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Half-century stands for the first two wickets, Naman Ojha leading them both, helped Madhya Pradesh hold off Railways for a last-over victory at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.MP’s chase of 156 began with a 61-run opening stand between Ojha and and 22-year-old debutant MS Raghav (32 off 16, with seven fours). Ojha then put on 50 for the second wicket with Harpreet Singh (26) and it seemed like MP would cruise. Railways, however, hit back with four wickets for 24 runs, including Ojha’s for 54, to set up a tense finale. It took a timely cameo from Sohraab Dhaliwal at No. 7 (16* off 9) to take MP over the line with one ball and five wickets to spare.That left Mahesh Rawat on the losing side after he had cracked a 38-ball 63 with nine fours and a six. His innings was built on the foundation provided by a 53-run stand for the second wicket between Ashish Singh (32 off 23) and Faiz Ahmed (40 off 42). Despite their batting order banding together, though, Railways couldn’t put up a strong enough score.File photo – Sarfaraz Khan hit an unbeaten 31-ball 52 as UP defeated Chhattisgarh by eight wickets•BCCI

Chattisgarh made a bright start to their first T20 match, with a century stand for the second wicket, but it did not suffice as they ended up losing to Uttar Pradesh. After electing to bat, Chhattisgarh captain Mohammad Kaif was dismissed for a second-ball duck. Abhimanyu Chauhan (56 off 54) and Amandeep Khare (72 off 50) then put on 113 for the second wicket to lift them to 157 for 5. Medium-pacer Amit Mishra took 2 for 27 for UP. In their chase, UP got off to a solid start and were 70 for 2 in the tenth over when Sarfaraz Khan (52* off 31) joined Akshdeep Nath (58* off 45) to put on an unbroken 92 off 59 balls that took UP to an eight-wicket win.

Lowest match total for two all-out innings in India. Quickest end to two all-out innings in India. India’s fourth-lowest match total. The third-quickest they have taken to be bowled out. If India asked for this pitch, they have been hoisted by their own petard. India’s captain Virat Kohli, though, insisted that he had not asked for this pitch, saw nothing wrong with the pitch, and pulled himself and his fellow batsmen up for capitulating for a total of 212 runs in 74 overs.Asked if he or his team had asked for this pitch at a ground with a reputation for flat hard surfaces, Kohli said: “I don’t know. I didn’t speak to anyone.”About the pitch itself Kohli said: “I don’t think it was any different from the turners that we played on in the past. We just didn’t play good cricket. You can ask me any sort of question or any perception about the loss. We know exactly what happened, the mistakes that we made. External perceptions don’t matter to us, they have never mattered to us.”We played good cricket, that’s why we won. We played bad cricket, and that’s why we lost. That’s how simply we look at this defeat. We just want to take the learnings forward, improve and come back stronger in the next game. I can assure you that we are going to come back with more intent for sure, and put Australia under pressure straight from ball one.”Once the pitch was laid out, India had the option of strengthening the batting like they did on a similar pitch in Nagpur against South Africa. Kohli defended the selection. “We wanted to pick up 20 wickets, we did manage to do that,” Kohli said. “I mean, not in time. I would say we did make breakthroughs but we could’ve done it quicker and if you don’t grab your chances in the second innings, if you drop five chances of one batsman, then you certainly don’t deserve to win. If you get bowled out within 11 runs and lose seven wickets, you don’t deserve to win a Test match.”You can speak about combinations… I’m sure you wouldn’t have asked this question had we won the game. The question changes drastically when you win or lose. A lot of things are result-oriented, but not with our team. We focus on what we can do right, and what we need to do right on field, and we don’t drift away from that. Our mindset doesn’t change with the results.”Kohli said Indian saw the defeat as “no big deal”. “It’s fine,” Kohli said of the mood in the dressing room. “It’s just another international game. It’s no big deal. It’s how you should stay calm and composed when you win, how you shouldn’t get overexcited. The same way you react when you lose, something that you take on the chin. We take failures and losses as an opportunity to learn.”The defeat ended India’s 19-Test unbeaten streak, and Kohli looked back to their previous defeat for inspiration. “The last time we had a performance like this [in Galle, against Sri Lanka], we had the most outstanding run after that,” Kohli said. “I would say that we needed something like this for us to get a reality check and understand what are the things we need to work on and keep persisting with it. Not take anything for granted at any stage, especially at the Test-match level.”Kohli blamed his batsmen for not applying themselves, but defended his bowlers, who were outdone by Australia who had little experience of bowling in such conditions. “The way we batted in the first innings, I think we put ourselves under a lot of pressure to be honest,” Kohli said. “Conceding a 160-run lead on that kind of wicket is criminal actually. If we were close enough to their first-innings total, the bowlers’ mindset is different in the second innings. The moment you give away 50-60 runs, the game is drifting away already.”It’s very difficult to pull things back from there, even a single run hurts from thereon. And I would say our batsmen put us in that position where it was very difficult for us to come back into the game. Am not blaming the bowlers at all, they tried their level best, someone like Umesh [Yadav] bowling well in the first innings was great to see on a slowish wicket. They bowled in good areas, they put Australia under pressure, they were going well in the first innings and we pulled things back nicely. A few things we can take away from this game but [only] from bowling aspect. Our batting wasn’t up to standard, and that’s certainly how we shouldn’t bat from here onwards.’When asked what the Australia spinners did right in comparison to India’s, Kohli found no flaw with his unit. “I think our spinners bowled really well as well,” he said. “I wouldn’t say what they did better. As I said, if you don’t apply yourself, any bowling attack can look dangerous. It’s as simple as that. Even a part-timer can get four wickets if you don’t apply yourself. And I certainly would like to think that that was the case with our batting line-up in this game. It rarely happens that four-five batsmen make errors in judgement in both the innings, especially with the way we batted in the last few months. I would say this was our worst batting performance and we need to accept that.”One of the errors was Kohli’s, when he shouldered arms to become one of Steve O’Keefe’s 12 wickets in the match. This image was the most symbolic of all. Ravindra Jadeja had done this to Steven Smith in Delhi in 2012-13, and to Hashim Amla in Mohali in 2015-16. Now Kohli watched in horror as his off stump was laid flat. Kohli was forthcoming about his mistake.”It was a judgement error from my side,” he said. “I left the ball too early. I should have waited for the ball a little more. You can’t say which ball is going to turn or which isn’t. You’ve got to play the line, and I certainly didn’t do that. It was my fault.”

