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Sunrisers and Royal Challengers are right in the thick of it as the battle for the top four spots continues

Sruthi Ravindranath07-May-20223:08

Do Sunrisers Hyderabad need to rejig their batting order?

Big PictureThe playoffs race has started heating up and these two teams are in the thick of it. Royal Challengers Bangalore found a way to bounce back after three losses with a win against Chennai Super Kings in their previous match. Sunrisers Hyderabad, who are coming into this game losing three in a row, will be looking for that win to get back in the top four.While the Virat Kohli-Kane Williamson bromance is one part of the narrative, both the stalwarts have been enduring a rough patch this season. Their scoring rates are also hurting their respective teams. Williamson’s form has been among the major concerns for Sunrisers – he has scored 199 runs in 10 games, and his strike rate of 96.13 is the worst for a batter who has faced a minimum of 150 balls this season. And Kohli is second on this list, with a strike rate of 111.9. He has not found a way out of his batting slump yet – he has scored 216 runs in 11 games at an average of 21.60 – and has continued to struggle against spin.

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If at all the previous encounter between these sides is a testament to what Sunrisers are capable of, Royal Challengers will want to capitalise on their winning momentum to seek the perfect revenge. But Marco Jansen, who was instrumental in bowling Royal Challengers out for 68 in that game has been dropped following expensive returns in the last few games. Royal Challengers have also found an able uncapped pair in Rajat Patidar and Mahipal Lomror who have spruced up the batting. Josh Hazlewood and Harshal Patel have shown great control at the death on more than one occasion. But, they will be expecting more from their captain Faf du Plessis, who has also been struggling to find consistency this season.Kane Williamson and Virat Kohli haven’t performed up to potential this IPL season•BCCI

Sunrisers have already shown how well they can bounce back. It looked like they were in for yet another dismal season when they lost their first two matches. Then they won five on the trot and became strong contenders to make the playoffs These three losses have pegged them back and it’s been largely down to their bowling unit – which has been their strength this season – not performing up to mark. Umran Malik, who was their trump card in the wins, has erred in his lengths and returned expensive figures in the last two games. They also missed the injured T Natarajan’s accuracy at the death. Among the bright spots have been Aiden Markram, who has continued to show his value in the middle order, while Nicholas Pooran hitting form has added to the positives.

In the newsWashington Sundar and Natarajan were forced to sit out with injuries in Sunrisers’ previous match against Delhi Capitals. Head coach Tom Moody said they will be reviewing Washington and “there’s a chance he will be available for the next [RCB] game”. Natarajan meanwhile is likely to be available only for Sunrisers’ match against Kolkata Knight Riders on May 14, Moody said.

Likely XIsRoyal Challengers Bangalore: 1 Faf du Plessis (capt), 2 Virat Kohli, 3 Rajat Patidar, 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Shahbaz Ahmed, 6 Mahipal Lomror, 7 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Harshal Patel, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Josh HazlewoodSunrisers Hyderabad: 1 Kane Williamson (capt), 2 Abhishek Sharma, 3 Rahul Tripathi, 4 Aiden Markram, 5 Nicholas Pooran (wk), 6 Shashank Singh, 7 Washington Sundar/Sean Abbott, 8 Shreyas Gopal 9. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10. Kartik Tyagi, 11 Umran Malik

Strategy PuntPooran unleashed some big hits and took Sunrisers close in the previous match against Capitals, scoring 62 off 37. While he took on the quicks, he was cautious against spinners – even in the match against Chennai Super Kings where he scored 64. Royal Challengers can unleash Wanindu Hasaranga to keep Pooran quiet. While Pooran has struggled more against balls that have been spinning away from him, legspinner Hasaranga could keep him in check with his googlies. In fact, Pooran has faced just four deliveries of Hasaranga in T20s – all of which have been googlies – and has been dismissed once.

