All posts by csb10.top

Jack Brooks bit the hand that used to feed him as Somerset gained the upper hand on the second day of the LV= Insurance County Championship match with Yorkshire at Taunton.Facing his former club, the veteran seamer turned back the years with 3 for 38 from ten overs to help restrict them to 167 for 4 in their first innings, 257 runs behind.Tom Kohler-Cadmore hit an unbeaten 68 against the team he will join next season, while Harry Brook was dismissed for 41.Somerset had earlier extended their first-innings score from 262 for 5 to 424 all out, skipper Tom Abell falling for 116, Lewis Gregory making 77 and Kasey Aldridge a career-best 41.Former Somerset off-spinner Dom Bess finished with 4 for 68 and seamer Matthew Waite 3 for 64.The hosts began the day poorly when Abell, having added only two to his score, fell to the second new ball, lbw to a delivery from Waite that thumped into his back pad.Floodlights were on under grey skies as Gregory and Aldridge progressed the innings to 298 for 6 before rain caused a 45 minute delay, with 11 overs overs lost. By lunch, the pair had added a further 26.Gregory reached his half-century with an edged four to third man off Jordan Thompson, having faced 87 balls and hit seven fours.Aldridge grew in confidence from a sketchy start and brought up 350 with an elegant back-foot boundary off Thompson.Gregory smacked Bess for a straight six, but perished trying to repeat the shot, caught at long-on by Adam Lyth with the total on 376.Somerset had settled for four batting points. But Jack Leach dispatched Bess over long-off for six and cleared the ropes again with a reverse sweep off Jack Shutt, who gained revenge by having the England spinner stumped for 16.Brooks was caught behind to give Bess his fourth wicket before Marchant de Lange took six and four off successive balls from Shannon Gabriel.Aldridge was last man out, bowled attempting a big hit off Gabriel, having boosted his reputation with a composed contribution.Adam Lyth began Yorkshire’s reply with two quick boundaries. But, on 13, he drove at Brooks and was picked up at gully by a tumbling Abell.Brooks almost had a second wicket with the total on 36, just failing to hold a low caught and bowled chance, offered by George Hill on 12.Hill didn’t profit for long, advancing to Leach in only his second over and miscuing a running catch to Matt Renshaw at mid-off to make it 55 for two.Kohler-Cadmore had already hit Leach for a straight six and repeated the dose as he and Brook built a half-century stand, off 92 balls.Tall seamer Aldridge produced a tight six-over spell from the Marcus Trescothick Pavilion End. But Brook pulled his replacement, de Lange, over the short leg side boundary as the South African went for 23 from three overs.Leach switched to the same end, only to be dispatched for another six by Kohler-Cadmore. The Yorkshire pair looked in complete control when Brook clipped Brooks off his toes to mid-wicket where Aldridge took a diving catch.The next ball saw Matthew Revis fall lbw on the back foot and suddenly Yorkshire were 129 for 4, with Brooks rampant.Kohler-Cadmore went to fifty off 86 balls, with four fours and four sixes, showing a relish for his future environment. But when bad light ended play two overs early, he faced more important work in the morning.

Russell Domingo has reaffirmed his commitment as Bangladesh’s head coach in the Test and ODI formats after reports on Thursday morning said that he had resigned. Domingo and the BCB have both denied those claims, saying that Domingo’s contract remains intact till November next year.Domingo, who is currently in South Africa, said that he would get back to work in October with the Bangladesh A side that takes on Afghanistan A in the UAE, before joining the senior team ahead of their preparation for the India series at home in December.”This is to confirm that all the rumours and speculations that I have resigned from the Bangladesh Cricket Board are not true,” Domingo told ESPNcricinfo. “I am trying to get our cricket to where it needs to be in the one-day and Test format. I will be going to Abu Dhabi in October to work with the A side. I will then join the national team in December. As far as I am concerned, it is business as usual. I will continue the journey that I have started. My contract is till November 2023. I am fully committed to the Bangladesh Cricket Board for the next 15 months.”Earlier this week, the BCB replaced Domingo with S Sriram as the one in charge of the T20I side, although they stopped short of calling Sriram the head coach, using the term “technical consultant”. Domingo said at the time that he was happy with the arrangement as it gave him more time to prepare for the ODI and Test teams, as well as giving him time with his family back in South Africa.Domingo took up the Bangladesh job in September 2019. Since then, he has overseen the ODI side into the second position in the World Cup Super League, while winning a Test in New Zealand. His record in T20Is, however, came under scrutiny after Bangladesh’s underwhelming performance at the T20 World Cup last year. This year so far, the team has just two wins from seven completed T20Is.Bangladesh are currently in Dubai for the Asia Cup. After that, they will play a T20I tri-series in New Zealand that also involves Pakistan, before heading to Australia for the T20 World Cup in late October.

The ICC’s Afghanistan Working Group (AWG) has conveyed to the governing body’s board that the country’s government has reiterated its commitment to “fully respect and comply” with the ICC constitution, including agreeing “in principle” to support the development of women’s cricket.The focus was to ensure “diversity and inclusivity, and for the Afghanistan Cricket Board to operate independent from government interference,” an ICC statement following meetings in Melbourne over the weekend said.Related

• IOC will decide if Afghanistan play in the Olympics – ICC CEO Allardice

• Women's cricket 'in peril' but fans rejoice as the game returns to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan

• Afghanistan women's cricket in danger after Taliban's reported opposition

• Cricket Australia confirms postponement of Afghanistan Test

“The meeting was positive and respectful, and the [Afghanistan] government representative was clear in his support for the ICC constitution including in principle for women’s cricket in Afghanistan,” Imran Khwaja, the AWG chair, was quoted as saying. “There are obviously challenges for it to resume but we will continue to work with the ACB to take this forward. The Working Group will closely monitor the commitment undertaken by the Afghanistan government and will continue to report back to the ICC Board.”As things stand, Afghanistan is the only Full Member to have received that status without having an operational women’s team in place. Last year, the ACB had announced its first contracts for women in their quest to build a team, but those efforts were put on the back-burner following the Taliban’s takeover of the administrative affairs of the country in September 2021.At the time, ACB chief executive Hamid Shinwari admitted that the women’s game was “in peril”, even as then acting chairman Azizullah Fazli said women would be allowed to play as long as the players adhered to Islamic rules. Soon after, Afghanistan’s Test in Australia – their first in the country – was called off. Australian sports minister Richard Colbeck said at the time that Afghan athletes would “remain welcome in Australia, but not under the flag of the Taliban”.The men’s ODI World Cup will be a 14-team affair in 2027•Getty Images

Thailand, Nepal, Namibia among hosts for U19 World Cups
Sri Lanka will host the men’s Under-19 World Cup in 2024, while Zimbabwe and Namibia will stage the 2026 edition together. And, as part of the ICC’s attempts to spread the game, Malaysia and Thailand have been named joint hosts of the women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup in 2025, while Bangladesh and Nepal will jointly host the 2027 edition of the same tournament.The Under-19 World Cup for women is finally set to take off after a pandemic-enforced delay, with South Africa hosting the inaugural edition in January 2023.Men’s 50-over World Cup in 2027 will feature 14 teams
The ICC has also formulated a qualification pathway for the women’s 2024 T20 World Cup – the ten-team event will have eight automatic qualifiers – the top-three teams from each of the two groups at the 2023 women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa, hosts Bangladesh (if they fail to make the cut in 2023), and the next-highest-ranked teams in the ICC rankings when the 2023 edition concludes. The remaining two teams will be identified through the ten-team global qualifying event.The men’s ODI World Cup in 2027 will be a 14-team event, as compared to ten in 2023 in India. South Africa and Zimbabwe will qualify as hosts, along with the next eight teams in the rankings on a date that is yet to be announced. Four others will join these ten via a global qualifier.

