Sports
Gardner, Wolvaardt deliver vital win for Gujarat Giants
Fifties from Ash Gardner and Laura Wolvaardt followed by a disciplined bowling effort gave Gujarat Giants a much-needed win in the WPL on Thursday (March 16) over Delhi Capitals. A win for DC would have helped them secure a berth in the playoffs but they have now been forced to wait following a batting collapse that saw them slip to a loss by 11 runs.
Gujarat Giants just couldn’t find any sort of momentum in the first half of the innings. Sophia Dunkley mistimed one to get caught at mid-on in the very first over of the game and even though Wolvaardt and Harleen Deol hit a boundary each in the following three overs, Gujarat still made only 24 in the first five overs. Wolvaardt then added another boundary in the final over of the powerplay but had plenty to do in order to make up. Unfortunately, Harleen couldn’t tee off and nicked one behind in the 10th over to depart for 31 off 33. By the halfway point, Gujarat only had 54 on the board.
Gardner gave her side the much-needed impetus with back-to-back boundaries off Shikha Pandey and followed it up with another four off Radha Yadav as the run rate finally crept over six. Both Wolvaardt and Gardner then turned on the heat as the South African took on Jess Jonassen to hit for a six over long on followed by two more fours in the same over. She brought up a fifty off 41 balls and was bowled for 57 in the penultimate over of the innings. Gardner then took charge in the final two overs as she found the boundary four times to bring up a 32-ball fifty that took Gujarat close to the 150-run mark, something that was nowhere in sight at one stage.
Fortunes swung in crazy fashion in the run chase in the powerplay for Delhi Capitals. Shafali Varma lost her stumps and departed early after fetching a six earlier in the over. But Alice Capsey put Gujarat under the pump immediately as she hit a couple of boundaries before smashing Gardner for successive sixes. As a result Capitals raced to 44 after just five overs as the playoff spot appeared to be in their grasp. However, the final over of the powerplay changed the complexion of the game as Meg Lanning was trapped leg-before-wicket by Sneh Rana before Capsey’s run out as Capitals found themselves in a tricky position at 51/3.
Things only got worse after the powerplay. Kim Garth found the outside edge of Jemimah Rodrigues to peg them back further. Even though Marizanne Kapp hit a few boundaries to guide DC to 78 by the halfway stage, Jonassen mistimed one off Harleen to leave DC reeling at 81/5. Kapp then appeared to keep DC in the hunt with a four and a six off back-to-back deliveries but the batting side suffered a double blow with Taniya Bhatia getting bowled by Gardner which was then followed by Kapp’s run out. Tanuja Kanwar then took Gujarat one step closer to a win by removing Radha Yadav in her final over to reduce Capitals to 100/8.
At 100/8, only one result appeared in sight before Arundhati Reddy came up with a late twist. She hit a boundary off Tanuja and Harleen before punishing a full toss from Sneh Rana. And then a sloppy Gujarat almost threw the game away when Rana gifted them five extra runs as a result of a wide that went to the boundary which was then followed by a fumble in the following over that also reached the ropes. Suddenly, the equation came down to a gettable 15 from 16. But Arundhati chipped one straight to Rana at extra cover to give the bowling side hope again. And they cashed in by removing Poonam Yadav for a duck in the penultimate over to pick up a nervy win.
Brief scores:
Gujarat Giants 147/4 in 20 overs (Laura Wolvaardt 57, Ash Gardner 51*; Jess Jonassen 2/38) beat Delhi Capitals 136 in 18.4 overs (Marizanne Kapp 36; Kim Garth 2/18, Ash Gardner 2/19) by 11 runs.
(Cricbuzz)
The first truly heavyweight clash of this expanded T20 World Cup format comes freighted with both history and subplots. A rematch of the 2010 World T20 final at Kensington Oval, the match pits Jos Buttler’s defending champions – who are aiming to become the first team to retain the trophy – against the Australian winning machine, victors at the 2021 edition and current world title-holders in Test and ODI cricket. And that’s before you throw in the Ashes for afters.
Already there is added pressure on England, after the rain in Bridgetown led to a share of the points in their opener against Scotland (and that having conceded 90 runs from 10 overs without taking a wicket in a tepid bowling display). Lose to their oldest rivals and it will leave their Super 8 prospects open to being waylaid by the perils of net run-rate calculations, or worse.
The Scotland match was the third abandonment in five suffered by England, after a rain-affected home series against Pakistan, which has clearly hampered their readiness for this campaign after almost six months without playing T20 together. It does not take much for a side to click in this format – and England looked in decent shape when they did get on the field against Pakistan – but Buttler will be anxious for things to go their way on Saturday, if only to avoid further questions referencing the team’s disastrous ODI World Cup defence last year.
Australia, under the laidback leadership of Mitchell Marsh would love nothing more than to add to the English sense of jeopardy – having helped bundle them out of the tournament in India on the way to taking the crown. Their head to head record is less impressive in T20 however, with England having won six of the last seven completed encounters, as well as that 2010 final.
