Tammy Beaumont sets up comfortable 59-run win with well-worked half-century

ECB Reporters Network22-Apr-2023Off-spinner Lucy Higham played the starring role with a career-best five for 19 as The Blaze made a winning debut in regional women’s cricket, launching their Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy campaign with a 59-run defeat of Central Sparks at Trent Bridge.Opener Tammy Beaumont top-scored with 60 for the East Midlands team, backed up by England colleague Sarah Glenn (38) and Georgie Boyce (28) and though the rebranded Lightning failed to bat out their 50 overs, Higham chipped in with 24 with the bat to give them a total of 212 to defend.England quick Issy Wong was out of sorts with the ball for Sparks, yet three wickets each for Emily Arlott, Grace Potts and spinner Georgia Davis looked to have secured a target that the West Midlands team could chase.In the event, no one could produce the stand-out performance with the bat that was needed, Katie George top-scoring with 31 at number eight as Blaze skipper Kirstie Gordon, who has taken over from Lightning captain Kathryn Bryce in the role, celebrated a winning start.After the early loss of Marie Kelly, who found short midwicket from Arlott’s first delivery to depart without scoring, Beaumont and Boyce added 66 in 11.4 overs to give The Blaze something like the start they were looking for after winning the toss.Their progress was checked by wickets in three consecutive overs by Potts, the 20-year-old right-arm seamer who was leading wicket-taker for Sparks in both 50- and 20-over cricket last season.Boyce, who had scored three of her five boundaries in a loose second over from Wong, was Potts’s first victim, leg before playing across the line, before the Bryce sisters – Kathryn and Sarah – both feathered catches to ex-Lightning wicketkeeper Abbey Freeborn.Beaumont completed a half-century from 70 balls with her ninth boundary as she and Glenn set about rebuilding the innings from 86 for four, Glenn hitting two boundaries in one over off Potts.Spinners Davis and Hannah Baker dragged the balance back towards Sparks by sharing the next four wickets, beginning with Beaumont’s dismissal for 60 after adding 45 with Glenn when off-spinner Davis struck the front pad as the opener attempted to work to leg.Davis picked up a second, holding a steepling top-edge off her own bowling to remove South Africa all-rounder Nadine de Klerk before Hannah Baker, the England Under-19 leg-spinner, turned one sharply to bowl former Sparks team-mate Glenn, who had been dropped on 22.Davis claimed her third wicket, bowling Beth Harmer middle stump, before Arlott returned to remove Gordon and Higham as The Blaze were dismissed in the 47th over.After failing to click with the ball, Wong seemed determined to make amends with the bat and, having been dropped at cover off De Klerk on two, was beginning to look a threat as she lofted Grace Ballinger for six over midwicket.But in attempting to dish out similar treatment to Glenn at the end of the England leg-spinner’s opening over she succeeded only in finding the safe hands of Higham on the boundary.After Chloe Brewer fell leg before to Kathryn Bryce, Higham struck arguably the most important blow, taking what turned into a difficult return catch as Jones – prolific in this competition in previous years – sent the ball soaring skywards off a top edge which drifted in the breeze as it came down. At the halfway point, Sparks were well off the pace at 76 for three, where The Blaze had been 130 for four.The combination of off-spinner Higham with left-armer Gordon denied Sparks the acceleration they needed and the visitors suffered further losses as Freeborn paddled straight to the fielder behind square to give Higham a second success, to which she quickly added a third, inducing Ami Campbell to offer an easy caught-and-bowled.Arlott was victim number four for Higham, via a stumping, which she raised to five by bowling Davis, either side of Gordon dismissing Davina Perrin via a catch at mid-off.George, who hit five fours in her attempt to keep Sparks in contention, fell caught and bowled by De Klerk, who completed the win by bowling Baker with the second ball of the 49th over.

Hits out at club for slow appointment process, claiming his candidacy was being treated as a backstop

