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This time last year Kashyap Prajapati was living the dream, playing against the likes of Australia and England at the men’s T20 World Cup in the Caribbean. The top-order batter didn’t do much of note and Oman went winless, but the tournament was a rare foray into high-profile cricket for Oman. It was Prajapati’s second T20 World Cup, having played in the 2021 edition – which Oman had co-hosted – and Oman’s third time overall.A year on, Prajapati is in the US, looking to secure a future for himself, having been forced out of Oman after an acrimonious – and still unresolved – pay dispute with Oman Cricket over prize money from that event.Prajapati is not alone. Almost the entire Oman squad from that tournament is no longer part of the set-up, and quite a few are no longer in the country, a consequence of Oman Cricket’s refusal to pay the players the US$ 225,000 prize money the ICC had set aside for teams finishing between 13th and 20th at the event.The total prize money of US$ 11.25 million for that tournament was widely trumpeted by the ICC as a record-breaking amount at the time, with the winners India receiving US$ 2.45 million. Yet, according to the World Cricketers’ Association (WCA), multiple participating boards from that tournament have yet to pay the full prize money to their players. Oman’s is the most flagrant breach, with the deepest consequences, with none of the US$ 225,000 passed on to the 15-man squad.”Our lives have been upended over this issue; we’ve lost our spot in the team, our contracts have been torn up, and we have been forced to leave the country,” Prajapati told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s just so confusing and we don’t understand why the ICC isn’t able to ensure we get paid the prize money we have earned, and why there isn’t a safe space for us to raise concerns?”Under the ICC’s terms of participation for events, to which each member signs up, all prize money must be paid to the squad, via the member boards, within 21 days of the end of the event. The ICC has confirmed that the prize money was paid to Oman Cricket, but that money has not been paid on to the players.Prajapati says Oman’s players wouldn’t have been aware of what they were due had it not been for the media attention around the record-breaking amounts on offer (he claims they never received prize money from the 2021 edition either, because they didn’t know about it).The 2024 tournament was Oman’s third appearance at the T20 World Cup•ICC via Getty Images

According to Prajapati and two other members of that squad, the players raised the issue of the prize money on several occasions after the T20 World Cup with team management and the board, to no avail. The first time was at a tri-series in Canada in September, already three months after the end of the T20 World Cup. Twelve of the 15-man World Cup squad, including Prajapati, were part of this squad, there to play against the hosts and Nepal.It was here that Oman’s players discussed the issue with players from the other two teams, who had also been at the T20 World Cup. Nepali and Canadian players told Prajapati and his team-mates they had received their shares but only after overcoming some resistance. WCA claims players from other Associate nations who played in that tournament have been paid between 20%-70% of the prize money they are due but not the full amount by their boards. Oman’s players brought up the issue with team management but were told to concentrate on playing and that the issue was being looked at.The issue was brought up again by the players, this time ahead of the T20 Emerging teams Asia Cup, which included ‘A’ sides from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bangladesh among eight teams. The tournament was played in Oman last October. This time, according to Prajapati, the team resolved to take unified action, including the threat of refusing to play, if they weren’t given assurances about the prize money and when they would receive it. This is when matters escalated.When they brought it up with a board official during practice before the tournament, he asked the squad members individually if they wanted to play. When they said not unless they received the prize money due to them, it was made clear that this could result in their expulsion from the side.Discussions continued with senior board officials that day, but eventually a group of senior players were given an ultimatum: play, or the board has another 15 players on standby to play their first game, against the UAE. The players refused and were told to pack their bags and check out of the hotel where they were staying.A glance at the scorecard of that game and the selected squad for the tournament confirms the last-minute, wholesale changes that took place: only five of the 15-man squad announced before the tournament was in the side for the first game; only four from the XI that played Oman’s previous game two weeks earlier. And only two from the XI that played against the UAE were in the T20 World Cup squad, just four months prior.A number of those players eventually had to leave Oman. As with most Gulf states, residency in the country is tied to employment visas and in this case, a number of players had their employment visas and other employment revoked, compelling them to leave the country.Fayyaz Butt: I’m not working at the moment, looking for opportunities but our playing careers are over•ICC/Getty Images

