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Ruvindu Gunasekera made the most of an early let-off to make 62 off 54 balls and guide Canada to a 34-run win over Bermuda via Duckworth-Lewis method on Monday afternoon at Indianapolis World Sports Park. Canada moved to 2-0 with the win while Bermuda dropped to 0-2 and must now claw out of a major hole to have any shot of finishing in the top-two for a spot in the World T20 Qualifier later this summer.After having won the toss, Canada’s top order batted fluently, reaching 48 for 0 after the six-over Powerplay in cool conditions. The hard-hitting Gunasekera offered a simple chance in the next over on 19 when he mistimed a pull to fine leg, but was put down. Rizwan Cheema got out off the following ball from Janeiro Tucker for 29 but Gunasekera went on to add another 45 runs for the second wicket with Nitish Kumar.Canada’s aggressive mindset backfired a few times, most notably with Nitish who looked set to bat through the end of the innings but was bowled for 20 by Jacobi Robinson attempting a reverse sweep to make it 94 for 2. Robinson continued to burrow through Canada’s middle order by claiming Srimantha Wijeratne at cover for 9 and Jimmy Hansra at long-off for 8 to make it 119 for 4.Gunasekera was still around at the start of the 19th over and looking set to push for 160 but the wheels came off two balls later when the left-hander was bowled by Stefan Kelly attempting a flick. Kelly bowled Navneet Dhaliwal for 4 to end the 19th and spinner Delray Rawlins darted in a quicker ball to knock back Hamza Tariq’s stumps for 2 at the start of the 20th.Bermuda made it four wickets in 10 balls when Tucker ran out Satsimranjit Dhindsa on the second run after a poor backup, and Canada ended on 143 for 8.Moments later, rain started to fall and play did not resume for another two hours and 15 minutes. Bermuda eventually had their target adjusted to 105 off 13 overs.The chase got off to the worst possible start when Dion Stovell skied a chance first ball off Cecil Pervez and was caught running back from mid-off by Hansra. Two overs later, James Celestine fell in similar fashion for 2 before David Hemp got into a tangle with Tucker over a single to backward point. Nitish swooped in and fired a direct hit with Hemp five yards short of making his ground as Bermuda were reduced to 8 for 3 in three overs.Tucker provided a brief counterattack with a pair of lusty blows for six over long-on but he fell quickly for 20 to Hansra, attempting another hoick after backing away from his stumps. Dutta was brought on in the sixth over and struck in the eighth and tenth, causing Oliver Pitcher to hole out to long-on for 3 before bowling Robinson for 6. Tre Manders, who remained unbeaten on 17, ensured Bermuda batted out their overs to end on 70 for 8.

Durban, Johannesburg and Cape Town will host the T20 series between South Africa and Australia next March. The first and third T20s – to be played at Kingsmead and Newlands on March 4 and 9 – will be night matches starting at 6pm local time while the second game at the Wanderers will begin at 2.30pm on March 6.The series, which will conclude a packed South African summer that also includes visits from New Zealand and England, will serve as a lead-up to the World T20 – which begins on March 11 – for both teams.”This announcement completes our home international fixtures for the 2015/16 summer,” said CSA Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat. “We will be competing at home against New Zealand, England and Australia. These are three top-class teams and it promises to be one of our most exciting and competitive home seasons in a long time.”The T20 Series against Australia provides for both teams the perfect lead-in to the ICC World Twenty20 which will be played in India immediately afterwards.”

Somerset have signed up New Zealand wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi to replace injured compatriot Corey Anderson for the five remaining games in the group stage of the NatWest t20 Blast.Ronchi will join Somerset ahead of their Middlesex fixture on June 26 and will be available for the home matches against Glamorgan and Gloucestershire, and the away matches against Kent and Surrey.Ronchi has been a regular in the New Zealand limited-overs side over the last two years and made his Test debut against England in Leeds recently, scoring a 70-ball 88 in the first innings. He averages 32.87 in T20 internationals with 263 runs from 15 games. In T20s overall, Ronchi has scored 1074 runs in 75 matches at an average of 18.84.Somerset director of cricket Matthew Maynard welcomed Ronchi’s inclusion. “Luke is a quality player with plenty of International experience,” Maynard said. “Any new addition must add something to the squad and he will certainly do that. He is an excellent ‘keeper, an explosive batsman and I am sure that our Members and supporters will enjoy the brand of cricket that he plays.”Somerset had signed Anderson for the latter half of the season but were forced to make a change after the allrounder suffered a back injury which ruled him out of New Zealand’s tour of England. The team is currently sixth on the South Group points table with five points from six games.

