Balderson ends Lancashire's red-ball drought with 261-run win

Allrounder takes four in each innings as Madsen battles to 95 not out for Derbyshire

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay02-Jul-2025 Lancashire 367 (Green 121, Jennings 106) and 406 for 6 dec (Turner 121, Balderson 82, Jones 63) beat Derbyshire 261 (Andersson 79, Madsen 70, Balderson 4-71) and 251 (Madsen 95*, Guest 46, Balderson 4-54) by 261 runs George Balderson ended Lancashire’s red-ball drought when he bowled them to a crushing 261-run victory over Derbyshire in the Rothesay County Championship match at Chesterfield.The all-rounder took 4 for 54 and eight in the game as the Red Rose finally celebrated a first Championship victory of the season with Derbyshire dismissed for 251 which ended their unbeaten run in Division Two.Set an improbable 513, skipper Wayne Madsen made an unbeaten 95 and Brooke Guest 46 but once the fourth wicket pair were parted, the hosts collapsed with Tom Bailey taking the last two wickets to finish with 3 for 39.The grey clouds over Queen’s Park suggested the conditions were good for the bowlers, especially Jimmy Anderson, and although the bat was beaten, Derbyshire survived the first hour in relative comfort.Madsen eased Anderson to the cover boundary on his way to his second fifty of the match which came off 86 balls and when the former England fast bowler failed to take a wicket in his four over opening spell, Derbyshire had achieved their first objective of the morning.With Anderson out of the attack, Madsen and Guest kept the board ticking over without taking any risks and the stand was worth 127 in 18 overs when Lancashire finally broke through.The decision to bring on Chris Green at the Lake End was rewarded when Guest tried to shovel the off spinner through mid-wicket, missed, and was lbw.That would have come as a relief to Lancashire who might have been starting to get a little anxious but they were soon celebrating again.Martin Andersson had top scored in the first innings but this time he got a good ball from Balderson that straightened to take the off stump.The morning got even better for the visitors when Anuj Dal, who has figured in several Derbyshire rearguard actions, tried to whip Green off his legs and was bowled.When Balderson again found just enough seam movement to bowl Zak Chappell, Madsen was in danger of being stranded and he saw another wicket fall in the last over of the session.Ben Aitchison edged Balderson low to second slip where Green took a good catch which meant Derbyshire had lost 5 for 33 in 11 overs.Madsen went into lunch unbeaten on 78, his eighth 50 in 15 innings this season, and it was now a question of whether he could convert that into three figures.He was denied by Bailey with the new ball which accounted for Blair Tickner and Jack Morley with Anderson taking the catch at third slip which sparked Lancashire’s long awaited celebrations.

Harmanpreet Kaur, Yuvraj Singh stands inaugurated at New Chandigarh Stadium

The stands were inaugurated before the start of the second men’s T20I between India and South Africa at the venue

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Dec-2025India women’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur and former India men’s allrounder Yuvraj Singh had stands named after them at the New Chandigarh Stadium. The stands were inaugurated before the start of the second men’s T20I between India and South Africa at the venue.Harmanpreet and Yuvraj were at the stadium, surrounded by their team-mates, family and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on the occasion. Yuvraj was also seen giving a pep talk to the Indian team during the pre-match huddle.Yuvraj retired from international cricket in 2019, having made his India debut in 2000. He has played 40 Tests, 304 ODIs and 58 T20Is, last playing for India in 2017. A solid middle-order batter and a left-arm spinner, Yuvraj was part of India’s title win at the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007. He had a dream run at the 2011 ODI World Cup, finishing as Player of the Series for his 362 runs and 15 wickets in India’s successful campaign.Harmanpreet, who recently captained India to their first-ever Women’s World Cup win in November this year, is one of the most influential figures in women’s cricket. An explosive batter who made her India debut in 2009, she has so far played six Tests, 161 ODIs and 182 T20Is. She has 4409 runs in ODIs and 3654 runs in T20Is respectively.

