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India continued to reap a rich harvest for all the hard work done sowing the crop on day two

The Report by Sidharth Monga26-Nov-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Last July, Virat Kohli had no double-centuries. He now has five. Only Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar are the Indians with more. Kohli waltzed to 213 off only 267 balls to set up a declaration and asked Sri Lanka to survive for nine overs before stumps on day three.But the fatigue of having spent 176.1 overs in the field showed in how Sadeera Samarawickrama flashed at a wide ball and left alone a straight one. At times, teams have to tackle those dreaded days of trying to delay the declaration, and how they go about it can tell a lot about where they are at as a unit. Sri Lanka, unfortunately, were all over the place: bowlers were not accurate, fielders not alert, and plans absent. There was a buffet out there, and all bar KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane tucked in.Kohli took the record for the most centuries for an Indian captain. Rohit Sharma ended his 13-month wait for first-class cricket and a four-year wait for a Test century in the course of a mere 160 balls. The declaration came as soon as Rohit reached the mark, making it only the third time India have had four centurions in one Test innings.The start of the day was indicative of how the rest of it would go. Cheteshwar Pujara, 121 at the time, played out a watchful maiden – he took 23 balls to add to his overnight score – and Kohli started off with a single to long-on off his first ball. By the fourth over, it was clear Sri Lanka – understandably – were not there a 100% and that Kohli was, in his hyper-active T20 mode no less.Kohli pushed one to long-on, Suranga Lakmal lobbed the throw to Rangana Herath, he was slow to come down, and Kohli stole a second with the ball wandering only as far as point. Fielders were under extreme pressure. Later, Herath had his pride hurt when Kohli pinched a single after hitting a firm drive straight to him at mid-off. Flustered, Herath threw anyway and conceded an overthrow. If Lakmal had reason to be upset, he didn’t help matters when he forgot to make an effort to collect a throw the last ball of that over. Towards the end of the session, Niroshan Dickwella was busy applauding the wide slip for getting a hand to a late cut when Kohli raced across for a single.Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have a chat between overs•BCCI

Pujara continued to play the old-fashioned way. Despite the slow start he didn’t look for a big shot to get going, clipping to leg for his first single of the morning. Kohli was more fluent as he kept driving either side of the wicket from wide outside off.The seamers tried going round the wicket and Herath tried going over the wicket, but there was hardly a moment of concern for India. While Pujara and Kohli batted together on day three, the bat was beaten only five times, one of them a Dasun Shanaka yorker about seven minutes before lunch and Pujara fell seven short of 150, the ball squeezing under the bat which had covered the line and but hadn’t come down in time. It was a reminder that even when things seem easy for long periods, there are still ways to get out.A minor disappointment for India was that Rahane fell for just 2, to a loose ball from Dilruwan Perera, which was small consolation for the offspinner who has had an ordinary Test. There was nowhere to hide for him as he had to keep coming back for spell after spell, going for 202 in 45 overs despite an improved showing on Sunday.Kohli and Rohit presented a milder version of their legendary one-day stands as they matched each other shot for shot in a 173-run stand for the fifth wicket. If Kohli welcomed Lakmal back by dancing down and hitting him over mid-off, Rohit dropped Dilruwan over mid-on. Kohli unleashed a six over long-on, bringing up his and Dilrwuan’s 150. So Rohit raised two lofted boundaries off Herath. Rohit’s 11-ball wait to go from 49 to 50 just before tea brought his strike-rate under 50, but Kohli, more used to these landmarks in Tests, saw no reason to slow down even as he approached his double-hundred in the final session.Kohli fell for 213, but he gave Rohit all the time he needed to get to a hundred that might be important for his confidence going into the South Africa tour, where he might be asked to bat more often than he has at home. It is up for debate whether it is disrespectful to the opposition to wait for one man’s personal milestone, but it wasn’t as if India were going to run out of time or good weather to run Sri Lanka out a second time. It was apparent in Samarawickrama’s two-ball innings and Sri Lanka’s uncertain bid for survival in the remaining overs.

