Author: Kashish Chadha

Amid fears that the political takeover of the Taliban may affect cricket’s progress in Afghanistan, the country’s cricket board CEO Hamid Shinwari assured that it won’t be the case as the organisation “loves” the game. “Taliban loves cricket. They have supported us since the beginning. They did not interfere in our (board’s) activities,” Shinwari told PTI from Kabul, assuring also that the players and the members of their families are safe even as the political turmoil in the war-torn country raises eyebrows across the world. Stating that there won’t be changes made to the ACB board, Shinwari reminded that cricket first started to…

Gutsy Lower-order batting and the incisive four-pronged pace attack enabled India’s resounding victory in the Lord’s Test against England on Monday. Vital contributions with the bat and ball from Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and excellent spells from them and Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Siraj helped the visitors go 1-0 in the five-match series. Heading into Day 5, with their second-innings lead only 154, India depended heavily on wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant to bail them out of the situation and take his team to safety. Hardly anyone anticipated it is the tail that will end up playing the starring role with the bat. Even as…

Vital contributions with the bat from Jermaine Blackwood and Kemar Roach allowed West Indies to keep Pakistan at bay and come out triumphant in the first Test by just one wicket following a nervy chase in Jamaica on Sunday. Chasing a target of 168 on a Sabina Park surface still offering a lot to the fast bowlers, West Indies first slipped to 16/3 and then found themselves 114/7. But on each of those occasions, they had a saviour. First, it was Blackwood with another game-transforming aggressive half-century (55) and then Roach battling it out for perhaps the most crucial knock that he…

Bangladesh are considering giving men’s national team head coach Russell Domingo a contract extension till the end of the next year’s T20 World Cup in Australia. Even though not confirmed yet, Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hasan has said Domingo could be retained in his post for the marquee event slated to be held Down Under. Domingo’s original two-year contract as coach has been extended already till the end of this year’s T20 World Cup in UAE and Oman. But indications from the BCB are that he is likely to stay with the side for another year. “We have not taken any final decision in this regard.…

Chepauk Super Gillies maintained their Tamil Nadu Premier League supremacy via a victory in the closely contested finale this Sunday against Ruby Trichy Warriors. The Super Gillies came out triumphant by just 8 runs, with their left-arm spinner Sai Kishore managing to defend 13 runs off the final over. The 24-year-old Kishore showed maturity beyond his years under pressure, as he gave away only five runs from his six balls despite delivering four of those to Warriors’ well-set batter Saravan Kumar (45). That capped off a fantastic four-over spell of 1/30 from Kishore. Apart from the left-armer, Sonu Yadav (2/32), B Arun (1/23) also bowled their…

Delhi Capitals will have the services of Shreyas Iyer, while and Sunrisers Hyderabad could count on T Natarajan, for the UAE leg of the Indian Premier League 2021. The Indian board has allowed IPL franchises to have those players back for the remaining part of the tournament. During the Indian leg, they had lost and replaced Iyer and Natarajan. “If in case any player who was injured or unavailable during the India leg of IPL 2021 and is now fit or available then the franchise which had taken a replacement player [due to] such previous unavailability, will need to elect…

Pakistan captain Babar Azam’s disciplined effort with the bat on Day 3 helped his team overtake West Indies and stretch their second-innings lead past 150 in the first Test at Jamaica. Babar ended the day with an unbeaten 54 off 139 balls, enabling the visitors a lead of 160 with five wickets still intact. With Pakistan bowlers taking the last two West Indies wickets quickly and limiting the hosts’ advantage down to just 37 runs early on August 15, the tourists had their skipper then taking the onus upon himself to gain them the ascendency. On a hard-fought day, Babar batted 139 deliveries for his 17th…

On Friday, South Africa batsman Faf du Plessis has been ruled out of the inaugural edition of The Hundred in the UK due to a sustained concussion problem. The Proteas’ stalwart’s concussion issue has gained worrying proportions as he is yet to get back on park after first receiving a blow to his head while fielding in the Pakistan Super League in June. Du Plessis was initially ruled out of Superchargers’ campaign in The Hundred for just the first three games, but lack of recovery from the head blow has now extended his hiatus. “Unfortunately i’m on my way home as I…

Kraigg Brathwaite may have missed out on a much-deserved hundred after an untimely run out, but the skipper’s disciplined knock of 97 in difficult circumstances propelled West Indies past Pakistan’s first-innings total of 217 in the ongoing first Test at Jamaica. The 28-year-old batted with great patience and resilience against the visiting seamers who enjoyed prodigious swing and seam movement on Day 2 at the Sabina Park. The West Indies captain stuck around for 221 deliveries and stitched a vital 96-run partnership with half-centurion Jason Holder (58) to help his team inch ahead and overhaul Pakistan by 34 runs by the end of play…

Pundits and fans may love to call Rohit Sharma a lazy yet elegant batter, but India’s veteran opening batsman is not too fond of that description. Speaking to his India teammate Dinesh Karthik in an interview for Sky Sports, Rohit said he feels the term suggests that he is “lazy” and no batsman can survive at the top level if he is not alert enough at the crease. “When you’re playing a sport, you cannot be lazy – as simple as that. You know maybe it may sound or it may look on television, but if you’re lazy, you cannot achieve what you want…