Drama ahead of PSL start, Wahab Riaz and Darren Sammy isolated after covid-19 scare

Super 50: With last round of matches remaining, here's a look at various scenarios for semi-finals

Super 50, the premium domestic List-A tournament of the West Indies is getting interesting day by day. With just the last round of matches left to be played at the round-robin stage, the race for the semi-finals is getting interesting. Although Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel and Guyana Jaguars have confirmed their qualification by winning all their games in the tournament so far, the race is still on for the last two spots. While T&T have four wins from four games and occupy the top spot, Guyana also have three wins from three games. The race for the last two places is between three teams, the Windward Islands, Barbados and surprisingly Jamaica. Although Leward Islands too has similar points as Barbados and Jamaica and has played all its games. The last match of both Barbados and Jamaica involve those two teams only, therefore, anyone among them would get to more than four points. Thus Leewards is out of the race now. Jamaica, the newest entrant in the race have had the worst tournament until their last game where they beat Leeward Island in a thriller by six runs to earn their first points. Before this game, they had lost all their three matches very badly by margins that were not at all reflective of the talent that the team possesses. Among the other two teams, Barbados too had a dull tournament where they lost to Leeward Island and were beaten comprehensively by Guyana and Trinidad before fighting back to register a huge 110 run win over Windward Island to gain confidence. The equation is pretty simple going ahead in the tournament. A total of three games are left to be played which could lead to three different scenarios. Game-1 Guyana vs T&T If Guyana beat T&T, they would go to equal points with the Red Steel with one game in hand and have an option of topping the league. The men in Red and White however would remain at the second spot even after losing. But If the Keiron Pollard led side wins, they top the group and Guyana fight for the second spot against Windward Island. Game-2 Barbados vs Jamaica The situation here is straightforward, the winner goes to the semifinals while the loser plays the 5th place playoff against the Leeward Islands. There is a subplot in the game in a way that if Barbados wins, chances are it can get up to the third position if Guyana beats Windward in the last game of the round-robin stage. Game-3 Guyana vs Windward Islands The men from the Amazon would fancy their chances to win this one and either remain at the top (if they beat T&T in their previous game) or at the second spot (if they lose to T&T) on the points table. On the other hand, Sunil Ambris' men would be raring to g and beat Guyana to make sure they remain in good touch before the all-important semi-final. They need this win even more as they were hammered by Jason Holder’s Barbados in their last outing and wouldn’t want to go into the semi-finals with two losses in a row. Another subplot of the game directly involves Barbados. If the Windward Islands lose this game and Barbados win its a virtual quarter-final against Jamaica then it would get to the third spot and would face the top-ranked team in the points table. It is because the run rate of Barbados is superior to that of the Windward Islands, even if both the teams would end up with two wins and eight points in their kitty.

For Kagiso Rabada country comes first, would miss initial days of IPL 2021

South African quick, Kagiso Rabada has indicated that he would miss the first few matches of the Indian Premier League’s 2021 edition. The Delhi Capitals player said that for him, the country comes first and if missing a few IPL games is a hurdle between him and his national duties, he would readily miss them. "Country comes first and I may miss a week of the IPL if the Pakistan series is scheduled at the same time the IPL starts,” the 26-year-old was quoted as saying in iol.co.za. “Delhi has been my home in India, but national duty is a priority," he added. South Africa are scheduled to host Pakistan from 2nd April to 16th and the series would most likely clash with the start of the IPL, although no date has been confirmed as yet. Capitals realising that they might not only miss the services of Rabada but that of his compatriot Anrich Nortje too, chose to strengthen their pace bowling department by buying Tom Curran and Umesh Yadav in the IPL Mini-auction on 18th February.

