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The BCCI has raised reservations against the budget allocated to next year’s Champions Trophy to be played in England. Last month, the board wrote an e-mail to the ICC seeking clarification for the reason the ECB was being allocated a sum of money which was “three times” that allotted to the BCCI for hosting the World Twenty20 earlier this year.”There is a big difference in costs,” a senior BCCI official told ESPNcricinfo. “We have been looking at the figures [allotted for Champions Trophy] and the total tournament cost is significantly higher. At least three times higher than what we do here.”For us they audit, say ‘Reduce this, don’t do this.’ Similarly, why not do the same for everyone?”The BCCI wants to understand how the budget for the Champions Trophy, which will be played at three venues between June 1 and 18, can be higher than the 27-day World T20, which was played in seven cities across India. The BCCI in its e-mail had also pointed out that a total of 58 matches, including both men’s and women’s fixtures, were played during the World T20 as opposed to the 15 games scheduled to be played during the Champions Trophy.ESPNcricinfo understands the ICC promptly responded to the BCCI questionnaire on the Champions Trophy budget, although no details have been divulged from either parties. An ICC spokesperson said the ICC and the ECB produced a draft budget for the Champions Trophy based on the delivery of a high-quality event in that market which was then, as per the norm, circulated among member boards for comments. The budget was then represented during the ICC’s annual conference in Edinburgh for ratification. This budget is monitored by the ICC throughout the event.Despite speculation of the Champions Trophy budget being upwards of US $100 million, it is understood that the overall budget for the quadrennial ICC tournament is less than $60 million. The total operational costs calculated for the Champions Trophy is about $23 million, while the fixed costs, which include host fee, member fee, prize money, is about $20 million.The remaining costs of approximately US$17 million, which is the major difference between the World T20 and Champions Trophy budgets, is for marketing and publicity expenses, but will be covered under the Value in Kind (VIK) with no direct cost to the ICC or its members.Being an influential member of the ICC, the BCCI’s stance is not being been seen as hostile. Officials in the know have pointed out the BCCI has the right to enquire, and they have been provided with a detailed explanation by the ICC.Regardless, the Indian board believes the budget is too steep. “Even if you factor the price differential of various things between India and the UK, even then the overall costs are still much, much higher,” the senior BCCI official said.The BCCI is also unhappy with a plan by the ECB to rent an office to house the staff of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the Champions Trophy. “Then they are talking of renting an office, then buying over and then eventually handing it over to the ECB. All kind of those costs are built into that (overall budget). How can you do that?”The BCCI has been told that with the ECB hosting three major global events from 2017-19, it was necessary to have an independent office where the LOC could be housed. The LOC, headed by Steve Elworthy, the former South Africa fast bowler, has already started its work. In addition to the Champions Trophy, England will also host the Women’s World Cup in 2017 followed by the men’s World Cup in 2019.The proposed office is expected to be a pre-fabricated extension to the ECB offices to provide a more cost-effective workspace for the LOC than paying four years of commercial rent in London. The workspace could be utilised either by the ICC’s Europe staff or by the ECB post the 2019 World Cup.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo: Jon-Russ Jaggesar headlined West Indies A’s dominant bowling display with career-best List A figures of 4 for 29•WICB Media/LMA Photography

