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Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) welcomed back captain Rajat Patidar to full fitness, and Josh Hazlewood back into the XI. Patidar came out for the toss after playing the last two matches as non-captain, won the toss immediately, and opted to bowl. RCB were also the away team in Qualifier 1. They won all their seven away games in the league stage. However, they were still without Tim David, who seemed to have injured his hamstring during their penultimate league match.Punjab Kings (PBKS) were still without Yuzvendra Chahal, and they also lost Marco Jansen to the South Africa Test side. Azmatullah Omarzai came in for him. New Chandigarh was PBKS’ home ground during the league stage, but they didn’t have a great record at home. They won two, lost two, and their captain Shreyas Iyer scored just 25 runs in those four matches.This was RCB’s first top-two finish since 2016. PBKS made the playoffs for the first time in 11 years. Both sides were looking for their maiden title. The team losing this match was guaranteed a second shot at making the final. Both sides finished the league stage on the same number of points, with PBKS leading on net run rate.Punjab Kings 1 Priyansh Arya, 2 Prabhsimran Singh, 3 Josh Inglis (wk), 4 Shreyas Iyer (capt.), 5 Nehal Wadhera, 6 Shashank Singh, 7 Marcus Stoinis, 8 Azmatullah Omarzai, 9 Harpreet Brar, 10 Kyle Jamieson, 11 Arshdeep Singh
Impact Sub options Vijaykumar Vyshak, Praveen Dubey, Suryansh Shedge, Musheer Khan, Xavier BartlettRoyal Challengers Bengaluru 1 Virat Kohli, 2 Phil Salt, 3 Rajat Patidar (capt.), 4 Liam Livingstone, 5 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 6 Romario Shepherd, 7 Krunal Pandya, 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 9 Yash Dayal, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Suyash Sharma
Impact Sub options Mayank Agarwal, Rasikh Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Tim Seifert, Swapnil Singh

Mumbai Indians (MI) won an important toss, got the best of the conditions, and made excellent use of them to run away to their third win of IPL 2025, beating Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by four wickets. They sent SRH in on an unusually sluggish pitch at the Wankhede Stadium and restricted them to 162 for 5. They then hunted down their target with 11 balls to spare, with a bit of help from dew – though not enough to force a ball change.MI’s biggest match-winner on the day was Will Jacks, who had made a quiet start to the season, but showed all his value in his sixth match with his new team. His 26-ball 36 was an important innings, but he made an even bigger impact with his offspin, bossing his match-up against SRH’s entirely left-handed top three and finishing with 2 for 14 in three overs.Jacks’ three overs allowed MI to delay their use of their Impact Player, even though they lost their legspinner Karn Sharma – Player of the Match in their last game against Delhi Capitals – to an injury before he could bowl a ball. Not being forced to bring on a bowler as his replacement allowed MI to sub in Rohit Sharma at the start of their chase, and he gave them impetus with an early cameo. With Ryan Rickelton, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya also contributing handily, MI never allowed SRH’s bowlers to get a sniff.For all that, though, this was a match won by MI’s bowlers. Jasprit Bumrah executed best, but their other fast bowlers also played their part in constricting SRH with a plan heavy on slower balls and yorkers on a surface where powering the ball down the ground seemed impossible at times.This was why SRH only managed to post 162, despite a 59-run opening stand from Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head, both of whom enjoyed major slices of luck along the way. That SRH got that far was down to a strong finish, with the 18th and 20th overs bringing 21 and 22 runs respectively as Heinrich Klaasen, Aniket Verma and Pat Cummins hit the only five sixes of their innings.

Plenty of luck but no fluency for SRH

The first over of the match was an ominous one for MI. Deepak Chahar found Abhishek’s edge first ball only for the overhead chance to burst through Jacks’ hands at slip. Then Head flicked uppishly only for the ball to fall short of the diving Karn at midwicket.The latter event happened in the third over as well, this time off Abhishek’s bat, and this time Karn’s futile dive also gave him a split webbing. He left the field and didn’t return to bowl.2:59

Are SRH effectively out of the race for top four?

