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Curran century headlines day as Zimbabwe take big lead
Zimbabwe took a 233-run lead, and then prised out one Afghanistan wicket before stumps
Ekanth
21-Oct-2025 • 10 hrs ago
Afghanistan 127 & 34 for 1 (Ibrahim 25*, Ngarava 1-9) trail Zimbabwe 359 (Curran 121, Raza 65, Ziaur 7-97) by 198 runs
Zimbabwe scored 229 runs and lost eight wickets. Afghanistan scored 34 and lost one. On paper, day two was a day of shared honours. In reality though, the hosts were left holding all aces after having bundled out Afghanistan for 127 on day one, and then converting a three-run lead to a 233-run lead, thanks mainly to a gritty, layered 121 from Ben Curran and a calculated (if not slick) 65 from Sikandar Raza.
Ziaur Rahman's 7 for 97 was a dreamy career-best on Test debut. He became the first bowler to take seven or more wickets via bowled or lbw in a Test innings since Imran Khan in 1982. Afghanistan batted for 12 overs before stumps and lost opener Abdul Malik to Richard Ngarava. Ibrahim Zadran got off to a start and was unbeaten on 25.
Full postKapp-powered South Africa knock Pakistan out in wet Colombo
SA sealed their fifth successive win while Pakistan became the second team to be knocked out after Bangladesh
Shashank Kishore
21-Oct-2025 • Updated 9 hrs ago
South Africa 312 for 9 in 40 overs (Wolvaardt 90, Kapp 68, Sandhu 3-45) beat Pakistan 83 for 7 in 20 overs (Nawaz 22*, Kapp 3-20) by 150 runs via DLS method
At 35, Marizanne Kapp shows no signs of slowing down. Her unbeaten 68 off 43 balls, which helped power South Africa's highest World Cup total, was just the appetiser to the main course - a menacing opening burst that brought her 3 for 20 to knock Pakistan out of the Women's World Cup. This set up a dominant 150 run-win (via DLS) on a rainy Colombo night, where the groundstaff miraculously delivered a result that didn't seem possible at different stages of the night.
South Africa sealed their fifth win in a row that propelled them to the top of the points table, with one game still to play against Australia in Indore. It marked a sensational turnaround from an inauspicious start against England in Guwahati, three weeks ago, where they were shot out for 69 in a ten-wicket pounding.
Full postHope conquers Dhaka as West Indies prevail in Super Over
The visitors bowled spin for all 50 overs of their innings in Dhaka, keeping Bangladesh to 213
Mohammad Isam
21-Oct-2025 • Updated 11 hrs ago
West Indies 213 for 9 (Hope 53, Carty 35, Rishad 3-42) tied with Bangladesh 213 for 7 (Sarkar 45, Rishad 39*, Motie 3-65)
West Indies won the Super Over
West Indies won the Super Over
West Indies prevailed over Bangladesh in the Super Over, beating the home side in Dhaka by one run. Akeal Hosein delivered an imperfect final over in extra time, defending ten runs, but he kept Bangladesh in check with several dots mixed with wides and no-balls. Saif Hassan, Soumya Sarkar and Najmul Hossain Shanto couldn't do the job for Bangladesh, and so, the series is now 1-1.
West Indies had earlier scored ten runs in their Super Over, with captain Shai Hope getting a boundary off the last ball, after Mustafizur Rahman had removed Sherfane Rutherford with his second ball.
Full postStubbs, de Zorzi dig in after Maharaj's seven spins out Pakistan
Pakistan lost their last five wickets for just 17 runs during a dramatic collapse
Danyal Rasool
21-Oct-2025 • Updated 14 hrs ago
South Africa 185 for 4 (Stubbs 68*, de Zorzi 55, Asif Afridi 2-24) trail Pakistan 333 (Shakeel 66, Agha 45, Maharaj 7-102) by 148 runs
Sometimes, when Test cricket is played well, it can be slightly dull and the pair of Tony de Zorzi and Tristan Stubbs made no apologies for prioritising good cricket over entertaining cricket for the second half of the day. South Africa were much better placed going into the third day than they have been at any time this series, 148 runs short of Pakistan's first innings 333 with six wickets still in hand. That they were not further adrift came thanks to a heroic shift early in the morning from Keshav Maharaj, who took all five Pakistani wickets to top up his two overnight, inducing a 17-run collapse for Pakistan's bottom half.
It might have been all so different if Pakistan - usually so trigger-happy when bringing the third umpire into the game - had done so in the 26th over. Asif Afridi had pushed de Zorzi, batting on 5, onto the back foot as the ball flicked him just above the knee roll. Short leg held onto it and Pakistan, distracted by an appeal for the catch, failed to consider lbw might be a more plausible shout. Down to just one review, they passed it up only for HawkEye to show three reds.
