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The batting revival was led by Stirling and Porterfield, before the bowlers came up with an inspired defence

The Report by Shashank Kishore19-May-2019
World Cup-bound Afghanistan were tripped up by Ireland, who made excellent use of cold and blustery conditions in Belfast to defend a modest 210 in style.First, William Porterfield and Paul Stirling added 99 for the third wicket to lend sheen to an otherwise ordinary batting display. Then, Tim Murtagh’s robotic wicket-to-wicket lines nipped out Mohammad Shahzad and Rahmat Shah to expose the middle order early. It helped that offspinner Andy McBrine kept things tight to finish with outstanding figures of none for 17 off ten overs.Former captains Mohammad Nabi and Asghar Afghan counter-attacked with Afghanistan tottering at 40 for 4 in the 21st over. The pair doubled the score in a five-over passage after that to put the pressure back on Ireland, but the hosts weren’t to be denied as Afghanistan were eventually bowled out for 138 in the 36th over, with medium-pacer Mark Adair finishing with a career-best 4 for 19. The collapse was so steep later on that Murtagh wasn’t even needed to build on his 2 for 12 off six overs.As convincing as the result seemed, it wasn’t as if Ireland sailed smoothly all along in the second innings. The game seemed to be tilting Afghanistan’s way as Boyd Rankin, Ireland’s most experienced bowler, started poorly after being introduced in the 23rd over. He leaked three boundaries and struggled with a leg-side line to concede 19 off his first two overs. Porterfield could have taken him off, but persisted with him and Ireland reaped the rewards soon after.First, a lifter from Rankin rapped Nabi on his right index finger as he tried to fend a delivery. This resulted in a lapse in concentration and perhaps the need to hit out as Nabi fell in the next over to Kevin O’Brien to stall Afghanistan’s recovery.In his fifth over, Rankin truly left his mark in the game by dismissing the well-set Asghar Afghan for 29 to leave Afghanistan at 104 for 6 in the 31st over. This wicket came on the back of a key moment, when Gulbadin Naib, the captain, survived a close run-out appeal after George Dockrell’s underarm flick from midwicket at the striker’s end couldn’t be referred to the third umpire because of the absence of technology.As it turned out, Ireland didn’t have to rue the miss, as Afghanistan’s lower order gifted wickets away in an attempt to hit their way out of trouble. Rashid Khan got the dressing room briefly interested by tonking O’Brien for two huge sixes, but fell soon after to a miscue to effectively end Afghanistan’s hopes.An Ireland victory seemed unlikely for most parts of the first half. They were put in to bat and had to deal with relentless pressure from Afghanistan’s pacers first, before their spin trio of Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Rashid and Nabi took over. From 35 for 2, Porterfield and Stirling led a superb revival with sensible cricket, milking runs and not looking to over-hit the ball. In the process, they did let a few boundary balls slip up, but held their own to launch a comeback.Stirling looked in control, though, building on from the 130 he made against Bangladesh only four days ago, by using his long stride to smother Rashid’s googlies. He swept well and picked him comfortably off the pitch. This confidence allowed Ireland to chug along with Porterfield playing himself in to make a second successive half-century after a barren run over the last 12 months. Once the stand ended, Afghanistan hit back as Ireland lost 7 for 70 to end with a score Porterfield later felt was “30 or 40 below par”.However, Murtagh and Adair kept things tight, as Afghanistan managed just two boundaries in the first 16 overs. Shahzad was denied any width he loves to cut and pull, and he was soon consumed by the pressure of dot balls, falling on the back of successive maiden overs.Hazratullah Zazai, who has the reputation of being a biffer that even has him titled ‘Afghanistan’s Chris Gayle’, scratched around for 14 off 40 balls before being done in by Adair’s length. Between overs nine and 12, Ireland conceded just one single to pile up the pressure on the visitors. This led to the downfall of both Zazai and Hashmatullah Shahidi. Things could have yet turned pear-shaped for Ireland, but their discipline and use of conditions helped them secure their first win of their home summer.

