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7.45. That’s the Mumbai Indians’ scoring rate in the death overs this season. No team has done as badly in that phase so far this season. Mumbai have never performed as badly in that phase in their history.Personnel isn’t the issue (the same group of batters managed a death-overs scoring rate of 13.19 last season) and form might be, but conditions certainly were during the first five games of Mumbai’s season, all played on the notoriously slow pitches of Chennai.That part of the tournament is now done and dusted, and Mumbai now move to Delhi. They’ll hope the change of scene will help their renowned middle-order hitters turn back into themselves.Their first opponents in this leg of the tournament are the Rajasthan Royals, who, coincidentally, happen to be IPL 2021’s worst death-bowling team so far, conceding 11.51 runs per over in that phase. They too will hope the change of scene will change their fortunes. The overall scoring rate this season in Mumbai, where the Royals played their first five matches, is 8.81, more than a run per over higher than the scoring rates achieved in Chennai and in Ahmedabad so far.How will conditions at the Feroz Shah Kotla pan out, and which team will they benefit, at a stage of the tournament when league positions begin to become less fluid?

Likely XIs

Mumbai Indians: 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Suryakumar Yadav, 4 Ishan Kishan, 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Krunal Pandya, 8 Jayant Yadav/Adam Milne, 9 Rahul Chahar, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Trent Boult.Rajasthan Royals: 1 Jos Buttler, 2 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 3 Sanju Samson (capt & wk), 4 Shivam Dube, 5 David Miller, 6 Rahul Tewatia, 7 Riyan Parag, 8 Chris Morris, 9 Jaydev Unadkat/Shreyas Gopal, 10 Chetan Sakariya, 11 Mustafizur Rahman.

Strategy punt

Mumbai might want to use their two premier fast bowlers in tandem when Sanju Samson comes to the crease. Samson has scored 16 runs off 16 balls against Boult and 46 off 43 against Bumrah in the IPL, and they’ve dismissed him twice each.It’s a widely used ploy to bowl legspin early to Rohit Sharma, but that shouldn’t be the only reason for the Royals to play Shreyas Gopal and use him in the Powerplay. He has an excellent record against Sharma in the IPL – 13 balls, 15 runs, two dismissals – and he’s done even better against Quinton de Kock, conceding just 18 runs in 28 balls while dismissing him once.

Stats that matter

Ireland have recalled George Dockrell and William Porterfield to their ODI squad to play Netherlands next month, with Curtis Campher ruled out of the series through injury.Porterfield last played an international in January 2020 and Dockrell’s most recent ODI cap was in May 2019. Both have won recalls to the 15-man squad after being left out altogether for the 3-0 defeat to Afghanistan and the 1-1 draw with the UAE at the start of this year.Dockrell, who first attracted widespread attention as an 18-year-old left-arm spinner at the 2011 World Cup, has earned his recall after a remarkable run with the bat in domestic cricket, which captain Andy Balbirnie has likened to Steven Smith’s transformation from a legspinning allrounder into one of the world’s top batters.Related

