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Joe Root has hailed Harry Brook as “far and away the best player in the world” after Brook powered England to their first series victory in New Zealand since 2008.Both Root and Brook registered centuries in an emphatic 323-run win in the second Test against the Black Caps that confirmed an unassailable 2-0 scoreline after just three days at the Basin Reserve. It was their 35th and eighth hundreds respectively, with Brook’s 123 in tough first-innings conditions earning him the player-of-the-match award.Brooks’ opening-day effort, reaching three figures in 91 deliveries (the second-fastest of his career), came in challenging conditions, dragging England to 280 inside just 54.5 overs, having at one stage been 26 for 3. The tourists were then able to dismiss New Zealand for 125, establishing a 155-run lead that Root’s 106 would eventually lift to a mammoth 582. In reply, New Zealand could only muster 259 in just 54.2 overs.Last week, Brook moved up to No.2 on the ICC Test rankings off the back of his 171 in the first Test at Christchurch, which set up an eight-wicket win. Root sits at No.1, but England’s all-time leading run-scorer believes his Yorkshire and England team-mate is currently at the top of the modern game.”Brooky is by far and away the best player in the world at the minute,” Root said, off the back of Brook’s exploits in New Zealand.”He can absorb pressure, he can apply it. He can whack you over your head for six. He can scoop you over his head for six. He can smack spin. He can smack seam.”He’s so hard to bowl to and dovetailed with someone like Pope [174 for the fifth wicket in the first innings], who’s extremely busy and scoring in awkward areas, [which] makes it very difficult to stop the flow of runs. I think they just played exceptionally well together.”Related

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Brook returned the compliment to Root, who has a chance to beat his previous calendar-year best of six centuries (2021) in this Saturday’s third and final Test at Hamilton.”I’m trying to catch him, but he’s too good, isn’t he?” Brook said, when asked if he fancied taking the No. 1 tag off Root. “[He] got another hundred this week. No, he’s obviously one of the best players, if not the best player, to have ever played the game.”Though only two years into his Test career, Brook’s average of 61.62 from 23 Tests is currently third on the all-time list. Having become England’s first triple-centurion in 34 years with 317 against Pakistan, his work in New Zealand over the last two weeks has moved his average away from home to a remarkable 89.35, though he has only played in those two countries.Brook, however, insists on keeping his feet on the ground and believes he has more work to do to improve all aspects of his game.”I’ve only played 23 games, so them stats could soon come soaring down!” he said. “So I’m just trying to keep on getting as good as I can and working hard in the nets and improving areas that are uncomfortable. Just keep on going really. You can always get better everywhere.”Meanwhile, Root has been announced on the shortlist for BBC Sports Personality of the Year. The award, to be judged by the public on who they regard as most accomplished sportsperson in 2024, has only been won by a cricketer on five occasions. Ben Stokes was the most recent, in 2019, while Stuart Board finished runner-up last year.”I didn’t expect that at all, really,” Root said of Monday’s announcement. “I guess I’m honored to be involved in it. You know, it’s been a wonderful year of sports so to even be considered is is pretty humbling, to be honest.”I wasn’t expecting at all, but it’s something I’ve watched as a kid growing up. I don’t really know how to sum it up.”England will meet up in Hamilton on Wednesday ahead of the third Test. A number of players left Wellington on Monday to explore New Zealand’s North Island and will travel separately to the inland city.

Brendon McCullum denied that his England side have been found out on spinning pitches, as Pakistan’s captain Shan Masood confirmed he is hoping for another turner in the series decider in Rawalpindi.Pakistan radically overhauled their strategy between the first and second Tests in Multan, making four changes to their side including the addition of three spinners, and deciding to use the same pitch for a second week in a row. The ploy paid off handsomely, with Sajid Khan and Noman Ali sharing 20 wickets to set up a series-levelling 152-run win.England scored 657 in 101 overs in their most recent Test in Rawalpindi two years ago and the venue has generally been more conducive to seam bowlers than spinners since it returned to hosting Tests in 2019. But the PCB’s groundstaff have already started work on the surface ahead of Thursday’s decider, and Masood has requested a “drier” pitch.”I would,” Masood said, when asked directly if he would like to see the ball turn in the third Test. “I don’t know if I’ve seen it turn in Rawalpindi. That’s another issue. You want a side that can win anywhere… We want to get 20 wickets wherever we play, and we want to back that up with the bat.”I don’t think there’s an autumn in Pakistan. There’s a summer that transitions into a winter, so we’re still hoping that the sun can play its part and the wicket can be on the drier side… The groundsmen are already there. They’re working on a Test-match pitch and we’ll try to create a good Test wicket where both teams can pick up 20 wickets.”Related