While allrounder Cameron Green is on the cusp of a major IPL deal, he’s been left with a “weird” feeling after playing a minimal role in Australia’s strong start to the home Test summer.Green, 23, has attracted enormous interest ahead of the upcoming IPL player auction, but his obvious talents with bat and ball haven’t been greatly required of late.With Australia’s top-order rampant against West Indies, No. 6 Green barely had a chance to spend time in the middle. He didn’t bat in the Perth Test – his first at home – then only made 9 and 5 in Adelaide when declarations were in the air.Related

• Green's growing pains on a steep learning curve

• Stokes to Green – six players who could fetch big money at the IPL auction

• Brisbane pitch earns 'below average' rating from ICC

On a bowler-dominated Gabba surface, Green played fluently in the first innings for a run-a-ball 18 to briefly curb South Africa’s quicks then faced just three deliveries as Australia staggered over the line in the chase.He has also bowled just 32 overs across the three Tests, including three during the Gabba match. Green didn’t play in the Sheffield Shield ahead of the Tests after being a late inclusion into Australia’s T20 World Cup squad.”It’s definitely been a weird start to the summer for myself not having to do too much,” Green told reporters. “Being an allrounder you’re the guy to help out when the team needs. At the moment it feels like I’m not really needed.”It’s probably a sign of how well the team is playing. We’ve been winning games of cricket and that’s what you want.”Cameron Green leaps in the gully to catch Sarel Erwee•Getty Images

Green, however, remains confident he can have an impact if required in the pivotal Boxing Day Test against South Africa.”All you can look at is how you are training and I feel in a pretty good space,” he said. “I’m hitting the ball well. If you can’t get much game time that’s the only way you can tell how you are going. I feel pretty good in the nets.”He hasn’t been entirely a spectator with Green’s fielding in the gully a particular highlight in Brisbane, where he claimed several sharp catches and five overall.The towering Green is perhaps an unusual presence behind the wicket but his agility and safe pair of hands have made him especially reliable.”I was always in the slips, [gully is] pretty similar,” he said. “The only change is in the gully you’re watching the batter instead of the ball.”Even though he didn’t spend much time batting on the much debated Gabba surface, which was deemed “below average” by match referee Richie Richardson, Green fronted a vicious short bouncer from tearaway Anrich Nortje which sailed over his head to the boundary for byes to end the match.”He [Nortje] has shown what he can bring to the team…that raw pace,” Green said. “You don’t get to face it too much, facing 150 [kph]. I think most of the batters are happy they got to face that. If we can withstand that, and we know we can, it gives us a little insight into how to face him at the MCG.”After enjoying an unexpected few days off, Australia can clinch the series with victory in the traditional Boxing Day Test – the first between the countries since 2008.”Three days to recharge is pretty invaluable. A lot of the guys were lucky enough to go home…been on the road for a long time. ” Green said. “Very special [the Boxing Day Test]. The national anthem always gets to you, it’s loud out there. We’ve had some special games there.”

Rachael Haynes has been appointed head coach of Women’s Premier League team Gujarat Giants, who have also bolstered their support staff roster with Nooshin Al Khadeer as bowling coach, Tushar Arothe as batting coach, and Gavan Twining as fielding coach. Mithali Raj had earlier been signed up to be the team’s mentor and advisor.”The likes of Rachael Haynes, Nooshin Al Khadeer, Tushar Arothe, and Gavan Twining will certainly take the performance of the team notches up,” Raj said in a statement released by the franchise. “Not only have they carved a niche for themselves in their roles, but their stories of resilience will [also] be an inspiration for the team.”Haynes, who retired as a player late last year after a glittering international, domestic and club career, won six world titles with Australia, and was the vice-captain of the team from 2017 to 2022. For Australia, she played six Tests where she had 383 runs at an average of 34.81, 77 ODIs where she scored 2585 runs at 39.76, and 84 T20Is with 850 runs at a strike rate of 117.72.Related