Rahul Chahar seven-for leaves Hampshire dangling over the drop

Hosts left nine down overnight, still 33 runs from the victory they need to avoid relegation

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay26-Sep-2025Hampshire 248 and 148 for 9 (Orr 48, Chahar 7-45) need a further 33 runs to beat Surrey 147 and 281 (Albert 63, Abbott 5-72)Hampshire sat on the brink of Rothesay County Championship relegation after Surrey leg-spinner Rahul Chahar ploughed through them at Utilita Bowl.India international Chahar, in his first Championship appearance, made the most of a turning pitch to take 7 for 45 and see Hampshire collapse from 61 without loss to 148 for 9. The south coast county need to avoid defeat to stay in Division One next season, but in their chase of 181 they struggled to 148 for 9.Bad light stopped play at 4.35pm, to leave them on tenterhooks overnight, with 33 runs still needed – and statisticians CricViz offering a 14% chance of Hampshire managing it.Surrey began the day with four wickets in hand, but Hampshire bumbled their way through the morning – setting up a wretched day – taking 23 overs to finish the innings and giving up 55 runs in the process.It began fine, when Ali Orr pulled off a spectacular one-handed catch over his shoulder to see off Tom Lawes in the fifth over of the day. The wicket also handed Kyle Abbott his fourth five-wicket haul of the season, and took his tally to 56 scalps, beating last season’s tally of 55.Ralphie Albert reached 63 before hooking to long leg, but Matt Fisher scrapped and frustrated the hosts with Chahar and James Taylor.Fisher safely batted for almost an hour and a half for 22 not out, with Chahar hanging around for half an hour before swiping to the leg-side boundary rider. Taylor then blocked for 45 balls before James Fuller finally found an outside edge.Hampshire had been a bowler light, after Washington Sundar split the webbing in his hand fielding a ball off his own bowling the previous evening, and were facing a tough chase. The previous highest successful chase at Utilita Bowl this season had been the 148 they chased five down against Yorkshire in the opening fixture.A tricky over before lunch, which saw Fisher get so close to Orr’s outside edge that he thought it had been tickled through to Ben Foakes, was negotiated.Orr rode his luck when he was put down at short cover, but largely he and Fletcha Middleton appeared comfortable as they ticked off the runs. The first 50 runs flowed in 12 overs, with Orr especially fluent, and fears of the drop eased. But then they stuttered, the ball started to rag and the grey clouds of relegation gathered.From 61 without loss, Hampshire lost eight wickets for 59 runs – with Dan Lawrence and Chahar running amok on a pitch now turning. Middleton inexplicably missed a straight full toss, before Nick Gubbins was lbw to a Lawrence delivery that spun sharply and didn’t bounce.Chahar turned a ball from straight into the top of off stump to dislodge Toby Albert before Ben Brown was lbw to Lawrence and Orr missed a googly to depart for 48.Liam Dawson chased a wide ball from Chahar but drilled straight to short cover before Washington edged a half-volley to slip and Abbott’s under-edged to the keeper after tea as the malaise continued.Fuller had provided some resistance but now had to shepherd No. 11 Brad Wheal, often turning down runs as Wheal blocked 22 deliveries to keep Hampshire alive.The tension was extended overnight as gloomy conditions got too bad even for spin from both ends, meaning Hampshire need 33 runs in the morning or – depending on Durham’s fortunes up in Leeds – likely drop into Division Two.

Bancroft fails again as Victoria get into strong position against WA

Western Australia, the three-time reigning champions, haven’t lost a game this season so far

AAP16-Nov-2024Stumps Lower-order resistance helped Victoria claim a 206-run first-innings lead in their Sheffield Shield clash with three-time reigning champions Western Australia.After being skittled for 167, WA appeared to be containing Victoria at the Junction Oval when the hosts were 207 for 6 on Saturday. But No. 9 Xavier Crone hit an unbeaten 62 from 65 balls, smashing three sixes to help Victoria reach 373.Fellow lower-order batters Fergus O’Neill (44) and Sam Elliott (26) also chipped in to make WA’s bowlers toil in hot conditions for most of the day.Opening bowlers Joel Paris (3 for 44) and Cameron Gannon (3 for 59) as well as spinner Corey Rocchiccioli (3 for 115) took all but one of WA’s wickets.WA had to bat for the last hour before stumps on Saturday, reaching 33 for 1 with Sam Fanning and Jayden Goodwin at the crease. Opener Cameron Bancroft, who has endured an unfortunate form slump after dominating the Shield for the past two seasons, struggled again. After recently being overlooked for a call-up to the Test team for the first time since the 2019 Ashes, Bancroft fell to O’Neill for 11. In the first innings on Friday, Bancroft could only manage 12, also losing his wicket to O’Neill.Victoria have set themselves up nicely to become the first team to beat WA in the Shield this season. WA are aiming to claim a fourth straight title, and were undefeated after three matches before they headed to Melbourne.

