Let’s take a look at important developments from the world of cricket that occurred on 19 June.
India Women salvage a draw vs England in Bristol
Sneh Rana and Taniya Bhatia forged an unbeaten 104-run partnership for the eighth wicket to steer India away from choppy waters and salvage a draw in Bristol.
Resuming the day on 83/1, India lost Shafali Verma early in the day. Punam Raut, next woman in, added 72 runs with Deepti Sharma, who played a valiant knock of 54 before getting bowled by Sophie Ecclestone.
Mithali Raj, Harmanpreet Kaur and Pooja Vastrakar fell cheaply before Rana stood up to the occasion. She remained unbeaten on 80 and Bhatia on 44 before England captain Heather Knight shook hands.
Rahane, Kohli stand firm, bad light forces early end to Day 2
Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane put on a stellar display of technical adeptness, adding 58 in challenging conditions. India were on 146/3 before bad light stopped proceedings on Day 2.
Only 64.4 overs of play were possible in the day. Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma weathered the early storms of Trent Boult and Tim Southee with confidence, adding 62 for the opening wicket. Cheteshwar Pujara was the third to be dismissed, after getting trapped lbw by Boult.
West Indies in trouble after horror batting show
West Indies conceded a deficit of 149 after being bowled out for 149 against South Africa on Day 2. Wiaan Mulder only bowled four overs but picked up three wickets to wipe off the tail. Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi and Keshav Maharaj picked up two wickets apiece.
The hosts did not have the best of starts. They lost both openers inside four overs. Keshav Maharaj then had Kyle Mayers caught by Aiden Markram to reduce West Indies to 54/4. Shai Hope (43) and Jermaine Blackwood (49) offered some resistance that helped them reach 149.
Shane Warne disappointed with New Zealand not picking spinner for WTC final
Shane Warne publicly expressed disappointment with New Zealand’s strategy of heading into the contest without any spinner. New Zealand went ahead with their outstanding pace quartet – Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner and Kyle Jamieson – and chose Colin de Grandhomme as the fifth bowling option.
There were speculations about Ajaz Patel making a cut, especially after a decent performance against England a few days ago. Warne reckons that the wicket is going to aid spinners as the match progresses, and the strategy of not picking a spinner may backfire.