Sports
Shashank Singh special guides Punjab Kings to record chase
Punjab Kings, powered by Shashank Singh’s knockout blows, recorded a thrilling final-over victory over Gujarat Titans which gave them their second win of IPL 2024.
He might not have been the Shashank Singh that Punjab Kings were searching for in the auction, but over the course of this season and particularly on Thursday (04), he has made himself an undroppable name in the eleven. Shashank came in when the Kings had lost four for just 70 in the ninth over but remained unfazed right through to inject some much-needed impetus. He lofted Noor Ahmed’s googly for a six and then picked 14 off three deliveries from Umesh Yadav to get his innings going. Another six off Rashid and a ramp off Mohit Sharma kept Punjab in the chase. In between the Kings were lucky to have some support from others like Jitesh Sharma who hit back-to-back sixes off Rashid at a critical juncture.
The final trick up Punjab Kings’ sleeves was the impact sub Ashutosh Sharma, who matched Singh in shot-making including three boundaries off an over from Azmatullah Omarzai. The duo also picked up 18 off the penultimate over bowled by Mohit with each batter hitting him for a six with brute power. The equation trickled down to 7 off the last over, which was given to Darshan Nalkande who hadn’t bowled an over until then. While he dismissed Sharma caught at long on, the luck was with Singh who got an outside edged boundary before sneaking a leg-bye off the penultimate ball.
It brought about a thrilling conclusion to a game that had otherwise meandered along on a straight course with the Titans the favourites right through until the Kings sneaked back in.
Shubman Gill was there right through the innings but not quite so imposing. He batted all 20 overs but faced only 48 balls in all. But it was studded with some eye-catching shots nevertheless. The first six down the ground off the left-arm spinner was as silken as lofts down the ground come. Then there was an intentional outside edge that was chopped fine using Arshdeep Singh’s angle across. He would also loft Kagiso Rabada straight down the ground for a six once and then pull him over long on for one more, there was also a forehand slap down the ground for a four off a slower ball for another boundary. All of these were indicative that the pitch did not hold much demons but also that Gill could unleash a good range of strokes enroute to his 89* – the highest individual score of IPL 2024.
All through his innings, Gill found the others doing commendable jobs at the other end. While Wriddhiman Saha and Kane Williamson (playing his first game of IPL 2024 replacing the injured David Miller) didn’t last too long, they were around long enough to stitch together stands worth 29 and 40. Sai Sudharsan, playing with more intent this time, matched Gill shot-for-shot at one point in his 19-ball 33 with six boundaries. But his cameo came to an end as he guided Harshal Patel to the wicket-keeper. Gujarat headed into the death overs in dire need of a boost and Rahul Tewatia provided the right finishing touches, albeit feasting on some friendly full tosses that enabled him to an 8-ball 23. And even as Gill missed his hundred, falling short by 11, his team had got to nearly 200, which would prove to be a lot more than just challenging for Punjab Kings.
Despite losing Shikhar Dhawan early after he chopped on against Umesh Yadav’s first ball, Punjab were still in the chase thanks to Jonny Baairstow’s early flurry of boundaries. The opener got going as he pinged the cover boundary repeatedly with Azmatullah Omarzai offering some width. He had some support from an adventurous Prabhsimran Singh but that changed around swiftly. Noor Ahmed struck with his first ball bowling Bairstow through the gate and had Singh caught at point off an outside edge to rattle Punjab, who then found enough firepower in their lower middle-order to steal a sensational win.
Punjab Kings will head home to Mohali where they will take on the in-form Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 9. Gujarat have a two-day gap where they’ll travel to take on Lucknow Super Giants on April 7.
Brief Scores:
Gujarat Titans 199/4 in 20 overs (Shubman Gill 89*, Kane Williamson 26, Sai Sudharsan 33, Rahul Tewatia 23*; Harpreet Brar 1-33, Kagiso Rabada 2-44, Harshal Patel 1-44) lost to Punjab Kings 200/7 in 19.5 overs (Jonny Bairstow 22, Prabhsimran Singh 35, Shashank Singh 61*, Ashutosh Sharma 31; Azmatullah Omarzai 1-41, Umesh Yadav 1-31, Rashid Khan 1-40, Noor Ahmad 2-32, Mohit Sharma 1-38, Darshan Nalkande 1-06) by 3 wickets
Retiring skipper Alyssa Healy fell cheaply late on a bowler-dominated opening day that saw debutants Lucy Hamilton and Sayali Satghare produce spectacular starts to their Test careers.
