World T20 2021: Pakistan call up Shoaib Malik as replacement for injured Sohaib Maqsood

AUSW vs INDW | 2nd T20I: Shikha Pandey cleans up Alyssa Healy with a peach of a delivery; watch video

India bowler Shikha Pandey made headlines on Saturday after she bowled a brilliant inswing delivery to Australia’s Alyssa Healy during the second T20I of the three-match series in Queensland. Pandey cleaned up Healy on the second ball of the innings for just 4 runs. Earlier, in the day, the visitors suffered a major batting collapse after they were restricted to 118/9 in 20 overs. India lost early wickets in the innings and were reduced to 81/9 when Pooja Vastrakar took the onus on herself and struck an unbeaten 37 off 26. Apart from her, captain Harmanpreet Kaur scored 28 off 20 deliveries. Molineux returned with a couple of wickets at the cost of 11 runs in 4 overs while Vlaeminck also picked up two wickets for 18 runs in three overs. Gardner, Wareham, Nicola Carey scalped a wicket apiece for the home side. The first match between the two sides was washed away due to rain. Australia earlier won the three-match ODI series 2-1 while the one-off day-night Test ended in a draw.

IPL 2021 | DC vs CSK | Qualifier 1 Preview: It's pupil vs master as IPL moves in to battle of nerves

There is a newborn rivalry in the Indian Premier League between Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings. While Chennai have proven their worth in all these years, it took Delhi sometime to stamp the authority. In the first place, the change of name brought a change in fortunes as the Capitals registered a playoff berth for the second time on the trot. They finished as the runners up in the last edition. The two sides will be up against each other once again in the first qualifier match of this season’s IPL. The Capitals ended the league stage as the table toppers while CSK followed them at number two. While both the teams have been dominant in the majority part of the game, they would be coming into this match after suffering defeats in previous respective matches. CSK faced a batting collapse against Punjab Kings and then witnessed a batting masterclass from KL Rahul to see Punjab home. The Chennai bowlers tried to provide some resistance but the scoreboard pressure never really pushed Punjab and especially KL Rahul on back foot during the course. The script for DC in their last match against Royal Challengers Bangalore was a bit different as the sides made sure that the last day of the league stage was filled with excitement and eventually a nail-biting finish. Chasing a stiff target of 165 in 20 overs, RCB needed six off the last ball. DC pacer Avesh Khan who was bowling the final over first bowled a wide delivery down the leg and was then hit for a maximum by KS Bharat who was in different form on Friday. It was surely a disappointing end to the match for DC and captain Rishabh Pant admitted the same during the post-match presentation. “Not feeling great at the moment, these are the kind of games you'd need to win, but we did put in our 100%,” he said. The defeat didn’t really play much role as far as the points table is concerned but the Delhi Capitals would have got the momentum before going into an important fixture. But the Rishabh Pant-led side can boost the confidence as they clinched victories on both the occasions against Chennai Super Kings in this edition. The high-voltage drama in Mumbai saw heaps of runs being scored from both the ends and at a brisk pace. While CSK batted first and put 188/7 in 20 overs on the board, DC chased down the target in the 19th over itself. The second match saw the bowlers having a good day at the office as both the teams faced issues with their batting units. CSK managed to score 136/5 in 20 overs in Dubai while DC chased down the target by three wickets with just two balls to spare. But as they say let bygones be bygones. The teams will walk out in the middle afresh and some new strategies. Match Details Match: CSK vs DC, Qualifier 1, Indian Premier League 2021 Date: Sunday, October 10, 2021 Time: 7:30 PM Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium , Dubai Telecast: Star Sports Network & Disney Hotstar Pitch Report The last two matches in Dubai have seen the batsmen being among runs in the second phase of the game and the track is expected to behave in the same manner. The bowlers might find it difficult to put a halt on the scoring rate especially in the later half. So, if you win the toss, elect to field first. MS Dhoni’s silent weapon CSK’s Shardul Thakur is making a habit of picking up wickets at crucial junctions. The pacer has proven to be the trump card for MS Dhoni whenever the CSK captain needs to get the breakthrough and he would play a key role in repeating what he has been doing for quite a while now. Experienced, equipped all-rounders The Chennai Super Kings side comprises two of the most experienced all-rounders in their ranks, Dwayne Bravo and Ravindra Jadeja. Bravo brings a lot to the table for CSK. He can chip in with quick runs, is a good fielder and most importantly has the ability to deceive the batsmen in the death overs with his slower ones. Jadeja on the other side has impressively improved as a batsman and scores runs quickly while has the ability to pick up wickets in the middle overs. Apart from this, his fielding abilities don’t really need much introduction. The left-hander takes good catches in the deep but is on point while throwing the ball from a distance. Confident batting unit Openers Ruturaj Gaikwad has been in some sublime form. He along with Faf du Plessis has made the top order look pretty strong. Apart from these two, Ambati Rayudu is another important batsman in the unit who can fetch runs at a good scoring rate. DC’s opening- A concern The Delhi Capitals opener Prithvi Shaw hasn’t really had a great run in the second half of this edition. In fact, he finally got some runs in the last match against RCB where he managed to score 48 during the course. But Shaw’s form is surely a major concern for the team management considering the importance of this game. Shikhar Dhawan who opens the innings with Shaw would need support from the other end in the initial phase of the innings to put up a good score. Impressive Avesh Khan For some who wouldn’t have followed this season’s IPL, Avesh Khan wouldn’t be an impressive bowler. Ofcourse, the right-hander was hit for a six on the last delivery that eventually cost them the game. But Avesh’s talent is way more than that one ball. He has scalped the wickets of MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli during the course of the tournament and is presently the second highest wicket-taker in the competition. One major ability that this young lad has is that he has a certain plan for every batter whom he bowls to and this would be pretty helpful for DC when they take the field on Sunday. Team News DC: The Delhi Capitals are likely to go ahead with the same team composition. But there is a bit of a concern for the Capitals’ team management and that is their fielding. Pant himself admitted that the side was a bit complacent while fielding against RCB. “See, in T20s, you talk a lot about fielding and if you field like we did tonight, the other team deserves to win,” he said. So, this is one area where DC would need to work. CSK: The Chennai Super Kings are looking pretty stable at the moment and they just need to stick to the basics at the moment. Probable XI DC: Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Steve Smith, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Marcus Stoinis, Lalit Yadav, Chris Woakes, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Avesh Khan, Lukman Meriwala CSK: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Robin Uthappa, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Josh Hazlewood Probable XI Faf du Plessis, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shikhar Dhawan (VC), Ambati Rayudu, Rishabh Pant, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur (C), Avesh Khan, Josh Hazlewooda