West Indies A’s bowlers combined to pick up a 165-run win in the first unofficial ODI against Sri Lanka A in Dambulla. The win was set up by their new-ball pair of Ronsford Beaton and Delorn Johnson, whose early strikes broke the back of Sri Lanka’s chase of 268. Offspinner Jon-Russ Jaggesar then accelerated Sri Lanka A’s slide with wickets of the middle and lower order; he finished with career-best figures of 4 for 29 as Sri Lanka A were bowled out for 102.After electing to bat, West Indies A compiled 267 over two days, as rain intervened to push the match into a reserve day, just 12.5 overs into the innings. The innings was built around three important contributions. Opening batsman Kyle Hope set up the platform by holding his end amid frequent strikes. He top-scored with 81. West Indies A captain Jason Mohammed and Rovman Powell provided the late thrust with half-centuries.West Indies A began the reserve day on 69 for 2. Hope resumed on 28, with Andre Fletcher, on 7, for company. The two added another 42 for the third wicket, before Fletcher fell to the left-arm spin of Milinda Siriwardana. Hope added 63 with Mohammed for the fourth wicket before being bowled by Amila Aponso, the left-arm spinner. By that time, he had got to his second half-century and his List A career-best score. Powell then joined Mohammed and slammed 55 off just 35 balls, hitting three fours and as many sixes. Both Mohammed and Powell fell in the last over, but their efforts had helped West Indies A slap 93 in the last 10 overs.Beaton and Johnson took the first four wickets within seven overs of the chase to leave Sri Lanka A reeling at 26 for 4. Jaggesar entered the wickets column when he broke a 23-run fifth-wicket stand – the highest Sri Lanka A could put together – by dismissing Minod Bhanuka. He added the scalps of Chartih Aslanka and Dasun Shanaka to his name as the slide continued. Shehan Jayasuriya top-scored with 24 at No. 8, but that was of little significance to the result.Beaton finished with 3 for 26 in 6.3 overs – his best in List A – and Johnson finished with 2 for 19 in four overs. The second match takes place in Kurunegala on Thursday, before the series concludes with the third and final game on Sunday in Colombo.

Khawar Ali produced a brilliant all-round performance, top-scoring with 74 in Oman’s total of 189 before taking 5 for 37 to help his side beat Denmark by 43 runs in a de facto semi-final at Severn Cricket Field. The win helped Oman finish at the top of the WCL Division Four round-robin points table and secure promotion to WCL Division Three while the loss kept Denmark out of the top two, finishing third behind USA due to the net run rate tiebreaker despite being level on points.Denmark were on top early after sending Oman in to bat, reducing them to 62 for 5 as medium pacer Basit Raja ripped through Khawar’s batting partners at the top of the order, taking three wickets in his opening spell. Khawar stuck out the early danger period though and found a willing ally in captain Ajay Lalcheta. The pair put on 97 for the sixth wicket to keep Oman afloat. Lalcheta eventually finished with 62 as the pair accounted for 72 percent of Oman’s runs.Just as he did against USA, Aftab Ahmed had a major impact with a late spell, taking three of his four wickets from the 37th over on beginning with Khawar. Aftab claimed the key scalp of Amir Ali next to work into Oman’s tail and finished off his spell claiming Lalcheta as the ninth wicket before Raja came back to wrap up the innings in 46.4 overs by removing Munis Ansari.Aftab got Denmark’s chase off to a dashing start, striking three fours and two sixes in his 27 off 14 balls picking out opening swing bowler Rajeshkumar Ranpura for special punishment. When he fell to Lalcheta’s spin in the fourth over Denmark had reached 37 in just 21 balls.Saif Ahmad continued the assault on Ranpura, who conceded 51 in four overs opening the bowling, as he made 31 off 21 balls including six fours and by the second ball of the ninth over Denmark reached 68 for 1. Amir, who had replaced Ranpura to start the ninth, swung momentum Oman’s way with a double-strike, bowling Saif and then claiming Freddie Klokker edged behind first ball.With the exception of the final over, Lalcheta then used spin exclusively throughout the rest of the match to near perfection. Denmark reached 91 for 3 in 18 overs when drinks were taken and on resumption, Khawar was brought on to bowl his part-time legspin. The move proved to be a masterstroke as Khawar struck with his first two balls, trapping Zameer Khan for 8 before Yasir Iqbal was caught behind.The wickets brought Amjad Khan to the crease and Denmark’s stand-in captain played a valiant knock, eventually finishing unbeaten on 32. But he could not find a partner to see him through as Khawar continued to whittle away at the other end. Hamid Shah fell in the 23rd for 19 before Anders Bulow was bowled for 10.Zeeshan Maqsood bowled a miserly spell of left-arm spin opposite Khawar, conceding just 14 runs in his first nine overs while bowling four maidens. He was finally rewarded off the first ball of his final over in the 32nd, winning a leg before appeal to dismiss Raja for 7 to make it 137 for 8. Khawar then struck off the last ball of the 33rd to complete his five-for, having Omar Hayat caught by Maqsood. Strike bowler Munis Ansari, who usually opens with the new ball, was then brought on for his first over of the day in the 34th and bowled Bashir Shah to end the match as Denmark ended all out for 146 in 34 overs.Khawar Ali’s 5 for 37 helped Oman to a tense win over Denmark, securing promotion to Division Three•ICC/Ian Jacobs

