ENG vs IND| 4th Test: Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara to not take the field on day five

Team India would not have the services of experienced players like Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara on the field on the last day of the fourth Test against England going on at the Oval.

The BCCI twweted that while Rohit has discomfort in his knees after marathon innings that he played during India’s second innings while Pujara has complained of pain in his left ankle and the BCCI team is assessing both the players. Both the players did not take the field on the fourth day as well and substitutes Mayank Agarwal and Suryakumar Yadav fielded in their place.

The Indian team scored a humungous total of 466 runs in the second innings after being bundled out for 191 in the first one and conceding a lead of 99 runs. Thus they have set up a target of 367 for England to chase. Batting in the fourth innings, the English openers made good use of the better pitch conditions and put on an unbeaten partnership of 77 runs.

On the last day, the English team requires 291 more runs from the mandatory 94 overs and thus the experienced minds of Rohit and Puajra could have been influential in the planning and ideation during day five. It would however be interesting if England go for the target or play for the draw.

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BAN vs NZ | 3rd T2OI: Ajaz Patel gives hosts taste of their own medicine to keep series alive

New Zealand batsmen have not been able to find a way around Bangladesh spinners to come at the top of the game but they also had quality spinners in their rank to stage a comeback in the five-match series. They unleashed their spin duo of Ajaz Patel and Cole McConchie to stop the hosts from getting an unassailable lead in the series. Chasing a target of 126 runs, which have been proven to be stiff to get on pitches in the country, Bangladesh were blown away at 77 runs after a decent start against the new ball. Ajaz Patel was their tormentor in chief by picking a four-wicket haul while the off-spinner McConchie provided excellent support with a three-wicket haul. The right-armer started the rough ride for the hosts and Patel made life terrible for them with the big wickets of Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah to not allow them a breathing space in the middle order. In the end, there was no one to rescue the hosts and the spin twins shared seven wickets between them to leave Bangladesh on the mat and helped the Blackcaps win the first game of the series. Earlier, the Blackcaps too did not have a great start in the first innings with the bat as Fin Allen was done in by Mustafizur, who had not had a great game in the second game of the series. Then, the partnership between Rachin Ravindra and Will Young stabilised New Zealand. However, before they could take the game away from the hosts, Mohammad Saifuddin struck twice and halted their momentum in the middle phase of the game. With half of the side back to the pavilion and a series loss in sight at the halfway stage of the game, Henry Nicholls and Tom Blundell batted with a risk-free approach to take the tourists to a respectable total. The win by New Zealand has opened up the series in a cracking way and has also asked some questions of the Bangladesh batting group, whose failures were getting brushed under the carpet with the domination of opposition batsmen by the spinners so far in the series.

CPL 2021 | JT vs TKR: Champion sides seek turn around in contest of underachievers

The contest between the Jamaica Tallawahs and the Trinbago Knight Riders will be a contest of underachievers of the ongoing edition of the Caribbean Premier League. The fortunes of the sides seem to be similar but it is starker for the defending champions the Knight Riders, who have had a remarkable unbeaten run in the last edition of the tournament. None of the sides lack match-winners but have had a mixed bag so far this season and will be eager to put everything behind in a big game. The sides are placed at the fourth and fifth position on the points table of a six-team competition. The Tallawhas in particular rely a lot on their heavyweights and they have failed to perform the heavy-duty for the two-time CPL champions. The Knight Riders will have to pull up their socks in the game against the Tallawahs as few more losses will put them under enormous pressure to remain in the game. Jamaica Tallawahs vs Trinbago Knight Riders Match Number: 18 Date and Time: September 06, 2021, 12:00 AM IST, 6:30 pm GMT (September 05) Venue: Warner Park, Basseterre Broadcast: Star Sports Live Stream: Fancode Pitch and weather The pitch at Warner Park has been going slower and slower after each passing game and the game between the Tallawahs and the Knight Riders would be no different. The team winning the toss would be looking to put runs on the board and bank on spinners to defend. Probable XI Jamaica Tallawahs Chadwick Walton (w), Kennar Lewis, Haider Ali, Rovman Powell (c), Shamarh Brooks, Andre Russell, Carlos Brathwaite, Migael Pretorius, Chris Green, Fidel Edwards, Joshua James Trinbago Knight Riders Lendl Simmons, Sunil Narine, Colin Munro, Tion Webster, Kieron Pollard (c), Tim Seifert, Denesh Ramdin (w), Khary Pierre, Isuru Udana, Ravi Rampaul, Akeal Hosein Fantasy XI Tim Seifert, Colin Munro, Kennar Lewis (c), Rovman Powell, Shamarh Brooks, Kieron Pollard (vc), Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Ravi Rampaul, Akeal Hosein, Migael Pretorius

Oval Test, 4th Day Highlights: Hameed, Burns thwart India's ambitions with unbeaten stand

England would have been looking to strike early on the fourth day to keep India in check while the tourists started the day at 171 runs ahead of the 99 runs lead secured by the hosts. However, the unbeaten batsmen skipper Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja were in no hurry and did not offer the hosts any chance in the first half an hour of the day. They added 10 runs while the opening pair of James Anderson and Ollie Robinson failed to extract too much out of the surface at the Oval.

ENG vs IND: Team India head coach Ravi Shastri put under isolation

India head coach has tested positive for Covid-19, the BCCI said in a statement. Shastri, bowling coach Bharat Arun, fielding coach R.Sridhar and physiotherapist Nitin Patel have been isolated. “The BCCI Medical Team has isolated Mr Ravi Shastri, Head Coach, Mr B. Arun, Bowling Coach, Mr R. Sridhar, Fielding Coach and Mr Nitin Patel, Physiotherapist as a precautionary measure after Mr Shastri’s lateral flow test returned positive last evening,” the BCCI said in a statement. “They have undergone RT-PCR testing and shall remain in the team hotel and not travel with Team India until confirmation from the medical team,” the statement further added. The other members of the team had returned two negative COVID reports and were allowed to proceed for the fourth day’s play of the penultimate Test of the five-match series. More to follow...