Rahul sir asked us not to watch our IPL auctions: Shubman Gill

One man's trash is another man's treasure

CSK's vacancy for an Indian opener and Robin Uthappa's flair seems to be a match made in heaven

BBL10 | Preview: Last chance for Hurricanes; Wade’s men must do or die against Sixers

The Hobart Hurricanes under their original captain Matthew Wade lost the very first game against the Perth Scorchers in a situation where they could have won, had their batsmen applied themselves more on the crease. This time around they have another shot at the target thanks to the loss of Melbourne Stars against the Perth Scorchers. On the other hand, the Sixers after the humiliating loss to Thunder would be egged to showcase to the fans and the entire BBL teams that they are still the best in the league, especially after the rise of the Scorchers in the recent past. Malan and McDermott cannot fail at the same time For Hurricanes to succeed they cannot afford both of their best batsmen in Ben McDermott and Dawid Malan to fail at the same time in the same game. Be it two games against the Perth Scorchers or a game against the Sixers, whenever the two have failed together, Hurricanes have been in deep trouble. On the contrary, when the two have succeeded, the Men in Purple too have seen success. It is therefore important for Hurricanes that the two men apply themselves and see the Hurricanes team through. Sixers would be anxious to show their best The Sixers on the other hand would try and lessen their mistakes which they committed against the Thunder, which were not bowling the right length. Another problem with the Sixers was that they could not deal with the pressure when the Thunder were hitting them all over the park and all these things are not associated with Sixers of this season. Daniel Hughes’ men would therefore try and put their best foot forward in this game. With Moises Henriques back and Sean Abbott surely playing in the next game, these stars would also have it in their mind to perform as per their ability and hence would be anxious to prove that their team is still the toughest to beat in the league. Sixers vs Hurricanes Match Number- 52 Date and Time- Jan 24, 2021, 01:45:00 pm IST, 07:15pm Local, 08.15 am GMT Venue- Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne Broadcast- Sony LIV, Sony Sports Network Pitch Report The MCG pitches in all the last three games have been similar to high scoring games in offer. In such a case this pitch is supposed to show similar traits and thus a high scoring affair is in the offing for the audiences at the Big G. Weather and Bat Flip The weather in Melbourne is going to be a bit hotter than usual and in the evening time, there would be 60% cloud coverage. The team winning the toss in such a situation would like to bat first and utilize the fresh pitch to score as much as they can. Hurricanes Strongest XI D’Arcy Short, Matthew Wade (c), Ben McDermott (wk), Dawid Malan, Tim David, Tim Paine, Will Jacks, Nathan Ellis, Scott Boland, Riley Meredith, Sandeep Lamichhane Sixers Strongest XI Josh Philippe (wk), James Vince, Daniel Hughes (c), Moises Henriques, Jordan Silk, Daniel Christian, Carlos Brathwaite, Sean Abbott, Steve OKeefe, Jackson Bird, Lloyd Pope

