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In the final for the first time, Multan Sultans completed one of the great turnarounds in a franchise cricket season to lift their maiden title by comprehensively defeating Peshawar Zalmi in the PSL 2021 final.Two blistering half-centuries from Sohaib Maqsood and Rilee Rossouw made them favourites at the halfway mark, after which regular wickets at key intervals saw off the Zalmi challenge. Although the tournament’s highest wicket-taker Shahnawaz Dahani finished wicketless, the others stepped up on the final day. Blessing Muzarabani and Imran Khan took two wickets each at economies of under seven, and the ageless Imran Tahir collected three.Sultans started the second leg of the PSL fifth on the points table – having lost four of their first five matches – but led by their captain Mohammad Rizwan, went on to win four of the next five to finish the league stage second. They then swatted the Islamabad United challenge in the first qualifier and the win in the final was the crowning glory in their magnificent UAE leg of the season.For Zalmi, it was the third time in the last four seasons that they faltered in the final. They failed to capitalise after keeping Sultans quiet for the first half of the first innings, and their hero of the two eliminators Hazratullah Zazai faced only five balls. Those factors, coupled with the lack of a big partnership a la Maqsood and Rossouw, resulted in the 47-run defeat for Wahab Riaz’s men.Masood, Rizwan fall after blossoming startSent in to bat, it was a slow start for Sultans. Openers Shan Masood and Rizwan were kept quiet by Sameen Gul and Mohammad Irfan in the opening overs, and it was as late as the fourth over that the acceleration began. It was kickstarted by Rizwan as he drove Irfan for a four and then pulled him for six. Masood then cut and flicked Gul for three fours to take Sultans to 42 after the Powerplay, and it seemed the base was set for both batters to continue their assault.However, Masood, on 37, fell victim to a Mohammad Imran slower ball in the ninth over and saw his off stump shattered and Rizwan soon followed when he chopped a wide ball from the same bowler to the wicketkeeper. From 66 for no loss, Sultans had swiftly fallen to 83 for 2, and only nine overs remained in the innings.Maqsood, Rossouw put on a showIt was just a few hours earlier that Maqsood was added to the Pakistan T20I squad travelling to England following news of Haider Ali’s bio-bubble breach, and the batter showed why he had been called up.He began by hitting Riaz for four and six off the first two balls of the 13th and bookended the over with another boundary. He then showed power and finesse in the 15th by hammering Imran for a six over long-on and playing a reverse pat for four behind square. Off Imran’s next over he got inside the line to place a four behind square, following it up with a powerful six over extra cover. By the time the 17th over was done, he had raced away to a 23-ball fifty – his fifth half-century of the season – and celebrated his return to the national set-up after five years.But while Maqsood’s big shots were a sight to behold, there was another man causing equal damage at the other end. Rossouw started his innings with a first-ball four, and that was the tempo he played with all innings. Sandwiched between Maqsood’s assault of Riaz and Imran, he smacked two sixes and a four in a 20-run 14th over from Amad Butt. He started the over by punching Butt down the ground for four. Next ball, he scooped a six over long leg and a few balls later deposited Butt for six over square leg. Rossouw eventually fell for a 21-ball 50, but by then the 44-ball stand of 98 had demoralised the Zalmi bowlers and had Sultans dreaming of 200.And 200 would be breached in the final over. Maqsood survived a caught after Butt’s waist-high full toss was deemed a no-ball, after which the free hit was deposited over long-on. Then came a fortuitous six, as Sherfane Rutherford failed to take a clean catch at the straight boundary. By the end of the innings Maqsood finished unbeaten on 65 in 35 balls, Sultans had reached 206, and Zalmi needed to pull off a record chase after conceding 116 runs in their last eight overs.Akmal keeps Zazai at the non-striker’sZazai’s back-to-back half-centuries in the two eliminators had dragged Zalmi to the final, but on the night he faced only three balls in the first five overs. While Kamran Akmal kept finding occasional boundaries in the opening salvo of the chase, he struggled to get the singles, starving his in-form partner of the strike. By the time Zalmi had reached 36 in five overs, Akmal had scored all those runs.The first time Zazai faced the first ball of an over was the last over of the Powerplay, delivered by Muzarabani. It started by Zazai swatting a length ball over square leg for six in what seemed like an ominous sign for Sultans but Muzarabani returned with a slower ball, angling away, that Zazai was tempted to cut over the off side. However, all he could get was an as thick edge, and Masood at point gobbled it up. Imran Khan then sent Akmal packing by bowling a length ball on off that stayed a bit low and shattered the batter’s stumps.Malik and Rutherford try their bestWith Malik and half-centurion from Eliminator 2 Jonathan Wells around, Zalmi still had enough in the tank to pull the chase off. But boundaries after the Powerplay dried up, and in an attempt to take a second run against Rossouw’s arm at long-on, Wells was run out at the bowler’s end for a 13-ball 6. In the five overs after the Powerplay, Zalmi could add only 27.But in Zalmi, the four-time finalists, there was still some fight left. Malik pumped Imran for six and four after surviving being caught off a front-foot no-ball and then hammered Tahir for sixes over long-on and long-off in the 14th over that went for 21.However, Malik was caught on 48, and while Rutherford kept scything away at deliveries that were in his arc, it was Tahir – the 42-year-old Tahir – who finally broke Zalmi’s back. The West Indian looked to slog Tahir over deep midwicket, only to top edge it for Rizwan to swallow. That had Tahir running towards the dugout, and he would do that two more times in the over. By the time the 18th over was starting off, the remaining Sultans squad members were already standing shoulder to shoulder to run in for the celebrations.

