Alastair Cook is England's leading run scorer

Alastair Cook has passed Graham Gooch to become England's leading Test run scorer.

The 30-year-old reached 32 on the second day of the second Test against New Zealand at Headingley to overtake Gooch's mark of 8,900, which has stood since 1995.

England captain Cook is playing his 114th Test, having made his debut in 2006.

The left-hander stands 13th on the all-time list of Test run scorers. 

Only one current Test player - Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara - is ahead of Cook on a chart led by India great Sachin Tendulkar with 15,921 runs.

Essex batsman Cook scored a century on his debut against India, the first of 27, also an England record.

He made 766 runs on the Ashes tour of 2010-11 as England won the Ashes down under for the first time in 24 years.

Cook was made Test captain in 2012, leading the team to a successful Ashes defence in 2013.

But that summer was also the beginning of a slump in form, the opener subsequently going almost two years and 35 innings without a Test hundred.

In that time, Cook also faced pressure to stand down as captain, with a 5-0 whitewash in Australia being followed by the decision to end Kevin Pietersen's international career and a 1-0 home series defeat by Sri Lanka.

He showed glimpses of a return to form as England fought back to beat India 3-1 and, although he was removed as one-day captain after a three-year reign in December 2014, Cook's wait for a Test century ended against West Indies in May.

Cook immediately followed that with 162 in the first Test win against New Zealand at Lord's last week to move within touching distance of Gooch's record.

Before the Headingley Test, Cook said he did not believe he is a better player than long-time batting mentor Gooch.

"I wouldn't put myself anywhere near in his class," said Cook. "Certainly I wouldn't be here without Goochie's help.

"There will only ever be one Graham Gooch and he is England's greatest batsman."

Trevor Bayliss appointed England coach

Trevor Bayliss has been confirmed as England's new head coach.

The 52-year-old Australian emerged as the leading candidate for the vacancy over the weekend.

Jason Gillespie had previously been expected to take up the role following Peter Moores's sacking on May 9.

Bayliss, who is currently coach of New South Wales, will start his new job next month, in time for July's first Ashes Test.

"It's an honour to be appointed England coach," he told the England and Wales Cricket Board's official website. "There's a great opportunity to help Alastair Cook and Eoin Morgan shape the direction and development of their respective teams.

"I am also looking forward to working alongside Paul Farbrace once again as we have a similar outlook on the game, get on well after two years working together and have kept in touch.

"What particularly excites me about the role is the chance to work with a very talented group of players. I firmly believe that the team has a bright future and I'll be doing everything I can to help them realise their potential and achieve success on a consistent basis."

Bayliss has previously coached the Sri Lanka national team, Sydney Sixers and Kolkata Knight Riders.

1st Test Day 5 ENG beat NZ & all the reaction.

England celebrate a test win over NZ 

Match situation:  ENG 389 & 478 v NZ 523 & 220 (ENG win by 124 runs)

England reach 200 home Test wins

Reaction from BBC Sport's Phil Dawkes: "What a game. What a dramatic, gripping, entertaining, twisty, turny game.

England have not had many high moments in recent years but they can really savour this one. From seeming on-field and off-field chaos they have pulled out a performance that gives everyone connected with the team hope for the future.

They were brave, bold, resilient and, finally, ruthless. They are not the finished article by any means, but they appear to be a hell of a lot closer at the end of these five days than they were on Thursday. Bravo."


England captain Alastair Cook: "It's one of the best I've ever been involved in, a great cricket wicket, two sides that gave their all and played as good cricket as they could play. I can't really speak it was just a brilliant, brilliant day."

Alistair Cook & Ben Stokes

Alastair Cook on Ben Stokes: "He made another massive stride in his development. To score a hundred at Lord's and the way he played in both innings was tremendous for him.


"His challenge will always be to work on his consistency but there is so much talent there and so much desire to win for England he'll only go from strength to strength. We've just got to keep backing him and he'll be a tremendous cricketer."

Alastair Cook on speculation that Australian Trevor Bayliss will be appointed England coach: "I don't quite know what's happened, it's still speculation. Whatever will be will be but let's just enjoy today and what the guys have achieved after a rocky few weeks."


New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum: "I thought we played our part in a tremendous Test match, great credit to Engand. Even when we were dominating they kept going and they played an enterprising brand of cricket. The game was played in a tremendous spirit too. We got over 730 runs in the Test and still lost by more than 100 runs. It's not every day that happens but we hold our heads high. It's such a fine line between success and failure.


"It was tactical for me to drop down the batting order. BJ Watling has done it for us before and we thought that if he could generate a partnership with Kane, the hitters like Corey Anderson and I could come in and have a realistic go at getting the target." 

"It was a gripping Test match we played a brand of cricket we wanted but England deserved their win. Our guys can hold their heads up and we're on the right road with the style of cricket were playing."

"At Headingley on Friday we'll continue to play like we have in this Test match. Sometimes it doesn't work out but it gives us our best chance of winning."

Alistair Cook & Joe Root England's centurions

England captain Alastair Cook: "Thank god Mo hung on to that catch... it was never in doubt!



"My innings [162] was up there with my best. We got a little bit of luck with playing and missing but we got through that and great credit to Joe Root and then Ben Stokes played an innings of the like I've never seen before. We had a 100 lead when he came in, and when he was out two hours later it was about 270 and I'd scored 10 of them!