“It’s been a massive loss for my career and professionally,” Fayyaz Butt, who across five years played 30 ODIs and 47 T20Is for Oman, told ESPNcricinfo. “I had to leave Oman. I’m not working at the moment, looking for opportunities but our playing careers are over.”Although there is no player association in Oman, their plight came to light because they reached out to WCA, and that too only after players from Canada and Nepal (during the tri-series in Canada) made them aware of the option. The lack of information made available to Associate Member players by their boards has been cited by WCA as a key factor in such issues. Boards hope players don’t know they are due this money, or that they can intimidate players to prevent them from raising it, or pay them a portion of the prize money and claim that is all they are due.The ICC has been involved and has been supportive but is hamstrung by not having a mechanism through which a board can be penalised for such non-payment. The WCA recommendation that outstanding or non-payment amounts should simply be deducted from ICC member revenue distributions is unlikely to be taken up by a members-run body.One official said that Oman Cricket tried to explain the non-payment away to the ICC as a misunderstanding and that the issue isn’t that the board don’t have the intention to make the payment. ESPNcricinfo has reached out multiple times to Oman Cricket and a senior official within the board directly, but no response has been forthcoming.The ICC and WCA reached an agreement on prize money for players in 2024, covering ten major ICC events in the cycle up to 2027. The WCA say, however, that since then, all three major ICC events have had outstanding or late payment issues for players. It does acknowledge that some “minor progress” has been made by the ICC in following up on members.”In a sport that is trying to retain players in international cricket and ensure its future and relevance, it’s disappointing to see more non-payment issues, including in pinnacle ICC events held almost a year ago,” Tom Moffat, the WCA CEO, told ESPNcricinfo. “We understand ICC management have continued to chase the boards on this, but the issue reflects poorly on the whole sport and adds to the widespread issues in domestic leagues.”There are simple solutions to this problem and whilst the majority of boards do the right thing, it’s frustrating that some are still not. It’s also extremely concerning if some players are unable to raise their legitimate issues without fear of being punished for doing so.”

In all six previous tosses at this venue this season, captains had opted to chase. However, when Pat Cummins won the toss for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium for their final game of the season, he chose to bat first.Stating that he expected the pitch to be good for batting in both innings, he said the team wanted to end the season by playing consistent cricket. There were no changes to the SRH batting-first XI from their win against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Ajinkya Rahane said he would’ve bowled first anyway since the last two matches at this venue were won by the chasing team “easily.” This is their first outing since their defeat to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on May 7, as their fixture against RCB was washed out on May 17. It is their final game of the season too.Manish Pandey, who played against CSK to replace the injured Venkatesh Iyer, has kept his place in the KKR bowling-first XI. Angkrish Raghuvanshi is their expected impact player. Quinton de Kock replaced Rahmanullah Gurbaz.Sunrisers Hyderabad XI: 1 Travis Head, 2 Abhishek Sharma, 3 Ishan Kishan (wk), 4 Heinrich Klaasen (VC), 5 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 6 Aniket Verma, 7 Abhinav Manohar, 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9Harshal Patel, 10 Eshan Malinga, 11 Jaydev UnadkatImpact Subs: Mohammad Shami, Harsh Dubey, Sachin Baby, Zeeshan Ansari, Simarjeet SinghKolkata Knight Riders XI: 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Sunil Narine, 3 Ajinkya Rahane (capt), 4 Manish Pandey, 5 Rinku Singh, 6 Andre Russell, 7 Ramandeep Singh, 8 Harshit Rana, 9 Vaibhav Arora, 10 Anrich Nortje, 11 Varun ChakravarthyImpact subs: Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Venkatesh Iyer, Anukul Roy, Spencer Johnson, Luvnith Sisodia

Big picture: Two teams with contrasting runs

Rajasthan Royals need only look as far back as 2024 – the example of Royal Challengers Bengaluru, specifically, for inspiration. They made a stirring run to the playoffs at the back end, surging to six straight wins and qualifying with 14 points. RR need five on the bounce to get to the same points, but do they have the belief, especially after failing to close out three regulation chases?Their climb up the points table will hard, not least because they now face Gujarat Titans, who have quietly built one of the most complete bowling units of IPL 2025, even as Rashid Khan has only shown flashes of his best.Prasidh Krishna, back in the IPL after a long injury layoff, is in the form of his life: 16 wickets at 14.12 and economy rate of 7.29. Left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore isn’t far behind, with 12 wickets at 16.33 and an economy of 8.22. Then there’s Mohammed Siraj, bringing the heat, especially in the powerplay, with his zip and late swing.Their batting is equally settled. Shubman Gill and B Sai Sudharsan may not go wham-bam from the start, but they’ve mastered the art of building an innings. Their 448 partnership runs are the highest by any pair this season. They served another reminder of this chemistry during a 114-run opening stand in their previous outing against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens.Sai Sudharsan, Gill and Buttler – the former RR star – combined have faced over 80 balls in seven of GT’s eight matches. The formidable top three have taken pressure off a middle order that may seem slightly undercooked on the surface, but they’ve had their moments, like when Rahul Tewatia finished off a final-over chase against Delhi Capitals.3:35

