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For a nation that heaps expectations on its cricketers, India’sdominance over England at Colombo was hugely satisfying, tosay the least. Coming after the equally exciting win at Lord’s inthe final of the NatWest Trophy, this game just goes to provethat India are now a daunting one-day outfit, and if anything willinstill fear into the hearts of their opponents, it is the battingthat Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag showed off on Sundayevening.

Ganguly, in my opinion, has started enjoying his cricket more oflate, but Sunday must have provided more than the usual shareof enjoyment and entertainment as he sat gleefully at the otherend while Sehwag went berserk. A smiling, encouraging captainis always a big asset, especially to the younger players, for hetakes the pressure off by a few opportune words.Once Ganguly and Sehwag had added 192 runs for the firstwicket in double-quick time, the match was virtually in the bag.Sehwag was the first to be dismissed, but not before he hadsealed a knock that is best described as inspirational. Hisdaredevil style of hitting through the line and on the rise -andhis astounding talent at succeeding – is quite, quite remarkable.England’s bowlers, especially Andy Caddick, were perhaps guiltyof trying to bowl too fast at Sehwag, for the increased paceonly made the youngster’s job easier, enabling him to use thepace to his own advantage. On a belter of a track like thePremadasa, there is little point in just trundling up and down,and more variations must be tried to throttle the batsmen.Sehwag in particular has a tendency to play a few loose shotsearly in his innings, and England’s bowlers failed woefully tocapitalise on that. With the line and length they were bowling,they only had a chance to get Sehwag if they obtained somemovement off the track. But as I said, given the pitchconditions, that was not likely to happen.Nasser Hussain could really not have anticipated such anonslaught, and in fact he would have been quite happy once hisbatsmen had put 269 on the board. Given India’s earlybreakthroughs, it was quite a feat by England to reach thatcompetitive total. Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan bowled brilliantfirst spells, and the early exit of Marcus Trescothick – always apivotal man for England – must have given the Indians a hugeboost.Hussain got out to a really atrocious stroke, and his battingmade the Indian quicks look twice as fast as they really were.That shot was not at all warranted in the situation, and if this ishow England is going to play in Australia, I am not sure they willbe able to make too many dents on the opposition. But I did likethe attitude and approach of young Ian Blackwell, refreshinglydifferent and positive as compared to his experiencedcolleagues.I must say, though, that India’s main spinners were a hugedisappointment. Both Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh areexperienced enough at the international level, and there is littleexcuse for not being on top of their game, especially on subcontinental tracks that always hold promise for spinners. I havealways emphasised the importance of turning and flighting theball, and neither Kumble nor Harbhajan managed to do enough ofthat on the day.On current form, the South Africans will surely find the Indianbatting too hot to handle. With Sehwag and Ganguly striking topform, there isn’t much any bowling attack can do, and the onlything India must guard against is complacency – a quality thatseems to creep in often, especially after a hugely one-sidedgame.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) today confirmed that Warwickshirecricketer, Melvyn Betts, has received three penalty points under the ECB’s new discipline code following an incident during Warwickshire’s Second Xl Championship match against Essex last week.Betts was reported by Umpire Ken Shuttleworth for a Level Two breach of the new code (showing serious dissent at an umpire’s decision by word or action).The penalty points remain on Betts’s record for a period of 12 months. Theaccumulation of nine or more penalty points in any 12-month period will result in an automatic suspension.The ECB’s new discipline code came into force at the start of this season.

Somerset Seconds travelled to Cardiff today to play against Glamorgan in their final 2nd XI Trophy match of the season.Batting first Glamorgan amassed 391 for 5 from their fifty overs.In reply Somerset were all out for 362 in 48.1 overs, with Carl Gazzard top scoring with 81 from just 47 balls.

