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Bangladesh captain Litton Das wants to put the series loss against UAE in Sharjah last week behind and is looking forward to the “new challenge” against Pakistan.”We were not up to the mark in the last series,” Litton said ahead of the three-match T20I series against Pakistan. “This is a new series, a new challenge. We know where we did well and where we did badly in the past. We will have to apply that [information] in the game.”This is a different ball game. We however have the belief that we can beat any team in the world. We have to play good cricket. We are not focused on the opposition. I am not only focused on the team’s result, which doesn’t always come your way. I think what’s more important is how we are playing the game. If we can play sticking to a process, we will have more chance of a good result.”Related

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Litton said that he accepts the criticism that comes the way of the team, but he believes that the team is focused on playing better cricket. “It is expected that there will be discussions and criticism when we don’t play well. We always try to play good cricket. We don’t want to repeat our mistakes of the past. I think we can have a good series.”We would be among the top teams in the world if we were a consistent side. We definitely lack something as we are down in the rankings. We are working towards becoming more consistent. Every series presents a different challenge. We faced distinctive challenges in West Indies and UAE. How we accept the upcoming challenges and perform as a team is something worth looking at.”Bangladesh captain Litton Das and Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha pose with the trophy•Associated Press

While they struggled to defend totals in the second and third T20Is against UAE, Bangladesh’s batting was inconsistent throughout the series. Parvez Hossain Emon struck a hundred and Tanzid Hasan got a fifty, but the rest couldn’t quite capitalise on good starts. Litton made 65 runs in the series.”I know how important my batting role is in this team,” Litton said. “I will try my best to stay consistent. We have some good form players in the team. T20 needs a combined batting effort, so if we can do well together, we will have chance of good results.”Bangladesh are also wary of the conditions in Lahore. Litton said that he hasn’t spotted dew in the training sessions at the Gaddafi Stadium so far, but expects it to be a high-scoring series.”We fielded in the second half in all three matches in Sharjah. The dew was a factor in those games. We haven’t seen any dew in the three days we have been in Lahore. We expect the conditions to be similar to how it was in the PSL. It will be a high-scoring series. We have to play smart cricket.”The three matches are scheduled on May 28 and 30, and June 1, all in Lahore.

Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 will be played during a window from September 26 to November 2*, with the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Stadium in Mullanpur penciled in to host the final. Vishakhapatnam, Thiruvananthapuram, Raipur and Indore are the other venues.Barring the Visakhapatnam stadium, none of the other venues have hosted a women’s international yet. The ACA-VDCA Stadium in Vishakhapatnam last hosted a women’s international in 2014. In all, the venue has hosted six women’s T20Is and five women’s ODIs.Indore, as a city, has previously hosted two Women’s World Cup games at the Nehru Stadium, which stopped hosting international cricket after the Holkar Stadium was built in the late 2000s.Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka, apart from hosts India, have already qualified for the competition. The last two spots will be decided through the Women’s World Cup Qualifiers that will be played in Lahore from April 9.If Pakistan qualify, they will play their matches either in UAE or Sri Lanka as part of a reciprocal arrangement between the BCCI and PCB before men’s Champions Trophy 2025.India are hosting the Women’s World Cup for the first time since 2013, where they exited at the group stage. They also hosted the Women’s T20 World Cup in 2016. The format for the 2025 edition will be the same as in 2022, with eight teams playing a total of 31 matches.India are yet to win the tournament. The closest they came to being crowned champions was in 2017, when they were runners-up to England. This will be the first ODI World Cup for India after the retirements of Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami.