• Haynes: WPL will make Indian cricket richer, like WBBL has done for Australia

• WPL player auction – who could be the big buys, and all other questions answered

• Charlotte Edwards to coach Mumbai's WPL team

• WPL auction during T20 World Cup a 'distraction' but 'enormous step for women's cricket'

• 'What a time to be part of women's cricket'

Al Khadeer, apart from being at the helm when Supernovas had won the Women’s T20 Challenge in 2022, was the coach of the India team that won the women’s Under-19 World Cup in South Africa earlier this week. An offspinner during her playing days, Al Khadeer played five Tests, 78 ODIs and two T20Is, picking up 115 wickets overall.And Arothe, a Baroda batting allrounder who played 114 first-class matches in a career of close to two decades, was the head coach of the India women’s national team for just over a year in 2017-18, before stepping down following reports of strong differences with some of the players. Twining, meanwhile, has been a part of the coaching circuit in Australia for a while, and most recently served as head coach of New South Wales women’s side in the Australian domestic set-up.The WPL is likely to be played between March 4 and March 24, between the Women’s T20 World Cup that ends in late February and the men’s IPL that is set to start one week after the women’s competition.WPL’s player auction, expected in just over a week’s time, will have auction purses of INR 12 crore (USD 1.46 million approx.) per team. Each sude can buy a minimum of 15 and a maximum of 18 players, including seven overseas ones, of which one must be from an Associate country. Unlike in the men’s IPL, WPL teams will have the option of fielding up to five overseas players in the XI, provided, again, that one is from an Associate team.A total of 22 matches will be played in WPL 2023, with each franchise playing the other twice to make it a total of eight games per team. The top-ranked side will enter the final directly, while the second- and third-placed teams will face off in a qualifier to determine the second finalist.

New Zealand have included Kyle Jamieson and Will Young in the NZ XI squad to face England in a two-day pink-ball warm-up match at Seddon Park later this week.Jamieson has not played international cricket since suffering a back injury on the tour of England last year, and the fixture will provide an opportunity to build match fitness ahead of an expected Test return. Young’s last Test appearance also came in England, with Devon Conway preferred at opener in Pakistan over Christmas.The squad includes Tom Bruce, who has played 17 T20Is for New Zealand and will captain the side, as well as New Zealand A players Robbie O’Donnell and Sean Solia. Jacob Cumming, the 19-year-old son of former Test batter Craig Cumming, could also play a part.Related

• Broad, Potts, Lawrence back in England Test squad for New Zealand tour

• Jamieson returns for Test series against England

• Jamieson 'feeling mentally and physically fresh' after time out injured

“This is a great opportunity for the NZ XI players, from younger emerging players through to established domestic players, to experience playing against quality international opposition,” Gavin Larsen, New Zealand selector, said. “And it’s another important step for Kyle as he looks to get more quality overs under his belt before the England Test series begins.”England are due to arrive in Hamilton on Tuesday ahead of the two-day warm-up fixture as they step up their preparations for the two-Test series, which begins with a day-night Test in Mount Maunganui starting on February 16.New Zealand XI squad: Tom Bruce (capt), Adi Ashok, Jacob Cumming, Sean Davey, Curtis Heaphy (wk), Kyle Jamieson, Jarrod McKay, Robbie O’Donnell, Will O’Donnell, Quinn Sunde, Sean Solia, Theo van Woerkom, Will Young

