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Match Facts

April 1, 2017
Start time: 0930 local (0400GMT)Kusal Mendis, who hit his maiden century in Dambulla, has shown signs of his desire to be a leading batsman in world cricket•AFP

Big Picture

Sri Lanka would have felt hard done by after rain ruined the second ODI, when they put up a total of 311. No team had ever won a 50-over game on the island after being set a target over 300.But after taking Sri Lanka’s last six wickets in the final five overs, Bangladesh must have thought they were in the contest. Taskin Ahmed’s hat-trick would have charged them up even further and considering they had made their highest total away from home in the first ODI – 324 – things had been shaping up brilliantly before the weather intervened.Bangladesh may be 1-0 up and eyeing a series win, but with Kusal Mendis living up to his promise and the rest of the Sri Lankan line-up batting around his maiden hundred Tuesday, the hosts would feel like they have got their menace back. Upul Tharanga made an eye-catching half-century as well, but the team management would want him to play a longer innings, while also hoping Thisara Perera’s 9 in Dambulla was a one-off low score. The big-hitting allrounder made 55 off 35 balls only a week ago and another such display could help them end a six-match losing streak.With the action moving to the SSC, and its slow and dry surfaces, Bangladesh would have an easier time putting behind their bowling performance from the last game. They can expect grip for Mustafizur Rahman’s cutters and turn for Mehedi Hasan’s offbreaks. So should the weather hold up well, a contest with a lot of context is on the cards.

Form guide

Sri Lanka LLLLL (completed matches, most recent first)
Bangladesh WLLLL

In the spotlight

After his Test century in Galle earlier this month, Kusal Mendis had said that he wanted to be a leading batsman in world cricket and his 107 off 107 balls in Dambulla was another reminder of this young batsman’s ambition. He was very much on-side dependent but that was mostly because the Bangladesh bowlers preferred to attack his stumps. Sri Lanka would expect more runs from their No. 3, especially in a crunch situation.He didn’t get going in the first ODI but Mushfiqur Rahim had a pretty good day behind the stumps, despite missing one stumping. He held a fine running catch to dismiss Danushka Gunathilaka, helped in the Tharanga’s run-out and then produced direct hits to end Dilruwan Perera and Thisara Perera’s stay in the middle. All he needs no are some runs.Mehedi Hasan and the rest of the spinners will look to extract purchase from a usually-response SSC pitch•AFP

Team news

Sri Lanka made three changes to their XI in the second ODI but while their batting clicked, the newly-formed bowling attack couldn’t be tested. They are likely to remain unchanged, but there is a chance Seekkuge Prasanna will enter the XI.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Upul Tharanga (capt), 2 Danushka Gunathilaka, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 5 Asela Gunaratne, 6 Milinda Siriwardana, 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Dilruwan Perera, 9 Suranga Lakmal, 10 Nuwan Kulasekara, 11 Nuwan PradeepBangladesh have Imrul Kayes, Rubel Hossain, Nurul Hasan, Shuvagata Hom, Subashis Roy and newcomer Sunzamul Islam on the bench but it is unlikely that they would break their winning combination in the third ODI.Bangladesh (possible): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Soumya Sarkar, 3 Sabbir Rahman, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Mosaddek Hossain, 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Mehedi Hasan, 9 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Taskin Ahmed

Pitch and conditions

An ODI hasn’t been played at the SSC in six years, but in the interim, it has hosted plenty of List-A games. The average score for the team batting first those games is a remarkably low 146. Sri Lanka’s cricket manager Asanka Gurusinha said he expected this particular track to be batting friendly. Chandika Hathurusingha was slightly surprised that the pitch looked underprepared even two days before the ODI. Weather in Colombo could be troublesome on match day too, with chances of a late-afternoon shower.

Stats and trivia

• The last ODI played at the SSC was before the 2011 World Cup, while Bangladesh’s last ODI here was in 2005.
• The rained-out second ODI hurt Bangladesh more as they lost the chance to go up to No. 6 in the ICC ODI rankings. The two teams will retain their places at on the table – Sri Lanka at No. 6 and Bangladesh at No. 7 – regardless of the how the third ODI pans out.

