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Short and Elliott star as Victoria go top of the table

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Victoria jumped to top of the domestic one-day table after securing a convincing six-wicket win over Tasmania in a low-scoring contest in Launceston.After captain Peter Handscomb won the toss and elected to bowl first, Victoria knocked over the home side for 156 with quick Sam Elliott taking 4 for 26.In just his eighth 50-over game for his state, Elliott, the son of former Test opener Matthew, skittled the lower-order to finish with career-best figures.Elliott also claimed the crucial wicket of Beau Webster, with the dangerman dismissed for an innings-best of 47.In-form opening bowler Fergus O’Neill did the damage early, cleaning up the Tasmania top-order of Matthew Wade, Caleb Jewell and Charlie Wakim.They were left reeling at 42 for 4 following those breakthroughs and the hosts were never able to recover to post a defendable total.Victoria, led by star opener Matthew Short, took their time in the chase but were able to bring up their fourth win of the season with 14 overs to spare.They had briefly wobbled on 105 for 4 when Peter Handscomb and Sam Harper fell in quick succession, the latter bowled by a beauty from left-arm spinner Paddy Dooley who had taken a good catch at fine leg to remove Handscomb.But Short made batting look easy as he brought up the victory with a four down the ground, finishing unbeaten on 81 off 88 balls. In the 28-year-old’s last one-day match, he pounded 134 against Queensland in Mackay.Short will soon join the Australian squad for the five-match T20 series against India after the completion of the ODI World Cup.Victoria leapfrogged defending champions Western Australia into top spot, while Tasmania remain fourth with a 2-3 record.Victoria will be back in action on Thursday when they host Queensland in an important Sheffield Shield match at the MCG.Tasmania will stay put at home to host the resurgent NSW next Saturday in a four-day game.

Australia have a Litchfield day to complete clean sweep

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The Alyssa Healy era began on a high note for Australia as they completed a 3-0 ODI whitewash against India in Mumbai on Tuesday.After Phoebe Litchfield’s classy hundred and Healy’s 82 propelled the team to 338 for 7, their spinners ran through the India line-up to hand Australia a mammoth 190-run victory. This was India’s third-biggest loss in ODIs.India were never in the chase, courtesy two brilliant catches from Litchfield and Tahlia McGrath and some disciplined bowling on a dry Wankhede pitch. The collapse started with Yastika Bhatia getting cleaned up by Megan Schutt in the fifth over. Four overs later, Smriti Mandhana, who had started steadily, perished for 29 while looking to go big as Schutt struck again. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur continued her poor run of form, getting dismissed for 3, finishing with a total of 17 in the series.Richa Ghosh, India’ new No.3, survived 29 deliveries before she was bowled by Georgia Wareham in the 16th over when she mistimed a sweep. But the game swung Australia’s way when Litchfield pulled off a sensational, one-handed catch at cover to send Jemimah Rodrigues back for 25, in the 21st over. Alana King then bowled a superb legbreak, pitching on leg stump and turning away to take Pooja Vastrakar’s off stump to leave India reeling at 128 for 7. Wareham collected three wickets while King, Sutherland and Schutt accounted for two each to bowl India out for 148 in the 33rd over.After having opted to bat, Litchfield and Healy dominated proceedings, sharing 189 runs for the opening wicket – the highest partnership for any wicket for Australia against India as the visitors also notched up their highest total against this opponent in women’s ODIs.Litchfield’s clarity and crispness in her footwork were more evident in the dead rubber than in the other matches on this tour as she made 119 off 125 balls. In contrast to the 63 she scored in the second match, where she took time to settle in, her second ODI hundred had plenty of boundaries – 16 fours and one six in all. Unlike her captain and opening partner, she is not a big hitter of the ball, but Litchfield was solid, and proactive and backed her technique to dominate spin on her first tour to India.The pair kept the run rate hovering around six throughout the 29 overs they batted, with Australia eyeing 350 at one stage.Smriti Mandhana was the only India batter to cross 25•BCCI

