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Abhishek Sharma’s 12-ball half-century is the joint-third-fastest in all men’s T20 cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Nov-2025Abhishek Sharma has smashed a 12-ball half-century, playing for Punjab against Bengal in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match in Hyderabad on Sunday. It is the joint-third-fastest fifty and joint-second-fastest by an Indian in men’s T20 cricket.Opening the batting with Prabhsimran Singh, Abhishek took apart a bowling attack headlined by Mohammed Shami and Akash Deep, scoring at well over 15 runs an over against both of them as well as Saksham Choudhary and Writtick Chatterjee. Abhishek hit five fours and five sixes to get to his fifty, conceding just one dot ball in the 12 balls he had faced to get to the landmark.Though he never really threatened to run the record for the fastest century in men’s T20s close – Chauhan’s, in 27 balls – Abhishek did get to the mark in 32 balls before finishing on 148 in 52, with eight fours and 16 sixes. Abhishek, however, already has the record for the joint-second-fastest T20 century, off 28 balls, the same as Urvil Patel, who scored it for Gujarat against Tripura, also in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, last season.Punjab finished with 310 for 5 in their 20 overs, Prabhsimran smashing 70 in 35 balls, but his innings put in the shade by his partner. Punjab’s total was the second highest in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, behind Baroda’s 349 for 5 against Sikkim in Indore in December 2024. They went on to win the game by 112 runs.The fastest fifty in men’s T20s was scored by Nepal’s Dipendra Singh Airee, against Mongolia during the Hangzhou Asian Games in September 2023. India’s Ashutosh Sharma is at No. 2 on the list for his 11-ball fifty for Railways against Arunachal Pradesh in the 2023-24 edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.Abhishek is now the fifth batter to record a 12-ball fifty in the format. Yuvraj Singh was the first, with his innings at the 2007 T20 World Cup against England, which included six sixes in an over against Stuart Broad. Chris Gayle achieved it in the BBL, for Melbourne Renegades against Adelaide Strikers in January 2016. In October 2018 then, Afghaniostan’s Hazratullah Zazai matched it playing for Kabul Zwanan against Balkh Legends, featuring Gayle, in an Afghanistan Premier League game in Sharjah.The last instance was when Estonia’s Sahil Chauhan got there against Cyprus in an international match in Episkopi on his way to an unbeaten 41-ball 144.

Only once has a Women’s World Cup game seen more runs than the 661 that India and Australia put up on Sunday

Deep Gadhia12-Oct-20253:54

Review: Healy was Australia’s bedrock

331 – The target Australia chased down against India in the Women’s World Cup 2025 on Sunday. This is the highest successful chase in women’s ODI history, going past Sri Lanka’s chase of 302 against South Africa at Potchefstroom in 2024.142 – Alyssa Healy’s score, which is the third-highest by a captain in the World Cup after Belinda Clark’s 227* in 1997 and Meg Lanning’s 152* in 2017. This was Healy’s first century leading Australia in ODIs.Healy’s 142 is also the second-highest score against India in ODIs, and the highest in World Cups.Related

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661 – Runs aggregated by both teams in Visakhapatnam, the second-highest for a World Cup game, bettered only by the 678 that England and South Africa made in Bristol 2017.82 for 0 – Australia’s score in the first powerplay, the highest they have scored in the first 10 overs of an ODI (where ball-by-ball data is available). It is also the second-highest in World Cups after New Zealand hit 84 for 1 against Pakistan in Taunton in 2017.ESPNcricinfo Ltd330 – India’s score in the first innings, which is their highest in the World Cup, going past 318 for 7 against West Indies in Hamilton in 2022.It was also the first instance of a team scoring over 300 against Australia in World Cups. There have only been two scores of 300 or more against the defending champions, with India scoring both of them in consecutive ODIs, in Delhi last month and in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.5022 – Smriti Mandhana’s ODI run tally. She became the second Indian, after Mithali Raj, and the fifth batter overall to breach the 5000-run mark in ODIs. She completed the milestone in 112 innings, making her the fastest of the five. West Indies’ Stafanie Taylor (129 innings) was the previous fastest.1062 – Mandhana’s ODI run tally in 2025. She became the first batter to score 1000-plus runs in ODIs in a calendar year. Mandhana had gone past Belinda Clark’s mark of 970 runs in 1997 in the previous match against South Africa and was 18 away from the milestone when she started bating against Australia. She made 80 off 66 on Sunday.ESPNcricinfo Ltd5 – consecutive fifty-plus scores for Mandhana against Australia in ODI cricket. She has aggregated 485 runs in these last five innings, including three hundreds and two fifties. Mandhana also has five fifty-plus scores against West Indies between 2017-2024, making her the only batter to do this against multiple opponents.155 – Runs that Mandhana and Pratika Rawal put on together, making it the highest opening partnership against Australia in ODIs. This was the fourth century stand for the first wicket for India in World Cups, the first since Mandhana and Punam Raut’s 144-run stand against England in the 2017 edition.5 for 40 – Birthday girl Annabel Sutherland’s figures. She registered her maiden five-wicket haul in international cricket on the day she turned 24. She also became the first woman to pick up a five-for on her birthday.