Quotes

“The seniors have responded to [the responsibility of getting a big score] really well. It comes with the belief and maturity of the players. They are really confident in their preparation now.

South Africa Women restricted Sri Lanka Women to 142 for 9 and chased the target down with nine wickets and 83 balls to spare at the P Sara Oval. The big win helped South Africa qualify for the Women’s World Cup to be held in England and Wales from 24 June to 23 July.Lizelle Lee and Laura Wolvaardt laid the platform for the chase with a 46-run opening partnership. The stand ended when Eshani Lokusuriyage had Lee caught by Chamari Atapattu in the ninth over. Wolvaardt and Suné Luus, however, hit unbeaten half-centuries to seal the win.Luus was at it with the ball too, taking 3 for 40 in 10 overs with her legspin. Dane van Niekerk, the other legspinner, complemented her with 2 for 14 in 10 overs, including four maidens. Sri Lanka lost wickets in a heap with only four of their batsmen reaching double-figures. Opener Nipuni Hansika top scored with 48 off 96 balls, including six fours.”It was a very important match for us, not just to qualify but I think for us to keep the pressure off the next game as well,” Luus said after the game. “The pace bowlers set the match up nicely and the batters could just do their job.”Fielding is something we need to improve and we are busy working on it. We are a much better side than we are displaying at the moment. This [qualification] is what we have been working for. I think we are going to celebrate tonight but also not lose sight of what’s coming. We are playing Ireland next and hopefully a final!”File photo – Mithali Raj struck her 43rd ODI fifty•ICC

An unbroken 136-run stand between opener Mona Meshram (78*) and her captain Mithali Raj (73*) helped India Women canter to a nine-wicket victory over Bangladesh Women at the Nondescripts Cricket Club Ground in Colombo. After their bowlers, led by seamer Mansi Joshi’s 3 for 25, limited Bangladesh to 155 for 8, India aced the chase with nearly 100 balls to spare. The win assured India of a spot in the Women’s World Cup.Having opted to bowl, India made light work of the Bangladesh top order thanks to Joshi. Sharmin Akhter (35) and Fargana Hoque (50) then mounted some resistance by adding 62 runs in 140 balls, but the rest of the batting line-up fell away.Deepti Sharma exited early in the chase, but Raj, who made her 43rd ODI half-century, and Meshram, who hit her second ODI half-century, powered India home.Meshram, who the bagged the Player-of-the-match award, said: “Mithali’s experience helps when you bat with her. The pressure is released when she plays her shots.”Fifties from opener Nahida Khan and Javeria Khan led Pakistan Women to 271, a total they defended by 86 runs against Ireland Women at the Colombo cricket ground.Having opted to bat, Pakistan lost Ayesha Zafar early, but Nahida and Javeria took the score to 155 before Javeria retired hurt on 65. She returned to add 25 more to her tally, while Nahida was dismissed for 72. Late cameos from Nain Abidi and captain Sana Mir then pushed the total past 270.In reply, Ireland were bowled out for 185 in 48.5 overs. Their major source of resistance came from a 74-run stand for the second wicket between Cecelia Joyce and Kim Garth. Apart from them, only Isobel Joyce passed 15. Nashra Sandhu, Sana Mir, and Sadia Yousuf picked up two wickets each for Pakistan.

ScorecardElyse Villani struck 73 runs off 47 balls at a strike rate of more than 150•Getty Images

