CSA has taken the step because South Africa need to beat Netherlands in the series to directly qualify for the 2023 World Cup

Firdose Moonda and Nagraj Gollapudi08-Mar-2023Majority of South African players including Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, David Miller and Aiden Markram will join their respective IPL teams in India only on April 3, four days after the tournament begins on March 31. ESPNcricinfo has learnt that Cricket South Africa (CSA) informed the BCCI that it wants all its top players available for the two-match home ODI series against the Netherlands starting late March.CSA has taken the step because South Africa need to beat Netherlands in the series to directly qualify for the 2023 World Cup later this year in India. Netherlands this week announced a strong squad for the series in Zimbabwe followed by the ODIs in South Africa. Both those series are part of the ODI Super League with the South Africa games scheduled on March 31 and April 2 in Benoni and Johannesburg respectively.Related

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As many as six of the 10 IPL franchises will be affected by the development. Sunrisers Hyderabad (Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, Marco Jansen), Delhi Capitals (Nortje, Lungi Ngidi), Mumbai Indians (Tristan Stubbs, possibly Dewald Brevis), defending champions Gujarat Titans (Miller), Lucknow Super Giants (Quinton de Kock), Punjab Kings (Rabada) have South Africa players in the side.Last December, a day before the IPL auction, the BCCI, in a note to the franchises on overseas players’ availability, had informed that contracted South African players would be available from March 29, two days prior to the IPL opener. However, CSA’s chief executive officer Pholetsi Moseki told ESPNcricinfo that BCCI has been given an explanation as to why it was mandatory for South African contracted players to feature in the Netherlands series.The top eight teams in the ODI Super League automatically qualify for the 2023 World Cup while the bottom five will have to play the World Cup Qualifiers along with five Associate teams. South Africa, currently at No. 9, are in a race along with West Indies, Sri Lanka and Ireland to book a direct World Cup entry. “The BCCI understands the importance of the Netherlands series to us automatically qualifying for the 2023 World Cup,” Moseki said.This is not the first time CSA has had to deal with the IPL clashing with a home bilateral series. Last March, South Africa’s Test series against Bangladesh clashed with the start of the tournament, but CSA had then asked the players to take the call on whether to stay back or head to India. The players chose to be fully available for the IPL, but this time CSA was left with no choice but to field the best team as the World Cup berth is at stake.

Jose Mourinho was in sarcastic mood with reporters when quizzed on his recent team selections and future at Turkish side Fenerbahce.

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• Mourinho in feisty mood after Fenerbahce win
• Gives bizarre response to team selection question
• Refuses to discuss his future at club

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Fenerbahce boss has made a habit of rotating his team this season, something that has not gone unnoticed in the media. Mourinho was quizzed on his recent team selections after a 4-1 win over Istanbul BB and came up with a response that raised more than a few eyebrows in the press room.

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• WHAT MOURINHO SAID

  He told reporters: "I have 25 coins, I throw the coins in the air. The ones that stay on the table are the players that play, the ones that go on the floor, go on the bench. I do it just like this. During the week I'm having fun, I go to nightclubs every day in Istanbul. It's simple."

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Mourinho's future at the club has come under scrutiny during an often controversial spell in Turkey. The former Chelsea boss was asked about president Ali Koç's comments that he had turned down a huge offer to leave mid-season and answered only: "His words are his words. I have too much respect for our president … I have no comments, I'm just a coach."

  Yet that did not stop the questions from flowing. Mourinho was then asked about his future and if would continue or consider other offers but replied only: "I don't understand the question."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR MOURINHO

  Mourinho is contracted to the club until 2026 but fans will have to wait and see if he sees out his current deal. Meanwhile, Fenerbahce look set to miss out on the title to Galatasaray this season. Gala are currently eight points clear at the top of the table with just three games left to play.

Nottingham Forest are interested in signing Juventus midfielder Douglas Luiz this summer, per the Daily Mail.

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Forest eyeing swoop for Brazil internationalCan still qualify for Champions LeagueForest have close links with Brazilian marketFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Per the Daily Mail, Forest are interested in signing Luiz from Juventus this summer due to their close links with the Brazilian market. The midfielder, formerly of Aston Villa, has struggled for minutes this season, to the point of publicly complaining, and has also been linked with Newcastle, with a swap deal mooted that would see Sandro Tonali move the other way.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Forest can qualify for the Champions League this weekend, as they face Chelsea in a do-or-die final game of the season. The Blues sit fifth, with Forest seventh, and they are separated by only a point; a win for Nuno Espirito Santo's side could see them move into the top five, although they would need Aston Villa to drop points against Manchester United. Doing so would surely strengthen their hand in negotiations for Luiz.

