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Atmospheric conditions in north India have haunted Sri Lanka right through their tour of India. If it was the smog in Delhi, it was rain in Dharamsala. On Monday, they spent four hours at the airport with their chartered flight unable to take off. They returned to their hotels and only flew to Mohali on Tuesday, the eve of the third ODI.North India, however, has been kind to Sri Lanka from a cricketing standpoint; they left Delhi with a heartening draw in the third Test, and trounced India in the first ODI in Dharamsala, ending a 12-match losing streak in the format.India, as a result, are the team under pressure ahead of the second ODI. Questions hover over their batting, in particular, as it will for any team that stumbles to 29 for 7 in the absence of its best batsman. Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik and Manish Pandey occupied Nos. 3, 4 and 5 in Dharamsala, and between them scored 11 off 60 balls, none of them convincing with their techniques against the moving ball. India will not want to make wholesale changes after one loss in unusual conditions, but they will not have been too impressed with what they saw of their upper middle order.For Sri Lanka, meanwhile, this is a chance to end an otherwise miserable year in 50-overs cricket on a high. At various points during this tour, they have shown sparks of the team they could become if their talent is harnessed right; a win in Mohali could accelerate that process.

Form guide

India: LWWLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Sri Lanka: WLLLL

In the spotlight

Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah beat the bat numerous times in Dharamsala, but only had two slightly expensive wickets (and one chalked off for a no-ball) to show for it as they strained to defend a hugely below-par 112. Given more typical circumstances, they are among the best new-ball and late-overs pairs in ODI cricket, and their contest against Sri Lanka’s top order could determine the course of the second ODI.His medium-paced offcutters weren’t required in Dharamsala, and a small target meant his batting wasn’t called for either, but Sri Lanka would have been pleased that Asela Gunaratne was back on the field after four-and-a-half months out injured. Gunaratne has been one of their brightest performers in recent seasons – as four trophies at SLC’s recent annual awards would suggest – and they will hope the long break hasn’t done his rhythm any harm.

Team news

India aren’t known to make too many changes after one defeat, but the solidity of Ajinkya Rahane could be an option if they were to relax their policy of playing him as an opener or not at all. The fingerspin of Axar Patel could also come into consideration – possibly at Kuldeep Yadav’s expense – if they want to strengthen their lower order.India: 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Shreyas Iyer, 4 Dinesh Karthik, 5 Manish Pandey, 6 MS Dhoni (wk), 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 9 Axar Patel/Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal.Lahiru Thirimanne’s horror tour continued with a duck in Dharamsala. Sri Lanka have plenty of options to take his place if they decide to leave him out, with Kusal Perera, Sadeera Samarawickrama and – if fit – Dhananjaya de Silva all in contention.Sri Lanka: 1 Danushka Gunathilaka, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Lahiru Thirimanne/Kusal Perera/Sadeera Samarawickrama/Dhananjaya de Silva, 4 Angelo Mathews, 5 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 6 Asela Gunaratne, 7 Thisara Perera (capt), 8 Sachith Pathirana, 9 Suranga Lakmal, 10 Akila Dananjaya, 11 Nuwan Pradeep.

Pitch and conditions

Mohali seldom plays true to what is now an outdated reputation for pace and bounce, but it is still the north Indian winter, with maximum temperatures in the high teens or low twenties, and there has been some rain about in the lead-up to the match, so fast bowlers can expect a certain amount of help.Last year, the seamers took eight out of 13 wickets in an ODI against New Zealand in which an unbeaten 154 from Virat Kohli and an 80 from Dhoni helped India chase down 286.

Stats and trivia

• Mohali has hosted more ODIs – 23 – than any other Indian ground since its debut in November 1993.
• Upul Tharanga is returning to Mohali 11 years after his only match there. In that game, he scored 105 in a Sri Lanka win against Bangladesh in the 2006 Champions Trophy.
• Angelo Mathews needs 63 runs to become the tenth Sri Lankan batsman to 5000 in ODIs. Niroshan Dickwella, meanwhile, is 21 short of 1000 ODI runs.