Lancashire plan to build a new training facility in Farington, near Preston, which will host men’s and women’s first-team games to address a “pressing” need for a second permanent home ground.The club revealed their plans in conjunction with Lancashire County Council on Wednesday which, subject to public consultation and planning development, would see a new, year-round facility build in Central Lancashire featuring two full-sized pitches and training facilities including nets, a pavilion, a gym and hospitality space.Lancashire said in a press release that the facility would become a “centre of excellence” for women’s cricket in the North-West and would host “a number of men’s and women’s competitive matches each year when Emirates Old Trafford is unavailable”, as well as providing a training base.While Lancashire clarified that they will continue to use their outgrounds at Liverpool, Southport, Blackpool and Sedbergh School, Andy Anson, the club’s chairman, said that the growing number of fixtures and other events – including regular rock concerts – staged at Old Trafford had created a need for another home venue.”We’re thrilled to be working with Lancashire County Council on this project as we aim to grow the game of cricket in all its forms, from elite right through to recreational club cricket, together across the county,” Anson said.”With the number of international and domestic matches, as well as other events being held at Emirates Old Trafford, the need for a second ground has become pressing. It’s something that we’ve been working on for a while and the new development will provide fantastic elite facilities for both our men’s and women’s side and can also be used for recreational cricket and the wider community.”

Coach Russell Domingo wants Bangladesh to put aside their obsession with winning, and instead shift the focus onto how to actually get the job done. Bangladesh have lost all three of their Super 12s matches so far, and go into Tuesday’s game against South Africa with a slim mathematical chance – provided other results go their way – of progressing further in the tournament.”We know there’s an obsession with winning and disappointment when you don’t win. Our focus is the process and how we are going to achieve that win,” Domingo said on the eve of the South Africa game. “Everybody is trying to win every single game but when you are focused only on that, you lose track of the things you need to do to get that win.”I think we have to focus on our skills and processes in tomorrow’s game. If we do that, hopefully the result goes our way.”That they were able to run Sri Lanka and West Indies close should give them some confidence, he said. “Bangladesh have only won one game in the second phase of the T20 World Cup, ever. There’s an opportunity to improve on that record, to try to win the two [remaining Super 12] games. It will be a big stepping stone for us.”[So far in the Super 12s] we have played against past champions Sri Lanka, England and West Indies. They are tough sides. In two of those games, we were on top for almost 80-90% of those games. We have to look at the positives. We had Sri Lanka and West Indies under pressure. We didn’t finish well with the bat against West Indies. We didn’t finish well with the ball against Sri Lanka.”We have to focus on the positive aspects, and then limit the mistakes. We made mistakes in crucial stages.”Domingo agreed when asked if, due to all the talk around the Bangladesh’s floundering campaign, it is easy to forget when young players like Shoriful Islam and Mohammad Naim do well. “Fortunately I am not on social media. I don’t read too much of it. Most of my social media used to be when I was involved in fishing. Not so much cricket. So I am not too sure what’s getting said out there.Related

• T20 World Cup: Bangladesh, the rot within, and a campaign destined to fail

• Group 1 scenarios: England flying but not yet assured of semi-finals spot

• Hamstring injury puts Shakib out of remainder of T20WC

• Bangladesh's growing problem of dropping catches drags them down

“[But] there have been so many good performances from some of the young boys like Shoriful and Naim. When things are not going well, you forget to look at those positive aspects. We are one of the youngest sides, age-wise, but people forget that because we have two or three really experienced players.”The results haven’t been great but I have been proud of how the boys fought during those tense encounters.”Domingo said Bangladesh will try to exploit South Africa’s shortcomings against spin. South Africa’s batting has been averaging 18.87 against spin in this tournament, as opposed to 28.55 against pace. “They are playing well at the moment. [But] having worked in South Africa for a long time myself, we know there’s always a question mark over the way they play spin.”Hopefully the conditions will help us tomorrow. There are certain areas we will look to exploit when we play against them. We have had some good discussions this morning.”The absence of the injured Shakib Al Hasan, of course, will reduce their spin advantage over South Africa and disturb Bangladesh’s overall balance. Domingo said that they might look to cover for him with part-time spin, so that the batting is not weakened too much.”Shakib is obviously a big loss for the balance of the side. The team will also miss his leadership and the calmness that he brings to pressure situations.”When he doesn’t play, you go a batsman or bowler light. You might have to play a part-time bowler. But it does provide someone new [a chance] to make his first World Cup appearance tomorrow.”