Despite a wobble with the bat, Australia avoided mishap against Oman earlier in the week, the experience of David Warner and Marcus Stoinis shining through in difficult batting conditions. Surfaces in the Caribbean – not to mention those games staged in the USA – have already had teams scratching their heads; rather than the “slug-fest” England had prepared for, following a high-scoring tour of the Caribbean in December, it looks as if boxing smart may be the way to go.
Speaking of Warner, this could be the last time he faces up against England in national colours – and another match-winning contribution would likely reduce the chances of them meeting again in the knockouts. On the other side of the card is Jofra Archer, fresh from an emotional maiden outing at Kensington Oval and ready to take on Australia for the first time in any format since 2020. Can Mark Wood fire up England’s campaign, as he did during last summer’s Ashes? Will Pat Cummins be back to harass the old enemy once again? Seconds out, it’s almost time to rumble.
Cummins is set to return after being rested for the Oman game, which saw Mitchell Starc leave the field with cramp. Starc is understood to be fine and could keep his place – which would likely see Nathan Ellis miss out. Marsh is still not fit to bowl, with Australia likely to continue with the allrounder combination of Stoinis and Maxwell to give them cover.
Australia (probable XI): David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis/Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
The one change England may consider is Reece Topley coming in for Wood, with the expectation that there will be some rotation among the seamers through the course of the tournament.
England (probable XI): Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (capt & wk), Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley/Mark Wood
[Cricinfo]
Once is coincidence, twice is a clue, and three times is proof.
To paraphrase Agatha Christie, that is the narrative around South Africa’s meeting with Netherlands at this T20 World Cup.
The Dutch beat South Africa at the 2022 tournament and ended their semi-final hopes in a match where South Africa appeared to be sleep walking, and then beat them again at the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they exposed South Africa’s vulnerability in the chase. If they to do the treble, not only will Netherlands take the lead in Group D, but they will offer conclusive evidence of the threat they pose to Full Members, especially South Africa.
Of course, it will take some doing after South Africa’s opening performance against Sri Lanka, where they reduced their opposition to their lowest T20I total and chased it down in fairly straightforward fashion thanks to the most stable middle-order of their white-ball era. In Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, South Africa have bankers and big-hitters and, for this match, they also have the advantage of experience. They’ve already played at Eisenhower Park, and have first-hand knowledge that run-scoring doesn’t come easily;Klassen said they are prepared to use their “cricket brains” and play “smarter cricket”.
But the conditions could be good news for Netherlands, who are not naturally a line-up of big hitters and build their innings on a foundation of turning ones into twos. In other words, they tend to take a slightly more conservative approach to batting, which may work well here, but they’ll be wary of the uneven bounce of the surface and will have to come up with plans to counterattack especially against South Africa’s seamers. Their own bowlers were exemplary in Dallas and will look to build on that performance against a line-up that will likely be more proactive than Nepal’s, but who they have managed to keep quiet not once, but twice in the past. Third time’s the charm, they say.
Anrich Nortje’s stunning return to form against Sri Lanka means South Africa may not have to tinker with the bowling combination, and Gerald Coetzee and Tabraiz Shamsi may have to wait their turns to get a game. The batting line-up should be unchanged, with no space for Ryan Rickelton yet.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markam, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Ottneil Baartman, Anrich Nortje
Conditions in New York may tempt Netherlands to include an extra seamer and they have Kyle Klein in their squad. But it could come at the expense of a shortened batting line-up and they may not want to risk that.
Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Scott Edwards (capt, wk), Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Tim Pringle, Paul van Meekeren, Vivian Kingma
[Cricinfo]
Nuwan Thushara’s last over brought Sri Lanka screaming back into the match,as he first bowled Rishad Hossain, and then nailed Taskin Ahmed in front of the stumps with a pinpoint swinging yorker. This left Bangladesh eight wickets down, with 12 runs still to get.
However, the experienced Mahmudullah was at the crease for Bangladesh, and despite some further nervy moments, pushed Bangladesh across the line off the last ball of the 19th over.
But this was a match chiefly decided by Bangladesh’s own outstanding bowling. Mustafizur Rahman was the best among them, using shorter lengths and his cutters efficiently, to claim figures of 3 for 17. Rishad Hossain’s three-for through the middle overs also kept Sri Lanka quiet.
Mustafizur was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s downward spiral through the middle overs, which culminated in a crash-and-burn end. Ultimately, their inability to find boundaries, or even rotate strike against good Bangladesh bowling resulted in their downfall. A score of 125 for 9 always seemed poor on a decent pitch, even if their bowlers made a match of it in the end.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 125 for 8 in 19 overs (Towhid Hridoy 40, Litton Das 36; Dhanajaya de Silva 1-11, Nuwan Thushara 4-18, Wanidu Hasaranga 2-32, Matheesha Pathirana 1-27) beat Sri Lanka124 for 9 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 47, Dhananjaya de Silva 21; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-24, Taskin Ahmed 2-25, Mustafizur Rahman 3-17, Rishad Hossain 3-22) by two wickets
[Cricinfo]
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