Fortune smiled on SRH again in the tenth over, when Head was caught on the square-leg boundary off a no-ball from Hardik. But the bigger story was that Head was batting on 24 off 24 at that point, struggling to time the ball on a pitch where the ball simply wouldn’t come on to the bat. Abhishek had looked a little more fluent, scoring 40 off 27 before being caught on the point boundary off Hardik in the eighth over.That wicket had come right after another ominous moment for MI, when Hardik had pulled up in his follow-through with what seemed like an injury to his left shin or ankle. He even seemed to gesture to his dugout to call for a substitute, but in the end he dusted himself off and continued bowling.

Jacks attacks his match-up

SRH only scored 46 in the powerplay despite not losing a wicket, and while the slow, grippy conditions played their part, MI’s bowlers also used them beautifully, with Bumrah standing out, giving away just 10 runs in his two powerplay overs.MI brought on Jacks as soon as the powerplay ended, and he immediately began finding grip and turn. After Hardik had broken the opening stand in the eighth over, Jacks struck his first blow in the ninth, turning an offbreak sharply past the flailing bat of the charging Ishan Kishan to have him stumped.Then, changing ends to bowl the 12th over, Jacks ended Head’s miserable stay, having him caught at long-off for 28 off 29 balls.

Klaasen, Aniket provide strong finish

Head’s dismissal – a failure to clear the straight boundary – was a theme of SRH’s innings, with all their batters struggling for power down the ground. Only four fours came from the eighth to the 15th overs, and all four were hit behind the wicket. Klaasen and Nitish Kumar Reddy batted through most of this period, putting on 31 off 33 balls.A three-run 17th over from Trent Boult, which included the wicket of Reddy, caught at long-on, left SRH 115 for 4 with 140 looking a fair distance away.5:01

Bangar: SRH need one or two batters who don’t attack all the time

But they managed to collect 47 off the last three, with Klaasen, Aniket and Cummins finally ending their sixes drought. Two of the five sixes involved exquisite skill from Klaasen and Aniket over the covers, but three came off hittable full-tosses. There were seven full-tosses in all in the last three overs, suggesting that dew may have already started setting in.One of those full-tosses, however, came from Bumrah, who bowls the most unhittable full-tosses in world cricket, and bowled Klaasen as he attempted to make room. His 19th only went for four runs, sandwiched between expensive overs from Deepak Chahar and Hardik.

MI get home without major hiccups

Impact sub Rohit took his chances early on, enjoyed a bit of luck, including an edged six over deep third, and hit a couple of trademark pulled sixes off his hip to give MI early impetus. Rickelton struggled early on, got going with three successive fours off Eshan Malinga, and enjoyed a strange stroke of luck when he was caught in the covers off Zeeshan Ansari only for an umpire’s review to confirm a no-ball – for keeper Klaasen’s gloves encroaching in front of the stumps before the batter had hit the ball. But Rickelton was out soon after, miscuing a Harshal Patel slower ball to backward point.Between them, though, the openers had shaved 57 runs off MI’s target.Then Jacks and Suryakumar combined for the decisive partnership of the match, putting on 52 for the third wicket in just 29 balls. They hit four sixes and a four in three overs from legspinners Ansari and Rahul Chahar – who came on as Impact Sub, replacing Mohammed Shami who still had an over of his quota remaining – who were still finding grip off this surface but ever so often erred in line or length.By the time Cummins broke this stand, MI needed 42 at less than a run a ball. Hardik hurried them towards victory, hitting a six and three fours – including a glorious back-foot punch through wide long-on off Cummins – and they finally got home at the start of the 19th over, after a bizarre 18th that brought Malinga two wickets for just one run.

