Joe Root urges 'well prepared' England to be at top of game to defeat India in India

Will shave half of moustache if Pujara hits England spinners over the top: R Ashwin

India’s Cheteshwar Pujara has never taken the bait by an off-spinner in tests and resisted the temptation of hitting over the top, but now he has been challenged by one of his teammates. Will he take it? In a conversation with India batting coach Vikram Rathour, Ashwin threw an open challenge that if the right-hander who does not have the habit of taking the aerial route against spinners attacks English spinners over the top in the upcoming series, he will come to play the game next day but only after completely shaving off his moustache. The challenge came Pujara’s way when Ashwin inquired about Pujara’s approach and why does not he consider the option of putting spinners off their lengths to Rathour, to which the coach said the right-hander has not agreed to this plan for a long time and he argues with valid reasons against the move. Pujara has been known for his discipline while at the crease and the right-hander does not seem to lose his concentration and go for big shots. He has scored three of his slowest half-centuries in Tests one after the other in the Test series against Australia. His teammates and batsmen batting around him all love to go over the top against spinners in Tests, but Pujara keeps batting on his merry way in whites and allows his teammates to reap the benefits of his presence at the batting crease.

BBL 10 | Final day madness as Stars, Hurricanes, Heat battle for playoff spots

The Big Bash League could not have hoped for a better finish than this. With three matches left to play for the final day, four teams still have a chance to force their way into the finals but there is just one playoff spot up for the grab. While the Perth Scorchers and Sydney Sixers had already sealed their places for the finals, Sydney Thunder defeated Adelaide Strikers on Monday, 25 December to make sure that they do not have to depend on the results of the other teams. Things don’t look good for the rest though. Strikers now sit at the fourth spot with 28 points, Hobart Hurricanes (27), Brisbane Heat (25), Melbourne Stars (24) follow each other closely in a logjammed table. All three teams have blown hot and cold this season, but it is only the Stars who come into their final fixture after losing their last two games. As luck would have it, Stars are playing against one of the top units of the tournament Sydney Sixers who have looked in scintillating batting form throughout the tournament. Having lost the two games in a trot in their last two encounters. Sydney would love to go into the playoffs stages with momentum on their side. On that note, here is a look at the previews of the game Brisbane Heat vs Perth Scorchers The last time that these two teams met in the Big Bash League, Brisbane Heat were uprooted by the Scorchers bowling. While most batsmen struggled to get going against the pace battery, the ones that got gave away their wickets. With the batting line-up that the Heat have, chasing down the targets of 170-175 should not be that hard, but the lack of application and form has led to a very poor showing this tournament. On the other hand, the resurgence of Perth as a unit after their poor start has been the story of the tournament. Scorchers have won three matches in a row coming into this game and there is no reason to believe that they would play it loose on this one. Match Details Match Number- 54 Date and Time- Jan 26 2021, 7 AM IST Venue- Adelaide Oval Broadcast- Sony LIV, Sony Sports Network Pitch Report As seen from the game on Monday, there is a bit for the fast bowlers very early on in the wicket. But once that is done, this is an absolute batting paradise. If the likes of Chris Lynn, Jason Roy can fire, this can turn out to be a high scoring encounter. Weather and Bat Flip The city of Adelaide received heavy showers today and forced the game to be curtailed to a 14 over affair. Having said that, there are minimum chances of shower tomorrow and one can expect pleasant weather throughout the day. Bat first and set the tone for the game should be the way to go. Heat Strongest XI Max Bryant, Chris Lynn (c), Marnus Labuschagne, Joe Denly, Joe Burns, Jimmy Peirson (wk), Lewis Gregory, Mark Steketee, Xavier Bartlett, Mitchell Swepson, Ben Laughlin Scorchers Strongest XI Jason Roy, Liam Livingstone, Colin Munro, Josh Inglis (wk), Mitchell Marsh, Ashton Turner (c), Aaron Hardie, Jhye Richardson, Andrew Tye, Jason Behrendorff, Fawad Ahmed Melbourne Renegades vs Hobart Hurricanes Hobart Hurricanes could not have hoped for a better final game. Things have gone awfully wrong for the Renegades this season and they have won just three matches out of their thirteen. The last time that these two teams met (way back in December), Hobart were on an upward rise. They had stamped their authority by winning the game by six wickets and 14 balls to spare. Having said that, that time is long gone and since then Hurricanes have only won four out of their nine matches. The stark fall of their batting department has been the prime concern for their team and along with that is the issue of blowing hot and cold in the death overs. In their last game Hobart put over 140 runs in the first 14 overs, courtesy an astonishing opening partnership by D’Arcy Short and Matthew Wade, but then, they managed to lose 8 wickets in the next six overs. With nothing to lose, Renegades can take advantage of this indecisiveness and can deal a body blow if Hurricanes put their guard down. Match Details Match Number- 55 Date and Time- Jan 26 2021, 10 AM IST Venue- MCG Broadcast- Sony LIV, Sony Sports Network Pitch Report When you play at an iconic ground, you play with care. At the MCG, the skiddy nature of the pitch makes it difficult for the batsmen against the quicks. But, as shown by Wade and Short the other day, the short straight boundaries are the main areas that the batsman can exploit. The bowlers likewise will be looking to trap batsmen in ridiculously long square boundaries and all in all, there will be a good balance between bat and ball on offer. Weather and Bat Flip The chances of raining in this game is huge. 93 per cent to be exact. So, if the game does go through, and the teams are lucky to win the toss…bowling first is the only option. Hurricanes Strongest XI D Arcy Short, Matthew Wade (c), Ben McDermott (wk), Dawid Malan, Will Jacks, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Nick Winter, Scott Boland, Riley Meredith, Sandeep Lamichhane Renegades Strongest XI Aaron Finch (c), Shaun Marsh, Sam Harper (wk), Jake Fraser-McGurk, Mackenzie Harvey, Beau Webster, Imad Wasim, Jack Prestwidge, Josh Lalor, Zak Evans, Peter Hatzoglou Melbourne Stars vs Sydney Sixers The final game of the group stage will have the Glenn Maxwell-led Melbourne Stars putting in their final dash for the playoffs berth. As a team, they are the worst placed in the table with just 24 points and will have to win the game with all four points (Bash Boost included) to make it to the final four. They have a very good run rate of +0.171, which might come to their rescue after all. Having said for that to happen, they have to win against a Sixers side who have looked brilliant with the bat in hand. From Stars side, a lot will be riding on the spin duo of Adam Zampa and Zaheer Khan who have looked threatening. On the other hand, as stated earlier, Sixers will be looking to bounce back after their narrow loss against the Hurricanes and will be looking to begin the finals with winning momentum. The last time these two teams had met each other, they produced a Boxing Day classic playing out a last-ball victory for the Sixers. Daniel Hughes was the hero of the match that day scoring 96 runs off 51 balls. Match Details Match Number- 56 Date and Time- Jan 26 2021, 2 PM IST Venue- MCG Broadcast- Sony LIV, Sony Sports Network Pitch Report Like stated above, this is a skiddy pitch to bat win, with the odd ball troubling the batsman. But overall, is a good wicket once the batter settles in. Weather and Bat Flip The chances of raining in this game is huge. 93 per cent to be exact. So, if the game does go through, and the teams are lucky to win the toss…bowling first is the only option. Stars Strongest XI Marcus Stoinis, Seb Gotch (wk), Nick Larkin, Glenn Maxwell (c), Nic Maddinson, Hilton Cartwright, Clint Hinchliffe, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Adam Zampa, Billy Stanlake, Zahir Khan Sixers Strongest XI Josh Philippe (wk), James Vince, Daniel Hughes, Moises Henriques (c), Jordan Silk, Daniel Christian, Carlos Brathwaite, Sean Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis, Ben Manenti, Jake Ball

