Page 26 - Cricket

Border Gavaskar Trophy on par with Ashes for Australia: Mitchell Starc

Australia pace ace Mitchell Starc believes that with the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India becoming a five-Test affair for the first time in over three decades, it would be "right on par" with the esteemed Ashes series for his team. The marquee series between India and Australia, set to begin in November, was extended by a match this year for the first time since the 1991-92 season. "Being five matches now it's probably right on par with an Ashes series," Starc told Wide World of Sports. Since 2014-15, Australia have failed to lay their hands on the Border Gavsakar Trophy, with India winning four consecutive series including the historic triumphs Down Under in 2018-19 and 2020-21. Starc is not only intent on reversing this trend but also harbours aspirations of a clean sweep, particularly as the series forms a crucial part of the World Test Championship. "We always want to win every game at home and we know India are a very strong team," he said. Currently, India lead

Priyansh leads South Delhi to 6-wicket win over Central Delhi Kings

Priyansh Arya's scintillating 82 off 51 balls powered South Delhi Superstarz to a six-wicket win over Central Delhi Kings in the Delhi Premier League here. Fifties from Dhruv Kaushik (56) and Yash Dhull (52) guided Central Delhi Kings to 176/7 after they were asked to bat on Tuesday. However, South Delhi Superstarz chased down the target with five balls to spare, courtesy a solid 101-run partnership between Arya and Ayush Badoni (42). After the early loss of Sarthak Ray (0 off 1) in the first over, Badoni and Arya approached the run chase with composed batting. By the end of the powerplay, they took the score to 45/1 and went on to consistently score more than 10 runs per over. Arya brought up his fifty in 32 balls, while Badoni contributed a vital 42 off 36 balls before being caught at mid-wicket, thus missing out on his half-century. By the strategic timeout, SDS were firmly in control, thanks to the free-flowing stroke play of Arya and Tejaswi Dahiya. Arya, who smashed seven

BAN look to Shakib for 'something special' against pace-heavy PAK

Bangladesh is pinning its hopes on all-rounder and former lawmaker Shakib Al Hasan to "do something special against pace-heavy Pakistan in the opening test of the two-match series, starting Wednesday. (Shakib) played this game for so long, so he knows his role, Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said on the eve of the first test match at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. He knows how to prepare himself, so I am not thinking about his political career and I hope he will do something special in this series. He's a professional cricketer and we all treat him as a cricketer, to be very honest. Bangladesh's most accomplished all-rounder, spin great Shakib was playing in the T20 league in Canada during political turmoil in his country back home. The unrest hampered preparations and Bangladesh flew to Pakistan four days ahead of schedule to get an additional three days of training in Lahore. Rawalpindi will host both the test matches. The series is part of the World Test Championship in

Samoan batter Visser sets new T20I world record with 39 runs in 1 over

Samoa middle-order batter Darius Visser on Tuesday set a new world record for most runs in an over in T20Is, accumulating 39 against Vanuatu in the T20 World Cup East Asia-Pacific Region Qualifier in the capital city of Apia. Visser hammered pacer Nalin Nipiko for six sixes in an over that also included three no balls. The 28-year-old right-handed batter was playing in only his third T20I, and made 132 off 62 balls with five fours and 14 sixes. Previously, there were five occasions when a bowler conceded 36 runs in an over and they were Stuart Broad (2007), Akila Dananjaya (2021), Karim Jannat (2024), Kamran Khan (2024) and Azmatullah Omarzai (2024). Visser is the first Samoan batter to score a hundred in this format, and his knock guided the side to a competitive 174 all out. In fact, the next highest score in Samoa innings was 16 by captain Caleb Jasmat. In reply, Vanuatu gave a strong chase but ended up at 164 for nine, losing the match by 10 runs. Opener Nipiko nearly amende

Zaheer Khan in talks with LSG over mentor role ahead of IPL 2025

Zaheer Khan would be working alongside head coach Justin Langer and other coaches, including Adam Voges, Lance Klusener, and Jonty Rhodes among others.

Deepti Sharma shines as London Spirit lift maiden women's Hundred title

India all-rounder Deepti Sharma played a crucial role with both bat and ball as London Spirit lifted their maiden Women's Hundred title, beating Welsh Fire by four wickets in the final at the Lord's here. Deepti snapped a wicket giving away 23 runs and then smashed a run-a-ball 16, including the winning six off Hayley Matthews, as the Indian and England's Charlie Dean jumped into each other's arms in celebration. Two years ago, Deepti had controversially dismissed Dean after running her out at the non-striker's end during the third ODI against England in 2022, triggering a debate over the spirit of the game. It was ecstacy for Deepti and despair for Dean that day but here the two were on the same side, engineering the maiden victory after chasing down a victory target of 116 in 98 balls. Besides Deepti, Eva Gray (2/26) and Sarah Glenn (2/17) snapped two wickets each, while Tera Norris (1/18) also chipped in with a wicket to restrict Welsh Fire to 115 for 8 in stipulated 100 balls,