It was an important knock for Healy – the batter and the captain. Taking over captaincy from Meg Lanning on this tour, it was also Healy’s first half-century as full-time captain. She had a lean 2023 where she did not cross fifty in ODIs even once in eight innings and had scores of 0 and 13 in the series. However, on Tuesday, she put that behind and looked positive from the outset. She found the gaps comfortably and brought in her lofted shots when players were in the ring. Her 82 is also the highest individual score by a wicketkeeper-captain in women’s ODIs.Both batters targeted debutant left-arm spinner Mannat Kashyap, who replaced allrounder Sneh Rana. They hit a six and a four each as Kashyap conceded 23 off her first two overs.India needed 29 overs to break the stand, with Pooja Vastrakar ending Healy’s innings with the short ball. The dismissal slowed Australia down for a bit with Amanjot Kaur also getting her first wicket of the series by trapping Ellyse Perry lbw in the 33rd over. Shreyanka Patil, who was the star of the India bowling attack, picked up two wickets in two balls to dismiss Beth Mooney and McGrath soon after. From 189 for 0, Australia suddenly slipped to 223 for 4. Patil, playing her second ODI, varied her pace and bowled tight lines to end with figures of 3 for 57.At the other end, Amanjot added one more wicket to her name when she removed Annabel Sutherland for 23. Cameos from Gardner, Wareham and King, though, helped Australia surpass 300. King, in particular, punished Vastrakar for two sixes and a four in the 50th over to remain unbeaten on 26 off 14.India did not have a great day in the field, dropping two catches in the afternoon. In all, they have dropped ten catches in this series.With India hosting the ODI World Cup in 2025, they might have more questions than answers right now, though the series was not part of the Women’s Championship.

Nepal beat Afghanistan in thriller; West Indies inch past England by two wickets

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Afghanistan and Nepal had everything to play for in East London on Friday, and play they did, toe-to-toe, inch-for-inch, all the way to a thrilling finish amid gripping drama. Nepal won by one wicket in the end, and entered the Super Six stage of the men’s Under-19 World Cup at the expense of Afghanistan; but the game was, perhaps, more than just the result and the make-up of the next stage of the tournament.Nepal seemed to have it in the bag at various stages, when first Aakash Chand was running through the Afghanistan batting, and then when Dev Khanal, the captain, was stroking his way to an 89-ball 58. But if there’s one thing Afghanistan don’t do – at any level of the game – it’s to give up. They took it deep, before Subash Bhandari, who had earlier returned 1 for 15 from 8.1 overs, poked at one outside off to the legspin of Arab Gul, got a healthy edge and sent it through a packed off-side field for four. Deal done. The celebrations were as wild as the game itself was.The win was set up by Chand, later named Player of the Match. By the tenth over, Afghanistan were tottering at 34 for 5 after having opted to bat. Chand had four of those wickets. The fightback came courtesy Hassan Eisakhil (20) and Naseer Khan Maroofkhil (31), and then Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar (37); but all Afghanistan could put up was 145. Chand finished with 5 for 34, his fifth wicket that of Eisakhil.Nepal’s reply started almost as shakily, with Khalil Ahmed and Faridoon Dawoodzai reducing them to 24 for 3. But a dominant Khanal and a sedate Aakash Tripathi appeared to take the game away from Afghanistan with a 49-run stand, the best of the innings.A twist had to come, and it came in the form of Maroofkhil sending Tripathi back in the 24th over, with the target still 73 runs away. Khanal wasn’t going anywhere, though, even as a couple more wickets fell at the other end, before being felled by Ghazanfar for 58.The total then was 127 for 7. Overs were not an issue, but Afghanistan were into Nepal’s tail. Dipak Bohora ensured it wagged enough to take Nepal to within a shot of victory, but he too fell with six runs still to get. The fielders were all around the bat at that stage, and the dot balls piled up; but somehow, in the end, Bhandari found a way out.Nathan Edward’s all-round performance helped West Indies beat England by two wickets in Potchefstroom and qualify for the Super Six round. He picked up 3 for 28 with his left-arm seam as England folded for 192, and then scored an unbeaten 49 to take his side home.After West Indies opted to bowl, Nathan Edward castled Jaydn Denly in the first over of the match. England captain Ben McKinney and Noah Thain added 50 for the second wicket, before he sent McKinney back. Thain and Hamza Shaikh, who scored 54 off 83, took England to 97 for 2 in the 21st over, but once offspinner Tarrique Edward removed Thain, the innings collapsed. At one stage, England were 146 for 7, but the lower order dragged them close to 200.West Indies, too, lost a wicket in the first over, and were 31 for 2 in the sixth. But their captain Stephan Pascal absorbed all the pressure and scored 58 off 84.Legspinner Tazeem Chaudry Ali tried to keep England in the contest with his three wickets, including that of Pascal. When West Indies lost their seventh, the target was still 37 runs away, though the asking rate was never a concern.But Nathan Edward stood up once again with an unbeaten 49 off 80 balls. He added 36 off 32 deliveries with Tarrique Edward, in which the latter’s contribution was 5, before hitting the winning boundary.Ariful Islam made a run-a-ball 103•ICC via Getty Images

