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Big Picture – South Africa look to extend winning run

It’s been a change of fortunes for both sides since their respective opening games at the Women’s World Cup, 2025. After a crushing defeat in their opener, where they were bowled out for 69 against England, South Africa have turned things around in style, edging past New Zealand before putting themselves back as strong contenders by beating hosts India in an epic chase.Bangladesh began with a statement win over Pakistan but have since faltered. They pushed England close and were thoroughly outplayed by New Zealand, leaving their campaign teetering.Related

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South Africa’s resurgence has been powered by individual brilliance. Tazmin Brits stood tall against New Zealand, while Nadine de Klerk delivered a game-changing performance against India, with Chloe Tryon playing a supporting role. Captain Laura Wolvaardt, too, found form at the top of the order. South Africa will hope their core batters can fire in unison as the tournament enters its crunch phase.It’s not just their batting that South Africa will be pleased with. Nonkululeko Mlaba has been the standout among bowlers, her left-arm spin proving decisive in the middle overs. South Africa’s next fixtures are against Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, teams currently occupying the bottom three spots on the points table. With their net run-rate still in the negative (-0.888), South Africa will want more than just wins to stay in the hunt for the top four berth.For Bangladesh, their bowlers have performed well so far in the tournament, boasting the second-best team average (23.26) behind only England, but the batting remains a concern. While two different players have registered fifties in the tournament, the lack of consistency has held them back. If Bangladesh are to challenge South Africa, they’ll need their top and middle order to click.Nigar Sultana needs to step up with the bat for Bangladesh•ICC/Getty Images

Form Guide

Bangladesh LLWLL (last five matches, most recent first)
South Africa WWLLW

In the spotlight – Chloe Tryon and Nigar Sultana

After a quiet start to the tournament, Chloe Tryon chose the right moment to shine, showcasing her all-round skills against India. She first dented India’s batting with a clinical spell of 3 for 23 by removing key players in Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur, and Amanjot Kaur. Then she walked in with South Africa 81 for 5 in their 252-run chase, and helped script one of their most memorable wins. She managed all of this while nursing a calf niggle.While Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana has led energetically on the field, her form with the bat has been a concern. Scores of 23, 0, and 4 in her last three outings, each ending with a soft dismissal, have left a void in Bangladesh’s top order. She was full of praise for her bowling unit after the loss to New Zealand, but called out the team’s shortcomings with the bat, stressing the need to build partnerships and show composure when chasing targets over 200.

Team news – Tryon fit for Bangladesh clash

With batting being a concern, will Bangladesh look to bring back the experienced Fargana Hoque at the top of the order?Bangladesh (probable): 1 Rubya Haider, 2 Sharmin Akhter, 3 Nigar Sultana (capt & wk), 4 Sobhana Mostary, 5 Sumaiya Akter, 6 Shorna Akter, 7 Fahima Khatun, 8 Nahida Akter, 9 Rabeya Khan, 10 Marufa Akter, 11 Nishita Akter NishiChole Tryon, who batted with a calf niggle against India, is fit and available for South Africa•ICC/Getty Images

South Africa will want to keep their winning XI. Tryon, whose calf required heavy strapping when she was batting against India, is fit and available to play.South Africa (probable): 1 Laura Wolvaardt (capt), 2 Tazmin Brits, 3 Sune Luus, 4 Marizanne Kapp, 5 Anneke Bosch/Annerie Dercksen, 6 Sinalo Jafta (wk), 7 Chloe Tryon, 8 Nadine de Klerk, 9 Tumi Sekhukhune, 10 Ayabonga Khaka, 11 Nonkululeko Mlaba

Pitch and conditions – Rainy and humid in Vizag

Visakhapatnam has been the most batting-friendly venue of this World Cup so far, with a high-scoring pitch laid out during the India-Australia clash. There is a chance of rain on Monday afternoon, but the weather is expected to clear up later in the day. The temperature will peak around 31°C with high humidity. Dew has been a factor in the evening and could influence the toss.

Stats and Trivia

• This will be South Africa’s 50th World Cup game
• Fahima Khatun has 15 wickets this year. She needs to add six more to her tally to have the most for Bangladesh in a year
• Marizanne Kapp is two wickets away from becoming South Africa’s leading wicket-taker in World Cups, going past Shabnim Ismail’s 36.
• Fargana Hoque needs four more runs to complete 500 runs against South Africa. She will become the first Bangladesh player to hit 500 runs against any opponent in women’s ODIs

Quotes

“With a bowling style like mine, what I try to do is bowl my variations as much as possible. Coming to the subcontinental teams, sometimes pace doesn’t work, or rather, go your way. So, I think I try to change up my pace there and then see how that can actually work for me.”
“I agree our batting collapsed [against New Zealand]. We’ve already discussed it with our batting coaches and among the players. We’ve been working on those weaknesses, and hopefully the batters will come back in the next match. We have other capable batters in the team. And our captain, Joty, always plays in a way that inspires us. I believe she’ll do better from the next match.”

