Smith and Raina lift Lions to No. 2


Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDwayne Smith’s career-best T20 figures set up what turned out to be a convincing win for Gujarat Lions•BCCI

Dwayne Smith used a green Kanpur pitch as his ally to return figures of 4 for 8, setting up Gujarat Lions’ six-wicket win against Kolkata Knight Riders. Lions restricted Knight Riders to 124, and then overhauled the target with 39 balls to spare. The win not only vaulted them to No. 2 on the points table, but also lifted their net run-rate from -0.747 to -0.479, intensifying the race for the playoffs.Knight Riders, sent in to bat, started solidly before Gautam Gambhir was involved in another run-out, in the fourth over. With Gambhir and Robin Uthappa stranded mid-pitch, Shadab Jakati, replacing Shivil Kaushik, fired an accurate throw at the striker’s end after an acrobatic stop at midwicket.Smith then extracted enough bounce and lateral movement to have Knight Riders’ batsmen poking outside off stump. Uthappa and Manish Pandey steered catches behind the wicket, while Piyush Chawla, promoted to No. 4 as a pinch hitter, was hustled by a skiddy delivery that crept past his tentative waft. A short delivery was helped along to third man by Shakib as Smith claimed his best T20 figures. Knight Riders were left reeling at 61 for 5 in the 12th over.Yusuf Pathan and Suryakumar Yadav then limited the damage through singles; an eight-over period after the Powerplay produced just 20 runs. Lions’ spinners asserted control until Yusuf got stuck in to Ravindra Jadeja to resuscitate Knight Riders’ innings with consecutive boundaries in the 15th over.Thereafter, boundary-scoring became gradually easier, with the next three overs producing 33. It could have been much more if not for Dhawal Kulkarni and Dwayne Bravo’s cunning variations that resulted in just eight off the last two overs as Lions subsided Knight Riders’ hopes of a 140-plus score.Lions approached the chase, it seemed, with an intent to improve their net run-rate to boost their playoffs chances. The batsmen came out playing exuberant strokes on a tricky surface to give Knight Riders a sniff.Smith under-edged a pull off the first ball of the chase as Uthappa eventually completed the catch on the third attempt. Brendon McCullum wasn’t deterred though, as he danced down the track to swat a length delivery over midwicket off his first delivery. In a bid to arrest the early momentum, Gambhir turned to Sunil Narine, and the move worked as he accounted for McCullum with a floater that swerved back in to trap him lbw.Dinesh Karthik chose attritional strokes with a straight bat but was bowled by an in-dipper from Morne Morkel that sneaked between bat and pad to clatter into the stumps. Suddenly, Lions were reduced to 38 for 3.Suresh Raina, returning from a short paternity leave, ensured Lions were in the hunt through his inside-out drives and flicks to steer the chase forward. He crossed 4000 IPL runs with a lofted cover drive off a good-length delivery from Morkel. Raina and Aaron Finch added 59 to put the game beyond Knight Riders’ reach.Their 36-ball stand was ended by a run-out when they collided into each other in the search for a third run to briefly lend some artificial excitement. With 28 required off 61 balls, Ravindra Jadeja helped Raina end the chase in a canter to ease Lions’ race for a playoffs berth.

Webster hopes his all-round skills can help push for ODI honours

Beau Webster is keen to push his credentials as a one-day cricketer ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup although concedes the white-ball formats have taken a backseat in recent times amid his rise to Test cricket.Webster will feature at the start of the One-Day Cup for Tasmania this week when they begin their campaign against New South Wales in Sydney on Tuesday before facing Victoria in Brisbane on Friday ahead of the Sheffield Shield early next month.Webster’s List A record with the bat is middling – an average of 30.31 and strike rate of 77.10 – with his only century coming back in 2017 for a Cricket Australia XI when they fielded a development side in the one-day competition.Related

