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All three matches will take place in Townsville on August 28, August 31 and September 3

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Aug-2022The fit-again fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani has made a comeback into Zimbabwe’s ODI squad for the three-match series against Australia starting on August 28. Muzarabani missed Zimbabwe’s recent limited-overs series against Bangladesh and India at home with a thigh muscle tear, but was passed fit to depart for Townsville on Tuesday with the rest of the 15-member squad.Regis Chakabva will lead Zimbabwe for a third successive ODI series with regular captain Craig Ervine still recovering from hamstring injury. Tendai Chatara (collarbone fracture), left-arm spinner Wellington Masakadza (shoulder tendon injury) and opening batter Milton Shumba (quadricep injury) were all unavailable for selection as well.Zimbabwe squad for Australia series•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The last time Zimbabwe played an ODI in Australia was during the 2015 World Cup, before which their previous assignment in the country was a tri-series involving the hosts and India way back in 2004.This upcoming series was initially scheduled for August 2020, but had to be postponed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.Related

• Zampa returns, Cummins rested for ODIs against Zimbabwe, NZ

• Labuschagne wants to 'continue to get better' at No. 5 after disappointing tour of Sri Lanka

The tour is part of the ODI Super League, which is being contested by 13 teams with the top eight qualifying for the 2023 World Cup in India. Zimbabwe sit 12th on the table, having won just three out of their 18 matches so far in the cycle. Australia occupy the eighth spot.Apart from the 15 players en route to Australia, Zimbabwe have also named Tanaka Chivanga and John Masara as non-travelling reserves.All three ODIs will take place in Townsville on August 28, August 31 and September 3.

Expect the two teams to go hard at each other once again in a knockout match at the Asia Cup

Andrew Fidel Fernando, with inputs from Mohammad Isam31-Aug-2022

Big picture

It is a knockout match, so perhaps we should ask the tough question. Is this a real rivalry? Pull on your criss-cross deerstalker hats, Sherlocks. Get your magnifying glass. Clasp your notebooks tight. We about to investigate.To understand what happened between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the 2018 Nidahas trophy, we must roll the clock back to the previous Bangladesh Premier League, where Nazmul Islam, an unassuming slow left-arm bowler, sought to sex up his workaday act by adding a fun celebration. This is the birth of the now-infamous “Naagin dance”. In Nazmul’s hands, it was joyful. Innocent even. Little did he know how this was all about to blow up.When he claimed wickets against Sri Lanka in a limited-overs series early in that year, he busted out his celebration again. Hands cocked above his head, like a cobra, a little body-thrusting action. Why wouldn’t he? But then, drama. Danushka Gunathilaka did an imitation of the dance when he got a wicket in that series.Gunathilaka might say it was all just a little bit of fun, sir, and he didn’t mean anything by it. But then you can also see from the Bangladesh perspective, how it might have seemed a mockery.So when Mushfiqur Rahim hit the winning runs in a big chase against Sri Lanka in Colombo, he did the mock-Naagin dance at Gunathilaka, who was walking past him. Other Sri Lankan players then started doing it to mock Mushfiqur, I guess? Then the whole Bangladesh team started doing it, almost in solidarity with Nazmul and Mushfiqur.Towards the business end of the series, there was a tense game between the two sides, and after some truly wild gesticulating and on-field arguments, the Bangladesh dressing room door at the Khettarama stadium was left shattered, when they won.If this sounds like grown men acting childish, like a little celebration being blown way out of proportion, like fans getting riled up over meaningless theatrics, or if you’ve got dumber reading this preview until now, all of the above are valid feelingsBut we are chroniclers here at ESPNcricinfo. It is our job to present facts. Even when the facts are stupid.More facts: these are two stupendously trash T20I teams at the moment. In this tournament, they have both been shown up by Afghanistan, whose fast bowlers decked Sri Lanka, before their spinners ran through Bangladesh. Sri Lanka have lost 10 of their last 14 T20 matches. If you think that’s bad, Bangladesh have lost 14 of their last 16 completed games.But we’re in sports media, so I guess we should try hype this up. It could be close? If nothing else, these teams are evenly matched. Between Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed and Mohammad Saifuddin, Bangladesh certainly have a more experienced seam attack. Sri Lanka perhaps have the better spinners in Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana. On the batting front, Bangladesh have the experience of Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, and Mushfiqur. But the likes of Charith Asalanka and Kusal Mendis have prospered against Bangladesh in the past. There’s not a lot to separate the teamsEither way, whoever wins this game advances to the Super 4 round. Whoever loses returns home much earlier than their fans would have hoped.Celebrations in the Bangladesh dressing room in Colombo went a bit too far in 2018•Andrew Fernando/ESPNcricinfo

