Shubman Gill and Rahul Tewatia starred as Gujarat Titans beat Punjab Kings by six wickets in a thrilling finale to maintain their winning start to the Indian Premier League season.

A career-best 96 off 59 balls for Gill laid the groundwork for Tewatia, who hit two sixes off the final two balls to get the Titans over the line for a third win from three matches.

The Kings, who have now won two and lost two, had earlier reached 189-9 from their 20 overs at the Brabourne Stadium after losing the toss and being forced to bat first.

Liam Livingstone top scored before being dismissed for 64 by Rashid Khan (3-22), while Shikhar Dhawan (35), Jitesh Sharma (23) and Rahul Chahar (22) also played handy cameos.

Set a target of 190 for victory, Gill kept the runs ticking along as he registered his 12th IPL half-century, but Gujarat were still 96 runs with 60 balls remaining.

Gil fell in the 19th over to the bowling of Kagiso Rabada, at which point the Kings had 18 runs to defend from six balls.

The loss of Hardik Pandya (27) from the first delivery of the final over seemed to spell the end, but Tewatia's late heroics ensured the Titans pulled off an unlikely triumph.

Smith unable to keep Tewatia at bay

Odean Smith was the man tasked with keeping Gujarat at bay with those final six balls, but he was unable to do so and the Kings now find themselves sixth in the table.

Rabada showed Smith how it is done earlier in the contest as he ended with figures of 2-35.

The Shubman show

Gil scored 84 off 46 balls against Delhi Capitals last time out and bettered that score against the Kings, hitting 11 fours and one maximum.

That allowed Tewatia (13 not out) to steal the headlines as he made up for some poor bowling in his lone over, which went for 24 runs, with a brutally effective batting display.

Former West Indies Under-19 representative Nyeem Young is taking a lot of confidence from his selection for the ongoing West Indies white-ball skills camp at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua.

Young was among two relative newcomers selected for the camp that began on March 31 and ends on Wednesday, April 13. Young, an all-rounder and Kaecy Carty joined the more seasoned players like Shai Hope, Shamarh Brooks, Darren Bravo and Nkrumah Bonner in the camp aimed at making the regional players more efficient at the shortest forms of the game. Young said what he has learned so far has made him a more confident player.

“It brings a lot of confidence in myself to be selected to come to a camp like this,” said the 21-year-old Barbadian all-rounder.

“I haven’t played any List-A cricket either, so for the selectors and coaches to have me in mind for a camp like this is very boosting for me.”

Young represented the West Indies at two Under-19 World Cups, 2018 in New Zealand and 2020 in South Africa. He is well aware of the players who, in recent times, have made the transition from youth cricket to the senior ranks across the region.

“I know there are a few youngsters that have come through like Alzarri Joseph, Shimron Hetmyer, Keemo Paul and Jayden Seales, most recently. They all came through at a young age and did pretty well at the international level so I’m just happy to be following in that suit and hopefully it continues,” said Young, who also spoke of his desire to get into the senior team for global tournaments like the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup in Australia starting in October and the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in India.

“Yes, definitely there’s some stuff coming up. Some World Cups are coming up this year and next year. I’m mostly working on my skills and letting the coaches figure me out as a player and look at my strengths and weaknesses and figuring out what I need to work on whether it’s batting, bowling or fielding and take that forward,” he said.

Dean Elgar, Keegan Petersen and Temba Bavuma hit half-centuries as South Africa reached stumps on 278-5 on day one of the second Test against Bangladesh.

The Proteas are chasing victory at St George's Park in Port Elizabeth to seal a 2-0 series victory after they claimed a resounding win in the first match, Keshav Maharaj claiming 7-32 to skittle the touring Tigers for 53.

Captain Elgar's 70 helped to build the platform on Friday, as Petersen's 64 and Bavuma's 67 provided further impetus, with Taijul Islam (3-77) the pick of the Bangladesh bowlers.

The hosts opted to bat after winning the toss and started in positive fashion, with openers Sarel Erwee and Elgar sharing 52 inside 12 overs before the former was caught behind off Khaled Ahmed (2-59) for 24.

Elgar continued in imperious form to reach his third consecutive half-century as the Proteas skipper mounted an 81-run partnership with Petersen, before edging left-arm spinner Taijul behind.

