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Marcus Harris and Michael Neser also drop off while Matt Short and Aaron Hardie are included

Alex Malcolm27-Mar-2024 • Updated on 28-Mar-20241:40

Paine: Perth a good place to start, but India have pace depth

Marcus Stoinis and Ashton Agar have lost their Cricket Australia central contracts for 2024-25 despite both being firmly in the mix to play in the upcoming T20 World Cup while fast bowler Xavier Bartlett has been rewarded with a deal for the first time having vaulted into international cricket late this summer.Aaron Hardie, Matthew Short and Nathan Ellis have all been added to the 23-player list. Jhye Richardson retains his spot despite not playing international cricket since 2022 and appearing in just two Marsh Cup games, one Sheffield Shield match and eight BBL matches in the recent domestic summer due to a spate of injuries.Related

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Michael Neser and Marcus Harris have both dropped off the list after not playing any Test cricket in the last contract period while Matt Renshaw also misses out on a deal despite being the spare batter selected in Australia’s squad for the last four Test matches.The omission of Stoinis and Agar is noteworthy given they could both be involved in Australia’s T20 World Cup campaign. Tim David is another who is locked in for the World Cup but is not on the contract list. However, the T20 World Cup will be in June and falls under the previous contracting period.Xavier Bartlett is handed his T20 cap by Marcus Stoinis•Getty Images

The new contracts for 2024-25 do not come into effect until July 1. Australia do not play much T20 cricket in the 2024-25 contract year with only six matches scheduled. Australia’s focus is on the seven Tests scheduled against India at home (five) and Sri Lanka away (two), in the hopes of qualifying for the 2025 World Test Championship final, and the ODI Champions Trophy in Pakistan in February.Chair of selectors George Bailey said the list was put together with an eye to the future.”Matt, Aaron and Xavier have been extremely impressive in the early stages of their international careers,” he said. “Their performances and the way they have embraced the international stage has been exciting to watch.”The panel believes they have strong futures and are deserved of their contracts as they work towards striving to become regulars in the Australian setup.”

Contract list changes

In: Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Matt Short, Aaron Hardie
Out: Michael Neser, Marcus Harris, David Warner, Ashton Agar, Marcus Stoinis
Extensions not retained:Matthew Wade, Tim David, Tanveer Sangha, Jason Behrendorff, Spencer Johnson

Players not contracted for 2024-25 still have the opportunity to qualify for upgrades. Eight players, including Hardie, Ellis, David, Short, Matthew Wade, Tanveer Sangha, Jason Behrendorff and Spencer Johnson all qualified for upgrades last year by accruing enough points through selection. Players need 12 points for an upgrade. Five points are awarded for a Test match, two for an ODI and two for a T20I.David Warner has also come off the contract list after announcing his retirement from international cricket following the T20I World Cup in June.Australia men’s contracts 2024-25 Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Jhye Richardson, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa

Not to forget the big question: will this be MS Dhoni’s IPL farewell if CSK fall short?

Sruthi Ravindranath17-May-20242:35

Aaron: Santner gives CSK a lot of options

Match details

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) (7th; 6W, 7L) vs Chennai Super Kings (CSK) (4th; 7W, 6L)
Bengaluru, 7.30pm IST (2pm GMT)

Big picture – RCB vs CSK, the match of the season?

Is the hype around this encounter justified?The results over the years have been rather one-sided in favour of CSK. RCB have won only once in their last five meetings and only 31% of the all the matches in the IPL against them.So maybe not.But this time, there is a lot at stake – it’s a virtual quarter-final. RCB are in roaring form, with five wins in a row; CSK have been up and down. Scenarios-wise, it’s easier for CSK to get through. Just win, or hope the game is rained out – not unlikely, considering the weather in Bengaluru. RCB, however, have to win and win by a certain margin – assuming a score of 200, they need to win by 18 runs or chase the target down with about 11 balls to spare – to get into the top four.There are sentimental reasons for the hype too. Is this the last we’ll see an MS Dhoni vs Virat Kohli encounter on the field? Will it be Dhoni’s last game for CSK? (Nobody knows, not even CSK’s batting coach Mike Hussey.)Dhoni and Kohli may grab all the headlines, but some subplots mean much more. The two most powerful spin-hitters this season will come up against each other: Shivam Dube, who rocked it for CSK in the first half, and Rajat Patidar, who turned the fortunes around for RCB in the second. It will also be the battle of the Indian quicks, who have played key roles in their sides’ wins in the last few games. M Chinnaswamy Stadium might be a batter-friendly surface, but it may all come down to which pace unit performs better on the day.In terms of the venue, RCB have won both their recent matches at the Chinnaswamy after being relentlessly bashed by oppositions earlier in the season. CSK, however, have won only two of their six away matches. For CSK to gain an advantage at the Chinnaswamy, their batters must come together.Does all of that make this the match of the season? It could very well be. Unless rain plays spoilsport.Related

