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South African smashed 12 fours and eight sixes on his way to the highest individual score in the tournament as Karachi Kings stunned the table-toppers

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Feb-2019How the game unfolded
Chasing 187, Karachi Kings had lost two wickets with just four runs on the board before Colin Ingram’s record-smashing knock stunned Quetta Gladiators and took his side home with six wickets and eight balls in hand. The South African left-hander smashed 12 fours and eight sixes in his unbeaten 59-ball 127, surpassing Sharjeel Khan’s PSL record of 117. At the end of the mayhem, the Gladiators’ had lost their first game of the season after four wins on the trot.After being put in, Umar Akmal’s 37-ball 55 led the Gladiators’ charge for the most part. He was well supported by Rilee Rossouw and the two added 63 for the third wicket in just 6.5 overs. Umar eventually fell to Aamer Yamin on the third ball of the 19th over with 156 on the board, but some good late hitting from Anwar Ali took them to 186. It wasn’t enough in the end, with Ingram having a party.Turning points

• Gladiators were 119 for two at the end of 13 overs, with Umar and Rossouw having just brought up their 50-run stand. However, only nine runs came from the next three overs, with Aamer dismissing Rossouw for 44 in the 14th.
• Anwar Ali walked out in the 19th over of the Gladiators’ innings and found his range straightaway. He smashed three sixes off the first three deliveries he faced before hitting another off the last ball of the innings to finish on 27 not out off just six balls.
• At the end of the 12th over during the chase, the Kings were 91 for three with the required rate having climbed up to 12. But Ingram struck four sixes and three fours in the next two overs – bowled by Ghulam Mudassar and Mohammad Nawaz – to bring down the equation to 54 needed off 36 balls.

Star of the day
With no other batsman in his side crossing 20, Ingram was the undisputed hero of the Kings’ win. He came to the crease in the second over of the chase, with both Babar Azam and Colin Munro back in the dugout. The first ten balls he faced produced only nine runs but the next 21 brought 41. Nawaz was carted for three successive sixes in the 14th over, while one off Mudassar went out of the stadium. With nine needed off ten balls at the close, Ingram struck Anwar for a four and a six to take Kings to an improbable victory.The big miss
Babar and Munro are among the best T20 batsmen in the world. At least one of them needed to bat big for the Kings in what was a steep chase. However, Sohail Tanvir removed Babar on the first ball of the chase, while Nawaz accounted for Munro when the batsman has made just three. Thankfully for the Kings, Ingram had one of his best days in the middle.Where the teams stand
Despite the loss, the Gladiators remained at the top of the points table with eight points. But the Kings rose from the bottom of the table to the fifth spot courtesy their win, tied on points with Lahore Qalandars with both teams having two wins from five games.

The wicketkeeper batsman, filling in for Tom Latham, capped off an eventful year by taking three superb catches to add to a sparkling half-century

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Dec-2017New Zealand’s 47-run win in the first T20I in Nelson was studded with stellar individual performances, but the standout moment was Glenn Phillips’ outstanding catch behind the stumps to dismiss Chris Gayle.Running back from his wicketkeeping position, Phillips had passed the 30-yard circle when he dived forward at full length to complete the take. “I didn’t know where it went to start with,” Phillips said after the game. “I just started running back and then hoped that the two guys either side weren’t going to run into me. I just put out the big mitt and hoped that it stuck, and it did.”It’s an interesting situation because none of us actually called for it. When the sky is a bit blue like that, sometimes you don’t have anything to gauge it on. But the ball has a shimmer around it, so you just sort of hope you catch it, and thankfully I did today.”Getty Images

