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It’s over. And that’s not simply the worst World Cup defence in the history of international sport.Everything that, for eight heady years, had been taken for granted about England’s white-ball batting has vanished without trace, as if some Hollywood baddy had pinched a sports almanac(k) from the future and set the dials on the team’s Delorean for the 2015 World Cup. We’ve re-entered an epoch of endless, desperate failure – the miracle of 2019 lost forever to some branch-line of the space-time continuum.England’s sixth defeat – by 33 runs in Ahmedabad – in seven games was in turn Australia’s fifth win in five, with which they have marched clear of a hard-chasing pack to tighten their grip on a semi-final berth. It was marginally less supine than some of England’s losses – thanks to another spirited bowling display led by Adil Rashid and Chris Woakes, who also rallied gamely at the death with the bat, and another compelling but all-too-brief sighting of Ben Stokes in #HeroMode.But with Adam Zampa surging to the top of the tournament wicket-charts with an outstanding haul of 3 for 21 in ten overs, Australia’s apparently middling target of 287 was never realistically challenged – especially after another abject powerplay in which Joe Root, one of England’s indisputable greats across formats, produced an innings of such awfulness it truly deserves to be his last in coloured clothing.England versus Australia always tends to exist outside of context, but not on this occasion. Australia’s victory has brought closure to everything – England’s barely-less-than-non-existent hopes of a top-four finish; their claim on the so-called #MoralAshes, especially after Marnus Labuschagne’s Test-tempo 71 proved to be the decisive score of the match; and maybe even their hopes of playing in the 2025 Champions Trophy, if other results go against them in the coming days.The only thing that must limp on, ironically, is England’s World Cup campaign itself. Netherlands are up next for an unlikely shot at European Championship glory, before Pakistan – fuelled by after their astonishing win in Bengaluru – rock up in Kolkata with a chance to make their 1992 comeback seem like a standard day in the life.Just as had been the case in their 100-run loss to India in their previous outing, England played a pretty canny game for the first 50 overs of the match, as they bowled Australia out for 286 after winning the toss, hoping – then as now – that the onset of evening dew might even out a two-paced wicket and allow the ball to skid onto the bat more freely.But, even if that did eventually prove to be the case, England’s desperate lack of batting form had long since sunk any hopes of making the depth of their line-up count. The nadir arguably came when Jos Buttler, their captain and white-ball GOAT, skimmed the first ball of Zampa’s fifth over to Cameron Green at long-off to trudge off for 1 from six balls – leaving England in the soup at 106 for 4 at the half-way mark of their chase – but the omens had been grim from the very start of an angsty chase.The England of old could take mishaps in their stride – take Jason Roy’s mighty white-ball record, for instance; that had been pockmarked by countless first-over dismissals, including to the very first ball of his career, but this trait was factored into his willingness to have a go in the first place, safe in the knowledge that his team-mates would close ranks around him.By contrast, when Jonny Bairstow flicked at an innocuous leg-side loosener from Mitchell Starc to leave England 0 for 1 after one ball of their innings, the groan of recognition was palpable from dug-out to press-box to the armchair of every England fan. Starc’s reaction was sheepish in the extreme. Nevertheless, after going wicketless for the first time in his World Cup career against New Zealand last week, Starc was back on the board at the earliest opportunity, and Australia were surging back onto the front foot in their favourite rivalry.What followed, from an England perspective, was gory and uncomfortable viewing. Though Dawid Malan hunkered down for the long haul with his familiar sang froid, Root’s equilibrium endured another thorough rinsing. His second-ball drive for four was as good as his night would get. In the space of his next 15 balls, he survived an lbw appeal from Starc by the skin of his leg bail, a bad drop by Marcus Stoinis at point, and an edged drive off Josh Hazlewood that eluded second slip.Mitchell Starc struck first ball to get rid of Jonny Bairstow•Getty Images