Sri Lanka Cricket, who had already named a T20 squad ahead of the ODI series against India, have now announced a new 15 two days ahead of the one-off game

Andrew Fidel Fernando04-Sep-2017

Although Sri Lanka Cricket had already named a T20 squad ahead of the ODI series, two days out from the one-off match against India, the board has released a new squad, this one featuring legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay and seam-bowling allrounder Dasun Shanaka.Sri Lanka’s revised T20 squad

Upul Tharanga (capt), Angelo Mathews, Niroshan Dickwella, Dilshan Munaweera, Dasun Shanaka, Milinda Siriwardana, Wanindu Hasaranga, Akila Dananjaya, Jeffrey Vandersay, Isuru Udana, Seekkuge Prasanna, Thisara Perera, Lasith Malinga, Suranga Lakmal, Vikum Sanjaya

Also in this side are spinner Akila Dananjaya, who was Sri Lanka’s most penetrative bowler in the ODIs, seamer Suranga Lakmal, who has recovered from a back complaint, and allrounders Wanindu Hasaranga, Thisara Perera and Milinda Siriwardana. Seam bowler Isuru Udana has also been named, while Dushmantha Chameera and Vishwa Fernando have been omitted.Kusal Mendis, whom the management feels is suffering from mental fatigue, has been rested as well.Vandersay has not played a T20 for Sri Lanka since the World T20 last year, which is perhaps surprising, as he had been one of the team’s standout players in that tournament. His return was complicated by injury, but the selectors have tried other spinners ahead of him as well. Notably absent from this 15 is left-arm wristspinner Lakshan Sandakan – a more aggressive but expensive option.*On the seam-bowling front Sri Lanka have Lasith Malinga, in addition to Lakmal and Vikum Sanjaya. The most senior batsman is Angelo Mathews, and this will also be Upul Tharanga’s first match as full-time T20 captain.T20s are the one format in which Sri Lanka have a creditable record in 2017. They won both the three-match series against Australia and South Africa, and drew the two-match series against Bangladesh to keep a 5-3 win-loss record. The victories over Australia and South Africa, however, were against substantially depleted teams.The match is scheduled to be played at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on September 6.*The story had earlier stated Seekkuge Prasanna had been ommittted. However, he is in the squad.

نجح فريق الكرة الأول بنادي الزمالك في إحراز الهدف الأول بشباك منافسه المصري، بالمباراة الجارية بينهما الآن ضمن منافسات الكونفدرالية.

ويواجه الزمالك نظيره المصري، على ملعب استاد برج العرب بالإسكندرية، في الجولة الثالثة من دور المجموعات لبطولة الكونفدرالية الإفريقية.

ويقود فريق نادي الزمالك الليلة جهاز فني مؤقت بقيادة أحمد مجدي، بعد رحيل جوزيه جوميز لتولي مهمة الفتح السعودي.

هيثم فاروق: الزمالك أحبط مخطط علي ماهر.. ومصطفى غربال غير مريح

وسجل هدف اللقاء الأول أحمد مصطفى زيزو في الدقيقة 63 من عمر اللقاء، بتسديدة من على حدود منطقة الجزاء.

ويتواجد فريقا الزمالك والمصري، في المجموعة الرابعة ببطولة الكونفدرالية، التي تضم إلى جوارهما إنيمبا النيجيري وبلاك بولز مابوتو الموزمبيقي.

ويحتل الزمالك صدارة المجموعة برصيد 4 نقاط متساويًا مع المصري صاحب الوصافة ولكن يتفوق الأبيض بفارق الأهداف.

ترتيب المجموعة الرابعة في الكونفدرالية بعد فوز الزمالك على المصري

وكان الزمالك قد حقق الفوز في مستهل مشواره في بطولة كأس الكونفدرالية، على بلاك بولز 2-0، وتعادل مع إنيمبا في الجولة الثانية 2-2.

