However you want to slice it, he is a three-format monster and Sri Lanka’s first serious entry into the space-age batting genre

Andrew Fidel Fernando19-Jun-2025Roughly 70 overs into a scorching third day against Bangladesh in Galle, Pathum Nissanka smokes Bangladesh’s fastest bowler through the covers, flicks him past the keeper next ball, and soon speeds from the 150s into the 160s.He had faced a little over 200 deliveries by this stage, but even this far into a long day, Bangladesh’s bowlers are finding there is still so little room for error with this guy. While they labour in their run ups, feet picked off the ground as if out of wet sand, Nissanka is taut, poised and clinical. If your length is off, he has laid into a crisp drive, a rasping cut, and a dismissive pull, almost before you’ve looked.Bangladesh’s seamers are tall and imposing. Nissanka is compact and lean. But in this moment, on a flat Galle surface, Nissanka strikes you as the bully. In some passages, he is so intent on working every possible scoring opportunity that on his own he feels like a SWAT team storming every room of a building in search of suspects (runs).Related

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His first 50 took 88 balls, as he let Lahiru Udara make the early charge while he settled in, but his next 50 took 48 balls, the next one 74, and he was roughly on track to make another 75-ish ball 50 when he was dismissed late in the day. His 187 off 256 balls (a strike rate of 73), is largely why Sri Lanka traveled at close to four runs an over, giving them a greater chance of moving into a winning position. But this 187, his third Test hundred in as many continents, is not Nissanka’s highest international score. That would be his 210 not out in ODIs.Any way you slice it, Nissanka is Sri Lanka’s first serious entry into the space-age batting genre. You know the type by now, right? The Harry Brooks, Glenn Phillips, Yashasvi Jaiswals of the world – the kind possessed of an ultramodern batting brain that takes the lessons from the shorter formats and sprinkles them effortlessly into the longest. Already, batters such as Virat Kohli, Steven Smith, and even Babar Azam, feel like prototypes of these. With the newest generation, the batting IQ is more elastic, the skills are more transferable, and the transitions are observably smoother. Getting stuck? Hitting a wall? Retreating into your shell? Ew. What is that?Sri Lanka have had three-format monsters before, but for the likes of Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, they had had to go through the effort of embracing aggression and innovation. For Nissanka, rapid and emphatic evolution is a natural component of his cricketing journey. Nissanka’s first Test hundred had been a hugely stodgy 252-ball 103 in the Caribbean, after he had broken into the red-ball team on the back of a first-class average in the mid 60s.Following that, he had a lean spell in Tests, and became a white-ball specialist while he overcame a bad back injury. Having picked up new skills, he returned to Tests, and hit a 127 not out at better than a run-a-ball at The Oval last year, in what was Sri Lanka’s funnest Test win of 2024.

“Until this match, I’d never hit a Test hundred in Sri Lanka. I’d wanted to break my own mental barrier. Thankfully, today I was able to do that.”Pathum Nissanka after his 187

He may be 27, but it is clear that already, we are looking at Nissanka 2.0. Cricket may still be lugging an almost 150-year old multi-day format, but as more nations are drawn into the sport’s gravity, and the populations in cricketing centres continue to explode, even the oldest format is probably changing as quickly as it ever has.If we are to be critical of the batter that has top-scored in this match so far, it is that he didn’t score enough runs down the ground. Yes, Nissanka has strong wrists and prefers the funkier anglings of the bat, even against the juiciest half volleys. But modern batting is also about accessing all 360 degrees of the ground. So sorry, we will be filing the wagon wheel of Nissanka’s biggest Test innings under “Areas for improvement”. When you are a three-format batter in the third decade of the three-format age, these are the breaks.Nissanka, helpfully, also thinks of his batting as having format-specific holes that need to be filled. “Until this match, I’d never hit a Test hundred in Sri Lanka,” Nissanka said after his 187. “I’d wanted to break my own mental barrier. Thankfully, today I was able to do that.”Another of Nissanka’s answers reveals a generational change. Asked how he and Dinesh Chandimal had planned to bat in what turned out to be the biggest partnership of the innings so far – a 157-run stand – Nissanka said they had planned to “just bat normally”. Chandimal was once one of the most aggressive Sri Lanka batters of his youth. But to him, batting normally meant hitting 54 off 119 balls. Nissanka also faced 119 balls in that partnership. But he crashed 103 runs.Pathum Nissanka brought up his fifty in 88 balls•Ishara S Kodikara/AFP via Getty ImagesScoring faster is actually a team directive, Nissanka revealed. “When we came into this series, we had a target that in this [World Test Championship] cycle, we’d raise our run rate. We tried that, and we have been successful so far. Hopefully, we can take that forward into other matches.” This, actually, is pretty standard stuff for a Test team in the mid 2020s.It took an exceptional second-new-ball delivery from Hasan Mahmud to dismiss Nissanka. It snaked in viciously, flicked the edge of his front pad, and crashed into the stumps. Nissanka missed out on a Test double century by 13 runs, and did express regret about it. But he didn’t seem that cut up. Don Bradman has 12 double-hundreds on his own, and Kumar Sangakkara has 11. Only ten batters ever have made ODI double tons. Nissanka is already part of the more elite club.If Nissanka’s goal is three-format domination, this innings, his biggest in Tests, is a good staging post. Sri Lanka’s hope is that for him, as for some hypermodern others, success in one format carries seamlessly into match-winning batting in another, and another. Sri Lanka don’t have any Tests to play in the next ten months after this series ends. But with huge T20 assignments coming up, they still desperately need Nissanka in roaring form.

