Was looking to get into the groove: Rahane after hitting the nets ahead of IPL 2021

County game might report losses in excess of £100 million due to COVID-19: Neil Snowball

The ECB managing director of county cricket Neil Snowball has said that the domestic game expected to report combined losses in excess of £100 million as soon as the 18 first-class counties publish their accounts by the end of next month. Snowball further said that the crowd was required in the stands to curb the financial losses. “The larger venues that have more diverse revenue streams have copped it more than others," Snowball said. "The bottom line is we need to get people back, we need to get the crowds back." According to the ECB, the board is planning to get a 25 percent crowd from May 17 and 50 percent capacity from June 21. The counties are considering all the options like continuing the use of masks and vaccination passports. "There has been a lot of talk. We have gone from no passports to suddenly now looking at a Covid certification," Snowball said. "If you look at June 21, it is going to be a question of balancing three things. One, if there is going to be some sort of passport or Covid certification, second is testing, third is some sort of social distancing and we have said we will do whatever we are asked to do to make sure we can get the maximum number of people back,” he added.

Feel privileged to be part of CSK: Cheteshwar Pujara

India Test mainstay Cheteshwar Pujara made a comeback to the Indian Premier League after he was bought by the Chennai Super Kings for his base price of INR 50 lakh. Pujara who is making a return to the cash-rich league after a gap of 7 years said that it was an emotional moment for him as he will be playing under MS Dhoni’s captaincy. Pujara further added that Dhoni was the skipper of the Indian team when he made his debut for the side. "It is very kind of him to say that (on Srinivasan's comments). I feel privileged to be part of such a franchise which respects the performance of the players for the national team. I am lucky that I will be playing under Mahi bhai who was my captain when I made my international debut. And when Mr Srinivasan, who has been associated with cricket for a long time, says such things, it feels great. It is an emotional moment for me," Pujara told Cricbuzz. Talking about himself as a T20 cricketer, Pujara said that the kind of experience he has at the international level can help in succeeding in the shorter format as well. “Having played a lot of cricket at the international level, I am very confident I will do well in the shorter format too. I feel I am part of the right setup in the IPL. That is the best thing that could have happened to me,” he added. CSK will begin the IPL 2021 campaign on April 10 against Delhi Capitals in Mumbai.

Pant will be a talismanic leader: Raina after the wicket-keeper was named DC captain

Delhi Capitals wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant was named as the captain of the side on Tuesday. Pant would be leading DC in absence of the regular skipper Shreyas Iyer who was injured during the England series at home. Former India batsman Suresh Raina congratulated Pant. The Chennai Super Kings batsman took to Twitter and wrote,”Heartiest congratulations to @RishabhPant17 on being named the captain of @DelhiCapitals for this season. I am sure he will be a talismanic leader and will be donning this new cap with pride.” The Delhi franchise made the announcement on Tuesday and tweeted, “Rishabh Pant will be our Captain for #IPL2021. @ShreyasIyer15 has been ruled out of the upcoming season following his injury in the #INDvENG series.” The aggressive left-handed batsman thanked the management after being named as the captain. "Delhi is where I grew up, and where my IPL journey began six years ago. To lead this team one day is a dream I've always harboured. And today, as that dream comes true, I feel humbled. I am truly grateful, especially to our team owners, who considered me capable enough for this role,” Pant said. "With an amazing coaching staff, and a plethora of accomplished seniors around me, I can't wait to give my absolute best for Delhi Capitals," he further added. The Delhi Capitals team will begin their IPL 2021 campaign against Chennai Super Kings on April 10 in Mumbai.

WI vs SL | 2nd Test Day 2: Thirimanne's fifty keeps Lanka in game after Brathwaite's marathon ton

A fighting half-century from Lahiru Thirimanne kept Sri Lanka in the game on the second day of the Test after West Indies skipper Kraig Brathwaite led Windies’ batting efforts in the first innings with a marathon century. Brathwaite was the last man dismissed for the hosts at the score of 126. Replying to hosts’ fighting total of 354, Sri Lanka were jolted early on courtesy a one-handed catch by Nkrumah Bonner in the gully to send Dimuth Karunaratne back to the pavilion. The Sri Lankan skipper has been poor with the bat in the series and once again was guilty of playing so far away from his body and Alazarri Joseph tasted early success for the hosts. The next man in Oshado Fernando was tentative at the crease and after scoring streaky boundaries and surviving a close call by umpire’s call, he was found wanting against Kyle Mayers. At the other end of the pitch, Thirimanne was batting with a sublime touch and pulled out drives whenever Windies’ bowlers tried to tempt into driving. He took the bait but was better than the bowlers would have hoped and Sri Lanka’s innings were underway although wickets were falling. However, as soon as he brought up yet another milestone in the series, Thirimanne was castled by Kemar Roach to leave the coach Mickey Arthur anguished. The game could have gone away from Sri Lanka after the fall of Thirimanne but Dinesh Chandimal and Dhananjaya de Silva got their acts together and stitched an unbeaten partnership to end the day with the game hanging in balance. Earlier at the start of the day, Windies skipper Brathwaite, who was unbeaten on 99 reached an elusive hundred after a long gap of three years. He had last scored a Test century in 2018 and this century will serve him well as he has embarked on the journey as the leader of the pack. At the other end, his unbeaten partner on the first day Rakheem Cornwall started from where he left on the last day and helped Windies go past the 33 run-mark quite seamlessly. The right-hander also reached his own fifty in the first session of the day to set things up for Windies. Brimming with confidence and having spent enough time in the middle, Cornwall started to take the game to bowlers after a relatively quiet morning with the bat. However, he perished in the pursuit of dominance as Lakmal came back to claim his fourth wicket. Kemar Roach survived for a long time at the crease and allowed Brathwaite to cash in on tiring Sri Lankan bowlers before Chameera came back to remove both him and the well-set Kraigg Brathwaite. Sri Lanka will be hopeful of a solid partnership between Chandimal and de Silva on the third day of the second Test if they have to get to a position of strength or close to Windies’ first innings total.