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West Indies’ next-gen T20I stars, plucked out of the Caribbean Premier League 2018, were tipped to challenge India more than their ODI and Test sides had done. Their batsmen cobbled only 109 for 8, but their bowlers, led by debutant quick Oshane Thomas, ambushed India’s top order and ran them close, before Dinesh Karthik and Krunal Pandya, also on debut, ushered the hosts home.Krunal, whose first touch with the ball was a fumble to the boundary in the game’s first over, hit the winning runs with an eye-catching chip over extra-cover. He had also played a part with the ball, claiming the wicket of his IPL team-mate Kieron Pollard, while conceding only 15.It was anybody’s game when 21-year-old Thomas and his captain Carlos Brathwaite pinned India down to 45 for 4 inside eight overs. Thomas set the speedgun on fire – like he had done at the CPL and in the ODI series – ripping out both Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan with 147kph inswingers. It was the third time in three innings on this tour that he had nailed Dhawan’s stumps. Brathwaite then dug the ball into the pitch and had Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul holing out for 1 and 16 respectively.Thomas continued to hit speeds north of 145kph, leaving Karthik and Manish Pandey ducking and weaving. At one point, Brathwaite even deployed Pollard at forward short leg. Karthik and Pandey saw him and Brathwaite off, putting on 38 for the fifth wicket off 45 balls.Left-arm spinner Khary Pierre, who like Krunal bowled constricting lines, gave India further jitters, when he beat Pandey with dip and turn, drawing a return catch. At that point, India needed 27 off 30 balls. While Karthik simply defended tightly or knocked the ball into the gaps, Krunal was more adventurous; even venturing a reverse-paddle off his third ball. They ultimately sealed the game with five wickets and 13 balls to spare in India’s first-ever T20I at home without MS Dhoni.West Indies’ T20I line-up was dripping with flair and depth – they had hitters until No. 10 – but their troubles at the top set them up for failure. In the absence of their gun openers Chris Gayle and Evin Lewis, West Indies used a make-shift opening pair in Shai Hope and Dinesh Ramdin, who had laboured to 24 off 30 balls in his most recent game as an opener, in the CPL final earlier this year. Before that, Ramdin had opened only twice in competitive cricket – both in 2007.He was uncertain against the swing of left-arm quick Khaleel Ahmed, but it was Umesh Yadav, playing only because of Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s illness, who found Ramdin’s outside edge. In the next over, Hope was involved in a farcical mix-up that might break Youtube hit counters. After he clipped the ball away to the right of short midwicket, Rahul hunted it down but lobbed the ball over wicketkeeper Karthik’s head. Both Hope and Shimron Hetmyer were dashing towards the non-striker’s end by the time Pandey swooped in from backward point and effected a run-out, despite colliding with Karthik.Hetmyer then flickered briefly before Jasprit Bumrah bounced him out with a 141kph short ball that was aimed at the armpit. Pollard, West Indies’ most experienced batsman, was all at sea against both swing and spin, as he tiptoed to 14 off 26 balls, before Krunal sent him off with a kiss.It turned into a full-blown collapse when Darren Bravo, Rovman Powell and Brathwaite all fell to Kuldeep Yadav. At 63 for 7 in 14.5 overs, West Indies were in danger of being dismissed for a sub-100 total, but Fabien Allen (27 off 20 balls) and Keemo Paul (15* off 13 balls) helped their side avoid that ignominy. Thomas’ blistering pace then made their total of 109 look bigger, but not big enough.

