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ScorecardAdam Wheater made his second hundred of the season (file photo)•Getty Images

Adam Wheater’s second century of the season helped Hampshire pick up three batting points in their crucial Specsavers County Championship match against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge. The 26-year old scored 102, getting his runs from 147 balls, with 12 fours and a six as his side reached 319 before bowled out in 83 overs.Half-centuries from Lewis McManus and Liam Dawson backed up Wheater’s fine effort, with Luke Wood taking 3 for 53 for the hosts. Nottinghamshire responded with 39 for 1 in the final 11 overs of the day.With the two county sides entering this round of matches occupying the bottom two places in the Division One table, the opening stages were inevitably important after Hampshire had won the toss and opted to bat first.Wood, playing his first Championship match of the season, led Nottinghamshire’s charge by nipping out both openers and then returned to the attack to dismiss Liam Dawson just before lunch. The 21-year old struck early, capturing the wicket of Jimmy Adams in his second over. The batsman caressed his second boundary through the covers off the young left-arm seamer but then lost his off bail to a perfectly-pitched away-swinger.Will Smith, skippering Hants against his former county, made 12 but was then pinned on the crease by Wood and was given out lbw. Dawson dominated the third-wicket stand of 65 but lost his partner as the first session drew towards a close. Tom Alsop, who had battled for 92 minutes in making 17, fell lbw whilst trying to sweep in Samit Patel’s first over.Notts skipper Chris Read brought back Wood and his first delivery prompted Dawson to pop up a simple catch to Michael Lumb at short midwicket.Harry Gurney took the only wicket to fall during the middle session, pinning Ryan McLaren lbw for 16 but the sixth-wicket pair of Wheater and McManus steadied the ship during a stand of 123. McManus, who reached his fifty from 101 balls, was superbly caught for 56 by Chris Read after being surprised by a short-pitched ball from Steven Mullaney.Wheater’s fine knock ended shortly after he had reach three figures, tamely chipping Imran Tahir to midwicket. Hampshire’s last four wickets fell for 15 as Mason Crane and Brad Wheal departed without scoring, before Andy Carter, on his Hampshire debut, was mopped up by Ball for 4.When Notts batted, Jake Libby became the fifth batsmen to be dismissed lbw when he was pinned by McLaren for 11. Jake Ball, sent in as nightwatchman, was put down by Adams at second slip, leaving the first day honours just about even.

Opening batsman Gautam Gambhir has returned to India’s Test set-up two years after playing his previous international. He was called up for the remaining home Tests against New Zealand in place of the injured KL Rahul. Rahul had injured his right hamstring during the first Test in Kanpur, while running between the wickets.Also, fast bowler Ishant Sharma, who missed the first Test with chikungunya, will not play the second Test either as he is yet to recover fully. Uncapped Haryana offspinner Jayant Yadav will replace Ishant in the squad for the second Test in Kolkata. The BCCI said in a release that it would “continue to monitor Ishant’s progress”.Gambhir was picked after showing good form in the Duleep Trophy, the domestic first-class tournament featuring the top-performing players in the country. He scored 356 runs in the competition from five innings at 71.20, and was dismissed only once without getting to a half-century.A BCCI insider said Gambhir was tough to ignore in the current situation given his form and experience. “Gambhir is definitely under consideration because he has been doing extremely well, and even the team management feels that with 12-13 Test matches coming up there needs to be some experience [at the top],” the official said.Gambhir, 34, played his last Test in August 2014, on India’s tour to England. He aggregated 25 runs on that tour, from four innings, as India went from a 1-0 lead to losing the five-match series 3-1. That series, too, was a comeback for him, as he was dropped in 2012 and missed all India’s Tests in 2013 due to a sharp decline in form.Before that, though, he was one half of India’s successful opening partnership with Virender Sehwag. The pair scored 4412 runs, the most by an opening pair for India in Tests. Overall, he has 4046 runs in 56 Tests at 42.58, with nine centuries, and was a regular in the Test team between 2008 and 2012.Rahul was picked to play the Kanpur Test over the more experienced Shikhar Dhawan. On the preceding tour to the West Indies, too, he had been picked over either Dhawan or M Vijay in three of the four Tests, scoring a fifty and a hundred in three innings.Apart from his offspin, Jayant, 26, can also contribute runs down the order. He put in solid performances on India A’s recent tour of Australia, picking up seven wickets in the unofficial Tests at 22.57 apiece. In the 2014-15 Ranji Trophy he topped Haryana’s bowling charts with 33 wickets, and in March this year he claimed a match haul of eight against Mumbai in the Irani Cup – a first-class match that pits the season’s Ranji champions against a Rest of India XI. He also has a first-class double-ton to his name and a record-breaking eighth-wicket stand of 392, scored in partnership with Amit Mishra in 2012.