• Ireland eye World Cup Super League as opportunity for ODI growth

• Porterfield, Wilson given Ireland coaching consultancy roles

• Ireland allrounder Curtis Campher to undergo ankle surgery

Generally carded at No. 10 or 11 in his early years as an international cricketer, Dockrell has made 642 runs in 16 one-day innings for Leinster since Ireland’s inter-provincial set-up gained List A status in 2017, averaging 107.00 with a strike rate of 97.86. This season, he has batted at No. 5 for Leinster and in the same position for Ireland’s A team, the Wolves, against Netherlands A this month.Andrew White, the national selector, said: “It has been very pleasing for the selectors to see George being, without doubt, the leading batter in domestic cricket in 2021. During the off season he was challenged to bat more consistently at inter-pro and Wolves level. His natural ability has always been there to see, but the way he has risen to the challenge so far is a great credit to him.”Porterfield – who was recently appointed as a consultant fielding coach for the national team – won a recall despite making 14 runs in three innings in the Wolves series, while Graeme McCarter, whose only ODI cap came in 2014, was the leading wicket-taker in the series with nine at 10.88.”The squad selected not only rewards form, but provides a group of players that offer Graham Ford and Andrew Balbirnie options on any given matchday,” White said. “We have sought to provide continuity with the young players who continue to gain exposure at international level, while still incorporating a number of experienced players whose value around such a squad goes far beyond just their performances on the field.”Graeme has proven time and time again that he bowls with excellent control, and continually hits that line and length that makes batters uncomfortable. His ability to move the ball has led to many of his wickets this season. Given the conditions we will face in Holland may be very similar to those at home, Graeme’s bowling will be a great asset and is reward for the hard work he has put in over a number of years.”Campher, meanwhile, has been ruled out of the series through an ankle injury that requires surgery. David Delany is still rehabbing after suffering a knee injury in Abu Dhabi, while James McCollum, Neil Rock and Shane Getkate were left out and Boyd Rankin and Gary Wilson have recently retired. Peter Chase, Stephen Doheny, Graham Kennedy and David O’Halloran are all reserves and will travel with the squad.The series, which forms part of the World Cup Super League, will be played in Utrecht, with fixtures on June 2, 4 and 7.Ireland squad to play Netherlands: Andy Balbirnie (capt), Mark Adair, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Josh Little, Andrew McBrine, Graeme McCarter, Barry McCarthy, Kevin O’Brien, William Porterfield, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Craig Young
Travelling reserves: Peter Chase, Stephen Doheny, Graham Kennedy, David O’Halloran

England have taken a one-nil lead in the T20I series against Sri Lanka with a comfortable eight-wicket victory in Cardiff achieved with 17 deliveries to spare.A much-changed Sri Lanka side – there were six alterations from their previous T20I in March – never really got to grips with the variation and control of the England attack or a slightly sluggish surface that rendered strokeplay tricky. At one stage they went 10 overs (from 4.2 to 14.1) without hitting a four and there were just three sixes in their innings.Eoin Morgan, the England captain, appeared to have an almost endless array of options and variations on hand in the field. And with Adil Rashid producing the third most economical four-over spell of his T20I career (he conceded 17) and Chris Woakes (three overs for 14) and Liam Livingstone (two overs for nine) adding equally miserly support in conceding just one boundary between them, Sri Lanka never looked to be on course for a competitive total.While Dasun Shanaka, with his second T20I half-century, helped Sri Lanka plunder 25 off the final two overs of the innings to drag his side to something approaching respectability, only one of his colleagues, Kusal Perera, made 20 and Sri Lanka only took their run-rate above a run-a-ball in their penultimate over.That left England chasing a modest 130 for victory. And even without the injured Ben Stokes, that was unlikely to test the side ranked No. 1 in the world in this format.Related

• Eoin Morgan defends rest-and-rotation policy ahead of T20Is against Sri Lanka

• Jofra Archer's absence tests England's seam-bowling bench strength with eye on T20 World Cup

