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India went down by five wickets in the second T20I after another poor performance with the bat

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Mar-20192:35

We’ve made a shift in how to play T20s – Winfield

India needed a big effort, especially with the bat, to level the three-match T20I series against England, after losing the first game comprehensively.It didn’t quite materialise, as they only put up 111 for 8 in the face of a strong bowling performance led by Katherine Brunt, before going down by five wickets with five balls to spare as Danielle Wyatt struck an unbeaten half-century.Asked to bat, India started strongly with Smriti Mandhana hitting Anya Shrubsole for two sixes in the second over, while Harleen Deol played her part too. But Mandhana fell in the third, with the team total on 24, and in no time, India were 34 for 3.ALSO READ: Anger, guts and glory – a day in the life of Katherine BruntThough Deepti Sharma and Mithali Raj tried to rebuild, the paltry total India eventually put up was unlikely to test the English much, and it didn’t, though the Indian spinners did their best to make a match of it.Wyatt dominated a 28-run opening-wicket stand with Tammy Beaumont, and remained in control even as Beaumont’s dismissal to Radha Yadav in the fifth over triggered a slide. From 28 for no loss, they were 56 for 4 in under six overs, raising hopes of a come-from-behind win for Mandhana’s team.But Wyatt was on song, and in Lauren Winfield, she had the perfect ally to chip away at the small target.Earlier, Mandhana’s twin sixes had raised hopes of a big Indian total after they managed only 119 for 6 to lose by 41 runs in the first game. But once Mandhana fell, caught behind off Brunt, India fell apart as Brunt accounted for Jemimah Rodrigues too, and Linsey Smith took out Deol.There was a fightback, a 35-run fourth-wicket stand between Raj and Deepti, and after they fell for 20 and 18 respectively, debutant Bharati Fulmali chipped in with a 20-ball 18. But with Brunt returning 3 for 17 and Smith 2 for 11 in a clinical England bowling performance, the odds were very much in England’s favour at the halfway mark.There was a period during England’s chase, when Radha, Poonam Yadav and Ekta Bisht picked up four wickets without giving too much away, but Wyatt was supreme, coming good on her pre-match promise of performing as often as possible for England. She ended unbeaten on a 55-ball 64, exploding at the top, adopting a more cautious approach when the wickets fell, and then pacing her innings well when she paired up with Winfield.Winfield was impressive too, hitting four fours to Wyatt’s six in her 23-ball 29 before falling to Deepti with the target just nine runs away. Wyatt finished it off without any fuss.

A gift of a pair of signed wicketkeeping gloves belonging to his late father has been a happier Ashes moment for Jonny Bairstow

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Dec-2017Jonny Bairstow has found release from a troubled Ashes tour thanks to a kindhearted gesture from an Australian cricket fan who won a pair of autographed wicketkeeping gloves owned by Bairstow’s father nearly 40 years ago.Andrew Johns was a small boy when he won the gloves in an Adelaide quiz because he knew that David Bairstow was England’s reserve wicketkeeper on the 1978-79 Ashes tour.Now he has presented them to Jonny as a memento of a tour in which he has followed in the footsteps of his late father.Mr Johns tracked down Bairstow on Instagram and spent half-an-hour or more chatting with him early one morning in the England team’s Adelaide hotel.Bairstow has had a tough time in Australia, still to make a major contribution with the bat and derided for his “headbutt” greeting to Cameron Bancroft in a Perth bar soon after England’s tour party touched down in Australia.He expressed delight at “a fantastic gesture” – leaving Mr Johns to tell that Bairstow, far from being a threat to life and limb, is “a ripping bloke”, and causing fans to take to Twitter to praise “a fabulous and heartwarming story”.”He was quite emotional to receive the gloves, it was really lovely,” Johns told ABC Radio. “I just lost my father this year in June — he was 83, but had a great life — and I know if someone gave something to me that belonged to my father I’d want it, and that’s what I wanted to do for Jonny.”He’s a ripping bloke. My dad used to say if you ever meet a Yorkshireman he’s as close to an Australian as you’ll get, down to earth with a laugh and a beer and tell you how it is, and he’s exactly all of those.”Meanwhile, during a series characterised by ill will, one simple gesture might be said to have discovered the true spirit of the Ashes.

