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An unbroken 56 run ninth wicket stand between Vijay Prajapati andRajiv Dutta lifted Tripura to 213/8 on the first day of their EastZone Ranji Trophy clash with Bihar at the Keenan Stadium inJamshedpur. Play was called off five overs before the scheduled closebecause of bad light.Bihar won the toss, put the visitors in and quickly took control,Dheeraj Kumar bowling Pranab Debnath with the fourth ball of the day.The wickets which fell regularly were shared among five bowlers. Thestoutest resistance was provided by Mridule Gupta who swiftly moved to61 (84 balls, 9 fours) before having his stumps rattled by seamerMihir Diwakar. The end of the innings appeared near when the eighthwicket fell in the 58th over but Prajapati (37) and Dutta (23) heldout for the last hour and a half.

ScorecardIreland’s slow bowlers squeezed the life out of Windward Islands’ chase to secure a 64-run victory in a low-scoring contest at Queen’s Park Oval. George Dockrell, Andy McBrine and Paul Stirling bowled 22 overs of spin, out of the 35 Ireland needed to dismiss their opponents, and took 4 for 50.Only one Windward batsman – opener Tyrone Theophile – made it past 20 in the chase of 179 and they collapsed from 86 for 4 to 115 all out. Dockrell finished with 3 for 14 in seven overs.Ireland had also found it hard after choosing to bat. They lost wickets at regular intervals and, though their batsmen from Nos. 2 to 8 made it into double figures, Niall O’Brien (44) and Stuart Thompson (32) were the only ones to get past 20. They were able to convert a score of 98 for 5 to 179 in 48.3 overs. Delorn Johnson claimed 3 for 25 for Windward Islands.

More than a year since they were suspended from international cricket, the USA have named their side for their comeback in the ICC World Cricket League Division Five which takes place in Jersey next month. The side will be captained by Steve Messiah, who led them during their last outing in August 2006.The USA were, at that time, in the World Cricket League Division One, and were it not for the suspension imposed by the ICC they would almost certainly have been in the mix at the ICC World Cup Qualifiers next year. As it stands, they will need to win promotion from Division Five and Four and then win the Division Three event next January to be invited to the qualifying tournament for the 2011 World Cup.The event in Jersey will also feature Afghanistan, Bahamas, Botswana, Germany, Japan, Jersey, Mozambique, Nepal, Norway, Singapore and Vanuatu. The top two sides will be promoted to Division Four which will be held in September.USA squad Steve Massiah (capt), Imran Awan, Orlando Baker, Lennox Cush, Rahul Kukreti, Rashard Marshall, Mohamed Masood, Sushil Nadkarni, Steve Pitter, Niraj Shah, Kwawaja Shuja, Wahab Syed, Aditya Thyagarajan, Carl Wright,.

Big Picture – A rare home Test for Ajaz Patel?

It has been more than 30 years since West Indies last won a Test in New Zealand, a drought captain Roston Chase has repeatedly highlighted during the ongoing three-match series. The visitors have shown they possess a bowling attack capable of unsettling New Zealand’s batters, but their own batting has failed to function in unison, apart from the second-innings rearguard in the first Test – aided in part by New Zealand being without two frontline fast bowlers through injury. That imbalance explains West Indies’ decision to strengthen their batting for the Mount Maunganui Test, with Alick Athanaze replacing the injured Ojay Shields in the playing XI.Yet, no single change can mask a deeper batting problem that has forced West Indies into repeated introspection. Chase himself averages under 16 with the bat as captain, and, beyond Shai Hope and Justin Greaves, contributions have been sporadic. Instability caused by form and injury has only compounded the issue. On the eve of the third Test, Chase said West Indies would target 300 in their first innings.While that figure may appear modest, it is a realistic benchmark in Mount Maunganui, where early seam movement is typical, and spin increasingly comes into play as matches wear on – a trend underlined by New Zealand including Ajaz Patel in their squad for the match.Related

• Ajaz Patel, Blundell back in New Zealand squad for third Test

• Chase: 'We try to hold everyone accountable for their actions'

