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We had to target all the bowlers – Dhawan

Australia overcame India and their own considerable self-doubts to claim a white-knuckle Twenty20 encounter at the Gabba, having granted India a late sight of victory in a rain shortened affair. Marcus Stoinis successfully defended 13 off the final over, after at one point India had required 70 from 32 balls.Chris Lynn and Aaron Finch, the captain, had given Australia a fair platform, but it was Glenn Maxwell and Stoinis who provided the heft to an innings reduced by three overs due to a rain delay of more than an hour. Kuldeep Yadav bowled artfully for India, though his spin partner Krunal Pandya was taken for 55 damaging runs.Shikhar Dhawan kept India in touch for the bulk of their pursuit, while the hosts fared far better against Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli – they managed just 24 off 28 balls between them. Left with an enormous salvage job, Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant hammered out a stand of 51 from 23 balls to have every Australian at the ground biting what was left of their fingernails. However, Stoinis was able to keep composed, much as he had done in Adelaide for Australia’s previous home win of the season, to take his side to a scrappy win.Skipper versus skipper, Short versus Khaleel
Perhaps unsure about the surface, certainly unsure of themselves given a dismal 2018, Finch and D’Arcy Short began conservatively against the disciplined lines of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah; the first boundary did not arrive until the final ball of the third over. From the first of the fourth, India may have gained their reward for discipline: Finch aimed to punch Bumrah through cover, but crunched it straight at his opposite number Kohli. The chance burst through raised fingers and into his cap, demonstrating a well-struck shot but a catch that Kohli would have backed himself to claim.Short, nursing a run of five scores no better than 10, seemed to be making absolutely sure of himself before starting to swing freely. But his intent to get established helped contribute to a sluggish start overall. Undoubtedly, he was feeling a measure of pressure by the time Khaleel Ahmed came on for the fifth over. So when the first ball arrived somewhere in the region of a hittable length, Short did swing for the straight boundary, but contact with the toe of the bat brought a skier and a fine, composed catch by Kuldeep Yadav, and a sixth consecutive tally in the decidedly underwhelming zone.Kuldeep trouble and Maxwellball
Australia have struggled against Kuldeep, not least in a pivotal Test match in Dharamsala in 2017. This time, he came on just as Lynn, his IPL mate at Kolkata Knight Riders, was looking to accelerate in the company of Finch, who only managed to draw a wild swing and an edge skewed to backward point. While Lynn had managed to connect with a handful of blows familiar to Gabba spectators who watch him regularly for the Brisbane Heat, he was less decisive against Kuldeep, prodding forward to offer a return catch.These wickets left Australia’s innings in a state of some distress, but Maxwell was able to retrieve things in a judicious partnership with Stoinis. They were to take a particular toll on the slow left-arm of Pandya, who was deposited for three consecutive sixes by Maxwell in his third over, and another two – this time one each for Maxwell and Stoinis – in his fourth.Helped by one Maxwell miscue that became a dead ball after hitting the camera suspended above the pitch by the broadcasters Fox Sports, the middle-order pair had well and truly pushed momentum back towards Australia when an hour of tropical rain all but ended the hosts’ innings. They returned for five balls, losing Maxwell and cobbling just another five runs, to leave India chasing a revised target of 174 from 17 overs.Getty Images

Dhawan’s opening salvo
Deemed surplus to India’s Test match requirements in Australia, Dhawan was still at the spearpoint of India’s tour as an opener alongside Rohit Sharma in Brisbane. He was quickly into stride, too, delighting in the pace and bounce on offer after a couple of early plays and misses at Behrendorff’s left-arm away swing. The purity and correctness of many of Dhawan’s strokes, particularly his use of the pull shot to often devastating effect, made for a sharp contrast with several of the Australians, and underlined the quality in the Indian system that allowed for him to be omitted from the Test squad.This is not to say that Dhawan’s innings was faultless: he was dropped twice, a return chance to Zampa on 65 and then a hook shot spilled down at fine leg by the sub-fielder Nathan Coulter-Nile at 76. Such fortune afforded the opportunity for Dhawan to guide India home, but instead he was wandering off with 70 runs still required from 32 balls – a steep ask.Zampa stakes claim, Finch miscalculates
Not a regular in the white-ball side in recent times, Zampa was included at the expense of Coulter-Nile with the hope that he could extract some bounce and zip off the Gabba pitch. Quickly dropping onto a length, he was soon drawing false strokes, and in his second over won a stumping verdict against KL Rahul that had only a millimetre in it. If Indian supporters were rejoicing at the wicket bringing Kohli to the crease, they were to be silenced when Zampa succeeded in tying down India’s captain and then claiming his wicket with a dipping top spinner that brought a top edge into the hands of short third man.Zampa’s excellent spell and Dhawan’s subsequent dismissal left India facing a scenario of enormous difficulty, but the innings took a twist when Finch appeared to forget that under the reduced over allocation, he only had two bowlers able to bowl four overs rather than three.Tossing the ball to Billy Stanlake, he was advised by the umpires that of the bowlers already used only Andrew Tye and Stoinis were available, meaning the ball was passed on to the former. Perhaps surprised to be running in, Tye was leapt into by Karthik and Pant to the tune of 25 runs. That over turned the target from distant to gettable, setting up a thrilling final over of the night.Finch, while relieved to win, conceded his maths had been faulty: “I just stuffed it up out there.”