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)
Sri Lanka LWLLL
Bangladesh LLWLL

In the spotlight

Kusal Mendis has been in excellent Test-match form recently, before extending that to the shortest format, when he dominated Sri Lanka’s premier T20 domestic tournament this year, shortly before setting off to the Asia Cup. He seems to have been sent up the order to open the batting in this series. Although his T20I stats are otherwise modest, this is a position he enjoys, striking at 137 when he opens, averaging 32 (career numbers are 121 and 20). He is auditioning to play this role in the T20 World Cup in October.Amid Bangladesh’s struggle in T20s over the last 12 months, Mahedi Hasan has been one of the rare consistent performers. He has the best economy rate in world cricket among bowlers who have played at least 25 innings, proving once again that orthodox offspin can still work. He brings out the side-arm deliveries from time to time, but is generally quite tight with his orthodoxy. Mahedi is also a decent hitter, and could even be used as an opener.

Pitch and conditions

It seems likely that the match will be played on a used surface, which means it might be a little more spin-friendly than tracks we have seen at this tournament. Temperatures will be scorching – likely in the low 30-degree celsius range, even in the evening.

Team news

Sri Lanka might just go in with the same XI, despite the big loss against Afghanistan. They may consider bringing the in-form Ashen Bandara into the middle order, however, perhaps in place of Danushka Gunathilaka. Or they might move Gunathilaka back up to the top of the order, and leave Pathum Nissanka out.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Kusal Mendis (wk), 2 Pathum Nissanka, 3 Charith Asalanka, 4 Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 5 Danushka Gunathilaka, 6 Dasun Shanaka, 7 Wanindu Hasaranga, 8 Chamika Karunaratne, 9 Maheesh Theekshana, 10 Matheesha Pathirana, 11 Dilshan MadushankaBangladesh have a batting quandary which could see them change the opening pair again. Mushfiqur Rahim was talked about as one of those options although he would have to agree to this unusual role. Bangladesh also could revisit their bowling attack.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Mohammad Naim, 2 Anamul Haque, 3 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 4 Afif Hossain, 5 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Mosaddek Hossain, 8 Mahedi Hasan, 9 Mohammad Saifuddin, 10 Taskin Ahmed, 11 Mustafizur Rahman/Nasum Ahmed

Stats and trivia

• Sri Lanka have won eight of the 12 completed matches between these teams, but lost two of the last three.
• Kusal Mendis has scores of 53, 10, 57, and 11 against Bangladesh, striking at 169 across those four innings. He has opened the batting on all those occasions, twice in Bangladesh, and twice in Colombo.
• In five innings in the UAE so far, Mahedi Hasan hasn’t been particularly penetrative, taking just three wickets. But he has been economical, even if not quite up to his standards elsewhere, conceding 7.45 an over.

Quotes

“Our opening pair isn’t clicking at all. We are missing Litton Das who is injured. I am hopeful the openers can bat to a plan. You can get out trying to hit the first ball, but it hurts us when nobody shows the intent. I want to see the intent. I want to see the change in mindset.”

