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Moeen Ali has said that the security arrangements that dominated England’s planning ahead of their tour of Bangladesh never crossed his mind during their opening practice match against a BCB Select XI in Fatullah on Tuesday.”I didn’t think about it once. No one mentioned it and I can’t remember thinking about it,” he said on Wednesday, as the England players took a day-off from training.Moeen was speaking at the team hotel, which has been given several layers of extra security because of the presence of the England contingent. On their way to Fatullah, they were accorded VVIP security so that their long convoy could cut through Dhaka traffic at morning rush hour. There was no need for the fleet of vehicles to stop at any crossing or roundabout in the busy Bangladesh capital.The convoy flowed at one speed, before reaching the destination which was 25 kms south of their hotel. A typical ride takes about 90 minutes but this one took half the time.While the match was going on in Fatullah, the security agencies held their final rehearsal at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, where the first two ODIs and the second Test will be held. The forces involved in maintaining security in this series include the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, SWAT, Special Branch, Detective Branch, Rapid Action Battalion and the Bomb Disposal Unit.The Mirpur venue is now under full CCTV coverage. During the first ODI, there will be body checks at the main gate and at the gallery gate. When the England team’s convoy nears the stadium, at least 1 km is blockaded, and only those on foot can go through. The stadium perimeter wall has been raised too. All the shops in the stadium will be closed on the eve of the match and each shop owner has to sign a bond that declares that their shops don’t contain anything harmful.This is what the Bangladesh government, in conjunction with the BCB, assured Reg Dickason, the ECB’s security advisor, in mid-August. Based on this, Dickason and the ECB sanctioned the tour.Although England’s assistant coach Paul Farbrace had said that the security in Bangladesh isn’t as “in your face” as it was for him in Pakistan, the level provided this time is unprecedented, certainly for Bangladesh.And it must be doing a good job if Moeen didn’t notice it in Fatullah where fans had to go through two walk-through scanners to watch them play. He said that he was happy with the measures taken during this tour.”I’m pretty laid back about it. My theory’s a bit different. I think you’re probably not safe anywhere, if you’re meant to go you’re meant to go.”It doesn’t mean I’m going to go out but so far it’s been the best we’ve ever had in terms of security, and I think any other country would do well to beat it,” he said.A helicopter patrols above the stadium in Dhaka•Getty Images

Moeen said that if the security provided during the Bangladesh Premier League is up to the mark, the English cricketers should not feel unsafe although the PCA has, earlier this week, warned them against participating in the Bangladesh Premier League on security grounds.”It’s up to the guys. I know the PCA have sent emails and stuff around to the guys. I don’t see why they shouldn’t go. If the security’s fine and the guys are happy then they should come. It probably won’t be as tight as this but they would have good security still,” he said.Moeen has been in Bangladesh before, playing for Mohammedan Sporting Club in the 2010-11 Dhaka Premier League and later in the 2013 BPL for Duronto Rajshahi. He said that he understood what it would mean to people in this country when England arrive for their tour.”I know the people here. They are very nice, and generous. I’ve always got looked after here. I’ve got a lot of friends here. I thought it was important for us to come out. It’s a great experience playing out here.”

ScorecardMichael Hogan put a bit of a dampener on Essex’s promotion party•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

Essex’s players set off for a night on the town to celebrate their Division Two title success after suffering only their third Specsavers County Championship defeat of the summer.Promotion to Division One having been sealed on Tuesday when they garnered the five bonus points required to put them in an unassailable position, they found Michael Hogan in party-pooping mood with five wickets for 45 to leave Essex 11 runs short of victory.It was the Australian’s second five-wicket haul in successive games, taking him to 44 Championship wickets for the season. He was well supported by the parsimonious Timm van der Gugten, who claimed four for 56 from 29.5 overs, and ended Essex’s obdurate last-wicket partnership with 19 balls to spare.At one point, Varun Chopra looked as if he might carry Essex to a seventh win on his own when he rattled up 79 out of the 138 scored while he was at the crease. His seventh Championship score in excess of fifty this season – the other six were for Warwickshire – came from 128 balls with 10 fours.

