All posts by csb10.top

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsSarfraz Ahmed’s 90 laid the platform for Pakistan to chase 303•Getty Images

Pakistan achieved their sixth-highest successful ODI chase to avert a whitewash at the hands of England in Cardiff. Sarfraz Ahmed led the way with 90 from 73 balls during a record fourth-wicket stand for Pakistan against England as he and Shoaib Malik finally provided the fibre lacking through so much of the series for the tourists to help overhaul a target of 303 with four wickets and 10 balls to spare.No team had previously chased 300 to win in Cardiff but England, having rotated their bowling attack, suddenly found themselves stretched. The decision to leave out both frontline spinners, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid, was a risk that Pakistan capitalised upon in particular, as the debutant Liam Dawson returned figures of 8-0-70-2, having been targeted from the outset as Sarfraz struck his first two balls to the boundary.Dawson did eventually remove both to wild slogs down the ground and at 256 for 5 England sensed an opportunity to put pressure on a nervous Pakistan side that had only won once, against Ireland, in their previous ten completed ODIs. Malik’s dismissal for 77 one ball after hitting Dawson for a straight six was particularly heedless but, despite a direct hit from Jonny Bairstow to run out Mohammad Nawaz, the inexperienced pairing of Mohammad Rizwan and Imad Wasim held their nerve.England had lost 5 for 64 during the closing stages of their innings but still just about managed to fight their way up beyond 300, setting Pakistan a target some way in excess of the previous best on the ground. Jason Roy and Ben Stokes were both unable to convert hundreds when seemingly well set for England while Mohammad Amir and Hasan Ali, bowling intelligently at the death, shared seven wickets.Given the respective levels of confidence in the two dressing rooms, it looked like it might be enough. Sharjeel Khan, Pakistan’s most powerful striker, chipped to mid-on in the fifth over of the chase and Mark Wood then struck twice in an over to remove both set batsmen after a 54-run partnership between Azhar Ali and Babar Azam. Having gone wide on the crease to get Azam, bowled through the gate, England then used the DRS to overturn a not-out decision and have Azhar caught behind.The 163-run association between Sarfraz and Malik turned the game around. It was Pakistan’s first century partnership of the series and they became increasingly comfortable after coming together with the score on 77 for 3. Sarfraz was the more aggressive, reaching his half-century from 44 deliveries, while Malik passed 50 in England for the first time in any format.They had only just pushed Pakistan’s score into three figures when Dawson was called upon to bowl for the first time in ODIs. Sarfraz swept his first ball to deep backward square and then advanced nimbly to drive through midwicket to immediately throw down the gauntlet. By the time Dawson finished a spell of four overs at a cost of 41, Pakistan at last had a spring in their pajama-trousered step and were more than halfway to their target.An exceptionally tough one-handed chance to Joe Root at extra cover when Malik had 9, and a failed review for lbw against Sarfraz – trapped in front on 60 by a Wood slower ball that Hawk-Eye suggested had bounced too much – were as close as England came to separating the two most battle-hardened members of the Pakistan batting order when it mattered. Even though Sarfraz departed ten short of a century with 63 still required, the tonic had worked.Pakistan’s bowlers had struck regularly through the first innings to ensure that England, who were well placed at 219 for 4 in the 38th over, did not set an even more challenging target. There was some turn for the spinners and Imad – a Wales-born Pakistani playing in front of a home crowd of sorts – bowled well for figures of 1 for 33 but the efforts of Malik and Nawaz, whose combined 10 overs went for 72, foreshadowed how Pakistan would later target Dawson.Azhar had won what looked like being a helpful toss on a cool, overcast morning and Amir found some swing in his opening over to trouble Roy, who could have been out lbw to his third ball, which pitched on leg and was umpire’s call on impact and hitting the stumps. The next delivery found Roy’s inside edge but brought him a boundary to fine leg and England rode their luck to reach 37 in the fifth over when Amir finally collared Alex Hales, who chipped a slower ball to mid-on.Root and Eoin Morgan fell cheaply to leave England on 92 for 3 and there were some tricky moments for Roy and Stokes to negotiate against the turning ball. Stokes was beaten in the flight by a delivery from Imad that spun inside his bat but also defeated Sarfraz with a stumping at his mercy and the same batsman survived a review for lbw, with the ball shown to be pitching just outside leg stump before skidding under an attempted reverse-sweep.Roy went to his second fifty of the series, from 49 balls, with a top-edged reverse-sweep that flew past a lumbering Umar Gul at short third man and then, on 56, saw Rizwan only get fingertips to a leg-side flick. He then began to open up, twice hitting Malik for straight sixes that threatened to give the ball a dunking in the River Taff, but was never entirely able to cut loose on a surface that offered some grip throughout. With a fourth ODI hundred beginning to come into view he impatiently pulled the returning Amir straight to deep square leg.That ended a partnership of 72 for the fourth wicket; the first 50 had seen Stokes contribute just nine singles. He did not hit a boundary until his 33rd delivery, which he then muscled down the ground in imposing fashion, and Nawaz was again dumped unceremoniously over the short straight boundary a few overs later. Stokes had a few moments of discomfort – not least when bottom-edging a pull into his protective box – but produced flashes of power to go past the 70 he scored batting at No. 3 in Perth on England’s best-forgotten 2013-14 tour of Australia.But Pakistan continued to take wickets and, after Bairstow ramped to short third man for a lively 33 in another fifty stand, the debutant Dawson came out at No. 7 with more than 12 overs left. He was unable to make much of an impression with the bat and a torrid introduction was to follow with the ball as England, chasing only a second 5-0 whitewash in bilateral ODI series, faltered at the last.

