Sports

Shepherd, Joseph seal West Indies’ third consecutive T20I series win over South Africa

Published

2 years ago

2024/08/26

Priyan

Romario Shepherd's 3 for 15 earned him the Player-of-the-Match award [Cricinfo]

West Indies won a third successive T20I series against South Africa by defending 179 at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, where they dismantled a chase that was well set up. South Africa were 129 for 3 in the 14th over but lost 7 for 20 in 36 balls and were bowled out for 149 in 19.4 overs to fall short by 30 runs.

Akeal Hosein and Gudakesh Motie made the crucial breakthroughs when they removed Tristan Stubbs and Donovan Ferreira, respectively, but then it was over to RomairoShepherdand Shamar Joseph to finish it off. Shepherd ended with 3 for 15 from his four overs and Joseph with a career-best 3 for 31. Between them, they took South Africa’s chances of levelling the series from on track to derailed.

West Indies would have known that the total they posted was gettable after they pulled off the highest successful chase at the venue – 175 – two days ago and South Africa were off to a quick start. They raced to 100 inside ten overs but West Indies conceded only one boundary between tenth and 14th overs to force South Africa into making mistakes that ultimately cost them the game.

South Africa’s middle order will be a cause for concern as only one batter after No. 3 got past 20 in a match where individual run-scoring accolades were scarce. There were no half-centuries across the two teams but West Indies were clearly the better big-hitting side. They hit 13 sixes compared to South Africa’s six, which was one marker of where the game was won.

After a match-winning 51 in the opening game, Shai Hope announced his intent in this match when he slog-swept Bjorn Fortuin over midwicket to score his first boundary of the innings. Hope’s pull off Kwena Maphaka in the next over, which went between the wicketkeeper and short fine, opened up a scoring area in the V behind the stumps. Alick Athanaze also exploited that area when he played Lizzaad Williams late through third. West Indies finished the powerplay on 43 for 1, before Hope’s best came out. He smashed Aiden Markram for back-to-back sixes over midwicket, with the turn and wind. Two more sixes came when he pulled Maphaka over cow corner and flicked Patrick Kruger over a wide fine leg to underline his preference for leg-side play. Hope scored 39 of his 41 runs on the leg side, and had a third fifty in four innings in his sights, before he reached for a wide Kruger delivery and was caught at deep point.

Hope was Kruger’s first T20I wicket and it was not long before he had his second. After a change of ends, but with the same plan, Kruger struck with the first ball in the 12th over. He maintained a wide line outside off and Roston Chase was enticed into attempting a big shot. He only got enough to find Maphaka on the edge of the point boundary, who took a good low catch to leave West Indies 94 for 3. Kruger is not South Africa’s first-choice allrounder, even in this squad, but has done enough to keep Wiaan Mulder on the bench and perhaps even edge out Ferreira. But West Indies scored 50 runs in their last five overs, with Rovman Powell and Sherfane Rutherford adding 47 off 28 balls for the fifth wicket to give them the edge.

The last ball of Hosein’s opening over was not particularly short, but Reeza Hendricks pulled it for four over midwicket for the first boundary of South Africa’s reply. And it was as though a switch had flipped. Hendricks went on to hit a wide ball from Matthew Forde over point, a full delivery through the covers and then seemed to do nothing more than attempt a back-foot defensive block but timed it well enough to get past mid-off for four more. His coup de grâce came against Chase, whom he hit for 22 runs in five balls, including back-to-back sixes either side of the wicket, to give South Africa fifty inside four overs, and 71 in the powerplay albeit that he fell on the penultimate ball. Hendricks under-edged Shepherd onto his stumps and was out for 44 but showed signs that he was back to his best. In 12 innings before this one, Hendricks had only gone past 40 once and though he would have been disappointed not to get a half-century, he set up the chase well.

