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Zadran 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.
Full postDC seamers stifle Giants before Jonassen aces the chase
Alongside Shafali, she helped Capitals make easy work of the 128-run chase after the seamers shared seven wickets
Hemant Brar
25-Feb-2025
Delhi Capitals 131 for 4 (Jonassen 61*, Shafali 44, Gautam 2-26) beat Gujarat Giants 127 for 9 (Fulmali 40*, Kapp 2-17, Pandey 2-18, Sutherland 2-20) by six wickets
The Delhi Capitals (DC) seamers shared seven wickets between them before Jess Jonassen's unbeaten 61 off 32 balls made short work of the chase to give her side a six-wicket win over Gujarat Giants (GG). The result lifted DC to the top of the WPL points table, at least for the time being. They now have three wins from five outings. GG remain rooted to the bottom with one victory from four matches.
When Meg Lanning put GG in after winning the toss, she was hoping for early wickets. Marizanne Kapp and Shikha Pandey did not disappoint their captain. They picked up two each in the powerplay and reduced GG to 20 for 4. Soon it became 60 for 6, and it looked like GG might not even cross 100. But Bharti Fulmali's 40 not out off 29 balls from No. 8 steered them to 127 for 9.
Full postAustralia-SA match abandoned after relentless rain in Rawalpindi
The washout means Wednesday's match between England and Afghanistan is a knockout, with the loser certain of exiting the competition
Firdose Moonda
25-Feb-2025
Australia vs South Africa - Match abandoned due to rain
The much-anticipated Champions Trophy match between Australia and South Africa in Rawalpindi was washed out without even a toss, forget a ball being bowled, after persistent drizzle. The match was called off at 5.10pm local time, three hours and ten minutes after the scheduled start of play at 2pm and two hours and 22 minutes before the cut-off time for a 20-overs-a-side game, 7.32pm local time. This was due to be the teams' first meeting at a Champions Trophy.
The result means that if Australia and South Africa win their final group matches, against Afghanistan and England respectively, they will progress to the semi-finals. Wednesday's match between Afghanistan and England is a knockout, with the loser certain of exiting the competition. The winner will have to beat their next opposition to make it through to the final four. As a result, one of the matches between Australia and Afghanistan on Friday and South Africa and England on Saturday could be a virtual quarter-final. Both Afghanistan and England have to win both their matches to qualify for the semi-finals.
Full postRavindra, Latham and Bracewell book New Zealand's semi-final spot
Bangladesh's defeat means both they and Pakistan are officially knocked out of the Champions Trophy
Alagappan Muthu
24-Feb-2025
New Zealand 240 for 5 (Ravindra 112, Latham 55) beat Bangladesh 236 for 9 (Shanto 77, Jaker 45, Bracewell 4-26, O'Rourke 2-48) by five wickets
So many teams are in transition right now, but all through this Champions Trophy, New Zealand have been showing that their new generation is ready for the big time. It was not so long ago that Kane Williamson was carrying this batting line-up. Seems Rachin Ravindra wants that responsibility now.
He didn't mind slotting into an unfamiliar position. He didn't flinch having to come out at 15 for 2. He didn't stop smiling when he brought up his hundred, an innings that confirmed not just his team's spot in the semi-finals but also India's. Pakistan and Bangladesh are now officially knocked out.
Full postEcclestone's all-round heroics stun RCB and Chinnaswamy in Super Over win
Ecclestone's 33 off 19 helped UPW tie the scores by smashing 41 runs off the last 17 balls before delivering a stunning Super Over
Shashank Kishore
24-Feb-2025
Royal Challengers Bengaluru 180 for 6 (Perry 90*, Wyatt-Hodge 57) tied with UP Warriorz 180 (Ecclestone 33, Sehrawat 31, Rana 3-27, Renuka 2-38, Garth 2-40)
Super Over UP Warriorz 8 beat RCB 4
Super Over UP Warriorz 8 beat RCB 4
An extraordinary night of drama delivered a thriller, with UP Warriorz sending a crowd in excess of 28,000 into stunned silence after RCB failed to knock off the nine runs they needed in the Super Over.
In a game that seemed to be headed RCB's way until the last two overs in regulation time, Sophie Ecclestone's incredible final-over hitting against Renuka Singh, which went for 17, forced the game into a Super Over. But the showstopper for the night was a sensational final over Ecclestone delivered to deny Smriti Mandhana and Richa Ghosh as Warriorz sprung their campaign back to life with a second straight win.
Full postKohli 100* headlines India's comprehensive win over Pakistan
Kohli set up India for a semi-final spot and all but crossed out Pakistan from the 2025 Champions Trophy
Alagappan Muthu
23-Feb-2025
India 244 for 4 (Kohli 100*, Iyer 56, Gill 46, Afridi 2-74) beat Pakistan 241 (Shakeel 62, Rizwan 46, Kuldeep 3-40, Hardik 2-31) by six wickets
In the biggest match of the year, with his mortality showing more than it ever did before, Virat Kohli proved he's still got it, that maybe, just maybe, the little he's lost isn't going to define him. He ticked off 14,000 runs in ODI cricket, brought up his 51st ODI century, set up India for a semi-final spot, and all but crossed out Pakistan from Champions Trophy 2025. The holders and hosts need other results to go their way to stay alive in the tournament now.
India went into the game as favourites. They were worthy of that seeding, limiting Pakistan to 241 with Hardik Pandya putting in the kind of performance that should make him illegal. An allrounder capable of dismissing the opposition's best batter and then coming back to take down their top-scorer isn't just a name on the sheet. He is the secret sauce.
Full postMunyonga takes Zimbabwe home in tight finish
Craig Young's four-wicket haul in vain as Zimbabwe take a 1-0 lead in the series
Sreshth Shah
23-Feb-2025
Zimbabwe 141 for 7 (Munyonga 43*, Young 4-24) beat Ireland 137 for 8 (Tucker 46, Gwandu 3-24) by three wickets
Craig Young's four-wicket haul appeared to put Ireland on the ascendancy, but No. 6 Tony Munyonga dragged Zimbabwe out of a hole with an unbeaten 43 to seal a tight three-wicket win for the hosts in Harare.
Their victory with four balls to spare now gives Zimbabwe an unassailable 1-0 lead in the three-game series with the first T20I washed out and the third encounter remaining on February 25.
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