All posts by n8rngtd.top

The duo helped Bangladesh defend 198 as India went down by 59 runs in Dubai

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Dec-2024Iqbal Hossain Emon and Azizul Hakim bagged three wickets apiece as Bangladesh defended their U-19 Asia Cup title with a comfortable 59-run win against India in Dubai.Chasing 199, India were bowled out for 139 in 35.2 overs, completing a horror Sunday that also saw the men’s Test and women’s ODI sides suffer big defeats.Electing to field, fast bowler Yudhajit Guha cleaned up Bangladesh opener Kalam Siddiki relatively early for 1. Zawad Abrar struck two fours and a six in his 20 but fell to Chetan Sharma caught behind. Guha then struck again getting rid of captain Azizul Hakim with Bangladesh slipping to 66 for 3 in the 19th over.Mohammad Shihab James and Rizan Hossan then stitched a 62-run stand for the fourth wicket to resurrect the Bangladesh innings, but wickets in quick succession wrested any momentum they had built.James departed first on 40 dismissed by Ayush Mhatre in the 32nd over before Debasish Deba fell eight balls later to KP Karthikeya. Raj then bowled Hossan for 47 while Samiun Basir and Al Fahad fell in the space of an over as Bangladesh slipped from 128 for 3 in the 32nd over to 167 for 8 in the 42nd.Wicketkeeper-batter Farid Hasan and Maruf Mridha added a crucial 30-run stand for the ninth wicket before Bangladesh were all out for 198 in the last over.India, however, failed to get going in their chase from the outset. Mhatre departed in the second over bowled by Fahad while 13-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi fell in the fifth after hitting two fours. When C Andre Siddharth became Hossan’s first victim, India found themselves struggling at 44 for 3 in the 12th over.Captain Mohamed Amaan and Karthikeya added a brief 29-run stand for the fourth wicket, but soon Emon ushered a collapse and there was no way back for India. The medium pacer first had Karthikeya caught behind for 21 before striking two balls later to send back Nikhil Kumar for a duck. In his next over, he removed Harvansh Pangalia as India were reduced to 81 for 6 in the 23rd over.That became 92 for 7 when Fahad removed Kiran Chormale giving ‘keeper Farid his fourth catch of the innings. Amaan and Raj tried to delay the inevitable but once Hakim removed his opposite number in the 32nd over, the game was as good as done.Hakim picked the last three wickets to spark jubilant scenes in the Bangladesh camp.

England seamer’s heroic rearguard could yet be his final act in international cricket

Matt Roller04-Aug-2025

Ben Stokes meets Chris Woakes after his valiant effort•Getty Images

It was an extraordinary sight at the end of an extraordinary series. On Friday morning, Chris Woakes was ruled out of “any further participation” in the fifth Test at The Oval. Three days later, he walked out to the middle with his left arm in a sling, tucked underneath his jumper, preparing to face up one-handed – and wrong-sided – with England 17 runs away from victory.Woakes marched out through the dressing-room, down the stairs of the Bedser Stand, and punched gloves with Gus Atkinson. It was a rousing moment to rival Rishabh Pant’s hobble to the crease with a fractured foot in Manchester, with the sense of theatre only accentuated by the drama and tension of the final day of the match – and the series.England have not yet given official confirmation but Woakes is understood to have dislocated his shoulder while diving in the field on the opening day of this Test. He will see a specialist this week to determine the extent of the damage, but will not play again this summer and is already considered a major doubt for the first Ashes Test in Perth on November 21.Related

• Brendon McCullum: 'We know we've got room to improve'

• The agony, the ecstasy: 56 minutes of Test cricket at its most glorious

• 'Devastating' – Brook expresses regret after dismissal triggers England's Oval collapse