The Supreme Court has adjourned the hearing of the review petition filed by the BCCI in August challenging the July 18 order that approved the recommendations of the Lodha Committee

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Oct-2016The Supreme Court has adjourned the hearing of the review petition filed by the BCCI in August challenging the July 18 order that approved the recommendations of the Lodha Committee. The court was to consider the review petition on Tuesday, but a two-judge bench comprising TS Thakur, the Chief Justice of India, and Justice SA Bobde, decided to defer their decision. The bench is likely to hear the matter in two weeks behind closed doors.In the review plea, BCCI had called the court order “unreasoned”. It also accused Chief Justice Thakur, who was part of the two-judge bench that passed the July 18 order, of having a “prejudiced” approach and said he should “recuse” himself.On Monday, a three-judge bench of the court had reserved its order on the status report filed by the Lodha Committee asking for the removal of all the BCCI office-bearers (president, secretary, joint secretary and treasurer under the board’s existing constitution).During the course of Monday’s two-hour hearing, BCCI legal counsel Kapil Sibal told the court that his client needed at least three more months to implement the reforms suggested by the Lodha Committee. Sibal also told the court that the Lodha Committee had crossed the lines of its terms as some of its actions suggested.”It is as if the Lodha Committee wants to run cricket and that is not the purpose of its formation by this court… The committee is going beyond the judgment,” Sibal was quoted as saying by . “These are our administrative issues.”Ever since the Lodha Committee released its recommendations on January 4, the BCCI has maintained that it will not adopt some of the reforms. The BCCI then dared the court by defaulting on the first deadline of September 30, set by the Lodha Committee for the board and the state association to fulfill the first set of timelines.At the October 1 SGM, and then at an emergency meeting held last Saturday, the BCCI reiterated that it could not implement the recommendations unconditionally as ordered by the court unless it gained a two-thirds majority among the 30 state associations. The BCCI has said it is totally against some of the recommendations: one-state-one-vote, which it contends would rob votes for members that belong to states that have more than one team; having an age cap of 70 for administrators; and a cooling-off period of three years between each of the three terms allowed for an administrator.On Monday, Sibal told the court that the one-state-one-vote was a “remedy” far worse than the “disease”.”One State One Vote will lead to greater corruption,” Sibal said, according to . “You have taken away the votes of some of our founding members… those who have been deeply involved in cricket from the 1930s and given it to some States which have no infrastructure to conduct cricket. You have taken away a Bombay vote and given it to Arunachal. If you distribute votes according to territory, let’s say Nagaland where nobody is willing to spend for cricket, it will not work.”I have only one request… allow cricket to expand according to its own principles… Again, I repeat, I personally feel that the remedy will be worse than the disease… this the future will show.”

Angelo Mathews has hailed man-of-the-match Milinda Siriwardana as a “great find” following Sri Lanka’s 72-run victory over West Indies which sealed a 2-0 whitewash