Masters calls it a day

David Masters, Essex’s veteran seamer, has announced that he will retire at the end of the season. His final match will be next week at Kent, the club where he began his career, with Essex set to be presented with the Division Two trophy.
A popular figure at Chelmsford, where he moved to in 2008, Masters has taken more than 900 wickets in his career. In the 2011 season, he claimed 93 first-class wickets, including a career-best 8 for 10 against Leicestershire – another former club. Speaking in front of the pavilion at lunch on the fourth day of Essex’s final home match of the season, he said he was looking forward to not waking up “hurting” every morning.
“It is always a difficult decision to call time on a career you have loved,” he said. “I have been fortunate to spend 20 years at the professional level with three fabulous clubs. After joining Essex in 2008 I feel I found my home. Everyone at the club has treated me brilliantly from the fans, to the coaching staff and the office staff as well.
“The members have been exceptional and the crowd here at Chelmsford really is the best in the country. I leave the team in a good place with the emergence of a number of fast bowlers at the club. To retire after winning the Division Two title is something you can only dream of.”

But with wickets falling all around him, and no one sticking around long after he had gone, Essex were always ahead of the rate but without enough men to see them over the line.Essex had been set 264 to win in a minimum of 91 overs, and the openers put on 92 fairly comfortably in 26 overs before three quick wickets fell. Nick Browne departed to the last ball before lunch, caught in the slips by Will Bragg off van der Gugten for 30. When he reached 20, flicking Morgan off his legs, he became the third Essex batsman to 1,000 Championship runs for the season.Tom Westley, who had passed the milestone in the previous game against Worcestershire, lasted just three balls after lunch before he fell lbw to Michael Hogan without score. And Essex lost another wicket in the immediate post-lunch period when Ravi Bopara was pinned in his crease by one from van der Gugten that kept low.At the other end, Chopra was compiling his highest score since his return to his first county. He despatched a full-toss from Kiran Carlson for his eighth four to reach fifty from 73 balls. He was particularly strong through the offside.But he was fourth out just after an involuntary edge by Dan Lawrence had taken Essex past the halfway point with 43 overs gone. Chopra was beaten by an inswinger from Hogan, who then accounted for Lawrence five overs later to another that swung in and took middle and leg.Essex were less fluent in an afternoon session of 38 overs in which they added just 62 runs. But ten Doeschate joined Adam Wheater just before tea and together they put on 40 in 12 overs before the captain became Hogan’s fourth victim, caught behind by Mark Wallace for 23.Wheater played second fiddle in the partnership, and it was not until the 58th ball he faced that he registered a boundary, stroking van der Gugten through the covers. But he then scooped a return into Hogan’s hands to leave Essex 64 runs away from victory with three wickets left.Glamorgan gave Graham Napier a guard of honour as he came out with runner Lawrence to begin his last innings after a 20-year career with Essex. He contributed 12 in an eighth-wicket stand of 23 with James Foster before he went lbw to van der Gugten. Foster then chased a wide one from Meschede to toe-end it to the wicketkeeper.David Masters received a similar welcome to Napier after confirming his retirement at the end of the season to the crowd at lunch-time. They were equally generous to the last pair when they dropped fairly routine catches in successive balls – Masters at short extra cover by Jacques Rudolph and Jamie Porter in the slips by Aneurin Donald. Van der Gugten took his fourth wicket when he yorked Porter to end a 23-run stand for the last wicket.Essex needed just 14 deliveries with the new-ball in the morning to take the remaining Glamorgan wicket. Not that they required any assistance from their opening bowlers, Masters and Bopara – Wallace decided to chance a second run to Lawrence on the backward square boundary and was run out by a long way.Wallace had added three runs to his overnight score to finish on 78. His 91-ball innings had been crucial in helping Glamorgan recover from 163 for seven, at which point they had been only 130 ahead.

