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Dasun Shanaka took five wickets on his ODI debut and Dinesh Chandimal struck his first ODI hundred for five years as Sri Lanka proved too strong for Ireland in Malahide

Tim Wigmore at Malahide16-Jun-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDasun Shanaka demanded attention with a fine all-round display in Malahide•Getty Images/Sportsfile

Dasun Shanaka has the batting build of an unobtrusive nurdler, and his bowling seems of the innocuous wicket-to-wicket variety. He is a cricketer who invites underestimation.In his embryonic international career, his impact has been with bat or ball, never both. But on his ODI debut against Ireland at Malahide, he married both disciplines to bring victory to Sri Lanka in spectacular style.There are decent debuts, and then there is this. Shanaka’s day begun by harrumphing 42 off 19 balls, and ended with him becoming only the 12th bowler in ODI history to take five wickets on debut. All enough for Sri Lanka to take victory, by virtue of a D/L recalculation after rain, by 76 runs.All year, he has revelled in embarrassing those who have put him down. In January, 16 of the 46 deliveries the Saracens Sports Club bowled to him in a domestic T20 were pummelled for six.In February, he was used as a relief bowler in a T20I against India and responded with 3 for 16.In May, he was a slightly incongruous name in Sri Lanka’s touring party, until 112 against Leicestershire pushed him into the Test team. Once there, he promptly bundled out three of England’s top four within eight balls.Just as in the First Test at Headingley, Shanaka was brought on more in hope than expectation, with Angelo Matthews needing to end an irritating opening stand.There had been concerns that Sri Lanka’s packed batting – Upul Tharanga returned at No. 8 – would leave too much of an onus on Shanaka’s bowling. But under muggy Malahide skies, Shanaka promptly got a delivery to swing in appreciably to uproot Paul Stirling’s off stump, and soon after tempted Ed Joyce into an aberrant swipe to Dinesh Chandimal behind the stumps.These dismissals, Ireland’s two most prized wickets, gave Sri Lanka a grip on the game, and Shanaka would return to ensure they did not relinquish it.The upshot was that Ireland will have to wait to end their six-year run without defeating a Full Member in a home ODI, a statistic unbecoming for a cricket nation of such aspiration.For spells of Ireland’s innings Sri Lanka’s hold on the game was threatened, as Kevin O’Brien forged worthy alliances with William Porterfield and Stuart Poynter, and an especially fruitful one with Sri Lanka’s fielders.There are two sorts of roulette players: those who cash in when they have struck lucky and those who double down, convinced one moment of fortune will beget another and they can bankrupt the casino by the time the night is out. One imagines that O’Brien is the sort who would either return from Monte Carlo with a new yacht or having lost his house trying.Having reached five, O’Brien advanced down the pitch to Seekkuge Prasanna’s legspin, and attempted to chip the ball to secure a couple. He was too early on the delivery, mistimed his shot and proceeded only to hit the ball straight to Kusal Perera at long on. But Perera misjudged the ball, just as O’Brien had, fumbled a routine catch and ended up taking it while his feet were over the rope.Some would have regarded this as a cue to rein themselves in but to O’Brien this was only an excuse to double down. After facing three more balls, O’Brien pulled Nuwan Pradeep to fine leg, into Dhananjaya de Silva’s hands but then through them: another six. Another five later, and O’Brien heaved Pradeep to long off where Angelo Matthews, running over his shoulder, saw the ball fall to the ground once more.Soon after followed a rain-enforced break, but it did quell O’Brien’s flirtation with peril, especially with the asking rate at nine: he thumped a ball straight to short fine leg, but was reprieved once more. So the four deliveries that could have ended O’Brien’s innings instead produced 20 runs.Given that fielders were never going to dismiss him, Sri Lanka instead relied on the umpire to award O’Brien lbw playing across Pradeep. The upshot was that Sri Lanka’s reputation as merciless against Associates was maintained.As for Chandimal, it has been five years since his last ODI century, and the roar when he ended that run spoke of awareness that such a wait did scant justice to his talent.This was an innings of style, in Chandimal’s pristine drives and flicks to the legside, but above all defined by impeccable placement and savvy. Chandimal did not recourse to power hitting, and nor did he need to: in making 100 not out from 107 balls, he scored only six fours but ten twos and 50 singles.To see this innings it was possible to imagine that the revolution in ODI batting had never happened, but Chandimal correctly deduced that any score over 250 would be onerous to chase.Either side of an 88-run partnership with Matthews, Chandimal forged two substantial stands with debutants. First Kusal Mendis, doughty as a novice number three in the Test series in England, scored a half-century that exhibited finesse and some resplendent straight driving. Then Shanaka emerged, in no mood to play with such subtlety, and plundered 24 in five deliveries from Max Sorensen.For Ireland, the day brought joy to a debutant of their own. Barry McCarthy was handed his Ireland cap by John Mooney, the cricketer who has been anointed to replace.There are obvious parallels. Both are Leinster-reared from strong cricketing families: Mooney’s elder brother and McCarthy’s younger sister are internationals. Both are zestful cricketers who bowl around 80mph, provide ballast to the lower order – not that McCarthy showed it here, slashing his fifth ball behind – and are fine fielders.It was apt that McCarthy’s debut was at Malahide. A testing spell to Ben Stokes in the net three years ago earned him a recommendation to Durham, and then a professional contract. Last summer, he became the first Irishman since the 19th Century to play county cricket before making his international debut.So many felt his selection for Ireland overdue. McCarthy took only two balls to vindicate them, eliciting Danushka Gunathilaka to edge to slip. “It’s a beautiful day,” belted out the tannoy system.McCarthy would doubtless have been of a mind to agree, but not those in the crowd, who had to enlist their umbrellas, which should be compulsory for any Irish cricket fans, for protection from the intermittent showers.A combination of the weather and the football – Ireland are unfortunate that both these ODIs coincide with European Championship matches for the two Ireland sides, and the Malahide club house was packed to witness Northern Ireland’s victory – contributed to an underwhelming crowd, only narrowly into four figures.As McCarthy and Ireland’s other 80mph seamers, O’Brien’s canny cutters apart, were lined up by Sri Lanka, Ireland had cause to be grateful for their returnee: Boyd Rankin, playing his first ODI for Ireland for four years.He had only played one international at Malahide before, when he took 4 for 46 for England against Ireland in 2013. Here, his extra pace yorked Shanaka and helped limit Sri Lanka to just 25 from the last four overs. But Shanka would return to extend Ireland’s anxious wait for a marquee home win, and with bowling of archetypal Emerald Isle ilk.

