Irfan Ahmed’s blazed to a 55-ball 98 after which left-arm spinner Nadeem Ahmed took a career-best 5 for 12 to lead Hong Kong past Namibia by 83 runs

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jul-2015
ScorecardIrfan Ahmed blasted four sixes and nine fours during his 55-ball 98•ICC/Sportsfile

Opener Irfan Ahmed blazed to a 55-ball 98 after which left-arm spinner Nadeem Ahmed took a career-best 5 for 12 to lead Hong Kong past Namibia by 83 runs. The victory ensured Hong Kong’s qualification for the playoff stages and remain in the hunt for a World T20 spot. Namibia, despite the loss, will join them.Hong Kong, having been inserted, got off to a rapid start – 56 in five overs – before Gerrie Snyman dismissed Jamie Atkinson in the sixth over. Two 30-plus partnerships took the total past 120. Irfan then added 54 runs off 26 balls with Babar Hayat for the third wicket, but both batsmen fell in the space of two balls. Hong Kong were 178 for 5 in the 18th over, but could only add 19 runs in the remaining 15 deliveries to finish on 197 for 8.Irfan had four sixes and nine fours to make his career best score, but fell fell two runs short of what would have been the first century of this year’s World T20 Qualifier.Namibia openers Snyman and Stephan Baard began the chase strongly. They took the score to 23 for 0 in the second over but fell in successive balls to seamer Haseeb Amjad. Then Hong Kong captain Tanvir Afzal got rid of Raymond van Schoor in the fifth over but Namibia kept up with the asking rate and were 101 for 4 in the 11th over. But they lost the remaining six wickets for only 13 runs.Nadeem was at the centre of that collapse, strike twice in 12th and doing it again in the 14th over to run through the tail and bring the match to a very quick and abrupt finish.

The BCB High Performance training programme that began in June this year has ended a few days early, but coach Mal Loye said he was satisfied with the players’ efforts during the camp

Mohammad Isam08-Sep-2015The BCB High Performance training programme that began in June this year has ended a few days early, but coach Mal Loye said he was satisfied with the players’ efforts during the camp. The programme had to be ended this week after rain forced the group to return to Dhaka on Monday from Bogra where they were supposed to play a few matches till September 12.”The effort from the players has been first-class throughout the four months,” Loye said. “I am really pleased with their progress. I am a little sad that we didn’t see them play towards the end. We had a change of play to go to Bogra but unfortunately the conditions and ground wasn’t right. We had to close the programme slightly early. But generally I am happy with the players.”They had played some matches during the early stages of the programme. This was the first HP camp undertaken by the BCB since 2007 when the programme was abruptly closed, and later replaced by the National Cricket Academy in Mirpur. The current HP unit has worked in the academy too.The 22-member HP squad included four international players – Sabbir Rahman, Mohammad Mithun, Jubair Hossain and Mustafizur Rahman. Rony Talukdar and Liton Das made international debuts while the uncapped left-arm spinner Saqlain Sajib was picked in the Bangladesh A team for their tour to India this month.Allrounder Mahmudul Hasan, who was in the 22-member squad, said his game had improved. “I have improved technically in my batting and I have worked on my balance while bowling,” Mahmudul said. “I have become slightly faster in the field too. I think everyone also got better physically too. My balance while batting is now better. While playing the on-drive, the bat used to turn and my head was a bit more bowed. I have corrected this.”Loye said that the players will be tested in the 2015-16 season’s National Cricket League which is supposed to begin later this month. Many of them had done well in last season’s domestic first-class and one-day competitions.”We had a programme in place to cover everything, whether it is T20, ODIs and Tests. The programme included playing in all conditions. It was an easy job for me, if I am being honest. Their efforts were outstanding.”The feedback we got from the players has been the best thing. They feel they have improved. Unfortunately we didn’t see them play. In this NCL coming up, hopefully we will see the fruits of our work.”Given that the programme’s goal is to ensure best-prepared players for international cricket, Loye hoped that the training programme would have helped create a competitive environment for the senior teams.”It creates a healthy environment when you have a number of players competing for a position. It gets players out of their comfort zone. Hopefully the HP did that to the national team and created a healthy atmosphere.”The programme put in place was excellent. As good as I have seen. We executed it very well. The players’ attitude towards it was first-class. Hopefully it was evident to show it was an exciting and interesting programme for their development.”Loye, who was appointed in May this year for two years, will return home to England and hopes to return next year for the new intake.