Quotes

“I didn’t feel like I was a very new part of the team. I knew a lot of players, Mahi [Dhoni] was here, I played with him in the last IPL, they made me feel part of them, I am feeling really good.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsRaton Gomes/BCB

Andre Fletcher and Upul Tharanga added their third fifty-plus opening stand in three matches to power Sylhet Sixers to their third successive win in the BPL. After toppling defending champions Dhaka Dynamites and former champions Comilla Victorians, Sylhet beat Rajshahi Kings by 33 runs. It was the second successive defeat for Darren Sammy’s men, who had lost to Rangpur Riders in their season opener.After being sent in, Sylhet posted 205 for 6 on the back of Tharanga’s 50 and Fletcher’s 48. Danushka Gunathilaka and Ross Whiteley provided the spark at the end to swell the total.Luke Wright and James Franklin fought hard in the chase, but a rapidly rising asking rate was too much to overcome. Abul Hasan and Liam Plunkett came away with three wickets each, keeping Rajshahi to 172. Sabbir Rahman impressed in the field, claiming four catches – a BPL record.The Tharanga-Fletcher show
Fletcher launched Sylhet’s innings with a flicked six off Kesrick Williams in the second over before he combined with Tharanga to take 18 runs off the next over bowled by Hosain Ali. The West Indies opener hit top gear when he blasted Mehidy Hasan Miraz for two successive sixes – the first of which brought up the fifty stand.Tharanga secured his first six, in the ninth over, when he lofted Samit Patel over long-off. The 101-run stand, however, ended two overs later when Fletcher was run out for 48. When Tharanga fell in the next over, after reaching his third successive fifty, there might have been a fear of a Chittagong Vikings-like collapse.The end-overs surge
But unlike Chittagong, Sylhet had middle-order enforcers who were willing to bat deep into the slog overs. Danushka Gunathilaka led the end-overs surge with 42 off 22 balls, including a scooped six off Franklin. In all, Gunathilaka took 23 runs off nine balls from the former New Zealand allrounder.Gunathilaka holed out with 2.2 overs remaining in the innings, but Ross Whiteley took over and hit three sixes in his unbeaten 12-ball 25.An unlikely fire starter
Mominul Haque, widely regarded as a Test specialist, kicked off Rajshahi’s chase with a brace of sixes off Nasir Hossain and contributed 24 in a 50-run stand with Wright.The double-blows
But Liam Plunkett set Rajshahi back with two wickets in the sixth over; Mominul and Rony Talukdar falling in the space of three balls. Rajshahi recovered slightly before Abul Hasan emulated Plunkett in the 10th over. He first had Mushfiqur Rahim slicing a catch to Sabbir at long-on and then had Samit Patel playing on. By then Rajshahi had slumped to 79 for 4.An unmemorable birthday
Playing in the BPL for the first time since 2013, Wright struck his second fifty in the competition. He and Franklin added 54 runs in just 4.5 overs but the asking rate kept soaring. The scoreboard pressure got the better of Wright when he holed out to deep midwicket for 56 off 39 balls.Franklin produced some late blows and ended with 35 off 23 balls but his 37th birthday wasn’t memorable as Sylhet wrapped up a 33-run win.

Jon Holland, the left-arm spinner, has been ruled out of Victoria’s JLT One-Day Cup opener because of a precautionary knee surgery due to “wear and tear.”He will be sidelined for up to a month. The vacancy created by Holland’s injury will be filled by Fawad Ahmed, the legspinner.Holland, who played two Tests on the tour of Sri Lanka last year, reported discomfort in his right knee more than a week ago. The injury flared up in Perth during Victoria’s first net session, leading to a “minor surgery” on Wednesday.”Jon reported some discomfort in his right knee following training last week. Initial scans proved inconclusive but Jon continued to feel some discomfort while bowling in Perth and we decided surgery would be the best option ahead of the season,” said Nick Adcock, Cricket Victoria’s Sports Science and Sports Medicine manager.”The surgery on his right knee was successful, and we’re hopeful Jon can return to training after two-four weeks recovery.”Ahmed is the second injury replacement for Victoria in this tournament. Earlier in the week, Xavier Crone was called in to the squad after fast bowler John Hastings injured his back at training.

