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India’s coach Gautam Gambhir has lauded his players for embracing a high-risk approach, which fetched them high reward in the form of a 4-1 T20I series win over England.The approach especially came to the fore during the last two T20Is. Despite losing three wickets to fast bowler Saqib Mahmood in the second over in Pune, India’s batters kept attacking and put up 181 for 9, which proved 16 too many for England. In the final T20I in Mumbai on Sunday, India went bigger, shattering records and the England attack on their way to 247 for 9, their fourth-highest T20I total.”That’s the kind of T20 cricket we want to play. We don’t want to fear losing a game of cricket,” Gambhir told the host broadcaster. “We want to play high-risk, high-reward cricket. And these guys have adopted that ideology, that policy really well. And I think the ideology of this T20 team is based on selflessness and fearlessness. And I think in the last six months, these guys have done it day in, day out.Related

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“We want to try and get to 250-260 regularly. And in trying to do that, there’ll be games where we’ll get bundled out for 120-130. And that is what T20 cricket is all about. And unless and until you don’t play that high-risk cricket, you won’t get those big rewards as well. Most importantly, I think we’re on the right track. Come those big tournaments, we want to still continue playing this way and we don’t want to fear losing anything.”India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav echoed his coach’s comments, saying they will not veer away from their ultra-aggressive style of play.”I mean, this is what we’ve sat down and spoken about, what brand of cricket we want to play and we’re just sticking to it irrespective of what’s going to happen,” Suryakumar said at the post-match presentation. “And it is a high-risk, high-reward game. But at the end of the day, what’s working for us, we’ll be doing that.”Gambhir delivered a glowing appraisal of mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy, who ended the series with a chart-topping 14 wickets at an average of 9.85 and economy rate of 7.66.”I think his transformation from IPL to international T20 cricket has been phenomenal,” Gambhir said of Varun. “And this series was probably the benchmark as well because England is a high-quality side. They’ve got some really quality cricketers and the kind of surfaces we’ve played on – I think they were fantastic batting wickets and the way he’s bowled those tough overs has been phenomenal.”Varun Chakravarthy has become Suryakumar Yadav’s go-to bowler in T20Is•AFP/Getty Images

Suryakumar was also impressed with Varun’s fielding. In Mumbai, he took two catches, including a tumbling grab running in from deep square leg to send back Harry Brook for two off four balls.”I mean, he’s one guy who’s been relentlessly working hard with our fielding coach [T] Dilip sir,” Suryakumar said. “And anywhere he gets an opportunity, he uses that time on the field during practice sessions. And it was good to see him putting his hand up and telling that ‘I want to field in the outfield today’. And you saw the results. That’s amazing.”Another major talking point in this series was India leaning heavily on spin and picking just one frontline fast bowler in each of the five T20Is. Gambhir explained that the team management wanted to pair Varun up with Ravi Bishnoi, to give themselves a stronger chance of striking in the middle overs, without compromising on batting depth.”I think having Bishnoi and Varun bowling in tandem was very important, especially in the middle phase,” Gambhir said. “We always knew that the kind of batting line-up England has, they will always come hard at us in the first six overs. But it’s that phase between seven and 15. Can we have those two wicket-taking options in the middle?”More importantly, we always wanted to have that No. 8 batter, even if he doesn’t face too many balls, just because of the kind of cricket we are playing. We want to try and go as hard as possible. Sometimes that cushion of having that No. 8 [batter] allows the top seven to go out there and play even more freely.”

Brendon McCullum, England’s head coach, has rejected suggestions that his players did not take their preparation seriously on the tour of India, saying it was “factually incorrect” that the team had not done enough training during the T20I and ODI series, both of which ended in one-sided defeats.During a discussion on TV commentary for the third ODI between Ravi Shastri and Kevin Pietersen, it was claimed that, with the exception of Joe Root, England had not netted during the ODI series. England had trained before the first ODI in Nagpur, but opted not to do so ahead of the second and third games in Cuttack and Ahmedabad.With the Champions Trophy looming, a 142-run defeat in the final game saw England go down 3-0 in the ODIs, having previously been beaten 4-1 during the T20I leg.The tourists have also had to deal with injuries, with Jacob Bethell ruled out by a hamstring strain and Jamie Smith nursing a sore calf – meaning that assistant coaches Marcus Trescothick and Paul Collingwood were named as substitute fielders in Cuttack.Related

