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Mandhana, bowlers help RCB cruise past Delhi Capitals
Renuka, Wareham and Bisht bowled out Capitals for 141 before Mandhana and Wyatt-Hodge made short work of the target
Vishal Dikshit
17-Feb-2025
Royal Challengers Bengaluru 146 for 2 (Mandhana 81, Wyatt-Hodge 42) beat Delhi Capitals 141 (Rodrigues 34, Renuka 3-23, Wareham 3-25) by eight wickets
Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) made short work of a full-strength Delhi Capitals by keeping their batting line-up to 141 and then chasing the total down with ease to continue the trend of the chasing side winning, for the fourth game in a row. Even though RCB were without the trio of Sophie Molineux, Shreyanka Patil and Asha Sobhana, which brought them glory in last year's final against DC, the trio of Renuka Singh, Ekta Bisht and Georgia Wareham combined to bundle out DC to a below-par total.
In reply, RCB openers Smriti Mandhana and Danni Wyatt-Hodge put on their second century stand, having earlier done so for Southern Brave in the Hundred in 2021. Mandhana scored her fastest WPL half-century, off 27 balls, and Wyatt-Hodge peppered the off side with six fours out of her seven during her 42 off 33. By the time she fell in the 11th over, RCB needed only 35 off 55 and they cruised over the line in the 17th over.
Full postShorey and Malewar half-centuries keep Mumbai at bay
Mulani and Dube picked two wickets apiece, but Vidarbha reached 308 for 5 at stumps
Shashank Kishore
17-Feb-2025
Vidarbha 308 for 5 (Malewar 79, Shorey 74, Rathod 47*, Dube 2-35, Mulani 2-44) vs Mumbai
Half-centuries from Dhruv Shorey and Danish Malewar helped Vidarbha set themselves a firm footing from where they could hope to cross the 400-run mark in the Ranji Trophy semi-final against defending champions Mumbai in Nagpur.
But Vidarbha will also rue missed opportunities after four of the top five wasted starts to give Mumbai a small opening courtesy left-arm spinner Shams Mulani and allrounder Shivam Dube, who picked up two wickets apiece.
Full postSachin Baby's unbeaten half-century leads Kerala on attritional day
On a surface that offered little for bowlers, Kerala finished the day on 206 for 4
Shashank Kishore
17-Feb-2025
Kerala 206 for 4 (Baby 69*, Saxena 30, Bishnoi 1-33, Jadeja 1-33) vs Gujarat
Kerala made slow progress on an attritional day in Ahmedabad, courtesy of captain Sachin Baby's unbeaten half-century. Kerala's approach may have stemmed from their first-innings collapses of late, most recently in the quarter-final against Jammu & Kashmir when they were reduced to 200 for 9, and needed a last-wicket stand of 81 to take the first-innings lead that proved decisive.
Openers Akshay Chandran and Rohan Kunnummal put on 60 in 20.4 overs before Kerala lost 3 for 26 inside 45 minutes. Chandran was run out for 30, while Kunnummal was out lbw as he played down the wrong line to a Ravi Bishnoi delivery that beat the inside edge to trap him plumb in front, also for 30.
Full postPriya Mishra sets up easy win for Giants
The captain Ashleigh Gardner chipped in with 52 as Giants chased down 144 with 12 balls remaining
Srinidhi Ramanujam
16-Feb-2025
Gujarat Giants 144 for 4 (Gardner 52, Deol 34*, Dottin 33*, Ecclestone 2-16) beat UP Warriorz 143 for 9 (Deepti 39, Mishra 3-25) by six wickets
Gujarat Giants were inspired by Priya Mishra's three-wicket haul and captain Ashleigh Gardner's breezy 52 to post a comprehensive six-wicket win over UP Warriorz in their second home game of the WPL 2025. Giants were a much-improved outfit with the ball and on the field, and followed it up with a clinical batting effort where the likes of Harleen Deol and Deandra Dottin also chipped in, to chase down a modest 144 in Vadodara with 12 balls remaining.
With the injured Alyssa Healy not available and Chamari Athapaththu making way for Alana King, Warriorz lacked power up front. New captain Deepti Sharma's 39 and Sophie Ecclestone's excellent bowling performance went in vain as Giants bounced back from the opening-day loss against Royal Challengers Bengaluru to get off the mark early in the tournament.
Full postAll-round Campher, Stirling help Ireland draw level
Campher first picked up three wickets and then added 144 with Stirling, who scored an excellent 89, to steer the chase
Abhimanyu Bose
16-Feb-2025
Ireland 249 for 4 (Stirling 89, Campher 63, Gwandu 2-50) beat Zimbabwe 245 (Madhevere 61, Raza 58, Adair 4-54, Campher 3-13) by six wickets
Curtis Campher produced another brilliant all-round display to lay the platform for Ireland's series-levelling win in Harare. His three-wicket burst sucked the momentum out of Zimbabwe's innings and restricted them to a total well below par and his 144-run stand with Paul Stirling, who scored an excellent 89, ensured Ireland were always comfortable in the chase.
Ireland had fallen short in their chase in the first ODI, but Stirling was happy to bowl first once again on a greener pitch. Despite half-centuries from Wessly Madhevere and Sikandar Raza, Ireland never let Zimbabwe get away from them.