The five T20Is in England offer India an early glimpse of the World Cup venues and a chance to narrow down personnel that could do the job for them

Sruthi Ravindranath26-Jun-2025

T20Is back in focus for India

This series will be India’s first T20I assignment of the year. Their last series was against West Indies at home in December, which they won, but 2024 was all about heartbreaks: a loss in the Asia Cup final followed by a group-stage exit in the T20 World Cup. Most of the players were, however, in action at the Women’s Premier League (WPL) in February.They do have several T20Is lined up after this series before the T20 World Cup next year – they will be playing three home T20Is against Bangladesh, three in Australia in February 2026 followed by a tri-series in New Zealand which will also feature England in May – but this will be their chance to try out new faces. India will also be playing across five venues, all of which will be hosting T20 World Cup matches next year.

New (and old) faces in the T20I squad

The returning Shafali Verma is likely to slot straight in as opener, given her superb form in the last few months in domestic cricket and the WPL. In her absence during the West Indies T20Is, Uma Chetry opened with Smriti Mandhana but failed to make an impact.Related

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A few new faces have been added to the bowling department. Left-arm spinner N Shree Charani and seam-bowling allrounders Kranti Goud and Sayali Satghare have received their maiden T20I call-ups, while batting allrounder Amanjot Kaur has been recalled into the T20I squad.Sneh Rana has returned to the T20I squad for the first time since February 2023 on the back of her impressive performances with the ball – and on one occasion with the bat – in WPL 2025. She also picked up two wickets in the three overs she bowled in the tour game against ECB XI in Beckenham.There’s a bit of inexperience in the fast-bowling unit with the likes of Renuka Singh and Pooja Vastrakar out of this series. They had not played India’s last assignment – the ODI tri-series with Sri Lanka and South Africa in April and May – due to injuries. India might field a completely new bowling line-up from the West Indies T20Is in December, barring Radha Yadav. With Renuka and Vastrakar expected to be back at some point, India will be looking to build their fast-bowling reserves in this series.Amanjot could be the new-age finisher India are looking for•BCCI

The gaps India will look to fill

India have persisted with Harmanpreet Kaur as captain in the format despite the criticism she faced after the T20 World Cup exit. Between then and now, she’s proved her capabilities as a T20 leader by taking Mumbai Indians to their second WPL trophy this season. She is also one of India’s best batters in the format, having been their go-to during pressure situations, as she showed during India’s T20 World Cup group-stage game against Australia where she top-scored as the rest of the line-up collapsed around her. Last year, she had spoken about the need for India to develop the “mindset” to deal with nerves. With two global tournaments to be played in the next year, captain Harmanpreet’s focus will be on assembling a squad specifically with players who can handle pressure situations better.The batting department looks solid with Mandhana, Shafali, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet and Richa Ghosh making the top five. However, India have been hurt by a lack of contribution from the lower middle order, which also troubled them during the T20 World Cup last year. Their batters from No. 6 and further down strike at just 104.05 and have just hit just four sixes in total in 42 matches since 2023.Spin-bowling allrounder Deepti Sharma, who’s played in the middle order, has a strike rate of just 99.10 since 2023. India will also want to nail down the rest of the line-up, which has seen several changes in the last few years. Amanjot, who showed off her skills as a finisher in the WPL, will be one of India’s options to fill that gap in the middle order, though she played at No. 3 in the tour game in Beckenham, with Rodrigues dropping to five.India have also not been able to nail down their go-to spin option in the format. Deepti aside, they have tried as many as ten spinners since 2023. While Rajeshwari Gayakwad has been out of favour recently, the likes of Saika Ishaque, Shreyanka Patil and S Asha – who were part of the last few series – have not found a place in this squad. One of the three spinners in the squad – Radha, Rana and youngster Charani will want to make the most of their chance to make sure India’s search for a reliable spinner ends.