“Can you just tell me how many overs were left?” Shreyas Iyer asked journalists, right at the top of his press conference. “Forty-five balls? Okay.””I think we could have won a bit earlier. It would have been a convincing win.”Uhh, what? Is a six-wicket win with more than seven overs left not convincing enough?There was almost no stage in their chase of 242 in which India appeared troubled, and almost no stage in the first innings in which Pakistan appeared capable of getting to a score that would test India.Related

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“But if we could have played more aggressively, we could have won a bit earlier,” Iyer said. He’d hit 56 off 67 balls.Through his innings, Iyer had to battle legspinner Abrar Ahmed, who was the most economical of Pakistan’s bowlers, taking 1 for 28 in his ten overs. That one wicket came from a spectacular delivery to Shubman Gill.Iyer had some good things to say. “I think Abrar bowled brilliantly. It was important and crucial for me to play out that spell and rotate the strike at the same time. It took some time and then once my eyes were set, I thought that sweep and reverse sweep would have been a great option to put them on the back foot. And I think that worked pretty well for me.”It wasn’t easy to take charge against Abrar. In that particular phase, it was important to take singles as much as possible and take the team to the end. Once we reach 30 or 40 runs, it is easy to charge on from there.”One of the things that the experts noted about Iyer’s innings against Pakistan was that he didn’t seem to find handling short deliveries too difficult.”When he came back [after playing domestic cricket] against England, the first innings that he played was flawless,” Sanjay Manjrekar said on ESPNcricinfo Match Day. “It was like a huge difference between the Shreyas Iyer of before and this one, and especially with the short ball. How comfortable is he looking against the short ball [now]! He’s not played [shots] out of desperation or trying to get himself into a counter-attacking mode. He’s just playing that shot carefully and with lots of confidence.”Anil Kumble agreed that playing domestic cricket had changed Iyer. “Whenever he has batted [against] the faster bowlers, earlier on, he would move around in his crease very early in his innings, irrespective of what the situation was. But we have never seen that in today’s game.”This is the second match India have played in Dubai in this Champions Trophy, though this was a different strip from the one they had faced Bangladesh on. And the bowlers who took pace off the ball complicated Iyer’s progress.Shreyas Iyer scored an important half-century against Pakistan•ICC/Getty Images

“As we know, even in the previous game we played over here, the wicket is a bit slow,” he said. “It’s spinner-friendly, of course. The amalgamation of all their bowlers and the experience they possess brings a lot of clarity to their bowling.”India were chasing a modest target, but still, Iyer’s start had been somewhat slow – he made 12 off the first 28 balls he faced.”It’s important to attack, but it’s not easy to go in and straightaway start smashing the ball,” he said. “You need to see the pace of the wicket, and how it’s coming on to the bat. If you show that intent every ball, it’s difficult for a batsman, to be honest.”It’s better to take some time, see how it’s coming to you, and let the ball do the talking.”

“I’m concerned about everyone’s form at the moment, including mine.”That’s how Durban’s Super Giants (DSG) coach Lance Klusener summed up the team’s fortunes in a season where they are languishing at the bottom of the points table, a year after they made the SA20 final. With just one win in seven games, they need to win their remaining three to stand a chance of making it to the playoffs.”I think we’ve got a group of very good players who just haven’t really found their form, unfortunately,” Klusener said after DSG’s defeat to Paarl Royals. “That’s cricket sometimes, but I think rather than dwelling on the past, we’ve got an opportunity ahead of us.Related

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“I’m pretty certain five [four] wins will qualify us, and that’s pretty much all we’re interested in at the moment. I just think with the quality in that dressing room, it just takes someone to light the fire and get them going.”We need to make sure that we’re just dotting the ‘i’s and crossing the ‘t’s. I’m sure there’s enough quality in that dressing room to get three from three at the moment. That’s kind of where we are at the moment.”Klusener was also confident that if DSG do manage to win three in three and pick up momentum at the back end of the tournament, they could go all the way.”I think if we can get going, we’re going to be difficult to stop if we can qualify,” he said. “I’ve been doing franchise cricket now for many years, and I know that teams that pick up momentum towards the end are the ones that are generally difficult to stop. Yes, we’ve got a bit of work to do, but that’s sport, and that’s what brings these great cricketers back every day. It’s that opportunity to write a story.”This season, DSG have largely used Quinton de Kock at No. 3 or No. 4, where he scored just one half-century in three games. On Thursday, de Kock was back at the top of the order, and top-scored with a 30-ball 43.Quinton de Kock started aggressively on his return to the top of the order on Thursday•SA20

