Megan Schutt, Shabnim Ismail and Sophia Dunkley among the big overseas players not retained by their respective teams

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Oct-2023

Delhi Capitals

Delhi Capitals have retained 15 of their 18 squad members. Among the three released are Tara Norris, who was the only Associate player across teams in the inaugural season, and Jasia Akhtar, the Jammu and Kashmir batter known for her power-hitting in India’s domestic circuit. Capitals will go into the 2024 auction with a purse of INR 2.25 crore to fill up to three slots.Squad: Alice Capsey*, Arundhati Reddy, Jemimah Rodrigues, Jess Jonassen*, Laura Harris*, Marizanne Kapp*, Meg Lanning*, Minnu Mani, Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav, Shafali Verma, Shikha Pandey, Sneha Deepthi, Taniya Bhatia, Titas SadhuReleased: Aparna Mondal, Jasia Akhtar, Tara Norris*

Gujarat Giants

Gujarat Giants, who finished at the bottom of the points table last season, have released more than half of their squad members, including four overseas players: Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham, Kim Garth and Sophia Dunkley. Laura Wolvaardt, who was an injury replacement for Beth Mooney, has been retained, as is Mooney.That means they have ten vacancies now, and will have the biggest purse at the mini-auction – INR 5.95 crore – to fill those.Squad: Ashleigh Gardner*, Beth Mooney*, Dayalan Hemalatha, Harleen Deol, Laura Wolvaardt*, Shabnam Shakil, Sneh Rana, Tanuja KanwarReleased: Annabel Sutherland*, Ashwani Kumari, Georgia Wareham*, Hurley Gala, Kim Garth*, Mansi Joshi, Monica Patel, Parunika Sisodia, Sabbineni Meghana, Sophia Dunkley*, Sushma VermaESPNcricinfo Ltd

Mumbai Indians

Defending champions Mumbai Indians released just four players, out of which only Dhara Gujjar had played any part last season. Since they had only 17 players last time, they have five slots available and a purse of INR 2.1 crore, the smallest among the five franchises.Squad: Amanjot Kaur, Amelia Kerr*, Chloe Tryon*, Harmanpreet Kaur, Hayley Matthews*, Humaira Kazi, Issy Wong*, Jintimani Kalita, Nat Sciver-Brunt*, Pooja Vastrakar, Priyanka Bala, Saika Ishaque, Yastika BhatiaReleased: Dhara Gujjar, Heather Graham*, Neelam Bisht, Sonam Yadav

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Megan Schutt, Dane van Niekerk and Erin Burns were the biggest names released by Royal Challengers Bangalore. Schutt played seven out of eight games last season but could pick up just four wickets at an economy of 8.46, while van Niekerk had spent the whole season on the bench. They have seven slots vacant, and INR 3.35 to fill them.Squad: Asha Shobana, Disha Kasat, Ellyse Perry*, Heather Knight*, Indrani Roy, Kanika Ahuja, Renuka Singh, Richa Ghosh, Shreyanka Patil, Smriti Mandhana, Sophie Devine*Released: Dane van Niekerk*, Erin Burns*, Komal Zanzad, Megan Schutt*, Poonam Khemnar, Preeti Bose, Sahana Pawar

UP Warriorz

UP Warriorz retained their core; Shabnim Ismail, who played just three games last season because of the team combination, was the only overseas player released. Among Indians, the franchise let go of Devika Vaidya, Shivali Shinde and Simran Shaikh. Vaidya, who was signed at INR 1.4 crore, managed just 77 runs and one wicket in seven matches. Warriorz will have INR 4 crore at the auction to fill five slots.Squad: Alyssa Healy*, Anjali Sarvani, Deepti Sharma, Grace Harris*, Kiran Navgire, Lauren Bell*, Laxmi Yadav, Parshavi Chopra, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, S Yashasri, Shweta Sehrawat, Sophie Ecclestone*, Tahlia McGrath*Released: Devika Vaidya, Shabnim Ismail*, Shivali Shinde, Simran Shaikh

“We wanted to take that semi-final out of the equation, not to think too much about it”

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Nov-20232:35

Is Shami India’s greatest ODI bowler of all time?

