India opener Shafali Verma is back at the top of the ICC Women’s T20I Player Rankings after a fine show in the first two matches of the ongoing three-match series against South Africa in Lucknow.

The 17-year-old big-hitter, who had grabbed the top position for the first time after helping her side reach the knockout phase of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup last year in Australia, has leapfrogged Australia’s Beth Mooney with scores of 23 and 47. South Africa opener Lizelle Lee is another one to gain in the T20I rankings even though the big-hitting opener lost her top spot in the ODI rankings within a week of replacing England’s Tammy Beaumont. Lee has gained three slots to reach 11th position among T20I batters after a match-winning 70 helped South Africa to a winning 2-0 lead.

Laura Wolvaardt has risen five places to 24th after guiding her team to victory with an unbeaten 53 in the second match while captain Sune Luus (up five places to 38th) and Nadine de Klerk (up three places to 74th) are the other South Africans to advance in the batting list.

De Klerk, who bowls medium pace, has also moved up five places to 68th among bowlers while seamer Ayabonga Khaka (up two places to 35th) and left-arm spinner Nonkululek Mlaba (up 14 places to 75th) have also progressed in the latest weekly update to the women’s rankings, carried out on Tuesdays.

CHRISTCHURCH: After suffering a five-wicket defeat against New Zealand in the second ODI, Bangladesh skipper Tamim Iqbal on Tuesday said his side would have won the game if they had grabbed on to the chances they got.

Kiwi skipper Tom Latham scored a brilliant century to guide New Zealand to a five-wicket win over Bangladesh in the second ODI here on Tuesday. With this win, the hosts have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. Latham played an unbeaten knock of 110 to help New Zealand chase down the target of 272 runs. Devon Conway also scored 72 runs in the match. “We should have won this game. Bowlers created chances, we couldn’t hold on. In these kind of situations, we hardly win games. When the situation comes, we have to make sure that we do all the things 100 per cent. Disappointed today, the batters batted really well. It was a bit slow. I thought 271 was a decent total. The bowlers started well, we got early wickets. When the chances came, we couldn’t hold on,” said Tamim after the second ODI concluded.

When the UEFA Champions League draw for the Quarter-Finals set up a Bayern Munich vs PSG clash this early, nothing could herald a better news for the other six clubs.

The 2020 finalists will go head to head in the usual Home-Away contest to eliminate either of the two teams in the Quarter Final knockouts. For either Bayern Munich or Paris Saint Germain, this would mean a disappointing early exit from the league.

The other 3 matches are all competitive contests with Manchester City squaring up against Borussia Dortmund, Porto playing Chelsea, and Real Madrid battling out Liverpool in a series of mouthwatering clashes.

For Manchester City, who have by now spectacularly won the Premier League, the focus will shift to winning their first-ever Champions League. They have been in sublime form, breaking records with the latest one being 17 successful unbeaten away matches after they defeated Everton 2-0 in the FA Cup.

Their possible road to the Champions League is Borussia Dortmund, Bayern, or PSG, and then any one of the remaining 4 clubs in the finals. Guardiola has been kept away from this big trophy for 10 years, despite having an unmatched record in the Domestic leagues. Their run in the previous season witnessed a disappointing end after they lost to Lyon in a tie where they were the favourites. And having one of PSG or Bayern not stand their way this season is good news. But first, they will have to stop Dortmund and their sensation Eric Haaland in the quarter-final, a task not too easy.

Or could it be Chelsea? They beat the Spanish La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid 3-0 in the Round of 16, a tie that announced the resurgence of a side that has been kept out of this competition for a while, but were top performers at the beginning of the earlier decade. Chelsea faced an unforgettable 7-0 drubbing in last year’s round of 16 ties against Bayern Munich, their worst result in this competition for the longest time.

For Liverpool who arguably have the toughest test out of the 3 Premier League sides, will be an opportunity to seek revenge for the 2018 Champions League final defeat, when they play Real Madrid. Madrid is the only Spanish side left in the competition and defeating the giants would mean Liverpool turning around a dreadful season which has put into question the club’s future.

