Welsh Fire vs Trent Rockets: When & where to watch match Live, Probable XI, Fantasy XI

1st Test, Day 2 report: James Anderson halts India's dominance before rain plays spoilsport

If throwing away massive opportunity from the position of a lion in a game would have been an art, this Indian batting order under the leadership of Virat Kohli should be top-rated artists of it. Having started the day from 21/0 and then to 97/0 just before the lunch break, India gave a stiff competition to England in terms of collapse and slipped to 125/4 by the time rain arrived to frustrate both sides. Rohit’s familiar undoing Rohit Sharma was showing immense composure around his off stump, and even though he could not trap England bowlers to bowl straight to him, he was solid in his crease. He was mindful of England’s eagerness to induce him into driving through off side, and he did not take the bait for the longes part of his batting. The right-hander was looking set for a big one, but as they say, England’s newest talisman Ollie Robison tested the bounce off the pitch. Just minutes before his short ball to Rohit, Sky Sports commentators were discussing if England were one-dimensional in their approach and should they try short ball against Indian openers. On cue, Robinson got one to bounce high to Rohit’s right shoulder, and an impulsive hooker that Rohit is, hooked him straight to Sma Curran at deep square leg boundary to end yet another impressive innings that could well have been a career-defining one. It was not the first time Rohit went back to the pavilion in that manner. Earlier in the year, he had hooked Pat Cummins just minutes before the scheduled close of play to hand over the advantage to Australia. Rohit would do well to remember that getting starts in English conditions are the most difficult task for openers in Test cricket, and he should not be throwing his hard work and patience just for the poor application of shots. He should learn to deny himself the opportunity to go all guns blazing after picking up a short ball, and he would do well to remind himself that if only providing good platforms to the side was enough to leave a legacy, Cheteshwar Puajra would not have faced such critical observation every now and then. KL Rahul’s resurrection While Rohit threw away a good start and initial hard work, KL Rahul was in no mood to let go of the chance that came his way based on luck. He to was watchful around his off stump and their discipline compelled former England captain Andrew Strauss to say that “Indian batsmen are good to be watched at for a whole day”. He was vigilant but started cutting loose after the first hour of the day. He was eager to put bowlers under pressure and took full toll of overpitched deliveries from desperate England pacers. Sam Curran, used all the variations of his angle, to test his application, but after scoring crisp boundaries and regaining control around off stump, Rahul was ready with the front foot down the pitch of the ball to drive him down the ground and through the cover. He remained not out and his stay and score will dictate how far India will go in the game before unleashing Bumrah and Shami on the England batting group. Anderson wins first bout against Kohli Kohli was welcomed with resounding reception as a full house Trent Bride could sense what was coming. The duo has had a compelling history to excite fans of the game and the scrip did not look any different. Anderson was all over Kohli in the 2014 series, while the Indian skipper bounced back strongly in the next series in 2018. The contest between them started at a critical juncture of the game as England were looking to snatch the momentum back from India. The contest went fully in Anderson’s favour as an outstanding first delivery from the pacer drew Kohli reaching out away from his off stump and the ball caught the edge of his bat to leave England cock-a-hoop. Unarguably the most tenacious bowler to have ever played the game, Anderson brought England ahead in the game with two big wickets of Cheteshwar Pujara and Vira Kohli on two consecutive balls. Looking ahead to the third day The forecast for the third day does not seem to be too good compared to the second day of the game where the game was reduced to just one and a half sessions. However, if England would be able to see the back of one among Rahul or Rishabh Pant, they would feel confident of taking the first-innings lead. India would bank on Pant’s methods to cut down the current defect of 58 runs as quickly as possible and then building a lead over it to put the fragile England batting order under serious pressure. Rahuls’ composed presence at the crease will be critical for India as he can shift his gears according to changing situations of the game, and some half an hour of successful aggressive cricket can turn the tide back in India’s favour.

Chepauk Super Gillies vs Lyca Kovai Kings: When & where to watch match LIVE, Probable XI, Fantasy XI