George Springer's dramatic three-run home run in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series on Monday night will never be forgotten by Blue Jays fans, and rightfully so. It proved to be the difference in the game and pushed Toronto into the World Series for the first time since 1993.

The Blue Jays were trailing 3-1 in the bottom of the seventh when Springer came up to the plate with two runners on base. Tensions were off the charts at Rogers Centre, with the sold-out crowd knowing that they could be witnessing a pivotal moment in the team's season with one of their most clutch hitters at the plate.

Springer didn't disappoint as he crushed a 1-0 pitch well over the wall in left field that sent the place into hysterics.

This view of the dramatic home run with just the sound in the stadium is too good:

Here are some more awesome looks at Springer's home run

This is another great crowd-only angle of the blast:

Here is Springer's complete at-bat with just the crowd noise.

This view from right field is cinema, too:

Here's what it looked like on the Fox broadcast:

What's next for the Blue Jays

Springer's home run proved to be the difference in Toronto's 4-3 win. Now the Blue Jays will face a powerful Dodgers team in what should be a very fun World Series. Game 1 is Friday night in Toronto, which will give Blue Jays fans a few days to recover from what was an emotional Game 7 on Monday night.

The Blue Jays' last trip to the World Series ended in dramatic fashion with Joe Carter hitting a walk-off home run in Game 6 to beat the Phillies. That was their second straight title as they beat the Braves, 4-2, in 1992.

Get your popcorn ready, because it feels like this World Series should be a lot of fun.

Australia thumped 13 sixes to two against South Africa despite slumping to 75 for 6 after batting first for the first time in their new power-based era

Alex Malcolm11-Aug-2025

Tim David launched eight sixes in his 83•AFP

. It hasn’t been an edict that has been formally declared either internally or publicly by Australia’s T20I team, but the actions of their batters are speaking loudly at the moment. No matter the scenario, no matter the number in the wickets column, Australia’s batters are trying to hit their way to victory with spectacular results so far.On Sunday in Darwin, Australia’s foot-to-the-floor method was put to its sternest test to date, having not batted first in any of the games in the Caribbean.Mitchell Marsh, with a moon shot that might as well have been a bat signal, launched the first ball of the match for six over mid-off to set the agenda for the night.When they lost two wickets in three balls across the second and third overs, Marsh kept going. When Marsh fell to leave Australia 30 for 3 after 3.1 overs, Cameron Green and Tim David showed no sign of slowing. David skipped down the track to his second ball from Kagiso Rabada and lofted him straight for six. Green smashed four fours and three sixes in a 13-ball 35. When he skied one, Australia were 70 for 4 after 5.5 overs.Related

• Not retired, or dropped: Stoinis has unfinished T20 business for Australia

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• More than a finisher: David soars to new heights

