Cricket

The 3rd edition of ILT20 will kick-start with an opening ceremony, and Bollywood star Shahid Kapoor, Pooja Hegde and Sonam Bajwa are all geared up to perform at the Dubai International Stadium on Saturday, January 11 for their viewers. The celebration starts at 6pm GMT.  Fans can access the stadium starting at 4pm and watch live from the Zee Network and syndication partners’ worldwide broadcast on linear and digital channels.  Shahid, Pooja and Sonam will take the stage with hit songs followed by

Shooter Manu Bhaker, the double Olympic medallist, the chess world champion D Gukesh, the men’s hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh and para-athlete Praveen Kumar are the nominees of the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award this year.  India’s biggest sporting award is Khel Ratna. There were 32 other sportsmen (seven of them para-athletes) given Arjuna Awards by the sports ministry as well.  Manu Bhaker’s inclusion in the recommended list makes her the automatic winner of the prize, which is a relief for many. The

Whether India skipper Rohit Sharma will be included in the starting XI for New Year's Test against Australia at Sydney is still unknown according to India coach Gautam Gambhir.  "The head coach is here.  It is enough," Gambhir told the media assembled that why was Rohit not in the pre-match media.  Rohit himself had missed it too, ahead of the third Test at Brisbane - Shubman Gill was in the press then - but his reason there was that he had missed the

Jan 2 - Top order batsman Kusal Perera hit 101 off 46 balls as Sri Lanka registered a consolation seven-wicket win in the last T20 International match against New Zealand after the Kiwis swept the three-match series 2-1 in Nelson on Thursday. Perera made 100 in 44 balls to lift Sri Lanka to a strong 218-5 (scotter Charith Asalanka came in 24 balls as a come-in). It was a stunning catch from the New Zealand wicketkeeper Mitchell Hay that stumped out Pathum Nissanka

India coach Gautam Gambhir could not say Thursday if troubled skipper Rohit Sharma would continue to lead the charge in the fifth and final Test match against Australia, but he was "very confident" his side would prevail.  The group at least will make one adjustment after losing the fourth Test at Melbourne this week by 184 runs following the absence of paceman Akash Deep with a back injury.  Either Harshit Rana or Prasidh Krishna could step up in the clash that starts in

Rumors regarding India’s captain Rohit Sharma and the batting great Virat Kohli retiring from international cricket has become the hot topic of discussion as the two still seem to be struggling in the five-match Test series against Australia.  India, who were the reigning Test champions in their last two visits to Australia, have managed to lose their grip on the Border Gavaskar Trophy, after suffering a major setback in the match at Melbourne on Monday, which saw the visitors go 2-1 down in

After Australia’s 184 run victory against India during the 4th Test, Pat Cummins in an interview said this game was one of the best he had ever played for his country.  While Indian batting collapsed in the last session, an entertaining day 5 antagonized by the home crowds International Western Sydney being a key figure witnessing the game.  Thanks to Cummins who was awarded man of the match for picking 3 wickets allowing the Australians to dismiss their opposition for 155 runs in

The Sharjah Warriorz added New Zealand fast bowler Tim Southee to their ranks for the DP World ILT20 Season 3 Series.  Southee who has played in four ODI World Cups and six T20 World Cups will captain the Sharjah Warriorz in his debut at ILT20.  A quick-fire paceman and big low order batsman, Southee has represented New Zealand across formats.  The 36-year-old has featured in 10 IPL seasons in India for Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals and Royal

South Africa (AP) — South Africa opted to bat first against Pakistan in the first test on Thursday to book its place in the World Test Championship final.  The teams loaded their XIs with four fast bowlers each and didn’t send in a spin specialist for the Boxing Day test match on a SuperSport Park surface where pace has ruled the past six years.  South Africa test debutant Corbin Bosch who will be joined by veteran fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen

There are some exciting matches on the India schedule for the 2025 Champions Trophy which starts with their match against their neighbour Pakistan on February 23, 2024 in Dubai. : This game will be one that will take cricket lovers across the world by storm India and Pakistan have been a battleground for decades and every encounter between the two has been a high-stakes affair.  Then ahead of this great match, India is going to play Bangladesh on 20th February 2024 in Dubai