Darren Sammy, who led West Indies to two World T20 titles, has said in a video posted on his Facebook account that he won’t be the West Indies T20 captain anymore. In the video posted on Friday, Sammy said the chairman of selectors informed him via a phone call that they had “reviewed the captaincy of T20,” and he did not merit a place in the West Indies squad.”I got a call yesterday morning, it was probably 30 seconds, from the chairman of selectors telling me that they’ve reviewed the captaincy of T20 and I won’t be captain anymore of the T20 team, [and] my performances have not merited selection in the squad,” Sammy said in the video.”That’s okay, I’ve always believed West Indies cricket is not about Darren Sammy. They are looking to the future and I wanna wish the new captain – I don’t know if it’s out yet so I won’t call any names – all the best as he looks to lead West Indies cricket and take it forward.”Obviously, throughout my captaincy, winning the two [T20] World Cups has been the highlight. And these memories I will cherish for a long time. This is not me retiring from one-day or T20, it’s just me thanking the fans and my players and the coaches I’ve worked with and WICB for…yeah, letting me lead the side for the last six years. But for now the captaincy has come to an end and thank you people.”I just know I played with my heart and soul whenever I stepped out on the cricket field.”In an emotional six-minute long video, Sammy first spoke about the CPL campaign of his team St Lucia Zouks, that lost the eliminator to Trinbago Knight Riders on Thursday, before talking about losing his West Indies captaincy and his exclusion from the T20 squad. The limited-overs team is scheduled to play two T20Is against India in Florida at the end of the month.”Six years ago I was asked to captain West Indies, a task which I fought [and] would be the biggest challenge in my career, in my life,” Sammy said. “A task which I know would be so difficult but guess what…I took it head on. I embraced the challenge, I embraced the difficulty. I turn up at the office which is my playground, the cricket field, every day and put in the work.”I started off with Ottis Gibson [then West Indies coach]. I want to thank you buddy for believing in me and now it has ended up with Phil [Simmons]. To my players all over the years, who’ve been part of the team and who’ve been under my captaincy, I want to thank you all for all the support. We’ve had our ups and downs but I have never given up hope, I have never stopped believing in myself and in the team. That is what I was about as captain – trying to instill positive, never-say-die attitude into my players. The result we won two World Cups and I want to thank all of you.”Like Sammy, West Indies wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin chose social media to tweet about his exclusion from the Test side that was to play against India at home.Sammy led West Indies to the 2016 World T20 title four months ago, to go with the trophy won in 2012 in Sri Lanka. He did not have much of an impact with bat and ball though: he faced 13 balls in his three innings, scoring eight runs, and bowled three overs, taking one wicket.Sammy led West Indies in 47 T20Is, starting in 2011, with 27 wins. After winning the T20 title in Kolkata in April this year, he gave an emotional speech at the post-match presentation, expressing his disappointment at the lack of support from the WICB.

Scorecard3:08

‘Milestones and numbers don’t matter to me’ – KL Rahul

While KL Rahul struck his second consecutive half-century of the tour, captain Virat Kohli and allrounder Ravindra Jadeja also struck form with fifties on the second day of the warm-up match against West Indies Cricket Board President’s XI in Basseterre. All of India’s batsmen except Shikhar Dhawan, who made a fifty in the first match, scored in double digits as the visitors made 364 to lead the hosts by 184 in the first innings. They looked set to score more when Rahul and Kohli were batting but offspinner Rahkeem Cornwall’s five-for restricted them.Resuming the second day at 93 for 3, the Indians were led by Rahul who marched from his overnight 30 to score 64 before retiring out. Rahul and Kohli put on a partnership of 88 for the fourth wicket as Kohli scored 51. But the captain was dismissed soon after Rahul retired, lbw to Cornwall, who had also dismissed Cheteshwar Pujara the night before.”That was the purpose of coming here early to get used to the wickets and conditions and I’m really happy with the way I’ve batted in the last two innings,” Rahul said after the day’s play. “The wickets here have been hard, the weather is hot and humid so it’s not very easy to go out there and get runs but [I’ll] try to use these two innings and the time before the Tests to prepare well for the Test series. So I’m really happy with the way I’m prepared.”Out here it was a little slow and the outfield’s heavy and the ball is getting really soft after 20-30 overs, so getting runs is kind of hard.”Ajinkya Rahane then led the visitors past 250 as Stuart Binny was caught behind for 16 off Cornwall. Rahane too fell to the same bowler for 32. The Indians were 254 for 7 and Wridhhiman Saha’s run-out made it 298 for 8. The innings was revived by Jadeja, who came in at No. 9, as he scored 56 off 61 with eight fours. He first put on 44 with Saha and then 47 with R Ashwin, who scored a patient 26 off 61. Jadeja was eventually caught and bowled by Cornwall, who finished with 5 for 118.”The pitch is offering a little bit so you have to be consistent with your lines,” Cornwall said. “No nerves whatsoever [against a strong batting line-up], I back my skills to do what I have to do and at the end of the day we’re playing a game of cricket, so they have to bat and I have to put the balls in the right areas.”It is very special, they are top quality batsmen, you have to do your best against them. This will take me a long way. Once you perform against the best, it will always urge you to perform better. This game taught me a lot – I think patience and the way some of these guys carry themselves. It kept me to go and improve on my game.”The hosts batted for eight overs before stumps and lost opener Leon Johnson, caught and bowled by Ashwin, for 17 in the last over of the day. They were 26 for 1 at the end of the day and trailed by 158 runs.

