BCCI to go ahead with Vijay Hazare Trophy this season

BBL Qualifier: Scorchers and Sixers fight for direct ticket to the final

Two of the topmost teams of the Big Bash League at the league stage, Sydney Sixers and Perth Scorchers will collide in the Qualifier at the Manuka Oval in Canberra to get a direct ticket to the final of the tournament. The loser will have to face the winner o the knockout between Sydney Thunder and Brisbane Heat in the Challenger on the fourth February. With a position in the final at stake, both teams will give their best to grab the place instead of being subjected to the Challenger. Since Sixers are coming on the back of a victory and Scorchers after being beaten by the Brisbane Heat, the Pink brigade is more likely to have greater confidence. However, Scorchers, who eight of their last nine games to reach the second spot in the table cannot be taken lightly what so ever. Moreover, the Orange brigade also has a history of playing the most number of BBL finals in the brief history of the league so far. Sixers will bank on proven talent to deliver One of the most experienced sides in the tournament this year, Sixers would bank on its proven worldwide talent of all-rounders Dan Christian, Moises Henriques and Carlos Brathwaite to take them through to the finals. And it is not for nothing that these match-winners are the aces for the Sixers as all of them in the tournament so far have proven their worth by winning games singlehandedly, from positions, where winning seemed impossible at one moment. Christian has so far scored 252 runs at an average of more than 36 and a strike rate of more than 186. Not only that he has 13 wickets to his credit as well while Brathwaite has taken 15 wickets. Henriques has had an impact in just three innings, scoring 137 runs in them with an average of more than 45. Along with these experienced blokes, the likes of Josh Philippe and James Vince in the batting department and Ben Dwarshuis and Steve O’Kefee in bowling make the Pink team a really dangerous proposition. Jhye Richardson & Colin Munro- Scorchers' main weapons While Stars have experienced all-rounders the team Perth will back their seasoned campaigners too as Jhye Richardson and Colin Munro, the two men with terrific form alongside them. Richardson, who has 27 scalps to his name in this tournament so far has been outstanding in all the matches except the last one, Munro, who has scored 411 runs this season in just 13 innings has a similar story as well as he too failed to impress in the last game. However, one failure does not take away from them the good that they have done throughout the tournament and the way they have carried Scorchers through to the Finals. Hence the team would bank on these two to hit form one more time and get them to the finals. Sixers vs Scorchers: Match Details Match: Qualifier Date and Time: 30th January 2021 01:45 pm IST, 07:15 pm Local, 08.30 am GMT Venue: Manuka Oval Broadcast and Live Streaming: Sony SIX and Sony LIV Pitch Report The pitch at Manuka oval has proved to be true wicket throughout the course of the tournament so far. The dryness has increased though with passing time and hence spinners would be getting assistance from the wicket. Weather and Bat Flip The weather has been predicted to remain ideal for playing cricket with at least 25% cloud cover throughout the evening and a mild Northwesterly wind blowing throughout. With the wicket being dry in the day time and swing on offer early on, the skipper winning the flip would look to bowl first. Sixers Strongest XI Josh Philippe (wk), James Vince, Daniel Hughes, Moises Henriques (c), Jordan Silk, Daniel Christian, Carlos Brathwaite, Sean Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis, Steve OKeefe, Jake Ball Scorchers Strongest XI Jason Roy, Liam Livingstone, Colin Munro, Josh Inglis (wk), Mitchell Marsh, Ashton Turner (c), Aaron Hardie, Jhye Richardson, Andrew Tye, Jason Behrendorff, Fawad Ahmed

SMAT: Baroda thumps fancied Punjab in a one-sided affair; will take on TN in final