Stats that matter

• Josh Hazlewood needs to strike thrice to tally 100 wickets in T20s
• Since 2020, Sunrisers have won four of their six games against Royal Challengers
• Mohammed Siraj needs to strike two more times to tally 50 wickets for Royal Challengers in the IPL

Usman Khawaja made his Test debut 1768 days ago. Since then he has been dreaming of scoring a Test ton for Australia. Now he has it

Brydon Coverdale at the Gabba05-Nov-2015Usman Khawaja wondered if this moment would ever arrive. When he made his Test debut 1768 days ago, Ricky Ponting was still officially captain (though he did not play that match), Tim Nielsen was coach and Julia Gillard was prime minister. Michael Clarke came and went, then Steven Smith took over. Mickey Arthur came and went, now it’s Darren Lehmann. The prime ministers since then are too numerous to list.Through it all Khawaja kept dreaming, and hoping, and finally his first Test century arrived, late in the afternoon on the first day of the 2015-16 home summer, on his adopted home ground. The release of emotion was obvious in his celebration, a running leap and wave of his bat, before his batting partner and captain, Smith, gave him a hug.”It was just elation, the biggest amount of emotional relief,” Khawaja said. “I’ve wanted to get a Test hundred for Australia my whole life. There were times over the last three or four years I thought it might not happen. When it did happen the build-up of a lot of emotions came out because it’s what I always dreamt about.”The first one is always the hardest, I’ve said, so it’s massive for me. I scored my first first-class century here and now my first Test century. I’m just really excited about the day we’ve had as a team, that’s as good a day as you get. We’ve got a lot of hard work coming up but I’m very excited at the moment. And I like to live in the now, so I’m just enjoying this at the moment.”Khawaja’s hundred came with a swivelled pull for four, and it came from 123 deliveries, an innings in which he showed the kind of positive intent that had sometimes been lacking in his earlier stints as a Test batsman. He lifted the spinner Mark Craig for two classy sixes and never looked like getting bogged down, which had been a problem earlier in his career.”The hard work was done at the top by Davey and Burnsy, they batted beautifully,” Khawaja said of the 161-run opening stand between David Warner and Joe Burns. “It allows us at No. 3 and No. 4 to come out and play a few more shots because the ball is a bit older and the bowlers are a bit tired… It’s a real nice wicket out there and it was easy to play positive for that reason.”I just kept looking to score runs. It makes it easier when you have Davey at the other end, it takes a bit of pressure off you when he’s going, you don’t feel like you have to score very fast. I kept looking for runs, as you do when you’re playing well. Fortunately I got a few in my area and I got off to a flyer, which doesn’t always happen, and kept the momentum going.”There was a moment of concern for Khawaja when he collided with a New Zealand fieldsman while completing a run, and immediately hobbled around in discomfort. Khawaja had surgery on his left knee after suffering a serious injury last summer, but he was able to bat on and complete his hundred without any further problems.”I got a little jar on my left knee, the one I had surgery on,” he said. “It hurt like crap. I was making sure I was all right. It was sore for 10 overs but by the end of it, it was pretty good.”

Annabel Sutherland stars with ball and bat to give the Stars a last-ball win over the Renegades

AAP13-Nov-2022Alyssa Healy notched her fifth WBBL century, crunching a boundary from the final ball to deliver Sydney Sixers victory over Perth Scorchers to keep them on top of the ladder.Chasing the Scorchers’ 4 for 176 at Junction Oval, Healy was battling on 1 off 10 balls. But the new Australian vice-captain found her groove to finish on an unbeaten 107 off 64, pairing with Ellyse Perry for a 154-run stand that powered the Sixers to within 20 of the target with two overs to bowl.After going for 17 runs off her previous over, Scorchers captain Sophie Devine had Perry (48 off 40) dismissed and Healy dropped in a fine 19th over that left the Sixers still needing 14.Healy watched from the other end as Ashleigh Gardner hit the first two deliveries for six. She was bowled from the next ball and Piepa Cleary was on a hat-trick after claiming Erin Burns next ball. Nicole Bolton chipped that delivery just short of deep midwicket for a single and then, with one to win off the final delivery, Healy gave herself room and calmly dispatched the winning runs to the cover boundary, letting out a boisterous cry in the process.No other player has scored more than three WBBL hundreds, Healy’s century coming off 62 balls and featuring a one-handed six over mid-off.Victory keeps Sixers on top of the ladder. Scorchers, who beat them last week, could have jumped above them from fourth with victory.Earlier, Beth Mooney and Marizanne Kapp put on 97 off 58 balls to continue their own stellar form. Their stand came a day after combining for a devastating 123-run partnership in just 56 deliveries, Mooney also scoring an unbeaten 99 against the same opponents last week.But Gardner (2 for 30 from four overs) helped slow them just enough, moving to the top of the competition wicket-takers’ board in the process.Annabel Sutherland smacked 62 not out off just 29 balls•Getty Images