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Having made 315 runs at 52.50 in the 2023-24 season he managed just 31 in three innings last summer, although impressed with the ball as he claimed 16 wickets at 9.56 including a career-best 6 for 17 against Western Australia at the WACA when the home side suffered an astonishing collapse of 8 for 1.”I’d love to play white-ball cricket for Australia,” Webster told ESPNcricinfo. “Probably more so one-day cricket than T20 at this stage. It just feels a bit like I haven’t played it for a long time.”The last 12 months I’ve been solely focused on red-ball cricket and that’s in county cricket, Shield cricket and Test cricket. It feels like I’ve hardly hit a white ball and the things that go along with training for white-ball is a lot different than they are for red-ball.”I feel like my red-ball game’s in a really good place and I’ve got my preparation down to a tee. I suppose that I haven’t really thought too much about it [white-ball cricket] but obviously if the opportunity came and they needed what I do, I’d absolutely jump at it and love to represent the country in the colours.”The next men’s 50-over tournament is the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia which will be held in October and November of that year. Webster’s brisk medium pace and batting strength against pace bowling could be suited to conditions in Southern Africa.Australia’s 50-over side is going through something of a transition, especially in the batting, following the retirements of Steven Smith and Glenn Maxwell. Aaron Hardie struggled in the No. 7 role in his recent opportunities against South Africa. Webster’s Tasmania team-mate Mitchell Owen had been due to feature in the series before suffering concussion.”I hope I’m in the conversation if I can continue to score runs in the One-Day Cup for Tasmania and Test level”•AFP/Getty Images

“I think if you’re scoring runs and taking wickets in Test cricket, you’re always going to be seen as an option,” Webster said. “If you’re doing it at that level…there are a lot of transferable skills across from Test cricket to one-day cricket. So I hope I’m in the conversation if I can continue to score runs in the One-Day Cup for Tasmania and Test level. I hope my name gets thrown around for a potential debut.”Webster plans to play most, if not all, of Tasmania’s cricket before the start of the Ashes – where he potentially faces a selection squeeze depending on how the team is balanced – although may have his bowling workload managed as the first part of the season progresses.”I think I’ll try and definitely play all four of them [the Shield matches] and try and get Tassie off to a good start and get us to the top end of the table,” he said. “Then the bowling side of things we just might have to manage a little bit if we end up bowling a little bit too much. Those last two games might be managed a little bit, but I’ll be at all four.”On the theme of white-ball cricket, Webster has moved home to defending champions Hobart Hurricanes in the BBL although if he is part of the Ashes series he may not feature until after the final Test and he’s realistic that it will be a challenge to get into the line-up.”I think it’s going to be a hard-fought top six to get into,” he said. “We’ve kept the majority of the list from the title-winning team there and everyone wants to bat at Bellerive. It’s a great place to bat and we’ve got some world-class batters in that XI. Hopefully I can be with the Ashes series for all five Tests and then come back to the Hurricanes and play a role if they need me.”

