BAN vs NZ | Finn Allen returns two negative Covid-19 tests, set to join Blackcaps squad

ENG vs IND | Oval Test, Day 1: Umesh Yadav gets Root to make it even-steven day

India’s skipper Virat Kohli came back to the way of losing toss after a win at Headingley and England skipper Joe Root decided to bowl first on an overcast morning at the Oval. As expected, both sides made multiple changes in their playing XI from the last game. England brought back Ollie Pope and Chris Woakes, while Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav replaced Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami respectively. India did not find a place for Ravichandran Ashwin for the fourth time in a row in the series and Kohli once again has taken a big call of overlooking “one of the best bowlers” in the eyes of the bowling coach Bharat Arun. The challenge for Indian openers KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma will be a lot tougher with the addition of Woakes in the England bowling attack. The duo of James Anderson and Ollie Robinson was already wreaking havoc and the consistency of Woakes will make their life a lot tougher after a horrendous show at Headingley last week.

My relationship with coach Ravi Shastri has been built on mutual respect & trust: Kohli

India captain Virat Kohli has said that his relationship with coach Ravi Shastri is built on trust and mutual respect and the duo has always aimed at taking Indian cricket to higher levels. "Our working relationship, and off the field as well, has been built on mutual respect and trust, on a vision that has been shared, which has been focussed in one direction which is to take Indian cricket higher and in a better place than we found it," said Kohli during the launch ceremony of a new exclusive members' club 'The Chambers' the Taj hotel on the eve of the fourth Test against England at The Oval. "That was always our aim and I think, along with the brilliance of the whole team, the talent that we have been blessed with, we have been able to achieve that,” he added. Kohli put his weight behind the team and said that it’s a side that every opposition wants to beat. "We stand as the team that everyone wants to beat anywhere we play in the world and that for us is a matter of immense pride," he said. The five-match series between India and England is presently levelled at 1-1. Kohli’s men clinched a win at Lord’s while the hosts made a fine comeback in Leeds to thump India by an innings and 76 runs after captain Joe Root continued his form and struck another century in the series. The two sides will now meet at Kennington Oval for the fourth clash scheduled to begin on Thursday.

CPL 2021 Preview | SLK vs GAW: Riding high on confidence, Guyana look to continue winning streak vs depleted Kings

Saint Lucia Kings will be up against Guyana Amazon Warriors on Thursday in St Kitts. While the Kings are bottom-placed at the moment with only one win in three matches so far in the competition. On the other side, the Warriors have managed to win only two out of the four matches that they have played while suffering defeats in the other two. While Guyana would be coming into this game on the back of a win in a thrilling clash against the Trinbago Knight Riders after they etched victory in Super Over, the Kings lost their last respective match against the same opposition. But the Amazon Warriors do have some work to do as their batting line up that comprises Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Shimron Hetmyer and Nicholas Pooran failed to take the team over the line while chasing a target of 140. In the Super Over as well, Guyana rode on a fine piece of bowling from Romario Shepherd to win the match. The Warriors had scored only 6 runs in the six-ball over against the TKR that were eventually defended by Shepherd. Earlier, in the day, it was the Guyana bowlers who never let the Knight Riders take advantage in the middle and restricted them to a lesser total as they kept scalping wickets at regular intervals. The Kings, despite having an experienced captain in their ranks, are facing trouble to get any momentum in the tournament. In the last game against the TKR, Saint Lucia failed to chase down 159 runs in 20 overs and in fact lost the match by a comprehensive margin of 27 runs. With the way the Kings’ batsmen had fared in the last game barring Andre Fletcher, the team management will have some work to do before the team takes the field. Match Details Match: SLK vs GAW, 13th Match, Caribbean Premier League 2021 Date: Thursday, September 02, 2021 Time: 7:30 PM Venue: Warner Park, Basseterre, St Kitts TV: Star Sports Network Live Streaming: Fancode Pitch Report The pitch in St Kitts would have something on offer for the bowlers, especially spinners in the phase of the game. The batsmen might find it difficult to score runs in the middle overs.So, if you win the toss, elect to bowl first. Probable XI Saint Lucia Kings: Faf du Plessis (c), Rahkeem Cornwall, Andre Fletcher (wk), Roston Chase, Mark Deyal, Tim David, Keemo Paul, Samit Patel, Wahab Riaz, Kesrick Williams, Alzarri Joseph Guyana Amazon Warriors: Nicholas Pooran (c &wk), Chandrapaul Hemraj, Brandon King, Mohammad Hafeez, Shimron Hetmyer, Shoaib Malik, Romario Shepherd, Naveen-ul-Haq, Ashmead Nedd, Odean Smith, Imran Tahir Fantasy XI Nicolas Pooran, Andre Fletcher (VC), Brandon King, Shimron Hetmyer, Tim David, Mohammad Hafeez, Samit Patel, Roston Chase (C), Naveen-ul-Haq, Imran Tahir, Kesrick Williams

IRE vs ZIM | Paul Stirling’s hundred down Zimbabwe to give Ireland 2-1 lead in series

Paul Stirling became only the second Irishman to score a century in T20I cricket after he blasted unbeaten 115 off 75 balls to lead the team to a 40 run win over Zimbabwe and thereby take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series. Playing at his home ground of Bready, the 30-year-old started slow and managed to reach his fifty in 47 balls. But having crossed the fifty once, the right-hander didn’t look back and gathered the next fifty runs in only 23 balls. Riding on Stirling’s hundred, Ireland reached 178, which didn’t seem like a possibility in their innings. After the end of 16 overs, the Men in Green had scored only 112 runs and thus to get 66 in the last four was a tremendous achievement. Other than Stirling, skipper Andrew Balbirnie scored 31 off 24 balls while Shane Getkate remained unbeaten on 19 off 11 balls. The two Irish wickets to fall in the form of Kevin O’Brien and Balbirnie were picked by Luke Jongwe and Ryan Burls respectively. Chasing a huge target, Zimbabwe never looked like getting to it as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals to eventually getting bowled out for 138 in the 19th over. Skipper Craig Ervine scored 33 off 18 balls while all-rounder Burl made 26 off 23. For Ireland, Mark Adair was the pick of the bowlers as he finished with figures of 3-11 in his three-over spell. Joshua Little, Ben White and Getkate got two wickets each. The two teams will now collide with each other in the fourth match at the same venue on September 02. It would be a do or die situation for Zimbabwe as a loss in this game would also mean leaving behind the aspirations of winning the series.