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Mohammad Abbas took three quick wickets before rain ended play early in Gloucestershire’s reply to a formidable Leicestershire first innings on the second day of the County Championship match at the Fischer County Ground.Abbas, moving the ball prodigiously through the air and off the pitch, dismissed Miles Hammond caught behind, James Bracey leg before and Gareth Roderick caught behind before the weather closed in, leaving the Pakistan international with 3 for 10 from seven overs.Resuming on 343 for 5, the Foxes had quickly lost nightwatchman Chris Wright, driving at a delivery from Chad Sayers and edging a straightforward catch to first slip.Harry Dearden joined Colin Ackermann in compiling a partnership of 46 for the seventh wicket before Dearden was also caught off an edged drive, this time by Roderick off the bowling of Josh Shaw, a fifth catch in the innings for the Gloucestershire wicket-keeper.Ackermann was joined at the crease by the busy Lewis Hill, and after enjoying one piece of good fortune when he edged Ryan Higgins at catchable height straight between the wicketkeeper and first slip – neither of whom moved a muscle towards the ball – Hill went for his shots, hitting seven boundaries before hooking a David Payne bouncer into the hands of Graeme van Buuren at deep backward square.Dieter Klein saw Ackermann through to a half-century before being dismissed leg before by Shaw, and last man Abbas did not last long, bowled through the gate by the occasional off-spin of Chris Dent.When Gloucestershire began their reply, however, Abbas responded in kind. Swinging the ball away from the visitors’ left-handed opening pair, he repeatedly beat the bat before Hammond finally edged a catch through to Hill behind the stumps.Bracey too was beaten on several occasions before being dismissed leg before, and Roderick went first ball to a delivery which bounced and took the edge.Benny Howell survived a concerted leg before appeal, and he and Dent would have been relieved men when the occasional showers, which had already seen the players leave the field twice, settled into steady rain and prevented any further play for the day.

Brisbane Heat are riding a wave of success into the BBL Challenger final against Perth Scorchers having won their last four matches in a row including thrilling victories in the Eliminator and the Knockout. They also beat the Scorchers in the final match of the home and away season to secure their place in the BBL finals. That loss cost the Scorchers a home Qualifier which they subsequently lost to Sydney Sixers in Canberra. Adding salt to the wound was that the Scorchers could not fly home due to a Covid-19 case in Perth and have been forced to host an earned home final at Manuka Oval in Canberra.The winner will face the Sixers in Saturday night’s final at the SCG. Here are the key match-ups that could decide the Challenger.Ashton Turner vs Chris Lynn at the bat-flipRarely has a toss been more important in this tournament for a host of reasons. The Scorchers got burnt in the Qualifier after electing to bowl second when significant dew settled in and made batting look distinctly easily for James Vince and company as the Sixers motored through the chase with relative ease.Chris Lynn learned from the Scorchers’ mistake the following night on the same surface and opted to bat second. The dew wasn’t anywhere near as much of a factor but the ball swung early and the Heat could also utilise their trademark X-Factor play of bowling one over of Xavier Bartlett upfront before subbing in Morne Morkel for the second 10 overs of the bowling innings.Related

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• 'My head was probably spinning a bit' – Heazlett

• Munro calls on Scorchers to 'take our egos out' against Heat spin twins

Scorchers vs Manuka OvalThe Challenger was supposed to be played at Perth Stadium where the Scorchers were undefeated this season. The Scorchers’ record at Manuka Oval this season makes for dim reading having lost all three matches they have played there this season while the Heat are 2-2 including their victory in the Knockout. What is most concerning for the Scorchers at Manuka Oval is their scoring rate, particularly in the second half of their innings. They strike at just 8.30 runs per over in the last 10 overs of their innings at Manuka Oval this season, having struck at better than 9 per over in the last 10 at five of the six other venues they have played at, with the slower more spin-friendly surface at Manuka nullifying their powerful middle order.Will Morne Morkel be the X-Factor again?•Getty Images