Surrey 365 (Foakes 92*, Burns 73, Harmer 4-83) and 9 for 0 trail Essex 582 for 6 dec by 208 runsBen Foakes defied his former county for four hours and 41 minutes but could not prevent Essex asking reigning champions Surrey to follow-on in the Rothesay County Championship at Chelmsford.The one-time England wicketkeeper, an Essex academy graduate, stood resolutely while wickets fell all around him to remain not out 92 as Surrey were dismissed for 365 in their first innings, 217 runs in arrears. Second time around Surrey had reduced the requirement to make Essex bat again by nine runs without loss in six overs at the end of day three.It could have been worse for the visitors. They collapsed from their overnight 109 for 1 to 180 for 6, undone by a spell of three wickets in 15 balls amid pre-lunch mayhem in which five wickets fell and the guts were ripped out of the middle-order.Simon Harmer led the way for Essex with 4 for 83 from a marathon 47 overs, 34 of them bowled in the day. It was a welcome return to form for the South African offspinner, who failed to add to his 35 five-fers and ten 10-wicket hauls for the club during an uncharacteristically disappointing 2024 season.At the start of an eventful day under clear, bright skies, Ollie Pope lasted just seven balls before he was beaten all ends up by a delivery from Porter that flicked his off-bail. It ended a 103-run stand with Burns for the second wicket.Jamie Smith made his presence felt with three quick boundaries off Porter, including a straight drive that brooked no argument. However, five balls after cutting Shane Snater’s first ball decisively to the square-leg boundary, Smith essayed a cover-drive, missed and kept walking as his off stump went cartwheeling.That brought in Foakes, but before he could settle Surrey lost their second wicket in two balls. This time Harmer induced an outside edge off Burns’s bat for a caught-behind for 73. And it became three wickets with just eight runs added as Dan Lawrence’s six-ball stay ended when Harmer got one to jump up with the resultant involuntary edge deviating to slip.Ryan Patel looked completely bamboozled by Harmer. He faced 23 deliveries from the offspinner, barely getting near any of them, let alone scoring a run, before nudging one into the wicketkeeper’s gloves.In addition to his wickets, Harmer was parsimonious in terms of conceding runs, so when Foakes pushed him through the covers it was only the second boundary he had conceded in 26 overs.The scoreboard clicked rapidly when the new-ball was taken with 40 runs coming from the first six overs, moving Surrey to their first of two batting points in the process, before Jordan Clark’s freewheeling 45 from 88 balls was ended by Cook.Foakes reached his fifty when he edged his eighth four just wide of slip off Snater. He had put on 55 for the eighth wicket with Matt Fisher before losing his fifth partner, the recruit from Yorkshire being bowled by one from Harmer that kept low.James Taylor joined Foakes in a time-consuming 22-over stand worth 50 runs before Matt Critchley switched ends for one over and removed Taylor with a googly. He then swapped back to his previous end to account for Kemar Roach lbw and end the innings.

Who’s playing

Gujarat Giants (GG) vs Mumbai Indians (MI)
Kotambi Stadium, Vadodara, February 18, 2025, 7.30pm IST

What to expect: GG look to break MI jinx

The last time MI and GG met, Harmanpreet Kaur cracked 95 off 48 balls as MI pulled off a heist and booked a playoffs spot last moment. That meant MI have a 4-0 record against GG so far.Related

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But unlike the previous two seasons, GG have started WPL 2025 on a much stronger note. While it took them five attempts to win their first game in 2024, their first victory this time came in their second match, when they beat UP Warriorz (UPW) comfortably. But ineffective death bowling continues to be a concern for GG. RCB took them for 79 runs off the last 4.3 overs, while UPW smashed 26 runs off the final eight deliveries of their innings. With the bat, GG’s captain Ashleigh Gardner will be looking for more support from the top order, as their top three tallied only 22 runs between them against UPW.Meanwhile, MI started this season with a close loss against Delhi Capitals after three contentious run-out decisions. MI stuttered their way to 164 after Nat-Sciver Brunt (80*) and Harmanpreet (42) had given them a blazing start. Four of MI’s remaining top-seven batters fell for single-figure scores, and MI will hope things change against GG.

