The 21-year-old is still learning on the job but held his own in unpromising conditions

Vithushan Ehantharajah28-Nov-2024″I think I know what you’re going to do…” said Craig McMillan at the toss presentation after Ben Stokes’ tails-never-fails approach had come good. We all did.What we did not know at the time, and certainly did not expect, was that after choosing to bowl first on a typically green Hagley Oval surface, England would only end day one of this first Test on an even keel with New Zealand because of the lone frontline spinner on either side.Their seamers certainly did not bowl that badly. And truth be told, Shoaib Bashir did not bowl that well. But with 4 for 69 – wryly declared as “nice” by the ground announcer as the offspinner led his team off the field on day one – he had already justified his inclusion in the XI.That was never actually in doubt. Since Stokes took over as captain, every England side has featured a frontline spinner, even when they have not had much to do. He views them like mobile phones – functional, versatile, lost without one – and, as far as Bashir is concerned, he has no intention of trading in for another model as we approach the 12-month mark of the 21-year-old’s Test career.Related

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There is a lot to be said for that level of trust, which has been a hallmark of Stokes’ leadership – at times to a fault. But while the Kiwis might be the friendliest people on the planet, their pitches could not be less welcoming to spinners. Even their own; Ajaz Patel, one of the heroes of the historic India series win, has played 18 of his 21 Tests away from home, and is yet to take a wicket in New Zealand.Thankfully for Bashir, Rachin Ravindra improved Kiwi-spinner relations by slapping a full toss to midwicket for his first. Tom Blundell’s skewed back-foot punch to point was similarly generous, though a bit of extra bounce did catch the keeper-batter unawares.Removing Nathan Smith – caught around the corner at leg slip – was a neatly concocted third. When Matt Henry heaved down the ground into the hands of Ben Duckett at long-on, Bashir became only the second spinner to take four wickets here, after Shakib Al Hasan in 2017. He now has the opportunity to become the first to bag five on this ground.Whether he achieves that or not does not make the life and times of Bashir any less remarkable. He has bowled more overs than anyone else in Test cricket this year – 457.3 in 22 innings since his debut on the tour of India in February – while simultaneously not being regarded as the best English spinner at his county.The 45 dismissals at 36.06 rank broadly as a success considering he was essentially plucked from social media. A chastening tour of Pakistan, with just nine wickets at 49.55, portrays a more accurate picture of a raw spinner in the embryonic stages of his career as a professional, not just a Test cricketer.”I’m learning on the job, I’m not perfect,” Bashir said after play. Further self-awareness came when reviewing the 20 overs he did not expect to bowl: “I bowled plenty of bad balls out there and I was still kept on. That just shows how much faith they [Stokes and Brendon McCullum] have in me. That brings the best out of me, and I just really enjoy playing under them.”Though Bashir has bowled better, the was some encouraging in-game problem solving. A nod to unquantifiable nuggets gathered during his 13 caps to date.Almost immediately after he was brought on from the Portis Hills End for the 30th over, just after lunch, a strong breeze picked up from the other side of the ground. He refused to be blown off course. “The wind took away my line a little bit. I knew I had to be stronger in my bowling action.”

“I was just in awe watching Kane Williamson bat, trying to focus on deceiving him outside off and play with the outside edge and inside edge. I got past him a few times but he’s a really, really quality player”Shoiab Bashir