Lynn vs Scorchers quicksThe Heat have won their first two finals without contributions from their captain. But the Scorchers know first hand what an impact he can have after he plundered 51 from 25 balls in the final home-and-away game in Adelaide to set up victory for the Heat. Jhye Richardson has been the outstanding bowler of the tournament this season but two batsmen have really troubled him: Lynn and Josh Philippe. Lynn has scored 69 runs off 40 balls in his career against Richardson for one dismissal. Lynn also feasts on Andrew Tye scoring 109 runs from 60 balls for three dismissals. If Lynn gets a good look at both right-armers in the Powerplay like he did in Adelaide he could set the game up for the Heat.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The Scorchers’ best match-up for Lynn is two-fold. Jason Behrendorff has never dismissed Lynn but he does curtail him, with Lynn scoring just 43 runs from 39 balls against the left-armer. The Scorchers might also need to be bold and call upon the legspin of either Fawad Ahmed or Liam Livingstone in the Powerplay or as early as possible. Lynn strikes at just 6.54 per over against legspin and has fallen 27 times to it in his career, including once each to Ahmed and Livingstone in this tournament.Marnus Labuschagne has been a revelation with the ball•Getty Images

Scorchers batsmen vs Heat legspinThe Heat’s fortunes in the tournament have clearly turned with the return of the two legspinners Mitchell Swepson and Marnus Labuschagne. They have taken 18 wickets in five games together and the Heat have won four of them. The duo combined for five wickets between them when they beat the Scorchers in Adelaide, while neither played in the two teams the previous meeting at Docklands and the Heat bowled just one over of spin for the innings from left-arm orthodox Matt Kuhnemann as the Scorchers posted a winning total thanks Colin Munro’s 82.The Scorchers’ top order has a poor record overall against legspinners with five of the top six averaging under 28 and four of them striking at fewer than 7.65 runs per over. Lynn will want to get his legspinners into the game early against the Scorchers and may even turn to Joe Denly as well as he did in Adelaide. Munro urged his team-mates to take their egos out against Labuschagne and Swepson.A lot hinges on Livingstone and Josh Inglis. Livingstone scores at 8.63 against legspin and although he is prone to brain fades he has the power to hurt the duo. Meanwhile, Inglis has scored 144 runs from just 91 balls in his career for just three dismissals and has found or cleared the boundary 15 times while facing just 17 dot balls. He is in superb touch at the venue coming off an unbeaten 69 against the Sixers. While there are calls for Mitchell Marsh to bat higher in the Scorchers order the nature of the Heat’s attack suggests that would be unwise given Swepson and Labuschagne will be straight into the game following the conclusion of the four-over Powerplay.

Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh’s Test and T20I captain, has made it clear that he is not “mentally prepared” or ready or interested in continuing to lead the team in any format, and would rather focus on his own game to be of greater value to the cause. He wants the younger crop of players be given more responsibility over the next four-year cycle, but understands that the team needs him to lead in what is a tricky phase.”I am not even mentally prepared to lead in Tests and T20s,” Shakib told the daily . “But the team is not in a good shape, so I understand that I have to lead to get it back on track. Otherwise, I am not really interested in leading in any format. I can focus on myself if I am not captaining, which would help the team.”I want to see the younger lot to take responsibility. We [Mushfiqur Rahim and he, in the main] got captaincy at a very young age, but they [the next bunch] have now turned 26-27. Unless you give them responsibility, you won’t know what they can do. The World Test Championship and T20 World Cup are up ahead, so we should plan for the next four years.”ALSO READ: Shakib calls for clear communication and rotation policyThe current captaincy stint is Shakib’s second in a full-time capacity in Tests and T20Is. He became captain of T20Is when Mashrafe Mortaza retired from the format in April 2017, and got the Test captaincy after the sacking of Mushfiqur Rahim in December that year.Shakib’s public expression of disinterest in the role – a first in his 13-year-long international career – stems from his earliest experiences as Bangladesh captain. After deputising for an injured Mashrafe from mid-2009, he was made the permanent captain in 2011, but eight months later, he lost his job in the aftermath of a drab World Cup campaign. He, however, has since been the most consistent performer in the team, and enjoyed a dream run in the World Cup earlier this year, finishing as the third-highest run-getter in the tournament. His consistency, not to mention his seniority, also puts him in line for the ODI captaincy once Mashrafe retires.Shakib pointed out that a captain, by default, is expected to perform consistently himself, so he doesn’t get too bogged down. He cited Mashrafe’s example from this year’s World Cup, where the captain took just one wicket in the eight matches Bangladesh played.”I had the belief that we could go further in this World Cup, and it may have been possible if we had contributions from everyone,” Shakib said. “When a player doesn’t perform, he thinks more about himself than the team, which creates the problem. I think it happened in Mashrafe ‘s case.”It was a big issue, for himself and the team, that the captain wasn’t performing. The captain has to perform, but we were behind in that aspect. It wasn’t impossible [to reach the semi-finals]; we made a good start to the World Cup, but we couldn’t hold on to it.”Bangladesh’s – and Shakib’s – next assignment is a one-off Test in Chattogram against Afghanistan starting September 5, followed by a T20I tri-series against Afghanistan and Zimbabwe.

A blistering half-century from KL Rahul to begin their chase ensured Kings XI Punjab avoided the wooden spoon, scoring a consolation six-wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings to finish their IPL 2019 campaign on a high. Rahul’s 71 off 36 balls as part of a 108-run opening stand with a sedate Chris Gayle powered Kings XI towards the target of 171, eventually knocked off with 12 balls to spare.The main objective for Super Kings, though, was to ensure the second innings lasted at least 14.3 overs, which would ensure their spot in the top two of the standings and an automatic berth in Tuesday’s Qualifier 1. Nicholas Pooran had threatened to overhaul the target in that span after taking over the reins from Rahul with some sensational big-hitting, but the spin duo of Harbhajan Singh and Ravindra Jadeja continued slowed down the Kings XI charge long enough to get the job done.KL Rahul got to his half-century in just 19 balls•BCCI

Rahul’s innings turned Faf du Plessis’ superb 96 off 54 balls into a footnote. But the fall of du Plessis, Sam Curran’s third wicket on the day, ground the Super Kings innings to a halt at the death. They managed just seven runs off the last nine balls thanks to the brilliance of Curran and Mohammed Shami. It set up a cinch of a chase for Kings XI to give the home fans a bit of cheer at the end of another season in which they fell short of the playoffs.

Du Plessis turns it on

The South African’s innings was classically paced, easing his way to a half-century off 37 balls before bringing out the fireworks. Du Plessis added 120 for the second wicket with Suresh Raina, who made a 34-ball half-century of his own, to steer Super Kings through a majority of the innings after Shane Watson had lost his off stump to Curran in the Powerplay.ALSO READ: Raina’s return to form has made up for Watson’s strugglesBut Du Plessis ramped up the intensity from the 15th over. He charged M Ashwin twice in that frame, driving him for four and six before unleashing more carnage on Andrew Tye in the next over, cracking the first three balls for two fours and a six. Another pair of sixes off Curran took him into the 90s, the latter of which was flat-batted over the leg side to take him one shot away from a century – he had added 46 off the next 17 balls after reaching 50. But that’s when the wheels came off, both for du Plessis and Super Kings.Faf du Plessis was dismissed by Sam Curran when in sight of a century•BCCI

