Sports
Sensational Samson century sinks South Africa
Sanju Samson became the first Indian – and fourth overall – to hit back-to-back hundreds in T20Is as India’s seventh 200-plus total of the year earned them a 1-0 lead against South Africa in Durban. His 47-ball century – the fastest by an Indian against South Africa – was an exhibition of elite six-hitting as he carted 10 of India’s 13. It paved the way for India’s 202/8 in 20 overs, which South Africa fell short of by 61 runs.
Samson was early to gauge the bounce that the quicks got off the pitch and negated it by batting deep in his crease. Anything even fractionally short bowled at him was pulled for a six. When pacers – like Marco Jansen, attempted to course correct by going slightly fuller, he flicked them away with both ease and authority. Abhishek Sharma fell early, but Samson dragged India to 56/1 in the PowerPlay in the company of Suryakumar Yadav.
South Africa’s 22-year-old leggie Nqabayomzi Peter dished out two hit-me half-trackers to a raging Samson, who sent both soaring into the deep mid-wicket stands. As was the case in the game against Bangladesh in Hyderabad – where he got 111 [47] – Samson was devastating against spin (58 off 27 balls) in Durban.
Patrick Kruger was one pacer who attempted a different strategy – like bowling full and wide and trying slower ones, but he too was taken to the cleaners. But it was his knuckle ball that stopped Suryakumar in his tracks, who found the deep square leg fielder with his mistimed loft. Samson’s bat swing though, continued to flourish as he took the team to 100 in the 11th over, off Keshav Maharaj.
In the 13th – off debutant Andile Simelane – Samson lofted one over wide long off for his best-looking six of the evening. He kept his foot firmly on the pedal to keep scoring at over 200 as India set themselves up for another outrageous total even by T20 standards. At 162/2 in 14 overs, Aiden Markram was running out of ideas and bowlers to stop the carnage but the next 12 deliveries gave South Africa a small chance to claw back. First, Maharaj had Tilak Varma caught by Tristan Stubbs at deep mid-wicket, and then Samson found a deep fielder trying to hit his 11th six, in the 15th over. India’s middle and lower-order then failed to make the most of the launchpad provided to them as the visitors scored just 27 runs for the loss of four wickets in the last four overs to finish with 202/8.
South Africa’s chances of riding the late momentum provided by the bowlers were dented by the early dismissals of Aiden Markram – caught behind in the first over off Arshdeep Singh, and Tristan Stubbs – caught at mid-off in the fourth over by Avesh Khan. This immediately gave way for a Heinrich Klaasen vs Hardik Pandya tussle, which the latter won in the T20 World Cup final earlier this year. That turned out uneventful this time around but Suryakumar then squeezed South Africa with spin. In the final over of the PowerPlay, Varun CV brought instant dividends as Ryan Rickelton hit one to Tilak Varma at long on.
South Africa’s experienced T20 pair of Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller looked to take charge in the middle-overs, punishing anything short from the Indian spinners. But both Varun and Ravi Bishnoi consistently bowled full and cramped the two free-spirited hitters for room, much to the vocal delight of Samson behind the stumps. Varun’s accuracy with lengths shone through in the 10th over, where he conceded just two runs to bump up South Africa’s asking rate to 12.50 for the second half of their chase. Bishnoi’s googly, which he resorts to more often than traditional leg spin, were tough to read, particularly for Miller, as he conceded just 1 run in the 11th over. The pressure that built up through those 12 balls earned Varun the wickets of both Klaasen and Miller, caught in the deep by Axar Patel and Avesh Khan respectively.
Bishnoi lured new batter Patrick Kruger with a ball tossed up outside offstump, and had him caught at point. He too followed up his tight over with a double-wicket one to reduce South Africa to 93/7 as Andile Simelane was trapped leg before. Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee threw their bats around to push past 100, but Bishnoi dismissed the former to pick his third of the game.
Coetzee kept up the tonking, going hell for leather against Hardik with two massive sixes in an over. But that entertainment was cut short by a direct hit from Suryakumar that caught the batter short off his crease. Avesh Khan then wrapped up the game in the 18th over by cleaning up Keshav Maharaj.
