India's physiotherapist tests Covid-19 positive in Manchester: Report

Youth and experience amalgamted as Bangladesh announce squad for T20 World Cup 2021

Mahmudullah, the most successful Bangladesh T20I skipper will get ready for the toughest trip of his life as he gathers his troops for their ultimate test yet, the T20 World Cup 2021. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) named a 15 member squad for the team’s advents in Oman and UAE. While Mahmudullah has been named the skipper of the side, no vice-captain has been made for the trip but it is understood that under necessary conditions senior fellows Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim could do the job. The Tigers would start their campaign on October 18 against Scotland in Group B of Round One, where they have also been drawn against Oman and Papua New Guinea. The team has as young players as 20 years of age, two of whom had been crowned ICC U-19 Champions just a year ago in 2020. While the batting is strengthened by the availability of firebrand cricketers like Liton das, Naim Sheikh and Soumya Sarkar at the top, all-rounders like skipper Mahmudulah himself alongside Shakib, Mahedi Hasan and youngsters Afif Hossain, Shamim Potwary provide for great cover. Two wicket keepers are experienced Mushfiqur and blazing hitter Nurul Hasan. The bowling department looks stunning as well with the presence of four fast bowlers in Mustafizr Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Mohammad Saifuddin and Taskin Ahmed while Nasum Ahmed will be the sole spinners who can’t be termed an all-rounder in the squad. Reserves include experienced Rubel Hossain and young leggie Aminul Islam to cover the bowlers. Bangladesh Squad Mahmudullah (Captain), Naim Sheikh, Soumya Sarkar, Litton Kumar Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Afif Hossain, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Shaif Uddin, Shamim Hossain Reserves Rubel Hossain, Aminul Islam Biplob

IRE vs ZIM | Sikandar Raza, Blessing Muzarabani lead Zimbabwe to victory in first ODI

Zimbabwe registered only their second win in the ICC World Cup Super League 2020-22 when they defeated Ireland by 38 runs in the first match of the three-match series at Civil Service Cricket Club in Belfast. All-rounder Sikandar Raza, who got into the team for the first time after missing the entire five-match T20I series proved to be a good asset with the bat while Sean Williams and Brendan Taylor, the other two senior members of the team also did well to merit their inclusion. Batting first, Zimbabwe put up a competitive total of 266-7 courtesy of a fighting inning by skipper Craig Ervine (64 off 96) and flourishing innings by Skandar Raza (59* off 44) and Brendan Taylor (49 off 45). Late order hitting by Luke Jongwe played an important role as well. For Ireland, each of the six bowlers tried, picked a wicket each while Jongwe was run out. In its attempt to chase down the total, the Irish had a decent enough start with the openers putting up a 64 run stand for the first wicket. While Stirling got out eventually unable to score quickly which is his ideal way to play, skipper Balbirnie followed him to the dressing room soon as well. Harry Tector then combined with William Porterfield and the two added 71 runs for the third wicket as Porterfield reached his 19th ODI fifty. But once Porterfield was dismissed by Jongwe, it became very difficult for Ireland to get going as spinners Williams, Wesley Madhevere, Raza and Wellington Masakadza. However, it was Blessing Muzarabani who took advantage of that pressure created by spinners as he ran through the Irish middle order picking up four wickets in his 9.4 overs. In the end, even after Porterfoeld’s and Tector’s fifties, Ireland folded out for 228 and thus lost the game by 45 runs. Raza was adjudged Man of the Match for his batting. The two teams will now clash in the second ODI on September 10 at the same venue.