The Curran and Shami death choke

The England allrounder made his presence felt at various stages of the Super Kings innings. It was Curran who made the initial breakthrough. Raina then became his second victim when he got too cute trying to flick a slower ball past short fine-leg that instead became a simple catch for Shami on the ring.But his finest ball was the follow-up to du Plessis after a half-tracker had been belted over the leg side. Curran speared a yorker into the pads of du Plessis, who couldn’t get his bat down in time as the ball ricocheted off his toes on to the stumps, leaving the batsman bundled over on the ground.Shami then built off Curran’s trio of wickets in the final over with a pair of his own. Ambati Rayudu clipped a full ball in the air to deep midwicket before Kedar Jadhav flailed over a yorker that cannoned into off stump for a golden duck. Despite having plenty of wickets in hand thanks to the platform set by Raina and du Plessis, Super Kings stumbled in the last two overs leaving a well below-par total for Kings XI to get.

Harbhajan’s Jekyll & Hyde spell

During the Powerplay, it looked like Harbhajan Singh might be the reason for Super Kings to keep their fingers crossed for a Mumbai Indians loss to Kolkata Knight Riders later in the day to ensure a top-two finish. Harbhajan was pummelled by Rahul in his first two overs after opening with the new ball.After two sixes by Rahul to round off the second over, the batsman showed nifty footwork to carve Harbhajan over the off and leg side for three straight boundaries to start the fourth. He then charged Harbhajan off the fourth ball to hit him inside out over extra cover for six, and then ended the over with another straight drive for six to bring up a 19-ball half-century as the score stood at 60 for no loss.At that stage, Kings XI needed a very achievable 111 off 57 balls to make Super Kings sweat on the Mumbai result for a place in the top two.That equation was 65 off 27 balls by the time Harbhajan was reintroduced in the 11th. Within four balls, he was on a hat-trick having claimed both Rahul and the far more sedate Chris Gayle. Rahul miscued a drive after charging down the pitch before Gayle flat-batted a pull to long-on. Harbhajan fetched a third in his next over as Mayank Agarwal pulled him to Jadeja on the leg-side rope. Having conceded 41 off his first two overs, he took 3 for 16 off his final two to at least stem the bleeding.Pooran’s fiery cameo followed, in which he blasted three sixes in his 36 off 22 balls before Jadeja claimed him with seven needed for victory. Having taken three key wickets in the first innings, Curran appropriately finished off the chase with a boundary.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has cranked up its search for the senior team coach, with the side’s next assignment – a one-off Test against Afghanistan – less than a month away. The board’s shortlist included Mike Hesson, Grant Flower, Paul Farbrace, Russell Domingo and Chandika Hathurusingha, after Andy Flower declined the board’s offer a second time. The BCB may be in a race with other subcontinent boards, with India, Pakistan and Afghanistan also looking for a head coach, and ongoing issues between Hathurusingha and Sri Lanka Cricket.Farbrace, it is understood, is out of the running after he declined the BCB’s offer to take things further.* It is the second time the former England assistant coach has done so; he was among those being discussed for the role even though he had declined the board’s offer in March last year. The BCB eventually appointed Steve Rhodes then, with whom it parted ways immediately after the World Cup.ESPNcricinfo has learned that Hesson, the former New Zealand coach, is a frontrunner, with BCB president Nazmul Hassan and some directors expressing interest. However, Domingo, who coached South Africa from 2013 to 2016, was the first coach to be interviewed as the board began its process in Dhaka on Thursday. Grant Flower, who was Pakistan’s batting coach, and Hathurusingha remain on the periphery of the board’s interest.Hathurusingha, who coached Bangladesh from 2014 to 2017, is known to be a favourite of the BCB president and a few directors, even though he quit to take up the Sri Lanka job in October 2017. However, ESPNcricinfo understands that Hathurusingha’s ongoing struggle with Sri Lanka Cricket, which resulted in his suspension this week, has resulted in a difference of opinion between the Bangladesh board directors over his prospects. Still, the BCB will reportedly conduct a telephone interview with Hathurusingha, which doesn’t rule him out of contention.The, BCB, meanwhile, was impressed with Domingo’s presentation during the interview.”We have started working with our shortlisted coaches,” the BCB’s media committee chairman, Jalal Yunus, said. “We have just conducted an interview with Russell Domingo, the former South Africa coach. He is a real professional. He is well qualified. He gave us a presentation about what he thinks about Bangladesh cricket. It was satisfying for the BCB.”We will interview the rest of the coaches on our shortlist. We have two more to interview in the next few days, and then we will choose between these coaches.”*