Jos Buttler and Jason Roy, took 61 from the powerplay to all but end the game as a contest. If Buttler, timing the ball beautifully both through and over the off side, was the more pleasing on the eye, Roy was no less effective as he thrashed through the leg side. It was some surprise when he was brilliantly caught attempting to flay one over mid-off.By then, though, the openers had added 80 from 55 balls. And while Dawid Malan (seven off 14) was unable to get into his stride, Buttler brought up a 38-ball half-century by taking 10 off two deliveries from Akila Dananjaya – a pulled six followed by a drive for four – and ensured England cruised over the victory line with quite a bit to spare.Perhaps the one-side nature of the contest was no big surprise: this was the No. 1 ranked T20 side playing at home against the No. 8 ranked side, after all. Spare a thought for Sri Lanka, though. In the age of Covid, we have become accustomed to teams performing without the warm-up matches and acclimatisation we once expected. Here, though, Sri Lanka were up against a side who are in the middle of their domestic T20 tournament – the Vitality Blast – and had only had a couple of inter-squad matches to prepare by comparison. It was hardly ideal and it may well have shown.Buttler’s opening statementButtler came into this game having spent the last couple of weeks batting in Lancashire’s middle-order in T20 cricket. And with the likes of Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes also vying for the opening position in this format, he may have felt he had something to prove. If so, he did a fine job of making his point with an innings that was both controlled and brutal. Early on, it was his shots through the off-side – a lofted drive and a back foot punch, in particular – that caught the eye, but as the ball softened and the sluggish pitch made such strokes less productive, he produced some powerful thumps through the leg side. He gave only one chance, from the final ball of the match, when an outside edge was dropped by Kusal Perera. It was Buttler’s second T20I half-century in succession and his third in four innings. For a man who scores at his rates, that is a remarkable level of consistency. He also scored a century in his final IPL innings.Shanaka’s fightShanaka recorded the second half-century of his T20I career to justify his recall to the Sri Lanka side. Shanaka hadn’t played an international match in this format since March 2020 but here, coming in with his side in some trouble (they were 52 for 4 in the ninth over), he provided the resistance. He looked hurried by Mark Wood initially – he was beaten by his first three deliveries and, after 16 balls, had scored just nine – but, as he settled, he unveiled some powerful strokes and accelerated nicely in hitting 23 from the eight deliveries before his dismissal from the final ball of the innings. Twice in succession, Wood was punished for some width by being cut to the boundary, while he also hit two-thirds of the sixes of the innings: a ferocious drive over long-on off Chris Jordan and a pull off Sam Curran. None of it was enough to take Sri Lanka to victory but he did, at least, give his bowlers something to defend.Like a LivingstoneSome were surprised by England’s decision to prefer Livingstone to Moeen Ali as their spin-bowling allrounder. But Livingstone’s ability to bowl both leg and offspin does give him an edge in being able to adapt to left or right-handed batters. He has been in decent form with the bat in domestic T20 cricket, too, scoring an unbeaten 94 a couple of weeks ago and 45 and 65 in his two most recent games. He didn’t have a chance to bat here but impressed with the ball in delivering two well-controlled overs containing both offbreaks and leggies and without conceding a boundary. It was a performance that provided his captain with a buffer should any of his frontline bowlers have an off day and must have done Livingstone’s T20 World Cup chances no harm at all.Hope in HasarangaSri Lanka’s bowlers weren’t given much of a chance by their batters. But at least Wanindu Hasaranga gave Sri Lanka supporters some cheer with a really well controlled spell of leg-spin that saw him concede just 12 runs and deliver 14 dot balls. With just a little luck he could have had a couple of wickets, too, as England’s batters struggled to predict which deliveries would turn and which would skid on. Malan missed one which slid past his outside edge and Bairstow came within an ace of playing on to another which hurried on to him. The impression was that, given a decent target to defend, he could have caused England quite a lot of trouble.The return of ChrisThe last time Chris Woakes played a T20I, Barack Obama was president of the USA and David Cameron was prime minister in the UK. So a lot has changed since November 2015. But with Jofra Archer missing and Woakes having enjoyed a decent IPL, England recalled him for his first international game since September; a remarkably long time for a player with a central contract who spent much of the winter in the squad’s bio-bubbles. While Woakes didn’t take a wicket, he more than justified his recall in conceding just one boundary in three frugal overs which contained 11 dot balls and cost only 14. With his control, his variations and his experience, he may well have put himself back in contention for a place in the T20 World Cup squad.

New Zealand fast bowler Blair Tickner, their standout performer on the opening day of the second Test in Wellington, suffered a suspected dislocation of his left shoulder and was taken off the field on a stretcher.Tickner had earlier torn through West Indies’ batting with a four-wicket haul, but injured himself in the 67th over while attempting to prevent a boundary at fine leg. Chasing a flick from Tevin Imlach, he dived full-length near the rope and stayed down immediately, prompting concern from his team-mates. The medical staff from the New Zealand camp and the venue attended to him on the boundary edge before he was stretchered off – sitting upright – to warm applause from the Basin Reserve crowd.”He [Tickner] left the field with a left shoulder injury and was transported to hospital shortly afterwards,” NZC said in a release. “Once the medical team and local doctors have done their work with him an update will be fed back.”Related

