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Big boys return for World Test Championship

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Former captain Angelo Mathews and several seniors have been recalled for the two match Test series against West Indies that will get underway on Sunday in Galle.

by Rex Clementine

Having dumped several seniors from Sri Lanka’s white ball teams, the national selection panel has recalled them for the two match Test series against West Indies that will get underway on Sunday at the Galle International Stadium. This is Sri Lanka’s first assignment in the World Test Championship and a total of 24 points (12 points per Test) is on offer.

Skipper Dimuth Karunaratne along with former captains Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal and Suranga Lakmal have been named in a 22 member squad. Middle order batsman Roshen Silva and top order batsman Oshada Fernando also have been recalled. Both Tests will be played in Galle in a ‘bio-secure bubble’.

Galle is traditionally a happy hunting ground for Sri Lanka but in recent times they have fared badly at the venue. The team lost both Tests against England this year as the spin duo of Jack Leach and Dom Bess from Somerset outperformed their Sri Lankan counterparts.

Left-arm spinner Lasith Embuldeniya, who missed the Bangladesh Tests due to injury also has been named in the squad as Sri Lanka look to bank on their spin options to beat West Indies. Returning to the Test squad along with Lakmal is his new ball partner Vishwa Fernando, who has been quite impressive in recent months.

The squad includes three uncapped players in top order batsman Kamil Mishara, leg-spinner Suminda Lakshan and right-arm quick Chamika Gunasekara.

There was a scare on Thursday after Sri Lanka’s fielding coach Shane McDermott tested positive for COVID and his close contacts Head Coach Mickey Arthur and Batting Coach Grant Flower were isolated. However, after a fresh pcr test, both Arthur and Flower have returned to the fold.

This is the final series for Sri Lanka’s coaching staff including Head Coach Mickey Arthur. The former South Africa First Class cricketer was immensely popular having built up a young team and done so well during the T-20 World Cup. He was seeking an extension to his contract that will end in December but SLC seems to be having other ideas. Arthur (56) will now join English county Derbyshire.

Sri Lanka

(From) Dimuth Karunaratne (Captain), Oshada Fernando, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva, Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Kamil Mishara, Minod Bhanuka, Roshen Silva, Ramesh Mendis, Chamika Karunaratne, Praveen Jayawickrama, Lasith Embuldeniya, Lakshan Sandakan, Suminda Lakshan, Suranga Lakmal, Vishwa Fernando, Dushmantha Chameera, Lahiru Kumara, Asitha Fernando, Chamika Gunasekara.



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October 10 at the Women’s T20 World Cup: West Indies eye winning momentum against bruised Bangladesh

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West Indies bounced back with a big win against Scotland [Cricinfo]

Bangladesh vs West Indies

Dubai, 6pm local time

Left-arm spinner Zaida James suffered a blow to the jaw while fielding off her own bowling in the match against South Africa and subsequently missed the Scotland game. A West Indies statement said she “fortunately does not have breaks and fractures” and continues to be monitored by the medical team.

West Indies earned a massive net run rate[NRR] boost after their win against Scotland, and winning this match will strengthen their semi-final chances. If Bangladesh lose this match, their hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals will take a big hit given their negative NRR. This will be West Indies’ first game of the tournament in Sharjah.

Despite being used to spinning tracks back home, Bangladesh – after a fine outing with the ball – were undone by England’s quality spin attack in the previous game in Sharjah. This match, too, will come down to how well the teams counter spin. The average first-innings total at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium this tournament is 119, and only twice have teams won chasing.

Bangladesh squad:
Nigar Sultana (capt, wk), Nahida Akter, Murshida Khatun, Shorna Akter, Ritu Moni, Sobhana Mostary, Rabeya Khan, Sultana Khatun, Fahima Khatun, Marufa Akter, Jahanara Alam, Dilara Akter, Taj Nehar, Shathi Rani, Disha Biswas

West Indies squad:
Hayley Matthews (capt), Aaliyah Alleyne, Shamilia Connell, Deandra Dottin, Shemaine Campbelle (vice-capt, wk), Ashmini Munisar, Afy Fletcher, Stafanie Taylor, Chinelle Henry, Chedean Nation, Qiana Joseph, Zaida James, Karishma Ramharack, Mandy Mangru, Nerissa Crafton

Tournament guide:
After a win in their first match against Scotland Bangladesh crumbled to a loss against England on a surface that aided spin. West Indies, meanwhile, lost their first match to South Africa but bounced back with a dominating win against Scotland thanks to an all-round show from Chinelle Henry.

Player to watch:
Bangladesh’s batting unit has not been up to mark in both games, but one player who’s stood out is Sobhana Mostary. She helped Bangladesh put up a competitive total scoring 36 against Scotland, and once again top-scored with 44 against England. Coming in after an early wicket against England, she dropped anchor as regular wickets at the other end piled the pressure on her. She hit a four and a six in her 48-ball stay on a slow surface against tight bowling and kept at it till the 19th over, but the target of 119 was too much of an ask in the end.