Wriddhiman Saha to retire from cricket after Ranji Trophy season

The 2024-25 Ranji Trophy season will be his last tournament as a cricketer – both for international and domestic cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Nov-2024Wriddhiman Saha, the India wicketkeeper, is set to bring the curtains down on a 17-year career at the end of the ongoing 2024-25 Ranji Trophy season. Saha, a veteran of 40 Tests, made the revelation through a social media post.Saha is currently preparing for Bengal’s fourth-round fixture against Karnataka in Bengaluru, having returned to the team after spending two years as a player-mentor with Tripura. He had returned to Bengal following a meeting with Sourav Ganguly, the former India captain.

At the time, Saha had indicated he won’t be featuring in BCCI’s white-ball tournaments and focus on the first-class format in a bid to help Bengal lift the Ranji crown that eluded him in 2019-20, when they were pipped by Saurashtra in the finalNot wanting to dwell on the reasons for his acrimonious exit, Saha had insisted on “only looking forward” while expressing a keenness to explore opportunities in coaching over roles in administration.Saha, who became India’s first-choice wicketkeeper following MS Dhoni’s Test retirement in 2014, last played for India in December 2021, when he was believed to have been told by the then team management, led by Rahul Dravid, that India were moving on from him.Related

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At the time, while he was arguably India’s best wicketkeeper, the emergence of Rishabh Pant made it tougher, although Saha continued to play the role of a second wicketkeeper on many occasions.Upon his return to Bengal, Saha keenly mentored young Abishek Porel, who has stepped up to become an all-format regular for Bengal. The 22-year-old wicketkeeper was recently among four players retained by the Delhi Capitals ahead of the mega auction.As for his own IPL career, it’s likely Saha won’t feature in the auction. Until now, Saha has featured in every edition of the IPL since its inception in 2008, and was most recently with Gujarat Titans, with whom he won a title in 2022.Saha has also previously represented Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings, for whom he hit a memorable century in the 2014 final, where they were runners-up.

Markram, Bavuma return for SA's white-ball tour of Australia

Jansen misses out as he’s recovering from surgery to his left thumb while Miller will be playing in the Hundred

Firdose Moonda24-Jul-2025South Africa’s regular white-ball captains Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma will return to lead the T20I and ODI squads, respectively, for next month’s tour of Australia. Markram was rested from South Africa’s Test and T20I series in Zimbabwe while Bavuma missed the Zimbabwe Tests with a hamstring injury he sustained at the World Test Championship (WTC) final in June. Both skippers will have relatively full-strength squads available to them.Notably, the squad was announced a week before Patrick Moroney, the new convenor of selectors, starts work on August 1, which means this was the last squad that all-format Shukri Conrad picked independently.”It’s great to have our senior players back in the mix after their rest following the WTC Final,” Conrad said in a statement. “Their experience and quality add real value to the group as we continue to build a strong core in both formats. Every series from here on plays a part in shaping our squads for next year’s T20 World Cup and the 50-over World Cup at home in 2027.”Of South Africa’s regulars, Marco Jansen and David Miller are the only two not named. Jansen is recovering from surgery to his left thumb from an issue picked up at the WTC final, while Miller will be playing in the Hundred. He is expected to return for South Africa’s white-ball tour of England in September.South Africa’s squads for Australia tour•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The rest of South Africa’s frontline attack, led by Kagiso Rabada in the seam department and Keshav Maharaj in the spin one, are all included. But Maharaj is not part of the T20I squad.Instead, left-arm spinners George Linde and Senuran Muthusamy, who are both currently in Zimbabwe, will play the T20Is alongside legspinner Nqaba Peter as South Africa assess their options for next year’s T20 World Cup. Tabraiz Shamsi, who opted out of a national contract last year, is not included in either squad. Conrad had indicated prior to the Zimbabwe series that he would speak to Shamsi to discuss his future.”Unfortunately, things got away from me, and I was never able to have that chat,” he said. “The spinners who have been selected have the inside track.”South Africa’s T20I playing group sees the return of Ryan Rickelton and Tristan Stubbs to the batting line-up, and the retention of Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Dewald Brevis, who are both in Zimbabwe. Lungi Ngidi, Nandre Burger, Corbin Bosch and Kwena Maphaka make up the seamers, but Gerald Coetzee is not included.Rassie van der Dussen was not included in the ODI squad for Australia•Zimbabwe Cricket