Team news and likely XIs

GG have played the same XI in both matches so far after handing out four debuts in the opener against RCB. But Sayali Satghare’s six overs across those two games cost 64 runs, and she struck only once. D Hemalatha, on the other hand, managed scores of only 4 and 0. So GG will hope they are back in form before it gets too late.Can Deandra Dottin help GG get their first win against MI?•BCCI

Gujarat Giants (probable): 1 Beth Mooney (wk), 2 Laura Wolvaardt, 3 D Hemalatha, 4 Ashleigh Gardner (capt), 5 Harleen Deol, 6 Deandra Dottin, 7 Simran Shaikh, 8 Tanuja Kanwar, 9 Sayali Satghare, 10 Priya Mishra, 11 Kashvee GautamMI have played only a solitary game so far this season, and are unlikely to panic despite their batters under-performing. But they will want Saika Ishaque, their second-highest wicket-taker in the WPL, to put behind a disappointing outing against RCB, as she leaked 43 runs in three overs.Mumbai Indians (probable): 1 Hayley Matthews, 2 Yastika Bhatia (wk), 3 Nat Sciver-Brunt, 4 Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), 5 Amelia Kerr, 6 S Sajana, 7 Amanjot Kaur, 8 Sanskriti Gupta, 9 Jintimani Kalita, 10 Shabnim Ismail, 11 Saika Ishaque

Players to watch

Deandra Dottin made her WPL debut only this year, but has already left a mark. She walked out to bat in the 12th over in both matches, and struck at a rapid pace, scoring 25 off 13 while batting first against RCB, and then an unbeaten 33* off 18 in a tricky chase against UPW to ensure GG hunted down 144 with two overs to spare. GG will hope Dottin’s run continues, and helps them break their MI jinx.Harmanpreet Kaur had played a massive role the last time these two teams met•BCCI

Nat-Sciver Brunt may not have scored a lot in the recent Ashes but she showed her class in MI’s opening game. Batting at No.3, her 80 off 59 balls, which included 13 fours, formed the bedrock of MI’s total. That is nearly half of the 172 runs she managed in nine innings last WPL, and her form will be a relief for MI, whose batting otherwise mainly rests on Harmanpreet’s shoulders in the middle order.

Key stats

• Four of the top six wicket-takers in the WPL are from MI: Hayley Matthews (25 wickets), Ishaque (24), Amelia Kerr (24) and Sciver-Brunt (21).
• Only four players have achieved the double of scoring at least 300 runs and taking 20 wickets in the WPL. Three of them are from MI (Sciver-Brunt, Matthews and Kerr), and one from GG (Gardner).

Thomas Rew’s run-a-ball 71 helped England Men U19s to take a 255-run lead into the final day of the first Youth Test against South Africa Men U19s in Stellenbosch.Leg-spinner Chad Mason claimed four for 97 – his 26 overs more than double than any of his team-mates – as the Young Lions reached the close at 275 for eight.Captain Archie Vaughan (44) and Kesh Fonseka (43) made key contributions at the top of the order while Jack Home was unbeaten on 34 and primarily tasked with extending his side’s lead in the morning.South Africa added a handy 50 runs for the final two wickets this morning to be bowled out for 319 and a lead of 20 runs.Farhan Ahmed finished with innings-best figures of four for 78 and his spin partnership with Tazeem Ali and Vaughan looms as important on the final day.Mason was the mainstay of the home attack today and after he made the initial breakthrough of Ben Dawkins (33), well caught by Muhammad Bulbulia at first slip, he also got the key wicket of Rew who had counter-attacked to reach his half-century from 54 balls.