Jersey defeated USA by one run at Wong Cricket Field, though the Americans gained promotion ahead of Denmark thanks to a superior net run rate while Jersey was relegated to Division Five in spite of the win. Jersey elected to bat first and raced away behind Nat Watkins, who recorded a half-century in 33 balls, to reach 94 for 0 in 17 overs.Ambidextrous spinner Prashanth Nair, brought into the USA lineup for his first match of the tournament, struck with his very first ball in the 18th as Jersey captain Peter Gough pulled a half-tracker straight to Steven Taylor at short midwicket. It was the first of three wickets in consecutive overs for Nair as he followed Gough’s dismissal with a sharp return catch to remove Luke Gallichan in the 20th before he teased Watkins into a false drive to cover, falling for 69 to make it 109 for 3.Jersey slipped further to 124 for 4 before Jonty Jenner and Anthony Hawkins-Kay rebuilt their innings with an 82-run stand as Jersey appeared on their way to a 300-plus score at 205 for 4 in 38 overs with Jenner well set on 57. However, Jenner fell in controversial circumstances off the first legal ball of the 38th when he pulled a full toss off Timroy Allen to mid-on for a simple catch by Abdullah Syed. The ball appeared to be over waist height, but square leg umpire Kathy Cross deemed it a legal delivery giving USA a much-needed break. Jersey struggled to recover thereafter, only hitting one boundary across the next ten overs before being bowled out in the 49th over for 249.USA had chased a target of 250 or higher only three times in history, but of higher priority was staying above Denmark on net run rate. USA made a cautious start to their chase and eventually slipped to 60 for 3 after Watkins spun out the top order to claim 3 for 35. Akeem Dodson and Alex Amsterdam continued the go slow approach as word filtered to the USA camp of Denmark’s loss, altering USA’s required target for promotion to 131. It was finally achieved in the 36th over and USA made it to the last drinks break at 136 for 3 in 37.With promotion secured, USA accelerated to go for the outright win. Dodson was caught on the boundary for 16 but Amsterdam carried on to bring up his maiden century off 95 balls and put on a rapid 52-run stand with Allen. Amsterdam fell on the final ball of the 46th, leaving USA to get 50 off the last four overs. They took 17 in the 47th and another 19 off the 49th as Elmore Hutchinson hit two straight sixes off Rhys Palmer through the wind to take the equation from 18 off eight to six off the final six balls.Charles Perchard bowled a brilliant final over, though USA opted for wild slogs instead of calmly pinching singles with five men still on the boundary, and four runs were left to get off the last ball. Hutchinson scuffed a drive into the ground to long-off for two, securing the win for Jersey. Perchard ended with 3 for 56, with all three wickets coming in the 48th and 50th overs.Italy scored a consolation win over Bermuda by 25 runs at Wright Cricket Field, though the margin of defeat was small enough to allow Bermuda to stay in Division Four above Jersey on the net run rate tiebreaker. Italy made 228 for 8 after being sent in with all of their top eight crossing double-figures but none reaching 50 as opener Manpreet Singh top-scored with 45. Italy were 153 for 6 in 41 overs before Joy Perera and Fida Hussain added 60 for the seventh wicket in the next seven overs to get Italy to a defendable total.Bermuda needed to chase the target in 14.4 overs to pass USA on net run rate. Openers Dean Minors and Kamau Leverock attacked briefly at the start of the chase but both fell to Carl Sandri’s offspin to make it 35 for 2 in seven overs and from there Bermuda batted to ensure they stayed above Jersey on net run rate, regardless of the match result.The net runs margin between a Jersey win and a Bermuda loss could be no more than 149 runs. Once Bermuda passed 79, they were safe from relegation assuming a Jersey one-run win. Bermuda eventually finished on 203 for 9 as Tre Manders top-scored with 37 while medium pacer Charanjeet Singh took 4 for 24.

Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann has said Glenn Maxwell was never in contention for the Adelaide Test against South Africa because he had not made enough big scores in recent seasons. On Thursday, Maxwell expressed his disappointment that he had been overlooked for the Adelaide Test, and also that he had been stuck batting behind wicketkeeper and captain Matthew Wade in Victoria’s Sheffield Shield side this year.His comments have drawn the ire of Victoria team-mate Rob Quiney, who said Maxwell had displayed “not the greatest attitude” and needed to “lip it and just make some runs”. And Lehmann, who has the task of coaching Maxwell and Wade during the upcoming ODI series against New Zealand, said Maxwell needed more runs in order to push for Test selection.”No. Because he hasn’t made 100 for the last two years. You need to make 100,” Lehmann said in Sydney on Friday when asked if Maxwell had been close to a call-up in Adelaide. “Are you going to pick a bloke that hasn’t made 100 for two years?”It is true that Maxwell has not made a Sheffield Shield century since February 2014, when he struck two in succession, although his limited-overs commitments for Australia mean he has played in only nine completed Shield games since then. He also posted a first-class 140 for Yorkshire in the County Championship in August last year.Lehmann said that while it was disappointing that Maxwell had chosen a public forum for his comments on batting below Wade, he was confident the Australian camp could put the problem behind them.”We’re obviously disappointed but we’ll work through those issues,” Lehmann said. “We’re confident they can work together.”Meanwhile Quiney, who has not played a Sheffield Shield match this summer, pulled no punches when asked about Maxwell’s comments on Wade and the batting order.”I think he needs to lip it and just make some runs,” Quiney said on radio on Friday. “Victoria are flying at the moment, but he’s not setting the world on fire himself. He’s actually only batted at six twice so I don’t know where this has come from. It’s good that he’s honest, unfortunately it’s probably not the greatest attitude to have, I reckon.”Former Victoria captain Darren Berry also slammed Maxwell’s decision to make such comments in public, telling radio: “That’s ‘me, me, me’ stuff isn’t it? It’s a team sport and he’s batting at six. Cameron White’s batting behind him at seven. Cameron White didn’t come out and criticise Matthew Wade […] you just don’t do it.”It has been a fraught year for Maxwell, who has not been part of Australia’s ODI XI since June in the West Indies, despite being named the team’s ODI Cricketer of the Year in January. He also asked for a transfer to New South Wales during the off-season but was blocked by Victoria, who then left him out of their XI for the first Shield match of the summer.

