NZ vs BAN | Very special to have Southee with me: Trent Boult on picking 300 Test wickets

BBL 2021-22: Alex Hales anchors Sydney Thunder to thumping win over Hobart Hurricanes

Sydney Thunder rode on an emphatic batting display from Alex Hales to beat Hobart Hurricanes by 9 wickets in Melbourne on Monday. Chasing 140 in 20 overs, Matthew Gikes and Hales started off in a decent manner as the two put 34 runs for the first wicket before Gikes was sent back in the hut by D Arcy Short for a 17-ball 19. Hales was then joined by Jason Sangha and the two batsmen stitched an unbeaten stand of 106 runs for the side. While Hales remained unbeaten at 80 off 56, Sangha was not out for 35 off 31 during the course as Sydney Thunder went over the line in the 18th over. Earlier, in the day, Caleb Jewell was dismissed for an 8-ball 4 but Ben McDermott and captain Handscomb then put up a partnership of 53 runs for the second wicket. McDermott was eventually dismissed for 38 off 34 and that certainly broke the shackles as the Hurricanes lost the plot. They kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were restricted to 139/6 in 20 overs. Gurinder Sandhu and McAndrew picked up a couple of wickets each for their side. Hales, who was later adjudged man of the match, insisted that it was important to get the eye in first. “It was very difficult to start on. Once you faced 20-25 balls, got a bit easier. That made the partnership even more important. We just wanted to take it as deep as we can an then cash in in the Surge, that's what happened. Had a lot of downtime, New Year's and my birthday in isolation. Tried to enjoy myself as much as I could and tried to remain fresh. It was a slow start, had to find my form, pleased to have done that,” he said after the match.

NZ vs BAN | 2nd Test | Day 2: Hosts put up all-round show to take charge against Bangladesh

New Zealand continued their dominance against Bangladesh in the second Test in Christchurch after piling up a huge total of 521/6 (D) and then bundling out the visitors for 126 in the first innings. The Blackcaps had concluded the first day's proceedings at 349/1 with Tom Latham at 186* and Devon Conway at 99*. The two batters though couldn’t really add much to their partnership on the second day as Conway was run out for 109 with the team score reading 363/2. Latham was then joined by Ross Taylor in the middle and stitched a partnership of 48 runs with him before Taylor departed for 28. The hosts then lost a couple of quick wickets but Latham went on to notch up 252 during the course. The wicket-keeper batsman Tom Blundell also chipped in with an unbeaten fifty. Later, the New Zealand pacers rattled the Bangladesh batting unit as Trent Boult scalped a fifer while Tim Southee picked up three wickets and Kyle Jamieson had two to his name. The visitors had a struggling start as they lost early wickets and were left tottering at 27/5. Yasir Ali and Nurul Hasan then tried to provide some resistance to the team and put up a partnership of 60 runs but Hasan was eventually sent back for 41 by Southee. Yasir scored a fifty for his side but that wasn’t really enough as the visiting team was bowled out and now trail by 395 runs. The left-arm pacer Boult completed 300 Test wickets with this five-wicket haul, said that the milestones don’t really matter and also explained how the track had good amount of pace and bounce on offer. “Milestones don't really matter, there are some big names in this list. There was a good amount of pace and bounce on this wicket, enjoyed bowling on the surface - with Southee in, gives us a left-right combination well. Yes, we're in a great position. It's just about bowling with line and length, there is always something on offer from the pitch. It helped that the boys got a good total on the board as well,” he said after the day’s play. New Zealand presently trail the two-match series 0-1.

The Ashes | Cummins not in favour of dropping Khawaja, says he can bat anywhere from 1-6

Australia skipper Pat Cummins is in no mood to drop an in-form Usman Khawaja after he hit twin centuries in the Sydney Test, which Australia couldn’t win, unfortunately. The fast bowler believes that Khawaja is in such a nick that he could bat at any position from opening to number six. "I'll preface it by saying I'm not a selector, but when someone comes out and hits twin hundreds, it's pretty hard to go past them for the week after,” Cummins said in the post-match press conference. Cummins’ comment that Khawaja could bat anywhere from 1-6 means that Marcus Harris, who hasn’t really shone in the fours Tests so far, might be in danger of losing his place as an opener in the XI. And it was clear from Cummins’ next statement. “We'll work through that, the selectors will work through that the next few days. But when someone's running hot, has got a heap of experience like Uzzy, the way he plays is fantastic,” said Cummins. "I felt like he could replace any batter from one to six. I know there's been question marks historically on him playing over in Asia but you see how well he's played spin recently - reverse sweeping, sweeping - he's just someone who's in total command of his game. That's why you love experience,” he added further. Khawaja played in the Sydney Test as a replacement to Travis Head, who would be fit to play in the Hobart Test. The Hobart Test, which would be the last in the five-match series, will begin from Friday, January 14 and would be a day-night affair.

I don’t function that way: Venkatesh Iyer on being compared to Hardik Pandya

Venkatesh Iyer who received his maiden India ODI call-up when the team was announced for the South Africa tour, said that he is not in the team in anyone’s place, but he is there because he deserves to be there. Talking to a popular Newspaper, Iyer was asked if he would be able to fill Hardik Pandya’s shoes, as he is basically being groomed as a finisher who could bowl 6-7 overs of fast bowling as well. Answering that, the 27-year-old said, "I'm not here to fill anyone's shoes.” “I want to contribute to the team's victory, and that's my mindset. I'm not thinking that a certain player would come back or that he's not in the team, that's why I'm in the side. That's not how I function. I believe that I'm in the team because I can bat and bowl,” he added further. Asked about how he has prepared himself to play on the bouncy tracks of South Africa, Iyer, who shot to fame because of a terrific second leg of the IPL 2021, said, "I think I've played a lot on bouncy tracks. The best thing about playing domestic cricket is that you get to play on a variety of tracks. In India, we have a lot of tracks where there's extra bounce. All my practice procedures are set, and I'm keeping up with them.” The Madhya Pradesh player was seen bowling a lot in the recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy and he even picked nine wickets in six games. Asked about whether and how he will convince skipper KL Rahul to bowl him more, Iyer said, "It's not about convincing, but it's at the back of the captain and coach's mind to make me bowl more, and whenever I get the opportunity to bowl, I'll definitely try to give my best." Rahul will lead the Indian side in the three-match series as Rohit Sharma, the newly appointed ODI skipper was not available for the tour due to injury.