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Big picture: SA look to avoid another home series defeat

You can fight conditions only to a certain extent in cricket. Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar and Avesh Khan went into the first ODI of the series with just seven wickets between them but bowled South Africa out for 116 in conditions that had swing, seam and uneven bounce.As action moves to Gqeberha, and to a day-night match, you’d hope for more even conditions that don’t change dramatically during the match. Gqeberha has not hosted an ODI in more than four years, but it has not been a high-scoring venue. It has gone 12 years and eight ODIs without a score of 300. As it is generally the slowest and lowest of the surfaces among mainstream South African venues, India will hope to close out the series there. For South Africa, the next two are must-win matches to avoid a fourth home series defeat in ODIs since April 2021, certainly not a proud record to have.Related

• Battle-hardened Arshdeep Singh arrives as an ODI force

• South Africa's biggest defeat in a home ODI

• Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan demolish South Africa

There is more to look forward to from the new talent that has emerged during the limited-overs leg of the tour. Nandre Burger has impressed with his sustained pace and movement, and Sai Sudharsan made an eye-catching fifty on debut.

Form guide

South Africa LLWLW
India WLWWWReeza Hendricks has gone two matches without laying bat on ball in the first over•AFP/Getty Images

In the spotlight: Sai Sudharsan and Reeza Hendricks

Reeza Hendricks has gone two matches without laying bat on ball in the first over. To be fair to him, Hendricks found himself in against the moving ball and some incisive seam bowling both in the final T20I and the first ODI in Johannesburg. After playing and missing so often, both his innings ended in loose shots. He will want to give a better account of himself.In a brief chase, Sai Sudharsan displayed on debut why his senior colleagues have been going gaga over him. The bowlers will now come back with their homework done, and will hop to present him a more challenging match situation.

Team news

If the Gqeberha track stays true to nature, South Africa could be expected to play both the spinners, Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi. Shreyas Iyer is leaving to join the Test team, and so Rajat Patidar is the favourite to take his place.South Africa (probable): 1 Reeza Hendricks, 2 Tony de Zorzi, 3 Rassie van der Dussen, 4 Aiden Markram (capt.), 5 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 6 David Miller, 7 Andile Phehlukwayo, 8 Wiaan Mulder, 9 Nandre Burger, 10 Keshav Maharaj, 11 Tabraiz ShamsiIndia (probable): 1 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 2 B Sai Sudharsan, 3 Rajat Patidar, 4 Tilak Varma, 5 KL Rahul (capt. & wk), 6 Sanju Samson, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Arshdeep Singh, 9 Avesh Khan, 10 Kuldeep Yadav, 11 Mukesh Kumar

Pitch and conditions

The weather is set fair, and the pitch is usually not the quickest. Don’t expect record-breaking scores.

Stats and trivia

The uncapped Indian pair of Kashvee Gautam and Vrinda Dinesh walked away with top honours at the WPL auction in Mumbai, attracting bids of INR 2 crore (Gujarat Giants) and INR 1.3 crore (UP Warriorz) respectively.Australia allrounder Annabel Sutherland was the most expensive overseas player, attracting the auction’s joint-highest bid at INR 2 crore, with Delhi Capitals exhausting 88.8% of their remaining purse of INR 2.25 crore on her.The biggest surprise was Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu missing out for a second time running. The WBBL’s MVP, the second-highest run getter in the tournament, also failed to make it back into the accelerated rounds of the auction, where teams nominated players from the initial unsold list of players.Related

• Klinger replaces Haynes as Gujarat Giants head coach at WPL

• Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Capitals to kick off WPL 2024 on February 23 in Bengaluru

• Jay Shah says WPL 2024 to be played in 'one state'

• 'What! 1.3 lakh?' – Big-hitting Vrinda Dinesh tells the story of her big payday

• As it happened – Women's Premier League 2024 auction

Some other significant exclusions were of Deandra Dottin, the former West Indies captain, and Australia allrounder Kim Garth, who were among only three players in the highest price bracket (INR 50 lakh). Scotland’s Kathryn Bryce was the lone Associate player picked at the auction, by Giants at her base price of INR 10 lakh.Ekta Bisht at INR 60 lakh attracted the highest bid (Royal Challengers Bangalore) among capped India players, while Veda Krishnamurthy (Giants) and S Meghana (RCB) went at base prices (INR 30 lakh) in the final accelerated round of auctions after finding no takers early on. Among the big Indian misses was Devika Vaidya, the allrounder, who was expected to be high on the wish list of teams. She was released by the Warriorz, who had bid INR 1.6 crore for her ahead of the inaugural season.In what was a sharp auction where teams mostly looked to fill gaps, the Giants came in with the biggest purse after offloading more than half their squad. Having released four seam-bowlers – Sutherland, Garth, Mansi Joshi and Monica Patel – they went all out to secure the lanky 20-year-old seam-bowling allrounder Kashvee, who plays for Chandigarh.Giants and RCB began an intense tussle before Warriorz swooped in at INR 75 lakh. They pursued the bid until the Giants pipped them right at the end to sign Kashvee at a record INR 2 crore. For perspective, Kashvee’s bid was higher than the one Harmanpreet Kaur attracted (INR 1.8 crore) at the inaugural auction in February.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