Victoria could be set to lose their captain for next summer, with Matthew Wade likely to return home to Tasmania after a decade in Melbourne.Wade was born and raised in Tasmania and played a single match for the state at the age of 19, back in February 2007, before moving to Victoria later that year to further his chances of playing state cricket. At the time, Wade viewed himself as third in line for Tasmania’s wicketkeeping duties, behind Sean Clingeleffer and Tim Paine.His career with Victoria led to selection for Australia in all three formats, and he is currently the incumbent Test and ODI wicketkeeper. Wade has also captained Victoria to two Sheffield Shield titles in the past two years, having previously played in two other triumphant Shield finals for the Bushrangers under Cameron White’s leadership.Tasmania have struggled to settle on a wicketkeeper in recent times with Paine having been used in the Matador Cup this summer and both Jake Doran and Tom Triffitt taking the gloves in the Sheffield Shield over the past year. Although Wade could miss large chunks of the domestic season if he remains Australia’s preferred wicketkeeper, he is keen to move to Tasmania having become a father last year.”Having Winter [my daughter] for 11 months now and being on the road almost full time has probably fast-tracked when I thought I was potentially going to be moving down,” Wade told Hobart’s newspaper. “I’ve had some contact with Tassie and hopefully we can a deal done. It is purely family-based for sure.”To be honest, everyone I’ve spoken to has been really good. They’ve understood the situation, they understand how much I’m away and the opportunity to get home and have family to give us a bit of a help out is obviously really attractive for us.”It gives me a good opportunity to come into a different environment and a different team. Where I’m at in my career, it will be a good thing. It will freshen me up as well and make me get the best out of myself and obviously I’d love to see the Tassie Tigers improve and get better year by year.”Andrew Dykes, the general manager of cricket with Cricket Tasmania, said: “Matt is very keen to relocate back to Tasmania for family reasons, so we will continue ongoing discussions with him in the coming months.”Due to the ongoing Australian Cricket Association and CA memorandum of understanding negotiations, we are unable to progress any further with state contract negotiations. Cricket Victoria and Cricket Australia are aware of the discussions.”

The attorney general of India, Mukul Rohatgi, has asked the Supreme Court to revoke two specific recommendations made by the Lodha Committee in its report that was approved in the court’s order on July 18 last year.Rohatgi was representing three government-run organisations – Railways, Services and the All India Universities – whose full member status in the BCCI was to be downgraded to associate level according to the Lodha Committee recommendations. The most significant consequence of the recommendation was that all three members would lose voting rights at BCCI elections.The attorney general confirmed this was the first time the Indian government was intervening in the 2013 IPL corruption case, which began in August 2013. Rohatgi also said he had met former BCCI president Anurag Thakur, who had been removed from office by a Supreme Court order on January 2, earlier this week but said they were meeting as friends and did not discuss the BCCI-Lodha case.”They were full members with voting rights. That status has been downgraded to associate members without voting rights,” Rohatgi told ESPNcricinfo. “How could the Supreme Court downgrade our full membership in BCCI without issuing notice to us first?”Rohatgi told the court the three organisations had been big contributors to Indian cricket – employing many players – and so the court should reconsider its decision. “What right does the apex court have to downgrade them as BCCI (full) members?” he asked the three-judge bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra, AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud.Rohatgi also challenged the Lodha Committee recommendation that said no serving minister or civil servant could be an office-bearer of the BCCI or state association. “”Why can’t the Railway minister become an office-bearer?” Rohatgi asked.”I am asking for a recall of your orders. Lodha Committee was appointed by this court to punish those found guilty in the IPL match-fixing,” Rohatgi said according to the . “Then you told them to reform cricket … when has the court become a reformist body?”Justice Misra, while acknowledging Rohatgi’s concerns, said the court would consider the attorney general’s requests. “We are not shying away from the legal issues. They are interesting,” Justice Misra said. “We will have a debate.”The intervention of the attorney general took place at a time when the bench of judges hearing the case has changed in composition and is vastly different from the bench that had heard the case for over a year. The previous bench, led by the former Chief Justice of India TS Thakur, had ordered the formation of the Lodha committee to recommend reforms within the BCCI and then ordered the implementation of the reforms. The current bench is made up of Justice Dipak Mishra, who is in line to become the next Chief Justice of India at the end of August, DY Chandrachud and AM Khanwilkar, who began hearing the case from October 2016.The Lodha Committee was formed in January 2015 to determine appropriate punishments for some of the officials involved in the 2013 IPL corruption scandal, and also to propose changes to streamline the BCCI, reform its functioning, prevent sporting fraud and conflict of interest.In January 2016, the committee released its report, which recommended an exhaustive overhaul of the BCCI’s governance and administrative structures. On July 18, the Supreme Court of India approved the majority of the recommendations and directed the Lodha Committee to supervise the BCCI’s implementations of the same. However, despite the Lodha Committee laying out timelines and other directives, the board did not cooperate because it said that its state associations objected to the recommendations. This impasse eventually led to the Supreme Court removing Thakur and Shirke from office on January 2, 2017.

