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Sussex 201 for 7 (Ward 61, Lamb 40, Parkinson 3-31) beat Kent 170 for 7 (Billings 51, Bell-Drummond 37, Evison 34*, Lamb 3-37) by 31 runsSussex Sharks made it five wins out of seven in the Vitality Blast when they defeated Kent’s Spitfires by 31 runs at The 1st Central County Ground in Hove. But for Kent this was a fourth defeat in as many games.Kent’s challenge, to score 202, was always a daunting one, the more so after Zak Crawley was bowled by Ollie Robinson for 4 in the opening over – the England opener’s sixth consecutive failure to reach double figures. Robinson was also unlucky not to have Marcus O’Riordan lbw in the same over.But when O’Riordan was out in the second over, edging Nathan McAndrew to first slip, everything appeared to depend on Daniel Bell-Drummond and skipper Sam Billings, because there was a lack of experience in Kent’s late middle-order.Bell-Drummond and Billings looked the part as they added 93 for the third wicket. And when James Coles went for 19 in one over, and also dropped Bell-Drummond, a steepling catch, it looked a possible turning point. But Sussex captain Tymal Mills responded by bringing himself on at the other end and immediately bowled the Kent batter.That moved Billings firmly centre stage. But in the next over he sent a lofted drive to Robinson at wide long-off and the match looked over, despite a spirited knock from Joey Evison and a quick 18 from former Sussex player Harry Finch. Danny Lamb completed an impressive all-round match with figures of 3 for 37.Earlier Kent, who chose to field, made a good start when they conceded just three runs off the opening two overs. But the next four overs went for 19, 13, 16 and 17 as Sussex reached 68 without loss from the powerplay.In those six overs Daniel Hughes faced just nine deliveries. But Harrison Ward, showing form and confidence after his 68 at Chelmsford on Friday, made up for at the other end. He reached his fifty from just 24 balls, with some long hitting, both straight and to the short boundary on the left-hander’s leg side.Kent broke through in the seventh over when Hughes, who had swung Matt Parkinson for two sixes, was well caught by Bell-Drummond at long-leg as he attempted a third. Ward followed in the next over, caught by Finch on the deep midwicket boundary. He had made 61 off 28 deliveries, with six fours and five sixes.The Kent fightback continued when Beyers Swanepoel bowled John Simpson for three in the ninth and in the next over Tom Alsop was lbw to Parkinson for just 2, a very tight decision. When Coles gave Parkinson his third wicket, also lbw, for 21, Sussex had lost five wickets for just 36 runs.But some late hitting by Lamb, who managed 40 from 32 balls, saw Sussex past 200. Kent, for the most part, bowled well in discouraging conditions. But Swanepoel (1 for 53) and Grant Stewart (0 for 51) were disappointing.

Suryakumar Yadav snatched a boundary catch for the ages, Jasprit Bumrah snuck in two electric final overs, and Hardik Pandya pilfered the two big wickets as India pulled off one of their great heists to win a World Cup, finally.With five overs to go, South Africa were rampant. Heinrich Klaasen, one of the great hitters in the game, threatening to throw off decades of painful big-match history for his team with a hail of sixes. He and David Miller had clubbed 38 runs off the two previous overs, and with six wickets in hand South Africa needed only a run-a-ball off the last 30 balls.Related

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Rohit Sharma was forced to go to the best bowler in the world, when he would have otherwise saved Bumrah for later overs. Bumrah didn’t quite break the partnership, the batters never daring to take him on. But he did break Klaasen and Miller’s stride. They scrambled only four runs off that over.But the most telling blow, came at the start of the 17th over. After the flow of the game was further slowed due to an apparent knee complaint for Rishabh Pant, Hardik bowled a wide line outside off and took the edge of Klaasen, Pant snaffling the chance gleefully.Still, Miller was there, though he couldn’t get a boundary away off the rest of that over.Then Bumrah came back, bowled several ripsnorters in the last over of yet another tournament he has dominated. With one of those magic balls, a wicked in-seamer, he burst through the defenses of the last recognised South Africa batter, Marco Jansen, and grazed leg stump.With Keshav Maharaj now in the middle, their batting line-up notably short, and 20 needed off 12 balls, South Africa were for the first time since the early overs of the chase in trouble. Arshdeep Singh delivered a nerveless 19th over, off which South Africa could muster only four.Rohit Sharma holds the T20 World Cup trophy aloft, and the celebrations begin•AFP/Getty Images

