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Mumbai allrounder Abhishek Nayar has been left out of the 14-member Ranji Trophy squad announced to play against Tripura at Wankhede Stadium starting November 25. ESPNcricinfo understands that Nayar has been dropped considering he has scored only 130 runs and taken eight wickets from five games this season.”Due to lack of form, unfortunately we have had to take the call,” chief selector Ajit Agarkar told . “It’s tough, we understand that he is a senior player. But everyone understands that the teams comes first.”Mumbai, currently third in Group C, must beat Tripura in their final group-stage match to be assured of qualification into the knockout rounds.Nayar will have to wait for his 100th first-class cap, spending time on the bench alongside reserve spinner Aditya Dhumal. Vijay Gohil, the left-arm spinner, was added to the squad.In Mumbai’s last match against Andhra, Nayar scored 73 runs across both innings and took one wicket. However, in the match against Baroda – which was also Mumbai’s 500th first-class game – Nayar blocked his way to 8 off 108 balls in the second innings to help his team escape what seemed like certain defeat.Mumbai Squad: Aditya Tare (captain), Suryakumar Yadav, Jay Bista, Prithvi Shaw, Siddhesh Lad, Shreyas Iyer, Akash Parkar, Karsh Kothari, Dhawal Kulkarni, Shardul Thakur, Minad Manjrekar, Vijay Gohil, Akhil Herwadkar, Sufiyan Shaikh.

Big picture

It is as it never was. But in recent times, and especially in the subcontinent, as it always was. Australia are in danger of losing a series well before its end and their players, by their own admission, seem no closer to solving the issues plaguing them. The remarkable thing is that in each of their matches, including the T20I in Ranchi where they were 49 for 1 after the Powerplay, their initial position was one of considerable strength.Virat Kohli, after scalping the rain-hit first T20I, expressed surprise at having to work hard to chase 48 runs in six overs when his bowlers had kept the opposition to 118 in 18.4. If Australia’s middle order had batted more carefully, the DLS equation might have asked more of India, who like to build in the early part of their batting innings.Such thoughts can be frustrating just as easily as they can be comforting. “We’re just one step away, lads” David Warner might say to his troops at their team meeting in Guwahati. “Tell us what we need to do, skip,” they might reply. “If I knew that, we wouldn’t be losing, would we?” That line has been used more than once in the time the Australians have been in India. Mostly in jest, but perhaps also to prevent airing their weaknesses to the global community, which often tends to include opposition batsmen, bowlers, captains and coaches.India, on the other hand, have dominated all departments. Their newer players have accepted important roles and thrived. While that is cause for celebration, a lot of their success recently has come at home and Kohli himself said, after the Bangalore ODI, that they can’t consider themselves world beaters until they do just as well abroad.

Form guide

India: WWLWW
Australia: LWLLWMarcus Stoinis celebrates after getting Rohit Sharma’s wicket•Associated Press

In the spotlight

If there is one Australian cricketer who has enhanced his reputation during the course of this tour, it is Marcus Stoinis. He looked out of place against spin in the first ODI, but since then has handled the threat quite competently. That he bowled an average of seven overs per game in the ODI series was a sign of his improvement as an allrounder. He was unable to play the Ranchi game, despite being named as a replacement for the injured Steven Smith, because he was back home at the time. But he has joined the squad now and is all but certain to play in Guwahati.He wasn’t at the crease for a long time in Ranchi, but after a little layoff Shikhar Dhawan would have enjoyed it nonetheless. Of course, he would have preferred the opportunity to face more than 12 balls and that may well come his way on Tuesday, with the series on the line.

Team news

India don’t really have much cause to fiddle with their team, unless there are last-minute injuries or thoughts of experimentation.India (probable) 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Manish Pandey, 5 Kedar Jadhav, 6 MS Dhoni (wk), 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Kuldeep Yadav, 9 Yuzvendra Chahal, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 11 Jasprit BumrahGlenn Maxwell, as explosive as he is, hasn’t been solid enough to make that matter. He was dropped in the ODI series for that mistake and he may well suffer the same now.Australia (probable) 1 David Warner (capt), 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Travis Head, 4 Moises Henriques/Glenn Maxwell, 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Dan Christian, 7 Tim Paine (wk), 8 Nathan Coulter-Nile, 9 Adam Zampa/ Andrew Tye, 10 Kane Richardson, 11 Jason Behrendorff

Pitch and conditions

The new Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati will host its first international match, although the city has already hosted international cricket before – from as early as 1983.