"Today, the way our guys bowled... we fought incredibly hard on a great cricket wicket. It's been a real team effort this week. It's been a rocky few weeks so to play with such freedom and passion, the lads are pleased with that."

Ben Stokes, who scored the fastest ever Test century at Lord's and took three wickets today: "Without doubt, it's a career highlight. The whole match has been amazing. I have been striking the ball pretty well in the nets but I didn't expect that innings. It was more of a fluke.


"There's always opportunities to score with the fields Brendon sets and Lord's is a fast-scoring field. It was a lovely moment when I got two wickets in two balls today and the crowd were magnificent."

England interim coach Paul Farbrace

England stand-in coach Paul Farbrace

"It's been a great day, it's fitting that it went as long as it did. Full credit to both teams. I've tried not to do anything differently. The key was to make it as normal as possible for the players and they have responded to that. We encouraged the lads to play good cricket and have fun and that's what we have always tried to do. 

It's been a continuation of what has been going on. I got excited with a few wickets to go, but I could be forgiven for that.

"It's all very well about being a developing side but international sport is about the here and now and winning. There's a lot of good players on the fringes and the people who leave the ground today will be excited about the English cricket team."


On Trevor Bayliss: "He's an old-fashioned cricket coach, who likes working in the nets. He's quiet but when he says something it counts. He's a good man who is very knowledgeable. He has experience all round the world. I want to be involved in the future, whatever the role is."

From 30-4 on day one to a 124-run victory on day five. It has been a rollercoaster ride for England, played out as moves are made in the background to appoint a new head coach.


At 11:45 BST on Thursday morning, that head coach role looked like a poisoned chalice. Not anymore. For the first time in a long time, England can look to the future with optimism following a stunning Test match that could well have made the English public fall in love with their team again.

ECB close to appointing new coach

The England and Wales Cricket Board is in exclusive discussions with a preferred candidate for the role of England coach, understood to be Trevor Bayliss.

Reports in Australia  suggest the New South Wales coach, 52, is set to be appointed as Peter Moores' successor.

The Australian was also considered for the job in April 2014 before Moores was reappointed.

Yorkshire coach Jason Gillespie held talks over the position with director of cricket Andrew Strauss last week.

The former Australia fast bowler, 40, was expected to take the job if it was offered to him.

Gillespie's former Test team-mate Justin Langer had also been named as a contender, but the 44-year agreed a two-year extension to his contract as coach of Western Australia earlier this month.

Bayliss was appointed New South Wales coach for a second time in 2013 and has twice won the Sheffield Shield with the Blues.

But he is perhaps best known for leading Sri Lanka to the 2011 World Cup final in Mumbai, where they lost to India.

Bayliss also coaches two Twenty20 teams and in 2012 won both the Big Bash League with the Sydney Sixers and the Indian Premier League with Kolkata Knight Riders.

Speaking to Test Match Special on BBC Radio 5 live, former England captain Michael Vaughan said Bayliss had a "good track record", but his appointment would be a "big surprise" given the strength of Gillespie's candidature.

He added: "Would Trevor Bayliss be a good coach for England? His pedigree suggests he would be. I think either personality would be good for English cricket, but if you gave me the opportunity to go either way I would definitely go with Gillespie."

1st Test Day 4 ENG v NZ

Stumps report

Ben Stokes's dazzling 101 and a composed hundred from Alastair Cook reversed the momentum of England's first Test against New Zealand.

Stokes's 85-ball ton was the fastest in a Test at Lord's, while Cook batted throughout day four for his unbeaten 153.

Joe Root also made 84 as England moved from 74-2 and a deficit of 60 to 429-6, a lead of 295.

That sets up a potentially thrilling final day, with both sides having a chance of a victory that would give them a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.

Cook, in the company of Moeen Ali, who is unbeaten on 19, may have to decide on a declaration that would leave enough time to bowl New Zealand out, while the tourists will look to wrap up the England innings before embarking on a run-chase.

Ex-England captain Michael Vaughan on Test Match Special
"I can't tell you how good an innings that is from Stokes. To look so much in control has been extraordinary. The cricket over the last four days has been fantastic to watch but Ben Stokes has surpassed that. They were dancing in the stands."

It was a remarkable turnaround for England, especially after Ian Bell loosely edged Tim Southee's third ball of the morning behind to raise New Zealand hopes of a four-day win.

As the visiting seamers found exaggerated movement, Cook and Root had to withstand an immensely difficult first hour.

They survived to score freely either side of lunch, but in nothing like the thrilling manner in which Stokes flayed the Black Caps attack.

The Durham all-rounder began by powerfully playing through the off side, but the most riveting part of his second Test century was the manner in which he attacked Southee's short-pitched bowling.

In a two-over period, Stokes ignored three fielders on the leg-side boundary to pull three sixes, with Southee conceding 37 runs from 12 balls.

Ex-England batsman Geoffrey Boycott on Test Match Special
"It was an uplifting day for English cricket, for the team, for the captain, everyone. They could have gone under today. There have been times when the opposition seamers would have nipped a couple out and it would have been an England loss."