Shafali Verma fired for the first time in the Hundred with a brilliant unbeaten 76 as Birmingham Phoenix ended a run of three straight defeats with a thumping 10-wicket over Welsh Fire, keeping their hopes of qualifying for the latter stages just about alive.The precociously talented 17-year-old, who made 96 and 63 on her Test debut against England in June, was so much in control that she was able to hand centre stage to partner Eve Jones towards the end of the chase, allowing the Jones to claim her first half-century of the competition, before stepping up to hit the winning boundary herself as Phoenix cantered home with 24 balls to spare.Bryony Smith led from the front for Fire after Phoenix had chosen to bowl, registering her competition best score with 38 from 36 balls, including five fours and a six over wide long-on off Abtaha Maqsood, but Fire’s next best score was 19 and their 127 for for 9 always looked a little under-par on a good pitch, the result leaving them level on four points with Phoenix going into the last two fixtures.Smith might have made more but was run out after a mix-up with Georgia Redmayne, who declined a single to point off Emily Arlott, leaving Smith stranded halfway down the pitch as Phoebe Franklin threw in to the bowler’s end.Then again, she was dropped on 4 as Erin Burns shelled a low return catch.Otherwise, Fire’s effort with the bat was disappointing. Batting trump card Hayley Matthews, averaging 45.75 going in, mistimed to mid-off for 13, Redmayne offered a return catch that Burns did hold for 17, and skipper Sophie Luff was lbw on review for 7, sparking a disappointing end to the innings that saw the last seven wickets fall for 33.These included a brilliant piece of work by Phoenix captain and wicketkeeper Amy Jones to stump Sarah Taylor off an Eve Jones full toss that just about dipped below waist height and three wickets in four deliveries in Kirstie Gordon’s last set of five.Phoenix raced to 47 from the 25-ball Powerplay, of which Verma hit 37, taking 12 off Smith’s opening over including a six to midwicket, and finishing with four-four-six in consecutive balls off Matthews’s offspin. After that, the opening pair never took their foot off the pedal.Verma passed fifty off 22 balls and thereafter was content to play second fiddle to Eve Jones, with completed her half-century from 30 balls with her ninth boundary. Verma should have been run out on 70 when trying to get her partner on strike but that was her only mistake and it was only a few balls later that she walloped her ninth boundary over midwicket to seal victory with time to spare.

Hayley Matthews’ all-round brilliance and Anisa Mohammed’s four-for helped West Indies Women comprehensively beat Pakistan Women in the second ODI and take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series in Antigua. Matthews and Mohammed combined to pick up six wickets between them to restrict Pakistan to a paltry 120, after which the former made 49 as West Indies hunted down the target within 32 overs.Spinners cemented their dominance as Mohammed, Matthews and Karishma Ramharack wrecked Pakistan’s line-up. A 47-run partnership between Muneeba Ali and Omaima Sohail briefly stopped the slide, after Pakistan lost Ayesha Zafar and Javeria Khan within the first five overs. But once Ramharack dismissed Sohail, the trio combined to wipe out the remaining batters as the visitors collapsed from 60 for 2 to 120 all out.Mohammed, who holds the record for taking the most four-fors in women’s ODIs, added one more to take her tally to 13, as she claimed 4 for 27 in 9.4 overs.West Indies then got off to a strong start in the chase as Matthews and Kyshona Knight added 65 for the opening stand. Matthews struck nine fours during her 49 off 58 balls. Although both Matthews and Kycia Knight were both run-out, Kyshona Knight and Deandra Dottin completed the job for the hosts, with eight wickets and 113 balls to spare.”I’m really happy to be able to contribute to a team win,” Matthews told after the win. “Going out there we had a goal of restricting them for under 180 or so and I think we did a fantastic job.”I just wanted to spend some time, obviously we know it was a low sore we were chasing and as batters it was probably the best time to get our confidence up and just spend some time at the crease. I fell one short of a half-century but still happy with the performance and the win.”