[Cricinfo]

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Nitish Kumar Reddy makes an all-round splash as India seal the series

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Nitish Kumar Reddy smashed seven sixes during his 34-ball stay [BCCI]

India pounced on poor bowling from the Bangladesh spinners to get out of jail on a Delhi surface that started off as tacky but kept on improving for batting as the night progressed. Nitish Kumar Reddy and Rinku Singh took India from 41 for 3 in the sixth over to 221, with a finishing kick provided by Hardik Pandya.  In better batting conditions, the India bowling still proved too good for Bangladesh, sealing the series win.

The Bangladesh spinners suffered on both comparisons. Their fast bowlers bowled 12 overs for 102 runs, but the spinners conceded 116 in their eight. And then the India spinners rubbed it in for them with nine overs for just 49 runs and five wickets.

After a toss that didn’t seem to matter – Bangladesh said they wanted to use the dew coming in later to their advantage and chase, India said they wanted to bat first to test their bowlers in dew – Bangladesh opened the bowling with Mehidy Hasan Miraz, whose arm balls were either too full or short and taken apart by Sanju Samson. On a tacky surface, the fast bowlers managed to draw misbehaviour though. Samson and Suryakumar Yadav fell to checked shots because of the slowness of the pitch, and Abhishek Sharma played on trying to slog Tanzim Hasan.

Rinku was the only one able to play smoothly from the start. Reddy got away twice in the early phase of his innings. When Litton Das dropped him down the leg side of Tanzim, Reddy moved to 6 off 4, and he was 19 off 14 when he survived an extremely close lbw – umpire’s call on impact on a reverse-sweep. That 19 included a six off a free-hit thanks to a no-ball by Mahmudullah.

Rishad Hossain is a legspinner full of promise, especially in T20 cricket. However, against a Rinku intent on all kinds of sweeps, he bowled his fifth ball too full and was slog-swept for six. And then Mahmudulllah offered the free-hit. In his second over, Rishad erred on length on both sides. Reddy took him for two sixes down the ground before Rinku pulled him for one. That 24-run over took India past 100 in 10 overs.

After that, only Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman managed an over without a boundary. Mehidy suffered the worst punishment as he couldn’t get Reddy off strike and kept bowling in his wheelhouse for 26 runs in the 13th over. A hundred in just his second match looked on but a slower ball from Mustafizur got the better of him to dismiss him for 74 off 34.

This was the right time for Bangladesh to squeeze in an over of spin but Hardik Pandya offered no concessions to Rishad’s errors in length. Rinku might have looked like the silent partner in the carnage but he got to his fifty at almost two a ball.

As India kept losing wickets looking for quick runs, Rishad managed some respite and got to bowl the last over for just eight runs. Bangladesh were still being asked to score their highest T20I total to stay alive in the series.

There’s a reason Bangladesh have never scored more than 215 in T20Is’  their batters don’t seem to have the game for it. Looking for the unprecedented, the batters took too many risks and got off to a quick start but it was a matter of time before the risks caught up with them. Parvez Hossain played Arshdeep on, Washington Sundar got Najmul Hossain Shanto twice in two games, Litton Das was all at sea against Varun Chakravarthy, Towhid Hridoy was done in by an Abhishek Sharma arm ball, and the game was all but done at 46 for 4 in the seventh over.

The rest was mere formalities, which involved a wicket for Riyan Parag, a stunning catch by Pandya, and a wicket at least for each of the seven bowlers India tried.

Brief scores:
India 221 for 9 in 20 overs (Nitish Kumar Reddy 74, Rinku Singh 53, Hardik Pandya 32; Taskin Ahmed  2-16, Tanzim Hasan Sakib 2-50, Mustafizur Rahman 2-36, Rishad Hossain 3-55) beat Bangladesh 135 for 9 in 20 overs  (Mahmudullah 41; Arshdeep Singh 1-26,  Varun Chakrawarthy 2-19, Nitish Kumar Reddy 2-23, Washington Sundar 1-04, Abhishek Sharma 1-10, Mayank Yadav 1-30, Riyan Parag 1-16 ) by 86 runs

[Cricinfo]

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Harmanpreet, bowlers demolish Sri Lanka to hand India big NRR boost

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Harmanpreet Kaur scored 52* off 27 balls (Cricinfo)

On a slightly cooler evening in Dubai, with semi-final qualification hopes in the balance, India brought their A-game to the fore to thrash Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup 2024. They put on their best batting show – perhaps the best among all teams in the tournament so far – and then were clinical with the ball and on the field to send the Asia Cup champions packing from the tournament.

Batting first, India rode on half-centuries from Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur  to post 172 for 3, the highest total in this T20 World Cup. They then skittled Sri Lanka out for 90 to register an 82-run win, India’s biggest in T20 World Cups, with Arundhati Reddy and Asha Sobhana picking up three wickets apiece. As a result of their massive win, their net run rate (NRR) jumped to 0.576, better than Pakistan’s and only behind Australia’s. This is notable as their NRR had taken a beating following the 58-run defeat to New Zealand in their opening match.