Curran-Cox onslaught sees Invincibles home

Oval Invincibles 173 for 4 (Cox 58*, Curran 54) beat Trent Rockets 171 for 7 (Root 76) by six wicketsA remarkable 10-ball hitting barrage from Sam Curran and Jordan Cox turned the game on its head and drove Oval Invincibles towards a crucial win against table-topping rivals Trent Rockets in The Hundred.Chasing 171 to win, the Invincibles were just beginning to feel the pressure at 70 for 2 with 102 needed for victory from just 40 balls – ten legal balls, one strategic timeout and six sixes later they’d sailed to 121 for 1, with just 51 more required from the last 30.It was a scarcely believable spell of sustained hitting, from Curran in the main, that thrilled the Kia Oval crowd and more or less broke the back of a chase that leaves the home side sitting pretty at the top of the table with two games to go.Cox would end unbeaten on 58, to maintain his fantastic form, and for Curran it was 54 and the acclaim of his home crowd.Before the Curran and Cox show it was another England man who looked set to define the day, Joe Root showing all his usual brilliance to compile a 41-ball 76 in Rockets’ imposing total.Only Root made timing look easy, up to the point the game swung back to the hosts, although South African George Linde did give the fans some crowd-catching practice to preview the later entertainment with an eight-ball 25.It was a vital win for Invincibles in their pursuit of the crucial first place, a finish that would secure passage straight through to the final as they look to win their third title on the bounce.Meerkat Match Hero Sam Curran said: “When the strategic timeout happened, I was on seven off 12 or something like that, so the panic was in! I think the break came at the right time just to have a little sip of water and kind of restart again.”But it was a huge game and a huge win. We looked at the table before this game, and with two sides on 16 points we’re really pleased to get the points tonight.”I think it was 107 off 40 balls, and we knew in T20 or 100-ball cricket, you’re looking at hitting three or four sixes, and then before you know it we got six, seven, eight, and you’re like, ‘Wow, we’re nearly at 70 off 35 balls’.”It’s such a lovely place to bat and the crowd felt electric. It was almost like a game in India where every ball is cheered, it was like – how cool is this?”The schedule’s been pretty intense and that does help when you’re winning. You keep that momentum and you keep coming to the game, turning up to the stadium, full crowd, really high in confidence – but it can go the other way as well. We know we want to come top, but we’ve got two more games left, one away, one at home – and I think it is a big advantage, if you do come top.”

Jason Roy handed Hundred lifeline with Southern Brave

Jason Roy’s return to form for Surrey has earned him a replacement gig in the Hundred, replacing Faf du Plessis at Southern Brave. ESPNcricinfo has learned that du Plessis has pulled out of his £78,500 contract as he is due to undergo an operation on his groin, which he injured during the IPL, and that Roy has signed a deal to replace him.Roy, who turns 35 this month, was a Hundred winner with Oval Invincibles in 2023 but has struggled for runs in the tournament, averaging 19.55 and striking at 132.09 across three seasons. He was handed a lifeline by Andrew Flintoff’s Northern Superchargers last year after initially going unpicked in the draft, but did not play a game due to a shoulder injury.He again went undrafted earlier this year, having registered with a reserve of £63,000, but he has rediscovered his form in the T20 Blast for Surrey. In a new role at No. 3, Roy started the season with three half-centuries in five innings and while he has not passed 30 since, his 301 runs at a strike rate of 141.98 have proved enough to earn a replacement deal in the Hundred.Related

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  • Jason Roy joins Northern Superchargers as Hundred replacement

Roy will replace du Plessis, 40, who was a direct signing ahead of March’s draft and plays for Delhi Capitals, the IPL franchise co-owned by Southern Brave’s incoming owners GMR Group. Du Plessis has been playing for Texas Super Kings in Major League Cricket this month, but has identified the Hundred window as an opportunity to undergo groin surgery.Roy’s deal has been locked in ahead of Tuesday’s ‘wildcard’ draft, which will see each Hundred team select four players – two men’s, two women’s – based in part on their Blast form. James Anderson, who has never played in the Hundred, is in contention for a deal after 13 wickets in six appearances for Lancashire, making his return to T20 cricket after an 11-year absence.Southern Brave are also sweating on the fitness of Finn Allen, who sustained a foot injury at MLC and has been ruled out of New Zealand’s upcoming T20I tri-series in Zimbabwe as a result. Allen scored 240 runs in nine innings for the Brave in 2023, and was retained on a £52,000 deal earlier this year despite missing last season with a toe injury.Brave were losing finalists last season and have retained the core of their side, with James Vince set to continue as captain. They have a new men’s coach in Adi Birrell, who has taken over from Stephen Fleming for the 2025 season.In the women’s Hundred, left-arm wristspinner Millie Taylor has signed for Birmingham Phoenix as an injury replacement for Charis Paveley, who has withdrawn from the competition due to a foot injury. Taylor, whose twin sister Mary plays for Hampshire and Southern Brave, has taken 15 T20 Blast wickets this year and will be playing in the Hundred for the first time.