Root’s luck was in, you might presume? His form, unfortunately, is not, and there were only so many gifts that could elude Australia’s clutches. He might have got away with another life when Starc lured him once more in the channel, but Labuschagne charged in from cover to insist he’d heard a noise. UltraEdge duly confirmed a thin snick to leave England 19 for 2 in the fifth over, and Root had succumbed to his 11th powerplay dismissal in 18 innings since the 2019 World Cup, in which time he has averaged a ghastly 5.63.In Stokes and Malan, England still had a pair of batters whose apparently contrasting methods are united in the belief that good things come to those who lay a platform. And while they were grinding out an 84-run stand for the third wicket, at a similar tempo to that with which Labuschagne and Steve Smith had revived Australia’s own innings, a flicker of muscle memory rippled back into England’s equation.But then Malan, on 50, gave his innings away with an over-eager pull off Cummins, to expose the out-of-sorts Buttler to a match situation that his game-brain cannot currently compute, and though Moeen Ali rose to the awkward occasion with a diligent run-a-ball 42, the entire psyche of England’s innings screamed “Stokes or bust”, and Australia knew it too.Despite his horror-duck against India, Stokes’ stage presence was undimmed, as he allowed himself to reach 15 from 37 balls before his first true shot in anger, a fierce straight drive for four off Starc. Thereafter, he became increasingly mighty and muscular, his innings replete with obligatory limps as that troublesome left knee repeatedly buckled beneath the force of his launches to leg.But for all his Superman bravado, his innings had far too much in common with his lost-cause Ashes onslaughts at Headingley and Lord’s – and his loud groan of “oh no!” as he scuffed a sweep off the incorrigible Zampa confirmed that more than just his innings of 64 from 90 was ending as Stoinis clung on at short fine leg. Liam Livingstone, bizarrely preferred to Harry Brook despite his own grim lack of form, duly lasted less than an over before skimming a pull to midwicket, and when Moeen became Zampa’s third of a superlative spell, the rest was mere formality.It’s a measure of England’s desperate funk that Australia arguably won against the head, in the wake of their own piecemeal batting display that never really got going, and would surely have been more closely challenged by almost any other chasing side at this tournament.Without the power of Mitchell Marsh and Glenn Maxwell in their middle order, Australia had a huge amount riding on their equally proactive opening partnership, but Woakes bagged both Travis Head and David Warner inside his first three overs, meaning that, at 38 for 2, Labuschagne and Smith had little choice but to fall back on their Ashes best, grinding out a third-wicket stand of 75 across 16 overs, to guard against a repeat of their 2019 semi-final meltdown.The delayed entry of England’s main man, Rashid, would destabilise Australia’s innings once more. With 20 overs gone, Smith’s timing was still eluding him when Rashid served up a slower and wider googly in his second over, which dipped on an attempted cut to loop to Moeen at backward point for 44.Dawid Malan and Ben Stokes got together after the fall of the first two wickets•Associated Press

That soon became 117 for 4 when Josh Inglis fell to the same combination in Rashid’s second over – this time to an ill-judged reverse-sweep off his sixth delivery – and though Labuschagne brought up his half-century from 63 balls, Rashid’s canny variations, and willingness to take off his pace against his entrenched opponents, kept Australia waiting for their chance to cut loose.It took Wood’s return to the attack for a visible step-up in Australia’s tempo. Green, Maxwell’s stand-in, looked deeply uncomfortable against Wood’s express pace – at one stage, four fielders converged on a top-edged pull as his bat soared out of his hands towards the square-leg umpire – but he somehow found enough leverage on the wider line to keep snaffling his runs through backward point, including a startling deflected four off a near pinpoint 153kph yorker.And though Wood bust a gut once again to make a difference – extracting an lbw that left Labuschagne non-plussed as his review showed three reds, before later bombing out Cummins with the short ball – his final figures of 2 for 70 would confirm that was another night on which his raw speed proved too profligate whenever he missed his mark.Fittingly, it was Zampa who proved this point in decisive fashion. At 247 for 8, he alone found the gumption to kick on into the death overs – albeit he needed a large slice of luck when a 149kph throat-ball from Wood fizzed off his gloves and over the keeper’s head for four. Unfazed, Zampa smashed his very next delivery back down the ground for another boundary, and he’d rattled along to 29 from 19 before Woakes ended Australia’s late charge with two wickets in three balls, two more cutters to prove the virtues of pace-off on a capricious deck.It should not have been nearly enough, given England’s once-vaunted reputation for chasing, and their belief at the toss that the dew factor would be decisive. It would prove to be plenty, on a night when normal service in the white-ball leg of this ancient rivalry was resumed in emphatic fashion.

