Sports
Healy, bowlers power UP Warriorz to big win over Royal Challengers Bangalore
Alyssa Healy’s unbeaten 96 followed a clinical performance from the UP Warriorz bowlers as they registered a comprehensive 10 wicket victory to extend Royal Challengers Bangalore’s win-less run in the inaugural edition of the WPL. Sophie Ecclestone’s 4-13 and Deepti Sharma’s 3-26 helped UPW bowl RCB out for 138 despite Ellyse Perry’s half-century. The RCB bowlers were then left clueless as Healy struck 18 fours and 1 six in her 47-ball knock to help UPW race to the target in 13 overs as they recorded their second win in three games.
Healy powers UPW’s blistering start
Alyssa Healy helped UPW off to a flying start in the chase, striking eight out of the 10 fours that were scored in the powerplay to put RCB’s bowling attack in a spot again. Komal Zanzad and Shreyanka Patil conceded 46 runs between them in the four overs they bowled in the powerplay as UPW raced to 55 in the first six overs. While Healy was finding the fence regularly, Devika Vaidya provided good support rotating the strike while she also managed a couple of boundaries as UPW brought down the required rate to six.
Healy’s blitz leaves RCB stunned
Any hopes that RCB would have entertained of slowing down the scoring rate post the powerplay was put to rest by Healy who sent the bowlers on a leather hunt. The UPW skipper, who reached her first WPL fifty, getting there in 29 balls, followed it up with four successive boundaries off Renuka Singh. Erin Burns, who came in for Megan Schutt and was one of three changes RCB made, wasn’t spared either as Healy slammed a four and a six in successive balls, and then hit two fours off Perry in the 12th over. UPW needed 12 at that stage off eight overs and Healy needed 10 more for a three-figure score. But Devika’s four off Shreyanka put a dent on Healy’s prospects of becoming the first centurion of the WPL. She did get to 95 with a boundary off Shreyanka with one more needed for UPW. But the winning run turned out to be a single.
A positive start for RCB despite Mandhana’s failure
Grace Harris, back in the UPW eleven in place of Shabnim Ismail, was asked to bowl the first over given Smriti Mandhana’s struggles against off-spin. But Mandhana was happy to rotate strike and get Sophie Devine at the striker’s end as the New Zealander powered RCB’s brisk start after they opted to bat. She flayed a drive through the off side for a four followed by a six over mid wicket off Harris before striking two fours through the point region off Anjali Sarvani. Harris was struck for another four by Devine but the RCB skipper did not have a lengthy stay, dismissed for a 6-ball 4 by the left-arm spin of Rajeshwari Gayakwad, who conceded only one run in her opening over. Ellyse Perry got into the act with two fours off Sarvani before striking a six off Gayakwad coming down the track as RCB moved to 54/1 at the end of the powerplay.
Fifty for Perry but RCB lose the plot
Deepti Sharma started with a 13-run over which included two fours for Perry but Ecclestone was keeping it tight at the other end. She gave away only 10 runs in her first two overs and also picked up the important wicket of Devine, who missed a cut and was bowled for a 24-ball 36. With Harris bowling an economical third over, RCB moved to 81/2 at the halfway stage of their innings. They lost their third wicket soon after as Kanika Ahuja, looking to deposit a Deepti delivery over mid wicket, found the fielder in the deep while Heather Knight was run out. Perry then got to her maiden WPL fifty but a monumental collapse ensued as RCB lost the plot completely. Perry fell to Deepti attempting a slog sweep and in the same over Burns yorked herself to be bowled. Richa Ghosh’s run out followed in the next over while Ecclestone bagged the last two wickets in the final over as RCB were bowled out with three deliveries still remaining. From 116/4 in the 15th, they lost their last six wickets for the addition of only 22 runs to finish with a paltry total.
Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bangalore 138 in 19.3 overs (Ellyse Perry 52; Sophie Ecclestone 4-13, Deepti Sharma 3-26) lost to UP Warriorz 139/0 in 13 overs (Alyssa Healy 96*, Devika Vaidya 36*) by 10 wickets.
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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