Cricket

Australian batsman Aaron Finch has said tainted duo Steven Smith and David Warner will be welcomed back with arms wide open into the team following their one year ban for their respective roles in the ball-tampering scandal. Steven Smith and David Warner along with Cameron Bancroft were found guilty after trying to alter the condition of the ball with a small piece of sandpaper during the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town. David Warner was the architect of the plan, Steven

Young Afghanistan international Mujeeb ur Rahman is making the headlines after setting a new T20 record, during the opening day of Australia Big Bash League. Sent in to bat at number 11 for Brisbane Heat, Mujeeb scored 27 runs off 22 balls against defending champions Adelaide Strikers. Thus setting a new world record and surpassing Sri Lankan Alankara Silva who scored 28 in Sri Lanka’s domestic T20 tournament in 2015-16 at number 11. Mujeeb walked out onto the 22-yard strip with Brisbane reeling

Former England captain and the Three Lion’s greatest Test cricketer Alastair Cook is all set to be granted with knighthood in the new year honors according to a report in  The Times. Cook who will turn 34 on Christmas will be recognized for his years of service to England cricket and his record-breaking international cricket career. Cook called time on his Test career in September earlier this year with the perfect farewell as he signed off with a brilliant hundred against India at

After his precious 194 runs in the first Test of the series against Australia at Adelaide last week, India’s Cheteshwar Pujara crossed the landmark of 5000 runs. Interestingly, Pujara reached the 5000-run mark in his 108th innings – exactly the same number of innings that ex-Indian batting legend Rahul Dravid had taken to reach this milestone. Over the course of his career, Pujara, who bats at the vital No. 3 position for India, has been compared to Dravid who was known for his

New Zealand Captain Kane Williamson breached the 900-points barrier for the first time in the updated ICC Test rankings. The dashing batsman had played a match-winning knock in the final Test against Pakistan in UAE which helped New Zealand clinch their first away series win against the nation in 49 years. This is also the first instance of any batsman from New Zealand going past 900 rankings points. Only the great Richard Hadlee had managed to break that barrier but it was his bowling that had earned him these many points. Williamson is currently placed second, he jumped in front of Australia’s Steve Smith (901 points) who is serving a year ban. Current table-topper Virat Kohli scored only 37 runs across two innings in the Adelaide Test. He lost 15 points due to the failure on

The Big Bash League, Australia’s premier T20 festival, has decided to replace the traditional coin toss with the ‘bat flip. In place of ‘heads or tails’, captains will now call ‘flats and hills’ during toss time. The top-tier T20 event has introduced a couple of unique yet mind-blowing concepts to the world of cricket, including the zing bails (which light up whenever the stumps are dislodged) and umpire cams. They are now set to take the practice of flipping a bat from the

The first Test between Australia and India at Adelaide ended yesterday with Virat Kohli and his men drawing first blood and winning the thrilling game by 31 runs. There was a lot of action in this Test and here is a look at some of the significant takeaways from the match. Pujara’s career-defining moment https://twitter.com/ICC/status/1072000585560399872 India was staring down the barrel at 127-6 on the first day of the Test. Another couple of wickets and India would have ended in absolute disaster had

India paceman Ishant Sharma could have got two more wickets to his name if had he not bowled those two no-balls against Australia in the first Test in Adelaide. The visitors managed to beat the team from Down Under by 31 runs in the final day of the first Test match. After the match, Team India captain Virat Kohli said Ishant Sharma was disappointed with his own performance. Ishant Sharma could have got out Aaron Finch in the first over of Australia’s second

India surged to a historic win in the opening Test against Australia at the Adelaide Oval. This was also the first instance of the Indian team winning the opening Test in Australia. There were many heroes in the triumph for the Indian team but only one managed to equal a world record. Indian wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant held onto 11 catches in the duration of the first Test. The Delhi glovesman equaled the achievement of AB De Villiers (South Africa) and Jack Russell (England). The 20-year old completed the feat with a catch of Mitchell Starc. With six catches in the first innings and five catches in the second innings, Pant reached the tally of 11 catches behind the wicket.  While Pant shared the record with international legends, he flies solo among the Indians. Wriddhimaan Saha held the previous record with 10 catches in a Test match. Pant had a chance to grab the record with the 12th catch but he was unable to hold onto it.  Despite the enormous achievement, pant actually stood out

India pulled off a stunning 31-run victory in the first Test match at Adelaide. The Australian team displayed great courage in delaying the inevitable, but it was all over just before the end of the second session on day five. This is the first time India has won an opening Test in Australia. Australia, chasing 323 runs to win, was precariously placed at 104/4 with Shaun Marsh and Travis Head unbeaten at the end of day four. Ishant Sharma drew the first blood