• Gaikwad the captain faces his sternest test yet

• Patidar: 'I should know that I am the best, nothing else matters'

• Rain threat looms over RCB-CSK clash in Bengaluru

Form guide

RCB WWWWW
CSK WLWLW

Previous meeting

It was the season opener, at Chepauk. Mustafizur Rahman ran through the RCB top order but a late lift from Anuj Rawat and Dinesh Karthik took them to 173 for 6. In reply, CSK chased down the target with eight balls remaining, with Dube and Ravindra Jadeja posting an unbeaten 66-run stand. In many ways, that result set the tone for the first half of the season for the two sides. But it all changed since then.One last time?•AFP/Getty Images

Team news and Impact Player strategy

Royal Challengers Bengaluru
RCB are likely to bring back Glenn Maxwell for the game in place of Will Jacks, who has left for England duty. Patidar for Yash Dayal or Swapnil Singh will likely be the impact swap again.RCB probable XII: 1 Virat Kohli, 2 Faf du Plessis (capt), 3 Glenn Maxwell, 4 Rajat Patidar, 5 Mahipal Lomror, 6 Cameron Green, 7 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 8 Yash Dayal, 9 Karn Sharma, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Lockie Ferguson 12 Swapnil SinghChennai Super Kings
Moeen Ali has left, so Mitchell Santner is likely to get a place in the XI. Ruturaj Gaikwad is also back to opening with Rachin Ravindra. In the last game, Daryl Mitchell was subbed out during the chase to get Sameer Rizvi in at No. 7. Considering Rahane’s poor form, and with Moeen out, will they consider starting with Rizvi and have Mitchell at No. 3?CSK probable XII: 1 Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), 2 Rachin Ravindra, 3 Daryl Mitchell, 4 Shivam Dube, 5 Ravindra Jadeja, 6 Sameer Rizvi, 7 MS Dhoni (wk), 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Shardul Thakur, 10 Maheesh Theekshana, 11 Tushar Deshpande, 12 Simarjeet Singh4:26

How do RCB make best use of Maxwell?

In the spotlight – Faf du Plessis and Shivam Dube

Faf du Plessis is yet to make a big impact with the bat. He has three fifties, but has struggled for consistency overall, having scored just 367 runs at 28.23 in 13 games. He averages just 27 in the powerplay this year compared to 120 last year, when he had a great time. While he’s not got the big scores, he’s been striking at 205 in RCB’s last seven games compared to 140 in the first six games. RCB will be hoping for a big score from their captain in the crucial game to go with another big hand from orange cap-holder Virat Kohli.Shivam Dube‘s superb run in the first half of the season earned him a spot in India’s T20 World Cup squad. However, since then, his form has dipped. Following ducks in back-to-back games against Punjab Kings, he scored 21 and 18 in the next two matches. He was taking spinners apart when the going was good. In three out of the last four games, he’s gotten out trying to go after spinners.

Pitch and conditions

It was cloudy all day in Bengaluru on Friday, and there’s a 78% chance of rain on Saturday, with the forecast saying there could be thunderstorms accompanied by showers in the evening. The average first-innings score at the venue this season is 193. The day before the game, there was no grass on the centre pitch, which will be used for this match, so expect it to be a belter.

