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South Africa quicks leave Sri Lanka on the brink after Stubbs, Bavuma centuries
Sri Lanka 42 and 103 for 5 (Dinesh Chandimal 29*; Marco Jansen 2-22, Kagiso Rabada 2-34) need another 413 runs to beat South Africa 191 and 366 for 5 dec (Tristan Stubbs 122, Temba Bavuma 113, Vishwa Fernando2-64)
Temba Bavuma and Tristan Stubbs eased to Test centuries in the first two sessions, making South Africa’s lead gargantuan, before the quicks snapped up five Sri Lanka wickets. Having utterly dominated the match since lunch on day two, South Africa finished the third day only five wickets short of going 1-0 up in a vital World Test Championship series. Sri Lanka are 413 runs adrift, on a surface on which the bounce can no longer be fully trusted.
The late Sri Lanka wickets produced some drama, but it was the 249-run partnership – which equalled a record for the fourth wicket at this ground – that was the centerpiece of Friday’s action. Stubbs and Bavuma had laid the groundwork for their centuries in the morning, negotiating some occasionally testing early overs.
It was clear that by then, however, the Kingsmead pitch had lost much of the nip it had had in the first few sessions of this match. South Africa raised their tempo in the second session, going at 4.81 runs an over in the afternoon.
The Sri Lanka quicks were down on pace on day three, as perhaps could be expected of an attack that was closing in on 150 overs for the match. They did, eventually manage to dismiss Stubbs and Bavuma late in the second session. But by that stage, South Africa’s lead had ballooned to more than 500. When they declared at tea, only five wickets down, they had set Sri Lanka 516 to win.
It was the two South Africa batters’ hundreds, however, that most enthused the crowd at Kingsmead, and the more dramatic of the trips to triple figures was Bavuma’s. He had appeared tentative in the 90s, with Sri Lanka raising lbw appeals against him, and forcing plays and misses as well.
Bavuma getting to his third century provided the most dramatic moment of the day. Batting on 98, he had got low to lap sweep Prabath Jayasuriya, and was hit on the pad. The umpire turned down the lbw appeal as the batters ran three.
But having removed his helmet to celebrate, he was made to wait a little longer, when Sri Lanka reviewed the decision. Thankfully for Bavuma, real-time snicko had caught the very slight deflection off his glove into pad, and as soon as this was shown on the big screen, Bavuma swung his bat in the air, and the crowd acknowledged him, even before the final “not out” decision came. This was only his third career ton, but his second as captain.
Stubbs got to his second Test hundred in more straightforward fashion. He had spent only 14 balls in the 90s, before working Asitha Fernando through midwicket for a couple to complete the milestone. Stubbs was given lbw in the next over, off Lahiru Kumara, but he reviewed and the ball was found to have struck him outside the line of off. In the first session, he had also been dropped for 33 off Vishwa Fernando, by Angelo Mathews, who spilled a chance low to his left at slip.
Although conditions had eased, Bavuma and Stubbs batting out the entire first session was nevertheless extraordinary, given 19 wickets had fallen the previous day. Both were cautious to start with, as Kumara went short at the batters, and Jayasuriya flighted the ball, searching for early dismissals.
Stubbs, typically, was stronger down the ground, while Bavuma was more adept at hitting square, often using his feet to the spinner, and occasionally playing the hard, flat sweep in addition to the dinky one past the keeper. Aside from that one chance off Stubbs, both batters appeared largely in control, though there were occasional lbw shouts – none of which was especially close.
In the final session, South Africa’s quicks were rampant again, and Sri Lanka’s batters continued to be indisciplined, even as the light waned and the opposition was still running hot. Sri Lanka also managed to burn all three of their reviews, with Pathum Nissanka and Angelo Mathews reviewing lbw decisions that were more or less plumb, before Kamindu Mendis reviewed after providing a feather edge to the wicketkeeper.