Joe Root, England’s Test captain, has said he blames the system, not the individuals, for the growing trend towards white-ball specialisation

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Feb-2018Joe Root, England’s Test captain, has said he blames the system, not the individuals, for the growing trend towards specialisation that has tempted the likes of Alex Hales and Adil Rashid to accept white-ball-only county contracts.But, Root added, there could still be a future for such players to help reinvigorate the fortunes of England’s Test team, so long as the game’s authorities can find a way to restructure the international schedule to enable all three formats to co-exist more easily.Hales and Rashid both confirmed earlier this month that they would not be turning out for Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire respectively in this year’s County Championship, effectively putting their Test careers on indefinite hold. Rashid, who was overlooked for the Ashes squad despite being England’s leading wicket-taker in India and Bangladesh last winter, admitted this week that he had lost the “buzz” for playing red-ball cricket.However, Root – who has himself had to sit out of England’s T20 side in recent months in a bid to balance his own priorities in Test and 50-over cricket – believes that the current trends in international cricket suggest that players who stand out in the shorter formats should not be discounted from making an impact in the five-day game.”Players like Alex and Rash, who get pigeon-holed as white-ball specialists, I think there’s a future for them in Test cricket,” Root told Sky Sports. “You look at how the game has changed in the last five years – with scoring rates and the things you now need to do with the ball – the skills you have to have, a lot of them have come from white-ball cricket.”That cross-over, I think, can be there if guys have the attitude and determination to play Test cricket. There’s no reason, if you are suited to the white ball, you can’t tailor yourself into a red-ball cricketer. It’s just about having that want and drive, and to have enough opportunity to play red-ball cricket in the county system and around the world for that to develop.”At present, however, there is very little opportunity for any elite cricketer to excel in all three formats concurrently, with India’s Virat Kohli perhaps the exception that proves the rule. Australia’s Steve Smith, for instance, joined Root in missing the recent T20 tri-series in the wake of a busy winter in which his Test form invited comparison to the great Donald Bradman. He now faces a struggle to regain his place among a team of specialists who took that competition by storm.”It’s very difficult to stop guys doing it,” Root said of the temptation to specialise in white-ball cricket. “You can’t place blame on individuals, there’s an issue higher up than that, and I think schedules will have to be tampered [with] and changed slightly.”If you’re playing all three formats, somewhere down the line you’re going to have to miss some cricket. Personally, mine’s been in T20 series – I’m obviously not going to miss any Test cricket now and, with a 50-over World Cup next year, there’s a big focus on playing that.”So it can feel like a long time until you play that next format, and guys want to be playing everything as much as possible. Maybe there is something that needs to be looked at there. Give guys a chance to play all three formats and not have to make that decision.”As for the long-term viability of Test cricket, Root remained optimistic about its future – even if Eoin Morgan, England’s white-ball captain, believes that the time to save the format may already have been and gone.”I really hope [it will still be played], it’s called Test cricket for a reason,” said Root. “It challenges you, you find yourself in every scenario you can do in cricket. It would be a real shame if it was not there.”I think the challenge is to make sure you keep it current, and make sure people want to turn on the telly, come to grounds, and watch it. Day-night Tests are great ideas, not necessarily in England but around the world, because you’ve seen the impact it’s had. If we can find ways to keep people interested and excited, we need to do it.”

Seekkuge Prasanna has been picked in place of Jeffrey Vandersay, while fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera has also been omitted

Andrew Fidel Fernando11-Jan-20170:46

Who is Thikshila de Silva?

