Sourav Ganguly's brother Snehasish admitted to hospital

ENG vs IND | 2nd Test: Playing at Lord's brings the best out of me, says James Anderson

England pacer James Anderson bagged another five-wicket haul at Lord’s, his seventh at the venue in his Test career. The right-arm bowler has said that Lord’s is “extra bit special” and brings the best out of him. “There’s something that is extra bit special about Lord’s, certainly for me. I do love it here. It just seemed to bring the best out of me,” said Anderson. Anderson’s scalps included the wickets of Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah in the first innings. Talking about his career, the fast bowler said that he is hoping to play at Lord’s one more time. “The last few times I’ve been here you do think ‘is this the last time I’m going to play here?’ Hopefully, it’s not my last time here or my last time on the honours board,” he said. The visitors rode on some brilliant batting from KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja to post 364. In reply, England were 119/3, trailing India by 245 runs when the stumps were called on Day 2 of the second Test. Captain Joe Root was unbeaten at 48 while Rory Burns was dismissed for 49. Mohammed Siraj scalped a couple of wickets for India before the day’s play was concluded.

Rahane, Pujara are world-class players & know how to get back among runs: KL Rahul

India opener KL Rahul has put his weight behind Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara who are going through a rough patch for quite sometime now. Rahul who scored a brilliant century in the first innings of the on-going second Test at Lord’s against England has said that both Rahane and Pujara are world-class and experienced players and have helped India come out of a tricky situation on a number of occasions in the past. “Pujara and Ajinkya have done the job for India many times when we were in trouble. They are world-class and experienced players so they know how to come out of a couple of innings where they haven’t scored runs,” Rahul said at the press conference after the second day’s play. The right-handed batsman further put the onus on the conditions and said that it’s tough to get runs in England. “You have also to realise they are playing in tough conditions. In English conditions batting is always going to be challenging, you are going to get good balls. You can’t go out there and score runs in every innings, but if you get a start you make it count,” he added. While Rahane was dismissed for 1 in the first innings of this on-going Test, Pujara just managed to get 9 before he was sent back to the pavilion. However, India rode on some fine batting from Rahul, Rohit and Jadeja to put 364 before getting bowled out in the first innings. England on the other hand had a cautious start to the proceedings but eventually lost wickets to end Day 2 at 119/3 with captain Joe Root at the crease at 48 and Bairstow at 6, trailing India by 245 runs.

Unmukt Chand signs deal with Silicon Valley Strikers for 2021 season of MLC

Former India U19 captain Unmukt Chand who had retired from Indian cricket will now be a part of Minor League Cricket (MLC) in the USA. The right-handed batsman will play for Silicon Valley Strikers for the 2021 season. “I’m delighted to take the next step in my cricket career by being part of the long-term growth of American cricket and the launch of Major League Cricket,” said Chand. Chand who led India U19 to a World Cup win back in 2012 further added that he was excited to play for the Strikers. “I’m excited to have the opportunity to play for the Strikers in Minor League Cricket starting this weekend and help grow the sport locally in the Bay Area, where I have already seen impressive passion for the game of cricket,” he added. The right-hander announced his retirement in a social media post. “Cricket is a universal game and even though the means might change, the end goal is still the same- to play at the highest level. Also, a huge thanks to all my supporters and well wishers for always carrying me in their heart. There is no better feeling than being loved and appreciated for who you are,” he wrote. The Toyota Minor League Cricket Championship was launched this summer and is a national T20 tournament which will see 27 city-based teams from across the United States battling it out. The tournament will have more than 200 matches taking place at 26 venues and will feature over 400 players.

WI vs PAK | Day 2: Brathwaite, Holder script fightback to help Windies take first innings lead

West Indies had a terrible start to the proceedings in the first innings of the first Test against Pakistan in Jamaica after they lost two wickets for two runs before the end of first day’s play. But captain Kraigg Brathwaite along with Roston Chase steadied the ship for the home side on Day 2 as the two batsmen stitched a stand of 49 runs for the third wicket before Chase was sent back in the hut for 21 by Hasan Ali. Brathwaite then put 49 runs with Jermaine Blackwood for the fourth wicket but the partnership was broken by Shaheen Afridi who removed Blackwood for 22. The hosts then lost Kyle Mayers on the very first delivery that he faced after getting trapped in front of the stumps by Shaheen leaving his team in a spot of bother at 100/5. The skipper was later joined by the experienced Jason Holder in the middle. Both the batsmen resisted well and helped West Indies come out of a critical situation with a 96-run stand for the sixth wicket. While Holder departed for 58, Brathwaite fell short of just three runs of what could have been a fine century for 97 after he was run out eventually. The Caribbean side took the first innings lead and ended the second day’s play at 251/8, leading by 34 runs. Mohammad Abbas added another dismissal to his tally in the innings for Pakistan while Shaheen scalped a couple of wickets. Faheem Ashraf and Hasan Ali also picked up a wicket apiece before the stumps were called. Brathwaite expressed his disappointment at missing out on a ton. “Obviously not feeling too good (getting run-out on 97), as soon as I returned for the second (sensed the trouble), but I committed to two and then I took off. Probably misjudged it and wouldn't do it again but from a team's POV [Point of view] I would have liked to be there at the end,” he said.