Ariful Islam’s 103, followed by Mahfuzur Rahman Rabby’s four-wicket haul helped Bangladesh thump USA by 121 runs in Bloemfontein. With two wins in three matches, Bangladesh finished second in their group, and advanced to the Super Six stage of the tournament.USA had Bangladesh at 94 for 3 after opting to bowl first, but a 122-run fourth-wicket stand between Ariful and Ahrar Amin, who scored 44, took Bangladesh to 291. Ariful notched up nine boundaries, and kept the scoring rate healthy. But left-arm seamer Arya Garg continued his fine form for USA, taking 3 for 68 to finish the competition with five wickets.USA started the chase steadily, with opener Prannav Chettipalayam scoring 57. But he didn’t find much support from the other end, as USA lost track towards the halfway mark. What was 86 for 1 became 112 for 4, while from the 40th over onwards, they lost 6 for 16 to get bowled out for 170. Left-arm spinner Rabby was the star of the Bangladesh bowling attack, as he got 4 for 31 from ten overs.

Jaiswal does not regret missing out on a hundred

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India’s innings was only the second time in Test cricket since August 2018 that the first five wickets fell to attacking shots. And judging from the words of one of their three half-centurions, that approach isn’t going away any time soon.India’s batters bazballed England, particularly on the first day, with the help of a Yashasvi Jaiswal running amok. The 22-year-old opener playing his first Test at home hit the first ball of the innings for four and the first ball of spin for six. That is the way he wants to play and he has no regrets that it was also the way he was dismissed, 20 runs short of a century.”Of course, it would have been amazing if I would have scored a hundred,” Jaiswal said on Friday at the post-match press conference. “But what took me there was my thinking and my process to score runs and I was quite positive in my mind and I was just thinking, making sure I can build an innings. But it was good actually.”This is my first Test match in India and I was just thinking of contributing well and doing well for my team. When I was playing in the West Indies and South Africa, it was quite a different environment. Here also the environment is quite different. I was really enjoying all the places, of course. It is a proud and honour moment every time I go and play for my country.”Jaiswal seemed to enjoy the fact that all three of England’s frontline spinners were turning the ball into him and took a particular liking to the debutant Tom Hartley. That head-to-head read 44 runs in 26 balls with six fours and two sixes. When asked if it was a deliberate tactic, Jaiswal answered, “No I don’t think so. I was just thinking about how I can play a certain ball.”It wasn’t until the innings was in its 24th over that someone whose stock ball goes away from Jaiswal came on. He walloped Joe Root for four second ball of the day but fell two balls later, caught playing an aggressive shot.”I knew that at some stage he was going to bowl. I was prepared for him. He can bowl first over. But as I said, I was trying my best to do what I could and sometimes I can make a mistake and get out. Still, I’m learning. If I do make a mistake, I’ll make sure that I try to learn from it.”