Where India have improved

India will also want to define the brand of T20 cricket they want to play, with their batting approach having come under scrutiny over the last few years. While Ghosh has the highest strike rate of 148.80 among all players since 2023 (minimum 200 balls faced), India’s next best is Mandhana’s strike rate of 122.66, which exposes this gap. Ghosh also has the best balls per six ratio of 18.75 since 2023, while Mandhana, who’s hit the most sixes for India in this period, has hit one every 40 balls.India’s overall scoring rate, however, has seen an improvement: they were at their best-ever in 2024, scoring at 7.99 per over compared to 6.93 in 2023. They also posted their highest-ever T20I total of 217 (in the third T20I against West Indies) in 2024. But their run rate at the death since 2023 is 8.86 compared to Australia’s 10.16, the best on this list.

He’s bowled three overs in the powerplay in each of their first two games – a marked difference in how Bumrah’s overs are usually deployed

Shashank Kishore16-Sep-20259:02

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Two games into their Asia Cup campaign, India have used Jasprit Bumrah differently from the norm.Instead of bowling the majority – or at least half – of his overs at the death, Bumrah has been given three of his four overs inside the powerplay in both matches. Against UAE, it may have been to get him acclimatised to match conditions, having been on a break since the fifth Test against England ended in the first week of August. But India repeated the tactic against Pakistan too.In 244 T20s prior to the Asia Cup, Bumrah had bowled three overs in the powerplay only 11 times, and not once in T20Is since 2019. For context, even in IPL 2025, he averaged just one over in this phase. India have gone spin-heavy in this Asia Cup, and by opting for batting until No. 8, they are playing just one specialist fast bowler with Hardik Pandya taking the new ball. The plan to front load Bumrah’s overs is for him cause the damage that Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy can capitalise on.Related

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“We’re very happy using him as an attacking option,” captain Suryakumar Yadav had said after the seven-wicket win over Pakistan on Sunday. “If he picks two wickets, even if he bowls a tight spell of his overs, later on we can have a good cushion for all the spinners to come over and make our job a little easier.”With Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana on the bench, the question is who India will turn to at the death if stretched at the Asia Cup and Bumrah doesn’t have many overs left? If Arshdeep gets into the XI at some stage, he’s the obvious choice for the death overs, having made the role his own in Bumrah’s absence from the T20I side following the 2024 T20 World Cup.The other question is whether any of their opponents can stretch India at the Asia Cup? Their next game is against Oman in Abu Dhabi on Friday – a game of no consequence considering India have already qualified for the Super Four round.None of Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel or Varun Chakravarthy are regular bowlers in the death overs. In T20Is since 2023, Kuldeep has bowled only 8% of his overs in this phase. For Varun it’s 4% and Axar 6%. While dew hasn’t been a factor so far, it could be later in the tournament, making it trickier for the spinners later in the evening.Jasprit Bumrah has bowled three overs in the powerplay in both matches at the Asia Cup•AFP/Getty ImagesOn Sunday, Shaheen Shah Afridi was able to score a career-best 33 off 16 balls at the death, lifting Pakistan to 127 when they had looked like being restricted for less. Kuldeep conceded seven runs in the 17th over, Varin 9 in the 18th, Bumrah 12 in the 19th and Hardik 16 in the final over.”I think Bumrah should bowl two overs with the new ball. That gives you flexibility later,” former India fast bowler Varun Aaron told ESPNcricinfo. “Obviously, the spinners are bowling really well, but if one of them has an off day and you desperately need a wicket, Bumrah is the guy who can break through in the middle. Or be your death overs king.”When you hold him back for two overs at the end, you’re almost guaranteed he won’t go for more than 10 an over. Imagine a scenario where opponents need 50 off five overs. With only one Bumrah over to play [in the death], opponents can afford to play him out and still chase down 43 or 44. With two overs of Bumrah up their sleeve, the equation shifts dramatically.””Having said that, the team management must have thought it through, maybe believing he could get the top batters early by bowling three up front. But personally, I feel two at the start is ideal. Then you have the flexibility of either two at the death or splitting it one in the middle and one at the end. When it gets to the business end, they’ll probably switch to a 2-2 split.”