That dismissal sent West Indies into freefall in their chase, and Phillips played a big role in it. He went on to take two more catches – including a diving take to his right to intercept a thick edge from Rovman Powell – and effected a stumping.Playing in just his fourth T20I, Phillips was filling in for the rested Tom Latham behind the stumps. With a sparkling show with the bat too – he made a 40-ball 55 that set New Zealand up for a strong total – Phillips may have given New Zealand’s selectors the option of playing Latham as a specialist batsman in the limited-over formats.The first sign of Phillips being considered for the 50-over format came earlier in the season, when he was picked in the New Zealand A squad for the tour of India. He finished the series as New Zealand A’s highest run-getter, including a top score of 140 not out. That earned him a berth in the T20 international squad for the three matches in India. “The desire would definitely be to go into that one-day format, and then, if the Test stuff ever happens one day, then I’d definitely relish the challenge,” he said.Phillips comes with the reputation of being a destroyer of attacks in domestic cricket. He was the leading run-scorer in the 2016-17 Super Smash, New Zealand’s domestic T20 tournament, where he made 369 runs in 10 innings at an average of 46.12 and strike-rate of 143.02 in his first season.On Saturday, he showed not just brutal hitting abilities, but also tactical nous as he consolidated to ensure West Indies didn’t dominate. Phillips said that there were areas of his game he had to still work on. “I wouldn’t say me playing slowly early on was intentional. It was just that I wasn’t able to hit a boundary. But my finding ones needs to improve, that is what I want to try and improve at in the nets.”We would have been under a lot more pressure [if not for that final over off which Kesrick Williams conceded 25]. That could have made it 160 and that would have been a bit of an under-par total. We were aiming for 170 after we went through the first six overs, and we thought if we got 170, then anything over that would be good. If we had only got 160, then they would have been in with a bigger sniff.”

Having shown patience against some tight bowling in the morning, Sri Lanka enjoyed a flat surface and a tiring bowling attack to gain firm hold of the Harare Test against Zimbabwe

The Report by Nikhil Kalro30-Oct-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsUpul Tharanga anchored Sri Lanka’s innings with an unbeaten 110•AFP

For a brief period on the second morning, Zimbabwe made run-scoring look strenuous. For the rest of the day, Sri Lanka’s batsmen enjoyed a placid Harare surface and a tiring bowling attack to pile on 537. Upul Tharanga, displaying admirable patience, reaped the most rewards on the second day to score to his second Test ton, an unbeaten 110.Tharanga milked the bowling for the majority of his innings, capitalising on anything short with cuts and dabs behind square on the off side. With legspinner Graeme Cremer blocking that option by bowling a fuller length, Tharanga chose to sweep, a lofted heave over midwicket bringing up his fifty. Once he was set, the drives came out and their timing was excellent.Tharanga was assisted by debutant Asela Gunaratne, who auditioned for a regular spot in the Test squad with 54 off 102 balls, compiled with a compact technique and an ability to manoeuvre the field. A tight channel just outside off didn’t work against him: he often opened the face to steer boundaries either side of gully.But, soon after becoming the 18th Sri Lankan batsman to score a fifty on his Test debut, Gunaratne misjudged the length of a short delivery from left-arm spinner Sean Williams. A leading edge off an attempted pull was taken at midwicket.Zimbabwe were sloppy in the field again: Peter Moor missed a stumping and dropped two more catches, in addition to his two spills on the first day. Tharanga was given a life when he checked a drive off Donald Tiripano, but Tino Mawoyo at cover could not hold on to a catch low to his left. It was a disheartening spell of play, especially considering how well Zimbabwe had bowled in the morning.Seamers Chris Mpofu and Mumba kept the ball well outside the off stump and asking overnight batsmen Tharanga and Dhananjaya de Silva to play away from their body if they wanted runs. The batsmen were content in seeing off their opening spell though and only occasionally wafted at the bowlers’ invitingly wide deliveries.In their recent Test series against New Zealand, Zimbabwe’s bowlers displayed competence in consistency but weren’t able to ‘bore’ batsmen for long enough. Newly-appointed coach Heath Streak may have already turned that around. Barring the sporadic overpitched delivery, the bowlers repeatedly hit the same lines and lengths which meant Zimbabwe conceded only 50 runs in the first 24 overs of the morning. And that led to De Silva, on 15 runs in 55 balls, to step out to Cremer. He failed to get to the pitch of the ball, went through with the stroke and ended up skewing a catch long-off.Zimbabwe had another good spell of play towards the end of the day. There were 23 overs to go for stumps but the batsmen – despite a massive deficit – were positive from the outset, shimmying down the track or sweeping hard even if they weren’t to the pitch of the ball, particularly against Rangana Herath. They finished the second day at 88 for 1, trailing by 449 runs.There wasn’t much turn for the spinners; most deliveries skidded on with the arm. One such delivery from Herath rapped opener Brian Chari on the pad in front of leg stump. Umpire Simon Fry raised the finger but it seemed the ball may have been sliding down with the angle. Sri Lanka could have added another wicket in the next over, with Suranga Lakmal inducing Hamilton Masakadza into an expansive drive. The resulting outside edge, though, was dropped by Dimuth Karunaratne at first slip. Masakadza, with 33 off 50 balls and Tino Mawoyo, with 41 off 74 balls and, took Zimbabwe to stumps.