PSL 2021| Karachi vs Quetta: Babar Azam’s Kings eye victory against Sarfaraz Ahmed’s Gladiators to mark the start of PSL-6

There couldn’t have been a better way to start the sixth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) than a face-off between the current and former captain of the Pakistan team. Current Pakistan skipper Babar Azam led Karachi Kings will be up against the former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed’s Quetta gladiators at the National Stadium in Karachi to start the PSL. This will be the second time when an entire season of the PSL is being hosted in Pakistan. The 2020 edition was the first such instance. However, the 2020 season couldn’t be completed as the Playoffs were postponed due to the covid-19 pandemic. This time around the Pakistan Cricket Board is all geared up to give a world-class treatment to one of the fastest-growing T20 leagues in the world. Well balanced Kings a hefty challenge for Gladiators The Karachi Kings is brimming with talent. On paper, it looks like a team to beat at the start of the tournament. The likes of Babar Azam, Colin Ingram and Dan Christian are some of the most sought after batsmen going around in league cricket. If they are combined with the bowling might of Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim alongside the all-round abilities of Mohammad Nabi, could be a dangerous combination for any opposition. The young guns in the form of Danis Aziz, Arshad Iqbal and Mohammad Ilyas could be handy as well and so could be the veteran opening batsman Sharjeel Khan. The cocktail of youth and experience and mixed readily with some brilliant foreign stars could make a team that would be very hard to beat. Young bowling unit of Gladiators, a sign of danger of Kings While Quetta Gladiators have great batsmen in their ranks in the form of skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed, Ben Cutting Faf du Plessis, who is in as a partial replacement for Chris Gayle and the dynamic Tom Banton. However it is their young bowling unit comprising of Naseem Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Anwar Ali, Usman Shinwari, Mohammad Nawaz and Zahid Mahmood, that is hugely impressive. Among the six bowlers, you can pick any four and still on any given day, they have the capabilities to topple any batting lineup. Karachi Kings vs Quetta Gladiators: Match Details Match Number- 01 Date and Time: 20th February, 07:30 pm IST, 07:00 pm Local, 02:00 pm GMT Venue: National Stadium, Karachi Broadcast and Live Stream: Sony Ten and Sony LIV Pitch Report The Karachi pitch historically has favoured batters in the evening games. The average first innings score has been 173 while that in the second innings dips down to 130. This is evidence that the wicket gets slower as the match progresses. However, one thing that must be kept in mind is that the recent record is for matches which would start in the day time. This one will be an evening game and dew too will play its part. Also, since it is going to be a fresh wicket, most likely high scoring game will be on offer. Weather and Toss The skies are expected to be clear with no cloud cover predicted. The humidity is minimal sending signals that dew will be a possibility at the venue. If a captain wins the toss, he would most likely go for bowl first. Probable XIs Karachi Kings Babar Azam (c), Sharjeel Khan, Colin Ingram, Chadwick Walton (wk), Mohammad Nabi, Daniel Christian, Imad Wasim, Aamer Yamin, Mohammad Amir, Arshad Iqbal, Waqas Maqsood Quetta Gladiators Faf du Plessis, Tom Banton, Cameron Delport, Azam Khan, Sarfaraz Ahmed (c & wk), Ben Cutting, Anwar Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Zahid Mahmood Fantasy XI Tips and Predictions Babar Azam (c), Tom Banton, Colin Ingram, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Mohammad Nabi, Daniel Christian, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah

Sri Lankan pacer Dhammika Prasad bids adieu to international cricket

Sri Lankan fast bowler Dhammika prasad has bid adieu to international cricket. Prasad, 37, started his international career in 2008 and played his last game in Sri Lankan colour in 2015. In his seven-year-old career, the SSC man played 25 Tests and 24 ODIs. He has 107 international wickets with one five-wicket haul to his credit. He also played one T20I In batting, Prasad scored 505 runs, 47 being his highest score. The Ragama born has had a long First-Class career spanning from 2000-01 till August 2020. In the 130 First-Class games, Prasad took 351 wickets and scored 2485 runs. "I have enjoyed every bit. Marvan Atapattu was the person who invited me to SSC. I have a lot of people to thank, God, my parents, my wife, my school, all my coaches, curators, teammates, fans and of course the media,” Prasad told the media while communicating the news of his retirement.