In their first two games since the resumption of IPL 2021, Royal Challengers Bangalore managed all of five wickets combined in two massive losses. On Sunday, they ran into the defending champions, dearly needing a win to turn around a mid-season slump. And they got it in style.Virat Kohli struck another half-century, Glenn Maxwell provided middle-overs firepower and key wickets before Yuzvendra Chahal and Harshal Patel, state-mates from Haryana, topped off a memorable night with emphatic bowling spells. Chahal picked up 3 for 11, while Patel bagged a hat-trick (inclusive of the key wickets of Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard). It consigned Mumbai Indians to their third straight loss in the UAE-leg of the tournament, their title defence hanging by a thread.

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Kohli’s milestone in eventful powerplay
Dropped on zero by Rahul Chahar at deep square leg, Kohli looked in ominous touch upfront despite the early loss of Devdutt Padikkal. He kept finding boundaries off the pacers, some streaky, others imperious. Jasprit Bumrah was among those who bore the brunt, at one stage being deposited for six towards the short square-leg boundary that made Kohli the first Indian – and just the fifth overall, after Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Shoaib Malik and David Warner – to get to 10,000 T20 runs. The shot of the evening, however, was Kohli’s shovelled-six over long-on off Adam Milne’s fourth-stump half-volley. After five overs, Royal Challengers were well placed at 44 for 1.Bharat, Maxwell turn on the heat
KS Bharat is the latest experiment in what has been a bit of a roulette at No. 3 for RCB, with Rajat Patidar and Shahbaz Ahmed previously tried and benched. After a forgettable first outing, he shredded pressure with some delightfully executed slog sweeps, dispatching Chahar twice over deep square leg. Bharat fell soon after the second of those hits, lofting to wide long-off for a 24-ball 32, with Chahar giving him a bit of a send-off.Maxwell’s fifty and Bumrah’s death-overs mastery
Maxwell walked in and didn’t let the surface or the lack of pace dictate his thought processes, instead trusting his own game – he had the belief to execute his switch-hits against the spinners, twice peppering the shorter boundary. Before that, Hardik Pandya had let off Kohli on 37, dropping him at point, and then Mumbai burnt a review on Maxwell. It told you of their desperation. Kohli would bring up his fifty off 40 balls – his scoring rate slowed significantly in the second half of his innings – before falling two balls later.AB de Villiers tried to offset that loss, swatting Bumrah for six off his second ball even as Maxwell merrily reverse-scooped and reverse-ramped his way to a 33-ball half-century. Bumrah then came back to remove both dangerous batters off successive deliveries, with eight balls left in the innings. Before Bumrah’s 19th over, ESPNcricinfo’s Forecaster projected a total of 180 for Royal Challengers. Then, he and Boult delivered two fine overs that meant they finished 15 fewer than that. Bumrah finished with 3 for 36 and, between them, Mumbai’s two premier pacers had combined figures of 8-0-53-4.In what could worry the Indian team management, Hardik, who missed the first two games in the UAE, didn’t bowl a single over and, later, looked off colour with the bat.Glenn Maxwell is pumped up after dismissing Rohit Sharma•BCCI