Rohit Sharma, the captain of the Indian cricket team, seems to have faith in Kohli’s ability to tackle off spinners in Australia. In an interview, he said that those who possess Kohli’s prowess would always find a way to win.  He has mostly gotten out of the last five-match series due to a feeling of trying to hit balls very wide of his stumps even during the Perth test when he scored an unbeaten hundred after running dry from form for a substantial

Indian cricket team is going to play their ICC Champions Trophy 2025 matches in Dubai and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) which is the governing body of the tournament has decided to hold the match neutrally in UAE.  This weekend, Feb 23, Sunday, at Dubai International Stadium, the two vengeful South Asian rivals will battle it out.  The first big move made under the chairmanship of Jay Shah was that the ICC finally ended the hosting rights issue of Champions Trophy 2025 by deciding

The UAE had defeated Kuwait in an acrimonious final to win the Gulf T20I Championship in Dubai on Saturday night. The UAE had to bat well for a small 153 and put on a brilliant 2-run win that was a memorable match in their cricket history.  The innings started tentatively for the home team and the opening batsman Tanish Suri put in an early stand with 34 runs. The contributions of Alishan Sharafu and Rahul Chopra (28 each) were a bit of stabilisation

Sediqullah Atal scored his first one-day international century as Afghanistan knocked out Zimbabwe by 232 runs in Harare on Thursday to open the three-match series 1-0.  Atal (104) and Abdul Malik (84) combined for 191 runs for the first wicket and captain Hashmatullah Shahidi with 29 in a row put the visitors on 286-6 in 50 overs.  Zimbabwe who were on the toss had started badly as Ben Curran came off the final ball of the opening over to get out.  Only Sikandar

International Cricket Council (ICC): The men's ICC Champions Trophy will be held in Pakistan and at a neutral stadium, ICC announced on Thursday. It will be the same rule for all the ICC matches between India and Pakistan in the rights cycle 2024-27.  ICC issued statement on Thursday: "India and Pakistan matches played by either side at ICC Events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue," ICC Board has confirmed on Thursday.  This will hold for the ICC

New Delhi, Still unable to wrap his head around R Ashwin's quick exit from international cricket, an incredulous World Cup captain Kapil Dev feels the number-one off-spinner deserves to be farewelled, perhaps at home.  Ashwin shocked everyone when he quit Wednesday, immediately after the Brisbane Test against Australia went to a draw.  Kapil thought he didn’t like something.  "I was amazed that one of the best cricketers in India retired from the game. The fan sigh was not uncommon but I felt a

SA vs PAK 2nd ODI: Pakistan aiming to sweep the series after series opener, South Africa looking for a back-to-back to make it 1-1. All the key information for the game here.  South Africa and Pakistan will take on each other in the second game of three-match SA vs PAK ODI series. Pakistan lost the T20I series by 0-2, and took it back on the heels with three-wicket victory in the opening ODI of the series. They got their star player, Saim Ayu

T20 series goes to Bangladesh with 27-run win over WIndies. Taskin Ahmed was the star of a superb bowling performance as Bangladesh defended another comparatively low total to win by a series-clinching 27-run aggregate over West Indies in the second T20 International of a three-match series played at Arnos Vale Stadium, St Vincent on Tuesday.  The tourists were bowled out for 129-7 by medium-pacer Taskin who had taken two wickets in the opening over before coming back to take the match in the

India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin retires from international cricket immediately after third Test against Australia in Brisbane on Wednesday.  The sleight of hand off-spinner gets 537 from 106 tests which is second in the Indian record behind Anil Kumble’s 619.  Ashwin didn’t get a chance to play in the series-opener in Perth, but made a return to the side for the day-night second test in Adelaide, and picked up one wicket. That contest would become his last, he was dropped from Brisbane.  "Today will

Brisbane: Australia & India third Test in Brisbane was held 2-2 with thunderstorms preventing the hosts from getting a chance at an unthinkable win Wednesday, keeping the series at 1-1.  A late tea at the Gabba on bad lighting with India 8-0 (who had been given 275 to win), Australia’s verdict 89-7.  But a major storm hit the region over the break and play was cancelled and now the five-Test series is off to Melbourne and Sydney.  The result corrodes India’s hopes of