IPL 2021 | PBKS vs RR: Evin Lewis makes debut, Liam Livingstone returns for Royals

IPL 2021 | PBKS vs RR: Ishan Porel, Adil Rashid, Aiden Markram to make IPL debut against Royals

As many as three players such as Aiden Markram, Adil Rashid and Ishan Porel are set to make their debuts in the Indian Premier League in tonight’s game between the Punjab Kings and the Rajasthan Royals in Dubai. Markram was selected as a replacement for Dawid Malan, who pulled out of the tournament citing workload with the T20 World Cup and Ashes series to follow later this year. Adil Rashid was signed up as a replacement for Australian Jhye Richardson pulled out of the second phase of the tournament that started on September 19. Ishan Porel is a young talent who plays for Bengal in the Indian domestic circuit and he was picked by the Punjab Kings for the first time to play in the cash-rich league. The Kings roped him at the base price of Rs 20 lakh and the team management has high hopes of him as the coach Anil Kumble had suggested that he will be used as a replacement for Mohammed Shami. The Kings are relaunching their IPL 2021 campaign against the Royals and both sides have had a middling first half of the tournament. The men under the leadership of KL Rahul and Sanju Samson would be itching to get back on the field and restart their journey on a winning note.

ENG-W vs NZ-W | 3rd ODI: Lea Tahuhu strikes early in do or die match

New Zealand bowler Lea Tahuhu produced a brilliant bowling performance against England in the third ODI of the five-match series after she picked up four early wickets to push the hosts on back foot in Leicester. Batting first, England lost the openers Lauren Winfield Hill and Tammy Beaumont early in the innings after both of them were trapped in front of the stumps by Tahuhu. While Beaumont could only manage to score 1 off 10 deliveries, Winfield was undone for a 13-ball 4. The right-arm bowler’s third scalp in the form of captain Heather Knight who had to depart for 6 off 5 after being caught by Katey Martin. The English team was then left tottering at 27/4 after Sophia Dunkley was cleaned up by Tahuhu for 6 off 16 at the end of 9th over. England earlier won the T20I series 2-1 and lead the ODI series 2-0 and a victory in this particular encounter will help them take an unassailable lead. The hosts won the first match by 30 runs and then clinched a victory by 13 runs (DLS Method) in the second clash.

Wasim Jaffer, Michael Vaughan call out ECB hypocrisy after England calls off Pakistan tour

Former cricketers players have criticized the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and called the decision of calling off the scheduled tour of Pakistan an act of double standards and hypocrisy. The ECB called off the tour citing anxiousness of the players who were to travel and live in a “controlled environment” before the big tournament such as the ICC World T20 and the observers of the game pointed out that they could have sent players who would have shown willingness to play in Pakistan in place of outright cancellation. As per an ESPNcricinfo report, the ECB did not cancel the tour based on the “security threat” that had led to New Zealand’s departure from Pakistan last week, but the decision was taken considering the anxiousness related to the tour. Former cricketers such as Michael Vaughan and Wasim Jaffer supported the statement of the newly-elected chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, who did not hide the “disappointment” on England’s refusal to travel. They pointed out the tour of England Pakistan had embarked upon to help the ECB’s trim the financial implications of the pandemic while the UK was reeling under a severe wave of Covid-19 last year and criticised the ECB for not being grateful and not offering reciprocal support. Also, the ECB and NZC’s decision to carry on with the ongoing series between England Women and New Zealand Women even after a reported “bomb threat” also highlighted the double standards of the ECB. Opinions are divided among the fans and experts of the game on the issue of whether the ECB took the right decision to call off the tour, but it was widely accepted that the PCB deserved better treatment from the ECB. Some of the experts also argue that the relationship between the ECB and the PCB can hit a new low in the near future and the PCB can also go as far as cancelling the next tour by England scheduled for next year and call on a “reliable” partner to make up for the losses.