Indian batsman Gautam Gambhir, who announced his retirement a few days ago, has slammed former teammate and captain MS Dhoni for his captaincy during the 2012 Commonwealth Bank series against Australia. The southpaw lifted the lid on Dhoni’s questionable decision of not playing Gambhir, Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar in the same XI, as he had a keen eye on the 2015 World Cup. The veteran had always been a vital cog for India’s top order exploits, but horrendous form, questions over technique,

New Zealand ended the wait of 49 years as they completed an away series win versus Pakistan at UAE. Defending 280 runs in 79 overs, New Zealand side ran through the Pakistani batting lineup in just 56.1 overs. By virtue of winning the third Test match, the Blackcaps secured their first away series win against Pakistan since 1969. Pakistan had gained the lead of 74 runs in the first inning but was defied by the scintillating knocks from Kane Williamson and Henry Nicholls. Williamson was out on the first ball of the fifth day as he was back for his overnight score of 139. Nicholls and Colin De Grandhomme then accelerated the run rate and brought 62 runs from the next 39 balls. The visitors eventually declared for 353/7, setting a target of 280 to be chased in the remaining 79 overs. Pakistan

Pakistan’s leg-spinner Yasir Shah smashed the 82-year old Test record by registering his 200th wicket in just 33 Test matches. He enjoys the privilege of being the fastest to achieve the milestone. The much-awaited moment arrived in the ongoing third Test between Pakistan and New Zealand being played at Abu Dhabi, UAE. New Zealand commenced day four of the Test in a delicate position at 26/2. Will Somerville, the debutant left-arm spinner, sent as the night-watchman was one of the survivors from the third day. He was trapped in front of the stumps early by Yasir Shah and the wicket earned the bowler an important record in Test cricket. Clarie Grimmett, the Australian leg-spinner, had reached the milestone of 200 wickets in 36 Tests and was the

Before the start of the 1st Test against Australia, Indian Test batsman Cheteshwar Pujara averaged 33.50 in Australia and his overseas record, excluding West Indies and Sri Lanka, was 1172 runs in 21 Tests at an average of 29.30. Pujara has struggled overseas for a while now. But his magnificent 123 in the 1st Test at Adelaide has given him an opportunity to reset things and become the backbone for India in overseas Tests that his team so desperately wants him to be.

India batsman Cheteshwar Pujara says the century he scored today in Adelaide against Australia in the first Test has to be one of the best innings he has played in his career. Virat Kohli led side ended the first day of the first Test with 250 runs on the board and losing nine wickets. Cheteshwar Pujara was the top scorer for the Men in Blue scoring 123 runs before he was run out. While Pujara was holding his ground on one end, wickets

While the Indian batsmen are making things tough for themselves in Adelaide, they might have some good news on the horizon as their injured opener Prithvi Shaw has already started walking and if things go well, we could see him in action in the series. Ahead of day one of the first Test, Indian coach Ravi Shastri admitted that it was heartbreaking to see him get injured and also pointed out that he has started to walk and if he manages to start

West Indian batsman and T20 cricket legend Chris Gayle received an award of 220,770 Dollars from the Australian court over an alleged incident. During the 2015 Cricket World Cup, an Australian media company ‘Fairfax’ had alleged Chris Gayle of exposing himself to the masseuse. The court relieved Gayle from the allegation and awarded him the compensation for his defamation. The issue first arose when The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Canberra Times published articles in January 2016 which pointed towards Gayle’s

All the hype built so far around the Test series between Australia and India will materialize at the Adelaide Oval as the Border-Gavaskar Series commences. Let alone India, no Asian team has yet won a Test series on the Australian soil. Virat Kohli and his men have a fantastic chance to alter the history and it all begins tomorrow. The Australian media has been abuzz about one person in all their leadups, and that man is Virat Kohli. Australia has been a happy hunting ground for him and especially the Adelaide Oval. It was here that he struck his maiden Test century and later scored twin hundreds in a Test. He will be itching to pocket this Test series and claim a captaincy milestone for

The Delhi franchise of the Indian Premier League renamed themselves as Delhi Capitals heading into the 12th edition of the tournament. Shreyas Iyer, who took over as the captain during the course of last season, will continue as the skipper, the club has announced. Co-owners Parth Jindal and Kiran Kumar Grandhi of JSW Sport and GMR respectively unveiled the new name of the team. The team retained their red and blue color but designed a new logo. The initial Delhi Daredevils team failed

Pakistan batsman Mohammad Hafeez is set to retire from test cricket after the ongoing third and final game against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi. He confirmed the same on Tuesday, owing to a poor run with the bat. After being dropped in 2016, the right-handed batsman was recalled to the squad after almost two years away. He scored a remarkable 126 against Australia last month but has struggled since. As a consequence, the 38-year-old has piled up just 66 runs in his last