Hasnain redeemed as Dawson fightback falls inches short for England

Danyal Rasool25-Sep-2022Pakistan 166 for 4 (Rizwan 88) beat England 163 (Rauf 3-32, Nawaz 3-35) by three runsPakistan snuck home past England by three runs in a wild, mad game at the National Stadium in Karachi to level the series 2-2. In a game that ebbed and flowed so often that a three-hour contest took on the feel of an epic, England played themselves into a seemingly unassailable position at the very end, before all of a sudden playing themselves back out of it. In pursuit of 167, the visitors were one shot away from victory with three wickets in hand, before Haris Rauf tore through the lower order to leave a heartbroken England stranded against all odds.Put in to bat first, Pakistan got off to an impressive start with an 97-run opening stand, but found themselves squeezed through the middle and death, losing much of the momentum they had built up. Liam Dawson’s removal of Babar Azam looked even better in hindsight, given it brought a struggling Shan Masood to the crease, and Moeen Ali’s side wrestled the momentum back. At the end of their 20 overs, it appeared as if Pakistan were well short, having burdened their bowling attack with defending a mediocre total against the world’s most explosive batting line-up.But the hosts refused to give in, with three early wickets ensuring this wouldn’t be the cakewalk it had previously seemed. But England soon illustrated the difference in the approach both sides take to the construction of a T20 innings, with Harry Brook and Ben Duckett continuing to go after the bowlers, determined not to fall too far behind the asking rate. Moeen continued in quite the same vein for a 20-ball 29, and for a while, it looked like the jitters were over, and England were back on course.But the regular fall of wickets kept Pakistan in the hunt, until a devastating display of clutch hitting by Dawson in the 18th over seemed to swing the pendulum England’s way once and for all. But having cracked five fours and a six in the space of eight legal deliveries to leave just five required off nine, a loose shot by Dawson found midwicket’s hands, and Rauf sent debutant Olly Stone packing by knocking back his off stump first-ball. With one wicket to go, England lost their composure, setting off for a suicidal single in desperation to give Adil Rashid the strike. Shan Masood hit timber, and Pakistan had struck gold.The self-imposed squeeze Having laid the platform Babar and Mohammad Rizwan can reliably be trusted to set so regularly, Pakistan had worked themselves into a decent position after eight overs. However, as has happened much too frequently, the struggle through the middle overs manifested itself for Pakistan once more, as they sleepwalked towards a below-par total. England’s use of their bowling resources, as well as their execution, was canny enough, but the drop in intensity from the hosts was unmistakable. Masood couldn’t come close to the fluency with which he had graced the third T20I, limping to a 19-ball 21 as the bigger hitters waited their turn in the dig-out.Rizwan’s tempo dropped by a couple of notches following the Powerplay; having raced along to a 26-ball 38 after six overs, he would take 40 balls to add the next fifty. From the start of the ninth over until his dismissal in the 20th, Pakistan struck just three fours and a six. Quite what Asif Ali would have made of that was anyone’s guess, particularly since two of the three balls he did face went for enormous sixes over cow corner. Pakistan, once more, appeared to have made the fundamental T20 error of overvaluing wickets and undervaluing runs.Usman Qadir took a blinding catch to remove Alex Hales•Getty Images

England stick to their guns After being reduced to 14 for three against Pakistan’s bowling attack, few sides would have had the self-belief to go after the game, but seven years of white-ball success means confidence isn’t in short supply for this England side. They would chase this total down, or go down in a blaze of glory trying. It wouldn’t be like it had been for Pakistan the previous game, batting out 20 overs and limping to a heavy defeat.The first ball after the third wicket fell, Duckett carved Mohammad Wasim through point for four, and at the end of the fifth, he took apart the same bowler, smashing him for three successive boundaries. By the end of the Powerplay, England had brought up 50, just two the total that Pakistan managed despite England failing to pick up a single Pakistan wicket in that time. It was emblematic of how England play, and, despite the agonising defeat, perhaps illustrative of why this side has been so successful.The promise and pain of Mohammad Hasnain An overseas player getting plaudits for being the sort of sexy quick bowler Pakistan like to believe they have a hegemonic hold over? That was too much for Mohammad Hasnain to bear. Hasnain’s arguably the fastest bowler Pakistan currently possess but, in a weird way, also the least loved. Shaheen Afridi, of course, is in a league of own, while Naseem Shah has the precocious talent to enthrall and the personal story to endear, while Rauf’s evolution has seen him prove many wrong and win even more over.It leaves Hasnain out in the cold slightly, particularly so since his action troubles and a tendency to be expensive. Today, however, needing to defend a low target, Hasnain bowled his first two overs with the careless abandon that makes him such absorbing viewing. He followed Alex Hales and beat him for pace. He toyed with Duckett. He came back in the 16th over, and more or less pulled off six successive yorkers. 3-0-16-2. Surely his day?He was brought back for the 18th over to close the game off, with Pakistan well into England’s tail at 134 for 7, and Dawson struggling on a run-a-ball 7. But where the margins had gone Hasnain’s way in the third over, they left Hasnain high and dry here when it counted. Yorkers became full tosses and half-volleys, and where he had once stayed just within the popping crease, this time he overstepped. 22 came off his first four legal balls, and all of a sudden, England needed just 10 from 14. Hasnain might have played a huge part in getting Pakistan to the brink, but suddenly, here he was, unravelling it all himself. Fortunately for him, and for Pakistan, and for a vociferous Karachi crowd that had just begun to give up the ghost, Rauf was not prepared to do likewise.