Before Wednesday, India’s opening stands against Pakistan and New Zealand were 18 and 11 respectively. In a tournament where batting first seemed to give teams an advantage, India batted second in both their matches. India got to bat first after Harmanpreet won her first toss and the openers set about their task steadily.

Sri Lanka pressed their spinners into service and both Shafali Verma  and Mandhana found it tough to break free. Shafali took the aerial route for India’s first four in the third over and did so again in the fourth and the fifth. She was on 24 off 20 in the fifth over; at that point Mandhana was on 6 off 10. But in a pattern different from the previous game, she was not being impatient or trying too hard.

Mandhana finally got going with a smack over the left-arm spinner Sugandika Kumari’s head as India ended the powerplay on 41 for 0. She also slogged another left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera for a six over wide long-on in the next year to signal the gear change. India managed to hit at least one four in each over between the third and the ninth. Chamari Athapaththu kept India guessing by giving her bowlers one-over spells till the 13th over, by then Mandhana overtook Shafali to get to a fourth T20 World Cup half-century.

It took a run-out to end India’s opening partnership at 98, their third-highest in T20 World Cups, when Athapaththu and Ama Kanchana – brought in for Hasini Perera – combined to catch Mandhana short on 50. On the very next ball, Athapaththu had Shafali miscuing a heave to cover. That over meant Athapaththu ended the one-spell strategy and bowled a second over in the spell – the 13th and the 15th overs.

Having batted at No. 4 against Pakistan, Harmanpreet came in at No. 3 and was soon joined by Jemimah Rodrigues before she even faced a ball. Few batters in the Indian line-up are at ease against spin than Rodrigues. She used the sweep to first put Ranaweera away and then moved in her crease to pull Athapaththu to the deep square leg boundary.

At the other end, Harmanpreet hit Kumari for a four and a six to ensure the openers’ platform did not go to waste. Rodrigues soon fell for 16 off 10 – she was given a life at 13 when Kavisha Dilhari dropped a dolly at deep midwicket – but played a vital role in injecting momentum after two quick wickets.

By then, Harmanpreet, with a cushion of a long batting line-up to follow, cut loose. She first paddled Kanchana past short fine leg before hitting two fours to spoil Athapaththu’s figures. Ranaweera could not hang on to a powerful hit at cover when Harmanpreet was on 22. She hit Kanchana and Prabodhani for two fours each in the last two overs to bring up only her third half-century in T20Is since the 2023 T20 World Cup. That blitz – 52 not out off just 27 balls – helped India take 46 off the last four overs, the most by any team in this T20 World Cup.

Renuka Singh struck twice in the powerplay to dent Sri Lanka, India vs Sri Lanka, ICC Women's T20 World Cup, Dubai, October 9, 2024
Renuka Singh struck twice in the powerplay to dent Sri Lanka (Cricinfo)

She had retired hurt against Pakistan due to a neck injury, and had come for the toss with a pain-relief patch on the right side of her neck but was termed fit for this game. However, she did not take the field in the chase, with Mandhana captaining the team

Heading into the T20 World Cup, Sri Lanka had the most wins since April last year and their win-loss ratio was better than that of India and Australia. Because they had hunted down 166 to win their maiden Asia Cup title, it would have been a tad premature to write them off in the 173-run chase in Dubai. But India were on the money from the word go, and never let them even get a sniff.
An athletic effort from Radha Yadav, substitute for Harmanpreet, on the second ball of the chase set the tone. She ran back to her right from backward point and dived full length to catch a miscue from Vishmi Gunaratne. Mandhana then handed the new ball to Shreyanka Patil at the other end, ahead of Deepti Sharma. Patil responded by pushing one slightly quicker and getting it to spin away, enticing a defensive, hard-handed poke from Athapaththu to gather the edge to slip. When Renuka Singh had Harshitha Samarawickrama, the star of the Asia Cup final, feather an outside edge in the third over, the challenge was almost quelled.
Legspinner Asha then joined the party in the middle overs, picking up three wickets using the sharp spin available to undo the batters. Her biggest wicket was that of Anushka Sanjeewani, who was the enforcer in the 37-run fourth-wicket with Dilhari. After floating a few up to the batter, Asha pulled the length ball to deceive the Sri Lanka wicketkeeper, with Richa Ghosh stumping her. Asha and Reddy, the Player of the Match against Pakistan, struck regularly through the middle overs. Both finished with identical figures of 3 for 19, Reddy’s efforts creditworthy after she was taken for 12 in her first over. For the third game in a row, Sri Lanka finished with a double-digit total in this competition.
It was an outing that raised India’s hopes of a semi-final qualification, with their last league game against Australia on Sunday.
Brief scores:
India Women 172 for 3 in 20 overs  (Harmanpreet Kaur 52*, Smriti Mandhana 50, Shafali  Verma 43, Athapaththu 1-34,  Ama Kanchana 1-29) beat Sri Lanka Women 90 in 19.5 overs  (Kavisha Dilhari 21, Anushka Sanjeewani 20, Ama Kanchana 19; Renuka Singh 2-16, Shreyanka Patil 1-15, Deepti Sharma 1-16, Arundhati Reddy 3-19,  Asha Asha 3-19) by 82 runs
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