All-round Sutherland keeps Stars’ hopes alive

Annabel Sutherland hit three sixes in the final over to deliver a stunning last-ball win for the Melbourne Stars over the Melbourne Renegades.Needing 23 to win from the final over, 21-year-old allrounder Sutherland held her nerve and swung freely to bring to life a chase that looked futile. Sutherland (62 not out off 29) cleared the boundary twice off Sophie Molineux’s left-arm spin, the bowler’s knee buckling as she delivered the second of those deliveries. Molineux was assisted from the ground and Georgia Prestwidge was thrown the ball for the first time with nine to get off three balls.A wide was followed by another strong-armed six by Sutherland, who then took a quick single and watched captain Nicole Faltum clear the off-side field for the winning runs. Sutherland also took three wickets in the win that kept the Stars’ finals hopes alive.Earlier, Sarah Coyte hit two sixes in a six-ball knock that pushed the Renegades to a respectable total, wicketkeeper Josie Dooley’s 54 anchoring their innings. Stars spinner Sasha Moloney took 4 for 15 from her four overs before Coyte put the clamps on the Stars’ batters. Sutherland wasn’t deterred, though, her innings featuring five sixes and coming with no other team-mate able to strike above 106.

India international is first Sussex batter to make a double-hundred against Middlesex at Lord’s

ECB Reporters Network20-Jul-2022Cheteshwar Pujara’s third double-century of the season etched him deep into Sussex folklore on day two of their LV= Insurance County Championship clash with Middlesex at Lord’s.The Indian international became the first Sussex batter to make a double-century against Middlesex at Lord’s. The last Sussex batter to achieve 200 at the home of cricket was his countryman Colonel HH Shri Sir Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji II while playing against the MCC 125 years ago.Pujara, whose marathon effort had begun 24 hours earlier during London’s hottest day on record, batted almost nine hours before being last out, having steered his side to 523 – so eclipsing Sussex’s previous best score at Lord’s of 522 set in 2005.Tom Helm emerged from the carnage with five for 109, his fourth five-wicket haul in Middlesex colours.Against a largely inexperienced Sussex bowling attack, Middlesex made a positive start in reply, reaching 103 without loss at stumps, Mark Stoneman on 47 and Sam Robson 45.At a time where there is so much talk of ‘Bazball’, Pujara reminded us of the merits of a classical innings, demanding concentration, technique and a purity of stroke-play.His overnight partner Oli Carter soon departed lbw to Toby Roland-Jones and when Delray Rawlins fenced one from Helm into the hands of Luke Hollman at gully the visitors were 346 for 6.Perhaps fatigued by his efforts 24 hours earlier Pujara was subdued throughout the morning, twice chastening himself for loose strokes, but helped by youngster Danial Ibrahim, who showed maturity beyond his 17 years, he regathered himself and dug in once more. The pair added 68 either side of lunch before Roland Jones trapped Ibrahim for an invaluable 36.If Middlesex, who had put Sussex in on day one, thought their torture was over they were wrong as Pujara found another ally in debutant Aristides Karvelas.The 28-year-old, who became a Greek international only last week, blocked up an end allowing Pujara to reach 150 in 400 minutes after which the shackles came off. He greeted the return of Hollman by hoisting him into the Compton Stand. His one life on day two came on 175 when John Simpson, standing up to the stumps to Tim Murtagh, failed to hold on to a thin edgeThe escape allowed Pujara and Karvelas to add 50 before the latter gave Murtagh recompense by hooking him down the throat of deep square.There was a lovely ovation for former Middlesex man Finn, who allowed Pujara to forge on towards the double-century mark.There were no nervous 190s as he twice in an over drove Murtagh through mid-off for four before a single dropped into the on-side led to another ovation.Finn was finally stumped, but there was time for a third six before Pujara just failed to make red ink, perishing in the grand manner to give Helm his fifth scalp.After more than 160 overs in the field and needing 374 to save the follow-on, Robson was given a life on 15 when wicketkeeper Carter dropped a dolly which would have given Karvelas a first County Championship wicket. Scare survived, both he and Stoneman had individual half-centuries in sight at the close.