Uncapped batting allrounder Thikshila de Silva has been named in Sri Lanka’s squad for the T20 series against South Africa, which starts from January 20. Thikshila is yet to play international cricket in any format; the other new member of the T20 squad is the left-arm wristspinner Lakshan Sandakan, who has played three Tests and an ODI.Legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay, who impressed in the World T20 last year, has been left out in favour of Seekkuge Prasanna, who also offers hitting power. Fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera has been omitted as well, while seamers Isuru Udana and Nuwan Kulasekara have earned recalls. The other major omissions are wicketkeeper-batsman Kusal Perera, and allrounders Thisara Perera (who is currently playing in the Big Bash League) and Dasun Shanaka.

Sri Lanka’s T20 squad

Angelo Mathews (capt), Dinesh Chandimal, Danushka Gunathilaka, Seekkuge Prasanna, Niroshan Dickwella, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Isuru Udana, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Asela Gunaratne, Sachith Pathirana, Lakshan Sandakan, Thikshila de Silva, Nuwan Kulasekara

Thikshila, 23, has largely been picked on potential and on his reputation as a clean striker of the ball for Chilaw Marians. In 15 domestic T20 innings so far, he has hit 15 sixes and as many fours, collecting his 218 runs at a strike rate of 144. A left-handed batsman, Thikshila also bowls right-arm seam, and has six T20 wickets and an economy rate of 8.38. Though there has been no domestic T20 cricket in Sri Lanka since last February, he hit a run-a-ball 92 against SSC in the most recent round of the Premier League Tournament, which began on January 6.Though largely considered a long-format bowler, it is perhaps Sandakan’s ability to turn the ball away from the left-handed batsmen that has earned him his selection, with Prasanna already in the squad, along with left-arm spinning allrounder Sachith Pathirana. Sandakan made a promising start to his Test career last year, but only has 16 domestic T20 wickets and an economy rate of 8.74 across 15 appearances.Lakshan Sandakan made a promising start to his Test career last year but has only 16 wickets in 15 domestic T20 games•Associated Press

Kulasekara’s return to the T20 squad was expected, after he had appeared to reclaim some of his old rhythm and inswing in the recent ODI tri-series against Zimbabwe. He had had a long, ineffective run in 2015, and had been dropped from both limited-overs sides. Udana – a T20 specialist with a number of slower balls – Suranga Lakmal, and Nuwan Pradeep make up the remaining frontline seam options.Save for Kusal Perera’s omission, there were no major surprises on the batting front. Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Asela Gunaratne and Niroshan Dickwella are be among those who will be considered for top-order spots, with captain Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal likely to feature in the XI.Kusal Perera’s omission appears to be largely due to lack of form. In four ODI innings during the Zimbabwe tri-series, he had scores of 21, 4, 7 and 14. He also collected single-figure scores in the first Test against South Africa, and was subsequently dropped from the Test XI.A bout of dengue before Christmas slowed Lasith Malinga’s efforts to regain match fitness, leaving him unavailable for the T20Is and ODIs in South Africa. He will now only attempt to return in time for the three-match T20 series against Australia, scheduled to begin on February 17The first of the three T20s against South Africa is set to be played on January 20 in Centurion.

The rejigging of the senior selection committee, and the announcement of six new Test centres – Pune, Ranchi, Indore, Rajkot, Visakhapatnam and Dharamsala – were among the major cricket-related decisions made at the BCCI’s AGM in Mumbai

Arun Venugopal in Mumbai09-Nov-2015The rejigging of the senior selection committee, and the announcement of six new Test centres – Pune, Ranchi, Indore, Rajkot, Visakhapatnam and Dharamsala – were among the major cricket-related decisions made at the BCCI’s AGM in Mumbai. While former India wicketkeeper MSK Prasad replaced Roger Binny as the South Zone selector, Gagan Khoda was drafted in place of Rajinder Singh Hans from Central Zone.The BCCI president Shashank Manohar felt the shake-up was necessary as he did not want Binny’s son, Stuart, to be done “injustice”.