Arjun Tendulkar, son of Sachin Tendulkar, has been selected for the Mumbai Under-19 one-day side for the JY Lele invitational tournament to be played in Baroda from September 16 to 23. Arjun, who has also represented Mumbai in Under-16 cricket in 2015-16, will turn 18 on September 24. Although not a BCCI tournament, the team will represent the Mumbai Cricket Association, which could be a step closer to selection for official U-19 cricket.A left-arm quick, Arjun recently bowled in the nets in the lead-up to the Lord’s Test between England and South Africa, sending Jonny Bairstow off with an injury scare when he hit him on the toe with a yorker. He has also bowled in India nets previously.A day after his selection on Saturday, Arjun played an important part in helping Parel CC draw their Kanga League B division match at Shivaji Park. He batted an hour for 15 runs, and returned figures of 1 for 14 in five overs. One of the opposition batsmen was former Mumbai wicketkeeper-batsman and coach Sulakshan Kulkarni.”I faced Arjun, and it seems he is an aggressive bowler,” Kulkarni told “The more he bowls the better he will get.”Arjun’s father, Sachin Tendulkar has in the past asked to spare his son any comparisons.”I am not interfering in his career because I think it is not fair,” Sachin told in April 2016. “He has to have freedom to express himself. I can guide him. Not on a regular basis, but when I feel that he needs to be told something, then I do. I don’t take his class every evening when he comes back home. I do not want to lecture, but let him enjoy the game and fall in love with cricket, which he is (doing). I have told him things about hard work like any father would.”Unfortunately, he has the excess baggage of his surname and I know that is going to be there. It is not easy for him. For me, it was different as my father was a writer and nobody questioned me on cricket. I feel that my son should not be compared to me and should be judged for who he is.”

Matt Walker, the Kent coach, is to join the England management team for the T20 tri-series involving Australia and New Zealand in February.An England team spokesman confirmed a report in the stating that Walker made a good impression on the England management team when he was invited to join a couple of training sessions earlier in the summer.His Kent team are currently placed fifth in Division Two of the County Championship and go into the final round of NatWest Blast games with a chance of progressing to the quarter-finals.Walker, now aged 43 and a veteran of almost two decades as a batsman in the county game, will replace England assistant coach Paul Farbrace for that section of England’s winter schedule. But while Farbrace will be allowed a month to rest, the head coach, Trevor Bayliss, is currently planning on taking charge of the entire five-month tour.

India have brought in left-arm spin-bowling allrounder Axar Patel for the Pallekele Test, as a replacement for the suspended Ravindra Jadeja. He will be the third spinner in the squad behind offspinner R Ashwin and left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav.Axar is yet to make his debut in Test cricket, but has played 30 ODIs and seven T20 internationals. He has played 23 first-class matches and taken 79 wickets at 30.37. He has just finished playing the 50-over tri-series in South Africa with India A. He finished the team’s third-highest wicket-taker in the series with seven wickets in four games and an economy rate of 4.11.Jadeja was suspended at the end of the second Test for disciplinary issues; following an incident where he threw the ball at batsman Malinda Pushpakumara “in a dangerous manner” according to the on-field umpires. He was given three demerit points, taking his total to six demerit points inside a 24-month period which triggered a one-Test suspension. Incidentally, he was the Man of the Match in that Test for his his unbeaten 70 off 85 balls and second-innings five-for, following which he moved to No. 1 on the Test allrounder rankings, to go with his No. 1 rating among Test bowlers.The Pallekele Test begins on August 12. India have already won the three-match series, with victories in Galle and at the SSC.Updated India squad: Virat Kohli (capt), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-capt), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Abhinav Mukund

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Kiss of death: Kedar Jadhav gives Tamim Iqbal’s leg stump a peck•Getty Images