Ambidextrous spin-bowling allrounder Kamindu Mendis may have a chance to showcase his unique skills at the senior international level for the first time, after being picked in Sri Lanka’s squad for the one-off T20 against England.Thisara Perera, who led Sri Lanka’s limited-overs teams in fits and starts towards the end of last year, has been named captain, in the continued absence of Angelo Mathews in limited-overs cricket. Test and ODI captain Dinesh Chandimal also finds a place in the 15-man squad.Kamindu, 20, has played only a handful of senior matches so far, but has been more-or-less fast-tracked through the system. Though his talents with the ball have been much talked about – Kamindu bowls both right-arm offbreaks and left-arm orthodox – it is his batting that is his main strength. He hit 61 off 72 balls against England in the warm-up match preceding the ODI series. Kamindu had also captained the Sri Lanka Under-19 side as recently as January this year.Meanwhile, Kusal Mendis has been retained despite an awful run of ODI form, while Kusal Perera has been named even though he was made unavailable for the ongoing ODI series with a quad strain. Expectedly, Lasith Malinga returns to the T20 squad after a hiatus of more than a year, and has Dushmantha Chameera, Isuru Udana and Nuwan Pradeep for company on the fast-bowling front.The spin contingent comprises of only Akila Dananjaya and left-arm wristspinner Lakshan Sandakan – Amila Aponso making it on to the standby list.The T20I is scheduled to be played at Khettarama in Colombo, on Saturday.Sri Lanka T20I squad: Thisara Perera, Dinesh Chandimal, Niroshan Dickwella, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka, Kamindu Mendis, Isuru Udana, Lasith Malinga, Dushmantha Chameera, Akila Dananjaya, Kasun Rajitha, Nuwan Pradeep, Lakshan Sandakan

Chris Tremain goes up in appeal•Getty Images

Last season’s leading Sheffield Shield wicket-taker Chris Tremain has picked up where he left off, claiming nine wickets in Victoria’s innings demolition of Western Australia at the WACA ground.Victoria’s march to victory was halted by heavy rain on day three. But despite a sparkling maiden Shield century from Josh Philippe, the game was wrapped up before lunch on day four.Philippe and Cameron Green put on a 78-run partnership for the seventh wicket to frustrate Victoria. Philippe added 17 to his overnight score to reach his century before falling to Scott Boland for 104 from 142 balls.Green watched helplessly from the non-striker’s end as Boland then knocked over Usman Qadir and David Moody for ducks before Tremain trapped Simon Mackin in front for nought to complete his sixth five-wicket haul in first-class cricket. Green finished on 35 not out.Will Pucovski was named Player of the Match for his stunning 243.

Fresh off their Asia Cup triumph, the Sri Lankan women’s side will be heading to Ireland for two T20Is and three ODIs from August 11-20, Sri Lanka Cricket has announced. The team will depart for Ireland on August 6.This will be Sri Lanka’s first bilateral tour of Ireland, while it will be Ireland’s third bilateral assignment this year – their first at home, having played both Zimbabwe and Thailand in Zimbabwe and the UAE respectively.Ireland are yet to lose a bilateral game this year, but this will be a far sterner test with Sri Lanka having won 18 of the 23 white-ball matches they’ve played in 2024. Sri Lanka also hold an unblemished record against Ireland, having won each of the three ODIs and three T20Is they’ve faced each other in.This however will be the first time these two sides will be meeting since the 2017 Women’s ODI World Cup Qualifier, where Sri Lanka registered a comprehensive victory. They were also due to face each other during the 2021 ODI World Cup Qualifier, but that game was cancelled after the entire tournament was called off as a result of significant travel restrictions imposed on the region due to the Covid-19 pandemic.The tour will begin with the first of two T20Is on August 11 in Dublin. Following the conclusion of the second T20I on August 13, also in Dublin, the action will move to Belfast for the ODIs. The three-match ODI series, which will be part of 2022-2025 ICC Women’s Championship cycle, will begin on August 16..