When confirmed out, it was Kamindu’s first twin failure in his nine Tests so far, having fallen for 13 in the first innings, and 10 in this one.
South Africa’s taller quicks got more out of the surface than Sri Lanka’s seamers had earlier in the day, though Mathews’ lbw in particular was down to low bounce – the ball shooting through into his pads, although he had expected it to bounce up to perhaps waist height. That was off the bowling of Marco Jansen, who now has nine wickets in the match.
But it was Kagiso Rabada who had made the first breakthrough, having Dimuth Karunaratne caught at third slip, as the opening batter drove on the up at a ball well outside off stump in the fifth over of the innings. Rabada also took the last wicket of the day – that of nightwatcher Jayasuriya, who fell to a spectacular reflex catch by short leg Tony de Zorzi.
Brief scores:
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he agreed with the idea of a ceasefire in Ukraine, but that “questions” remained about the nature of a truce as he set out a number of tough conditions.
The Russian president was responding to a plan for a 30 day ceasefire, which Ukraine agreed to earlier this week after talks with the US.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described Putin’s response to the plan as “manipulative” and called for more sanctions on Russia.
Meanwhile, the US placed further sanctions on Russian oil, gas and banking sectors.
Speaking at a news conference in Moscow on Thursday, Putin said of the ceasefire proposal: “The idea is right – and we support it – but there are questions that we need to discuss.”
A ceasefire should lead to “an enduring peace and remove the root causes of this crisis”, Putin said. “We need to negotiate with our American colleagues and partners,” he said. “Maybe I’ll have a call with Donald Trump.”
Putin added: “It will be good for the Ukrainian side to achieve a 30-day ceasefire. “We are in favour of it, but there are nuances.”
One of the areas of contention is Russia’s Kursk region, Putin said, where Ukraine launched a military incursion last year and captured some territory.
He claimed Russia was fully back in control of Kursk, and said Ukrainian troops there “have been isolated”.
“They are trying to leave, but we are in control. Their equipment has been abandoned.”
“There are two options for Ukrainians in Kursk – surrender or die.”
Outlining some of his questions over how a ceasefire would work, Putin asked: “How will those 30 days be used? For Ukraine to mobilise? Rearm? Train people? Or none of that? Then a question – how will that be controlled?”
“Who will give the order to end the fighting? At what cost? Who decides who has broken any possible ceasefire, over 2,000km? All those questions need meticulous work from both sides. Who polices it?”
Putin “doesn’t say no directly”, Zelensky said in his nightly video address, but “in practice, he’s preparing a rejection”.
“Putin, of course, is afraid to tell President Trump directly that he wants to continue this war, wants to kill Ukrainians.”
The Russian leader had set so many pre-conditions “that nothing will work out at all”, Zelensky said.
After Putin’s remarks and Zelensky’s response, there is now a clear divide between both sides’ positions.
Ukraine wants a two-stage process: a quick ceasefire and then talks about a longer-term settlement.
Russia believes you cannot separate the two processes and all the issues should be decided in a single deal. Both sides seem content to argue their differences.
Ukraine believes it can put pressure on Russia, painting it as a reluctant peacemaker, playing for time. Russia, equally, believes it has a chance now to raise its fundamental concerns, about Nato expansion and Ukraine’s sovereignty.
But this presents a problem for Donald Trump. He has made it clear he wants a quick result, ending the fighting in days.
And right now, Putin does not appear to want to play ball.
Speaking at the White House following Putin’s remarks, Trump said he would “love” to meet the Russian leader and that he hoped Russia would “do the right thing” and agree to the proposed 30-day truce.
“We’d like to see a ceasefire from Russia,” he said.
Speaking earlier at a meeting in the Oval Office with Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump told reporters he had already discussed specifics with Ukraine.
“We’ve been discussing with Ukraine land and pieces of land that would be kept and lost, and all of the other elements of a final agreement,” Trump said. “A lot of the details of a final agreement have actually been discussed.”