The Chepauk Super Gillies and the Lyca Kovai Kings will go head to head in the 24th game of the ongoing edition of the Tamil Nadu Premier League. The Super Gillies are sitting comfortably at the second position on the points table while the Kovai Kings find themselves at the number five position. The Kovai Kings have been able to win two out of the five matches played so far in the season while the Super Gillies have registered one more win than their next opponent with an equal number of matches. The Chepauk Gillies will rely on the quartet of Narayan Jagadeesan, Uthirasamy Sasidev, Manimaran Siddharth, and S Harish Kumar to take them to their fourth win of the season. On the other hand, Sai Sudharsan, Ganga Sridhar Raju will take the onus of winning the game for the Kovai Kings. Match Details Match:CSG vs LKK, 24th Match, Tamil Nadu Premier League 2021 Date: Thursday, August 05, 2021 Time: 7:30 PM Venue: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai TV: Star Sports Network Live Streaming: Disney+Hotstar Pitch Report The pitch at the M.A Chidambaram stadium has been traditionally on the slower side and will assist spinners. However, the onset of due, especially in the second innings will negate some of the advantages for the spinners. Probable XI CSG Kaushik Gandhi (c), N Jagadeesan (wk), Uthirasamy Sasidev, Rajagopal Sathish, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Sonu Yadav, Harish Kumar, Jaganath Sinivas, Manimaran Siddharth, R Alexander, Sandeep Warrier LKK Ganga Sridhar Raju, J Suresh Kumar (wk), Sai Sudharsan, Ashwin Venkataraman, Shahrukh Khan (c), Abhishek Tanwar, U Mukilesh, N Selva Kumaran, S Ajith Ram, R Divakar, Valliappan Yudheeswaran Fantasy XI N Jagadeesan (C & WK), Shahrukh Khan, Ganga Sridhar Raju, Sai Sudharsan, Abhishek Tanwar, Harish Kumar, Rajagopal Sathish, S Ajith Ram, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Uthirasamy Sasidev, Sandeep Warrier

BAN vs AUS | 3rd T20I: Tigers smell historic series win over depleted Kangaroos

Bangladesh have an outstanding chance of attaining an unprecedented height in the third T20I of the series against Australia. They have won the first two T20Is of the series and can win their first series against the tourist for the first time in any format. Australia, on the other hand, will be desperate to keep the series alive although their prospect does not look too bright. They have missed their established players such as Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell, and Marcus Stoinis, but the failure of young players to step up their performances have let them down so far in the series. If it wasn’t for Mitchell Marsh’ brilliance with the bat, the situation could well have been much more embarrassing for the tourists in the series. On the other hand, Bangladesh spinners Mahedi Hasan and Nasum Ahmed, along with Mustafizur Rahma, who has a lot of tricks up his sleeve, have squeezed the Australian batsmen. Australia have been in such dire straits that two of the lowest total in their T20I history have come in the series so far and the agony does not seem to have a swift and pleasant end for them as well. Bangladesh vs Australia: Match Details Match Number- 03 Date and Time: 06 August, 2021, 05:30 pm IST, 06:00 pm Local, 12:00pm GMT Venue: Sher-E-Bangla Stadium, Dhaka Live Stream: FanCode Pitch report The pitches so far at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur have been slow and lower in nature. The Australians were hoping for such conditions before hedging to the all-important T20 World Cup, but their performance will not give comforting signs to the team management. Team News Bangladesh Somya Sarkar has not been able to deliver so far in the series could face the heat. However, he is unlikely to be dropped from the third game of the series. Apart from him, Bangladesh should not contemplate making any change in the playing XI. Probable XI Mohammad Naim, Soumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah (c), Nurul Hasan (wk), Afif Hossain, Shamim Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Nasum Ahmed Australia The opening pair of Alex Carey and Josh Phillipe has been abysmal so far in the series. However, Australia don’t have too many options at the top of the order and will back the duo to finally translate their Big Bash performance onto the big stage. Probable XI Alex Carey, Josh Philippe, Mitchell Marsh, Moises Henriques, Matthew Wade (c & wk), Ashton Turner, Ashton Agar, Mitchell Starc, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood Fantasy XI Matthew Wade, Moises Henriques, Nurul Hasan, Josh Phillipe, Mitchell Marsh (C), Shakib Al Hasan (VC), Nasun Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Mustafizur Rahman

Jofra Archer ruled out of T20 World Cup, Ashes series after recurrence of stress fracture

In a massive setback to England, star pacer Jofra Archer has been ruled out of the action for the entire year and will miss all of the Test series against India, ICC World T20 and the Ashes series at the end of the year. The pacer has suffered a recurrence of a stress fracture in his right elbow, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said in a statement. Notably, Archer has undergone surgery and got a bone fragment removed from the right elbow. He returned for Sussex in the County Championship but could not last long in the field with lingering pain. “The England and Wales Cricket Board can confirm that England fast bowler Jofra Archer underwent further scans on his injured right elbow last week. The scans revealed that he has suffered a recurrence of a stress fracture of his right elbow. In response to these findings, he has been ruled out for the rest of the year and will miss the current LV= Insurance Test series against India, the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 and the Ashes series in Australia,” the ECB said. Archer has suffered repetitive injuries this year as he had to go through surgery on his finger after injuring it while cleaning a fish tank at his home. Archer’s absence from the marquee events such as the World T20 and the Ashes series will come as a massive setback for England’s fortunes in Australia and the UAE.