Southern Brave 139 for 5 (Vince 73*) beat Welsh Fire 97 (Mills 4-16, Briggs 3-14) by 42 runsSouthern Brave made it four wins from five in the Hundred this year by thrashing Welsh Fire at Sophia Gardens.James Vince’s match-winning 73 from 50 balls in the first innings set Fire 140 to win, and the home side never threatened to reach the target. The Brave ended the night top of the table.Jofra Archer missed his second game of the competition, with the ECB managing his workload closely, but the Brave cruised to victory regardless.”It was nice to get the win,” Vince said. “Batting first, we found it quite tricky. but at halfway you never quite know until both sides have batted. The way we bowled throughout, but particularly up front, was fantastic and proved it was reasonably tough out there.”The Fire won the toss and elected to field first, but the Brave’s batters worked well in partnerships with Alex Davies, Leus du Plooy and Kieron Pollard all supporting the in-form Vince’s superb 73 not out, which included seven fours and three sixes.A Chris Jordan cameo in the final 10 balls featured a 98-metre six, before he fell to the last ball, skying David Payne and being well caught by David Willey.Overseas quicks Haris Rauf (2 for 22) and Matt Henry (1 for 20) were the standout bowlers for Welsh Fire, with the home side hoping conditions under the lights might favour a big chase.Danny Briggs celebrates a breakthrough with his captain

But Luke Wells and Jonny Bairstow struggled to get opening bowlers Akeal Hosein and Craig Overton away, with just 29 scored from the first 30 balls and the bowlers making life difficult with significant swing.Both opening batters then fell in quick succession as the Brave took control, with Tymal Mills (4 for 16), Danny Briggs (3 for 14) and Jordan (2 for 19) running through the Fire’s batting order to seal a very comfortable victory.”Our bowlers have dovetailed really well: Akeal and Craig with the new ball and then CJ and Tymal through the back end,” Vince said. “They’ve done it so many times and we are in nice rhythm at the minute. The bowlers have been fantastic and I think the batters did a good job on that pitch as well.”

Cricket Australia is set to allow Big Bash clubs to sign overseas talent to multi-year deals before the draft, in a bid to stop players leaving the competition before finals.In a significant shake up, clubs will be able to agree a pre-draft multi-year offer with one overseas player. That deal will include a requirement for the player to make themself available for the entire tournament, and prevent them leaving to compete in other leagues.Related

• CA shrinks WBBL to 40 games, new women's state-based T20 tournament created

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• Mass ILT20 exodus leaves BBL finals lacking star quality

AAP has been told the changes are expected to be approved in the coming weeks, while a decision to cut the Women’s Big Bash League from 56 games to 40 appears increasingly likely.The changes will impact the men’s and women’s leagues, and came about after a mass exodus late in the most recent BBL competition. Under the new rules, clubs will be able to offer a multi-year deal to an overseas player well before the draft date.The signed player will count towards the minimum of three internationals that must be selected by a club during the draft, taking up either a platinum, gold or silver-round pick depending on their salary.There will be no restrictions on who the player is, making it possible for clubs to poach another franchise’s overseas talent.Signed players will be given some flexibility next summer if they already have contracts elsewhere, but will be locked in for the duration of seasons from 2025-26 on.In good news for the BBL, it is believed the UAE-based ILT20 competition is to move from the January-February window to November.If that was the case, it would alleviate significant pressure on the Australian competition, given ILT20 teams are able to sign up to nine overseas players and have regularly raided BBL stocks.That would leave South Africa’s T20 tournament as the only franchise league up against the BBL. Brisbane Heat’s English star Sam Billings last summer called for multi-year deals to give overseas players more certainty.AAP has been told the women’s competition looks almost certain to move to a 10-round season in a similar format to the men’s.The timing of this year’s women’s T20 World Cup in Bangladesh means the competition would risk beginning without international talent if it persisted with the longer season.Long-term, there is a belief a 40-game regular season would create a better schedule and context for matches, while not reducing the number of games on free-to-air TV.For that to happen, officials must decide how to replace the missing games, with Cricket Australia and the players keen to maintain the current amount of women’s matches.One option remains a state-based T20 league, while an extended warm-up series for teams in WBBL colours is another.A state-based competition could result in a financial gain for players, who earn match fees playing state cricket as opposed to a salary in the WBBL.

