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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.

Somerset 293 for 4 (Abell 105*, Lammonby 87) trail Nottinghamshire 360 (Stone 83, Haynes 55, Clarke 51, Aldridge 5-94) by 67 runsA century from Tom Abell led a strong Somerset response on day two of the Vitality County Championship match at Trent Bridge, where the visitors closed on 293 for 4 in reply to the hosts’ 360 all out as they bid to keep pace with leaders Surrey and Essex at the top of the Division One table.It is a first hundred for the 30-year-old since he relinquished the Somerset captaincy after struggling for form last year, although he missed the start of the current campaign through injury and this is only his second match in the Championship.He finished on 105 not out, with Somerset trailing by 67 runs, having shared a 157-run third-wicket partnership with Tom Lammonby (87), adding a further unbroken stand of 67 with James Rew before the close.At the start of the day, Nottinghamshire had extended their first innings by nine overs from 326 for 8 overnight, picking up a third batting point before Somerset’s bowlers could winkle out the last two wickets, seamers Migael Pretorious (4 for 96) and Kasey Aldridge (5 for 95) finishing the job for figures that reflected their fine contributions on day one.Nottinghamshire fast bowler Olly Stone, the principal architect of a recovery from 190 for 7 on day one, fell just before the 350 was reached, edging Pretorius to second slip for an 83 that was warmly acknowledged by the home crowd, who saw him make 90 against Lancashire last month after beginning the season with a first-class average of 15.38.Aldridge completed his five-for when Dane Paterson, earlier dropped by wicketkeeper Rew, was caught on the extra cover boundary, with Dillon Pennington, having enjoyed some good fortune in picking up six boundaries, unbeaten on 29.As Somerset began their reply, Pennington picked up an early scalp with the ball thanks to a fine catch at third slip by Will Young as Andy Umeed departed in the sixth over.Tom Kohler Cadmore, dropped by Calvin Harrison at second slip before he was off the mark, made 38 in his first Championship action of the season before falling soon after lunch to a superb piece of work on the leg side by Tom Moores as Stone gained his 15th wicket of the Championship campaign.Thereafter, it was a frustrating afternoon for Nottinghamshire and a profitable one for Somerset, who added 105 runs in the session as Lammonby and Abell patiently built a half-century apiece, in the former’s case for the sixth time this season.Lammonby’s came from 104 balls with six fours, among them a couple of glorious off-drives. Abell completed his from 101 balls soon afterwards, clipping Harrison crisply to the leg side for his seventh boundary.There had been little encouragement for the bowlers in that time. Nottinghamshire skipper Haseeb Hameed had a number of discussions with the umpires about the condition of the ball, which had already been changed once in the innings. Eventually it was replaced again, although with no discernible change in its behaviour.The footmarks left by Pennington and Stone gave Harrison something to aim at, and the leg-spinner would have been cheered by a delivery soon after tea that turned sharply enough to beat the left-handed Lammonby’s inside edge, even if the end result was four byes.In the event, it was at the other end, where the four Nottinghamshire seamers had been patiently rotated by Hameed, that the breakthrough came as Lammonby, perhaps letting his concentration drift for a moment, played across a ball from Paterson that held its line and was leg before.It broke the partnership after 48 overs, after which the wait for the next wicket was considerably shorter – just seven deliveries – as new batter Tom Banton prodded at one from Harrison to be caught behind.The second new ball raised Nottinghamshire’s hopes of further gains. In the event, none came in the five overs before the close as Abell turned the injection of some pace to his advantage, despatching a couple of leg-side deliveries to the boundary to complete a 202-ball hundred containing 12 fours.

Choosing to bowl first in a Test match is always a tricky call, but it’s justified if you end the first day in the lead, with eight wickets in hand. That’s what Zimbabwe achieved, as Test cricket returned to the Harare Sports Club for the first time after 2021.Brad Evans’ five-wicket haul and Ben Curran’s half-century put Zimbabwe on top on the opening day of the one-off Test against Afghanistan.With plenty of movement on offer for the fast bowlers, Zimbabwe knocked Afghanistan over for 127 inside a session and a half, before taking the lead at the stroke of stumps. On the way there, they survived some testing bowling from the Afghanistan quicks.Earlier in the day, the returning Richard Ngarava struggled to find his rhythm and Ibrahim Zadran took him for three fours in an over. But the Afghanistan openers found it tougher to tackle Blessing Muzarabani, who extracted extra bounce from a good length. This led to Ibrahim edging one to third slip in the sixth over.But after that, the first hour belonged to Afghanistan, as they ticked along at close to six runs an over thanks largely to Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who came in at one-down. Tanaka Chivanga troubled him with extra bounce. One ball flew over the cordon off the shoulder of Gurbaz’s bat, and he later top-edged a pull, but it landed in a vacant deep square leg region.Ben Curran played an attritional knock•AFP/Getty Images