DID YOU KNOW?

The Brazil international, who has won 18 caps for his country, has made just three starts in Serie A in a season where he has been hampered by injury. While he has a contract until 2029, a move may well suit all parties this summer.

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Forest face Chelsea in perhaps their biggest league game in a generation this weekend. Then, they will set about reshaping their squad.

All three matches at the venue so far have produced 200-plus first-innings totals, so expect more fireworks

Alagappan Muthu28-Apr-20235:32

Muzumdar: Jason Roy has improved his spin game

Big picture: Will we witness Rinku magic again?
There isn’t a lot to talk about when talking about this game, is there? Just kidding. Where my Rinku fans at?Living up to that epic night three weeks ago is not going to be possible. 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 to win a game feels like a once-in-a-lifetime event.And in any case, both teams will want to focus on making the game as boring as possible. That sounds like a blasphemous way to build up to an IPL match, especially one that pits a side that kept defying the odds all the way to the title last year and one that has produced this year’s most outrageous result.But here’s the thing. Both Gujarat Titans (7 games) and Kolkata Knight Riders (8) have had enough of a go at this to figure out what their strengths and weaknesses are and how to play to them. In other words, their experience will help them manage difficult situations better, instead of letting them go so far that they end up needing a miracle.Form guide
Gujarat Titans: WWLWL (Last five matches, most recent first)
Kolkata Knight Riders: WLLLLTeam news
KKR’s Litton Das left the IPL on Friday to attend to a medical emergency in his family in Bangladesh.Shubman Gill batting deep into the innings could enable Titans to mitigate the KKR mystery spin threat•BCCI

Toss and Impact Player strategy
Kolkata has not been kind to fast bowlers, so Titans, who have barely had to use Rahul Tewatia’s legspin, might decide to give him a proper run here. They’re also likely to swap Shubman Gill for Josh Little or Alzarri Joseph when they have to bring in their Impact Player.Gujarat Titans possible XII: 1 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 2 , 3 Hardik Pandya (capt), 4 Vijay Shankar, 5 David Miller, 6 Abhinav Manohar, 7 Rahul Tewatia, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Mohammed Shami, 10 Noor Ahmad, 11 Mohit Sharma, 12 KKR will be pleased to see Jason Roy finding form. With Venkatesh Iyer and Suyash Sharma settling into life as Impact Subs, they aren’t short on options. They’ll want their quicks to buck up, though. With just 13 wickets at an average of 55.5 and an economy rate of 11.5, they are the worst-performing seam unit in the competition.Kolkata Knight Riders possible XII: 1 N Jagadeesan (wk), 2 Jason Roy, 3 , 4 Nitish Rana (capt), 5 Rinku Singh, 6 Andre Russell, 7 David Wiese, 8 Vaibhav Arora, 9 Sunil Narine, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Varun Chakravarthy, 12 Stats that matter Andre Russell is averaging 18 – his second-lowest in an IPL season – with five single-digit scores in eight innings. Not the best time to come up against Rashid Khan, who has dismissed him five times in 39 balls for 54 runs in T20 cricket. 3.6 vs 13.8. Those are Rinku Singh’s balls-per-boundary numbers against pace and spin this season. So if you’re the Titans captain, do the right thing. Don’t give him pace. Shubman Gill has an average of 59.2 and a strike rate of 143 against spin since IPL 2022. His batting deep into the innings might enable Titans to mitigate KKR’s mystery spin threat. Though right now one of them is not feeling so great. Sunil Narine has an economy rate of 8.9 in IPL 2023. Never in the history of this tournament has he been so expensive. Also, he hasn’t picked up a wicket for five matches straight. That’s another first for him in the IPL. Hardik Pandya has a strike rate of 102 against pace this season. This is the second-lowest among all batters who have faced at least 50 balls.Pitch and conditions
Eden Gardens, after hosting three matches in this year’s IPL, has produced an average first-innings score of 222. It is the highest out of all the grounds on show in the tournament. So expect a few runs. Spin has offered a bit of respite, though – 21 wickets at an economy rate of 8.7 (versus 10.9 for pace) and a strike rate of 15.6, which is another season-topping metric among the grounds this IPL.

