TNPL 2021 | Dindigul vs Spartans: When & where to watch match LIVE, Probable XI, Fantasy XI

Paras Mhambrey heaps praise on "talented & thinking" Kuldeep Yadav

India bowling coach for the Sri Lanka tour, Paras Mhambrey has lavished praise on spinner Kuldeep Yadav and has said that he is a very talented and a “thinking” bowler. "Kuldeep is extremely talented and he is a very thinking bowler. It all boils down to execution and the credit needs to be given to him. It has been challenging, he has been in and out of the team," he said in the virtual post-match press conference at the end of the second T20I on Wednesday. The left-arm spinner returned with figures of 2/30 in 4 overs against the Lankan team on Wednesday in Colombo. India were forced to make a few changes in the playing XI after seven players had to be isolated as close contacts of Krunal Pandya who had tested positive for Covid-19. Talking about the youngsters, Mhambrey said that they were asked to play freely. “The discussion was always to give them a free hand, there was no pressure on them. We knew that in terms of batting, we only had 5-6 batters with whom we can plan for this game,” he said. Sri Lanka levelled the series after winning the second T20I by 4 wickets while chasing 133 in 20 overs. Dhananjaya de Silva top-scored for the home side after remaining unbeaten for 40. The two sides will now lock horns with each other in the decider scheduled to take place on Thursday (July 29, 2021) at the same venue.

3rd T20 Preview: Depleted India search final fire, Sri Lanka bank on momentum in series decider

For all the talk around their mediocrity on the cricket field in the past few months or years, Sri Lanka have made India run for their money in both the ODI and T20 series. They now sit on the cusp of a series win if the Indian team that has just five specialist batsmen left fail once again while they also fought hard in the ODI series. The fact that the series has gone to a situation where both sides are in with a chance of winning the series highlights India’s inability to capture crucial moments and Sri Lanka’s just holding it enough. The lack of self-belief appeared on their faces when Deepak Chahar started taking them to all parts of the grounds in the second ODI which ultimately turned out to be series-winning innings from him. The second T20I was nothing too dissimilar and Sri Lanka came spirited to pounce on India’s limit with the bat. They must be aware of the lack of depth with Bhuvneshwar Kumar slotted to bat at number six and did not go fancy with the new ball. Instead, they put all their might to prevent India from getting a rapid start and forgetting that they are one or two personnel short with the bat. Shikhar Dhawan admitted they were concerned about no batsmen in the lower order and hence they could not bat more freely. The likes of Sanju Samson, who throughout his career in the IPL has faced the blame for being inconsistent and irresponsible, played 13 balls to score seven runs. To be fair to them, extravagant turn for spinners also did not help their cause one bit and the challenges are likely to be all but similar. For Sri Lanka, Chamika Karunaratne is turning out to be one of the most dynamic packages who comes at the back end of the innings and whips them to a good score. Wanindu Hasaranga is enhancing his reputation with every game he is going out on the field. Once again, he turned the ball admirably to put India in a spot of bother and then turned on his batting avatar to bail his side out of trouble for some time when Indian spinners were attempting to run through the Sri Lankan batting order. Sri Lanka vs India: Match Details Match Number- 03 Date and Time: July 29, 2021, 08:00 pm IST and Local, 02:30 pm GMT Venue: R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Broadcast and Live Stream: Sony Sports Network and Sony LIV Pitch report The pitch at the R Premadasa Stadium was proving to be a blessing for the spinners as balls were gripping and turning from the central part of the surface. All kinds of spinners, be it ones who bowl slow through the air i.e. Kuldeep Yadav, and ones who rip it through i.e. Varun Chakravarthy, all extracted good purchases off the pitch. Batsmen struggled to time the ball with pacers too using slower balls and cutters to allow the balls to get stuck in the surface and life will be no easier in the final game of the series and tour. Team News Sri Lanka Sadeera Samarawickrama could not make good use of the opportunity in the second T20I, but it seems unlikely that the team management will force him out of XI. Isuru Udana is slowly losing the trust of the team and Dasun Shanaka relied on his variations for merely an over in the second T20I. The hosts should field an unchanged playing XI. Probable XI Avishka Fernando, Minod Bhanuka (wk), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Dasun Shanaka (c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Isuru Udana, Dushmantha Chameera, Praveen Jayawickrama India India have added five net bowlers to the main squad and it would give Rahul Dravid some sort of cushioning in terms of having more than 11 players to choose from. However, that will not change their combination one bit and Bhuvi will bat at the number six position once again. Navdeep Saini has had a tough tour and it is likely to end on an unfortunate note with him injuring his hand while fielding. He was not trusted to bowl even one over in the second T20 and the move could well have been dictated by just conditions but not now he will be sitting on the fence thinking what could have been on this tour of Sri Lanka. Probable XI Shikhar Dhawan (c), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson (wk), Nitish Rana, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Rahul Chahar, Navdeep Saini, Chetan Sakariya, Varun Chakravarthy, R Sai Kishore Fantasy XI Avishka Fernando, Dasun Shanaka, Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Rahul Chahar Captain: Shikhar Dhawan Vice-captain: Sanju Samson