Scorecard0:47

‘Managed my innings well today’ – Nic Maddinson

Centuries from Nic Maddinson and Kurtis Patterson helped set up a thrilling one-run win for Australia A in a run fest in the Quadrangular series match against India A on Tuesday. Australia A defended a total of 322 by one run to climb to the top of the table and set up a clash in the final with India A, who had qualified earlier.India A captain Manish Pandey’s decision to field backfired quickly as Maddinson (118) and Patterson (115), who struck his maiden List A century, powered Australia A. Pandey fought valiantly through a century of his own, but his 110, the highest of his List A career, and half-centuries from Sanju Samson (87) and Mandeep Singh (56) were not enough as India A were kept to 321 for 8 after 50 overs, losing two wickets off the last two balls of the match.India A got an early advantage after putting Australia A in, as Shardul Thakur trapped Marcus Stoinis lbw in the fifth over with just 16 on the board. That advantage was short-lived, however, as Patterson and Maddinson came together, and the fielding side had to wait another 35.1 overs for a breakthrough as they added 230 runs for the second wicket. The two fell within nine deliveries of each other, but by then, they had inflicted considerable damage. Patterson struck 16 fours in his 123-ball 115, while Maddinson’s 118 came at just over a run a ball, helped by nine fours and four sixes.India A did manage to make some late inroads after the duo’s dismissal, but brief contributions from the middle order and Cameron Bancroft’s unbeaten 14-ball 21 were enough to propel Australia A to a dominant position at the mid-innings interval.Of the seven bowlers India A used, the pacers found most success, with Thakur taking 2 for 50 in eight over, while Jaydev Unadkat, Hardik Pandya and Varun Aaron accounted for a batsman each.India A’s chase had to be all about a strong start, and Mandeep and Shreyas Iyer managed to do that. They rebuilt the innings and took the side to 68 for 1 after the early loss of Faiz Fazal for 12. Stoinis then struck with his medium-pace and had Iyer caught for 13 to end a second-wicket stand of 43. Mandeep and Kedar Jadhav, the latter Man of the Match in India A’s previous game, added 44 for the third wicket, but both perished in the space of four overs to Cameron Boyce’s legspin. Jadhav’s wicket left India A with an equation of 179 runs to get off 23 overs.Pandey and Samson then turned the game on its head, adding 157 for the fifth wicket in just 118 balls. Pandey raised his century with a single at the end of the 44th over and India A went into the last five overs, needing 32 from 30 balls. Samson played an equally good supporting role in the partnership, bringing up his own fifty off 40 balls.Towards the end of the innings, however, India A choked. Pandey fell first, edging right-arm pacer Daniel Worrall to the wicketkeeper in the 47th over. He had scored 110 off 91 balls with 10 fours and three sixes. Two balls later, Hardik Pandya was run out for 2. Samson brought the equation down to three off two deliveries but was dismissed off the penultimate ball, caught by Stoinis off Kane Richardson for a 74-ball 87 that was studded with six fours and two sixes. Thereafter, a run-out of Thakur while attempting a second run off the final ball of the innings took a tie out of the equation and gave Australia four points.Australia’s bowlers shared the wickets equally. Worrall and Boyce took two each, although the latter proved to be very expensive, conceding 71 in 10 overs. Richardson and Stoinis took a wicket each.