November 17 deadline for DDCA to host SA Test

The Delhi & District Cricket Association has been given a deadline of November 17 to keep Feroz Shah Kotla ready to host the fourth Test between India and South Africa starting December 3. BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said if the DDCA missed the deadline, newly-announced Test venue Pune would host the match.
“The DDCA has to give us the requisite permissions [from civic bodies and security] by the 17th, if we don’t have the permissions from the DDCA by the 17th, the match will be given to Pune,” he said.

“As I said, the perception [of conflict of interest] has to change. I said there should not be injustice on Stuart Binny also,” Manohar said. “If he is a deserving player he should not get not flak from media that because he is Roger Binny’s son he is playing. We can’t destroy his career also.”Prasad’s candidature, on the other hand, was strongly backed by his home body, the Andhra Cricket Association, and the only other person said to be in the running was former Tamil Nadu and India batsman WV Raman. The TNCA, it is learnt, did not aggressively push Raman’s case as Manohar had already zoomed in on Prasad. “[TNCA president] N Srinivasan was very clear that no favours should be sought from anyone at the AGM,” a TNCA source said.Prasad had put in his papers as ACA cricket operations director – a position he has held for six years now – close to a week ago to ensure that his nomination did not violate any conflict-of-interest norms. Prasad felt his elevation would “give hope to all those players coming from nooks and corners of the country”.”I am a representative of the minnows of Indian cricket,” Prasad told ESPNcricinfo. “When somebody from some state can rise to this position, then as a player also anybody can rise to that position.”On how he would approach his new job, Prasad said he would look to replicate what he had done in Andhra: “I am very clear that the systems we have adopted in Andhra – the clarity of selection policy – which if I can place in front of you or anybody, it will be appreciated.”The inclusion of Khoda, the former Rajasthan and India batsman, was a bit of a surprise. Manohar explained the decision to drop Hans in characteristically pithy fashion: “Looking at his performance we decided to go for a new one.”The decision to grant Test status to six new centres, Manohar said, was because of the glut of home Tests India were set to play in 2016. “Next year we are going to have about 12 Test matches in India and each stadium has all the facilities of hosting international games,” Manohar said.There was little discussion, however, on whether the NCA would stay in Bangalore or be moved out. Niranjan Shah, the newly appointed chairman of the NCA board, told ESPNcricinfo that a decision on this would be made after the committee was fully constituted. “We didn’t discuss this at the meeting,” Shah said. “After Diwali, our committee will meet and discuss the future course of action. The whole committee has to be formed.” Shah also confirmed that the BCCI did not discuss the issue of DRS.There was also no discussion on the Cricket Advisory Committee that includes Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman. However, the board secretary Anurag Thakur confirmed that “all the three will remain”.Thakur also formally announced the introduction of contracts for women cricketers. “The women have also come under the contracted players. There will be two categories: category A and B. And they will paid Rs 15 lakh and Rs 10 lakh each,” he said.

Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli said the team’s total against Kings XI Punjab was good enough to defend, and it is worrying that his bowlers are misfiring at this important stage of the tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff15-May-2013The question mark over Royal Challengers Bangalore’s bowling remains, following their seven-wicket loss to Kings XI Punjab at the Chinnaswamy after posting 174. After the game, captain Virat Kohli said the total was good enough to defend, and it is worrying that his bowlers are misfiring at this important stage of the tournament.”The bowling has not been great. That’s something we need to look into,” Kohli said. “That was a bit of concern last year as well, so we thought bringing in more options would be helpful but the guys haven’t been able to execute in the last few overs.”One-seventy-five was a pretty good total to defend. But we didn’t hit the right areas.”Royal Challengers had bought four seamers at the IPL auction in February, in Ravi Rampaul, RP Singh, Jaydev Unadkat and Pankaj Singh. Their other three acquisitions were seam-bowling allrounders Moises Henriques, Dan Christian and Christopher Barnwell. Kohli had said in the lead-up to the season that he had specifically wanted to shore up their attack, but still the bowling issues persist.For the game against Kings XI, Rampaul, who has been one of the better Royal Challengers bowlers this season – with 12 wickets from nine games, he has the best average and economy rate for the team so far – was left out. Kohli said that was prompted by Kings XI’s line-up: “Ravi didn’t play because they had three impact left-handers [Adam Gilchrist, Shaun Marsh and David Miller], so we decided that [Muttiah] Muralitharan would be a better option.”When they batted, Royal Challengers had got off to a sedate start, with Kohli and Chris Gayle only scoring at around a run-a-ball until the 14th over. That, Kohli said, was because of the nature of the pitch: “The wicket looked pretty good to play on but that actually wasn’t the case. It was pretty slow, keeping low and the ball wasn’t coming on to the bat. That’s why Chris and I decided to stick around.”In the first five-six overs, the pitch was a bit different [to the usual tracks at the Chinnaswamy] and it was keeping low and slow. It settled down beautifully in the second half and we didn’t expect that. I thought it would remain slow throughout the game.”Royal Challengers now need to win their final game, against current table-toppers Chennai Super Kings, and hope other results go in their favour to progress to the playoffs. “It’s not a good position to be in, with a must-win game at hand. But we have to deal with it,” Kohli said. “We have to let the guys be themselves and not put pressure on them. They are professionals and know what to do.”

The preview of the match between Delhi Daredevils and Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Feroz Shah Kotla

The Preview by George Binoy16-May-2012

Match facts

Thursday, May 17, Delhi
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)AB de Villiers’ 64 off 42 balls was a match-winning performance for Royal Challengers in their first match against Daredevils•Associated Press

Big Picture

How rapidly prospects change in the IPL. Two days ago, Royal Challengers Bangalore were on a three-match winning streak, with healthy chances of making the playoffs. Then they lost to Mumbai Indians, one of their competitors for a top-four finish, and later that day another competitor, Chennai Super Kings, beat Kolkata Knight Riders, whose position is far healthier than that of Royal Challengers. Now Royal Challengers need to win their last two games, both away from home, to have a realistic chance of qualifying, but even that may not be enough if it comes down to net run-rates.It gets harder. The first of Royal Challengers’ two must-win games is against Delhi Daredevils, league leaders and the first team to secure a playoff berth. It’s at the Feroz Shah Kotla, where the pitch and conditions seem customised for the home side’s hard-hitting batsmen and battery of fast bowlers. Daredevils also have two games remaining and one victory will guarantee a top spot, which will give them a second chance of making the grand final should they slip up in the first.

Form guide

(most recent first, completed games)
Delhi Daredevils: WLWLW
Royal Challengers Bangalore: LWWWL

Watch out for

Daredevils’ team composition: There are several voices asking for Andre Russell to be included at Ross Taylor’s expense. But Daredevils don’t need a seam bowling allrounder because they already have Irfan Pathan and the strongest pace attack in the IPL. What they need is an in-form overseas batsman to act as ballast in a top-heavy batting line-up, which is why they are persisting with Taylor, desperate for him to shun the form that has brought only 107 runs at a strike rate of 87 in nine innings. Taylor made a duck in his previous innings, against Kings XI Punjab, and Daredevils have to decide between persisting with him and giving Aaron Finch, the only overseas batsman on the bench, a run before the playoffs.Royal Challengers’ misfiring bowlers: They have the longest tail in the IPL because they play five specialist bowlers – Vinay Kumar batted at No. 7 in the previous game. Yet their bowling attack, despite having Zaheer Khan and Muttiah Muralitharan, is the second most expensive of the tournament, after Deccan Chargers who are at the bottom of the league. That is largely because Royal Challengers’ home venue, the Chinnaswamy Stadium, has the best batting surfaces and some of the smaller boundaries in the tournament. However, even away from home, Royal Challengers have conceded 8.19 runs per over. Again, only Chargers fare worse. Perhaps the more helpful pitches at the Kotla will strengthen Royal Challengers’ weakest link.