It was no surprise that Kashvee was in high demand, since skilled seam-bowling allrounders are a rarity. Kashvee is a swing bowler who has worked on improving her pace, based on feedback given to her after the inaugural auction in which she was unsold.At the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy last month, she picked up 12 wickets in seven games at an economy rate of 4.14. Since then, she has also gone on to play for India A in the recently-concluded home series against England A. In June, she was part of India’s triumphant Under-23 squad at the ACC Emerging tournament in Hong Kong.Like Kashvee, Vrinda has been on the radar of the selectors and scouts alike. In August, Vrinda trialled with all five franchises. RCB, the franchise from her home state, first raised the paddle before Giants entered the tussle to quickly elevate the bids. But it was Warriorz, who entered the bidding at INR 65 lakh, who stayed the course to finally sign her for INR 1.3 crore.A prolific scorer over the past two seasons, Vrinda has earned plaudits for her ability to blend consistency with robust power-hitting up front. At 22, she has already broken through the ranks of India A, having recently been part of the squad that played three home games against England A.Earlier this year, she played a key role in Karnataka’s run to the final of the Senior Women’s one-day competition. She finished as the tournament’s fifth-highest run-getter, behind Jasia Akter and Priya Punia, with 477 runs in 11 innings at 47.70. This included 81 in the semi-final against Rajasthan.Chamari Athapaththu’s WBBL exploits weren’t enough to earn her a bid at the WPL auction•Getty Images

Australia’s Phoebe Litchfield was the first player up for grabs and was signed by Giants for INR 1 crore. The left-hander, who first broke through as a social media sensational as a 16-year-old in 2019, has had a dream run lately, finishing the WBBL as its third-highest run-getter. She began her international career in India last year, during the T20I series, and made the move up quickly.She kept Grace Harris out of the Australia side earlier this season and was used in the middle order, from where she struck a record-equalling 18-ball fifty against West Indies. Earlier this year, she was handed Test and ODI caps.Also among those who got onto the WPL bandwagon after finding no takers in the inaugural season were the England duo of Danni Wyatt (Warriorz) and Kate Cross (RCB). South Africa quick Shabnim Ismail went to the Mumbai Indians for INR 1.2 crore.The second WPL season is set to be played in February 2024. The first season was played across three venues in Mumbai owing to logistical considerations. The BCCI hasn’t yet made a decision on the venues for the second edition, although Mumbai and Bengaluru are believed to be in the running to host matches.

Steven Smith has been named as Australia’s new Test opener, with Cameron Green slotting in at No.4 for the first Test against West Indies as the team begins life after David Warner.Barring injury, Australia’s selectors confirmed Green will come into the XI as the only change for Warner for the first Test starting on January 17 while Matt Renshaw has been added to the 13-man squad as the spare batter with no room for Cameron Bancroft or Marcus Harris.Chairman of selectors George Bailey confirmed Green would slot in at No.4, with Smith, who has publicly stated his desire to move up, set to open the batting for the first time in not only his 114-match Test career but also his 16-year first-class career.Related

• This is not over, you have been warned, David Warned

• After a tough year, Green returns to 'natural game' at No. 4 in Australia's Test side

• Renshaw reflects on 'weird time' after Test recall

• Smith opening, Green No. 4 'a perfect scenario', says Labuschagne

• Clarke: Smith would be No. 1 opener in the world in 12 months

“Steve’s obviously motivated and energized and keen to do it,” Bailey said. “There were plenty within the team who were pretty keen to go on record and say that they weren’t keen to do it. So it was refreshing that Steve had come forward and said he wanted it and it was something that we’d been chatting about in the background as a selection panel with the coaches as well.”It’s selfless that someone who’s had such success in one position or a couple of positions in the middle order that he’s open and willing and hungry to go and have a crack at something new and something different, which provides that opportunity to slot Cam into a position where he’s had so much success at first-class level and we think ultimately, is a great spot for him to be in the Test team.”Steven Smith will open the batting for the batting for the first time in his career•Getty Images