Thirteen wickets fell on a grassy WACA surface, including Healy who on 13 hit Satghare straight to backward point with 30 minutes left before stumps. Healy trudged off the field – perhaps not for the final time – to a loud ovation as India, fielding four debutants, hit back after being bowled out in 62.4 overs.
Annabel Sutherland, backing up her earlier standout bowling effort, steadied before the close alongside Elllyse Perry, who is playing as a specialist batter after recovering from a quad strain.
After Healy elected to bowl to kick-start her swansong, left-arm quick Hamilton ignited Australia by clean bowling Smriti Mandhana for 4 in a brilliant start to her Test career.
She also claimed the wickets of Jemimah Rodrigues, who top-scored with 52, and Sneh Rana to finish with 3 for 31 off 11 overs in an impressive first up effort after earning selection over uncapped Maitlan Brown.
Australia’s seamers relished the conditions as they swung the pink ball menacingly to cause nightmares for an India side returning to Test cricket for the first time since mid-2024.
Sutherland was unplayable for long stretches as she hooped the ball around to finish with 4 for 46 off 17 overs, figures that could have been even better if not for four dropped catches off her bowling.
Australia’s sloppy performance in the field prolonged India’s first innings and meant they had the tough task of fronting up to bat under lights. Satghare lifted India by knocking over Georgia Voll with a menacing delivery that pitched well outside off-stump before swinging back to hit leg stump.
Fellow debutant Kranti Gaud also had a first wicket to remember when she dismissed Phoebe Litchfield, largely thanks to a brilliant catch from Rodrigues at backward point.
It led to Healy walking out to a mighty ovation, but India weren’t in a generous mood as they clawed back into a contest they must win if they are to draw the multi-series format.
Healy’s day had started brightly when the coin fell in Australia’s favour for the first time in the multi-format series. Her decision to bowl caused a groan in the terraces with fans itching to watch her bat.
But the supporters were soon in full voice when Hamilton, 19, was introduced into the attack in the second over. She came close to a wicket on her fourth delivery but a reviewed lbw shout on opener Shafali Verma was unsuccessful due to an inside edge.
Hamilton only had to wait until her third over to get through Mandhana with a cracking full-pitched delivery that comprehensively beat the bat and smashed into middle stump.
She was mobbed by her teammates before bowling a fierce short delivery to fellow debutant Pratika Rawal, who streakily opened her account through the slip cordon.
Hamilton, who earlier received her baggy green from Beth Mooney, returned the impressive figures of 1 for 12 from five overs in her first spell. But India hung tough with Shafali – maturely resisting her attacking instincts – and Rawal combining well in a rearguard to get through the new ball.
Sutherland entered the attack and started a fabulous bowling performance by cutting short Shafali’s blossoming knock on 35 with a terrific delivery that was caught behind.
It was a reward for Sutherland who had earlier been desperately unlucky not to pick up the wicket of Rawal after Hamilton fumbled in the gully. In what proved to be a costly missed chance, Rodrigues was reprieved by Voll at short-leg on 0 when she fended a fierce short delivery from Sutherland.
But Sutherland was not to be denied after she enticed Rawal into edging to gully where Hamilton hung onto her first catch at Test level. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur started swiftly before her off-stump was knocked by a pearler from Darcie Brown as India entered the tea break in trouble at 99 for 4.
Sutherland continued to be irrepressible after the resumption and dismissed Deepti Sharma with a length ball as the pressure heightened on Rodrigues and Richa Ghosh, who was purely in survival mode early in her innings.
Local hero Alana King was held back until the 40th over and Rogrigues decided it was time to put the foot down, counterattacking to devastating effect with four consecutive boundaries.
