BBL 11 | Daniel Sams goes berserk, scores 44 ball 98 to take Thunder past 200

It was a riveting show of power and flair by Sydney Thunder all-rounder Daniel Sams as he smacked the Melbourne Renegades bowlers all around the Docklands Stadium.

In his innings of unbeaten 98, which came off just 44 balls, the right-handed batter hit seven fours and eight humungous sixes to take Thunder past 200 and set a very challenging total for the home side Renegades.

Sams, who has promoted up the order to bat at number four after the fall of Jason Snagha’s wicket, first built 40 runs stand and set batter Alex Hales and played as a second fiddle in that partnership. But once Hales was gone, the all-rounder took charge and even as batters came and went past home, he was not to be stopped whatsoever.

Sams reached his fifty in only 25 balls and then in the next 19 balls, hit 48 runs to take the Thunder to 209. Apart from Sams, only Hales scored a significant 28 ball 63 as no other Thunder batter was able to get going.

However, chasing that total, the Hurricanes as usual stumbled after losing Shaun Marsh and Aaron Finch. At the time of writing this, they were 54-6 at the end of nine overs.

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Virat Kohli has earned the right to fail: David Warner

India Test skipper Virat Kohli hasn’t hit a century in two years now and the right-handed batsman has faced some criticism for his batting all this while. But Australia opener David Warner has come in Kohli’s support and said that a player of his stature is “allowed to fail” after doing so well for the team. "We have to understand Kohli’s situation too. The guy has been playing under a bubble for a long time. He has just become a father and rarely gets to see his daughter and wife. All these factors affect the performance of the players. Even the best fail to cope up with tough situations sometimes,” Warner said while speaking on Backstage with Boria. "A lot of people talk about Virat Kohli's form over the last couple of years. We've gone through a pandemic. He has just had a baby. We only see how well he has done. You are allowed to fail. You are allowed to fail, you earn the right to fail when you are so good at what you do," he further added. Kohli is presently with the Indian team in South Africa for the three-match Test series which will be followed by three ODIs. The Test series between the two sides is levelled at 1-1 after India suffered a defeat in the second clash recently. Kohli missed this match due to back spasm and is expected to return for the decider slated to begin on January 11 in Cape Town. Warner on the other hand is featuring in the Ashes at home. Australia have taken an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series against England and the visitors have been handed a target of 388 runs in the penultimate game in Sydney with one more day left. They were 30/0 when stumps were called on Day 4.

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The Ashes | 4th Test, Day 4: Usman Khawaja hits centuries in consecutive innings

Playing out of position in the Australian batting order, Usman Khawaja scored his second century in the SCG Test on Saturday, 8 January. A rapid hundred that came from just 130 deliveries, Khawaja rescued Australia from a precarious position when the top order was wiped off in just 86 runs. The innings is of high significance for the left hander, who finds himself thrown out of his usual top order position. His non selection has come under massive selection under the Justin Langer regime and the two hundreds would go onto fuel the same argument from critics and fans alike. Khawaja last played for Australia in 2019. The left hander, who scored 137 from 260 balls in the first innings, upped his game and carved an exceptional partnership with Cameron Green. The duo, at the time of writing, put up 166 runs from 223 balls.

Yasir Shah among others included in PSL replacement draft

The Pakistan Super League on Saturday, 8 January are scheduled to host a supplementary and replacement draft for the 2022 season of the league. An event that is going to be held virtually will allow franchises to pick a maximum of two supplementary players as well as partially replace those who are unavailable due to their international commitments. The Pakistan Cricket Board have identified a total of 14 players who need to be partially replaced and the list includes big guns like Chris Jordan, James Vince, Jason Roy and Liam Livingstone among others. The teams are spoilt for choices in the new draft as well, as recognised international stars like Ben Dunk, Chris Green and Tymal Mills are up for grabs. Teams do not have a lot of time to figure out combinations with the first leg of the tournament to begin on 27 January in Karachi. The selection is not free of controversy though. Pakistan cricket Yasir Shah, who has had a FIR lodged against his name on the allegations of aiding the rape of a minor has been included in the list of local cricketers. Shah was earlier excluded from the tour of Bangladesh before the allegations came to fore under the ambit of a finger injury. At the time of writing, the case remains unresolved.