Australia to host Ireland next summer, Afghanistan Test scheduled before Ashes 2021-22

Series win against Zimbabwe good preparation towards World T20: Mohammad Nabi

Afghanistan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi has said that winning the T20I series against Zimbabwe is a perfect build up towards the preparations for World T20. "Every series is important for Afghanistan and winning this series was very important and I feel it is really good preparation for the World Cup as well," Nabi said. Nabi further added that giving opportunities to youngsters and the team management is looking forward to them. "We have given chances to youngsters and we are looking forward to these youngsters [developing further] and hopefully we will have a good side in the World Cup." The right-handed also talked about the importance of playing in different leagues and franchises and how it has helped the players gain experience and exposure. "Franchise cricket is helping a lot as there are quality bowlers and batsmen and when we came back to the national side we take that experience and bring it here and share that experience for with the youngster as well and it help during the game,” he said. Afghanistan took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe in Abu Dhabi after beating them by 45 runs in the second clash. Batting first Afghanistan posted 193/5 in 20 overs, courtesy a 38-ball 53 from Karim Janat and Usman Ghani’s 49 off 34. Later, the Asghar Afghan-led side bundled out Zimbabwe for 148. Spinner Rashid Khan scalped a three-for while Naveen-ul-Haq and Nabi picked up a couple of wickets apiece. The third and final T20I is scheduled to take place on Saturday in Abu Dhabi.

NZ vs BAN | 1st ODI: Trent Boult, bowlers decimate Bangla Tigers in series opener

New Zealand bowlers demolished Bangladesh batsmen to set up a crushing win in the first ODI of the three-match series in Dunedin. The stand-in captain Tom Latham won the toss and decided to ask Bangladesh batsmen to come up with ‘big performances’ their coach had expected of him before the start of the series. Trent Boult and Matt Henry were dominating with the ball and the left-arm, in particular, was all over Tamim Iqbal with swinging deliveries. However, Iqbal was ambitious in his approach and capitalized on the short ball by Boult and leg-side delivery by Henry to help calm things down for the tourists. The Iqbal show was a short-lived affair though as Boult finally found him plumb in front of the stumps with the one that did not swing after testing the left-hander with outrageously swinging balls. Soumya Sarkar came to bat at the number three position as his technique has been rated high by the team, but he lacked temperament. He tried slicing Boult over the in-filed when the left-armer did not offer any sort of room. The old man Mushfiquer Rahim steadied the ship consuming a lot of deliveries while Liton Das itching to go for glory shots every now and then. Ultimately, Das went back to the pavilion courtesy of another soft dismissal for which he has been known for in the Bangladesh team set up and handed James Neesham an easy wicket. The next man in Mohammad Mithun and Mushfiqur Rahim carried on with the repair work as Latham continued operating with Neesham along with the introduction of left-armer spinner Mitchell Santner. Just when the pair started to look like settling into a good rhythm and Mushqfirur started finding crisp boundaries, Neesham struck again to send the former Bangladesh skipper back. Mushfiqur was soon followed by Mithun in one of the most unfortunate ways of getting out when Mahmudullah punched James Neesham’s delivery but only for the ball to hit the bowler’s hand and then on to the stumps. Bangladesh were halfway down at the halfway stage of the innings and all hopes were reliant on Mahmudulah’s shoulders to bail Bangladesh out of trouble and take them to a total. Wickets kept falling from the other end as Santner accounted for Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Mahedi Hasan and Mahmudullah was getting helpless at the other end. He decided to up the ante and smashed Kyle Jamieson for a big six but he could not prolong his efforts as Henry came back to taste success in the mid-innings. Boult came back to wipe up the tail and demolish Bangladesh’s attempt of challenging Kiwis in their home conditions. He finished with a four-wicket haul and won the Man of the Match for breaking the neck and back of the Bangladesh batting order. The target of 131 runs could never be challenging enough for New Zealand and any hopes of the tourists’ comeback were dashed quickly by Martin Guptill who has made a comeback to his best with the bat. A four and a six to start off against Mustafizur Rehman was a clear signal of dominance from Guptil as the hosts eased in their chasing effort. Another pacer Hasan Mahmud whom the head coach Russell Domingo rated very highly before the series for even harsher punishment form Guptill. In his first two overs, the right-hander hit as many as three fours and two sixes to crush Bangladesh’s hope and spirit. Pacer Taskin was introduced in the sixth over and got the better of Guptill, but the task was not too steep for Henry Nicholls and the debutant Devon Conway. Both left-handers made sure no slip-ups from the hosts and put on a 65 run partnership to seal the deal for the Blackcaps. The next two games of the series will be played on March 23 and 25 in Christchurch and Wellington respectively.