India have made it ten out of ten at the World Cup. They have been clinical pretty much all the way, dominating with the bat and with the ball, but that wasn’t quite the case on Wednesday in Mumbai in the semi-final against New Zealand, even if the margin of victory – 70 runs – sounds comprehensive enough. Captain Rohit Sharma acknowledged that it was among the toughest matches India played at this World Cup, adding that his side had to “stay collected” and take the “semi-final off the equation” to stay in the game and pull off a win.”The way our bowlers came and bowled up front with the new ball, getting those wickets… when you have a target [India scored 397] like that, you’ve got to take wickets upfront. And we did that exactly,” Rohit said on Star Sports after the game. “Today being the semi-finals, I wouldn’t say that there was no pressure. Whenever you play the game, there is always pressure, and obviously semi-final adds a bit of extra there. But I think the guys were doing the job.”To be honest, we wanted to take that semi-final out of the equation, not to think too much about it. We just wanted to keep doing what we’ve been doing in the first nine games that we played, and things came off for us really nicely in the second half as well.”Despite their big total, India were put under pressure by Daryl Mitchell and Kane Williamson, who put together 181 runs together in 149 balls in their third-wicket partnership, silencing the Wankhede crowd in the process, with Mitchell bringing up an 85-ball hundred and Williamson a resolute half-century.India also dropped Williamson – Mohammed Shami spilling a sitter at mid-on – and also missed a run-out chance when the two were batting together. At that point, New Zealand were in control of the chase. But Shami, who had picked the first two wickets, came back in the 33rd over to provide the breakthrough with Williamson’s wicket.”When the scoring rate is above nine all the time, you got to keep taking your chances,” Rohit said. “Sometimes it comes off and sometimes it doesn’t. They gave us chances, we didn’t take them. But credit to them as well in the middle, Mitchell and Williamson batted brilliantly.”Again, for us, it was important to stay calm. At one point, the crowd went absolutely silent, that’s the nature of the game. But we knew that we had to pull something up from our sleeves and need a magic, either a good catch or a run out or maybe a magic delivery. But we tried everything we couldn’t [break through], but again, Shami was brilliant.”I’ve played a lot of cricket here [at the Wankhede]. So I know any score on this ground… you cannot relax, you got to get the job done as quickly as possible and stay at it. We knew there will be pressure on us at some stage there will be partnership. We just got to stay collected and I think that’s what we did. We were calm even though we were a bit sloppy on the field. But that can happen. We’ve got nine perfect games on the field. So, these things are bound to happen. But I’m glad that we could get the job done in the end.”Virat Kohli gets the crowd going as India close in on their win•AFP/Getty Images

The Wankhede is known for being batting-friendly, and it didn’t play any differently on the day.India were off to a rollicking start, with Rohit and Shubman Gill putting up a 75-run opening stand off just 50 balls. Kohli registered his record 50th ODI century and Shreyas Iyer brought up a century of his own, hitting 105 off just 70 balls. India plundered 110 runs off the last ten overs to get to their third 350-plus total of the tournament.”The top-five-six batters, whenever they’ve gotten an opportunity, they’ve made it really count,” Rohit said. “Very, very pleased to see what Iyer has done for us in this tournament. Gill, the way he batted up front was brilliant. Unfortunately, he started getting cramps so we had to bring him back.”Kohli was brilliant as usual, played his trademark innings and got to that landmark milestone as well. All in all, the batting was superb, and that is the kind of template we want to bat with and move forward with.”

Laura Wolvaardt has been confirmed as the full-time captain, while Ayanda Hlubi and Eliz-Mari Marx have earned their maiden national-team call-ups

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Nov-2023South Africa have handed T20I call-ups for the first time to Ayanda Hlubi and Eliz-Mari Marx for the three T20I at home against Bangladesh. Marizanne Kapp, playing for Sydney Thunder in the WBBL, has been rested for the T20Is but will return for the ODIs that will follow.Injuries will force fast bowler Ayabonga Khaka (knee), and allrounders Chloe Tryon (groin) and Nadine de Klerk (side) to miss out altogether.Meanwhile, as reported by ESPNcricinfo earlier this month, Laura Wolvaardt has been confirmed as the full-time captain of the team, taking over the reins from Sune Luus. Wolvaardt had earlier led South Africa in their away assignment in Pakistan and at home against New Zealand in an interim capacity.Related