Mitch Owen tried to launch his fourth ball out of Darwin. Glenn Maxwell tried to do the same with his fifth. Australia were 75 for 6 in the eighth over and in danger of being bowled out for under 100.David got a little more selective as the lone specialist batter left standing when he was joined by Ben Dwarshuis. But with Dwarshuis good enough to feed him the strike with minimal risk, David was able pick his match-ups and club eight sixes in total to score 83 from 52 and help Australia post a match-winning total of 178.”It’s obviously not the team plan to be four down within six overs, but that happens at times,” David said post-game. “We’ve got what we believe is a great calibre of batters in our batting order, and we back each guy to make the right decisions.”We’ve been playing together as a group now for a while, so there’s not a great deal of instruction from the coaches. They trust the players. We trust ourselves to go out there and we understand the game situation and we make decisions on the fly, because that’s the nature of T20 cricket.”I think if you’d watched our guys bat over the last period, wherever they bat around the world and when they play for the Australian team, it’s close to all guns blazing. So, yeah, you can probably expect to see that a little bit from our team. That’s how we think we play best.”Start as you mean to go on: Mitchell Marsh hit the first ball of the match for six•Getty ImagesThe sight of David turning down singles with plenty of balls left in the innings, and a capable batter at the other end just as he had done in the Caribbean, might have looked odd at the time. But there is a clear method to it. David believes that even two sixes, three dots and a single off the last ball in an over where he faces all six deliveries is a better use of his talent and a better mathematical outcome than five singles and one six in the over.Australia struck 13 sixes in total to South Africa’s two on Sunday. And while South Africa faced 13 fewer dot balls during their chase – 46 to Australia’s 59 – the net outcome was a 17-run win to the home side. In the Caribbean, they hit 64 sixes to West Indies’ 53 across the series to win 5-0. They hit more sixes in three of the five games, were level in one and one short in another, but also never faced the full allotment of overs compared to West Indies given they chased in every game.This is not a new method of playing T20 cricket. Australia aren’t proclaiming to have reinvented the wheel. But it is a different method for a team that has been traditionally quite conservative in the shortest form and it’s led them to nine-straight T20I wins, a record for Australia in the format.They took lessons from the most recent T20 World Cup in the Caribbean, where the batting fell well short of the mark. The retirement of David Warner, who had become a T20 anchor in his latter years, and the non-selection of Steven Smith have led to a clear shift in method. There was once a desire to have a left-hander, like the retired Matthew Wade, permanently positioned in the middle-order for fear of being exposed by a legspinner or a left-arm orthodox, and that conservative thinking has also been shelved.Cameron Green has shown his power in the middle order•Randy Brooks/AFP via Getty ImagesPacking the middle order with long levers and brute power to the point where Maxwell was listed at No. 7 on Sunday has been eye-opening. Green’s intent at No. 4 has been jaw-dropping. David has made his two highest T20I scores for Australia in his last three matches since moving to No. 5, including a 37-ball century and facing the most balls he ever has in a T20 game against South Africa. Owen has applied his successful powerplay hitting from the BBL into a new role at No. 6 without changing a thing.It is no coincidence too that the style is similar to what Sunrisers Hyderabad have done in the two recent IPLs, given Australia’s bowling coach Daniel Vettori is Sunrisers head coach, Pat Cummins is their captain and Head is their opening batter. Vettori is not with Australia in this series as he is coaching Birmingham Phoenix in the Hundred, another team that has pushed to be a higher boundary percentage batting unit than their opponents at various stages in recent years.If the coming T20 World Cup were to be played on Australia’s bouncy pitches and huge boundaries, it might be a method that could leave them vulnerable more often as it did last night. But Australia are looking at the conditions in India and believing this is a method that will bring them the success they crave. The 2021 T20 World Cup title currently sits as a one-off. Australia did not advance beyond the group stage or the Super Eights in the two editions since.The major question, as it was with Sunrisers and Phoenix in 2024, is can it stand up in knock-out finals? The other question that Australia are keen to find an answer to is whether it translates to lower-scoring spinning surfaces in Sri Lanka, given they could be drawn to play there more often in the World Cup compared to some of the pristine batting surfaces in India.They’ll find out at some point. In the meantime, it’s all guns blazing.

Sky Sports reported on Monday that Celtic are closing in on the appointment of Columbus Crew head coach Wilfried Nancy as their successor to Brendan Rodgers in the dugout at Parkhead.

The Hoops are poised to make the French tactician their new permanent manager, which will end Martin O’Neill’s time in interim charge after he takes the next two matches.

With the January transfer window on the horizon, it will not be long before the incoming head coach will have the chance to bring his own players in to bolster the squad.

Celtic set to make move for new centre-forward

According to The Scottish Sun, Nancy is set to make a move for Columbus Crew centre-forward Wessam Abou Ali as one of his first transfer targets in January to add to his options at the top end of the pitch.

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The report claims that the incoming Celtic manager views the Palestine international as a ‘perfect goalscoring machine’ and wants to reunite with him at Parkhead ahead of the second half of the 2025/26 campaign.

