What would India’s last two Test tours of Australia look like without Cheteshwar Pujara? The man who copped blow after blow, batted hours on end, and made Australia’s bowlers sick of the sight of him is no longer part of India’s set-up. But as far as former Australia allrounder Shane Watson is concerned, India’s newer-looking Test side, with its dynamic batting options, will continue to make life difficult for Australia…
Brydon Carse was tired but proud by the close of the second day in Multan, after coming through a two-day trial in oppressive heat to claim his maiden Test wickets in the course of Pakistan’s imposing first-innings total of 556. Though he was made to wait until the 19th over of his debut performance, having had a first-day lbw verdict against Shan Masood chalked off on review, Carse was rewarded…
After much back and forth, there is finally an official Bihar team that will play the 2024-25 season of the Ranji Trophy. The 20-member squad will travel to Rohtak for Bihar’s opening game against Haryana starting October 11, but it was selected only after a lot of drama of the legal kind. On August 5 this year, the Patna High Court had appointed Justice Shailesh Kumar Sinha as the ombudsman…
Toss: Australia opt to bat vs New Zealand Australia won the toss and elected to bat in their Group A tie against New Zealand in Sharjah. Both teams come in on the back of impressive opening game wins, so a win here would set the victor up quite nicely to progress through the group stages. Alyssa Healy said the previous games had played a role in her decision to bat…
England are sweating on Ben Duckett’s availability to bat in their first Test against Pakistan in Multan, after he was unable to open their innings due to a suspected dislocation of his left thumb. Duckett was fielding at slip when Abrar Ahmed, Pakistan’s No. 11, steered a short ball from Joe Root straight into the tip of his thumb. He held onto the catch at the second attempt but immediately…
Yashasvi Jaiswal has got what it takes to succeed in Australia. If his nascent Test career hadn’t already suggested so, the 22-year-old has now received a glowing endorsement from former West Indies captain Brian Lara. Lara reckons Jaiswal can “play in any conditions” and only needs a few mental adjustments to come good in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy later this year. “Obviously, the pitches in Australia are slightly different. But if…
New Zealand will tour India for three women’s championship ODIs later this month. The series, part of the women’s FTP for the current cycle, had been postponed indefinitely in July last year due to a crowded calendar, where India hosted England and Australia. All three ODIs, on October 24, 27 and 29, will be played in Ahmedabad, with both teams expected to fly in straight from the women’s T20 World…
Big picture: India’s attacking template Despite two debutants and plenty of fresh faces in the side, India steamrolled Bangladesh in the first T20I in Gwalior, chasing down 128 inside 12 overs. Yes, India were always the favourites but this also showed how far Bangladesh are behind the curve in T20I cricket. The way India played showed that Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir are continuing the attacking template set by Rohit…
Mahmudullah will retire from T20Is at the of Bangladesh’s ongoing bilateral series in India. He made the announcement on Tuesday, at a press conference on the eve of the second game in Delhi. Mahmudullah, 38, said that he had informed the relevant people in Bangladesh cricket about his decision, and will continue playing ODIs. “I am retiring from T20I cricket after the last game of this series. I was pre-decided…
Sadia Iqbal briefly became the first player from Pakistan to top an ICC women’s T20I player rankings table when she overtook Sophie Ecclestone to become the top-ranked bowler in the world. It didn’t last long, though, as Ecclestone snatched it back by the end of the week when the updates were made public. Ecclestone has been the top-ranked women’s T20I bowler since February 2020 – and continues to be –…