Stuart Thompson, the Ireland allrounder, has confirmed that he is taking an indefinite break from professional cricket to receive treatment for performance anxiety. Thompson, 24, confirmed the development after withdrawing from a domestic fixture for North-West Warriors.”I have realised it is in my best interests and everyone else involved in the squad and Cricket Ireland to be open and honest about my situation,” said Thompson, who has played 11 ODIs and 17 T20Is. “I have been struggling this season which culminated in needing a complete break from the game.”With the backing of Cricket Ireland, I have received expert help and I now understand a lot more about my condition and how I can overcome it. I am now looking forward to practicing methods to manage my anxiety and hope to return to cricket very soon. I’ve the best team around me to help me through it and looking forward to the challenge ahead.”Thompson is the second international cricketer to take an indefinite break from the game because of anxiety-related issues. Sarah Taylor, the England Women wicketkeeper, announced she was undergoing cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) in a bid to rid herself of anxiety issues that have resulted in such acute panic attacks that she had to run off the field.Richard Holdsworth, the performance director of Cricket Ireland, said Thompson was in touch with experts to get over his condition. “Stuart is getting expert support which we are confident will get him back in the game soon. Stuart will continue to take a break from the game but hopes to be back very soon. We would again ask that he be allowed to recover in private for the immediate future.”

Sanjay Bangar, India’s interim coach for the tour to Zimbabwe, has said he expects the unfamiliar conditions to prove a big challenge for his inexperienced team. Bangar highlighted the importance of the tour for these young players, given it comes at the start of the international season for them as they look to make an impression in international cricket.”Not many of them would have played in Zimbabwe and getting used to the conditions in such a short period would be a major challenge,” Bangar told . “We don’t really have a lot of time there and we play our [first] match straightaway. Passing on the information and experiences that we have had from the previous tour would be vital.”Only five members of this squad were selected for the last tour of Zimbabwe, in 2015, when India whitewashed the hosts in a three-match ODI series. This time India’s tour will consist of three ODIs and three T20Is, all of which are to be played at the Harare Sports Club. Elaborating on the challenges the team will confront, Bangar highlighted the use of the Kookaburra ball and the high altitude of the ground.”This year we are going to be playing with Kookaburra balls. We played with Duke balls last year. The Duke ball tends to do a bit more than the Kookaburra ball. We will have to go there and find out what is the behaviour of a Kookaburra ball vis-à-vis a Duke ball.”Zimbabwe is also at a higher altitude. So fielding-wise, the ball tends to travel slightly quicker. Those are the small adjustments you need to make to make sure that you are on top of the game.”India have rested their established players for the tour, instead picking a squad packed with youngsters. While the squad will be led by longtime captain MS Dhoni, who has played 275 ODIs and 68 T20Is, the remaining 15 squad members have a collective tally of 83 ODIs and 28 T20Is. Five members of the squad – Yuzvendra Chahal, Faiz Fazal, Mandeep Singh, Karun Nair and Jayant Yadav – have not played any international cricket.Given the fresh faces all around, Bangar said he would be expecting high energy levels on the field. “This team fields well, there is a lot of energy, buzz and intensity in whatever they do,” he said. “And that would be the underlying message in approaching all three departments of the game.”

Match abandoned Scott Edwards finally won the toss and wanted Netherlands’ bowlers to, for once, bowl without dew around. But rain that fell as early as the fifth over ensured they had to contend with wet conditions anyway. They had bowled second in the first two T20Is of the three-match series and had lost both times.Netherlands fared better on Wednesday and managed to rein Bangladesh in after the first rain stoppage. But rain returned about two hours later to have the final say.Bangladesh posted 164 for 4 in 18.2 overs, in an innings replete with stoppages. Their captain Litton Das got off to a rapid start. There was a lull in the middle, before Jaker Ali and Nurul Hasan injected momentum at the death. Netherlands quick Kyle Klein travelled the distance, going for 53 in his four overs, but also picked up three wickets. None of that mattered in the end, and the no-result meant Bangladesh took the series 2-0, Netherlands’ consolation coming from avoiding a clean sweep.