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Jun-2023Colin Graves has withdrawn his offer to refinance Yorkshire’s £14.9 million debt, and will not be returning to his former role of chair at the club after criticising the length of time it has taken to appoint a successor to Lord Patel, who stepped down in March.Graves’ family trust is owed approximately £15 million by Yorkshire following his bail-out in 2002, although the club has been looking at alternative sources of investment, with prospective names in the frame including Mike Ashley, the former owner of Newcastle United, and the Saudi national investment fund.Yorkshire are due to repay £500,000 to the Graves Trust in October, with the remainder of the balance due in October 2024, although Graves himself was understood to have reached an agreement with its independent trustees to extend the repayment terms by a further three years, in exchange for his return as Yorkshire chair.However, in a letter to the interim chair, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, and seen by the Telegraph, Graves has now withdrawn from that agreement in principle, with a broadside at the club for effectively using him as a backstop if they failed to secure the funding elsewhere.”After five months of constant discussions, interviews, exchange of emails, it would appear that your board only require my services as chairman as a last resort. Other excellent candidates have been rejected, in a process that has proven to be arduous and disappointing to all who participated,” he wrote.Yorkshire’s financial position remains parlous in the wake of Azeem Rafiq’s revelations about institutional racism at Headingley, and the subsequent withdrawal of a host of key sponsors at the height of the crisis. In a statement, the club responded that they were “disappointed” with Graves’ pronouncements, adding that his proposal had never been a definitive offer for formal board-level discussion.”We remain at a critical point in the future of Yorkshire County Cricket Club,” the statement read. “The board is squarely focused on securing the financial security of the club and we are continuing the positive conversations around investment from various sources.”We have been notified that Colin Graves has decided to withdraw his application for chair. We are disappointed that he has decided to do so publicly and are obliged to make it absolutely clear that at no point did Colin make a clearly defined, tangible offer that the board was able to consider formally, unlike other interested parties involved in the refinance process.”We have consistently outlined that the new chair would be appointed using a fair, thorough and robust process, which is ongoing. Colin indicated that the terms of his return as chair would require total control of the board and executive. This would run counter to that process, as well as the best practice governance requirements set out in the County Governance Code that were agreed by all counties in 2019.”Colin also makes a number of allegations about the board’s actions in regard to finances which are unfounded and indicate a distinct lack of understanding of the current position of YCCC. The short- and long-term financial wellbeing of the club remains the board’s priority, and we will not be distracted by speculation which is unhelpful to our primary objective of securing the future of Yorkshire County Cricket Club and making it a welcoming club for everyone.”

They are one of four teams in the running to make the 2023 World Cup

Firdose Moonda01-Jul-2023″Playing to get into a World Cup is as big as it gets,” Richie Berrington, Scotland’s captain, told the host broadcaster after their victory over West Indies in Harare. And it’s the second time he is doing it.Berrington was one of five players who were in the starting XI on March 21, 2018, when their World Cup dream ended with a defeat to West Indies at the same ground. It was Berrington’s wicket that changed the game. With Scotland on 105 for 4 in the 32nd over, chasing 199, Berrington was given out lbw against offspinner Ashley Nurse and with no DRS available, could not request a review. Even to the untrained eye, the delivery appeared to be missing leg stump. Four overs later, the rain came down. Scotland were five runs behind the DLS target of 131 – which would have been fewer had Berrington not been dismissed – and lost the match, and along with it, a chance to appear at the 2019 World Cup.This time, there was not a cloud in the sky as Scotland skittled West Indies for 181 and chased the target with 6.3 overs to spare. Poetically, Berrington played the shot that levelled the scores and was at the other end when the winning runs were scored; runs that will keep West Indies out of the World Cup for the first time in history and gives Scotland another chance of getting to the main event. “Thats’ a blueprint of how we want to play,” Doug Watson, Scotland’s coach, said at the post-match press conference.Scotland used the new ball well in helpful conditions and had West Indies in trouble at 81 of 6 in the 21st over. Although the seventh wicket partnership of 77 went on for longer than Scotland may have liked, West Indies never got away from them. Their chase, dented by the early loss of Christopher McBride, was clinical.Brandon McMullen starred with both bat and ball and is now Scotland’s leading run-scorer and second-highest wicket-taker in the competition. He is quickly becoming the star of the side, after being spotted by former Scotland coach Shane Burger at Durban’s Hilton College and making his debut just seven months ago. McMullen bowled an opening spell of nine overs in this match and has established himself as a go-to player for Berrington and Watson. “He is a lovely team man; gets in and helps everyone,” Watson said. “Just a beautiful human being to be around.”The good vibes coming out of the Scotland camp extend beyond McMullen, with the squad as a whole feeding off their strong string of results in the World Cricket League Division 2, which saw them automatically qualify for this event, and a preparation period that included a training camp and playing in a domestic T20 tournament in West Indies. Against the backdrop of their own reckoning with racism, Scottish cricket has not had a smooth ride over the last few months, but their performance at this campaign has given them reason to believe they can go one step further.They have four points to their name and two matches left to play, which means they could reach eight points. Both Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka could end up on the same number, which will bring net run rate into play in the final calculation. For now, as Berrington said, Scotland just want to acknowledge “the importance of every game,” and be “clear in our plans.”They have already overturned two Full Member sides, Ireland and West Indies, and take on a third in Zimbabwe on Tuesday. Watson is confident that even with the home crowd behind them, Zimbabwe are fallible and that Scotland can give them a run for their money. “It shows that we can compete at this level,” Watson said. “Associate cricket is hard. Games like this are a real highlight for us. We see it as a privilege to play in them.”

Galle had it all – the return of an ace speedster, a thrilling fightback and a wicket off the last ball

Madushka Balasuriya16-Jul-2023Rain took out large chunks of play on the first day in Galle, but either side of each of those stoppages Pakistan and Sri Lanka engaged in an intriguing tug of war, one that saw the visitors streak ahead courtesy a Shaheen Shah Afridi three-wicket burst, before the hosts reeled them back with a 131-run fifth wicket stand between Angelo Mathews and Dhananjaya de Silva.While Mathews, who had looked imperious during his 109-ball 64, fell on the stroke of tea Dhananjaya stitched another crucial partnership with Sadeera Samarawickrama (36 off 57), before Pakistan struck one final blow on the stroke of stumps, as Samarawickrama was caught brilliantly at short leg by Imam-ul-Haq. Sri Lanka have 242 for 6 on the board.Those last two wickets arguably made it Pakistan’s day, with Ramesh Mendis, now the last recognised batter alongside Dhananjaya, set to come in next. But with Dhananjaya still unbeaten on 94 off 157 deliveries, Pakistan won’t be getting ahead of themselves, especially after he spent most of the day showcasing his increasingly uncanny knack of delivering when Sri Lanka needed him most.This time he came to the crease with his side 54 for 4. This was during the hour’s play in the morning session between an 85-minute rain break and a late lunch. Afridi had already dispatched Nishan Madushka to grab his 100th Test wicket in the little over five overs of play before rain intervened, but he really took things up a notch following the break, squaring up Kusal Mendis to have him caught at second slip and then strangling the set Dimuth Karunaratne down the leg side.When Dinesh Chandimal wafted at a fullish delivery outside off stump from Naseem Shah to be gobbled up expertly by Babar Azam at third slip, Sri Lanka might have been fearing the worst. But Dhananjaya and Mathews weathered that storm and made it through to lunch.After the break however, with the sun having come out, any movement the seamers had seen earlier in the day was all but gone. This was when Mathews and Dhananjaya got to work, negating whatever Pakistan threw at them. One hundred and twenty runs came in this session.Mathews was in rich form, playing a couple of sumptuous straight drives. Babar Azam briefly flirted with a short-ball strategy, but gave up on it within the span of an over after both Mathews and Dhananjaya showed they were unfazed – possibly down to the ball holding up in the surface whenever it was dug in.Angelo Mathews and Dhananjaya de Silva brought Sri Lanka right back in the contest with a 131-run stand•AFP/Getty Images

As such, a majority of the middle session was bowled by spinners Abrar Ahmed and Noman Ali. However, with it still being day one in Galle, there was hardly any turn on offer and it was difficult for either of them to build any sort of concerted pressure. Mathews found it fairly easy to rotate strike, while Dhananjaya took it upon himself to take on the role of aggressor. Noman was the unlucky recipient of most of this aggression, being taken for four fours and a pair of sixes – the most memorable an elegant inside-out drive over long-off.Then, as the session wound to a close, the run rate quickened as Mathews joined in on the act, taking Agha Salman for back-to-back boundaries through midwicket; in all, he would score nine boundaries. He was looking well set for what would have been his 16th Test century when he feathered a cut through to the keeper off Abrar.It was at this point where Sri Lanka probably struggled the most aside from that early Afridi spell, with Samarawickrama unable to read Abrar’s variations. Figuring out the direction of the turn off the pitch didn’t work all that well either considering he was beaten several times on both the inside and the outside edge. But whatever pressure that was being built would consistently be released by the odd loose ball.At the other end, with Noman largely ineffective, Babar opted to go with Naseem, where once more the short ball strategy, as well a variety of different field placements such as catching mid-ons and mid-offs, were trialled to little effect.But once rain halted play again midway through the final session, Pakistan picked up a second wind and produced a fascinating seven-over period before the end of play.While Afridi operated from one end, once more finding lateral movement off the deck when earlier there seemed to be none, Abrar was troubling Samarawickrama. It was however Salman, who had been largely ineffective, who made the crucial breakthrough, called in to bowl the final over of the day – his fifth in total – getting Samarawickrama to pop one off bat and pad to the right of Imam, who dived full length to his right and somehow held on, as Pakistan ended the day the happier of the two sides.