Brief Scores:
India 202/8 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 107, Tilak Varma 33; Gerald Coetzee 3-37) beat South Africa 141 in 17.5 overs (Heinrich Klaasen 25; Varun CV 3-25, Ravi Bishnoi 3-28, Avesh Khan 2-28) by 61 runs
After hectic double-headers and triple-headers, the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 only has one game in store for us on Wednesday, and it should be a mouthwatering contest. Hosts England are among the favourites to lift the title, and their performances so far have backed that tag. Their three wins so far have ranged from dominant to comfortable, and boast of a net run rate of 2.49. West Indies, meanwhile, beat the defending champions New Zealand and are also on three wins out of three. And they meet in the first game of this World Cup at Lord’s – the venue for the final – with both teams one win away from booking a semi-final berth.
England have been mighty with the bat and are the only team to post two 200-plus totals in this World Cup, while West Indies have two bowlers among the top three wicket-takers in Aaliyah Alleyne and Hayley Matthews. Matthews was especially instrumental in restricting Sri Lanka to 98 in their previous fixture.
England will still be without their regular captain and star allrounder Nat Sciver-Brunt, with Charlie Dean standing in to lead in her absence. Sciver-Brunt’s replacement Sophia Dunkley hit a half-century, and Freya Kemp and Dani Gibson showed off their finishing chops as they romped to 200 for 5 in a 38-run win over Scotland in the last match, and England will likely go with the same team against West Indies.
England XI (probable): Amy Jones (wk), Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Sophia Dunkley, Alice Capsey, Heather Knight, Freya Kemp, Dani Gibson, Charlie Dean (capt), Sophie Ecclestone, Linsey Smith, Lauren Bell
West Indies will also likely stay unchanged from the team that beat Sri Lanka.
West Indies XI (probable): Hayley Matthews (capt), Deandra Dottin, Shemaine Campbell (wk), Stafanie Taylor, Jahzara Claxton, Chinelle Henry, Jannillea Glasgow, Aaliyah Alleyne, Afy Fletcher, Karishma Ramharack, Ashmini Munisar
England’s strike bowler Lauren Bell has just two wickets from three games and went wicketless for 35 runs against Scotland. But at Lord’s, where the pitch may have a bit more for fast bowlers, Bell could dictate proceedings in the powerplay with her ability to make the new ball talk.
This will be the first game of this competition at Lord’s, which will host three more games including the final – where both teams would want a return here. The last game held at Lord’s was the first England-New Zealand men’s Test, which ended in four days on June 7. The conditions could be more conducive for swing and seam.
[Cricinfo]
The ICC, UNICEF UK and the ECB will host a “special match day takeover” at Lord’s when England and West Indies play their Women’s T20 World Cup group 2 match at the venue on June 24, “to raise both funds and awareness for UNICEF’s projects supporting children around the world.”
Nabhaan Rizwan, the two-time BAFTA-nominated actor, will be part of the activation and walk out with the World Cup trophy along with former England cricketer Isa Guha. “As a huge cricket fan, I can’t wait to see England play West Indies for this ICC Women’s T20 World Cup game, during which fans will also be able to donate to support UNICEF’s work for every child,” Rizwan said in an ICC statement.
The activation will also support UNICEF UK’s Making Childhood Unstoppable initiative, the ICC said. “The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup is a powerful platform to bring people together, and this match day takeover at Lord’s is an important opportunity to support UNICEF’s life-changing work for children around the world. Through Cricket 4 Good, our partnership with UNICEF continues to show how cricket can create impact beyond the boundary, and we hope fans at Lord’s and those watching globally will get behind this cause on 24 June.”
England and West Indies are both undefeated at the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup, with three wins each, and the winner of Wednesday’s fixture has a strong chance of finishing on top of Group 2.
[Cricinfo]
New Zealand survived a scare in the field and at the crease to beat Scotland and keep themselves alive at the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026. After putting Scotland in to bat and conceding 51 runs in the first seven overs, they restricted Scotland to a gettable 131 for 7, and with net run-rate considerations in mind, would have wanted to polish off the total quickly.
