Twitter supports Suryakumar Yadav after Virat Kohli drops him for Rohit Sharma

Five people arrested for barging in and protesting against England team in Pune

Five Indian fans have been arrested by the Maharashtra Police for illegally barging into Pune’s Gahunje stadium and staging a protest against England cricket team. The stadium is scheduled to host three ODIs against England on March 23, 26 and 28. The five people involved in the case have been arrested and will be produced before the court on Tuesday afternoon. “As soon as we got the information that five youths have entered the stadium area and are staging a protest, we reached there and took them into custody,” the Police statement read. The protest staged by the youth was against England for Prince of Wales taking away the “sacred Jagdamba sword” of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The Prince had been gifted the sword when he visited India in 1875-76. No spectators would be allowed inside the stadium due to the rising number of Covid-19 cases in Pune.

Two UAE players slapped with bans for breaching ICC Anti-Corruption Code

Two UAE players Mohammad Naveed and Shaiman Anwar Butt have been slapped with an 8-year ban each by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The two players have been banned for breaching ICC Anti-Corruption Code. The bans have been backdated to October 16, 2019 where the two players were banned provisionally. Naveen and Butt were found guilty of breaching Article 2.1.1 and Article 2.4.4 of the Anti-Corruption Code. The cricketers breached Article 2.1.1 "for being party to an agreement or effort to fix or contrive or otherwise influence improperly the result, progress, conduct or other aspect(s) of a match or matches at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier 2019," said an ICC release. Apart from this, the players were also found guilty for breaching Article 2.4.4. They were booked for "failing to disclose to the ACU full details of any approaches or invitations received to engage in corrupt conduct under the Code at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier 2019" according to the release. "Mohammad Naveed and Shaiman Anwar represented their adopted country, the UAE at the highest level in cricket. Naveed was the captain and leading wicket taker. Anwar was the opening bat. Both had long international careers and were well versed in the threat from match fixers," said Alex Marshall, ICC General Manager of Integrity Unit. "That they both chose to engage with this corrupt activity was a cynical betrayal of their positions, their teammates, and all supporters of UAE cricket.”

Team India fined 20% match fees for slow over-rate in 2nd T20I

The Indian team has been fined 20 % of their match fees for slow over-rate in the second T20I that took place at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, 14th March. Javagal Srinath, the match referee in the game ruled that India were one over slower than what they should have been in the allotted time. “In accordance with Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to minimum over-rate offences, players are fined 20 per cent of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time,” an ICC statement summarising the fine said. “Kohli pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing,” the statement added. It were the on-field umpires Anil Chaudhary and K.N. Ananthapadmanabhan, along with third umpire Virender Sharma that levelled the charge against the men in blue. India went to win the game with 13 balls remaining and levelled the series 1-1 with the third match to be played on Tuesday, 16th March.

Jason Roys laments lack of big scores; urges England to be on top against 'classy' India

Having squandered the opportunity to put serious pressure on the hosts India, England will be desperate to get back to winning ways in the third T20I of the series. England were outclassed in all the departments by India, who had to deal with a similar treatment in the first game. Indian batsmen batted with more freedom and fluency than the Englishmen, while the bowlers picked suitable lines and lengths for the pitch much better than English bowlers and the tourists were hurt by dropping easy chances off batsmen to get back in the game. With the series standing at a square 1-1 position, it makes up for a three-match series going forward and the team winning the next game will have some sort of psychological advantage. Having seen England struggle with the bat on a sluggish pitch, it is unlikely they will get any better pitch to bat on in the next game, but the confidence in the English camp has not deterred by the big loss in the last game. Instead, they are taking heart from their equally big win over India in the first game, and are itching to get on the filed to take the snatch the lead away from India. "I'm very confident we can bounce back. It's easier said than done, India are a class team. But the way we started the series in that first game was more comprehensive than what they gave to us on Sunday, so I think going into the third game we're still full of confidence,” England opener Jason Roy said in the pre-match press conference on Monday. He pointed out the difference in batting in the early overs of the game where the England batsmen including himself could manage to score runs a bit more fluently that during the latter phase of the game where they struggled to time the ball and boundaries were dried up. But for Roy, the England side is filled with quick learners and they must have got into adjusting their batting styles as per conditions and that impact will be seen in the next game. "We found the last eight overs of our batting a little bit difficult but I think the boys will bounce back - we're a fast-learning side so I don't think there's been a huge amount of wind out of our sails to be honest,” Roy added. Roy has been the shining light for England batting order as he has been belting bowlers around against the new ball. He was a dominant force with the bat while chasing a low score from India in the first game, while his second innings was a mixed with graft, struggle and mishits. His 35-ball-46 in the second game kept England in the hunt but his wicket in the 12th over broke the back of England batting. He conceded that lack fo big scores from the top order is the need of the hour for England and that scores of 'forties' which he has produced in the last two games look great on scorecards but don’t provide impetus to set competitive totals on the scoreboard. "I'm still looking for that big score. Those forties are great and look good on the scoreboard but to get 180s, 190s and very competitive totals in T20, you need someone to go on and get a big score. So as happy as I am there's still a lot to improve on,” Roy added. Roy was looking desperate to take on Indian spinners and attempted reverse sweeps off Chahal on numerous occasions before pulling off two in the ninth over of England innings. He then attempted to take the game to Washington Sundar who until that point had bowled brilliant in the powerplay. He thought of taking a calculated risk against the off-spinner but it did not work out as he had planned. "What I learned was just to make sure I was staying on my shots a little bit more," he added. "I was a bit out of position with a couple of my reverse-sweeps, and then rectified that during my innings. But it's a pitch where you've got to pick your bowler. Unfortunately the bowler I picked got me out. If that over had gone for a few runs, it would have swayed the momentum of our innings quite a bit. Roy conceded that he went out of his comfort zones in terms of choosing shots to attack spinners and that but has no regret of failing in the attempt of pushing for big runs as the T20 format demands batsmen to live on the edge where they have to put their wickets on the sword. "It was a calculated risk but didn't go my wayIf I hadn't got out, then a big score was probably around the corner. That's just the way T20 goes. If you live by the sword, you've got to be willing to die by it." Roy has been one of the mainstays for England in the white-ball formats and his success in the next three games of the series will matter for the fortunes of England in the ongoing series. Also, his success on Indian pitches will also give England confidence about their preparation for the World T20.