Author: Kashish Chadha

Tamil Nadu wrist-spinner Varun Chakravarthy finally made his long-anticipated India debut in the opening game of the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka on Sunday. An incisive finger-spinner with fantastic variations up his sleeves, Chakravarthy delivered an economical spell on his maiden international outing and also picked up a wicket. His figures of 1/28 off 4 overs contributed to India’s comfortable 38-run victory as the tourists took a 1-0 lead over the hosts in Colombo. The day after the game, Chakravarthy expressed his delight at being handed the India cap and jersey and reminisced of his journey to transform into a promising cricketer despite once…

Legendary Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar is not too pleased with what he has seen of the inaugural edition of The Hundred so far. Gavaskar, on his impressions of the 100-ball competition, opined that it is “insipid”.  “Having seen it on TV, the only word that comes to mind is insipid. The cricket is ordinary and the coverage average with basic mistakes in player information which, if made in the sub-continent, would have been mocked at especially by the former England players, not to speak of the headlines that the tabloids would have generated.”Gavaskar wrote in his column in the daily…

England cricketers are all set to discuss and finalise the travelling plans for their family members during the coming winter’s Ashes tour Down Under with the England and Wales Cricket Board . According to BBC, some players are even considering pulling out of the series in Australia if their families are not allowed to travel along by the ECB. The players will be putting forward their concerns to the ECB via the Professional Cricketers’ Association. Both the parties are in for some crucial discussions this week. Since the top cream of England players are staring at a period of around four months away…

Aiming to be match ready for the UAE leg of the IPL 2021, India and Delhi Capitals batsman has resumed his training, said Cricbuzz in a report. Iyer started practising again after a lengthy layoff about five days back under the supervision of former India batsman Pravin Amre. Amre, one of the most highly regarded coaches in the Indian domestic scene, has been credited in recent times for helping young Prithvi Shaw get back to his best after question marks on his technique following his dismissals in the D/N pink-ball Test last winter in Adelaide. And the ex-Mumbai stalwart is now working…

Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batsman Liton Das on Monday (July 26) joined the list of prominent home team players who won’t be taking part in the forthcoming five-match T20I series against Australia. Das has opted out of the series due to personal reasons, confirmed Akram Khan, the BCB cricket operations chairman, to Cricbuzz. Das was anyway not expected to be available for the first couple of games against the Aussies in Dhaka after picking up a thigh injury in Harare and missing the final two T20Is against Zimbabwe. “Liton is expected to return home soon as he wants to be there for the…

Due to the COVID-19 enforced rescheduling of the ODI series against Australia, West Indies have also had to rejig their schedule for the home series against Pakistan, with the first of the five T20Is cancelled now and the opening game slotted for July 28 instead of July 27. The T20I series will now only include four T20Is, each of which will be played on the dates they were originally meant to be. However, the programme for the two-match Test series that follows remains unchanged. “Yes, we have cancelled the first T20I and play the rest of the tour as originally…

A fantastic all-round display from Soumya Sarkar and some timely blitz from young gun Shamim Hossain helped Bangladesh keep a resurgent looking Zimbabwe side at bay and come out triumphant in the series-deciding third T20I in Harare on Sunday.  Having delivered an important three-over spell (2/19) of medium fast-bowling in the first half, Sarkar played a matured knock of 68 off 49 balls and controlled Bangladesh’s otherwise challenging run-chase quite commendably. Despite chasing a stiff target of 194, the tourists never really let the asking rate slip out of their radar, thanks to Sarkar, who ensured they maximised the powerplay…

Australia’s regular white-ball captain Aaron Finch has been ruled out of the forthcoming T20I series in Bangladesh with an aggravated knee injury. The development on Finch was confirmed on Sunday (July 25) Finch will not be part of the Australian contingent that will fly across to Bangladesh from the Caribbean on Wednesday (July 28) as the extent of his injury has been ascertained and the cricketer needs surgery for the same. Not wanting to take any chance with the injury of their leader and the opening batsman, the Australian management has given Finch enough time to undergo the necessary medical…

An inspired bowling effort and resolute half-centuries under pressure from Nicholas Pooran and Jason Holder pushed West Indies to victory over Australia in the second ODI in Barbados and level the three-match series 1-1 on Saturday (July 24). Chasing a modest 188-run target, West Indies slipped to 72/5 after an opening burst of high skill and incisiveness from left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc (3/26). Shai Hope (38) held the fort firm for a while amidst the home team’s collapse, but soon he was also dismissed.  It is then that former skipper Holder joined young Pooran for an excellent 93-run sixth-wicket partnership.…

The inaugural edition of The Hundred witnessed four matches on Saturday (July 24), two each in the men’s and the women’s editions of the competition. Trent Rockets took on Southern Brave at Trent Bridge and Northern Superchargers locked horns with Welsh Fire at Headingley in the women’s tournament. At the same venues, both the teams’ male versions also faced each other. Here’s a round-up for all four games. Northern Superchargers women versus Welsh Fire women The fourth match of The Hundred women’s 2021 was lit up by a superlative knock from young Indian batter Jemimah Rodrigues, who played an exceptional…