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Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMahmudullah’s 36* was his fourth 30-plus score in eight BPL matches•Raton Gomes/BCB

Khulna Titans took sole lead of the BPL after their six-wicket win over Barisal Bulls. Khulna’s bowling returned to its parsimonious ways, rattling Barisal with early wickets and remaining disciplined as they notched up their sixth win in eight games. Junaid Khan, Shafiul Islam and Mosharraf Hossain took a wicket each, and their fielding was mostly tight.Barisal lost their openers by the fifth over before Shahriar Nafees and Mushfiqur Rahim added 42 runs for the third wicket. But once Nafees fell lbw to Mosharraf, Barisal further lost Nadif Chowdhury and Mushfiqur to run-outs, with Nadif falling to a cheeky bit of work by Khulna wicketkeeper Nicholas Pooran.It could have been worse had Junaid latched on to an easy chance at long-on, offered by Thisara Perera who, along with Enamul Haque, helped Barisal eke out 38 runs in the last five overs.Khulna’s first chase in the tournament started poorly after they lost two wickets cheaply. Mohammad Hasanuzzaman and Rikki Wessels were both unlucky, having been bowled by deliveries that kept low.Taibur Rahman and Shuvagata Hom got the chase on track with a 33-run third-wicket stand, before Shuvagata and Mahmudullah got them closer to the target with their 57-run fourth-wicket partnership.Shuvagata’s 40 off 34 balls was his highest score in the BPL. His boundaries came mostly on the leg side, pulling fours over mid-on and fine leg, while hammering Monir Hossain for a big six over long-on. Mahmudullah struck a four over cover apart from hitting two beautiful straight sixes. The win was achieved with eight balls to spare.

“A challenging situation in Test cricket is the most exciting thing a viewer can see, and for a player playing to feel. You can sense that energy, which no other format can provide for you.”When India’s most popular current cricketer, their Test captain who can lead crowds like the Pied Piper, says these words, you can relax that at least for this generation Test cricket is safe in India, and that as a player he will do his best to hand it down.Through the second Test, which India won to become the No. 1 Test team in the world, Virat Kohli kept asking the small Eden Gardens crowd – still often big enough to fill out some stadiums – to make noise every time New Zealand put together a partnership. He entertained them with a sparkling knock of 45 in a crisis situation in the second innings, which was cut short by a shooter.”It’s our responsibility to keep Test cricket where it belongs,” Kohli said, “and if we play cricket like this – you saw how engaged the crowd was, they like to see exciting cricket, and we have to provide it. You have to interact with them, you have to make sure they are a part of the whole thing. You feed off their energy. It happens so much in limited overs, so why not in Test cricket?”A loud crowd, Kohli said, makes a big difference for the home team. “We experience that when we go to Australia, when we go to England, South Africa. They get a couple of wickets, the crowd gets behind really loud and as a batsman you understand that it creates a lot of pressure, you feel nervous. So I just try to think as a batsman, how I would feel. Walking in, the ball is reverse-swinging and the crowd’s going mad behind a bowler who is warm, who is willing to take a wicket. It makes a huge difference.”We were able to pick up two, three wickets. The crowd also loves it, you engage them for the betterment of the team. A bowler who is tired… Shami would have bowled three overs but he fed off the energy and he bowled 12 more balls for the team, got another wicket. So we will not be waking up at 6:30 again tomorrow.”Virat Kohli applauded the crowd at the end of the second day in Kolkata•BCCI