Michael Yardy, who ended a long professional career in 2015 after an eight-year battle with mental illness, has rejoined Sussex as the club’s first full-time batting coach.Yardy has been credited with improvements among Sussex’s young batsmen and has encouraged hopes that he can help reinvigorate a production line of players that has been unproductive in recent years.As one of the most popular figures on the county circuit, even as his illness began to bite, his return with fresh ambitions is bound to be met with pleasure.Yardy, who spent 16 years as a player at Sussex after coming through the academy, is currently in the final year of a sports psychology degree at Chichester University and has previous coaching experience at Hurstpierpoint College and, last season, with Sussex’s Under-17 side.He said: “Having spent the whole of my playing career at Sussex it was always going to be exciting to come back and help this talented team push forward. The time away has allowed me to focus on other areas which I believe will allow me to offer something different to what is already a strong coaching staff.”Yardy won 42 caps for England and was part of the triumphant team at the World Twenty20 in 2010, only for his England career to end abruptly when he left the World Cup squad in Colombo the following year with depression. He fought back to prove himself one of the most enduring figures in Sussex’s history.He told in his autobiography – – how he felt like “zombie” in practice sessions and how, in a club season in Australia in 2008, his obsessive security checks involved “ramming chairs and tables against bolted doors” to keep out potential intruders.Keith Greenfield, Sussex’s director of cricket, said: “Since Michael returned to the club at the start of last summer with our Under-17s it has been clear the impact he has had on our young batsmen. At the start of the winter, he worked with our batsmen on the professional staff on a part-time basis and again it has been clear that his skills are making a significant difference to our players.”To have him now with us full-time in our environment will be fantastic for all of us, and the psychology degree that Michael has studied in his time away from the club is also hugely important when dealing with elite players who need to deliver high quality skill and decision making under extreme pressure.”Sussex appointed Murray Goodwin as their first dedicated batting coach on a short-term basis last season but the former Zimbabwe international left Hove early in the summer to return to Australia.