ScorecardKiran Carlson•Getty Images

An extraordinary opening day’s cricket on which 20 wickets fell and 373 runs were scored ended with Leicestershire and Glamorgan on something close to even terms in their Specsavers County Championship Division Two match at Grace Road.Only Kiran Carlson prospered with the bat barely a week after becoming the youngest player to score a first-class century for Glamorgan, against Essex at Chelmsford.Glamorgan skipper Jacques Rudolph exercised the away team’s right to bowl first, a decision based on atmospheric conditions rather than the appearance of the pitch, and there were no signs of the carnage to come as Leicestershire recovered from the early loss of Angus Robson, caught at third slip off the bowling of Michael Hogan.Paul Horton and Neil Dexter looked in control before Dexter, unluckily, was bowled off the inside edge trying to force a wide delivery from Craig Meschede through the off side. Horton was then given leg before to a Timm van der Gugten inswinger, and the procession continued when both Ned Eckersley and then Mark Pettini were caught behind off successive balls throwing the bat at wide deliveries.The in-form Mark Cosgrove went caught and bowled off the leading edge, van der Gugten throwing himself to his right to scoop up the ball one-handed just before it hit the pitch, and the seamer picked up a five-for by bowling Harry Dearden, the young left-hander looking to drive an inswinger that took the inside edge and knocked back his leg stump.Ben Raine lofted a delivery from Lukas Carey straight to mid-off, Dieter Klein was palpably leg before to the same bowler, and it took an innings-best and lunch-delaying partnership of 32 between Charlie Shreck, who made a season’s best score of 20, and Clint McKay for Leicestershire to get anywhere near three figures.Having been dismissed for 96, Leicestershire took six wickets in the afternoon session to keep themselves in the match, with allrounder Dexter picking up three victims in four overs shortly before the break.Rudolph was the first to go after lunch, bowled by McKay with an inswinger delivered from around the wicket. Will Bragg and Nick Selman added 47 for the second wicket, but both fell with the score on 63, Bragg caught behind fencing at a Shreck delivery and Selman edging a flat-footed push to Horton at first slip off Raine.Youngsters Aneurin Donald and Kiran Carlson compiled a partnership of 61 in 8.4 overs for the fourth wicket, driving a series of half-volleys through the off side before Donald, again driving airily, was bowled through the gate for 32, hit off just 23 balls.Meschede and Mark Wallace were both caught behind off Dexter outswingers, the former looking to drive, the latter to defend, and the first over after tea saw Klein blast out Owen Morgan and van der Gugten with quick inswingers. The 18-year-old Carlson continued to play without fear, however, reaching 74 off just 74 balls and hitting 12 fours before he ran out of partners.When Leicestershire went back in the conditions were put into context when Robson and Horton compiled an unbroken opening partnership of 78 to leave them 25 behind at the close.

The Supreme Court of India has passed an order that limits the BCCI’s financial freedom and power until the board and its state associations comply with the Lodha Committee’s recommendations.In a 25-page order issued on Friday, the court directed the BCCI not to distribute funds to its state associations until they submit affidavits stating compliance with the recommendations to the court and the Lodha Committee in two weeks. The order was passed by a three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India TS Thakur and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud.The court also asked BCCI president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke to meet the Lodha Committee before November 3. They were required to submit an “affidavit of compliance” in the court by December 3, elaborating on the recommendations already implemented by the BCCI and what it had done to persuade the state associations to adopt the recommendations. The court scheduled the next hearing for December 5.