Already, South Africa are 40 overs away from a trophy. India will want to make sure they get to Kolkata with the possibility of claiming the series. Consistency will also be on their mind – they have lost four of their last five T20s

The Preview by Firdose Moonda04-Oct-2015

Match facts

Monday, October 5, 2015
Start time 19:00 local (13:30GMT)4:00

Agarkar: India might be tempted to try three spinners

Big picture

The balloon often pops after a big build-up but that did not happen in the series opener between these two teams. A competitive curtain raiser set the tone for what should continue to be a fiercely contested series, and if all the fixtures play out like the first one, fans are in for a fun two months.Already, one side could scoop early honours with South Africa 40 overs away from a trophy. India will want to make sure they get to Kolkata with the possibility of claiming the series. The hosts’ major concern will be the way their batsmen slunk away after a strong start against a South Africa attack that did not seem to get a measure of the conditions. Their bowlers did not find the going easier either, and may want to consider both tactical and team changes.The visitors are likely still basking in satisfaction over the way they coped with pressure, especially as it was some of their lesser lights who shone in Dharamsala. A firmer middle order and a more determined grip on key moments mean South Africa are shaping up well as they prepare for the World T20. Consistency will also be on India’s mind – they have lost four of their last five T20s and will want to turn the tide on what could become a real problem ahead of the challenges in the next two months.

Form guide

(last five completed games, most recent first)India LLWLL
South Africa WLWWW

In the spotlight

South Africa captain Faf du Plessis had hailed R Ashwin as the best spin bowler in the world and after Friday few can argue with that assessment. Ashwin was the only bowler to concede less than seven runs an over and the only one to demonstrate real guile. He was particularly astute in removing AB de Villiers, who he drew forward and then deceived with a change of pace. Ashwin will want to have similarly smart plans for the rest of the South Africa line-up in the second game.David Miller did not have the opportunity to do anything in the first match and that may be exactly what will worry him as the series draws on. Farhaan Behardien was promoted ahead of him to see South Africa through a tricky period and he ended up providing the perfect foil to JP Duminy, who finished the game in the way Miller may have wanted to do. Miller has not scored an international fifty in fifteen innings and although chances don’t come often in the middle order, he is at risk of being crowded out and will want to stake a proper claim soon.

Team news

India are unlikely to fiddle with their batting department. They may consider playing another spinner though – they have Amit Mishra and Harbhajan Singh – instead of one of their seamers.India (probable) 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Suresh Raina, 5 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 6 Ambati Rayudu, 7 Axar Patel/Stuart Binny, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Mohit Sharma, 11 S Aravind/Harbhajan SinghThe success of the de Villiers-Hashim Amla opening combination could mean more time on the bench for Quinton de Kock, especially as the rest of South Africa’s top order looks settled. They may consider making a change to the allrounder’s spot, bringing in Albie Morkel for Chris Morris, who struggled in Dharamsala, but other changes are unlikely unless South Africa opt to play both specialist spinners.South Africa (probable) 1 AB de Villiers (wk), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Faf du Plessis (capt), 4 JP Duminy, 5 David Miller, 6 Farhaan Behardien, 7 Chris Morris/Albie Morkel, 8 Kagiso Rabada, 9 Kyle Abbott, 10 Marchant de Lange/Eddie Leie, 11 Imran Tahir

Pitch and conditions

Bounce and carry is possibly a thing of the past as South Africa inch into the cauldron of spin that India will likely stir throughout the series. A slow pitch will not be the main concern for either team though. The pitch and square were under cover from the persistent rain on Saturday and the met office predicted more rain over the following 48 hours. All the tickets for the fixture have been sold out.

Stats and trivia

• This will be the first T20 international played in Cuttack. It has hosted two Tests and 17 ODIs, none featuring South Africa
• JP Duminy and Farhaan Behardien’s unbeaten 105-run stand on Friday equalled the highest fourth-wicket partnership in T20Is in 2015, between Shakib Al Hasan and Sabbir Rahman against Pakistan in Mirpur

Quotes

“We have to play to the South African weakness. We know they are not so good against spinners. We have got some learning done against their batters.”
“We are not as high up from an altitude point so the ball won’t travel as far. We may have to run a lot more ones and twos. From a bowler’s view we may need to protect certain pockets of the field because of the bigger dimensions. It is a lot warmer here so we will have to be smart with the way we manage our energy.”

