Vijay Hazare Trophy: Vishnu Solanki continues form as Baroda thump Tripura

PSL 6: Sultans look to bury last game mistakes against wobbly Zalmi

Going from 103 in 13 overs to getting only 150 at the end of 20 overs, was something that Multan Sultans couldn’t afford once again. The Mohammad Rizwan led side would be up against Peshawar Zalmi in their next game at the National Stadium in Karachi on 23rd February. On the other hand, Zalmi, who almost barged into the game against Lahore Qalandars courtesy of a brilliant reverse swinging spell from Saqib Mahmood, would be trying to get heavy with the bat. If they are able to score big with the bat, they would cause all sorts of problems to the Multan batting lineup with their three-pronged pace attack of skipper Wahab Riaz, Saquib Mahmood and Mohammad Imran. Death overs batting needs to get better for Sultans Sultan in their first game looked too much dependent on Mohammad Rizwan’s batting. If his 71 runs are taken out, there hardly remains an inning that can be talked about. It is the likes of Chris Lynn, James Vince and Rilee Rossouw who need to bring in their experience, occupy crease and blast in the last overs to get Zalmi to a strong total. The bowling of the Multan side was brilliant till the 19th over in the last game. It was only after Sohail Tanvir bowled some wayward deliveries that Lewis Gregory took the game away from them. Had he maintained discipline, it would have easily been Multan’s victory. However, areas, where they need to work, are Mohammad Umar’s run leaking tendencies and getting Imran Tahir in the squad to have two genuine spinners. They might also get in Sohail Khan in place of Sohaibullah. Batting a big worry for Zalmi The Peshawar Zalmi squad has one of the best batting lineups with the likes of Imam-Ul-Haq, Kamran Akmal at the top, followed by Shoaib Malik, Haider Ali and Ravi Bopara. But in the last game, they could not get the combination right as most of them failed at execution. It was due to the failure of the top order that Sherfane Rutherford, Bopara and Amad Butt were unable to play their natural hitting game. Thus Zalmi’ innings could only get to 140, which is below par T20 score in any conditions. In this game, they need to sort out the batting problem of they are looking to dominate the Multan bowling lineup. Peshawar Zalmi vs Multan Sultans Match Number- 05 Venue- National Stadium, Karachi Date and Time: 23rd February, 07:30 pm IST, 07:00 pm Local, 02:00 pm GMT Broadcast and Live Stream: Sony Ten and Sony LIV Pitch Report The National Stadium square has so far been a genuine T20I wicket with a lot on offer for both the batsmen and the bowlers. If the ball is kept on the stumps and variation in pace is regularly applied, scoring does get difficult for the batting team, especially when more than four fielders are outside the circle. Otherwise, the pitch has true bounce and the ball comes on to the bat nicely. Weather and Toss At this time of the year, the weather in Karachi remains moderate with bearable temperatures, even turning chilly in the evening and dew remains a constant feature throughout the winters and even most parts of the summers in the entire subcontinent. Karachi too would have a lot of dew. The skipper winning the toss would therefore choose to bowl first. Probable XIs Peshawar Zalmi Kamran Akmal (wk), Imam-ul-Haq, Haider Ali, Shoaib Malik, Ravi Bopara, Sherfane Rutherford, Amad Butt, Wahab Riaz (c), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Saqib Mahmood, Mohammad Imran Multan Sultans Mohammad Rizwan (c & wk), Chris Lynn, Shaan Masood, James Vince, Sohaib Maqsood, Khushdil Shah, Carlos Brathwaite, Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir, Imran Tahir, Sohail Khan Dream XI / Fantasy XI Kamran Akmal (wk), Mohammad Rizwan (c) James Vince, Chris Lynn, Sohaib Maqsood, Ravi Bopara, Shahid Afridi, Amad Butt, Saqib Mahmood, Sohail Tanvir, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Anderson chooses to see larger picture behind rotation policy; rules out reverse swing in 3rd Test

