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Clinical New Zealand brush Pakistan aside
A clinical performance from New Zealand gave them an early lead against Pakistan in the five-match T20I series. New Zealand were powered by fifties from skipper Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell as they managed to post a massive total on the board. Even though Pakistan appeared to be on course for a brief period, they eventually lost steam to fall well short by 46 runs.
Shaheen Afridi’s reign as the new T20I skipper began with a bang as he struck in the very first over of the game. Devon Conway, who had returned for this series, mistimed one straight to short cover to depart for a golden duck, much to Pakistan’s delight. Only one run came off the first over and five from the next. However, things changed dramatically as Finn Allen ripped Shaheen apart in his second over to hammer two sixes and three fours to thrill the crowd. Allen smashed Aamer Jamal for one more six before a slower ball from Abbas Afridi ended his threatening cameo. Williamson got off to a stuttering start and had made only 16 off 19 in the powerplay.
Alongside Mitchell, Williamson revived New Zealand in the middle overs. However, it was Mitchell who hurt the visitors big time as he first hammered back-to-back sixes off Usama Mir which was then followed by an expensive over from Jamal that saw both the batters make merry. Williamson then hit successive boundaries again to bring up a fifty before miscuing one to depart for 57.
While Mitchell was in his elements picking apart the bowling attack for boundaries, he found great support from Glenn Phillips, who took little time to get going. Phillips did fall with five overs left in the innings and Pakistan appeared to storm back following Mitchell’s dismissal as well. With Mitchell Santner not available due to Covid, the batting lineup was a bit thin. The visitors couldn’t capitalise on that though as Mark Chapman went bonkers at the death to smash 26 off just 11 before Tim Southee finished the innings with another six.
The move to open with Saim Ayub instead of Babar Azam did wonders for Pakistan. The first ball of the run chase was smashed for a boundary by the young left-hander before he also hit a six to signal his intentions. He threatened to cause plenty of damage in the powerplay when Matt Henry was welcomed into the attack with a couple of sixes and a four by the opener but Adam Milne’s quick work caught the youngster short of his crease as he fell for an 8-ball 27. Unfortunately for Pakistan, they lost Mohammad Rizwan in the powerplay as well even though he looked in good touch for a brief period.
Even though the boundaries continued to flow for a brief period even after the powerplay, New Zealand slowly dragged the game back with wickets. Ish Sodhi took an excellent one-handed low catch off his own bowling to send Fakhar Zaman back to the pavilion and the dangerous Iftikhar mistimed a slower delivery to gift Southee his second wicket. At that point, Pakistan’s chances became a lot harder as they needed 92 from the final seven overs.
Boundaries were the need of the hour. And for his part, Babar did his best as he hit Milne for a six to round off the 14th over and followed it up with another six and a boundary in the following over to get to his fifty. However, Milne dealt Pakistan a double blow by getting rid of Azam Khan and Shaheen Afridi, leaving Babar with an improbable task. Jamal did throw his bat around but the final nail in the coffin was Babar’s wicket, post which Pakistan folded for 180.
Brief scores:
New Zealand 226/8 in 20 overs (Daryl Mitchell 61, Kane Williamson 57, Finn Allen 35; Shaheen Afridi 3-46) beat Pakistan 180 in 18 overs (Babar Azam 57; Tim Southee 4-25, Ben Sears 2-42) by 46 runs.
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Flood warning issued to the Divisional Secretariat Divisions of Ganga Ihala Korale, Udapalatha, Doluwa, Udunuwara, Yatinuwara, Gangawata Korale, Harispattuwa, and Pathadumbara
Due to heavy rainfall received in the upper catchment areas of the Mahaweli River over the past few hours, there is a risk of minor flooding in the low-lying areas surrounding the Mahaweli River within the Divisional Secretariat Divisions of Ganga Ihala Korale, Udapalatha, Doluwa, Udunuwara, Yatinuwara, Gangawata Korale, Harispattuwa, and Pathadumbara.Residents living in the above mentioned areas and motorists using roads passing through these areas are urged to exercise extreme caution and remain highly vigilant regarding the prevailing situation.
Furthermore, residents living in close proximity to the Mahaweli River in these areas are advised to remain highly alert to the situation and take all necessary precautions to protect themselves from any potential flooding.The relevant disaster management authorities are requested to take all necessary measures in response to this situation.
