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• Kohli restores India hope with landmark run-score

  Virat Kohli became just the fourth Indian batter to reach 9,000 Test runs as he restored some hope on day three against New Zealand.

  The tourists carried over their momentum from Thursday, though stuttered at the start as Daryl Mitchell's (18) involvement was cut short early on, having only added four runs to their 180-3 overnight score. 

  However, Rachin Ravindra started in fine form at the crease as he brought up 134 off 157 balls to set them on their way.

  Ravindra Jadeja (3-72) helped keep the scores down after that, though Tim Southee's 65 helped push New Zealand towards their 402 total before Jadeja caught him.

  Set a target of 356 to chase at the start of their second innings, India made a strong start, surpassing their first innings total of 46 by the end of the 12th over.

  Yashasvi Jaiswal (35) and Rohit Sharma (52) got them going early on before Kohli brought up his landmark, finishing with 70 as he was caught on the final ball of the day.

  India reached stumps at 231-3, trailing by 125 runs, and Sarfaraz Khan (70 not out) will be looking to help them close in on what could be an unlikely victory.

  Data Debrief: Kohli's landmark day

  Kohli did not start the Test in the best way, being dismissed for a duck in his first innings, but he made up for that on Friday. 

  His knock of 70 was enough to take him past the 9,000 run mark (now 9,017), with only Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Sunil Gavaskar previously reaching that total. 

  He has now scored 50+ in three of his four Test innings against New Zealand at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru (103 and 51* - September 2012, 70 in October 2024).

• Windies women eye repeat of 2016 triumph against New Zealand in T20 World Cup semi-final

  Much like they did in 2016, when they got by New Zealand in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup semi-final on their way to claiming a maiden title, West Indies women will be hoping to replicate that magic.

  With memories of that six-run triumph still fresh in their minds, the Caribbean side is eager to once again top the Kiwis in Sharjah on Friday to join South Africa in the showpiece event, scheduled for October 20.

  Should the West Indies defeat New Zealand again, it would lay the platform for them to avenge their tournament-opening 10-wicket loss to South Africa. Since that battering, West Indies got by Scotland, Bangladesh and England on their way to the knockout stage, where they are now seeking to build on that momentum.

  “I think we’re proud of what we’ve been able to achieve. No one kind of had us get to this stage, so I think we’re all pretty happy that we’ve made it here. The job’s just not finished yet and we got our eyes locked on the game tomorrow (Friday) and ready for New Zealand,” Captain Hayley Matthews said in a pre-game conference.

  “Hopefully ready to play a really big game because we do want to win; we don't want to just come to this World Cup to say, ‘hey, we've made the semifinals and we're happy with that. We want to take it even further,” she added.

  Experienced Jamaican batter Stafanie Taylor remains in doubt for West Indies, but Matthews’ side still possesses enough ability to pull a surprise, much like they did against England on last. In fact, with the likes of Zaida James and other rising talents currently in the squad, Matthews encouraged her peers to enjoy the moment as she recalled when she won her first World Cup title eight years ago at 18 years old.

  “I think for me it was mostly just about staying calm but having fun, especially as a West Indian. I think we're always at our best when we're out there on the field, enjoying ourselves and being really vibrant in the field, and I'm just encouraging every one of the youngsters to go out there and enjoy themselves. Yeah, it's the World Cup semi-final and it's a huge game, but we're still playing the same game that we learned in the backyards of our homes and out on the streets in the Caribbean. So just enjoy it,” Matthews shared.

  Despite facing tough competition, the West Indies have fought their way into the final four with a combination of gritty performances and standout individual displays, including the stellar all-round efforts of Matthews herself, along with Taylor, Qiana Joseph and Deandra Dottin, in particular.

  “I think we all had the belief that we could still get the job done and the character shown within the team for us to be able to come back out there and fight. It's just about having a really good game and every single one of the players went out there and we're able to execute as we pull together as a team really well,” Matthews noted.

  That said, the talented Barbadian all-rounder expressed optimism about the prospects that could come from her team winning another global T20 title.

  “I really hope it helps our domestic setup. We've obviously seen the WCPL come about, which I think has made a massive difference for our girls, getting to play against some of the best cricketers in the world and playing a high-quality tournament like that.

  “But for me, it's got to start right up from our individual territories, putting things in place for the girls to have proper facilities to train at and a proper structure to the point where the girls don't have to be in camp in order to get proper training. So I'd love to see if we can go out there, do really well, and hopefully we can see something like that happening for us,” Matthews explained.

  But before they can get there, they will have to get by a dangerous New Zealand team.

• Sammy focusing on positives despite T20I series loss to Sri Lanka- “We sent a strong message”

  West Indies Men’s white ball head coach Daren Sammy is focusing on the positives after his team’s 2-1 T20I series loss to Sri Lanka in Dambulla.

  After a dominant win in the first T20I on Sunday on a pitch typical for Dambulla, suitable for batting, the pitches for the second and third T20Is were much more conducive to spin bowling, a strength of the hosts.

  The statistics reflected that, with 15 out of the 18 West Indian wickets to fall in the last two encounters being to Sri Lanka’s slow bowlers.

  While eventually noting the need of his players to be better able to adapt to the change in conditions, Sammy looked at the fact that Sri Lanka had to make that big of an adjustment in their favor after one game as a plus for his side.

  “We sent a strong message. We started a series one way with a squad looking to see the depth and the home side had to change the whole set up to make sure that their spinners got the advantage,” Sammy said in a press conference after the third game on Thursday.

  “Ideally, yes, our men did not respond well to the spin, however, with the mindset that we have in our team being a championship winning team, we must be able to play in different conditions,” he added.

  For Sammy, the changes to the pitch in the last two games felt like a win for his side in the long run.

  “For us to see the last two games, the nature of the wicket from what it was at the start, I thought we actually won the contest because we were the away team and in conditions set before us, we challenged them with a squad that was not our full squad and they had to react to that,” he said.

  “I told the guys yes, when the World Cup comes, we won’t get these conditions. ICC will make sure the pitches are good. It was a moral victory for us,” Sammy added.

  Sammy went further, noting how Sri Lankan pacers Matheesha Pathirana and Nuwan Thushara didn’t get an opportunity to bowl on good pitches in the last two games will hurt them in the long run.

  “When you have pacers like that not getting an opportunity to bowl on good wickets when the true test comes, that’s where you really test your team,” he said.

  “We as a group know Sri Lanka has never beaten us in a T20I series and with the manner in which they had to do over here in Sri Lanka, we’ll take that but there is need for much improvement in the way our guys play spin when there’s a challenge,” he added.

  Both teams will now turn their attention to the three ODIs in Pallekele beginning on Sunday, October 20.