Sports
Three questions for Sri Lanka, three questions for Bangladesh
The two-match series in Pallekele will present two uncertain teams a stiff examination of their Test-match mettle Sri Lanka are seventh in the Test rankings, and have not won a match against top-nine opposition since August 2019. Bangladesh are ranked ninth and are coming off a difficult 2-0 Test defeat at home to West Indies. ESPNcricinfo looks at some of the biggest challenges the two teams will attempt to overcome through the course of their two-Test series in Pallekele.
Sri Lanka
Spin bowling
To win in Sri Lanka, spinners generally need to take a lot of wickets. One of Sri Lanka’s problems has been that since the retirement of Rangana Herath, their spin attack has fallen away somewhat. Where their spinners collectively averaged 27.80 at home in Herath’s last three years, they average 32.62 since his exit.
In this series, they will be without Lasith Embuldeniya, their most promising slow-bowling prospect, after he picked up a serious soft-tissue injury in the Caribbean. They are also without Dilruwan Perera, whose effectiveness had dipped substantially (he averages 32.17 at home since Herath’s retirement in November 2018). They’ll likely rely on wristspin via Wanindu Hasaranga or Lakshan Sandakan (or both), with Dhananjaya de Silva’s offspin in support. But neither Hasaranga nor Sandakan have seemed up to leading a Test attack so far, partly because their control has been inconsistent between spells.
Although this series is being played in Pallekele where seamers may play more of a role than they do in Galle, Sri Lanka will likely need big wickets from the spinners too.
Batting collapses
Although since December Sri Lanka’s batting has been sporadically impressive, such as in the first innings at Centurion or the second innings at North Sound, these successes have been interspersed with dramatic, harrowing collapses. In their last 12 Test innings, Sri Lanka have failed to make 200 on five occasions. Two of the worst nosedives came in their last series at home, against England, against modest bowling, when they were out for 135 and 126 – innings in which they surrendered the series. If they go into self-destruct mode again, they could cede another match.
Fitness
Coach Mickey Arthur has been adamant that players raise their standards, and have ruled certain players out of contention purely on fitness grounds. And still, Sri Lanka’s long history with muscle and soft-tissue injuries continues to plague them. In addition to being without Embuldeniya in this series, they are also missing seamer Kasun Rajitha, while rookie batter Pathum Nissanka has been struggling with a niggle as well (but is expected to be fit for the series). There are many theories on why injuries seem to plague Sri Lanka more than most other teams. Some find fault with the conditioning, others point to a lack of recent cricket, or to developmental issues going back to the players’ formative years. Whatever the case, rare is the series from which Sri Lanka emerge with all their key players intact.
Bangladesh
Overseas troubles
Bangladesh’s Test record is such that it is considered inevitable they will not threaten on foreign soil. They have won only one away Test in the last five years, and since that one win, which came in Sri Lanka in 2017, they have lost each of their nine Tests on the road, all by heavy margins.
A big part of their problem is the inability to take 20 wickets abroad – a feat they have only managed five times in their history. Their spinners have been effective on favourable pitches at home, but these have left the fast bowlers with little to do. This lack of bowling at home translates into a lack of rhythm and effectiveness abroad. It has been eight years since a Bangladesh fast bowler won them an overseas Test.
The Shakib-sized hole
What would make it more difficult for Bangladesh in Sri Lanka this time is Shakib Al Hasan’s absence. His stature as a Test allrounder makes him particularly difficult to replace. Mehidy Hasan Miraz performed admirably against West Indies recently but he has a lot to do to earn the allrounder’s tag. This time the selectors have picked the 34-year old Shuvagata Hom as a batting allrounder when five years ago, during his last Test appearance, he was counted as a bowling allrounder. This is the sort of confusion that can arise when Shakib isn’t around; no Shakib is always an advantage to the opposition.
