BBL 2021-22: Alex Hales anchors Sydney Thunder to thumping win over Hobart Hurricanes

NZ vs BAN | 2nd Test | Day 2: Hosts put up all-round show to take charge against Bangladesh

New Zealand continued their dominance against Bangladesh in the second Test in Christchurch after piling up a huge total of 521/6 (D) and then bundling out the visitors for 126 in the first innings. The Blackcaps had concluded the first day's proceedings at 349/1 with Tom Latham at 186* and Devon Conway at 99*. The two batters though couldn’t really add much to their partnership on the second day as Conway was run out for 109 with the team score reading 363/2. Latham was then joined by Ross Taylor in the middle and stitched a partnership of 48 runs with him before Taylor departed for 28. The hosts then lost a couple of quick wickets but Latham went on to notch up 252 during the course. The wicket-keeper batsman Tom Blundell also chipped in with an unbeaten fifty. Later, the New Zealand pacers rattled the Bangladesh batting unit as Trent Boult scalped a fifer while Tim Southee picked up three wickets and Kyle Jamieson had two to his name. The visitors had a struggling start as they lost early wickets and were left tottering at 27/5. Yasir Ali and Nurul Hasan then tried to provide some resistance to the team and put up a partnership of 60 runs but Hasan was eventually sent back for 41 by Southee. Yasir scored a fifty for his side but that wasn’t really enough as the visiting team was bowled out and now trail by 395 runs. The left-arm pacer Boult completed 300 Test wickets with this five-wicket haul, said that the milestones don’t really matter and also explained how the track had good amount of pace and bounce on offer. “Milestones don't really matter, there are some big names in this list. There was a good amount of pace and bounce on this wicket, enjoyed bowling on the surface - with Southee in, gives us a left-right combination well. Yes, we're in a great position. It's just about bowling with line and length, there is always something on offer from the pitch. It helped that the boys got a good total on the board as well,” he said after the day’s play. New Zealand presently trail the two-match series 0-1.

The Ashes | Cummins not in favour of dropping Khawaja, says he can bat anywhere from 1-6

Australia skipper Pat Cummins is in no mood to drop an in-form Usman Khawaja after he hit twin centuries in the Sydney Test, which Australia couldn’t win, unfortunately. The fast bowler believes that Khawaja is in such a nick that he could bat at any position from opening to number six. "I'll preface it by saying I'm not a selector, but when someone comes out and hits twin hundreds, it's pretty hard to go past them for the week after,” Cummins said in the post-match press conference. Cummins’ comment that Khawaja could bat anywhere from 1-6 means that Marcus Harris, who hasn’t really shone in the fours Tests so far, might be in danger of losing his place as an opener in the XI. And it was clear from Cummins’ next statement. “We'll work through that, the selectors will work through that the next few days. But when someone's running hot, has got a heap of experience like Uzzy, the way he plays is fantastic,” said Cummins. "I felt like he could replace any batter from one to six. I know there's been question marks historically on him playing over in Asia but you see how well he's played spin recently - reverse sweeping, sweeping - he's just someone who's in total command of his game. That's why you love experience,” he added further. Khawaja played in the Sydney Test as a replacement to Travis Head, who would be fit to play in the Hobart Test. The Hobart Test, which would be the last in the five-match series, will begin from Friday, January 14 and would be a day-night affair.

I don’t function that way: Venkatesh Iyer on being compared to Hardik Pandya

Venkatesh Iyer who received his maiden India ODI call-up when the team was announced for the South Africa tour, said that he is not in the team in anyone’s place, but he is there because he deserves to be there. Talking to a popular Newspaper, Iyer was asked if he would be able to fill Hardik Pandya’s shoes, as he is basically being groomed as a finisher who could bowl 6-7 overs of fast bowling as well. Answering that, the 27-year-old said, "I'm not here to fill anyone's shoes.” “I want to contribute to the team's victory, and that's my mindset. I'm not thinking that a certain player would come back or that he's not in the team, that's why I'm in the side. That's not how I function. I believe that I'm in the team because I can bat and bowl,” he added further. Asked about how he has prepared himself to play on the bouncy tracks of South Africa, Iyer, who shot to fame because of a terrific second leg of the IPL 2021, said, "I think I've played a lot on bouncy tracks. The best thing about playing domestic cricket is that you get to play on a variety of tracks. In India, we have a lot of tracks where there's extra bounce. All my practice procedures are set, and I'm keeping up with them.” The Madhya Pradesh player was seen bowling a lot in the recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy and he even picked nine wickets in six games. Asked about whether and how he will convince skipper KL Rahul to bowl him more, Iyer said, "It's not about convincing, but it's at the back of the captain and coach's mind to make me bowl more, and whenever I get the opportunity to bowl, I'll definitely try to give my best." Rahul will lead the Indian side in the three-match series as Rohit Sharma, the newly appointed ODI skipper was not available for the tour due to injury.

NZ vs BAN | 2nd Test: Bangladesh coach Gibson disappointed with bowlers but hopeful of comeback

Bangladesh bowling coach Ottis Gibson was disappointed with the performance of his bowlers on the first day of the second Test against New Zealand at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch. Gibson felt that after the high of Mount Maunganui, where his fast bowlers won them the match, it was a reality check served to them on the first day by the New Zealand batters. "We have to learn from today. We bowled too many four-balls today. Too many balls wide outside the off stump. When we missed our lengths, we got cut or got too full to be driven. You can't allow the batters to score down the ground and both sides of the wicket. One of my mantras is you can't control the scoring if you don't control the length. We didn't control the length today to build pressure on them,” said Gibson in post day one press conference. "We saw the highs and lows of international sport today. Last week, we were on a high. We are, perhaps, still feeling the effects of last week's emotional and physical investment. We didn't hit our straps,” he added further. New Zealand scored 349 runs on the first day itself, with Tom Latham and Devon Conway being the prominent gainers. While skipper Latham remained unbeaten on 186, Conway was just one short of his century at the end of day’s play. Gibson agreed that the pitch didn't do as much as they expected, but also conceded to the fact that his bowlers didn't bowl as well as they could have done either. However, the coach was confident that his young bowling attack will hopefully make a comeback on day two of the match. "The guys have been going forward. Ebadot [Hossain] is our most experienced seamer with 12 games. Taskin [Ahmed] is playing his ninth, Shoriful [Islam] is playing his third. Look at the inexperience of the bowling attack and see where they got to last week in terms of growth and learning, but again, today is a lesson for them," he said.