• Pant bats with fractured foot to add crucial runs at Old Trafford

• Six-run thriller – India script their narrowest win in Tests

It was an act of mercy that Woakes did not have to face a ball: Prasidh Krishna yorked Josh Tongue, England’s No. 10, with the final ball of the 83rd over, and Atkinson managed the strike thereafter. But even that caused Woakes serious pain: he grimaced repeatedly after every run, and had to ask umpire Ahsan Raza for assistance after dislodging his sling while sneaking through for a bye.In any other sport, Woakes would have been substituted immediately after his injury on Thursday evening but – for better or for worse – cricket remains an outlier. Instead, he watched on from the dressing room as England’s three-man attack toiled on Saturday; as they took the chase deep into Sunday afternoon, he went down to the indoor school for an exploratory hit.Woakes initially tried to hold the bat as usual, facing some gentle throwdowns, but as soon as the pace ramped up, the pain became excruciating. He then tried again with his left arm back in a sling, facing up with a left-hand batter’s stance: it allowed him the control of a “top” hand, but more importantly, ensured his shoulder would be as far away from the ball as possible.He needed help from Ben Davies, England’s physio, to get padded up on Monday, and had to get creative with his equipment: he wore two small arm guards on his right arm, and as much protection as he could on his left, which was tucked underneath a jumper to try and keep everything in place.2:02

Harmison: Woakes put his career on the line by coming out to bat

When Woakes scrambled through for a bye at the end of his first over at the crease, Mohammed Siraj was furious. ” [didn’t you tell him?]” he asked Shubman Gill, after landing his wide yorker only to see Dhruv Jurel’s underarm throw miss the stumps. But Woakes had other things to worry about, wincing in pain and clutching his left arm.He managed to take his helmet and right glove off in order to put his left arm back in place, and then asked Raza for help on realising that he would not be able to put his glove back on alone. As he took a deep breath and prepared to stand at the non-striker’s end once again, the sold-out fifth-day crowd began to understand the extent of what he was putting himself through.Woakes was again in agony off the next ball, scampering back for two as Atkinson swung Prasidh into the leg side, and scrambled through for another single off the final ball of the over as India – bizarrely – kept nine men on the boundary. One ball later, however, Siraj pegged back Atkinson’s off stump and, after 16 minutes of anguish, Woakes’ job was done – albeit in a heartbreaking, six-run defeat.India’s fielders made a beeline for Woakes after their initial celebrations, and Brendon McCullum, England’s coach, praised his bravery. “Good on Woakesy,” he told the BBC. “He’s in an immense amount of pain after that unfortunate injury, but it was never in doubt for him that, if needed, he was going to walk down the stairs and try to get us across the line.”1:19

Sanjay Bangar picks his moment of the series

It provided a fitting finale to a dramatic series in which 32 players have had their physical and mental resilience tested to the limit across 25 days of cricket. Both teams have lost players to injuries along the way after punishing workloads, but Siraj and Woakes, the only fast bowlers to play all five Tests, battled through right until the very last ball.”He was in a lot of discomfort,” Ben Stokes said, having himself been forced to miss this Test with a shoulder injury. “We’ve had Rishabh going out to bat with a broken foot, Bash [Shoaib Bashir] going out there bowling – and batting and fielding – with a broken finger. Then we go to Chris out there today, trying to get his team over the line with a quite recently dislocated shoulder… Everyone’s left a lot out on the ground for their countries.”Woakes’ innings can be used by both sides in the ongoing debate around injury replacements: it was difficult to watch a player in such clear physical discomfort risking aggravating a serious injury, but also an incredible display of bravery and perseverance. Stokes simply doubled down on his view that substitutes are impracticable: “If someone gets injured, tough s***. Deal with it.”It could yet prove to be Woakes’ final act in an England shirt: he is no longer involved in the white-ball set-up and, at 36, his Test future will also be in doubt if the injury is severe enough to keep him out of the Ashes. If so, this would be a sad but fitting end for a player who has always given everything he has across more than 200 international appearances.

ECB welcomes funding although it falls well short of £35 million pledge from Rishi Sunak last year