Sussex thwarted by bad light as Northants cling on for draw

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Bad light and determined resistance by Lewis McManus frustrated Sussex’s bid to pull off an unlikely victory over Northamptonshire on a gripping final day at Hove.McManus batted for an hour as four partners came and went and Northants lurched to 170 for 9 before umpires Paul Baldwin and Surendiran Shanmugam decided it was too gloomy even for spin with Northants ahead by 63.The loss of more than 100 overs eventually proved decisive but Sussex will have drawn a lot of encouragement after making most of the running, especially on the last two days. They took 15 points and Northants 13.Having established a first-innings lead of 107, they reduced Northants to 57 for 4. Skipper Luke Procter (41) settled the nerves before left-arm spinner James Coles revived Sussex hopes with three of the four wickets that fell in 7.1 overs after tea that left them 152 for 8.McManus and Ben Sanderson resisted for eight overs until the light improved sufficiently to enable Sussex skipper John Simpson to bring back his quicks Jayden Seales and Ollie Robinson for two overs each.Robinson responded with an unplayable yorker to uproot Sanderson’s middle stump, a fitting way to celebrate his 400th first-class wicket. Spinners Coles and Jack Carson returned but the light didn’t improve and the players shook hands shortly after 6pm.

Sussex had declared their first innings on 478 for 9 after adding 127 in 20 overs to collect maximum batting points. Fynn Hudson-Prentice and Danny Lamb extended their seventh wicket stand to 99 from just 14.1 overs with Lamb contributing 41 before Chris Tremain held an excellent low catch at midwicket off Sanderson.Hudson-Prentice, who made nine Championship fifties last season, demonstrated his effectiveness again with 73 from 60 balls and it took a clever piece of bowling by Tremain to remove him when he held one back and Hudson-Prentice drove to long-on.Even the normally frugal Sanderson suffered when Carson hit him for three sixes in a lively 61 from 53 balls. Aiming to clear midwicket again he was bowled to give left-arm spinner Zaib his fourth wicket.Related

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  • Durham hope for Boland bounce after Hampshire washout

Robinson and Seales plundered 30 runs from ten balls before the declaration left Northants with four overs before lunch which they couldn’t negotiate unscathed as Seales produced a lovely away-swinger which Justin Broad edged to third slip.Sussex gained further encouragement with three wickets in ten overs after lunch. Emilio Gay (20) lost his off stump to give Seales his sixth wicket of the match and Karun Nair edged Robinson to third slip with Coles taking a superb catch low to his left.George Bartlett drove offspinner Carson onto the roof of the South Stand only to perish two balls later before a stand of 73 between Procter and Rob Keogh steered Northants into calmer waters, for a while at least.Coles added to his three first-innings wickets with three more after tea. Zaib was well caught at slip trying to guide the ball to third man; Keogh was lbw to a quicker ball for a well-made 55; and Michael Finan taken at second slip on the drive. Carson sparked the collapse when he went round the wicket to have Procter leg before as he aimed through midwicket.Robinson finished with 2 for 19 from ten overs in three spells and bowled at a good pace throughout. He will have been pleased to get through 32 overs in what was only his second first-class match since July 2023.

Victoria, NSW pressure brings changes to new T20 competition

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The new women’s domestic T20 competition in Australia will now be aligned to the eight WBBL clubs, alongside an ACT side, rather than state teams after pressure from Victoria and New South Wales over the proposed structure.The tournament, designed to make up for the reduced WBBL which has been trimmed to a 40-game regular season, was initially going to be state-based but Victoria and New South Wales, who both provide two teams in the WBBL, were unhappy with that model and feared some of their fringe players could potentially lose out on playing opportunities.Under the solution thrashed out by the states and CA, there will now be eight teams under their WBBL banners plus a side from ACT who play in the WNCL one-day tournament. The competition will take place before the WBBL season with each side playing four matches and the top four teams moving to the semi-finals.The timing of the tournament means it will run alongside the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh so the Australia players won’t be involved which naturally opens up spots in teams while overseas stars are not expected to feature prominently.A complicating factor will be around ACT who have a number of players contracted to WBBL clubs including key batter Katie Mack who plays for Adelaide Strikers.With the WBBL being trimmed to match the BBL in an attempt to manage the increasing workloads of the game’s leading players, ensure overseas names still want to join, encouraging growth in crowds and to cut out non-primetime matches, there was a strong push to ensure that there was not an overall reduction in matches for state cricketers.The restructuring of the women’s domestic programme was announced at the launch of CA’s Women’s and Girls Action Plan last month but since then the stance of Victoria and New South Wales has required reworking of the original plans.”Cricket NSW has always been committed to the success of the Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunder and the tournament announced today will help both of our clubs in their quest for WBBL success and to produce players for Australia,” New South Wales chief executive Lee Germon said.”That enhanced player pathway is in the best interests of Australian Cricket and provides further opportunity for the continued success of our national women’s teams.”The delay in confirming the structure of the competition also meant that state contracts, which would normally have been confirmed by the end of April, were put on hold amid the uncertainty.The new T20 competition will raise the average female domestic player salary for 2024-25 to AU$163,322 while the current WBBL salary cap has been maintained meaning no reduction in player payments.

