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Warwickshire completed a level-headed chase of 185 on day three to beat Yorkshire by five wickets at Headingley, securing their second Rothesay County Championship victory of the season.The Bears started the day on 15 without loss, and openers Rob Yates and Alex Davies contributed 41 and 31 respectively. However, they reached lunch with a 20-point haul by no means secure at 109 for four, needing 76 more.But they were able to move into the top three places in the Division One table midway through the afternoon tea thanks to first-class debutant Zen Malik, who finished 49 not out off 73 balls, including a pulled six off George Hill to win it.While Warwickshire won their second game in four at the start of this season, Yorkshire have now lost two from four and are in the top flight’s bottom three.The hosts will be mightily frustrated at the fact they were unable to capitalise on the one-game availability of England batting duo Harry Brook and Joe Root. The latter’s second-innings 90 was their best score in four innings.However, consistently, they just didn’t bowl well enough on a grassy pitch offering significant assistance for the bowlers. Overseas Australian debutant Jordan Buckingham, for example, went at more than seven runs an over across the two innings on his debut, striking only twice.And the Bears were deserved winners, backing up last month’s one-wicket success at Durham.While they didn’t dominate this fixture, they were on top for much of it and were able to capitalise on winning an important toss and bowling Yorkshire out for 205 on day one.Their new-ball seamer Ethan Bamber excelled with match figures of nine for 107. Australian Test all-rounder Beau Webster should also be credited for an excellent 85 in the first innings, which secured what proved to be a decisive 48-run lead for the visitors.Captain Davies started positively this morning. Of the seven boundaries he hit in his 31, three of them came off one Hill over. Two were clipped through the leg-side and the other handsomely driven through the covers.However, he was bowled through the gate by a beauty of an in-swinger from Ben Coad, losing his off and middle stumps in the process as the score fell to 45 for one in the 13th over – the day’s 10th.Buckingham then had Hamza Shaikh caught behind at 60 for two, immediately before a 10-minute rain delay, and Yates and Dan Mousley fell to New Zealand quick Ben Sears and Jordan Thompson respectively to boost Yorkshire before lunch.Left-handed Yates had been more reserved than his opening partner Davies, though by no means becalmed.He pulled Buckingham for four through midwicket and clipped Thompson through the same region for a couple of boundaries in as many overs as the score reached 85 for two, 100 more needed for the visitors.There would have been some nerves in the away dressing room when Yates was undone by extra bounce from Sears and edged a looping catch to Root at first slip before, at the start of the morning’s final over, Thompson uprooted Mousley’s off-stump – 109 for four in the 30th over.Though, those nerves wouldn’t have been around for long given how settled 27-year-old Malik looked in a fifth-wicket partnership of 59 with Ed Barnard.Right-hander Malik was strong on both sides of the wicket, and when he beautifully drove Thompson for four straight of mid-on to move into the thirties, Warwickshire were 136 for four needing 49 more.All-rounder Barnard, meanwhile, had an excellent game with three wickets in each innings, 41 with the bat first time around and then 37 to help get them over the line.With the Bears closing in, he even nonchalantly ramped Sears for six over third but edged the same bowler behind with 17 needed. It was a purely consolatory strike.

Australia fast bowler Darcie Brown will miss the third and final T20I against New Zealand in Wellington after flying home for family reasons.Brown bowled superbly in the first two matches of the series, claiming 1 for 22 from four overs in Auckland and 2 for 23 from four in Mount Maunganui, to help Australia close out the series 2-0 will one game remaining.But Brown has departed the tour ahead of the final game. Cricket Australia confirmed that no replacement would come into the squad. Megan Schutt was rested from the second T20I and appears likely to come back into the side.Australia have already lost vice-captain Ashleigh Gardner to a broken finger after suffering a blow while attempting to take a return catch in the first game in Auckland.Queensland offspinning allrounder Charli Knott flew in ahead of the second match in Mount Maunganui but is yet to make her international debut.