The best team at ICC events since 2010 marched into its fourth final in seven tournaments to set up a summit clash against Pakistan, pitting the tournament’s best bowling sides against each other.Like they did in the 2015 World Cup quarter-final, first time semi-finalists Bangladesh went toe to toe with India for about 30 overs – even inched ahead perhaps – but came apart against the non-turning, part-time, extremely slow offspin of Kedar Jadhav. They slipped from 142 for 2 in 25 overs to only 264 on a fresh pitch at Edgbaston. While Jadhav brought down the total from the realms of 320, Jasprit Bumrah’s final spell of 5-0-27-1 shaved a further 20 off what Bangladesh looked good for.In response, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan put up an exhibition, picking apart Bangladesh’s bowling with delectable stroke-play. Rohit brought up his first hundred of this tournament and moved to No. 2 on the run-scoring charts; Dhawan reclaimed the lead from Tamim Iqbal; and Kohli – who had been scoring runs despite not looking at his best – signalled a return to sublime form while becoming the fastest to 8000 ODI runs. It was an ominous sign for India’s opponents in what will be their third final appearance in the last four 50-over ICC events; in the other event they lost in the semi-final.There was a calm to how India chased down the target, the slickness of a team used to such situations. This was their sixth semi-final in ICC events in seven years. Veterans of big matches, they prefer to sit back while their oppositions work themselves into a frenzy; when they make a mistake, India swoop in.It looked like they had done that in the seventh over when Bhuvneshwar Kumar out-thought the aggressive Sabbir Rahman after he had raced away to 19 off 12. Having seen him chip down twice to clear mid-off, Bhuvneshwar started to mix bouncers and length balls. Bumrah did his bit by cramping Tamim Iqbal up at the other end. Thirteen straight dot balls brought the expected loose shot, and the wicket, to the sucker ball, reducing Bangladesh to 31 for 2.Mushfiqur Rahim kept attacking, dropping Bhuvneshwar over mid-off, but settled down soon, carrying the struggling Tamim. Signs were ominous for India – reminiscent of the World T20 semi-final last year – when Hardik Pandya overstepped when castling Tamim, who would have been out for 12 off 36 then.Instead Tamim and Mushfiqur batted perfectly against the India spinners. Mushfiqur is a hard man to bowl to for a spinner because his height means that good length balls end up getting cut or pulled. And he has the various sweeps to unsettle them when they start pitching it up. Tamim grew in confidence, too. Every time India strung together dot balls, either of them would hit a boundary. By the 25th over, they had added 111 in 19.1 overs. They had negated the main spinners, and had also taken 28 off Pandya’s three overs, which meant India now had a fifth-bowler problem.That fifth-bowler problem turned out to be their blessing in disguise. Bangladesh believed they should have hit four of the first 11 Jadhav deliveries for boundaries. They were short and they were juicy, but because Jadhav’s pace is off, they played with batsmen’s rhythm. Three of those were hit straight to fielders, and the fourth was rescued by a diving Bhuvneshwar at cover-point. Had any of these balls reached the fence, you can be pretty sure the 12th ball would have gone differently. Now, though, Tamim went for the slog sweep but the ball never arrived, and when it did it clipped the leg bail. India could sigh in relief: Tamim had taken 58 off the last 46 balls he faced.Jadhav and Ravindra Jadeja – 25 in his first four overs – now began to rush through the overs. Shakib Al Hasan slowed them down a touch with a cut boundary off Jadeja, but when he went to repeat it in Jadeja’s next over, he chose a ball not short enough, and MS Dhoni produced a sensational catch. The coup de grâce of this death by slowness came in the 36th over, when Mushfiqur chipped a dipping full toss from Jadhav straight to short midwicket. Bangladesh since Jadhav’s introduction: 10.2 overs, 37 runs, and three wickets to rip the heart out of the batting.Of the core Bangladesh batting, only Mahmudullah was left. With Mosaddek Hossain, he took Bangladesh to the final 10 overs with five wickets in hand and 207 on the board, but in the final 10 came Bumrah. He had had an ordinary start to this tournament, but, like in the South Africa match, he bowled quick, he bowled smartly, and he cramped Mosaddek for a return catch and then hit the base of Mahmudullah’s off stump with what looked like a laser-guided yorker.The bowlers had done their job once again in what has arguably been their best tournament in adverse conditions. The ball hasn’t swung, but you can see – for the first time arguably – that India bowlers have had defensive plans in place, and have executed them, especially Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah. Now it was up to the batsmen to make sure this good work didn’t go to waste.Bangladesh’s only chance lay in accessing India’s suspect lower middle order early, but on a flat pitch with no deviation off the straight, India’s top order took them to school. Every shot hit with ease was a message to the Bangladesh batsmen who had ended at least 50 short. If Dhawan went deep to punch them square, Rohit stood tall and played punch-on drives; if Rohit cut with ease, Kohli unleashed some vintage cover drives that had not quite been coming off in the league stages. It was as if there was a contest within a contest: who will play the most glorious shots. It all worked for India, who ended the chase in 40.1 overs.