Women's CPL to be held in Guyana from September 6 to 17

Guyana is set to host the fourth season of the Women’s Caribbean Premier League (WCPL), starting September 6. The final will be played on September 17.All seven games – including the final – will be played at Providence Stadium. The three-team competition will feature the home side Guyana Amazon Warriors, Trinbago Knight Riders and Barbados Royals. They will play four league games apiece, two against each opponent.The six league games are spread across 11 days, with the final scheduled just one day after the final league-stage match. All matches are afternoon games. Four fixtures, including the final, start at 2pm. There are two 3pm starts and one 4pm start.The inaugural edition of the WCPL in 2022 was held in Basseterre, St Kitts and Nevis. The 2023 and 2024 seasons were held at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad & Tobago. Royals have been the tournament’s best team so far with a runners-up finish in 2022 and two titles in 2023 and 2024. Knight Riders won in 2022 and were losing finalists in 2024. Amazon Warriors have been third in 2022 and 2024 while being runners-up in 2023.The tournament’s highest run-scorer is Royals’ Hayley Matthews (424). She is also the highest wicket-taker (23).

WCPL 2025 fixtures


Sat, Sept 6: GAW vs TKR, 2pm local
Sun, Sept 7: GAW vs BR, 3pm
Wed, Sept 10: TKR vs BR, 2pm
Sat, Sept 13: TKR vs GAW, 4pm
Sun, Sept 14: BR vs GAW, 2pm
Tue, Sept 16: BR vs TKR, 3pm
Wed, Sept 17: Final, 2pm

Rahul hopes to be 'loved, cared for and respected' at his next IPL team

KL Rahul is looking forward to playing with “freedom” in a “much more balanced” environment as he enters the mega auction ahead of the new IPL cycle. Rahul was released by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) following their seventh-place finish at IPL 2024.At the time, franchise owner Sanjiv Goenka spoke of their keenness to hold on to “players who have a mindset to win” and those that “put the team before their personal goals and aspirations”. Did that in any way prompt Rahul’s keenness to enter the auction?Related

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“No, I mean, I think the decision was made already and I don’t know what the comments are, but they must have come after the announcement,” Rahul told in an interview aired on November 12. “I just felt like I wanted to start fresh, I wanted to explore my options and I wanted to go and play where I could find some freedom and the team atmosphere would be something much more balanced.”The pressure is already there in the IPL, it’s so high. You see teams like Gujarat [Titans] and CSK [Chennai Super Kings] and all of these teams, and you see when they win or lose, they seem really balanced and the dressing room is really calm. That’s something that’s very important for me as a player. I feel like if that happens, it gives all the players the best chance to perform.”We tried that at LSG with Andy Flower [head coach] and GG [Gautam Gambhir, mentor] first and then last year with [new head coach, Justin] Langer, we tried to create that in the change room. I think it was a brilliant atmosphere in the change room. I think sometimes you just need to move away and find something good for yourself.”Rahul led LSG into the playoffs in their first two seasons, in 2022 and 2023. Asked to look back on IPL 2024, Rahul suggested that external pressure may have contributed to their drop in results. After starting with a loss to Rajasthan Royals, they won three matches on the bounce before stuttering mid-season. And then, they went on a downward spiral, even as Rahul topped their charts with 520 runs at a strike rate of 136.12.1:30