Jason Holder, the West Indies captain, has kept his cards close to his chest when asked about the team’s composition for the second Test against India, which starts at Sabina Park on Saturday. He said the pitch looked full of moisture on the eve of the Test, but would wait till the morning of the match before taking a final decision.”We will take the final decision tomorrow morning, see how the pitch looks,” he said. “Yesterday it looked a bit green and this morning there was a lot of moisture.”Despite the look of the pitch, Holder felt it was difficult to predict how it would behave.”The last game we played here against Australia there was not this amount of grass on the pitch,” he said. “Previously there was grass, but the pitch still ends up being on the slower side. To be fair, as I said, probably it’s difficult really to predict how the pitch will play here in Jamaica. Going into this game tomorrow morning, I just need to take a final decision.”West Indies went into the first Test in Antigua with only one genuine quick bowler, in Shannon Gabriel, with allrounders Holder and Carlos Brathwaite playing a holding role with their seam-up. Holder did not reveal if either Alzarri Joseph or Miguel Cummins would come into the team for the second Test, but had words of encouragement for Joseph, the uncapped 19-year-old fast bowler, when asked if he was ready for Test cricket.”To be fair, I have never played against Alzarri, never seen him play cricket live,” Holder said. “But I have seen him play cricket on TV. And there is obviously a lot of talk going behind him. He has talent, he has the ability, he has pace. I support him fully. He has done what is done to get here.”We just need to get behind him if he is making his debut tomorrow. If he plays in the near future, we just need to give him support. Support is all we can give. At this time, it’s important for him to back his skills and know what got him here. He got here by hard work, he got here by performances. He will just continue doing what he has been doing before and if given the opportunity, I wish him all the best.”In a West Indies line-up that struggled in both innings of the first Test in Antigua, Jermaine Blackwood perhaps struggled the most, falling for ducks in both innings. Since scoring 92 against Sri Lanka in Galle last year, Blackwood has made 78 runs in nine Test innings at an average of 8.67. Holder did not specify if Blackwood would retain his place at Sabina Park, his home ground, but said the middle-order batsman had his full support.”I haven’t picked the team as yet,” Holder said. “Jermaine has done well for us in the last few seasons. But I support him, I back him 100%. If he is given a chance to continue, I hope he will go and put out a good performance. He has got a Test century and has done well against some of the best bowling attacks. Everybody goes through a rough patch. It’s just about him turning it around.”

India’s new head coach Anil Kumble has said the question of conflict of interest will be fully addressed before he formally takes over the role. Kumble’s involvement in Tenvic, a company “in the business of sports and consulting”, has raised concerns around a possible conflict of interest in the past. Kumble has always denied Tenvic, which has cricketers as clients, is a talent management company.Minutes after Kumble was announced as India’s next coach, though, he tackled the conflict-of-interest question. “We [BCCI and I] have already discussed that,” Kumble said. “Whatever needs to be done will be done before I take up this role officially. That has been discussed, and it has been clear with the BCCI as well. Something that can be easily resolved.”Later, when asked the same question in a separate Hindi interview, Kumble expressed displeasure at the repeated questioning around the conflict of interest. He compared it with a middle name erroneously given to him in the media during his playing days. “Whenever I am mentioned, the term conflict is added to my name,” Kumble complained. “I played for 18 years. When I used to play, a middle name, Radhakrishnan, was given to me. Don’t know where it came from. After I retired ‘conflict’ has become my middle name. I have spoken to BCCI. Whatever needs to be done we will do.”The BCCI expressed similar displeasure at being asked about the conflict of interest, but also suggested there was some action expected. “I think conflict of interest has become a very fashionable word to use,” the board secretary Ajay Shirke said. “That has been completely addressed, and whatever decisions around that have been addressed prior to making this decision. There will be no conflict of interest as such before he assumes his role.”Kumble was happier talking about the prospects of the new job. He was excited at once again teaming up with four of his long-standing India team-mates from the 90s to the late 2000s. “I think it’s a great thing for Indian cricket,” Kumble said. “I certainly believe that the five players I played with throughout my career… Sourav [Ganguly], Sachin [Tendulkar], [VVS] Laxman are in advisory roles. Sourav in administrative role as well. Then Rahul [Dravid] in charge of the junior teams. The five of us have had a wonderful relationship off the field, and on it as well. The five of us will have to sit and see what is needed for the best interest of Indian cricket. The other stakeholders as far as cricket is concerned will come in. I am looking forward to all that.”Ganguly, Tendulkar and Laxman formed the cricket advisory committee that interviewed the 57 candidates and recommended their choice for the coach’s job. Ganguly is also the chairman of the BCCI’s technical committee and president of the Cricket Association of Bengal. Dravid coaches the India A and India Under-19 teams.Kumble said it was not an easy decision to apply for the job given the travel that goes with it, but once his wife supported his decision he felt it was the right time to give back to Indian cricket. “It’s a big responsibility,” Kumble said. “I have seen the kind of pressure coaches have been under. They have the biggest accountability. I felt this was the right time to come back to the dressing-room environment, to be with the players, to help them prepare.”I have plans. Both long-term and short-term. I have plans for the coming matches and series, but I can’t plan alone. I will have to share my thoughts with the whole team. Will have to take their ideas too.”