Jaffer: Sai Kishore ‘one of the bright spots’ for GT

RR, by contrast, are a team in search of the right combinations, despite being the fastest scoring team in the powerplay (10.38) along with Punjab Kings (10.37). And that’s because they haven’t been able to maximise Yashasvi Jaiswal’s fast starts and a recent surge in form.Sanju Samson is still injured. Coach Rahul Dravid isn’t sure of a recovery time frame yet. Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel and Shimron Hetmyer have all struggled for batting rhythm, having now seen three seemingly straightforward chases turn pear-shaped. The burden of winning seems to have fallen squarely on Jaiswal with the bat and Jofra Archer with the ball.GT are surging toward a top two finish. RR are simply trying to stay afloat, having now lost five games on the trot.Related

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• Gill and Sai Sudharsan give a masterclass in low risk, high rewards

Form guide

Rajasthan Royals LLLLL (Last five, most recent first)Gujarat Titans WWLWW

Team news and likely XIIs

Tushar Deshpande went for 36 in two wicketless overs in RR’s last game. He hasn’t bowled his full quota in three of their last five games. Akash Madhwal is a tempting option to replace him.Rajasthan Royals (probable): 1 Vaibhav Suryavanshi, 2 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 3 Nitish Rana, 4 Riyan Parag (capt), 5 Dhruv Jurel, 6 Shimron Hetmyer, 7 Shubham Dubey, 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Sandeep Sharma, 10 Jofra Archer, 11 Fazalhaq Farooqi, 12 Akash MadhwalGT look settled. They’ll likely remain unchanged.Gujarat Titans (probable): 1 B Sai Sudharsan, 2 Shubman Gill (capt), 3 Jos Buttler, 4 Sherfane Rutherford, 5 M Shahrukh Khan, 6 Rahul Tewatia, 7 Rashid Khan, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 R Sai Kishore, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Prasidh Krishna, 12 Ishant SharmaRiyan Parag has a lot to think about as Rajasthan Royals stand-in captain•BCCI

In the spotlight: Dhruv Jurel and Prasidh Krishna

Dhruv Jurel has struggled against spin, his strike rate of 105 this season a clear indicator. RCB capitalised on this in their previous clash, tightening the screws with Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma in tandem. With a strike rate of 195 against pace, on the other hand, is Jurel better used when fast bowlers are around? An RR batting shuffle could unlock his strengths.Free of injuries, clear of his role of being a hit-the-deck, middle-overs bowler, Prasidh Krishna is enjoying a sensational return to the IPL after two frustrating years on the sidelines. His economy of 5.3 is the season’s best in the middle overs among those who’ve bowled a minimum of 15 overs. He’s also currently the joint-highest wicket-taker along with Josh Hazlewood.

The big question

Key stats

• Jaiswal is 37 away from 2000 IPL runs. He’ll become the third-fastest Indian after Ruturaj Gaikwad (57 innings) and KL Rahul (60 innings) to get here. His 15 powerplay sixes are also the most by a batter this season.
• Archer has a favourable match-up against Gil in IPLl: three dismissals in five innings. Gill has managed just 10 runs while striking at 67.
• Hetmyer’s death overs strike rate (156) has considerably dropped from 200 and 192 over the last two seasons.
• GT’s top three are averaging (53.9), the highest this season.
• GT’s middle-overs batting has improved drastically from last season. Their strike rate has jumped from 142 to 165, and their average has more than doubled from 26.8 to 61.1.

Pitch and conditions

Four of the seven games in Jaipur have been won by the chasing side since last year, with the average first innings score being 184. Day temperatures have crossed 40 degrees celsius; while the evenings will be a tad cooler, there’s no escaping the oppressive heat that will take a toll on the players’ fitness.

Quotes

“As a middle order, there’s lots of pressure off you by how our top three is batting. Yes, there is not much game time for few of us in the middle order but that’s been compensated in practice.”

New Zealand’s fast bowlers crushed Pakistan in swinging conditions at Mount Maunganui and set up a massive 115-run win to help the home side clinch the series 3-1 with a match to spare. After chasing down 205 in Auckland to keep the series alive, Pakistan were all out in 16.2 on Sunday with New Zealand’s four-seam attack accounting for nine of the ten wickets. Jacob Duffy made early inroads, picking up three wickets inside the powerplay to dent Pakistan and they never recovered from the top-order collapse.Earlier, Finn Allen top-scored with a 20-ball fifty and cameos from Tim Seifert and Michael Bracewell powered New Zealand to 220 for 6. New Zealand made the intent clear from the beginning as they raced to 79 for 1 in the powerplay. Even though there was a slowdown in the middle overs, New Zealand managed to post their second straight 200-plus total in the series, which proved too much for the visitors.

