Central Districts fast bowler Brett Randell has created history by becoming the first bowler in the history of first-class cricket to pick up five wickets in five balls. He recorded the feat on day two of a Plunkett Shield game against Northern Districts in Napier on Sunday.

In a spell from hell, Randell ran through the Northern Districts top-order, as they slipped from 4 for no loss to 9 for 5 in the space of five Randell deliveries.

Randell started the slide with the last ball of his second over when he removed opener Henry Cooper with a peach of an in-dipper that swung in late and crashed into Cooper’s off pole, the batter having shouldered arms.

With the first ball of his next over, Randell went around the wicket to Jeet Raval, and left his stumps in a mess. Randell then claimed a hat-trick with Joe Carter caught behind, though the batter looked displeased with the decision. There was no doubt with his fourth wicket when Robert O’Donnell edged Randell’s outswinger to Curtis Heaphy in the slips.

Randell then added a fifth wicket in five balls to his tally when Kristian Clarke flirted at a delivery well outside off, got a thin inside-edge with the ball bouncing back onto his stumps and disturbing his leg bail. Randell’s bowling figures at this stage read a barely believable 2.4-1-2-5. Ben Pomare denied Randell a sixth wicket in six, but history had already been made by then.

Soon after, Randell also became the first to take six wickets in eight balls in first-class cricket

Mitchell Santner won the toss in the final and elected to chase in Ahmedabad. Chasing in the night has been the way to go in matches between evenly matched side, but India have come to the final having launched a successful defence of a total in a night-time knockout match for the first time since the 2014 World Cup semi-final.

After all the talk of an offspinner against India’s left-hand heavy top order, New Zealand omitted to play the one who took out Quinton de Kock and Ryan Rickelton in one over in the semi-final. They instead gave Cole McConchie’s place to tall seamer Jacob Duffy. Amateur lip-readers suggested Suryakumar Yadav, India’s captain, asked Santner “no offspinner?” when the two captains exchanged team sheets.

In McConchie’s absence, New Zealand do have an offpsin option, that of Glenn Phillips, who didn’t bowl in the last match but was a handful on turning tracks in Test cricket when New Zealand whitewashed India in 2024-25.

India continued to put their faith in mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy, who went at 11.6 per over in the Super Eight. Eight of his leakiest sppells have come in the last two-and-a-half months. However, he has also picked up at least one wicket in his last 21 matches, the fourth-longest such streak.

As expected, Abhishek Sharma kept his place despite a run of low scores. He has scored only one half-century in this World Cup.

India  Abhishek Sharma,  Sanju Samson (wk),  Ishan Kishan,  Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (capt.),  Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube,  Axar Patel,  Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah,  Varun Chakravarthy.

New Zealand  Tim Seifert (wk),  Finn Allen,  Rachin Ravindra,  Glenn Phillips,  Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell,  Mitchell Santner (capt),  Jimmy Neesham, Jacob Duffy,  Matt Henry,  Lockie Ferguson

Answering to the call of the national mission ‘A Nation United,’ the Navy has tightened its grip on the island’s maritime boundaries.

Striking deep in the southern waters, a successful naval mission
resulted in the seizure of a local fishing trawler  and six (06) suspects, foiling a major drug smuggling attempt.

The intercepted trawler, carrying 02 suspicious sacks, and suspects were escorted to the Dikowita Fisheries Harbour today (08 Mar 26).

A specialised inspection conducted by the Police Narcotic
Bureau (PNB) confirmed that the sacks contained more than 102kg of heroin and over 900g of cocaine.

The detection was inspected on-site by the Deputy Minister of Defence, Major General Aruna Jayasekara (Retd), alongside the Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Kanchana Banagoda.

Speaking on this occasion, the Deputy Minister emphasized that under the guidance of the President and the supervision of the Ministry of Defence, the Tri-Forces, Police, and intelligence
agencies have intensified the “A Nation United” national mission, leaving no stone unturned.

He noted that during 2025, the tri-forces and police, in coordination with domestic and international agencies, conducted numerous successful operations. Notably, the Navy seized over 75 billion rupees worth of narcotics.

Despite national disasters and the escalating global conflicts
and growing reports of vessel distress in Sri Lankan waters, the Sri Lanka Navy stands vigilant around the clock, tirelessly fulfilling its critical mission in alignment with international maritime conventions.

Accordingly, the Deputy Minister commended, on behalf of the President, the Navy’s vital role in ensuring public safety and protecting the youth from drugs.

Adding further, he declared drug trafficking has become a major menace, stressing that all of society, not just authorities, must help eradicate it. He urged traffickers and dealers to quit the trade, noting that drugs cannot enter the country by sea or air. Addicts were also urged to do away with the habit, as a huge amount of money is spent on their rehabilitation.

The Deputy Minister further stated that the toxic drugs seized will remain in highly secure custody until the conclusion of legal proceedings, and arrangements have been made to destroy a large quantity of toxic drugs and case exhibits for which legal proceedings have been completed.

He also emphasized that law enforcement agencies have been granted the opportunity to operate independently. Accordingly, the public was urged to provide information regarding drug
traffickers via the hotline numbers 1818 and 1997.

Additionally, the event acknowledged the responsible journalism carried out by media institutions and journalists in raising public awareness about the drug menace.

The multi-day fishing trawler, along with the haul of narcotics and 06 suspects was handed over to the Police Narcotic Bureau for further investigation and legal proceedings.