If my statement on Kuldeep hurt Ashwin, I’m happy: Ravi Shastri

Ireland triumphs over the USA in a close encounter

Kohli has given his side of the story, Ganguly needs to give his version: Ravi Shastri on captaincy saga

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has opened up about the captaincy saga and said that the Test captain Virat Kohli has told his side of the story and it’s now time for the BCCI President to say his version. “With good communication, this can be handled better,” Ravi Shastri said while speaking at The Indian Express e.Adda. “Virat has given his side of the story. It needs the board president to give his side of the story. It’s not about who’s lying and who’s not. It’s not right to jump into there until you know what was the actual conversation.” But Shastri admitted that once Kohli had decided to step down from the T20I captaincy, the team could have only one white-ball skipper. “You should have one captain for white-ball cricket. Rohit Sharma is the T20 captain, so he should be the white-ball captain as well,” Shastri said. Earlier, Kohli was removed from the ODI captaincy as well after he stepped down from the post in T20Is. Ganguly later said that he had asked Kohli to not step down as the T20I captain and further added that the selectors weren’t really keen on having two limited-overs leaders. But Kohli’s version was a bit different one as he revealed that he was told about the ODI captaincy snub some 90 minutes before the announcement of the Test squad for South Africa series.

LPL Final | Handed three losses in a row, Jaffna rise up to win the one game that mattered

After suffering three heavy defeats against Galle Gladiators in the 2021 edition of the Lanka Premier League, Jaffna Kings turned up when it mattered the most to successfully defend the title on Thursday, 23 December. A repeat of last year’s final fixture, this match was expected to be close, however, Kings, after choosing to bat first, blew Gladiators away with a thoroughly dominating performance. The top three fired in their individual capacities to rake up 201 runs in the first innings, setting Kings for a big win. However, the win took a little more time to arrive than expected with Danushka Gunathilaka counter attacking from word go. Once Gunathilaka was trapped by Wanindu Hasaranga, Gladiators failed to put up partnerships and keep the scoreboard in control. The de Silva brothers - Wanindu and Chaturanga were the picks among the bowlers picking up two wickets each conceding just 45 runs between them in seven overs. Kings had a lot of energy in the field as well, stark opposite to Galle Gladiators who dropped catches, misfielded to give loads of extra runs in the first innings. Conversely, the tremendous efforts in the field lifted up the spirits of the Kings, winning the game by 23 runs.

Lanka Premier League Final | Hasranga masterclass pushes Gladiators back

Despite an exceptional start to the chase, Galle Gladiators failed to capitalise on it, failing to keep momentum through the crucial phases of the innings. After spraying 201 runs with the ball, Gladiators hit back at Jaffna, piling on 59 runs in just 4 overs. Just as things seemed to be going out of hands, Wanindu Hasaranga’s introduction bore fruitful results and the right arm leg spinner returned two wickets in his very first over. Bowling the penultimate over of the powerplay, Hasaranga dismissed main man Danushka Gunathilaka with a googly and then in the very next ball drew a false shot from Ben Dunk who came out at three. Not only did Hasaranga take two wickets, he kept the run in check conceding just 19 runs from his first three overs. He was a livewire at the field and took an exceptional catch off the bowling of his brother - Chaturanga de Silva in the 14th over to remove dangerman Dhananjaya Lakshan for just two runs. At the time of writing, the Gladiators were struggling at 143/7 in 15.5 overs. They needed 59 off 25 balls.