A prolonged dip in form has meant Bangladesh’s most capped T20I player can no longer be assured of his place

Mohammad Isam12-Sep-2022The biggest question going around in Dhaka right now is whether Mahmudullah will make it into Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup team. The selectors are expected to announce the 15-member squad on September 15, shortly after the BCB president Nazmul Hassan gives his approval. Before the announcement, the board has arranged a three-day training camp for the new technical consultant, S Sriram, to look at the talent at his disposal.On Monday, the first day of the camp, team director Khaled Mahmud said they are yet to take a call on Mahmudullah. He made 52 runs at 106.12 strike rate in the Asia Cup, having made just 99 runs in six T20s earlier this year. Gone are the days of Mahmudullah being the designated hitter for Bangladesh in the death overs. He has looked a shadow of the player he once was between 2016 to 2018.”(Mahmudullah) Riyad is an important part of our white-ball cricket,” Mahmud said. “There has been no decision on him. We will take a decision when we sit down to do the team, whether we need him in the squad or not. I can say that Riyad is still important for us. It is good to have discussions on whether Riyad will get the chance or not. We also can’t say that Riyad isn’t an automatic choice. We have to take everything into consideration.”Mahmud suggested that Mahmudullah’s experience – he is Bangladesh’s most capped T20I player – will not give him an advantage at the selection table. Mushfiqur Rahim, a senior player similarly under pressure to score regularly in T20Is, retired shortly after the Asia Cup, citing his need to give more time to Tests and ODIs. But it was quite clear that Mushfiqur knew his time was up in T20Is.Mahmud, considered Mahmudullah’s mentor from his early days, said that they were not getting the best out of him right now. “At the end of the day, we will consider the best interest of the Bangladesh team. We are not going to see someone differently just because he is more experienced. We definitely value his service, like the other experienced players. Riyad is trying hard, but we are not getting what we expect from him. He is scoring a run-a-ball 27, for instance.”But Riyad has been our match-winner,” Mahmud said. “He made centuries in the 2015 World Cup. He had a big partnership with Shakib [Al Hasan] in the 2017 Champions Trophy. He has won matches single-handedly too. We can’t say no to him all of a sudden, but the team is bigger than the individual. We have called up a lot of players [to the camp], but not all are called up for selection.”Bangladesh’s thinking of a side without Mushfiqur and probably Mahmudullah comes from their confidence in the return of Litton Das, Nurul Hasan and Yasir Ali from various injuries. It is reportedly hoped that the return of this trio could solve their middle and top order problems that have plagued them for more than 12 months.

Neil Dexter has joined Leicestershire on a three-year contract in search of the security that Middlesex felt unable to provide

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Sep-2015Leicestershire have signed Middlesex batsman Neil Dexter on a three-year contract.Dexter has had a solid Championship season for Middlesex as they push for runners-up spot in Division One of the Championship, although his impact in one-day cricket has been less apparent. He joins Leicestershire in search of the security of a long-term deal that Middlesex could not offer..Angus Fraser, Middlesex’s managing director of cricket, said: “I am delighted that Neil has secured a long term contract with a club that will guarantee him regular first eleven cricket. Neil is at an age and stage in his career where he needs to play regular first eleven cricket and have a prominent role in that side. Unfortunately Middlesex could not guarantee this moving forward, so I fully understand and respect Neil’s decision to look for a fresh challenge elsewhere.”Neil has been a much liked and respected member of the Middlesex CCC playing staff since his arrival from Kent in late 2008, and has produced many valuable performances for the club on the field. He also led us to Second Division success in 2011, something he should be extremely proud of.”Dexter, 31, started his county career at Kent and has scored 5,977 first-class runs at an average of 35.79 with a career best score of 163 not out. He has 1,913 List A career runs at 31.88 and has 1,497 runs in T20 cricket at a strike rate of 109.91.Wasim Khan, Leicestershire’s chief executive, said: “With a number of sides interested in securing Neil, we are delighted that he has decided to join us. He will give us both quality and experience with his proven track record in county cricket. Neil is also a good bowler and fielder who can fit into our side in all three formats.”