Hosein’s first two overs – at the start of the innings – cost 17 runs and he was brought back in the 14th. South Africa were 125 for 3 after 13 with Tristan Stubbs and Rassie van der Dussen both in and scoring quickly. Hosein made a crucial breakthrough, foxing Stubbs. Stubbs tried to loft a slow, flighted ball over long-off but did not get enough on it and was caught by substitute fielder Fabian Allen. Pace-off also did Ferreira in, as Motie had him stumped in the next over, but it was Hosein’s final delivery that put South Africa’s hopes to bed. Van der Dussen tried to hit him over midwicket but only made contact with the inside half of the bat and was caught by Joseph. South Africa were 138 for 6 after 16 overs and needed 42 runs off 24 balls. Joseph and Shepherd took it out of South Africa’s reach and cleaned up the tail before Matthew Forde finished off the match

Brief scores:
West Indies 179 for 6 in 20 overs (Shai Hope 41, Alick Athanaze 28. Rovman Powell 35, Sherfane Rutherford 29; Lizzard Williams 3-36, Patrick Kruger 2-29) beat South Africa 149 in 19.4 overs (Ryan Rikelton 20, Reeza Hendricks 44, Tristan Stubbs 28; Akeal Hosein 2-25, Romairo Shepherd 3-15, Shamar Joseph 3-31) by 30 runs

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Sri Lanka’s World Cup winning team conduct coaching session in KL

Published

14 hours ago

2026/05/16

Priyan

(Pics by Rex Clementine's Fb page)

On day two of Sri Lanka’s World Cup winning cricket team’s tour of Malaysia, they conducted a coaching session for children at the Royal Selangor ground in Kuala Lampur.

Sports

Fatima Sana smashes fastest fifty in women’s T20Is

Published

17 hours ago

2026/05/16

Priyan

Fatima Sana smashed 10 fours and a six in her record-breaking fifty [PCB]

Pakistan captain Fatima Sana has broken the record for the fastest half-century in women’s T20Is, getting to the mark in just 15 balls against Zimbabwe in the third T20I in Karachi. Sana broke the record previously held by three players – Sophie Devine, Phoebe Litchfield and Richa Ghosh – who had scored their fifties off 18 balls.

Sana’s fifty is also the joint fastest in Women’s T20s (where data is available). That record is also held by Marie Kelly for Warwickshire against Gloucestershire (2022) and by Laura Harris for Otago against Canterbury in the Super Smash (2025). Nida Dar previously held the record for the fastest fifty for Pakistan – a 20-ball effort in 2019 against South Africa.

Sana broke the record after Pakistan opted to bat in the final T20I, and came out to bat when they were 152 for 4 in 16.2 overs. She started with a four off her first ball against Michelle Mavunga and after a single next ball, tore into Kudzai Chigora with four fours in a row. She topped it with a sequence of 4, 4, 6, 6, and 4 against Nomvelo Sibanda in the 19th over that went for 24 runs and left Sana on 48 off 14 with an over to go. Saira Jabeen had meanwhile moved to 49 off 31 at the other end.

Sana got to her historic half-century with two runs off Zimunu on the second ball of the last over and finished off the innings with two more fours to finish unbeaten on 62 off just 19 balls. Jabeen was unbeaten on 50 off 32 as Pakistan posted 223 for 4, their second-highest total in the format, after the 237 they had amassed in the opening game of the series. Sana finished with 10 fours and two sixes on the night. In the chase, Zimbabwe were bowled out for 90, with Sadia Iqbal and Nashra Sandhu combining to take five wickets. Sana finished with figures of 1 for 28 in 2.1 overs with the ball.

Sana is the top-scorer for Pakistan in T20Is this year, with a tally of 229 from five innings at a scintillating strike rate of 206.30, the best among women’s T20Is in 2026 who have faced more than 10 balls. Her highest T20I score of 90 off 41 also came this year, against South Africa in the opening game of the three-match series in February.

[Cricinfo]

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Marsh onslaught, Akash three-for dent Chennai Super King’s playoffs chances

Published

18 hours ago

2026/05/16

Priyan

Mitchell Marsh smashed 56 runs on his own in the powerplay [BCCI]

Mitchell Marsh’s boundary-laden 90 off 38 balls dented Chennai Super Kings’ playoffs chances and gave the Lucknow crowd something to cheer about. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) dropped from fifth to sixth after the result, with Rajasthan Royals (RR) leapfrogging them on net run-rate.