Stumps Impressive knocks from almost the entirety of the Sri Lankan top order, particularly Kusal Mendis, gave Sri Lanka a promising start in their pursuit of an unlikely World Test Championship final berth, as they put up 305 for 6 on the opening day of the first Test at Hagley Oval. However the persistence of Tim Southee and Matt Henry, who picked up five wickets between them, ensured the visitors would at no point run away with proceedings.At the close of play Dhananjaya de Silva was at the crease unbeaten on 39, with Kasun Rajitha alongside him on 16. That Rajitha is even at the crease with just six wickets down speaks towards the length of Sri Lanka’s tail. Rajitha, however to his credit, has thus far provided an able foil during the 37-run stand.The first hour or so of the morning session saw Henry and Southee beat the edge with regularity, and their relentless lines and lengths – just outside off, angled in, shaping away, off a good length – eventually paid off. Ironically, it was one drifting down leg that did the trick, as Oshada Fernando was strangled down leg.That however brought Mendis to the crease, and Sri Lanka’s approach was transformed. Carrying over his recent white-ball form, Mendis accounted for 15 of the 21 boundaries scored in the session, on the way to a 51-ball 73 at the break – he would end on 87 off 83. His partnership with Dimuth Karunaratne meanwhile would yield 137.A majority of his scoring came on the leg side, particularly behind square. Henry and Neil Wagner were punished as they looked to test the diminutive Lankan with some short stuff, while Southee and Blair Tickner were whipped in front of square for deliveries that veered a little too full or straight.There were a few dicey cuts over gully as well, but Mendis’ only genuine moment of peril came when he was yet to get off the mark. A ball nipping back off a good length had seen him struck in front of middle on the back pad. The umpire felt this was hitting middle and off, but DRS showed the ball bouncing over the stumps – something neither the New Zealand players nor on-air commentators could quite believe.Mendis’ aggression coincided with New Zealand’s seamers losing the lengths that had served them so well in the early part of the morning. They would correct this after lunch, however, and within the first hour of the second session they would see the backs of both Mendis and Karunaratne.Mendis was surprised by one that jagged back in off a length from outside off, as he failed to offer a stroke and was struck on the back leg, while Karunaratne was out caught on a loose drive an over later, offering a thick edge to second slip.While the pair were at the crease Sri Lanka had been cantering along at nearly five an over, however the scoring rate slowed a touch once Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal set about their rebuild.Both underwent testing periods, with New Zealand’s battery of seamers teasing both edges of the bat. However the pair remained unflustered, and once the bowlers began to tire, the runs began to flow – much like in the morning session.The pair of Blair Tickner and Daryl Mitchell in particular afforded the Lankans a degree of comfort, and in the final over before tea Chandimal took full advantage with three consecutive boundaries – the first an uppercut over the slip corden, and then two consecutive off-drives.Following a brief rain stoppage at the start of the final session, Mathews and Chandimal proceeded to push the scoring at around four an over, but the hosts would strike back one final time.Chandimal would be the first to fall, edging a drive into the slips – a rare slip in an otherwise disciplined innings. Mathews would stay a bit longer alongside Dhananjaya, before he too edged one to first slip, one ball after becoming the third Sri Lankan to reach 7,000 Test runs.When Niroshan Dickwella was trapped leg before shortly after, going for a sweep off the part-time off spin of Michael Bracewell, it looked like Sri Lanka had thrown away their enterprising start. But Dhananjaya and Rajitha have ensured that it was just about Sri Lanka’s day.

The Grammy award-winning artist has served as an ideal reference point for those tasked with putting on soccer's flagship tournament

There’s a complicated list of factors that go into staging a major event. It starts with the venue. Can it seat enough people? Then there’s the security. How can you get them in and out safely? And then it’s the actual, physical event itself. How do you ensure that everyone has a good time? you do that?

The good news for those United States charged with organizing the 2026 World Cup, there are familiar touchpoints – other events held at the same venues. For soccer, you’d figure that natural reference points include the 2024 Copa America, major USMNT games, or even summer friendlies.

And to an extent that’s true.