Hardik Pandya might be able to bowl in a few days: Rohit Sharma

A lot of questions have been raised on Hardik Pandya’s role in the Indian team that will be featuring in the upcoming World T20 in UAE and Oman in October-November as the right-hander didn’t bowl a single delivery for his franchise during the IPL 2021. Speaking about Hardik’s fitness, MI skipper Rohit Sharma suggested that the doctors and physiotherapists are keeping a close eye and they will take the final call on his bowling. “In terms of his bowling, he [Hardik] hasn’t bowled yet. So, the physios, the trainers, the medical team are working on his bowling. As of now, all I know is, he hasn’t bowled a single ball yet. But we wanted to take one game at a time and see where he stands,” Rohit said in the post-match press conference on Friday. “He didn’t bowl today as well, but he’s getting better day by day. So, in the next week or so, he might be able to bowl – only the doctors or the physios will be able to give an update on that,” he further added. Hardik had undergone a back surgery in 2019 after which he hasn’t been bowling regularly. Though he bowled a few overs during India’s limited overs tour of Sri Lanka. MI bowed out of the IPL 2021 on Friday. The Rohit Sharma-led side needed to bundle out SRH for 65 or lesser total while defending a mammoth target of 236 runs which they failed to do. But Mumbai concluded the tournament with a 42-run win in Abu Dhabi.

We didn't perform collectively as a team: MI captain Rohit Sharma

Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma has expressed disappointment on not qualifying for the playoffs in this edition of the Indian Premier League and admitted that the conditions in UAE weren’t alien as the side had lifted the trophy last year at the same venue. "We had won the trophy here [in the UAE] last year, so the conditions were not alien for us," Rohit said during the post-match conference. "When we came here, some of our first XI players had a few injuries and missed a couple of games initially. Despite that, we should have done better, but we just didn't play as a team to start with, and then collectively as a group, we didn't come together. That was the main reason for not qualifying this year,” he added. MI needed to win their final league game against Sunrisers Hyderabad by a huge margin of 171 runs which eventually didn’t happen. The Mumbai side and especially Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav unleashed a batting masterclass to post 235/9 in 20 overs. While Ishan struck a 32-ball 84, Suryakumar chipped in with 82 off 40 deliveries during the course. Later, the bowlers had an uphill task as they had to bundle out SRH for 65 or lesser total for the qualification which didn’t happen eventually but the Rohit Sharma-led side ended the campaign with a win by 42 runs. SRH were restricted to 193/8 in 20 overs after stand-in captain Manish Pandey scored an unbeaten 69 off 41.