“It’s all about balance. Lots of teams have got left-arm spin in the middle as well,” Klusener said, explaining the decision to use de Kock in the middle order. “That was something we looked at, and if you look at our squad, we’ve got Jon-Jon [Smuts] and… who else is there that can open the batting? [Bryce] Parsons can open the batting. I thought it was an opportunity to give Parsons a go early on.”As I said earlier, it was a thought of maybe just using Quinton in the middle as a left-right combination. That was our thinking about that early on.”In a late boost for DSG, they will have Australian allrounder Marcus Stoinis for the late stages of the season following Melbourne Stars’ exit from the BBL.”We’ll have to re-look at that balance,” Klusener said. “I know Stoinis will change the balance slightly and it might give an opportunity for someone like Prenelan [Subrayen] to make a play. We’ll just have to look at that. We’ll just have to see how Stoinis turns up tomorrow as well.”It’s exciting for us. We can have a look and maybe try and play someone who can attack those left-handers as well. We’ll have to see.”

Kyle Verreynne’s manic sprint to a third Test century lit up the second morning and sent South Africa speeding to a total of 358. But the afternoon and evening sessions belonged to Sri Lanka. Their top four produced their best collective effort in the series so far, with Pathum Nissanka hitting 89 off 157 balls, forging a 109-run second wicket stand with Dinesh Chandimal.With Angelo Mathews not out on 40 at stumps, and Kamindu Mendis unbeaten on 30, Sri Lanka have seven wickets in hand, and are well-placed to take a lead in the first innings. They have for the first time in the series, put serious pressure on a South Africa attack that seemed short of options on a flattening Gqeberha deck.Kagiso Rabada was the most menacing of their bowlers, conceding only 40 and taking the wicket of Dimuth Karunaratne for the third time in the series, in his 15 overs. He’d also had Nissanka dropped by David Bedingham at second slip, on 22. Sri Lanka negotiated Marco Jansen with much more confidence than they had in the first Test, in which he’d claimed 11 wickets. By stumps, Jansen had given away 75 off his 18 overs, and was the only frontline bowler without a wicket.Though there were occasional plays and misses against Rabada in particular, Nissanka was largely watchful, scoring only eight runs off his first 50 deliveries. He eventually began to attack the shorter deliveries, and it was the pull shot that he favoured through the remainder of the innings, taking to Jansen’s shorter balls in particular. Most of his run-scoring came square of the wicket, and he raised his batting tempo in Chandimal’s company, settling into accumulation mode against the spin of Keshav Maharaj in particular.That he got out to Maharaj, whom he had early clubbed for six over deep midwicket, will particularly rankle, especially as he was nearing a century. He merely ran at the bowler, attempted a cross-batted shot to a ball that was full, and essentially yorked himself, the ball going on to clatter into leg stump.Pathum Nissanka brought up his ninth 50+ score in Tests•AFP/Getty Images

Still, the stand between him and Chandimal had provided Sri Lanka a platform. Chandimal was looser with his strokeplay than either opener had been, and collected edged fours behind the wicket early on. He nevertheless stuck at it alongside Nissanka, until a tentative prod against Dane Paterson ended with him being snaffled behind the stumps.Mathews was also somewhat tetchy at the beginning of his innings, but found some boundaries down the ground, and settled into a rhythm later. Kamindu Mendis appeared assured from the outset. The two put on 43 runs together before stumps.The morning, however, had been reigned by Verreynne. Having lost Keshav Maharaj without South Africa adding to their overnight score, Verreynne put on 66 with Rabada, as Sri Lanka turned almost solely to bouncers and short deliveries to blast the final two wickets out. Verreynne crashed three boundaries between deep backward square leg and deep midwicket in one Asitha Fernando over to really get his engine roaring, before venturing even bigger hits when Rabada was bowled by Asitha, and he was left with the No. 11 for company.With 19 runs still to get for his hundred, Verreynne yanked the throttle with even more intensity, first smashing Prabath Jayasuriya over cow corner for six, before mowing Asitha into the banks to get within one strike of a 100. He reached triple figures with another mighty pull in that same over, sending the ball sailing over fine leg’s head.The milestone sparked wild celebrations, a bow from Verreynne to the dressing room, and a bear-hug from Paterson. Verreynne himself likely did not anticipate that a century would be on the cards when the morning’s play began, but finished unbeaten on 105 off 133 balls, having reaped 58 off 50 balls on day two.Lahiru Kumara claimed the last South Africa wicket, and ended with 4 for 79. Asitha and Vishwa Fernando shared five wickets between them.