BCCI’s financial wings clipped

The Supreme Court has asked the Lodha Committee to oversee financial transactions undertaken by the board by putting in place the following measures:
♢ Appoint an independent auditor to check the income received and expenditure incurred by the BCCI
♢ Fix a threshold value for BCCI contracts which would be overseen by the auditor from the tender stage
♢ Approve or disapprove BCCI contracts above the threshold value and obtain the advice of the auditors on the fairness of the tendering process
♢ Formulate the terms of engagement and reference for the auditors. The BCCI shall bear the costs, charges and expenses of the auditors

In another significant decision, the court asked the Lodha Committee to appoint an independent auditor to verify the BCCI’s accounts. The Lodha Committee was also asked to set a “threshold value” for various contracts the BCCI enters into, and all contracts in excess of that amount would need the committee’s approval. The next major contract for the board is the IPL broadcast deal, set to be finalised on October 25.”I’ve always maintained that we have the highest respect for judiciary. We have welcomed the Lodha Committee recommendations, we more than welcome them because we have nothing to hide,” Thakur told after the order came out. “I’m very optimistic in my approach and I am sure some of the issues that we have requested for a re-look will be addressed. We are not fighting against anyone. All I have been saying is that there is confusion regarding certain recommendations. I am sure a dialogue can be had in the interest of the game.”Friday’s order is the second one issued this week by the court, after an interim order on October 17 in response to the Lodha Committee’s status report, which had recommended that the BCCI office bearers be “superseded” and a panel of administrators be appointed because the board was impeding the implementation of the court-approved recommendations.In its order the court noted that there was “substance in the status report”. It also said the BCCI was in “breach” of the July 18 court order that had approved the majority of recommendations in the Lodha Committee’s report and asked the board and states to implement them in four to six months. “Implementation of the final judgment of this Court dated 18 July 2016 has prima facie been impeded by the intransigence of BCCI and its office bearers,” the court order said.The court said that “at this stage” it was refraining from approving the Lodha Committee’s suggestion to supersede the BCCI office bearers because the board had said in a submission to the court that “it would make every genuine effort to persuade the state associations” to comply with the recommendations.The BCCI’s position had been that it could not implement the Lodha Committee’s recommendations without a majority of its state associations agreeing to do so. The key recommendations the board said the states were reluctant to accept were the one-state-one-vote policy, the age cap of 70 for administrators, and the limit of three, three-year terms with cooling-off periods in between for office bearers.The court order put the states under pressure to comply by cutting off their funding. “The BCCI shall forthwith cease and desist from making any disbursement of funds for any purpose whatsoever to any state association until and unless the state association concerned adopts a resolution undertaking to implement the recommendations of the Committee as accepted by this Court in its judgment dated 18 July,” the court order said. A state was to receive funds from the BCCI only after the resolution, signed by its president, was submitted to the committee and the court.The court said it had taken cognisance of the argument raised by the board’s legal counsel Kapil Sibal, who had said the BCCI would “demonstrate” to the Lodha Committee how it had already fulfilled some of the recommendations. The court asked the committee to verify whether there had been “full compliance”.

