T10 League 2021| Moeen Ali's aggressive knock helps Northern Warriors clinch 10-wicket win vs Team Abu Dhabi

Marizanne Kapp becomes player of the final, Harmanpreet Kaur awarded player of WBBL 2021

The skipper of the India Women T20I side, Harmanpreet Kaur has been named as the Player of the tournament of the Women’s Big Bash League for her all-round brilliance in the tournament. Harmanpreet was playing for the Melbourne Renegades in the tournament and amassed 406 runs and scalped as many as 15 wickets to earn the title. On the other hand, South Africa Women’s Marizanne Kapp was adjudged Player of the Final. She first led the Perth Scorchers Women with the bat and scored blistering 23-ball 31 and followed it up with an economical spell of four overs for just 25 runs and a wicket of Bridget Patterson. Her role was instrumental in the Perth Scorchers Women lifting the Women’s Big Bash title this year. They were asked to bat first by the Adelaide Strikers Women and the batters responded well to the pressure situation and put on a decent total of 146 runs on the board.

IND vs NZ | 1st Test, Day 3: Riding on spinners' shoulders, India come roaring back in the game

On the back of yet another five-wicket haul from Axar Patel and sustained bowling from the other end, India bounce back remarkably well and dismissed New Zealand for a mere 296 runs when they were looking set for the big one on the board. The Blackcaps had a 151-run opening partnership but right after the fall of the skipper Kane Williamson and Tom Latham, there was no one to absorb the pressure and defend repetitive good balls from Indian spinners. India find a way, again New Zealand had all the momentum with them at the start of the third day of the first Test in Kanpur but people who follow Indian cricket at home would never write them off at any point in time and the Blackcaps learned it the hard way. They started the day comfortably placed at 129/0 and they could have a real dominating position for themselves if their batsmen could bat with the same concentration and clarity as their openers did on the second day. Turned out, they were in for a ride on the third day as both Latham and Young looked fidgety and batted with nerves. Ravichandran Ashwin, in particular, played beautifully with angles and flight and troubled both of them to eventually dismiss Young. Latham was lured into playing sweep shot off very slow delivery dragged completely outside of the off stump, but he was lucky to survive. However, as soon as Williamson departed, there was a flurry of wickets and what was appearing to a be solid batting effort for the Blackcaps, were reduced to a mere capitulation as Axar Patel strolled to yet another five-wicket haul. They earned a lead of 49 runs that could well prove to be a decisive lead considering the nature of the pitch and the length of time left in the game. Things happening fast for Axar Axar Patel could debut in the longest format earlier in the year against England only due to a finger injury to Ravindra Jadeja and as players of highest order do, he has grabbed the opportunity with both hands. First, he tormented the England batting lineup but his bowling was not rated highly as most of his wickets came on surfaces that were rated “beaches” by the purists of the game. The first innings against New Zealand here was a different case though. He was not given the first opportunity to attack the batsmen and neither was he the first choice of weapon for the Ajinkya Rahane. He has also been seen through the prism of Ravindra Jadeja for offering like for like qualities on the field but the bowling effort in Kanpur on the third day was his moment of coming out of anyone’s shadow and marking a name for himself with the red ball in hand. He was accurate as ever to both Williamson and Latham on the third day and was rewarded with the wicket of Ross Taylor when the pitch offered him a sharp turn and bounce from the line of the stumps. There was no looking back from that moment as he kept on tormenting the batsmen one after another and New Zealand were sinking deeper and deeper in search of his natural variation and stock balls. He has taken his fifth five-wicket haul in only the fourth Test and could be finding it easy at the big stage. The challenges will get steeper and steeper for them but he is doing all things right at the moment and making the most of the opportunities. Pressure mounting on Gill If one player Axar Patel should see to stay humble amid all the success he is having, he should follow the career path of Shubman Gill, who first could do no wrong as he pulverised Mitchell Starc at the Gabba in Australia, to becoming a man full of doubts about himself while batting the middle. He was staying beside the ball in Australia to have open access to the off side and the move paid dividends as he was able to cash in on any sort of width offered by the Australian bowlers. After returning to India, when he was bamboozled by a reverse swinging James Anderson, he tweaked his method by coming right behind the ball to protect his stumps. In process of correcting one aspect of his game, he started getting a lot of LBW dismissal and has come back to the beside the line of the ball method in this game. He has been bowled in both innings by Kyle Jamieson on close to similar deliveries and he will have his tasks cut out in the second Test of the series. There were reports that the team management views Gill as a middle-order option and the kind of vulnerability he has shown on a good length and full balls around off stump, the move should not be discarded as wrong and short-sighted one at this moment. Looking forward to the fourth day India have an upper hand in this game with a lead of 63 runs and nine wickets in their hands. They would rely on Mayank Agarwal and Cheteshwar Pujara to at least see through the initial burst from Tim Southee and Jamieson. If they succeed in thwarting their pacers in the first hour, it could set up for an enthralling finish from the Indian batting unit which will bat in pursuit of runs at a brisk pace to enforce a result. On the other hand, the Blackcaps should believe and say to themselves that they are just a couple of wickets away from putting India under enormous pressure. They are without Virat Kohli and dismissing two out of Pujara, Mayank and Ajinkya Rahane will make the game wide open for them as well. All three results are very much possible going into the penultimate day of the first Test between the World Test Championship finalists in the first meeting after the big game and that tells a good story about how these sides have developed themselves as a Test-playing side over the last few years.

