World news – In case you missed it: India, England’s World Cup dress rehearsal, South Africa’s away triumph

A T20 World Cup final before the World Cup? This is what the players call today’s last game between India and England, as the two best T20I teams start with the series level. India women weren’t nearly as lucky – they received a 4-1 drubbing at home from South Africa. Afghanistan prevailed against Zimbabwe in the exciting second test and leveled the series. Now the two teams are competing in the format in which Afghanistan is the most dangerous T20I. It was also a crowded week of setbacks – cricket was on hiatus a year ago when the pandemic first broke out. Even further back, 20 years ago, India sealed a famous victory over Australia in Chennai, while Sri Lanka was headed for an unlikely World Cup victory in 1996 – revisit Andrew Fidel Fernando’s archive piece on the fairy tale victory. Check out our weekly round-up of everything that has happened in the past and present.

Suryakumar Yadav, bowlers help India with level 2-2
Yadav’s superlative 57 in 31 balls only played his second T20I and helped India get a competitive record before taking a controversial catch. Much of the game’s drama revolved around referee decisions, with Virat Kohli and former England captain Michael Atherton questioning the point of a soft signal in border catches. The final T20I will now make the decision. England captain Eoin Morgan calls it « the closest thing to a World Cup final » as the real event is only months away.

South African women overcome national nemesis to beat India
Anneke Bosch, Mignon du Preez and Marizanne Kapp shone in the last ODI, when South Africa won the series 4-1 and Nadine de Klerk three to three. South Africa touring teams generally don’t do well against Spin, but then they’re not that team, says Firdose Moonda. For India, it was a wake-up call to see how far behind they are in terms of format, while Lizelle Lee’s fantastic form brought her to number 1 on the ODI Batters rankings.

Rashid Khan’s eleven wickets ensured a win in Afghanistan on a series level
An exciting second test took place on the hosts’ day on the final day after Rashid Khan, who was bowling with a still healing fracture, ran across Zimbabwe. Prior to this, Sean Williams and Donald Tiripano seemed ready to swing the match in Zimbabwe as they extended their stand on the eighth wicket to 187 before the Afghan legspinner took command again. Sreshth Shah lists the findings from the two series of tests, including Afghanistan’s over-reliance on Khan and the steady rise of Zimbabwean Captain Williams.

Sunil Narine and the fading off-spin Osman Samiuddin have followed Narine’s journey since 2014, as his bowling drive under the microscope and say he hasn’t been the same bowler since.

Wait for India to tour England with its not fast bowlers. Alan Gardner has a foolproof plan to take revenge on subcontinental bowls of dust in this month’s Light Roller.

Rishabh Pant was well handled by India. Ollie Pope and Dom Bess Not So Much From EnglandIan Chappell says the contrast tells you why the test series turned out the way it was.

The 20 most extreme places in Test Cricket
The place in Ahmedabad for the third India-England test, which ended in two days, was rated « average » by the ICC. Anantha Narayanan examines this spin among several others to determine which were the bowler and batsman-friendliest in test history.

Is Hashmatullah Shahidi’s double hundred the fastest for a team in tests?
And did Sunil Gavaskar open bowling on his debut test? You asked and Steven Lynch answered.

The « total chaos » is turning Mumbai back into Mumbai
Mumbai clinched their fourth Vijay Hazare title last week, a minor miracle as the team was in ruins just before the List A tournament started. Shashank Kishore has the inside story of the phoenix-like rise of a championship team to a seemingly impossible victory.

India. Australia. Chennai. 2001
Twenty years ago an unforgettable series culminated in an incredible final day. Siddhartha Vaidyanathan experienced it through those who were there.

Dimuth Karunaratne: « Everything about Kusal’s knocking was straight out of the imagination of a batsman. »
The Sri Lankan captain wishes he had recently played innings that have become legendary.

Virus stops cricket
Last year, this week, the coronavirus pandemic brought cricket to a standstill. We trace a long year in pictures.

« Corruptors like poor governance and chaos because it allows them to get in. »
Anti-Corruption Unit Director General Alex Marshall spoke to Peter Della Penna about the extensive efforts that have been made to curb corruption in cricket.