Stats and trivia

• In 13 matches, Royal Challengers have taken only 12 wickets in the first six overs, when the fielding restrictions are in place. Their average of 50 per wicket and economy rate of 7.69 during this period both the worst in the tournament. Daredevils, on the other hand, have taken 21 at an average of 29 and economy of 7.33.
• Daredevils’ batsmen have the best run-rate in the first six overs this season – 664 runs at 7.90. Royal Challengers score at 7.00 in this period, but Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers have usually made up for that later in the innings.
• The head to head between these sides after nine matches is 5-4 in Daredevils’ favour. They lost the first match this season, in Bangalore, by 20 runs.

Quotes

“Obviously before playing RCB, we will make our strategies and plans. We need to get him [Gayle] out early. Our plan would be to restrict their scoring and bowl them out as soon as possible … Pressure would be slightly less but we will look for wins in remaining fixtures.”
“It gives me immense pleasure to announce that RCB is the first sports team in the world to officially become carbon neutral, without the purchase of carbon credits but through fan driven initiatives.”

A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court has delivered a split verdict on a petition challenging BCCI secretary N Srinivasan’s right to hold a position in the board while also holding a stake in an IPL franchise

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Apr-2011A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court has delivered a split verdict on a petition challenging BCCI secretary N Srinivasan’s right to hold a position in the board while also holding a stake in an IPL franchise. The petition, filed by former board president AC Muthiah, questioned the motives behind the board amending their regulations in order to allow Srinivasan to have a dual role of board member and part-owner of Chennai Super Kings.Justice JM Panchal dismissed the petition, while Justice Gyan Sudha Mishra allowed it, holding that a BCCI officer bearer cannot have a stake in an IPL franchise. The split verdict means the petition has been referred to the chief justice for allocating it to a larger bench.The BCCI had amended clause 6.2.4 of the regulations for players, team officials, umpires and administrators in September 2008, shortly after the first season of the IPL. Before the amendment the clause read: “No administrator shall have, directly or indirectly, any commercial interest in the matches and events conducted by the board.” After the change, it read: “No administrator shall have directly or indirectly any commercial interest in any of the events of the BCCI, excluding IPL, Champions League and Twenty20.”Muthiah’s argument was that the exclusion of IPL and Twenty20 events was made specifically to benefit Srinivasan. In September 2010, Mishra had suggested Srinivasan resign from his position in the board .”You introduce an amendment where the IPL will be an exception. You are a prominent industrialist holding a key position in the board and have a stake in the bidding,” Mishra had told Srinivasan. “In order to avoid suspicion and be above board, you should have got your membership suspended.”Our nagging question is: can you continue in a dual capacity? That is the core issue.”Following those statements, Mishra allowed Muthiah’s petition on April 28, 2011, but Panchal’s decision to dismiss it means the amendment to the BCCI regulations will stand for the time being.

Harshad Mehta, the chairman of the Kochi franchise, claimed Modi attempted to discourage the consortium from bidding for the new franchise