On a fifth day pith at the Chepauk in the first Test against India, Joe Root’s eyes and fans’ expectations were on the shoulders of spinners Dominic Bess and Jack Leach to delivery a victory for the tourists. They started the final day on a perfect note when Jack Leach got the big wicket of Cheteshwar Pujara, but very soon, they were put off their line of attack by Shubman Gill’s belligerence and Virat Kohli’s strong defence. Joe Root sensed Indians were settling in and they might put a lot of pressure on spinners and end up saving the game, and in search of magic, went to his oldest horse--James Anderson who has been managed well like a jewel by the England team management. What he produced in the very first over of his spell justified the level of cautions the England team management put on the workload of Anderson. He banked on the art of reverse swing which he has mastered over the years and used sparingly to get the best for his team in the subcontinent conditions. He beat an in-form Gill in one of his strongest defensives strides with a ball that swung late to sneak through the gap between his bat and pads. The next man in, Ajinkya Rahane looked nervous to start his innings, and Anderson breached his defence very early to put a big stumbling block on India’s chance of batting out the whole day to earn yet another escape. Albeit he produced a match-winning spell in the first Test and picked up wickets of Gill, Rahane and Rishabh Pant, the England management went on its way of rotating players and Anderson was next on line to sit out in the second Test. His exclusion from the second Test came under severe scrutiny from former players and some of them went on to say that the management has not been flexible enough to prioritize the big short-term achievements while planning for the distant future. For Anderson, the break was frustrating, but he is aware of the fact that England have to play 17 Tests in this year and players have to go through the process of sitting out in order to retain fitness and ensuring a player does not go through complete burnout. "The idea was if I missed that one, that would give me the best chance of being fit and firing for the pink-ball Test. So that's where I am at, at the minute: I am feeling good and fresh and ready to go again if called upon. It's hopefully going to keep me going for longer, and Stuart has said the same too,” Anderson said in a virtual press conference. "I've seen the last couple of years - 2019 when I missed the Ashes, and the start of 2020, when I got an injury in South Africa when the workload goes up, and it's the same for all bowlers, not just me. Those injuries do happen.” "We've got 17 Test matches this year and the best way of getting your best players firing for as many of those as possible is to take little rests every now and then it's just a case of trying to make sure you're not wearing someone out until they completely break in half." The reverse swing was Anderson’s weapon of choice in Chennai and hence his exclusion raised question marks on the priorities set by the England team. Going into the third Test though, Anderson is pragmatic on the prospects of reverse swing in Ahmedabad in the Pink-Bal Test. He has said that the chance of the pink ball swinging in the air after getting old is unlikely as the seam is more pronounced and it stays harder for a longer period of time than the red ball. "I think we will be unlikely to see the reverse. It depends on the pitch - if the pitch is really abrasive you might see a bit of reverse, but from how we've bowled it in the nets I would be very surprised if it does reverse. It may well stay a bit harder for longer. We'll have to wait and see how it reacts after 40-50 overs,” Anderson said in a virtual press conference. "For us old guys who don't have the chance to play white-ball cricket any more, it's a chance to play under lights again. I just feel it's something a little bit different - it's quite special playing cricket under lights. There has been a lot of controversies around the quality of pitches used so far in the series and the amount of assistance the spinners get out off the surfaces. Add to it the complexity of playing conditions in a day-night Test and the talks leading up to the third Test are cantred around the quality of the pitch and how tough it will be for batting given the pink ball is deemed to be more helpful for bowlers, especially seamers. Anderson joined the chorus of England cricketers who have been saying that the colour of the ball will not matter much and that the pitch will for sure assist the spinners. He said that although there are grasses on the pitch at the moment and it may help seamers in getting bounce off the surface, but the red soil underneath the upper surface is bound to help spinners. He also pointed out that the different playing conditions in a day-night Test such as playing under different lighting will play on players’ mind in the third Test in Ahmedabad. "I saw the pitch over the last couple of days and it's got a lot of grass on it but I can see a lot of red soil underneath which says to me it could well spin if they take a bit of grass off. All the seam bowlers want really is a bit of carry, which we haven't really had throughout the series. We're keeping our fingers crossed there's a bit more in it for the seamers,” Anderson added. "There is not a difference in how it behaves as such. The difficulty will be adjusting the eyes to different lights. Twilight, the guys have said has been a bit tricky. We've found that in all the [day-night] Tests we have played, whether in England, Australia or New Zealand. It does take that bit of time to get used to as the light fades and the floodlights take over from the natural light. Anderson is all set to walk back in the playing XI while the questions remain on his partner with the new ball in the third Test. If England persist with the rotation policy, Stuart Broad will be benched in the third Test and one among Jofra Archer and Mark Wood can come in if the tourists decide to play three frontline pacers, or else, if they show a bit of flexibility the experts are asking them to show in terms of team selection, Broad and Anderson will play together come this Wednesday.