Full postSL pull off a heist after Bangladesh collapse in magnificent fashion
Athapaththu took three wickets and there was one run-out in the 50th over as Bangladesh lost five wickets in their last nine balls
Madushka Balasuriya
20-Oct-2025
Sri Lanka 202 (Hasini 85, Athapaththu 46, Shorna 3-27, Rabeya 2-39) beat Bangadesh 195 for 9 (Sultana 77, Sharmin 64*, Athapaththu 4-42) by seven runs
A tournament lacking in genuine tight finishes has now produced two in two days, as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka played out a low-scoring thriller in Navi Mumbai. But in truth this game should have never got to that stage, as Bangladesh nursed their chase of 203 only to stumble at the last and fall to a seven-run defeat. The result means, Bangladesh are eliminated from semi-final contention, while Sri Lanka live to fight another day.
This was a chase that Sri Lanka were behind for around 48 overs, but in a tantalising final dash they picked up five wickets and gave away two runs off the final nine deliveries, as Bangladesh were unable to close out a game that they had controlled for large parts.
Full postVictoria survive Stobo heroics to clinch thriller
Sam Elliott had the final say after New South Wales had suffered a middle-order collapse
AAP
20-Oct-2025
Victoria 183 for 8 (Sutherland 46, Kellaway 43, Stobo 3-32) beat New South Wales 178 (Stobo 47) by five runs
Charlie Stobo was nearly the hero for New South Wales, as Victoria held on in the last over for their first one-day win of the season.
Stobo, batting at No. 8, made 47 from 41 balls in a riveting finish, after NSW had collapsed again at Junction Oval in the wake of last week's Sheffield Shield loss.
Full postBen Curran fifty guides Zimbabwe into lead after Evans skittles out Afghanistan
Afghanistan were dismissed for 127 within one and a half sessions on a tricky pitch
Abhimanyu Bose
20-Oct-2025
Zimbabwe 130 for 2 (Curran 52*, Welch 49, Ziaur 2-35) lead Afghanistan 127 (Gurbaz 37, Evans 5-22, Muzarabani 3-47) by 3 runs
Choosing to bowl first in a Test match is always a tricky call, but it's justified if you end the first day in the lead, with eight wickets in hand. That's what Zimbabwe achieved, as Test cricket returned to the Harare Sports Club for the first time after 2021.
Brad Evans' five-wicket haul and Ben Curran's half-century put Zimbabwe on top on the opening day of the one-off Test against Afghanistan.
Full postAll-round McSweeney stars in South Australia's bonus-point victory
The defending champions secured a big win in a rain-reduced game with the captain leading from the front
AAP
20-Oct-2025
South Australia 122 for 1 (Harvey 52*, McSweeney 38*) beat Queensland 128 (Peirson 42, McSweeney 3-12) by nine wickets (DLS method)
Defending one-day champions South Australia claimed a nine-wicket win over Queensland, banking a bonus point in their rain-marred victory.
As rain restricted the match to a maximum 25 overs each, Queensland were bowled out for 128 in 23.5 overs at Karen Rolton Oval in Adelaide. The hosts were set 120 to win under the DLS method and won with with 47 balls to spare.
Full postTasmania down WA to extend silky start to One-Day Cup
Sam Fanning and debutant Teague Wyllie both made half-centuries but the home side chases the target with room to spare
AAP
20-Oct-2025
Tasmania 252 for 6 (Silk 81) beat Western Australia 248 for 9 (Fanning 66, Wyllie 56, Hope 3-40) by four wickets (DLS method)
Tasmania's perfect start to the One-Day Cup continued with stalwart Jordan Silk top-scored in a four-wicket win against Western Australia.
In a Bellerive Oval fixture restricted by rain to a maximum of 44 overs each, WA posted 248 for 9 with Sam Fanning top-scoring with 66 from 91 balls.
Full postSalt, Brook fireworks set up crushing England win
Adil Rashid four-for ensures New Zealand fall well short in chase of 237
Vithushan Ehantharajah
20-Oct-2025
England 236 for 4 (Salt 85, Brook 78) beat New Zealand 171 (Seifert 39, Rashid 4-32) by 65 runs
Phil Salt and Harry Brook combined to blow New Zealand out of the water in the second T20I, as England sealed a dominant 65-run win in Christchurch to take an insurmountable 1-0 lead in this three-match series.
Both Salt (85 off 56 balls) and Brook (78 off 35) were independently brutal but came together in devastating fashion with a partnership of 129 from just 69 deliveries. England's 236 for 4 was a new record T20I score at Hagley Oval, comfortably bumping off the previous best of 208 with 10 balls still to go in their innings. New Zealand were eventually dismissed for 171 with two overs to spare.
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