The break is for personal reasons that are unrelated to his repeated concussion troubles over the years

Alex Malcolm27-Oct-2022 • Updated on 28-Oct-2022Will Pucovski has taken an indefinite leave of absence from cricket for personal reasons that are unrelated to his repeated concussion troubles over the years.Pucovski played in Victoria’s first two Marsh Cup and Sheffield Shield games of the new season earlier this month, but he did not play in the last two Marsh Cup games against Western Australia and Tasmania and has not been named in the Sheffield Shield side that will face Tasmania in Hobart on Saturday after requesting for – and being granted – leave.The leave is understood to be similar to that of Meg Lanning. Pucovski’s leave is indefinite with no timeframe on when he is likely to return.Related

• Pucovski tracking well despite thumb injury ahead of potential Sheffield Shield return

• Pucovski: 'It's been a reality check – there's so much more to life'

Cricket Victoria released a statement on Thursday saying they would continue to provide all necessary specialist support to Pucovski and asked that his privacy be respected during this time.”Player welfare is always our top priority,” Cricket Victoria general manager of cricket performance Graham Manou said. “We’ll continue to work with Will to ensure he gets the support and space he needs and welcome him back when he’s ready.”Manou spoke on radio on Friday and detailed that there had been signs that Pucovski had been struggling.”In terms of preparation for him and our group in general we had our psych [psychologist] in Adelaide for the first Shield game and there were a couple of warning signs there,” Manou said. “Then during the Shield game against WA a few things came to a head for Will. As he has been throughout, he took another courageous decision to take a little bit of time out from the game to prioritise his health.”At Cricket Victoria we’ve got a fantastic psychologist in Mary Spillane who has been working closely with Will and our playing group both male and female.”He’ll seek a little bit of extra support over the next few weeks just to give him some additional and some specialist work to help him develop some coping mechanisms.”The most important thing is that through this process we’re actually setting him up for life well beyond cricket.”Pucovski, 24, has taken leave from Victoria for personal reasons several times in his short career. These have been separate from his absences because of concussion, concussion-related issues and his shoulder injury.Pucovski’s previous breaks from the game that weren’t related to his physical injuries had come prior to his Test debut in January 2021. He took a break following his first Shield double-century in October 2018 and then took another break after being called up to the Australia squad in February later that summer for a two-Test series against Sri Lanka. In November 2019, he made himself unavailable for Test selection after playing for Australia A.But since playing his only Test match, his breaks have been mainly down to physical issues. He dislocated his shoulder in that Sydney Test against India and needed a reconstruction that ended his season. In October 2021, he was concussed while batting in the nets. In February this year, on return from that concussion, he suffered concussion-like symptoms in a game against South Australia and required a break but was later cleared of formal concussion from that incident.He had been optimistic about his physical health ahead of this summer. He made a half-century in last season’s Sheffield Shield final and another in his first game of the season against New South Wales. He had travelled to India in the off-season to train at the MRF Pace Academy in Chennai with a select group of young Australian players with an eye towards Australia’s future tours to the subcontinent.