Majestic batting from Nat Sciver-Brunt, middle-overs acceleration from Hayley Matthews, and power-hitting from Harmanpreet Kaur helped Mumbai Indians post a daunting total of 213 in the Eliminator. That proved to be too much to chase down, and Mumbai’s 47-run win extended their head-to-head dominance over Gujarat Giants to 7-0 and powered them into their second WPL final in three years. On Saturday, they will face Delhi Capitals in a repeat of the 2023 finale.Giants were without Deandra Dottin for their first knockout game in three WPLs after the allrounder hurt herself only five minutes before the toss, and was replaced by England’s Danielle Gibson. Giants didn’t do themselves any favours as they misfielded through the innings and put down four catches that cost them heavily. In the run chase, they lost their three top-scorers this season – Beth Mooney, Harleen Deol and Ashleigh Gardner – in the powerplay as Mumbai held on to their catches and effected run-outs.Phoebe Litchfield scored a quickfire 31 off 20 balls, but once she was stumped off Amelia Kerr, Giants were all but out of the chase at 107 for 5, with the asking rate above 13 an over.

Matthews, Sciver-Brunt set solid platform

Put in to bat, Mumbai went back to opening with Yastika Bhatia, but it didn’t change her fortunes. After collecting three boundaries in her 14-ball stay during a sedate powerplay in which MI didn’t take too many risks, Bhatia pulled Gibson to midwicket to fall for 14.The wicket brought out the in-form Sciver-Brunt, who didn’t bat an eyelid to get going alongside Matthews, who started with only 17 runs off her first 22 balls before taking off. Sciver-Brunt took the aerial route straightaway. She ended the seventh over with consecutive boundaries, which Matthews followed up by smacking three of her own off the next three balls from Priya Mishra to power the run rate past eight an over. Three of those five consecutive fours came off short deliveries, a length the Giants bowlers often bowled and got punished for.Their sloppy fielding didn’t help either, leading to a number of boundaries. The first came in the ninth over when Sciver-Brunt drove to deep cover, where Simran Shaikh let the ball go through her. Soon after, Sciver-Brunt reverse paddled Gardner for her fifth boundary in 12 balls. Kashvee Gautam then let one through at point when Matthews cut one square. By then, Matthews had started to find her A game, and a six off Tanuja Kanwar’s short ball brought her fifty up off 36 balls, and the team’s 100 in 11 overs.With Mumbai at 111 for 1 after 12 overs, Meghna Singh and Mishra brought some sort of balance back by conceding only 13 runs in two overs. But from the cushion of 124 for 1 with six overs to go, it was time to floor the pedal.Harmanpreet Kaur smashed 36 off just 12 balls•BCCI

Harmonster demolishes Giants again

Harmanpreet already had her helmet on in the dugout, and was shadow-practicing her big swings while waiting for her chance. Sciver-Brunt deposited Gibson over deep midwicket and long-on to raise a 29-ball fifty. Giants, meanwhile, continued their wretched run on the field when the reliable Gardner dropped Matthews on 57 straight down the ground.Matthews made them pay immediately, hitting Mishra for back-to-back sixes over long-on and cover with deft footwork. Such was Mumbai’s luck that even a top-edge off the next ball went for four. But that luck ran out when Matthews edged Gautam behind for 77 off 50 balls, and Mooney took a sharp catch standing up.Harmanpreet averaged nearly 79 against Giants before this game, and the number could have fallen had Mishra held on to a catch at midwicket when she was on 1. But Mishra didn’t, and Harmanpreet became Harmonster. She went deep in the crease and opened her stance to cart the ball around, whether it was in the slot or not.Harmanpreet started the 18th over by hammering Kanwar for 6, 4, 4 – even that sequence included a misfield – before ending the over with her trademark slog-sweep for six. That over went for 22 in all. Sciver-Brunt also got a life in the next over – sandwiched between two boundaries off Gibson – when Kanwar made a mess of a skier. Giants were punished yet again next ball, but finally ended the partnership when Litchfield caught one at deep midwicket, leaving Sciver-Brunt seven short of 500 runs this season, and three short of 1000 in the WPL overall.Harmanpreet was gifted two balls in the slot at the start of the last over, and she happily collected sixes off both. Meghna, however, finished well, giving away just two off the next three balls before nailing a yorker that led to Harmanpreet being run out for 36.Danielle Gibson’s dive wasn’t enough for Amanjot Kaur’s flat throw from the deep•BCCI