Gurbaz picked up a couple more boundaries, with an off-drive off a full-toss and a ramp off Chivanga. However, Zimbabwe regrouped in the drinks break, started bowling tighter lines and lengths, and reaped the rewards. First, Gurbaz sliced a full ball from Chivanga to point. Then a mix-up with Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi led to opener Abdul Malik being run-out for his Test best score of 30.Malik had started watchfully before dispatching a couple of short balls for boundaries, but after he squeezed out a yorker from Chivanga in front of cover and took off for a single, Shahidi responded to the call before turning back and leaving Malik stranded.Evans, playing his first Test since February 2023, gave Zimbabwe a boost in the penultimate over before the lunch break. First, a full delivery from around the wicket drew Shahidi into a drive. The length wasn’t quite right for the drive, and the ball nibbled away and found the edge, which Nick Welch pouched at gully, diving to his left. Three balls later, Evans had Afsar Zazai nicking off with a length ball that straightened off the pitch. From 77 for 1, Afghanistan had slipped to 102 for 5.The capitulation continued after the interval, with Muzarabani striking in each of his first two overs after lunch. Bahir Shah got a thick edge to gully’s left and Brian Bennett held on to a diving effort before Muzarabani had Ismat Alam strangled down leg. Sharafuddin Ashraf tried to take on Evans and skied one to mid-off’s left and Zimbabwe’s good fielding display continued as Chivanga completed another diving catch.Muzarabani drew Yamin Ahmadzai’s edge twice in an over, but one went over the cordon and the other fine of backward point for fortunate boundaries. Soon, Evans had Khalil Gurbaz edging behind off a short ball, and cleaned up Ziaur Rahman first ball with a yorker to complete a maiden Test five-for.In all, Afghanistan lost 9 for 50 to vindicate Zimbabwe’s decision to bowl.When Zimbabwe began their innings, Bennett looked tentative early on, beaten on the outside edge twice as he tried to drive outswingers from Ahmadzai. But it was Ziaur who bowled him with a lovely full delivery on off, which angled in and straightened to beat the bat and uproot off stump.Ben Curran and Nick Welch then played watchfully till tea, even as Ziaur thought he had Welch caught behind off the inside edge, only to be denied by the umpire.Ziaur Rahman castled Brian Bennett for his maiden Test wicket•Zimbabwe Cricket

Curran waited until his 21st delivery for his first boundary, slashing Ahmadzai behind point. At the other end, Welch crunched a boundary through the covers off Ahmadzai with tea looming. When Afghanistan brought on spin for the first time in the 13th over, Curran drove Ashraf through the covers off his second delivery.The batters faced a testing period as the seamers returned after tea. Welch, especially, struggled to settle, with the quicks finding movement through the day. In the second over after the interval, Welch got a leading edge that went back over the bowler’s head. One ball later, Alam thought he had his man as Welch edged while looking to drive and Zazai caught him behind the stumps, but his celebrations were short-lived as replays confirmed he had overstepped.Even after that, Welch had several play-and-misses and lucky edges that didn’t cost him. Curran struggled for fluency too. He was not helped when he was struck on the helmet but denied a concussion test by the umpire Nitin Menon, who was looking to speed up a sedate over rate. Menon adjudged that the ball had hit him on the glove when he tried to pull a short ball.Legspinner Khalil’s introduction eased some of the pressure on the batters, as Welch swept his second ball for four and then launched him for a six over midwicket in his second over. In Khalil’s third over, Welch launched him inside-out over cover for another boundary.The Afghan bowlers’ toil finally paid off when Ziaur went through Welch’s defence with an inswinger to send his off stump cartwheeling.Brendan Taylor was rapped on the pads first ball he faced, but the umpire adjudged him not out. Taylor got off the mark off his third ball, tucking one fine off his pads.When Ashraf returned, Taylor lofted him down the ground for his second boundary. He continued to pick up runs quickly, ramping a short ball from Ziaur over the keeper.Curran got to his half-century off 108 balls, with a single in the 38th over. Zimbabwe also took the lead in that over, which proved to be the final one of the day, with umpires calling stumps early due to bad light.

Rajat Patidar will lead India A in their first one-dayer against Australia A, on September 30, and Tilak Varma will take charge for the second and third games of the series after finishing the Asia Cup in the UAE, with Patidar as his deputy, on October 3 and October 5. All the matches will be played in Kanpur.Along with Tilak, other Asia Cup squad members Abhishek Sharma, Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh will join the squad for the second and third matches to add muscle to it. Leaving the squad after the first match will be Priyansh Arya and Simarjeet Singh. Meanwhile, Ayush Badoni is the only member of the 17-member squad – KL Rahul and Mohammed Siraj are in only for the second game there – selected for the two four-day matches to also be part of the one-day side.Not much attention appears to have been given to the last edition of the List A Vijay Hazare Trophy, where, of the top-ten run-getters, only Prabhsimran Singh and Abhishek, both from Punjab, have been picked. Ayush Mhatre, among those heavy scorers, will, of course, be leading the India Under-19s in Australia at the time. Similarly, among the top-ten wicket-takers, only Arshdeep features in the ‘A’ side.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Apart from the Asia Cuppers and Badoni, the squad has a strong and familiar-looking batting core, with Patidar, whose Central Zone are on the verge of winning the season-opening Duleep Trophy, Riyan Parag and Abishek Porel. Prabhsimran and Porel are also the main wicketkeeping options. Suryansh Shedge, Vipraj Nigam and Nishant Sindhu are the allrounders. Frontline bowlers include Gurjapneet Singh, Yudhvir Singh and Ravi Bishnoi. For the first game, Arya adds a batting option and Simarjeet a medium-pace alternative.The four-day matches will be played from September 16 and September 23 in Lucknow.

