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Ollie Pope ton keeps England going in Hyderabad
Ollie Pope scored a gritty fifth Test hundred, and added 112 runs for the sixth wicket with Ben Foakes to keep England going on an engrossing third day in Hyderabad. Indian bowlers, led by Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin, had the visitors on the mat at 172 for 5 at Tea. Pope however, set them on a recovery path, ending the day having steered England ahead by 126 runs.Pope’s 148*, incidentally, is the highest score by a visiting batter in the second innings vs India in India since Alastair Cook’s 176 in Ahmedabad in 2012 – the first Test of India’s last series defeat at home.
In a line-up with three frontline spinners, Joe Root soared as the best of the lot with a four-wicket haul as he accelerated the end of India’s innings. He began by denying Ravindra Jadeja – who’d gone into a shell early on – a century, and knocked back Jasprit Bumrah’s stumps with the next ball. His search for a hat-trick against Mohammed Siraj with six close-in fielders was futile but Rehan Ahmed cleaned up Axar Patel with a ball that spun and kept low, keeping India’s lead to 190.
England then started their innings like only they do, as Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett came out reverse-sweeping against Ashwin. Rohit Sharma’s decision to bring on Axar Patel in tandem was challenged with a lot of disdain as Crawley gave him the charge and picked quick runs. Though Ashwin got the better of him towards the end of the session, England’s ideas of batting quickly didn’t waver as they reached the first intermission at 89/1 in just 16 overs – wiping out nearly half the deficit.
Bumrah forced a change in complexion of the flow of play in the second session with a stirring spell that had him dismissing Duckett twice. First, LBW that Rohit refused to review (he should’ve) and then, in his next over, with one that came in with the round-the-wicket angle and sent Duckett’s off-stump cartwheeling. Life got queasy for England when shortly he trapped Joe Root leg before. Jonny Bairstow weathered a bit of the Bumrah storm, who was varying his pace for fun, unfurling deliveries 20kmph slower than the previous one with just a well-disguised flick of the wrist. Bairstow, however, was sucked in by a Jadeja trap as the left-arm spinner got one ball to turn away sharply and just the next to hold its line and flummox an unsuspecting Bairstow who offered no shot.
Ollie Pope meanwhile brought up a brisk fifty but shifted his gears downwards while trying to rebuild in the company of Ben Stokes. The England captain made an ultra-cautious start as India doubled up on spin and attempted to run through the middle and lower order while they still held a lead. As has always been the case, a mini-tussle of grit and wit ensued between Stokes and Ashwin, with the latter emerging victorious once more with a full ball that had flight, dip and turn to beat the outside edge of Stokes’s bat and clean him up.
From 172/5 at Tea, England’s attempt to politely turn the tables back began with Pope finding an able ally in Ben Foakes. The third session offered very slow spin, allowing the two batters to comfortably use their feet without fearing the consequences of the turn. The pair batted together for 30.1 overs to take the team to a respectable lead before Foakes fell to a slider from Axar Patel. Pope carried on in the company of a plucky Rehan Ahmed, who batted 31 of the 60 balls in the partnership.
Even after such a gritty batting day, England will need to have a lot more defiance in the tank on Day 4 if they are to take something away from this fixture.
Brief scores:
England 246 & 316/6 (Ollie Pope 148*, Ben Duckett 47; Jasprit Bumrah 2-29, Ravichandran Ashwin 2-93) lead India 436 (Ravindra Jadeja 87, KL Rahul 86; Joe Root 4/79) by 126 runs
Sri Lanka survived an early onslaught to qualify for the 2026 T20 World Cup Super Eights, leaving Australia right at the exit door and hoping for a miracle.
The returning captain Mitchell Marsh and the returning-to-runs Travis Head were brutal in taking Australia to 104 in the first 50 legal deliveries, but some spectacular fielding and spin bowling helped Sri Lanka take 10 for 77 off the last 70 balls.
In front of a partying full house in Pallekele, Sri Lanka’s two most prolific batters, Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis, brought out both the axe and paper cuts to slice through the chase. Nissanka, who had earlier dropped Glenn Maxwell and then dismissed him with a stunner, went on to score an unbeaten hundred and take Sri Lanka home with two overs to spare.