Mumbai’s fielders show how it’s done

It took only five balls for the hosts to show their superiority in the field on the night, despite the presence of dew. When Shabnim Ismail drew Mooney’s edge, Matthews leapt to her right from first slip to grab the ball with both hands. When Harleen Deol and Gibson got into a mix-up in the fifth over, 20-year-old Sanskriti Gupta put in a dive at point and hurled the ball quickly to the wicketkeeper to find Deol short. And just before the halfway mark, Gibson also fell short when attempting a second run, and her dive wasn’t enough to beat Amanjot Kaur’s flat throw from the deep.In between, Gardner lost her off stump against Matthews, which meant Giants were 43 for 3 in the powerplay. Litchfield was their only hope and she used her feet regularly against Kerr and struck two boundaries against Ismail that showed her class on either side of the wicket. But when Litchfield ventured out of the crease against Kerr once again and missed, Bhatia did the rest to leave Giants 107 for 5.

Another run-out and Giants go down

Giants hardly had any steam left in their tank, and their poor running added to their misery. Next to fall short was Gautam, who was sent back when she hurried out for a quick single after drilling the ball to cover, from where Harmanpreet fired the ball back for the sixth wicket.With another 102 runs to get from the remaining 42 balls, and their top five back in the hut, Giants’ only hope of getting anywhere close to their target was Bharti Fulmali. She started with a straight six off Amanjot, dispatched Kerr to the leg-side boundary, and flayed Matthews for consecutive boundaries behind square. But when Fulmali backed away looking for a third boundary in a row, Matthews beat her attempted cut and knocked the stumps over.Mumbai continued their stellar fielding display as Harmanpreet took a diving catch to send Shaikh back, and Sciver-Brunt ran to her left at deep midwicket to seal victory in the last over.

The BCCI’s ten-point policy document for the senior men’s team has been sent to the various state associations that will be hosting India-England games in the coming weeks, according to a PTI report. India host England for five T20Is, followed by three ODIs, starting with the first T20I at Eden Gardens on January 22.Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president Snehasish Ganguly confirmed that his association made arrangements for the Indian team in accordance with the policy document on Sunday, the first day of training at Eden Gardens.”In keeping with the BCCI’s 10-point guidelines for players, the Cricket Association of Bengal has not arranged any separate means of conveyance [for individual players],” Ganguly was quoted as saying by PTI. “Only a team bus has been arranged for the Indian team. There won’t be any personal vehicles for the cricketers.Related

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“We have to follow the guidelines, which clearly state that all players are expected to travel with the team to and from matches and practice sessions.”The entire squad travelling to and from training and matches together on the team bus was one of the points put forward by the BCCI this past week, after a review meeting to go over India’s recent poor run in Test cricket. Among those present at the meeting were head coach Gautam Gambhir, the Test and ODI captain Rohit Sharma, chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar, and BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia.The policy document said that going forward, a player will need a “pre-approved” nod from the head coach or head selector to travel separately from the rest of the squad to training or games, and all players would have to wait for the entire training session or game to be over before they left the ground. “This rule ensures commitment and fosters a strong work ethic within the team,” the document said.Another point was around participation in domestic cricket being mandatory for players. Rohit had spoken about this at a press conference in Mumbai on Saturday, when the team for the Champions Trophy was being announced. At the same press conference, Agarkar had said the new policies were not a “diktat” or “punishment”, but “you have some rules in place and when you’re playing for the national team you just follow those rules”.

Zimbabwe have picked three uncapped players – Trevor Gwandu, Tashinga Musekiwa and Tinotenda Maposa – in their ODI squad for the upcoming three-match series at home against Pakistan.While Gwandu and Musekiwa have both played T20I cricket for Zimbabwe, quick bowler Maposa, 21, is uncapped in international cricket. He has played just three List A matches so far, picking up four wickets at an economy rate of 6.29. Blessing Muzarabani and Richard Ngarava will continue to lead the seam attacks in both ODIs and T20Is.”The series against Pakistan is an important platform for Zimbabwe, and we believe the ODI squad we have selected is well-rounded,” David Mutendera, Zimbabwe’s convener of selectors, said in a statement. “The presence of seasoned players like Craig [Ervine], Sikandar [Raza] and Sean [Williams] provides stability, while young players like Clive Madande, Brian Bennett, Dion Myers and the uncapped trio bring energy and the potential for game-changing moments.”Sean Williams, who had missed the white-ball series in Sri Lanka earlier this year because of an injury, returned to the ODI side, but was omitted from the T20I squad. ODI captain Craig Ervine was also left out of the T20I side. Williams last played an ODI in July 2023.Zimbabwe retained the same T20I squad that had won the men’s T20 World Cup 2026 sub-regional qualifier in Kenya last month. During that tournament, Zimbabwe had broken the record for the highest T20I total.”We felt it was essential to maintain the same T20I squad that excelled in Kenya,” Mutendera said. “This continuity allows the team to build on the cohesion and confidence that drove their outstanding performance.”The white-ball series against Pakistan will begin with the first ODI on November 24 and will run until December 5, with Bulawayo set to host all the games – three ODIs and three T20Is.