Stats that matter

• Kohli has upped his powerplay game, from striking at 131 at an average of 62 in the first six matches to 193 at 98.50 in the last seven
• RCB are Dhoni’s favourite opposition – he has scored 413 runs at an average of 82.6 against them at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, the most against any team for him in the IPL
• Ruturaj Gaikwad averages 71 this season, which is the best for an opener in IPL 2024

Quotes

“He’s a bowler that basically bowled the fastest in our group. Every team will like a bowler like Simar because he bowls with a lot of pace and he’s very aggressive by nature. Even against our own batsmen in the nets, sometimes I get scared with the way he bowls. Very happy to see that the work that he’s put in to finally get an opportunity to play and he’s performing well.”

Bangladesh spinner answered New Zealand batter’s 104 with figures of 4 for 89, with the hosts still 44 ahead

Mohammad Isam29-Nov-2023Taijul Islam kept Bangladesh ahead after the second day’s play in Sylhet, even as Kane Williamson levelled with Don Bradman and Virat Kohli on 29 Test centuries. The left-arm spinner took four wickets to inspire a strong reply from the hosts, who held a 44-run lead at stumps. New Zealand reached 266 for 8 when play was called off early due to bad light for the second day in a row.Williamson held the New Zealand innings together with a patient 104 which he essayed off 205 balls with 11 fours. He kept holding one end up with the middle order, but occasional wickets at the other end restricted his partnerships to only 54, 66 and 78 runs for the third, fourth and sixth wickets, respectively. Bangladesh even struck twice late in the day, when Taijul removed Williamson and Ish Sodhi with the second new ball. He had also given Bangladesh their first breakthrough early in the first session.But earlier, they had lost their remaining wicket off the day’s first ball when Tim Southee had Shoriful Islam lbw. In reply, New Zealand made a cautious start before their openers Tom Latham and Devon Conway succumbed to tight spin bowling. Latham, usually a heavy-scorer against Bangladesh, top edged a sweep off Taijul, which was easily caught by Nayeem Hasan. Mehidy Hasan Miraz then had Conway caught at silly point, where debutant Shahadat Hossain took a smart catch diving to his right.New Zealand regrouped through Williamson and Henry Nicholls by adding 54 for the third wicket. Nicholls remained cagey during his stay of 19 runs from 42 balls, before edging Shoriful. It was the first time in 13 years that Bangladesh took New Zealand’s first three wickets for less than a hundred runs.Taijul Islam (right) got Kane Williamson late in the day•AFP/Getty Images

In Shoriful’s following over, however, Bangladesh missed out on a caught-behind dismissal when Daryl Mitchell edged the ball but there wasn’t a convincing appeal from Bangladesh. The Snickometer confirmed the nick afterwards. It cost Bangladesh considerably given the match situation, as Mitchell and Williamson added 66 for the fourth wicket. But Taijul, returning for his second spell, got Mitchell, who made 41 with three fours and a six, stumped first ball to give Bangladesh a much-needed breakthrough at that stage.Williamson then got a couple of lives either side of the tea break. First, Taijul dropped a simple chance at midwicket when Williamson pulled Nayeem when on 63. When on 70, Williamson miscued a pull off Nayeem but Shoriful dropped another simple chance at deep-backward square leg. Nayeem was left bemused but the Tom Blundell wicket in between the two dropped catches probably soothed the pain.Against the run of play, part-timer Mominul Haque removed Glenn Phillips just when he was looking dangerous. He made 42 off 62 balls with five fours and a six, before edging the left-arm spinner to slip where Najmul Hossain Shanto took a good, low catch.Williamson reached his century five overs before the second new ball was due; but as soon as it was taken, Taijul removed him with his best ball of the day. Williamson came forward, but had the new ball slip between his bat and pad. Sodhi was Taijul’s fourth wicket of the day, caught neatly at short leg by Shahadat.

Jack Leach, Mark Wood make way after England’s 28-run victory in first Test

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Feb-20241:32

Miller: Bashir debut another ‘no fear’ pick from England

Shoaib Bashir, the 20-year-old Somerset offspinner, will make his Test debut at Visakhapatnam on Friday, after being named as Jack Leach’s replacement in England’s XI.Bashir linked up with the squad midway through their 28-run victory in Hyderabad last week, after suffering complications with his India visa, but will slot straight into the team as a replacement for Leach, whose impact in that match was hindered by bruising to the left knee, sustained while fielding on the first day.Ben Stokes, England’s captain, confirmed one other change on the eve of the Test, with James Anderson returning to the team as the lone seamer, in place of Mark Wood, who went wicketless in the same role at Hyderabad.Related