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Masood spoke ahead of the first Test about his desire for Pakistan to play on pitches which brought their seamers into play, but the decision to rest Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah from the final two Tests suggests a green-top is unlikely. McCullum, England’s coach, predicted that the surface will be “the antithesis of the green seamer” for the decider.”I actually don’t mind,” McCullum said. “That’s one of the great aspects of playing cricket all around the world, right? You’re challenged in different conditions and home teams should have home benefit. I like that about the game. We said right at the outset that we’ll try to adapt to whatever conditions we come up against.”We were very realistic about how difficult this challenge would be and that there could be some extreme conditions confronting us at some stage. Winning the first Test probably hastened that process, but we have no complaints so far. We were outplayed in this game. We’ll see what Rawalpindi’s got to offer and we’ll try and adapt accordingly.”Masood said that Pakistan’s challenge is to learn how to take 20 wickets at each of their home venues. “I don’t think we can go to a strategy where we go, ‘Oh, we have to have a spinning wicket everywhere,'” he said. “You have to know the characteristics of your ground and your soil to be a good Test team… It’s not an overnight process.”Shan Masood greets the fans across the railings after Pakistan’s win•Getty Images

McCullum, however, is anticipating “a little bit more rough” in Rawalpindi that England encountered two years ago, and said that Rehan Ahmed could “potentially” come into the mix for selection if that proves to be the case: “We’ll have a look around it, come up with our tactics and see what’s going to be required to give ourselves the best chance of nabbing the series win.”England’s 152-run defeat in the second Test in Multan was their fifth loss out of seven on the subcontinent this year, after their 4-1 loss in India. With spinners playing a significant role in all five of those Tests, McCullum was asked whether he felt as though his side had been found out on turning pitches.”Maybe. I don’t know,” he said. “If we had won the toss and then got a few more runs, would the result have been different? I don’t know. It’s hard to make that assessment. But I know these guys play spin very well. Yes, we’ve been beaten a few times, but we weren’t the only team to go to India and get beaten by India in spinning conditions.”And we’ve got a pretty good record here [in Pakistan]. Even that Test match we won in India, that was probably the most extreme of the spinning conditions. I don’t know: we’ll find out. I certainly don’t mind if it spins in the next one. I think we’ve got the artillery to be able to handle it, but we’ll find out.”McCullum also defended their aggressive approach with the bat during the second Test. “We saw in this Test match that so many wickets fell to people trying to hang in there. It was those that were prepared to be brave enough to sweep, reverse-sweep, put the opposition under pressure, who were actually able to score runs. And in a low-scoring contest, those runs proved valuable.”

Kusal Perera has been included in Sri Lanka ODI squad to play New Zealand, as has seamer Mohamed Shiraz.Kusal Perera has not played an ODI in almost a year, but has made this squad on the strength of his 55 not out in a T20I against West Indies. Shiraz, 29, has been an excellent domestic performer, taking 84 wickets at 18.75 in List A cricket, but has so far bowled only four overs in internationals.On the T20I front, Sri Lanka have retained the exact squad they had had for the series against West Indies, which they won 2-1. Newcomer Chamindu Wickramasinghe – an allrounder – has kept his place in both squads.Dinesh Chandimal has also retained his place in the T20I squad. He hasn’t played any international white-ball cricket since 2022, but has been impressive in domestic competitions since.The core of Sri Lanka’s batting group remains unchanged, the likes of Kusal Mendis, Kamindu Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, and Asalanka himself likely to be part of the top five. In T20Is, Sri Lanka have a middle-order hitter in Bhanuka Rajapaksa. In ODIs, they have more of an accumulating batter in Janith Liyanage, who can also contribute with his seam bowling.The spin contingent also consist of the regulars, Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana, with Jeffrey Vandersay and Dunith Wellalage also making both squads.There are differences on the seam-bowling front, however. Slingers Matheesha Pathirana and Nuwan Thushara are only in the T20I squad, as is Binura Fernando. Left-armer Dilshan Madushanka and Shiraz are ODI bowlers who don’t make the T20 outfit. Asitha Fernando is in both.Four of the matches – three T20Is and one ODI – will be played in Dambulla. The other two ODIs will be in Pallekele. The series begins on November 9.T20I squad: Charith Asalanka (capt.), Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Kamindu Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Avishka Fernando, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Jeffrey Vandersay, Chamindu Wickramasinghe, Nuwan Thushara, Matheesha Pathirana, Binura Fernando, Asitha FernandoODI squad: Charith Asalanka (capt.), Avishka Fernando, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Kamindu Mendis, Janith Liyanage, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Nishan Madushka, Dunith Wellalage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Jeffrey Vandersay, Chamindu Wickramasinghe, Asitha Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka, Mohamed Shiraz

