border hostilities following the Pahalgam terror attack in April.There have been calls, in this climate, for India to boycott all sporting contact with Pakistan. During July’s World Championship of Legends, a tournament featuring retired players, both matches between the teams from the two countries had been abandoned, with the India Champions forfeiting their semi-final against the Pakistan Champions.With the Indian government making its stand clear, India now have official sanction to play Pakistan in the Asia Cup, which was originally to be hosted by India before being moved to the UAE in July.”In so far as bilateral sports events in each other’s country are concerned, Indian teams will not be participating in competitions in Pakistan. Nor will we permit Pakistani teams to play in India,” the ministry’s statement said.In a time of heightened geopolitical tensions, calls for India to boycott all sporting contact with Pakistan have grown louder•Associated Press

“With regard to international and multilateral events, in India or abroad, we are guided by the practices of international sports bodies and the interest of our own sportspersons. It is also relevant to take into account India’s emergence as a credible venue to host international sports events.”Accordingly, Indian teams and individual players will take part in international events that also have teams or players from Pakistan. Similarly, Pakistani players and teams will be able to participate in such multilateral events hosted by India.”To position India as a preferred destination for hosting international sporting events, the visa process for sportspersons, team officials, technical personnel, and office-bearers of International Sports Governing Bodies shall be simplified. In respect of office-bearers of International Sports Governing Bodies, a multi-entry visa shall be granted on priority basis for the duration of their official tenure, subject to a maximum period of five years. This shall facilitate their smooth movement into and within the country, in accordance with international norms. Due protocol and courtesies, as per established practice, shall be extended to the Heads of International Sports Governing Bodies during their visits to India.”The statement lays down in unambiguous terms what have been the Indian government’s unwritten guidelines for cricketing engagements with Pakistan for more than a decade. The two countries have not met in a bilateral series in any format since 2012, but they have faced off multiple times at the ODI and T20 World Cups, the Champions Trophy and the Asia Cup.Pakistan have visited India for the T20 World Cup in 2016 and the ODI World Cup in 2023, but India did not visit Pakistan for the 2025 Champions Trophy. Their matches, including their semi-final and final, were played in Dubai. The BCCI and the PCB have agreed on this hybrid model for all remaining ICC events in the 2024-27 cycle.

Gareth Hopkins and James Marshall, captains of Auckland and Northern Districts respectively, have been accused of collusion to force a result in a rain-affected Plunket Shield fixture at Colin Maiden Park

Cricinfo staff17-Dec-2009Gareth Hopkins and James Marshall, captains of Auckland and Northern Districts respectively, have been accused of collusion to force a result in a rain-affected Plunket Shield fixture at Colin Maiden Park. Both teams forfeited an innings each to set up a result on the final day, after almost three out of four days were washed out, but the captains denied any collaboration and insisted the decisions were taken independently.ND had reached 82 for no loss on the first day before rain interrupted play and prevented any action for the next two days. In a bid to speed up ND’s declaration, Auckland used part-timers like Andrew de Boorder (nine overs for 85) and Reece Young (five overs for 65), to allow ND to reach 290 for 3. They scored 208 runs in 21 overs. Once the declaration was made, Auckland forfeited their first innings, and ND their second, to set the stage for a final-day chase. Auckland, however, fell short of their target by 56 runs after facing close to 73 overs.New Zealand Cricket’s rules do not allow collaboration between captains to ensure a result but the captains said they didn’t speak to each other about the forfeits. An investigation into the matter confirmed there was no collusion.ND lead the points table with 26 points from five games but Auckland are at the bottom, with zero points. Forfeiting an innings, Hopkins, the losing captain said, was a desperate attempt to open Auckland’s account. “I was walking off the pitch thinking I can either play for the two points here, or forfeit our innings and hope James forfeits his, and play for six,” he told the . “It might have left a sour taste in someone’s mouth but it’s solely because we were on zero points and we’re trying to play catch-up.”ND captain Marshall said his decision was not unprecedented, and criticised those accusing him of collusion. “This is my 13th season and it’s not like it’s the first time it has happened in those 13 years,” he said. “Other teams have done it. The teams that might have moaned are the teams that are maybe a little bit negative about the game of cricket.”Central Districts coach and former England allrounder Dermott Reeve was among those who led the criticism. “No captain in his right mind forfeits an innings 290 runs behind if he doesn’t know that the other people aren’t going to enforce the follow-on and play ball,” he said. “It’s disgraceful. This is not playing within the spirit of the game. It could just become farcical if there’s nothing done.”Terming the NZC’s investigation into the incident as “rubbish”, Reeve added: “Auckland and ND should have come clean and said Auckland were aware that we [Northern] weren’t going to enforce the follow-on.”Wellington coach Anthony Stuart echoed Reeve’s statements. “Our jobs are on the line and you get a ridiculous game like this,” he said. “I find it incredibly frustrating. I find it hard to believe the players sat around for 2 1/2 days and didn’t discuss manufacturing a result.”However, NZC chief executive Justin Vaughan said the investigations yielded no evidence of collaboration. “It was obviously unusual circumstances in terms of how the game achieved a result,” Vaughan said. “We did a thorough investigation and you’ve got to back the evidence that you receive. Certainly there was no evidence of collusion.”What can you do? Accuse them of being liars? “You’ve got to take them on their word. So as much as you may suspect something, unless you’ve got the evidence, I don’t think that you can act on anything.”