Australia’s captain Steven Smith is staking plenty on his ability to get the best out of the New South Wales left-hand batsman Nic Maddinson, as a potential match-winner among the raft of changes made to the team for the day-night Test at Adelaide Oval.No name among the five to be included for Thursday – the others are Matt Renshaw, Pete Handscomb, Matthew Wade and Jackson Bird – stands out quite like that of Maddinson as an indicator that this is now very much Smith’s team.On the face of it, his selection at No. 6 runs contrary to the team’s desperate need for batsmen capable of playing a long innings and toughing it out during the difficult periods that have so wrecked Smith’s chances of emerging as the winning captain across the past five Tests.However Smith believes he has seen welcome signs of evolution in Maddinson’s methods over the past 12 months, backing a state team-mate he has known for many years to step up to the plate. In this there are distinct shades of Ricky Ponting’s faith in another destructive middle order performer – Andrew Symonds.”I think on his day he can tear any attack apart,” Smith said of Maddinson. “I think the selectors have given him an opportunity to come in and play at No. 6, and I guess sum up the conditions and play with a bit of freedom at the same time.”I think he has developed his defence over the last couple of years, from what I have seen he has been playing the ball a lot later and a lot more under his eyes, which is a very good start. From there he has certainly got the shots to expand his game, so he’s going to continue to work hard and hopefully he can flourish in this system.”The system Smith spoke of has been under serious strain over the past week, as evidenced by the resignation of the selection chairman Rod Marsh and the five changes that have been made to the Test team. Smith said he sensed a change in mood simply through the high turnover of players from Hobart to Adelaide.”We’ve obviously made a lot of changes and some young guys have come into the squad,” Smith said. “I think it’s obviously this series has been disappointing the way it has gone for us. But I’m actually really excited now about the young guys coming into the group and what they bring.”I’ve almost felt a little shift over the last couple of days in attitude and energy from what the new guys have brought in. I’m happy with the team that we’ve got, and I’m excited about all these young guys coming into the group and what they can bring to the team.”Smith has acknowledged that the players under his command must show a better ability to identify key moments in matches, particularly with the bat. “I think the focus is more around attitude and being able to be more resilient and adaptable to whatever conditions that are out there and identifying periods of the game that are difficult and getting through those periods,” he said.”I think recently we have struggled to identify the periods that are difficult and we have talked about them afterwards where there were moments where we could have done things better. It’s about trying to stay in the moment and identify those periods and get through those periods and when you do that things get easier.”Similarly, Australia’s players are now hoping that the difficult period experienced over the past week will be identified by the selectors and other senior Cricket Australia figures as a time to aim for continuity. “It’s a difficult one,” Smith said. “You want guys to come in and perform and keep putting in those performances and be consistent. I think it’s a great opportunity to try and get a little bit of continuity with our team and try to make guys feel as comfortable as they can.”I know when you feel comfortable and relaxed that’s the way you play your best cricket. It’s trying to get that feeling among the group, and make our mindsets right. I think it’s a great opportunity for me to stamp my authority on this team as the leader. I have talked a lot to the guys over the last couple of days about growth and trying to grow and learn as a team.”Growth doesn’t happen overnight, so it could take some time, but I am confident that with the guys we have here that we can start turning our results around straightaway and start playing the way we want to play.”

