19 so far: Shahbaz Nadeem explains Team India’s problems with 'No-Ball'

BBL10 Final: In-Vinceble Sixers beat Scorchers to lift their third BBL title

Powered by James Vince’s incredible 95 and a combined effort from the bowling lineup, Sydney Sixers defeated the Perth Scorchers by 27 runs at the Sydney Cricket Ground to win the 10th edition of the Big Bash League. With this win, they also equalled Scorchers’ record of winning three BBL trophies. Taking place under a circumspect threat of rain, the final turned out to be an incredible affair for the most part of it, even as the Scorchers lagged behind after the 15th over in their chase. Chasing a tough total of 189 on a wicket which was getting slower by every ball, the Scorchers got off to a good start with Cameron Bancroft going after the Sixers bowlers. Liam Livingstone, Bancroft’s partner though couldn’t get going initially as was expected from him after the last match heroics. As a result, Bancroft, 28, in an attempt to accelerate got out off a Jackson Bird delivery. Soon, another big man in the game, Colin Munro walked off without troubling the scorers much. Just when Livingstone was getting back to his usual self, the mounting run-rate pressure got the better of him, as he got out trying to hit Bird out of the park. A partnership was needed to solidify the chase but that didn’t come as even after playing more than 10 balls, the likes of Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh and Ashton Turner got out one after the another. Slower balls were the go-to delivery for the Sixers bowlers as they cracked the code that the pitch was supporting the slowness, after getting hit all over the park in the first five overs. By the time the target came down to 69 from the last time, most o the big hitters of the Scorchers side were back in the hut. Aaron Hardie tried his best to give the chase a chance as he hit 16 off a Carlos Brathwaite over. But that was the end of it as in the next three overs, Scorchers could only hit 19 runs. For Sixers, Ben Dwarshuis took three wickets while Bird, Sean Abbot and Dan Christian took two wickets each. Earlier in the day, Sixers lost the toss and were forced to bat first. They couldn’t get a great start as the player of the tournament Josh Philippe got run out for nine. It was then that James Vince decided to take control as he continued from he had left in the Qualifiers. Even as wickets kept falling at the other end, Vince didn’t slow down and it eventually caused his demise, being caught for 95 off Fawad Alam. After Vince, Christian and Jordan Silk hit a few lusty blows and with Brathwaite’s 10 runs from the last over, Sixers reached to 188 in their 20 overs. 188 after being 140-3 in 15 overs, was below expectations at that point of time, but in hindsight, the Sixers would take it happily and as would they take the losing the toss. James Vince was awarded the Man of the Match for his brilliant performance.

IND v ENG | 1st Test Day 2 Report: Red-hot Joe Root marshals his troops to punish India