In the process, Kohli said, this Test showed them important lessons too. “This was a Test match that had to be fought out,” he said. “Which took character from all the players. This was a Test match that players took as an opportunity to build character rather than pressure. The more we win Test matches like this the more we will understand how Test cricket is played, how Test matches can be won. So we can keep repeating those things. It’s all about feeding those things into your head and keep repeating it.”If it was Ravindra Jadeja scoring crucial lower-order runs in Kanpur, Wriddhiman Saha did it in Kolkata. Rightly they won the Man-of-the-Match awards. Kohli said their batting was the biggest gain from these Tests. “The batting contributions of Jadeja and Umesh Yadav a little bit in the first game – Jadeja in both innings. And Wriddhiman Saha both innings in this game,” Kohli said of the gains. “The rest of the guys, we obviously understand that given their day and in a good frame of mind, they will come good. But these two guys are batting at positions that are very important in Test cricket.”For them to understand their own abilities and get confident, that was one of the main reasons why we waited for three more overs [for the declaration] in Kanpur, to let Jadeja cross 50. Because that way you understand how to get to that again and again. If you declare on 45, he will never get that extra boost of having gotten a half-century in a Test match.”So it was all about building confidence for a particular individual, because we understand how important his character can be in a situation where maybe you need to play out an hour or you need 40 quick runs again. And that is the guy who is confident and can do the job for you. So as a captain, I think the contribution by Jadeja in the first game and Saha here (were the main gains). Saha has been doing really well this year, I wish him well to keep going. Obviously a keeper coming good for you is an added bonus.”

Karnataka squad unchanged for Assam clashKL Rahul will not feature for Karnataka in their fourth-round Ranji Trophy fixture against Assam in Mumbai, starting on Thursday. Rahul, recovering from a hamstring injury he picked up during the first Test against New Zealand in Kanpur, is undergoing rehabilitation and is yet to go through a fitness test, according to the Karnataka State Cricket Association. With the first Test against England starting on November 9 in Rajkot, the fourth round of the Ranji Trophy was seen as an opportunity for all the members of the Test squad to regain match fitness, after a two-week break.Wriddhiman Saha will turn up for Bengal in their clash against Railways in Dharamsala. M Vijay, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, meanwhile, are all in the midst of a short NCA stint in preparation for the five-Test series against England.Vijay Shankar boost for Tamil NaduAllrounder Vijay Shankar is set to return to competitive cricket after an nine-month layoff. He passed a fitness test and will be available for selection in Tamil Nadu’s fourth match, against Madhya Pradesh in Cuttack. Vijay completed a two-month rehabilitation, following a surgery on his left knee, which he injured in July, before India A’s tour of Australia. He was subsequently withdrawn from both the limited-overs and four-day squads, and was replaced by Hardik Pandya.Delhi coach calls for Pant to temper his gameDelhi coach KP Bhaskar has called for more match awareness from Rishabh Pant, the season’s highest run-scorer so far. Pant, one of three triple centurions this season, made 24 and 9 in Delhi’s innings and 160-run loss to Karnataka last week. “You can’t play the same pattern in every pitch. Sometimes, there will be a pitch which is holding on, there’s a green top, so the shot selection becomes very important,” he said. “That’s the hallmark of a good player. You can’t just play in the same pattern and the same gear, you can’t do that. Sometimes, the situation demands where you need to be a little choosy. As I said, he is a stroke player, that’s the way he plays. Sometimes you connect, and law of averages had to catch up with him.”

Match facts

October 1, Mirpur
Start time 1430 local (0830 GMT)1:46

Isam: Will be tough for Bangladesh to decide playing XI

Big Picture

If it wasn’t during the first game, the second ODI made sure Afghanistan grabbed the undivided attention of Bangladesh – the cricket team and nation alike. There will be a lot of eyeballs on the Shere Bangla National Stadium for the series decider, which will have a large bearing on the home team’s mindset ahead of the England series.Bangladesh would like their batsmen to not throw away their wickets after getting a start, as the top five did in the second game. Soumya Sarkar, in need of runs after a barren 12 months, was the biggest culprit when he charged at Mirwais Ashraf unnecessarily after Tamim Iqbal had got out attempting the same shot.Imrul Kayes returning to the XI would be a must, given how comfortably he dealt with the Afghanistan attack, albeit for 50-odd deliveries. But his form is going to be important in the third ODI. So would be longer knocks from Mahmudullah and Shakib Al Hasan.Bangladesh also have a reshaped bowling attack after Rubel Hossain was dropped from the squad for the third ODI, making way for left-arm spinner Mosharraf Hossain, the domestic stalwart making a comeback after eight years. Mashrafe Mortaza would have a lot in his mind with the bowling attack, and that could mean picking three left-arm spinners, himself and Taskin Ahmed.Afghanistan have to keep their bowling plans intact, after being successful in their two-wicket win. Mohammad Nabi’s accurate offbreaks have been the perfect foil for Rashid Khan’s quick legspin but the rest of the Afghanistan attack must put its act together.And so should their batting line-up. A big one is due from Mohammad Shahzad, and there would not be any better time than to let one of his whirlwind innings hit Mirpur. It could knock the wind out of Bangladesh.