Mohammad Irfan, Zulfiqar Babar and Shahzaib Hasan have been questioned by the PCB’s anti-corruption unit as part of the ongoing investigation into alleged attempts to corrupt the Pakistan Super League. Unlike Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif, however, these players have not been provisionally suspended and are free to continue playing the tournament.PSL chairman Najam Sethi revealed the three new names on his Twitter handle, while stressing the league would continue to remain vigilant against the “menace of corruption”.In his tweet about Irfan, Sethi said: “Inquiry will continue. He does not face any immediate suspension.” About Zulfiqar and Shahzaib, Sethi said: “They will continue to play.”Sethi later tried to draw a line under the issue, adding on Twitter: “No more player suspensions are envisaged during PSL PROVIDED there is no NEW cause for action. Failure to promptly report any attempt to corrupt and subvert PSL will be cause for action.”Like Sharjeel and Latif, fast bowler Irfan, 34, also plays for the defending champions Islamabad United in the PSL, while left-arm spinner Zulfiqar, 38, represents Quetta Gladiators and Shahzaib, 27, plays for Karachi Kings.Shahzaib’s questioning, according to his team Karachi Kings, was the result of his reporting an approach to the PCB.Sethi had informed Karachi Kings and Peshawar Zalmi of the developments concerning Sharjeel and Latif before their game on Friday. At that point the Kings owner, Salman Iqbal, sought permission from the organisers to address his team.”I took permission from PCB to allow me to brief my players and I reminded them to be aware about these things,” Iqbal told ESPNcricinfo. “I insisted to all my players to report anything you feel odd around you or if anyone approaches you for wrongdoing. Then later I came to know that Shahzaib had reported an approach to the PCB and he was investigated about everything he knows. He has been cleared and will play the tournament.”It is understood that after Zulfiqar’s name came up in speculation surrounding the developments, Quetta Gladiators volunteered him for questioning in a bid to clear his name.Irfan, Zulfiqar and Shahzaib are all experienced domestic cricketers and have represented Pakistan. Irfan has played four Tests, 60 ODIs and 20 T20Is for his country, Zulfiqar 15 Tests, five ODIs and seven T20Is, while Shahzaib has played three ODIs and ten T20Is.The news of alleged attempts to corrupt the PSL broke on Friday, when the PCB announced that it had provisionally suspended Sharjeel and Latif and asked them to return home.

Andrew Birch conceded only four runs to clinch a final-over finish for Warriors against Knights at St. George’s Park, where JJ Smuts scored his second consecutive century in the tournament.Needing 11 off the last over while chasing 285, with Aubrey Swanepoel on strike on 73, Birch denied Knights any run off his first delivery. Three singles off the next three balls brought the equation down to eight off two. Seeing a fullish fourth delivery from Birch, No. 9 Merchant de Lange holed out to long-on, effectively securing the win for Warriors, as Swanepoel only managed to squeeze a single off the last ball, with Knights ending on 278 or 8.Birch, who finished with 3 for 45, had earlier accounted for opener Rudi Second in the second over of the Knights innings, and bowled David Miller for 18 in the tenth, reducing the opposition to 48 for 4. Captain Pite van Biljon then resuscitated the innings with a 104-ball 84 and two consecutive 80-run partnerships with Luthando Mnyanda (43) and Swanepoel (76) for the fifth and sixth wickets respectively, to guide his side past 200 in 39 overs.Earlier, having elected to bat, Warriors captain Smuts bludgeoned eight fours and five sixes on his way to a 144-ball 132, his sixth List A hundred, and strung a third-wicket stand of 151 with Colin Ackermann, who scored 86 off 96 balls, to take his side to 214 for 2 in 43 overs. Smuts, the second-highest run-scorer in the tournament with a tally of 453 in seven innings, added 52 off only 28 balls with Lesiba Ngoepe (12) for the fourth wicket, before both fell off consecutive deliveries in the 48th over to left-arm fast bowler Mbulelo Budaza, who returned 4 for 69, the best figures for Knights on the day. Three quick wickets in the last two overs meant Warriors could squeeze in only another 18 runs, finishing on 284 for 8.File photo – Aiden Markram smashed a 138-ball 183, his highest List A score•Getty/ICC

