Motera Stadium renamed as Narendra Modi stadium

Records as a captain mean nothing to me or any other player: Virat Kohli

India skipper Virat Kohli has a chance to surpass MS Dhoni’s record of winning the most number of Tests at home. However, Kohli has made it pretty clear that the numbers don’t really matter to him and it is about winning matches for the team and the country. “Records as a captain mean nothing to me or any other player.” “It is a responsibility given to me and I’m trying to do my best. This has always been the case and will remain the same, as long as I play the game. These are fickle things which look great from outside, doesn’t matter to me as an individual,” Kohli said at the pre-match conference. Talking about the bond with MS, Kohli said that the two players share mutual respect. “We (MS Dhoni) share a great camaraderie, and mutual respect is something you hold very dear to your heart. It is always more important than these milestones. I have a responsibility to keep Team India on top, and the same applies to someone who takes over after me.” “You don’t play for those reasons. We are looking to win both games, and not win this one and draw next. There is no point running too far ahead into the future. Let other people think about the what-ifs.” The four-match Test series against England is presently levelled at 1-1 with the last two encounters scheduled to take place in Ahmedabad.

Déjà vu for Multan all over as Peshawar’s Haider Ali steals the show from Shahnawaz Dhani

Not once, but twice have Multan Sultans lost a game in the 19th over of the second innings, after dominating it for the most part. While they needed to defend 21 against Peshawar Zalmi tonight where they failed, they had also failed to defend 20 against Islamabad United on 21st February in a similar situation. The culprits on both occasions might have been different in name and deeds, but were similar in letting down the expectations of the captain and the team. Sohail Tanvir had conceded 19 in the 19th over against Islamabad to kill the game even before it went to the last over, tonight it was Shahnawaz Dhani. Dhani, a young man from Sindh was entrusted by skipper Mohammad Rizwan to defend 21 from the last two overs. It was expected that the 22-year-old who gave way just eight runs in his previous over and took two crucial wickets of dangermen Sherfane Rutherford and Tom Kohler Cadmore, would curtail the runs and leave more for senior pro, Sohail Tanvir to defend in the last over. Cadmore and Rutherford were taking the game away from Sultans with their seven ball 19 runs partnership. However, the plan turned on its head as Under-19 star Haider Ali smoked a six off the very first ball of the Dhani over to put the young fast bowler under pressure. Dhani then bowled a high bouncer, which threatened to go for four byes behind the wickets, if it wasn't for a great effort from skipper Rizwan with the gloves. Ali, who had also hit Carlos Brathwaite for 13 runs in the 18th over, transferred the responsibility of achieving the target to senior partner Shoaib Malik. Malik, 39, utilised his 20 years of experience and hit Dhani for a six over long-on off a length ball to kill the game. As if all this was not enough, Ali who came to the crease to face the last ball with four runs still required, tonked the overpitched delivery over extra cover to finish things in style with a six. The Attock born remained unbeaten on 25 off just eight balls, while Malik made 11 runs off five balls. While Ali was the show stealer, it was Cadmore who had actually made a game out of the contest for the Zalmi in the first place. The Yorkshire man scored a 32 ball 53 to keep Zalmi in the hunt, even as the required run-rate kept on mounting. He was supported well by Imam-Ul-Haq early on and then by Rutherford. Credit must also be given to Sultan fielders for missing chances in the field. While captain Rizwan missed a stumping chance when Cadmore failed to read a flipper from Shahid Afridi early on in the innings, Rilee Rossouw too let go of an easy run-out chance to dismiss the Englishman. Cadmore was awarded Man of the Match for his brilliant innings. The Zalmi started the run chase in a positive manner as Kamran Akmal counter attacked the Multan pacers and got Peshwar to a flyer. Zalmi had scored 57 in just 6.2 overs before Akmal was trapped by Usman Qadir before the wickets. Qadir turned out to be the most economical Multan bowler giving away just 29 runs in his four overs. Earlier in the evening, put into to bat after losing the toss, Sultans were given a jolt very early in their innings as Chris Lynn failed once again, getting caught in the slips off an outswinger from Mohammad Irfan. James Vince, who came to the crease after this wicket, turned out to be the game-changer for Sultans, scoring a brilliant 84 off 55 balls. He hit nine fours and three sixes in his innings. While he added 82 with Rizwan for the third wicket. Sohaib Maqsood got together with the Englishman to add another 71 off just 40 balls, helping the Multan total to reach 193 at the end of 20 overs. While Rizwan scored 41, Maqsood with the help of four fours and two sixes reached 36 in 21 balls before being removed by Saqib Mahmood. Mahmood was the pick of the bowlers for the Zalmi taking two wickets off his four overs after conceding 24 runs. This win at the National Stadium in Karachi was the first for Zalmi as the Sultans would remain winless heading into their third game on 26th February against Lahore Qalandars, who have won two in two.