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“Firstly, it’s factually incorrect, the whole statement that we don’t train,” McCullum told talkSPORT after the third ODI. “We’ve trained plenty right throughout, guys have come from a lot of cricket as well. I think it’s an easy thing to have as a throwaway line that guys don’t train enough when the results aren’t right.”But we’ve got a style and a method that we believe in. We’ve got guys who are battling injuries and trying to make sure that we’ve got enough bodies out on the field, knowing that we’ve got a huge assignment coming up in a week or two. Ultimately it’s factually incorrect what’s been said and we’ll stay true to what we believe in.”Jos Buttler, England’s captain, also denied that the poor results in India had been down to “lack of effort” when speaking to reporters after the Ahmedabad game.”We’ve had a reasonably long tour, a few long travel days,” Buttler said. “There have been a couple of times we have not trained but we have done plenty of training throughout the tour. We try to create a really good environment but don’t mistake that for a lazy environment or lack of effort. The guys are desperate to perform and do well and improve.”McCullum only took on the role of white-ball head coach in January, having previously had sole responsibility for the Test side, and said that the tour had provided valuable lessons ahead of the Champions Trophy, which gets underway in Pakistan next week.England will spend the next few days in the UAE before beginning their campaign against Australia in Lahore on February 22. They have confirmed Tom Banton in their 15-man Champions Trophy squad as a replacement for Bethell.”I’ve learned a lot,” McCullum said. “There’s guys in our team who are incredibly talented, if we can add a little bit of craft and give ourselves a bit of confidence within the dressing room, which is ultimately the task of us as coaches, then we’ll see some of that talent will flourish. It’s been a good tour, so much good will come from it, albeit the results are very disappointing. But that’s the nature sometimes when you come up against a very good side in their own conditions.”Ultimately you’re judged on results,” he added. “From our point of view, we’ve got to strip away the fear of failure that results can bring. Guys are fiercely determined and competitive… how do you allow an environment to provide the freedom and clarity of thought to go out there and allow your talent to come out?”That’s what we’re trying to do in the group we’re building and that’s what we’ll try and do over the next week as well, give the guys a freshen-up in Abu Dhabi, make sure all the bodies are fit and ready to go, we’ve got a full squad to pick from come that first game against Australia. We do that, hopefully we walk a little taller and play a little better and end up getting better results as well.”

In the fifth T20I in Pakistan’s tour of New Zealand last year, the hosts had been dismissed for 92 chasing 135 in Christchurch. In the first T20I of this five-match series, that was a winning total for New Zealand after Kyle Jamieson and Jacob Duffy took apart a new-look Pakistan side.The dropping of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan signalled that Pakistan were trying to step out of their comfort zone in T20 cricket, which is broadly very good. But on Sunday, they saw the risks that also come with it as they were bundled out for 91, their lowest total in New Zealand and their fifth-lowest in the format.The Black Caps followed the White Ferns in bringing up comprehensive victories on a double-header day in Christchurch as Jamieson and Duffy shared seven wickets between them, the bounce they were able to generate too much for the Pakistan batters.

Jamieson gives New Zealand the perfect start

Jamieson, back in the T20I set up for the first time in nearly two years, set the tone for New Zealand with a wicket maiden, Mohammad Haris only able to help a short ball behind to wicketkeeper Mitch Hay.Debutant Hasan Nawaz then got a leading edge off Duffy to Jamieson at deep third as Pakistan lost both openers without a run on the board. This was only the second time both Pakistan openers were dismissed for ducks.Jamieson then had Irfan Khan edging behind in the third over as Pakistan slumped to 1 for 3 – their lowest score at the fall of the third wicket.Tim Robinson then evoked rather fresh memories of Glenn Phillips from the Champions Trophy as he took a blinder at backward point to give Jamieson his third, with the scoreboard reading 11 for 4.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Agha, Khushdil ride their luck