Big picture: The thing with RCB…

Virat Kohli chose a good moment – their homecoming – to highlight that Royal Challengers Bangalore are part of IPL royalty. He said, outside of Chennai Super Kings (11) and Mumbai Indians (9), they are the team that has made it to the playoffs the most times (8).But the wider IPL fraternity – and indeed some of Royal Challengers’ fans – won’t find any solace in that because of the ways in which the team’s fortunes swing. They began this season by tapping Mumbai on the head and tossing them off to the side, but then they went to Kolkata and basically enabled a blasterclass from a No. 7 batter. They bowled length in the death with mid-off up. What was Shardul Thakur to do? Not score 68 off 29 balls which turned 89 for 5 to 204 for 7?Related

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• Amit Mishra, 40 and looking it, brings Lucknow the warm and fuzzy

• Krunal: 'I am in a good headspace, I have much more clarity'

These reverses, which happen as a result of mostly avoidable mistakes, make the Royal Challengers a bit of a frustrating team to follow, let alone plan for, which is what Lucknow Super Giants have to do.KL Rahul will be coming home to Bengaluru for the first time in four IPLs – and only the third time ever as an opposition player. He’s yet to win a match as a visitor to the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, and in some ways, the chances of that happening may be tied to how well he manages his overseas resources, especially now that Quinton de Kock is available and Kyle Mayers is undroppable(ish).Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli shared a big stand in RCB’s opening game•BCCI

Team news: Will de Kock and Hasaranga play?

Prior to the start of IPL 2023, Super Giants would’ve been fairly confident of their overseas combination. De Kock for firepower at the top. Nicholas Pooran and Marcus Stoinis for firepower at the death, and Mark Wood for firepower with the ball. But now that Mayers has casually thumped 139 runs in three innings at a higher strike rate (187.83) than any of the top 15 scorers in the tournament so far, there is a decision to be made. Avesh Khan is carrying an injury, and Wood missed the last game with flu.Royal Challengers were expecting Wanindu Hasaranga to arrive on April 10 – which is match day – following the conclusion of a white-ball series in New Zealand, where he picked up figures of 11-0-93-2 in three T20Is. If he is ready to start, he might even be able to lessen the burden on their death bowers because his wickets in the middle overs could mean the seamers may be left dealing with lesser batters at the end of the innings. Josh Hazlewood faces a longer stretch on the sidelines, with the Australia quick likely to be available for the April 17 game against Super Kings. Wayne Parnell has replaced the injured Reece Topley.

Toss and Impact Player Strategy

Royal Challengers Bangalore
Royal Challengers are yet to bat first in IPL 2023, and should this be when it happens, they might consider bringing in Suyash Prabhudessai and swapping him out for Mohammed Siraj later in the game.Probable bat-first XI: 1 Virat Kohli, 2 Faf du Plessis (capt), 3 Suyash Prabhudessai, 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Shahbaz Ahmed, 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Wanindu Hasaranga/Michael Bracewell, 8 David Willey, 9 Harshal Patel, 10 Karn Sharma, 11 Akash DeepProbable bowl-first XI: 1 Virat Kohli, 2 Faf du Plessis (capt), 3 Glenn Maxwell, 4 Shahbaz Ahmed, 5 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 6 Wanindu Hasaranga/Michael Bracewell, 7 David Willey, 8 Karn Sharma, 9 Akash Deep, 10 Harshal Patel, 11 Mohammed SirajCan KL Rahul make his homecoming sweeter?•BCCI