Rahul: I want to play where I can find some freedom

Despite those runs, there had been considerable speculation over Rahul’s future at the franchise ever since visuals surfaced of an animated chat between him and Goenka following LSG’s defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad towards the end of the league phase.”There’s always ups and downs,” he said. “You need to be able to hold your nerves and be able to keep and you need to be able to keep putting up good performances after good performances. All the travel, all the drama outside, the pressure – all of it is there every year. But somehow this season, it felt like there was a lot more and somehow I think that affected the team and we couldn’t put in performances when it really mattered.”Looking ahead, Rahul said IPL captaincy wasn’t the most important thing for him at this stage, but playing in a “good environment” was. “I would never go and ask someone for it,” Rahul said when asked how important IPL captaincy was to him. “If you feel that my leadership skills are good enough, and you find something good in the way I play my cricket and in the way I handle myself, the way that I handle the team that I’ve captained in the last four to five years, and if you find it worthy, then of course I’m happy to do it.”But it’s not something that is a make or break for me. I just want to be part of a team that has a good environment. You feel loved, cared for and respected in that environment and everyone on that franchise has one single goal to win the idea. there then that’s a perfect fit.”Even as social media chatter of a potential reunion with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, his hometown team, gathers steam, Rahul was pragmatic about the possibility of playing anywhere. But it’s no secret which team he has a soft corner for. “I most enjoyed playing at RCB. It’s also home,” he said. “You get to spend a lot of time at home, and I know the Chinnaswamy [Stadium] really well. I’ve grown up playing on that ground. So yeah, I really enjoyed my time in RCB.”Would he love to go back to RCB?”Yeah, of course like I said, it’s kind of home and the people there know me as a local Kannada boy, and it would be nice to go back there and get an opportunity again. But yeah, it’s an auction year so you can go anywhere.”

Easwaran makes 143*, but Kamboj's five-star show puts India C in the driver's seat

Even as Abhimanyu Easwaran stood tall from one end to post an unbeaten 143 for India B, Anshul Kamboj ran through the batting unit to take 5 for 66 to give India C the advantage by stumps on day three in Anantapur. With one day of action remaining, India C are now favourites to claim the first-innings-lead points, with India B still 216 runs behind at 309 for 7.Day three began with India B on 124 for 0. The opening pair of Easwaran and N Jagadeesan were looking to build towards overcoming India C’s first-innings score of 525, but Kamboj struck in the day’s fourth over, dismissing Jagadeesan for 70.That triggered a slide that had India B sipping to 194 for 5, with each of those dismissals belonging to Kamboj. After getting Jagadeesan caught behind, the seam-bowling allrounder had both Khan brothers – Musheer (1) and Sarfaraz (16) – dismissed lbw, and then followed it up with the wickets of Rinku Singh (6) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (2). While Ishan Kishan caught Rinku off Kamboj, Reddy was out bowled.However, Easwaran, from an overnight score of 51, could not be dislodged through the day. He brought up his 24th first-class century after lunch, and with the help of 12 fours and a solitary six finished the day seven short of his 150. With Washington Sundar (13), he added a 43-run sixth-wicket stand, and with Sai Kishore (21), he stitched a 46-run partnership for the seventh wicket.The two promising lower-order partnerships were ended by Vijaykumar Vyshak and Mayank Markande respectively, while Rahul Chahar (18*), coming in at No. 9, saw off the last eight overs with Easwaran on a day when only 65 overs were bowled.India B’s middle-order crumble, which saw them lose 5 for 65, now leaves them with very slim chances of earning any points from this round two fixture. If India C take the last three wickets and claim the lead – which they are favourites to do – they will earn three points and be guaranteed to move to the top of the Duleep Trophy table. India C’s best-case scenario, though, would be to enforce follow-on early on the final day and then hunt for the six points on offer for an outright win.

England remain cautious over Jofra Archer's workload for Australia ODIs

England will continue to take a cautious approach to Jofra Archer’s workloads during their five upcoming ODIs against Australia, after he bowled just 3.3 overs across the drawn, rain-affected T20I series.Archer has been steadily eased back into international cricket this year, playing two T20Is against Pakistan in May before featuring in all eight of England’s matches at June’s T20 World Cup. He did not play at all for Sussex in the second half of the Blast group stages and was managed carefully through the Hundred, twice being rested to the frustration of Southern Brave captain James Vince.Since the end of the Hundred, he has played two matches: one for Sussex in the quarter-final of the T20 Blast, and the other for England in their defeat at the Utilita Bowl on Wednesday night. He was rested for Friday night’s game in Cardiff and would have played in Sunday’s series decider had it not been washed out by the Manchester rain.He has proved why England have invested so heavily in him, since his comeback from the back and elbow issues that have kept him on the sidelines for so long. He was their joint-highest wicket-taker at June’s World Cup, and on Wednesday night provided a reminder of his skills at the death, clean-bowling Sean Abbott and Xavier Bartlett in successive balls.Related

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Archer is in England’s 15-man squad for the five-match ODI series which starts in Nottingham on Thursday, though may be rested for one or two of them. He has not played a 50-over game in the last 18 months and while he retains long-term ambitions to play red-ball cricket, he has not played a first-class match since May 2021.”Jofra will have to be managed throughout the series,” Jos Buttler told Sky Sports on Sunday. “He’s played a really good stint now of T20 cricket, but obviously you can only bowl four overs in there. There’s a jump in intensity getting loads up to taking full part in an ODI – and of course, as an England fan, to push those loads up hopefully to get back into the Test arena as well.”Marcus Trescothick, England’s interim coach, said that Archer was “comfortable” with the ECB’s long-term plan to manage his workload. “He knows the plan,” Trescothick said. “It’s discussed long in advance of picking the team on each day. We know what we’re doing with him, and where we’re going. He’s comfortable: he knows what he’s doing.”That’s a bigger structure, in terms of what we’re trying to do with Jofra. You come into the series knowing what we’ve got and what we can do with him. That’s an agreed plan between the coaches, directors, physios and all the different people. We’ll still be managing him [in the ODIs] – exactly the same thing.”Trescothick will be part of all three of England’s tours pre-Christmas, as an assistant coach for the Test series in Pakistan and New Zealand, and continuing to deputise for Brendon McCullum during the white-ball tour of the Caribbean in November. “It’s going to be slightly abbreviated, but I’ll be popping into all of them,” he said.He said that his manner as a coach has been informed by his experience working with McCullum, which he hopes will allow for a smooth transition when McCullum takes charge across formats from January. “I’m directing it in a way that I know will be very similar to when he comes in,” Trescothick said. “He’ll talk the same way, manage in the same fashion, and debrief in the same way.”We’ve spent two-and-a-half years together coaching… It’s not copying it, because I’m putting my own stamp on it, but it’s done in a very similar sort of fashion involving the very similar people in terms of the coaches we have around it. It’s the start of what’s going to go on, and it’ll carry on pretty seamlessly when he takes over in January.”

Mehidy's five-wicket haul puts Bangladesh in front

Despite half-centuries from Shan Masood, Saim Ayub and Salman Ali Agha, and four dropped catches of varying difficulty, Pakistan were bowled out for 274 on the second day of the second Test in Rawalpindi. For Bangladesh, Mehidy Hasan Miraz caused the most damage, finishing with figures of 5 for 61.The Bangladesh openers, Shadman Islam and Zakir Hasan, had two overs to face before stumps. Mir Hamza got Shadman to edge the first ball of the innings to fifth slip but Saud Shakeel grassed the chance, letting Bangladesh go back unscathed.That Pakistan are without Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah makes their position even more precarious. With Naseem “rested”, Pakistan’s four frontline bowlers for this match have played a combined experience of 16 Tests.Earlier, a warm and sunny morning greeted the teams after rain had washed out the opening day. Given the moisture in the pitch, Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto had no hesitation in bowling first in what is now a four-day Test.Taskin, who returned from a shoulder injury, proved his captain right by striking in the first over. After bowling five outswingers to Abdullah Shafique, he got the last ball to nip back off the seam. Shafique was not prepared for it. He came forward to defend but left a huge gap between the bat and the pad. The ball sneaked through and hit the top of off stump.For a while, Taskin and Hasan Mahmud kept Ayub quiet by bowling predominantly from around the wicket. Ayub was on 4 off 25 balls at one point but hit three fours in the next 11 balls he faced. Masood was positive right from the start. As a result, the fifty stand between the two came in just 68 balls.Saim Ayub and Shan Masood had a century partnership for the second wicket•PCB