If India were hoping for a better result on the second day of the ongoing first Test in Chennai, England skipper Joe Root, partnered with other batsmen made sure the misery got only deeper for the hosts. The pitch at Chepauk played a little better for the bowlers on the second day, but it turned out to be too little and too late as Joe Root had already got his eyes in and other English batsmen got the platform to unleash attacking game against the Indian bowlers. But, the blame for being inconsistent with their lines and allowing batsmen to get away with hittable balls must lie with them. The long and hard toil of Ishant Sharma finally paid dividend to him and the side as he saw the back of Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer on consecutive balls but the tourists had the game firmly in their control to suffer any sort of setbacks from the pacer. At the end of the day’s play, England were eight down for 555 and the batting tactics in the late phase of the day clearly established the approach the tourists are having at this point in time. They are clearly looking to make the most out of the pitch when it has been least conducive to any form of bowling. Later, they will rely on the likes of Jack Leach and Dominic Bess to bundle India twice as the pitch will start showing signs of wear and tear starting the third day. All Indian pacers were guilty of not finding a perfect rhythm and bowling run-up as they came running on a spree of no-balls. The left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem who was considered as a safe option instead of Kuldeep Yadav by the team management was the biggest culprit with four no-balls as the hosts gifted as many as 19 no-balls in 180 overs. All including Ravichandran Ashwin who bowled the very first no-ball of his Test career contributed to that unwanted stats on the second day of the Test. The scorecard might give the impression that the Indian bowlers bowled poorly against the tourists, but that was not the case completely as all of Ishant, Bumrah, and Washington showed signs of wo0rking well with the line that troubled the Englishmen. The fact that the tourists had such a big platform behind them, that the hosts were already chasing the game, and the lack of consistent support from the pitch made their case quite difficult. Nevertheless, Kohli would have backed his bowling attack to bowl with much better control than they actually did and the skipper was clearly not impressed with bowlers, especially Washington and Nadeem not committing to larger plans set by the management. In his 44 over so far, Nadeem has already conceded 167 runs, while off-spinner Washington too was indisciplined and let go 98 runs from his 26 overs. On the pitch that was offering assistance very far and few in between periods of no help at all, Kohli clearly looked running out f options and the absence of Ravindra Jadeja was clearly telling on his face, along with the situation of the game. Earlier at the start of the play, India were hoping for striking early t check England’s momentum throughout the day, and the new man at the crease, Ben Stokes also provided them opportunities with his usual aggressive style of batting. The all-rounder looked like a man on a mission of taking his team to a position of strength that India could never come back from. When Kohli brought Nadeem to exploit the rough building outside his off stump, the left-hander went berserk against the left-arm spinner, and India were put on the back foot fairly early on the second day as well. Stokes was clearly looking to dismiss India with his aggressive strokes and he was successful as well, but he could not carry along long enough to push India on the brink. Methods that reaped success for him ultimately sent him back to the pavilion as his attempt to despatch Nadeem over the keg side fence from the rough finally led to his downfall and the plan finally proved successful for the hosts. At the other end of the pitch, Joe root was carrying on his merry way with a role reversal from the first day where he had to play the role of an enforcer with Sibley protecting wickets from one end to stabilizing the innings with Stokes taking the game to India. He marched along to complete his second double century in the third Test this year and became the only batsman in the history of the game to reach the milestone n his 200th Test. He was outed to be the man who will make the difference for the tourists in this series, and if his concentration and technique of playing spin bowling are the indicators of what has to come ahead in the series, Kohli and company have their task cut out if they want to defeat this England side which clearly looked like a side which has learned some tough lessons in the subcontinent. Root’s picking of length against spinners and being decisive with his feet movement stood out but he too would admit being surprised facing Ashwin and co. on a road, that too at Chepauk. The next man in after Stokes, Ollie Pope was making his way back into the Test team after missing the series against Sri Lanka due to injuries and the lack of game time in the middle was clearly visible in his struggle to time the ball. Nadeem was equally inconsistent against him, but he could not utilize the short and wide deliveries and kept on finding fielders instead of gaps. Although he stitched a vital partnership with the skipper, he never looked like batting with the fluency he has been known so far in his career. It would have been frustrating for the wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler to be sitting for such a long time in the dressing room and the way he got out will not improve his feeling either. He has been rested in the series after this Test, and it clearly appeared that he will have only one shot at winning his critics in the series against India. As the ball got older, it was the time for Ishant Sharma to bag some wickets and earn redemption after toiling so hard on the first and the early part of the second day. He honed in around the off stump of Buttler, and in the end, the right-hander was flummoxed with the one that came back off the pitch and rattling his stumps. Jofra Archer would not buy the argument of the pitch at MA Chidambaram being a flat one as the very first ball he faced off Ishant cut him into half and rattled his tumps to put Ishant on the verge of a Test hattrick. Ishant had a [erfect rhythm going and the spinning pair of Jack Leach and Dominic Bess who have to play an instrumental role for the tourists to win this game, were tested around their off stump. At the end of the day, Indian bowlers finished the day on a frustrating note with many hits and misses from the English spin twins. England’s approach of taking the game deeper and coring as many as they can pile on has raised some eyebrows among the commentariat but they can be forgiven for being wary of the Indian batting line up and learning the lessons from their last tur of India when they were defeated even after scoring more than 400 runs in the first innings. Root and the England team management is clearly looking to eliminate any chance of an Indian win with a mountainous score and lack of time in the Test.