Then there was his back-and-forth with Kane Williamson, the latest in a string of stars he has found himself up against. A succession of drag downs allowed Williamson to smear the leg side boundary for a brace of fours to take him to his half-century. But as Bashir grew into his spell, things became less one-sided.It was to Williamson – on 65 – that Bashir bowled his best delivery: flighted outside off, dragging the right-hander across and out of his crease, beating the edge, with Ollie Pope removing the bails sharply. Alas, Williamson’s right foot was sharper.”When I saw him out the crease I was licking my lips,” Bashir said. “All of a sudden he slides back… it happens.”That delivery had come off the back of a period in which Bashir was nailing the plan England had employed to stifle Williamson with dot balls. Bashir managed 22 from the 36 deliveries sent down to the legendary Black Cap, with the help of Chris Woakes precisely stationed at a three-quarter mid-off.”I felt like if I blocked that off I might be able to get a caught and bowled with one that does turn,” Bashir said. “I’m not saying I did expect it to turn – but if it did I might get one hit back at me if I could cut that off [the scoring shot down the ground]. It’s like a game of chess, but I really enjoyed it.”It is not uncharitable to doubt Bashir’s credentials as England’s primary spinner, but there is an unavoidably endearing quality about how he is dealing with a unique situation as a “project” spinner to be honed ahead of next winter’s Ashes. There remains a “competition winner” disposition, in the courteous sense, unashamedly flittering between straight-eyed competitor and wide-eyed fanboy: “For me, bowling at someone like him, I was just in awe watching Kane Williamson bat to be honest. For me, I was just trying to focus on deceiving him outside off and play with the outside edge and inside edge. I got past him a few times but he’s a really, really quality player.”Bashir will be heartened to know his sparring partner was suitably impressed by his wits. “He did a fantastic job into the wind – they were two very, very different ends,” said Williamson. “The way he did that and picked up a few wickets was obviously an excellent job. He got a bit of bounce as a tall guy. Often that’s a lot of the assistance you get, whether it’s as a seamer or a spin bowler. He made use of that and did a good job for his team.”As stumps approached, so did the swell of fans seeking Bashir’s autograph when he was down at fine leg between his overs. Just as the clock was striking 6.30pm in Christchurch, one local punter removed his foot brace hoping he could get that signed. Bashir promised him he would come back as he charged off to try and squeeze in another over, only for the umpires to call stumps by the time he reached the middle.Both were left disappointed. As one literally hopped away, the other took confident steps into the night having given his team a stable footing in this Test.

Delhi Capitals’ Australian allrounder opens up about her fielding, her success across formats and levels, and growing up in a cricketing family

Sruthi Ravindranath14-Mar-2025You had an excellent summer with Australia that ended with the Belinda Clark medal. How do you reflect on the season gone by?It feels like it’s been a long summer with lots of cricket, starting with that World Cup [in October 2024 in the UAEI’ve sort of moved series to series, tournament to tournament. There’s so much cricket on so it’s hard to look at it as a whole. Hopefully when WPL [is over] – and we’ve got a couple of games against New Zealand, and then the season’s officially done – I think when there’s a bit more of a break there, then I’ll be able to reflect a bit more. Proud I’ve been able to contribute to especially the Australian team and stand up in different moments, which has been nice.You got going with the ball in the very first match after coming from the Ashes in Australia. What did you have to do differently to adjust to Indian conditions?I don’t think there’s one specific thing. I think I’m quite versatile in terms of the change-ups I’ve got – I’ve got decent pace too – so I think it’s just about assessing the conditions every wicket you play on – even if it’s the same ground, it is a little bit different – and trying to work out what’s working as soon as possible. We’ve got a great bowling attack, very experienced with Kappy [Marizanne Kapp] and Shikha Pandey as well, who often start us off really well and [I] can get some good information from those guys before I come on, sort of more through the middle. But enjoying the challenge of often batter-friendly conditions and trying to navigate through a bowling innings when batters are going hard, and the boundaries are pretty short and the outfield’s fast too.You have an effective offcutter, which you’ve used quite a bit in these conditions.I think [I developed it] early on in WBBL when I was really young. I realised I had to work on a change-up to make it a little bit harder for batters. So I’ve got a couple of change-ups now. The offcutter is my go-to one early.Related