Full postShafali Verma, Niki Prasad star as DC seal last-ball thriller
It came down to two off the last ball and Arundhati Reddy had to put in a dive to make her ground and seal the win
Vishal Dikshit
15-Feb-2025
Delhi Capitals 165 for 8 (Shafali 43, Prasad 35, Kerr 2-22, Matthews 2-31) beat Mumbai Indians 164 (Sciver-Brunt 80*, Harmanpreet 42, Sutherland 3-34, Pandey 2-14) by two wickets
Barely 24 hours after 202 was chased down easily on the opening night of WPL 2025, a target of 165 proved to be tricky on the same pitch for Delhi Capitals, who got over the line on the last ball against Mumbai Indians for a two-wicket win. It came down to 30 from 18, 10 from six, two off the last ball and eventually a matter of centimetres as Arundhati Reddy put in a dive to make her ground that turned out to be the winning runs.
Under-19 World Cup-winning captain Niki Prasad will remember her WPL debut for taking DC within touching distance. She held the chase together in the end with her 35 off 33 and started the last over with a four when they needed 10 to win but holed out when the equation was two off two.
Full postGhosh, Ahuja script stunning comeback as RCB complete WPL's biggest chase
They put on an unbroken 93 off just 37 balls as RCB chased down 202 in a canter against Gujarat Giants in Vadodara
Shashank Kishore
14-Feb-2025
Royal Challengers Bengaluru 202 for 4 (Ghosh 64*, Perry 57, Ahuja 30*, Gardner 2-33) beat Gujarat Giants 201 for 5 (Gardner 79, Mooney 56, Renuka 2-25) by six wickets
A run-fest that produced the highest aggregate as well as the highest successful chase in the WPL ended with defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru chasing down 202 in a canter in Vadodara.
Richa Ghosh, who was dropped first ball, showed there was more to her game than just brute force. Her 23-ball half-century injected momentum into RCB's chase after Ellyse Perry's dismissal for 57 left them needing 93 off 46 balls. Ghosh's unbeaten, 26-ball 64 included a stunning takedown of Gujarat Giants captain Ashleigh Gardner in a 23-run 16th over to turn the game on its head.
Full postLatham, Mitchell fifties take NZ to tri-series title after bowlers restrict Pakistan
O'Rourke took four wickets, while Santner and Bracewell got two each, just days before teams meet in Champions Trophy opener
Deivarayan Muthu
14-Feb-2025
New Zealand 243 for 5 (Mitchell 57, Latham 56, Naseem 2-43) beat Pakistan 242 (Rizwan 46, Agha 45, O'Rourke 4-43, Santner 2-20) by five wickets
Despite injuries to Lockie Ferguson, Ben Sears, Matt Henry and Rachin Ravindra, New Zealand clinched the tri-series title in Karachi and sounded out a warning to the hosts, five days before they meet again in the Champions Trophy opener at the same venue. In the absence of the senior quicks, Will O'Rourke stepped up admirably with a four-wicket haul, while the spinners, led by Mitchell Santner, straightjacketed Pakistan in the middle overs, limiting them to 242.
The batters then completed the demolition job on a two-paced surface, chasing the target with 28 balls and five wickets to spare. After Devon Conway and Kane Williamson set the platform with a 71-run partnership for the second wicket, Daryl Mitchell launched from there in the middle overs, befuddling Pakistan's spinners with his variety of sweeps, including the reverse. He struck up an 87-run stand with Tom Latham, which highlighted New Zealand's dominance in the middle overs, before Michael Bracewell and Glenn Phillips sealed the deal.
Full postBrian Bennett's 169 puts Zimbabwe 1-0 up
Ireland went toe-to-toe for most of the chase but lost the last four wickets in their last ten deliveries
Sreshth Shah
14-Feb-2025
Zimbabwe 299 for 5 (Bennett 169, Ervine 66, Adair 2-55) beat Ireland 250 (Campher 44, Muzarabani 4-51, Ngarava 3-56) by 49 runs
Brian Bennett delivered a Valentine Day's gift to all the cricket lovers at Harare Sports Club with a sublime 169 to set up Zimbabwe's 49-run win in the first ODI against Ireland on Friday.
Promoted to opener for the first time in ODI cricket, Bennett struck 56.52% of Zimbabwe's total to give Ireland a target of 300 to chase. Along the way, he also became the fourth-youngest to score 150-plus in a men's ODI and posted the fifth-highest ODI score by a Zimbabwe men's batter.
Full postKusal Mendis ton, Asalanka 78* set up SL's 2-0 sweep of Australia
Wellalage, Hasaranga and Asitha Fernando shared all the wickets as Australia folded for 107 in pursuit of 282
Tristan Lavalette
14-Feb-2025
Sri Lanka 281 for 4 (Kusal 101, Asalanka 78*, Madushka 51, Abbott 1-41) beat Australia 107 (Smith 29, Wellalage 4-35, Hasaranga 3-23, Asitha 3-23) by 174 runs
A shorthanded Australia will enter the Champions Trophy bereft of confidence and desperate for answers after a hefty 2-0 ODI series defeat to Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka's massive 174-run victory in the second ODI in Colombo was set up by Kusal Mendis and captain Charith Asalanka powering them to 281. Kusal made 101 off 115 balls, and had strong partnerships with Asalanka and Nishan Madushka, before Australia were routed for just 107 in the 25th over.
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