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Suryakumar, spinners deliver comfortable series-levelling win
A captain’s knock from Suryakumar Yadav and a clinical bowling performance saw India hammer South Africa by 106 runs in the third T20I against South Africa at the Wanderers, Johannesburg on Thursday (December 14). The result meant that the T20I series ended at 1-1 after the opening game was washed out due to incessant rain. The contrasting conditions of the day-night game were on display as India piled on the runs during the sunny evening and once the lights took effect, there was enough movement for the new ball bowlers apart from the turn that the spinners extracted. Regular wickets meant that South Africa were never in the chase.
Given how different the conditions turned out to be across the two innings, you’d have expected the South Africa captain to have a bat first, given the batting friendly conditions on offer. However, having chased well in the last game, you couldn’t have faulted the decision. As they say, hindsight always look good.
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill got the visitors off to a flier with a flurry of boundaries in the first two overs. Debutant Nandre Burger started on an erratic note while Markram’s decision to share the new ball didn’t begin well either. India had gotten the perfect start to the innings in terms of momentum.
In his first game of the series, Keshav Maharaj made an instant impression. He got Shubman Gill LBW although the batter was unlucky with ball tracking showing it to be missing leg stump. Strangely, Gill who is trigger-happy when it comes to taking reviews, didn’t opt for one. Tilak Varma fell the very next ball as his attempts to go downtown only resulted in a miscue to mid-off. If India had landed the opening punch, South Africa had truly given an apt riposte.
India were in need of a partnership to turn things around. Jaiswal and Suryakumar provided just that. Jaiswal continued to bat with high-intent and found the boundaries while his captain took a backseat after an initial flurry. However, once he got his eye in, Suryakumar was also back to his menacing best as he plundered the bowling at will. The 13th over of the innings, bowled by Andile Phehlukwayo, went for a whopping 23 runs and it was the kind of momentum the Indian skipper was seeking to hit top gear.
The back end of India’s innings was solely about their skipper’s decimation of the bowling attack in his trademark fashion. Jaiswal fell in the bid to up the ante but that only spurred his partner to go harder. With the temptingly short square boundaries at the Wanderers, Suryakumar peppered them at will and in the process, brought up a record-equalling fourth century in T20Is. As is the case with any notable innings that he produces, this too was an exhibition of jaw-dropping strokeplay and powerhitting.
After 18 overs, India were 186/3 with Suryakumar going berserk and Rinku Singh well-set. A score in excess of 210 looked on the cards if not 215 but a flurry of wickets ensued as India eventually just limped past the 200-run mark. Burger redeemed himself a fraction with a terrific penultimate over while Lizaad Williams also backed it up with a streetsmart 20th over. Both bowlers were also helped by some outstanding ground-fielding with the catches of Suryakumar and Rinku being potential maximums on most days at this ground. India had put a solid score on the board but South Africa managed to end on a high.
Under lights, the Wanderers pitch looked a different demon from the one when India were batting. Mohammed Siraj got the ball to hoop around and bowled a maiden to start the innings, leaving Reeza Hendricks all at sea. Mukesh Kumar also started well with the movement on offer keeping both the pacers in the game.
Perhaps, it was the pressure of a big chase and the inability to start briskly, but both openers were guilty of gifting their wickets away. Breetzke went for a loose cut with no room on offer and dragged it onto the stumps while Hendricks took on Siraj’s arm with a quick single to mid-on, only to be found short with a direct hit. South Africa needed a solid platform to launch their chase but instead got a shaky beginning.
The one thing that was constant in both innings was the turn on offer for the spinners. It wasn’t extravagant but the variable bounce made it a tough ask, especially for South Africa’s batters who were tied down by Ravindra Jadeja’s accuracy and Kuldeep Yadav’s guile. Wickets fell regularly and within no time, the game was a no contest. The wrist spinner eventually helped himself to a five-wicket haul as South Africa’s batters imploded in sensational fashion. David Miller hit a few big shots but such was the nature of the implosion that there was little he could have done to take the game deep.