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It will be Anderson’s 184th Test cap, and his first of 2024, and will complete one of the most lop-sided Test attacks ever fielded, with the rest of England’s specialist bowlers in a spin-heavy attack boasting a total of three Test caps.Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Stokes said he was confident that Bashir’s complicated passage to India would not impact on his performance, adding that his chance to sit in the dressing-room during the latter stages of the Hyderabad Test had allowed Bashir to assimilate with the team environment.”He was just taking it all in to be honest, landing [from the UK] that early, then coming in and seeing what had gone on,” Stokes said. “I think he really enjoyed being in that dressing-room [on day four]. There’s no worries and no issues for me that he’s been away from the group for a period of time, then coming back in to make his debut. It’s not like he’s forgotten how to bowl.”Stokes added that it had been left to Brendon McCullum, England’s head coach, to break the selection news to Bashir. “I went up to him [afterwards],” Stokes said. “I knew that he knew, and he just gave me a big hug. I told him I was going to tell the media so he didn’t have to keep it quiet. He looked very excited.”Shoaib Bashir is set to replace the injured Jack Leach•Getty Images

Rehan Ahmed, the legspinner, retains his place after a limited role in Hyderabad, having debuted in Karachi in December 2022, while Tom Hartley will receive his second cap, having claimed second-innings figures of 7 for 62 to seal England’s first-Test victory.Neither Rehan nor Bashir was born when Anderson made his Test debut at Lord’s in May 2003, while his own Test cap number – 613 – is a full 100 caps shy of the 713 cap that Bashir will receive before the start of play on Friday. At the age of 41, Anderson is about to enter his 22nd year as an international cricketer, but Stokes had no qualms about bringing him back into the fray.”Jimmy’s experience, the class that he has, is great and I think it also goes under the radar how good his record in India is,” Stokes said. “Considering what Jimmy is known for – ‘the swing king’ and all that – it just proves how good a bowler he is. He has different skillsets that I will be able to exploit in Indian conditions.”It’s not just picking Jimmy for the new ball, it’s the other stuff he possesses as well. It’s great that Jimmy is doing good things for the old boys out there. It’s huge credit and lots of people should look up to Jimmy considering he is where he is at 41.”On the Vizag pitch itself, Stokes predicted that it might be a good wicket for “maybe a day or two”, but expected it to take more and more spin the deeper the game gets.”It might play a little bit better initially than it did last week, but we don’t like to go in with too many pre-conceived ideas, we like to have some kind of idea because, obviously, that’s how we pick the team. Then we just play what’s in front of us.”I think we always knew what we wanted. We looked at the pitch yesterday and again today just to see what change would happen after a day. If anything it just looks a little drier than yesterday.”Obviously the forced change, Bash coming in for Leachy, was a simple one: one spinner out, one spinner in.”England XI 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Jonny Bairstow, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Ben Foakes (wk), 8 Rehan Ahmed, 9 Tom Hartley, 10 Shoaib Bashir, 11 James Anderson.

Charlie Wakim and Caleb Jewell forged an impressive stand but Tasmania’s lower order fell away

AAP04-Oct-2023South Australia were in the mire against Tasmania despite paceman Jordan Buckingham taking a career-best seven-wicket haul on day two of their Sheffield Shield match.Tasmania, with Charlie Wakim scoring a polished 110, posted 381 all out in reply to SA’s first innings of 307 at Adelaide’s Karen Rolton Oval. However, SA’s top order crashed to 47 for 3 at stumps.Buckingham had seemingly rescued SA with 7 for 71 from 23.1 overs after Tasmania’s Wakim and opener Caleb Jewell (87) put the visitors in a position of power.Related

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The pair featured in a 189-run stand, taking Tasmania to 211 for 1 when Wakim slashed to backward point and Daniel Drew reeled in a spectacular one-handed catch.Jewell followed 14 runs later, denied a century when, hooking a short Buckingham ball, the left-hander was caught at deep fine leg.Beau Webster and Matthew Wade steadied before Buckingham, the 23-year-old born in Bundoora, Victoria, returned to mop up the tail.In his 12th first-class game, the right-armer collected the final five wickets of the innings – the last six Tasmanians fell for only 67 runs.Charlie Wakim drives during his century•Getty Images

Buckingham’s command of line and length has already caught the eye of national hierarchy, playing two Australia A games and a Cricket Australia XI fixture.But his SA team-mates failed to ride the momentum he created, turning out another brittle batting display.The home side, who lost 4 for 19 in a first innings spell, collapsed to 10 for 3 in the eighth over.Tasmanian quick Lawrence Neil-Smith struck first, dismissing Henry Hunt before his new-ball partner Gabe Bell had Kelvin Smith caught at slip. Drew lasted just five balls, outed by a canny off-cutter which trapped the SA batter plumb lbw.