Petersen cruised to a third fifty in as many Tests, but he was soon dismissed lbw on review by Taijul.

South Africa's dominance wilted in the final session with Bavuma and Ryan Rickelton (42) falling in quick succession to slip catches off Khaled and Taijul respectively.

The unbeaten Kyle Verreynne and Wiaan Mulder defied the Bangladesh attack before the close, and the home side will look to capitalise to build a healthy advantage on Saturday.

Bavuma's century wait continues but Proteas dominate

South Africa have won four of their past five Tests, including each of their last two. Elgar and Petersen have been keen drivers of that recent Proteas success and again contributed here.

But Bavuma, with batting conditions easing later in the day, will have been frustrated to miss out on a second Test century, with his lone ton coming all the way back in January 2016 against England.

Ebadot toils as Taijul excels

Ebadot Hossain typified Bangladesh's bowling problems as he went wicketless, conceding 75 from his 16 overs at a hefty economy of 4.68. Taijul, by contrast, went for just 2.4 an over for his three-wicket haul.

The Tigers will need Ebadot and Co to support Taijul if they are to claw their way back and beat the Proteas for the first time in 14 attempts in the longest format.

Rovman Powell is to assume a more involved role as captain for the Jamaica Tallawahs once the 2022 Hero CPL season gets underway in August.

Powell was appointed captain last season when the two-time CPL champions struggled to find consistency and missed the playoffs after only winning four of their 10 matches.

However, come next season, Tallawahs CEO Jeff Miller expects Powell to work more closely with the new coaching staff headed by Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

“I think that Chanderpaul along with the assistant coaches has expressed that to Rovman," Miller revealed in a recent interview with Sportsmax.TV.

"We have been having some great meetings and I think this year we will see that all-inclusive where the player, as the captain, is involved in all aspects of team management, selection, etcetera,” Miller told Sportsmax.TV.

“I think we will see a different side of him (Rovman) this year.”

Turning his attention to Brandon King, who has been brought in to open the batting, Miller said the former Amazon Warrior will be given the opportunity to express himself in the coming season.

“Brandon is another dynamic player and we believe that having Brandon at the top of the order with Kennar (Lewis) will produce some exciting games, and Brandon also wanted to come home and we gave him that opportunity to play for the Tallawahs and express himself and we know how Brandon can express himself,” Miller said.

The CEO also hinted that the international players who have been signed will be very suited for the potentially spin-friendly pitches in Guyana that will host several matches including the CPL finals for the next three years. 

"When you see our international players then you will see why we selected those players because they will make a difference in Guyana," said Miller, who also expressed confidence that the Tallawahs will give a good account of themselves in the 2022 season.

"I am confident about the team. Look, we have a dream team support staff - Chanderpaul, Sir Curtly Ambrose, we have Andre Coley. We have an announcement to make in the coming days pertaining to our manager and that will really cement our support staff."

Lucknow Super Giants moved level on points with Kolkata Knight Riders at the top of the Indian Premier League with a six-wicket victory over Delhi Capitals on Thursday.

The Capitals lost their way after Prithvi Shaw's sizzling knock of 61 off 34 deliveries, posting 149-3.

Quinton de Kock smashed 80 off just 52 balls to help the Super Giants over the line for their third successive victory with two balls to spare.

Shaw got the Capitals off to a strong start with some quick early runs before being caught by De Kock off the bowling of Krishnappa Gowtham.
 
Rishabh Pant (39 not out) and Sarfaraz Khan (36 not out) kept their side ticking over after Ravi Bishnoi removed David Warner (4) and Rovman Powell (3).

KL Rahul and De Kock got the Super Giants off to a positive start in their response, though the former holed out at mid-off to depart for 24.

After Evin Lewis went for just five, the game was in the balance when De Kock sliced the ball off the outside edge for Sarfaraz, leaving his side on 122/2 with four overs remaining.

However, Deepak Hooda (11) hit a six off the first ball of the 19th over and Ayush Badoni struck for Shardul Thakur for four and then six to seal victory.

Bishnoi's brilliance

Spinner Bishnoi was Lucknow's main threat with the ball as he picked up two wickets for just 22 runs in four overs.

Gowtham also impressed with 1-23 off his four as Delhi lost their way after Shaw's fireworks.