Duffy, Foulkes run through Pakistan

Pakistan’s chase never took off with New Zealand troubling them with swing and seam on offer. Unlike the game in Auckland, Pakistan couldn’t take advantage of the dew factor. The chase began with Will O’Rourke, playing his first match of the series, removing Mohammed Haris with an excellent delivery that nipped back in to disturb his stumps. Duffy then dismissed Hasan Nawaz, centurion from the last match, and captain Salman Agha in the second over to dent Pakistan. Zakary Foulkes, one of the two changes that New Zealand made to the XI, also struck instantly, as he cleaned up Shadab Khan in his first ball with an inswinger.Eventually, Pakistan lost eight wickets for 56 runs. The game was all but over at the halfway stage of the chase even though the No.7 Abdul Samad fought a lone battle with his 30-ball 44.Duffy came back for his final over and added one more wicket to his tally to end with 4 for 20 while Foulkes scalped three overall. Duffy is now the highest-wicket taker in the series with 11 wickets from four matchesFinn Allen smashed a 19-ball fifty•Getty Images

Seifert takes off in powerplay

Tim Seifert continued to give flying starts for New Zealand. He drove the second ball of the innings, a juicy half-volley from Shaheen Afridi, straight down the ground for four and followed it up with a six over long-on off Khushdil Shah in the next over. Abrar Ahmed’s first over, fourth overall, was the expensive one in the powerplay as Seifert smashed 6, 4, 6 in the 19-run over. The team’s fifty came up in 3.5 overs. But Pakistan got the breakthrough immediately as Haris Rauf was brought in for the fifth over with Seifert pulling a short ball to deep midwicket where Khushdil took a stunning low catch. New Zealand ended the powerplay at 79 for 1 – the second-highest powerplay total for any team against Pakistan in men’s T20Is. Seifert made a 22-ball 44.

Pakistan fightback after Allen’s fifty

Allen scored eight off his first six balls, but once the field was spread out, he took charge. Abrar, after his 19-run first over, conceded another 16 runs in his second as Allen hit him for two fours and a six. Allen continued his onslaught, slapping Shadab Khan for two fours and as many sixes in a 23-run 10th over to bring up his fifty off just 19 balls. But he perished the next delivery from Abbas Afridi after miscuing on to mid-off. From 134 for 2, New Zealand slipped to 149 for 5 as Pakistan bowled five boundary-less overs.

Bracewell lift NZ at the death

New Zealand finished the way they began, on a high, scoring 63 runs in the last five overs. Daryl Mitchell scored 29 off 23 after making 18 off his first 19 balls, but it was Bracewell’s cameo of 46 at No.7 which powered New Zealand past 200. He smashed five fours and two sixes in his 26-ball stay, including a 97-metre six to fine leg off Afridi in the 17th over.Rauf was the only Pakistan bowler to leak fewer than ten runs an over in the fourth T20I, as he returned 3 for 27 from his four overs.

Big picture: Similar teams, different results

These two teams have very similar make-ups. But their trajectories in IPL 2025 have diverged because the same strength they have invested in has worked for one but not the other.Gujarat Titans (GT) are up in second place on the points table because their top three have been enormously productive. Shubman Gill, B Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler have been responsible for over 70% of their team’s runs – 503 out of 715. Plan A is going really well for them. Too well, maybe? T20 cricket is messy. And eventually, GT will have to deal with the fact that their middle order has got no time in the middle.Related

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• Samson: 'Letting Buttler go one of the most challenging decisions'

Rajasthan Royals (RR) have gone through that arc already this season. Yashasvi Jaiswal’s indifferent form and Sanju Samson’s return from injury have exposed their middle order and those back-up players were able to fashion an excellent win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Guwahati last week. Nitish Rana and Co appear slightly more battle-ready than Shahrukh Khan and Co.

Form guide

Gujarat Titans WWW
Rajasthan Royals WWL

New loyalties

Buttler, now with GT, will be coming up against his former team. He played seven seasons for RR, scoring over 3000 runs. RR captain Samson had even said before the season that letting Buttler go ahead of the auction was “one of the most challenging decisions” for him.

