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Clinical Australia sign off World Cup preparations with consolation win
Having posted the highest ODI total at the Saurashtra Cricket Stadium, Rajkot on Wednesday (September 27), Australia’s bowlers led by Glenn Maxwell put up a disciplined performance as the visitors registered a 66-run win over India to end the series with a much-needed consolation victory. The result is a morale-booster for Australia, given that this was the last international game before the World Cup that starts next week.
Chasing a strong target of 353, India started with an unconventional move of using Washington Sundar as the makeshift opener with skipper Rohit Sharma. With both Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan unavailable, the think tank had to try a new opening pair but the move didn’t really work. The opening stand went past fifty but it was dominated by Rohit who looked in sublime touch. Anything remotely short was dispatched and the ball-striking from the captain was lethal. Sundar, meanwhile, was scratchy and eventually fell to Maxwell after the first Powerplay.
Like the first innings where the older ball was tougher to score off, the pattern repeated and with the track slowing as well, the chase wasn’t easy. Rohit and Kohli stitched a stand to keep things going but neither were able to exert any sort of dominance on the Australian bowlers. The visitors used the surface cleverly, mixing up their pace and lengths to stifle the scoring rate. However, as long as Rohit and Kohli were together, India had their chance of getting across the line. Maxwell turned the tide with two diametrically opposite bits of incredible cricket.
It needed magic to get rid of Rohit the way he was batting and Maxwell produced a stunning one-handed return catch to send back the Indian skipper. It was almost a reflex action than anything else but crucially for Australia, Maxwell held onto it, showing as much surprise himself as the others who saw him do the feat. If the Rohit wicket had a huge slice of luck, the Kohli strike was the result of brilliant defensive bowling. Maxwell stifled the India no.3 by keeping the radar right. Kohli tried to use his feet multiple times but failed to do so as the length was pulled back. Eventually, a desperate pull found the top-edge and Smith took a good catch.
The twin strikes gave Australia the much-needed momentum and India were never really able to stage a comeback from there. Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul were able to get starts but the run rate kept mounting before the former was dismissed by Maxwell with a lovely arm-ball. With a long tail today, India couldn’t have afforded to leave too much for the end and unfortunately for them, that’s what happened. Tanveer Sangha was impressive alongside Maxwell while the other Aussie bowlers all did their parts perfectly well.
Earlier on, Australia put up their best batting performance of the series thanks to fifties from their top-four. Mitchell Marsh’s 96 was the cornerstone of the innings that was set up by David Warner’s early blitzkrieg. The left-hander was the aggressor for a change in his stand with Marsh and the tone was set up there. Although he fell in the first Powerplay itself, the platform was laid for Marsh and the others to do their bit. Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne also produced fifties, the latter’s being a vital one as it came in the backdrop of a mini-collapse. Smith looked in prime touch, as did Marsh with both batters making full use of the good early batting conditions.
Australia were 215/1 at one stage, looking set for a score in excess of 375, if not 400. However, the surface slowed down a touch and wasn’t as easy to score off against the older ball. With the dimensions of the ground also being bigger than Indore, the Indian bowlers managed to pull things back in the middle overs. Jasprit Bumrah bowled a brilliant second spell although he eventually ended up with his joint most expensive figures in the ODI format. That comeback from India briefly gave them hopes of restricting Australia to a 320-330 score but Labuschagne anchored the innings to a very strong score. With a slowing pitch and lack of batting depth, India needed their top order to go big but that wasn’t to be.
Brief scores:
Australia 352/7 in 50 overs (Mitchell Marsh 96, Steve Smith 74, Marnus Labuschagne 72; Jasprit Bumrah 3-81) beat India 286 in 49.4 overs (Rohit Sharma 81, Virat Kohli 56; Glenn Maxwell 4-40) by 66 runs
A Hong Kong court jailed pro democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai for 20 years on Monday after he was found guilty of national security offences last December
This is the harshest sentence under the controversial national security law, which China says is necessary for the city’s stability
Lai, who is a British citizen, was one of the loudest critics of Beijing, often wielding his pro-democracy paper, Apple Daily, as a tool of protest
Six former executives of the paper were also jailed on Monday – from six years and nine months to 10 years
Hailed a hero by the pro-democracy movement, Lai is seen as a traitor by Beijing. He has always denied the charges against him
The UK calls for the Chinese government to release Lai, saying it will “rapidly engage further” with Beijing. But Hong Kong’s chief executive welcomes the sentence, saying Lai used “used Apple Daily to poison the minds of citizens”.
Lai’s son, Sebastien, tells the BBC his father’s punishment is “basically a death sentence”.
(BBC)
Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza decided to field first against Oman in the men’s T20 World Cup match at the SSC in Colombo. Both teams were pleased to arrive in Sri Lanka early to get themselves attuned to the conditions.
Zimbabwe have Blessing Muzarabani back in the squad after he missed the tri-series in Pakistan in November.
Oman, meanwhile, include 44-year-old Aaamir Kaleem the oldest player in the tournament – after he came into the side in place of Hasnain Shah, who was injured after the squad was named.
Zimbabwe return to the tournament after missing out on the previous edition in West Indies and the United States of America. They had made it to the Super 12s of the 2022 T20 World Cup but failed to progress through the qualifiers for the 2024 tournament. They completed qualification alongside Namibia; Brian Bennett was the tournament’s top run-scorer, while Brad Evans and Richard Ngarava were among the leading wicket-takers.
Zimbabwe are bolstered by the return of Graeme Cremer, whose November 2025 comeback marked the longest gap between T20I appearances.
Oman are one of three qualifiers from the Asia-Pacific region, alongside Nepal and the UAE. They have previously appeared in the 2016, 2021, and 2024 editions of the T20 World Cup.
Oman: Jatinder Singh (capt), Aamir Kaleem, Hammad Mirza, Wasim Ali, Karan Sonavale, Jiten Ramanandi, Vinayak Shukla (wk), Sufyan Mehmood, Nadeem Khan, Shah Faisal, Shakeel Ahmad
Zimbabwe: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Dion Myers, Brendan Taylor (wk), Sikandar Raza (capt), Ryan Burl, Tashinga Musekiwa, Brad Evans, Wellington Masakadza, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani
Scotland may have suffered a blip the last time they faced Italy in a T20I but ensured they picked up the first points of their 2026 T20 World Cup campaign after a dominant performance at Eden Gardens. George Munsey’s 54-ball 84, supported by cameos from Brandon McMullen and Michael Leask, followed by Leask’s four-wicket haul helped Scotland spoil Italy’s debut in the tournament. The 73-run win gave Scotland two points after their defeat to West Indies in Kolkata two days ago.
Brief scores:
Scotland 207 for 4 in 20 overs (George Munsey 84, Michael Jones 37, Brandon McMullen 41, Richie Berrington 15, Michael Leask 22*; Ali Hasan 1-21, Grant Stewart 1-44, Thomas Draca 1-37, JJ Smuts 1-38) beat Italy 134 in 16.4 overs (Anthony Mosca 13, JJ Smutts 22, Harry Manenti 52; Michael Leask 4-17, Brad Currie 1-12, Brad Wheal 1-29, Mark Watt 2-24, Oliver Davidson 1-33 ) by 73 runs
(Cricinfo)
Hong Kong court jails media tycoon and British citizen Jimmy Lai for 20 years
Muzarabani returns as Zimbabwe opt to bowl against Oman
Munsey and Leask spoil Italy’s T20 World Cup debut2
Italy captain Wayne Madsen injures shoulder in T20 World Cup opener
Canada look for early splash against favourites South Africa
Italy opt to bowl; Scotland play Brad Wheal
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