All posts by csb10.top

Delhi Capitals (DC) captain Axar Patel has been fined INR 12 lakh for his team’s slow over rate during the IPL 2025 game against Mumbai Indians (MI) on Sunday night in Delhi.As per Article 2.22 of the IPL’s code of conduct, a captain is fined INR 12 lakh for the first slow over rate offence in a season. The IPL has done away with match suspensions and there are only fines and in-game field restrictions.Chasing 206, DC were the favourites at one stage, thanks to Karun Nair’s comeback knock of 89. They needed 66 from eight overs and had seven wickets in hand. But they kept losing wickets at regular intervals and suffered a hat-trick of run-outs in the penultimate over to fall short by 12 runs. This was their first defeat in five games.”We had the game. I think we had soft dismissals from the middle order, some bad shots,” Axar said after the game. “We lost by 12 runs with an over to go so we could have still won it. It can’t happen that your lower-order batters will always save you in chases. There are some odd days where you play wrong shots, so I don’t think there is any point in thinking too much about it.”Earlier in the tournament, MI’s Hardik Pandya, Rajasthan Royals’ Riyan Parag and Sanju Samson, and Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Rajat Patidar were also handed fines for slow over rate.

Litton Das has been ruled out of the PSL after he sustained a blow to the thumb during training. Karachi Kings announced the Bangladesh wicketkeeper, who was drafted in the Silver Category this year, will be replaced by Australian wicketkeeper Ben McDermott.”Unfortunately, I couldn’t be part of this tournament, even though I was really looking forward to it,” Litton said in a statement on Karachi Kings’ website. “Life can be unpredictable – just my bad luck.”McDermott has never played in the PSL before but does have recent T20 form coming into the league. He was a member of the Hobart Hurricanes side that won its first BBL title earlier this year, getting his runs at a strike rate just under 145 in the tournament, including a cameo in the final.Related

• Fakhar and Billings open Qalandars' account with resounding win

• Can Karachi end playoffs jinx, and will spin issues cost Lahore?

• PSL@10: The purest and least problematic fun to be had in Pakistan

• PSL in numbers: Peshawar's unique feat, Shaheen's first-over strikes, and Usman's tons

Meanwhile, Karachi also confirmed Kane Williamson would be partially unavailable during this campaign. Williamson is expected to join the Kings after the Karachi leg of the tournament ends on April 21, meaning he will miss the first five of his side’s games this tournament. He will be replaced for that period by Saad Baig, currently captain of Pakistan’s U19 side.Peshawar Zalmi also bolstered their ranks in the lead-up to their first game. Fast bowler Ihsanullah, who was ruled out for an extended period of time with a career-threating elbow injury which the PCB acknowledged was mishandled, makes his return to the league for the first time since 2023. He has been signed by Peshawar Zalmi, who play their first game against Quetta Gladiators on Saturday.

Sussex’s base at Hove may be one of the more tranquil destinations on the county circuit. But when the club make their return to Division One of the Championship after a ten-year absence next month, opponents should not arrive expecting a ride on the teacups.That is the message coming from the 2024 Division Two champions, with head coach, Paul Farbrace, saying Sussex will go into the new season “aiming to win” the title. If that proves beyond them, Farbace is targeting a finish of fourth or higher, with the goal of being in the top two the following summer.All this is part of a five-year plan Farbrace drew up when appointed to succeed Ian Salisbury in the winter of 2022-2023. Sussex, who lifted the County Championship as recently as 2007, were at the time languishing in the second tier, having won just three first-class matches in the previous three seasons – but Farbrace immediately set about scotching talk of incremental progress, declaring that the club should be challenging for promotion and a place at T20 Finals Day.Related

• Tongue thirsty for overdue Notts debut after spate of cruel injuries

• Farbrace: Hundred windfall will enable counties to plan for 'cricket, not finance'

• Cox: 'Dad was in the queue at Heathrow, I told him to turn round'