Amid Danushka Gunathilaka’s blazing recall, Kusal Mendis’ elegance, Kusal Perera’s hamstring injury and Asela Gunaratne’s match-clinching cameo, his went a little unnoticed. Angelo Mathews was steadfast in Sri Lanka’s superbly-paced chase against India, a reassuring presence for an innings that could still have gone wrong despite the excellence around him.Without their captain, Sri Lanka are a shadow of a team. Most sides have a player whose absence alters their dynamic significantly, but few to the extent of Mathews with this rebuilding Sri Lanka side. It often feels as though his hamstrings, and various other parts of his body, are held together by medical tape, painkillers and sheer bloody-mindedness. All available means need to be taken to keep him on the field; if the bowling has to go by the wayside as a consequence, that would be a small price to pay.The match against India was his first ODI for 10 months, leg injuries of various descriptions keeping him sidelined since the series against Australia. Prior to that he had tried to keep a brittle side afloat against the emerging power of England, and earlier in 2016 he had almost hauled Sri Lanka over the line on one leg in the World T20 group match against the same opposition.In Sri Lanka’s opening game of the Champions Trophy against South Africa, they made a thundering start to the run chase through Niroshan Dickwella and Upul Tharanga, but there was a callowness – and often headlessness – about what followed. Against India there was a chance that the chase could have been knocked off course after the back-to-back run outs of Gunathilaka and Mendis. But Mathews strode in, calmed any tensions and, by and large, allowed his partners to do the fun stuff – an audacious flick over fine leg against Umesh Yadav being an exception.The last three years have taken Mathews’ one-day batting to new heights. Since the start of 2014, his average from 61 matches is 50.08; in the 91 games before that it had been 34.17. He became captain in early 2013 and though there was never a period that could be classed as a slump, it took a little time to marry the two roles together.”Even though I’m the captain of the team, I’ve always tried to contribute as a batter, a bowler and on the field because I’m another player when I get onto the field,” Mathews said. “So my contribution is also very important to the team. I try my very best to try and concentrate on what I have to do rather than thinking about the captaincy and too many other things happening. So I’ve always focused on what I have to do and the job at hand.”I’ve worked extremely hard, just like the others. It’s just, I think through my experience I’m learning the game a bit more now. I’m slowly understanding the game a little bit better than what I used to. I’m learning every day.”Mathews has had to make up for a gaping hole in Sri Lanka’s middle order after the retirement of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene•AFP

He is also having to nurse the side through a period of era-defining change. One-by-one the trio of batting heavyweights – Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan – have moved aside. Of the players that made Sri Lanka one of the powerhouse one-day sides, only Lasith Malinga from the original troop remains and he is a slower, lumbering, creaking version who may not have many more miles in the legs.It is a long-term process to fill those positions. In Kusal Mendis they have one who, with a fair wind, can have a superb career and Gunathilaka appears to have something worth persevering with (you wonder if there was no space in the original squad for him) but consistency could still be some way away.”As I always say, it’s very easy to captain a side when you have the Sangakkaras, Mahelas, Malingas, all these guys, and the challenge began really after they retired. Lasith is obviously still with us, but Sangakkara and Mahela, when they retired, it created a lot of vacuum in the team, and we had to sort of pursue with the younger players and give them confidence,” Mathews said.”It’s not easy – when you lose a few games here and there, it’s never easy. The pressure is on. It’s just that you’ve got to try and deal with the pressures or try and stick with them, give them a lot of confidence. Yes, we know the talent that we have in the dressing room. It’s just that we need to try and stay positive with them and give them a lot of opportunities and give them a longer run being consistent with them. We obviously will see more results in the future.”The run chase against India offered some encouragement for the rebuilding process this Sri Lanka side are going through. But there remains one man who holds it all together, and will need to do so for some time to come.

