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

The Hundred | Jofra Archer’s unavailability pains Southern Brave, still no assurance of his return

Southern Brave, one of the strongest teams of The Hundred on paper has so far tasted two defeats in two of its opening encounters. While Quinton de Kock was available post first game, it is the absence of Jofra Archer that is paining the Southern Brave. "We're hearing stuff from the medical teams at the ECB and Sussex. I think he's maybe undergoing a jab or something yesterday or today, and then hopefully we might get him for the last four [games] or something,” James Vince, the Brave's men's captain said ahead of his first home game of the season against the Birmingham Phoenix. Archer, who underwent elbow surgery in May following an aborted come back from the injury at the start of the English summer, has so far played a Royal London ODI game for Sussex and a practice match against Oxfordshire. Brave also missed the services of George Garton in their second match against Welsh Fire. Speaking about that, Vince said, "He was one of the lads that had Covid in that England set-up and he's been a bit low on energy, so the doctor and medical team's advice was that he shouldn't play again today.”

The Hundred | Northern Superchargers vs Oval Invincibles: Where to watch Live, Probable XI, Fantasy XI

The Northern Superchargers head home once again and after having lost their first encounter at home, they would be looking for a change in fortunes. Their original skipper Faf du Plessis has been ruled out for the first three games and their stand-in skipper Ben Stokes is also out of action as he would be going out for national duties. The question for Superchargers now is to appoint a skipper for this game and most probably it will be Chris Lynn who would be given the opportunity to lead the side. While Oval has had a long break and their last game was a washout, the Superchargers’ kast game also ended in a washout and hence both the teams would love to start on a winning note once again. But who will be able to do that? Only time can tell. Northern Superchargers vs Oval Invincibles: Match Details Match Number- 13 Date and Time: July 31, 2021, 11:00 pm IST, 06:30 pm Local, 05:30 pm GMT Venue: Headingley, Leeds Broadcast and Live Stream: Fancode App Pitch Report The wicket at Leeds has been very good for the shorters games with ample opportunities for batters to get going and hit quick runs and at the same time rewards variations from bowlers as well. Weather Forecast With a 06:30 pm local time start, the game would be under threat of rain as chances of rain hover around 40% with a gentle breeze to accompany it. Northern Superchargers Probable XI Adam Lyth, Chris Lynn (c), Harry Brook, David Willey, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, John Simpson (wk), Brydon Carse, Callum Parkinson, Adil Rashid, Mujeeb Ur Rahman Oval Invincibles Probable XI Jason Roy, Will Jacks, Colin Ingram, Laurie Evans, Sam Billings (c & wk), Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Nathan Sowter, Sunil Narine, Saqib Mahmood, Reece Topley Fantasy XI Chris Lynn, Jason Roy, Sam Billings (wk), Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Sunil Narine, David Willey, Callum Parkinson, Adil Rashid, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Reece Topley Captain Sam Billings Vice-Captain Harry Brook

Krishnappa Gowtham, Yuzvendra Chahal test Covid-19 positive in Sri Lanka

India’s Yuzvendra Chahal and Krishnappa Gowtham have tested positive for Covid-19 days after they were included in the list of close contacts of Krunal Pandya, ESPNcricinfo reported. The duo was excluded from the squad along with the other six close contacts and they will be staying back in Sri Lanka while the remaining players and support staff are set to return to India immediately after the conclusion of the tour, the report added. Krunal’s contraction of Covid-19 changed the outlook for India both on and off the field. He was shifted outside the team hotel while eight other players were separated from the squad albeit in the same hotel. Now, as Chahal and Gowtham test positive, positivity in other six members of the squad that comprise Hardik Pandya, Prithvi Shaw, Suryakumar Yadav, Manish Pandey, Deepak Chahar and Ishan Kishan can’t be ruled out from the outset. India lost the T20 series to Sri Lanka 1-2 after not having enough reinforcement in the batting department, and the hosts picked up momentum just at the right time.

Rahul Dravid backing the young guns despite failure in T20I series

Rahul Dravid who accompanied India to their tour of Sri Lanka said that he wasn’t disappointed at the failure of the young guns. He feels that the youngsters will learn from this exposure and will improve by playing in more challenging conditions which was on offer in Sri Lanka. India lost the three-match T20 series 1-2 after losing out as many as nine of their first-choice players. The likes Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Rana and Sanju Samson struggled against a quality spin attack led by Wanindu Hasaranga and Akila Dananjaya. Despite their poor outings, Rahul Dravid is hopeful of them learning from the series. He is of the opinion that this experience will help them develop the art of digging it out in low scoring affairs and difficult pitches. "I am not disappointed as they are young. They are going to learn and get better only when they are exposed to these kind of conditions and quality of bowling. Sri Lankan team's bowling attack is an international bowling attack," Dravid said while assessing the overall performance in the series. Dravid blamed the friendly pitches in domestic cricket for the inability of young Indian batsmen to play quality spin. He admitted that there is a lot to learn for the young crop of batsmen of how to counter quality spinners on challenging tracks. "They would have liked to score a few more runs. They now have an opportunity to reflect that not all wickets are going to be flat. We need to find ways to scrap and score 130, 140 on these wickets," Dravid observed. "It's really a good learning as they are all young players. This is a great opportunity to reflect on these performances and may come up with some slightly better strategies. Let me be fair, we don't get these kinds of conditions very often in T20 cricket but when you do, I think, you have a responsibility to play slightly better," the head of National Cricket Academy said. Dravid was of the opinion that players of their generation had their fair share of struggles. He felt that the yesteryear batsmen played on spin-friendly track with some even being underprepared. "I think the wickets in domestic cricket may have got better -- one thing that is probably different when I was sort of starting while growing up the wickets tended to turn a little bit more. Honestly some of the wickets we used to play used to be under-prepared but wickets have got a bit better in Ranji Trophy which is great. I don't think the talent is missing it's just that you need the experience to figure out a few more stroke-making options in these kinds of pitches," he added. Barring skipper Shikhar Dhawan, India didn’t have an experienced batsman which proved to be their nemesis in the T20I series. Dravid felt that the blend of youth and experience wasn’t there in the last two matches owing to the unavailability of several first-choice players owing to strict covid protocols after Krunal Pandya tested positive for the virus. "It needs time and experience and you need to blood young players with experienced players so that you have that cushion. Obviously, last couple of games, we didn't have that cushion, most of the guys other than Shikhar were young."