Pakistan were restricted to 14 for 4 in the powerplay, and it could have gotten worse immediately afterwards, but Tim Seifert dropped Khushdil Shah at point off the captain Michael Bracewell.Agha then looked to drive a full ball from Zakary Foulkes the next over, only to get an edge but Daryl Mitchell shelled the chance in the slip cordon.Agha and Khushdil used their second lives to arrest Pakistan’s free-fall. They finally looked to up the tempo in the tenth over, when Agha reverse-swept Ish Sodhi for four behind point and Khushdil smacked him over midwicket for Pakistan’s first six.In the next over, Khushdil took Bracewell on for back-to-back sixes to try and put some pressure back on the bowlers. But it was a very short-lived phase of ascendancy for Pakistan.

Duffy, Sodhi wrap things up

Agha tried another reverse-sweep off Sodhi’s next ball, but he could only pick out deep backward point. Duffy was brought back into the attack for an over, and the move paid dividends as Khushdil slapped a short ball to backward point. Pakistan were 64 for 6 after 13.Debutant Abdul Samad and Jahandad Khan then fell trying to play big shots before Duffy returned in the penultimate over to take the last two wickets, picking up from where he left off in the T20I series against Sri Lanka where he finished as the highest wicket-takerPakistan’s 91 is the fourth-lowest T20I score by any team in New Zealand.Jacob Duffy took 4 for 14 in 3.4 overs•AFP/Getty Images

Seifert takes off in chase

After playing out the first over, Seifert got New Zealand going with a pull through midwicket off debutant Mohammad Ali. He then picked up three boundaries off Shaheen Afridi’s next over, including another pull in front of square.Seifert gave the charge to Ali to pick up another boundary, before getting two off Jahandad’s first over, and the fifth of the innings. Finn Allen, largely a spectator until then, also joined the party as he lofted Jahandad down the ground for the first six of the chase.Pakistan switched to spin and Seifert welcomed Abrar Ahmed with a massive hit over long-off. Abrar got the better of him with a carrom ball that Haris did well to hold on to behind the stumps off the bottom edge, but New Zealand by then had effectively won the match in the two powerplays.Allen hit another six and two fours, while Robinson also got a six to his name as New Zealand completed the chase just one ball after the halfway mark of the innings.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have brought in left-arm seamer Chetan Sakariya as a replacement for Umran Malik, who has been sidelined from IPL 2025.Malik, 25, has not played a competitive match since IPL 2024, when he played just one game for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Sakariya himself is working his way back from injury. He was last in action in a representative match during the Ranji Trophy in February 2024.An out-and-out quick who can hit 150kph, Malik burst on to the scene in 2021, but has been troubled by injuries and illness since. He was due to play the Duleep Trophy at the start of the 2024-25 domestic season, but had to be withdrawn after suffering a bout of dengue. He then suffered a hip fracture.Related

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Malik has played eight T20Is, picking up 11 wickets at an economy rate of 10.48. As for Sakariya, he has played two T20Is, taking one wicket at an economy rate of 9.27.Sakariya could potentially fill in for Spencer Johnson, who is KKR’s first-choice left-arm fast bowler. Malik’s injury-enforced absence now means that KKR don’t have a like-for-like Indian option for Anrich Nortje, who is also prone to injury.Sakariya was with the KKR squad as a reserve player last season and in this season, he was a net bowler with them before being picked as a replacement player.”I feel very happy. It feels like I never left the squad, and have just rejoined the team the next year with the same energy and in the same environment,” Sakariya told . “I am very grateful to the KKR management for trusting me. I am in a good state of mind and I have prepared well.”Sakariya is looking forward to working with the KKR coaching staff, including B Arun and Dwayne Bravo.”In our coaching staff, we can work on our technical aspect as well as tactical. We have the combination of both,” he said. “If we need any help with planning for a match, we can go to DJ Bravo, and if there’s an issue with our rhythm or something, Bharat Arun is renowned for that. So we fast bowlers will get both benefits here.”KKR are the defending champions, having beaten SRH in the IPL 2024 final.Click here for KKR’s full squad.