Loughborough MCC University from England and Sri Lanka-based International College of Business and Technology stamped their credentials as strong title contenders as they crushed their opponents for the second-straight day at the Abhimanyu Cricket Academy

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Oct-2015Loughborough MCC University from England and Sri Lanka-based International College of Business and Technology stamped their credentials as strong title contenders as they crushed their opponents for the second-straight day at the Abhimanyu Cricket Academy in Dehradun on Tuesday.ICBT was put in to bat by their opponents, Jinnah Degree College from Karachi – during their Group B encounter – and they lost opener Hasan Perera in the fourth over for just four.Nipuna Arachchige fell two-overs later, as the team from Pakistan looked to make more enroads. But A Perera and Sadeera Samarawickrama dropped anchor thereafter and began rebuilding the innings.The duo added 93 runs for the third wicket and that brought ICBT back in to the contest. JDC rued their all-spin strategy, as ICBT made the most of the placid surface and drove home the advantage.Perera top scored for ICBT with a 37-ball 54. They posted 150 in their 20 overs. Their bowlers didn’t let their batsmen’s efforts go in vein and picked up wickets regularly. JDC lost two wickets in the first-five overs for just 28.Shahzar Khan and Saeed Moutabar were the only JDC batsmen amongst the runs. Khan scored 20, while Moutabar added 23.A middle-order collapse ended JDC’s chances of making a comeback, as they lost five wickets for just 24 runs. They eventually crumbled for 108 in 18.1 overs.Loughborough MCC University added to European University of Bangladesh’s woes as they thrashed them by seven wickets in their Group A clash.
EUB were put in to bat first and their batsmen failed to find answers to LMCC’s new-ball attack. They lost two wickets in the first eight overs for just 29.Their middle order added 70 runs to their tally and that helped them post a respectable 118 in their 20 overs.LMCC lost opener Anish Patel in just the second over of their innings, but Irfan Karim and Nitish Kumar’s 91-run stand for the second wicket ended any hope of EUB finding their first win of the tournament.In the third match of the day, defending champions Assupol TUKS from South Africa thumped Dubai-based Heriot-Watt University by 109 runs to register their first win of the tournament.Murray Coetzee slammed the first ton of the tournament, which came off just 67 balls. Coetzee’s 160-run partnership with Gerald Pike, for the second wicket, helped TUKS post a massive 208 in their innings. HWU managed just 73 runs in reply.

A round-up of Regional Super50 matches played on April 7, 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Apr-2013Trinidad and Tobago made it six wins out of six, beating Barbados by 41 runs in Port of Spain. After choosing to bat, they were in trouble at 5 for 3 but captain Denesh Ramdin and Jason Mohammed put together a match-winning stand. Ramdin struck 134 at better than a run a ball, with 12 fours and four sixes, and Mohammed played a steady hand of 63. The pair added 170 and helped take the score to 264 for 8. Seamer Marlon Richards struck early for T&T in the chase and he was supported by the rest of the bowling contingent, as Barbados lost wickets at frequent intervals. Though many of their batsmen got starts, only one, Jonathan Carter, went on to score a half-century. Shannon Gabriel, Rayad Emrit, and Yannick Cariah bagged two wickets each, as Barbados were bowled out for 223.Leeward Islands slipped to their fifth defeat, losing to Windward Islands by 36 runs in a low-scoring game in Antigua. Windwards chose to bat and though Leewards struck regularly, the middle order, led by a half-century from captain Liam Sebastien, took their team to 194 for 9. Jacques Taylor took four wickets but his effort was in vain. Six of Leewards’ batsmen reached double-figures but no one stuck around long enough to guide the chase. Shane Shillingford, who had an excellent home Test series against Zimbabwe, grabbed his best returns in List A cricket, taking 6 for 32, and restricting Leewards to just 158 for 9.Jamaica will meet Windward Islands in the semi-final after they beat Guyana by two wickets in a rain-affected match in Guyana. Electing to bat, Guyana could not put up a challenging score as David Bernard (4 for 24) and Nkrumah Bonner (3 for 23) struck regularly. Guuyana then lost four wickets within 15 runs and managed to score 190 for 9 in 49 overs, as Anthony Bramble and Assad Fudadin top-scored with 31 each. Jamaica’s top five batsmen put together only 55 runs but Carlton Baugh’s 40 and double-digit scores from Nikita Miller and Andrew Richardson for the ninth wicket completed the chase off the last ball.