Big picture: Mercurial Pakistan v hungry Bangladesh

Pakistan’s hot-and-cold campaign meets Bangladesh’s hunger in a virtual semi-final to book their spot against India in the Asia Cup 2025 final. Pakistan haven’t won two matches in a row in the tournament but despite the hiding against India, they bounced back against Sri Lanka. Bangladesh haven’t done too badly in the tournament despite their T20I misgivings in recent years. They have emerged as a young team in transition, now playing with more confidence. But they have a quick turnaround after their defeat to India on Wednesday.Pakistan would take heart from their batting comeback against Sri Lanka. They lost four wickets for just 12 runs, slipping to 57 for four chasing 134. Hussain Talat and Mohammad Nawaz were the unlikely batting heroes, taking Pakistan home comfortably in the end. They had earlier bowled well to restrict Sri Lanka, who were the favourites going into the game following their group-stage performance.Talat and Nawaz showed the advantage of being underrated batters in the team, as Sri Lanka took their foot off the gas after removing the more heralded Mohammad Haris. Nawaz has had an interesting tournament, having been unused as a bowler in Pakistan’s last two games. This, despite coach Mike Hesson calling him the best spinner in the world. Nawaz, however, has bailed out Pakistan with the bat a couple of times in the tournament. Talat too did well against Sri Lanka, picking up two wickets in an over to go with his rescue act with the bat.Related

• Mohammad Nawaz reinvents himself

Unlike Pakistan, Bangladesh would want to quickly forget how they fared in their last match against India. They would bank on the confidence they gained from beating Sri Lanka and Afghanistan earlier in the tournament. They also beat Pakistan 2-1 at home in July, one of their three consecutive T20I series wins coming into the Asia Cup.To be fair, Bangladesh’s bowlers came back well against India after Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill got off to an electrifying start. Legspinner Rishad Hossain took the first two wickets before Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Mustafizur Rahman put the brakes on the scoring rate. Saif Hassan’s back-to-back fifties will also give him reason to believe he can add a third against Pakistan. Bangladesh will also hope that Taskin Ahmed and Litton Das, reported to return for this game, can use their experience to get Bangladesh to the final.2:14

Why did Bangladesh make four changes against India?

Form guide

Bangladesh LWWLW (last five T20Is, most recent first)
Pakistan WLWLW

In the spotlight: Rishad Hossain and Shaheen Shah AfridiRishad Hossain has answered the big question about legspinners in Bangladesh – whether he can deliver under pressure. After his 14 wickets in last year’s T20 World Cup, he has impressed in the Asia Cup as well with six strikes in four games, including a spirited show against India. He took the first two wickets and then ran out the marauding Abhishek. He is growing in his stature as a legspinner and has the most wickets for Bangladesh since his T20I debut.It is crucial for Pakistan that Shaheen Shah Afridi gets them the early breakthroughs in the Asia Cup. It not only gives them an early advantage but also helps Afridi maintain his rhythm in the match. He has had a decent tournament so far despite his wicketless outings against India. He dismissed both the Sri Lankan openers, Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka, early to set the tone. And his batting lower down the order is also helping him add value to the team.Saim Ayub has found runs hard to come by in this Asia Cup•AFP/Getty Images

Team news: Will Pakistan leave Saim Ayub out?

Litton Das and Taskin Ahmed are likely to return. Parvez Hossain Emon and Mohammad Saifuddin could make way for them.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tanzid Hasan, 2 Saif Hassan, 3 Litton Das (capt & wk), 4 Towhid Hridoy, 5 Shamim Hossain, 6 Jaker Ali, 7 Rishad Hossain, 8 Tanzim Hasan Sakib, 9 Nasum Ahmed, 10 Taskin Ahmed, 11 Mustafizur RahmanPakistan could bring back Hasan Nawaz or play Khushdil Shah for Saim Ayub, who has tallied only 23 runs in five games in the tournament.Pakistan (probable): 1 Sahibzada Farhan, 2 Fakhar Zaman, 3 Saim Ayub, 4 Salman Agha (capt), 5 Hussain Talat, 6 Mohammad Haris (wk), 7 Mohammad Nawaz, 8 Faheem Ashraf, 9 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Abrar Ahmed

Pitch and conditions: Win toss, bowl first the Dubai mantra

The pitch in Dubai continues to be slow and slightly difficult for the side batting first, even though India won batting first against Bangladesh. Teams are likely to field first given the heat as well.

Stats and trivia

• For the first time in his T20I career, Nawaz hasn’t bowled for Pakistan in consecutive innings.
• Mustafizur became the fourth bowler to take 150 wickets in T20Is, behind Rashid Khan, Tim Southee and Ish Sodhi.
• Jaker Ali leading Bangladesh in their last match was a first for him in all competitive cricket.