Rawal, Mandhana and Harleen also chipped with fifties as India posted a record total and eventually won by 116 runs

Shashank Kishore12-Jan-2025India notched up a series win that never appeared to be in any doubt, but in batting out 50 overs for a second straight game in Rajkot, Ireland ticked off a few boxes as part of their preparations for the World Cup qualifiers.India stormed to their highest-ever ODI score, fuelled by Jemimah Rodrigues’ maiden ODI century, and then saw Ireland’s top order deny a young Indian pace attack. Christina Coulter Reilly brought up a maiden half-century in her fourth innings, while Laura Delany made a 36-ball 37 to frustrate India’s spinners. Ireland eventually surpassed the 238 for 7 they made two days ago, to take away plenty of batting positives.The crux of India’s win lay in how their own set of youngsters, outside of Smriti Mandhana, batted and put up runs on the board. Pratika Rawal hit a third half-century in five innings, but would’ve been disappointed at missing out on a century for a second-game running.Related

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After making 89 two days ago, Rawal exhibited outstanding offside stroke play against the seam bowlers in particular, during the course of a 156-run opening stand with Mandhana. Rawal was out lbw for 67 off the very next ball after Mandhana mistimed a pull off Orla Prendergast at midwicket for 73.India’s urgency in the powerplay wasn’t accompanied by blind slogging but pristine stroke play, even as Mandhana initially fiddle in what seemed like a role reversal from the series opener two days ago. That day, Mandhana charged off the blocks, playing her signature pulls, while Rawal buckled down.This fusion helped the pair put together their third opening stand of 100 or more in five innings, with Mandhana quickly overtaking Rawal. There seemed a sense of inevitability to two impending centuries, but lapses in concentration led to a double-strike.This brought Harleen and Rodrigues together as the pair took a while to play their strokes on the face of some really slow bowling. Harleen struggled for momentum early on, pottering to 5 off 21 deliveries; Rodrigues was a tad more industrious at the other end, attempting to move around the crease and thwart the seamers by playing the pulls and paddles.The pair took 75 deliveries to raise their half-century stand which Harleen raised with a superb, lofted hit over mid-off. Rodrigues didn’t want to be left too far behind as she hit Arlene Kelly for back-to-back fours, with overs 32-34 fetching India five boundaries. Harleen possibly played the shot of the day when she exhibited incredible control in whipping a full ball from fourth-stump to bisect the gap between deep midwicket and long-on.The Harleen Deol-Jemimah Rodrigues partnership took time to speed up•BCCI

Ireland let themselves down when they missed running out Rodrigues for 34 in the 35th over when Prendergast missed a direct hit at the non-striker’s end from mid-on. Rodrigues was let off a second time when keeper Coulter Reilly put down a tough chance off an attempted late cut off Canning.Harleen got to her fifty off 58, and accelerated towards her second hundred in four ODIs, before falling for 89. Rodrigues got her half-century a tad slower, off 62 deliveries, before she shifted gears sensationally in the last ten overs. The purity of her strokeplay stood out, with her signature lofted hit by moving legside of the ball making repeated appearances.Rodrigues took just 28 balls to move from a half-century to her maiden ODI ton, much to the applause of the entire team on the balcony, before she celebrated by mimicking playing a song on her guitar with her bat. India ended with 370 for 5, 102 off those coming in the last ten as Ireland walked back relieved that their morning toil was over.Christina Coulter Reilly scored her maiden ODI fifty•BCCI