UAE players Amir Hayat and Ashfaq Ahmed have been banned from all forms of cricket for eight years by the ICC’s anti-corruption tribunal for violating ICC’s anti-corruption code.The bans are backdated to 13 September 2020, when they were provisionally suspended for corrupt conduct in relation to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier in April 2019. Hayat played the last of his 13 internationals in February 2019, while Ahmed, 37, last played for UAE in April that year.The ruling means five UAE players – Mohammad Naveed, Shaiman Anwar and Qadeer Ahmed – have received bans of varying degrees over the last two years. While Ahmed is in the middle of a five-year ban, Naveed and Anwar were banned for eight years.Following a full hearing and presentation of written and oral arguments, the Tribunal found both Amir and Ashfaq guilty of:

• Article 2.1.3, which deals with a player taking a bribe to try to fix a cricket match or ensuring the occurrence of a particular event for the purposes of betting on a cricket match.
• Article 2.4.2, which deals with gifts being given to a player in exchange for them breaking the ICC anti-corruption code and bringing the game into disrepute.
• Article 2.4.3, which deals with a player failing to disclose gifts and benefits offered to them with a value of USD 750 or more. There are exemptions to this: gifts given to them by family or friends, food or beverage gifts and cricket hospitality gifts in connection with the matches the player is involved in.
• Article 2.4.4, which deals with a player failing to disclose a corrupt approach made on them.
• Article 2.4.5, which deals with failing to disclose anything that may be seen as evidence of corrupt conduct.

ICC hoped the bans would serve as a warning to the others. “Both Amir and Ashfaq had played cricket at the highest level for long enough to understand the threat from match fixers,” ICC general manager Alex Marshall said in a statement.”The two UAE players, attended several ICC anti-corruption education sessions, and knew how to avoid becoming involved in any corrupt activity. They failed in these obligations and let down their teammates and everyone involved in UAE Cricket, in their adopted country. Their lengthy ban should serve as a warning to others.”

Big picture

This series didn’t get the David and Goliath stereotype Andy Balbirnie joked about in the lead-up to the first ODI, but it did get another: rain. Only 40.2 overs were possible on Sunday, the 500 spectators that braved the wet weather saw as much cricket as they did rain and there’s scant evidence to suggest what this series may hold, except one complete match fewer.Ireland’s batting was steady without being explosive, South Africa’s bowling was economical without being particularly incisive, and conditions seemed to reward patience. Both teams had plenty on display but did not have the opportunity to see the results of their efforts because of the wash-out.The hosts will be pleased with the way William Porterfield and Balbirnie set up the innings and the hitting power of Harry Tector and Mark Adair, while Lungi Ngidi made the biggest impression among the South African pack. After being expensive in the Caribbean, Ngidi seemed to rediscover his control and built pressure at the start of the Irish innings. Andile Phehlukwayo also enjoyed a successful comeback to the national side after warming the bench in the West Indies, and will want to continue to establish himself as the premier seam-bowling allrounder.The shared points mean South Africa have moved off the bottom of the World Cup Super League and now lie above Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. They will want to pick up all 20 points that remain on offer to jump into the top five and feel more secure about their chances of automatic qualification, however early these days may be.Ireland have now leapfrogged Netherlands, who beat them in their most recent ODI series, and sit ninth. Any points they can take off South Africa in the next two matches will put them in a strong position ahead of their series against Zimbabwe.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
Ireland LWLLLSouth Africa LWLWW