Iain Wardlaw, the Scotland fast bowler, has retired from international cricket with immediate effect to focus on a career in design

ESPNcricinfo staff19-May-2015Iain Wardlaw, the Scotland fast bowler, has retired from international cricket with immediate effect to focus on a career in design. He made his debut in 2013 and played in 22 ODIs and 4 T20 internationals, picking up a combined tally of 45 wickets. He also played five matches in the 2015 World Cup, where he took six wickets.”I would like to thank all the players, staff and fans of Scotland cricket for their passion and support throughout my time with the national team,” Wardlaw said. “I couldn’t have wished to have played with a better group of lads who I wish all the success in the future.”Wardlaw, 29, said he wanted to resume his designing career. “For me I’m looking forward to a career path in the design industry, where I started before cricket so there’s plenty of exciting challenges ahead.”Cricket Scotland praised Wardlaw for his commitment and dedication throughout his career. “His total commitment to his country was never in doubt by those who saw him train and play in the Scotland jersey. Throughout his Scotland career he was an attacking pace bowler who never took a step backwards and never shirked a tough challenge.”Grant Bradburn, Scotland head coach, also hailed Wardlaw for his contributions to Scotland cricket. “Iain can be proud that he has made a big contribution to Scotland Cricket and the team,” Bradburn said. “Iain is highly respected within the side and his contributions both on and off the park will be missed.”

This warm-up match had become a futile exercise long before it was condemned to a draw

George Dobell in Ahmedabad11-Nov-2012
ScorecardJonathan Trott made a century but faced barely any spin bowling during his innings•Getty Images

