WI vs SA | 1st Test, Day 1: South Africa pacers baptise West Indies in hellfire

PSL 2021 | PSZ vs LHQ: Malik’s half-century in vain as Rashid, Tim David once again lift Qalandars to win

The 39-year-old Shoaib Malik seemed to be defying his age as he fought a brave but lone battle, playing a scintillating inning of 73 runs off just 48 balls, before getting out in an anti-climatic manner via hit wicket. Malik was the only threat for Lahore Qalandars who went on to win the game eventually by 10 runs thanks to some stupendous bowling effort by Rashid Khan. Malik was neutralised by the climbing asking rate, forcing him to dig deep in his crease, which eventually led to his fall. He chopped off his stumps with his won bat, trying to cut a wide Haris Rauf delivery in the 19th over. After his wicket, Umaid Asif, who wasn’t exposed to strike during Malik’s time at the crease hit three sixes to bring the margin of loss down as well as entertain the fans. Praising Malik for his performance, Zalmi skipper Wahab Riaz said, “The role given to him, he's performing it wonderfully. He has got a lot of experience, I am happy with how he batted tonight.” Chasing the target of 171 st up by the Qalandars, the Zalmis were forced to lie ow thanks to brilliant powerplay bowling by James Faulkner, Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf. However, just as Malik and his partner David Miller, who joined him after Faulkner removed Kamran Akmal and Haider Ali, were trying to get going, the Afghan maestro struck to get rid of Miller. Then in the span of just 16 balls, the entire Zalmi middle order was back in the hut courtesy of Rashid. After Miller, he got rid of the rest of the overseas brigade which included all three west Indians in Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford and Fabian Allen. Malik then stitched a 41 run partnership with skipper Wahab Riaz to get as close to the chase as possible. But that wasn’t enough as the 22-year-old leggie came back to remove Wahab and pick his first five-wicket haul in franchise cricket. For this performance he Rashid was awarded Man of the Match. With this, he now has to back to back Man of the Matches in his kitty at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Earlier in the evening, after being asked to bat first, Qlanadars got off to the worst possible start, losing four wickets for 25 runs in eight overs. Much like the last game, Australians came to the rescue of the team from Lahore as Tim David, a hero for the last game, paired up with wicket-keeper batsman Ben Dunk to add provide some stability to the innings. The duo added 81 runs off 50 balls for the sixth wicket. Soon Dunk was gone and Rashid followed him. Two quick wickets meant that 31-year-old Faulkner arrived at the crease. The two Hobart Hurricanes players then hit the Zalmi bowlers all over the park, collecting 47 runs in just 13 balls. In fact, with 43/ 4 at halfway mark in their innings, Qalandars never looked like getting to 170 by any stretch of the imagination. Thanks to the Singapore born David, who smacked 64 off 36 balls, the men in grey and green hit 90 runs in the last six overs of the innings. It wasn't without any luck for David as Powell almost caught the 25 year old near the square leg boundary, but fearing overstepping, he threw the ball in, which couldn't quite reach Allen near the ropes. Not playing a proper fifth bowler hurt Zalmi big time. Although part-time spinner Allen was actually the pickle of the bowlers with two wickets, he went for 36 in his three overs. Commenting on the second victory in a row, Sohail Akhtar, the Qalandars skipper said, “The plan is to maintain the winning combination and we will decide depending on the wicket, whom to play where. We would look to give our best in all games.” The Qalandars next face Islamabad, a rematch of their last game, also the first PSL 2021 game in the Abu Dhabi leg. This match would take place on June 13 as the first of the game of the doubleheader day. Zalmi though would be up against Quetta Gladiators on June 12.

WI vs SA | 1st Test: Nkrumah Bonner concussed, Kieran Powell replaces him as like for like substitute

West Indian batter Nkrumah Bonner has been concussed out of the first test against West Indies. He suffered a blow to the helmet in the fifth over when Anrich Nortje bowled a bouncer and after hitting Bonner’s head the ball was caught by the short leg fielder and a huge appeal followed which was turned down by the umpire. After a concussion check, Bonner continued to play, eventually getting out for 10 off a Kagiso Rabada delivery 31 balls later. It was after the West Indian innings ended on a paltry 97 that Bonner did not take the field and Kieran Powell was announced his like for like concussion substitute for the rest of the game, as permitted by the ICC rules. Powell, 31, has so far played in 40 Tests for the Windies and in them, he has scored 2011 runs with the help of three centuries and six half-centuries. The South Africa team in reply to West Indies 97 were 128-4 at the end of the day, leading by 22 runs. Aiden Markram top-scored with 60 before he became the third scalp of debutant Jayden Seales. The other wicket was taken by Kemar Roach. For South Africa, Lungi Ngidi took his second five-wicket haul in Test cricket as he alongside Nortje wreaked havoc at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadum.