In the spotlight

Ireland’s scoring rate in the first ODI was described as “old-fashioned” by pundits, including Niall O’Brien, and their pedestrian pace will need some acceleration if they are to challenge some of South Africa’s big-hitters. For that, they’ve got George Dockrell. The left-arm-spinner-turned-batter was the top run-scorer in Ireland’s Inter-Provincial Limited Over Cup that finished last month. He scored 364 runs in five innings, including four fifties and a hundred, at a strike rate of 87.92, the second highest among the top-10 run-scorers.Kyle Verreynne was tidy behind the stumps in the first match and even if he has to hand the wicket-keeping gloves back to Quinton de Kock, he will want to grab the opportunity to establish a spot in the middle-order. Verreynne is competing with Heinrich Klaasen as South Africa search for someone who can operate as both a stabiliser for the mid-section of their innings and a finisher. On a ground with small boundaries, Verreynne will have few better opportunities to show his attacking abilities.

Team news

William Porterfield returned to open the batting with great success and is likely to be retained in that position. Ireland chose to play Dockrell as a specialist batter and will likely continue to do so, with the option to use him in a two-spinner, three-seam attack.Ireland: (possible) 1 Paul Stirling, 2 William Porterfield, 3 Andy Balbirnie (capt), 4 Harry Tector, 5 George Dockerell, 6 Lorcan Tucker (wk), 7 Simi Singh, 8 Andy McBrine, 9 Mark Adair, 10 Josh Little, 11 Craig YoungSouth Africa rested de Kock and Anrich Nortje from the first ODI but may want to bring them back for a crucial match in the series. That would mean Janneman Malan misses out and Keshav Maharaj may have to sit out, with the hope for further opportunities in the T20Is.South Africa (possible): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Aiden Markram, 3 Temba Bavuma (capt), 4 Rassie van der Dussen, 5 Kyle Verreynne, 6 David Miller, 7 Andile Phehlukwayo, 8 Kagiso Rabada, 9 Anrich Nortje, 10 Lungi Ngidi, 11 Tabraiz Shamsi

Pitch and conditions

After persistent rain caused Sunday’s ODI to wash out, clear skies are expected for Tuesday, which bodes well for a complete game. On the evidence of the overs that were played in the first match, run-scoring was not as free-flowing as South Africa may have hoped with Ireland’s run rate hovering below five runs an over. There was plenty of seam movement on offer and with the amount of rain experienced in the last few days, a green-tinged top should see more of the same.

Stats and trivia

• Paul Stirling needs another 164 runs to become the first Ireland player to reach 5,000 ODI runs.
• Andile Phehlukwayo has represented South Africa 100 times across the three formats.

Central Sparks upset Southern Vipers in their Charlotte Edwards Cup clash at Hove to win by six wickets after an opening partnership of 137 in 14.3 overs between Marie Kelly, who scored a brilliant unbeaten 100 off 53 balls, and captain Eve Jones, who made 51 from 47.The Vipers were favourites after their own captain, Georgia Adams, had led the way with an unbeaten 88 in a total of 162 for 4. At that stage Jones must have regretted her decision to bowl first.The Vipers had also gone into the game top of Group A with three wins out of three, including an eight-wicket win over Central Sparks at Edgbaston, having bowled out their hosts for 83 and scored the winning runs in just 13.1 overs.The Vipers’ impressive bowling attack had also taken 27 wickets out of 30 in their previous games. But here they were very much second best to Kelly and Jones. After Jones was out, sweeping, Central Sparks lost Milly Home, Gwenan Davies and Thea Brooks cheaply to set up the possibility of a tight finish.But the outstanding Kelly settled the match when she hit the final ball of the 19th over, off Tara Norris, to square-leg for four.Another dominating innings by Adams appeared to have set up victory for the Vipers. She already had 89 runs, including a half-century against South East Stars. But here she almost doubled her tally with 88 from 60 deliveries for a strike rate of 146.66.She used her long levers and sweet timing to strike 16 fours – the rest of the team managed seven between them. She lost opening partner Maia Bouchier, who was caught behind off Hannah Baker for 13 at 35 in the fifth over.The 50 came up off the first ball of the sixth over as Central Sparks struggled to contain the run-rate. Georgia Elwiss was dropped off a no-ball, a high full toss from Baker which she pulled to midwicket, and the ball dribbled over the rope for four. Then she pulled the following delivery in the same direction for the only six of the innings before she was run out by Kelly’s fine throw.Then Charlotte Dean was run out for a solid 31 and Paige Scholfield skied to point. Adams went on and on, but it wasn’t to be enough as Vipers’ bowling and fielding let them down.