Lucknow Super Giants
Ayush Badoni appears to have become a specialist Impact Player for Super Giants. He went out for K Gowtham in the first, came in for Avesh in the second, and went out for Amit Mishra in the third. The sequence is likely to continue.Probable bat-first XI: 1 KL Rahul (capt), 2 Kyle Mayers, 3 Quinton de Kock (wk), 4 Deepak Hooda, 5 Krunal Pandya, 6 Nicholas Pooran, 7 Ayush Badoni, 8 Romario Shepherd/Mark Wood, 9 Yash Thakur, 10 Ravi Bishnoi, 11 Jaydev UnadkatProbable bowl-first XI: 1 KL Rahul (capt), 2 Kyle Mayers, 3 Quinton de Kock (wk), 4 Deepak Hooda, 5 Krunal Pandya, 6 Nicholas Pooran, 7 Amit Mishra, 8 Romario Shepherd/Mark Wood, 9 Yash Thakur, 10 Ravi Bishnoi, 11 Jaydev Unadkat

Stats that matter: RCB death bowlers under pressure

• Since IPL 2022, Royal Challengers have the worst economy rate (11) in the final five overs of the innings. This is primarily because the options they turn to at this stage of the game have not been able to execute their skills well enough. Siraj’s economy rate of 13.4 is the worst among everyone who has bowled at least ten overs in the death since the last IPL. Even Harshal Patel, who will become the quickest Indian bowler to 100 IPL wickets if he picks up one more over the next two innings, has struggled with this task. He has conceded ten runs an over or more in seven of his last 10 T20s.
• If he has recovered from his illness, Super Giants may want to keep Wood away from the new ball because Kohli has hit 46 against the England quick in just 19 balls in all T20 cricket. They have plenty of other favourable match-ups, though. Krunal Pandya (79 off 80 balls, one dismissal), Jaydev Unadkat (52 off 46) and Ravi Bishnoi (23 off 23 balls). Avesh has done the best against Kohli (5 runs off ten balls and two dismissals), but it’s unclear if he’ll be able to play on Monday.
• Glenn Maxwell vs Amit Mishra will be fun. The Australian has smashed 66 runs in 35 balls in all T20s, but in the process, the Indian has picked up his wicket five times. Maxwell has also been susceptible to left-arm spin in the IPL: his average of 22.9 is the second-lowest for anyone who has faced at least 200 balls of this kind of bowling. Someone should pass Krunal the note.
• There has been a noticeable shift in Faf du Plessis’ batting in the powerplay this season. His strike rate of 158 from two matches is significantly higher than the 105 he managed all through 2022, when he was also dismissed in this phase of play seven times in 16 innings.

Pitch and conditions

The average first-innings IPL score in Bengaluru since 2018 is 183. In the same period, statistics suggest spinners have had a better time keeping the runs down here than the quicks (economy rate 8.1 vs 9.8). It remains the most sixer-friendly ground in the IPL, averaging 18 per match over the last five seasons.