ScorecardFile photo – Mohammad Naveed helped UAE defend 133 with figures of 4-0-16-2•ACC

United Arab Emirates completed a stunning comeback to defend 133 against Ireland and level the two-match series 1-1, in Abu Dhabi. Chasing 134 for victory, Ireland were coasting at 91 for 1 after 12.4 overs, before losing their way.William Porterfield was run out in the penultimate over, for a 60-ball 72, with Ireland still requiring 13 off 10 but not more than a run-a-ball was conceded thereafter. Mohammad Shahzad, tasked with defending nine off the final over, gave away just three.The chase looked like a canter with openers Porterfield and Paul Stirling adding 61 off 36 balls. However, Ireland crumbled after losing wickets in clusters. Save the top three, no other batsman crossed 5. Mohammad Naveed, Ahmed Raza and Shahzad were all economical and picked up two wickets apiece.UAE posted a total of 133 for 7 on the back of Swapnil Patil’s 37-ball 31 and a host of cameos. Captain Amjed Javed provided the required impetus towards the end with a brisk 19. Boyd Rankin was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3 for 17, while Max Sorensen returned figures of 4-0-16-2.

ScorecardLegspinner Suné Luus’s career-best figures of 5 for 8 sent Ireland Women crashing out of the Women’s World T20 in Chennai. Luus struck thrice in her first three overs to reduce Ireland to 74 for 6 by the 16th over, in a chase of 157.Then she accounted for Kim Garth and No.10 Lucy O’Reilly in her final over as the writing on the wall became indelible for Ireland. They barely managed to bat out 20 overs, and ultimately tumbled to their third defeat in as many matches. Luus was complemented by Moseline Daniels and Marizanne Kapp who picked up a wicket each.Apart from captain Isobel Joyce, who is in her 17th year in international cricket, only opener Clare Shillington managed to move to double digits.South Africa’s first win of the tournament was set up by a fiery start and a late blast. Openers Dane van Niekerk and Trisha Chetty struck six fours and a six in a 41-run opening partnership. The stand ended when van Niekerk was pinned lbw by 19-year old allrounder Garth, for 20. Mignon du Preez made a scratchy 13 before she was bowled by Lewis, and a wobble ensued. From 70 for 1, South Africa stumbled to 84 for 4. However, cameos from Lizelle Lee, Dinesha Devnarain, and Chloe Tryon offset that wobble and lifted their side to 156.Lee made 30 not out off 24 balls, while Tryon cracked 20 not out off 7 balls, as South Africa took 58 off the last five overs. Their total would prove to be 67 too many for Ireland.

Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli has brushed off concerns over Chris Gayle’s form and was confident the opener can come up with the runs when the team needs it.Gayle has scored 1 and 0 in the side’s first two IPL 2016 matches. He has not scored in double-figures since his 47-ball century against England in the World T20 last month. Overall, Gayle has made 3200 runs in 84 IPL matches, of which 2737 runs have come for Royal Challengers. The batsman also has five centuries for the franchise, including a 66-ball 175* against Pune Warriors in IPL 2013, which is the highest individual score in T20 cricket.”I am sure he will come good at some stage of the tournament,” Kohli said, after Royal Challengers’ seven-wicket loss to Delhi Daredevils in Bangalore on Sunday. “Probably, he may get a hundred for us when it’s required the most. I am not too worried about Gayle, because the other guys are stepping up nicely. Cricket is all about grabbing the opportunity, if some others fail.”Chris takes lot of pride playing for RCB. He has been a standout player for us. I think people just expect a lot out of him every T20 match he plays because he is good at it and has scored 17 centuries, which is not a joke. So, expectations are high and Gayle wants to live up to them.”Despite Gayle’s low scores, Royal Challengers have racked up totals of 227 and 191, against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Daredevils, building on fifties from AB de Villiers and Kohli in each game. With Shane Watson also in the line-up, Kohli believed any of the top four batsmen could turn the match for Royal Challengers.”Well we got 230 in the first match and then almost 200 in this match, without Gayle firing. Guess what would happen when he fires!” Kohli said. “Four guys – Gayle, AB de Villiers, myself and Shane Watson – of international calibre playing in one team, it always helps. You can rely on those four to turn the game for you.”