Mohd Shami likely to play in one of Bengal's earlier Ranji Trophy games

Senior speedster Mohammed Shami, who is undergoing rehabilitation after an ankle surgery, is likely to make a comeback to competitive cricket for his domestic side Bengal in the Ranji Trophy, and a potential international appearance later in one of the Test matches against New Zealand. It is understood that Shami will play either one or both of Bengal's opening away Ranji match against UP on October 11 and the next one in Kolkata against Bihar on October 18. Since there will be only a two-day gap between both the games it is unlikely that he will play both. The New Zealand Test series starts from October 19 in Bengaluru followed by Tests in Pune (October 24) and Mumbai (Nov 1). Shami is expected to play one of those games before embarking on the big tour to Australia. The 34-year-old Shami, one of India's greatest fast bowlers, last donned the national colours during the ODI World Cup final against Australia in Ahmedabad on November 19, last year. Since then Shami hasn't played an

Indian street premier league season 2 schedule confirmed

The trial process will start at the city level, where top performers move on to the Zone Level. The trial often witnesses intensive competition.

Australia's Lyon seeks English spinner's 'inputs' to tame Yashasvi Jaiswal

Ace off-spinner Nathan Lyon has already started his homework on rising batting sensation Yashasvi Jaiswal with England spinner Tom Hartley's inputs on the southpaw safely stored in his memory bank ahead of the five-Test Border-Gavaskar series between India and Australia starting from November 22. Jaiswal, who scored a century on debut in the West Indies last year, scored an astounding 712 runs in the five Test series against England at home earlier this year. But the pace and bounce on offer on Australian tracks will pose a different challenge for the Mumbaikar. I haven't come across him [Jaiswal] yet, but that will be a massive challenge for all us bowlers, Lyon was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo. The way he (Jaiswal) played against England, I watched that quite closely and thought that was quite amazing. I had some really good chats with Tom Hartley (England left-arm spinner) about different ways he went about it to different guys which I found quite interesting. Lyon had a s

India to open campaign against West Indies in 2025 Women's U19 T20 WC

Defending champions India will open their campaign against the West Indies in the second edition of the ICC U19 Women's T20 World Cup to be played in Malaysia from January 18 to February 2 next year. India have been clubbed along side hosts Malaysia, West Indies and Sri Lanka in Group A. India defeated England to win the inaugural edition of the tournament in South Africa last year. England, neighbours Ireland, Pakistan and the USA are placed in Group B. South Africa, along with New Zealand, new entrants Samoa and a qualifier from Africa will form Group C, while Group D comprises Australia, Bangladesh, Scotland, and a qualifier from Asia. Each team will play the other sides in the round-robin phase, making for three games each in the group stage. The top three sides from all four groups will then progress to the Super Six stage. The bottom-ranked sides from Groups A and D, and B and C will contest in last place play-off on January 24. The 12 sides in the Super Six stage are fur

MCG to host one-off AUS vs ENG match to celebrate 150 years of Test cricket

Australia is set to host England in a stand-alone celebratory match at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in 2027 to celebrate 150 years of Test cricket. The match will celebrate a century-and-a-half of Test cricket since it was first played between Australia and England in March 1877. The 1977 Centenary Test was won by Australia, as they did the first-ever match, by 45 runs. Besides, Cricket Australia (CA) has finalised the allocation of hosting rights for various men's international Tests, ODIs, T20Is and other matches over the next seven summers, spanning from 2024-25 to 2030-31. These arrangements, finalised by CA, are part of a series of strategic partnerships between the cricket body and state governments to provide greater access to fans and communities while expanding cricket events nationwide. "We are enormously grateful for the strong support of state and territory governments and venue operators who will help us to deliver brilliant experiences across the country

Half-centuries power SA to 239-run lead over WI after Day 2 of 2nd test

Aiden Markram and Kyle Verreynne hit half-centuries Friday in the South Africa second innings to help give the Proteas a 239-run lead after the second day of the second cricket test in Guyana. At stumps, South Africa was 223-5 after scoring 160 in its first innings Thursday. The West Indies side was all out for 144 in its first innings earlier Friday. Markram scored 50 and Verreynne was unbeaten on 51. Jason Holder (54 not out) and Shamar Joseph (25) shared a 40-run, 10th-wicket stand to move the home side to within 16 runs of the South Africa first-innings total. Eight wickets fell on the second day at Providence Stadium after 17 on the opening day. Wiaan Mulder took four wickets for South Africa and Jayden Seales was 3-52 for the West Indies so far in the South Africa second innings after also taking three in the first. The teams played to a rain-affected draw in the first test in Trinidad. The two-test series will be followed by three Twenty20 matches.

T20 cricket: Delhi Premier League 2024 full list of teams, owners details

The 6 teams will be representing different regions of the union territory and has been acquired by their respective owners for a total of Rs 49.65 Cr.

Delhi Premier League 2024 full schedule, live timings, teams and streaming

Delhi has already given the Indian cricket team some gifted players over the years like Virat Kohli, Gautam Gambhir, etc., and the league will try and further improve the talent acquisition.