• Lata Mondal back in Bangladesh squad for South Africa tour

• Wolvaardt to take over as full-time South Africa captain

“Having Laura Wolvaardt as the official captain, together with a blend of young and experienced players bodes well for our succession planning,” Clinton du Preez, convenor of selectors, said. “It will also assist within the excitement we have around the squad in giving young players an opportunity and therefore we are looking forward to seeing them put up their hand and make impactful performances in this upcoming tour.”Hlubi is a seamer and was part of South Africa’s squad at the Under-19 T20 World Cup earlier this year, and returned three wickets in four matches in the competition. More recently, she began the CSA Women’s Division One T20s with two wickets in two outings at an economy of 4.56.Marx is part of the South Africa emerging side’s tour of Zimbabwe, and has picked up three wickets in three matches and has a strike rate of 103.57 with the bat. She is also Titans’ leading wicket-taker in the domestic T20s this season with four strikes.”The inclusion of Ayanda Hlubi and Eliz-Mari Marx gives great confidence to rewarding performances at the professional level,” du Preez said. “They have been instrumental with their domestic performances in the past season for their respective provinces.”Marizanne Kapp will take a break after the WBBL and link up with the team for the ODIs•Gallo Images/Getty Images

Following impressive outings on the emerging tour and in the domestic T20s, seam-bowling allrounder Annerie Dercksen also returned to the 15-member side after completing full recovery from the finger fracture that kept her out of the Pakistan tour.”For the T20Is, this is where we are going to look, where possible, to blend in youngsters and give an opportunity to expose them at this level to keep growing the base,” head coach Hilton Moreeng said. “Overall, we have a lot of good youngsters coming through and the squad is becoming stronger and stronger every day with a more challenging environment, so we as a team are looking forward to that.”It’s another opportunity for some of these youngsters to show what they can do while not losing sight of what we want to achieve overall when it comes to the entire tour.”The three T20Is will take place in Benoni and Kimberley between December 3 and December 8, with the three ODIs to be played between December 16 and December 23 in East London, Potchefstroom and Benoni respectively.South Africa squad: Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Annerie Dercksen, Mieke de Ridder, Lara Goodall, Ayanda Hlubi, Sinalo Jafta, Masabata Klaas, Sune Luus, Eliz-Mari Marx, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Tumi Sekhukhune, Nondumiso Shangase, Delmi Tucker

Hurricanes finished the season in fifth place, with Stars sixth, as both teams missed out on the finals

AAP15-Jan-2024Hobart Hurricanes salvaged some pride at the end of another disappointing BBL campaign, holding off Melbourne Stars by seven runs at the MCG.Like Stars, Hurricanes entered their final match of the tournament on Monday night without a chance of qualifying for the finals after Adelaide Strikers sealed the last spot in the top four with victory over Sydney Thunder the previous night.Beau Webster (55 not out in 43 balls) and Marcus Stoinis (48 in 32) looked a chance of pushing Stars past Hurricanes’ 187 for 8. But Stars’ hopes faded when Stoinis was out to Chris Jordan in the 18th over, and Stars finishing their 20 overs on 180 for 4.After being sent in to bat, Hurricanes flew out of the blocks courtesy an 86-run opening stand between Matthew Wade (63 in 41) and Ben McDermott (50 in 35). The stand was broken on the last ball of the tenth over. Hurricanes then regularly lost wickets for the remainder of their time at the crease, falling short of what they had looked like reaching.Stars allrounder Dan Lawrence collected 4 for 35 – the second four-wicket haul of his T20 career – with his gentle right-arm spin to boost Stars’ prospects.Matthew Wade scored 63 off 41 balls to finish the season•Getty Images

Hurricanes captain Nathan Ellis had an eventful night, but proved crucial in his team securing their fourth win of the campaign.After smashing 16 from five balls batting at No. 9, Ellis dropped two catches in the first two overs of the Stars chase, appearing to hurt his ribs after putting down one chance when he fell on the ball.But Ellis (2 for 29) pushed through the pain barrier to continue bowling, dismissing opener Thomas Rogers for 10.The match completely swung in Hurricanes’ favour when Ellis bowled Glenn Maxwell (32 in 18) after the Stars captain had threatened to produce a trademark match-winning knock.Once perennial BBL title contenders without ever winning the tournament, Stars missed out on the finals for a fourth straight season. Since they lost the 2019-20 final to Sydney Sixers, Stars have finished seventh, sixth, last and fifth.Hurricanes’ record isn’t much better – they have made the finals just once in the last four seasons.

