WATCH: Michael Klinger grabs a stunner

SL vs ENG: James Anderson scalps 6 but hosts post 381 in Galle

England fast bowler James Anderson showed his class once again after scalping a six-wicket haul against Sri Lanka in the first innings of the second Test in Galle. Anderson’s scalps included the dismissals of Thirimane, Kusal Perera, Oshada Fernando, Angelo Mathews, Niroshan Dickwella and Suranga Lakmal. The hosts were once against in a spot of bother after getting reduced to 76/3 when Mathews and captain Chandimal joined hands and stitched a stand of 117 runs for the third wicket. Chandimal notched up a half-century before departing for 52. While Mathews scored 110 before getting out to Anderson. While Sri Lanka lost few wickets at regular intervals, Dickwella who came in at number six stayed strong at one end for his 92. Later, Dilruwan Perera frustrated the English bowlers as he scored 67 off 170 deliveries. The home side was eventually bundled out for 381. While Anderson bagged a six-for, Mark Wood picked three wickets and Sam Curran had one dismissal to his name. This is the 30th time where Anderson has picked up five or more wickets in an innings as he eventually returned with figures of 6/40. This was the first instance at Galle where all ten wickets were picked by the fast bowlers. England already lead the series by 1-0.

BBL 10: Melbourne Renegades lose again

Brisbane Heat beat Melbourne Renegades by 26 runs after defending a target of 174 run in 20 overs. Renegades batting woes continued as they lost an early wicket in the chase. Captain Aaron Finch departed for 4 after getting trapped in front of the stumps by Mark Steketee. Opener Shaun Marsh and Sam Harper dis stitch a stand of 42 runs for the second wicket but Marsh’s dismissal saw wickets going down at regular intervals. Though, Harper notched up a half-century but he ran out of partners at the other end as Melbourne were bowled out for 147 eventually. Steketee scalped three wickets while Xavier Bartlett and Mitchell Swepson picked up a couple of wickets each. Earlier, Brisbane started off well, courtesy a partnership of 78 runs between captain Chris Lynn and Max Bryant. Lynn scored 52 while Bryant was undone for 26. Marnus Labuschagne then chipped in with 49 off 31 while Gregory and Peirson remained unbeaten at 16 off 14 and 10 off 5 respectively. Brisbane posted 173/5 in 20 overs. Zak Evans bagged three wickets for Renegades while Imad Wasim and Peter Hatzoglou picked up a wicket apiece. Labuschagne was adjudged the man of the match. The Heat are placed at the second last position while Renegades are bottom placed in the points table. Brisbane have 21 points from 12 matches while Renegades have 13 points from 12 games.

Shubman Gill credits Yuvraj Singh for his heroics Down Under

Young Indian opener Shubman Gill has credited former India legend Yuvraj Singh for his consistent run in Australia in his maiden season as a full-time Test opener. Gill spent a considerable amount of time with the former left-hander in a camp before the last Indian Premier League. Gill who had played a few limited-overs matches coming into the long tour got his elusive Test cap during the Boxing Day Test against Australia. From the outset, his strokeplay was exceptional and was one of those very few players who looked at complete ease against a world-class Australian pace battery and Nathan Lyon. He did play a few poor shots which brought about his downfall but his composure in the crease was a sight to behold. He smashed a sensational 91 in the 2nd innings of the final Test and provided the much-needed impetus for the guys coming after him to go after the target. Gill who looked at ease against well-directed short deliveries was trained by Yuvraj with throwdowns in the nets. Gill was one of the finds for India during the Test series and his returns clearly show that he is here to stay. "The camp with Yuvi paaji before the IPL was very useful. During that camp, he prepared me to face the chin music. He used to throw hundreds of short-pitch balls to me from different angles, and I think it helped me a lot," Gill was quoted as saying by the Times of India. Despite looking at ease against all the top fast bowler he did admit that he was a bit nervous while making his debut for India and quite understandably so. "I am relaxed now. Making my debut for India is a big relief. I was a bit nervous,” Gill added.

IPL 2021: AB de Villiers first overseas player to join Rs. 100 Cr club

RCB batsman AB de Villiers another feather to his hat after bagging another contract with the franchise. De Villiers became the first overseas player to top INR 100 crore in earnings in the IPL according to a report in InsideSport. Former India skipper MS Dhoni, India captain Virat Kohli and his limited-overs deputy Rohit Sharma have already crossed the mark while Suresh Raina became the fourth Indian to achieve the feat after he was retained by the Chennai Super Kings for the upcoming IPL. The right-handed batsman has an earning of Rs 11 crore for a season taking him to a total amount of INR 102.5 crore from his contracts. The South African has been a part of the IPL since 2008. He was bought by Delhi Daredevils for a little more than 1 crore and later moved to RCB in 2011 after fetching an amount little over Rs 5 crore. He has been with the RCB franchise since then. In 169 IPL matches that de Villiers has played so far, he has amassed a total of 4849 runs at an average of over 40 and scoring three tons and 38 half-centuries. In the last edition, the Proteas player scored 454 runs in 15 matches at an average of 45. AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli became the first pair to share ten century partnerships and 3000 runs between them. RCB’s retained players Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Yuzvendra Chahal, Devdutt Padikkal, Washington Sundar, Mohammad Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Adam Zampa, Shahbaz Ahmed, Josh Philippe, Kane Richardson, and Pawan Deshpande. RCB's released players Aaron Finch, Moeen Ali, Gurkeerat Mann, Chris Morris, Shivam Dube, Dale Steyn, Parthiv Patel, Isuru Udana, Umesh Yadav, and Pawan Negi.