Revised schedule finally released with less than two months to go before the start of the tournament on October 5

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Aug-2023Nine matches in the upcoming ODI World Cup have had their dates or start times changed, the ICC has finally confirmed, including the India-Pakistan fixture in Ahmedabad, which will now be played – as reported earlier by ESPNcricinfo – on October 14 instead of October 15. The changes were confirmed by the ICC with less than two months to go before the start of the game’s showpiece event.Pakistan, Bangladesh and England are the most affected: while three games of Pakistan have been shifted, Bangladesh and England have had two changes each in their schedule, aside from having their originally-planned day-night fixture on October 10 converted to a day game. As a result of the change in the India-Pakistan game, Pakistan’s match against Sri Lanka in Hyderabad has been moved from October 12 to October 10, to give them an adequate gap leading into their India match.But the Australia-South Africa match in Lucknow has also been brought forward a day and will take place on October 12 instead of October 13. The England-Afghanistan game in Delhi, which was originally scheduled for October 14, will be played on October 15. New Zealand’s match against Bangladesh in Chennai has been changed from a day game on October 14 to a day-night fixture on October 13.The double-header scheduled for November 12 – Australia vs Bangladesh in Pune and England vs Pakistan in Kolkata – will now be played on November 11, following concerns raised by Kolkata police to the Cricket Association of Bengal about holding a match on the same day as the Hindu festival of Kali Puja.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The league stage of the World Cup will now end with India playing Netherlands in Bengaluru on November 12, instead of November 11.
The World Cup starts on October 5 with defending champions England taking on New Zealand in Ahmedabad, and culminates in the final on November 18, also in Ahmedabad. The semi-finals will be played in Mumbai and Kolkata on November 15 and 16 respectively. The ICC also announced that tickets for the event will go online from August 25.The schedule of the 2023 ODI World Cup was released after a long delay on June 27, just 100 days before the start of the tournament on October 5 in Ahmedabad, whereas the schedules for the last two tournaments in Australia and New Zealand (2015) and England and Wales (2019) were out more than 12 months in advance.It later emerged that the local police in Ahmedabad had raised concerns over providing adequate security on October 15, the original date of the India vs Pakistan game, which is also the first day of Navaratri, a major, nine-day Hindu festival.Jay Shah, the BCCI secretary, had, however, dismissed that as the reason. “If security was an issue then why would the match go there [to Ahmedabad] – 14-15 is not the problem,” he had said after a BCCI meeting on July 27. “Two or three boards have written in, asking to change based on the logistical challenges. There are some matches where there is only a two-day gap, so it will be difficult to play and then travel next day [and then play again].”

The fast bowler returned home for the birth of his child and is likely to rejoin the side for the Super Fours

Deivarayan Muthu03-Sep-20233:28

Jaffer: Shami the obvious replacement for Bumrah

Big picture: Rain in the air once again

Rain ruined the India-Pakistan game, the first in ODI cricket between the two teams since the 2019 World Cup, on Saturday in Pallekele. A similar rain threat hangs over the India-Nepal game at the same venue on Monday, with chances of precipitation up to 80%. If Monday’s fixture in Pallekele is also washed out, India will join their arch-rivals Pakistan in the Super Fours from Group A.Nepal will not want to return home without testing themselves against India’s superstars. If the weather clears up, this could be their biggest match yet, with millions tuning into it. Just two months back, in Colombo, a Rohit Paudel-led Nepal team came up against an India A team filled with IPL players, and suffered a drubbing.Nepal suffered a similar drubbing at the hands of Babar Azam’s Pakistan on their Asia Cup debut in Multan, but there were some passages of play where they showed that they could compete with top teams. Like when Karan KC and Sompal Kami operated with discipline and purpose in the early exchanges. When Paudel swooped in on the ball and nailed a direct hit to run Imam-ul-Haq out. However, at the same time, they also botched a number of chances in the field.They can’t afford any such clumsy errors – or no team for that matter – against an India side that is almost back to full strength. Shreyas Iyer looked fluent against Pakistan before his stay was cut short by Haris Rauf. But they will be without Jasprit Bumrah, who has returned home* for the birth of his first child to miss just one game. It was Ishan Kishan, who made the biggest splash on Saturday, with 82 off 81 balls at No. 5 against a fearsome pace attack on a two-paced track.Going into the match as overwhelming favourites, will India give Suryakumar Yadav or Tilak Varma a chance before they announce their World Cup squad?

