Sri Lanka batting coach Grant Flower tests positive for COVID-19 ahead of SL-IND series

Mahmudullah, Taskin create history, thread together second-highest ninth-wicket partnership in Tests

It was a historic day for Bangladesh in Test cricket as Mahmudullah Riyad and Taskin Ahmed threaded together with a 191 run partnership, the second-highest in the history of the longest format for the ninth wicket. They remained only short by five runs from breaking the highest partnership record for the ninth wicket, created by South Africa's Mark Boucher and PL Symcox against Pakistan in 1998. This was also the highest ninth-wicket partnership for Bangladesh and overall the ninth highest in Tests for the Tigers. Taskin joined Mahmudullah in the middle when the score was 270-7 and Bangladesh needed someone to hang on with the experienced Mahmudullah to complete his fifty when he was batting in his forties Not only did Taskin stood there to help the 35 year old complete his fifty, but went on to score his maiden fifty as well Mahmudullah on his part scored his fifth Test match century and reached to his best score in Test matches, remaining unbeaten on 150. Taskin, who was dropped on 32 and had a verbal spat with Blessing Muzarabani was removed by Milton Shumba on 75 from 134 Intotal, Bangladesh scored 468 in the first innings of the only Test going on at Harare Sports Club in Harare. In response, the hosts have had a cautious start themselves, scoring 57 without any loss in the first 26 overs.

Dinesh Karthik wants to break the post-retirement commentary stereotype

Wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik who recently made his commentary debut during the inaugural ICC World Test Championship final between New Zealand and India wants to change the perception of commentary being a post-retirement option. Karthik who will also commentate during the five-match Test series between hosts England and India has become a crowd favourite and barring his sexist tweet during the ODI series between England and Sri Lanka, he is having a wonderful time at the commentary box. Karthik said that while playing cricket is much difficult than talking on the microphone, he agreed that commentary has its own set of challenges. The opportunity to rub shoulders with the likes of Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain is also helping him honing his commentary skills. "Actually, I was the only debutant of that final," Karthik said. After completing his commentary duties in the England-India Test series, Karthik will fly to UAE to join the Kolkata Knight Riders for the remainder of the 14th season of the IPL. He is expected to lead the side in the absence of regular skipper Eoin Morgan. Speaking on his commentary stint Karthik said, "I did that and it went pretty well. That is when I got the opportunity to do commentary and I decided to go for it. The mindset was just to speak about whatever little I know about the game.” "There are a lot of other sports like basketball and football where current players come on air when they are not playing." "Even now during the Sri Lanka-England T20s, James Anderson was doing it for BBC in the next room. So it is a normal thing, it is only in India I think it is considered like that (post-retirement option). I obviously want to break that stereotype to an extent and I am happy to do this when I am not playing,” Karthik concluded.

This series is very important to me: Yuzvendra Chahal on playing senior spinner role

Indian leggie Yuzvendra Chahal would be playing ODI cricket after eight months and he is excited to be back in the longer white-ball format. The Haryana born said that he has been asked by coach Rahul Dravid to play as the senior spinner in the team and guide the rest of the guys along with him. "You can't perform in every match. I will try my level best. This series is very important to me," said Chahal. "I keep having conversations with the bowling coach. My main focus at the moment is just this series - there's been lesser cricket over the last year, but that's not in our hands. Whatever series happens, we want to perform," added the 30-year-old. Talking about his future plans and how he is focussing series by series, Chahal said, "After this series, my focus will be on the IPL, and only then the [T20] World Cup. Right now, I'm focusing on this tour only." The rules of the ODI have become demanding for the spinners over the years and with only four players allowed outside the 30-yard circle in overs 11-40, the runs flow easily. For Chahal who has mainly been bowling with five players outside the circle in the T20s, it would be challenging. However, the RCB player begs to differ saying, "I've played for five years, 50-plus matches, so I'm used to all this. This is not an excuse or something. Now, when I bowl, I just focus on how to get batters out. That's it." Asked about what's new in-store from the always chirpy and happy go lucky player on the field, Chahal said, "I have a couple of variations and I'm focusing on that only, not using other deliveries. You will see a more confident Yuzi in this series. I'm just working on my angles and in general trying to bowl more." It would be interesting to see who compliments Chahal in the team, especially with Kuldeep Yadav and Krishnappa Gowtham offering completely different things with the ball. India plays its first game on the tour on July 13 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

Kyle Mayers signs for Birmingham Bears in T20 Blast for a short stint

Swashbuckling West Indies batsman Kyle Mayers has been roped in by the Birmingham Bears for a short stint in the Vitality T20 Blast. He has been signed to play the final three games of the T20 Blast. His participation was confirmed by Warwickshire on Wednesday. The left-handed batsman will be available to play in their next game against Worcestershire on Friday. "I'm very excited by this opportunity to join up with the Bears and I hope that I can contribute with the bat and ball during these final three important games of the Blast," Mayers was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz. "I understand that the Bears have enjoyed a good association with West Indies cricketers and I'm very proud to join this list of players. Hopefully, I can make some important contributions, which secure our path through to the knock-out stages,” he added. Mayers hogged the limelight earlier in the year when the southpaw tore apart Bangladesh with an unbeaten double century on his Test debut. He scored an unbeaten 210 to ensure West Indies chased down the target of 395. Mayers who is a skilful medium pacer as well has been quite impressive in the CPL last year. Warwickshire sports director Paul Farbrace feels that Mayers’ inclusion will be a great boost to the team. "Kyle played superbly in last year's CPL, which helped him to break into the Windies ranks across all formats," Director of Cricket Paul Farbrace said. "Being able to add Kyle, as a hard-hitting batsman and skilful seam bowler, to our squad as we bid for a quarterfinal place is a great boost. We also recognise how motivated Kyle is by this opportunity to feature in another leading T20 tournament with an ICC T20 World Cup just around the corner."