Laxmi Ratan Shukla returns as the Bengal U-23 coach

WI vs Aus | 2nd T20I: Ruthless Windies blank Aaron Finch's men to take 2-0 lead

It was another thoroughly professional all-round performance by West Indies as they stormed past the visiting Australian team by 56 runs to go 2-0 up in the 5 match series. Unlike the opening encounter where West Indies made a dramatic turnaround to clinch the match, they were far more professional this time around and was by far the more superior team on the day. After scoring a more than competitive 196 in their allotted 20 overs on a belter of a wicket, West Indies bowlers raised their hands yet again and delivered the goods as the second string Australian side was bowled out inside 20 overs for the second time in succession. A brisk yet steady start was the order of the day for the Aussies chasing a big total but they were pegged back early as Matthew Wade was removed by Sheldon Cottrell in just the 2nd delivery of the innings. Finch also fell early and Australia had to play catch up for the rest of the innings. Yet again Mitchell Marsh proved his worth at No 3 scoring back to back half-centuries to steady the ship for the home team. He flayed his way around and played some delightful shots during his knock of 54 of 42 deliveries which kept Australia in the game. However he never got any support from the other end and barring starts from Moises Henriques Josh Philippe, none of the other batsmen could get going. They lost their last 6 wickets for 29 runs eventually folding out for 140 in 19.2 overs. Yet again Hayden Walsh Jr proved to be a huge difference bagging three wickets to derail the Aussies in the middle overs. Sheldon Cottrell bagged a couple while Dwayne Bravo, Andre Russell and Fidel Edwards chipped in with a wicket each. Despite the defeat in the opening encounter, Aussie skipper Aaron Finch trusted the process and methods and opted to chase once more. Evin Lewis was replaced by Andre Fletcher at the top of the order and the swashbuckling batsman got into the act straightaway smashing Mitchell Starc for his trademark no-look six of just the 5th delivery of the match. However, he fell cheaply while giving room to a faster one from Ashton Agar which breached his defence and disturbed the timbers. Simmons clubbed three massive sixes during his 21 balls 30 and helped Windies race off to 46 in the powerplay. Just when Simmons and Gayle were looking set, both were dismissed in quick succession as the Aussie bowlers tightened the screws on the middle order. Shimron Hetmyer took the onus on hismelf to push West Indies towards a big score. The powerful left-hander clubbed his way to a breathtaking 36 balls 61 which included a couple of fours and four sixes. Dwayne Bravo who was sent up the order proved his worth with the bat. A 34 balls 47 set the tone for the final fireworks from Andre Russell. The muscle man blazed his way to an unbeaten 9 balls 24 which took West Indies to 196. In the end, the score proved to be a match-winning one by quite a fair margin. Brief Scores West Indies 196/4 in 20 overs (Shimron Hetmyer 61, Dwayne Bravo 47*, Mitchell Marsh 1/18) Australia 140 all-out in 19.2 overs (Mitchell Marsh 54, Hayden Walsh Jr 3/29) West Indies won by 56 runs

ENG vs PAK | 2nd ODI: Hasan Ali bags five-wicket haul, registers name on Lord's Honours Board

Pacer Hasan Ali bagged a five-wicket haul in the second ODI of the series against England and registered his name onto the Lord’s Honours Board. England were rocked early as Dawid Malan was dismissed driving on the up against Ali and Shaheen Shah Afridi yorked Zak Crawley with an absolute peach. Ali then came back to dismiss Ben Stokes and John Simpson to leave England trailing behind a long way in the game, and put the hosts on the brink with the wicket of Craig Overton. Ultimately, he dismissed Saqib Mahmood to reach the five-wicket haul landmark and wrap up England innings at 247. Pakistan are trailing 0-1 behind in the sthree-match long ODI series and skipper Babar Azam would be disappointed letting England go off the hook after an impressive start with the ball. Other two pacers such as Haris Rauf and all-rounder Faheem Ashraf struggled for accuracy and provided ample amount of loose delivery for England batsmen to cash in on an overcast day in London. Phil Salt went berserk with the bat and top scored at 60 runs but his dismissal derailed England’s momentum in the middle phase of the game. James Vince made good use of the opportunity with a splendid half century but he too failed to convert it into a big innings. England escaped a collapse as Lewis Gregory and Brydon Carse stitched a valuable 69 runs partnership for the eight wicket.

Member of alternative Sri Lanka squad test Covid-19 positive

In a fresh setback to the prospect of the upcoming series between Sri Lanka and India, a player from alternative Sri Lanka under a biosecure bubble in Colombo has tested positive for Covid-19. The latest case will put a serious strain on both Sri Lanka Cricket and the BCCI that have already postponed the ODI series by five days to July 18. Two separate squads have been training in Colombo and Dambulla under biosecure bubbles and Sri Lanka Cricket can ask any one of them to play against India in the series in case the first-choice squad does not come out clean in Covid-19 testing. The player from the alternative squad has test positive while the first-choice squad members who have returned from England have already been under the cloud of covid-19. Batting coach Grant Flower and an analyst have already contracted positive for Covid-19. The ODI series between Sri Lanka and India was scheduled to start on July 13 but in the wake of circumstances due to Covid-19 in the hosts' camp it has been shifted to July 18. The second and third ODI of the series will be played on July 20 and 23 in Colombo followed by a three-match long T20I series from July 25.

I will rate this performance very highly, up in No 1 or 2 says Hayden Walsh after match-winning spell

Riding on a sensational display of spin bowling by Hayden Walsh Jr, West Indies managed to register a sensational come from behind victory against the Aussies in the opening T20I to go 1-0 up in the five-match series. The leggie who bagged three crucial wickets of Mitchell Marsh, Dan Christian and Ben McDermott rated this performance very highly and placed this performance at 1 or 2 at the international level. Walsh had tested positive for COVID-19 in Bangladesh and had a pretty mediocre season with the ball in the Super50 tournament. However, his performance earlier today will definitely make him a prime contender for a spot in the T20 World Cup slated to be played in UAE later this year. "Personally, it's a sigh of relief," Walsh said after spinning his team to a memorable victory. "I've been preparing for a long while. After my mishap in Bangladesh where I tested positive for Covid, I didn't really have a good Super50 and I'm really happy that I'm just back. I would put this performance up there, probably one or two." Walsh who was playing an international game after a substantial gap was introduced into the attack a bit late than expected by stand-in skipper Nicholas Pooran. However it worked wonders for his team as after conceding 10 runs in the first over, Walsh Jr was all over the Aussie middle order like a rash and from a commanding position, Australia slipped to a position of relative discomfort. The leggie along with left-arm pacer Obed McCoy ran through the Australian lower middle order and the tail bagging the last 6 wickets for just 19 runs to bowl Windies to a dramatic victory. "To come in when the pressure is on and Australia could have walked the game at that point, I really enjoyed changing the game there," he said. "In the team meetings we talked about the huge wind factor. I just really enjoyed just reading the conditions and reading the situation of the game,” W alsh concluded. The 2nd encounter is slated to be played at Darren Sammy National Stadium in St Lucia tomorrow (Sunday).