Form guide

India WLWLL (last five completed ODIs, most recent first)
Nepal LLWLL

In the spotlight: Kuldeep Yadav and Lalit Rajbanshi

Since his return to the ODI side in January, Kuldeep Yadav has established himself as India’s premier spinner in the format. Among bowlers from Full-Member nations, only Wanindu Hasaranga, Mark Adair and Maheesh Theekshana have more wickets than Kuldeep’s 22 in 11 innings in ODI cricket this year. On Monday, Kuldeep can handsomely add to his tally against an opposition that perhaps isn’t used to facing high-quality left-arm wristspin.Lalit Rajbanshi bowls the less glamorous variety of spin – left-arm fingerspin – and has spent much of his career in the shadow of legspinner Sandeep Lamichhane. But he has played his part in Nepal’s recent success with his defensive skills. Those skills were on bright display against Pakistan in Multan, where he strung together 33 dots. In a match where Pakistan rattled up 342, Rajbanshi gave away just 48 from his ten overs. Earlier, against West Indies in the ODI World Cup Qualifier in Harare, he even fronted up to bowl at the death and got rid of Rovman Powell, Shai Hope and Keemo Paul.0:48

Nepal captain: Kohli is an inspiration for all of us

Team news: Shami could replace Bumrah

Kishan seemingly struggled while running between the wickets against Pakistan, but he was ready to keep wicket before persistent rain had the final say. Bumrah went back home for the birth of his first child – he will likely be back for the Super Fours stage – but for now, his absence will open up a spot for Mohammed Shami or Prasidh Krishna. India have no reason to make any changes on the batting front unless they want to throw in Suryakumar or Tilak, who was particularly impressive during the T20I series against West Indies.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 Ishan Kishan (wk), 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Mohammed Shami/Prasidh Krishna, 11 Mohammed SirajBhim Sharki is part of the squad as a reserve batter, but Nepal might stick to the same XI.Nepal (probable): 1 Kushal Bhurtel, 2 Aasif Sheikh (wk), 3 Rohit Paudel (capt), 4 Aarif Sheikh, 5 Sompal Kami, 6 Dipendra Singh Airee, 7 Gulsan Jha, 8 Kushal Malla, 9 Karan KC, 10 Sandeep Lamichhane, 11 Lalit Rajbanshi

Pitch and conditions: All eyes on the skies

The conditions – both overhead and underfoot – in Pallekele challenged batters on Saturday. There could be some juice for the seamers on Monday too, but all eyes will be on the skies once again.

Stats and trivia: Nepal’s first outing vs India

• This will be Nepal’s first international game against India and only fifth ODI against a Full-Member nation.
• Kushal Bhurtel is six runs away from becoming the third Nepal player, after Paudel and Aasif Sheikh, to 1000 runs in ODI cricket.
• Virat Kohli is 98 runs away from becoming the second Indian – and fifth batter overall – to 13,000 ODI runs.

Quotes

“We never imagined that we would get a chance to play two back-to-back matches against Pakistan and India. We want to make such opportunities count so that the cricketing world can take notice of us.”
*

Georgia Elwiss, Emily Windsor add half-centuries to compound Blaze’s late-season struggles

ECB Reporters Network16-Sep-2023Southern Vipers won by 126 runs to send them through to next week’s Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy Final, pipping the Blaze, who had led the table all season in a winner-takes-all final game of the group stages at Loughborough.The South Coast team entered the last game, knowing a bonus point win would carry them through. The Blaze also knew a win would guarantee a place at Northampton next Sunday.The Blaze would have to reach a score of 231 even if they didn’t chase down the 289 they needed to win the game and take all other permutations out of the equation.Half-centuries from Georgia Elwiss (64), Emily Windsor (53) and Maia Bouchier (64), who recently scored 95 at Leicester for England in her first ODI series against Sri Lanka, underpinned Vipers’ total.On an overcast morning with the September dew still fresh on the outfield, it felt important to win the toss and bowl, which is what Kirstie Gordon, the Blaze captain, did and early on it looked like the correct decision. Kathryn Bryce and Grace Ballinger, who both who get a lot of early swing, kept the Vipers top order quiet. Ballinger made the early breakthrough in the second over, trapping Ella McCaughan lbw for a nine-ball duck.The experience of Georgia Adams and Bouchier steadied the innings; the pair added 102 for the second wicket and rarely looked in any bother, but with runs difficult to come by at the beginning, it took Bouchier 25 balls to find her first boundary. Four more fours and two sixes from the in-form international followed and both fell within 24 balls of each other, Bouchier to a fantastic low catch from Ella Claridge at a short midwicket that never rose above ankle height.Runs were flowing more freely, which gave the platform for Elwiss and Emily Windsor to up the scoring rate in a fourth-wicket partnership of 94. When the pair were separated with the score on 220 with 12 overs left, a total of 300 plus was on the cards. The Blaze fought back, howerver, and Ballinger, with two wickets in the 48th over, finished with 4 for 58; with Josie Groves, with 3 for 64, was the pick of the Blaze bowlers, while Kathryn Bryce’s ten overs were an economical 1 for 36.Where the Vipers had relied on two significant partnerships to propel them to their total, the Blaze lost wickets at regular intervals, with their running causing the fall of two wickets, albeit close calls for the umpire. However, a more obvious decision was not given as Kathryn Bryce struggled to reach her ground.Marie Kelly, recently back from the Caribbean Premier League, top-scored for the home side with 56 from 62, and Sarah Bryce added 62 for the second wicket from 85 balls. As Kelly completed her fifty from 52 balls, she pulled up with some discomfort in her back. Kelly was determined to continue, having previously been a thorn in the Vipers’ side. The Blaze needed her to bat deep, and unfortunately for the East Midlands outfit, she soon departed for 56 from Adams’s handy off-spin.
Mary Taylor, the 18-year-old seamer in her second spell, had Kathryn Bryce and Lucy Higham caught behind by Rhianna Southby as the Blaze crumbled to 156 for 8, 75 runs behind their target.It means the Blaze will play in the eliminator on Thursday knowing that they needed just one win from their final three games to qualify for the final, now having to pick themselves up to go again.