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Given my action, it was probably the easiest one to bank on. But I think I’ve definitely worked on it to make sure no matter what kind of conditions I’m playing in, it can work. I’ve got really good control over length, and I think it’s a big one for me to be able to use it in any condition and any format.Are there any other variations you have an eye on?Not that I’m willing to reveal . I’m always working on different things, but that’s for everyone to see on the field.Your fielding, specifically the catching, once again stood out in the WPL. Is there any specific training you do for catching under lights?It’s probably more about volume, trying to get comfortable under the lights and get used to the conditions. I think every stadium’s a bit different where the lights are at. The ball can get caught in the lights so it’s about just kind of picking up the depth. It can change or vary depending on the ground. So it is also about challenging yourself and not just practicing easy catches. You want to be dropping catches at training because that means they’re hard and you’re going to be ready for the game. That’s how I think about it.What makes Delhi Capitals such a good fielding side?We’re a really athletic team. Even someone like Niki Prasad – she’s young, but you can see how well she moves in the field. She’s taking some really high-quality catches and doesn’t look out of place at all. I think that’s no fluke. Everyone puts in a lot of time as they should, because it’s such a key part of the game, particularly in T20 cricket. It can turn a game and the momentum can shift. We know how important that is. It’s something we pride ourselves on at Delhi Capitals, that we want to be the best fielding team in the competition. I think we’re up there at the moment.How does WPL compare to the challenge of playing in the WBBL?Culturally, there’s a significant difference with the Indian local players. I’ve really enjoyed spending time and getting to know [them], that’s a pretty cool part of playing the WPL. The WBBL has gone for ten years now. I think domestic players [there] are probably a bit more experienced. I think they have a certain level of calmness about them – which I think the Indian players will keep improving on – given the amount of cricket the Aussie girls have played at that professional level. I think the more you play, the better you get in different pressure situations.Annabel Sutherland has taken eight wickets in as many games going into the WPL final•WPLObviously, the crowds are insane over here. It’s been lots of fun to play in front of some really good crowds with lots of noise at the Chinnaswamy [in Bengaluru]. The last game we played against RCB, it was super loud and we were able to quieten the crowd in our batting innings, which was nice. The crowds are certainly a highlight playing over here.You were part of Australia’s T20 World Cup win at the MCG in 2020. Coming to the Chinnaswamy, would you say the stadium atmosphere was on par? Did you feel intimidated by the crowd at any point?Not intimidated. I think you’re going to embrace it. It’s definitely part of the game, particularly in India. They’re probably louder than 86,000 at the G. They put up pretty good competition for that in terms of noise, but atmosphere-wise, it’s pretty hard to go past the MCG final.With the ODI World Cup coming up in India later this year, how important is it for you to play the WPL, especially in venues like Vadodara and Lucknow?The key part of a World Cup is you’re moving around changing venues. You want to get as much intel as you can before playing the game. I think it’d be at the back of everyone’s minds that [the World Cup] is coming up.As a youngster, what are the pressures of playing in a team like Australia where the standards are so high?I think that’s all external pressure, to be honest. We’ve got a really good environment in our Australian team. We know how hard everyone works, and we set our own standards probably higher than the external people do. That’s all the training and the work we do behind the scenes. I think cricket’s a tough game. We pride ourselves on our standards, so the pressure is kind of external noise.The Australian team’s depth is incredible. Would you say that perhaps puts you under pressure a little bit, that there’s always someone behind you?Yes, I think so. But I think if you’re doing the work, that’s all you can do at the end of the day. It’s a positive sign of where Australian cricket is at. There’s so much depth and our domestic cricket is really strong. We’ve seen with injuries and different things that happen that we’ve got great coverage across the country. Yet, at the same time, you got to be working on your game all the time trying to get better, because there’s people that are knocking on the door who are pretty hungry to play for Australia. That’s why you got to work hard and I know everyone’s doing that at the moment.Annabel Sutherland and Meg Lanning were part of Australia’s T20 World Cup win in 2023•Getty ImagesYou’ve played together with Meg Lanning for Victoria, Australia, Melbourne Stars in the WBBL and now at Capitals in the WPL. Is there anything as too much Meg Lanning? How big is it for you to play alongside her and pick her brains?There’s no such thing as too much Meg. She’s a superstar of the game. Just being able to play under her… she’s had a big impact on me. She’s super competitive. I love the way she plays the game. She would do anything to get the team over the line and get a win. I love that she trusts her instincts. She’s got a real good intuition of the game and more often than not she gets the right call.You grew up with a lot of cricket around you, with your father being involved in the sport and your brother playing professionally as well. How competitive were you with your siblings growing up when it came to cricket? Have you ever hit a saturation point with the game?Having two brothers sort of means everything’s going to be pretty competitive. We all loved sport growing up. In the backyard, there was a lot of competition, a few tantrums – that was all part of it. Cricket was one of the sports we played a lot, and we all love it. That [is why] we are still playing it now. It’s a nice thing to share with my siblings.I think it’s important given how much cricket’s on at the moment to have a healthy balance in terms of when you do get time off, whether it’s days or weeks between tours and tournaments, you need to make sure you have a really good balance of being away from games. I got real good people around me in terms of my friends and family who keep that balance, which is nice.

