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Tilak Varma was retired out, and Hardik Pandya farmed the strike. But the last-ditch effort wasn’t enough for Mumbai Indians (MI) to register a come-from-behind win against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in their IPL 2025 game on Friday night.LSG have now won six of their seven games against the five-time champions, and this one in Lucknow was on the back of half-centuries from openers Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram, and a game-changing spell of 4-0-21-1 from Digvesh Rathi.For MI, Naman Dhir made an explosive 46, and Suryakumar Yadav continued to show form with a 43-ball 67. But LSG’s death bowlers – special mention to Shardul Thakur – stood tall against the experienced MI batting line-up.

Avesh and Thakur close it out

With 52 runs needed in the last four overs, ESPNcricinfo’s forecaster gave MI a 36.9% chance of winning. With Suryakumar and Tilak at the crease and Hardik to follow, it seemed closer to 50-50.Related

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Avesh Khan changed that by dismissing Suryakumar to start the 17th over. The batter pre-meditated a sweep, and he went through with it despite the ball being well outside the off-side tramline. The catch was taken at deep-backward square-leg.Hardik, the next batter in, and Tilak, got a boundary each in the over, but couldn’t get Rathi away in the next one. Thakur bowled yorkers in the 19th – at the stumps as well as wide ones – and with another 24 runs needed off the remaining seven balls, MI decided to retire Tilak out and bring in Mitchell Santner.Two runs from Santner off the last ball of that over from Thakur, in which just seven runs were scored, left MI an improbable 22 runs to get in the final over. Hardik was on strike, and although he launched Avesh over cover to start with a six, Avesh continued aiming for yorkers, and conceded just three runs off the five deliveries of the over.The forecaster was right, after all.

Suryakumar, Dhir give MI a chance

MI had gotten themselves into a good position despite stumbling early in the chase. Dhir and Suryakumar took charge after MI lost Will Jacks and Ryan Rickelton, their openers, in near-identical fashion: both hit hard-length balls to deep-backward square-leg.Dhir was remarkably still at the crease, and hit boundaries down the ground and through the leg side to get to 30 off his first nine balls. Suryakumar, meanwhile, swatted Avesh over the leg side as MI brought up their 50 in five overs. Akash Deep and Ravi Bishnoi were hit for two boundaries each right after the powerplay.1:17

What makes Digvesh Rathi such a tricky bowler to face?

But Rathi broke the flow with a legspinner’s carrom ball that angled in off a shortish length, beat Dhir’s flick, and hit the stumps. Suryakumar, though, continued to find the boundary without taking too many risks. His ability to manipulate the field was on display in the 11th over when he first played the square drive and then the cover drive to pick up two fours. Tilak, too, picked up an early boundary but couldn’t get going.MI got 88 for 1 in the middle overs despite not hitting a single six. They had set batters at the crease for the big finish, and it looked like they were well placed. But LSG’s death bowlers made all the difference in the end.

Marsh and Markram lay LSG’s foundation

Earlier, LSG made 69 runs in the powerplay after being put in to bat. Marsh made 60 of them off 31 balls, with nine fours and two sixes. He was caught behind off Trent Boult in the first over, but neither the bowler nor his team-mates heard the nick as Marsh tried driving through the covers.Marsh took advantage. He was severe against full balls, and the lofted off-drive off Boult for six in the third over was a highlight. When Santner was introduced in the fifth over, Marsh picked up two boundaries, both off the back foot.Ashwani Kumar bowled a quiet first over but went for 23 runs off his second with two boundaries down the ground – through square leg and cover – as Marsh got to a 27-ball fifty. But he fell against the run of play by handing a return catch to Vignesh Puthur in his first over, the seventh of the innings.1:03