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Colombo26-Oct-2015Angelo Mathews has hailed man-of-the-match Milinda Siriwardana as a “great find” following Sri Lanka’s 72-run victory over West Indies which sealed a 2-0 whitewash.”Milinda is a great find for us – he has contributed with bat, ball and on the field,” Mathews said. “He’s been a brilliant player in past couple of months in ODIs, and coming into Test arena showed no nerves at all. He was just cruising through with his batting. His bowling also came in handy, we needed someone who can bowl a few. He is more than a part-timer.”Siriwardana top-scored in a low-scoring match, striking 68 from 111 balls in the first innings, and 42 off 60 in the second. His left-arm spin was also instrumental to the win, as he took two wickets in the first innings, and three in the second to finish with a match haul of 5 for 51. Each of his victims had batted in West Indies’ top seven.Good outings in his debut T20 and ODI series in July against Pakistan had helped put Siriwardana in the Test team. He will now be considered for longer stints in all three formats.Siriwardana’s inclusion had allowed Mathews to go through the series without having to bowl himself – which allowed him to continue recovering from an ankle complaint. Having claimed two wickets in the Galle Test as well, Siriwardana has seven Test scalps at an average below 18. He has 136 first-class wickets at 30.16.”We needed someone batting in the middle order to roll his arm and Milinda has improved dramatically in the past few months with his bowling,” Mathews said. “He’s worked really hard with Piyal Wijetunga, the spin-bowling coach. The effort he put in at the nets is unbelievable. He deserves what he got today. He’s had a brilliant match and I hope he will go from strength to strength.”Siriwardana was largely chosen for his batting, although, he maintains that he would like to progress in both disciplines. He had scored 1 on debut in Galle, but said he did not allow that to dent his belief in his batting.”Batsmen do fail sometimes – that’s a normal thing,” Siriwardana said. “I didn’t think of my debut as a special game – it was just one match. I had a lot of confidence coming into this match, thanks to the practice sessions.”He had earlier set himself firmly on the path to a Test debut by hitting 1144 runs at 67.29 in the 2015 Premier League Tournament. “Earlier maybe I was considered a limited-overs player,” Siriwardana said. “But in the recent domestic season, I made a few technical adjustments and showed I could do well in the longer format as well.”I had more runs than anyone else this season. I think I got the perfect opportunity at the right time. A player should get that chance when he’s scoring runs, so I got that. I’m not disappointed I didn’t play internationals earlier.”Siriwardana also broke a key partnership in West Indies’ innings, when he had Shai Hope stumped. Hope and Darren Bravo had put on 60 together, and moved West Indies to 80 for 1 in pursuit of 244. Mathews, though, said he was not overly worried by the stand.”From the very first day the pitch had started turning, so we knew that the conditions were only getting worse,” Mathews said. “We didn’t start too well today and bowled badly, but came back into the game after Milinda got a couple of wickets. (Rangana) Herath’s two wickets in one over – dismissing Bravo and Denesh Ramdin – was crucial.”

Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin will both fly home from Delhi on Saturday morning while their team-mates attempt to fight their way back into the fourth Test

Brydon Coverdale22-Mar-2013Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin will both fly home from Delhi on Saturday morning while their team-mates attempt to fight their way back into the fourth Test. Clarke will have scans on his back in Sydney after being ruled out of the Test before play on the first morning at the Feroz Shah Kotla, while Haddin has been released from the squad after arriving in India halfway through the tour as cover for the injured Matthew Wade, who missed the Mohali Test but was fit for Delhi.Australia’s medical staff wants to monitor Clarke’s back problem, which has troubled him since he was 17, and his participation for Pune Warriors in the IPL must be in doubt given Australia’s busy winter schedule with the Champions Trophy and an Ashes tour. Clarke’s absence allowed Shane Watson to become Australia’s 44th Test captain and while Clarke was not seen on the team balcony during the day, the batsman Steven Smith said he was still active around the group.”He was given until the last point to prove his fitness,” Smith said. “Shane was given a little heads-up to say ‘prepare mentally and get yourself ready, just in case I don’t come up’. He in the end was in a bit too much pain to get into this match and there’s a lot of big series coming up and he wants to get his body right and prepare well for them. They told us this morning.”He [Clarke] was grabbing a few guys’ gloves and giving them to the boys to run out. He was trying to do his part in the sheds like he always does. It’s disappointing not to have him out there in this game.”Australia certainly missed Clarke’s batting in the first innings as their top order collapsed to 129 for 6 in challenging but far from unplayable conditions. Smith was one of only two Australians to survive for 100 deliveries – the other was the No. 9 Peter Siddle – and he said the pitch was likely to be much harder to bat on as the match wore on.”That’s probably not the day-one wicket that I’m used to playing on,” Smith said. “It’s broken up a fair bit to start up with. It’s going to get tougher and tougher to bat throughout this match and 231 at the end of the day is not a bad day I don’t think. Hopefully we can grind out another 50 or so tomorrow and I think that will be quite competitive as a first-innings score on that wicket.”