The St Lucia Kings power-hitter has turned into an all-weather T20 batter who is especially dangerous against spin

Deivarayan Muthu16-Sep-2025Since July 2024, New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter Tim Seifert has been living out of a suitcase, enjoying stints in eight different T20 leagues around the world besides playing for the Black Caps. From Galle in the Lanka Premier League (LPL) to Guyana in the Caribbean Premier League, in which his team have got to the elimination stage, Seifert has stamped his authority in different parts of the world.Weeks or months of play-sleep-travel-repeat can be challenging but Seifert has embraced it. He is now gearing up to bring home back-to-back CPL titles for St Lucia Kings.”Yeah, I have enjoyed it [being a T20 globetrotter],” Seifert says before the CPL knockouts. “It can be a bit tough on the family at times as well, being away for so much. But it’s also good to bring them away on certain tours. On the whole, it’s been great. Not only T20 competitions but international cricket as well with the Black Caps.”When Seifert burst onto the international scene in 2018, he was billed as the next Brendon McCullum. Like McCullum, he was adept at charging at bowlers and playing a number of funky shots, including the reverse sweep and scoop.Related

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McCullum himself was so impressed with Seifert that he brought him into the Trinbago Knight Riders team when he was their head coach in 2020. Seifert was part of the TKR side that enjoyed an unbeaten run to the CPL title that season, and he also had a spell as New Zealand’s main keeper-batter, but he needed a bit more time to mature.That growth was achieved by playing T20 cricket around the world. Seifert has expanded his range of shots in the past 14 months, and more specifically in this CPL, he has emerged as the best spin-hitter. He has smashed 200 off 103 balls from spinners at a strike rate of 194.17 – the highest among batters who have faced at least 50 balls of spin in this edition. It’s not common for an opening batter to be this proficient against spinners in spin-friendly conditions, and only highlights Seifert’s rise as an all-weather T20 batter.”No matter how good you are, you’re always looking to grow as a player,” Seifert says. “But most importantly, you’re learning. And one of these great opportunities that these [T20] tournaments give you is that you play with the world’s best players and learn from them and be in the same dressing room as well away from the guys back home in New Zealand.”When I first joined TKR, I think that was my first franchise competition. That was amazing. Not only to be coached by McCullum but to be in the same dressing room as the likes of [Kieron] Pollard, [Nicholas] Pooran and then [Andre] Russell. The CPL is not an easy place to come to, from an overseas point of view, for your first couple of years, but I’ve learnt off those guys, and with the Kings as well. Now into my fifth season at the CPL.”ESPNcricinfo LtdSeifert 2.0 can take down mystery spin too. When his former team, TKR, threw Sunil Narine and Akeal Hosein at him in the powerplay in Tarouba, he took 36 off 17 balls from them. He could have opted to sit back and play them out in what was a modest chase, but Seifert was keen to throw the first punch.”They are some of the best spinners in the world. Especially Narine, I rate him probably as one of the best spinners in the world still. But yeah, because we bowled first, we knew what the wicket was. I was hoping to get off to a good start and make the run chase easier. One thing I’ve tried to be working on is not try to think of Narine bowling at you. It’s just trying to watch the ball and reacting.”I’ve always had the square game – my hockey background helps me play those sweeps. I think over the past, those used to be my go-to shots. But now it’s actually just trying to pick the right times, right conditions, right situations of the games to play those shots. And if you are on a good wicket, you can look to hit straight more often. Batting against spin has definitely been one of my areas of focus over the last two years and it’s paying off.”Last month Seifert reached his zenith against Antigua and Barbuda Falcons at home in Gros Islet, when he cracked a 40-ball century, drawing level with Russell for the fastest in the league. He finished with an unbeaten 125 off 53 balls, the highest score by an overseas player and second-highest overall in the CPL. Seifert rates that innings as “one of the best knocks” in his career.”I just want to go out there and do my thing. Obviously, we were chasing 200 [205],” Seifert says. “Probably when I got to about 80-odd, I said: right, when it’s your day, make it your day and finish the job for the team. And I wanted to make sure I was there at the end, being that batter that helped win the game for the team rather than getting out on 80 and making someone else come in and finish the game. So that was probably one of my biggest ticks from that knock: getting the job done.”