Dinesh Karthik is a less celebrated force in the Gujarat Lions batting order. That would be par for the course in a lineup featuring Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Smith, Aaron Finch and Suresh Raina had Karthik not played as many pivotal hands as he has in IPL 2016.The numbers roar in approval too: with 215 runs from eight innings, he is the Lions’ third highest scorer. After a slow start to the tournament, he whipped up an unbeaten 39-ball 50 to close out a chase of 181 against Royal Challengers Bangalore and followed it up with 33 off 20 balls in Lions’ last-ball win over Rising Pune Supergiants. Against Delhi Daredevils, his gritty fifty coming in at 24 for 3 – aside from Ravindra Jadeja’s breezy late-order hitting – was the only bright spot in a game that Lions went down by eight wickets.Karthik has scored first-rate runs not least because most of those came in the middle overs – only twice has he batted during the powerplay – where most batsmen have struggled to get a grip of things. Karthik has also had to deal with the pressure of taking forward the top order’s smash-mouth start, while not being backed up adequately by the rest of the middle order, with Dwayne Bravo – 52 runs in eight innings – and Jadeja – 89 runs in eight innings – registering unflattering numbers. Karthik, however, was realistic about the challenges that came with his territory.”Middle order, obviously when compared with the openers, it’s not on par with that,” Karthik said. “It’s a totally different role. It’s pretty difficult as middle-order batsmen to come in when the run-rate is so high and keep going at that same pace. You take time and then you again consolidate towards the end. Sometimes if the wicket is really good you try and keep going at the same pace.”At this stage the good thing is Jaddu [Jadeja] has got runs [in the] last game because he is a very, very important cricketer for us. He forms the crux of the team in the middle order. And, I’m sure the way Bravo is batting in the nets it’s only a matter of time before he gets going. I am really confident that if those two guys get going then we are on track for some special things.”On his own batting, Karthik said his experience was useful in sussing out the situation quickly. “Good thing is I have been around for some time so the experience helps how to pace an innings, how to react to [different] situations,” he said. “I am gathering all the information and trying to do my best. There is so much to learn and I am still in the process of learning.”Karthik’s runs have come at a strike-rate of just above 127, which is about the same Raina has managed. He said he was constantly looking to milk the singles and twos – Karthik has scored only one six in the tournament – given the big square boundaries in Rajkot.”I am somebody who keeps rotating strike but mentally I am always looking for a boundary wherever I can,” Karthik said. “Rajkot is a pretty big playing field and to hit sixes is not that easy. I will be looking to rotate a lot more than play the big shot.”Karthik underpinned the importance of not second-guessing himself too much. He cited the example of the sweep shot, which cost him his wicket in Mumbai and against Sunrisers Hyderabad at home, but has remained one of his strongest allies.”Obviously It’s been a love-hate relationship with the sweep. Sometimes I have got out, sometimes I have got runs,” Karthik said. “But that’s the case, I am sure, with a lot of guys with all their favourite shots. Sometimes you get out but the key thing is you have to keep backing that shot. You know it’s going to get some runs for you and help you in tough situations. So you keep believing in that shot.”You assess [conditions and bowlers] and you try and take the best decision if you are looking to go for a big hit. At the same time it’s important that you try and keep it as instinctive as you can. If you programme a touch too much you can play into the hands of the bowler. I am a little aware of that as well.”

