Jasprit Bumrah released from Indian squad

IND vs ENG | Chris Woakes flies back home

England all-rounder Chris Woakes has returned back from the Test tour as part of the ECB’s rotation policy. Woakes was with English team on the tours of South Africa, Sri Lanka and India but didn’t play a single match during the course. The right-handed all-rounder last played for England in an ODI against Australia in September last year. ECB’s rotation policy has received some criticism from the former cricketers. “India are going to come to England in the summer. If they are 2-0 up or 1-0 up, will they rotate? I don’t think they will. These tours, Englishmen going to Australia or India, they are the pinnacle….if you win in those conditions, they are remembered for a long long time. And I know for a fact when India come to England and if they go up 1-0, they would not be rotating their best bowlers, or leaving somebody out, they want to win,” Ian Bell had said earlier while talking to ESPN Cricinfo. Moeen Ali and wicket-keeper batsman Jos Buttler had departed from the series after playing the first two fixtures while Jonny Bairstow and Mark Wood joined the squad for the last two matches against India as part of the same policy. England presently trail the four-match series 1-2 and have been knocked out of the World Test Championship. If they manage to win the fourth Test the Australia will play the final of the WTC against New Zealand at Lord’s but if they draw or suffer a defeat in this encounter, India will march into the finals.

Chris Gayle returns to West Indies T20I squad

West Indies aggressive top-order batsman Chris Gayle has returned to the side for the T20I series against Sri Lanka at home. The left-handed batsman was recalled on the basis of his recent performances. The 14-man squad will be led by Kieron Pollard. Apart from Gayle, Fidel Edwards is also back in the team. The three-match series slated to begin from March 3 will be played at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua. “Chris Gayle has performed very well in recent tournaments and the selection panel thinks that he can still add great value to our team,” Roger Harper, Cricket West Indies’ (CWI) lead selector, said in a media release. “As we build towards the defence of the T20 World Cup, the opportunity is being taken to determine our best team and squad as we go forward.” Gayle has played in 103 Tests, 301 ODIs and 58 T20Is since making his international debut in 1999. The left-handed batsman has numerous T20 records to his name. He is the highest run-getter in the shortest format of the game while one of his finest innings came against Pune Warriors India back in 2013 where he scored 175* for RCB in the IPL. T20I Squad: Kieron Pollard (c), Nicholas Pooran, Fabian Allen Dwayne Bravo, Fidel Edwards, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Evin Lewis, Obed McCoy, Rovman Powell, Lendl Simmons, Kevin Sinclair. ODI Squad: Kieron Pollard (c), Shai Hope, Fabian Allen, Darren Bravo, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Evin Lewis, Kyle Mayers, Jason Mohammed, Nicholas Pooran, Romario Shepherd, Kevin Sinclair.

PSL 6: On the move Islamabad face Peshawar in top of the table clash

Peshwar Zalmi after winning two back to back thrillers have emoved to the second position in the Points table displacing Lahore Qlanadrs to the third. But above them are Islamabad United who are still the only unbeaten side in the Pakistan Super League so far. The two teams will come face to face at top of the table clash when they meet at each other in the second game of the double header’s day in Karachi. While Islamabad seem to have patented the art of coming back from behind and getting partnership in the middle order to chase down any total, Peshwar too have built a rapport in chasing down totals. It would therefore be interesting to see if any of them could break the eight-match streak of not being able to defend a total in PSL. All-rounders hold key for Islamabad Although it has been two Englishmen in Alex Hales and Lewis Gregory who have led United to victory in the last two games, the team is more or less dependent on the all-rounders that it has got plenty in number. Be it Shadab Khan the skipper, Faheem Ashraf, Lewis Gregory, Hasan Ali or Iftikhar Ahmed, the availability of these many players with the dual ability to ball and bat pushes the management to try different combinations. The form of the middle order is another plus point for the team from the capital enjoys ahead of the all-important clash. The Sherus as they are called would be wagging their tails to give it a go against their strongest opponent so far. The likes of Alex Hales, Asif Ali and Hussain Talat would be rubbing their hands to get on to the field and showcase their class as they did against the Karachi Kings. United are also the only team in the tournament so far to play with just three foreigners instead of four allotted in the quota, indicating how much belief they have in their homegrown talent. Peshawar to take inspiration from the last two wins When everyone thought that it was over for the Zalmi, someone or the other always rose to the occasion, guiding the team home, be it Haider Ali or Sherfane Rutherford or senior pro, Shoiab Malik. Even Wahab Riaz rescued the ship with his bat in an unexpected scenario. It is this belief of the team in its players that has been sailing it through all hurdles. But now, this game is going to be a proper battle of the batting prowess of both teams. But usually, such situations bring the best out of the less fancied trade and hence bowling could turn out to be a handy option for the Zalmi if they bowl on the right lengths. Peshawar Zalmi vs Islamabad United: Match Details Match Number- 10 Date and Time: 27th Feb, 07:30 pm IST, 07:00 pm Local, 02:00 pm GMT Venue: National Stadium, Karachi Broadcast and Live Stream: Sony SIX, Sony LIV Pitch Report The same pitch on which the game would have been played in the afternoon would be used for the evening game too. Hence it would most likely be a bit dry wicket early on in the game. But as time would pass, dew would settle in on the ground, making it a flat deck and batting heaven. Weather Update The Karachi weather in the evening is supposed to remain calm with temperatures ranging between 28-24 degrees celsius. In such weather with dew settling in, the captains would be motivated to field first after winning the toss. Probable XI Peshawar Zalmi Kamran Akmal (wk), Imam-ul-Haq, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Shoaib Malik, Haider Ali, Sherfane Rutherford, Wahab Riaz (c), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Saqib Mahmood, Mohammad Imran, Mohammad Irfan Islamabad United Philip Salt (wk), Alex Hales, Shadab Khan (c), Hussain Talat, Asif Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Lewis Gregory, Faheem Ashraf, Zafar Gohar, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jr Dream XI / Fantasy XI Alex Hales (c), Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Shoaib Malik, Haider Ali (vc), Sherfane Rutherford, Lewis Gregory, Faheem Ashraf, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Saqib Mahmood, Hasan Ali