When Stokes then nudged Matt Henry for a single, he completed the fastest Test hundred by an England batsman since Gilbert Jessop's 76-ball century in 1902.

His stand with Cook was worth 132 and ended when Stokes looked to heave the off-spin of Mark Craig but instead edged to first slip.

The England captain contributed only 24 runs, having already shared a vital 158 for the fourth wicket with Root.

After absorbing the pressure of the New Zealand pace bowlers, they cashed in on the inaccuracy of Craig, who too often dropped short.

As he did in moving to 32 on the third evening, Cook continually worked the ball off his pads, but also showed excellent judgement in leaving deliveries outside off stump as well as cutting and pulling.

Fastest Test centuries at Lord's
85 balls: Ben Stokes (England v New Zealand, 2015)
87 balls: Mohammad Azharuddin (India v England, 1990)
94 balls: Tamim Iqbal (Bangladesh v England, 2010)
95 balls: Graham Gooch (England v India, 1990)
104 balls: Ian Botham (England v Pakistan, 1978)

When he reached 99, opposite number Brendon McCullum posted eight catchers on the off side, but a stab down the ground took Cook to a 27th Test ton and his first in England for two years.

After going 35 innings without reaching a century, the left-hander now has two in his last two Tests.

By then, Root had fallen short of his own hundred for the second time in the match. 

Circumspect at first - he scored only 12 from his first 45 balls - he busily accumulated behind point to take 40 from his next 38.

The vice-captain seemed set for three figures, but fell into an obvious trap set by Henry, hooking a short ball to long leg.


At that point, England were in the dangerous position of being 98 ahead with six wickets in hand. Then came the Stokes pyrotechnics.

IPL 2015 the knockout stages

Qualifier 1  

The Mumbai Indians have advanced to the final of the Indian Premier League with a 25-run victory over the Chennai Super Kings in the first qualifier at Wankhede Stadium.

The Super Kings finished top of the standings before the playoffs, but they will now have to beat the winner of the eliminator between Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Rajasthan Royals tomorrow in Pune if they are to make the final and set up a rematch with Mumbai.

The Indians won the toss, choosing to bat first, and they got off to a fine start as openers Lendl Simmons and Parthiv Patel put on a partnership of 90.

Patel was the first to fall for 35 before Simmons had his wicket taken by Ravindra Jadeja after scoring 65 off 51 balls for his fifth fifty of this year's IPL.

Simmons was the game's top scorer, but it was Kieron Pollard's late blast of 41 off just 17 that propelled Mumbai to 187-6 from their 20 overs.

Chennai's reply got off to a bad start, with Dwayne Smith falling for a duck in the first over as Lasith Malinga trapped him lbw.

Faf du Plessis (45) put on 40+ partnerships with both Michael Hussey (16) and Suresh Raina (25) to steady the Super Kings' innings, but once those three had been removed they tailed away and never looked like reaching the victory target.


In the end, 2013 champions Mumbai took all 10 wickets with an over to spare as Chennai were bowled out for 162.


Eliminator 

Royal Challengers Bangalore have taken a step closer to the Indian Premier League final by beating Rajasthan Royals by 71 runs in Pune.

The Royal Challengers will now face Chennai Super Kings, with the winner going on to meet Mumbai Indians in the final.

Bangalore posted a total of 180-4 before the Royals were bowled out for just 109 with an over remaining.

AB de Villiers (66) and Mandeep Singh (54 not out) made the bulk of the Royal Challengers' runs, while Chris Gayle (27) and Virat Kohli (12) also chipped in at the top of the order.

Dhawal Kulkarni ended with bowling figures of 2-28 for Rajasthan, who also had Chris Morris among the wickets. De Villers was run out thanks to the work of James Faulkner and Stuart Binny.

Despite a knock of 42 from opener Ajinkya Rahane, the Royals struggled to consistently put runs on the board.

Sanju Samson was dismissed for five, while Shane Watson (10), Steven Smith (12), Karun Nair (12) and Deepak Hooda (11) all failed to take the match to their opponents. A lower-order collapse that yielded just 14 runs confirmed Bangalore's progress.


Sreenath Aravind, Harshal Patel, David Wiese and Yuzvendra Chahal all ended with two wickets apiece for the Royals Challengers who also had Mitchell Starc do some damage with the ball.


Qualifier 2 

Chennai Super Kings qualified for their sixth Indian Premier League final by beating Royal Challengers Bangalore in a last-over thriller this afternoon.

RCB could only manage 139-8 and Chennai got over the line on the penultimate ball, thanks largely to 56 from Michael Hussey, to set up a showdown with Mumbai Indians.

Ashish Nehra dismissed two of Bangalore's destructive top three cheaply as Virat Kohli (12) and AB de Villiers (one) fell cheaply to leave their side on 25-2.

That put the pressure on Chris Gayle, but the West Indian restrained himself to top score with 41 from 43 balls before he was caught & bowled by Suresh Raina.

Four boundaries apiece from Dinesh Karthik (28) and 17-year-old Sarfaraz Khan (31) toward the end of the innings helped to elevate RCB to a defendable total.

Bangalore's teenager gave them a chance, but it was 40-year-old veteran Hussey who would make the key contribution as his perfectly-paced 56 anchored Chennai's reply.

