Yuvraj Singh is my role model; J&K call up changed my life: Kalyan Dorjey

Ladakh’s first professional cricketer dreams of playing for RCB in IPL

Skalzang Dorjey Kalyan, the first professional cricketer from Ladakh who played his first-ever and only T20 game till now against Railways while representing Jammu and Kashmir in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021 has a dream of playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League. Talking to OneCricket in al exclusive interview, the 31-year-old said that since he has spent most part of his life in areas in and around Bengaluru, he feels a connection with the place. “It would be RCB because I have stayed in Karnataka so I know how things work there. I understand the conditions and everything over there,” said Kalyan. Originally from Ladakh, the Jammu and Kashmir cricketer had come to Karnataka way back in 1999. “My journey in Karnataka began when one of my uncles who was a monk in the Maha Bodhi Society in Bengaluru decided to take me with him. I was shifted to Bengaluru in class 4 in the year 1999,” he said. Till now he has played only a single game in the T20 format but has loads of experience behind of playing cricket at various levels be it U-17, U-19 or leagues in Kashmir. Read more about his struggles in the full interview here.

BBL10| Match Report: Cool and calm Jimmy Peirson takes Heat to the Knockout

Brisbane Heat wicket-keeper batsman and vice-captain Jimmy Peirson showed an exemplary sense of calm and composure as he scored an unbeaten 47 off 44 balls to take his team past the Adelaide Strikers by six wickets in a low scoring thriller at the Gabba. He was awarded Man of the Match for his match-winning performance. A chase as short as 131 got way more interesting than was expected of it as Heat lose two quick and important wickets of skipper Chris Lynn and Marnus Labuschagne, giving Strikers a chance to bring themselves into the context. Soon after, Sam Heazlett, who took Max Bryant’s place in the side was also dismissed cheaply to force Heat in a shell. Wes Agar, Michael Neser and Peter Siddle took the three wickets. It was then that Pierson joined Joe Denly and the duo constructed a rebuild fo the home team. The two of them put together 69 runs in 59 balls and took Heat to 92 in the 14th over before a rash shot from Denly saw him getting dismissed for 40. On the very next ball, Joe Burns was provided with life as he was dropped in the slips off Danny Briggs. But that was the last chance that the Heat gave strikers as they rushed away with the win soon after. Earlier in the evening, Strikers, contrary to belief, chose to field first after winning the toss. The decision didn’t turn out to be a great one as their openers couldn’t get on with the game and a slow wicket played its role in it as well, as most of the balls kept low. This meant that Strikers could get to only 45 runs in the eighth over. From there onwards, the wickets kept falling and Labuschagne was the destroyer in chief, picking up three wickets for 13 runs in his three overs, as Strikers could reach up to only 114 at the loss of seven wickets while in their 19th over. Hadn’t it been for Jon Wells’ three fours in the last over, reaching to 130 would also have been difficult for the Strikers at the end. With this win, Heat have now made it to the Knockout game of the Finals where they will face Sydney Thunder on 31st January at the Manuka Oval.

Arun Karthik shines as Tamil Nadu makes consecutive Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy finals

Arun Karthik, who returned to his original state of Tamil Nadu after biding his time at Puducherry for the last season, guided them to their second consecutive Syed Mushtaq Ali Final as they beat Rajasthan by seven wickets at the Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel Stadium, Motera. Tamil Nadu didn’t get off to a good start chasing 155, set up by the team from deserts. They lost two quick wickets and that too of the two in-form batsmen in Hari Nishant and Baba Aparajith for just 17 runs on the board in the fourth over. It was then that Karthik, 34, walked in to bat alongside Narayan Jagadeeshan. The two of them then started the rebuild process and added 53 in 38 balls before Jagadesshan was removed by Ravi Bishnoi off 28. Karthik then started the onslaught alongside the skipper Dinesh Karthik and from 69-3 in 10 overs, chased down the target, scoring the next 89 runs in just 52 balls. Arun scored an unbeaten 89 off 53 balls with the help of nine fours and three sixes. Earlier, after winning the toss, Rajasthan decided to bat first and even after a quick dismissal of opener BS Sharma, got off to a flyer courtesy their skipper Ashok Menaria’s counter-attacking innings. Menaria, 30, made 51 off 32. Arijit Gupta was his partner in crime as the duo added 83 for the fourth wicket. But they were helped amply by some very sloppy fielding on the part of the Tamil Nadu players as both Menaria and Gupta were dropped twice each before Arun Karthik finally caught one to dismiss Menaria. Karthik in total held on to four catches and was one of the key elements of Tamil Nadu’s success in the comeback that they made after the Menaria onslaught. Mohammed Mohammed was the pick of the bowlers for the Dinesh Karthik led side as he picked up 4/24 in the game. The Tamil Nadu team now awaits the winner of the second semi-final between Punjab and Baroda, which will take place later in the evening at the same venue.

PAK vs SA: Nauman-Yasir, Fawad Alam script Pakistan's win in Karachi Test

Pakistan have defeated South Africa by seven wickets in the first Test of the series in Karachi. Chasing a small target of 87 runs, Pakistan were jolted early by Anrich Nortje who took the wickets of both openers Imran Butt and Abid Ali, but Babar Azam and Azhar Ali steadied the ship. Fawad Alam was adjudged Man of the Match for his splendid 109 in the first innings that guided Pakistan towards the position of ascendancy and fittingly he hit the winning runs on the fourth day of the Test. Earlier in the day, South Africa were off to a horrible start with the nightwatchman Keshav Maharaj and captain Quinton de Kock going fairly early in the first session. Left-arm spinner George Linde provided a bit of resistance to the batting line up as he and Temva Bavuma resurrected the innings with a 42 run partnership. Once, Linde was dismissed was left-arm spinner Nauman Ali, end was nigh for the visitors as the 32-year-old ran riots against the lower order batsmen. Nauman Ali finished with a figure of 55/5 followed by a four-wicket haul by leg spinner Yasir Shah as the Proteas could not capitalise on the strong platform laid out by the top order batsmen and folded out at 245 in the second innings. The second and the final Test of the series will be played in Rawalpindi starting February 04.