Ireland were slow off the blocks and never equally went for the target. But Coulter Reilly overcame two blows on her helmet, both times missing a bumper from Sayali Satghare. She overcame the early jitters to exhibit a sense of fearlessness against spin, particularly enterprising off Priya Mishra, the legspinner, whom she swept into different arcs on the leg side.Delany, who came in at No. 4, showed urgency from get-go, hitting her second ball through the covers for a boundary, and was equally formidable when Deepti Sharma tried to lull her in flight after an early reprieve when the offspinner put down a tough return catch on 7.As it turned out, this passage – an 83-run fourth-wicket stand – was the only period where in India felt challenged by Ireland’s batters, even as the rest tried to get their eye in. Leah Paul, who struck a half-century in the previous game, made an unbeaten 22-ball 27, to add the finishing touches as Ireland surpassed the 238 for 7 they made two days ago.

India’s pacers claimed yet another batting line-up after the batsmen laid the foundation for a 240-run victory at The Oval

The Report by Varun Shetty30-May-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Dinesh Karthik’s fluent 94 set up India’s massive win•IDI/Getty Images

Bangladesh, who face England in the Champions Trophy opener on June 1, collapsed spectacularly, falling to 22 for 6, before eventually getting bowled out for 84 in their chase of 325 against India in the warm-up game at The Oval. After allrounder Hardik Pandya had clattered an unbeaten 80 off 54 balls to propel India to 324, Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar ripped through Bangladesh’s top half with the new ball. The seamers utilised the overcast conditions, and extracted sharp movement and bounce from a pitch that had hitherto appeared benign, taking three wickets each.The procession began when Soumya Sarkar slashed away from his body at an Umesh delivery that straightened in the corridor. Sarkar appeared confused when the Indian fielders went up for a caught-behind appeal, walking down the track to consult Imrul Kayes about a possible review, before quickly realising there weren’t be any available. Perhaps, it was an early sign of what was to come for Bangladesh, who would soon lose Kayes and Shakib Al Hasan to misguided hook shots.Sabbir Rahman had his stumps rattled by a full inswinger, while two vicious deliveries that climbed from a length took the outside edges of Mahmudullah and Mosaddek Hossain. The chase had effectively ended with only 45 balls bowled. Mehedi Hasan, who had earlier bowled an economical spell (9-1-39-0), offered resistance with 24, but could not find enough support from the other end.India had lost the toss, but Virat Kohli was happy at being put in. Shakib stood-in as captain in the absence of Mashrafe Mortaza and Tamim Iqbal, who were both rested ahead of Thursday’s fixture against England. Bangladesh’s intention was to give their bowling line-up a lift after they had failed to defend 341 against Pakistan on Saturday.Rohit Sharma, who last played for his country in October 2016, opened alongside Shikhar Dhawan. He, however, lasted only three balls before dragging a short and wide ball from Rubel Hossain onto his stumps. At the other end, Mustafizur Rahman troubled Dhawan outside the off stump, before inducing a loose shot from Ajinkya Rahane – pushed down to No. 3 on Tuesday – and disturbing his stumps via the inside edge.Dinesh Karthik, streaky throughout his nine-ball duck in the previous warm-up game against New Zealand, started tentatively again before finding his timing. He strung together a 100-run stand for the third wicket with Dhawan. The stand, though, ended when the opener played one shot too many against left-arm spinner Sunzamul Islam, hoicking him straight to midwicket after hitting 10 runs off the first three balls of the 23rd over.Karthik, dropped on 29, brought up his fifty in the 26th over, before shifting gears, getting his next 43 runs off only 26 balls. Karthik had to retire six short of a hundred, having staked his claim for a middle-order spot in India’s XI. Yuvraj Singh, who missed the previous warm-up match because of viral fever, did not bat in this game, but the lower-middle order fired.Kedar Jadhav, who did not play against New Zealand as well, made 31 off 38 balls at No. 5. Hardik and Ravindra Jadeja then dominated the last 15 overs. Hardik motored along positively, picking the gaps when he couldn’t find the boundaries, eventually showing his ability to finish the innings with four powerful sixes. Jadeja’s stay wasn’t as fluent. Apart from a release shot that flew over long-on, Jadeja struggled to rotate the strike and his 36-ball innings yielded only 32.

Senior pros Sean Williams and Craig Ervine have both been omitted from the T20I squad

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Nov-2024Zimbabwe 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