A firecracker of an innings from Elyse Villani set the Australia on the path to a comfortable victory over New Zealandin the opening match of their T20I series at the MCG.Villani’s 73 from a mere 47 deliveries powered the hosts to 151 from their allotted 20 overs, largely in partnership with the captain and reigning Belinda Clark medallist Meg Lanning.New Zealand struggled in response, never threatening to match the required run rate while losing regular wickets. The absence of Ellyse Perry, Australia’s star allrounder, was no great handicap to Lanning’s side, with the young legspinner Amanda-Jade Wellington stepping up admirably with three wickets.The visiting captain Suzie Bates had chosen to send the Australians in to bat upon winning the toss, and the early wickets of Beth Mooney and the debutant Ashleigh Gardner – run out after facing just a single ball – handed the early momentum to the tourists.However Lanning’s composure was important in settling the innings down, avoiding further wickets while building a stand with Villani. So effectively did the pair accelerate that Australia were able to pile up no fewer than 97 runs from their final 11 overs, having been a relatively sedate 2 for 54 after nine overs.New Zealand’s reply began serviceably enough, but from the moment Rachel Priest offered a catch to Lanning off the bowling of Molly Strano they were always pushing up hill. The loss of Bates in the 11th over was a critical blow, and Amy Satterthwaite’s determined rearguard served mainly to reduce the margin of defeat.The second T20I takes place at Geelong’s Kardinia Park on Sunday.

Twenty-year-old Lungi Ngidi, who has taken six wickets in his first two T20 Internationals, has earned a maiden call-up to South Africa’s ODI squad for the first three matches against Sri Lanka, which start on January 28. AB de Villiers, who has not played an ODI for South Africa since June last year, because of an elbow injury, will return to lead the side while Chris Morris, who missed South Africa’s last ODI assignment against Australia in October with a knee problem, is also back.

South Africa squad

AB de Villiers (capt), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi
In Lungi Ngidi, AB de Villiers, Chris Morris
Out Kyle Abbott, Rilee Rossouw, Aaron Phangiso, Dale Steyn

Kyle Abbott and Rilee Rossouw – who were also part of the 5-0 win over Australia – could not be considered because both have signed Kolpak deals while Dale Steyn remains sidelined as he recovers shoulder surgery.South Africa’s attack is also without Morne Morkel, who has not played for them since June when he sustained a back injury. Morkel has been on the comeback trial since August but his progress has been especially slow and concerns over his future are growing. Left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso was left out in favour of left-arm wrist spinner bowler Tabraiz Shamsi, as South Africa trial combinations ahead of the Champions Trophy.South Africa have 10 ODIs in the next six weeks in preparation for the tournament, followed by three more matches in England in May and convener of selectors Linda Zondi is confident they will be ready. “We can’t ask for more in terms of preparation. Our one-day squad is coming together really nicely and we are especially happy that we have AB de Villiers back as captain,” Zondi told ESPNcricinfo.De Villiers will take over from Faf du Plessis, who led South Africa against Australia and has succeeded de Villiers as Test skipper, with a view to taking the team to the 2019 World Cup which he has described as a “top priority.” So much so that de Villiers had opted out of Test cricket for most of 2017 in order to manage his workload ahead of the next World Cup. CSA CEO Haroon Lorgat confirmed de Villiers will be obliged to play in every ODI leading up to that event.He will hold together a well-oiled batting line-up which will see Hashim Amla, no longer under threat from Rossouw, and Quinton de Kock open while du Plessis, Duminy and David Miller make up the rest of the top six. Farhaan Behardien, who was made T20 captain for the ongoing three-match series against Sri Lanka that will be decided on Wednesday, is the reserve batsman in the squad.South Africa have four allrounders in their squad in Morris, Wayne Parnell, Dwaine Pretorius and Andile Phehlukwayo and Zondi was particularly excited about the depth they will add. “If you just think back to a few years ago, we were talking about how much we were struggling to move on from Jacques Kallis and how the cupboard was bare, but now we have a lot of choice. The same can be said for the spin department. For the first time in years, we have three or four different players to choose from.”Legspinner Imran Tahir remains South Africa’s No.1 choice but has received assistance from Phangiso in the T20 series and now Shamsi in ODIs. Zondi said Test spinner Keshav Maharaj was also on the radar. “We’re not at all saying Phangiso should only play T20s and Shamsi only ODIs. We just want to see how this combination works out and then we will take it from there,” Zondi said.But the most important experiment will be with the new ball. In Steyn and Morkel’s expected absence, Abbott was being earmarked to open the bowling at the Champions Trophy and Russell Domingo even lamented the lack of time South Africa have to find a suitable replacement when it was revealed Abbott’s international career was over in the first week of January. Now, Ngidi has emerged as a candidate to partner Rabada at the tournament.Ngidi bowls quickly, aggressively and accurately but Zondi does not want to put too much expectation on him just yet. “We need to take it one step at a time with him and see how he develops but we are very pleased with what we have seen so far. To have guys like Ngidi, Dwaine Pretorius and Andile Phehlukwayo coming through proves to us that our pipeline is producing.”

