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Kishan’s sensational 77 floors Pakistan and puts India in Super Eights
A sensational 77 off 40 balls from Ishan Kishan on a slow, spin-friendly pitch helped India make it 8-1 against Pakistan in T20 World Cups and seal their place in the Super Eights. The surface at the R Premadasa Stadium was so tacky that Pakistan bowled 18 overs of spin after sticking India in, but Kishan rose above the conditions to take India to what looked like 30 above par. With three wickets in the first two overs, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah vindicated that feeling as India registered their biggest T20I win against Pakistan.
The impact of Kishan’s innings – after Salman Agha opened the bowling to get Abhishek Sharma for a duck – was clear from plain numbers. The rest of the India innings, including extras, managed just 98 off 80 balls, which was much closer to being representative of the conditions. As was Pakistan’s innings, which went at over a run a ball only thanks to Usman Khan’s 44 off 34.
It is a no-brainer to bowl offspin against two left-hand openers on a slow surface, but the choice of the bowler was surprising: Agha, and not Saim Ayub. Even with the new ball, turn and lack of pace was obvious, resulting in one run off first five balls and a second duck in two innings for Abhishek in his World Cup career.
This is only the second month of the year, and nothing rode on this match in terms of progression in the tournament, but this is an early contender of the innings of the year just because of how much better Kishan was than the average better on this surface. Shaheen Shah Afridi had the right idea to bowl into the surface even with the new ball, but the quick hands and low height of Kishan turned the first ball into a dismissive pull over forward square leg for a six. Then he hit Agha over mid-on against the turn.
A lot of focus has been around Usman Tariq, but Pakistan’s main spinner for long has been Abrar Ahmed with his mix of offbreaks and carrom balls. Kishan didn’t let him settle, sweeping him first ball for six.
Despite the first over ending at 1 for 1, Kishan owned the powerplay, taking India to 52 for 1, which was absolutely essential before the field spread out. The easing of field restrictions didn’t matter to Kishan, who steered the first ball after the powerplay for four. Then he hit Abrar right over his head. Then drove him over extra-cover. The second of these fours brought up his fifty in just 27 balls.
Curiously, despite having an offspinner and two mystery spinners who can turn the ball away from the left-hander, Pakistan went to Shadab Khan’s legspin against two left-hand batters in the eighth over, and paid with 17 runs. By the time Ayub dismissed Kishan, one ball after a reverse-pull for four, he had scored 77 out of 88 in 8.4 overs.
Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma seemed content to play within themselves, the first sign that India knew Kishan had done something special and all they needed to do was preserve their position. They added 38 off 33, including a first-ball four off Tariq, but when they decided to go again in the 15th over, Ayub proved to be a difficult proposition. He got Tilak on the sweep, Hardik for a golden duck, and nearly bowled Shivam Dube with the hat-trick ball. The amount of turn he got indicated India were still ahead in the game.
It was the return of Abrar and Afridi in the 18th and 20th overs that gave India the opportunity to achieve a final kick. Dube and Rinku Singh took the opportunity with 27 off 17 and 11 off 4. Between them, Afridi, Abrar and Shadab went for 86 in six overs, poor returns for the surface.He might have scored a golden duck in trying to impose himself on the game, but with the ball Hardik was meticulous. No driving length, no room, three dots, and out came the low-percentage pull for a four-ball duck for Sahibzada Farhan, Bumrah cashed in on the pressure of a first-over wicket maiden with swing and hard lengths to send back Ayub and Agha. Babar Azam missed a slog sweep off Axar Patel to make it 34 for 4 in 4.5 overs.The game was all but over but Usman Khan kept Pakistan interested with the innings that came closest to Kishan’s in terms of ease. He hit Pandya for a six and then took 27 off 15 balls from Axar with two inside-out fours and two through straight long-off after charging him. However, Axar had his own back when he saw Usman coming, fired one in, and fittingly Kishan was there to practically seal the win for India. Only formalities remained thereafter
Brief scores:
India 175 for 7 in 20 overs (Ishan Kishan 77, Tilak Varma 25, Suryakumar Yadav 32, Shivam Dube 27, Rinku Singh 11*; Salman Agha 1-10, Shaheen Shah Afridi 1-31, Saim Ayub 3-25, Usman Tariq 1-24) beat Pakistan 114 in 18 overs (Usman Khan 44, Shadab Khan 14, Faheem Ashraf 10, Shaheen Shah Afridi 23*; Hardik Pndya 2-16, Jasprit Bumrah 2-17, Varun Chakravarthy 2-17, Axar Patel 2-29, Kuldeep Yadav 1-14, Tilak Varma 1-11) by 61 runs
Suryakumar Yadav and Salman Agha did not shake hands at the toss [Cricinfo]
The Iranian warship Iris Dena was given permission by India to dock three days before it was torpedoed by a US submarine, India has said.
Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said Iran had sought permission for three of its ships to dock at Indian ports on 28 February – the day the US and Israel began a war on Iran – and permission was granted by India on 1 March.
The ships’ movements between 1 and 4 March are not clear and nor is why only one of them made it to India.
The sinking of the Iris Dena, with 130 sailors on board, in international waters off Sri Lanka’s southern coast on 4 March marked a dramatic widening of the war – and raised questions about India’s authority in its backyard.
It was the first military strike outside the Middle East since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran. President Donald Trump has said destroying Iran’s navy is one aim of the assault.