Afghan quick signed as a replacement player for David Willey who withdrew from the tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Nov-2022Sydney Thunder have signed Afghanistan left-arm quick Fazalhaq Farooqi as a replacement overseas player for the upcoming BBL.Farooqi joins Thunder as a replacement for Englishman David Willey who withdrew from the tournament after being drafted by Thunder as a platinum player in the inaugural BBL overseas player draft in August.Farooqi bowled superbly in the T20 World Cup, picking up 1 for 24 against England and 2 for 29 against Australia while conceding just 6.52 runs per over across the three games he played.Thunder general manager Andrew Gilchrist said the club were delighted to add the left-armer to their squad after Willey had withdrawn.”Fazalhaq Farooqi is an emerging talent,” Gilchrist said. “He joins Thunder in great form after playing exceptional cricket in the World T20 Cup and the Asia Cup tournament.”While it was very disappointing to have lost David Willey, it has opened the door for Farooqi to further enhance his reputation and growing status in world cricket.”Afghanistan has enjoyed a tremendous representation in the BBL over the years. Rashid Khan has been embraced by Adelaide Strikers fans as a genuine superstar and adopted South Australian, while others, including Zahir Khan, Noor Ahmad and Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Qais Ahmad have made their marks.”We fully expect Fazalhaq will only further enhance the growing reputation of cricketers from Afghanistan being fearless cricketers and extraordinary entertainers.”Thunder are likely to add another overseas replacement player later in the tournament when Alex Hales departs for the ILT20 in the UAE.Sydney Thunder squad: Ben Cutting, Ollie Davies, Brendan Doggett, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Matthew Gilkes, Chris Green, Alex Hales, Baxter Holt, Nathan McAndrew, Alex Ross, Rilee Rossouw, Daniel Sams, Jason Sangha, Tanveer Sangha, David Warner.

“I know when I’m at my best, I’m taking the bowlers on”, he said, two days out of Boxing Day Test

Alex Malcolm24-Dec-2022David Warner has vowed to go back to the future on the eve of his 100th Test as he strives to end his lean three-year run in Test cricket ahead of a massive 12 months for Australia’s Test team.Warner’s milestone has given him pause to reflect on what has got him to this point and what has made him the player he is. He is just 78 runs shy of 8000 Test runs, and only four openers in history have scored more than his 24 Test centuries. Yet he has not passed three figures in Test cricket since January 2020.But with his milestone match just two days away, he has vowed to play like the Warner of old as he searches for that elusive Test century.”I know when I’m at my best, I’m taking the bowlers on,” he said on Saturday. “It goes well and it flows with the team and the guy at the other end. Now I’ve probably gone a bit more responsible and trying to put the team into a good position without playing a bit rash.”If anything I can probably be a bit more aggressive and go back to the older me, take them on a little bit more. But I think that also is dictated from what wickets you are getting.”You don’t want to have a dig at the curators, but the last two years our wickets have been green. If I go out there play a cover drive and nick one, you guys [the media] will have a feeding frenzy.”But now I’m in good positions and I’m nicking off, that’s the nature of the beast. This might be a wicket where I can go out and play like the old me. So you have to adapt to those conditions that’s what I’ve been doing the last 18 months.”Warner’s assertion that he has been more circumspect is evident in his strike-rate over the last three years. It has dipped to 57.21 compared to his staggering career rate of 71.18. Even more concerning though is the runs. In his last 15 Tests and 27 innings he has averaged just 26.07 with only four half-centuries. His numbers are even leaner in 2022. He has not scored a half-century in his last 10 Test innings.Warner’s claim that he needs to be more aggressive doesn’t quite stack up against some of his dismissals in the West Indies series where he was out driving aggressively away from his body in three of his four innings. But he claims he has been out of luck rather than out of form from either a technical or decision-making standpoint.”You look at some of the chop-ons and I’ve been in great positions when I’ve been nicked off,” Warner said. “So there’s nothing you can actually do about that. That’s what happens in the game of cricket, it ebbs and flows.”People [were] writing me off in that one-day game here [against England] and I went out and scored a hundred on a pretty dicey wicket.”It is about making runs. You’re never out of form. They’re not the words that I use and they’re definitely not used in our change rooms. It’s about [being] out of runs. And for me, I’ve got those starts but I keep having a little bit of misfortune but at the end of the day it comes around and when it comes around it comes around fast.”Warner is hopeful it can come thick and fast on Boxing Day against a familiar foe. In celebrating his 100th Test this week he has been reminded of some of his great innings against South Africa, including his extraordinary 2014 tour that yielded three centuries against a world-class attack.While South Africa’s current attack hopes they have inflicted some psychological scarring on Warner in Brisbane, he has no such fears.”I think if you look at the attacks that I’ve faced over my career, I wake up every day going into the nets facing the best attack in the world,” Warner said.”I’ve faced guys that bowl 145kph every training session. So it’s not different for me. Am I scared going in those nets? 100% I’m scared. Going into the nets and facing those guys for the last decade has been a challenge in itself.”But going out there and knowing that I’ve put numbers on the board against some of the great attacks that South Africa has produced, they stay with me when I go out there. You speak about Cape Town [2014], that was probably my best whole batting performance from the batting perspective and a lot of good things happened to me when I played against the South African attack.”For me, it’s about as I said, come out here with a positive mindset and hopefully I’ll keep replicating that.”