A well-oiled unit of Baroda, inspired by captain Kedar Deaodahar’s batting and active decision making in the field, beat Punjab in a one-sided affair at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera to move to the finals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021. It was a surprise in the sense that Punjab had defeated big teams like Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh in their group with huge margins. Punjab couldn’t get to a start that they needed while chasing 161 as they lost two of their main batsmen Abhishek Sharma and Prabhsimran Singh, the two men that had propelled Punjab to better starts in the previous matches, were picked up cheaply by Lukman Meriwala. The rest of the players couldn’t get going either as Anmolpreet Singh and Ramandeep Singh took too many balls to settle down before getting out through forced shots. A major problem for Punjab occurred when their captain Mandeep Singh got injured while fielding and couldn’t bat at his usual number three position, putting a lot of o pressure on the less exposed and inexperienced middle order. It was exploited well by the Baroda bowlers especially spinner Bhargav Bhatt who choked the flow of runs in the middle overs forcing Gurkeerat Mann to take extra risks and thereby losing his wicket. Once he was out, all hopes of a Punjab revival died down and the team could manage only 135 runs in their 20 overs quota. Earlier in the evening, Punjab after winning the toss decided to bowl first and got a good start as Ninad Rathva and hero of the last game Vishnu Solanki was removed in the 9th over with only 58 runs on the board. The Punjab team was going strong until the players started dropping dollies as both Kedar Devdhar and Karthik Kakade were dropped very early in their innings on the bowling of Mayank Markande and Harpreet Brar respectively. Once the chances went begging, there was no coming for Punjab as Baroda raced to 160 in their 20 overs as both Devdhar and Kakade scored their fifties. With this win, Baroda have now made it to their fourth Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final in 12 editions where they will play Tamil Nadu, who beat Rajasthan earlier in the day to make it to consecutive finals and their third final in total.

Dorjey wants more Ladakhi cricketers to get a platform for their talent

Coming from a small village in the cold deserts of Ladakh, it took a Kalyan Dorjey 31 years to make his professional debut. But the Jammu and Kashmir player does not want the same to happen for the talented cricketers in the region to face similar problems of late debuts or limited chances of playing at higher levels. To make sure that cricketers, both male and female in Ladakh get good opportunities, Dorjey who made his debut in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021 against Railways while playing for Jammu and Kashmir wants to promote the game as well as get help from the authorities to build infrastructure to develop the game in the region. “I just want to help people in Leh and Ladakh and promote the game. I really want to promote cricket in Leh and Ladakh as there are players who are very talented and enthusiastic about the game,” Dorjey said in an exclusive interview to OneCricket. Dorjey has been the first to represent Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir cricket, although 3-4 Ladakhi cricketers were selected to play alongside the First-class cricketers and learn the tricks of the trade. Talking about the environment in the dressing room and his relationship with the players, Dorjey said, “We have mutual respect between us. There is no ego and we bond really well.”

Yuvraj Singh is my role model; J&K call up changed my life: Kalyan Dorjey

Ladakh’s first professional cricketer Skalzang Dorjey Kalyan is a left-arm spinner and fancies his chances with the bat as well. He has various role models in his life but with one similarity that all of them are left-hand spin bowlers who could bat as well. In an exclusive interview with OneCricket, Dorjey said that that he idolises the likes of former India cricketers Sunil Joshi, Pragyan Ojha and Yuvraj Singh alongside the great New Zealander Daniel Vettori. “I really look up to Sunil Joshi, Pragyan Ojha, Daniel Vettori and Yuvraj Singh,” he said when asked about his role models in his career. Kalyan comes from a small village Named Tukla in Ladakh and a got a chance to represent Jammu and Kashmir fo the first time when he played against the Railways in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Dorjey said that his selection in the J&K team changed a lot of things in his life. “I got a lot of recognition from everywhere. It is like getting selected for India for the people in Leh and Ladakh. I have been getting a lot of support,” he said. Crediting the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) Chairman Vinod Rai, who also acted as the chief of BCCI for a brief period of time, Dorjey said, “Vinod Sir said a Ladakhi player can be a part of JKCA team. JKCA started scouting players in Leh. The introduction of the new format helped Ladakh cricket to get some promotion. Captain Parvez Rasool has also encouraged the cricketers and has been inspiring them.” Read the full interview here