Sports

Stunning Latham ton floors India in series opener

Published

3 years ago

2022/11/26

INDIA TOUR OF NEW ZEALAND, 2022

A stunning century from Tom Latham and Kane Williamson’s unbeaten 94 helped New Zealand chase down 307 in the series opener in Auckland against India on Friday. Latham and Williamson joined forces with a huge task ahead of them and eventually got the job done with ease in the end as their unbeaten 221-run stand gave New Zealand a 1-0 lead.

New Zealand didn’t get off to the greatest of starts. Finn Allen and Devon Conway did take on Arshdeep Singh to score 25 off his three overs but runs were hard to come by at the other end. Shardul Thakur had an excellent opening spell and that resulted in a wicket as he picked up Allen two balls after he was given a reprieve by Yuzvendra Chahal. Umran Malik then impressed on debut with his pace and Washington kept the runs in check to mount the pressure on New Zealand. It resulted in Conway succumbing eventually as he chased a full and wide delivery from Umran to edge behind.

Daryl Mitchell fell in similar fashion as he too chased a wide delivery from Umran to mistime it as the fielder near the point boundary took a simple catch to hand India the advantage by the halfway point. But slowly, things did change. Williamson for a change looked quite fluent after his prolonged lean patch but it was Latham who stunned the visitors. He played second fiddle initially, rotating the strike to good effect but once he got closer to fifty, Latham shifted gears.

The left-hander, who is renowned for playing spin well in the middle overs, took charge as he fetched a six and a four off successive deliveries against Umran to signal his intentions. The game was still in the balance with 11 overs left in the chase but the 40th over completely shifted the game in New Zealand’s favour. Shardul Thakur was ripped apart by Latham as he fetched four fours and a six to not only bring up a 76-ball century but also bring down the equation to 66 from the final 10. From thereon, the result was pretty much a foregone conclusion. Latham kept exploiting the shorter boundary on the leg side clearing it with ease as he took full toll of a shell-shocked Indian bowling unit to finish unbeaten on 145 to help his team chase down the total with 17 balls to spare.

Earlier in the day, half-centuries from the top order coupled with Washington’s cameo right at the death powered India to 306/7. The total did appear to be par on a surface where batting became easier as the innings progressed especially with the shorter boundaries either side.

Gill and Dhawan made a watchful start in the powerplay with the new ball moving around. With the surface under covers for a long time, Kane Williamson had no hesitation in opting to bowl first and his decision was vindicated. Dhawan did fetch a couple of boundaries in the opening three overs but quickly went into a shell with Matt Henry posing problems. After the first ten overs, India had only 40 on the board. Even though runs slowly started flowing post that initial period, the openers had a lot of catching up to do at a venue where the square boundaries were very short.

Both Dhawan and Gill eventually went past fifty and the latter was severe in his approach once he settled down. With the pair raising more than 100, New Zealand badly needed a wicket and Lockie Ferguson obliged. Gill timed one perfectly to get caught near the boundary whereas Dhawan fell in the following over. India were forced to retreat once again after Ferguson removed Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav in the same over.

Iyer then joined forces with Sanju Samson to get India going again. Even though New Zealand gave him a couple of reprieves, Iyer managed to recover to register a crucial fifty whereas Samson at the other end managed to settle down as well. At 240/4 after 44 overs, India were primed to go past 300 before Samson fell. Washington then took over and came up with some incredible strokes at the death to stun New Zealand with an unbeaten 37 off just 16 balls. It was good enough to carry India past 300 but not sufficient to prevent going 1-0 down.

Brief scores:

India

306/7 in 50 overs (Shreyas Iyer 80, Shikhar Dhawan 72; Lockie Ferguson 3/59) lost to New Zealand 309/3 in 47.1 overs (Tom Latham 145*, Kane Williamson 94*; Umran Malik 2/66) by 7 wickets

(Cricbuzz)

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Sports

Gujarat Giants comfortably overcome sloppy UP Warriorz

Published

7 hours ago

2026/01/23

Priyan

Sophie Devine enroute to her 50

Sophie Devine’s all-round effort (50 & 2-16) and Rajeshwai Gayakwad’s spell of 3 for 16 paved the way for Gujarat Giants to return to winning ways in Women’s Premier League 2026. They ended UP Warriorz two-match winning streak, beating the Meg Lanning-led side for the second time this season and moved to second spot on the points table with their massive 45-run win in Vadodara on Thursday.

Put in to bat, Giants made a solid start with Danielle Wyatt-Hodge, playing her first match of the season, cracking three boundaries early in the innings. Her stay lasted for only eight balls, but Beth Mooney (38) steadied the innings in the company of Anushka Sharma, Ash Gardner and Devine for a brief while.

A bit scratchy and out of form this season, Mooney couldn’t get the move on like she would’ve wanted. Just when it seemed like she was about to cut loose with a couple of boundaries off Chloe Tryon, she threw her wicket away in the 13th over, mistiming a shot to mid off.

Having paced away to 38 for 1 within four overs, the scoring rate had clawed back. With Warriorz striking at regular intervals, Giants found themselves at 93 for 4 in the 13th over. Devine measured her attack even in the death overs, but with wickets falling regularly at the other end while the batters looked for the big shots, Giants couldn’t find the required pace. However, Devine clubbed a couple of sixes in the last over, which yielded 16 runs, to register her half century and help Giants to a competitive 153 for 8.