على الجانب الآخر، حقق فريق المصري الفوز على إنيمبا 2-0 في الجولة الأولى، بينما تعادل 1-1 مع بلاك بولز في الجولة الثانية. هدف الزمالك الأول أمام المصري في الكونفدرالية

Jack Taylor, the Gloucestershire allrounder, has been banned from bowling for a third time after being reported for a suspect action

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Oct-2017

Jack Taylor, the Gloucestershire allrounder, has been banned from bowling for a third time after being reported for a suspect action. As per the ECB’s regulations, he will not to be able to bowl his offspin for 12 months from September 26, 2017.Taylor, 25, was suspended from bowling last season but was allowed to resume a couple of months later after remodelling his action.Having been called again, he underwent testing at Loughborough on September 26 and his arm was found to exceed the permitted 15-degree limit for flexion and extension. As this was his second suspension within a two-year period, he receives an automatic 12-month ban, after which he can request to have his action retested.In recent seasons, Taylor has become a valuable lower-order batsman for Gloucestershire. This year, he scored two Championship hundreds and averaged nearly 40, while contributing 302 runs at 43.14 in the Royal London Cup; with the ball, he took 19 wickets in all competitions.His first-class batting average has risen to 32.44, with six hundreds, to go with 75 first-class wickets at 43.86. Taylor’s value as an allrounder was more apparent in white-ball cricket and he was Man of the Match in the final of the 2015 Royal London Cup as Gloucestershire won their first trophy in a decade.Taylor was previously banned in 2013 for an illegal action before being passed to bowl again after remedial work in February 2014.

The India Under-19 head coach pointed out that while India’s rookies beat Australia in the final four years ago, more of the Australians from that title-bout have gone on to play senior international cricket

Annesha Ghosh in Mumbai05-Feb-2018

India’s Under-19 bunch might have got themselves the perfect result at the World Cup, but for head coach Rahul Dravid, their pursuit of excellence begins now. The onus to groom the youngsters for the rigours of higher-level cricket, according to Dravid, will rest as much on the players themselves as on the management going forward.”The challenges and the hard work start from here,” Dravid said in Mumbai after the team arrived in India, trophy in tow. “The hard work begins for them and for us as well, as to how we manage these boys over the next few years. Even if not a lot of them go on to play for India, it can happen… it’s not easy to get into the Indian side. It depends on the number of players who are performing – that makes it difficult to break in at times. If they go on to have successful first-class careers, then from thereon it becomes a stepping stone for international cricket.”Drawing an example from the title-winning batch of 2012, when India defeated Australia in Australia under the leadership of Unmukt Chand, Dravid pointed out that winning the World Cup alone will not be sufficient for the juniors to catapult themselves overnight into the national reckoning. He cited the instance of how only one player – medium-pacer Sandeep Sharma – went on to don national colours for the senior side, albeit only in two T20Is, whereas six of the members from the runners-up squad – Travis Head, Cameron Bancroft, Ashton Turner, Joel Paris, Ashton Agar and Gurinder Sandhu – represented Australia’s senior team subsequently.”It was quite interesting for me… during the World Cup they showed re-runs of some of the earlier finals, including that of the 2012 final, ” Dravid said. “In fact, I was watching that re-run, and I went back and started checking a few things.”It was interesting because the 2012 final featured India and Australia; the result of the final will tell you that India beat Australia. Six years down the line, while only one of those boys played a couple of one-day [T20I] games for India, four-five Australians have gone on to play for Australia. So, more of their guys have gone on to play first-class cricket. The debatable point is actually who won that final, if you look back six years later. So I think those are interesting chats and conversations to be had.”While acknowledging the limelight the World Cup triumph has brought on these cricketers needs to be savoured and not shunned in an attempt to being overly protective of budding careers, Dravid said it’s imperative that the players internalise the lessons that come with the experience.”The fact that they came to the [Mumbai] airport and saw the excitement, the noise and the people around them, I think that’s another experience [to remember]. Coming up and fronting up to you guys [the media] is another experience for them. So I’m glad they’ve had these opportunities to have these extra experiences because they won. So from my point of view that’s the plus point.”Being known players, it’s not going to be that easy for them, at least for a short period of time [while] playing domestic cricket… you know somebody talking about this performance, highlighting this performance, the expectation that comes with this. I think it’s a good learning [experience] and a challenge.”