Karnataka, who only took one point from their opening game, look to jump-start their season against a Bengal side desperate to shake off a winless 2014-15

Vishal Dikshit in Bangalore07-Oct-2015The moods of the two sides that will clash at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium starting Thursday were reflected in their respective captains’ demeanor when they arrived for the pre-match press conferences. Bengal’s Manoj Tiwary seemed tentative when he walked in, wishing the reporters “good afternoon”, getting no response, and speaking softly even in the absence of a microphone. Karnataka’s Vinay Kumar strutted in confidently, in flip-flops, like the leader of a side that has been winning domestic tournaments one after another. Well, they have been.After a winless 2014-15 season, Bengal start this year’s campaign against the defending champions. With a home record of three wins and two draws last season, Karnataka will be hungry to roar back after a disappointing opening match away from home against recently-promoted Assam. Even though Karnataka conceded the first-innings lead in the drawn match, Vinay said he wasn’t worried, and was looking forward rather than backwards.”Sometimes it happens, we need to come back strongly,” he said. “Many teams may give up after scoring 180 and they concede 250-300, but we fought really well. It happens but I won’t think much about that game. We need to forget about it and move forward. Last year also it happened, we conceded first-innings lead twice.”Bengal have their own battles to fight – they were nearly relegated last season, wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha was injured until recently, there were pre-season controversies during a preparatory tour of Sri Lanka, and some captaincy friction before Tiwary took the mantle. Tiwary will be challenged to get the best out of his individual players as well as make the team click as a unit. Only one Bengal bowler – Ashok Dinda – took more than 15 wickets last season, and no regular bowler averaged under 30. The batsmen will have better numbers to fall back on – three of them accumulated over 400 runs each and four averaged over 40 last time – but Tiwary said bringing out a collective batting performance would be his biggest task.”For us, it’s always the batting unit that is a bigger concern,” Tiwary said. “Our bowling department has done really well over the last couple of years, we have world-class bowlers. It’s just that as a batting unit we have not clicked together which normally leads to our downfall. Having said that, this season has been very different. VVS Laxman, as batting consultant, has helped to work on the basics of our batsmen. He’s been spending a lot of time with them, lots of videos he has done with the players. I’m very sure the difference will be seen here.”Bengal will be relieved they have a fully fit squad now, including Saha, and apart from Laxman’s services, Tiwary said the presence of other former players also gave the side a confidence-booster ahead of the season.”We have worked on our work ethic, we have put in more time than usual,” he said. “With the arrival of Sairaj [Bahutule as head coach], it’s helping a lot. In the fielding department we’ve got Joydeep Mukherjee and in the bowling department we have got Ranadeb Bose so all that experience is coming handy for all of us.”[Bahutule] has also brought in the culture of Mumbai as they have won many trophies so he knows what are the things to be done to cross that hurdle. We, as a team, did great in patches. Last year was not very good for us but before that we reached semi-finals. We were not able to work on our game to cross the line. He knows the areas we need to work on, reach the finals and be the champions.”Karnataka, unlike their opponents, are still carrying an injury. KL Rahul is recovering from his quadriceps injury and is likely to take another week before playing his next match. But Vinay said their batting had enough quality to cope, and in conjunction with a potent bowling attack, the side had enough strengths to focus on without dwelling on Bengal’s weaknesses.”We have a very good bowling side, one of the best in India,” Vinay said. “In batting also we have Karun Nair, Manish Pandey, and some of them have this year played for India. Robin [Uthappa] and KL are there, Samarth got a hundred in the last game.”Apart form those familiar names, Vinay Kumar also spoke highly of their new prospect, the left-arm spinner J Suchith – already known to IPL fans – who made his first-class debut against Bangladesh A last month with figures of 6 for 60 in the second innings.”He bowled really well,” Vinay Kumar said. “He’s a good prospect as he can bat, bowl and he’s a very good fielder. He’s an overall package actually and we can definitely expect performances from him that can help us win the games.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the opening round games in the South Group of the NatWest Blast

ESPNcricinfo staff15-May-2015Kent v Sussex

Luke Wright will be captaining Sussex for the first time, with Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene one of those under his charge. He is likely to be without four seamers, including Tymal Mills and Ajmal Shahzad, for their opener against Kent, as well as Sunday’s home game against Gloucestershire. But he will be able to tap into the considerable expertise of Jayawardene, who will be making his county debut with Sussex for the first half of the campaign before being replaced by George Bailey. Sam Northeast will lead Kent for the first time in the Blast after Rob Key’s decision to drop down to the 2nd XI in order to find some form and confidence. The hosts will also hope to include former Hampshire firebrand David Griffiths for the first time this season after a triceps injury.Gloucestershire v Middlesex