This warm-up match had become a futile exercise long before it was condemned to a draw. There were 10 overs remaining when the captains shook hands but, despite England having a decent chance of forcing victory, few would have argued with the decision. If ever a game was crying out for euthanasia it was this one. It should probably have been sent to a Swiss clinic after the third day.It speaks volumes for the facile nature of the cricket that Nick Compton, having batted for over two-and-a-half hours, went to the nets for more meaningful practise moments after having been dismissed. He and Jonathan Trott had, after all, faced just 12 deliveries of spin between them during their first-wicket partnership of 162 in 51.3 overs.More significant was the action on the practice ground. Both Stuart Broad and Steven Finn were able to bowl at full pace and, though Broad was perhaps not quite himself – he did not deliver a bouncer or ask for a review in five or six overs of bowling – Finn looked impressive. It remains to be seen if they suffer any reaction to the spells over the next day or two but, for now, both look to have a decent chance of being available for Test selection. Graeme Swann will also rejoin the squad on Monday having briefly returned to the UK due to a family illness.On the pitch, Trott completed the 30th century of his first-class career. He struck the ball well but did not face a single delivery from Amit Mishra, the legspinner who has played 13 Tests for India, and will know that he will encounter much less modest bowling in the Test series.It is open to debate how much use these warm-up games have been. While most expect the battle between India’s spinners and England’s batsmen to define the series, England have had little chance to prepare for that specific battle. Despite having played three warm-up games, England have faced just 13.2 overs of spin in the second innings combined: less than 11% of the second innings overs they have faced. None of them have been against what might be described as high-quality spin bowling.While the tactic – and it is hard to believe it is not a deliberate tactic – of denying England exposure to good quality spin bowling or even spin-friendly conditions may be controversial, it is also legitimate. India would be foolish not to tailor conditions to suit them – the point of home advantage would be negated otherwise – and have, in all other ways, extended every courtesy to England. The BCCI exercised some magnanimity by allowing England to use a substitute wicketkeeper when Matt Prior was taken ill against Haryana – the Laws make it quite clear that the umpires could not allow it – and it is worth remembering that when India toured England in 2011 Northamptonshire rested several first-choice bowlers for their tour game. The days when domestic sides fielded their strongest team against touring sides are, in any country by and large, long gone.Besides, the tactic may backfire. England’s batsmen have enjoyed prolonged time at the crease – albeit against some very modest bowling – and several of the bowlers have experienced the heat of battle. Playing England into form – four of the top six have recorded centuries in the warm-up games – and confidence could come back to bite. Not so long ago, when Australia and West Indies were at their strongest, most of their domestic sides that played England gave them an almighty battle. The effect was to wear and demoralise the tourists.England’s more significant worries concern the lack of match bowling that Finn and Broad have experienced and the unconvincing nature of their slip catching. Alastair Cook, in particular, has some work to do if he is to make the first slip position his own. The thought of dropping Sachin Tendulkar early is enough to keep an England supporter awake at night with anxiety.Some might point to the fact that they lost five wickets for 14 runs in the first innings and five wickets for 34 runs in the second. But, on both occasions, the batsmen were thrashing out in a scenario that will not be replicated in the Test series. On this occasion, Matt Prior was run out, backing up, after the bowler, Jayant Yadav, got a hand on Ian Bell’s straight drive and the ball ricocheted onto the stumps, while Compton was caught down the leg side and Kevin Pietersen was caught on the long-on boundary.There was, briefly, a moment when it appeared England might win this game on the last afternoon. When Haryana, chasing a most improbable 442 to win, slipped to 110 for 6 with nearly an hour to go, England had every opportunity to push for the win. But, realising that such an outcome was largely meaningless and that they had garnered all they could from the game, the sides agreed to shake hands early.The bowlers had worked hard enough, by then. Stuart Meaker again generated the most pace, Tim Bresnan also bowled with good hostility and control, while Graham Onions found the rhythm that had been absent during the first innings and looked a much-improved bowler. Monty Panesar was tight as ever but, on a slightly worn pitch, generated just a little spin, while Samit Patel earned a wicket with a well-disguised change of pace. For Haryana, Nitin Saini produced a pleasing half-century, but England know this was a game and a warm-up period that offered a pale imitation of the far sterner tests that await.

