Bangladesh batters and Glenn Maxwell [Source: @ICC, @MLCricket/x]
Bangladesh batters piled on Sri Lanka’s misery on Day 2 of the series-opening first Test match at the Galle International Stadium by inching closer to 500. Glenn Maxwell bludgeoned a match-winning ton for Washington Freedom in MLC 2025. In other news, Rishabh Pant seemingly confirmed Shubman Gill’s batting position in the upcoming England Test series.
Capping an eventful day in the world of cricket, here we take a look at five of the biggest cricketing news that emerged out of Wednesday, June 18.
Mushfiqur, Litton Das Pile On SL Misery On Day 2
Bangladesh captain and overnight centurion Najmul Hossain Shanto managed to add just 12 runs before falling for 148 from 279 balls against Asitha Fernando earlier on Day 2. Fellow centurion Mushfiqur Rahim, however, crafted another 149 runs for the fifth wicket, albeit alongside attacking wicketkeeper-batter Litton Das to take Bangladesh past the 450-run mark.
Mushfiqur scored 163 runs from 350 balls and Litton cracked a speedy 90 before both cricketers were toppled by Fernando and Milan Rathnayake respectively. Sri Lanka fought back with some late wickets in the day as Bangladesh reached 484-9 from 151 overs by stumps. Rathnayake picked up three of the six fallen wickets on Day 2 to seal impressive figures of 3-38.
Mushfiqur Goes Past Adam Gilchrist For Rare Record
Legendary Bangladesh batter Mushfiqur Rahim soared past former Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist for a rare record in international cricket. Rahim, who composed 163 runs against Sri Lanka across the first two days of the Galle Test, extended his international tally to 15,509 runs. By doing so, the 38-year-old now holds the record of minting most runs across all international formats without bowling a single delivery.
Gilchrist and South African stumper Quinton de Kock are ranked second and third on the exclusive list with 15,461 and 12,654 runs respectively.
Glenn Maxwell Explodes With 106* In MLC 2025 Vs LAKR
Washington Freedom captain Glenn Maxwell went berserk with his explosive 106* from just 49 balls against Los Angeles Knight Riders in match eight of the MLC 2025 season. The Australian all-rounder launched just two fours but 13 huge sixes in his innings to catapult Freedom to 208-5 from 20 overs.
Tonking his eighth T20 century, Maxwell levelled up with the likes of Rohit Sharma, Jos Buttler and fellow Australians David Warner, Aaron Finch and Michael Klinger in the list of most hundreds in 20-overs cricket. After Washington Freedom completed a 113-run win over LAKR, Maxwell was fittingly named the ‘Player of the Match’.
ICC Announce Women’s T20 WC 2026 Schedule
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has unveiled the entire schedule of next year’s 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. Set to be played between June 12 and July 5, the tournament will be hosted in its entirety by England. As many as 12 teams will be participating in the competition, with six teams being clubbed in two groups. India Women and Pakistan Women’s teams are placed in Group A alongside decorated Australia and last year’s runners-up South Africa. The final will be played at Lord’s in London.
Shubman Gill To Bat Number 4 In ENG Tests, Confirms Pant
Indian captain Shubman Gill will bat at number four for his team in the upcoming five-match Test series in England, as confirmed by wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant. While Gill started out his career as Team India opener, his position has since been taken over by rising star Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Pant also added that the team management is yet to finalise India’s number three player. India’s five-match series against England will commence from June 20 onwards in Headingley.