Support came from Dwayne Smith (17), Faf du Plessis (23) and MS Dhoni (26), although Mitchell Starc took two wickets in the 19th over to make things interesting.


Dhoni also fell with three balls to go, but Ravichandran Ashwin hitting the winning runs to secure the Super Kings a three-wicket win which sets up a rematch of the 2013 final.


Final - CSK V MI

The Mumbai Indians won their second Indian Premier League title with a thumping 41-run win over the Chennai Super Kings at Eden Gardens this evening.

Top-seed Chennai won the toss and put Mumbai into bat, a decision that appeared to be a good one when Faf du Plessis ran out Parthiv Patel for a duck in the opening over.

However, a partnership of 119 from Lendl Simmons (68) and Rohit Sharma (50) put the Indians back in control.

The duo fell on back-to-back deliveries to give Chennai hope of restricting Mumbai's total, but Kieron Pollard and Ambati Rayudu both scored quickfire 36s in a 71 partnership to help the Indians to 202/5 from their 20 overs.

In response, Chennai lost danger-man Michael Hussey for just four runs after a slow start and didn't look like chasing down the total.

Dwayne Smith led from the front with 57, but none of his teammates joined him in posting a big score as the Super Kings fell 41 runs short of their target on 161/8.


With victory, Mumbai join Chennai and the Kolkata Knight Riders as the only teams to win the IPL twice.

1st Test Day 3 ENG v NZ

Jason Gillespie would take the England head coach job if offered by the England and Wales Cricket Board.

The Yorkshire coach, 40, has been impressed by Andrew Strauss, England's new director of cricket, after positive face-to-face meetings this week.

Australian Gillespie said on Friday he was one of several candidates in the frame for the position vacated by Peter Moores's sacking on 9 May.

England caretaker coach Paul Farbrace has also declared his interest.

Former Australia fast bowler Gillespie led Yorkshire from Division Two to the 2014 County Championship title within three years and previously said he would "take persuading" to leave his current job.

Gillespie is with the White Rose county for their four-day Championship game at Somerset, which begins on Sunday.

England's second Test against New Zealand starts on Friday at Headingley - Yorkshire's home ground.

The timing of both matches suggest the process of appointing a successor to Moores could last until the conclusion of England's two-Test series against the Black Caps, for which Farbrace has been put in charge.

Speaking to the BBC's Test Match Special on Thursday, former England captain Strauss said he would like the new coach to be in place for the Ashes series, which begins on 8 July, but he was willing to wait for the right man.

"There is a ticking clock ahead of the Ashes, but we won't rush it," said Strauss. "In an ideal world we'll have someone in place before that, but not if it's not the right man."

The following day Gillespie, who took 259 wickets in 71 Tests for Australia, said he had a "good chat" with Strauss, but was only one of a number of candidates.

"They made it very clear they're chatting to a number of people of interest, so they'll let us know what the process is in due course," he said.

1st Test Day 2 ENG v NZ

Stumps report

New Zealand are fully in command of their first Test against England as they have reached stumps 303-2 on day two at Lord's.

The Black Caps have restricted the host's lead to just 86 runs after the bowlers endured a frustrating day.

England's tail hoped to tot up the runs this morning, but they were eventually dismissed all out for 389, with Joe Root top-scoring in their first innings with 98.

Martin Guptill and Tom Latham were able to guide New Zealand to 44 without loss before lunch, and after the interval, the pair continued to dominate.

With the tourists unscathed on 148, the breakthrough was eventually made by England when Moeen Ali dismissed Latham for 59, while Guptill (70) was sent packing two balls later by Stuart Broad.

After tea, the hosts took the surprising decision to start with the spin of Joe Root, but their experiment was abandoned after just one over as Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor continued the attack.

Early in the evening session, Taylor survived an lbw shout from James Anderson, who called for a review, but it didn't go the Englishman's way as the ball would not have got enough on leg stump to force the batsman out.

The Black Caps duo looked more comfortable as the overs ticked along and shortly after Williamson brought up his 50, he and Taylor secured their fourth 100-run partnership in Test cricket with the former sending the ball through extra-cover.

After a dreary spell for England, Ben Stokes came close when Taylor's drive to mid-on was spotted by Anderson, who attempted to run out Williamson at the non-striker's end, but it didn't come off.


Williamson and Taylor closed the day unbeaten on 92 and 47 runs respectively.


Tea report

England have snatched two wickets in three balls after a lengthy frustrating afternoon spell at Lord's on day two of the first Test against New Zealand.

Martin Guptill, who survived early in the innings after Mark Wood's effort was ruled a no-ball, and Tom Latham guided the tourists to 44 without loss before lunch.

After the interval, the pair continued to impress as Wood, Ben Stokes, James Anderson and Stuart Broad struggled to break their opponents' stride.

Stokes was the closest to claiming the first wicket when Latham hit to third slip, but Ian Bell dropped the ball from a two-handed catch after diving to his left.

Guptill brought up a Test 50 with a nudge off Broad, and the Black Caps were in full control as the openers claimed their first 100-run partnership since they played England in Dunedin back in March 2013.

Shortly after Latham reached 50 with a drive through extra-cover, Moeen Ali's quick delivery trapped the batsman, who left the field after hitting 59 off 98 deliveries.

