Sports
Jhulan Goswami’s fairytale Lord’s farewell takes unexpected twist
It was spine-tingling, tear-jerking stuff. Walking out at Lord’s to bat in her final appearance for India, the legend that is Jhulan Goswami was met by a guard of honour, formed by the entire England fielding team, the umpires and her batting partner, Deepti Sharma.Little did we know that Deepti would play a bigger role in Goswami’s swansong than we could ever have expected.
When Deepti, who had scored an unbeaten half-century to drag her side to a respectable total from 29 for 4, ran out Charlie Dean while backing up on the last ball of the match to seal victory for India and a 3-0 ODI series sweep, it guaranteed that Goswami’s farewell would be talked about for other reasons besides a sport’s goodbye to a champion.
As she walked through that initial guard of honour, Goswami modestly waved to them all in appreciation, enjoying the moment. That it ended with her falling first ball attempting to drive at a fuller delivery that jagged back in from the 17-year-old seamer Freya Kemp – who wasn’t born when Goswami made her international debut – didn’t matter so much in the context of her goodbye. Goswami’s batting wasn’t what people had come to see.
It could well have mattered in the context of an innings where she was one of five India players to depart without scoring, although they managed to reach 169 before being bowled out in the 46th over. And again when Dean dragged England to within 17 runs of their target with a brilliant 47 batting at No. 9.Goswami walked out to bowl through another guard of honour from her own team, which followed her almost all the way to the pitch.
Her first over was a maiden, then as Goswami knelt down to tie her laces at the end of her second, Harmanpreet Kaur, the India captain who made her debut when Goswami was in her shoes back in 2009, made a point of running by and patting her on the back. It was as though Harmanpreet wanted to cherish their proximity for as long as it lasted.
Hamanpreet had stood nearby as Goswami contested the toss and wrapped her former skipper in a tearful embrace during the team’s pre-match presentation to their beloved stalwart.
The only time Goswami was alone was as she patrolled the boundary at deep backward square leg. Even as she stood at the top of her mark, all eyes were on her. Those eyes turned into the arms of her team-mates and rapturous voices of the 15,187-strong crowd when Goswami had Alice Capsey simply caught by Harleen Deol at cover point.
That made it 39 for 3 for England after Renuka Singh had removed Emma Lamb and Tammy Beaumont, the latter having noted on the eve of her 100th ODI that she had provided a healthy share of Goswami’s record haul of 255 ODI wickets. In fact, Beaumont had fallen to Goswami eight times among her 20 dismissals in the format against India before this match, where it was Renuka who did the damage this time, bowling Beaumont with one that shaped in off a length to clatter into the top of off stump.
Renuka mirrored the feats of Kate Cross, who had threatened to ruin Goswami’s party as she found formidable movement off the seam bowling down the slope from the Pavilion End to claim 4 for 26. As it turned out, this became a storyline shared by Cross and Goswami with Renuka – playing her seventh ODI at the age of 26 – providing an epilogue which pointed to the next edition before that last moment opened a new chapter.
Having missed selection in England’s 2017 World Cup squad and sat in the stands as the hosts defeated India in a thriller – the last time Lord’s staged a women’s international – this day held huge significance for Cross, too.She had 3 for 3 in 3.2 overs at one point and accounted for India’s top four. It was reminiscent of Cross’ match-defining performance against the same opposition at Taunton in June last year. On that occasion, however, Cross sealed her five-for in a winning cause. This time, as England’s batting misfired, it looked like being India’s day.
Goswami took a low catch at slip to remove Sophie Ecclestone off Rajeshwari Gayakwad as England slid to 53 for 6 and, with the hosts flagging wildly at 111 for 8, Harmanpreet brought Goswami back into the attack for her eighth over, from which she conceded two runs.A maiden followed and then, with just five balls left to bowl in a stellar international career, she removed Cross playing across a full, straight one – Goswami’s 10,001st ODI delivery – and a child-like grin broke out across Goswami’s 39-year-old features as she was mobbed by her team-mates.
Surrounded again at the end of the over, completed with four dot balls, it was over – almost. On the very next ball, from Deepti, Goswami got her hands to an edge at slip off Dean, but what would have been the last wicket to fall and a fairytale finish slipped through her fingers.At that point England still needed 52 runs from 13.5 overs with just one wicket in hand and it felt very much as though India – even with Goswami bowled out – had it in them to win.
Then Dean and Freya Davies dug in for 35 runs and the match got tense. So it was with a degree of disbelief that it would come to be remembered largely for the way in which it ended. Dean’s dismissal was within the rules of the game but it meant that it ended amid a cacophony of boos as well as cheers.