• Henry, Santner, Nathan Smith ruled out of rest of WI Test series

Playing his first Test since early 2023, Tickner had been drafted into the XI for this match after injuries to Matt Henry and Nathan Smith in Christchurch. His 4 for 32 from 16 overs made him comfortably New Zealand’s best bowler on the day. His injury, however, adds to an already lengthy list of unavailable fast bowlers this series, which includes Ben Sears, Will O’Rourke and Matt Fisher.New Zealand are now facing the prospect of losing a third fast bowler mid-Test this series. They were similarly reduced in Christchurch, which had a knock-on effect and allowed West Indies to bat out for a draw. The setback also dampened the mood at the Basin Reserve among the fans and the New Zealand players, following what had been an upbeat second and third sessions for the hosts.Before being forced off, Tickner trapped Brandon King (33) and Kavem Hodge (0) lbw, used a sharp bouncer to dismiss Shai Hope for 48, and uprooted Roston Chase’s leg stump to put New Zealand firmly in control.Should Tickner be ruled out of the remainder of the match, it would be a major blow to an already inexperienced seam attack of Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes and debutant Michael Rae. Remarkably, New Zealand’s top two wicket-takers in the Test so far are part-timers Glenn Phillips (31 Test wickets) and Kane Williamson (30).This Test is also New Zealand’s first in 13 years where they have fielded a seam-bowling unit with fewer than 50 career Test wickets between them – the last instance coming in Kingston in 2012, the match in which Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Neil Wagner first played together.

Stumps West Indies and Pakistan’s last Test match four years ago was a classic, and if the events at Sabina Park are anything to go by, we may be in for another one. On an attritional day of Test cricket that didn’t swing as much as it just gently swayed, the two teams continue to be neck-and-neck. Simple math would dictate the hosts have the edge, leading as they do by 34 runs with two wickets still to spare, but with Yasir Shah in the fourth innings a historically significant factor, all bets are off.Kraigg Brathwaite (97) dominated the day, surviving almost through to the end after having to settle nerves after the frenetic finish of last night. He saw off each of Pakistan’s pace bowlers, the first new ball, a dangerous middle order collapse, the introduction of Yasir and two full sessions. But then it all changed as West Indies’ most threatening partnership – 95 between the captain and his predecessor was broken.Jason Holder was playing with delightful fluidity as his side pushed past 150 and bore down on Pakistan’s first innings score ominously. Yasir, not nearly at his best, was dispatched to the boundary repeatedly, and soon enough, a backfoot punch off Hasan Ali got Holder to his 11th half century. Eight runs later, though, he was gone, a victim of Faheem Ashraf’s subtle seam movement.Brathwaite, of course, remained and was even eyeing up a personal three-figure score – ideally before having to face the new ball in darkening conditions. It is hard to say if that played a role in his decision to hare back for a couple down to fine leg, taking on Hasan, whose direct hit caught the opener well short of his ground. He had departed three runs shy of what would have been a splendid hundred, with the wicket coming at a time when West Indies had firm control over the Test.Once Brathwaite fell, the visitors had a real opening, but wayward lines with the new ball, particularly from Shaheen Afridi, saw the lower order continue to eke out runs as Joshua Da Silva manipulated the strike intelligently. By the time the umpires began worrying about the light, West Indies already had a decent lead they will be keen to build on tomorrow.In overcast conditions in the morning, Mohammad Abbas had picked up exactly where he left off the previous day and was the pick of the bowlers, peppering the corridor of uncertainty between a good and full length. Roston Chase and Brathwaite had to be especially sure of their footwork, with the seam movement Abbas was generating an additional challenge.Afridi let his high standards dip somewhat, beginning with two leg-side deliveries that trickled away for four leg-byes each. It settled West Indies’ nerves, and once Chase drove Abbas straight down the ground, the runs off the bat became more frequent. Before long, they had brought up a half-century stand.But just as West Indies looked poised to take control, Pakistan struck. Hasan, who had been testing the pair in his first three overs, especially when they got on the front foot, coaxed an expansive front-foot drive from Chase that wasn’t really on. It produced a tickle through to Mohammad Rizwan, with an anguished look from the batter revealing quite how ordinary the shot was.The second session was a dogged, scrappy affair that – one sensational over from Afridi aside – West Indies negotiated with relative conviction. The problem for them, though, was that this time would be defined by four balls from Afridi more than anything any batter could manage.Just after West Indies brought up their hundred, Pakistan broke through with the wicket they had threatened before lunch. Jermaine Blackwood’s punchy counter-attacking knock might have been evocative of Rizwan’s cameo on the first day but it wasn’t nearly as assured, with all four of his boundaries coming off shots he wasn’t in control of. Afridi landed one in the slot for him to go after, but with the ball wobbling in the air, Blackwood only managed to toe-end it to Abbas at long-on. The very next ball, Kyle Mayers was struck full on the pad, and found himself departing for a golden duck.It might have gotten worse for West Indies. Two balls later, the irrepressible Afridi had Holder trapped in front, with the umpire raising the finger. The allrounder would survive by the barest of margins, with the review showing the ball pitching just outside leg stump.Holder understood the magnitude of the moment, and dug in. He did not score until a straight drive off his 12th delivery, and didn’t score again for 22 more balls. He knew the chance would eventually come, and launched into a wayward Yasir over towards the back-end of the session.Brathwaite, meanwhile, was pretty much batting on a different surface. His patience was exemplary, his shot selection immaculate. When Pakistan appeared to be having one of their purple patches, he had the awareness to retreat completely into his shell and place an even greater value on his wicket, and with Holder keeping the scoring ticking over at the other end, West Indies began to take control.The quick departure of both let Pakistan back in, though, and it feels increasingly as if it might all come down to fine margins again. Just as it did in 2017.