David Bedingham made his third Championship century of the season against Lancashire and also passed a thousand first-class runs for this campaign to help Durham take control of their Vitality County Championship match at Chester-le-Street.Having restricted Lancashire to 228 all out in their first innings, the home side were 367 for 4 at the close, a lead of 139, with Bedingham on 177 not out and Colin Ackermann unbeaten on 111. The pair’s unbroken stand of 268 has already set a fifth-wicket record for Durham in first-class cricket.The one positive aspect of the day’s play from a Lancastrian perspective was the bowling of the Trinidadian, Anderson Phillip, who took 2 for 86 on his debut, but it now looks as though the visitors will face a battle to avoid a third Championship defeat in succession.In the morning session, Lancashire’s last four wickets added a further 51 runs to their overnight total. Matty Hurst was run out for 90 after a mix-up with Tom Bailey and Ben Raine took his fifth wicket of the innings when he had Phillip leg before wicket for 2.Raine finished with 5 for 44, his best return of the season, but crucially for their hopes of staying in Division One, Lancashire failed to earn a batting bonus point for the third successive match.Replying to the visitors’ modest 228, Durham’s batters encountered their own problems against the new Kookaburra ball. Ben McKinney gave Phillip his first wicket for his new county when he played on for 8 and Scott Borthwick’s indeterminate waft at a ball from Bailey edged a catch to Hurst with the home skipper on 9.Bedingham and Alex Lees took Durham to lunch on 46 for 2 and the pair batted serenely for nearly an hour after the resumption, at which point the home side were rocked by two lbw decisions in eight balls.Lees fell to Phillip for 43 and then Ollie Robinson was trapped on the crease by Tom Aspinwall for four to leave Durham on 99 for 4. Bedingham and Ackermann prevented Lancashire making any more breakthroughs and Durham reached tea on 178 for four, only 50 runs in arrears.Shortly after the resumption, Bedingham reached his thousand first-class runs for the season with a single off Tom Hartley and it was noted that nearly a quarter of them had been taken off the Red Rose’s attack.But worse was to follow for Keaton Jennings’ bowlers as Bedingham reached his sixth Championship century in just 15 innings this season when he stroked Hartley to long-on for another single. The South African had reached three figures off 143 balls with 11 fours and a six and there had hardly been a moment in his innings when he hadn’t looked in complete control.Nor was there any point in the evening session when Lancashire looked like taking a wicket. For long periods, Jennings posted five men in the deep and appeared content to cut off the boundaries. The fifth-wicket stand partnership passed 200 when Bedingham pulled a lifter from Aspinwall through midwicket for four.While almost all other Championship games in the country were interrupted by rain, home supporters sat in the sun and waited to see if Ackermann would reach his century and if the Durham pair would eclipse the county’s record fifth-wicket partnership of 254 set by Ned Eckersley and Bedingham himself against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge in 2021.They were not disappointed. Three overs from the close, Ackermann got to his hundred off 165 balls and a new fifth-wicket record was set when Bedingham stroked Bailey to deep square leg off the next delivery.

The Sri Lanka pair of Wanindu Hasaranga and Nuwan Thushara will not be available to play for St Kitts & Nevis Patriots in CPL 2024. Both players had suffered injuries during the recent white-ball series at home against India.Patriots have signed Tabraiz Shamsi and Anrich Nortje as replacements for Hasaranga and Thushara.While slinger Thushara was ruled out of the entire series with a finger injury, Hasaranga played all three T20Is and the first ODI before being sidelined with a hamstring injury.Related

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Nortje is yet to make his CPL debut but Shamsi is a familiar name at the league, having played 32 games, including 27 for Patriots. Shamsi has taken 33 wickets in those matches for Patriots at an economy rate of 7.06.Nortje and Shamsi will reunite with their South Africa team-mate Tristan Stubbs at Patriots. The side had finished last in CPL 2023, with just a solitary win in ten games.