Hyderabad held on after being aided by a fog delay to draw their match against Andhra in Lucknow and seal the second knockout qualification spot from Group C.Hyderabad had gone to stumps on the third day on 13 for 1 after a bold declaration by Andhra – who would have qualified with an outright win – had set them a target of 219. However, the entire first session was lost due to fog on the fourth day and only 40 overs were possible after that. It wasn’t enough for Andhra to force a result even though they made a match of it. by picking five wickets. Hyderabad then shut shop and walked away with the one point they needed to qualify. They were reduced to 36 for 5, but captain S Badrinath and wicketkeeper K Sumanth batted together for nearly 20 overs, and added as many runs, to avoid further damage and take them through.Himachal Pradesh‘s spinners, led by offspinner Gurvinder Singh, took eight wickets between them to dismiss Goa for 286 and set up a seven-wicket win on the last day of the group stage in Mumbai.Gurvinder took four wickets, including that of Darshan Misal (119) who scored his second century of the match. Sumiran Amonkar (55) was the only other batsman to make a significant contribution, but he had fallen in the second over of the day that Goa had begun on 99 for 2. They lost regular wickets as Bipul Sharma (2-36) and Mayank Dagar (2-77) joined Gurvinder in bowling 60.4 of the 84.4 overs Goa batted before being bowled out for 286, setting HP 139 to win.HP went about the chase in similar batting fashion to their first innings – striking at over five runs per over – and chased it down in the 28th over. Paras Dogra led their chase with an unbeaten 55 off 69 balls.Amandeep Khare scored his second century of the match as Chhattisgarh ended their debut season with first-innings points against Jammu & Kashmir in Gwalior. Khare, who was also making his Ranji debut this season, finished as Chhattisgarh’s top-scorer.Chhattisgarh had ended the third day on 101 for 1 having taken a first-innings lead of 128. Their overnight pair of Khare and Manoj Singh (85) extended their partnership to 161, before Manoj was dismissed by Parvez Rasool. Chhattisgarh struck at nearly five runs per over in their bid to set J&K a decent target. Khare completed his century off 79 balls and was unbeaten on 117 off 91 when Chhattisgarh declared on 264 for 3. Set 393, J&K held on for 78 overs, thanks mainly to half-centuries from Shubham Khajuria (72), Pranav Gupta (65) and Rasool (66), three of only four batsmen to score in double digits. Left-arm spinners Sumit Ruikar and Ajay Mandal took three wickets each for Chhattisgarh.Kerala batted through all 64 overs of the day without losing a wicket to secure first-innings points against Services in Delhi.Kerala began the day on 271 for 5, needing 52 more to get past Services’ first-innings total of 322. Overnight batsmen Sachin Baby and Akshay Chandran put on an unbroken 257-run sixth-wicket partnership as both notched up career-best scores. Baby, who had begun the day on 112, was unbeaten on 250 at, while Chandran (102*) raised his maiden century just before Kerala declared on 518 for 5 and stumps were drawn.

