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Australia seal semi-finals spot after rain spoils Head's party
Only an unlikely hefty South Africa defeat at the hands of England can keep Afghanistan's tournament alive
Tristan Lavalette
28-Feb-2025
Match abandoned due to rain Afghanistan 273 (Atal 85, Omarzai 67, Dwarshuis 3-47, Zampa 2-48, Johnson 2-49) vs Australia 109 for 1 (Head 59*, Omarzai 1-43)
Befitting the latest chapter in this budding rivalry, there were wicked swings of momentum while a hobbled Australia batter at the crease evoked the wildest match in the short history between these teams.
But in a great shame, Lahore's inclement weather cut short a high-stakes contest that felt like it still had several twists ahead. Australia had been well placed at 109 for 1 after 12.5 overs chasing 274 before a downpour hit the ground. Rain eventually stopped but parts of the field were soaked and the match had to be abandoned.
Full postLanning, Shafali, Jonassen lead DC to top of WPL table
After the spinners restricted MI to a below-par total, DC's openers flew off the blocks to set up a comprehensive win
Hemant Brar
28-Feb-2025
Delhi Capitals 124 for 1 (Lanning 60*, Shafali 43, Amanjot 1-12) beat Mumbai Indians 123 for 9 (Harmanpreet 22, Matthews 22, Mani 3-17, Jonassen 3-25) by nine wickets
Delhi Capitals (DC) made it 12-1 for chasing teams in WPL 2025 as they beat Mumbai Indians (MI) by nine wickets in Bengaluru. The win, coming with 5.3 overs to spare, also helped DC replace MI at the top of the points table. They now have eight points from six games and MI six from five.
After being sent in, MI looked positive at the start but once their openers fell, Jess Jonassen and Minnu Mani ran through the middle order, picking up three wickets each. Each of MI's top five batters reached double digits but none of them crossed 22. Towards the end, Amanjot Kaur struck an unbeaten 17 off ten balls to push the side to 123 for 9.
Full postHarsh Dubey, Parth Rekhade spin Vidarbha into the lead
Sachin Baby, who was a symbol of concentration and grit all day to construct 234-ball 98, fell with Kerala 56 away from a first-innings lead
Shashank Kishore
28-Feb-2025
Stumps Kerala 342 (Baby 98, Sarwate 79, Nalkande 3-52, Rekhade 3-65, Dubey 3-88) trail Vidarbha 379 (Malewar 153, Nair 86, Nidheesh 3-61, Apple Tom 3-102) by 37 runs
A thrilling third day's play of the Ranji Trophy final took a potentially decisive turn late in the third session, when Sachin Baby, who was a symbol of concentration and grit all day to construct 234-ball 98, fell with Kerala 56 away from a first-innings lead. That opened the floodgates for hosts Vidarbha to barge the door down, by picking up the three remaining wickets quickly to take a 37-run lead by stumps.
Harsh Dubey and Parth Rekhade, the left-arm spin twins, picked up six wickets between them as Kerala saw the lead snatched from under their rug in eerily similar circumstances to what they did to Gujarat only a week earlier. Dubey ended with 3 for 88 across 44 overs, to surpass Ashutosh Aman's tally for most wickets in a single Ranji season. He's now on top of the list with 69 wickets.
Full postBowlers and Gardner hand RCB third defeat at Chinnaswamy
Giants ended their losing streak to post their second win of this WPL
Shashank Kishore
27-Feb-2025
Gujarat Giants 126 for 4 (Gardner 58, Litchfield 30*, Renuka 2-24, Wareham 2-26) beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru 125 for 7 (Ahuja 33, Kanwar 2-16, Dottin 2-31) by six wickets
A close finish was in the offing. Gujarat Giants (GG) were stifled early in a small chase. Then came an expensive ninth over that went for three fours and a six as Ashleigh Gardner took on rookie Prema Rawat. It turned the scales the way of GG emphatically, as a tricky chase against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) turned into a canter.
It left RCB winless at home in three games so far this season. It also meant three sides - RCB, GG and UP Warriorz - are now tied on four points. This lights up the prospect of a tight finish to the group stage next week in Lucknow and Mumbai.
Full postKerala fight back after Malewar 153 takes Vidarbha to 379
Sarwate's 66 not out steered Kerala to 131 for 3 at stumps
Ekanth
27-Feb-2025
Kerala 131 for 3 (Sarwate 66*, Imran 37, Nalkande 2-22) trail Vidarbha 379 (Malewar 153, Nair 86, Nidheesh 3-61, Apple Tom 3-102) by 248 runs
Kerala's pace trio of Nedumankuzhy Basil, MD Nidheesh and Eden Apple Tom ensured that Vidarbha did not run away with the advantage on day two of the Ranji Trophy final in Nagpur. Aditya Sarwate, who is a bowling allrounder otherwise, was promoted to No. 3. The move came off as he finished the day unbeaten on 66 to carry Kerala to 131 for 3.