Fast bowler Ishant Sharma has been ruled out the IPL after undergoing an ankle surgery earlier this month, which is likely to keep him out of action for at least six months

Nagraj Gollapudi26-Mar-2012Fast bowler Ishant Sharma has been ruled out of the IPL after undergoing an ankle surgery earlier this month, which is likely to keep him out of action for at least six months. Deccan Chargers, Ishant’s IPL franchise, confirmed the development, saying they would now be seeking permission from the IPL for a replacement player.Ishant had been delaying the surgery for nearly a year, but finally decided to take the plunge after he returned from Australia in January, where he had played the Test-leg of the tour. Though he impressed in patches, Ishant remained inconsistent and only managed five wickets at an average of 90.20 in the four-Test series.It is understood that he had considered delaying the surgery post this IPL season, but that would have ruled him out of the home series against England, starting in November. Ishant is likely to plan his rehabilitation so that he can make a return during the home series against New Zealand, also later in the year.”The wound is likely to heal in three months’ time and he is solely focussing on that,” a source close to Ishant told ESPNcricinfo.Last year, Ishant’s India team-mate Virender Sehwag was in a similar scenario with a shoulder injury but he chose to delay his surgery. After the World Cup, he played through pain at the start of the IPL but withdrew midway through the tournament. He was ruled out of the West Indies tour and missed the start of the Test series in England.Edited by Kanishkaa Balachandran

A significant performance from Sammy would go a long way in increasing West Indies’ standing

Sidharth Monga in Dhaka03-Mar-2011Darren Sammy’s Twitter page has been quiet of late. There is no flamboyance of old. He is not talking, social-networking rather, of the honey from the comb, of slippery balls, of fine legs. To be fair to Sammy, those were the days before the West Indies captaincy happened to him. Things have changed since then. His last sign of flair was on January 10 when he tweeted: “Nurses needed@ the Sir viv stadium, windwards team will be in labor,contractions from 4pm. STARS WILL BE BORN.” And this is a tamer version of the old Sammy.It is fair to say that captaincy has mellowed down the tweeter in Sammy. It is a sign of the responsibility that captaincy of a group of islands with a proud cricketing history brings. Sammy also knows that captaincy brings with itself another responsibility: that of individual performance to be able to command the respect of a disparate team, to justify his selection as a player first. While he has successfully established a measure of control on his tweeting, the same can’t be emphatically said on the performance front.In ODIs, Sammy last took a wicket against a Test-playing nation in February 2010. As captain, he averages 75.33 with the ball and 8.5 with the bat. Then again, he is not the kind of cricketer that will be done justice to by numbers alone. Sammy the cricketer is the exact opposite of Sammy the tweeter. No one expects him to set the world on fire with either his batting or bowling. What stood out before Sammy became the captain was that he was the hard-working kind, the sensible head in a team that has now earned a reputation of not always playing sensible cricket, of not always fighting till the bitter end.Darren Sammy doesn’t have the flair, but he has the passion•AFP