Team news and likely XIIs

There is no clarity yet around Kagiso Rabada, who left GT to return home for personal reasons. In his continued absence, Ishant Sharma might get more games as the Impact Sub.Gujarat Titans (probable XII): 1 Shubman Gill (capt), 2 B Sai Sudharsan, 3 Jos Buttler (wk), 4 Sherfane Rutherford, 5 Shahrukh Khan, 6 Rahul Tewatia, 7 Arshad Khan/Washington Sundar, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 R Sai Kishore, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Prasidh Krishna, 12 Ishant SharmaYashasvi Jaiswal went past 30 for the first time this IPL against Punjab Kings•Associated Press

RR seemed to have hit their stride in the last game with Samson back as captain and Jaiswal producing runs as opener. They do not have a pressing reason to change their combination.Rajasthan Royals (probable XII): 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Sanju Samson (capt & wk), 3 Riyan Parag, 4 Nitish Rana, 5 Dhruv Jurel, 6 Shimron Hetmyer, 7 Wanindu Hasaranga, 8 Jofra Archer, 9 Kumar Kartikeya/Shubham Dubey, 10 Maheesh Theekshana, 11 Yudhvir Singh/Tushar Deshpande, 12 Sandeep Sharma

The big question

Is Rashid Khan on the decline? Surely not. A man with over 600 T20 wickets deserves the benefit of the doubt. But over the last two seasons in the IPL, he has picked up 11 wickets in 16 matches at an average of 46.36 and an economy rate of 8.84.

In the spotlight: Sherfane Rutherford and Jofra Archer

GT got Sherfane Rutherford at his base price at the IPL auction in November, which is perhaps indicative of his numbers until that point: 106 runs in nine innings at an average of 15 and a strike rate of 102. In six of those innings, though, he was batting at No. 6 or lower. GT have been using him up the order and that faith is already being repaid. Rutherford has got 129 runs in four innings this year with an average of 64.5 and a strike rate of 176.71.Jofra Archer, at his best, is a sight to behold and the very first over of the last game that he played suggested that he has found his rhythm. His speed was approaching 150kph. He was getting movement off the seam. He was clattering the stumps. Injuries have tried to derail his career, but it appears they have been unsuccessful. On Tuesday, RR will depend on him to rip out one of GT’s biggest strengths. Archer vs Gill in T20s is nine runs, 13 balls, two dismissals.

Pitch and conditions

Ahmedabad offers a choice of surfaces – black soil, which makes the pitch slower and lower, and red soil, which offers pace and bounce. All that considered, though, batters have scored runs at a rate of 9.76 per over, which puts this ground behind only Hyderabad (10.16) in terms of high-scoring venues this IPL.

Stats and trivia

• Buttler has a favourable head-to-head record against Archer in T20s: 89 runs in 47 balls for two dismissals.
• Mohammed Siraj has found his rhythm again. He had only five wickets in the powerplay last season. He’s already gone past that mark now, having played ten fewer matches. His pace is up – 50% his balls in the first six overs are 140-plus kph. All that sets him up even better for his contest with Samson, which, in the IPL, reads 36 runs in 31 balls and three dismissals.
• A battle with RR might be coming at the perfect time for Rashid. He looked in decent nick against SRH (4-0-31-0) and has the wood over Riyan Parag (24 runs, 28 balls, two dismissals) in the IPL and Shimron Hetmyer (79 runs, 63 balls, six dismissals) in all T20 cricket.
• GT’s top order doing as well as they have has meant a set batter is always around to take advantage of the death overs. Their run rate of 13.31 is the second-best among all teams in this phase of play this season.
• RR’s spinners have picked up 11 wickets this year, behind only Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Maheesh Theekshana has even coped with the burden of bowling in the death, picking up a wicket and giving just 18 runs in 18 balls. Wanindu Hasaranga has only been used in the middle overs and he’s been effective enough that only two other bowlers have more wickets than he does – R Sai Kishore (8) and Noor Ahmad (8).

Sometimes scorecards really do tell the story of a game, and in this case, a cursory glance makes what happened obvious. A Kane Williamson masterclass – his 14th ODI hundred and first since 2019, made light work of a South African total not too far removed from the one that saw Pakistan fall well short on Saturday – helped book New Zealand’s place in the final, and earn them three rest days. The former captain said he felt the pitch was there to be taken advantage of, and praised his team-mates, most of all Devon Conway – who came into the side following Rachin Ravindra’s freak injury and scored a brisk 97.”It was great to be out there and be a part of some important partnerships,” Williamson said after the game. “Devon Conway was outstanding – he was at his best and got us off to a great start. We were able to put that partnership together that took us a long way into that chase. That was really valuable.”What looks inexorable in hindsight was anything but certain. South Africa had put on a stiff 304 thanks largely to a stunning onslaught from Matthew Breetzke as he became the first debutant to score 150 in an ODI. They pillaged 108 in the last ten overs with momentum on their side at the lunch break. When New Zealand had subjected Pakistan to a similar assault, they wilted in the second innings, losing wickets in bunches and falling well short.Related