Somerset were bailed out by their lower order after choosing to bat against Warwickshire on the opening day of their LV=Insurance County Championship game at Edgbaston.After rain wiped out the first session, the visitors plummeted to 37 for 6 against a disciplined seam attack led by the evergreen Chris Rushworth with 4 for 33.But captain Tom Abell and Lewis Gregory added 56 for the seventh wicket and, after they perished with the total still short of 100, Neil Wagner (55 not out) and Josh Davey (28 not out) added an unbroken 84.The comfort with which the ninth-wicket pair scored their runs must have embarrassed their top-order colleagues. It also suggests that, on a good batting pitch, despite Somerset’s recovery, Warwickshire remain strongly placed.Rushworth and Olly Hannon-Dalby started this match with 100 Championship wickets between them this season and took just seven overs to lift that tally to 103. Tom Lammonby offered no shot to a straight ball from Rushworth who also had Lewis Goldsworthy taken at first slip by Rob Yates. Sean Dickson fell lbw to a Hannon-Dalby in-ducker.Both change bowlers then struck in their first over as Andy Umeed edged Ed Barnard to Will Rhodes at second slip and James Rew was caught in two minds on a pull shot and top-edged a return catch to Craig Miles.When Barnard changed ends, he took just one ball to cause further damage. This time it was Tom Banton’s turn to press the self-destruct button when he left a ball that knocked out off-stump. At 37 for 6, Somerset were in danger of recording a new Championship low against Warwickshire, surpassing their 50 all out at Edgbaston in 1951 and Taunton in 2011.That was avoided after Abell, who had already dug in deep, found some support from Gregory, whose forceful 39 included eight fours before he lifted Rushworth to extra cover. The former Durham seamer quickly added his 655th first class wicket when Abell edged to wicketkeeper Michael Burgess.That was 96 for 8 but Wagner and Davey batted with freedom to post a half-century stand in 69 balls. Wagner reached a fluent 47-ball fifty with four hammered through the covers off Will Rhodes and the pair remained intact overnight and ready to push on in the morning to challenge Somerset’s record ninth-wicket stand against Warwickshire – 180 by Steven Davies and Jamie Overton at Edgbaston in 2020.

The Hundred has lost its most high-profile male overseas player on the eve of the tournament, with Rashid Khan pulling out of a planned three-match stint with Trent Rockets.Rashid has been playing for MI New York in Major League Cricket, taking 3 for 9 in the inaugural final against Seattle Orcas in Dallas on Sunday night, but has officially withdrawn due to an unspecified “injury”.He was due to play for Rockets on the Hundred’s opening night against Southern Brave at Trent Bridge, playing three games before being replaced by New Zealand’s Ish Sodhi. Imad Wasim, the Pakistan allrounder, will deputise for the first three games.”I’m really disappointed to have to withdraw from The Hundred through injury,” Rashid said. “It’s been great to play in the competition the first two years, Trent Rockets is a great team, and I hope to be back again next year.”Rashid missed two ODIs for Afghanistan against Sri Lanka earlier this year with a back injury that he conceded was “still to be fully recovered” in a recent interview with ESPNcricinfo. He will instead have a brief opportunity to rest before playing a series against Pakistan heading into the Asia Cup and World Cup.Rashid’s 11th-hour withdrawal compounds the Hundred’s existential crisis, casting further doubt on the competition’s ability to attract the biggest names in world cricket. He was retained by Rockets on a top-bracket £125,000 contract and would have earned a pro-rata salary for his three appearances.The Hundred’s viability has been undermined by the inaugural season of MLC, where overseas players were paid up to $175,000 for a minimum of five matches across two-and-a-half weeks. While the competitions do not clash directly, most of the world’s best T20 players have opted to play in the United States instead of England. Earlier this month, Surrey’s Sunil Narine opted out of a proposed trans-Atlantic dash to take part in the Vitality Blast Finals Day, preferring instead to focus on his MLC contract with LA Knight Riders.Related

