IRE-W vs SA-W | Gaby Lewis & Leah Paul's heroics help Ireland beat South Africa by 10 runs

On a day when Gaby Lewis became the youngest cricketer to lead Ireland, there was more history in store for the 21-year-old as she led her side to a memorable 10-run win over South Africa in the 1st T20I of the three-match series on Friday night.

Lewis led from the front as she smashed a whirlwind 38-ball 52 with the help of eight fours to help Ireland Women post an eventual match-winning total of 143/7 in 20 overs.

Lewis leapfrogged Claire Shillington (1019) during her innings to become the leading scorer for her country.

She also became the 2nd youngest- 21 years & 68 days- to cross the landmark of 1000 T20I runs, a record held by India's Jemimah Rodrigues (21 years & 32 days).

Lewis added a record 98 runs for the opening wicket with Leah Paul, who chipped in with a 42-ball 47. However, the unfortunate run-out of Lewis at the score of 52 triggered a collapse that saw Ireland lose 6-35 in the next 6.4 and eventually finished at 143.

Fast bowler Tumi Sekhukhune (3/32 in 3 overs) and medium pacer Nadine De Klerk (1/17 in 4 overs) were the picks of the bowlers for the Proteas.

In response, the South African batters except for Chloe Tyron, who smashed three fours and a six in her 15-ball 26, showed little intent, with Anne Bosch (29 off 36), Laura Wolvaardt (20 off 22) and skipper Sune Luus (23 off 24) all striking under 100.

Rachael Delaney (0/1 in 1 over) provided Ireland with the perfect start. She not only dismissed opener Lara Goodall on the first delivery of the innings but also backed it up with five dot balls.

That set the tone, and the duo of Jane Maguire (0-17 in 4), who was sensational at the death, Leah Paul (1-21 in 3), and Arlene Kelly (2-25 in 4) took it forward brilliantly.

South Africa eventually finished at 133/7 after 20 overs to hand Ireland a 1-0 lead in the series. This is Ireland's 2nd T20I win over their counterparts, and they will look to convert it into a historic series win on Monday.

Brief Scores:

Ireland Women 143/7 (20)

Gaby Lewis 52 (38)

Leah Paul 47 (42)

Tumi Sekhukhune 3/32 (4)

Nadine De Klerk 1/17 (4)

South Africa Women 133/7 (20)

Chloe Tyron 26* (15)

Arlene Kelly 2/25 (4)

Jane Maguire 0/17 (4)

Leah Paul 1/21 (3)

Match Result: Ireland Women won by 10 runs

Player of the Match: Leah Paul 47 (42) & 1/21 (3)

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NED vs WI | 3rd ODI | Preview, Prediction, Probable XI, CREX XI