Nathan Coulter-Nile’s speed and Usman Qadir’s guile combined to upend Victoria and set the scene for a bonus-point victory by Western Australia in the domestic limited-overs match at the refurbished Junction Oval in Melbourne.While Victoria toasted the first match at their new home, the unseasonably early September date of the fixture made it a decidedly useful day to bowl first, an option handed to WA when the home captain Peter Handscomb chose to bat. Coulter-Nile bowled with notable swiftness opposite Jhye Richardson, and both claimed wickets with the new ball.As significant was the adrenaline rush Coulter-Nile appeared to generate with a handful of spiteful short balls, meaning that once he had pinned Nic Maddinson lbw with a late inswinger, the rest of the Victorian top order seemed intent on fighting fire with fire. Handscomb and Glenn Maxwell both fell to the hook shot, after Cameron White had been stranded when attempting to take the attack to the 25-year-old Qadir, whose mere presence in the WA XI was a tale in itself.The son of the formidable Pakistani wristspin bowler Abdul Qadir, he had trained with South Australia as long as five years ago, and was initially called up as a member of the Perth Scorchers squad for this summer’s Big Bash League. Some head-turning displays in practice matches for WA coaxed the Warriors coach Adam Voges into selecting Qadir as Ashton Agar’s replacement, and he would demonstrate his ability with an artful spell of 3 for 50 that showcased his dizzying variations and considerable accuracy.Victoria’s batting order had been the subject of some discussion before the match, and Handscomb reshuffled his deck by promoting White to open and Maddinson to No. 3, while Maxwell remained at No. 5. After the loss of three early wickets, it was up to Handscomb and Maxwell to rebuild things, but the latter was unable to contain himself after hooking Andrew Tye for a big six, top-edging an attempted repeat the very next ball to fine leg.Handscomb, following up his 89 in Sunday’s defeat of New South Wales at North Sydney Oval, was unable to go beyond 57 before falling in similar fashion, and from that point the hosts were never likely to set a significantly challenging tally in what would be the best batting conditions of the match.The Australia Under-19s product Josh Philippe, wicketkeeper Josh Inglis, D’Arcy Short and Marcus Stoinis all connected with a handful of big hits to quickly ensure a successful chase for WA, leaving the Warriors five points clear on top of the table in a competition where all six teams qualify for the finals regardless.

The PCB had to curtail the National Women’s Championship in Karachi on Monday after five players had a close shave following a fire incident in the team hotel.”Fortunately, no players were injured, as the PCB promptly evacuated the five players in the hotel at the time of the incident and relocated them safely to the Hanif Mohammad High-Performance Centre,” the PCB said in a statement.The PCB tried to find an alternate accommodation for the teams but because of the Ideas Defence Exhibition being held in Karachi, they could not find a hotel. The board said the decision to truncate the tournament was taken keeping in mind the health and safety of the players.”Additionally, the unavailability of alternative accommodations to meet the approximately 100 rooms of the required standards contributed to this outcome,” said the PCB statement. “To determine the tournament winner, the PCB has decided that the Invincibles and the Stars – the top-two teams after four matches each – will face off in the final. The date and venue for the final will be announced in due course.”

Glamorgan kept their perfect record in this year’s Metro Bank One Cup in tact thanks to a remarkable one-wicket win over Sussex Sharks at the Gnoll in Neath.Sussex had reached a total of 200 all out thanks to a brilliant eighth-wicket stand between Archie Lenham and Bertie Foreman and the two youngsters were also remarkable in tandem with the ball as Sussex came so close to claiming a thrilling win.Glamorgan’s chase had started brightly but a top-order collapse brought Sussex back into it. Eddie Byrom made the highest score of the match with his 51 and Billy Root made 48 batting with the tail. But it was the last-wicket pair of Andy Gorvin and Jamie McIlroy who took them home.Glamorgan now sit at the top of Group B with four wins out of four and Sussex remain winless in this year’s tournament having lost by one wicket for the second time this season.As was the case with Wednesday’s match on this ground against Notts Outlaws, Glamorgan won the toss and chose to bowl. And once again the Glamorgan seamers were on top from the very start of the match. It took 23 balls for Sussex to score their first runs as Timm van der Gugten and McIlroy got appreciable movement with the new ball.Van der Gugten has been extremely miserly in this competition so far, with 11 of his 37 overs being maidens. He made the first breakthrough when he had Tom Clark caught behind for 14. That wicket brought together Tom Haines and Henry Rogers, who put on 59, the highest stand of the Sussex innings.Haines fell for 44 off the bowling of Dan Douthwaite and that began a collapse that saw Sussex lose five wickets for 15 runs. It was Douthwaite and van der Gugten who were the chief destroyers as they claimed seven Sussex wickets between them. Douthwaite’s return of 4 for 44 was the second best in his List A career.When Daniel Ibrahim was caught at slip off a ball from Ben Kellaway that the ambidextrous spinner sent down with his left arm Sussex had stumbled to 130 for 7.The partnership of 51 between Lenham and Foreman brought some respectability to the total before another cluster of wickets saw Sussex bowled out for 200.The Glamorgan innings started brightly, and they made steady progress towards their target with the first 10 overs bringing 65 runs for no loss. Byrom, who made a career best 123 not out on this ground on Wednesday, raced past 50 from just 41 balls as he looked to attack an inexperienced Sussex attack.It looked as if Glamorgan would be heading towards a straightforward win and with drizzle in the air they were a long way ahead of the DLS score.As was the case in Sussex innings, a flurry of wickets changed things. Glamorgan lost five wickets for 42 runs with Ibrahim bowling Tom Bevan and Kiran Carlson from consecutive balls the moment when this contest became very interesting.Billy Root took on the responsibility of holding things together for Glamorgan in the face of some excellent spin bowling from Lenham and Foreman. The pair combined for 20 overs that went for 60 runs and claimed four wickets and they were the ones who kept the pressure on throughout this Glamorgan innings.When Root fell for 48 the match was on a knife edge and it took a nervy last wicket stand between McIlroy and Gorvin for Glamorgan to sneak over the line.

