An outstanding century from Dawid Malan and Reece Topley’s eye-catching return put England’s World Cup defence back on track as they hammered Bangladesh by 137 runs in Dharamshala.
The 2019 champions were bruised by a thumping loss to New Zealand in the tournament opener but banked a handsome win of their own to cap their visit to the outer ranges of the Himalayas.
Malan was the architect, rolling out a career-best 140 in 107 balls as he carried England to 364 for nine with a fourth century in his last nine innings.
At one stage they would have backed themselves to post 400, but a flurry of wickets at the back end kept them to a less flashy figure.
It was still their biggest World Cup total on foreign soil and easily enough to get the job done against outmatched opponents who were railroaded by Topley on his recall to the starting XI.
England bolstered their pace attack by swapping out spin-bowling all-rounder Moeen Ali for the 6ft 7in left-armer and it proved an inspired decision as Topley blew away the Bangladesh top order and finished with four for 43.
He took two in two balls in his opening over, clean bowled captain Shakib Al Hasan with a wonderful ball and circled back for the battling Mushfiqur Rahim.
He was the pick of the pack throughout and will take some budging from the teamsheet now.
Bangladesh lost their way entirely with the bat, ambling aimlessly to 227 all out and helping repair much of the previous damage to England’s net run-rate.
Malan was only inked into the starting XI last month, embarking on a compelling run of late summer form just as the selectors were losing faith in the form and fitness of Jason Roy.
A lethargic start against the Black Caps in Ahmedabad did not show him at his best, but the 36-year-old removed any doubt about his readiness with a wonderfully-paced knock.
His first 50 runs came in a hurry, taking just 39 balls, and, after taking 52 more to convert his half-century, he showed off some extra gears by slamming 40 off his last 16 deliveries.
Malan’s ambitious streak was evident from the outset, with two glorious sixes off Mustafizur Rahman the highlight of England’s 61-run powerplay.
The first saw him stoop low enough to engineer a slog-sweep over deep square, a shot requiring equal parts bravery and timing, and the second saw him stand tall and pull hard.
When Bangladesh retreated to spin he took a different method, rarely allowing himself to go aerial, threading his shots into gaps and pulling out a reverse sweep against the steadying hand of Shakib.
He took the lion’s share of a 115-run partnership with Jonny Bairstow (52), who had earlier joined England’s 100-cap club after a presentation from former captain Eoin Morgan and was looking solid until Shakib snuck one into his leg stump.
Malan also outscored Joe Root in the decisive third-wicket stand of 151 that kept England ticking for almost 20 overs.
Root, who emerged alone in credit against the Black Caps thanks to a well-made 77, was calm and controlled again, cutting loose only briefly to reverse ramp Mustafizur for six.
In reaching 82 he moved past Graham Gooch as England’s leading run-scorer in World Cup cricket, easing past his mark of 897.
When Malan departed in the 38th over, after unloading a torrent against Mehedi Hasan, he had left the power-hitters in the middle order a perfect platform of 266 for two.
To score 98 more for the loss of seven wickets was an underachievement, down in no small part to Sofiul Islam, who removed Jos Buttler, Root and Liam Livingstone in the space of nine deliveries.
Despite that, they already had more than enough, with Topley’s new ball showing settling the issue.
Having watched from the sidelines as England took a single wicket last time out, he doubled that tally in his first over.
His fourth delivery swung enough to take Tanzid Hasan’s outside edge and carried to second slip and his second left Najmul Shanto as he sprayed to backward point.
Shakib survived despite misreading the hat-trick ball but was soon undone by something even better, beaten on the outside edge by one that held its line and clipped the top of off.
When Chris Woakes nicked off Mehidy Hasan Miraz it was hard to see a way back from 49 for four and they never really attempted to tackle the spiralling required rate.
Liton Das (76) and Mushfiqur (51) made England work before Woakes and Topley returned to add to their hauls, but the sense of any danger had long disappeared.
Livingstone countered his first-ball dismissal with the bat by producing a first-ball wicket of his own and Adil Rashid opened his account in his 16th over of the tournament.
Bangladesh’s passivity saw them survive almost until the end, but Mark Wood and Sam Curran hit the stumps late on to wrap things up.
Mottley renews call for Windies women to be treated equally to male counterparts
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley has once again encouraged Cricket West Indies (CWI) to invest and reward the region’s female cricketers in the same manner as the men.
Mottley, who first made the call last year, used the platform on Thursday’s opening day of the CARICOM conference on West Indies cricket themed ‘Reinvigorating West Indies Cricket’, to once again lobby for more attention to be paid to women’s cricket.
“It is the young people and I’m happy that finally it is not just boys, but boys and girls who will become the men and women who can become these global citizens with Caribbean roots. My heart filled with pride this week when Hayley Matthews was heralded by Wisden as the T20 Cricketer of the Year, and it did so because Mr. President, when you and I first met when you took over, it was actually International Women’s Day, March 8, and I asked you then to start the journey of removing the discriminatory practices between men and women,” Mottley said at the event in Trinidad and Tobago.