UAE wicketkeeper-batter Ghulam Shabber has been banned from all cricket for four years, having been found guilty breaching the ICC’s anti-corruption code on six counts. Shabber admitted to the breaches, and will next be eligible to play on August 20, 2025.Among the charges against him were failure to disclose corrupt approaches in relation to series against Nepal in Jan-Feb 2019 and Zimbabwe in April 2019, failure to disclose details of an approach received by a team-mate for that Zimbabwe series, failure to disclose full details on facts/incidents that might have been evidence of corrupt conduct from others, failure to fully cooperate with the Anti-Corruption Unit’s (ACU) investigation – by, among other things, “failing to surrender all his mobile devices upon request” – and obstructing the ACU’s investigation by concealing possibly relevant information.Shabber, 35, played 23 ODIs and 17 T20Is for UAE between 2016 and 2019. He ran into trouble in October 2019, when he “absconded” from the team set-up ahead of a match against Hong Kong during the Men’s T20 World Cup qualifiers being played in the UAE. The Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) subsequently suspended him, and said following an “extensive search” that he had surfaced in Pakistan.Related

• Qadeer Ahmed handed five-year ban for corruption

• Naveed and Anwar handed eight-year bans for corruption

• Shabber suspended by Emirates board after disappearance

His disappearance from the UAE had coincided with the ICC announcing the provisional suspension of UAE players Mohammad Naveed, Qadeer Ahmed and Shaiman Anwar for various breaches of the anti-corruption code. Qadeer has since been banned for five years, and Naveed and Anwar for eight years apiece.The ICC’s general manager – integrity unit, Alex Marshall, said of the decision on Shabber: “[He] was expected to understand his responsibilities as an international cricketer. He attended at least three anti-corruption education sessions in which players were reminded of their obligations to report any approaches by corrupters.”It was disappointing to note that he did not report any of the approaches. Although he was cooperative when interviewed and expressed remorse, it is only appropriate that he be banned so that a strong message goes out to other players and potential corrupters.”

Big picture

Last season, Sunrisers Hyderabad ended Kolkata Knight Riders’ playoff hopes with a win against Mumbai Indians in their last league game. Sunrisers were a better-looking team then, and they claimed their spot in the top four with a strong NRR.This season, they became the first to drop out of contention for the playoffs – two wins from 11 games usually do that; they just didn’t click as a unit, but their bowling has sort of come together in the last couple of games. They came close to winning against table-toppers Chennai Super Kings in their last match. And they do have the chance to spoil Knight Riders’ party, once again.

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Knight Riders have been in this situation in the last couple of seasons as well – and faltered, finishing fifth, on both occasions. They wouldn’t want to complicate it this time, too, and a win here could strengthen their chances.They have a better chance this time too. Among the teams in the middle – five fighting for two spots – they have the best NRR. They will be facing the two bottom-placed teams in their next two games, and they have the likes of Venkatesh Iyer, Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy winning games for them.But they have not been consistent. For one, they have been struggling with their combination in the absence of Andre Russell. Their captain Eoin Morgan has still not found form. They are coming into the match on the back of a loss, to Punjab Kings on Friday. Their focus will be on getting their playing XI right. And it might not be easy to pull that off.

Qualification chances

Mumbai Indians’ defeat on Saturday means Knight Riders are now in control of their own destiny. If they win their last two matches, their tally of 14 points and an excellent net run rate (currently 0.302) will almost certainly ensure qualification.However, if they lose to Sunrisers, they will have to hope that the three other teams who are currently on 10 – Mumbai, Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals – also lose at least one of their two remaining games and finish on no more than 12 points. Then Knight Riders could still qualify with a win in their last game against Royals.