There is no room for Hardik Pandya or Kuldeep Yadav in India’s squad of 20 players, including two players – KL Rahul and Wriddhiman Saha – subject to “fitness clearance”, for the final of the World Test Championship against New Zealand and the subsequent five-Test series against England. Pandya and Kuldeep aren’t among the four standby players either.India will play the WTC final from June 18 to 22 in Southampton and the Test series against England from August 4, starting in Nottingham, to September 14, with the last Test scheduled for Manchester.Virat Kohli’s side is expected to leave for England on June 2, and keeping in mind the length of the tour as well as possible contingencies because of the Covid-19 pandemic, India are carrying a total of 24 players, their reserves’ list containing Abhimanyu Easwaran, the opening batter, and three fast bowlers: Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan and Arzan Nagwaswalla.Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja and Hanuma Vihari returned to the squad after missing the recent home Tests against England because of their respective injuries.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Rahul underwent surgery for appendicitis in early May after he complained of “severe abdomen pain” during the IPL. At the time, the doctors were understood to have told the Punjab Kings that Rahul would be able to resume all activity in a week’s time.Saha, the other player who has to prove his fitness in time for the tour, tested positive for Covid-19 on May 4, the same day the IPL was postponed indefinitely. Saha, who was a part of the Sunrisers Hyderabad squad, is still in Delhi, where he returned the positive test. It is understood that he will have to undergo 14 days in isolation and be able to move out only after a negative test.Of the players dropped from the squad that played against England at home earlier this year, Pandya did have a question mark over him since he has not bowled regularly for some time now, with Kohli saying he wanted to preserve Pandya the bowler for the Tests in England. He had a shoulder niggle during the IPL, and didn’t bowl at all in the seven matches he played for the Mumbai Indians. He did, however, bowl a nine-over burst in the third and final ODI against England.As for Kuldeep, while he has been a part of the India squad recently, he has not had many games. Of his seven Tests, he has played only one in the last two years – the second Test against England in February this year – in which he got to bowl just 12.2 overs overall, returning 0 for 16 and 2 for 25 as India won by 317 runs. He could have also been left out because the two spinners picked ahead of him – Axar Patel and Washington Sundar – provide better batting options and shorten India’s tail.With Patel making a big splash on Test debut in the England series with a haul of 27 wickets from three games and India mostly preferring one or both of R Ashwin and Jadeja, depending on conditions, Kuldeep’s chances of making the cut took a hit.Among the opening batters, India have the options of Mayank Agarwal and Rahul, who can also double up as middle-order batters should the need arise, apart from the first-choice pair of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. Vihari returned after the hamstring injury he sustained in Sydney and is currently representing Warwickshire in the County Championship in England.For fast-bowling options, the selectors included Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav ahead of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has been facing injury issues recently, apart from the more obvious names of Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Shami and Mohammed Siraj.Before the latest Covid-19 surge in India which led to the UK government putting India on the red list in April, the BCCI was looking at picking two separate squads with the first batch meant for the WTC final and the second leaving closer to the England tour. That had to change once the circumstances changed.In April, the ECB had announced that the Indians would be arriving with an inflated squad and would play two intra-squad practice matches in July. Those two matches replaced the original warm-up schedule of four-day fixtures between the Indians and India A in July. The ECB, in agreement with BCCI, had postponed the India A tour because of the pandemic.Squad: Virat Kohli (capt), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-capt), Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul (subject to fitness clearance), Wriddhiman Saha (wk; subject to fitness clearance). Standby players: Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Arzan Nagwaswalla

Harmanpreet Kaur has tested positive for Covid-19, the update coming after she had experienced mild symptoms and was tested. ESPNcricinfo understands that the India T20I captain experienced a fever for four days before testing positive on Monday. She is currently self-isolating at home.Kaur did not play any part in the recent T20Is at home against South Africa as a result of a hip-flexor injury, which she picked up during the fifth ODI in the longer-format series preceding the T20Is. In Kaur’s absence, Smriti Mandhana led India to a 2-1 series defeat. Earlier, Mithali Raj had led India to a 4-1 loss in the ODIs, in which Kaur hit 160 runs in four innings at an average of 53.33, including a 54 in the fourth ODI.Kaur is the second high-profile India Women cricketer to have tested positive for Covid-19 after pace bowler Mansi Joshi tested positive last October. As a result of that, Joshi had to miss the Women’s T20 Challenge in the UAE, where she was to represent the Velocity side, led by Raj.Separately, a number of former Indian cricketers, who were part of the Road Safety Series in Raipur, have tested positive for Covid-19: Sachin Tendulkar, Yusuf Pathan, S Badrinath and Irfan Pathan have returned positive tests.