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Mitchell, Phillips make it 4-0 to New Zealand
Pakistan’s hopes of breaking their duck in the fourth match of the five-game series was quashed with 139-run stand between Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips in chase after New Zealand bowlers kept the visitors down to 158/5. Mitchell whacked 72 off 44 while Phillips made 70 off 52.
Skipper, Shaheen Afridi took out the dangerous Finn Allen and Tim Seifert in the very first over and then dismissed Will Young in the third to leave New Zealand down to 20 for 3. New Zealand’s forever crisis-man Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips took New Zealand to 38/3 in the PowerPlay and scored consistently to drag the team to 70/3 at the halfway stage.
Even with the two going strong, New Zealand were behind the eight-ball until a two overs in the middle turned the chase around. Mitchell put away Mohammad Wasim Jr. for two fours in the 11-run 13th over while both took Muhammad Nawaz on in the 14-run 14th.
Shaheen brought himself back with New Zealand needing 45 off 30 but was taken for 11 runs, including a big heave for a six over backward square leg for a six. Haris Rauf then missed his lengths and went for 15. Zaman Khan returned in the 18th over when the two batters showed urgency to wrap up the chase. They each carted Zaman for a six before Mitchell completed the win on the first ball of the penultimate over.
In the first innings Matt Henry provided an early breakthrough but Mohammad Rizwan led the way in the PowerPlay. He scored 32 of the 51 that Pakistan got in the period, setting them up for a middle-overs consolidation. Babar Azam couldn’t keep his form in the series and fell in the seventh over for a 11-ball 19. The middle-order batters that followed – Fakhar Zaman, Sahibzada Farhan, Iftikhar Ahmed – just couldn’t play ally to a set Rizwan.
Rizwan remained defiant and got runs throughout while Muhammad Nawaz chipped in with a nine-ball cameo worth 21 runs. The pair took 21 off Milne in the 19th over.
Brief Scores:
Pakistan 158/5 in 20 overs (Mohammad Rizwan 90, Muhammad Nawaz 21; Matt Henry 2-22, Lockie Ferguson 2-27) lost to New Zealand 159/3 in 18.1 overs (Daryl Mitchell 72*, Glenn Phillips 70*; Shaheen Afridi 3-34) by 7 wickets
The Rose Bowl, which has been awarded to the winner of ODI series between the women’s teams of Australia and New Zealand since 1985, has now been expanded to include T20Is as well.
New Zealand’s three match T20I tour of Australia, which begins on Sunday at the North Sydney Oval, will be the first T20I edition of the Rose Bowl. The teams will get to face off again for the trophy in March 2027 when they meet again for three ODIs, also in Australia.
For Rose Bowl series that include matches in both white-ball formats, the trophy will go to the team with the most wins overall. In case of a drawn series, the current holder will retain the trophy.
“The Rose Bowl is a prestigious trophy that holds a lot of meaning to current and past players, and it’s a series we’ve always taken a lot of pride in competing in,”Catherine Campbell, NZC’s chief cricket operations officer and a former New Zealand player, said. “With so much T20I cricket now being played, this is a brilliant opportunity to keep the Rose Bowl relevant and to build on the history between us and our Australian rivals.”
New Zealand captain Melie Kerr was excited by the broadening of opportunities to compete for the Rose Bowl.
“We’re all aware of what the Rose Bowl represents and the importance it holds in the White Ferns whakapapa [genealogy],” said Kerr. “Great players and teams have fought for it over the years and we’d love the opportunity to claim our own piece of that history.”
Australia have held the Rose Bowl continuously since wresting it back from New Zealand in 2000. Since that 3-0 win, Australia have won 18 times with one series – in 2008-09 – shared 2-2. Overall, Australia have won 26 of the 31 ODI series played for the Rose Bowl, with New Zealand winning three times and three series drawn.
North Sydney will host all three T20Is of the upcoming Rose Bowl series, on October 18, 20 and 22.
[Cricinfo]
US President Donald Trump claims the US Navy’s “effective” blockade has stopped all Iranian ships from crossing the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) navy says a supertanker carrying more than two million barrels of crude oil has struck a sea mine while attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz through an “unauthorised” route.
The collision caused a huge explosion and a major fire on board the vessel, the IRGC said in a statement reported by semi-official Tasnim news agency.
It alleged that the tanker had turned off all tracking and radar systems, attempting to pass through the strait using deception and with US military support.
‘The Strait of Hormuz is closed’, the IRGC navy warned, adding that vessels violating Iranian regulations would face severe consequences for relying on US backing.
[Aljazeera]
Squad for the first three ODIs: Shubman Gill [C], Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer [VC], KL Rahul [WK], Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Anshul Kamboj, Gurnoor Brar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Kishan [WK], Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna*, Kuldeep Yadav
Squad for fourth and fifth ODIs: Shreyas Iyer [C], Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan [WK, VC], Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Auqib Nabi, Gurnoor Brar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Arshdeep Singh, Kumar Kushagra [WK], Mohammed Siraj, Yash Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav
[Cricbuzz]
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Rose Bowl expanded to include Australia vs New Zealand T20Is
Trump claims US Navy blockade stops Iranian ships in Hormuz
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