Australia stood seven wickets away from claiming the World Test Championship crown heading into the final day at the Oval, but Virat Kohli’s presence was enough to give India a glimmer of hope in adversity.
Needing to pull off a world record chase of 444, India looked down and out at 93 for three but Kohli’s accomplished 44 not out kept Australia wary of a remarkable comeback. The former captain put on an unbroken 71 with Ajinkya Rahane, and looked in determined mood.
He walked off the field at 164 for three with his side still strong outsiders, but were not yet down and out. Having scored their runs at a lively rate of 4.10, India kept in touch with what seemed an unattainable goal.
Australia skipper Pat Cummins set up the final equation by declaring at 270 for eight midway through the fourth afternoon, asking India to score 26 more than any side has ever made to win a Test, 38 more than their own record and 181 beyond the best at Surrey’s home ground.
India’s openers began brightly in the face of stifling odds, but saw their optimism dented by a sensational catch from Cameron Green in the last over before tea.
With Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill racing to 41 from the first seven overs, Scott Boland clipped the latter’s outside edge and watched on as Green flung his 6ft 6in frame to the left to take a quite brilliant left-handed effort in the gully.
Gill stood his ground as he waited to see if the catch was clean, with the heavily partisan India-supporting crowd unanimous that the ball had been grounded as Green held his fingers under the ball. English umpire Richard Kettleborough was the man on television duty and he took a long and deliberate look at the slow motion replays before settling in the bowler’s favour.
There were loud jeers and boos, as well as some chants of “cheat”, from the stands, but while there was some ambiguity around still images of the incident it seemed hard to believe that Kettleborough could have made a different verdict.
It was Green’s second brilliant catch of the match, having produced another remarkable diving effort with his right hand to dismiss first-innings top-scorer Rahane, and reminder to England of the all-rounder’s burgeoning ability to stamp his imprint on proceedings.
The wicket was badly needed given India’s early aggression, scoring nine fours and a six in the first 10 overs and rollicking along at almost exactly a run-a-ball. Sharma was in impeccable touch, producing flowing drives when the seamers went full and swivelling into trademark pulls when they dragged their length back.
At one stage Cummins tested his opposite number out with a bouncer and was hooked over the ropes at fine-leg. It took a change of pace in the form of Nathan Lyon’s to halt his charge, Sharma getting in a tangle as he shaped to sweep over mid-wicket and falling lbw.
When Cheteshwar Pujara followed in the next over, caught behind off the face attempting an uncharacteristic uppercut, India were rocking at 93 for three. But rather than fold, they carried on the the fight through Kohli and Rahane.
Kohli gave no leeway at all on line, flicking away a sequence of boundaries through the leg side. The ball was pinging sweetly from his bat and Rahane was offering solid support as Australia laboured away with minimal joy in the last half-hour.
Australia had earlier progressed with relative serenity towards their declaration.
Marnus Labuschagne failed to add to his overnight score of 41 before nicking Umesh Yadav to slip, and Green ground out a sedate 25 before diverting spinner Ravindra Jadeja into his own stumps as he ploughed away on a leg-stump line, but the runs kept flowing.
Alex Carey banked some vital time in the middle ahead of the Ashes as he made an undefeated 66, while Mitchell Starc swung the bat with freedom to make a lively 41.
All eyes were on Cummins from the moment the advantage snaked past 400 and he finally obliged when he was eighth man out, thrashing Mohammed Shami into the on-side.
Turning the tide: Windies captain Powell cautiously optimistic about comeback in T20 series against England
Though facing an uphill task in their five-match T20 series against England, West Indies captain Rovman Powell is cautiously optimistic that they can produce a comeback to not only overturn a challenging 2-0 deficit but to go all the way in the series.
Powell’s sentiments served as a rallying cry of sorts as they stare down a must-win situation in the third encounter at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground in St Lucia on Thursday to keep the series alive.
Still, Powell expressed confidence that the Caribbean setting, coupled with a few strategic changes, will bolster their fightback.
“St. Lucia is always a good place for us. It provides an opportunity for us to play good cricket, and the wicket is generally a good one, probably the best one in the Caribbean,” Powell said in a pre-game interview.
“The people of St Lucia always come out to support us, which is also good, and so we're looking forward to the next three games. Hopefully they can come out and support us, and we can deliver some good cricket,” he added.
After two tough matches in Barbados, which England won by eight wickets and seven wickets, respectively, Powell emphasized the significance of a renewed focus while also pointing to the need for every player to take personal accountability heading into the crucial contest.
“I think it’s a case of each guy reflecting on how things have gone so far from an individual perspective to see if we as individuals are bringing enough to the table, and then we try our best to try to put it together as a team. We have areas that definitely need work, but the guys are in good spirits. We had a good training session today, so we’re hoping to hit the ground running,” Powell explained.