While most of the South African squad will try to exploit Sri Lanka’s weaknesses in the upcoming three-Test series, at least one of them will be concentrating on the opposition’s biggest strength. Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj is keen to learn as much as he can from his counterpart, Rangana Herath, a man he lists among his heroes.”I have always looked up to him. He is one of the left-arm spinners along with Daniel Vettori that you will try and model yourself on, in terms of variations,” Maharaj, who is yet to meet Herath, said. “I am looking forward to rubbing shoulders with him and hopefully learning from him. I am still new to the international scene and he has been around for a while so hopefully he can impart some of his knowledge and skill onto me.”The two are yet to meet, but Herath has already cast his eye over Maharaj and the early verdict is positive. “I have only seen him play against Australia, but from what I’ve seen, he’s a very accurate bowler,” Herath said. “He’s got all the essentials – with his accuracy, his line and his lengths. If he improves his variations he’ll go far.”For now, Maharaj has been in consultation with another senior, Paul Harris, who he contacted ahead of his maiden series in Australia. Back then, Harris spoke to Maharaj about “dealing with (foreign) conditions”. This time, Harris’ advice is about how to play at home and the primary focus is on patience. I’ve just got to hit my length for as long as I can,” Maharaj said.That kind of strategy suggests South Africa may have gone back to seeing their spinner as being a container rather than a wicket-taker, although conditions at St George’s Park could demand otherwise. It is likely to be the slowest and driest of the three surfaces and may bring Maharaj into the game a little more.He can’t be too sure though, because his only long-form experience at this ground came eight years ago in a provincial three-day match for Kwa-Zulu Natal. Maharaj took thee wickets in each innings in the drawn fixture and admitted that he doesn’t really know what to expect from a surface that will be as foreign to him as the ones in Australia were.In Perth, particularly, he showed he could adapt easily and that there is more to him than just his bowling. Maharaj is a handy batsmen and hopes he can use this series to show his value to the side in other disciplines. “In my earlier days I took my batting for granted. I always knew I could bat but I was just a hit-and-run type of player. I want to become a complete allrounder,” he said. “It helps you get selected a lot easier. I’ve taken my batting quite seriously in the last year or two and I’m looking forward to contributing with some runs.”Maharaj has identified the correct gap to try and take. South Africa are still searching for someone who can play a consistent two-in-one role. Vernon Philander has emerged as one option but South Africa won’t complain about having another. If Maharaj can do that, he may make the spin spot his own.Already, the selectors have showed they are thinking along those lines. Maharaj is the only spinner in the squad for the first two Tests, having edged out Tabraiz Shamsi, who he continues to share a close relationship with. “We are team-mates at the end of the day, whether he plays or I play, we will be supporting each other,” Maharaj said. “We played a lot of cricket together at the Dolphins and we always want each other to do well.”Shamsi will likely come into contention in special circumstances, such as as the day-night Test where he made his debut when South Africa want to include more than one spinner. But Maharaj is a long-term option and this will be his chance to show it. Whatever he learns from Herath will no doubt be a bonus.”I’d like to play a home series first before I know my future in terms of cementing my place,” he said. “I will take it one ball at a time and one game at a time. It’s nice to have that backing from the selectors. I’ve got to grab the opportunity with both hands.”

AB de Villiers may have batted as if he hadn’t been away from cricket but, after six months on the sidelines recovering from an elbow injury, his return to South Africa duty wasn’t quite as carefree as it seemed from the outside.”He was nervous. It was almost as though he was playing his debut today,” Russell Domingo, South Africa’s coach said after de Villiers struck a 44-ball 63 in a losing cause at Newlands.”He was very edgy and said he felt like he was playing for the first time. It’s great – it shows how much it still means to perform. That’s exciting for us, because it’s almost like a bit of a rebirth for him. He’s fresh and really desperate to do well.”After scoring an unbeaten 134 in a List A provincial game three days before his international comeback, de Villiers appeared in decent nick. However, he needed a high-profile encounter to prove his readiness for the one-day matches which follow. He was tasked with batting at No.3 and was the mainstay of the South African innings – sharing in a 71-run second-wicket stand with Reeza Hendricks that ought to have set South Africa up for a bigger total than the 169 they eventually settled for.”He played the situation really well today” Domingo said. “We always wanted him to have some time at the crease with the one-day series coming up, instead of coming to have a bit of a tonk at the back end.”In my opinion he’s unbelievable in the last seven or eight overs if he can find himself set at that stage. So he played really well and we’re pleased he has some runs behind his name, he spent some time in the middle and we can focus all our energies on the one-day series.”Domingo confirmed that de Villiers will return to No.4 in the 50-over series, with Faf du Plessis at No.3, while also revealing that the backroom staff had made peace with de Villiers opting out of Test cricket for most of 2017.De Villiers made himself unavailable for South Africa’s next nine Tests against New Zealand, England and Bangladesh after claiming he is “just not ready” to get back into the longest format again. His intention is to be back for the series against India and Australia in the 2017-18 summer, which gives current crop a significant swathe of matches in which to establish themselves.”The worst thing about it is that he’s not going to play for us. The best thing is it gives everyone else a bit of, not peace of mind, but there’s clarity,” Domingo said. “There’s no one looking over their shoulder wondering if they might be the one to go if AB comes back. So it gives the batters some breathing space to knuckle down and focus on their game and not be too concerned about when AB de Villiers is coming back.”De Villiers had already missed South Africa’s last three Test series, during which time he also stepped down as Test captain. In his absence, du Plessis has taken over the leadership, JP Duminy has been installed at No.4 and Temba Bavuma has been given his opportunity in the middle-order.De Villiers’ sights, meanwhile, are firmly focused on the 2019 World Cup. “He’s one of the best batters in the world so it’s great to have him back,” Domingo said. “It’s good to see him finding a little bit of form and looking fresh and hungry. That bodes well for the rest of our summer.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details5:23

