India to quarantine in Mumbai before leaving for Women’s World Cup

Inspiration for many: Pakistani cricketers to Virat Kohli’s resignation as Test captain

The sudden resignation of Virat Kohli as India Test captain has triggered some very emotional reactions among the fans and the cricketing fraternity in India. But as the day passed, it came to light that it wasn’t just India, but even the cricketers from across the border in Pakistan also felt that it is almost the end of an era as far as test captaincy is concerned. Ahmed Shehzad, one of the Pakistani batters, who was touted to be the Kohli of that country and whose looks were always compared to the Indian captain said that Kohli was one of the great ambassadors of the game as a skipper. Along with Shehzad, young pacer Naseem Shah also expressed his love for the Indian captain and called him an inspiration. Among the former cricketers from the nation of the great fast bowlers, Azhar Mahmood, who also played in the Indian Premier League against Virat Kohli and was part of the Pakistan support staff during the Champions Trophy of 2017 where Virat Kohli led India lost in the final to Pakistan, also expressed his admiration towards the outgoing India captain. Rashid Latif, former wicket-keeper batter of Pakistan and a keen observer of Indian cricket shared a video that was indicative that nobody stopped Kohli from resigning.

Coach Ravi Shastri calls it a sad day for him on resignation of Virat Kohli

Former India coach Ravi Shastri said that it is a sad day for him to see one of his favourite pupils, Virat Kohli step down as skipper of the Indian Test team. Shastri, whose tenure as coach of the Indian team ended with its dismal campaign in the T20 World Cup 2021, said that Kohli can go as his head held high as he has achieved what very few captains have in Test cricket. “Virat, you can go with your head held high. Few have achieved what you have as captain. Definitely India's most aggressive and successful. Sad day for me personally as this is the team 🇮🇳 we built together - @imVkohli,” Shastri wrote in his tweet which he posted on social media along with a photo with the captain. Shastri, who came to the Indian set up as Director of the team post the end of Duncan Fletcher’s tenure as head coach in 2104. But post the eight-month period, Anil Kumble took over. However, that did not go well and Shastri was reappointed as head coach post the 2017 Champions Trophy final loss to Pakistan. Since then remained coach for four long years and saw the main portion of Kohli’s captaincy. Thus Shastri is someone who had probably the best seat in the house to judge and see the evolution of Kohli as a player as well as a captain.

The Ashes | England poised to chase 271 after bundling Australia on Day 3

England are poised to chase 271 runs in the final innings of the fifth and final game at Hobart on Sunday, 16 January. The pace department of the visitors did a great job in the first session of the day, reducing the hosts to 121/8 in just 46 overs. Just when it looked like England will be chasing a competitive total a string of DRS decisions and inconsistent lines in the second session of the day, let Australia cut loose and post a crucial 30 odd runs before they were all out for 155. Alex Carey was the star of the show, despite being lucky enough to survive at least two dismissals on the day. For England, Mark Wood picked six wickets in a tremendous show of stamina, bowling deadly short balls to all batsmen in the line-up. He was aided by Stuart Broad who picked three wickets. At the time of writing, England have started steadily with Rory Burns and Zak Crawley who have successfully negotiated the first three overs and scored 12 runs.

U19 World Cup | Indian colts defeat South Africa with a scintillating bowling performance

India began their U19 campaign with a win against South Africa in Providence Stadium, Guyana on Sunday, 16 January. The win came in a manner that would have made coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar proud given how highly he has rated this ‘Boys in Blue’ for their ability to play as a team. Defending a modest total of 233 runs, the bowlers, especially the spin duo of Vicky Ostwal and Nishant Sindhu put a choke on the Rainbow Nation forcing them into submission. South Africa were bundled out for 187 runs in 45.4 overs making sure that India started off with a big win of 45 runs. Having said that, the scoreboards could not quite reflect the drama of the match considering the position they were in till the 35th over. With seven wickets remaining and 135 runs scored, SA were well settled to possibly chase the score down after an incredible mid-block from the two Indian spinners. While Sindhu was not among the wickets, he conceded just 22 runs from his 10 overs, making sure that SA did not cut loose. He was aided by the exceptional lines and lengths from Ostwal, who not only kept it tight (28 runs off 10 overs) but also picked up wickets in the lower end of the innings to affect a collapse. South Africa lost their final six wickets within 50 runs and it all started with pacer Raj Angad Bawa removing the prized wicket of Dewald Brevis. Brevis, who was batting at 65 off 99 balls was key for SA in chasing the total down, but a diving catch from captain Yash Dhull at mid off made sure that India did not digress from their goal. From there, the scoreboard pressure brought wickets and India were safe by the 46th over. Bawa took four wickets while Ostwal completed a fifer in the first game of the tournament. Earlier in the day, the Indian batting faltered and they lost their primary attacker Harnoor Singh in the second over. From there, a rescue act from Yash Dhull with others made sure that India had something to give to their bowlers. While Yash Dhull scored 82 off 100 balls, lower order batsman Kaushal Tambe pitched in with a crucial 35 off 44 balls.