SL vs IND | Sanju Samson recovers from knee injury, to be considered for third ODI

Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowls first no-ball since October 2015

Bhuveshwar Kumar has bowled his first no-ball after a very long period of time and 3093 balls across formats of the game. He bowled the no-ball on what was to be the first ball of the fifth over in the second ODI between India and Sri Lanka. He last overstepped in October 2015 and it establishes his discipline as a bowler. Bhuvneshwar has suffered many repetitive injuries over the last few years but his utility as a bowler has not been lost on the Indian team management. He has been known for swinging the ball since making his debut against Pakistan in 2012 but over time developed many variations to succeed at the highest level. He has played 118 games before the second ODI against Sri Lanka and has taken 138 wickets with an economy rate of 5.03 runs per over and an average of 34.53. He made a comeback against England earlier this year after suffering an ankle injury in the IPL last year. He troubled the powerful England batsmen with his swing and control with the white ball in the three-match long ODI series and five-match long T20 series. He has not been included in the Test squad for the tour of England and hence the selectors have been promoted to Vice-captaincy for the ongoing tour of Sri Lanka where India are playing under the leadership of Shikhar Dhawan.

Mithali Raj regains top spot on ODI Rankings, Smriti Mandhana jumps to third on T20 rankings

India Women ODI skipper Mithali Raj has regained the top position on the ICC Women's ODI Player Rankings for batters after a good series with the bat against England. She has topped South Africa Women’s Lizelle Lee and Australia Women’s Alyssa Healy. Mithali has jumped to 762 rating points while Lizelle and Healy are close to each other at 758 and 756 points respectively. Mithali had an outstanding series with the bat and scored 205 runs in the three-match long series with an astounding average of 103. Meanwhile, India Women opener Smriti Mandhana has broken into the top three of the ICC Rankings for batters in T20 format. The rankings list is topped by India’s Shafali Varma while Mandhana has surged to third on the table. She had scored 119 runs in the three-match T20 series against England. She had scores of 70, 20 and 29 in the three games of the series. In the bowling department, Jhulan Goswami and Poonam Yadav find themselves in the top 10 on the list of the ICC ODI Rankings for bowlers. Goswami has earned the fifth spot while Yadav has surged to the ninth position on the table. In the ranking list for all-rounders, India Women have a solitary entry in the form of Deepti Sharma who finds herself at the fifth position.

IRE vs SA | 1st T20I: Shamsi rattles Ireland batting as South Africa take 1-0 lead

South Africa took a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series against Ireland in Dublin after beating the hosts by 33 runs in the first clash. Chasing 166, Ireland were restricted to 132/9 in 20 overs. Spinner Tabraiz Shamsi rattled the Irish batting line up and scalped a four-wicket haul while Lungi Ngidi and George Linde bagged a couple of wickets each. The home side began the proceedings in a disappointing manner after losing early wickets and never really looked in control. Ireland were struggling at 88/9 when Barry McCarthy and Joshua Little chipped in with some runs at the end of the innings. The two built an unbeaten partnership of 44 runs for the last wicket. McCarthy remained not out for 30 off 25 while Little scored 15* off 18. But their stand didn’t really help Ireland and the Andrew Balbirnie-led side lost the match eventually. Harry Tector top-scored for them with 36 off 34. Earlier, South Africa had a decent start to the innings but then lost their way in the middle overs and were reduced to 115/5 before David Miller along with Linde steadied the ship for the side. The two scored 28 runs for the sixth wicket before Linde departed for 10 off 13. Miller followed him soon and was dismissed for 28. But a late surge from Kagiso Rabada who notched up 19* off 9 helped the Proteas score 165/7 in 20 overs. South Africa captain Bavuma admitted that the side needed to score some more runs. “Would have like to get a bit more. I felt 180 was a par score, but we always backed our bowling. Super happy with the bowling. Bowling has been our strength and we hope it continues to be that way. It helps to have a mystery spinner in the line-up. Shamsi is able to control the middle overs. Linde striking in the powerplay was good,” he said. The two teams will now meet each other in the second encounter in Belfast on Thursday.

WI vs AUS | 1st ODI: Aaron Finch ruled out, Alex Carey to lead the side

Wicket-keeper batsman Alex Carey will lead Australia in the first ODI against West Indies after regular limited-overs captain Aaron Finch was ruled out. The right-handed batsman had sustained a knee injury in the fifth T20I against the Caribbean side while batting and his availability would now be assessed on a "day to day basis,” Cricket Australia said in a release. Carey said that he is honoured to lead the Aussie side in Finch’s absence. "I am deeply honoured to be able to lead the team while Aaron recovers," Carey said. "To captain Australia is one of the greatest privileges in sport and an honour I am extremely thankful to receive,” he added. "Finchy is our captain and we will welcome him back with open arms when he is fully fit, so for now I hope I can fill the role to his extremely high standards. To lead this group against the West Indies in the West Indies is a great challenge and one I very much look forward to for as long as I have the opportunity." Australia suffered a 1-4 defeat in the five-match T20I series and would look to turn the tables in the ODI fixtures. The three-match series is slated to begin on July 21 in Barbados and all the games will be played at the same venue.