Two balls later, Guptill (70) was sent packing after swinging at a wide delivery from Broad, which resulted in the ball falling into the hands of Gary Ballance.

The momentum swung in England's direction, but they were unable to add to their two wickets before tea as New Zealand ended the afternoon session on 173-2, which is 216 less than the hosts first-innings total of 389.


Lunch report

Martin Guptill and Tom Latham have guided New Zealand to 44-0 at lunch on day two of the first Test match against England at Lord's.

After helping England reach 354-7 at the close of play on day one, Moeen Ali soon brought up his half-century before he was dismissed for 58 by Trent Boult.

Stuart Broad followed for just three, before debutant Mark Wood and James Anderson put on 21 for the final wicket to take their side to 389.

With Guptill and Latham putting on 40 runs in the opening 11 overs, England needed a breakthrough and they thought they had one when Guptill edged to Alastair Cook off the bowling of Wood.

However, the seamer was denied a first wicket in Test cricket because of a no-ball, allowing the tourists to reach the interval with their opening stand still intact.

1st Test Day 1 ENG V NZ

Stumps report

Joe Root and Ben Stokes led the way to help England overcome a shaky start to post 354-7 at the close of play on day one of the first Test against New Zealand.

The hosts struggled to get going in the opening session of play, and they found themselves flagging on 30-4 following the loss of Adam Lyth, Gary Ballance, Alastair Cook and Ian Bell early on.

Despite this, England produced a decent turnaround, with Stokes eventually being sent packing by Mark Craig for 92, while Root (98) fell agonisingly close of a century of his own.

Jos Buttler (67) added a further 103 runs to England's improved tally with Moeen Ali (49*), although he was dismissed lbw off the final ball.


Ali will now return to the crease when play resumes tomorrow morning.


Tea Report

Joe Root and Ben Stokes have helped England to recover from a daunting position to head into tea on 219-5 against New Zealand at Lord's.

The hosts saw debutant Adam Lyth, Gary Ballance, captain Alastair Cook and Ian Bell all depart early on, leaving them stranded on 30-4 in their first Test of the summer.

Root stepped in at the end of the first session to offer a glimmer of hope alongside Stokes, putting together a fluent 50 partnership off 46 balls.

Stokes managed to survive an appeal for lbw, but he could not quite rack up a century before being bowled for 92 by Mark Craig.

Root saw out the session to remain unbeaten on 80, meanwhile, with Jos Buttler (13*) coming in to pile on some further runs as England's recovery from a dismal start continued.


Lunch report

England began their first Test of the summer in crumbling fashion as they lost four wickets in the morning session of their opener against New Zealand at Lord's.

The visitors won the toss and elected to bowl, which proved to be a wise decision as debutant Adam Lyth fell to Tim Southee inside the eighth over.

Lyth returned to the pavilion with just seven runs to his name off 17 deliveries, leaving captain Alastair Cook to lead the charge alongside Gary Ballance.

However, they continued on the back foot as Ballance was sent packing by Trent Boult for just one and Cook followed shortly afterwards after swishing at Matt Henry's short ball.

The skipper's slight touch was directed towards BJ Watling and he was forced to leave the field after scoring just 16 runs off 36 deliveries.

The misery for England was piled on when Ian Bell was bowled out for one by Henry, but the ECB's Cricketer of the Year Joe Root, who got off the mark with a drive for four, managed to lead the recovery alongside Ben Stokes.

At lunch, England sit at 113-4 with Root (49 not out) and Stokes (36 not out) at the crease.

IPL Matches 49-56 - the final group matches

49th match: CSK v DD 

The Delhi Daredevils caused a shock in the Indian Premier League this evening with a comfortable six-wicket victory over table-toppers the Chennai Super Kings.

Chennai won the toss in Raipur and opted to bat, but it was a decision that didn't pay off as their innings never really got going.

Openers Dwayne Smith (18) and Brendon McCullum (11) both scored at less than a run a ball before Faf du Plessis and MS Dhoni put on a 37-run fourth-wicket partnership to push the visitors towards 100.

In the end, they posted just 119-6 from their 20 overs. Zaheer Khan was the pick of the Delhi bowlers as he took two wickets for just nine runs from his four overs, including 19 dot balls.

Delhi's response didn't start well as Ishwar Pandey took the early wickets of South Africans Quinton de Kock (3) and JP Duminy (6), but Shreyas Iyer and Yuvraj Singh's third-wicket stand of 69 put the hosts in full control.

Iyer hit the winning run to finish on 70 not out as Delhi, who have no chance of reaching the playoffs, achieved the victory target with 20 balls to spare.


Chennai could have secured their place in the playoffs with a win, but they are still well on course to finish in the top four.

50th match: Kings XI v RCB 

Kings XI Punjab have turned up the books by beating Royal Challengers Bangalore in a rain-curtailed contest at Mohali.

The Indian Premier League's bottom-placed side, who are already out of the competition, picked up just a third win of the season as RCB could only reach 84-6 in a reduced 10 overs to fall 22 runs short of the target.

Wriddhiman Saha (31) top scored for the home side, while quick-fire innings from David Miller (14) and Akshar Patel (20*) helped them on their way to 106-6.

Royal Challengers found themselves on 33-1 as they made an impressive start to their own innings, although Virat Kohli (19) fell to Anureet Singh, before Manan Vohra (11) and Glenn Maxwell (10) soon followed.