A round-up of the action from the second round of Franchise 1-Day Cup 2011/12 matches

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Nov-2011Kinghts cruised to a nine-wicket win with almost 20 overs to spare against Titans in a drama-filled Franchise 1-Day Cup game at Willowmoore Park in Benoni. After being inserted, Titans lost two early wickets before a steadying stand between Heino Kuhn and AB de Villiers. de Villiers, who was playing his first match since he broke a finger at the Champions League T20, had his innings cut short when he was adjudged obstructing the field under the ICC’s new playing conditions. From there on, Knights bowlers struck regularly to keep Titans to 157. There was another batsman dismissed obstructing the field: No. 11, Rowan Richards. The Knights bowlers shared the wickets around, and their opening batsmen – Morne van Wyk and Reeza Hendricks – made light work of the target with a fluent 135-run stand.Cape Cobras won a high-scoring encounter against Lions by 72 runs, at the New Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. Lions’ decision to bowl backfired on them, with Cobras’ openers – Richard Levi and Andrew Puttick – putting on 176, which is a record first-wicket stand for the team. While both batsmen made hundreds, Levi’s came at an astonishing strike-rate of 192.98 with eight fours and ten sixes. The final thrust was provided by Justin Ontong, who hit 51 off 41 balls. Lions launched a spirited reply, driven by a century from Neil McKenzie and half-centuries from Gulam Bodi and Cliffe Deacon. The latter’s 55 came off just 25 balls, but even this was not enough to chase down Cobras’ mammoth 379.The game between Dolphins and Warriors at the City Oval in Pietermaritzburg was called off due to rain after Warriors had got to 290 for 8. This is the second of two Dolphins games to be abandoned.

A round-up of the fourth day of the third round of matches in Division One of the Quaid-E-Azam Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Nov-2010Left-arm spinner Mohammad Aslam spun Habib Bank Limited to an eight-wicket win over Kararchi Blues at the Southend Club Cricket Stadium in Karachi. There had been no play on the third day as a mark of respect for the funeral of politician Imran Farooq, but the loss of a full day was not enough to save Karachi. Aslam sparked a top-order collapse after the openers had added 56, when he had Rameez Raja caught for 24. He then combined with Shahid Nazir to take the next six wickets as Karachi slumped from 56 for no loss to 90 for 7. At that point, Karachi still trailed by 30 runs and an innings defeat looked to be on the cards. A defiant 41 from Barbar Rehman forced HBL to bat again, and though they lost two wickets, they were always going to chase down the 24 they needed for the win. Aslam finished with 6 for 48 from 19 overs, while Nazir took 3 for 30 from nine.Faisalabad and Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited drew their game at the Sports Stadium in Sargodha. ZTBL led by 58 after the first innings and declared their second on 220 for 5 in the hope of forcing a result, but Faisalabad had no trouble playing out the remaining 31 overs, racing to 141 for the loss of Atif Hussain (77). Farrukh Shehzad made an unbeaten 62, and put on 136 with Hussain, to ensure there would be no nervy moments. Inam-ul-Haq top scored for ZTBL with 67.Pakistan International Airlines crawled to 250 for 6 on the final day at at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium to ensure a draw against Rawalpindi. Starting the day on 54 for 3, still 55 runs behind, Karachi lost Fahad Iqbal for 30 but Kamran Sajid and Shoiab Khan Snr added 107 for the fourth wicket to make the game safe for the visitors. Sajid’s 60 was an exhibition of patient blocking – he faced 221 balls and batted for five hours and six minutes. Shoaib was somewhat quicker in making 55, taking 157 balls and batting for only three hours and twenty minutes.Sialkot dismissed Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited for 422 on the final day to take a first innings lead of 43 and ensure three points at the Jinnah stadium in Sialkot. SNGPL started the day needing 107 to overhaul Sialkot with three wickets in hand, but could only manage 54. Legspinner Mansoor Ajmad took all three wickets to finish with 5 for 92, his seventh five-wicket haul in first class cricket. With no result possible, Kamran Younis took the opportunity to loosen his shoulders, smashing 17 fours and three sixes, as he raced to 137 from 109 balls, his third first-class hundred. Mohammad Ayub chipped in with 54 not out as Sialkot ended the day on 278 for 4.

England’s cricketers have capped an Ashes-winning year by being named as Team of the Year in the 2009 BBC Sports Personality Awards

