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Ravichandran Ashwin Rattles Somerset Bags 627 In County Match Ahead Of Test Series

Ravichandran Ashwin rattles Somerset, bags 6/27 in county match ahead of Test series

Ace Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin got a much-needed bowling practice ahead of the five-match Test series against England and tormented the Somerset batting line-up during a county championship game while plying his trade for Surrey. Ashwin returned with figures of 6/27 in the second innings to bowl out Somerset for a paltry score of just 69 runs.

On the back of his stupendous spell of spin bowling, Surrey managed to bounce back strongly in the county championship encounter after conceding a massive lead of 189 runs. It was spin bowling of the highest order from Ashwin as he ran past the Somerset batting line-up with his guile and variations.

Ashwin bagged the wicket of Steven Davis up front to open the floodgates for a dramatic collapse. He floated the ball around the off stump area and Davis went fishing for it. The ball turned enough to take the outside edge and the keeper held onto a good catch. Soon after he bagged the wicket of Tom Lammonby as the left-handed batsman went for a reverse sweep and gloved the flighted delivery straight to the slip fielder.

James Hildreth was his third scalp and a faster off-break breached his defence and struck him plumb in front. Ashwin used his variations brilliantly and none of the batsmen had any answer to his mastery. George Bartlett was his next scalp as he turned one into the right-hander and breached his defence as the batsman was in two minds whether to leave or play.

A faster carrom ball brought about the downfall of Roelof van der Merwe as he was struck right adjacent to the stumps. Bem Green was Ashwin’s final scalp as the tweaker bowled a brilliant off break which turned sharply and went through the gap between the bat and the pad and disturbed the timbers.

Courtesy his superb spell, Somerset stands a realistic chance of chasing the target of 259 runs. When the piece was written, Somerset needed 230 more runs to win with 8 wickets in hand.

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Zimbabwe spinner Roy Kaia reported for suspect bowling action

Zimbabwe all-rounder Roy Kaia has been reported for suspect bowling action by the on-field umpires during the one-off Test against Bangladesh which resulted in a comprehensive victory for the visiting Bangladesh side. Off-spinner Kaia bowled 23 overs during the course of two innings without any success. He had a torrid time with the bat failing to get off the mark in either of the innings as Bangladesh thrashed Zimbabwe by 220 runs. It won’t be possible for Kaia to get his assessment done at an ICC accredited testing centre due to the stringent rules in place owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, an expert panel will look into the available video footage of the spinner and take a decision. Kaia can continue bowling in international cricket until the panel gives their decision. His debut for Zimbabwe way back in 2015 in an ODI against Pakistan remains his only white-ball outing for the national team to date. He was included in the Test squad earlier this year which played Pakistan and has played three matches so far. Despite picking more than 100 wickets at the domestic level Kaia is yet to bag an international wicket. Riding on a brilliant knock from Mahmudullah, Bangladesh posted a huge score of 488 in their first innings. Despite a sensational start from the Zimbabwe top order, they failed to rest home the initiative and from a comfortable position of 224/2, they were skittled out for 276 and there was no way back for them. Shadman Islam and Nazmul Hossain Shanto scored centuries in the second innings to set Zimbabwe a daunting target. They were bowled out for 256 with Taskin Ahmed and Mehidy Hasan bagging four wickets each.