1st T20 Report: Sizzling Devon Conway, swinging Southee-Boult power Blackcaps over rusty Oz

Dominating swing bowling from the new ball bowlers in Tim Southee and Trent Boult helped New Zealand to register a comprehensive win over Australia before Devon Conway had put on a display of his shot-making abilities to resurrect the home team out of early troubles. Conway was adjudged the Player of the Match for his magnificent 99 not out where he showed his full range of shots and tempo while batting. The tourists were chasing a target of 185 runs the Australian top-order batsmen could never get going against the impressive duo of Tim Southee and Trent Boult who swung balls from both ends. Aaron Finch had said before the start of the series about the work being done to improve his footwork, but none of it was on display during his short stay at the crease and he was guilty of playing rooted to the crease against Southee’s outswinger and the star of the night--Conway found ball safely in his hands at the short point position. The next man in was Josh Phillipe who has earned a place in the T20 squad on the back of a stellar run in the recently-concluded Big Bash League but proved to be a damp squib on his debut and handed Boult his first wicket of the night. Another opener Matthew Wade would have hoped for a change in fortunes with the change in format after an average series against India in the red-ball format, but the swing balls from both Boult and Southee did not provide him with any sense of easier life in New Zealand. He was squared up on numerous occasions and was finally dismissed inside the 4th over to keep New Zealand at the top. There was no end in sight for Australian batsman and Glenn Maxwell’s antics of playing in an unorthodox manner was not to be effective against the swing of Southee and the edge was taken at the second slip to make the setting completely like a proper Test match at the Hagley Oval. There was no respite for the Aussies as the spin twins of Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner did not allow them to get away with easy runs. All hopes were lying on Stoinis and Mitchell Marsh’s shoulders to steer the tourists of trouble, but the pressure of run-rate made Stoinis desperate for boundaries on every ball and eventually saw the all-rounder getting out on an along hop he would be disappointed missing out on. Marsh looked in great touch and reaped the advantage of Kyle Jamieson who thought of challenging him on short balls using his height, but the all-rounder from Western Australia was on top of his game and thumped him towards the leg side whenever he got the opportunity. However, the tall pacer had the last laugh and dismissed Marsh with the help of a tremendous catch by Santner in the point region, and with his departure, the end was nigh for the tourists. The lower-order comprising Ashton Agar and Daniel Sams capitulated against Sodhi and New Zealand took a 1-0 lead in the five-match long T20 series. But their path to winning was not as seamless as it appeared at the end of the game. Earlier, Australia won the toss and Finch asked his bowlers to extract whatever they could off the pitch and on cue, Daniel Sams and Jhye Richardson got their lines and lengths right to peg the hosts back by the second over. When Kane Williamson was caught under-edging a pull shot off Sams in the fourth over, the tourists were all over the hosts and a fighting score looked a distant dream for them. From there on though, the story changed completely for the hosts as Devon Conway and Glenn Phillips started taking the game to the Australian bowling attack. The duo stitched together a partnership of 74 runs to bring the Blackcaps back on track. Phillips failed to covert his explosive start into a substantial innings, but Conway carried on his merry way and upped his tempo towards the end of the innings. Along with James Neesham, Conway put the Australian bowlers on the sword and plundered 76 runs in the last five overs out of which he contributed 45 runs from only 20 balls. The action will not shift to Dunedin where the second T20 of the series is scheduled to be played and both sides will have some questions about the top order but the tourists will have a lot to ponder about the lack of form of skipper Finch and vice-captain Matthew Wade, while the hosts will be hopeful of putting a similar performance in the next match.

NZ vs AUS | 1st T20I: All RCB players disappoint

New Zealand defeated Australia by 53 runs in the first game of the five-match T20I series. All eyes were at the big buys from Australia and New Zealand who were specially bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Out of the 22 players on the field, five players will most probably part of the RCB playing XI. However, all of them failed in this game. When New Zealand was put to bat first at the Hagley Oval, RCB men in Adama Zampa, Daniel Sams and Glenn Maxwell couldn’t do much with the ball. While Zampa was economical in the sense that he gave away just 20 runs in three overs, but couldn’t pick any wicket. Sams did pick two wickets but was on the expensive side as he was taken for forty runs in his four overs. While batting both Glen Maxwell (bought for 14.25 crore rupees) and Josh Philippe (retained) couldn’t even get to double-digit. While Philippe was removed by Boult just for two runs, Maxwell was caught at the slip on a Tim Southee outswinger for a solitary run. In bowling too, Maxwell bowled just one over and gave away nine runs. The only other player from RCB involved on the New Zealand side was Kyle Jamieson. Even he was not at his usual best, giving away 32 runs in just three overs and picking just one wicket. Devon Conway, who went unsold in the IPL Mini Auction at a base price of 50 Lakh rupees slammed unbeaten 99 in 59 balls with 10 fours and three sixes to take the New Zealand total to 184-5 in 20 overs. Australia bundled out for 131 as Ish Sodhi, another unsold player at the auction picked up four wickets.