Sammy didn’t have the flair, but he had passion. Then again, the first question when he was named captain was, how far passion and hard work alone would carry him. Especially when bits-and-pieces players like him don’t quite have the comfort of match-winning brilliance to fall back on. The rope is usually shorter for such players. The cold fact right now remains that Sammy bats too low for a non-threatening medium-pacer as himself to be termed an allrounder. Questions will be asked when he is the captain of the side too. In fact questions are being asked.Sammy’s response is full of the positivity that perhaps was a factor when he was named captain. “As a captain, you’d want to perform,” Sammy said on the eve of the crucial match against Bangladesh in Mirpur. “For me I always feel like I am only one great performance away. I have the right mindset to lead the team, and the team is responding, and I am aware of my own personal form. The kind of person I am, the kind of mentality I have, I am only one performance away from being at my best. That’s how I see it.”To make matters worse, West Indies have lost Dwayne Bravo to injury. Sammy says they have been using the loss of Bravo as their inspiration. It should also come as an opportunity for Sammy to push himself slightly higher up in the order, and also bowl more overs and look to take wickets with the ball. West Indies have never been ranked so low going into a World Cup, in terms of ICC ratings and expectations. The opponents generally still fear one of those Chris Gayle days, but not much else, especially with Bravo out of the equation. A significant performance from Sammy would go a long way in disproving that notion. He could tweet about it then.

Tuesday’s game at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore was a template of how, finally, the Indian cricket fan’s experience could match up to the best.

George Binoy at the Chinnaswamy Stadium16-Mar-2010Spectators in India, for too long, have had to tolerate sub-standard conditions•Getty Images

A smooth entry: “Quite long queues, don’t wait too long [to leave for the stadium]” warned a colleague already at the Chinnaswamy. Entering a stadium in India can be an unforgettably unpleasant experience because of aforementioned queues, bottleneck entry points and the slow processing of tickets and security checks by officious policemen.The security was tight today but unobtrusive – spectators got in quickly, past the impressive electronic turnstiles, were frisked smoothly and reached their seats without constantly thinking it would have been easier to watch the game on television. All along the way there were enough volunteers to help with directions and in easing the rush.Don’t bring your own, we’ll give you some: The list of items spectators are forbidden to bring with them is long and all encompassing. You wouldn’t get in with a large flag, or something to create a din with. But the organisers were handing it all out. ‘Cheer kits’, Royal Challenger flags, inflatable noisemakers and more. The props were everywhere and the fans used them. The result was a sea of waving flags and an awful din.F&B: The last time around, even expensive seats at IPL games witnessed an unseemly rush for food, a shortage of water and fights at the wine and beer counters. There’s no liquor on sale this time but plenty of food and beverages – even pizzas delivered to your seat, fairly warm and tempting – and, crucially, lots of free bottled water. That may seem trivial to cricket fans elsewhere but a huge step up from the regular in-stadia food and drink in India.Play the funky music : A clever compere knows how to work the crowd, and picks the right moments to rouse them. Today’s DJ had his moments. In the ninth over Anil Kumble stopped two powerful drives from Ravi Bopara off his own bowling. The second one hurt him and he walked away, calling for the physio to come and attend to his hand. The compere urged the crowd to get behind their captain, beginning the chant of “Jumbo, Jumbo”. It caught on quickly and soon “R-C-B, R-C-B” became the rallying call as Punjab’s openers forged a threatening partnership.He then played his music – theme songs for both Bangalore and Punjab – and repeatedly urged the crowd to cheer whenever the cricket stopped: in between balls, between overs, during time-outs. It was incessant and an assault on the senses of the more sedate cricket fan who’d also want to pay attention to field placements, bowling changes and other minutiae. But if the proof of the pudding is in the eating, there was dancing in the aisles, on chairs, and on some walls too.The local connection: Pick your players with care. Bangalore have made a concerted effort to build domestic talent within their team. They bought Manish Pandey and Robin Uthappa, Karnataka players who were Mumbai Indians in 2008, and when they batted today, the crowd responded magnificently.Admittedly they didn’t have much to cheer for while Punjab were stacking up 203, but there was a terrific atmosphere when Pandey began to tee off. The noise built to a crescendo when Uthappa, at No. 3, overtook Kallis during a game-changing half-century. He felt it too. “It’s a great feeling when you get that sort of backing in front of your home crowd,” Uthappa said. “I feel very much an integral part of the side now [after shifting from Mumbai].”It’s not just television: The IPL’s big bucks come from selling television rights. Ticket sales make up only a tiny percentage of the revenue. However, to achieve their goal of building a fan base for each of franchises, and filling stadiums, the organisers would do well to follow Bangalore’s example. Kolkata already had a faithful following. Not all of the others do.Location, location, location: The modern trend of building stadiums in the middle of nowhere, as in Nagpur and Hyderabad, has its advantages but the Chinnaswamy’s location in the heart of Bangalore puts it right at the top of the pile. Where else in India can you come out of a cricket ground and, within a five-minute walk, be in the city centre? Where else, indeed, is the weather pleasant enough to walk around the square mile of pubs and restaurants?The complaints: It’d also be nice if none of the seats were broken, especially if the ticket costs Rs. 2750.