“You have to learn from every event, every major event, whether it's Copa or the you know, these big touring, touring shows, I think understanding fan behavior, understanding movement patterns and how people travel,” Pam Kramer, CEO of Kansas City’s 2026 World Cup host committee, told GOAL.

But the U.S. looks to host the first men’s World Cup in the country since 1994 – as they’re planning for the crowds, the transit, the parking, the influx of people and even the noise – it turns out that Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour most accurately resembles what hosting a global tournament event might look like.

“If you’re looking at something like the Eras Tour, that’s one of the sports entertainment events that people are traveling for,” Alex Lasry, CEO of New York/New Jersey’s World Cup committee, told GOAL.

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  'The most comparable thing'

  It is well documented what a global phenomenon the 14-time Grammy Award winning artist’s tour was: 21 countries, 51 cities, 149 dates spanning 21 months – with three albums released in between. You probably know multiple Swifties who attended shows, or would have seen it on social media, or heard it referenced in the day-to-day.

  It was the highest-grossing tour of all time, bringing in $2B, and with good reason. This was 3.5 hours of song after song, hit after hit. In terms of attendance – each show averaged nearly 70,000 fans – and perhaps even global impact, it was as big as soccer, even if it’s hard for many fans of the beautiful game to admit.

  “It is probably the most comparable thing to the World Cup,” Lasry admitted.

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  'You are the only city'

  But while there might be an ideological clash in that notion – devout football fans will defend the game to the end – there is a real backing to it. There are 11 U.S. cities – and five more in Canada and Mexico – hosting the World Cup, with 48 teams participating. More than 6.5 million fans are expected to attend, according to FIFA.

  How can you prepare for something so massive? Most sports events in the United States are regional. The Super Bowl stadiums are flooded with corporate ticket holders and fans from the local area, more than those of the competing teams. It’s a relatively well-mannered event that happens to have a concert at half time. There are few stories of fan hysteria.

  The College Football playoff is another reference point. But that, too, has its imperfections. Pockets of the country are invested – you’d imagine that last year’s National Championship game between Notre Dame and Ohio State in Atlanta had a significant midwest following, without overwhelming national attendance.

  “You are the only city running that event at that time of year,… so we learn from that event, we do after actions to say what went well, what didn’t go well, and how we can improve,” Georgia O'Donoghue, CEO of Atlanta’s 2026 host committee, said.

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  'Always try to learn from those'

  The United States doesn’t have any matches of global scale in its yearly soccer calendar (with all due respect to the MLS and NWSL finals). This summer’s Club World Cup – running simultaneously with the CONCACAF Gold Cup – will certainly provide data points, as a test run of sorts.

  But given their frequency and ubiquitous presence at venues across the country, concerts are a natural reference point for World Cup organizers – especially since tours such as Swift’s often include fans traveling internationally to attend.

  “Concert businesses have had challenges at times. We as an organization always try to learn from those and incorporate them into our exercises,” Adam Fullerton, VP of stadium operations at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Atlanta, said.

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  'The same way that we anticipate the World Cup guests are going to come'

  Part of the challenge in planning for the 2026 World Cup has been unfamiliarity. Soccer fans interact with the sport in different ways in every single country. Dutch fans engage in a “march to the match.” Argentinians will have a pre-game asado. English fans really, really, really love pubs.

  And rarely, if ever, have so many descended en masse into one area. Preparing for anything and everything is vital. The Eras Tour, for some host committees, offered an idea of what the logistics involved in a truly global event might look like – even in terms of physical movements of attendees to a given venue.

  “We get good experience from a lot of the events we have, where it's a third party event, where a lot of people fly into town,” Fullerton said. “Take a Taylor Swift show. That group of people stay in the downtown corridor, and they come to the stadium in the same way that we anticipate the World Cup guests are going to come.”

  It’s not just about individual behavior. The tour attracted fans from all over the globe into major cities. It became a destination, an excuse to spend time in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta – massive metropolitan areas in the United States.

  Remind you of anything else?

  “Taylor Swift, you're getting international travelers, people from all over the country, all coming to see her show,” Lasry said. “New people coming to a market who might not be familiar with the city or the region.”

