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Rapid centuries from Anmolpreet Singh and Gurkeerat Singh helped Punjab speed away from Chhattisgarh in Raipur, ending the second day with four wickets in hand and a first-innings lead of 243.Replying to Chhattisgarh’s 238, Punjab were 57 for 1 overnight. Opener Jiwanjot Singh moved from 40 to 75 (108 balls, 9×4) before both he and Uday Kaul fell in the space of five overs to leave Punjab 122 for 3. That brought Anmolpreet and Gurkeerat together, and the fourth-wicket pair proceeded to add 212 off 211 balls. Medium-pacer Shourabh Kharwar, who would go on to end the day with three wickets, dismissed Gurkeerat for 111 (112 balls, 17×4), but Punjab’s dominance did not cease. Anmolpreet added 55 for the fifth wicket with Abhishek Gupta (33), 42 for the sixth with Abhishek Sharma (24), and an unbroken 50 for the seventh with Vinay Choudhary (19*) to end the day batting on 171 (183 balls, 20×4, 2×6). This was 19-year-old Anmolpreet’s second hundred in successive first-class matches.Mohammed Shami and Ashok Dinda led Bengal‘s defence of their first-innings 419, leaving Himachal Pradesh five down and trailing by 256 runs at stumps at Eden Gardens.Fifties from Priyanshu Khanduri and Sumeet Verma, who added 92 for the second wicket, moved Himachal to a solid 101 for 1, but they then lost four wickets for the addition of only 58 runs, the last two falling in the last two overs of the day. Shami and Dinda picked up two wickets apiece, while the other wicket went to the third seamer Mukesh Kumar. Shami was expensive, though, conceding 74 in 13 overs.Bengal began the day on 306 for 5, with captain Manoj Tiwary batting on 78. He put on 64 for the sixth wicket with Shreevats Goswami (28) and brought up his 24th first-class hundred before being seventh out for 123 (223b, 11×4, 1×6). Shami then came in at No. 9 and tonked 26 off 22 balls to help the last three wickets add 31 to Bengal’s total. Seamers Rishi Dhawan and Pankaj Jaiswal, who mopped up the lower order, finished with four and three wickets respectively.Offspinner Akshay Wakhare chipped away at Services‘ batting to leave Vidarbha in control at the old VCA Stadium in Nagpur. Replying to Vidarbha’s 385, Services went to stumps at 141 for 4, their hopes pinned on the middle-order batsman Rahul Singh, who was batting on 57. Wakhare, who did the bulk of Vidarbha’s bowling, ended the day with figures of 23-8-43-3.Starting the day on 259 for 3, Vidarbha lost their last seven wickets for 126 runs. Overnight centurion Faiz Fazal only added eight runs to his score before falling for 136, and wickets fell steadily thereafter, but Ganesh Satish held firm at one end, scoring 78 off 131 balls (11×4, 1×6) before he was eighth man out.

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A sparkling Nic Maddinson century, a late starburst of shots from Ed Cowan and a four-wicket breakout display by Mickey Edwards carried New South Wales to a comprehensive defeat of Tasmania in the domestic limited overs match at the WACA Ground in Perth.The Blues had been sent in to bat in the hope of some early movement in the air and off the pitch, but Maddinson and Daniel Hughes made light work of the Tigers’ new ball duo of Jackson Bird and Andrew Fekete, pressing NSW to 136 in the 21st over before Hughes was stumped off the bowling of the former Queenslander Cameron Boyce.However, Maddinson went well past three figures, clattering no fewer than 23 fours and a six in the sort of stylish display that led to a Test team call-up last summer. Once Maddinson departed, Cowan took up the slack with his own brand of aggression, spending a mere 32 balls on an undefeated 51 with some help from the wicketkeeper Peter Nevill.Tasmania’s chase was given a rapid start by Ben Dunk and Ben McDermott, but the Tigers were unable to maintain their momentum after Test spinner Nathan Lyon removed Dunk. Sean Abbott claimed the key duo of Alex Doolan and George Bailey, opening the way for Edwards to work his way through the middle of the innings.Lyon and Abbott also finished with three wickets apiece, handing NSW their first win, after they failed narrowly to beat Western Australia in their opening fixture.