In the absence of Matheesha Pathirana, who walked off with a calf injury in his first over, their spinners contributed six wickets to go with excellent closing from Dushmantha Chameera. Australia’s lead spinner Adam Zampa, among the best T20 spinners of all time, took no wicket and was lucky to go for only 41 in his four overs.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka 184/2 in 18 overs [Pathum Nissanka 100*, Kusal Mendis 51, Pavan Rathnayake 2*; Marcus Stoinis 2-41] beat Australia 181/10 in 20 overs [Mitchell Marsh 54, Travis Head 56, Josh Inglis 27, Glenn Maxwell 22; Dushmantha Chameera 2-56, Maheesh Theekshana 1-37, Dushan Hemantha 3-37, Dunith Wellalage 1-33, Kamindu Mendis 1-19] by eight wickets
[Cricinfo]
A win against Canada in their first T20I against them on Tuesday will firm up New Zealand’s spot in the Super Eight. This result will also knock out Canada; South Africa have already qualified for the next round from Group D with three wins in as many games.
New Zealand have faced Canada just three times in international cricket so far – each time in ODI World Cups. Their most recent meeting coming in the 2011 edition in Mumbai. They have won all three games and are poised to make it 4-0 against Canada in World Cups, despite the absence of Lockie Ferguson. The fast bowler has returned home for the birth of his first child and is expected to link up with the side ahead of the Super Eight. In Ferguson’s absence, Kyle Jamieson, who wasn’t even in the main squad in the first place, is set to make his T20 World Cup bow.
As for Canada, they had their moments against South Africa and UAE but they have failed to convert those into wins. On Friday in Delhi, they had UAE at 66 for 4 in the 13th over in a chase of 151, but they left the door ajar for Aryansh Sharma and Sohaib Khan to sneak home. Canada can’t afford such slip-ups against New Zealand – and then Afghanistan – if they are to notch up a win in this World Cup.
Kyle Jamieson doesn’t quite have Ferguson’s express pace, but can bang it away on a hard length and stifle the opposition batters. He also has some slower variations in his repertoire and his high-arm release could pose a big threat, especially to batters who are facing him for the first time.
Once known as “Vettori” in Canada’s club cricket circuit, Saad Bin Zafar will run into the team that was once captained by one of his heroes. The Canada left-arm spinner often attacks the stumps and keeps it tight, as his economy rate of 6.02 across 67 T20Is suggests. At 39, Saad knows he won’t be playing the game for long and will be eager to cause a few upsets on the big stage.
Jamieson is set to slot in for Ferguson unless New Zealand want to give veteran legspinner Ish Sodhi a game.
New Zealand (probable): Tim Seifert (wk), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner (capt), Jimmy Neesham, Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy
Canada are likely to play the same XI that lost to South Africa and UAE.
Canada (probable): Dilpreet Bajwa (capt), Yuvraj Samra, Navneet Dhaliwal, Nicholas Kirton, Shreyas Movva (wk), Harsh Thaker, Saad Bin Zafar, Jaskaran Singh, Dilon Heyliger, Kaleem Sana, Ansh Patel
[Cricinfo]
Sri Lanka fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana left the field four balls into his first over, after collapsing to the ground clutching his left calf, and did not return to the field during Sri Lanka’s bowling innings against Australia. Having briefly received treatment from the Sri Lanka physiotherapist immediately after sustaining the injury, Pathirana hobbled off the field with assistance from support staff.
He then spent the majority of the innings being treated in the dressing room. Sri Lanka will likely send him off for scans as soon as the match finishes.
“Matheesha Pathirana experienced discomfort in his left leg calf while bowling during the match and was unable to continue,” a statement read. “He will not bowl further in this game. A scan will be conducted tomorrow to determine the extent of the injury.”
Pathirana had begun well against Australia, bowling two dot balls and giving away three runs (including a wide) in those first four deliveries. The last two balls of the over were delivered by Dasun Shanaka, who gave away a four and bowled a dot.
Pathirana is the quickest bowler in Sri Lanka’s attack, and a key part of their death-bowling plans for the tournament in particular. He is also the second Sri Lanka bowler to come under an injury cloud, with Wanindu Hasaranga already having been ruled out of the World Cup with a hamstring injury of his own.
After this game against Australa, Sri Lanka have another group match to play, against Zimbabwe. They have not earned qualification for the Super Eights yet.
(Cricinfo)
Nissanka ton stuns Australia, puts Sri Lanka in Super Eights
New Zealand eye Super Eight spot against Canada
Pathirana under injury cloud as he leaves the field early
Raza: Win over Australia ‘will count for nothing if we slip up now’
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