De Kock's quality shines through

After losing Rahul and Lewis in quick succession, the Super Giants were indebted to a typically explosive knock from De Kock.

The South Africa wicketkeeper-batter struck two maximums and nine fours before Krunal Pandya made an unbeaten 19 and Badoni took 10 off only three balls.

Kolkata Knight Riders head coach Brendon McCullum and assistant coach David Hussey have heaped praise on his star man Andre Russell.

Dean Elgar has hit back at Bangladesh's allegations that South Africa were guilty of "deplorable" sledging in the first Test and says the Tigers need to "toughen up."

The tourists accused the Proteas of crossing the line with verbals at Kingsmead, revealing they would be lodging a complaint with the ICC.

Bangladesh were also aggrieved with the standard of umpiring from South African duo Adrian Holdstock and Marais Erasmus in Durban, where South Africa bowled Mominul Haque's side out for only 53 to win by 222 runs.

Proteas captain Elgar does not believe the Tigers have any grounds for their grievances ahead of a second Test that starts at St George’s Park on Friday

"I don't think they are justified whatsoever," the opening batter said. "We play the game hard [but] if anything we were just giving back what we were getting when we were batting.

"This is Test cricket. It's a man's environment when it comes to playing at this level and I intend still to play the game hard.

"We don't swear or use foul language towards the Bangladesh batsmen because we still respect them. I think they need to harden up and maybe play the game at a level they’re not used to."

Elgar also defended umpires Erasmus and Holdstock.

"The umpiring was tough," he added. "I don't think the wicket helped. There was variable bounce which can challenge the umpires.

"I feel for them because they are good umpires. The human factor needs to be spoken of, they do make errors, as do the players, but I'm pretty sure they’re going to learn a lot out of that.

"The umpires make decisions and we need to respect that. The technology is there for a reason. If you don't use the technology you're kind of holding yourself accountable for their decisions as well."

Elgar had stitches above his right eye and was left with bruising on his face after a fall in the show on Monday, but is set to face Bangladesh as his side eye a 2-0 whitewash in Port Elizabeth.

West Indies Women all-rounder Hayley Matthews has been named on the Most Valuable Team of the just-concluded ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022.

With the departure of Andre Russell to the Trinbago Knight Riders for the coming Hero CPL season, Jamaica Tallawahs CEO Jeff Miller believes Fabian Allen is more than capable of filling in for the mercurial all-rounder.

Hero CPL announced earlier this week that TKR had signed both Russell and Nicholas Pooran for the 2022 season of the CPL that is set to run from August 30 to September 30, 2022. The two-time winners, Tallawahs signed Allen and compatriot Brandon King, who represented St Kitts and Nevis Patriots and Guyana Amazon Warriors, respectively last season.

Miller, speaking with Sportsmax.TV Monday night, said while the news might have come as a shock to many, Russell’s departure was something that the Jamaica Tallawahs expected.

 “Russell, last year, made a statement that it was his last year, so I don’t think it’s shocking to us,” Miller said. “But look, he has been a gentleman. He called and said the reasons why, and this is franchise cricket, it’s a business, and as a business players have to look for out for the best for themselves and their families, so I wish Russell all the best and hopefully, we will see him back sometime in the future.”

That said, Miller addressed the king-sized hole Russell leaves behind in the Tallawahs line-up saying that fellow Jamaican, Allen, is more than capable of stepping up.

“I think Fabian Allen brings a whole lot to the dynamics of the franchise. He is a very dynamic player, fielder, bowler; he always has a good CPL and I am looking that Fabian will step in and fill that position that Russell left as a leading all-rounder and I think he is ready and he really wants to excel and we are giving him an opportunity to express himself in a big way.”

Miller explained that the Jamaica Tallawahs have also signed a number of international players that he expects will come in and bolster the team that only won four of its 10 games last season and failed to make the playoffs.

“I think when you see the combination of what we have in combination with the international players that we have signed that you will see that the Tallawahs will have a very competitive year.”

The names of the international players will be released by Hero CPL in the near future.

Pat Cummins blasted an astonishing record-equalling half-century to secure a five-wicket Indian Premier League win for Kolkata Knight Riders over Mumbai Indians.

The Indians posted 161-4 at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, Suryakumar Yadav top scoring with 52 off 36 balls with support from Tilak Varma (38 not out) and Kieron Pollard (22no).