Ricky Ponting predicts Australian victory vs IND in Border-Gavaskar Trophy

Ricky Ponting believes Australia will have a "point to prove" after two straight Test series defeats at home against India and backed the Pat Cummins-led side to win the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy 3-1 come November-December. India, who have returned victorious in both their previous Test assignments Down Under with identical margins of 2-1, will take on the world No.1 Australia in a five-Test series starting on November 22. "It's going to be a competitive series. Australia has got a bit of a point to prove against India in Australia on the back of what happened the last the last two series here," Ponting told 'The ICC Review'. "We are back to (having) five Tests as well, which is the other really important thing about this series. It has only been four Tests the last couple of time. (To have) five Tests, everyone is really excited by that and I don't know if there'd be too many drawn games. "I'm obviously going to tip Australia to win and I'm never going to tip against ...

Rohit can play for at least 2 more years, Virat may be 5: Harbhajan Singh

Former India great Harbhajan Singh believes that Virat Kohli with his supreme fitness can easily survive the rigours of international cricket for another five years while Test and ODI captain Rohit Sharma will last at least another couple of years. "Rohit can easily play for two more years. You never know with Virat Kohli's fitness, you can see him competing for five years. He is probably the fittest guy in the team," Harbhajan told PTI Videos in an exclusive interview. "You ask any 19-year-old competing with Virat (on fitness). Virat will beat him. He is that fit. I believe Virat and Rohit have a lot of cricket left in them and it is entirely up to them. If they are fit enough, they are performing and the team is winning, they should continue to play. As simple as that," the man with 700 plus international wickets said. Harbhajan believes that Test cricket is one format where you need both of them. "Red ball cricket, you really need these two guys to play a little bit more than wh

South Africa declares at 173-3 to set 298-run target for WI in 1st Test

South Africa set West Indies a target of 298 runs to win the rain-hit first test on the fifth and final day at Queen's Park Oval. South Africa resumed Sunday on 30-0 from five overs in its second innings an overall lead of 154 and declared at 173-3 from 29 overs. Tristan Stubbs hit 68 and was bowled by Kemar Roach on the last ball before the declaration, which came in the morning session. Rain has affected every day so far, with only 15 overs bowled on the first day. South Africa scored 357 in its first innings and West Indies 233. The two-test series will be followed by three T20 games. West Indies went into the series after losing 3-0 in England.

Former Bengal CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was crazy for cricket: Sourav

Former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly recalled that former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who died on Thursday morning, was crazy for the game and always kept himself updated about the performance of players. On arrival from Mumbai at the N S C Bose International Airport here on Friday, the Indian cricket icon told reporters that not only contemporary cricketers, Bhattacharjee loved to discuss former cricket stalwarts like Pankaj Roy, his captaincy and batting during chats. "Buddha babu was a cricket crazy person. He used to talk to me before and after cricket matches and discuss our performance. He had so much grasp over the game and its rules. He was well-versed in the history of the cricket of Bengal and the country. We will miss such a person," Ganguly said. He said Bhattacharjee also loved to discuss films and books and it was a pleasure meeting him always. Ganguly recalled that Bhattacharjee was present at the state-organised felicitation programme

IND vs SL: Personnel changes will be made if needed, says Rohit post defeat

India captain Rohit Sharma accepted that his men weren't "brave enough consistently" while trying to counter spin-friendly conditions and hinted that he won't shy away from choosing personnel for specific conditions if it comes to that. India tied the first game of the three-match ODI series before surrendering in the next two games with middle-order caving in against Sri Lanka's four-pronged spin attack. "We need to think which players could play on these kind of tracks but you also need to give consistent chances as it's not easy to perform in one or two chances. It was a bad series and we need to accept it," Rohit made no bones about how it panned out for his team. "We have to accept where all we made mistakes. We couldn't show more intent and aggression against spinners, and they put pressure relentlessly on us," the skipper said after his team were shot out for 138 in pursuit of 249 in the third ODI here on Wednesday. What his team singularly lacked was individual plans from t

Indian top-order batters to get bowling chances: Bowling coach Bahutule

Bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule indicated that India will continue to give bowling opportunities to their top-order batters as it can work as a surprise element to the opposition. Shubman Gill was given a chance to roll his arm against Sri Lanka in the first ODI, which ended in a tie here on Friday, and Bahutule said it will be the way forward even though the opener gave away 14 runs in his lone over. I think our batters are good bowlers as well, to be honest. You know their primary skill is batting, so at times, they don't focus much on their bowling. But they have the skills, said Bahutule in the post-match press meet. In contrast, Lankan skipper and their premier batter Charith Asalanka bowled 8.5 overs and walked away with returns of three for 30, including the wickets of Shivam Dube and Arshdeep Singh in two successive balls, helping his side to snatch a tie. Bahutule used the example of Suryakumar Yadav and Rinku Singh bowling in the T20Is against Sri Lanka to validate his ...