Catching
Bangladesh’s catching was one of the most worrying aspects of their disastrous New Zealand tour last month. They dropped ten catches in the ODIs and T20Is, which cost them results and momentum, and netted a bit of embarrassment as well. When the team returned from the tour, newcomer Nasum Ahmedoffered an explanation for the dropped catches that was the stuff of internet memes: “Their sky is very clear and their weather is nothing like ours.”
The real story, however, was different. The 2-0 home defeat to West Indies in February shook the team, leading to a team-wide lack of confidence. As is often the case in cricket, this lack of confidence made for a poor fielding side.
(ESPN Cricinfo)
Zimbabwe won the toss and asked India to bat first in what was practically a must-win match for both sides. Thanks to South Africa’s win over Weszt Indies minutes before the toss, India now need to just win. Zimbabwe, though, need to win big.
Sikandar Raza, the Zimbabwe captain, said there was grass and moisture on the surface, and that he wanted his seamers to use it early. Raza didn’t even go for an X-ray on his injured hand lest it show a fracture and force him out of the big match.
Thanks to Raza’s call to field, we were to soon find out the batting position of SanjunSamson, whose inclusion brought about a huge cheer from the stands in Chennai, which will now be his home during the IPL. A Chennai boy, though, went out. Washington Sundar made way for the vice-captain Axar Patel, who had been left out for tactical reasons against South Africa.
Samson replaced a lower middle-order hitter Rinku Singh, who might or might not have his mind on other things. He made a quick visit to Delhi with his ailing father before rejoining the squad on the eve of this match. How Samson would fit in the batting was intriguing, but one thing was made clear: he was going to take the big gloves behind the wicket later in the night.
Zimbabwe made one change to go with their reading of the conditions. Legspinner Graeme Cremer went out for fast bowler Tinotenda Maposa.
India: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav (capt.), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah
Zimbabwe: Tadiwanashe Marumani (wk), Brian Bennett, Dion Myers, Ryan Burl, Sikandar Raza (capt.), Tony Munyonga, Tashinga Musekiwa, Brad Evans, Tinotenda Maposa, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava
[Cricinfo]
Aiden Markram’s 82 not out led South Africa to a nine wicket victory over West Indies that, while not confirming his side’s semi-final place just yet, underlined why many believe the Proteas could finally lift the T20 World Cup. In this meeting of the last two unbeaten sides at this tournament, South Africa were ruthless, maintaining their 100 per cent record with 23 balls to spare.
Markram’s third half-century of the tournament – his 22nd fifty-plus score in T20Is – made light work of a 177 chase. He and Quinton de Kock put on 95, their highest opening stand of the tournament, skewering whatever belief West Indies had picked up at the back end of a first innings that started disastrously.
Inserted on a tacky-looking Ahmedabad surface, West Indies were 83 for 7 in the 11th over, before a record T20I stand of 89 for the eighth wicket between Jason Holder and Romario Shepherd.
Lungi Ngidi (3 for 30) and Kagiso Rabada’s (2 for 22) were the chief architects of the early stages of that collapse, with Corbin Bosch (2 for 31) also chiming in, profiting from batters’ unrelenting pursuit of boundaries.
Shepherd’s unbeaten 52 – a maiden T20I half-century, sealed with an inside edge for four off the final ball of the innings – and a well-managed 49 from Holder was a part change of tact. But even they focused on finding the fence throughout their 57 deliveries together rather than ticking over to bat time, even if West Indies were able to use all 20 overs.
South Africa were far from perfect, dropping four catches and being a little passive in the field. But they took it to West Indies’s bowlers. All six used by Shai Hope ended up wearing economy rates in double figures, as de Kock’s 47 off 24) and then Ryan Rickleton’s unbeaten 45 off 28 dovetailed neatly as left-handed foils to Markram’s belligerent march to the finish line.