India scored 357 for 8 and then their fast bowlers routed Sri Lanka for 55 in 19.4 overs

Deivarayan Muthu02-Nov-20232:20

What sets this Indian pace unit apart from the rest?

Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah razed Sri Lanka for 55 at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, sealing India’s seventh successive win of the World Cup and their spot in the semi-finals.India’s fast-bowling trio was so sensational with the new ball that the scores of Sri Lanka’s top five read like a line of binary code: 0, 0, 1, 0, 1. When Shami also had Nos. 7 and 8 for ducks with the score on 29, Sri Lanka were in serious danger of folding for the lowest total in ODI cricket. They were eventually bundled out in 19.4 overs as India completed the fourth-biggest win in the format, and Shami’s 5 for 18 made him India’s highest wicket-taker in World Cups. It was the third time that India had dismissed Sri Lanka for less than 100 in ODIs in 2023, and their second 300-plus-run victory against them this year.Related

• 'No rocket science, just rhythm' – Shami after becoming India's top World Cup wicket-taker

The very first ball from Bumrah was a portent for the carnage that was to follow. He went wide of the crease, got a full ball to angle in and then swing away late to thump Pathum Nissanka’s back pad. Siraj also struck with his first ball, pinning Dimuth Karunaratne lbw. Four balls later, with a reinforced cordon, Siraj had the in-form Sadeera Samarawickrama caught at third slip.But it was the dismissal of captain Kusal Mendis that stood out. Coaches often instruct bowlers to hit that bail-trimming length – too short to drive nor short enough to pull or cut. Siraj not only hit that bail-trimming length to beat Mendis’ outside edge, he also broke the bails. At 3 for 4, with just one of those runs off the bat, Sri Lanka’s batting line-up was also broken.Angelo Mathews and the lower order tried to fix it, but all they could do was to drag Sri Lanka to 55 – five runs more than what they had managed in the Asia Cup final at the Premadasa in September earlier this year.The performance of India’s fast bowlers overshadowed that of their batters and Dilshan Madushanka’s maiden five-wicket haul in international cricket.2:05

Hayden: We shouldn’t take this period of Kohli’s career for granted

Madushanka had hushed the Wankhede with his second ball – a Mustafizur Rahman-esque cutter that sent Rohit Sharma’s off stump cartwheeling. Four of Madushanka’s five wickets were down to his ability to roll his fingers across the ball. But the rest of Sri Lanka’s attack continued to leak runs, as has been the case throughout this tournament.Virat Kohli threatened to join Sachin Tendulkar at the top of this list with 49 ODI hundreds at a venue where a statue of Tendulkar was unveiled on the eve of this game. The Wankhede waited expectantly, but Madushanka had other ideas, dismissing Kohli 12 short of the landmark. Sri Lanka could have cut Kohli’s innings short on 10 had Dushmantha Chameera hung on to a return catch in the sixth over.Shubman Gill was also reprieved in the powerplay when Charith Asalanka dropped him on 8 at cover-point. Gill then combined with Kohli to punish Sri Lanka with a 189-run partnership on a hot afternoon.1:10