India 16 for 1 (Southee 1-4) trail New Zealand 259 (Conway 76, Ravindra 65, Washington 7-59, Ashwin 3-64) by 243 runsThree days ago, Washington Sundar was not even part of this Test squad, instead scoring a hundred and taking a couple of three-fors against Delhi in the Ranji Trophy. Brought in the XI ahead of the incumbent spinner (Kuldeep Yadav) and the back-up (Axar Patel) in the squad, he took seven wickets on the first day of a Test to bowl New Zealand out for 259. Five of his victims were bowled, one lbw and one caught as he took out the last seven wickets following three taken by Tamil Nadu team-mate R Ashwin.While this was Washington’s maiden Test five-for and his best figures in first-class cricket, the three wickets took Ashwin past Nathan Lyon’s 530 in 25 fewer Tests. The two could be involved in a showdown later in the year in Australia, but right now India were in a fight to defend their 18-series winning streak at home. Washington proved to be just the ally he needed.R Ashwin didn’t take much time to get among the wickets•BCCI

India called up a second offspinner from outside the squad ostensibly to lengthen their batting without compromising on taking the ball away from left-hand batters, but two left-hand batters in the top order – Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra – still scored fifties and threatened to take New Zealand to a big total after winning the toss on a track on which batting last won’t be fun. New Zealand were 138 for 2 when Ashwin got Conway, and 197 for 3 when Washington accounted for Ravindra.As the series moved from Bengaluru to Pune, the clouds, seam and extra bounce all disappeared. There was no concept of good-toss-to-lose here. Nothing is ever easy in Test cricket, but this was one of the easier starts to an innings with the openers racing to 30 in seven overs without any trouble. But Ashwin was introduced early, and it took him just five balls to drift one in and then turn it past the outside edge to trap Tom Latham lbw.There was turn from the good part of the pitch, but not consistent. The partnership between Conway and Will Young looked threatening, but a sharp review demanded by short leg Sarfaraz Khan returned a faint touch of the glove to send Young back. Now Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja kept troubling the batters: in the 11 overs they bowled in tandem, they drew 24 false shots and conceded just 30 runs.Rachin Ravindra got to yet another milestone in his fledgling Test career•BCCI

Post-lunch, when India started with Jasprit Bumrah and Washington, runs came freely: 35 off the eight overs. Ashwin brought control first and then the wicket of Conway. Again the ball turned, but this time it was the drift and dip that put Conway out of position, and the turn made him look like pushing at a ball he didn’t need to play.Ravindra, Player of the Match in Bengaluru, brought New Zealand much-needed solidity because Daryl Mitchell was extremely uncertain at the start of his innings. He survived an lbw on umpire’s call, played risky sweeps of both kinds, and only looked comfortable after 20 balls or so. Ravindra, though, gave the bowlers nothing. Akash Deep got close to getting him with at short midwicket but the hit was too ferocious to catch for a fielder so close. An outside edge after two bouncers managed to beat slip and brought up his fifty.Ten minutes before tea, now in his third spell, Washington began to get it right. The first ball of this spell turned from middle and off to go past Ravindra’s bat and hit the top of off. Things began to happen now as balls went straight on or turned from the same spot. The penultimate ball before tea beat Tom Blundell’s outside edge, and the last one, slower and wider, turned back in through the gate to take top of middle.Tom Blundell was bowled by Washington Sundar on the stroke of tea•BCCI

Post-tea, Washington bowled in all his glory: at the stumps, but getting variable turn from the pitch. An inspired review accounted for Mitchell in a rare dismissal: offspinner getting an lbw from over the wicket when the batter is forward. As it turned out, this had turned just the right amount to both be hitting him in line and taking the leg stump.Tied down, frequently going back to full balls, Glenn Phillips ended his struggle of 9 off 31 with a chip straight to deep mid-off. Had you seen just the shot and not the field, you wouldn’t have been wrong to assume the mid-off was up tight and he was just looking to clear him.Mitchell Santner hit two sixes in his fighting 33, but Washington kept hitting the stumps at the other end. To Tim Southee he went wide on the crease from around the wicket. The angle beat the outside edge and hit top of off. Ajaz Patel was caught back to a full ball, and played on. To bookend his work, Washington produced another beauty to account for the set batter, Santner: one that pitched on middle and off and took the top of off.The accuracy and variations of pace and seam position, with a little help from the pitch, proved to be too good for New Zealand.With just 10-odd overs to bat to stumps, India shelved some of their ultra-aggressive approach from their last two Tests. Still, Southee swung and seamed one past Rohit Sharma’s watchful bat to take top of off. A small bit of joy for New Zealand at the end of a tough session.