It adds, though, that Columbus Crew and Nancy only signed him in July from Egyptian giants Al Ahly for £5.7m, which means that the Hoops will have to pay a fee in excess of that as he has only been with the American side for a matter of months.

If the Scottish Premiership champions can seal a £6m+ deal for the MLS sensation in the January transfer window, it could end Johnny Kenny’s career at Parkhead.

How Abou Ali could end Kenny's Celtic career

Kenny has scored four goals in five matches under O’Neill, which is an impressive return, but he was subbed off at half-time in the 1-0 win over St Mirren in the Premiership last weekend.

The Ireland international has been playing as the main number nine due to an injury to first-choice number nine Kelechi Iheanacho, who is on his way back in the coming weeks.

This suggests that the arrival of a big-money centre-forward signing could put him third in the pecking order, behind Abou Ali and Iheanacho, when they are all fit and available, which may make him consider his short-term future in Glasgow.

Kenny has shown, with five goals this season, that he can be a capable goalscorer at this level. This means that he could find another club where he can play regularly and score goals consistently, if that does not continue at Parkhead.

Abou Ali has scored three goals in five matches for Nancy in the MLS for Columbus Crew since his move in the summer, after he scored three goals in three games at the Club World Cup.

As you can see in the table above, the Palestine international has outscored Kenny in each of the last four seasons in all competitions, which suggests that he would be a much better option for Nancy to call upon up front for Celtic.

Abou Ali was described as a “clinical” and “proven” goalscorer by Columbus Crew General Manager Issa Tall, and his statistics suggest that was an accurate description of his qualities.

The 26-year-old scored three goals from 0.75 xG in the MLS in the 2025 campaign and bagged three goals without missing a single ‘big chance’ at the Club World Cup, per Sofascore, which shows that he is a lethal finisher.

Therefore, the Columbus Crew centre-forward could be a fantastic signing who could lead the line impressively for the Hoops, whilst also potentially ending Kenny’s career at the club, as falling down the pecking order may force him to reconsider his future.

£1.5m Celtic flop has been an even bigger waste of time than Balikwisha

This Celtic flop has been an even worse signing than Michel-Ange Balikwisha for the Scottish giants.

1

By
Dan Emery

Nov 25, 2025

Ruben Amorim has singled-out one key star for criticism, claiming their performances for their country are better than the shifts they put in for Manchester United. The United boss has also claimed he can "feel the anxiety" every time his player receives the ball in a damaging analysis ahead of the clash with Crystal Palace.

• Youngster's struggles since joining United

  Dorgu has faced some initial problems since becoming Amorim’s first signing at Man Utd, primarily due to being played as an attacking wing-back when he is a more natural full-back. Pundits and fans have described some of his performances as "dreadful," pointing out defensive lapses and poor decision-making in the final third. He has also yet to register a goal or assist for the club. 

  However, Dorgu is still only 21 years old and arrived mid-season from Lecce in Serie A, and was thrown into an unstable team under a new system. His struggles are often viewed as a result of being played out of position and mis-used by the current system rather than a lack of talent. But his boss has pointed out that Dorgu's instincts when playing for United are completely different to when he plays for his native Denmark. 

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  Amorim: 'He has time to improve'

  Ahead of the clash with Palace, Amorim said: "You can feel the anxiety every time Patrick touches the ball. I can feel the anxiety. When I see Patrick playing for the national team, he scored a great goal against Scotland and the decision that he made under pressure was completely different than the decision he's making in our team. I think it's the decision, he needs to be calmer playing the game."

  He added: "I remember the shot against Everton. That was easier than the decision he had to make when a guy from Scotland was there. I saw it when he played in Italy. But again, here is different and sometimes the pressure is hard for them in the beginning. He has time to improve. I just need to understand the context in trying to help them (Dorgu and Dalot). They are far from their best, and they know it. Like a lot of players in our team, like myself. I just look at them, and think they have so much more to give. So let’s see this week if we can improve that." 

• Away day woes for Amorim

  Manchester United have won just three of their last 26 Premier League away games against London sides and just one game away from home this season. And the United boss has acknowledged that his side’s form away from home is a problem he needs fix quickly. Amorim said:  "I felt during this year that when we played at home, the intensity was higher. And I felt in this game at home (against Everton) the intensity was not at the same level. So I think it's something that we need to work on. It's hard to point one thing why we are not winning away. There's a lot of issues. We are improving but we need to know how to finish the games in order to win."