Kumble: Madushanka showing maturity at a young age

Kohli got cracking with his trademark cover-drives while Gill often stepped out of his crease to manufacture scoring opportunities. Then, when Sri Lanka’s fast bowlers shortened their lengths to Gill, he put them away with his rasping short-arm pulls. Legspin-bowling allrounder Dushan Hemantha, who is essentially a like-for-like replacement for the injured Wanindu Hasaranga, couldn’t stem the flow of runs either.When Kohli and Gill matched each other shot for shot and moved close to three figures, India’s fans were probably entertaining thoughts of double-hundreds from both batters. But Madushanka returned to the attack and didn’t even let the batters reach triple figures. The left-arm seamer then showed that he’s no one-trick pony. He bounced Suryakumar Yadav out with an on-pace bouncer.Shreyas Iyer then hit full throttle, but he, too, fell agonisingly short of a hundred. He latched on to anything that was remotely full and sent it disappearing from his sight. When Kasun Rajitha pitched one in the slot outside off, Iyer launched it over long-on for a 106-metre six – the biggest in the tournament so far. Iyer brought up his half-century off 36 balls and later lined up even Sri Lanka’s best bowlers on the day – Madushanka and Chameera. Iyer took Madushanka for 18 off nine balls before holing out.Iyer’s assault was central to India racking up 93 off their last ten overs. Ravindra Jadeja also did his bit with the bat in those slog overs, but he was barely needed with the ball on a night that belonged to India’s quicks.

Chances of a full game are high and Johannesburg typically has plenty for batters and fast bowlers

Firdose Moonda13-Dec-20233:55

Manjrekar: Would like to see Shreyas Iyer at No. 3

Big picture: India, SA and their T20 World Cup gains

And just like that, both teams best chance for T20 World Cup preparation on the international stage will come to an end, two days after it began. What’s been gleaned so far? Only as much as we could from 19.3 overs of India’s batting and 13.5 of South Africa’s, and which we can briefly summarise as this:

• Suryakumar Yadav and his shots over the wicketkeeper are among the most entertaining things in T20 cricket.
• Reeza Hendricks must open the batting for South Africa at the next T20 World Cup, irrespective of who his opening partner is.
• Tabraiz Shamsi has matured into a T20 banker, and
• Rinku Singh is winning the race as India’s finisher so far.

That’s not too bad for a series where the first match was washed out entirely and the second rain-affected.It also means we’ve yet to see a full T20 game and the big hope is that the Wanderers delivers one. Even if it does, neither side is at full strength and South Africa have reduced their stocks even further by releasing Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee to play in the domestic four-day game in preparation for the Tests later in the tour and will field an inexperienced pace attack. India are also without a key player as Deepak Chahar has remained at home for personal reasons. Both sets of seamers struggled for consistency in damp conditions at St George’s Park and will want to get their disciplines right in the decider. They need look no further than Mohammed Siraj, whose lines were exemplary, as an example.While the spinners were all impressive in Gqeberha, they are unlikely to find much assistance in Johannesburg and could end up being the main targets for batting line-ups that both have headline acts. Hendricks’ run of form sees him average 51.50 from his last 12 T20Is while Suryakumar and Rinku give India a powerful middle-order combination. All three of them might have the T20 World Cup in the back of their minds but India’s stand-in captain, for his part, isn’t saying so.”Go out and enjoy yourself,” has been his message to his players and with Thursday being the eve of the public holiday South Africa have declared to celebrate the Springboks Rugby World Cup win, who would dare to argue?

Form guide

South Africa: WLLLL (last five matches, most recent first)
India: LWLWW

In the spotlight: Matthew Breetzke and Yashasvi Jaiswal

In a truncated chase on Tuesday night, Matthew Breetzke was off to a sparkling start with 16 off 7 balls and showed good energy at the crease – almost too good. He was hasty in turning for a second run with his opening partner Hendricks still to leave the non-striker’s end and was visibly furious with himself when he was run out, squandering an opportunity to anchor a chase. He has one more chance to make a solid case for a more regular role at the Wanderers, where he will open for the final time in international cricket this year. Breetzke is not part of the ODI squad.Reeza Hendricks has been excellent for South Africa in T20Is this year•Getty Images

In the other camp, Yashasvi Jaiswal’s immense talent was limited to three balls in the opening match but he will be eager to show more of what he can do. With a reputation for aggression made perfectly clear by an eye-popping strike rate – 161.57 from his 14 T20Is so far – Jaiswal’s next challenge is to test it in South African conditions. Although he won’t be facing South Africa’s first-choice attack, there will still be plenty of pace, bounce and movement on offer and how he counters could make for an interesting contest.

Team news: New faces for South Africa?