Mandeep Singh was the last man to fall, adding just two runs to the visitors' tally, which was no match for the Kings XI who picked up a rare win.

51st match: Mum Indians v KKR 

Mumbai Indians have kept alive their hopes of reaching the IPL playoffs by beating Kolkata Knight Riders by five runs this evening.

Hardik Pandya hit 61 not out, with Kieron Pollard adding an additional 33 runs as Mumbai set a daunting target of 171-4.

Yusuf Pathan fired 52 and Gautam Gambhir struck 38 as Kolkata edged towards the 172 runs that they needed to win.

However, a crucial wicket in the final over from Pollard on Pathan saw the visitors finish just shy on 166-7.


The result moves Mumbai up to fourth in the IPL table, with one game of the regular season left to play.

52nd match: Sunrisers v RCB 

Royal Challengers Bangalore have secured a six-wicket win by the Duckworth-Lewis method in a rain-affected match against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League this evening.

The weather had a role to play from the start as the match was initially reduced to 11 overs per side, with Sunrisers Hyderabad to bat first after a lengthy delay.

Shikhar Dhawan managed just eight before being dismissed in the third over, but Moises Henriques joined David Warner at the crease to get the runs on the board quickly, hitting a half-century off 20 balls.

Warner also passed the 50-run mark, finishing on an unbeaten 52 shortly after David Wiese had sent Henriques back to the pavilion for 57, leaving Sunrises 135-3.

However, further rain between innings meant that the match was shortened further, with Bangalore being set a target of 81 off six overs.

They made a swift start, with Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli opening the batting, hitting 17 off the first over of their reply.

Gayle continued to find the boundary rope as Royal Challengers moved on to 41-0 off just two overs, with the West Indies batsman adding 35, but he could not continue his run as his 10-ball stand came to an end off the next delivery, as he hooked a Henriques ball straight to Dhawan, while AB de Villiers followed for a golden duck, reducing the team to 44-2.


Kohli kept adding to the score though, leaving the side needing 13 off the final over, allowing the captain to hit the winning runs with one delivery to space, finishing with an unbeaten 44 of 19 balls.

53rd match: Kings XI v CSK 

Chennai Super Kings have eased to a seven-wicket victory over Kings XI Punjab in the IPL.

Despite heading into the game at the top of the standings, only a two-point margin separated Chennai and sixth-placed Rajasthan Royals, and they soon signalled their intent on extending their advantage by reducing their opponents to 35-3.

That soon became 55-5 as Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja struck with a wicket apiece, and although Axar Patel and Rishi Dhawan offered some resistance at the end of the innings, Kings could only register a score of 130-7 off their 20 overs.

Chennai would have expected to reach their target with ease, but they were stunned at the start of their reply as Mike Hussey and Brendon McCullum departed in the opening two overs.

However, Faf du Plessis and Suresh Raina joined forces to steady the ship before they put together a 92-run stand over 11 overs to take the game away from their opponents.


Du Plessis eventually went for 55, but Raina pressed on to end unbeaten on 41 as MS Dhoni fired successive sixes to complete an innings of 25 and seal the win with 19 balls remaining.


54th match: RR v KKR 

Shane Watson led the way with a stunning 104 not out as the Rajasthan Royals claimed a nine-run victory over Kolkata Knight Riders.

The Rajasthan innings revolved around Watson, and together with Ajinkya Rahane, they put together an opening stand of 80 in seven overs before Rahane was dismissed for 37 off 22 balls.

Steven Smith added 14, but the rest of team fell cheaply, leaving Watson to take centre stage with an explosive knock that included nine fours and five maximums as the Royals reached 199-6 off their 20 overs.

Kolkata endured a difficult start with their reply as they lost Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa to leave the score at 21-2.

Yusuf Pathan and Andre Russell threatened to get Kolkata back in the game with a promising partnership, but wickets continued to fall at regular intervals as the Royals remained on top.


Watson chipped in with 2-38 from his four overs with the ball, and not even an unbeaten 23 from Umesh Yadav could save Kolkata as Chris Morris, who finished with 4-34, restricted the chasing side to just six runs in the final over.


55th match: RCB v DD 

The IPL match between the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Delhi Daredevils has been abandoned due to heavy rain.

The first innings of the match was played as Virat Kohli put the Daredevils into bat at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Shreyas Iyer and Quinton de Kock got off to an excellent start as they put the Bangarlore opening bowlers to the sword with some powerful hitting.

The duo brought up their 50-partnership in the sixth over, but Iyer was to depart for 20 when he was caught by Chris Gayle off the bowling of Harshal Patel.

However, JP Duminy and De Kock went from strength to strength at the crease as the Delhi skipper quickly found his rhythm.

De Kock reached his half-century off 30 balls which included eight fours and one six to guide his side past the 100-run mark.

De Kock's innings was to end when he was caught by Kohli off the bowling of Yuzvendra Chahal for 69 with his side well placed at 110-2 in the 12th over.

Duminy took over the role as aggressor as he found the boundary with ease to reach his 50 off 35 deliveries to edge his team over the 150-run mark.