Boucher: Markram ‘perfect’ up front for LSG

Hardik chips away but LSG push along

Nicholas Pooran was LSG’s in-form batter, and he looked in business straightaway, smacking Santner for a four and a six. But Hardik’s slower bouncer first accounted for Pooran, and then for the out-of-form Rishabh Pant, who got a leading edge off an attempted flick to mid-off.Markram hit a couple of sixes while batting with Pant, but got back to playing second fiddle as Ayush Badoni played himself in. Markram got to his fifty off 34 balls, off what was the 99th ball of the innings.Badoni was on 6 off his first nine deliveries before breaking free with three back-to-back boundaries off Santner, who finished with 0 for 46, his third-most expensive spell in a T20. Badoni scooped Ashwani on the fifth ball of the 16th over, but was out caught behind next ball trying to repeat the shot as the bowler went wider.In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik bowled two overs at the death and picked up three wickets, starting with that of Markram with the offcutter. Only four fours were hit between overs 16 and 19, and MI would have hoped to restrict LSG to under 200.David Miller, though, whacked a six and a four off Hardik, and brought up his 3000th IPL run in the process to start the final over. Hardik bounced back with Miller and Akash Deep’s wickets in two balls, but conceded 15 runs in the end and LSG got past 200.

Mitchell Marsh hopes to be a one-club player in the BBL after re-signing with Perth Scorchers for the next three years.Australia’s T20I captain was out of contract at the end of last season and was not part of Scorchers’ ten pre-signed players prior to the player movement window, which led to some speculation as to whether he might be on the move.But Marsh was given some time by Scorchers to assess what his future looked like after losing his spot in the Test side in January. Australia’s chairman of selectors George Bailey did suggest earlier this week that the door was not closed on Marsh’s Test career. But Marsh has committed to Scorchers for the next three years and indicated that he expects to be playing much more BBL cricket, after playing just one game for Scorchers in the past three seasons.Related

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“I’m really proud to sign on with the Scorchers, a team that I’ve played with since I was a kid, and a franchise that has looked after me incredibly well,” Marsh said.”Being a one-club player was a big part of my decision, which was obviously quite an easy decision. I think with the landscape of cricket these days, a lot of us play for a lot of different teams around the world and the idea of always coming home and playing for the Scorchers and hopefully finishing my career as a one-club player will be something I’m really proud of in years to come.”A lot of the guys in this team are not only mates on the field but also some of my best friends in life – Joel Paris, who’s coming back across, was a groomsman at my wedding. Playing alongside your best mates is always a special experience.”I’ve tuned into every game the last few years and tried to feel part of it all. There’s no doubt I’ll be around a lot more the next few years and that’s something I’m really looking forward to. It’s all about contributing, trying to add value to our team, and making sure we get back to playing finals and chasing more silverware.”Marsh, 33, is the only player remaining on Scorchers’ list who played for them in the first season of the BBL. He made 77 not out against Sydney Sixers in the first-ever BBL final.Scorchers high performance manager Kade Harvey was pleased that Marsh was set to be available for the next three years.”Clearly, signing Mitch was a priority given his calibre as a person and player, so we’re excited to have him on board for another three seasons,” Harvey said. “Mitch has been massive for the fabric of our franchise since its foundation. Not only is he loyal to and passionate about the Scorchers, but Mitch is also the kind of person the rest of the team rallies around.”He offers leadership, experience and a range of skills on field that will benefit our side enormously, as well as a genuine hunger for success.”Meanwhile in the WBBL, Jess Jonassen has also remained a one-club player after re-signing with Brisbane Heat for two more seasons.Jonassen captained the side to the WBBL final last season and has played 147 matches for Heat, the most of any player. She is coming off an outstanding WPL, where she took 13 wickets for Delhi Capitals, the third most in the tournament, and made two half-centuries to help them reach their third successive final.

Big picture: Pakistan vs New Zealand (again)

We live in a time when the ODI is starved for attention, with the older sibling commanding instant respect for its age and wisdom and the younger one bawling at full lung capacity if you dare to look away while it cartwheels around the room. For all that, the middle child never fails to remind us how captivating it can be whenever a global tournament comes along. The last two ODI World Cups produced so many classics between them, and so many passages of play that showcased the variety of skills that this format can both compress and give breathing room to.Given how little we’ve seen of it over the last year-and-a-half or thereabouts, then, our appetite for the ODI should be at its peak, even if the Champions Trophy remains an awkward fit in the calendar and the interests of the ICC’s member boards. So much has happened since Sarfaraz Ahmed lifted this trophy eight years ago, enough for everyone to forget that it even exists, but here we are now, and here it is once again.We have Pakistan, the defending champions and (co-ish) hosts, to start us off, and they’ll face familiar foes in the tournament-opener. No visiting team has played more ODIs in this country than New Zealand’s 11 since the start of 2019, and they begin this Champions Trophy a mere five days after beating Pakistan in the final of an ODI tri-series. Karachi hosted that match, and will host this one too.Related

• Rizwan says Rauf is 'fully fit' for Champions Trophy opener

It says something about the two teams that New Zealand and Pakistan finished fourth and fifth – just inside and just outside the knockouts spots – on the league tables of both the 2019 and 2023 World Cups, and that Pakistan won the head-to-head meetings both times. It speaks of two teams with potentially title-winning strengths as well as title-squandering flaws, and this, perhaps, makes it the ideal contest to kick things off.

