Author: Soorya G

Newcastle United have made their intentions clear as they have announced their first high-profile signing in the form of Kieran Trippier from Atletico Madrid, for a reported fee of around £12 million. The English right-back was heavily linked with Manchester United during the summer transfer window ahead of the ongoing season, but the deal did not materialise after some disagreements between the two parties regarding the transfer fee for Trippier. Trippier, who had 18 months left on his contract with Atletico, is the first signing for the Magpies following the takeover backed by a Saudi-based consortium. Manager Eddie Howe, who replaced Steve…

Bangladesh Test captain Mominul Haque has admitted that the thought of beating the World Champions New Zealand in a Test match gave him a sleepless night on the eve of their historic win against the Black Caps. Bangladesh were firmly in control on Day 4, with New Zealand only 17 runs ahead, with Ross Taylor at the crease, and only five wickets in hand. However, this was not enough for the Bangla captain to be at ease. “The plan in this Test was that we will not concede runs trying to take wickets. We wanted to create pressure in that way. Whether we get…

The returning Queensland captain made a magnificent hundred, as Australia were in a commanding position at the close of play on Day 2 of the fourth Ashes Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Resuming play on 147/3 after a rain-afflicted Day 1, the Aussies were in good touch from the very outset, as Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith were already in the zone. The day was very challenging for the English quicks as the duo looked at ease playing the pull against the short ball, which seemed to be England’s game plan against the duo.  Mark Wood and Stuart Broad, in particular, were taken…

The veteran batsman provided an unofficial update regarding Virat Kohli’s fitness. An upper back spasm left Indian Test captain Virat Kohli out of the second Test against South Africa, as the reins of the Indian test side were handed to white-ball vice-captain KL Rahul. The 33-year-old was replaced by Andhra batsman Hanuma Vihari who played at the number five position while the under-fire Ajinkya Rahane moved to Kohli’s slot. Veteran batsman Cheteshwar Pujara had an update about captain Kohli’s fitness and shared it with the media. He said: “Officially, I can’t say much but yes, he is definitely getting better and I feel that he will be fit soon. The…

The Indian under-19 squad on Friday lifted the Asia Cup after a dominant performance against the Sri Lankans to lift their eighth Asia Cup title in nine years, a record in itself. Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Vicky Ostwal and Kaushal Tambe set up a massive win with excellent performances. Heavy rains in Dubai meant that the game between the two South Asian heavyweights was cut short to a 38-over affair, with four bowlers being allowed to bowl eight overs. The Sri Lankan U-19s won the toss and decided to bat first. However, they did not get the start that they would have wanted,…

Team India’s slow over-rate has also come at the cost of one point from their total in the World Test Championship. The International Cricket Council put a dampener of sorts on India’s historic victory at Centurion in their first Test match against the Proteas, fining each member of the squad 20 per cent of their match fee. The Indians were shown to have maintained a slow over-rate, and as a result, have also seen one point being deducted from their World Test Championship tally, in addition to the haircut on the match fees. The ICC Elite Panel of Umpires, led by Andrew Pycroft, approved the sanction…

The tactician will succeed Renedy Singh, who was interim manager for three days following the departure of Jose Manuel Diaz. Kolkata-based club SC East Bengal have on Saturday announced the appointment of Mario Rivera as head coach for the remainder of the 2021-22 season.  On December 28, the club’s board sacked Jose Manuel Diaz due to a horrible start to the season. Former captain of the Indian football side Renedy Singh then took over as interim coach and will now be succeeded by the Spaniard. https://twitter.com/sc_eastbengal/status/1475793789860007938 Rivera has also been previously involved with SC East Bengal, having done extremely well to guide the side…

Indian speedster Mohammed Shami has been extremely impressive in the past few years, and continued his good form against the South Africans in the first Test at Centurion. The Bengal man was quite possibly the pick of the Indian bowlers in the first Test, bowling a brilliant spell of fast bowling, as he picked up five wickets, skittling the Proteas for 197. He was also mighty impressive in the second, as he scalped three wickets, as India gained a historic victory over the hosts. On the way to India’s win, Shami crossed a personal milestone as well, as he completed 200 wickets in Test…

Veteran World Cup-winning coach and South African batting great Gary Kirsten has expressed his intentions to accept the England coaching position, should the job come his way. This was after England’s horrendous Ashes performance, which will most likely end in current coach Chris Silverwood getting the axe. Silverwood had, in fact, pipped Kirsten to take over the England side back in 2019 but is now struggling with his back against the wall. Kirsten’s interest in taking up the England job has been well documented, having applied twice in the past, in 2015 and 2019. However, both times, he saw the opportunity going elsewhere. Kirsten himself…

Australia’s latest debutant Scott Boland saw his dream start substantiated as he entered into 74th place amongst bowlers in the ICC Test Rankings that were released on December 29. Boland was a key member of the Australian lineup that handed the English an embarrassing defeat at the hallowed Melbourne Cricket Ground. His brilliant spell of 6/7 meant that the Three Lions were skittled for a paltry 68 in the second innings, giving the Aussies a convincing victory by an innings and 14 runs. Boland had been included in the squad owing to the unavailability of seasoned pacer Josh Hazlewood. The Aussies will now face a selection dilemma, should…