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There has been speculation in the media throughout this year that the ECB – under new leadership, with Richard Gould and Richard Thompson joining as chief executive and chairman in the last 12 months – will scrap or significantly alter the Hundred after this season.The ECB insist publicly that the competition will continue as planned, at least until the end of their existing broadcast deal with Sky Sports which runs up to the end of the 2028 season. But the dearth of star names involved this season will lead to further uncomfortable questions over the next month.The tournament is due to run from August 1-27, and will be staged in a standalone window for the first time this summer, not clashing with any England men’s or women’s fixtures.Several England men’s players will rest after the conclusion of the Ashes, while Lauren Bell and Sophia Dunkley will both miss their teams’ first two games as part of their workload management during a busy year.

Murasingh gets five for East; Avesh hits back for Central

Tripura’s right-arm pace bowler Manisankar Murasingh led the way for East Zone with 5 for 42 to help them bundle Central Zone out for 182 on the first evening of their Duleep Trophy quarter-final game in Alur. Central lost 6 for 35 in a middle and lower-order collapse, four wickets out of which went to Murasingh. The fall for Central started when Murasingh had wicketkeeper-batter Upendra Yadav caught for 25 in the 59th over, before removing Saransh Jain without scoring two balls later.All of Central’s top-six batters threw away settled starts with none scoring more than 38. At 86 for 4, Rinku Singh and Upendra got down for some repair work by adding 61. But before the pair could put up anything massive, Murasingh got Upendra to disrupt the opposition’s momentum. Before that, left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed had struck twice to get Rinku, for 38, and Shubham Sharma for 13.However, Avesh Khan ensured that East didn’t walk away without any damage despite Central’s meagre total. Avesh trapped East’s captain Abhimanyu Easwaran lbw with the first ball he bowled, before going on to have Shantanu Mishra lbw for 6 in the tenth over. He bowled six out of the 12 overs and finished with 2 for 13. East, who ended the day at 32 for 2, had sent in Shahbaz Nadeem as nightwatcher after Mishra’s dismissal. Sudeep Kumar Gharami was unbeaten at the other end with three boundaries in his knock.Dhruv Shorey struck 135 on the opening day of North Zone’s Duleep Trophy clash•PTI

Shorey and Sindhu power North

Delhi opening batter Dhruv Shorey hit 135 and held North Zone’s middle order together, as North ended day one of their game against North East Zone at a comfortable 306 for 6 after being at a dicey 162 for 4 at one stage. North were also propelled by Haryana’s teenaged allrounder Nishant Sindhu, who ended unbeaten on 76, as they made an inexperienced North East attack work hard in Bengaluru.Shorey, whose innings came off 211 balls and included 22 fours, was involved in crucial partnerships during his stay. He first added 80 with fellow opening partner Prashant Chopra, before Chopra and No. 3 Ankit Kalsi fell to Pheiroijam Jotin off successive balls. Shorey then added 59 with Prabhsimran Singh for the third wicket and eventually another 80 with Sindhu for the fifth wicket.Kishan Sangha then nipped out Shorey and North captain Jayant Yadav in the space of three deliveries. But Sindhu ensured that his side ended the day without further hiccups, stitching a 64-run unbeaten stand in a little over 20 overs with Pulkit Narang.

