Axar Patel spins web around New Zealand

Mitchell Santner pulls NZ back after ripping start from Rohit Sharma

New Zealand spinner Mitchell Santner pulled the visitors back into the game after an excellent attacking start from Rohit Sharma. Playing in the third and the final T20I at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Rohit Sharma perpetuated the belief of Kolkata being his happy hunting ground. He attacked NZ pacers from ball go and put up 69 runs on board by the end of the powerplay. Just when things looked going horribly out of hands, Mitchell Santner was introduced into the attack and delivered straight away dismissing Ishan Kishan (29 off 21) and Suryakumar Yadav (0 off 4) in the same over. After giving just two runs in his first over, Santner removed the dangerous Rishabh Pant, frustrating him with his lengths in the second over of his spell. Pant flung his bat at an enticing ball but ended up skying it high up in the air. At the time of writing, Rohit Sharma (56 off 31) had departed as well, owing to an exceptional caught and bowled from Ish Sodhi and India have dropped quite a bit of momentum, with 109/4 on board in 12.1 overs.

Geoff Allardice replaces Manu Sawhney as the new full-time ICC CEO

Former International Cricket Council General Manager, Geoff Allardice has been named as the full-time ICC CEO having served the role on an interim basis for the last eight months. Allardice will be taking over from Manu Sawhney who was forced out of the position after allegations of “bullying” and signs of “physical aggression” against certain employees in the ICC. ICC chairman Greg Barclay spoke highly of Allardice and stated that the Australian had shown tremendous leadership during a tough period. "I am delighted that Geoff has agreed to take the role of ICC CEO on a permanent basis. He has shown tremendous leadership during an extremely challenging period culminating in the successful delivery of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021.” "Geoff has unrivaled knowledge of the global cricket landscape and its stakeholders and has consistently demonstrated he is the right person to work in partnership with our Members to shape the sport for the next decade as we embark on delivering a new strategy and our next commercial rights cycle."

SL vs WI | Karunaratne century puts Sri Lanka in strong position on Day 1

Sri Lankan captain Dimuth Karunaratne notched up his fourth Test match century in 2021 to put hosts Sri Lanka in a commanding position against West Indies. This is Karunaratne’s 13th Test century and fifth as captain of the Sri Lankan team. After choosing to bat first after winning the toss at the Galle International Stadium in Colombo, Karunaratne played a measured knock alongside Pathum Nissanka who scored 56 off 140 balls. The opening partnership batted for about 50 overs and put139 runs on board. After Nissanka’s departure, the captain saw through a spirited spell of bowling from Jason Holder who seemed to have found the right length to hit on the pitch. Karunaratne was not in a hurry to reach his century and considering the kind of form he is in, things came easy from there on. He completed his feat in the 69th over of the game. The day did not go without drama as the left hander’s pull shot off Roston Chase caught Jeremy Solozano at short leg, dazing the life out of the debutant. Things looked grim at a point when Solozano laid low with a towel over his face. The medical team had to rush him to the hospital for scans, and thankfully it was revealed by the West Indian Cricket Board on Twitter that there was no structural damage to his skull. At the time of writing, Sri Lanka are comfortably placed at 251-3 after 84 overs.

Incredible Russell-Moores partnership starts off Deccan Gladiators campaign with a victory

Andre Russell and Tom Moores combined efforts to put up a fourth-wicket partnership of 94 runs in just 32 balls helping Deccan Gladiators win their opening encounter by a margin of 24 runs. Playing in the Abu Dhabi T10 League against The Chennai Braves, Gladiators were in a spot of bother having lost their top order cheaply halfway through their innings. However, it did little to stop the intent of the Moores-Russell duo, who played 17 balls and scored 47 and 43 runs respectively. Speaking after the game, Moores was all praises for Russell and stated that his partner’s ability let him express himself freely on the pitch. When asked about the kind of chat he had in the 22-yards, Moores said, "Who could hit the biggest six…? Which, obviously, I knew I was gonna lose. We had a bit of fun, it wasn't too serious at all, which really helped me just relax and be confident. We were just having a smile and enjoying it. And that's what we talked about, to have fun, to enjoy our cricket. Every game we play we're really lucky to be doing it." In the second innings, Gladiators saw through the attack of Ravi Bopara and Angelo Perera and won the game by 24 runs.