An all-round bowling show from Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) saw them restrict Punjab Kings (PBKS) to only 157 for 6 in Mullanpur. Less than 48 hours after these two teams played a game in Bengaluru, they were back at it up north.RCB won the toss and had no hesitation in bowling first on what Rajat Patidar thought was a decent surface. PBKS were off to a flying start in the powerplay with Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh going big. After a two-run opening over from Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the duo smashed seven fours and a six in the next three overs.However, the change of pace brought RCB back. Krunal Pandya first induced a top-edge off Arya’s blade with Tim David taking a simple catch at mid-on. Prabhsimran went six and four against Josh Hazlewood in the sixth over to end the powerplay on a high. But it was all RCB thereon.Prabhsimran failed to clear long-on first ball after the powerplay and was caught by David at long-on. Shreyas Iyer, who had three fifty-plus and four sub-ten scores in seven innings in IPL 2025, suffered another failure. He was dismissed by Romario Shepherd, with Krunal taking a stunning catch haring to his left from long-on.Nehal Wadhera was needlessly run out, while Suyash Sharma then picked two wickets in an over as PBKS slipped to 114 for 6 in the 14th over. PBKS only managed 67 runs in the middle overs and lost five wickets.Shashank Singh and Marco Jansen tried their best to go big in the death, but Bhuvneshwar and Hazlewood did not give them an inch. According to ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball data, RCB landed eight yorkers in the last four overs. Jansen and Shashank were not dismissed but could only manage 28 runs in the last four overs. Jansen smashed a six to end the innings, but RCB will be the happier side going into the break.

Zimbabwe and Afghanistan wrestled for the advantage on a fast-paced day of Test cricket in Bulawayo, with the hosts only slightly ahead.Two-hundred-and-eighty-three runs were scored and 13 wickets fell on the second day where the momentum see-sawed between the two teams, leaving the Test delicately poised.Resuming from 6 for 0 after bowling Afghanistan out for 157 on a rain-hit first day, Zimbabwe were in early trouble thanks to a top-order collapse. But half-centuries from Craig Ervine (75) and Sikandar Raza (61) and a knock of equal value from an injured Sean Williams (49) saw Zimbabwe take an 86-run lead – one that was significant given the difficult nature of the pitch.Zimbabwe then removed three Afghanistan batters – with Blessing Muzarabani accounting for two – to end the day 40 runs ahead, while Afghanistan have just seven wickets in hand to try and set up a challenging target.There was enough in the pitch for bowlers in the morning and Zimbabwe started off showing a lot of discipline. But Joylord Gumbie’s patience didn’t last long as he edged Fareed Ahmad as Abdul Malik took a good low catch at second slip.Yamin Ahmadzai then had Takudzwanashe Kaitano strangled down the leg side to make it two wickets in two overs.Just as Ben Curran started to gather momentum with a couple of boundaries off both Afghanistan quicks, Fareed trapped him with front with an in-ducker, with Curran playing down the wrong line.Afghanistan applied instant pressure on Zimbabwe’s No. 5 Dion Myers, who was promoted because Williams was nursing a back injury from Thursday. With a catching mid-on in place, Myers opted to hit his way out of trouble. He lofted Ahmadzai down the ground for a boundary, but nicked off trying to cut a short and wide one to leave Afghanistan on 41 for 4.It could have been five down next ball when Fareed drew the outside edge from Raza – who was on seven – only to see a regulation catch go down at first slip. The drop from Riaz Hassan proved expensive. Raza got going with consecutive boundaries off Ahmadzai – an elegant on-drive followed by a cut through point.Raza and Ervine soon added 71 for the fourth wicket, mostly relying on singles, while Raza came up with the occasional boundary. Raza, playing his first Test since 2021, brought up his fifty by driving Rashid Khan through the covers for two in the second over after lunch.In the next over, Raza had another slice of luck as he miscued a pull to deep square leg’s left, but Ismat Alam let the ball slip through his hands, much to Fareed’s frustration for the second time in the day.Sikandar Raza steadied Zimbabwe after an early collapse•Zimbabwe Cricket

