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India see off Wade threat to make it 4-1
India managed to withstand a late assault from Matthew Wade to pick up another win and finish the T20I series 4-1. The visitors, chasing a consolation win, appeared to be in a very good position when a dangerous-looking Wade was dealing in boundaries. But Arshdeep Singh, making a return to the XI in this contest, delivered an excellent final over to deny the visitors in Bengaluru.
India had only 10 runs on the board off the first 15 balls after Australia opted to bowl. Yashasvi Jaiswal then stepped up with a flurry of boundaries and looked set for more before he got a top-edge while attempting a pull to fall for 21. Ruturaj Gaikwad followed him soon as the right-hander never got going on the night. Ben Dwarshuis then picked up the huge wicket of Suryakumar Yadav as the Indian skipper failed to fire despite walking out to bat fairly early.
A promising partnership was brought to an end by Aaron Hardie in his final over but Axar Patel stepped up for the home side alongside Shreyas. Axar hit a valuable 21-ball 31 before succumbing to a knuckle ball whereas Shreyas at the other end managed to bring up a fighting half-century with a six and a four off successive deliveries again as India managed to finish with a fighting 160 on the board.
While India made only 9 in their first two overs, Australia got off to a flier with Travis Head hammering the first three balls of the run chase to the fence. He added one more in the second over as Australia looked to assert their dominance. But Mukesh Kumar gave India a vital breakthrough as Josh Phillippe dragged one onto his stumps before Ravi Bishnoi did his thing. The legspinner has been very impressive in the powerplay this series and his stocks only grew after he managed to castle Head, who had just smashed him for a six the previous ball. While Australia had knocked off 50 in the powerplay, Bishnoi struck again with another googly to peg them back.
Walking out to bat early, Ben McDermott was only dealing in sixes and those hits ensured Australia kept up with the asking rate. Having pulled just his third delivery for a six, McDermott sent one to the roof before going into a shell with Australia losing wickets. A six from Tim David then appeared to put Australia back on track before McDermott hammered his fourth biggie of the night. Australia appeared to be in a very good position when a fifth six brought the equation down to 60 from 42 before a thrilling climax sealed it for India.
India nudged ahead when David top-edged a pull as Axar finished with excellent figures of 1/14. McDermott then smashed another six, this time off Arshdeep, to bring up a fifty but his wicket in the same over brought India firmly back into the contest. Mukesh then came back to strike twice in one over that stunned Australia and put India on top again. However, Wade’s brilliance in the 18th over changed the entire complexion. Taking on Avesh Khan, Wade managed to hit three back-to-back boundaries and suddenly, the equation was down to 15 off 12. That became 11 off 8 when Wade added to his boundary tally and from thereon, it was definitely Australia’s game to lose. But there was another twist in the offing as Arshdeep delivered an excellent final over. Needing 10 from 6, Wade couldn’t connect the first two deliveries and was dismissed off the next, which ended the chase once and for all.
Brief scores:
India 160/8 in 20 overs (Yashawi Jaiswal 21, Shreya Iyer 53, Jitesh Sharma 24, Axar Patel 31; Aaron Hardie 1-21, Jason Berendorff 2-38, Been Dwarshuis 2-30, Nathan Ellis 1-42, Tanveer Sangha 1-26) beat Australia 154/8 in 20 overs (Travis Head 28, Ben McDermott 54, Mathew Wade 22; Arshdeep Singh 2-40, Mukesh Kumar 3-32, Ravi Bishnoi 2-29, Axar Patel 1-14) by 6 runs
At least 51 people have been killed and more than 100 injured in a nightclub fire in North Macedonia, according to the interior ministry.
The blaze broke out in the early hours of Sunday at the Pulse club in Kocani, a town around 100 km (60 miles) east of the capital, Skopje.
Footage posted on social media shows the building engulfed in flames, with smoke billowing into the night sky.
The fire is said to have started around 03:00 (02:00 GMT) during a performance by the band ADN, a hip-hop duo popular in the country, with the venue still ablaze hours later.
As many as 1,500 were said to have been attending the concert.
Local media say that the fire may have been caused by the use of pyrotechnic devices, with footage showing sparks from the stage catching on the ceiling before rapidly spreading.
[BBC]
In the fifth T20I in Pakistan’s tour of New Zealand last year, the hosts had been dismissed for 92 chasing 135 in Christchurch. In the first T20I of this five-match series, that was a winning total for New Zealand after Kyle Jamieson and Jacob Duffy took apart a new-look Pakistan side.
The dropping of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan signalled that Pakistan were trying to step out of their comfort zone in T20 cricket, which is broadly very good. But on Sunday, they saw the risks that also come with it as they were bundled out for 91, their lowest total in New Zealand and their fifth-lowest in the format.
The Black Caps followed the WhiteFerns in bringing up comprehensive victories on a double-header day in Christchurch as Jamieson and Duffy shared seven wickets between them, the bounce they were able to generate being too much for the Pakistan batters.
Jamieson, back in the T20I set up for the first time in nearly two years, set the tone for New Zealand with a wicket maiden, Mohammad Haris only able to help a short ball behind to wicketkeeper Mitch Hay.
Debutant Hasan Nawaz then got a leading edge off Duffy to Jamieson at deep third as Pakistan lost both openers without a run on the board. This was only the second time both Pakistan openers were dismissed for ducks.
Jamieson then had Irfan Khan edging behind in the third over as Pakistan slumped to 1 for 3 – their lowest score at the fall of the third wicket.
Tim Robinson then evoked rather fresh memories of Glenn Phillips from the Champions Trophy as he took a blinder at backward point to give Jamieson his third, with the scoreboard reading 11 for 4.