The power of South Africa against the variety of Sri Lanka

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Match details

Sri Lanka vs South Africa
Providence, 10.30am local

Big picture: Recent form against South Africa

It is possible that both Sri Lanka and South Africa kind of suck. Since the start of 2023, South Africa have lost nine of the 11 completed T20Is they have played. Most recently, they were thrashed 3-0 by West Indies. None of those results were close.Sri Lanka, who won the T20 World Cup ten years ago, and for several years before that were arguably the best T20 outfit on the planet, have never really got close to making the semi-final of a limited-overs global trophy since then. They have won their last three T20I series in a row. However, those were against a Bangladesh team missing some key players, Afghanistan minus Rashid Khan, and Zimbabwe, who have not even qualified for this tournament.Fair to say neither Sri Lanka nor South Africa come in with a lot of expectation.Related

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But there are some exploits in franchise cricket to consider – Heinrich Klaasen clobbered 479 runs at a strike rate of 171 at the IPL, and Matheesha Pathirana took 13 wickets at an economy rate of 7.68 in the same competition. But have entire batting orders and bowling attacks vibed together for their national teams?Sri Lanka come in with some confidence about their bowling. In Pathirana, Dilshan Madushanka and Dushmantha Chameera, they have three quicks capable of breaching 145kph, plus Nuwan Thushara, whose most recent T20I outing brought him figures of 5 for 20.On top of this, Sri Lanka have spinners Maheesh Theekshana and captain Wanindu Hasaranga (who had recently rekindled his love for the Test format, only to be suspended for those games, dammit!).Where Sri Lanka may lack, though, is on the big-hitting front, and here South Africa will feel they have them covered, their top order having blasted their way through last year’s ODI World Cup. Quinton de Kock, Aiden Markram and Klaasen, in particular, will back themselves to take Sri Lanka’s bowlers down.But Sri Lanka have serious variety in their attack. And that used to be the hallmark of that great Sri Lanka T20I side of 2014.1:20

Will Hasaranga be the gamechanger?

Form guide

Sri Lanka WLWLW
South AfricaLLLLW

In the spotlight: Hasaranga and Rabada

Wanindu Hasaranga is not just a bowler who fields brilliantly and bats a bit anymore. At least that is what he is trying to convince you of. Once a heavily off-side batter, Hasaranga has strengthened his leg-side game, and become what he and Sri Lanka hope is more of a genuine allrounder – that rare player that makes the team based on either batting or bowling alone. Because of injuries that kept him out of the entire ODI World Cup last year, as well as out of the IPL, he hasn’t had the chance to dust these skills off. But this is not the same player that rocked up to the T20 World Cup in 2022.By now, Kagiso Rabada is used to all kinds of pressure that most players in the world are unfamiliar with. This time, he is the only Black African player in the South Africa squad, which is kind of a big deal but one he will almost certainly take in his stride, you suspect. But the guy has also got to rediscover some bowling magic. In his last five outings for Punjab Kings this year, he took two wickets. All up, he had a middling IPL, and left the competition early with injury.