Not focusing on IPL mega auctions & just concentrating on my game: Shahrukh Khan

Winning matches for your team on the final ball of the match with a six seems to be a tough task for a batsman but it isn’t for Tamil Nadu cricketers. Wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik did it in Nidahas Trophy against Bangladesh and Shahrukh Khan did it against Karnataka in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final. Needing five off the last ball, Shahrukh kept his nerves and smashed a six on the final ball of the match to steal a win for his team. In an exclusive chat with OneCricket, the aggressive right-handed batter opened up about his knock, his IPL experience and the interaction with MS Dhoni. Shahrukh explained what was going through his mind when he was facing that final delivery of the match and also talked about how it helps when his team and the players show belief and trust in him. “There were a lot of things going on in my mind. I knew that he is going to try a Yorker and I had a plan that if he misses it, I’m gonna go for it. But at the same time, I told myself to stay calm.” he said. “The team does believe in me and the trust that they show helps me do much much better than what I can do,” he added. The right-hander had hit a maximum on the last ball of the penultimate over. When asked about the same, Khan said that it would have been difficult to score 20 odd runs in the final over, so, he went to his batting partner and said that he would try to go for an aggressive stroke on that particular delivery. “The equation was tough then as we needed 21 in 13 and I told Sai Kishore that I’m gonna go for the big hit. The single was certainly not in place. Eventually, I was able to hit that last ball in the 19th over for a six. Moreover, Sai Kishore can score runs, so I was confident in giving him the strike in the final over,” Shahrukh said. The mega auctions of the IPL are set to take place ahead of the tournament but the Tamil Nadu batsman isn’t really thinking about it rather he is more focused to do well in the upcoming domestic fixtures. “I’m not really thinking about it (The IPL mega auctions) and just focusing on my game,” the 26-year-old said. But Shahrukh who has played for Punjab Kings shared his experience of being the part of the IPL for the first and the kind of bond he shares with some of the fellow cricketers. “Personally, it was a good experience for me but with team’s perspective, it didn’t really go well for us,” he said. “I share a very good and special bond with a lot of players including Chris Jordan and Allen,” he added. A number of young cricketers had been spotted talking to senior lads after the conclusion of their respective games during the IPL and Shahrukh too had such an instance when he had a chat with MS Dhoni. When asked about it, he said that MS just asked him to stay calm and composed and keep trusting himself. “He (MS Dhoni) told me to stay calm and keep trusting my abilities,” Shahrukh said. Tamil Nadu have announced the squad for One day tournament as well and have included Dinesh Karthik and Washington Sundar in the side. Talking about the two additions, the Tamil Nadu middle-order batsman said that it will bring more strength to the team. “The team is in a good frame of mind after the win in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and we want to continue the momentum. The addition of Dinesh Karthik and Washington Sundar will add to the strength of the team,” he said.

WBBL 2021| Perth Scorchers crowned champions after scintillating win against Adelaide Strikers

Perth Scorchers were crowned the champions of WBBL 2021-22 after they defeated Adelaide Strikers by 12 runs in Perth on Saturday. Chasing a target of 147, the Adelaide side had a disappointing start to the proceedings and lost a couple of early wickets before Laura Wolvaardt and Tahlia McGrath joined hands to steady the ship for the side. The two batters put 65 runs for the third wicket before McGrath was sent back in the hut for a 29-ball 36. The skipper’s dismissal was followed by a few more wickets that pushed Adelaide on the back foot once again as they were reduced to 120/6 in the 19th over. The Strikers then needed 22 off the final over but could only manage to score 9 runs to eventually suffer a defeat. Taneale Peschel was the pick of the bowlers for Perth as she returned with two wickets for 23 runs in 4 overs. Earlier, in the day, Sophie Devine and Beth Mooney provided the Perth team with a steady start as the two put 53 runs on the board for the first wicket. But Mooney was sent back in the hut for 19 off 25 and her departure saw a fall of wickets at regular intervals before a late surge from Marizanne Kapp helped them put up a decent total of 146/5 in 20 overs. She remained unbeaten at 31 off 23. Later, Devine lauded Kapp’s batting efforts.”Champion teams do this (it's a collective effort), it's not about one or two people. The way Kapp batted out today, it was outstanding, the way she ran and the way she got those runs. So chuffed for the team as everyone has played their part throughout the season. They were running their twos and diving around, pretty proud of the team,” she said.