Tim David’s blitz in vain for St Lucia Kings, who went down by 27 runs

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Sep-2025Captain Rovman Powell led the way, smashing an unbeaten 41 off 17 balls, as Barbados Royals secured their first win in CPL 2025. Despite that, Royals remained at the bottom of the points table and David Wiese’s St Lucia Kings remained at the top along with Nicholas Pooran’s Trinbago Knight Riders. Currently, only net run-rate separates Kings and TKR.After they were asked to bat first, Royals didn’t start well. They lost Quinton de Kock to left-arm fingerspinner Khary Pierre in the third over and by the end of the powerplay, they had managed only 39 for 1. Tabraiz Shamsi, the left-arm wristspinner from South Africa, then stifled Royals even further by taking out Brandon King (42), Kadeem Alleyne (39) and Sherfane Rutherford (16) in his four overs which cost Kings only 26 runs.When Powell joined Chris Green, Royals were 120 for 5 in the 16th over. Powell then teed off, lining up Alzarri Joseph for two sixes and a four in the 19th over. In the final over of the innings, bowled by rookie Delano Potgieter, Powell and Green combined to take three fours and a six.Green wasn’t done just yet. He struck with the new ball, dismissing Johnson Charles and Roston Chase. Wicketkeeper-opener Tim Seifert raced to 24 off 13 before he was bowled by Jomel Warrican. Tim David, one of the most dangerous finishers in the world, then threatened to take the game away from Royals until Daniel Sams interneved and cut his innings short on 44 off 28 balls.David’s dismissal left Kings at 94 for 6 in 12 overs, needing 98 off 48 balls. Cameos from Wiese and Joseph got Kings closer, but Royals finally wrapped up their first victory this season and kept their hopes of making the playoffs alive.

The skipper struck her first fifty before the spin twins rocked Giants, who suffered their fourth successive loss

Valkerie Baynes03-Mar-2024Meg Lanning’s half-century and another class bowling display by Jess Jonassen propelled Delhi Capitals to the top of the WPL table and kept Gujarat Giants winless in Bengaluru on Sunday.Having won the toss and opted to bowl, Giants were ragged in the field, missing five chances as they sought their first win of the season. One of those was Lanning, and she made them pay with a 41-ball 55 despite Meghna Singh’s impressive four-wicket haul. Lanning moved past 9,000 T20 runs during the course of her innings, which was the stand-out for Capitals for whom Alice Capsey made a start and Annabel Sutherland played a neat cameo of 20 from 12.Related

• 'Weight has been lifted' – Lanning enjoying cricket after international retirement

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Ashleigh Gardner threatened with a 31-ball 40 but when she fell to Jonassen, who backed up her 3 for 21 against RCB on Thursday with 3 for 22, Giants were left still searching for a first victory since their sixth match of WPL 2023. Radha Yadav claimed a valuable 3 for 20 for Capitals to put the result beyond any doubt.