New Zealand doesn’t quite have Sri Lanka’s reputation in producing result pitches, but you have to go back seven Tests – to February 2014 – to find the most-recent draw in the country. Little surprise then, that a batting approach gaining credence in Sri Lanka (13 Tests without a draw) may come to be here as well: “get runs before the good ball gets you”.Having mustered only 304 in Christchurch, Pakistan had introspected as they prepared for the Test at Seddon Park. A more adventurous outlook might see them prosper on this pitch, middle-order batsman Asad Shafiq said.”As batsmen we have to play positive and aggressive on this wicket,” he said. “That was missing in the last match. We have to go for some runs, because on a wicket like this it’s very difficult to stop the ball all the time because this kind of wicket seams and swings a bit. It’s just a matter of time until you get a good delivery. Before that you have to take it on.”Perhaps Pakistan have sought to take cues from their top-scorer in Christchurch: Sohail Khan, who hit 40 runs off 39 balls. On similarly difficult pitches, strokemakers have also succeeded in upsetting bowlers’ rhythms – something Pakistan could not do despite having collectively spent 78.4 overs at the crease in the second innings of the first Test.”It’s a lesson that we had learned in the last game – that on these types of wickets we have to spend time, but as soon as we are spending time, we have to score some runs. If we’re not scoring runs, we are standing at the same place – we are not going forward.”Chief among those Pakistan will look to for leadership in this approach is Younis Khan, who made scores of 2 and 1 in the first Test. He averages 51.11 in New Zealand, however, with three half centuries and a 149 not out in 10 innings in the country.”Younis is one of the great batsmen Pakistan has ever produced, and he’s gone through a lot of times in his career like this – when he hasn’t scored runs in the first match, but he always bounces back,” Shafiq said. “He has that ability. I’m sure he will score runs in this match.”Seddon Park will also hold pleasant memories for Shafiq who, in 2011, top-scored in a Pakistan victory at the ground with 83. That had been only his second Test innings.” I remember that innings well – I played good, positive cricket. It feels really good to be back at the same ground. It really helps a lot as a batsman.”

Harbhajan Singh, India’s most successful offspinner at the moment, has opposed the kind of surfaces the team has played on at home over the last ‘four’ years. He’s stated as much in several interviews. He used the hash tag ‘tailor-made conditions for spinners’ while referring to the Indore surface. He went on to say his and Anil Kumble’s wickets tally would have been “something else” if they had bowled more on such pitches. Virat Kohli, to whom the mention of the word ‘pitch’ is a red rag, was told of Harbhajan’s comments after India had completed the whitewash of New Zealand inside four days in Indore.Kohli was then asked if he attributed these wins to pitches or “something else”. “Who made that statement?” Kohli shot back. “Harbhajan Singh,” he was told. “Oh? Okay,” he stopped.It must be mentioned that while the conversation around pitches has been subdued this season because they haven’t been as dramatic as they were against South Africa last season. Kolkata, in fact, was a seaming pitch, which brought the New Zealand fast bowlers into the game. However, Harbhajan’s is the first instance of someone criticising the pitches from inside the system. He is an active cricketer who was a part of the India squad in the Asia Cup played in Bangladesh earlier this year. Kohli refrained from directly reacting to Harbhajan’s statement although he did sound a little taken aback.”Obviously, I mean,” Kohli paused. “See even if it is a turning pitch you have to bowl well. There is no… spin doesn’t happen only off the pitch. Spin is about how many revs you impart off the shoulder first. And then the ball will do something off the pitch. I quite clearly remember after we lost to New Zealand in the World T20, suddenly their spinners were quality and we were found out. I don’t see anyone talking about that now. The same spinners have played. Why have they not been able to pick wickets? It is as simple as that. Our fast bowlers picked wickets everywhere. We never complained about anything. So… see you can give a guy a cement track to bat on. He [still] needs to have the mindset to score runs. It is as simple as that.”Earlier when asked about complete team performances on three different tracks and how much confidence that gives India for the England series, Kohli once spoke about the pitches. “Well, we knew before the series that people are going to start talking about pitches,” Kohli said. “But we made it a point that we… we knew that there are monsoons everywhere, wickets are not going to be as dry. Especially in Kolkata, we knew that it wouldn’t be dry; it was a newly laid wicket. We didn’t say anything once. We believe in our abilities, we should be good enough to do it on any surface and against any team.”That is a step in the right direction as far as our team is concerned. We believe in our skill much more, and not focus on creating atmosphere or conditions that might suit us partially. We just wanted to express ourselves the way we can on a cricket field. We finished two games in four days on perfectly fine Test cricket pitches. That gives us a lot of confidence.”