A devastated Dean threw her bat to the ground, tears streaming down her face before composing herself and heading to the Indian huddle to shake their hands. Moments later, Goswami was being chaired to the edge of the field to embark on a lap of honour carrying the Indian flag and flanked by her team-mates in a moment of sweet celebration that couldn’t completely mask a slightly bitter undertone.
(cricinfo)
In the fifth T20I in Pakistan’s tour of New Zealand last year, the hosts had been dismissed for 92 chasing 135 in Christchurch. In the first T20I of this five-match series, that was a winning total for New Zealand after Kyle Jamieson and Jacob Duffy took apart a new-look Pakistan side.
The dropping of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan signalled that Pakistan were trying to step out of their comfort zone in T20 cricket, which is broadly very good. But on Sunday, they saw the risks that also come with it as they were bundled out for 91, their lowest total in New Zealand and their fifth-lowest in the format.
The Black Caps followed the WhiteFerns in bringing up comprehensive victories on a double-header day in Christchurch as Jamieson and Duffy shared seven wickets between them, the bounce they were able to generate being too much for the Pakistan batters.
Jamieson, back in the T20I set up for the first time in nearly two years, set the tone for New Zealand with a wicket maiden, Mohammad Haris only able to help a short ball behind to wicketkeeper Mitch Hay.
Debutant Hasan Nawaz then got a leading edge off Duffy to Jamieson at deep third as Pakistan lost both openers without a run on the board. This was only the second time both Pakistan openers were dismissed for ducks.
Jamieson then had Irfan Khan edging behind in the third over as Pakistan slumped to 1 for 3 – their lowest score at the fall of the third wicket.
Tim Robinson then evoked rather fresh memories of Glenn Phillips from the Champions Trophy as he took a blinder at backward point to give Jamieson his third, with the scoreboard reading 11 for 4.
Pakistan were restricted to 14 for 4 in the powerplay, and it could have gotten worse immediately afterwards, but Tim Seifert dropped Khushdil Shah at point off the captain Michael Bracewell.
Agha then looked to drive a full ball from Zakary Foulkes the next over, only to get an edge but Daryl Mitchell shelled the chance in the slip cordon.
Agha and Khushdil used their second lives to arrest Pakistan’s free-fall. They finally looked to up the tempo in the tenth over, when Agha reverse-swept Ish Sodhi for four behind point and Khushdil smacked him over midwicket for Pakistan’s first six.
In the next over, Khushdil took Bracewell on for back-to-back sixes to try and put some pressure back on the bowlers. But it was a very short-lived phase of ascendancy for Pakistan.
Agha tried another reverse-sweep off Sodhi’s next ball, but he could only pick out deep backward point. Duffy was brought back into the attack for an over, and the move paid dividends as Khushdil slapped a short ball to backward point. Pakistan were 64 for 6 after 13.
Debutant Abdul Samad and Jahandad Khan then fell trying to play big shots before Duffy returned in the penultimate over to take the last two wickets, picking up from where he left off in the T20I series against Sri Lanka where he finished as the highest wicket-taker
Pakistan’s 91 is the fourth-lowest T20I score by any team in New Zealand.
After playing out the first over, Seifert got New Zealand going with a pull through midwicket off debutant Mohammad Ali. He then picked up three boundaries off Shaheen Afridi’s next over, including another pull in front of square.
Seifert gave the charge to Ali to pick up another boundary, before getting two off Jahandad’s first over, and the fifth of the innings. Finn Allen, largely a spectator until then, also joined the party as he lofted Jahandad down the ground for the first six of the chase.
Pakistan switched to spin and Seifert welcomed Abrar Ahmed with a massive hit over long-off. Abrar got the better of him with a carrom ball that Haris did well to hold on to behind the stumps off the bottom edge, but New Zealand by then had effectively won the match in the two powerplays.
Allen hit another six and two fours, while Robinson also got a six to his name as New Zealand completed the chase just one ball after the halfway mark of the innings.