The Supreme Court of India has asked the BCCI treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry to respond to a complaint made by the board’s CFO that Chaudhry gave him threats on more than one occasion

Sidharth Monga in Delhi29-Nov-2017

Proceedings at the Supreme Court’s hearings into the BCCI’s new constitution took a bizarre sidestep on Wednesday after the board treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry was asked by the court to respond to a complaint that he issued “death” and “job” threats to a board official on three occasions.’Take potassium cyanide’ – threats in Rangnekar’s own words

Threat 1: 21 Jan 2017, BCCI Cricket Centre, Mumbai
“HT (honorary treasurer) called me inside the conference room. He told me to switch off my cell phone. Checked whether any camera is there in the conference room. Then said that FIR will be filed on CEO and CFO (myself) for misappropriation of funds i.e. because we used UBI account to run BCCI’s operations for the period 2 Jan to 20 Jan 2017. Then further said that this FIR will be finally turned as fake/untrue or court will reject the same but till that time for next 2 years at least our life (professional and personal) will be totally finished. On that I just said that CEO and CFO (myself) have acted on the basis of written instructions from SC/Lodha/Amicus Curie. HT said if I would have been in Haryana, by now I would have been evaporated. No one knew whether I was there in this world ever. (Death Threat)”
Threat 2: 6 Oct 2017, ITC Maurya, Delhi
“HT said that I should take Potassium Cyanide instead of Solvine (a tab for throat infection which was recommended by GV [Gaurav Virmani, Chaudhry’s assistant]). HT made this comment with a smile – Death Threat”
Threat 3: Later on 6 Oct 2017, ITC Maurya, Delhi
“HT said he will finish me soon. “. Do one mistake and (It is my time now. Make one mistake and I will finish you two. Be careful) (Death and Job Threat)”

The complaint was made in writing – according to the amicus curiae Gopal Subramanium – by the BCCI’s chief financial officer (CFO) Santosh Rangnekar who said that the alleged threats were made on January 21 and twice on October 6, 2017. The email seen by ESPNcricinfo suggests that Chaudhry allegedly singled out Rangnekar and sought to intimidate him by questioning every act of his as the CFO.Subramanium read out the allegations from Rangnekar’s complaint and said, “No treasurer – whatever his ancestry [Chaudhry’s father is a former BCCI president and grandfather a former union defence minister and Haryana chief minister] – can threaten the CFO.”The letter, Subramanium said, was sent to him by the solicitor of the court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA). “No office bearer has any authority to administer threats to the CFO,” Subramanium added. “To say that he will be liquidated.”One of the threats, according to Subramanium, was: “If you were in Haryana, you’d be evaporated by now.” The second, on October 6, took place at the ITC Maurya hotel in Delhi: “I will finish you. One more mistake, and you are over.” A third alleged threat was that when Rangnekar asked Chaudhry’s assistant to remind him of the name of the cough medicine he had earlier suggested, Chaudhry advised Rangnekar to take potassium cyanide instead.Chaudhry, who was also present at the hearing, told reporters that no such thing happened. “I am too shocked to react to these blatant lies. This is the first time, sitting in the court, that I have heard about this. As directed by the court, I will file my reply.”Asked to expand on what might have been the context of the alleged conversations, Chaudhry expressed ignorance. He was yet to read the written complaint that was presented in the court. However, he did go on to suggest that he had been singled out because he has not always been in agreement with the way things have functioned in the BCCI since the court asked the CoA to take over and oversee the implementation of the reforms suggested by the Lodha Committee.”I have been expressing my views on issues, including some financial matters, which probably have not been palatable to them and has resulted in this.”Chaudhry’s counsel said he was also not made aware of this complaint before the hearing. They have been given two weeks to respond.The actual matter at hand – the new BCCI constitution – was put off until the second week of January where the matter of the threats will also be taken up. The court was informed that the CoA has prepared a chart with the BCCI’s objections to the draft constitution and suggestions. Subramanium also requested the court to continue barring from the board’s Special General Meeting (SGM) those board officials who were disqualified and had attended the earlier SGM. “When your lordship has passed the order for one SGM, it has to apply to all SGMs.” An order regarding that is awaited.During the last hearing, on October 30, the court had said it was not going to hear any further arguments. Then, the matter for November 29 was listed under “final disposal at admission stage”, which raised hopes that this long-running case might finally reach a conclusion.