Zimbabwe ODI squad for series against Pakistan

Craig Ervine (capt), Faraz Akram, Brian Bennett, Joylord Gumbie, Trevor Gwandu, Clive Madande, Tinotenda Maposa, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Brandon Mavuta, Tashinga Musekiwa, Blessing Muzarabani, Dion Myers, Richard Ngarava, Sikandar Raza, Sean Williams

Zimbabwe T20I squad for series against Pakistan

Sikandar Raza (capt), Faraz Akram, Brian Bennett, Ryan Burl, Trevor Gwandu, Clive Madande, Wessly Madhevere, Tinotenda Maposa, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza, Brandon Mavuta, Tashinga Musekiwa, Blessing Muzarabani, Dion Myers, Richard Ngarava

A series defeat at home to New Zealand, sealed by a pair of spinners who had come on this tour with a combined two first-class five-fors, has led to questions about whether there has been a decline in India’s ability to play the turning ball on turning tracks. India head coach Gautam Gambhir wasn’t willing to go that far, but he did highlight a decline in defensive skills as a result of widespread T20 cricket.”Sometimes you’ve got to give it to the opposition as well,” he said on Thursday, a day before the third Test in Mumbai. “I think Mitchell Santner was outstanding in the last game, but yes, we’ll keep working hard. We’ll keep getting better. That’s about it. Guys are putting a lot of hard yards in the nets. Yes, ultimately it’s the results that matter when you’re playing international cricket, but I don’t think so that our skill against spin has actually gone down.”India have suffered collapses in every innings of this series. Forty-six all out happened in highly unusual conditions in Bengaluru, but from there, they have lost 7 for 54, 6 for 73 and 5 for 40, which has forced them to work on how to bat time in tough conditions.Related

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“Test cricket is about playing sessions,” Gambhir said. “I think if we can start to learn how to play sessions, and the kind of quality we have in our batting line-up, I think if we end up playing four to four-and-a-half sessions, we’ll have a lot of runs on the board.”The inability to meet this fundamental demand has highlighted the challenge that modern-day batters face in the era of T20 cricket. “We need to defend better,” Gambhir said. “I think that is something which is important. And especially on a turning track. Because if you’ve got confidence on your defence, a lot of things can be sorted. And that is something which we need to keep getting better, keep working on.”Because, again, I’ll keep going back to the same answer that a lot has to do with limited over-cricket and T20 cricket as well that when you’re so used to muscling the ball, that you end up forgetting the soft hands and all that stuff, which probably used to happen eight or 10 years back. So that is something, that is why I said that a complete cricketer is a cricketer who plays T20 format really successfully and also the Test cricket really successfully. He can adapt his game. And that is what growth is.”Growth is not only going about hitting the ball in the stands. It’s also about batting sessions on a turning track, where you know that you will not be able to hit in the stands, but you will be able to rotate better. For that, I think the foundation is very, very important.”The Mumbai Test is likely to be played in conditions that should help the spinners as well. At the end of India’s practice session on Thursday morning, the captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli took a good, long look at the pitch with assistant coach Abhishek Nayar. Kohli then left, but Gambhir and bowling coach Morne Morkel joined Rohit and Nayar and the four of them were involved in a discussion that lasted about 20 minutes. A little while later, the groundstaff began to brush away whatever grass that had managed to cling to the surface. Batters may have to unlearn the skills that help them succeed in T20s to do well here. But is that possible? Can a coach help them make that switch?”To a certain extent, yes,” Gambhir said, “To a certain extent, it has to come from the individual as well. That how much value does he end up giving it in defending the ball? That is something which is very important. And especially on a turning track. Because I’ve always believed that the best players and the most successful players in this format, or be it any format, always had solid defense. So that is something which we keep talking about. And it is not the overnight thing that we’re going to talk about it today and people will start getting better tomorrow. But it’s a continuous process. We need to keep working on it. We need to keep telling people the importance of defense.”Could India end up facing a situation where they have to look at a separate set of players more suited to Test cricket? Gambhir couldn’t commit to a hypothetical question but he did admit that “going forward, obviously, we will have to identify players who are solid red-ball cricketers. Because ultimately, to get the results, you will have to work really hard for three or four days or five days to be honest. So sometimes, as I just mentioned, it’s important. If we can bat sessions, we know that we’ve got the bowling attack to take 20 wickets. At the moment, it’s difficult to answer.”