A Litton knock of two moods

With the series already sealed, Bangladesh looked at the opportunity to rotate their players ahead of next week’s Men’s T20 Asia Cup. They rested both their openers, Pervez Hossain Emon and Tanzid Hasan, among the five changes to their XI, and Litton walked out to open. He made his intentions clear with a clinical assault against Daniel Doram’s left-arm spin in the third over. Litton launched a four over mid-off before ending the over with 4, 4, 6 – the second of them coming off an outside edge that evaded the keeper.The first stoppage came during the next over, after Litton deposited Klein over deep midwicket. One of the floodlights at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium had malfunctioned, and play was suspended for 11 minutes. Once play resumed, Litton hit two more fours, one each off Klein and offspinner Aryan Dutt, before rain arrived. He was on 42 off 16 then but couldn’t find his touch when play resumed 37 minutes later. When he was dismissed in the 15th over, he had scored only 31 off his last 30 balls.One of the characteristics of Litton’s 46-ball 73 was how well he held his shape while hitting big shots. Netherlands may have seen a lot less of this had Shariz Ahmad held on to a chance at deep midwicket in the fourth over when Litton was on 37. He was dropped again on 68 by Tim Pringle, but that did not cost Netherlands much.Litton Das scored 42 off his first 16 balls, and only 31 off his last 30•AFP/Getty Images

A glimmer of hope in Netherlands’ bowling

The Shariz drop came in Klein’s second over. It might have given him an inkling of how his evening would turn out. He bowled his heart out but struggled for consistency. Even with a dry ball, he slipped in a beamer in the fourth over of the game. By the end of that over, he had gone for 26 in two, and Bangladesh were 56 for 1.But Netherlands managed to pull things back after the rain break.Dutt and Pringle managed to extract purchase from the surface and kept even a set Litton in check. Towhid Hridoy’s patience ran out after he had scored just nine off his first 13 balls, and he holed out to long-on in an attempt to charge at Pringle. In the first 35 balls after the rain interval, Netherlands gave away just 28 runs and picked up a wicket.Bangladesh found the boundary in just four of the ten overs after their powerplay, and lost three wickets in that period. Then Nurul, playing his first T20I since the T20 World Cup of 2022, and Jaker joined forces to take 22 off the 18th over, bowled by Klein. They added 42 off just 23 balls before heavens opened again.

James Vince hit the turbo button to smoke 98 not out to beat Sussex Sharks and put Hampshire Hawks on course for the Men’s Vitality Blast quarter-finals.Captain Vince led from the front in a magnificent 49-ball knock to chase down 168 and secure a third straight Hawks victory – and only failed to reach figures by hitting the winning runs with a four rather than a six.James Fuller supported with three wickets before Joe Weatherley partnered up for 62 – and 43 himself – as Hampshire found form at the right time of the competition.They now have seven wins – the traditional benchmark for qualification – while Sussex have stalled. They have lost their last three matches.Vince has blown hot and cold in the Blast, with three half-centuries but plenty of single-figure scores. This was a boiling day for him.The second ball he faced flew over the square ropes, with two more joining it to go with 12 other boundaries – it was vintage Vince, punishing anything that wasn’t an A-class delivery.A record 12-ball half-century looked temporarily on before settling for 19 balls, and from there he found a rhythm to tick off the runs quickly and risk-free.Toby Albert put 54 on with him at the top before frustrating himself with a pull to midwicket and Danny Lamb snuck one past Tom Prest. But in-form Weatherley provided the firmest support, while also plundering a quartet of sixes to make sure there was no pressure on the chase and Vince.He fell for 43, and Hilton Cartwright followed before Fuller helped Vince to get over the line.Sussex’s innings came in three acts. The cagey start, the run-frenzied middle and then the run drought at the death.Having chosen the bat, neither side could get an advantage in what felt like an ‘eight-pointer’ match due to their positions in the table and their closeness to qualifying.The Sharks probably edged the powerplay with a six off the last ball taking them to 51 for 1 – with Daniel Hughes been and gone after cutting to cover.That maximum sparked Tom Clark and George Thomas into life as they whacked 63 in the following six-and-a-half overs. Clark’s pair of sixes off Benny Howell was the apex of the innings, as the duo ran hard and piled the pressure onto the hosts.But both departed in the 13th over, Fuller dislodging each of them to spark a slow down – with only 60 runs coming from the last eight overs.Scott Currie repeated Fuller’s trick by seeing off Tom Alsop and James Coles in the 16th over, before only conceding four runs in the 18th over.Chris Wood also only went for four runs in the following over with two more wickets – the latter of which a controversial boundary catch which caused a fracas at the interval – as Hampshire took control.The visitors snared 15 runs from the last to take them to 167 for 7. But it was far from enough as Hampshire won with 16 balls to spare.