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• AFP
  

  Palace test awaits United

  Palace are unbeaten in their last four meetings with the United, winning three, and have only lost one home game all season. United, winless in their last three Premier League matches and struggling away from home and are also hampered by injuries to key attackers Benjamin Sesko and Matheus Cunha, along with defender Harry Maguire.

  Ahead of the match Amorim has conceded his team needs to defend better. The Portuguese said: “We are being really soft near the box. So we need to improve that in the last games, especially against Nottingham (Forest, the 2-2 draw). We allowed a lot of crosses, we didn’t press well [in] moments. Against Everton, they were with 10 men and we suffered the goal (Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s winner) with the only shot on target."

In an ever more globalised game, and one obsessed with transfer activity, it’s easy to forget that there is perhaps even greater pleasure for supporters at seeing a homegrown talent emerge – not least at a club like Manchester United.

The modern, post-Sir Alex Ferguson era has been a rocky one, but arguably the brightest lights have emerged from Carrington, be it Marcus Rashford under Louis van Gaal, Scott McTominay under Jose Mourinho and Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo under Erik ten Hag.

The debate over whether it was right to move them on or not will continue to rage, but it is telling that three of that notable list of four are no longer part of the first-team ranks at Old Trafford, with Mainoo also now on the periphery under Ruben Amorim.

In an era of PSR and pure profit, academy sales have remarkably almost become incentivised, with the INEOS regime likely to be tempted to sell the 20-year-old sensation should his bit-part role continue.

For all the question marks over his suitability to Amorim’s system, it would be a crying shame if Mainoo were to depart in 2026 or beyond, with the 2024 FA Cup final hero surely deserving of a prime place as the centre-piece of the club’s long-term project.

The only saving grace, thankfully, is that the Stockport-born starlet isn’t the only rising star currently on the books – the Red Devils do at least have another talent on the conveyor belt to turn to.

Why Man Utd’s midfield could be completely overhauled in 2026

It is not hyperbole to suggest that there are question marks surrounding every senior midfielder in Amorim’s side right now, with drastic change likely to occur in that department, be it in January or next summer.

As already alluded too, Mainoo – in the short-term at least – looks destined to move on, amid talk of a loan move, with the ten-cap England international yet to even start a Premier League game this season.

The man he is directly competing with – as suggested by Amorim in the past – is Bruno Fernandes, albeit with the Portuguese genius’ own future up for debate, having come close to joining Saudi side Al Hilal over the summer.

At 31, the former Sporting CP certainly has plenty left in the tank, although he did hint that he will consider his situation again following next year’s World Cup, with his current deal set to expire in the summer of 2027.

Speaking of expiring contracts, there has been little news regarding the future of Casemiro, with the resurgent Brazilian’s current deal coming to a climax in June.

Currently raking in a reported £350k-per-week, the 33-year-old would seemingly have to take a significant pay cut to stay put in Manchester, with United and Amorim in need of a long-term replacement regardless, considering his age.

Manuel Ugarte was meant to be that defensive-minded, ball-winning successor, although the Uruguayan – starter in just two league games in 2025/26 – is also running out of rope at Old Trafford, in what is his second season at the club.

Having been given a dressing down by Amorim in front of his teammates following the Europa League final – in which he played no part – the former Sporting man is getting no favouritism right now, far from it, having yet to convince he is of United quality.

The 24-year-old is the de facto third-choice midfielder at present, although that is not a status he has warranted, with club legend Gary Neville putting it best when describing him as “not good enough” after the Manchester derby.

In truth, an in-house replacement is needed, both this season and beyond.

Man Utd’s new Mainoo can replace Ugarte

Ten Hag has become a figure of ridicule for many, but it’s easy to forget the initial progress he had made in the United dugout, setting a sinking ship back on course again following that initial calamity at Brentford.

In February 2023, for instance, United reached their apex under the Dutchman, memorably seeing off Barcelona in the Europa League, while also securing a deserved 2-0 win over Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup final.

In the aftermath of that triumph, Ten Hag turned from short-term celebrations to long-term thinking, making a beeline for a 17-year-old Mainoo amid the jubilation, seemingly outlining that the teenager would have a part to play in such scenes later down the line.