Riyan Parag is set to lead Rajasthan Royals at 23, but there have been three younger captains in the IPL

Harigovind S22-Mar-2025Virat KohliIPL captaincy debut: Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Rajasthan Royals, Jaipur, 2011
Age: 22 years 187 daysKohli was appointed full-time RCB skipper only in 2013, but he got his first taste of leadership two years earlier when Daniel Vettori sat out of RCB’s game against Rajasthan Royals with a knee problem. Kohli, already a regular in the Indian team, was the natural successor. He kickstarted his captaincy career with back-to-back wins but then endured a 111-run trouncing at the hands of Kings XI Punjab. In all, he captained RCB in 143 games in the IPL.Steven SmithIPL captaincy debut: Pune Warriors vs RCB, Pune, 2012
Age: 22 years 344 daysLong before he established himself as a great batter, Smith served as Pune Warriors captain for one match towards the end of IPL 2012. Smith had gone unsold in the auction that year, but Warriors, who boycotted the auction over disagreements with the BCCI, signed him before the season began. At the fag end of a poor season for Warriors, in which they finished bottom of the league, the misfiring Sourav Ganguly stepped down, and Smith, who had captained Sydney Sixers in the previous Big Bash League season, took over. A few years later, Smith went on to captain Royals and Rising Pune Supergiant.Suresh RainaIPL captaincy debut: Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Daredevils, Delhi, 2010
Age: 23 years 112 daysMS Dhoni was hit on the arm by a rising Shane Bond delivery and sidelined for a few days during the 2010 season, and Raina, Chennai’s leading batter in the previous two editions, stepped in for three games. In his first game as the CSK captain, he scored a vital 49 not out in a tall chase against DD, but CSK lost their next two games under him. Raina’s services were needed just twice more for CSK, in 2019, but he did captain Gujarat Lions for their two seasons, in 2016 and 2017.Riyan Parag will become the fifth-youngest captain in the IPL•BCCIRiyan ParagIPL captaincy debut: Rajasthan Royals vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, 2025
Age: 23 years 133 daysParag has been in the IPL for six years, but he is still only 23 and is set to captain Rajasthan Royals in their first three games of IPL 2025 as Sanju Samson, recovering from finger surgery, will play purely as a batter. Parag, who has captained his domestic side Assam in 23 matches across formats, had a breakthrough 2024 – he scored 573 runs in the IPL and made his India debut. Leading Royals in Samson’s absence seems like a just reward.Shreyas IyerIPL captaincy debut: DD vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi, 2018
Age: 23 years 142 daysDelhi Daredevils, as the Delhi franchise was known then, had lost five of their first six games in IPL 2018 when their out-of-form captain Gautam Gambhir stepped down. Iyer, who had captained India A and Mumbai by then, was one of the few bright spots for Daredevils and replaced Gambhir. While Daredevils could not avoid the wooden spoon, they went out on a high with back-to-back wins against Mumbai Indians and CSK. Iyer went on to captain the Delhi franchise till 2021 before becoming captain of KKR. His new gig as Punjab Kings captain makes him the second Indian, after Ajinkya Rahane, to captain three different IPL franchises.

Australia have now chased 200-plus targets most number of times in T20Is

Sampath Bandarupalli26-Jul-20256 Instances of Australia successfully chasing down a target of 200 and more in T20Is, the most by any team in the format. India and South Africa have five successful chases of 200-plus targets.West Indies have now lost six times while defending a 200-plus target, which is a T20I record. They went ahead of South Africa, who have failed to defend a target of 200-plus runs on five occasions.37 Number of balls Tim David needed to bring up his century in the third T20I against West Indies, the fastest in T20Is for Australia, bettering Josh Inglis’ 43-ball ton against Scotland last year.David’s fifty came in only 16 balls, which is also an Australian record. The previous fastest was off 17 balls, by Marcus Stoinis against Sri Lanka in 2022 and Travis Head against Scotland in 2024.ESPNcricinfo Ltd11 Number of sixes David struck during his unbeaten 37-ball 102. Only Aaron Finch hit more sixes in a T20I innings for Australia – 14 against England during his 156 in 2013 at Southampton. David had hit ten sixes in his first 26 balls; only three other batters in all T20s have hit ten or more in their first 26 balls.128* Partnership between David and Mitchell Owen for the fifth wicket during the chase. It is the highest stand for Australia for the fifth or a lower wicket in men’s T20Is. It is also the highest by any pair for the fifth or a lower wicket in a T20I chase.Related