Mumbai looked to be on course for their first win of the tournament when KKR were 101-5 in the 14th over, but Australia Test captain Cummins had other ideas.

The paceman matched KL Rahul's record for the fastest IPL half-century from 14 balls and put the Knight Riders top by hitting Daniel Sams for six to seal victory with four overs to spare, Venkatesh Iyer also playing a big hand with an unbeaten 50.

There could be plenty of spice at St George's Park as South Africa eye a Test series whitewash of Bangladesh.

Keshav Maharaj claimed outstanding figures of 7-32 as the Proteas bowled the tourists out for an embarrassing 53 on the final day to win the first Test by 220 runs.

That was the Tigers' second-lowest total in the longest format, Simon Harmer taking 3-21 in an innings that lasted just 19 overs.

Wounded Bangladesh revealed they would lodge a complaint with the ICC over the standard of umpiring from Adrian Holdstock and Marais Erasmus and alleged "deplorable" sledging from South Africa in Durban.

They will be without injured duo Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam in a second Test that starts on Thursday when they attempt to salvage a 1-1 draw in Port Elizabeth.

Although the batters failed miserably on the last day, Tigers fast bowling coach Allan Donald, the legendary former South Africa quick, felt the Bangladesh bowlers gave an excellent account of themselves.

He said: "I think the Bangladesh seamers can be very proud of the way they conducted themselves in the first Test.

"I think we were feeling our way into it a little bit. Once we settled down, it was very good. We spoke about bowling in partnerships. It was a fantastic performance from all the seamers. The way Khaled [Ahmed] got into the team, the way Ebadot [Hossain] bowled.

"It was even better in the second innings. I felt we bowled like a Test unit. The run rate went down from 3.7 to 2.5. The way we took wickets at crucial times in that second innings to restrict South Africa to 273.

"I am very proud of the seamers. They kept coming all day long to keep the pressure up. If you are looking for a recipe for success, it doesn't change here in St George's Park."

Proteas due St George's Park win

South Africa had been unbeaten in six Tests at St George’s Park, but have suffered back-to-back defeats since that run.

Bangladesh will have to make history in order to extend that losing run to three Tests, as they have not beaten the Proteas in 13 attempts in the longest format.

Resurgent South Africa have won four of their past five Tests, including each of their last two. The last time they won more than two consecutive matches in the format was a three-game span from December 2018 to January 2019.

Tigers must show their teeth with the bat

The tourists were humiliated on the last day of the opening Test, miserably failing a trial by spin.

Najmul Hossain Shanto (26) and Taskin (14) were the only batters to make double figures, with four departing without scoring.

Mominul Haque's side have not had much time to regroup, but they must show more resilience in order to avoid another emphatic defeat.

Aaron Finch's half-century and Ben McDermott's composure proved to be decisive as Australia defeated Pakistan by three wickets in Tuesday's thrilling one-off T20I.

Pakistan won the ODI series thanks in large part to the brilliance of captain Babar Azam and his superb 66 propelled the hosts to a competitive 162-8 in Lahore.

Babar's composure at the crease was much-needed for Pakistan, who lost Mohammad Rizwan (23) and Fakhar Zaman (0) in successive balls to T20I debutant Cameron Green (2-16).

Adam Zampa finally drew a stray shot out of Pakistan's skipper, who picked out Nathan Ellis to leave his side on 118-4.

Having already dismissed Iftikhar Ahmed, Ellis – the pick of Australia's bowlers with 4-28 – then did the damage through Pakistan's middle order, getting rid of the dangerous Khushdil Shah (24), Asif Ali (3) and Shaheen Shah Afridi (0), though Usman Qadir's flurry of 18 not out boosted the hosts.

Travis Head quickly set about getting the tourists' chase on its way, scoring a rapid 26 that included four boundaries before he was sent packing by Haris Rauf.

Josh Inglis (24) kept up the pace until Qadir struck, but Australia seemed well set before Marnus Labuschagne, Marcus Stoinis and Green were dismissed in the space of 20 balls.

Yet captain Finch anchored the chase as he returned to form following back-to-back ducks in the ODI series, with his steady innings steering Australia into needing 15 runs from three overs.