After a tough couple of days, the Ahmedabad pitch gave a bit of respite for batters on a hot Saturday afternoon. Karun Nair, KL Rahul, and Delhi Capitals’ (DC) middle-order batters got starts, but none of them crossed 39. Gujarat Titans (GT) used only five bowlers for 19 overs of the innings. Prasidh Krishna, who got hold of the purple cap, pulled the visitors back after a great start with a four-wicket haul.DC leaving out Jake Fraser-McGurk created the new opening combination of Abhisek Porel and Nair. Porel’s boundaries in the first over; a drive on the up over mid-off and a help-along flick behind square, showed that the pitch could be trusted.He fell to a full toss from Arshad Khan and Rahul’s shift in approach kept DC ticking. Rahul cut Siraj and was able to pump him down the ground. His start was ominous but an outswinging yorker from Prasidh trapped him lbw for 28 off 14 balls.Nair, too, got boundaries on both sides of the wicket. He was out in a relatively soft manner, ramping a shortish ball straight to deep third.A pristine cover drive from Stubbs off Prasidh brought up DC’s hundred in the ninth over. But he and Axar Patel were relatively sedate after that during the 53-run stand off 36 balls. They were happy to take Rashid Khan and Ishant Sharma for ones and twos.Rashid bowled quicker and at the stumps in his first two overs. He slowed the pace down in his third as Stubbs took him for six down the ground but then miscued a swipe across the line. Rashid ran back but couldn’t hold onto the catch close to the ring at mid-on. It led to a slog-swept six from Axar next ball.Ishant was struggling in the heat and went off the pitch after two overs. Siraj returned and removed Stubbs, who reverse swept a yorker and the ball lobbed to short third.GT’s death bowlers included a lot of yorker attempts with short balls peppered in between. It nearly worked first ball, but Rashid dropped Axar at the start of the 17th.The DC skipper could not hit a boundary in his last nine balls and was out caught behind. He charged Prasidh and tried to slap a length ball over cover and got an edge. Prasidh was on a hat-trick a ball later, thanks to a brilliant diving catch from Jos Buttler to dismiss Vipraj Nigam.Ashutosh Sharma was the primary boundary hitter in the final overs. He got a six and a four off Arshad early in his innings and hit two sixes off Prasidh later on. R Sai Kishore, whose only over was the final one of the innings, went for just nine, as GT inched past the 200 mark.

England Test captain Ben Stokes believes comments he made about Jacob Bethell ahead of the Zimbabwe Test were willfully taken out of context to suit an agenda against Ollie Pope. Speaking after England had completed a comprehensive innings-and-45-run win over Zimbabwe on day three at Trent Bridge, Stokes used his post-match engagements to defend his vice-captain, who struck an imperious 171 on day one, his eighth Test hundred.Stokes took issue with the way his own quotes were presented after being asked on Wednesday if Bethell, who batted at No.3 in the previous series in New Zealand but was missing this week on IPL duty with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, would come straight back in for next month’s series against India.Pope had been Stokes’ No.3 since he assumed the captaincy in 2022, but dropped down the order to keep wicket after Jordan Cox, Jamie Smith’s paternity leave cover replacement behind the stumps, broke a finger in the lead-up to the first Test.Bethell finished with 260 runs at 52.00 across six innings, notching three half-centuries, with the senior management clearly enamored with the 21-year-old’s skill and poise. Though his absence meant no decision had to be made just yet, Stokes was asked whether Bethell was still considered to be the “incumbent No.3” during a captaincy media briefing on the Wednesday before the Test.Related