St Kitts & Nevis Patriots squad for CPL 2024

Kyle Mayers, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rilee Rossouw, Evin Lewis, Sherfane Rutherford, Sikandar Raza, Anrich Nortje, Andre Fletcher, Tristan Stubbs, Dominic Drakes, Mikyle Louis, Odean Smith, Joshua da Silva, Veerasammy Permaul, Ryan John, Ashmead Nedd, Johann Layne

Oval Invincibles 113 for 9 (Ferreira 30, Ball 3-24) beat Welsh Fire 103 for 8 (Payne 28, Zampa 3-24) by 10 runsIn a match dominated by the ball, the Oval Invincibles made it two from two, beating the Welsh Fire by 10 runs in an exciting encounter in Cardiff.Although they only posted 113 for 9, the Invincibles’ stellar bowling unit tore through the Fire, with the hosts never looking like chasing down the modest total.Leg-spinners Nathan Sowter (two for 12) and Adam Zampa (three for 24) starred for the defending champions, with the latter picking up his second Meerkat Match Hero award in as many games.Asked to bat by Welsh Fire captain Tom Abell, the Invincibles lost Dawid Malan almost immediately as he flicked David Willey to midwicket. Will Jacks and Tawanda Muyeye responded well in the powerplay, but the Welsh Fire’s talented seam arsenal stuck to their task. Jacks fell victim to Josh Little, finding the hands of Mason Crane on the long square leg boundary (25 from 15), and Jake Ball and Willey removed Sam Billings and Muyeye respectively to leave the Invincibles struggling at 58 for 4 at the halfway mark.Donovan Ferreira (30 from 23) and Sam Curran (20 from 21) provided some resistance in the face of the Fire onslaught, but the Invincibles never really got going, with wickets continuing to fall at regular intervals, and Ball ending as the pick of the bowlers taking three for 24.Defending 113 was always going to be a tough ask for the Invincibles, and it was made all the more so when Jonny Bairstow was dropped on four by Harrison Ward off the bowling of Saqib Mahmood. Fortunately for Ward, Australian Spencer Johnson cleaned him up a couple of balls later.After Curran bowled Joe Clarke with the first ball of his spell, the Invincibles spinners came to the fore. Zampa continued his good form for the Invincibles, picking up the wickets of Abell, Tom Kohler-Cadmore (22 from 33) and Willey, while Sowter removed Glenn Phillips and Luke Wells.Some lusty hitting from David Payne (28 from 15) and Crane took the game to the final few balls, but Curran held his nerve to secure the win.Meerkat Match Hero, Zampa, said: “It was important to start well. We needed some early wickets to get momentum going into the middle overs and the way that Spencer (Johnson) and Saqy (Mahmood) bowled was superb. It was really exciting to watch from mid-off.”Me and Sowts (Sowter) have to play different roles throughout and me bowling more towards the back end with the run rate going up is when I can get into my work.””There wasn’t much pace in the wicket, there was a bit of spin if you gave it some. It was hard to score on it throughout the game.”