However, Raza could only add eight more runs to his total as Hashmatullah Shahidi brought Zia-ur-Rahman into the attack. Rashid changed ends, and Raza ended up missing a sweep the first ball he faced against the left-arm spinner.Rashid also looked sharper from the other end, and soon had Brian Bennett caught behind off the inside edge with a wrong’un. It did the trick again for Rashid as he knocked over Newman Nyamhuri.Zimbabwe were still ten runs behind Afghanistan’s first-innings total and Williams, coming out to bat at No. 9, and Ervine pulled Rashid and Ahmadzai respectively for two boundaries in the next two overs to take Zimbabwe into the lead.With Williams struggling with his back, Ahmadzai targeted him with short balls and nearly created a caught-and-bowled opportunity in the 52nd over, but the ball fell short. One ball later, Williams took on another short ball and crashed it through midwicket, but also went down on a knee holding his back in the process.Williams then decided to go on the attack, lofting Rashid over mid-on before driving Ahmadzai past mid-off twice in an over. In Ahmadzai’s next over, Williams slogged him for back-to-back boundaries. Ervine, who was happy to play second fiddle at the other end, reached his half-century in the final over before tea.Zimbabwe started positively in the final session, with Williams hitting Zia over mid-off for his fourth boundary in the second over after tea. But in the next over, Rashid got a wrong’un to spin away as Williams looked to turn it leg side. There was barely any audible noise but Rashid was loud in his appeal for caught behind. The umpire however, was unconvinced, but Williams, batting on 49, walked.”Obviously the medical staff have been working really hard to get him on the park today, they did a magnificent job there, and we’re going to have to continue to do that,” Zimbabwe coach Justin Sammons spoke after the day’s play about Williams’ back issue.”It’s going to be tough, he’s in a lot of pain, but he showed tremendous courage to go out there and he showed what he’s about and what it means to him to play for Zimbabwe. You can see that in the way he goes about his business.”I can’t look too far ahead, obviously we take it step by step with him. We’re just going to try to get him into the best physical state we can as we move forward in this Test.”Ervine tried to the strike once play resumed after a brief rain break, but Ngarava convinced his captain to take a single off the second ball of the 71st over but was knocked over by an Ahmadzai length ball that stayed low.Ervine took Rashid on in the next over, first coming down the pitch to loft him down the ground and then slogging him over square leg for back-to-back sixes.However, another attempt at a slog sweep in Rashid’s next over saw Ervine hole out at deep-backward square leg. Zimbabwe now had an 86-run first-innings lead.Afghanistan’s second innings had a frantic start. Abdul Malik flashed at a full delivery and edged it to gully where Curran dropped him, before a vociferous appeal for caught behind from Ngarava, who got the ball close to Malik’s outside edge, was turned down.In the next over, Muzarabani drew a leading edge from Malik, with the ball popping to mid-on. In the eighth over, Muzarabani struck again, when he had Hassan Riaz edging behind to make it 18 for 2.Shahidi and Rahmat Shah, double-centurions in the last match, then tried to stave off the bowlers, but Raza gave Zimbabwe a late boost with a lovely offbreak that drifted in to pitch on middle before turning away past the outside edge and crashing into off stump, removing the Afghanistan captain in the penultimate over of the day.

South Australia’s bid to host the Sheffield Shield final at Adelaide Oval has been blocked by the AFL with the decider to be played at Karen Rolton Oval as it was originally scheduled.The South Australia Cricket Association and South Australia premier Peter Malinauskas had led a public push to play the final at Adelaide Oval after South Australia locked in hosting rights with a win over Victoria last Sunday.Cricket Australia had originally expected the final to be played at Karen Rolton Oval, starting on March 26, given the drop-in pitches had already been removed from Adelaide Oval for the start of the AFL season. But CA were happy to support Malinauskas and the SACA in their bid to stage the game at the iconic venue which would have required to match to be moved forward two days to start on Monday March 24 to allow for Adelaide Oval’s ground staff to drop a single pitch into the middle of the venue the day after an AFL game that will staged there on Saturday March 22.Related