• Lawrence still has shots to play after missing his Test opening

• Bairstow appointed Yorkshire captain for County Championship

Although Sussex finished that season in third, those lofty twin goals were eventually realised a year later – John Simpson (a Farbrace signing) captaining them to the Division Two title with a 20-point gap on Yorkshire, while Tymal Mills oversaw a run to the last four of the Blast. It proved swift vindication for Farbrace’s belief that the players could walk his talk.”I deliberately tried to change the language [around the club],” Farbrace tells ESPNcricinfo during Sussex’s pre-season media day at Hove. “At the time, people were saying to me, it’s a tough job, because, you know, they’ve only won one game [per season] in three years. But actually, we’ve got a group of players, they were crying out for someone to say, ‘Right, this is where we going. Come on, let’s roll our sleeves up. Let’s have fun doing it.'”I think there’s a real feelgood [factor], and everyone’s realising now that we don’t have to be a team that just talks about, ‘What’s our relevance in county cricket?’ Let’s show people our relevance. Let’s punch above our weight. All right, some of the clubs have got bigger and better budgets than we have, but it’s not about that. It’s about having the right people in the right places, whether that’s on the field or off the field, and have a bit of fun doing what you’re doing. You spend a lot of time at cricket, practicing, playing, working at the game. You want to enjoy it as well. But you enjoy it so much more when you’re winning.”It was not all smooth sailing from the outset, with ill discipline undermining their promotion push in 2023 – Sussex were docked 12 points after a bad-tempered late-season win over Leicestershire – and rumours that not everyone agreed with Farbrace’s approach. Ali Orr, one of the club’s brightest batting talents, was allowed to leave for Hampshire, prompting Chris Adams and Ian Gould, two Sussex stalwarts, to step down from advisory roles. George Garton, another homegrown talent, also found himself surplus to requirements.Upending the deckchairs at a tight-knit club like Sussex could have been risky but Farbrace believes it was important to “give the place a shake” after several seasons in which cost-cutting and a reliance on the academy had limited ambition. He also says he has tempered his approach accordingly as the team has developed.”I had to do that,” he says. “I think that was part of my role when I first came in. I’d like to think I’m doing things differently to what I did in the first year. The first year, I was very bullish, I didn’t really ask too many questions. I told people what we were doing, let’s get on board and make sure you’re with me. That was something that I spent a lot of time doing, making sure people understood what we were trying to do and why we were trying to do it. And, yeah, I did ruffle a few feathers, I think I had to.Sussex won promotion with a game to spare in 2024•Getty Images

“I had quite a few spats with people during that first year. But I definitely think it was the right thing to do. And then subsequently, last year, I’ve been a lot more inclusive, a lot more open, I’ve asked a lot more people’s thoughts and views, and I’m hopefully starting to sit back a little bit more. It’s now a case of saying, we’ve got the right captains, we’ve got the right coaches, we’ve got the right support staff. The pitches are playing brilliantly. Now I can sit back a little bit and just keep nudging people in the right direction and make sure we keep that momentum going, and not feel as I’ve got to be at the front of it. It wasn’t about me, per se – it was just about someone just giving the place a bit of a shake. Saying, ‘Come on. Let’s compete. Let’s have some fun taking people on.’ And if it doesn’t work, I take full responsibility.”He admits, however, that things might have turned out differently had Sussex not sneaked their way to a two-wicket win over eventual Division Two-winners, Durham, in his first game in charge. “I’ll always be indebted to Oli Carter for the innings that he played to get us over the line against Durham. Because beating a strong Durham team here, in that first game, everyone started thinking: actually, maybe that idiot knows what he’s doing.”Faith in the group that Farbrace has assembled means there have been few changes at Sussex over the winter, with rookie contracts for George Thomas, the former England U19 batter released by Somerset, Nantes Oosthuizen and ACE academy graduate Troy Henry the only additions. Simpson will again lead the red-ball side after a stunning first summer down on the south coast in which he averaged 74.81 with the bat – and he has counselled his players that they will “need to be better for longer” in Division One as they seek to avoid a battle for survival.For the first time in four seasons, there is no Cheteshwar Pujara to act as batting bulwark – but Australian Daniel Hughes is back for a full campaign after impressing last year. West Indies quick Jayden Seales also returns to lead the attack alongside Ollie Robinson during the first block of Championship games. Robinson, who is expected to be fit after hernia surgery, opted not to speak to the media, presumably in anticipation of his bowling doing the talking as he aims to nudge the selectors more than a year on from his last England cap.And while incipient plans to nurture Jofra Archer’s Test comeback via a few appearances in the opening rounds of the Championship season were shelved after he was a late entrant in the IPL mega-auction, Sussex could still benefit from his services later in the summer. Could Archer tune up for involvement in the Ashes by firing Sussex’s Division One challenge? Down Hove way recently, stranger things have happened.