Lancashire have apologised for an incident at the Old Trafford Test between England and India where a fan was ejected from the ground after he refused to cover his Pakistan team t-shirt.Farooq Nazar, the fan in question, posted a video on social media documenting the sequence of events, which started with a request from a member of the security staff that he cover the shirt, a replica of Pakistan’s traditional green limited-overs kit.The security guard, who identified himself as working for Lancashire, said he had been sent by “control” to ask for the shirt to be covered. Nazar refused. He was subsequently escorted away by police officers and, according to a statement from Lancashire, “asked to leave the stadium by stewards and police officers due to unacceptable behaviour directed towards the stewarding team”.In the days since – the incident took place on the last day, a Sunday, of the Test – the club conducted an internal review and apologised for “any upset and offence caused which was not intended and will review its procedures for handling similar situations in the future”.Lancashire, however, explained that a separate incident at the ground between a set of Indian and Pakistani fans on the Saturday of the Test influenced their handling of the situation with Nazar.”Firstly, we wish to make it clear that there was no intention to remove the individual simply for wearing a Pakistan cricket shirt,” the club said in a statement. “The approach taken was informed by an incident on Saturday, during which a group of supporters waved a Pakistan national flag, leading to tensions with nearby Indian fans. In that case, our stewards were able to de-escalate the situation by respectfully asking the individuals to put the flag away, which they did without hesitation.”In light of this context, our team adopted a precautionary, safety-first approach on Sunday. A stand supervisor politely asked the individual to cover his shirt in the interest of his own safety and to avoid any potential escalation. Despite several courteous requests from the supervisor and the response team, the individual repeatedly declined to comply.”Earlier, the ECB CEO Richard Gould had said Nazar was known to the ECB from previous years.”There may well be a context [to what happened] and I know the ground is looking at that, and we’ve also referred it along to the Cricket Regulator to make sure that they’re aware,” Gould said.Relations between India and Pakistan, have been at a low following a brief military skirmish between the two countries in May. Those tensions have filtered into relations between the BCCI and PCB; the two sides have not played a bilateral series since 2012-13 and no Test cricket since 2007-08. Their participation in ICC events hosted by either country has also recently become an issue, with a neutral venue added in to stage their games as part of a hybrid solution to the issue.Earlier this week, an India veterans team refused to play their Pakistan counterparts in two games – including the semi-final, which they forfeited – of a legends tournament in Birmingham.

Varun Aaron, the former India quick bowler, has announced his retirement from “representative cricket”. Aaron, 35, had retired from red-ball cricket at the end of the 2023-24 Indian domestic season, and has now finished up altogether after his team, Jharkhand, were knocked out of the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy, in which he played four games and picked up three wickets at an average of 53.33.”For the past 20 years, I have lived, breathed, and thrived on the rush of bowling fast. Today, with immense gratitude, I officially announce my retirement from representative cricket,” Aaron wrote on Instagram. “As I bid farewell to a pursuit that has consumed me completely, I now look forward to savoring the smaller joys in life while staying deeply connected to the game that has given me everything. Fast Bowling has been my first love, and though I step off the field, it will always be a part of who I am.”Aaron burst on to the scene as a genuine tearaway during the 2010-11 Vijay Hazare Trophy, when he was 21, by clocking speeds upwards of 150kph. But bowling fast came with its pitfalls, and in a career blighted by injuries – stress fractures of the back, in the main – Aaron played nine Tests and nine ODIs, but the last of those was way back in November 2015, a Test against South Africa in Bengaluru, where he picked up one wicket in a match that lost four days to the weather.”Over the years, I’ve had to push both my physical and mental limits to recover from numerous career-threatening injuries, having to come back time and again, this was only possible thanks to the relentless dedication of the physios, trainers, and coaches at the National Cricket Academy,” Aaron wrote.He finishes up with 88 List A matches, in which he got 141 wickets at an average of 26.47 and economy rate of 5.44, and 95 T20s, where he has 93 wickets at an economy rate of 8.53.Aaron played nine seasons of the IPL between 2011 and 2022 – with Delhi Daredevils, Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Gujarat Titans – and won the title with Titans in what was his final season in the competition. His own contribution in it was, however, modest, as he picked up two wickets in two games, and had an economy rate of 10.40.A product of the MRF Pace Academy, he has worked with the organisation since the middle of 2024, and has also worked as a cricket pundit, including with ESPNcricinfo.