Although captain Tom Latham stopped short of confirming his XI, even without Ajaz, the spin options of Glenn Phillips and Rachin Ravindra could be enough against a fragile batting order. New Zealand will also hope their pace resources hold up, with Jacob Duffy and Zak Foulkes having shouldered heavy workloads following in-game injuries to Matt Henry, Nathan Smith and Blair Tickner across the first two Tests. From a batting point of view, there’s a lot to improve on; but collectively, New Zealand are still much stronger than the visitors.The hosts will look to make it 2-0 after victory in the second Test in Wellington, while West Indies arrive with ample motivation and plenty to prove. But whether the visitors possess the skillset required to win in these conditions remains the big question.Despite playing 12 Tests, Kavem Hodge averages below 25•AFP/Getty Images

Form Guide

New Zealand: WDWWW
West Indies: LDLLL

In the spotlight – Ajaz Patel and Kavem Hodge

Ajaz Patel last played a Test during the tour of India in 2024-25. He produced a Player-of-the-Match performance in that match, with figures of 11 for 160 helping New Zealand complete a 3-0 series sweep. Since then, Ajaz has been active across all three formats in domestic cricket. He has featured in all four games for Central Districts (CD) in the Plunket Shield this season, during which he completed 400 first-class wickets. Having bowled over 100 overs for CD, Ajaz arrives in strong rhythm, and with West Indies’ batting right-hand dominant, his role at home could extend beyond that of a holding bowler. If selected, Ajaz would be playing his first home Test since February 2020.Set to turn 33 in February, Kavem Hodge is the second-oldest batter in West Indies’ squad. Yet, despite playing 12 Tests, he averages below 25. However, with few consistent or convincing batting options emerging, Hodge remains in contention – if only just. Drafted in for the second Test to strengthen the batting, he fell for a duck in the first innings, but his strokeplay in the second made him West Indies’ most watchable batter before they were bowled out for 128. Hodge’s innings ended only due to a stunning catch from Will Young, and in Mount Maunganui, West Indies will hope Hodge can finally grab hold of the No. 3 role, which he was handed in Wellington but did not fully capitalise on.Tom Blundell has recovered from the hamstring injury that forced him to miss the Wellington Test•Getty Images

Team news

Wicketkeeper-batter Tom Blundell has recovered from the hamstring injury that forced him to miss the Wellington Test, and looks set to walk back into the XI. So Mitchell Hay, despite scoring a debut half-century in the second Test, has been released from the New Zealand side. Left-arm spinner Ajaz replaced the injured Blair Tickner in the squad, but Latham said the decision on whether he plays will be made on match day. There could also be a toss up between Phillips and Michael Bracewell for the spin-bowling allrounder’s role.New Zealand (probable): 1 Devon Conway, 2 Tom Latham (capt), 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Rachin Ravindra, 5 Daryll Mitchell, 6 Glenn Phillips/Michael Bracewell, 7 Tom Blundell (wk), 8 Zak Foulkes, 9 Michael Rae, 10 Jacob Duffy, 11 Ajaz Patel.West Indies have announced their XI, and barring any last-minute changes, the only swap is Athanaze, known for his comfort against spin bowling, replacing the injured seamer Shields. Chase has said he would bowl himself more in spinning conditions. Tagenarine Chanderpaul remains unavailable.West Indies: 1 John Campbell, 2 Brandon King, 3 Kavem Hodge, 4 Shai Hope, 5 Alick Athanaze, 6 Justin Greaves, 7 Roston Chase (capt), 8 Tevin Imlach (wk), 9 Kemar Roach, 10 Anderson Phillip, 11 Jayden Seales.

Pitch and conditions

At the Bay Oval, the pitch usually offers noticeable seam movement early on, particularly in the first two sessions, to go with good carry. Batting can be challenging at the start, before the surface flattens out as the Test progresses. From the third day onwards, the pitch tends to grip, and bring slow turn into play. Scoring late in the match becomes harder as wear and tear sets in, especially when chasing. Potential rain on days two and three could disrupt the Test.Kemar Roach is seven wickets away from 300 Test wickets•AFP/Getty Images

Stats and trivia

• Despite three previous Test appearances at home, Ajaz is yet to take a wicket in New Zealand.
• Kemar Roach is seven wickets away from becoming the fifth West Indies bowler to take 300 Test wickets. The four ahead of him are Courtney Walsh (519), Curtly Ambrose (405), Malcolm Marshall (376) and Lance Gibbs (309).
• The team winning the toss has opted to bowl in the last four Tests at the Bay Oval, and lost the match on three of those occasions. Only Bangladesh, in 2022, bucked that trend, as they won despite opting to bowl first.
• West Indies have won only two of their last 16 Tests. In the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, they’re still winless after seven matches.