IPL 2021 | DC vs SRH: With nothing much to lose, Sunrisers eye positive restart

Struggle. The one word that defined the first half of the Indian Premier League as well as Sunrisers Hyderabad. The BCCI had somehow got the cash-rich league back in India after the last year’s edition was held in UAE only to see it getting suspended as the country was severely hit with the second wave of Covid-19. Well, the BCCI has anchored the tournament back on track with some tweaks in the scheduling and the venues. The Hyderabad franchise also needs some major changes if the side wants to get back on track in the second half of the edition. SRH management took a huge step during the first leg of the IPL after they handed over the captaincy baton to Kane Williamson removing David Warner from the post. "The decision has not come lightly as the management respects the enormous impact David Warner has had for the franchise over a number of years.” "As we face the remainder of the season, we are sure David will continue to help us strive for success both on and off the field,” the statement added. The decision was a surprising one for many as SRH have lifted only one title in the IPL and achieved the feat under the captaincy of Warner. But as they say, this game doesn’t really work on the past records but it’s all about the present form and the David Warner-led side had been genuinely struggling as they had already lost four out of the five matches that they had played then. But handing the leadership to Williamson didn’t really bring much positivity as the side lost the next two matches as well. But that has been the talk of the past and the only way that SRH can give themselves that small chance of making a comeback is by looking forward and what lies ahead. Delhi Capitals on the other hand have tasted some success in the recent past in the IPL. They ended as the runners-up for the first time last year while have been in some good touch in this season as well. In the eight matches in which DC featured, they clinched wins in six of them under the captaincy of wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant who was appointed for the position after Shreyas Iyer was ruled out from the first phase due to a shoulder injury that he had sustained during England series at home. Iyer though is fit and will take the field for the Capitals but the side would be led by Pant only. Surprisingly, it was under IYer’s captaincy that Delhi had reached the finals but nevertheless, the right-hander’s presence in the batting unit will provide them with a lot of strength and stability especially on these tracks. SRH’s middle-order woes The Sunrisers Hyderabad have consistently faced troubles with their middle-order batting despite getting decent starts on some occasions. In the last clash against Delhi Capitals, Kane Williamson had held the fort from one end but kept losing partners on the other side as the match went into the Super Over and the Sunrisers eventually lost the game. The Hyderabad side has a new recruit in Sherfane Rutherford who has replaced Jonny Bairstow in the line up. He was in decent touch during the recently concluded Caribbean Premier League and the SRH team management would be expecting him to continue doing the same for them as well. The youngsters need to step up and take the ownership if Sunrisers are seeking any positive results in the second half. They do have the firepower to take on the opposition but haven’t been able to produce a performance of their class and calibre. Rashid Khan-The Key Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan can prove to be the trump card for SRH in UAE. The kind of variations that he has in his bowling especially deceiving the batsmen with wrong-uns is a major aspect of his bowling. Keeping the line on or just outside off stump can help him in pushing the batsmen on the back foot. Problem of plenty for DC Delhi Capitals are in a good space and would be looking to continue from where they left the competition in the first phase. DC openers Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw are in the top four in the list of leading run-scorers while Avesh Khan is the second highest wicket-taker at the moment in the tournament. The right-arm pacer had suffered a thumb injury while he was with the Indian team in England and had to return back. But he later joined the Delhi Capitals squad in UAE. Let’s first talk about their batting strength. Dhawan and Shaw had been in brilliant form in the first half of the IPL 2021 while they have the likes of Pant, Shimron Hetmyer, Steve Smith, Ajinkya Rahane and now Shreyas Iyer in the ranks. Pant and the team management will have their task cut out to make a steady and stable batting order. With only four overseas players allowed in the final XI and Iyer back in the team, it would be a difficult choice to make between Hetmyer and Smith if the team management picks Stoinis as well. The bowling attack seems to be sorted for now as they have Axar Patel and R Ashwin who can also bat while Kagiso Rabada, Avesh and Amit Mishra are the other bowlers who might feature in the final XI. Match Details Match: DC vs SRH, 33rd Match, Indian Premier League 2021 Date: Wednesday, September 22, 2021 Time: 7:30 PM Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium , Dubai Pitch Report The track in Dubai might have something on offer for the pacers in the first half of the encounter. The key for the batsmen is to get their eye in and then accelerate. So, if you win the toss, bowl first. Team News DC: Chris Woakes had earlier pulled out of the remainder of the IPL 2021 citing personal reasons and Ben Dwarshuis was roped in as his replacement. "JSW-GMR co-owned Delhi Capitals today announced that English all-rounder Chris Woakes, who picked up 5 wickets in 3 matches in the first half of the IPL 2021, has pulled out of the tournament due to personal reasons," Delhi Capitals said in a statement. "The Delhi Capitals have announced Australian fast bowler Ben Dwarshuis as Woakes' replacement for the remainder of the IPL 2021 season," it added. Apart from this Iyer is also back in the side after missing out the first leg. Though, Iyer is back but the team would be led by Rishabh Pant only. The wicket-keeper batsman was earlier given the captaincy after Iyer was ruled out with a shoulder injury during the England series at home. SRH: Jonny Bairstow had also pulled out of the remaining fixtures of the IPL 2021due to six-day quarantine rule. “They won't be boarding the flight to UAE. One of the reasons for their pull out is the six-day quarantine which they didn't need to do earlier," PTI quoted a BCCI official. Bairstow was then replaced by Sherfane Rutherford in the squad. Probable XI DC: Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Avesh Khan, Amit Mishra SRH: David Warner, Jason Roy, Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Vijay Shankar, Shreevats Goswami, Abdul Samad, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Sidharth Kaul Fantasy XI Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer, David Warner, Abdul Samad, Kane Williamson (VC), Marcus Stoinis, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Rashid Khan (C), Bhuvneshwar Kumar