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Marsh, David leave New Zealand bruised in Australia’s thrilling last-ball win
Australia captain Mitchell Marsh produced a powerful all-round performance before Tim David batted superbly at the death to complete a last-ball win over New Zealand in a high-scoring series opener in Wellington.
Chasing 216 after Devon Conway emerged from a form slump with a half-century, Australia appeared on the brink of defeat despite Marsh’s effort. But David took over with 31 off 10 balls punctuated by a boundary through the leg-side off Tim Southee to seal Australia’s remarkable heist.
Australia drew first blood in the fight for the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy, which had previously only been awarded to the winner of bilateral ODI series between the teams. With the T20 World Cup just over three months away, the three-match series is vital preparation for both teams.
There was no room for Steven Smith in Australia’s batting order, with Travis Head returning after missing the West Indies series. He opened alongside David Warner for the first time in T20Is. But neither could capitalise on starts. Warner was booed off the ground by the partisan crowd and responded by giving them a wave.
It was left to Marsh, who obliged with typically belligerent batting. Anything in his hitting zone was handled with disdain as he motored to his half-century off 29 balls. But Marsh lacked support as Australia fell away and needed a seemingly improbable 32 runs off nine balls to win. But David took over with a boundary off Adam Milne before launching consecutive sixes to reduce Australia’s target to 16 runs off the final over.
Southee bowled well at the start of the final over by bowling a few yorkers, but David again showed his prowess at finishing with a six over the leg-side off the full-tossed fourth delivery of the 20th over. Two balls later, his swat through wide long on with two fielders converging went for four, and underlined a remarkable chase that showcased their firepower. It also illustrated that there may not be room for Smith at the T20 World Cup.
Milne and Lockie Ferguson were only playing their 10th T20I together. They menaced with prodigious swing at rapid pace with Ferguson reaching speeds of 150 kmph.
Milne claimed the much-needed first wicket after a flier from Head, while Ferguson chimed in by getting through Glenn Maxwell to halt Australia’s momentum.
Ferguson was superb throughout and bowled accurate yorkers under pressure in a brilliant 18th over that appeared to put New Zealand in the box seat. But New Zealand ultimately rued sloppy fielding, most notably Glenn Phillips missing a chance on the boundary when Marsh was on 36.
Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, who had both rested for the past three weeks since the Test summer ended, played their first T20I since the 2022 T20 World Cup as Australia unveiled a full-strength attack.
Starc was on the money immediately as he angled a delivery past Finn Allen on the first delivery of an excellent first over. He returned in the sixth over to pick up Allen having not let him have any width to hit.
Starc was the pick of the bowlers until he was thrashed for 16 runs in the penultimate over of the innings. Cummins had also mostly defied the onslaught with his canny array of slower deliveries before being dispatched for 15 runs in the last over.
After recording the worst-ever figures by an Australian bowler in T20Is in their last match against West Indies, legspinner Adam Zampa copped another flogging with 0 for 42 from three overs. Australia, who sloppily conceded 15 extras, became the first team ever to concede four straight 200-plus totals in T20I cricket.
In better news for Australia, Marsh utilised slower deliveries effectively and claimed the wicket of Conway to finish with 1 for 21 off three. Marsh didn’t use himself against West Indies but stepped up here with Marcus Stoinis missing from the series.
Conway entered the series finding himself in his career’s first prolonged form slump. Conway got out of it by perhaps channelling the last time he batted against Australia in a T20 match when he made an unbeaten 92 to launch the 2022 T20 World Cup.
It was deja vu with Conway and Allen again monstering a half-century inside four overs just like they did at the SCG. Conway relished a surface that was fast with a consistent bounce to notch his first international half-century since last year’s ODI World Cup. His knock was marked by superb back-foot play as he continually whacked shorter deliveries in a confidence-boosting innings.
After Allen fell just before the end of the powerplay, Conway combined with Rachin Ravindra, who was sluggish early and was halted initially by Cummins’ nagging line and length. But Ravindra eventually found his groove and pummelled Zampa for a trio of sixes in the 15th over.
Ravindra raced to his second T20I half-century off just 29 balls to make the most of his opportunity with skipper Kane Williamson not playing due to the birth of his third child. The top-order batting, plus the finishing touches by Phillips and Mark Chapman, meant big-hitting debutant Josh Clarkson was not required.