Darren Sammy’s scorching last-over burst, followed by Mohammad Sami’s four-wicket haul, broke Comilla Victorians’ five-match winning streak, as they lost to Rajshahi Kings by 30 runs in Chittagong

The Report by Mohammad Isam25-Nov-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsBCB

Darren Sammy’s scorching last-over burst, followed by Mohammad Sami’s four-wicket haul, broke Comilla Victorians’ five-match winning streak, as they lost to Rajshahi Kings by 30 runs in Chittagong.Rajshahi had seemed to be ambling towards a middling score, but blitzed 72 runs off 22 balls following Sammy’s arrival. They ended up with 185 for 7, with Sammy unbeaten on 47 off 14 balls. His strike-rate of 335.71 is the highest for a batsman to have struck more than 40 runs in a BPL innings.Sammy tonked six sixes in total, four of which came in the last over that went for 32 runs. Mohammad Saifuddin, who had the misfortune of sending down that over, now holds the unenviable record of conceding the most runs in an over in BPL history.Comilla recovered well from that late onslaught and were going well in the chase, with Tamim Iqbal and Shoaib Malik putting together an 87-run stand. But once Sami dismissed Tamim, the rest simply caved. It was similar to their bowling effort that came apart after a very good start.Comilla hit back after early blowsEach of Rajshahi’s top four fell after getting their eye in. Dwayne Smith, who had got going with four punchy boundaries, was first to fall when he inside-edged Saifuddin onto the stumps after reaching out for an expansive drive. In the next over, Mominul Haque, who had raced away to a brisk start with five crisply-struck fours, paid the price for a moment’s hesitation. Mominul pushed the legspinner Rashid Khan behind point and Luke Wright called for a single straight away. Mominul, though, wasn’t as convinced and was felled by a direct hit at the non-striker’s end. Zakir Hasan found the bounce of an Al-Amin Hossain bouncer disconcerting and top-edged a pull that was snaffled by the bowler, before Imrul Kayes’ terrific catch at long-on ended Mushfiqur Rahim’s stay. From 43 for no loss, Rajshahi lost four wickets by the time they could double that score.Wright keeps Rajshahi tickingThe gift of timing completely abandoned Luke Wright, who struggled for large parts of his 42. But to his credit, he gritted it out. After scratching around for 20 balls for his first 14 runs, Wright showed the first signs of acceleration by collecting 16 runs off his next six balls. That included two sublime fours through midwicket off successive deliveries against Al-Amin. He added 37 runs for the fifth wicket with James Franklin in quick time, before the latter fell leg-before to a Hasan Ali yorker. Wright fell in the following over, when his scoop found short fine leg. He fell eight short of a fifty but had kept Rajshahi intact till the 18th over before Sammy took over.Sammy lays a brutal finishing touchWhen Tamim Iqbal threw Saifuddin the ball for the final over, it was in the hope that he could finish off a job well-started. Saifuddin had figures of 3-0-18-3, but nothing could have prepared him for the onslaught he suffered at the hands of Sammy. His first delivery to Sammy was a fuller ball that came into him, and all Sammy had to do was help it on its way to deep backward square leg. The rest of the over was a generous mix of fuller deliveries, or worse still, full tosses that were shoveled with brute force. Saifuddin set out on a search for the wide yorker and instead fed to Sammy’s swinging arc and offered him ample room. To make matters worse, Saifuddin sent down two wides, extending Sammy’s party to an eight-ball over. Just last month, Saifuddin had suffered a similar shellacking at the hands of David Miller, who took him apart for five successive sixes in one over, in a T20 international against South Africa.Comilla shrug off early stutterFakhar Zaman’s BPL debut lasted just five balls as he chopped Sami onto his stumps, and Imrul Kayes fell to a harsh lbw decision, with replays suggesting the ball would have missed leg – as Comilla lost two wickets in the first two overs of their chase.Tamim and Malik then resurrected Comilla’s chase with an 87-run stand for the third wicket. It was broken when Malik’s stroke-filled 45 ended tamely. One ball after a stunning four that split short third man and backward point, Malik chipped a simple return catch to Dwayne Smith, leaving Comilla with 95 to get in 52 balls.Sami’s 3-in-1Comilla did not feel the pinch of Malik’s dismissal as much as Buttler picked up from where Malik left. With Tamim, he struck 34 runs in three overs to keep Comilla’s prospects alive. Tamim launched Hossain Ali over extra cover to bring up his fifty and the 4000th run of his T20 career while Buttler used his favoured reverse sweep to good effect.Sami then got Tamim to skew an inside-out shot to deep point in the 15th over to open the gates. Alok Kapali perished two balls later when he swung across the line and lost his stumps. Sami then ended the over by having Saifuddin hole out to deep point. He gave away just one run in his last over to finish with 4 for 9 in four overs. His effort left Comilla with 32 to get from the last over, which was precisely how much Sammy hit in Rajshahi’s last over.What they said”Darren Sammy doing that made a huge difference. I think if we just got 150, we would have probably lost. And then Mohammad Sami with the ball was amazing, but I think Sammy put massive pressure on them, which helped take those wickets in the end.”