Form guide

Pakistan LWLWW (last five completed ODIs, most recent first)
New Zealand WWWLW

In the spotlight

He’s gone 21 innings without an ODI hundred, and while this wouldn’t be abnormal for most batters, Babar Azam isn’t most batters. That sequence only includes two single-digit scores, so it isn’t as if he’s been struggling, but few things will bring as much joy to Pakistan at the start of a global event on home soil as a big score from their until-recently-irreproachable run machine. He’s batting at the top of the order now rather than No. 3, so a score of significance will also ease any doubts Pakistan may have about the structure of their line-up.Rachin Ravindra was struck by the ball on his forehead during the tri-series•AFP/Getty Images

In the recently concluded tri-series, New Zealand’s spinners finished with a combined economy rate of 4.41, which was remarkable considering their Pakistan and South Africa counterparts went at 5.67 and 5.94 respectively. It speaks to the quality of Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell, who picked up five wickets apiece during the tri-series at near-identical averages and economy rates. They form as enviable a spin combination as any in this tournament: a left-arm fingerspinner and an offspinner, both extremely handy with the bat.

Team news: Rauf boost for Pakistan

Haris Rauf played no part in the recent ODI tri-series after going off the field with a side strain during the opening game against New Zealand. He has been bowling in the nets in the lead-up to the Champions Trophy, though, and Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan was confident he would be fit to start the tournament-opener. This should leave Pakistan able to pick a full-strength XI.Pakistan (possible): 1 Fakhar Zaman, 2 Babar Azam, 3 Saud Shakeel, 4 Mohammad Rizwan (capt & wk), 5 Salman Agha, 6 Tayyab Tahir, 7 Khushdil Shah, 8 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 9 Naseem Shah, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Abrar Ahmed.New Zealand go into the Champions Trophy with two of their original fast-bowling selections – Lockie Ferguson and Ben Sears – out of the tournament. There’s also doubt over whether Rachin Ravindra – who hasn’t played a game since being struck on the head by the ball while fielding during the first match of the tri-series – will be fit to start, but the opener has been batting during training sessions in the lead-up to this tournament. New Zealand will take a call on him after their training session on Tuesday, with Will Young likely to open alongside Devon Conway should they decide not to risk Ravindra. Ferguson’s replacement Kyle Jamieson will not arrive in Karachi in time to be available for the first game.New Zealand: 1 Rachin Ravindra/Will Young, 2 Devon Conway, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Daryl Mitchell, 5 Tom Latham (wk), 6 Glenn Phillips, 7 Michael Bracewell, 8 Mitchell Santner (capt), 9 Matt Henry, 10 Jacob Duffy, 11 Will O’Rourke.

Pitch and conditions

Karachi hosted the last two matches of the recent tri-series, and they ended up as extremely dissimilar contests. On February 12, South Africa posted 352, the highest-ever total achieved at the venue, but that record only lasted a few hours as Pakistan hunted it down with an over to spare. Two days later, Will O’Rourke bagged four wickets and the unhittable Santner took 2 for 20 in his ten overs as Pakistan, electing to bat first in the final, were bundled out for 242, a total that New Zealand chased down with five wickets and 28 balls to spare.What sort of surface will the National Stadium serve up on Wednesday, then? Recent history suggests this is a testing venue for fast bowlers in ODIs, as their combined average of 33.67 and economy rate of 6.02 over this decade would attest. Where Lahore has tended to be just as harsh to spinners, however, Karachi has given them a modicum of respite; while their wickets have come at 45.50, they have only gone at 5.11 per over.Going by recent trends, pitches in global tournaments have tended to be good batting surfaces with something for bowlers to work with: the last three ICC ODI events – the 2017 Champions Trophy and the 2019 and 2023 World Cups – finished with overall run rates of 5.54, 5.59 and 5.82 respectively.Wednesday is expected to be a warm day in Karachi with a high of 29 degrees Celsius, and little to no chance of rain.