Bailey also noted that Smith’s move to the top of the order was not a short-term decision and that Smith had confirmed he would not request a move back down the order if he had some trouble adjusting to the role early on.”No. That’s been part of the discussions I believe with Steve, that he’s keen for this to be a significant chapter in his career,” Bailey said. “As far as the panel goes, I think we’ve been pretty consistent in saying that we don’t look too far ahead. We’ve obviously got these two Test matches against the West Indies. We go to New Zealand, different conditions, different challenge. We’ll have more information then. We’ve clearly got a big gap between Test cricket and then India over the summer. But for all intents and purposes, this is where Steve wants to stay.”Renshaw has been added as the spare batter in case of an injury or concussion. Scott Boland remains in the squad as the spare fast bowler but is unlikely to play given the fitness of Australia’s main three fast bowlers.Bailey confirmed that his panel had chosen the “best six batters” in Australia rather than picking an experienced opener, something the panel had long been planning to do, with Renshaw confirmed as the seventh best in the selectors’ eyes ahead of Bancroft and Harris.”I think ultimately you can mount statistically some strong cases for a number of players,” Bailey said. “As it currently stands, the panel sees Matt Renshaw is our next best batter.”We’ve gone back 18 months or so and I think if you take into account all first-class cricket I think across that time, those guys have played Shield cricket, some county cricket, some Australia A cricket, and PM’s XI games. Matthew’s played a couple of Tests in Australia and in India across that period and his numbers stack up as well as anyone’s across that time.”Bailey was also categoric in denying that Bancroft’s non-selection, despite being the leading run-scorer in Shield cricket over the last two years, had been for anything other than cricketing reasons, in reference to his infamous interview in England in 2021 following the Sandpaper incident in 2018.”I’m glad you asked that because I wanted to touch on it. It’s categorically no,” Bailey said. “And I’ve shared this with Cameron on a number of occasions. That has never at any stage been discussed from the panel’s perspective. It’s purely a cricketing decision. There is not a member of the team that would have an issue with Cam playing. We certainly don’t have an issue with it.”I think a lot of people tend to forget the fact that Cam’s actually played Test cricket since returning from the ban. It was a long time ago. We’ve all moved well past that. I’d be disappointed if people were looking to that as a reason. All I can do is reiterate to you and to Cam that’s not the case. Never has been and never will be.”

Australia squad for first Test vs West Indies

Pat Cummins (capt), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Matthew Renshaw, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc

The price tag of INR 24.75 crore (US$2.98 million approx.) almost ran in with him as Mitchell Starc bowled in his first two IPL 2024 matches, where he went for a combined 0 for 100 in eight overs. It might have on Wednesday in Visakhapatnam too, but with the batters scoring an almost-record IPL score of 272, the pressure was perhaps a little off. And Starc, one of the best in the modern-day game, struck in his second over, getting Mitchell Marsh to slap one to cover point, and then again in his third, when he got David Warner to under-edge an attempted cut on to his stumps.Figures of 2 for 25 look a lot better than 0 for 53 or 0 for 47, and while Starc didn’t quite admit to feeling a bit out of place in the previous matches, he did say that those returns weren’t what he had hoped for.”In a game of T20, we all need a little bit of luck, a few edges go by, a dropped catch or two, that’s T20 cricket,” he said on the host broadcast after the game. “You move on pretty quickly, because the games come thick and fast. Yeah, probably not the start I wanted, but we’ve been winning games, so that’s what it’s about. We’re three-nil. And tonight, with bat and ball, we were pretty good, I think.Related

• Aussies at the IPL: Marsh's hamstring concern, Maxwell and Green struggle

• Narine, Raghuvanshi and Arora power demolition of Capitals

• Raghuvanshi second-youngest to score fifty in maiden IPL innings, as KKR smash second-highest total

“It can be brutal at times, particularly on the bowlers [in T20 cricket]. I think we’ve seen on some of the grounds, some of the scores… so yeah, you take a little bit of luck here and there. Yeah, we’re three-nil at the start of the season, and tonight we were pretty clinical with bat and ball. Personal stuff aside, the team’s start has been fantastic.”That’s the bigger picture. The fact that almost every Knight Rider has put in at least one performance of note in taking KKR to three wins on the trot and the top position on the table after all the teams have played at least three games.As for the smaller picture, getting Marsh and Warner must have felt good? “It’s nice to have those ones in the pocket,” Starc said with a laugh.But before Starc got into his act, it was Vaibhav Arora, 26 years and just 34 T20 matches old and not really anywhere near international cricket, who created a flutter, getting rid of Prithvi Shaw in his first over as Delhi Capitals chased a mammoth 273 for victory. Arora did it at his mid-130s pace with a lot of swing into the right-hand batters and the occasional well-directed bouncer, and finished with 3 for 27.”That’s all him, he was fantastic tonight, and I thought he used the short ball really well,” Starc said when asked if he had a role to play in Arora’s success. “For me, it’s probably more conversations around training, around bowling meetings, when we’re taking on Dave and Mitch, who some of these guys haven’t played before. So just talking a bit around that sort of thing. Just see how they go about their business in the nets, and if they ask questions, just little conversations around that. Certainly not me telling them how to bowl and tonight I thought our whole bowling attack was fantastic.”The bowling came later. First, it was the batting. Sunil Narine – 85 in 29 balls. Angkrish Raghuvanshi – 54 in 27 balls. Andre Russell – 41 in 19 balls. Rinku Singh – 26 in eight balls. KKR – 272 for 7. Just five runs behind Sunrisers Hyderabad’s 277 for 3 the other day, which is the highest IPL total ever.”Not at all. To be honest, the way we were at the start, maybe we’d reach around 210-220, but 270 [272 for 7] was icing on the cake,” Shreyas Iyer, the KKR captain, said when asked if topping SRH’s total had crossed his mind. “Sunny’s [Narine’s] job is to go out there and free his arms and see to it that he gets us a great powerplay. Even if he doesn’t, we’ve got other batters who can basically take on the bowlers and see to it that we get a commendable total by the end of the powerplay. So that is the mindset, to keep intent strong and taking on the bowlers.”1:42