Brief scores:
India 201/7 in 20 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 100, Yashasvi Jaiswal 60; Keshav Maharaj 2-26) beat South Africa 95 in 13.5 overs (David Miller 35; Kuldeep Yadav 5-17, Ravindra Jadeja 2-25) by 106 runs
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake visited the main temple of the Sri Lanka Ramanna Maha Nikaya in Narahenpita this morning (05), and received his blessings Aggamaha Panditha Makulewe Wimala Nayaka Thero, of the Sri Lanka Ramanna Maha Nikaya,
The Anunayaka Theros, Lekhadhikari Theros, and other senior clergy of the Nikaya were also present at the occasion. The Maha Sangha chanted Seth Pirith to invoke blessings upon the President.
Following this, the President engaged in a brief discussion with the Chief Prelate and the Maha Sangha regarding the current economic, social and political situation in the country.
During the discussion, the monks requested that when appointing Ambassadors and High Commissioners, the President should ensure that qualified, intelligent individuals who can properly represent the country abroad are selected. Similarly, they urged the appointment of responsible individuals, free from political considerations, for the positions of Governors.
The Maha Sangha also emphasized that when appointing Secretaries to Ministries, the President should choose suitable individuals for the respective roles.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake stated that his goal is to make all decisions in line with the policies outlined in his manifesto. He further mentioned that he plans to introduce relevant reforms after the upcoming General Election.
Most Venerable Makulewe Wimala Nayaka Thero also expressed confidence that the trust placed in the President and his team by the people during the last Presidential Election will be fulfilled, and that the blessings of the Sangha are with him to help realize the expectations of the public.
New Zealand opened their women’s T20 World Cup with a resounding 58-run win over pre-tournament favourites India and ended their ten-match losing streak in T20Is in the process.
Sophie Devine’s unbeaten 57 off 36 after a flying start from openers Georgia Plimmer and Suzie Bates helped New Zealand post 160 for 4, which proved way too much for India.
India’s batters couldn’t handle the New Zealand pace attack, as Rosemary Mair starred with four wickets and Lea Tahuhu picked up three. But it was all set up by legspinner Eden Carson, who struck a double-blow early, removing openers Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana. With Harmanpreet Kaur – at No. 3 for the first time in 18 months – falling for a 14-ball 15 inside the powerplay, the chase got tricky for India, who were a batter short, and lost six wickets for 60 runs to be bowled out for 102 in 19 overs.
After conceding 55 runs in the powerplay, India fought their way back into the game in the middle overs but they couldn’t keep Devine quiet. Between the last World Cup and this one, she had batted mostly at No. 4 barring two games – this was after playing at the top of the order from 2017 to early 2023 – to bring more power to the middle order. But Devine had not found a lot of success this year, averaging 21.25 in nine innings with just two half-centuries. The New Zealand captain had also come into the tournament with scores of 5, 12, 4, 5. But it didn’t matter on Friday as Devine once again proved her credentials as a big-match player to lift New Zealand.
After seven boundary-less overs, she punished S Asha for back-to-back fours, dancing down the track to smash one through mid-off and pulling one away to deep square-leg off the back foot. She kept the scorecard ticking and didn’t spare the pace of Renuka Singh either, hitting consecutive fours in the 15th over. She found the extra-cover boundary to bring up her 21st T20I fifty. Along the way, Devine shared a 46-run stand off 26 balls with Brooke Halliday for the fourth wicket and gave New Zealand a strong finish.
New Zealand showed their intent from the word go with Suzie Bates pulling the first ball of the innings to deep square-leg for four, and she stepped down the track as early as third ball for a drive past mid-off for her second four, all off Pooja Vastrakar. Plimmer – who is fresh off her first maiden T20I fifty, against Australia – also unsettled Deepti Sharma in the third over. This included a six when she came down the track and lofted one over long-on. They also benefited from India’s sloppy fielding – Richa Ghosh dropped Bates, who got a top edge to the keeper, in the final over of the powerplay. The duo brought up the team 50 in 34 balls, hitting five fours and a six, to end the powerplay strongly at 55 without losing a wicket and set the platform for a competitive total.
Both Arundhati Reddy and Asha have been in and out of India’s XI this year but when they got an opportunity on a big stage on Friday, they delivered. Bowling the final over of the powerplay, Reddy had leaked 12 runs. Asha was then introduced into the attack and she started with a six-run boundary-less over. Coming back for her second, Reddy removed Bates with a slower one for 27 and provided India the breakthrough they craved. In the following over, Asha tossed one up and forced the well-set Plimmer to step out and heave one into the hands of Smriti Mandhana at long-on, bringing out footballer Leandro Trossard’s goggles celebration to mark the moment. Bowling in tandem after the powerplay, the pair conceded just 20 runs off 30 balls from the seventh to the 11th to slow down New Zealand.
