Maharashtra Government likely to allow 25 percent of crowd in stands for IPL 2022: Reports

NZ vs SA | 2nd Test | Day 5: Team effort & bold decisions pave pathway for Dean Elgar's South Africa

South Africa staged an unbelievable turnaround in the second Test match against New Zealand to draw the series. Thrashed in the first Test by an innings and 276 runs, the visitors were in no position to compete, let alone win the Test match, but they managed to pull off the unthinkable on Tuesday, 1 March. South Africa captain Dean Elgar was questioned over his strategy to bat first after winning the toss, but the move paid off at the end of the day, on a flatter track in the second Test match. Elgar, speaking at the post match presentation looked dead straight at the presenter and said “I just remember the look on your face when I said we’d bat first,” and emphasised on the bold decision. South Africa went on to set the tone with Sarel Erwee's century in the first innings, before the pacers ripped through the NZ batting lineup despite a stupendous century from Colin de Grandhomme. The match shifted momentum even till the third day, when NZ seemed like they were back in the game after ripping through the South Africa top order early in the second innings, but a Kyle Verreyne century put South Africa ahead on Day 4. Elgar’s men seized the advantage that the wicket keeper brought them, and did not let go of the match since. Kagiso Rabada, after taking 5 wickets in the first innings, played his best Test innings scoring 47 runs off 34 balls to demoralise Kiwi hearts and then returned to take three more wickets in the second innings. If New Zealand were to win the game, they would have had to down the highest second innings total in the history of Test cricket, something that was clearly not on offer in this wicket. Keshav Maharaj grew increasingly threatening as the days passed in the Test match and submitted the South African team with his discipline and control over the flight. Maharaj was key in removing the middle order of Henry Nicholls and Daryl Mitchell before Marco Jansen’s short ball barrage did the rest. The young 21-year-old showed a lot of heart in the flat batting track, hurrying up every single one of the Kiwi batters, forcing them to play false shots against the rising ball. Kyle Jamieson - NZ’s best lower order batsman struggled thoroughly against Jansen’s bounce and got out in desperation of trying to hit one out of the park. First innings’ centurion, de Grandhomme was caught at leg gully after setting a leg side trap - one that clearly played tricks with the batsman’s mind. A little rain in the final overs of the lunch session delayed the victory, but SA did get there at the end with 198 runs remaining. Kagiso Rabada was awarded man of the match for his exceptional all round ability in the second Test, as South Africa managed to defeat the Kiwis at their home after five years.

IPL 2022 | Jason Roy pulls out of tournament citing bubble fatigue

Swashbuckling English opener Jason Roy has pulled out of Indian Premier League citing bubble fatigue, reported ESPNcricinfo late on Monday evening, 28 February. According to the report, Roy communicated his decision to his team Gujarat Titans earlier last week, however, the franchise has not chosen to name a replacement just yet. Roy, who was in excellent form in the recently concluded Pakistan Super League is one of the most sought after players in the shorter formats of the game, for his ability to pick apart any opposition in the first six overs. Now that Titans do not have Roy’s service, they are in a little pickle, considering their depth in the top order. Shubman Gill is fixed in one spot and the other might be taken by Matthew Wade unless the team chooses another player. Wade is not at all a bad option considering his ability to play all around the park, but is a very different batter than Roy, and lacks the explosiveness the Englishman provides. The availability of English cricketers has been an issue this season, with several players pulling out of the tournament in the aftermath of the Ashes series. However, for Roy, it was the extended period of bubble that turned out to be the reason, which might be an issue for several others as well considering that this is a World Cup year and players might like to spend more time with their family before going into an extended bio-bubble programme in Australia - a country that has put strict conditions on visiting parties. The Indian Premier League is not new to bubble pull-outs. Last year, several players left the cash-rich league midway through the tournament during the rise of the second wave of the pandemic. Australians in particular had a harrowing experience with the government choosing to close off their borders without making ample arrangements for their citizens staying overseas.

PAK vs AUS | Ashton Agar receives ‘death threat’; CA terms it unserious

Australia are touring Pakistan after a long gap of 24 years and just when it seemed like it would be smooth sailing for the visiting squad the ugliness of social media death threats have risen their faces. Aussie cricketer Ashton Agar has reportedly received a death threat via his partner’s Instagram account where the perpetrator has seemingly warned him against visiting Pakistan. Australian news platform Sydney Morning Herald has revealed that the message was possibly sent from India and is unserious in nature. Cricket Australia has officially acknowledged the incident and stated that they were aware of the incident and it was investigated by the Pakistan Cricket Board, CA as well as government security agencies. “There are extensive security plans in place for this type of social media activity, which, in this case, is not considered a risk. No further comment will be made at this time.” It needs to be mentioned that it was a similar incident that called off New Zealand’s tour of Pakistan minutes before the start of the game and then the ripple effects saw England pulling out of Pakistan. Australia however, have been in very jolly mood about the series and several players have come forward to state that the security arrangements have been satisfactory. Australia are on a month long trip to Pakistan before their top players disperse for the Indian Premier League. They will play a total of 7 matches, 3 Tests, 3 ODIs and one T20I.

SA vs BAN | Shakib to play South Africa Test confirms BCB President

Bangladesh Cricket Board President Nazmul Hasan said on Monday, 28 February that star all rounder Shakib Al Hasan will be available for selection in the South Africa Test series. Hasan revealed that Sahakib was asked to play for the national team after he wasn’t picked in the Indian Premier League and the all rounder agreed. Hasan’s statement comes right after BCB’s announcement that they want to have a conversation with Shakib and know what his individual plans are for the remainder of the year. The star all rounder earlier wanted to take a break from international cricket to prepare for the Indian Premier League and now that has gone flying out of the window, Shakib has considered coming back to the longest format of the game. Late last year, Shakib had said that he wanted to take a break from Test cricket to focus on the other formats, but then later clarified that his statements were miscommunicated. He clarified his position that he wanted to focus on IPL and get his personal preparation done before the cash rich league. Shakib has been a pivotal player for Bangladesh for many many years, but in recent times has come under fire from the statement-heavy BCB president. Many times, Hasan has indirectly fired shots at Shakib and Mustafizur Rahman for prioritising IPL over national duties. Bangladesh are currently playing Afghanistan in the ODI series - one that they have won by the margin of 2-1, they will now move on to the more important two-match T20I series to test out their preparations ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia later this year.