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1 David also became the first Australian batter to score a hundred while batting at No. 5 or lower. All the previous 11 hundreds for Australia in men’s T20Is have come while batting in the top four.He is only the second batter to score a hundred in a successful chase while batting at No. 5 or lower, after Mark Chapman, who made 104* against Pakistan in 2023.ESPNcricinfo Ltd16.1 Overs that Australia needed to complete the 215-run chase against West Indies. It is the fourth-fastest 200-plus target chase in terms of overs taken in T20Is. All three quicker chases than Australia have come in 2025 only.146 Numbers of runs Australia scored in the middle overs (7-16) during the chase, the most they have scored in that phase in T20Is. It is also the sixth-most runs scored by any team in the middle overs in men’s T20Is. David alone scored 94 of those 146 runs, the third-most by any batter in a men’s T20I. (where ball-by-ball data is available)1 Australia registered their maiden T20I series win in West Indies by going 3-0 up in the five-match series. Australia previously played three T20I series in the Caribbean and won only two of the eight matches across those series.2 Number of players with centuries in all three formats in international cricket for West Indies. Shai Hope joined Chris Gayle in the elite list, following his maiden T20I ton on Friday against Australia.102* Hope’s score against Australia on Friday. He is the first wicketkeeper-captain to score a hundred in T20Is. Scott Edwards’ 99 against Oman in 2024 was the previous highest score by a keeper-captain.

West Indies had their own struggles on a tough day in Barbados, but Australia’s next-gen batting remains a long-term gamble

Andrew McGlashan26-Jun-20253:33

Shamar Joseph: ‘One of the best deliveries I’ve bowled in my life’

Things may yet turn out alright on the night for Australia in Barbados in terms of the result – although that remains far from certain – but the opening day of the series shone a further light on the task of reshaping the top order with an eye to the future.Firstly, a qualifier: these were not comfortable batting conditions. Travis Head, who produced the most dominant innings, said that Australia had been taken by surprise with how tough they were, but Jayden Seales suggested West Indies had an inkling of what to expect after the pre-series training camp here.Still, Australia’s 22 for 3 – and a later collapse of 7 for 69 – followed on from the difficulties they had in the World Test Championship final against South Africa when they couldn’t find a way through tricky periods. West Indies had struggles of their own, but it was a reminder that the next generation of Australia batting could be a longer-term project riddled with uncertainties.Related

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You only need to show Shamar Joseph an Australia batting line-up for him to put on a display. He had not quite hit the heights of the Gabba since that heady day (although, after his struggles in England last year, the numbers had been far from dire) but this brought back memories of Brisbane.His opening spell, and specifically the dismissal of Sam Konstas, set the tone for a well-planned West Indies bowling performance which held its nerve as Head and Usman Khawaja forged the best stand of the day, 89 runs, although it could have been better with safer catching.Konstas was beautifully set-up by Joseph, falling in a manner that has been seen before at Australia Under-19 level and in his early domestic days with the ball shaping back at him.”I think I set it up perfect towards him; a few outswingers, and then get the ball to nip back, because he’s just looking to get beaten outside off and then to nip back through the gate,” Joseph told ESPN’s , while speaking of the importance of the work he had put since the white-ball tour of the UK.Cameron Green lasted just 21 balls•Associated PressJoseph followed by giving Cameron Green a working over at No. 3, having him dropped second ball in the gully before he edged low to second slip. Ahead of the match, Pat Cummins said he saw Green as a long-term option at No. 3 but, while he’s had some tough conditions to face – firstly Kagiso Rabada at Lord’s and now another good pace attack – he will need a more convincing second innings to quieten the debate.The best of the lot, though, was saved for Beau Webster who was completely turned around by a magnificent delivery that took the top of the stumps. “That’s probably one of the best deliveries I’ve ever bowled,” Joseph said.Without Steven Smith (albeit temporarily) and Marnus Labuschagne, this batting order is without nearly 15,000 Test runs and it was something West Indies had taken note of.”We spoke about it,” Seales said. “We knew that coming into the Caribbean, pitches are a lot slower than what they were accustomed to in Australia. And especially this pitch, with the grass being how it is and the colour of the pitch, we knew that there was vulnerability within the batting line-up and more so with the pitch, so we just tried our best to exploit it.”