By no means can anyone predict who will be lifting the Champions League this season since all 8 teams have great caliber But there is a possibility of either Manchester City, Chelsea, or Liverpool bringing the trophy back to England.

PUNE: After playing a game-changing inning of 58 off just 31 balls against England in the first ODI of three-match series, India all-rounder Krunal Pandya dedicated the knock to his late father.

Speaking to the host broadcasters in the mid-innings break, Krunal said he dedicated the knock to his late father and ended up getting a bit emotional and was not able to say anything further. “This one is for my dad. I did get emotional when I got my cap,” said Krunal before getting emotional and walking off.

Krunal was handed his debut ODI cap by his brother Hardik Pandya. After getting the cap, Krunal looked at the skies and he remembered his late father. Earlier this year, Hardik and Krunal lost their father. At that time, Krunal was playing in the Syed Mushtaq Trophy

Jonny Bairstow might have played a 94-run knock, but India bowlers came back strongly to hand hosts a 66-run victory in the first ODI of the three-match series against England on Tuesday here at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.

With this win, India has gone 1-0 up in the three-match series. Both teams will now lock horns in the second ODI on Friday. Chasing 318, England got off to an ideal start as openers Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow made full use of the powerplay overs and the visitors scored 89 runs without losing a wicket inside the first ten overs. Bairstow and Roy eventually put on 135 runs for the first wicket inside 15 overs.

Bairstow went past his half-century, but Roy (46) ended up missing the milestone as he was sent back to the pavilion by Prasidh Krishna. This was Krishna’s first wicket in ODI cricket. In his very next over, Krishna sent Ben Stokes (1) back to the pavilion, reducing the visitors to 137/2. Bairstow (94) also missed out on his century as he was dismissed by Shardul Thakur with England still needing 149 runs for the win.

England’s innings further derailed in the 25th over as Shardul helped the hosts see the back of skipper Eoin Morgan (22) and Jos Buttler (2), reducing the visitors to 176/5. Sam Billings and Moeen Ali then formed a 41-run stand for the sixth wicket but with 101 runs away from victory, Billings (18) ended up losing his wicket to Krishna, reducing England to 217/6 in the 33rd over.

Sam Curran and Moeen Ali put on 20 runs for the seventh wicket, but this stand was cut short by Bhuvneshwar Kumar as he dismissed Ali (30) and India looked set for a famous comeback victory in the first ODI. In the very next over, Krunal Pandya removed Sam Curran (12) and the hosts were looking to finish the match in a jiffy. In the end, the hosts won the match by 66 runs. For the hosts, Prasidh Krishna scalped four figures and he returned with the best bowling figures for an Indian debutant in an ODI.

Earlier, Shikhar Dhawan (98) and Virat Kohli (56) might have set the platform at the top, but it was KL Rahul (62*) and Krunal Pandya’s (58*) blitz in the end that propelled India’s score to 317/5. The duo added 111 of their 112 runs in the last nine overs as they sent the English bowlers on a leather hunt. Asked to bat first, India got off to a cautious start as openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan put on 39 runs inside the first ten overs. The score would have been more but England’s ground-fielding was up to the mark and the visitors clearly saved 20 runs in the first ten.

Stokes, who was playing his first ODI after the 2019 World Cup final against New Zealand, provided the first breakthrough to England as he had Rohit (28) caught at the hands of wicketkeeper Jos Buttler in the 16th over of the innings, ending the opening partnership of 64. Skipper Virat Kohli next joined Dhawan in the middle and the duo started accumulating runs at a brisk pace. The left-handed Dhawan started off the 24th over with a six and as a result, he brought up his half-century. Both Kohli and Dhawan put on 105 runs for the second wicket, and it also saw Kohli going past his 50. But in trying to accelerate further, skipper Kohli (56) ended up giving his wicket away to Mark Wood.

Brief Scores: India 317/5 (Shikhar Dhawan 98, KL Rahul 62*, Ben Stokes 3-34) vs England 251 (Jonny Bairstow 94, Jason Roy 46, Prasidh Krishna 4-54).