“There are only so many quicks you can put in your team in terms of balance,” Conrad said. “The players who have been selected are ahead of Gerald in the pecking order. In the 50-over squad, I wanted to try and get as many allrounders in the squad. You cannot ignore what Corbin Bosch has done. Gerald sits behind him.”The ODI squad’s batting line-up has the four named above as well Matthew Breetzke and Tony de Zorzi. Wiaan Mulder provides an all-round option in Jansen’s absence. While Rassie van der Dussen, who has South Africa’s second-highest ODI average, is not included in the ODI squad, Conrad also conceded that he is “very much in contention for the T20 World Cup”.”He gives you the option of batting at the top and at No. 3, and he is a great in a leadership role. With the 50-over [team], because I’ve got time before 2027, it gives me the opportunity to blood new players and see how they develop.”

T20I squad

Aiden Markram (capt), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Nandre Burger, George Linde, Kwena Maphaka, Senuran Muthusamy, Lungi Ngidi, Nqaba Peter Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Prenelan Subrayen, Rassie van der Dussen

ODI squad

Temba Bavuma (capt), Corbin Bosch, Matthew Breetzke, Dewald Brevis, Nandre Burger, Tony de Zorzi, Aiden Markram, Senuran Muthusamy, Keshav Maharaj, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Prenelan Subrayen

Ollie Robinson, Will Rhodes keep Durham in contention

George Bell and Josh Bohannon’s hundreds not enough for struggling Lancashire

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay20-Aug-2025Captain Ollie Robinson and in-form allrounder Will Rhodes hit composed, match-clinching half-centuries as Durham maintained their Metro Bank One-Day Cup knockout hopes by beating struggling Lancashire by four wickets at Liverpool.Wicketkeeper-batter Robinson and Rhodes, in pursuit of 321, came together at 168 for 3 in the 30th over and calmly secured a third win from six in Group B. They shared 127, Robinson with 80 not out off 59 balls and Rhodes 75 off 68. Durham won with nine balls remaining.With two games remaining, they are eyeing a top-three finish. Lancashire, however, lost their fourth game in six and are way off the pace. Their wicketkeeper-opener George Bell’s excellent 104 off 115 balls represented his maiden first-team century.The Red Rose’s 320 all out saw Bell – aged 22 – star and Josh Bohannon became the county’s first batter to score back-to-back List A centuries since Liverpudlian Paul Horton in 2009. He top-scored with 106 off 102 balls having done similar at Kent on Sunday. Durham seamer Ben Raine excelled with 4 for 34 from 9.5 overs.This was Rhodes’ third fifty added to a century in this campaign, and Robinson is leading the side in place of club captain Alex Lees in order to build his leadership experience.Inserted, Lancashire raced to 50 without loss in four overs but were hurt by losing their last eight wickets for 65 inside the final eight overs of the innings. Michael Jones fell for a brisk 30 against his former county when he miscued a pull at Codi Yusuf’s seam to Emilio Gay running in from deep square leg.Will Rhodes plays forward•Getty Images

In excellent batting conditions, Bell and Bohannon shared 175 inside 29 overs. Bell was 35 when Bohannon came in, but the latter reached his hundred first, off 96 balls. His second fifty came in only 29. And when Bell reached his ton shortly afterwards, off 113 balls, the Red Rose were 251 for 2 after 41 overs.Bell and Bohannon were then both caught at deep midwicket slog-sweeping against the seam of Rhodes and Colin Ackermann’s spin as the Red Rose slipped from 255 for 2 in the 42nd over. Raine claimed the last three as Durham crucially came back well, with the the suspicion of Lancashire being light on runs.Lees and Gay made a steady start, with an 84-run partnership inside 15 overs broken when the latter miscued a pull at Tom Aspinwall’s seam out to Jones running in from deep square leg. While Aspinwall had been released by the Manchester Originals, Lancashire left-arm spinner Charlie Barnard couldn’t bowl having dislocated his right little finger diving to stop a boundary.Durham’s serene progress was checked when Lees, who went beyond 3,000 List A career runs during his 64, chipped to cover off Arav Shetty’s spin. And further so when Colin Ackermann on 39 flicked Aspinwall to midwicket with the score on 168 eight overs later.Robinson and Rhodes took Harry Singh’s off-spin to task as 22 came off the 35th over, including four boundaries, with Durham moving to 213 for 3. Singh was covering for Barnard’s absence, and this felt like a crucial moment. From there, Rhodes and Robinson cruised against a depleted but spirited attack.Rhodes reached his fifty off 48 balls, and when Robinson followed him there off 39 balls, the visitors were 258 for three in the 41st over. Their progress could not be halted even with Rhodes and then Raine falling late on in a Tom Bailey over.