Pitch and conditions: Sunshine in New York

Weather looks great, with highs of mid-20s°C and no predictions for any rain interference. If the warm-up match between India and Bangladesh is anything to go by, the conditions underfoot will not be insignificant. On the drop-in pitch, the ball seamed around and stopped for the spinners. Of more interest was the slowish outfield on which the ball tended to plug. It also didn’t look like turf that fielders will be keen to dive on.Kagiso Rabada isn’t going into the T20 World Cup with a lot of form•ICC via Getty Images

Team news

Pathirana had a hamstring complaint, but had bowled three overs in the practice match against Ireland. He should be available against South Africa.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Kusal Mendis (wk), 3 Kamindu Mendis, 4 Sadeera Samarawickrama, 5 Charith Asalanka, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Wanindu Hasaranga (capt), 8 Dasun Shanaka, 9 Maheesh Theekshana/Dilshan Madushanka, 10 Dushmantha Chameera, 11 Matheesha PathiranaRabada left the IPL early with a soft tissue infection in a lower limb. But with luck, he is available for South Africa’s World Cup opener.South Africa (possible): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Reeza Hendricks, 3 Aiden Markram (capt), 4 Heinrich Klaasen, 5 David Miller, 6 Tristan Stubbs, 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Keshav Maharaj, 9 Bjorn Fortuin, 10 Kagiso Rabada/Anrich Nortje, 11Ottneil Baartman

Stats that matter

  • Across all T20s since 2023, Klaasen clobbers spin at a strike rate of 184, and hits sixes just under once every seven balls faced.
  • In four T20Is against South Africa, Hasaranga has taken six wickets at an economy rate of 6.25.
  • Sri Lanka have historically played Rabada well – he has gone at an economy rate of nine against them, and taken five wickets in six matches.

Zaman Khan holds nerve in final over to seal one-run win for Qalandars in opener

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It all went to plan, and yet it was unpredictable right till the end. Lahore Qalandars’ death bowling was as unplayable as you might expect from a line-up that boasts Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Zaman Khan, while it was impossible to prevent Mohammad Rizwan from setting up a glorious chasing platform for Multan Sultans. But Sultans paid the price for leaving themselves just too much to do against a high-class bowling attack, falling short in the end by a solitary run.Qalandars had got themselves to 175 thanks to a 42-ball 66 from the reliably explosive Fakhar Zaman. It felt – at the time – they had left runs out there, but even though Sultans took them to the final ball, their bowling brilliance ensured they just about got away with it.Sultans had won the toss and inserted Qalandars in. Having lost Harry Brook and Kusal Mendis to unavailability, they required a significant contribution from Fakhar, and he duly delivered. He struck up a 61-run opening stand with Qalandars’ academy product Mirza Baig, but while run-scoring proved a challenge from the other end, Fakhar motored along.Sultans began to pick up regular wickets, while spinners Akeal Hosein and Usama Mir managed to sneak in eight economical overs, dragging the run rate back and slowly shifting momentum in their favour. But sloppiness at the death – both in the field and with the ball – proved costly with cameos from Sikandar Raza and Hussain Talat ensuring the last four overs yielded 45 runs.Sultans’ chase began as you might expect, with Rizwan and Shan Masood shepherding them through the powerplay with ease, if not explosiveness. Rizwan’s timing and placement were particularly sweet as he picked up regular boundaries through the Powerplay off pace, while expertly manipulating the field against the spin of Raza.But while Qalandars weren’t picking up wickets, they didn’t let Sultans run away. Shan was struggling to kick on, and Rizwan’s customary post-powerplay slowdown meant the asking rate began to creep up, almost imperceptibly at first. There were no boundaries scored for a five-over spell between the ninth and 14th overs, Masood had just fallen for a 31-ball 35, and the asking rate was over ten.ESPNcricinfo’s win predictor still put Sultans in control, but it’s difficult to account for Afridi and Rauf’s brilliance when they’re truly on fire at the death. With David Miller and Kieron Pollard at the crease during the final few overs – two players not exactly bereft of T20 pedigree – Rauf and Afridi dominated overs 15 to 19, during which the asking rate had careered out of Sultans’ control.By now, Sultans’ only hope lay in hoping that the nerves of young Zaman would fray in the 20th over, with 15 runs to win.However, that wasn’t to be, by a tiny margin in the end. The first three balls saw just two runs scored and as many wickets fall, and even though a boundary from Khushdil Shah took it to the final delivery, he could only get four, and not the six that the Sultans required to pull off the heist.The Qalandars begin the PSL as they finished the last one: with a win over the Sultans. But it would come in a thriller rather than a cakewalk, one that sets up the competition irresistibly.

