Bangladesh to host New Zealand for T20I series in September

Big India-Pakistan WT20 clash scheduled on October 24

India and Pakistan will face each other on October 24, 2021 in the upcoming World T20 in Dubai, confirmed the sources while talking to ANI. "Yes, the arch-rivals will clash on October 24,” the sources said. The International Cricket Council (ICC) had announced the groups for the tournament last month. Arch-rivals India and Pakistan are in Group 2 alongside New Zealand and Afghanistan. Two other teams that will join this group would be two other qualifiers from Round 1. Group one comprises the defending champions West Indies along with Australia , England and South Africa and two other qualifiers. The competition is slated to be played from October 17 to November 14 later this year. "The groups , selected on the basis of team rankings as of 20 March 2021, see defending champions the West Indies pooled along with former champions England , Australia and South Africa in Group 1 of the Super 12s , with two qualifiers from Round 1 joining them," the ICC said in a statement earlier. India and Pakistan haven’t played each other in any bilateral series over a decade now but have locked horns in the ICC tournaments. The two teams last met each other during the World Cup 2019 clash. The Men in Blue won this particular encounter. India have never suffered a defeat against Pakistan in a World Cup match.

Rain plays spoilsport in Bravo’s last international match on home soil, Pakistan take series 1-0

Once again, the rain was the villain in anotherT20I between West Indies and Pakistan at Providence Stadium, Guyana as the fourth and final T20I was also abandoned due to rain and courtesy of its win in the second T20I, which was also the only completed match in this series, Pakistan took the series 1-0. More than the 1-0 series loss, the West Indies players were disappointed by the fact that one of the stalwarts of Caribbean cricket in the T20 format, Dwayne Bravo could not take any part in what would go down in history as his last international game on home soil. Just after the toss, Windies skipper Kieron Pollard had announced that it would be the last game for Bravio at home soil, indicating that the all-rounder would be retiring after this year’s T20 World Cup, scheduled to take place in October-November in the United Arab Emirates and Oman, but would be hosted by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Only three overs could be bowled in the entire game where West Indies scored 30 without any loss after winning the toss and deciding to bat first. This was also the last white ball game of this summer for the West Indies at home and as per records, they lost the T20I series 2-3 to South Africa, won 4-1 against Australia and lost 1-0 against Pakistan. These two teams will now compete in the red-ball format with the first of the two Tests starting from August 12 in Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica.

Birmingham Phoenix vs Oval Invincibles: Where to watch Live, Probable XI, Fantasy XI details

The Birmingham Phoenix, having won two and lost two out of their four games are sitting pretty on the fourth position in the points table. While their both wins have come in home games, their losses were recorded away. Therefore they would be at an advantage when they welcome Oval Invincibles at Edgbaston on Wednesday, August 04. However, Oval is also coming on the back of a great win against Wesh Fire at home. Out of their three games, they have lost just once and that was an away game. Their other away game in the London Derby was washed out. Moeen Ali’s men would hence fancy to seize up Sam Billing’s side and win this contest to move ahead in the table. But will they be able to do it? Only time will tell. Birmingham Phoenix vs Oval Invincibles: Match Details Match Number- 18 Date and Time: 04 August, 2021, 11:00 pm IST, 06:30 pm Local, 05:30pm GMT Venue: Edgbaston, Birmingham Live Stream: Fancode Pitch Report The pitch at Esdgabastobn has proved to be a true wicket with a lot of runs on offer and if bowled wisely, wickets are up for grab as well. Hence, a nice game is at hand in Birmingham if the weather permits. Weather Forecast According to BBC Weather, Edgbaston is likely to have sunny intervals and light winds, perfect weather for cricket. The temperatures would also remain in the lower twenties or below twenty range, thus providing a good atmosphere for the crowds to enjoy the game. Birmingham Phoenix Probable XI Finn Allen, Will Smeed, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali (c), Miles Hammond, Chris Benjamin (wk), Benny Howell, Adam Milne, Tom Helm, Patrick Brown, Imran Tahir Oval Invincibles Probable XI Jason Roy, Will Jacks, Sunil Narine, Colin Ingram, Jordan Clark, Sam Billings (c & wk), Laurie Evans, Tom Curran, Tabraiz Shamsi, Reece Topley, Saqib Mahmood Fantasy XI Finn Allen, Jason Roy, Sam Billings (wk), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Laurie Evans, Miles Hammond, Benny Howell, Adam Milne, Tom Curran, Saqib Mahmood Captain Moeen Ali Vice-Captain Sam Billings

BAN vs AUS | 2nd T20I: Tigers look to carry momentum as Aussie search for survival skills in Dhaka

After the historic first win against Australia in T20Is, Mahmudullah’s comments that it was just a match which is over now and the team is not over the top, are reasons enough that Bangladesh have a larger target in sight, which is to win their first-ever bilateral series against Australia. To fulfil that target, the Ti8gers need to improve a lot of things and batting is a major part of it. A slow start to the innings is a problem that Bangladesh must address in batting as that slow start is causing problems while finishing. Also, the use of Nur-Ul-Hasan and Shamim Patwary is crucial as they are clean hitters of the ball and must be told about their roles clearly in the side. On the order hand, Australia, after suffering defeat in the T20I series against West Indies would look to avoid back to back humbling. They must also be aware that if they don’t win this game, they would get into a dire situation of ‘Do or Die’ for the third game, which is never an ideal one. Thus to avoid that situation, victory is the only way out for the Aussie. The batting order, if need be, must be changed and the likes of Ben McDermott and Dan Christian could be opted for ahead of Moises Henriques and Ashton Turner. Bangladesh vs Australia: Match Details Match Number- 02 Date and Time: 04 August, 2021, 05:30 pm IST, 06:00 pm Local, 12:00pm GMT Venue: Sher-E-Bangla Stadium, Dhaka Live Stream: Fancode Pitch Report As predicted for the first game, the wicket was really low and slow and along with the high humidity and muggy weather, the ball was grouping and slower balls released from the back of the hand by pacers and flights ones by spinners did wonders for both the team. A similar wicket is expected for this game as well. Weather Forecast The Dhaka weather this time of the year is unpredictable. There is around a 40% chance of precipitation in Dhaka on August o4 at the time of the match and mostly the sky would remain cloudy, meaning the same muggy weather as was present during the first game. Team News Bangladesh No change is expected in Bangladesh XI as all the players have done exceedingly well in the first game in one department or the other. Probable XI Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Naim, Shakib Al Hasan, Nurul Hasan (wk), Mahmudullah (c), Afif Hossain, Shamim Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Nasum Ahmed Australia Since Henriques has failed against spinners in the entire ODI series in West Indies and hasn’t had a good start over here in Bangladesh, Australia could take a chance with Dan Christian and his long levers at the death and his ability to bowl cutters. Probable XI Josh Philippe, Alex Carey, Mitchell Marsh, Ashton Turner, Matthew Wade (c & wk), Dan Christian, Ashton Agar, Mitchell Starc, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood Fantasy XI Mohammad Naim, Josh Philippe, Mitchell Marsh, Shakib Al Hasan, Matthew Wade, Afif Hossain, Shamim Hossain, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Mustafizur Rahman, Nasum Ahmed Captain Shakib Al Hasan Vice-Captain Mitchell Marsh