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“If you’re smart enough, the series that Beth had out in New Zealand, obviously he’s going to be back in the UK for that India series. So, I think you put 2 and 2 together, you probably know what’s going to happen.”Stokes was dismayed when he saw the coverage of his words, later insisting he was talking about Bethell returning to the squad rather than the XI. After England wrapped up victory with more than four sessions of this four-day Test to spare, he launched a staunch defense of Pope, all but backing him to start the India series, which begins at Headingley on June 20.”There’s always someone going to be under the spotlight,” Stokes told . “We’ve come into this game and I’ve personally felt that it was a bit of a… I don’t know… not a vendetta… but I got asked a simple question about Bethell, said put two and two together, he comes back into the squad and then all of a sudden it turns into something that suits the agenda of the time.”He’s (Pope) my vice-captain, and he’s been incredible for me at No.3 and the team. I think he’s averaging over 40 now (43.06 at No.3), so it just suited what was being said, to be honest. Very, very pleased for him that he went out there and played the way that he did, he’s an important part to this team away from his runs as well, he’s a leader within the group and I value his leadership role as vice-captain as well.”He’s a quality player. As I said, since he’s gone up to No.3, since I’ve been captain, he’s performed very, very well. Him being vice-captain, he comes up with some great ideas out in the middle, especially when I’m bowling I sort of get into a little bit of my own rhythm, take myself away from that, so it’s great having someone like Popey out there who can help me along in those moments.”Pope’s knock included a 137-run stand with opener Zak Crawley, another who might be put under pressure by Bethell’s return. He, too, registered three figures, with 126 that happened to be his first century in two years, bringing up the landmark after Ben Duckett had raised his bat for a hundred of his own.That all of the top three were able to thrive given the pressure from beyond the dressing room, guiding England to an insurmountable first-innings score of 565 for 6 declared, was the main story as far as Stokes was concerned.”I think there’s obviously always pressure on sportsmen to go and perform, whether there isn’t that external noise from the outside coming in, whether potentially their spots up for competition. Zak and Popey know every time they walk out onto the field that their job is to get runs and put in performances. And that doesn’t change day to day really.”But competition for places is a very, very healthy place to be in as an international sports team. The way that Zak, Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope have played this week, I think let’s focus on that, as opposed to anything else, you know. All three of them have gone out and played incredibly well for us, set the game up exactly how we wanted to when you get put into bat. I think that’s what should be spoken about because they’re three pretty special performances.”

Durham 59 for 1 trail Surrey 820 for 9 dec (Sibley 305, Lawrence 178, Jacks 119) by 761 runsDom Sibley’s ten-hour 305, plus quickfire hundreds from both Dan Lawrence and Will Jacks, propelled Surrey to 820 for 9 declared at the Kia Oval, the biggest first-class total in the club’s long history.Resuming on 407 for 3, they broke their 126-year-old county record after batting on until just after tea on day two and prolonging Durham’s suffering in scorching sunshine and sweltering temperatures above 30 degrees.And in 28 overs before the close, Surrey then held Durham to 59 for 1 in reply with some testing bowling and will look to put the visitors under further pressure on days three and four of this Rothesay County Championship Division One fixture.Matt Fisher struck at the start of his second over with the new ball to bowl Emilio Gay behind his legs for 7, and it could have been better for Surrey if they had clung on to catches offered by Alex Lees, on 11, and Will Rhodes on 12.Lees, who reached stumps on 33, cut Tom Lawes’ first ball to cover where Jordan Clark could not hold a low diving chance and Rhodes, unbeaten on 16 at the close, was put down by Sibley at second slip off Clark.Sibley, on 169 overnight, eventually added 334 in 53 overs with Lawrence, a fourth-wicket record for Surrey against Durham. Lawrence cruised from 58 at the start of the day to 178 – as with Sibley, his first-class career best – before slicing Daniel Hogg to point.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Lawrence struck four sixes and 19 fours in an eye-catching 149-ball effort, while Jacks was just as effortlessly brutal in his own 119 from 94 balls – also hitting four sixes. Sibley and Jacks put on a further 133 in 21 overs for the fifth wicket.The declaration came when Jacks skied Hogg to deep mid-off looking to hit a third successive six, after Surrey had opted to bat on after tea for what proved to be another 12 balls and 17 runs.But the first post-tea Jacks blow off Hogg, swung high and far over a short mid-wicket boundary, took Surrey past their previous highest total in first-class matches – the 811 scored against Somerset at the Oval in May 1899.Sibley’s 475-ball epic, featuring two sixes and 29 fours but for the main part a relentless display of risk-free accumulation, was the eighth first-class individual score of 300 or more by a Surrey batter, and the seventh highest.The former England Test opener joins an illustrious list topped by Bobby Abel and also including Kevin Pietersen, Walter Read, Sir Jack Hobbs, Tom Hayward, Andy Ducat and Mark Ramprakash. Two more Surrey players, John Edrich and Andy Sandham, scored triple-hundreds for England.Surrey’s total, meanwhile, was also the highest first-class total made against Durham, beating the 810 for 4 declared reached by Warwickshire at Edgbaston in 1994. That was when Brian Lara hit his famous 501 not out, with Sibley joining Lara, Graeme Hick and Darren Lehmann as the fourth man to top 300 against Durham.When Sibley fell, to leave Surrey 745 for 5 in the 152nd over, he was only 24 runs short of becoming the first batsman to complete 1000 first-class runs this season and thoroughly deserved a standing ovation from a sizeable crowd boosted by the enthusiastic presence of more than 5000 schoolchildren.Clark, who contributed 24 in 16 balls, Josh Blake and Lawes all departed cheaply while Jacks continued to pile on the agony for a Durham attack missing Ben Raine, nursing an injury after bowling ten overs on day one.George Drissell, the offspinner, hit by Lawrence for 6, 6, 4 in successive balls at one stage, bore the brunt of Surrey’s hunger for runs. His 45 overs cost 247, the most runs conceded by a bowler in the County Championship, and he finished with just one wicket to show for his labours.

