Cricket

Pakistan’s phenomenal 4-run loss to New Zealand in the 1st Test was one of the Test wins in history. It will be talked about for months. A thrilling Test match that had the fans rooted till the very end. Throughout Test history, there have been similar Tests which have gone down to the wire and ended with unexpected results. Here is a look at the five closest Test victories in terms of runs. West Indies beat Australia by 1 run, Adelaide, 1993 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HezgwT8fBU In

Cricket Australia (CA) shut doors on the early return of the banned trio as they dismissed the plea presented by Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) for altering the duration of the imposed bans. The verdict ends the chances of Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft returning early to cricket and will have to serve the full punishment. https://twitter.com/cricketcomau/status/1064696538503380993 The unfortunate ball-tampering incident which occurred in March 2017 in the New Lands Test, Cape Town resulted in severe bans on the trio involved. Australian

The game of cricket has condensed itself into just 10 overs, and the second edition of the T10 League begins on 21st November in Sharjah Stadium, Dubai. Total of eight teams will battle in 29 matches to determine one winner on 2nd December. One of the strong contenders is the Pakhtoons team. Lead by the mercurial Shahid Afridi, Pakhtoons will be hoping to improve from their last year’s performance. Their coach for this season will be the former Australian cricketer Dean Jones who

The much awaited India’s tour of Australia is all set to begin on the 21st of November with a 3-match T20I series. While Australia’s form has slipped dramatically in the past ten months, one can expect a cracker of a series as they are playing at home. There will be a lot of talent on display in this T20I series from both sides. Here is a look at five players who can make a difference in the series. Aaron Finch Having already scored

A seven-member meeting is scheduled this week by Cricket Australia to discuss whether to cut short the sanctions provided to the guilty trio of Steve Smith, David Warner, and Cameron Bancroft. Seven directors from the official cricket board of Australia are expected to run the flow of discussions on Tuesday. Earlier in March, a ball-tampering scandal at Cape Town saw the trio face lengthy bans from international cricket, along with other tournaments such as the Sheffield Shield, Indian Premier League, and the Big

Building on the success of the first edition of the T10 League in 2017, the second edition of the T10 League is just a few days away. Three new teams will be in contention for the championship this year. A total of 29 matches will take place at the Sharjah Stadium with the final scheduled on 2nd December. Bengal Tigers ended the first season in a disappointing fashion and will be eyeing a spectacular comeback in this edition. Caribbean mystery spinner Sunil Narine

The Maratha Arabians have a fresh team this year for the T10 League 2018 as they are without both their previous captains. The crown jewel of the Maratha Arabians will, of course, be the Afghan sensation, Rashid Khan. The leg-spinner is ruling the world when it comes to bowling with the white ball and has proved his worth in almost every tournament he has taken part in. The Pakistani legend Wasim Akram will coach the Maratha Arabians. The swing wizard has been at the helm of international sides and will be crucial in the T10 campaign. Here is how Maratha Arabians line up for the 10-over cricket competition. Batting unit Maratha Arabians have the English opener Alex Hales spearheading the batting order. They also the Pakistani

The IPL 2019 auctions will be interesting this time. A lot of prominent Indian and international names have been released from their IPL contracts by the eight franchises ahead of the next auction slated in mid-December. Here is a look at five of the most talked about released players before the IPL 2019 auctions. Yuvraj Singh Once the most flamboyant Indian limited-overs batsman and one who has the fastest fifty in T20I cricket, Yuvraj Singh is staring down the barrel at present. After

The second edition of the T10 Cricket League is just a week away from kicking off in UAE and the Rajpoots are gearing up for their inaugural season. The tournament this year has expanded to eight teams from having six teams last season. The competition shall commence on 21st November, and the final will be played on 2nd December 2018. All 29 matches shall be played at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah. One of the three new teams that have joined the T10 League this season is Rajpoots. The team will be captained by Brendon McCullum who is well-known for belligerent hitting. The New Zealander has been named as the icon player for the Rajpoots. Furthermore, South Africa’s legendary batsman Herschelle Gibbs will be the coach for this season. Batting unit The Rajpoots own a star-studded batting lineup that will make the bowlers shudder

The cricketing world is set for an intriguing clash ahead of the 2019 Cricket World Cup as the players, and cricketing boards take their stands on the IPL participation. While New Zealand https://www.sportsmonks.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/450x216_SWING_INTO_GOLF_banner133539421103193450-1.webpistrators have allowed a free hand to their cricketers, Cricket Australia has instructed their players not to skip any of domestic or international games. With the IPL 2019 slated to begin much earlier this year due to the World Cup, Cricket Australia has decided to protect the importance of its domestic competition, the Sheffield Shield. The Board has communicated that it shall provide No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to its players after the last round of Sheffield Shield fixtures (March 20-23, 2019). Cricketers involved in the Shield final (March 28-April 1) can take part in the IPL after completion of the final. The guidelines further stated that players selected to play against Pakistan in

Months after being diagnosed with a serious medical condition, all-rounder John Hastings has called time on his cricketing career at the age of 33. The former captain of the Big Bash League franchise Melbourne Stars, who signed up for the Sydney Sixers franchise in May had revealed he had been coughing blood and would not be able to take the field until his health condition improved. However, Hastings revealed that the doctors told him they could not cure the mystery lung condition that

