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WWC 2025: Knight scraps to help England overcome Bangladesh scare

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Charlie Dean and Heather Knight's 79-run partnership was the biggest of the match [Cricinfo]

A gritty comeback by Heather Knight pulled England out of danger and into top spot on the World Cup table with a battling four-wicket win against Bangladesh that was in sharp contrast to their ten-wicket romp over South Africa to open the tournament.

Nigar Sultana, the Bangladesh captain, had implored her side to show what they’re capable of “so that teams like England and Australia show interest in playing against us”, and they did that in only the second ODI between the sides.

Two early wickets to Marufa Akter, followed by 3 for 2 in the space of 12 legitimate deliveries from Fahima Khatun had England 78 for 5 in pursuit of what had looked like a modest target after England’s spin department restricted Bangladesh to 178 all out with two balls remaining.

Shobana Mostray’s maiden international half-century and a quickfire 43 not out off just 27 balls by Rabeya Khan had allowed Bangladesh to post a competitive total despite only two other batters reaching double figures.

But Knight, playing her first international innings since tearing her hamstring from the bone during a T20I against West Indies in May, gritted her teeth, ground out the runs and rode her luck – overturning dismissals on 0, 8 and 13 – to lead England home. Her unbroken stand for the seventh wicket with Charlie Dean, worth 79 in 100 balls, sealed the result with 23 balls to spare.

Marufa broke the game open with a stunning five-over opening spell in which she had England two wickets down – it could have been three – with just 29 runs on the board inside the first seven overs.

In an eventful start to the run chase, England lost opener Amy Jones lbw to Marufa at the end of the first over and, two balls later, saw Marufa drop a sitter at cover off Tammy Beaumont, on 2 at the time, off the bowling of Nahida Akter.

There was more drama as Marufa sought to make amends with the first ball of her next over and thought she had Knight caught behind but Knight survived on review with TV umpire Gayathri Venugopalan initially saying there was inconclusive evidence that the bat made contact with the ball while another angle gave the hint of a gap.

Marufa ultimately covered for her fielding error when she pinned Beaumont on the front pad, although it took a Bangladesh review this time to secure the dismissal with the batter on 13. Four balls later, Knight denied Marufa again when she overturned an lbw decision as replays showed that the ball going would be going over.

With Knight looking far from fluent, Nat Sciver-Brunt, her successor as England captain, helped herself to three fours off Marufa’s next over.

Knight continued to lead a charmed life, scratching her way to 13 off 38 balls when she spooned Fahima to Shorna Akter at cover and walked off, only to be recalled as TV umpire said there was “inconclusive” evidence that the fielder had her fingers under the ball.

Marufa left the field with what appeared to be a calf problem and didn’t return, leaving Nigar without a seam option.

Bangladesh stuck to their task and were rewarded when Fahima removed Sciver-Brunt and Sophia Dunkley in the space of four deliveries, the former chipping to midwicket and the latter trapped lbw as Clarie Polosak’s on-field decision was upheld in the face of England’s review.

Emma Lamb managed just 1 off 12 deliveries before picking out Nahida Akter at mid-on, although Fahima and Bangladesh had to wait anxiously for confirmation of her third wicket as the TV umpire again checked the catch, which was eventually deemed clean.

Sanjiida Akter Meghala the left-arm spinner brought to combat an England batting line-up stacked with right-handers, struck just as Alice Capsey threatened to dig them out of trouble, rapping the back leg in line with the top of leg stump. Capsey was so half-hearted in her call for the now-overworked DRS that her signal was deemed too late and it was just as well for England with replays showing that the ball was on target.

Knight’s most productive shot in a laboured innings had been the sweep and she swept Shorna for four to move into the 30s before shimmying down the pitch and clubbing Meghla down the ground for four more.

From that point, Knight looked settled, reaching her 50 in 86 deliveries, having been 15 off 50. She and Dean settled into a rhythm, Dean striking the winning runs with four off Mostary to finish 27 not out.

Collectively, England’s spinners kept a lid on the Bangladesh line-up, despite the best efforts of Nigar, who was extremely vocal from the dugout long after she was caught by Dean off the bowling of Linsey Smith for a second-ball duck.

She had good reason to shout. By the 30-over mark, her side had faced 136 dot balls and they went 61 deliveries without a boundary before Mostary struck back-to-back fours off Sciver-Brunt in the 31st, punching through the covers and prodding through third.

Sophie Ecclestone finished with three wickets while fellow left-arm spinner Smith, who had been England’s chief destroyer against South Africa, finished with 2 for 33.