Agarkar: Always an advantage to have a legspinner

Yuzvendra Chahal returned the stunning figures of 6 for 25 in four overs – the best by an Indian bowler in T20I history, and the third best overall – as England’s batsmen capitulated in woeful fashion at the end of a long and fruitless tour. In a remarkable finale, India claimed eight wickets for eight runs in 19 balls to derail what had, up to the start of the 14th over, been a spirited pursuit of 203 in the series decider.Instead, India wrapped up a sweep of all three formats – following their 4-0 Test series win before Christmas and their high-scoring 2-1 win in the ODIs – to send Eoin Morgan’s men home empty-handed. And, as had been the case in each of the other two series, it was England’s fallibility to spin that proved their undoing, with Chahal’s flight and variation proving illegible to a succession of weary England batsman for whom the flight back to England now cannot come soon enough.Responding to India’s imposing 202 for 6 – which had been built on half-centuries from Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni (remarkably his first in 76 T20Is spanning more than a decade) – Jason Roy once again set the tempo for England’s chase, and in a misleadingly eye-popping fashion. With Chahal taking the ball for the second over of the innings, Roy flipped his stance to the very first delivery and battered a switch hit into the stands for six. The more apposite moment of that same over, however, would prove to be the dismissal of Roy’s partner Sam Billings for a first-ball duck – caught in the gully by Raina as he inside-edged a drive onto his boot. Billings would turn out to be the first of five ducks in England’s innings, and none of them lasted more than two deliveries.Root, who had been in decent form without quite hitting the sweet spot in the first two matches, appeared at first to have benefited from an early introduction to the chase – a first-ball mix-up with Roy notwithstanding. After all, his cool head had guided England to their thrilling pursuit of 230 against South Africa in the World T20 last year.However, where he hadn’t once missed a beat against South Africa’s pace-dominant attack on that occasion, this time he couldn’t help but telegraph his unease as Chahal’s fellow leggie, Amit Mishra, twirled his way through a fine and constrictive four-over spell that set the stage for the carnage to come. His second ball did for Roy – who top-edged a slog-sweep to Dhoni for 32 – and his final over should have done for Root as well, only for Yuvraj Singh to drop a chance at backward point as the debutant, Rishabh Pant, charged over-eagerly into his peripheral vision.Morgan did his utmost to maintain England’s tempo, carving Mishra for back-to-back fours through point before turning up the heat in Raina’s solitary over of offspin – three sixes in consecutive legal deliveries brought the asking rate back within two a ball. But, with the onus on more boundary-clearing, Morgan chanced his arm once too often against Chahal’s googly, and was caught in the deep for 40 from 21.It was the incision that turned the game, and broke England’s resolve for the final time in an arduous campaign. One ball later, Chahal fizzed in a quicker delivery to pin Root lbw for 42, and in the very next over, Jasprit Bumrah’s reintroduction accounted once again for the dangerous Jos Buttler, who climbed into a second-ball pull to be caught by Kohli at mid-on for a duck.Three wickets for no runs had left England’s morale in freefall, and worse was soon to follow. Moeen Ali galloped down the track to toe-end a Chahal googly to Virat Kohli at long-off, and though Ben Stokes picked off a rare drive for four, he was brilliantly caught in the same over as Raina contorted himself at deep midwicket to keep his balance as he intercepted a slog to the rope.Chris Jordan then ran past a Chahal legbreak to be stumped for a second-ball duck and complete only the third six-wicket haul in T20 history, whereupon it was back to Bumrah to apply the mercy killing. Liam Plunkett missed a swipe across the line to be bowled first ball before, fittingly, it was the captain Kohli who wrapped up the winter with a fizzing catch in front of his face at slip as Mills gave himself room but found only a thick edge.Having come within a couple of boundaries of winning the series in Nagpur, England ended up looking miles adrift of their first limited-overs victory in India since 1984-85. But the denouement wasn’t a true representation of the contest that had been unfolding up to that point, with India’s veteran middle-order forced to reprise some of their very finest form to secure their hefty total.Despite the obvious advantage of chasing in T20 cricket, Morgan’s decision to bowl first wasn’t exactly a disappointment to a fervent Chinnaswamy crowd, who had instead settled back in the expectation of watching their local hero, Kohli, replicate his derring-do for Royal Challengers Bangalore. They weren’t, however, ready for what followed, as Kohli – eager to get a move on – called for an impossible leg bye against Chris Jordan and was left flailing his displeasure as his partner, KL Rahul, rightly declined the opportunity as Jordan swooped to fling off the bails in his followthrough.Raina made it his duty to revive the crowd’s morale after that shock to the system. A sliced drive to cover off Plunkett eventually did for him in the 14th over, but with five towering sixes in his 63 from 47 balls, he had set the stage for a crowning cameo from Yuvraj, a man well used to bringing out his long handle in T20s against England.Lurking deep in his crease to negate Chris Jordan’s search for the fuller length, Yuvraj sprang through his stance to crash six, six, four, six in consecutive deliveries – none of them an especially poor delivery. It took an obscene piece of trickery to prise him from the crease, as Tymal Mills returned for his final over, and immediately unleashed an illegible slower ball. Setting himself for an 150kph exocet, Yuvraj instead fenced a looping edge to the keeper to depart for 27 from 10.Dhoni, by this stage, had chalked off an improbably belated milestone by reaching his maiden T20 fifty from 32 balls with four fours and two sixes. After his departure in the final over, Hardik Pandya applied the gloss finish with a smoked six through the hands of Roy at long-on, while Pant had a brief opportunity to acquaint himself to international cricket by pulling second ball for four en route to 6 not out from three balls. It may have been a scant contribution, but only three of England’s batsman managed to outdo him. It was that sort of a day, to crown that sort of a tour.