Western Australia lost an incredible 8 for 1 – with their one run coming from a wide – in a batting collapse for the ages that has left their One-Day Cup defence in tatters.They were bowled out for 53 in 20.1 overs at the WACA Ground on Friday against a rampant Tasmania attack led superbly by Beau Webster (6-17 off six overs).It was the second lowest score in One-Day Cup history, only narrowly bettering the 51 posted by South Australia against Tasmania in Hobart in 2003.Tasmania chased down the paltry victory target in just 8.3 overs to secure a seven-wicket victory and a vital bonus point.WA’s bid for a fourth consecutive title now hangs by a thread. At one-and-three, WA need to beat Victoria, South Australia and Queensland in their remaining three games – and rely on other results to fall their way – in order to secure a top-two spot and a berth in the March 1 final.WA were crawling at 52 for 2 in the 16th over before suffering one of the worst batting collapses witnessed in professional cricket. In the space of 28 legal deliveries, WA lost eight wickets and registered just one run – in the sundries column – as Webster and Billy Stanlake ran rampant. It meant WA went from 52 for 2 to all out for 53, with not a single run scored by the players batting at No. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11.The out-of-form Cameron Bancroft was the first to fall in the collapse when trapped lbw by Webster. Ashton Turner also fell lbw to Webster three balls later, and Josh Inglis was bowled by a Stanlake pearler one ball after that.Cooper Connolly, Hilton Cartwright, Ashton Agar, Jhye Richardson and Joel Paris all posted ducks as WA’s innings was brought to a crashing end.Opener D’Arcy Short top scored with 22 in a sorry looking scoreboard for the three-time defending champions. WA fell short of their previous lowest score, the 59 they posted against Victoria at the MCG in 1969.Webster was the hero for Tasmania, claiming the early scalp of Short before kick-starting the collapse in a career-best display. Stanlake was also hugely effective, with his removal of Inglis among the highlights of the innings.In reply to WA’s embarrassing total, Tasmania raced to 27 without loss after three overs as opener Mitchell Owen let loose with a series of powerful heaves.Tasmania lost 3 for 1 as Caleb Jewell, Jordan Silk and Owen fell in quick succession, but Matthew Wade guided them home.The result marked Tasmania’s first win of the season, after a loss and a no-result from their first two games.

A superb bowling display by left-arm spinners Nashra Sandhu and Sadia Iqbal combined with a collective batting display helped Pakistan win the second T20I against South Africa and level the series in Multan.Sune Luus and Chloe Tryon put up an unbroken 80-run stand off 42 balls – the highest for a fifth-wicket stand for South Africa women in T20Is – but could not get their side over the line.After being put in, Pakistan lost opener Gull Feroza in the fourth over. But her partner Muneeba Ali gave Pakistan a solid start, helping them post 45 in the powerplay. She stitched a 49-run stand with Sidra Amin, hitting six fours and two sixes in her 45 off 34 balls. Amin and Muneeba went after Seshnie Naidu, hitting her for a combined four fours and a six. Muneeba was eventually dismissed by Annerie Dercksen in the 11th over.After Amin’s dismissal in the 13th over, Nida Dar and captain Fatima Sana came together for a 60-run stand, pushing Pakistan’s total past 150. Aliya Riyaz provided the finishing touches, taking Ayanda Hlubi for 6, 4, 4 in the last three balls of the innings to lift Pakistan to 181.Iqbal then struck early to remove Tazmin Britz but captain Laura Wolvaardt got a solid start, combining with Anneke Bosch for a 50-run partnership. With South Africa needing nearly 11 an over, Sandhu broke through, removing Wolvaardt for 36. Iqbal and Sandhu then took wickets in back-to-back overs, dismissing Anneke Bosch and Nadine de Klerk. Sandhu finished with figures of 2 for 20, while Iqbal bagged 2 for 27.Luus and Tryon then came together with South Africa needing 94 off 42 balls. They hit boundaries regularly but could not finish it off for their side. Luus hit 53 off 29 while Tryon scored a 16-ball 30 as Pakistan achieved parity.