A Lewis Hill century and 85 from Louis Kimber guided Leicestershire to a six-wicket Royal London Cup win over Somerset at Taunton.Hill cracked 107 off 106 balls, with seven fours and two sixes, sharing a fifth-wicket stand of 158 with Kimber, whose runs came from just 57 deliveries, to set up victory with more than five overs to spare.Somerset made 326 for 7 after losing the toss, George Bartlett hitting seven sixes in his 108, a maiden List A century, and 17-year-old debutant George Thomas contributing a promising 75. But it didn’t prove enough on a flat batting track in increasingly sunny conditions.The hosts were reduced to 104 for 5 in the 22nd over, despite a fluent 57-ball half-century from opener Steve Davies. A 3100 crowd saw Sam Young, Eddie Byrom, James Hildreth and Lewis Goldsworthy fall cheaply, Ben Mike striking with his first delivery of the match in the eighth over.Davies struck six fours and a six in his 61, but when he was caught behind off Will Davis, Somerset had lost half their wickets for modest reward.Thomas walked out with pressure on his young shoulders. But Bartlett began a recovery, reaching his fifty by hitting offspinner George Rhodes back over his head for six.Local product Thomas struck the ball with increasing authority as the pair brought up a hundred stand in 110 balls. The teenager moved confidently to his half-century off 63 deliveries, with five fours and a six.Bartlett was playing some majestic shots and brought up his hundred off 84 balls. Thomas then clouted successive sixes off Mike before losing his middle stump to the next delivery and departing to a standing ovation.When Bartlett was out in the final over, he had made the highest score by a Somerset No. 6 in List A cricket, beating the 106 made by Ian Botham against Hampshire in 1981.George Bartlett scored his maiden List A hundred•Getty Images

Leicestershire began by moving to 49 in the ninth over before Harry Swindells got a leading edge to Sonny Baker and skied a catch to backward point.Rhodes fell lbw to Josh Davey for a duck and Somerset looked to be taking a grip when Rishi Patel fell to Ned Leonard for 40, a first victim for the young seamer. But Arron Lilley signalled his intentions with three sixes, including two in the same Leonard over, and Hill also looked in good touch.Their entertaining stand of 61 in 6.2 overs ended when Lilley, on 39, clipped a catch to deep square off Baker with the total on 146.Hill went to fifty off 53 balls. He greeted the introduction of Thomas into the attack with a six over midwicket. Kimber helped keep the required run-rate at around six and a half an over and the pair brought up a century stand in 14 overs.A big six over deep square off Marchant de Lange took Kimber to a 46-ball fifty and he celebrated by clearing the ropes twice more in the same over, the 39th, which cost 29 runs.It only remained for Hill to reach a chanceless hundred. Kimber fell to a big shot late on and his partner followed, but the outcome had been settled.