Rohit, de Kock in murderous mood
Mohammed Siraj breathed fire, touching 147.4kph and swinging it late, in a tight over upfront, but a Kyle Jamieson no-ball proved the signal to change momentum for Mumbai. Rohit Sharma ticked off three successive boundaries in that 17-run over from Jamieson. Royal Challengers could’ve had a wicket in the fourth over, had Siraj managed to effect a direct hit at the bowler’s end to find de Kock short of his ground going for a quick single. de Kock took advantage of that life immediately, dispatching Dan Christian for successive boundaries as Mumbai raced to 51 for 0 in five overs.Chahal, Maxwell apply the brakes
Four balls is all it took for Chahal to leave his stamp on the game as he foxed de Kock in flight and had him hole out to the longer boundary at deep midwicket in the seventh over. With Christian looking off colour, Kohli brought on Maxwell, possibly to complete that four-over quota, and the move worked, as he dismissed Rohit in his second over.Two balls earlier, Rohit had a mini scare when he copped a painful blow on his left wrist when a rocket hit from Ishan Kishan struck him even before he could take evasive action. Did this result in Rohit’s lack of power as he tried to muscle Maxwell down the ground? He ended up dragging one to wide long-on, and Royal Challengers suddenly had a grip on Mumbai. Three balls later, Kishan, deceived in flight and turn by Chahal, sliced one to short third man to fall for a 12-ball 9. Mumbai were 81 for 3 in 10.3 overs.They needed a sense of calm at that point, but Krunal Pandya, sent up the order, struggled against some impressive back-of-the-hand slower ones from Harshal. He pottered to 5 off 10 before he was beaten, going for a desperate heave, to give Maxwell his second wicket. Maxwell finished with 4-0-23-2 to go with his fine half-century.Harshal joins the party
On the same surfaces in IPL 2020, Suryakumar Yadav, Mumbai’s designated No. 3, and was in the form of his life. A year on, he’s searching for form and, seemingly, confidence. The shot he played to get out suggested this, as he reached out to a full and wide off-cutter, one that he may have otherwise left, to slice a catch to short third man. At 97 for 5 in 14.1 overs, the chase was cracking.Then came Harshal, the season’s highest wicket-taker so far, and he closed the game off by delivering a memorable third over that brought him a hat-trick. His scalps – Hardik, Pollard and Rahul Chahar – all fell prey to his slower variations. Hardik mistimed a hoick, Pollard was bowled looking to walk across and tickle fine, and Chahar missed a dipping slower one that would’ve crashed into leg stump. Chahal and Harshal, the Haryana boys, by then had combined figures of 7 for 28. The resigned look in the Mumbai camp told you a story.

South Africa have been given sufficient reassurances about security to be “comfortable” to remain in England following the terrorist attack in Manchester, according to team manager Mohammed Moosajee. Following the bombing at the Manchester Arena on Monday night, Moosajee admitted there were some concerns – especially because the team’s three-month tour ends with a Test in the city, where they are due to stay at a hotel close to the Manchester Arena – but he confirmed they are satisfied with the guarantees they have been given.”The players are uneasy,” Moosajee said. “There was a lot of chatter at the breakfast table and I’m happy to say we’ve had constant communication from the ECB and the security manager. There have been some reassurances and guarantees put in place that the security arrangements will be supplemented, starting today. We’ve been told there will be more visible policing at the stadiums, at practice sessions as well as the hotels that we will reside at.”The hotel we will stay at when we are in Manchester for the last Test match is walking distance away from where the events unfolded so there have been some genuine concerns and I think the process has started to make sure the players are reassured that arrangements are being made to try and keep them safe.”Among the measures is the provision of a full-time security liaison officer, who the ECB has provided and who will remain with the South Africa squad for the entire duration of the tour. South Africa also have their own security team traveling with them. “Most teams travel with their own security team,” Moosajee said. “There are guys that travel ahead and do their own recces and intelligence. We are comfortable with the advice we get from our security team.”The ICC has already put out a statement about security ahead of the Champions Trophy, which will be held in London, Birmingham and Cardiff from June 1-18, following the ODI series between England and South Africa.”We’re planning for all eight teams to be here,” said Steve Elworthy, the tournament director. “David Richardson [ICC chief executive] has been in contact with and has been emailing all the teams participating. There is certainly a communication channel open around this and that dialogue continues as we speak. It’s critical and paramount that we deliver a safe, impressive and exciting tournament for everybody involved.”Moosajee said the information South Africa received from their own intelligence, as well as that of the ICC and the ECB, meant they never entertained the thought of going home early, although they will continue to monitor developments.”If this had happened in another country in the world, that would be the first question people would ask: is the tournament at risk, is the series at risk? As long as people are feeding us the correct information and we trust our advisors – then as things stand, there was no mention of us even thinking of abandoning the tour. If the intelligence information provided tells us something else then obviously we will have to reconsider.”Along with condemning the attack as “abhorrent and despicable”, Moosajee also said the South Africa squad wanted to take a stand by not being intimidated in the aftermath of the incident. “I don’t think that as sportspeople, we should allow ourselves to be held ransom because otherwise you won’t have world events and you won’t have touring teams,” he said. “We’ve just got to make sure that we trust the system and we trust the people put in place to give us the necessary advice and reassurances.”