Joe Root feared the worst when he spilled Chris Gayle at slip in the opening over of the first ODI at Old Trafford, so was grateful for the chance to redeem himself in spectacular style to prevent the West Indies opener from doing too much damage.In the end, England won the opening match of the series at a canter but the early exchanges went West Indies’ way with Gayle launching three sixes after his early let-off, which Root admitted left him with a sinking feeling and determined not to let the second opportunity evade him when Gayle skied Chris Woakes over cover.”I saw it the whole way, thought it was a pretty straightforward catch – maybe it got a bit big on me,” he said of the slip catch. “I thought it could be quite costly, and when the second one went up I thought ‘I have to get there’. There was a huge amount relief when I managed to cling on to it.”England’s indifferent slip catching was a feature of the Test series against West Indies and led to coach Trevor Bayliss calling it “terrible”, warning it could cost them the Ashes. Root is usually a very safe catcher in the cordon and said that when one goes down it can be difficult not to watch the reprieved player’s score notch up.”You almost feel guilty with each run they score,” he said. “It’s just nice to be the one who made amends for it. I think he banged a six shortly after that, so that hurt a lot but it’s part of the game. You have to try and stay composed, not let it affect anyone else, make sure your body language is good.”It has been a demanding season for Root, his first as Test captain in which both series went to deciding Tests, and the Ashes series is drawing ever nearer with all its associated pressures. But he insists there is no fatigue and has his sights set on finishing England’s longest summer in the remainder of the ODIs, the last of which is on September 29, with the team due to depart for Australia a month later.While Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali, two other all-format players, were rested from the T20I against West Indies, Root took his place in the line-up then began the one-day series with 54 off 53 balls in England’s serene chase. The only internationals he has missed this season were in the T20 series against South Africa after the Champions Trophy, but he featured in the pink-ball round of County Championship matches during the time away from England duty.”We had a chat before the series and said do I feel I like I can play,” Root said. “Every time I feel fit and that I can deliver at my best I’ll go out and play for England. I love the opportunity we get every time we put on the shirt, it’s such a proud feeling and I’ve never lost that from the start. I’m desperate to take every opportunity to play for England. If I’m not able to give my absolute best I’m probably doing the team a disservice, but at the moment I’m fit and ready go.”If England are able to close out the one-day series with matches to spare – and there was a significant gulf between the teams at Old Trafford once West Indies’ opening stand was broken – it could create the opportunity to withdraw a few players early. Not being captain in this format means those decisions around other players do not involve Root, but he believes each knows what is best for them.”In terms of this series those are individual conversations. As players, you know yourself better than anyone else and in the best interests of this and the Test team you need to be really honest,” he said. “Only you really know if you are struggling or tired. Everyone wants to play as much as they can. You are only around for so long, at the peak of your game and fitness, and you want to take every opportunity. Those guys have got a lot of cricket ahead of them this winter, but we have a period off before we go to recuperate and relax.”

Umar Akmal has ended an 11-year association with Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) and will play for United Bank Limited (UBL) in the 2017-18 domestic season that begins in September. The department has vowed to revive the player’s career and return him to international cricket in better shape.Akmal played 47 first-class games for SNGPL, scoring 3216 runs at 45.29, with four hundreds and 20 fifties. His relationship with SNGPL had suffered a blow last season, when he went on to play for Lahore Whites despite his department not releasing him. His stint with Lahore only lasted two games.The 27-year-old Akmal last played for Pakistan in January, during the ODI series in Australia. Originally part of their Champions Trophy in England, he was sent back home before the tournament for failing two fitness tests in two days. Just under two months later, he was left out of the PCB’s list of 35 centrally contracted players.”He has been discarded from the national team, but we want him in our fold, and look forward to help him become a better player,” Mansoor Khan, UBL’s sports head, told ESPNcricinfo. “He is an asset and we want to work with him and help him revive his career.”There are high expectations as he has the talent but has not been able to find middle ground. He is an exciting player and ambitious, but has not been able to get himself settled. He has immense talent and we want to shape him up. There always something in him and we want to give him an opportunity for his good and for Pakistan cricket.”Despite his omission from the list of centrally contracted players, Akmal was named among the players selected to undergo the ongoing 10-week high performance camp at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore. He pulled out, however, citing a knee injury. He excused himself for five weeks, during which he intended to undergo rehabilitation with his private trainer in England. On Friday, though, he returned to Lahore, hoping for a call-up to Pakistan’s conditioning camp, which begins on August 22, in preparation for a full series against Sri Lanka starting in October. Any such call-up, however, was ruled out by head coach Mickey Arthur.