Stats and trivia

• Kohli averages 54 in T20Is, and if he lives up to those numbers, he will comfortably pass Tillakaratne Dilshan and become the second-highest scorer in the format in international cricket.
• Since the last of his 12 fifties for Australia in March 2016, Warner averages 16.5 with four single-digit scores in eight innings.

Quotes

“It’s a nice ground, the wicket looks fantastic. The first game being played here; it’s going to be a special one for both teams. Hopefully we can get across the line and get that first victory here.”

It has now been more than two years since Sri Lanka’s last high-profile retirement, and the team is “sick and tired” of talking about transition. These sentiments have been put forth by several players and coaches over the past year, most recently by Dinesh Chandimal in April. Now, interim coach Nic Pothas – who has often struck an optimistic tone on Sri Lanka’s recent travails – has joined the chorus.Sri Lanka are tired of languishing in their larval stage, he said. The team is desperate for the series against Pakistan to feature resurgence and regeneration.”We are probably in an era where we are sick and tired of talking about transition,” Pothas said, three days out from the first Test. “Sick and tired of about talking about it as a ‘learning period’. It is time to go out and perform, and that is the challenge. You are going to meet a world-class team. We have to move forward.”Part of Sri Lanka’s failure to progress since the retirement of its batting stars has been down to individual inconsistency. Kaushal Silva, for example, replaced Tillakaratne Dilshan in the XI, but although he had initially impressed – not least on Sri Lanka’s 2013-14 trip to the UAE – he had since been dropped twice from the squad.Kaushal has been recalled again, but Pothas suggested he must compete for a top-order spot with the uncapped 22-year-old Sadeera Samarawickrama. Though generally a middle-order batsman and wicketkeeper in the longest format, Samarawickrama has been picked as a top-order player, Pothas revealed. In limited-overs cricket, Samarawickrama has generally opened for his domestic sides.”Sadeera’s a top-order batsman and we are very fortunate that we can use him in that regard. The selectors have said that we can use the players in the position they have been picked for, and he has been picked to cover the top three.”With Angelo Mathews unavailable for the first Test, Roshen Silva is the other uncapped batsman in contention for a place in the XI. Perhaps the most consistent domestic batsman over the past six years, Roshen averages 48.19 in first-class cricket. He had made 614 runs at an average of 55.81 in the most recent Premier League Tournament.”Roshen has come into the side at the back of runs in the domestic competition,” Pothas said. “We are making a mark to indicate that if you score runs in the domestic circuit, you will get a chance to play for the national team. His record [in domestic cricket] is second only to Kumar Sangakkara, and he is at great form at the moment.”The first Test begins in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.

The BCCI has named Hemang Amin as the new chief operating officer of the Indian Premier League. Amin has been associated with the BCCI for the last seven years and has, more relevantly, played an active role in the “management and operations” of the IPL. Amin, who will continue to report to BCCI CEO Rahul Johri, has most recently served as the board’s assistant general manager (finance, commercial and events).Amin’s appointment comes after more than a year-and-a-half of the COO’s office remaining vacant following the resignation of Sundar Raman. The appointment of a COO for the IPL is also one of the recommendations of the Lodha Committee that was approved by the Supreme Court.Rajiv Shukla, the IPL chairman, praised Amin for his “incredible breadth of experience and relationships” across a variety of markets. “Having worked with him firsthand, I know he will be a fine leader for the IPL and will bring unmatched innovation, passion, and vision to the role,” he said.CK Khanna, the BCCI’s acting president, hailed Amin’s leadership and credited him for handling a “pivotal transition period” for the IPL. “His leadership over the past seven years has shaped IPL’s strategy, laying a strong foundation for future course, improvements and success.”Amin’s immediate challenge will be to frame the guidelines pertaining to the release, transfer and retention of players ahead of the auction before IPL 2018 that will see the return of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals.

