BBL10 | Match Preview: Strikers and Stars fight for entry into top four in Rashid Khan’s last league game

In the middle of the table clash, where one team is differentiated from the other by just two points, two heavyweights in Adelaide Strikers and Melbourne Stars would lock horns at the Adelaide Oval on 11th January. Both the teams have lost their previous games and would be looking not only to bounce back but also to register their importance on teh points table as well.

The spin duo will make the difference for Strikers

For Adelaide Strikers it would be a great chance to give their star performer Rashid Khan a grand send-off with a victory as it would be the last game in which he would be taking part in this year’s BBL. But for that to happen, Rashid, 22, would have to put in the hard yards himself along with Englishman Danny Briggs. The two spinners among them have had a total of 22 wickets and have given away just 431 runs between them, at an average of 19.59 and an economy rate of just above seven.

So it is going to be the two spinners who have got to take on the responsibility of tackling the big hitters in the lineup of the stars that have the likes of Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, and the destructor from the last game, Nick Larkin.

Batting is the best bet for Stars

On the other hand, the Stars would be looking to make batting their foray as more often than not in this tournament, they have been led down by their bowlers and the last game was an example of one such match where their bowlers conceded endlessly. Also, Haris Rauf came back only in the last game so he has to get into a rhythm and they are missing an injured Nathan Coulter-Nile big time. Adam Zampa has also not been at his best which has caused problems for the Stars.

On the other hand, their batters, especially Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran look in great touch and Maxwell, although couldn’t get going in the last game is also in superb form. It is these two with a bit of help from the likes of Hilton Cartwright, Larkin, and the Specimen (if he continues to play despite very average showing in tournaments so far) that the Melbourne side can get back in business.

Strikers vs Stars: Match Details

Match Number- 36

Date and Time: 11th January, 13.45 hrs IST, 18.45 hrs Local, 08.15 hrs GMT

Venue: Adelaide Oval

Broadcast and Live Streaming: Sony Sports Network and Sony LIV

Pitch report

So far in the four games that have taken place at the Adelaide Oval this season, only one has been fiercely fought, else rest have had one-sided results. For such results though, the pitch is not responsible whatsoever and it has been a true wicket with assistance for the bowlers and real value for shots for the batsmen.

Bat Flip and Weather

With no chances of rain, but a cloud cover of 91% in the night, the team winning the bat flip would look to chase, and hence bowling first would be a preferred choice.

Strikers Strongest XI

Matt Renshaw, Philip Salt, Alex Carey(w/c), Jake Weatherald, Ryan Gibson, Jonathan Wells, Rashid Khan, Danny Briggs, Wes Agar, Harry Conway, Daniel Worrall

Stars Strongest XI

Andre Fletcher, Marcus Stoinis, Hilton Cartwright, Nick Larkin, Nicholas Pooran, Glenn Maxwell(c), Seb Gotch(w), Liam Hatcher, Adam Zampa, Billy Stanlake, Haris Rauf

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Jay Shah to be India's official representative at ICC board meetings

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Tim Pine fined, handed demerit point for dissent against umpire's decision

Australian skipper Tim P[aine has been fined 15% of his match fee along with being handed a demerit point for showing dissent at the umpire's decision in the ongoing Test match between Australia and India at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The incident occurred on the third day and the match referee imposed the fine today. The fine relates to ‘showing dissent to an umpire’s decision’ and a breach of Article 2.8 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel. It was in the 56th over of India's first innings when Aussie spinner Nathan Lyon believed that Pujara had been caught at forward short leg and asked Pine to review. On review, no conclusive evidence was found to overturn the on-field umpire Paul Wilson’s call of not out. The third umpire was Bruce Oxenford. Once the decision was upheld, Paine was heard as well as seen mouthing some expletive comments on how the DRS is so inconsistent. It was hence termed as dissent to an Umpire’s decision. Piane has had problems with the DRS throughout the ongoing series and therefore there was no surprise as to why he made such comments. Although the Tasmanian accepted teh Match referee's sanctions and thus no official hearing was required. This is only the first time in 24 months that Paine has been handed a demerit point.

BBL10 | Match Report: Dan Christian wins a last ball thriller for Sixers against Heat