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• Pakistan vs New Zealand in a title clash and a dress rehearsal

• Breetzke bats his way from scratchy to sublime in ODI debut to remember

• Williamson powers New Zealand home, Breetzke's record 150 in vain

But after a steady opening partnership, Conway and Williamson put together a huge stand, taking advantage of some inexperienced South African bowling and a true pitch that only appeared to get better as the day aged. Williamson looked in the form of his life, and appeared to take no risks while continuing to score at a strike rate close to 140. He brought up his century in 72 balls, the second fastest ODI hundred he has scored. The two put on 187 runs off 154 balls for the second wicket, and by the time Conway sliced one to a fielder, the contest was effectively done and dusted.”The pitch was definitely a better surface [to bat] today,” he said. “For whatever reason, I’m not sure. That’s part of some of the good learnings, really – different times of the day going into the evening. It came onto the bat quite nicely and it still took a little bit of turn. So it’s quite interesting; it’s the sort of wicket where if you’re able to get breakthroughs, you can apply some pressure. But it was nice we were able to build those partnerships and break the back of the chase. For me, it’s about trying to assess conditions and do the best job I can and then be a part of partnerships for the team in whatever role it is. It was tough going – kept quite low in that day time innings. But it did change a bit.”Williamson understands the value of getting some extra game time in with the Champions Trophy around the corner, but also has the experience of not reading too much into it. This game was played during the day – a timeslot that will not be in play for any game during the Champions Trophy. However, just as New Zealand were ruthless in defence of a total against Pakistan, they were equally clinical at hunting one down today.”Obviously playing one day cricket here when other teams haven’t probably been playing a huge amount of one day cricket is nice,” Williamson added. “It helps us to try and get as familiar as you can with our roles and how we operate as a unit and also the conditions. Having said that, we know that each game is a match in isolation. When you come to a tournament like Champions Trophy, the top eight teams on their day giving the conditions, anyone can beat anybody, so a really competitive tournament. That is exciting, I think, and a great prospect for viewers as well.”Today, though, a sizeable crowd, considering it was a weekday with two neutral teams, were not thinking of the Champions Trophy. Williamson was the man they had come to see, and as he pointed out, it was his side they seemed to support. And, as he has proved to fans on the other side of the world time and again, he showed Pakistan supporters what it felt to throw their support behind a cricketer who never seems to let anyone down.”It was great to see a crowd here today,” Williamson said. “Pakistan not a part of this match, but heard a few chants for the Kiwis which was nice as well. I suppose we have been here fairly often in recent years and that was great. So it’s nice to get a bit of a crowd along to this match and certainly had an outstanding atmosphere in the first one and that was great to be a part of as well.”

Early in the final hour at the MCG, Australia won an epic Test that had been played in front of a record crowd to take a 2-1 lead in the Border Gavaskar Trophy, having snared seven wickets in the final session when it appeared India were on track to save the game. Yashasvi Jaiswal defied the home side for 208 deliveries before falling to the herculean Pat Cummins while hometown star Scott Boland made three key incisions to secure one of Australia’s most significant victories of recent history.Nathan Lyon claimed the final wicket, when he pinned Mohammed Siraj lbw, sparking wild celebrations for the home side: a margin of 184 runs did not do justice to the tension and drama of the final day and the importance of the result to this Australia team who have turned their fortunes around after the crushing opening defeat in Perth.Related

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• Australia conjure up 'one of those great wins' to exorcise ghosts of the Gabba

• All-time attendance record for a Test in Australia broken at the MCG

• Jaiswal dismissed as third umpire sees 'conclusive evidence' to overturn not-out decision

After India had slid to 33 for 3, Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant added 88 in 32 overs to take India into the final session with seven wickets in hand, but Travis Head burgled the wicket of Pant and Australia seized their moment as India lost 7 for 34. The quick bowlers were immense, Mitchell Starc bowling in the mid-140kph region despite a back niggle, while Cummins and Boland added further chapters to previous MCG heroics. Cummins earned the Johnny Mullagh Medal as Player of the Match for an outstanding all-round Test in which he also contributed 90 runs alongside his six wickets.There was a dose of controversy, too, when Jaiswal’s rearguard was ended via the DRS after he gloved a pull down the leg side against Cummins. Snicko did not register anything, but third umpire Sharfuddoula ruled he had seen a clear a deflection, which matched what was shown on TV. Jaiswal appeared to know he had hit it but spoke with the umpires on the way off. It meant India’s lower order had 21 overs to survive and it proved too much.The defeat means India’s hopes of reaching the World Test Championship final are now out of their hands, but in terms of this series they can still retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with victory in Sydney. For Australia, a win in the final Test – and a 3-1 margin – would secure their spot in the WTC final alongside South Africa who qualified yesterday with their own gripping victory over Pakistan.The final day dawned with Australia nine down and they opted to continue batting which added just a further six runs but removed four overs from the day’s allocation. Lyon became the fifth wicket for Jasprit Bumrah, retaining his record of having the most Test runs without making a half-century. It all meant that India needed 340 in 92 overs and talk of the Gabba 2021 was never far away.Pat Cummins was awarded the Mullagh Medal after being named Player of the Match•Getty Images