The Daredevils were having trouble building partnerships as Yuvraj Singh and Angelo Mathews both fell cheaply, but Saurabh Tiwary helped his team post a total of 187 in their 20 overs, as Duminy finished unbeaten on 67.

Bangalore were just seven balls into their reply when they heavy rain came and eventually forced the match to be called off.


Bangalore are second in the IPL table with 16 points, while the Daredevils are seventh with 11 points from their 14 matches.


56th match: Sunrisers v Mum Indians 

The Mumbai Indians have cruised to a nine-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in their IPL clash.

The hosts got their innings off to a terrible start when opener Shikhar Dhawan and captain David Warner were dismissed in successive balls before Eoin Morgan added only nine runs before becoming second victim for Mitchell McCleanaghan (3-16).

Moises Henriques (11) and Lokesh Rahul (25) tried to steady the ship for the Sunrisers, but by the time both were back in the pavilion. Mumbai had reduced their opponents to 61-6.

Karn Sharma and Ashish Reddy provided runs down the order, but couldn't stay to the end as Hyderabad reached 91-9 and were in danger of posting a total that the bowlers couldn't defend. Dale Steyn's 19 runs off 11 balls gave the home side as they were all out 113.

The Indians' reply began well as Lendl Simmons and Parthiv Patel imposed themselves at the crease to take the attack to the Hyderbad bowlers.

Mumbai raced past the 50-run mark in the eighth over and just overs later the visitors were bearing down in their victory target as they reached 100.


Simmons was to fall for 48 when he was caught by Dhawan off the bowling of Sharma to end his 106-run partnership with Patel, but Rohit Sharma and Patel were able to guide their side to victory with 37 balls to spare.

T20 Blast 2015 Round 1

Sunday: Sussex beat Gloucestershire by 6 runs

The Sussex Sharks recorded a narrow six-run victory over Gloucestershire in their T20 Blast match at Hove.

The visitors won the toss and put Luke Wright's men into the bat. The decision looked to be a good one as the Sharks skipper was dismissed for just three.

However, Carl Nash and Mahela Jayawardene got the Sussex innings moving along with an array of excellent shots around the wicket.

The duo edged the home side past the 50-run mark to bring up the 50 partnership, and were looking good at the crease before the Sri Lankan was bowled by Tom Smith for 43.

Nash guided his team over 100 but he fell to the same bowler for 43 to leave Sussex 104-3 in the 13th over.

Matt Machan and Will Beer both notched quick-fire scores of 24 and 22 respectively to post a competitive total of 167-5 in their 20 overs.

Gloucestershire's reply got off to the worst possible start as Chris Dent was out first ball lbw to Steve Magoffin.

Skipper Ian Cockbain and James Fuller both departed cheaply as well to leave the visitors in trouble at 39-3.

Hamish Marshall kept the innings together with a solid innings to guide his team over the 50-run mark, but was then stumped off the bowling of Beer for 43 and Peter Handscomb soon followed his back to the pavilion.

Former England wicket-keeper Geraint Jones offered some resistance with a knock of 25, but was bowled by Tymal Mills as the home side began to turn the screw.


However, Jack Taylor gave Gloucestshire hope with as he blasted three fours and two sixes to keep his team in touch with the rate, but Mills returned to clean bowl him for 35 to secure the victory for Sussex.



Saturday: Surrey beat Essex by 44 runs

Surrey have recorded a 44-run triumph over Essex Eagles in their second fixture of the T20 Blast.

Both sides went into the contest having suffered defeat in their opening game on Friday evening, but in the early stages, it was Surrey who seemed more intent on getting points on the board as Steven Davies and Kumar Sangakkara ran riot.

Sangakkara hit three sixes as he recorded 38 off 21 balls before being dismissed by Reece Topley, while Davies struck 53 off 25 deliveries to help Surrey to 128-3 off 12 overs.

Gary Wilson and Zafar Ansari continued the onslaught with knocks of 41 and 31 respectively as the visitors ended on 205-5 off their 20 overs.

Essex's reply began with opening batsmen Nick Browne and Daniel Lawrence being removed by Matt Dunn, but Greg Smith and Kishen Valeni put on 71 to keep the home side in the game.

However, they fell in quick succession to leave their team requiring 118 runs from eight overs, and although Ryan ten Doeschate struck 40 off 19 balls, they never looked like reaching Surrey's total.

Tom Curran and James Burke chipped in with three wickets each to leave Essex battling to see out their overs before Burke registered his fourth dismissal to wrap up the innings with the final ball.


Friday Round-up: Alex Hales made a temporary goodbye to the T20 Blast by inspiring Nottinghamshire Outlaws to a thumping victory over Birmingham Bears in tonight's curtain-raiser.

The England batsman, who now jets off to play for the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League, smashed 86 off 43 balls to see Notts home with eight wickets and more than five overs to spare at Trent Bridge.

Captain Varun Chopra had earlier made a more watchful 80 as the defending champions posted 141-7, but Hales hit six maximums in a row and seven in eight balls to make light work of that target.

Yorkshire Vikings and Durham Jets were also convincing winners in the North division as the former chased down Derbyshire Falcons' 128 all out with ease.

Seventeen-year-old seamer Matthew Fisher took 5-22 for Yorkshire and Andrew Gale (41) and Jonny Bairstow (40 not out) got the job done with the bat.