In the news

It is not clear when Russell and Lockie Ferguson, who have been out with injuries, will be fit to play. Knight Riders brought an extra batter in Tim Seifert for the last game, while Tim Southee, who initially replaced Russell in the XI, took Ferguson’s spot on the day. They do have the option to bring in allrounder Shakib Al Hasan, who can not only chip in with his bowling, but can also provide the much-needed batting heft in the middle order. Head coach Brendon McCullum on Friday said that the team sees Shakib mainly as a batter in the top three, though it “doesn’t mean he can’t slot in somewhere else”.Will Shakib Al Hasan get a look in? If he does, who goes out?•BCCI

Likely XIs

Kolkata Knight Riders: 1 Shubman Gill, 2 Venkatesh Iyer, 3 Rahul Tripathi, 4 Nitish Rana, 5 Eoin Morgan (capt), 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Tim Seifert/Shakib Al Hasan, 8 Sunil Narine, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Prasidh Krishna/Sandeep Warrier, 11 Varun ChakravarthySunrisers Hyderabad: 1 Jason Roy, 2 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Priyam Garg, 5 Abhishek Sharma, 6 Jason Holder, 7 Abdul Samad, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Siddarth Kaul, 11 Sandeep Sharma

Strategy punt

Wriddhiman Saha has a great record against Knight Riders in the tournament: he has scored most of his IPL runs against them, strikes at 140 against their bowlers, and made his tournament best of 115* against them in the 2014 final. Barring him, all other Sunrisers batters have scored at less than 110 against Narine. However, Saha has been dismissed by Narine thrice in ten meetings. Knight Riders will want to take advantage of this match up and send Narine to bowl up front to the opener.

Stats that matter

• Iyer has been superb at the top of the order for Knight Riders. The 193 runs he has scored is the third-highest by an uncapped Indian player after five matches in the IPL.
• Shubman Gill’s average of 19.9 is the lowest among batters who have scored a minimum of 200 runs in IPL 2021.
• Dinesh Karthik needs five more to get to 4000 runs in the IPL.
• Knight Riders have won four out of the last five games against Sunrisers.

New South Wales and Victoria are set to play up to three Sheffield Shield and three Marsh Cup fixtures between themselves in Sydney and Melbourne starting in late October after both states were denied the chance to enter either South Australia or Northern Territory to quarantine and play against other states.Plans had been in place for a month to have both teams to enter 14-day hard hotel quarantine in South Australia starting on October 4 to then play up to four Shield matches and five Marsh Cup matches interstate against South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, and Queensland with most of those borders open to each other. Both sides had agreed to do hard quarantine without training exemptions in the hope to get their seasons underway.But those plans have fallen through with NSW head of male cricket Michael Klinger confirming on Tuesday that the two states were not given exemptions to enter South Australia, after previously being knocked back on a request to quarantine in the Northern Territory.”We won’t be travelling,” Klinger said. “We’ve done our best over the last month to try and get ourselves interstate.”We worked really hard with some governments to put some submissions in to allow that to happen. But unfortunately, we just haven’t been able to get it over the line with some state governments that we tried to.”The positives out of that is that the next steps are we’re working really closely now with Cricket Australia and Cricket Victoria and our respective governments to get some games going against Victoria probably late October and into November to get both our seasons started. Hopefully be able to play them potentially on the main grounds and get some quality cricket in before the start of the BBL and more importantly for some of the guys playing Test cricket to get some preparation for them before the Ashes.”New South Wales and Victoria are currently in lockdown but with vaccination rates rising there is optimism that both states could be open to each other by late October, despite borders to other states remaining close indefinitely. That would give the two teams a chance to play as many as three Shield games at both the SCG and MCG over the course of a month prior to the Ashes and BBL starting in December.Related

• Will Pucovski sees concussion specialist after head knock at training

• CA faces a logistical nightmare for its NSW and Victoria Test players ahead of Ashes