India captain Virat Kohli has said he will play the fourth and deciding Test against Australia in Dharamsala only if 100% fit. Kohli, who suffered a shoulder injury during the third Test in Ranchi, said he would undergo another fitness test and take a call either on Friday night or on Saturday morning, the first day of the Test.On Thursday, India had called up Mumbai batsman Shreyas Iyer to the squad as cover for Kohli. Iyer arrived at the ground on Friday morning, during India’s warm-ups, and batted in the nets too. Kohli – as on Thursday – did not bat in the nets, restricting himself to facing a few throwdowns.”It’s very different from competition, that’s one thing,” Kohli said, when asked how his shoulder had felt while batting. “Something that I experienced in Ranchi, when you have reactive movements, the magnitude of your injury comes out.”Physio wants to give it a bit more time till I can test myself, and probably we will take a call later tonight or tomorrow before the game. We will have to give it that much time more to make a call with the physiotherapist.”Kohli said the injury hampered his normal range of movement, and that he ran the risk of aggravating it while fielding, though not while batting.”I wouldn’t say it is a normal feeling [in the shoulder],” he said. “It is obviously different from how you play at 100% fitness. As a batsman, you want to prepare a certain way. As a fielder, you want to contribute a certain way.”Certainly, at this stage, the injury has an element of being aggravated in the field. While batting, there is no problem whatsoever of it getting aggravated. I have taken medication after the last game, so I am just hoping that it takes me [only] a bit more time to get back to the normal movements that I have. As I said, I have to give it a few more hours and take that call.”As captain, Kohli said it would be difficult for him to miss the match, but he could do nothing but wait and hope.”Of course you want to push yourself to be fit. But at times, you have to understand where your body stands as well,” he said. “It’s not an injury caused because of lack of fitness. It’s an impact injury and all those things need to be kept in mind. But as a player, as a captain obviously, you want to push yourself to take the field, if you can help the team’s cause.”With the series 1-1 going into the final Test, Dharamsala shapes up to be one of India’s most important matches in recent times, and a difficult one for India to negotiate without their captain. Kohli, however, said they had the resources to cope if he couldn’t play.”Every match is crucial for me. It’s no different, it’s a game of cricket,” he said. “It can be made out to be a certain way, saying it’s the most crucial game of my career or captaincy career, but I won’t put it that way. I don’t see any other game or any other opposition differently.”Everyone’s really proud and motivated to play for the country, and me playing or not playing shouldn’t make so much of a difference to the other ten guys because they have a responsibility to fulfil as well.”I’ve not done anything special so far [in the series], but still the guys have fought it out and that shows why we are the number one team in the world. We have quality players who want to step up given these kinds of opportunities and you know, if that scenario happens, I’m sure everyone’s looking at it as probably the game-changing game of their lives. It’s how you look at a particular situation. So everyone’s looking very optimistic for tomorrow’s game regardless.”Conditions in Dharamsala, given its altitude and weather, are expected to favour the quicker bowlers more than they have done at any of the other three venues during this series. Kohli expected the pitch to bring all facets of the game into play.”I think it is a very good cricket wicket,” he said. “It has always been very good for the batsmen to get in and get value for their shots. And the bowlers as well, there is good bounce for the spinners, there is obviously good pace off the wicket for the quicks as well. If you do any discipline well, you can reap rewards on this kind of wicket. And the ball travels in the air also.”I think it’s an opportunity for bat and ball both to dominate in different situations in the game. It will certainly test the players to the fullest, but as I said it is a very good cricketing wicket and good cricket should be on display on this wicket.”The series is level 1-1 after Australia won the first Test in Pune, India the second in Bangalore, and the third was drawn in Ranchi.