Virat Kohli has left South Africa for personal reasons, but is likely to rejoin the Test squad ahead of the Boxing Day Test in Centurion. Kohli didn’t take part in the Indians’ three-day intra-squad match, the only red-ball outing for a number of senior players including captain Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah, ahead of the two-Test series.Ruturaj Gaikwad, meanwhile, has been ruled out of the two-Test series because of a finger injury. Abhimanyu Easwaran, who is currently part of the India A squad that is on a shadow tour of South Africa, has been named* as Gaikwad’s replacement as the reserve opener. Rohit and Yashasvi Jaiswal are likely to continue their partnership at the top of the order, like they did in the Caribbean in July-August, which was India’s most recent Test assignment.Abhimanyu struck an unbeaten 61 on the second day of the practice game in Pretoria before he was retired by the team management. Abhimanyu is expected to feature for India A in the second four-day match against South Africa A, also beginning on December 26, barring any last-minute changes. He will then link up with the national squad ahead of the New Year’s Test in Cape Town.Gaikwad is expected to head back home and to the BCCI’s National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. He picked up the injury on the ring finger of his right hand while fielding during the second ODI against South Africa in Gqeberha. In his absence, India handed a debut to Rajat Patidar for the series-deciding final ODI in Paarl, which India won.India’s Test squad has been in preparation for the past four days in Pretoria under Rahul Dravid’s coaching staff. KL Rahul, India’s stand-in ODI captain, and Mukesh Kumar are expected to link up with the Test squad after a day’s rest following the ODI series. Shreyas Iyer, who was also part of the ODI mix, had been released from the squad after the first ODI to prepare for the Tests.Iyer and Rahul will be returning to Test cricket after a prolonged absence. Both of them last featured for India during the Border-Gavaskar series at home against Australia in February. Rahul, who opened in the series, lost his place after the second Test. He missed the subsequent WTC final and the Caribbean tour because of a hamstring injury. He is likely to take over wicketkeeping duties for the Tests. Iyer, too, hasn’t played a first-class game since March, and has been on a steady diet of ODI cricket following his comeback from back surgery.The upcoming series is India’s second assignment in the new WTC cycle for 2023-25. They won the first Test in the Caribbean and were denied an opportunity to win the second by rain.

India hammered as many as 111 runs in their last seven overs – at nearly 16 runs an over – to post a mammoth total of 235, their fifth-highest in T20Is. During that phase, Ishan Kishan, Rinku Singh, Suryakumar Yadav, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Tilak Varma combined to clobber ten sixes and five fours, after India had managed only three sixes in the first 12 overs of their innings.That surge in the scoring rate proved to be the difference in the end as India posted the second-highest T20I total against Australia, who fell short for a 44-run loss after Ravi Bishnoi and Prasidh Krishna broke their back with three wickets apiece.The only time Australia threatened India was when Marcus Stoinis and Tim David belted 81 off 38 deliveries together for the fifth wicket after Australia were 58 for 4 in the eighth over. But Bishnoi had David caught for 37 off 22 in the 14th over, and when Stoinis fell to Mukesh Kumar for 45 from 25 in the next over, it was all but a formality for India.Australia’s middle and lower order crumbled to lose 5 for 16 to hand India a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

Jaiswal goes 4, 4, 4, 6, 6

That the pitch at the Greenfield International Stadium was on the slower side was evident as early as the second over of India’s innings, when Nathan Ellis’ slower deliveries had already forced mistimed shots from India’s openers. Yashasvi Jaiswal, however, ensured the powerplay ended with a tall total total of 77.Jaiswal alone smashed 53 from 25 balls inside the first six, with nine fours and two sixes. The fun had begun when he targeted Glenn Maxwell in the third over, lofting inside-out over cover and slog-sweeping behind square for a four each. And come the fourth, Jaiswal bashed Sean Abbott for 4, 4, 4, 6, 6 off the first five balls. It started with two slashed boundaries to point, and finished with two pulls for sixes over deep square leg.But it was the four in between which was the most delightful: Jaiswal waited for a shortish delivery just outside off, before guiding it very late and past the wicketkeeper for four. The tone was set, even as he departed with one ball in the powerplay remaining.