IPL 2021: BCCI allows Bubble to Bubble transfer for players

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has allowed the transfer of players from one team bio-bubble to another team bio-bubble for the upcoming Indian Premier League. According to reports, this decision has been taken considering the ongoing India vs England series from where players can join their respective franchise teams after the end of the last leg, the three ODIs in Pune. The only condition of Bubble to Bubble transfer is that players should either travel by Team bus of charted flights. "Players coming directly from the Bubble created for the ‘India vs. England’ series, may be permitted to join the franchise squad without serving the mandatory quarantine period, provided they satisfy the criteria of moving directly to the franchise team hotel either in the team bus or on a chartered flight (sic)," Cricbuzz reported. "If chartered flights are used then all protocols for crew members must be followed. If the travel arrangements are to the satisfaction of the BCCI Chief Medical Officer then such players will directly enter the franchise team Bubble without the need to serve a quarantine period or undergo an RT-PCR test," the note accessed by the cricket website mentioned. The cricket governing board in India has planned a total of 12 Bio-Bubbles. Out of those 12, eight Bubbles will be for eight different franchise teams and support staff, while two of the Bubbles will be meant exclusively for match officials and match management teams while the last two Bubbles will be created for broadcast commentators and crew. There would be no bubbles for BCCI staff or the owners, however, if any owner wants to be part of the Bubble, they must quarantine in their hotel room for seven days before entering it. This Bubble transfer news has also given hopes for a franchise who have South African players in their squad to get them in playing xi as soon as possible if they too are allowed to switch bubble. The first two legs of the tournament will take place in Mumbai and Chennai and while in Mumbai all passengers arriving from the UK, Middle East, South Africa, Brazil and Europe have to undergo a mandatory institutional quarantine for seven days at their own cost, an entry in Chennai will require mandatory submission of an E-Pass by all outsiders irrespective country or state. The E-Pass is provided by the Government of Tamil Nadu.

Road Safety World Series: Kulasekara five-for helps Sri Lanka legends book finale date with India legends

The Sri Lanka legends led by a spell-bounding performance by Nuwan Kulasekara, defeated the South Africa Legends in the second semi-final of the Road Safety World Series T20 to book a place in the finals. The Sri Lankan Legends team will now face the Indian Legends in the final of the event at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium at Raipur. Kulasekara was at his usual best as he removed dangerman Andrew Puttick initially in his first spell for a duck. In his second spell, he took a leap forward and took out two wickets each in his last two overs, ending the South African innings, without any flourish. Even after getting a solid start from Alviro Petersen and Morne van Wyk for the third wicket, the Proteas Legends team could only score 125 in their allocated 50 overs. van Wyk was the highest scorer with 53 from 47 balls. Chasing an easy target of 126, the Sri Lankans didn’t waste much time even as their best batsman and skipper in Tilakratne Dilshan was removed cheaply for 18. Legendary Sanath Jayasuriya too failed to impress. Chinthaka Jayasinghe and Upul Tharanga then combined and finished the game in the 18th over, scoring together 70 runs in 48 balls. While Jayasinghe remained unbeaten on 47 from 25, Tharanga was not out on 39 from 44.