The leaders of the Indian juggernaut in the One-Day International (ODI) cricket, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah, established themselves firmly at the top of International Cricket Council’s (ICC) ODI rankings which were released on Tuesday.  The Indian captain Virat Kohli bolstered his position as the best ODI batsman in the world with three consecutive centuries in the recently concluded series win over the Windies. He sits at the top with 899 ranking points while his deputy Rohit Sharma is hot in pursuit with 871 ranking points on his name. Rohit’s opening partner Shikhar Dhawan has maintained his eighth spot in the ranking as well. The Asian giants made their presence felt in the bowling department as well by occupying three out of the top five positions. Jasprit Bumrah, who was rested from the initial few ODIs against Windies, did enough to hold onto his crown in ODI bowling with 844 points. Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav retained his third spot with 723 points while his spin partner Yuzvendra Chahal jumped three places to claim the fifth position. A

We are fast approaching the second edition of the exciting T10 League which is about to start in UAE from 21st November. This year, the two new teams have been added to the roster, swelling the number of competitors from six to eight. One of the fresh participants is Northern Warriors. The Northern Warriors will be captained by two-time T20I World Cup-winning captain Daren Sammy. St Lucian is enormously experienced at franchise cricket and was a part of the Bengal Tigers team in T10 2017. The former Indian international Robin Singh shall serve as the team coach. Here is how the Northern Warriors stack up for their inaugural season: Batting unit Northern Warriors are packed with the might of Windies batting. We saw what Nicolas Pooran is capable of with the bat in the third T20I match against India. He will be accompanied by Lendl Simmons, who has played some

Although Sri Lanka is usually very solid at home, they put up a mediocre show in the first Test of the 3-match series against England at Galle where they were thumped by the visitors by 211 runs. The first Test was also Rangana Herath’s farewell Test and Sri Lanka have a mighty challenge in front of them to draw level without the ace spinner’s presence in the second Test at Kandy. Sri Lanka without Chandimal – a big blow While they must have

Pakistan's all-rounder Shoaib Malik announced his withdrawal from the upcoming second season of the T10 League citing family reasons. The cricketer was the captain of the team ‘Punjabi Legends’ in the 10-over tournament which begins in UAE from 21st November. Shoaib Malik posted a tweet today from his Twitter account regarding his participation in the tournament: https://twitter.com/realshoaibmalik/status/1062038708008833024 Malik recently represented Pakistan in the limited-overs matches of UAE tour against New Zealand. He was also one of Pakistan’s mainstays in the Asia Cup tournament which was played out in UAE. His wife, Indian Tennis star, Sani Mirza gave a birth to a baby boy on October 29.  Last month, the former Pakistani captain took to Twitter to announce the birth of his son and also revealed his name as Izhaan Mirza-Malik.

The second edition of the innovative T10 League in UAE commences on 21st November and the finalists of last year, Punjabi Legends, will be hoping to advance by one step this time. Led by the mercurial Pakistani legend Shoaib Malik, Punjabi Legends have added a few legendary names in their squad for this year. They will be coached by Mushtaq Ahmed, former Pakistan leg-spinner. Here is how Punjabi Legends line up: Batting unit In Luke Ronchi, Punjabi Legends has one of the most devastating openers going around in T20 cricket. Ronchi struck three consecutive fifties in the 10-over competition last year and capped off with a spectacular 70 from 34 balls in the final. He will be partnered by the West Indian dynamite Evin Lewis. The batsman is a ferocious striker of the white ball

The 3-match India-West Indies T20 series ended last night in Chennai, with India comfortably clinching the series 3-0. It was another comprehensive performance by the Men in Blue at home and the West Indies have a lot of soul searching to do. For now, here is a look at the five takeaways from the T20 series. Rohit excels as a captain, again As he had done in the Indian Premiere League (IPL) for the Mumbai Indians a number of times, Rohit Sharma led

India’s legendary left-arm fast bowler Zaheer Khan will be once again seen in the action as he gears up to take part in the upcoming T10 League. The bowler last donned the Indian uniform four years ago in his final appearance in Test cricket. He has since taken up mentorship and cricket expert roles for various events. Zaheer will be once again be seen in his iconic run-and-jump bowling action as he is set to take the field for Bengal Tigers in the

2011 World Cup winner and a senior Indian fast bowler Munaf Patel has called time on his cricketing career in all format. The 35-year old last appeared in the national uniform seven years ago and was a part of Gujarat Lions in IPL 2017. Munaf Patel cited lack of motivation as the primary reason for finishing his 15-year long career. The right-arm medium pace bowler first came into the limelight with his runaway pace at the MRF Pace Foundation at Chennai. Munaf was subsequently picked for Mumbai and Maharashtra first-class team and his spell of 7/97 on his first-class debut against England A hastened his national selection. In 2006, Munaf Patel made his Test debut against England and was soon drafted in India’s limited-overs team as well. He was a part of India’s 2007 and 2011 World Cup campaigns. He also represented many IPL franchises over the years, such as Rajasthan Royals, Mumbai

The Indian team management has announced that key players Umesh Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah will be rested for the third and final T20I match of the series against Windies. India has already secured the series win with the 71-run win at Lucknow in the second T20I game. Leading into the final match of the tour which will be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on 11th November (Sunday), BCCI has opted to test its bench strength. This also facilitates a resting period