Surrey 170 for 9 (Roy 55, Pope 48, Taylor 3-27, Payne 3-37) tied with Gloucestershire 170 for 6 (Webster 40)David Payne grabbed a breathless tie for Gloucestershire against Surrey, dismissing both Tom Curran and Sean Abbott in a brilliant final over in which he also conceded just four runs plus a scampered bye to the keeper.Surrey needed just six runs to win after Curran’s breezy 18 had followed Jason Roy’s 55 and Ollie Pope’s 48, which had spearheaded a thrilling chase under the Kia Oval floodlights, but finished on 170 for 9.But the veteran Payne was equal to the task, yorking Curran with his first ball and having Abbott caught in the deep off his third. Then came the bye, and a two driven by Jordan Clark. But, with scores level and the field in, Payne fired in another yorker that Clark could only dig out back towards the bowler. He set off for the winning single but Payne only had to move a few yards to his right to take the ball and, jubilantly, run him out at the bowler’s end.Miles Hammond’s 25-ball 33 earlier combined nicely with Cameron Bancroft’s 32 from 26 to post 67 for Gloucestershire’s first wicket and despite a mid-innings stutter, in which four wickets fell for 28 runs, they ultimately reached 170 for 6.All-rounder Beau Webster clubbed sixes off Gus Atkinson and Curran in a 31-ball 40, before holing out to the penultimate ball of the innings, after Ben Charlesworth had also provided late momentum with a quickfire 24, taking two sixes off Abbott in the 16th over.Surrey’s reply began badly, with Dan Lawrence edging Payne to slip for four in the opening over and Gloucestershire’s other left-arm paceman, Matt Taylor, striking with his first ball to have Laurie Evans caught behind for six to leave the home side 20 for 2 in the fourth over.Roy and Pope, though, rallied Surrey with a stand of 96, a county T20 record for the third wicket against Gloucestershire, but at the halfway mark Surrey were 77 for 2, only three runs ahead of their opponents at the same stage.Webster’s tight medium pace was at this stage keeping Gloucestershire in the game but Pope, on 25 and with Surrey 87 for 2, was badly dropped off Webster in the 12th over, by Josh Shaw at short third.With 81 required from eight, Payne was recalled but Pope flamboyantly scooped his first ball back for six over the keeper’s head and hit the next high and straight for four. Roy then flipped a six over long leg to reach a 37-ball fifty in an over costing 20.Marchant de Lange did bowl Roy, who hit two sixes and five fours, but Smith drove his first ball authoratively for four and an equation of 44 from the last five overs became 32 from four after Smith drove De Lange high for six and collected a fortuitous four for a gloved hook on to helmet and away to third.On 20, though, Smith mishit Matt Taylor to long on and, later in the same 17th over, Pope sliced to point. Curran took two fours from the returning Webster but Dom Sibley was leg-before to Shaw for 1 before that dramatic final over.Gloucestershire openers Hammond and Bancroft did well to take 50 from the initial six-over powerplay, especially after Spencer Johnson and Atkinson had allowed just five from the first two overs.Pacy left-armer Johnson, however, was scooped spectacularly by his fellow Australian Bancroft for a remarkable six to fine leg in his second over, and Bancroft then lofted off-spinner Lawrence straight for another six.Hammond also slammed Lawrence over mid off for six and in an eventful eighth over swung Clark for his third maximum, after Bancroft had pulled a four, before losing his off stump attempting an optimistic ramp stroke.Bancroft departed to the first ball of a 10th over costing just a single, lofting Curran to deep cover, James Bracey (9) hit Abbott to deep midwicket and Jack Taylor was needlessly run out for seven, stranded when he was sent back by Webster in the 13th over.

Steve Smith has hinted England’s pace battery could be the wrong form of attack for the Ashes, believing nibbling seamers would pose a bigger threat on Australia’s lively pitches.England have arrived for the summer with their quickest bowling line-up this century, with almost the entire cartel able to reach in excess of 145kph/90mph.Spearheaded by Mark Wood and Jofra Archer, the tourists also have Gus Atkinson, Josh Tongue, Brydon Carse as support acts alongside captain Ben Stokes.Related

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It’s a far cry from England’s usual attack in Australia, with the now-retired James Anderson and Stuart Broad long relying on swing and seam.And despite the hype around England’s quicks, Smith believes the tourists’ timing could be off and a more traditional seamer would be tougher to face on current wickets.”Those sort of nibblers can be quite tricky,” Smith, who will captain Australia in Perth, said. “So they might have got things the wrong way around, if that makes sense, in terms of the pace from previous years.”But obviously they’ve got those guys at their disposal now. They probably weren’t fit, ready or old enough a few years back.”Anderson’s Test career was brought to an end in 2024 when he was given a farewell outing against West Indies and Broad retired during the final Test of the 2023 Ashes.Chris Woakes dislocated his shoulder in the final Test against India in early August which ended his Ashes hopes and he has since retired from international cricket.Steven Smith has been in excellent from ahead of the Ashes•Getty Images

Smith joked this week that Australian wickets were now so green they “have branches hanging off them”.Asked directly if it was easier to face all-out pace than seamers on home decks, Smith indicated that was the case.”If you can do both, that’s a good skill,” Smith said. “But sometimes the slower guys are almost harder to play on those wickets where you have to make the pace.”It’s going to be different. But I think we’ve got plenty of players that play fast bowling well, and it’s going to be a good challenge.”Smith’s comments come after Mitchell Starc warned England that it would not be easy for the quicks to charge in all summer, given the harder surfaces in Australia.Smith will enter the series in form, with scores of 118, 57 and 56 not out in his three Sheffield Shield innings for New South Wales. Fresh off a six-week break in New York ahead of the summer, Smith said almost upon landing back home he would need a few hits to find his rhythm.That form is now undeniable, even if he briefly “lost his hands” while batting for NSW in their 300-run drubbing to Victoria at the SCG.”I felt awful my first 20 runs [on Wednesday],” Smith said. “Lost my hands for a little bit there and then found them back after that, so that was good.”It was more because I was changing bats, trying to figure out which one I like, to be honest. And they all felt a little bit different. I think I’ve settled on one, so it felt good.”But it was nice to just be able to spend some time in the middle, get some rhythm and feel in a good place.”