Matthew Mott has joined Sydney Sixers in the BBL on a three-year deal as assistant coach following his departure as head coach of the England Men’s white-ball team.Mott, who was in charge of Australia Women for eight years before shifting to England, will link up with Greg Shipperd at Sixers as a replacement for Cameron White, who was appointed head coach of Melbourne Renegades earlier this year.Related

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“I’m delighted to join back up with the Sydney Sixers,” Mott said. “Having started my coaching journey in Sydney many years ago, it’s a place that evokes both great memories and a comforting sense of familiarity, which I’m looking forward to.”The idea of being an assistant to Greg Shipperd, who I have a tremendous amount of respect for, really appealed to me.”Mott’s spell as England’s white-ball coach started brightly when they won the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, to unite both global white-ball trophies, but ended after their semi-final exit at the tournament earlier this year which followed a poor performance in the ODI edition in 2023.Mott started his coaching career with the New South Wales men’s side in 2007. His return to the state’s system will see him reunite with Rachael Haynes who was one of the key members of the Australia side he coached to extensive success.”We couldn’t be more pleased to have Motty committed for the next three years with the club,” Haynes, Sixers’ general manager, said.”When the opportunity arises to bring a coach of Motty’s calibre into your ranks, it’s a no-brainer. We know what a fantastic resource he will be for our playing group.”It goes without saying that his coaching resume speaks for itself. He has an incredible track-record of success around the world, and he’s proven he knows what it takes to build, and sustain, a winning culture.”Our club is in safe hands under the leadership of Greg Shipperd, and Charlotte Edwards in our women’s program, and we’re delighted to be able to add Motty’s experience to that group, taking us forward.”In the BBL draft last weekend, Sixers retained James Vince when Renegades attempted to sign him and later sprang a surprise by taking Yorkshire legspinner Jafer Chohan as their last pick. They have secured West Indies left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein before the draft.

The highs of two compelling batting performances in the T20Is gave way to a timid end during a tough all-format tour for South Africa in Chennai on Tuesday.On the same surface where they made 189 and 177, the visitors folded for 84 to all but concede the game at the halfway mark. India’s chase was a mere formality, with Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma building on Pooja Vastrakar’s great work – she picked up a career-best 4 for 13 – to complete a series-leveling win in just 10.5 overs.

South Africa stumble in powerplay

Laura Wolvaardt and Marizanne Kapp were out early, trying to manufacture strokes in the powerplay after India elected to field. But Tazmin Brits, fresh off back-to-back fifties, appeared to have set herself in, picking up pace in the sixth over when she struck Shreyanka Patil for two boundaries. But in trying to push the pedal, she holed out to a brilliant catch by Harmapreet Kaur at mid-off to give Deepti Sharma a wicket. South Africa were 45 for 3 in 7.4 overs.

Vastrakar, Radha make a splash

Two balls after Brits fell, Deepti could’ve had a second wicket if she had held on to a return chance offered by Chloe Tryon. In the following over, the ninth of the innings, Tryon survived a close lbw shout off Arundhati Reddy as she played all around a full-blooded inswinger, only to be saved by the angle. Reddy would eventually win the head-to-head a few overs later with a hard-length delivery that Tryon skewed to point.Between the lbw reprieve and Tryon’s wicket, Vastrakar left her imprint on the game with a game-changing over as South Africa went from 57 for 3 in 10 overs to 61 for 5 in 11. She trapped Anneke Bosch lbw with a length ball that zipped in to trap in her front as she shuffled across. It was a sweet comeback after being threaded behind point for a boundary off the previous delivery. Two balls later, Vastrakar had Nadine de Klerk chop on with a fuller-length delivery.In all, South Africa lost 7 for 23 to fold for 84 in the 18th over. The end was hastened by Radha Yadav’s double-wicket maiden in the 17th over; she finished with 3 for 6 off her three overs.

Mandhana, Shafali finish it off

At no stage during India’s innings was there even a semblance of pressure on the openers. For this, much credit should go to Mandhana, who carried on her sparkling form in what was some of the most aesthetically pleasing hit-through-the-line batting.She began by taking Ayabonga Khaka for two fours in the very first over to lay down a marker, before a slice of luck came her way when she was beaten by a superb delivery from Kapp that hit the seam and nipped away to beat the outside edge.That was perhaps the only moment of uncertainty in a knock where Mandhana stamped her authority over both pace and spin. She hit eight fours and two sixes, including one that brought up her fifty and India’s victory off the same delivery.At the other end, Shafali showed shades of her dominating best by mercilessly pulling the seamers in front of square, playing her trademark slaps and shovels with no pressure to contend with. It couldn’t have been any easier.