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Aug-2025The UK government has pledged £1.5million for the construction of two new indoor, all-season cricket domes in Luton and Lancashire. But while the development has been welcomed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), it is significantly less than the £35million promised last summer by then-prime minister Rishi Sunak.That announcement, in April 2024, mooted the construction of 16 domes across England by 2029, as a tie-in to the women’s and men’s T20 World Cups in 2026 and 2030, respectively. The ECB has already funded a prototype dome in Bradford (open in 2023), and now seem resigned to not seeing anywhere near that figure going forward.Sunak’s promise looked set not to materialise after a change of government last summer. Speaking at the announcement of these amended plans last week at Leyland Cricket Club in Lancashire, culture secretary Lisa Nandy stated Sunak’s plans were not grounded in reality.”Unfortunately, the announcement made by the last government was a fantasy,” Nandy told the BBC. “There was not a single penny of actual funding attached to it.”So the announcement in itself equated to absolutely nothing at all. We are backing sport because we know how much it matters. It changes people’s lives. It opens up opportunities that people would never have had otherwise.”The ECB plan to push for further funding, in line with the governing body’s stated aims in their game-wide strategy, Inspiring Generations, which involve “working in partnership with the Government to maximise the legacy of the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup”. This £1.5million is in addition to the £400million for grassroots sport that was announced at the Spending Review, which will benefit a wide range of sports over the next four years.Speaking on Monday’s announcement, ECB chair Richard Thompson said: “These state-of-the-art all-weather cricket domes will be transformative for the communities they serve, opening up cricket to more people year-round and providing top-class facilities for elite players too. They are an important part of our plans to break down barriers and make cricket the most inclusive team sport.”We are pleased to secure Government support for these incredible community facilities, which we hope will provide a vital proof point of what can be achieved, and look forward to future collaboration. As we have seen in Bradford, centres like these can have a hugely positive impact–bringing people together, opening up opportunities, and inspiring the next generation.”As we look ahead to hosting the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2026, building on that success by rolling out more domes in communities across England and Wales will be key to creating a genuine and lasting legacy from the tournament.”The two state-of-the-art domes will be focused on opening cricket up to a broader, more diverse audience as part of the “Plan for Change” initiative to get more young people active and participating in sport. The announcement is the latest step in the govenment’s new National Youth Strategy, which will be published in the autumn.

Bumrah had a significant say with three wickets although it was Australia who edged the honours with their top four all passing fifty

Andrew McGlashan26-Dec-20241:51

Manjrekar explains how Konstas took down Bumrah

Sam Konstas, the 19-year-old making his Test debut, lit up the MCG with an audacious display of strokeplay against Jasprit Bumrah which in the process riled Virat Kohli on a compelling Boxing Day at the MCG. The world’s best fast bowler still had a significant say with three wickets although it was Australia who edged the honours with their top four all passing fifty.By stumps, Steven Smith was the key figure in how much further Australia’s first innings would be able to extend as he eyed his second hundred in three innings after Bumrah had sparked a middle-order wobble. Yet it was the opening passage of the Test that could well go down as defining.Within an hour of his first Test innings Konstas, who became his country’s fourth-youngest men’s player, was the most talked-about figure in the game having brazenly taken 32 off two overs from Bumrah. While he was stopped on 60 off 65 balls, he had already written himself a chapter among the most remarkable debuts and more than repaid the selectors’ desire to provide something different at the top of the order after Nathan McSweeney’s struggles.Related

• Konstas on taking on Bumrah: 'That's the beauty of being young and a bit naive'

• Kohli fined 20% of match fees after heated altercation with Konstas at MCG

• Konstas arrives at the Test arena like a supernova

Bumrah still pocketed key top-order scalps of Usman Khawaja, the prolific Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh although it did little to downplay talk India are over-reliant on him. The latter two came as Australia lost 3 for 9 in the final session with Akash Deep then claiming a much-deserved wicket with the second new ball when he removed Alex Carey to end the fourth significant partnership of the innings.Khawaja, Smith and Marnus Labuschagne all brought up half-centuries at more sedate tempos than Konstas. It was the first time since Rawalpindi in 2022 that Australia’s top four had all reached fifty in the same innings. Khawaja and Labuschagne will have been left wondering what could have been but Smith played a vital role in keeping Australia ahead.Sam Konstas celebrates his fifty•Getty Images