The 14-member squad also includes the returning Daryl Mitchell and Scott Kuggeleijn

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Feb-2024New Zealand captain Tim Southee and his predecessor Kane Williamson are set to play their 100th Tests together during the upcoming home series against Australia. March 8 will mark the occasion, the start of the second of two matches in the series, which follows a set of three T20Is.The 14-member Test squad also includes Daryl Mitchell who has been on the sidelines recently tending to a long-term foot injury. Scott Kuggeleijn gets a look in as well, replacing Kyle Jamieson who has picked up a back problem and is looking at a year out of the game.The NZC press release with the squad which arrived on Saturday also said, “Trent Boult, who will feature in the T20I series against Australia, was not considered for Test selection due to minimal recent red ball cricket – his last Test coming in June 2022 against England in Leeds.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Southee and Williamson grew up playing cricket alongside each other, rising up the ranks from the Under-19 levels to become their country’s second-highest wicket-taker and leading run-scorer respectively. The two of them had also played their 50th Test together, against Zimbabwe in 2016, and will join Stephen Fleming, Daniel Vettori, Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor as the only other New Zealand men with 100 Tests to their name.”Their achievements at Test level speak for themselves,” head coach Gary Stead said, “And they are undoubtedly two of the greatest players to have ever worn the New Zealand Test shirt.”Southee will follow Taylor, Virat Kohli and David Warner as just the fourth player in history to have played 100 matches in each format.The first Test will begin on February 29 in Wellington and will signal the return of a vital member of this team. Mitchell has become such a dependable fixture in this Black Caps team that among those who have played 20 Tests, the only person who averages more than his 53.46 is Williamson with 55.90.”[Mitchell] is a key member of the group and has proven, with his performances over the past 12 to 18 months, how much value he adds to the Test team,” New Zealand selector Sam Wells said. “Daryl will keep focusing on his rehabilitation over the next week and will be fit and ready for the first Test in Wellington.”Kuggeleijn has been picked on the back of his performances for New Zealand A against Australia A last year, including match figures of 9-113 and an unbeaten 101 to lead the team to victory in the first four-day game. The Northern Districts seamer has continued his form in the Plunket Shield, leading the bowling charts with 22 wickets at 16 from the first four rounds.Will O’Rourke retains his place after leaving one of the more lasting first impressions – the 22-year old quick claimed the best match figures by a debutant for New Zealand when he picked up 9 for 93 against South Africa in Hamilton earlier this week.Mitchell Santner continues as the specialist spin bowling option, while recent Test double-centurion Rachin Ravindra and allrounder Glenn Phillips lending support.Meanwhile, Matt Henry and Tim Seifert have been ruled out of the T20I series. Their replacements will be Ben Sears and Will Young.Henry suffered some hip soreness following the second Test against South Africa and will undergo a short period of rest and strengthening ahead of the Test series. Seifert has been withdrawn due to a torn abductor suffered while training for Northern Districts earlier in the week.”Matt’s understandably disappointed, but a break for the T20s will ensure he’s fully fit and ready to go for the Tests against Australia later this month,” said Stead. “We’re gutted for Tim who has been a strong performer over recent series and is an important part of the squad.
We’re hopeful he’ll make a swift recovery ahead of an important period of T20I cricket for the team.”

New Zealand Test squad vs Australia

Tim Southee (capt), Tom Blundell, Matt Henry, Scott Kuggeleijn, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Will O’Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Neil Wagner, Kane Williamson, Will Young

Updated New Zealand T20I squad

Mitchell Santner (capt), Finn Allen, Trent Boult (games 2 & 3), Mark Chapman, Josh Clarkson, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Adam Milne, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Ben Sears, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee (game 1), Will Young