Scotland opener makes unbeaten half-century in straightforward chase

ECB Reporters Network02-Jun-2023Sarah Bryce starred with an unbeaten 67 as The Blaze booked their place in the Charlotte Edwards Cup semi-finals after easing past Northern Diamonds at Seat Unique Riverside by six wickets.The visitors required 130 to win after Nadine de Klerk and skipper Kirstie Gordon restricted the Diamonds with a fine bowling performance. Lauren Winfield-Hill top-scored for the hosts, but their score was always under par on a ground with a quick outfield.Bryce took the attack to the Diamonds bowlers, using both power and guile to propel her team ahead of the required rate. She notched her first fifty of the competition and ended the contest unbeaten after scoring six four and three sixes. The Blaze can now prepare for their last four fixture, while Diamonds still have work ahead of them after suffering their first defeat.Diamonds won the toss and elected to bat in the bright sunshine at Chester-le-Street. The Blaze’s opening bowlers made life difficult for Winfield-Hill and Leah Dobson, restricting them to just one run off the first two overs as Grace Ballinger sent down a maiden.Winfield-Hill had trouble timing the ball in the early stages before finding her range in the fifth over, taking de Klerk for two boundaries. Dobson was given a life when she was dropped by Kathryn Bryce for 14 on the boundary, but the visitors still had control of the scoreboard as Diamonds mustered just 26 from the Powerplay.Gordon made the breakthrough as the drop proved costly as Dobson fell for 19. Hollie Armitage offered a semblance of power as she found the rope three times in a bid to up the run rate. Armitage provided the foundation of the innings with Winfield-Hill with a stand worth 47 before the Diamonds skipper was caught on the fence presenting Gordon with her second wicket.Related

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Winfield-Hill manoeuvred the hosts into a decent position after working her way to 40, but Sophie Munro ended her knock with her first ball of the innings. Bess Heath and Chloe Tryon added quick runs in the closing overs with 19 and 20 respectively, but de Klerk ensured the Diamonds couldn’t push towards 140 removing Heath before prising out Tryon and Lizzie Scott with the final two balls of the innings.The Blaze had no issues getting off to a strong start in their chase of 130. Marie Kelly put the pressure on the Diamonds bowlers from the off, scoring four boundaries to work herself to 19 before Scott produced an inswinger to prise out the opener.Sarah Bryce kept up the intensity and struck Katie Levick for the first two sixes of the game over long-on. She followed that with further sublime striking to take 16 off Scott’s third over, putting the visitors almost halfway to their victory target at the end of the powerplay. Bryce was in full flow at the crease, easily finding the gaps in the field.The 23-year-old notched her first fifty of the season from 30 deliveries, whittling down the required total. Abi Glen gave Diamonds a glimmer of hope by skittling Kathryn Bruce and Michaela Kirk in successive balls. De Klerk survived the hat-trick ball and with Bryce extinguished the hosts’ hope of a miraculous comeback. The Blaze cantered over the line, securing their win with 4.2 overs to spare.

Amy Jones and Grace Potts proved the gamechangers for Central Sparks as they beat Sunrisers by 23 runs at Chelmsford in the opening game of the 2023 Charlotte Edwards Cup.England wicketkeeper Jones held Sparks together with a swashbuckling 51 from 34 balls out of a score of 137 all out after they were invited to bat first. Kelly Castle and Mady Villiers kept the rest of the Sparks line-up in check, the former taking two wickets in successive balls.Potts (2-13) though proved impossible to get away during the Sunrisers reply and despite a classy half-century from Cordelia Griffith the hosts, who were without oversea ace Dane Van Niekerk because of illness, came up short, Emily Arlott cleaning up the tail.Sunrisers got early joy after deciding to field with Davina Perrin trapped in front for a duck from the last ball of Kate Coppack’s opening over.Eve Jones threatened briefly, scoring all the first 15 runs off the bat before missing a horrible short ball from Grace Scrivens which crashed into the stumps and Australian allrounder Erin Burns failed to make the most of being dropped on 1 when stumped by Amara Carr off the impressive Castle.And when Ami Campbell was castled by Villiers Sparks’ flame was in danger of being snuffed out at 59 for 4. Amy Jones though stood firm, feasting on some short offerings with savage pulls square of the wicket as well as driving crisply through the covers.At 94 for 4 a big score looked on, but Castle returned to have Abbey Freeborn stumped by Carr, before yorking Katie George with the next ball, leaving Arlott to prevent the hat-trick.Jones moved serenely to 50 only to hole out at mid-off to the very next ball from Villiers after which the tail scrambled to 137.The hosts looked to Scrivens for a solid start, but the teenager went early, striking one from Potts into the midriff of George at midwicket.George then had a mixed over ball in hand, producing a trio of wides before Lissy Macleod despatched her twice to the fence. George though had the last laugh having Macleod taken at the second attempt down the leg-side by Amy Jones from one that flicked the glove.Potts turned the screw a little tighter with three overs off the reel in the powerplay to put Sunrisers behind the clock.Griffith took up the chase to strike England speedster Issy Wong first over midwicket and then through mid-off for successive boundaries. Georgia Davis was similarly despatched through cover and when George returned to the attack, she was cut to the fence at third twice in successive balls.In need of a wicket, Sparks summoned the miserly Potts back to the bowling crease and she delivered, trapping Carr plumb in front, and Villiers didn’t entertain us for long, swinging one from Burns into the hands of George at cow corner.The double strike caused the rate required to climb with 46 needed from the last five. Griffiths scampered two to reach 50 from 43 balls with six fours, but when she skied one to cover off the bowling of Arlott later in the over the task proved too much for the Sunrisers tail.

