Month: January 2020

Sri Lanka riding on Lahiru Kumara's promise while Zimbabwe seek better returns

January 26, 2020
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Lahiru Kumara is ecstatic after taking a wicket © AFP Big Picture For a side playing their first Test in 14 months, Zimbabwe’s defiance was encouraging. Ultimately, however, it was fruitless. They batted 148 overs in the first innings, and 92 overs in the second, but where most batsmen’s defence was in order on a docile Harare surface, they were less adept at scoring runs. You could forgive a scoring…

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Vernon Philander fined and handed demerit point for Jos Buttler send-off

11:46 AM GMT Vernon Philander has been fined 15 percent of his match fee for his send-off to Jos Buttler on the second day of the Wanderers match. He has also been handed one ICC demerit point, a gesture that will have no bearing on his future career, seeing as this is also his last Test. Philander was seen saying something to Buttler after he dismissed him in the 85th…

January 26, 2020
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Intent, hunger and fearlessness missing in the batsmen – Neil McKenzie

10:15 AM GMT Bangladesh’s progress in specific areas in the batting haven’t been in evidence in the ongoing T20I series in Lahore, according to batting coach Neil McKenzie. The former South Africa batsman, who opted against touring Pakistan and has been working with the Test specialists in Dhaka instead, said the players must trust the “no fear” mantra that coach Russell Domingo has been trying to drill into them. Bangladesh…

January 26, 2020
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'Won't survive if you don't produce match-winning contributions' – Mohammad Hafeez

9:03 AM GMT Mohammad Hafeez, who marked his comeback at the age of 39, was excited with his match-winning contribution against Bangladesh in the second T20I and emphasized on the importance of carrying experience with the team. He also suggested that he has learnt over the years that ‘survival’ in the team isn’t possible without performance. Hafeez, alongside Shoaib Malik, returned to the side after a lengthy gap – during…

January 26, 2020
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Bangladesh to host Zimbabwe for one-off Test in February

January 26, 2020
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Russell Domingo interacts with Bangladeshi cricketers in Mirpur © BCB Bangladesh will host Zimbabwe for a one-off Test as well as three ODIs and two T20Is starting February 22. This will be the first time the two sides play a Test series that doesn’t have at least two Tests. The Test will be played at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, less than two weeks after Bangladesh play the…

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New Zealand bat, both teams unchanged

January 26, 2020
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Martin Guptill and Colin Munro celebrate a boundary © Getty Images Toss New Zealand elected to bat v India New Zealand won the toss in the second T20I, and pulled off a minor surprise by deciding to bat first. India certainly were not complaining as they would have chased anyway had they won the toss. Kane Williamson’s reason for that choice was that they were playing on a used pitch,…

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Lack of big-hitters forcing Bangladesh to try Soumya at 6, says Domingo

5:54 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff Bangladesh’s difficulty in finding big-hitters forced them to send Soumya Sarkar down the order, according to coach Russell Domingo. So far neither has the left-hander made an impact in the slog overs, nor has Bangladesh capitalised on their batting heavy line-up, having already gone down 2-0 in the three-match T20I series. Bangladesh has scored only 41 and 48 in the last five overs in the…

January 26, 2020
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Pack your side with batsmen at high-scoring Eden Park

Fantasy Pick | Pick as many batting options as possible in your XI (4:44) Here are our fantasy picks for the second T20I between New Zealand and India (4:44) 5:51 AM GMT Srinath Sripath New Zealand v India, 2nd T20I, Auckland Our XI: KL Rahul (wk), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Colin Munro, Shreyas Iyer, Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor, Kane Williamson, Mitchell Santner, Ravindra Jadeja*, Yuzvendra Chahal NOTE: We might not…

January 26, 2020
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