ScorecardPeter Handscomb scored his maiden List A hundred•Getty Images

Peter Handscomb’s maiden List A century fired Yorkshire to a 15-run Royal London One-Day Cup win over Derbyshire at Headingley.The Australia batsman continued his excellent form in 50-over cricket this season with 140 off 112 balls as Yorkshire amassed 349 for 7. In reply, Wayne Madsen hit 112 off 104 but it was not enough as spirited Derbyshire made 334 for 8, although they never looked like winning.Yorkshire’s fourth victory in five matches fired them back to the top of the North Group. It was Yorkshire’s highest List A score at Headingley – beating the 335 for 5 they posted against Durham last week – and the biggest total Derbyshire had ever conceded.The signs were there almost immediately that Yorkshire were on for a huge score, despite losing the toss. Opener Alex Lees pulled his first ball for six off Ben Cotton in the second over, with Yorkshire reaching the 10-over mark at 79 for 2.Handscomb shared partnerships of 81 for the third wicket with Jack Leaning and 156 inside 21 overs for the fourth wicket with captain Gary Ballance, who hit 63 off 56. Handscomb has now posted at least 40 in each of his five innings in the competition and is the leading run-scorer with 407.He was dropped on 135 at deep cover before becoming one of four wickets to fall inside the last six overs of the innings. Handscomb was stumped off Sri Lanka legspinner Jeevan Mendis, who also got Ballance on the way to 2 for 59 from 10 overs.Derbyshire then lost captain Billy Godleman and Shiv Thakor inside the first eight overs of their chase. Godleman was caught at second slip off Tim Bresnan before Thakor was bowled by Ben Coad as the score slipped to 31 for two.Ben Slater hit two fours and a pulled six off allrounder Matthew Waite’s seamers in the 16th over. But Waite got his revenge towards the end of the same over when he forced the left-hander to play on for 43.When Matthew Fisher had Alex Hughes caught behind in the next, the game was pretty much up for the visitors at 87 for 4.Derbyshire’s fifth wicket was that of Mendis when, in the 25th over, he swept left-arm spinner Karl Carver’s fourth ball to deep midwicket. From there, the match drifted as Madsen managed to delay Yorkshire with some eye-catching strokeplay, most of which came after he had reached his fifty. He reverse swept Carver for six and four in the 33rd over during a 117-run stand with Daryn Smit.Madsen reached three figures off 96 balls as the score moved to 233 for 5 with 10 overs left, with the visitors needing 117 more. He fell shortly afterwards as Coad struck twice in the 43rd over, with Madsen miscuing to cover and Luis Reece to mid-on to leave the visitors 246 for 7.Matt Critchley hit 49 off 21 balls to make the game look closer before becoming Coad’s fourth victim in the last over, with Smit finishing unbeaten on 77.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsGulbadin Naib scored 51 and took two wickets•AFP

Stung by their 63-run defeat in the first ODI, West Indies hit back via their fast bowlers, who exposed Afghanistan’s frailties against the short ball as they slid to 135 all out. West Indies’ batting, though, isn’t without frailties of its own, and Rashid Khan, responsible for bowling them out for 149 on Friday, caused yet another serious wobble with his zippy, stump-to-stump legbreaks and googlies. Afghanistan’s total, though, proved a fair way short of matchwinning as Shai Hope held a shaky chase together and steered West Indies to a series-levelling four-wicket win.Afghanistan could perhaps have pushed West Indies even closer with more aggressive tactics. Asghar Stanikzai, their captain, only brought Rashid on in the seventh over, by which time Evin Lewis and Kieran Powell had already knocked 37 off the target.Rashid struck in his first over, getting Powell to nick a googly to slip, and went around the wicket in his third over to trap Lewis lbw with another perfectly pitched wrong ‘un. This was high-quality bowling, and West Indies’ batsmen, unsure of which way the ball would turn, were stabbing nervously at him with leaden feet. Stanikzai, though, took Rashid off the attack after only a five-over spell.Gulbadin Naib, who had already made a sizeable contribution by scoring his third ODI fifty, then brought Afghanistan more cheer with his medium-pace, dismissing Jonathan Carter – who showed poor judgment while cutting – and Jason Mohammed – who failed to keep a cut down – in his first three overs.With West Indies four down, Stanikzai brought Rashid back after only two overs from Amir Hamza. Hope and Roston Chase played out the legspinner’s sixth and seventh overs, but he struck again with the last ball of his eighth, flighting it wide of off stump and inviting the drive. Dip deceived Chase into reaching for the ball, turn made him miss it, and all of that unbalanced him enough to drag him out of his crease. Afsar Zazai’s lightning hands did the rest behind the stumps.By then, though, West Indies only needed 38, and only needed one reasonable partnership. Hope and Rovman Powell provided that, and Jason Holder applied the necessary touch of urgency at the finish.Apart from Naib’s 51, there was little to cheer for Afghanistan when they batted, and their batsmen played no role in West Indies’ only real moments of concern, with Shannon Gabriel and Alzarri Joseph spending brief spells off the field nursing injuries. Gabriel walked off four legal balls into his sixth over, clutching his left side, while Joseph hurt his ankle while stumbling over the advertising hoardings in a failed attempt to flick a hook from Rashid back into play.Having chosen to bat once again, Afghanistan made a cautious start – Noor Ali Zadran shouldered arms to every ball of the sixth over, bowled by Holder – and moved to 21 for 0 in seven overs before the short ball found its first victim. Holder got one to lift towards Noor’s helmet, and the batsman, fending awkwardly, popped back a return catch.A mix-up at the end of the same over, which left Ahmadi and Rahmat Shah stranded at the same end, was quickly followed by Rahmat top-edging a hook off Gabriel to the fielder at long leg. Afghanistan had lost three wickets in 11 balls. Gabriel struck again in his next over, this time with a fuller length, the umpire ruling Samiullah Shenwari out lbw even though the ball seemed to be slanting down the leg side.West Indies introduced Alzarri Joseph in the 13th over, and he immediately set about peppering Stanikzai and Nabi with bouncers. Neither survived the test. Stanikzai was unlucky to receive the ball of the innings, angled in wickedly and rising head-high while giving him no time to react.Naib, expecting another short ball first up, ducked at what turned out to be a good-length delivery outside off. Exceedingly nervy at the start of his innings, he calmed down as Joseph, bowling a six-over spell, lost some of his sting, and West Indies called upon the offspin of Ashley Nurse and the gentle medium-pace of Rovman Powell.Naib grew comfortable enough to launch a rare full ball from Joseph over the long-on boundary, but that aside, runs came in a trickle. Zazai crawled to 9 off 33 before stepping out and nicking Roston Chase to slip. Then Rashid, having top-edged a hook over deep backward square leg, fell trying a similar shot next ball, only managing a nick to the keeper.Naib, looking to farm the strike, began finding the straight boundary with greater frequency, but couldn’t keep the tail away from the strike entirely. Dawlat Zadran slogged Nurse to deep midwicket, and a couple of overs later Naib, having just reached his fifty, gave Nurse his second wicket, holing out to long-off.