BBL 10 | Sydney Thunder seal playoffs in their final group stage clash

The Sydney Thunder defeated their nearest rivals to the playoff spot Adelaide Strikers, in a rain-marred game to seal their place in the Big Bash League finals. Chasing a target of 116 runs in 14 overs, Thunder, riding on the pyro techniques of Englishman Alex Hales brought the house down to clinch victory with 11 balls to spare. Setting the new target of most numbers of sixes hit in a single season (30), Hales scored 63 runs in just 39 balls to lead the way for Thunder who lost their opener, Usman Khawaja, to a peach of a delivery in the first delivery of the chase. The former top ranked T20 batsman was ably supported by Australian Callum Ferguson who contributed a crafty 46 off 33 balls to stitch a partnership of 116 runs. Earlier in the first innings, Thunder chose to bowl first after the rain delay. Strike bowlers Adam Milne, Brendan Doggett kept runs in check bowling exceedingly well in the first few overs picking up three wickets in the first seven. If it were not for Jake Weatherald’s antics in the later half of the innings, Strikers would have been down and out by a long mile. When the opportunity presented itself in the 11th over (Power Surge), Weatherald took Milne to cleaners scoring 18 runs off him. Strikers put on 52 runs in the final four over, Strikers put on a respectable 115 runs. But as it would turn out, the score would not be enough for the Strikers to be defended against the mighty Englishman, and now they would have to wait for the other teams to play it out on the final day of the Big Bash League. The Strikers with 28 points are followed by Hobart Hurricanes (27), Brisbane Heat (25), Melbourne Stars (24) who are all contenders for the final qualification spot. Talk about an unmissable day of cricket. The final day is scheduled to play out three fixtures Brisbane Heat v Perth Scorchers Melbourne Renegades v Hobart Hurricanes Melbourne Stars v Sydney Sixers

Ajinkya Rahane reveals what he told Ashwin ahead of the Australia series

Ajinkya Rahane had lengthy conversations with Ravichandran Ashwin about the latter’s approach to batting and the drying up of runs ahead of the matches against Australia. The stand-in Indian captain while speaking to Marathi daily Sakal revealed that he advised Ashwin not to be tensed about his batting after the Indian spinner was dismissed for 5 runs in the practice match ahead of the Test series. "Our discussion started from the [first] practice match itself," Rahane said. "Ashwin got out early and was sitting alone. I told Ashwin, please do not take tension about your batting. There are times when you think too much about your batting. His record as a batsman is pretty good. When things are not going well, obviously you start brooding about your batting not going well.” Rahane added that he wanted Ashwin to focus more on his bowling because he felt that Ashwin was a matchwinner overseas with the ball. "With your bowling you can win us matches. He bowled well and I feel that reflected in his batting [later in the series]. My responsibility was to get his focus on his bowling. He bowled well and that confidence showed in his batting." The Indian middle order maestro further divulged the details about how he advised Ashwin not to be desperate for runs. Rahane said he explained to Ashwin that the more "desperate" he was to do well with the bat, the more disappointed he would get if he failed. "Desperation does not work. I told him to play 40-50 balls while batting without thinking about it. And that is what happened. I did not say much to him. All credit should go to Ashwin. I told him, too: your bowling is going so good and consequently, mentally, you are very relaxed and that is why you are batting well [now]. And where we wanted him, he did perform [with the bat] in Sydney." Ashwin copped several blows on his body in the Sydney Test and in a gladiatorial battle with the Australian fast bowling held the fort on one end along with Hanuma Vihari to see India through that game. The duo negotiated a total of 259 deliveries in the second innings and put together an unbeaten partnership of 62 runs before taking a long back to the stands in the final day.