On the subject of Ukraine joining the Nato military alliance, Trump said “everybody knows what the answer to that is”.
The fresh sanctions on Russian oil and gas came as the Trump administration further restricted access to US payment systems, making it harder for other countries to buy Russian oil.
Meanwhile, Putin met US special envoy Steve Witkoff behind closed doors in Moscow.
Earlier in the day, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov rejected the ceasefire proposal put forward by the US.
On Wednesday, Putin visited Russia’s Kursk region, symbolically dressed in military fatigues. Russia later said it recaptured the key town of Sudzha.
More than 95,000 people fighting for Russia’a military have died in the war.
Ukraine last updated its casualty figures in December 2024, when President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged 43,000 Ukrainian deaths among soldiers and officers. Western analysts believe this figure to be underestimated.
[BBC]
Majestic batting from Nat Sciver-Brunt, middle-overs acceleration from Hayley Matthews, and power-hitting from Harmanpreet Kaur helped Mumbai Indians post a daunting total of 213 in the Eliminator. That proved to be too much to chase down, and Mumbai’s 47-run win extended their head-to-head dominance over Gujarat Giants to 7-0 and powered them into their second WPL final in three years. On Saturday, they will face Delhi Capitals in a repeat of the 2023 finale.
Giants were without Deandra Dottin for their first knockout game in three WPLs after the allrounder hurt herself only five minutes before the toss, and was replaced by England’s Danielle Gibson. Giants didn’t do themselves any favours as they misfielded through the innings and put down four catches that cost them heavily. In the run chase, they lost their three top-scorers this season – Beth Mooney, Harleen Deol and Ashleigh Gardner – in the powerplay as Mumbai held on to their catches and effected run-outs.
Phoebe Litchfield scored a quickfire 31 off 20 balls, but once she was stumped off Amelia Kerr, Giants were all but out of the chase at 107 for 5, with the asking rate above 13 an over.
Put in to bat, Mumbai went back to opening with Yastika Bhatia, but it didn’t change her fortunes. After collecting three boundaries in her 14-ball stay during a sedate powerplay in which MI didn’t take too many risks, Bhatia pulled Gibson to midwicket to fall for 14.
The wicket brought out the in-form Sciver-Brunt, who didn’t bat an eyelid to get going alongside Matthews, who started with only 17 runs off her first 22 balls before taking off. Sciver-Brunt took the aerial route straightaway. She ended the seventh over with consecutive boundaries, which Matthews followed up by smacking three of her own off the next three balls from Priya Mishra to power the run rate past eight an over. Three of those five consecutive fours came off short deliveries, a length the Giants bowlers often bowled and got punished for.
Their sloppy fielding didn’t help either, leading to a number of boundaries. The first came in the ninth over when Sciver-Brunt drove to deep cover, where Simran Shaikh let the ball go through her. Soon after, Sciver-Brunt reverse paddled Gardner for her fifth boundary in 12 balls. Kashvee Gautam then let one through at point when Matthews cut one square. By then, Matthews had started to find her A game, and a six off Tanuja Kanwar’s short ball brought her fifty up off 36 balls, and the team’s 100 in 11 overs.
With Mumbai at 111 for 1 after 12 overs, Meghna Singh and Mishra brought some sort of balance back by conceding only 13 runs in two overs. But from the cushion of 124 for 1 with six overs to go, it was time to floor the pedal.
Harmanpreet already had her helmet on in the dugout, and was shadow-practicing her big swings while waiting for her chance. Sciver-Brunt deposited Gibson over deep midwicket and long-on to raise a 29-ball fifty. Giants, meanwhile, continued their wretched run on the field when the reliable Gardner dropped Matthews on 57 straight down the ground.