Stats and trivia

• New Zealand (2000) and Pakistan (2017) both beat India in the final when they won their respective Champions Trophy titles.
• These two teams have met three times in the Champions Trophy, in 2000, 2006 and 2009, with New Zealand winning all three times.
• New Zealand have faced Pakistan 11 times in ODIs since the start of 2023, and the results have been neck-and-neck. While New Zealand have won five and lost six, they’ve won three of the last four meetings.
• Of the 47 New Zealand batters to score 1000 ODI runs, Daryl Mitchell has the best average (50.42). His strike rate of 97.89 is also hugely impressive, since all five batters above him on that list average below 30.
• Of the bowlers from the eight teams in this tournament, Shaheen Shah Afridi (21 at 22.04) is the highest wicket-taker in ODIs since the end of the 2023 World Cup.
• Babar, Fakhar Zaman and Faheem Ashraf are the only members of Pakistan’s squad who were also part of their victorious 2017 campaign.

Quotes

“We’re all equal whether someone’s a platinum or an emerging player. The senior players have a bit more pressure on them, and we expect ourselves to perform on the biggest occasions, and this is as big as it gets.”
“Anytime you’ve been in conditions you’re been coming up against is an advantage. We’re lucky we’ve been over here for a couple of weeks and played in Pakistan quite a bit over the last three years”

Australia captain Alyssa Healy is a significant doubt for the remainder of the Ashes series after she was ruled out of the first T20I with a “stress response” in her foot on the same side as the injury she sustained at last year’s T20 World CupIt meant that Australia were led by Tahlia McGrath in what became a convincing victory to retain the Ashes at the SCG while the top-order vacancy was filled by debutant Georgia Voll and Beth Mooney will keep wicket.”As you can imagine, she’s pretty flat,” Mooney said. “She doesn’t want to miss any games for Australia and unfortunately for her, she’s missed a few in the last few months. We’ll put our arm around her, wait and see what the [medical] staff say and what the prognosis is.”But, certainly, she’s a key member of our playing group both on and off the field and we know what impact she can have to the outcome of the results on field. So, we’ll be keeping a close eye on making sure she’s okay mentally, but also doing all the right things with [the sports science sports medicine staff] well.Australia also had to contend with allrounder Ashleigh Gardner being ruled out with a calf injury. She will be assessed again ahead of the second T20I in Canberra.Related

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The injury to Healy meant that Australia pushed back announcing their squad for the day-night Test at the MCG which had been due to be named during the T20I on Monday.”Alyssa has got a stress response in her foot,” head of high performance Shawn Flegler told Fox Cricket. “We’re going to try and get a little bit more information before we make a call on her. It’s a big call for Alyssa. Test captain as well. So we’ll wait and see on what we come up with over the next 24-48 hours.””We’ve got a selector meeting tomorrow morning. We’ll see what plays out. We’re not going to rush into it. There’s still a week or so before the Test matchAfter returning from the plantar fascia injury sustained at the World Cup, Healy had her WBBL cut short by a knee problem which also meant she played as a batter only in the ODIs against New Zealand in December having missed the earlier home series against India.She returned to keeping duties for the three ODIs against England with the matches taking place in six days. The schedule is also tight for the T20I series with games in Canberra on January 23 then Adelaide on January 25.Even if Healy is able to play a part in either of those, there will be major questions over whether she can sustain the workload of a Test match, especially as a wicketkeeper.Depending on the prognosis for Healy, her participation in the WPL and the T20I tour of New Zealand in late March could also be in doubt.

A total of 120 players will feature in the WPL 2025 mini-auction, which will be held on December 15 in Bengaluru. Out of those, 91 are Indians and 29 from overseas, including three from Associate teams. A maximum of 19 slots are to be filled across five teams. Five of those can be taken by overseas players.Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Giants, Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru have four vacancies each, while UP Warriorz have three. Below is the full auction list.!function(){“use strict”;window.addEventListener(“message”,(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[“datawrapper-height”]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(“iframe”);for(var t in a.data[“datawrapper-height”])for(var r=0;r<e.length;r++)if(e[r].contentWindow===a.source){var i=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";e[r].style.height=i}}}))}();