Zimbabwe’s Elton Chigumbura said his team is glad to take every opportunity to play top-level cricket, after it became the first international side to arrive in Bangladesh following Australia’s security concerns

Mohammad Isam03-Nov-2015Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura has said that his team is glad to take every opportunity to play top-level cricket, after it became the first international side to arrive in Bangladesh following Australia’s postponement of their Test series in October due to security concerns.”We have been asking for more cricket,” Chigumbura said. “This opportunity to play is something we take positively. It is good for our young players to have more cricket on a regular basis. We are happy that we got the go-ahead to play cricket here. Hopefully it will be a good tour for us.”Coach Dav Whatmore, while agreeing that safety is of prime importance, said that Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) would have done its assessment before agreeing to tour Bangladesh.”I agree [about security being above cricket]. We always go with our cricket board administration,” Whatmore said. “We work for them. They will never put us in a situation where we are compromised. We are happy to come and play after our Zimbabwe Cricket people have agreed on the tour.”But there are more things to worry about for Chigumbura and Whatmore, after their side slumped to series losses – 3-2 and 2-0 in ODIs and T20s respectively – against Afghanistan last month. In all they have won only seven out of 26 ODIs this year.Chigumbura said the Bangladesh tour is an opportunity to refocus and move on from the previous series. He brushed aside any suggestion of a decline in Zimbabwe cricket, rubbishing a one-time Zimbabwe team-mate’s post on social media that “the true death of Zimbabwe cricket has arrived” in wake of their losing the first T20 against Afghanistan on October 26.”It is not [the death of Zimbabwe cricket]. It is the beginning I think. We have good youngsters who are coming up. It is just a matter of giving them more games. We have a bunch of guys who are positive. Obviously anyone can make those comments. We believe that we have a big future ahead of us.”The most important thing is to pick yourself up, and our focus now in Bangladesh is to make sure that we improve from the last series that we played. We must have some positive results. What happened is in the past. We are regrouping and focusing on this tour. Obviously it is different conditions and we are playing against a different team.”Whatmore added that it is important for them to improve teamwork and, despite individuals doing well, focus more on the team. “I hate picking individual names. In our case and what was Bangladesh’s case many years ago, it really does require a team effort. We must ensure we are working for each other. We have to improve on this on and off the field.”Chigumbura is banking on some of his players who have experienced playing in Bangladesh previously, while also hoping that the practice match on November 5 in Fatullah will help the newcomers adapt a little faster.”We are used to wickets and conditions here. The good thing about our team is that we have guys who have played here before. They will have to raise their game. Anything can happen in cricket. You might be on top in one series and then not do well in the next series.”It is always good to get a warm-up game. It is going to be important for the new guys to adapt quickly to conditions here, so that they can play their natural game.”

Mohammad Shahzad struck 60 off 46 balls and the bowlers throttled the chase as Afghanistan beat Oman to take the T20 series 2-0

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Nov-2015
ScorecardFile photo – Mohammad Shahzad hit four fours and three sixes•AFP

Mohammad Shahzad struck 60 off 46 balls and the bowlers throttled the chase as Afghanistan beat Oman to take the T20 series 2-0 in Abu Dhabi.Having been inserted, Afghanistan had a strong start despite the early loss of Usman Ghani. Shahzad was circumspect early on before launching sixes off Ajay Lalcheta and Mohammad Nadeem. Shahzad then went onto reach his fifty off 38 balls with a lofted six over midwicket. Asghar Stanikzai and Karim Sadiq assisted Shahzad with useful contributions before Shafiqullah gave more impetus at the death with an 18-ball 32. Afghanistan plundered 51 off the last five overs to finish with 160.After picking up two wickets, Zeeshan Maqsood started the chase with a six and four fours but was dismissed in the third over for 24. Aaqib Sulheri’s scratchy innings came to an end three overs later. Khawar Ali and Jatinder Singh fought but struggled to keep up with the asking rate. Yamin Ahmadzai took three wickets while Rokhan Barakzai and Sayed Shirzad collected two wickets each as Oman eventually came up short by 12 runs.

The PCB is keen on accepting Cricket Australia’s offer to play a day-night Test when the two teams meet in December 2016, but wants to take the players into confidence before taking a final decision.