Centuries from Titans openers Aiden Markram and Henry Davids handed Lions a 169-run thrashing as records tumbled in Johannesburg. Titans had amassed 415 for 3, their highest one-day score, on the back of Markram’s 183, the highest in South African one-day matches, supported by Davids’ 128 before Lions were bowled out for 246 for the visitors’ bonus-point win. Titans are now placed third behind Dolhpins and Warriors while Lions are second from bottom with five losses from eight games.Titans cashed in on their decision to bat as Markram and Davids hammered 222 for the opening stand, studded with 21 fours and seven sixes. They brought up the century stand in the 20th over before hitting the pedal to push the run rate. While Davids brought up his hundred off 94 balls, Markram took 99 balls for his third List A century. Once Davids fell for 128 off 108 in the 34th over, Markram and Heino Kuhn (34 off 23 balls) charged them past 300 by smashing 21 runs in the 41st over off Carmi le Roux. Markram raced past 150 in the next over and soon surpassed Reeza Hendricks’ record of 181 for the highest one-day score in South Africa domestic matches. Titans were 387 for 3 when Markram was caught for 183 off 138 balls, that featured 18 fours and five sixes, and Farhaan Behardien’s half-century that was scored at a strike rate of 200 – 62 off 31 – took Titans over the 400 mark for the second time this season.Beuran Hendricks (10-071-1) and Nono Pongolo (3-0-23-0) were the only two Lions bowlers to concede at less than eight runs per over.In reply, Lions could not recover when they lost the openers in the first seven balls, leaving them on 4 for 2. Wicketkeeper-batsman Mangaliso Mosehle scored a rapid fifty – 74 off 44 balls – but he fell at the team score of 112 in the 16th over, becoming Tabraiz Shamsi’s second victim. Markram chipped in with a wicket too before Shamsi took three more to finish with 5 for 74, his maiden List A five-for. Even though the hosts score at close to eight per over through the chase, they were dismissed in 33.5 overs.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:12

Hogg: RCB batting too reliant on big names

Utterly wasteful batting left Royal Challengers Bangalore closer to the brink than ever before in IPL 2017. They needed 158 to win the first of five games Virat Kohli said they had to win to make the play-offs. They did not need a scoreline that read 53 for 5 in the 10th over. But that is what they got. That, and a chastening, morale-killing 61-run defeat.Rising Pune Supergiant were not complaining. They finally got to defend a total at home and safeguard their position at fourth place on the points table.So what now for RCB? They can, mathematically, still make the final four, but can a team that fell to 49 all out, a team that will lose AB de Villiers in the coming weeks, a team that tops the charts in run-outs (7), single-digit scores (40) and scoring slowly in the Powerplay (6.64) stop the rot in time?The hitter
Rahul Tripathi has shouldered considerable responsibility in his first IPL season. He is expected to take advantage of fielding restrictions in the Powerplay, which by itself is not an unreasonable demand. But the 26-year old has also had to make up for his partner’s struggles. Ajinkya Rahane’s strike-rate of 123 is the lowest among openers with 100 or more runs in this IPL and today he fell early as well, sweeping a full toss to short fine leg.RCB might have thought that gave them the advantage. After all, Tripathi did not even play the 2017 domestic T20 tournament. But on a grander stage, against tougher bowlers, he has now smashed six straight 30-plus scores – an unmatched tally – and specifically in the first six overs, he has 198 runs – another unmatched tally – hitting a boundary every 3.71 balls.A see-saw innings
Pune collected 43 runs in the Powerplay, but only 26 in the next five overs, hitting only one four. This was because they had to deal with a dry pitch and a set of RCB players swearing by their slower balls. Another thing that worked for Kohli was his use of Pawan Negi. The left-arm spinner has bowled 120 balls this season – 103 of them have been to right-handers. They have also contributed to seven of his eight wickets, Tripathi the latest to succumb for 37 off 28 balls. Negi finished with 1 for 18, equalling his most economical spell of four overs in IPL history.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The splutter