India were very cautious early on against some extremely testing new ball bowling; Rohit Sharma later said they set out wanting to lay a platform for a chase but it always looked a long shot. Australia were made to wait for their opening incisions before, as has so often been the case, it was Cummins who came to the fore. He had the struggling Rohit edging to gully, where Mitchell Marsh took a sharp catch, and five balls later squared up KL Rahul with a superb delivery which ended in the hands of first slip.In the final over before lunch, Starc was rewarded for battling through the pain barrier when he lured Virat Kohli into his latest drive outside off, the edge reaching Usman Khawaja. The wicket ended a controversial time in Melbourne for Kohli, and made it clear that there was no realistic chance of India chasing down the target.Jaiswal and Pant played very solidly through the afternoon to repel everything Australia threw at them. Jaiswal, who dropped three catches yesterday, including a vital chance off Marnus Labuschagne, survived a tight lbw appeal against Starc on 31 and brought up his second fifty of the match off 127 balls.Shortly after tea, India were 121 for 3. Head, who was used partly to improve Australia’s over rate which risked WTC points deductions, dropped a ball short outside off stump and Pant went for the pull, finding Marsh at long-on who took an excellent catch. It gave Australia an opening. And belief.Cummins quickly returned to Boland and he soon made a delivery jump at Ravindra Jadeja to take the shoulder of the bat through to Carey. In the next over from Lyon, India’s first-innings rescuer, Nitish Kumar Reddy, edged a delivery which went straight on and Steven Smith took a superb catch, low to his left at slip. Australia had taken 3 for 9 to crack the innings wide open.Steven Smith gets into position to take the catch that got Nitish Kumar Reddy•Getty Images

Jaiswal’s dismissal will likely be dissected in detail over the coming days and the DRS was called into action again to rule that Akash Deep had got a thin edge into his pad which went to short leg. By then, Australia were firm favourites, especially with a new ball soon to be available, but in the end that wasn’t even needed.Boland found Bumrah’s outside edge, with Smith taking another superb catch, and then Lyon cannoned one into Siraj’s front pad. Inevitably India reviewed but it was going nowhere but the stumps. When the decision was confirmed, Lyon did a jig of delight. Overall, the Test had been watched by 373,691 spectators, a new record for a Test match in Australia. It will go down as one of the more memorable.

Gavin Larsen is to step down as Warwickshire’s performance director after 18 months in the role, the club have announced.Larsen moved to the UK from New Zealand in early 2023, taking over in a new role after Paul Farbrace’s departure as sporting director. Larsen had previously spent eight years as New Zealand selector.The former Black Caps seamer is set to return to his home country for personal reasons, although he will continue in the role until the new year to help the transition, with Warwickshire set to review their leadership structure, according to chief executive, Stuart Cain.”It’s been an absolute pleasure being part of the Bears family, and I’ve enjoyed every second of it,” Larsen said. “My tenure has been shorter than planned. But sometimes in life the odd curve ball can be thrown your way. That’s the case here.”It’s been a great ride and I certainly feel a big part of the Edgbaston family. People and relationships are always key in any walk of life. And here at Edgbaston I can honestly say it’s as positive an environment as I’ve been involved in.”I wish everyone at Edgbaston all the very best, and will always follow the club’s progress with enormous interest.”Warwickshire finished fourth and seventh in Division One of the County Championship during Larsen’s two seasons at the helm, as well as losing consecutive home quarter-finals in the T20 Blast.One of his final acts as performance director was to help secure the signing of fellow New Zealander Tom Latham for the 2025 summer.Cain said: “Gavin has a great energy and a depth of cricketing knowledge that is second to none. He has worked tirelessly to improve the high-performance environment at Warwickshire and he will be welcome back at Edgbaston any time. As they say, once a bear, always a bear.”Whilst not linked, we will now combine the findings of the high-performance review with the chance to freshen up our high-performance leadership team and make sure we give our men’s and women’s squads every chance of succeeding on the field in 2025 and beyond.”