Kohli lasts 15 balls on Ranji return; Saurashtra eye bonus-point win

Rahane misses ton but Mumbai dominate, while Tamil Nadu could get lucky

Shashank Kishore31-Jan-2025Kohli’s short stay
It lasted all of 15 deliveries in which he made six. Virat Kohli was beaten twice outside off, once to a full delivery that left him late and then a length ball that he jabbed and missed.He brought out a delightful straight drive in the next over, but was out off the very next delivery when Himanshu Sangwan, a Railways ticket collector at New Delhi Railway Station during the off-season, sent his off stump cartwheeling. Soon, Sangwan became a reel sensation for a superb nip-backer that sneaked through Kohli’s big gap between bat and pad.A strong crowd of around 15,000 who made a beeline for the exit, missed a quality knock from Ayush Badoni. The captain’s 77-ball 99 helped Delhi open up a 93-run lead against Railways, with three first-innings wickets remaining.Pujara 99, Saurashtra on course
The stars have aligned perfectly for Saurashtra. They needed two outright with bonus points, both games were at home in Rajkot on turners; they beat Delhi last week inside three days with Ravindra Jadeja taking 12 wickets.Related

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This week, they didn’t need Ravindra’s bowling because the other Jadeja (Dharmendrasinh), was among the wickets (four of them) as Assam were made to follow-on. That Saurashtra were in a position to enforce the follow-on was because of a solid batting performance in the first innings.Their 474 was set up by Cheteshwar Pujara, who was out for 99 early on day two having added four to his overnight score. Assam’s only source of resistance was Riyan Parag, who top-scored with 51 on his return to top-flight cricket from a shoulder injury.Kuldeep made to toil
Returning to competitive cricket after three months following a surgery for sports hernia, Kuldeep Yadav sent down 31 overs to pick up three wickets, but Uttar Pradesh were sent on a leather hunt. Double tons from Harsh Gawli and Shubham Sharma helped Madhya Pradesh post an imposting 670 for 7 declared. From a qualification standpoint, this game doesn’t hold much significance since with both teams are out of the knockouts race.Rahane 96 in mammoth Mumbai total
Ajinkya Rahane’s quest to convert his maiden first-class fifty this Ranji season into a century met disappointment as he was out for 96 against Meghalaya, but Mumbai opened up a 585-run lead.Meghalaya were 27 for 2 at stumps, giving Mumbai a sight of seven full points that will take them to 29 points and help them seal a quarter-final berth. Coming into the final round, they needed a favour from Jammu & Kashmir, and they’ve helped them along the way by pocketing not just a first-innings lead against Baroda but also opening up the possibility of an outright win.Jalaj continues to shine
Earlier this season, Jalaj Saxena – the Kerala allrounder – completed the double of 6000 first-class runs and 400 wickets. In the final round of matches, he picked up a five-for in each innings, both on Friday, as Kerala trounced Bihar by an innings to secure a quarter-final berth.Jalaj took his wickets tally in the tournament to 421, the seventh-best. This was the 10th time he picked up 10 wickets or more in a first-class game. Bihar lasted a combined 64.2 overs across both innings in which they made make 64 and 118 in response to Kerala’s 351 fuelled by Salman Nizar’s 150.TN stutter but knockouts chances burn bright
They need 97 and have only five wickets in hand against Jharkhand, but a scenario has emerged wherein Tamil Nadu can qualify for the knockouts despite a defeat. That’s because Chandigarh – who won three successive games outright in the first half – have now conceded the first-innings lead to Chhattisgarh in a game they needed to win with a bonus point. Tamil Nadu’s hopes of pulling off the chase are pinned on Vijay Shankar, who is unbeaten on 33.