A combination of the pink ball and pitch conditions at Sabina Park have left Australia pondering the balance of their side with captain Pat Cummins not ruling out omitting Nathan Lyon in favour of another pace bowler.Aside from the three matches Lyon missed in the 2023 Ashes when he injured his calf at Lord’s, he has not been absent from a Test XI since the 2013 series against England.Asked directly whether leaving out Lyon was a possibility, Cummins said: “I think everything’s an option. We honestly haven’t settled on it. We all left yesterday and thought we’d just sleep on it, come back and have a look and make up our mind today.”Related

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As Australia’s training session wound up on Friday, there was a lengthy chat in the middle between Cummins, head coach Andrew McDonald and touring selector Tony Dodemaide. Chair of selectors George Bailey returned to Australia after the second Test. It has become common for Cummins to name the XI the day before the match.”[There are] a few more unknowns…I think mainly [the] pink ball and trying to get our heads around exactly what it’s going to do,” Cummins had said before the training session. “That last session [under lights] might be a little bit longer than Adelaide.”Even in a series dominated by the quicks, Lyon has taken nine wickets at 18.33, including six in Grenada, to move to 562 overall – one short of equaling Glenn McGrath’s record as the second-most for Australia behind Shane Warne.Overall in day-night Tests, Lyon has 43 wickets at 25.62, which is better than his red-ball average of 30.52. However, last season against India, he only bowled one over in the day-night Test in Adelaide and wasn’t required at all against England in Hobart during the 2021-22 Ashes. This match against West Indies is Australia’s first day-night Test away from home.Scott Boland, who has taken 12 wickets at 16.75 in three day-night Tests, would be the likely bowler to come into the side. Beau Webster, who has been the fourth seamer this series, would be able to provide offspin if required, along with Travis Head. The other slim option Australia may consider is bolstering the batting if they believe three frontline quicks and Webster would suffice as the attack.Not too long ago in Australia, it became something of an annual question around whether Lyon would ever be left out on the more pace-friendly grounds at home, such as the Gabba and WACA but, since 2013, he has always been there, and it could easily transpire that way on this occasion.It would be a significant game for Lyon to miss with Mitchell Starc making his 100th appearance. On Thursday, Starc spoke of the strong bond between himself, Lyon, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, who are all from New South Wales.”We’ve spent a lot of time together,” Starc said. “So to play with a lot of really close mates, to play with a lot of really good people around the staff and the playing group has been really special.”However, Cummins did not foresee a negative reaction should a change be made. “I mean, it’s all hypothetical here. I think everyone here has a pretty good track record of doing whatever the team needs and being really excited for the guys that play.”Interestingly, West Indies captain Roston Chase said one of the key decisions they are mulling over is whether to recall their specialist spinner, Jomel Warrican, after he was left out in Grenada. “I think the wicket will offer some spin as well,” Chase said.”It has a bit of grass on it, but I think the groundsman said he might shave off a bit,” he added. “So still yet to see what the final surface will look like, but it looks pretty hard. I mean, the practice wickets look similar, so the ball has been doing a bit in the practice session. Looks like a good cricket wicket.”