ESPNcricinfo previews the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier tournament in the UAE

Peter Della Penna12-Mar-2012Tuesday marks the first day of what is anticipated to be a grueling 12-day ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier tournament in the UAE where 16 Associate and Affiliate teams will be vying for two open spots at the main event in Sri Lanka this September. Rest assured that whoever does make it through will have definitely earned it.The 16 teams are split into two groups of eight and will play seven round-robin group matches in eight days to start off the event. The top three teams in each group will qualify for the knockout phase. The group winners face off against each other in the first qualifying final with the winner going to Sri Lanka and the loser getting a second crack at clinching a berth once the rest of the knockout phase unfolds.The second and third place teams in each group face the possibility of playing four matches in three days during the knockout phase, meaning they may wind up playing 11 matches over 12 days in 30 degree Celsius conditions during the tournament, in order to claim one of the two available places alongside the ten Full Members at the 2012 ICC World Twenty20.The team that successfully runs the gauntlet in the UAE will have the privilege of facing off against Australia and the West Indies in Sri Lanka. The runner-up at the qualifier gets to take on India, as well as reigning World Twenty20 champion England. Here’s a run-down of what to expect over the course of the 72-game event spread across grounds in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.

The favorites

Afghanistan enters the event as the defending champion from the qualifier in 2010 and it would take a solid effort from the other seven teams in Group A to keep them out of the top spot in round-robin play. Allrounder Mohammad Nabi took the most wickets at the Asian Twenty20 Cup in December and Mohammad Shahzad drew plaudits with his twin half-centuries in a three-day match in January playing for the ICC Combined Associate and Affiliate XI against England.Netherlands should be confident of finishing in the top three as well with South Australia batsman Tom Cooper providing a lift. The squad is also bolstered by the addition of New South Welshman Timm van der Gugten, one of the few bright spots for the Dutch side at the Caribbean T20 when he took 5 for 21 against Sussex.Group B frontrunners Ireland have two youngsters leading the way in Paul Stirling and George Dockrell. While Kevin O’Brien has been somewhat quiet in an Ireland shirt since his World Cup ambush of England, Stirling enters the tournament as the star. Two of his last four innings have been a 65 not out in a T20 against Kenya and 110 not out in a South Africa tour match against an Eastern Province Invitation XI. Ireland’s recent strategy in the field shows how much faith they have in the spinner Dockrell, 19, with the captain William Porterfield tossing him the ball to open the bowling and choke runs from the start.Namibia has the best chance of any of the non-ODI nations to finish in the top three in their group. Allrounder Louis van der Westhuizen, 23, has been haunting Kenyan bowlers in particular over the last nine months. He hit 159 not out off 70 balls against them in July, then followed that up in November with 145 off 50 balls, reaching his century in just 35 deliveries. He’s consistently one of Namibia’s leading wicket-takers as well.

The battle for the last playoff spots

Geraint Jones takes guard for Papua New Guinea•Getty Images

The third spot in Group A could wind up being a dogfight between Canada, Hong Kong and Papua New Guinea. Canada will need a big contribution from the new captain Rizwan Cheema, who exploded onto the international scene in October 2008 with quick-fire innings of 89 and 61 in back-to-back ODIs against the West Indies as well as 68 in a T20 versus Sri Lanka, but the big hitter hasn’t found the middle of the bat as much recently, failing to reach 50 in his last 24 innings in ODIs and T20s for Canada.Geraint Jones gets a second life in international cricket with Papua New Guinea after his 34-Test career with England ended in the 2006-07 Ashes. Jones qualifies to play for PNG because he was born there and will provide experience to blend with the scrappy tenacity and never-say-die spirit typically associated with the Barramundis.Hong Kong is the youngest squad in the tournament with an average age of 22.61, which isn’t such a bad thing considering the three youngest squads at the same event in 2010 – Afghanistan, Netherlands and Ireland – all advanced to the Super Fours. Even with all the fresh blood, Hong Kong still has room for Munir Dar, 39. A cagey veteran, Dar hit 11 sixes at the Asian Twenty20 Cup in December, and will bowl his full quota of left-arm orthodox spin.Kenya is the most vulnerable of the six ODI nations in this tournament of not reaching the knockout stage as they continue to rebuild following a sorry World Cup campaign last year. Scotland should finish in the top three in Group B, but their confidence may have been dented by back-to-back losses last week to the UAE in the World Cricket League Championship.That might leave the door ajar for Italy or USA to sneak their way into the top three in Group B. Both sides have match winners in their ranks, with former Australian international Michael Di Venuto and Peter Petricola doing the lion’s share of the work for the Italians while USA captain Sushil Nadkarni, a former India U-19 player, is capable of devastating the opposition at the top of the order.Nepal, Denmark and Bermuda are the three teams most likely to be fighting to stay out of the cellar in Group A. As for Group B, Oman and Uganda might spring an upset or two but their overall chances of progressing into the knockout stage are slim.