Moody: Narine prides himself on his batting

As for Raghuvanshi, playing his first IPL innings and looking like he has always belonged, Iyer said, “He was fearless from ball one. When you see him, his work ethic is phenomenal. He is top notch in analysing situations and he is a smart batsman when it comes to reading the situation. The way he played today, the shots were literally pleasing to the eye.”Starc and Raghuvanshi and Arora played their part, but the man of the moment, and the Player of the Match, not just for all those quick runs but also the 1 for 29, was Narine.’Cricket is all about batting, so if you can contribute with the bat, as an individual it’s more pleasing. But I still enjoy my bowling,” he said when asked which of the two disciplines are more his thing.What Narine’s performance did, of course, was give KKR a huge net run-rate boost. Not only are they top of the table, but their NRR of 2.528 is way ahead of the others’ – second-placed Rajasthan Royals are at 1.249.”On a good wicket like that, trying to keep it as tight as possible, to try and win with a bigger margin so it can help our run rate later on in the tournament,” Narine said on the matter.

Match details

Lucknow Super Giants (3rd; W6 L4) vs Kolkata Knight Riders (2nd; W7 L3)Lucknow, 19.30 IST (14.00 GMT)

Big picture

Fifty-plus games in, no team has qualified for the playoffs yet. Kolkata Knight Riders and Lucknow Super Giants, sitting at No. 2 and No. 3 on the table at the moment, can still miss out on qualification. Neither team will want to get caught up in the mid-table muddle, and two points here could go a long way in sparing them that.Related

• Injured Mayank all but out of IPL 2024

KKR’s big-hitters, who are coming into this game on the back of two wins, will be heading into unfamiliar territory. They’ve never played an IPL game in Lucknow. The pitches at the venue have also not been too predictable. But spin has played an important role in most games here, which KKR will be pleased with given how well their spin pair of Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine have performed thus far. During their previous meeting this season at Eden Gardens, the LSG batters were stifled by the duo in the middle.LSG have also not cracked the pitches at Ekana so far. They put up 196 on what looked like a good batting pitch against Rajasthan Royals and went down by seven wickets, while they chased down 145 on a sluggish pitch with four balls to spare in the match against MI. So it will once again come down to what pitch they will serve up on Sunday – red, black, or mixed soils. LSG have been hurt by injuries all season: their X-factor bowler Mayank Yadav is now all but ruled out of the tournament, while their opener Quinton de Kock had missed the last game after hurting his hand. In an attempt to qualify for the playoffs, the hosts will be trying to add some consistency to their starting line-up and their results.

Form guide

LSG WLWWL (last five matches, most recent first)
KKR WWLWL

Previous meeting

Phil Salt (47-ball 89) and Mitchell Starc (3 for 28) helped the hosts thump LSG by eight wickets. LSG could post only 161 for 7 after they were put in, which was then chased down by the hosts in 15.4 overs.

Team news and Impact Player strategy

Lucknow Super GiantsLSG had middle-order batter Ashton Turner in their side in the last match in de Kock’s absence, and Arshin Kulkarni was brought in as the Impact Player to open with KL Rahul. LSG coach Justin Langer said that de Kock “should be ready to play the next game or so”. With Mayank out, LSG are likely to bring back Yash Thakur or Amit Mishra.Probable XII: 1 KL Rahul, 2 , 3 Marcus Stoinis, 4 Deepak Hooda, 5 Nicholas Pooran, 6 Ashton Turner, 7 Ayush Badoni, 8 Krunal Pandya, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Naveen-ul-Haq, 11 Mohsin Khan 12 Kolkata Knight RidersHarshit Rana will be back having served his one-match disciplinary ban. Manish Pandey was brought in as the Impact Player for Angkrish Raghuvanshi in the first innings during their match against MI after a batting collapse. He played a crucial knock of 42 to rebuild the innings along with Venkatesh Iyer. KKR will likely go the same route in case they need an extra batting hand.Probable XII: 1 Phil Salt (wk), 2 Sunil Narine, 3 Angkrish Raghuvanshi, 4 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 5 Venkatesh Iyer, 6 Rinku Singh, 7 , 8 Andre Russell, 9 Ramandeep Singh, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Vaibhav Arora, 11 Harshit Rana, 12