Quetta can’t defend, Sarfaraz Ahmed left pondering with his frustrations at the end

Nobody wouldn’t want to be a Sarfaraz Ahmed at the end of a Pakistan Super League (PSL) game of Quetta Gladiators this season. Frustrated, almost crying through his sullen eyes and hands on his hips with lips refusing to utter any word. This has been Sarfaraz, the captain of the Gladiators for the last two matches as his bowlers have been unable to defend huge totals set up by the batsmen. The case was the same today as Dale Steyn was tonked for 21 runs in the penultimate over when the Gladiators needed to defend 27 from two overs. What rubbed salt to injury was the fact that during that over, he was hit for two sixes by a batsman of the stature of Wahab Riaz and one of the sixes went out of the stadium. Left to defend just six runs, Mohammad Hasnain bowled a pitch-perfect yorker to remove Wahab Riaz off the very first ball. Then bowling a length ball, he was able to get Saqib Mahmood run out but couldn’t stop Sherfane Rutherford from crossing over and reaching the striker’s end, a mistake that Sarfaraz also complained of during the post-match interview. Now tasked to defend six from four balls, Hasnain bowled a delivery that he wouldn’t have bowled in the worst of his nightmares, a beamer, outside off, so much outside that it was far from the reach of a helpless Sarfaraz and added to Zalmi scorecard, five extra runs, killing the game then and there. Zalmi chased down 199 and won the match by three wickets. Before all that mayhem in the last two overs, Zalmi were set an uphill task of chasing 199. It would become the fourth highest chase ever in the history of the PSL if the Peshawar team could reach there successfully. Imam-Ul-Haq and Kamran Akmal started the innings cautiously. But it couldn't go on for long as Akmal was trapped in a plan perfectly executed by Usman Shinwari, where he bowled just outside off, short of a length and forced Kamaran to hoik it towards wide third-man where Ben Cutting, coming in from deep point gobbled a simple catch. Soon Tom-Kohler Cadmore was removed by Steyn to push Zalmi on the backfoot. But instead of getting into a shell, Haider Ali and Imam counter attacked. The two added 52 in 32 balls before pressure mounted to Imam and he played the wrong line to google from Zahid Mahmood. Joined by experienced Shoaib Malik, Haider continued on his counter-attacking strategy and was readily helped by Quetta Fielders with their misfield. He even offered a sitter to Mohammad Nawaz at the point but was given an extra life. Just when it seemed that Malik and Ali would run away with the game, Steyn provided the much-needed breakthrough removing Ali just as he crossed the 50 mark. In the very next over, Ben Cutting removed Shoaib Malik to tilt the game in Quetta’ favour. However, the purple patch didn’t last long for the team in purple. Defending 50 from the last four, Shinwari bowled a good over giving just 9 runs and leaving 41 to defend in the last three. But Hasnain was hit for two sixes as he conceded 14 runs in the 18th over to leave 27 to defended by Steyn and himself in the last two overs. And the rest of the story is as plain and simple as it gets. Apart from Malik (34), Haider Ali (50), Rutherford and Wahab Riaz scored important 36* and 20 respectively to add on to Imam’s 41 and take the Zalmi home. For Gladiators, Steyn took two wickets. Earlier in the evening, Sarfaraz’s men were asked to bat after Quetta lost the toss. While the start wasn’t ideal as Cameron Delport departed early. However, young Saim Ayub and experienced Faf du Plessis laid the foundation for skipper Sarfaraz and Azam Khan to launch the attack. They did exactly that, adding 105 runs in just 52 balls. Hadn’t it been for a brilliant last over by Zalmi’ Mahmood, who gave away just five runs and took three wickets, Quetta could have easily gone above 200. Even after scoring a brilliant 40 ball 81, Sarfaraz ended up on the losing side at the National Stadium in Karachi once again. He and the management would now have to devise a plan that could get them over the line somehow as, after eight matches, they are the only team in the league without a point on the board. This was also the eighth consecutive match where a team batting first haven’t been able to defend a total in PSL.