Toss England chose to bat v IndiaLive scorecard and ball-by-ball details Stuart Broad returned to England’s attack after passing a fitness test at the IIT-Chemplast ground two days before the match © Sidharth Monga/ESPNcricinfo England handed Liam Dawson, the spin-bowling allrounder, a debut and chose to bat in the fifth Test in Chennai. Despite the match beginning four days after a cyclone ripped through the city, the ground staff at…

Steven Smith went on to score a century, his 16th in Tests © Cricket Australia Steven Smith was due some luck, and on the first day at the Gabba, he got it. Having lost six consecutive tosses, Smith finally won one. He chose to bat. Smith batted well, but on 53 edged behind part-timer Azhar Ali’s delivery and was dropped by wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed. Pakistan would rue that miss. Then,…

R Ashwin took 12 wickets against Australia the last time India hosted a Test in Chennai in February 2013 © BCCI Ravichandran Ashwin and Murali Vijay are different characters in quite a few respects. While Ashwin is an extrovert, Vijay opens up only to a select few. Ashwin is a Rajinikanth fan, but Vijay swears by Kamal Haasan. For a long time they represented rival teams in the city’s first-division…

R Ashwin took 12 wickets against Australia the last time India hosted a Test in Chennai in February 2013 © BCCI Ravichandran Ashwin and Murali Vijay are different characters in quite a few respects. While Ashwin is an extrovert, Vijay opens up only to a select few. Ashwin is a Rajinikanth fan, but Vijay swears by Kamal Haasan. For a long time they represented rival teams in the city’s first-division…

Chennai (India) – Virat Kohli on Wednesday said he hoped to play county cricket before India’s next tour of England and try to improve on his poor showing during the team’s last visit. India captain Virat Kohli wants to play county cricket in England to improve his knowledge of the playing conditions © AFP/File PUNlT PARANJPE The captain has hit 640 runs during the first four Tests against England, a…

File photo – Neil Broom is expected to slot in at No. 4 in New Zealand’s line-up in the absence of Ross Taylor © Getty Images Batsman Neil Broom, who last played an ODI in March 2010, has been recalled to the New Zealand squad for the upcoming three-match series against Bangladesh, which starts from December 26. Wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi, too, was recalled, after BJ Watling was excluded from the…

Water and Power Development Authority 278 (Butt 125, Raees 50) and 198 for 3 (Butt 105*, Saad 40) drew with Habib Bank Limited 236 (Rameez 90, Asif 4-29) and 485 for 1 dec (Imam-ul-Haq 200*, Zaman 170, Shehzad 104*)ScorecardWAPDA won on first-innings lead File photo – Salman Butt’s unbeaten 105 on the final day was his fourth century of this season © AFP Salman Butt‘s second century of the match,…

Farhaan Behardien has scored 341 runs in 10 games this competition, including a 15-ball 55 © BCCI South Africa’s silly season starts on Friday and not just because it’s the final of the franchise T20 competition. December 16 is a public holiday and its timing – nine days before Christmas – allows it to serve as a marker for the start of the festive break. It’s when summer is at…

Andrew Tye in T20 action for Australia © Getty Images Australian fast bowler Andrew Tye is returning to Gloucestershire in 2017 to play in the NatWest T20 Blast. Tye, 30, a team-mate of Gloucestershire’s Michael Klinger and Cameron Bancroft at Perth Scorchers, who begin their Big Bash campaign on December 23, was instrumental in the county reaching the T20 Quarter-Final after finishing top of the South Group. He picked up…

Pakistan wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed dropped Steven Smith on 53 © Getty Images Pakistan were left to rue two missed opportunities on the first day against Australia at the Gabba. They let Steven Smith off on 53 and 97 and he went to stumps unbeaten on 110 It was very much Australia’s day after Smith won the toss – his first win in seven Tests – chose to bat and finished…