Form guide

Bangladesh LWWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Afghanistan WLLWL

In the spotlight

It was a dream ODI debut for Mosaddek Hossain with some runs and wickets. There wasn’t enough opportunity for the newcomer in the first ODI but he made the best of what he got, forging a 43-run tenth-wicket stand with No. 11 Rubel Hossain. He was a revelation with the ball and might get more overs in the third ODI.Asghar Stanikzai reached his first ODI fifty in 19 months, in the second ODI, as he mixed caution with six-hitting quite effectively. But he suffered from cramps twice during the innings. He would now want to continue with the flow, and make sure the humidity doesn’t get to him.

Team news

Bangladesh brought in Mosharraf Hossain to replace Rubel Hossain in the 14-man squad, but it is still uncertain whether he will replace Taijul Islam or Bangladesh will go with three specialist left-arm spinners. Imrul Kayes could return to the playing XI at the expense of the out-of-form Soumya Sarkar.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Imrul Kayes/Soumya Sarkar, 3 Mahmudullah, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Sabbir Rahman, 7 Mosaddek Hossain, 8 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt.), 9 Mosharraf Hossain, 10 Taijul Islam, 11 Taskin AhmedAfghanistan brought in the experienced Nawroz Mangal to open with Mohammad Shahzad. Although Mangal didn’t make a worthy contribution, the winning combination may not be altered with the chance to win the series.Afghanistan (probable): 1 Mohammad Shahzad (wk), 2 Nawroz Mangal, 3 Rahmat Shah, 4 Hashmatullah Shahidi, 5 Asghar Stanikzai (capt.), 6 Mohammad Nabi, 7 Najibullah Zadran, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Mirwais Ashraf, 10 Dawlat Zadran, 11 Naveen-ul-Haque

Pitch and conditions

The Mirpur pitch was sluggish in the first ODI and then a rank turner in the second. Curator Gamini Silva could revert to the one he put out for the first game, which could assist Bangladesh’s spinners who bowl slower than the Afghanistan counterparts. For a change, there is very little rain forecast for Saturday.

Stats and trivia

• Shakib Al Hasan is only the third bowler after Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis to take 100 or more wickets at a single venue. Akram and Younis took 122 and 114 wickets each at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium while Shakib has exactly 100 at the Shere Bangla National Stadium.
• Afghanistan seem to be specialist in winning by two wickets, having now done it five times.
• If Afghanistan win, it will be their first series win against any team ranked higher than Zimbabwe in ODIs.

Quotes

“Pressure is obviously on both sides, this being an international match. Fact that they are an Associate nation doesn’t come to our mind. They are a strong team.”