5th Test Preview: Battle-hardened India chase legacy-defining series win over haphazard England

When the coin went up in the air for the first time at Trent Bridge early last month, it was the start of a “blockbuster” series as Indian captain Virat Kohli had described then. Now, after a period of over one month and four riveting Test matches, each and every phase of play has thrown fierce battles and mouthwatering competition between the players across both sides to justify the hype and expectations. While India made an impressive start in the first Test, Joe Root brought his best to the fore and thwarted an early advantage to the tourists. To overcome the Joe Root-led England batting, Virat Kohli’s highly-spirited side sucked the life out of the hosts at Lord’s to go 1-0 up in the series. There were obituaries written for the hosts in the aftermath of Lord’s loss and people expected Kohli-led India’s ship to sail comfortably through the Englihs summer. Both their critics and the Indian side faced a rough high tide soon after as James Anderson and Ollie Robinson blew them apart at Headingley. What was described as an “Indian juggernaut” after Lord’s became “here to go again” in terms of batting collapse for the Indian side and the fortunes of analysts writing off a side were returned to India after a humiliating defeat at Headingley. However, just as Root’s side came back strongly after Lord’s defeat to trounce India, Kohli’s men bounce back in as bullish a manner as possible to take a 2-1 lead at the Oval Test. It’s that topsy-turvy ride in the series that augurs fantastic five days for the fifth and final Test of the series due to be played at Old Trafford. If England’s defeat at Lord’s and India’s defeat at Headingley were of their own making, the last Test at the Oval was more a case of a stronger side defeating a mediocre team in the long haul where all aspects of their game were tested until wheels came off. India’s last win showcased the difference between the sides and established their supremacy in neutral conditions. It highlighted that the gulf between the sides can be narrowed only by bowling conditions heavily stacked against batsmen and in favour of swing and seam bowling. On what considered as “good” or “flat” pitches, England have always been found wanting and it was again on display at the Oval as they could not modify their game as per changing playing conditions while India had plans ready for multiple propositions. Kohli had issued a bullish statement in the wake of the horror show at Headingley that his team love being “written off” and that they have shown their strong mind and class to come back from such situations before. He and his team have lived up that promise by returning the favour of a humiliating loss at Headingley to the hosts and it’s the turn of England to come back with their riposte at Old Trafford. After all, the tourists have a first-mover’s advantage having taken a lead of 2-1, it’s the hosts England who have to hit the ground running if they want to avoid an embarrassing two consecutive series loss at home. England vs India: Match Details Match Number- 05 Date and Time: September 10-14, 2021, 3:30 pm IST, 10:30 Local, 10:00 GMT Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester Broadcast and Live Stream: SonyLIV, Sony Six Pitch and weather Joe Root has asked for “England condition” for the fifth and final Test of the series and it is understandable that he knows the limits of his side. England are not quite adept at batting for 150 odd overs on a dry pitch against disciplined bowling and also not have too many pace bowlers who could “take the pitch out of the equation” and hence the hosts will need conditions such as it was Headingley to stop India from winning the series. However, they would not be feeling confident of unleashing an absolute green seamer as it can also bing the fiery Indian pace attack well and truly in the game and hence Root wants just “England conditions” and not absolutely bowling-friendly conditions. England have also added Jack Leach to the squad which suggests that even the hosts are not ruling out a spin-friendly pitch at Old Trafford. The pitches at the venue in the recent past have aided spinners and if it holds true for the Test, India will be confident of returning with the Pataudi Trophy firmly in their grasps. The weather god is likely to intervene a lot during the course of the final Test in Manchester with chances of rain exceeding 10 per cent on all days of the game. The first day is likely to be affected the most by the rain as there is more than a 30 per cent chance of rain throughout the first day. Team News England England have confirmed the return of Jos Buttler into the playing XI for the final Test and hence there will be a shuffling of the batting lineup with only one slot remaining in the middle order for the duo of Jonny Bairstow and Ollie Pope. Pope returned to the team just in the last game and looked in excellent touch in the first innings while Bairstow has looked very assuring at the crease but doesn’t have any good score to show to his name. Root has not thrown any hint on who is the preferred option in the eyes of the team management, but dropping Pope will be an injustice for the Surrey lad who did the best from his side with the bat in the first innings. England have also added left-arm spinner Jack Leach, who had gone into