• Tension between Khawaja and Queensland builds ahead of Shield final

• Lehmann and Scott lead South Australia to home Shield final

• 'We want to play there' – Adelaide Oval could host Sheffield Shield final between AFL games

The AFL had initially stated it was open to cooperating to allow cricket to use the venue but that changed when concerns were raised about the condition of the playing surface for the footballers if a pitch was dropped in and then removed again on Saturday March 26, the day after the five-day final had been played, before another AFL game was set to take place on the ground on Sunday March 27.CA chief executive Todd Greenberg issued a statement expressing frustration that the final would not be played at Adelaide Oval.”We are disappointed South Australia has been prevented from hosting the Sheffield Shield final at Adelaide Oval,” Greenberg said.”The Sheffield Shield final is a significant event for Australia’s national sport, and we believe Adelaide Oval would have been the most appropriate venue.”I would like to thank Premier Malinauskas for his advocacy in this matter and his passionate support of cricket and the South Australia Cricket Association which made an extremely compelling case to host the final at Adelaide Oval.”March is a very important month for cricket including the Sheffield Shield and Premier and club cricket finals.”We will continue to work collaboratively at all levels to ensure cricket gains and provides appropriate access to shared venues across the country.”Malinauskas had earlier in the week told 5AA radio in Adelaide that his office had received a “galling” request from an AFL “entity”, likely one of the Adelaide based AFL clubs, for financial insurance cover in case an AFL player was injury due to the surface being unstable if the Shield final was staged at the ground.”We have received a request, it’s not from cricket, I won’t say what entity it is in footy,” Malinaskas said.”What I would say is we are asking for people to act rationally and pragmatically in the interest of fans.”I’ve got to say it’s a little bit galling that people are trying to use an opportunity to look after fans as an opportunity to slug the taxpayer and I won’t be having it.”I’m not naming any names, I’m just saying my government is not going to be giving cash so they get out of the way of something everybody thinks should happen.”The Shield final has not been hosted at a multipurpose venue in Australia since 2012 due to the encroachment of the AFL season into the month of March, which had notionally been a cricket month in Australia as Greenberg alluded to.South Australia is hosting their last home and away game at Karen Rolton Oval this weekend against Queensland while the Adelaide Crows will host their first AFL game of the season at Adelaide Oval on Sunday.Queensland, New South Wales, Western Australia and Victoria are all vying for the other spot in the final as the final Shield round begins on Saturday.

In what is turning out to be a year of breaking jinxes, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) defeated Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium for the first time in ten years after they did the same in the corresponding fixture against Chennai Super Kings for the first time in 17 years at the Chepauk stadium.Even though RCB scored 221, the win didn’t come without a massive scare from Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma, who added 89 in 34 balls from 99 for 4 in 12 overs. With 123 off eight overs reduced to 41 off the last three, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood and Krunal Pandya put on a defensive masterclass to deny MI.Related

• 'Ee sala cup RCB de' – Rayudu backs Patidar's men to make it 18th time lucky

• After fourth loss, Jayawardene points to powerplays as 'a concern'

• Jayawardene says Bumrah is in 'good nick' after IPL comeback

• RCB's winning formula comes with a distinct Indian flavour

• Stats – Kohli becomes first Indian to 13,000 T20 runs; Bhuvneshwar overtakes Bravo

Rajat Patidar and Virat Kohli scored quick fifties before a finishing kick from Jitesh Sharma took them to 221 despite Jasprit Bumrah’s return and three excellent overs from Hardik. It was Kohli’s fastest T20 fifty since 2019, and his first in under 30 balls in the IPL since 2018. His intent allowed Patidar to get off to a watchful start before he took apart Hardik, who had stifled the other batters.By no means was the target beyond MI’s reach, but Hazlewood and Suyash Sharma bowled their first five overs for just 21 runs to leave MI with just a 2.25% chance of winning on the ESPNcricinfo forecaster at the end of the 12th over. Hardik’s sensational 42 off 15 and Tilak’s 29-ball 56 turned it into an even contest, but Bhuvneshwar and Hazlewood nailed enough yorkers in the 18th and 19th overs to give Krunal 18 to defend in the last over. He consigned his brother’s team to a second straight defeat by 12 runs.Virat Kohli raced to a 29-ball fifty•BCCI