Zimbabwe’s 31-run defeat to Scotland means they can no longer qualify for the ODI World Cup in India later this year. That’s because their net run rate has fallen to -0.099, largely due to their heavy defeat against Sri Lanka, when they lost with almost 17 overs to spare.Zimbabwe were on six points with two games to spare, but they failed to get those two points which would have ensured qualification. If Netherlands beat Scotland on Thursday, then all three teams – Zimbabwe, Scotland and Netherlands – will finish on six points.Related

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With Netherlands’ net run rate in the negative but already above Zimbabwe’s, any win for them will only improve that further, thus ensuring that Zimbabwe cannot finish in the top two.Thus, the focus now shifts to the Netherlands-Scotland game, and the result margins for those two teams to qualify. A win for Scotland will obviously take them through, but even if they lose, they could qualify if the margin of defeat is relatively small.If Netherlands score 250, Scotland can afford to lose by up to 31 runs to stay ahead on run rate. A win by 32 or more runs for Netherlands will lift their NRR above Scotland’s. If Scotland bat first and score 250, they will stay ahead on NRR if Netherlands chase it down in around 44.1 overs (depending on how they get their winning runs). If they chase it down any sooner, then Netherlands will trump Scotland’s run rate and take the second qualification spot.

Lewis Hill maintained concentration in energy-sapping heat to score his seventh first-class century as Leicestershire battled for first-innings parity on the third day of their LV= Insurance County Championship match with Gloucestershire at Bristol.The visiting skipper’s 103 occupied nearly five and a half hours and led his side to a total of 350 in reply to 368. Rishi Patel cracked 59 off 70 balls, while Louis Kimber contributed 34 before being given out for obstructing the field.Seamer Zaman Akhter was the most successful Gloucestershire bowler with four for 33 from 17 overs in only his third first-class match. By the close, the hosts had made nine without loss in their second innings and a draw looks by far the most likely outcome tomorrow.A sweltering day began with Leicestershire 23 without loss. Openers Patel and Sol Budinger set about the task of reducing the deficit of 345 in positive manner.Patel looked in prime form, timing the ball sweetly and pulling a six off Tom Price as the pair brought up fifty in the seventh over of the morning.They looked set to build a significantly larger stand when, with the total 66, Budinger, on 21, aimed an ugly cross-batted swing at a wide delivery from Akhter and edged to wicketkeeper James Bracey.Patel struck fours off successive deliveries from Danny Lamb to reach an impressive 56-ball half-century and followed up with a straight six off Zafar Gohar’s first over, the 19th of the innings.It was a surprise when Patel fell in the following over, edging a defensive shot off Akhter to second slip with the score on 85. A watchful Hill took 24 balls to get off the mark, before sweeping two fours off Gohar.Akhter’s initial five-over spell from the Ashley Down Road End finished with figures of two for five, reward for the 24-year-old generating sustained pace and bounce.At lunch, the scoreboard read 132 for two off 37 overs, with Hill unbeaten on 34. The afternoon session was interrupted at just after 2.15pm by a fire alarm, triggered by the effects of the high temperatures, which resulted in the pavilion being evacuated.Among those required to leave the building were the scorers, so play was held up. But after a ten-minute delay, normal service was resumed.Colin Ackermann contributed 21 to a stand of 66 with Hill before cutting at a wide delivery from Akhter and edging to Ben Charlesworth at first slip.Two runs off Tom Price took Hill to a half-century off 108 balls, with six fours, out of a total of 182 for three. Slowly but surely, Leicestershire moved to within striking distance of their opponents’ first-innings total.They lost former Gloucestershire player Peter Handscomb for 25 with the score on 193 when off-spinner Ollie Price squeezed a delivery through his back-foot defence to clip off stump.But by tea Kimber had helped the indefatigable Hill add 40 for the fifth wicket and their team looked comfortably placed at 233 for four.The pair took the score to 258 before Kimber, on 34, departed in unusual fashion, given out after playing a delivery from off-spinner Ollie Price defensively into the ground, up onto his shoulder and then flicking the ball away with a hand.Price immediately appealed for obstruction and umpires Graham Lloyd and Paul Baldwin consulted before quickly sending Kimber on his way.Hill had an anxious moment on 83 when he played a delivery from Tom Price with the second new ball to gully and was called for a suicidal single by Rehan Ahmed, Miles Hammond’s throw to the bowler’s end lacking the necessary accuracy to run him out.It was all the assistance Hill required to move to three figures off 205 balls, with 12 fours. But Akhter wasn’t finished and produced a brute of a short ball, which Ahmed, having breezed to 28 off 32 balls, could only fend to second slip.Hill’s long vigil ended when he gave a return catch to Ollie Price and Gohar quickly sent back Chris Wright and Callum Parkinson. But Tom Scriven’s 30 before falling lbw to Ollie Price (three for 40) ensured a third batting point for Leicestershire.