Cricinfo staff13-Dec-2009England’s cricketers have capped an Ashes-winning year by being named as Team of the Year in the 2009 BBC Sports Personality Awards.”It is a truly great honour,” said England’s captain, Andrew Strauss, who was one of ten sportspeople nominated for the individual award, which was won by the Manchester United footballer, Ryan Giggs.”It has been a long and arduous 12 months with a lot of ups and downs. What I am most proud about is that we have stuck together in some pretty tough times. That is what got us over the line in the Ashes and this award can act as a spur to achieve more in the future.”England’s year began in extraordinarily acrimonious circumstances, with relevations on New Year’s Eve of the falling-out between the then-captain Kevin Pietersen and the former coach, Peter Moores, which culminated in the removal of both men from office. England went on to lose their first Test of the year by an innings in Jamaica after being bowled out for 51, amid reports of rifts and factions within the camp.But thanks to Strauss’s calm leadership, and aided behind the scenes by the unperturbable coach, Andy Flower, who was himself pipped by Fabio Capello for the BBC’s Coach of the Year award, England regrouped, first by beating West Indies in a one-sided Test and ODI series at home, and then by overcoming Australia in a closely fought Ashes campaign. They have since gone on to beat South Africa for the first time in an away ODI series.England’s cricketers were last voted as Team of the Year back in 2005, when Andrew Flintoff captured the outright title for his starring role in that summer’s Ashes campaign.

Captain aware role will come under scrutiny but says she’s proud of team’s fight

Andrew Miller23-Jan-2025Heather Knight, England’s captain, has conceded the umpires made the correct call in taking the players off the field for rain with just five balls of the second T20I remaining, even though that denied her the chance to hunt down the 18 runs still needed to keep her side in with a chance of a squared Ashes series.Knight was going strong on 43 not out from 19 balls, having just struck Annabel Sutherland’s first ball of the final over for four, when umpires Ben Treloar and Eloise Sheridan decided the rain in Canberra – which had already caused a 20-minute mid-innings delay – was too heavy to ignore. She was visibly furious as she left the field, but later admitted her reaction was pure “frustration” at being denied the chance to “do something special”.”It was right decision by the umpires,” Knight said. “I was really in the zone to try and win us that game, and obviously frustrated that we were going off, but it wasn’t at the umpires at all. It was pretty wet, even when we were running it felt pretty slippy and it was quite hard to attack those twos. So yeah, it was the right decision, 100%.”The match was called off minutes later to confirm England’s defeat by six runs on Duckworth-Lewis-Stern, and hand the Australians an unassailable 10-0 lead in the Ashes points table, with the third T20I to come in Adelaide on Saturday, followed by next week’s one-off Test at the MCG.”It was brilliant game of cricket,” Knight said, after England had finished on 168 for 4 in reply to Australia’s 185 for 5. “I felt like I could get us over the line. I felt really set, and I had some really good boundary options on a very good cricket wicket. It was an awesome crowd and they deserved a finish, and you could hear the frustration from the fans that that we were going off, and the game wasn’t able to reach its conclusion.”Related

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Despite being England’s fifth consecutive defeat of a dispiriting campaign, Knight said she was proud that her team had showed a “bit of mongrel” in what she identified as their best batting performance of the tour. With Danni Wyatt-Hodge leading the way with 52 from 40 balls, England had been ahead of the DLS rate until a break in play at 69 for 1 allowed Australia to regroup and claim two key wickets in a middle-overs squeeze.”As a batting group, we’ve been disappointed that we haven’t showed off our best cricket, and I think tonight was certainly our best,” Knight said. “We knew it was going to be tough and a lot had to go our way, but I’m really proud of the way we fought in the run-chase. We showed some brilliant skill level, brilliant intent, brilliant fighting spirit, led by Danni in particular, to try and get us over the line.”The “mongrel” comment itself stemmed from a pre-match pep-talk from Courtney Winfield-Hill, England’s assistant coach, and on the face of it, seemed to mark a departure from the team’s familiar mantra of “inspire and entertain”, a notion that has sounded increasingly hollow with each new loss on this tour. Knight, however, insisted that the team’s recognition of their status as role models remained integral to their ethos, even though she acknowledged that professional cricket is ultimately a results business.”It’s still a mantra that is really important to this team,” she said. “We’re always at our best when we’re trying to take the game on and enjoy it, but obviously, there’s more to cricket than that, and we know that it’s not as simple as just saying we want to entertain. We also want to win at the end of the day.”We haven’t done that this trip, and there’s a lot of players frustrated and hurting that we haven’t done that. We all really care about playing for England, and representing a team that’s really special.”Despite the improved performance, and her own contribution with the bat, Knight acknowledged that the confirmation of England’s Ashes loss would heighten the scrutiny on her position as captain after nine years at the helm.”I guess in any leadership position, you always feel the responsibility when the teams aren’t performing well and we haven’t performed as well as we want to, across the board,” she said. “It’s certainly frustrating, but that’s not really a question for now. I’m just focused on what we need to do to try and win the next game, and try and turn things around. Whatever happens at the end of the tour, that’ll be a conversation for later.”