Big picture: India’s attacking template

Despite two debutants and plenty of fresh faces in the side, India steamrolled Bangladesh in the first T20I in Gwalior, chasing down 128 inside 12 overs. Yes, India were always the favourites but this also showed how far Bangladesh are behind the curve in T20I cricket.The way India played showed that Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir are continuing the attacking template set by Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid that helped them clinch the T20 World Cup earlier this year. Apart from Nitish Kumar Reddy (16 not out off 15 balls), everyone batted at a strike rate above 150. Moreover, they no longer suffer from the problem of their batters not chipping in with the ball. Their XI in the first T20I had as many as eight bowling options, something Suryakumar called a “happy headache”.On the other hand, Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto admitted that his batters do not know how to score 180 in a T20I, as they are used to playing on 140-150 pitches at home. But that is one hurdle they will have to overcome if they are to keep the series alive.Related

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If they need further motivation, the current series will be Mahmudullah’s last in this format. He retires as Bangladesh’s most capped T20I player, and they will like to send him off on a positive note.

Form guide

India WWWWW (last five T20Is, most recent first)
Bangladesh LLLLW

In the spotlight: Hardik Pandya and Najmul Hossain Shanto

After the 2022 T20 World Cup, when Rohit took a sabbatical from the format, Hardik Pandya looked all set to replace him as India’s permanent T20I captain. That didn’t pan out. Even after Rohit’s T20I retirement, the selectors went with Suryakumar. Hardik, meanwhile, seemed to have settled into the role of an anchor, first at Gujarat Titans and then the Indian team. But in Gwalior, he showed he could still be as destructive as any batter, smashing 39 not out off just 16 balls. Before that, he opened the bowling and took 1 for 26 from four overs.Najmul Hossain Shanto and Bangladesh are looking for more firepower in their batting•Associated Press

If Hardik personified India’s brave approach, Najmul Hossain Shanto’s innings showed what Bangladesh need to work on. Coming in at No. 3, Shanto could manage only 27 runs, and two boundaries, despite facing 25 balls. A reason behind his cautious approach could be that Bangladesh had lost two wickets inside the first three overs, but even then a strike rate of 108 was too low. To change Bangladesh’s fortunes, the captain will have to lead by example.

Team news: Miraz to open?

Just to give as many players a chance, India could bring in Tilak Varma for Reddy and Harshit Rana for Mayank Yadav.India (probable): 1 Sanju Samson (wk), 2 Abhishek Sharma, 3 Suryakumar Yadav (capt), 4 Tilak Varma, 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Riyan Parag, 7 Rinku Singh, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Harshit Rana, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Varun ChakravarthyTamim Iqbal, who is in India as a commentator and an expert for the host broadcaster, said after the first T20I that he suggested to Shanto to open with Mehidy Hasan Miraz. Will Bangladesh listen to their former captain, or stick with what they have, or bring in Tanzid Hasan for Parvez Hossain Emon?Bangladesh (probable): 1 Parvez Hossain Emon/Tanzid Hasan, 2 Litton Das (wk), 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), 4 Towhid Hridoy, 5 Mahmudullah, 6 Jaker Ali, 7 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 8 Rishad Hossain, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Shoriful Islam, 11 Mustafizur Rahman

Pitch and conditions: A high-scoring venue

In the five matches played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in IPL 2024, the 200-mark was breached in eight out of ten innings. Obviously, those teams had an extra batter in the form of Impact Player, but even without the luxury, the expectation is for a high-scoring game on Wednesday. The weather should be clear with little chance of dew.

