Author: Soorya G

Imam ul-Haq and Abdullah Shafique scored hundreds in Pakistan’s second innings. Australia and Pakistan played out a relatively uneventful draw at Rawalpindi in what was a tremendously batting-heavy contest. The Australians, who responded well to Pakistan’s first innings total of 476/4 on the back of big hundreds by opener Imam ul-Haq and Azhar Ali, resumed play on 449/7, after Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, and Steve Smith all came agonisingly close to the three-figure mark. A result was not on either team’s mind, especially with how the pitch was playing over the course of the previous four days.  Australia, who concluded…

Hosts New Zealand thoroughly outplayed the Bangladesh women in a rain-affected game at Dunedin, the hometown of Kiwi veteran Suzie Bates, who also played a starring role with the bat, as New Zealand brought their World Cup campaign back on track with an emphatic nine-wicket victory. The Bangladesh batting order could not capitalise on the excellent start that the openers gave them, and ended up posting a disappointing 140, as New Zealand chased it down with ease.  After heavy rains at Dunedin took away nearly four hours of play, the match was shortened to 27 overs a side. Batting first,…

The off-spinning all-rounder broke Kapil Dev’s record on Day 3 of the first Test between India and Sri Lanka. Modern-day great Ravichandran Ashwin created history in the first Test match against Sri Lanka in Mohali, as he overtook the legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev’s tally of 434 wickets in Test cricket to become India’s second-highest wicket-taker in the longest format, only behind leg-spin wizard Anil Kumble, who has 619 wickets to his name. However, Ashwin made it clear that going past the former World Cup-winning captain’s record was never his objective and expressed his gratitude to have been able to represent…

The Indian women sealed an emphatic victory over arch-rivals Pakistan in their first game of the 2022 Women’s ODI World Cup, beating their neighbours by a huge margin of 107 runs. Batting first, India’s score was buoyed by crucial innings courtesy of Sneh Rana and Pooja Vastrakar, after Smrithi Mandhana and Deepti Sharma had made valuable contributions earlier. A circumspect middle-phase for the Indians seemed to rock the boat a bit, but brilliant knocks from the two middle-order batters ensured that India reached a match-winning total. Rajeshwari Gayakwad then put up another excellent performance with the ball, as she together…

Sri Lanka suffered a baffling collapse on the third day of the first Test match between India and Sri Lanka, as the hosts scored a thumping victory over their neighbours. Ravindra Jadeja was the star of the show yet again, picking up nine wickets in the game, setting up a massive innings victory for his side. Jadeja, in addition to getting a world-class 175* in India’s first innings, also picked up a five wicket haul in the visitors’ first innings, and continued the good work to scalp four in the second innings as well, as Sri Lanka were forced to…

Favourites Australia scored a nail-biting victory over rivals England while the South African women beat the Bangladesh ladies comfortably in a low-scoring encounter. Rachael Haynes scored a superb 130 to get Australia to a winning total while Natalie Sciver’s excellent century for England went in vain as Meg Lanning’s decision to give Jess Jonassen the ball paid off. Ayabhonga Khaka picked up a brilliant four-wicket haul to deny Bangladesh a chance at an upset. Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana won the toss and decided to put the South African women into bat. The pitch was not the best for batting, and…

India built on their excellent start on Day 1 with a fine performance on Day 2, as premier all-rounder duo Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja took the game away from the Sri Lankan bowlers from the very first ball of the day itself, adding 104 runs for the sixth wicket. Ashwin was dismissed after scoring a well-made 61, but it was Jadeja who took away all the limelight, as he went on to score a spectacular unbeaten 175, before a surprise declaration by captain Rohit Sharma, ending the Indian innings on a mammoth 574/8. The Sri Lankan openers started out…

Current owner Roman Abramovich has been forced to sell the club following the war situation in Russia and Ukraine. With Chelsea’s billionaire Russian owner Roman Abramovich being confirmed as one of the individuals on whom sanctions are being imposed as a result of Russia’s attempted invasion of Ukraine, it appears as if the Chelsea owner has been run into a corner, as he was recently banned from entering the United Kingdom. Abramovich, who has been in ownership of the club since 2003, has now been forced into a position where he is open to selling the club. Abramovich and Chelsea…

Danish striker Martin Braithwaite, who has been out-of-favour in the Catalan side for some time now, especially after the signings of Premier League trio Ferran Torres, Adama Traore, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, with whom the Spanish giants have been having some success in recent times. As a result, Braithwaite has not been getting the minutes that he earlier used to, last featuring in Barca’s defeat against Atheltic Club in the Copa Del Rey, where they crashed out in the last 16. It also does not seem as if the situation is going to get any better for Braithwaite, and there are…

Virat Kohli, who was playing in his 100th Test match, was presented with a special cap by coach Rahul Dravid. India were perched firmly on top at the end of the first day’s play of the first Test between India and Sri Lanka at Mohali, finishing with a score of 357/6 at Stumps. All the Indian batsmen got starts on a good batting wicket but none of them could convert it into three figures, with dynamite wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant coming the closest, playing a scintillating knock of 96 before being knocked over by the soon-to-retire Suranga Lakmal. The build-up to…