• Queensland kit stolen ahead of rescheduled Sheffield Shield clash in Adelaide

• Queensland Tasmania Shield clash moved to Adelaide

• New South Wales players find temporary home in Queensland Premier Cricket

“The way it’s worked out, if we can work hard with Cricket Australia and Cricket Victoria we’ll still be playing games around the same time that we would have been if we did go interstate and hopefully with zero quarantine,” Klinger said.”All it does really mean is we’re playing games against the same team but I think in a way you’ve got two strong teams, people trying to vie for spots for the Ashes so potentially there’s going to be some really strong games if we can get it up and going.”That will give the likes of Nathan Lyon, James Pattinson, Marcus Harris, and Will Pucovski, pending his fitness, the opportunity to play at least two games ahead of the start of the Ashes.Victoria’s team has been able to train as per normal in Melbourne and has been playing both white and red-ball practice matches at the Junction Oval because of exemptions for professional sporting teams to continue to train during lockdown. But New South Wales have had a far more difficult pre-season to navigate due to different restrictions in different local government areas.Players have only trained in groups of 10. Wicketkeeper Baxter Holt and batting coach Chandika Hathurusingha have only been allowed to train when the team has trained at Sydney Olympic Park due to a 5km restriction on travel in their area. While legspinner Tanveer Sangha has had to bowl at his local nets on his own and send footage back to the coaching staff. Six other players including Matthew Gilkes, Jason Sangha, Jack Edwards and Chris Tremain have remained interstate having played cricket in Northern Territory during the winter months before playing grade cricket in Queensland and flying at short notice to Adelaide last week, all in a bid to avoid 14-day quarantine. But all six are returning to NSW today.”We really thank Queensland cricket, NT cricket, and the SACA for [helping those players],” Klinger said. “And then we found out we couldn’t go interstate so they’re all coming back today to join the main group.”The work ethic of our players and coaching staff, unless you’re actually in Sydney and can see it, has been amazing. They’ve gone above and beyond players and staff, really over the last few months and I’m really excited to see how they all step up now to hopefully play some games of cricket because they’ve put in so much work in probably the most challenging circumstances that anyone has had around Australian cricket over the last few months.”

Warriors batter George van Heerden will lead the South Africa Under-19 side in the World Cup early next year in the Caribbean. They will also take part in a pre-World Cup bilateral tour against West Indies in December to prepare for the global event.The squad of 15 also features Titans batter Dewald Brevis, who had impressed recently in the CSA Provincial T20 Knockout competition, and Western Province’s Asakhe Tsaka, who finished with an economy rate of 6.42 in the tournament.van Heerden recently led the Under-19 squad in the CSA Provincial T20 Cup when they took on Easterns, North West and Dolphins.”The process of putting this group of players together is only the pinnacle of the work that started as far back as three years ago when some of these players were exposed to the CSA Talent Acceleration Programme (TAP) for the first time,” South Africa Under-19s convenor of selectors, Patrick Moroney said.”All these players played in the CSA Cubs week hosted in January earlier this year. Covid has played a big part in things being different, especially taking into account the schools cricket programme where schools play each other on a week-to-week basis that could not take place because of Covid. But taking all into account I believe that we have managed to select a team that will be competitive at the World Cup in the West Indies.”Head coach Shukri Conrad said: “We have a lot of exciting players in our group, and I am certain they will be well-led by George van Heerden.”I want us to have the courage of our convictions. Have the courage to play the way we have practised, to follow the philosophy that we have set out and, hopefully, we can adapt, depending on what conditions are prevalent in the West Indies, both on the tour and the World Cup.”The World Cup is the priority, but we also have a series to the West Indies that we’d like to win. It is also great preparation for the boys. I would like to see our boys continue the work; we still have a little bit of work to do before we get there and once there, to go out and have the courage to play the way we want to play.”Ultimately, I believe if we do that enough, then we will be victorious. We are certainly not going there as a side who wants to just compete, or a side just thrilled to be there, we want to not only give a good account of ourselves but also get into the play-off stages and win tournaments.”That’s a long way away, but if we follow the building blocks, we will be alright.”Squad for World Cup: George van Heerden (capt), Liam Alder, Matthew Boast, Dewald Brevis, Michael Copeland, Ethan Cunningham, Valentine Kitime, Kwena Maphaka, Gerhard Maree, Aphiwe Mnyanda, Andile Simelane, Jade Smith, Kaden Solomons, Joshua Stephenson, Asakhe Tshaka. Travelling reserves: Hardus Coetzer, Ronan Hermann, Caleb Seleka.Squad for West Indies bilateral tour: George van Heerden (capt), Liam Alder, Matthew Boast, Dewald Brevis, Michael Copeland, Ethan Cunningham, Valentine Kitime, Kwena Maphaka, Gerhard Maree, Aphiwe Mnyanda, Andile Simelane, Jade Smith, Kaden Solomons, Joshua Stephenson, Asakhe Tshaka.