File photo: Shreyas Iyer’s unbeaten century handed India a the series title•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

A quickfire unbeaten century from Shreyas Iyer and a half-century from Vijay Shankar steered India A to a seven-wicket win against South Africa A to seal the tri-series final in Pretoria. Iyer and Shankar put on 141 for the third wicket to eclipse Farhaan Behardien’s century earlier in the day, when five wickets between Shardul Thakur and Siddarth Kaul had restricted the hosts to 267 for 7 in 50 overs.India A were jolted early when Junior Dala removed openers Sanju Samson and Karun Nair in the first six overs, leaving them in trouble at 20 for 2. But Iyer, who had not scored a fifty earlier in the series, and Shankar, who had scored a duck in his previous match, joined forces to deny South Africa another wicket for more than 28 overs, while lifting India’s run rate towards five an over. Shankar fell for 72 off 86 after striking nine fours, before Manish Pandey joined Iyer, who went on to register his highest List A score of 140 off 131 balls, with 11 fours and four sixes. The fourth-wicket pair put on an unbroken 109 in only 12.3 overs to seal the win with 19 balls to spare. Pandey, with scores of 55, 41*, 86*, 93* and 32*, was named Man of the Series.India A had capitalised on their decision to bowl when Kaul and Thakur cut through the top order and left South Africa A 32 for 3 in the ninth over. Khaya Zondo and Behardien steered them past 100 before No. 7 Dwaine Pretorius scored a quick 58 off 61 balls, which featured five fours and two sixes, to help them past 200. Behardien remained unbeaten on 101, having helped set India A a challenging target, but it wouldn’t prove enough against their middle order. Thakur ended with 3 for 52 and Kaul with 2 for 55.

India have a “50-50” chance of beating defending champions Australia in the Women’s World Cup semi-final on Thursday, an opinion the former India captain Anjum Chopra insists isn’t merely the “hope” of a positive outcome. Chopra has been closely following the fortunes of Mithali Raj’s team as a commentator, but concedes Australia’s superior experience and pedigree will be a factor going into the clash.Australia have won six of the 10 World Cup tournaments prior to this and hold an overwhelming 34-8 win-loss record against India in ODIs. Since the last World Cup in 2013, India have won just one of their four ODIs against Australia. In the group stages of this edition, Australia won six of their seven games while India won five.”Yes, I think India can beat Australia,” Chopra told ESPNcricinfo from London. “When I say that, I am not just being hopeful that India should be in a final. The reason I say that is, I’ve always felt that anytime you get into a quarter-final or a semi-final, there’s always one match that as a team you need to play well together, even if they are the current world champions.”Definitely they are a beatable side. Yes they have been world champions often, so they’ve seen themselves as an Australian team in this situation many more times than the Indian team. So yes, the confidence is there, they know how to come to this stage and how to conquer this stage, which will apparently be missing in the Indian line-up.”One of India’s major concerns going into the game will be the sharp decline in the form of their opener Smriti Mandhana. Mandhana, who turned 21 on Tuesday, started the tournament with scores of 90 and 106*, helping the team secure wins over England and West Indies, but has subsequently been dismissed for 2, 8, 4, 3 and 13. India do have the option to promote 19-year old Deepti Sharma, a specialist opener who has been playing in the middle order, but Chopra believes such a move could only have been contemplated had Deepti been tested in the role in the group stages.”Against an Australian line-up where Smriti as an attacking left-hander will be required to come good at the top, I don’t think the Indian team will be looking at that change,” she said. “As players, we have seen ourselves go in and out of form. In the last four days, the Indian team would have had the time to relax, if required, or go and hit the nets. I think four days is good enough time for any cricketer to make that turnaround. At the top, that strong partnership that India can come up with it, like they did against England, I think that will be very crucial.”While Mandhana’s form has tapered off, her opening partner Punam Raut has been consistently providing solidity to the top order. Raut is, in fact, second behind captain Mithali Raj among India’s leading run-getters in the tournament and made a hundred against Australia in the league stage. India will also be encouraged by the contributions of Harmanpreet Kaur and Veda Krishnamurthy, who struck half-centuries in their final game of the league phase, a must-win encounter against New Zealand.”At this level, it is a mental game,” Chopra said. “It is not just about realising that you are playing for India, it’s about making your presence felt that you are an Indian player, where the world is actually watching and following you. Veda, of course, has good shots down the ground, she has the power to clear the field as well. You just have to make sure that as a player you give yourself enough time to get yourself in such a position that you can play in an attacking way. Harman, too, wasn’t getting enough time out in the middle, she got it against New Zealand and she really made it count.”Currently the second-highest run-getter in the tournament, Ellyse Perry is one of the more significant threats for India in the semi-final•ICC/Getty Images