Kishan switches gears before death overs

After the powerplay, Kishan and Gaikwad could tick off only 47 runs in the next seven overs. Much of that control from Australia was down to birthday boy Tanveer Sangha, who gave away just 17 from his first three overs, and Adam Zampa’s second over that went for eight.But Kishan, whose first 26 runs had consumed 22 balls, rammed another 26 from his next ten as India headed into the death overs. He first hit a six and a four off Maxwell in the 14th over, before spoiling Sangha’s day with two more sixes in the 15th. The second of those took him to a half-century, before Stoinis ended his stay on 52 off 32 balls.

Rinku repeats finishing heroics

Suryakumar’s stay lasted for just 10 balls for 19 runs, and with 14 balls left, Rinku arrived and faced nine of them. Six of those deliveries went either to or over the boundary, as he cracked an unbeaten 31 at a strike rate of 344.44. After Abbott’s first over was taken for 24 by Jaiswal, it was Rinku’s turn to pummel 4, 6, 4, 4, 6 off him in the 19th over. Three of those hits were pulled, which went for a four each to deep midwicket and deep square leg, with one of them flying for six over midwicket.And like Jaiswal, one of those shots stood out, when Rinku reached out to a low, dipping full toss outside off while the ball was angling across, and sent that soaring over Abbott’s head for six. The bat turned in his hands, but the ball still ended miles back.

Australia’s off-track chase

Both captains expected dew to play a role in the second half of the match, and naturally, Matthew Wade had opted to bowl. But dew had set in even while India were batting, and the hosts left Australia with a required rate of nearly 12 an over. That pressure forced them to keep swinging, and despite motoring along to 31 without loss in the first two overs, they soon lost 4 for 27 by the eighth over.One of those wickets came when a sharp, well-judged catch by Tilak sent the first T20I’s centurion Josh Inglis back for 2, with Bishnoi grabbing two wickets out of the first four. That is when Stoinis and David got together and counter-attacked, but a meltdown either side of that rapid partnership left Australia in must-win territory ahead of the third T20I.

In a game of high drama where both sides kept landing punches at each other with neither backing off, Sunrisers Hyderabad pipped Delhi Capitals to arrest a three-match losing streak on a low, slow pitch at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.At one stage, Capitals were on track to gun down a 198-run target when Mitchell Marsh and Phil Salt put together 112 in just 11 overs after David Warner fell for a second-ball duck.Then one wicket led to another, and before Delhi could realise, Sunrisers had clawed back courtesy the guile of Mayank Markande, who picked up 2 for 20. Sunrisers now have three wins in eight games to Capitals’ two in eight, which keeps them rooted to the bottom of the points table.

Abhishek’s powerplay salvo

Back to open the innings after a game in the middle order, Abhishek Sharma began positively, lofting Ishant Sharma for two successive boundaries in the opening over. Mayank Agarwal’s dismissal to a short ball gave Ishant some joy in his second over, but Abhishek wasn’t in a mood to slow down. He took Ishant for four boundaries in the seamer’s third over, hitting 43 in Sunrisers’ 62 for 2 after the first six.The reverse scoop, Heinrich Klaasen way•BCCI

Capitals’ comeback

The next four overs belonged to Capitals as they conceded just 21. Marsh left his mark on the game during this phase by taking pace off, the short boundaries notwithstanding, and allowing batters to force the pace on a surface where the ball was holding up. Two balls after he had Aiden Markram picking out deep midwicket, Harry Brook toe-ended a pull to the edge of the ring, Axar Patel the catcher on both occasions.