Stats and trivia: Suryakumar’s double dose

• Bangladesh have beaten India only once in 15 meetings in T20Is. The only team against whom Bangladesh have a worse record (minimum three T20Is) is South Africa: nine matches, nine losses.
• On average, Suryakumar hits 2.01 sixes per innings (139 in 69) in T20I cricket. Among those who have hit at least 50 sixes in T20Is, only Evin Lewis (2.13; 111 in 52) averages more than two sixes per innings.
• Hardik (87) and Arshdeep Singh (86) are fourth and fifth, respectively, on the list of most T20I wickets for India.
• Litton Das is 53 short of becoming the third Bangladesh batter to score 2000 T20I runs. Shanto needs 65 to reach 1000.

Quotes

“We [Punjab Kings] did not play here this IPL, but after seeing the scores, I did not feel like checking the wicket . But yeah, we will come tomorrow and see what could be a good plan here. And of course, the captain and the coach will check the wicket and share their plan.”
“Our bowlers are doing a wonderful job for the last few years. I don’t think we played that badly in the first game. We shouldn’t doubt ourselves based on one game. That’d be unfair. We have to come out of that zone and try to win the game. We tried to play aggressively with the bat. We have to be more organised, which will serve us better.”

After two rainy, non-cricket days at Green Park, Kanpur sprung to life on sunny Monday with a speedy India breaking a few Test records. Rohit Sharma extended his white-ball cricket template that has given him immense success in the last couple of years to red-ball cricket, as he cracked 23 off 11 balls, with rest of the India line-up following suit. That approach saw them register the fastest team 50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 in men’s Tests, and declare their first innings on 285 for 9 in just 34.4 overs after Bangladesh were bowled out for 233.By stumps, R Ashwin managed to trap Zakir Hasan lbw and bowled nightwatcher Hasan Mahmud, while Shadman Islam survived a dropped chance on 3, as Bangladesh ended the day at 26 for 2 in the second innings, trailing India by a further 26.This was after Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul scored quickfire fifties for India, striking at 141.17 and 158.13, respectively, to give Indian bowlers another shot at Bangladesh’s batters in the dying hours of the penultimate day of the Test. Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Shakib Al Hasan picked up four wickets apiece on a surface that showed enough signs of spin.With the sun finally beating down after successive days of overcast conditions and rain, the pitch showed signs of better carry in the first session. But the inherent nature of the black-soil surface meant a few deliveries did keep a tad low.None of that mattered for Jaiswal, who kickstarted India’s response with a hat-trick of fours off Mahmud, who had picked up a five-for in Chennai. At the other end, Rohit thumped the first two balls he faced for sixes, first jumping down the track to fast bowler Khaled Ahmed to deposit him over long-on, before pulling one into the deep-square leg stands. The pair hit two fours and two sixes more to bring up India’s fifty in just three overs.Shakib Al Hasan picked four wickets in India’s first innings•Getty Images

In a bid to slow India down, Bangladesh brought Mehidy on, and though he was greeted with a four clubbed through midwicket, he almost struck fourth ball when Rohit was ruled out lbw. But Rohit reviewed and survived, with the ball hitting him outside the line of leg. On the next ball, though, Mehidy had the last laugh, getting one flighted delivery to keep low and spin back in sharply through Rohit’s defence.That did not deter Jaiswal, who went on a rampage against spin. India managed to hit at least one four in each of overs six to 12. In the process, Jaiswal brought up a 31-ball fifty and India got to 100 in just 10.1 overs. He used his reach well to put the spinners off their lengths, the highlight being a biggie he smoked over long-on off Mehidy, who also got the ball to dip in on a fullish length. However, the low bounce of the surface came into play when Mahmud’s length ball stayed a bit low to clatter into Jaiswal’s stumps.Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant also attacked from the get-go, with the former plonking Mehidy over deep midwicket after dancing down the track. But they perished off Shakib after tea, with India in ultra-attack mode. Yet, there was no slowing India down. Their attacking game had pushed Bangladesh back, and for most part, they had at least five fielders at the boundary.Kohli and Rahul used this to rotate strike and bat freely. Kohli was unafraid to use his feet, and switched his ODI mode on. This was after a mix-up with Pant should have sent Kohli back, but Khaled underarmed the throw at the striker’s end and missed despite getting to the stumps. Kohli was stranded out of the crease and had given up.He rubbed salt into Khaled and Bangladesh’s wounds by hitting him for back-to-back fours, the second off which was a loft over extra cover. He also used his feet against spin, thumping Taijul Islam straight over long-off. In a bid to slog Shakib over midwicket, though, he was bowled after one skidded through.Rahul, however, used the sweep and reverse sweep aplenty, and never for once stalled. He looked at ease against the lowish pace on the surface and managed to encash on any width. He put on a masterclass of playing against spin, and scored his fastest Test fifty, off 33 balls. But India went from 269 for 5 to 284 for 9 just before the declaration.Ravindra Jadeja got his 300th Test wicket•Associated Press

