Maybe Sri Lanka needed to be shocked back to reality and that it would do them well in the long run. This is what coach Chris Silverwood feels, after Sri Lanka suffered a monumental 10-wicket drubbing in the Asia Cup final. Sri Lanka were blasted out for 50 in the title match before India raced to the target inside seven overs. “Sometimes a bit of a kick up the rear…
Shreyas Iyer wasn’t fit for much of the Asia Cup, but he has ticked off most of the boxes the team management had set for him as he came back from injury and attempted to prove his match fitness for the World Cup, which is now less than three weeks away. “Shreyas was not available for this game [final] because there were certain parameters that were kept for him to…
Rain was a constant in the Sri Lanka leg of matches at the Asia Cup, and the groundspersons in Pallekele and Colombo put in a heroic effort to ensure more cricket was played than might have been thought possible. From the winning India side, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, at different points in the tournament, thanked the groundspersons for their work, and Mohammed Siraj went one step further after the…
Jason Roy has been axed from England’s World Cup squad, with Harry Brook drafted in in his place, after the selectors made a dramatic late amendment to their 15-man squad for the tournament in India which gets underway in just under three weeks’ time. Roy, 33, was an integral member of the England squad that won the World Cup in 2019, and had been named in England’s provisional squad for…
India 51 for 0 (Gill 27*, Kishan 23*) beat Sri Lanka 50 (Siraj 6-21, Pandya 3-3) by 10 wickets After a couple of tight games, it seemed like the 2023 Asia Cup was heading towards an exciting finale but the title bout turned out to be an anti-climax as Mohammed Siraj singlehandedly demolished Sri Lanka in the blink of an eye. It was India’s seventh 50-over Asia Cup title, to…
After Jasprit Bumrah went boom in the first over of the Asia Cup final, it was over to Mohammed Siraj. Bang, bang, bang, bang he went in the fourth, ripping out the Sri Lankan top order. It was just the fourth instance of four wickets going to a bowler in an over in men’s ODIs (when ball-by-ball data has been available). He wasn’t done. He picked up two more to…
Three overs into the Asia Cup final, Sri Lanka were already in a tricky situation, 8 for 1 against an India new-ball pair moving the ball prodigiously in overcast conditions. By the end of the fourth over, they were in a daze, unsure of what had hit them, after Mohammed Siraj became just the fourth bowler (in matches where ball-by-ball records are available) to pick up four wickets in an…
Quinton de Kock has admitted that the lure of T20 league money influenced his decision to retire from ODI cricket after this year’s World Cup as he looks to “top up” his earnings as his career winds down. Although just 30 years old, de Kock has been playing professional cricket for the last 11 years, retired from Test cricket almost two years ago and will continue playing T20 cricket, both…
Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Starc are back in Australia’s squad for their trip to India for three ODIs before the start of the World Cup. All three missed the recent tour of South Africa with injuries. Matthew Short, meanwhile, has been called up to the squad as a top-order replacement for Travis Head, whose participation in the World Cup is in doubt after he fractured his left hand…
Cameron Green returned to Australia’s XI for the first time since suffering a concussion in the first ODI • AFP/Getty Images Australia chose to bowl vs South Africa Temba Bavuma returned to lead South Africa after missing the previous match with an inner-thigh muscle strain and replaced Reeza Hendricks. South Africa made one other change to the team that set Australia 417 at SuperSport Park with Kagiso Rabada rested for the decider…