Following their gritty fight in the second innings in Dubai, Jason Holder, the West Indies captain, has said his team is confident of dealing with Pakistan and their key bowler, legspinner Yasir Shah, at their “fortress” in Abu Dhabi. However, they would have to clean up their fielding and bowling going into this Test, he said, and readjust to playing in the daytime.”We are obviously very confident as we played a very good Test match in Dubai and it was very competitive,” Holder said. “We had some great positives coming from that game, and for me, it is just to transfer it to this game. Abu Dhabi maybe a fortress for Pakistan, but we have shown that we can compete in this series.”They have heavily depended on Yasir Shah and I think we coped with him very well. He was not that effective even on a day-five pitch.”Pakistan have not lost in any of the eight Tests they have played at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, winning four of them. For West Indies to challenge that record, as Holder said, they would have to improve on their catching in the first match, where eventual triple-centurion Azhar Ali was dropped on 17 and again on 190. No-balls were also an issue, particularly for fast bowler Shannon Gabriel, who overstepped 11 times in the game. Fellow pacer Miguel Cummins also bowled two no-balls, even getting a wicket off one – Babar Azam on four in the second innings; he eventually scored 21.”We need to sharpen up on the mistakes we made in the field,” Holder said. “And we should cut out on those no-balls as it cost us. We need to improve on small areas in fielding and tighten up when we bowl, and stick to our plans for lot longer.”The wicket was very good, both sides struggled to get wickets with their seamers. Spinners dominated in the Test. In such a situation, you [as a seamer] have to be very patient and accurate.”The main readjustment with regards to going from a day-night Test to a day Test, Holder said, would relate to the players’ body clock and not the ball. “We are accustomed to the conditions. However, our body needs to get accustomed to the clock, from bowling in the night and the afternoon start. Now, we have [to play] the whole day and it is a small adjustment. Playing red ball from pink will not need any major adjustment.”

ICC chairman Shashank Manohar has said the revival of bilateral cricket is in the hands of the members boards, because bilateral cricket does not fall under the jurisdiction of cricket’s international governing body. The idea of two tiers in Tests was put forward by Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa, Manohar said, and it was up to the members to decide what to do about it.”I can tell as a fact, this issue [two tiers] was raised by Cricket South Africa and Cricket Australia, and came up at the Chief Executives Committee (CEC) meeting in Edinburgh,” Manohar told the . “Being the chairman of the ICC, I don’t attend the CEC meetings, but I was specifically called for this agenda item. I said at the meeting that the ICC is not empowered to look into this because these bilateral rights are rights belonging to home boards and it’s for them to decide what to do. The ICC has nothing to say in this. This matter can’t be deliberated on the ICC platform.”Haroon Lorgat, CEO of Cricket South Africa and former ICC CEO, had similarly told ESPNcricinfo that it was the responsibility of the member boards and not the ICC to ensure bilateral cricket is in good health. Technically, the ICC is only in charge of organising ICC events like the World Cup, World T20, Champions Trophy and Intercontinental Cup.While revamps of bilateral cricket were being debated, Manohar said it remained equally important to pinpoint the basis of Test cricket’s attendance problems. He said he felt it largely came down to the many options today’s fans have inside and outside of the game. “I said at the [CEC] meeting that the decline in crowd attendance for Test matches is not because there’s no content. What should be done is a survey. You should find out why the popularity of Test cricket has diminished.”For that you will have to interview people who watch T20 games or ODI games. Because there the stadiums are full, so those people are interested in watching the game of cricket.”In earlier days, there were only about five Tests in two years’ time. There was no television. So people used to go and stadiums used to be full. But today, for all 365 days, there’s some game going on somewhere in the world. So you can watch a game of cricket anytime, any day. So why would a person waste seven hours for five days, from 10am-5pm? All these things had been argued at the meeting.”Manohar also offered specific numbers on the budget for the Champions Trophy 2017 to be hosted in England, saying the BCCI’s claim that it was “three times” that of the budget allocated to this year’s World T20 hosted in India was false. “That’s not factually correct. The budget for the World T20 2016, including the television production cost, was $55,084,116. The budget for the Champions Trophy 2017, including television production cost, is $46,781,507.”Yes, there were more matches and teams at the World T20 2016 compared to what will be there for the Champions Trophy. But the Champions Trophy games are full-day games and the accommodation and travel cost in the UK are substantially higher that what they were in India.”After replacing N Srinivasan as ICC chairman in November 2015, Manohar had stated his intent to end the imbalance of power at the ICC caused by the constitutional revamp of 2014 – the “Big Three” episode. Now he reiterated his commitment to the international governing body over the BCCI, of which he was president till May. “Today I’m unconnected with any particular member of the ICC,” he said. “I’m the independent ICC chairman, so I have to look at the best interests of the ICC. It’s for the BCCI representative to look after the best interests of the BCCI.”When asked if the BCCI’s views did not deserve special attention at the ICC level given it is the biggest contributor to world cricket financially, Manohar said: “I don’t agree with this. Then, why the same logic shouldn’t apply to the BCCI? There are 30 state associations [in India], why shouldn’t somebody have a veto power? For example, Mumbai generates the highest revenue but does that mean that they should have a veto power on the BCCI decisions? Institutions function in a democratic manner and decisions are taken by the majority.”