The day began with Akash Deep and Jasprit Bumrah bowling four maidens in the first five overs of Bangladesh’s first innings. The only run in that phase came via Mushfiqur Rahim’s inside edge, with both bowlers hitting the area around good length for varying degrees of lift-off. Bumrah then got an in-ducker to bounce more and take Mushfiqur’s inside edge for four, but knocked him over next ball after he shouldered arms. The boundary ball had landed on a good length outside off and deviated 2cms into the batter, as per broadcast; the wicket ball deviated about 6cms from the same landing spot, and led to Mushfiqur’s misjudgment.Rohit was unafraid to set attacking fields, and the sight of three slips and two gullies was a familiar one for a better part of the first session. That allowed enough gaps for the Bangladesh batters to hit fours, as Litton Das did three times in an over off Bumrah. But India’s disciplined bowling created enough pressure, and Litton fell in a bid to break the shackles, aided by a brilliant piece of fielding. He charged at a length ball from Mohammed Siraj, and slapped it aerially towards wide mid-off, where Rohit timed his jump perfectly to pluck a one-hander.Shakib’s stay in the middle then lasted only 17 balls, his attempt to use his feet against Ashwin proving to be his undoing. He could have got away with it, if not for Siraj backtracking from mid-off and holding on to a one-handed catch while falling backwards.Mominul Haque was the only Bangladesh batter who showed resistance, scoring his 13th Test century, and only his second away from home. He used the sweep to good effect against spin, and did not allow Ravindra Jadeja to settle. He also used his feet well, and got into the 90s by lofting him straight over. Mominul got a couple of lives when Pant failed to hold on to an under-edge feather on 93, and then on 95 when Kohli grassed him after diving to his left from wide first slip.After lunch, Mehidy hit Bumrah for three fours in seven balls, but the latter extracted revenge by getting him to edge a back-of-a-length ball that angled in and seamed away. Jadeja then caught and bowled Khaled to pick up his 300th Test wicket as Bangladesh lost their last seven wickets for 121 runs.

A return to Test cricket is at the forefront of Nic Maddinson’s mind, as he looks to bring last season’s strong finish in the Sheffield Shield to New South Wales after his winter return home, while he also hopes to reignite his T20 career after completing a double switch by joining Sydney Thunder.Maddinson hit three centuries in three Shield matches in the second half of last season for Victoria after missing the first part of the summer through injury before opting to move back to where his career began in Sydney.Those performances stood out in a Shield season where runs were hard to come by and started to have Maddinson’s name mentioned for a possible return to Test cricket. His previous three Tests came in 2016-17 against South Africa and Pakistan when the selectors revamped the batting order, but he made just 27 runs in four innings.Related

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“Probably [think about it] most days to be fair,” Maddinson told ESPNcricinfo. “Obviously throughout the winter and off season you have other stuff and family at home, but when you start coming into cricket, we’ve been outdoor training on the centre wickets, [Josh] Hazlewood and [Mitchell] Starc have started to roll through, it’s hard not to think about the progression of your career.”I love playing the game and want to help New South Wales win but also from a personal point of view still feel like I offer something at international cricket and would love to have that chance again. There’s a lot of motivations for people and still playing for Australia is there for me.”He also believes there is no comparison to the player he is now to the one who first played Test cricket. Overall in six seasons with Victoria he averaged 50.63 in Shield cricket.Nic Maddinson made three hundreds in three Shield matches last season•Getty Images