As he ponders changes to Australia’s badly malfunctioning top order, coach Darren Lehmann has admitted that increasingly homogenised domestic pitches – and drop-in wickets at multipurpose stadiums – have played a role in stunting the adaptability of batsmen.When Lehmann and his contemporaries were learning their trade, each major venue had a pitch of unique character, from the bounce of Perth to the seam of Brisbane to Adelaide’s something-for-everyone, Sydney’s spin and Melbourne’s variable bounce. However the contrasts have diminished in recent years, not helped by the installation of drop-in pitches at the MCG, the Adelaide Oval and, soon, Perth’s new stadium.Another factor over time had been the preparation of increasingly friendly pitches for seam bowlers to aid each state’s bid for the Sheffield Shield, followed by a reverse directive from the team performance manager Pat Howard for flatter surfaces. While the number of runs scored in Australian first-class competition has risen, batsmen are clearly not facing the same challenges that so confounded them in Kandy and Galle.”I think we have said for a while that we would like the Shield wickets to go back a little bit in time where they are all different,” Lehmann said. “You had Perth which was grassy and bouncy and went through and swung, and Brisbane seamed and Adelaide reversed and spun and Sydney spun from day one.”All those things we would love to see happen, but the problem we’ve got now is we’ve got drop-ins at a couple of grounds, so it’s hard to do. You would love that to be the case but you are living in a different world and so it’s a bit harder. In terms of Test wickets, whatever we get we’ll trust the curators to do the best they can. I think you see it has been pretty fair in Australia for a couple of years but there is no reason it can’t improve either.”Groundsmen in Australia are hard at work trying to find ways to improve the variety of pitches they can prepare. Adelaide Oval’s head curator Damian Hough is at the forefront of experimentation with moveable surfaces, developing more porous drop-in trays that allow moisture to escape and so create the right environment for the pitch to deteriorate. Last year Adelaide provided a pitch made more or less to order for the use of the pink ball in the inaugural day/night Test.The desire to change and improve has been visible in the flurry of thoughts around the Australian team over the past few days, starting with a team decision to play more proactively in the second innings in Galle. This was most dramatically shown by Adam Voges, who repeatedly tried the reverse sweep to break up the line of the spinners, before falling to the same shot.”We have had those discussions already,” Lehmann said of the brainstorming that led to Voges’ innings. “It’s probably him going ‘I have to change’, thinking he can play a certain way, and change in other ways. So, that’s learning the game, isn’t it, and trying to adapt. But being proactive is the key to having good success in the subcontinent, not being reactive.”Lehmann said he agreed with the captain Steven Smith’s contention that the selectors needed to choose batsmen more suited to the prevailing conditions in future. However, he also added that if this were so, public and media perceptions needed to change, given the fact that no member of the current squad “deserved” to be missing from the Sri Lanka squad given their performances last summer.”Totally agree,” Lehmann said of Smith’s suggestion. “The interesting thing, though, if you have a look at our summer and the way our batters played, if we didn’t take any of those batters, how would we be viewed in the press? It’s always tough. We haven’t had the success, now we have to look outside the square.”Shaun Marsh is in contention to come into the Test XI for Colombo, as a top-order batsman with a decent record against spin and runs on his last visit to Sri Lanka in 2011. None of Joe Burns, Usman Khawaja or even Voges could have too many complaints were they omitted for the third Test, a decision Lehmann said would not count against their chances of being chosen again on more familiar home turf.”Everyone in the squad will be considered, that’s what happens when you don’t have the results you would like, we will need to have a look at the wicket, sum it up and go from there,” Lehmann said. “You don’t like dropping anyone, you feel for them when they don’t play as well as they would like. That’s the hardest thing as a coach and a selector – you have to make tough decisions sometimes.”We are playing a Test match in tough conditions; [we will] pick the best XI for that and then worry about the summer when we get home. It won’t hold against anyone, this is a squad that we think is right. Obviously results show different and say different but we have to make sure we are picking the best XI to play.”