Imraan Khan, one-time Test cap in 2009 and Dolphins coach for the last five years, has been appointed the new batting lead at Cricket South Africa. Imraan is currently with the Test team in the West Indies, where he will work under national red-ball coach Shukri Conrad. He replaced Ashwell Prince, who was unavailable for personal reasons, as batting coach for this tour, and will now assume a more overarching role at CSA.In addition, CSA has also named former South Africa left-arm wristspinner Paul Adams as the new bowling lead with both appointments effective from September 1. Adams, 47, played 45 Tests and 24 ODIs and has been the spin-bowling coach for the South Africa Under-19 and Emerging men’s teams since 2023. He has previously assisted the South Africa A side and has domestic coaching experience with Cape Cobras, and more recently the Division 2 side Eastern Cape Iinyathi.Imraan has had a successful run as a provincial coach in South Africa’s top tier and has overseen the Dolphins to two four-day series titles – in 2020/21 and 2022/23 – a shared one-day cup in the 2020/21 season and to three CSA T20 Challenge finals.Under him, the Dolphins have produced several national players including Sarel Erwee, Keegan Petersen and Ottneil Baartman and Keshav Maharaj has developed into a competent leader. Imraan spent his entire professional career at the Durban-based union, where he played for 15 years.Related

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As a top-order batter, Imraan was best known for his long-format feats. He earned 161 first-class caps, scored 9,367 runs, including 20 centuries and averaged 36.58. His only Test cap came in 2009, against Australia, where he partnered Prince at the top of the order. He also featured in 121 List A matches and 51 T20s.”I want to thank the KZN Cricket Union for all their support,” Imraan said, in a statement. “It’s been an incredible journey, and I’ve loved starting my coaching career at the union that has been my home for many seasons. This is an exciting step in my path as a coach, but Kingsmead will always be home, and I will miss everyone here.”The Dolphins have yet to announce a replacement for Imraan, with the domestic season set to start with the T20 competition in late September.

Sam Curran and Liam Livingstone spoiled Rishabh Pant’s comeback as Punjab Kings started their IPL 2024 campaign with a four-wicket win at their new home ground in Mullanpur.After being sent in, Delhi Capitals were 137 for 7 in the 18th over when they decided to bring in Abishek Porel as the Impact Player. Porel smashed 32 off just ten balls to lift them to 174 for 9.But that also meant Capitals were going to be a bowler light during the chase. Ishant Sharma’s injury – he hurt his ankle after bowling just two overs – set them back further.Related

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Shikhar Dhawan and Jonny Bairstow started the Kings’ chase positively but both fell in the fourth over. Kuldeep Yadav then dismissed Prabhsimran Singh and Jitesh Sharma to keep Capitals in the game.But Curran and Livingstone took over after that and added 67 off 42 balls for the fifth wicket. Curran was out in the 19th over, for 63 off 47, but Livingstone stayed till the end and finished the game with a muscular six with four balls to spare.