Both were given year-long contracts in which they will also oversee the 2023 domestic season

Umar Farooq16-Feb-2023Former Pakistan opener Imran Farhat and fast bowler Naved-ul-Hasan are set to join Afghanistan’s high performance centre in Kabul as batting and bowling coaches respectively. Both were given year-long contracts in which they will also oversee the 2023 domestic season.Since the Taliban took over in the country, Afghanistan cricket has revamped its corporate and domestic cricket structure and invested to upgrade the facilities in Kabul to include a high performance centre. Afghanistan has seven domestic tournaments covering all three formats, that run from February to November and both coaches will also be involved in selecting players for the development programme. The national high performance centre is responsible for picking players from the domestic circuit and setting up a pathway to keep them ready for the national teams.”As part of the ACB’s goals for the players and game development in Afghanistan, the Afghanistan Cricket Board is looking forward to welcoming more renowned individuals to its National High Performance Centre,” the ACB said in a statement.Naved had a prominent career for Pakistan from 2003 to 2010, especially in ODIs. His Test career saw just nine matches for 18 wickets, but his 74 ODIs fetched him 110 wickets and his four T20Is saw him bag five wickets. His domestic career was a lot more prolific, playing 156 first-class, 197 one-dayers and 126 T20s for 1095 wickets combined in all three formats. After his playing days, Naved started his own cricket academy in his native city Sheikhupura, in Punjab, and most recently worked in the Pakistan domestic set-up as an assistant coach with Central Punjab’s second XI and had a short stint as a bowling consultant with UAE as well.Similarly, Farhat had a formidable domestic career with nearly 16,000 first-class runs in 230 games, 7572 in 220 one-day innings, and 1636 runs in 69 T20s. His international career lasted 12 years, from 2001 to 2013, for 40 Tests, 58 ODIs and seven T20I. He has been working as a coach after retiring in 2020 with successful stints with Central Punjab’s second XI to win titles in all formats last season. He has also been working with domestic Under-19 teams and was the batting coach with Bahawalpur Royal – which won the Pakistan Junior League title.This isn’t the first time the ACB has roped in Pakistan coaches. Inzamam-ul-Haq and Rashid Latif had worked with the Afghanistan team as head coaches. Umar Gul recently completed his one-year contract as bowling coach with the national set-up. Kabir Khan had the longest stint with them and played a significant role to uplift Afghanistan cricket in the early days of development in the country, when he helped them qualify for three T20 World Cups in 2010, 2012 and 2014.

RCB are on a four-game losing streak, while Capitals are on par with Mumbai Indians at the top with six points

S Sudarshanan12-Mar-2023

RCB look to get off the mark

Royal Challengers Bangalore cannot go lower in position in the points table. Delhi Capitals are soaring and are one of the teams to beat. As the second half of the Women’s Premier League starts, Royal Challengers would look to start afresh.The last time the two teams met was the start of a special opening partnership for Capitals between Shafali Verma and Meg Lanning. Capitals opted to play Laura Harris in their previous game against Gujarat Giants in place of Alice Capsey but the ten-wicket win denied her a chance to bat. A plethora of bowling options in the XI – with even Minnu Mani chipping in against Giants – allows for a cushion of comfort.On the other hand, Royal Challengers’ powerplay run-rate of 8.91 in the WPL is only behind Capitals’ 9.79. But their middle and lower middle order have failed to build on the starts and that has meant they have fallen short on most occasions. Sophie Devine has slowly found her touch at the top of the order and along with Ellyse Perry has been among the top-scorers in the competition.