Umar Farooq12-Nov-2015The PCB is keen on accepting Cricket Australia’s offer to play a day-night Test when the two teams meet in December 2016, but wants to take the players into confidence before taking a decision. PCB’s cricket committee will make a detailed report on playing with the pink ball next summer in Australia and has discuss the possibility of using the ball for the final of the Quaid-e-Azam trophy.”We have been advised by the PCB chairman to take up the offer by Cricket Australia,” Shakeel Sheikh, the PCB cricket committee chairman told ESPNcricinfo. “There has been detailed research on pink ball and we have sought the copy to discuss every point about it. Some players including Misbah-ul-Haq have raised their concerns and we would want to take them on board to record their points as well.”In a bid to allow their Pakistani counterparts understand the concept, CA sent out an invitation to a top PCB top official for the day-night Test in Adelaide between Australia and New Zealand starting November 27. But that wasn’t accepted as the PCB official is due to an Asian Cricket Council meeting during the same period. There is, however, a proposal to send Zakir Khan, also a member of the cricket committee, who will already be in Australia as manager of the Pakistan Under-16 team.Over the next week, the PCB is likely to purchase in bulk an improved version of the pink ball and distribute it among the teams for practice sessions, following which feedback will be taken. “The ball we came to know has improved and ready for the top cricket as it been a while we had experimented with the orange and pink,” Sheikh said. “We are also thinking to send someone to as an observer to witness the first game between Australia and New Zealand in Adelaide. But at the time are obviously keen and enthusiastic about the idea and the committee will debate about playing the Quaid-e-Azam trophy final with the new pink balls.”This is not the first time the PCB mulling the option of day-night Tests. Pakistan took the initiative to become the first country to play Test cricket under floodlights against Sri Lanka in UAE two years ago, but the proposal was declined by SLC, citing their players’ lack of practice with the pink ball.As part of their trials, the PCB also tested the orange ball during the 2010-11 season final of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, while the 2011-12 season final was played with the pink ball. While the response was encouraging, the main concern was the overlapping of the colour of the seam and that of the sight screen.

Dale Steyn, South Africa’s veteran attack leader, has been cleared to play in next week’s first Test at Durban, after coming through an intensive fitness test on his injured groin

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Dec-20151:06

‘No competition between Steyn and Anderson’ – Graeme Smith

South Africa’s hopes of bouncing back from their disappointing tour of India have been given a timely boost with the news that Dale Steyn, their veteran attack leader, has come through an intensive fitness test on his injured groin ahead of next week’s first Test at Durban.Steyn, 32, missed the last three Tests of South Africa’s 3-0 series loss in India earlier this month, having sustained the injury while fielding during the first Test at Mohali.However, he was put through his paces during a tough work-out at Newlands on Thursday, where he was required to bowl at full speed in the nets, run sprints and take part in fielding drills. He will undergo final assessments from the South Africa medical team when he links up with the Test squad on Tuesday.”Dale has put a lot of work into his training and rehab since his return from India so we are very happy to have him back from injury,” South Africa’s team manager, Dr Mohammed Moosajee said.”He was put through a thorough fitness test on Thursday by Cape Cobras physiotherapist, Shane Jabaar, which included two bowling spells at match intensity, fielding drills, sprints and agility tests. He came through the tests without any discomfort and will be available for selection for the first Test match against England starting in Durban next week.”With 402 Test wickets in 81 appearances since making his debut against England in 2004-05, Steyn has established himself as one of the modern great fast bowlers. With Vernon Philander already ruled out of the first two Tests after damaging ankle ligaments during a warm-up football match, his return to action is especially timely for a team that remains at No.1 in the Test rankings but is smarting after losing their first overseas Test series for nine years.Dale Steyn will be ready for Boxing Day after recovering from a groin strain•Associated Press

The first Test will pit Steyn and his new-ball sidekick, Morne Morkel, against England’s James Anderson and Stuart Broad, another veteran pairing who have been in particularly fine form in 2015. Anderson, who recently became England’s leading wicket-taker of all time, goes into the series with 426 wickets to his name and can expect to pass both Kapil Dev (434) and Sir Richard Hadlee (431) on the all-time list before the series is out.However, according to Graeme Smith, Steyn’s former South Africa captain, there is still no doubt which of the two he would prefer to have in his ranks.”I don’t think there is a match-up,” Smith told ESPNcricinfo. “Dale Steyn is by far the best fast bowler in the world, to me, the fastest to 400 wickets, he’s performed all around the world, not only in swinging conditions. For me there’s no greater bowler in the world that gets a sniff and is able to create an opportunity and win a game for a team.”Jimmy, I have a lot of respect for him, a great swing bowler,” he added. “He will play a key role in the series, because if he’s not picking up wickets he still holds the game with his ability to create pressure.”