Warner, Marsh give Capitals a breezy start

With Prithvi Shaw left out, David Warner and Mitchell Marsh opened the innings for Capitals and gave them a fast start. Marsh got going by hitting two fours off the first two balls he faced, from Curran. Warner joined in by carting Arshdeep Singh for a six and a four in the next over.Marsh then hit a six each off Kagiso Rabada and Arshdeep. He fell for 20 off 12 when he drove Arshdeep to cover-point where Rahul Chahar took a sharp, overhead catch.Warner kept batting aggressively and even flick-scooped Rabada for a six as Capitals finished the powerplay on 54 for 1. In the seventh over, Shai Hope, on IPL debut, danced down the track and lofted Chahar for a straight six.It was all Capitals at that stage till Harshal Patel came to Kings’ rescue, having Warner caught behind with a slower bouncer.

Pant’s first outing after the accident

Warner’s wicket brought Pant to the crease, and the Mullanpur crowd welcomed him with a standing ovation. Playing his first competitive game in 15 months, Pant looked a bit rusty. He was given a life on 4 when Harshal lost the ball in the sun at deep midwicket and ended up gifting a four.As if to rub it in, Pant then drove Harshal for his second boundary. Two balls later, though, Harshal bowled a slower bouncer; Pant failed to spot it and ended up popping it to backward point. His first outing with bat on comeback ended on 18 off 13 balls.3:06

Moody on Porel: That’s how impact subs should be used

The Porel gamble pays off

Harpreet Brar and Chahar dented Capitals further. Brar had Ricky Bhui caught down the leg side, and Tristan Stubbs holed out to long-off while trying an inside-out shot against Chahar.When Axar Patel was run out coming back for a second, Capitals were reduced to 137 for 7 with 2.5 overs to go. But, coming in as the Impact Player, Porel slashed hard at a short and wide delivery from Harshal and picked up a boundary to deep third.After 19 overs, Capitals were 149 for 8. With Harshal bowling the last over, Kings would have expected to restrict Capitals under 160. But that’s when Porel decided to have a say in matters, and smashed three fours and two sixes in a 25-run final over.That lifted Capitals to 174 for 9. At the start of the 20th over, ESPNcricinfo’s Forecaster had Capitals’ chances of winning at 38.9%. Porel singlehandedly lifted that number to 56.7%.

Dhawan, Bairtsow start with a flurry of fours

Just like the Capitals openers, Dhawan and Bairstow also started with positive intent. In the first three overs, they hit a combined six fours and looted 34 runs. However, both fell in the fourth over. Dhawan was bowled as he charged down the ground to Ishant, and Bairstow was run-out at the non-striker’s end when a Prabhsimran drive brushed a diving Ishant’s fingers and crashed into the stumps.But, in the sixth over, Prabhsimran tucked one towards midwicket, from where Ishant charged and fielded the ball. But as he was about to throw, he twisted his right ankle and had to be carried off the field.1:47

Has Harshal become too predictable?

Kuldeep keeps Capitals in the game

In the tenth over, Prabhsimran tried to go big against Kuldeep and holed out to long-on for a 17-ball 26, which included five fours. In the spinner’s next over, Jitesh attempted a reverse sweep, but not only did he miss the ball, he also lost his balance and ended up out of his crease. Pant was alert behind the stumps and broke the wickets.Kuldeep finished with figures of 2 for 21. He could have easily picked up a third, but Tristan Stubbs, running to his right from long-on, put down Curran, who was on 33 at that point.

Curran, Livingstone take over

Kings needed 63 from the last six overs when Curran and Livingstone clubbed Marsh for 18 to calm the nerves.Capitals still had hope when 28 were required from three overs. But with Ishant off the field, Pant had no option but to bowl Marsh again. He conceded another 18 to finish with 52 from his four wicketless overs.In the 19th over, Khaleel dismissed Curran and Shashank Singh off successive deliveries but it was too late by then. Warner dropping Brar on the last ball of the Khaleel over didn’t help either.With just six required from the final over, Sumit Kumar, who was making his IPL debut, had little chance against a set Livingstone. He started with two wides, and after a dot, Livingstone launched him over deep midwicket to seal the win.