Only cricketer to hit a century and take a five-for on Test debut: Bruce Taylor passes away

Former New Zealand all-rounder Bruce Taylor, who still is the only cricketer to hit a century and take a five-for on a Test debut, passed away on Saturday, 6th February. Aged 77, Bruce breathed his last in his home town of Timaru, New Zealand. Taylor suffered from “ill health" and "had a leg amputated in March 2016 to fight gangrene". He achieved the rare feat of scoring the century and picking a five-for while making his debut against Australia at the Eden Gardens in 1965. Coming to bat at number eight, without even a single hundred at the First-Class level, Taylor added 163 for the eighth wicket with Bert Sutcliffe. Sutcliffe scored an unbeaten 151 while Taylor got 105 of 158. While bowling, Taylor had the figures of 5/86 in his 24 overs. In total, Taylor played 30 Tests and scored 898 runs at an average of 20.40 with two fifties and two hundred. He also took 111 wickets at an average of 26.20 Apart from being a cricketer, Taylor also worked as a selector for New Zealand and picked the 1992 World Cup team, which did brilliantly well before being knocked out by the eventual winners Pakistan in the semi-finals.

IPL prospect Shahrukh Khan credits preparations & form for SMAT success

Built like a mountain, heavy hitter of the ball and an incredible bit on game awareness are traits that traditionally have eluded Indian cricket. If we were to look back in the last ten years, barring Yusuf Pathan, nobody comes to mind. While on can argue that players of this mould are limited in their batting approach, no team has ever said no to a player who can tonk it outside the ground and can change the outcomes of the game in just one brief passage of play. When Tamil Nadu were down and out, reeling against Himachal Pradesh at 66/5 with 70 odd runs needed to chase in just over 7 overs, they needed someone to go big and there he was, Shahrukh Khan walking into the ground. In a whirlwind, Khan took the game away from Himachal and made sure that TN won the game with 13 balls to spare. In an exclusive chat with OneCricket, Sharukh talks about SMAT win and IPL. Talk to us about SMAT win. We had a good last season but missed out on winning the cup by a whisker. This year we were confident as a team and had prepared really well. We played few practice matches as well before the tournament. Everyone looked in good touch and in form. Personally, I was satisfied with my performance especially the time we had faced due to COVID-19 prior to the tournament. Apart from that I had sustained a finger injury in the starting of the last year in the right hand and had undergone surgery. It took me 3-4 months to recover and then I started to prepare. I was actually preparing for T20 and it did pan out well for me. What are your thoughts about being a part of IPL? Honestly, I’m not at all thinking about it. I’m just focusing on my game. If it happens, it would be great but if it doesn’t then also I am ok. I would rather stick to levelling up my game. I feel this is the best approach I can go forward with for now. More than thinking about the future, I am focusing on improving my own performance and thinking of adding some more elements to the arsenal. I though went for the KKR and RR trails. What discussions do you have with Dinesh Karthik? I talk about improving my game and what else needs to be done to enhance my performance. You had a match-winning partnership with Aparajith in the quarter-final. Tell us about that. We needed some 70 odd when I walked in. DK bhai (Dinesh Karthik) had just got out and we were under a bit of pressure. I was in my zone and only focused on chasing down the target. I had a belief that if I stay at the crease till the last over, we can win the match and that happened. We finished the game with over two overs to spare. But a lot of credit goes to Aparajith because he was the one who held the fort at one end. He played a very important role. If he would have got out, then we would have had more pressure on us. How did you deal with COVID-19 issue? Firstly, it took me 3-4 months to recover from my finger injury. Then COVID-19 came and all of us faced few problems. But as soon as we got some relaxation, I started with my practice regimes. I have a friend who lives nearby so I used to go at his place and practice. Talking about the fitness, I used to go for running and did home workouts. Who are the young players to watch out for in upcoming fixtures? I feel Sonu Yadav and Pradosh Ranjan Paul are the two players to watch put for. Especially, Paul has the ability to score a lot of runs in the coming future. What is your opinion about holding Vijay Hazare Trophy and not Ranji Trophy? Look any tournament that’s happening is good. We are getting an opportunity to play and that’s good. Moreover, we are coming from a white-ball tournament, so we are in that zone and carry forward with that. Lastly, will there be any changes in the squad for Vijay Hazare Trophy? I feel the squad would be more or less similar to the one we had for SMAT.