Brief scores:
Australia 216 for 4 in 20 overs (Travis Head 24, Mitchell Marsh 72*, David Warner 32, Glenn Maxwell 25, Josh Inglis 20, Tim David 31*; Adam Milne 1-53, Lockie Furgeson 1-23, Mitchell Santner 2-42) beat New Zealand 215 for 3 in 20 overs (Finn Allen 32, Rachin Ravindra 68, Devon Conway 63,Glenn Phillips 19*, Mark Chapman 18*; Mitchell Starc 1-39, Pat Cummins 1-43, Mitchell Marsh 1-21) by six wickets
Donald Trump has clashed with Volodymyr Zelensky in a furious exchange at the White House, with the US president telling his Ukrainian counterpart to make a deal with Russia “or we are out”.
The pair interrupted each other repeatedly in front of the media during what was supposed to be a prelude to the two leaders signing a minerals deal.
After relations first became strained over Trump’s handling of Ukraine peace talks with Russia, the minerals agreement was supposed to be a stepping stone towards further security ties between the countries.
But Zelensky was told by the Americans to leave before the deal could be signed.
At one point, Trump told Zelensky he was not thankful enough for US military and political support, and that he was “gambling with World War Three”.
Zelensky had earlier argued there should be “no compromises” with Russian President Vladimir Putin – but Trump said Kyiv would have to make concessions to reach a peace deal with Russia.
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and currently controls around 20% of Ukrainian territory.
The meeting to discuss the US-Ukraine deal, which involved access to Ukrainian oil, gas and rare minerals, came after the new US president appeared to blame Zelensky for the war and chided him for not starting peace talks with Russia earlier.
His tone had softened in recent days, with Trump saying he had a lot of respect for the Ukrainian leader.
But Friday’s conversation soured after the US Vice-President JD Vance – who was sat alongside other politicians in the room – told Zelensky that the war had to be ended through diplomacy.
Zelensky responded by asking “what kind of diplomacy?”, referencing a previous ceasefire deal in 2019, agreed three years before Russia’s full-scale invasion when Moscow was supporting and arming separatist fighters in Ukraine’s east.
The vice-president then accused Zelensky of being disrespectful and “litigating” the situation in front of the media.
From there, the discussion escalated quickly, as Trump and Vance accused Ukraine’s president of being ungrateful for three years of US support during the war with Russia, with Trump saying Zelensky was in no position to tell the US how it should feel.
Not long after the meeting – and well ahead of the pre-planned schedule – Zelensky was seen leaving the White House in his official vehicle.
Trump took to Truth Social, the social media platform he owns, to say ‘Zelensky disrespected the US in its cherished Oval Office’.
“I have determined that President Zelensky is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations,” the Republican president continued. “I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE.”
Zelensky also posted on social media, thanking the president and the US four times.
In a later interview with Fox News, Zelensky said the public spat “was not good” – but the relationship between him and Trump could be salvaged.
“Because the relations are more than just two presidents,” he said, adding that it was also about “strong relations between our two people.”
Reaction to the White House meeting among US politicians appeared to fall along partisan lines, with Republicans praising Trump and Democrats criticising him.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham – once a staunch supporter of Ukraine – told reporters: “What I saw in the Oval Office was disrespectful and I don’t know if we can ever do business with Zelensky again.”
He said Zelensky “either needs to resign and send somebody over that we can do business with, or he needs to change”.
Democratic House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries described Zelensky’s treatment as “appalling”, adding that it “will only serve to further embolden Vladimir Putin”.
In Ukraine, there was broadly appreciation for Zelensky holding his ground over what is, for them, an existential war.
“Trump’s administration was so arrogant,” one man in Kyiv told the BBC. “When you look at Zelensky’s face, you understand that the discussion behind the closed doors was not so polite.
“They are so rude, they don’t respect the people of Ukraine. They even don’t hide it.”
The Oval Office spat also prompted words of support for Zelensky from key European allies, including France.
A spokeswoman for UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer – who has cast himself as a mediator between the US and Europe as the Trump administration adopts a more isolationist approach to the continent – said he had spoken to both leaders.
She said Sir Keir “retains unwavering support for Ukraine, and is doing all he can to find a path forward to a lasting peace”.
Friedrich Merz, who is expected to become Germany’s next chancellor, wrote that he stood with Ukraine “in good and testing times”, adding: “We must never confuse aggressor and victim in this terrible war.”
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that “today, it became clear that the free world needs a new leader. It’s up to us, Europeans, to take this challenge”.
Russia, meanwhile, said Trump and Vance had acted with restraint. A foreign ministry spokeswoman said it was a miracle the pair hadn’t hit Zelensky.
[BBC]
Delhi Capitals (DC) made it 12-1 for chasing teams in WPL 2025 as they beat Mumbai Indians (MI) by nine wickets in Bengaluru. The win, coming with 5.3 overs to spare, also helped DC replace MI at the top of the points table. They now have eight points from six games and MI six from five.