The Klaasen kick

After Abhishek raced to a 25-ball half-century, Heinrich Klaasen got into the game by taking apart Mukesh Kumar as the 11th over went for 24. Abhishek began it with two back-to-back fours and Klaasen finished it with a monstrous six down the ground off a legcutter. Axar, though, proved difficult to get away as he varied his pace and angles to finish with 1 for 29 from his four overs, the reward being the big wicket of Abhishek for a 36-ball 67. It could’ve been far more impressive if Klaasen hadn’t belted him for two sixes to end his spell. A 53-run stand between Klaasen and Abdul Samad off 33 balls and some late runs from Akeal Hosein helped Sunrisers muscle 62 off the last five overs.Mitchell Marsh and Phil Salt’s 112-run stand had kept Capitals in the contest•BCCI

Warner falls but Marsh fires

Sunrisers couldn’t have asked for a better start; Bhuvneshwar Kumar got Warner to chop on second ball of the chase. But Marsh and Salt raised the half-century of their partnership in just 29 balls by going after Hosein’s left-arm darts. Sunrisers tried to get overs out of spin seemingly in a bid to negate dew, but Hosein was far too short and the batters helped themselves to a nice spread against the short square boundaries.After five overs, ESPNcricinfo’s forecaster pegged Capitals’ chances of victory at 19.43%, but after seven, this figure had jumped to 45.68%. The reason for that partly was Marsh’s take-off against Umran Malik. Malik kept bowling short and into the body for Marsh to get inside the line and simply help it to beat long leg twice for sixes in a 22-run over. Salt opened and closed that over with two bludgeoning fours of his own against the short ball. That put Sunrisers under the pump.

Markande leads spinners into it

Markande used the slowness of the pitch to string together dots before dismissing Salt with a return catch that he just managed to hold on to. It was a big wicket considering Salt’s maiden half-century had set the tone for the chase. Then seven balls later, Manish Pandey ran down the track only for Abhishek to shorten his length and beat him in the air and off the pitch.It was now all on Marsh to see Capitals home, but that wasn’t to be as Hosein hit back superbly after the early onslaught by dismissing him. After being walloped out of the ground on the previous delivery, he bravely tossed it up for Marsh to go again, except this one gripped and turned and Marsh sliced it to Markram. That, right there, was the game for Sunrisers. Axar muscled a few towards the end, but the middle-order slowdown after the Salt-Marsh stand proved to be the difference.

It was a shortened game at the Gabba, and Australia made short work of it. After persistent rain and lightning delayed the start by nearly three hours and reduced the game to a seven-over shootout, Australia inflicted a crushing 29-run defeat upon Pakistan. Glenn Maxwell, who struggled in the preceding ODI series, blasted his way through the innings with 43 off 19, before Pakistan slumped to 24 for six in the first four overs before finishing with 64 for nine.Mohammad Rizwan called correctly at the toss and unsurprisingly put Australia in. But the hosts had a clarity of purpose from the outset, looking to hit a boundary off every ball, aware that wickets didn’t really matter as much. Shaheen Shah Afridi was plundered for 16 off his first over to set the tone, and though Haris Rauf’s tight first over had Maxwell flailing, the tide would turn soon.Maxwell deployed the reverse slog expertly, using the bowlers’ pace to get his shots away. Afridi was spectacularly dismissed over third man for six, before he ripped into Rauf, his ODI tormentor, smashing 19 off his second over. When he holed out to Abbas Afridi, Tim David and Marcus Stoinis picked up the baton, with Stoinis’ 20 off Naseem in the final over seeing Australia surge to 93.Xavier Bartlett stuck twice in his first over back for Australia•Getty Images

Pakistan began the innings with Sahibzada Farhan biffing two boundaries off the first two balls, but that’s as good as the chase got for the visitors. Spencer Johnson got him two balls later. It began a remarkable passage of play where five wickets fell in 12 balls for eight runs. Mohammad Rizwan sliced Xavier Bartlett to backward point for a duck, and Usman Khan sent one down deep third man’s throat later in the over.Babar Azam – who came in at number three – miscued a half-volley down to long-off off Nathan Ellis’ first ball, with Irfan Khan joining him two balls later. When Salman Ali Agha, debutant and vice-captain, skied one off Ellis, Pakistan were staring down the barrel of an enormous defeat, despite the heavily curtailed nature of the game.But Pakistan managed to restore some respectability to the scoreline in the final three overs, primarily when Haseebullah Khan and Abbas managed 18 off the fifth over. Wickets would continue to fall, though, with Ellis snaring Haseebullah for his third wicket. When Adam Zampa came in to bowl the final over, Shaheen managed to smear one over long-on for six, but in an innings characterised by clumps of wickets falling quickly, that Zampa signed off with consecutive wickets of his final two balls was a fitting end.