Tanveer Sangha still wants to become a three-format bowler for Australia, as the spinner prepares to play his first Sheffield Shield match in almost two years.Sangha will turn out for New South Wales against Queensland on Monday, marking his first red-ball game for his state since March 2022.In the time since, the legspinner has played two ODIs and seven T20Is for Australia while missing large parts of Shield action while overseas or injured.Related

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Such is Sangha’s predicament, the 22-year-old has now played more white-ball matches for his country than red-ball matches at first-class level. But despite that, Sangha maintains red-ball cricket can still be a priority as he hopes to one day add a Baggy Green to his limited-overs playing caps.”I definitely think all three formats is definitely up for play,” Sangha said. “There’s plenty of time still. Everyone says I’m young. I’m 22. You’re not going to peak until late 20s.”It’s the most difficult skill in cricket. I’m still learning, trying to pull leggies, wrong’uns, toppies, sliders and executing all these different variations. I’m just trying to think long term rather than short. It’s a long career if I do make it and I do get through all of it.”Sangha does not have to look far to see the impact of white-ball cricket on Test hopefuls. Adam Zampa has long stated his desire to earn a Baggy Green, but Sangha’s NSW and Australian white-ball team-mate has played only two Shield games in the past four seasons.Glenn Maxwell is another player virtually devoid of Shield matches in recent seasons, with only one since 2019.”That’s what I’m learning now while I was away,” Sangha said. “What can I still do while on a white-ball tour to make sure I’m maintaining my red ball-skills, shapes and bowling style?”Is there something I can just do once a week? Where in one training session I just focus on something specific to red ball, just so I can maintain it That’s the balance that now I’m trying to learn to be an all-format player.”For now, though, Sangha can also see his red-ball game benefiting his white-ball cricket as he maintains a goal of this year’s T20 World Cup in the Caribbean.”Red ball there’s so much more repetition. There’s so much more trying to get the batter out because they have so much time,” Sangha said. “But in white-ball cricket, they want to come at you. There’s more opportunity to get them out.”In red ball there’s quite a bit of thought and time that goes into trying to plan to get a better out, rather than just trying to be consistent. That’s where the art of spin bowling is. I’ve seen it with Warnie, [Ravichandran] Ashwin and Gaz [Nathan Lyon]. Each season I’m trying to get better and better, and not just be the same bowler in a few years time.”

Azeem Rafiq has criticised the expected return of Colin Graves as Yorkshire chair and urged sponsors to walk out on the club if he is reappointed.Rafiq – who spoke out against the racism he experienced as a Yorkshire player, leading to the club being fined £400,000 and docked 48 points in last year’s County Championship, in addition to sanctions against six individuals – said in a Sunday newspaper column he feared “nothing had changed” in the 40 months since he first raised the issue and that “all we have are empty words and broken promises”.Graves has reportedly been in talks with Yorkshire about a return, having previously been chair between 2012 and 2015, presiding over part of a period in which the club has subsequently admitted to an ECB charge of failing to address the systemic use of racist or discriminatory language. Graves refused to appear as a witness in November 2021 at the parliamentary hearings which followed Rafiq’s complaints and sparked controversy in a TV interview last June when he described allegations of racism – which he said were never raised with him at the time – as “banter”.Related

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“Maybe there is still time to act, still time to show some backbone, but it’s running out fast,” Rafiq wrote in the “I cast my mind back to November 2021, when under intense political pressure the England and Wales Cricket Board suspended Yorkshire from hosting international cricket because of its slow and substandard response to my testimony. In the hours that followed dozens of companies ended their associations with the club.”My question now is for Yorkshire’s current sponsors… Does Colin Graves reflect your values? Is it acceptable to describe racism as banter?”Sponsors found their moral compass before, and they need to find it again, because any organisation supporting this is complicit in it. There is still time for them to act, to leave now and stop Yorkshire stepping back in time and undoing what progress they have made in the past three years.”In 2002, Graves bailed the club out with a multimillion-pound loan, of which some £14.9 million is still owed to the Graves Family Trust. Graves revealed last week that a new ownership offer had been accepted and his consortium was in exclusive negotiations until January 5. Depending on the result of those negotiations, club members could be asked to vote on his proposal at an extraordinary general meeting.”I still believe that everyone deserves a second chance,” Rafiq said. “If Graves wants to lead the club and the game in a positive direction he can’t just say the right things, he needs to do the right things – not just words, but action.”He has to show he has accepted what has happened in the past, and is ready to take substantial action and offer clear direction now and when difficult decisions are necessary in the future. It is fair to say there has been no sign of any of this yet.”