UP Warriorz (UPW) have named Australia top-order batter Georgia Voll as replacement for Chamari Athapaththu, who will be missing the final phase of the WPL owing to national duties. As reported by ESPNcricinfo last week, Athapaththu was supposed to be available for UPW only till February 26, for their game against Mumbai Indians in Bengaluru which they lost.UPW next play on March 3, which will be the first game this season in Lucknow. Sri Lanka’s tour of New Zealand begins with the first of three ODIs in Napier the following day, followed by as many T20Is. As such, Athapaththu hasn’t played any of UPW’s five games this season.Twenty-one-year-old Voll has only played three T20Is, having made her debut against England in January. But prior to that, she was Sydney Thunder’s second-highest run-getter at WBBL 2024-25, where she scored 330 runs at a strike rate of 144. Thunder had made their way all the way up to the WBBL Challenger, where they lost to Brisbane Heat.Voll scored a century in just her second ODI, against India last December. She had finished as the highest run-scorer in that series, with 173 runs at an average of 86.50. Voll joins UPW for INR 30 lakh (US$ 34,350 approx.).UPW are currently placed fourth on the five-team WPL points table, having won two of their games so far.

Amy Jones has insisted there’s still a “lot of love” for Alex Hartley within the England Women’s squad, as she sought to play down the row over Hartley’s claims that she has been “given the cold shoulder” by certain players during her duties as an Ashes broadcaster.England go into Thursday’s second T20I in Canberra needing nothing less than a win to maintain their hopes of salvaging a drawn series after four consecutive losses. But their on-field struggles have been overshadowed by the team’s alleged response to Hartley’s criticism of their fitness levels, which began with their T20 World Cup exit in October.Speaking on a BBC podcast on Monday, after Australia’s 57-run win had confirmed that they will maintain their decade-long hold on the Ashes, Hartley claimed that Sophie Ecclestone had refused to do a TV interview with her, and that other members of the squad were no longer talking to her on the boundary edge.”The reason I said that they were not as fit as Australia is because I want them to compete with Australia,” Hartley had added. “I want them to be better than Australia, and I want them to win Ashes and World Cups. I’m giving my opinion, and I’ve been given the cold shoulder from the England team ever since.”Replying to the row, Jones acknowledged that the squad had fallen well short of its own expectations during the Ashes, but denied that the players had taken Hartley’s comments personally.”I don’t think it is the case,” Jones said. “I think we all respect that commentators have their own opinions and it’s Alex’s job to say how she feels. And I think we all respect that. Hartley’s a great personality, and we have a lot of love for her within the group. So, I definitely don’t think that’s the case.”Jones herself has been a qualified success in a misfiring batting line-up, making three 30-plus scores in four innings to date, including an unbeaten 47 in a low-scoring ODI in Melbourne.Related

• Hartley: Ecclestone 'refused TV interview' after Ashes loss

• Mooney and King help clinical Australia retain Ashes

• Mooney: Voll has taken to international cricket 'like a duck to water'

• Healy in doubt for rest of Ashes series as she misses first T20I

• Australia show off their depth in dominant Sydney display

However, England’s missed opportunities in this series were epitomised by Jones’ glaring lack of game awareness at the culmination of that Melbourne innings, when she failed to run on a free hit that could have kept her on strike going into the penultimate over of the innings. No.11 Lauren Bell was bowled one ball later to condemn England to a 21-run loss.”That one in particular was hard to take, for many reasons,” Jones said. “I felt emotionally drained afterwards [because], with the obvious mistake at the end, you definitely feel responsible for the loss. But the support from all the girls and the staff emphasised that long games don’t often come down to one specific moment, so I guess that definitely helped.”I’ve obviously made contributions along the way, but as a player, you definitely judge yourself on matchwinning contributions. I’ve been lucky to be in a position where I could have really helped influence a few of those games, especially in the ODIs, and I’m disappointed not to be able to get the team over the line. There’s a lot of learnings in there.”Alex Hartley claims she has been given the ‘cold shoulder’ by England players•Getty Images