In the spotlight

Marcus Stoinis has returned to form at the right time for LSG. After a brilliant solo effort against Chennai Super Kings, he bagged a duck against RR – a match which LSG lost – and then came back with another match-winning effort of 62 against MI on a slow wicket. LSG have also finally found the right position for him at No. 3, where he’s made those big scores. His good form has also taken the pressure off Nicholas Pooran to make up for the lack of runs from the top order. His medium pace has also come in handy – he’s dismissed the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Suryakumar Yadav in the last two games.A fifty against RCB aside, captain Shreyas Iyer is yet to make a significant impact with the bat in KKR’s good run this season. He has 257 runs in 10 innings at a strike rate of 137.43 and comes into the games with scores of 6, 33* and 28 in the last three games. He has got a few good starts but hasn’t been able to convert, and that’s not hurt KKR much only because of the contributions from the rest of the line-up. In the reverse fixture, he hit a run-a-ball 38 when Salt at the other end was hitting at a strike rate of nearly 190.

Pitch and conditions

While the pitch during LSG’s fixture against RR was batting-friendly, the one laid out against MI was on the slower side. Given KKR have a strong spin attack, the home side will not want to give away any advantage in that department. The average first-innings score at the venue since IPL 2023 has been 160.

Stats that matter

• KL Rahul’s strike rate in the powerplay has improved from 119 in the last season to 140 this season. This season, he has also batted through the powerplay 70% of the time.
• KKR bowlers’ economy rate in the powerplay is 9.8, which is the worst among all teams this season. LSG bowlers, meanwhile, have conceded only at 8.2 in this phase.
• How do you stop Stoinis? Call Varun or Russell. Stoinis has been dismissed by Varun and Russell two times each in four meetings respectively. Stoinis also strikes only at 60 against Varun.

Quotes

“I think he’s really enjoying the elevation to No. 3 where he can take responsibility. When he opened the bowling the other day, he takes responsibility and I think that’s what happens with all the best players. They want to stand up and take responsibility under pressure and he’s doing that very well. He helps lead that energy, that warrior energy where you walk out in the middle and you’re just ready for the contest.”

Having endured a difficult IPL season on multiple fronts, Hardik Pandya served up a reminder of his elite all-round skills as India warmed up for the T20 World Cup with a 60-run win over Bangladesh in New York.Hardik scored an unbeaten 23-ball 40 and took 1 for 10 off his first two overs before conceding 20 in his third. But it was heartening for India to have their main allrounder influence the game as he did, in conditions – the pitch was two-paced and the outfield slow – that helped his bowling but not necessarily his batting. The other headline acts came from Rishabh Pant, who retired out after scoring a breezy 32-ball 53, and Arshdeep Singh, who took two wickets in a spell of incisive new-ball swing.

No Kohli, no Jaiswal either

Virat Kohli only landed in New York on the eve of this match, so it was expected that he wouldn’t play the warm-up fixture. It wasn’t expected, though, that Yashasvi Jaiswal – the other candidate to open alongside Rohit Sharma – didn’t play any part either. India opened, instead, with Rohit and Sanju Samson.It could have been an audition for first-choice wicketkeeper. On the day, Samson scored 1 off 6, and was lbw in the second over to a Shoriful Islam in-ducker. There seemed to be a chance that this ball may have gone on to miss leg stump, but DRS was not in use so Samson had to go.

Pant fires at No. 3

Pant replaced Samson, and proceeded to play the most fluent innings of the day. India were 33 for 1 in five overs when he began their acceleration with three sixes off Shakib Al Hasan in the sixth. He hit four fours and four sixes in all, and targeted the area behind the wicket with aplomb, using the reverse-sweep and his trademark no-look scoop over short fine leg to telling effect.Pant kept wicket too, rather than Samson, and by the end of the day it seemed fairly certain that he would take the big gloves on Wednesday, when India begin their tournament proper against Ireland.Arshdeep Singh took two wickets with the new ball•ICC via Getty Images

Allrounder watch

Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik were the other major contributors to India’s total of 182 for 5, scoring a combined 71 off 41, while Shivam Dube, who batted between them at No. 5, struggled with the conditions. Dube swung at the spinners repeatedly, but only made one true connection, a massive six over wide long-off, while scoring 14 off 16.Then, having only bowled just the one over in 14 games during the IPL, he proceeded to bowl three here and pick up two wickets, though Bangladesh were already 42 for 5 when he came on.Ravindra Jadeja batted at No. 7, but Axar Patel, India’s other left-arm fingerspinner, bowled before him and picked up a wicket. It remains to be seen which of the two feature in India’s first XI, or if they go with both and leave out the wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav.India play three of their four group-stage games in New York, and if conditions remain broadly similar, they may be able to get quite a bit of bowling out of their four allrounders – Hardik, Jadeja, Axar and Dube.