The dream-killing blow came next. With 16 needed off the final over, bowled by Hardik. Miller tried to lift the first ball, a wide full toss, over the straight boundary. But he didn’t connect perfectly, and Suryakumar, running full tilt along the rope, his feet only centimetres inside, caught the ball, popped it up as he briefly stepped over the boundary, then completed the running catch as he hopped back into the field, sparking wild jubilation in the stands, and ecstatic celebrations from the India players.South Africa batters No. 8, 9, and 10, did not manage to get Hardik away, aside from a single outside edge that flew for four.When Hardik India completed the seven-run win, the bowler sank to his knees in relief, his team-mates exulted, and the crowd, largely supporting India, flew into euphoria. Their team had become World Champions again, after 13 years.

Bumrah’s spectacular finals showing

On a flat track in Barbados, Bumrah bowled two unplayable deliveries that brought him two wickets – both bowled. The first of these was the better one. It was one of the best in the tournament, and very arguably one of the best ever in finals. Angled in to Reeza Hendricks, it pitched and seamed away to hit the top of off, beating the batter’s outside edge.Jasprit Bumrah sent back Marco Jansen in his final over•ICC/Getty Images

He conceded five runs in that first over, eight runs in the next (one of only two boundaries off his bowling came here – a not fully-controlled steer through deep third).But those last two overs went some distance to defining this match. Four runs off the 16th over, after the 15th had been clubbed for 24 runs. Two runs off the 17th. His figures were 2 for 18.

Arshdeep plays his role

Arshdeep Singh was almost as outstanding, returning 2 for 20. His two powerplay overs cost only eight, and brought the important wicket of Aiden Markram, who edged him behind. In the middle overs, he dismissed Quinton de Kock, who was looking to raise the tempo after he had overseen the recover after two early blows.And then that fantastic 19th over, in which he bowled two balls to Miller but conceded only three off them, otherwise keeping Maharaj on strike.This, after India’s spinners had leaked 106 off their nine collective overs.

Klaasen makes a six-filled charge

One of the best hits of the tournament was Klaasen crashing a wide, Kuldeep Yadav googly way over the cover boundary for six, with minimal foot movement. That was his third six (he’d banged Hardik and Ravindra Jadeja over the rope earlier).But it was against Axar Patel that he really thumped South Africa into the ascendancy. First ball of the 15th over, he bullied down the ground off the back foot for four. Axar bowled two wides in fear. Then later, two massive hits down the ground – one of which pounded the roof of the stadium, then a four through wide long-off for good measure.Heinrich Klaasen took on the bowling in the middle overs•Getty Images

He completed his fifty off 23 balls, the fastest ever in a T20 World Cup final. After he was dismissed, South Africa could not manage a single intentional boundary, the only four coming off Kagiso Rabada’s outside edge.

Kohli drops anchor

The headlines will say Virat Kohli top scored with 76 off 59, but there were times when this knock was laboured.Between the fourth and 18th over, Kohli faced 35 balls in which he scored 29 and hit no boundaries. When he got to fifty, he had used up 48 deliveries, and didn’t raise his bat, having batted for most of that time in ODI middle-overs mode. There was an obvious critique to make here: was this an innings so unambitious, it was actually doing India harm?But the counter-argument is strong. Kohli had been 22 off 16 when the third wicket (Suryakumar Yadav) went down, in the fifth over. And the security he gave at one end, allowed Axar (pushed up the order No. 5) and Shivam Dube to prosper with their big-hitting.The boundaries returned for Virat Kohli after he got to his fifty•Getty Images

His stands with those batters reaped 72 off 54 (Axar hit 47 off 31) and 57 off 33 (Dube hit 22 off 13), and formed the heft of India’s innings. Their 176 for 7 was the most any team has scored in a World Cup final.

Did South Africa choke?