Tash Farrant seals contest with half-century for South East Stars

ECB Reporters Network24-Apr-2024England seam-bowling prospect Ryana MacDonald-Gay took a career-best five for 31 before opener Tash Farrant continued her fine start to the season with an unbeaten 68 as South East Stars made it two wins from two by thumping The Blaze in their Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy clash in Leicester.England star Farrant, who hit a career-best 94 as Stars opened with a victory over holders Southern Vipers last weekend, led the way as Bryony Smith’s side eased to an eight-wicket win with a 159 balls to spare.It could have been more comfortable still but for a competition-record partnership saving The Blaze’s blushes after they had been reduced to 49 for nine after winning the toss and choosing to bat. Skipper Kirstie Gordon and number 11 Grace Ballinger’s stand of 77 was the highest for the 10th wicket by any side since the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy was launched in 2020.England’s Sarah Glenn returned for The Blaze for her first action since suffering a concussion injury a month ago but last season’s runners-up were still without four first-choice players because of international commitments with three others injured.Badly depleted at the top of the batting order, The Blaze were in trouble from ball one as opener Marie Kelly, one of the more experienced of their available batters, reached for MacDonald-Gay’s opening delivery and bottom-edged into her stumps.Wickets two and three came in each of her next two overs as MacDonald-Gay fixed her aim with Sophie Munro and Ella Claridge having no answer to balls arrowed in at the stumps.A rocky start for The Blaze rapidly became worse as MacDonald-Gay’s new-ball partner Phoebe Franklin found enough away movement to remove South Africa all-rounder Nadine de Klerk and Glenn in the space of four deliveries, with neither making a run, the former caught behind before Glenn edged to second slip, as 16 for three became 17 for five.Teresa Graves was dropped at extra cover off Franklin but the Stars were soon celebrating again as MacDonald-Gay trapped Daisy Mullan in front.A boundary apiece from Graves and Bethany Harmer gave The Blaze momentary encouragement but it was promptly nipped in the bud as another straight ball from MacDonald-Gay accounted for Graves and handed the England A bowler the reward of a first five-wicket haul in women’s List A cricket.The Blaze were 39 for seven and there was no respite as England seamer Alice Davidson-Richards took over at the Bennett End and picked up a wicket first ball as Harmer was caught at backward point, MacDonald-Gay adding to her impressive morning’s work by taking a fine one-handed catch.When Davidson-Richards then dismissed Cassidy McCarthy, The Blaze were 49 for nine with barely 75 minutes played and the end seemed to be coming quickly.But Gordon and Ballinger had other ideas, the last-wicket pair holding up the Stars for more than an hour and a half, taking a mature, measured approach that saw them resist any temptation to throw the bat and concentrating instead on working the gaps in what is English domestic cricket’s largest playing areas, with only a quarter of their runs coming in boundaries.Ballinger passed her previous List A best of 18 before she was leg before to the off-spin of a palpably relieved Smith, with Gordon’s unbeaten 41 her best List A score in English domestic cricket.Their efforts had at least given themselves and their fellow bowlers a bigger total to defend than had seemed likely but it was still nowhere near enough to deny the Stars, for whom Smith made 34 from 33 balls before Farrant took charge, hitting five fours and two sixes in her 81-ball innings.Both Farrant and Smith made good use of the shorter, straight boundaries before Smith holed out to mid-on following an 82-run opening stand, with Gordon bowling Scholfield for The Blaze’s only other success.

Bangladesh believe they are still in with a chance if they can bat out the third day

Mohammad Isam31-Mar-2024The Chattogram Test has progressed at a slow pace so far, with only 11 wickets falling over the first two days, and both Bangladesh and Sri Lanka believe the third day will be pivotal. The home side hope to bat out the entire day; the visitors want early wickets.Sri Lanka are 476 runs ahead after posting a total of 531. Bangladesh lost one wicket in the 15 overs they had to negotiate on the second evening, but there was enough evidence that it will continue to be a hard grind for the bowlers. Kamindu Mendis, one of six Sri Lanka batters to score half-centuries, said his team would push to take a couple of early wickets on the third morning to continue dominating the Chattogram Test.”The pitch, compared to the last game, is quite good for the batters,” Kamindu said. “But I think it’ll become more advantageous for the spinners going forward. I think I got to bat on a good day in that sense. Some balls did turn today, but I think tomorrow the spinners will play a bigger role. At the same time we have three very good fast bowlers – one wicket was already taken by them – so I think the combination is good. If we can pick up two-three wickets in the morning we’ll be on top.”Bangladesh’s batting coach David Hemp said the home team would have to bat out the third day to stay in contention in this game.”We are still thinking about winning the game,” Hemp said. “It might seem a bit bizarre considering we are [476] runs behind. The key bit will be to negotiate tomorrow. If we do that well, then we negotiate the day after. If we do that, from a batting point of view, you never know what can happen. First things first, we have to make sure we bat well for three sessions tomorrow.”Bangladesh can take a leaf out of Sri Lanka’s approach. The visitors strung together five 50-plus stands, two of them going past the century mark. Kamindu added 65 for the seventh wicket with Prabath Jayasuriya, and then batted out an additional 17.1 overs alongside Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara and Asitha Fernando, the last three batters.Kamindu has batted commendably with the tail through this Test series. After his 173-run seventh wicket stand with Dhananjaya de Silva in the second innings in Sylhet, Mendis batted for another 26.2 overs with the last three batters.Bangladesh’s difficult time in the field was compounded by seven dropped chances•AFP/Getty Images