Mahmudul Hasan Joy’s career-best 169* headlined Bangladesh’s dominance on the second day of the Sylhet Test. The home side went to stumps on 338 for 1, leading Ireland by 52 runs after the visitors were bowled out for 286 on the second morning.Mahmudul’s dominant display made Ireland bowlers look increasingly clueless as the day went on. Mahmudul shared a 168-run opening stand with Shadman Islam, who made 80 off 104 balls with nine fours and a six.Mahmudul followed it up with 170 runs for the unbroken second-wicket stand with Mominul Haque. Mominul was unbeaten on 80 runs, having struck five fours and two sixes in his 124-ball stay.Related

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But it was Mahmudul’s strokeplay that particularly caught the eye. He drove with glee, and scored most of his boundaries through the offside. He also struck a few fours and four sixes down the ground, lofting the ball either over the bowler’s head or over midwicket.His opening partner Shadman also batted with the same energy, nurdling the ball around while also finding boundaries, mainly through covers and midwicket. Shadman’s only six was struck down the ground, over mid-off. Shadman’s strike rotation seemed particularly beneficial for Mahmudul, who was returning to the Test side after having been dropped.Shadman Islam and Mahmudul Hasan Joy put on a big stand•BCB

After reaching his century, Mahmudul looked more comfortable, and he went after Campher and part-timer Tector with consecutive fours and sixes. He finished the day with 14 fours and four sixes.The second day began with Ireland losing their two remaining wickets in the first 13 minutes. Ireland’s 286 was built around fifties from Paul Stirling and debutant Cade Carmichael along with forties from Curtis Campher and Lorcan Tucker.Ireland batters couldn’t quite kick on from good starts, as the Bangladesh bowlers kept their accuracy on a good batting track. Mehidy Hasan Miraz took three wickets while Hasan Murad, Hasan Mahmud, and Taijul Islam picked up two wickets each. But Bangladesh’s fielding let them down, as they dropped five catches on the first day.

India began their Asia Cup title defence by making short work of UAE’s batting, bowling the hosts out for 57 in just 13.1 overs. UAE came into this match on the back of encouraging displays against Pakistan and Afghanistan in the tri-series they recently hosted, but all that promise came to nothing against the relentless quality of India’s bowling.Related

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UAE began well enough, all things considered, scoring 41 for 2 in their powerplay with openers Alishan Sharafu and Muhammad Waseem hitting six fours and a six between them. They fell apart thereafter, losing their last eight wickets for the addition of just ten runs.Jasprit Bumrah – India’s only specialist quick – and Varun Chakravarthy took the first two wickets, but the bulk of the damage thereafter came courtesy two bowlers who had looked less than certain to play in the lead-up to this match. Kuldeep Yadav picked up 4 for 7, including three wickets in his second over, and Shivam Dube ran through the lower order to bag 3 for 4, his best T20I figures.To their credit, UAE did not let the loss of two powerplay wickets curb their intent, but on this day they kept losing wickets to low-percentage shots. Rahul Chopra took on the large outfield at the Dubai International Stadium and the protected long-on boundary and holed out off Kuldeep. Waseem followed him to the dressing room three balls later, missing a sweep against a bowler whose stock ball, straightening into the right-hander from left-arm over, is stump-to-stump by design. Kuldeep finished the over with a trademark wrong’un to bowl the left-handed Harshit Kaushik through the gate, and UAE were already five down.India used six bowlers, and five of them ended up on the wickets column, with Bumrah – who bowled three overs in the powerplay, a rarity for him – Varun and Axar Patel taking one each. Dube, playing ahead of a second frontline quick to give India batting depth until No. 8, couldn’t help but take wickets with his medium-pace, even when India gave them back. No. 10 Junaid Siddique was given out stumped when Sanju Samson caught him wandering out of his crease, a la Jonny Bairstow, but India withdrew their appeal. Next ball, Junaid swung at a slower ball and skewed it to India captain Suryakumar Yadav, the man who had made that call.