Offspinners Dean and Capsey bowled with good economy also to secure two wickets apiece, the latter accounting for Mostary for a 108-ball 60 in a double-wicket strike in the 47th over.

That was after Mostary had become only the third Bangladesh player to score a Women’s World Cup half-century.

It took an England review to remove Mostary after Capsey got one to spin back from just outside off and hit the pad high in line with middle stump as the batter sat back in her crease.

Rabeya hit the first six of the match, off Smith in the final over, clearing the towering Bell just inside the boundary at long-on and followed up immediately with four through fine leg. But, having taken a single, Sanjida then chipped the next ball straight to Sciver-Brunt as Bangladesh narrowly failed to bat out their 50 overs.

Brief scores:
England Women  182 for 6 in 46.1 overs (Heather Knight 79*, Nat Sciver Brunt 32, Alice Capsey 20, Charlie Dean 27*; Fahima Khatun  3-16, Marufa Akter  2-28) beat Bangladesh Women  178 in 49.4 overs (Shamin Akhter 30, Sobhana Mostary 60, Rabeya Khan 43*; Linsey Smith 2-33, Sophie  Ecclestone 3-24, Charlie Dean 2-28, Alice Capsey 2-31) by four wickets

[Cricinfo]



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Everest record holder warns of Nepal danger as two Indian mountaineers die

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Mountaineers practise walking on a ladder during a training session at Everest Base Camp in Nepal [Aljazeera]

Two Indian climbers have died on Mount Everest during a record-breaking period of ascents via Nepal’s southern route, as experts warn of overcrowding on the world’s highest peak.

Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 10 highest peaks and welcomes hundreds of adventurers each spring.

At least five climbers have died during this Everest season, including the two Indians and three Nepalis. A United States and a Czech climber died on Mount Makalu earlier this month.

Nivesh Karki, director at Pioneer Adventures, named the latest victims as Sandeep Are, who he said summited on May 20, and Arun Kumar Tiwari, who reached the peak on May 21.

“They fell ill while descending at high altitude. We are working out how to retrieve the bodies,” Karki told the AFP news agency.

Nepali climber Kami Rita Sherpa, who scaled Everest for a record 32nd time earlier this month, returned to the capital, Kathmandu, on Friday, where he expressed concern about the experience of some climbers.

Pictures posted by climbers show a long line of people climbing up fixed ropes, queueing in the icy, low-oxygen high-altitude zones.

“The expedition this time felt a bit crowded,” said Kami Rita Sherpa, dubbed the “Everest Man”.

“The government should regulate this a bit … They should let in only climbers of quality – there should be a limit,” he told AFP.

On Thursday, a record number of climbers reached the 8,849-metre (29,032-foot) Himalayan peak from the Nepali side, according to tourism officials, who gave a preliminary total of 275 pending final confirmation.

The peak can be tackled from both Nepal and the northern face in Tibet, but Chinese authorities have closed the latter route this year.

The Guinness Book of World Records lists the highest number to climb Everest in a single day as 354, in May 2019.

Nepali tourism officials said the final number will be tallied after the climbs are verified, which require photographs and statements from the climber’s expedition company and guides.

Among the successful climbers on Friday was British guide Kenton Cool, who reached the top for the 20th time – extending his own record for the most ascents of the world’s highest peak by a non-Nepali.

The high number of climbers has rekindled concerns about overcrowding on the mountain – especially if poor weather shortens the climbing window.

The country has issued a record 492 Everest permits for foreigners this season, with a city of tents set up at the foot of the mountain for climbers and support staff.

Approximately 600 people – including guides – have summited Everest since the start of this year’s spring climbing season in April.

[Aljazeera]

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Sunrisers Hyderabad win big but Royal Challengers Bengaaluru, Gujarat Titans seal top two spots

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Eshan Malinga had Devdutt Padikkal holing out to deep midwicket [Cricinfo]

Sunrisers Hyderabad [SRH] won, and yet it didn’t feel like a win.  Royal Challengers Bengaluru [RCB] lost, but it didn’t feel like that either. In a nutshell, that’s how Friday night went in Hyderabad as RCB secured a top-two finish – they finished No 1 – despite a 55-run defeat, while SRH remained third.

On the back of half-centuries from Abhishek Sharma, Heinrich Klassen and Ishan Kishan,  SRH posted a monster total of 255, but had to restrict RCB to 166 or below for a chance to move into the top two. Rajat Patidar’s 56, Venkatesh Iyer’s 44 and Krunal Pandya’s unbeaten 41 ensured there were no blushes for RCB even as they finished the league stage with a defeat.