Captain James Franklin believes Middlesex can replicate their four-day form in Twenty20 and improve on a dismal recent record in the format. In the six tournaments since they won the competition in 2008, Middlesex are the only county not to reach the knockout stage at least once. Gloucestershire include Australian Big Bash centurion Peter Handscomb and powerful New Zealand allrounder Kieran Noema-Barnett and, after a couple of group games, will also be boosted by the return of Michael Klinger, the only other batsman apart from Handscomb to make a hundred in the 2014-15 BBL. Spinners Jack Taylor and Tom Smith could both play a part against Middlesex. Ian Cockbain will be captain in the absence of Klinger.Surrey v Glamorgan

Surrey have signed Wahab Riaz, who made such an impression for Pakistan in the World Cup, for a whirlwind 36-hour stint in which he will play in their first two group matches. Riaz will play in the opener at the Kia Oval followed by Saturday’s short trip to Essex, with Moises Henriques, the Australian allrounder, still on IPL duty with Sunrisers Hyderabad. “Wahab’s a quality bowler and we all saw how well he bowled for Pakistan at the World Cup, especially in that spell against Australia,” says their captain Gareth Batty. “It’s great to have him on board as our second overseas player alongside Kumar Sangakkara for these two opening games.” Glamorgan’s new overseas signing Wayne Parnell may not be fit to make his debut.Hampshire v Essex

Owais Shah will make his first appearance of the season for Hampshire against one of his former counties. Shah and Pakistan veteran Yasir Arafat provide a double boost after the Championship defeat by Yorkshire, where Fidel Edwards made his debut. Championship captain Jimmy Adams should be available after he missed the defeat by Yorkshire to attend the birth of his second child while former Essex wicketkeeper Adam Wheater, who was denied by injury from playing in the same match, is a doubt. Essex’s captain Ryan ten Doeschate is flying back from India to play in two games at the weekend, before returning to Kolkata, but they are missing Ravi Bopara, also at the IPL, as well as the injured Tom Westley. They have signed Shaun Tait as a second explosive overseas player alongside Jesse Ryder, and also have Reece Topley returning from injury.

Buttler pounds 162* as Malan and Salt also notch tons and Livingstone adds rapid 66

Valkerie Baynes17-Jun-2022If the Netherlands needed to enhance its long-held reputation as a prime party destination, it had only to look to Jos Buttler and his mates who strode in, set the records spinning, tore the place up and left their hosts wondering what on earth had just happened here.An ODI world-record total of 498 for 4, built on Buttler’s brutal 162 not out and further centuries from Dawid Malan and Phil Salt before Liam Livingstone smashed 66 from just 22 balls, left Netherlands facing an implausible target after winning the toss on an exceptional surface.It beat England’s own record for the highest ODI total of 481 for 6, made against Australia in 2018, and, despite spirited knocks from Max O’Dowd and Scott Edwards, who helped them come within two balls of seeing out their 50 overs, Netherlands lost by 232 runs.Following Jonny Bairstow’s jaw-dropping example to win the second Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge on Tuesday, Buttler plundered his score off just 70 deliveries with no part of the VRA ground or its surrounds safe as he launched the ball into trees, onto the Pavillion roof, over the commentary tent and onto the neighbouring hockey fields.Buttler scored England’s second-fastest hundred in ODIs, smashing his way to the mark off 47 balls. He now holds his side’s top-three fastest, his 46-ball effort in 2015 and 50-ball knock in 2019, both against Pakistan, bookending this one. In all, he struck 14 of England’s world record-breaking 26 sixes for the innings.Jos Buttler acknowledges the applause for his hundred•Getty Images