Big picture – The contrast, and the similarity

Rajasthan Royals and Lucknow Super Giants are different yet same. They head into this top-of-the-table clash with contrasting recent results. Royals’ last outing was a come-from-behind win against Gujarat Titans while Super Giants’ loss against Punjab Kings was only their second since the start of IPL 2022 batting first.And that’s just the start of the contrasts. Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal score runs at 11.20 per over as a pair for Royals – the fastest among openers at IPL 2023. Kyle Mayers and KL Rahul go at 8.43 for Super Giants and are only faster than Kolkata Knight Riders’ Rahmanullah Gurbaz and N Jagadeesan among those who have opened together multiple times this year. Subsequently Royals score 9.76 on average per over in the powerplay – the second quickest – as opposed to Super Giants’ 8.03 – third slowest.In fact, the combined strike rate of the top four Super Giants – Mayers, Rahul, Deepak Hooda and Krunal Pandya – is 126.01, significantly lower than Royals’ 149.21. They are largely driven by Mayers, who tees off against the new ball and strikes at 168. Rahul’s restrained approach and Hooda’s struggles have not helped.On the other hand, each of Royals’ top-order batters has looked to consciously take the aggressive route. Apart from Buttler and Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Devdutt Padikkal, Riyan Parag and R Ashwin have batted in the top four for them.Where the two teams are quite similar is in their finishing prowess – thanks largely to Nicholas Pooran and Shimron Hetmyer. Nos. 5 to 8 for Super Giants score a cumulative 167 per 100 balls while those batters for Royals strike at close to 160.Pooran’s 141 runs this season have come at a strike rate of 216.92 and Super Giants’ heist against Royal Challengers Bangalore was largely thanks to his 62. Hetmyer has been doing something similar for Royals, scoring at a strike rate of 184.84. He trains with the mindset of finishing games from improbable situations and helped them defeat Gujarat Titans in such a scenario to move to the top of the points table.Despite having a different starting method, Super Giants are second on the table behind Royals. Royals’ homecoming at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur – they played their first two home games in Guwahati – could be an exciting clash of contrasts.4:42

How easily do batters buy into specified roles assigned to them?

IPL 2023 form guide

Rajasthan Royals WWWLW (last five matches, most recent first)
Lucknow Super Giants LWWLW

Team news – More bench time for Quinton de Kock?

Mayers has been a major reason behind Super Giants’ quick starts and it could mean Quinton de Kock spends more time on the bench.Buttler’s finger injury saw him being subbed out via the Impact Player rule against Chennai Super Kings but he fielded in Royals’ last outing.