ECB chief executive Richard Gould is confident the Hundred will generate enough money to future-proof the County game for the next “20 to 25 years” after multiple bids were tabled for each of the eight teams earlier this week, in the second round of the equity sales process.Having received over 100 bids from 35 parties in the first round, a broad spectrum of interested buyers remains. They are understood to include eight of the 10 IPL team owners and co-owners, plus US-based sports investors and private equity.Gould confirmed most investors have put in multiple bids. Once it is determined which investors best match the interest of one of the eight host teams, the third and final stage will see clubs and counties decide upon their two preferred partners for a joint venture.The ECB remain increasingly optimistic that they will better their initially stated aim of raising a minimum of £350 million, not least with competition between investors already evident.In September, Vikram Banerjee, tasked with selling off stakes in the Hundred as ECB director of business operations, stated that the final process could be delayed if the right bids and suitors are not found for all teams. Three months and two stages on, Gould says it is “more likely” the 49 percent stakes on offer for each of the eight teams will be sold first time. Host counties can then decide how much of their gifted 51 percent they wish to part with.Related

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Most of the money raised from those 49 percent stakes is set to be split among the 18 counties and MCC, with 10 percent portioned off for the recreational game. This means that county game is in line for a massive windfall, But Gould insists it will need to be spent wisely.”My hope is that this will recapitalise the county game for the next 20-25 years, if that money is used really well,” he said in Hamilton, on the eve of the third Test between England and New Zealand.”We’re not counting our chickens yet, but the aim of this is to raise significant investment that is going to go into the game. One of the things that has been attracting the investors is the money they’d be putting in is going to develop the game. A very significant chunk is going into the recreational game, even more is going into the professional game and that is split between the hosts and non-hosts.”The professional counties have been very keen to explain to us that they want guard rails in place. Those are likely to focus on the level of debt a club has, the level of reserves a club should have and also when they are making investments, making sure those are investments for the good of the game – providing financial return or in things like the player pathway.”

India’s T20 World Cup semi-final hopes have been taken out of their hands after a nine-run defeat to Australia in their final group-stage match. India have lost two of their four matches and will have to wait on the result of New Zealand vs Pakistan tomorrow to find out if they will advance to the knockouts. Any margin of victory for New Zealand will eliminate India but a Pakistan victory will decide the semi-finalists on net run rate.Permutations aside, the tournament finally got the thriller it had been crying out for in an intense clash in front of an electric, sold-out Sharjah crowd of 14,946. They were treated to a high-octane affair with both sides acutely aware of what was at stake amid injury concerns. Australia were without captain, opening batter and wicket-keeper Alyssa Healy, who arrived on crutches after sustaining a foot injury against Pakistan, and Tayla Vlaeminck, who has been ruled out of the tournament.India also lost Asha Sobhana to a knee injury after the toss and needed Australia’s permission to replace her in the XI, which was given. Radha Yadav, who had appeared as a substitute fielder in previous games, was included in Asha’s place. Later, Renuka Singh left the field limping after bowling her four overs but came back to face the final ball of the match.Harmanpreet Kaur’s fifty was not enough to take India over the line•Getty Images

By then, India’s chances of victory were gone after their chase started brightly but was pinned back by wickets at crucial times. They were 47 for 3 in the seventh over before a 63-run stand between Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma put them back on track. A collapse of 6 for 31 left Harmanpreet the last batter standing and despite a second successive half-century, she could not take India over the line alone.Australia were uncharacteristically messy in the field, put down two chances and bowled four wides and a no-ball but had enough at their disposal to defend. Grace Harris, opening in Healy’s place, was their top-scorer with a 41-ball 40 and shared a 62-run stand with Tahlia McGrath, which steadied Australia after two early losses. Ellyse Perry’s 23-ball 32 gave them much-needed impetus at the end.

Wary Wareham doesn’t review

Australia were off to a slowish start with 17 runs from their first 16 balls when Renuka struck with a delivery that angled away from Beth Mooney. Australia’s senior opener reached for it and hit a low chance to Radha at backward point, where she dived forward to take a good catch. Georgia Wareham was pushed up to No. 3, where she has occasionally been used as a pinch hitter, and the first ball she faced thudded into the front pad as she missed her flick.Renuka was joined by every single one of her team-mates in appealing and umpire Sue Redfern eventually raised her finger as Wareham began walking off. Harris asked Wareham if she wanted to review but she decided against it, only to return to the dressing room and find out that ball tracking showed that the ball would go on to miss leg stump by some distance. Australia held Perry back and stand-in captain McGrath was in at No. 4, where she had to rebuild.

Middle-overs acceleration from McGrath and Harris

Harris and McGrath took Australia to 37 for 2 in the powerplay and launched into attack mode from the eighth over, when they both took on Pooja Vastrakar. McGrath hit her through cover for four and then Harris scooped her over fine leg in an over that cost ten runs and took Australia past fifty. Australia were 65 for 2 at the halfway stage of their innings and the Harris-McGrath stand grew to 62 off 54 balls and India were desperate to separate them.Tahlia McGrath led Australia’s recovery from No. 4•ICC/Getty Images

They reviewed an lbw appeal against McGrath off a Renuka full toss which was missing leg. McGrath was then dropped on 31 by Harmanpreet off Radha at cover. The India captain got both hands on the ball but it burst through. Harris hit the next ball in the air and Harmanpreet ran back to try and take an overhead catch but missed. It was third time lucky for India when McGrath charged Radha, missed and Richa Ghosh stumped her.