Full coverage of the death of Martin Crowe

17-Mar-2016March 11
News – Martin Crowe farewelled in Auckland
March 7
Ed Smith – The torture makes the genius?
Inbox – The regal genius of Martin Crowe
March 5
Tribute – ‘Family man, genius, and NZ’s finest ever’
March 4
Mark Nicholas – Marty goes to rest
March 3
News – Martin Crowe dies aged 53
Obituary – Martin the invincible
Timeline – The many colours of Crowe
Reactions – ‘The best I ever bowled against’ – Akram
The best of Crowe on ESPNcricinfo – A collection of Crowe’s columns on the site
Fan Memories – A fantasy come true
Stats analysis – The best Test batsman between 1985 and 1991
Andy Zaltzman – Magnificent Marty and jaunty Jack

تعادل جودوين شيكا لاعب طلائع الجيش، لفريقه بتسجيله الهدف الثاني أمام الزمالك، خلال اللقاء الذي يقام بين الفريقين الآن، ضمن منافسات بطولة الدوري المصري الممتاز.

ويلاقي فريق الزمالك نظيره طلائع الجيش، على ملعب الكلية الحربية، في إطار مواجهات الجولة السادسة من عمر مباريات الدوري المصري.

وسجل جودوين شيكا هدفه الشخصي الثاني ولفريقه في المباراة، في الدقيقة 55 من زمن أحداث المباراة.

طالع | مباشر بالفيديو.. أحداث مباراة الزمالك وطلائع الجيش

وجاء هدف شيكا بتسديدة مباشرة داخل الشباك من داخل منطقة الجزاء بعد متابعة لكرة مرتدة من العارضة عقب تسديدة مباشرة من زميله إسلام محارب، من العرضية المرسلة من الجانب الأيسر. هدف طلائع الجيش الثاني أمام الزمالك.. جودوين شيكا

وكان طلائع الجيش تقدم عن طريق لاعبه جودوين شيكا في الدقيقة 35 من عمر الشوط الأول للمباراة.

وتعادل محمد شحاتة لاعب الزمالك، وسجل الهدف الأول لفريقه، في الدقيقة 43 من الشوط الأول، قبل أن يسجل حسام أشرف الهدف الثاني للزمالك في الدقيقة الأخيرة من عمر الشوط الأول.