A warm, fine day began brightly enough for the hosts, when Jason Roy fell to his cousin, Shane Snater, on the seventh ball he faced, bowled through the gate by a fuller delivery that caught the inside edge before rattling the stumps and England were 1 for 1.Salt, playing his fourth ODI, scored his maiden international century with an assured knock, reaching 122 from just 93 balls. He signalled his intentions with a gorgeous cover drive to the boundary off Logan van Beek then launched him for six over midwicket.He should have been out for 40 when he hit Bas de Leede straight to deep backward point, where Snater shelled the chance, and he rammed home the mistake by cracking de Leede for four over wide long-on two balls later.Malan survived an lbw decision attempting a reverse-paddle off Pieter Seelaar on 25, his review showing that while the ball struck the front pad low and in line with middle stump, it was tracking past the top of leg.Salt took the lead role, bringing up his second ODI fifty off 39 balls with a four off Seelaar fine of long-off and he powered to 71 with six off van Beek over cow corner.Malan was somewhat becalmed after the powerplay but he raised the tempo by striking Aryan Dutt for four through point and Phillippe Boissevain for six down the ground. His subsequent six off Seelaar hit a tree over long-on and bounced back into the ground, unlike the one he struck in the ninth over that had to be fetched from the woods. He ended up sharing a 222-run stand with Salt, who finally fell top-edging van Beek to Boissevain at point.No matter for England as Buttler arrived at the crease and proceeded to reduce the Netherlands attack to cannon fodder.Buttler was virtually trading in boundaries alone as he reached a 27-ball fifty, including five sixes and two fours. Three of his maximums came within four balls from Seelaar, the first just clearing the rope after Vikramjit Singh had moved in from long-on followed by two more – increasing in distance – over the same area.To make matters worse for Netherlands, Buttler struck the next ball down the ground only for it to pop out of the hands of Musa Ahmed. And, of course, his half-century came up from another six as he muscled a Snater slower ball over long-off.Malan became only third English player behind Buttler and Heather Knight to score a century in each format when he dabbed a leg-side single off Boissevain. Malan’s innings ended when he eventually holed out to deep backward square leg off Seelaar, having notched up 125 off 109 balls and added 184 runs with Buttler, who contributed 139 of those.Liam Livingstone slammed 66 off 22 balls•Getty Images

Eoin Morgan then fell to a first-ball duck, lbw off Seelaar who managed to overturn his initial not-out decision and continue a lean run for Morgan, who has been troubled by injuries this year and managed just one international half-century in 18 months.Livingstone saw off the hat-trick ball nurdling a single through midwicket and, as another renowned heavy hitter in the England line-up, he completed Netherlands’ demoralisation, pummelling 32 runs off the next over from Boissevain.Livingstone raced to 46 off just 13 balls and was within reach of AB de Villiers’ 16-ball record for fastest ODI fifty but he managed just two runs while being dropped by Boissevain at deep square leg off Snater then faced two dot balls. He sent Snater’s next delivery into the sightscreen for six to reach the milestone from 17 balls, narrowly missing de Villers’ mark but claiming the England record for fastest ODI fifty.With the mystical 500-run mark still in England’s sights in the final over, Buttler took them past their world-best score with six off Snater’s third ball. But when Livingstone could only manage four off the penultimate delivery the well-oiled crowd groaned, realising it was now out of reach. Livingstone launched the final ball for six over deep midwicket, leaving them just two runs shy.When cameras panned to masses of schoolchildren at hockey practice next door, it was somewhat reassuring that Netherlands were batting by that stage. That was before O’Dowd got in on the act and became the first player to smash something other than a record when his straight six off Adil Rashid torpedoed into the press box window.O’Dowd was assertive in reaching a run-a-ball 55 but he fell charging at Reece Topley, who pinged the top of off stump. O’Dowd had helped steady the innings with an 80-run stand alongside Ahmed after Netherlands lost Singh in the third over.And so it was that as Netherlands batters made a starts, England’s bowlers plucked them out, sharing the wickets. Edwards was another exception, compiling an unbeaten 72 off 56 balls.Sam Curran made encouraging steps in his return from a back stress fractures, claiming two wickets from his nine overs. Livingstone, meanwhile, left the field twice during Netherlands’ reply suffering from some calf tightness and it fell to Malan to bowl the final over of the match – his first in ODIs. Malan secured his maiden wicket when he had last man out Boissevain caught behind by none other than Buttler.

Sri Lanka have named legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay as Lasith Malinga’s replacement, after a knee injury ruled the fast bowler out of the tournament on Friday

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Mar-20161:49

Match Day: SA’s class should show against Afghanistan

Sri Lanka have named legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay as Lasith Malinga’s replacement, after a knee injury ruled the fast bowler out of the tournament on Friday. Vandersay had been one of the two players who were withdrawn from the squad, 24 hours before the team left to India.His inclusion now strengthens Sri Lanka’s spin-bowling stocks, with Rangana Herath and Sachithra Senanayake already in the squad. There are only three specialist seam-bowling options following Malinga’s departure, however, with Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Kulasekara and Suranga Lakmal the only frontline quicks on tour.Vandersay made his T20I debut last July against Pakistan and has picked up one wicket in four T20Is so far. He was included for the Asia Cup recently but was unused, thanks partly to the the seamer-friendly nature of the pitches in that tournament..