But it was all about how the day started. Konstas’ first over in Test cricket was against Bumrah and consisted of four plays and misses. Off his eighth delivery he worked a brace into the leg side to a loud ovation and two deliveries later signaled his intent with an attempt to reverse scoop Bumrah which brought a combination of cheers and gasps.He missed another an over later and with Mohammed Siraj also troubling Khawaja, Australia were 12 without loss after six overs when Konstas unleashed a passage of play that will never be forgotten. Off Bumrah’s fourth over he scooped to fine leg, reverse scooped for six over deep third and was an inch away from repeating it three balls later.He had dispatched the world’s leading bowler for 14 but wasn’t done there. In Bumrah’s sixth over he took him for 18, this time by peppering the boundary with drives including lofting a slower ball over wide long-on. By this point, he had been shoulder-checked by Kohli between overs with Khawaja trying to act as peacemaker with all eyes on how the match referee would adjudicate the confrontation.Not long after, a quickly run two brought up his fifty from 52 balls and he grabbed the Australian emblem on his shirt while pointing to the name on the back. What were you doing as a 19-year-old on Boxing Day? The mind started to wander towards something even more spectacular, but Ravindra Jadeja trapped Konstas lbw in a manner many a more experienced batter has been removed.The tempo then reverted to something more traditional: the stand of 89 between Konstas and Khawaja took 116 balls, the next of 65 between Khawaja and Labuschagne required 150. The afternoon session started with four consecutive maidens from Bumrah and Akash, the latter again bowling without luck. Both batters had edges fall short of slip and another from Khawaja which bisected the cordon took him to just his second fifty of the year.Jasprit Bumrah removed Travis Head for a duck•Getty Images

India were largely keeping the scoreboard under control but were not overly threatening, only for Khawaja to toe-end a pull against the first ball of Bumrah’s third spell to midwicket which left the bowler a little embarrassed to celebrate.Labuschagne was still not quite at his fluent best, but was looking as good as he had all series with some delicate glides to third off Jadeja and the types of drives to suggest better days lie ahead for Australia’s No. 3. There was a shift in gears after tea with Labuschagne and Smith adding 41 in the first six overs of the final session against the older ball, although there remained enough assistance from the surface to challenge the batters as another luckless spell from Akash showed.However, the door was opened for India by offspinner Washington Sundar, who had been brought into the side in place of Shubman Gill, when Labuschagne picked out mid-off with a skimming drive the ball after a drinks break. Labuschagne threw his head back as Kohli took the catch, knowing the chance of a first Test century since last July had gone begging.Rohit Sharma sensed a moment and immediately brought back Bumrah and against his third delivery Travis Head shouldered arms to one that clipped his off stump. A batter who has caused India nightmares with his attacking strokeplay departed not offering a shot. In Bumrah’s next over Mitchell Marsh, having slotted away one thumping cover drive, edged an expansive pull to continue what has been a lean series after the summer of his life in 2023-24.As the ground rose for the hats-off commemoration of Shane Warne at 3.50pm (to match Warne’s Test cap number), Smith had slotted consecutive boundaries off Jadeja when Australia looked to be taking control but now his presence was vital in ensuring the innings didn’t lose its way. He and Carey added 53 before Akash produced a terrific delivery from round the wicket. Smith remained firm and walked off to warm applause from those who remained of an 87,242 crowd but it was nothing compared to the ovations earlier in the day.

Abhishek’s crisp shots and high-intent game in Mumbai left England without any answer and set up India’s colossal victory

S Sudarshanan03-Feb-20253:15

Manjrekar: Abhishek has grown into a very confident batter

Abhishek Sharma credited Suryakumar Yadav for his scintillating century in the fifth T20I against England, one that helped India register a 150-run win and take the series 4-1. Abhishek scored a 37-ball century, the second-fastest in men’s T20Is for India.”I was in a zone where I was going to react to the ball. I didn’t even know my score,” Abhishek said after the match. “I just asked Surya [Suryakumar] ‘ what do you think?’. He said ‘since a wicket has fallen you can take your time, take a couple of balls.’ That really helped me, because of him only I would say the hundred happened and my highest score happened. At that time, I didn’t realise I was going to hit the fastest hundred [second-fastest for India].”Abhishek got off to a swift start and crossed fifty in just 17 balls. He was on 94 off 32 balls after nine overs and had the Indian record for the fastest T20I century – off 35 balls by Rohit Sharma – in sights. He finished with a 54-ball 135, the highest individual score for India in men’s T20Is.”It never crossed my mind that I should play till the end,” he said. “I react to the ball based on the team situation. Luckily today, when I was in the 80s or 90s, Surya came in and said you’ve played well so far, worked hard, so you can take two-three balls. When the captain is [batting] with you and tells you something, I felt I should bat carefully. When Hardik [Pandya] came in, he said, ‘since wickets are falling you have to play according to the situation and bat till the end since you are hitting the ball well’. Then Axar came in… these three are senior players and have played well for India, so no better players to listen to in that situation.”Related