ScorecardLiam Dawson led Hampshire to victory•Chris Whiteoak

There was something rather contradictory, yet ever so appropriate, about Brendon McCullum’s first meaningful act as a Middlesex player taking place at Radlett.Beyond the fact that Radlett is not actually in Middlesex (it is in Hertfordshire), it is a funny little place. So little, in fact, that T20 cricket – the game from which McCullum now makes his living – cannot be played here. The boundaries are just too diddy, as the New Zealander showed in this Royal London Cup fixture with four simply-struck sixes in his 74. One easily cleared the sightscreen, another – towards cow – hit a tree 15 metres up.But Radlett is also the ground that proves that Middlesex, like the All Blacks, and like McCullum’s Black Caps, as he so eloquently explained when giving the Cowdrey Lecture on Monday evening, have a no-d*ckheads policy.It has a different name in these parts – Angus Fraser speaks of the ‘Middlesex DNA’ – but the comparison rings true. When the county played at Radlett in previous years, it had been felt that one end, which leads down to a clear field, meant that plenty of time was being wasted chasing the ball. So, this off-season, Middlesex’s squad were brought up here, and they built a fence. This was not just a practical benefit for Radlett and Middlesex, but a neat team-building exercise too.

Dawson’s Lions lift

Liam Dawson, Hampshire’s match-winner, said he felt his time with the England Lions last winter had helped his all-round game and added: “This is a great win. We have been struggling in one-day cricket recently, and we have been a little bit low in confidence across all formats so it’s nice to start this competition this year with two wins.
“Chasing down targets is something I have got better at over the last year or so. My game awareness is better. I had a few thick edges and a little bit of luck but you need that in one-day cricket. I enjoy the 50-over competition and this victory is a real boost to our dressing room.
“I think Mason Crane and myself complement each other well as spinners. Mason’s young and will bowl some bad balls but we have to accept that at the moment because he is a wicket-taker and, in this type if cricket, if you keep taking wickets in the middle overs you are always in the game.”

The game, however, was less impressive for Middlesex and went a long way to explaining why they were so keen to bring a white-ball cricketer of McCullum’s pedigree and calibre to the club.His innings had got them off to a flyer on a slow pitch yet, having been 190 for 2 in the 30th over, they contrived to limp to just 295, with Mason Crane’s legspin claiming four vital wickets, including McCullum himself, a ball after he had plonked him down the ground for six.Then, after a two-hour rain delay spat out a DLS equation that seemed to favour Middlesex (the visitors needed 202 from 26 overs), Hampshire cruised home with greater ease than the scorecard – three balls remaining – suggested. Middlesex, as McCullum’s T20 debut v Gloucestershire proved last Thursday, still do not know how to close out white-ball games.That they did not was largely down to Liam Dawson, who shared 89 in nine overs to turn the game with Sean Ervine, and finished unbeaten on 68 from 40. Dawson, such a canny cricketer, pulled beautifully and knew exactly where the gaps in the deep lay, with the six twos he found proving vital.Middlesex managed to feed the strengths of both he and Ervine, who was rather more belligerent in his approach, with only Toby Roland-Jones, who earlier claimed the vital wicket of Jimmy Adams, caught at deep cover, able to limit scoring.Shortly after Adams fell, Paul Stirling, who, with damp ball in hand, would be relentlessly attacked by Ervine and Dawson, had Adam Wheater stumped outside off and Middlesex were back in control. Dawson, even after James Fuller yorked Ervine, always looked to have a tricky chase in hand. His non-playing role in the England squad at the World T20 is unlikely to be his last involvement with the national side.Middlesex’s innings had seen a progression of batsmen get settled, and then, emboldened by McCullum’s gung-hoism, depart. The top three breezed to 190 but Crane bowled Dawid Malan and McCullum’s knock – not always fluent but with those brilliant wrists and powerful forearms to the fore – came to end when he tamely edged a turner to slip. Nick Gubbins, as strong on the cut as ever, was pinned in front trying to flick to leg.And that is when the stuttering started. Eoin Morgan looked ready to explode, a beautiful late cut followed by a fine cover drive and a six down the ground, but then – with 19-year-old Crane bowling the first ball of a new spell – he slapped straight to deep midwicket.Crane had seemed unperturbed by being given some tap – his ten overs did cost 80 compared to Dawson’s 32 – but he returned to bowl the 46th over, dismissed a fourth set batsman, James Franklin, and ended Middlesex’s hopes of the score their start had demanded: all but one of the top seven passed 20 but none reached 75. All of which, as Dawson calmly negotiated the target Hampshire’s spin pairing had set up, seemed very important indeed.