She sped to her half-century off 74 balls with the milestone reached in fitting style with a gorgeous drive as she continued to take a liking to King’s legspin.
Just when the partnership started to gather momentum, Ghosh threw it away when she hit a dragged down delivery from Ashleigh Gardner straight to short midwicket before Rodrigues tamely flicked a loose delivery from Hamilton to square leg.
Hamilton bagged Rana as India spiraled to 157 for 8 before debutant Kashvee Gautam attacked just like she had done during the ODI series. She eventually ran out of support with Sutherland claiming her fourth wicket when she dismissed Satghare.
The hectic day’s play also launched a new era at the revamped WACA ground with most spectators nestled in the rare shaded areas – still an issue even after the redevelopment – as the temperature peaked at 37 degree Celsius with a similar forecast set for day two.
Brief scores: [Stumps Day 1]
Australia Women 96 for 3 in 27 overs (Ellyse Perry 43*, Annabel Sutherland 20*; Kranti Gaud 2-28) trail India Women 198 in 62.4 overs (Shafali Verma 35, Jemmimah Rodrigues 52, Kasnvee Gautam 34*; Darcie Brown 2-41, Annabel Sutherland 4-46, Lucy Hamilton 3-31) by 102 runs
[Cricinfo]
St. John’s College, Jaffna were just four wickets away from victory at stumps on day two of the Battle of Jaffna Big Match at the Central College Groud Jaffna on Friday.
St. John’s restricted their arch rivals to 120 for six wickets after a valuable century by Uthayanan Abijoyshanth helped them post 247 runs.
Uthayanan’s century was the highlight on the second day as he almost singlehandedly guided the destiny of the visiting team.
He faced just 105 balls for his 121 as he struck 15 fours and four sixes in his knock before being given lbw to Murali Thison who took seven wickets.
Thison completed a match bag of 12 wickets with his big haul of wickets in the second innings.
While Central were largely depending on Thison for wickets in both innings, St. John’s were sharing bowling honours.
Despite having in their ranks Sri Lanka Under 19 paceman Kugathas Mathulan, St. John’s saw Ganeshamoothy Kowsikan (5/41) and Murfin Randyo (3/19) sharing bowling honours in the first inning.
Mathulan took his first wicket of the match in the afternoon on Friday.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has appointed former Australian cricketer Jamie Siddons as the new head coach of the the women’s team. Siddons, a Level 3 qualified coach, will officially begin his one-year tenure on March 16, 2026.
Siddons takes over from outgoing coach Rumesh Ratnayake, who had quietly concluded his tenure at the end of 2025. And he will be building on some solid foundations.
Appointed in February 2023, Ratnayake oversaw the transformation of the women’s team from bottom-of-the-table scrappers to a regularly competitive force.
While they remain a notch below top tier sides such as Australia and India in terms of consistency, under his guidance, Sri Lanka secured their best-ever return – a historic Asia Cup title in 2024, defeating India in the final.
The inconsistency of the side however was on display throughout his term, as the team struggled at the 2024 T20 World Cup, exiting in the group stage without a win. And despite other highs, including series wins against South Africa and England, the side seemed to have plateaud following a middling home 50-over home World Cup in October.
Siddons however will be taking over a youthful side in the midst of a good run of form, with them this month completing ODI and T20I series wins against West Indies.
His immediate focus will be preparing the squad for the Women’s T20 World Cup set to be held in England this June. His first official assignment is a tour of Bangladesh in April-May.
He brings over two decades of high-level coaching experience to the role, most notably serving as the head coach of the Bangladesh men’s side from 2007-2011, where he lead them to their first overseas Test series win against West Indies.
“Siddons has also served as Head Coach of the South Australia Cricket Team (Redbacks) from 2015 to 2020 and Head Coach of the Wellington Firebirds, New Zealand, from 2011 to 2015,” added an SLC media release.
In his playing career Siddons was a prolific run-scorer in Australian domestic cricket, captaining both South Australia and Victoria, finishing his career with over 10,000 Sheffield Shield runs.
(Cricinfo)
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