The Hundred 2021: Warner, Stoinis pull out; India’s Shafali Verma replaces Kiwi Sophie Devine

The Hundred is seeing an exodus even before the first season of the marquee tournament of the England and Wales Cricket Board begins. Australia’s David Warner and Marcus Stoinis of the Southern Brave have pulled out of the tournament, slated to begin on July 21. The two were on deals worth £100,000 and £80,000 respectively, "It is obviously disappointing to lose players with the ability of David and Marcus, but the realities of Covid mean there are practicalities that are difficult for some overseas players to overcome," the ECB was quoted as saying to ESPNCricinfo. "Replacement overseas players will be signed by Southern Brave, and we look forward to the Hundred showcasing world-class cricket this summer," it added. However, the problems might increase for The Hundred teams as seven other Australian men's players contracted by many of the eight sides might also pull out. The reason is Australia’s tour to the Caribbean and Bangladesh in the period of July 21 to August 21. Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Adam Zampa, Aaron Finch, Chris Lynn, D'Arcy Short and Nathan Coulter-Nile - are all contracted for the tournament. But all these pullouts also give an opportunity to some other foreign players like New Zealand’s Finn Allen who is currently representing Lancashire in the T20 Blast. "Hopefully I can slide in as a replacement player. I've heard a few players might potentially be pulling out from different countries, so hopefully, an opportunity pops up," said the 22-year-old who hit a fantabulous 73 off 51 balls against Leicestershire in his last game in the Blast. India’s teenage sensation Shafali Verma was also confirmed to represent Birmingham Phoenix as a replacement for New Zealand all-rounder Sophie Devine. Devine pulled out ‘in order to be in the best position to prepare for international cricket, particularly with the ICC Women's World Cup due to be held in her native New Zealand in February 20211’. The 17-year-old Verma would be the fifth Indian Women’s player alongside Deepti Sharma (London Spirit), Harmanpreet Kaur (Manchester Originals), Smriti Mandhana (Southern Brave) and Jemimah Rodrigues (Northern Superchargers) to play in The Hundred Women.

PSL 2021 | KRK vs MS: Bizarre thinking from Babar, brilliant team effort give Sultans a winning start

When the most set, experienced and talented batsman on the pitch doesn’t take the strike in the last over when his team requires 23 runs to win the match, there could be no other explanation to it than calling it Bizzare! Kings needed 38 from the last two overs, having not been able to get on with the chase earlier on. But instead of taking the strike in the last over, Babar tried to run a double on the last ball, and run got Chadwick Walton, his partner for the last 77 runs, most importantly of just 45 balls. With that run out two things happened, Walton, a set man was out and Babar the other set man was off strike in the last over with the team requiring 23 to win. What happened next was even worse. Thisara Perera, the new man, slogged the second ball of the last over, after missing the first one, and was caught on the boundary, but Babar didn’t even bother to change ends. In fact, shocking as it might be, Babar didn’t play even a single ball in the last over. In the end, Babar’s 63 ball 85 could do no good to his Karachi Kings as they couldn’t get to the target of 177 set up by Multan Sultans in the first game of the doubleheaders day in the Abu Dhabi leg of Pakistan super League’s sixth edition. Even after a brilliant knock such as this, Babar cannot run away from the blame for not taking the responsibility of finishing the game. However, even after such dismal planning and execution by his senior pro, Babar, Imad Wasim, the Karachi skipper wasn’t ready to put the blame on him. “There was nothing wrong with the way we played, Babar is a class player and he usually does well for us,” he said in the post-match presentation. However, Babar must be credited for his instrumental knock in the sense that he was able to take the team close to the target even after a disastrous start to the chase. Chasing 177, Sharjeel Khan, supposed to be the go-getter of the two among him and Babar was run out at the team score of 14. After that Martin Guptill and Babar tried to get the team back, but it took a lot of time and a lot of balls for that. Just when Guptill started to get bat on the ball, he was tricked by a googly from Imran Tahir. The 40-year-old mad celebrator had another chance to dance wildly as he removed Afghan Najibullah Zadran to put Karachi in all sorts of trouble. But after that came Walton and he paired up with Babar to keep the Kings in the hunt. Earlier in the day, Multan Sultans, after being asked to bat first, got going from the very beginning. Even after Rahmunullah Gurbaz got out early, Sohaib Maqsood and Rilee Rossouw kept powering on with their big shots and skipper Mohammad Rizwan held one end up. The Sultans reached 100 in just the 10th over. The 33-year-old South African was awarded man of the match for his 24 ball 44. But soon after that, both Rizwan and Rossouw got out in the 11th over, putting the Sultans in a spot of bother. Shimron Hetmyer followed suit as well. From 107-2 in 10 overs, Sultans were suddenly 130 /5 after 15 with all-rounder Khushdil Shah and more bowler than batter Sohail Tanvir at the crease. Instead of getting bogged down by the pressure, the two rather counter attacked the opposition, gathering 45 from the last five, with 19 coming off a Mohammad Amir last over. Perera was the pick of the bowlers for Karachi with two wickets for 13 runs in his three overs. Surprisingly, the Sri Lankan didn’t bowl his full quota of overs. This was only the second win for the Sultans in six games and skipper Rizwan was chuffed about it. “We didn't think about the uncontrollable, so we just gave our best and ended up on the winning side. We tried deciding according to the conditions - 4 pacers, and 1 spinner, and we'll keep deciding according to the conditions in the future matches,” he said in the post-match interview. In their next game, the Sultans will be up against Peshawar Zalmi while Karachi Kings would have a three-day rest and would come back at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi to face Islamabad United on June 14.