We have a lot of work to do as a batting unit says Smriti Mandhana

Indian women’s team opener Smriti Mandhana heaped praises on her teammates hailing them for a sensational turnaround in the second T20I against England and showing character after going 0-1 down. It was a dramatic comeback from the Indian Women’s team in the final stretch of the second T20I against hosts England to level the three-match series 1-1. The Indian bowling cartel especially the spinners spun a web around the English batters especially in the final few overs of the match to hand India a 8 runs victory to force the series into a decider which is slated to be held on July 14 (Wednesday). "It was a very important win for the team, especially with the way we came back in the last five overs... to win that match," Mandhana said on Tuesday ahead of the final match of the multi-format tour. "That showed a lot of character from the bowlers and also the fielders... winning the second match - especially the way we came back in the last five overs - showed a lot of character. That was something which was needed. The way we played in the third one-day and again in the second T20, that is something which was much needed, that confidence is going to really help us. But we all know that it's going to be a new day tomorrow. So we won't have anything but the confidence is going to be high for our girls to go out there and give a hundred percent and probably win the match,” she added. After batting first, India posted a challenging 148/4 on the board in their allotted 20 overs courtesy a sensational start provided by openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma. The duo shared a 70 runs stand in less than 9 overs to lay the foundation for the rest of the batters. Shafali Verma who was dismissed by Katherine Brunt in the series opener got her revenge by smashing Brunt for five consecutive boundaries. Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma chipped in with crucial knocks to get India near the 150 mark. England were well and truly coasting towards the victory target when the spin trio of Deepti Sharma, Poonam Yadav and Sneh Rana turned the match on it’s head with their skilful bowling. England could eventually muster just 24 runs in the final 6 overs thus surrendering the match by 8 runs. "Harry [Harmanpreet Kaur] coming back (to form) and hitting a few balls - that's a very good thing for the Indian team. The win was really important and it also puts us in a position to win the T20I series in the next match and draw the multi-format series, Mandhana said. "There are lots of things we need to work on as a team, especially in the batting department. Going forward, the next seven months are going to be really crucial. We have to start putting up good scores. If I talk about the one-day format, we have to start posting 250/260-plus scores when you are batting first consistently. Of course, our bowling and fielding can get consistent. We are probably having one good performance and probably one which is 'okay'. I think we can be consistent in that department. So the next seven months are going to be very crucial to get ourselves completely ready for the one-day World Cup. Of course, the Australia series is also going to be big in terms of preparations for the World Cup,” she further added.

Fabian Allen breaks into top 10 of bowler’s rankings, Babar Azam attain best-ever rating point

West Indian spinner Fabian Allen has risen up 16 places to break into the top 10 of the T20I bowler’s rankings. This has come on the back o back to back brilliant series that the left-arm spinner has had with his national team against South Africa and Australia respectively. The 26-year-old has represented Windies in 17 ODIs and 26 T20Is since making his debut in 2018. In total the Jamiac born has taken 24 wickets and scored 378 runs. In the latest ODI rankings, Pakistan captain Babar Azam consolidated his position at the top with a career-best 158 that he scored in the final ODI of the three-match series against England at Edgbaston. Courtesy that, the 25-year-old skipper has now achieved a career-best 873 rating point, which is 16 more than India captain Virat Kohli, who occupies second place in the table. Among the other gainers in the ICC Test rankings is Bangladesh’s Mehidy Hasan Miraz. He has moved to the 26th spot in the bowler’s ranking after claiming a nine-wicket match haul including a five-for in the first innings against Zimbabwe.

SL vs IND | SLC launches disciplinary action against Covid positive batting coach Grant Flower

The Sri Lanka Cricket is thinking of launching disciplinary action against batting coach Grant Flower after it was found that the latter had contracted Covid-19 while on tour with the team in England. It was also found out that even after testing positive for the virus, the former Zimbabwe player mingled with players during self-isolation in a hotel in Sri Lanka. This action by the coach further infuriated the board which is trying its best to get the series against India going. The Sri Lankan players will now undergo another round of RT-PCR tests before being declared to take the field against India. The white ball tour of India comprising of three ODIs and an equal number of T20Is, supposed to start from July 13 onwards was postponed after a Sri Lankan team Analyst and the batting coach tested positive on their return from England. “We have to find out how Flower got infected, and also which variant of the virus he has been infected with," an SLC official on account of anonymity was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo. The series, now slated to start from July 18 is under the pump and it would require a great effort from the SLC to pull this off without further embarrassments.