While injury ensured it took until November 2023 for a first-team role to truly emerge – after making just three appearances in 2022/23 – Ten Hag’s faith in Mainoo was more than warranted, following his Man of the Match Premier League debut at Goodison.

Almost exactly two years on, and with Everton again the opponent, Amorim might well consider unleashing the next Mainoo-shaped figure into the midfield, in the form of Carrington sensation, Jack Fletcher.

The man who kept the club’s matchday academy record alive against Spurs, having been named on the bench in the absence of Mainoo, Fletcher – son of Darren and brother of fellow youth-team star, Tyler – is inching ever closer to a senior bow, with midfield evidently an area to address for Amorim.

Described as among the “best young players in England”, in the view of analyst and Como scout Ben Mattinson, the left-footed Fletcher looks primed for a left-sided central midfield role, having also been trialled at left-back in recent times in the youth ranks.

In the view of Mattinson, the 18-year-old is “one of the most technical of the lot” in the academy set-up, with his elegance and athleticism also ensuring he has “everything you’d want” from a left-sided number eight.

An England youth international, the former Manchester City starlet has enjoyed a promising 2025/26 thus far with three goals and one assist from ten recorded games, as per Transfermarkt, notably netting in the EFL Trophy defeat to Barnsley, prior to seeing red.

Oakwell was previously the scene for the standout moment of his United journey to date, as the Englishman netted twice to claim a comeback 3-2 win in the same competition last season, including an outrageous, long-range half volley at the death.

Much like there was an appetite for transfers over the summer, there is a real desire among the United faithful to see the next Mainoo, the next McTominay emerge in the coming weeks and months.

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Football FanCast’s In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.

With Mainoo, unfortunately, on the fringes, and Ugarte simply not up to scratch, Fletcher might well be primed to sneak into the mix as a genuine challenger to Casemiro before too long.

He's "much better" than Sesko: Man Utd pursuing "one of the best CFs in PL"

Manchester United could land a new centre-forward just months after landing Benjamin Sesko.

By
Ethan Lamb

Nov 21, 2025

Which of two results surprised you more: Kusal Perera overcoming the greatest odds in Durban or Australia manufacturing a win out of nothing in Adelaide?

ESPNcricinfo staff24-May-2025Update: This poll has ended. The SA-SL 2019 Durban Test moves into the quarter-finals.Kusal Perera’s one-man show, Durban 2019
Sri Lanka were coming off a 2-0 pummeling in Australia, their captain had just been sacked, and an inexperienced team, led by Dimuth Karunaratne, reached South Africa.Then, in what was one of the most dramatic Tests in history, Sri Lanka emerged victorious, chasing down 304 with one wicket to spare. They had lost their ninth wicket while still 78 runs off their target. Kusal Perera then scored 67 of them in an incredible finale on the fourth afternoon along with the No. 11 Vishwa Fernando, as they saw their team home. Towards the end, you knew where this was going, even if it was just a matter of one good delivery.At lunch on the day, Sri Lanka were 166 for 5, still 138 runs away, after which Keshav Maharaj ripped through the lower-middle order, leaving them at 226 for 9. That brought Vishwa to the middle, and he was entirely focused on survival. He faced 22 balls before he got off the mark.As Fernando clung on at one end, Perera defended with unreal calm and even took several blows to his body on his way to the target. Batting for 309 minutes, he farmed the strike, and picked his opportunities to attack and push the score forward. Along the way, he also made his career-best Test score of 153*.

Manufacturing a win – Adelaide, 2006

The final day of the Adelaide Test of 2006-07 started with 1123 runs already scored, and only 17 wickets having fallen. The ESPNcricinfo report after the fourth day’s play was headlined “Draw beckons after Clarke hundred” – Michael Clarke was the fourth century-getter in the Test, after Paul Collingwood, Kevin Pietersen and Ricky Ponting.But within no time on the fifth morning, Shane Warne had broken through, and 54 overs into the day, England were done for 129.
And Australia had a target: 168. In 36 overs. That meant an “asking rate” of 4.67.Australia had their own version of Bazball for the job, though.Matthew Hayden’s 18 came off 17 balls. Ponting’s 49 off 65. Mike Hussey remained unbeaten on 61 off 66. And Clarke, slow by comparison, scored 21 not out in 39 balls. And it was done. Australia victors by six wickets, with 3.1 overs in the bag, having gone at a scoring rate of 5.11.