In pursuit of 188 on a tricky surface, Marsh flew out of the blocks, smashing 56 of the 86 runs Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) had hit in the powerplay. At the halfway mark of the game, ESPNcricinfo’s forecaster had pegged LSG’s win probability at 39.49%. It zoomed up to 91.24% after Marsh’s unfettered powerplay assault. Marsh fell ten short of a century, but Nicholas Pooran increased the count to 100% and sealed LSG’s fourth win this season.

They won by seven wickets with 20 balls to spare, but it still wasn’t enough to drag them up from the foot of the points table.

Akash Singh emerged from the sidelines for his first game of the season and produced career-best IPL figures of 4-0-26-3, against his former team. While Mohammed Shami explored the full length and conceded three fours to Sanju Samson in the first over, Akash banged it away on a hard length on a bouncy, red-soil Ekana pitch. He cramped all of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Samson and Urvil Patel and celebrated every wicket by pulling out a note from his pocket, which read: “#Akki on fire – Akash knows how to take wickets in a T20 game”

Only four of Akash’s 18 balls in the powerplay were fuller than a good length, according to ESPNcricinfo’s logs. His impeccable lengths were central to LSG restricting CSK to 37 for 2 in six overs. Akash bowled four overs on the trot and proved his point.

CSK’s 36 for 2 became 52 for 3 when Urvil holed out, but rookie Kartik Sharma repaired the innings along with Dewald Brevis, who contributed 25 off 16 balls. When left-arm fingerspinner Shahbaz Ahmed dragged one marginally short, Kartik picked up the length in a flash and swatted a six over midwicket in the ninth over. While Kartik’s back-foot play was Ambati Rayudu-esque, some of his front-foot shots and off-side range were reminiscent of Samson.

All told, Kartik took Shahbaz for 30 off 15 balls before the spinner had him caught at long-on in the 16th over. Kartik showed that he could also cut it against extreme pace as well when he backed away against Mayank Yadav and scythed a 144kph delivery to the right of point for four.

Kartik reached his half-century off 35 balls and hushed Ekana with his finger-on-the-lip celebration. When he was looking good for more, he fell for 71 off 42 balls.

Shivam Dube managed just one boundary off his first 11 balls, but went 6,4,4,6 off his last four balls to finish with an unbeaten 32 off 16 balls. Prashant Veer made a more sedate 13 not out off ten balls. With LSG incurring a penalty for slow over rate in the last over of the innings – they had just four men outside the circle – Prince Yadav cracked under pressure and leaked 23 runs.

Marsh set the tempo for the chase when he walked down the track to Mukesh Choudhary and picked him for four. Mukesh ended up conceding 15 runs in his first over and was taken out of the attack.

At the start of the third over, Marsh charged at Anshul Kamboj, manufactured swinging room and cracked him through the covers. It threw Kamboj off his signature hard length and he kept digging it shorter without having enough pace to trouble Marsh. In the penultimate over of the powerplay, Marsh lined Kamboj up for four sixes and a four. Marsh didn’t spare his Australia compatriot Spencer Johnson, who was on CSK debut, either, bashing him for three fours and a six in the sixth over.

In the absence of Jamie Overton, whose IPL has been cut short by injury, CSK lacked a middle-overs enforcer. They tried Gurjapneet Singh, but Marsh advanced at him too and launched him over the covers. Josh Inglis was just content to ride in Marsh’s slipstream.

Soon after Johnson knocked Abdul Samad over for seven off three balls, but Pooran rushed LSG home with four successive sixes off Kamboj, leaving CSK’s best bowler this season nursing figures of 2.4-0-63-0.

Brief scores:
Lucknow Super Giants 188 for 3 in 16.4 overs (Mitchell Marsh 90, Josh Inglis 36, Nicholas Pooran 32*, Mukul Choudhary 13*; Mukesh Choudhary 1-24, Spencer Johnson 1-39) beat Chennai Super Kings 187 for 5 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 20, Rutraj Gaikwad 13, Kartik Sharma 71, Dewald Brevis 25, Shivam Dube 32*, Prashant Veer 13*; Mohammed Shami 1-41, Akash Singh 3-26, Shahbaz Ahmed 1-45) by seven wickets

[Cricinfo]