Anil Kumble, India’s new head coach, has acknowledged the influence of his predecessors John Wright and Gary Kirsten, and expects to adopt their low-visibility style and remain mostly behind the scenes. Wright was India’s head coach from 2000 to 2005, and was head coach at Mumbai Indians in 2013-14, when Kumble served as the team’s mentor. Kirsten was India’s head coach from 2008 – Kumble’s last year as a Test cricketer – to 2011.”I played a lot under John Wright, he’s been a great influence on how I’ll go about [the role], in terms of being in the background,” Kumble told . “When I became a mentor for Mumbai Indians, I brought John in because he understood a lot about Indian culture and then the way coaches work. So I’ll pick his brain.”I was involved with Gary Kirsten only for the Test matches, a very short period. He was, again, someone who worked in the background and didn’t make himself visible. Exactly how I’d like to work as well. Not in the front, but behind the scenes.”As a bowler, Kumble combined a cerebral approach with a willingness to keep pounding in for long spells no matter what the match situation. Accordingly, he said his coaching style would have “a bit of everything”, giving data its due while trying to strengthen his players’ response to adversity.”Data is important when you have to devise strategies and man-management is extremely crucial,” he said. “You need the team environment to be consistent and healthy, but also competitive. That is something I would look to have in the team.”The team comes first, the coaches play the background role, you are just trying to prepare the team for the best of their ability, for all conditions and all eventualities. You can’t really plan for adversity, but to try to prepare the team to handle those adversities. That’s exactly what we’ll try and address.”Kumble said he wanted to “build leaders” in his playing group, and said his coaching would have to deal as much with off-field as with on-field issues.”[It is] important as a coach to take the burden off the captain,” he said. “Captain has a lot of things on his head, all cricketing decisions and non-cricketing as well. When I was captain I realised that it’s not just taking decisions on the field but off it as well. Those are quite stressful.”Having been with the Indian team for such a long time and having had various experiences of not just conditions, but outside the cricket field, when you’re a coach, you’re not just coach on the field but also off it. You’re trying to build personalities, trying to build leaders. That’s how I’d like to look at this team. There is some wonderful talent, you need to make leaders out of them, try and understand what ticks them. It’s not a quick fix, you have to understand and then take a call.”Defining his role as that of an “enabler”, Kumble said he would not impose his views on the players.”They are already playing a good brand of cricket,” he said. “I will bring my characteristics as well but won’t impose on them. My job is to convince players to buy into what I believe in and what they believe in. At the end of it, they need to own it. If the team doesn’t own what we agree on, then it’s not going to work. I’m only an enabler. I work as an enabler to make sure things happen.”You need to be tough to play international cricket. It’s not only highs that you will see, you will also see lows. The coach’s role is not only to be a coach during successful periods but to be a coach during tough times.”Kumble said he had already spoken to India’s Test captain Virat Kohli, and looked forward to starting his tenure with a camp in Bangalore, his hometown, ahead of the four-Test tour of West Indies in July-August.”We have the West Indies Test series coming up, so that’s something our focus will be on,” he said. “I’ve spoken to Virat [Kohli] and MS [Dhoni, India’s ODI and T20 captain] must be on the flight back from Zimbabwe. It’s nice to have a camp here in Bengaluru before we tour. We’ll sit down and iron out and get ready for the West Indies tour.”Bowling, getting 20 wickets in Test cricket will win you matches. That’s the focus and we’ll take it from there. Batting, we have some great talent there. I believe this team has the potential. It’s a young team and driven by young leaders. Looking forward to working with Virat and MS. Long-term, we have lots of Tests coming up in India, that’ll be our focus.”Kumble starts his role on a one-year term, and most of India’s Test cricket in that period will be at home. Despite this, Kumble said he would focus on improving their overseas record, and that the process could begin at home itself.”I’m really excited,” he said. “This [overseas record] is something I wanted to commit to. You’ll have lot of time to strategise. The team needs to be really fit to meet the demands of Test cricket. Lot of Tests coming up, the first four are in West Indies where the conditions are not that different to India. But the Indian conditions are where we are comfortable with. Focus will be on our overseas record and the mindset we have to address from home itself. We’ll sit down and make a plan to ensure that we train towards achieving those goals.”Returning to a constantly on-the-road lifestyle was the one major concern Kumble had before he applied for the job; he said he finally decided to go ahead after a “long chat” with his family.”I felt it was the right time for me to get involved. I’m still fit enough to run around. It’s a young team so I believe you have to get your hands dirty, you need to be with the players, train with them, be amongst them. If it was a senior team, you can sit back, strategise and address that. But as a young team, you need to be in the middle and that’s something I can do at this stage.”I had a long chat with the family, 18 years on the road, they’ve taken the stress and the burden. My wife and kids have been really supportive. Not easy travelling again so that was a major decision. Once those two were clear, I put my hat in the ring. The process was great, I felt more comfortable because the three members who were interviewing me were my own team-mates, former colleagues. Process was professional and I enjoyed being a part of it. The presentation that was requested, I made my plan and put a blueprint, a blueprint for others to contribute and make it larger and ensure that all stakeholders own that plan and continue to take Indian cricket forward.”