Pakistan chased down 205 in just 16 overs – another record

Sampath Bandarupalli21-Mar-202516 Overs Pakistan needed to chase down 205 against New Zealand in the third T20I in Auckland. It was the earliest any team completed a 200-plus chase in T20Is. The previous fastest was in 17.4 overs by South Africa, who chased down 206 against West Indies in the opening game of the 2007 T20 World Cup.2 This was Pakistan’s second-highest successful chase in T20Is. The 208 they chased against West Indies in 2021 in Karachi remains their highest.4 This was the fourth time New Zealand failed to defend 200 or more in T20Is. Three of those games were played at Eden Park.ESPNcricinfo Ltd44 Balls Hasan Nawaz took to bring up his hundred, the fastest for Pakistan in T20Is. The previous record was 49 balls by Babar Azam against South Africa in 2021.4 Batters, including Nawaz, who followed up successive ducks with a century in men’s T20Is. Rilee Rossouw (100 vs India in 2022), Rohit Sharma (121* vs Afghanistan in 2024) and Sanju Samson (109* vs South Africa in 2024) are the other three. Nawaz is the only one to start his career with two ducks and score a hundred in the third game.7 Sixes hit by Nawaz, the joint-most by a Pakistan batter in T20Is alongside Mohammad Rizwan, who also hit seven against South Africa in 2021.12 Sixes hit by Pakistan in their innings, their joint-second-most in a T20I, behind 15 against Ireland in 2024.ESPNcricinfo Ltd75 for 1 Pakistan’s powerplay score on Friday, their highest in this phase, bettering the 73 against England in 2016. After ten overs,
Pakistan were 124 for 1, 15 runs more than their previous best at that stage.Pakistan reached 100 in 8.1 overs, 150 in 12.2, and 200 in 15.5 – all fastest for them. They also equalled their fastest team fifty in the format, in four overs. Their previous fastest team hundred came in nine overs against New Zealand last year, while their quickest 150 was in 13.5 overs against South Africa in 2013. The fastest 200 was in 17.5 overs against South Africa in 2021.3 Instances of a team successfully chasing down 200 or more with nine or more wickets in hand. All three are by Pakistan. They previously chased down 204 against South Africa in 2021 for the loss of one wicket, and secured a ten-wicket win against England in 2022 while chasing 200.84 Runs scored by Pakistan between deep third and fine leg, making most of Eden Park’s short boundaries behind the wicket. These are by far the most a team has scored in that region in a T20I (where ESPNcricinfo has data). The most before Friday was 70 by Australia, also at this very ground during their 244 chase against New Zealand in 2018.

Homegrown allrounder has had limited opportunities this summer

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Sep-2025Paul Coughlin, the Durham allrounder, has agreed a move to Lancashire ahead of the 2026 season.Coughlin, 32, came through Durham’s academy before moving to Nottinghamshire in 2017, where he won England Lions recognition. After an injury-plagued two-year spell, he returned to the northeast and was part of the side that won promotion back to Division One of the County Championship in 2023.However, he has only made five first-team appearances this season and Durham announced on Sunday that he would be leaving at the end of his contract.”I’m thrilled to be making the move to Lancashire,” Coughlin said. “It’s a club with a great history and big ambitions, and I’m really looking forward to getting started with a new chapter in my career.”The chance to commit to Lancashire for the future and be part of what they’re looking to achieve here is something that I’m hugely excited about.”I know Keaton Jennings and Michael Jones very well from our time at Durham together and it will be great to link-up with both again at Lancashire and meet the rest of the lads.”Lancashire have endured a difficult summer, with Dale Benkenstein leaving his role as head coach and Keaton Jennings giving up the four-day captaincy as hopes of Championship promotion were dashed. They reached T20 Blast Finals Day but a depleted side fell at the first hurdle, beaten by eventual champions Somerset.Mark Chilton, Lancashire’s director of cricket performance, said: “We are delighted to have secured Paul’s services as we continue to strengthen our squad ahead of the 2026 season. This move represents an exciting new challenge for Paul, who has already demonstrated his ability to perform at the highest level. We believe that a fresh environment will provide the platform for him to return to his very best.”Paul’s all-round qualities will add significant depth and versatility across both red-ball and white-ball formats, and we look forward to welcoming him to Emirates Old Trafford in the winter.”