Matthews made them pay immediately, hitting Mishra for back-to-back sixes over long-on and cover with deft footwork. Such was Mumbai’s luck that even a top-edge off the next ball went for four. But that luck ran out when Matthews edged Gautam behind for 77 off 50 balls, and Mooney took a sharp catch standing up.
Harmanpreet averaged nearly 79 against Giants before this game, and the number could have fallen had Mishra held on to a catch at midwicket when she was on 1. But Mishra didn’t, and Harmanpreet became Harmonster. She went deep in the crease and opened her stance to cart the ball around, whether it was in the slot or not.
Harmanpreet started the 18th over by hammering Kanwar for 6, 4, 4 – even that sequence included a misfield – before ending the over with her trademark slog-sweep for six. That over went for 22 in all. Sciver-Brunt also got a life in the next over – sandwiched between two boundaries off Gibson – when Kanwar made a mess of a skier. Giants were punished yet again next ball, but finally ended the partnership when Litchfield caught one at deep midwicket, leaving Sciver-Brunt seven short of 500 runs this season, and three short of 1000 in the WPL overall.
Harmanpreet was gifted two balls in the slot at the start of the last over, and she happily collected sixes off both. Meghna, however, finished well, giving away just two off the next three balls before nailing a yorker that led to Harmanpreet being run out for 36.
It took only five balls for the hosts to show their superiority in the field on the night, despite the presence of dew. When Shabnim Ismail drew Mooney’s edge, Matthews leapt to her right from first slip to grab the ball with both hands. When Harleen Deol and Gibson got into a mix-up in the fifth over, 20-year-old Sanskriti Gupta put in a dive at point and hurled the ball quickly to the wicketkeeper to find Deol short. And just before the halfway mark, Gibson also fell short when attempting a second run, and her dive wasn’t enough to beat Amanjot Kaur’s flat throw from the deep.
In between, Gardner lost her off stump against Matthews, which meant Giants were 43 for 3 in the powerplay. Litchfield was their only hope and she used her feet regularly against Kerr and struck two boundaries against Ismail that showed her class on either side of the wicket. But when Litchfield ventured out of the crease against Kerr once again and missed, Bhatia did the rest to
leave Giants 107 for 5.
Giants hardly had any steam left in their tank, and their poor running added to their misery. Next to fall short was Gautam, who was sent back when she hurried out for a quick single after drilling the ball to cover, from where Harmanpreet fired the ball back for the sixth wicket.
With another 102 runs to get from the remaining 42 balls, and their top five back in the hut, Giants’ only hope of getting anywhere close to their target was Bharti Fulmali. She started with a straight six off Amanjot, dispatched Kerr to the leg-side boundary, and flayed Matthews for consecutive boundaries behind square. But when Fulmali backed away looking for a third boundary in a row, Matthews beat her attempted cut and knocked the stumps over.
Mumbai continued their stellar fielding display as Harmanpreet took a diving catch to send Shaikh back, and Sciver-Brunt ran to her left at deep midwicket to seal victory in the last over.
Brief scores:
Mumbai Indians Women 213 for 4 in 20 overs (Nat Sciver-Brunt 77, Hayley Matthews 77, Harmanpreet Kaur 36, Yastika Bhatia 15; Kashvee Gautam 1-30, Danielle Gibson 2-40) beat Gujarat Giants Women 166 in 19.2 overs (Danielle Gibson 34, Phoebe Litchfield 31, Bharti Fulmali 30; Simran Shaikh 17, Tanuja Kanwar 16; Shabnim Ismail 1-35, Nat Sciver Brunt 1-31, Hayley Matthews 3-31, Amelia Kerr 2-28) by 47 runs
[Cricinfo]
It has been reported that the former Superintendent of the Boossa Prison S Dhammika has been shot dead by an unidentified gunman in Akmeemana.
“Buddha Rashmi Vesak Festival 2025” from May 13
Putin sets out conditions for Ukraine ceasefire
Sciver-Brunt, Matthews power Mumbai Indians into second WPL final
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