‘I don’t think there’s one solid way of going about things on those sort of wickets. You’ve just got to double down on your plan and your blueprint and what you play best’Travis Head

It took Australia 16 overs – and three wickets – to find the boundary, but Head defended the approach of the top order, backing each player to work out their own method.”I thought Usman applied himself really well in the partnership and batted completely different to what I did, and both were as effective as each other,” he said. “Guys will want to learn, you always want to try to adapt to the conditions the best way we can. We battled hard against a really quality attack, so on another day, you hope you get through it.””I don’t think there’s one solid way of going about things on those sort of wickets. You’ve just got to double down on your plan and your blueprint and what you play best. Naturally, I like to try and put as much pressure back on and there’s going to be times where it works and not.”Seales, who had claimed his first wicket when he removed the recalled Josh Inglis to a pull shot, was able to beat his team-mate to a five-wicket haul. He termed it the “most special” of the three he has bagged because he never quite felt at his best, but ensured Joseph took the acclaim as he left the field.”I think that’s what opened the game right up for us,” he said of Joseph’s early spell. “Blowing away the top order is the most important thing in Test cricket and then that made it a lot easier for us in the middle and in the back end of the innings.”Between them, their nine wickets left Australia needing the bowlers to keep them in the contest which, for the final 20 overs of the day, they did commendably as they so often have. But all eyes will be on that top order again come the second innings.

They will look to expose India’s middle and lower orders, even as Shaheen Afridi will hope for a better outing

Danyal Rasool27-Sep-20251:49

Wahab: Additional pressure on India in the final

A former Pakistan captain, Mohammad Rizwan, once famously said about his team that they “either win or learn”. While there is an inherent truth to that, the quote has taken on a life of its own, weaponised by critics of the national side both within Pakistan and outside it, to lampoon the team when it is undergoing a period of sustained failure.In this Asia Cup, Pakistan have won every game bar the two they played against India. With the sides set to meet for the first time in an Asia Cup final on Sunday, India’s two comprehensive victories over Pakistan mean the best Salman Ali Agha’s team can hope for is focus on the few things they have learned from their defeats.No room to consolidatePakistan have had it drilled into them that the powerplay is a time of maximum aggression. They didn’t lack in intent during the fielding restrictions in either game against India, but invariably, India found a way to tip the Pakistan innings into quicksand. On the first Sunday, it came immediately following the powerplay, with the next four overs producing just seven runs as Pakistan shrank in the face of India’s accurate spinners.Related

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Rauf fined 30% for breaching ICC code of conduct

