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Luke Jongwe removes Mehidy Hasan & Afif Hossain as Chakabva does a Dhoni to help Zimbabwe record team hattrick

It was going all nicely for Bangladesh until; the 49th over in their clash against Zimbabwe in the first of the three-match ODI series at Harare Sports Club. But in the 49th over by Luke Jongwe, they lost three wickets in a row, helping the hosts record a team hattrick. Jongwe, after being hit for a six on the second ball of his overcame back strong and got the six-hitter Mehidy Hasan Miraz caught at the deep extra cover on the third delivery. Afif Hossain, who went on strike as the batters had crossed while the catch was taken, tried to play a scoop over fine leg and in response exposed his wickets which were hit with a bull’s eye by the 26-year-old bowler. On a hattrick, the right arm pacer bowled a wide down the leg to Taskin Ahmed. In his next attempt, Jongwe bowled a full-length delivery on the legs which was dragged down to deep square leg by Ahmed. The batsmen ran two but a brilliant piece of work by wicketkeeper Regis Chakabva had Ahmed short of his ground before the bails were broken. The run-out dismissal was Dhnisque in ways more than one. First of all, Chakabva received a throw that was way off the mark and the 33-year-old wicket-keeper picked it and without even looking at the stumps, hit the woodwork with the ball passing through his legs. And suddenly from 265-6, they were 266-8. Earlier, after being asked to bat by Zimbabwe skipper Brendan Taylor, who was playing his 200th ODI game, Bangladesh didn’t have a good start. They lost their skipperTamim who went out without disturbing the scorers and thereby achieved a feat which he wouldn’t want on his CV. Iqbal with this duck now has most ducks for a Bangladeshi batter (34 in total) across formats and he surpassed his predecessor as Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza who has 33 ducks to his kitty. Other batters including star performer Shakib Al Hasan couldn’t do much either as the Tigers slumped to 74-4. It then took a combined effort from the centurions from the Test a week ago, Mahmudullah and Liton Das to stage another recovery for their team. The duo added 93 for the fifth wicket. While Mahmudullah was out for a mere 33, 26-year-old Das went on to score his fourth ODI hundred. He made 102 of 114 balls. But his wicket in the 42nd over with the Bangladesh score at 207, but the hosts in a spot of bother before Afif and Mehidy combined to get them to a respectable total. While Afif scored 45, the number two ranked ODI bowler Mehidy scored 25 balls 26.

Dasun Shanka to lead Sri Lanka against India in Perera's absence, fast bowler Lahiru Kumara returns

Sri Lanka have appointed Dasun Shanka as the skipper of the 24-man squad for the upcoming series against India, Sri Lanka Cricket said in a media release. Earlier, the board had confirmed that regular skipper Kusal Perera were to miss the series against India due to a shoulder sprain. Dhananjaya de Silva has been appointed as Shanaka’s deputy for the series starting July 18 in Colombo. Fast bowler Binura Fernando will miss the ODI series due to an injury but has been selected to take part in the T20 series. Other pacers such as Lahiru Kumara and Kasun Rajitha, both of whom had got injured in series prior to the England tour have regained fitness and are named in the squad as well. Among other returnees are Minod Bhanuka and Bhanuka Rajapaksa, both of whom are capable batters. Minod, a wicket-keeper batter is likely to make it to the XI in Perera's and Niroshan Dickewella's absence. The series was to start on July 13 but Covid-19 cases in the Sri Lanka camp forced the BCCI and the SLC to postpone the start to July 18. Sri Lanka squad Dasun Shanaka (Captain), Dhananjaya De Silva (Vice-Captain), Avishka Fernando, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Ashen Bandara, Minod Bhanuka, Lahiru Udara, Ramesh Mendis, Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Lakshan Sandakan, Akila Dhananjaya, Shiran Fernando, Dhananjaya Lakshan, Ishan Jayaratne, Praveen Jayawickrema, Asitha Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara, Isuru Udana

Playing against West Indies is daunting but so much fun: Adam Zampa

Australia leg-spinner Adam Zampa has said that bowling to West Indies batsmen is pretty “daunting” but at the same time it is fun to be up against them. "They haven't played [Kieron] Pollard, you have guys like Chris and Fabian Allen who can hit the ball out of the park too, so it is pretty daunting but that's what makes playing against West Indies so much fun. It's satisfying when you do well against them, but it can be daunting when they are coming at you. It's a good challenge,” he said. West Indies took an unassailable lead in the five-match T20Is series after winning the first three T20Is. But Australia gave their fans something to cheer about as the side etched a win in the penultimate clash by 4 runs while defending 189/6 in 20 overs at St Lucia. The hosts started off the chase well as Lendl Simmons and Evin Lewis stitched a stand of 62 for the first wicket. But the home side then lost some wickets at regular intervals to get reduced to 97/3 before Nicholas Pooran and Simmons steadied the ship for the side. But their efforts went in vain as West Indies failed to go over the line. Simmons notched up 72 off 48. Mitchell Marsh scalped a three-wicket haul while Zampa returned with figures of 2/20 in 4 overs. The two teams will lock horns in the final T20I on Saturday morning (IST) at the same venue.

Prithvi Shaw recalls off-field friendship with Shikhar Dhawan ahead of Sri Lanka series

It’s been two years since Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw have teamed up to become a deadly duo at the top for the Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League and now the journey is set to go international in the upcoming series against Sri Lanka. Shaw is returning to the Indian team after going out of favour due to lack of runs and brittle technique while Dhawan has been a force to reckon with for India in the ODI cricket. India are likely to field Shaw along with Dhawan, who has also been appointed as the captain of the side in absence of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Opening about his chemistry with Dhawan, Shaw has said that they discuss a lot about the game of cricket both on and off the field and hence they understand each other’s game very well. Rating batting alongside him, Shaw said that he enjoys batting with the left-hander and all those off-field moments have strengthened the bond between them. “I and Shikhi bhai are opening for the Delhi Capitals, we were good friends before that as well, but after that our bonding has become better because off the field also we spent quite a lot of time with each other, whether it was dinner or chilling in his room," Shaw said to Star Sports. "We used to talk a lot and because of that, that bond was seen on the wicket as well. We used to speak a lot about cricket there as well, off the field or in between overs. It is enjoyable to bat alongside him. Shaw has been a part of the conversation in Indian cricket since he was dropped after the first Test of the series against Australia late last year. Since then, he has piled on the runs to earn a callback from the senior side. Albeit he has returned to just the white-ball sides, he was also sought by the senior team management on the tour of England as per various media reports.