Mohammad Hafeez ruled out of National T20, doubtful for World Cup after contracting dengue

Chris Morris hasn't been able to replicate what he did in the first leg of IPL 2021: Sangakkara

Rajasthan Royals director of cricket Kumar Sangakkara has said that Chris Morris hasn’t been able to replicate the kind of performance he has had during the first half of the IPL 2021. "Morris has done brilliantly in the first half and he hasn't done as well as he or we would've liked him to in the second half," Sangakkara said in the post-match presser. Morris returned with expensive figures of 0/50 in 4 overs against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in Dubai on Wednesday night. "He knows it and we know it. 50 runs off 4 overs... the last over to me was a throw of the dice to try and get a wicket here or there. We were well out of the game at that point. But he's done well for us in certain parts." The Royals suffered a thumping defeat against RCB after the Bangalore side chased down a target of 150 runs by 7 wickets and in the 18th over. While captain Virat Kohli and opener Devdutt Padikkal provided a steady start and put up a partnership of 48 runs for the first wicket, Striker Bharat and Glenn Maxwell took on the onus on themselves and stitched a stand of 69 runs for the third wicket to help RCB clinch an easy win. Bharat scored 44 off 35 while Maxwell remained unbeaten at 50 in 30 deliveries.

IPL 2021 | RR vs RCB: We have struggled with our batting, admits Kumar Sangakkara

Rajasthan Royals suffered a batting collapse despite getting a brisk start against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Dubai on Wednesday night. While openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Lewis were on a roll and the two batsmen put 77 on the board for the first wicket, none of the other batters got into the groove and the Royals were eventually restricted to 149/9 in 20 overs. Expressing his disappointment on the way the batting unit has fared, RR RR's director of cricket Kumar Sangakkara pointed out that the side was struggling in the Power Plays during the first leg while it has been a vice versa scenario during the second phase. "In the first-half of the tournament in India we were struggling in the power plays and the middle and late-middle order was getting us back into the games. In the second phase we've gone the opposite way," said Sangakkara during the post-match conference. "We're winning the power plays quite comfortably, except in the Delhi game, in the sense we're getting the runs that we need. And then we're not really understanding how to manage the middle and the death. When we get the platform like we did today, 100 runs for 1 after 11 overs, how to kick on from there, get to 180-185 we need to figure,” he added. RCB later rode on some fine piece of batting from the top and middle-order to chase down the target by 7 wickets and in the 18th over. While captain Virat Kohli and opener Devdutt Padikkal provided them with a decent start, a partnership of 69 runs for the third wicket between Striker Bharat and Glenn Maxwell anchored the side to an easy win. Bharat struck 44 off 35 while Maxwell remained unbeaten at 50 off 30 during the course.

AUSW vs INDW | Day-night Test: India in front in pink-ball Test

The Indian women’s team were off to a flying start during the day-night Test against Australia in Queensland before rain halted the play. After being put into bat, openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma provided the visitors with a steady start as the two batters put up a partnership of 93 runs for the first wicket. Verma eventually departed for 31 after getting caught by McGrath off Sophie Molineux. Mandhana on the other side continued with her form and notched up a half-century. India were 101/1 after 33 overs when the first session concluded. The Indian batters were helped by some wayward bowling by the Australian pace department and the fact that they did not find much movement with the pink ball. Just when the Aussies were able to tighten the screws after the floodlights came on, rain halted the play affecting the progression of play. The Australian side bowled only 6.3 overs in the second session before the covers were called and the match was interrupted while the visiting team added 13 runs to the total with Mandhana at 70* and Punam Raut at 8* at the crease. The two teams are facing each other in a Test match after a span of 15 years. While India played a Test against England earlier this year in Bristol, the Aussies last featured in a longer format back in 2019 Ashes. Playing XI India: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Punam Raut, Mithali Raj (c), Yastika Bhatia, Deepti Sharma, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Pooja Vastrakar, Jhulan Goswami, Meghna Singh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad Australia: Alyssa Healy (wk), Beth Mooney, Meg Lanning (c), Ellyse Perry, Tahlia McGrath, Ashleigh Gardner, Annabel Sutherland, Sophie Molineux, Georgia Wareham, Darcie Brown, Stella Campbell

Have not received any complaints against Virat Kohli, BCCI calls out fake media reports

There were reports doing the rounds that some of the senior players had called up Jay Shah and complained about Virat Kohli after the conclusion of the World Test Championship final. But the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) treasurer Arun Dhumal has rubbished the media reports and said that no Indian player made any complaints regarding the matter. “The media must stop writing this rubbish. Let me say this on the record that no Indian cricketer has made any complaint to the BCCI - written or verbal. The BCCI can't keep answering every false report that keeps appearing. The other day, we saw some reports saying there will be changes in India's World Cup squad. Who said that?", BCCI treasurer Dhumal was quoted as saying the Times of India on Wednesday. "This kind of reporting harms Indian cricket more than anything else,” he further added. According to the reports, Test mainstay Cheteshwar Pujara and vice captain Ajinkya Rahane also faced the heat after the WTC final defeat in the dressing room while another cricketer in the side had alleged that Kohli was making him feel insecure in the team. If the sources were to be believed then that player was R Ashwin. Kohli had earlier the announcement that he would be stepping down from the T20I captaincy after the World T20 is over and a number of speculations had been made since then. Though, the right-handed batsman had cited work load as the reason for taking the call.