Match Facts

Sunday, July 9, 2017
Start time 1030 local (1530 GMT)1:38

Will India field Rishabh Pant?

Big Picture

Chris Gayle. Sunil Narine. Kieron Pollard. Samuel Badree. With all due respect to the players who managed to win one ODI and also the circumstances of West Indies cricket, now we are talking. With all due respect to the earnestness of Jason Holder and his boys in the longer formats, this is West Indies’ best format. There’s only of these games, and that too at 10.30am on a Sunday for the obvious reasons of meeting India’s television prime time, but this promises to be the most evenly matched contest of India’s tour of the West Indies.Anything close to what these sides dished out the last time they met – 245 v 244 – in Florida last year will be blockbuster. West Indies will be missing Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell from that line-up, but will welcome back Gayle, in his hometown. For India, it’s as if nothing changes. West Indies retain only four members of their ODI squad for this T20I; India usually don’t name a different squad. The look of their T20 side is pretty much the same since the last year.The look of the contest will be similar too: West Indies’ power, with one hitter following another, against India’s touch batsmen and an attack that will rely on spin to take wickets in the middle.

Form guide

West Indies WWWLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
India WWLLW

In the spotlight

The last time Evin Lewis played a T20 against India he smacked a 49-ball 100. In the whole ODI series, he has scored 67 runs, at a strike rate of 54.91. The difference of 60 points between his T20I and ODI strike rates – 137 and 77 – has to be one of the biggest. Back in his preferred format, he will look for some redemption.The ODI batsmen found Kuldeep Yadav hard to pick, scoring only four an over against him. India will look to control the game in the middle through him or perhaps pull the shutters down if West Indies get off to a quick start.

Team news

Now that Gayle is back, he has to open. That pushes down Chadwick Walton to the slot vacated by Lendl Simmons.West Indies (probable): 1 Evin Lewis, 2 Chris Gayle, 3 Marlon Samuels, 4 Jason Mohammed, 5 Chadwick Walton (wk), 6 Kieron Pollard/ Rovman Powell, 7 Carlos Brathwaite (capt.), 8 Sunil Narine, 9 Jerome Taylor, 10 Samuel Bardee, 11 Kesrick WilliamsIf Virat Kohli keeps opening for India, that might mean an exit for Ajinkya Rahane, but if Yuvraj Singh is not fit, India might stick with Rahane. This could be the time Rishabh Pant finally gets a game too. R Ashwin has been in better bowling form than Ravindra Jadeja, but the latter’s fielding will make the second spinner’s slot an interesting debate.India (probable): 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Virat Kohli (capt.), 3 Yuvraj Singh, 4 Rishabh Pant, 5 MS Dhoni (wk), 6 Kedar Jadhav/Dinesh Karthik, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Kuldeep Yadav, 9 Ravindra Jadeja/R Ashwin, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar/Mohammed Shami, 11 Umesh Yadav

Pitch and conditions

Unlike in the earlier ODIs, the ball came on to the bat in the last match, played at the same venue. This could be a high-scorer.