Chris Gayle’s first significant contribution in IPL 2017 – a 38-ball 77 – helped Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Gujarat Lions by 21 runs in Rajkot to lift themselves off the bottom of the table. Victory aside, the innings was special for Gayle, who became the first batsman to bring up 10,000 T20 runs.Brought in as a replacement for the injured AB de Villiers, he put together a 122-run opening stand with Virat Kohli as Royal Challengers blasted 213 for 2, the highest total of the season. But much before unleashing mayhem, it was a single that brought him much relief.”Samuel Badree reminded me before the game and said ‘Chris only three more runs to go, make sure you get it’ so it was actually playing on my mind a bit,” he said of the landmark. “Once I crossed the line, I said: ‘listen it’s time to have a go and then it eventually paid off, so I am really happy to get the runs.”By the time Gayle walked off, he had blasted five fours and seven monstrous sixes. “People are still looking out for Chris Gayle. The universe boss is still here and still alive,” he said. “It was great fun. You know it’s good to be back. I wanted this so badly, but first of all to get 10,000 runs, it was actually on my mind, so I’m glad to get that sort of achievement. It’s a privilege to actually be the first person to get there. Hopefully I can continue entertaining the fans.”Gayle had the lowest strike rate among openers who had played 50 balls this season before coming into the game. An aspect he corrected on Tuesday. The trigger was Ravindra Jadeja’s second over, in which he hit two fours and two sixes. The key to his effort was the manner in which he held his shape and didn’t slog wildly. “It’s not really premeditated, it just comes natural, to be honest,” he said. “Over the years, a lot of guys spoke to me about my stance. Even Shaun Pollock spoke to me about my stance. You’re never too old to learn.”In his hour of glory, Gayle didn’t forget to thank everyone who helped him get there. “I just want to thank the fans and all the franchises where I have actually played around the world. Even playing for West Indies as well. At the end of the day, they have actually played a part in this 10,000 runs as well. So, I want to thank all the franchises. It has been fantastic and like I said still I have a lot more to offer to the fans. Hopefully, I can keep entertaining and get a few more thousand runs under my belt.”

The winners of the Plunket Shield were decided in the last hour of the last round of matches as Auckland, who needed a win to lift the trophy, went down to Central Districts by three wickets and Canterbury clinched their third title in four years. Canterbury were leading the table with 101 points before the last round, followed by Auckland with 93 points. While Canterbury went down to Wellington by seven wickets, taking four points to finish on 105, Auckland’s loss meant they finished third with 98 points after being overtaken by Northern Districts, who beat Otago by three wickets.Auckland had a sniff of victory and the title by reducing Central Districts to 281 for 7 in the chase of 301 before an unbeaten 43 from Tom Bruce steered Central Districts home, in Napier. The chase was led by George Worker’s 130 off 144, his sixth first-class hundred, but they stuttered from 192 for 2 to 213 for 5, and soon 281 for 7, before Bruce’s rescue act earned them 16 points. Earlier, Auckland were restricted to 200 for 9, thanks to a five-for from Navin Patel, after a rain-affected first day. But they fought back by dismissing Central Districts for 181 as Colin Munro (3 for 22) and Tarun Nethula (4 for 49) disturbed the opposition’s top and middle order. With a slender lead, Auckland had a shot at victory by declaring on 281 for 7 after fifites from Michael Guptill-Bounce (52), Munro (56) and Mark Chapman (55) but Central Districts overhauled the 301 target in under 70 overs by scoring at 4.37 runs per over.In Christchurch, Canterbury began the final day leading Wellington by 59 runs with only four wickets in hand. Troubled by the Wellington quicks, none of Canterbury’s top five could score in excess of 15 in the second innings. Captain Andrew Ellis, however, stretched his overnight score of 34 to 110 – his ninth first-class century – while No. 9 Logan van Beek added an unbeaten 54 to his first-innings score of 66, pushing the lead past 200, prompting Canterbury to declare on 293 for 8.Chasing 227, Wellington secured the victory for the loss of only three wickets, piloted by an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 170 between Hamish Marshall (105* off 94) and Tom Blundell (63*). It was the second win in ten matches for Wellington, whose tally of 86 points earned them a fourth-place finish.Blundell had earlier anchored Wellington’s reply to Canterbury’s first-innings tally of 197 with a 113. He added 184 runs for the sixth wicket with Peter Younghusband, who fell three short of a maiden first-class century. The duo helped their side take a 67-run lead, before Canterbury medium-pacer Will Williams rolled them over over with a career best 4 for 37.Northern Districts, meanwhile, stole a three-wicket win against Otago, with heroic centuries from Daryl Mitchell (106) and Tim Seifert (151) in the fourth innings in Dunedin. Like Central Districts, Northern Districts were set a stiff target – of 347 – but the twin centuries meant three wickets from each of Michael Rae and Rhys Phillips went in vain.Northern Districts’ fourth win of the tournament was set up by 11 wickets from Ish Sodhi. Otago had earlier secured a first-innings lead of 157 after a double-century from Anaru Kitchen (207) helped them score 432 for 8. Northern Distrcits were bowled out for 275 in reply, only Dean Brownlie scoring a half-century, with Nathan Smith and Rae striking thrice each. However, Sodhi’s 7 for 59 in the third innings meant Otago declared at 189 for 8, despite strong contributions from the top order, and Northern Districts aced the daunting chase by losing no more than seven wickets.