oblivion following a stellar winter in India and Sri Lanka, to the squad for the final Test but Root has confirmed that he will come back into XI only in case the team will find conditions worthy of playing with two spinners. Moeen Ali, who suffered from his perennial problems at the Oval, remains as England first-choice spinner for the final Test. Moeen for a long time has been known as a bowler who produces magic deliveries and gets the best batsmen from the opposition out but in between those unplayable deliveries, he lacks control. He leaks too many runs for the liking of his captain and the trend has not stopped in the series as well with India milking him at more than four runs per over in the second innings at the Oval. The team management will be at loggerheads over the workload of the Anderson-Robinson who were made to toil in the last Test but Root does not have too many options to fall upon in the absence of Jofra Archer and Stuart Broad. However, Root has suggested that they will not risk playing with a bowler who is concerning about an injury and hence the outlook of the England pace attack will be interesting. Craig Overton was found out at the Oval and to add to the misery, he was also injured while batting in the last innings which would open a certain door of selection for Mark Wood. Probable XI Rory Burns, Haseeb Hameed, Dawid Malan, Joe Root (C), Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler (WK), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood, James Anderson India India too have too many selection conundrums albeit a majority of them are due to the availability of too many options. make. The biggest of them all will be the question of Ajinkya Rahane, who has looked like a fish out of water for a large part of the series. His numbers have dried up and so are the calls for his support from outside. Although Kohli has not given in too much for what he calls “outside noise” but Rahane’s position in the team is becoming untenable with each passing failure with the bat. If Kohli sticks to his style of giving a long rope to players he trusts, Rahane will be batting at number five at Old Trafford or Hanuma Vihari will get his first chance in the last Test of the series. Another big and continuous conundrum for them will be the selection or non-selection of Ravichandran Ashwin. He has been excluded from the playing XI throughout the series after Kohli ditched the two-spinner formula in the wake of loss in the WTC final against New Zealand and adopted a “template” of four pacers and one spinner in the form of Ravindra Jadeja. They have maintained the stance that the off-spinner will come in the picture only if the pitch will allow them to play two spinners and hence nothing could be said from the outset. India rested Mohammed Shami as he was recovering from a niggle but Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj continued to play at the Oval as well. The duo has played all the Tests of the series so far and they must be feeling having tired legs. Bumrah was also seen clutching his calf while bowling in the second innings at the Oval and hence Kohli will have to take a call whether they want to rest one or both of them from an all-important series decider at Old Trafford. Siraj can well be replaced by Mohammed Shami but India would be fretting over the injury scare to Bumrah, who has an equally important series to play for India in the coming months. Unlike Siraj or Shami, he forms the core of the Indian bowling attack that will play in the ICC World T20 later this year and the team management will be wary of bowling him to the ground some months before the marquee event. If the pitch at Old Trafford will be drier than the other pitches that have been used in the series so far, India might go with both Jadeja and Ashwin with Shardul being the third pacer in the team. Probable XI KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah

Sourav Ganguly Biopic: Bengal Tiger confirms tie-up with ace director Luv Ranjan for film on his life

Former India captain and currently the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, (BCCI), Sourav Ganguly has confirmed that the much-awaited biopic on his life would get going with Pyar Ka Punchnaama famed director Luv Ranjan’s production house Luv Films producing the movie. The announcement was done by Ganguly on his official Twitter handle where he wrote, “Cricket has been my life, it gave confidence and ability to walk forward with my head held high, a journey to be cherished. Thrilled that Luv Films will produce a biopic on my journey and bring it to life for the big screen.” It would be interesting to see who plays the role of one of Indian cricket’s pioneering figures. The talks in the industry suggest that it could be bagged by either Ranbir Kapoor or Hrithik Roshan although Ranvir Singh and Kartik Aryan, because of his proximity with the producer who would most likely direct the fi,s as well. Ganguly, who became the Board President in the year 2019 had an enterprising cricketing career before becoming an administrator. In 113 Tests and 311 ODIs combined, the 39-year-old scored 18575 runs and took 132 wickets as well. Recently he underwent angioplasty after suffering a heart attack. Dada became skipper of Team India after the infamous match-fixing saga and hence his biopic could be one of the most interesting stories of the next year.