With Zimbabwe having come so close to winning their first Test against Sri Lanka, and fallen short, there was disappointment for captain Graeme Cremer. Disappointment about missing a vital stumping chance and two catches on day five. Disappointment that a third-umpire’s decision Zimbabwe felt was straightforward, went against them. And even some disappointment that their next international assignment is as far away as October, so there is nowhere really to put all this confidence they have built up on this tour.But trumping all of that, he said, was pride.”We thought 388 was going to be tough – especially on the last day. We had picked up three wickets yesterday so we only needed to pick up seven today. It has been a sort of a rollercoaster of emotions. But I am still proud of the way the guys played and the way they fought. I’m very proud of the way the guys played to win an ODI series here. Then push them in the Test match and almost beat them, and into the fifth afternoon – it’s a good effort from our boys.”A “rollercoaster” partly because Zimbabwe had been in control of the match, when Cremer dismissed the overnight pair in the first hour, leaving Sri Lanka five down with 185 runs still to get. They should have been six down with 151 to get, had third umpire C Shamshuddin ruled Niroshan Dickwella out when he was stumped on 37. It was a close decision: no part of the popping crease was visible behind Dickwella’s boot at the moment the bails came off. However, it was unlikely that any part of the boot was behind the crease either, which should result in an “out” decision.”From what I saw, I honestly didn’t see any doubt as to why he shouldn’t be out,” Cremer said. “It’s just one of those things. If you’ve got technology, it clearly shows it. It happens to us quite a lot as well, we feel. It’s tough when those things go against you, especially when you are trying to win a Test match on a last day.”Zimbabwe’s strength right through the tour has been their batting. They became the first team to successfully chase a score of over 300 in Sri Lanka, in the first ODI, and breached 350 in both innings in this match. The score of 377 in the second innings was particularly impressive, as Zimbabwe had been 59 for 5 at one stage.Apart from surviving the stumping, Niroshan Dickwella was put down by Regis Chakabva on 63•AFP

“It’s usually with the bat that we struggle a bit, but having lost early wickets in the first and second innings, it shows that guys’ skill levels have improved, to be able pull it back the way we did, and get over 350 in both innings,” Cremer said. “We’ve still got a lot of work to do – a bit more with the ball. And when we get into a position like we were in the first innings, we could have probably got 400. It’s a learning curve for us because we don’t get to play a lot of Test cricket. The way the guys fought was excellent.”While Sri Lanka will immediately begin preparing for a long home series against India, Zimbabwe lay dormant across all formats through the months of August and September. Cremer hoped the team’s performance on this tour would help Zimbabwe Cricket leverage other cricket boards, in securing a fuller schedule.”Even before this Test match our Managing Director said he wanted to push for more Test cricket and more cricket in general. We have shown that we can push big teams even away from home. We have West Indies coming to us for two tests in October, and we’re confident of pushing them because we’re playing in Zimbabwe.”Ireland and Afghanistan are also competitive teams, so now that they have Test status, I’m hoping we get more cricket.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDane van Niekerk bagged her third four-for in four matches•ICC/Getty