It seems par for the course for Pune to potter along between the seventh and 14th overs: since they came into being in 2016, their run-rate of 7.55 in this phase has been the slowest among all teams. Only this year, it might actually be their plan, considering Manoj Tiwary’s form, MS Dhoni’s reputation, and the Ben Stokes investment. Against RCB, they had the first two on call but not the third. So Steven Smith smacked Samuel Badree for 6, 4, 4 in the 12th over and Pune had suddenly found 29 runs in two overs.RCB did well to pull things back, taking pace off the ball against Tiwary, and tucking Dhoni up by bowling into his body. In the slog overs, when batsmen are solely thinking boundaries, those were sound plans. The last of the sound plans.RCBusted
It began with de Villiers crunching a backfoot drive straight to short cover’s hands. Score, 32 for 2. Then Kedar Jadhav was run-out, as he and Kohli looked for an overthrow when the ball was a few little feet away from the bowler. Score, 44 for 3. Sachin Baby chipped a catch to short midwicket. Score, 47 for 4. Stuart Binny top-edged a hook and was caught at long leg. Score, 48 for 5. Trent Woodhill, the batting coach, was sitting in the dugout, watching in pure horror.Lockie Ferguson, who conceded 44 runs in his only other IPL game, came away with 4-1-7-2 today, including 18 dots, the highest for the season. Now that suggests he was terrifying, but he wasn’t. Then did Smith funk it up with his fields? No. The pitch wasn’t playing tricks either. There was no evidence to suggest every RCB batsman barring Kohli would only manage single-digits.

After hosting its first game in Pakistan this year, the Pakistan Super League is setting itself much higher targets next season. Najam Sethi, the PSL chairman, revealed plans to host as many as eight matches in Pakistan during its third season next year, with four each to be held in Lahore and Karachi. Sethi also reiterated his commitment to bringing international cricket back to Pakistan.”This time around we are going to hold eight matches in Pakistan,” Sethi told Express Tribune. “Two double-headers will take place in Karachi and two double-headers will take place in Lahore.”Sethi had made the hosting of the PSL final earlier this year in Lahore his central goal this season. The uncertainty over whether that would materialise carried through right to the end. Eventually, the final was held at the Gaddafi stadium amid presidential-style security, and went off without incident. Even so, the entire foreign contingent of one of the finalists – Quetta Gladiators – opted against going to Pakistan, and had to be replaced last minute by players who had originally not been part of the competition.Sethi said that will not happen this time. “All players featuring in the third edition of the PSL will be obliged to play in Pakistan,” he said. “It will be part of their contract that they will be playing here.”Foreign players will receive 50% more than their usual fee for playing in Pakistan as an added incentive, or a 100% increase if they are icon players. “So if a player was getting let’s say $10,000 for that match, then he will be getting $15,000. It is just a way to sweeten the deal for them.” However, he said that Pakistan players were not in line for the same pay increases owing to budget constraints.Security concerns have meant that the final was the only PSL game – in its two-season history – to be held in Pakistan, with the rest of the matches played in the UAE, where Pakistan plays their “home” international fixtures. The country has not played host to any international cricket against Full Members since the Sri Lankan team bus was attacked by terrorists in 2009, with the exception of one tour by Zimbabwe, who played two T20s and three ODIs under a stringent security blanket.Sethi also said that arrangements to induct a sixth franchise were also on track, and as many as 30 national and international parties had expressed an interest in buying the sixth franchise.