Brief scores:
South Africa 177 for 1 in 16.1 overs (Aiden Markram 82*, Quinton de Kock 47, Ryan Rickelton 45*; Roston Chase 1-46) beat West Indies 176 for 8 in 20 overs (Brandon King 21, Shai Hope 16, Sherfane Rutherford 12, Romario Shepherd 52, Jason Holder 49, Mathew Forde 11; Lungi Ngidi 3-20, Kagiso Rabada 2-22, Corbin Bosch 2-31) by nine wickets
[Cricinfo]
The 2026 T20 World Cup was one where the Associate teams shone the brightest, often pushing the Full Members to their limits. Who are the players that stood out at the World Cup? Here’s the Associate’s team of the tournament.
Yuraj Samra
Canada (144 runs at 36.00; strike rate 156.52)
The 19-year-old opener became the first Associate batter to score a T20 World Cup century against New Zealand. In his tournament-defining innings, he stepped down to Matt Henry, took apart James Neesham and dispatched Cole McConchie. But beyond the 110, he couldn’t cross 17 in the other three outings.
Shayan Jahangir
USA, wk (91 runs at 30.33; strike rate 137.87)
This wasn’t a great tournament for the Associate glovemen, so wicketkeeper Jahangir takes the other opener’s spot. Against Pakistan, with six team-mates falling for single-digit scores, Jahangir gave USA hope of a win with his 34-ball innings that fell one run short of a half-century. On the spin-friendly SSC surface, he dominated Saim Ayub, Mohammad Nawaz and Abrar Ahmed, but failed to replicate the same form in the other games.
Bas de Leede
Gerhard Erasmus
Namibia, capt (seven wickets at 11.85; economy 7.54)
The Namibia captain and allrounder did not have a productive time with the bat but he stood up with the ball, taking seven wickets. His best performance was 4 for 20, where the variations in his delivery stride helped maintain an economy of 5.00, even as India posted a strong 209. He dismissed Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel. He also took 2 for 27 against USA and 1 for 25 against Pakistan.
Shubham Ranjane
USA (141 runs at 70.50; strike rate 180.76)
Ranjane produced multiple impact knocks against big teams. Facing mobility issues against India, Ranjane launched a 22-ball 37 by counterattacking against Pandya, Varun Chakravarthy and Mohammed Siraj. Then, against Pakistan, his 30-ball 51 didn’t let Pakistan rest easy. His 24-ball 48 against Netherlands gave USA an imposing 196. His medium-pace bowling also gave USA a crucial sixth-bowling option.
Ben Manenti
Italy (138 runs at 46.00; five wickets at 20.60)
The elder Manenti brother was an X-factor in Italy’s maiden campaign. His 2 for 9 in four overs deflated Nepal’s hopes and earned Italy their maiden World Cup win. His 25 – ball 60 against England kept his opponents on their toes. His 31-ball 52 against Scotland was another standout. Add in the two-for against West Indies and Ben Manenti has the highest impact-per-match numbers according to ESPNcricinfo’s metrics.
Michael Leask
Scotland (nine wickets at 13.55; economy 7.62)
Against Italy, Leask produced an explosive five-ball unbeaten 22 in the 20th over to take Namibia past 200 in Kolkata and then returned figures of 4 for 17 with his offspin. He wasn’t a big turner of the ball, but came from around the wicket to strangle right-hand batters, dismissing Harry Brook against England, too. Leask also took all three Nepal wickets, against right-handers, in Scotland’s final World Cup game.
The right-arm seamer from USA started the World Cup with a bang. A three-wicket over in the powerplay against India sent the Wankhede stadium into silence as he eventually finished with 4 for 25. That spell left India feeling very uncomfortable at halftime. Then against Pakistan, he went 4 for 25 again, relying on his hard-length deliveries that forced attacking shots into mis-hits. A further five scalps against fellow Associates left him with 13 wickets in four games, which, at the time of writing, remains the most in this tournament.
Aryan Dutt
US and Iran hold talks seen as crucial to prevent conflict
Zimbabwe opt to bowl, include Maposa; Samson, Axar back for India
Markram, bowlers lead South Africa’s rout of West Indies
Samra, Airee headline Associates’ team of the tournament
Maharoof expects ‘some hard decisions’ after Sri Lanka’s T20 World Cup exit
Matthews’ century leads West Indies to six-wicket victory
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