Although Australia are brimming with skilled players, the biggest threat to India will come from their captain, Meg Lanning. Though Lanning has missed two matches due to shoulder problems, she is still among the top run-scorers of the tournament. In fact, she made a serene, unbeaten 76 to guide her team to a comfortable win in their league encounter against India. Chopra reckons while Lanning is a big thorn in India’s flesh, they have to be wary of the threat from other players, too.”She is a world-class batter, there is no doubt about her ability to lead the team,” Chopra said. “She has been a prolific run-getter for Australia, someone you as a spectator would like to pay money to watch. She is so good, playing front foot or back foot, fast-bowling or spin, she provides class to her batting. But I think a very important factor here is also Ellyse Perry. She’s been batting at No. 3 or 4 for Australia. Remember the partnerships she’s been stitching together with Lanning or whoever else she has been batting with.”India’s bowling tactics for this make-or-break encounter will also be carefully watched. India’s spin bowlers have taken 36 wickets in the tournament so far, while the seamers have taken just 13. Considering their area of strength, could India contemplate opening their attack with an off-spinner, especially as Australia’s opening pair of Nicole Bolton and Beth Mooney are both left-handed?Chopra isn’t sold on the idea and says any strategy India employ will rely heavily on how well they do with the bat, if they win the toss and take first strike.”All these tactics will come into play if the Indian team is able to put up a good score in excess of 250-260 on the board and then come out defending it,” she said. “I am not a big fan of bowling the second over in English conditions with a spinner, no matter what the wicket is like. I still feel in these conditions the first few overs should be bowled by the quicks. In women’s cricket, only one ball is used throughout the innings, so the shine of the ball can only be utilised in those initial overs, not later.”If India do get past Australia, it will be their second entry into a World Cup final. Chopra was a member of the team that reached the final in 2005, losing to Australia by 98 runs in Centurion. After a lifetime in the game, including an international career spanning 17 years, she is enthused by the positive vibes around women’s cricket at the moment and confesses to being pleasantly surprised at the scale of interest.”It is wonderful to see the response back home,” she said. “I have to confess I never expected it. I knew it would be a very big coverage before the start of the World Cup or before the build-up but the way the response has come about, I think it is phenomenal. The reason is the Indian team is winning and also that the men aren’t playing a series presently! Even the men’s cricketers, their support coming in the form of tweets, with encouraging words to the players, it has been phenomenal.”

Surrey earned a spot in the Royal London Cup playoffs after both their match in Bristol and Sussex’s game against Hampshire at the Ageas Bowl were washed out.The point meant Surrey clinched third spot in the south group ahead of Sussex and Glamorgan and they will now face Yorkshire at Headingley on June 13 with the winner of that match playing Worcestershire at New Road in the semi-finals.A washout for Somerset at Lord’s meant they took second spot in the group and will face Nottinghamshire in the other playoff, the winner of that match facing Essex in the semis.In Bristol, umpires Jeff Evans and Billy Taylor delayed the abandonment for as long as possible. But there was no let-up in the rain and after a 3pm inspection they decided there was no chance of the ground drying out sufficiently.That left Surrey hoping that Sussex, the one team with a chance of snatching third place from them, would suffer a similar fate at Southampton at that match was abandoned a short while later.At Lord’s umpires Richard Evans and Rob Bailey called off play at Lord’s at 5pm following an afternoon of persistent rain and with a bleak evening forecast.Middlesex, who had no chance of qualifying, finished eighth in the group with just two wins from their eight matches.