After being sent in, MI looked positive at the start but once their openers fell, Jess Jonassen and Minnu Mani ran through the middle order, picking up three wickets each. Each of MI’s top five batters reached double digits but none of them crossed 22. Towards the end, Amanjot Kaur struck an unbeaten 17 off ten balls to push the side to 123 for 9.
With DC chasing a well-below-par total, Shafali Verma and Meg Lanning added 85 for the first wicket in 9.5 overs. Shafali fell for 43 off 28 but Lanning carried on. She brought up her second half-century of the season, off 40 balls, and stayed unbeaten on 60 off 49 balls.
MI were off to a quick start. Both Yastika Bhatia and Hayley Matthews opened their accounts with first-ball fours off Marizanne Kapp. When Jonassen came to bowl the fourth over, Matthews greeted her with two fours off her first two balls.
But DC applied the brakes on the scoring rate after that. In the sixth over, bowling around the wicket, Shikha Pandey had Bhatia caught behind for 11. Bhatia’s tally for WPL 2025 now stands at 38 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 84.44.
Soon after, Matthews miscued Annabel Sutherland to Shafali Verma at mid-off. DC could have had Harmanpreet Kaur as well, for 1. In the eighth over, she edged Titas Sadhu but the ball flew between the wicketkeeper and slip. At the end of nine overs, MI were 49 for 2.
In DC’s previous game, Jonassen was named the Player of the Match for her batting. Tonight, she showed why bowling remains her stronger suit. Harmanpreet, having got her eye in, was looking to up the ante. In the tenth over, she muscled Sadhu over wide long-on for a 79m six. Three balls later, she showed her touch game. She moved towards the off side and tapped the length ball to the left of short fine leg for four.
But Jonassen cut her innings short on 22, trapping her lbw with an arm ball. MI still had Nat Sciver-Brunt, the leading run-getter this season, in the middle. Before this match, she had three fifties in four innings. For her, Jonassen slowed down the pace and beat her in flight. Sciver-Brunt was early into the shot, ending up chipping it back to the bowler. With another flighted delivery, Jonassen bowled G Kamalini to finish with figures of 3 for 25.
In between, Mani dismissed S Sajana and Amelia Kerr in the space of three balls. Kerr’s wicket was as much Sutherland’s as it was Mani’s. Mani had got Kerr to top-edge a pull. Sutherland, who was at long-on, ran in diagonally to her right and dived full-length to complete the catch inches off the ground. Sanskriti Gupta also fell to Mani, her slog finding Jemimah Rodrigues at deep midwicket.
MI knew they needed early wickets and, therefore, set attacking fields. Lanning, who has not been at her best this season, took advantage and picked up two fours off Shabnim Ismail in the first over of the chase.
MI’s plan to bowl short to Shafali also backfired. Sciver-Brunt ended up conceding five wides, and when she got it right, Shafali dispatched her to the boundary. In the fourth over, she hit Sciver-Brunt for two fours and a six in four balls.
At the other end, Lanning hit back-to-back fours off Ismail before meting out the same punishment to Matthews in the next over. By the end of the powerplay, DC had raced to 57 for no loss and had brought down the required rate to 4.78.
Even after the field restrictions were relaxed, DC did not slow down. In the ninth over, Shafali hit Kerr down the ground for two sixes. Amanjot eventually broke the stand when she had Shafali caught at deep midwicket.
By then, though, the contest was over. Lanning and Rodrigues took just 28 balls to knock off the remaining 39 runs.
Brief scores:
Delhi Capitals Women 124 for 1 in 14.3 overs (Meg Lanning 60*, Shafali Verma 43, Jemimah Rodrigues 15*; Amanjot Kaur 1-12) beat Mumbai Indians Women 123 for 9 in 20 overs (Yastika Bhatia 11, Harmanpreet Kaur 22, Hayley Matthews 22, Nat Sciver-Brunt 18, Amelia Kerr 17, Amanjot Kaur 17*; Minnu Mani 3-17, Jess Jonassen 3-25, Shikha Pandey 1-16, Annabel Sutherland 1-21) by nine wickets
[Cricinfo]
Veteran Sri Lankan actress Susantha Chandramali has passed away at the age of 61.
She will be remembered for her rolls in Saroja, Jaya Pita Jaya, Ran Kevita, Nidahase Piya DS, Charulatha, Sujatha, and Kande Gedara.
Trump accuses Zelensky of ‘gambling with World War Three’
Lanning, Shafali, Jonassen lead Delhi Capitals to top of WPL table
Susantha Chandramali passes away at the age of 61
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