Author: Sandip Pawar

Jos Buttler made 68 off 42 while Andre Russell smashed 64* off 23 as Manchester Originals defeated Southern Brave by 68 runs at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton on August 18. Southern Brave’s title defence did not go as James Vince and Mahela Jayawardene would have wanted as they lost the fourth successive match in the 2022 edition. The loss against the Originals effectively puts Brave out of contention for a top-three spot. Originals, on the other hand, remain in the race with the second straight win after having lost their first three games. Phil Salt and the captain got them off to a great start,…

Ireland defeated Afghanistan in the fifth T20I by seven wickets in the rain-affected contest on August 17 to clinch the series by 3-2. Mark Adair and Joshua Little were the stars, sharing five wickets between them. The culmination of the hard-fought series was a bit anticlimactic, with the rain pelting down in Belfast on Wednesday. The home side edged the visitors in a tight finish to clinch their first-ever T20I series victory over Afghanistan. Ireland chased down the DLS adjusted target of 56 runs (in 7 overs) with two balls to spare and with seven wickets remaining.  Credit: Cricket Ireland…

Pakistan just managed to edge out Netherlands by 16 runs in the first ODI at Rotterdam on August 16. Fakhar Zaman and Naseem Shah were the stars with bat and ball, respectively. Batting first, Pakistan lost Imam-ul-Haq early in the innings before Babar Azam and Zaman joined hands. The duo batted very cautiously, and it took them a while to change the gears. They added 168 runs for the second wicket in 28.2 overs to lay a strong platform for the latter part of the innings.  https://twitter.com/TheRealPCB/status/1559602413711118339/photo/1 Babar scored 74 off 85 and as he looked to go big, the Pakistan skipper miscued Logan van…

Having drawn the ODI series and claimed the T20I series by 2-1, South Africa will now take on England in a three-match Test series. The assignment has a great significance for South Africa, who would want to consolidate their position at the top of the World Test Championship table. The sides will kick off the three-match Test series with the first Test at Lord’s Cricket Stadium on August 17. The Dean Elgar-led South African side has played seven matches in the ongoing WTC cycle, winning five and losing two. Started with an impressive 2-1 victory over India at home before drawing…

Dawid Malan hammered an unbeaten 98 as Trent Rockets defeated Manchester Originals by eight wickets, while Birmingham Phoenix escaped with a 4-run win against Welsh Fire on August 13. The Saturday double header in the men’s Hundred was a case of two extremes as Manchester provided a high-scoring contest and Cardiff saw a low-scoring thriller. Trent Rockets and Birmingham Phoenix came out victorious against the respective home teams. The first match of the day had Jos Buttler’s Manchester Originals searching for their first victory of the season. They even started well with the captain blasting 41 off 25 at the top and…

Senior Pakistan players, such as Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, and Mohammad Rizwan, have raised objections over some of the clauses in the central contract. The stand-off between the Pakistan Cricket Board and the leading cricketers in the country has come to an end for the moment with a condition. The likes of Azam, Afridi and Rizwan signed the contracts after negotiating changes to several clauses. The board handed central contracts to 33 players for the 2022-23 season, splitting between white-ball and red-ball formats. The copies of the contracts were handed to the players at the start of the pre-tour camp in Lahore. …

Will Smeed became the first player to record a century in the Hundred when he smashed an unbeaten 101 off 50 against Southern Brave at Edgbaston on August 10. The eighth match of the tournament was all about the 20-year-old sensation Smeed and the 22-year-old Henry Brookes. Smeed blasted a scintillating hundred while Brookes claimed a five-for as they defeated the defending champions Southern Brave by 53 runs. Smeed made his intentions clear straight away as he flicked George Garton for a boundary on the first ball of the innings. He lost Chris Benjamin (17 off 12) and Moeen Ali (17 off 12) but he kept going.…

New Zealand Cricket has granted the fast bowler’s wish of releasing himself from the central contract as he enters the back end of his career. The player had made it clear to the board that he wished to spend more time with his family and maximize his remaining playing days with more T20 cricket around the globe. Boult’s decision to semi-retire from international cricket will have huge ramifications for the sport in New Zealand, with several leagues popping up during their peak summer domestic season. He is likely to be involved in one of the new leagues in the UAE or South…

London Spirit defeated Manchester Originals in the sixth match of the men’s Hundred by 52 runs at Lord’s on September 8.  In a battle of the former England captain vs current captain, Eoin Morgan came out on top at Lord’s as London Spirit smashed Manchester Originals quite comfortably. London Spirit, who finished at the bottom of the table in the inaugural edition with only one win, have now won both their games this season.  It was an all-round performance from the home side with several key contributions in both the innings. Zak Crawley and Glenn Maxwell gave them a great start despite losing Adam Rossington early. Maxwell was…

The World Champions Australia women defeated India by nine runs in the final of the women’s T20 competition at Commonwealth Games in Birmingham to clinch home a gold medal. Chasing the target of 162, Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian team lost both their in-form openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma inside the first three overs. Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues then rebuilt the innings. Captain Kaur was the aggressor in the partnership as the duo started putting pressure on the Aussies. They added 96 runs in their record partnership, putting India in a commanding position, bringing down the equation to 44 off 34 balls. But Megan Schutt cleaned up a tired Jemimah…