ScorecardStafanie Taylor struck an unbeaten 78 to secure victory•Getty Images

International captains Stafanie Taylor and Heather Knight moved Western Storm a significant step closer to Finals’ Day in the Kia Super League at the Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton. Chasing 138 to win, the pair added 65 for the second wicket as the Storm won by eight wickets with 13 balls to spare.West Indies allrounder Taylor was once again the player of the match, with an unbeaten 78 off 51 balls. It is now three wins in four matches for these two sides, who qualified for the inaugural Finals Day on August 21 after Lancashire Thunder’s defeat to Yorkshire Diamonds later in the day.Batting first, the Vipers, who came into the game on the back of three successive victories, made a decent start courtesy of former England captain Charlotte Edwards and New Zealand skipper Suzie Bates. Each was dropped, on on 7 and 8 respectively, but they took advantage of some slipshod fielding from a Storm side led by England captain Knight.The pair reached 50 in the ninth over and carried on regardless as the Storm struggled to find an answer. It took Bates almost 10 overs to hit her first four, but when she did, off the bowling of Jodie Dibble, she struck two in as many balls.Edwards, who had ridden her luck, eventually picked out Anya Shrubshole, off the bowling of Knight, for 30, at 73 for 1, and though Bates continued to attack, the wicket certainly put a check on the Vipers’ progress. However, once Kiwi Sara McGlashan settled, the visitors added 37 for the second wicket, in exactly five overs.Bates struck a six over midwicket, having brought up her half-century with a sixth boundary four, and the pair took the total to 110 in the 16th over when Bates was trapped lbw by Knight, for 57 off 50 balls. McGlashan fell to Georgia Hennessey’s medium pace at 126 for 3, thanks to a decent catch by Dibble at long leg, and one or two lusty blows later, the Vipers wound up their innings on 137 for 3.The Storm lost opener Rachel Priest, caught by Bates off the bowling of Tash Farrant for 0, at 10 for 1, but in Taylor and Knight, had two international players capable of winning any game.Taylor had done exactly that against Surrey Stars in Bristol earlier in the week, and the West Indies captain looked in decent touch again.Quick to punish anything short or full, the pair reached their 50 partnership in the 10th over with Taylor hitting Fi Morris for successive straight boundaries before being dropped at cover by Arran Brindle on 41.Knight chipped Morris to Edwards at midwicket at 75 for 2, off the final ball of the 12th over, but with Taylor passing 50 off 36 balls and still going strong, the game was always within the Storm’s grasp.Taylor and Fran Wilson pulled out every shot in the book in an attempt to stay up with the rate and won the day off the penultimate ball of the 18th over with Taylor unbeaten on 78 and Wilson 24 not out.