“When you bat at No 7 or 8, you have to trust the tail-enders,” Kamindu said. “I think I did that. They did a good job supporting me. Our top-order batters did really well in this innings. We have a few half-centuries. They gave a good contribution to the team.”I think in cricket, someone can get a big hundred, someone won’t be able to. We have six half-centuries in our first innings. It is still a good contribution for the team. We put a 500-plus total on to the board. I think we fulfilled our plan.”Dinesh Chandimal and captain de Silva also struck fifties as Sri Lanka looked hardly in trouble through the second day. Bangladesh also dropped four catches, to take their total to seven across Sri Lanka’s innings.The catching reached its nadir when Jayasuriya edged Khaled Ahmed to Najmul Hossain Shanto at first slip. The ball burst out of his hand, only to reach Shahadat Hossain at second slip, who parried it to Zakir Hossain at third slip, who finally dropped the chance. Khaled was left fuming, kicking the turf twice.”I thought [Shahadat] Dipu had the best chance to get that [catch],” Hemp said. “Both those fielders field at short leg so their reactions are pretty good. I thought when it popped out, one of them would be able to get it. But unfortunately not. We don’t see that often.”It is a difficult job to be a slip fielder. A lot of it is anticipation and expectation. You have to expect the ball to come to you every ball. Unless you’ve got that mindset, it makes life a bit difficult. The more you will practice, you give yourself a better chance when it comes in a game situation.”Catching is one of many concerns for Bangladesh. The main one will be their batting line-up, which is coming off four failures on the trot. Zakir and Joy began positively before the latter fell to Lahiru Kumara’s dipping inswinger late in the day. The opening pair hasn’t put on a single half-century partnership yet, having batted together nine times so far.Hemp said Bangladesh believe in the pair, who have shown signs of improvement. “We didn’t negotiate [Sri Lanka’s bowlers] well enough [in Sylhet] last week. I think that’s the big move forward. It is what we practiced in the three days [before this Test]. Joy’s dismissal was disappointing. It would have been nice to be none down at the end of the day. They are a young partnership, so it takes a bit of time to get into it. I am just pleased with the way they applied themselves.”

MI will need their overseas fast bowlers to step up, and soon

Hemant Brar29-Apr-2024

Match details

Lucknow Super Giants (fifth) vs Mumbai Indians (ninth)
Lucknow, 1930 IST (1400 GMT)

Big picture – MI let down by overseas seamers

After two defeats in their last two games, MI’s playoff chances have nosedived, and if they lose on Tuesday, they will be in the same boat as Royal Challengers Bengaluru.Before the season started, MI looked one of the stronger sides despite being thin in the spin department. Somehow, that has not translated into performances, and a big reason behind that is their overseas fast bowlers’ struggles.Jason Behrendorff and Dilshan Madushanka were ruled out with injuries even before the tournament started. Their replacements – Luke Wood and Kwena Maphaka – failed to meet the expectations. Nuwan Thushara has gone for 12 an over in the two games he has played, without any wicket to show for it. Gerald Coetzee, who has 12 wickets in eight games, has also run hot and cold, and has an economy of 10.10. All that has left Jasprit Bumrah with too much to do.Related

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While LSG are also coming off a defeat, they are in a much better position on the points table. A win against MI could even propel them to second position. Apart from the advantage of playing at home, they will be boosted by the return of Mayank Yadav, who has passed all his fitness tests.

Form guide

Lucknow Super Giants LWWLL (last five matches, most recent first)
Mumbai Indians LLWLW

Team news and impact player strategy

Lucknow Super Giants
Matt Henry may have to make way for Mayank. That will also allow LSG to bring in Ashton Turner for an out-of-form Devdutt Padikkal.Depending on whether LSG are batting first or bowling, one of Ayush Badoni and Yash Thakur could be the Impact Player.Mayank Yadav’s availability will offer LSG flexibility in their overseas combination•BCCI

Probable XII 1 Quinton de Kock, 2 KL Rahul (capt, wk), 3 Marcus Stoinis, 4 Deepak Hooda, 5 Nicholas Pooran, 6 Ashton Turner, 7 , 8 Krunal Pandya, 9 Mayank Yadav, 10 Ravi Bishnoi, 11 Mohsin Khan, 12 Mumbai Indians
MI can consider bringing in Kumar Kartikeya for Luke Wood, especially if the pitch is on the slower side. Suryakumar Yadav (if bowling first) and Nuwan Thushara (if batting first) could be their Impact Player options.Probable XII 1 Ishan Kishan (wk), 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 , 4 Tilak Varma, 5 Hardik Pandya (capt), 6 Nehal Wadhera, 7 Tim David, 8 Mohammad Nabi, 9 Piyush Chawla, 10 Kumar Kartikeya/Luke Wood, 11 Jasprit Bumrah, 12