And then drama

Harris went nine balls later when she pulled her WPL team-mate Deepti to Smriti Mandhana at short mid-on and India had their foot on the Australian middle order’s throat when Ashleigh Gardner’s leading edge found Radha at cover. After 15 overs, Australia were 101 for 5. Perry showed intent when she took 13 runs off Shreyanka Patil’s third over.India thought they had another important breakthrough when Deepti appealed for lbw after Phoebe Litchfield missed an attempted reverse sweep. Redfern gave it out on field and Litchfield was walking but Perry convinced her to review. The ball was pitching outside leg stump and even though Litchfield changed her stance, the third umpire Jacqueline Williams deemed that Litchfield did that only after the ball was delivered and asked Redfern to change her decision to not out. India initially protested the decision but soon calmed down. Litchfield was on 5 at the time, finished the innings unbeaten on 15, and hit a six off the last ball.

Shafali smashes it upfront but India lose two in the powerplay

India’s intent was evident off the bat of Shafali Verma, who had to wait until only the sixth ball she faced when she found the boundary with great force. She slogged Gardner over square leg for India’s first four, then sent Megan Schutt over her head for four more and finally went all the way, slamming Schutt over long-off. Shafali had soon raced to 20 off 12 balls but fell to Gardner for the fifth time in T20Is, trying to clear Annabel Sutherland at long-on.Shafali Verma found the fielder to the T after a blazing start•ICC/Getty Images

Australia sensed an opportunity to break through and when Sutherland rapped Jemimah Rodrigues on the pad. They reviewed the call after it was given not out only to find that the impact was outside the line. Their next review was successful, when Mandhana was beaten on the pull and hit on the back thigh off Sophie Molineux’s quick, skiddy first ball. Ball-tracking confirmed it was hitting the middle of middle stump and India ended their powerplay on 41 for 2.

Australia put the brakes on

Australia got even further ahead when Rodrigues pulled Schutt straight to Gardner at deep midwicket in the seventh over. It allowed them to apply the squeeze. Deepti gloved a sweep for four in the eighth over but then there were no boundaries for three overs, at the end of which Australia had confirmed their semi-final spot.Harmanpreet pulled Darcie Brown through deep square leg in the 11th over, which was her first boundary and off the 15th ball she faced. Another 20 balls went by before India found the boundary again, in the 14th over by which point the required run rate was above ten an over. India needed 62 runs off the last six overs.

Another half-century for Harmanpreet but it’s not enough

The India captain almost single-handedly kept her side in the hunt, especially when the boundaries dried up. At the end of the 14th over, she hit the four that reignited the chase and she went on to find gaps in the field that kept India in it. After Deepti sent Wareham over short fine for four, Harmanpreet bisected the gap between extra cover and mid-off.Deepti and Ghosh were dismissed in the space of three balls and Harmanpreet struck successive fours off Gardner to make sure India stayed in the contest. She brought up fifty off 44 balls but was at the non-striker’s end for most of the final over, from where watched four wickets fall and India’s chances fade away.

Offspinning allrounder Ben Manenti starred with bat and ball to leave South Australia well placed heading into the final day of the Sheffield Shield match against Victoria in Adelaide.Victoria’s openers got through six overs unscarred, requiring a further 337 runs for victory. South Australia were able to declare late in the day and set Victoria a challenging 346-run victory target thanks to some typically lusty hitting from Manenti.Related

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Three huge sixes highlighted Manenti’s 62 not out from 71 balls.Coming to the crease with the home side having lost 3 fpr 4 and looking wobbly at 176 for 6, Manenti top-scored for his side having also completed career-best bowling figures of 5 for 73 earlier in the day.Victoria resumed on day three at 195 for 7, with Manenti having picked up four top-order wickets. But it was Harry Conway who claimed the most important dismissal during the morning session in dismissing Sam Harper.The wicketkeeper revived Victoria’s innings on day two and, after resuming on 68, had reached 89 when trapped lbw by Conway. He earlier knocked over Peter Siddle and Manenti ended the innings by bowling Doug Warren to leave Victoria with a 75-run first innings deficit.South Australia’s turn at the crease began with Henry Hunt caught behind without scoring for a second successive second innings duck for the otherwise heavy-scoring opener.Conversely Jake Lehmann posted a well-compiled 60 having been dismissed for a duck in the first innings. There were runs also for in-form Alex Carey, with the Test gloveman now boasting a Shield average of 88 after three matches of the season.Veteran paceman Siddle was the best of the Victorian bowlers for the second time in the match with 4 for 63, while rookie spinner Warren returned 3 for 74.