TNPL | Ruby Trichy Warriors vs IDream Tiruppur Tamizhans: Where to watch Live, Probable XI, Fantasy XI

The Tamil Nadu Premier League will witness a mid-table clash between Ruby Trichy Warriors up against IDreamTiruppur Tamizhans when the two teams take on each other in the only match on Thursday, July 29 in Chennai. While the Warriors are sitting at the third position having won and lost an equal number of matches in the four that they have played, Tamizhans are sitting at the fifth position with one win and a loss and the first game getting washed out. In their respective last games, while the warriors were beaten by the Dindigul Dragons, the team from Tiruppur defeated Nellai Royal Kings to notch up their first win. One thing that goes in favour of the Warriors though is the head to head record in which they have never lost to a team representing Tiruppur. So will the Tamizhans be able to break the deadlock or ill warriors from Trichy continue their dominance? Only time will tell. Ruby Trichy Warriors vs IDream Tiruppur Tamizhans: Match Details Match Number- 14 Date and Time: July 29, 2021, 07:30 pm IST and Local, 02:00 pm GMT Venue: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai Broadcast and Live Stream: Star Sports Network and Hotstar Pitch Report The Chennai wicket has so far offered assistance to both pace and spin as bowlers, but as the number of matches is increasing, the pitches seem to be getting rougher and hence grip is going to be offered in great amount for the bowlers. Weather Forecast There are very low chances of rain, however, there will definitely be cloud cover and which can assist new ball bowlers with swing initially. The humidity would also be in lower brackets as compared to usual Chennai humidity. Ruby Trichy Warriors Probable XI Amith Sathvik (wk), Sumant Jain, Nidhish Rajagopal, Adithya Ganesh (wk), Muhammed Adnan Khan, Antony Dhas, M Mathivannan, Saravan Kumar, Rahil Shah (c), M Poiyamozhi, Sunil Sam IDream Tiruppur Tamizhans Probable XI S Siddharth, N Mohammed Ashik (wk), S Aravind, Maan Bafna, P Francis Rokins, Tushar Raheja, M Mohammed (c), R Rajkumar, Aswin Crist, S Mohan Prasath, K Gowtham Thamarai Kannan Fantasy XI Amith Sathvik (wk), S Siddharth, Nidhish Rajagopal, Maan Bafna, P Francis Rokins, Muhammed Adnan Khan, M Mohammed, R Rajkumar, M Mathivannan, Saravan Kumar, Aswin Crist Captain M Mohammed Vice-Captain M Mathivannan

SL vs IND | 2nd T20I: Calm de Silva, explosive Karunaratne earn Sri Lanka series-levelling win

India were down even before the start of the game with as many as nine first-choice players missing out due to Covid-19, and Sri Lanka found enough fire in their belly to land a solid punch to knock them down in the second T20I of the series in Colombo. Chasing a target of 133 runs—a modest target from the outset, but not a pitch that was assisting spinners from the word go, Sri Lankan middle-order batsmen found their nerves strong enough to not throw their wickets away. In the end, Bhuvneshwar Kumar offered a juicy full toss and Chamika Karunaratne deposited the ball over cow corner to put India on the brink. The tourists were in the game as they squeezed the hosts batting line up on the back of a trio of wrist spinners comprising Kuldeep Yadav, Rahul Chahar and Varun Chakravarthy. All of them found considerable purchase off the surface but only Kuldeep could extract yields in the form of wickets to check Sri Lanka’s ascendency towards the target. Sri Lanka were not helped a great deal by their top order as they kept on losing wickets at regular intervals. They had their half of the batting group back in the hut before reaching 100 but the duo of Dhananjaya de Silva and Wanindu Hasaranga kept them in the game. Minod Bhanuka played a composed innings before getting frustrated and gifting Kuldeep his second wicket but de Silva made sure that he did not have to pay for his dismissal. Karunaratne has made a habit of turning the heat on in the end overs, and the trend continued as a 6-ball 12 powered Sri Lanka past the finish line. Earlier, India had to field all 11 players they were left with after the Covid-19 crisis in the camp and it opened the window for the quartet of Nitish Rana, Chetan Sakariya, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Devdutt Padikkal. Dhawan backed Gaikwad to partner him at the top of the order followed by Padikkal at the number three position to bring left hand-right combination at the top. The move did work well and the duo put on a 49-run partnership within seven overs to give a perfect platform. India were watchful in their stroke play as they have had to be watchful of the fact that Bhuvneshwar Kumar was to come to bat at the number six position. They succeeded in achieving their first target by reaching the 16th over just two wickets down, but just when they were eager to put a foot down on the accelerator, wickets started to tumble and India had to scramble to reach 132. Sri Lanka should be delighted with their triumph in the second T20 to level the series, but India should be disappointed for not being able to push on in the end overs and being poor in fielding. The third and final T20 of the series will be played today, July 29 at the same venue and both sides will have all to play for in what will be a series decider and massive opportunity for both sides, especially the hosts.