Match facts

February 19, 2017
Start time 1920 local (0820 GMT)Adam Zampa bowled well on Friday night and Australia need more of the same to keep the series alive•Cricket Australia

Big Picture

Australia’s ostensible home advantage against Sri Lanka was diminished at the MCG on Friday night by two factors: the unsettled and makeshift nature of the Twenty20 team with the Test team concurrently preparing in India, and the enormous amount of support for Sri Lanka from a large Melbourne expatriate population. Both factors will again be at play on Sunday, with a third thrown into the mix – Kardinia Park’s debut as an international venue in Geelong, a little more than an hour’s drive to Melbourne’s south-west. While the acting captain Aaron Finch knows the venue well as a product of nearby Colac, others will be less familiar with Geelong and also each other.As Michael Klinger put it: “Sri Lanka came straight from playing T20s and one-dayers in South Africa and we had a couple of Sheffield Shield matches since the Big Bash ended. But in this day and age you adapt quickly to the change in formats. There’s no excuse, we’ve got two days now to turn it around pretty quick and get a win in Geelong.”Sri Lanka themselves need more improvement, particularly in terms of how tidy they are in the field. Several chances went down at the MCG, something it must be said the hosts did not take full advantage of. Partly this was because Finch, Michael Klinger and Travis Head were unable to go on from starts, partly because Lakshan Sandakan and Seekkuge Prasanna bowled thriftily and well in the middle overs. Adam Zampa also delivered a fine spell when Sri Lanka chased, but Ashton Turner was underused, and Head not called upon at all. More ruthless batting and more agile use of spin will be vital to an Australian recovery from their opening defeat.