Big picture

India spent a large chunk of 2021 breaching fortresses around the world. They now begin 2022 at a venue that’s been something of an away fortress for them.India have never lost a Test match at the Wanderers. They have two wins and three draws here, and one of those draws – in January 1997 – could have been a win had rain not intervened on the final day.It’s hard to say if it’s just a statistical oddity or if something deeper is at work, but in either case, this will be a slightly different Wanderers Test. Never before have India gone into one as favourites, but they do so now, while already 1-0 up in the series. They’re expected to win, and to wrap up their first-ever series victory in South Africa.Related

• Elgar on de Kock retirement: 'I was pretty shocked'

• Dravid 'disappointed' with losing points for slow over-rate

• India docked one WTC point for over-rate offence in Centurion Test

• Two kinds of Jasprit Bumrah magic

• Stats – A rare defeat for South Africa in Centurion

They’re that good.But South Africa are still the home side, and while India were magnificent in Centurion, they also won a crucial toss that allowed them to bat on the only day of the Test match on which you’d rather have been a batter than a bowler. South Africa bowled poorly on that first day, particularly in the first session, but this was also partly down to rustiness. Lungi Ngidi, for example, came into the Test match without any red-ball cricket since June and any serious cricket since October, but was a vastly improved force from the second session on, finishing with match figures of 8 for 102.The gap between these two sides in South African conditions, then, may not be as big as it appeared last week.

In the spotlight

The gap between the two sides, just alluded to, could grow even narrower – notwithstanding the loss of Quinton de Kock – if Duanne Olivier returns to South Africa’s attack. Olivier has taken 24 wickets at 11.25 – eleven point two five – in his last three first-class games at the Wanderers.Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane looked in reasonable and excellent nick in Centurion, respectively, but ended up with three soft dismissals and a top score of 48 between them. While it seems unlikely that either will miss out at the Wanderers, a continued lack of runs could put their places under scrutiny.Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara looked in decent touch in the first Test, but a continued lack of runs could put their places under scrutiny•AFP/Getty Images

Form guide

South Africa (last five Tests, most recent first) LWWLL
India WWDWL

Team news

Olivier, who missed the first Test owing to a hamstring niggle and the aftereffects of Covid-19, is expected to be available for selection. This leaves South Africa with a decision to make over who to leave out. Marco Jansen wouldn’t have made his debut in Centurion had Olivier played, but he showed, particularly in the second innings, why his bouncy left-arm seam is rated so highly. Wiaan Mulder didn’t do much with bat or ball in the first Test, but playing a specialist bowler at No. 7 could be a gamble against this India attack. Keshav Maharaj, meanwhile, went wicketless in the first innings and unused in the second, but are South Africa prepared to go all-seam, and will the conditions in Johannesburg merit it? Kyle Verreyne, meanwhile, is set to take over the retired de Kock’s keeping gloves.South Africa (probable): 1 Dean Elgar (capt), 2 Aiden Markram, 3 Keegan Petersen, 4 Rassie van der Dussen, 5 Temba Bavuma, 6 Kyle Verreynne (wk), 7 Wiaan Mulder/Marco Jansen, 8 Kagiso Rabada, 9 Keshav Maharaj, 10 Duanne Olivier, 11 Lungi Ngidi.India don’t have too much cause to change a winning combination, but they might think of picking either a sixth batter or a fourth genuine quick in place of Shardul Thakur, whose two first-innings wickets in Centurion flattered his bowling somewhat, and who only sent down five of India’s 68 overs in the second innings.India (probable): 1 KL Rahul, 2 Mayank Agarwal, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (capt), 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Rishabh Pant (wk), 7 R Ashwin, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Mohammed Shami, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Mohammed Siraj.After shaking off some rust, Lungi Ngidi was on fire for South Africa in Centurion•Gallo Images/Getty Images

Pitch and conditions

You can always expect pace and bounce at the Wanderers, but batters will probably face a more straightforward task than they did when these two sides last met here, on an up-and-down monster of a pitch that earned a “poor” rating from the ICC. The forecast may cause more worry this time – with rain predicted to interrupt four of the five days.