Afghanistan completed their most high-profile bilateral series win and their first against a team ranked in the ICC’s top five with a 177-run victory over South Africa in Sharjah. After dominating South Africa with the ball two days ago, Afghanistan repeated the dose with the bat on Friday and posted their tenth total of 300 or more to ask South Africa to complete their sixth-highest successful chase. A collapse of 10 for 61 meant South Africa did not even get close and recorded their fifth-biggest defeat by runs. Afghanistan lead the series 2-0 with one match remaining.Birthday-boy Rashid Khan turned 26 and took his fifth career five-for to top off a day of excellence for Afghanistan in all departments. Their celebrations began with Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s seventh ODI century, followed by Rahmat Shah’s 29th ODI half-century and then Azmatullah Omarzai’s fastest fifty in the format. Omarzai reached his half-century off 32 balls, ended unbeaten on 86 off 50 balls and led Afghanistan’s charge of 93 runs in the last ten overs to post a challenging total. While Rashid headlined their bowling, he shared his success with left-arm spinner Nangeyalia Kharote, who finished with a career-best 4 for 26.Afghanistan asserted themselves from the get-go when they chose to bat which left South Africa to field in the worst of the heat. Officially the temperature was 38 degrees Celsius but the real-feel was in the late 40s and they did not have any real menace. Gurbaz and Riaz Hassan put on 88 for the first wicket before Gurbaz and Shah shared a 101-run second-wicket stand which formed the spine of the Afghan innings.South Africa’s spinners, Bjorn Fortuin and Aiden Markram were the most effective in keeping Afghanistan quiet and conceded 59 runs in 14 overs between them, but debutant legspinner Nqaba Peter was expensive and Nandre Burger also conceded 68 runs. Lungi Ngidi was the pick of the seamers, particularly at the end of the innings but South Africa lacked wicket-taking ability, which allowed Afghanistan to get away from them with their fourth and fifth wicket stands of 55 off 40 balls and 40 off 23, respectively.Gurbaz got things underway with the first boundary: a massive six over long-off, off an Ngidi length ball. He followed it up with a cover drive for four, and then two pull shots off Burger short balls to race to go from 4 off the first 15 balls he faced to a run-a-ball 24.Fortuin was brought on in the powerplay and kept his end quiet but Burger’s insistence on using the short ball did not serve South Africa well early on. His first spell of five overs cost 32 runs. He was replaced by Peter, whose first over was tight. He gave away a boundary in each of his next two before Markam took over. Markram got the first wicket when he beat Hassan’s inside-edge and hit him on the pad above the knee roll.Rashid Khan appeals for a wicket•Afghanistan Cricket Board

Gurbaz quietened down for a couple of overs but when Wiaan Mulder was brought on in the 21st over, he could not resist a charge down. He hit Mulder over long-on for his second six. What followed was an electric display of shots from both Gurbaz and Rahmat in a stand that seemed to drain South Africa. Rahmat reverse paddled Markam to third and flicked Mulder fine for four, Gurbaz lofted Peter over mid-off, mid-wicket and swept Fortuin to deep backward square to edge towards 90.Then, the nerves kicked in. He spent 18 deliveries in the 90s and seven of those on 99, including a maiden over from Fortuin, as he inched towards his milestone. He got there when he swept Markram behind square leg and his response was as emotive as they come. Gurbaz dropped his bat and then himself to his knees in sajdah, and then composed himself to create a heart-shape with his hands and blow a kiss to the changeroom and a spirited Sharjah crowd. However, in the next over, he swung at a Burger ball, missed and was bowled to end an exceptional knock. This is also the third successive year in which Gurbaz has scored two hundreds. With this knock, Gurbaz has most ODI hundreds for Afghanistan, surpassing Mohammad Shahzad (6).Afghanistan’s 200 was up after 36 overs, and they would have been eyeing a total in excess of 300. Peter made it difficult for them before the last ten overs and picked up his first ODI wicket when he dragged his length back as Rahmat advanced on him, and had Rahmat stumped on 50.Omarzai’s intent in the final period was clear when he hit Mulder over long-off for six two balls into the last 10. He sent Peter in the same area twice, and then hit him over mid-wicket for his fourth six and the shot that brought up his half-century, off 32 balls. Mohammad Nabi was little more than a spectator in the 55-run stand with Omarzai but when he tried to smash an Ngidi slower ball, he skied to Bavuma to depart for 13.That brought Rashid to the crease and he was in immediate trouble, albeit not caused by the bowlers. He hit Ngidi to sweeper cover and ran two but pulled up at the end of the second run with what looked like a hamstring concern. He received treatment on the field, skied the next ball he faced, which Peter couldn’t get to, and then held his hamstring again. Rashid stayed with Omarzai as he took Afghanistan over 300, and any problems he had with his fitness did not show in the field.South Africa’s chase got underway steadily with returning captain Temba Bavuma and Tony de Zorzi’s opening stand of 73 in 14 overs. But Bavuma’s dismissal and then Rashid’s introduction into the attack sparked an almighty collapse. Bavuma top-edged a pull off an Omarzai short ball and the high catch was well judged by Mohammed Nabi. Bavuma departed before he even had a chance to face Rashid, who was given the ball in the 18th over and caused problems with his first ball which teased Reeza Hendricks’ outside edge. Four balls later, de Zorzi tried to drive Rashid through the covers but edged to Ikram Alikhil.Stunned by spin, South Africa went into their shell and scored only 11 runs in the next four overs as pressure built. When left-arm spinner Kharote was brought on in the 23rd over, Hendricks looked particularly out-of-sorts when he stayed back in his crease to play for turn and was bowled. In the next over, Tristan Stubbs was given out on review when he gloved a sweep off Rashid to Nabi at leg slip. Two balls later, Kyle Verreynne failed to pick the wrong ‘un and was out lbw and Markram was left with the lower-order. Mulder was Rashid’s fourth victim, beaten as he stayed back, and Fortuin was bowled by his counterpart Kharote off one that stayed low. At 112 for 7, there was no way back for South Africa.Rashid’s fifth came when he bowled Markram with a googly. Kharote took wickets either side of that to leave South Africa floored. They lost all ten wickets in the space of 20.3 overs.

