Player of the Match Nicholas Pooran and Kyle Mayers scored half-centuries as the West Indies defeated Bangladesh by five wickets to take their three-match T20 series 2-0 on Thursday.
At Providence in Guyana, the West Indies white-ball captain hit five fours and five sixes in his match-winning 39-ball 74 while Mayers hit two fours and five sixes in his score of 55 made from just 38 balls.
The pair came together after the West Indies, needing 164 for victory, lost the wickets of Brandon King (7), Shamarh Brooks (12) and Odean Smith (2) by the seventh over with 43 runs on the board.
Together they added 83 in 51 balls before Mayers was dismissed by Nasum Ahmed, who had earlier had King caught at mid-on.
Pooran and Rovman Powell put on 25 for the fifth wicket but after facing only nine balls, the vice-captain was caught in the deep, off the bowling of Afif Hossein for five in the 18th over.
However, by then the West Indies needed only 11 runs to put a wrap on the series and the captain duly obliged. Two balls after Powell’s dismissal, Pooran smashed Afif for six and then smashed the second ball of the 19th bowled by Mahmudullah over the umpire’s head to bring an end to the match.
Ahmed took 2-44 while Mahedi Hasan, Shakib al Hasan and Afif each had one wicket.
Having won the toss and opting to bat, Bangladesh produced their best score of the series, 163-5.
Opener Litton Das scored 49 and Afif, an even 50, which helped the tourists to a competitive total. The pair shared in a third-wicket stand of 57 when Das was trapped lbw by Hayden Walsh Jr.
Afif found another useful partner in Mahmudullah and together they put on 49 for the fourth wicket and threatened to push the score beyond 170.
However, Bangladesh lost two wickets in the 19th over stalling their progress. Mahmudullah was out lbw to Walsh for 22 and then Afif was run out to leave the tourists on 150-5.
Mosaddek Hossain, who remained unbeaten on 10, carved out consecutive boundaries off Obed McCoy in the final over but ultimately it proved not to be enough.
Walsh was the best of the West Indies bowlers with 2-25. Romario Shepherd took 1-19 from two overs. Odean Smith continued to prove to be expensive conceding 34 runs from the three overs he bowled while claiming the wicket of opener Anamul Haque for 10.
Pooran, who scored 34 in the second T20, was also named Player of the Series.
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Ireland shock Pakistan in T20I opener
Ireland shocked Pakistan with a five-wicket victory in the first T20I at Clontarf, with Andrew Balbirnie starring for the hosts.
Balbirnie plundered 77 from 55 balls, including 10 fours and two sixes, and his partnership of 76 with Harry Tector (36) edged Ireland closer to victory.
Curtis Campher (15*) and Gareth Delany (10*) saw them over the line to secure the win with one ball to spare.
Despite an early setback, Pakistan started strong, with Babar Azam hitting 57 and Saim Ayub adding 45.
However, Craig Young’s strong performance saw him take 2-27 as Ireland took control to limit the visitors in the later stages as Azam Khan and Shadab Khan both walked without getting any runs.
The sides will meet again at the Dublin venue on Sunday and Tuesday.
Data Debrief:
Ireland achieved their target of 183 against Pakistan successfully today, making it their highest run chase against a full-member side in men's T20Is.
Ireland's first win against Pakistan came at the 2007 World Cup and 17 years later they secured a first victory over them in T20 cricket.
IPL: Titans broke records to move off the foot of the table
Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill wrote their names into the history books as the Gujarat Titans earned a 35-run victory over Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League on Friday to move eighth.
The pair contributed to a sensational 210 runs between them for the opening wicket – the joint-highest opening stand in IPL history – as the Titans set CSK a daunting target of 232.
Gill was the first to reach his century in the 17th over, plundering 104 off 55 balls, but Sudharsan followed shortly after, hitting 103 off 51 before Tushar Deshpande got both out within the next five balls.
The Titans only added a further 41 runs to finish with 231-3 but stifled CSK when they stepped up to bat.
The Super Kings were 10 for three down inside the first two overs before Daryl Mitchell (63) and Moeen Ali (56) got them into their stride.
Mohit Sharma ensured the Titans ended strongly, finishing with figures of 3-31 to limit CSK to 196-8, leaving them with a tough task to reach the play-offs as they remain in fourth.
Data Debrief: GT history makers
Sudharsan, whose knock included five fours and seven maximums, and Gill, who helped himself to nine fours and six maximums, both scored their first centuries in the IPL this season.
Along the way, Gill and Sudharsan pushed the IPL century count past 100.
IPL: Kohli shines as RCB maintain winning run against Kings
Virat Kohli's superb knock of 92 helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a fourth straight win in the Indian Premier League on Thursday as they kept their playoff hopes alive with a 60-run triumph over Punjab Kings.
Kohli smashed seven fours and six sixes in his 47 balls faced as the Challengers set the Kings a daunting target of 241, with Rajat Patidar also bringing up his half-century and Cameron Green (46 off 27) falling just short of doing so.
The Kings pulled off the biggest run chase in IPL history less than two weeks ago, but their hopes of another comeback were dealt a huge blow when Faf du Plessis took a wonderful over-the-shoulder catch to send Jonny Bairstow packing with Punjab at 71-1.
Kohli's contribution wasn't only limited to the bat, as he produced a stunning run out of Shashank Singh, haring onto the scene to send wickets flying with an underarm throw as Shashank failed to make it back by mere inches.
It was then up to Mohammed Siraj to polish off the Punjab tail, finishing with figures of 3-43 as the Kings fell to back-to-back defeats, keeping them ninth in the standings.
Data Debrief: Kohli leads the way
Having previously claimed the honour in 2016, Kohli leads the way in the race for the 2024 Orange Cap, another impressive innings taking him to 634 runs for the campaign.
Averaging 70.44 with a strike rate of 153.51, Kohli put further distance between himself and Chennai Super Kings' Ruturaj Gaikwad, whose 541 runs put him second in the standings.
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