Marnus Labuschagne admits England’s concerns about this summer’s Ashes have merit but he fully expects a resolution will ensure he confronts a full-strength opposition.England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler has made it clear he would likely opt out of touring Australia if his family wasn’t able to be part of the trip, while captain Joe Root noted he is waiting for more information.The issue has been bubbling away in recent months, during which Cricket Australia has been in talks with state and federal governments.Ben Stokes has already taken an indefinite break from the sport, with CA and its English counterpart both worried about the impact of biosecurity bubbles on players’ mental health.Related

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• Australia's twin ambitions of T20 World Cup and Ashes create selection juggling act

• Buttler may miss Ashes tour: 'You have to be open to saying no'

Australia’s strict border policy is unlikely to be drastically eased by the end of this year, while interstate travel also remains clouded by Covid-19.Labuschagne couldn’t recall discussing the issue with Root and veteran paceman Jimmy Anderson, whom he crossed paths with while playing county cricket this year, bhe understood the tourists’ unease.”The welfare of players and making sure families can come out here is important,” Labuschagne told reporters in Brisbane. “You don’t need to be a cricketer to recognise the importance of making sure the mental health of all players is in a good space.”Especially with a T20 World Cup followed by an Ashes, it’s a really long four or five months.”But I have no doubt, between the government and Cricket Australia, we’ll be able to sort it out and get ourselves in a position where we can have a full-strength England against a full-strength Australia.”Injured spearhead Jofra Archer is already a confirmed omission but Labuschagne, steeled for his first home Ashes series, is keen to lock horns with 39-year-old Anderson.”Everyone out here wants to see Jimmy come to Australia,” he said.The future of coach Justin Langer was a topic of intense speculation in recent weeks but disgruntled players have seemingly agreed to move on for now.Labuschagne, who has gone from strength to strength under Langer since being thrust into the 2019 Lord’s Ashes Test as a concussion substitute, said “it’s never nice when it comes out like it has”.”It’s been spoken about, that it comes to a head now. Conversations have been had, we can all move forward,” he said.Labuschagne, speaking at the launch of a community cricket initiative in Brisbane, remained upbeat that Australia’s one-off Test against Afghanistan in Hobart will proceed as planned. It shapes as Australia’s first Test since losing to India in January.”We all want more Test cricket,” he said. “That’s not always possible.”

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Last season, Sunrisers Hyderabad ended Kolkata Knight Riders’ playoff hopes with a win against Mumbai Indians in their last league game. Sunrisers were a better-looking team then, and they claimed their spot in the top four with a strong NRR.This season, they became the first to drop out of contention for the playoffs – two wins from 11 games usually do that; they just didn’t click as a unit, but their bowling has sort of come together in the last couple of games. They came close to winning against table-toppers Chennai Super Kings in their last match. And they do have the chance to spoil Knight Riders’ party, once again.

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Knight Riders have been in this situation in the last couple of seasons as well – and faltered, finishing fifth, on both occasions. They wouldn’t want to complicate it this time, too, and a win here could strengthen their chances.They have a better chance this time too. Among the teams in the middle – five fighting for two spots – they have the best NRR. They will be facing the two bottom-placed teams in their next two games, and they have the likes of Venkatesh Iyer, Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy winning games for them.But they have not been consistent. For one, they have been struggling with their combination in the absence of Andre Russell. Their captain Eoin Morgan has still not found form. They are coming into the match on the back of a loss, to Punjab Kings on Friday. Their focus will be on getting their playing XI right. And it might not be easy to pull that off.