West Indies captain took a hat-trick in her spell of 4 for 14, before acing the chase with 48 off 34 balls

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jul-2023

West Indies captain Hayley Matthews continued her rich and dominating form against Ireland with both bat and ball, and sent the visitors back home without a win on the entire tour after whitewashing them 3-0 in the T20I series. West Indies had won the three-match ODI series 2-0 after the second ODI had been washed out.On Saturday, Matthews first took 4 for 14 – including a hat-trick – to restrict Ireland to 116 for 9, and then hammered a 34-ball 48 to set up a commanding eight-wicket win with 11 balls to spare. She finished as the Player of the Match in all three T20Is, the Player of the T20I Series, and had started the ODI series too in similar fashion, having scored a hundred and taken three wickets.Put in to bat, Ireland were propelled by a rapid second-wicket stand of 66 in 62 balls between Amy Hunter and Orla Prendergast after Matthews had trapped Gaby Lewis with her first ball. However, Ireland stuttered as soon as that partnership was broken with Hunter’s run-out at the non-striker’s end after a deflection off the bowler’s hand, for 44, and only one other batter – captain Laura Delany – scored in double digits after Hunter and Prendergast.Once Prendergast holed out off Afy Fletcher for 40, Matthews wiped the middle and lower orders out with a hat-trick in the 18th over that reduced Ireland to 110 for 7. Delany was left unbeaten on 14 off 18 as she saw wickets fall around her, and stretched the team score to 116.West Indies, too, lost an early wicket and were led by a second-wicket stand between Matthews and Aaliyah Alleyne worth 80 off 61 balls, as it crushed Ireland’s chances. Matthews struck eight fours, and fell just short of fifty when she was bowled by Georgina Dempsey in the 12th over. But Chinelle Henry sealed the chase with a boundary, and Alleyne remained unbeaten on 49 off 51, her joint-highest T20I score.”I’m just happy I was able to contribute to the team win,” Matthews told CWI Media after the game. “It was great to see some of the younger players getting the opportunity this series and coming into their own. We’ve had debutant players perform really well. We’ve had Chinelle Henry get her maiden ODI half-century then back it up with a second one (in the series), then two not outs in the T20 series.”I just want to thank all the girls who have supported me since I’ve become captain. Thank you for backing me up out on the field, we have bigger challenges ahead and I look forward to their support.”

India dropped three spots to fifth place in the World Test Championship (WTC) points table after their 28-run loss in the series opener against England in Hyderabad.The two-time WTC finalists were second, behind Australia, before the Test. But the result saw them slide below South Africa, New Zealand and Bangladesh, as their points percentage dropped from 54.16 to 43.33.Related

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India were briefly table-toppers too, when they had beaten South Africa inside two days in Cape Town earlier this month to draw the series 1-1. But their stay at the top was cut short when Australia completed their series sweep against Pakistan two days later to claim the top spot.India have so far won two and drawn one of their five Tests in the 2023-25 WTC cycle, while losing once each to South Africa and England.England, however, dropped a place despite beating India, as West Indies got a massive boost in their points percentage thanks to their stunning victory against Australia at the Gabba.West Indies overtook England to go seventh with their first win of this cycle.