Cricinfo staff13-May-2010The Dubai-based chairman of the Kochi franchise has said the team has sent a formal complaint to the BCCI about suspended IPL commissioner Lalit Modi.In an interview with the , an Abu Dhabi-based daily, Harshad Mehta claimed Modi attempted to discourage the consortium from bidding for the new franchise. “He told us that so many partners can’t handle a team. We listened to whatever he had to say. He is the IPL chairman. We listened and we kept our cool.”The consortium of practically unknown businessmen bid US$333.33 million to win one of the two new franchises, surprising everyone involved, including Modi, who subsequently set off a media firestorm by questioning the shareholding pattern of the consortium on the micro-blogging site Twitter. The ensuing controversy eventually led to Modi’s suspension as commissioner and the resignation of junior external affairs minister Shashi Tharoor, who was acting as a mentor to the bidding group.Mehta opened up about the shareholding fiasco, which centred on a 4.7% stake given to Sunanda Pushkar, a close friend of Tharoor’s, as “sweat equity”. He said Pushkar, a former sales manager of real estate company Tecom, was given a stake because the investors were convinced she could attract sponsors.”Sweat equity has been misunderstood by everyone,” Mehta said. “It has zero value initially. If I think an employee has potential and can bring money and support to the team, I can offer the person sweat equity. It is available in any part of the world. The BCCI says we can give 100% sweat equity if we want, to anybody. There was no need for him [Modi] to raise such alarm.”However, Mehta admitted Pushkar had probably been given a relatively high share, and even though she has returned her stake and no longer has anything to do with the team, the management decided to reduce the total amount of free equity in the franchise across the board. “We realised that the proportion we gave was too much, so we backed out. Now the team has only 11 to 12% of sweat equity.”While Pushkar is no longer associated with the team, Mehta said Tharoor would continue to play a part. “Shashi will still be our mentor. We require his help to run this team.”The Kochi team has now turned its attention to the running of the franchise. Mehta revealed the team’s interest in Sri Lankan cricketer Mahela Jayawardane, who currently plays for the Kings XI Punjab. “I like Mahela personally and have a very good relation with him,” Mehta said.”I was the first person to take him outside Sri Lanka to play in South Africa. My relation with him is over 20 years now. If he is available and if I have a successful bid, he will be part of the Kochi team.”According to Mehta, Kerala native Sreesanth, who also plays for Kings XI Punjab, has already committed to joining the team in 2011. “He is the best bowler but not very mature,” said Mehta. “He must have a target and everything will be good.”Meanwhile, the core of the team will be composed primarily of players from Gujarat and Delhi.
“We’ll take lot of players from Gujarat and mostly we are taking from Delhi,” said Mehta. “We are very keen on Delhi. They are very good fighters.”

This is the first time in four seasons that the final of the Women’s Premier League will not be played on a weekend

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Nov-2025The 2026 Women’s Premier League (WPL) will have its final on a weekday (Thursday, February 5), and not over the weekend, for the first time, and feature two double-headers, both on Saturdays, after kicking off on January 9.The 28-day-long tournament will be played across two venues: Navi Mumbai, where India won the ODI World Cup in early November beating South Africa in the final, and Vadodara. The first 11 matches, including the two double-headers, will be played at Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium, and the remaining 11 matches, including the eliminator on February 3 and the final will be played at Vadodara’s Kotambi Stadium.The dates and venues were confirmed by the WPL’s chairman, Jayesh George, on Thursday, the day of the WPL auction. All games bar the earlier fixture on the double-header days will be evening affairs.The week of the final is a busy one for multi-team competitions, with the men’s Under-19 World Cup finishing the day after the WPL final, on February 6, and the men’s T20 World Cup starting the following day, on February 7.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Apart from having a weekday final, this is the first time the WPL will be played in the January-February window. The first three seasons were played in February-March just before the start of the IPL. This will also be the first time the WPL will not clash with major international fixtures.Mumbai Indians (MI) are the defending champions of the WPL and have won two titles in three editions so far, with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) the other past winners. Delhi Capitals (DC) have been runners-up in all three seasons. The other two teams, Gujarat Giants and UP Warriorz, have never made the title round.Ten days after the WPL ends, India will start an all-format tour of Australia, playing three T20Is, three ODIs and a Test from February 15 to March 9.