St Lucia is not only familiar territory but also presents a new beginning, especially with the return of key pacer Alzarri Joseph from a two-match suspension.
Powell believes Joseph’s presence will fortify a bowling attack that has struggled in the opening games, as England easily chased down 182 and 158 in both games.
“If you should look at our bowling department, we really needed him in those games. So, it's important for him to come and hit the straps and hit the ground running. As a bowling group, we have areas where we need to control the power play because the middle overs generally take care of themselves, and he will come to bowl some of those overs in the backend,” he shared.
Despite the uphill battle, Powell cited the Caribbean side’s recent successes over the past 18 months as a reminder of their potential.
“It's a little uncomfortable being 2-0 to be honest; it's a position that we haven't found ourselves in in a long time, but it's an opportunity for us to show what we are made of as a T20 team,” Powell declared.
“England is a team that we have played quite often these days, and we have had good results against them. It's just unfortunate that Barbados wasn't good for us in terms of T20 cricket, but St Lucia provides a new opportunity for us to come out and play some good cricket,” the Jamaican reasoned.
Finally, Powell reiterated the importance of a victory on Thursday, not only to stay in the series but also to set the stage for an exhilarating weekend of cricket. The final two encounters are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.
“It's a case of us getting back into the series; we just need a win, and once we get the win tomorrow, we can go from there. The guys are upbeat; even though we are 2-0 down, they are in a good frame of mind and ready to play good cricket,” the captain ended.
Tilak's unbeaten ton helps India take lead against South Africa
Tilak Varma smashed an unbeaten 107 as India went 2-1 up in their T20I series against South Africa, claiming a nail-biting victory in Wednesday's third match in Centurion.
Following their surprise defeat in Sunday's second match, the tourists bounced back to earn their 10th win in their last 12 outings in the format, putting them on the brink of a series triumph.
Tilak was the star of the show as he produced comfortably the best score of his T20I career, surpassing a knock of 55 versus Bangladesh last year in some style, while only facing 56 balls.
He hit eight fours and seven maximums to set South Africa a target of 220 for victory, with Abhishek Sharma scoring 50 from 25 deliveries in support before Keshav Maharaj broke their partnership in the ninth over.
Despite six of India's batsmen scoring 18 runs or fewer and four – Sanju Samson (0), Suryakumar Yadav (1), Rinku Singh (8) and Axar Patel (1) – being limited to single figures, the damage had largely been done already.
South Africa were then dropped to 84-4 within their first 10 overs as Varun Chakravarthy claimed the crucial wickets of Reeza Hendricks (12) and Aiden Markram (29).
Heinrich Klaasen's incredible 54 off 17 balls dragged South Africa back into contention, and they required 18 runs from four deliveries in a grandstand finish, but Arshdeep Singh trapped the hosts' dangerman lbw to secure India's victory.
Having fallen short of their target by just 11 runs, the Proteas must now win Friday's fourth match to salvage a 2-2 draw from the series.
Data Debrief: Big-hitting India on the brink
Tilak recorded a strike rate of 191.07 while Abhishek was at 200.00 as their early partnership powered India towards victory.
India have now hit over 200 sixes in T20I matches this calendar year, only previously surpassing that figure in the format in one previous year – recording 289 in 2022.
Kusal and Avishka centuries take series opener for Sri Lanka
Kusal Mendis and Avishka Fernando guided Sri Lanka to a 45-run victory via the DLS Method in the first match of their ODI series against New Zealand on Wednesday.
On a rain-soaked day, the hosts ended their eight-match losing streak at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium with a dominant display from start to finish.
After electing to bat, Sri Lanka were dealt an early blow when Pathum Nissanka (12) was caught by Nathan Smith from Jacob Duffy's delivery in the second over.
However, Kusal would join Avishka at the crease and put the hosts in control, with the pair putting on a 206-run stand.
The duo's contribution formed the bulk of Sri Lanka's 324-5, with Sadeera Samarawickrama (five), Charith Asalanka (40) and Janith Liyanage (12 not out) concluding their innings.
New Zealand started well in their run chase through Will Young (35) and Tim Robinson (35) before the latter was stumped by Mendisb Theekshana in the 13th over.
That kickstarted the tourists' collapse, with the dismissals of Young, Henry Nicholls (six), Mark Chapman (two) and Glenn Phillips (nine) leaving New Zealand 110-5 after 17 overs.
Michael Bracewell's 34 from 32 deliveries steadied the ship somewhat but the damage had been done, with the tourists falling short of their target by 45 runs.
Data Debrief: It's coming home
Sri Lanka have won five of their last six multi-game bilateral men’s ODI series (L1), including each of their last two, and they got off to a perfect start in Dambulla.
The Lions' victory was their first in the format at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium since a seven-wicket win against Pakistan back in August 2014.
They were helped by Kusal's knock of 143 from 128 deliveries, which was his fourth ODI century but his first on home soil since 2020.
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