Tabraiz Shamsi compares biosecure bubble to 'cage', advocates relaxed restrictions

Watch | Zimbabwe skipper Brendan Taylor given out in a bizzare hit-wicket dismissal

It was a weird dismissal, to say the least as Brendan Taylor,l the skipper of Zimbabwe was declared hit wicket after he hit the bails while practising a shadow shot, just after he had left the second ball of the 25th over, moments after trying a ramp shot and the keeper had collected it. It wasn’t clear whether the fielding team appealed or the umpires took a ‘Suo Moto Cognizance’, but they did go upstairs and decided to declare the batter hit wicket. As expected, Taylor wasn’t happy with the dcesio0n and walked back shaking his head vehemently. He was batting at 46 off 47 balls and had hit a four just a delivery prior to the one on which he was declared out. Shoriful Islam was the bowler. In the laws of cricket, it says that the ball has to be in play and not dead before the batter hits his stumps. Also, the stumps must be hit while playing a shot and not while shadow practising and thus it did not sit well with many a cricket pundits as to why Taylor was given out. As far as the second ODI going on at Harare Sports Club is concerned, Zimbabwe managed to resurrect the innings somewhat after the Taylor wicket as Dion Myers and Wesley Medhevere and later on Medhevere and Sikandar Raza struck vital partnerships to guide the red and gold to 210-6 at the end of 45 overs with five more to play.

SL vs IND | Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan debut for India, Bhanuka Rajapaksa for hosts

The first ODI between Sri Lanka and India saw three debutants making their ODI debuts, two from the visiting side and one for the hosts. Suryakumar Yadav, both from Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League made their ODI debuts for India, having already made their T20I debuts in the previous series at home against England. Bahanuka Rajapaksa was called in as a replacement after regular batter Dhanushka Gunatjhilaka was suspended earlier this month. While 23-year-old Ishan became only the second-ever Indian player to debut for India on his birthday, after Gurshran Singh in 1990, he also became only the third player and second wicketkeeper from the state of Jharkhand to play for India. Before him, the legendry Indian captain MS Dhoni and Sourabh Tiwary represented India in ODIs. Suryakumar, at the age of 30 is one of the oldest to debut for India in ODIs and he was given cap number 236. The two of them, Kishan and Surya scored half centuries on their T20I debuts and it would be interesting to see what they do on their ODI debuts. Sanju Samson, who was primed to play this game was forced to sit out having pulled a strain in his ankle. Bhanuka, the Sri Lankan has already represented the island nation in six T20Is previously and is considered an out and out attacking batter.

SL vs IND | 1st ODI: India bring back 'Kul-Cha' after two years

The much-talked-about spin twins of India—Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal have made their way back into the Indian ODI side in the first ODI against Sri Lanka. The duo last played together two years back in the ICC ODI World Cup 2019 against England. They were smashed all around the park by England batsmen and the Virat Kohli-led team management decided to separate the two and added an all-rounder in the side. However, their separation was also to do with the fitness of Hardik Pandya as his inability to bowl in the last year has hampered India’s team balance, and hence the team management had to play Ravindra Jadeja in the place of one of them. Both of them also did not help themselves by not putting their hands up in the last couple of years. Kuldeep, in particular, has gone way off the radar of the team management and his slide has not stopped in the Indian Premier League either. Earlier in the 14 edition of the IPL, the Kolkata Knight Riders did not play him even once on spin-friendly pitches in Chennai. India have arrived in Sri Lanka under the leadership of Shikhar Dhawan and Rahul Dravid and the first match is underway at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

We’ll pick whoever we feel can do well: Shikhar Dhawan ahead of series opener against Sri Lanka

Indian skipper on their tour to Sri Lanka, Shikhar Dhawan, didn’t throw open his cards till the very last dice is rolled as he refused to disclose the playing XI for the first ODI between the hosts and the visitors at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday, July 18. "We haven't really discussed who gets how many games," Dhawan said in a pre-match virtual press conference in Colombo. "The first goal is to win the series and we will play the best XI to win. We will pick whoever we feel can do well [on a given day]. it's not like we have to play everyone just because we have brought them here. That is not the thought process,” the skipper added. The main curiosity for tomorrow’s Indian lineup is about the opening slot and the 34-year-old skipper too agreed that there is a lot of competition for the opening spot in the Indian team. In fact, to bat along with Dhawan, Devdutt Padikkal, Prithvi Shaw and Ruturaj Gaikwad, all of whom did exceedingly well in the recently IPL would be vying for one place. "There is competition for the opening slot and it's a very good thing. Whoever plays, the goal is to do well as a team. Along the way, if we also do well, then these things [selection] take care of themselves,” said Dhawan. The Delhi born didn’t shy away from saying that he is open to trying who so ever the team management wants to with respect to their T20 World Cup campaign strategy. "As of now, I haven't had any specific chat with Virat or Ravi bhai (Ravi Shastri, India Head Coach), I'm sure they may have spoken to Rahul bhai (Rahul Dravid, India’s interim coach for Sri Lanka tour), or the selectors and that message will be conveyed to us,” Dhawan said about the demands to play any special player. “Whoever it is, the focus is on the T20 World Cup. If selectors or team management come to a mutual understanding that we need to play someone specifically, this is a great platform to have a look at them," he added. Although Dhawan said that the team has a bunch of spinners and that they are all very fine in terms of skills, but he clearly mentioned that Yuzvendara Xghahal and Kuldeep Yadav would be the team’s first priority. "They both share great chemistry and have won so many matches and series for us," Dhawan said about the spin duo.