Stats and trivia

• Sunil Narine is two short of becoming the third West Indies bowler – behind Dwayne Bravo and Samuel Badree – with 50 T20I wickets. He has bowled only seven T20I overs against India, for 70 runs and no wickets.
• Among those who have sent down a minimum of 25 overs inside the Powerplay, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Samuel Badree are the sixth- and eighth-most economical bowlers with rates of 5.68 and 5.75. Newcomer Kesrick Williams has now bowled 10 overs in the Powerplay for just three runs an over.
• Head to head, West Indies lead India 4-2 after seven matches.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsGraeme Cremer bowled 32 of Zimbabwe’s 80 overs on the second day at Khettarama•AFP

Graeme Cremer spun them hard and his team-mates stretched, dived and hunted balls down in the field so splendidly that, at the end of the second day in Colombo, Zimbabwe finished with a good chance of taking a first-innings lead – Sri Lanka seven down, and still 63 runs behind.Where Craig Ervine held Zimbabwe’s innings of 356 together, Cremer performed a similar role with the ball. Thirty of Zimbabwe’s 82 overs were his, and rarely did batsmen appear to have his measure.The legspinner found increasing assistance from the surface, beat the edge regularly through the second half of the day, and brought himself on to break the hosts’ rhythm whenever they appeared comfortable at the crease. Figures of 3 for 100 do not flatter the impact he had on the day.Sri Lanka, meanwhile, will rue two mini-collapses: the first just after lunch, which cost them their top three for 32 runs, and the second soon after tea, in which three further wickets fell for 26. This, after the openers had begun with such confidence. Upul Tharanga was regal at the top, racing to 26 off his first 14 balls, his delectably timed drives piercing the tight infield. He and Dimuth Karunaratne put on 84 for the first wicket, before that first stumble took place.Sri Lanka will regret their batsmen not having gone on to triple figures, and Tharanga will regret it most. He was perfectly at ease during virtually the whole of his 71, and was only dismissed because of a little carelessness while backing up at the non-striker’s end. The last wicket of the day – Dilruwan Perera’s – was also a run-out, and again it was of a batsman who had begun to get the better of the bowling.The tide began turning thanks to Zimbabwe poking holes in the hosts’ middle order. Barring a 96-run stand for the fourth-wicket between Dinesh Chandimal – who scored the only other half-century of the innings – and Angelo Mathews, there weren’t very many contributions. And as a result, Sri Lanka were left relying on Asela Gunaratne, struggling with a hamstring injury he picked up in the field, to take them closer to parity.It had been a loose Karunaratne shot that had set Sri Lanka’s first slide in motion. Having played cautiously through the morning session, he attempted to cut a ball angled into him by Donald Tiripano, and sent a thick edge to slip, where Hamilton Masakadza held the sharp chance.His confidence bolstered by that breakthrough, Tiripano stacked the offside infield, and delivered a disciplined spell, in which he dared the batsmen to take risks. There were no further wickets for him, but at the other end, Kusal Mendis nicked a bouncing, turning delivery from Cremer, which he perhaps did not need to play at. Mendis has often been jumpy at the start of his innings, and this knock was no different. In 15 balls at the crease, he attempted several pull shots and often found the fielders.The ever reliable Rangana Herath bagged his 30th Test five-for. But his batsmen couldn’t back him up well enough•Associated Press