The IPL franchises can retain up to six players each for the 2025 season, the right-to-match (RTM) option is back for the mega auction, and the Impact Player rule will remain in place till the 2027 season. That aside, the auction purse has been increased by INR 20 crore and is now INR 120 crore (US$ 14.3 million approx.). These were among the most significant decisions announced by the IPL governing council on Saturday.Each franchise can retain a maximum of six players via a combination of retention and the RTM option. “It is at the discretion of the IPL franchise to choose their combination for retentions and RTMs,” the IPL release said. “The six retentions/RTMs can have a maximum of five capped players (Indian and overseas) and a maximum of two uncapped [Indians] players.”

Retention slabs for IPL 2025

In case a franchise wants to retain five capped players, the following amounts will be deducted from the purse:

• For the first three retentions: INR 18 crore, INR 14 crore, and INR 11 crore
• For the next two: INR 18 crore and INR 14 croreAs for the uncapped players, the IPL has stuck with INR 4 crore, as was the case in the 2021 mega auction. This means a franchise retaining five capped players and one uncapped before the auction will lose INR 79 crore from the overall purse of INR 120 crore, and will go into the auction with just INR 41 crore. If a franchise retains four capped and two uncapped players, it will lose INR 69 crore from its purse.The total salary cap will now consist of the auction purse, incremental performance pay and match fees. In 2024, the total salary cap (auction purse + incremental performance pay) was INR 110 crore. It will be INR 146 crore in 2025, INR 151 crore in 2026, and INR 157 crore in 2027.
  

  Impact Player not going away

  Despite objections from franchises and concerns from high-profile players such as Rohit Sharma that the Impact Player rule could be detrimental to the development of allrounders, the IPL has decided to retain it for the next three seasons, up to 2027.Related

  • IPL retention: How many players can a team keep? And at what cost?

  • SRH set to retain Klaasen, Cummins, Abhishek

  • BCCI scraps Impact Player rule in Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s

  • IPL retention FAQs: What is the modified RTM rule? Has the auction purse increased?

  • October 31 set as deadline for IPL teams to finalise retentions

  Since its introduction in the 2023 season, the rule has stirred wide debate over whether it is indeed beneficial to Indian cricket, which was the original motive, or whether it could be hurting the development of allrounders. That was one of the points the IPL discussed with the franchises during a meeting on July 31, which was attended by several team owners and team principals. While there was no unanimous nod to the rule, the majority was in favour of it being retained.Nine of the ten highest totals in IPL history have been recorded since the Impact Player rule, which allows a team to sub out a first-XI player and field a specialist batter or bowler depending on the match situation. The IPL believes the rule has enhanced the product by creating spectacles and is good from the spectators’ point of view, too.

  RTM card – final bidder to get extra opportunity

  The RTM option gives a franchise the chance to buy back a player during the auction by matching the highest bid made for the player by another franchise once the bidding is over. It was previously used in the 2017 mega auction but was discarded ahead of the 2022 mega auction.The IPL has decided to reintroduce it after at least three franchises argued in its favour. It is understood that the owners of Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad said they wanted seven to eight RTMs. However, players have generally not been in favour of the RTM option because they feel they don’t get the fair price as a result.To advance the cause of the players, the IPL has now modified the rule. It now reads: “The highest bidder will be given one final opportunity to raise their bid for a player before the team holding the RTM card can exercise their right. For example, if Team 1 holds the RTM for Player X and Team 2 has placed the highest bid of INR 6 crore, then Team 1 will be first asked if they will exercise RTM, if Team 1 agrees, then Team 2 will have the chance to increase their bid. If Team 2 raises their bid to INR 9 crore, then Team 1 can use the RTM and acquire Player X for INR 9 crore. If Team 2 chooses not to raise the bid and keeps it at INR 6 crore, Team 1 can use the RTM and get Player X for INR 6 crore.”