Nishan Madushka, Angelo Mathews and captain Dhananjaya de Silva found form with half-centuries but Sri Lanka are facing a defeat to an inexperienced England Lions team at New Road.Trailing by 185 runs on first innings, Sri Lanka were bowled out in 87.1 overs on the third day of their tour match in Worcester. After Dimuth Karunaratne top-scored with just 26 on the opening day, Madushka, Mathews and Dhananjaya registered Sri Lanka’s first three half-centuries of the tour as they racked up a total of 306.But that left the Lions a target of just 122 to win, and they made a dent into the requirement on the third evening. Ben McKinney, the Durham opener, made 20 off nine balls – hitting three fours and a six – and the Lions need only 75 more runs for victory heading into the fourth day, with eight wickets in hand.Related

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Offspinner Farhan Ahmed, the 16-year-old younger brother of England legspinner Rehan, was the most successful bowler for the Lions, taking 3 for 87 from his 29 overs and dismissing Madushka, Mathews and Sadeera Samarawickrama, who made 25. Seamers Josh Hull, Zaman Akhter and Lyndon James took two wickets apiece.Dhananjaya took two wickets in two balls in the third over of the Lions’ run chase, knocking back McKinney’s leg stump and having Ollie Price caught at slip on the reverse-sweep. But the Warwickshire pair Rob Yates and Hamza Shaikh saw the Lions through to the close, and will have the opportunity to take them home on Saturday morning.The tour match is Sri Lanka’s only match practice before the first of three Tests against England starts in Manchester on Wednesday. This is their first Test tour to England since they lost a three-match series 2-0 in 2016.

Oval Invincibles secured passage to the knock-out rounds of The Hundred after a Jordan Cox fifty took them to a straight-forward victory over London Spirit at The Kia Oval.Cox rounded off a good week after being selected for the England Men’s Test team by finishing things off with a six to end up 61 not out from just 30 balls, and to take his team to a nine-wicket victory.The result was all but settled by the halfway mark, the already-eliminated Spirit able only to post 96 from the first innings.Michael Pepper started well for the visitors, attacking the powerplay for an 18-ball 27, but when he fell – bowled by Adam Zampa – the die was cast.Twenty-one balls later Spirit were 52 for 5, with Ollie Pope, Shimron Hetmyer and Andre Russell back in the hutch. They never recovered, with Zampa continuing his fine tournament with 4 for 17.Ollie Stone – like Cox, in England Men’s squad for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka – ran in hard as Spirit sought to defend 96 but it was a case of when and not if for Invincibles, and Cox ended it with 37 balls to spare.The win means Sam Billings’ side – who’ve won six of their seven games – are guaranteed a place in the top three of the men’s competition, with their final game against Trent Rockets deciding whether they’ll head straight to The Hundred Final on Sunday August 18 or if they’ll need to progress through The Hundred Eliminator the day before.Meerkat Match Hero Adam Zampa said: “I’m pleased with that performance. They put us under the pump in the powerplay early but yet again there was a bit of purchase in the surface and the boys dragged it back really well through the middle.”We’ve been playing really good cricket throughout. Today we knew how important it was to get the win. Finishing first and hopefully going straight through to Lord’s, we’ve potentially made it really tough for anyone to overtake us from here. It’s really important next game that we make that a certainty.”