R Ashwin, whose 5 for 62 helped India dismiss West Indies for 196 on the opening day of the second Test at Sabina Park, said he was “pretty surprised” by Jason Holder’s decision to bat first. Speaking to the media after India had moved to 126 for 1 in their reply at stumps, Ashwin said the pitch was a “bit sticky” early on, and that it might have suited West Indies’ strengths more to bowl first.”I was pretty surprised that they won the toss and batted first today,” Ashwin said. “Like Virat mentioned at the toss, there was a bit in it, it was a bit sticky. Maybe I would’ve batted as well. But with their strengths, I thought it was a bit surprising.”Despite India ending the day on top, Ashwin cautioned that there was a long way still to go in the match. “I was really taken aback by the counterattack that [Jermaine] Blackwood did,” he said. “It sort of put the game in the balance. And we had to break [through] twice and brought the game back. It’s clearly a game where the experienced side is seizing the more opportune moments. I would put it that way. With a little bit of experience and nailing the right moments, the game could get closer.”This game has a lot of uncertainties. We just saw one when Sri Lanka pulled it off against Australia [in the Pallekele Test]. And they did the same against us in Galle [in 2015], so we can’t be lacklustre with that, we will have to keep doing our process properly.”Ashwin said his variations of pace had been key to picking up five wickets on a damp first-day pitch.”A little bit of bounce and speed variation, that was important, I thought. Most of the dismissals were brought about by difference in speeds rather than much of spin, actually. It was initially damp and there was some turn, but after that it flattened out a bit and started going straight. This ball, once it gets older, it becomes easier to bat. There’s a lot more time. I think it was more about bounce and speed variation that created the problem.”Playing only his 34th Test match, Ashwin has already picked up his 18th five-wicket haul. At this moment, his rate of taking five-fors is even better than that of Muttiah Muralitharan, who picked up 67 in 133 Tests.”Everybody wants to start playing cricket one day to achieve what nobody else could achieve,” Ashwin said. “I am happy to be there, at some stage of my career where I am better than everybody else who has played the game. It feels nice, but the only thing that is constant is trying to improve from wherever you are. I think change is very very important. Keeping on benchmarking yourself is more important. This is good, but tomorrow is a different day and you have to keep improving.”Coming in for the injured M Vijay, KL Rahul got India off to a near-perfect start to their reply, and ended the day batting on 75. Ashwin wasn’t surprised by his performance, and said he had nicknamed him ‘batting machine’ for the amount of batting he does in training.”We all know that he’s a quality cricketer,” Ashwin said. “He’s made a lot of runs in first-class cricket. He has pretty much arrived at this level.”Beforehand, when he made hundreds for us, it has been crucial knocks. He made one in Sri Lanka which is very very memorable. As a matter of fact, the way he played in the IPL, it’s just an extension. Everybody wants Rahul to do well, which is a big tick for him.”I’ve nicknamed him batting machine. He keeps batting all the time and it’s not a surprise that he’s made runs and I’m very happy for him.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:49