Mehedi Hasan, the Bangladesh Under-19 captain, has said that his side will try to perform well and fulfil expectations, despite the pressure and hype surrounding the hosts

Mohammad Isam in Chittagong26-Jan-2016″What you are saying about pressure, I am hearing this for the first time.”Mehedi Hasan, the Bangladesh Under-19 captain, had a straight face while saying this, but quickly broke into a giggle. Either he hid the sarcasm of the comment well or cloistered himself from social and mainstream media over the last few weeks.The moment, though, captured the unusual pressure and expectations on Bangladesh for an age-level tournament. Bangladesh may be buoyed by home advantage, but the fans expect the team to go past the quarter-finals at least.Bangladesh’s training session on the eve of their opening match against South Africa bubbled with energy and excitement. In between the serious stints of batting and bowling, they played around with attempts to take boundary-line catches. They even involved their team consultant Stuart Law in their horseplay. The players were admonished by their head coach Mizanur Rahman a couple of times, but it was all in good fun.The Under-19 World Cup is essentially a springboard for players to make it to the biggest level. While Bangladesh are keen to express themselves through their well-trained skills, they also face the challenge of dealing with heightened expectations.Mehedi has expressed happiness at people considering Bangladesh as contenders and hoped to “fulfil the expectations.””I like the fact that everyone thinks we can reach a good position,” Mehedi said. “Everyone is expecting that we will be on top, and beat the big nations. We know our standard, so we will try to fulfil the expectations. We just have to play our normal game. The team is very excited because we have prepared for this tournament. The real test starts tomorrow. If we can do well tomorrow, our hard work will be rewarded.”Mizanur, though, played down the pressure and expectations, and reckoned that Bangladesh’s record against South Africa held them in good stead for the tournament opener. Bangladesh had defeated South Africa 11 times out of 14 attempts in Youth ODIs in 2015.”There is no pressure around us,” Mizanur said. “We have been working towards this tournament for the last 18 months. We just don’t want the players to lose focus now.”We know everything about them. Our bowlers will know where to bowl to their batsmen. We hardly knew anything about England apart from the general information. So playing against South Africa will be easier. We beat them 5-2 in their conditions and 6-1 at home. We will be ahead in terms of mentality and preparations.”South Africa captain Tony de Zorzi, meanwhile, has said that his team is in a “good space.” The defending champions have also roped in former India batsman Sridharan Sriram as a batting consultant to counter spin. Sriram, who had served as a coaching consultant with the Australia A team, will work with the senior team in the upcoming World T20 in India.”We are very comfortable,” Zorzi said. “We are in a good space as a team and quite confident. They [Bangladesh] are a very talented side, as are we. They have to play well to beat us and I think they know that.”We have played couple of warm-up games and we have [former India batsman] Sriram helping us as batting consultant against spin. Lot of the guys have adapted to the conditions having played here before. There’s no fear of playing spin.”Five members of the Bangladesh team, including Mehedi, had played in the 2014 World Cup in the UAE, but this is set to be a different challenge and experience.

MS Dhoni was critical of the pitches prepared so far in the Asia Cup following his team’s win over Pakistan, saying they do not make for good practice ahead of the World Twenty20