Missing in action

While the pre-tournament buildup has garnered extra attention for the inclusion of Jones and Di Venuto in their respective squads, just as noteworthy are the key players not taking part. Irish wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien was left out of his country’s squad after electing to skip their winter tour to the African continent in favor of a chance to play in the Bangladesh Premier League.Ryan ten Doeschate ditched the Netherlands for a payday at the MiWAY Twenty20 domestic tournament in South Africa while the Afghanistan fast bowler Hamid Hassan hasn’t played since injuring his knee trying to stop a boundary while playing for the ICC Combined Associates and Affiliates XI against England.

Kane Richardson and Joe Burns had impressive debuts to ensure matters are level after the first day of the Sheffield Shield match in Adelaide.

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Feb-2011 by 340 runs
ScorecardKane Richardson and Joe Burns put on sterling performances on debut to ensure their sides were on equal footing after the first day. Richardson, who was Man of the Match in the Ryobi One Day Cup against Queensland last week, took a wicket in each of his first three overs to carve up the Queenland top order.Burns’ maiden innings came sooner than he may have expected with the score on 3 for 11 in the eighth over. He combined with the experienced James Hopes to post a fourth-wicket partnership of 149. Hopes clipped a ball back onto his stumps after lunch to depart eight runs short of a century but Burns was unmoved and batted through the rest of the innings. He enjoyed a 52-run stand with another debutant, Jason Floros, and shared an eighth-wicket stand of 51 with Chris Swan, whose run-a-ball 37 took Queensland past the 300 mark.Richardson removed Swan to claim his fourth wicket of the innings, with Christian taking the catch at second slip. Christian then added a run-out to his two wickets to end the Queensland innings.South Australia will resume on 7 without loss on day two.

Otago and Central Districts kept up the push for a spot in the finals by squeezing out tight wins in the seventh round

Cricinfo staff07-Mar-2010Otago and Central Districts kept up the push for a spot in the finals by squeezing out tight wins in the seventh round. Both sides are now tied on 26 points, ten behind leaders Northern Districts and six ahead of fourth-placed Canterbury.Central Districts’ wicketkeeper Bevan Griggs starred in their cliffhanger against Canterbury, slamming an unbeaten 51-ball 53 to power them to a one-wicket victory in New Plymouth with just two balls to spare. Adam Milne, the 17-year-old medium-pacer, had a debut to remember, holding his nerve to hit the winnings runs. The match looked to be heading for a draw after Mathew Sinclair fell for 76, leaving CD the big ask of 139 runs off the final 22 overs with six wickets in hand, but Griggs’ enterprising innings steered them to an improbable win.It had already been a topsy-turvy match, with Canterbury fighting back strongly from a first-innings deficit of 191 runs. They seemed to be hurtling to defeat when they slid to 94 for 4 in the second innings but a double-century from Shanan Stewart and 178 for Kruger van Wyk – the pair were involved in an unbroken 379-run sixth-wicket stand- propelled Canterbury to 551 for 5 dec, which ultimately didn’t prove enough to prevent defeat.Left-arm-spinner Nick Beard was Otago’s hero in their 24-run victory over Auckland at the University Oval, picking a career-best 6 for 107 to spark a late collapse – Auckland losing their final five wickets for 39 runs to stumble to defeat from a winning position. A 149-run opening stand between Jeet Raval and Tim McIntosh and a string of 30 from the middle-order took them to 294 for 5, only 66 away from victory, before Beard removed both set batsmen – Aaron Kitchen and Colin de Grandhomme – to snatch an unexpected win with five overs remaining.Otago had been in control for much of the match, after captain Craig Cummings’ 102 and an 86 from Sam Wells guided them to 387 in the first innings. McIntosh was among the runs in the first-innings as well, making 81, with Reece Young cracking an 80 before Auckland declared towards the end of the third day, despite being 149 behind. Otago motored along at nearly six an over in the second innings, Greg Todd’s 47-ball 66 being the highlight, before they declared on 208 to set Auckland a target of 358.