‘Time to redeem ourselves as a team’ – Chigumbura

The shorter the contest, the tighter the contest. Zimbabwe, outclassed in all three ODIs, pulled off their second successive 20-over win over India, shading a match of exceedingly tiny margins by two runs to go 1-0 up in the T20I series. It came down to MS Dhoni and what he could do with the last ball, as it has so many times in his career. India needed four, and Neville Madziva bowled a wide slower ball. Dhoni, jumping across to reach it, slapped it wide of deep point, but could not generate enough power to beat the fielder. He simply moved a few yards to his right and kept India’s captain to a single.In only his seventh T20I, Madziva had made a decisive last-over intervention. In Mirpur last November, he had hit 6, 2, 4, 6 off Nasir Hossain when Zimbabwe had needed 18 off five balls to beat Bangladesh.Now, he was defending eight off the last over. India had needed 14 off seven balls when Donald Tiripano missed his yorker by a few inches. Axar Patel cleared the fielder at long-off.Second ball of the final over, Madziva bowled a similar delivery, overpitched, and Axar played a similar shot. This time he picked out the fielder. That brought it down to seven off four. Madziva bowled a pinpoint wide yorker, and Dhoni could not beat the fielder at extra cover. At other times, he may have declined the single. He took it, and left Rishi Dhawan, one of five T20I debutants in India’s XI, on strike for the first time with six to get off three balls.Dhawan couldn’t make any connection with Madziva’s wide yorker, or with the wide slower ball that followed. The equation should have said six off one at this point, but Russell Tiffin signalled wide – even though it was well within reach of Dhawan, who had moved a long way across – and it said five off two instead. Dhawan scrambled a single and brought Dhoni back on strike, but there was little he could do with Madziva’s calmly executed slower ball. Dhoni finished on 19 off 17 balls. His approach could be seen as questionable, but his approach had brought his team’s task down to 8 off the last over, and most would have backed India to win in that situation.That Zimbabwe set India a target so tantalisingly out of reach was down to one man, Elton Chigumbura, who struck seven sixes in an unbeaten 26-ball 54, and was the prime reason for Zimbabwe scoring 59 off their last five overs.When Chigumbura came to the crease, they were 98 for 4 in 13.1 overs. They had just lost two wickets in the space of four balls, and those wickets were of Malcolm Waller and Sikandar Raza, who had added 47 for the third wicket in 34 balls. It was a situation reminiscent of the second and third ODIs, when Zimbabwe had reached positions of reasonable promise – 106 for 3 and 104 for 3 – only to collapse spectacularly. Chigumbura had made golden ducks in both those matches.But this was a new day, and a different format, which would give him the freedom to play his shots straightaway. He had only faced five balls when a no-ball from Yuzvendra Chahal gave him the maximum possible freedom. Chahal sent down a quicker ball at 115kph, but it had width on it, and Chigumbura, all still head and stable base, freed his arms to flat-bat it over the long-off boundary.Chigumbura hit two more sixes off Chahal in his next over, the 17th, and, as if to show his method could be applied just as well against the quicker bowlers, two off Jaydev Unadkat in the 19th. The first of these hit the roof of the stadium and bounced over it.Jasprit Bumrah had been the best of India’s bowlers, conceding only 10 off his first three overs, but Chigumbura wouldn’t spare him either, when he came back to bowl the final over. Taking a big step back to use the depth of his crease, he managed just enough elevation off a low full-toss to clear long-off, and then kept a close eye on a slower ball to mow it high over midwicket to bring up his half-century.India’s new-look batting line-up was facing its first proper test of the tour. The chase began badly. KL Rahul, a bundle of nerves in a low-scoring Test debut, had made an unbeaten hundred on his ODI debut. He only lasted one ball on T20I debut, chopping Tiripano on. India lost their second wicket at the end of the Powerplay – but not before Mandeep Singh, another debutant, and Ambati Rayudu had struck eight fours in a partnership of 44.The boundaries were harder to come by without field restrictions, and the required rate had gone beyond 10 an over when India lost their fourth wicket, Kedar Jadhav playing on while trying to slog Taurai Muzarabani, in the 13th over. That was when Dhoni walked in.Dhoni and Manish Pandey kept India on course with hard running – they ran six twos and another off a wide – punctuated by boundary hits, including successive Pandey sixes off Graeme Cremer’s legspin, to add 53 in 30 balls. Pandey’s dismissal – slicing a full, wide ball from Muzarabani wider than intended – in the 18th over left India needing 28 from 16, and Axar’s hitting brought it down to eight off the last over. They had all but won it, but they ran into a last-over specialist.