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur27-Feb-20161:38

‘Low-scoring games are not good for T20’ – Dhoni

India captain MS Dhoni said that the pitches in Mirpur during the Asia Cup haven’t been conducive for T20s but such conditions are helping his team’s batsmen to play with more circumspection. His bowlers hit his preferred lengths to knock over Pakistan for just 83 and in response India lost five wickets before completing the chase.”We scored 166 in one match but frankly we were going to score 140,” Dhoni said. “Other than that there have been low-scoring games which I feel is not that good. We thought it would be good practice ahead of the World T20, so it’s not a good practice in terms of hitting but yes in terms of respecting the conditions.”Dhoni said that he didn’t think low-scoring games should see teams getting bowled out for below 100 runs but rather teams should be making at least 130 or 140.”The reason why people love T20 is the sixes and fours,” Dhoni said. “At the same time you don’t want [teams scoring] 80s and 100s. Low scoring should be 130-140 and high-scoring can be 200 or 240. In a way, it’s good for us because we are a side that plays aggressive cricket. What it does, it pushes us to respect the conditions. In the coming games the openers won’t go with a set mindset.”What happened in Australia, we knew the wickets were good, which is not the case here. I feel it’s good practice for us. Whether it is good for T20 cricket that’s difficult [to say]. The amount of movement we have seen, it is very difficult to get the big shots.”The average score for teams batting first has progressively gone down in Mirpur since February 22 when Afghanistan posted 178 for 7 against Oman. Teams have henceforth scored 172, 166, 129, 133 and 83 batting first.At least three of those matches have been played on green tops and Dhoni claimed at the toss on Saturday that it was a greener surface than the one they played on against Bangladesh on February 24.There are seven pitches in the Shere Bangla National Stadium with the two on the extreme ends hardly used because it cuts down the boundary sizes. The five in the middle have hosted 10 Under-19 World Cup games since January 28, and towards the end of that tournament, the pitches were reacting to cooler weather conditions. They had become sticky with the humidity, and juiced up for fast bowling which was evident in the Under-19 World Cup semi-finals and final.In this tournament, the preference has been towards adding cut grass to the surface in the first game between India and Bangladesh, while the pitch used two days later in the match between Bangladesh and the UAE had live grass and green patches that aided seam movement greatly. The idea to use cut grass is often to keep the square binded for heavy use in short tournaments. It has happened in the past too, as the Mirpur venue is one of the most used venues in Bangladesh.The focus has been to avoid presenting a poor surface towards the end of such tournaments, particularly in the final, which seems to be the case in the Asia Cup too.Cut grass can be taken off and it might be in the coming days because of the hue and cry over the pitches. But what would be of more interest is what is underneath, and whether that too would aid the bowlers.

In a clash that briefly flirted with the gripping, it was Australia’s experience that helped them ride a top-order wobble as they began their title defence with a six-wicket win against South Africa at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur

The Report by Shashank Kishore in Nagpur18-Mar-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsLauren Cheatle took two wickets to stifle South Africa at the end of their innings•Getty/ICC

In a clash that briefly flirted with the gripping, it was Australia’s experience that helped them ride a top-order wobble as they began their title defence with a six-wicket win against South Africa at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur. It was vice-captain Alex Blackwell and captain Meg Lanning who led the way to chase down 103 easily in the end, after they were reduced to 9 for 3 in the fourth over.South Africa had an excellent launch pad at 69 without loss in 12 overs after opting to bat. Then they fell into a crater courtesy rush of blood and indecision in shot selection to huff and puff to 102 for 6. As hard as they tried, defending it was never going to be easy against the masters of the big occasion who are gunning for their fourth successive title.Eventually, the batting meltdown played a big part in the result, as Lanning and Blackwell allayed fears with an unbroken 52-run fifth-wicket stand off just 38 balls to see Australia home with nine balls to spare.Spin was expected to play a major part, but to everyone’s surprise, it was a flat batting track, where batsmen could hit through the line without worrying about turn or bounce. South Africa showed they were up for a fight as Dane van Niekerk did the early running by making 45 in a 72-run opening stand with Trisha Chetty, before Australia strangulated them.While Ellyse Perry hustled the batsmen with pace, Lauren Cheatle’s canny variations resulted in South Africa’s middle order having to manufacture strokes that didn’t connect. Of course it didn’t help that Australia’s fielders were on the ball, showcasing tremendous athleticism and agility on one of the biggest outfields in India, cutting out at least 10 runs to the final total. Chetty’s scratchy 34 eventually helped them cross the 100-run mark.Australia’s thoughts of the chase being a walk in the park were firmly put on the backburner. Alyssa Healy walked across to flick, only to find her leg stump flattened to give the fired-up Shabnim Ismail an early sniff. Perry bottom-edged a cut to the wicketkeeper, while Ellyse Villani chopped on to leave Australia in tatters before they could reach double figures.Lanning’s illness that kept her off the field for most parts of South Africa’s innings meant she could come in either after 30 minutes or the fall of the fifth wicket. An air of anticipation hovered in the South African camp, but the conclusion of Ismail’s opening burst took with it the sting in their attack as Blackwell and Jess Jonassen added 44 for the fourth wicket. More importantly, the pair ensured the asking rate never got out of hand. When Jonassen stepped out to be stumped, the game was back in the balance as Australia slipped to 53 for 4, needing 50 off 47 balls.Lanning, not quite her usual self, struggled to run, but wasn’t going to miss out on freebies on offer as she helped herself to three fours to bring the equation down to 23 off the last four overs. Once within striking distance, the feared white-ball striker in her surfaced as she hit Ismail for two fierce square cuts, to convert a tricky chase into a cruise.