Iyer points to the sluggishness of the pitch and Abrar’s tight spell as reasons for India not being able to bat more aggressively

Andrew Fidel Fernando24-Feb-20252:07

Manjrekar: Shreyas now looks comfortable against the short ball

“Can you just tell me how many overs were left?” Shreyas Iyer asked journalists, right at the top of his press conference. “Forty-five balls? Okay.””I think we could have won a bit earlier. It would have been a convincing win.”Uhh, what? Is a six-wicket win with more than seven overs left not convincing enough?There was almost no stage in their chase of 242 in which India appeared troubled, and almost no stage in the first innings in which Pakistan appeared capable of getting to a score that would test India.Related

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“But if we could have played more aggressively, we could have won a bit earlier,” Iyer said. He’d hit 56 off 67 balls.Through his innings, Iyer had to battle legspinner Abrar Ahmed, who was the most economical of Pakistan’s bowlers, taking 1 for 28 in his ten overs. That one wicket came from a spectacular delivery to Shubman Gill.Iyer had some good things to say. “I think Abrar bowled brilliantly. It was important and crucial for me to play out that spell and rotate the strike at the same time. It took some time and then once my eyes were set, I thought that sweep and reverse sweep would have been a great option to put them on the back foot. And I think that worked pretty well for me.”It wasn’t easy to take charge against Abrar. In that particular phase, it was important to take singles as much as possible and take the team to the end. Once we reach 30 or 40 runs, it is easy to charge on from there.”One of the things that the experts noted about Iyer’s innings against Pakistan was that he didn’t seem to find handling short deliveries too difficult.”When he came back [after playing domestic cricket] against England, the first innings that he played was flawless,” Sanjay Manjrekar said on ESPNcricinfo Match Day. “It was like a huge difference between the Shreyas Iyer of before and this one, and especially with the short ball. How comfortable is he looking against the short ball [now]! He’s not played [shots] out of desperation or trying to get himself into a counter-attacking mode. He’s just playing that shot carefully and with lots of confidence.”Anil Kumble agreed that playing domestic cricket had changed Iyer. “Whenever he has batted [against] the faster bowlers, earlier on, he would move around in his crease very early in his innings, irrespective of what the situation was. But we have never seen that in today’s game.”This is the second match India have played in Dubai in this Champions Trophy, though this was a different strip from the one they had faced Bangladesh on. And the bowlers who took pace off the ball complicated Iyer’s progress.Shreyas Iyer scored an important half-century against Pakistan•ICC/Getty Images

“As we know, even in the previous game we played over here, the wicket is a bit slow,” he said. “It’s spinner-friendly, of course. The amalgamation of all their bowlers and the experience they possess brings a lot of clarity to their bowling.”India were chasing a modest target, but still, Iyer’s start had been somewhat slow – he made 12 off the first 28 balls he faced.”It’s important to attack, but it’s not easy to go in and straightaway start smashing the ball,” he said. “You need to see the pace of the wicket, and how it’s coming on to the bat. If you show that intent every ball, it’s difficult for a batsman, to be honest.”It’s better to take some time, see how it’s coming to you, and let the ball do the talking.”

After scoring 152 from No. 3 against Delhi, the allrounder says he enjoys batting higher up the order

Daya Sagar19-Oct-2024Washington Sundar began his first-class career for Tamil Nadu as an opener – that was the position he batted at in all five matches in his first Ranji Trophy season in 2016-17. Since then, though, he has largely batted in the lower middle order, sometimes as low as No. 8. But after scoring 152 from No. 3 against Delhi in Delhi on Saturday, he said he still considers himself a top-order batter.”It was a decision by the management, and I am grateful for the opportunity,” Washington said of batting in the top order. “I knew it was going to be a good opportunity for me to bat at No. 3 and I am glad I was able to contribute.”I definitely consider myself a top-order batter. I’m very happy with the kind of opportunity I got, to bat at No. 3. For me, one thing is very important – I need to be able to do whatever the team demands. It is a team game. That is what I always think about. Hopefully, I can deliver such knocks consistently.”Related

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By the time Washington came out to bat, N Jagadeesan and Sai Sudharsan had already put on 168. Washington and Sudharsan then added 232 for the second wicket.Washington was on 96 at stumps on the first day. When play resumed on Saturday, he did not take much time to complete his century. In the third over of the day, he steered Navdeep Saini between slip and gully for a four to bring up his second first-class hundred.After Sudharsan fell for 213, Washington and Pradosh Ranjan Paul added 92 for the fourth wicket. Tamil Nadu finally declared their innings on 674 for 6. In reply, Delhi were 43 for no loss at stumps.”Definitely yes,” Washington said when asked if he would like to continue batting in the top order. “I have been feeling very confident about my skills and how I have been batting in the last few years especially. I have just been trying to focus on what the team demands me to do, no matter what the situation is. But batting at the top of the order is a lot of fun.”Before this, Washington was with the Indian team for the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh.”It is exciting, isn’t it? You get to play all formats and get a number of opportunities,” he said.”It is a lot more exciting that way. Obviously, you have to do whatever you need to do to be able to switch formats, especially in white ball, but as elite cricketers, we are very grateful to be having these kinds of challenges. It is all about getting past these challenges. When we come out successful from these challenges, it is very exciting.”Obviously, Test cricket is the ultimate format. Everybody values it a lot. For me, red-ball cricket means a lot. Hopefully, I can play a lot of games and keep performing really well.”