Uncapped fast-bowling allrounder Chamindu Wickramasinghe is in line for his ODI debut after being included in place of Chamika Karunaratne in Sri Lanka’s 16-man squad to face West Indies, while legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay has been brought in for offspinner Akila Dananjaya.Karunaratne’s exclusion confirms the notion that he has simply fallen out of favour with the new selection and coaching regime. He last turned out for a game for Sri Lanka in the 2023 ODI World Cup despite being part of several squads since.But his downward trajectory has coincided with Wickramasinghe’s rise following impressive showings with the bat in July’s Lanka Premier League. He played in the first game of the T20I series against West Indies before increasingly spin-friendly surfaces meant Dunith Wellalage was preferred over him.

SL vs WI, men’s ODI series

Oct 20 – 1st ODI
Oct 23 – 2nd ODI
Oct 26 – 3rd ODI

Mohamed Shiraz, who was a late inclusion in the squad to face India – as one of the replacements for the injured pair of Matheesha Pathirana and Dilshan Madushanka – retains his place, though Madushanka is also back after having missed the T20I series against West Indies. However, Pathirana, who had played all three T20Is against West Indies, misses out. Asitha Fernando rounds out the pace options.On the spin-bowling front, a strong attack will be led by Maheesh Theekshana and Wanindu Hasaranga, with Vandersay and Wellalage providing options.Sri Lanka’s batting remains unchanged. Skipper Charith Asalanka heads a formidable unit containing the likes of Avishka Fernando, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Kamindu Mendis, Janith Liyanage, Sadeera Samarawickrama and Nishan Madushka.The three-match series will start on October 20. All three games will be played in Pallekele.

Sri Lanka ODI squad for the series against West Indies

Charith Asalanka (capt), Avishka Fernando, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Kamindu Mendis, Janith Liyanage, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Nishan Madushka, Dunith Wellalage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Jeffrey Vandersay, Chamindu Wickramasinghe, Asitha Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka, Mohamed Shiraz

Sam Konstas’ mentor Shane Watson believes circumstances have thrown up a “perfect storm” for the teen prodigy to make his Test debut in the home series against India.Konstas announced himself as a Test bolter with twin Sheffield Shield centuries for NSW earlier this month and will feature for Australia A next week alongside the out-of-form Cameron Bancroft and another previous Test opener in Marcus Harris as the selectors narrow down their options.Related

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Matthew Renshaw is another with past Test experience while momentum is building behind the uncapped Nathan McSweeney and Josh Inglis is an out-of-the-box option, but with only six first-class games to his name, 19-year-old Konstas has also been considered as a bold option to partner Usman Khawaja at the top.Watson said selectors need only look to the player Konstas would replace for proof rare talents must be given early chances at Test cricket. Injured allrounder Cameron Green made his Test debut at 21 on India’s last tour of Australia, having been earmarked as a prodigy playing Sheffield Shield for Western Australia.Watson felt the age of the current playing group was further evidence of the need to inject young blood; there is no player younger than 30 who both played in Australia’s last Test match in March and is fit for the summer.”The whole situation is, in my mind, a perfect storm to be able to give him an opportunity to be able to play Test cricket,” Watson told AAP. “For me, this is an opportune time, knowing that the bowlers are aging, there’s Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja as a starting point who are aging.”They’ve still obviously got a lot of great cricket in front of them. But the one thing Australian cricket always did incredibly well was see someone who is different from all the younger stars coming through and get them into the Australian set-up, as early as they can within reason, to be able to help them learn.”Sam Konstas was presented his NSW cap by Shane Watson last season•Getty Images

Current captain Pat Cummins memorably became the second-youngest Australian debutant in Test history when the then-18-year-old earned a first baggy green on the 2011 tour of South Africa, while Konstas’ batting predecessors Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh were both given the nod at 20.Watson himself can vouch for the benefits of earning international experience early, having first played ODI cricket as a 20-year-old.”There’s no doubt that my one-day cricket would never have evolved to the heights that it did without me being around the Aussie team [at a younger age],” said Watson, who went on to play in Australia’s 2007 and 2015 World Cup triumphs.Watson has been working with Konstas for the best part of four years, having first come across him as a student at Cranbrook – the Sydney school attended by Watson’s son.He named Konstas’ single-minded dedication to his craft as his most striking attribute.”From the first moment that I met Sam, the thing that jumped out at me the most was his desperate desire to be the best that he possibly could be,” Watson said. “The first time I had a net session with him as a 16-year-old, he hits the ball differently; the shot options that he has available to him and his defence.”But then knowing how diligently he has been working on his mental game as well, it absolutely does not surprise me to see what he’s able to do.”The mental side of cricket has been of particular interest to Watson towards the end of his career and into retirement, with his book recently adapted into an online skills course through SafetyCulture.