You have played under a variety of setups over the past 12 years. How do you rate the current one?
This is probably the best setup I have been a part of. It may have something to do with my acquaintance with the boys. It is a setup I have seen over a period of time and so there is a familiarity. A lot has to do also with the way the youngsters respond to me, and to the seniors. When I say `senior’, I mean on the basis of cricketing experience, not age.The understanding of fitness in this setup is very high. Everybody works hard; everybody knows their responsibility. These are things that make the team look more together. The team thinks more professionally about the game.Professionalism is an important word, isn’t it?
Very important. Professionalism is when people start taking responsibilities, start thinking more about the team, start focusing on the objective; when words like accountability mean something.When do you think it really crept into the Indian team?
It has happened over a period of time. People have changed; we have learned from seeing the other sides. We have realised that every person has to take the lead. The realisation process, looking at someone successful and learning from them, that is what the team has gone through over a period of time.Is this pace trio – yourself, Zaheer and Nehra – the best you’ve been a part of?
I think so, yes.How much have the strides taken by Zaheer and Nehra impressed you?
It is amazing how they have graduated. Though Ashish took some time, I think his spell against England [in the World Cup] has really changed his mindset towards cricket. Such match-winning performances by Indian fast bowlers are a rarity. Indian conditions don’t allow fast bowlers to taste enough success. Fast bowlers go for 60-70 runs in 10 overs all the time here. They don’t feel that they are a real contributing factor in the side. When they find the right conditions, when they are able to play match-winning roles, they will become completely different bowlers.What is your approach to working with the young guys? They talk often about the advice received from you.
These guys are fast learners. To be honest, I don’t do anything special. The guys are learning on their own – they have the skills to listen and learn. They see other bowlers do well and they try and understand what’s working and implement it. It’s also a mutual exchange. It’s not about me being the Master and them learning. Everybody learns together. Everybody shares the idea.You said in an interview a while back that one of your main motivations to make a comeback was to give support to a guy like Zaheer …
It was not the only reason. But yes, as I said, the attitude in the team is that you have to help one another. The culture needs to be strong in the sense that if A doesn’t click, then B must. How do you develop this culture? It can only happen if youngsters who have strength and energy understand and implement what the people with experience think. If this exchange happens you can develop match-winners.How strong was Sourav’s persuasion in your comeback?
Well, it was not a persuasion as such. At some point, I was not on the same line of thinking as the selectors. They felt that I was done and over. And I respected that. Everyone has their own opinions and judgments. But it’s really the people around you, your team-mates, who inspire confidence in you. That’s probably the biggest motivating factor. The selectors may put you in the side but if the players don’t need you, then what’s the point? But my case was exactly the opposite.The team huddle came to symbolise India during the World Cup. What kinds of things are said there?
We take stock of the situation. We look at how things are going, who is the next batsman coming in, what will be the field setting, where do we stand at this point of the game. We just focus ourselves once again and remind ourselves of the goals set at the beginning of the match: are we on track?You also mentioned the level of fitness in the side. What’s a typical day of training like?
Well, there are three different phases to this. One is off-season training. The question there is how to look after your body when you are not playing. It entails a lot of running, sprints, aerobic and anaerobic exercises, a lot of endurance training, a lot of weight training. All of these need to complement one another. Then you get into match training – gearing yourself for the match environment. The third type of training is when you are in the middle of a series – maintenance training. You need to work on the body parts that are feeling weak. Rehabilitation is a crucial and complex part of training.How much has this entire process changed since Adrian Le Roux and Andrew Leipus joined the team?
