WATCH: Panelist calls Virat Kohli's gestures a disorder

BBL10 | Preview: Thunder face Sixers in Sydney Smash as they fight for survival

It is going to be a battle for survival for the Thunder as they take on the cross-town rivals Sixers in what is going to be the most important game of their campaign in Adelaide. The Men in Fluorescent Green have lost three games in a row and hence what was looking like a certainty a few days ago, their chances of making it to the Playoffs have gotten slimmer by the day. This match is also important because if they are not able to win this one, the would-be facing Adelaide in two games straightaway at the Strikers’ home ground, winning those two matches on the trot would become very difficult, especially considering the form of the Strikers in their last game against the Heat. In this second Smash of the season, apart from all these things, avenging the last defeat would also be somewhere in the corner of all Thunder men's minds. Ferguson must find the right match The problem with the Thunder team in the last three games have been the throwing away of the wickets and all key batsmen getting out all at once. It is something that the team needs to look at and address as soon as possible. Even after having the top four as strong as they have with the likes of Alex Hales, Usman Khawaja, Ferguson himself, and then Billings coming at four, they haven’t really been able to utilize the death overs or even the power surge. On a batting-friendly Adelaide track, it would hence be necessary for skipper Ferguson to either anchor the innings or delegate it to someone like Khawaja and then let there be a free flow of runs from the other end. Similarly in the bowling department, their dependence on just Daniel Sams wouldn’t do any good as he wouldn’t be available for the three most important games of the Thunder campaign after getting a bone and ligament injury against Hurricanes at Manuka Oval. It is therefore important that the rest of the fast bowlers strategize their areas to bowl in and which overs they will bowl alongside the two spinners in Tanveer Sangha and Chris Green. Henriques, Abbott boost to the Sixers Already in a very strong position as of now, the Sixers have been given a big boost in the form of their skipper Moises Henriques and fast bowling all-rounder Sean Abbott joining them in the Sydney Smash. While this would pose selection problems, but at the same time, it is going to be a real challenge for the opposition to face a stronger Sixers team than they faced last time around at Manuka. With Josh Philippe and Steve O’Keefe in the best of their forms and two great all-rounders in Dan Christian and Carlos Brathwaite already available and going great, the inclusion of Henriques and Abbot is something that will boost the chances of Sixers going 2-0 in the Sydney Smash this year, until and unless Thunder find some inspiration from within. Sixers vs Thunder: Match Details Match Number- 48 Date and Time- Jan 22, 2021, 01:45:00 pm IST, 07:15pm Local, 08.15 am GMT Venue- Adelaide Oval Broadcast- Sony LIV, Sony Sports Network Pitch Report The Adelaide wicket looks like a usual T20 wicket with a lot of runs scoring opportunities for batsmen and the bowlers have to really slog it out to get desired results. The only way bowlers can overpower the men with the willow in their hands is by being consistent with their variations. Bowling length or in a particular channel wouldn’t help on this wicket until and unless you have 200 runs in the kitty. Weather and Bat Flip The skies are going to be clear and the temperature perfectly all right for a cricket game hovering in the twenties of teh celsius. In such a situation, a skipper winning the toss would go for fielding first, although batting first wouldn’t be a bad option either, especially for Sixers to put pressure on the Thunder batsmen by scoring big in the first innings. Strongest XI Sixers Josh Philippe (wk), Daniel Hughes, James Vince, Moises Henriques(c), Jordan Silk, Daniel Christian, Carlos Brathwaite, Steve O'Keefe, Sean Abbott, Jake Ball, Lloyd Pope Strongest XI Thunder Usman Khawaja, Alex Hales, Callum Ferguson (c), Sam Billings (wk), Chris Tremain, Oliver Davies, Ben Cutting, Nathan McAndrew, Chris Green, Adam Milne, Tanveer Sangha

BBL10 | Preview: Hurricanes face scorchers as the race for the Playoffs gets exciting