Indian women’s team to play South Africa series in Lucknow

The Indian women’s cricket team will begin it’s post-lockdown cricket when they face South Africa women in a home series starting March. It has been revealed that Lucknow, the capital city of North Indian state Uttar Pradesh will host all eight matches in the newly built Atal Bihari Vajpayee Stadium. "It is true that the UPCA (Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association) has been allotted the women's series against South Africa and all the eight games will be played in Lucknow," Shreyans Kartikeya, UPCA's senior manager was quoted as saying to Cricbuzz. Although there is no official announcement, it is expected that the five ODIs will be played on March 7, 10, 12, 14 and 17 respectively. For the T20Is, the dates could be March 20, 22 and 24. The dates are likely to be confirmed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India very soon. Before UPCA, Kerala Cricket Association was offered to host the matches, but it declined the offer citing logistical problems.

PSL 6: Formidable Kings up against challenging Islamabad for early-season bragging rights clash

The Karachi Kings started their season in a brilliant fashion humiliating Quetta Gladiators by seven wickets with more than 37 balls remaining. In their second game, they will be up against an Islamabad United side which proved Pundits wrong to win a game from being seven wickets down and still needing 34 runs off the last four overs. In this game, the two teams, one supremely talented on paper and one gritty to the core will battle it out for early-season bragging rights. This game is also interesting in the sense that Babar Azam, the current skipper of the Pakistan national t20 side will be up against a probable contender for that post in Shadab Khan, the skipper of Islamabad United. Kings look to continue the winning momentum Babar, the prominent stars of Kings hasn’t been in a good nick for quite some time. He failed big time against South Africa in both the limited-overs as well as the Tests, not being able to score even a single hundred in seven innings. Apart from his form, the team looks impeccable with both bowlers and batsmen firing in tandem. Sharjeel Khan is another concern. But looking at his form in the domestic circuit off late, sooner or later he will be the vintage Sharjeel who takes the bowlers to cleaners with the sword in his hand. All eyes would also be on all-rounder Arshad Iqbal who was supremely good with the ball, picking three wickets in the lat game. United to go for course correction in batting Hussain Talat, Asif Ali and Phil Salt, the batsmen who are looked up to by their team to give them a quick and formidable start. Alex Hales was still good and was done by a quick flipper Shahid Afridi. But it is these batsmen along with skipper Shadab himself who need to get going if United are to challenge the might of the Karachi team. Lewis Gregory is a big plus point for the United, being effective both the bat and ball. He needs to bat a bit up the order to be able to fully utilise the deliveries. Apart from their batting, Islamabad also needs to give more overs to Zafar Gohar if they are playing him as a bowling all-rounder. The left-arm spinner bowled only a single over in the last game. Karachi Kings vs Islamabad United: Match Details Match Number- 06 Venue- National Stadium, Karachi Date and Time: 24th February, 07:30 pm IST, 07:00 pm Local, 02:00 pm GMT Broadcast and Live Stream: Sony Ten and Sony LIV Pitch Report In the last five games, three different pitches have been used and all of them have been true wickets, offering plenty of runs to the batsmen if they are able to time the ball, as was exemplified by Mohammad Hafeez in the Quetta vs Lahore match. If bowlers are able to pitch the ball in the right areas, they too are getting the purchase off the wicket. This match would most likely have a new pitch as well. But it would also most likely be a true wicket, a feature of the National Stadium at Karachi. Weather and Toss The Karachi weather seems to have no surprises for guessing as clear skies will be the order of the day. Just like clear skies, dew will also remain a constant forcing skippers to take the field after winning the toss. Probable XIs Karachi Kings Babar Azam, Sharjeel Khan, Joe Clarke (wk), Colin Ingram, Mohammad Nabi, Daniel Christian, Imad Wasim (c), Aamer Yamin, Mohammad Amir, Waqas Maqsood, Arshad Iqbal Islamabad United Alex Hales, Philip Salt (wk), Shadab Khan (c), Hussain Talat, Asif Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Lewis Gregory, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Zafar Gohar, Mohammad Wasim Jr Dream XI / Fantasy XI Alex Hales (vc), Babar Azam (c), Joe Clarke (wk), Asif Ali, Mohammad Nabi, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Arshad Iqbal, Mohammad Amir, Waqas Maqsood