• Abhishek shatters records and England in Mumbai

• Stats – Abhishek blazes India's second-fastest T20I century

• Gambhir on India's approach: 'We want to try and get to 250-260 regularly'

• Jos Buttler hails Abhishek's ball-striking as England succumb to record loss

Given India do not play a T20I any time soon, it was a timely knock from Abhishek, who could jostle for spots in the team once Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill return. But he insisted none of that played on his mind.”I had met Jassu [Jaiswal] and Shubman yesterday [at the BCCI awards]. There has never been a competition among us – we are playing together since Under-16. There was just one dream – to play for India. The three of us are playing now, so there is no better feeling.”4:07

Abhishek: ‘If I have the ability, I should nourish it’

Abhishek has been one of the flag-bearers of India’s high-intent batting template. Since the start of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2023-24, he has scored 1893 runs in T20 cricket. Only five batters across the world have more runs than that, none of them at a faster rate than Abhishek’s 199.47. He was the Player of the Tournament in that SMAT which his domestic team, Punjab, won. His fast starts even helped runners-up Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2024. How did the transformation happen?”I worked hard [to bat in a certain way] ahead of that season and when I saw the results, I thought I should back myself and express myself,” Abhishek said. “I practiced a lot of match scenarios in open nets. Brian Lara had told me one thing – just play your shots but make sure that you don’t get out. So that is what I had in my mind. That helped me and I felt I could hit shots off the first or second ball as well.”When you are young, you don’t explore much, but I did that and realised I could play with more intent and help the team. When you do well, you get the support of your team. So I thought that when it is my day, I have to play this way – whether for Punjab or my franchise. Obviously when it comes to India, it’s a special and a big moment. I felt if I have the ability, I should nourish it. There are ups and downs, but you need to be clear about playing this way.”Abhishek also stressed on the role former India allrounder Yuvraj Singh has played in his game.”Yuvi was always there for me and put all these things in my mind and believed in me. When Yuvraj Singh tells you that you are going to play for the country and win games, you also try to believe in yourself and give your best. I talk to him after every game, he is the one I listen to. He knows me better than me.When your captain and coach tell you that you have to play like this and we are backing you, we’ll be there for you always, that is the biggest motivation for a young player in the team. In South Africa I remember Hardik and Surya telling me, you are100% going to make some runs, just believe in yourself’. In this series Gauti [head coach Gautam Gambhir] came back and I feel grateful that they believe in me, that’s not normal and is the biggest motivation for any player.”

The Thunder posted a comfortable victory over the Heat, but the evening game between Scorchers and Renegades went down to the final ball

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff07-Nov-2024Perth Scorchers 108 (Hinkley 32, King 23, Capsey 5-25) beat Melbourne Renegades 106 for 8 (Dottin 40, King 3-23, Ainsworth 2-18, Devine 2-22) by two runsAlana King’s all-round contributions proved decisive in a low-scoring thriller at the WACA as hosts Perth Scorchers completed a two-run win over Melbourne Renegades while defending only 108.King first scored a crucial 15-ball 23 for the Scorchers from No. 8 amid a batting collapse triggered by the Renegades pair of Milly Illingworth and Hayley Matthews (2 for 15 apiece). Alice Capsey then ran through the tail to claim her career-best figures of 5 for 25 while skittling the Scorchers for 108.However, the Renegades’ batting failed to complement their bowling effort, losing wickets through their innings. Needing 15 runs off the last three overs – 11 off two overs and eight off the final six balls – they failed to hit a single boundary and finished their innings on 106 for 8.The pressure was put on Renegades early in the chase by seamer Chloe Ainsworth when she dismissed opener Courtney Webb and first-down Capsey for first-ball ducks in the first over. Sophie Devine and King then accounted for Naomi Stalenberg and Matthews respectively, and when Amy Edgar removed Georgia Wareham cheaply too, Renegades were 47 for 5 in the ninth over.Deandra Dottin counterattacked with a 27-ball 40 that included three fours and three sixes from No. 6 to lift the Renegades briefly, but King sent her back for the second of her three wickets. King also removed Illingworth in the 18th over to finish with 3 for 23.Tasked with defending 10 runs off the last two overs, Edgar and Ebony Hoskin closed out the game for the Scorchers, conceding only eight singles. Sarah Coyte, who finished unbeaten on a 31-ball 21, needed three for a tie or a boundary for a win off the final ball, but Hoskin kept the last delivery down to just one.Heather Knight played another vital hand•Getty Images