The race for the BBL 2020-21 season Playoffs is getting excited with each passing day, and with the tournament reaching to its final stage, it is bound to get even more exciting as the two hopefuls for a position in the Playoffs collide at the Docklands in Melbourne, a neutral venue for both the sides. Both the teams have won their last games and look in fine touch to give a treat to the audiences although at the last time these two collided at the Optus in Pert, they weren’t really able to pull off a stunner as a one-sided affair was won comfortably by the Scorchers. But this is not Optus and two dangermen of the Hurricanes look in too sublime a touch to be rolled over easily. The biggest battle between bat and ball The two teams competing are also the two teams in the tournament which have established themselves as best representatives of Batting and bowling prowess. With Jhye Richardson in the ranks of the Scorchers and Ben McDermott flexing his big muscles for the Hurricanes, it is going to be a clash of the titans with the bat and the ball. Last time around, Richardson, 24, had got McDermott, 26. out very easily and thus this match presents itself as an opportunity for Big Ben to redeem himself against the Scorchers and Richardson, more so because he finally seemed in full form after ages as he murdered the ball at Manuka against the Thunder. Apart from this big battle, the likes of Jason Brehendroff and Andrew Tye have bowled brilliantly too and with Dawid Malan and Tim David finding their form in the last game as well, this is going to be a huge battle between the two sides and the one with the nerves of steel is going to come out victorious. But that doesn't mean that the other departments of these two teams are weak. In fact with Lima Livingstone, Jason Roy, and Colin Munro getting into form all at the same time, teh Scorchers have a decent batting lineup which must be feared by all. Similarly, the three Hurricanes' pacers in Scott Boland, Riley Meredith, and Nathan Ellis combined with Sandeep Lamichchanne’s leg-spin and Mitch Own and D’Arcy Short's part-time bowling looks like a good enough bowling unit as well. Security at stake This match is more important than any other game in the tournament as with a win in this game, whichever team archives it, they would give a headache to the rest of the six teams while securing themselves a moment of relief. With this win, either Hurricanes or Scorchers would reach at least 26 points, thereby putting pressure on Strikers and Stars especially as they have only two games left and they would be behind by two or more points from the second-place team. Therefore a victory in this game is a must for both teams. New inclusions While the Hurricanes for the first time will have their regular skipper in Matthew Wade alongside experienced wicketkeeper Tim Paine, the Scorchers have been rewarded with the inclusion of big Mitchell Marsh who has recovered from the injury and is ready to crack it at the Docklands. Hurricanes vs Scorchers: Match Details Match Number- 47 Date and Time- Jan 22, 2021, 10:35:00 am IST, 4.05pm Local, 05.05 am GMT Venue- Adelaide Oval Broadcast- Sony LIV, Sony Sports Network Pitch Report The pitch at the docklands, as seen during the Melbourne Derby seems to be a bit on the slower side with odd balls holding up and gripping and also a hint of swing even with the white ball if the bowlers hit the right length. Thus at such a pitch, going for a high score should not be the option for the team batting first, rather the batsmen must settle down and apply themselves to get the best use of the wicket and ground dimensions during the slog overs as was taught by Mckenzie Harvey in the last game here. Weather and Bat Flip With the weather being mostly sunny in the daytime and light winds in the late evening, the team winning the bat flip would look to field first and utilize the winds for fast bowlers to chase down a target in the second innings. Strongest XI Hurricanes Ben McDermott (wk), Matthew Wade (Captain), D'Arcy Short, Dawid Malan, Tim David, Tim Paine, Mitchell Owen, Nathan Ellis, Scott Boland, Riley Meredith, Sandeep Lamichhane Strongest XI Scorchers Jason Roy, Liam Livingstone, Colin Munro, Josh Inglis (wk), Mitchell Marsh, Ashton Turner (c), Aaron Hardie, Jhye Richardson, Andrew Tye, Jason Behrendorff, Fawad Ahmed

BBL10: Carey, Agar shine as Strikers humiliate Heat at Adelaide

Adelaide Strikers vice-captain Alex Carey finally showed his true potential as he led from the front in a must-win game for the team as the Strikers beat Brisbane Heat by a huge margin of 82 runs to keep their hopes of reaching the BBL 2020-21 Playoffs alive. Paceman Wes Agar was equally up to the task as he picked up four crucial wickets to dismantle the Heat’ chase completely, even before it got going. Chasing a gigantic total of 198, the Heat trying to get off to a flyer lost an important wicket of skipper Chris Lynn, and from there onwards, Marnus Labuschagne and Joe Denly tried to build a partnership but one of Wes Agar saw the back of both the batsmen. From there onwards there was no recovery at all as the Heat kept on losing wickets at regular intervals, eventually bundling out for a meager 115 in the 18th over. Agar finished with the figures of 4/27 to become the joint highest wicket-taker in the tournament, tied with Jhye Richardson at 21 wickets. Apart from him, Peter Siddle got three wickets while the rest of the bowlers used in the game too picked up a wicket each. Earlier in the day, Strikers skipper Travis Head won the toss and decided to bat first. His decision was backed up by Carey and Jake Weatherald as they got the team off in a hurry, scoring 66 in the first six overs without losing a wicket. But Waeetherald soon got out. However Carey, 29, continued and the second hundred of his t20 career, as he got out on 101 off 62 balls. But before getting out, he had taken Strikers to a total which was most certainly winnable. For the Heat part-time leg spinner, Marnus Labuschagne picked up two wickets. With this victory, the Blue Brigade has now rushed to the fourth position in the Points Table with an equal number of points as Thunder, Scorchers, and Stars. The best part of the game apart from the batting and bowling brilliance was the Michael Neser catch to remove the last Heat wicket.

Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes back as England name a full strength squad for first two Tests vs India

The England National Selectors announced a 22 member squad for the first two Tests against India. While the main squad comprises 16 players, six extra players have been named as reserves and injury replacements, considering that covid-19 is still at bay and it wouldn’t be easy to get in players to enter the team bubble in between any series. Joe Root will lead the side in the first two Tests at Chennai, while Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer will also be back for a Test series for the first time since teh Pakistan series at home last summer. Jonathan Bairstow, Sam Curran, and Mark Wood have been rested for the first two Tests as per the consistent policy of the ECB of rotating similarly skilled players to keep them fresh. The England team is currently in Sri Lanka competing in the two-match Test series, the first match of which has been won by the guests by seven wickets. The four-match series versus India would be a crucial one from the perspective of the World Test Championship as if England also win their second Test against Sri Lanka, will come in contention for a place in the WTC Finals to be held at Lord’s in June. The Indian squad, after a record-breaking Australia victory, would be the toughest challenge that England ever faced in the WTC so far. England squad Joe Root (Yorkshire) (captain), Jofra Archer (Sussex), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), James Anderson (Lancashire), Dom Bess (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Rory Burns (Surrey), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Zak Crawley (Kent), Ben Foakes (Surrey), Dan Lawrence (Essex), Jack Leach (Somerset), Dom Sibley (Warwickshire), Ben Stokes (Durham), Olly Stone (Warwickshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire) Schedule Friday 5-9 February: 1st Test – India v England, MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai Saturday 13-17 February: 2nd Test – India v England, MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai