Gujarat Titans leapfrogged Rajasthan Royals at the top of the Indian Premier League as captain Hardik Pandya starred in a comfortable 37-run win.
Things looked bleak for the Titans when they saw their top order dominated early on, but Hardik's magnificent 87 helped them to 192-4, before the Gujarat attack blitzed their rivals midway through the Royals innings.
Lockie Ferguson and Yash Dayal finished with three wickets apiece as the Royals could only muster 155-9 in reply, sending the Titans two points clear at the top of the IPL table.
The Titans elected to bat after winning the toss but made a dreadful start when both Matthew Wade (12) and Vijay Shankar (2) went early on, the former being run out by Rassie van der Dussen and the latter caught by Sanju Samson.
They steadied themselves to reach 53 before Shubman Gill was dismissed for 11 in the sixth over, before captain Hardik, supported well by Abhinav Manohar (43) and David Miller (31 not out) dragged them back into contention with an outstanding batting display.
Hardik was undoubtedly the star of the show, his 87 off 52 balls almost single-handedly setting a difficult target of 192 as the Royals attack struggled in the absence of fast bowler Trent Boult.
Jos Buttler (52) drove Rajasthan to a decent start with the bat, hitting eight fours and three sixes either side of partner Devdutt Padikkal being dismissed for nought with the very first ball he faced.
Replacement Ravichandran Ashwin went for eight shortly after and the wickets began to tumble in quick fashion once Buttler was finally bowled out by Ferguson, with Samson (11), Van der Dussen (6), and Shimron Hetmyer (29) all walking for the addition of 60 runs.
The below-par Royals eventually lost nine wickets without threatening the target of 193, as Ferguson and Dayal helped themselves to three dismissals each.
Hardik drives Titans with spectacular display
Hardik's brilliant display with the bat drove the Titans to a strong position after a difficult start, falling just five runs short of recording his best IPL showing with a haul of 87.
Debutant Dayal blitzes poor Royals
Three wickets from Dayal on his Titans debut, as well as three from Ferguson, made the win more comfortable than it could have been, with the Royals' final three wickets falling for just 17 runs.
Charles finishes with 13 wickets in the match as Red Force demolish Scorpions by an innings and 125 runs on day three at Sabina Park
Bryan Charles finished with 13 wickets in the match as the Trinidad & Tobago Red Force ended their 2024 West Indies Championship season with an innings and 125 run thrashing of the Jamaica Scorpions on day three at Sabina Park.
The Scorpions entered Friday 159-9 in their first innings, trailing the Red Force by 273 runs. The final pair of Jeavor Royal and Andrae Dennis further 30 before being bowled out in the 64th over of the innings.
The Red Force then asked the hosts to follow on before dismissing them for 118 in just 44.4 overs to complete a dominant win.
Opener Javaughn Buchanan was the only Scorpions batsman to offer any kind of resistance with a 95-ball 33 as Bryan Charles was, once again, the pick of the Red Force bowling, ripping through the Jamaican batting on his way to figures of 7-43 from 13.4 overs to finish with a match haul of 13-125.
Debutant Navin Bidaisee took 2-20 from six overs in support.
Full Scores: Trinidad & Tobago Red Force 432 all out in 122 overs (Joshua Da Silva 106, Terrance Hinds 79, Amir Jangoo 51, Kjorn Ottley 45, Khary Pierre 43, Jeavor Royal 3-113, Ojay Shields 2-61, Peat Salmon 2-83)
Jamaica Scorpions 189 all out in 63.4 overs (Kirk McKenzie 57, Jeavor Royal 46, Bryan Charles 6-82, Khary Pierre 3-57) & 118 all out in 44.4 overs (Javaughn Buchanan 33, Bryan Charles 7-43, Navin Bidaisee 2-20).
England stars out cheaply as Dukes ball returns to County Championship
England trio Zak Crawley, Joe Root and Harry Brook were all out for single-figure scores as bowlers across the Vitality County Championship had more success following the return of the Dukes ball.
The trial of the Kookaburra ball, which has a flatter seam than its Dukes counterpart and tends to go softer earlier, in the opening two rounds has proved divisive and led to much higher scores than expected in the early season.