Reunited with RCB director Mo Bobat after making the switch from Trent Rockets

Matt Roller03-Oct-2025Andy Flower has been appointed men’s coach at London Spirit, reunited with director of cricket Mo Bobat after they took Royal Challengers Bengaluru to their maiden IPL title earlier this year. Flower takes over from Justin Langer after his side finished seventh out of eight in his first – and only – season in charge.Bobat was appointed director of cricket earlier this year by Spirit’s new owners and opted not to renew Langer’s contract. He has instead convinced Flower to leave Trent Rockets after a five-year association – which featured a title-winning season in 2022 – on a multi-year contract ahead of the 2026 season.MCC and the ‘Tech Titans’, a consortium of high net-worth individuals including the chief executives of Google, YouTube, Microsoft and Adobe, took operational control of the Spirit earlier this week. They will run the franchise as a joint-venture, with MCC retaining a controlling 51% stake and four out of seven board seats.”I’m delighted that we’ve been able to secure Andy’s services as our men’s head coach,” Bobat said. “Andy and I have enjoyed a strong working relationship in the past, and I’m looking forward to building something special with him at London Spirit as we enter this new and exciting phase for the franchise.”Related

• Mo Bobat named London Spirit director of cricket

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Flower said he was “deeply grateful” to have spent the last five years at the Rockets and “hugely excited” to join the Spirit. “It’s a real privilege to be part of such an iconic venue and organisation. I’m also thrilled to be working once again with Mo, and for the first time with both MCC and the Tech Titans.”The Spirit were women’s champions in 2024 but have consistently underperformed in the men’s Hundred. They have won just 12 of their 38 completed matches, with five of those coming in 2022 when Eoin Morgan captained them to the knockout stages for the only time in their short history.Langer brought in Kane Williamson as captain this year and recruited David Warner alongside him at the top of the order, but they only won three out of eight matches to finish second-bottom.MCC have also appointed Donna-Maria Cullen to the Spirit’s board, after she stepped down from her role as an executive director at Tottenham Hotspur FC. Cullen joins Julian Metherell, Rob Lawson and Morgan as MCC’s representatives, with Nikesh Arora (Palo Alto Networks), Satyan Gajwani (Times Internet) and Egon Durban (Silver Lake) taking the Tech Titans’ board seats.The franchise have confirmed that they will play under the same name next year, but are planning a major brand refresh over the winter which could see them incorporate MCC’s egg-and-bacon colours into their kit – most likely as detailing, rather than the primary colour.Six of the eight deals in the Hundred’s new ownership structure were signed off in July, with Nottinghamshire (Cain/Ares) and Surrey (Reliance) expected to confirm their respective deals for Trent Rockets and Oval Invincibles next week ahead of a Hundred board meeting later this month.

Sri Lanka’s quicks picked up all 20 wickets in the first Test in Sylhet, but the conditions are expected to be vastly different for the second Test

Andrew Fidel Fernando29-Mar-2024

Big picture – Chattogram won’t be like Sylhet at all

For the second Test series in a row between these teams, Sri Lanka’s seamers are defining the contest. In 2022, it had been Asitha Fernando and Kasun Rajitha who claimed 24 wickets between them in the two-match series in Bangladesh. This time, Sri Lanka go to Chattogram with their quicks having taken all 20 wickets in Sylhet – the first time a Sri Lanka pace attack has achieved this since 1986.Beyond the big win in Sylhet, Sri Lanka’s having found a lower-middle-order batter who has found immediate success at the top level – Kamindu Mendis – will buoy them further.It seems unlikely, however, that the pitch in Chattogram will much resemble the moist seam-conducive surface that Sri Lanka stomped to a four-day victory on. Pitches in Chattogram tend to be much better for batting, and it is the spinners who tend to prosper there. On that front, Bangladesh will feel they have Sri Lanka covered.Related