India A squad for the 1st one-dayer

Rajat Patidar (capt), Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Riyan Parag, Ayush Badoni, Suryansh Shedge, Vipraj Nigam, Nishant Sindhu, Gurjapneet Singh, Yudhvir Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Abhishek Porel (wk), Priyansh Arya, Simarjeet Singh

India A squad for 2nd and 3rd one-dayers

Tilak Varma (capt), Rajat Patidar (vice-capt), Abhishek Sharma, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Riyan Parag, Ayush Badoni, Suryansh Shedge, Vipraj Nigam, Nishant Sindhu, Gurjapneet Singh, Yudhvir Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Abhishek Porel (wk), Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh

“Where’s my cake?” birthday boy Suryakumar Yadav asked, as he fielded questions at the press conference after India’s seven-wicket win against Pakistan in Dubai on Sunday night.Suryakumar was, quite obviously, asked about India’s decision to not shake hands with Pakistan after the match. He was asked about sporting spirit, and if India’s actions were politically motivated. But beyond that, Suryakumar also gave more than just a peek into India’s thinking as they prepare for the Super 4s and beyond.For starters, Suryakumar was himself coming off a neat, little unbeaten 47 to see off India’s modest chase of 128 after Abhishek Sharma set the foundation. But Suryakumar deflected all his attention to the frontline spinners, and how they have made his job easier after they returned combined figures of 6 for 60 in 12 overs to restrict Pakistan to 127 for 9.Related

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“I gave all of them 12 overs combined – it was a return gift from me,” Suryakumar joked when asked if India’s spin trio of Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Varun Chakravarthy had given him the perfect birthday gift.”They’re all working hard; you can see it at practice. They want to prepare really well. Once you come to the ground, you can see how well they’re prepared. And they’re very clear with their plans – that’s what I want. It makes my job very easy when I’m on the ground. They’re happy with fields, [and] happy with ends they’re bowling from. It’s good to see all three spinners firing, very well supported by Hardik [Pandya] and Jasprit Bumrah.”While some of the on-field decisions can be instinctive, Suryakumar said part of India’s planning on how to bowl spin and whom to target was often planned keeping in mind the opposition. On Sunday, for example, the call to bowl Axar even with a left-hand batter like Fakhar Zaman at the crease was part of a plan even if it went against what he referred to as a “traditional match-up”.”We prepare well for every team. The coaches – we all sit together, see if there are left-handers, right-handers, how to bowl in the middle, how to start in powerplay,” Suryakymar said. “All this comes with preparation, so when we go on the field, everything moves on autopilot.”The other aspect to India’s bowling performance was how they used Bumrah. When he bowled three overs up front against UAE, it was presumed the move may have been to get some miles under him, ahead of bigger challenges. But Bumrah was used similarly against Pakistan too, which Suryakumar highlighted as part of India’s plans in trying to make all their bowlers take ownership.”Till today, we’ve bowled him two overs in the powerplay, he’s never bowled three in the powerplay,” Suryakumar said. “We’re very happy using him as an attacking option. If he picks two wickets, even if he bowls a tight spell of his overs, later on we can have a good cushion for all the spinners to come over and make our job a little easier.2:02

Bangar: Axar doesn’t really try too many things

“He’s very happy with it [this plan]. Few days, if he has to bowl only two overs, he’ll bowl only two overs, but at least me and the management want to use him as an attacking option. That gives a good platform to someone like Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube to raise their hand to bowl crucial overs in the end and also in the middle. So we’re very happy with that.”Suryakumar was also asked about his own game, and if it was a relief to finally come good in a T20I against Pakistan after managing just 64 runs in five previous innings prior to Sunday’s unbeaten 47 off 37 balls.”Whichever team you play, there’s pressure. If there’s no pressure, no butterflies in your stomach, you won’t have fun in being able to overcome it after going to the ground,” he said. “Numbers are up and down, but what can you do? You’ve got to see how you can be better. If today hadn’t gone right, no problems; I would’ve gone back to the drawing board and focused on doing well in the next match.”It felt good to finish the match. It was important to stay there in the moment. [With regards to] batting position, we’re clear with management. Apart from openers, all other batters will be flexible, got to prepare in such a way where you can bat anywhere. If you play seven batters, it’s important for everyone to make a small impact. Everyone has accepted it. Everyone is flexible. If you are flexible to bat anywhere, the team becomes even more dangerous.”