Prime Bank Cricket Club thumped Kalabagan Cricket Academy by eight wickets at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur. The win took them to fifth place with ten points while KCA remained rooted to the bottom of the table.In a rain-affected match that ended on the reserve day, KCA were bowled out for 89 in 21 overs. Pace bowler Mohammad Azim and left-arm spinner Monir Hossain took three wickets each while Mehedi Hasan Miraz top-scored with 19.Prime Bank had to finish the chase on the reserve day, and they took only 10.3 overs to do so, boosting their net run-rate for bigger battles ahead. Sabbir Rahman was unbeaten on 40 off 29 balls with five fours and a six.Cricket Coaching School produced another major shock, beating table toppers Mohammedan Sporting Club by 31 runs (D/L method) on the reserve day. Resuming on 13 for no loss in a chase of 149, Mohammedan sunk to 117 all out in 21 overs. Seamers Mehrab Hossain and Salman Hossain picked up four and three wickets respectively. Ezaz Ahmed scored 35 at No. 1 and Nazmul Hossain Milon at No. 7 made 32, but but the five batsmen between them only managed 5, 4, 2, 0 and 6.Milon and Habibur Rahman briefly revived the chase with a 32-run eighth-wicket stand before Salman finished the game with two late wickets. On the scheduled day, the 25-overs a side match began in Fatullah at 2 pm. CCS were bowled out for 149 in 24.5 overs with Salman making 58 off 52 balls with eight fours. Pacer Ariful Haque took three wickets.

West Indies had nothing going for them coming into this second T20I on a balmy evening in Lauderhill. They had won just two of their last 19 completed T20Is, which included the forgettable 5-0 loss to Australia at home. They had put down multiple catches in the first T20I. Rovman Powell joined Brandon King, Evin Lewis and Shimron Hetmyer on the injury list, Andre Russell and Nicholas Pooran had recently said their goodbyes, and the three-match series was on the line.If not for a comprehensive team effort, West Indies were looking for something, a semblance of a spark, any individual brilliance to turn things around amid the mounting pressure in the build-up to the T20 World Cup next year. It came, the individual brilliance, and from one of the oldest members in the squad.At the age of 33, a body that has been through the rigours of 12 years of international cricket as a pace-bowling allrounder, participation in nine T20 leagues around the world and a shoulder rehab not too long ago among other injuries, Jason Holder became West Indies’ highest wicket-taker in the format, took stunning figures of 4 for 19, pouched two sharp catches, and hit the winning runs when West Indies had lost all their batting steam and needed three to win off one.Related

• Cricket West Indies works on roadmap with 'about a hundred things to improve'