England and Pakistan were the biggest gainers in the ICC’s annual T20I rankings update, climbing to second and third place respectively. New Zealand held on to the top spot despite losing two points, while India and South Africa slipped down the table.

ICC T20I rankings update

1.New Zealand (125 points)
2. England (121)
3. Pakistan (121)
4. India (118)
5. South Africa (111)
6. Australia (110)
7. West Indies (109)
8. Sri Lanka (95)
9. Afghanistan (90)
10. Bangladesh (78)
11. Scotland (67)
12. Zimbabwe (65)
13. UAE (52)
14. Netherlands (49)
15 Hong Kong (46)
16. PNG (39)
17. Oman (38)
18. Ireland (36)

England gained seven points and climbed three places on the table to second, while Pakistan, who were ranked seventh last year, climbed to third place after gaining five points. Both teams had 121 points but Pakistan were ranked behind England by a fraction. India and South Africa both lost six points and dropped to fourth and fifth on the table.Older results – between May 2013 and April 2014 – were disregarded for the points calculation while matches played from May 2014 to April 2016 were weighted at 50%, and matches played from May 1, 2016 weighted at 100%.Both India [14 wins in 20 matches] and South Africa [10 wins in 15 matches] had good results between May 2015 and April 2016, which were weighted at 100% in the previous cycle; these results are now weighted at 50%. Over the last 12 months, however, both teams have played fewer matches and have not had as much success: India played eight games with four wins, while South Africa won two of their four T20Is.Pakistan, on the other hand, had consistent results over the last year. They beat West Indies by margins of 3-0 and 3-1 in the UAE and the Caribbean respectively, while also winning a one-off T20I against England.Australia moved up one place from last year to sixth on the table, while West Indies dropped to seventh. Sri Lanka and Afghanistan remained at eighth and ninth respectively – Afghanistan gained six points over this cycle to take a 12-point lead over tenth-placed Bangladesh.The rankings are important for qualification for the 2020 World T20. Australia, hosts for the tournament, and nine other top-ranked teams as on December 31, 2018 will gain automatic entry. The bottom eight sides will join regional qualifiers in the 2019 World T20 Qualifier. Six sides from the qualifier will then join the 16-team World T20 pool.

ScorecardMahmudullah found some form after a string of poor performances saw his exclusion from the second Test against Sri Lanka•AFP

Mahmudullah hit an unbeaten 71 off 68 balls and strode into some form in Bangladesh’s practice match against the Sri Lanka Board President’s XI, but his half-century could not see the visitors through as they lost by two runs, chasing 355. Also making fifties in the high-scoring encounter were Sabbir Rahman, Mosaddek Hossain, Mashrafe Mortaza, Kusal Perera, Sandun Weerakkody and Dhananjaya de Silva.In pursuit of the President’s XI’s 354 for 7, Bangladesh’s result was of little consequence: the visitors rifled through eight bowlers, and the match did not have List A status. However, a brisk half-century against bowlers who have all played for Sri Lanka may buoy Mahmudullah, who was chastened by his omission for the second Test in Colombo, hit four fours and a six. Bangladesh’s chances had seemed dim at 239 for 7 in the 39th over, until Mahmudullah put on a 101-run partnership with Mashrafe Mortaza, who hit a 35-ball 58. They couldn’t quite push the visitors to victory as Mahmudullah could manage just one run – needing four – off the final ball.Setting up the chase was Sabbir, who hit 11 fours and a six in his 72 from the No. 3 position, before Mosaddek contributed 53. Soumya Sarkar had also hit a 43-ball 47 to follow his good run in the Test series.Meanwhile, at the top of the President’s XI’s innings, Kusal had struck the latest in a series of uncharacteristically slow limited-over fifties. His 64 (retired out) came off 78 balls and featured only four fours. His two half-centuries for Sri Lanka A had also come at less than a run-a-ball. These three fifties came after a long slump for Kusal, during which he was dropped from the Sri Lanka side in all three formats.Nevertheless, his fifty and de Silva’s half century now creates a little competition at the top of the order, with captain Upul Tharanga, and wicketkeeper-batsman Niroshan Dickwella also having opened the batting for Sri Lanka over the last few months. Sandun Weerakkody, who had played in the South Africa series, but has not been chosen for the forthcoming one, also struck a fifty.There were no eminent bowling performances for the hosts, save for Akila Dananjaya’s 3 for 61.