The game wasn’t without its share of drama.
India thought they had run out Amelia Kerr in the 14th over and the batter also thought she was gone, and headed for the dugout before being stopped by the fourth umpire. The umpires had decided the ball was dead when the dismissal was effected.
Kerr and Devine were trying to sneak a second off the last ball of the over when the ball was in Harmanpreet’s hands, and it seemed the ball was dead. They ran, Harmanpreet threw, Ghosh broke the stumps, and Kerr was well short of getting back to the striker’s end.
Meanwhile, after the first run, Deepti, the bowler, had asked the umpire to hand her cap back and had also collected it.
Play was paused for a few minutes with India coach Amol Muzumdar having a conversation with the fourth umpire. But it was decided the ball was dead, and the run-out dismissal would not be counted as the ball was not “in play”.
India had three fast bowlers in the XI for the first time in a T20I this year, with Vastrakar, Renuka and Reddy all included. Left-arm spinner Radha Yadav, India’s second best bowler this year in terms of wickets taken, was left out to accommodate an extra seamer. The six-bowler strategy meant Harmanpreet was promoted to No. 3 with Jemimah Rodrigues and Ghosh at Nos. 4 and 5, respectively. But playing with one batter fewer did not help India on a day their batting unit underperformed.
Chasing a competitive 161, India lost their top three inside the powerplay and the middle order faltered against the hard lengths of Tahuhu before Mair’s swing troubled the lower order. Ghosh consumed 19 balls to make 12 and Deepti made 13 off 18. Harmanpreet’s 15 remained the top score.
Brief scores :
New Zealand Women 160 for 4 in 20 overs (Suzie Bates 27, Sophie Devine 57*, Georgia Plimmer 34, Renuka Singh 2-27, Arundati Reddy1-28, Asha Sobhana 1-22) beat India Women 102 in 19 overs (Harmanpreet Kaur 15; Rosemary Mair 4-19, Lea Tahuhu 3-15, Eden Carson 2-34, Amelia Kerr1-19) by 58 runs
(Cricinfo)
Sharjah, 6pm local time
Bangladesh now run into a much stronger side in England, who are more aggressive than their 2023 version, and are carrying spinners aplenty for this edition. England also have a fully fit team to choose from. Left-arm spinner Linsey Smith has returned, and also present are Sophie Ecclestone, Charlie Dean, Sarah Glenn and Alice Capsey, with her handy part-time offbreaks. England are likely to go with three frontline spinners for a pitch that aided turn and didn’t see much bounce.
Bangladesh were restricted to 119 for 7 by Scotland in the opener, and scoring bigger or quicker against England will be a lot tougher. Bangladesh were the worst fielding side on the opening day, having put down four chances, and they will have to tighten that aspect if they want to think about beating England for the first time in women’s T20Is. This is an evening game, yet not as much dew is expected in Sharjah compared to Dubai, which might have been the reason why Pakistan opted to bat in the evening game here on Thursday.
Bangladesh squad:
Nigar Sultana (capt, wk), Nahida Akter, Murshida Khatun, Shorna Akter, Ritu Moni, Sobhana Mostary, Rabeya Khan, Sultana Khatun, Fahima Khatun, Marufa Akter, Jahanara Alam, Dilara Akter, Taj Nehar, Shathi Rani, Disha Biswas
England squad:
Heather Knight (capt), Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Danielle Gibson, Sarah Glenn, Bess Heath, Amy Jones (wk), Freya Kemp, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Linsey Smith, Danni Wyatt
Tournament form guide
” In what is a ‘home’ World Cup for Bangladesh, they started things off on a positive note, with a 16-run win against Scotland after they had also beaten Pakistan in the second warm-up. England started their warm-ups with a 33-run loss to Australia , before beating New Zealand by five wickets.
Player to watch:
Ecclestone is, without doubt, England’s best spinner, but don’t take your eyes off legspinner Sarah Glenn . She has been England’s second highest wicket taker since the end of the 2023 T20 World Cup, with a tally of 26 just behind Ecclestone’s 29. But Glenn has gone for much fewer runs per over with an economy rate of 5.27, compared to Ecclestone’s 6.25. A handy bat down the order, this will be the third T20 World Cup for Glenn at the age of just 25.
(Cricinfo)
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