BBL 10 | Perth Scorchers storm into qualifiers winning three on a trot

In a remarkable story of revival in the history of the Big Bash League, Perth Scorchers have hounded out the other franchises to storm into the top the table. After bagging just one point from their first four encounters, Perth turned the tables around winning eight matches from their last nine games. After defeating Melbourne Stars in a thrilling encounter on Saturday, 23 January, Perth qualified for the playoff stages of the current Big Bash season. In a nervy match that went till the final over, Perth successfully defended 183 runs put on board by their international recruits Jason Roy (54 off 32) and Colin Munro (46 off 30). Speaking after the game, man of the match Roy lauded the ability of the team’s ability to come back in the press conference and spoke about how strong Perth is as a group. “Massive turnaround. Lovely feeling having got this fifty. After the start we had. we were down in the dumps. Takes a strong group to come back. We have shown great character in the change room. We've adapted really well,” said Roy. Andrew Tye was the pick among the bowlers for Perth Scorchers picking up two crucial wickets of Nathan Coulter-Nile, (7 off 4) and Nick Larkin (70 off 44) who was looking in ominous touch. He was ably supported by Jason Behrendorff who picked up a wicket maiden, a rarity in T20 cricket. Barring Larkin, no other Stars’ batsmen looked in good touch and failed to provide the support Larkin needed. Glenn Maxwell’s poor patch continued with him getting dismissed for a duck after surviving three balls. Earlier in the day, Stars inability to pick wickets at the MCG meant that they were unable to keep the run rate in check. Scoring at a steady rate of over eight, eight and a half per over, the Jason Roy-led assault took Scorchers to a comfortable 182. This game turned out to be a big jolt to Stars’ top four push, who now struggle at the fifth place with 24 points, eight points behind the top two teams. The Big Bash is nearing its business end and with just six group-stage matches left, Sydney Thunder and Adelaide Strikers find themselves at a good spot to seal the last two positions.

BBL10 | Preview: Thunder face strikers in a potential quarterfinal for the Playoffs

Sydney Thunder, after their last game victory against the Sixers, would be in high spirits and would like to cash on to it when they face Adelaide Strikers, another team that would be coming on the back of a great over the Heat. Playing at home, the Strikers would not be an easy pushover and hence the game is tantalizing an exciting watch not only for the fans of these two teams but that too of the Stars and Hurricanes as well, as their convention for a place in the Playoffs would depend on the results of most other games from now onwards. Hales is key for Thunder Although it will be a home game for Thunder which is happening at the home of the opposition due to covid-19 protocols, the way Alex Hales performed in the last game, surely doesn’t feel like away from home for him. In the entire tournament, Thunder have won those games where Hales has performed well. Banking on that, the Thunder would like him to keep on going for the next two games as they would be missing the services of another of their best performers, Daniel Sams in the next two games. Apart from Hales, skipper Callum Ferguson and Sam Billings too have been good touch, and their contribution with the bat, especially against a side that has got brilliant bowlers like Wes Agar and Peter Siddle is going to be crucial. Carey and Agar: The two driving horses of Strikers' chariot If Adelaide Strikers want is to have their one foot into the Playoffs, it is going to be through the bat of Alex Carey and the ball of Wes Agar. They have been brilliant throughout the series and Agar is one of the leading wicket-takers in the tournament with 21 wickets in 12 innings. Similarly, Carey is one of the leading run-scorers and one of the biggest match-winners as well. Strikers then would bank on these two players even as they have other match-winners in skipper Travis Head, Siddle, and even Danny Briggs the left-arm spinner who could dart in yorkers as well. Thunder vs Strikers: Match Details Match Number- 51 Date and Time- Jan 23, 2021, 10:35:00 am IST, 04:05pm Local, 05.05 am GMT Venue- Adelaide Oval Broadcast- Sony LIV, Sony Sports Network Pitch Report The pitch at the oval in Adelaide as evident from the last match is a totally T20 wicket with the ball coming on to the bat very nicely and it seemed like a graveyard for the bowlers, especially when Hales was murdering their balls. On that basis, the pitch would provide a good contest as both the teams have amazing batters in their ranks. Weather and Bat Flip The skies are going to be laden with clouds and overcast conditions might help fast bowlers early on. Thankfully there is no chance of rain and thus a full game is in sight for us. The skipper winning the flip would however like to field first as it would help him utilize the overcast conditions. Thunder Strongest XI Usman Khawaja, Alex Hales, Callum Ferguson (c), Sam Billings (wk), Oliver Davies, Ben Cutting, Nathan McAndrew, Chris Green, Adam Milne, Brendan Doggett, Tanveer Sangha Strikers Strongest XI Alex Carey (wk), Jake Weatherald, Philip Salt, Travis Head (c), Matt Renshaw, Ryan Gibson, Michael Neser, Danny Briggs, Wes Agar, Liam O Connor, Peter Siddle