Gus Atkinson produced his fifth performance worthy of the Lord’s honours boards in his debut summer as an England Test cricketer, adding a second-innings five-for to his maiden hundred as Sri Lanka’s resistance in the second Test was finally broken.The touring side, set an unlikely target of 483 to keep the series alive, put on a gutsy fourth-innings display in a bid to avoid a first Test defeat at Lord’s since 1991. There were valiant half-centuries for Dimuth Karunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal and Dhananjaya de Silva, as well as more dogged lower-order resistance from Milan Rathnayake, in only his second Test. But in the end, they were well beaten, going down by 190 runs inside four days.There was only a sparse crowd in at Lord’s to appreciate the contest, but there were ripples of applause for Sri Lanka’s endeavour – followed by the latest ovation of Atkinson’s fledgling Test career, as he raised the ball aloft after removing Rathnayake to leave Sri Lanka nine down. It took his tally to 19 Test wickets at 10.94 in two Test appearances at Lord’s (three entries on the board for five wickets in an innings, one for ten in the match), to go alongside the first century of his professional career.Atkinson’s exploits also put him in select company as an allrounder, becoming only the third England Men’s player to score a hundred and take a five-wicket haul in the same Test.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

England returned on Sunday morning needing eight wickets to seal a 2-0 lead in the series – and their fifth consecutive Test win this summer. They were made to work hard for it, with Chris Woakes, Olly Stone and Shoaib Bashir contributing alongside Atkinson as Sri Lanka’s batters applied themselves to their task.If chasing 483 to win seemed unlikely, they certainly had a chance of taking the game into a fifth day. “Bat simple and bat long,” was the message, according to Dhananjaya, and Karunaratne’s first fifty of the series set the tone during the morning session as Sri Lanka lost just two wickets, one of them the “lightwatcher”, Prabath Jayasuriya.Karunaratne dug in for 129 balls for his 55, before being bounced out by Stone, then Chandimal changed gears to blitz a 43-ball fifty either side of lunch. Dhananjaya was typically cool in putting up the highest partnership of the innings alongside Rathnayake, notching his own fifty after tea; but when he played on against Atkinson with the second new ball, the end for Sri Lanka was nigh.Ollie Pope shuffled his hand regularly, trying out different combinations and tactics – although his success with the DRS did not improve, with three burned reviews taking his record as England’s stand-in captain to eight without managing to overturn a single on-field call.The review system also led to England’s one moment of palpable frustration, when Chandimal had an lbw decision reversed on the strength of the minutest of flickers on UltraEdge – “He’s not hit that,” Woakes could be seen to say on replay. But Chandimal’s skittish innings featuring 11 boundaries eventually came to an end via a bat-pad catch at short leg off Atkinson, who struck again in his next over as Kamindu Mendis flashed a drive to third slip.Dhananjaya and Rathnayake threw up another roadblock, as they had done in the first innings at Old Trafford, to extend the day into a third session. Rathnayake showed his bravery in taking on Stone’s short-ball attack and after being dropped by Joe Root at slip off Atkinson looked set to add a second fifty in as many Tests only to nick a pull behind, before Woakes’ slower ball finished the innings off, Lahiru Kumara chipping to mid-on.Dinesh Chandimal hits on the up in his energetic innings•Getty Images