In response, Warriorz struggled in the chase. Kiran Navgire fell for another duck; this time stumped to a delivery down the leg side by Renuka Singh. The onus fell yet again on Meg Lanning and Pheobe Litchfield to control the innings. It was going well till the fifth over when Lanning missed a pull to a delivery that didn’t rise as high as she had anticipated before she too was stumped in similar fashion to that of Navgire.

However, Litchfield, with her range of strokes, kept the scoreboard ticking. Even as Harleen Deol struggled to pick pace in her innings, at the time of the southpaw’s dismissal in the eighth over when she was dismissed playing a reverse sweep, Warriorz were very much in the hunt of the target. But her dismissal triggered a collapse.

Gayakwad, returning to the XI, ripped through the middle order, sending back Deepti Sharma, Shweta Sehrawat and S Asha in quick succession. By then, Harleen’s innings was also cut short for a painful 12-ball three. Devine returned for her second spell and ran through the tail while Tryon attempted to put up a solo fight. Warriorz were bundled out in the 18th over for 108.

Brief Scores:

Gujarat Giants Women 153/8 in 20 overs (Sophie Devine 50, Beth Mooney 38; Kranti Gaud 2-18, Sophie Eccelestone 2-22) beat UP Warriorz Women 108 in 17.3 overs (Phoebe Litchfield 32, Chloe Tron 30*; Rajeshwari Gayakwad 3-16, Sophie Devine 2-16) by 45 runs

( Cricbuzz)

Sports

After fall from grace, Asalanka aims to bat on for Sri Lanka

Published

9 hours ago

2026/01/23

Thilina Walpola

Charith Asalanka

Charith Asalanka faced the media for the first time since being stripped of Sri Lanka’s T20 captaincy and there was no bitterness in his tone. Instead, he sounded like a man choosing to play with a straight bat, pragmatic, reflective and determined not to let emotions drag him into more trouble after a bruising few weeks.

Asalanka has long been earmarked for leadership. Groomed for the role for more than a decade, he cut his teeth at Richmond College, Galle, winning multiple titles alongside a cohort that included Wanindu Hasaranga, Kamindu Mendis and Dhananjaya Lakshan. He was the obvious choice to captain Sri Lanka Under-19s and repaid that faith handsomely, steering the side to a series victory in England. Coached then by former great Roy Dias, Asalanka was marked out early as a special talent with an old head on young shoulders.

When he graduated to the senior side, the signs were clear, this was a captain-in-waiting. He did little to disappoint his backers. Under his watch, Sri Lanka ticked off important ODI series wins over Australia and India, arresting a worrying slide in the 50-over format. T20 cricket, however, proved a trickier pitch. Progress there was slow and the Asia Cup became his stumbling block. Questionable bowling changes, coupled with perceptions that he didn’t fully trust his bench, led to murmurs of clique-building, a charge that stuck.

Matters came to a head in Pakistan when players, despite security assurances from both boards, revolted and demanded an early return home. Asalanka was widely believed to be the ring-leader, summoned back and relieved of the captaincy. There is little doubt he had begun to look a touch too big for his boots. But cricket, like life, rarely deals in absolutes; there is no sinner without a past and no saint without a future.

Having paid his dues, Asalanka now deserves clarity and backing to move forward at least as the leader of the ODI side. He has continued to deliver with the bat, scripting several come-from-behind victories. It is the calmness he brings to nerve-jangling run chases that sets him apart, ice in the veins, eyes firmly on the prize. He remains Sri Lanka’s sole representative in the ICC’s top ten ODI batters, a testament to his consistency and temperament.

If Asalanka can recalibrate his leadership, steering the team by destiny rather than chasing cheap popularity, Sri Lanka may yet reap rich dividends in the years ahead. In cricket, as ever, the long game matters most.

https://www.telecomasia.net/

Sports

Mendis’ unbeaten 93 anchors Sri Lanka to 271 for six against England

Published

15 hours ago

2026/01/23

Thilina Walpola

Kusal Mendis

Kusal Mendis played the sheet-anchor with a surgeon’s touch as Sri Lanka posted a competitive 271 for six after opting to bat first in the opening ODI against England at Colombo’s R. Premadasa Stadium on Thursday.

The wicketkeeper batter was left stranded on 93, but his knock proved the glue that held Sri Lanka’s innings together after the top order wobbled against England’s spin.

At 124 for four, with leg-spinners Rehan Ahmed and Adil Rashid asking probing questions, Sri Lanka were staring down the barrel. Mendis counterpunched with nimble footwork and soft hands, milking the wrist-spin for singles and punishing anything remotely loose.

Mendis battled cramps midway through his innings but refused to throw in the towel, adding a vital 88 run stand for the fifth wicket with Janith Liyanage off 98 balls to steer the innings back on course.

Liyanage, very consistent in the lower middle order since his debut two years ago, looked set to cash in before Rashid struck on his return, inducing a return catch. His 46 came from 53 deliveries, laced with five fours and two sixes.

Mendis was on 92 heading into the final over, but the strike stayed away from him as Dunith Wellalage hogged the limelight. Sri Lanka were hardly complaining as the last over from Jamie Overton disappeared for 23 runs, Wellalage launching three fours and a six in a blistering cameo of 25 not out from 12 balls.

England leaned heavily on spin, sending down 33 overs through Rashid, Ahmed, Liam Dawson and Jacob Bethell, the second-most overs bowled by their spinners in an ODI, behind the 36 delivered in Sharjah against Pakistan in 1985.

Rashid was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with figures of three for 44 from his ten overs.