Former India U19 skipper Unmukt Chand likely to make BBL debut for Melbourne Renegades

WI vs IRE | 3rd ODI: Ireland etch name in record books, clinch series 2-1

Ireland created history in Jamaica after beating West Indies in the third ODI to clinch the three-match series 2-1. Chasing 213, the visitors lost a wicket on the very first ball of the innings after William Porterfield was dismissed for a golden duck by Alzarri Joseph. But a fine piece of batting from Paul Stirling, Andy McBrine and Harry Tector got the Irish team back in the hunt. Stirling and McBrine first steadied the ship with a 73-run stand for the second wicket before Stirling was trapped in front of the stumps by Akeal Hosein for 44 off 38. McBrine was then joined by Tector in the middle and the two batters stitched a partnership of 79 runs for the third wicket. McBrine eventually departed for 59 off 100 deliveries and his dismissal certainly broke the shackles as Ireland began to lose wickets at regular intervals and were reduced to 197/6 with Tector also back in the hut. But Gareth Delany chipped in with 10 off 5 that helped the visiting team inch closer to target before Craig Young and Mark Adair took the team over the line without losing any further wickets. Ireland won the match by 2 wickets in the 45th over. Hosein and Roston Chase picked up three wickets each for the side. Earlier, West Indies were off to a flying start, courtesy an aggressive knock of 53 off 39 deliveries from Shai Hope. But Hope’s departure pushed the West Indies batting unit on back foot as they lost wickets quickly and were left tottering at 119/7. Jason Holder then took the onus on himself and added runs to the tally before he was run out for 44 off 60 leaving the Caribbean side at 182/8 in the 41st over. Apart from him, Hosein (23 off 36) and Odean Smith (20* off 10) also made some contributions that helped the side to go past the 200-run mark before getting bundled out for 212. McBrine scalped a four-wicket haul for Ireland while Young had three wickets to his name eventually. Stirling later expressed delight and noted that it was a good comeback from the side especially after losing the first game. “Delighted and very proud of the lads, To comeback from 0-1 was amazing. He (Balbirnie) will be absolutely chuffed for all us and he will be watching every ball and supporting us from the hotel. He (Tector) has been really consistent and he is really hungry to score runs, He (McBrine) epitomizes what an Irish cricket should be and the commitment and the passion he shows on the field is outstanding,” he said in the post-match presentation.

Perceptions are changing about this South African team: Bavuma confident ahead of ODI series

South Africa white-ball captain Temba Bavuma sounded confident ahead of the ODI series against India. Speaking to South Africa news publication Daily Maverick, Bavuma said that a win against the Indian team will build a lot of confidence and will help them to in the games to follow. "An ODI series win against India would give us a helluva lot of confidence, and some momentum ahead of the games to follow," Bavuma was quoted as saying by 'Daily Maverick'. South Africa’s latest white ball outing was in the T20 World Cup at the UAE where the underdogs put on a good show despite a lot of off-field on-field controversies. Bavuma said that South Africa are looking to establish their own playing style and implement their own strategies to good effect. "Perceptions are changing about this South African white-ball team. In the past, it was said that we lacked the ability to take on spin and that we struggled in overseas conditions. I feel like we proved a lot of people wrong at the T20 World Cup.”

IPL | Shreyas Iyer to enter mega-auction after failed agreement talks with new franchises

Indian middle order batsman and former capital of the Delhi Capitals, Shreyas Iyer, will be entering the mega-auction. If reports are to be believed then Iyer failed to reach an agreement with the two new franchises in the Indian Premier League over a captaincy position and now will be entering the mega auction to try his luck. It has long been reported that the Sanjeev Goenka owned Lucknow franchise have agreed terms with KL Rahul, while the Ahmedabad based team will likely pick up Hardik Pandya as their captaincy candidate. There are several IPL teams that are in need of a captaincy candidate at the moment with the top two being - Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore. Punjab Kings would likely be in the fray as well, given they have not yet announced Mayank Agarwal as their captain yet. Iyer could potentially go for big money in auction with several teams in the tournament needing to add Indian middle order players.

SL vs ZIM | 1st ODI: Fifties from Nissanka, Chandimal and Asalanka guide Sri Lanka past Zimbabwe

It was a thorough professional chase from Sri Lanka as they defeated Zimbabwe by five wickets with eight balls remaining to win the first ODI of the three-match series between the two sides taking place at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium at Pallekele. Three Sri Lankan batters in opener Pathum Nissanka, experienced batter Dinesh Chandimal and rising star Charith Asalanka played pivotal roles in the chase of a huge target of 297 runs set up by the Zimbabwe team. It all started well with a cautious start by the opening pair of Nissanka and Kusal Menids, who was making a comeback to international cricket after serving a ban of five months. After the 40 run opening stand, Mendis was caught behind the wicket by Regis Chakabva off the bowling of Blessing Muzarabani. Kamindu Mendis, who replaces, Kusal also had a decent stand with Nissanka as the two added 41 for the second wicket before Kamindu was trapped by Richard Ngarava. It was after the dismissal of Kamindu that experienced Chandimal walked in. Chandimal played the anchor role giving a free hand to first Nissanka and later on Asalanka to attack from the other end. He had a 67 run stand with Nissanka before the latter was removed Sikandar Raza and then had a match-winning 129 run stand with Asalnka before he himself was out courtesy of soft dismissal. While both Nissanka and Chandimal made 75 each, Asalanka, after the fall of Chandimal scored more freely and reached his fourth ODI fifty in only his ninth match. However, he too couldn’t see his team home and became Ngarava’s third scalp after being trapped LBW for 71 off 68 balls. Skipper Dasun Shanka and Chamika Karunaratne saw the end of the game remaining unbeaten on 10 and five respectively. Earlier in the day, after winning the toss and deciding to bat first, Zimbabwe on the back of a century from Sean Williams (100 0ff 87 balls), a half-century from Regis Chakabva (72 off 81 balls) and valiant debut innings of 42 from just 50 balls by Takudzwanashe Kaitano managed to get to 296-9 in their 50 overs. The second game between the two sides will be played at the same venue on Tuesday, January 18th, 2022.