In the spotlight – Quinton de Kock and Suryakumar Yadav

Quinton de Kock started IPL 2024 with a bang, scoring two fifties in the first three games. But since then he has struggled for consistency and has crossed 20 only once in six innings. Given LSG have not been able to score freely in the powerplay – their run rate of 8.38 is the second-worst in that phase this season – they need de Kock to be at his best soon.Suryakumar Yadav was expected to revive MI’s fortunes after his return from the injury. While his 166 in six innings so far, at a strike rate of 171.13, are not bad returns, both the runs per innings and strike rate are down by around 10 compared to last season. He has had two 50-plus scores but has made only 36 runs in the other four innings, including two ducks. As MI fight for survival, Suryakumar will have a key role to play.

Stats that matter

• Rohit Sharma has fallen to Amit Mishra eight times in T20s while scoring only 87 runs in 92 balls. Only Sunil Narine has dismissed Rohit more number of times (nine).
• Jasprit Bumrah has dismissed Marcus Stoinis four times in 44 balls while giving away just 42 runs.
• Mohammad Nabi has managed to keep Nicholas Pooran quiet: 45 runs in 43 balls, one dismissal. Nabi has been equally frugal against de Kock – 32 runs in 28 balls – even though he has never dismissed him.
• Ravi Bishhnoi has troubled Ishan Kishan (21 runs off as many balls, three dismissals) and Tim David (17 off 23, two dismissals). But Hardik Pandya has taken him for 55 runs in 25 balls and Tilak Varma 38 in 20. Neither has got out to him even once.
• Hardik has managed only 14 runs in 23 balls (one dismissal) against his brother Krunal.

Pitch and conditions

In five games so far in Lucknow, no team has been able to breach 200. Given LSG have a better spin attack than Mumbai, it will not be a surprise if the pitch for Tuesday’s game is on the slower side.

Quotes

“If you look at Quinny’s [de Kock’s] season, he has played nine innings and has scored three fifties, which is not a bad thing. But also, he got out sort of in the first or second overs at times. We will know his X factor. He is a guy who on his day can take their game away from you. Do you want to make too many changes? I think with the experience he brings at the top, you don’t want to change that. Just with his history, you need to back him in that position.”
“This is a slightly bigger ground as compared to others, so that will be a relief for the spinners. We want to keep things as simple as possible – restrict runs and try to take wickets.”

PNG’s bowlers gave some hope after they folded for their lowest T20I score ever, but Uganda held their nerve in the end

Mohammad Isam05-Jun-2024A hard-fought three-wicket win on a challenging pitch gave Uganda their maiden win at the T20 World Cup. They beat Papua New Guinea (PNG) in a low-scoring game in Guyana where both teams vied for their first win in the competition. PNG’s batting crumbled to 77 all out after being put to bat, before Uganda, themselves in trouble at 26 for 5, reached home in the 19th over.Riazat Ali Shah, one of Uganda’s rising stars, used a low backlift in his careful 33 off 56 to shepherd them through the tricky chase, falling just three runs shy of Uganda’s target. PNG were left to rue their poor batting, but they also conceded 15 wides, the second-biggest contribution on the scorecard.But the story of the evening was Uganda’s bowling in the first innings, set up by the pair of 43-year old Frank Nsubuga and 21-year old Juma Miyagi.Both vindicated their inclusion in this game with superb spells. Nsubuga bowled the most economical spell (minimum four overs) in T20 World Cup history, with figures of 4-2-4-2. He also became only the second bowler to bowl 20 dot balls in a T20 World Cup game, after Ajantha Mendis in 2012.

Ugandan pace rocks PNG

Alpesh Ramjani gave Uganda a wicket on the second ball when left-hand batter Assad Vala played back to the left-arm spinner, who angled the ball from around the wicket and on to the stumps. Miyagi and Cosmas Kyewuta then kept PNG on the back foot with their pace.Left-hand batter Sese Bau couldn’t clear Miyagi over mid-off where Roger Mukasa took a tumbling catch going backwards. Kyewuta then got the big one when Tony Ura, PNG’s highest run-scorer in T20Is, also holed out to Mukasa. Lega Siaka was run out for 12 in the seventh over, trying to take a second run as he felt under pressure playing out dots against the two fast bowlers.

Nsubuga on target

When Nsubuga slid one through Charles Amini’s leg stump in the 11th over, he became the second-oldest bowler to take a wicket in the T20 World Cup. Nsubuga then had Hiri Hiri lbw although on first view it looked like the batter had come too far down the wicket. The review, though, went in Uganda’s favour.Ramjani’s second wicket came when he also trapped Kiplin Doriga lbw for 12. Captain Brian Masaba then got into the act with a topspinner that went through Chad Soper’s defences. Miyagi and Kyewuta took the last two wickets, as PNG were bowled out with five balls to spare.Frank Nsubuga, 43, bowled back-to-back wicket maidens•ICC via Getty Images

Nao hits back

Alei Nao gave PNG an identical start to PNG when he removed Mukasa in the first over for a second straight duck. Norman Vanua then removed Robinson Obuya who holed out to mid-on where Vala didn’t have to move to complete the catch.Nao then had Simon Ssesazi lbw in the third over as PNG slipped to a perilous 6 for 3. Ramjani then struck a nice boundary through the off side as he and Riazat tried to get Uganda out of trouble. Soper, though, got the seam-up delivery to scissor through Ramjani in the sixth over. When PNG captain Vala had Dinesh Nakrani caught and bowled, PNG were on the ascendancy.

Riazat’s calmness prevails

When Uganda were 35 for 5, Amini dropped Riazat when he was on 8. It was a simple chance at point after Riazat had played a false shot, but it turned out to be the turning point in Uganda’s chase. Riazat registered his only boundary in the 11th over when he struck a nice cover drive against Vala.He added 35 runs for the sixth wicket with Miyagi, but the latter was run out after a mix-up in the 14th over. Riazat kept calm despite the dismissal, though PNG also kept helping Uganda. Bau dropped Kenneth Waiswa on 4, although Riazat finally fell in the 18th over. John Kariko took a good catch at deep third, though it was a little too late for PNG.

“We are getting used to home conditions… even though they are home conditions, we don’t have much experience here,” says Harmanpreet of playing at Chepauk

Sruthi Ravindranath27-Jun-2024India captain Harmanpreet Kaur believes playing in Chennai is a “great opportunity” for the side to get used to the conditions, given it could be one of the venues for the Women’s ODI World Cup next year.India’s women’s team last played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk in a Quadrangular series in 2007. They last played a women’s Test here in 1976, and the ground hasn’t hosted any women’s T20Is yet. Since the end of 2022, all women’s internationals in India have either been in Navi Mumbai or Mumbai, till the ODI-leg of the South Africa series was hosted in Bengaluru last week. Following the one-off Test against South Africa starting on Friday in Chennai, India will also be playing three T20Is against them at the same venue.”As a team, it’s a great opportunity for us,” Harmanpreet said on the eve of the Test. “We are getting used to home conditions… even though they are home conditions, we don’t have much experience here. But I think this series will definitely give us a lot of confidence to see how the wicket is going to behave and what combinations we can look for [for the World Cup]. Before the World Cup, with [about] one year left, I think as a team we are taking this opportunity with both hands whenever we are playing home series. It’s a great opportunity to see how the wickets are and how we can improve our skills.”Related

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This will be India’s third Test in seven months. They played back-to-back Tests against England and Australia in December 2023, posting massive wins in both matches. Harmanpreet says playing those two matches has helped the side get rid of “overthinking” while playing in a format.Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur take part in close-catching drills•PTI

“In the long format you have to be there [in the middle] for four days. But if you think like that as a player you can overthink. The last time [we played a Test] we only thought about winning the sessions and that really helped us. This time also we will focus on each session. The best thing about Test cricket is you have time to come back. If you lose one session, you always have time to [make up for] things.”That’s the key point which our support staff told us: ‘just focus on each and every session and if you can [break it] down to two to two-and-a-half hours, think about how you’re going to perform as a player’. I think that really helps, [rather] than thinking that it’s a 100 overs [roughly per day] game which makes you overthink. Those little points really helped us win the last two Tests and we just want to continue [to apply] those.”India will be relying on head coach Amol Muzumdar’s red-ball experience heading into the Test, Harmanpreet said. Muzumdar, who played 171 first-class matches in a 20-year-long career, has also played two red-ball matches at Chepauk.”I didn’t have much experience in Test cricket when I got to captain those two Tests,” Harmanpreet said. “Amol sir help me. He has played lot of Test [red-ball] cricket and he has a lot of experience. With his experience, he has helped me with things like how to take decisions on the field. I do have a bit of an idea now.”We don’t have much idea about how Chennai wicket is going to play. We have only seen when the men were playing but women’s cricket is totally different… the pace, the way we bowl and bat, I think we’ll know that only once we take the field tomorrow, see how the pitch behaves and take decisions. The experienced support staff are definitely going to help us.”