Qualification chances

Mumbai Indians’ defeat on Saturday means Knight Riders are now in control of their own destiny. If they win their last two matches, their tally of 14 points and an excellent net run rate (currently 0.302) will almost certainly ensure qualification.However, if they lose to Sunrisers, they will have to hope that the three other teams who are currently on 10 – Mumbai, Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals – also lose at least one of their two remaining games and finish on no more than 12 points. Then Knight Riders could still qualify with a win in their last game against Royals.

In the news

It is not clear when Russell and Lockie Ferguson, who have been out with injuries, will be fit to play. Knight Riders brought an extra batter in Tim Seifert for the last game, while Tim Southee, who initially replaced Russell in the XI, took Ferguson’s spot on the day. They do have the option to bring in allrounder Shakib Al Hasan, who can not only chip in with his bowling, but can also provide the much-needed batting heft in the middle order. Head coach Brendon McCullum on Friday said that the team sees Shakib mainly as a batter in the top three, though it “doesn’t mean he can’t slot in somewhere else”.Will Shakib Al Hasan get a look in? If he does, who goes out?•BCCI

Likely XIs

Kolkata Knight Riders: 1 Shubman Gill, 2 Venkatesh Iyer, 3 Rahul Tripathi, 4 Nitish Rana, 5 Eoin Morgan (capt), 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Tim Seifert/Shakib Al Hasan, 8 Sunil Narine, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Prasidh Krishna/Sandeep Warrier, 11 Varun ChakravarthySunrisers Hyderabad: 1 Jason Roy, 2 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Priyam Garg, 5 Abhishek Sharma, 6 Jason Holder, 7 Abdul Samad, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Siddarth Kaul, 11 Sandeep Sharma

Strategy punt

Wriddhiman Saha has a great record against Knight Riders in the tournament: he has scored most of his IPL runs against them, strikes at 140 against their bowlers, and made his tournament best of 115* against them in the 2014 final. Barring him, all other Sunrisers batters have scored at less than 110 against Narine. However, Saha has been dismissed by Narine thrice in ten meetings. Knight Riders will want to take advantage of this match up and send Narine to bowl up front to the opener.

Stats that matter

• Iyer has been superb at the top of the order for Knight Riders. The 193 runs he has scored is the third-highest by an uncapped Indian player after five matches in the IPL.
• Shubman Gill’s average of 19.9 is the lowest among batters who have scored a minimum of 200 runs in IPL 2021.
• Dinesh Karthik needs five more to get to 4000 runs in the IPL.
• Knight Riders have won four out of the last five games against Sunrisers.

South Africa’s chase veered, almost stalled, and threatened to careen off a cliff – particularly when Wanindu Hasaranga claimed a T20I hat-trick to go with the ODI one he took on debut. But, in the end, taking the game deep, trusting their finisher, and hoping Sri Lanka’s inexperience would show, ended up working for them.With 14 required off the last five balls, Lahiru Kumara missed his length twice, put two balls in David Miller’s arc, and the batter cleared his front leg, brought that big back lift down, and smoked Kumara waaay over deep midwicket, for two sixes that very nearly cleared the stands. He got a single off the next ball, meaning South Africa were tied, with two balls remaining. Kagiso Rabada, who had fielded brilliantly, then edged the next ball for four, and South Africa were home with a ball to spare.The victory means South Africa stay in the running for a semi-final spot, while Sri Lanka find themselves needing several other results to go their way if they are to be in contention.Earlier, Sri Lanka had stumbled through the middle overs – not for the first time – against spin. Tabraiz Shamsi took 3 for 17, as Sri Lanka slumped from 61 for 1 to 110 for 6, the run rate slowing substantially as those wickets fell. They ended with a total of 142, the last wicket falling off the last delivery. It never really seemed enough, even if their bowlers did well to make it seem a good total.