Sometimes, it’s just your day and today was the day of 37-year-old Sixers all-rounder Dan Christian who won a thriller of a game that went right down to the last ball. Courtesy of a huge six, two scare doubles, a dropped catch, and a full toss in the last over by Xavier Bartlett, Christian got the Sixers past the Heat score of 148 with three wickets remaining. With this win, the sixers now occupy the top position in the 10th edition of the Big Bash League. The phenomenon called Daniel Christian Joining his captain Daniel Hughes with a team score of 54 in the ninth over, the new south wales born Christian rebuilt the innings and took the Sixers to a position from where they could attack. He showed the first sign of aggression in the power surge where he hit Lewis Gregory for four right on the very first delivery. Although in the rest of the over, he couldn’t hit any more boundaries. But in the very next over he hit Mark Steketee for 20 runs and announced his arrival at the crease, at the same time ringing the warning bells for the Heat, who until then had controlled the game quite well. Apart from boundary hitting, what was impressive was his running, especially the two runs that he ran on the penultimate ball when the team needed three from two and he did not want to expose Jackson Bird to the last ball when two runs would have been required off it. He almost leaped from two yards away from the crease to complete the runs. At the age of 37, he was doing such acrobatics, putting his body on the line, which just goes to showcase his top-level commitment to the team. Power surge and the change in dynamics The power surge has proved vital in the entire tournament and once again it was the game-changer for the Sydney side. Taken in the 15th over when Sixers required 62 off the 36 deliveries, it eased the way ahead for the guests at the Carrara Oval. Gregory, the English all-rounder was hit for 17 runs in the first power surge over where Hughes hit him for three overs. In the second over, Steketee was hit for three huge sixes and conceded a total of 20 runs by Christian, easing out the run rate pressure to a bare minimum. Chris Lynn, having captained the Heat brilliantly, made just one mistake in the entire game and that was not saving one of Mujeeb-Ur-Rehman Over for the power surge, especially after the impressive record that he has had in the surge. The Bazely intervention With Hughes and Christian fully set at the crease having built a partnership of 72 runs in 46 balls, and Sixers needing just 23 runs off 22 balls, everything was going in the favour of the Pinks. But just then the Heat skipper Lynn had a last throw of the dice as he called in James Bazley for an over, who had given just seven runs in his previous over. Out of the blue, Bazley not only picked the wicket of Hughes but only conceded four runs. In the next over Steketee too just gave away only four runs while removing Carlos Brathwaite alongside. This took the target to 17 from 12 and Bazley was handed the ball once again. This time around, Bazley once again proved to be the right choice as he not only removed Steve OKeefe but gave away just six runs only. Among those six was a brilliantly struck six by Christian who converted a yorker into a half volley and dug it out past the sweeper cover for four. In the last over with one run required, Bartlett was hit for a massive six on the very first ball. The tall man Bartlett erred on only two deliveries in the last over, the first one being hit for six and teh last one where after getting eight close-in fielders to save a single, he bowled a full toss on the legs. And those two were enough for Christian and Sixers to take the game away from the Heat. Bash Boost drama and the brilliant bowling from Heat Being able to set only a small target of 149 against an accomplished batting lineup like that of the sixers, the Heat needed some extraordinary bowling and that is exactly what they got. Bartleet and Jack Wildermuth started the proceedings really well, giving nothing away to the Sixers opener. The tight bowling resulted in quick wickets as well, even as there were edges flying over slips and third man and few of the catches being dropped as well. The going was so smooth that Wildermuth was bowled out in his first spell itself. The 19-year-old Afghan, Mujeeb too joined the party as he picked crucial wickets of James Vince and Jordan Silk giving a huge setback to the Sixers and their chase. At one stage, it all came down to the Bash Boost point. Sixers had needed 7 from 12 to get the Boost but Mujeeb bowled a perfect over dismissing Silk and giving away just a single in that over. With Six required from six, Steketee was called upon. He bowled some brilliant deliveries. The equation came down to two from one and on the last ball, Hughes hawked the only wayward delivery. Over deep square and ran two runs to get the Bash Boost point. Heat batsmen did not apply themselves Earlier in the day, Heat after being asked to bat first by the Sydney team couldn’t just get going as they were unable to read the pitch and tried to score off every ball. This led to some suicidal shots being played by the Heat batsmen. Max Byant, Joe Denly, Wildermuth, and Jimmy Pierson, all got out by playing a shot which they should never have. Especially Widermuth needed to be there at the crease with Gregory who was hitting the balls real nice. Had the 27-year-old Queensdlader stayed there, the Heat could have added another 10-15 runs in their total which could have made all the difference. As a result, only Lynn got to a respectable score of 56 from 44 balls. And 149 was never going to be a challenging total, but courtesy of the Heat bowlers, this low-scoring thriller came out to be one of the best games of the tournament so far. Ordinary fielding Known for its high fielding standards, the BBL has been a mine that produces brilliant fieldsmen every year who set new trends. Jordan Silk and Max Bryant have been among the best of the fielder as well. But in this match, Bryant dropped a comparatively easy catch on the boundary lines. And all in all, there were too many dropped catches in the entire game. Lynn was dropped thrice while Christian had two chances one drop and one easy run out of him being missed as well. What's Next? Sixers will now play in the top of the table as well as the cross-city rivalry clash when they play second-placed Thunder at Sydney Showground Stadium on 13th January. The heat will face a re-energized Grenades at the Docklands on 14th.

Virat Kohli calls for strict action against racism as Siraj faces 'brown dog' slur

Showing signs of leadership even while away from the dressing room, India captain Virat Kohli has come in full support to the pacers Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah who were at the receiving end of racial abuses on the third and fourth day of the ongoing Sydney Test. Kohli took to Twitter and said that the behaviours met out to the Indian players in Sydney have crossed the biggest level of what he called a ‘rowdy behaviour.’ He urged urgency from the administrators in bringing all those guilty to justice. Meanwhile, there are clarities emerging on what actually was said to Siraj on the fourth day of the Test that forced the pacer to bring it to the attention of skipper Ajinkya Rahane and on-field umpires Paul Wilson and Paul Rieffel. News agency PTI has reported citing an unnamed source in BCCI that Siraj was called ‘Brown Dog’ and ‘Big Monkey’ which are racist slurs in view of BCCI according to that report. "Siraj was referred to as 'Brown Dog' and 'Big Monkey' both of which are racist slurs. The matter was immediately brought to the notice of on-field umpires. They were constantly abusing Bumrah too," PTI quoted an unnamed BCCI source as saying. Earlier, the team management had reported issues of similar slurs made at pacers Bumrah and Siraj himself on the third day and the BCCI official said that they reported at the end of the day 3 only because they did not think of holding up play on the third day. But, umpires suggested they report such cases immediately and hence the team decided to bring the umpires’ attention to the unruly behaviours of the spectators. Meanwhile, Cricket Australia has apologised to the Indian team for facing such behaviours from the crowd and has made an outright appeal to fans on refraining from bringing the game down. The International Cricket Council (ICC) too has issued a statement condemning the behaviour of spectators at the SCG and has reiterated the support to Cricket Australia in the investigation of this big controversial issue that jolted the game on the fourth day of the SCG Test which requires the touring Indian team to show all their character and defiance to deny the hosts a win.