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A lucky break during Covid-19 took Simarjeet Singh to international cricket, but finding his way back to that level has proved difficult

Daya Sagar29-Sep-2025Simarjeet Singh’s eyes still light up when he is reminded of the time he got to wear the India blue and spend time in the national team’s dressing room. He didn’t get a chance to make his international debut on that Sri Lanka tour during Covid-19, in June 2021, after moving up from being a net bowler to the main squad, but it suggested a rise through the ranks for a bowler who has struggled with injuries and lack of consistency throughout his career.”I was not making too many mistakes, but I was trying to do things too quickly,” Simarjeet, familiar to cricket-watchers for his time in Chennai Super Kings’ yellow, tells ESPNcricinfo. “I was also changing my plans constantly. I always used to think that my process must be perfect, but nothing in this world is perfect. [Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat] Cummins also told me the same thing, to focus on giving my best and not think about perfection. So now I focus more on how I can improve.”Except for a few stray games in the IPL where he did decently – 11 wickets in 14 games with a best of 3 for 26 and an overall economy rate of 10.00 – 27-year-old Simarjeet’s story has been one of struggle, even to make the Delhi team in the domestic circuit. In the last seven seasons, he has played only 15 first-class, 23 List A, and 39 T20 matches, in which he has taken 46, 23, and 44 wickets respectively.Related

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At the IPL, though, with the teams looking for Indian bowlers to fill their sides with, Simarjeet has been around, for three seasons now – 2022, 2024 and 2025 – first with Mumbai Indians, then with CSK, and most recently with SRH, where the interactions with Cummins happened.”It feels surreal just to think that you have played with a world-class bowler like Cummins. As a fast bowler, if your captain is also a fast bowler, then he not only backs you but also teaches you many things by giving you new ideas,” Simarjeet says. “Apart from that, Cummins is a big name and playing with him makes me feel very lucky.”Though I did not get too many chances there, and when I got them, I could not perform that well, I always thought about what new things I could do at training. I also used to ask [head coach Daniel] Vettori and [bowling coach James] Franklin how to improve myself. They talked about different bowling plans and stressed on how I could implement those plans better on the field. Even after the IPL, I am continuously working on them.”And [Mohammed] Shami did not just talk, he taught by showing us. He used to tell me ‘today we will focus on yorkers’, or sometimes slower bouncers, or some other variations. Then when I bowled, he himself used to stand there and tell me what I was doing right and what could be improved. Cummins also did the same. With both, there were continuous talks about action, speed, and other aspects of bowling.”Simarjeet Singh gets some assistance from MS Dhoni during his time with Chennai Super Kings•BCCIIt’s a career that has also been blighted by injury. He missed the entire 2022-23 domestic season and continued to struggle till IPL 2024.”I have had so many injuries that I don’t even remember how many,” he says. “I just remember that each time it was a different injury. I never really got injured while bowling. But sometimes it happened while batting during practice or while standing somewhere and a shot from another batter hit me. Sometimes it also happened that I slipped on the field and got a serious injury.”It was disappointing, and I was also losing opportunities, I was losing consistency. But what can you do? Sometimes, I just laughed thinking about my injuries. But after that, I became very disciplined and started following a regular routine, which had details like how much gym I had to do, when to run, how to bowl, everything. When you follow that, you get results.”It was at the Delhi Premier League recently that Simarjeet put all those lessons to good use, picking up 20 wickets (the joint-highest) in 11 matches and an economy rate of 10.00 with a best of 5 for 23 as his team Central Delhi Kings finished runners-up. Now he has one more shot to impress, if he gets the chance, in the first one-dayer for India A against Australia A, in the hope that he finds that elusive consistency to claw his way back up the ladder.