The three Iranian ships – Iris Dena, Iris Bushehr and Iris Lavan – had all participated in a military exercise hosted by India between 15 and 25 February in the coastal city of Visakhapatnam.
They left Indian waters on 25 February and were likely to have been in international waters on 28 February – when the US and Israel began attacking Iran.
“The Iranian side had requested permission on 28 February for three ships in the region to dock at our ports. This was accorded on 1 March,” Jaishankar told parliament on Monday. “Iris Lavan actually docked on 4 March in Kochi. The crew is currently in Indian naval facilities. We believe that this was the right thing to do.”
On 4 March, Iris Dena sank after being hit by a torpedo fired from a US submarine, killing at least 87 of its crew members.
According to the Indian Navy, the Iris Dena was operating about 20 nautical miles – roughly 23 miles (37km) – west of Galle in waters that fall under Sri Lanka’s designated search-and-rescue zone on the day it was struck.
The US tracks vessels across the world’s oceans, and a quarter of its submarine fleet of 65-70 is at sea at any given time, according to analysts.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said last week the US had “perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran’s shores” and that the warship was “struck in international waters without warning.”
Later, Sri Lanka said it had provided sanctuary for Iris Bushehr on 5 March, a day after it requested for docking following an engine malfunction.
Eventually, India also confirmed that Iris Lavan was docked in its southern city Kochi.
The BBC has written to the Iranian embassy in India and India’s external affairs ministry seeking clarification on the movements of the three Iranian naval vessels after Delhi granted them permission to dock.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has touted the attack on Iris Dena as an example of America’s military prowess, claiming it was “the first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War Two”.
While it is the first time since 1945 that an American submarine has sunk an enemy ship this way, the UK and Pakistan have both sunk vessels using torpedoes since then.
The Iris Dena was one of about 20 Iranian navy vessels destroyed since Israel and the US launched co-ordinated strikes on Iran.
[BBC]
The white ball series between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, scheduled to be held in the UAE from March 13 to 25, is likely to be postponed indefinitely due to the ongoing military conflict in West Asia.
While neither ACB nor SLC has issued an official statement, ESPNcricinfo has learned that both boards have agreed the series cannot take place in the UAE, keeping the ongoing crisis in mind. While both boards are still discussing alternatives, the bilateral series is unlikely to be shifted elsewhere due to logistical challenges.
The series comprising six white-ball matches was scheduled to start on March 13 starting with the three T20Is. The T20I leg was scheduled in Sharjah – on March 13, 15 and 17 – while the three ODIs were scheduled in Dubai on March 20, 22 and 25.
The series was set to be Afghanistan’s first under Ibrahim Zadran’s leadership, with the opener taking over the reins from Rashid Khan after a group-stage exit in the World Cup.
Last week, six matches of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 in Nepal involving Oman, UAE and the hosts were postponed because of the conflict.
The travel plans of several teams that were in India and Sri Lanka for the men’s T20 World Cup have also been disrupted owing to airspaces being closed or limited in West Asia.
Despite being knocked out over the last week, the contingents from West Indies and South Africa have been stuck in Kolkata, and received clarity only on Sunday, that they will be flying out on Tuesday.
[Cricinfo]
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has officially announced the appointment of Gary Kirsten as the new head coach of the men’s national team. Kirsten, who comes with a hefty coaching pedigree, will take over the reins on April 15 on a two-year contract that runs until April 14 2028.
The former South Africa batter will take over a Sri Lankan side seeking stability and a blueprint for consistency in the modern game. While outgoing head coach Sanath Jayasuriya was undoubtedly a household name, Kirsten is without question the most blockbuster appointment to the position in Sri Lanka’s history.
He famously guided India to their 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup victory. And under his tenure, South Africa reached the top of the Test rankings. Most recently, he served as a consultant for Namibia during the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
As a player, Kirsten was a stalwart for South Africa, amassing over 14,000 international runs and becoming the first from his country to reach 100 Test matches.
Kirsten hopes to join a long line of non-Sri Lankan coaches who have significantly influenced the nation’s cricketing history. This tradition includes Dav Whatmore, who orchestrated the historic 1996 World Cup win; Tom Moody and Trevor Bayliss, who led the team to World Cup finals in 2007 and 2011; and Chris Silverwood, the most recent foreign head coach before Sanath Jayasuriya took over as interim and then full-time coach in late 2024.
The appointment comes at a critical juncture following the team’s limp exit from the 2026 T20 World Cup, and marks a pointed departure from the post-2024 World Cup pivot towards coaches with more local knowledge.
Jayasuriya, who officially resigned as head coach following the tournament’s conclusion, will now lead the High Performance Centre. Sri Lanka enjoyed historic home successes in 2024 under his leadership – including a first ODI series win against India in 27 years – but their recent World Cup campaign ended in the Super Eight after disappointing losses to England and New Zealand.
Sri Lanka’s campaign was marked by competing philosophies, with batters in particular seemingly lacking clarity in their roles. SLC, in a media release, stated that the “appointment of the new head coach is part of Sri Lanka Cricket’s efforts to revamp the structure of the National High Performance Center,” and Kirsten will first and foremost be tasked with establishing a clear path to success.
With the 2027 men’s ODI World Cup set to be held in his native South Africa, alongside Namibia and Zimbabwe, Kirsten’s intimate knowledge of those conditions would have also likely played a role in his hire, but SLC will be hoping that his impact will be longer lasting and help build a winning culture similar to those he helped established in India and South Africa.
[Cricinfo]
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