But Scotland had other ideas. They plucked three New Zealand wickets in the powerplay, and could sniff their second win of the campaign. But New Zealand’s experience shone through. Izzy Sharp and Brooke Halliday shared a fourth-wicket stand of 101, and Sharp went on to score a career-best 62 as New Zealand reached the target in the 19th over. As a result, Scotland were eliminated from semi-final contention.
The result means their net run rate has moved into positive territory, and they will remain in the hunt for a semi-final spot. New Zealand, though, need to beat England at the weekend and hope other results go their way.
Other than the result going their way, New Zealand also celebrated Lea Tahuhu’s 100th T20I wicket, as she made her first appearance of the tournament. Scotland had a milestone of their own to applaud. Darcey Carter scored her second half-century at the tournament and has become its leading run-scorer, ahead of Smriti Mandhana, though she has played one more innings.
After a tough start to their campaign, New Zealand have made it clear there’s no point crying over spilt milk. But there will be some frustration over the number of spilled chances. They dropped ten catches in their first three matches, and after putting Scotland in to bat and creating an early chance, put one down. Bree Illing, arguably one of the most impressive seamers of the tournament, got an inside edge off Katherine Fraser, who was yet to score. But Isabella Gaze, the New Zealand wicketkeeper, fluffed a simple chance.
Fraser could not find fluency throughout her innings, and was eventually caught at extra cover for 7. So the damage done was limited at an individual level but costly in the partnership. Scotland’s opening pair put on 51 in seven overs, with Carter contributing 41 off those runs.
After Fraser was dismissed, New Zealand pulled Scotland back. Kathryn Bryce was caught at deep-backward square leg off a googly from Melie Kerr to leave them 58 for 2 after nine overs. But the fielding virus soon returned. Carter, denied strike through the middle overs, sliced Melie to backward point when on 47, bu Nensi Patel could not hold on to a regulation chance.
New Zealand starved Carter of the strike – she slowed down from 35 off 18 balls to 54 in 39 – but with Sarah Bryce on the charge with 25 off 21 deliveries, New Zealand called for Sophie Devine’s intervention in the 15th over. She answered the call immediately, and had Sarah pinned on the pad with her first ball as she played all around a straight one.
Four balls later, Ailsa Lister sent Devine straight to Melie at long-on to give her a second wicket and New Zealand a position to get themselves back in the game. In the next over, Nensi bowled Megan McColl before the offspinner combined with Devine to apply the squeeze.
Scotland scored just 25 runs during the four overs which they bowled in tandem, before Melie brought herself on to bowl the penultimate over. Priyanaz Chatterji tried to sweep her four times without success, and was eventually out lbw on the fourth attempt. Then, it was a Kerr double act as Pippa Sproul chipped Melie to Jess Kerr at mid-off to leave Scotland at 121 for 7. Between them, Melie and Nensi bowled eight overs for 42 runs and took four wickets. Carter then helped Scotland score ten runs off the last over, finishing unbeaten on 72.
With half an eye on the need to knock off the total quickly and improve their net run rate, New Zealand were frustrated early, when only three runs came off the first over, bowled by Kirstie Gordon. But defending only 131, Scotland were off to a perfect start when they removed Melie, who promoted herself to open the batting, Gaze and Devine in the powerplay.
Kathyn Bryce struck twice in her first two overs: first, when Melie chipped her to mid-on, and then when Gaze tried to clear mid-on but could only find the fielder. Rachel Slater then bowled a beauty that nipped back into Devine and snuck through the gap between bat and pad to bowl her. New Zealand were 26 for 3 in the sixth over, and a massive upset was on the cards.
Scores:
New Zealand Women 132 for 4 in 18.2 overs (Isabella Gaze 16, Izzy Sharp 62, Brooke Halliday 41*; Kathryn Bryce 2-13, Rachel Slater 2-22) beat Scotland Women 131 for 7 in 20 overs (Darcey Carter 72*, Sarah Bryce 25, Priyansz Chatterji 12; Lea Tahuhu 1-19, Nensi Patel 1-25, Melie Kerr 3-17, Sophie Devine 2-19) by six wickets
[Cricinfo]
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