ScorecardRavi Bopara’s unbeaten 81 sealed victory•Getty Images

Ravi Bopara underlined his liking for the Kent attack when he hammered six sixes in an unbeaten 81 to lead Essex to their third successive NatWest T20 Blast victory.The Essex captain, who also posted 74 not out when the two teams met in the Royal London Cup two-and-a-half weeks ago, was on fire, and was particularly harsh on Mitch Claydon, who he deposited for two maximums in the final over of the innings.Bopara, who batted for 43 balls with six fours as well as those half-a-dozen sixes, put on an unbeaten 131 off 10.2 overs with Ashar Zaidi, who was in similar form himself. Zaidi finished unbeaten on 54 off 33 balls with five fours and three sixes.And all this after Kent put Essex in and Jesse Ryder went third ball, beaten for pace by Kagiso Rabada and edging to wicketkeeper Sam Billings without scoring.Kent started their reply in brisk fashion, landing a succession of sixes themselves, eight in the final analysis, but they became becalmed mid-innings as the required run-rate topped 14 with seven overs remaining and kept growing.After the departure of Ryder, the Essex innings was sparked into action by Tom Westley and Kishen Velani. Westley drove Rabada through the covers two balls into his innings and pulled another boundary through midwicket when the young South African dropped one short.Velani was no less punishing, twice giving himself room to chop Claydon through the covers and then greeting Ivan Thomas with a controlled, lofted edge to third man for another four.The second-wicket partnership had put on 42 in 4.5 overs when the pair collided midwicket chasing a second run and Velani failed to beat Sam Northeast’s throw into the wicketkeeper’s gloves.Bopara had just deposited James Tredwell over cow corner for six when, two balls later, the bowler held a sharp caught-and-bowled to dismiss Westley for 33 from 31 balls.Bopara’s second six, swept over midwicket, ruined Fabian Cowdrey’s figures. The spinner’s first three overs had gone for 13, but his last went for 14.Zaidi was in typically hard-hitting mode, bouncing down the wicket to thump Thomas over cow for six and then lofting Tredwell over long leg for a second.Bopara and Zaidi passed fifty in five overs together when Bopara got an inside-edge for four that left Thomas flat on the floor in his follow-through, and hitting the ground in frustration.It didn’t not get any better for Thomas as Bopara hit the last two balls of his spell for a straight, flat six and then paddled a four to reach his personal fifty off 32 balls.Bopara’s fourth six, clouting Rabada over his head high into the black sightscreen behind the bowler, also brought up the hundred partnership for the fourth wicket inside 10 overs.Zaidi reached his fifty off 33 balls from a loose full-toss by Claydon which was sent towering over midwicket. The bowler received similar treatment by Bopara who hit his fifth and sixth sixes off the same over, the first straight, the second over long-on.The home crowd, already pumped up by the display of six-hitting by Bopara and Zaidi, were soon celebrating a wicket. Joe Denly departed for a first-ball duck when he was beaten all ends up to provide Paul Walter with his first senior wicket for Essex.But Kent were soon hitting sixes for fun themselves. Dan Lawrence went for two in an over, Tom Latham hooking the first over midwicket and another straight. Sam Northeast then eased Matt Quinn over cow corner as Kent reached 49 off the first five overs.But from the first ball of the next over, Northeast swished at Graham Napier and was caught behind. Since Napier had taken two Surrey wickets with his last two deliveries at The Oval on Saturday, it meant he had taken a hat-trick, albeit six days apart. More importantly he put the brakes on Kent’s onslaught, conceding just two runs in the over, and then had Latham caught by Ryder backward of square.Billings did not last much longer, run out by a direct hit from Ryder in the middle of a maiden over from Ryan ten Doeschate. Stevens also fell to another direct-hit run-out as Bopara fielded off his own bowling before Alex Blake was caught by ten Doeschate on his knees at long-on for a 31-ball 37, including two sixes.Rabada went second ball to a catch behind off Quinn, Cowdrey was caught-and-bowled by Walter and Tredwell became Walter’s third victim, caught on the fine-leg boundary by Lawrence.

Chris Woakes is available to bat on the final morning at The Oval despite a suspected shoulder dislocation. Woakes was initially ruled out of the remainder of the fifth Test against India after sustaining the injury while fielding on the first day, and had his left arm in a sling in the dressing room on Sunday, but is prepared to “put his body on the line” if England need him.Woakes practiced batting one-handed in the indoor school on Sunday, and changed into his whites during the evening session, readying himself to bat at No. 11 if required. England need a further 35 runs to win with four wickets in hand to clinch a 3-1 series win on the fifth day, and Joe Root said that Woakes’ willingness to bat showed his commitment to the cause.”He’s all-in, like the rest of us,” Root, whose 105 set up England’s run chase, said. “It’s been that kind of series, where guys have had to put bodies on the line. Hopefully, it doesn’t get to that. But he had some throwdowns in here (the indoor school) at one point, and he’s ready if needed… He’s desperate to do what it takes.”Related