• Road to 2026 World Cup begins as big guns assemble for T20I leg

• Rovman Powell ruled out of T20I series against Pakistan with wrist injury

• Holder's 4 for 19 and last-ball heroics keep series alive

What was Holder going to remember the most from this day? “Just getting over the line, to be honest,” he said on being named the Player of the Match. “As I said before, it’s been a tough couple of weeks for us. We just needed a win. We brought it down to the very end, unfortunately. But fortunately, we still got over the line.”The most pressure-cooker situation of those must have been when he got the strike back against Shaheen Shah Afridi in the last over of the chase with six to get from three balls. Holder had Shamar Joseph at the other end, and still, inexplicably, took a single when he couldn’t put away a low full toss. Shamar, for his part, gave the strike back and it all came down to Holder to hit four runs off the last ball to keep the series alive. He shuffled away to off, Afridi bowled the full delivery well wide of him outside off and the wide signal eased Holder’s nerves a little. Next delivery, Holder covered the stumps and this time when Afridi aimed for the stumps, Holder swiped it away behind square for four.The ball had barely left the 30-yard circle and you could hear Holder’s shriek of celebration on the stump mic before the camera turned to him with his arms aloft, accompanied by a roar of celebration. Holder explained what their chasing strategy was when he was batting with Romario Shepherd and they needed 36 from 18.”I told Romario when we were batting, we needed at least four sixes with the scenario that was posed to us. We got three. We fell probably one short, but we still got over the line. That was our target. Just keeping wickets in hand, obviously, but still trying to hit our strong areas and find the boundary.Jason Holder’s last-ball heroics took West Indies over the line•AFP/Getty Images

“We are powerful players and we know we can find the boundary. But credit to the Pakistani bowlers as well. I thought they bowled really well.”Earlier in the day, Holder had also given West Indies an early lift that also pegged him higher in the record books. Sharing the new ball with Akeal Hosein, Holder struck with his sixth ball when he had the in-form Saim Ayub edge behind and it took him level with the T20 legend Dwayne Bravo on the list of most wickets for West Indies in T20Is. On his third ball after what he later called “just a statistic,” Holder had Sahibzada Farhan, the other opener, slicing to deep point for 3. Even when he wasn’t bowling, the ball found it hard to stay away from Holder.When Mohammad Haris went across the line against Hosein in the next over and failed to get the distance for a six, Holder ran back from mid-on, as much as he could, and stretched his long arms with his bucket hands to grab the ball in the nick of time. Pakistan were now three down early and Holder had played a hand in each of those wickets. But Pakistan were not done yet, and hardly did they know that neither was Holder.Captain Salman Agha and their young basher Hasan Nawaz had put together a quick stand of 60 in just over six overs to power Pakistan past 100, when Holder was brought back. Hasan had just pumped three consecutive sixes in the 15th over, but Holder, who had shown his wares in the middle and death overs in the PSL a few months ago, got Hasan in a tangle, completed the return catch and followed it with his fourth wicket in his last over.”I love playing for West Indies, to be honest,” Holder said. “One of my things is to leave West Indies cricket better than they came and found it. I still think there’s a lot of work to be done. We haven’t done justice to our potential over the last couple of weeks, maybe the last couple of years. We’ve had a fair bit of criticism, which at times is warranted, but we know that winning can be a lot better. We’ve just got to put it together more often than not.”I think [lack of] consistency has definitely plagued us, but we’ve seen that over the years that we can do it. For me, it’s just to have that burning desire to make a change, to make a difference. So I keep putting in my best effort when I get a chance with the West Indies.”

India need seven fifth-day wickets to beat England at Edgbaston and head to Lord’s with the series level. It would be a first Test win as captain for Shubman Gill, who followed his 269 in the first innings with 161 in the second, declared at drinks to set a world-record target of 608, then watched Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep prise out England’s top order.The fourth day was dominated by intrigue about the timing of India’s declaration, which arrived far later than many expected and left England facing an ideological problem. After a single draw – and that one prompted by two days of rain – in the last three years, would they finally tone down their approach with the bat and accept that winning was off the table?The answer will only become clear tomorrow, with two of the three wickets that fell on Saturday evening owing to Akash’s skill rather than their batters’ attacking intent. By the close, Ollie Pope was clinging on after a working-over from India’s seamers, and the notion that England could score more than 500 runs on the final day seemed academic.Siraj had Zak Crawley to thank for his early strike. Crawley endured a miserable day, dropping a catch to reprieve Rishabh Pant, and after playing out a maiden in the first over of England’s second innings – as though setting the tone for a more watchful approach – he was suckered into a hard-handed drive which flew to slip.Deep was sublime with the new ball, adding two second-innings wickets to his four in the first. He cramped Ben Duckett for room with a ball that angled into the left-hander from around the wicket and then decked in off the seam to induce a chop-on, then found late movement away to beat Root on the outside edge and clean him up.India came close to a fourth wicket, with Pope characteristically frenzied early in his innings, and the only blemish on their bowling effort came in the form of two burned reviews in the first ten overs. But if Gill is still getting to grips with the DRS, he has proved across these first two Tests that he is a far, far better player than his average heading into this tour might have suggested.Gill’s latest hundred – his third of the series, and eighth overall – came wrapped in gift wrap, and adorned with a gold bow. He scored more than half of his runs off England’s spinners, who hardly turned a ball between them on a lifeless pitch, milked singles at will with the field spread, and treated occasional bouncer barrages with utter disdain.He seized his opportunity to reassert his dominance after grinding England into the dirt in the first innings, and broke a number of records along the way. Gill is the first player in the format’s history, spanning more than 2,500 matches, to score 200 and 150 in the same match; only once has a batter scored more than his 430-run aggregate in a single Test.Akash Deep was terrific with the new ball•Getty Images