South Africa’s bowlers continued their red-hot form to book a semi-final berth after 17 years in the 50-over World Cup, with a resounding eight-wicket win in Taunton, and were helped by victories from Australia and England, who made it to the knockouts too. Shabnim Ismail’s speedy 3 for 14 and Dane van Niekerk’s 4 for 24 – her third four-for in four matches – bowled out a dispirited Sri Lanka for 101. The win took South Africa’s points tally to nine and since India and New Zealand lost their respective matches, the fixture between them on July 15 will decide the fourth semi-finalist.The match slipped out of Sri Lanka’s hands as soon as their captain Inoka Ranaweera opted to bat on an overcast morning and a pitch with a decent grass cover. Her counterpart, van Niekerk, was happy to bowl and her opening bowlers showed why. Ismail bowled quick in the corridor, beating the outside edge often and built up good rhythm with partner Marizanne Kapp, who swung the ball to trouble the left-handed top order. Kapp struck with her first ball by trapping the big-hitting Chamari Atapattu for 1 with a slow and low full-toss in front of middle and leg stump. Shabnim’s first spell lasted only four overs, but in that time, she beat Hasini Perera for pace, resulting in a mis-timed pull, and created a few chances in the gully region with a probing line and consistent pace.Nearly three chances were created in the seventh over when Prasadini Weerakkody and Chamari Polgampola poked outside off and the ball went wide of or fell short of the gully fielder. Masabata Klaas’ straight and accurate lines meant Sri Lanka had barely any opportunities except when Ayabonga Khaka bowled a few wayward lines. The third-wicket partnership resisted but yielded not more than 43 runs as van Niekerk’s legbreaks accounted for Weerakkody and Polgampola in the 20th over when they top-edged off miscued sweep shots, reducing Sri Lanka to 49 for 4. Polgampola was caught by the keeper, Trisha Chetty, and the dismissal took her to the top of the women’s wicketkeeping charts in ODIs.Even though there were some patches on either side of the pitch to exploit for the spinners, it was van Niekerk’s persistent flight above the eyeline that tied down Sri Lanka’s scoring with three maidens.Sri Lanka produced another brief period of resistance in the form of Dilani Manodara’s 49-ball 25, after Shashikala Siriwardene dispatched the juiciest of full-tosses to deep midwicket for 9. Manodara stretched the score till 86 but South Africa’s disciplined lines and regular bowling changes negated any chance to flourish. Van Niekerk returned to bag two more wickets – of Harshitha Madavi and Sripali Weerakkody – before Ismail’s pace accounted for the last two wickets. Sri Lanka lasted only 40.3 overs.South Africa were troubled only initially in the chase. The hard-hitting Lizelle Lee edged to the wicketkeeper for a duck in the first over and No. 3 Chetty played across the line to Ranaweera’s left-arm spin as the Sri Lanka bowlers tightened their lines after the first four overs. Eighteen-year-old Laura Wolvaardt, the other opener, and the experienced Mignon du Preez saw them through till the lunch break, which was taken after seven overs, making Sri Lanka’s hopes linger for a little longer.Wolvaardt and du Preez were hardly troubled once they returned, barely taking the aerial route but sweeping to good effect to keep the score ticking. While du Preez used her experience and composure, Wolvaardt displayed attractive strokeplay with her high elbow to drive the ball elegantly.Opening bowler Sripali Weerakkody put down a tough return catch from du Preez, who was on 34, and injured her left shoulder. Even if she had taken the catch, it wouldn’t have helped Sri Lanka too much: Sout Africa were only 16 away at the time and took less than three overs after that to bag two more points.

Worcestershire have dropped Tom Kohler-Cadmore after he told them he planned to join Yorkshire at the end of the season. ESPNcricinfo understands that Kohler-Cadmore, who is out of contract at the end of the current season, has been omitted from the side to play Sussex in a Championship match starting on Friday.It currently remains unclear whether he will be included in the Worcestershire side scheduled to play in the semi-final of the Royal London Cup on June 17 – Worcestershire’s first semi-final appearance in any competition in 13 years – or any other games this season. It is understood that neither Yorkshire nor Kohler-Cadmore have made any request (or have any expectation) that he will be released early from his contract.Kohler-Cadmore is an important player for Worcestershire. Having come through the club’s academy – he was educated from sixth-form level at nearby Malvern College – he has developed into a clean-hitting batsman who scored the fastest century of the English domestic season, off 43 balls, in 2016. Aged just 22, he was a big part of Worcestershire’s plans for the future and the decision to drop him may well be a manifestation of the bitter disappointment Steve Rhodes, the director of cricket, feels at losing a player in whom he had invested such faith and time.Until going to Malvern, however, Kohler-Cadmore had developed through the Yorkshire system. And it seems the lure of home – and playing with those he grew-up with – has had a strong influence. He had been of interest to several other clubs, including Warwickshire, while Worcestershire are understood to have offered him a new deal. There is no suggestion that Yorkshire’s approach was anything other than appropriate: they gave Worcestershire notice of a 28-day approach several weeks ago and have progressed the deal by the book.It may also be relevant that Yorkshire are likely to be one of the host grounds in the new-team T20 competition. As a highly promising white-ball player, Kohler-Cadmore is likely to have one eye on ensuring he is among the lucky few picked to play in an event that may well prove to be lucrative and well-publicised. He might argue that moving to a higher-profile club and rubbing shoulders with more high-profile players might be of benefit. It is understood he informed Worcestershire of his intentions early to help them plan and recruit a replacement if necessary.Worcestershire finished top of the North Group in the Royal London Cup with Kohler-Cadmore making their only century of the campaign to date – a potentially deal-securing innings of 118 against Yorkshire. They have also won all four of their Championship matches this season, with Kohler-Cadmore averaging 48.40 in the campaign to date.