Allrounder had injured his ankle during the game against Bangladesh on October 19

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Oct-2023India are hoping to get further clarity on Hardik Pandya’s fitness over the next few days, ahead of their match against Sri Lanka in Mumbai on November 2.Pandya has missed two games – against New Zealand and England – after damaging ligaments in his left ankle, which he fell on awkwardly in the middle of an over during the match against Bangladesh in Pune on October 19.Related

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“The medical team is looking at that and are very much in touch with Hardik and the NCA [National Cricket Academy] as well,” India’s bowling coach Paras Mhambrey said following their sixth consecutive win in the World Cup, beating England by 100 runs, on Sunday. “We’re hoping to get an update in a couple of days. But we’ll see.”To replace Hardik, who provides balance to the side as an allrounder, India made two changes to their XI – bringing in Mohammed Shami and Suryakumar Yadav, and leaving out Shardul Thakur. Shami has excelled since his return to the team, taking five wickets against New Zealand and 4 for 22 from seven overs against England.India are almost certain not to rush Hardik back in to the side. Not only have they very nearly qualified for the semi-finals already, but they continue to win comfortably in his absence. After their match against Sri Lanka on November 2, India’s next match is against South Africa in Kolkata on November 5.

Mohammad Nabi continues as captain, with Najibullah Zadran as his deputy

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Aug-2022Samiullah Shinwari, the 34-year-old batter, has been included in Afghanistan’s 17-man squad for the upcoming men’s Asia Cup in the UAE. Mohammad Nabi continues to be the captain of the side, with Rashid Khan the key man in the line-up.”The Asia Cup is an important event for us and, as such, we have picked our best available players for the event,” Afghanistan’s chief selector Noor Malikzai said. “Samiullah Shinwari has been added to the side for the Asia Cup. He is in very good form and can give further impetus to the batting department, which already boasts Ibrahim Zadran, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najibullah Zadran and Mohammad Nabi.”Shinwari has represented Afghanistan in 64 T20Is since his debut in 2010, but has not played an international match since March 2020. He was recalled on the back of his performances for Boost Defenders in the recent Shpageeza Cricket League (SCL), where he scored 202 runs from eight innings at an average of 33.66 and strike rate of 122.42. He was the seventh highest run-scorer in the competition.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Left-arm wristspinner Noor Ahmad, who was replaced by Mujeeb Ur Rahman for the ongoing series against Ireland, also made a comeback for the Asia Cup. Ibrahim, Shahidi and Naveen-ul-Haq kept their places in the squad.Ibrahim and Shahidi had strengthened their claims with strong performances in the SCL. Shahidi was the tournament’s leading run-getter with 411 at 58.71, while Ibrahim scored 318 runs at an average of 53. Fast bowler Naveen was the second-highest wicket-taker in the T20 Blast this season, with 24 strikes from 14 matches for Leicestershire.Seam bowler Nijat Masood, spinner Qais Ahmad, and allrounder Sharafuddin Ashraf will travel with the side to the UAE as reserves. However, there was no place for Ihsanullah Janat, who had made his T20I debut earlier this year against Zimbabwe.Afghanistan are currently in Ireland for a five-match T20I series. Having lost the first two matches, Afghanistan won the next two to set up a decider in Belfast on Wednesday, after which the team will leave for the UAE. Afghanistan are in Group B at the tournament, and will open their campaign on August 27 against Sri Lanka in Dubai, before taking on Bangladesh in Sharjah on August 30.

The visitors completed their third-highest successful chase to record their first T20I series win over India

