Mohammad Shami calls Babar Azam's comparison with Virat Kohli unfair

PSL 2022 | Islamabad United vs Multan Sultans| Match 8 Preview, Predictions, Fantasy XI

Islamabad got off to a perfect start to their campaign as they thumped Peshawar Zalmi by nine wickets in their opening fixture.

PSL 2022: David Willey shows nerves of steel to win see-saw game against Quetta Gladiators

Englishman David Willey showed nerves of steel in the death overs for the Multan Sultans to escape by the barest of margins against Quetta Gladiators on Monday, 31 January. The left arm swing bowler picked three wickets from his final two overs in the game under tremendous pressure to give Multan Sultans an unlikely victory in the Pakistan Super League. At a time when local stars like Shanawaz Dahani and Imran Khan were being picked apart by some exceptional shot making from Iftikar Ahmed and Sohail Tanvir, Willey took out crucial wickets at the right time to make the difference while defending 175 runs in 20 overs. The game see-sawed throughout the second half as three bowlers from Sultans (Willey, Imran Tahir and Khushdil Shah) took three wickets each and put Quetta under pressure, while others like Dahani and Khan proved to be extremely expensive to give the pressure away. The two went for a total of 76 runs from their combined 5 overs and if it were not for Willey, Sultans would have lost this game by one over to spare. It was heart in the mouth stuff in the final over, when two well struck shots fell right inside the boundary line with Multan defending 8 off the final over, and it left Quetta captain Sarfaraz Ahmed fuming on the touchline . Earlier in the day, Multan lost the services of their captain Mohammad Rizwan early, who was dismissed for a duck for the first time in 37 innings. It was only due to the belligerence of Shan Masood (88 off 58 balls) that Multan were able to stay alive. While the middle order failed to do much, Tim David’s 28 off 16 balls got them over the edge of 170 runs that seems to be safe on the turning surface. This was Multan’s third win in a row and they are maintaining the top position in the league with a healthy runrate of +0.476.

BPL 2022 | Late fightback from Mushfiqur & Yasir not enough to save Khulna against Barishal

Khulna Tigers tried their level best in the final overs of their clash against Fortune Barishal, but came short by six runs on Monday, 31 January. A 79-run partnership between Mushfiqur Rahim and Yasir Ali threatened Barishal in the final minutes, but timely wickets from DJ Bravo and Shafiqul Islam made sure that Khulna did not make an unlikely comeback in the game. Chasing a target of just 146 runs, Khulna were choked by the spin bowling of Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Shakib Al Hasan. The duo bowled an incredible spell of eight overs in the first half of the chase and gave away just 23 runs with two wickets in return. This ended up putting Khulna in a very bad shape at the turn of 10 overs, where they required 111 runs from the final 60 balls. Now that run rate was already at 11, instincts came in, and the best batter in that line-up, Mushfiqur Rahim showed massive intent. He alongside Ali started ticking off at least one boundary every single over. Things started taking turn in the 16th over of the game, where Yasir Ali hit Bravo for a six and a four in the last two balls to state that he was seeing them like footballs out there. With 36 required off the final two, the game see-sawed between boundaries and wickets, but good composure in the field made sure that Barishal did not throw their dominance away. Bravo bowling the final over kept his cool and despite getting hit for a boundary in the second ball, took the prized wicket of Seekkuge Prasanna to put the final nail in the coffin. Earlier in the day, Khulna had a horror start to their game as the opening pair of Dwayne Bravo and Chris Gayle failed to pass single digits. Things kept getting worse with regular wickets, before evergreen Shakib Al Hasan and Najmul Hossain Shanto rebuilt their innings for the good. Shakib scored an excellent 41 off 27 decorated with 3 sixes and 2 fours, while Shanto kept his cool to bat at a strike rate of 112. They could have done much better than 145 in their 20 overs, but a collapse triggered in the 14th over ended them being all out inside the registered 20 overs. With the win, Barishal returned to winning ways, and now stand at third place in the league table. Shakib Al Hasan was adjudged man of the match for his tremendous all round performance.

Sanjay Manjrekar assesses Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara's future for India

Star Indian Test batters Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara have garnered themselves quite a substantial amount of flak, owing to their poor outings with the willow of late. While Pujara has often been criticised for his slow batting, Rahane suffers from inconsistency. While fans and cricket pundits have been calling for their axing from the Indian Test side, the team management has stuck with them during their hard times. After India lost the Test series against South Africa, the questions around their place in the side have deepened further. Speaking to News18, former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar opened up on Rahane and Pujara's future in the red-ball format for the national side. Asserting on Rahane, Manjrekar opined that the player might have already played his last Test match for India. "If I am saying that it is Rahane's last match (3rd Test vs South Africa in Cape Town), people should not wonder why I am saying that. I am sure you say the same thing privately, and the others. It's not about runs but also how someone looks in the field. It's from 2017 that Ajinkya Rahane somewhere has shown that he is a little unsure," Manjrekar was quoted as saying to News18. "You can see it in the way he bats, the way he gets out. That's another thing that gives an indication about a player's game. For example, Virat Kohli is not getting a hundred but he is still putting out the 70s and there is great value in having Virat Kohli before he discovers form. So Rahane for me is clearly somebody that has a shelf life that is over,” the former Mumbai batsman added. Citing ex-Indian legend Javagal Srinath's example, Manjrekar implied that by giving more opportunities to Rahane, the team management will shorten the career of a young player. "And the other thing is when you see senior players, you are cutting the rope for younger players. Javagal Srinath in his prime was sitting out of the playing XI because the selectors were giving a longer rope to some senior players. It's also important that selectors have to keep everyone in Indian cricket who is in contention in mind. So I'll be surprised if Ajinkya Rahane gets picked for obvious reasons; selectors should look at someone beyond him," the cricketer-turned-commentator stated. Referring to Pujara, Manjrekar believed that the 34-year-old batter still has something to contribute to Indian cricket as the number three batter in the Indian lineup. "Pujara is interesting, he's coming close to 100 Test matches. It will need a very unemotional selector to leave him out. And I personally have more time for Pujara than Rahane. This is from observing the way they bat. No other reason. I feel there is something left in Pujara, but Rahane, if I would have been the selector, would have been out of my plans two years back," he concluded. With India now scheduled to play their next Test match under a new leader, it would interesting to see how they deal with the conundrum surrounding the two seasoned cricketers.