It has become much more scientific and methodological. Why do we need to run today? There should be a reason behind it. Do you run because everybody else runs or do you run because it’s an important ingredient of your training? We now ask the question why and also understand the answers. Why are we doing the sprint training today? These are the kinds of things that I think the players have understood very well.It must be worlds away from the time you began in international cricket. Could things have been different if the support system had been around earlier?
Maybe. If we had this kind of support 10 years ago, it could have been a different story altogether. But you can’t help it. It’s the past. We thought at that point of time that it’s the best cricket we could play.The important point is that things are changing. We now have the best physiotherapist we have ever had, and a fitness trainer too. What we lack is somebody like Sandy Gordon. A psychologist can make a big difference.Having these people in the set-up doesn’t mean India will be unbeatable – but they change the attitude of the side; they change everybody’s way of thinking. That’s why we need them – cricket is not a matter of batting and bowling skills alone.Would you agree there have been too many lost talents in Indian fast bowling in the past decade?
Yes, and I feel sorry for them because there is not much of a role for fast bowlers to play in India. Look at the wickets. You expect fast bowlers to just take the shine off the ball. That has been the attitude for the couple of decades that I have seen Indian cricket, and that is the reason you haven’t seen too many things happening for fast bowlers. Nor do I see dramatic changes in the future unless the wickets improve.The wickets haven’t improved since the time you started?
Nothing has changed. The danger is that when things don’t go well for a fast bowler, on a bad day, he will lose belief in himself, lose his motivation and his confidence altogether.Was the entire pitch-relaying scheme last year an eyewash?
It has done nothing. In fact, it has really slowed the wickets. The Mumbai wicket has slowed. The Kolkata wicket, which was probably the best Test match strip in the country, has gone down considerably. The Bangalore wicket was relaid only a few years ago, but they dug it up again. That too has been a very, very disappointing track.Any truth to the statement that these new wickets take some time to play at their best?
I don’t think so. The wicket depends on the binding factor and consistency of the soil. If anything, they slow down with time.Yet, despite the pitches, we are seeing more and more fast bowlers coming up.
The reason for that is we are playing more and more cricket outside India. If you keep fast bowlers on Indian pitches for too long, where they don’t derive much success, they will start looking mediocre.Does that also imply that most of the bowlers are really learning the craft after they make it to the international level?
Yes, that’s the problem in India. The gulf between domestic and international cricket is too high. You can’t really judge a bowler by his performances in the domestic tournaments on these wickets. The `A’ tours probably give a better idea of his calibre.Do you think there is a danger of bowling wickets making bowlers reliant on them, just as batting wickets tend to pamper our batsmen? It has, at times, been cited as a problem in England.
Adaptability is very important. In any case, wickets in India can never be as conducive to fast bowling as in England. In England, in the initial part of the season, there is a lot of help for the bowlers, but it flattens out towards the end of the season. So at the end of the day it’s a plus-minus situation. In India, it’s always a minus for the bowlers.Do you think we could do with a specialist bowling coach?
It should help. It depends on the sort of relationship he has with the boys and how he articulates his knowledge. That’s the key.How vital is an institution like the MRF Pace Foundation for us?
It’s a fantastic place. I would like to specially mention this point. MRF is the heart for fast bowling in this country. I have benefited enormously from them. It gives a shape to your body and your bowling. The advice from the coaches there has been invaluable for me. I’ve kept in touch with them right through, and during my shoulder injury they were of great help. These are the kind of things we need. It’s a dream for the fast bowlers in this country.