Ashleigh Gardner took flight with the bat before Sarah Aley ushered a staggering collapse with the ball as Sydney Sixers set up a final clash with Perth Scorchers again

The Report by Daniel Brettig02-Feb-2018Ashleigh Gardner goes on her toes during her vital half-century•Getty Images

Ashleigh Gardner took flight with the bat before Sarah Aley ushered a staggering collapse with the ball as Sydney Sixers advanced to their third consecutive Women’s Big Bash League final with a 17-run win over Adelaide Strikers. The defending champions’ win gained them the chance to vie for a second title in three editions of the tournament.While the Strikers began tightly with the ball and were kept in the contest until late by Tammy Beaumont, Gardner’s 45-ball 72 and then Aley’s burst of 4 for 1, amid the Strikers’ loss of six wickets for a mere three runs, were obstacles too great for the home side to overcome. The leading team of the qualifying rounds has thus made the final, and will take on Perth Scorchers after they dumped Sydney Thunder from the tournament on Thursday.The Schutt shieldAs befits her consistent place taking the new ball for Australia, Megan Schutt made life difficult for the Sixers after Ellyse Perry chose to bat on a sunny Adelaide afternoon. Across the tournament, Schutt had bowled her overs at a cost of a mere 5.85 runs per over until the semi-final, and she raised her game to more miserly levels this time around.At the other end, Sophie Devine was also effective, and gained the first wicket of the match in the form of the Sixers and Australia wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy. After four overs, the Sixers were a decidedly wobbly 1 for 9, with the clamps seeming to have been placed well and truly on their innings by Schutt in particular. The Sixers needed a way to supercharge the innings – fortunately they had just the power player for the task.Gardner goes bangEarly in the season, Gardner had played a pivotal role in securing a nervy chase for Australia in the opening Ashes ODI at Allan Border Field with a vital burst of hitting opposite Alex Blackwell. In Adelaide, she had the task of batting for longer and setting up the Sixers’ tally after their early struggles, and did so in a fashion that remained true to her heavy-hitting ways. While Perry played a sensible supporting hand, rotating the strike and finding gaps, Gardner set about clumping the Sixers’ scoring rate into healthy territory.Schutt, Devine, Suzie Bates and Amanda-Jade Wellington were all hoisted for at least one Gardner six, several of which carried the men’s boundary as well as the women’s. The most intriguing battle was between Gardner and Wellington, who spun her legbreaks teasingly, and came close to ending Gardner’s innings on 46 when a high ball swirled over Bridget Patterson on the midwicket boundary but burst through her hands while carrying for the six that took Gardner over 50. Wellington would eventually deceive and dismiss Gardner, stumped off a wide, but by then the allrounder had carved out 72 and ensured a decent Sixers total.Aley’s avalancheSliding the ball on with enough pace to punish any misjudgements, Aley has long been one of the more challenging customers in the WBBL. She does not generally need the help she got when coming on to bowl in the fourth over of the Strikers’ chase, with Devine and Bates seemingly traveling well in pursuit. Aley’s first ball was a little short, and hurried onto Bates just enough to have the New Zealand captain pulling straight into the hands of midwicket. Very next ball, Tahlia McGrath sized up another delivery that dropped short and also wide of the stumps. Her attempt to cut was airborne, and straight at Sarah Coyte, who celebrated enthusiastically with her team-mates at putting Aley onto a hat-trick.While the rest of the over was safely negotiated by Beaumont, the collapse would be maintained in Aley’s next over, when she snared a couple of wickets in more typical fashion – Wellington and Tabitha Saville both pinned lbw by balls delivered stump to stump. Patterson and Devine fell in the same period at the other end, meaning the Strikers lost 6 for 3, of which Aley’s haul was a remarkable, and decisive, 4 for 1.Making them work for itAt 6 for 23, the Strikers were every chance of folding in the manner of the Scorchers’ men’s team on Thursday night, but Beaumont was able to stem the bleeding for a time with ardent help from Schutt. Though they let the required run rate balloon into two-runs-a-ball territory, the pair importantly guided the Strikers past 70, and so when Schutt fell lbw to Erin Burns, the game was not quite done for.Beaumont made it to a meritorious 50 and cut the equation to 44 from 22 balls. But she was to be dismissed the next ball after reaching her milestone, lbw trying to reverse sweep Coyte, and from there the match petered out, albeit rather later than it had earlier seemed likely to. The Strikers’ streak is over, ended by a pair of explosive passages of play from the most consistent force in the league.