Jewell ton, Owen cameo take Tasmania past Victoria

Victoria have dropped to fourth on the table with only one round remaining while Tasmania are in fifth place

AAP13-Feb-2025Mitchell Owen unleashed some more fireworks and Caleb Jewell cracked a sparkling century to lead Tasmania to a five-wicket One-Day Cup win over Victoria at Bellerive Oval.In reply to Victoria’s 266 for 9, Tasmania chased down the victory target with a whopping 57 balls to spare in Thursday’s match.Owen made headlines when he smashed 108 off 42 balls to lead Hobart Hurricanes to victory in the BBL final against Sydney Thunder in January. The 23-year-old was at it again on Thursday, thumping 48 off 19 balls to get Tasmania’s run chase off to a flyer.Fellow opener Jewell picked up where Owen left off, finishing unbeaten on 105 off 115 balls. Jewell brought up his ton with a six off Sam Elliott over midwicket, with his innings featuring eight fours and three sixes.Victoria would have surged into second spot with victory over Tasmania, but instead dropped to fourth with only one round remaining before the March 1 final. The Bushrangers (13 points) are three points behind second-placed NSW (16 points), while Tasmania (11 points) are fifth.NSW host Victoria in the final round in what shapes as effectively an elimination final.Sam Harper (50 off 57 balls) got Victoria off to a solid start, but his dismissal sparked a mini slump as the visitors staggered to 130 for 5 in the 30th over. Marcus Harris (2), Peter Handscomb (23) and Harry Dixon (24) were all back in the sheds by that stage.But a quickfire innings from Thomas Rogers (68 off 70 balls) and handy knocks from Will Sutherland (30 off 34 balls) and Elliott (46 not out off 43 balls) lifted Victoria to a respectable total.Beau Webster finished with 2 for 41 from nine overs, while Raf MacMillan (2 for 39) was the only other multiple wicket-taker.Owen began Tasmania’s run chase powerfully, with the home side none for 67 in the sixth over before he skied a catch to Harris.Charlie Wakim (44), Jordan Silk (29) and Tim Ward (22) posted handy runs, but Jewell inflicted the bulk of the damage. He unleashed a series of beautiful drives en route his half-century, and upped the tempo with some big heaves to lift his team to victory.

Rohit, Jaiswal, Iyer to miss Mumbai's must-win Ranji Trophy game

Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Atharva Ankolekar and Suryansh Shedge return for their last league game of the season

Vishal Dikshit28-Jan-2025India internationals Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer are going to miss the next round of the Ranji Trophy for Mumbai in the lead up to the England ODI series that follows early next month. While the likes of Virat Kohli and KL Rahul will feature in the next round starting January 30, the Mumbai trio had already played the previous round, which Kohli and Rahul didn’t, and Iyer played almost the entire domestic season, that included two white-ball tournaments too. The ODI series against England starts on February 6 in Nagpur, four days after the scheduled end of the last Ranji Trophy round.Rohit and Jaiswal – who also open together in Tests – opened for Mumbai against Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) when they returned to domestic cricket for the previous round after the BCCI’s new guidelines mandated playing domestic cricket. The board’s directive had come after India’s consecutive series losses against New Zealand and Australia that cost the team a World Test Championship final berth, especially with India’s batting unit failing to put up substantial scores. Rohit, especially, has been among the poorest of the lot, scoring just 164 runs from his last 15 Test innings to average a dismal 10.93 this season. His fortunes didn’t change when he batted for Mumbai, scoring just 3 and 28 against J&K.Related

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Jaiswal too registered low scores of 4 and 26 although he had a much better Test season, scoring two half-centuries and a century in Australia after four fifties at home.Iyer, on the other hand, has been Mumbai’s top-scorer this Ranji season. He made two centuries to tally 480 runs from seven innings and average 68.57. He also struck two unbeaten centuries in the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy recently. He also struck at 188.52 for his 345 runs in the victorious 20-over Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.Mumbai will also be without allrounder Shivam Dube who joined the India T20I squad soon after Mumbai’s game against J&K ended.The squad for the final league game against Meghalaya sees the return of batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi and allrounders Atharva Ankolekar and Suryansh Shedge, who was the Player of the Match in the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Mumbai are likely go to back to the young opening combination of Raghuvanshi and 17-year-old Ayush Mhatre, who has kicked off his maiden domestic season with a stellar record of four centuries and two half-centuries in 18 innings across first-class and List A formats so far.Mumbai are the defending champions and are in a tough spot to make the Ranji knockouts, placed third in the Group A table behind J&K and Baroda. Their last game against Meghalaya is a must win.

Mumbai squad

Ajinkya Rahane (capt), Ayush Mhatre, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Amogh Bhatkal, Siddhesh Lad, Akash Anand (wk), Hardik Tamore (wk), Suryansh Shedge, Shardul Thakur, Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Mohit Avasthi, Sylvester D’Souza, Royston Dias, Shreyas Gurav, Atharva Ankolekar

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