Arshdeep vs Siraj

Jasprit Bumrah is the first name on the bowling end of India’s team sheet, but who partners him with the new ball? On this day, Arshdeep made a serious case for himself, swinging the new ball prodigiously and getting Soumya Sarkar and Litton Das out in Test-match manner.Mohammed Siraj was excellent too, getting the ball to behave awkwardly from a hard length, and dismissing Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto with one such delivery that cramped him for room. On the evidence of their displays here, India will have a hard task picking just one of these two, assuming they go with two frontline quicks and Hardik as the third seamer.

Problems for Bangladesh

For Bangladesh, who came into this match on the back of a shock series defeat to USA, the result reinforced major worries going into the World Cup, chiefly their long-standing lack of power-hitting. India hit ten sixes in their 20 overs, and Bangladesh just one. Of the four batters who faced at least 10 balls in their chase of 183, only one – Mahmudullah, who top-scored with a 28-ball 40 – went at above a run a ball.Mahmudullah also bowled two tidy overs and dismissed Rohit, and took the catch of the day to send back Dube, sprinting to his right from long-on and juggling the ball expertly while stepping out of and then back into the field of play. All in all, it was a good day for the 38-year-old.Bangladesh suffered an injury scare when left-arm quick Shoriful left the field five balls into India’s final over when he attempted to stop a straight hit from Hardik and took a painful hit to his left hand. The extent of his injury wasn’t clear by the time the game ended.The margin of India’s victory, however, may have been inflated by the resources available to the two teams. India’s quicks did the bulk of their early damage, picking up four wickets between them to reduce Bangladesh to 41 for 5. Bangladesh, however, only bowled five overs of genuine pace – and one of gentle medium-pace from Soumya Sarkar. This was because they rested both Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman, both of whom could have caused India problems on this pitch.

Big picture

New Zealand are ok. Yeah, they’re going through “a transition”. Yeah, they’ve got a new Test captain. Yeah, they have lost six of their nine Tests in this World Test Championship cycle. Yeah, they were the first guinea pigs in the Bazball experiment. Yeah, they haven’t played a single Test since then.But they are New Zealand. This just doesn’t sound drastic, right? It never does. They’ll plan, they’ll nurture, they’ll be efficient and optimal with their resources, play their cards right, quietly bide their time and be good again, and we’ll be like, yeah, New Zealand are ok. It’s just a matter of time.Related

• Shahid Afridi named interim chief selector of Pakistan men's team

• Ramiz Raja removed as PCB chairman

On the other hand, Pakistan have gone old-school meltdown and some of us are shouting, It’s About Damn Time. There they were until last week, floating along on a little fluffy cloud of bland, but at least in control of it. Ramiz Raja was in charge, Babar Azam was in charge, the PCB’s social media, where everything – even a historic 3-0 whitewash – was always so positive and upbeat, was in charge.Five days later Shahid Afridi is the chief selector. SHAHID AFRIDI IS THE CHIEF SELECTOR! That’s never not going to take getting used to. A coup’s been staged against Ramiz, and the new guys – who are really the old guys – cut some cake as the first order of business. Babar’s team-mates suddenly are having to tweet their support to him. Nobody’s doing the same for Saqlain Mushtaq, so he is going to go soon. The chief selector is already gone. People are talking about Mohammad Rizwan’s place in the Test side.The fast-bowling cupboard is Shaheen Shah Afridi. That’s it. The domestic system is about to be completely ripped apart. Again. Also, Shahid Afridi is the chief selector and he’s saying straight-laced things like: “We had a good discussion on the squad and agreed we needed to strengthen our bowling department to give ourselves the best chance of taking 20 wickets in a match.”What all of it means for the immediate future of the two Tests these two now play, your guess is as good as anyone’s. Pakistan are hurting, heaving with change. New Zealand are being New Zealand and for added inscrutability haven’t played a Test in yonks. Both are coming off four consecutive losses. At a pinch, let’s say it shouldn’t be boring.