ScorecardThe Tamil Nadu team and support staff pose with the Deodhar Trophy•Andhra Cricket Association

Tamil Nadu clinched the 2016-17 Deodhar Trophy after Dinesh Karthik struck a 91-ball 126 to rescue his side, who were initially struggling at 39 for 3. Rahil Shah’s three crucial wickets – Shikhar Dhawan, Manish Pandey and Gurkeerat Singh Mann – eventually helped them beat India B comprehensively by 42 runs in Visakhapatnam.Karthik, who recently scored a match-winning 112 in the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy to help TN qualify for the Deodhar Trophy, carried a rich vein of form entering the three-team tournament. After knocks of 88 against Kerala, 81 against Tripura, 77 against Baroda and 112 in the Vijay Hazare final against Bengal, Karthik struck 93 crucial runs against India A two days ago before completing his tenth List A century on Wednesday.He came in at No. 5, after Dhawal Kulkarni ran through TN’s top three, and partnered N Jagadeesan in what would seem like a rebuilding process. But Karthik had other ideas, taking the challenge to the opposition, hitting 14 fours and three sixes to set up a strong platform for TN. Jagadeesan gave scored a patient 55 as the two built a 136-run fourth-wicket partnership. India B’s Axar Patel, who went for over six runs per over, finally removed Karthik in the 39th over, but by then the wicketkeeper-batsman had taken their run rate past the six-run mark. TN scored another 62 runs off the last 11 overs to finish on 303 for 9 even as wickets tumbled towards the finish. Kulkarni took two late wickets to finish with 5 for 39.After India B captain Parthiv Patel fell in the fourth over of the chase, Dhawan (45 off 34 balls) and Pandey (32) took on the TN bowlers. They added 64 runs off 45 balls to give their team a solid start. But a flurry of wickets and an untimely injury to Pandey pegged India B back. Dhawan was the first to go, in the 11th over, followed by Ishank Jaggi six balls later, before Pandey retired hurt for 23 at the score of 93 for 3. Gurkeerat kept the chase ticking with a well-constructed half-century but with wickets falling at the other end, India B succumbed to the rising required run rate and were all out for 261 in 46.1 overs. Pandey did return to bat at 222 for 6 but was stumped for 32 off left-arm spinner Shah who finished with 3 for 40 from 10 overs.

Wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi has returned to New Zealand’s ODI and T20I squads for the upcoming series against South Africa after recovering from a groin injury. New Zealand named 14-man squads for the one-off T20I in Auckland on February 17 and the first two ODIs in Hamilton and Christchurch on February 19 and 22.Legspinner Ish Sodhi retained his place in the ODI squad, after having been included in the group for the final game of the Chappell-Hadlee Series, while opener Martin Guptill, who missed the last two games against Australia with a hamstring injury, was also named in both squads.Batsman Colin Munro was dropped from the ODI squad after making 3 and 2 in the Chappell-Hadlee Series against Australia.”Colin hasn’t quite shown the consistency he would like in the middle order and we feel Jimmy [Neesham] is deserved of an opportunity with the bat at six,” New Zealand selector Gavin Larsen said. “Having two frontline spinners in the side gives us flexibility and Ish is an aggressive bowler who in the right conditions can be a real threat for us.”It will be great to have Luke back in the mix. He’s the number one white-ball wicketkeeper in the country and brings considerable experience to the group.” Ronchi’s return meant there was no place for reserve wicketkeeper Tom Blundell.Fast bowler Adam Milne was picked in a New Zealand XI to play a practice game against the South Africans on February 14. It will be Milne’s first competitive game since his one-match appearance for Royal Challengers Bangalore in April 2016. Milne has been on the sidelines since then because of a hamstring tear and then an elbow injury.T20I squad: Kane Williamson (capt), Corey Anderson, Trent Boult, Tom Bruce, Lockie Ferguson, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, James Neesham, Luke Ronchi (wk), Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ben Wheeler
In: Tim Southee. Out: Tom Blundell, Matt Henry, George Worker, Neil BroomODI squad: Kane Williamson (capt), Trent Boult, Neil Broom, Lockie Ferguson, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, James Neesham, Luke Ronchi, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Ross Taylor
In: Luke Ronchi. Out: Tom Blundell, Colin MunroNew Zealand XI squad: Glenn Phillips, Neil Broom, Henry Nicholls, Tom Bruce, Ross Taylor, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Todd Astle, Adam Milne, Matt Henry, Henry Shipley, Zak Gibson