“Ten times better, maybe more,” he said. “Think I’m probably a much better player than I was even three or four years ago. Felt like Shield runs last year were pretty hard to come by on some of the wickets we got dished up. Opening the batting was always a great spot to bat but it was never really my strength. To be able to score the runs I did last year gave me a lot of confidence, being able to adapt and play a different style. As you look to progress career you have to adapt and last year felt I really made some good progress.”Maddinson’s prolific finish to the Shield came off the back of a difficult BBL campaign for Melbourne Renegades where he was dropped despite being captain after 48 runs in four innings. He had come into the tournament on the back of very little cricket after recovering from an ACL injury. His overall T20 record is underwhelming with an average of 20.30 from 134 innings but he hopes to reinvigorate his game with Thunder.”I’ve been pretty disappointed with how I’ve been probably since I left the Sydney Sixers [in 2018] to be fair,” he said. “I really found it challenging going into BBL off not much cricket [last season] having had such a long break. For me, what’s important is having a decent block of longer-form cricket to channel into BBL and then expand your game from there.”There’s definitely stages in people’s careers where you have a bit of a lull in formats and can bounce back. Last year was a bit disappointing for me because the only thing holding me back from feeling like I was going to do well was just the amount of game time. There were a few technical changes and bad habits I’d got into from practising for T20 that took away from the overall structure of my batting. Going forward it’s about trying to find a game plan that works regardless of where I fit in in the order.”Joining Thunder means there is the prospect of Maddinson opening with David Warner, with whom he shared a Shield opening stand of 233 in 2011 after he was confirmed as having full availability for the season”Think I opened with him for the very first time when I was 16 in a 2nd XI game,” Maddinson said. “To think we could be batting together again, it’s been quite a long time. That top order, you put Cam Bancroft into that, Ollie Davies, Sam Billings, it’s quite a nice-looking line-up and hopefully I have a role in that somewhere.”

England Men Under-19s will head to Chelmsford for a series decider after the first Youth Test against Sri Lanka Under-19s ended in a rain-affected draw.Any hopes of a result had been dulled when the second day was completely washed out, after which the tourists controlled the contest to earn a deserved 77-run first-innings lead. Sri Lanka U19s then batted out the remainder of the match to be 192 for 4 when stumps was called at 5.30pm.Skipper Dinura Kalupahana’s century was followed by Praveen Maneesha’s 6 for 56 as the legspinner claimed five of the six Young Lions wickets to fall on the final day.England U19s were bowled out for 247 but will take positives ahead of next week’s second Youth Test in the form of Freddie McCann’s 92 at the top of the order while Lancashire’s Keshana Fonseka also fell just short of a century when he was caught driving at Sheshane Marasinghe on 86. The pair had put on 160 for the second wicket yesterday.Surrey Academy paceman Alex French picked up four wickets in the first innings too – when England had reduced Sri Lanka to 37 for 4 – but they were unable to assert that early authority as Kalupahana’s classy century shifted the momentum.Three late wickets last night meant the Young Lions started the day needing to reassert themselves, but instead they lost 6 for 54 with Maneesha’s skiddy legspin doing the majority of the damage.Rocky Flintoff added one to his overnight score when he was caught by Nathan Caldera before Maneesha had Jack Carney trapped lbw pushing forward.Fonseka had been untroubled as he struck 13 boundaries in his 149-ball stay but, like a number of batters yesterday on a slowing pitch, he pushed a drive into the infield and was caught by Sadew Samarasinghe.Maneesha mopped up the remaining three wickets in back-to-back overs to give Sri Lanka a first-innings lead they would barely have imagined earing after their first-morning collapse.From there the match meandered towards a draw. Farhan Ahmed picked up his first wicket of the match when he snuck one past Samarsinghe’s forward prod and in the next over Noah Thain held a sharp catch above his head at first slip when Pulindu Perera swiped at Jaydn Denly’s second ball.Sharujan Shanmuganathan was composed in reaching 73 before swiping at Denly and being caught in the deep by Ahmed, who also held the catch to remove Gayana Weerasinghe off Daavya Sharma.