The third and final ODI between hosts the Netherlands and the West Indies will take place on Saturday, June 4, at the VRA Cricket Ground in Amstelveen. West Indies might have already taken an unassailable 2-0 in the three-match affair, but with valuable ICC ODI Super League points up for grabs, the final ODI is by no means a dead rubber. The tourists rode on an unbeaten 90-ball 91 from Brandon King and a valuable 43* from lower-order batter Keacy Carty, which helped them chase down the total of 215. But it was not before they were given a mighty scare by the Dutch pace attack, led by Bas De Leede. With the centurion from the 1st ODI, Shai Hope, falling cheap, none of the top four, including skipper Nicholas Pooran could stem the slide. The visitors will look to improve their performance with the bat in the final ODI. As for the home side, the Pieter Seelaar-led team would be disappointed that they couldn't seize the advantage with both bat and ball. Twice in the last game, the Dutch had the chance to nail the former champions on the floor, but the inability of the middle-order to back up the good work done by the openers as well as the failure by their bowlers to close the innings off after they had reduced WI to 99/5. The result of the series has been decided, but the home side will look to claim 10 valuable super league points and, in the process, break their losing streak of 8 consecutive ODIs. Match Details: Match: Netherlands vs West Indies, 3rd ODI Date: June 4 2022 Time: 02:30 PM IST Venue: VRA Cricket Ground, Amstelveen. Live Streaming: Fancode Pitch Report: The surface at the VRA Academy has proved to be a balanced one so far, with batters finding a way to get big scores and fast bowlers as well as spinners also chipping in. The tweakers have proved to be quite a handful, as was evident in the last game where Akeal Hosein took a four-fer. One can expect more of the same in the final match. Head-To-Head: Matches played: 4 Won by Netherlands: 0 Won by the West Indies: 4 Squads: Netherlands Pieter Seelaar (c), Scott Edwards (wk), Vikramjit Singh, Fred Klaassen, Vivian Kingma, Ryan Klein, Bas de Leede, Musa Nadeem Ahmad, Teja Nidamanuru, Shariz Ahmad, Logan van Beek, Philippe Boissevain, Aryan Dutt, Clayton Floyd, Max O'Dowd, Tonny Staal. West Indies Nicholas Pooran (c), Shai Hope (wk), Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Jayden Seales, Hayden Walsh Jr, Nkrumah Bonner, Shamarh Brooks, Keacy Carty, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Shermon Lewis, Anderson Phillip Probable Playing XI: Netherlands: Vikramjit Singh, Max O'Dowd, Scott Edwards (WK), Musa Ahmed, Bas de Leede, Pieter Seelaar (c), Teja Nidamanuru, Logan Van Beek, Ryan Klein, Aryan Dutt, Vivian Kingma West Indies: Shai Hope (WK), Shamarh Brooks, Nkrumah Bonner, Brandon King, Shermon Lewis, Kyle Mayers, Nicholas Pooran (c), Keacy Carty, Alzarri Joseph, Anderson Phillip/Jayden Seales, Akeal Hosein, Hayden Walsh Jr Prediction: West Indies likely to win the game and take the series 3-0 CREX XI Suggestion: Wicket-Keeper: Shai Hope, Vikramjit Singh Batters: Brandon King, Max O'Dowd, Nicholas Pooran All-Rounders: Logan van Beek, Kyle Mayers Bowlers: Bas de Leede, Akeal Hosein, Hayden Walsh Jr, Alzarri Joseph Captain: Shai Hope Vice-captain: Max O'Dowd

NED vs WI 2022 | Rovman Powell and Romario Shepherd miss ODI series

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Hardik Pandya has talked about his long break from the Indian squad following his Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 heroics, where he guided Gujarat Titans (GT) to the title in their maiden season in the league. The Indian all-rounder posted an inspirational video ahead of his return to the national squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series against South Africa. The 28-year-old last appeared in the blues for India in the T20 World Cup in 2021. Hardik hasn't bowled much and remained unavailable for India's T20I squad for the subsequent home series against New Zealand, the West Indies, and Sri Lanka. A school of thought professed that the marquee all-rounder was dropped from the team because he couldn't bowl. Hardik made a successful comeback to the game in IPL 2022 after being out for nearly six months, impressing with both bat and ball. In preparation for the 2022 Men's T20 World Cup in Australia, he has earned his place back in the Indian T20I team. The former Mumbai Indians icon revealed in an inspirational video uploaded by the social media handle of the IPL 2022 champions, GT. It was a misconception that he was dropped from the Indian squad and that he had instead requested time away from the game. "Lots of people don't know that I took off, it was my decision. A lot of misconceptions are that I was dropped. You only get dropped when you're available. Thankful to the BCCI that they allowed me to take such long breaks and didn't trouble or force me to come back, so that's commendable from their side. The old Hardik will be back," he said. "I told someone as well that now that the fans are back, it is the right time for me to make a comeback. There are a lot of matches that I am going to play (for India) and the hard work that I did before coming into the IPL will come to use. Making sure that whatever I did for my franchise, I do for my country as well," the IPL-winning skipper added. The Baroda cricketer performed with both bat and ball in the IPL 2022, scoring 487 runs and collecting eight wickets. He was named 'Player of the Match' in the final after taking three wickets and for his breathtaking spell of 3/17. With some crucial games ahead in the run-up to the T20 World Cup, the all-rounder revealed how he intends to have the same impact on Team India.