In what might be their last game in Australia, the two Indian greats brought out their greatest hits

Andrew McGlashan25-Oct-20252:03

Chopra: Kohli and Rohit keep adding confidence

There was precisely nothing about events at the SCG that hadn’t been seen before. A crowd with the majority of support for the visiting side, India playing an excellent game of ODI cricket, a century for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli being unbeaten at the end of a run chase.But in some ways, it did feel different. Quite where the final lap of international cricket ends for Rohit and Kohli remains uncertain but, barring remarkable events, this was a final visit to Australia. For Kohli, especially, it is a place that has played a central role in his storied career across formats: the stunning 133 not out against Sri Lanka in 2012, the 2014-15 tour de force, the 2018 Perth century and captaining a series win, and the MCG in 2022 to name a few.Both players looked short of a hit in Perth when Australia’s new-ball excellence did for them in their first matches since the IPL. In Adelaide, Rohit battled his way to 73 as the ball again nipped around, but Kohli was pinned lbw for another duck by a delivery the bowler, Xavier Bartlett, admitted was meant to be another outswinger. Indian fans had packed both grounds, but the most Kohli could offer was a little wave of the glove as he walked off Adelaide, a city close to his heart.India lost both matches, so Sydney had nothing riding on it in terms of the series, but the game had been a sellout days in advance. By the end, the crowd had ticked over 40,000, any late arrivals no doubt hastened as they saw the shape of India’s scoreboard in the run chase and, for the majority, the closing stages felt like a bit of a party.Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli rolled back the years•Cricket Australia/Getty ImagesBut well before Kohli batted, there was a deafening roar in the 23rd over of Australia’s innings. Anyone who might have had their back to the action, perhaps getting a coffee, may have wondered what had happened. Kohli had held a sharp catch at square leg to remove Matt Short.Related

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Rohit’s neat take at slip to claim Mitch Owen was also well received, although an even bigger roar was saved for Kohli’s regulation take at long-on in front of a stand where fans held large cut outs of his head and rose to acclaim him whenever he turned to face them. It was nothing like the more hostile reception in the Test series earlier this year when Kohli had, not for the first time, become a villain for squaring up to Sam Konstas.However, it was the runs they really wanted. Or, to start with, a run for Kohli. But more on that shortly.India’s chase was soon up and running. Rohit flicked Mitchell Starc through the leg side and bludgeoned a drive through the covers. He had to be alert to get his head out of the line of a Josh Hazlewood delivery that jumped from a short of a length, a barer patch on the pitch which corresponded to the centre circle for Australian Rules Football.A dismissive pull by Rohit off Hazlewood in the ninth over brought up India’s fifty, but even their supporters seemed conflicted, caught between cheering the boundaries and chanting “Kohli, Kohli.” Quite how they would have greeted a 10-wicket win, we’ll never know.In the 11th over, Shubman Gill, the new captain of the ODI side and slotted on the batting card between these two icons, nicked a good delivery from Hazlewood. The cheers grew as he began his walk, because of who was coming down the steps of the historic SCG away dressing room.Virat Kohli walks out to bat in front of a packed SCG•Cricket Australia via Getty ImagesKohli’s first-ball single towards mid-on was greeted by a deafening roar. Credit to the man himself for playing his part, too, with a smile and a little raise of the glove. A late cut against Adam Zampa followed a top-edged pull against Hazlewood. Then something from the best-of package: a straight drive off Starc.Not long into the stand between Rohit and Kohli, there was a sense of inevitability about the chase. It was a matter of how many each would make. Many opposition teams have had that feeling over the years. Rohit’s fifty came first, then Kohli’s, then Rohit went to his hundred from another 42 deliveries. Acceleration has always been a notable feature of his game.”They’ve been doing this for the past 15 years for us and to be able to watch them play like this and get the team through unbeaten is really a treat to watch,” Gill said. “Seeing the ball fly off their bats and just hearing the sound that comes off their bat is something that tells you how good of a nick they’re both in.”For Rohit, it was his fifth hundred against Australia on their turf in ODIs, but his first in a winning cause. That included an unbeaten 171 at the WACA in 2016 which ended in defeat although, in 2008, he made one of the early marks of his career with 66 at the SCG in the first of the tri-series finals where India would take the tournament. Seventeen years later, he’s still going.Rohit Sharma made his fifth ODI century against Australia in Australia•AFP via Getty Images”I think everyone got what they wanted tonight,” Matt Renshaw said with a hint of a smile in the press conference. “But it was amazing to see them. I’ve never played against them in one-day cricket, and to see the way they went about things tonight, it could have been a tricky chase but they just took the game out of our control.”The way that they got boundaries when they needed, got off strike when they needed to… as someone who’s new to the ODI frame, watching two of the greatest go about it was actually a really good lesson for me to take notes in those middle overs.”When Rohit was here earlier this year, he withdrew himself from the Sydney Test amid a form slump that ultimately ended his career. There was much more at stake on that occasion than however this match played out, and his rather subdued acknowledgment of his century was that of someone not getting carried away.”I don’t know if we’ll be coming back to Australia, but it was fun all these years that we played here,” Rohit said to the host broadcaster. “A lot of good memories, bad memories, but, all in all, I’ll take the cricket that I played here.”As Rohit and Kohli walked off together, they had taken their partnership runs tally to the third-most in ODI history. “I’ve really enjoyed batting with Rohit, and, yeah, good to know we’ve scored a few together,” Kohli said.Whether the pair make the 2027 ODI World Cup no one really knows, perhaps even the players themselves. But for those cheering them on from the stands on Saturday night, and millions more on television, that was a question that could wait for another day.

