SL vs WI | 1st Test: Embulduniya takes Lanka to victory after great resistance by Bonner and Da Silva

IND vs NZ | 1st Test, Day 1: Shreyas Iyer hits fifty on Test debut to keep India ahead

Shreyas Iyer announced his arrival on the big stage with a hardworking fifty on the first day of the first Test against New Zealand in Kanpur. He walked out bat in the middle when Cheteshwar Pujara was edged behind by Tim Southee and he stitched valuable partnerships with Ajinkya Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja. He got off the mark on the eight ball with a lofted shot that has been his trademark in the shortest formats of the game but quickly settled his nerves to play some crips shots off the spinners. He was not afraid to take on the bowing and was particularly severe against the left-arm spin of Rachin Ravindra and Ajaz Patel. His unbeaten partnership so far with Jadeja has taken India beyond the 200-run mark in the first innings of the first Test. He was introduced to the Test squad as India were without their skipper Virat Kohli for the first Test and the injury to KL Rahul and shifting of Shubman Gill to the top of the order opened the door for him.

Sajid Khan, Abdullah Shafique named in Pakistan’s 12 man squad for first Test against Bangladesh

The Pakistan team announced a 12 man squad for the first test against Bangladesh starting on November 26 at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram. The team has named two youngsters in the squad in form of batter Abdullah Shafique and off-spinner Sajid Khan. The team would be led by Babar Azam as usual and would have the experience of Mohammad Rizwan, Fawad Alam and Azhar Ali while Faheem Ashraf, who missed out on the three T20Is and also the T20 World Cup, would be back in the international arena after having recovered from an injury. The two other pacers in the 12 are Shaheen Afridi and Hasan Ali, the two bowlers who have taken more than 50 wickets this year for Pakistan. Imam-ul-Haq has been named as an opener in the side but it would be interesting to see if he keeps his place on the side. Pakistan 12 man squad Babar Azam (Captain), Mohammad Rizwan - Vice-captain (wicketkeeper), Abdullah Shafique, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi The second Test will commence on Saturday, 4 December at Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium Mirpur, Dhaka.

SL vs WI | 1st Test: Fifties from Da Silva, Bonner, overcast conditions keep Windies in the game

When West Indies finished the fourth day on a score of 52-6 with Sri Lanka needing only four wickets on the last day at Galle to win the first Test of the two-match series between the two teams, nobody would have given the Caribbeans any chance to survive even the first hour. However, surprising all the cricket pundits, not only did Nkrumah Bonner and Joshua Da Silva, the unbeaten pair from the fourth day survive the first hour, but even went on to add 66 more runs to their 34 run partnership from the previous day and thus add 100 runs for the sixth wicket. Da Silva did get out just before lunch, but not before completing a fighting fifty. Most importantly, he played 129 balls to score his 54 runs. However, Sri Lanka’s thought that they might now induce false shots from the upcoming tail were dashed as Rahkeem Cornwall joined with Bonner and the pairing have so far added 20 runs and most importantly have kept Sri Lankan spinners wicketless for 11 overs. Bonner also completed his fifty, his third in Test cricket courtesy of this partnership. At the time of writing this piece, Bonner was batting on 55 off 190 balls, while Cornwall remained unbeaten on 7 off 35 balls. Apart from some dogged batting approach from the West Indian batters, Sri Lanka would also have to keep an eye on the skies as they are filled with grey clouds threatening to burst at any time and ruin the home side’s chances of a victory. As of now, 47 overs are still to be bowled and West Indies are 140-7.

IND vs NZ | 1st Test, Day 1: Shubman Gill hits fifty, but Kyle Jamieson keeps Blackcaps in game

New Zealand have made their way back on the first day of the ongoing first Test against India in Kanpur with big wickets of Shubman Gill and Cheteshwar Pujara in quick succession. Kyle Jamieson was the pick of the Kiwi’s bowler and picked up both the opener Mayank Agarwal and Shubman Gill to deny India the chance to get away with the game. He first tested Agarwal outside his off stump continuously before finally getting the edge of his bat to the wicketkeeper Tom Blundell. After his fall, Gill played some crips drives and lofted shots off the left-arm spin bowling of Ajaz Patel and reached his third fifty in the longest format. He and Cheteshwar Pujara took India to lunch without any further damage. He looked all set for a big score and was batting fluently before Jamieson came back right after the lunch interval to sneak through his defence. Gill’s departure brought the under-pressure duo of Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, who is leading the side in absence of Virat Kohli together at the crease. Both batted with some control as New Zealand spinners offered them loose deliveries to capitalise on. However, Kane Williamson quickly switched back to his pacers and introduced Tim Southee from one end and he produced the much-needed wicket of Pujara to take his 350th wicket in the format and left India in some sort of trouble. The debutant Shreyas Iyer and Rahane have the task of leading the hosts to a good total in the first innings. Notably, they are without Rishabh Pant and they don’t have any specialist batsman left behind them in the playing XI.