Plan C (Chaos) does it for Pakistan, not for the first time

On the following Sunday, Pakistan avoided getting sucked into that void, going after the spinners and scoring 36 runs, including four sixes, in the four overs after the field spread out. However, the wicket of Saim Ayub, followed by some curious decisions in the batting order, resulted in a slowdown following the halfway mark. In the seven overs after drinks, Pakistan scored just 38, the fewest by any side this tournament in that phase. It resulted in what appeared to be a 190-200 total petering out at 171, and India chasing comfortably once more.The final will carry its own pressure, but that does not detract from Pakistan’s goal; if they are setting a target, they will have to go all out all the time. It is what makes their task so unenviably hard, but as the previous two games have shown, no other path leads to victory.India’s soft underbellyPakistan didn’t get to go too deep into India’s batting order in either of the games, as almost all the damage India did to Pakistan occurred at the top. This has been a recurring theme in almost all of India’s matches, which means No. 6 and lower have had limited exposure in this Asia Cup.More intriguingly, what little time the lower order spent at the crease hasn’t been nearly as explosive as their upper-order counterparts. In the Super Fours, India slowed down in each of the three games once the top order was gone. Against Bangladesh, the last nine overs produced 56 runs, with just one player outside the openers registering a strike rate over 100. The fall of the third wicket, that of Abhishek Sharma against Pakistan, caused India to slow down in pursuit of 174, with the next 28 balls producing just 30 runs.An off day for India’s openers could pose a problem for them•AFP/Getty ImagesSpanning out across all teams, India’s batters from Nos. 6-11 have faced the fewest deliveries among the five Full Member teams this tournament. Notably, they have also been the slowest scorers among those five sides, with a strike rate of 110.58.Pakistan, meanwhile, are the second-fastest at 142.48. Their last six batters have also, by far, faced the most deliveries – nearly three times India’s number. While that is down at least partially to misfiring openers, Pakistan will draw hope from a belief that an off day for India’s openers represents a much bigger problem for them than a similar failure for Pakistan’s own openers.Shaheen Afridi vs IndiaAfridi has grown into this tournament. He took three wickets in each of the last two games, both must-win matches for Pakistan. Agha kept Afridi on for three overs in the powerplay in those two games, and he took that once customary first-over wicket both times. Afridi is now the joint second-highest wicket-taker in this Asia Cup.None of his nine wickets, though, have come against India, who have smashed 63 runs off his 5.5 overs across two games. In fact, since that famous Player-of-the-Match performance in Pakistan’s ten-wicket victory over India at the 2021 T20 World Cup, Afridi against India has been cannon fodder, with just one wicket in nearly 14 overs across four matches.In T20Is against India, Shaheen Afridi has just four wickets at 39.25•Getty ImagesEven including his performance in that famous victory in Dubai, where he took 3 for 31 – that featured the early wickets of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul – Afridi’s T20I figures against India make for grim reading, with four wickets at 39.25. Afridi has a worse strike rate and average against India than against any other side he has played at least twice, and his economy rate of 8.80 is the second worst – just behind the 9.06 he has against Australia.These numbers from their frontline fast bowler are not conducive to Pakistan’s chances of an upset in the Asia Cup final. This is particularly true due to India’s reliance on their openers, and their tendency to fly to fast starts. In the two games this tournament, Abhishek hit Afridi for a four and a six off his first two balls in the group game, and a first-ball six in the Super Fours. Whether Afridi can keep his streak of first-over wickets alive might prove crucial to Pakistan’s hopes.The pressure isn’t on PakistanThis is perhaps the most vital thing those two matches should teach Pakistan. India have been curiously eager to take the pressure off Pakistan, with captain Suryakumar Yadav suggesting that recent results meant India vs Pakistan wasn’t even a rivalry anymore. On some level, this is obviously not true; an India-Pakistan rivalry has never been contingent on specific merits or weaknesses of their on-field ability, with each side enjoying extended dominance across history without diminishing the game’s status. But on another, India have demonstrated that if they bring their best, there is little Pakistan can do to live with them.6:02

How did Pakistan go from being pioneers to falling behind in T20 cricket?

Perhaps the second game showcased this more than the first. Pakistan played close to the kind of game they were hoping to play. India were sloppy in the field, dropping several catches. Jasprit Bumrah went for more runs in the powerplay than he ever has, and the spinners copped punishment immediately after. And still India won with relative comfort.Pakistan are searching for an upset, not looking to complete a journey they have inexorably been riding to. Some parallels with the 2017 Champions Trophy have been brought up, where an obviously superior India side was blown away by a perfect Pakistan on the day. The five tournaments featuring more than five teams where these sides have met in the final may give Pakistan a 3-2 edge, but the Champions Trophy is an aberration. It is the only one where the result of an earlier meeting in the same competition has not repeated in the final.Pakistan will, as Rizwan might put it, be Asia Cup champions on Sunday. Or they will learn they are the second-best team in the continent. If it turns out to be the latter, then from the T20 lows they have found themselves in over the last two years, it will not be the worst position to be in.