For 35 overs of this game, you could not have possibly arrived at that conclusion. They were pumped up in the early overs, when Keshav Maharaj struck twice, and Rabada removed Suryakumar – India’s most-dangerous batter. They held their catches and were excellent in the outfield.They overcame losing early wickets nicely too. But at one point, they needed 26 off 24 balls, had six wickets in hand, and only one over of Bumrah left to face. They tried to target Hardik, which was the smart play in that situation, but lost both their key batters to him.There are simpler explanations too: India were battle-hardened and skilful; South Africa’s batting line-up was short.

Allrounders Nathan Smith and Josh Clarkson have been handed New Zealand central contracts, filling the spots vacated by Devon Conway and Finn Allen declining deals last month.Clarkson, the 27-year-old middle-order batter and medium-pace bowler, has played three ODIs and T20Is while 26-year-old Smith has yet to make his international debut.Related

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Smith was the leading wicket-taker in last season’s Plunket Shield with 33 at 17.18 for champions Wellington. He also represented Worcestershire this season where he claimed 27 wickets at 21.14 in seven County Championship matches alongside making three half-centuries and took eight wickets in nine T20 Blast games before he was forced home with a hamstring injury.”Nathan’s been on our radar for a while having been a significant performer in domestic cricket for some time,” New Zealand head coach Gary Stead. “He’s been particularly impressive in red-ball cricket and we think he has the skills to be successful in international cricket when he gets a chance.”New Zealand Men’s central contracts for 2024-25•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Clarkson, meanwhile, featured in series against Bangladesh, Australia and Pakistan last season.”Josh has been involved in both white ball squads over the past twelve months which shows the strides he’s made in his game,” Stead said. “He’s a hard-hitting player with plenty of skills and has shown in his chances so far that he can offer a lot with bat and ball on the international stage. Josh will provide depth and adds value given the volume of white ball cricket on the horizon.”The vacancies on the contract list arose when Conway and Allen opted out in order to take up T20 league deals during January. Conway, who will play in the SA20 for Joburg Super Kings, was offered a casual playing contract, the same model given Kane Williamson. Allen, who signed a two-year deal with Perth Scorchers in the BBL, wasn’t provided the same option but will remain eligible or selection on a case-by-case basis.New Zealand return to action next week with a one-off Test against Afghanistan in Greater Noida before traveling to Sri Lanka for two Tests then India for three.

Updated New Zealand Men’s central contracts

Tom Blundell, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Josh Clarkson, Jacob Duffy, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Will O’Rourke, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ben Sears, Nathan Smith, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Will Young

India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav is aware of the impact Mayank Yadav can create with his express pace but he says it is important to “manage him well”.Mayank took everyone by storm with his 155kph pace during IPL 2024. Playing for Lucknow Super Giants, he picked up the Player-of-the-Match award in his first two games but was ruled out of the tournament soon after with an abdominal injury. He has not played any cricket since then but Suryakumar said he was back to full fitness.”He definitely has the X factor – it was evident when he played franchise cricket,” Suryakumar said ahead of the first T20I against Bangladesh in Gwalior. “He has that extra pace. I didn’t face him in the nets; our net plan was such that someone else faced him. But I have seen what potential he has and what difference he can make for the team. From that point of view, I feel he is a good addition to the Indian team and I am hoping he will do well.Related

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“It’s important to manage him well because of the amount of cricket being played. Everyone is playing for their state too. There was the Duleep Trophy recently. So it is important to pay proper attention and the BCCI is doing that.”Sunday’s match will be the first international at the Shrimant Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Stadium. In fact, the venue has not hosted any domestic cricket either. So there is an element of surprise about the conditions.While Bangladesh batter Towhid Hridoy expected the pitch to be “slow and low” with not much chances of a high-scoring game, Suryakumar Yadav had different views.”As you saw in Sri Lanka, Riyan [Parag] bowled four overs. If someone says he can bowl in the pressure situation, then why not”•Associated Press

“The pitch looks good,” he said. “We practised on the centre wicket, just two pitches away. We didn’t find it that low and slow – we practised all three days. So it [the match pitch] should not be much different.”For T20 cricket, these are good wickets. There will be good competition [between the bat and ball] but at the same time it looks good [for run-scoring]. The rest we will get to know tomorrow.”Yes, it’s a new ground but having practised here for three days, we know what the conditions are, how the pitch is, how the outfield is, what the wind factor is like, whether the dew settles in or not. We will like to play the way we did in the last T20I series. And if everyone does their job, you will get the desired results.”Until recently, India had the problem of their batters not chipping in with the ball in white-ball cricket. But that seems to be changing now, with India’s T20I squad including a plethora of allrounders and part-time bowling options.”It’s good if your batters can bowl an over or two,” Suryakumar said. “I think there is hardly anyone in this squad who doesn’t bowl. That gives you more bowling options on the ground. As you saw in Sri Lanka, Riyan [Parag] bowled four overs. If someone says he can bowl in the pressure situation, then why not.”