Shadab Khan has taken to international cricket in style. The 18-year old legspinner’s statistics after only two matches for Pakistan read seven wickets at an average of 3, a strike-rate of 6.8 and an economy rate of 2.6. And the opposition he dismantled is not at all happy. West Indies coach Stuart Law thought his batsmen “gifted” some wickets away to Shadab and the best way to combat him was to be “more ruthless.”

Pakistan waiting on Shehzad’s injury

There were three collisions during the second T20I between Pakistan and West Indies at Queens Park Oval and perhaps the worst of them involved Ahmed Shehzad. Fielding at point, he ran in to get the ball, but lost balance and crashed into Chadwick Walton. Shehzad appeared to have hurt himself in the back of the neck and had to be stretchered off the field for treatment. He did, however, come back on a few overs later.
“Ahmed returned from hospital after imaging found nothing wrong with his spine,” Shane Hayes, the physiotherapist, said. “On concussion examination before return to play he was found normal on symptoms, neck examination, cognitive ability, and balance assessments. We will continue to monitor him further.”

“We have plans for everyone. He’s not the only one we’re talking about, we’re talking about everyone else. So we just need to come up with better execution when we’re out in the middle and that’s what it boils down to,” Law said, “He’s bowled very well, but I think we’ve gifted him a few wickets as well. I think we just need to be a little bit more ruthless against him and see what transpires after that.”The Pakistan camp, meanwhile, is reveling in their new young talent. Shadab has played such a starring role in their victories in the Caribbean so far that on each night he was named Man of the Match.Among his 4 for 14 on Thursday were the wickets of Marlon Samuels, who top-scored with 44, and the finisher Kieron Pollard. If removing such key batsmen wasn’t enough, Shadab got rid of them within 13 overs leaving the lower order vulnerable in a chase that should have been straightforward.”I must appreciate and praise Shadab for the way he has been conducting himself, and taking wickets,” team-mate Shoaib Malik said. “Obviously we all know, if you’re playing against West Indies, you have to keep taking wickets. They are big guys, they hit boundaries and I think this is what we have been doing.”As a result, West Indies are stuck with a lot of questions and no ready answers. They have gone 0-2 down in a four-match T20I series and have to win Saturday’s match to stay alive. Since they were crowned World T20 champions in March 2016 – and then beat India in a high-scoring match in Florida – the team has lost five matches in a row. All to Pakistan. Coach Law, while admitting the need to “start playing better cricket,” cautioned against taking reactionary decisions.”It’s pretty new at this stage,” he said. “We just want to take the emotion out of it tonight. Get up with a clear head tomorrow morning and start thinking about it.”I think we are clicking. We’re getting better. We’ve gelled really well as a team over the last couple of days. I don’t think that’s the case. I think we’ve just got to start playing better cricket. There’s glimpses of our talent, we just need to have that glimpse for a lot longer.”Our bowling has been excellent over the last couple of games, our catching’s been outstanding, few mistakes in the ground fielding but our batting is where we need to really have a look. Apart from Marlon, no one’s really gone in and got the scores. We’ve had a couple of starts, but I just think we need someone to go on and I think it’s getting better. Fingers crossed on Saturday we turn up and play a proper game of cricket.”Pakistan have their mind firmly on winning their second straight T20I series against West Indies. In a SWOT analysis of the team’s performance so far, Malik picked out their fielding as an improvement and their batting in the Powerplay as needing work.”Positives, if you look at our fielding, that’s where we’ve always lacked. But the way the guys are putting in an effort here, I think that’s a great sign for Pakistan cricket. And our physical fitness. You could see even in the field, the guys roaming around, moving fast. And negatives. We really need to improve our first six overs in the batting. I think we’re going to sit and talk about it and we will come up with something.”