Zalmi edge out United to set up rematch in Eliminator

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Quetta Gladiators’ defeat on Saturday night confirmed this game would be little more than a warm-up for when these two sides meet in the Eliminator on Thursday. And it was Peshawar Zalmi who made the more consequential statement, stifling United’s batting line-up for the second game in succession, edging them out by 13 runs.Mohammad Haris’ scorching knock, a coruscating 79 off 39, set Zalmi up before the lower order collapsed to post a seemingly below-par 179 on another extremely accommodating Rawalpindi pitch. No one from United, however, was able to respond in kind, frittering away their wickets after relatively inconsequential cameos in the face of an extremely disciplined bowling line-up. Sufiyan Muqeem led the way, while Khurram Shahzad, Aamer Jamal and James Neesham also found themselves among the wickets as United found the target a bridge too far, despite a late flurry from Faheem Ashraf.United won the toss and inserted Zalmi, making the best possible start when Fazalhaq Farooqi cleaned up Saim Ayub for a duck. But Haris was unfazed at the other end, getting the ball rolling by clobbering Hasan Ali the following over. Farooqi wasn’t spared the following over, smoked for another 14 at Haris’ hands. Rajapaksa joined in from the other end, walloping Faheem Ashraf for 17 in the final powerplay over as Zalmi overcame the early dismissal to post 69 in the first six.The pair barely noticed that the field had been spread out. Rajapaksa smashed Shadab for a six off his third ball before Haris gave the United captain a hiding in his second over, bringing up a 26-ball 50, as well as Zalmi’s hundred in the ninth over. By the halfway mark, they had posted 116, well on course to put up yet another score in excess of 200 at this bowlers’ graveyard.In the second half of the innings, however, United brought the full force of their bowling to bear. Shadab removed Rajapaksa in his third over, before a Zalmi procession of wickets ensued. Stand-in captain Tom-Kohler Cadmore, deputising for an ailing Babar Azam, was only good for a cameo before Shadab struck again to remove the white-hot Haris, and Zalmi’s soft underbelly was exposed.Hasan Ali struck twice in the 17th over to gut the lower-middle order, and by now Zalmi were hobbling. They limped to 179 by the time the innings closed out, meaning the second ten overs had seen just 63 runs scored and seven wickets fall.It should have been straightforward, even if Hassan Nawaz fell to Khurram Shahzad in the opening over. Sohaib Maqsood’s first-ball six was a Haris-like statement of intent, but having flown to 15 off 5 balls, he tickled one through to the keeper off his sixth. A scratchy innings from Alex Hales ended when Aamer Jamal got him to drill one to Kohler-Cadmore, and Neesham struck to end a similarly gritty innings from Colin Munro.A breezy counterattacking stand from Shadab and Rahmanullah Gurbaz kept the asking rate on a leash, but it wasn’t to last. A Muqeem drag-down found the over fielder to dispose Shadab, and United suddenly wilted. Four wickets fell for 11 runs in 16 balls to suddenly put United in danger of a walloping, needing a further 69 with just two wickets in hand.Ashraf, the hero of an earlier game in the week, however, kept United alive with another stunning onslaught, speeding along to 38 off 12, with United needing 14 off the final four to ambush Zalmi. That was when Shahzad enjoyed his finest moment in a Zalmi shirt, two perfect yorkers sneaking underneath the bats of Faheem – and then No.11 Farooqi – to condemn United to their second straight defeat.The win today gave Zalmi bragging rights. A repeat on Thursday would put them within one game of the PSL final.

Lucknow Super Giants vs Mumbai Indians: No second chances in Chennai

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Big picture: Can LSG keep their cleansheet against Mumbai?