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Nissanka shows his T20 smarts
It wasn’t necessarily an exemplary T20 knock. But for this very flawed Sri Lanka side, it was good enough. Pathum Nissanka made only 18 from his first 20 deliveries, in the powerplay. But he stuck around, surviving a close lbw chance off Keshav Maharaj through the middle overs, to accelerate later in the innings, hitting three fours and a six off the last nine deliveries he raced to finish with 72 off 58.Shamsi bosses it yet again
The world’s top-ranked T20I bowler showed why he is so highly rated. He gave away only a single run in his first over, which suggested Sri Lanka were looking just to play him out safely. But then he got wickets in each of his remaining three overs, even when batters weren’t trying to be especially aggressive against him. He got two caught-and-bowleds – Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Avishka Fernando coming down the track looking for singles, but failing to get to the pitch, and spooning catches right back at Shamsi. For his third scalp, Shamsi got Hasaranga to hole out to long-on. He finished with the game’s best figures of 3 for 17.Wanindu Hasaranga pegged South Africa back with a hat-trick•ICC via Getty

Hasaranga hat-tricks Sri Lanka back into the game
As if totally unwilling to be done by Shamsi – the only bowler above him on the T20I rankings – Hasaranga got three wickets of his own, all in a row. The first of these was probably the most important wicket. It wasn’t Hasaranga’s best googly, but he deceived the in-form Aiden Markram nonetheless, and knocked back his off stump. That wicket had come off the last ball of the 15th over, and then when he next came back to the bowling crease, in the 18th, Hasaranga got two wickets first up. He had Bavuma caught at deep midwicket off a genuine half-tracker – Bavuma not managing to clear the fielder, or miss him. Next ball, Dwaine Pretorius holed out to long-on, and South Africa seemed in serious trouble, with six wickets down and 31 still needed from 16 balls.The big finish
Miller just bided his time, and waited for Sri Lanka’s weakest death bowler. Rabada had thankfully struck a six off Dushmantha Chameera in the penultimate over, to keep South Africa in touch. Rabada had the strike at the start of the last over too, but he got a single first ball, and when Miller got to the crease, he was just intent on hitting sixes, and Kumara bowled him the two perfect balls to smash. Miller finished with 23 not out off 13.

Pakistan made light work of what might have seemed a tricky target on Monday evening, getting to 203 for the loss of just the openers. As in the first innings, Abid Ali and Abdullah Shafique did the bulk of the work, backing up that 146-run first-innings partnership with a 151-run stand. Abid was unfortunate not to get two hundreds in a Test when Taijul Islam had him trapped in front nine short of the three-figure mark, but by then Pakistan needed just 22 to win, which Babar Azam and Azhar Ali knocked off with ease.Pakistan began the day at 109 for no wicket, but the chase didn’t seem like the cakewalk that score might imply. In the first innings, Pakistan lost nine wickets for 111 runs, so Bangladesh would have been aware early wickets up top could test the middle order. Abid and Shafique, though, ensured they didn’t make the mistakes of day three and refused to let Bangladesh get an early wicket, seeing off the first few overs cautiously before going after them.It was the 39th over, with Taijul bowling to Abid, that Pakistan made their move. The batter skipped down the wicket to whip Bangladesh’s best bowler through midwicket, before dispatching a long hop. He went on to make it three in three with a punch through cover, and Pakistan were on their way.Shafique was quieter but picked up a couple of boundaries to keep the runs ticking over. Just after the 150-run partnership was brought up, he missed a sweep that was set to flick off stump, bringing down the curtain on Pakistan’s opening partnership and a dream debut for the 22-year-old.Abid continued to press on, closing in on his second hundred of the Test. The runs by now were flowing freely, and the jeopardy had been sucked out of the game. But Taijul ensured he’d have the last laugh over Abid once more, capping a superb individual fight by the Bangladesh left-arm orthodox bowler. Bangladesh were exceptionally generous in their send-off to him, much as Pakistan had been with Liton Das. Between two sides that have on occasion seen frosty relationships, this was a game played amid much warmth in the late November sunshine.By now, the target itself was a formality. Taijul had the chance to pick up the prized wicket of Babar if he’d clung on to a sharp return catch, but that was just about the last moment of excitement Bangladesh had in this Test. The badly out-of-form Azhar used this time to try and get some runs under his belt. Before the chase was out, he was even reverse sweeping behind point for four, finishing off with a swipe behind fine leg to complete the victory.Pakistan take a 1-0 lead into the series, and just as importantly, rise up to second in the World Test Championship table in a cycle where they have more than a decent chance of staying around the top two.