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It remains to be seen whether Woakes would attempt to bat right-handed – like Malcolm Marshall in 1984 – or switch to left-handed on account of his injury, as Pakistan’s Saleem Malik once did.”I’m not sure,” Root said. “I’ve not seen him practice yet. You might get a better indication tomorrow if he has some throwdowns in the morning.”England have not yet confirmed the specifics of Woakes’ injury, and he will go for further scans after this match for a full diagnosis. But he is considered highly unlikely to play again this summer, and is already a major doubt for the first Ashes Test in Perth starting November 21, and potentially the rest of that series.”Clearly, he’s in a huge amount of pain having done what he’s done,” Root said. “It just shows, as we’ve seen from other guys in this series – [Rishabh] Pant batting with a broken foot, guys taking all sorts of blows here and there – but it means a huge amount to him.”It just shows the character and the person that he’s willing to put his body on the line like that for England, and hopefully – well, hopefully he doesn’t have to, but if it does come to that – get us across the line and win us an incredible series.”1:44

Bangar: India could have bowled straighter to Root

Root’s century has taken England close enough to their target of 374 that Woakes may not be required, and he celebrated the milestone with a tribute to the late Graham Thorpe, his long-time mentor. Root wore one of Thorpe’s trademark white headbands – which have been sold for charity this week – and pointed to the skies on reaching his hundred.”It’s been amazing that Surrey, as a club, and the ECB, have recognised everything that he’s done for English cricket as a player, as a coach, as a mentor, as a friend, to the dressing room, to the game of cricket,” Root said of Thorpe. “That [celebration] was on behalf of our team, really, and everything that he’s given and sacrificed for English cricket.”It is just really great to see the amount of love that there is for him and for his family as well… He’s someone that’s impacted my career, personally, a huge amount. This week, the amount of love and support there’s been for him and his family, and all the good that’s come from it and the amount of money that’s been raised [over £150,000] is amazing.”It’s special that sport can provide that. More than anything, it was just a ‘thank you’ for everything that he’s given the game of cricket and given English cricket, on and off the field.”

Rocky Flintoff fell seven runs short of a century as England Under-19 fought back on day two of their Under-19 test with India at Beckenham.England were 230 for five at stumps in reply to India’s 540 all, out, trailing by 310.Flintoff was lbw to Deepesh Devendran for 93 just five minutes from the close of play and their captain Hamza Shaikh made 84. Henil Patel had India’s best bowling figures with 2 for 51.Earlier RS Ambrish hit 70 as India were dismissed for 540, with right-arm quick Alex Green claiming 3 for 74, and left-arm spinner Ralphie Albert three for 95.India were 450 for seven overnight and Ambrish reached 50 when he edged James Minto for four through the slips. He had added 20 more when he feathered Green behind.Green should have had a second wicket in the over, but Anmoljeet Singh was dropped by Archie Vaughan at second slip, the fifth drop of the innings. Anmoljeet then survived being hit on both feet and got another life when both batters ended up at the keeper’s end and England were too slow to react.Albert eventually had Henil caught on the boundary by Jaydn Denly, but only after he’d hit him for successive sixes on his way to 38 and Albert then wrapped up the innings by bowling Devendran with the final ball before lunch.Right-arm medium pacer Henil struck in the first over of England’s reply when he had Vaughan lbw for two. Denly was then dropped by Mohamed Enaan after square cutting Devendran when he was on 22, but Henil conjured a beauty that pitched on leg and hit the top of his off stump, bowling him for 27Flintoff was on 25 when he pulled Devendran straight to Kumar, who dropped a chest-high catch and he cashed in after tea when he thick-edged Enaan for four to pass 50.Shaikh then hit Anmoljeet for six over long off, but a partnership worth 154 was broken when 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi had Shaikh caught at mid-off.Ben Mayes was subsequently lbw to Vilhaan Malhotra for 11, but Thomas Rew got a life when India skipper Ayush Mhatre missed a difficult chance to catch him at slip off Anmoljeet when he was on three. The bowler had better luck in the penultimate over, when with a ton there for the taking, he trapped Flintoff lbw.