Gill had walked in to the backdrop of gloomy skies on the fourth morning, after Brydon Carse had induced an outside edge from Karun Nair, and survived an lbw review off his sixth ball thanks to an inside edge. But he was soon into his work, playing late to steer boundaries away behind square on the off side, and after a sharp first spell, the stiff Carse was not seen again.After KL Rahul, who batted fluently for 55, was cleaned up by Josh Tongue’s full outswinger, Pant made his intentions clear by charging down the pitch to slap his fourth ball back over Tongue’s head for six. Dropped on 10 by Zak Crawley, Pant threw his bat – quite literally, twice losing grip of it – during his 65, flogging both Tongue and Shoaib Bashir.Ben Stokes ran out of ideas – and fit bowlers – as the same pair toiled away after the lunch break. The wisdom of Tongue’s short-ball ploy to Gill was proven by a flurry of six, four and four off consecutive balls, followed by another six and a flat-bat for four in his next over which took him past 50.Pant’s dismissal – caught at long-off, while his bat flew to midwicket – brought some respite, with Ravindra Jadeja curiously ponderous after a promotion to No. 6. But Gill marched relentlessly on, nudging Bashir off his hips to reach his third hundred in four innings before hitting Chris Woakes’ first three balls after tea for six, four and four.Jadeja had 25 off 68 at tea but switched gears straight after, skipping down and launching his first ball of the evening session back over Bashir’s head for six. He celebrated with his trademark sword-swish after cutting Joe Root for four to reach fifty, while Gill freed his arms by launching Root and Bashir into the stands.Gill miscued a return catch to Bashir on 161, but the declaration was still on ice: Nitish Kumar Reddy walked to the crease to pantomime boos from the Eric Hollies Stand, then a chant of “boring, boring India”. After Reddy holed out second ball, Washington Sundar lofted over cover to take the lead to 600; when the clock ticked past five, the signal finally arrived.

India women’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur wants her team to draw inspiration from the India men’s team that won the T20 World Cup in June, when they travel to the UAE for the Women’s T20 World Cup in October. While the men’s team won the title after 17 years and lifted an ICC trophy after 11 years, the women’s team is yet to lift the T20 World Cup. They came close in the 2020 edition, when they were runners-up in Australia.”We have been really inspired by the men’s team, the way they won the T20 World Cup this year,” Harmanpreet said at an event in Delhi, on the same day the India’s T20 World Cup squad was announced. “They worked really hard for this trophy and won some tough matches. We need to learn how they maintained their body language for such matches and how they approached such games. We’re on the same road now and getting ready for our World Cup campaign. The team is working really hard and our attempt will be to give our country and fans another opportunity to celebrate this year.”The women’s side last reached the ODI World Cup final in 2017, when they lost by just nine runs at Lord’s, before going down to Australia in the T20 World Cup final in 2020, and two years later they again lost to Australia, also by nine runs, in the final of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. In last year’s T20 World Cup, India went down to Australia in the semi-final, by just five runs, and when they were the favourites to win the Asia Cup in the T20 format last month, they were beaten comprehensively by the much lower-ranked Sri Lanka.Related

• Australia begin title defence on October 5; India vs Pakistan set for October 6

• Yastika Bhatia returns, India name tried and tested 15 for T20 World Cup

For the upcoming T20 World Cup in the UAE, India are in Group A with Australia, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Pakistan. Their first three matches will be in Dubai, before they take on Australia in Sharjah. Will India be under pressure against Australia and the new Asia Cup champions Sri Lanka?”The World Cup is a kind of tournament for which all teams prepare differently,” Harmanpreet said. “So no team can be taken lightly and similarly no team should be overestimated either. Bilateral series have a different kind of pressure and for World Cups there is pressure as well as expectations and hopes of fans. We are working extremely hard to live up to those expectations, we have been holding camps where all players are working hard. We have also worked on the mistakes we made the last time. Now we’re ready with a positive mindset.”The T20 World Cup will start on October 3 in Sharjah with two matches on the opening day. India’s campaign will kick off on October 4 against New Zealand, before taking on Pakistan on October 6, Sri Lanka on October 9 and Australia on October 13. After the round-robin stage, the top two teams from each group will play the semi-finals on October 17 and 18, and the final is scheduled for October 20 in Dubai.