Worcestershire close second day five down after Tongue takes out top three in fiery burst of 9-1-24-3

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay09-Sep-2025

A searing burst from Josh Tongue put Nottinghamshire back in the box seat after Worcestershire fought back well on the second day of their Rothesay County Championship match at Visit Worcestershire New Road.Nottinghamshire’s first-innings lead was restricted to 25 after they were bowled out for 207. Freddie McCann defied for 56 (106 balls) but Tom Taylor took 4 for 70 and Ben Allison 3 for 41 while wicketkeeper Gareth Roderick took five catches.The game had evened right up but Worcestershire closed the second day on 93 for 5 after Tongue took out the top three in a fiery burst of 9-1-24-3. With the pitch still helping seamers, Nottinghamshire won’t want to chase many in the fourth innings, but are well-placed to push for a win to keep them on the shoulders of leaders Surrey ahead of their mouth-watering meeting at The Oval next week.Nottinghamshire resumed on the second morning on 46 for 1 to find the pitch still lively. Allison soon produced a perfect away-cutter that Ben Slater edged to Roderick.McCann and Joe Clarke added 50 in 17 overs before McCann, having gritted out a valuable half-century, drove at a wide ball from Matthew Waite and Roderick accepted another catch. The slip cordon remained on high alert. Jake Libby, at second, pouched Jack Haynes off Allison. Clarke dug in for 122 minutes before nicking a waft at the same bowler.From an uneasy 121 for 5, the title-chasers were rebooted by Lyndon James’ punchy 42-ball 35 but Taylor ended the counter-attack by inducing another nick and pinned Liam Patterson-White lbw two balls later. Kyle Verreynne steered his side in front then edged Taylor to second slip.Former Pears pair Dillon Pennington and Tongue added a handy 23 before falling in five balls, the former lbw to Allison and the latter supplying Roderick with his fifth catch, off Waite.With the game so evenly-poised, a mammoth evening session – 49 overs – promised to be pivotal. Only 36 were possible before bad light intervened but Nottinghamshire made serious inroads.Tongue trapped Rehaan Edavalath lbw and dismissed Libby, caught at second slip, with a lifter so brutal it invoked comparison with Allan Donald, Curtly Ambrose and Percy Jeeves. Catching of similar quality followed from McCann, a one-handed, diving grab at second slip to remove Dan Lategan off James that invoked comparison with Graham Roope, Rikki Clarke and Ashley Giles.Tongue then knocked out Kashif Ali’s off-stump and James hit Brett D’Oliveira’s. At 68 for 5, Worcestershire were in danger of speeding to a defeat which would pretty much seal their relegation but Roderick and Ethan Brookes stayed firm until the light closed in to keep this fascinating match very much alive.

Brazil will have to do better next summer if they are to end a wait of 24 years for a World Cup trophy after they were held to a 1-1 draw by a disciplined Tunisia in Lille on Tuesday night. A first half goal from Hazem Mastouri threatened to put the Eagles of Carthage on course for a famous win, albeit in a friendly, but Chelsea prodigy Estevao Willian levelled things up not long before the interval.

A well-supported Tunisia on French soil managed to stifle and frustrate Brazil through the opening quarter of the game and then took the lead in clinical fashion when Mastouri finished from close-range. But an element of fortune got the Selecao back into it just before half-time, a penalty confidently converted by Estevao following a VAR check on what appeared to be a soft handball.

Brazil struggled to create that much of note throughout the second half, largely shooting off target despite racking up more than 20 attempts over the course of the game. A second penalty came as Tunisia too casually tried to play their way out of pressure in their own box, resulting in substitute Vitor Roque being dragged down. But Lucas Paqueta blazed the spot-kick over the bar.