It was a long way from an eventful start, which saw Karunaratne survive a review for lbw off the second ball of the morning – replays showing Woakes’ delivery had pitched fractionally outside leg stump. The Sri Lanka opener had another life when a slash at Atkinson evaded the diving Root, a tough, one-handed chance at slip; England then lost a second review when thought they had him caught behind off the same bowler.Woakes removed Jayasuriya after an obdurate innings of 4 from 41 balls, a thick-edged drive well held low at second slip by Harry Brook. But the fourth-wicket stand between Karunaratne and Angelo Mathews kept England at bay, with a run-out seemingly their likeliest method of a breakthrough.With just one fifty from 13 previous innings in England, Karunaratne was largely watchful in his approach, although he did take three boundaries off an over from Atkinson: a cover drive followed up with a controlled pull, before a low edge flew between slip and gully. Another steer down to deep third off Matt Potts took him to 49 before a tap to point allowed him to raise his bat for the first time on tour.Mathews looked to take on Bashir, who found some turn but was perhaps not as threatening as England would have hoped, and Pope asked Stone to go short again with lunch approaching. The move worked, Karunaratne dislodged when gloving a lifter through to Smith down the leg side.Chandimal seemed intent on counterattacking and took Woakes for back-to-back fours at the start of his spell after lunch, then hit Bashir for three boundaries in an over. A wild swipe at Woakes that flew over the slips took him to fifty, and he did the bulk of the scoring during a stand of 59 with Mathews.They were separated when Bashir tempted Mathews to try and go over the top, only to drill his shot into the hands of Woakes, going to his left at mid-off. Woakes then thought he had removed Chandimal on 55, hitting the knee roll with one coming back down the slope – only for the third umpire, Chris Gaffaney, to conclude there was bat involved, much to Woakes’ chagrin. The delay was temporary, as England closed in on a clean sweep ahead of the final Test of the summer at The Oval next week.

Glamorgan 182 for 8 (Ingram 47, Allison 3-52) beat Essex 156 (Walter 53, Rossington 41, van der Gugten 3-15) by 26 runsGlamorgan made it back-to-back wins in the Vitality Blast with a 26-run victory over Essex in Cardiff. Middle-order runs and a brilliant bowling display helped them close out their fourth win of the tournament.Having been put in to bat, Glamorgan scored 182 for eight with Colin Ingram top scoring with 47. He was well supported by Marnus Labuschagne and Chris Cooke to set Essex a stiff target.An excellent stand between Adam Rossington and Paul Walter looked to be taking Essex to victory before Labuschagne and Mason Crane choked the life out of the chase to give Glamorgan the win.Essex were bowled out for 156 with the highest score coming from Walter who made 53.Essex kept Glamorgan guessing with their bowling changes in the first part of their innings, with eight bowling changes in the first eight overs. Mixing up the bowling seemed with work with 43 runs and two wickets coming from the PowerPlay.Both Glamorgan openers fell early with Will Smale top edging a sweep shot off Simon Harmer that was caught inside the circle by Robin Das and Kiran Carlson dismissed for 11 when he edged a ball from Ben Allison through to Adam Rossington.A stand of 49 between Tom Bevan and Marnus Labuschagne helped Glamorgan recover from the loss of their openers inside the Powerplay but Bevan departed when he nicked Matt Critchley to Rossington for 23.The experienced trio of Labuschagne, Ingram and Cooke were the reason Glamorgan got to a competitive total with all three players making significant contributions. Labuschagne made 30 from 26 balls that steadied things after the loss of early wickets. He was dismissed when he missed a sweep shot and was bowled by Critchley.Ingram and Cooke combined for the highest stand of the Glamorgan innings, scoring 67 runs for the fourth wicket. Ingram was the highest scorer in the innings but it was Cooke who was the most destructive, scoring 38 runs from just 18 balls. Both fell in the pursuit of quick runs at the death, with Cooke departing to a fantastic catch from Ben Allison on the boundary that robbed him of another six.The Essex innings started with Timm van der Gugten claiming three early wickets to leave the visitors 27 for three. Van der Gugten trapped Dean Elgar lbw for 4 before bowling Michael Pepper and having Robin Das caught behind.The target seemed a long way away at that point but a brilliant partnership of 83 between Rossington and Walter brought Essex back into the game. Walter was the main contributor, making 53 of those runs from just 33 balls before he was dismissed by Dan Douthwaite.Rossington fell in the very next over when he skied an attempted sweep off Labuschagne’s legspin and he was caught by the bowler for 43 to leave Essex 113 for five.From there Crane and Labuschagne strangled the Essex middle-order as the run rate kept climbing. The two legspinners combined for eight overs for the cost of just 48 runs and claiming five wickets between them as Essex were bowled out a long way short of the target.