Even with the series all but lost, Jones says that the squad will be sticking to the same mantras and methods that have been in place since the start of Jon Lewis’ tenure as head coach, in particular their desire to “inspire and entertain” – traits that have arguably been in scarce supply in a dispiriting campaign.”We’re still working hard at training and in team meetings to try and put our best foot forward,” Jones said. “We’ll be very excited to come out play tomorrow, and hopefully get some points on the board.”There was a bit of reconnection after the second ODI about how we want to play, making sure we’re still trying to inspire and entertain,” she added. “That’s worked really well for us in the past, and it’s something that all of us connect to really well.”It brings out more of a fearless playing style, which suits us. I think we’ve lifted a bit away from that, and so reconnecting to that is important for us. We play our best when we take the game on, put their bowlers under pressure with the bat, and have a wicket-taking mindset with the ball. In the field, it’s around energy and enjoyment. When all those things come together, we’re obviously a very good side.”

On a ground he has played the hero before, allrounder Cooper Connolly stepped up with a game-changing half-century as Perth Scorchers continued their long-time dominance over Melbourne Stars in the BBL season-opener at Optus Stadium.Chasing 147, Scorchers were in trouble at 37 for 3 before Connolly and captain Ashton Turner combined for a 68-run partnership. Returning from a fractured hand sustained on the ground in last month’s third ODI against Pakistan, Connolly hit 64 from 51 balls before Turner sealed the result in trademark composed fashion.There was late drama when Stars batter Hilton Cartwright was stretchered off the ground in a mini-ambulance with what appeared to be a neck injury. He had given chase from deep point in a bid to prevent a boundary from Connolly and seemed to jar his neck as he sprawled across the turf.Cartwright, a Western Australian cricketer, had the support of a neck brace as he left the ground to warm applause from the fans before being taken to hospital.It was the seventh straight win for Scorchers over Stars much to the delight of the 30,649 crowd – a record for a BBL season-opener.

Connolly and Turner lift weakened Scorchers batting

Stars’ score of 146 for 9 appeared under par, but there were concerns over a weakened Scorchers’ batting line-up missing injured No.3 Aaron Hardie and Josh Inglis, who is part of Australia’s Test squad.Expectations were high over New Zealand opener Finn Allen, who had tuned up for his Scorchers debut with a succession of massive hits during an intra-squad match at the WACA.Allen didn’t bother with a sighter as he launched compatriot Adam Milne for a massive six over wide long-on to trigger bedlam among the orange-garbed fans in the terraces.But he was bowled by Milne on the next delivery before Scorchers slumped further when English batters top-order Keaton Jennings and Matt Hurst struggled to handle the extra bounce.In familair scenes, Turner came to the crease and brought calmness to the middle. He started slowly in trademark style as Connolly did the bulk of the damage.Connolly has said his preference is to bat at No.6 but his flexibility came to the fore as he reached his maiden BBL half-century. He was not able to stay there at the end, like he memorably did in the final of BBL 12. He fell after when Scorchers took the power surge in the 14th over but Turner, who has missed much of the domestic season with injuries, finished the job with an unbeaten 37 as Scorchers reached the target in the 18th over.

Same ol’ Scorchers attack

New season, same old menacing Scorchers attack. It was like a collection of greatest hits for this reliable group of bowlers.Left-arm quick Jason Behrendorff has for years been a devastating weapon with the new ball and this was no exception. He didn’t take wickets in his opening two-over spell, but indirectly helped account for the early dismissals of Joe Clarke and Sam Harper.Behrendorff conjured trademark dangerous swing and started the season with a maiden. The pressure built on Stars with Jhye Richardson the beneficiary at the other end as he capped Scorchers’ early dominance by dismissing Harper plumb lbw as he grinned widely before appealing to the umpire, who raised his finger in a decision that was upheld on review.Richardson capped his fine performance with the wicket of Beau Webster, who had been released from Australia’s Test squad, in the 17th over.It was a well-rounded effort from a full-strength Scorchers attack with speedster Lance Morris bowling at speeds touching 145 kmh, while left-arm spinners Ashton Agar and Connolly each took a wicket in their returns from injuries.