Form guide

Australia: LWWLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Sri Lanka: WWWLL

In the spotlight

Alongside Adam Zampa, Pat Cummins is a rare member of the current Australian T20 side who would be a likely member of a full-strength team. As such he needs to lead the way for the bowlers, and, while he bowled with speed and hostility at the MCG, he will want to offer a greater wicket-taking threat at Kardinia Park. This and the third match of the series in Adelaide will be Cummins’ last opportunities in Australian colours before the Champions Trophy squad for England is selected.Though he led the side well, Upul Tharanga is by no means certain of his place in Sri Lanka’s T20 XI beyond this series. An average of 12.58 and not a single half-century in 12 T20 appearances for Sri Lanka would suggest as much. So while Tharanga’s first priority will be to guide the tourists to a series-sealing victory, a substantial score at the top of the order would also be more than welcome.Sri Lanka’s many Melbourne-based supporters can again be expected to turn up in large numbers•Getty Images

Team news

Ben Dunk may be considered for inclusion after Australia played only three specialist batsmen in game one.Australia (possible) 1 Aaron Finch (capt), 2 Michael Klinger, 3 Ben Dunk, 4 Travis Head, 5 Moises Henriques, 6 Ashton Turner, 7 Tim Paine (wk), 8 James Faulkner, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Andrew Tye.Sri Lanka may well keep an unchanged side to follow up their opening victory.Sri Lanka (possible) 1 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 2 Upul Tharanga (capt), 3 Dilshan Munaweera, 4 Asela Gunaratne, 5 Milinda Siriwardana, 6 Chamara Kapugedera, 7 Seekkugge Prasanna, 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Lakshan Sandakan, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Vikum Sanjaya.

Pitch and conditions

Kardinia Park’s drop-in pitch has been friendly to batsmen in its few recent opportunities. The weather forecast for Geelong is not the most promising however, with showers expected in late afternoon and early evening.

Stats and trivia

• Geelong joins Cairns as the only non-capital Australian cities to host the national team in an international match
• A win for Sri Lanka will give them three from three series wins in Twenty20 matches in Australia

Quotes

“Certainly in Twenty20 cricket, your top three or or four batters, if you get 60, 70-plus runs, it goes a long way to winning the game. In that situation, myself and Finchy, who got starts, it certainly would have been nice if one of us got a big score but it didn’t happen.”

Australia wicketkeeper Matthew Wade has expressed “shock” at the level of aggression India showed in the second Test in Bengaluru, a testy game the hosts won by 75 runs to level the series. Wade said while it wasn’t entirely in their control, Australia will try to get ahead in the game to stave off India’s assertiveness.”Indian teams are always quite aggressive,” Wade said. “The change from the first Test to the second Test was probably the initial shock. They certainly came out a little harder on day three, but we expect them to come hard. [MS] Dhoni was a different captain to [Virat] Kohli, but that’s just personality. When you’ve got a caged lion you expect them to come out pretty hard, to get away.”Indian teams always go quite hard; if you give them a sniff they’ll run with it. Our job is to make sure they can’t get in the game so they can’t get aggressive with us, and then really take the momentum away from us. But it’s not really our issue. We’ve got to play good cricket and beat them on skill. Emotion doesn’t win Test matches.”A feisty character himself, Wade also said if Australia could gain an advantage by expressing outward aggression, he would readily use it. “I feel like I play my best cricket when I get in the contest,” he said. “If there’s a time I think it can be an advantage for us, I’ll go for it.”When your back’s against the wall you’ve got to find a way to get up and about, so I still feel like that’s a big part of my game. Getting older I probably tamed it down a little bit and I probably know when to use it a little bit more now, and when I need it myself. I probably don’t use it a 100% of the time anymore, but I’ve still got it there if I need it.”Wade said using the DRS in India was tricky while fielding, considering the number of people involved in the decision-making process. “Steven [Smith] is generally close to me, so if there’s an appeal, he’ll come to me first,” Wade said. “If we think there’s something to look at, we’ll speak to the bowler and go from there. DRS is a lot of common sense. Every country is the same: it’s the keeper, captain and bowler. If someone is convinced, they’ll come on top of that. But when you get five to eight people involved, it becomes tricky which is happening here.”