It was not that the Bangladesh seamers did not induce mistakes but none of them brought a wicket. As the day progressed, the pitch eased out. Ten minutes before lunch, Masood brought up his fifty, off just 54 balls. He hit only two fours in his fifty, which made it the fastest fifty in Test cricket since 2002 with two, or fewer, boundaries.At lunch, Pakistan were comfortably placed on 100 for 1 from 25 overs. But things changed after the break with Mehidy removing Masood and Ayub in quick succession. Bowling around the wicket, he first trapped Masood lbw with the one that straightened after pitching. Ayub brought up his fifty with a pulled four off Nahid Rana but when he came out of his crease to smash Mehidy, the offspinner beat him in the flight and had him stumped.Mehidy had an opportunity to further increase Pakistan’s woes but he dropped a regulation catch of Shakeel at second slip off Rana’s bowling. Had the catch been taken, Pakistan would have been 125 for 4.Shakeel failed to take advantage of the reprieve, though. He did hit Taskin for back-to-back fours but chopped on the last ball of the over onto his stumps to be dismissed for 16.At 151 for 4, Pakistan were relying on Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan for the umpteenth time to pull them out of trouble. But it was not to be. Shakib had Babar playing back to an arm ball when the batter should have been forward and had him lbw. Shakib could have had Agha too in the same over but Zakir failed to hold on to a difficult bat-pad chance at short leg.Rizwan fell shortly after tea, fending a short ball from Rana to first slip. Agha and Khurram Shahzad added 25 for the seventh wicket to keep Bangladesh at bay for a while. Mehidy threatened to end their resistance when he got Shahzad to edge one low to the left of first slip but Shadman could get only fingertips to the ball.Mehidy, though, did not have to wait for long. In his next over, Shahzad miscued a lofted shot towards mid-off where Shakib moved swiftly to his right to take a tumbling catch.But Bangladesh were not done with their gifts. Soon after, Mominul Haque dropped a straightforward chance from Mohammad Ali at leg slip off Shakib. However, that also did not hurt Bangladesh as Mehidy had Ali caught at slip in the next over.Agha got another life on 46. He inside-edged Taskin onto his pad and Mehidy caught the rebound at gully. But the umpire failed to spot the edge. Having burnt all their reviews, Bangladesh had no other option than to accept the on-field decision. Agha rubbed it in by pulling Taskin over fine leg for a six to bring up his fifty.With only two wickets left, Agha was taking more and more chances. Along with Abrar Ahmed, he added 28 for the ninth wicket before pulling Tasking into the hands of fine leg. From the other end, Abrar gave charge to Mehidy and was stumped, bringing curtains to the innings.

Nayar, ten Doeschate set to join India's support staff as assistant coaches

Former India allrounder Abhishek Nayar and former Netherlands allrounder Ryan ten Doeschate are set to join India’s support staff as assistant coaches for the upcoming white-ball tour of Sri Lanka. The pair will reunite with newly-appointed India head coach Gautam Gambhir, having recently served as his assistant coaches during Kolkata Knight Riders’ run to the IPL 2024 title.ESPNcricinfo has learnt that former South Africa fast bowler Morne Morkel has been approached to become India’s new bowling coach. Morkel had worked with Gambhir at Lucknow Super Giants and Durban’s Super Giants in the SA20, where Gambhir was the global mentor.Related

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Former India and Karnataka seamer Vinay Kumar has also been shortlisted for the bowling coach role, but Morkel is understood to be the leading candidate.The new coaching set-up’s first assignment will be a white-ball tour of Sri Lanka, comprising three ODIs and three T20Is, which begins on July 27.Nayar, 40, played three ODIs for India and won multiple Ranji Trophy titles with Mumbai in his first-class career, which spanned over 100 matches. Even when he was an active player, Nayar mentored Dinesh Karthik and helped him stage an international comeback. More recently, mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy heaped praise on Nayar after KKR won their first IPL title in ten seasons. Nayar has also worked as the head coach of Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).As for ten Doeschate, he is currently with Los Angeles Knight Riders in the USA’s Major League Cricket as an assistant to head coach Phil Simmons. He also brings with him the experience of having been a batting coach at Kent.