Quotes

“The only thing left for us to do is to win and [we] just have to keep believing. I think that we’ve had some sparks of brilliance throughout the series, and it’s just for us to put them together for a longer period of time – especially in the batting. We think that if we could post a 300 total in the first innings, it would go a long way in us winning a Test match here. So it’s just for us to bat well and bat well not only once, but bat well twice.”
“Ajaz has been extremely successful for us overseas, and has been extremely successful for Central Districts, doing what he does in terms of being able to apply pressure, [and] tie an end up. When the opportunity presents itself, when a spinner becomes a little bit more attacking, he knows how to bowl in those conditions that are favourable to him. I think that’s probably something he relies on. He’s certainly got a lot of experience to lean on.”

Challenging light conditions and a system crash contributed to the unavailability of ball-tracking for an lbw appeal against Jason Holder late on the final day of the Boxing Day Test, the technology operators EagleEye have revealed.An ageing ball and stark shadows across the MCG were making it difficult for ball-tracking cameras to pick up the ball to a level that satisfied the technology’s handlers, causing them to state to the broadcast producer that they could not provide a ball-tracking model of the Holder lbw appeal immediately.When EagleEye operators then attempted to track the Peter Siddle delivery via Nine’s video footage – the secondary option – a system crash meant they were unable to do so in time for the DRS referral, though it was shown later to demonstrate the ball was missing leg stump.Such eventualities are accounted for in DRS protocols, with the third umpire Ian Gould duly compelled to return to the on-field umpire Marais Erasmus’ original decision of not out. Australia did not lose a review as a result of the course of events. Ian Taylor, head of the New Zealand company Animation Research that provides EagleEye for the broadcaster Channel Nine, said the firm took responsibility for the outcome.”The guys weren’t happy with the first data they got because of a lighting issue so they did a re-track from the video. Unfortunately when they did that the system crashed and they lost the video,” Taylor told ESPNcricinfo. “Doing the re-track without the video takes much longer.”They had to let the producer know they weren’t happy with what they had and advised him there was no useable track available at the time. That is part of the protocol and in that case ‘umpire’s call’ stands. They did retrieve the track in the end but it was too late to use, but they did put it to air.”I want to be clear this is our responsibility. We weren’t able to track this ball to a satisfactory standard and said so.”Taylor said this was only the third such occasion that EagleEye operators had needed to indicate they were unhappy with the data they were getting, in an association with cricket in Australia that dates back to the 2010-11 Ashes summer. By contrast, Taylor said that the Marlon Samuels lbw in the first innings of the match – considered by many to be out though tracking had the ball clearing the stumps – was not a source of consternation for the company.”They were happy with it,” Taylor said of the operators at the MCG. “Side-on showed he was on his tip toes and he was hit on the top of the pad. They felt happy with that tracking, based on what the side-on cameras showed.”There are ongoing discussions between technology operators and the ICC about how to further improve the system, including the advent of a specialist third umpires rather than the current rotation between on-field and off-field duty. It is believed that this concept is also supported by the umpires themselves, as they find it difficult to make the adjustment from the instincts required in the middle to the data analysis of the television review job.Taylor is also an advocate for a system of universal DRS training to be undertaken by umpires and technology operators alike, so all are accredited with the same knowledge base and thus have a greater degree of trust in each other. The Holder lbw was discussed between the match referee Chris Broad and officials from both teams following the conclusion of the Test. Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann said his team remained staunch supporters of the system.”You just want them to get it right, that’s all, make sure the technology is up to speed,” Lehmann said. “Everyone loves it, we’re pro it, it’s just making sure they get it right. It was missing leg stump, they handled it well from a match referee/ICC point of view, where we didn’t lose a review, got that back. Making sure it’s working 100% of the time is the key.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsRishabh Pant slammed 14 fours and two sixes for his century•ICC

Rishabh Pant continued his fine run of form in the Under-19 World Cup, slamming his third successive fifty-plus score to guide India into the semi-finals following a 197-run win against Namibia. Pant, who had blasted the fastest U-19 international half-century during the win against Nepal, scored 111 off 96 balls with 14 fours and two sixes, powering his team to a mammoth 349 for 6.India, opting to bat, did not make the best of starts, though, as the captain Ishan Kishan was dismissed for 6 in the third over. However, Pant and Anmolpreet Singh led a recovery, put up 103 runs for the second wicket. Pant added a further 62 for the third wicket with Sarfaraz Khan before falling in the 29th over. Still, Namibia failed to dry up the runs, as Sarfaraz (76), Armaan Jaffer (64) and Mahipal Lomror (41*) all chipped in with handy knocks to lift the team past the 300-run mark. Fritz Coetzee was the pick of Namibia’s bowlers, taking 3 for 78, but went at more than seven an over, as did four other players.Namibia began their huge run-chase promisingly, as the openers SJ Loftie-Eaton and Niko Davin razed 59 inside 10 overs. However, the dismissal of Davin opened the floodgates, as the team went on to lose wickets at regular intervals, eventually getting bowled out for 152. Left-arm spinner Mayank Dagar shone with figures of 3 for 25, while Anmolpreet snared 3 for 27; Namibia were dismissed in 39 overs.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsNoor Ali Zadran and Mohammad Nabi’s 35-run stand was the highest in a low-scoring game that Afghanistan won quite comfortably•AFP

Two halves of contrasting nature brought out all the elements associated with a low-scoring thriller. In the end, Afghanistan bowled Zimbabwe out for a mere 82 to script a memorable 49-run win in Sharjah. On a slow deck that sprung to life under lights, it was Mirwais Ashraf, the seamer, who opened the flood gates with two early blows before the spinners led by Amir Hamza dismantled a nervous middle order with point precision.Afghanistan took a 1-0 lead by successfully defending the lowest total for an Associate team against a Full Member – 131 – and sent out an clear message that it will need a mammoth effort from Zimbabwe to entertain thoughts of winning in conditions as subcontinent as it can get.What was to be a regulation chase turned into a mess as Zimbabwe were reduced to 12 for 3 even before the supper break. Chamu Chibhabha was bowled by Hamza’s inswinger, Craig Ervine top-edged a whip to third man, while Richmond Mutambami’s big gap between bat and pad resulted in a broken middle stump.Zimbabwe needed the industry of their captain Elton Chigumbura and the experience of Sikandar Raza to steer them out of troubled waters, but Afghanistan’s spinners strangled the batsmen so well that they were forced to play the glory shot a little too often. On a surface that didn’t aid stroke making. the ploy boomeranged on Zimbabwe and they failed to even last 31 overs.While Hamza picked up four wickets, two of which were courtesy deliveries that spun across the face of the bat to hit the stumps, Mohammad Nabi’s loopy offspin yielded two scalps, including Chigumbura’s which broke Zimbabwe’s spine. A recovery from 64 for 5 was never going to be on.Raza’s mix-up with Malcolm Waller that had both batsmen stranded at the same end, looking helplessly at each other as Afghanistan pumped their fists in joy, summed up a game where their batting fragility was ruthlessly exposed.Under the circumstances, Noor Ali Zadran’s 63 proved to be gold dust even as the other Afghanistan batsmen were victims of their own diffidence. They started like a bullet train, but finished like a two-stroke engine that ran out of oil. Fifty nine runs were added in the first 10 overs, but they lost the last seven wickets for 38 to be bowled out in 38.5 overs after electing to bat on a surface that didn’t have the typical Sharjah sheen.A bulk of the damage was done by Graeme Cremer, the legspinner, courtesy subtle changes in pace and clever use of angles as he finished with 5 for 20.Cremer would have hoped to put his feet up and soak in the moment that brought him a second five-wicket haul in ODIs, but the manner in which Zimbabwe’s top order caved in meant he could not. He had to shepherd an inexperienced Zimbabwe tail against a spirited team and a boisterous crowd.In the end, a crest-fallen Cremer, whose spell should have won Zimbabwe the match, was stranded in the middle as the Afghans celebrated a Test-team takedown in style.