Tharanga, meanwhile, who could not have looked more natural plundering the seamers and advancing down the pitch at the spinners, was the victim both of his own carelessness and a little bad luck. When Chandimal drove Tiripano straight, the bowler managed to get fingertips to the ball, which then clattered into the stumps at the non-striker’s end. Tharanga had not bothered to keep his bat in the crease, using it to lean on instead. His boot was on the crease, but not behind it.Cremer was the protagonist in the next big Sri Lanka stutter. The pitch had begun to sing for him in the second half of the second session, and switching ends after tea, he bowled himself into a fresh rhythm. Chandimal reached his half-century by then, but Cremer, ripping the ball more with each passing over, got it to dip and turn sharply. It flicked the shoulder of Chandimal’s bat and wicketkeeper Regis Chakabva picked up his second difficult catch of the day.Four overs later, another big turner from Cremer made a further dent in Sri Lanka’s innings – Niroshan Dickwella fell unable to handle one that pounced at him off a length. The well-set Mathews was the next to depart. Attempting to paddle-sweep Sean Williams against the turn, he offered only a top-edge to the legside, which Masakadza – running back from slip – snaffled up with a full-length dive.Sri Lanka were now on 238 for 6 and Dilruwan, having been promoted to No. 7 as a result of Gunaratne’s niggle, took on the responsibility of pushing the innings forward. He did so by taking calculated risks against the spinners – hitting Sikander Raza and Williams for one six apiece – but just as his partnership with Gunaratne, who came in at No. 8, began to look good, Zimbabwe managed to break it.Gunaratne cut a ball forward of point, and set off for the run. Dilruwan, however, was late to respond, and by the time a diving Tarisai Musakanda made the stop, flicked the ball to Malcolm Waller at cover in one smooth motion, and Waller then found Chakabva behind the stumps, Perera was caught short by at least a metre. It was a spectacular piece of fielding.Rangana Herath played a customary slog sweep to make the final runs of the day, but thanks to a doughty Zimbabwe performance, and Sri Lanka’s sloppy running, the hosts will begin day three in a precarious position.Early in the day, Sri Lanka had opened the bowling with Lahiru Kumara – the wilder, but more aggressive seam option in their team – and, thanks in part to the early pressure he created, Zimbabwe’s two remaining wickets cost only 12 runs.It was Herath, however, who made the first breakthrough. Tiripano attempted the reverse sweep that had brought him success on the first afternoon, but managed only to send the ball to Karunaratne at slip. That was Herath’s 378th dismissal, taking him past the tallies of Malcolm Marshall and Waqar Younis. He also wrapped up his 30th five-wicket haul, putting him clear at fifth on that all-time list, behind four bona fide greats of the game.

Birmingham Bears went through to their fourth Finals Day after chasing down Surrey’s total of 204 for 5 with four balls and six wickets to spare. It was the highest successful chase in an English T20 knockout match but the milestone played second-fiddle to a blood and thunder quarter-final that will not be forgotten in a hurry.The game had enough going for it: the last place at Final’s Day up for grabs; Dom Sibley returning to the club that a month ago put out an exit statement more “good riddance” than “good luck”; Rikki Clarke looking to show his former county just why he was worth more than the one-year deal they put to him before Surrey backed him with two. Then, in the 14th over of Birmingham’s pursuit of their 205 target, the game was doused in petrol.Colin de Grandhomme and Grant Elliott embrace after victory•Getty Images