WPL 2026 schedule

Jan 9: Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Jan 10: UP Warriorz vs Gujarat Giants
Jan 10: Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Capitals
Jan 11: Delhi Capitals vs Gujarat Giants
Jan 12: Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs UP Warriorz
Jan 13: Mumbai Indians vs Gujarat Giants
Jan 14: UP Warriorz vs Delhi Capitals
Jan 15: Mumbai Indians vs UP Warriorz
Jan 16: Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Gujarat Giants
Jan 17: UP Warriorz vs Mumbai Indians
Jan 17: Delhi Capitals vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Jan 19: Gujarat Giants vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Jan 20: Delhi Capitals vs Mumbai Indians
Jan 22: Gujarat Giants vs UP Warriorz
Jan 24: Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Delhi Capitals
Jan 26: Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Mumbai Indians
Jan 27: Gujarat Giants vs Delhi Capitals
Jan 29: UP Warriorz vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Jan 30: Gujarat Giants vs Mumbai Indians
Feb 1: Delhi Capitals vs UP Warriorz
Feb 3: Eliminator
Feb 5: Final

Skipper had passed fifty five times this season without converting any of those into hundreds

ECB Reporters Network25-May-2024Northamptonshire captain Luke Procter marshalled his side’s fightback in their Vitality County Championship game against Yorkshire with a tenacious unbeaten century – his first in almost two years.Procter, who had already passed fifty five times this season without converting any of those knocks into hundreds, remedied that as he sparked Northamptonshire’s recovery from 181 for 7 on day two at Wantage Road.The skipper finished 116 not out, sharing stands of 50 and 58 respectively with tailenders Ben Sanderson and Jack White to ensure the home side totalled 301, a deficit of 61 on Yorkshire’s first-innings 362.Sri Lankan left-armer Vishwa Fernando took 4 for 48 on his debut for the visitors, who lost nightwatchman Dom Leech to the final ball of the day without extending their lead any further.Related

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Yorkshire began the day on 312 for 7 and, despite a scare when Jordan Thompson edged onto his pad and just wide of the slips, they launched an early assault to secure another batting bonus point.Thompson thumped Sanderson over extra cover for six, following it with another boundary to bring up his first half-century of the season as he and Matthew Revis plundered 42 from the first five overs.The partnership reached 80 before the last three White Rose wickets went down in the space of nine balls, with Sanderson removing both Revis and Thompson leg-before and Leech castled by Rob Keogh for a second-ball duck.Fernando almost made a dream start to his three-match stint with Yorkshire, his second delivery finding the edge of Ricardo Vasconcelos’ bat but the ball whizzed past George Hill at first slip.Vasconcelos settled down to share a lively opening stand of 56 with Emilio Gay, who struck a series of sweet off-side boundaries and caressed Hill’s first delivery through midwicket for four more.Two balls later, Gay was out for 32, prodding to second slip but – after a brief but bizarre stoppage when a swarm of wasps descended, prompting several fielders to fling themselves full-length on the turf – Northamptonshire reached lunch at 84 for 1.However, Vasconcelos fell soon after the interval, with wicketkeeper Jonny Tattersall taking a skier to give Fernando his 300th first-class wicket and Yorkshire looked very much in the ascendancy when Revis claimed his first and second wickets of the season in quick succession.Karun Nair, who never looked settled at the crease, was neatly taken at first slip off a rising delivery and George Bartlett departed for a duck, hanging the bat out to the jubilant Revis just four balls later.Rob Keogh threatened to redress the balance with a bristling knock of 28 but, when he flicked Leech tamely into the hands of deep square leg, Northamptonshire’s reliance on their skipper intensified.Having lost both Lewis McManus and Justin Broad before tea, Procter needed Sanderson’s shrewd display with the bat to shepherd his side past the follow-on target.The 35-year-old looked accomplished for his 25 until he was trapped in his crease by Fernando, who also dismissed Siddharth Kaul to leave Northamptonshire nine down.But last man White proved obdurate, blocking 14 deliveries before emerging from his shell to bludgeon Thompson for three quick fours as Procter progressed to his ton from 183 balls by shovelling Hill to the midwicket boundary.The pair steered their side to a third batting bonus point before White holed out to long leg for 21, leaving Yorkshire to negotiate a single over in which Sanderson had Leech caught at fourth slip.