Firdose Moonda21-Mar-2021South Africa Women 159 for 4 (Lee 70, Wolvaardt 53*) beat India Women 158 for 4 (Verma 47, Ghosh 44*) by six wicketsSouth Africa Women completed their third-highest successful chase to record their first T20I series win over India, with a thrilling last-ball win for a 2-0 series lead in Lucknow. The six-wicket margin belies how close this match was.South Africa needed 43 runs off 30 balls when their best batter Lizelle Lee was dismissed, and then required 19 runs off 10 balls when their most experienced player Mignon du Preez was out. They needed nine runs off the last over, six off the last two balls and one off the final delivery. Laura Wolvaardt took them home and recorded her third T20I half-century in the process.India posted their 18th total of 150 or more and would have been disappointed with their inability to defend it, given that they have done so on nine out of 12 occasions before this. Their ground fielding let them down again, with three dropped catches and several mis-fields.The no-ball
Arundhati Reddy was tasked with bowling the final over, with nine runs to defend. Her first ball was a low full toss which Nadine de Klerk hit through midwicket for a single. Her second was a wide yorker that Wolvaardt missed. Her third was another full toss, but high, and was hit to deep mid-wicket for a single. Then she bowled a full delivery that de Klerk lofted to long-on, but it fell well-short of the fielder. So far, so good. South Africa had scored three runs off the first four balls and needed six off three. Then, Reddy bowled a more-than-waist high full toss that Wolvaardt pulled to mid-wicket for two. It was called a no-ball and South Africa only needed three off two. Wolfvaardt found two runs off the fifth ball and swung wildly at the final one, which she inside-edged towards short fine leg for the run that won the series.Lee leads
This trip can barely get any better for Lee, who was the leading run-scorer in the ODIs and has translated that form into the shortest format, where there were some concerns about her recent performances. Lee had not scored more than 25 runs in a T20 against a team ranked in the top 10 since South Africa’s last trip to India in 2019. Between then and before today’s match, Lee had batted in 11 T20 innings, and before this one had scored 217 runs at an average of 19.27. Her 70 in this match has lifted that to 23.92 from her last 12 innings and 25.28 overall.She showed her intent from the second ball when she hit Reddy through the covers for four and followed that up with well-placed sweep shots against Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Deepti Sharma. But it was not just the legside that Lee favoured. A key feature of her batting in Lucknow has been the way she has punctured the offside too. She brought up fifty off 34 balls and then freed the arms to add 20 more runs off the next 11 balls.Some moments of magic but three missed opportunities
Lee’s innings was nit without its chances. She was on 30 when she top-edged a sweep off Radha Yadav and Richa Ghosh, running in from deep square let the chance slip through her hands. Ghosh put Lee down again, on 60, when she drove Gayakward in the air to cover and although it required a jump to get to, Ghosh managed to get to the ball but could not hold on. Gayakwad could not be too upset. She put down a catch of her own bowling when Wolvaardt, on 2, pushed a ball back to her as Gayakwad crouched down, but could not wrap her fingers around it.In-between all that, India had two pieces of fielding they will be proud of. In the 10th over, Lee drove Harleen Deol to long-on, where Jemima Rodrigues put in a sliding stop before passing the ball to Deepti Sharma while Lee and Luus tried to complete a second run. Deepti’s direct hit at the non-striker’s end caught Luus short of her ground and ended a 58-run second wicket stand between Lee and Luus. And then in the 16th over, Yadav took a good catch off her own bowling to dismiss Lee, who mishit an attempted slog high into the air. Yadav pedalled back, took the catch reverse-cupped and tumbled onto her back as she held on with one hand. This is the 25th successive innings in which Yadav has taken a wicket, and it was also her 50th wicket in T20Is.Sweet 17s
The future of India’s batting was on display at the top and tail of their innings through 17-year-olds, Shafali Verma and Ghosh. Verma set the hosts up with a fearless display against the short ball, in particular, and took on Shabnim Ismail, hitting her second over for 12 runs. The shot of Verma’s innings was off de Klerk, who erred in length and pitched it up. Verma stepped forward to the fifth delivery of de Klerk’s first over, hit through the line and sent it over long-off for six. Ghosh arrived at the crease after India had lost two wickets for 7 runs and their scoring rate was starting to stutter and she got them going by hitting three boundaries off Luus. She also wasn’t afraid of Ismail and sent the third-last ball of the innings over mid-off for four. Ghosh would have been eyeing a first international half-century off the last two deliveries but missed a pull and was beaten by a slower ball to end on a career-best 44*.Bosch’d
Anneke Bosch has had a fabulous tour so far but would not have been happy with the way things went for her in this match. Her first call to action came when Verma, on 26, top-edged Nonkululekho Mlaba and Bosch, running in from long-off spilled the chance, She was called to bowl the next over and her first two deliveries were short and both were sent to the boundary by Deol. Though Bosch got her own back when Deol holed out to long-on, her three overs cost 26 runs and she couldn’t make up for that with the bat. She was bowled when she missed a sweep off Gayakwad in the second over.