Stoinis starts captaincy reign well before run-out

It’s a new era for Stars, a high-profile franchise that are famously titleless, with Marcus Stoinis taking the captaincy reins from Glenn Maxwell, who stepped down after five seasons in the role.Stoinis came to the crease under pressure but he’s well used to these fast and bouncy conditions having come up through the Western Australian cricket ranks.And he met fire with fire, taking a liking to Morris’ extra pace before smashing Agar for a huge six down the ground. In the process he became the sixth batter in BBL history to reach 100 sixes.With batting conditions becoming easier, Stoinis attempted to bludgeon every delivery like when he launched into a full-pitched Richardson delivery only to break his bat in half.But two deliveries later Stoinis took off for a quick single only for Tye at mid-on to produce a spectacular direct hit to throw down the stumps at the bowler’s end. Stoinis instantly knew his fate and was clearly livid as he threw his head back and chucked his bat in the air.Stoinis trudged off after making 37 off 33 balls but Tom Curran, recruited from Sydney Sixers, gave them a lift in the backend with 37 off 19 balls. But it wasn’t enough as their shorthanded attack missing Scott Boland could not defend the sub-par total.

Australia’s Test bowling depth has taken a blow with back-up seamer Michael Neser ruled out of the remainder of the Australia A game at the MCG with a hamstring injury after claiming four wickets on the opening day to rip through India A’s top order.Neser was bowling his 13th over, having already taken 4 for 27 with some stunning swing and seam bowling in the morning session, when he pulled up sharply following his second delivery of the over. He immediately began limping off the ground in a clear sign that he knew exactly what the issue was.A Cricket Australia spokesperson confirmed shortly after that Neser had injured his left hamstring and would not bowl again in the game. He will go for scans to assess the extent of the damage.Related

• Munro touch and go for Heat opener, Johnson and Neser missing

• Harris 'pretty well-equipped' to open against India in Perth

• Australia quicks' unbroken summer could be an 'outlier'

• Boland eyes chance to keep pressure on KL Rahul

• Rahul and McSweeney miss out as bowlers dominate at the MCG

It is understood Neser had experienced some soreness in the same left hamstring after the last Sheffield Shield game he played on October 23 when he bowled 48.5 overs for Queensland against South Australia. That soreness saw him ruled out of the domestic One-Day Cup game against South Australia two days later.He returned to training without any issues after a short break and was fine in the lead-up to this game. But the fast bowlers have had issues with the outfield at the MCG this season as it has been top dressed with sand following the Australian Football League season.Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc suffered cramps in both the Shield and ODI games he has played here over the past two weeks and complained about how heavy the outfield was to run on. Australia and New South Wales team-mate Sean Abbott also noted how heavy his legs felt after the Shield game.Neser had also come into the summer off an injury in the winter. He suffered a calf injury while playing in England and was on bowling restrictions in the pre-season right up until the first Shield game of the summer in Perth.He was unlikely to be in Australia’s Test squad for the first Test in Perth against India with Scott Boland set to be the sole back-up quick in what is expected to be a 13-man group. But there was an expectation that Neser could be needed at some point during the series. There is a nine-day break between the first two Tests but Australia are wary that there is only a three-day gap between the second and third Test in Adelaide and Brisbane. There is a seven-day break between the third and fourth Test and then another three-day break between the fourth and fifth Test.Abbott and Nathan McAndrew would be among the contenders if Australia needed another fast bowler for a Test match beyond Boland.There is some positive news from Western Australia with Jhye Richardson getting through a WA Second XI game last week and bowling 25 overs in the match for the first time in 12 months. He might be able to make a Shield return before the BBL break but it would be a big ask for him to be ready for a Test match given his long build back off a raft of injury issues.Lance Morris has also not played a red-ball game this season coming off stress fractures in the winter and a quad strain. But he is in line to play an ODI on Sunday when Australia’s big three are rested. He was also a chance to play a Shield game before the BBL provided he could build his loads up adequately.