Players to watch

Laura Harris is one of the cleanest strikers of the ball in T20s. Her strike rate of 157.01 across 83 innings in the Women’s Big Bash League is the best among those who batted in at least ten innings in the competition. Capitals’ lower middle order is bolstered by her presence in the XI.Smriti Mandhana has had a horrid run so far. In each of the four innings, she has been dismissed by spinners – three of them against offspin. It will be the first time she will return to DY Patil Stadium, where her 79-run knock helped India tie the second T20I against Australia and then win it via a Super Over. Will that help her turn her form around?6:07

Kappital performance by Delhi in WPL

Playing XIs

Delhi Capitals (possible): 1 Meg Lanning (capt), 2 Shafali Verma, 3 Jemimah Rodrigues, 4 Marizanne Kapp, 5 Laura Harris, 6 Jess Jonassen, 7 Minnu Mani, 8 Taniya Bhatia (wk), 9 Shikha Pandey, 10 Radha Yadav, 11 Tara NorrisRoyal Challengers Bangalore (possible): 1 Smriti Mandhaa (capt), 2 Sophie Devine, 3 Ellyse Perry, 4 Heather Knight, 5 Erin Burns/Dane van Niekerk, 6 Richa Ghosh (wk), 7 Kanika Ahuja, 8 Shreyanka Patil, 9 Renuka Singh, 10 Komal Zanzad, 11 Sahana Pawar

Stats and trivia

Both sides will have an opportunity to make the cut for 2024 T20 World Cup via the qualifier tournament later in the year

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Feb-2023Australia, South Africa, England, India, New Zealand and West Indies have earned automatic qualification to the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup by virtue of finishing in the top three of their respective groups at the 2023 edition of the competition. Bangladesh will also feature in next year’s edition, on virtue of being hosts, while Pakistan have qualified courtesy of being the seventh-ranked team as of February 27.That means Sri Lanka (ranked eighth) and Ireland (tenth) are the only teams from the 2023 T20 World Cup who have not secured direct qualification. They will take part in a qualifier tournament later in the year with the top two sides from that event becoming the ninth and tenth teams at the 2024 event in Bangladesh.Sri Lanka won two games at the tournament, including an upset victory over the hosts, South Africa, and finished fourth in Group 1 with four points – the same as South Africa and New Zealand but with a lower net run-rate. Ireland did not win any of their four matches and were last in Group 2. They earned their spots for the 2023 World Cup by beating Zimbabwe by four runs at a qualifying event in September last year.The 2024 T20 World Cup will be the last edition of the tournament to feature only 10 teams with the ICC confirming that the field will increase to 12 teams in the 2026, 2028 and 2030 editions. A new ICC Women’s T20 Champions Trophy will launch in 2027 and will feature six teams. The inaugural hosts are pencilled in as Sri Lanka, but only if they are able to qualify for the event.

The death overs was where this game came to life and Kings scoring 96 off their last five made a big difference

Hemant Brar22-Apr-20231:15

Moody: Arshdeep a threat in the powerplay and at the death

Punjab Kings’ innings was going nowhere. After 14 overs, they were 105 for 4 with Harpreet Singh Bhatia batting on 15 off 16 and Sam Curran on 8 off 12. But in the next six overs, they ransacked 109. Bhatia ended with 41 off 28, Curran 55 off 29, and Jitesh Sharma 25 off just seven. That lifted Kings to a formidable 214 for 8.In response, Mumbai Indians were always in the contest, thanks to Rohit Sharma’s 27-ball 44 and Cameron Green’s 43-ball 67. Suryakumar Yadav then threatened to snatch the game from Kings with his blazing half-century. That’s when Arshdeep Singh rose to the occasion. He dismissed Suryakumar in the 18th over, and then with 16 required from six balls, he conceded just two while breaking the middle stumps of Tilak Varma and Nehal Wadhera with back-to-back deliveries.The 13-run win took Kings to fifth position with eight points from seven games. In fact, the top five teams all have eight points each, only the net run rate separating them.