  Injury replacements and player loans

  Till IPL 2024, franchises had to seek a replacement for an injured player their seventh match of the season. From IPL 2025, teams can seek replacements till up to the 12th match in the league phase.The IPL has also decided to “reinstate” the player loan process, which can only be activated during the season. However, the rule has never been used to date.

  Rule change allows CSK to retain ‘uncapped’ Dhoni

  During a broader discussion on uncapped players, the IPL informed the franchises that it was reviving the rule it had started in 2008 but scrapped in 2021 – that of allowing Indian players who had retired from international cricket at least five years before the relevant season to go into the auction as uncapped players.”A capped Indian player will become uncapped if he has, in the five calendar years preceding the year in which the relevant season is held, not played in the starting XI in international cricket and does not have a central contract with BCCI,” the release said. “This will be applicable for Indian players only.”This gives Chennai Super Kings the option of retaining their former captain MS Dhoni, whose last international match was at the 2019 ODI World Cup, as an uncapped player. Ahead of the 2022 mega auction, CSK had retained Dhoni as their second player for INR 12 crore. If they are to retain him now as an uncapped player, they can do so with INR 4 crore.

India fast bowler Mohammed Shami wants to ensure that he is fully fit before he returns to international cricket.Shami, 34, last played in the 2023 ODI World Cup final and has since been sidelined by an ankle injury for which he underwent surgery earlier this year. (I am working hard to make a comeback soon because I know I have been out of action for quite some time),” Shami said at the Cricket Association of Bengal’s (CAB) annual awards ceremony. “However, I want to ensure there is no discomfort when I return. I’ve to work on my fitness, so that there is no discomfort.”Related

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“The stronger I return, the better it is for me. I don’t want to rush and risk getting injured again, be it against Bangladesh, New Zealand or the Australia series. I’ve already started bowling, but I won’t take any chances until I am 100% fit.”PTI had reported last month that Shami, who is undergoing rehabilitation, is likely to make a comeback to competitive cricket for his domestic side Bengal in the Ranji Trophy, and a potential international appearance later in one of the Test matches against New Zealand.It is understood that Shami will play either one or two of Bengal’s Ranji Trophy matches against UP (October 11) and Bihar (October 18).Shami also hinted at the possibility of playing domestic cricket before making his international return.”If I need to play domestic cricket to test my fitness, I will,” Shami said. “What matters most is that I am fully ready for whatever comes next, regardless of the opposition or format.”Shami is expected to be a key figure in India’s preparations for the upcoming five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.”Favourites (We are the favourites, they should be worried),” Shami said.