In the ultimate analysis of Australia’s total domination of Pakistan at home, Monday’s opening ODI will be a mere footnote, an extension of a seemingly unchangeable trend. Australia have now won 27 of the last 28 completed games across formats against Pakistan at home, the latest a victory at the MCG with 99 balls to spare.That would, however, do a major disservice to a Pakistan fightback that was as sudden as it was unexpected. With Australia on top throughout the game, and having raced to 139 for 3 in the 20th over in pursuit of a below-par 204, this looked about as routine an ODI win as it could get. But Shaheen Shah Afridi had Josh Inglis hole out in the deep to bring a new man in, and Haris Rauf bowled the next over – the fifth of his spell.Rauf still had the pace to draw extra bounce on a surface that stayed true throughout, with Marnus Labuschagne’s leading edge carrying all the way to third man. The following delivery drew Glenn Maxwell into a tentative prod first up, the ball kissing the edge on its speedy journey through to Mohammad Rizwan. Australia had lost three wickets for no runs, in five balls, and Pakistan were back and looking favourites in a country where they’ve had minimum success.Related

• 'Final piece of information' – Cummins makes ODI return but has eye on Australia A

• Pat Cummins, and Pakistan: welcome back to ODI cricket

• Cummins denies Pakistan a heist to remember as Australia go 1-0 up

“We were all trying our best, whether in the field or with the ball,” Rauf said after the game. “We had a plan to bowl short from my end. We had success; we took a few wickets this way.”In the end, Australia’s stranglehold over Pakistan proved hard to shake off. The visitors did take another couple of wickets and expose the tail, but Pat Cummins – as he has done so often in the past – held his nerve and ensured he was there to hit the winning runs and seal a two-wicket win.Rauf rued some of Pakistan’s sloppiness. They gave away 21 extras; Australia had conceded just four. Rauf himself sent a wide so far down leg and at such high pace it raced away four an extra four, while Naseem Shah bowled another five. Mohammad Hasnain, meanwhile, sent two wides well over the batter’s head in the same over he took Australia’s seventh wicket, and the pressure immediately shifted back onto the visitors.Pat Cummins celebrates after hitting the winning run•Getty Images

“We did give away extras but when you attack, you have to accept that these things happen,” Rauf said. “We did make mistakes, and we were a bit untidy. We know these little things make an impact. If you’re a good bowling unit, then you can cover the batters falling 20-30 runs short if you tighten up in the field as well. We could have defended this and we all tried really hard. The game didn’t go our way, but we gave no quarter in terms of our energy and our effort.”Falling agonisingly short at the MCG has been a Pakistan theme of late. It was Rauf’s penultimate over to Virat Kohli in the T20 World Cup 2022 that turned the tide of a contest Pakistan had dominated up to then, with India sneaking a last-ball win. Three weeks later, an injury to Shaheen saw Pakistan’s momentum slip away in a nail-biting T20 World Cup final.”We have memories on this ground which we remember. We lost a couple of very close matches here against India and the World Cup final,” Rauf said. “We’ve made mistakes in the past, but we try to stay in the present moment. The future isn’t in our control either, and we are enjoying the present. Sometimes the result doesn’t go your way, and you have to accept that. And you then try and learn from those failures.”

Sri Lanka have a problem of plenty. This is not something that has been true for Sri Lanka Test sides in recent years. Even stranger, the kind of players they have too many are seam bowlers.In their most recent Test at The Oval, Sri Lanka’s quartet of quicks decked England for 156 in the third innings and swung the whole match around. Now, at Galle, one of the most reliably dry tracks in the world, they can’t play four specialist quicks. In fact, they have to drop half their frontline attack.Sri Lanka’s interim coach Sanath Jayasuriya spoke about the sensitivity with which they had to approach the omission of Milan Rathnayake, who in his debut series not only took 11 wickets but also produced decent innings, making 72 at Old Trafford and 43 at Lord’s.Related

• Was Milan Rathnayake's 74 in Manchester the highest on Test debut from No. 9?

• Can New Zealand outspin Sri Lanka in Galle?