Match details

India vs Bangladesh
Dambulla, July 26, 2.00pm local time

India and Bangladesh – recent form

India are the in-form team going into the first semi-final. They have played 14 T20Is this year and have won 10 of those with one being a no-result. After losing the home series to Australia 2-1 in January, they bounced back to sweep Bangladesh 5-0 and then draw 1-1 against South Africa at home after the second game of the series was washed out.In this period, Bangladesh have featured in 11 T20Is and emerged victorious only in their last two matches at the Asia Cup. Batting was their biggest concern heading into this competition, but they have accumulated runs at the top of the order with handy contributions from their captain Nigar Sultana, ending the losing streak against Thailand on Monday.

India vs Bangladesh – head-to-head

They have met 22 times in this format over the years, and India have had the clear upper hand, winning 19 times. Bangladesh offered a stiff fight last July when India won the series 2-1, but the more recent home series in Sylhet was very one-sided in the visitors’ favour.At Asia Cups, though, India have won two and lost two against Bangladesh. Bangladesh were beaten comprehensively at the last Asia Cup, in Sylhet, in 2022, but India will not forget how Bangladesh snatched victory away in 2018 to clinch their maiden title.

Players to watch

India will bank on their premier spin-bowling allrounder Deepti Sharma to strike early. She is the leading wicket-taker in the competition with eight scalps from three matches at an economy rate of seven. Irrespective of when she has been introduced into the attack, Deepti has given India timely breakthroughs.For Bangladesh, opener Murshida Khatun will be expected to play a massive role. She is coming off 80 and 50 after missing the opening game against Sri Lanka and will be looking to carry forward this form into the semi-finals.1:37

X-factor Feroza key against in-form SL

Match details

Sri Lanka vs Pakistan
Dambulla, July 26, 7.00pm local time

Sri Lanka and Pakistan – recent form

Sri Lanka head into the last four, having won 12 out of 15 T20Is this year. Like India, they have remained undefeated in this tournament, and have posted convincing victories in the last seven months with contributions from several players. Considering their home advantage and form, Sri Lanka will be tough to get past in their bid for a maiden Asia Cup title.Pakistan have found it hard to find their rhythm in 2024. Having played 11 matches since January, they only have wins against Nepal, UAE and West Indies (once) while falling short – several times by big margins – against India, England and West Indies (four times). However, they will take some confidence from the 10-wicket victory against UAE, where their spinners and openers shone the brightest.

Sri Lanka vs Pakistan – head-to-head

There have been 19 fixtures between the two sides over the years, and the contest has been close. Pakistan have won 10, with one ending in a no-result.At the Asia Cup, too, Pakistan have been the dominant side between the two, winning three out of four T20Is. In the previous Asia Cup semi-final, in Sylhet, Sri Lanka turned the tables on Pakistan, clinching a low-scoring game by one run.

Players to watch

Chamari Athapaththu will undoubtedly be Sri Lanka’s key player in any knockout game. But 2024 has been her young opening partner Vishmi Gunaratne’s year. The 18-year-old has looked sorted in her stroke play, having scored 415 runs in 15 matches at an average of 37.72. She has hit 39 not out, 1, and 51 in the competition so far, and Sri Lanka will be relying on another solid start from the duo.For Pakistan, too, a lot can be accomplished at the top, with opener Gull Feroza proving a vital cog with Muneeba Ali. Feroza made her debut against Sri Lanka in May 2022 but was dropped in the next series. She made her comeback against West Indies this April and has found her touch in the Asia Cup. She is coming off back-to-back half-centuries, scored at strike rates of 162.85 and 112.72. Sri Lanka’s big challenge will be to keep these openers quiet.

Where to watch

In India and Sri Lanka, the Women’s Asia Cup 2024 will be telecast on the Star Sports Network. Live streaming will be available on the Disney+ Hotstar app and website in India.