Zimbabwe’s most-assured batting effort wasn’t enough to mount a challenge against India’s young IPL stars. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill made light work of a 153-run target, sauntering home in just 15.2 overs in a sensational exhibition of intent-laden batting of the kind we hadn’t seen in the series so far.Where Zimbabwe hit all of 10 fours in their 20 overs, Jaiswal and Gill smashed as many in their first four overs en route a ten-wicket thumping that delivered an unassailable 3-1 lead for India with one more game to play on on Sunday.

India’s fifth-bowlers shine after Zimbabwe’s solid foundation

Zimbabwe had lost at least two wickets in the powerplay in each of the three T20Is in the series before this game. Today, though, Wessly Madhevere and Tadiwanashe Marumani rode their luck to add 63 in 8.4 overs to give them a platform.A determined Wessly Madhevere did the job in the powerplay•Associated Press

In the third over, Marumani was dropped by Shivam Dube at mid-on while on 3. He also benefited from an overthrow that went to the boundary in the same over, and Marumani appeared to change gears after the reprieve by going after debutant Tushar Deshpande, who conceded 21 off his first two overs. Gill quickly turned to spin inside the powerplay and they managed to rein in the scoring; eventually an effort to up the ante against India’s part-time bowlers, who needed to fill the fifth-bowler’s quota, got Marumani.Off Abhishek Sharma’s fourth ball, he looked to pull and ended up hitting it towards the longest part of the boundary where Rinku Singh was waiting at deep midwicket. This allowed Gill to bring on Dube from the other end in a bid to get the fifth-bowler’s quota out of the way, but he too struck – in his first over, he had the other set batter, Madhevere, pulling a short ball to Rinku at deep square leg.Abhishek could have had a second wicket in T20Is, but for Ruturaj Gaikwad shelving a dolly at extra cover to reprieve Brian Bennett. The missed opportunity didn’t cost India much though.

Raza to Zimbabwe’s rescue

Raza needed to rescue Zimbabwe as they had suddenly lost 4 for 33 after the solid opening. Having been guilty of running out Jonathan Campbell, Raza’s industry kept the runs ticking until he flicked the switch with five overs remaining.Tushar Deshpande claimed Sikandar Raza for his first international wicket•Associated Press

On 21 off 17 at that point, he launched Washington Sundar over deep midwicket for a 90-metre six, and then went after Khaleel Ahmed in his next over, hitting a four and a six. Overs 16 and 17 produced 31 as Zimbabwe charged towards 160. That they fell eight short was thanks to two excellent overs from Deshpande, who dismissed Raza for his maiden international wicket, and Khaleel. Zimbabwe had a competitive, if not match-winning, total.

Jaiswal and Gill make merry

India’s chase was kickstarted with Jaiswal hitting three fours off left-arm seamer Richard Ngavara in the first over. Jaiswal was in no mood to stop there, hitting Tendai Chatara for four more fours off his first over, the third of the innings. The seamers kept giving him width and he kept crashing them away through point, alternating between hitting them along the ground and playing the full-blooded cuts. India raised their fifty in just 3.5 overs with Jaiswal contributing 39.Jaiswal got to his half-century off 29 balls, and then unfurled one of the shots of the day when he sent Raza inside-out over extra cover. Having been beaten in flight, he quickly adjusted to loft him through the line and bisect the tiny gap between deep cover and wide long-off.Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill put on 156 runs for the first wicket to finish the job themselves•Associated Press

Gill then took over, helping himself against Faraz Akram’s gentle seam-ups in a exquisite display of hitting-on-the-up. Gill’s second straight half-century, off 35 balls, was mellow in comparison to Jaiswal but effective nonetheless.As the match raced towards the finish line, the only point of interest was if Jaiswal could get the 17 of the 18 remaining runs needed to get to a hundred. He couldn’t; ended up 93 not out, having displayed his full range in an exhilarating display reflecting the type of intent that won India the T20 World Cup last month after 17 years.