The mood in the Kolkata Knight Riders camp was sombre during the mid-innings break after they had posted only 131 against Royal Challengers Bangalore. The team, however, was in no mood to give up without a fight. Captain Gautam Gambhir wanted intensity from his men, and the fast bowlers set the tone for it. They picked up all the 10 wickets of the opposition inside as many overs, with Nathan Coulter-Nile, Chris Woakes and Colin de Grandhomme accounting for nine of those.After Royal Challengers Bangalore were sent crashing to 49 all out at the Eden Gardens, Woakes called it an “unbelievable” win not least because Knight Riders knew they had a below-par total. “The heads were down in the dressing room at half-time,” Woakes told . “But, we came out and we had a chat and we said it was time to show some pride and fight. The captain wanted some intensity and the two opening bowlers did that. The rest of us backed it up from there on. I suppose until you go out there and don’t pick wickets, you don’t believe you can do it. Once we started getting wickets, all of a sudden you had belief.”It was Coulter-Nile who had triggered the collapse by dismissing Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers in his first two overs before claiming Kedar Jadhav’s wicket in his third. Woakes said he could tell Coulter-Nile was in good rhythm from the way he was bowling. “It was a great opening spell of T20 bowling. He was hitting the pitch pretty hard and moving the ball well,” Coulter-Nile said. “Getting Virat Kohli first ball showed you his confidence. From then on, I suppose you just try and put the ball in your right areas and hope for the wickets to come.”Coulter-Nile, though, was more subdued in his assessment of his performance. “I would have taken any three wickets as long as I was taking wickets,” he said. “All the boys did that throughout the game and it doesn’t really matter who it is. I don’t have numbers or names in my head, but yes, pretty good players to have in the bag.” Woakes himself snared a big wicket in the form of Chris Gayle with a bit of help from Coulter-Nile, who held on to a skier. Woakes joked that while he was sure that Coulter-Nile would complete the catch, the latter’s heart would have been pounding.”When I saw Nathan under the ball, I knew he would take it. He has a safe pair of hands and I knew 99% he was going to take it,” Woakes said. “It was obviously a big wicket. But I felt AB de Villiers’s wicket was a huge one too because he came and struck a couple of boundaries early on. Getting the big three was huge, but we had to get all ten to win the game. All ten were just as important.”While Woakes felt the pitch was seamer-friendly with good pace and carry on offer, Coulter-Nile said the margin for error for bowlers was very less. “It was a tough wicket to bowl actually,” Coulter-Nile said. “If you went a little bit off, you got punished. I went for 41 the last time against Gujarat Lions. You just got to be right on the money. Sometimes you go for runs and sometimes you got the wickets. It was fun to play there.”

