Kieron Pollard goes berserk at Auckland while Lockie Ferguson sets the pace

Cricket returned to New Zealand on a rain-affected day with West Indies starting their tour of the country with a T20I. Part of a three-match series, this first T20 game at Auckland saw the visitors winning the toss and batting first.

Lockie Ferguson was in roaring form and thanks to his three early wickets, the Windies were reduced to 59/5 in the sixth over. But then ensued a cracking partnership between the captain of the team Kieron Pollard and Fabian Allen that kept the team scoring at a high rate in a match truncated to 16 overs per side.

In the end, West Indies finished up with 180/7 in their full quota overs with Pollard remaining not out on 75 off just 37 balls. As the partnership of 84 between him and Allen was developing, the fans who were watching the match were reacting to the pulsating action taking place on their screens.

Pollard, who is known for his brute power and clean-hitting, led from the front as his team sets its sight on retaining the T20 world title next year. Showing the fickle nature of T20 cricket, he, along with Allen, turned a possible rout into a spectacular display of batting pyrotechnics.

But amidst the fanfare for Pollard, one must not forget an equally splendid performance from the bowlers' ranks. Lockie Ferguson picked up a stunning five-wicket haul. He broke the dangerous partnership of Pollard and Allen and got his fifth by dismissing Keemo Paul soon after. His figures of 5/21 in four overs were as stunning as the speeds he generated - 147kph on average - in his spell.

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Team India sends anti-racism message; takes part in Barefoot circle with Australia

The Virat Kohli-led Indian ODI side took part in an anti-racism move by the Australian side by standing in a circle with their feet bare. The barefoot circle initiative has been started by Cricket Australia to acknowledge the role of the indigenous people of Australia and support the anti-racism movement across the world that started with the Black Lives Matter campaign. Australian Vice-captain Pat Cummins had stated before the start of the series that his team were to celebrate the culture of their indigenous people in the cricketing season that started today in Sydney, “In Australia, we think the most, I guess, the marginalised group is the first nations people and the indigenous peoples. And we think the barefoot circle’s a great way to celebrate them. Some people might want to take the knee, some people might want to show it in different ways and absolutely we’re all for that. But we’ve kind of come together as a team and think this is the best way we can demonstrate anti-racism as well as celebrating the indigenous culture here,” Pat Cummins had said. Anti-racism movements began taking centre stage in Cricket with the West Indies and England team deciding to take a knee to show solidarity against the black people across the world in July this year.

NZ vs PAK: Former captain Sarfraz Ahmed, five others test COVID-19 positive

After a span of 24 hours, members of the Pakistan touring party who have tested positive for the coronavirus infection have been identified. According to reports in Pakistan media, former captain Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammed Abbas, Abid Ali, Naseem Shah, Rohail Nazir, Danish Aziz are the members who have tested positive for the virus after their arrival in the country. Following a tough final warning from the local health administration and the New Zealand Cricket, Pakistan Cricket Board CEO Waseem Khan has alerted the touring squad against flouting the quarantine norms again after their first act of indiscipline was recorded in CCTV camera. A big squad of 53 members reached New Zealand on November 25 and they had to go through four rounds of Covid-19 testing before starting their training while in quarantine. However, after six members tested positive, the NZC has halted their training while sending the six players to a separate isolation facility. New Zealand and Pakistan are scheduled to start their series with a three-match T20 series starting December 18 followed by a two-match Test series.

Aus vs Ind: Ishant ruled out, Rohit awaits final assessment; Natarajan added to ODI squad

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has come with the update on the injury to Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharam and said that the pacer has been ruled out of the upcoming series against Australia while Rohit remains under the watch of the BCCI medical team. A further assessment of the right-hander's fitness will be done on December 11, after that, a decision on his availability for the Test series will be made. BCCI stated in releases that Ishant Sharam has recovered from his side strain injury but inadequate workload management means he is yet to be fit for a Test match. “Ishant has recovered completely from his side strain injury sustained during IPL 2020 in the U.A.E. While he’s building up his workload in order to achieve Test match fitness, Mr Ishant Sharma has been ruled out of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy,” BCCI said in its media release. The board took cognisance of a contentious question of why did Rohit Sharma decide to come back to India instead of going to Australia to complete rehabilitation in quarantine like Wriddhiman Saha and came up with the reason that forced the opener to return home before heading to NCA. “Mr Rohit Sharma had to come back to Mumbai after the IPL to attend to his ailing father. His father is now recuperating well and that has allowed him to travel to the NCA and start his rehabilitation,” BCCI informed on Rohit’s decision to return. Meanwhile, young seamer Navdeep Saini who has found a place in squads across formats has complained about back spasms and the BCCI has added rookie T Natarajan into the ODI squad. Earlier, he was added to T20 squad based on his good performance in the IPL and a possible rotational policy of pacers that Virat Kohli hinted on the eve of the first ODI.

Kohli miffed with change in the WTC Points system

Indian captain Virat Kohli showed his displeasure at the changed World Test Championship points system which has pushed India down to the second spot in the WTC rankings in terms of percentage point counting. "It is definitely surprising (the new system) because we were told the points are the matter of contention with the top two teams qualifying [for the World Test Championship final]. Now, suddenly, become a percentage out of nowhere. It is very confusing, very difficult to understand why,” questioned Kohli at the virtual presser ahead of the first ODI between Australia and India at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Indicating that a change regarding the points system should have been brought to the notice of the players and the boards before making a final decision, Kohli said, “If such a thing had been told to us from day one, then it would have been easier for us to understand. But it happened out of nowhere.” “For further questions, ICC should be asked why this has been done and what the reasons behind this are," suggested the 32-year-old. Earlier, Manu Sawhney, the CEO of the International Cricket Council had said in a statement that the differential points system was adopted on the recommendations of the Anil Kumble-led ICC Cricket Committee, keeping in view the altered playing conditions due to the effect of the covid-19. "The Cricket Committee recommended the option, which was approved by the Chief Executives Committee and ratified by the Board, meaning teams will be ranked in order of percentage of points earned," he said.