Stats highlights from the second Test between Pakistan and South Africa in Rawalpindi

Shubh Agarwal23-Oct-20253 – Number of Test wins for South Africa in Pakistan. Their previous two wins came in Faisalabad in 1997 and in Karachi in 2007. Since then, South Africa had lost three Tests in Pakistan.1 – Instance of two South Africa spinners taking five-wicket hauls in the same Test. Keshav Maharaj dismantled Pakistan in the first innings with 7 for 102. Simon Harmer then took 6 for 50 in the second innings, his best figures in Test cricket.7 for 102 – Maharaj’s first-innings figures are the best by a South Africa bowler in Pakistan. Left-arm wristspinner Paul Adams had the record with 7 for 128 in the Lahore Test in 2003. It is also the second-best figures by a South African spinner in Asia. Maharaj also holds the top spot with his 9 for 129 against Sri Lanka in Colombo in 2018.Related

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4 – Number of South African bowlers to complete 1000 wickets in first-class cricket. Harmer reached the milestone in the second innings in Rawalpindi when he dismissed Noman Ali. Only Mike Procter (1417), Allan Donald (1216) and Charlie Llewellyn (1003) have more first-class wickets among South African bowlers.38 years and 299 days – Asif Afridi’s age at the start of the second Test, making him the oldest debutant to take a five-wicket haul. England’s Charles Marriott was 37 years and 332 days old when he picked up 5 for 37 on debut against West Indies in 1933.3 – Maharaj, Asif and Harmer picked up five-wicket hauls in Rawalpindi; it was the first time that three bowlers over the age of 35 took five-wicket hauls in a Test.35 – Number of wickets picked up by South Africa’s spinners in the two Tests, the most in a series for them in the 21st century. South Africa’s spinners took 17 wickets in Rawalpindi, the second most for them in a Test.ESPNcricinfo Ltd71 – Kagiso Rabada’s score is the highest by a South African No. 11. It was also his maiden first-class fifty.15.2 – The difference in batting average for Pakistan between their first and second innings in Test cricket since 2023. They average 34.49 in the first innings and only 19.29 in the second. The difference is the highest among all Test nations in this period.786 – Number of days without an international hundred for Babar Azam. His last century came against Nepal in the 2023 Asia Cup.Babar has now gone 75 innings without an international ton. Among Pakistan batters to bat in top four, only Kamran Akmal (76 innings) and Mohammad Rizwan (82) have had a longer streak without a hundred in international cricket.

Sometimes, you just don't have a good day at work. We've all been there. Such a day unfortunately came for future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw on Sunday during the Los Angeles Dodgers' game against the Milwauke Brewers. Kershaw cruised through three innings and looked to be on track towards earning a victory after the Dodgers spotted him a 3-0 lead.

But the wheels fell off in the top of the fourth inning.

The Dodgers defense let Kershaw down, committing a pair of errors that led to to the Brewers plating three runs. In the top of the fifth, Kershaw exited the game after hitting a batter, then allowing a single, after which the Dodgers committed another error.

The southpaw kept his cool on the mound in the midst of the errors but let his frustrations out when he got back to the dugout.

These have to be among the most frustrating days for a starting pitcher. The win is seemingly within the team's grasp, and then, because of circumstances out of the pitcher's hands, the lead disappears.

We feel your pain, Kershaw, we feel your pain.

Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suárez is one of the hottest names as Major League Baseball's July 31 trade deadline approaches.

The question remains whether the Diamondbacks will decide to part with him or keep the slugger in hopes of competing for a National League wild card spot, as they currently sit 5.5 games out of the final slot. According to a new report from the 's Jon Heyman, that question remains unanswered, but Arizona is unsurprisingly receiving calls on Suárez.

Heyman named the New York Yankees as a team that has checked in with the Diamondbacks on the 34-year-old slugger. He also named the Chicago Cubs and Seattle Mariners among many other teams that would make sense as a landing spot should the Diamondbacks decide to sell.

Although Heyman didn't explicitly name them in the recent report, another team who may be interested in Suárez's services is the team with the best record in baseball—the Detroit Tigers. Suárez began his career in Detroit and recently said it would mean a lot to him to finish where he started via Evan Petzold of the .

If the Diamondbacks do decide to become sellers, it's clear they won't have an issue moving Suárez, who's slated to become an unrestricted free agent after this season. They have just under two weeks to figure it out.

Through 96 games this year, he's slashing .251/.322/.567 with 31 home runs and 78 RBIs. He's currently tied with Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber for the fourth-most homers across the MLB this season and he's also tied for fourth in RBIs, but with Tigers star Riley Greene.