Stats and trivia

• India aren’t the only away team to enjoy themselves at the Wanderers. Since readmission, South Africa have lost 11 of their 31 Tests at the venue. No other home ground has witnessed so many South African defeats. They have a worse win-loss ratio at Kingsmead, though, winning nine Tests and losing as many in this period.
• Pujara (11), Ajinkya Rahane (10) and Virat Kohli (8) have been involved in more Test wins in Australia, England, New Zealand and South Africa than any other India player. They have all contributed important runs to these wins, but their overall averages in these matches are modest, with Kohli’s 40.50 the highest. These numbers tell you something about the bowling-friendly conditions India have had to play in in all these countries of late. Rahul Dravid (73.10), Sachin Tendulkar (53.66) and VVS Laxman (55.54) have much higher averages in their wins in these four countries.
• R Ashwin needs six wickets to go past Kapil Dev’s mark of 434 and become India’s second-highest Test wicket-taker behind Anil Kumble (619).
• Olivier is two wickets short of 50 in Test cricket. Should he get them in his next Test match, his 11th, he will become the joint third-quickest South African to the mark, behind Vernon Philander (7 Tests) and Peter Pollock (9). Bert Vogler, Hugh Tayfield and Allan Donald also reached the landmark in their 11th Tests.
  

  Quotes

  “Players have to take responsibility. You can talk and talk until there’s action. I said to the guys I need to see actions. Talk is cheap if you don’t have reactions from those kind of talks.”
  “It’s a tough one. We’ve done well right from the time, I guess, even when I’ve played here. For some reason, the boys have always enjoyed playing at the Wanderers. While I think at the Wanderers, it’s a quicker pitch, but maybe the bounce is not maybe as much as, say, has been in the past in Centurion, but it’s just a strange one. Maybe it’s the familiarity with the city, the ground. For some reason we’ve always done well. It’s hard to figure out why and I hope we can continue that now as well.”

New city, same old result. The PSL may have shifted to Lahore from Karachi, but it made little difference to the relentless Multan Sultans who made light work of Peshawar Zalmi, brushing them aside by 42 runs. It was set up by a luxuriant 49-ball 68 from Shan Masood, whose 98-run opening stand with Mohammad Rizwan set the platform for Sultans to set a target of 183.Then their bowlers, spearheaded by Blessing Muzarabani, got rid of the openers early before the others applied the squeeze. As the asking rate rose and the wickets began to fall, the wheels quickly fell of Wahab Riaz’s side, and they succumbed for 140.Zalmi had won the toss and inserted Sultans in, and for the first half of the innings, seemed to have a handle on the game. Rizwan wasn’t his usual bustling self at the start, happy to play second fiddle to Masood, whose sensational form this PSL shows no signs of abating. Six fours in his first 14 balls, including three successive boundaries off Mohammad Umar in the fourth over, got Sultans off to a speedy start, thus more than making up for Rizwan’s sluggishness.With Rizwan scoring just 18 in his first 26 balls, it felt as if Sultans were leaving runs out there, but with Tim David and Khushdil Shah to follow, their ability to post a daunting total remained largely undiluted. David was lightning-quick out of the blocks, smashing 33 off his first 14 deliveries – he eventually finished with 34 from 18 – including two monstrous consecutive sixes off Saqib Mahmood. Alongside a cameo by Rilee Rossouw, it powered the defending champions to 182.Sultans continue to give the impression of every game having a new hero, as Thursday’s brightest star came from Zimbabwe. Muzarabani got into Zalmi in the second over of the chase, removing both Kamran Akmal and Haider Ali in the space of four balls. Akmal’s dismissal came thanks to a spectacular catch by Shahnawaz Dahani, who knocked a diving Rizwan out of his way to hold on, before Haider chopped one on to his stumps.It seemed as if Zalmi were playing catch-up from that point on, though Sultans were guilty of allowing them back into the game with a couple of dropped catches. Abbas Afridi put Liam Livingstone down at mid-off in what could easily have been the game’s turning point, as a giant six by the Englishman over mid-on next ball showed.But no one from Zalmi could really hang in and play the sort of innings Masood had. Afridi made amends for dropping him by getting rid of him a few overs later, something which dried the runs up for Sultans. The next 16 balls saw just ten runs scored, and that pressure brought about the end of Hussain Talat.Muzarabani returned to have Sherfane Rutherford caught on the off side, and Shoaib Malik’s 31-ball 44 came to an end when he finally holed out to cow corner off Imran Tahir’s bowling.By then, the asking rate was well over 13, and Ben Cutting was once more left in an impossible position, just as he had against the same opposition a few days earlier in Karachi. He did what he had done then, giving poor Dahani another pasting, but as on that day, the best he could hope for was an improvement in his personal statistics.Khushdil did for him thanks to a smart catch from David, before a stunning diving grab from Khushdil himself off his own bowling put paid to the Zalmi innings altogether. It was an apt way to finish a game, the individual brilliance topping up what had been a brilliant team performance.