The National Building Research Organisation [NBRO] has issued landslide Red Alerts to the districts of Kandy, Kegalle and Nuwara Eliya effective from 14:00 hrs on 20.09.2026 To 14:00 hrs on 21.09.2026
Accordingly,
LEVEL III [RED] Land Slide early warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Pasbage Korale in the Kandy district, Dehiowita, Aranayake, Deraniyagala, Mawanella and Yatiyanthota in the Kegalle district and Kothmale West, Kotmale East, Ambagamuwa and Norwood in the Nuwara Eliya district
LEVEL II [AMBER] Land Slide early warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Padukka in the Colombo district, Nagoda, Thawalama and Neluwa in the Galle district, Bulathsinhala, Palindanuwara, Walallawita and Agalawatta in the Kalutara district, Ganga Ihala Korale in the Kandy district, Bulathkohupitiya and Kegalle in the Kegalle district, Akuressa and Pitabeddara in the Matara district, Thalawakele in the Nuwara Eliya district and Pelmadulla, Ratnapura, Ayagama, Kuruwita and Ratnapura in the Ratnapura district.
LEVEL I [YELLOW] Land Slide early warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Seethawaka in the Colombo district, Niyagama and Baddegama in the Galle district, Mirigama in the Gampaha district, Ingiriya in the Kalutara district, Udapalatha and Yatinuwara in the Kandy district, Galigamuwa, Warakapola and Ruwanwella in the Kegalle district, Kotapola, Pasgoda and Athuraliya in the Matara district, and Eheliyagoda, Kalawana and Elapatha in the Ratnapura district.
A 49-ball unbeaten hundred from Shafali Verma and three-wicket hauls apiece for Nandani Sharma and Deeoti Sharma helped India march into the final of the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya.
Batting first in Nisshin against Bangladesh, India posted 195 for 4, with Shafali bringing up her maiden white-ball international hundred off the final ball of the innings. She pummelled nine sixes and three fours in an innings that left Bangladesh needing a record chase to reach the final.
Smriti Mandhana gave India a rapid start with a 19-ball 37, during which she became the leading run-scorer in women’s T20Is, while Harmanpreet Kaur found some form with a 33-ball 40 from No. 4.
India’s innings began with a 36-ball opening stand of 72, with Shafali setting the pace by smashing 34 off her first 17 deliveries, while Mandhana initially played second fiddle before gaining pace. G Kamalini, at No. 3, failed to make use of another opportunity, while Richa Ghosh made only two. Harmanpreet started sluggishly, as she has tended to in the recent past, but overcame those early struggles to land some lusty blows towards the end of the innings. She added 94 off 55 balls with Shafali for the third wicket.
Bangladesh never seriously threatened the target. Dilara Akter made 27 at the top of the order, but opening partner Juairiya Ferdous was dismissed for a duck and Bangladesh’s Nos. 3 to 5 were unable to get going. Sultana Khatun, batting at No. 9, was their second-highest scorer with just 12.
Nandani got the first wicket in the second over after which fellow new-ball bowler Kranti Gaud delivered a second blow in the third over. Shree Charani then sent Nigar Sultana back in the final over of the powerplay to leave Bangladesh at 38 for 3.
There was no way in as Bangladesh failed to get any partnership going and a double-wicket 11th over from Nandani exposed the tail. Deepti then trapped Marufa Akter lbw and had Sanjida Akter holing out in the 16th over to complete the resounding win.
India will now face Sri Lanka in the gold-medal match, a repeat of the final from 2023. Bangladesh will meet Pakistan for the bronze-medal fixture.
Scores:
India Women 195 for 4 in 20 overs (Smriti Mandhana 37, Shafali Verma 100*, Harmanpreet Kaur 40: Marufa Akter 1-43, Sanjida Akter Meghla 1-25, Rabeya Khan 1-35, Nahida Akter 1-45) beat Bangladesh Women 81 in 15.4 overs (Dilara Akter 27, Sharmin Akhter 10, Sultana Khatun 12*; Kranti Gaud 1-20, Nandani Sharma 3-25. Shree Charani 2-07, Shreyanka Patil 1-22, Deepti Sharma 3-07) by 114 runs
[Cricinfo]
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