“Practices that go as far as the quality of the coverage and the camera covering the game, meaning that it becomes less alluring to those who may not be fully engaged purely because when you look at IPL and you look at the women playing cricket in many other jurisdictions it just doesn’t even look the same. That cannot be a metaphor for our own development and the fact and the obligation of removing the discrimination that exists between men and women’s cricket is absolutely critical,” she added.
Mottley declared her belief that the time was right for a historic mixed-gender cricket game to be played in the region.
“I have said to you, and I offer you now publicly again, that Kensington Oval, that iconic ground, could be a location where we break new ground again in history by having a mixed-gender game, recognizing that in the Olympics you’re going to soon have mixed gender relays and we don’t need to wait on others to lead us, but we can resume the leadership in ensuring that as the game has evolved from Test, to 50-over, to T20, to the increase in women’s cricket, that ultimately that will soon be the next step,” she shared.
On that note, the Prime Minister, pointed out that it was also important that opportunities be created for not only male and female cricketers, but for persons who have skills in other areas.
“We have an obligation to be able to level the field by the investments that we have to make in this sport, recognizing that not all may make the team and wear that maroon, but all can participate at different levels to make a living," Mottley noted.
“Whether it is exporting persons to help in coaching across the world…whether it is through the ability of us to have as many of our youngsters play. Whether it is in the creation of the supply of world class and first-class umpires, whether it is in people who are in the business of keeping the field, the outfield and the pitches in good form, or in the ability to sell pitches to the United States of America instead of them buying from Australia. Whatever it is, we must plan now the careful investment that will allow us to see this as a viable productive and economic sector," she ended.
Ramharack stars with four wickets as West Indies clinch thriller against Pakistan in first T20I
West Indies sealed a thrilling one-run win in the first women's T20I against Pakistan in Karachi. The visitors posted 122 after a disciplined bowling performance from Pakistan, which was spearheaded by Fatima Sana and Sadia Iqbal. But West Indies' bowlers responded in kind, shackling the Pakistan innings and turning the chase into a nervy one that went to the death. In the end, it would boil down to two runs off the final delivery, but Shamilia Connell beat the bat, and Shemaine Campbelle behind the stumps effected the run-out.
In the first of five T20Is, West Indies won the toss and elected to bat first as they looked to continue their 100% record in Pakistan on this tour. But on a pitch that gripped under the lights, it was Pakistan who started stronger as Iqbal struck of the second ball to send the talismanic captain Hayley Matthews back for a duck. Diana Baig, the most economical of the Pakistan bowlers, trapped Campbelle behind soon after to leave West Indies wobbling at 14 for two. The partnership between Qiana Joseph and Stafanie Taylor that followed did steady the ship, but Pakistan never quite let them get going.
A pair of valuable cameos - both Chedean Nation and Chinelle Henry scored 13 off 9 balls - helped West Indies tip over the run-a-ball mark, but Pakistan would have felt they had a slight edge at the halfway mark.
That advantage was bolstered by a dynamic innings from opener Sidra Ameen, whose 17-ball 23 put Pakistan ahead of the asking rate by the end of the powerplay. But losing both her and Gull Feroza within four balls of each other without adding to the score brought West Indies roaring back into it, and when Karishma Ramharack cleaned up Ayesha Zafar after a stilted innings, the visitors had edged ahead. But Pakistan captain Dar's 24-ball 27 saw Pakistan seize the advantage again as the game balanced on a tightrope throughout the innings.
It all came to a head in a dramatic final over, with Connell bowling. When Najiha Alvi smacked the penultimate ball for an exquisite inside-out cover drive for four, Pakistan appeared, for one final time, to be sneaking home. But a dot ball would follow, and as Pakistan hearts were broken, West Indies' streak held firm.
West Indies 122 for 9 (Joseph 34, Taylor 30, Sana 3-24) beat Pakistan 121 for 8 (Dar 27, Ramharack 4-15) by one run
IPL: Bairstow century gives Kings stunning win over KKR with record run chase
Jonny Bairstow scored an unbeaten century to lead Punjab Kings to a magnificent record Indian Premier League run chase against Kolkata Knight Riders.
England batter Bairstow scored a stunning 108 not out off 48 balls with nine maximums as the Kings somehow chased down a victory target of 262 with eight balls to spare at Eden Gardens.
Bairstow was helped by Shashank Singh, who smashed an unbeaten 68 from 28 deliveries with eight maximums of his own in a remarkable display of hitting.
Hosts KKR thought they had done enough for victory when a fast start from Phil Salt (75 from 37) and Sunil Narine (71 off 32) set them up a huge total of 261-6, but the Kings battled back to earn a famous triumph.
Data Debrief
This astonishing IPL 2024 campaign has already seen Sunrisers Hyderabad twice break the record for the highest innings score in the competition and now the Kings have made more history by recording the biggest chase ever seen in T20 cricket.
This was Bairstow’s second IPL hundred, more than five years after he registered his first while playing for SRH in 2019, and it has given the Kings just their third victory of the season to snap a four-game losing streak.
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