Of the four teams that made it to the playoffs, Lucknow Super Giants are the least glamorous and talked about. They obviously don’t have the rich history of Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians, but even Gujarat Titans get a lot more attention than them. LSG’s highest run-scorer – Marcus Stoinis – is the 19th on the run charts this season, and their top bowler – Ravi Bishnoi – is 11th on the list of top wicket-takers. They don’t have a future Indian superstar at the top, an experienced fast bowler, or a magician of a wristspinner.That LSG qualified for the playoffs without their regular captain and star batter KL Rahul speaks volumes of Krunal Pandya’s captaincy. Under his leadership, they won three of their last four completed games; those victories coming at the end of the league to qualify without much stress.The one thing they do have in common with the Titans is a clean sheet against one of the IPL’s most successful teams. Just like Titans had a 3-0 record against CSK before Qualifier 1, LSG have a 3-0 record against Mumbai, their opponents in the Eliminator. They played only once during the league stage this season, and LSG won that home game by five runs.LSG have won by setting and chasing targets in recent games but they have depended on their overseas batters – Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, Kyle Mayers and Quinton de Kock – for most of their runs. Apart from Rahul, their other Indian batters have scored only two half-centuries this season, compared to ten fifties from overseas.Another area they would want to improve is their bowling in the powerplay. They’ve taken the fewest wickets in that phase, and conceded the most wicketless powerplays during the league stage. They’ve used a variety of bowlers with the new ball, and early wickets will be vital against Mumbai’s power-packed and deep batting line-up.Mumbai had a much rougher ride to the playoffs because of injuries to key players but they have once again benefitted from unearthing Indian talent: Nehal Wadhera has impressed with his striking ability, and Akash Madhwal is becoming their go-to death bowler. They squeaked through to the playoffs in fourth place by beating Sunrisers Hyderabad on the final day of the league, and then Titans did them a favour by knocking out RCB.While Mumbai are the best chasing side this season, LSG are the best defenders of totals. Both will have to factor in the possibility of a slow pitch, and whether or not dew will play a part, when deciding what to do if they win the toss. There are no second chances in Chennai on Wednesday: the winner takes a step closer to the final, the loser gets eliminated.LSG beat Mumbai by five runs in their only league meeting this season•BCCI

Form guide

Mumbai Indians WLWWL (last five completed games, most recent first)
Lucknow Super Giants WWWLL

Team news: No injury issues

LSG don’t have any known fitness issues. For Mumbai, Tilak Varma seems to be fit because he was on their list of Impact Player subs for their previous game and was padded up, but wasn’t needed to bat.

Impact Player strategy

LSG will swap an opening batter, like Karan Sharma, with one of their frontline bowlers like Mohsin Khan or Yash Thakur.Lucknow Super Giants (probable XII): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 , 3 Krunal Pandya (capt), 4 Marcus Stoinis, 5 Nicholas Pooran, 6 Ayush Badoni, 7 Prerak Mankad, 8 K Gowtham, 9 Naveen-ul-Haq, 10 Ravi Bishnoi, 11 Mohsin Khan, 12 Mumbai will also use a similar strategy and sub out a bowler like Madhwal for Tilak if they bowl first, or vice versa if they bat first.Mumbai Indians (probable XII): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Ishan Kishan (wk), 3 Suryakumar Yadav, 4 Nehal Wadhera, 5 Tim David, 6 , 7 Cameron Green, 8 Chris Jordan, 9 Hrithik Shokeen/Kumar Kartikeya, 10 Piyush Chawla, 11 Jason Behrendorff, 12

Stats that matter: Can Suryakumar shine away from Wankhede?

  • All four of de Kock’s dismissals have come against legspinners this season; Piyush Chawla dismissed him in the previous LSG-MI fixture. De Kock also doesn’t have a great record against Chris Jordan in T20s: 59 runs off 41 balls with four dismissals.
  • Bishnoi has dismissed two of Mumbai’s in-form batters three times each. While Ishan Kishan has scored at run a ball against Bishnoi (21 off 21), Suryakumar has done marginally better (29 off 25) against the legspinner.
  • There is a significant difference between Suryakumar’s home and away performances this season. At the Wankhede, he has scored 367 runs while striking at 201.64, including a century and three half-centuries. But away from home, he has managed just 144 runs in seven innings while averaging 20.57.
  • Mumbai have reached the playoffs for the 10th time in 16 seasons; LSG have made it two in two.

Pitch and conditions

The Eliminator is likely to be played on the same pitch on which CSK beat Mumbai in a low-scoring contest. Chennai will again be warm and humid.

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