• Southee pleased with depth, variety in New Zealand's attack

“When you come to the matter of a third fast bowler, you are talking about someone who is one of our best,” Jayasuriya said. “In the last series he [Rathnayake] not only bowled well, he batted very well too. But in Galle you have to bring spinners for the balance of the side.”The seamers make way for the return of the spinners – Prabath Jayasuriya and Ramesh Mendis.’We have to mention Milan specifically, because the things he did on his first tour should be appreciated,” Jayasuriya said. “He played like a mature cricketer. Unfortunately we can’t bring Milan into this XI. We can only play two quicks. Everyone knows what the Galle pitch is like. We already have filled those spots with our two best quicks: Asitha Fernando and Lahiru Kumara.”But Milan doesn’t go out of the side having done anything wrong. I’ve spoken to him personally and impressed on him that these are the reasons, so that he knows for sure. Other players also know that he’s gone out of the side having done well.”Left-armer Vishwa Fernando, the other seamer to be omitted from the XI, had also been excellent at The Oval, bowling one of the most memorable spells of the series. He’s taken 21 wickets at an average of 21.61 this year, but will not play in Galle, with the express pace of Kumara preferred.Sri Lanka’s other conundrum is the wicketkeeping spot. Dinesh Chandimal started as keeper in their last match at The Oval, but appeared to suffer a back injury while keeping in the second innings of that game. In the first match of that series, he’d also been hit on the thumb and as such been unable to keep wickets for several days after.Chandimal will now be moved up to No. 3, however, while Kusal Mendis takes the gloves and moves down the order, possibly to No. 7.”Chandimal won’t keep, and that’s the team’s decision,” Jayasuriya said. “We had to figure out who will come out at No. 3, and it’s very tough for a No. 3 batter to keep wickets. Chandimal has taken the responsibility to bat at No. 3, and he’s doing that for the team and for the country. We have to look after him and give him that confidence.”The batting order Sri Lanka have settled on is to bring Kamindu Mendis, whose batting proficiency was thought by some to be wasted somewhat at No. 7, will now come up to No. 5, where Chandimal used to bat. Meanwhile Kusal takes Kamindu’s old spot.”We talked a lot about how we go about this, because it’s a complicated decision. We talked to Chandimal. Moving him up meant we had to bring someone else into the middle order. If we can bring a wicketkeeper to the lower middler order, that’s the best for this team in terms of balance.”

Match details

India vs Pakistan
Dambulla, July 19, 7.00pm local time

India and Pakistan – recent form

Let’s look at the last year for this one.India first, purely alphabetically. They have played 17 T20Is in this period and have a 10-5 win-loss record (with two games ending in no-results). Right at the top, they won the Asian Games gold in Hangzhou by beating Sri Lanka by 19 runs in the final. They then lost back-to-back series at home against England and Australia, swept Bangladesh 5-0 in Sylhet and, most recently, their three-match series in Chennai against South Africa ended 1-1 with the second game washed out after one innings.Related

• Athapaththu leads well-rounded SL squad for Women's Asia Cup

• Podcast: Asia Cup ambitions for Esha Oza and UAE

• Meet the Women's Asia Cup teams: Thailand, UAE, Nepal and Malaysia

• Women's Asia Cup 2024: Key contests, the return of Nepal, and everything else

Pakistan have actually played more T20I cricket in the same timeframe – 19 completed games. But they have won only seven of them while losing 12. Prior to the Asian Games, they hosted South Africa at home and had a fantastic result, winning 3-0. The Asian Games wasn’t special. They got to the semi-finals as expected, but lost to Sri Lanka there, and then to Bangladesh in the bronze-medal playoff. They have since lost a T20I series in Bangladesh, at home against West Indies, and were swept 3-0 most recently in England. The only series win came in New Zealand late last year when they won 2-1.

India vs Pakistan – head-to-head

There have been 14 fixtures between the two sides over the years but, for reasons known, no bilateral series. The only time a match was held in one of the two countries, in Delhi during the T20 World Cup 2016, Pakistan beat India by two runs in a rain-shortened game. That, though, is one of only three matches Pakistan have won against India in T20Is. India have won 11.And at the Asia Cup, too, India have a big edge. They have won five out of the six games they have played against Pakistan. The one Pakistan won, however, was at the last Asia Cup, in Sylhet, in 2022.

Players to watch

For India, Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma form a destructive opening pair. Mandhana, usually the one who bats longer of the two, has 3320 T20I runs at an average of 28.13 and a strike rate of 121.83. The corresponding numbers for Shafali are 1748, 24.27 and 129.48. Getting rid of one of them quickly is often not enough for oppositions; both of them have to be removed, and fast.For Pakistan, the star is captain Nida Dar, the bowling allrounder who picks up wickets pretty much each time she bowls and can be trusted to score useful runs. And Sidra Amin has been in the middle of a purple patch with the bat – she has 205 runs from eight innings this year.

Where to watch

In India and Sri Lanka, the Women’s Asia Cup 2024 will be telecast on the Star Sports Network. The live streaming will be available on the Disney+ Hotstar app and website in India. []