Form guide

Pakistan LLLLW (last five Tests, most recent first)
New Zealand LLLLW

In the spotlight

Mohammad Rizwan is not having a great year. Suddenly, one of the first names on Pakistan’s team sheet is no longer necessarily that, not with a new selection committee in place. His T20I partnership with Babar has come under increasing scrutiny. In Tests, there are calls for the return of Sarfaraz Ahmed to replace him. It’s a little unfair. His glovework may be a little theatrical, but he’s still safer than any of his modern predecessors. He is averaging 30 this year with bat, which isn’t great but isn’t diabolical either. It’s not a string of low scores either, but a series of unconverted starts. Safe to say though that he – and Pakistan’s batting – could really do with him converting one of them.In Asia, Tim Southee has picked up 48 wickets at an average of 25.47•AFP/Getty Images

Suddenly, everyone’s a fast-bowling captain. This summer in England Tim Southee looked cooked, though, in hindsight, that was probably more England’s batting than his bowling. Now, six months later he is New Zealand’s new Test captain, ready to bowl in a continent where he has an exemplary record. Only last year he was putting on a masterclass in Kanpur but this time, he’ll be without his long-time partner-in-swing, Trent Boult. How he goes with ball in hand, and command on the field, will determine how this series goes for the tourists.

Team news

Pakistan had a squad. Then the PCB was overhauled. And three new players were added to the party. Now, as far as Babar is concerned, “We will have a discussion with the selectors; then we will decide the final XI”.Pakistan (probable): 1 Imam-ul-Haq, 2 Abdullah Shafique, 3 Shan Masood, 4 Babar Azam (capt), 5 Saud Shakeel, 6 Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), 7 Agha Salman, 8 Sajid Khan, 9 Abrar Ahmed, 10 Mir Hamza, 11 Naseem ShahNew Zealand are likely to bolster their spin attack with Ajaz Patel coming in. Trent Boult, of course, is not available.New Zealand (probable): 1 Tom Latham, 2 Will Young, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Devon Conway, 5 Henry Nicholls, 6 Daryl Mitchell, 7 Tom Blundell (wk), 8 Michael Bracewell, 9 Tim Southee (capt), 10 Neil Wagner, 11 Ajaz Patel

Pitch and conditions

The Karachi pitch for the recent Test against England was slow and low, but not necessarily uneven in contest for it. It’s most likely, given the swift turnaround time, to behave similarly. But who knows, with a new administration in town, it may liven up a little. Babar expects it to “change each day, day by day things get different”.

Stats and trivia

• Pakistan used to love playing New Zealand but since 2011 have only won 3 of their 12 Tests against them and lost seven.
• 60.40 > 54.77: Babar’s average against Kane Williamson’s since October 2019 (just before Babar’s breakthrough Test series against Australia). A little more surprisingly, he has played ten Tests more than his counterpart in the same period.
• 71.22 – Daryl Mitchell’s average this year is the third-highest of any batter with at least five Tests.

Quotes

“Yes, we could not play the last series the way we wanted to, because we committed mistakes. Now we need to overcome that and try to play good cricket.”

Touted for Test selection by Ricky Ponting, West Australian allrounder Aaron Hardie looms as a multi-format star in the making after continuing a superb BBL season.Hardie’s imperious form since being promoted to No. 3 has been a key factor in Perth Scorchers making yet another run at the title.The 24-year-old again starred in Wednesday night’s seven-wicket win over Hobart Hurricanes at Optus Stadium, plundering an unbeaten 90 off 62 balls as the Scorchers easily chased their target of 147.Four-time champions Scorchers sit atop the BBL ladder with two games remaining and have lost just once at their home fortress.Related

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Hardie has scored four half-centuries since being elevated to first-drop to replace the injured Mitchell Marsh, who noted during the broadcast he might have to consider handing over the No. 3 slot for good.The young gun has shown an ability to adapt his game across formats, having scored a remarkable 174 not out in last season’s drawn Sheffield Shield final to secure WA the title.All-time great Ponting floated Hardie as a bolter for the Sydney Test against South Africa, and the towering right-hander who averages 45 with the bat in first-class cricket seems destined for higher honours.That could include the IPL, with fellow West Australian fast-bowling allrounder Cameron Green recently sold at auction for $3.15 million – a record price for an Australian player.Hardie did not nominate this season and is believed to be considering a return to county cricket which could place him in the sights of national selectors ahead of the Ashes series.”I’ve put my name in the draft before but didn’t put my name in this year for various reasons,” Hardie told reporters after Wednesday night’s game. “Obviously if you put a number like that on the end of it, it’s silly to say no.”I don’t really want to pigeonhole myself into any sort of format. Just being able to contribute in all the games possible. That allrounder role takes its toll on the body in four-day cricket but I also love that challenge…I’m enjoying playing all three while I can.”Hardie has not bowled in the BBL since straining his groin earlier this season but said he was ready if needed, although that may be unlikely given the Scorchers’ enviable depth.Lance Morris snared 2 for 21 against the Hurricanes after being named in Australia’s squad to tour India next month. Fellow quick Jhye Richardson is expected to return from a hamstring injury in time for the finals.