Vidarbha, finalists from the previous edition, did post a challenging total, though. Nachiket Bhute, who came in at No. 11, scored a crucial 32 off 38 balls. The 44-run stand between Bhute and Harsh Dubey for the tenth wicket extended the first session from its scheduled two-and-a-half-hour duration to three hours and took Vidarbha to 379.
Full postPakistan, Bangladesh share points after washout
For the record, Bangladesh (-0.443) finish the tournament above Pakistan (-1.087) on net run rate
Karthik Krishnaswamy
27-Feb-2025
Pakistan vs Bangladesh - Match abandoned
Pakistan and Bangladesh ended their disappointing Champions Trophy 2025 campaigns with a point each with the second successive match in Rawalpindi washed out. As on Tuesday, when the same fate befell the Australia vs South Africa game from Group B, the match was called off without even the toss taking place.
Steady rain fell all afternoon at the stadium, with no opportunity for the covers to come off at any point. The match was called off at 3.27pm local time, just under an hour-and-a-half after the scheduled start time.
Full postZadran 177, Omarzai five-wicket haul knock England out
Joe Root's 120 off 111 balls - his first ODI ton since 2019 - went in vain for England
Andrew Miller
26-Feb-2025
Afghanistan 325 for 7 (Zadran 177, Omarzai 41, Archer 3-64, Livingstone 2-28) beat England 317 (Root 120, Omarzai 5-58, Nabi 2-57) by eight runs
The politicians hadn't wanted this game to go ahead, but who could have wished to deny the scenes of raw euphoria that unfolded in Lahore as Afghanistan completed the double they had set in motion at the 2023 World Cup, dumping England out of the Champions Trophy in a wildly undulating, anxious scramble for glory.
Eight runs was the margin when - with Mark Wood hobbling and all the recognised batters gone - Adil Rashid swung for the hills off the penultimate ball of the match and picked out the man of the hour, Ibrahim Zadran, whose take in front of the dugout was completed with the same coolness with which he had compiled his exceptional 177 from 146 balls - an innings that had simply been too good to fail.
Full postAll-round Sciver-Brunt leads Mumbai Indians to third straight win
UP Warriorz couldn't capitalise on the blazing start from Grace Harris and couldn't defend their below-par total
Srinidhi Ramanujam
26-Feb-2025
Mumbai Indians143 for 2 (Sciver-Brunt 75*, Matthews 59) beat UP Warriorz 142 for 9 (Harris 45, Vrinda 33, Sciver-Brunt 3-18, Sanskriti 2-11, Ismail 2-33) by eight wickets
Nat Sciver-Brunt put on an exceptional all-round show to propel Mumbai Indians to the top of the table with an eight-wicket win over UP Warriorz in Bengaluru. She took three wickets and followed it up with an impressive unbeaten 75 off 44 balls to chase down the target of 143 with 18 balls remaining.
Warriorz initially rode on Grace Harris' quickfire 45 and Vrinda Dinesh's solid 33 but lost eight wickets for 54 runs to eventually end with a below-par total.
Full postMalewar 138*, Nair 86 stabilise Vidarbha after early wickets
The pair added 215 for the fourth wicket, helping Vidarbha recover from 24 for 3
Shashank Kishore
26-Feb-2025
Stumps Vidarbha 254 for 4 (Malewar 138*, Nair 86, Nidheesh 2-33) vs Kerala
Danish Malewar and Karun Nair at are different stages of their careers.
At 21, Malewar, a heavy run-getter in the age-group circuit, is in his maiden season. At 33, Nair, a two-time Ranji Trophy winner with Karnataka, has overcome a form slump to enjoy a second wind which has the potential to turn into something bigger, possibly an unlikely Test call-up eight years after he last played in one.
Full postRain hands Zimbabwe series win after batters struggle
The middle order had given the home side some impetus but the weather had a final say
Ekanth
25-Feb-2025
Zimbabwe 142 for 6 (Raza 34, Delany 2-5, Young 2-38) vs Ireland - No result
A second washout in three games handed Zimbabwe a 1-0 T20I series win to end their home summer on a high. There was space for just one innings as rain delayed the toss by 45 minutes and then returned during the innings break to have the final word.
Zimbabwe had a stop-start innings after being put into bat in the 18-overs-a-side contest. They stretched their way to 142 thanks to Sikandar Raza taking control after having come in at 18 for 2, before Tashinga Musekiwa and Tony Munyonga's cameos provided late acceleration.
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