ScorecardAaron Finch anchored Surrey with a first-day hundred•PA Photos

Aaron Finch marked his Surrey debut by hitting his first ball for six and going on to complete a brilliant 90-ball hundred on the opening day of the Specsavers County Championship Division One match against Warwickshire at Guildford.The powerful 29-year-old Australian slog-swept former New Zealand offspinner Jeetan Patel over midwicket and out of the compact Woodbridge Road ground, and later drove legspinner Josh Poysden high over long off for another six as he led Surrey’s progress to 273 all out.Patel got Finch in the end, smartly held at slip by Rikki Clarke, but by then he had also struck 16 fours and reached 110 from 98 balls. Strangely, one of Finch’s previous four first-class hundreds was another innings of 110 against Warwickshire, for Yorkshire at Edgbaston in 2014.Finch will play all formats in a five-week stint as overseas player at Surrey while Kumar Sangakkara takes part in the Caribbean Premier League, and he has certainly made a big initial impression in front of an appreciative and good-sized crowd.One straight driven four off Boyd Rankin was a high-class stroke which belied Finch’s reputation as a limited-overs specialist who is in just his 55th first-class match but has almost six times that number of List A and T20 appearances worldwide.Finch came in at No 4, when Rory Burns fell for a solid 45 to the second ball after lunch. Pushing out at Patel, left-hander Burns was lbw after including seven fours in a fine 95-ball effort. Patel finished with figures of 5 for 62 after helping to polish off the Surrey tail.Keith Barker, the left-arm seamer, had struck an early blow for Warwickshire by having Arun Harinath caught at the wicket by a tumbling Tim Ambrose for 15, leaving Surrey 35 for 1 after they had won the toss and chosen to bat.But Burns was then joined by Zafar Ansari in a second-wicket stand of 44 before a short rain shower forced the players off at 12.45pm. An early lunch was taken at 12.50pm.Ansari, 11 not out at lunch, had, like Burns, not added to his interval score when Barker pinned him lbw with a fine delivery which pitched on middle and leg and straightened to peg Surrey back at 95 for 3.There was no play between 2.20pm and 4pm, following a heavy downpour and mopping-up operations which carried on into the tea interval, but Finch was soon into his stride again as he cover drove and back cut Barker for fours to get a 42-over final session under way in style.Steven Davies nicked Clarke to Ambrose on 13 and Sam Curran departed for 15 when Rankin, bowling with pace, made one lift to have the teenager caught at third slip off an inside-edge on to his hip.Ben Foakes began fluently, however, clipping Barker to the midwicket ropes before driving him through extra cover for another four. He then produced a lovely back-foot force to the boundary past cover’s right hand off Rankin, a stroke suggesting he was too low in the batting order at No 7, and at 243 for 5 it seemed as if the day would be Surrey’s.Finch had dominated a sixth-wicket stand of 63 in just ten overs with Foakes, but after his dismissal the innings fell away disappointingly with Patel bowling Tom Curran for 1 and then having Gareth Batty caught at short point for 4.Foakes, jumping to avoid Andy Umeed’s direct hit, failed to ground his bat and was run out for 23 and Surrey’s first innings ended when last man Mark Footitt, returning from a two-month side injury absence, was stumped off Patel for 16 soon after clubbing a big six over long on.In six overs’ batting in early evening sunshine, Warwickshire replied with 12 without loss with Varun Chopra on 7 and Umeed on 3.

Former Pakistan fast bowler Aaqib Javed will arrive in Dhaka on Friday for a short coaching stint at the BCB’s High Performance Unit. The programme will be held for around a week, according to the board’s CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury.Last week, the BCB had announced an extended high performance squad to take part in a specialised camp. Javed will be the first of the specialist coaches at the camp and will work with the fast bowlers.”He will be arriving tomorrow, and stay for seven-ten days,” Chowdhury told ESPNcricinfo. “He will be coaching fast bowlers from the high performance as well as the national team.”In June, Javed, the former UAE head coach, had turned down the BCB’s offer for the post of Bangladesh’s bowling coach, citing his commitment to Pakistan Super League franchise Lahore Qalandars. The BCB is still seeking a bowling coach for the national side.