Jonassen gets the job done

Titas Sadhu, making her WPL debut after seven T20Is for India, opened the bowling in the absence of Marizanne Kapp and started with a maiden as Capitals launched their defence of 163 for 8. Shikha Pandey struck with her third ball, an absolute gem which swung in late and snuck through the gap between Laura Wolvaardt’s bat and pad to crash into the top of leg stump, removing the South Africa opener for a three-ball duck. Pandey could have had another moments later when she struck Beth Mooney on the pad in line with middle stump but Capitals errantly chose not to review the on-field reprieve.Phoebe Litchfield helped herself to 11 runs off Sadhu’s second over. Then three fours in four balls to Mooney and Litchfield off Pandey had Giants cruising in the fourth over. But Jonassen entered the attack and pinned Mooney on the front pad adjacent to the stumps and Giants had to try and rebuild. Jonassen struck again, however, when Litchfield spooned one straight to mid-off and the momentum swung firmly towards Capitals.Radha, at deep midwicket, put down a catch off Veda Krishnamurthy, on 6, but crucially Giants were well behind on 41 for 3 at the end of the powerplay. After seven overs, they had already faced 25 dot balls. Gardner cut loose with a 78m six and four off Arundhati Reddy so that at the halfway point of the innings Giants were 72 for 4, needing 92 more. Jonassen returned to the attack with Giants needing 60 from six overs and she all but ended their hopes, putting the ball on a length outside off-stump as Gardner advanced, swung and missed. Taniya Bhatia whipped off the bails with Gardner too far down the track and Giants too far behind.Meghna Singh became the first Indian fast bowler with a four-for in the WPL•BCCI

Meghna shines big-time for Giants

Shafali Verma struck the first ball she faced, from Tanuja Kanwar, through square leg for four with impeccable timing and two balls later lofted a six back over the bowler’s head. To make matters worse for Giants, Kanwar dropped a return catch off Shafali at the end of the over, which cost 12 runs there and then, and who was to know how many more at that point. As it turned out, Shafali added just three more before Meghna had her comfortably caught by Wolvaardt at square leg. Lanning and Capsey settled into a rhythm and took Capitals to 51 for 1 by the end of the powerplay, but Meghna struck again with the crucial wicket of Capsey, who was in good form with scores of 75 and 46 heading into the match. Meghna ended Capsey’s latest innings on 27 with a tempter outside off stump, sliced to Kanwar at backward point, and she wasn’t done yet.

Lanning lifts her side

That sent Capitals into their shell as 19 deliveries came and went without a boundary. Lanning broke that by thumping debutant Tarannum Pathan over long-off for a maximum and from there she looked busy once more. Lanning should have been gone for 30 when she spooned a Mannat Kashyap delivery straight to mid-off, where Kathryn Bryce missed a sitter. Gardner had conceded 11 runs off her first over and her second went for 13 as Lanning moved within one clean strike of her fifty. She got there with an authoritative jab to the right of midwicket which was so well hit it evaded Gardner’s best efforts to stop it just inside the rope at deep midwicket. Another four over cover came off the next ball but it was Lanning’s anguish and Meghna’s joy when D Hemalatha moved to her left and held on at cover point to stop the Capitals skipper in full flow after her second half-century of the campaign.Jemimah Rodrigues laboured to 7 off 10 balls before Mannat Kashyap had her taken by Pathan at short third, but with Sutherland – in the side for Marizanne Kapp – and Jonassen at the crease, Capitals remained dangerous. Sutherland hit a monster 76m six off Bryce and, two balls later, Jonassen was let off by Hemalatha, who copped a blow to the forehead as the ball flew through her hands at deep midwicket and ended up needing a concussion substitute. Jonassen dispatched a Gardner full toss over the fence at deep square leg but was well caught behind by Mooney next ball. Kanwar bowled an excellent 17th over and was rewarded with the wicket of Sutherland, caught by Gardner at deep midwicket. Meghna juggled a catch at long-on to remove Arundhati Reddy and give Gardner her second, the look on the bowler’s face making her relief palpable. After Kashyap shelled one at extra cover, Meghna trapped Radha lbw with the last ball of the innings, to become the first Indian fast bowler to pick up a four-for in the WPL.