That left the top three teams all on 18 points, with Gujarat Titans sandwiched between the two teams at No. 1 and No. 3. Eventually, it came down to net run-rate to decide which team would go to Qualifier 1, and which team would play the Eliminator.

Going into the game, RCB wanted to win but also wanted to ensure they didn’t slip outside the top two should they lose. After SRH pumped 255 for 4 in 20 overs, the equation became clear – RCB had to avoid losing by 90 or more runs.

The start given by their new opener, Venkatesh, calmed the nerves. He gave Pat Cummins a four-six jab in the first over, and saved his best for the fourth over delivered by left-arm wristspinner Shivang Kumar. He punished Shivang for two sixes in one over, with a boundary sandwiched in between. Venkatesh fell for a 19-ball 44 but by then RCB had already scored 60 in 4.3 overs.

Even though Virat Kohli (15) failed to leave a mark in the game with the bat, a spunky 21 from No. 3 Devdutt Padikkal ensured RCB stayed on course for 166 even if the chase looked to get out of hand. Sakib Hussain,  who delivered 1 for 31 in four overs, was a major reason why RCB could not push on.

Patidar scored his fourth half-century of the season, staying in from the sixth over to the 19th. His 39-ball 56 included crisp boundaries off Eshan Malinga, Cummins and Harshal Patel, but fell to part-timer Travis Head. Krunal stayed till the end with an unbeaten 41 in 31 balls as RCB finished on a commendable 200 for 4 by the end.

Dropped in the sixth, seventh and eighth overs, Abhishek made full use of the chances RCB’s fielders offered him. On a flat surface with no grass, he did not let purple-cap holder Bhuvneshwar Kumar settle. His early boundaries over the off-side against Bhuvneshwar’s awayswingers moved into his takedown of Suyash Sharma’s googly and Romario Shepherd’s seam-up balls.

Abhishek was finally out in the ninth over, but by then his turbo-charged innings had SRH almost touching triple-digits.

Kishan had three fifties against RCB in his last three outings, and on Friday, he made it four in a row with a 46-ball 79. While Abhishek was going, Kishan took his time to score nine off his first ten balls, but then found his groove.

His best shot of the night was probably the leg-side slog towards the bigger boundary against Krunal in the 11th over, a sign that timing and form continued to be on his side. A sixth 50-plus score for Kishan this season also made IPL 2026 his most prolific as a batter. His sweeps, cuts and pulls allowed SRH to pump 73 runs across overs 11 to 15.

Klaasen’s story was similar, starting off with only five runs in nine balls, but one that was unlocked with his takedown of Josh Hazlewood in the 13th over. One six over cow corner and two more over long-on made Hazlewood leak 27. His effortless loft of Bhuvneshwar over extra cover took him close to yet another landmark, and he brought up his sixth half-century of the season in the 16th over. He fell in the 17th over to a low-arm slinger from Krunal for 52, but not before becoming the first player to cross 600 runs while batting at No. 4 or lower in a T20 tournament.

Nitish Kumar Reddy scored a blazing unbeaten 29 in 12 balls to give SRH a late push. He hit Krunal for two sixes in his first three balls in the crease and then deposited Hazlewood for another.

The late flourish took SRH past 250 while also leaving RCB’s senior seam-bowling pair of Bhuvneshwar and Hazlewood ducking for cover. Hazlewood conceded 55 on the night while Bhuvneshwar leaked 51. They both finished the evening wicketless.

Brief scores:
Sunrisers Hyderabad 255 for 4 in 20 overs (Abhishek  Sharma 56, Travis Head 26,  Ishan Kishan 79, Heinrich  Klaasen 51, Nitish Kumar Reddy 29*; Rasikh Salam 2-52, SuyashSharma 1-36, Krunal Pandya 1-24) beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru 200 for 4 in 20 overs (Venkatesh Iyer 44, Virat Kohli 15, Devdutt Padikkal 21, Rajat Patidar 56,  Krunal Pandya 41*, Tim David 15*; Eshan Malinga 2-33, Sakib Hussain 1-31, Travis Head 1-07) by 55 runs

[Cricinfo]

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Flood warning issued to the Aththanagalu Oya basin extended until 0600AM on Monday [25]

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The warning mentioned in the flood warning message No. 01 issued for the Aththanagalu Oya basin on 22.05.2026 at about 5.30 am will be extended for the next 48 hours.

It is requested that residents in the area and vehicle drivers running through those areas  pay high attention in this regard by the . Disaster Management Authorities are requested to take adequate precautions in this regard

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