Hours after Bangladesh team manager Khaled Mahmud confirmed that allrounder Mahmudullah would not be a part of the playing XI for the Colombo Test and would fly home on the eve of the match, BCB president Nazmul Hassan claimed the player’s return would be a personal decision and not one taken by the team management.The Test, which begins on March 15 in Colombo, will be Bangladesh’s 100th and Mahmud had said that given the match would be an emotional, landmark occasion, it was decided not to keep a high-profile, senior player sitting on the bench.Hassan said the decision to either stay in Colombo or return to Dhaka was up to Mahmudullah.”It is totally up to him [Mahmudullah], whether he wants to stay [in Colombo] or return [to Dhaka],” Hassan said. “There’s no question about sending him home by us or the team management, because the ODIs are coming up. I am sure he is supposed to stay back. At least I would have known if something like that had happened.”Mahmud later confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that Mahmudullah could return to Dhaka, either on March 14 or 15, depending on the availability of an air ticket. Sources, however, indicate that Mahmudullah’s likely return will be discussed after Hassan arrives in Colombo on Tuesday.Mahmudullah made scores of 8 and 0 in Bangladesh’s loss in Galle, and bowled just two overs of his offspin. He had made a half-century in the one-off Test in India before this, but before that had gone ten innings without getting to a fifty.He was at the ground with the team at practice today and took part in the warm-ups, but did not train thereafter.Hassan also backed Mahmudullah’s selection for the three ODIs and two T20Is that follow. The ODI series starts from March 25, while the two T20Is will be played on April 4 and 6.”The ODI team isn’t submitted to me yet,” Hassan said. “Whether he will play or not, but I don’t think anyone will drop him from the squad without talking to me first.”He is a senior player who has made a lot of contribution. I don’t see any possibility of him being dropped from the squad.”

Imran Tahir has said it is “very special” to be ranked the No. 1 bowler in both ODI and T20 cricket. He completed the double when he went top of the one-day table after South Africa’s 5-0 victory over Sri Lanka where he claimed 10 wickets.Tahir began that series with a Man-of-the-Match performance of 3 for 26 at Port Elizabeth and only in the high-scoring Cape Town match, where Sri Lanka replied with 327 to South Africa’s 367, was he punished as he conceded 76 off his 10 overs. Even then he claimed two wickets to snuff out Sri Lanka’s brave chase.It’s that skill of taking wickets, alongside his control, that makes him such a valuable asset to South Africa’s white-ball sides. In recent times he has rarely failed to deliver a breakthrough for his captain – whether that is Faf du Plessis, AB de Villiers or Farhaan Behardien – and his last wicketless ODI was 10 games ago. He has been integral to South Africa’s winning run which stands at 11 ODIs.Tahir was twice previously ranked No. 1 in ODIs, when he briefly held the top spot during the 2015 World Cup before being leapfrogged at the end of the tournament by Mitchell Starc, then again in October 2015, and there is a chance of a bowl-off for the position in this series against New Zealand with Trent Boult, the No. 2-ranked bowler.”When I started cricket I never thought I’d be No. 1 bowler, it’s all the hard work I’ve done and I’m very excited,” Tahir said. “There are a lot of good players in world cricket and coming top of that is a really good achievement and I’m really grateful.”It’s an absolute honour playing for South Africa, the boys have helped me over the years and made me the bowler I am today. Credit goes to them as well. I’ll try and stay in the spot as long as I can but there are some other brilliant cricketers.”Tahir has not been able to produce the same success at Test level. His 20 appearances, the last of which came against India in Delhi, have brought 57 wickets at 40.24 and South Africa have moved on from him in that format.However, with the white ball he has certainly grown older gracefully. “He doesn’t bowl bad balls anymore,” AB de Villiers said last month. “He always used to take wickets but now you don’t see bad balls, which makes him really difficult to play.”When Tahir was asked what advice he would give Ish Sodhi, the New Zealand legspinner he could go up against over the next few weeks, he gave an insight into what had made him such a successful bowler.”If I was him I’d work harder, I’m not saying he isn’t but that’s my advice because when I started like him I didn’t know my game or use my variations,” Tahir said. “I just bowled leggies, but then I worked hard to try to find how what would work for me in international cricket. Coming from South Africa is not easy because the pitches aren’t spin-friendly, so I had to work out how to adjust.”They are skills that will serve him well in New Zealand, too, where – as Sodhi could no doubt attest to – conditions are not what legspinners dream of. Tahir has previously played three ODIs against the hosts in the country, the most recent of them the 2015 World Cup semi-final where he was wicketless but conceded just 40 in nine overs in the high-scoring contest, and New Zealand are aware of the impact he could have.”He’s a great operator for South Africa, and any team he plays for,” Kane Williamson said. “We’ve played a lot against each other. It’s important we play him well.”A few batting line-ups of late have found that easier said than done.