Kohli, Padikkal make light work after early wicketFor the 31st time in the IPL, Trent Boult struck in the first over of an innings, but Devdutt Padikkal hit his first ball for a four. The intent never stopped as RCB reached 73 after the powerplay. Kohli took 36 off 19, Padikkal 32 off 15. Kohli usually drops anchor but he took on the spinners with slog sweeps in the seventh and the ninth over to get to fifty in 29 balls.Hardik plays cat and mouseVignesh Puthur’s left-arm wristspin got the wicket of Padikkal for 37 off 22, but it was Hardik’s wide lines that suffocated RCB in the middle. Kohli still kept attempting big hits, allowing Patidar to be watchful for a start of 8 off 10.Patidar then managed to move across and take Hardik for runs and rearranged Mitchell Santner’s figures with 20 off his last over. It was here that Hardik’s wide lines brought him the wickets of Kohli and Liam Livingstone in the same over to make it 144 for 5 with 33 balls to go.2:26

Rayudu: ‘Patidar’s was a brilliant middle-order batting innings’

Patidar and Jitesh close out in styleTwo of the remaining five overs were going to be bowled by Bumrah, making his comeback from a back injury that has kept him out since the first week of January. So RCB needed to score heavily at the other end. Patidar did so off Hardik, taking 33 off 12 to ruin his figures to 4-0-45-2. Jitesh took 24 off eight off Boult to consign him to his costliest T20 analysis of 4-0-57-2. Bumrah went for only 14 in the 18th and 20th overs, but RCB believed they had done enough damage.Hazlewood, Suyash put RCB far aheadThat belief was only reinforced when Hazlewood’s impeccable lengths and Suyash’s unusual action troubled the MI top order. Hazlewood took Ryan Rickleton out thanks to an inspired DRS review from Jitesh before conceding just two in the final over of the powerplay. Suryakumar Yadav was the one caught in the spotlight. He was 8 off 13 after this over and one from Suyash. To make matters for MI, Suryakumar was dropped twice as he and Will Jacks added just 41 in six overs. When they finally caught Suryakumar at the end of the 12th over, MI needed what would have been the second-highest successful target achieved in the last eight overs of an IPL match.Hardik Pandya bashed 42 off just 15 balls•Associated Press

Dramatic endTilak, who was retired out in MI’s last game, kept Hardik off strike for seven balls, but in these seven balls he took 17 off Suyash’s last over, much like Patidar took the last overs of Santner and Hardik for a plenty. When Hardik finally got strike, he hit the coldest and sweetest of boundaries to turn the game around in just seven balls. These seven balls featured two sixes and two fours off Hazlewood, and two sixes off brother Krunal.With Hardik 32 off 7, the ask was now 71 off 33. A bit of gamesmanship followed to try to break Hardik’s rhythm, but MI kept going strong. Bhuvneshwar started the next over well, but Tilak hit a six and a four to take 13 off it. Still, only a little over two a ball was required. Yash Dayal managed to escape with some slower balls, but again a late six kept MI in it.Bhuvneshwar and Hazlewood now dealt almost exclusively in yorkers. When they missed even slightly, runs came: a Hardik four, a Naman Dhir six first ball and a Santner six off a low full toss from Hazlewood.Still, MI needed 19 off the last over, and Krunal denied Santner and Deepak Chahar just enough power for them to be caught on the boundary. Krunal’s 4-0-45-4 were his best IPL figures.