An lbw decision against Antigua and Barbuda Falcons batter Imad Wasim that swayed between out and not out for over 10 minutes led to “chaos”, controversy and an unusual delay in the CPL game against Trinbago Knight Riders in Port-of-Spain.The initial not-out decision was briefly overturned by the third umpire Nigel Duguid before Wasim was called back to resume batting, which sparked off animated chats between TKR captain Kieron Pollard and the on-field umpires Christopher Taylor and Patrick Gustard.The incident happened on the second ball of the tenth over of the chase right after Sunil Narine had Hassan Khan stumped for 36 off 20 balls. Falcons needed another 67 off 65 deliveries when Wasim looked to defend his first ball with a forward press in front of the stumps, and Narine, from around the wicket, pitched the ball on a good length, before it went on to hit Wasim’s pads right in front of middle stump. The loud lbw appeal was first given not out by umpire Taylor, which Narine asked Pollard to review. When Pollard did, ball-tracking showed the ball hitting leg stump, which would have meant a golden duck for Wasim.Wasim, however, looked confident that he had edged the ball before it hit his pad. He was seen chatting with the umpires before he started walking off, and was even willing to, in turn, review TKR’s review as replays on the big screen showed he had edged it. Falcons assistant coach Curtly Ambrose was watching the replays in the dugout too with the rest of the squad, and was seen gesticulating from just beyond the boundary to protest against Wasim’s dismissal.The umpire soon reverted his decision to not out after seeing the inside edge, but only to spark off an animated conversation between Pollard and both on-field umpires, with this time the TKR coach Phil Simmons signalling from the dugout. It led to a near 12-minute delay, with the TKR camp clearly unhappy about the eventual decision, and later seeing Wasim hitting the winning runs too.Despite the loss on Thursday, TKR are still second on the points table. But they have not sealed a playoffs berth yet, and a visibly upset Pollard kept things very short at the presentation. “If I speak, I’ll get into trouble,” he said about the Wasim incident. “So I better stay quiet on that.”Falcons captain Chris Green was more expressive. “Chaos, absolute chaos,” Green said. “I don’t know what went on. He was given out when he shouldn’t have been, and then he stood over the rope and he probably shouldn’t have – but he was told to. Absolute chaos. I don’t know what happened, but this tournament continues to entertain in different ways… Really happy with the win. We outplayed them in all facets of the game tonight, and we thoroughly deserve that win.”

Persistent and occasionally heavy rain in Bengaluru has forced the cancellation of India’s training session the day before the first Test against New Zealand at the city’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium. The session, originally slotted for 9.30am, was first postponed by an hour and then cancelled altogether with the rain showing no signs of relenting.New Zealand ‘s training session, slotted for 1.30pm, did take place*, but in the indoor facility at the BCCI’s National Cricket Academy, also in the Chinnaswamy premises.The Indian Meteorological Department has forecast rains for the rest of the week, which could seriously affect the Test match. There is a 70% to 90% chance of rain on the first and second days of the Test, and a yellow alert has also been issued for many places in the state of Karnataka (of which Bengaluru is a part).Bengaluru has experienced a lot of rainfall for the past week. It rained on Monday as well, two days before the game, but both teams managed to finish their respective training sessions. India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Rohit Sharma also had time to get a good look at the surface, which was followed by a long discussion with the pitch curator.There was rain in Bengaluru all through Monday night and Tuesday morning, and the covers at the Chinnaswamy stayed in place. There was some activity when the rain stopped for a bit around 1pm, and the covers were being moved a bit, but within half an hour the clouds opened up again and the covers were back in place.