Hasan Ali, Faheem Ashraf ruled out of first Test against Australia

India cleansweep Sri Lanka with Shreyas Iyer’s 3rd consecutive fifty

It was more like Shreyas Iyer vs Sri Lanka than India against Sri Lanka in the T20I series that concluded in Dharamshala on Sunday, 27 February. The Kolkata Knight Riders captain scored his third unbeaten half century of the series to see through India's 12th straight T20I win - a record equalling feat in world cricket. Unfazed in the chase of 147, Iyer played a composed knock at #3 of 73 off 45 balls, anchoring the innings through. Speaking after the game, Iyer stated that he feels he is best suited to bat at the number three position and he will really enjoy this moment and not think of anything about the possibilities that future holds. While it was not a difficult chase by any stretch of the imagination, India were jolted by two quick wickets of Rohit Sharma and Sanju Samson. Sharma’s issues against 140+ bowlers came to fore yet again as Dushmantha Chameera dismissed him for the sixth time in 30 balls. Samson did not make his chance count as well, scoring just 18 runs before getting out to Chamika Karunaratne. It is at this critical juncture that Iyer held the game. There were definitely possibilities of landslide in that situation, but Shreyas’ form was too much to handle for the visitors. Iyer - the main character of the chase found support in Deepak Hooda (21 off 16) and Ravindra Jadeja (22 off 15) to ease the work for him. Sri Lanka bowlers have to take the onus that in back to back matches, they have had good starts removing the batters early and then have completely failed to utilise the situation. To be fair to them, they did not have the services of Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana - two of their best bowlers in the middle phases of the game. Earlier in the innings, it was once again captain Dasun Shanaka who took Lanka to a respectable scored after being left hapless even till the 15th over of the game. Shanaka scored a stunning 74 off 38 balls and completed his half century after coming agonisingly close to it in the last game (47 off 19). Shana spoke at the presentation and put the blame straight onto the batters and stated that they have not put their hands up and the bowlers need good enough runs on board if they want to defend against a side like India. Even though against a weaker side, there are many takeaways from the Sri Lanka series for India. The Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid-led think tank have been able to put players out of their comfort zone and make them take on situations that go against their usual template of role. For example Harshal Patel has been asked to bowl in the powerplay overs, Ravi Bishnoi has bowled classic leg spinning deliveries giving the ball a fair amount of flight while the batsmen have shuffled places throughout the series. The byproduct of all that is that India have won their 12th T20I game in a row and have given Rohit Sharma his third straight victory in the home T20Is. With World Cup not very far away, Sharma and co are successfully building a team that can improvise under tough circumstances and can change plans depending upon the situation of the game - something that had become quite rigid under the Kohli regime. With the commencement of this white ball series, India will now go on a break as an international team and join back after the Indian Premier League as they take on South Africa and England back to back in their preparation of the T20 World Cup.

PSL 2022 | This hilarious Imran Tahir antics will leave you in splits

Imran Tahir is known for many things. Exceptional reading of the game, his ability to beat batsmen in flight and of course for his top of the world sprinting celebration. Even at 42, Tahir plays the game like it is his first day in the field. It seems that Tahir has added another asset to his repertoire, something that has absolutely floored the watchers of the game. And it is nothing but his hilarious antics in the field. Playing for Multan Sultans in the PSL Final, Imran Tahir managed to review an LBW call that hit dead centre of the bat - an event that the umpire would not have been unsure about in a million years. The incident came in the 13th over of the game with Mohammad Hafeez in the crease. Lahore Qalandars had a struggling start to the innings and were reduced to 25/3 inside the powerplay. Tahir and co. kept on the pressure and did all they could to eke out wickets. However, a resilient Mohammad Hafeez stood his ground and worked his way through 69 off 46 balls, a crucial innings that arrested the collapse of the challengers looking to win their first PSL title. Tahir bowled a full delivery to Hafeez in the 13th over which the player defended comprehensively only for Tahir to go upstairs. The failure of review did not stop Tahir from going into his classic celebration in the very next ball after he thought he had edged Hafeez back to the keeper. The umpire and the batsman could not believe Tahir’s antics and started laughing in the middle of the pitch adding to a lovely moment in the PSL final. At the time of writing, Lahore had dragged the game back to level ground owing to some late hitting from David Wiese and Harry Brook who put on a rapid 43 runs off just 16 balls to help Lahore get up t0 180 runs for the loss of 5 wickets.

IND vs SL | Dasun Shanaka’s 74* rescues visitors once again

Sri Lanka scored 68 off the last five overs to post 146 runs in the final T20I of the series on Sunday evening at Dharamshala. A familiar script followed today with the visitor’s maximising the death overs in the first innings making sure that they got themselves out of the precarious situation that they put themselves in the first 10 overs. Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka was it at once again, leading from the front to score 74* off just 38 balls, after bailing his team out in the last T20I as well. Shanaka’s ability to hit in all parts of the ground was apparent as he punished Avesh Khan, Ravi Bishnoi and Harshal Patel in the last three overs to make sure that Sri Lanka put something on board for the bowlers. He added 86 runs off 47 balls for the 6th wicket and pointed out some key issues with India’s death bowling, that has gone for a massive amount of runs in the last two matches. Shanaka’s innings was highlighted by 9 boundaries and 2 sixes where he latched on to any loose deliveries that were not bowled according to the placement of the field. Indian bowlers however, barring the final 5 overs, bowled very well keeping SL to just 78/5 in the first 15 overs. The Lanka top order found India’s new look attack very tough to negotiate and lost wickets regularly in the first 10 overs. An initial burst from Mohammad Siraj and Avesh Khan put them under the pump before Ravi Bishnoi and Kuldeep Yadav took over the reins. India need 147 off their 20 overs in the chase to level Afghanistan’s 12-match win streak in the T20I format.

IND vs SL | New look bowling attack run riot against visitors

India’s new look bowling attack ran circles around the Sri Lanka top order in the third T20I in Dharamshala on Sunday evening. With the series already wrapped up, India rested Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal and Bhuvneshwar Kumar to make way for Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav and Avesh Khan. Mohammad Siraj was brought in as well to spearhead the attack in place of Ishan Kishan, who was ruled out after getting hit by a bouncer in the last game. After an initial burst from Mohammad Siraj and Avesh Khan in the powerplay, the visitors were reduced to 29/4 inside the first 9 overs, leaving them reeling in the final T20I of the series. Both bowlers troubled the opening batters with their zip of the pitch. Both the opening bowlers are known for their ability to hit the deck and the energy in their run up was infectious. Avesh Khan was the pick among the bowlers, bowling one maiden and picking 2 wickets from his first three overs, while Siraj and Bishnoi took one each. Kuldeep Yadav, who has been in and out of the team, bowled some gems as well, but his inconsistency in lines made him a little easier to play. However, to be fair to Kuldeep, he showed clear signs of development in his bowling, getting much flatter than he usually bowls and introducing a new slider against the right handers. The latter troubled the Sri Lankan batters and on at least three occasions he came very close to picking up their wicket. At the time of writing, Sri Lanka were 52/4 from 11 overs with Dinesh Chandimal and Dasun Shanaka in the crease. India are looking for their 12th straight T20I win having won the series already. If they do manage to win the game, they will be level against Afghanistan who are at the top of the table.