A costly start to the 18th over from Haris saw McDermott plunder successive boundaries, though the pressure was back on Australia when Finch found Asif in the deep.

Afridi (2-21) rounded off an excellent spell by bowling Sean Abbott for a duck, yet another poor Haris ball handed McDermott the chance to clip away the winning boundary.

Captains come up big

Babar gave yet another exhibition of how he has risen to the top of the batting rankings in another sensational knock - his 66 coming at a strike rate of 143.47.

Yet it was World Cup winner Finch who took the trophy, as he showed plenty of patience to stay at the crease for 18 overs, showing why interim head coach Andrew McDonald backed him to stay on as skipper.

Historic tour comes to a close

It has been a brilliant match-up between Pakistan and Australia over the last month or so and the tourists will finally return home.

Australia have now won each of their past four T20Is against Pakistan, the first time they have gone on such a run, though this was the first meeting in the format between the teams in Pakistan.

Royal Challengers Bangalore roared back to hand Rajasthan Royals their first defeat of the 2022 Indian Premier League by four wickets.

RCB's hopes of victory looked to have escaped them when they allowed Jos Buttler to put on another batting masterclass after his second IPL hundred – and the only century of this year's tournament so far – in the Royals' previous match against Mumbai Indians.

Buttler recovered from a slow start to score an unbeaten 70, ramping up the run rate over a final two overs in which he hit four sixes and Shimron Hetmyer (42 not out) added another.

Their unbroken partnership of 83 off 42 concluded the Royals' innings on 169-3, which looked a solid total at the midway stage of RCB's reply.

Faf du Plessis had been limited to 29, while Virat Kohli was run out, but RCB had enough batting talent remaining further down the order to reach 173-6 with five balls to spare.

A crucial 33-ball sixth-wicket stand of 67 between Shahbaz Ahmed (45) and Dinesh Karthik turned the tide, with the wicketkeeper-batsman sticking around to make 44 not out and complete the job alongside Harshal Patel (nine not out).

Buttler brilliance in vain

Explaining his performance against the Indians, when he bludgeoned 26 runs in the fourth over alone, Buttler said ahead of this match: "You are always looking for that one over that you can really target and go for."

Indeed, his had been just the second IPL century with a dot ball percentage of more than 40; failing to score off 41 per cent of the deliveries he faced, but doing the damage with big boundaries.

Although Buttler did not get off to the same strong start on Tuesday, it was a similar story again as over half of his runs came off six balls. Unsurprisingly, he regained the outright season lead in the IPL with 205 runs.

RCB retain hold over Royals

This was a fifth consecutive RCB win against the Royals; representing Rajasthan's longest active losing streak against any opposition.

It is a particularly painful defeat for the Royals, too, having looked on course to continue a winning start to the season, until bowing under RCB's own barrage of boundaries.

West Indies hard-hitting all-rounder Odean Smith is living the dream in the Indian Premier League.

“Growing up I always watched the IPL. It has been a dream to be here. I have done a lot of work for that and I am grateful to play in this tournament,” said the Punjab Kings man in an interview with Cricketnext.

The 25-year-old Smith, who has played five ODIs and 10 T20Is for the West Indies, was man of the match in his first game after smashing 25 not out off just eight balls to help the Kings chase down 205 against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. He had a poor outing with the ball conceding 52 off his four overs.

“It’s a good feeling. I was happy that I contributed to that first win for my team. Personally, I have a lot of stuff to work on in terms of my bowling as I consider myself as a bowling all-rounder. The sole purpose of everyone in the team was to win the first game and we did that,” he said.

Smith has taken two wickets and scored 37 runs in three matches so far for the Kings who have two wins and one loss.

West Indies T20I and ODI captain Kieron Pollard was selected by the London Spirit with the first pick in the draft for the 2022 edition of The Hundred on Tuesday.

Pollard will join the likes of Mark Wood and Glenn Maxwell for the Spirit in the 100-ball per team tournament.

His Trinidadian countrymen Sunil Narine and Dwayne Bravo will turn out for the Northern Superchargers and Oval Invincibles, respectively, while Andre Russell was the first selection for the Manchester Originals. All four West Indians were taken at the highest price range of 125,000 pounds sterling.

The second edition of the Hundred will run from August 3-September 3. The inaugural edition in 2021 was won by the Southern Braves.