Grant Elliott, captain, was leading the way on 46 from 22 balls, his side 147 for 4, when he hit Stuart Meaker high towards square leg where Rory Burns stooped to take what, on first viewing, looked a brilliant catch. In the third over, Burns had dropped Adam Hose on 1 in a similar position and the keeper went on to take 20 off the fifth over. Here was redemption for Burns and a match-turning breakthrough for Surrey.But Elliott stayed put, as batsmen do when catches of such worth are taken so low, and standing umpire Martin Saggers sent it upstairs for the third umpire. As the review went on, the doubts crept in and even as Surrey’s fielders high-fived Burns during the replays on the big screen, you sensed it was more show than certainty. Boos rained down from upon high as “NOT OUT” flashed on the screen. Burns, apoplectic, let the expletives flow. Understandably so. Elliott survived because he held his ground, knowing slow motion replays bring clouds rather than clarity in these situations. Understandably so. Elliot didn’t invent the game – he just rolled the dice.The rage lingered like a toxic haze, amplifying the disapproval when Elliott made it to his half-century at the start of the 16th over. Jade Dernbach, heart now so far up his sleeve that it was in the palm of his hand, conceded 18 off the 17th over. That left Elliott and Colin de Grandhomme 19 to get off the final three overs. Sam Curran’s stones and a brilliant recovery for the first five balls of the penultimate from Dernbach saw nine needed off the final seven.With the final delivery, de Grandhomme struck firmly to Moises Henriques at mid-off. Such was the force, the allrounder could not get his hands to the ball, allowing a single to be taken. And so, with a six and four, de Grandhomme took Birmingham to Finals Day with the first two balls off the final over, delivered by – yep, you guessed it – Rikki Clarke.When Elliott said he was not sure how the pitch was going to play, right after winning the toss and putting Surrey in to bat, he wasn’t joking. How he must have wished he could have that decision back as he watched Jason Roy and Aaron Finch put on 98 off the first 54 balls of the innings.For narrative’s sake, Sibley opened the bowling from the Pavilion End and was taken for 11 by Roy. That set the tone for an eventful Powerplay in which Finch borked one of his Christmas-ham calves, Roy made a punter in the Peter May Stand a grand richer with a towering six over midwicket and Surrey put on 75.With Scott Borthwick out in the middle to do Finch’s running, the Australian focussed solely on trying to hit the white off the ball. While he managed to reach the balcony of the OCS Stand with one of his seven boundaries (eventually dismissed for 39 off 27 balls), it was Roy who was setting the place alight.Roy’s half-century came off 23 balls, with five fours and three sixes – the third tipped over the bar by Sibley at square leg to take him to the milestone. The next 24 runs, off 15, were harder to come by, before Jeetan Patel nabbed him walking across his stumps. As angry as he was to go, he could comfort himself on the walk back with a quick look at the scoreboard: 132 on the board, with 47 deliveries remaining. Two-hundred-and-then-some was on the cards. However, Surrey’s middle order were unable to build effectively on this perfect start. Again.A lack of power in the engine room has long been a problem for Surrey in limited-overs and, here, that translated to just 51, for the loss of three, in the 6.5 overs between Roy’s wicket and the start of the final over. A last over blitz from Ben Foakes – inexplicably batting at No. 7, despite being Surrey’s most reliable middle-order batsman during their Royal London Cup campaign – and Henriques (who finished on 48 from 32) saw 21 runs added to take Surrey to 204 for 5.Birmingham’s chase got off to a brisk start thanks to the outlandish batting of left-hander Ed Pollock who, barring the pale complexion and Boy Band curtains, put on a passable Sanath Jayasuriya impression with some devastating boundaries over square leg. His approach was indicative of a side who knew the value of not wasting balls. Hose followed suit with 36 from 15 and so did Hain (29 from 20) before Elliott and de Grandhomme combined for the final 62.Home comforts of Edgbaston now await Birmingham on September 2 as they look to win the whole thing, as they did in 2014. They will play Glamorgan in their semi-final, with Hampshire taking on Notts Outlaws. The order of games is yet to be determined.

His hauls may be lighter of late, and his pace may have diminished, but Sri Lanka’s acting captain Lasith Malinga remains defiant as ever of criticism, and has no plans to quit. In fact, he wants to continue adding skills to his bowling repertoire.Though Malinga is hardly Sri Lanka’s greatest concern, his figures since returning after a 19-month ODI layoff have not been impressive. He has taken eight wickets in 11 matches, at an average of 63.25. Where once top orders sought to see him off safely and score off the remaining bowlers, he does not inspire fear anymore. In Malinga’s defence, fielders have also dropped eight chances off his bowling. At least half of those were easy catches.”As a bowler, I’ve not been able to get wickets in the last couple of series,” Malinga said. “A lot of people have talked about that. In fact, there has been more talk in the last couple of months than in 14 previous years that I’ve played, but I’m used to that. But whenever someone is coming towards the end of their careers, there is failure. People talk about them not being fit enough, or not picking him.”Although his performances have not quite reflected it, Malinga himself felt he was regaining a little of his old rhythm. There have been glimpses of the old Malinga over the past two months – most recently, he dismissed Shikhar Dhawan with a short ball that jagged sharply back in.”I was out for 19 months, but now I feel I am getting better. Everyone knows how major my leg injuries are. Now that my leg is getting better, I’m doing all the treatment and all the rehabilitation. The fitness also is improving, and now I feel really comfortable to bowl 10 overs – I bowl consistently.”What’s more, he feels there are additions to be made to his game yet. At various points in the series, Malinga has been seen chatting to Zaheer Khan, who is commentating on the matches. They’ve spoken about their old days at Mumbai Indians together, and how Malinga’s body is still holding up, but also about what Malinga could do to regain his wicket-taking ability.”Zak [Zaheer] is more of a seam and swing bowler, and I want to learn more of that kind of thing over the next few years,” Malinga said. “That’s what I talked with him. Every time I have an opportunity, we speak about my bowling action, and how I have to improve. Because guys like him are in the commentary box, they look at every single one of my body movements and my bowling action, and how I swing the ball, and they have a good idea of how I’m going now.”