• Shakib returns for second Test against Sri Lanka

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The return of Shakib Al Hasan from the eye complaint that saw him unavailable for the tour so far will give them the most confidence. Not only is Shakib among their best batters, he is also vastly experienced as a bowler on the Chattogram deck, having claimed 64 wickets across 19 Tests there – by a distance the most for any bowler at this venue. With him are Taijul Islam, who has the second-highest Chattogram wicket tally of 47, and Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who is third with 34.Sri Lanka’s main spinner Prabath Jayasuriya, meanwhile, will be playing only his fourth Test overseas, and has four career wickets away from home. Offspin-bowling allrounder Ramesh Mendis, who is the likeliest to come in to the XI if Sri Lanka opt for a second frontline spin option, is even more inexperienced overseas, having played just two away from home.Sri Lanka have never lost a Test in Bangladesh, and such was the margin of victory in Sylhet that they will begin the second Test with some confidence. Bangladesh will think of the game in Sylhet as something of an aberration, however. In Chattogram, with Shakib in their ranks, they will feel – and be, possibly – a different team entirely.

Form guide

Sri Lanka WWLLW
Bangladesh LLWWWShakib Al Hasan’s return would have buoyed the Bangladesh side•AFP/Getty Images

In the spotlight – Shakib Al Hasan and Kamindu Mendis

Shakib Al Hasan turns heads wherever he goes of course, but the freshly elected member of parliament from the Magura constituency might be especially worth keeping a close eye on in this match. It’s not only his first international as an MP, it’s also his first game against Sri Lanka since he had appealed for – and earned – a timed-out dismissal against Angelo Mathews in the ODI World Cup. Mathews slammed Shakib and Bangladesh for making that appeal, and echoes of the anger it caused at the time were present through the course of the limited-overs series. If Shakib sees value in pushing Sri Lanka’s buttons again, it seems unlikely that his new status in Bangladesh’s legislature will stop him from stirring more controversy.Three Test innings into his career, Kamindu Mendis has scores of 64, 102, and 164. Though he burst into the international cricket consciousness as a fingerspinner who could operate with either arm, his batting has always been his primary suit. And since he debuted for Sri Lanka in 2018, he has clearly taken his batting up several levels, improving his ability to deal with the moving ball in particular, a skill that served him nicely on the spicy deck in Sylhet. There will be greater tests in store for him, as oppositions study his game and design strategies to exploit his weaknesses. But he seems set now to keep that spot in the lower-middle order during what is a relatively busy Test year.

Pitch and conditions

Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium has Bangladesh’s best batting pitch. Batting first, sides have averaged 380 in the last five Tests here. The weather is likely to be warm, with the odd chance of a shower on days one and five.Asitha Fernando should get into the Sri Lanka XI in place of Kasun Rajitha•AFP/Getty Images

Team news

Shakib will likely displace Shahadat Hossain in Bangladesh’s XI. Nahid Rana’s pace is exciting but whether he will be effective on Chattogram’s generally placid surface is a question Bangladesh will consider. Hasan Mahmud could be an option for them.Bangladesh (possible): 1 Mahmudul Hasan Joy, 2 Zakir Hasan, 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), 4 Mominul Haque, 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Litton Das (wk), 7 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 8 Taijul Islam, 9 Shoriful Islam, 10 Khaled Ahmed, 11 Nahid Rana/Hasan MahmudWith Rajitha out with a back injury, Sri Lanka will likely bring Asitha straight into the XI, partnering him with left-arm quick Vishwa Fernando. If one of the seamers from Sylhet has to miss out, Lahiru Kumara is the likeliest to be omitted in favour of another spinner.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Dimuth Karuanaratne, 2 Nishan Madushka, 3 Kusal Mendis (wk), 4 Angelo Mathews, 5 Dinesh Chandimal, 6 Dhananjaya de Silva (capt), 7 Kamindu Mendis, 8 Ramesh Mendis, 9 Prabath Jayasuriya, 10 Asitha Fernando, 11 Vishwa Fernando

Stats and trivia

• The three most recent Tests between these teams in Chattogram have all ended in draws
• Asitha claimed 13 wickets at an average of 16.61 on his last trip to Bangladesh, though his figures in Chattogram were 3 for 72
• Following his 87 not out on day four of the first Test, Mominul Haque needs 25 to complete 4000 career Test runs. He will be the fourth Bangladesh batter to the milestone – behind Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal and Shakib – if and when he gets there
  

  Quotes – everyone’s talking about Shakib

  “It looks like he has lost weight. He’s been training. He has had a good BPL. He’s had a good start to the Dhaka Premier League. He’s happy and that’s the only place we want Shakib. We want him happy.”
  “Why should I talk about him? He’s not in my team.”