With Jansen and Coetzee out, South Africa may find place for one, or both, of Nandre Burger and Ottniel Baartman to debut. Burger may edge ahead as he offers extra pace. Donovan Ferreira could also find his way into the XI, as an extra allrounder.South Africa (probable): 1 Reeza Hendricks, 2 Matthew Breetzke, 3 Aiden Markam (capt), 4 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 5 David Miller, 6 Tristan Stubbs, 7 Donovan Ferreira, 8 Andile Phehlukwayo, 9 Lizaad Williams, 10 Ottniel Baartman/Nandre Burger, 11 Tabraiz ShamsiGiven Chahar has not joined the squad in South Africa yet, if India want to make any changes, it’s likely to be in the batting and spin departments, rather than among the seamers. Ruturaj Gaikwad missed Tuesday’s match with illness and could come in for Shubman Gill if he has recovered. Kuldeep Yadav may make way for Ravi Bishnoi, even though conditions are unlikely to offer too much to either of them.India (probable): 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Ruturaj Gaikwad/Shubman Gill, 3 Tilak Varma, 4 Suryakumar Yadav (capt), 5 Rinku Singh, 6 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Arshdeep Singh, 9 Kuldeep Yadav/Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Mukesh Kumar

Pitch and conditions: Clear(ish) skies and a great game in the offing

The news everyone wants to hear is that the drizzle has drifted away and they’re mostly in luck. Thursday’s forecast for Johannesburg is clear for the late afternoon with only a 25% chance of evening thunderstorms. That means the chances of a full match are pretty good and the prospect of entertainment, even better.At altitude, expect the ball to reach the boundary quicker but with good pace and bounce, there should be plenty for the quicks as well.

Stats and trivia: Runs, runs and more runs

• Hendricks is South Africa’s leading run-scorer in T20I cricket this year, with 108 runs more than his nearest competitor, Aiden Markram.
• For India, Suryakumar leads the batting charts, and has 363 runs more than the next highest run-scorer Jaiswal. Suryakumar also broke into the all-time top 10 six-hitters’ list in T20Is after Tuesday match. He has 115 sixes to his name.
• The Highveld has been spectacular for T20I run-scoring this year. In March, Centurion’s SuperSport Park hosted the game with the highest match aggregate – 517 – between South Africa and West Indies. And two days later, the Wanderers saw the 16th highest match aggregate of 433 reached in a thriller between the same two sides.
  

  Quotes

  “Rob has made the environment a lot more relaxed. He has made the guys be themselves. We are human beings. He has let us have bad days. He has allowed our families in. A lot of the guys are husbands and fathers, so that’s important. That happiness that the guys have makes us play better.”
  “For every series, I was preparing for the conditions. If you see, West Indies was a bit on the slower side, and if you see Ireland, [the pitches] were similar to South Africa wickets, it was a bit bouncy and seaming a bit. We were preparing according to the [conditions] and we are India. So, it has been a great experience and great learning.”

The teams will play a series of three ODIs and three T20Is, with all the games set to take place in Colombo

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Dec-2023Zimbabwe will tour Sri Lanka for a series of three ODIs and three T20Is in January. It will be the first bilateral T20I series featuring the two teams in Sri Lanka, and also the first ODI series between them in the island since January 2022.Sri Lanka are currently No. 7 in the ICC ODI team rankings, while Zimbabwe, who have failed to qualify for the last two World Cups in the format, are currently at No. 11. In T20Is, Sri Lanka are eighth, while Zimbabwe are in 13th place, and have also missed out on qualification for the 2024 T20 World Cup after finishing behind Namibia and Uganda in the qualifiers, played in Namibia recently.

Zimbabwe tour of Sri Lanka

Jan 6: 1st ODI
Jan 8: 2nd ODI
Jan 11: 3rd ODI
Jan 14: 1st T20I
Jan 16: 2nd T20I
Jan 18: 3rd T20I

Keeping the World Cup in mind, this will be useful game time for the Sri Lankans, who also have T20I series lined up against Afghanistan (three games, at home) and Bangladesh (three games, away) in early 2024. The World Cup will be played in the Caribbean and the USA in June.This year, when the focus was more on ODIs because of the 50-over World Cup, Sri Lanka have played just six T20Is, winning two (both against Ireland at home) and losing four (in New Zealand, and against Pakistan at home).The tour will kick off with the ODIs, to be played on January 6, 8 and 11, and will be followed by the T20Is, to be played on January 14, 16 and 18. All the matches will be played at Colombo’s R Premadasa Stadium.The games had initially been pencilled in to take place in Dambulla and Kandy, however with the Under-19 World Cup having been shifted to South Africa, the option to host in Colombo had opened up.