Toss and Impact Player strategy

Rajasthan Royals
Riyan Parag was left out against Super Kings, when Royals opted to go in with an extra bowling option even in their bat-first XI. That aside, they’ve generally subbed out a batter for a bowler (Sandeep Sharma or Kuldeep Sen) in each of the matches and that trend could perhaps continue. But both Padikkal and Parag have had a largely tough time in this competition. Will that force Royals to look at Joe Root, who can chip in with some offspin against a line-up that has enough left-handers?Possible bat-first XI: 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Jos Butter, 3 Sanju Samson (capt & wk), 4 Devdutt Padikkal, 5 Riyan Parag, 6 Shimron Hetmyer, 7 Dhruv Jurel 8 R Ashwin, 9 Adam Zampa 10 Trent Boult, 11 Yuzvendra ChahalPossible field-first XI: 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Jos Butter, 3 Sanju Samson (capt & wk), 4 Riyan Parag, 5 Shimron Hetmyer, 6 Dhruv Jurel 7 R Ashwin, 8 Adam Zampa 9 Trent Boult, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Sandeep SharmaLucknow Super Giants
Ayush Badoni has been Super Giants’ Impact Player, except in the last game, when they opted to bring K Gowtham in for Mayers, who was already dismissed. If they are chasing, they would perhaps sub a bowler out.Possible bat-first XI: 1 KL Rahul (capt), 2 Kyle Mayers, 3 Deepak Hooda, 4 Krunal Pandya, 5 Nicholas Pooran (wk), 6 Marcus Stoinis, 7 Ayush Badoni, 8 K Gowtham, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Avesh Khan, 11 Mark WoodPossible bowl-first XI: 1 KL Rahul (capt), 2 Kyle Mayers, 3 Deepak Hooda, 4 Krunal Pandya, 5 Nicholas Pooran (wk), 6 Marcus Stoinis, 7 K Gowtham, 8 Ravi Bishnoi, 9 Avesh Khan, 10 Mark Wood, 11 Yudhvir Singh/Amit Mishra

Stats that matter

• Super Giants are yet to beat Royals in the IPL. Royals won both of their clashes last season.
• Among batters with at least 50 runs against Boult in the IPL, Rahul has the fourth-best strike rate. The left-arm quick has dismissed Rahul twice though.
• Royals have won 32 of the 47 IPL matches played at Sawai Mansingh Stadium – a win percentage of 68, only bettered by Super Kings at Chepauk.
• Since IPL 2022, Buttler has been dismissed against spin only twice in 17 innings and has the best average among those who have aggregated at least 100 runs against spin.
• Pooran’s average of 16 against Royals is the lowest for him against any opponent in the IPL.

West Indies have called up Obed McCoy for their remaining two T20Is against England. McCoy replaces Matthew Forde in the squad after Forde suffered a thigh strain in training ahead of the third T20I of five.Forde was initially included as cover for the suspended Alzarri Joseph, playing the second match of the series, in Barbados. He was replaced in the XI by Joseph in St Lucia, as West Indies conceded the series after going 3-0 down.McCoy was not available for the start of the T20I series after sustaining an injury during the CPL. He last played for West Indies during their home series against South Africa in August.England secured their first series win in the Caribbean in any format since 2019 with victory at the Daren Sammy Stadium on Thursday, with the remaining two games set to be played at the same ground over the weekend.