18-year-old Estevao almost had the final say, striking the base of the post with the last kick of the game in stoppage time, but 1-1 was how it finished.

GOAL rates Brazil's players from Stade Pierre-Mauroy…

• AFP
  

  Goalkeeper & Defence

  Bento (5/10):

  A more aggressive response to Tunisia's breakthrough might have made it harder for Mastouri to finish by closing the angle much quicker.

  Wesley (5/10):

  Booked inside the opening 10 minutes. Otherwise struggled to make an impact going forward.

  Marquinhos (7/10):

  Hardly misplaced a pass all night and was equal to what Tunisia in limited attacks threw at him.

  Eder Militao (6/10):

  Played an hour before being withdrawn with injury. Was OK apart from that.

  Caio Henrique (7/10):

  A polished defensive performance and a better attacking outlet than his counterpart on the right.

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• AFP
  

  Midfield

  Estevao Willian (8/10):

  Had to wait a long time while being berated by a hostile and largely partisan crowd to take his penalty, but kept his cool exceptionally well to continue an incredible start to his international career. It's five goals in six international appearances so far this season. The only Brazil player who looked very lively.

  Bruno Guimaraes (6/10):

  Got into the right areas but could have done more with the possession he had.

  Casemiro (7/10):

  Saw plenty of the ball in the middle of the pitch and able to use that to create chances with passes forward. Defensively unchallenged.

  Rodrygo (6/10):

  A few positive moments here and there but a frustrating night overall.

• AFP
  

  Attack

  Matheus Cunha (5/10):

  Limited impact until being withdran at half-time, just 21 touches of the ball.

  Vinicius Junior (6/10):

  Didn't really do that much to challenge Tunisia, before decent pressing contributed to winning the second penalty.

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• AFP
  

  Subs & Manager

  Danilo (5/10):

  Had to do very little defending after replacing Wesley at half-time. Made little difference.

  Vitor Roque (6/10):

  Won the penalty that Paqueta missed, which will be frustrating.

  Fabricio Bruno (6/10):

  A solid centre-back replacement an hour in.

  Fabinho (5/10):

  Only 22 touches of the ball in half an hour on the pitch. Lacked impact.

  Lucas Paqueta (5/10):

  Had the chance to win the game for his country and fluffed his lines.

  Luiz Henrique (N/A):

  The last of six permitted substitutes towards the end.

  Carlo Ancelotti (6/10):

  Comes away fro this international window with plenty of questions to answer.

The Australia captain went through his action off about five paces at Cricket Central in Sydney

AAP29-Oct-2025

Pat Cummins has made a tentative return to bowling as Australia’s Test captain accelerates his bid to play in the Ashes.Cummins bowled off a five-step run-up in a brief net session in Sydney on Wednesday. Australia’s captain has been ruled of out of the first Test against England starting on November 21 in Perth.Related

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But Cummins, who has said he would need four to six weeks of bowling before returning to match action, hopes to return in the middle sector of the five-Test series.The second Test in Brisbane starts on December 4 and the third Test in Adelaide on December 17.Cummins bowled off a short run-up at Cricket New South Wales’ Silverwater headquarters on Wednesday, watched by renowned physio Patrick Farhart and the Blues’ strength and conditioning coach, Dean McNamara.His bowling return came two days after Australia coach Andrew McDonald expressed hope Cummins could prove his fitness for the second Test.”We flagged this a week or so ago, that it would take sort of four-plus weeks to get him up and running,” McDonald told reporters on Monday. “We’ve run out of time [for the first Test] unfortunately, but really optimistic and hopeful for the second Test match.”The next question is, what’s the time frame, what does it look like for the second Test? [I am] not really going to be able to answer that, other than to say that he’ll be back bowling this week, and that’s a huge step.”That was the big variable that we wanted to add in and get that information. So we’re on the journey to that second Test and very hopeful that that will be a positive outcome.”Cummins last played in mid-July on Australia’s Test tour of the West Indies. He reported back soreness after returning to Australia and was diagnosed with a lumbar stress injury in September.McDonald said how Cummins recovered from his return to bowling would be vital.”We will see how he pulls up and then we’ll make decisions moving forward,” he said. “With the nature of this injury, it’s never going to be a clear time frame … I would never put the medical team under that sort of duress either.”