An inspired bowling performance by Birmingham Phoenix flipped the formbook against Welsh Fire to keep the Phoenix squarely in the mix as The Hundred reaches the business end.Marshalling her attack superbly to defend a modest 121, Phoenix skipper Ellyse Perry was once again the catalyst, claiming wickets in successive balls to remove Sophie Dunkley and Sarah Bryce after Charis Pavely had early induced a thin edge from Tammy Beaumont.Those wickets checked the Fire’s progress but from 42 for 3 the overseas stars Hayley Matthews and Jess Jonassen got together to repair the innings. They put on 46 together, with Jonassen playing beautifully down the ground, check-driving what would turn out to be the only six of the Fire’s innings.But with 34 needed from 27 balls, leg-spinner Hannah Baker scuttled a straight one past Jonassen’s attempted reverse sweep, and the squeeze was on.Fellow leggie Katie Levick, daring to give it some air, then encouraged the dangerous Georgia Elwiss to pick out deep mid-off, before returning for the penultimate set of five to claim the key scalp of Matthews for 35 (38), caught at extra cover looking to clear the infield.With 14 needed, a nerveless final set from Emily Arlott iced the match.Earlier in the piece, the Phoenix’s innings was held together by the Netherlands right-hander Sterre Kalis, who started circumspectly in cahoots with Sophie Devine before unfurling eight fours en route to her first half-century of the tournament.Although Matthews’s off-breaks – 3 for 32 from her full quota – kept the Phoenix middle-order in check, their total on a turning pitch was just good enough, ensuring that the Phoenix are alive and kicking going into the tournament’s final week.Kalis, named the Meerkat Match Hero, said: “Obviously we struggled a bit at the start on a used pitch and I probably let the bowlers bowl a bit too much to me, rather than getting out there with more intent, but I stuck around and finally got some away and felt alright!”I’m really happy with the opportunity to go in up top, it was something I really wanted this year and to get an opportunity is something I really appreciate.”Credit to Pez [Perry] early on and then the spinners. It wasn’t the highest total to defend, so the bowlers did an amazing job to restrict them. Two more games to go. A good win for us today and hopefully we can stay in the competition.”

A brutal cameo from Michael Jones helped Durham to a 22-run win against the Worcestershire Rapids in the Vitality Blast.Jones smashed 39 from 17 balls at the Seat Unique Riverside to help Durham to a big total of 190 for 5, with the Scottish international capitalising on a good platform set by Ollie Robinson who made 41.The visitors’ chase was led by an impressive 45 from Kashif Ali, but a good Durham bowling performance spearheaded by Ben Raine meant that the Rapids fell short.Durham are now in a good position to qualify for the quarter-finals for the first time since 2018, but the Rapids face an uphill challenge to qualify having lost their last six in the competition.Having won the toss, the hosts chose to bat and Graham Clark got the innings off to the perfect start as he carved one through the covers for four. Skipper Alex Lees then got the first six of the night when he smashed a Josh Cobb ball over the long-on boundary.The Rapids then fought back after a tough start with Lees and Clark departing for 22 and 24 respectively.Robinson and Colin Ackermann used the large dimensions at Chester-le-Street to their advantage, as the Rapids restricted the boundary count in the middle overs.Ackermann felt the run-scoring squeeze and Brett D’Oliveira was the beneficiary as the Durham man mistimed a slog sweep and was caught on the boundary for 19.Robinson started to tick and smashed a D’Oliveira ball for six as Durham passed 100, however the Rapids captain struck back as he bowled Ashton Turner for 20.Robinson then struck two sixes from a Brookes over but he went for one too many as he skied one to long-on for 41.That didn’t stop the hosts’ barrage as Jones smashed one out the ground and he then hit 24 from the final over to finish unbeaten on 39 and the hosts finished on 190 for 5.The visitors had a tough task to chase 191 and they struggled to get going initially, as they picked up just 10 runs from the first two overs.D’Oliveira then departed at the hands of Bas de Leede, who coaxed an edge from the Rapids skipper and Robinson was on hand to take the catch behind the stumps.Ali, who led his side to an impressive win at this ground in the County Championship earlier this week, looked to get his side going alongside Cobb and they started to make a dent into the target.Ali then smashed a Sowter ball down the ground for six and followed that with one into the stands.However, Raine picked up the key wicket of Ali for 45, with Durham’s top wicket taker bowling the impressive opener.Then the hosts got the dangerous Adam Hose for just seven, after he was brilliantly caught on the boundary by Ackermann off the bowling of Sowter.The experienced Cobb was then dropped on 25 by Sowter as the Rapids continued to live dangerously but the leg-spinner bounced back from the drop as he picked up the wicket of Brookes.Cobb then departed for 39 as he was bowled by Ben Dwarshuis, but Gareth Roderick hit a six over the legside boundary to give his side a chance however he fell to Raine for 18 to leave the visitors staring down the barrel of defeat.Late wickets from Dwarshuis, de Leede and Raine saw the hosts home comfortably, winning by 22 runs.