Completing a remarkable revival, having been engulfed in turmoil ahead of the tour, Pakistan claimed a rare series triumph in Australia after a comprehensive eight-wicket victory on a bouncy Optus Stadium surface in the third and final ODI.Having lost a heartbreaker in the opener at the MCG, Pakistan rebounded brilliantly with almost flawless performances in Adelaide and Perth to completely overwhelm world champions Australia, who have plenty of question marks ahead of the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025.It was Pakistan’s first series victory in Australia since 2002 and a result made more incredible given white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten quit just a week before the tour amid well-worn Pakistani turmoil.But Pakistan appeared galvanised under Jason Gillespie, their Australian Test coach who is filling the shoes of Kirsten, and were ignited by a rampant four-pronged attack that routed a shorthanded Australia without their Test stars for 140 in just 31.5 overs.There were no infamous wobbles for Pakistan, who romped home in the 27th over.Australia capped a sluggish series with a sloppy performance in the field. Opener Saim Ayub had an early reprieve, while Adam Zampa spilt a sitter at deep square leg to reprieve Abdullah Shafique as Australia faced the humiliating prospect of a first ever 10-wicket ODI loss at home.But Lance Morris, who showcased his trademark pace by hitting speeds in the mid-140 kph, at least saved Australia from an unwanted place in the record books with the wickets of Shafique and Ayub in the 18th over.Lance Morris dismissed the two openers in one over•Getty Images

Interim captain Josh Inglis opted not to use Morris until the 15th over with allrounder Marcus Stoinis surprisingly given the new ball alongside Spencer Johnson.Skipper Mohammed Rizwan and Babar Azam, his predecessor, were nerveless with a flurry of boundaries to complete a match that finished two hours ahead of the scheduled close time.It completed a memorable first series in charge for Rizwan, who had no hesitation to bowl first and his decision was vindicated. Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah claimed three wickets apiece, while in-form Haris Rauf finished with 2 for 24 as his sheer speed once again shook up the batters.Numerous batters succumbed to hostile short balls, while allrounder Cooper Connolly had to retire hurt on 7 after copping a blow to his left hand attempting to pull Mohammad Hasnain. He was taken for scans and did not field in Pakistan’s innings.Pakistan’s attack smartly did not get carried away with the bounce on offer as their quicks bowled unrelenting line and lengths to totally smother Australia, who once again would be disappointed with their shot selections on a surface that was not a minefield. No Australia batter scored a half-century across the series.Pakistan entered in the unfamiliar position of favourites in a country where they have endured so much misery over the years.Their optimism was heightened by Australia making five changes after skipper Pat Cummins, Steven Smith, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Marnus Labuschagne were rested as they start to prepare for the first Test against India.Australia had to rejig their batting-order, but openers Matt Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk remained at the top of the order and desperate to fire having struggled across the opening two games.They appeared intent on backing their ultra-aggressive methods and scored 12 runs in the opening over. But things quickly went downhill with Fraser-McGurk caught at second slip after attempting to drive a good length delivery from Naseem.Josh Inglis gives the team talk on captaincy debut•Getty Images

He failed to move his feet in a dismissal that is common in Perth and his wicket brought to the crease allrounder Aaron Hardie, who was elevated to No. 3 in a role he fulfils with aplomb for Perth Scorchers in the BBL. Even though he was on his home ground, Hardie looked nervous and fell in a moment of indecisiveness and edged to second slip in a reward for Afridi, who conjured beautiful seam movement.The pressure was on Inglis, who was already amid a big day in his captaincy debut having been earlier selected in Australia’s 13-member squad for the Perth Test against India. Inglis has often performed a rescue role for Scorchers in the BBL, but he couldn’t get going and skied a short Naseem delivery to Rizwan.Short managed to get through the early barrage as he set his sights on furthering his bid to become Australia’s permanent ODI opener. But on 22 he picked out square leg to gift a wicket to Rauf, who was feeling giddy at his good fortune.Rauf ramped up his speed and claimed Glenn Maxwell for a duck as Australia stared down the barrel of being routed for under 100. The only momentary concern for Pakistan was Afridi grimacing in agony after being whacked on his left thumb taking a throw at the stumps.But he returned and was faced with a counterattack from Sean Abbott, who top-scored with 30. But Afridi ended Abbott’s resistance and then knocked over Morris to send the large contingent of Pakistan fans in the terraces into raptures and they continued to roar through the afternoon.