Rohit and Green keep Mumbai on track

Before his heroics at the death, Arshdeep dealt Mumbai an early below by sending back Ishan Kishan in the second over of the chase. Rohit and Green didn’t let that deter them and kept finding boundaries at regular intervals. They hit five fours and three sixes in the powerplay to take Mumbai to 54 for 1 after six overs. The pair added 76 off 50 balls before Rohit spooned a return catch to Liam Livingstone in the tenth over.

Green and Suryakumar press on further

With Mumbai needing 127 in the last ten overs, Suryakumar didn’t waste any time. He swept his third ball for a four before hitting Livingstone for a hat-trick of fours. It was a typical Suryakumar innings – he hit a 26-ball 57, with 33 of those runs coming behind square on the leg side.At the other end, Green too switched into the next gear. In the 15th over, he hit Rahul Chahar for a six and four, bringing up his half-century in the process and reducing the equation to 66 needed from 30 balls.It was even stevens when the last over started, but Arshdeep Singh made sure the result went his team’s way•BCCI

Ellis and Arshdeep show their skills

Green started the 16th over by hitting Nathan Ellis, Kings’ Impact Player, for a four and six. But Ellis had him miscuing a back-of-the-hand slower one, and Curran settled under it near extra cover.Despite that, Mumbai were very much in the contest. In fact, Suryakumar’s six and four off Curran in the 17th over put Mumbai ahead. With 40 needed from the last three overs, Tim David hit Arshdeep’s first ball – a full toss – for a six but the bowler conceded only three off the remaining five balls. One of those balls also took out Suryakumar. It was a low full toss that the batter flicked towards midwicket, where Atharva Taide leapt to his left to pluck the ball.David still threatened to pull it off for Mumbai. In the penultimate over, he hit an Ellis full toss for a 114-metre six but apart from that, he struggled to middle the ball. In the final over, he took a single on Arshdeep’s first ball, and then spent the rest of the over at the non-striker’s end watching a death-bowling masterclass.

Prabhsimran, Taide revive the powerplay

Earlier, Kings had a quiet start after being sent in. Matthew Short tried to take on Green in the third over, flicking him over square leg for four. He eyed another boundary on the next ball, but his attempted pull failed to clear Piyush Chawla at short midwicket.After three overs, Kings were 20 for 1. The next three, however, produced 38. Jason Behrendorff bowled a couple of short balls in the fourth, and Prabhsimran Singh duly dispatched them over the short square-leg boundary. From the other end, Taide ramped Jofra Archer for his first six.Rohit introduced Chawla in the sixth over, and the two batters picked up a boundary each off him as well to lift Kings to 58 for 1 by the end of the powerplay.

Tendulkar, Chawla drag Kings back

It was a bit of a surprise when Arjun Tendulkar, who swung the new ball, was taken off after just one over. When he came back for his second, in the seventh of the innings, he had Prabhsimran lbw with an excellent yorker, the ball sneaking underneath the bat to hit the back shoe.Chawla hurt Kings further with his double-strike in the tenth over. First, seeing Livingstone come down the track, he slipped one down the leg side to have him stumped. Three balls later, he beat Taide on the sweep. The ball hit the pad and went on to disturb the stumps. That left Kings 83 for 4 after ten overs.

The calm, followed by the carnage

Bhatia and Curran consolidated for a while, scoring only 22 from the next four overs. But then came the acceleration, and how. Hrithik Shokeen’s 13-run over, the 15th of the innings, was a bad omen for Mumbai. But instead of bringing back Chawla, who had figures of 2 for 15 from three overs, Rohit went ahead with Tendulkar. Curran and Bhatia smashed him for four fours and two sixes, taking 31 from the over that also featured a wide and beamer.Two overs later, Green came in for the punishment. Curran started it with two successive sixes. After a single on the third, Green dismissed Bhatia, but Jitesh launched him for two more maximums to make it 25 from the over.Curran brought up his fifty, off 26 balls, with a four off Archer before getting out in the same over. Jitesh wasn’t done yet, though. He hit two more sixes in the final over, bowled by Behrendorff, to take Kings to what proved to be just the winning total.