England captain Heather Knight cracked an unbeaten half-century and Sam Bates snared 4 for 25 to lead Sydney Thunder to a 19-run WBBL victory over Brisbane Heat at the WACA Ground.Knight, Phoebe Litchfield, and Chamari Athapaththu, all fired to lift the Thunder to a formidable 170 for 5. In reply, Charli Knott and Grace Harris threatened to pull off the run chase, but the Heat were eventually bowled out for 151 after Bates weaved her magic.After being sent in to bat, Thunder were 13 for 0 in the third over when Georgia Voll was dropped by Laura Harris on 2. Voll would go on to score 22, but more importantly she combined with Athapaththu for a quick-fire 52-run opening stand to give Thunder the perfect platform to launch.Athapaththu and Litchfield cracked seven boundaries apiece, and Knight went into overdrive later in the innings as Heat’s bowlers struggled to contain the star-studded battling line-up.Heat spinner Jess Jonassen was superb with 3 for 22 from her four overs, and Shikha Pandey was economical. But the rest of the bowlers struggled, with Grace Parsons and Nadine de Klerk copping the brunt of the punishment.Heat needed to make a fast start to their run chase, and opener Grace Harris received three slices of luck during her blistering knock. She was on 5 when she gloved a spinning Bates delivery through to the keeper. The appeal was turned down, and Thunder decided not to review it, but replays showed it clearly came off her glove. Harris was then dropped on 26 and 32, but was eventually out when she was caught in the deep from a Taneale Peschel full toss.Knott cracked six fours and a six to notch her maiden WBBL half-century and give Heat a chance, but their victory hopes came crumbling down when she was bowled by Bates who now has 12 wickets from four games in what has been a sizzling start to the season for the 28-year-old.”I don’t know if there’s a real secret behind [my form]. It’s nice to be contributing finally,” Bates told . “I had a pretty ordinary season last year, so I reflected quite a bit on that. I changed some little things and they’re paying off, which is nice.”

One debutant and another playing only the second ODI of his career shepherded the visitors’ chase to give them a 1-0 lead

