Cricket news roundup – 3rd March 2019: New Zealand, India, West Indies win, rain ruins Dehradun ODI

New Zealand beat Bangladesh by an innings and 52 runs in the first Test; India went 1-0 up in the ODIs against Australia with a 6-wicket win; West Indies sent England packing before lunch to level the series; and the second ODI between Afghanistan and Ireland had to be abandoned midway due to rain.

And off the field, ICC Chairman Shashank Manohar has turned down BCCI’s request to ban Pakistan from the upcoming World Cup.

Bangladesh go down fighting

When the teams took field today, Bangladesh were up against the near-improbable task of scoring another 307 with only 6 wickets standing to make New Zealand bat again. They did well to get 255 of these.

Soumya Sarkar (149) and captain Mahmudullah (146) added 235 for the fifth wicket. Unfortunately, barring them and the openers, nobody else reached double figures. The wickets were shared by Trent Boult (5/123), Tim Southee (3/98), and Neil Wagner (2/104).

It wasn’t easy for India

India were expected to dominate the ODI series against Australia. They did win the first ODI, at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad, but it was not smooth sailing.

Australia had started well despite losing captain Aaron Finch for a duck. Usman Khawaja (50) and Marcus Stoinis added 87 for the second wicket, but the only other fifty-run stand came for seventh wicket, between the unlikely pair of Alex Carey and Nathan Coulter-Nile.

Australia finished on 236/7 on a pitch where the Indian bowlers did not make scoring easy.

India echoed Australia’s start by losing Shikhar Dhawan for a duck. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli then added 76, but India were soon reduced to 99/4. Another wicket at that stage might have changed things, but MS Dhoni (59*) and Kedar Jadhav (87*) made sure no mishap took place.

Universe Boss at it again

West Indies blew England away in the decider at Darren Sammy International Cricket Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia. Opting to bowl first, they shot out England for 113 in just 28.1 overs despite six of the top seven Englishmen reaching double figures.

Oshane Thomas (5/21) did most of the damage, though he found able support from the other seamers.

Then Chris Gayle went after the English attack. His 30 sixes were already a series record in the history of international cricket across formats. He hit 9 more to improve on his record substantially. His 77 took a mere 27 balls as West Indies cruised to a 7-wicket with with 227 balls to spare.

Damp squib at Dehradun

The second ODI of the five-match series between Afghanistan and Ireland, at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Dehradun, had to be abandoned midway.

Opting to bat first, Afghanistan reached 250/7 in 48.3 overs mainly due to the efforts of Hazratullah Zazai (67), Rahmat Shah (54), and Hashmatullah Shahidi (52). George Dockrell picked up 3/51.

Rain prevented any further play in the match. Afghanistan lead the series 1-0.

ICC say no to BCCI

ICC Chairman Shashank Manohar has turned down BCCI’s requests of severing ties with and banning Pakistan from the upcoming World Cup. BCCI had requested ICC for the same following a terror attack in Pulwama in Jammu & Kashmir. A Pakistan-based terrorist organisation had claimed responsibility for the same.

On the other hand, ICC Chief Executive Dave Richardson laid emphasis on “the robust security plan” that will be in place during the World Cup.