Warwickshire captain Alex Davies’ fantastic 149 underpinned his side’s 340 for four in their Division One clash against Hampshire at the Utilita Bowl – but the opener was the only batter in the country to reach three figures on Friday.
Crawley edged to third slip for five in his first appearance of the season for Kent, who ended a rain-affected opening day on 111 for three after 39 overs against defending champions Surrey at Canterbury.
Daniel Bell-Drummond registered 70 before he was trapped in front by Tom Lawes and Daniel Worrall accounted for Crawley and fellow opener Ben Compton.
Four wickets for Shane Snater and three for England hopeful Sam Cook helped Essex skittle Lancashire for 146 at Chelmsford, where the hosts went to stumps on 68 for one with just 54 overs possible.
England off-spinner Shoaib Bashir snared the in-form Joe Clarke as Nottinghamshire were all out for 193 against Somerset at Taunton.
Craig Overton was the pick of the attack with three for 57 before a classy 70 not out from Sean Dickson led Somerset to 116 for one at the close.
Durham’s Ollie Robinson thrashed six fours and three sixes in a belligerent 55 off 43 balls but his side were all out for 244 against Worcestershire in a clash between the two promoted sides at Kidderminster.
Former West Indies captain Jason Holder took three wickets for Worcestershire, who reached 78 for four in reply.
In Division Two, Yorkshire were dismissed for 159 by Middlesex at Lord’s, where Root steered to gully for five while Brook made just three before nicking to second slip.
Middlesex slipped to 37 for two in reply but Mark Stoneman’s unbeaten 38 and Leus du Plooy’s 23 not out led the hosts to 84 without further loss, with 55.4 overs bowled in the day.
Half-centuries for Ben Charlesworth (62), Miles Hammond (56) and James Bracey (69) ushered Gloucestershire to 319 for eight against Sussex at Hove. Danny Lamb took three for 49 for the hosts.
Colin Ingram’s 69 not out rescued Glamorgan from 27 for four against Northamptonshire at Wantage Road. Ben Sanderson’s third wicket left the Welsh side on 96 for five but Ingram’s efforts and 50 from Dan Douthwaite helped them close on 203 for seven after 56.1 overs.
Leicestershire opener Marcus Harris’ unbeaten 77 got his side to 168 for two after 46 overs against Derbyshire at Derby.
Windies legend Walsh joins Zimbabwe in hunt for historic Women's T20 World Cup spot
West Indies fast bowling legend Courtney Walsh has joined Zimbabwe’s women’s team as a coaching consultant, as they prepare to challenge for a spot at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Bangladesh later this year.
The Jamaican, who led West Indies women’s to the semi-finals of the 2022 ICC Women's World Cup in New Zealand, where they lost to eventual winners Australia, will now aim to rewrite the history books by assisting Zimbabwe to a maiden World Cup appearance.
The Lady Chevrons are targeting one of two spots from the Women's T20 World Cup qualifiers, which begins in the United Arab Emirates on April 25.
Walsh, 61, who took 519 Test wickets in his stellar career, is assisting head coach Walter Chawaguta ahead of the tournament, and Givemore Makoni, managing director of Zimbabwe’s Cricket is delighted to have the legendary pacer on board.
"We count ourselves fortunate and privileged to be able to bring in Courtney as a technical consultant for our campaign in Abu Dhabi," Makoni said.
"He is one of the world's greatest cricketers and we believe his experience at the highest level of the women's game in particular will boost our chances,” he added.
A total of 10 teams will participate in the qualifiers in the UAE, which culminates on May 7.
The sides will be split into two groups of five, with the top two progressing to the semi-finals, from where the two finalists will secure berths to the Women's T20 World Cup in Bangladesh later this year.
Walsh and his Zimbabwe outfit will face the hosts, Ireland, the Netherlands and Vanuatu in Group B, while Sri Lanka, Thailand, Scotland, Uganda and United States, are set to lock horns in Group A.
Zimbabwe women won the gold medal at the African Games in Ghana last month, beating South Africa in a super over.
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