Sometimes crash, bang, wallop is fun. It is the principle on which T20 cricket was founded on (look away, haters) and it came to the fore in an entertaining bout that Islamabad United took by a mere two wickets. Faheem Ashraf produced a powerhouse performance, capped by his hitting three fours and a six in the final over to complete the second-highest chase in PSL history.Multan Sultans would’ve been confident after putting up a total of 205, but they’ll now be thinking back to their own last over which went for zero boundaries but cost two wickets. Until those incredible six balls, yorker specialist Mohammad Wasim had leaked 42 runs. He had to deal with a rampaging Tim David, who was on 60 off 27. Still, he backed himself, went for the blockhole and not only took out Sultans’ biggest hitter, but he also accounted for David Miller off the last ball of the innings.United do this a lot. They are pure T20, led by an allrounder who loves his data and fuelled by batters who give no room for second thought. They lost eight wickets through the course of this chase. They were 32 for 2, 99 for 4 and 159 for 7. But the longest they went without hitting a boundary after each of those dismissals was seven balls. And as penance for that, they hit the eighth and ninth for fours. United kept coming. They kept coming and coming and coming.Colin Munro fixed a top-order wobble with 40 off 21. Usama Mir took him out. Shadab Khan regained the momentum with 44 off 25. Ihsanullah demolished his stumps. Ashraf popped up and with 18 needed off six balls, he went 4, 6, 2, 4, 4. The six in that sequence was a wide yorker that went over deep third, after the left-hander had originally intended to paddle sweep the ball. It was bonkers.Until those final few moments, it felt like Sultans’ game. Shan Masood put on 75 at the top of the order, only he didn’t hit a single six. David came in at No. 4 and compensated for that with a vengeance, clattering four of them off back-to-back balls in a 16th over from Rumman Raees that cost 30 runs. But just as it started to look really bleak, United snuck in an eight-run 19th over from Fazalhaq Farooqi and a six-run 20th over from Wasim and that turned out to be the difference.

David Warner would like to see the World Test Championship (WTC) final played as a three-Test series instead of a one-off game.Australia take on India at The Oval from June 7, the first step in a big six months for them as they challenge for the Test title, the Ashes and then the ODI World Cup. Warner has played in World Cup finals before – has won them too – but is looking forward to a first five-day title.”I think it’s great,” he said ahead of a training session in Beckenham. “I have been – I won’t say critical – but I do think it should be at least a three-game series with Test cricket only. You play two years of good cricket, then you play on a neutral venue against an opposition. We’ve all played here before but [this game is] not against the same [host] nation.Related

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“It’s a great reward for the two best teams. Two world-class bowling attacks bowling with a Dukes ball on foreign land. It’s great and we’re excited for that.”Given an increasingly cramped calendar and the demands on a schedule a three-Test series will make on any host nation, it is unlikely Warner’s wish will become reality anytime soon. Speaking last week, the ICC’s general manager cricket, Wasim Khan said that though there is constant review of the structure, the current feedback from members was that the league and one-off final was “continuing to work as it is”.Members have committed to the league and final for the next eight-year cycle.

Warner cops blow on elbow but he’s good to go

Warner should be fine to play in the final, despite taking another hit to his left elbow in nets a couple of days ago. It hit him on the same spot as the Mohammed Siraj delivery in the second innings of the Delhi Test earlier this year. That blow resulted in a hairline fracture which ruled him out of the remaining two Tests of the series.”It was sore, it got me right on the same point from a different angle,” he said. “It went numb, had to get it strapped. It’s fine now, a little bit sore. Luckily it didn’t hit me on top.”The last one hit from above and had a hairline fracture. This one was a straight blow on the corner of the elbow which was quite sore. Just one of those things, you get hit, you get hit, can’t do anything about it.”Warner goes into the final with questions around his Test form. He averages 26 since the start of 2022 but said he’d been batting in the nets better than he ever remembers.”I remember 2013, I was in the nets and copping it left, right and centre in the media about getting bowled by Mitchell Starc and all the other guys and how I wasn’t in form in the nets. I found that a bit bizarre because I’m probably one of the worst netters going around. But here, I’ve actually been superb, in terms of how my feet have been moving. My energy’s been moving, I’ve been up and about. I’m probably batting better than I ever have in the nets.”David Warner gets cracking as Australia get ready for the WTC final•ICC via Getty Images

With a Test underway at Lord’s already and the Ashes to start in just under two weeks, the WTC final – in England but without England – has had to fight a little for its share of the attention. Warner, at least, was clear about his immediate priorities: Stuart Broad later, Mohammed Shami and Co for now.”I haven’t really worked on that [plans for Broad] yet,” he said. “I’m concentrating on the WTC final. Mohammed Shami and [Mohammed] Siraj and Shardul Thakur is what’s on my mind first. That’s what important to us right now, then I’ll switch on and worry about Stuart Broad if they select him for the first Test this time.””We’ve played some outstanding cricket over the last 18-24 months. We know what India will bring to the table. It’s a great neutral venue, two world-class bowling attacks with a Dukes ball and from a batter’s perspective, I can’t wait to get out there.”