Phil Mustard and Calum MacLeod scored half-centuries as Durham posted 174-8 and then reduced Northants Steelbacks to 47-5 before the rain came down.

The players never got back out at Chester-le-Street as Durham began their campaign with a 41-run victory on the Duckworth-Lewis method.

The weather also affected Lancashire Lightning's game against Leicestershire Foxes, who had Ireland international Kevin O'Brien top score with 47 as they managed 131-7 in their reduced 15 overs.

Lancashire were in trouble at 36-3, but skipper Steven Croft got them out of a hole by hitting 70 off 39 balls to secure them a five-wicket win in the final over.

Glamorgan and Gloucestershire were the big winners in the South division, with the Welsh outfit posting this evening's high score of 240-3 against Surrey thanks to a 47-ball 91 from South African Colin Ingram and contributions from Jacques Rudolph (62) and Christopher Cooke (46).

Surrey lost last season's top scorer Jason Roy cheaply and four wickets for Dean Cosker saw the hosts reduced to 129-6 at The Oval. Zafar Ansari made 67 at better than two runs a ball, but Surrey fell 25 shy of their daunting target.

Ian Cockbain matched Ingram's 91 as Gloucestershire chased down Middlesex Panthers' 175-3 in 19 overs.

Former England opener Nick Compton had scored 78 at Bristol to put the capital outfit in a good position, but Hamish Marshall contributed 56 in support of Cockbain as Gloucs prevailed in a hard-fought game.

Luke Wright's stint as Sussex Sharks skipper began with defeat as Kent Spitfires scraped to a seven-run victory at Canterbury.

England prospect Sam Billings (46) led a team effort from Kent and Sussex came up just short despite 61 from Chris Nash and thirties from Wright and Sri Lankan legend Mahela Jayawardene.

Elsewhere, Hampshire made a successful start as they recorded a 17-run win over Essex Eagles. Jimmy Adams led the way for Hants with an unbeaten 55, and Ryan ten Doeschate's 68 was largely a solo effort in reply.

Full results:

Durham Jets (174-8) beat Northants Steelbacks (47-5) by 41 runs on the D/L method
Gloucestershire (179-3) beat Middlesex Panthers (175-3) by seven wickets
Lancashire Lightning (142-5) beat Leicestershire Foxes (131-7) by five wickets
Nottinghamshire Outlaws (142-2) beat Birmingham Bears (141-7) by eight wickets
Glamorgan (240-3) beat Surrey (215 a/o) by 25 runs
Hampshire (173-4) beat Essex Eagles (156 a/o) by 17 runs
Kent Spitfires (185-9) beat Sussex Sharks (178-6) by seven runs
Yorkshire Vikings (131-3) beat Derbyshire Falcons (128 a/o) by seven wickets

IPL 2015 Match 48

Sunrisers Hyderabad 185 for 5 (Warner 81, Hendricks 2-40) beat Kings XI Punjab 180 for 7 (Miller 89*, Henriques 3-16) by 5 runs

David Warner continued to carry his team forward in the tournament on the back of his own personal form, his sixth half-century this season laying the foundation of Sunrisers Hyderabad's fifth win in six matches that helped them catch up with Rajasthan Royals on the points table.

But not before David Miller gave them a brief scare by hitting first four balls of Ishant Sharma's last over for 6, 6, 0 and 4, bringing the equation down to 12 off two balls. He missed the penultimate ball, but hit the last one for a six again, exposing how poor that over had been. Or how poorly Kings XI Punjab's batsmen had fared on course of their seventh consecutive loss.

Ishant was the first person to embrace Miller after a scintillating 89 that included nine sixes, but Sunrisers knew it should have never come that close after how the first 34 overs of the game had panned out, with Warner's 81 leading the way.

During the course of his innings, Warner went past AB de Villiers' tournament tally first, overtook Ajinkya Rahane as the leading run-scorer, and then became the first batsman this IPL season to cross 500 runs. He also crossed the 1000-run mark for Sunrisers, the second batsman after Shikhar Dhawan to do so.

Warner's energy rubbed on to the rest of his team-mates. Left-arm spinner Bipul Sharma, playing only his third game this season, struck twice in three balls to remove the Kings XI Punjab openers, before Moises Henriques' 3 for 16 tightened the screws in the middle overs and left Miller, who walked in at No. 5, with too many to get. By the time Miller started teeing off in the 14th over, the required rate was already close to 15 an over.

Sunrisers' innings had suffered from similar dips but they never lasted more than a couple of overs. Warner and Dhawan blazed away to add 56 in the Powerplay, but as the spinners found some help, Warner let Henriques push on for the next six overs, while scoring 14 runs himself off 15 balls in that period.

He stepped on the accelerator in the 13th over, smashing Axar Patel for a couple of sixes, the first one of which brought up his fifty. Fifty-eight runs came off five overs but just when Sunrisers looked set for 200, Warner mistimed a punch to midwicket. However, the following batsmen ensured the scored reached a challenging 185.


Kings XI made a sprightly start, with M Vijay hitting a six and two fours off Trent Boult's first over, but the innings went pear-shaped with the introduction of spin. Bipul removed both the openers, Boult edged out Glenn Maxwell with a rising delivery and Kings XI could only score 21 runs in the five overs after eighth.