Brief scores:
New Zealand 92 for 1 in 10.1 overs (Tim Seifert 44, Finn Allen 29*, Tim Robinson 18*; Abrar Ahmed 1-15) beat Pakistan 91 in 18.4 overs (Salman Agha 18, Khushdil Shah 32, Jahandad Khan 17; Jacob Duffy 4-14, Kyle Jamieson 3-8, Zakarie Foulkes 1-11, Ish Sodhi 2-27) by nine wickets
[Cricinfo]
At the recently concluded International Schools Athletic Championship (ISAC), Lyceum International School Wattala emerged as champions. However, during the competition, a protest was lodged, alleging that one of Lyceum Wattala’s athletes was on the payroll of the Sri Lanka Army and, therefore, ineligible to participate in ISAC. Following an inquiry, the athlete was disqualified, and the points he had earned were deducted from the school’s total. By that time, he had already won gold medals in the Long Jump, Triple Jump, and 4x100m relay.
Lyceum Wattala has built a reputation for excelling in sports, but many attribute this success to its large-scale recruitment of athletes through scholarships. Notably, the two champion athletes of this year’s ISAC had previously represented other schools. Further inquiries have now revealed that another athlete, who competed for Lyceum Wattala at ISAC 2025 and secured the Under-20 Champion title by winning the 400m, 110m hurdles, and 4x400m relay, is also on the payroll of the Sri Lanka Army.
Unethical practices of this nature create an unhealthy competitive environment and discourage underprivileged schools, which struggle to retain their talent. Lyceum is not the only international school offering scholarships to top athletes; other international schools have also followed suit. One such leading institution, known for its strong academic results, has extended its scholarship program to sports, aggressively recruiting high-achieving students from other schools.
This school has reportedly granted scholarships to several students and even gone as far as providing free textbooks, exam fees, and opportunities for foreign travel.
Rather than nurturing homegrown talent, these international schools seem more focused on acquiring ready-made athletes from other institutions. The era of developing skilled players appears to be fading, as these schools increasingly prioritize assembling teams over fostering individual talents.
Strong all-round performances fromSuzie Bates and Brooke Halliday along with a breakout bowling display from Bree Illing helped New Zealand breeze to a seven wicket win against Sri Lanka in Christchurch to level the series at 1-1.
New Zealand’s bowlers set the tone with a frugal display after winning the toss and electing to bowl, restricting Sri Lanka to 113 for 7 in their 20 overs before Bates and Halliday made 47 and 46 not out respectively as the hosts cruised home with seven wickets and nine balls to spare. Bates was named player of the match after also bowling four overs for just 16 runs while Halliday also took 1 for 12 with the ball in addition to posting her highest T20I score.
Illing made use of the early morning start picking up a wicket in the opening over and a second in the seventh as she bowled straight with the new ball to finish with figures of 2 for 18 in just her second T20I after going wicketless in her debut in game one of the series on Friday
Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Athapaththu was well held as Eden Carson, Jess Kerr and Bates were rotated at the other end with the latter bowling a maiden to Athapaththu in her first over. The scoreboard pressure told when Kerr castled her for 23 off 29 in the following over, the ninth of the innings, with Sri Lanka stalled at 3 for 46.
That soon became 4 for 53 when debutant Flora Devonshire picked up a wicket in her first over in international cricket.
Sri Lanka steadied thanks to a 54-run stand between Manudi Nanayakkara and Nilakshika Silva. Nanyakkara made 35 from 32 with four boundaries while Silva made 20 from 22. But neither player could break free as Bates bowled four overs for just 16 runs while Halliday also took a wicket in her two overs for 11 runs. Kerr took a wicket in the final over to finish with figures of 2 for 29.
New Zealand’s chase started poorly with Georgia Plimmer caught behind in the second over for just 4. Emma McLeod followed suit in the seventh over for a sluggish 11 from 13 but Bates controlled the chase at the other. Safe in the knowledge she needed less than a run-a-ball, she struck just four boundaries and only faced consecutive dot balls once in her 46-ball innings before she was caught and bowled in 15th over with 29 still needed to win.
Halliday ensured they were knocked off with ease striking multiple boundaries in both the 16th and 18th overs as she made 46 not out from 40 balls to steer her side home and go past her previous T20I best of 38.
The series will be decided in the third T20I in Dunedin on Tuesday.
Brief scores:
New Zealand Women 117 for 3 in 18.3 overs (Suzie Bates 47, Emma McLeod 11, Brooke Halliday 46*; Inoshi Priyadarshini 1-19, Sugandika Kumari 1-16, Achini Kulasuriya 1-11)beat Sri Lanka Women 113 for 7 in 20 overs (Chamari Athapaththu 23, Harshith Samarawickrema 11, Kavisha Dilhari 12, Manudi Nanyakkara 35, Nilakshika Silva 20; Bree Illing 2-18, Jess Kerr 2-29, Flora Devonshire 1-12, Brooke Halliday 1-11) by seven wickets
[Cricinfo]
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