Pakistan were restricted to 14 for 4 in the powerplay, and it could have gotten worse immediately afterwards, but Tim Seifert dropped Khushdil Shah at point off the captain Michael Bracewell.
Agha then looked to drive a full ball from Zakary Foulkes the next over, only to get an edge but Daryl Mitchell shelled the chance in the slip cordon.
Agha and Khushdil used their second lives to arrest Pakistan’s free-fall. They finally looked to up the tempo in the tenth over, when Agha reverse-swept Ish Sodhi for four behind point and Khushdil smacked him over midwicket for Pakistan’s first six.
In the next over, Khushdil took Bracewell on for back-to-back sixes to try and put some pressure back on the bowlers. But it was a very short-lived phase of ascendancy for Pakistan.
Agha tried another reverse-sweep off Sodhi’s next ball, but he could only pick out deep backward point. Duffy was brought back into the attack for an over, and the move paid dividends as Khushdil slapped a short ball to backward point. Pakistan were 64 for 6 after 13.
Debutant Abdul Samad and Jahandad Khan then fell trying to play big shots before Duffy returned in the penultimate over to take the last two wickets, picking up from where he left off in the T20I series against Sri Lanka where he finished as the highest wicket-taker
Pakistan’s 91 is the fourth-lowest T20I score by any team in New Zealand.
After playing out the first over, Seifert got New Zealand going with a pull through midwicket off debutant Mohammad Ali. He then picked up three boundaries off Shaheen Afridi’s next over, including another pull in front of square.
Seifert gave the charge to Ali to pick up another boundary, before getting two off Jahandad’s first over, and the fifth of the innings. Finn Allen, largely a spectator until then, also joined the party as he lofted Jahandad down the ground for the first six of the chase.
Pakistan switched to spin and Seifert welcomed Abrar Ahmed with a massive hit over long-off. Abrar got the better of him with a carrom ball that Haris did well to hold on to behind the stumps off the bottom edge, but New Zealand by then had effectively won the match in the two powerplays.
Allen hit another six and two fours, while Robinson also got a six to his name as New Zealand completed the chase just one ball after the halfway mark of the innings.
Brief scores:
New Zealand 92 for 1 in 10.1 overs (Tim Seifert 44, Finn Allen 29*, Tim Robinson 18*; Abrar Ahmed 1-15) beat Pakistan 91 in 18.4 overs (Salman Agha 18, Khushdil Shah 32, Jahandad Khan 17; Jacob Duffy 4-14, Kyle Jamieson 3-8, Zakarie Foulkes 1-11, Ish Sodhi 2-27) by nine wickets
[Cricinfo]
Strong all-round performances fromSuzie Bates and Brooke Halliday along with a breakout bowling display from Bree Illing helped New Zealand breeze to a seven wicket win against Sri Lanka in Christchurch to level the series at 1-1.
New Zealand’s bowlers set the tone with a frugal display after winning the toss and electing to bowl, restricting Sri Lanka to 113 for 7 in their 20 overs before Bates and Halliday made 47 and 46 not out respectively as the hosts cruised home with seven wickets and nine balls to spare. Bates was named player of the match after also bowling four overs for just 16 runs while Halliday also took 1 for 12 with the ball in addition to posting her highest T20I score.
Illing made use of the early morning start picking up a wicket in the opening over and a second in the seventh as she bowled straight with the new ball to finish with figures of 2 for 18 in just her second T20I after going wicketless in her debut in game one of the series on Friday
Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Athapaththu was well held as Eden Carson, Jess Kerr and Bates were rotated at the other end with the latter bowling a maiden to Athapaththu in her first over. The scoreboard pressure told when Kerr castled her for 23 off 29 in the following over, the ninth of the innings, with Sri Lanka stalled at 3 for 46.
That soon became 4 for 53 when debutant Flora Devonshire picked up a wicket in her first over in international cricket.
Sri Lanka steadied thanks to a 54-run stand between Manudi Nanayakkara and Nilakshika Silva. Nanyakkara made 35 from 32 with four boundaries while Silva made 20 from 22. But neither player could break free as Bates bowled four overs for just 16 runs while Halliday also took a wicket in her two overs for 11 runs. Kerr took a wicket in the final over to finish with figures of 2 for 29.
New Zealand’s chase started poorly with Georgia Plimmer caught behind in the second over for just 4. Emma McLeod followed suit in the seventh over for a sluggish 11 from 13 but Bates controlled the chase at the other. Safe in the knowledge she needed less than a run-a-ball, she struck just four boundaries and only faced consecutive dot balls once in her 46-ball innings before she was caught and bowled in 15th over with 29 still needed to win.
Halliday ensured they were knocked off with ease striking multiple boundaries in both the 16th and 18th overs as she made 46 not out from 40 balls to steer her side home and go past her previous T20I best of 38.
The series will be decided in the third T20I in Dunedin on Tuesday.
Brief scores:
New Zealand Women 117 for 3 in 18.3 overs (Suzie Bates 47, Emma McLeod 11, Brooke Halliday 46*; Inoshi Priyadarshini 1-19, Sugandika Kumari 1-16, Achini Kulasuriya 1-11)beat Sri Lanka Women 113 for 7 in 20 overs (Chamari Athapaththu 23, Harshith Samarawickrema 11, Kavisha Dilhari 12, Manudi Nanyakkara 35, Nilakshika Silva 20; Bree Illing 2-18, Jess Kerr 2-29, Flora Devonshire 1-12, Brooke Halliday 1-11) by seven wickets
[Cricinfo]
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