Danyal Rasool08-Aug-2025An unbeaten 104-run partnership between debutant Hasan Nawaz and Hussain Talat – playing his second game – helped a nervous Pakistan overcome a stutter to chase down 281 in the penultimate over and take a 1-0 lead in the ODI series with a five-wicket win.West Indies had put up 280 through three half-centuries in the first innings, but Pakistan’s spinners contained them to keep them to a below-par score with Shaheen Shah Afridi (4 for 51) and Naseem Shah (3-55) mopping the hosts up at the death.Pakistan’s pursuit was far from convincing, struggling to pace the innings too. Babar Azam (47) and Mohammad Rizwan (53) each fell after promising, if placid, starts, and West Indies found themselves burrowing into the lower order when Rizwan fell with 101 still to get. But Nawaz overcame early struggles and briefly rode his luck with a couple of dropped chances to turn the game around with 63 not out, eventually finishing it at a canter alongside the more solid Talat, who made an unbeaten 41 in 37 balls.Much of Pakistan’s ODI success over the past year depended on Saim Ayub getting them off to a flyer, so it felt significant West Indies neutralised that threat early, Jayden Seales extracting rubber-ball bounce that took his edge and flew on command into the keeper’s gloves. While Babar took his time to settle, Abdullah Shafique looked classically pretty through an even-paced knock, but found himself undone by slightly lower bounce that excited Shamar Joseph enough to force his captain’s hand into a successful review.Initially, it appeared the worst of Babar and Rizwan was on display in that third-wicket partnership. At one point early on, they would play sixteen successive dot balls as the asking rate crept above six. They began, as they so often do, to catch up, finding regular boundaries and running a few twos, and the asking rate gradually eased back down into the fives. Whether that redeemed their slow start or made them even more culpable is by now an intractable question to answer.But West Indies trusted their pace bowlers longer than Pakistan had, only delivering one over of spin until the 20th over. But that wasn’t a commentary on Gudakesh Motie’s skills, who began to trouble the pair, ultimately sending Babar packing when he ventured out for a slog and was deceived by the turn three runs short of his half-century.Salman Ali Agha was more proactive, but threw away a decent start when he scooped a ball that gripped right back into a grateful Roston Chase’s hands. The value of Rizwan’s wicket was growing with each passing wicket, and he’d eased himself past a half-century by once more, Joseph found a way to rap him in front of the pads, this time securing the on-field decision that put West Indies on top.Nawaz and Talat, one ODI in 2019 the sum total of their 50-over international experience, seemed unlikely saviours at that point. Hasan scored just three off his first 12 balls, and looked vulnerable against spin. Shai Hope dropped him early as a nick off an attempted slog couldn’t nestle into his gloves, and with the asking rate rising, he was the one Pakistan required out there until the very end.The tide began to turn in the 39th over by which time the dew was making the ball hard to grip. Talat smacked Chase for two boundaries, before a rare errant over from Joseph saw five wides and 17 runs scored which brought the asking rate to just above seven. It was the break Pakistan needed to pace the innings on their terms, with each player finding the boundary anytime the equation became uncomfortable.With four overs to go and Nawaz on 49, Motie put down an unforgivably easy chance at short third, and as Seales went down on his knees in disbelief, the fate of the game was sealed. Talat plundered 15 off the following over, and five balls later, Nawaz had sealed the win.Evin Lewis and Keacy Carty’s 77-run stand got West Indies flowing despite losing an early wicket•AFP/Getty Images

Earlier, West Indies were put in to bat partially because of the uncertainty of conditions both overhead and underfoot, and once they’d brushed off the customary first-over wicket Afridi tends to take so often, Evin Lewis and Keacy Carty began to set a platform in the powerplay. Shaheen and Naseem struggled to find bite with the new ball, and by the eighth over, Rizwan had turned to the spin of Ayub. On a surface that has seen just the one ODI played, no one really knew how successful that would be, but the next two and a half-hours answered that question.With the surface gripping, each of Pakistan’s three spinners – Ayub, Agha, and Sufiyan Muqim – were thrust in immediately. The following 27 overs saw just one over of seam bowled as West Indies found themselves bleeding the occasional wicket while the run-rate Lewis and Carty had helped keep around six dipped below five. It was telling that the one over of seam – from Faheem Ashraf, saw Lewis pillage a six and a four bringing up his half-century in the process.But Lewis – on 60 – felt Ayub was the spinner to target, and having dispatched him for a boundary, opted to heave the final ball of his third over into the air. Shaheen spun himself around a couple of times before improbably holding onto it. A tortured innings from Sherfane Rutherford then concluded when he spooned Agha to cover-point.Chase (53) and Hope (55) put together a stand for the fifth wicket, but with no break from the stifling spinners, the run-rate began to fall. The 64 they added came off 89 deliveries, and with just one ball after the 34th over, Shaheen and Naseem began to find reverse swing. It took them a couple of overs to find their accuracy, during which Chase brought up his half-century. But he holed out to Naseem almost immediately afterwards, and just as the ball began to reverse, West Indies’ tail was exposed.The yorkers began to land, and West Indies had no answer. Naseem and Shaheen found pinpoint accuracy, and any runs West Indies scored had luck attached to them. At one point, the matting for the stump-mic helped lift the ball over Rizwan for four byes, and the following over a 140kmph yorker from Naseem hit leg stump, but without dislodging the bails.Even so, the last three were cleaned up by Pakistan’s two frontline quicks hitting the base of the stumps, and bowling West Indies out with an over to spare. Later, Pakistan would achieve their own target with seven balls to go.